Agro-meteorological Bulletin for South and East Mediterranean Countries

The Bulletin is dedicated to the analysis of the agro-meteorological situation in the non-European countries of the Mediterranean basin (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Palestine Auth., Lebanon and Syria) during the period from the beginning of October to the end of November 2007. The monitoring of the agro-meteorological situation is based on the analysis of the dekadal meteorological data, and maps of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Indexes. The first pages contain the main results of the analysis. The following pages are dedicated to the analysis of separate indicators of the crop growth.JRC.G.3-Agricultur

Azimuthal asymmetries in production of charged hadrons by high energy muons on polarized deuterium targets

Search for azimuthal asymmetries in semi-inclusive production of charged hadrons by 160 GeV muons on the longitudinally polarized deuterium target, has been performed using the 2002- 2004 COMPASS data. The observed asymmetries integrated over the kinematical variables do not depend on the azimuthal angle of produced hadrons and are consistent with the ratio $g_1^d(x)/f_1^d(x)$. The asymmetries are parameterized taking into account possible contributions from different parton distribution functions and parton fragmentation functions depending on the transverse spin of quarks.They can be modulated (either/or/and) with $\sin(\phi), \sin(2\phi), \sin(3\phi)$ and $\cos(\phi)$. The $x$-, $z$- and $p_h^T$-dependencies of these amplitudes are studied.Search for azimuthal asymmetries in semi-inclusive production of charged hadrons by 160 GeV muons on the longitudinally polarized deuterium target, has been performed using the 2002- 2004 COMPASS data. The observed asymmetries integrated over the kinematical variables do not depend on the azimuthal angle of produced hadrons and are consistent with the ratio $g_1^d(x)/f_1^d(x)$. The asymmetries are parameterized taking into account possible contributions from different parton distribution functions and parton fragmentation functions depending on the transverse spin of quarks.They can be modulated (either/or/and) with $\sin(\phi), \sin(2\phi), \sin(3\phi)$ and $\cos(\phi)$. The $x$-, $z$- and $p_h^T$-dependencies of these amplitudes are studied

Using Low Resolution Satellite Imagery for Yield Prediction and Yield Anomaly Detection

Low resolution satellite imagery has been extensively used for crop monitoring and yield forecasting for over 30 years and plays an important role in a growing number of operational systems. The combination of their high temporal frequency with their extended geographical coverage generally associated with low costs per area unit makes these images a convenient choice at both national and regional scales. Several qualitative and quantitative approaches can be clearly distinguished, going from the use of low resolution satellite imagery as the main predictor of final crop yield to complex crop growth models where remote sensing-derived indicators play different roles, depending on the nature of the model and on the availability of data measured on the ground. Vegetation performance anomaly detection with low resolution images continues to be a fundamental component of early warning and drought monitoring systems at the regional scale. For applications at more detailed scales, the limitations created by the mixed nature of low resolution pixels are being progressively reduced by the higher resolution offered by new sensors, while the continuity of existing systems remains crucial for ensuring the availability of long time series as needed by the majority of the yield prediction methods used today.JRC.H.4-Monitoring Agricultural Resource

Resource potential of Beninese soils for maize cultivation

Due to the growth of the population, the need of the Republic of Benin to increase food production is growing significantly. Maize is the main cultivated crop in the country, being also the main item of nutrition. The scientific rationale for expanding the area of maize cultivation is an important economic task. GIS database was created, which includes all the necessary information on soil, relief, and climate conditions in the country for assessment the resource potential of lands for maize cultivation. Geoinformation modeling of soil and land suitability for maize cultivation was performed. The most suitable lands were identified. Possibility to expand areas for maize cultivation in the country was assessed. It was found that the largest resources (in parts of the land fund) for the expansion of maize cultivation are in the following communities of Benin: Tory-Bossito (96%), Toviklin (92.41%), Materi (90.31%), Kobli (89.25%), Wayogbe (87.99), Parakou (86.57%), Jaco-Tomey (85.66%), Avrankou (85.46%), Allada (84.13%), Bohicon (82.24%), Sakete (81.85%), Za Kpota (78.08%), Akpo Misserete (77.96%), Bopa (77.15%), Kpomasse (75.82%) and Ifania (75.03%). The findings led us to conclude that, theoretically, the gross maize production in Benin could be increased fivefold (from 1,514,913 tons to 5,513,947 tons) only by expanding the cultivation area

Non-exponential Dissipation in a Lossy Elastodynamic Billiard, Comparison with Porter-Thomas and Random Matrix Predictions

We study the dissipation of diffuse ultrasonic energy in a reverberant body coupled to a waveguide, an analog for a mesoscopic electron in a quantum dot. A simple model predicts a Porter-Thomas like distribution of level widths and corresponding nonexponential dissipation, a behavior largely confirmed by measurements. For the case of fully open channels, however, measurements deviate from this model to a statistically significant degree. A random matrix supersymmetric calculation is found to accurately model the observed behaviors at all coupling strengths.Comment: 4 pages, 8 figures, figures resized, misprints correcte

MARS Bulletin Vol 17 No 1

The annexed document is the template for the bulletin that will be issued on the 10th March. This bulletin covers meteorological analysis and crop yield forecasts for the period 21 November 2008 - 28 February 2009 (since the day after the last covered period, to the last day of the decade before)JRC.G.3-Monitoring agricultural resource

Variance of transmitted power in multichannel dissipative ergodic structures invariant under time reversal

We use random matrix theory (RMT) to study the first two moments of the wave power transmitted in time reversal invariant systems having ergodic motion. Dissipation is modeled by a number of loss channels of variable coupling strength. To make a connection with ultrasonic experiments on ergodic elastodynamic billiards, the channels injecting and collecting the waves are assumed to be negligibly coupled to the medium, and to contribute essentially no dissipation. Within the RMT model we calculate the quantities of interest exactly, employing the supersymmetry technique. This approach is found to be more accurate than another method based on simplifying naive assumptions for the statistics of the eigenfrequencies and the eigenfunctions. The results of the supersymmetric method are confirmed by Monte Carlo numerical simulation and are used to reveal a possible source of the disagreement between the predictions of the naive theory and ultrasonic measurements.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Long-term retention in organic ferroelectric-graphene memories

Long-term stability of high-and low-resistance states in full-organic ferroelectrically gated graphene transistors is an essential prerequisite for memory applications. Here, we demonstrate high retention performance for both memory states with fully saturated time-dependence of the graphene channel resistance. This behavior is in contrast with ferroelectric-polymer-gated silicon field-effect-transistors, where the gap between the two memory states continuously decreases with time. Before reaching saturation, the current decays exponentially as predicted by the retention model based on the charge injection into the interface-adjacent layer. The drain current saturation attests to a high quality of the graphene/ferroelectric interface with low density of charge traps. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3676055

Modeling of a new type of reinforcing insulation of 110 kV cable joints

This article is devoted to the creation of a new reinforcing insulation of high-voltage cable joints at 110 kV. According to statistics for 2016, about 65% of accidents on the cable line occur at the junction of the two cable segments. The problem of leveling the electric field in the cutting is one of the important in the cable industry. To date, it has become possible to create new composite materials with special properties. With this help, a new type of 110 kV amplifying insulation will work on a new combined method of leveling the electric field. Using the finite element method, the model of amplifying insulation (tube-regulator) was modeled. It consists of several components that are responsible for a different principle of leveling the field