New higher-order transition in causal dynamical triangulations

We reinvestigate the recently discovered bifurcation phase transition in Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT) and provide further evidence that it is a higher order transition. We also investigate the impact of introducing matter in the form of massless scalar fields to CDT. We discuss the impact of scalar fields on the measured spatial volumes and fluctuation profiles in addition to analysing how the scalar fields influence the position of the bifurcation transition.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Conforms with version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Primary Crystallization of High Chromium Cast Steel in Metastable Conditions

The analysis of the primary crystallization of wear corrosive-erosive high chromium cast steel was introduced in the article on the basis of investigations the widened method of the differential thermal analysis with testers DTA-C and DTA-Is. The use of these testers enabled the analysis of crystallization for the various rates of cooling

Community Healh Assessments: A Data Warehousing Approach

The measurement and assessment of health status in communities throughout the world is a massive information technology challenge. The Comprehensive Assessment for Tracking Community Health (CATCH) methodology provides a systematic framework for community-level assessment that can be a valuable tool for resource allocation and health care policy formulation. CATCH utilizes health status indicators from multiple data sources, using an innovative comparative framework and weighted evaluation process to produce a rank-ordered list of critical community health care challenges. The community-level focus is intended to empower local decision-makers and provide a clear methodology for organizing and interpreting relevant health care data. The effectiveness of the CATCH methodology is based on a data warehousing approach. The data warehouse allows a core set of reports to be produced at a reasonable cost for community use. In addition, online analytic processing (OLAP) functionality can be used to gain a deeper understanding of the health care issues. The data warehouse in conjunction with Internet-enabled dissemination methods will allow the information to be presented in a variety of formats and be distributed more widely in the decision-making community. On-going research directions in community health care decision making conclude the paper

Effects of Fertilizers and Manures on Temporal Yield Variability of Winter Rye

The anticipated increases in environmental variability associated with climate change may lead to enhanced abiotic plant stresses (e.g. heat stress, drought stress, etc.) resulting in greater inter‐annual yield fluctuations and higher crop production risk. While there has been increasing attention to adaptation measures, there is little evidence available on how to change agronomic management strategies to maintain stable yields in winter rye production systems in Poland. This study uses rye yields from the unique Skierniewice Long‐term experiment (Poland) to examine for the first‐time the long‐term effects of different nutrient regimes on crop yield stability from 1966 to 2015. Yields from six combinations of mineral fertilizers and lime (CaNPK, NPK,CaPK, CaNK, CaNP, Ca), with and without additional manure, were used to estimate the temporal yield variability of winter rye. A novel statistical approach based on a mixed model approach with REML (restricted maximum likelihood) stability parameter estimation was used. The results showed that the use of additional manure in ‘sub‐optimal’ mineral fertilizer treatments, such as Ca and CaPK (without mineral N), reduced the temporal yield variability of rye. In contrast, additional organic input led to more variable rye yields in already ‘optimal’ treatments including mineral N (CaNPK and NPK), compared to those with no additional manure. Winter rye given CaNPK and NPK, without additional organic manure demonstrated high yield and low temporal yield variability. In contrast, yields of treatments with no mineral N (Ca and CaPK) and no additional manure supply were low and unstable. In addition, it was found that increasing soil organic carbon resulted in larger, more stable yields. These findings highlight the importance of ensuring rye crops receive sufficient fertilizer to maintain crop production levels and yield stability, especially in dry years. They also demonstrate the importance of avoiding the excessive use of organic manures when fertilizer inputs are sufficient to meet crop demand. Overall, the study provides novel insights about how to maintain grain yields and minimize temporal yield variation of rye in arable cropping systems, which will become increasingly important in a changing climate in Poland and in other temperate climate areas. This study also highlights the importance of soil organic carbon for improving the climate resilience of winter rye, while simultaneously meeting the demand for more sustainable management of the soil

Cosmic voids and filaments from quantum gravity

Using computer simulations we study the geometry of a typical quantum universe, i.e. the geometry one might expect before a possible period of inflation. We display it using coordinates defined by means of four classical scalar fields satisfying the Laplace equation with non-trivial boundary conditions. The field configurations reveal cosmic web structures surprisingly similar to the ones observed in the present-day Universe. Inflation might make these structures relevant for our Universe.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

The Semiclassical Limit of Causal Dynamical Triangulations

Previous work has shown that the macroscopic structure of the theory of quantum gravity defined by causal dynamical triangulations (CDT) is compatible with that of a de Sitter universe. After emphasizing the strictly nonperturbative nature of this semiclassical limit we present a detailed study of the three-volume data, which allows us to re-confirm the de Sitter structure, exhibit short-distance discretization effects, and make a first detailed investigation of the presence of higher-order curvature terms in the effective action for the scale factor. Technically, we make use of a novel way of fixing the total four-volume in the simulations.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figure

Assessing grain yield and quality traits stability of spring wheat cultivars at different crop management levels

Eleven spring wheat cultivars were compared in terms of the stability of their grain yield and grain quality. The cultivars’ stability was evaluated separately at two different crop management levels – moderate-input management and high-input management. Three stability models were used for the two crop management levels based on a linear mixed model framework with restricted maximum likelihood. The Shukla model was the most appropriate for the evaluation of stability of tested spring wheat cultivars. The thousand-grain weight, starch content, Zeleny sedimentation value and test weight were characterized, and the stability ranking cultivars at moderate-input management level was mostly consistent with the rank of cultivars 24 for high-input management level. For grain yield, grain protein content and wet gluten content, the stability rankings were not consistent. Cultivars ‘Monsun’ and ‘Parabola’ are the most stable cultivars for grain yield in moderate-input management and high-input management, respectively. Cultivar ‘Hewilla’ was the stable cultivar for all quality traits at moderate-input management. Cultivar ‘Arabella’ was the most stable cultivar at high-input management level

The transfer matrix in four-dimensional CDT

The Causal Dynamical Triangulation model of quantum gravity (CDT) has a transfer matrix, relating spatial geometries at adjacent (discrete lattice) times. The transfer matrix uniquely determines the theory. We show that the measurements of the scale factor of the (CDT) universe are well described by an effective transfer matrix where the matrix elements are labeled only by the scale factor. Using computer simulations we determine the effective transfer matrix elements and show how they relate to an effective minisuperspace action at all scales.Comment: 32 pages, 19 figure

The effects on population health status of using dedicated property taxes to fund local public health agencies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the United States, a dedicated property tax describes the legal authority given to a local jurisdiction to levy and collect a tax for a specific purpose. We investigated for an association of locally dedicated property taxes to fund local public health agencies and improved health status in the eight states designated as the Mississippi Delta Region.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analyzed the difference in health outcomes of counties with and without a dedicated public health tax after adjusting for a set of control variables using regression models for county level data from 720 counties of the Mississippi Delta Region.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Levying a dedicated public health tax for counties with per capita income above $28,000 is associated with improved health outcomes of those counties when compared to counties without a dedicated property tax for public health. Alternatively, levying a dedicated property tax in counties with lower per capita income is associated with poor health outcomes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>There are both positive and negative consequences of using dedicated property taxes to fund public health. Policymakers should carefully examine both the positive association of improved health outcomes and negative impact of taxation on poor populations before authorizing the use of dedicated local property tax levies to fund public health agencies.</p