Simulating the Water Requirements and Economic Feasibility of Corn in the Midwest

An evaluation of the economics of supplemental irrigation when using a surface water supply must be site specific in order to account for variations in soil moisture holding capacity, watershed area supplying the runoff, climatic conditions, and proposed irrigation management procedures. With the use of farm specific simulation models to determine grain yields, availability of irrigation water, and economic expenditures involved in irrigation, an economic evaluation of supplemental irrigation can be performed, In the model presented in this report, the Duncan SIMAIZ model is used to predict grain yields using long-term daily weather information. SIMAIZ also determines irrigation water demand for the crop. The Haan Water Yield Model is used to predict flow into a reservoir using the same weather information. By knowing daily water flow into a reservoir and water demand for irrigation, a reservoir size is determined which will supply water at all times for the study period. Simulations are then run by incrementally reducing, by volume, the size of this reservoir, thus limiting the availability of irrigation water, and resulting in reduced irrigated yields. An economic evaluation is performed for each reservoir size. Costs and benefits included are: initial cost of constructing the reservoir, yearly reservoir maintenance cost, yearly irrigation costs of operation, and additional income resulting from the increase in grain yields. After the project life has been assumed, the model determines the capital available for investing in an irrigation system for a given year and reservoir size. By ranking these values, a probability distribution is obtained indicating the probability of making money in any given year. By using the Central Limit Theorem, these results are converted to the probability of making money over the life of the system. A sensitivity analysis examines the sensitivity of capital available for investment in an irrigation system to select input variation. The results indicate that great care should be exercised when assigning values to some inputs, while for others, a reasonable estimate is adequate. This model can be used as a tool for evaluating which irrigation practices, if any, are economically feasible. An example of its use is shown

Heterosis in Sweet Sorghum and Selection of a New Sweet Sorghum Hybrid for Use in Syrup Production in Appalachia

Although heterosis is well established in grain and forage sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], reports of heterosis in sweet sorghum are limited to results from grain sorghum × sweet sorghum hybrids. Recent development of cytoplasmic male-sterile sweet sorghum lines allows creation of sweet sorghum hybrids for research and industry. Male sterility may also affect allocation of photosynthate to plant parts, creating the potential to increase sugar content in stems by eliminating seed as a sink. The objectives of this study were to compare performance of A3 cytoplasmic male-sterile lines and A3 cytoplasmic male-sterile hybrids to fertile B3 counterparts and to each other. A3 cytoplasmic male-sterile ‘Dale’, ‘Wray’, ‘Sugar Drip’, and N100 were crossed in all combinations to their male-fertile counterparts, resulting in 20 genotypes including the male-fertile lines. The 20 genotypes were grown in a randomized complete block in 2004 and 2005 at Lexington, KY. Male-sterile hybrids and lines had higher brix than male-fertile lines. Hybrids produced greater stalk yield due to taller plants with greater stem diameter. Juice fraction and juice composition remained relatively unchanged. Only six hybrids showed positive heterosis for brix. The greater juice yield and higher sugar content of selected hybrids such as A3 N100 × Dale could produce more total syrup or ethanol than current pureline sweet sorghum varieties

Heterosis in Sweet Sorghum and Selection of a New Sweet Sorghum Hybrid for Use in Syrup Production in Appalachia

Although heterosis is well established in grain and forage sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], reports of heterosis in sweet sorghum are limited to results from grain sorghum × sweet sorghum hybrids. Recent development of cytoplasmic male-sterile sweet sorghum lines allows creation of sweet sorghum hybrids for research and industry. Male sterility may also affect allocation of photosynthate to plant parts, creating the potential to increase sugar content in stems by eliminating seed as a sink. The objectives of this study were to compare performance of A3 cytoplasmic male-sterile lines and A3 cytoplasmic male-sterile hybrids to fertile B3 counterparts and to each other. A3 cytoplasmic male-sterile ‘Dale’, ‘Wray’, ‘Sugar Drip’, and N100 were crossed in all combinations to their male-fertile counterparts, resulting in 20 genotypes including the male-fertile lines. The 20 genotypes were grown in a randomized complete block in 2004 and 2005 at Lexington, KY. Male-sterile hybrids and lines had higher brix than male-fertile lines. Hybrids produced greater stalk yield due to taller plants with greater stem diameter. Juice fraction and juice composition remained relatively unchanged. Only six hybrids showed positive heterosis for brix. The greater juice yield and higher sugar content of selected hybrids such as A3 N100 × Dale could produce more total syrup or ethanol than current pureline sweet sorghum varieties

Pooled analysis of bleeding profile, efficacy and safety of oral oestradiol valerate/dienogest in women aged 25 and under

Purpose: To evaluate differences in key outcomes between younger and older women receiving the oral contraceptive oestradiol valerate/dienogest (E2V/DNG). Methods: We conducted a pooled post hoc analysis of primary data from 12 studies of E2V/DNG, stratified by age (≤25 [n = 1309] and >25 [n = 2132] years). Outcomes included safety, efficacy, bleeding profile and hormone-withdrawal-associated symptoms (HWAS). Bleeding and HWAS analyses are also presented for women aged ≤20 years (n = 362). Discontinuations were considered a proxy for patient satisfaction. Results: Results were generally similar for younger and older women. The percentage of women aged ≤25 and >25 years experiencing intracyclic bleeding did not differ between groups (13.4% and 12.8% at cycle 12, respectively), with similar results in women aged ≤20 years (12.7%, cycle 12). Rates of withdrawal bleeding were very similar in women aged ≤25 and >25 years (78.5% and 78.9%, respectively, cycle 12). We also found a similar adjusted Pearl index in the two age groups (0.45 vs 0.57, respectively), similar rates of AEs and HWAS and no difference in discontinuations. Conclusions: Women aged ≤25 and >25 years have a similar experience with an E2V/DNV oral contraceptive, supporting this as an appropriate contraceptive option in younger and older women

Cloud computing for energy management in smart grid - an application survey

The smart grid is the emerging energy system wherein the application of information technology, tools and techniques that make the grid run more efficiently. It possesses demand response capacity to help balance electrical consumption with supply. The challenges and opportunities of emerging and future smart grids can be addressed by cloud computing. To focus on these requirements, we provide an in-depth survey on different cloud computing applications for energy management in the smart grid architecture. In this survey, we present an outline of the current state of research on smart grid development. We also propose a model of cloud based economic power dispatch for smart grid

Attenuated and Protease-Profile Modified Sendai Virus Vectors as a New Tool for Virotherapy of Solid Tumors

Peer reviewe

Analytical, experimental and numerical study of a graded honeycomb structure under in-plane impact load with low velocity

Given the significance of energy absorption in various industries, light shock absorbers such as honeycomb structure under in-plane and out-of-plane loads have been in the core of attention. The purpose of this research is the analyses of graded honeycomb structure (GHS) behaviour under in-plane impact loading and its optimisation. Primarily, analytical equations for plateau stress and specific energy are represented, taking power hardening model (PHM) and elastic–perfectly plastic model (EPPM) into consideration. For the validation and comparison of acquired analytical equations, the energy absorption of a GHS made of five different aluminium grades is simulated in ABAQUS/CAE. In order to validate the numerical simulation method in ABAQUS, an experimental test has been conducted as the falling a weight with low velocity on a GHS. Numerical results retain an acceptable accordance with experimental ones with a 5.4% occurred error of reaction force. For a structure with a specific kinetic energy, the stress–strain diagram is achieved and compared with the analytical equations obtained. The maximum difference between the numerical and analytical plateau stresses for PHM is 10.58%. However, this value has been measured to be 38.78% for EPPM. In addition, the numerical value of absorbed energy is compared to that of analytical method for two material models. The maximum difference between the numerical and analytical absorbed energies for PHM model is 6.4%, while it retains the value of 48.08% for EPPM. Based on the conducted comparisons, the numerical and analytical results based on PHM are more congruent than EPPM results. Applying sequential quadratic programming method and genetic algorithm, the ratio of structure mass to the absorbed energy is minimised. According to the optimisation results, the structure capacity of absorbing energy increases by 18% compared to the primary model

Influence of solvent granularity on the effective interaction between charged colloidal suspensions

We study the effect of solvent granularity on the effective force between two charged colloidal particles by computer simulations of the primitive model of strongly asymmetric electrolytes with an explicitly added hard sphere solvent. Apart from molecular oscillating forces for nearly touching colloids which arise from solvent and counterion layering, the counterions are attracted towards the colloidal surfaces by solvent depletion providing a simple statistical description of hydration. This, in turn, has an important influence on the effective forces for larger distances which are considerably reduced as compared to the prediction based on the primitive model. When these forces are repulsive, the long-distance behaviour can be described by an effective Yukawa pair potential with a solvent-renormalized charge. As a function of colloidal volume fraction and added salt concentration, this solvent-renormalized charge behaves qualitatively similar to that obtained via the Poisson-Boltzmann cell model but there are quantitative differences. For divalent counterions and nano-sized colloids, on the other hand, the hydration may lead to overscreened colloids with mutual attraction while the primitive model yields repulsive forces. All these new effects can be accounted for through a solvent-averaged primitive model (SPM) which is obtained from the full model by integrating out the solvent degrees of freedom. The SPM was used to access larger colloidal particles without simulating the solvent explicitly.Comment: 14 pages, 16 craphic

The Secret to Successful User Communities: An Analysis of Computer Associates’ User Groups

This paper provides the first large scale study that examines the impact of both individual- and group-specific factors on the benefits users obtain from their user communities. By empirically analysing 924 survey responses from individuals in 161 Computer Associates' user groups, this paper aims to identify the determinants of successful user communities. To measure success, the amount of time individual members save through having access to their user networks is used. As firms can significantly profit from successful user communities, this study proposes four key implications of the empirical results for the management of user communities

Strategy and rationale for urine collection protocols employed in the NEPTUNE study

Abstract Background Glomerular diseases are potentially fatal, requiring aggressive interventions and close monitoring. Urine is a readily-accessible body fluid enriched in molecular signatures from the kidney and therefore particularly suited for routine clinical analysis as well as development of non-invasive biomarkers for glomerular diseases. Methods The Nephrotic Syndrome Study Network (NEPTUNE; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01209000) is a North American multicenter collaborative consortium established to develop a translational research infrastructure for nephrotic syndrome. This includes standardized urine collections across all participating centers for the purpose of discovering non-invasive biomarkers for patients with nephrotic syndrome due to minimal change disease, focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, and membranous nephropathy. Here we describe the organization and methods of urine procurement and banking procedures in NEPTUNE. Results We discuss the rationale for urine collection and storage conditions, and demonstrate the performance of three experimental analytes (neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin [NGAL], retinol binding globulin, and alpha-1 microglobulin) under these conditions with and without urine preservatives (thymol, toluene, and boric acid). We also demonstrate the quality of RNA and protein collected from the urine cellular pellet and exosomes. Conclusions The urine collection protocol in NEPTUNE allows robust detection of a wide range of proteins and RNAs from urine supernatant and pellets collected longitudinally from each patient over 5 years. Combined with the detailed clinical and histopathologic data, this provides a unique resource for exploration and validation of new or accepted markers of glomerular diseases. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT01209000http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116023/1/12882_2015_Article_185.pd