Fissure Characterization of Rice Kernels Using Video Microscopy

Fissures are fractures of a rice kernel that can be created during the drying and tempering process. They cause tremendous postharvest losses in milling yield. Understanding why and how rice kernels fissure will lead to optimal drying and tempering operations. This information could also provide input to plant breeders for producing rice cultivars that are more resistant to fissuring. Rice kernels were dried using various air conditions in a controlled environment chamber. The kernels were viewed by video microscopy to observe the occurrence of fissures. A videocassette recorder recorded the images for a 24-hour period after the drying process. The tapes were reviewed to reveal characteristics of the fissures. The rice cultivars used in this experiment were ‘Bengal’, ‘Cypress’, and ‘Drew’. The tests showed that Cypress kernels were more resistant to fissuring than were the other two cultivars. The recorded images from the microscopy chamber showed that fissures begin from the inside of the kernel. Also, fissures were observed to form almost instantaneously

Classical and quantum communication without a shared reference frame

We show that communication without a shared reference frame is possible using entangled states. Both classical and quantum information can be communicated with perfect fidelity without a shared reference frame at a rate that asymptotically approaches one classical bit or one encoded qubit per transmitted qubit. We present an optical scheme to communicate classical bits without a shared reference frame using entangled photon pairs and linear optical Bell state measurements.Comment: 4 pages, published versio

Optimal measurements for relative quantum information

We provide optimal measurement schemes for estimating relative parameters of the quantum state of a pair of spin systems. We prove that the optimal measurements are joint measurements on the pair of systems, meaning that they cannot be achieved by local operations and classical communication. We also demonstrate that in the limit where one of the spins becomes macroscopic, our results reproduce those that are obtained by treating that spin as a classical reference direction.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, published versio

The Development of Forage Nutrient Value Coefficients for Use in CARD\u27s 1985 RCA Model

After preliminary work on the livestock sector for the 1985 CARD/RCA model was completed in the summer of 1983, it was felt that one of the weaker areas in the sector was the linkage between the livestock sector and the range sector. At that time it was decided that the best way to approach this problem would be through the development of feed transfer activities. The purpose of this paper is to present a brief overview of the development of the nutrient value coefficients for net energy, protein, calcium, and phosphorus supplied by grazed forages in the 31 market regions. The data developed in this paper serves as coefficients for feed transfer activities in the livestock sector of the CARD/RCA model

Teleseismic analysis of the 1980 Mammoth Lakes earthquake sequence

The source mechanisms of the three largest events of the 1980 Mammoth Lakes earthquake sequence have been determined using surface waves recorded on the global digital seismograph network and the long-period body waves recorded on the WWSSN network. Although the fault-plane solutions from local data (Cramer and Toppozada, 1980; Ryall and Ryall, 1981) suggest nearly pure left-lateral strike-slip on north-south planes, the teleseismic waveforms require a mechanism with oblique slip. The first event (25 May 1980, 16^h 33^m 44^s) has a mechanism with a strike of N12°E, dip of 50°E, and a rake of −35°. The second event (27 May 19^h 44^m 51^s) has a mechanism with a strike of N15°E, dip of 50°, and a slip of −11°. The third event (27 May, 14^h 50^m 57^s) has a mechanism with a strike of N22°E, dip of 50°, and a rake of −28°. The first event is the largest and has a moment of 2.9 × 10^(25) dyne-cm. The second and third events have moments of 1.3 and 1.1 × 10^(25) dyne-cm, respectively. The body- and surface-wave moments for the first and third events agree closely while for the second event the body-wave moment (approximately 0.6 × 10^(25) dyne-cm) is almost a factor of 3 smaller than the surface-wave moment. The principal axes of extension of all three events is in the approximate direction of N65°E which agrees with the structural trends apparent along the eastern front of the Sierra Nevada

The development and evaluation of an alternative powder prepregging technique for use with LaRC-TPI/graphite composites

An alternative powder prepregging method for use with LaRC-TPI (a thermoplastic polyimide)/graphite composites is investigated. The alternative method incorporates the idea of moistening the fiber prior to powder coating. Details of the processing parameters are given and discussed. The material was subsequently laminated into small coupons which were evaluated for processing defects using electron microscopy. After the initial evaluation of the material, no major processing defects were encountered but there appeared to be an interfacial adhesion problem. As a result, prepregging efforts were extended to include an additional fiber system, XAS, and a semicrystalline form of the matrix. The semicrystalline form of the matrix was the result of a complex heat treating cycle. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the fiber/matrix adhesion was evaluated in these systems relative to the amorphous/XAS coupons. Based on these results, amorphous and semicrystalline/AS-4 and XAS materials were prepregged and laminated for transverse tensile testing. The results of these tests are presented, and in an effort to obtain more information on the effect of the matrix, remaining semicrystalline transverse tensile coupons were transformed back to the amorphous state and tested. The mechanical properties of the transformed coupons returned to the values observed for the original amorphous coupons, and the interfacial adhesion, as observed by SEM, was better than in any previous sample

A discrepancy between long- and short-period mechanisms of earthquakes near the Long Valley caldera

The largest events in the 1980 Mammoth Lakes earthquake sequence show a discrepancy between fault mechanisms which are determined on the basis of the local short-period first motions and those determined by modeling of long-period regional and teleseismic waveforms. The short-period solutions are left-lateral strike-slip on north-striking, near vertical planes. The long-periods invariably require a much more moderately dipping fault plane with a significant dip-slip (normal) component. Persistence of disagreements between short- and long-period polarities to teleseismic distances suggests that the source-time functions are complicated and may be responsible for at least part of the discrepancy. In addition, there seems to be a systematic difference between local short-period polarities and teleseismic long-period polarities that is related to travel paths across portions of Long Valley Caldera. It is possible that a low velocity zone related to recent magmatic activity is causing the deflection of local seismic rays, thus distorting the fault plane projection

Survival of Selected Viruses on Processed Pork Products

Contamination of food with viruses of human health significance is primarily due to human carriers. While cooking or fermenting and drying will inactivate viruses, products can be contaminated post-processing. The data show that the changes produced in pork products by processing will have little effect in decreasing viral numbers if post-processing contamination occurs

Entanglement and the Thermodynamic Arrow of Time

We discuss quantum entanglement in the context of the thermodynamic arrow of time. We review the role of correlations in entropy-decreasing events and prove that the occurrence of a transformation between two thermodynamic states constitutes a new type of entanglement witness, one not defined as a separating plane in state space between separable and entangled states, but as a physical process dependent on the local initial properties of the states. Extending work by Partovi, we consider a general entangled multipartite system that allows large reversals of the thermodynamic arrow of time. We describe a hierarchy of arrows that arises from the different correlations allowed in a quantum state and examine these features in the context of Maxwell's Demon. We examine in detail the case of three qubits, and also propose some simple experimental demonstrations possible with small numbers of qubits.Comment: 10 pages with 9 figure

Can a Lattice String Have a Vanishing Cosmological Constant?

We prove that a class of one-loop partition functions found by Dienes, giving rise to a vanishing cosmological constant to one-loop, cannot be realized by a consistent lattice string. The construction of non-supersymmetric string with a vanishing cosmological constant therefore remains as elusive as ever. We also discuss a new test that any one-loop partition function for a lattice string must satisfy.Comment: 14 page