Contracts in the Salmon Aquaculture Industry: An Analysis of Norwegian Salmon Exports

Sales and distribution innovations have increased productivity in the salmon aquaculture industry. In this article, we investigate the use of fixed price contracts for Norwegian salmon exports to France based on all export transactions between the two countries. Our analysis shows that almost 25% of these exports were traded using fixed price contracts and contract prices were renegotiated at different intervals, including as infrequently as once a year. Some contracts allow the contracting parties to adjust contract prices when the export price moves significantly. Benchmark analysis, which shows a marginal 0.5% difference between average unit revenue for the year from spot sales relative to contract sales, indicates that contracts primarily change revenue time profiles. The use of contracts creates a wedge between salmon export prices and spot prices in periods of price volatility, which in turn reduces price transmission.Contracts, salmon aquaculture, International Relations/Trade, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, L14, Q22,

Contactless inductive flow tomography

The three-dimensional velocity field of a propeller driven liquid metal flow is reconstructed by a contactless inductive flow tomography (CIFT). The underlying theory is presented within the framework of an integral equation system that governs the magnetic field distribution in a moving electrically conducting fluid. For small magnetic Reynolds numbers this integral equation system can be cast into a linear inverse problem for the determination of the velocity field from externally measured magnetic fields. A robust reconstruction of the large scale velocity field is already achieved by applying the external magnetic field alternately in two orthogonal directions and measuring the corresponding sets of induced magnetic fields. Kelvin's theorem is exploited to regularize the resulting velocity field by using the kinetic energy of the flow as a regularizing functional. The results of the new technique are shown to be in satisfactory agreement with ultrasonic measurements.Comment: 9 Figures; to appear in Phys. Rev

Geometries of third-row transition-metal complexes from density-functional theory

A set of 41 metal-ligand bond distances in 25 third-row transition-metal complexes, for which precise structural data are known in the gas phase, is used to assess optimized and zero-point averaged geometries obtained from DFT computations with various exchange-correlation functionals and basis sets. For a given functional (except LSDA) Stuttgart-type quasi-relativistic effective core potentials and an all-electron scalar relativistic approach (ZORA) tend to produce very similar geometries. In contrast to the lighter congeners, LSDA affords reasonably accurate geometries of 5d-metal complexes, as it is among the functionals with the lowest mean and standard deviations from experiment. For this set the ranking of some other popular density functionals, ordered according to decreasing standard deviation, is BLYP > VSXC > BP86 approximate to BPW91 approximate to TPSS approximate to B3LYP approximate to PBE > TPSSh > B3PW91 approximate to B3P86 approximate to PBE hybrid. In this case hybrid functionals are superior to their nonhybrid variants. In addition, we have reinvestigated the previous test sets for 3d- (Buhl M.; Kabrede, H. J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2006, 2, 1282-1290) and 4d- (Waller, M. P.; Buhl, M. J. Comput. Chem. 2007,28,1531-1537) transition-metal complexes using all-electron scalar relativistic DFT calculations in addition to the published nonrelativistic and ECP results. For this combined test set comprising first-, second-, and third-row metal complexes, B3P86 and PBE hybrid are indicated to perform best. A remarkably consistent standard deviation of around 2 pm in metal-ligand bond distances is achieved over the entire set of d-block elements.PostprintPeer reviewe

Foray search: An effective systematic dispersal strategy in fragmented landscapes

In the absence of evidence to the contrary, population models generally assume that the dispersal trajectories of animals are random, but systematic dispersal could be more efficient at detecting new habitat and may therefore constitute a more realistic assumption. Here, we investigate, by means of simulations, the properties of a potentially widespread systematic dispersal strategy termed "foray search." Foray search was more efficient in detecting suitable habitat than was random dispersal in most landscapes and was less subject to energetic constraints. However, it also resulted in considerably shorter net dispersed distances and higher mortality per net dispersed distance than did random dispersal, and it would therefore be likely to lead to lower dispersal rates toward the margins of population networks. Consequently, the use of foray search by dispersers could crucially affect the extinction-colonization balance of metapopulations and the evolution of dispersal rates. We conclude that population models need to take the dispersal trajectories of individuals into account in order to make reliable predictions

Tangential and normal Euler numbers, complex points, and singularities of projections for oriented surfaces in four-space

For a compact oriented smooth surface immersed in Euclidean four-space (thought of as complex two-space), the sum of the tangential and normal Euler numbers is equal to the algebraic number of points where the tangent plane is a complex line. This follows from the construction of an explicit homology between the zero-chains of complex points and the zero-chains of singular points of projections to lines and hyperplanes representing the tangential and normal Euler classes

Modelling individual variability in cognitive development

Investigating variability in reasoning tasks can provide insights into key issues in the study of cognitive development. These include the mechanisms that underlie developmental transitions, and the distinction between individual differences and developmental disorders. We explored the mechanistic basis of variability in two connectionist models of cognitive development, a model of the Piagetian balance scale task (McClelland, 1989) and a model of the Piagetian conservation task (Shultz, 1998). For the balance scale task, we began with a simple feed-forward connectionist model and training patterns based on McClelland (1989). We investigated computational parameters, problem encodings, and training environments that contributed to variability in development, both across groups and within individuals. We report on the parameters that affect the complexity of reasoning and the nature of ‘rule’ transitions exhibited by networks learning to reason about balance scale problems. For the conservation task, we took the task structure and problem encoding of Shultz (1998) as our base model. We examined the computational parameters, problem encodings, and training environments that contributed to variability in development, in particular examining the parameters that affected the emergence of abstraction. We relate the findings to existing cognitive theories on the causes of individual differences in development