Perimeter Security and Intruder Detection Using Gravity Gradiometry: A Feasibility Study

Changes in the mass distribution around some point on the Earth’s surface induce corresponding changes to the magnitude and direction of the gravity vector at that location. The nine-tensor derivative of the gravity vector, or gravity gradient, is sensitive to very small changes in the gravity vector. With some assumptions, continuous measurement of the gravity gradient using a gravity gradiometer (GGI) is used to determine the location of a mass change in the local area near the instrument. This investigation sought to determine the effectiveness, operating characteristics, and limitations of a physical perimeter security system that uses an array of GGIs to detect and locate a human intruder. Results are obtained via computer simulations utilizing the closed form solution for calculating a gravity gradient given an object’s size and mass, as well as industry-predicted future GGI performance characteristics

Can successful forecasters help stabilize asset prices in a learning to forecast experiment?

We conduct a Learning to Forecast asset pricing experiment where the market impact of individual forecasts evolves endogenously based on the forecasters' past accuracy. We investigate how endogenous impacts affect price stability and mispricing relative to the fundamental price. Our results suggest that endogenous impacts can destabilize markets when impacts are quite sensitive to forecast accuracy: Price dispersion increases compared to the baseline treatment where impacts are constant and independent of forecast accuracy. On the other hand, mispricing can be reduced when markets are relatively stable and impacts are moderately sensitive to forecast accuracy

Inhibiting Dhurrin Biosynthesis Effects on Stocker Cattle Daily Gains

Climate change has made resilient crops more valuable in many agricultural production systems. Sorghum is an important resilient grain and forage crop due to its high drought tolerance and ability to thrive in low-N environments. All current commercial sorghum varieties produce the cyanogenic glucoside dhurrin. Cell maceration causes the conversion of dhurrin to hydrogen cyanide (HCN), which is toxic to animals. Toxicity symptoms range from labored breathing and convulsions to death within minutes. The dhurrin biosynthesis pathway was altered to inhibit dhurrin production by a mutation that inactivated CYP79A1, the first enzyme in the pathway. The dhurrin-free phenotype eliminates the risk of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) poisoning in animals; however, agronomic performance and livestock responses when the dhurrin-free is grazed has not been studied. This study focused on the impacts of the cyp79a1 mutation on sorghum forage production and utilization. Over two months, weight gains were compared for stocker calves grazing either a dhurrin-free hybrid and a conventional hybrid (S&W SP4105). Presence or absence of HCN, nutritional quality, and yields were also determined before and throughout the grazing trial. The dhurrin-free hybrid and SP4105 had equivalent biomass yields (kg ha-1) throughout the trial. The dhurrin-free hybrid’s neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber were 35 and 20 mg g-1 lower, respectively, when compared to SP4105 on the first sampling date (P-value \u3c 0.1). Rumen degradable protein and total digestible nutrients were higher as well for the dhurrin-free, but the two hybrids were similar by the second sampling date for nutritional quality. Average daily gain was similar between the dhurrin-free hybrid and the conventional sorghum hybrid. Taken together, dhurrin-free sorghum has many beneficial aspects as a forage; no fear of HCN toxicity and competitive weight gains of stocker calves, with excellent biomass yields and forage quality

Raman imaging and electronic properties of graphene

Graphite is a well-studied material with known electronic and optical properties. Graphene, on the other hand, which is just one layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, has been studied theoretically for quite some time but has only recently become accessible for experiments. Here we demonstrate how single- and multi-layer graphene can be unambiguously identified using Raman scattering. Furthermore, we use a scanning Raman set-up to image few-layer graphene flakes of various heights. In transport experiments we measure weak localization and conductance fluctuations in a graphene flake of about 7 monolayer thickness. We obtain a phase-coherence length of about 2 $\mu$m at a temperature of 2 K. Furthermore we investigate the conductivity through single-layer graphene flakes and the tuning of electron and hole densities via a back gate

Genetic analysis of feed quality and seed weight of sorghum inbred lines and hybrids using analytical methods and NIRS

Eight lines of grain sorghum and their F1 hybrids were evaluated for contents of crude protein (CP), fat (FAT), and starch (STA); protein digestibility (PD); and in vitro dry matter disappearance (IVDMD). The effect of seed weight (SW) on these traits and the potential use of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) to predict them also were investigated. The male lines included three normal-seeded lines (TX2737, TX435, and P954063) and two largeseeded lines (PL-1 and Eastin1). The female lines included commonU.S. seed parent lines (Wheatland, Redlan, and SA3042). The lines and their hybrids were grown under dryland conditions at Kansas State University experiment fields in Ashland and Belleville, Kansas, in 1999. The experiments were conducted using a randomized complete block design with four replications at each location. The effect of genotype was significant for all measured traits. The male parent lines were highly variable and expressed high levels of genetic variation in combining ability for CP, PD, STA, and SW. The female parents were genetically more uniform; however, significant general combining ability effects were noted for PD and SW. Significant negative correlations were noted between CP and STA and between SW and STA. Significant positive correlations were found between CP and SW and between FAT and IVDMD. Crude protein content was predicted accurately by NIRS. Fat content and IVDMD could not be predicted by NIRS. The NIRS equations based on ground samples were more accurate than those based on whole-seed samples

Genetic Analysis of Kafirins and Their Phenotypic Correlations with Feed Quality Traits, In Vitro Digestibility, and Seed Weight in Grain Sorghum

Twenty-three entries of grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), including eight inbred lines (five males and three females) and 15 hybrids, were evaluated to determine the proportion of γ, αII, and β-αI-kafirins and their association with contents of crude protein, fat, and starch; protein digestibility; in vitro dry matter disappearance; and seed weight. The male lines included three normal-seeded lines (TX2737, TX435, and P954063) and two large-seeded lines (Eastin1 and PL-1). Female lines consisted of three common U.S. seed parent lines (Wheatland, Redlan, and SA3042). The lines and their hybrids were grown under dryland conditions at two locations in Kansas using a randomized complete block design. The effects of genotype, location, and males were significant for all kafirins. Wide variations in composition and general combining ability (GCA) for kafirin content were noted among parent lines and hybrids, with TX2737, Eastin1, and PL1 having the largest GCA values for γ (1.37), αII (1.99), and β-αI (2.57), respectively. Correlations among kafirins ranged from –0.89 to 0, whereas those of kafirins with feed quality traits, digestibility, and seed weight ranged from –0.45 to 0.48

Genetic Analysis of Kafirins and Their Phenotypic Correlations with Feed Quality Traits, In Vitro Digestibility, and Seed Weight in Grain Sorghum

Twenty-three entries of grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), including eight inbred lines (five males and three females) and 15 hybrids, were evaluated to determine the proportion of γ, αII, and β-αI-kafirins and their association with contents of crude protein, fat, and starch; protein digestibility; in vitro dry matter disappearance; and seed weight. The male lines included three normal-seeded lines (TX2737, TX435, and P954063) and two large-seeded lines (Eastin1 and PL-1). Female lines consisted of three common U.S. seed parent lines (Wheatland, Redlan, and SA3042). The lines and their hybrids were grown under dryland conditions at two locations in Kansas using a randomized complete block design. The effects of genotype, location, and males were significant for all kafirins. Wide variations in composition and general combining ability (GCA) for kafirin content were noted among parent lines and hybrids, with TX2737, Eastin1, and PL1 having the largest GCA values for γ (1.37), αII (1.99), and β-αI (2.57), respectively. Correlations among kafirins ranged from –0.89 to 0, whereas those of kafirins with feed quality traits, digestibility, and seed weight ranged from –0.45 to 0.48