Heterogenous Beliefs and Tests of Present Value Models

This paper develops a dynamic asset pricing model with persistent heterogeneous beliefs. The model features competitive traders who receive idiosyncratic signals about an underlying fundamentals process. We adapt Futia’s (1981) frequency domain methods to derive conditions on the fundamentals that guarantee noninvertibility of the mapping between observed market data and the underlying shocks to agents’ information sets. When these conditions are satisfied, agents must ‘forecast the forecasts of others’. The additional dynamics of the heterogeneous beliefs equilibrium can account for observed violations of variance bounds, predictability of excess returns, and rejections of cross-equation restrictions

Replacement of Chlorination Treatment for Cake Flours

Established and supported under the Australian Government’s Cooperative Research Centre Progra

Bull Nutrition

Bull nutrition is often overlooked by many producers, except when problems arise. Bulls are often managed as one group even though there may be large differences in age, size, and body condition. Seedstock producers are the primary individuals managing the development program of bulls being sold. For commercial producers, feeding programs usually include feeding purchased bull(s) from delivery until the breeding season and bulls retained from one breeding season to the next. The debate over the correct method for developing bulls is not settled: Should you develop bulls at a moderate rate of gain? Or should you develop bulls on a ration that is capable of supporting high rates of gain so genetic differences can be measured for selection and marketing purposes? Bulls put into many bull test stations are placed on rations to support high rates of gain. Many seedstock producers have established specific feeding programs to fit the desired animal performance (where bulls show their genetic potential and are cost efficient)

Nutrient Requirements of Beef Cattle

Feed cost has been estimated to account for approxi¬mately 70% of the expenses associated with a beef cattle operation. The consequences of under- or overfeeding beef cows can be substantial. Underfeeding cows can result in thin body condition, poor reproductive performance, and poor milk production. On the other hand, overfeeding can be unnecessarily expensive, increase calving difficulty, reduce milk production, and potentially have a negative impact on the environment. To effectively balance diets, it is essential to know the nutrient requirements of the animal. Demand for nutrients can vary by numerous factors. However, the requirements defined in this publication will only address variability associated with animal size, stage of production, and milk production. When applying these requirements to cows in excessively cold or hot climates, adjustments will be neces¬sary to achieve predicted animal performance. Throughout this publication, all nutrient requirements are expressed as either % or parts per million (ppm) of the diet dry matter (DM). Parts per million may also be expressed as milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg). With the exception of water, nutrients are supplied to the animal only from the DM portion of the diet. As such, it is essential to convert the amount of each ingredient from an as-fed basis (AF) to a DM basis. A worksheet has been included at the end of this publication to facilitate that conversion

Hybrid Bridge-Based Memetic Algorithms for Finding Bottlenecks in Complex Networks

We propose a memetic approach to find bottlenecks in complex networks based on searching for a graph partitioning with minimum conductance. Finding the optimum of this problem, also known in statistical mechanics as the Cheeger constant, is one of the most interesting NP-hard network optimisation problems. The existence of low conductance minima indicates bottlenecks in complex networks. However, the problem has not yet been explored in depth in the context of applied discrete optimisation and evolu- tionary approaches to solve it. In this paper, the use of a memetic frame- work is explored to solve the minimum condutance problem. The approach combines a hybrid method of initial population generation based on bridge identification and local optima sampling with a steady-state evolutionary process with two local search subroutines. These two local search subrou- tines have complementary qualities. Efficiency of three crossover operators is explored, namely one-point crossover, uniform crossover, and our own par- tition crossover. Experimental results are presented for both artificial and real-world complex networks. Results for Barab ́asi-Albert model of scale-free networks are presented, as well as results for samples of social networks and protein-protein interaction networks. These indicate that both well-informed initial population generation and the use of a crossover seem beneficial in solving the problem in large-scale

Victimization, Physical Activity, and Affective Outcomes During Recess in Students with and Without Disabilities

Research has revealed that school recess is often challenged by a social landscape that can undermine opportunities for positive interactions and meaningful play. This study assessed differences in levels of inside and outside recess enjoyment, positive and negative affect, peer belongingness, victimization, and physical activity between students with and without a disability. The sample consisted of 337 students in grades 4 through 8 from 14 elementary schools in southern Ontario, Canada. Of these, 31 students reported having a disability and 306 reported none. Data was collected through a 36-item online survey. Results revealed that those with a disability scored significantly (p < .01) higher on measures of enjoyment of inside recess, negative affect, and victimization while significantly lower in positive affect and outside recess enjoyment, peer belongingness, and physical activity. Children with a disability may benefit from a recess climate with more psychosocial supports. Key words: play, disabilities, playground, emotions, perspectives La recherche a révélé que les récréations à l’école sont souvent modelées par un paysage social qui peut miner les possibilités d’entreprendre des interactions positives et les occasions de jeu significatif. Cette étude a évalué les différences entre les élèves avec un handicap et les élèves sans handicap quant aux facteurs suivants : le niveau de plaisir ressenti pendant les récréations à l’intérieur et les récréations à l’extérieur; les affects positifs and négatifs; le sentiment d’appartenance au groupe de pairs; la victimisation; et l’activité physique. Notre échantillon regroupait 337 élèves de la 4e à la 8e année provenant de 14 écoles élémentaires dans le sud de l’Ontario, au Canada. Parmi ceux-ci, 31 élèves ont déclaré avoir un handicap et 306 ont indiqué ne pas avoir de handicap. Les données ont été recueillies par un sondage en ligne à 36 questions. Les résultats indiquent que la cote pour les élèves avec un handicap était significativement supérieure (p < .01) pour les mesures portant sur le plaisir ressenti pendant les récréations à l’intérieur, l’affect négatif et la victimisation. Leur cote était significativement inférieure pour les mesures portant sur l’affect négatif, le plaisir ressenti pendant les récréations à l’extérieur, le sentiment d’appartenance au groupe de pairs et l’activité physique. Les enfants ayant un handicap pourraient bénéficier de récréations dont le milieu présente plus de supports psychosociaux. Mots clés : jeu, handicaps, terrain de jeux, émotions, perspective

Bull Management and Nutrition

Proper management and nutrition of bulls is essential to ensure cow/calf producers maximize reproductive efficiency and genetic improvement of the calf crop. In addition, the herd bull influences overall herd fertility more than any other single animal, and loss of fertility by a bull can cause substantial loss to a potential calf crop. Each cow produces one calf per year; however, bulls should contribute to the calf crop by 25 to 60 times via siring 25 to 60 calves. Additionally, bulls influence their daughters’ production in the cow herd. Therefore, bull selection can be the most powerful method of genetic improvement in the herd, but bulls with low fertility, structural problems and low libido reduce the percent calf crop weaned

Bull Management and Nutrition

Proper management and nutrition of bulls is essential to ensure cow/calf producers maximize reproductive efficiency and genetic improvement of the calf crop. In addition, the herd bull influences overall herd fertility more than any other single animal, and loss of fertility by a bull can cause substantial loss to a potential calf crop. Each cow produces one calf per year; however, bulls should contribute to the calf crop by 25 to 60 times via siring 25 to 60 calves. Additionally, bulls influence their daughters’ production in the cow herd. Therefore, bull selection can be the most powerful method of genetic improvement in the herd, but bulls with low fertility, structural problems and low libido reduce the percent calf crop weaned

The Ultraviolet Follow-On Observatory (UFO)

Prime Solutions Group, Inc. (PSG) in partnerships with Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Illinois, and the Astronomy Association of Arizona (AAA) are proposing the development, launch and operation of a 12U CubeSat mission for stellar astronomy. The stellar observatory mission will consist of a space-based UV/optical telescope system designated as the Ultraviolet Follow-on Observatory (UFO). This proposed CubeSat will be a 12U system housing a 250mm telescope and designed for a four-year plus mission timeline in high Earth orbit. A camera capturing simultaneous UV/optical observations will first be developed and tested on a ground-based telescope before being designed and integrated into the CubeSat. UFO will follow in the footsteps of the successful launch and operation of the Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) and the planned launch of the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS) which are paving the way for this new era in CubeSat space-based astronomy. The operation of UFO (240nm to 390nm (UVC, UVB, UVA)) will expand on these missions. This will demonstrate that small telescope observations in the ultraviolet frequency can provide valuable data to the astronomical science community and will help fill a critical need in the observational ultraviolet astronomy gap until NASA’s Large UV/Optical/IR Surveyor (LUVOIR) mission launches in the early 2040s timeframe

Coping with High-Priced Corn

Feed costs represent 50 to 70% of livestock production expenses and are a critical component of livestock profitability. In the Upper Midwest and Upper Great Plains, corn grain is a primary source of energy in livestock diets. Consequently, as the price of corn escalates, so does the cost of feeding livestock. But cost isn’t all: you also must address dietary and management considerations when coping with increased corn prices