794 research outputs found
Farm to School: A Market Analysis
This paper explores the potential for the National Farm to School Program to effectively engage with Georgia’s public schools in order to reduce local food insecurity and improve the quality of nutrition provided to students. A survey was conducted with the specific goals of assessing: first, the current and future impact Farm to School has and will potentially have on the Georgia economy through schools purchase of local foods; second, the potential market for farmers; third, school administrators willingness to buy local food by Georgia; forth, the level of infrastructure available within schools to prepare fresh, whole foods; and fifth, the perceived opportunities and challenges to buying and preparing local food. University of Georgia collaborated with the Georgia Department of Education and Georgia Organics to develop a survey that met the objectives as defined above. There were twenty-five questions total and most answers were formatted in a multiple-choice selection with an option to write any additional comments. The survey was distributed by the Department of Education to 158 public schools in Georgia, and collected, a total of 93 responses. From the data, it was concluded that the willingness to participate exists, as well as the tools necessary for participation. What appears to be missing is the infrastructure that would allow schools to purchase food easily and frequently. Most schools noted that they would be willing to interact with an online platform that would put them in contact with local growers and sellers.Farm to School, Georgia, Local foods, public schools, survey data for local buying, food security, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty,
Monte Carlo simulation of the turbulent transport of airborne contaminants
A generalized, three-dimensional Monte Carlo model and computer code (SPOOR) are described for simulating atmospheric transport and dispersal of small pollutant clouds. A cloud is represented by a large number of particles that we track by statistically sampling simulated wind and turbulence fields. These fields are based on generalized wind data for large-scale flow and turbulent energy spectra for the micro- and mesoscales. The large-scale field can be input from a climatological data base, or by means of real-time analyses, or from a separate, subjectively defined data base. We introduce the micro- and mesoscale wind fluctuations through a power spectral density, to include effects from a broad spectrum of turbulent-energy scales. The role of turbulence is simulated in both meander and dispersal. Complex flow fields and time-dependent diffusion rates are accounted for naturally, and shear effects are simulated automatically in the ensemble of particle trajectories. An important adjunct has been the development of computer-graphics displays. These include two- and three- dimensional (perspective) snapshots and color motion pictures of particle ensembles, plus running displays of differential and integral cloud characteristics. The model's versatility makes it a valuable atmospheric research tool that we can adapt easily into broader, multicomponent systems- analysis codes. Removal, transformation, dry or wet deposition, and resuspension of contaminant particles can be readily included. (auth
A remotely-operated facility for evaluation of post-combustion CO2 capture technologies on industrial sites
ACTTROM (Advanced Capture Testing in a Transportable Remotely-Operated Minilab) is a transportable test facility for bench-scale evaluation of postcombustion CO2 capture technologies using real industrial flue gases. It is designed to be remote-operable, requiring visits only once per month for maintenance and sample collection. ACTTROM is the first facility of its kind, owned and operated by academia for collaborative research in an industrial environment, and this has resulted in a number of unique developments to facilitate remote operation at an industrial host site. Specifically, it has been necessary to design the unit to automatically correct or mitigate the effects of fault conditions, and to be remotely-monitored via a user interface at 24 hour intervals
Network development in biological gels: role in lymphatic vessel development
In this paper, we present a model that explains the prepatterning of lymphatic vessel morphology in collagen gels. This model is derived using the theory of two phase rubber material due to Flory and coworkers and it consists of two coupled fourth order partial differential equations describing the evolution of the collagen volume fraction, and the evolution of the proton concentration in a collagen implant; as described in experiments of Boardman and Swartz (Circ. Res. 92, 801–808, 2003). Using linear stability analysis, we find that above a critical level of proton concentration, spatial patterns form due to small perturbations in the initially uniform steady state. Using a long wavelength reduction, we can reduce the two coupled partial differential equations to one fourth order equation that is very similar to the Cahn–Hilliard equation; however, it has more complex nonlinearities and degeneracies. We present the results of numerical simulations and discuss the biological implications of our model
Tunneling and propagation of vacuum bubbles on dynamical backgrounds
In the context of bubble universes produced by a first-order phase transition
with large nucleation rates compared to the inverse dynamical time scale of the
parent bubble, we extend the usual analysis to non-vacuum backgrounds. In
particular, we provide semi-analytic and numerical results for the modified
nucleation rate in FLRW backgrounds, as well as a parameter study of bubble
walls propagating into inhomogeneous (LTB) or FLRW spacetimes, both in the
thin-wall approximation. We show that in our model, matter in the background
often prevents bubbles from successful expansion and forces them to collapse.
For cases where they do expand, we give arguments why the effects on the
interior spacetime are small for a wide range of reasonable parameters and
discuss the limitations of the employed approximations.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, typos corrected, matches published versio
Final State Rescattering and Color-suppressed \bar B^0-> D^{(*)0} h^0 Decays
The color-suppressed \bar B^0-> D^{(*)0}\pi^0, D^{(*)0}\eta, D^0\omega decay
modes have just been observed for the first time. The rates are all larger than
expected, hinting at the presence of final state interactions. Considering \bar
B^0-> D^{(*)0}\pi^0 mode alone, an elastic D^{(*)}\pi -> D^{(*)}\pi
rescattering phase difference \delta \equiv \delta_{1/2} - \delta_{3/2} \sim
30^\circ would suffice, but the \bar B^0-> D^{(*)0}\eta, D^0\omega modes compel
one to extend the elastic formalism to SU(3) symmetry. We find that a universal
a_2/a_1=0.25 and two strong phase differences 20^\circ \sim \theta < \delta <
\delta^\prime \sim 50^\circ can describe both DP and D^*P modes rather well;
the large phase of order 50^\circ is needed to account for the strength of {\it
both} the D^{(*)0}\pi^0 and D^{(*)0}\eta modes. For DV modes, the nonet
symmetry reduces the number of physical phases to just one, giving better
predictive power. Two solutions are found. We predict the rates of the \bar
B^0-> D^{+}_s K^-, D^{*+}_s K^-, D^0\rho^0, D^+_s K^{*-} and D^0\phi modes, as
well as \bar B^0-> D^{0}\bar K^0, D^{*0}\bar K^0, D^{0}\bar K^{*0} modes. The
formalism may have implications for rates and CP asymmetries of charmless
modes.Comment: REVTeX4, 18 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Final-State Phases in , and Decays
The final-state phases in , and decays
appear to follow a pattern similar to those in , , and decays. Each set of processes is characterized by
three charge states but only two independent amplitudes, so the amplitudes form
triangles in the complex plane. For the first two sets the triangles appear to
have non-zero area, while for the or decays the areas
of the triangles are consistent with zero. Following an earlier discussion of
this behavior for decays, a similar analysis is performed for B decays, and
the relative phases and magnitudes of contributing amplitudes are determined.
The significance of recent results on \ob \to D^{(*)0} \bar{K}^{(*)0} is
noted. Open theoretical and experimental questions are indicated.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 3 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Rev. D.
References added; comments on new experimental results and analysi
Testing metric-affine f(R)-gravity by relic scalar gravitational waves
We discuss the emergence of scalar gravitational waves in metric-affine
f(R)-gravity. Such a component allows to discriminate between metric and
metric-affine theories The intrinsic meaning of this result is that the
geodesic structure of the theory can be discriminated. We extend the formalism
of cross correlation analysis, including the additional polarization mode, and
calculate the detectable energy density of the spectrum for cosmological relic
gravitons. The possible detection of the signal is discussed against
sensitivities of VIRGO, LIGO and LISA interferometers.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Screened Coulomb interactions in metallic alloys: I. Universal screening in the atomic sphere approximation
We have used the locally self-consistent Green's function (LSGF) method in
supercell calculations to establish the distribution of the net charges
assigned to the atomic spheres of the alloy components in metallic alloys with
different compositions and degrees of order. This allows us to determine the
Madelung potential energy of a random alloy in the single-site mean field
approximation which makes the conventional single-site density-functional-
theory coherent potential approximation (SS-DFT-CPA) method practically
identical to the supercell LSGF method with a single-site local interaction
zone that yields an exact solution of the DFT problem. We demonstrate that the
basic mechanism which governs the charge distribution is the screening of the
net charges of the alloy components that makes the direct Coulomb interactions
short-ranged. In the atomic sphere approximation, this screening appears to be
almost independent of the alloy composition, lattice spacing, and crystal
structure. A formalism which allows a consistent treatment of the screened
Coulomb interactions within the single-site mean-filed approximation is
outlined. We also derive the contribution of the screened Coulomb interactions
to the S2 formalism and the generalized perturbation method.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figure
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