COMPARISON OF CONVENTIONAL AND TRANSGENIC TECHNOLOGIES UNDER ALTERNATIVE CULTURAL PRACTICES FOR COTTON IN GEORGIA

This study was conducted to determine allocative efficiency and cost effectiveness of growing conventional and transgenic cotton varieties under alternative cultural practices in South Georgia. A data envelopment model was used to compare costs and returns associated with various combinations of tillage and technology. The results suggest that combination of genetically modified cotton varieties and strip till cultivation practices yields a more efficient use of inputs relative to the level of output.Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Falco Peregrinus Pealei in Ohio : An Error

Author Institution: Section of Ecology and Systematics, Langmuir Laboratory, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14805A specimen of peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus from Ohio, originally erroneously assigned to the Pacific Coast population F. p. pealei, is an individual of the nearly expirant eastern forest-inhabiting F. p. ana turn

Modeling of Circulation Zone and Shear Layers in Coaxial Injectors

Gaseous/gaseous hydrogen oxygen shear coaxial injectors were modeled to investigate grid parameters affecting solution and to determine if a steady state solution might exist if only one circulation zone was present. The General Equation Mesh Solver (GEMS), which implements the Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations with the k-ω turbulence model, was used to conduct the study. The Gambit grid generator was used to construct computational grids. Different grids were compared in a search for the optimum configuration while residual levels were monitored in search of a steady state solution

A critique of the nouthetic counseling technique of Jay E. Adams

Jay E. Adams, a popular writer of counseling material primarily for evangelicals is examined on the theory and practice of nouthetic counseling. Nouthetic counseling is seen primarily as a confrontational approach utilizing a literal interpretation of scripture as the basis for counselor directed change. Adams is evaluated on his application of scripture in the counseling process. His nouthetic approach is compared and contrasted with other pastoral care counselors as well as some traditional and non-traditional theories of psychiatry. Most of the comparison takes place through conversational dialogue which highlights differences and similarities in philosophies and techniques. A primary contention is that Adams has simply appropriated the Reality Therapy technique of William Glasser to a theological context thus nullifying his claim of originality. Final evaluations and conclusions weigh the relative worth of nouthetic confrontation based upon the research which was conducted. Adams’ technique of nouthetic confrontation is seen as having a very limited basis for application. His extensive use of scripture is deemed inappropriate to many situations and nouthetic counseling borders closely on being characterized as judgmental moralism

Evolution of Phase-Space Density in Dark Matter Halos

The evolution of the phase-space density profile in dark matter (DM) halos is investigated by means of constrained simulations, designed to control the merging history of a given DM halo. Halos evolve through a series of quiescent phases of a slow accretion intermitted by violent events of major mergers. In the quiescent phases the density of the halo closely follows the NFW profile and the phase-space density profile, Q(r), is given by the Taylor & Navarro power law, r^{-beta}, where beta ~ 1.9 and stays remarkably stable over the Hubble time. Expressing the phase-space density by the NFW parameters, Q(r)=Qs (r/Rs)^{-beta}, the evolution of Q is determined by Qs. We have found that the effective mass surface density within Rs, Sigma_s = rhos Rs, remains constant throughout the evolution of a given DM halo along the main branch of its merging tree. This invariance entails that Qs ~ Rs^{-5/2} and Q(r) ~ Sigma_s^{-1/2} Rs^{-5/2} (r/ Rs)^{-beta}. It follows that the phase-space density remains constant, in the sense of Qs=const., in the quiescent phases and it decreases as Rs^{-5/2} in the violent ones. The physical origin of the NFW density profile and the phase-space density power law is still unknown. Yet, the numerical experiments show that halos recover these relations after the violent phases. The major mergers drive Rs to increase and Qs to decrease discontinuously while keeping Qs Rs^{5/2} = const. The virial equilibrium in the quiescent phases implies that a DM halos evolves along a sequence of NFW profiles with constant energy per unit volume (i.e., pressure) within Rs.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted by the Astrophysical Journal. Revised, 2 figures adde

Fluctuation Spectrum from a Scalar-Tensor Bimetric Gravity Theory

Predictions of the CMB spectrum from a bimetric gravity theory (gr-qc/0101126) are presented. The initial inflationary period in BGT is driven by a vanishingly small speed of gravitational waves v_g in the very early universe. This initial inflationary period is insensitive to the choice of scalar field potential and initial values of the scalar field. After this initial period of inflation, v_g will increase rapidly and the effects of a potential will become important. We show that a quadratic potential introduced into BGT yields an approximately flat spectrum with inflation parameters: n_s=0.98, n_t=-0.027, alpha_s=-3.2e-4 and alpha_t=-5.0e-4, with r >= 0.014.Comment: 14 pages, uses amsmath, amssym

Data Discovery and Anomaly Detection Using Atypicality: Theory

A central question in the era of 'big data' is what to do with the enormous amount of information. One possibility is to characterize it through statistics, e.g., averages, or classify it using machine learning, in order to understand the general structure of the overall data. The perspective in this paper is the opposite, namely that most of the value in the information in some applications is in the parts that deviate from the average, that are unusual, atypical. We define what we mean by 'atypical' in an axiomatic way as data that can be encoded with fewer bits in itself rather than using the code for the typical data. We show that this definition has good theoretical properties. We then develop an implementation based on universal source coding, and apply this to a number of real world data sets.Comment: 40 page

Structure Formation Inside Triaxial Dark Matter Halos: Galactic Disks, Bulges and Bars

We investigate the formation and evolution of galactic disks immersed in assembling live DM halos. Disk/halo components have been evolved from the cosmological initial conditions and represent the collapse of an isolated density perturbation. The baryons include gas (which participates in star formation [SF]) and stars. The feedback from the stellar energy release onto the ISM has been implemented. We find that (1) The growing triaxial halo figure tumbling is insignificant and the angular momentum (J) is channeled into the internal circulation; (2) Density response of the disk is out of phase with the DM, thus diluting the inner halo flatness and washing out its prolateness; (3) The total J is neathly conserved, even in models accounting for feedback; (4) The specific J for the DM is nearly constant, while that for baryons is decreasing; (5) Early stage of disk formation resembles the cat's cradle -- a small amorphous disk fueled via radial string patterns; (6) The initially puffed up gas component in the disk thins when the SF rate drops below ~5 Mo/yr; (7) About 40%-60% of the baryons remain outside the SF region; (8) Rotation curves appear to be flat and account for the observed disk/halo contributions; (9) A range of bulge-dominated to bulgeless disks was obtained; Lower density threshold for SF leads to a smaller, thicker disk; Gravitational softening in the gas has a substantial effect on various aspects of galaxy evolution and mimics a number of intrinsic processes within the ISM; (10) The models are characterized by an extensive bar-forming activity; (11) Nuclear bars, dynamically coupled and decoupled form in response to the gas inflow along the primary bars.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures, accepted by the Astrophysical Journal. Minor revisions. The high-resolution figures can be found at http://www.pa.uky.edu/~shlosman/research/galdyn/figs07a

Collisional Hardening of Compact Binaries in Globular Clusters

We consider essential mechanisms for orbit-shrinkage or "hardening" of compact binaries in globular clusters to the point of Roche-lobe contact and X-ray emission phase, focussing on the process of collisional hardening due to encounters between binaries and single stars in the cluster core. The interplay between this kind of hardening and that due to emission of gravitational radiation produces a characteristic scaling of the orbit-shrinkage time with the single-star binary encounter rate $\gamma$ in the cluster which we introduce, clarify, and explore. We investigate possible effects of this scaling on populations of X-ray binaries in globular clusters within the framework of a simple "toy" scheme for describing the evolution of pre-X-ray binaries in globular clusters. We find the expected qualitative trends sufficiently supported by data on X-ray binaries in galactic globular clusters to encourage us toward a more quantitative study.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA