Calibration update of the COMBO-17 CDFS catalogue

We present an update to the photometric calibration of the COMBO-17 catalogue on the Extended Chandra Deep Field South, which is now consistent with the GaBoDS and MUSYC catalogues. As a result, photometric redshifts become slightly more accurate, with <0.01 rms and little bias in the delta_z/(1+z) of galaxies with R<21 and of QSOs with R<24. With increasing photon noise the rms of galaxies reaches 0.02 for R<23 and 0.035 at R~23.5. Consequences for the rest-frame colours of galaxies at z<1 are discussed.Comment: A&A research note, resubmitted 02 Oct 2008, 4 pages in print forma

Procyclical prices: a demi-myth?

This paper critically reevaluates recent claims that the postwar U.S. price level exhibits countercyclicality. While overall countercyclicality is confirmed, temporal disaggregation suggests a shift from pro- to countercyclicality in the early 1970s. Furthermore, the countercyclicality is markedly more pronounced for negative than for positive output innovations. The evidence thus casts doubt on single-source business cycle explanations.Prices ; Business cycles

Atrazine Degradation, Sorption and Bioconcentration in Water Systems

The herbicide atrazine is used extensively to control broadleaf and grass weeds in such crops as sorghum and corn. A small portion of the atrazine may be lost from the area of application by surface runoff and could enter a stream or lake. The objective of this study was to evaluate atrazine degradation, sorption, and bioconcentration in watersediment systems. The results indicated that sediments with lower pH values and higher organic matter levels adsorbed higher levels of atrazine than sediments with neutral pH values and lower organic matter levels. Microbial decomposition of the herbicide was slow under the conditions of this study. Accumulation of atrazine by microorganisms in an aqueous system was demonstrated4 The results indicated that the organic fraction of a water system may be the most important adsorption ccmponent. Data from this study will be useful in assessing the ramifications of herbicides in aquatic ecosystems and provide a better understanding of the reactions of herbicides in sediment-water systans

Exact solutions of semilinear radial Schrodinger equations by separation of group foliation variables

Explicit solutions are obtained for a class of semilinear radial Schrodinger equations with power nonlinearities in multi-dimensions. These solutions include new similarity solutions and other new group-invariant solutions, as well as new solutions that are not invariant under any symmetries of this class of equations. Many of the solutions have interesting analytical behavior connected with blow-up and dispersion. Several interesting nonlinearity powers arise in these solutions, including the case of the critical (pseudo-conformal) power. In contrast, standard symmetry reduction methods lead to nonlinear ODEs for which few if any explicit solutions can be derived by standard integration methods.Comment: typos have been corrected; 30 pages, 3 tables; published versio