STUDY OF FOOD LOSSES IN THE DISTRIBUTION PHASES OF THE U.S. FOOD SYSTEM

Agribusiness,

Spectral Response and Spatial Pattern of Fraser Fir Mortality and Regeneration, Great Smoky Mountains, USA

High elevation Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) forests of the Southern Appalachians have undergone widespread mortality since the introduction of the balsam woolly adelgid in the 1950s. Resulting changes in ecosystem pattern and process (e.g., stand dynamic processes) have greatly affected floral and faunal communities. In this project, we integrated field observations, geographic information system topographic models, and 1988–1998 satellite imagery to analyze spatial and temporal conditions of Fraser fir and spruce-fir ecosystems in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Tasseled cap indices (brightness, greenness, and wetness) and associated spectral changes for Landsat TM digital data were statistically modeled by topographic variables. Spectral changes were recorded using change vector analysis (CVA) and spherical geometry at multiple scales: individual sites, local ridges, and across the east-west gradient of the study area. Significant relationships were found between elevation and observed spectral changes and among mountain sites representing the east-west chronosequence of adelgid infestation. Topographic derivatives were related to tasseled cap and CVA measures in summary statistics, regression, and correlation analysis, revealing significantly different mortality and regeneration pathways that were a function of topographic settings. Geographic variations of these vectors also detail the scope of east-west and localized upslope progression of fir mortality. The application of CVA provided the ability to summarize variation in spectral changes (magnitude and direction) and to ascribe measures to mortality and regeneration processes

Summary Proceedings in Direct Contempt Cases

That the power and majesty of the law, personified by the court and its decrees, could not be lightly brushed aside even by a prince was a settled fact by the time of Shakespeare; it remains so today. But the proceedings by which such an offense may be punished is another matter. At the present time a large number of contempts are disposed of by summary proceedings. It was not always so, and recently a number of highly respected judges and writers have begun to argue that the practice should be discontinued. This revival of interest is the raison d\u27etre of this note; it is devoted to considering the history, contemporary status, advantages and disadvantages of summary proceedings in direct contempt cases

Precipitation Trends across the Commonwealth of Virginia (1947 – 2016)

Water is an important resource for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Too much water increases runoff, disrupt transportation networks, and contributes to school closures. Too little water may adversely impact agricultural operations. To improve climate-related information to Virginia citizens, this study assesses means and changes in precipitation across the Commonwealth of Virginia (1947 – 2016). Using daily station-level precipitation data from the Global Historical Climate Network (GHCN), descriptive statistics were calculated for 43 locations in terms of total precipitation (inches decade-1), precipitation days (x\u3e0”), and heavy precipitation days (x\u3e1.0”). On average, locations showed an overall increase in total precipitation across the time period. The frequency of heavy rainfall events has also increased across many of the analyzed locations. Precipitation has important ramifications for agriculture, storm water management, and hazard response, and improved coordination of atmospheric-related information may be beneficial to various stakeholders across the Commonwealth

Plasmas generated by ultra-violet light rather than electron impact

We analyze, in both plane and cylindrical geometries, a collisionless plasma consisting of an inner region where generation occurs by UV illumination, and an un-illuminated outer region with no generation. Ions generated in the inner region flow outwards through the outer region and into a wall. We solve for this system's steady state, first in the quasi-neutral regime (where the Debye length ${\lambda}_D$ vanishes and analytic solutions exist) and then in the general case, which we solve numerically. In the general case a double layer forms where the illuminated and un-illuminated regions meet, and an approximately quasi-neutral plasma connects the double layer to the wall sheath; in plane geometry the ions coast through the quasi-neutral section at slightly more than the Bohm speed $c_s$. The system, although simple, therefore has two novel features: a double layer that does not require counter-streaming ions and electrons, and a quasi-neutral plasma where ions travel in straight lines with at least the Bohm speed. We close with a pr\'{e}cis of our asymptotic solutions of this system, and suggest how our theoretical conclusions might be extended and tested in the laboratory.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Physics of Plasma

Local Compressibility Measurements of Correlated States in Suspended Bilayer Graphene

Bilayer graphene has attracted considerable interest due to the important role played by many-body effects, particularly at low energies. Here we report local compressibility measurements of a suspended graphene bilayer. We find that the energy gaps at filling factors v = 4 do not vanish at low fields, but instead merge into an incompressible region near the charge neutrality point at zero electric and magnetic field. These results indicate the existence of a zero-field ordered state and are consistent with the formation of either an anomalous quantum Hall state or a nematic phase with broken rotational symmetry. At higher fields, we measure the intrinsic energy gaps of broken-symmetry states at v = 0, 1 and 2, and find that they scale linearly with magnetic field, yet another manifestation of the strong Coulomb interactions in bilayer graphene.Comment: 9 pages, including 4 figures and supplementary material

Lantana urticoides Hayek

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/18904/thumbnail.jp

An eighth-century inscribed cross-slab in Dull, Perthshire

The discovery of a cross-inscribed slab with an inscription is described. Because of its importance it was decided to invite specialist comment on this piece of sculpture and to publish it in advance of the full report on the excavations. The form of the monument, its inscription and archaeological context are considered. The text appears to consist of a Gaelic personal name. The script is a form of geometrical lettering which can be dated to the opening quarter of the eighth century. The form of the cross has Columban associations which sit well with place-name and other evidence which points to Dull having been a monastery founded from Iona by c. AD 700

Computing the local pressure in molecular dynamics simulations

Computer simulations of inhomogeneous soft matter systems often require accurate methods for computing the local pressure. We present a simple derivation, based on the virial relation, of two equivalent expressions for the local (atomistic) pressure in a molecular dynamics simulation. One of these expressions, previously derived by other authors via a different route, involves summation over interactions between particles within the region of interest; the other involves summation over interactions across the boundary of the region of interest. We illustrate our derivation using simulations of a simple osmotic system; both expressions produce accurate results even when the region of interest over which the pressure is measured is very small.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Tuning density profiles and mobility of inhomogeneous fluids

Density profiles are the most common measure of inhomogeneous structure in confined fluids, but their connection to transport coefficients is poorly understood. We explore via simulation how tuning particle-wall interactions to flatten or enhance the particle layering of a model confined fluid impacts its self-diffusivity, viscosity, and entropy. Interestingly, interactions that eliminate particle layering significantly reduce confined fluid mobility, whereas those that enhance layering can have the opposite effect. Excess entropy helps to understand and predict these trends.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure