On the robust thermodynamical structures against arbitrary entropy form and energy mean value

We discuss that the thermodynamical Legendre transform structure can be retained not only for the arbitrary entropic form but also for the arbitrary form of the energy constraints by following the discussion of Plastino and Plastino. The thermodynamic relation between the expectation values and the conjugate Lagrange multipliers are seen to be universal. Furthermore, Gibbs' fundamental equation is shown to be unaffected by the choice of the entropy and the definition of the mean values due to the robustness of the Legendre transform structure.Comment: 4 pages, no figures, svjour.sty, to be published in Euro.Phys.J.

de Bruijn-type identity for systems with flux

We show that an information-theoretic relation called the de Bruijn-type identity can be reformulated in a physical context with probability currents. The time derivatives of relative entropies under the continuity equation are presented, which shows that the conservation of distance between a pair of distributions is generally not guaranteed. As an important implication of these results, we discuss and present a possible conceptual framework for the classical no-cloning (deleting) theorem and qualitatively assert that we can attribute the perfect performance of the operating machine to the openness (non-vanishing flow at boundaries between the processing machine and the system) during the process.Comment: 8 pages, no figur

Fluctuation of gauge field for general nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation and covariant version of Fisher information matrix

We clarify a strong link between general nonlinear Fokker-Planck equations with gauge fields associated with nonequilibrium dynamics and the Fisher information of the system. The notion of Abelian gauge theory for the non-equilibrium Fokker-Planck equation has proposed in the literature, in which the associated curvature represents internal geometry. We present the fluctuation of the gauge field can be decomposed into three parts. We further show that if we define the Fisher information matrix by using a covariant derivative then it gives correlation of the flux components but it is not gauge invariant.Comment: 6 pages, no figur

Josephson Effect in Noncentrosymmetric Superconductor Junctions

We discuss the Josephson current between two noncentrosymmetric superconductors. The coexistence of superconducting order parameters between spin-singlet $\Delta_{\text{S}}$ and helical p-wave spin-triplet $\Delta_{\text{T}}$ enriches a variety of low-temperature behavior of Josephson current depending on their relative amplitudes. We will show that characteristic behaviors of the Josephson current for $\Delta_{\text{S}} > \Delta_{\text{T}}$ are clearly different from those for $\Delta_{\text{S}} < \Delta_{\text{T}}$. The topologically protected zero-energy surface bound states are responsible for the clear difference. We conclude that the Josephson current well reflects character of the topological surface states and the pairing symmetry of noncentrosymmetric superconductors.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures embedde

The Impacts of Hurricane Mitch on Child Health: Evidence from Nicaragua

By taking a rare opportunity to have both pre- and post-disaster survey data in Nicaragua in 1998 and 2001, we estimate the direct impacts of Hurricane Mitch on long-term child health status, measured in height-for-age z-scores, in the pooled cross section model. Especially, we focus on children who were younger than 2.5 years old at the time of Hurricane Mitch because the previous studies show that children under two to three years old are especially vulnerable to shocks. The results indicate that, in the 2001 survey, more than two years after experiencing Hurricane Mitch, children who were younger than 2.5 years old at the time of Hurricane Mitch have 0.35 points lower HAZ-scores and have 6.6 percent higher probability of stunting than expected. Although the poor health status of these children could not be attributed entirely to Hurricane Mitch, we suspect that it is one of the main factors. The results suggest the importance of safety nets programs to mitigate negative impacts on child health in their early childhood.Health Economics and Policy, I3, O13, Q51, Q54,

The Possibility of a Green Revolution in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Kenya

It is widely believed that a Green Revolution similar to the one achieved in Asia is impossible in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although grain yields have been stagnant in this region, there are some signs of the intensification of farming systems in the face of growing population pressure on limited land resources. In this paper we focus on the new farming system based on the use of manure produced by dairy cows, which may be termed an “Organic Green Revolution.†Using the farm household data collected from Kenya, this paper demonstrates that the Organic Green Revolution has a potential of doubling maize yields in highlands of Kenya.Green Revolution, Agricultural Revolution, Organic Green Revolution, dairy cows, manure, chemical fertilizer, maize yield, International Development,

Soil fertility, fertilizer, and the maize green revolution in East Africa

This paper investigates the reasons for the low application of external fertilizers on farms in Kenya and Uganda. The analysis uses a large panel of household data with rich soil fertility data at the plot level. The authors control for maize seed selection and household effects by using a fixed-effects semi-parametric endogenous switching model. The results suggest that Kenyan maize farmers have applied inorganic fertilizer at the optimal level, corresponding to the high nitrogen-maize relative price, in one of the two survey years and also responded to the price change over time. In Uganda, even the low application of inorganic fertilizer is not profitable because of its high relative price. The authors conclude that policies that reduce the relative price of fertilizer could be effective in both countries, while the efficacy of policies based on improving farmers'knowledge about fertilizer use will be limited as long as the relative price of fertilizer remains high.Crops&Crop Management Systems,Climate Change and Agriculture,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Fertilizers,Food Security