Simsor: A Computer Simulation of Water Sorption in Wood

SIMSOR, a computerized simulation of sorption, represents an effort to structure the known essential physical phenomena that control the drying behavior of wood in such a way as to permit the duplication, with acceptable accuracy and cost, of experimental data obtained from actual drying studies. Programming knowledge is not required for its use. It can accurately simulate a typical red oak kiln schedule in less than one minute of computer time. It will handle adsorption or desorption, from freezing temperatures to boiling temperatures, and at humidities from virtually 100% to nearly 0%. Wood of any thickness and density, permeable or impermeable, can be simulated over any desired range of wood moisture content. However, its use to duplicate experimental data requires that the diffusion coefficient be adequately defined over the entire applicable range of moisture contents. At present, this will generally require a trial and-error approach, especially in the free water range. Free water is treated the same as bound water, but the temperature dependence may be canceled, if desired.Although the simulation has already been proven under a variety of trials, it still needs to be tested under the widest possible range of applications. Wherever duplication of experimental data proves the validity of the simulation, it can then be used to provide a much more comprehensive analysis of wood-drying procedures and variables, and in far less time at far less cost, than is possible by actual physical trials

A Numerical Model for Heat Transfer and Moisture Evaporation Processes in Hot-Press Drying—An Integral Approach

A numerical model, which was based on the energy principle that the rate of water evaporation from the interface (or wet line) at a given time during hot-press drying was controlled by the rate of heat energy reaching the interface at that time, has been developed. The model treated the drying as a process in which the retreat of the interface and free water flow to the interface occur simultaneously. After all parameters were determined according to the available literature and experiments, the numerical model worked well in predicting the drying curves from process and material variables. The model, which has a sound theoretical base but is numerically simple, has a good potential to be expanded for general high temperature drying and to be adopted in a production line to presort the lumber for good drying practice

Dynamical Solution of the On-Line Minority Game

We solve the dynamics of the on-line minority game, with general types of decision noise, using generating functional techniques a la De Dominicis and the temporal regularization procedure of Bedeaux et al. The result is a macroscopic dynamical theory in the form of closed equations for correlation- and response functions defined via an effective continuous-time single-trader process, which are exact in both the ergodic and in the non-ergodic regime of the minority game. Our solution also explains why, although one cannot formally truncate the Kramers-Moyal expansion of the process after the Fokker-Planck term, upon doing so one still finds the correct solution, that the previously proposed diffusion matrices for the Fokker-Planck term are incomplete, and how previously proposed approximations of the market volatility can be traced back to ergodicity assumptions.Comment: 25 pages LaTeX, no figure

Changes in Depression and Stress after Release from a Tobacco-Free Prison in the United States

Prior research has found high levels of depression and stress among persons who are incarcerated in the United States (U.S.). However, little is known about changes in depression and stress levels among inmates post-incarceration. The aim of this study was to examine changes in levels of depression and stress during and after incarceration in a tobacco-free facility. Questionnaires that included valid and reliable measures of depression and stress were completed by 208 male and female inmates approximately eight weeks before and three weeks after release from a northeastern U.S. prison. Although most inmates improved after prison, 30.8% had a worsening in levels of depression between baseline and the three-week follow-up. In addition, 29.8% had a worsening in levels of stress after release than during incarceration. While it is not surprising that the majority of inmates reported lower levels of depression and stress post-incarceration, a sizable minority had an increase in symptoms, suggesting that environmental stressors may be worse in the community than in prison for some inmates. Further research is needed to address depression and stress levels during and after incarceration in order for inmates to have a healthier transition back into the community and to prevent repeat incarcerations

Corporate governance and financial constraints on strategic turnarounds

The paper extends the Robbins and Pearce (1992) two-stage turnaround response model to include governance factors. In addition to the retrenchment and recovery, the paper proposes the addition of a realignment stage, referring specifically to the re-alignment of expectations of principal and agent groups. The realignment stage imposes a threshold that must be crossed before the retrenchment and hence recovery stage can be entered. Crossing this threshold is problematic to the extent that the interests of governance-stakeholder groups diverge in a crisis situation. The severity of the crisis impacts on the bases of strategy contingent asset valuation leading to the fragmentation of stakeholder interests. In some cases the consequence may be that management are prevented from carrying out turnarounds by governance constraints. The paper uses a case study to illustrate these dynamics, and like the Robbins and Pearce study, it focuses on the textile industry. A longitudinal approach is used to show the impact of the removal of governance constraints. The empirical evidence suggests that such financial constraints become less serious to the extent that there is a functioning market for corporate control. Building on governance research and turnaround literature, the paper also outlines the general case necessary and sufficient conditions for successful turnarounds

Festchrift: A Collection of Essays on Architectural History

A collection of essays on architectural history prepared by the Northern Pacific Coast Chapter Society of Architectural Historians dedicated to Professor Marion Dean Ross, chapter founder, on the occasion of his 65th birthday

Time-lapse imagery and volunteer classifications from the Zooniverse Penguin Watch project

Automated time-lapse cameras can facilitate reliable and consistent monitoring of wild animal populations. In this report, data from 73,802 images taken by 15 different Penguin Watch cameras are presented, capturing the dynamics of penguin (Spheniscidae; Pygoscelis spp.) breeding colonies across the Antarctic Peninsula, South Shetland Islands and South Georgia (03/2012 to 01/2014). Citizen science provides a means by which large and otherwise intractable photographic data sets can be processed, and here we describe the methodology associated with the Zooniverse project Penguin Watch, and provide validation of the method. We present anonymised volunteer classifications for the 73,802 images, alongside the associated metadata (including date/time and temperature information). In addition to the benefits for ecological monitoring, such as easy detection of animal attendance patterns, this type of annotated time-lapse imagery can be employed as a training tool for machine learning algorithms to automate data extraction, and we encourage the use of this data set for computer vision development

Perennial ryegrass grown for seed (western Oregon) [2005]

Perennial ryegrass is grown for turf or forage seed on a broad range of soils in western Oregon. All perennial ryegrass varieties are similar in their nutrient requirements. Typical seed yield is between 1,400 and 1,800 lb/acre. Higher seed yields (up to 2,500 lb/acre) may be produced on better soils, but higher yields do not require additional nutrients. Plant growth regulators often are used to increase perennial ryegrass yields, but they do not increase the need for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, or sulfur fertilizer. Appropriate management practices from seedbed preparation to harvest must be performed in a timely manner for optimum yield. Low soil pH, poor drainage, insects, diseases, and weeds all reduce seed yield. Increasing fertilizer rates when nutrients already are in adequate supply will not compensate for other limiting factors.Revised August 2005. Replaced by EM 9086. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo

Ernst Freund as Precursor of the Rational Study of Corporate Law

Gindis, David, Ernst Freund as Precursor of the Rational Study of Corporate Law (October 27, 2017). Journal of Institutional Economics, Forthcoming. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2905547, doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2905547The rise of large business corporations in the late 19th century compelled many American observers to admit that the nature of the corporation had yet to be understood. Published in this context, Ernst Freund's little-known The Legal Nature of Corporations (1897) was an original attempt to come to terms with a new legal and economic reality. But it can also be described, to paraphrase Oliver Wendell Holmes, as the earliest example of the rational study of corporate law. The paper shows that Freund had the intuitions of an institutional economist, and engaged in what today would be called comparative institutional analysis. Remarkably, his argument that the corporate form secures property against insider defection and against outsiders anticipated recent work on entity shielding and capital lock-in, and can be read as an early contribution to what today would be called the theory of the firm.Peer reviewe

Fine fescue seed (western Oregon - west of Cascades) [2003]

Three types of fine fescue—Chewings, red, and hard— are typically grown for turf seed on Jory or Nekia soils in the foothills of the Willamette Valley. Recommendations in this guide assume production in this setting and are based on research from large and small plots throughout the area. During the past 40 years, research conducted by Oregon State University on fine fescue seed production has addressed lime application, nutrient or fertilizer application, and straw management practices.Revised August 2003. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo