Optimum Land Allocation for Species Protection and Military Training on DoD Installations

Replaced with revised version of poster 8/11/10.Environmental Economics and Policy, Health Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

Bi-cropping of winter wheat and white clover.

End of Project ReportGrowing cereals in a leguminous living mulch (bi-cropping) could potentially reduce the need for synthetic inputs to cereal production while preventing losses of nutrients and increasing soil biological activity. The objective of this project was to investigate how bi-cropping (a low input production system for cereals) would compare with conventional winter wheat production systems in terms of total biomass, grain yield and biological diversity. This study has resulted in valuable information on bi-cropping being generated as well as identifying the potential benefits that can be expected under Irish conditions. While the results indicate that winter wheat can be successfully established in an understorey of white clover if sown early in good conditions, competition from grass weed species represents a serious impediment to successful bi-cropping in the longer term. Consequently further research is needed before such a system can be presented to the agricultural community.European Union Framework Programm

On Persistent Poverty in a Rich Country

We examine differences in income within the U.S., and the regions of persistent poverty that have arisen, using a newly assembled dataset of counties that links historical 19th century Census data with contemporaneous data. The data, along with an augmented human capital growth model, permit us to identify the roles of contemporaneous differences in aggregate production technologies and factor endowments, in conjunction with the historical roles of institutions, culture, geography, and human capital. We allow for possible cross-county factor mobility via a correlated random effects GMM estimator that identifies simultaneously the coefficients on time varying and time-invariant determinants of income. We find evidence of significant regional differences in production technologies, but our decompositions of the poor/non-poor income gap suggests that at least three fourths of the gap is explained by differences in productive factors. Persistently poor counties are different (and poorer) primarily because they have lower levels of factors of production, not because they use the factors they have less efficiently. While much of the income difference is explained by contemporary factors, the contribution of historical levels of human capital is surprisingly large. The combined contribution of historical and contemporary human capital is striking: together, they explain nearly 60 percent of the overall income gap between the persistently poor and non-poor counties

Intra-Class Testing of Abstract Class Features

One of the characteristics of the increasingly widespread use of object-oriented libraries and the resulting intensive use of inheritance is the proliferation of dependencies on abstract classes. Such classes defer the implementation of some features, and are typically used as a specification or design tool. However, since their features are not fully implemented,abstract classes cannot be instantiated, and thus pose challenges for execution-based testing strategies. This paper presents a structured approach that supports the testing of features in abstract classes. Core to the approach is a series of static analysis steps that build a comprehensive view of the inter-class dependencies in the system under test. We then leveraged this information to define a test order for the methods in an abstract class that minimizes the number of stubs required during testing, and clearly identifies the required functionality of these stubs. Our approach is based on a comprehensive taxonomy of object-oriented classes that provides a framework for our analysis. First we describe the algorithms to calculate the inter-class dependencies and the test-order that minimizes stub creation. Then we give an overview of our tool, AbstractTestJ that implements our approach by generating a test order for the methods in an abstract Java class. Finally, we harness this tool to provide an analysis of 12 substantial Java applications that demonstrates both the feasibility of our approach and the importance of this technique

PLANT BIOACTIVE ; CAROTENOIDS, POLYPHENOLS AND FLAVONOIDS IN IMPROVING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM AGAINST COVID-19 INFECTION

COVID-19 (coronavirus) is a new type of virus that can cause disease in animals and humans. This type of virus causes a crisis or threat to human life in 2020. Before an ideal vaccine or drug is found to prevent COVID-19 infection, steps or approaches are needed that can break the chain of infection. Several things that can be done to prevent COVID-19 infection are to take advantage of the chemical content of natural ingredients, maintain nutritional intake, maintain the resilience of the body's immune system and adhere to health protocols. The public needs to be made aware of the use of natural metabolites in order to maintain the body's defense system. Carotenoids, polyphenols and flavonoids are a group of secondary metabolites in plants that can physiologically increase the body's immune system against bacterial and viral infections. Red, yellow pigments in plants and some organisms known as coarotenoids have the ability to enhance the body's immune response or cellular immune system. While polyphenols and flavonoids are a unique group of phytochemicals in fruits, vegetables and herbs. This component has the potential to inhibit viral replication. People are expected to use plant chemical compounds to improve the body's immune system

Development of E-learning in higher education and future directions

The present paper is based on the work of the ‘Future of E-Learning Group’, a constituent of the EUNIS E-Learning task Force. The group has set up a number of tasks to fulfill its role, one of which, is seeking and disseminating information on the development of e-learning with a view to ensuring the right guide is provided for progress into the future. In our work to date, in this era of globalization, we question the ability of present university systems to respond adequately and appropriately to complex demands of an Information Economy. There’s increasing involvement of private sector in higher education. The effects on future learning on the use of varying tools as well as the design of competency-based performance in e-learning have been reported (Wolrery et al, 2000; Sluijsmans et al, 2006). Several multimedia learning systems are being developed for use as future interactive educational tools (Low et al, 2003). New thinking is required for the new relationships that are being developed between creative subjects and technology when we consider the nature of universities in their present state of existence as public sector institutions. The university of the future can be perceived as a setup, based on international trade in educational services, with universities fulfilling the functions of licensing, quality assurance and cultural custodianship. The pressent paper discusses some of these issues and reports on the future directions of e-learning as they relate to higher education

Exact Synchronization for Finite-State Sources

We analyze how an observer synchronizes to the internal state of a finite-state information source, using the epsilon-machine causal representation. Here, we treat the case of exact synchronization, when it is possible for the observer to synchronize completely after a finite number of observations. The more difficult case of strictly asymptotic synchronization is treated in a sequel. In both cases, we find that an observer, on average, will synchronize to the source state exponentially fast and that, as a result, the average accuracy in an observer's predictions of the source output approaches its optimal level exponentially fast as well. Additionally, we show here how to analytically calculate the synchronization rate for exact epsilon-machines and provide an efficient polynomial-time algorithm to test epsilon-machines for exactness.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures; now includes analytical calculation of the synchronization rate; updates and corrections adde

Group studio cycling is an effective intervention to improve cardio-metabolic health in overweight sedentary individuals

Group studio cycling is an effective intervention to improve cardio-metabolic health in overweight sedentary individual

Cumulative Head Impact Burden in High School Football

Impacts to the head are common in collision sports such as football. Emerging research has begun to elucidate concussion tolerance levels, but sub-concussive impacts that do not result in clinical signs or symptoms of concussion are much more common, and are speculated to lead to alterations in cerebral structure and function later in life. We investigated the cumulative number of head impacts and their associated acceleration burden in 95 high school football players across four seasons of play using the Head Impact Telemetry System (HITS). The 4-year investigation resulted in 101,994 impacts collected across 190 practice sessions and 50 games. The number of impacts per 14-week season varied by playing position and starting status, with the average player sustaining 652 impacts. Linemen sustained the highest number of impacts per season (868); followed by tight ends, running backs, and linebackers (619); then quarterbacks (467); and receivers, cornerbacks, and safeties (372). Post-impact accelerations of the head also varied by playing position and starting status, with a seasonal linear acceleration burden of 16,746.1g, while the rotational acceleration and HIT severity profile burdens were 1,090,697.7-rad/sec2 and 10,021, respectively. The adolescent athletes in this study clearly sustained a large number of impacts to the head, with an impressive associated acceleration burden as a direct result of football participation. These findings raise concern about the relationship between sub-concussive head impacts incurred during football participation and late-life cerebral pathogenesis, and justify consideration of ways to best minimize impacts and mitigate cognitive declines.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90454/1/neu-2E2011-2E1825.pd