cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
The effect of coarse woody debris on site productivity of some forest sites in southwestern British Columbia
Creators: name: Kayahara, Gordon John
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2009

description: I explored the importance of decaying wood to survival and growth of trees in south coastal British Columbia, and the effect of decaying wood on the intensity of podzolization on mesic sites. A field pot study was carried out in both high light and low light conditions using woody and non-woody forest floor materials. After two growing seasons, Pseudotsuga menziesii, Tsuga heterophylla, and Abies amabilis seedlings growing in clearcuts had greater survival and growth in the non-woody substrate; however, in the understory, the effect was much less. The proliferation of western hemlock roots was used as an indicator of the value of decaying wood to trees. In both greenhouse trials (using seed sown on a series of planting pots with each half filled with either a woody substrate or a non-woody substrate), and in field sampling of woody and non-woody substrates in mature stands, the non-woody substrate had a larger density of fine and very fine roots compared to the woody substrates or mineral soil. Ten litres of concentrated solutions of non-woody humus substrate and woody substrates were leached through soil columns. Both the non-woody and woody solutions had similar mean pH but significantly different chemical properties. The non-woody solution leachate had greater net average output of dissolved organic C, Fe, and Mn. The mineral soil treated with the nonwoody solution had significantly greater concentrations of total N and pyrophosphate-extractable Fe. In the field, forest floor and soil samples were compared between pedons having large accumulation of decaying wood and pedons with non-woody humus forms. Despite large and significant differences in chemical properties between the two substrates, there were generally no significant differences between the chemical properties of the soils directly under these substrates. In most cases, the results of (3-analyses showed that the means were not pedologically different. Additionally, 18 pairs of zero tension plate lysimeters were installed under the two substrates. The lysimeter solutions showed no significant differences. I concluded that coarse woody debris appears not to have either a positive effect of increased productivity of trees or a negative effect of increased intensity of podzolization.
Land Rental in Ethiopia: Marshallian Inefficiency or Factor Market Imperfections and Tenure Insecurity as Binding Constraints?
Creators: name: Deininger, Klaus W.
name: Ali, Daniel Ayalew
name: Alemu, Tekie
name: Deininger, Klaus W.
name: Ali, Daniel Ayalew
name: Alemu, Tekie
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2007
Subjects: Land Economics/Use

description: Although a large theoretical literature discusses the possible inefficiency of sharecropping contracts, empirical evidence on this phenomenon has been ambiguous at best. Household level fixed-effect estimates from about 8,500 plots operated by households who own and sharecrop land in the Ethiopian highlands provide support for the hypothesis of Marshallian inefficiency. At the same time, a factor adjustment model suggests that the extent to which rental markets allow households to attain their desired operational holding size is extremely limited. Our analysis points towards factor market imperfections (no rental for oxen), lack of alternative employment opportunities, and tenure insecurity as possible reasons underlying such behavior, suggesting that, rather than worrying almost exclusively about Marshallian inefficiency, it is equally warranted to give due attention to the policy framework within which land rental markets operate.
Probability bound analysis: A novel approach for quantifying parameter uncertainty in decision-analytic modeling and cost-effectiveness analysis
Creators: name: Iskandar, Rowan
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Applications (stat.AP)
subject: Methodology (stat.ME)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Decisions about health interventions are often made using limited evidence. Mathematical models used to inform such decisions often include uncertainty analysis to account for the effect of uncertainty in the current evidence base on decision-relevant quantities. However, current uncertainty quantification methodologies, including probabilistic sensitivity analysis (PSA), require modelers to specify a precise probability distribution to represent the uncertainty of a model parameter. This study introduces a novel approach for propagating parameter uncertainty, probability bounds analysis (PBA), where the uncertainty about the unknown probability distribution of a model parameter is expressed in terms of an interval bounded by lower and upper bounds on the unknown cumulative distribution function (p-box) and without assuming a particular form of the distribution function. We give the formulas of the p-boxes for common situations (given combinations of data on minimum, maximum, median, mean, or standard deviation), describe an approach to propagate p-boxes into a black-box mathematical model, and introduce an approach for decision-making based on the results of PBA. We demonstrate the characteristics and utility of PBA versus PSA using two case studies. In sum, this study provides modelers with practical tools to conduct parameter uncertainty quantification given the constraints of available data and with the fewest assumptions.
description: 21 pages, 6 figures
Jost Functions and Jost Solutions for Jacobi Matrices, I. A Necessary and Sufficient Condition for Szego Asymptotics
Creators: name: Damanik, David
name: Simon, Barry
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: Spectral Theory (math.SP)
subject: Classical Analysis and ODEs (math.CA)
subject: FOS: Mathematics

description: We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for a Jacobi matrix to produce orthogonal polynomials with Szegő asymptotics off the real axis. A key idea is to prove the equivalence of Szegő asymptotics and of Jost asymptotics for the Jost solution. We also prove $L^2$ convergence of Szegő asymptotics on the spectrum.
description: 49 pages
Population III Star Formation and IMF
Creators: name: Norman, Michael L.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2008
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We review recent 3D cosmological hydrodynamic simulations of primordial star formation from cosmological initial conditions (Pop III.1) and from initial conditions that have been altered by radiative feedback from stellar sources (Pop III.2). We concentrate on simulations that resolve the formation of the gravitationally unstable cloud cores in mini-halos over the mass range $10^5 < M/\Msun < 10^7 $ and follow their evolution to densities of at least $10^{10} \cmm3$ and length scales of $<10^{-2}$ pc such that accretion rates can be estimated. The advent of ensembles of such simulations exploring a variety of conditions permits us to assess the robustness of the standard model for Pop III.1 star formation and investigate scatter in their formation redshifts and accretion rates, thereby providing much needed information about the Pop III IMF. The simulations confirm the prediction that Pop III.1 stars were massive ($\sim 100 \Msun$), and form in isolation in primordial mini-halos. Simulations of Pop III.2 star forming in relic HII regions suggest somewhat lower masses ($\sim 30 \Msun$) which may help explain the chemical abundances of extremely metal poor stars. We note that no 3D simulation at present has achieved stellar density let alone followed the entire accretion history of the star in any scenario, and thus the IMF of Pop III stars remains poorly determined theoretically.
description: 13 pages, 16 figures, To appear in "Proceedings of First Stars III," Eds. Brian W. O'Shea, Alexander Heger & Tom Abel, AIP Conference Series
Imports in the Washington State Economy: Importance and Regional Effects of Import Liberalization
Creators: name: Wieck, Christine
name: Wahl, Thomas I.
name: Wieck, Christine
name: Wahl, Thomas I.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2007
Subjects: subject: International Relations/Trade
subject: Computable General equilibrium
subject: regional modelling
subject: trade liberalization

description: This paper focuses on the import side of a regional economy quantifying the economic impact of import levels and trade liberalization. An innovation represents the linkage of a regional with a national model by combining two separate Computable General Equilibrium models into one framework. This allows for import price formation in liberalization scenarios on the national level and subsequent incorporation of these nationally simulated prices into the regional model. The regional model is applied to Washington State, one of the most trade dependent states of the U.S, the national model to the U.S. Data for the two identically structured models origin from the IMPLAN database which divides the U.S. and Washington economy into 509 industries. For both models, Monte Carlo techniques are used to mitigate parameter uncertainty inherent in CGE specifications. Two scenarios are simulated that differ in the assumptions about the macroeconomic and factor market adjustment options of the economies.
A Binary-Ordered Probit Model of Cigarette Demand
Creators: name: Kasteridis, Panagiotis P.
name: Munkin, Murat K.
name: Yen, Steven T.
name: Kasteridis, Panagiotis P.
name: Munkin, Murat K.
name: Yen, Steven T.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2007
Subjects: Demand and Price Analysis

description: This study analyzes the demand for cigarettes fitting observed zero outcomes with a trivariate model consisting of an equation for the starting smoking decision, an equation for the quitting decision, and an equation that models the level of cigarettes consumed. Five competing specifications are considered to explain level, with the ordered probit, which accommodates pile-ups of counts in the dependent variable, providing the best fit. Marginal effects of explanatory variables are calculated providing strong evidence of race and gender differences in consumption patterns. The estimated marginal effects are robust to alternative categorizations of the level of cigarettes.
A bottom-heavy initial mass function for the likely-accreted blue-halo stars of the Milky Way
Creators: name: Hallakoun, Na'ama
name: Maoz, Dan
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
subject: Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We use Gaia DR2 to measure the initial mass function (IMF) of stars within 250 pc and masses in the range 0.2 < m/Msun < 1.0, separated according to kinematics and metallicity, as determined from Gaia transverse velocity, v_T, and location on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (HRD). The predominant thin-disc population (v_T < 40 km/s) has an IMF similar to traditional (e.g. Kroupa 2001}) stellar IMFs, with star numbers per mass interval dN/dm described by a broken power law, m^(-alpha), and index alpha_high=2.03 +0.14/-0.05 above m~0.5, shallowing to alpha_low=1.34 +0.11/-0.22 at m~<0.5. Thick-disc stars (60 km/s < v_T < 150 km/s) and stars belonging to the "high-metallicity" or "red-sequence" halo (v_T > 100 km/s or v_T > 200 km/s, and located above the isochrone on the HRD with metallicity [M/H] > -0.6) have a somewhat steeper high-mass slope, alpha_high=2.35 +0.97/-0.19 (and a similar low-mass slope alpha_low=1.14 +0.42/-0.50). Halo stars from the "blue sequence", which are characterised by low-metallicity ([M/H] < -0.6), however, have a distinct, bottom-heavy IMF, well-described by a single power law with alpha=1.82 +0.17/-0.14 over most of the mass range probed. The IMF of the low-metallicity halo is reminiscent of the Salpeter-like IMF that has been measured in massive early-type galaxies, a stellar population that, like Milky-Way halo stars, has a high ratio of alpha elements to iron, [alpha/Fe]. Blue-sequence stars are likely the debris from accretion by the Milky Way, ~10 Gyrs ago, of the Gaia-Enceladus dwarf galaxy, or similar events. These results hint at a distinct mode of star formation common to two ancient stellar populations -- elliptical galaxies and galaxies possibly accreted early-on by ours.
description: Accepted to MNRAS; Stellar-Track-based Assignment of Mass (STAM) code is available at https://github.com/naamach/stam
Evaluating the Impact of Government Land Use Policies on Tree Canopy Coverage
Creators: name: Dorfman, Jeffrey H.
name: Hill, Elizabeth
name: Kramer, Elizabeth
name: Dorfman, Jeffrey H.
name: Hill, Elizabeth
name: Kramer, Elizabeth
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2007
Subjects: Land Economics/Use

description: Many communities are experiencing the negative effects associated with not sustaining a sufficient level of tree canopy coverage. Tree canopy plays a crucial role in the environment, providing benefits such as clean water and air, erosion prevention, climate control, and sustained ecological resources and native species habitat. Additionally, tree canopy plays an economic role by increasing housing values, alleviating expenditures related to erosion destruction, decreasing spending on sewer standards, increasing energy efficiency, and reducing medical costs related to health issues, such as asthma, that are associated with environmental degradation. To study how local government policies may be related to changes in tree canopy, an empirical study was performed using Greater Metropolitan Atlanta as the study area. The statistical analysis identifies local government policies that are effective, such as specific tree ordinance clauses and zoning regulations. Policies that are ineffective (e.g., a tree board) are also identified.
Converting contextuality into nonlocality
Creators: name: Cabello, Adán
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We introduce a general method which converts, in a unified way, any form of quantum contextuality, including any form of state-dependent contextuality, into a quantum violation of a bipartite Bell inequality. As an example, we apply the method to a quantum violation of the Klyachko-Can-Binicioğlu-Shumovsky inequality.
description: 5+8 pages, 2+8 figures
Fidicinoides pronoe
Creators: name: Martinelli, Nilza Maria
Publisher: name: Embrapa Trigo
Year: 2004
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadidae
Fidicinoides
Fidicinoides pronoe

description: Fidicinoides pronoe
(Fig. 18.3e,f)
Descrição: corpo de coloração geral marrom, com densa pilosidade no mesonoto em forma de “V”; ninfas do terceiro instar de cor branca e de quarto e de quinto instares de cor pardacenta.
Características taxonômicas: elevação cruciforme com as projeções posteriores arredondadas e afastadas entre si; nervuras transversais não manchadas; ninfas do terceiro instar com fórmula femoral 2- 1 -4, de quarto instar 2- 1 -5 e de quinto instar 2- 1 -6.
Apresenta porte médio (22 - 35 mm de comprimento) em relação às demais espécies de cigarras associadas ao cafeeiro. A emergência dos adultos ocorre em setembro/outubro.
description: Published as part of Martinelli, Nilza Maria, 2004, Cigarras associadas ao cafeeiro, pp. 515-542 in Pragas de solo no Brasil, Passo Fundo :Embrapa Trigo on page 524, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10479492
Radial two-dimensional ion crystals in a linear Paul trap
Creators: name: D'Onofrio, Marissa
name: Xie, Yuanheng
name: Rasmusson, A. J.
name: Wolanski, Evangeline
name: Cui, Jiafeng
name: Richerme, Philip
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: Atomic Physics (physics.atom-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We experimentally study two-dimensional (2D) Coulomb crystals in the "radial-2D" phase of a linear Paul trap. This phase is identified by a 2D ion lattice aligned entirely with the radial plane and is created by imposing a large ratio of axial to radial trapping potentials. Using arrays of up to 19 $^{171}$Yb$^+$ ions, we demonstrate that the structural phase boundaries and vibrational mode frequencies of such crystals are well-described by the pseudopotential approximation, despite the time-dependent ion positions driven by intrinsic micromotion. We further observe that micromotion-induced heating of the radial-2D crystal is confined to the radial plane. Finally, we verify that the transverse motional modes, which are used in most ion-trap quantum simulation schemes, remain decoupled and cold in this geometry. Our results establish radial-2D ion crystals as a robust experimental platform for realizing a variety of theoretical proposals in quantum simulation and computation.
description: 8 pages, 5 figures, including supplementary information. Final version
Local pressure-induced metallization of a semiconducting carbon nanotube in a crossed junction
Creators: name: Vitali, L.
name: Burghard, M.
name: Wahl, P.
name: Schneider, M. A.
name: Kern, K.
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: The electronic and vibrational density of states of a semiconducting carbon nanotube in a crossed junction was investigated by elastic and inelastic scanning tunneling spectroscopy. The strong radial compression of the nanotube at the junction induces local metallization spatially confined to a few nm. The local electronic modifications are correlated with the observed changes in the radial breathing and G-band phonon modes, which react very sensitively to local mechanical deformation. In addition, the experiments reveal the crucial contribution of the image charges to the contact potential at nanotube-metal interfaces.
Sulfur Dioxide Control by Electric Utilities: What Are the Gains from Trade?
Creators: name: Carlson, Curtis
name: Burtraw, Dallas
name: Cropper, Maureen L.
name: Palmer, Karen L.
name: Carlson, Curtis
name: Burtraw, Dallas
name: Cropper, Maureen L.
name: Palmer, Karen L.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2000
Subjects: subject: Environmental Economics and Policy
subject: acid rain
subject: sulfur dioxide
subject: air pollution
subject: Clean Air Act
subject: Title IV
subject: permit trading

description: Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) established a market for transferable sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission allowances among electric utilities. This market offers firms facing high marginal abatement costs the opportunity to purchase the right to emit SO2 from firms with lower costs, and is expected to yield cost savings compared to a command and control approach to environmental regulation. This paper uses econometrically estimated marginal abatement cost functions for power plants affected by Title IV of the CAAA to evaluate the performance of the SO2 allowance market. Specifically, we investigate whether the much-heralded fall in the cost of abating SO2, compared to original estimates, can be attributed to allowance trading. We demonstrate that, for plants using low-sulfur coal to reduce SO2 emissions, technical changes and the fall in low-sulfur coal prices have lowered marginal abatement cost curves by over 50% since 1985. The flexibility to take advantage of these changes is the main source of cost reductions, rather than trading per se. In the long run, allowance trading may achieve cost savings of $700-$800 million per year compared to an "enlightened" command and control program characterized by a uniform emission rate standard. The cost savings would be twice as great if the alternative to trading were forced scrubbing. However, a comparison of potential cost savings in 1995 and 1996 with actual emissions costs suggests that most trading gains were unrealized in the first two years of the program.
An Overview of the Existing Evidence on Morphological Severity of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis and Prognosis for Pain and Disability Outcomes: A Scoping Review
Creators: name: Saito, Ayumi
Publisher: name: OSF Registries
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Anatomy
subject: Public Health
subject: Medicine and Health Sciences

description: *This is a scoping review protocol. Check resource for the supplement 1 protocol and 2 search strategy

Objective: To explore the current existing evidence and its quality on prognosis of pain and disability outcomes of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis (LSS) individuals based on morphological severity. We will clarify the concepts of the morphological severity, their outcome measurements, and prognostic quality of the evidence.
 Introduction: Evidence on the association between morphological severity of LSS and pain and disability outcomes is mostly cross-sectional, limiting our understanding on the prognostic aspects. Definitions of severity of LSS, pain and disability are all varied that limit comparisons of the groups. Pain and functionality is multifactorial, and thus the methodological quality of the studies is important for high quality evidence in this field.
Inclusion criteria: (i) Population: persons with symptomatic lumbar spinal stenosis; (ii) Concept: methodologically or systematically defined “severity” of LSS, and its pain and disability outcomes; (iii) Context: longitudinal studies with radiologically examined symptomatic LSS. Cross-sectional studies, asymptomatic LSS or radiologically unconfirmed LSS, conditions other than degenerative LSS, such as spinal tumor or malignancy, injury or trauma, are excluded.
Early Emissions Reduction Programs: An Application to CO2 Policy
Creators: name: Parry, Ian W.H.
name: Toman, Michael
name: Parry, Ian W.H.
name: Toman, Michael
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2000
Subjects: subject: Environmental Economics and Policy
subject: early reduction credits
subject: carbon emissions
subject: welfare impacts
subject: permit banking
subject: cap-and-trade

description: In the wake of the December 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which, if implemented, would oblige the United States and other industrialized countries to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 2008-2012, a number of proposals have been offered to increase the incentives for reducing emissions over the nearer term. The existence of an interim period between setting and implementing environmental goals is ubiquitous in environmental policymaking. The existence of this interim period gives rise to several potential rationales for early emissions reductions. In this paper we use a series of simple models and numerical illustrations to analyze some aspects of the performance of early emissions reduction programs in the case of GHGs. We show that there is a compelling economic case for allowing early GHGs reduction credits if countries (not just individual firms) could bank early credits to offset future emissions. The annualized cost savings to the United States from spreading out abatement over time could easily amount to several billion dollars. But without the aggregate banking provision, such credits could easily generate an excessive amount of abatement and produce net economic losses. We analyze a number of other issues that affect the economic efficiency of early reduction credits, including symmetric information, learning by doing (LBD), and fiscal impacts. We also compare the performance of an early reduction credits program with that of an early cap-and-trade program. This latter approach, if properly scaled, can avoid many of the problems associated with early reduction credits.
Treating cattle for mosquito and sand fly control
Creators: name: Poché, Richard
name: Poché, David
name: Polyakova, Larisa
name: Burres, Dylan
name: Barresi, Trey
name: Garlapati, Rajesh
name: Mutum Ingobi Singh
name: Sachidananda Samantaray
name: Lozano-Fuentes, Saul
Publisher: name: F1000Research
Year: 2016

description: Hematophagous arthropods of many taxa are know to feed on livestock including cattle. Many of these arthropods transmit vector-borne diseases. Malaria and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) represent two such diseases that result in nearly one million fatalities each year. Since 2009 our research in India and Kenya has focused on the use of systemic insecticides to control sand flies and mosquitoes taking blood from cattle. Several candidate active ingredients have been examined and show promising effects on both adult and larval stages (data not presented for larval stages).
Kerr effect as a tool for the investigation of dynamic heterogeneities
Creators: name: Haeberle, Uli
name: Diezemann, Gregor
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We propose a dynamic Kerr effect experiment for the distinction between dynamic heterogeneous and homogeneous relaxation in glassy systems. The possibility of this distinction is due to the inherent nonlinearity of the Kerr effect signal. We model the slow reorientational molecular motion in supercooled liquids in terms of non-inertial rotational diffusion. The Kerr effect response, consisting of two terms, is calculated for heterogeneous and for homogeneous variants of the stochastic model. It turns out that the experiment is able to distinguish between the two scenarios. We furthermore show that exchange between relatively 'slow' and 'fast' environments does not affect the possibility of frequency-selective modifications. It is demonstrated how information about changes in the width of the relaxation time distribution can be obtained from experimental results.
description: 23 pages incl. 6 figures accepted for publication in The Journal of Chemical Physics
Membership in farmers' organizations and intention to innovate: A mixed random utility and behavioral approach
Creators: name: Mulazzani, Luca
name: Piras, Simone
name: Claudia, Giordano
name: Alemayehu, Atsede Ghidey
name: Barlagne, Carla
name: Chebil, Ali
name: Thabet, Chokri
name: Khamassi, Faten
name: Mugisha, Johnny
name: Kisakye, Josephine
name: Chimoita, Evans Ligare
name: Ngala, Sophia
name: Mwaseba, Dismas Lyegendili
name: Mokhtari, Noureddine
name: Setti, Marco
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Africa
random utility
behavioral factors
innovation adoption
farmers' cooperatives
farmers' associations
risk
trust

description: Despites a growing body of literature on the adoption of agricultural innovations, their uptake by smallholder farmers in developing countries is slow. The processes underpinning farmers’ decision-making in these countries are yet to be fully understood as the existing literature remains contradictory with regards to the factors explaining innovation adoption. Conflicting conclusions emerge from studies on different countries, which may be the result of different social, cultural, and institutional environments. We develop a novel theoretical model which joins random utility and behavioral models, to assess how membership in farmers’ organizations affects intention to innovate. Using a two-steps framework, we assume that background factors influence farmers’ attitudes, which in turn affect their intention to innovate. Three distal attitudes are selected as intermediate drivers: interest in new ways of production, attitude toward risk, and trust towards organizations promoting innovations. Membership in farmers’ organizations is assumed to work as a mediator variable between background factors and intention to innovate. We test our framework using primary survey data from five African countries, 4,529 farmers, and more than twenty farmers’ organizations. We find that behavioral attitudes work as mediator variables between the factors classically used in random utility models (e.g., farm, household, and farmer characteristics) and the intention to innovate. The effect of membership varies across organizations, and a specific institutional approach is necessary to evaluate which characteristics of a farmers’ organization can impact the innovation behavior of its members.
A simulated annealing method for target-oriented forest landscape blocking and scheduling
Creators: name: Liu, Guoliang
Publisher: name: University of British Columbia
Year: 2009

description: The objective of this research was to conceptualize and develop a Target-oriented Forest landscape Blocking and Scheduling (TFBS) approach that can assist in solving complex forest landscape transformation problems. TFBS blocks and schedules forest treatments according to the requirements of transforming forest landscapes to desired states and projected forest stand dynamics. Timber flows are the results of the landscape transformations. The forest treatment schedules produced by TFBS not only sustain a wide range of non-timber resources but also maximize and maintain timber flows. TFBS can facilitate the forest management transition from timber harvesting regulation-based planning to desired state-oriented forest planning. A desired state of a forest landscape is a state where all the resource layers on the landscape are in their desired states. The polygons created from overlaying multiple resource layers form the basic units for building the cutblocks. These dynamic cut blocks are combined overtime to create patches and desired landscape structures. Age structures and patch size distributions are used as common indicators for all non-timber resources. Each resource layer is assigned one or more age structures and patch size distributions according to the management objectives. To achieve the objectives of this research, a tool, Forest Simulation Optimization System (FSOS) was developed and tested on a simplified 400-polygon (10 ha per polygon) grid data set as well as a complicated 80,000 ha (18,000 polygons) Tree Farm in the Slocan Valley. The results spatially and temporally demonstrated the processes required in building blocks and patches, transforming forest landscapes to desired states and sustaining the desired states. FSOS is also compared to a time-step simulation model, ATLAS. The results show that TFBS can produce strategies to transform forest landscapes to the same desired states with different initial states and different natural disturbance rates and patterns. TFBS simultaneously blocks and schedules the whole landscape for the entire planning horizon and the impacts of treatments on future landscape states are considered. Adaptive strategies are modified accordingly. It was found that Simulated Annealing (SA) was an efficient algorithm for TFBS problems. No guarantee of optimality can be assured; however, SA can find good solutions within a reasonable time for complex problems. This is difficult or even impossible with directed search methods such as mixed integer programming.
Quantification of residual fatty acids in forensic microbiological samples using Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS)
Creators: name: Childrey, Eva M.
name: Stanciu, Cristina E.
name: Ehrhardt, Christopher J.
Publisher: name: F1000Research
Year: 2016

description: The goal of this research was to develop a rapid, quantitative assay for determining the structure and relative abundance of residual fatty acids from forensically-relevant microbiological samples using Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS). Although cellular fatty acids have been used to characterize the taxonomy and growth conditions for an unknown organism, the analytical sensitivity of ambient mass spectrometry techniques and their compatibility with standard forensic collection practices has not been explored. To address this, we developed a fatty acid quantitation assay for Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis spores using pentadecanoic acid to analyze membrane-derived, as well as free fatty acids found in different types of forensic samples.  These included liquid suspensions of whole cells, dried spore material, spent medium and the supernatant fraction from water wash purification steps of spores.

 DART-MS profiles of Bc14579, BcT-strain, BtHD1 and BtHD522 spores showed five distinct fatty acid biomarkers: 213 m/z, 227 m/z, 241 m/z, 267 m/z, and 269 m/z, which correspond to 13:0/13:0iso, 14:0/14:0iso, 15:0/15:0iso, 17:1 w5c, and 17:0/17:0 iso structures, respectively.  The limit of detection for the DART-MS method was ~ 1x10-5 μg of fatty acid, equivalent to ~100 spore cells. The biomarkers from whole cell suspensions were observed in the culture medium after the spore cells had been removed, as well as in the supernatant of subsequent water washing purification steps.  Fatty acid concentrations ranged between 0.002 μg/mL to 6 μg/mL for spent water supernatant samples, suggesting that Bacillus fatty acids are released into the culture medium and/or the water wash fraction during spore production and persist after the cells have been harvested.  This has the potential to enhance forensic collection methods for microbiological samples since residual fatty acids may be used to identify surfaces or locations where biothreat agents were grown, even when cells are not present.
How does cybersecurity awareness help in achieving digital financial inclusion in rural India under escalating cyber fraud scenario?
Creators: name: Afzal, Mohammed
name: Meraj, Maryam
name: Kaur, Manpreet
name: Ansari, Mohd. Shamim
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Microbiology
subject: FOS: Biological sciences
subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: Developmental Biology
subject: Virology
subject: Computational Biology

description: The remarkable rise of cybercrime and its catastrophic consequences pose a significant threat to global financial and banking institutions. Financial inclusion is essential in fostering economic development and enhancing individual empowerment. Integrating digital technologies in the banking sector, promotes digital financial inclusion. However, the increasing prevalence of cybercrimes poses a significant threat towards digital financial inclusion. Considering the rising cases of cybercrimes, the research model integrates the constructs of UTAUT and DOI theory, along with two additional constructs, viz. cyber fraud and cyber security awareness, in the context of digital financial inclusion through payment banking in rural India. By examining the effect of cybercrimes on trust and adoption intention, the study provides valuable insights into the implications of digital financial inclusion. The findings revealed that cyber fraud harms trust and payment banking adoption. Cyber security awareness, facilitating conditions, and trust positively affect payment banking adoption, ultimately enhancing digital financial inclusiveness in rural India. The structural model suggests that emerging cyber fraud has become a significant challenge to digital financial inclusion. In contrast, cyber security awareness among payment banking users could be helpful for rural digital banking users to protect their bank accounts from cyber fraud.
A Review of Integrated Pollution Control Efforts in Selected Countries
Creators: name: Hersh, Robert
name: Hersh, Robert
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 1996
Subjects: subject: Environmental Economics and Policy
subject: integrated pollution control
subject: European environmental policy
subject: environmental compliance and enforcement

description: This report describes the reasons why integrated pollution control (IPC) became accepted as a necessary part of the environmental regulatory systems of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Sweden and examines the experience these countries have had with unified environmental statutes, alternative compliance approaches, cross-media permitting, and other aspects of IPC that are under consideration in this country. The report is organized into five sections. In the first section we provide a brief overview of the intellectual pedigree of integrated pollution control, and discuss arguments that have been put forward by advocates of IPC as well as the counter-arguments of those who have taken a more skeptical view of the technical and political feasibility of implementing IPC measures. Section two details how the United Kingdom, long considered the dirty man of Europe, is developing an integrated system of industrial pollution control based on its 1990 Environmental Protection Act. The Act introduced new controls to limit and prevent pollution from a wide range of industries and has created a unified pollution inspectorate to ensure that the best practical environmental option (BPEO) for all media is achieved. We consider both the progress the UK Environmental Agency has made in IPC as well as the barriers it has encountered. In section three, we examine how the Dutch Environmental Ministry (VROM) was able to forge a consensus among diverse groups for the need to embrace innovative, integrated policies and then examine in detail the Dutch experience with alternative compliance efforts, notably their covenant system. The long-standing success of Sweden's industrial permitting system is analyzed in section 4 and in the fifth and final section we consider the development and implications of the European Union's recently adopted Directive on Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control, a document which is likely to have a profound influence on environmental management in Europe and elsewhere.
Spatial Distribution of Faint Fuzzy Star Clusters in NGC 5195
Creators: name: Hwang, Narae
name: Lee, Myung Gyoon
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2006
Subjects: subject: Astrophysics (astro-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We present a study of a faint fuzzy star cluster system in the nearby SB0 galaxy NGC 5195 interacting with the famous spiral galaxy NGC 5194 (M51), based on HST ACS BVI mosaic images taken by the Hubble Heritage Team. We have found about 50 faint fuzzy star clusters around NGC 5195 which are larger than typical globular clusters with effective radii r_eff > 7 pc and red with (V-I) > 1.0. They are mostly fainter than M_V ~ 8.3 mag. From the comparison of BVI photometry of these clusters with the simple stellar population models, we find that they are as massive as ~ 10^5 M_sun and older than 1 Gyr. Strikingly, most of these clusters are found to be scattered in an elongated region almost perpendicular to the northern spiral arm of NGC 5194, and the center of the region is slightly north of the NGC 5195 center, while normal compact red clusters of NGC 5195 are located around the bright optical body of the host galaxy. This is in contrast against the cases of NGC 1023 and NGC 3384 where spatial distribution of faint fuzzy clusters shows a ring structure around the host galaxy. We suggest that at least some faint fuzzy clusters are experiencing tidal interactions with the companion galaxy NGC 5194 and must be associated with the tidal debris in the western halo of NGC 5195.
description: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters (Only a few typos are corrected in the revised version)
FAIR Ethics: Making Ethical Review Processes more Machine Actionable
Creators: name: Mietchen, Daniel
name: Schwaiger, Verena
name: Beyan, Oya
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: subject: RDA
subject: data ethics
subject: data reuse
subject: metadata
subject: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q45933174

description: These files represent a presentation given at the session "Data Reuse Ethics : Specifying Roles and Responsibilities", organized on 7th November 2018 by the Interest Group (IG) "Ethics and Social Aspects of Data" of the Research Data Alliance (RDA) as part of the RDA 12th Plenary in Gaborone, Botswana They were all generated automatically based on the Google doc that was used during the session. This work was followed up in 2019 through a M.S. thesis, "Developing a machine-actionable process model for ethical approval workflows" by Verena Schwaiger, for which the following materials are available on Zenodo as well: the thesis itself, the repo with a prototype of the model, and the presentation used in the thesis defense.
Energy storage and coherence in closed and open quantum batteries
Creators: name: Caravelli, Francesco
name: Yan, Bin
name: Garcia-Pintos, Luis Pedro
name: Hamma, Alioscia
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
subject: Other Condensed Matter (cond-mat.other)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We study the role of coherence in closed and open quantum batteries. We obtain upper bounds to the work performed or energy exchanged by both closed and open quantum batteries in terms of coherence. Specifically, we show that the energy storage can be bounded by the Hilbert-Schmidt coherence of the density matrix in the spectral basis of the unitary operator that encodes the evolution of the battery. We also show that an analogous bound can be obtained in terms of the battery's Hamiltonian coherence in the basis of the unitary operator by evaluating their commutator. We apply these bounds to a 4-state quantum system and the anisotropic XY Ising model in the closed system case, and the Spin-Boson model in the open case.
description: 14 pages double column, 9 pages appendix; revised manuscript with citations and new plot; results unchanged
Bang for the Buck: Cost-Effective Control of Invasive Species with Different Life Histories
Creators: name: Buhle, Eric
name: Margolis, Michael
name: Ruesink, Jennifer L.
name: Buhle, Eric
name: Margolis, Michael
name: Ruesink, Jennifer L.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2004
Subjects: subject: Environmental Economics and Policy
subject: invasive species
subject: bioeconomics
subject: control strategies

description: Strategies for controlling invasive species can be aimed at any or all of the stages in the life cycle. In this paper we show how to combine biological data on population dynamics with simple economic data on control cost options to determine the least costly set of strategies that will halt an invasion. We then apply our methods to oyster drills (Ocinebrellus inornatus), an economically important aquaculture pest that has been accidentally introduced worldwide. If the costs of intervention were the same across life stages, extermination of adults would be an inefficient way to control species with the population dynamics characteristics of invaders. In the oyster drill case, however, efficient control targets adults because they are much easier to find.
On a conjecture of Widom
Creators: name: Borodin, Alexei
name: Novikov, Alexei
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: Combinatorics (math.CO)
subject: Mathematical Physics (math-ph)
subject: FOS: Mathematics
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: We prove a conjecture of H.Widom stated in [W] (math/0108008) about the reality of eigenvalues of certain infinite matrices arising in asymptotic analysis of large Toeplitz determinants. As a byproduct we obtain a new proof of A.Okounkov's formula for the (determinantal) correlation functions of the Schur measures on partitions.
description: 9 pages
An Economic Assessment of Space Solar Power as a Source of Electricity for Space-Based Activities
Creators: name: MacAuley, Molly K.
name: Davis, James F.
name: MacAuley, Molly K.
name: Davis, James F.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2001
Subjects: subject: Environmental Economics and Policy
subject: innovation
subject: government policy

description: We develop a conceptual model of the economic value of space solar power (SSP) as a source of power to in-space activities, such as spacecraft and space stations. We offer several estimates of the value based on interviews and published data, discuss technological innovations that may compete with or be complementary to SSP, and consider alternative institutional arrangements for government and the private sector to provide SSP.
Marine Protected Areas: Economic and Social Implications
Creators: name: Sanchirico, James N.
name: Cochran, Kathryn A.
name: Emerson, Peter M.
name: Sanchirico, James N.
name: Cochran, Kathryn A.
name: Emerson, Peter M.
Publisher: name: Unknown
Year: 2002
Subjects: subject: Resource /Energy Economics and Policy
subject: marine protected areas
subject: marine reserves
subject: fisheries

description: This paper is a guide for citizens, scientists, resource managers, and policy makers, who are interested in understanding the economic and social value of marine protected areas (MPAs). We discuss the potential benefits and costs associated with MPAs as a means of illustrating the economic and social tradeoffs inherent in implementation decisions. In general, the effectiveness of a protected area depends on a complex set of interactions between biological, economic, and institutional factors. While MPAs might provide protection for critical habitats and cultural heritage sites and, in some cases, conserve biodiversity, as a tool to enhance fishery management their impact is less certain. The uncertainty stems from the fact that MPAs only treat the symptoms and not the fundamental causes of overfishing and waste in fisheries.
Density functional theory for colloidal mixtures of hard platelets, rods, and spheres
Creators: name: Esztermann, Ansgar
name: Reich, Hendrik
name: Schmidt, Matthias
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: A geometry-based density functional theory is presented for mixtures of hard spheres, hard needles and hard platelets; both the needles and the platelets are taken to be of vanishing thickness. Geometrical weight functions that are characteristic for each species are given and it is shown how convolutions of pairs of weight functions recover each Mayer bond of the ternary mixture and hence ensure the correct second virial expansion of the excess free energy functional. The case of sphere-platelet overlap relies on the same approximation as does Rosenfeld's functional for strictly two-dimensional hard disks. We explicitly control contributions to the excess free energy that are of third order in density. Analytic expressions relevant for the application of the theory to states with planar translational and cylindrical rotational symmetry, e.g. to describe behavior at planar smooth walls, are given. For binary sphere-platelet mixtures, in the appropriate limit of small platelet densities, the theory differs from that used in a recent treatment [L. Harnau and S. Dietrich, Phys. Rev. E 71, 011504 (2004)]. As a test case of our approach we consider the isotropic-nematic bulk transition of pure hard platelets, which we find to be weakly first order, with values for the coexistence densities and the nematic order parameter that compare well with simulation results.
description: 39 pages, 8 figures
Early constitutive activation of Nras in the dorsal neural tube leads to cutaneous and extra-cutaneous melanocytosis
Creators: name: Heux, Pauline
name: Matonti, Julia
name: Schwarz, Benjamin
name: Bentatou, Zakaria
name: Viola, Angele
name: Etchevers, Heather
Publisher: name: F1000Research
Year: 2016

description: The majority of giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevi (CMN) harbor somatic mutations of NRAS, commonly at residue Q61 but also at G12. These mutations prevent Ras from hydrolysing GTP, rendering it constitutively active. Large CMN can be associated with benign tumors or early melanoma, brain malformations and meningeal (“neurocutaneous”) melanocytosis. Current murine models for CMN and their oncogenic predisposition conditionally induce Ras or Raf family mutations in tyrosinase-expressing cells, mostly melanoblasts. Because these mice do not phenocopy the circumscribed lesions observed in CMN patients, and CMN patterns are more extensive than expected for a single mutated melanoblast, we explored a model in which Nras(G12D) is induced earlier, in melanoblast progenitors of the premigratory neural crest. Mice expressing constitutively active Nras(G12D) in neural crest cells develop black skin patches under their fur due to follicular melanocytosis and densification. As a population, these mice die younger than littermates with normal Nras activity. They present extracutaneous melanocytosis in diverse tissues, of which a subset of sites are also affected in humans bearing NRAS-mutated CMN. We are currently exploring the differential molecular response of primary neural crest cell cultures with or without Nras(G12D) to conditions favoring melanocyte development, as well as neuropathology using diffusion tensor imaging.