Simulating Soil Organic Matter Transformations with the New Implementation of the Daisy Model

Daisy is a well-tested deterministic, dynamic soil-plant-atmosphere model, capable of simulating water balance, nitrogen balance and losses, development in soil organic matter and crop growth and production in crop rotations under alternate management strategies. Originally it was developed as a system of single models describing each process involved, but recently it has been developed into a framework, which can be used for implementation of several different models of each of the different processes. Thus, for example a number of different models for simulating soil water dynamics can be chosen depending on the purpose of the simulation and the availability of data for parameterisation. The sub-model simulating soil organic matter is still a fixed component in the Daisy terminology. This means that there is currently only one model, which can be used to simulate soil organic matter transformations. However this sub-model can be changed considerably. Some examples are given

Anomaly Cancelation in Field Theory and F-theory on a Circle

We study the manifestation of local gauge anomalies of four- and six-dimensional field theories in the lower-dimensional Kaluza-Klein theory obtained after circle compactification. We identify a convenient set of transformations acting on the whole tower of massless and massive states and investigate their action on the low-energy effective theories in the Coulomb branch. The maps employ higher-dimensional large gauge transformations and precisely yield the anomaly cancelation conditions when acting on the one-loop induced Chern-Simons terms in the three- and five-dimensional effective theory. The arising symmetries are argued to play a key role in the study of the M-theory to F-theory limit on Calabi-Yau manifolds. For example, using the fact that all fully resolved F-theory geometries inducing multiple Abelian gauge groups or non-Abelian groups admit a certain set of symmetries, we are able to generally show the cancelation of pure Abelian or pure non-Abelian anomalies in these models.Comment: 48 pages, 2 figures; v2: typos corrected, comments on circle fluxes adde

Forskning og udvikling i økologisk ægproduktion

Nærværende rapport er en beskrivelse og diskussion af forskningsprojekter gennemført under FØJO i årene 1996-1999. I korthed vidste forskningen følgende: Opdrætning og belægning Det har vist sig at konventionel opdræt giver en del problemer og der er anvendt en del kræfter på at belyse konsekvensen af forskellige opdrætningsmetoder, herunder lysintensitet, adgang til udeareal, opdræt på blivende sted eller flytning. Konklusionen fra disse undersøgelser er, at: Tidlig adgang til udearealet giver øget brug af udearealet senere, tendens til færre gulvæg og signifikant færre snavsede æg Opdrætning i hytte giver større kropsvægt, større ægvægt, færre gulvæg, færre snavsede æg og bedre fjerdragt end opdrætning under konventionelle forhold. Lav belægning i æglægningsperioden med 3.5 høner pr. m2 giver højere læggeprocent, bedre fodereffektivitet, tendens til færre gulvæg og signifikant færre snavsede æg samt bedre fjerdragt, dog kun hos de høner, der var opdrættet i stald Avl og selektion Avlsmaterialets kvalitet har været en vigtig del af forskningsarbejdet, dels fordi der kun er få avlsvirksomheder tilbage, der sælger afstamninger med en vis æglægningskapacitet, dels fordi disse afstamninger primært er fremavlet med sigte på burægsproduktion. Den konklusion, der kan drages af de genetiske studier er, at såfremt fjerpilningsadfærd inddrages i et passende selektionsprogram, vil et af de største velfærdsproblemer inden for ægproduktion blive løst. Parasitter Et problem, som møder den økologiske høne, er indvoldsorme. Mulighederne for at forebygge på dette område er i projektet blevet undersøgt i forskellige sammenhænge. Konklusionen er, at man må regne med, at indvoldorme altid vil være til stede i en vis udstrækning, når besætningen har adgang til udendørs arealer. Fuldstændig udryddelse er ikke mulig. I dag findes der kun konventionelle antiparasitære midler til behandling og kontrol af parasitære infektioner. Disse midler anses ikke for at være anvendelige, da tilbageholdelsestiderne er lange. På sigt bør man avlsmæssigt arbejde mod at etablere specielle racer til udendørsproduktion som er resistente mod parasitære og andre infektioner. Grovfoder Forsøg med tildeling af grovfoder har haft en positiv effekt på ægproduktion, forbrug af fuldfoder og der var en markant lavere dødelighed. Der kan iagttages mindre fjerpilning og en forbedring af fjerdragtens kvalitet, når der gives grovfoder. Endelig kunne der hvad angår tarmsundhed konstateres en øget kråseaktivitet og øget fermentering i blindtarmene samt lavere antal af coliforme bakterier, laktose negative bakterier og enterokokker. På temamødet på Forskningscenter Foulum, berettede flere landmænd om græsrodsprojekterne, og deres resultater og erfaringer er beskrevet i denne rapport. I sit afsnit vurderer Arne Bæk Jensen bl.a., at det økologiske opdræt og anvendelsen af kyllingemødre har været en succes idet: Kyllingerne har levet under forhold, som har givet en forøgelse af dyrevelfærden. Indeklimaet i opdrætsstalden har været godt som følge af et tørt gulv Energiforbruget er blevet reduceret Den tidlige prægning har haft sin virkning I æglægningsstalden sidder ca. 90 pct. af hønerne på siddepindene om natten efter ca. 14 dage Noget tyder på, at de høner, som ikke kommer på pindene om natten, også lægger deres æg på gulvet, hvor de overnatter. Hønerne på siddepindene har en bedre redesøgningsadfærd Ved indsætning ligger hønerne et pænt stykke over normen for væg

Emergent complex neural dynamics

A large repertoire of spatiotemporal activity patterns in the brain is the basis for adaptive behaviour. Understanding the mechanism by which the brain's hundred billion neurons and hundred trillion synapses manage to produce such a range of cortical configurations in a flexible manner remains a fundamental problem in neuroscience. One plausible solution is the involvement of universal mechanisms of emergent complex phenomena evident in dynamical systems poised near a critical point of a second-order phase transition. We review recent theoretical and empirical results supporting the notion that the brain is naturally poised near criticality, as well as its implications for better understanding of the brain

Violation of the transit-time limit toward generation of ultrashort electron bunches with controlled velocity chirp

Various methods to generate ultrashort electron bunches for the ultrafast science evolved from the simple configuration of two-plate vacuum diodes to advanced technologies such as nanotips or photocathodes excited by femtosecond lasers. In a diode either in vacuum or of solid-state, the transit-time limit originating from finite electron mobility has caused spatiotemporal bunch-collapse in ultrafast regime. Here, we show for the first time that abrupt exclusion of transit-phase is a more fundamental origin of the bunch-collapse than the transit-time limit. We found that by significantly extending the cathode-anode gap distance, thereby violating the transit-time limit, the conventional transit-time-related upper frequency barrier in diodes can be removed. Furthermore, we reveal how to control the velocity chirp of bunches leading to ballistic bunch-compression. Demonstration of 0.707 THz-, 46.4 femtosecond-bunches from a 50 mu m-wide diode in three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations shows a way toward simple and compact sources of ultrafast electron bunches for diverse ultrafast sciences.ope

Sponsor ownership in Asian REITs

This study examines the relationship between sponsor ownership and firm performance proxied by firm value, operating cash flow, and dividend policy with Asian real estate investment trusts (REITs) in Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore for the period from 2002 to 2012, focusing on both the incentive alignment effect and the entrenchment effect. Our study sheds new light on effective corporate governance for Asian REITs that are prone to agency problems. Such agency problems arise from the inequitable distribution of power to sponsors that results from the external management structure. The findings suggest that larger sponsor ownership aligns the interests of sponsors and minority shareholders and enhances the performance of Asian REITs, while such an effect diminishes as sponsors become more entrenched. We find that the incentive alignment effect and entrenchment effect are primarily driven by developer-sponsored REITs. Also evident is that the presence of institutional investors mitigates agency problems and increases firm performance

Microsoft Enterprise Consortium How To’s for the Classroom

Practical workshop that includes presentations and “hands on” use of examples and exercises utilizing the Microsoft Enterprise Consortium hosted at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business Enterprise Systems. Industry partners of the Enterprise Systems program at the Sam M. Walton College of Business have donated computing systems and multiple, large-scale datasets for instructional use – Sam’s Club (6 tables and over 55 million rows of POS transactions for 18 stores), Dillard’s Department Stores (5 tables with a transactions table of 120 million rows), Tyson Foods, and Wal-Mart RFID data sets. This workshop provides faculty “How To’s” that can be incorporated into a wide variety of courses that include topics on databases, data warehousing, business intelligence and decision making. The Microsoft Enterprise Consortium includes the full SQL Server 2008 Management Studio and Business Intelligence Development Studio. Further, this Consortium includes access to the large datasets referenced above plus a number of datasets corresponding to database and data mining texts

Scans for signatures of selection in Russian cattle breed genomes reveal new candidate genes for environmental adaptation and acclimation

Domestication and selective breeding has resulted in over 1000 extant cattle breeds. Many of these breeds do not excel in important traits but are adapted to local environments. These adaptations are a valuable source of genetic material for efforts to improve commercial breeds. As a step toward this goal we identified candidate regions to be under selection in genomes of nine Russian native cattle breeds adapted to survive in harsh climates. After comparing our data to other breeds of European and Asian origins we found known and novel candidate genes that could potentially be related to domestication, economically important traits and environmental adaptations in cattle. The Russian cattle breed genomes contained regions under putative selection with genes that may be related to adaptations to harsh environments (e.g., AQP5, RAD50, and RETREG1). We found genomic signatures of selective sweeps near key genes related to economically important traits, such as the milk production (e.g., DGAT1, ABCG2), growth (e.g., XKR4), and reproduction (e.g., CSF2). Our data point to candidate genes which should be included in future studies attempting to identify genes to improve the extant breeds and facilitate generation of commercial breeds that fit better into the environments of Russia and other countries with similar climates

Determining the neurotransmitter concentration profile at active synapses

Establishing the temporal and concentration profiles of neurotransmitters during synaptic release is an essential step towards understanding the basic properties of inter-neuronal communication in the central nervous system. A variety of ingenious attempts has been made to gain insights into this process, but the general inaccessibility of central synapses, intrinsic limitations of the techniques used, and natural variety of different synaptic environments have hindered a comprehensive description of this fundamental phenomenon. Here, we describe a number of experimental and theoretical findings that has been instrumental for advancing our knowledge of various features of neurotransmitter release, as well as newly developed tools that could overcome some limits of traditional pharmacological approaches and bring new impetus to the description of the complex mechanisms of synaptic transmission