Yield prediction model of summer groundnut based on spectral characteristics

Spectral characteristics were studied at pod development stage (75 DAS) in summer groundnut, at Pune, in western Maharashtra plain zone. A simple regression model (yield vs. vegetation index, R2= 0.94) and another multiple regression model (yield vs. B: R, G: R, NIR: R and VI, R2= 0.99) were developed to predict the yields of summer groundnut. The yield prediction model based on spectral ratios at pod development stage (75 DAS) is helpful in forecasting the yield of summer groundnut, one month in advance, in western Maharashtra plain zone.

Carbomer microgels as model yield-stress fluids

The review presents current research results for Carbopol-based microgels as yield-stress materials, covering three aspects: chemical, physical and rheological. Such a joint three-aspect study has no analog in the literature. The chemical aspects of Carbopol polymers are presented in terms of a cross-linking polymerization of acrylic acid, their molecular structure, microgel formulation, polyacid dissociation and neutralization, osmotic pressure and associated immense microgel swelling. The physical characterization is focused on models of the shear-induced solid-to-liquid transition of microgels, which are formed of mesoscopic particles typical for soft matter materials. Models that describe interparticle effects are presented to explain the energy states of microgel particles at the mesoscale of scrutiny. Typical representatives of the models utilize attributes of jamming dispersions, micromechanical and polyelectrolyte reactions. Selected relationships that result from the models, such as scaling rules and nondimensional flow characteristics are also presented. The rheological part presents the discussion of problems of yield stress in 2D and 3D deformations, appearance and magnitude of the wall slip. The theory and characteristics of Carbopol microgel deformation in rotational rheometers are presented with graphs for the steady-state measurements, stress-controlled oscillation and two types of transient shear deformation. The review is concluded with suggestions for future research.

Modelling the yield and profitability of intercropped walnut systems in Croatia

In Croatia, farmers are showing increasing interest in establishing walnut orchards for nut production on arable land due to higher anticipated net margins. One way to address the lack of profitability in the initial years when nut yields are low may be to plant arable intercrops. The anticipated impacts of this practice were assessed using a biophysical simulation model (Yield-SAFE) to determine the growth and yield of crops and trees in arable, orchard, and silvoarable systems, and an economic farm model (Farm-SAFE) was used to assess their profitability. The walnut orchard and the intercropped orchard systems were simulated assuming tree densities of 170, 135, and 100 trees ha−1, to determine the profitability and break-even date of the systems. The biophysical simulation predicted a decline in arable intercrop yields over time in all tree density scenarios. However, analysis of productivity of intercropped systems showed that intercropping was more productive than separate arable and walnut production for all tree density scenarios. From financial aspect, the return from intercropping helped to offset some of the initial orchard establishment costs and the arable intercrop remained profitable until the sixth year after tree planting. The modelling predicted that a system with 170 trees ha−1 that included intercropping for the first 6 years provided the greatest cumulative net margin after 20 years. The financial benefit of intercropping over the first 6 years opposed to monoculture walnut fruit production appeared to be consistent across the three tree densities studied. These results suggest that silvoarable agroforestry is profitable approach to establishing walnut orchards.

The Effect of Downsizing, Merger & Acquisition, and Transformational Leadership on Company Performance

Do downsizing and merger & acquisition significantly and positively affect a company performance? Previous studies on the case showed contradictory results. The result of this research supports that downsizing and merger & acquisition do not positively and significantly affect company performance.Standardized regression weights coefficients on AMOS output for both variables of downsizing and merger & acquisition are -0.0787 and -0.0109, each. Thus, downsizing and merger & acquisition actually have negative impacts on company performance. Similar coefficient for the variable of transformational leadership is 0.7611; it has a positive and significant impact on company performance.Research’s respondents are 327 employees of PT Holcim Indonesia Tbk. Test of Cronbach’s Alpha gives 0.886 indicating that the research data is reliable. Some tests of the research model yield good fit for CMIN/df (1.41), RMSEA (0.04), RMR (0.04), AGFI (0.92), and CFI (0.98), as well as acceptable fit for GFI (0.94) and NFI (0.94).Transformational leadership needs to be applied continuously to improve company performance. Transformational leader shall not put downsizing and merger & acquisition from corporate agenda because they both have a negative impact on company performance.

Multivariate analysis to model yield variability for defined management zones in a banana agroecosystem

The delineation of management zones is based on the spatial behavior of a few soil variables selected and evaluated previously, and usually not correlated in situ with yield. Since the soil-plant system is multivariate, the analysis of its complexity requires statistical tools of equal size. These tools are convenient in providing an intuitive interpretation of the relationship between variables and the ordering of sampling sites. This study aims at the identification of management zones in a banana agroecosystem, starting from the overall analysis of soil variables with crop performance components, using multivariate statistical tools. Three clusters of sites were identified based on soil variables, dry mean weight diameter, pH, and (Ca+Mg)/K ratio, all correlated with crop yield. The groupings allowed to delineate management zones whose production has a uniform spatial behavior, significantly different between zones (P < 0.01)

Concept of a Decision-Based Pedestrian Model

We develop a decision-based model for pedestrian dynamics which is an extension of the Stochastic Headway Distance Velocity (SHDV) model for single-file motion to two dimensions. The model is discrete in time, but continuous in space. It combines perception, anticipation and decision-making with the simplicity and stochasticity that are characteristic for cellular automaton models. The basic concept is discussed and preliminary results show that the model yield realistic trajectories and fundamental diagrams.

The Role of the Water Vapor Feedback in the ITCZ Response to Hemispherically Asymmetric Forcings

In comprehensive and idealized general circulation models, hemispherically asymmetric forcings lead to shifts in the latitude of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). Prior studies using comprehensive GCMs (with complicated parameterizations of radiation, clouds, and convection) suggest that the water vapor feedback tends to amplify the movement of the ITCZ in response to a given hemispherically asymmetric forcing, but this effect has yet to be elucidated in isolation. This study uses an idealized moist model, coupled to a full radiative transfer code, but without clouds, to examine the role of the water vapor feedback in a targeted manner. In experiments with interactive water vapor and radiation, the ITCZ latitude shifts roughly twice as much off the equator as in cases with the water vapor field seen by the radiation code prescribed to a static hemisperically symmetric control distribution. Using energy flux equator theory for the latitude of the ITCZ, the amplification of the ITCZ shift is attributed primarily to the longwave water vapor absorption associated with the movement of the ITCZ into the warmer hemisphere, further increasing the net column heating asymmetry. Local amplification of the imposed forcing by the shortwave water vapor feedback plays a secondary role. Experiments varying the convective relaxation time, an important parameter in the convection scheme used in the idealized moist model, yield qualitatively similar results, suggesting some degree of robustness to the model physics; however, the sensitivity experiments do not preclude that more extreme modifications to the convection scheme could lead to qualitatively different behavior.

A Multi-layer Perceptron Approach to Automatically Detect Tissue via NIR Multispectral Imaging

We present a novel pixel-level spectra based multi-layer perceptron(MLP) to discriminate regions of biomedical multispectral imagingdata into two categories: tissue and non-tissue. The spectra usedfor this study are 740nm, 780nm, 850nm, and 945nm as thesewavelengths are on either side of the isosbestic point for oxyhemoglobinand deoxyhemoglobin; absorbers that are common in allhealthy tissues. An MLP is trained using multispectral data from12 human subjects and 12 non-tissue objects. The MLP is testedon three multispectral challenge image sets, from which the accuracy,sensitivity, and specificity of the model yield results of 91.3%(+/-0.2%), 98.1% (+/-0.3%), and 88.5% (+/- 0.3%) respectively.