MODELING HARVEST SCHEDULING IN MULTIFUNCTIONAL PLANNING OF FORESTS FOR LONGTERM WATER YIELD OPTIMIZATION

In this study, wood production and hydrologic functions of forests were accommodated within a planning procedure for separate working circles (areas dedicated to certain forest functions) that were delineated according to an Ecosystem‐Based Functional Planning approach. Mixed integer goal programming was used as the optimization technique. The timing and scheduling of a maintenance cutting (partial harvest) was the decision variable in the modeling effort, and an original formulation was developed as a multiobjective planning procedure. Four sample planning strategies were developed and model outputs were evaluated according to these strategies. Spatial characteristics of stands were considered, and used to prohibit the regeneration of adjacent stands during the same time period. Because of the positive relationship between qualified water production and standing timber volume in the forest, the model attempts to maximize qualified water production levels by increasing standing volume stocks in the forest through the delay of regeneration activities.     

Finite quotients of the multiplicative group of a finite dimensional division algebra are solvable

We prove that finite quotients of the multiplicative group of a finite dimensional division algebra are solvable. Let be a finite dimensional division algebra having center , and let be a normal subgroup of finite index. Suppose is not solvable. Then we may assume that is a minimal nonsolvable group (MNS group for short), i.e. a nonsolvable group all of whose proper quotients are solvable. Our proof now has two main ingredients. One ingredient is to show that the commuting graph of a finite MNS group satisfies a certain property which we denote Property . This property includes the requirement that the diameter of the commuting graph should be , but is, in fact, stronger. Another ingredient is to show that if the commuting graph of has Property , then is open with respect to a nontrivial height one valuation of (assuming without loss of generality, as we may, that is finitely generated). After establishing the openness of (when is an MNS group) we apply the Nonexistence Theorem whose proof uses induction on the transcendence degree of over its prime subfield to eliminate as a possible quotient of , thereby obtaining a contradiction and proving our main result.

     

Local disruption of DNA-base stacking by bulky base surrogates

A novel biphenyl base surrogate disrupts 2-aminopurine base stacking while maintaining duplex integrity.     

A magnetostatic-coupling based remote query sensor for environmental monitoring

A new type of in situ, remotely monitored magnetism-based sensor is presented that is comprised of an array of magnetically soft, magnetostatically-coupled ferromagnetic thin-film elements or particles combined with a chemically responsive material that swells or shrinks in response to the analyte of interest. As the chemically responsive material changes size the distance between the ferromagnetic elements changes, altering the inter-element magnetostatic coupling. This in turn changes the coercive force of the sensor, the amplitude of the voltage spikes detected in nearby pick-up coils upon magnetization reversal and the number of higher-order harmonics generated by the flux reversal. Since the sensor is monitored through changes in magnetic flux, no physical connections such as wires or cables are needed to obtain sensor information, nor is line of sight alignment required as with laser telemetry; the sensors can be detected from within sealed, opaque or thin metallic enclosures.     

Lattice distortions due to deuterium in niobium

The quasielastic diffuse scattering of neutrons from deuterium interstitials in niobium has been measured and compared to data calculated from a Kanzaki force model with central forces acting on nearest and next-nearest neighbours. It is found that the cubic symmetry of the long range distortion field of H in Nb is already established in the immediate neighbourhood of the defect.     

A fluorescent sensor for aluminum(III), magnesium(II), zinc(II) and cadmium(II) based on electrostatically immobilized quinolin-8-ol sulfonate

An optical sensor responding to Al(III), Mg(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II) is prepared by immobilizing quinolin-8-ol-5-sulfonate (QS) on an ion-exchange resin and attaching the resin to the end of a trifurcated fiber-optic bundle. Immobilization leads to weak fluorescence from QS and causes shifts in the fluorescence spectra of the QS/metal complexes. Detection limits for the metal ions studied are all below 1 × 10^?6 M. Response to metal ion concentration is nonlinear. The shape of the response fits a model that assumes a 1:1 metal/QS chelate is formed. Forrnation constants for immobilized QS complexes calculated from the model are similar to those observed for dissolved QS. Immobilized and dissolved QS behave similarly with respect to pH and interferences.