Belief networks are a new, potentially im­ portant, class of knowledge-based models. ARC01, currently under development at the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) and the University of Southern California (USC), is the most advanced reported implementation of these models in a financial forecasting set­ ting. ARC01's underlying belief network models the variables believed to have an im­ pact on t...

Mars' crustal magnetic field was most likely generated by dynamo action in the planet's early history. Unexplained characteristics of the field include its strength, concentration in the southern hemisphere, and lack of correlation with any surface features except for the hemispheric crustal dichotomy. We used numerical dynamo modeling to demonstrate that the mechanisms proposed to explain crus...

Michigan's first commercial oil field was discovered at Port Huron, St. Clair County, in 1886. By 1910, 21 shallow wells had been completed in the Dundee formation at depths of about 500 to 650 feet. In 1910 the daily production from this field amounted to about 10 barrels of oil per day, all of which was used locally in the manufacture of lubricants. However, it was not until 1925 when the Sag...

Sunflower oil, with more than 0.9 of tocopherols in the alpha-tocopherol form, supplies more vitamin E than any other vegetable oil. Thus far, no breeding to increase vitamin E levels in sunflower seeds has been conducted. The objective of the present research was to develop sunflower lines with high and low total seed tocopherol content through evaluation and subsequent selection of a large ge...

The effects of two neem insecticide formulations (an oil-free powder formulation and an oil formulation) on field parasitism of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.), larvae and, on the longevity and foraging behaviour of Diadegma mollipla (Holmgren), were evaluated in field and laboratory tests. Overall, larval parasitism in plots sprayed with the oil-free neem formulation was not signifi...

The paper presents a new optimization model and solution approach for the investment and operations planning of offshore oil and gas field infrastructure. As compared to previous models where fiscal rules and uncertainty in the field parameters are considered separately, the proposed model is the first one in the literature that includes both of these complexities in an efficient manner. In par...