During the last two decades the advent of fast computers has made Bayesian inference based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods very popular in many fields of science. These Bayesian methods are good alternatives to traditional maximum likelihood (ML) methods since they often can estimate complicated statistical models for which a ML approach fails. In this paper we review available MCMC ...

Distribution of the nematode community in a California vineyard was studied over a 13-month period. Omnivorous and microbivorous nematodes were similarly distributed in the root zone, with greatest densities occurring between vine rows and near the soil surface. Greatest densities of plant-parasitic nematodes were found in the vine row, with the individual species differing in their vertical di...

The widely used mean-variance criteria is actually not the optimal solution for asset allocation as the joint distribution of asset returns are distributed in asymmetric ways rather than in the assumed normal distribution. It is a computationally challenging task to model the asymmetries and skewness of joint distributions of returns in high dimensional space due to their own complicated struct...

Tail dependence and conditional tail dependence functions describe, respectively, the tail probabilities and conditional tail probabilities of a copula at various relative scales. The properties as well as the interplay of these two functions are established based upon their homogeneous structures. The extremal dependence of a copula, as described by its extreme value copulas, is shown to be co...

Light pruning and deficit irrigation regimes are practices which are widely used in high yielding commercial vineyards in the warm climate regions of Australia. Little information is available on their impacts on carbohydrate dynamics in vegetative organs within and between seasons, and on the resulting plant capacity to maintain productivity and ripen fruits. This study was conducted to addres...

Any multivariate density can be decomposed through successive conditionings into basic building blocks involving only pairs of variables. The various ways in which this can be done are called regular vines; C-vines and D-vines are prime examples of such structures. A pair-copula construction (PCC) is a modelling strategy in which conditional and unconditional bivariate copula densities are assi...

Background Leaf shape among Passiflora species is spectacularly diverse. Underlying this diversity in leaf shape are profound changes in the patterning of the primary vasculature and laminar outgrowth. Each of these aspects of leaf morphology-vasculature and blade-provides different insights into leaf patterning. Results Here, we morphometrically analyze >3300 leaves from 40 different Passifl...

The growth and yield of Egusi melon in response to application of an Organo-mineral fertilizer was investigated. The Organo-mineral fertilizer was Cow-dung generated from an Abattoir fortified with inorganic Nitrogen. The fertilizer had a pH of 6.1; 61.2 g kg Organic Matter; 35.5 g kg -1 -1 Organic Carbon; 3.6g kg Nitrogen; 372.54 mg kg Available Phosphorus and 14.8cmol kg -1 -1 -1 Exchangeable...

The loss of 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) as a postplant nematicide created a serious void in nematode protection for crops nationwide. An acceptable replacement for DBCP is needed, especially on susceptible perennials such as grapes, Vitis vinifera L. Phases of our postplant nematicide research were conducted in commercial vineyards where nematode disease existed on established vines wate...