CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN THE U.S.: HOW EFFECTIVE ARE SCHOOL PREVENTION PROGRAMS?

This study uses a logistic regression to analyze the 2004-2005 Arkansas Center for Health Improvement body mass index data from four school districts in Arkansas. We conclude that the probability of elementary school children being overweight or at risk of being overweight depends on economic factors, demographics, and food availability.Health Economics and Policy,

DYNAMIC SPREADSHEET PROGRAMMING TO SELECT THE MOST COST EFFICIENT MANURE HANDLING SYSTEM

Livestock Production/Industries,

Too Litter, Too Late: Economic Logistics of Transporting Nutrient-Rich Poultry Litter Out of Nutrient-Saturated Regions

Export of excess litter from concentrated animal production regions has become a pressing issue. A break even price for poultry litter in nutrient-deficient areas was identified through a math programming model using willingness to pay data from crop producers. Results indicate that a $16 subsidy is needed to sustain a long-term poultry litter market.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Alternative Model Selection Using Forecast Error Variance Decompositions in Wholesale Chicken Markets

Although Vector Autoregressive models are commonly used to forecast prices, specification of these models remains an issue. Questions that arise include choice of variables and lag length. This article examines the use of Forecast Error Variance Decompositions to guide the econometrician’s model specification. Forecasting performance of Variance Autoregressive models, generated from Forecast Error Variance Decompositions, is analyzed within wholesale chicken markets. Results show that the Forecast Error Variance Decomposition approach has the potential to provide superior model selections to traditional Granger Causality tests.broiler markets, DAGs, forecasting, market structure, VAR, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty, C53, D4, L1, Q00,

Prepared for Bioterrorism Events? A Study of the Grain and Oilseed Sector

One of the most crucial problems facing the U.S. economy is the possibility of a terrorist attack on its food sector. The implications can be profound for its stakeholders, who are highly dependent on this sector for their economic livelihood as well as their food supplies. The U.S. Bioterrorism Act of 2002 was enacted to improve the ability of the United States to prevent, prepare for and respond to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. One of the important features of the U.S. Bioterrorism Act of 2002 is its emphasis on prevention, a change from prior legislation that focused on punishments after an incidence had occurred. The U.S. Bioterrorism Act does not address food safety issues in general; its focus is to prevent intentional contamination. The objective of this study was to assess the preparedness to potential bioterrorism in the grain and oilseed sector based on facility security expenditures and history of security breaches. The study was conducted as a research activity under the multistate project NC-1016 “Economic Assessment of Changes in Trade Arrangements, Bio-terrorism Threats and Renewable Fuels Requirements on the U.S. Grain and Oilseed Sector.” In addition to assessing preparedness, the study investigated the relationship between adoption of security measures and breaches in facility security. Finally the study documents, for a small sample, the extent to which grain and oilseed facilities appear to be following regulations that implement the U.S. Bioterrorism Act.bioterrorism, grain and oilseed sector, Bioterrorism Act of 2002, NC-1016, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Marketing, Political Economy, I18, K23, Q13, Q18,

Attitudes of College Students towards Agriculture, Food and the Role of Government

In 2002 and 2007 we surveyed Agribusiness students’ attitudes about agriculture, farming, food and agricultural policies. Responses were analyzed by year and student characteristics including farm background, citizenship and gender. Citizenship was a significant variable explaining differences in agreement with statements. Year and interactions with year were not significant.agricultural policy, farming, logistic regression, student attitudes, Agricultural and Food Policy, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, A13, A22, C42, Q18,

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO MITIGATE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF WEATHER UNCERTAINTY IN EFFLUENT APPLICATION TO IRRIGATED CORN IN SEMIARID REGIONS

This study compares subsurface drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation with respect to expected returns, aquifer life, nutrient utilization and accumulation in the production of irrigated corn using swine effluent and fresh groundwater from a depleting aquifer in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Most of the equations estimated econometrically had heteroskedasticity problems and MLE was used. The econometric estimation of a PDF of ammonia volatilization dependent on amount of nitrogen applied, for each irrigation system, was successful and is the basis for developing a stochastic chain for the soil nitrogen carryover equation. The results of the stochastic dynamic programming model are still being developed and will be presented at the conference.Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy,

LAND APPLICATION OF SWINE WASTE: REGULATION AND PRODUCER PRACTICES IN OKLAHOMA

Livestock Production/Industries,

Economics of Transporting Poultry Litter from Northwest Arkansas to Eastern Arkansas Croplands

Applying baled litter from northwest Arkansas shipped by truck with backhauls, supplemented with chemical fertilizers provided the most cost-efficient method to supply nutrients to crops in eastern Arkansas, according to a GAMS optimization. Shipping raw litter by truck and barge is the optimal choice when backhauls or baling is unavailable.Public Economics,

Polyoxazoline-Based Nanovaccine Synergizes with Tumor-Associated Macrophage Targeting and Anti-PD-1 Immunotherapy against Solid Tumors

Nanovaccines; Tumor immune microenvironment; Tumor-associated macrophagesNanovacunes; Microambient immune tumoral; Macròfags associats al tumorNanovacunas; Microambiente inmune tumoral; Macrófagos asociados al tumorImmune checkpoint blockade reaches remarkable clinical responses. However, even in the most favorable cases, half of these patients do not benefit from these therapies in the long term. It is hypothesized that the activation of host immunity by co-delivering peptide antigens, adjuvants, and regulators of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β expression using a polyoxazoline (POx)-poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) nanovaccine, while modulating the tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) function within the tumor microenvironment (TME) and blocking the anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) can constitute an alternative approach for cancer immunotherapy. POx-Mannose (Man) nanovaccines generate antigen-specific T-cell responses that control tumor growth to a higher extent than poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-Man nanovaccines. This anti-tumor effect induced by the POx-Man nanovaccines is mediated by a CD8+-T cell-dependent mechanism, in contrast to the PEG-Man nanovaccines. POx-Man nanovaccine combines with pexidartinib, a modulator of the TAM function, restricts the MC38 tumor growth, and synergizes with PD-1 blockade, controlling MC38 and CT26 tumor growth and survival. This data is further validated in the highly aggressive and poorly immunogenic B16F10 melanoma mouse model. Therefore, the synergistic anti-tumor effect induced by the combination of nanovaccines with the inhibition of both TAM- and PD-1-inducing immunosuppression, holds great potential for improving immunotherapy outcomes in solid cancer patients.Funding: R.S.-F. and H.F.F. thank the following funding agencies for their generous support: The project that gave rise to these results has received funding from the “la Caixa” Foundation under the grant agreements LCF/PR/HR22/52420016, LCF/PR/HR19/52160021, and LCF/TR/CD20/52700005 (R.S.-F. and H.F.F). H.F.F thanks the generous financial support from The Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia-Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (FCT-MCTES) (EXPL/MED-QUI/1316/2021, PTDC/BTM-SAL/4350/2021, UTAP-EXPL/NPN/0041/2021, UIDB/04138/2020, UIDP/04138/2020). R.S.-F. thanks to the European Research Council (ERC) PoC Grant Agreement no. 101113390 and ERC Advanced Grant Agreement no. 835227, the Israel Science Foundation (1969/18), the Melanoma Research Alliance (Established Investigator Award no. 615808 to R.S.-F.), the Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) Professorship award (no. PROF-18-682), the Morris Kahn Foundation. B.C. is supported by the FCT-MCTES (Ph.D. Fellowship SFRH/BD/131969/2017). The authors also acknowledge the NIH Tetramer Core Facility for the provision of Adpgk tetramers, in addition to the Comparative Pathology Unit of IMM and the Histopathology Facility of IGC for supporting the histopathological study