A Study of the Adaptability of Till Planting Corn Under Dryland Conditions in Eastern South Dakota

The technological changes taking place in farming practices today are occurring as a much faster rate than a decade or two ago. In many ways, farmers are applying techniques and practices used in industrial business to their own operations. The average farm size has continually increased and today many farms are enough like a large business that the industrial practices apply directly. The shortage of qualified labor has plagued farmers for some time, and many of the new machines and practices attempt to replace labor with capital as a direct result of these shortages

Mental Health Stigma in Religious Communities: Development of a Quantitative Measure

While mental health stigma is a burgeoning field of research, little work has been done on whether mental health stigma in different subcultures is the same or different as the general population. There is qualitative evidence that beliefs about the etiology and effective treatments for mental illness differ in religious communities as compared to the general population, but efforts to quantify this difference have been sparse and reflect poor methodology. The purpose of the present study is to create and validate a measure of mental health stigma in religious communities. Items will be generated using extant literature and revised after expert review and piloting. In Study 1, the items were tested with 703 undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university. Exploratory Factor Analysis was then used to determine a factor structure with good fitting items. In Study 2, items were retested with a second sample of undergraduate students at the same university, to conduct a Confirmatory Factor Analysis, to cross-validate the scale, and to measure convergent and discriminate validity using several scales measuring related constructs. The outcome is a psychometrically strong, valid self-report instrument to measure mental health stigma in religious communities

Till Planting of Corn in Eastern South Dakota: Irrigation - Dryland

A growing interest is evident in minimum tillage, or combined tillage, operations for growing corn. In addition to conventional planters, machines are available commercially which will till-plant, wheel-track plant, hardground list, or strip-process plant. Modifications of these machines and machines for new planting systems that appear periodically on the market reflect the interest among today\u27s farm operators in minimum tillage or reduced tillage. Any discussion involving minimum tillage requires a definition or explanation of what is meant by the term. To some people it means reducing the number of trips made across the field by combining individual operations into a once-over operation. In this case the number of tillage operations are not reduced, just the number of trips over the field. To others it implies reducing the number of individual operations done in one or several passes over the field

Salivary gland derived peptides as a new class of anti-inflammatory agents: review of preclinical pharmacology of C-terminal peptides of SMR1 protein

The limitations of steroidal and non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have prompted investigation into other biologically based therapeutics, and identification of immune selective anti-inflammatory agents of salivary origin. The traditional view of salivary glands as accessory digestive structures is changing as their importance as sources of systemically active immunoregulatory and anti-inflammatory factors is recognized. Salivary gland involvement in maintenance of whole body homeostasis is regulated by the nervous system and thus constitutes a "neuroendocrine axis". The potent anti-inflammatory activities, both in vivo and in vitro, of the tripeptide Phe-Glu-Gly (FEG) are reviewed. FEG is a carboxyl terminal peptide of the prohormone SMR1 identified in the rat submandibular salivary gland, The D-isomeric form (feG) mimics the activity of its L-isomer FEG. Macropharmacologically, feG attenuates the cardiovascular and inflammatory effects of endotoxemia and anaphylaxis, by inhibition of hypotension, leukocyte migration, vascular leak, and disruption of pulmonary function and intestinal motility. Mechanistically, feG affects activated inflammatory cells, especially neutrophils, by regulating integrins and inhibiting intracellular production of reactive oxygen species. Pharmacodynamically, feG is active at low doses (100 μg/kg) and has a long (9-12 hour) biological half life. As a therapeutic agent, feG shows promise in diseases characterized by over exuberant inflammatory responses such as systemic inflammatory response syndrome and other acute inflammatory diseases. Arthritis, sepsis, acute pancreatitis, asthma, acute respiratory inflammation, inflammatory bowel disease, and equine laminitis are potential targets for this promising therapeutic peptide. The term "Immune Selective Anti-Inflammatory Derivatives" (ImSAIDs) is proposed for salivary-derived peptides to distinguish this class of agents from corticosteroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Modulation of neutrophil function by the tripeptide feG

BACKGROUND: Neutrophils are critical in the defense against potentially harmful microorganisms, but their excessive and inappropriate activation can contribute significantly to tissue damage and a worsening pathology. Through the release of endocrine factors submandibular glands contribute to achieving a balance in neutrophil function by modulating the state of activation and migratory potential of circulating neutrophils. A putative hormonal candidate for these effects on neutrophils was identified as a heptapeptide named submandibular gland peptide T (SGP-T; sequence = TDIFEGG). Since the tripeptide FEG, derived from SGP-T, and its D-amino acid analogue feG had similar inhibitory effects on inflammatory reactions, we investigated the effects of feG on human and rat neutrophil function. RESULTS: With human neutrophils feG had no discernible effect on oxidative burst or phagocytosis, but in picomolar amounts it reduced PAF-induced neutrophil movement and adhesion, and the binding of CD11b by 34% and that of CD16b close to control values. In the rat feG (10(-11)M) reduced the binding of CD11b and CD16 antibodies to PAF-stimulated circulating neutrophils by 35% and 43%, respectively, and at 100 micrograms/kilograms intraperitoneally feG reduced neutrophil in vivo migration by 40%. With ovalbumin-sensitized rats that were challenged with antigen, feG inhibited binding of antibodies against CD16b but not CD11b, on peritoneal leukocytes. CONCLUSIONS: The inhibitory effect of feG on neutrophil movement may be mediated by alterations in the co-stimulatory molecules CD11b and CD16

On the motion of a classical charged particle

We show that the Lorentz-Dirac equation is not an unavoidable consequence of energy-momentum conservation for a point charge. What follows solely from conservation laws is a less restrictive equation already obtained by Honig and Szamosi. The latter is not properly an equation of motion because, as it contains an extra scalar variable, it does not determine the future evolution of the charge. We show that a supplementary constitutive relation can be added so that the motion is determined and free from the troubles that are customary in Lorentz-Dirac equation, i. e. preacceleration and runaways

Economic Stress of International Students: What Counselors Should Know

College students encounter high levels of stress due to intensive demands from developmental and academic tasks. In addition to the stress induced by developmental and academic tasks, economic stress adds substantial distress to college students. Economic contraction is known to bring up mental health concerns in society. Financial stress and diminished optimism are affected by distressful economic conditions. This study examined the different perceptions of economic stress between American students and international students of one English for Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) program. International students in this study sustained equally high economic stress but were more sensitive to the economic downturn. The results provide an opportunity to inform counselors how to better work with international students regarding their economic stress