Aggregation and Calibration of Agricultural Sector Models Through Crop Mix Restrictions and Marginal Profit Adjustments

All agricultural sector models must deal with aggregation and calibration somehow. The aggregation problem involves treating a group of producers as if they all responded in the same way as a single representative unit. The calibration problem concerns making a model reproduce as closely as possible an empirically observed set of decision maker actions. This paper shows how both calibration and aggregation are addressed through crop mix restrictions combined with marginal profit adjust-ments.mathematical programming, aggregation, calibration, crop mix, marginal cost, agricultural sector model, Agribusiness, C6, C61, Q1, Q11, Q17, Q18, R12, R13, R14,

Chronic stress induces NPD-like behavior in APPPS1 and WT mice with subtle differences in gene expression

Neuropsychiatric disturbances (NPDs) are considered hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Nevertheless, treatment of these symptoms has proven difficult and development of safe and effective treatment options is hampered by the limited understanding of the underlying pathophysiology. Thus, robust preclinical models are needed to increase knowledge of NPDs in AD and develop testable hypotheses and novel treatment options. Abnormal activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is implicated in many psychiatric symptoms and might contribute to both AD and NPDs development and progression. We aimed to establish a mechanistic preclinical model of NPD‐like behavior in the APPPS1 mouse model of AD and wildtype (WT) littermates. In APPPS1 and WT mice, we found that chronic stress increased anxiety‐like behavior and altered diurnal locomotor activity suggestive of sleep disturbances. Also, chronic stress activated the HPA axis, which, in WT mice, remained heightened for additional 3 weeks. Chronic stress caused irregular expression of circadian regulatory clock genes (BMAL1, PER2, CRY1 and CRY2) in both APPPS1 and WT mice. Interestingly, APPPS1 and WT mice responded differently to chronic stress in terms of expression of serotonergic markers (5‐HT(1A) receptor and MAOA) and inflammatory genes (IL‐6, STAT3 and ADMA17). These findings indicate that, although the behavioral response to chronic stress might be similar, the neurobiochemical response was different in APPPS1 mice, which is an important insight in the efforts to develop safe and effective treatments options for NPDs in AD patients. Further work is needed to substantiate these findings

FFTF implementation of training requirments for government owned facilities

The Fst Flux Facility (FFTF) is a liquid metal cooled, fast flux reactor plant. It is owned by the Department of Energy (DOE) and is operated by the Hanford Engineering Development Laboratory (HEDL) under a DOE contract with Westinghouse Hanford Company. The FFTF is presently undergoing acceptance testing of sodium systems in preparation for initial criticality in August 1979. It will be used to test fuels and materials, to develop associated components and to gain operating experience for future LMFBR's. The FFTF Training Program is a specific example of how training guidelines provided by NRC can be implemented in principle in a DOE owned reactor. The DOE requirements for government owned facilities and the NRC requirements for commercially owned facilities are compared to components of the FFTF Training program. These components will be described, actual status provided and evaluated as to meeting requirements. Cold Plant Qualification (equivalent to NRC Col Plant Licensing) is the next major milestone for FFTF Operator training. Additional requirements or constraints such as operator time utilization, recruiting and turnover, plant availbility and startup testing greatly affect the ability to meet this milestone. These constraints and requirements and the resulting compromises will be evaluated relative to meeting DOE requirements

The challenge of acute-stroke management: does telemedicine offer a solution?

<p><b>Background:</b> Several studies have described successful experiences with the use of telemedicine in acute stroke. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and treatment delivery reliability, of telemedicine systems for the clinical and radiological assessment, and management of acute-stroke patients.</p> <p><b>Summary of Review:</b> A systematic review of the literature was carried out. Studies were included if they met the following criteria: (1) study population included participants with a diagnosis of suspected acute stroke, (2) intervention included the use of telemedicine systems to aid assessment, diagnosis, or treatment in acute stroke, and (3) outcomes measured related to feasibility in clinical practice, acceptability to patients, carers, and staff, reliability of telemedicine systems, and effectiveness in delivering treatment, especially tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). Overall, 17 relevant non-randomised studies reported that telemedicine systems were feasible and acceptable. Interrater reliability was excellent for global clinical assessments and decisions on radiological exclusion criteria although agreement for individual assessment items was more variable. Telemedicine systems were associated with increased use of tPA.</p> <p><b>Conclusion:</b> Although there is limited reliable evidence, observational studies have indicated that telemedicine systems can be feasible, acceptable, and reliable in acute-stroke management. In addition, telemedicine consultations were associated with improved delivery of tPA.</p&gt

Treatment outcome in adults with chronic fatigue syndrome: a prospective study in England based on the CFS/ME National Outcomes Database

Background: Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is relatively common and disabling. Over 8000 patients attend adult services each year, yet little is known about the outcome of patients attending NHS services. Aim: Investigate the outcome of patients with CFS and what factors predict outcome. Design: Longitudinal patient cohort. Methods: We used data from six CFS/ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis) specialist services to measure changes in fatigue (Chalder Fatigue Scale), physical function (SF-36), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and pain (visual analogue pain rating scale) between clinical assessment and 8–20 months of follow-up. We used multivariable linear regression to investigate baseline factors associated with outcomes at follow-up. Results: Baseline data obtained at clinical assessment were available for 1643 patients, of whom 834 (51%) had complete follow-up data. There were improvements in fatigue [mean difference from assessment to outcome: −6.8; 95% confidence interval (CI) −7.4 to −6.2; P < 0.001]; physical function (4.4; 95% CI 3.0–5.8; P < 0.001), anxiety (−0.6; 95% CI −0.9 to −0.3; P < 0.001), depression (−1.6; 95% CI −1.9 to −1.4; P < 0.001) and pain (−5.3; 95% CI −7.0 to −3.6; P < 0.001). Worse fatigue, physical function and pain at clinical assessment predicted a worse outcome for fatigue at follow-up. Older age, increased pain and physical function at assessment were associated with poorer physical function at follow-up. Conclusions: Patients who attend NHS specialist CFS/ME services can expect similar improvements in fatigue, anxiety and depression to participants receiving cognitive behavioural therapy and graded exercise therapy in a recent trial, but are likely to experience less improvement in physical function. Outcomes were predicted by fatigue, disability and pain at assessment

Consumo de suplementos alimentares por praticantes de exercício físico em academias de bairros nobres da cidade do Recife

Results from a program of measurements of level densities and gamma ray strength functions in the actinide region are presented. Experiments at the Oslo cyclotron involving the Cactus/Siri detectors and 232Th(d,x) and 232Th(3He,x) reactions were carried out to help answer the question of which level density model is the most appropriate for actinide nuclei, since it will have an impact on cross section calculations important for reactor physics simulations. A new technique for extracting level densities and gamma ray strength functions from particle-gamma coincidence data is proposed and results from the development of this technique are presented. In addition, simultaneous measurements of compound nuclear gamma decay probabilities have been performed for the key thorium cycle nuclei 233Th, 231Th and 232Pa up to around 1MeV above the neutron binding energy and have enabled extraction of indirect neutron induced capture cross sections for the 232Th, 231Pa and 230Th nuclei using the surrogate reaction method. Since the neutron capture cross section for 232Th is already well known from direct measurements a comparison provides a stringent test of the applicability of the surrogate technique in the actinide region

Life histories of the copepods Pseudocalanus minutus, P. acuspes (Calanoida) and Oithona similis (Cyclopoida) in the Arctic Kongsfjorden (Svalbard)

The year-round variation in abundance and stage-specific (vertical) distribution of Pseudocalanus minutus and Oithona similis was studied in the Arctic Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Maxima of vertically integrated abundance were found in November with 111,297 ind m−2 for P. minutus and 704,633 ind m−2 for O. similis. Minimum abundances comprised 1,088 ind m−2 and 4,483 ind m−2 in June for P. minutus and O. similis, respectively. The congener P. acuspes only occurred in low numbers (15–213 ind m−2), and successful reproduction was debatable. Reproduction of P. minutus took place in May/June, and stage distribution revealed a 1-year life cycle with copepodids CIII, CIV, and CV as the overwintering stages. Oithona similis exhibited two main reproductive peaks in June and August/September, respectively. Moreover, it reproduced more or less continuously throughout the whole year with all stages occurring during the entire sampling period, suggesting two generations per year. Both species migrated towards greater depth in November, but O. similis preferred to stay longer in the upper 100 m as compared to Pseudocalanus. The reproduction of the two species in Kongsfjorden seemed to be linked to phytoplankton dynamics