Investigating the Drivers of Farm Diversification Among U.S. Fruit and Vegetable Operations

Diversification of an agricultural operation’s crop mix is considered an environmental and financial management strategy. Environmentally, crop diversification can stabilize the ecosystem via the introduction of biodiversity, allowing for more rapid response to physical and social changes. Economically, crop mix diversification can mitigate risk. Though there are environmental and economic benefits of crop diversification, little economic work has been conducted on crop diversification outside of the row crop industry. This study estimated how internal and external factors affect crop diversification among fruit and vegetable (FV) operations. External factors included access to markets and land; internal factors included farmer beliefs and access to information from extension and network sources. An OLS regression was conducted using data from 1532 farmers across 16 states in the United States. Endogeneity was addressed using an instrumental variable approach and a score endogeneity test indicated that endogeneity was not an issue. OLS results indicate that selling locally increases diversification, while reliance on other farmers for information decreases diversification. A conditional quantile analysis was conducted to reveal factors’ effects across different degrees of diversification. Quantile results indicate that selling locally, season extension technologies, and use of organic practices positively influence crop diversification across all levels of diversification. Receiving information from farmers negatively influences diversification for specialized farms, but positively influences diversification for highly diversified operations

Isolation and characterization of lignocellulolytic microbes from oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB)

Oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) is one of the major by-products of palm oil production. This lignocellulosic biomass is commonly used as a fertilizer at oil palm plantations. Unfortunately, the composting process of EFB is very slow. This study aimed to identify potential lignocellulosic microbes isolated from EFB. This information is essential for improving EFB biodegradation process by reducing the decomposition time. Samples of approximately 6, 12, and 24-month-old EFB were obtained from two palm oil mills in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The isolation of lignocellulytic microbes utilized selective medium cellulose congo red agar (CCRA) while its characterization used lignin agar (LgA) and oil palm empty fruit bunches agar (EFBCRA). As much as 430 isolates were successfully collected and 12 of them exhibited promising capability to synthesize lignocellulolytic enzyme, the key for FEB degradation

Disparity between General Symptom Relief and Remission Criteria in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS): A Post-treatment Bifactor Item Response Theory Model.

Objective: Total scale scores derived by summing ratings from the 30-item PANSS are commonly used in clinical trial research to measure overall symptom severity, and percentage reductions in the total scores are sometimes used to document the efficacy of treatment. Acknowledging that some patients may have substantial changes in PANSS total scores but still be sufficiently symptomatic to warrant diagnosis, ratings on a subset of 8 items, referred to here as the "Remission set," are sometimes used to determine if patients' symptoms no longer satisfy diagnostic criteria. An unanswered question remains: is the goal of treatment better conceptualized as reduction in overall symptom severity, or reduction in symptoms below the threshold for diagnosis? We evaluated the psychometric properties of PANSS total scores, to assess whether having low symptom severity post-treatment is equivalent to attaining Remission. Design: We applied a bifactor item response theory (IRT) model to post-treatment PANSS ratings of 3,647 subjects diagnosed with schizophrenia assessed at the termination of 11 clinical trials. The bifactor model specified one general dimension to reflect overall symptom severity, and five domain-specific dimensions. We assessed how PANSS item discrimination and information parameters varied across the range of overall symptom severity (θ), with a special focus on low levels of symptoms (i.e., θ<-1), which we refer to as "Relief" from symptoms. A score of θ=-1 corresponds to an expected PANSS item score of 1.83, a rating between "Absent" and "Minimal" for a PANSS symptom. Results: The application of the bifactor IRT model revealed: (1) 88% of total score variation was attributable to variation in general symptom severity, and only 8% reflected secondary domain factors. This implies that a general factor may provide a good indicator of symptom severity, and that interpretation is not overly complicated by multidimensionality; (2) Post-treatment, 534 individuals (about 15% of the whole sample) scored in the "Relief" range of general symptom severity, but more than twice that number (n = 1351) satisfied Remission criteria (37%). 2 in 3 Remitted patients had scores that were not in a low symptom range (corresponding to Absent or Minimal item scores); (3) PANSS items vary greatly in their ability to measure the general symptom severity dimension; while many items are highly discriminating and relatively "pure" indicators of general symptom severity (delusions, conceptual disorganization), others are better indicators of specific dimensions (blunted affect, depression). The utility of a given PANSS item for assessing a patient depended on the illness level of the patient. Conclusion: Satisfying conventional Remission criteria was not strongly associated with low levels of symptoms. The items providing the most information for patients in the symptom Relief range were Delusions, Preoccupation, Suspiciousness Persecution, Unusual Thought Content, Conceptual Disorganization, Stereotyped Thinking, Active Social Avoidance, and Lack of Judgment and Insight. Lower scores on these items (item scores ≤2) were strongly associated with having a low latent trait θ or experiencing overall symptom relief. The inter-rater agreement between Remission and Relief subjects suggested that these criteria identified different subsets of patients. Alternative subsets of items may offer better indicators of general symptom severity and provide better discrimination (and lower standard errors) for scaling individuals and judging symptom relief, where the "best" subset of items ultimately depends on the illness range and treatment phase being evaluated

Microbiota signatures in type-2 diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease - A Pilot Study

The human microbiota is paramount for normal host physiology. Altered host-microbiome interactions are part of the pathogenesis of numerous common ailments. Currently, much emphasis is placed on the involvement of the microbiome in the pathogenesis of type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), impaired glucose tolerance, and other metabolic disorders (i.e. obesity). Several studies found highly significant correlations of specific intestinal bacteria with T2DM. A better understanding of the role of the microbiome in diabetes and its complications might provide new insights in the development of new therapeutic principles. Our pilot study investigates the microbiota patterns in Romanian type-2 diabetic patients with diabetic kidney disease. Fecal samples were collected from type 2-diabetic patients and healthy controls and further used for bacterial DNA isolation. Using 16 rDNA qRT-PCR, we analyzed phyla abundance (Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes) as well as the relative abundance of specific bacterial groups (Lactobacillus sp., Enterobacteriaceae, Ruminococus sp., Prevotella sp., Faecalibacterium sp., Clostridium coccoides, Clostridium leptum). Our study also investigates the diabetic fungal microbiome for the first time. Furthermore, we report significant correlations between the treatment regimen and microbiota composition in diabetic nephropathy

Exploring connections among nature, biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human health and well-being: Opportunities to enhance health and biodiversity conservation

AbstractWe are at a key juncture in history where biodiversity loss is occurring daily and accelerating in the face of population growth, climate change, and rampant development. Simultaneously, we are just beginning to appreciate the wealth of human health benefits that stem from experiencing nature and biodiversity. Here we assessed the state of knowledge on relationships between human health and nature and biodiversity, and prepared a comprehensive listing of reported health effects. We found strong evidence linking biodiversity with production of ecosystem services and between nature exposure and human health, but many of these studies were limited in rigor and often only correlative. Much less information is available to link biodiversity and health. However, some robust studies indicate that exposure to microbial biodiversity can improve health, specifically in reducing certain allergic and respiratory diseases. Overall, much more research is needed on mechanisms of causation. Also needed are a re-envisioning of land-use planning that places human well-being at the center and a new coalition of ecologists, health and social scientists and planners to conduct research and develop policies that promote human interaction with nature and biodiversity. Improvements in these areas should enhance human health and ecosystem, community, as well as human resilience

Dust Reddening in SDSS Quasars

We explore the form of extragalactic reddening toward quasars using a sample of 9566 quasars with redshifts 0<z<2.2, and accurate optical colors from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We confirm that dust reddening is the primary explanation for the red ``tail'' of the color distribution of SDSS quasars. Our fitting to 5-band photometry normalized by the modal quasar color as a function of redshift shows that this ``tail'' is well described by SMC-like reddening but not by LMC-like, Galactic, or Gaskell et al. (2004) reddening. Extension to longer wavelengths using a subset of 1886 SDSS-2MASS matches confirms these results at high significance. We carry out Monte-Carlo simulations that match the observed distribution of quasar spectral energy distributions using a Lorentzian dust reddening distribution; 2% of quasars selected by the main SDSS targeting algorithm (i.e., which are not extincted out of the sample) have E_{B-V} > 0.1; less than 1% have E_{B-V} > 0.2, where the extinction is relative to quasars with modal colors. Reddening is uncorrelated with the presence of intervening narrow-line absorption systems, but reddened quasars are much more likely to show narrow absorption at the redshift of the quasar than are unreddened quasars. Thus the reddening towards quasars is dominated by SMC-like dust at the quasar redshift.Comment: 29 pages including 8 figures. AJ, September 2004 issu

Why Was There a Harmful Algal Bloom in 2015: The Relative Growth of Toxic and Non-toxic Diatoms as a Function of Temperature

A coastwide bloom of the toxigenic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia in 2015 resulted in the largest recorded outbreak and unprecedented levels of the neurotoxin, domoic acid (DA), along the North American west coast. The scientific community has suggested that warmer ocean temperatures were the main cause of this harmful algal bloom (HAB), but little scientific evidence to support the relationship between temperature, and the growth and toxicity of Pseudo-nitzschia has been provided for local isolates of these diatoms. To gain insight into bloom dynamics, a laboratory study was conducted to examine the growth of toxic and non-toxic phytoplankton species at a range of temperatures. Non- (or low) toxic diatoms Pseudo-nitzschia fraudulenta, Skeletonema costatum, and Chaetoceros decipiens were isolated from the 2015 bloom, and cultured at eight temperature conditions (5.6, 6.8, 8.7, 10.8, 13.3, 15.2, 17.2, 19.0°C). A total of 48 cultures (6 tubes per condition), with duplicates at each temperature, were grown in a temperature gradient incubator and monitored for 31 days over three complete growth cycles (runs) of exponential and stationary growth. Specific growth rates, determined from daily measures of in vivo fluorescence, indicate that by Run 3, there was no growth at 5.6°C for Chaetoceros decipiens, and a large decline in the growth rate for Skeletonema costatum at 17.2 and 19.0°C. Pseudo-nitzschia fraudulenta demonstrated the greatest growth rates of all species from 10.8 to 19.0°C, and exhibited the broadest range of elevated growth rates. These temperature results indicate that Skeletonema costatum does not thrive in ocean temperatures above 15°C, and is outcompeted by other algae, including both species of Pseudo-nitzschia. Results of this study will greatly aid oceanographers in determining the dominant species in a coastal region as a function of ambient ocean temperature conditions

Pengaruh Lama Penyimpanan terhadap Kualitas Telur Konsumsi Ayam Kampung dan Ayam Lohman Brown

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh lama penyimpanan terhadap kualitas telur ayam kampungdan ayam Lohman Brown. Rancangan acak lengkap (RAL) pola faktorial dengan 2 faktor perlakuan yaitu telur ayamkampung dan ayam Lohmnan Browm dengan 4 faktor lama penyimpanan 0, 7, 14, 21 hari pada suhu ruang dan 3kali ulangan dan setiap ulangan terdiri dari 10 butir telur digunakan dalam penelitian ini. Hasi penelitian berupatelur dengan kualitas yang baik dengan lama penyimpanan yang optimal dengan menguji eksterior telur dan interiortelur seperti indeks telur, warna kuning telur, pH, Haugh Unit telur serta kandungan atau populasi mikroba yangtumbuh selama penyimpanan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan terjadi perbedaan yang nyata (P&lt;0,05) pada eksterioryaitu pada kebersihan dan tekstur permukaan telur, dan pada interior juga berbeda nyata secara statistik pada HUtelur, sedangkan perlakuan yang lainya tidak berbeda (P&gt;0,05). Dapat disimpulkan bahwa perlakuan penyimpanan0, 7, 14, 21 hari pada telur ayam kampung dan telur ayam Lohman Brown secara eksterior dan interior mengalamipenurunan kualitas namun masih layak dikonsumsi hingga lama penyimpanan 21 hari dalam suhu ruang serta masihmenunjukkan nilai grade A dan cemaran mikroba masih dibawah Standar Nasional Indonesia (SNI)

Non Karkas Kambing Bligon yang Diberi Pakan Daun Pepaya dengan Level yang Berbeda

Tujuan dari penlitian ini adalah untuk melihat pengaruh pemberian pakan daun pepaya pada level yangberbeda terhadap non karkas kambing bligon. Penelitian ini menggunakan rancangan acak lengkap (RAL) dengantiga perlakuan dan tujuh ulangan. Duapuluh satu ekor kambing umur sekitar 6 bulan dengan berat awal rata-rata13,95±0,78 digunakan dalam penelitian ini. Ternak dibagi secara acak dalam tiga perlakuan, yaitu perlakuan R0(kontrol) pakan tanpa daun pepaya (10% daun waru+15% daun nangka+75% rumput ), R1 ( 25% daun pepaya+75%rumput) R2 (50% daun pepaya+50% rumput). Setelah dipelihara selama 12 minggu dilakukan penyembelihanterhadap materi penelitian. Variabel yang diamati dalam penelitian ini adalah persentase non karkas eksternal yaitupersentase berat kepala, kaki, kulit, darah dan persentase non karkas internal yaitu persentase berat jantung, hatiparu-paru, limpa, ginjal dan saluran cerna. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa pemberian pakan daunpepaya dengan level yang berbeda tidak berpengaruh terhadap persentase non karkas eksternal tetapi berpengaruhsecara nyata pada persentase non karkas internal utamanya pada persentase berat ginjal dan saluran cerna