Productivity Growth in U.S. Agriculture

Innovation and changes in technology have been a driving force for gains in productivity growth in U.S. agriculture. USDA's Economic Research Service has developed annual indexes of agricultural inputs, outputs, and total factor productivity (TFP) for 1948 through 2004. American agriculture relies almost entirely on productivity growth to raise output. By lowering the cost of agricultural commodities, productivity growth benefits not only farmers but also food manufacturers and consumers.Agriculture, productivity, productivity growth, total factor productivity, TFP, labor, farm economy, prices, agricultural research, agricultural output, technology, ERS, USDA, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis,

System of farm cost accounting

The business farmer wishes to know how much he is making or losing on his business each year, how much he is making or losing on each crop or class of animals, and how he can improve his business so as to make more money. The function of farm cost accounting is to supply this information. Cost accounting for the farm is the same sort of work large manufacturing companies do to learn whether they are making a profit on their different products. The farmer wants to know whether his wheat pays, whether his cows pay, or his orchard. These are some of the questions a set of farm cost accounts will settle

A Winter/Spring Study of Salamanders in a Disturbed, Fragmented Habitat Surrounded by Farm Land

The continued development of fragmented habitats contributes to the decline of amphibians species, and there needs to be a method for evaluating the potential of these habitats to sustain amphibian populations. The effect of fragmented and disturbed habitats among salamander species is difficult to assess because these caudates are difficult to find and enumerate. One approach for estimating the total population of salamanders is to sample them when they migrate to their winter/spring breeding ponds. One fragmented habitat in Southern Michigan was sampled for breeding salamanders during the winter/spring of 1997. Four species of salamanders were detected at this site; blue-spotted salamanders (Ambystoma laterale complex), eastern newts (Notophthalmus viridescem), spotted salamanders (A. maculatum), and tiger salamanders (A. tigrinum). Blue-spotted salamanders were the most common salamander caught (797 breeding adults) followed by the eastern newt (111 adults), spotted salamanders (54 adults), and tiger salamanders (two adults). Based on mark recapture methods, the total population of blue-spotted salamanders at this site was estimated to be about 3100 (95% C.I. 2800- 3800). Two of the four species of salamanders detected at this site seem to be thriving, blue-spotted salamanders and eastern newts. Spotted salamanders are vulnerable to natural events that could cause the extirpation of this species from this site. Tiger salamanders, while detected in these woods, are too few to represent a sustainable population

Model Reactions Involving Ester Functional Groups during Thermo‐Oxidative Degradation of Biodiesel

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel used in diesel engines that is typically blended with diesel fuel. However, biodiesel is susceptible to oxidation, which has the potential to produce higher molecular weight materials that may adversely impact vehicle fuel‐system performance. To investigate the chemical reactions potentially important in biodiesel oxidation, four different types of chemical reactions involving esters were studied: (1) ester formation (reactions of acids with alcohols), (2) alcoholysis (reactions of alcohols with esters), (3) acidolysis (reaction of acids with esters), and (4) ester exchange (reactions between two esters). Experiments with representative model compounds were used to evaluate these reactions at 90 °C with aeration; conditions previously used to simulate thermo‐oxidative degradation during biodiesel aging. Reactions were monitored using gas chromatography, fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and total acid number (TAN). Evidence is presented suggesting that alcoholysis and ester formation (Reactions 1 and 2), catalyzed by carboxylic acids, are important reactions of esters that could lead to larger molecules. Acidolysis (Reaction 3) proceeded at a comparatively slow rate and ester exchange reaction products (Reaction 4) were not detected under these aging conditions.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151841/1/aocs12277_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151841/2/aocs12277.pd

Peripheral neuropathy secondary to a ‘domino’ liver transplant:a case report

Abstract Background Peripheral neuropathy caused by amyloidosis is one of the well-recognised sequelae of mutations in the transthyretin gene (TTR). Case presentation We describe a case of peripheral neuropathy in a White British 74 year old man with wild-type TTR, 8 years following receipt of a ‘domino’ liver transplant (from a donor with a TTR mutation). The clinical phenotype and neurophysiology, coupled with presence of ATTR amyloid deposits on fat biopsy, established the diagnosis of ATTR amyloid neuropathy, as a consequence of receipt of a variant-TTR secreting liver. A nerve biopsy was not clinically appropriate for this patient. Such cases are rare since recipients of such livers are typically restricted to people whose natural lifespan is unlikely to stretch into the anticipated symptomatic period of ATTR amyloidosis. However, novel “gene silencing” therapeutics are now available which can dramatically alter the course of this disorder, by reducing the proportion of abnormal proteins. Conclusions This represents a rare but predictable iatrogenic side effect, and doctors should be aware of this eventuality occurring in a shorter time span than previously anticipated

Weyl's Lagrangian in teleparallel form

The main result of the paper is a new representation for the Weyl Lagrangian (massless Dirac Lagrangian). As the dynamical variable we use the coframe, i.e. an orthonormal tetrad of covector fields. We write down a simple Lagrangian - wedge product of axial torsion with a lightlike element of the coframe - and show that this gives the Weyl Lagrangian up to a nonlinear change of dynamical variable. The advantage of our approach is that it does not require the use of spinors, Pauli matrices or covariant differentiation. The only geometric concepts we use are those of a metric, differential form, wedge product and exterior derivative. Our result assigns a variational meaning to the tetrad representation of the Weyl equation suggested by J. B. Griffiths and R. A. Newing

Adolescent Healthcare Brokering: Prevalence, Experience, Impact, and Opportunities

BACKGROUND: Limited health literacy disproportionately affects those with limited English proficiency (LEP). Parents with LEP might rely on their adolescent children to interpret health information. We call this adolescent health care brokering. This study uncovers the prevalence of brokering, kinds of tasks, emotional and academic impact, and desired support. METHODS: We invited 165 students from health classes (in a community in which 29.8% are foreign-born and 53.4% speak another language at home) to complete a survey. We used IBM SPSS to calculate descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Of the 159 who received parental consent and assented, 54.1% (n=86) assist with healthcare tasks. When brokering, 80.2% (n=69) translate. Most common tasks were talking to a doctor, reading prescriptions, and searching on the Internet. Participants were most confident reading prescriptions and talking to a doctor and least confident finding healthcare services. Among brokers, 29.1% (n=24) missed school; 33.7% did not complete homework. They most wanted to learn about filling out insurance forms and talking to doctors. CONCLUSIONS: Despite assurances that children are not permitted to interpret, adolescents are acting as healthcare brokers. The impact can be academic and emotional. Findings indicate a need for further research and support for adolescents who want to learn about healthcare tasks

The Adolescent Health Care Broker – Adolescents Interpreting for Family Members and Themselves in Health Care

Parents with limited English proficiency might rely on their adolescent children to interpret health information. We call this adolescent healthcare brokering. Using a mixed-methods, transformative research approach rooted in grounded theory, we sought to answer these questions: (a) “What is happening? What are people doing?” and (b) “What do these stories indicate? What might they suggest about social justice?” High school students from a community in which 53.4% speak another language at home were invited to participate in a survey and focus groups. Of 238 survey participants, 57.5% (n=137) indicated they assisted with healthcare tasks. When doing so, 81.7% (n=112) translated. Common tasks were reading prescriptions and talking to doctors. While some participants cited negative emotions associated with brokering, the net emotion was positive. Focus groups (n=11) revealed that tasks varied broadly in complexity and type, emotional experiences were dichotomous, and access to interpreting services and other supports was inconsistent

THE BALL ORIENTATIONS USED BY PLACE KICKERS AT THE 2019 RUGBY WORLD CUP AND THEIR ASSOCIATIONS WITH KICK SUCCESS

The outcomes of place kicks can have a large impact on Rugby Union match results. This study investigated the ball orientations used in place kicking and their potential implications for success. All 416 place kicks from the 2019 Rugby World Cup were grouped into one of three ball orientation categories, and predicted odds of success were calculated for each category using a binomial logistic regression which accounted for situational factors known to affect performance outcome. Kicks taken using a slanted orientation (n = 152) had the greatest odds of success (90.0%) when taken from the mean tournament distance (29.7 m), compared to a near vertical (n = 116) orientation (84.4%), and near horizontal (n = 148) orientation (86.8%). A further investigation into the impact characteristics associated with each ball orientation is required to better understand the relative merits of each

Extracting the rho meson wavefunction from HERA data

We extract the light-cone wavefunctions of the rho meson using the HERA data on diffractive rho photoproduction. We find good agreement with predictions for the distribution amplitude based on QCD sum rules and from the lattice. We also find that the data prefer a transverse wavefunction with enhanced end-point contributions.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, significant improvements over the original version with a new section on distribution amplitudes adde