Economic Comparison of the Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act (H.R. 2419) to Fairness in Farm and Food Policy Amendment to H.R. 2419

The House Agriculture Committee unanimously passed their farm bill, “Farm, Nutrition and Bioenergy Act of 2007” (H.R. 2419). An amendment, “Fairness in Farm and Food Policy,” H.R. 2419 was announced by Ron Kind (D-WI). The purpose of this Briefing Report is to compare the likely economic impacts of H.R. 2419 and the FFFP Amendment on representative crop, dairy, and cattle farms.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Explaining Regional and Local Differences in Organic Farming in England and Wales: A Comparison of South West Wales and South East England

Explaining regional and local differences in organic farming in England and Wales: a comparison of South West Wales and South East England, Regional Studies, Few studies explain the concentration of organic farming in specific regions of England and Wales. This paper compares the development of organic farming in South West Wales and South East England. While the focus in the former is on the use of mainly national marketing channels and the movement of organic produce more than 60 min from the farm, in the latter greater use is made of local and direct marketing channels to distribute organic food within 30 min of the farm. The overriding importance of demand appears to provide a key explanation for regional differentiation in organic farming. 解释英格兰与威尔斯有机农业的区域及地方差异：西南威尔斯与东南英格兰的比较研究，区域研究。显少有研究解释有机农业在英格兰及威尔斯特定区域中的集中现象。本文比较有机农业在西南威尔斯与东南英格兰的发展。西南威尔斯的发展重点，主要在于利用全国行销通路，以及距离农场超过六十分钟的有机产品运送路程，东南英格兰则较着重运用在地且直接的行销通路，在距离农场三十分钟以内的运送路程中分派有机食品。需求的压倒性重要性，似乎提供了有机农业中的区域差异的关键解释。 Expliquer les disparités régionales dans l'agriculture biologique en Angleterre et au pays de Galles: une comparaison du sud-ouest du pays de Galles et du sud-est de l'Angleterre, Regional Studies. Rares sont les études qui expliquent la concentration de l'agriculture biologique dans des zones spécifiques de l'Angleterre et du pays de Galles. Cet article cherche à comparer le développement de l'agriculture biologique du sud-ouest du pays de Galles à celle du sud-est de l'Angleterre. Tandis que celle-là met l'accent sur l'emploi des circuits commerciaux principalement nationaux et sur la distribution de la production agricole biologique à plus de 60 minutes de la ferme, celle-ci exploite davantage les circuits commerciaux locaux et directs pour distribuer les denrées alimentaires organiques dans un rayon de 30 minutes de la ferme. Il semble que l'importance primordiale de la demande constitue un facteur déterminant de la différenciation régionale de l'agriculture biologique. Erklärung der regionalen und lokalen Unterschiede bei der ökologischen Landwirtschaft in England und Wales: ein Vergleich zwischen Südwestwales und Südostengland, Regional Studies. Die Konzentration der ökologischen Landwirtschaft in bestimmten Regionen von England und Wales wird nur in wenigen Studien erklärt. In diesem Beitrag vergleichen wir die Entwicklung der ökologischen Landwirtschaft in Südwestwales mit der von Südostengland. Während in Südwestwales der Schwerpunkt auf den größtenteils landesweiten Absatzkanälen und dem Transport von ökologischen Lebensmitteln an mehr als 60 Minuten vom landwirtschaftlichen Betrieb entfernte Orte liegt, werden in Südostengland öfter lokale und direkte Absatzkanäle genutzt und die ökologischen Lebensmittel an bis zu 30 Minuten vom landwirtschaftlichen Betrieb entfernte Orte transportiert. Die wichtigste Erklärung für die regionalen Unterschiede bei der ökologischen Landwirtschaft scheinen in der vorrangigen Bedeutung der Nachfrage zu liegen. Explicación de las diferencias regionales y locales en la agricultura biológica de Inglaterra y Gales: comparación entre el suroeste de Gales y el sureste de Inglaterra, Regional Studies. En pocos estudios se explica la concentración de la agricultura biológica en regiones específicas de Inglaterra y Gales. En este artículo comparamos el desarrollo de la agricultura biológica en el suroeste de Gales y el sureste de Inglaterra. Mientras que en el suroeste de Gales se hace hincapié en el uso de canales mercantiles principalmente nacionales y el movimiento de productos biológicos a una distancia de más de 60 minutos de la explotación agrícola, en el sureste de Inglaterra se utilizan más los canales mercantiles locales y directos para distribuir alimentos biológicos a no más de 30 minutos de la explotación agrícola. Parece ser que la demanda es el motivo más importante para explicar las diferencias regionales en la agricultura biológica

Sequencing and analysis of the gastrula transcriptome of the brittle star Ophiocoma wendtii

Background The gastrula stage represents the point in development at which the three primary germ layers diverge. At this point the gene regulatory networks that specify the germ layers are established and the genes that define the differentiated states of the tissues have begun to be activated. These networks have been well-characterized in sea urchins, but not in other echinoderms. Embryos of the brittle star Ophiocoma wendtii share a number of developmental features with sea urchin embryos, including the ingression of mesenchyme cells that give rise to an embryonic skeleton. Notable differences are that no micromeres are formed during cleavage divisions and no pigment cells are formed during development to the pluteus larval stage. More subtle changes in timing of developmental events also occur. To explore the molecular basis for the similarities and differences between these two echinoderms, we have sequenced and characterized the gastrula transcriptome of O. wendtii. Methods Development of Ophiocoma wendtii embryos was characterized and RNA was isolated from the gastrula stage. A transcriptome data base was generated from this RNA and was analyzed using a variety of methods to identify transcripts expressed and to compare those transcripts to those expressed at the gastrula stage in other organisms. Results Using existing databases, we identified brittle star transcripts that correspond to 3,385 genes, including 1,863 genes shared with the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus gastrula transcriptome. We characterized the functional classes of genes present in the transcriptome and compared them to those found in this sea urchin. We then examined those members of the germ-layer specific gene regulatory networks (GRNs) of S. purpuratus that are expressed in the O. wendtii gastrula. Our results indicate that there is a shared ‘genetic toolkit’ central to the echinoderm gastrula, a key stage in embryonic development, though there are also differences that reflect changes in developmental processes. Conclusions The brittle star expresses genes representing all functional classes at the gastrula stage. Brittle stars and sea urchins have comparable numbers of each class of genes and share many of the genes expressed at gastrulation. Examination of the brittle star genes in which sea urchin orthologs are utilized in germ layer specification reveals a relatively higher level of conservation of key regulatory components compared to the overall transcriptome. We also identify genes that were either lost or whose temporal expression has diverged from that of sea urchins

Rotation of Coulomb crystals in a magnetized inductively coupled complex plasma

Under suitable conditions, micron-sized dust particles introduced into inductively coupled argon plasma form a stable microscopic crystal lattice, known as a Coulomb (or plasma) crystal. In the experiment described, an external axial magnetic field was applied to various configurations of Coulomb crystal, including small crystal lattices consisting of one to several particles, and large crystal lattices with many hundreds of particles. The crystals were observed to rotate collectively under the influence of the magnetic field. This paper describes the experimental procedures and the preliminary results of this investigation

Moving Difference (MDIFF) Non-adiabatic Rapid Sweep (NARS) EPR of Copper(II)

Non-adiabatic rapid sweep (NARS) EPR spectroscopy has been introduced for application to nitroxide-labeled biological samples (Kittell et al., 2011). Displays are pure absorption, and are built up by acquiring data in spectral segments that are concatenated. In this paper we extend the method to frozen solutions of copper-imidazole, a square planar copper complex with four in-plane nitrogen ligands. Pure absorption spectra are created from concatenation of 170 5-gauss segments spanning 850 G at 1.9 GHz. These spectra, however, are not directly useful since nitrogen superhyperfine couplings are barely visible. Application of the moving difference (MDIFF) algorithm to the digitized NARS pure absorption spectrum is used to produce spectra that are analogous to the first harmonic EPR. The signal intensity is about four times higher than when using conventional 100 kHz field modulation, depending on line shape. MDIFF not only filters the spectrum, but also the noise, resulting in further improvement of the SNR for the same signal acquisition time. The MDIFF amplitude can be optimized retrospectively, different spectral regions can be examined at different amplitudes, and an amplitude can be used that is substantially greater than the upper limit of the field modulation amplitude of a conventional EPR spectrometer, which improves the signal-to-noise ratio of broad lines

Assessing the strategic utility of the High North: the colder war

Russia's current policy and associated expansion in the High North directly contrast the United States' weak Arctic policy. To secure its objectives in the Arctic, the United States—which has constrained diplomatic, military and economic resources for foreign relations—must assess if Arctic investment is truly worthwhile. This thesis examines the military dimension of Arctic expansion in order to assess the risk and overall investment of U.S. militarization against diplomatic agreements. Using Senturion modeling and simulation software via closed-loop capstone wargames, this thesis helps forecast potential implications of various U.S. Arctic policy avenues across the spectrum of known stakeholders and against each stakeholder's stated or perceived preferences.http://archive.org/details/assessingstrateg1094551676Major, United States Air ForceMajor, United States ArmyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Outlook for Texas Representative Cotton Farms

The farm level economic impacts of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 are projected for representative Texas cotton farms. The analysis was conducted over the 2001-2008 planning horizon using FLIPSIM, AFPC’s whole farm simulation model. Data to simulate farming operations in Texas’ major cotton production regions came from two sources: - Producer panel cooperation to develop economic information to describe and simulate representative cotton farms. - Projected prices, policy variables, and input inflation rates from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) August 2004 Baseline. The primary objective of the analysis is to determine cotton farms’ economic viability by region through 2008, assuming provisions of the 2002 Farm Bill. The FLIPSIM policy simulation model incorporates the historical price and production risk faced by cotton farmers. This report presents the results of the August 2004 Baseline in a risk context using selected simulated probabilities and ranges for annual net cash farm income values. The probability of a farm experiencing annual cash flow deficits and the probability of a farm losing real net worth are included as indicators of the cash flow and equity risks facing farms through the year 2008. This report is organized into six sections. The first section summarizes the process used to develop the representative farms and the key assumptions utilized for the farm level analysis. The second section summarizes the FAPRI August 2004 Baseline and the policy and price assumptions used for the representative farm analyses. The third section presents the results of the simulation analyses for cotton farms. The fourth section summarizes and compares cost of production information for the nine cotton farms. Two appendices constitute the final sections of the report. Appendix A provides tables to summarize the physical and financial characteristics for each of the representative cotton farms. Appendix B provides the names of producers, land grant faculty, and industry leaders who cooperated in the panel interview process to develop the representative farms.Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,

Life After Sentence of Death: What Becomes of Individuals Under Sentence of Death After Capital Punishment Legislation is Repealed or Invalidated

More than 2500 individuals are now under sentence of death in the United States. At the same time, multiple indicators—public opinion polls, legislative repeal and judicial invalidation of deathpenalty laws, the reduction in new death sentences, and infrequency of executions—suggest that support for capital punishment has significantly eroded. As jurisdictions abandon or consider eliminating the death-penalty, the fate of prisoners on death row—whether their death sentences, valid when imposed, should be carried out or whether these individuals should instead be spared execution—looms as contentious political and legal issues, fraught with complex philosophical, penological, and constitutional questions. This article presents a detailed account of what has happened historically to persons awaiting execution, principally within the United States but also internationally, at the time capital-punishment legislation is repealed or invalidated (either completely, or with respect to a narrow category of crimes or persons). Our analysis has uncovered no instances of executions being carried out under those circumstances. This finding has important policy implications and is directly relevant to the Supreme Court’s Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, which relies on execution practices as one measure to help inform the Court about whether the death penalty is a cruel and unusual punishment