Increasing Profitability of Small Scale Orchard Producers through Optimizing Replacement Rate: The Case Study of Ghana

This study sets out to empirically estimate the optimum annual replacement rate and age of cocoa trees in order to maximize the net present value of four common cocoa production systems. The study examines the costs and returns of four common cocoa production systems in Ghana associated with changes in cocoa prices, fertilizer prices, inflation rates, and labor prices. While this study focuses on cocoa, the methodology is applicable to any perennial crop. This study uses empirical yield curves and cost of production data from Ghana to determine when and what percentage of a cocoa orchard should be replaced annually to maximize net present value of revenues over time. Successive versions of the model are solved to determine how input and output price changes affect optimal replacement rates and replacement ages. Producers in both high- and low-income countries are reluctant to cull still productive assets, such as trees that are diminishing in yield over time. The Excel based model developed in this study could provide extension personnel with a simple yet powerful tool to illustrate to producers the benefits of systematic tree replacement. This study provides strong evidence of the benefits of replacing trees at the optimal time and rate.Cocoa, Replacement Rate, Net Present Value (NPV), Production Economics, Q01, Q15, Q32,

Applying Task Force Recommendations on Integrating Science and Practice in Health Service Psychology Education

The proper role of research skills and training to conduct research in professional psychology education has been controversial throughout the history of the field. An extensive effort was undertaken recently to address that issue and identify ways the field might move forward in a more unified manner. In 2015, the American Psychological Association (APA) Board of Educational Affairs convened a task force to address one of the recommendations made by the Health Service Psychology Education Collaborative in 2013. That recommendation stated that the education and training of health service psychologists (HSPs) include an integrative approach to science and practice that incorporates scientific-mindedness, training in research skills, and goes well beyond merely “consuming” research findings. The task force subsequently developed recommendations related to the centrality of science competencies for HSPs and how these competencies extend beyond training in evidence-based practice. This article discusses the findings of the task force and the implications of its recommendations for education and training in HSP. The challenges and opportunities associated with implementing these recommendations in HSP graduate programs are examined

Hyperinnervation Produces Inhibitory Interactions between Two Taste Nerves a

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74872/1/j.1749-6632.1987.tb43629.x.pd

Glucosamine hydrochloride but not chondroitin sulfate prevents cartilage degradation and inflammation induced by interleukin-1α in bovine cartilage explants

Objective Glucosamine hydrochloride (GH) and chondroitin sulfate (CS) are commonly used for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). The aim of this study was to assess their effects, alone and in combination, on preventing aggrecan degradation and inflammation in an in vitro model of OA. Design To test the effects of GH and/or CS as a preventative treatment, cartilage explants were pretreated with the compound(s) using concentrations that showed no detrimental effect on chondrocyte viability. Interleukin-1α (IL-1α) was added to induce cartilage degradation, supernatant and explants were analyzed for proteoglycan degradation products, aggrecanase mRNA expression and activity, and for the release of inflammatory markers. Results Following treatment with IL-1α, 2 mg/mL dose of GH pretreatment was associated with a reduction of glycosaminoglycan release, reduced generation of the pathological interglobular domain aggrecan catabolites, decreased mRNA levels of ADAMTS-4 and -5 and reduced activity of ADAMTS-4. In contrast, CS alone did not have a significant effect on IL-1α-induced cartilage degradation and the addition of 0.4 mg/mL CS to 2 mg/mL GH did not further inhibit IL-1α-induced activity. Pretreatment with 2 mg/mL GH also reduced the release of inflammatory markers, prostaglandin E2 and nitric oxide induced by IL-1α while CS did not have a significant effect. Conclusions The results suggest that GH prevents cartilage degradation mediated by aggrecanases ADAMTS-4 and -5, and may also reduce inflammation. This could be part of the mechanisms by which GH is effective in maintaining joint integrity and function, and preventing or delaying early symptoms of OA

La recherche australienne en maîtrise de l'information 2000-2005

Le sens prêté au concept de maîtrise de l’information a évolué ces dernières années en Australie ; les contextes et les approches de recherche se sont diversifiés. Malgré la prédominance des projets à visée éducative, la recherche concerne aussi le monde du travail ou le secteur associatif. On note un début d’intérêt pour les contextes culturels différents, attesté par le démarrage de recherches sur les thématiques transculturelles et les influences culturelles. [The meaning given to the concept of information literacy in Australia has evolved in recent years; contexts and approaches in research have diversified. Despite the predominance of projects with educational aims, research also concerns the world of work or the associative sector. An awakening interest has been observed in different cultural contexts, demonstrated by the beginnings of research into cross-cultural themes and cultural influences.

Are coastal habitats important nurseries? A meta-analysis

Nearshore‐structured habitats—including underwater grasses, mangroves, coral, and other biogenic reefs, marshes, and complex abiotic substrates—have long been postulated to function as important nurseries for juvenile fishes and invertebrates. Here, we review the evolution of the “nursery habitat hypothesis” and use \u3e11,000 comparisons from 160 peer‐reviewed studies to test whether and which structured habitats increase juvenile density, growth, and survival. In general, almost all structured habitats significantly enhanced juvenile density—and in some cases growth and survival—relative to unstructured habitats. Underwater grasses and mangroves also promoted juvenile density and growth beyond what was observed in other structured habitats. These conclusions were robust to variation among studies, although there were significant differences with latitude and among some phyla. Our results confirm the basic nursery function of certain structured habitats, which lends further support to their conservation, restoration, and management at a time when our coastal environments are becoming increasingly impacted. They also reveal a dearth of evidence from many other systems (e.g., kelp forests) and for responses other than density. Although recent studies have advocated for increasingly complex approaches to evaluating nurseries, we recommend a renewed emphasis on more straightforward assessments of juvenile growth, survival, reproduction, and recruitment

Utility of the Ion S5™ and MiSeq FGx™ sequencing platforms to characterize challenging human remains

Often in missing persons’ and mass disaster cases the samples remaining for analysis are hard tissues such as bones, teeth, nails, and hair. These remains may have been exposed to harsh environmental conditions, which pose challenges for downstream genotyping. Short tandem repeat analysis (STR) via capillary electrophoresis (CE) is still the gold standard for DNA typing; however, a newer technology known as massively parallel sequencing (MPS) could improve upon our current techniques by typing different and more markers in a single analysis, and consequently improving the power of discrimination. In this study, bone and tooth samples exposed to a variety of DNA insults (cremation, embalming, decomposition, thermal degradation, and fire) were assessed and sequenced using the Precision ID chemistry and a custom AmpliSeq™ STR and iiSNP panel on the Ion S5™ System, and the ForenSeq DNA Signature Prep Kit on the MiSeq FGx™ system, as well as the GlobalFiler™ PCR Amplification Kit on the 3500™ Genetic Analyzer. The results demonstrated that using traditional CE-based genotyping performed as expected, producing a partial or full DNA profile for all samples, and that both sequencing chemistries and platforms were able to recover sufficient STR and SNP information from a majority of the same challenging samples. Run metrics including profile completeness and mean read depth produced good results with each system, considering the degree of damage of some samples. Most sample insults (except decomposed) produced similar numbers of alleles for both MPS systems. Comparable markers produced full concordance between the two platforms

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Selected Galaxy Clusters at 148 GHz from Three Seasons of Data

[Abridged] We present a catalog of 68 galaxy clusters, of which 19 are new discoveries, detected via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZ) at 148 GHz in the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) survey of 504 square degrees on the celestial equator. A subsample of 48 clusters within the 270 square degree region overlapping SDSS Stripe 82 is estimated to be 90% complete for M_500c > 4.5e14 Msun and 0.15 < z < 0.8. While matched filters are used to detect the clusters, the sample is studied further through a "Profile Based Amplitude Analysis" using a single filter at a fixed \theta_500 = 5.9' angular scale. This new approach takes advantage of the "Universal Pressure Profile" (UPP) to fix the relationship between the cluster characteristic size (R_500) and the integrated Compton parameter (Y_500). The UPP scalings are found to be nearly identical to an adiabatic model, while a model incorporating non-thermal pressure better matches dynamical mass measurements and masses from the South Pole Telescope. A high signal to noise ratio subsample of 15 ACT clusters is used to obtain cosmological constraints. We first confirm that constraints from SZ data are limited by uncertainty in the scaling relation parameters rather than sample size or measurement uncertainty. We next add in seven clusters from the ACT Southern survey, including their dynamical mass measurements based on galaxy velocity dispersions. In combination with WMAP7 these data simultaneously constrain the scaling relation and cosmological parameters, yielding \sigma_8 = 0.829 \pm 0.024 and \Omega_m = 0.292 \pm 0.025. The results include marginalization over a 15% bias in dynamical mass relative to the true halo mass. In an extension to LCDM that incorporates non-zero neutrino mass density, we combine our data with WMAP7+BAO+Hubble constant measurements to constrain \Sigma m_\nu < 0.29 eV (95% C. L.).Comment: 32 pages, 21 figures To appear in J. Cosmology and Astroparticle Physic

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: Temperature and Gravitational Lensing Power Spectrum Measurements from Three Seasons of Data

We present the temperature power spectra of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) derived from the three seasons of data from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) at 148 GHz and 218 GHz, as well as the cross-frequency spectrum between the two channels. We detect and correct for contamination due to the Galactic cirrus in our equatorial maps. We present the results of a number of tests for possible systematic error and conclude that any effects are not significant compared to the statistical errors we quote. Where they overlap, we cross-correlate the ACT and the South Pole Telescope (SPT) maps and show they are consistent. The measurements of higher-order peaks in the CMB power spectrum provide an additional test of the Lambda CDM cosmological model, and help constrain extensions beyond the standard model. The small angular scale power spectrum also provides constraining power on the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects and extragalactic foregrounds. We also present a measurement of the CMB gravitational lensing convergence power spectrum at 4.6-sigma detection significance.Comment: 21 pages; 20 figures, Submitted to JCAP, some typos correcte

Multi-lingual and multi-cultural information literacy; perspectives, models and good practice

Purpose This paper reviews current approaches to, and good practice, in information literacy development in multi-lingual and multi-cultural settings, with particular emphasis on provision for international students. Design/methodology/approach A selective and critical review of published literature is extended by evaluation of examples of multi-lingual information literacy tutorials and MOOCs. Findings Multi-lingual and multi-cultural information literacy are umbrella terms covering a variety of situations and issues. This provision is of increasing importance in an increasingly mobile and multi-cultural world. This article evaluates current approaches and good practice, focusing on issues of culture vis a vis language, the balance between individual and group needs, specific and generic information literacy instruction, and models for information literacy, pedagogy and culture. Recommendations for good practice and for further research are given, Originality/value This is one of very few articles critically reviewing how information literacy development is affected by linguistic and cultural factors