How Farmers Bid Into the Conservation Reserve Program: An Empirical Analysis of CRP Offers Data

Replaced with revised version of paper 07/19/11.Land Economics/Use,

Dangerous dietary supplements: Garcinia cambogia-associated hepatic failure requiring transplantation.

Commercial dietary supplements are marketed as a panacea for the morbidly obese seeking sustainable weight-loss. Unfortunately, many claims cited by supplements are unsupported and inadequately regulated. Most concerning, however, are the associated harmful side effects, often unrecognized by consumers. Garcinia cambogia extract and Garcinia cambogia containing products are some of the most popular dietary supplements currently marketed for weight loss. Here, we report the first known case of fulminant hepatic failure associated with this dietary supplement. One active ingredient in this supplement is hydroxycitric acid, an active ingredient also found in weight-loss supplements banned by the Food and Drug Administration in 2009 for hepatotoxicity. Heightened awareness of the dangers of dietary supplements such as Garcinia cambogia is imperative to prevent hepatoxicity and potential fulminant hepatic failure in additional patients

The North American Spa Industry: An Examination of Emergent Trends

The spa industry is rapidly growing, both in North America and around the globe. However, hospitality and tourism professionals seem to be surprised and unprepared of the impressive evolution. The authors report of the North American spa industry’s current practices and emergent trends that are likely to prove significant for spa stakeholders and educators in this growing field of inquiry

Lessons Learned from Conducting Health Behavior Research in an Under-Resourced, Urban Community

Existing literature discusses challenges in conducting community-engaged health behavior interventions. However, discussions associated with the barriers to executing community-engaged health behavior research with vulnerable populations are limited in the literature. This current issue provides lessons learned for the purpose of improving community-engaged research within communities that are under-resourced. The lessons learned stem from challenges with the recruitment and enrollment procedures and study design with a previous qualitative community-engaged research project. The research recommendations proposed are geared toward students preparing to engage in dissertation research and early-stage investigators who are interested in conducting research in under-resourced communities

How the Implementation of Honors Sections Affects the Academic Performance of Non-Honors Students

Research in honors education generally credits honors students with elevating the academic experience for all students at an institution (see Andrews; Clauss; Brimeyer et al.). Honors students are seen as having a positive peer effect: setting a standard for other students to follow as well as stimulating and challenging faculty, thereby raising the level of the classroom for all ( Joseph W. Cohen, cited by Andrews 38). Thus, many assume that moving honors students into separate sections adversely affects the academic performance of non-honors students, an assumption we faced at our institution. In the context of a study done in a college of engineering, that perception is even stronger because peer-to-peer and group projects are such important pedagogical elements of the engineering undergraduate curriculum. We are unaware of any research on how honors sections of general education courses affect the academic performance of non-honors students taking those same courses, but our study indicates that the implementation of honors sections for selected core courses in the University of Iowa (UI) College of Engineering did not adversely affect non-honors engineering students taking those same core courses. In the fall of 2015, the UI College of Engineering inaugurated honors sections of core engineering courses for two reasons. First, the undergraduate engineering population had become large enough for honors sections to be economically and logistically feasible. The college’s enrollment had increased from about 1,200 students to more than 2,000 over six years. New sections of the core first- and second-year courses were necessary, thus providing an opportunity to add honors sections. The second motivating factor came from the UI Honors Program, which had recently changed the criteria for eligibility and graduation requirements, reducing the total number of honors students and making an increased proportion of first-year engineering majors eligible for honors. Although engineering students had previously made up a large fraction of honors-eligible students, they were not easily retained because of scheduling constraints and the absence of honors courses in the engineering curriculum. The honors program and the college of engineering were both interested in attracting more engineering students to the honors program and graduating more engineering students with the honors credential

Innate Pathways of Immune Activation in Transplantation

Studies of the immune mechanisms of allograft rejection have predominantly focused on the adaptive immune system that includes T cells and B cells. Recent investigations into the innate immune system, which recognizes foreign antigens through more evolutionarily primitive pathways, have demonstrated a critical role of the innate immune system in the regulation of the adaptive immune system. Innate immunity has been extensively studied in its role as the host's first-line defense against microbial pathogens; however, it is becoming increasingly recognized for its ability to also recognize host-derived molecules that result from tissue damage. The capacity of endogenous damage signals acting through the innate immune system to lower immune thresholds and promote immune recognition and rejection of transplant grafts is only beginning to be appreciated. An improved understanding of these pathways may reveal novel therapeutic targets to decrease graft alloreactivity and increase graft longevity

Supercritical fluid explosion process to aid fractionation of lipids from biomass

Disclosed are processes for development and recovery of lipids from biomass. A plant or microorganism-based biomass can be developed to encourage a desired lipid profile. Following development, ecologically friendly normally gaseous fluids such as carbon dioxide can be pressurized to a supercritical state followed by rapid expansion. The fluid is first contacted with a biomass source including oil-containing microorganisms and/or agricultural products. For instance, fungi or algae can be bioconverted from another biomass sources such as canola seed or corn syrup and then contacted with the high pressure fluid. During a contact period, the fluid can diffuse into the biomass, and in particular through the cell walls of the biomass. The fluid undergoes rapid release of pressure and opens the cell structure for improved release of oil. The fluid can optionally be utilized for extraction following the explosion process. For instance, the fluid can be re-pressurized in the same vessel for extraction processes

Use of National Consumer Survey Data to Explore Perceptions of Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Background: Although Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) has been the standard of therapy in Asia for centuries, it started receiving more attention in the U.S. in the last three decades. Objectives: The primary study objective was to explore individuals\u27 perspectives of CAM. A secondary objective was to describe individuals\u27 perceptions of pharmacists’ roles in facilitating their use of these services and products. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2015 and 2016 National Consumer Surveys on the Medication Experience and Pharmacist Roles. Data were collected from adults residing in the United States via on-line, self-administered surveys coordinated by Qualtrics Panels between April 28 and June 22, 2015 (n = 26,173) and between March 14 and 30, 2016 (n = 10,500). This study focused on written comments made in the surveys with Content Conventional Analysis applied to the text. Four researchers were trained to conduct coding to assess inter-judge reliability. The four judges had a high level of agreement which was greater than 0.95 for category type. Results: Out of a total of 36,673 respondents, 80% (29,426) submitted written comments at the end of the survey. Of these, 2,178 comments were about medications or health and 170 (8%) comments specifically about CAM, of which 136 (6%) were usable for analysis. Conventional Content Analysis revealed five themes:1)The role of pharmaceutical and insurance companies in CAM; 2) Overuse of medications; 3) Physicians can play a role in creating a balance between prescription use and CAM; 4) Individuals believe that CAM is more effective than Western medicines and prefer it; 5) Individuals want pharmacists to have a better understanding of CAM. The results of this study reveal individuals’ opinions regarding how they want CAM to be considered in their interactions with their healthcare team. Conclusion: Emergent themes suggest that individuals are interested in receiving more professionals’ healthcare to become more knowledgeable about CAM