Climate Change, Agriculture, and Adaptations: Policy Recommendations for Conservation Agriculture

This paper examines the intersection of climate change and agriculture with a focus on possibilities for sustainable agriculture in a warmer world. The authors consider the impacts (both positive and detrimental) of climate change on food production systems before engaging with a variety of adaptive strategies including crop diversification, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and conservation agriculture (CA). These strategies are then applied within the context of sub-Saharan agricultural policy. Ultimately, the authors suggest that policymakers should support rural agriculture by prioritizing conservation agriculture as a critical piece of both mitigation and adaptation policy

The Effects of COVID-19 on Mortality Rates in non-COVID Patients with Chronic Diseases

Objective: Evaluate the relationship between patients with chronic disease and their mortality rates associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Non-experimental, quantitative, descriptive Setting: Logan County Hospital, Ellsworth County Hospital, Russell Regional Hospital, Allen County Hospital, Clay County Hospital, Ellinwood District Hospital, Wichita Country Health Center, Greenwood County Hospital, Hillsboro Community Hospital, Kiowa County Memorial Hospital, Ness County District #2 Hospital and Smith County Memorial Hospital. Participants: 10 charts from each of the CAH hospitals listed. Results/Conclusion: Pending results and data collectio

The effects of resource availability on territorial behavior of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).

BirdsRuby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) often migrate to their summer breeding grounds, sometimes before their main food source, nectar from flowers, becomes available. On Douglas Lake at the University of Michigan Biological Station, Pellston, MI, we explored how resource availability affected aggressive behavior in hummingbirds. Eight lakeside sites had either a single or triple set of hummingbird feeders. We predicted that the richness of a resource site would determine the number of aggressive interactions initiated by males, with the more resource-rich sites experiencing higher frequencies of male-initiated territorial behavior. We also hypothesized that males would express more territorial behavior (chases and vocalizations) than females. We counted two types of territorial behavior in both males and females: chasings and vocalizations. Our results showed that more male aggression occurred at the resource-rich triple feeder sites, but there were more instances of female aggression than male aggression, especially at single feeder sites. Resource availability of a given site seems to be a determining factor affecting the distribution of each sex. Ihttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109734/1/Biswas_Dollison_French_Roos_2014.pd

Comprehensive Approach to Solve “Distance Cheating” In Secondary Schools in Daraga, Albay: An Exploratory Study

This is an exploratory study on the issue of "distance cheating" to propose a comprehensive approach to solving it. A survey conducted among high school students shows more than 64% ask help from parents to work on the modules, more than 56% ask others to work on the performance tasks, and more than 86% share answers with their classmates. The foundations of education were considered to analyze the results in a comprehensive way. Considering the psychology of digital natives, this may mean changing the grading system, teaching strategies, and forms of assessment. The usual tests that stress memorization may no longer be the best way to evaluate learners since information is available on the internet. It is important to integrate lessons and encourage authentic interdisciplinary assessments to respond to actual issues and challenges they experience in their family, community, society, and the world. To minimize or disable the possibility of cheating, students may be given a choice to do it individually or in a group, propose the best way to express what they have learned in a lesson, with the endorsement of parents/guardians and the approval of the teacher. The rubric for performance tasks may be used for self-evaluation, peer evaluation, parent/guardian evaluation, and teacher evaluation

Indigenous Knowledge on Pest Management in Rice Production in the Province of Masbate

A total of 90 rice farmers who are used in adopting IK in rice pest management were considered using a convenient sampling method in selecting respondents. The data were subjected to descriptive statistics. The result showed that 40% of rice farmers are 51-60 years old, male (80%), married (95%), elementary graduate (44%), with a household size of 1 to 5 members (70%), and 37% were engaged in farming for 5 to 10 years. Furthermore, farmers are dominated by the land owner (57%), planted traditional or local varieties (61%), with farm size of less than 1 hectare (47%), and obtained an average yield of 50 caravans per hectare (35%). Rice farmers claimed that IK was handed down by their ancestors with less intervention from agricultural institutions, and rice farmers have practiced it for 20 to 30 years. Most (32%) farmers perceived they were more familiar with indigenous knowledge than new technology. The level of awareness of IK on pest management in rice production in the province of Masbate revealed that rice farmers were aware of the IK practices with a weighted mean of 2.87. Furthermore, data also revealed that the level of utilization of rice farmers who utilized IK on pest management in rice production is often with a general weighted mean of 2.85. Similarly, the result shows that the IK practices on pest management in rice production in the province of Masbate are cost-effective, with a general weighted mean of 2.85

An investigation of diatom communities and freshwater aquatic attributes of Oden State Fish Hatchery.

LimnologyUnderstanding carbon cycling is central to appreciating how food webs within aquatic ecosystems are structured and supported, To better understand specifically how food webs play an integral part in ecosystem services algal samples were collected from ceramic tiles colonized within the Oden State Fish Hatchery (OSFH), Emmet County, Michigan, Five survey locations within the hatchery were used for this investigation to include; a public feeding pond discharge site, a brood/hatchery operations discharge site, a racewaylfinishing pond discharge site and two recovery locations downstream of OSFH that flow into Crooked Lake, The purpose of this investigation was to identify the base of the food web at OSFH by identifying the diatom flora and macroinvertcbrates, calculate the changes within the system by measuring physical, chemical and biological attributes, and to determine what effect hatchery operation produced nutrients have on the overall system.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110231/1/Dollison_Chuck_2014.pd

Comparative Yield Performance of Rice Production Under Organic and Inorganic Fertilizer Application

The technology demonstration on rice production under organic and inorganic fertilizer application was conducted to determine which of the identified treatments would give better rice growth and yield and showcase the technology to the farmers. The study was composed of three treatments. Treatment A – Inorganic Fertilizer (120-60-60); Treatment B – ½ of 50% Inorganic + 50% Vermicast RR; Treatment C – 25 bags of vermicast as organic fertilizer. An area of 778.18 square meters was divided into three plots with a measurement of 19.30 meters in length and 12.44 meters in width (19.30m x 12.44m). Between plots was provided with a 1-meter distance for the passageway and drainage for excess water. The research made use of frequency and mean to determine the growth and yield performance of NSIC Rc 160 (Tubigan 14) as applied with organic and inorganic fertilizers. Treatment variation was analyzed using one-way ANOVA. The result of the study shows that the application of inorganic and organic fertilizers gave a comparable performance in terms of growth and yield performance. However, in terms of a cost analysis of using inorganic and organic fertilizers, it is more economical to use organic fertilizer than inorganic fertilizer. It further showed that the lower the cost of production, the higher the net income of the rice production under organic fertilizer application. The researcher further concluded that the application of vermicast alone as a fertilizer source or a combination of inorganic and organic fertilizers is more cost-efficient in rice production than purely inorganic fertilizer application

Performance of Edible Mushroom Varieties Under Different Agricultural Substrates

The study was conducted at Dr. Emilio B. Espinosa, Sr. Memorial State College of Agriculture and Technology (DEBESMSCAT) Cabitan, Mandaon, Masbate. The experimental design used was 3 x 7 CRD factorial with three varieties of mushrooms (Pink Oyster, White Abalone, and Milky Mushroom), seven agricultural substrates as treatments, Treatment A (70% rice straw and 30% sawdust), Treatment B (70% rice straw and 30% corn cob), Treatment C (70% rice straw and 30% Carbonized Rice Hull), Treatment D (100% rice straw), Treatment E (100% sawdust), Treatment F (100% corn cob) and Treatment G (100% Carbonized Rice Hull). The experiment was replicated three times with a total of 945 fruiting bags. Height, fresh weight, and the number of fruiting bodies are the data that was observed in the study. The result showed that in terms of growth performance, a nonsignificant result was observed in the height performance of the mushroom varieties inoculated in substrates with 70% rice straw, 30% corn cob, and 100% carbonized rice hull. Similarly, the number of mushroom fruiting bodies produced differed among mushroom varieties inoculated. Mushrooms inoculated in 100% carbonized rice hull attained more fruiting bodies than other tested varieties. Mushrooms inoculated in 100% corn cob produced a significantly higher number of mushroom fruiting bodies than other treatments. Finally, the weight of mushroom fruiting bodies produced in 70% rice straw and 30% carbonized rice hull applications was statistically significant for all agricultural substrates inoculated. The researcher concluded that using agricultural substrates other than carbonized rice is effective in mushroom production

Report on student participants at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the National Society of Black Physicists

The first meeting of African American physicists was held in 1973 at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, with around 50 Black physicists in attendance. In 1977, this organization was formally established as the National Society of Black Physicists (NSBP) out of a need to address many concerns of African American physicists. During the ensuing years the Conference began to grow and was hosted by different institutions at various geographic locations. This year, the 2003 Annual Conference of the National Society of Black Physicists and Black Physics Students was hosted by Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia during the weekend of February 12th-15th, 2003. This Conference brought together over 500 African American physics students and working physicists. Also attending were corporate and graduate school recruiters, administrators, professional society representatives and others concerned with the small representation of minorities in the field of physics. The organizers of the Conference contracted with the Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics to conduct a formal evaluative study of the meeting, resulting in this report. The evaluation questionnaire was designed by the organizers of the NSBP conference with input from the Statistical Research Center's staff. It included questions on the students' backgrounds and demographic characteristics, physics research experience, career goals, challenges faced in their academic pursuits, and ratings of various aspects of the conference. The questionnaire was distributed at the conference when the students signed in. Of the 330 students who were registered, roughly 304 attended and were given the four-page questionnaire to complete. Responses were collected on the last night of the conference, with 172 (approximately 57%) returning completed questionnaires. This low response rate could be attributed in part to the fact that respondents were asked to provide possibly sensitive personal information. Student participants at the conference were asked to provide data on various aspects of their backgrounds and demographic characteristics. We found that there were significantly more undergraduate participants than graduate participants present at the conference (65% versus 35%). More than two-thirds of the undergraduate student attendees were upperclassmen. On the other hand, close to half of the graduate student attendees were still in the early stages of their graduate career. The overall median age was 23 years. The median age for undergraduates was 21, while for graduate students it was 29 years. We found no age difference between undergraduate males and females. However, there was an age difference between graduate male and female students. While among females the median age was 27, for graduate males the median age was 30 years. As shown, we see that women were well represented at this year's conference. The overall proportion of female student respondents was 41%. Among undergraduates, the proportion of females was 48%. While comparable data on all Black physics students nationwide are not available, this number bachelors recipients going to women, as reported by Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) on AIP's most recent ''Enrollments and Degrees Study''. HBCUs confer more than half of all physics degrees by African-Americans in the US. The proportion of females among graduate student participants at the NSBP conference was 29%