A farm level assessment of the profitability of Entry Level Scheme participation in the Lincolnshire Wolds

The paper builds on the results of previous studies investigating whether farmers profit by participation in the Entry Level Scheme (ELS). Standard payment levels (derived from points) under ELS are fixed at rates that are expected only to compensate farmers for income foregone and costs incurred. There is no profit element as such. There is therefore no reason to expect participation to be profitable. However farm level examination of the income foregone and costs incurred in previous studies based in other parts of England have shown that this can be achieved. The study is based in the Lincolnshire Wolds, an area dominated by arable farming but with topography and associated natural features that offer some variety in the mix of farming and the measures that can qualify for environmental prescriptions under the scheme. The study concluded that farmers were able to profit by ELS participation but that the extent of this varied according to the type of environmental features on the farm and whether arable land was taken out of production. These conclusions have potential implications for scheme design, farmer uptake and additionality in the use of public funds to acquire environmental benefits.Entry Level Scheme, agri-environmental payments, income forgone, partial budgets, profitability., Farm Management, Q58,

The scientific case for magnetic field satellites

To make full use of modern magnetic data and the paleomagnetic record, we must greatly improve our understanding of how the geodynamo system works. It is clearly nonlinear, probably chaotic, and its dimensionless parameters cannot yet be reproduced on a laboratory scale. It is accessible only to theory and to measurements made at and above the earth's surface. These measurements include essentially all geophysical types. Gravity and seismology give evidence for undulations in the core-mantle boundary (CMB) and for temperature variations in the lower mantle which can affect core convection and hence the dynamo. VLBI measurements of the variations in the Chandler wobble and length of day are affected by, among other things, the electromagnetic and mechanical transfer of angular momentum across the CMB. Finally, measurements of the vector magnetic field, its intensity, or its direction, give the most direct access to the core dynamo and the electrical conductivity of the lower mantle. The 120 gauss coefficients of degrees up to 10 probably come from the core, with only modest interference by mantle conductivity and crustal magnetization. By contrast, only three angular accelerations enter the problem of angular momentum transfer across the CMB. Satellite measurements of the vector magnetic field are uniquely able to provide the spatial coverage required for extrapolation to the CMB, and to isolate and measure certain magnetic signals which to the student of the geodynamo represent noise, but which are of great interest elsewhere in geophysics. Here, these claims are justified and the mission parameters likely to be scientifically most useful for observing the geodynamo system are described

EST analysis of male accessory glands from Heliconius butterflies with divergent mating systems

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Heliconius </it>butterflies possess a remarkable diversity of phenotypes, physiologies, and behaviors that has long distinguished this genus as a focal taxon in ecological and evolutionary research. Recently <it>Heliconius </it>has also emerged as a model system for using genomic methods to investigate the causes and consequences of biological diversity. One notable aspect of <it>Heliconius </it>diversity is a dichotomy in mating systems which provides an unusual opportunity to investigate the relationship between sexual selection and the evolution of reproductive proteins. As a first step in pursuing this research, we report the generation and analysis of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the male accessory gland of <it>H. erato </it>and <it>H. melpomene</it>, species representative of the two mating systems present in the genus <it>Heliconius</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We successfully sequenced 933 ESTs clustering into 371 unigenes from <it>H. erato </it>and 1033 ESTs clustering into 340 unigenes from <it>H. melpomene</it>. Results from the two species were very similar. Approximately a third of the unigenes showed no significant BLAST similarity (E-value <10^-5) to sequences in GenBank's non-redundant databases, indicating that a large proportion of novel genes are expressed in <it>Heliconius </it>male accessory glands. In both species only a third of accessory gland unigenes were also found among genes expressed in wing tissue. About 25% of unigenes from both species encoded secreted proteins. This includes three groups of highly abundant unigenes encoding repetitive proteins considered to be candidate seminal fluid proteins; proteins encoded by one of these groups were detected in <it>H. erato </it>spermatophores.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This collection of ESTs will serve as the foundation for the future identification and evolutionary analysis of male reproductive proteins in <it>Heliconius </it>butterflies. These data also represent a significant advance in the rapidly growing collection of genomic resources available in <it>Heliconius </it>butterflies. As such, they substantially enhance this taxon as a model system for investigating questions of ecological, phenotypic, and genomic diversity.</p

Crystal structures of four indole derivatives as possible cannabinoid allosteric antagonists

Acknowledgements We thank the EPSRC National Crystallography Service (University of Southampton) for the data collections and the EPSRC National Mass Spectrometry Service (University of Swansea) for the HRMS data. We thank John Low for carrying out the Cambridge Database survey.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Primary accumulation in the Soviet transition

The Soviet background to the idea of primary socialist accumulation is presented. The mobilisation of labour power and of products into public sector investment from outside are shown to have been the two original forms of the concept. In Soviet primary accumulation the mobilisation of labour power was apparently more decisive than the mobilisation of products. The primary accumulation process had both intended and unintended results. Intended results included bringing most of the economy into the public sector, and industrialisation of the economy as a whole. Unintended results included substantial economic losses, and the proliferation of coercive institutions damaging to attainment of the ultimate goal - the building of a communist society

A Conjoint Analysis of Site Selection for the U.S. Broiler Industry: Impications for Louisiana (Bulletin #882)

The purpose of this study is to analyze broiler industry executives’ decisions on where to locate a broiler complex in the United States. The specific objectives are to identify factors affecting site locations of broiler complexes in the United States and to measure the effects and relative importance of these factors on the broiler complex location decision.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/agcenter_bulletins/1013/thumbnail.jp

Postmortem Cerebrospinal Fluid Pleocytosis: A Marker of Inflammation or Postmortem Artifact?

The aim of this paper is to reassess the significance of postmortem cerebrospinal fluid pleocytosis. Published articles of CSF changes after death were reviewed, and reanalysis, in the light of modern views on the significance of bacterial postmortem isolates, was undertaken. There is theoretical and experimental evidence that the blood brain barrier to the movement of protein and cells is preserved in the first few hours after death. The number of mononuclear cells in the cerebrospinal fluid does rise in the first 24 hours after death, and this is most probably due to detachment of leptomeningeal lining cells. But the marked increase in lymphocyte counts seen in some cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and in other deaths in the paediatric age range could well be a marker of inflammation

Most Asked Agronomic Questions

Exact date of bulletin unknown.PDF pages: 4

The effect of Staphylococcus aureus carriage in late pregnancy on antibody levels to staphylococcal toxins in cord blood and breast milk.

We investigated the effect of carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in the later stages of pregnancy on levels of antibody specific to the S. aureus toxins, staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), staphylococcal enterotoxin C (SEC) and toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1), in cord blood and breast milk and also explored the relationship between levels of antibody in antenatal serum and cord blood. Nasopharyngeal swabs and stool samples were collected on two occasions, from 96 women, during the last 6 weeks of pregnancy. Samples were cultured and S. aureus isolates were identified. Antenatal and cord blood samples from the same women and their infants were analysed for IgG antibody to SEB, SEC and TSST-1 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Breast milk samples were analysed for IgA antibody to the same toxins. We found that S. aureus carriage in pregnancy is common and exposure to a toxin-producing isolate boosts immunity. Over 89% of women and infants have some protective antibody to the toxins, and antitoxin IgG levels are higher in cord blood samples compared with antenatal samples. Levels of cord blood IgG and breast milk IgA specific for the staphylococcal toxins vary. Some infants lack protection and could be at risk of toxin-induced disease

Leadership Behaviors and Subordinate Resilience

Utilizing a sample of 150 part-time MBA students, this study evaluated the relationship between leader behaviors and subordinate resilience. We proposed that the transformational leadership dimensions of Attributed Charisma, Idealized Influence, Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation, and Individualized Consideration, as well as the transactional leadership dimension of Contingent Reward would be positively associated with subordinate resilience. We also proposed that the transactional leadership dimensions of Management-by-Exception Active and Management-by-Exception Passive and the non-leadership dimension of Laissez-Faire leadership would not be positively associated with subordinate resilience. With the exception of Inspirational Motivation, all hypothesized relationships were supported. A post-hoc analysis of open-ended responses to the question What helped you to deal with this situation? indicated that participants who mentioned their leaders as a positive factor in dealing with the situation exhibited greater resilience than participants who did not. The implications of these results and suggestions for future research are discussed