South Dakota Agricultural Land Market Trends 1991-2015

Summary: The 2015 SDSU Farm Real Estate Market Survey report contains information on current agricultural land values and cash rental rates by land use in different regions of South Dakota, with comparisons to values from earlier years. Key findings are highlighted below.Agricultural land value changes in the past year reflect the sharp declines in crop prices and returns compared to record prices and returns for beef cattle.During the past year (from 2014 to 2015), all-agricultural land values increased 1.4%, compared to an increase of 6.1% from 2013 to 2014 and increases varying from 16.5% to 33.6% in the three previous years. Cropland values declined 4.8% this past year compared to an increase of 5.4% from 2013 to 2014 and annual increases varying from 17.7% to 37.8% in the prior three years. Rangeland and pasture values continued to increase at double-digit rates which was above the increases of 7.9% and 4.0%, respectively, from 2013 to 2014 and similar to the double-digit rates from 2010 to 2013.Cash rental rates for cropland and hay land declined statewide and in several regions, while cash rental rates for pasture / rangeland increased. Statewide, from 2014 to 2015, average cash rental rates per-acre decreased $5.00 for cropland and$2.25 for hay land, and increased $3.00 for rangeland. Cash rental rates for all land uses increased in western South Dakota and decreased or held steady in the southeast region. Cropland cash rental rates declined in all regions east of the Missouri River, while pasture / rangeland cash rental rates increased in almost all regions of South Dakota. Current average rates of cash return on agricultural land in South Dakota remain very low.For 2014 the average ratio of gross cash rent to current land value was 2.9$2,505 per-acre. Non-irrigated agricultural land varies from $5,186 per-acre in the east-central to$737 per-acre in the northwest region. Average non-irrigated cropland values per-acre vary from $6,329 in the east-central to$3,895 in the central and $1,193 in the northwest region.Average rangeland values vary from$2,727 per-acre in the east-central to $630 per-acre in the northwest. Within each region, differences in land productivity and land use account for substantial differences in per-acre values.The highest non-irrigated cropland values and cash rental rates continue to occur in the Minnehaha-Moody county cluster where the average value of cropland in 2015 is$7,837 peracre and average cash rental rate for cropland is $244 per-acre. Cropland values average$7,138 per-acre and cropland cash rental rates average $240 per-acre in the Clay-Lincoln-Turner-Union county cluster.At the regional level, average cash rental rates per-acre for non-irrigated cropland in 2015 vary from$204 in the east-central region to $43.60 in the southwest region. Average rangeland and pasture rental rates vary from$76.50 per-acre in the east-central region to $18.30 per-acre in the southwest region.The longer-term trends in land values, cash rental rates, and cash rates of return are closely related to key economic factors affecting demand for agricultural land. These demand factors include economies of size, net farm income, agricultural productivity, and land as an investment. Specific factors important in South Dakota include: 1. Technology changes in agriculture that expanded the geographic range of corn and soybean production, along with rapid development of ethanol production in South Dakota. 2. Sharp declines in farm mortgage interest rates from early 2001 to late 2004 and continued relatively low mortgage interest rates. 3. General economic conditions of low inflation rates in most years. 4. Persistence of farm expansion, via land purchase or leasing, as the major response to pervasive economies of size in production agriculture. 5. Substantial increase in use of crop insurance for yield or revenue protection along with other federal farm program provisions. From 1991 to 2014, agricultural land values increased more rapidly than the rate of general price inflation in all regions of South Dakota. Continued increases in cash rental rates provided underlying support for increases in land values. These basic economic factors, along with relatively low mortgage interest rates, attract interest in farmland purchases by investors and by farmers expanding their operations. During the past year, 2014 to 2015, land values and cash rental rates by land use were greatly affected by the sharp declines in crop prices in contrast to record high beef cattle prices.Farm expansion and investment potential continue to be cited as the major reasons for purchasing farmland. The major reasons for selling farmland are realizing gains from high sale prices, settling estates, and retirement from farming.Low mortgage interest rates, high livestock prices, and relatively good crop yields were the three most cited positive factors in the farmland market. Declining crop prices, especially for corn and soybeans, dominated the negative factors influencing the farm real estate market. Rising input costs and economic uncertainty, including interest rate risks, were other negative factors.The booming market psychology of recent years, especially for cropland, has been replaced by concern on adjusting cash rents and land purchase prices to declining crop prices and lower prospective returns. Respondents continue to remain more optimistic about rangeland markets.More than half of respondents forecast decreases in cropland values for next year, while one-half of respondents forecast increases in rangeland values. Among respondents forecasting changes, the ratio of positive to negative forecasts is 1:3 for cropland compared to 3:1 for rangeland values. There is a lot of concern that cropland values and cash rental rates will decline further, while rangeland values and cash rental rate forecasts assume continued optimistic conditions

Role of Prolyl 4-Hydroxylase in Pancreatic ß-cell Insulin Secretion

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and peripheral insulin resistance. In response to elevated blood glucose levels, pancreatic β-cells release insulin which occurs in a biphasic manner. First-phase insulin secretion occurs via the KATP channel dependent pathway during the first 10 minutes after a glucose load. Second-phase insulin secretion, KATP channel-independent pathways, results in a slow and sustained release of insulin, which can last for several hours after a glucose load. The mechanisms underlying KATP channel independent pathways remain incompletely understood. It is suggested that anaperlosis, increased production of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates, regulates second-phase insulin secretion. Anaplerotic pathways involve the production of cytosolic α-ketoglutarate (αKG) that may enhance prolyl 4-hydroxlase (PHD) activity. PHDs are well-established regulators of the hypoxia response pathway. However, PHD may play a role in insulin secretion with both short- and long-term effects through prolyl hydroxylation of key proteins. Inhibition of PHD via dimethyloxalylglycine (DMOG) decreased oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in both INS-1 832/13 cells and primary mouse islets. DMOG treated primary mouse islets demonstrated enhanced second-phase insulin secretion when stimulated with high glucose (HG). Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance tests (ipGTTs) in male C57BL/6J mice treated with DMOG revealed improved glucose tolerance during second-phase insulin secretion and improved insulin sensitivity during first-phase insulin secretion. The results presented in this thesis reveal that PHD plays a role in both first- and second-phase insulin secretion and may be a potential target for the treatment of T2D

Advancing Type 2 Diabetes as a Condition for Primary Referral to Physiotherapy in Canada

Obesity and sedentary lifestyle are increasingly prevalent risk factors for type 2 diabetes (T2D), characterized by high blood glucose levels. Adoption and maintenance of healthy eating, physical activity, and exercise is recommended for lowering blood glucose and weight management. Physiotherapists are experts in prescribing safe, effective exercise to optimize health for people with co-morbid health conditions. However, T2D is not a primary condition for referral to physiotherapy services in Canada. The overall question guiding a series of three related studies was, What is the current education and perspectives of Canadian physiotherapists about their role in managing T2D? Study one surveyed and interviewed Canadian physiotherapy educators (n=10) as content experts of academic training of entry-to-practice physiotherapists. Participants held the opinion that physiotherapists are educated to assess for and manage diabetes complications, including peripheral neuropathy, lower limb amputations, and cardiovascular disease. Educators reported T2D is considered as a co-morbid health condition currently in curriculum. Study two detailed the perspectives of physiotherapists (n=21) through interviews. Physiotherapists agreed they would welcome the primary referral of people with T2D. They advocated physiotherapists can provide effective care for people with T2D, as a condition of primary referral, through education, prescription and supervision of exercise, and supporting healthy lifestyle behaviours. Lastly, study three examined the effectiveness of an 8-week supervised group education and exercise program, ‘Get Fit for Active Living with Diabetes’ (GFAL-D), for 12 people with T2D, exploring motivation at one-, six- and 12-month follow ups through interviews. Clinically significant improvements were observed for waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, six-minute walk test (6MWT), timed up-and-go (TUG), 30-second chair stand test (CST) and arm curls. Follow up with a physiotherapy student was a motivator contributing to physical activity adherence within an episodic pattern of adherence throughout the year post-GFAL-D. In conclusion, entry-to-practice physiotherapists are trained to provide direct care employing exercise prescription and monitoring, behaviour change for living healthy lifestyles, and recognition of uncontrolled disease for referral to medical team members. Promotion of physiotherapy as a resource and partnership for referral from primary health care providers is needed to optimize health for people living with T2D

Event Horizon Telescope observations of the jet launching and collimation in Centaurus A

Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) observations of active galactic nuclei at millimetre wavelengths have the power to reveal the launching and initial collimation region of extragalactic radio jets, down to 10-100 gravitational radii (rg = GM/c2) scales in nearby sources. Centaurus A is the closest radio-loud source to Earth. It bridges the gap in mass and accretion rate between the supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in Messier 87 and our Galactic Centre. A large southern declination of −43deg has, however, prevented VLBI imaging of Centaurus A below a wavelength of 1 cm thus far. Here we show the millimetre VLBI image of the source, which we obtained with the Event Horizon Telescope at 228 GHz. Compared with previous observations, we image the jet of Centaurus A at a tenfold higher frequency and sixteen times sharper resolution and thereby probe sub-lightday structures. We reveal a highly collimated, asymmetrically edge-brightened jet as well as the fainter counterjet. We find that the source structure of Centaurus A resembles the jet in Messier 87 on ~500 rg scales remarkably well. Furthermore, we identify the location of Centaurus A's SMBH with respect to its resolved jet core at a wavelength of 1.3 mm and conclude that the source's event horizon shadow4 should be visible at terahertz frequencies. This location further supports the universal scale invariance of black holes over a wide range of masses

Chronic exposure to simulated space conditions predominantly affects cytoskeleton remodeling and oxidative stress response in mouse fetal fibroblasts

Microgravity and cosmic rays as found in space are difficult to recreate on earth. However, ground-based models exist to simulate space flight experiments. In the present study, an experimental model was utilized to monitor gene expression changes in fetal skin fibroblasts of murine origin. Cells were continuously subjected for 65 h to a low dose. (55 mSv) of ionizing radiation (IR), comprising a mixture of high-linear energy transfer (LET) neutrons and low-LET gamma-rays, and/or simulated microgravity using the random positioning machine (RPM), after which microarrays were performed. The data were analyzed both by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and single gene analysis (SGA). Simulated microgravity affected fetal murine fibroblasts by inducing oxidative stress responsive genes. Three of these genes are targets of the nuclear factor-erythroid 2 p45-related factor 2 (Nrf2), which may play a role in the cell response to simulated microgravity. In addition, simulated gravity decreased the expression of genes involved in cytoskeleton remodeling, which may have been caused by the downregulation of the serum response factor (SRF), possibly through the Rho signaling pathway. Similarly, chronic exposure to low-dose IR caused the downregulation of genes involved in cytoskeleton remodeling, as well as in cell cycle regulation and DNA damage response pathways. Many of the genes or gene sets that were altered in the individual treatments (RPM or IR) were not altered in the combined treatment (RPM and IR), indicating a complex interaction between RPM and IR

Hospital staff, volunteers’ and patients’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to communication following stroke in an acute and a rehabilitation private hospital ward: A qualitative description study

Objectives To explore barriers and facilitators to patient communication in an acute and rehabilitation ward setting from the perspectives of hospital staff, volunteers and patients following stroke. Design A qualitative descriptive study as part of a larger study which aimed to develop and test a Communication Enhanced Environment model in an acute and a rehabilitation ward. Setting A metropolitan Australian private hospital. Participants Focus groups with acute and rehabilitation doctors, nurses, allied health staff and volunteers (n=51), and interviews with patients following stroke (n=7), including three with aphasia, were conducted. Results The key themes related to barriers and facilitators to communication, contained subcategories related to hospital, staff and patient factors. Hospital-related barriers to communication were private rooms, mixed wards, the physical hospital environment, hospital policies, the power imbalance between staff and patients, and task-specific communication. Staff-related barriers to communication were staff perception of time pressures, underutilisation of available resources, staff individual factors such as personality, role perception and lack of knowledge and skills regarding communication strategies. The patient-related barrier to communication involved patients’ functional and medical status. Hospital-related facilitators to communication were shared rooms/co-location of patients, visitors and volunteers. Staff-related facilitators to communication were utilisation of resources, speech pathology support, staff knowledge and utilisation of communication strategies, and individual staff factors such as personality. No patient-related facilitators to communication were reported by staff, volunteers or patients. Conclusion Barriers and facilitators to communication appeared to interconnect with potential to influence one another. This suggests communication access may vary between patients within the same setting. Practical changes may promote communication opportunities for patients in hospital early after stroke such as access to areas for patient co-location as well as areas for privacy, encouraging visitors, enhancing patient autonomy, and providing communication-trained health staff and volunteers

Modulation of gene expression in endothelial cells in response to high LET nickel ion irradiation

Ionizing radiation can elicit harmful effects on the cardiovascular system at high doses. Endothelial cells are critical targets in radiation-induced cardiovascular damage. Astronauts performing a long-term deep space mission are exposed to consistently higher fluences of ionizing radiation that may accumulate to reach high effective doses. In addition, cosmic radiation contains high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation that is known to produce high values of relative biological effectiveness (RBE). The aim of this study was to broaden the understanding of the molecular response to high LET radiation by investigating the changes in gene expression in endothelial cells. For this purpose, a human endothelial cell line (EA.hy926) was irradiated with accelerated nickel ions (Ni) (LET, 183 keV/mu m) at doses of 0.5, 2 and 5 Gy. DNA damage was measured 2 and 24 h following irradiation by gamma-H2AX foci detection by fluorescence microscopy and gene expression changes were measured by microarrays at 8 and 24 h following irradiation. We found that exposure to accelerated nickel particles induced a persistent DNA damage response up to 24 h after treatment. This was accompanied by a downregulation in the expression of a multitude of genes involved in the regulation of the cell cycle and an upregulation in the expression of genes involved in cell cycle checkpoints. In addition, genes involved in DNA damage response, oxidative stress, apoptosis and cell-cell signaling (cytokines) were found to be upregulated. An in silico analysis of the involved genes suggested that the transcription factors, E2F and nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B, may be involved in these cellular responses

Diagnosing onset of labor : a systematic review of definitions in the research literature

Background: The diagnosis of labor onset has been described as one of the most important judgments in maternity care. There is compelling evidence that the duration of both latent and active phase labor are clinically important and require consistent approaches to measurement. In order to measure the duration of labor phases systematically, we need standard definitions of their onset. We reviewed the literature to examine definitions of labor onset and the evidentiary basis provided for these definitions. Methods: Five electronic databases were searched using predefined search terms. We included English, French and German language studies published between January 1978 and March 2014 defining the onset of latent labor and/or active labor in a population of healthy women with term births. Studies focusing exclusively on induced labor were excluded. Results: We included 62 studies. Four ‘types’ of labor onset were defined: latent phase, active phase, first stage and unspecified. Labor onset was most commonly defined through the presence of regular painful contractions (71 % of studies) and/or some measure of cervical dilatation (68 % of studies). However, there was considerable discrepancy about what constituted onset of labor even within ‘type’ of labor onset. The majority of studies did not provide evidentiary support for their choice of definition of labor onset. Conclusions: There is little consensus regarding definitions of labor onset in the research literature. In order to avoid misdiagnosis of the onset of labor and identify departures from normal labor trajectories, a consistent and measurable definition of labor onset for each phase and stage is essential. In choosing standard definitions, the consequences of their use on rates of maternal and fetal morbidity must also be examined

Archeologische prospectie met ingreep in de bodem Deinze, Lijsterweg

Dit rapport werd ingediend bij het agentschap samen met een aantal afzonderlijke digitale bijlagen. Een aantal van deze bijlagen zijn niet inbegrepen in dit pdf document en zijn niet online beschikbaar. Sommige bijlagen (grondplannen, fotos, spoorbeschrijvingen, enz.) kunnen van belang zijn voor een betere lezing en interpretatie van dit rapport. Indien u deze bijlagen wenst te raadplegen kan u daarvoor contact opnemen met: [email protected]

Gene expression-based comparison of the human secretory neuroepithelia of the brain choroid plexus and the ocular ciliary body:potential implications for glaucoma

BACKGROUND: The neuroepithelia of the choroid plexus (CP) in the brain and the ciliary body (CB) of the eye have common embryological origins and share similar micro-structure and functions. The CP epithelium (CPE) and the non-pigmented epithelium (NPE) of the CB produce the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the aqueous humor (AH) respectively. Production and outflow of the CSF determine the intracranial pressure (ICP); production and outflow of the AH determine the intraocular pressure (IOP). Together, the IOP and ICP determine the translaminar pressure on the optic disc which may be involved in the pathophysiology of primary open angle glaucoma (POAG). The aim of this study was to compare the molecular machinery of the secretory neuroepithelia of the CP and CB (CPE versus NPE) and to determine their potential role in POAG. METHODS: We compared the transcriptomes and functional annotations of healthy human CPE and NPE. Microarray and bioinformatic studies were performed using an Agilent platform and the Ingenuity Knowledge Database (IPA). RESULTS: Based on gene expression profiles, we found many similar functions for the CPE and NPE including molecular transport, neurological disease processes, and immunological functions. With commonly-used selection criteria (fold-change > 2.5, p-value < 0.05), 14% of the genes were expressed significantly differently between CPE and NPE. When we used stricter selection criteria (fold-change > 5, p-value < 0.001), still 4.5% of the genes were expressed differently, which yielded specific functions for the CPE (ciliary movement and angiogenesis/hematopoiesis) and for the NPE (neurodevelopmental properties). Apart from a few exceptions (e.g. SLC12A2, SLC4A4, SLC4A10, KCNA5, and SCN4B), all ion transport protein coding genes involved in CSF and AH production had similar expression profiles in CPE and NPE. Three POAG disease genes were expressed significantly higher in the CPE than the NPE, namely CDH1, CDKN2B and SIX1. CONCLUSIONS: The transcriptomes of the CPE and NPE were less similar than we previously anticipated. High expression of CSF/AH production genes and candidate POAG disease genes in the CPE and NPE suggest that both might be involved in POAG