Factors Influencing the Adoption of Russian Varroa-Resistant Honey Bees

Factors influencing the adoption of Russian Varroa-Resistant honey bees were assessed. Logit results indicate factors associated with the adoption include sales, internet use, and contact with other beekeepers. Negatively associated factors are age and income. Future adoption depends upon previous use and perception.Agribusiness,

Count Data Analysis of the Adoption of Best Management Practices in Beef Cattle Production

Factors influencing the adoption of Best Management Practices by cattle producers are analyzed using negative binomial regression analysis. Fifteen hundred farms were surveyed. Analysis identified diversification, hilly land, contact with regulatory personnel, college education, household income, and percentage of income from beef as significant factors in BMPs adoption.Livestock Production/Industries,

Awareness of and Application to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program By Cow–Calf Producers

This study uses a bivariate probit model with partial observability to examine Louisiana beef producers’ awareness of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and how awareness translates to application to the program. Results indicate that awareness of and application to the EQIP depend on portion of income derived from off-farm sources, extent of previous best management practice adoption at one’s own expense, household income, farmed land that is highly erodible, contact with Natural Resource Conservation Service and extension service personnel, and producer age.BMPs, bivariate probit, EQIP, probit, Agribusiness, Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries, Q12, Q16, Q18,

Awareness of EQIP and Subsequent Adoption of BMPs by Cattle Farmers

In summer, 2003, roughly half of Louisiana cattle producers had never heard of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Those who had heard of it and had applied for funds were more diversified, larger, and had contact with Natural Resources and Conservation Service personnel within the past year.Environmental Economics and Policy,

Knowledge, Application and Adoption of Best Management Practices by Cattle Farmers under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program - A Sequential Analysis

This study examines Louisiana farmers' awareness of EQIP and their subsequent adoption of best management practices (BMPs) using a sequential logit model. Results indicate that farmers likely to be aware of EQIP and eventually adopt BMPs under the program were mainly those who had been in contact with NRCS officials.BMPs, EQIP, Sequential logit model, Environmental Economics and Policy, Livestock Production/Industries,

Stillbirth and intrauterine fetal death: contemporary demographic features of >1000 cases from an urban population

OBJECTIVES: Of 780 000 births annually in the UK, around 3300 are stillborn, a rate of approximately 4 per 1000 births. Traditional epidemiological associations are based on historic data. The aim of this study was to document contemporary demographic findings in a large series of > 1000 deaths in utero in London and compare these with national datasets. METHODS: From a dedicated database, including > 400 data fields per case, of fetal, infant and pediatric autopsies performed at Great Ormond Street Hospital and St George's Hospital, London, we extracted information on all intrauterine deaths, excluding terminations of pregnancy, from 2005 to 2013, inclusive. Demographic data were analyzed according to the gestational age at which fetal death occurred (second-trimester intrauterine fetal death (IUFD), subdivided into early (1000 autopsies in cases of intrauterine death, these data highlight the increased risk for fetal loss associated with maternal demographic factors in contemporary clinical practice, particularly associations with increased maternal age and body mass index. Among women in whom an intrauterine death occurs, maternal ethnicity, mode of conception and gynecological history are associated with differing timing of fetal loss. Further research is required to understand the mechanisms involved in such maternal factors in order to develop preventative strategies

Source-Frequency Phase-Referencing Observation of AGNs with KaVA Using Simultaneous Dual-Frequency Receiving

The KVN(Korean VLBI Network)-style simultaneous multi-frequency receiving mode is demonstrated to be promising for mm-VLBI observations. Recently, other Very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) facilities all over the globe start to implement compatible optics systems. Simultaneous dual/multi-frequency VLBI observations at mm wavelengths with international baselines are thus possible. In this paper, we present the results from the first successful simultaneous 22/43 GHz dual-frequency observation with KaVA(KVN and VERA array), including images and astrometric results. Our analysis shows that the newly implemented simultaneous receiving system has brought a significant extension of the coherence time of the 43 GHz visibility phases along the international baselines. The astrometric results obtained with KaVA are consistent with those obtained with the independent analysis of the KVN data. Our results thus confirm the good performance of the simultaneous receiving systems for the non-KVN stations. Future simultaneous observations with more global stations bring even higher sensitivity and micro-arcsecond level astrometric measurements of the targets.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, Published in JKA

Emergency open cholecystectomy is associated with markedly lower incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) than elective open cholecystectomy: a retrospective cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>During a previous study to define and compare incidence risks of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) for elective laparoscopic and open cholecystectomy at two hospitals in Jamaica, secondary analysis comparing PONV risk in elective open cholecystectomy to that after emergency open cholecystectomy suggested that it was markedly reduced in the latter group. The decision was made to collect data on an adequate sample of emergency open cholecystectomy cases and further explore this unexpected finding in a separate study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were collected for 91 emergency open cholecystomy cases identified at the two paricipating hospitals from May 2007 retrograde, as was done for the 175 elective open cholecystectomy cases (from the aforementioned study) with which the emergency cases were to be compared. Variables selected for extraction and statistical analysis included all those known, suspected and plausibly associated with the risk of PONV and with urgency of surgery.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Emergency open cholecystectomy was associated with a markedly reduced incidence risk of PONV compared to elective open cholecystectomy (6.6% versus 28.6%, P < 0.001). The suppressive effect of emergency increased after adjustment for confounders in a multivariable logistic regression model (odds ratio 0.103, P < 0.001). This finding also identifies, by extrapolation, an association between reduced risk of PONV and preoperative nausea and vomiting, which occurred in 80.2% of emergency cases in the 72 hour period preceding surgery.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The incidence risk of postoperative nausea and vomiting is markedly decreased after emergency open cholecystectomy compared to elective open cholecystectomy. The study, by extrapolation, also identifies a paradoxical association between pre-operative nausea and vomiting, observed in 80.2% of emergency cases, and suppression of PONV. This association, if confirmed in prospective cohort studies, may have implications for PONV prophylaxis if it can be exploited at a sub-clinical level.</p

Pilot KaVA monitoring on the M87 jet: confirming the inner jet structure and superluminal motions at sub-pc scales

We report the initial results of our high-cadence monitoring program on the radio jet in the active galaxy M87, obtained by the KVN and VERA Array (KaVA) at 22 GHz. This is a pilot study that preceded a larger KaVA-M87 monitoring program, which is currently ongoing. The pilot monitoring was mostly performed every two to three weeks from December 2013 to June 2014, at a recording rate of 1 Gbps, obtaining the data for a total of 10 epochs. We successfully obtained a sequence of good quality radio maps that revealed the rich structure of this jet from <~1 mas to 20 mas, corresponding to physical scales (projected) of ~0.1-2 pc (or ~140-2800 Schwarzschild radii). We detected superluminal motions at these scales, together with a trend of gradual acceleration. The first evidence for such fast motions and acceleration near the jet base were obtained from recent VLBA studies at 43 GHz, and the fact that very similar kinematics are seen at a different frequency and time with a different instrument suggests these properties are fundamental characteristics of this jet. This pilot program demonstrates that KaVA is a powerful VLBI array for studying the detailed structural evolution of the M87 jet and also other relativistic jets.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in PAS