EVALUATION OF NORTH DAKOTA FARM BUSINESS MANAGEMENT EDUCATION PROGRAM

Net farm income of participants in the North Dakota Farm Business Management Education Program increased with years of enrollment both in absolute terms and compared to peer group benchmarks. Median net farm income increased $7,829 and$14,191 between the first and fifth year of enrollment for all farms in the program and a subset of farms with five consecutive years of records starting with the first year of enrollment, respectively. Net farm income by year of program participation was compared to a benchmark median net farm income for the same geographic region, calendar year, and farm type in an attempt to isolate the affects of management from weather and other exogenous factors. Net farm income as a percent of benchmark increased 17.5 percentage points from first year participation farms to fifth year farms and 28 percentage points for farms for which there were five consecutive years of records starting with the first year of enrollment. Increased net farm income for both groups was accompanied by improved efficiency, increased farm size, and greater net worth. Note: Figures 1 is not included in the machine readable copy--contact the authors for more information.Farm Management, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

LGBTQ-Inclusive Sexuality Education in Montana Public High Schools: An Assessment of the Needs of Health Enhancement Teachers

BACKGROUND LGBTQ youth face many unique health challenges. Rates of depression and suicide are exponentially higher for LGBTQ youth than for their heterosexual, cisgender peers. Rates of HIV and STI infection are rising among this demographic. Comprehensive sexuality education has demonstrated the potential to address some of these health challenges. Specifically, it has been shown to delay the onset of sexual intercourse, and to reduce pregnancy and transmission rates of HIV and STIs among youth. Several studies have looked at LGBTQ-inclusive sexuality education from the perspective of LGBTQ students, but few have looked at this issue from the perspective of teachers responsible for teaching sexuality education. METHODS An electronic questionnaire was sent by email to 168 high school Health Enhancement teachers in Montana. Survey data included what sexuality education content they cover, how important they believe each topic to be, how comfortable they feel teaching it, and what barriers they face in teaching LBGTQ-inclusive sexuality education. RESULTS Participants reported not having training in teaching LGBTQ sexuality education and not having experience with LGBTQ content as the top barriers to teaching inclusive sexuality education. Participants reported covering topics related to LGBTQ identities less frequently than standard sexuality topics such as anatomy and STI prevention. CONCLUSIONS Training teachers in how to teach sexuality education that is inclusive of LGBTQ students is necessary in order to increase the coverage of these topics and teachers’ comfort and effectiveness with this important content. The state department of education and school districts should develop a standard sexuality education curriculum and provide training in how to implement it in sexuality education classes

CONCENTRATION ISSUES IN THE U.S. BEEF SUBSECTOR

Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

Palmitoylation of Desmoglein 2 Is a Regulator of Assembly Dynamics and Protein Turnover.

Desmosomes are prominent adhesive junctions present between many epithelial cells as well as cardiomyocytes. The mechanisms controlling desmosome assembly and remodeling in epithelial and cardiac tissue are poorly understood. We recently identified protein palmitoylation as a mechanism regulating desmosome dynamics. In this study, we have focused on the palmitoylation of the desmosomal cadherin desmoglein-2 (Dsg2) and characterized the role that palmitoylation of Dsg2 plays in its localization and stability in cultured cells. We identified two cysteine residues in the juxtamembrane (intracellular anchor) domain of Dsg2 that, when mutated, eliminate its palmitoylation. These cysteine residues are conserved in all four desmoglein family members. Although mutant Dsg2 localizes to endogenous desmosomes, there is a significant delay in its incorporation into junctions, and the mutant is also present in a cytoplasmic pool. Triton X-100 solubility assays demonstrate that mutant Dsg2 is more soluble than wild-type protein. Interestingly, trafficking of the mutant Dsg2 to the cell surface was delayed, and a pool of the non-palmitoylated Dsg2 co-localized with lysosomal markers. Taken together, these data suggest that palmitoylation of Dsg2 regulates protein transport to the plasma membrane. Modulation of the palmitoylation status of desmosomal cadherins can affect desmosome dynamics

High fat diet causes depletion of intestinal eosinophils associated with intestinal permeability.

The development of intestinal permeability and the penetration of microbial products are key factors associated with the onset of metabolic disease. However, the mechanisms underlying this remain unclear. Here we show that, unlike liver or adipose tissue, high fat diet (HFD)/obesity in mice does not cause monocyte/macrophage infiltration into the intestine or pro-inflammatory changes in gene expression. Rather HFD causes depletion of intestinal eosinophils associated with the onset of intestinal permeability. Intestinal eosinophil numbers were restored by returning HFD fed mice to normal chow and were unchanged in leptin-deficient (Ob/Ob) mice, indicating that eosinophil depletion is caused specifically by a high fat diet and not obesity per se. Analysis of different aspects of intestinal permeability in HFD fed and Ob/Ob mice shows an association between eosinophil depletion and ileal paracelullar permeability, as well as leakage of albumin into the feces, but not overall permeability to FITC dextran. These findings provide the first evidence that a high fat diet causes intestinal eosinophil depletion, rather than inflammation, which may contribute to defective barrier integrity and the onset of metabolic disease

Putting pharmaceuticals into the wider context of challenges to fish populations in rivers

The natural range of fish species in our rivers is related to flow, elevation, temperature, local habitat and connectivity. For over 2000 years, humans have altered to varying degrees the river habitat. In the past 200 years, we added to the environmental disruption by discharging poorly treated sewage, nutrients and industrial waste into our rivers. For many rivers, the low point arrived during the period of 1950s–1970s, when rapid economic development overrode environmental concerns and dissolved oxygen concentrations dropped to zero. In these more enlightened times, gross river pollution is a thing of the past in the Developed World. However, persistent legacy chemical contaminants can be found in fish long after their discharge ceased. Changes in habitat quality and morphology caused and continue to cause the disappearance of fish species. The range of fish stressors has now increased as temperatures rise, and non-native fish introductions bring new diseases. The threat from pharmaceuticals to fish populations remains hypothetical, and no studies have yet linked change in fish populations to exposure