Identifying and Reducing Overlap in Farm Program Support

The current debate surrounding the 2012 Farm Act stresses cutting costs while maintaining, or even strengthening, farmers’ “safety net.” One way to cut costs is to reduce or eliminate potential overlap of farm program payments. Using simulations, we explore the interaction between the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program and a revenue assurance (RA) crop insurance program for corn, soybean, and wheat farmers in IL, MN, and SD. Additionally, we examine whether receiving benefits from multiple programs (an RA program, the Supplemental Revenue (SURE) program, and an ad hoc disaster assistance program) distorts farmers’ business decisions. We find overlap between ACRE and crop insurance, which could lead to budgetary savings if these two programs were to be integrated. Moreover, despite policymakers explicitly incorporating insurance indemnities into SURE payment calculations, access to both programs can alter behavior. Finally, in a counter-factual analysis, we show that removing ad hoc payments from the SURE would likely alter farm behavior.commodity support, average crop revenue election, Supplemental Revenue Assistance, expected utility, corn, wheat, soybeans, Agricultural and Food Policy, Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty,

Economical genotyping of little blue penguin (Eudyptula minor) clades from feather-based DNA

Determination of clade membership is a crucial requirement for many research questions addressing phylogeography, population structure, mating patterns, speciation, and hybridisation. The little blue penguin (Eudyptula minor) can be separated into two deeply divergent clades. However, assigning clade membership in little blue penguins requires molecular methods. Genetic sequencing can be used to identify clade membership but is expensive. Here, we present an economical alternative to the use of sequencing to determine little blue penguin clade membership. We extracted DNA from feathers using a method that produced reasonable quantities of DNA. We then amplified the D-loop section of the mitochondrial control region from total genomic DNA extracts, using the primers 'C L-tRNAglu' and 'D H-Dbox' followed by digestion with the restriction enzyme AluI. When visualised on a gel, distinctive banding patterns clearly indicated clade membership. We sequenced a subset of our samples and verified the accuracy of this method. The methods we present should facilitate little blue penguin research through a cost-effective approach to clade analysis as well as a successful technique to extract DNA from feathers when blood or tissue samples are not available

Simulating Quantum Magnetism with Correlated Non-Neutral Ion Plasmas

By employing forces that depend on the internal electronic state (or spin) of an atomic ion, the Coulomb potential energy of a strongly coupled array of ions can be modified in a spin-dependent way to mimic effective quantum spin Hamiltonians. Both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions can be implemented. We use simple models to explain how the effective spin interactions are engineered with trapped-ion crystals. We summarize the type of effective spin interactions that can be readily generated, and discuss an experimental implementation using single-plane ion crystals in a Penning trap.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of 10th International Workshop on Non-Neutral Plasma

Introduction

This special issue of the Philippine Journal of Development (PJD) is dedicated to Professor Alejandro N. Herrin in recognition of his numerous contributions to research and policy in population, social services, and development in the Philippines and other countries, and his mentoring of a generation of scholars and policy practitioners in these areas. While the topics of the papers were independently chosen by the contributors, they reflect the wide range of issues of interest to Dr. Herrin.social services, population, development

Introduction

This special issue of the Philippine Journal of Development (PJD) is dedicated to Professor Alejandro N. Herrin in recognition of his numerous contributions to research and policy in population, social services, and development in the Philippines and other countries, and his mentoring of a generation of scholars and policy practitioners in these areas. While the topics of the papers were independently chosen by the contributors, they reflect the wide range of issues of interest to Dr. Herrin.social services, population, development

Measurement of the threshold sensitivity of honeybees to weak, extremely low-frequency magnetic fields

Experiments reported previously demonstrate that free-flying honeybees are able to detect static intensity fluctuations as weak as 26 nT against the background, earth-strength magnetic field. We report here an extension of this work to weak, alternating fields at frequencies of 10 and 60 Hz. Our results indicate that the sensitivity of the honeybee magnetoreception system decreases rapidly with increasing frequency. At 60 Hz, alternating field strengths above 100 µT are required to elicit discrimination. These results are consistent with biophysical predictions of a magnetite-based magnetoreceptor

Nursing Home Quality as a Public Good

There has been much debate among economists about whether nursing home quality is a public good across Medicaid and private-pay patients within a common facility. However, there has been only limited empirical work addressing this issue. Using a unique individual level panel of residents of nursing homes from seven states, we exploit both within-facility and within-patient variation in payer source and quality to examine this issue. We also test the robustness of these results across states with different Medicaid and private-pay rate differentials. Across our various identification strategies, the results generally support the idea that quality is a public good within nursing homes. That is, within a common nursing home, there is very little evidence to suggest that Medicaid-funded residents receive consistently lower quality care relative to their private-paying counterparts.