Comparison of Organic and Conventional Crop Prices: 1995 to 1997

Organic industry sales by United State (US) natural product distributors have been growing at more than 20 percent annually during the 1990s. Demand growth for certified organic agricultural commodities has been strong both in the us and abroad. For example, Japan\u27s demand for organically grown us soybeans has been especially strong in recent years. This growth in demand, together with growing concerns about the profitability and ecological sustainability of more conventional farming systems in some areas, is causing new interest in organic agriculture. Therefore, as part of our sustainable agriculture research program in the Economics Department at South Dakota State University (SDSU), we have begun to keep systematic track of organic prices for some key grain and bean commodities. comparisons of these organic prices with prices for the same commodities grown conventionally are presented in this pamphlet. Data and charts for the years 1995, 1996, and 1997 are presented

Changes in Eastern South Dakota Crops Patterns: 1950s to 1990s

This report contains background data for a study on possible impacts of the 1996 Farm Bill ( Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 ) on crop system diversity. The study, being conducted by the Economics Department at South Dakota State University (SDSU), is focused on the 7-county area of eastern South Dakota shown in the map on the following page. This area constitutes a major portion of the Big Sioux River drainage area in South Dakota. The aquifer underlying the Big Sioux River in these counties provides drinking water for a significant portion of the State\u27s population. Therefore, agricultural practices that potentially affect the river and underlying aquifer are of great interest to both farmers and the general public. Of special interest are practices that might affect nitrate leaching. Nitrate leaching can be impacted by the types of crops grown, how they are grown in rotation, and the types of tillage and fertilization practices used. This report contains information only on the crops grown in these seven counties, and how patterns have changed over the last half of the twentieth century. The narrative is limited to historical descriptions in this report. Analyses of the historical patterns and potential future changes as a result of new provisions in the 1996 Farm Bill will come in later reports. Information obtained in recently completed focus group meetings with farmers in two of the seven counties Codington and Moody--will contribute to those analyses. Changes in acreage of six major crops in the 7-county study area are shown in the figure on the following page. Five-year averages were used, to make trends more clear. Clearly, corn was the major crop in this region throughout much of the 45-year period running from 1950 to 1995. oats went from a major crop, with more acreage even than corn in the early 1950s, to a minor crop by the 1990s. Flax acreage also declined to negligible levels by the end of the period. The most dramatic increase was in soybean acreage, especially from the late 1970s onward. Wheat acreage increased some in the 1970s, and remained at higher levels than in the first half of the time period examined. Changes in hay acreage in this same 7-county area are shown in the figure on page 5. Hay acreage declined by over 40 percent between 1959 and 1992. We turn now to the crop system changes that have taken place over the last half of this century in the seven individual counties--Codington, Hamlin, Deuel, Brookings, Lake, Moody, and Minnehaha

Using Systematic Reviews to Transform Qualitative Research

Systematic reviews are an expected, respected, and rigorous method of appraising evidence. A tested and rigorous method for conducting systematic reviews of qualitative research in nursing science is described. This method of discovering evidence will transform the significance and utility of qualitative research findings and identify the critical data to include when disseminating the findings of qualitative studies. Accumulating evidence in qualitative research is transformative progress

A randomised trial of subcutaneous intermittent interleukin-2 without antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected patients: the UK-Vanguard Study

Objective: The objective of the trial was to evaluate in a pilot setting the safety and efficacy of interleukin-2 (IL-2) therapy when used without concomitant antiretroviral therapy as a treatment for HIV infection. Design and Setting: This was a multicentre randomised three-arm trial conducted between September 1998 and March 2001 at three clinical centres in the United Kingdom. Participants: Participants were 36 antiretroviral treatment naive HIV-1-infected patients with baseline CD4 T lymphocyte counts of at least 350 cells/mm(3). Interventions: Participants were randomly assigned to receive IL-2 at 15 million international units (MIU) per day ( 12 participants) or 9 MIU/day ( 12 participants) or no treatment ( 12 participants). IL-2 was administered by twice-daily subcutaneous injections for five consecutive days every 8 wk. Outcome Measures: Primary outcome was the change from baseline CD4 T lymphocyte count at 24 wk. Safety and plasma HIV RNA levels were also monitored every 4 wk through 24 wk. The two IL-2 dose groups were combined for the primary analysis. Results: Area under curve (AUC) for change in the mean CD4 T lymphocyte count through 24 wk was 129 cells/mm(3) for those assigned IL-2 ( both dose groups combined) and 13 cells/mm(3) for control participants (95% CI for difference, 51.3 - 181.2 cells/mm(3); p = 0.0009). Compared to the control group, significant increases in CD4 cell count were observed for both IL-2 dose groups: 104.2/mm(3) ( p = 0.008) and 128.4 cells/mm(3) ( p = 0.002) for the 4.5 and 7.5 MIU dose groups, respectively. There were no significant differences between the IL-2 (0.13 log(10) copies/ ml) and control (0.09 log(10) copies/ml) groups for AUC of change in plasma HIV RNA over the 24-wk period of follow- up ( 95% CI for difference, - 0.17 to 0.26; p = 0.70). Grade 4 and dose-limiting side effects were in keeping with those previously reported for IL-2 therapy. Conclusions: In participants with HIV infection and baseline CD4 T lymphocyte counts of at least 350 cells/mm(3), intermittent subcutaneous IL-2 without concomitant antiretroviral therapy was well tolerated and produced significant increases in CD4 T lymphocyte counts and did not adversely affect plasma HIV RNA levels

Conditional disruption of rictor demonstrates a direct requirement for mTORC2 in skin tumor development and continued growth of established tumors

These studies show for the first time that mTORC2 is essential for skin tumor development and maintenance of established tumors, but is dispensable for normal keratinocyte proliferation. They further suggest that mTORC2 controls pro-survival pathways in vitro and in tumor

Investigating bloodstain dynamics at impact on the technical rear of fabric

Using high speed video, the impact of blood drops falling at three velocities (1.9, 4.2 and 5.8 ms−1) were filmed from both the technical face and for the first time the technical rear of three different mass per unit areas (85.1, 163.5 and 224.6 g/m²) of 100% cotton calico. It was seen that there were two stages in the creation of a bloodstain on fabric; the impact dynamics, followed by wicking along the intra-yarn spaces. In the first stage, once the blood impacted the fabric, blood was visible on the technical rear of the fabrics with the medium and lightest mass per unit area within as little as 0.067 ms after impact. No blood was visible on the technical rear of the fabric with the heaviest mass per unit area following impact or the medium mass per unit area from 1.7 ms−1 impacts. On the technical face of the fabric, the blood drop spread laterally and then receded for 8 ms following impact. The dynamics on the technical face were not affected by what was occurring on the technical rear of the fabric. The bloodstain on the technical rear initially only increased until 0.8 ms following impact. The increase in technical rear bloodstain area was caused by continued movement of the blood through to the rear of the fabric as the blood drop spread on the technical face. Once the impact dynamics were concluded within 8 ms of impact, there was no further change in the bloodstain for the remaining 67 ms of high speed video. Following this the blood wicked into and along the yarns, resulting in a dry technical rear bloodstain on all fabrics at all velocities

The effect of reactive dyeing of fabric on the morphology of passive bloodstains

The majority of fabrics at crime scenes have been coloured in some way. The effect of such treatments on resultant bloodstains has not been considered. In this work, horse blood was dropped onto reactively dyed calico fabrics (100% cotton, plain woven) with three different masses of 91 g m-², 171 g m-² and 243 g m-² and the results compared to previous work on the not-coloured calico fabric. Five impact velocities were used from 1.7 ms−1 to 5.4 ms−1. The use of reactive dye increased the thickness (from 0.38 – 0.56 mm to 0.39 – 0.6 mm) and mass per unit area (from 85.1 – 224.6 g/m² to 91 – 243 g/m²) of the calico fabrics. The reactively dyed fabrics had larger bloodstains (e.g. lightest calico 41.2 – 78.6 mm²) compares to the not-coloured fabrics (e.g. lightest calico 21.4 – 67.5 mm²) across all three mass per unit areas. The dyeing of the fabrics altered the intra-yarn spaces to a more optimum size for wicking blood, increasing the ease with which the blood could wick along the yarns in the dyed calico. The amount of wicking varied depending on individual variations within the fabrics and yarns. More variation in dry bloodstain area was seen among dyed calico specimens than for the not-coloured fabric. The amount of wicking which was seen on the dyed calico meant there was no correlation between dry bloodstain area and impact velocity, a correlation which was seen on the medium and heavy not-coloured calico in the previous work

Examining public knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards palliative care: a mixed method sequential study

Background: Palliative care is recognised as a public health issue with the need for earlier integration in the wider healthcare system. However, research indicates that it continues to be accessed late in the course of an illness, public understanding of palliative care is limited, and common misconceptions prevail. Strategies to address this are needed in order to reduce barriers to palliative care delivery and improve access. Methods: An explanatory sequential mixed methods study, comprising a cross-sectional survey and interviews was undertaken. Sociodemographic characteristics, public awareness, knowledge and perceptions of palliative care were examined and strategies to raise awareness and overcome barriers within a public health framework were identified. Survey data were analysed using SPSS v25 with factor analysis and non-parametric statistics and qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: A total of 1201 participants completed the survey (58.3% female, mean age 61 years) and 25 took part in interviews. A fifth of participants (20.1%) had previously heard about palliative care and had an accurate understanding of the term. Being female, higher educated, married, and older, increased respondents’ levels of awareness. The three most commonly held misconceptions included: Palliative care is exclusively for people who are in the last 6 months of life (55.4% answered incorrectly); A goal of palliative care is to address any psychological issues brought up by serious illness (42.2% answered incorrectly); and a goal of palliative care is to improve a person’s ability to participate in daily activities (39.6% answered incorrectly). Talking about palliative and end of life care was advocated but societal taboos restricted this occurring with exposure limited to personal experience. Conclusions: Current knowledge gaps and misconceptions derived from limited ad hoc personal experiences and fear of engaging in taboo conversations may deter people from accessing integrated palliative care services early in a disease trajectory. The results indicate the need for public education programmes that move beyond merely raising awareness but provide key messages within a public health approach, which may change attitudes to palliative care thus ultimately improving end of life outcomes