86 research outputs found
A Qualitative Exploration of Entrepreneurial Learning Among Southern Arizona Small-Scale Farmers and Ranchers
Small-scale farmers and ranchers who participate in local food enterprise are challenged by a number of market uncertainties. These uncertainties include unpredictable consumer purchasing patterns, seasonal production variations, and relatively small customer bases. Moreover, farmers and ranchers turned local food entrepreneurs have limited access to business training and, thus, rely on experience and experimentation to guide their business decision making. This article draws on qualitative data to explore how farmers and ranchers who participate in Southern Arizona farmers\u27 markets develop entrepreneurial knowledge and skills. Recommendations for how Extension educators can enhance the entrepreneurial learning of small-scale farmers and ranchers are provided
Examining the Entrepreneurial Leadership Propensities of Extension Educators
Innovation and entrepreneurship are integral to the development and vitality of contemporary communities and economies. Accordingly, entrepreneurial leadership is directly relevant to the Extension education mission. Yet research examining the entrepreneurial leadership propensities of Extension educators is scant. We applied a survey design to analyze the entrepreneurial leadership propensities of Extension educators throughout Arizona using two constructs: innovation and entrepreneurial strategy. The data revealed modest levels of entrepreneurial leadership propensities across the sample. Recommendations aimed at enhancing the entrepreneurial leadership propensities of Extension educators are provided
Fast emulation of anisotropies induced in the cosmic microwave background by cosmic strings
Cosmic strings are linear topological defects that may have been produced
during symmetry-breaking phase transitions in the very early Universe. In an
expanding Universe the existence of causally separate regions prevents such
symmetries from being broken uniformly, with a network of cosmic string
inevitably forming as a result. To faithfully generate observables of such
processes requires computationally expensive numerical simulations, which
prohibits many types of analyses. We propose a technique to instead rapidly
emulate observables, thus circumventing simulation. Emulation is a form of
generative modelling, often built upon a machine learning backbone. End-to-end
emulation often fails due to high dimensionality and insufficient training
data. Consequently, it is common to instead emulate a latent representation
from which observables may readily be synthesised. Wavelet phase harmonics are
an excellent latent representations for cosmological fields, both as a summary
statistic and for emulation, since they do not require training and are highly
sensitive to non-Gaussian information. Leveraging wavelet phase harmonics as a
latent representation, we develop techniques to emulate string induced CMB
anisotropies over a 7.2 degree field of view, with sub-arcminute resolution, in
under a minute on a single GPU. Beyond generating high fidelity emulations, we
provide a technique to ensure these observables are distributed correctly,
providing a more representative ensemble of samples. The statistics of our
emulations are commensurate with those calculated on comprehensive Nambu-Goto
simulations. Our findings indicate these fast emulation approaches may be
suitable for wide use in, e.g., simulation based inference pipelines. We make
our code available to the community so that researchers may rapidly emulate
cosmic string induced CMB anisotropies for their own analysis
Validation of the Advanced Plant Habitat Facility on ISS
A fully automated plant growth facility for conducting plant research supporting space biology and food production projects on the ISS
Wheat Crop in the Advanced Plant Habitat of the International Space Station
Plants are grown in the Science Carrier(SC)of the APH,(0.2m2instrumented)root module
The extreme capsule fiber complex in humans and macaque monkeys: a comparative diffusion MRI tractography study
Subsequent Surgery After Revision Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Rates and Risk Factors From a Multicenter Cohort
BACKGROUND: While revision anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) can be performed to restore knee stability and improve patient activity levels, outcomes after this surgery are reported to be inferior to those after primary ACLR. Further reoperations after revision ACLR can have an even more profound effect on patient satisfaction and outcomes. However, there is a current lack of information regarding the rate and risk factors for subsequent surgery after revision ACLR.
PURPOSE: To report the rate of reoperations, procedures performed, and risk factors for a reoperation 2 years after revision ACLR.
STUDY DESIGN: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3.
METHODS: A total of 1205 patients who underwent revision ACLR were enrolled in the Multicenter ACL Revision Study (MARS) between 2006 and 2011, composing the prospective cohort. Two-year questionnaire follow-up was obtained for 989 patients (82%), while telephone follow-up was obtained for 1112 patients (92%). If a patient reported having undergone subsequent surgery, operative reports detailing the subsequent procedure(s) were obtained and categorized. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine independent risk factors for a reoperation.
RESULTS: Of the 1112 patients included in the analysis, 122 patients (11%) underwent a total of 172 subsequent procedures on the ipsilateral knee at 2-year follow-up. Of the reoperations, 27% were meniscal procedures (69% meniscectomy, 26% repair), 19% were subsequent revision ACLR, 17% were cartilage procedures (61% chondroplasty, 17% microfracture, 13% mosaicplasty), 11% were hardware removal, and 9% were procedures for arthrofibrosis. Multivariate analysis revealed that patients aged <20 years had twice the odds of patients aged 20 to 29 years to undergo a reoperation. The use of an allograft at the time of revision ACLR (odds ratio [OR], 1.79; P = .007) was a significant predictor for reoperations at 2 years, while staged revision (bone grafting of tunnels before revision ACLR) (OR, 1.93; P = .052) did not reach significance. Patients with grade 4 cartilage damage seen during revision ACLR were 78% less likely to undergo subsequent operations within 2 years. Sex, body mass index, smoking history, Marx activity score, technique for femoral tunnel placement, and meniscal tearing or meniscal treatment at the time of revision ACLR showed no significant effect on the reoperation rate.
CONCLUSION: There was a significant reoperation rate after revision ACLR at 2 years (11%), with meniscal procedures most commonly involved. Independent risk factors for subsequent surgery on the ipsilateral knee included age <20 years and the use of allograft tissue at the time of revision ACLR
Pharmacological Fingerprints of Contextual Uncertainty
Successful interaction with the environment requires flexible updating of our beliefs about the world. By estimating the likelihood of future events, it is possible to prepare appropriate actions in advance and execute fast, accurate motor responses. According to theoretical proposals, agents track the variability arising from changing environments by computing various forms of uncertainty. Several neuromodulators have been linked to uncertainty signalling, but comprehensive empirical characterisation of their relative contributions to perceptual belief updating, and to the selection of motor responses, is lacking. Here we assess the roles of noradrenaline, acetylcholine, and dopamine within a single, unified computational framework of uncertainty. Using pharmacological interventions in a sample of 128 healthy human volunteers and a hierarchical Bayesian learning model, we characterise the influences of noradrenergic, cholinergic, and dopaminergic receptor antagonism on individual computations of uncertainty during a probabilistic serial reaction time task. We propose that noradrenaline influences learning of uncertain events arising from unexpected changes in the environment. In contrast, acetylcholine balances attribution of uncertainty to chance fluctuations within an environmental context, defined by a stable set of probabilistic associations, or to gross environmental violations following a contextual switch. Dopamine supports the use of uncertainty representations to engender fast, adaptive responses. \ua9 2016 Marshall et al
Cheek Tooth Morphology and Ancient Mitochondrial DNA of Late Pleistocene Horses from the Western Interior of North America: Implications for the Taxonomy of North American Late Pleistocene Equus
Horses were a dominant component of North American Pleistocene land mammal communities and their remains are well represented in the fossil record. Despite the abundant material available for study, there is still considerable disagreement over the number of species of Equus that inhabited the different regions of the continent and on their taxonomic nomenclature. In this study, we investigated cheek tooth morphology and ancient mtDNA of late Pleistocene Equus specimens from the Western Interior of North America, with the objective of clarifying the species that lived in this region prior to the end-Pleistocene extinction. Based on the morphological and molecular data analyzed, a caballine (Equus ferus) and a non-caballine (E. conversidens) species were identified from different localities across most of the Western Interior. A second non-caballine species (E. cedralensis) was recognized from southern localities based exclusively on the morphological analyses of the cheek teeth. Notably the separation into caballine and non-caballine species was observed in the Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of ancient mtDNA as well as in the geometric morphometric analyses of the upper and lower premolars. Teeth morphologically identified as E. conversidens that yielded ancient mtDNA fall within the New World stilt-legged clade recognized in previous studies and this is the name we apply to this group. Geographic variation in morphology in the caballine species is indicated by statistically different occlusal enamel patterns in the specimens from Bluefish Caves, Yukon Territory, relative to the specimens from the other geographic regions. Whether this represents ecomorphological variation and/or a certain degree of geographic and genetic isolation of these Arctic populations requires further study
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