90 research outputs found
The Effect of Climate Change on Transportation Flows and Inland Waterways Due to Climate-Induced Shifts in Crop Production Patterns
This study was funded by the the University Transportation Center for Mobility, Texas Transportation InstituteGrain Transportation, Climate change and agriculture, Climate change and transportation, Land use change, Supply of grain, Demand for grain, Crop production patterns, Inland waterways, Mississippi River Basin, Climate change adaptation, Welfare distribution, Corn transportation, Soybeans transportation, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade, Land Economics/Use, C61, L91, L92, Q15, Q17, Q54, R14, R41, R13,
A Spatial Equilibrium Model of the Impact of Bio-Fuels Energy Policy on Grain Transportation Flows
Traffic flows in the U.S. have been affected by the substantial increase and, as of January 2009, decrease in biofuel production and use. This paper considers a framework to study the effect on grain transportation flows of the 2005 Energy Act and subsequent legislation, which mandated higher production levels of biofuels, e.g. ethanol and biodiesels. Future research will incorporate changes due to the recent economic slowdown.ethanol, biodiesel, spatial equilibrium, quadratic programming, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,
Effects of climate change on U.S. grain transport
The United States is a global grain supplier. Agriculture uses 22 percent of all U.S. transported tonnage with grain being the largest component. Crop mix shifts are an often cited consequence of climate change and such shifts may change the demands grain places on the transport system. Studies also find that climate change could decrease Great Lakes water levels, shorten the duration of ice cover in the winter, and alter grain supplies in grain exporting countries. This study investigates the effects of such phenomena on U.S. grain transportation movements both in volumes and modes. Specifically we examine the effects of possible shifts in: crop production patterns; Great Lakes water levels; winter navigation possibilities; and foreign grain production. We find that crop mix shifts reduce the importance of Lower Mississippi River (LMR) ports, but increase the role of Pacific Northwest ports, Great Lakes ports, and Atlantic ports. We also find a shift from barge to rail and truck transport. Conversely, a longer navigation season or a reduction in Great Lake water levels increases grain shipments to the LMR ports. Higher use of Great Lakes ports occurs under a reduction of grain production in European exporting countries that compete with Great Lakes ports
Effects of climate change on U.S. grain transport
The United States is a global grain supplier. Agriculture uses 22 percent of all U.S. transported tonnage with grain being the largest component. Crop mix shifts are an often cited consequence of climate change and such shifts may change the demands grain places on the transport system. Studies also find that climate change could decrease Great Lakes water levels, shorten the duration of ice cover in the winter, and alter grain supplies in grain exporting countries. This study investigates the effects of such phenomena on U.S. grain transportation movements both in volumes and modes. Specifically we examine the effects of possible shifts in: crop production patterns; Great Lakes water levels; winter navigation possibilities; and foreign grain production. We find that crop mix shifts reduce the importance of Lower Mississippi River (LMR) ports, but increase the role of Pacific Northwest ports, Great Lakes ports, and Atlantic ports. We also find a shift from barge to rail and truck transport. Conversely, a longer navigation season or a reduction in Great Lake water levels increases grain shipments to the LMR ports. Higher use of Great Lakes ports occurs under a reduction of grain production in European exporting countries that compete with Great Lakes ports
Inhibition of the endosymbiont “Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii” during 16S rRNA gene profiling reveals potential pathogens in Ixodes ticks from Australia
Background: The Australian paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus) is of significant medical and veterinary importance as a cause of dermatological and neurological disease, yet there is currently limited information about the bacterial communities harboured by these ticks and the risk of infectious disease transmission to humans and domestic animals. Ongoing controversy about the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (the aetiological agent of Lyme disease) in Australia increases the need to accurately identify and characterise bacteria harboured by I. holocyclus ticks. Methods: Universal PCR primers were used to amplify the V1-2 hyper-variable region of bacterial 16S rRNA genes present in DNA samples from I. holocyclus and I. ricinus ticks, collected in Australia and Germany respectively. The 16S amplicons were purified, sequenced on the Ion Torrent platform, and analysed in USEARCH, QIIME, and BLAST to assign genus and species-level taxonomy. Initial analysis of I. holocyclus and I. ricinus identified that > 95 % of the 16S sequences recovered belonged to the tick intracellular endosymbiont “Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii” (CMM). A CMM-specific blocking primer was designed that decreased CMM sequences by approximately 96 % in both tick species and significantly increased the total detectable bacterial diversity, allowing identification of medically important bacterial pathogens that were previously masked by CMM.Results: Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato was identified in German I. ricinus, but not in Australian I. holocyclus ticks. However, bacteria of medical significance were detected in I. holocyclus ticks, including a Borrelia relapsing fever group sp., Bartonella henselae, novel “Candidatus Neoehrlichia” spp., Clostridium histolyticum, Rickettsia spp., and Leptospira inadai. Conclusions: Abundant bacterial endosymbionts, such as CMM, limit the effectiveness of next-generation 16S bacterial community profiling in arthropods by masking less abundant bacteria, including pathogens. Specific blocking primers that inhibit endosymbiont 16S amplification during PCR are an effective way of reducing this limitation. Here, this strategy provided the first evidence of a relapsing fever Borrelia sp. and of novel “Candidatus Neoehrlichia” spp. in Australia. Our results raise new questions about tick-borne pathogens in I. holocyclus ticks
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The economic effects of air pollution on agriculture : an interpretive review of the literature
Published January 1984. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo
Patients' knowledge and perception on optic neuritis management before and after an information session
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patients' understanding of their condition affect the choice of treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate patients' understanding and treatment preferences before and after an information session on the treatment of acute optic neuritis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of 14 questions before and after an information session presented by a neuro-ophthalmologist. The information session highlighted the treatment options and the treatment effects based on the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial in plain patient language. The information session stressed the finding that high dose intravenous steroid therapy accelerated visual recovery but does not change final vision and that treatment with oral prednisone alone resulted in a higher incidence of recurrent optic neuritis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Before the information session, 23 (85%) participants knew that there was treatment available for ON and this increased to 27 (100%) after the information session. There were no significantly change in patients knowledge of symptoms of ON and purpose of treatment before and after the information session. Before the information session, 4 (14%) respondents reported they would like to be treated by oral steroid alone in the event of an optic neuritis and 5 (19%) did not respond. After the education session, only 1 patient (4%) indicated they would undergo treatment with oral steroid alone but 25 (92%) indicated they would undergo treatment with intravenous steroid treatment, alone or in combination with oral treatment. Results indicated that there were significant differences in the numbers of participants selecting that they would undergo treatment with a steroid injection (n = 22, p = 0.016).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this study, patients have shown good understanding of the symptoms and signs of optic neuritis. The finding that significant increases in the likelihood of patients engaging in best practice can be achieved with an information session is very important. This suggests that patient knowledge of available treatments and outcomes can play an important role in implementing and adopting guideline recommendations.</p
Controlling Groundwater Exploitation Through Economic Instruments: Current Practices, Challenges and Innovative Approaches
Groundwater can be considered as a common-pool resource, is often overexploited and, as a result, there are growing management pressures. This chapter starts with a broad presentation of the range of economic instruments that can be used for groundwater management, considering current practices and innovative approaches inspired from the literature on Common Pool Resources management. It then goes on with a detailed presentation of groundwater allocation policies implemented in France, the High Plains aquifer in the USA, and Chile. The chapter concludes with a discussion of social and political difficulties associated with implementing economic instruments for groundwater management
Critical Role of TCF-1 in Repression of the IL-17 Gene
Overwhelming activation of IL-17, a gene involved in inflammation, leads to exaggerated Th17 responses associated with numerous autoimmune conditions, such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Here we show that TCF-1 is a critical factor to repress IL-17 gene locus by chromatin modifications during T cell development. Deletion of TCF-1 resulted in increased IL-17 gene expression both in thymus and peripheral T cells, which led to enhanced Th17 differentiation. As a result, TCF-1-/- mice were susceptible to Th17-dependent EAE induction. Rag1-/- mice reconstituted with TCF-1-/- T cells were also susceptible to EAE, indicating TCF-1 is intrinsically required to repress IL-17. However, expression of wild-type TCF-1 or dominant negative TCF-1 did not interfere with Th17 differentiation in mature T cells. Furthermore, expression of TCF-1 in TCF-1-/- T cells could not restore Th17 differentiation to wild-type levels, indicating that TCF-1 cannot affect IL-17 production at the mature T cell stage. This is also supported by the normal up-regulation or activation in mature TCF-1-/- T cells of factors known to regulate Th17 differentiation, including RORγt and Stat3. We observed hyperacetylation together with trimethylation of Lys-4 at the IL-17 locus in TCF-1-/- thymocytes, two epigenetic modifications indicating an open active state of the gene. Such epigenetic modifications were preserved even when TCF-1-/- T cells migrated out of thymus. Therefore, TCF-1 mediates an active process to repress IL-17 gene expression via epigenetic modifications during T cell development. This TCF-1-mediated repression of IL-17 is critical for peripheral T cells to generate balanced immune responses
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