Income Earning Potential versus Consumptive Amenities in Determining Ranchland Values

The relative importance of income earning potential versus consumptive values in setting ranchland prices is examined using a truncated hedonic model. The market value of New Mexico ranches is related to annual income earning potential and other ranch characteristics including ranch size, location, elevation, terrain, and the amount of deeded, public, and state trust land on the ranch. We found ranch income to be a statistically important determinant of land value, but yet a relatively small percentage of ranch value was explained by income earnings. Ranch location, scenic view, and the desirable lifestyle influenced ranch value more than ranch income.consumptive value, grazing fees, grazing permit value, hedonic model, land value, lifestyle agriculture, public land grazing, voluntary grazing permit buyout, Land Economics/Use,

Long-term outcomes of a randomized clinical trial of supervised exercise, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty or combined treatment for patients with intermittent claudication due to femoropopliteal disease

Background: To compare the long-term outcomes of angioplasty (PTA), supervised exercise (SEP) and combined treatment (PTA+SEP) in patients with intermittent claudication (IC) due to femoropopliteal disease. Methods: Patients recruited to PTA, SEP and PTA+SEP arms of RCT were invited for long-term follow-up from 2010 to 2011.Indicators of limb ischaemia were recorded (ankle-brachial pressure indices, treadmill walking distances (ICD, MWD, PRWD). Duplex ultrasound was also performed. Patients completed SF36 and Vascuqol quality of life(QOL) questionnaires. Results: Of the 178 patients recruited in the trial, 139 were alive at the time of follow-up (PTA=46, SEP=47, PTA+SEP=46). Assessments were completed for 111 patients. Median time to follow-up was 5.2years (IQR 3.8-7.4years). Median age of patients at follow up was 75years. 62.2%(N=69) of patients were symptomatic.16.2%(N= 18) had experienced major cardiovascular event since their last follow-up visit. Intra-group analysis: Improvement was observed in ankle brachial pressure index (ABPI) in all groups. QOL outcomes were inconsistent across individual groups. Inter-group analysis: PTA and PTA+SEP groups demonstrated a significantly higher ABPI as compared to SEP group. No significant difference was observed in walking distances, QOL outcomes, restenosis rates, and new ipsilateral and contralateral lesions on duplex scan. Patients required re-interventions in all group (PTA=14, SEP=10, PTA+SEP=6). Number of re-interventions was higher in PTA group(N=29) as compared to SEP(N=17) and PTA+SEP(N=9) but failed to reach statistical significance. Conclusion: PTA, SEP and combined treatment are equally effective long-term treatment options for patients with femoropopliteal claudication. Addition of SEP to PTA can reduce the symptomatic restenosis and re-intervention rates

Estimating the Net Economic Value of National Forest Recreation: An Application of the National Visitor Use Monitoring Database.

Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Building Social Capital in Forest Communities: Analysis of New Mexico\u27s Collaborative Forest Restorative Program

In part because of its emphasis on building social capital, the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program (CFRP) in New Mexico represents a unique experiment in public lands management. This study uses logit probability modeling to investigate what factors determined CFRP funding, which totaled $26 million between 2001 and 2006. Results reveal program preferences for projects that encourage collaboration and improve forest health, especially in poor counties. Negative determinants of funding include measures of small-diameter material utilization and whether a project takes place across multiple land jurisdictions. There is no evidence of bias toward funding any particular applicant type or land jurisdiction

A Comparison of Producer Gas, Biochar, and Activated Carbon from Two Distributed Scale Thermochemical Conversion Systems used to Process Forest Biomass

Thermochemical biomass conversion systems have the potential to produce heat, power, fuels and other products from forest biomass at distributed scales that meet the needs of some forest industry facilities. However, many of these systems have not been deployed in this sector and the products they produce from forest biomass have not been adequately described or characterized with regards to chemical properties, possible uses, and markets. This paper characterizes the producer gas, biochar, and activated carbon of a 700 kg h−1 prototype gasification system and a 225 kg h−1 pyrolysis system used to process coniferous sawmill and forest residues. Producer gas from sawmill residues processed with the gasifier had higher energy content than gas from forest residues, with averages of 2.4 MJ m−3 and 9.8 MJ m−3, respectively. Gases from the pyrolysis system averaged 1.3 MJ m−3 for mill residues and 2.5 MJ m−3 for forest residues. Biochars produced have similar particle size distributions and bulk density, but vary in pH and carbon content. Biochars from both systems were successfully activated using steam activation, with resulting BET surface area in the range of commercial activated carbon. Results are discussed in the context of co-locating these systems with forest industry operations

Public Purpose Recreation Marketing: A Focus on the Relationships Between the Public and Public Lands

Marketing has long had a place in the planning and management of public sector recreation. In particular, the use of market segmentation has allowed leisure providers to better understand their clients’ needs and to tailor their services to the diversity of those needs. However, the use of marketing approaches is not without controversy and is sometimes perceived to be at odds with the public service or stewardship mandates often associated with recreation management. We suggest that wholesale adoption of basic marketing principles (such as the notion of giving people exactly what they want at a great price) may be inappropriate. An alternative form, relational marketing, may be better suited to public purpose organizations. Relational marketing focuses on the development or fostering of a relationship between the public and the public agency. Thus, relational marketing focuses on building confidence in the agency’s ability to guard the short- and long-term interests of the public. For example, for land management agencies, these objectives are embedded in legislative and policy mandates to provide outstanding opportunities for recreation, while at the same time protecting and enhancing the environment. Relational marketing seems better suited to these objectives compared with transactional marketing, which is more dominant in private sector businesses. Whereas transactional marketing focuses on fostering current and continuing purchases of goods and services, relational marketing extends beyond the direct economic exchange. In the public recreation settings, the public is considered more than a current or potential customer, they are also considered an owner or shareholder of the agency. Thus, repeat purchases or customer satisfaction are not sufficient measures of success for organizations with a public service mandate. Instead, relational marketing considers the perceptions that the many different groups of the public (e.g. participants and non-participants, supporters and non-supporters) have of the agency and its actions. The research reported here conceptualizes the relationship between the public and the agency into three dimensions: social trust (the degree to which individuals perceive the agency to share their views, goals, and values); commitment (the investment, attachment, and longevity of the relationship to the agency); and social responsibility (which includes attitudes towards the goals or public purposes of the agency). A market segmentation based on these dimensions yielded distinct subpopulations of the general public. The challenge for public agencies, such as the Forest Service, is to be responsive to the different relationships the public has with the agency. Collaborative planning efforts must acknowledge and incorporate knowledge of these differences in social trust, commitment, and social responsibility. Any public action or policy change should consider how it potentially affects the varying public’s relationship with the agency and the services it provides. Managers must demonstrate stewardship, care, responsiveness, and continuing service to today’s public and future generations. Any interaction with the public (e.g., marketing) should focus on the intended public purpose which guides the agency

High Resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to Sulphadoxine/Pyrimethamine in Northern Tanzania and the Emergence of dhps Resistance Mutation at Codon 581

BACKGROUND: Sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) a widely used treatment for uncomplicated malaria and recommended for intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy, is being investigated for intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in infants (IPTi). High levels of drug resistance to SP have been reported from north-eastern Tanzania associated with mutations in parasite genes. This study compared the in vivo efficacy of SP in symptomatic 6-59 month children with uncomplicated malaria and in asymptomatic 2-10 month old infants. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: An open label single arm (SP) standard 28 day in vivo WHO antimalarial efficacy protocol was used in 6 to 59 months old symptomatic children and a modified protocol used in 2 to 10 months old asymptomatic infants. Enrolment was stopped early (87 in the symptomatic and 25 in the asymptomatic studies) due to the high failure rate. Molecular markers were examined for recrudescence, re-infection and markers of drug resistance and a review of literature of studies looking for the 581G dhps mutation was carried out. In symptomatic children PCR-corrected early treatment failure was 38.8% (95% CI 26.8-50.8) and total failures by day 28 were 82.2% (95% CI 72.5-92.0). There was no significant difference in treatment failures between asymptomatic and symptomatic children. 96% of samples carried parasites with mutations at codons 51, 59 and 108 in the dhfr gene and 63% carried a double mutation at codons 437 and 540. 55% carried a third mutation with the addition of a mutation at codon 581 in the dhps gene. This triple: triple haplotype maybe associated with earlier treatment failure. CONCLUSION: In northern Tanzania SP is a failed drug for treatment and its utility for prophylaxis is doubtful. The study found a new combination of parasite mutations that maybe associated with increased and earlier failure. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00361114

The History of Biomechanics in Total Hip Arthroplasty.

Biomechanics of the hip joint describes how the complex combination of osseous, ligamentous, and muscular structures transfers the weight of the body from the axial skeleton into the appendicular skeleton of the lower limbs. Throughout history, several biomechanical studies based on theoretical mathematics, in vitro, in vivo as well as in silico models have been successfully performed. The insights gained from these studies have improved our understanding of the development of mechanical hip pathologies such as osteoarthritis, hip fractures, and developmental dysplasia of the hip. The main treatment of end-stage degeneration of the hip is total hip arthroplasty (THA). The increasing number of patients undergoing this surgical procedure, as well as their demand for more than just pain relief and leading an active lifestyle, has challenged surgeons and implant manufacturers to deliver higher function as well as longevity with the prosthesis. The science of biomechanics has played and will continue to play a crucial and integral role in achieving these goals. The aim of this article, therefore, is to present to the readers the key concepts in biomechanics of the hip and their application to THA

Rethinking energy, climate and security: a critical analysis of energy security in the US

Understanding the complicated relationship between energy, climate and security is vital both to the study of international relations and to ensure the continued survival of a world increasingly threatened by environmental change. Climate change is largely caused by burning fossil fuels for energy, but while discussions on the climate consider the role of energy, energy security debates largely overlook climate concerns. This article traces the separation between energy and climate through an analysis of US energy security discourse and policy. It shows that energy security is continually constructed as national security, which enables very particular policy choices and prioritises it above climate concerns. Thus, in many cases, policies undertaken in the name of energy security contribute directly to climate insecurity. The article argues that the failure to consider securing the climate as inherently linked to energy security is not just problematic, but, given global warming, potentially harmful. Consequently, any approach to dealing with climate change has to begin by rethinking energy security and security more broadly, as national (energy) security politics no longer provides security in any meaningful sense

The Many Faces of Fear: Comparing the Pathways and Impacts of Nonconsumptive Predator Effects on Prey Populations

Background: Most ecological models assume that predator and prey populations interact solely through consumption: predators reduce prey densities by killing and consuming individual prey. However, predators can also reduce prey densities by forcing prey to adopt costly defensive strategies. Methodology/Principal Findings: We build on a simple Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model to provide a heuristic tool for distinguishing between the demographic effects of consumption (consumptive effects) and of anti-predator defenses (nonconsumptive effects), and for distinguishing among the multiple mechanisms by which anti-predator defenses might reduce prey population growth rates. We illustrate these alternative pathways for nonconsumptive effects with selected empirical examples, and use a meta-analysis of published literature to estimate the mean effect size of each pathway. Overall, predation risk tends to have a much larger impact on prey foraging behavior than measures of growth, survivorship, or fecundity. Conclusions/Significance: While our model provides a concise framework for understanding the many potential NCE pathways and their relationships to each other, our results confirm empirical research showing that prey are able to partially compensate for changes in energy income, mitigating the fitness effects of defensive changes in time budgets. Distinguishing the many facets of nonconsumptive effects raises some novel questions, and will help guide both empirica