Debt Covenant Violations of Private Lending Agreements of Agricultural Cooperatives

Seven years of debt covenant violations of private lending agreements of eighty-three agricultural cooperatives were examined. A LOGIT prediction model of debt covenant violations was developed and the factors that affect debt covenant violations were identified. These factors include cooperative size, working capital, the quick ratio, the existence of a management compensation plan, the tax-exempt status of the cooperative, a bank rating, and the current amount of loan payments.Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance,

A Primer on the Income Tax Consequences of the NCAA’s Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) Earnings for College Athletes

NCAA domestic college athletes can now financially benefit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). The purpose of this article is to “educate” athletes on the new NIL rules in financial literacy. With new NIL income flowing to athletes, federal income tax consequences of these transactions must be addressed. This article results in a detailed introduction to the applicable federal tax rules regarding NIL income for athletes to stay in compliance with those laws. From understanding NIL income, to how the tax formula works, what tax forms apply, and what taxes may be due, this article provides a comprehensive toolkit for athletes who will be financially benefitting from NIL. Athletes must learn to understand the tax rules associated with the income from the NIL. In general, most athletes earning equal to or less than $12,550 in NIL income should have no federal income tax due. However, athletes likely must fill out tax returns, and as self-employed taxpayers, may owe self-employment taxes. Most athletes have spent many hours weekly and yearly mastering the sport and more than likely not as much time holding jobs. As such, there is a lack of basic understanding of the United States’ income tax system

Defensive Adaptations and Natural Enemies of a Case-Bearing Beetle, Exema canadensis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

The larval habit of constructing and carrying a portable case has evolved many times in the Holometabola. It is a widespread trait of the Trichoptera and Lepidoptera (e.g. the Coleophoridae and Psychidae). Among the Coleoptera, casebearing is found in four related subfamilies of the Chrysomelidae, the so-called camptosomates: Clytrinae, Cryptocephalinae, Chlamisinae, and Lamprosomatinae (B6ving and Craighead 1931). The larval case of many insects is thought to function primarily in defense by providing armor or camouflage (Otto and Svensson 1980). Here we describe the uses of the case and other defenses in a chlamisine beetle, Exerna canadensis Pierce, and speculate briefly on the evolution and consequences of the case-bearing habit. The genus Exema Lacordaire contains nine species in North America (Karren 1966). All of the species appear to be univoltine and to feed on a fairly restricted range of herbaceous or shrubby genera in the Asteraceae (Jenks 1940; Karren 1966, 1972). In central New York E. canadensis is commonly found on goldenrods (Sol# dago spp.) and asters (Aster spp.). Its life cycle was summarized by Messina and Root (1980). Le Sage (1982) recently described the immature stages

Plant Protection as a Consequence of an Ant-Membracid Mutualism: Interactions on Goldenrod (Solidago sp.)

In central New York, two chrysomelid beetles, Trirhabda virgata and T. borealis, frequently cause severe defoliation of tall goldenrod, Solidago altissima. This plant is also the primary host of Publilia concava (Membracidae), a sap—feeding treehopper that is tended by ants, especially Formica spp. Staged encounters indicate that Formica ants attack adult Trirhabda beetles on goldenrod stems bearing membracids. Such stems escape defoliation by Trirhabda, and show greater mean height increment and seed production than their nearest neighbors without ants. The degree of plant protection depends on the duration of Formica presence. During Trirhabda outbreaks, only stems bearing Formica ants for most of the season are likely to produce flowers and seeds. While Formica ants do not exclude Trirhabda larvae from goldenrod stems, they do deter feeding; plants with Formica ants experience significantly less defoliation by larvae than neighboring stems without ants. Two smaller, less aggressive an species (Prenolepis imparis and Myrmica sp.) do not affect either larval or adult beetle densities

Emergency Department Use Among Older Adults With Dementia

Although persons with dementia are frequently hospitalized, relatively little is known about the health profile, patterns of health care use, and mortality rates for patients with dementia who access care in the emergency department (ED). We linked data from our hospital system with Medicare and Medicaid claims, Minimum Data Set, and Outcome and Assessment Information Set data to evaluate 175,652 ED visits made by 10,354 individuals with dementia and 15,020 individuals without dementia over 11 years. Survival rates after ED visits and associated charges were examined. Patients with dementia visited the ED more frequently, were hospitalized more often than patients without dementia, and had an increased odds of returning to the ED within 30 days of an index ED visit compared with persons who never had a dementia diagnosis (odds ratio, 2.29; P<0.001). Survival rates differed significantly between patients by dementia status (P<0.001). Mean Medicare payments for ED services were significantly higher among patients with dementia. These results show that older adults with dementia are frequent ED visitors who have greater comorbidity, incur higher charges, are admitted to hospitals at higher rates, return to EDs at higher rates, and have higher mortality after an ED visit than patients without dementia

VARIETAL RESISTANCE

Production of all classes of wheat grown in the United States totaled 2.5 billion bushels in 1997. Common wheat, Triticum aestivum L. subsp. aestivum, is the primary source of all wheat varieties grown in the United States, with over 200 varieties known and over 100 varieties cultivated. These 100 varieties constitute over 95% of all wheat cultivated in the United States. Five general wheat classes are predominant in the United States: hard red winter, hard red spring, soft red winter, white, and durum

Patterns of Emergency Department Use Among Long-Stay Nursing Home Residents With Differing Levels of Dementia Severity

OBJECTIVES: To describe emergency department (ED) utilization among long-stay nursing home residents with different levels of dementia severity. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Public Health System. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 4491 older adults (age 65 years and older) who were long-stay nursing home residents. MEASUREMENTS: Patient demographics, dementia severity, comorbidities, ED visits, ED disposition decisions, and discharge diagnoses. RESULTS: Forty-seven percent of all long-stay nursing home residents experienced at least 1 transfer to the ED over the course of a year. At their first ED transfer, 36.4% of the participants were admitted to the hospital, whereas 63.1% of those who visited the ED were not. The median time to first ED visit for the participants with advanced stage dementia was 258 days, whereas it was 250 days for the participants with early to moderate stage dementia and 202 days for the participants with no dementia (P = .0034). Multivariate proportional hazard modeling showed that age, race, number of comorbidities, number of hospitalizations in the year prior, and do not resuscitate status all significantly influenced participants' time to first ED visit (P < .05 for all). After accounting for these effects, dementia severity (P = .66), years in nursing home before qualification (P = .46), and gender (P = .36) lost their significance. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms high rates of transfer of long-stay nursing home residents, with nearly one-half of the participants experiencing at least 1 ED visit over the course of a year. Although dementia severity is not a predictor of time to ED use in our analyses, other factors that influence ED use are readily identifiable. Nursing home providers should be aware of these factors when developing strategies that meet patient care goals and avoid transfer from the nursing home to the ED