Irrigation Restriction and Biomass Market Interactions: The Case of the Alluvial Aquifer

The U.S. Geological Survey has determined that irrigation in Arkansas’ Delta is unsustainable. This study examines how irrigation restrictions would affect county net returns to crop production. It also considers the effect of planting less water-intensive bioenergy crops—switchgrass and forage sorghum—in the event biofuel markets become a reality. Results suggest that sustainable irrigation restrictions without bioenergy crops would decrease producer returns by 28% in the region. Introducing these alternative crops would both reduce groundwater use and may restore state producer returns, albeit with significant spatial income redistribution to crop production throughout the state.biomass crops, ground water irrigation, spatial income redistribution, sustainability, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Financial Economics, Land Economics/Use, Political Economy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty, Q24, Q25, Q32, Q42, O13,

Going, Going, Almost Gone: How the Depletion of the Alluvial Aquifer Will Affect Cropping Decisions in the Arkansas Delta

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has determined that agricultural irrigation in Arkansas’ Delta is unsustainable with significant negative economic repercussions on producers net returns affected by the Alluvial aquifer. This study examines how irrigation restrictions in that region would affect county net returns to crop production. It also considers the effect of planting less water-intensive bioenergy crops in the event biofuel markets become a reality. A constrained optimization model determines acreage allocations and net returns under three irrigation scenarios: i) no irrigation restrictions, ii) irrigation restrictions that lead to a sustainable Alluvial aquifer, and iii) irrigation restrictions that would lengthen the life of the Alluvial aquifer. Hypothetical switchgrass and forage sorghum crops were then added to model the effect of a biofuel market. If crop production were conducting using irrigation levels that are sustainable, as defined by the USGS, producer net returns would decrease by 28% in the Alluvial region. Estimates show that the introduction of dedicated bioenergy crops could alleviate this downturn. If the price of switchgrass reached $46.40 per dry ton at the farmgate, it is possible to restore net returns to crop production across the state to pre-irrigation restriction levels, while Alluvial region producers now would suffer only a 9.5% reduction. Significant income redistribution to crop production thus exists with depleting ground water irrigation resources even with the introduction of an alternative markets.ground water irrigation, sustainability, biomass crops, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Systematic differences between Cochrane and non-Cochrane meta-analyses on the same topic: a matched pair analysis

BACKGROUND: Meta-analyses conducted via the Cochrane Collaboration adhere to strict methodological and reporting standards aiming to minimize bias, maximize transparency/reproducibility, and improve the accuracy of summarized data. Whether this results in differences in the results reported by meta-analyses on the same topic conducted outside the Cochrane Collaboration is an open question. METHODS: We conducted a matched-pair analysis with individual meta-analyses as the unit of analysis, comparing Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews. Using meta-analyses from the cardiovascular literature, we identified pairs that matched on intervention and outcome. The pairs were contrasted in terms of how frequently results disagreed between the Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews, whether effect sizes and statistical precision differed systematically, and how these differences related to the frequency of secondary citations of those reviews. RESULTS: Our search yielded 40 matched pairs of reviews. The two sets were similar in terms of which was first to publication, how many studies were included, and average sample sizes. The paired reviews included a total of 344 individual clinical trials: 111 (32.3%) studies were included only in a Cochrane review, 104 (30.2%) only in a non-Cochrane review, and 129 (37.5%) in both. Stated another way, 62.5% of studies were only included in one or the other meta-analytic literature. Overall, 37.5% of pairs had discrepant results. The most common involved shifts in the width of 95% confidence intervals that would yield a different statistical interpretation of the significance of results (7 pairs). Additionally, 20% differed in the direction of the summary effect size (5 pairs) or reported greater than a 2-fold difference in its magnitude (3 pairs). Non-Cochrane reviews reported significantly higher effect sizes (P < 0.001) and lower precision (P < 0.001) than matched Cochrane reviews. Reviews reporting an effect size at least 2-fold greater than their matched pair were cited more frequently. CONCLUSIONS: Though results between topic-matched Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews were quite similar, discrepant results were frequent, and the overlap of included studies was surprisingly low. Non-Cochrane reviews report larger effect sizes with lower precision than Cochrane reviews, indicating systematic differences, likely reflective of methodology, between the two types of reviews that could generate different interpretations of the interventions under question

Systematic differences between Cochrane and non-Cochrane meta-analyses on the same topic: a matched pair analysis

BACKGROUND: Meta-analyses conducted via the Cochrane Collaboration adhere to strict methodological and reporting standards aiming to minimize bias, maximize transparency/reproducibility, and improve the accuracy of summarized data. Whether this results in differences in the results reported by meta-analyses on the same topic conducted outside the Cochrane Collaboration is an open question. METHODS: We conducted a matched-pair analysis with individual meta-analyses as the unit of analysis, comparing Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews. Using meta-analyses from the cardiovascular literature, we identified pairs that matched on intervention and outcome. The pairs were contrasted in terms of how frequently results disagreed between the Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews, whether effect sizes and statistical precision differed systematically, and how these differences related to the frequency of secondary citations of those reviews. RESULTS: Our search yielded 40 matched pairs of reviews. The two sets were similar in terms of which was first to publication, how many studies were included, and average sample sizes. The paired reviews included a total of 344 individual clinical trials: 111 (32.3%) studies were included only in a Cochrane review, 104 (30.2%) only in a non-Cochrane review, and 129 (37.5%) in both. Stated another way, 62.5% of studies were only included in one or the other meta-analytic literature. Overall, 37.5% of pairs had discrepant results. The most common involved shifts in the width of 95% confidence intervals that would yield a different statistical interpretation of the significance of results (7 pairs). Additionally, 20% differed in the direction of the summary effect size (5 pairs) or reported greater than a 2-fold difference in its magnitude (3 pairs). Non-Cochrane reviews reported significantly higher effect sizes (P < 0.001) and lower precision (P < 0.001) than matched Cochrane reviews. Reviews reporting an effect size at least 2-fold greater than their matched pair were cited more frequently. CONCLUSIONS: Though results between topic-matched Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews were quite similar, discrepant results were frequent, and the overlap of included studies was surprisingly low. Non-Cochrane reviews report larger effect sizes with lower precision than Cochrane reviews, indicating systematic differences, likely reflective of methodology, between the two types of reviews that could generate different interpretations of the interventions under question

Cambodia: A Political Survey

Since the last election in 2003, and in particular during 2005~2006, Cambodian stability has been threatened by unprincipled political figures who enjoy support from extreme right~wing U.S entities such as the International Republican Institute (IRI), financed in part by USAID and backed by influential U.S. senators, including John McCain, all attempting to fan the flames of Cambodian-Vietnamese hostility; and I think a new publication, with additional detail, of this study of the so-called 'Cambodian Peace Process' and its results; may be a useful contribution to 'understanding the background of Cambodia's present situation.

Introducing TaCEM and the TIAALS Software

This paper introduces the TaCEM project (Technology and Creativity in Electroacoustic Music), funded for 30 months by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in the UK, investigating the relationship between technological innovation and creative practice in electroacoustic music of the last 40 years (http://www.hud.ac.uk/research/researchcentres/tacem/). It is a collaborative project between the universities of Huddersfield and Durham in the UK and outputs from the project will include a book and freely available interactive software. This paper explains the context for the project and its goals, and discusses some of the generic software that is being developed as part of the project, intended not only for use in the project itself but also to be freely available for others to use in the study of any electroacoustic work as appropriate

Object-based warping in three-dimensional environments

Object-based warping is a powerful visual illusion wherein space between features within figural regions is regularly overestimated compared with those within ground regions. Originally, the effect was only examined in displays of two-dimensional (2D) stimuli. The present study sought to examine whether object-based warping persists in more naturalistic viewing conditions, where additional contextual cues are present. Stimuli were presented with either three-dimensional (3D) printed objects (Experiment 1) or 3D objects in virtual reality (Experiments 2–4). The testing metric was actual distance of features (dots) compared with estimated distances made by participants. Responses for the 3D printed stimuli were measured with replica dots on a slide ruler device. The virtual reality experiments collected responses either with a computer mouse or motion-tracked controller and included manipulations of object type, spatial separation, viewing distance of stimuli, and head motion. A standard warping effect in 3D was observed in all experiments, although the effect was not present in one condition that elicits warping in 2D (Occluded Rectangle). The final experiment resolves this discrepancy by reducing the multicomponent object (Occluded Rectangle) to a single component figure, while demonstrating the influence of depth cues on the warping effect under occlusion. Collectively, these experiments reveal that object-based warping is a powerful effect, even in naturalistic settings

Using Media Messaging to Promote Healthful Eating and Physical Activity among Urban Youth

National trends show consistent increases, as well as racial and ethnic dis- parities, in the prevalence of overweight children and adolescents. Such disparity is evident regarding behaviors such as a poor diet and a lack of physical activity and in the prevalence and outcomes of associated health problems. It has been suggested that grounding interventions in cultural traditions and norms are critical for preventing obesity among ethnic and racial minority youth; however, with some notable exceptions, few community interventions have used this approach. Moreover, urban minority youth may face additional barriers to healthful eating and physical activity behaviors, such as limited environmental and social support systems. Thus, there is a great need for culturally rele- vant community-based programs to serve them

Fulfilling the Promise of Personalized Medicine? Systematic Review and Field Synopsis of Pharmacogenetic Studies

BACKGROUND: Studies of the genetic basis of drug response could help clarify mechanisms of drug action/metabolism, and facilitate development of genotype-based predictive tests of efficacy or toxicity (pharmacogenetics). OBJECTIVES: We conducted a systematic review and field synopsis of pharmacogenetic studies to quantify the scope and quality of available evidence in this field in order to inform future research. DATA SOURCES: Original research articles were identified in Medline, reference lists from 24 meta-analyses/systematic reviews/review articles and U.S. Food and Drug Administration website of approved pharmacogenetic tests. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, PARTICIPANTS, AND INTERVENTION CRITERIA: We included any study in which either intended or adverse response to drug therapy was examined in relation to genetic variation in the germline or cancer cells in humans. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS: Study characteristics and data reported in abstracts were recorded. We further analysed full text from a random 10% subset of articles spanning the different subclasses of study. RESULTS: From 102,264 Medline hits and 1,641 articles from other sources, we identified 1,668 primary research articles (1987 to 2007, inclusive). A high proportion of remaining articles were reviews/commentaries (ratio of reviews to primary research approximately 25 ratio 1). The majority of studies (81.8%) were set in Europe and North America focussing on cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurology/psychiatry. There was predominantly a candidate gene approach using common alleles, which despite small sample sizes (median 93 [IQR 40-222]) with no trend to an increase over time, generated a high proportion (74.5%) of nominally significant (por=4 studies, only 31 meta-analyses were identified. The majority (69.4%) of end-points were continuous and likely surrogate rather than hard (binary) clinical end-points. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF KEY FINDINGS: The high expectation but limited translation of pharmacogenetic research thus far may be explained by the preponderance of reviews over primary research, small sample sizes, a mainly candidate gene approach, surrogate markers, an excess of nominally positive to truly positive associations and paucity of meta-analyses. Recommendations based on these findings should inform future study design to help realise the goal of personalised medicines. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION NUMBER: Not Registered

Development of a Multiplex Real-Time PCR Assay for the detection of ruminant DNA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has previously validated a real-time PCR-based assay that is currently being used by the FDA and several state laboratories as the official screening method. Due to several shortcomings to the assay, a multiplex real-time PCR assay (MRTA) to detect three ruminant species (bovine, caprine, and ovine) was developed using a lyophilized bead design. The assay contained two primer or probe sets: a "ruminant" set to detect bovine-, caprine-, and ovine-derived materials and a second set to serve as an internal PCR control, formatted using a lyophilized bead design. Performance of the assay was evaluated against stringent acceptance criteria developed by the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine's Office of Research. The MRTA for the detection of ruminant DNA passed the stringent acceptance criteria for specificity, sensitivity, and selectivity. The assay met sensitivity and reproducibility requirements by detecting 30 of 30 complete feed samples fortified with meals at 0.1 % (wt/wt) rendered material from each of the three ruminant species. The MRTA demonstrated 100 % selectivity (0.0 % false positives) for negative controls throughout the assessment period. The assay showed ruggedness in both sample selection and reagent preparation. Second and third analyst trials confirmed the quality of the written standard operating procedure with consistency of results. An external laboratory participating in a peer-verification trial demonstrated 100 % specificity in identifying bovine meat and bone meal, while exhibiting a 0.03 % rate of false positives. The assay demonstrated equal levels of sensitivity and reproducibility compared with the FDA's current validated real-time PCR assay. The assay detected three prohibited species in less than 1.5 h of total assay time, a significant improvement over the current real-time assay. These results demonstrated this assay's suitability for routine regulatory use both as a primary screening tool and as a confirmatory test