Adoption of Conservation Practices and Precision Technologies in South Dakota: An Empirical Analysis

Advances in conservation agriculture and precision agriculture technology practices have contributed to the adoption of conservation practices that reduce externalities from agricultural production, but this conversion was usually coupled with economic incentive, whether from increases in fertility and yield, or payments for on farm retirement or restoration practices. This study expands on this theme, evaluating the connection between conservation and the increased use of various precision agriculture technologies. The study uses survey data collected from South Dakota farmers and ranchers, with responses from 28 counties and over 500,000 acres of crop, pasture, and range land to address the following three objectives: 1) estimate the adoption rates of conservation agriculture and precision agricultural technology practices in South Dakota; 2) identify the factors influencing farmer’s adoption decisions; 3) examine the relationship between farmers’ adoption decisions on conservation agriculture and precision agricultural technology practices, and 4) conduct a qualitative analysis of farmers’ preferences and non-preferences for conservation agriculture and precision agriculture technology. Economic analysis using multinomial logit and bivariate probit models are employed to help identify the factors influencing adoption decisions and to examine the relationships between various conservation and precision bundles as well as an overall connection between the two practices. Results from the study show a significant positive relationship between adoption of conservation agriculture and cattle operations and a significant negative relationship between conservation agriculture and highly productive land. The study also reveals off-farm income negatively effects the more labor-intensive and capital-intensive practices such as diverse crop rotation and precision agriculture technologies. Findings from the study imply that targeting farmers with certain characteristics should be a goal of any policy wanting to increase adoption of any of these practices

Increased amino acid turnover and myofibrillar protein breakdown in advanced cancer are associated with muscle weakness and impaired physical function

Muscle wasting in cancer negatively affects physical function and quality of life. This study investigates amino acid metabolism and the association with muscle mass and function in patients with cancer.In 16 patients with advanced cancer undergoing chemotherapy and 16 healthy controls, we administered an intravenous pulse and prime of stable amino acid tracers. We took blood samples to measure the Rate of appearance (Ra), whole body production (WBP), clearance (Cl), and post absorptive whole body net protein breakdown (WBnetPB). Plasma amino acid concentrations and enrichments were analysed by LC-MS/MS. We assessed muscle mass, handgrip/leg/respiratory muscle strength and reported physical activity, quality of life, and physical function.Muscle strength was lower in cancer patients than in healthy controls. Total and limb muscle mass, reported physical activity and WBnetPB were comparable. WBP and Cl of tau-methylhistidine, leucine, glutamine and taurine were higher in cancer patients as well as glycine Cl. Amino acid metabolism was correlated with low muscle mass, strength, physical function and quality of life.Myofibrillar protein breakdown and production of amino acids involved in muscle contractility are up regulated in patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy and related to muscle weakness and reduced physical outcomes

Sustainable Palm Oil Supply Chains: Complexity, Custody and Contention

Demand for palm oil is strong. It and other products of the oil palm are pervasive in modern society. The sustainability of oil palm cultivation is, however, contested. Different interpretations of sustainability have created conflict at the point of production with perceived Western values conflicting with the perceived needs of palm oil producing countries. This paper contributes to the sustainable supply chain management literature by discussing how stakeholders, with differing objectives, influence behaviour along complex palm oil supply chains. Based on field observation and interviews with these key stakeholders, the paper considers economic, ethical and environmental aspects emerging from efforts to create sustainable palm oil supply chains. In particular, the paper looks at efforts to achieve traceability of supplies and the impacts of such efforts. Insights from this research will help raise awareness of the supply chain dynamics of the palm oil industry, the conflicting challenges faced by downstream buyers and upstream producers, and how well-meaning efforts to support socio-economic development potentially harms efforts to drive sustainable production of oil palm

Archaeological tourism: A creative approach

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordThis theoretical paper conceptualises the role of tourism providers in facilitating creative tourism experiences by focusing on their ingenious enterprise, which we argue can help capture the tourism potential of intangible archaeological heritage. Intangible archaeological heritage can be understood as knowledge emanating from actors’ own interpretation of archaeological sites that have either become physically inaccessible or been destroyed since initial exploration. Archaeological heritage is often equated with tangibility, which results in an omission of experiences that intangible archaeological heritage can offer. By proposing a rethinking of the archaeological tourism framework, we argue that the touristic value of both tangible and intangible archaeological heritage is better realised and can be further utilised to study the easily overlooked aspect of providers’ ingenuity

Investigating household recycling behaviour through the interactions between personal and situational factors

In recent years household recycling behaviour (HRB) has become a focal point in social science research to understand the concept of household waste recycling management. Household recycling systems involve two main actors: households and municipalities. This paper reports on an empirical study of the interaction between HRB and household waste recycling systems provided by municipalities. A convenience sample of 412 households was selected to complete a survey on recycling initiatives with personal and situational factors and also their interaction. Results showed that personal factors have a significant relation with situational factors (availability, accessibility, awareness and convenience) (p < 0.01) and vice versa; with a positive correlation (r (412) = +0.41). In addition, personal factors correlated positively to availability, accessibility, awareness and convenience at a p-value below 0.01. Furthermore, situational factors interact with demographical factors such that personal factors may be predicted (overall HRB). This study uses both an interdisciplinary and multi-methods approach to answer its research questions and is also accessible to both practitioner and academic domains. © 2014 WIT Press

The bile duct ligated rat : a relevant model to study muscle mass loss in cirrhosis

Muscle mass loss and hepatic encephalopathy (complex neuropsychiatric disorder) are serious complications of chronic liver disease (cirrhosis) which impact negatively on clinical outcome and quality of life and increase mortality. Liver disease leads to hyperammonemia and ammonia toxicity is believed to play a major role in the pathogenesis of hepatic encephalopathy. However, the effects of ammonia are not brain-specific and therefore may also affect other organs and tissues including muscle. The precise pathophysiological mechanisms underlying muscle wasting in chronic liver disease remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we characterized body composition as well as muscle protein synthesis in cirrhotic rats with hepatic encephalopathy using the 6-week bile duct ligation (BDL) model which recapitulates the main features of cirrhosis. Compared to sham-operated control animals, BDL rats display significant decreased gain in body weight, altered body composition, decreased gastrocnemius muscle mass and circumference as well as altered muscle morphology. Muscle protein synthesis was also significantly reduced in BDL rats compared to control animals. These findings demonstrate that the 6-week BDL experimental rat is a relevant model to study liver disease-induced muscle mass loss

Presence or Absence of Skeletal Muscle Dysfunction in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is Associated With Distinct Phenotypes

Introduction: Reduced skeletal muscle function and cognitive performance are common extrapulmonary features in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) but their connection remains unclear. Whether presence or absence of skeletal muscle dysfunction in COPD patients is linked to a specific phenotype consisting of reduced cognitive performance, comorbidities and nutritional and metabolic disturbances needs further investigation. Methods: Thirty-seven patients with COPD (grade II–IV) were divided into two phenotypic cohorts based on the presence (COPD dysfunctional, n = 25) or absence (COPD functional, n = 12) of muscle dysfunction. These cohorts were compared to 28 healthy, age matched controls. Muscle strength (dynamometry), cognitive performance (Trail Making Test and STROOP Test), body composition (Dual-energy X-Ray Absorptiometry), habitual physical activity, comorbidities and mood status (questionnaires) were measured. Pulse administration of stable amino acid tracers was performed to measure whole body production rates. Results: Presence of muscle dysfunction in COPD was independent of muscle mass or severity of airflow obstruction but associated with impaired STROOP Test performance (p = 0.04), reduced resting O saturation (p = 0.003) and physical inactivity (p = 0.01), and specific amino acid metabolic disturbances (enhanced leucine (p = 0.02) and arginine (p = 0.06) production). In contrast, COPD patients with normal muscle function presented with anxiety, increased fat mass, plasma glucose concentration, and metabolic syndrome related comorbidities (hypertension and dyslipidemia). Conclusion: COPD patients with muscle dysfunction show characteristics of a cognitive – metabolic impairment phenotype, influenced by the presence of hypoxia, whereas those with normal muscle function present a phenotype of metabolic syndrome and mood disturbances

Peeking beyond peaks: challenges and research potentials of continuous multimodal multi-objective optimization

Computer Systems, Imagery and Medi