Effects of Generic Advertisement on Demand: The Case of the Washington State Apple Commission

The Washington Apple Commission (WAC) generically promoted apples for the Washington state industry from 1937 until 2003. This paper provides an analysis of the effects on demand attributable to these activities. Demand movement associated with promotion tends to be positive, though the results are mixed. Overall, WAC promotion increased growers’ total revenue by approximately $53.4 million for 2002. The estimated average return to advertising topped$8.7 per dollar of advertising. Continuing selected promotional activities could increase revenue for growers if these activities could be carried out by voluntary, coordinated efforts.Demand and Price Analysis,

Information and Opportunistic Behavior in Federal Crop Insurance Programs

Opportunistic behavior in crop insurance can arise due to asymmetric information between producers and the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation. Producers who insure fields using transitional yields based on county average yields or who select options such as buy-up coverage or revenue insurance may increase their return from crop insurance. Using field-level crop insurance contract data for several crops in five growing regions, we find evidence that producers can profit from using buy-up coverage, revenue insurance, and transitional yields and that the level of producer opportunism is crop but not necessarily land-quality specific and is greater due to premium subsidization.opportunistic behavior, crop insurance, buy-up, revenue, transitional yields

The Effects of Transitional Yields on Adverse Selection in Crop Insurance

Transitional yields based on county average can be used by producers as the basis to obtain crop insurance on fields that have not previously produced the crop. Using field-level crop insurance contract data for several crops in five different growing regions we examine the impact of this asymmetric information on adverse selection. Our results indicate that adverse selection does exist from the use of transitional yields and that it is crop specific but not land-quality specific.adverse selection, crop insurance, transitional yields, Risk and Uncertainty, Q18,

Effects of amino acids and glucose on mesangial cell aminopeptidase a and angiotensin receptors

Effects of amino acids and glucose on mesangial cell aminopeptidase a and angiotensin receptors.BackgroundHigh protein diets and diabetes increase renal renin angiotensin system (RAS) activity, which is associated with glomerular injury. Aminopeptidase A (APA) is a cell surface metalloprotease that degrades angiotensin II (AII) in the mesangium. Mesangial cells (MC) also possess receptors for AII; the type 1 (AT1 receptor) promotes proliferation and fibrosis, while the type 2 (AT2 receptor) opposes these effects. We evaluated whether amino acids and glucose alter expression of APA, AT1 receptor and AT2 receptor in a manner that further augments RAS activity.MethodsConfluent rat MC were grown in serum-free media for 48 hours prior to exposing to experimental conditions: control (C), high amino acids (HA, mixed amino acid solution added to raise concentrations 5- to 6-fold over C), high glucose (HG 30, mM glucose). Semi-quantitative RT-PCR was used to assess mRNA for APA, AT1 receptor, AT2 receptor, and β-actin. Values are expressed relative to βbgr; actin.ResultsBoth HA and HG reduced APA mRNA (HG 1.13 ± 0.19, HA 1.12 ± 0.16 versus C 1.27 ± 0.16 P < 0.05, N = 8). HA increased AT1 receptor mRNA (HA 2.11 ± 0.43 versus C 1.14 ± 0.28 P < 0.05, N = 8). HG increased AT2 receptor mRNA (HG 1.31 ± 0.43 versus C 0.82 ± 0.33 P < 0.05, N = 6).ConclusionsA reduction of APA, in response to high levels of amino acids or glucose, could contribute to increased AII as a result of decreased degradation in MC. The effect of amino acids to increase AT1 receptor expression may further enhance adverse hemodynamic and pro-fibrotic actions of AII. Conversely, glucose increased AT2 receptor expression, which could modulate responses mediated by the AT1 receptor

Planning and Execution for an Autonomous Aerobot

The Aerial Onboard Autonomous Science Investigation System (AerOASIS) system provides autonomous planning and execution capabilities for aerial vehicles (see figure). The system is capable of generating high-quality operations plans that integrate observation requests from ground planning teams, as well as opportunistic science events detected onboard the vehicle while respecting mission and resource constraints. AerOASIS allows an airborne planetary exploration vehicle to summarize and prioritize the most scientifically relevant data; identify and select high-value science sites for additional investigation; and dynamically plan, schedule, and monitor the various science activities being performed, even during extended communications blackout periods with Earth

The effect of drinking milk containing conjugated linoleic acid on fecal microbiological profile, enzymatic activity, and fecal characteristics in humans

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The primary objective was to determine whether consumption of conjugated linoleic acids (CLAs) affected the fecal microbiota composition, fecal enzyme activity or fecal composition.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Human subjects consumed (1 <it>L</it>/day) cows' milk (4% fat) containing (5 mg/g fat) <it>cis</it>-9, <it>trans</it>-11 CLA (CONT), (32 mg/g fat) cis-9, <it>trans</it>-11 CLA (NAT) and (32 mg/g fat) <it>trans</it>-10, <it>cis</it>-12 CLA and <it>cis</it>-9, <it>trans</it>-11 CLA (SYN) for 8 weeks, in addition to their normal diet. Milk feeding periods were separated by 4 week washout periods. Fecal samples were obtained at the beginning (day 0) and the end (day 56) of each milk feeding period. Fecal samples were analysed for microbiological profile, enzyme activity, pH and short chain fatty acid content.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Samples taken at day 0 and day 56 indicated that the numbers of <it>lactobacilli </it>and <it>bifidobacteria </it>significantly decreased after consumption of all experimental milks; total aerobes, total anaerobes, enterobacteria, and enterococci + streptococci did not change. At day 56, the activities of β-glucosidase, nitroreductase, and urease enzymes had decreased compared to samples taken on day 0 for all treatments. β-glucuronidase activity did not change. Fecal pH and ammonia content did not change.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It was concluded that observed changes could have been attributed to increased milk intake; no differences could be attributed to consumption of the different CLAs.</p

Large-Scale Discovery of ERK2 Substrates Identifies ERK-Mediated Transcriptional Regulation by ETV3

The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) extracellular signal–regulated kinase 2 (ERK2) is ubiquitously expressed in mammalian tissues and is involved in a wide range of biological processes. Although MAPKs have been intensely studied, identification of their substrates remains challenging. We have optimized a chemical genetic system using analog-sensitive ERK2, a form of ERK2 engineered to use an analog of adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP), to tag and isolate ERK2 substrates in vitro. This approach identified 80 proteins phosphorylated by ERK2, 13 of which are known ERK2 substrates. The 80 substrates are associated with diverse cellular processes, including regulation of transcription and translation, mRNA processing, and regulation of the activity of the Rho family guanosine triphosphatases. We found that one of the newly identified substrates, ETV3 (a member of the E twenty-six family of transcriptional regulators), was extensively phosphorylated on sites within canonical and noncanonical ERK motifs. Phosphorylation of ETV3 regulated transcription by preventing its binding to DNA at promoters for several thousand genes, including some involved in negative feedback regulation of itself and of upstream signals.Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Eugene Bell Career Development Chair)David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT (Graduate Fellowship)Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Whitaker Health Science Fellowship)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Graduate Research Fellowship)Pfizer Inc.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant ES002109)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant R01DK42816)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant R01CA118705)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant U54CA112967

Phospholipid class-specific brain enrichment in response to lysophosphatidylcholine docosahexaenoic acid infusion

This project was supported by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) [482597] and from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) [497215] to Dr. R.P. Bazinet and by a NSERC studentship to Dr. C.T. Chen.Peer reviewedPostprin

The spatial experiences of dwarfs in public spaces

Dwarfism is commonly defined as anyone 4ft 10″ (147.32 cm) or below and whose short stature involves a medical condition [Adelson, M. B. 2005. The Lives of Dwarfs, xv. NJ: Rutgers University Press]. Whilst it recognized that the built environment is unsuitable for dwarfs [see Kruse, R. 2002. “Social Spaces of Little People: The Experiences of the Jamisons.” Social and Cultural Geography 3 (2): 175–191, Kruse, R. 2010. “Placing Little People: Dwarfism and Geographies of Everyday Life.” In Towards Enabling Geographies, edited by V. Chouinard, E. Hall, and R. Wilton, 183–198. Surrey: Ashgate; Shakespeare, T., M. Wright, and S. Thompson. 2007. A Small Matter of Equality: Living with Restricted Growth. Newcastle: Newcastle University], this paper critically examines how spaces and facilities designed with other users in mind, including disabled people and children, can have unintended consequences for dwarfs. The data used in this paper are taken from semi-structured interviews and photo elicitation exercises conducted with 22 dwarfs living in the UK. Overall this paper shows the spatial experiences of dwarfs, which are a result of the unintended consequences of disabled child spaces and facilities, and suggests how Universal Design may be a more appropriate design concept