Group Bargining Power in Agriculture

Group bargaining power in agriculture fact sheet addresses changing government programs for agriculture and the persistent surpluses of farm commodities including the complexity, alternative for improving, sources of gain, and priorities of bargaining power

Strong Continuum-continuum Couplings In The Direct Ionization Of Ar And He Atoms By 6-MeV/u U38+ And Th38+ Projectiles

Doubly differential cross sections have been measured as a function of the electron energy and observation angle for electron emission following collisions of 6-MeV/u U38+ and Th38+ on He and Ar. The electron-emission data show an enhancement at forward angles and a decrease at backward angles with respect to scaled-cross-section results based on the Born approximation. Comparison with classical-trajectory Monte Carlo calculations suggests that the deviation from the Born approximation can be explained by continuum-continuum couplings. By comparing with previously published data, we found that the forward enhancement as well as the backward decrease follow a q/vp (q,vp are the projectile charge and velocity) scaling. © 1989 The American Physical Society

Isotopic ordering in eggshells reflects body temperatures and suggests differing thermophysiology in two Cretaceous dinosaurs

Our understanding of the evolutionary transitions leading to the modern endothermic state of birds and mammals is incomplete, partly because tools available to study the thermophysiology of extinct vertebrates are limited. Here we show that clumped isotope analysis of eggshells can be used to determine body temperatures of females during periods of ovulation. Late Cretaceous titanosaurid eggshells yield temperatures similar to large modern endotherms. In contrast, oviraptorid eggshells yield temperatures lower than most modern endotherms but ~6 °C higher than co-occurring abiogenic carbonates, implying that this taxon did not have thermoregulation comparable to modern birds, but was able to elevate its body temperature above environmental temperatures. Therefore, we observe no strong evidence for end-member ectothermy or endothermy in the species examined. Body temperatures for these two species indicate that variable thermoregulation likely existed among the non-avian dinosaurs and that not all dinosaurs had body temperatures in the range of that seen in modern birds

BiblioBouts: A Scalable Online Social Game for the Development of Academic Research Skills

Researchers at the School of Information of the University of Michigan are designing, developing, and evaluating BiblioBouts, an online game that helps students learn academic research skills. Players practice using online library research tools while they work on an in-class assignment and produce a high-quality bibliography, at the same time as they are competing against each other to win the game! While librarians are experts at helping students who want to learn about academic research, most students are reluctant participants because they want just-in-time personal assistance that is tailored to their unique information needs, and faculty are reluctant to cede class time. The BiblioBouts project enlists games to teach undergraduate students information literacy skills and concepts in the classroom. Social gaming reinforces principles of good learning, including getting results by trial and error, self-discovery, following hunches and reinforcement through repetition. BiblioBouts also incorporates collaborative problem solving and participation in a community of learning. The project aims to explore how games can be utilized to achieve information literacy goals and to yield open-source game software that libraries could use immediately to enhance their information literacy programs. The LOEX presentation will incorporate a live interactive demo of the game, as well as videos demonstrating gameplay. We will discuss challenges in situating the game into the classroom and integrating it into existing course syllabi. The presentation will describe how we have adapted the game in response to feedback from students and instructors during the pilot process

The Lunacy Commission.

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Rationale, design and methods for a community-based study of clustering and cumulative effects on chronic disease process and their effects on ageing: the Busselton healthy ageing study

Background: The global trend of increased life expectancy and increased prevalence of chronic and degenerative diseases will impact on health systems. To identify effective intervention and prevention strategies, greater understanding of the risk factors for and cumulative effects of chronic disease processes and their effects on function and quality of life is needed. The Busselton Healthy Ageing Study aims to enhance understanding of ageing by relating the clustering and interactions of common chronic conditions in adults to function. Longitudinal (3–5 yearly) follow-up is planned. Methods/design: Phase I (recruitment) is a cross-sectional community-based prospective cohort study involving up to 4,000 ‘Baby Boomers’ (born from 1946 to 1964) living in the Busselton Shire, Western Australia. The study protocol involves a detailed, self-administered health and risk factor questionnaire and a range of physical assessments including body composition and bone density measurements, cardiovascular profiling (blood pressure, ECG and brachial pulse wave velocity), retinal photography, tonometry, auto-refraction, spirometry and bronchodilator responsiveness, skin allergy prick tests, sleep apnoea screening, tympanometry and audiometry, grip strength, mobility, balance and leg extensor strength. Cognitive function and reserve, semantic memory, and pre-morbid intelligence are assessed. Participants provide a fasting blood sample for assessment of lipids, blood glucose, C-reactive protein and renal and liver function, and RNA, DNA and serum are stored. Clinically relevant results are provided to all participants. The prevalence of risk factors, symptoms and diagnosed illness will be calculated and the burden of illness will be estimated based on the observed relationships and clustering of symptoms and illness within individuals. Risk factors for combinations of illness will be compared with those for single illnesses and the relation of combinations of illness and symptoms to cognitive and physical function will be estimated. Discussion: This study will enable a thorough characterization of multiple disease processes and their risk factors within a community-based sample of individuals to determine their singular, interactive and cumulative effects on ageing. The project will provide novel cross-sectional data and establish a cohort that will be used for longitudinal analyses of the genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors that determine whether an individual ages well or with impairment

Building the Games Students Want to Play: BiblioBouts Project Interim Report #3

The University of Michigan's School of Information and its partner, the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, are undertaking the 3-year BiblioBouts Project (October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2011) to support the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the web-based BiblioBouts game to teach incoming undergraduate students information literacy skills and concepts. This third interim report describes the BiblioBouts Project team’s 6-month progress achieving the project's 4 objectives: designing, developing, deploying, and evaluating the BiblioBouts game and recommending best practices for future information literacy games. This latest 6-month period was marked by extensive progress in the deployment and evaluation of the alpha version of BiblioBouts. Major tasks that will occupy the team for the next 6 months are applying evaluation findings to game redesign and enhancement. For general information about game design, pedagogical goals, scoring, game play, project participants, and playing BiblioBouts in your course, consult the BiblioBouts Project web site.Institute of Museum and Library Serviceshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69157/1/bbInterimReportToIMLS03.pd

Diagnosis and management of adhesive capsulitis

Adhesive capsulitis is a musculoskeletal condition that has a disabling capability. This review discusses the diagnosis and both operative and nonoperative management of this shoulder condition that causes significant morbidity. Issues related to medications, rehabilitation, and post surgical considerations are discussed