Modifying agro-economic models to predict effects of spatially varying nitrogen on wheat yields for a farm in Western Australia

Agricultural research in broadacre farming in Western Australiahas a strong history, resulting in a significant public resource of knowledge about biophysical processes affecting crop performance. However, translation of this knowledge into improved on-farm decision making remains a challenge to the industry.Online and mobile decision support tools to assist tactical farm management decisions are not widely adopted, for reasons including: (1) they take too much time and training to learn; and (2) they aren’t integrated with the data they need or with each other, making their use too time-consuming. Meanwhile, as farmers accumulate more data from their machinery, they find themselves unable to use that data to inform decision making.In an ideal future, variable rate technology (VRT) could be programmed to apply optimal rates of fertilisers. However, the existing suite of models and tools are derived from small-scale controlled field experiments and are not suitable forfine-scale paddock management. Using 14 years of data from a farm in the eastern wheatbelt of Western Australia, we investigate the calibration and extension of an agro-economic modelfor spatial prediction of the effects of nitrogen applicationson wheat yield and gross return.We use a simple response curve model, NP-Decide,that was developed in Western Australiaand remains in common use

The Increasing Financial Impact of Chronic Kidney Disease in Australia

The aim of this investigation was to determine and compare current and projected expenditure associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), renal replacement therapy (RRT), and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Australia. Data published by Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and World Bank were used to compare CKD-, RRT-, and CVD-related expenditure and prevalence rates. Prevalence and expenditure predictions were made using a linear regression model. Direct statistical comparisons of rates of annual increase utilised indicator variables in combined regressions. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05. Dollar amounts were adjusted for inflation prior to analysis. Between 2012 and 2020, prevalence, per-patient expenditure, and total disease expenditure associated with CKD and RRT are estimated to increase significantly more rapidly than CVD. RRT prevalence is estimated to increase by 29%, compared to 7% in CVD. Average annual RRT per-patient expenditure is estimated to increase by 16%, compared to 8% in CVD. Total CKD- and RRT-related expenditure had been estimated to increase by 37%, compared to 14% in CVD. Per-patient, CKD produces a considerably greater financial impact on Australia’s healthcare system, compared to CVD. Research focusing on novel preventative/therapeutic interventions is warranted

Slogging and Stumbling Toward Social Justice in a Private Elementary School: The Complicated Case of St. Malachy

This case study examines St. Malachy, an urban Catholic elementary school primarily serving children traditionally marginalized by race, class, linguistic heritage, and disability. As a private school, St. Malachy serves the public good by recruiting and retaining such traditionally marginalized students. As empirical studies involving Catholic schools frequently juxtapose them with public schools, the author presents this examination from a different tack. Neither vilifying nor glorifying Catholic schooling, this study critically examines the pursuit of social justice in this school context. Data gathered through a 1-year study show that formal and informal leaders in St. Malachy adapted their governance, aggressively sought community resources, and focused their professional development to build the capacity to serve their increasingly pluralistic student population. The analysis confirms the deepening realization that striving toward social justice is a messy, contradictory, and complicated pursuit, and that schools in both public and private sectors are allies in this pursuit

Chronic Kidney Disease Influences Multiple Systems: Describing the Relationship between Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, Kidney Damage, and Concomitant Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is characterized by increased levels of oxidative stress and inflammation. Oxidative stress and inflammation promote renal injury via damage to molecular components of the kidney. Unfortunately, relationships between inflammation and oxidative stress are cyclical in that the inflammatory processes that exist to repair radical-mediated damage may be a source of additional free radicals, resulting in further damage to renal tissue. Oxidative stress and inflammation also have the ability to become systemic, serving to injure tissues distal to the site of original insult. This review describes select mediators in the exacerbatory relationship between oxidative stress, inflammation, and CKD. This review also discusses oxidative stress, inflammation, and CKD as they pertain to the development and progression of common CKD-associated comorbidities. Lastly, the utility of several widely accessible and cost-effective lifestyle interventions and their ability to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation are discussed and recommendations for future research are provided