Tobacco Farmer Interest and Success in Diversification

As U.S. farm income from tobacco production has declined in recent years, there has been increased interest in developing alternative sources of farm revenue to replace lost tobacco income, particularly in tobacco-dependent communities of the southeastern United States. The recent end of the tobacco quota program is expected to accelerate the exit of tobacco farmers and has heightened concern regarding the availability of profitable substitutes for tobacco. In this study, we examine the impact of farm, household, and market characteristics on tobacco farmer interest and success in on-farm and off-farm income diversification. Using survey data collected from a panel of North Carolina tobacco farmers in 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2004 combined with market data collected from secondary sources, we evaluate the influence of farmer preferences, resource endowments, market incentives, risk, and biophysical factors on tobacco farmers' attitudes regarding diversification into non-tobacco products, the extent to which they reallocated resources towards non-tobacco products, and their success in identifying profitable alternatives to tobacco production. Our research contributes empirical findings to the public dialogue concerning the ability of tobacco farmers and tobacco-dependent communities to adjust to structural changes taking place in the tobacco market.Tobacco, farm diversification, household model, quota buyout., Farm Management,

A rapid prototyping/artificial intelligence approach to space station-era information management and access

Applications of rapid prototyping and Artificial Intelligence techniques to problems associated with Space Station-era information management systems are described. In particular, the work is centered on issues related to: (1) intelligent man-machine interfaces applied to scientific data user support, and (2) the requirement that intelligent information management systems (IIMS) be able to efficiently process metadata updates concerning types of data handled. The advanced IIMS represents functional capabilities driven almost entirely by the needs of potential users. Space Station-era scientific data projected to be generated is likely to be significantly greater than data currently processed and analyzed. Information about scientific data must be presented clearly, concisely, and with support features to allow users at all levels of expertise efficient and cost-effective data access. Additionally, mechanisms for allowing more efficient IIMS metadata update processes must be addressed. The work reported covers the following IIMS design aspects: IIMS data and metadata modeling, including the automatic updating of IIMS-contained metadata, IIMS user-system interface considerations, including significant problems associated with remote access, user profiles, and on-line tutorial capabilities, and development of an IIMS query and browse facility, including the capability to deal with spatial information. A working prototype has been developed and is being enhanced

A toolkit for low-cost thermal comfort sensing

Why is it that we can have standards on how to achieve comfort [5] and advanced building control systems to implement these standards, yet water cooler 'discussions' about how hot, cold, or generally uncomfortable it is, seem to form a backbone to modern office life [8]? In the UK, domestic space and water heating alone was approximately 80% of the country's total final energy in 2017 [9]. Through our heating and cooling infrastructures, we are consuming significant amounts of energy and pumping out growing amounts of carbon, only to achieve a state of further discontentment. Are we approaching this all wrong? To reduce our consumption significantly, we need new methods of understanding and achieving thermal comfort. To help achieve these new methods, this paper argues we need to look again at how we are currently collecting thermal comfort data

Cutaneous Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma with Perineural Invasion Treated by Mohs Micrographic Surgery—A Case Report with Literature Review

We report a 58-year-old woman with cutaneous adenoid cystic carcinoma arising on the chest treated with Mohs micrographic surgery. The patient remained tumor-free at 24-month follow-up. To date, only six other cases of cutaneous adenoid cystic carcinoma were reportedly managed by Mohs surgery. Cutaneous adenoid cystic carcinoma has low potential for distant metastasis but is notorious for its aggressive infiltrative growth pattern, frequent perineural invasion, and high risk of local recurrence after excision. We propose that Mohs surgery is an ideal method to achieve margin-free removal of cutaneous adenoid cystic carcinoma. A brief literature review is provided

Non-Invasive Genetic Sampling of Faecal Material and Hair from the Grey-Headed Flying-Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus)

Remote-sampling DNA from animals offers obvious benefits for species that are difficult to sample directly and is less disruptive for species of conservation concern. Here we report the results of a pilot study investigating non-invasive DNA sampling of the grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), a threatened species that is restricted to the east coast of Australia. We successfully extracted DNA from fresh scats and hair, each of which was of sufficient quality for amplifying mitochondrial DNA markers and microsatellites. A single-locus multitube approach was used to investigate amplification success and genotyping reliability. Faecal samples yielded a higher proportion of successful amplifications and consensus genotype assignments than hair samples. We outline measures that may be utilised to minimise microsatellite genotyping error for future studies. These indirect approaches to obtaining genetic data show much promise given the difficult nature of directly sampling flying-foxes and related species

Design project: Viper

The design specification of the primary flight trainer are: must conform to F.A.R. 23, including the crashworthiness standards; is limited to two to four occupants; engine must be FAA certified; must comply with FAA standards for VFR and allow for upgrade to IFR flights; must be at least utility category with good spin recovery characteristics; must have a structural lifetime of at least 10,000 flight hours; capable of either of two training missions: climb to 5,000 ft., cruise 500 Nm. plus reserve, land, or climb to 1,000 ft. and descend ten cycles for landing practice, climb to 3,000 ft., maneuver at two g's for 15 minutes, cruise 100 Nm. and land; must have a cruise speed of at least 120 knots; must take-off or land on a runway no longer than 3,000 ft; and has a cost goal of $50,000, not including avionics, for production of 1,000 airplanes over a five year period

An investigation into the effects of, and interaction between, heel height and shoe upper stiffness on plantar pressure and comfort

High heeled shoes remain popular, nevertheless it is not clear what influence manipulating characteristics of this footwear has on their functioning. It is accepted that shoe features other than heel height can affect plantar pressures. However, few investigations have compared such features, and none have compared the influence of modifying upper material stiffness, whilst systematically increasing heel height. A firm understanding of the interactions of footwear properties is essential to ensure that footwear designers can optimise design for the comfort and health of the wearer. This paper investigates a feature that is known to reduce comfort (heel height) and a feature that is easy to change without affecting aesthetics (material stiffness) to better understand the effects of their interaction on plantar pressure and comfort. Sixteen female participants with experience wearing high heels wore a range of shoes with five effective heel heights (35-75 mm) and two upper materials (with different stiffness). In-shoe plantar pressure was recorded and participants completed a comfort questionnaire. Increasing heel height increased plantar pressure under the metatarsal heads, while reducing pressure in the hallux and heel. Higher heel heights also lead to increased discomfort, particularly in the toes where discomfort increased 154.3% from the 35 to 75 mm heels. Upper stiffness did not affect plantar pressure. However, stiffer uppers significantly increased reported discomfort, most notably on top of the foot (108.6%), the back of the heel (87.7%), the overall width (99%), and the overall comfort (100.7%). Significant interaction effects between heel height and upper material existed for comfort questionnaire data. Manipulating heel height alters plantar pressure and comfort, and choice of upper material is paramount to achieving wearer comfort in heels

Developing a Rodent Model of Adverse Menopausal Symptoms

poster abstractMenopause is a condition where severe depletion of estrogen levels leads to a cluster of adverse symptoms such as anxiety, cutaneous vasodilation/sudomotor "hot flashes", sleep disturbances, and appetite change (Freeman et al., 2005; Seritan et al., 2010). Previously, estrogen replacement therapy was the first line treatment for menopausal symptoms. However, it is no longer acceptable due to increased risk of cancer (Rossouw et al., 2002). Therefore there is a need for creating non-hormonal therapies to reduce the incidence of adverse menopausal-related symptoms. This is hindered by the limited understanding of menopausal symptoms and a lack of animal models of "hot flashes" (Nelson et al., 2006). Currently, the most accepted model of hot flashes is addicting female rats to morphine then inducing morphine withdrawal using naloxone (a ?-opioid receptor competitive antagonist) to provoke increases in tail temp (an indicator of cutaneous vasodilation). Yet, there is no evidence that the opioid system is disrupted in women with menopause [e.g., naloxone does not provoke "hot flashes" clinically (DeFazio et al., 1984)]. Here we induced a menopausal state by surgically removing the ovaries (OVEX) to deplete estrogen which induces a cluster of adverse menopause-like symptoms that include: 1) increased anxiety; 2) weight gain; and 3) disrupted diurnal skin and core body tempature changes. Additionally, we have developed an alternative model of "hot flashes" where administering yohimbine (an alpha2-adrenergic autoreceptor antagonist that provokes "hot flashes in menopausal women) resulted in "hot flash"-related increases in skin temp in OVEX, but not sham-OVEX, female rats