A Structural Analysis of the Beef Slaughtering Industry in South Dakota

The income received from the production of beef, South Dakota\u27s most important product, could be greatly expanded by an increase in cattle slaughter. The main objective of this study is to analyze the beef packing industry in the state. in an attempt to determine the optimum number, location and size of specialized beef slaughter plants in South Dakota. Recent structural changes in the meat packing industry should be beneficial to the meat packing industry in South Dakota. It is hoped that this study will provide useful information to industry personnel for making investment decisions. This information could also be used by area development groups to determine the relative competitive position of their area as a potential site for a beef packing plant. This study has in addition the following associated objectives. 1. Review trends and recent developments in the beef production and slaughter industries and their implications for South Dakota. 2. Estimate operating costs for selected sizes of beef slaughter plants in South Dakota. 3. Estimate optimum patterns of shipment of live cattle to packing plants and meat to demand centers. This study divides the state into eleven potential beef supply areas and considers eight demand centers located throughout the United States. The beef industry in South Dakota is analyzed with respect to production patterns, slaughter numbers and marketing patterns. Trends in the beef slaughter industry are reviewed and implications are made as to their application to the situation in South Dakota. Estimates of operating costs are made for different sized plants in the state, and transportation costs are synthesized for assembling the cattle at the potential plants and transporting the meat to the demand centers. A simplex transportation model was used to simulate the optimum location and size of potential packing plants. The model considers the presence of economies of scale in plant operations and various assembly and distribution costs associated with different transportation distances

Temporal and geochemical signatures in granitoids of northwestern Nevada: Evidence for the continuity of the Mesozoic magmatic arc through the western Great Basin

Granitoid magmatism in the Basin and Range Province of northwestern Nevada remains an important gap in our understanding of the along-strike variability of Mesozoic Cordilleran arc systems. We present a comprehensive investigation on a suite of intrusions within the Santa Rosa Range (SRR) and Bloody Run Hills (BRH) of northwestern Nevada. Petrography, whole-rock geochemistry, and zircon U-Pb geochronology indicate two distinct magmatic systems in the SRR: an older, mafic, and metaluminous pulse (Santa Rosa/Andorno [SRA] group—ca. 102–100 Ma) and a younger, felsic, and peraluminous pulse (Granite Peak/Sawtooth [GPS] group—ca. 94–92 Ma). Within the BRH to the south, the Flynn (ca. 105 Ma) and Bloody Run stocks (ca. 96 Ma) are compositionally similar to the SRA group. New Al-in-hornblende thermobarometry reveals emplacement paleodepths of ~5–10 km for the SRA group. Slightly deeper emplacement levels (~10.5–12 km) are inferred for the GPS group from structural relationships and metamorphic contact aureole assemblages. Elemental characteristics are correlated with whole-rock Sr and Nd isotope ratios, revealing higher εNd(t) (+0.8 to +2.5) and lower initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.7040–0.7054) in the older SRA group than the younger GPS group (εNd(t) = −3.2 to −1.5; 87Sr/86Sr(i) 0.7056–0.7061). New zircon εHf isotope analyses reveal that with the exception of the Bloody Run stock (−0.4 ± 2.1), the SRA group has more primitive zircon εHf(t) values (+2.9 to +5.3) than the GPS group (+0.4 to −3.7). The systematic shift in whole-rock Sr and Nd isotope and zircon εHf(t) values with time suggests fundamental changes in the relative contributions of mantle and crustal sources. A comparison of published geochronology and geochemistry from regional intrusive suites confirms that SRR-BRH magmatism was coeval and geochemically similar to the larger Cordilleran batholiths, providing evidence for the continuity of the Mesozoic magmatic arc through northwestern Nevada

Reference values and clinical predictors of bone strength for HR-pQCT-based distal radius and tibia strength assessments in women and men.

Reference values for radius and tibia strength using multiple-stack high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) with homogenized finite element analysis are presented in order to derive critical values improving risk prediction models of osteoporosis. Gender and femoral neck areal bone mineral density (aBMD) were independent predictors of bone strength. INTRODUCTION The purpose was to obtain reference values for radius and tibia bone strength computed by using the homogenized finite element analysis (hFE) using multiple stacks with a HR-pQCT. METHODS Male and female healthy participants aged 20-39 years were recruited at the University Hospital of Bern. They underwent interview and clinical examination including hand grip, gait speed and DXA of the hip. The nondominant forearm and tibia were scanned with a double and a triple-stack protocol, respectively, using HR-pQCT (XCT II, SCANCO Medical AG). Bone strength was estimated by using the hFE analysis, and reference values were calculated using quantile regression. Multivariable analyses were performed to identify clinical predictors of bone strength. RESULTS Overall, 46 women and 41 men were recruited with mean ages of 25.1 (sd 5.0) and 26.2 (sd 5.2) years. Sex-specific reference values for bone strength were established. Men had significantly higher strength for radius (mean (sd) 6640 (1800) N vs. 4110 (1200) N; p < 0.001) and tibia (18,200 (4220) N vs. 11,970 (3150) N; p < 0.001) than women. In the two multivariable regression models with and without total hip aBMD, the addition of neck hip aBMD significantly improved the model (p < 0.001). No clinical predictors of bone strength other than gender and aBMD were identified. CONCLUSION Reference values for radius and tibia strength using multiple HR-pQCT stacks with hFE analysis are presented and provide the basis to help refining accurate risk prediction models. Femoral neck aBMD and gender were significant predictors of bone strength

The impact of reactive case detection on malaria transmission in Zanzibar in the presence of human mobility

Malaria persists at low levels on Zanzibar despite the use of vector control and case management. We use a metapopulation model to investigate the role of human mobility in malaria persistence on Zanzibar, and the impact of reactive case detection. The model was parameterized using survey data on malaria prevalence, reactive case detection, and travel history. We find that in the absence of imported cases from mainland Tanzania, malaria would likely cease to persist on Zanzibar. We also investigate potential intervention scenarios that may lead to elimination, especially through changes to reactive case detection. While we find that some additional cases are removed by reactive case detection, a large proportion of cases are missed due to many infections having a low parasite density that go undetected by rapid diagnostic tests, a low rate of those infected with malaria seeking treatment, and a low rate of follow up at the household level of malaria cases detected at health facilities. While improvements in reactive case detection would lead to a reduction in malaria prevalence, none of the intervention scenarios tested here were sufficient to reach elimination. Imported cases need to be treated to have a substantial impact on prevalence

Modelling the impact of interventions on imported, introduced and indigenous malaria infections in Zanzibar, Tanzania

Malaria cases can be classified as imported, introduced or indigenous cases. The World Health Organization's definition of malaria elimination requires an area to demonstrate that no new indigenous cases have occurred in the last three years. Here, we present a stochastic metapopulation model of malaria transmission that distinguishes between imported, introduced and indigenous cases, and can be used to test the impact of new interventions in a setting with low transmission and ongoing case importation. We use human movement and malaria prevalence data from Zanzibar, Tanzania, to parameterise the model. We test increasing the coverage of interventions such as reactive case detection; implementing new interventions including reactive drug administration and treatment of infected travellers; and consider the potential impact of a reduction in transmission on Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania. We find that the majority of new cases on both major islands of Zanzibar are indigenous cases, despite high case importation rates. Combinations of interventions that increase the number of infections treated through reactive case detection or reactive drug administration can lead to substantial decreases in malaria incidence, but for elimination within the next 40 years, transmission reduction in both Zanzibar and mainland Tanzania is necessary

Design Considerations for Technology Interventions to Support Social and Physical Wellness for Older Adults with Disability

Social and physical wellness are important considerations for maintaining one’s health into older age and remaining independent. However, some segments of the older adult population, such as those aging with disability, are at increased risk for loneliness and reduced physical activity, which could result in negative health consequences. There is a critical need to understand how to deploy social and physical wellness interventions for people aging with disability. We provide an overview of constructs related to social and physical wellness, as well as evidence-based interventions effective with older populations. Our review yields considerations for how interventions may need to be developed or modified to be efficacious for this population segment. Technology may be a key component in adopting interventions, particularly tele-technologies, which we define and discuss in depth.<br /

The PRO-AGE study: an international randomised controlled study of health risk appraisal for older persons based in general practice

BACKGROUND: This paper describes the study protocol, the recruitment, and base-line data for evaluating the success of randomisation of the PRO-AGE (PRevention in Older people – Assessment in GEneralists' practices) project. METHODS/DESIGN: A group of general practitioners (GPs) in London (U.K.), Hamburg (Germany) and Solothurn (Switzerland) were trained in risk identification, health promotion, and prevention in older people. Their non-disabled older patients were invited to participate in a randomised controlled study. Participants allocated to the intervention group were offered the Health Risk Appraisal for Older Persons (HRA-O) instrument with a site-specific method for reinforcement (London: physician reminders in electronic medical record; Hamburg: one group session or two preventive home visits; Solothurn: six-monthly preventive home visits over a two-year period). Participants allocated to the control group received usual care. At each site, an additional group of GPs did not receive the training, and their eligible patients were invited to participate in a concurrent comparison group. Primary outcomes are self-reported health behaviour and preventative care use at one-year follow-up. In Solothurn, an additional follow-up was conducted at two years. The number of older persons agreeing to participate (% of eligible persons) in the randomised controlled study was 2503 (66.0%) in London, 2580 (53.6%) in Hamburg, and 2284 (67.5%) in Solothurn. Base-line findings confirm that randomisation of participants was successful, with comparable characteristics between intervention and control groups. The number of persons (% of eligible) enrolled in the concurrent comparison group was 636 (48.8%) in London, 746 (35.7%) in Hamburg, and 1171 (63.0%) in Solothurn. DISCUSSION: PRO-AGE is the first large-scale randomised controlled trial of health risk appraisal for older people in Europe. Its results will inform about the effects of implementing HRA-O with different methods of reinforcement

Subset currents on free groups

We introduce and study the space of \emph{subset currents} on the free group $F_N$. A subset current on $F_N$ is a positive $F_N$-invariant locally finite Borel measure on the space $\mathfrak C_N$ of all closed subsets of $\partial F_N$ consisting of at least two points. While ordinary geodesic currents generalize conjugacy classes of nontrivial group elements, a subset current is a measure-theoretic generalization of the conjugacy class of a nontrivial finitely generated subgroup in $F_N$, and, more generally, in a word-hyperbolic group. The concept of a subset current is related to the notion of an "invariant random subgroup" with respect to some conjugacy-invariant probability measure on the space of closed subgroups of a topological group. If we fix a free basis $A$ of $F_N$, a subset current may also be viewed as an $F_N$-invariant measure on a "branching" analog of the geodesic flow space for $F_N$, whose elements are infinite subtrees (rather than just geodesic lines) of the Cayley graph of $F_N$ with respect to $A$.Comment: updated version; to appear in Geometriae Dedicat