SEARCH THEORY RISK PREFERENCE AND FARMLAND PRESERVATION

This paper uses search theory to examine the role that risk preference (RP) plays in farmland preservation. Assuming that the distribution of the offer price is fixed, the analysis indicates that risk-averse agents have lower reservation prices than risk-neutral agents, and that agricultural land held by the former exits farming at a faster rate. The results also show that farmland preservation policies which increase reservation prices have a greater capitalization effect if agents are risk-loving, and that such policies, while effectively protecting the interest of land speculators, may be less effective in serving the needs of farming and farm-held open space.Risk and Uncertainty,

THE ROLE OF FARM OWNERSHIP IN OFF-FARM WORK PARTICIPATION

A labor supply model is used to examine the relationship between farm ownership and operators' participation in the off-farm labor market for the Northeast region. The results indicate that ownership significantly influences operators' off-farm employment participation. In particular, part-owners significantly allocate labor services to off-farm activities. The results also show that the participation rate among part-owner operators is high partly because the availability of other income sources accelerates the process of acquiring assets to become full-owner operators.Labor and Human Capital,

Global positioning system supported pilot's display

The hardware, software, and operation of the Microwave Scanning Beam Landing System (MSBLS) Flight Inspection System Pilot's Display is discussed. The Pilot's Display is used in conjunction with flight inspection tests that certify the Microwave Scanning Beam Landing System used at Space Shuttle landing facilities throughout the world. The Pilot's Display was developed for the pilot of test aircraft to set up and fly a given test flight path determined by the flight inspection test engineers. This display also aids the aircraft pilot when hazy or cloud cover conditions exist that limit the pilot's visibility of the Shuttle runway during the flight inspection. The aircraft position is calculated using the Global Positioning System and displayed in the cockpit on a graphical display

Cold stress reduces rice grain yield in temperate conditions(1)

This study aimed to evaluate the cold stress effect in natural field conditions by employing different rice sowing timings over three years, to identify national varieties tolerant to cold stress at the vegetative and generative stages, and to propose a data-derived solution regarding termination and resowing due to cold stress conditions. Early, regular, and late sowing dates were employed to capture natural cold stress conditions in a 3-year-long experiment. Sowing dates resulting in the greatest yields fluctuated from regular to late sowing dates, according to the stress duration in cold stress years. Yield losses resulting from cold stress ranged from 0.810 to 2.740 t ha(-1) and reached 38.6%. 'Halilbey,' 'Pasali,' and 'Mevlutbey' were found to be most cold-tolerant varieties. Grain yield was correlated with plant number; the critical minimum level was between 60.8 and 79.6 plants m(-2) and the optimum was 132.3 plants m(-2) for economical yield. Cold stress negatively affected rice plant density, and plant densities below the critical minimum plant warranted crop termination and resowing, depending on application costs. Cold stress had a far more devastating effect on germination and seedling stages than on later development stages in temperate conditions.Republic of Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies [TAGEM/TA/03/03/06/00]This research was funded by Republic of Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (Project no: TAGEM/TA/03/03/06/00)

The Western Hemisphere Trading Corporation; in Outline

One of the last frontiers of effective tax reduction exists in the exporting field. This device was specifically created by Congress to enable American corporations trading in foreign countries within the Western Hemisphere to compete with foreign corporations and has been approved by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. There is no federal law providing for the incorporation of Western Hemisphere Trade Corporations. The corporations are organized under applicable state law and qualify as Western Hemisphere Trade Corporations

Methodological considerations for neuroimaging in deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson’s disease patients

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus is a neurosurgical intervention for Parkinson’s disease patients who no longer appropriately respond to drug treatments. A small fraction of patients will fail to respond to DBS, develop psychiatric and cognitive side-effects, or incur surgery-related complications such as infections and hemorrhagic events. In these cases, DBS may require recalibration, reimplantation, or removal. These negative responses to treatment can partly be attributed to suboptimal pre-operative planning procedures via direct targeting through low-field and low-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). One solution for increasing the success and efficacy of DBS is to optimize preoperative planning procedures via sophisticated neuroimaging techniques such as high-resolution MRI and higher field strengths to improve visualization of DBS targets and vasculature. We discuss targeting approaches, MRI acquisition, parameters, and post-acquisition analyses. Additionally, we highlight a number of approaches including the use of ultra-high field (UHF) MRI to overcome limitations of standard settings. There is a trade-off between spatial resolution, motion artifacts, and acquisition time, which could potentially be dissolved through the use of UHF-MRI. Image registration, correction, and post-processing techniques may require combined expertise of traditional radiologists, clinicians, and fundamental researchers. The optimization of pre-operative planning with MRI can therefore be best achieved through direct collaboration between researchers and clinicians

Periaqueductal Grey Stimulation Induced Panic-Like Behaviour Is Accompanied by Deactivation of the Deep Cerebellar Nuclei

Until recently, the cerebellum was primarily considered to be a structure involved in motor behaviour. New anatomical and clinical evidence has shown that the cerebellum is also involved in higher cognitive functions and non-motor behavioural changes. Functional imaging in patients with anxiety disorders and in cholecystokinin tetrapeptide-induced panic-attacks shows activation changes in the cerebellum. Deep brain stimulation of the dorsolateral periaqueductal grey (dlPAG) and the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) in rats has been shown to induce escape behaviour, which mimics a panic attack in humans. We used this animal model to study the neuronal activation in the deep cerebellar nuclei (DCbN) using c-Fos immunohistochemistry. c-Fos expression in the DCbN decreased significantly after inducing escape behaviour by stimulation of the dlPAG and the VMH, indicating that the DCbN were deactivated. This study demonstrates that the DCbN are directly or indirectly involved in panic attacks. We suggest that the cerebellum plays a role in the selection of relevant information, and that deactivation of the cerebellar nuclei is required to allow inappropriate behaviour to occur, such as panic attacks