Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE). A wheat yield model for Punjab, India

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Resource Requirements for Different Levels of Income on Faulk County, South Dakota Farms and Ranches

The purpose of this study was to determine the minimum resources (land, labor, cash or credit) required to earn $3,000,$5,000 or $10,000 annual labor income in Faulk and nearby counties with comparable land

Chain failure and chain goods: re-thinking value chain upgrading and promotion in developing countries

The concept of value chain upgrading and promotion has been proposed as a vehicle for small-holder farmers in developing countries to gain access to higher value markets and thus generate greater income for their families and communities. However, there are many instances where investments in upgrading have not generated the expected outcomes. One of the contributing factors has been that existing approaches focus more on who does what rather than the real problem to be addressed. A chain failure framework on the other hand focuses attention on the core problem and the appropriate response, rather than on who does what. It takes a system view rather than a function or component view, and it starts from the supposition that the only reason for intervening in a value chain is to increase chain surplus, where chain surplus is properly measured to include any chain or social externalities. In this paper we review some of the existing literature on value chain upgrading and promotion as proposed for developing country situations, outline the essential elements of the chain failure/chain good theory and its relationship to the club goods literature, and then assess whether the chain upgrading and promotion literature can be reconfigured as a chain failure/chain good problem, using a number of published case studies. Finally, we discuss various types of governance models used in agricultural value chains in developing countries and suggest how well they might align with the chain failure/chain good approach.Garry Griffith, Derek Baker, Euan Fleming, Stuart Mounter, Bill Malcolm, Wendy Umberge

The relationship between cadence, pedalling technique and gross efficiency in cycling

Technique and energy saving are two variables often considered as important for performance in cycling and related to each other. Theoretically, excellent pedalling technique should give high gross efficiency (GE). The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between pedalling technique and GE. 10 well-trained cyclists were measured for GE, force effectiveness (FE) and dead centre size (DC) at a work rate corresponding to ~75% of VO2max during level and inclined cycling, seat adjusted forward and backward, at three different cadences around their own freely chosen cadence (FCC) on an ergometer. Within subjects, FE, DC and GE decreased as cadence increased (p < 0.001). A strong relationship between FE and GE was found, which was to great extent explained by FCC. The relationship between cadence and both FE and GE, within and between subjects, was very similar, irrespective of FCC. There was no difference between level and inclined cycling position. The seat adjustments did not affect FE, DC and GE or the relationship between them. Energy expenditure is strongly coupled to cadence, but force effectiveness, as a measure for pedalling technique, is not likely the cause of this relationship. FE, DC and GE are not affected by body orientation or seat adjustments, indicating that these parameters and the relationship between them are robust to coordinative challenges within a range of cadence, body orientation and seat position that is used in regular cycling

Understanding Filipino rice farmer preference heterogeneity for varietal trait improvements: A latent class analysis

Using an experimental methodology based on investment games, we examine whether smallholder rice farmers from Nueva Ecija, Philippines have heterogeneous preferences for improvements in 10 rice varietal traits. We use a latent class cluster approach to identify different segments of rice producing households and their distinct preferences for trait improvements. These clusters were characterised post hoc using household, farm, and marketing characteristics. On average, farmers invested the most in rice varietal trait improvements that offered opportunities to reduce losses caused by lodging, insects and diseases. We found four classes of farmers with distinct preferences for improvements in variety traits. The clusters were significantly different in terms of household and farm characteristics. These findings can guide breeding research in the development of varieties that have the traits farmers identified for improvement, and that will address the unique needs of distinct farmer segments.Rio Maligalig, Matty Demont, Wendy J. Umberger and Alexandra Peralt

Mechanical Work as an Indirect Measure of Subjective Costs Influencing Human Movement

To descend a flight of stairs, would you rather walk or fall? Falling seems to have some obvious disadvantages such as the risk of pain or injury. But the preferred strategy of walking also entails a cost for the use of active muscles to perform negative work. The amount and distribution of work a person chooses to perform may, therefore, reflect a subjective valuation of the trade-offs between active muscle effort and other costs, such as pain. Here we use a simple jump landing experiment to quantify the work humans prefer to perform to dissipate the energy of landing. We found that healthy normal subjects (N = 8) preferred a strategy that involved performing 37% more negative work than minimally necessary (P<0.001) across a range of landing heights. This then required additional positive work to return to standing rest posture, highlighting the cost of this preference. Subjects were also able to modulate the amount of landing work, and its distribution between active and passive tissues. When instructed to land softly, they performed 76% more work than necessary (P<0.001), with a higher proportion from active muscles (89% vs. 84%, P<0.001). Stiff-legged landings, performed by one subject for demonstration, exhibited close to the minimum of work, with more of it performed passively through soft tissue deformations (at least 30% in stiff landings vs. 16% preferred). During jump landings, humans appear not to minimize muscle work, but instead choose to perform a consistent amount of extra work, presumably to avoid other subjective costs. The degree to which work is not minimized may indirectly quantify the relative valuation of costs that are otherwise difficult to measure

A case-series study to explore the efficacy of foot orthoses in treating first metatarsophalangeal joint pain

Background: First metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint pain is a common foot complaint which is often considered to be a consequence of altered mechanics. Foot orthoses are often prescribed to reduce 1 stMTP joint pain with the aim of altering dorsiflexion at propulsion. This study explores changes in 1 stMTP joint pain and kinematics following the use of foot orthoses.Methods: The effect of modified, pre-fabricated foot orthoses (X-line ®) were evaluated in thirty-two patients with 1 stMTP joint pain of mechanical origin. The primary outcome was pain measured at baseline and 24 weeks using the pain subscale of the foot function index (FFI). In a small sub-group of patients (n = 9), the relationship between pain and kinematic variables was explored with and without their orthoses, using an electromagnetic motion tracking (EMT) system.Results: A significant reduction in pain was observed between baseline (median = 48 mm) and the 24 week endpoint (median = 14.50 mm, z = -4.88, p &lt; 0.001). In the sub-group analysis, we found no relationship between pain reduction and 1 stMTP joint motion, and no significant differences were found between the 1 stMTP joint maximum dorsiflexion or ankle/subtalar complex maximum eversion, with and without the orthoses.Conclusions: This observational study demonstrated a significant decrease in 1 stMTP joint pain associated with the use of foot orthoses. Change in pain was not shown to be associated with 1 stMTP joint dorsiflexion nor with altered ankle/subtalar complex eversion. Further research into the effect of foot orthoses on foot function is indicated. © 2010 Welsh et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd