ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF EPA'S MANURE APPLICATION REGULATIONS ON DAIRY FARMS IN THE SOUTHWEST REGION

We estimate that EPA's CAFO final rule on manure application would have different impacts on dairy farms in the region, assuming that the farms would maintain the same herd size and same crop production practices. Some farms in the region would be able to comply it on their current land base, but other would need to lease additional land for land application of manure. Less than 30 percent of those affected farms would have a lower farm income. Most of these affected farms could have no income reduction or a higher income as a result of reduced feed cost from expanding homegrown feed production.Environmental Economics and Policy,

The Influence Of Knowledge Management On Market-Related Performance Through Business Process Effectiveness: An Empirical Investigation Of Hospitals And Financial Firms

Knowledge-based resources are critical in service sectors for facing the challenges of dynamic markets and helping organizations manage changes in consumer preference. Knowledge application is needed to improve the business process in order to attain superior market-related performance because there is the unperfected imitation coming from causal ambiguity. However, there is a lack of empirical study in examining the effect of KM and the effect of the business process within the scope of service sectors. This study examines how KM infrastructure supports and KM capabilities influence market-related performance through business processes effectiveness. Data collections of two studies are from 166 hospitals and 106 financial firms. The findings indicate a positive relationship between KM infrastructure and KM capability, and that they have a positive influence on market-related performance through business process effectiveness. For improving this process, the effect of KM infrastructure is greater than the effect of KM capabilities in hospitals. But the effect of KM capabilities is greater than the effect of KM infrastructure in financial firms. The implications of these findings for research and practices in hospitals and financial firms are also discussed

Sparse multidimensional exponential analysis with an application to radar imaging

We present a d-dimensional exponential analysis algorithm that offers a range of advantages compared to other methods. The technique does not suffer the curse of dimensionality and only needs O((d + 1)n) samples for the analysis of an n-sparse expression. It does not require a prior estimate of the sparsity n of the d-variate exponential sum. The method can work with sub-Nyquist sampled data and offers a validation step, which is very useful in low SNR conditions. A favourable computation cost results from the fact that d independent smaller systems are solved instead of one large system incorporating all measurements simultaneously. So the method also lends itself easily to a parallel execution. Our motivation to develop the technique comes from 2D and 3D radar imaging and is therefore illustrated on such examples

Structured proficiency based progression phacoemulsification training curriculum using virtual reality simulator technology

The current method of surgical training is based on the Halstedian model where novice surgeons learn by observing and performing surgery under supervision. Cataract extraction by phacoemulsification is a type of minimally invasive surgery where direct observation is inadequate in revealing how things are done. Operating under the microscope takes away the direct hand-eye coordination. During the operation, a novice surgeon has to pay disproportionate amount of attention to psychomotor performance, depth and spatial judgment, operative judgment and decision-making, comprehending instruction, and gaining additional knowledge. The attentional capacity quickly becomes saturated, leaving very little to spot dangers ahead or to get out of difficulty situation. Consequently, patients are at higher risk when novice surgeons perform the operation. The solution to improve novice surgeon\u27s attentional capacity is to pre-trained pertinent operative skills in a controlled setting using simulator technology. EYESi phacoemulsification simulator offers high fidelity rendition of intra-ocular microsurgical environment. Novice surgeons can practice on the simulator until proficiency level is achieved. The aim of this project is to design and validate didactic and skill training curriculum for cataract surgery. The didactic curriculum employs 3-dimentional animations in order to explain complex surgical procedures. The proficiency level for skill training is set based on the simulator performance of ten expert cataract surgeons. A structured proficiency based simulator curriculum is designed and validated with randomized control trialin this study