FINANCIAL RISK IN COTTON PRODUCTION

Risk analysis continues to emphasize price and yield variability as the principal components of the decision-maker's risk environment. This research demonstrates the relative importance of financial risk for a representative cotton farm in Arizona. For highly leveraged operations, financial risk may account for 70 percent of the total risk faced by the producer. Implications for future risk analysis are discussed in light of these findings.Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

Climb On Top Of Your Troubles : And Smile, Just Smile

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/5387/thumbnail.jp

A comparison of two fishery-independent survey programs used to define the population structure of American lobster (Homarus americanus) in the Gulf of Maine

The population structure and abundance of the American lobster (Homarus americanus) stock in the Gulf of Maine are defined by data derived from a fishery-independent trawl survey program conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Few sampling stations in the survey area are located inshore, in particular along coastal Maine. According to statistics, however, more than two thirds of the lobster landings come from inshore waters within three miles off the coast of Maine. In order to include an inshore survey program, complementary to the NMFS survey, the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) initialized an inshore survey program in 2000. The survey was modeled on the NMFS survey program, making these two survey programs comparable. Using data from both survey programs, we evaluated the population structure of the American lobster in the Gulf of Maine. Our findings indicate that lobsters in the Gulf of Maine tend to have a size-dependent inshore-off-shore distribution; smaller lobsters are more likely to stay inshore and larger lobsters are more likely to stay offshore. The DMR inshore and NMFS survey programs focused on different areas in the Gulf of Maine and likely targeted different segments of the stock. We suggest that data from both survey programs be used to assess the lobster stock and to describe the dynamics of the stock in the Gulf of Maine

Can philosophy teach us anything about leadership and management?

Drawing some lessons from two authors who tried to answer that question but utterly failed - by David Carl Wilso

Discoveries in New Testament texts since nineteen hundred

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University, 194

The Roles of Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Neurotransmitters in an Animal Model of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a trauma- and stressor-related disorder, is a condition that can develop in response to life-threatening situations. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM-5), a diagnosis of PTSD necessitates exposure to a life-threatening event, intrusive recollections, avoidance of associated stimuli, hyperarousal, and a significant social impairment. All of these symptoms must persist for at least 30 days and not be due to illness, medication, or substance abuse. To date, no definitive diagnostic biomarkers have been identified for PTSD. Recent research, however, points toward physiological abnormalities in the brain, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and immune system that may be partially responsible. Many chronic conditions such as hypertension, heart failure, and metabolic syndrome perpetuate in a state of increased inflammation and oxidative stress, exacerbating their pathophysiology. In many psychiatric conditions such as depression and anxiety disorders, neurotransmitter modulation may play a critical role in their pathogenesis. Based upon the literature and work from our laboratory, we hypothesized that similar pathophysiological mechanisms may play a role in PTSD development. We tested our theory by creating a PTSD-like syndrome in rats with the use of a predator exposure/psychosocial stress animal model. We then conducted a series of in vivo and ex vivo experiments in an attempt to discover the roles of inflammation, oxidative stress, and neurotransmitter modulation in PTSD development. First, we evaluated inflammation and oxidative stress in the brain, adrenal glands, and blood in response to the predator exposure model. We then analyzed neurotransmitter modulation in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Next, we investigated the anti-inflammatory and neuromodulating effects of the histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) valproic acid (VA) on inflammation/oxidative stress and neurotransmitters. Finally, we employed the selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) sertraline to ascertain why SSRIs have historically been ineffective in treating PTSD. Taken together, our findings indicate inflammation, oxidative stress, and aberrant neurotransmitter profiles may play a significant role in PTSD development and progression. In addition, VA may prove to be a legitimate pharmacologic alternative in PTSD treatment, as SSRIs may increase the noradrenergic response and actually exacerbate anxiety in a clinical setting

Parallaxis

Parallaxis first began with an observation in my hometown. At nighttime, like a moth attracted to a flame, I would notice empty buildings that were closed or never opened for various reasons and relate them to my own inner vacancy. Seeing the lights on in these empty places motivated my curiosity and kept me studiously coming back. I continued my exploration of empty buildings in Utah. Taking note of how capturing reflections transformed my images from documentary photography to internal forms of expression. It was at this time that reflections became the driving force within my image making. I became enthralled with the idea of reflection because it gave a new element to my photographs -- through the use of threshold, objects exist simultaneously, and the inside and outside world combine into one of their own reality. Lines blurred, and objects typically identifiable turn into a simulation of imagination, a (parallaxis). “At our best and most fortunate we make pictures because of what stands before our camera, to honor what is greater and more interesting than we are. We never accomplish this perfectly, though in return we are given something perfect -- a sense of inclusion. Our subject thus redefines us, and is part of the biography by which we want to be known.” —Photographer, Robert Adam

Future technology in the ‘Star Trek’ reboots. Part II: complex future(s)

As something for us to aim towards or as a lens to view how future technologies can be used within future worlds and contexts, something always needs fixing in Star Trek. With our first explorative adventure in Future Technology in the ‘Star Trek’ Reboots. Part I: Tethered and Performative, we examined how, through looking at future cultures and locations, brimming with advanced, shining examples of gadgetry that are tethered to our own contemporary reality, one might grasp that future technology across the Star Trek reboots – Star Trek ‘09 (Abrams, 2009a), Star Trek Into Darkness (Abrams, 2013), and Star Trek Beyond (Lin, 2016) - doesn’t necessarily reflect a better way of living, or a more sophisticated culture, but are one way in which, as “performative artifacts” within a fictional diegesis, they may reflect upon our own place within society and the governing ideological structure of society itself. As a part of this introspective endeavour, when focusing on the technology used within the Star Trek franchise, there is usually an attempt to lay out communicators, teleporters, phaser weapons, and hand-held tricorder devices as a prediction of future technology and as an attainable final goal. This is problematic because Science Fiction is not a terminus point; it does not act as the end point of a straight line according to how we perceive the world will be from today, but rather it can be used as a lens for us to probe, reflect and actively shape today into the future that we want it to become. Star Trek doesn’t foretell a type of future as a concrete inevitable outcome and final destination, it presents us with a fictional diegetic vision of how the world could be