Analysis-oriented two-level grammars

Summary: p. 2-3

A COMPARISON OF SUSTAINABLE AND CONVENTIONAL FARMERS IN NORTH DAKOTA

Interviews and mail-out/mail-back surveys were conducted in 1992 with 38 conventional and 41 sustainable North Dakota farmers. The results emphasize the differences and similarities of these two types of farmers. Sustainable farms had more diverse cropping practices and were more likely to raise alternative crops like alfalfa, buckwheat, hay, millet, oats, and rye than conventional farmers. Conventional farmers were more likely to raise traditional crops like barley, sugar beets, sunflowers, and spring wheat. Conventional farmers averaged substantially higher crop yields than sustainable farmers. Three-fourths of the sustainable farmers raised livestock compared with one-half of the conventional farmers. Conventional farmers had greater equity, assets, gross farm income, and net farm income than sustainable farmers. Conventional and sustainable farmers reported nearly the same amount of satisfaction with farming as an occupation, the same stress levels, and the same perceived skill requirements.sustainable farms, conventional farms, organic, North Dakota, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management,

Attitudes Toward the Environment: How Do the Attitudes of Conventional, No-Till, and Organic Farmers Compare?

One of Che key dynamics in today\u27s increased interest in alternative fanning is concern for the environment (Beus and Dunlap, 1990). Many advocates of alternative farming argue that conventional farming harms the environment and may even destroy the future of agriculture. The implicit, and often explicit, notion associated with this view is that conventional farmers are less concerned about the environment than are alternative farmers. The present study will test this notion by comparing the attitudes toward the environment of conventional farmers with two types of alternative farmers, organic and no-till. By definition, conventional farmers are those farmers who practice high-input farming, including the use of such commercial chemicals as herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and synthetic fertilizers. Additionally, they typically practice routine tillage to supplement their chemical efforts to control weeds. In contrast, alternative farmers are those farmers who generally avoid the use either of commercial chemicals or of conventional tillage techniques. Specifically, organic farmers minimize the use of commercial chemicals, while no-till farmers minimize tillage. Presumably, the goal in switching to these alternative practices is to reduce pollution and soil erosion, so it is reasonable to expect that farmers who engage in these practices have more pro-environment attitudes than those who do not

Single-Calf Heifer System Profitability Compared to Other North Dakota Beef Production Systems

Production Economics, Productivity Analysis,

The Financial Status of North Dakota Farmers and Ranchers: January 1, 1985, Survey Results

Agricultural Finance,

Comparison of AlSi10Mg and Al 6061 Processed through DMLS

Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) processing of aluminum alloys has been primarily limited to a casting grade of aluminum, AlSi10Mg. The reasons for the choice of AlSi10Mg by machine manufacturers are presently unknown; however, it is suspected that the reduced coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) due to the presence of Silicon may enhance DMLS processability. Aluminum 6061 (Al 6061) is a commonly used alloy across a wide range of industries and applications, and Harvest has observed a high interest in DMLS-manufactured Al 6061 products. However, the higher CTE value potentially presents greater challenges in controlling the shrinkage-induced warp common during DMLS. The work presented in this paper was performed in an effort to understand differences in manufacturability as well as mechanical properties of DMLS-processed AlSi10Mg and Al 6061.Mechanical Engineerin

Reduced glycogen availability is associated with increased AMPKα2 activity, nuclear AMPKα2 protein abundance, and GLUT4 mRNA expression in contracting human skeletal muscle

Glycogen availability can influence glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) expression in skeletal muscle through unknown mechanisms. The multisubstrate enzyme AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has also been shown to play an important role in the regulation of GLUT4 expression in skeletal muscle. During contraction, AMPK [alpha]2 translocates to the nucleus and the activity of this AMPK isoform is enhanced when skeletal muscle glycogen is low. In this study, we investigated if decreased pre-exercise muscle glycogen levels and increased AMPK [alpha]2 activity reduced the association of AMPK with glycogen and increased AMPK [alpha]2 translocation to the nucleus and GLUT4 mRNA expression following exercise. Seven males performed 60 min of exercise at ~70% [VO.sub.2] peak on 2 occasions: either with normal (control) or low (LG) carbohydrate pre-exercise muscle glycogen content. Muscle samples were obtained by needle biopsy before and after exercise. Low muscle glycogen was associated with elevated AMPK [alpha]2 activity and acetyl-CoA carboxylase [beta] phosphorylation, increased translocation of AMPK [alpha]2 to the nucleus, and increased GLUT4 mRNA. Transfection of primary human myotubes with a constitutively active AMPK adenovirus also stimulated GLUT4 mRNA, providing direct evidence of a role of AMPK in regulating GLUT4 expression. We suggest that increased activation of AMPK [alpha]2 under conditions of low muscle glycogen enhances AMPK [alpha]2 nuclear translocation and increases GLUT4 mRNA expression in response to exercise in human skeletal muscle. <br /

USDA Farm Programs: North Dakota Farmer Participation and Opinions

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Cognitive dysfunction in patients with cerebral microbleeds on T2*-weighted gradient-echo MRI.

Gradient echo T2*-weighted MRI has high sensitivity in detecting cerebral microbleeds, which appear as small dot-like hypointense lesions. Microbleeds are strongly associated with intracerebral haemorrhage, hypertension, lacunar stroke and ischaemic small vessel disease, and have generated interest as a marker of bleeding-prone microangiopathy. Microbleeds have generally been considered to be clinically silent; however, since they are located in widespread cortical and basal ganglia regions and are histologically characterized by tissue damage, we hypothesized that they would cause cognitive dysfunction. We therefore studied patients with microbleeds (n = 25) and a non-microbleed control group (n = 30) matched for age, gender and intelligence quotient. To avoid the confounding effects of coexisting cerebrovascular disease, the groups were also matched for the extent of MRI-visible white matter changes of presumed ischaemic origin, location of cortical strokes, and for the proportion of patients with different stroke subtypes (including lacunar stroke). A battery of neuropsychological tests was used to assess current intellectual function, verbal and visual memory, naming and perceptual skills, speed and attention and executive function. Microbleeds were most common in the basal ganglia but were also found in frontal, parieto-occipital, temporal and infratentorial regions. There was a striking difference between the groups in the prevalence of executive dysfunction, which was present in 60% of microbleed patients compared with 30% of non-microbleed patients (P = 0.03). Logistic regression confirmed that microbleeds (but not white matter changes) were an independent predictor of executive impairment (adjusted odds ratio = 1.32, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.70, P = 0.04). Patients with executive dysfunction had more microbleeds in the frontal region (mean count 1.54 versus 0.03; P = 0.002) and in the basal ganglia (mean 1.17 versus 0.32; P = 0.048). There was a modest correlation between the number of microbleeds and the number of cognitive domains impaired (r = 0.44, P = 0.03). This study provides novel evidence that microbleeds are associated with cognitive dysfunction, independent of the extent of white matter changes of presumed ischaemic origin, or the presence of ischaemic stroke. The striking effect of microbleeds on executive dysfunction is likely to result from associated tissue damage in the frontal lobes and basal ganglia. These findings have implications for the diagnosis of stroke patients with cognitive impairment, and for the appropriate use of antihypertensive and antiplatelet treatments in these patients

Sustainable Agriculture and the Structure of North Dakota Agriculture

Environmental Economics and Policy, Industrial Organization, Production Economics,