STUDY OF FOOD LOSSES IN THE DISTRIBUTION PHASES OF THE U.S. FOOD SYSTEM

Agribusiness,

Kinetic analysis of an efficient DNA-dependent TNA polymerase.

alpha-l-Threofuranosyl nucleoside triphosphates (tNTPs) are tetrafuranose nucleoside derivatives and potential progenitors of present-day beta-d-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl nucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs). Therminator DNA polymerase, a variant of the 9 degrees N DNA polymerase, is an efficient DNA-directed threosyl nucleic acid (TNA) polymerase. Here we report a detailed kinetic comparison of Therminator-catalyzed TNA and DNA syntheses. We examined the rate of single-nucleotide incorporation for all four tNTPs and dNTPs from a DNA primer-template complex and carried out parallel experiments with a chimeric DNA-TNA primer-DNA template containing five TNA residues at the primer 3'-terminus. Remarkably, no drop in the rate of TNA incorporation was observed in comparing the DNA-TNA primer to the all-DNA primer, suggesting that few primer-enzyme contacts are lost with a TNA primer. Moreover, comparison of the catalytic efficiency of TNA synthesis relative to DNA synthesis at the downstream positions reveals a difference of no greater than 5-fold in favor of the natural DNA substrate. This disparity becomes negligible when the TNA synthesis reaction mixture is supplemented with 1.25 mM MnCl(2). These results indicate that Therminator DNA polymerase can recognize both a TNA primer and tNTP substrates and is an effective catalyst of TNA polymerization despite changes in the geometry of the reactants

Professionalism and the Control of Knowledge

Madness becomes mental illness through the joint project of psychiatry and the community of consensus lent to it. The psychiatrist, like the shaman (to paraphrase Leve\u27-Strauss), acts through the cultural plasma of his times. And the psychiatrist provides a definition for events, making mental illness of madness, while occupying a unique position within the scheme of society. Psychiatry has been attacked from many directions in recent years. Despite these varied challenges, however, its power appears to have abated little if at all. How can we account for this fact? On the surface one might assume that the scientific basis or the treatment success of psychiatric practice provides the buttress to repel the ongoing attacks. But we suggest here that the continuing power and the prestige of psychiatry can be understood more clearly by examining its relation to society at large rather than the relation to its patients. There appear to be two analytically separate but empirically interrelated factors at work. First, and of main importance, is the absence of an acceptable alternative to psychiatric practice in American society and Western culture in general. The stress must clearly be placed upon the condition of acceptability. Second, and growing out of the first, is the professional and organizational status psychiatry enjoys and the benefits implied therein. The ensuing discussion will elaborate these points and attempt a critical examination of the relationship between psychiatry and society

Strategic Directions in Supermarket Deli/Prepared Foods

A.E. Res. 90-1

Identifying Perceived Professional Development Needs of Idaho Secondary CTE Teachers: Program Management Needs of Skilled and Technical Science Teachers

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived training needs of Idaho secondary skilled and technical science teachers for a set of non-instructional competencies specifically associated with duties related to program management. The population of this study consisted of skilled and technical science teachers employed by Idaho secondary schools for the 2008-09 academic year (N=181). Sixty percent (n=109) of the 181 teachers participated in the study. The findings indicated that the perceived in-service training areas for the program management construct, as identified by a mean weighted discrepancy score (MWDS) ranking, to be grant writing and funding opportunities, developing curriculum-based school-to-work and/or school-to-career activities, and establishing and organizing co-op/internships. Individuals involved with teacher preparation and in-service training can use the findings of this study to inform the development of pre-service curriculum and in-service educational offerings

Progress on stochastic background search codes for LIGO

One of the types of signals for which the LIGO interferometric gravitational wave detectors will search is a stochastic background of gravitational radiation. We review the technique of searching for a background using the optimally-filtered cross-correlation statistic, and describe the state of plans to perform such cross-correlations between the two LIGO interferometers as well as between LIGO and other gravitational-wave detectors, in particular the preparation of software to perform such data analysis.Comment: 7 pages, 1 encapsulated PostScript figure, uses IOP class files, submitted to the proceedings of the 4th Amaldi meeting (which will be published in Classical and Quantum Gravity

AN EVALUATION OF THE PRIA GRAZING FEE FORMULA

The federal grazing fee is currently set using the Public Rangeland Improvement Act (PRIA) fee formula established in 1978 and modified in 1986. The formula is adjusted annually using indices of private land grazing lease rates (Forage Value Index, FVI), prices received for beef cattle (Beef Cattle Price Index, BCPI), and costs of beef production (Prices Paid Index, PPI). The FVI tracks price movement in the private forage market and was the only index originally proposed to be included in the fee formula. Public land ranchers and an Interdepartmental Grazing Fee Technical Committee assigned to study grazing fee alternatives in the 1960s questioned the ability of the FVI to account for short-term demand, supply, and price equilibrium, and, for this reason, the BCPI and PPI were added to the fee formula. Over 30 years of data are now available to evaluate whether adding the BCPI and PPI did, in fact, help explain short-term market fluctuations. This analysis shows, as earlier studies did, that, if tracking the private forage market is the primary objective, then the fee formula should have included only the FVI. Including the BCPI and, especially, the PPI has caused calculated grazing fees to fall further and further behind private land lease rates. Had the $1.23 base fee in the PRIA formula been indexed by only the FVI, the federal grazing fee would have been$3.84/AUM instead of $1.35/AUM in 2000. It is time to consider the feasibility of a competitive bid system for public lands, or, at the very least, adopt a new fee formula that generates more equitable grazing fees.Land Economics/Use,

PERCEIVED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS OF IDAHO SECONDARY CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS: PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived professional development needs of Idaho secondary career and technical education teachers for a set of non-instructional competencies specifically associated with duties related to program management. The population of this study consisted of CTE teachers employed by Idaho secondary schools (N=725). Sixty-one percent (n=446) of the population participated in the study. The findings indicated that the top five perceived in-service training areas for the program management construct, as identified by a mean weighted discrepancy score (MWDS) ranking, to be “Grant writing & funding opportunities”; “Understanding federal (Perkins), state, and local funding”; “Establishing and organizing co-op/internships”; “Developing an effective public relations program”; and “Developing curriculum-based school-to-work and/or school-to-career activities”. Individuals involved with teacher preparation and in-service training can use the findings of this study to inform the development of pre-service curriculum and in-service educational offerings