Economic Feasibility of a Hog Slaughtering And Processing Facility In North Dakota

This report is one of a series being conducted under a special Research and Extension Rural Development Project at North Dakota State University as authorized by Title V of the Rural Development Act of 1972. The study was initiated and partial funding was provided through a grant from the North Dakota Business and Industrial Development Department.Agribusiness,

The Feasibility of a Sun-Cured Alfalfa Hay Pelleting Plant in Southeast Central North Dakota

This report is one of a series being conducted under a special Research and Extension Rural Development Project at North Dakota State University as authorized by Title V of the Rural Development Act of 1972. The study was initiated and partial funding was provided through an Economic Development Administration Grant (Grant Project Number 05-6-01402).Agribusiness,

An Ethical Examination of Libertarian Paternalism: The Impact of Retirement Savings Nudges on Autonomy and Welfare

Behavioral economists have recommended the use of nudges to promote welfare through public and private policies as a form of ‘libertarian paternalism’. It remains a controversial topic and opponents of nudging claim that it violates individual liberty and autonomy. Even so, nudging has found success in helping people save more for retirement. Automatic enrollment and the Save More Tomorrow™ plan use defaults to encourage higher participation and contribution rates in 401(k) retirement savings plans. I argue that these policies violate individual autonomy and fail to determine individuals’ preferences. Ethical interventions prioritize the intelligibility of preferences, enhance individual autonomy, and promote welfare over time

The Feasibility of a Cooperatively Owned Large-Scale Hog Farrowing System in North Dakota

Interest in the feasibility of a cooperatively owned large-scale hog farrowing system has been shown by hog producers in North Dakota. The producers realize the problems in securing a continuous supply of disease free feeder pigs of uniform quality during fluctuating price periods. Lack of published data concerning large-scale farrowing systems makes decisions regarding the feasibility and negotiation with lending institutions difficult. The research for this report was conducted under North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station Projects 1350 and 3337. The research was supported in part by grants from the Business and Industrial Development Department and the Economic Development Administration (Grant Project Number 05-6-01402). Special assistance in conducting the study and preparing the report was provided through the Research and Extension Rural Development Project at North Dakota State University.Agribusiness, Production Economics,

Power and Authority in Eastern Christian Experience: Papers of the Sophia Institute Academic Conference New York, December 2010

The essays in this volume were delivered at the Third Annual Conference of the Sophia Institute in December 2010 at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The theme of that conference, “Power and Authority in Eastern Christian Experience,” brought forth a diverse group of scholars who contributed their perspectives on the ways the Eastern Orthodox Church, in its broadest sense, has negotiated the notions of power, authority, (dis)obedience, and resistance over time and space. These insightful essays promise to draw the Orthodox world into a dynamic and productive discourse

Adherence to 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years and associations with social-cognitive development among Australian preschool children

Background: The new Australian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for the Early Years recommend that, for preschoolers, a healthy 24-h includes: i) ≥180 min of physical activity, including ≥60 min of energetic play, ii) ≤1 h of sedentary screen time, and iii) 10–13 h of good quality sleep. Using an Australian sample, this study reports the proportion of preschool children meeting these guidelines and investigates associations with social-cognitive development. Methods: Data from 248 preschool children (mean age = 4.2 ± 0.6 years, 57% boys) participating in the PATH-ABC study were analyzed. Children completed direct assessments of physical activity (accelerometry) and social cognition (the Test of Emotional Comprehension (TEC) and Theory of Mind (ToM)). Parents reported on children’s screen time and sleep. Children were categorised as meeting/not meeting: i) individual guidelines, ii) combinations of two guidelines, or iii) all three guidelines. Associations were examined using linear regression adjusting for child age, sex, vocabulary, area level socio-economic status and childcare level clustering. Results: High proportions of children met the physical activity (93.1%) and sleep (88.7%) guidelines, whereas fewer met the screen time guideline (17.3%). Overall, 14.9% of children met all three guidelines. Children meeting the sleep guideline performed better on TEC than those who did not (mean difference [MD] = 1.41; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.36, 2.47). Children meeting the sleep and physical activity or sleep and screen time guidelines also performed better on TEC (MD = 1.36; 95% CI = 0.31, 2.41) and ToM (MD = 0.25; 95% CI = −0.002, 0.50; p = 0.05), respectively, than those who did not. Meeting all three guidelines was associated with better ToM performance (MD = 0.28; 95% CI = −0.002, 0.48, p = 0.05), while meeting a larger number of guidelines was associated with better TEC (3 or 2 vs. 1/none, p < 0.02) and ToM performance (3 vs. 2, p = 0.03). Conclusions: Strategies to promote adherence to the 24-Hour Movement Behaviour Guidelines for the Early Years among preschool children are warranted. Supporting preschool children to meet all guidelines or more guidelines, particularly the sleep and screen time guidelines, may be beneficial for their social-cognitive development

Advancing the human right to housing in post-Katrina New Orleans: discursive opportunity structures in housing and community development

In post-Katrina New Orleans, housing and community development (HCD) advocates clashed over the future of public housing. This case study examines the evolution of and limits to a human right to housing frame introduced by one nongovernmental organization (NGO). Ferree’s concept of the discursive opportunity structure and Bourdieu’s social field ground this NGO’s failure to advance a radical economic human rights frame, given its choice of a political inside strategy that opened up for HCD NGOs after Hurricane Katrina. Strategic and ideological differences within the field limited the efficacy of this rights-based frame, which was seen as politically radical and risky compared with more resonant frames for seeking affordable housing resources and development opportunities. These divides flowed from the position of the movement-born HCD field within a neoliberal political economy, especially its current institutionalization in the finance and real estate sector, and its dependence on the state for funding and political legitimacy

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Phosphorylation of p65(RelA) on Ser547 by ATM Represses NF-κB-Dependent Transcription of Specific Genes after Genotoxic Stress

The NF-κB pathway is involved in immune and inflammation responses, proliferation, differentiation and cell death or survival. It is activated by many external stimuli including genotoxic stress. DNA double-strand breaks activate NF-κB in an ATM-dependent manner. In this manuscript, a direct interaction between p65(RelA) and the N-terminal extremity of ATM is reported. We also report that only one of the five potential ATM-(S/T)Q target sites present in p65, namely Ser547, is specifically phosphorylated by ATM in vitro. A comparative transcriptomic analysis performed in HEK-293 cells expressing either wild-type HA-p65 or a non-phosphorylatable mutant HA-p65S547A identified several differentially transcribed genes after an etoposide treatment (e.g. IL8, A20, SELE). The transcription of these genes is increased in cells expressing the mutant. Substitution of Ser547 to alanine does not affect p65 binding abilities on the κB site of the IL8 promoter but reduces p65 interaction with HDAC1. Cells expressing p65S547A have a higher level of histone H3 acetylated on Lys9 at the IL8 promoter, which is in agreement with the higher gene induction observed. These results indicate that ATM regulates a sub-set of NF-κB dependent genes after a genotoxic stress by direct phosphorylation of p65

Geographic variation in breeding system and environment predicts melanin-based plumage ornamentation of male and female Kentish plovers

Sexual selection determines the elaboration of morphological and behavioural traits and thus drives the evolution of phenotypes. Sexual selection on males and females can differ between populations, especially when populations exhibit different breeding systems. A substantial body of literature describes how breeding systems shape ornamentation across species, with a strong emphasis on male ornamentation and female preference. However, whether breeding system predicts ornamentation within species and whether similar mechanisms as in males also shape the phenotype of females remains unclear. Here, we investigate how different breeding systems are associated with male and female ornamentation in five geographically distinct populations of Kentish plovers Charadrius alexandrinus. We predicted that polygamous populations would exhibit more elaborate ornaments and stronger sexual dimorphism than monogamous populations. By estimating the size and intensity of male (n = 162) and female (n = 174) melanin-based plumage ornaments, i.e. breast bands and ear coverts, we show that plumage ornamentation is predicted by breeding system in both sexes. A difference in especially male ornamentation between polygamous (darker and smaller ornaments) and monogamous (lighter and larger) populations causes the greatest sexual dimorphism to be associated with polygamy. The non-social environment, however, may also influence the degree of ornamentation, for instance through availability of food. We found that, in addition to breeding system, a key environmental parameter, rainfall, predicted a seasonal change of ornamentation in a sex-specific manner. Our results emphasise that to understand the phenotype of animals, it is important to consider both natural and sexual selection acting on both males and females