Weather and corn production

The author has just completed four statistical studies dealing with the relation of weather to trend.s in yields of corn, grain sorghums, soybeans and wheat for the period, 1935-1961. The four studies embraced the eleven state area known as the Great Plains and the Prairie regions. The latter is also known as the Corn Belt. These eleven states, from North Dakota to Texas, and Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, produce a high proportion of each of the four crops named above.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/card_reports/1011/thumbnail.jp

Weather and technology in the production of corn and soybeans

The decade of the fifties will long be associated with rapid technological progress in agriculture and a period of increasingly burdensome surpluses. In 1961, an emergency feed grain program was established to reduce production. The outcome was greatly increased output per acre, resulting in almost as much feed grain production as in 1960 in spite of a 17 percent reduction in acreage from 1960 to 1961. Most observers attributed the increase in yield per acre to land selection and application of more fertilizer per acre. These were important factors, but there is evidence that weather was even more important in the increase in yield of corn per acre from 1960 to 1961. A statistical study of the Corn Belt states showed that weather in 1961 was more favorable for corn production than any year during the period from 1935 to 1961. The difference in weather was enough to account for two thirds or more of the increase in corn yields in the Corn Belt states from 1960 to 1961. This information was published as Technical Bulletin 12T by the Center for Agricultural and Economic Adjustment in 1962.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/card_reports/1018/thumbnail.jp

How Serious Are Our Feed-Grain Stocks?

Our surplus stocks stem from our capacity to produce more than we use. But the results of a study at Iowa State show that roughly half of the increase in feed-grain production since 1950 has resulted form above-average weather

An evaluation of weather factors in the production of corn

Multiple curvilinear regression analysis has been used to separate the effects of weather from the effects of technology on the trend in corn yields in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Ohio. These five states produce about half the corn produced. in the United States. The weather during the four-Year period 1958-1961 was unusually favorable for corn in the five states under study. Had trend yield.s been realized during 1958, 1959 and 1960, these five states would have produced about 93 percent as much corn as was actually produced. The additional amount of corn produced because of favorable weather was approximately equal to that added to storage during 1958, 1959 and 1960 from these states.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/card_reports/1012/thumbnail.jp

Impact of Global Warming and Cooling on Midwestern Agriculture

The global warming since 1980 has been greater than it was during the warming trend from 1880 to 1940. This has caused concern that the very warm years of 1987 and 1988 might have been associated with greenhouse warming. However, the cooling trend from 1940 to 1980 occurred during a rapid buildup in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Although there may have been some greenhouse warming since 1880, the unusual warmth of 1987 and 1988 may have been caused by changes in the temperature of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, and changes in transparency of the atmosphere or ocher phenomena acting on the atmosphere. There have been changes in weather variability associated with the global warming and cooling. The unusually benign period of weather in the Midwest from 1956 to 1973 occurred at the end of a brief period of global cooling. Since 1973, there has been increased weather variability like chat experienced in the 1930\u27s. The most important factor in weather variability in the Midwest has been associated with the El Nino cycle. Crop production appears to be favored in years of El Nino events. All the major droughts in the Midwest since 1891 have occurred between El Nino years. The El Nino event scares about every 3 to 7 years and lases 1 to 2 years. In the Midwest the year after an El Nino event tends to be warmer and drier than normal and is sometimes a drought year

Localized vibration: effects on flexibility

Background. Flexibility is an important component of physical conditioning used to improve performance and prevent injury. The application of vibration is one method that has been reported to increase flexibility. The preponderance of the literature reports the effects of whole-body vibration; fewer studies have investigated the effects of local vibration (LV) therapy. Aims. To assess if LV affects spinal flexibility, the sit-and-reach test, or lower extremity range of motion measurements when compared to controls. To determine if the effects were specific to the site of LV application and if changes persisted between the follow-up visits. Methods. Forty-three college students (age range 21-40 years) responded to an email advertisement sent to a college of health professions. All participants underwent the same procedures and positioning but the vibration device was activated for the experimental group participants only. Nine flexibility measurements were obtained at the beginning and end of each of three visits. Results. Changes in flexibility were statistically significant after LV at each visit except for the sit-and-reach test. No between visit effects or carry-over were observed. Conclusion. The addition of LV to a training regime can improve flexibility immediately after its application. Although the persistence of the effect is unknown, no long-term effects were observed

Adverse birth outcomes associated with household air pollution from unclean cooking fuels in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Approximately 3.8 billion people in low- and middle-income countries use unclean fuels as a source of primary cooking fuel as well as for heating. For pregnant women, the toxic chemicals produced by combustion of unclean fuels not only affect women's health directly, but particulate matter and carbon monoxide are absorbed in maternal blood and cross the placental barrier impairing fetal tissue growth. PRISMA 2009 guidelines were used for this systematic review. The inclusion criteria were quantitative, peer reviewed journal articles published within a date range of May 1, 2013–June 12, 2021 examining birth outcomes related to household air pollution from type of cooking fuel in low- and middle-income countries. The quality of available evidence was evaluated using the Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) risk of bias rating tool. Of the 553 studies screened, 23 satisfied the inclusion criteria. Of the studies that met the inclusion criteria, 14 were cross-sectional, 5 cohort, 1 case-control and 3 randomized control trials conducted across 15 different countries. A range of birth outcomes are reported across studies including birthweight (19), small for gestational age (6), spontaneous abortion (3), preterm birth (6), stillbirth (7) and neonatal mortality (6). The reviewed studies presented evidence for an increased risk of low birth weight (LBW), preterm birth (PTB), small for gestational age (SGA), stillbirth, neonatal mortality and reduction in birthweight with solid fuel and kerosene use compared to cleaner fuels like gas and LPG. Systematically reviewing the evidence and risk of bias ratings illuminated several gaps in the current literature related to exposure assessment, outcome measurement and adequacy of adjustment for confounding

Bitopic binding mode of an M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonist associated with adverse clinical trial outcomes

The realisation of the therapeutic potential of targeting the M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (M1 mAChR) for the treatment of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease has prompted the discovery of M1 mAChR ligands showing efficacy in alleviating cognitive dysfunction in both rodents and humans. Among these is GSK1034702, described previously as a potent M1 receptor allosteric agonist, which showed pro-cognitive effects in rodents and improved immediate memory in a clinical nicotine withdrawal test but induced significant side-effects. Here we provide evidence using ligand binding, chemical biology and functional assays to establish that rather than the allosteric mechanism claimed, GSK1034702 interacts in a bitopic manner at the M1 mAChR such that it can concomitantly span both the orthosteric and an allosteric binding site. The bitopic nature of GSK1034702 together with the intrinsic agonist activity and a lack of muscarinic receptor subtype selectivity reported here, all likely contribute to the adverse effects of this molecule in clinical trials. We conclude that these properties, whilst imparting beneficial effects on learning and memory, are undesirable in a clinical candidate due to the likelihood of adverse side effects. Rather, our data supports the notion that "pure" positive allosteric modulators showing selectivity for the M1 mAChR with low levels of intrinsic activity would be preferable to provide clinical efficacy with low adverse responses