MATHEMATICAL FORMULAS FOR CALCULATING NET RETURNS FROM PARTICIPATION IN GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS, CRP, AND CROP INSURANCE ALTERNATIVES

The purpose of this report is to provide a revised version of the publication, "Mathematical Formulas for Calculating Net Returns from Participation in Government Commodity Programs including Marketing Loans" (Williams and Barnaby, 1994). The change in design of the government commodity programs and development of several crop insurance alternatives has been significant since the previous paper was published. The formulas for calculating net returns incorporate provisions from the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 and several crop insurance designs developed in the 1990s. Individuals conducting research or education programs will be able to use this revision for reference when estimating net returns for producers under current commodity program and crop insurance plan provisions.Agricultural Finance,

Toward the Development of Ethical Guidelines for Family Preservation

Family preservation workers need a standard set of ethical guidelines to assist them in providing their service in a proper manner. This paper describes how ethical codes have been developed for the traditional mental health care disciplines and why such codes are not sufficient for the type of work done in family preservation. The paper further provides examples of the types of ethical dilemmas family preservation workers encounter as well as suggestions for workers, supervisors, and agencies in dealing with such dilemmas

Postnatal β2 adrenergic treatment improves insulin sensitivity in lambs with IUGR but not persistent defects in pancreatic islets or skeletal muscle

Placental insufficiency causes intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and disturbances in glucose homeostasis with associated β adrenergic receptor (ADRβ) desensitization. Our objectives were to measure insulin-sensitive glucose metabolism in neonatal lambs with IUGR and to determine whether daily treatment with ADRβ2 agonist and ADRβ1/β3 antagonists for 1 month normalizes their glucose metabolism. Growth, glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) and glucose utilization rates (GURs) were measured in control lambs, IUGR lambs and IUGR lambs treated with adrenergic receptor modifiers: clenbuterol atenolol and SR59230A (IUGR-AR). In IUGR lambs, islet insulin content and GSIS were less than in controls; however, insulin sensitivity and whole-bodyGUR were not different from controls.Of importance, ADRβ2 stimulation with β1/β3 inhibition increases both insulin sensitivity and whole-body glucose utilization in IUGR lambs. In IUGR and IUGR-AR lambs, hindlimb GURs were greater but fractional glucose oxidation rates and ex vivo skeletal muscle glucose oxidation rates were lower than controls. Glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) was lower in IUGR and IUGR-AR skeletal muscle than in controls but GLUT1 was greater in IUGR-AR. ADRβ2, insulin receptor, glycogen content and citrate synthase activity were similar among groups. In IUGR and IUGR-AR lambs heart rates were greater, which was independent of cardiac ADRβ1 activation. We conclude that targeted ADRβ2 stimulation improved whole-body insulin sensitivity but minimally affected defects in GSIS and skeletal muscle glucose oxidation. We show that risk factors for developing diabetes are independent of postnatal catch-up growth in IUGR lambs as early as 1 month of age and are inherent to the islets and myocytes

Analysis of a stability valve system for extending the dynamic range of a supersonic inlet

A stability valve system designed for a full-scale, flight, supersonic, mixed-compression inlet was modeled dynamically by using analog computer techniques. The system uses poppet valves mounted in the inlet cowl to bypass airflow and augments the inlet shock position control system by preventing unstarts caused by high-frequency perturbations. The model was used as a design aid to investigate the effects of varying both the physical configurations of the valve and the flight and wind tunnel conditions. Results of the analysis indicate that the stability valve will provide a bandpass operation of 1 hertz to 17 hertz

Ligand-Receptor Interactions

The formation and dissociation of specific noncovalent interactions between a variety of macromolecules play a crucial role in the function of biological systems. During the last few years, three main lines of research led to a dramatic improvement of our understanding of these important phenomena. First, combination of genetic engineering and X ray cristallography made available a simultaneous knowledg of the precise structure and affinity of series or related ligand-receptor systems differing by a few well-defined atoms. Second, improvement of computer power and simulation techniques allowed extended exploration of the interaction of realistic macromolecules. Third, simultaneous development of a variety of techniques based on atomic force microscopy, hydrodynamic flow, biomembrane probes, optical tweezers, magnetic fields or flexible transducers yielded direct experimental information of the behavior of single ligand receptor bonds. At the same time, investigation of well defined cellular models raised the interest of biologists to the kinetic and mechanical properties of cell membrane receptors. The aim of this review is to give a description of these advances that benefitted from a largely multidisciplinar approach

Improving Remote Customer Interaction Experiences Using Machine Learning

A common problem in contact centers is high employee turnover. Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques that have been introduced to smoothen interaction and improve the customer’s experience can have opposite effects, e.g., by requiring the customer to navigate complex menu options. This disclosure describes AI-based techniques applied to agent training and customer calls. The techniques can reduce turnover at contact centers and improve the experience of end users who interact with customer service agents. Per the techniques, suitable AI techniques are implemented to train human customer agents, and human feedback is in turn used to train AI techniques. Human-AI augmentation can be used to mirror the communication styles of customers to improve the interaction experience. The techniques can also be used to improve safety, e.g., by automatically detecting scam calls and alerting users. The techniques enable the creation of scalable, standalone, artificial or human-AI augmented customer service agents

Association Between Race and Early Antibiotic Use in Newborns Admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Introduction: Given the risk of early-onset sepsis, providers frequently prescribe empirical antibiotics to newborns admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Early and prolonged use of antibiotics in uninfected newborns is associated with many adverse effects and potentially life-threatening complications, particularly among those with very low birth weight (VLBW; \u3c1500g). Studies of neonatal antibiotic utilization often adjust for race, acknowledged as a social construct, but there is a paucity of data on whether there is an independent association between race and antibiotic use in this population. We hypothesized that Black newborns have higher antibiotic use after adjusting for confounding factors compared to other races. Design/Methods: Retrospective cohort study including newborns admitted to a NICU from 2012-2021 included in the Premier Health database, which captures inpatient encounters from academic and community hospitals across the US. Early antibiotic initiation was defined as any parenteral antibiotic administered within the first 3 days after birth. Prolonged antibiotic duration was defined as early antibiotic initiation that was continued for \u3e4 days. Race was categorized as non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Asian, Hispanic, and Other/unknown race or ethnicity. Standard descriptive and comparative statistics were performed. Multivariable logistic regression, stratified by birth weight ≥ and \u3c1500g, was used to determine the association between race (non-Hispanic Black vs non-Hispanic White, and non-Hispanic Black vs other races/ethnicities) and early/prolonged antibiotic use, adjusting for potential confounders including birthweight category, length of stay, hospital setting, geographic region, and teaching status, accounting for clustering by center. Results: A total of 865,893 newborns from 699 NICUs were included. Overall, 478,045 (55.2%) were male, 108,896 (12.6%) were Hispanic ethnicity, 5236 (0.6%) died, and median length of stay was 7 days (IQR 4,17). Demographics and clinical characteristics between the different race/ethnicity groups are shown in Table 1. In the unadjusted analysis comparing infants of non-Hispanic Black race to non-Hispanic White and other race/ethnicity, stratified by birth weight ≥ and \u3c1500g, there were differences in antibiotic initiation and prolonged duration identified (Table 2). After adjusting for available potential confounders and accounting for clustering by center, non-Hispanic Black infants ≥ 1500g had higher odds of antibiotic initiation (aOR 1.09, 95%CI 1.02,1.2; p=0.02) compared to non-Hispanic White infants (Table 2). Non-Hispanic Black infants \u3c1500g had higher odds of antibiotic initiation (aOR 1.4, 95%CI 1.3,1.6; p\u3c0.001) and prolonged antibiotic duration (aOR 1.2, 95%CI 1.02,1.4; p=0.03) compared to non-Hispanic White infants, and higher odds of antibiotic initiation (aOR 1.3, 95%CI 1.1,1.5; p\u3c0.001) compared to other races/ethnicities (Table 2). Discussion: Newborns of non-Hispanic Black race/ethnicity compared to non-Hispanic White had increased odds of antibiotic initiation when stratified by birth weight. Non-Hispanic black infants with birth weight \u3c1500g also had increased odds of antibiotic initiation when compared to other races/ethnicities. Though this study is limited due to low granularity of patient level data and associations possibly being confounded by other factors, its significance still warrants further study. Future studies must explore if other factors, including maternal factors influenced by structural racism, are being considered when prescribing early antibiotics in the NICU

Book Review: Christopher Darnton. Rivalry and Alliance Politics in Cold War Latin America

This document includes Dr. Field\u27s review of Christopher Darnton\u27s Rivalry and Alliance Politics in Cold War Latin America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014. ISBN: 9781421413617 (paperback, $44.95). It is part of H-Diplo | ISSF, Roundtable, Volume VIII, No. 8 (2016)