Civic agriculture and community engagement     

Brian K. Obach  Kathleen Tobin 《Agriculture and Human Values》2014,31(2):307-322

Several scholars have claimed that small-scale agriculture in which farmers sell goods to the local market has the potential to strengthen social ties and a sense of community, a phenomenon referred to as “civic agriculture.” Proponents see promise in the increase in the number of community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, farmers markets, and other locally orientated distribution systems as well as the growing interest among consumers for buying locally produced goods. Yet others have suggested that these novel or reborn distribution mechanisms are still primarily means of instrumental economic exchange and that optimistic characterizations of a renewed sense of community emerging from these practices are unfounded. This study provides an empirical assessment of the extent to which these community-based agriculture markets are associated with connection to community, volunteerism, and civic and political activities. In order to assess the relationship between civic agriculture and community engagement, we surveyed over 1,300 people in the Mid-Hudson region of New York State. The study design includes “civic agriculture participants” as the unit of analysis, defined as CSA farm members, shoppers at independent health food stores, and farmers market patrons. For comparison, a telephone survey of randomly selected residents of the region’s general population was also conducted. Unlike studies that focus solely on the perceptions of certain civic agriculture participants (e.g., CSA members), by comparing the perceptions and behaviors of those engaged in a range of civic agriculture practices, we are able to identify the effects of different forms of participation. The results demonstrate higher levels of voluntarism and engagement in local politics among civic agriculture participants relative to the general population. In addition, we found variation among those engaged in different forms of civic agriculture, with those immersed in more socially embedded forms of exchange demonstrating greater community and political involvement. These findings lend empirical support to the civic agriculture thesis.  相似文献   

Medical Student Electives in Wilderness Medicine: Curriculum Guidelines     

Stephanie A. Lareau  Michael J. Caudell  Kiran B. Pandit  Brian C. Hiestand 《The Forestry Chronicle》2014,25(4):474-480

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The role of brash in augmenting forest site carbon capital and maintaining site nutrition in a Sitka spruce forest in Ireland     

Samuel O. Olajuyigbe  Brian Tobin  Maarten Nieuwenhuis 《European Journal of Forest Research》2014,133(3):563-572

The decomposition of harvest residues (brash) in managed forests has an important influence on the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks of these ecosystems. The brash input from thinning events in a 25-year-old Sitka spruce plantation was determined. A litter-bag method was used to determine the mass loss and decomposition rate of brash left on the forest floor. The changes in C and N concentrations and the C:N ratio of the needles and branches were also monitored as decomposition progressed for 2.5 years. Using the decomposition rate (k _b) and estimated brash inputs, we then determined the total cumulative stock of C that the brash could supply to the deadwood pool over a 41-year rotation period. The three thinning events resulted in the addition of 37.99 t C ha^?1 and 0.61 t N ha^?1 to the forest floor. A significant mass loss of 44 % was recorded from brash decomposition bags after 2.5 years, with a rapid loss of 35 % in the first year, after which the rate of decomposition slowed. The k _b-value and residence time (95 % decomposition) were 0.311 year^?1 and 9.6 years, respectively. There was a 69 % increase in the N concentration of needles after 1.5 years, while an increase of 185 % in the N concentration of branches was recorded after 2.5 years. The C concentration (48.55 ± 0.20 %) did not differ significantly between the needles and branches over time. The accumulated C stock from decomposing brash at clearfell was estimated at 18.51 t C ha^?1.  相似文献   

Growth performance and chestnut blight incidence (Cryphonectria parasitica) of backcrossed chestnut seedlings in surface mine restoration     

Jenise M. Bauman  Carolyn Howes Keiffer  Brian C. McCarthy 《New Forests》2014,45(6):813-828

Anthropogenic disturbances such as mining for coal have caused significant disturbance to the Appalachian forests of North America. Recovery of these disturbances is highly dependent on restoration methods that encourage natural succession. Unfortunately, current reclamation protocols have resulted in soil compaction and aggressive herbaceous groundcovers that impede the recovery of native trees. To overcome this, methods such as deep ripping and plow and disking were applied to a reclaimed mine land in Ohio, USA Plantings of pure American chestnut (Castanea dentata) and two seedling types (BC₁F₃ and BC₂F₃) bred for resistance to chestnut blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica) were assessed among different soil preparation treatments over five field seasons. Seedling mortality due to natural infection by chestnut blight was recorded and related to the disease resistance potential of the BC₁F₃ and BC₂F₃ seedlings. The growth and survival of chestnuts in plots that employed either ripping, plow disking, or the combination of the two methods were significantly greater than the control plots. After five seasons, differences existed among the soil treatments; plots that applied deep ripping had the highest survival and growth. When chestnut types were compared, pure American chestnut was the tallest. However, BC₂F₃ chestnut seedlings had the highest survival and lower disease incidence. Results suggest that employing deep ripping with backcrossed chestnut seedlings provides a method for establishing hardwood seedlings in soils impacted by surface mining. Planting methods that promote vigorous growth can be applied more broadly to other regions where anthropogenic disturbances create soil conditions that hinder seedling establishment.  相似文献   

Camelid heat stress: 15 cases (2003–2011)     

Piper L. Norton  Jenifer R. Gold  Karen E. Russell  Kara L. Schulz  Brian F. Porter 《The Canadian veterinary journal. La revue veterinaire canadienne》2014,55(10):992-996

This case series describes novel findings associated with heat stress in 15 cases in South American camelids that had no pre-existing illnesses and which had clinical signs of illness after exposure to a warm environment. Novel findings include decreased packed cell volume and albumin concentration and mild spinal axonal degeneration. Heat stress should be considered in weak camelids with a history of hyperthermia.  相似文献   

Medical Infrared Imaging (Thermography) of Type I Thoracolumbar Disk Disease in Chondrodystrophic Dogs     

Brian P. Grossbard DVM  Catherine A. Loughin DVM  Diplomate ACVS  ACCT  Leonard J. Marino MD  FAAP  Joseph Sackman  Scott E. Umbaugh BSE  MSEE  PhD  Patrick S. Solt BSEE  MSCS  Jakia Afruz BSAPECE  MSAPECE  Peter Leando PhD  DSc  DAc  Martin L. Lesser PhD  EMT‐CC  Meredith Akerman MS 《Veterinary surgery : VS》2014,43(7):869-876

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The analysis—Hierarchical models: Past,present and future     

Henrik Stryhn  Jette Christensen 《Preventive veterinary medicine》2014

This paper discusses statistical modelling for data with a hierarchical structure, and distinguishes in this context between three different meanings of the term hierarchical model: to account for clustering, to investigate variability and separate predictive equations at different hierarchical levels (multi-level analysis), and in a Bayesian framework to involve multiple layers of data or prior information. Within each of these areas, the paper reviews both past developments and the present state, and offers indications of future directions. In a worked example, previously reported data on piglet lameness are reanalyzed with multi-level methodology for survival analysis, leading to new insights into the data structure and predictor effects. In our view, hierarchical models of all three types discussed have much to offer for data analysis in veterinary epidemiology and other disciplines.  相似文献   

Occurrence of weak mutators among avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) isolates causing salpingitis and peritonitis in broiler breeders     

Teresa Pires-dos-Santos  Magne Bisgaard  Niels Kyvsgaard  Henrik Christensen 《Veterinary microbiology》2014

A collection of 46 avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) isolates was examined for the presence of mutators by determining the rate of mutation to rifampicin resistance. The collection included 34 E. coli isolates obtained in pure culture from chronic lesions of salpingitis and peritonitis in 34 broiler breeders, of which 12 were associated with the development of secondary septicemia. Twelve additional isolates were obtained from a clonal outbreak (ST95) of E. coli peritonitis syndrome (EPS), the lesions of which changed gradually over time into a subacute/chronic form. The hypothesis of the present study was that mutation rates would be higher for chronic infection isolates than for isolates from acute infections/exacerbations. The distribution of mutation rates followed a pattern similar to that found for other clinical isolates of E. coli, with a modal/median value of 1.47 × 10⁻⁸. Of the 46 isolates, 24% (n = 11) were weakly hypermutable (2.00 × 10⁻⁸ ≤ μ < 2.00 × 10⁻⁷), however, no strong mutators were detected (μ ≥ 2.00 × 10⁻⁷). Chronic salpingitis isolates had the highest proportion (45%, P = 0.001) of weak mutators and also, significantly higher mutation rates (P = 0.003) compared to isolates that caused septicemia (4%). In addition, mutation rates were significantly lower among ST95 isolates (P < 0.0005), and among isolates from the same clonal group as ST95 (P = 0.027), when compared to isolates from other groups. Although a clear association with the time phase of infection (as lesions of EPS became more chronic) could not be observed (ρ = 0.523, P = 0.081), a higher frequency of weak mutators among chronic infection isolates suggests that increased mutation rates play a role in adaptation of APEC to long-term persistence in an infected host environment.  相似文献   

10th WCGALP in beautiful Vancouver     

R.J.C. Cantet  O.F. Christensen  M. Pérez‐Enciso  J.H.J. van der Werf 《Zeitschrift für Tierzüchtung und Züchtungsbiologie》2014,131(5):409-412

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Impact of Wheat Grain Selenium Content Variation on Milling and Bread Baking     

David F. Garvin  Gary Hareland  Brian R. Gregoire  John W. Finley 《Cereal Chemistry》2011,88(2):195-200

Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient in animals. High levels of Se can accumulate in wheat grain, but it is not clear how high Se affects milling or baking. Low and high Se grain from the same hard red winter wheat cultivar was milled and used for breadbaking studies and Se analysis. Mill stream yields from the low and high Se wheat were comparable, as were flour yields. The amount of total grain Se retained in the flour mill streams was 71.2 and 66.4% for the low and high Se wheat, respectively. Proportionally, Se content in the bran, shorts, and the first reduction flour stream in high Se wheat was higher by 13–20% compared to the low Se wheat. Flour quality parameters including protein content, ash content, and farinograph traits were similar in low and high Se flours, although high Se flour mill streams exhibited lower farinograph stability. Breadbaking evaluations indicated that high Se had a deleterious effect on loaf volume. There was no evidence of significant Se loss after breadbaking with either low or high Se flour.  相似文献