We survey an algebraic approach to proving impossibility results in distributed computing. The approach is emerging around monotone groups, a new class of algebraic groups we define here as a tight suit to monotone Read&Modify&Write (or RMW) operations in a distributed system. The yields of this approach have been the first impossibility results for implementations of monotone RMW operations th...

Introduction The transition from on-farm to industrial-scale livestock and poultry production in the United States has increased the social stress at the rural-urban interface as a result of actual environmental impairments, perceived increases in environmental risk, demographic and cultural shifts within agricultural communities and disillusionment with the nature of the economic growth that h...

To quantify the respiratory disease burden among agricultural workers, we examined the 1988-1998 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) "Multiple Cause of Death Data" and the 1988-1994 Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (NHANES III). Proportionate mortality ratios (PMRs) were determined for 11 respiratory conditions among 6 agricultural groups: crop farm workers, ...

In modern farming, it is indispensable to monitor the field environment, crop conditions, and farming operations. To support these activities at farm level, we have developed several types of farm operation monitoring systems based on various needs of farms. FVS (Farming Visualization System) is one of such systems and designed in order to record and replay all the information of farming operat...

Another important issue is the influence of pathogens from different animal manure (slurry, farm yard manure etc.) on human health and well-being as a direct or indirect cause of human enteric illness, especially in areas with large livestock operations and/or a direct contact between farm animals and humans, be it the general public or farm workers a transmission of diseases is likely. Less im...

Agricultural policy faces conflicting social goals. On one hand, efficient large-scale agriculture provides an adequate, low cost food supply, but many Americans continue to idealize the smaller family farm, believing that it promotes a democratic society with strong values. The changing structure of agriculture from many small farms to fewer but larger farms is a concern often expressed. Many ...