Evaluation of the Substitutability between U.S. and Canadian Softwood Lumber

Softwood lumber trade between the United States and Canada has worldwide attention due to its economic importance and for lengthy dispute. Most studies have focused on welfare effects of the dispute, while few studies have evaluated the question of likeness of product. This study evaluates the substitutability between U.S. and Canadian softwood lumber including other countries' softwood lumber. Price elasticities are derived from the linear approximation of the Almost Ideal Demand System. The results show that softwood lumber imports to the U.S. from various countries are indeed substitutes for U.S. softwood lumber. The Morishima elasticities of substitution indicate that other countries have a higher degree of substitutability than Canadian softwood lumber.International Relations/Trade,

Exploring legal restrictions, regulatory reform, and geographic disparities in abortion access in Thailand

Despite decades of advocacy among Thai governmental and nongovernmental actors to remove abortion from the country’s 1957 Criminal Code, this medically necessary service remains significantly legally restricted. In 2005, in the most recent regulatory reform to date, the Thai Medical Council established regulatory measures to allow a degree of physician interpretation within the confines of the existing law. Drawing on findings from a review of institutional policies and legislative materials, key informant interviews, and informal discussions with health service providers, government representatives, and nonprofit stakeholders, this article explores how legal reforms and health policies have shaped the abortion landscape in Thailand and influenced geographic disparities in availability and accessibility. Notwithstanding a strong medical community and the recent introduction of mifepristone for medication abortion (also known as medical abortion), the narrow interpretation of the regulatory criteria by physicians further entrenches these disparities. This article examines the causes of subnational disparities, focusing on the northern provinces and the western periphery of Thailand, and explores strategies to improve access to abortion in this legally restricted setting

Introducing a “same day referral” program for post-coital IUD insertion in Ontario: A mixed-methods study with pharmacists

Objectives: Post-coital insertion of the Copper-T intrauterine device (IUD) is the most effective method of emergency contraception (EC). However, few women use this method of pregnancy prevention in Canada. Our study aimed to explore Ontario pharmacists’ knowledge of the IUD as EC and interest in a hypothetical “same day referral” program that would provide women seeking progestin-only EC with information about and a timely referral for post-coital IUD insertion. Methods: We received 198 mailed surveys from representatives of Ontario pharmacies and conducted 17 in-depth interviews with a subset of respondents in 2015. We analyzed the survey data using descriptive statistics and interviews for content and themes using both deductive and inductive techniques. Results: Our results suggest that Ontario pharmacists underestimate the efficacy of the IUD as EC and lack awareness of the protocols for use. Survey respondents and interviewees expressed support for a “same day referral” program in Ontario and believe more effective methods of EC should be easily accessible. Interviewees discussed current barriers to the use of IUDs as EC, including the up-front costs associated with insertion and a general lack of awareness about EC among health professionals and communities. Discussion: There is a significant need for continuing education on the full range of EC methods among pharmacists. Considerable enthusiasm exists for undertaking efforts to expand access to more effective EC methods. Developing a pilot project to facilitate timely referrals for post-coital IUD insertion appears warranted. Résumé Objectifs : L’insertion postcoïtale d’un dispositif intra-utérin (DIU) au cuivre est la méthode la plus efficace de contraception d’urgence (CU). Toutefois, peu de femmes au Canada utilisent cette méthode de prévention de la grossesse. Notre étude visait à explorer les connaissances des pharmacien(ne)s ontarien(ne)s sur le DIU utilisé comme CU, ainsi que leur intérêt pour un programme hypothéque d’orienta on du même jour, qui fournirait en temps opportun de l’information et une insertion postcoïtale d’un DUI aux femmes désirant une CU à progestatif seul. Méthodes : Nous avons reçu 198 sondages par la poste de la part de représentants de pharmacies ontariennes, et avons mené 17 entrevues détaillées avec un sous-ensemble des répondants en 2015. Nous avons analysé les données de l’enquête à l’aide de statisques descriptives, ainsi que le contenu et les thèmes des entrevues au moyen de méthodes déductives et inductives. Résultats : Nos résultats indiquent que les pharmacien(ne)s de l’Ontario sous-estiment la capcacité du DIU utilisé comme CU et ne connaissent pas les protocoles nécessaires. Les répondants à l’enquête et les sujets interrogés ont exprimé leur soutien au programme d’orientation du jour même en Ontario et croient que des méthodes plus efficaces de CU devraient être facilement accessibles. Les personnes interrogées ont discuté des obstacles actuels à l’utiisation du DIU utilisé comme CU, incluant les coûts initiaux associés à l’insertion, et le manque général de connaissances sur la CU parmi les professionnels de la santé et les communautés. Discussion : Il existe un besoin important de formations professionnelles continues pour les pharmacien(ne)s sur la gamme complète de CU. Plusieurs démontrent un enthousiasme considérable quant au déploiement d’efforts pour améliorer l’accès à des méthodes plus efficaces de CU. Il semble justifié d’instaurer un projet pilote qui faciliterait l’orientation pour la pose postcoïtale d’un DIU, et ce, en temps opportun. 

Cardiosphere-derived cells demonstrate metabolic flexibility that Is influenced by adhesion status

Adult stem cells demonstrate metabolic flexibility that is regulated by cell adhesion status. The authors demonstrate that adherent cells primarily utilize glycolysis, whereas suspended cells rely on oxidative phosphorylation for their ATP needs. Akt phosphorylation transduces adhesion-mediated regulation of energy metabolism, by regulating translocation of glucose transporters (GLUT1) to the cell membrane and thus, cellular glucose uptake and glycolysis. Cell dissociation, a pre-requisite for cell transplantation, leads to energetic stress, which is mediated by Akt dephosphorylation, downregulation of glucose uptake, and glycolysis. They designed hydrogels that promote rapid cell adhesion of encapsulated cells, Akt phosphorylation, restore glycolysis, and cellular ATP levels

Does network complexity help organize Babel's library?

In this work, we study properties of texts from the perspective of complex network theory. Words in given texts are linked by co-occurrence and transformed into networks, and we observe that these display topological properties common to other complex systems. However, there are some properties that seem to be exclusive to texts; many of these properties depend on the frequency of words in the text, while others seem to be strictly determined by the grammar. Precisely, these properties allow for a categorization of texts as either with a sense and others encoded or senseless

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) : the large-scale structure of galaxies and comparison to mock universes

MA acknowledges funding from the University of St Andrews and the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research. ASGR is supported by funding from a UWA Fellowship. PN acknowledges the support of the Royal Society through the award of a University Research Fellowship and the European Research Council, through receipt of a Starting Grant (DEGAS-259586). MJIB acknowledges the financial support of the Australian Research Council Future Fellowship 100100280. TMR acknowledges support from a European Research Council Starting Grant (DEGAS-259586).From a volume-limited sample of 45 542 galaxies and 6000 groups with z ≤ 0.213, we use an adapted minimal spanning tree algorithm to identify and classify large-scale structures within the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey. Using galaxy groups, we identify 643 filaments across the three equatorial GAMA fields that span up to 200 h−1 Mpc in length, each with an average of eight groups within them. By analysing galaxies not belonging to groups, we identify a secondary population of smaller coherent structures composed entirely of galaxies, dubbed ‘tendrils’ that appear to link filaments together, or penetrate into voids, generally measuring around 10 h−1 Mpc in length and containing on average six galaxies. Finally, we are also able to identify a population of isolated void galaxies. By running this algorithm on GAMA mock galaxy catalogues, we compare the characteristics of large-scale structure between observed and mock data, finding that mock filaments reproduce observed ones extremely well. This provides a probe of higher order distribution statistics not captured by the popularly used two-point correlation function.Peer reviewe

Reducing space-time to binary information

We present a new description of discrete space-time in 1+1 dimensions in terms of a set of elementary geometrical units that represent its independent classical degrees of freedom. This is achieved by means of a binary encoding that is ergodic in the class of space-time manifolds respecting coordinate invariance of general relativity. Space-time fluctuations can be represented in a classical lattice gas model whose Boltzmann weights are constructed with the discretized form of the Einstein–Hilbert action. Within this framework, it is possible to compute basic quantities such as the Ricci curvature tensor and the Einstein equations, and to evaluate the path integral of discrete gravity. The description as a lattice gas model also provides a novel way of quantization and, at the same time, to quantum simulation of fluctuating space-time

The zinc cluster protein Sut1 contributes to filamentation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Copyright © 2013, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights ReservedSut1 is a transcriptional regulator of the Zn(II)(2)Cys(6) family in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The only function that has been attributed to Sut1 is sterol uptake under anaerobic conditions. Here, we show that Sut1 is also expressed in the presence of oxygen, and we identify a novel function for Sut1. SUT1 overexpression blocks filamentous growth, a response to nutrient limitation, in both haploid and diploid cells. This inhibition by Sut1 is independent of its function in sterol uptake. Sut1 downregulates the expression of GAT2, HAP4, MGA1, MSN4, NCE102, PRR2, RHO3, and RHO5. Several of these Sut1 targets (GAT2, HAP4, MGA1, RHO3, and RHO5) are essential for filamentation in haploids and/or diploids. Furthermore, the expression of the Sut1 target genes, with the exception of MGA1, is induced during filamentous growth. We also show that SUT1 expression is autoregulated and inhibited by Ste12, a key transcriptional regulator of filamentation. We propose that Sut1 partially represses the expression of GAT2, HAP4, MGA1, MSN4, NCE102, PRR2, RHO3, and RHO5 when nutrients are plentiful. Filamentation-inducing conditions relieve this repression by Sut1, and the increased expression of Sut1 targets triggers filamentous growth.The project was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft grant HO 2098/

The biology and behavior of the longhorned beetle, Dectes texanus on sunflower and soybean

The biology and behavior of the longhorned beetle Dectes texanus LeConte (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) was studied on two host plants that suffer economic losses from this pest; sunflower, Helianthus annuus, and soybean, Glycines max. Reciprocal crosses of D. texanus collected from the two plants all produced viable progeny, indicating that conspecific insects attack both crops. Pupae from soybean stalks weighed about 40% less than those from sunflower, and adults fed on soybean lived a mean of 23 days, compared to a mean of 53 days (males) and 76 days (females) for those fed sunflower. A female's larval host plant had no effect on her tendency to ovipuncture plants of either type in a greenhouse trial. A field-tested population collected exclusively from sunflower contained three types of females in similar proportions: those that laid eggs only on sunflower, those that laid only on soybean, and those that laid equally on both host plants. Females in field trials fed more on the plant they had fed on in the laboratory, but soybean-fed females fed more on soybean than did sunflower-fed females. Females fed soybean also made more ovipunctures on soybean plants in field trials than sunflower-fed females, but their responses to sunflower plants were similar. Females displayed higher total ovipositional activity when they encountered sunflower first in the field, and lower total activity when they encountered soybean first. Feeding scores were significantly correlated with ovipunctures and eggs on both plant types. We conclude that sunflower is the preferred host plant, although females will accept soybean when it is the only available food. The results suggest that D. texanus is still in the initial stages of a host range expansion with female host selection behavior demonstrating both genetic influences and phenotypic flexibility. Sunflower represents a nutritionally superior, ancestral host plant and relatively high fitness costs are still associated with utilization of the novel host plant, soybean, costs that may be offset by benefits such as reduced intraspecific competition. These potential benefits and their consequent implications for D. texanus host range evolution are hypothesized and discussed