The Relative Importance of Search versus Credence Product Attributes: Organic and Locally Grown

Organic foods and local foods have come to the forefront of consumer issues, due to concerns about nutrition, health, sustainability, and food safety. A conjoint analysis experiment quantified the relative importance of, and trade-offs between, apple search and experience attributes (quality/blemishes, size, flavor), credence attributes (conventional vs. organic production method, local origin vs. product of USA vs. imported), and purchase price when buying apples. Quality is the most important apple attribute. Production method—organic versus conventional—had no significant impact on preferences.conjoint analysis, organic, locally grown, credence attributes, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing,

A Balance sheet of agriculture for Finland 1948-1967

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Psychiatrists should investigate their patients less

Psychiatrists often order investigations such as blood tests, neuroimaging and electroencephalograms for their patients. Rationales include ruling out 'organic' causes of psychiatric presentations, providing baseline parameters before starting psychotropic medications, and screening for general cardiometabolic health. Hospital protocols often recommend an extensive panel of blood tests on admission to a psychiatric ward. In this Against the Stream article, we argue that many of these investigations are at best useless and at worst harmful: the yield of positive findings that change clinical management is extremely low; special investigations are a poor substitute for a targeted history and examination; and incidental findings may cause anxiety and further unwarranted investigation. Cognitive and cultural reasons why over-investigation continues are discussed. We conclude by encouraging a more targeted approach guided by a thorough bedside clinical assessment

Exome resequencing and GWAS for growth, ecophysiology, and chemical and metabolomic composition of wood of Populus trichocarpa.

BackgroundPopulus trichocarpa is an important forest tree species for the generation of lignocellulosic ethanol. Understanding the genomic basis of biomass production and chemical composition of wood is fundamental in supporting genetic improvement programs. Considerable variation has been observed in this species for complex traits related to growth, phenology, ecophysiology and wood chemistry. Those traits are influenced by both polygenic control and environmental effects, and their genome architecture and regulation are only partially understood. Genome wide association studies (GWAS) represent an approach to advance that aim using thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Genotyping using exome capture methodologies represent an efficient approach to identify specific functional regions of genomes underlying phenotypic variation.ResultsWe identified 813 K SNPs, which were utilized for genotyping 461 P. trichocarpa clones, representing 101 provenances collected from Oregon and Washington, and established in California. A GWAS performed on 20 traits, considering single SNP-marker tests identified a variable number of significant SNPs (p-value < 6.1479E-8) in association with diameter, height, leaf carbon and nitrogen contents, and δ15N. The number of significant SNPs ranged from 2 to 220 per trait. Additionally, multiple-marker analyses by sliding-windows tests detected between 6 and 192 significant windows for the analyzed traits. The significant SNPs resided within genes that encode proteins belonging to different functional classes as such protein synthesis, energy/metabolism and DNA/RNA metabolism, among others.ConclusionsSNP-markers within genes associated with traits of importance for biomass production were detected. They contribute to characterize the genomic architecture of P. trichocarpa biomass required to support the development and application of marker breeding technologies

The radical character of the acenes: A density matrix renormalization group study

We present a detailed investigation of the acene series using high-level wavefunction theory. Our ab-initio Density Matrix Renormalization Group algorithm has enabled us to carry out Complete Active Space calculations on the acenes from napthalene to dodecacene correlating the full pi-valence space. While we find that the ground-state is a singlet for all chain-lengths, examination of several measures of radical character, including the natural orbitals, effective number of unpaired electrons, and various correlation functions, suggests that the longer acene ground-states are polyradical in nature.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, supplementary material, to be published in J. Chem. Phys. 127, 200

Transcatheter closure of a large patent ductus arteriosus with the clamshell septal umbrella

AbstractIn 14 patients undergoing transcatheter closure of a large (>4 mm diameter) patent ductus arteriosus, occlusion was attempted with use of the Bard Clamshell septal umbrella. Patient age ranged from 0.7 to 30.4 years. Isolated patent ductus arteriosus was present in 11 patients; 3 had additional congenital heart lesions. Moderate or severe pulmonary hypertension was present in four patients. The diameter of the patent ductus arteriosus ranged from 4.5 to 14 mm, as determined by contrast injection through an 11F sheath or by balloon sizing; it appeared larger by this method than by the standard angiographic method.All 14 patent ductus arteriosi were successfully closed. Prior embolization of a Rashkind umbrella was the reason for using a Clamshell device in three patients; one additional embolization of a Clamshell device occurred. All errant devices were retrieved at cardiac catheterization, without associated hemodynamic instability. No other complications occurred. Among the 14 patients, 11 had complete ductal closure by Doppler color flow mapping at last follow-up and 3 had trivial residual Row. All four patients having associated complex lesions or pulmonary hypertension, or both, had symptomatic improvement after the procedure, although one child (with Shone's anomaly) died 3 months later.The Clamshell device provides stable and effective closure of a large patent ductus arteriosus, and allows transcatheter closure to be offered to some patients who were previously considered unsuitable for this procedure

Local anaesthetic sympathetic blockade for complex regional pain syndrome

Local anaesthetic sympathetic blockade (LASB) is a common treatment for complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). It involves blocking the activity of sympathetic nerves in the spine through the injection of a local anaesthetic drug. This updated review sought to identify the available evidence regarding whether LASB is effective at reducing pain in CRPS, how long any pain relief might last, and whether LASB is safe. We found a small number of small trials, all of which may be at risk of bias. We did not find evidence that LASB was better than placebo in reducing pain, or that it provided additional pain relief when added to rehabilitation. While a number of small studies compared LASB to other treatments, most did not find that LASB was better than any other intervention. Only five studies reported on adverse events. These studies reported only minor side effects but since most studies did not report this information we can draw no firm conclusions about the safety of LASB. Overall, while the evidence is very limited and precludes the drawing of strong conclusions, the existing evidence does not provide support for the efficacy of LASB in managing people with CRPS

Meningococcal disease in children in Merseyside, England:a 31 year descriptive study

Meningococcal disease (MCD) is the leading infectious cause of death in early childhood in the United Kingdom, making it a public health priority. MCD most commonly presents as meningococcal meningitis (MM), septicaemia (MS), or as a combination of the two syndromes (MM/MS). We describe the changing epidemiology and clinical presentation of MCD, and explore associations with socioeconomic status and other risk factors. A hospital-based study of children admitted to a tertiary children's centre, Alder Hey Children's Foundation Trust, with MCD, was undertaken between 1977 to 2007 (n = 1157). Demographics, clinical presentations, microbiological confirmation and measures of deprivation were described. The majority of cases occurred in the 1-4 year age group and there was a dramatic fall in serogroup C cases observed with the introduction of the meningococcal C conjugate (MCC) vaccine. The proportion of MS cases increased over the study period, from 11% in the first quarter to 35% in the final quarter. Presentation with MS (compared to MM) and serogroup C disease (compared to serogroup B) were demonstrated to be independent risk factors for mortality, with odds ratios of 3.5 (95% CI 1.18 to 10.08) and 2.18 (95% CI 1.26 to 3.80) respectively. Cases admitted to Alder Hey were from a relatively more deprived population (mean Townsend score 1.25, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.41) than the Merseyside reference population. Our findings represent one of the largest single-centre studies of MCD. The presentation of MS is confirmed to be a risk factor of mortality from MCD. Our study supports the association between social deprivation and MCD

Management of coronary artery fistulae Patient selection and results of transcatheter closure

AbstractObjectivesWe report short-term findings in 33 patients after transcatheter closure (TCC) of coronary artery fistulae (CAF) and compare our results with those reported in the recent transcatheter and surgical literature.BackgroundTranscatheter closure of CAF has been advocated as a minimally invasive alternative to surgery.MethodsWe reviewed all patients presenting with significant CAF between January 1988 and August 2000. Those with additional complex cardiac disease requiring surgical management were excluded.ResultsOf 39 patients considered for TCC, occlusion devices were placed in 33 patients (85%) at 35 procedures and included coils in 28, umbrella devices in 6 and a Grifka vascular occlusion device in 1. Post-deployment angiograms demonstrated complete occlusion in 19, trace in 11, or small residual flow in 5. Follow-up echocardiograms (median, 2.8 years) in 27 patients showed no flow in 22 or small residual flow in 5. Of the 6 patients without follow-up imaging, immediate post-deployment angiograms showed complete occlusion in 5 or small residual flow in 1. Thus, complete occlusion was accomplished in 27 patients (82%). Early complications included transient ST-T wave changes in 5, transient arrhythmias in 4 and single instances of distal coronary artery spasm, fistula dissection and unretrieved coil embolization. There were no deaths or long-term morbidity. Device placement was not attempted in 6 patients (15%), because of multiple fistula drainage sites in 4, extreme vessel tortuosity in 1 and an intracardiac hemangioma in 1.ConclusionsA comparison of our results with those in the recent transcatheter and surgical literature shows similar early effectiveness, morbidity and mortality. From data available, TCC of CAF is an acceptable alternative to surgery in most patients