Understanding and valuing the economic, social and environmental components of System Harmonisation

The aim of the Products and Markets component of the System Harmonisation project is to value the economic and environmental outcomes from an irrigation scheme that is operated by and in the interests of society. In this conceptual note the thinking underlying this component of the project are outlined. The aim of this note is to provide elements for debated. The nature and requirements of System Harmonisation demands that a 'systems approach' be taken throughout the project. What becomes important within this approach is how the different elements within a system are isolated and yet linked with one another. In many instances the extent and nature of irrigation systems are defined by the relevant Regional Irrigation Business Partnership (RIBP) under investigation. It is recognised that society has multiple uses for the water (agriculture, industry, households, recreation and the environment) as well as non-use (intrinsic) values for which it derives benefits from and incurs costs in distributing the water in any select manner. Further, it is assumed that the irrigation schemes are run for the benefit of society as a whole. Thus, there is a necessity to evaluate both the private and public costs and benefits associated with irrigation schemes. In order to identify what society values from an irrigation scheme, it is argued that a social matrix approach is needed. This analysis allows for a clustering of the issues people feel is important to them regarding the use of an irrigation scheme. Such an analysis will allow identification of the perceived most and least beneficial activities connected to water allocation, economic modelling of the most productive activities, evaluation of externalities and Cost Benefit Analysis. The net economic benefits that arise from irrigation need to be evaluated. The sectors where benefits are derived can be segregated into agriculture, households, the environment, recreation and industrial uses. The largest of these, by pure scale of the use of water, is agriculture. A gross margins approach is used to evaluate the returns for water in the agricultural sector. In the industrial and household sectors, a simple evaluation approach is used where the quantity of water demanded is multiplied by the price paid in each sector. Non-market valuation techniques are used to evaluate the recreational and environmental uses of water. The difficulty that arises in this analysis is how to evaluate the performance of irrigation schemes, where the outcomes are multifaceted. A 'meta' model approach is suggested in which the different elements from the project are brought together and assessed using a technique derived from the theory surrounding production possibility frontiers. This technique can be used to hypothesise a value for the ecosystem services derived from an irrigation scheme. The performance of an irrigation scheme is evaluated in terms of the suggestions raised to change it. Cost Effective Analysis is to be utilised to evaluate this performance. Then two issues need to be addressed. First, it is necessary to converse with those from other components, particularly those involved in the hydrological programs, to determine the nature of the schemes to be investigated. Second, it is necessary to implement the approach in each of the RIBPs. This work needs to commence with the evaluation of the social values in each region

Assessing social acceptability of management options for harmonising irrigation with environmental concerns: A pilot study from the Murrumbidgee Valley, Australia

The flows in regulated rivers are strongly dependent on water demand by downstream water users. In irrigated catchments the river flow regimes are deliberately distorted to cater for crop demand, with significant deleterious ecological impacts. A number of opportunities exist to manipulate irrigation demand and supply to provide more natural seasonality of flows and optimise the social, environmental and economic outcomes from water use in a catchment. Possible options to achieve this goal include improved cropping mix incentives, groundwater – surface water substitution, intra and inter-seasonal water trading and harmonisation of on- and off-farm storage, distribution, application and drainage infrastructure with environmental outcomes. Each of these options will impact in some way on irrigation and wider communities. In this paper ‘community’ involvement in setting irrigation research agendas and evaluating water management options in the Murrumbidgee Valley, Australia is explored. A brief assessment of social acceptability, combined with hydrological and economic models, was found to be an effective approach for scoping different irrigation demand management options to improve seasonality of flows. In this study the value of articulating assessment criteria when dealing with new and potentially disruptive options for the management of irrigation demand in a catchment context is demonstrated.Keywords: social acceptability, system harmonisation, conjunctive management of surface and groundwater, seasonality of flows, environmental managemen

Breaking water in art therapy : case study of Charles : multiaxial diagnosis including separation anxiety and premature birth

This paper will explore the primary research question, How can Art Therapy offer reparative experiences for a child with behavioral difficulties related to Separation Anxiety Disorder? Through a case study and literature review I will demonstrate that such reparative experiences are interactive in a twofold dimensional conceptualization of the art therapy process. The first is carried out in the realm of play and supported art making; the second one properly takes place in the relationship between the therapist and child. The subsidiary research question addressed is, What are the conditions leading to separation anxiety in general and in particular, in the case of Charles? Through Charles' play with art materials, a therapeutic alliance was promptly established. Charles was able to eventually gain enough confidence that allowed him to relax sufficiently to engage in a symbolic process that seemed reparative, on a number of levels, for experiences surrounding his premature birth. In accordance with attachment theory, it can be hypothesized that these experiences laid a foundation for behaviours and parent/child relations which eventually were diagnosed as Separation Anxiety Disorder and a Parent/Child Relational Problem

Summer Annual Variety Trial

Warm season grasses, such as Sudangrass, and millet can provide quality forage in the hot summer months, when the cool season grasses enter dormancy and decline in productivity. The addition of summer annuals into a rotation can provide a harvest of high-quality forage for stored feed or grazing during this critical time. Generally, summer annuals germinate quickly, grow rapidly, are drought resistant, and have high productivity and flexibility in utilization. The UVM Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program conducted this variety trial to evaluate the yield and quality of warm season annual grasses

FAK-regulated IL6 reprograms the tumour associated macrophage phenotype and promotes pancreatic tumour growth

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains a cancer with few effective therapeutic options, and patient prognosis is poor. Immunotherapy has yet to yield significant benefit in treatment of PDAC. Understanding the key molecular pathways that drive resistance to immunotherapy may enable development of new therapeutic strategies for this cancer of unmet clinical need. The non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase, Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK), is up-regulated in PDAC, and recent studies have identified an important role for FAK in regulating the fibrotic and immunosuppressive pancreatic tumour microenvironment (TME). However, the mechanisms underpinning FAK-dependent regulation of the immunosuppressive TME remain poorly understood. Using CRISPR, I have depleted FAK expression in pancreatic cancer cells isolated from PDAC arising on LSL-KrasG12D/+;LSL-Trp53R172H/+;Pdx-1-Cre mice (KPC mice), and show that FAK-depletion results in a tumour growth delay that is associated with reprogramming of the tumour associated macrophage (TAM) phenotype. Mechanistically I identify FAK-dependent regulation of interleukin-6 secretion from pancreatic cancer cells as an important regulator of the TAM phenotype, and further show that this axis requires CD4+ T-cells. These results provide new insights into the complexity of FAK-dependent immune regulation in cancer, and support continued evaluation of FAK kinase inhibitors in combination with immunotherapy for the treatment of PDAC

Baboon endogenous virus genome: Molecular cloning and structural characterization of nondefective viral genomes from DNA of a baboon cell strain

Several heterogeneities in the baboon endogenous virus (BaEV) genomes that are present in the DNA of normal baboon tissues and the baboon cell strain BEF-3 have been described previously. To study these genomes, we cloned BaEV proviruses from BEF-3 cellular DNA into the vector Charon 4A. Of the four full-length clones isolated, one was nondefective as determined by transfection. The sequence of a portion of this clone was found to code for amino acids 61-91 in the p30 region of the gag gene. This identification allowed us to align the restriction map with the BaEV genetic map. One heterogeneity, a BamHI site 2.4 kilobases (kb) from the proviral 5' end, was located close to the gag-pol junction; another, a BamHI site 1.4 kb from the 5' end of the genome, corresponded to the gag p30 coding sequence for amino acids 32-34; and a third, a Xho I site, was near the 3' end of the pol gene. To select the nondefective BaEV genomes from BEF-3 cells, we infected permissive cells with virus produced by BEF-3 cells and also transfected BEF-3 cellular DNA into permissive cells. The BaEV genomes in the permissive recipient cultures were then analyzed by restriction enzyme analysis. These nondefective genomes were found to be heterogeneous with respect to the gag-pol BamHI site and the Xho I site, but all were found to contain the BamHI site 1.4 kb from the 5' end of the genome