POLITICS AND MARKETS IN THE ARTICULATION OF PREFERENCES FOR ATTRIBUTES OF THE RAPIDLY CHANGING FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SECTORS: FRAMING THE ISSUES

Industrialization of the food and agricultural sectors changes the pattern of external effects. Participants helped or harmed in the process attempt to influence outcomes through markets and politics. Decisions about property rights and boundaries determine benefits and burdens and the relative cost of animal agriculture in different jurisdictions. Prescriptions to redefine property rights are influenced by selective perception of rights to share in the benefits and be protected from costs. Political choices about the appropriate jurisdiction (state versus local) for addressing environmental and nuisance effects of animal agriculture affect whose preferences count and will influence the development of these sectors.Animal agriculture, Externalities, Industrialization, Institutions, Jurisdictional boundaries, Regulation, State versus local policy, Environment, Political Economy,

Liquid Crystal Polarimetry for Metastability Exchange Optical Pumping of 3He

We detail the design and operation of a compact, discharge light polarimeter for metastability exchange optical pumping of 3He gas near 1 torr under a low magnetic field. The nuclear polarization of 3He can be discerned from its electron polarization, measured via the circular polarization of 668 nm discharge light from an RF excitation. This apparatus measures the circular polarization of this very dim discharge light using a nematic liquid crystal wave retarder (LCR) and a high-gain, transimpedance amplified Si photodiode. We outline corrections required in such a measurement, and discuss contributions to its systematic error

Development of primary invasive pneumococcal disease caused by serotype 1 pneumococci is driven by early increased type I interferon response in the lung

The pneumococcus is the world's foremost respiratory pathogen, but the mechanisms allowing this pathogen to proceed from initial asymptomatic colonization to invasive disease are poorly understood. We have examined the early stages of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) by comparing host transcriptional responses to an invasive strain and a noninvasive strain of serotype 1 Streptococcus pneumoniae in the mouse lung. While the two strains were present in equal numbers in the lung 6 h after intranasal challenge, only the invasive strain (strain 1861) had invaded the pleural cavity at that time point; this correlated with subsequent development of bacteremia in mice challenged with strain 1861 but not the noninvasive strain (strain 1). Progression beyond the lung was associated with stronger induction of the type I interferon (IFN-I) response in the lung at 6 h. Suppression of the IFN-I response through administration of neutralizing antibody to IFNAR1 (the receptor for type I interferons) led to significantly reduced invasion of the pleural cavity by strain 1861 at 6 h postchallenge. Our data suggest that strong induction of the IFN-I response is a key factor in early progression of invasive serotype 1 strain 1861 beyond the lung during development of IPD

CONVERGENCE OF THE G-7: A COINTEGRATION APPROACH

Income convergence among the G-7 countries was demonstrated using Theil's inequality (entropy) index. G-7 convergence was also found for three potential factors of influence on economic growth: government expenditure, investment expenditure, and industrial employment. Pairwise cointegration tests indicated that income inequality was cointegrated with the other three inequality measures for the time period of 1950-88. Finally, Johansen's I(2) multi-cointegration tests indicated that three of the four inequality measures (i.e. income, investment expenditure, and industrial employment) were cointegrated suggesting that there exists a long-run equilibrium between the inequality in income, investment expenditure, and industrial employment.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Identification of group B respiratory syncytial viruses that lack the 60-nucleotide duplication after six consecutive epidemics of total BA dominance at coastal Kenya

Respiratory syncytial virus BA genotype has reportedly replaced other group B genotypes worldwide. We report the observation of three group B viruses, all identical in G sequence but lacking the BA duplication, at a coastal district hospital in Kenya in early 2012. This follows a period of six consecutive respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) epidemics with 100% BA dominance among group B isolates. The new strains appear only distantly related to BA variants and to previously circulating SAB1 viruses last seen in the district in 2005, suggesting that they were circulating elsewhere undetected. These results are of relevance to an understanding of RSV persistence