966 research outputs found
Comparing Risk Perceptions and Risk Management in Organic and Conventional Dairy Farming: Empirical Results From Norway
This study was conducted to explore organic and conventional dairy farmers' perceptions of risk and risk management, and to examine relationships between farm and farmer characteristics, risk perceptions, and strategies. The data originate from a survey of conventional (n=363) and organic (n=162) dairy farmers in Norway. Organic farmers had the least risk averse perceptions. Institutional and production risks were perceived as primary sources of risk, with farm support payments at the top. Compared to their conventional colleagues, organic farmers gave more weight to institutional factors related to their production systems. Conventional farmers were more concerned about costs of purchased inputs and animal welfare policy. Organic and conventional farmers' management responses were more similar than their risk perceptions. Financial measures such as liquidity and costs of production, disease prevention, and insurance were perceived as important ways to handle risk. Even though perceptions were highly farmer-specific, a number of socio-economic variables were found to be related to risk and risk management. The primary role of institutional risks implies that policy makers should be cautious about changing policy capriciously and they should consider the scope for strategic policy initiatives that give farmers some greater confidence about the longer term. Further, researchers should pay more attention to institutional risks
LIMITS OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL MUTATION BY MEANS OF JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION: A PROPOSAL OF CATALOGING AND DEFINITION.
No presente artigo, faz-se exposição acerca da existĂȘncia ou nĂŁo de limites para a tarefa de interpretar a Constituição. Ao final, partindo-se da premissa de que na democracia toda semiose Ă© limitada, propĂ”e-se uma catalogação e definição de limites para a mudança da Constituição pela via da interpretação, dividindo tais limites em principiolĂłgicos ou teleolĂłgicos e normativos ou semiĂłticos.In the present article, an exposition is made about the existence or not of limits for the task of interpreting the Constitution. In the end, starting from the premise that in democracy all semiosis is limited, it is proposed a cataloging and definition of limits for the change of the Constitution through the interpretation route, dividing such limits into principles or teleological and normative or semioti
The Rift Valley fever accessory proteins NSm and P78/NSm-GN are distinct determinants of virus propagation in vertebrate and invertebrate hosts.: Role of NSm-related proteins in RVFV infection
International audienceRift Valley fever virus (RVFV) is an enzootic virus circulating in Africa that is transmitted to its vertebrate host by a mosquito vector and causes severe clinical manifestations in humans and ruminants. RVFV has a tripartite genome of negative or ambisense polarity. The M segment contains five in-frame AUG codons that are alternatively used for the synthesis of two major structural glycoproteins, GN and GC, and at least two accessory proteins, NSm, a 14-kDa cytosolic protein, and P78/NSm-GN, a 78-kDa glycoprotein. To determine the relative contribution of P78 and NSm to RVFV infectivity, AUG codons were knocked out to generate mutant viruses expressing various sets of the M-encoded proteins. We found that, in the absence of the second AUG codon used to express NSm, a 13-kDa protein corresponding to an N-terminally truncated form of NSm, named NSm', was synthesized from AUG 3. None of the individual accessory proteins had any significant impact on RVFV virulence in mice. However, a mutant virus lacking both NSm and NSm' was strongly attenuated in mice and grew to reduced titers in murine macrophages, a major target cell type of RVFV. In contrast, P78 was not associated with reduced viral virulence in mice, yet it appeared as a major determinant of virus dissemination in mosquitoes. This study demonstrates how related accessory proteins differentially contribute to RVFV propagation in mammalian and arthropod hosts
Oral health care for children attending a malnutrition clinic in South Africa
Most health problems dealt with at a primary care level have an oral health impact, making it vital for oral health services to find means to integrate with other facility-based programmes at primary health care (PHC) centres. Aim: 1) To determine the oral status of the children attending a facility-based nutrition programme and the oral health knowledge, attitude and practices of their parents â caregivers; and 2) To develop a framework for an oral health component to complement this programme
Gene expression profiling in genetic animal models of provide elements to unveil the molecular mechanisms underlying epileptogenesis in rodents
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to characterize and compare the genetic profile of two rodent models of epilepsy (Wistar Audiogenic Rat - WAR and rats with generalized epilepsy with absence seizures-GEAS) using gene expression analysis METHODS: We used microarray technology for gene expression analysis. RESULTS: The analysis of gene expression profiles in WAR showed among genes up-regulated Neurod1, involved in the development of the cochlear duct. In addition, we found significant differences in gene expression of Apbb1, Foxg1 and Scn1A. GEAS rats had differentially expressed genes related to the development of central nervous system, as well as genes involved in the MAPK pathway, transcription factors, neuronal migration and apoptosis. CONCLUSION: This study may help to clarify the underlying molecular mechanism that leads to the predisposition to seizures in these animals. Our results indicate the activation of distinct molecular pathways in both models.OBJETIVO: O objetivo desse trabalho foi caracterizar e comparar o perfil genĂ©tico de dois modelos de epilepsia em roedores (Wistar Audiogenic Rat - WAR e generalized epilepsy with absence seizures - GEAS) atravĂ©s da anĂĄlise da expressĂŁo gĂȘnica em larga escala. MĂTODOS: Para a anĂĄlise do perfil de expressĂŁo gĂȘnica foi utilizada a tĂ©cnica de microarranjos de DNA (microarray). RESULTADOS: Na linhagem WAR a anĂĄlise do perfil de expressĂŁo mostrou que dentro os genes mais hiperexpressos estĂĄ o Neurod1, envolvido com o desenvolvimento do ducto coclear. AlĂ©m desse encontramos tambĂ©m diferenças significativas na expressĂŁo dos genes Apbb1, Foxg1 e Scn1A. JĂĄ nos animais GEAS os genes com maior expressĂŁo diferencial foram Ă queles relacionados com o desenvolvimento do sistema nervoso central, alĂ©m de genes envolvidos com a via da MAPK, fatores de transcrição, migração neuronal e apoptose. CONCLUSĂO: Esta anĂĄlise pode ajudar a esclarecer o mecanismo molecular subjacente que leva a predisposição a crises nesses animais. AtĂ© o momento, nossos resultados apontam para a ativação de vias moleculares distintas em ambos os modelos.505
HBV-associated intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma with high serum alpha-fetoprotein: a case report with review of literature
A SEARCH for AN OPTICAL COUNTERPART to the GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE EVENT GW151226
We present a search for an electromagnetic counterpart of the gravitational-wave source GW151226. Using the Pan-STARRS1 telescope we mapped out 290 square degrees in the optical filter, starting 11.5 hr after the LIGO information release and lasting for an additional 28 days. The first observations started 49.5 hr after the time of the GW151226 detection. We typically reached sensitivity limits of = 20.3â20.8 and covered 26.5% of the LIGO probability skymap. We supplemented this with ATLAS survey data, reaching 31% of the probability region to shallower depths of 19. We found 49 extragalactic transients (that are not obviously active galactic nuclei), including a faint transient in a galaxy at 7 Mpc (a luminous blue variable outburst) plus a rapidly decaying M-dwarf flare. Spectral classification of 20 other transient events showed them all to be supernovae. We found an unusual transient, PS15dpn, with an explosion date temporally coincident with GW151226, that evolved into a type Ibn supernova. The redshift of the transient is secure at = 0.1747 ± 0.0001 and we find it unlikely to be linked, since the luminosity distance has a negligible probability of being consistent with that of GW151226. In the 290 square degrees surveyed we therefore do not find a likely counterpart. However we show that our survey strategy would be sensitive to NSâNS mergers producing kilonovae at 100 Mpc, which is promising for future LIGO/Virgo searches.NASA (Grant IDs: NNX08AR22G, NNX12AR65G, NNX14AM74G, NNX12AR55G), EU/FP7-ERC (Grant IDs: 291222, 307260, 320360, 615929), a Weizmann-UK Making Connections Grant, STFC (Ernest Rutherford Fellowship), Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Sofia Kovalevskaja Award), National Science Foundation (Grant ID: AST-1238877)This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Institute of Physics Publishing via http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/2041-8205/827/2/L4
Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector
The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets
containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass
energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The
measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1.
The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary
decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from
the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is
used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive
b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the
range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet
cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the
range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets
and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are
compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed
between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG +
Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet
cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive
cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse
momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final
version published in European Physical Journal
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