Direct Payment Measures, competitiveness, farm and rural area viability.

End of Project ReportDirect payments are recurring non-market transfers to farmers whether they are production related or not. There are three main types: (a) compensatory allowances (headage), (b) premia and (c) agri-environmental payments. In 1998 total payments amounted to £967.3 million, up from £158.4 million in 1992. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of these payments in maintaining farm units, their implications for farm efficiency and competitiveness and their impact on sustaining viable farm units and rural areas. Data from the National Farm Survey shows the average level of payment was £6,670 in 1997 but varied substantially by farm size. For instance, farms over 100 ha on average received £28,207 in contrast with £3,305 for farms between 10 and 20 ha. Similarly, the distribution of payments by different farm systems shows considerable variation with tillage farmers receiving £15,760 and cattle farms receiving less than £6,000. The most significant feature, however, is the extent of the dependency of farm incomes on direct payments. For instance, on tillage and drystock farms these payments represented close to, or even exceeded the family farm income earned. This means that the income from sales are just about sufficient to cover the costs of production; the cheque in the post being the farm income. Without direct payments large segments of the farm population would operate at a loss; a situation which obviously could not be sustained. The impact of direct payments on farm efficiency and competitiveness is not so clear cut. Analysis of 1996 NFS data shows that the response on cattle farms to increased levels of direct payments was to reduce farm output. However, in terms of farm practice the dominant response was to increase stock numbers and farm inputs, such as feed and fertiliser. This latter response can be taken as adjustments to ensure sufficient stock numbers to maximise the level of payments and not necessarily a contradiction of reduced output responses. For instance the dominant anticipated response to a decoupled payment system is a reduction in farm inputs and stock numbers, a response associated with the more progressive sector of farmers. Notwithstanding the present level of these payments it is clear that the viability of farm units on most small to medium-sized drystock farms can not be assured in a farm context only. Increasingly farmers and their spouses are opting for off-farm employment to supplement their household incomes and to sustain the viability of the family farm unit. Ultimately the optimum use of family labour which is marginal or surplus to farm activities, is deployment off the farm; this clearly has a positive influence on the viability of rural areas

The Impact of Direct Payments on Farm Income Distribution.

End of Project ReportThe switch in emphasis from market support systems in the 1992 CAP reform toward direct payments resulted in a dramatic increase in financial support terms, from £336.7 million in 1991 to £915.3 million in 1999 (current prices). The impact of this change in Irish agricultural policy was to increase substantially the dependency of farmers, with the exception of dairy farmers, on the ‘cheque in the post’ for a farm income. It is the impact of these changes on the distribution of farm income which is of concern in this study. In line with these policy changes the proportion of average family farm income derived from the market (as opposed to direct payments) decreased from 73.3 per cent in 1993 to 37.1 per cent in 1997. At the same time the corresponding proportions for direct payments increased from 26.7 per cent to 62.9 per cent. Analysis of the distribution of family farm income by deciles (based on FFI) and for all farms indicates a more equitable distribution of income between 1993 and 1997. This improvement in equity is attributed to the effects of direct payments on farm incomes. Analysis decomposing the individual effects of selected measures show that (i) the suckler cow premia, and (ii) the headage payments (Livestock headage payments in the Disadvantaged Areas) were the most effective measures in favouring income distribution equity. Cross compliance schemes (REPS and extensification) and the special beef premia had a more moderate effect in terms of equity while the arable aid payments contributed least to farm income equity. The market-derived income component had a high negative effect on equity of farm income distribution. The inclusion of a high proportion of dairy farmers among those with high farm incomes is a likely factor in this respect

Interaction of laser-cooled 87^{87}Rb atoms with higher order modes of an optical nanofiber

Optical nanofibres are used to confine light to subwavelength regions and are very promising tools for the development of optical fibre-based quantum networks using cold, neutral atoms. To date, experimental studies on atoms near nanofibres have focussed on fundamental fibre mode interactions. In this work, we demonstrate the integration of a few-mode optical nanofibre into a magneto-optical trap for $^{87}$Rb atoms. The nanofibre, with a waist diameter of $\sim$700 nm, supports both the fundamental and first group of higher order modes and is used for atomic fluorescence and absorption studies. In general, light propagating in higher order fibre modes has a greater evanescent field extension around the waist in comparison with the fundamental mode. By exploiting this behaviour, we demonstrate that the detected signal of fluorescent photons emitted from a cloud of cold atoms centred at the nanofibre waist is larger ($\sim$6 times) when higher order guided modes are considered as compared to the fundamental mode. Absorption of on-resonance, higher order mode probe light by the laser-cooled atoms is also observed. These advances should facilitate the realisation of atom trapping schemes based on higher order mode interference.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure

Individualised pelvic floor muscle training in women with pelvic organ prolapse: a multicentre randomised controlled trial

<br>Background: Pelvic organ prolapse is common and is strongly associated with childbirth and increasing age. Women with prolapsed are often advised to do pelvic floor muscle exercises, but supporting evidence is limited. Our aim was to establish if one-to-one individualised pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is effective in reducing prolapse symptoms.</br> <br>Methods: A parallel‐group multicentre randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN35911035) in female outpatients with newly-diagnosed, symptomatic stage I, II or III prolapse, comparing five PFMT appointments over 16 weeks (n=225) versus a lifestyle advice leaflet (n=222). Treatment allocation was by remote computer allocation using minimisation. Our primary endpoint was participants’ self-report of prolapsed symptoms at 12 months. Group assignment was masked from outcome assessors. We compared outcomes between trial groups in an intention-to-treat analysis. The cost of PFMT and savings on subsequent treatments were calculated to estimate cost-effectiveness.</br> <br>Findings: Compared to the control group, the intervention group reported fewer prolapse symptoms at 12 months (mean difference between groups in change score 1.52, 95% CI [0.46, 2.59], p=0.0053); reported their prolapse to be “better” more often (57.2% versus 44.7%, difference 12.6%, 95% CI [1.1%, 24.1%], p=0.0336); and had an increased but non-significant odds of having less severe stage of prolapse at their 6-month clinical examination, (OR 1.47, 95% CI [0.97, 2.27], p=0.07). The control group had a greater uptake of other prolapse treatment (49.6% versus 24.1%, difference 25.5%, 95% CI [14.5%, 36.0%], p <0.0001). Findings were robust to missing data. The net cost of the 25 intervention was £131.61 per woman and the cost per one-point reduction in the symptom score was £86.59, 95% CI [£50.81, £286.11]. </br&gt

Spectroscopy, Manipulation and Trapping of Neutral Atoms, Molecules, and Other Particles using Optical Nanofibers: A Review

The use of tapered optical fibers, i.e., optical nanofibers, for spectroscopy and the detection of small numbers of particles, such as neutral atoms or molecules, has been gaining ground in recent years. In this review, we briefly introduce the optical nanofiber, its fabrication and optical mode propagation within. We discuss recent progress on the integration of optical nanofibers into laser-cooled atom and vapor systems, paying particular attention to spectroscopy, cold atom cloud characterization and optical trapping schemes. Next, a natural extension on this work to molecules will be introduced. Finally, we consider several alternatives to optical nanofibers that display some advantages for particular applications.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figures, review articl

Diagnostic evaluation, monitoring, and perioperative management of spinal cord compression in patients with Morquio syndrome.

Abstract Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA is an autosomal recessive condition caused by mutations in the GALNS gene, which encodes N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfatase, also called galactosamine-6-sulfatase (GALNS). A reduction in or absence of effective GALNS leads to faulty catabolism of keratan sulfate and chondroitin-6-sulfate within the lysosome; their accumulation causes cell, tissue, and organ dysfunction. The connective tissue, cartilage, ligaments, and bone of patients with Morquio A syndrome are particularly affected. Patients with Morquio A syndrome are at high risk of neurological complications because of their skeletal abnormalities; many patients are in danger of cervical myelopathy due to odontoid hypoplasia and ligamentous laxity leading to atlantoaxial subluxation. The multisystemic involvement of patients with Morquio A syndrome requires treatment by multidisciplinary teams; not all members of these teams may be aware of the potential for subluxation and quadriparesis. A multinational, multidisciplinary panel of 10 skeletal dysplasia or Morquio A syndrome specialists convened in Miami, FL on December 7 and 8, 2012 to develop consensus recommendations for early identification and effective management of spinal cord compression, for anesthesia and surgical best practices, and for effectual cardiac and respiratory management in patients with Morquio A syndrome. The target audience for these recommendations includes any physician who may encounter a patient with Morquio A syndrome, however doctors who do not have access to the full spectrum of specialists and resources needed to support patients with Morquio A syndrome should attempt to refer patients to a center that does. Physicians who manage Morquio A syndrome or comorbid conditions within specialty centers should review these expert panel recommendations and fully understand the implications of spinal cord instability for their own practices

Neurodevelopmental outcome at 5 years of age after general anaesthesia or awake-regional anaesthesia in infancy (GAS)trial

Background: In laboratory animals, exposure to most general anaesthetics leads to neurotoxicity manifested by neuronal cell death and abnormal behaviour and cognition. Some large human cohort studies have shown an association between general anaesthesia at a young age and subsequent neurodevelopmental deficits, but these studies are prone to bias. Others have found no evidence for an association. We aimed to establish whether general anaesthesia in early infancy affects neurodevelopmental outcomes. Methods: In this international, assessor-masked, equivalence, randomised, controlled trial conducted at 28 hospitals in Australia, Italy, the USA, the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, and New Zealand, we recruited infants of less than 60 weeks' postmenstrual age who were born at more than 26 weeks