Danish Aid Policy:Theory and Empirical Evidence

This paper is a study of Danish aid policy from the early 1960s to 1995. It includes (i) a review of officially stated aims and criteria, (ii) a descriptive analysis of actual behaviour in international comparative perspective, (iii) a review of the theoretical and empirical aid allocation literature, and (iv) a series of panel data regressions to further explore how Danish bilateral aid was, in actual fact, distributed country-by-country. A theoretical model explaining how the allocation process took place is also formulated. It underpins the empirical analysis from which it transpires that a two step model is a useful way of analysing Danish aid allocations. The first step is whether to select a country or not, and the second involves the decision of how much aid to commit. The empirical analysis demonstrates that Danish aid has been guided in both steps by officially stated aims and criteria in an expected and statistically significant manner although a clear Eastern and Southern Africa bias was found. Another general result is that the relative weights of the explanatory variables have varied both from year-to-year and between sub-periods

Climate Change and invasibility of the Antarctic benthos

Benthic communities living in shallow-shelf habitats in Antarctica (<100-m depth) are archaic in their structure and function. Modern predators, including fast-moving, durophagous (skeleton-crushing) bony fish, sharks, and crabs, are rare or absent; slow-moving invertebrates are the top predators; and epifaunal suspension feeders dominate many soft substratum communities. Cooling temperatures beginning in the late Eocene excluded durophagous predators, ultimately resulting in the endemic living fauna and its unique food-web structure. Although the Southern Ocean is oceanographically isolated, the barriers to biological invasion are primarily physiological rather than geographic. Cold temperatures impose limits to performance that exclude modern predators. Global warming is now removing those physiological barriers, and crabs are reinvading Antarctica. As sea temperatures continue to rise, the invasion of durophagous predators will modernize the shelf benthos and erode the indigenous character of marine life in Antarctica

Evidence for the Mitochondrial Lactate Oxidation Complex in Rat Neurons: Demonstration of an Essential Component of Brain Lactate Shuttles

To evaluate the presence of components of a putative Intracellular Lactate Shuttle (ILS) in neurons, we attempted to determine if monocarboxylate (e.g. lactate) transporter isoforms (MCT1 and -2) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) are coexpressed in neuronal mitochondria of rat brains. Immunohistochemical analyses of rat brain cross-sections showed MCT1, MCT2, and LDH to colocalize with the mitochondrial inner membrane marker cytochrome oxidase (COX) in cortical, hippocampal, and thalamic neurons. Immunoblotting after immunoprecipitation (IP) of mitochondria from brain homogenates supported the histochemical observations by demonstrating that COX coprecipitated MCT1, MCT2, and LDH. Additionally, using primary cultures from rat cortex and hippocampus as well as immunohistochemistry and immunocoprecipitation techniques, we demonstrated that MCT2 and LDH are coexpressed in mitochondria of cultured neurons. These findings can be interpreted to mean that, as in skeletal muscle, neurons contain a mitochondrial lactate oxidation complex (mLOC) that has the potential to facilitate both intracellular and cell-cell lactate shuttles in brain

Persistence of the immune response induced by BCG vaccination.

BACKGROUND: Although BCG vaccination is recommended in most countries of the world, little is known of the persistence of BCG-induced immune responses. As novel TB vaccines may be given to boost the immunity induced by neonatal BCG vaccination, evidence concerning the persistence of the BCG vaccine-induced response would help inform decisions about when such boosting would be most effective. METHODS: A randomised control study of UK adolescents was carried out to investigate persistence of BCG immune responses. Adolescents were tested for interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis purified protein derivative (M.tb PPD) in a whole blood assay before, 3 months, 12 months (n = 148) and 3 years (n = 19) after receiving teenage BCG vaccination or 14 years after receiving infant BCG vaccination (n = 16). RESULTS: A gradual reduction in magnitude of response was evident from 3 months to 1 year and from 1 year to 3 years following teenage vaccination, but responses 3 years after vaccination were still on average 6 times higher than before vaccination among vaccinees. Some individuals (11/86; 13%) failed to make a detectable antigen-specific response three months after vaccination, or lost the response after 1 (11/86; 13%) or 3 (3/19; 16%) years. IFN-gamma response to Ag85 was measured in a subgroup of adolescents and appeared to be better maintained with no decline from 3 to 12 months. A smaller group of adolescents were tested 14 years after receiving infant BCG vaccination and 13/16 (81%) made a detectable IFN-gamma response to M.tb PPD 14 years after infant vaccination as compared to 6/16 (38%) matched unvaccinated controls (p = 0.012); teenagers vaccinated in infancy were 19 times more likely to make an IFN-gamma response of > 500 pg/ml than unvaccinated teenagers. CONCLUSION: BCG vaccination in infancy and adolescence induces immunological memory to mycobacterial antigens that is still present and measurable for at least 14 years in the majority of vaccinees, although the magnitude of the peripheral blood response wanes from 3 months to 12 months and from 12 months to 3 years post vaccination. The data presented here suggest that because of such waning in the response there may be scope for boosting anti-tuberculous immunity in BCG vaccinated children anytime from 3 months post-vaccination. This supports the prime boost strategies being employed for some new TB vaccines currently under development

Analysis service on student satisfaction with motivation as moderating variable

Purpose: The main aim of this study is to examine the influence of service quality (HEdPERF Model) on student satisfaction with motivation as moderating variable. Design/Methodology/Approach: The sample consists of 210 non-traditional students from the post graduate program of Mercu Buana University Jakarta, from 6 Master's degree programs. The technique of data analysis used to test the hypotheses models were Structural Equation Model (SEM) with Linear Structural Model (LISREL) version 8.80. Findings: The result of all hypotheses testing showed the empirical data to be fitted quite well. The structural relationship between the variables may be summarized as follows: (1) There is a positive and significant influence of academic aspect on student satisfaction with motivation as moderating variable; (2) There is no influence of non-academic aspect on student satisfaction with motivation as moderating variable; (3) There is a positive and significant influence of access on student satisfaction with motivation as moderating variable; (4) There is a positive and significant influence of program issue on student satisfaction with motivation as moderating variable; (5) There is no influence of reputation on student satisfaction with motivation as moderating variable. Practical implications: Since the academic aspect, non-academic aspect, access, program issue, reputation and motivation simultaneously influence student satisfaction the results of the study can be used accordingly. Originality/Value: The article proposed certain issues for the universities to improve programs such as quality, variability, structure, delivery of teaching and flexibility of time.peer-reviewe

Optic Flow Stimuli in and Near the Visual Field Centre: A Group fMRI Study of Motion Sensitive Regions

Motion stimuli in one visual hemifield activate human primary visual areas of the contralateral side, but suppress activity of the corresponding ipsilateral regions. While hemifield motion is rare in everyday life, motion in both hemifields occurs regularly whenever we move. Consequently, during motion primary visual regions should simultaneously receive excitatory and inhibitory inputs. A comparison of primary and higher visual cortex activations induced by bilateral and unilateral motion stimuli is missing up to now. Many motion studies focused on the MT+ complex in the parieto-occipito-temporal cortex. In single human subjects MT+ has been subdivided in area MT, which was activated by motion stimuli in the contralateral visual field, and area MST, which responded to motion in both the contra- and ipsilateral field. In this study we investigated the cortical activation when excitatory and inhibitory inputs interfere with each other in primary visual regions and we present for the first time group results of the MT+ subregions, allowing for comparisons with the group results of other motion processing studies. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated whole brain activations in a large group of healthy humans by applying optic flow stimuli in and near the visual field centre and performed a second level analysis. Primary visual areas were activated exclusively by motion in the contralateral field but to our surprise not by central flow fields. Inhibitory inputs to primary visual regions appear to cancel simultaneously occurring excitatory inputs during central flow field stimulation. Within MT+ we identified two subregions. Putative area MST (pMST) was activated by ipsi- and contralateral stimulation and located in the anterior part of MT+. The second subregion was located in the more posterior part of MT+ (putative area MT, pMT)

The Changes of Nutrition Labeling of Packaged Food in Hangzhou in China during 2008∼2010

OBJECTIVE: To understand the changes of the nutrition labeling of packaged food in China two years after the promulgation of the Regulation for Food Nutrition Labeling, which encourages food manufacturers to identify nutrition labeling. METHODS: Investigators copied out the nutrition information panel, nutrition claim and nutrient function claim of packaged food in a supermarket with prepared questionnaire and finished normative judgment in 2008 and 2010. RESULTS: 4693 and 5526 kinds of packaged food were investigated separately. Nutrition information panel, nutrition claim and nutrient function claim were found on the food label of 27.6%, 13.0% and 1.9% of packaged food respectively in 2008, while 35.1%, 7.7% and 2.3% in 2010. The nutrition information panel which labeled energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate and sodium was 597 (43.8%) and 1661 (85.9%) in 2008 and 2010, only 134 (9.8%) and 985 (51.0%) nutrition information panel were totally normalized. Nutrition claim and nutrient function claim focused on vitamin, mineral and dietary fiber. The total qualified proportions for nutrition claim were increased significantly for most of the nutrients, except for cholesterol. There were 6 (6.4%) and 5 (3.9%) nutrient function claims with hinting of therapeutic effects on diseases separately. CONCLUSION: Although the voluntary regulation remarkably improved the level of normalization for nutrition labeling, its role on the prevalence was minus. It's imperative to enforce nutrition labeling for not only China but also other countries, and furthermore, health education on nutrition labeling should be initiated to support the policy

Study of Zγ events and limits on anomalous ZZγ and Zγγ couplings in pp̄ collisions at s=1.96TeV

We present a measurement of the Zγ production cross section and limits on anomalous ZZγ and Zγγ couplings for form-factor scales of Λ=750 and 1000 GeV. The measurement is based on 138 (152) candidates in the eeγ (μμγ) final state using 320(290)pb-1 of pp̄ collisions at s=1.96TeV. The 95% C.L. limits on real and imaginary parts of individual anomalous couplings are |h10,30Z|<0.23, |h20,40Z|<0.020, |h10,30γ|<0.23, and |h20,40γ|<0.019 for Λ=1000GeV. © 2005 The American Physical Society