INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY PATTERNS

In this paper we present measures of land and labor productivity for a group of 98 developed and developing countries using an entirely new data set with annual observations spanning the past three decades. The substantial cross-country and intertemporal variation in productivity in our sample is linked to both natural and economic factors. We extend previous work by dealing with multiple sources of measurement error in conventional agricultural inputs when accounting for observed differences in productivity. In addition to the mix of conventional inputs in agriculture, we find that indicators of quality change in these inputs and the amount of publicly provided infrastructure are significant in explaining cross-sectional differences in productivity patterns.Productivity Analysis,

Systolic blood pressure reactions to acute stress are associated with future hypertension status in the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort Study

These analyses examined the association between blood pressure reactions to acute psychological stress and subsequent hypertension status in a substantial Dutch cohort. Blood pressure was recorded during a resting baseline and during three acute stress tasks, Stroop colour word, mirror tracing and speech. Five years later, diagnosed hypertension status was determined by questionnaire. Participants were 453 (237 women) members of the Dutch Famine Birth Cohort. In analysis adjusting for a number of potential confounders, systolic blood pressure reactivity was positively related to future hypertension. This was the case irrespective of whether reactivity was calculated as the peak or the average response to the stress tasks. The association was strongest for reactions to the speech and Stroop tasks. Diastolic blood pressure reactivity was not significantly associated with hypertension. The results provide support for the reactivity hypothesis. \ud \u

HerMES: point source catalogues from Herschel-SPIRE observations II

Key Programme on the Herschel Space Observatory. With a wedding cake survey strategy, it consists of nested fields with varying depth and area totalling ∼380 deg2. In this paper, we present deep point source catalogues extracted from Herschel-Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) observations of all HerMES fields, except for the later addition of the 270 deg2 HerMES Large-Mode Survey (HeLMS) field. These catalogues constitute the second Data Release (DR2) made in 2013 October. A sub-set of these catalogues, which consists of bright sources extracted from Herschel-SPIRE observations completed by 2010 May 1 (covering ∼74 deg2) were released earlier in the first extensive data release in 2012 March. Two different methods are used to generate the point source catalogues, the SUSSEXTRACTOR point source extractor used in two earlier data releases (EDR and EDR2) and a new source detection and photometry method. The latter combines an iterative source detection algorithm, STARFINDER, and a De-blended SPIRE Photometry algorithm. We use end-to-end Herschel-SPIRE simulations with realistic number counts and clustering properties to characterize basic properties of the point source catalogues, such as the completeness, reliability, photometric and positional accuracy. Over 500 000 catalogue entries in HerMES fields (except HeLMS) are released to the public through the HeDAM (Herschel Database in Marseille) website (http://hedam.lam.fr/HerMES)

A deep-dream virtual reality platform for studying altered perceptual phenomenology

Altered states of consciousness, such as psychotic or pharmacologically-induced hallucinations, provide a unique opportunity to examine the mechanisms underlying conscious perception. However, the phenomenological properties of these states are difficult to isolate experimentally from other, more general physiological and cognitive 36 effects of psychoactive substances or psychopathological conditions. Thus, simulating phenomenological aspects of altered states in the absence of these other more general effects provides an important experimental tool for consciousness science and psychiatry. Here we describe such a tool, which we call the Hallucination Machine. It comprises a novel combination of two powerful technologies: deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) and panoramic videos of natural scenes, viewed immersively through a head-mounted display (panoramic VR). By doing this, we are able to simulate visual hallucinatory experiences in a biologically plausible and ecologically valid way. Two experiments illustrate potential applications of the Hallucination Machine. First, we show that the system induces visual phenomenology qualitatively similar to classical psychedelics. In a second experiment, we find that simulated hallucinations do not evoke the temporal distortion commonly associated with altered states. Overall, the Hallucination Machine offers a valuable new technique for simulating altered phenomenology without directly altering the underlying neurophysiology

Which factors play a role in the decision of mothers to participate in child follow-up examinations after participation in an RCT?:a semi-quantitative study

OBJECTIVES: To determine which factors contribute to the decision of mothers to participate with their child in follow-up (FU) examinations after participation in a randomised controlled trial (RCT) prior to conception. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey, including Likert-scale items. Comparisons will be made between respondents who participated in all FU rounds of data collection and those who did not participate in any FU round with their child. PARTICIPANTS: Women who participated in an RCT investigating the effect of a preconception lifestyle intervention (LIFEstyle study: Netherlands Trial Register: NTR1530) were invited to participate with their child in three FU data collections when the child had a mean age of 4.2 years, 4.6 years and 6.5 years, respectively. FU rounds included a health questionnaire, physical examination and cardiac assessment, successively. RESULTS: Sixty-seven respondents were included, of whom 7 (10%) did not participate in any FU round and 24 (36%) participated in all FU rounds. Women who participated with their child in all 3 FU data collection rounds felt more involved in the FU research (95.8%) and agreed more often that the FU was introduced well (91.7%) as compared with women that did not participate in any FU data collection round with their child (14.3% and 28.6%, respectively). Participants of FU rounds more often agreed that participation felt like a health check for their child as compared with non-participants. In addition, participants of the physical examination and cardiac assessment more often let their decision to participate depend fully on their child, as compared with non-participants (39.4% vs 17.7% and 52.5% vs 24%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: To increase participation rates in future FU studies of children after maternal participation in an RCT, we suggest to involve women in the design of the FU study, to emphasise possible perceived benefits of participation and to encourage women to actively involve their child in the decision of participation

Linking the X-ray and infrared properties of star-forming galaxies at z < 1.5

We present the most complete study to date of the X-ray emission from star formation in high-redshift (median z = 0.7; z −3 in both hard and soft X-ray bands. From the sources which are star formation dominated, only a small fraction are individually X-ray detected and for the bulk of the sample we calculate average X-ray luminosities through stacking. We find an average soft X-ray to infrared ratio of log ?L SX /L IR ? = −4.3 and an average hard X-ray to infrared ratio of log?L HX /L IR ?=−3.8.WereportthattheX-ray/IRcorrelationisapproximatelylinearthrough the entire range of L IR and z probed and, although broadly consistent with the local (z < 0.1) one, it does display some discrepancies. We suggest that these discrepancies are unlikely to be physical, i.e. due to an intrinsic change in the X-ray properties of star-forming galaxies with cosmic time, as there is no significant evidence for evolution of the L X /L IR ratio with redshift. Instead, they are possibly due to selection effects and remaining AGN contamination. We also examine whether dust obscuration in the galaxy plays a role in attenuating X-rays from star formation, by investigating changes in the L X /L IR ratio as a function of the average dust temperature. We conclude that X-rays do not suffer any measurable attenuation in the host galaxy

Hypothermic in situ perfusion of the porcine liver using Celsior or Ringer-lactate solution

BACKGROUND: Hypothermic perfusion (HP) of the liver is applied during total vascular exclusion (TVE) to reduce ischemic injury during liver resection. No studies have been performed comparing different perfusion solutions for HP. The aim of this experimental study was to compare Ringer-lactate solution (RL) with Celsior solution (Cs) for HP in a pig model of 60-min TVE. METHOD: Twenty pigs underwent 60-min TVE of the liver. Groups were TVE without HP (no-HP, n = 9), TVE with HP using RL (n = 6), and TVE with HP using Cs (n = 5). Blood and liver tissue samples were taken before TVE and during 24-h reperfusion. RESULTS: In the no-HP group, plasma aspartate aminotransferase values were significantly increased during reperfusion (p <0.05), while liver tissue pO(2) levels (p <0.01) were decreased when compared to the HP groups. After 24-h reperfusion, bile production and liver tissue glutathione content were significantly higher (p <0.05) in the Cs group (42.0 +/- 1.7 mL/h and 44.9 +/- 2.2 nmol/mg, respectively) as compared to the RL group (31.5 +/- 3.5 mL/h and 19.6 +/- 1.8 nmol/mg, respectively). CONCLUSION: The protective effect of HP during TVE was confirmed in this study. HP with Cs was more effective in reducing ischemic injury as compared to HP with R

Herschel Multitiered Extragalactic Survey: clusters of dusty galaxies uncovered by Herschel and Planck

The potential for Planck to detect clusters of dusty, star-forming galaxies at z > 1 is tested by examining the Herschel-SPIRE images of Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalog sources lying in fields observed by the Herschel Multitiered Extragalactic Survey. Of the 16 Planck sources that lie in the ∼90 sq. deg. examined, we find that 12 are associated with single bright Herschel sources. The remaining four are associated with overdensities of Herschel sources, making them candidate clusters of dusty, star-forming galaxies. We use complementary optical/near-IR data for these ‘clumps’ to test this idea, and find evidence for the presence of galaxy clusters in all four cases. We use photometric redshifts and red sequence galaxies to estimate the redshifts of these clusters, finding that they range from 0.8 to 2.3. These redshifts imply that the Herschel sources in these clusters, which contribute to the detected Planck flux, are forming stars very rapidly, with typical total cluster star formation rates >1000M ? yr −1 . The high-redshift clusters discovered in these observations are used to constrain the epoch of cluster galaxy formation, finding that the galaxies in our clusters are 1–1.5 Gyr old at z ∼ 1–2. Prospects for the discovery of further clusters of dusty galaxies are discussed, using not only all sky Planck surveys, but also deeper, smaller area, Herschel surveys

The far-infrared/radio correlation and radio spectral index of galaxies in the SFR-M* plane up to z 2

[Abridged] We study the evolution of the radio spectral index and far-infrared/radio correlation (FRC) across the star-formation rate-stellar masse (i.e. SFR-M*) plane up to z 2. We start from a M*-selected sample of galaxies with reliable SFR and redshift estimates. We then grid the SFR-M* plane in several redshift ranges and measure the infrared luminosity, radio luminosity, radio spectral index, and ultimately the FRC index (i.e. qFIR) of each SFR-M*-z bin. The infrared luminosities of our SFR-M*-z bins are estimated using their stacked far-infrared flux densities inferred from observations obtained with Herschel. Their radio luminosities and radio spectral indices (i.e. alpha, where Snu nu^-alpha) are estimated using their stacked 1.4GHz and 610MHz flux densities from the VLA and GMRT, respectively. Our far-infrared and radio observations include the most widely studied blank extragalactic fields -GOODS-N/S, ECDFS, and COSMOS- covering a sky area of 2deg^2. Using this methodology, we constrain the radio spectral index and FRC index of star-forming galaxies with M*>10^10Msun and 0<z<2.3. We find that alpha^1.4GHz_610MHz does not evolve significantly with redshift or with the distance of a galaxy with respect to the main sequence (MS) of the SFR-M* plane (i.e. Delta_log(SSFR)_MS=log[SSFR(galaxy)/SSFR_MS(M*,z)]). Instead, star-forming galaxies have a radio spectral index consistent with a canonical value of 0.8, which suggests that their radio spectra are dominated by non-thermal optically thin synchrotron emission. We find that qFIR displays a moderate but statistically significant redshift evolution as qFIR(z)=(2.35+/-0.08)*(1+z)^(-0.12+/-0.04), consistent with some previous literature. Finally, we find no significant correlation between qFIR and Delta_log(SSFR)_MS, though a weak positive trend, as observed in one of our redshift bins, cannot be firmly ruled out using our dataset.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A; 18 pages, 10 figure