LOCATION-SPECIFIC MODELING FOR OPTIMIZING WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT ON CROP FARMS

In order to guide conservation and restoration of wildlife in agricultural areas research is needed into the trade-off between wildlife and agricultural production and income. This study presents a location specific model for optimizing wildlife management on crop farms using the integer programming technique. Available data and indicators of wildlife production are presented. Furthermore, time and location aspects of wildlife management are discussed. The model is applied to crop farming in the Netherlands. Most important model outcome is a wildlife-cost frontier at the farm level. Model outcomes show that rotating wildlife conservation practices across the farm is economically more attractive than fixed-location practices. Opportunities for use of the insights provided by model results by both policy makers and farmers are analyzed.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

A Drosophila Mitochondrial Complex I Deficiency Phenotype Array

Mitochondrial diseases are a group of rare life-threatening diseases often caused by defects in the oxidative phosphorylation system. No effective treatment is available for these disorders. Therapeutic development is hampered by the high heterogeneity in genetic, biochemical, and clinical spectra of mitochondrial diseases and by limited preclinical resources to screen and identify effective treatment candidates. Alternative models of the pathology are essential to better understand mitochondrial diseases and to accelerate the development of new therapeutics. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a cost- and time-efficient model that can recapitulate a wide range of phenotypes observed in patients suffering from mitochondrial disorders. We targeted three important subunits of complex I of the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation system with the flexible UAS-Gal4 system and RNA interference (RNAi): NDUFS4 (ND-18), NDUFS7 (ND-20), and NDUFV1 (ND-51). Using two ubiquitous driver lines at two temperatures, we established a collection of phenotypes relevant to complex I deficiencies. Our data offer models and phenotypes with different levels of severity that can be used for future therapeutic screenings. These include qualitative phenotypes that are amenable to high-throughput drug screening and quantitative phenotypes that require more resources but are likely to have increased potential and sensitivity to show modulation by drug treatment

A Genetic Polymorphism (rs17251221) in the Calcium-Sensing Receptor Gene (CASR) Is Associated with Stone Multiplicity in Calcium Nephrolithiasis

Calcium nephrolithiasis is one of the most common causes of renal stones. While the prevalence of this disease has increased steadily over the last 3 decades, its pathogenesis is still unclear. Previous studies have indicated that a genetic polymorphism (rs17251221) in the calcium-sensing receptor gene (CASR) is associated with the total serum calcium levels. In this study, we collected DNA samples from 480 Taiwanese subjects (189 calcium nephrolithiasis patients and 291 controls) for genotyping the CASR gene. Our results indicated no significant association between the CASR polymorphism (rs17251221) and the susceptibility of calcium nephrolithiasis. However, we found a significant association between rs17251221 and stone multiplicity. The risk of stone multiplicity was higher in patients with the GG+GA genotype than in those with the AA genotype (chi-square test:P = 0.008;odds ratio  =  4.79;95% confidence interval, 1.44–15.92;Yates' correction for chi-square test:P = 0.013). In conclusion, our results provide evidence supporting the genetic effects of CASR on the pathogenesis of calcium nephrolithiasis

Regional identities in Europe: The position of lesser used languages in the educational systems of the European Union

Mercator-Education focuses on the position of lesser used languages throughout the educational systems of the European Union. Examples of lesser used languages include Catalan in Spain, Frisian in the Netherlands, Scottish-Gaelic in the U.K. and German in France. The Mercator-Education Centre in Ljouwert/Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, coordinates a network of institutes, each of which represents a European language community. One of its main activities has consisted in conducting comparative inventories on several levels of education, such as pre-school education, primary education and teacher training. The current article provides an overview of the working method of Mercator-Education, presents preliminary results of the comparative studies undertaken so far and attempts to contribute to the development of an explanatory theory of the position of lesser used languages in European educational systems. Special reference is made to how the use of minority languages in education relates to regional identity. (DIPF/Orig.)Mercator-Education befaßt sich mit der Stellung der weniger gebrauchten Sprachen in den Bildungssystemen der Europäischen Union. Beispiele für weniger gebrauchte Sprachen schließen Katalanisch in Spanien, Gälisch im Vereinigten Königreich und Deutsch in Frankreich ein. Das Mercator- Education Centre in Ljouwert/Leeuwarden (Niederlande) koordiniert ein Netzwerk von Instituten, von denen jedes eine europäische Sprachgemeinschaft repräsentiert. Eine seiner Hauptaktivitäten besteht darin, vergleichende Studien auf verschiedenen Stufen des Bildungswesens durchzuführen, wie z.B in der Vorschulerziehung, der Primarbildung und der Lehrerbildung. Der vorliegende Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über die Arbeitsmethode von Mercator-Education, präsentiert vorläufige Ergebnisse der bisherigen Vergleichsuntersuchungen und versucht, zur Entwicklung einer erklärenden Theorie der Position von weniger gebrauchten Sprachen in europäischen Bildungssystemen beizutragen. Speziell wird darauf eingegangen, wie der Gebrauch von Minderheitensprachen im Bildungswesen zur regionalen Identität in Beziehung steht. (DIPF/Übersetzung des engl. Abstracts

Knowledge of the traveller: case study research and the problem of generalisability

One of the rationales behind international comparative research in education is the idea that a country may be able to learn from other educational systems, policies and practices. In order for that to happen, we need both general theories of educational development and insight in how particular systems function. Most of the work in comparative and international education has in fact been the study of one specific system or pheneomenon. The methodologiocal frameworks of comparative education have valued such case studies diverse. In this paper two principal definitions of case study research are distinguished: an ethnographic definition and a non-ethnographic definition.It is shown that in particular the latter offers the possibility to generalise from individual cases. As comparative educationists we should travel between the general and the particular. Such a journey would result in the kind of \u27general\u27 and \u27particular\u27 knowledge much needed in comparative and international education. (DIPF/orig.

Text Quality : Three Paths in Experimental Research

Renkema Jan. Text Quality : Three Paths in Experimental Research. In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 69, fasc. 3, 1991. Langues et littératures modernes — Moderne taal- en letterkunde. pp. 618-628