A village adoption project in Yunnan, China : sustainable micro-economy pilot : feasibility analysis of agricultural transition from tobacco to walnut planting

This report has been compiled to record and share our experiences and lessons learned from our walnut planting pilot program which is part of a micro-economy stream of our Village Adoption Project in Yunnan. The walnut planting pilot was initiated to assist the sustainability of the micro-economy of Gezhangla Village, Yunnan, by working with the community to evolve its agriculture and reduce its a dependency on tobacco. Jenny Chen, a student of Lingnan University, went to Yunnan for a preliminary study of the development of walnut planting program in Gezhangla Village from 30 December of 2012 to 5 January of 2013 and in the summer of 2013. Later, John Law, the Consultant of Strategy and Consulting of Deloitte China, also went to Yunnan with the service group from 15 to 18 September 2013 to follow up the project. During the trip, he also interviewed a number of farmers, school principals and teachers in the villages to collect more research data. This report was compiled in joint efforts by Deloitte China and Lingnan University, which combines the observations and findings of walnut trees planting obtained during the service trip, and summarizes the development and progress of walnut planting in Yunnan villages. The report provides an overview of the tobacco leaves planting in the related villages. Then it reviews the progress of walnut tree planting in Gezhangla and Yangjia villages, and Gezhangla Primary School, Wanyaoshu Primary School and Shilata Central Primary School, and reviews the opportunities and challenges faced by schools and villages in walnut tree planting. This report also tackles different challenges and provides suggestions, while the conclusion focuses on the overall feasibility of walnut planting in Yunnan villages.https://commons.ln.edu.hk/osl_book/1023/thumbnail.jp

Ethnicity and Race Variations in Receipt of Surgery among Veterans with and without Depression

To examine equity in one aspect of care provision in the Veterans Health Administration, this study analyzed factors associated with receipt of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), vascular, hip/knee, or digestive system surgeries during FY2006–2009. A random sample of patients (N = 317, 072) included 9% with depression, 17% African-American patients, 5% Hispanics, and 5% women. In the four-year followup, 18,334 patients (6%) experienced surgery: 3,109 hip/knee, 3,755 digestive, 1,899 CABG, and 11,330 vascular operations. Patients with preexisting depression were less likely to have surgery than nondepressed patients (4% versus 6%). In covariate-adjusted analyses, minority patients were slightly less likely to receive vascular operations compared to white patients (Hispanic OR = 0.88, P < .01; African-American OR = 0.93, P < .01) but more likely to undergo digestive system procedures. Some race-/ethnicity-related disparities of care for cardiovascular disease may persist for veterans using the VHA

中国云南山区服务研习计划 : 可持续的微观经济试点 : 从烟草到核桃种植农业转型的可行性分析

本报告的编制旨在纪录及分享从核桃种植试点计划所学习的经验和汲取的教训。核桃种植试点计划为中国云南山区服务研习计划中微观经济的一部份。 核桃种植试点计划的目的是协助发展云南格章拉村微观经济的持续性，透过与社区合作，逐步发展其农业，及减低对烟叶种植的依赖性。 岭南大学学生陈珍妮于2012 年12 月30 日至2013 年1 月5 日及2013 年暑假前往云南，并就当地核桃树的种植进行前期研究。及后，德勤中国企业管理咨询的顾问罗兆湝于2013 年9 月15 至18 日亦随团前往云南当地跟进有关项目，并在相关的农村及学校访问了多位农民、校长及教师以进行更深入的资料搜集。 此报告由德勤中国及岭南大学共同制作，集结两者在行程时对核桃树种植的观察及发现，并简述核桃树种植在云南农村的发展及进度。报告简介了相关农村的烟叶种植；探讨格章拉村、杨家村、格章拉小学、弯腰树小学及石腊它中心小学的核桃树种植进度，和反思学校及农村在种植核桃树时所遇到的机遇及挑战等。本报告针对性地就各项挑战提供了一些建议，并就在云南农村种植核桃树的整体可行性做出总结。https://commons.ln.edu.hk/osl_book/1022/thumbnail.jp

Sweet tooth reconsidered: Taste responsiveness in human obesity

Taste responses of normal-weight, obese, and formerly obese individuals for sucrose and fat containing stimuli were examined using a mathematical modelling technique known as the Response Surface Method. The subjects accurately rated intensities of sweetness, fatness, and creaminess of 20 different mixtures of milk, cream, and sugar, and no mixture phenomena or inter-group differences were observed. In contrast, hedonic taste responses varied across subject groups, and were affected differentially by the sucrose and lipid content of the stimuli. Normal-weight subjects optimally preferred stimuli containing 20% lipid and less than 10% sucrose. Obese subjects preferred high-fat stimuli (&gt;34% lipid) that contained less than 5% sucrose, while formerly obese subjects showed enhanced responsiveness to both sugar and fat. Hedonic responsiveness as measured by the optimal sugar/fat ratio was negatively correlated with the degree of overweight (body mass index: weight/height2). We hypothesize that sensory preferences for dietary sugars and fats are determined by body-weight status and may affect the patterns of food consumption.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25560/1/0000102.pd

Human Multidrug-Resistant Salmonella Newport Infections, Wisconsin, 2003–2005

We conducted a retrospective study of Salmonella Newport infections among Wisconsin residents during 2003–2005. Multidrug resistance prevalence was substantially greater in Wisconsin than elsewhere in the United States. Persons with multidrug-resistant infections were more likely than persons with susceptible infections to report exposure to cattle, farms, and unpasteurized milk

Report of the NIH Task Force on Research Standards for Chronic Low Back Pain

Despite rapidly increasing intervention, functional disability due to chronic low back pain (cLBP) has increased in recent decades. We often cannot identify mechanisms to explain the major negative impact cLBP has on patients’ lives. Such cLBP is often termed non-specific, and may be due to multiple biologic and behavioral etiologies. Researchers use varied inclusion criteria, definitions, baseline assessments, and outcome measures, which impede comparisons and consensus. The NIH Pain Consortium therefore charged a Research Task Force (RTF) to draft standards for research on cLBP. The resulting multidisciplinary panel recommended using 2 questions to define cLBP; classifying cLBP by its impact (defined by pain intensity, pain interference, and physical function); use of a minimal data set to describe research participants (drawing heavily on the PROMIS methodology); reporting “responder analyses” in addition to mean outcome scores; and suggestions for future research and dissemination. The Pain Consortium has approved the recommendations, which investigators should incorporate into NIH grant proposals. The RTF believes these recommendations will advance the field, help to resolve controversies, and facilitate future research addressing the genomic, neurologic, and other mechanistic substrates of chronic low back pain. We expect the RTF recommendations will become a dynamic document, and undergo continual improvement.Perspective: A Task Force was convened by the NIH Pain Consortium, with the goal of developing research standards for chronic low back pain. The results included recommendations for definitions, a minimal dataset, reporting outcomes, and future research. Greater consistency in reporting should facilitate comparisons among studies and the development of phenotypes

Effect of variable transmission rate on the dynamics of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The cause of the high HIV prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa is incompletely understood, with heterosexual penile-vaginal transmission proposed as the main mechanism. Heterosexual HIV transmission has been estimated to have a very low probability; but effects of cofactors that vary in space and time may substantially alter this pattern.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To test the effect of individual variation in the HIV infectiousness generated by co-infection, we developed and analyzed a mathematical sexual network model that simulates the behavioral components of a population from Malawi, as well as the dynamics of HIV and the co-infection effect caused by other infectious diseases, including herpes simplex virus type-2, gonorrhea, syphilis and malaria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The analysis shows that without the amplification effect caused by co-infection, no epidemic is generated, and HIV prevalence decreases to extinction. But the model indicates that an epidemic can be generated by the amplification effect on HIV transmission caused by co-infection.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The simulated sexual network demonstrated that a single value for HIV infectivity fails to describe the dynamics of the epidemic. Regardless of the low probability of heterosexual transmission per sexual contact, the inclusion of individual variation generated by transient but repeated increases in HIV viral load associated with co-infections may provide a biological basis for the accelerated spread of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, our work raises the possibility that the natural history of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa cannot be fully understood if individual variation in infectiousness is neglected.</p