46 research outputs found
Dynamic impacts of a financial reform of the CAP on regional land use, income and overall growth
In this paper we investigate the impacts of abolishing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the post-2013 European Union (EU) financial perspective and the impacts of re-investing the released funds on research and development (R&D). We apply a linked system of models to analyze the impacts for the EU member states. The linked system consists of five land-use sector models (agriculture, forestry, urban area, tourism and transport infrastructure), which are connected to a macro-econometric model. Additionally, a land cover model is used to disaggregate land use countries to a 1 kmÂČ grid. Three scenarios are analysed. In the âbaselineâ currently decided policies are assumed to be continued until 2025. In the âtax rebateâ scenario agricultural support (first pillar) is removed, and the member statesâ contributions to EU lowered. In the âR&D investmentsâ scenario agricultural support is also removed, and the released funds are used to increase general R&D efforts in the EU. We find that in both liberalization scenarios, agricultural producer prices drop compared to the baseline. Agricultural production drops too, but less so in the âR&D investmentâ scenario due to productivity gains resulting from the increased R&D spending. In some countries, the productivity gains totally offset the negative impact of liberalisation on agricultural production. Smaller agricultural production implies less agricultural land use, and the more so in the âR&D Investmentâ scenario where productivity increases. The fall in agricultural production and prices negatively affects economic activity and householdsâ purchasing power, but the reduced direct taxation compensates this effect and results in a GDP gain of 0.53% and 0.8 million additional jobs. In âR&D investmentâ GDP gain reaches 2.57% and yields 2.95 million additional jobs in EU in 2025. The GDP, consumption and employment gains in the âR&D Investmentâ scenario widely exceed the losses in the agriculture sectors. The analysis indicates that if no external effects of agriculture are considered, then the CAP is an inefficient use of tax money, and that a considerable contribution to reaching the goals of the Lisbon agenda would be achieved if the same amount of money was instead invested in R&D.CAP reform, economical growth, land use, Agricultural and Food Policy, Land Economics/Use,
Vacuum Stability Bound on Extended GMSB Models
Extensions of GMSB models were explored to explain the recent reports of the
Higgs boson mass around 124-126 GeV. Some models predict a large mu term, which
can spoil the vacuum stability of the universe. We study two GMSB extensions:
i) the model with a large trilinear coupling of the top squark, and ii) that
with extra vector-like matters. In both models, the vacuum stability condition
provides upper bounds on the gluino mass if combined with the muon g-2. The
whole parameter region is expected to be covered by LHC at sqrt{s} = 14 TeV.
The analysis is also applied to the mSUGRA models with the vector-like matters.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figure
SUNtool - A new modelling paradigm for simulating and optimising urban sustainability
This paper describes the development and application of a new unique tool to support designers to optimise the sustainability of urban neighbourhoods (SUNtool). In this the paper introduces (i) the software architecture, (ii) the integrated solver and related innovations in the modelling of radiation exchange, reduced thermal modelling, stochastic modelling of occupant presence and behaviour, and urban plant modelling, (iii) interface design and innovations in building attribution, (iv) results analysis methods. Finally the software is applied to demonstrate its application to the development of urban planning guidelines and also to the design of a masterplan
Highly Precise and Developmentally Programmed Genome Assembly in Paramecium Requires Ligase IVâDependent End Joining
During the sexual cycle of the ciliate Paramecium, assembly of the somatic genome includes the precise excision of tens of thousands of short, non-coding germline sequences (Internal Eliminated Sequences or IESs), each one flanked by two TA dinucleotides. It has been reported previously that these genome rearrangements are initiated by the introduction of developmentally programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), which depend on the domesticated transposase PiggyMac. These DSBs all exhibit a characteristic geometry, with 4-base 5âČ overhangs centered on the conserved TA, and may readily align and undergo ligation with minimal processing. However, the molecular steps and actors involved in the final and precise assembly of somatic genes have remained unknown. We demonstrate here that Ligase IV and Xrcc4p, core components of the non-homologous end-joining pathway (NHEJ), are required both for the repair of IES excision sites and for the circularization of excised IESs. The transcription of LIG4 and XRCC4 is induced early during the sexual cycle and a Lig4p-GFP fusion protein accumulates in the developing somatic nucleus by the time IES excision takes place. RNAiâmediated silencing of either gene results in the persistence of free broken DNA ends, apparently protected against extensive resection. At the nucleotide level, controlled removal of the 5âČ-terminal nucleotide occurs normally in LIG4-silenced cells, while nucleotide addition to the 3âČ ends of the breaks is blocked, together with the final joining step, indicative of a coupling between NHEJ polymerase and ligase activities. Taken together, our data indicate that IES excision is a âcut-and-closeâ mechanism, which involves the introduction of initiating double-strand cleavages at both ends of each IES, followed by DSB repair via highly precise end joining. This work broadens our current view on how the cellular NHEJ pathway has cooperated with domesticated transposases for the emergence of new mechanisms involved in genome dynamics
Gastrointestinal symptoms and association with medication use patterns, adherence, treatment satisfaction, quality of life, and resource use in osteoporosis: baseline results of the MUSIC-OS study
Summary: The Medication Use Patterns, Treatment Satisfaction, and Inadequate Control of Osteoporosis Study (MUSIC-OS) is a prospective, observational study of women with osteoporosis in Europe and Canada. At baseline, patients with gastrointestinal symptoms reported lower adherence to osteoporosis treatment, treatment satisfaction, and health-related quality of life, than those without gastrointestinal symptoms. Introduction: The aim of the study was to examine gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms and the association between GI symptoms and treatment adherence, treatment satisfaction, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among osteoporotic women in Europe and Canada. Methods: Baseline results are reported here for a prospective study which enrolled postmenopausal, osteoporotic women who were initiating (new users) or continuing (experienced users) osteoporosis treatment at study entry (baseline). A patient survey was administered at baseline and included the occurrence of GI symptoms during 6-month pre-enrolment, treatment adherence (adherence evaluation of osteoporosis (ADEOS), score 0â22), treatment satisfaction (Osteoporosis Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medications (OPSAT-Q), score 0â100) and HRQoL (EuroQol-5 dimension (EQ-5D) utility, score 0â1; OPAQ-SV, score 0â100). The association between GI symptoms and ADEOS (experienced users), OPSAT-Q (experienced users), and HRQoL (new and experienced users) was assessed by general linear models adjusted for patient characteristics. Results: A total of 2959 patients (2275 experienced and 684 new users) were included. Overall, 68.1Â % of patients experienced GI symptoms in the past 6Â months. Compared with patients without GI symptoms, patients with GI symptoms had lower mean baseline scores on most measures. The mean adjusted differences were ADEOS, â0.43; OPSAT-Q, â5.68; EQ-5D, â0.04 (new users) and â0.06 (experienced users), all P < 0.01. GI symptoms were also associated with lower OPAQ-SV domain scores: physical function, â4.17 (experienced users); emotional status, â4.28 (new users) and â5.68 (experienced users); back pain, â5.82 (new users) and â11.33 (experienced users), all P < 0.01. Conclusions: Patients with GI symptoms have lower treatment adherence and treatment satisfaction and worse HRQoL than patients without GI symptoms