Agro-Exports and the Rural Resource Poor in Latin America: Policy Options for Achieving Broadly Based Growth

Concentrating on fundamental sector-level impacts that shape the nature of agro-export growth, this paper indicates how intrahousehold impacts fit into the analysis. Section 1 is introductory. Section 2 puts forward the conceptual framework needed to understand sectoral impacts of agro-export growth on the rural resource poor, impacts that can be divided into a small-farm adoption effect, a land-access effect, and a labor-absorption effect, all of which are interlinked. Section 3 explores the economic forces that shape the magnitude of the direct (adoption and land access) and indirect (labor absorption) effects of agro-export growth. Its chief message is that the agronomic and economic characteristics of agro-export crops interact with the intrinsic imperfections of rural factor markets to create farm-size biases-biases that are frequently tilted against small farm production. Section 4 summarizes the coordinated empirical, farm-level research on agro-export booms in Chile, Guatemala, and Paraguay. Section 5 analyzes the range of policy available to foment broadly based growth. In order of increasing policy activism, policies are divided into those that (1) get prices and institutions "right," (2) pick winners for public investment, (3) reform land markets, and (4) reform information-constrained markets. Section 5 argues that capital and insurance market reforms will almost always be necessary if agro-export growth is to be broadly based. Section 6 closes the paper with a brief reflection on the desirability of promoting broadly based growth: Is pursuit of broadly based growth worth it given the likely complexity of the recommended factor market interventions? While this is a highly complex and value-laden question, section 6 suggests perspectives from both the U.S. domestic and low-income country policy contexts that make broadly based growth a goal worth pursuing.Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Relations/Trade,

The effects of brown algae Sargassum angustifolium extract on growth performance, survival and Vibriosis resistance in shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

In this study, the effect of ethanolic extracts of Sargassum angustifolium on growth and survival of shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei juvenile was investigated under challenge with shrimp pathogen bacteria Vibrio harveyi. Powder form of the extract was bioencapsulated in Artemia and fed to L. vannamei juvenile reared as 5 groups inclouding C- (unenriched Artemia, without bacteria), C+ (unenriched Artemia, with bacteria), T1 (enriched Artemia with 200 mg l-1 SA extract, with bacteria), T2 (enriched Artemia with 400 mg l-1 SA extract, with bacteria), T3 (enriched Artemia with 600 mg l-1 SA extract, with bacteria). One week after culture all groups except C- were inoculated with V. harveyi at the rate of 1.5 × 108 CFU ml-1 for 15 minutes then after every water exchange 10 ml of V. harveyi at the rate of 1.5 × 107 CFU ml-1 was added to aquaria. Shrimps at group C- showed maximum survival (86.6%), specific growth rate (SGR, 11.33%) and less bacterial load (0.5 ± 0.03× 102 CFU g-1 tissue). While (C2) exhibited lowest survival (33.3%), SGR (9.90%) and more bacterial load (3.4 ± 0.05× 105 CFU g-1 tissue) and the difference was significant (p<0.05). In treatment groups survival and SGR were significantly (p< 0.05) more than C+ and less than C-, also bacterial load were less than C+ and more than C-. Among treatment groups T2 that fed with enriched artemia with 400 mg l-1 SA extract gave better results than the other treatments

Software dynamic pricing by an optimization deterministic model in a monopolistic market

This paper develops an optimization model for pricing a monopolistic application software in the presence of piracy. The purpose is raising revenue produced by product’s sale with determining prices in a price skimming strategy and minimizing amount of piracy. The model is a multifunctional price skimming optimization with simplex method which accompanied by a deterministic method for calculating time intervals of each segment. A linear function is used to describe demand of each segment. In addition, a linear piracy function is proposed to make piracy a dynamic parameter. The model has the ability to apply penetration pricing and controlling market share. Rough estimates of Windows 7 sale’s parameters are used to apply in the model. Optimizing case of Windows 7 is resulted in 7.3 percent increase in revenue while value of net market share is virtually constant. Therefore, the developed model demonstrates its competence in optimizing revenue by determining prices with presence of piracy. Results of the research show that to tackle piracy, range of price skimming must be decreased in a way that highest price need to be intensely reduced while lowest one must be slightly reduced. The benefit of using this strategy, is incurring lowest revenue loss due to piracy. The Effects of an escalation in piracy on proposed optimization model include increase in number of sale, demand, selling portion, market share, and decrease in price, price difference between segments, and revenue

Predictors, symptom dynamics and neural mechanisms of bipolar disorders

This thesis had four main objectives:Predictors of Bipolar disorder (BD): Chapters 2 and 3 explored factors contributing to Bipolar Disorder's development and progression, considering both internal and external influences.External Stressors: Chapter 4 investigated how external stressors, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, impacted the stability of BD symptoms, highlighting the role of environmental factors.Symptom Interactions: Chapter 5 analyzed the complex interplay of mania and depressive symptoms in BD over time, enhancing our understanding of their evolution.Neurocognition and Brain Functioning: Chapter 6 reviewed long-term cognitive (dys)function and brain activity in BD patients, offering insights into the disorder's neural mechanisms.Overall, the thesis aimed to expand knowledge of BD, encompassing its predictors, the influence of external stressors, symptom dynamics, and neurocognitive aspects. This research contributes to better diagnosis and treatment strategies for individuals affected by BD.LUMC / Geneeskund

Di-(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate-Induced Hippocampus-Derived Neural Stem Cells Proliferation

The brain and spinal cord have a limited capacity for self-repair under damaged conditions. One of the best options to overcome these limitations involves the use of phytochemicals as potential therapeutic agents. In this study, we have aimed to investigate the effects of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) on hippocampus-derived neural stem cells (NSCs) proliferation to search phytochemical candidates for possible treatment of neurological diseases using endogenous capacity. In this experimental study, neonatal rat hippocampus-derived NSCs were cultured and treated with various concentrations of DEHP (0, 100, 200, 400 and 600 mu M) and Cirsium vulgare (C. vulgare) hydroethanolic extract (0, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 mu g/ml) for 48 hours under in vitro conditions. Cell proliferation rates and quantitative Sox2 gene expression were evaluated using MTT assay and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We observed the highest average growth rate in the 400 mu M DEHP and 800 mu g/ml C. vulgare extract treated groups. Sox2 expression in the DEHP-treated NSCs significantly increased compared to the control group. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) results demonstrated that the active ingredients that naturally occurred in the C. vulgare hydroethanolic extract were 2-ethyl-1-hexanamine, n-heptacosane, 1-cyclopentane-carboxylic acid, 1-heptadecanamine, 2,6-octadien-1-ol, 2,6,10,14,18,22-tetracosahexaene, and DEHP. DEHP profoundly stimulated NSCs proliferation through Sox2 gene overexpression. These results provide and opportunity for further use of the C. vulgure phytochemicals for prevention and/or treatment of neurological diseases via phytochemical mediated-proliferation of endogenous adult NSCs

Model-based Testing in Cloud Brokerage Scenarios

In future Cloud ecosystems, brokers will mediate between service providers and consumers, playing an increased role in quality assurance, checking services for functional compliance to agreed standards, among other aspects. To date, most Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) testing has been performed manually, requiring duplicated effort at the development, certification and deployment stages of the service lifecycle. This paper presents a strategy for achieving automated testing for certification and re-certification of SaaS applications, based on the adoption of simple state-based and functional specifications. High-level test suites are generated from specifications, by algorithms that provide the necessary and sufficient coverage. The high-level tests must be grounded for each implementation technology, whether SOAP, REST or rich-client. Two examples of grounding are presented, one into SOAP for a traditional web service and the other into Selenium for a SAP HANA rich-client application. The results demonstrate good test coverage. Further work is required to fully automate the grounding

Anatomical and histological study of kidney in Barbus grypus

At this study, kidneys of 10 normal fishes have been studied macroscopic and microscopically. The kidneys were collected by autopsy and tissue samples were sectioned by routine paraffin embedding and stained by H&E and PAS. Macroscopic observation showed that the kidney in Barbus grypus situated in the ventral region of vertebral column. The kidney could be divided into; head, body and tail portions according to their relative position. Microscopic studies showed that the kidneys consisted of excretory portion and hematopoietic-lymphoid tissues. Anterior portion of kidney (head) had more Hematopoietic lymphoid tissues than the posterior portion (body and tail). Hematopoietic-lymphoid tissue consisted of cells which were found in different stages of development to blood cells. Excretory portion of kidney parenchyma consisted of renal corpuscle and urinary tubules. In microscopic section of glomerulus, endothelial and mesangial cells and nucleated red blood cells were seen. The number of renal corpuscles in the posterior portion of kidney was more than the anterior portion significantly, while there was no significant difference between the average diameter of renal corpuscles in the head, body and tail portions of kidney. Urinary tubules consisted of neck segment, proximal tubule (first and second portion), intermediate segment and distal segment. The collecting ducts were situated after the distal segments. No significant difference was observed in the measured parameters between the males and females fishes in this study. Based on the results of this study, the kidney of Barbus grypus is very similar to other species of the family Cyprinidae, histologically and anatomically

NOD2 Gene Status in Pediatric and Adult Crohn Disease Patients in Algerian Population

Background: Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD), including Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are gastrointestinal disorders under the influence of a complex genetic basis. One hundred sixty-three predisposition loci were identified by genome-wide association (GWAS) studies, refocusing the pathogenesis of IBD on immunity genes. The NOD2 gene has been widely implicated in the pathogenesis of IBD in different geographical populations. Three most common mutations within NOD2 gene were selected, namely SNP8, C/T (R702W variant), SNP12, G/C (G908R variant) and SNP13, (1007fsinsC variant). We investigated these three SNP in a pediatric Algerian cohort for the first time, since no previous association studies between pediatric IBD and the NOD2 gene were available for the Algerian population. Methods: A case-control study was performed in the pediatric IBD population. PCR-RFLP was used to detect the three NOD2 gene mutations in 46 CD patients and 100 healthy control subjects. All samples were genotyped for the NOD2 gene Polymorphisms by the PCR-RFLP method. Statistical study was performed by the Fisher exact test or Chi-2 using the GraphPad Prism 7.0 software. Then data from the pediatric cohort were compared to our precedent published data from a case-control study performed on a cohort including 132 IBD patients and 114 healthy control subjects. Results: In the pediatric cohort, there is no statistically differences in allelic frequencies between cases and controls respectively R702W (6.36% vs. 6.38%; p=1), G908R (2.72% vs. 1.06%; p=0.6) and 1007fsinsC mutation was found neither in the CD patients nor in control. In the adult cohort, the R702W allelic variant showed the highest frequency in CD patients (8%) (p = 0.09, OR = 3.67, 95%CI: 0.48-4.87) but its frequency was also high in controls (5%) (p = 0.4; OR = 1.4; 95%CI: 0.65-3.31). Likewise, G908R and 1007fsinsC mutations showed similar frequency in CD patients and in controls (3% vs. 2%; p= 0.5; OR=1.67; 95%CI: 0.44-6.34; 2% vs.1%; p=0.4, OR=2.69; 95%CI: 0.48-14.87, respectively). The total frequency of the mutated NOD2 chromosomes was higher in adult CD patients (13%) than in pediatric CD patients (9%). In our precedent study on the adult cohort, we have confirmed that the NOD2 gene is significantly associated with a specific clinical sub-phenotype in CD, indicating that the NOD2 gene is involved in IBD susceptibility across Algerian adult population. However, we failed to show any association between the three variants of the NOD2 gene across Algerian pediatric CD patients. Conclusion: In our precedent study, we have confirmed that the NOD2 gene is significantly associated with a specific clinical sub-phenotype in adult CD patients. Here, our results show no association of NOD2 gene variants with pediatric MC. The low penetrance of the at-risk genotypes we observed indicates that the NOD2 gene does not delineate a subgroup of simple Mendelian diseases

FGF10 promotes regional foetal cardiomyocyte proliferation and adult cardiomyocyte cell-cycle re-entry

© The Author 2014. Aims Cardiomyocyte proliferation gradually declines during embryogenesis resulting in severely limited regenerative capacities in the adult heart. Understanding the developmental processes controlling cardiomyocyte proliferation may thus identify new therapeutic targets to modulate the cell-cycle activity of cardiomyocytes in the adult heart. This study aims to determine the mechanism by which fibroblast growth factor 10 (FGF10) controls foetal cardiomyocyte proliferation and to test the hypothesis that FGF10 promotes the proliferative capacity of adult cardiomyocytes. Methods and results Analysis of Fgf10-/- hearts and primary cardiomyocyte cultures reveals that altered ventricular morphology is associated with impaired proliferation of right but not left-ventricular myocytes. Decreased FOXO3 phosphorylation associated with up-regulated p27kip1 levelswas observed specifically in the right ventricle of Fgf10-/- hearts. In addition, cell-type-specific expression analysis revealed that Fgf10 and its receptor, Fgfr2b, are expressed in cardiomyocytes and not cardiac fibroblasts, consistent with a cell-type autonomous role of FGF10 in regulating regional specific myocyte proliferation in the foetal heart. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in vivo overexpression of Fgf10 in adult mice promotes cardiomyocyte but not cardiac fibroblast cell-cycle re-entry. Conclusion FGF10 regulates regional cardiomyocyte proliferation in the foetal heart through a FOXO3/p27kip1 pathway. In addition, FGF10 triggers cell-cycle re-entry of adult cardiomyocytes and is thus a potential target for cardiac repair