Modelling the Acceptance of High Beta-carotene Maize

In the development of high beta carotene (HBC) maize, the focus is on subsistence farms which do not get any (or at least very little) benefit from commercial fortification programs. The technology can be considered to be primarily for the small-scale subsistence farmer. The paper postulates a household decision model that takes into account the production and consumption tradeoffs between traditional and biofortified seed. The objective is to understand the effect of these differing traits on the adoption decision when white maize is preferred by the consumers.Consumer/Household Economics,

Predicting the Acceptance for High Beta-Carotene Maize: An Ex-Ante Estimation Method

This paper postulates a household decision model that takes into account the production consumption tradeoffs between traditional and biofortified seed. The objective is to understand the effect of these differing traits on the adoption decision when white maize is preferred by the consumers.Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics,

PRODUCTION DISTORTIONS IN THE SLOVAKIAN GRAIN SECTOR RESULTING FROM AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDIES

A Policy Analysis Method, based on social benefit-cost analysis, is applied to five production areas of the Slovak Republic to analyze production distortions resulting from direct systematic subsidies in Slovakia. Three grains are analyzed: wheat, barley, and corn. Results indicate that currently applied policies have significant distortion effects, but those effects are not homogeneous across commodities and production areas.Agricultural and Food Policy, Productivity Analysis,

Predicting the Acceptance for High Beta-Carotene Maize: An Ex-Ante Estimation Method

This paper postulates a household decision model that takes into account the production consumption tradeoffs between traditional and biofortified seed. The objective is to understand the effect of these differing traits on the adoption decision when white maize is preferred by the consumers

Non-tariff measures affecting agro-food trade between the EU and Africa Summary of a workshop

This report contains the presentations and the summary of the IPTS workshop "Non Tariff Measures (NTMs) affecting agro-food trade between the EU and Africa" held in September 2010 in Seville. The workshop brought together experts from research, policy making and business in order to exchange knowledge and discuss about NTMs and the issues associated with them. The workshop first gave an overview of NTM classifications as well as the methods in the analysis of NTMs. With this background case studies were presented, focusing on NTMs from the perspective of African exporters of agro-food products.JRC.DDG.J.5-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Econom

Novel Algorithm for the Differential Diagnosis of Hyponatraemia in Anuric Patients Undergoing Maintenance Haemodialysis

Introduction: Hyponatraemia is associated with increased mortality in patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis. In anuric patients, hyponatraemia development depends on the water-sodium ratio in retained fluid within the interdialysis interval (IDI). Objective: This study aimed to calculate the retained sodium-retained water ratio in patients on maintenance haemodialysis and make a differential diagnosis of hyponatraemia according to these data. Methods: The amount of retained water was determined as body weight gain (ΔBW) within the IDI. Sodium retention was calculated using our formula: eRNa+ = ΔBW × (SNa+)t2 − total body water (TBW)t1 × ([SNa+]t1 − [SNa+]t2), where TBW represents the calculated volume of the total body water and (SNa+)t1 and (SNa+)t2 represent the sodium concentration at the beginning and at the end of the IDI, respectively. We performed 89 measurements in 32 anuric patients on maintenance haemodialysis. Results: Hyponatraemia was detected in 13 measurements at the end of the IDI. The ΔBW had no statistically significant difference between normonatraemic and hyponatraemic patients. Hyponatraemic patients had significantly lower levels of retained sodium. The retained water-­retained sodium ratio facilitated in differentiating dilution hyponatraemia, nutritional hyponatraemia, depletion hyponatraemia, and dilution hyponatraemia associated with sodium wasting or malnutrition. Conclusion: The composition of retained fluid during the IDI may be hypotonic, hypertonic, or isotonic in relation to the extracellular fluid. Most of the hyponatraemic patients had hypotonic fluid retained during the IDI because of dilution as well as gastrointestinal sodium loss and/or malnutrition

Core Circadian Clock Genes Regulate Leukemia Stem Cells in AML

Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) have the capacity to self-renew and propagate disease upon serial transplantation in animal models, and elimination of this cell population is required for curative therapies. Here, we describe a series of pooled, in vivo RNAi screens to identify essential transcription factors (TFs) in a murine model of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with genetically and phenotypically defined LSCs. These screens reveal the heterodimeric, circadian rhythm TFs Clock and Bmal1 as genes required for the growth of AML cells in vitro and in vivo. Disruption of canonical circadian pathway components produces anti-leukemic effects, including impaired proliferation, enhanced myeloid differentiation, and depletion of LSCs. We find that both normal and malignant hematopoietic cells harbor an intact clock with robust circadian oscillations, and genetic knockout models reveal a leukemia-specific dependence on the pathway. Our findings establish a role for the core circadian clock genes in AML.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant P01 CA066996)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01 HL082945)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (Grant P30-CA14051

Professional training in organic food production: a cross-country experience

Purpose: The aim of this work was to characterize the agricultural activities and past experience in professional training in the context of mobile learning in different countries (Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Hungary, United Kingdom, Italy and Turkey). Design: For the survey, a questionnaire was prepared in English and Portuguese and then translated into the languages of the participating countries. It was delivered electronically for answering on-line by adults only. The participation was voluntary and in the end 133 consented valid questionnaires were obtained. For the treatment of the data was used SPSS and basic descriptive statistics tools were applied, together with tests, namely crosstabs and chi square tests, considering a level of significance of 5%. Findings: The results showed that the majority of the participants presently have some agricultural activity and one third is thinking about starting one the future. Most of the participants want to produce food in organic mode, with significant differences among the countries at study. Most of the participants were enrolled in training activities in agriculture, especially those with higher education. This participation showed significant differences between countries and also according to the dimension of the farms owned by the participants. A significant association was found between being a teacher in forming activities related to agriculture and being a farmer. When compared to distance learning, the training activities in classroom were the most frequented, with significant differences among the countries. Practical implications: This study allowed characterizing the learning activities in the field of organic agriculture and establish direction lines for planning of future training programs, in different countries, with maybe different social, educational and cultural realities Originality/value: Because the study included the participation of people from several countries all around Europe, the results obtained enrich the scientific area of training in Organic Farming, in view of distance learning versus classroom learning on a more global basis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The autophagy protein Atg7 is essential for hematopoietic stem cell maintenance.

The role of autophagy, a lysosomal degradation pathway which prevents cellular damage, in the maintenance of adult mouse hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) remains unknown. Although normal HSCs sustain life-long hematopoiesis, malignant transformation of HSCs leads to leukemia. Therefore, mechanisms protecting HSCs from cellular damage are essential to prevent hematopoietic malignancies. In this study, we crippled autophagy in HSCs by conditionally deleting the essential autophagy gene Atg7 in the hematopoietic system. This resulted in the loss of normal HSC functions, a severe myeloproliferation, and death of the mice within weeks. The hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell compartment displayed an accumulation of mitochondria and reactive oxygen species, as well as increased proliferation and DNA damage. HSCs within the Lin(-)Sca-1(+)c-Kit(+) (LSK) compartment were significantly reduced. Although the overall LSK compartment was expanded, Atg7-deficient LSK cells failed to reconstitute the hematopoietic system of lethally irradiated mice. Consistent with loss of HSC functions, the production of both lymphoid and myeloid progenitors was impaired in the absence of Atg7. Collectively, these data show that Atg7 is an essential regulator of adult HSC maintenance