QUALITY DIFFERENCES AND PRICE RESPONSIVENESS OF WHEAT CLASS DEMANDS

Price responsiveness and preferences for wheat classes are measured using a Case function specification. Results indicate there have been numerous changes in market shares of wheat classes from different exporters in specific markets. In general, quality differentials are important in some international markets; in others, relative prices are more important in determining market shares.Crop Production/Industries,

INTERNATIONAL PRICE TRANSMISSION IN THE U.S.-JAPAN SOFTWOOD TRADE

This article explores the supposition that international price margins in the U.S. Pacific Northwest-Japan softwood trade are influenced by nontariff trade barriers and inelastic supplies of international transportation services. Furthermore, it pursues the hypothesis that a regime separation occurs in the log trade with the existence and extent of rent creation related to conditions in the export market. Estimated price spreads which depend on trade volume serve as evidence. These factors magnify elasticities that measure the response of Japan's prices to changes in U.S. prices. Moreover, U.S. supplies on this market are more price-inelastic than its sheer size would suggest.International Relations/Trade,

Map it @ WSU: Development of a Library Mapping System for Large Academic Libraries

The Wayne State University Library System launched its library mapping application in February 2010, designed to help locate materials in the five WSU libraries. The system works within the catalog to show the location of materials, as well as provides a web form for use at the reference desk. Developed using PHP and MySQL, it requires only minimal effort to update using a unique call number overlay mechanism. In addition to mapping shelved materials, the system provides information for any of the over three hundred collections held by the WSU Libraries. Patrons can do more than just locate a book on a shelf: they can learn where to locate reserve items, how to access closed collections, or get driving maps to extension center libraries. The article includes a discussion of the technology reviewed and chosen during development, an overview of the system architecture, and lessons learned during development

Trade Policy Options for a Food-Security Commodity in Southern Africa: A Case Study of Maize in Zambia

We examine the performance of maize import policy options in one of the poorest countries in Southern Africa. The results are shaped by unique features of Zambia’s maize market: production that is limited by risk and highly variable returns, and local marketing margins that increase with imports and limit consumer trade gains. Results suggest that the market-stabilizing protection with the variable import levy (VL) may improve welfare, compared free trade or the current tariff regime. The VL also redistributes benefits to farmers and rural residents and away from urban consumers. Tax revenues could be used to fund transportation improvements or an urban consumer subsidy. Also, we estimate that market-led improvements in transport infrastructure, which would be conducive to more open trade policies, may be 25 years away.Maize Policy; Zambia; Food Security; Variable Levy

Semiclassical and spectral analysis of oceanic waves

In this work we prove that the shallow water flow, subject to strong wind forcing and linearized around an adequate stationary profile, develops for large times closed trajectories due to the propagation of Rossby waves, while Poincar\'e waves are shown to disperse. The methods used in this paper involve semi-classical analysis and dynamical systems for the study of Rossby waves, while some refined spectral analysis is required for the study of Poincar\'e waves, due to the large time scale involved which is of diffractive type

Identification of atropine-and P2X1 receptor antagonist-reistant, neurogenic contractions of the urinary bladder

Acetylcholine and ATP are excitatory cotransmitters in parasympathetic nerves. We used P2X1 receptor antagonists to further characterize the purinergic component of neurotransmission in isolated detrusor muscle of guinea pig urinary bladder. In the presence of atropine (1 μm) and prazosin (100 nm), pyridoxalphosphate-6-azophenyl-2′,4′-disulfonic acid (PPADS) (0.1–100 μm) and suramin (1–300 μm) inhibited contractions evoked by 4 Hz nerve stimulation in a concentration-dependent manner (IC50 of 6.9 and 13.4 μm, respectively). Maximum inhibition was 50–60%, which was unaffected by coadministration of the ectonucleotidase inhibitor ARL67156 (6-N,N-diethyl-d-β,γ-dibromomethyleneATP) (100 μm). The remaining responses were abolished by tetrodotoxin (1 μm). PPADS and suramin also reduced contractions to exogenous ATP (300 μm) by 40–50%, but abolished those to the P2X1 agonist α,β-methyleneATP (α,β-meATP) (1 μm). The P2X1 antagonists reactive blue 2, NF279 (8,8′-[carbonylbis(imino-4,1-phenylenecarbonylimino-4,1-phenylenecarbonylimino)] bis-1,3,5-naphthalenetrisulfonic acid), MRS2159 (pyridoxal-α5-phosphate-6-phenylazo-4′-carboxylic acid) (100 μm), and NF449 [4,4′,4,4-(carbonylbis(imino-5,1,3-benzenetriylbis(carbonylimino)))tetrakis-benzene-1,3-disulfonic acid] (3 μm) abolished contractions to α,β-meATP (1 μm; n = 4–5), but only reduced contractions evoked by 4 Hz nerve stimulation by ∼40–60% (n = 4–6) and ATP by 30–60% (n = 4–7). However, prolonged exposure to α,β-meATP (50 μm) abolished contractions evoked by all three stimuli (n = 5–12). PPADS (100 μm) and suramin (300 μm) reduced the peak neurogenic contraction of the mouse urinary bladder to 30–40% of control. At the same concentrations, the P2X1 antagonists abolished the nonadrenergic, purinergic component of neurogenic contractions in the guinea pig vas deferens (n = 4–5). Thus, P2X1 receptor antagonists inhibit, but do not abolish, the noncholinergic component of neurogenic contractions of guinea pig and mouse urinary bladder, indicating a second mode of action of neuronally released ATP. This has important implications for treatment of dysfunctional urinary bladder, for which this atropine- and P2X1 antagonist-resistant site represents a novel therapeutic target

Cost effectiveness of treatments for wet age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness in people aged >= 50 years. Wet AMD in particular has a major impact on patient quality of life and imposes substantial burdens on healthcare systems. This systematic review examined the cost-effectiveness data for current therapeutic options for wet AMD. PubMed and EMBASE databases were searched for all articles reporting original cost-effectiveness analyses of wet AMD treatments. The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination and Cochrane Library databases were searched for all wet AMD health technology assessments (HTAs). Overall, 44 publications were evaluated in full and included in this review. A broad range of cost-effectiveness analyses were identified for the most commonly used therapies for wet AMD (pegaptanib, ranibizumab and photodynamic therapy [PDT] with verteporfin). Three studies evaluated the cost effectiveness of bevacizumab in wet AMD. A small number of analyses of other treatments, such as laser photocoagulation and antioxidant vitamins, were also found. Ranibizumab was consistently shown to be cost effective for wet AMD in comparison with all the approved wet AMD therapies (four of the five studies identified showed ranibizumab was cost effective vs usual care, PDT or pegaptanib); however, there was considerable variation in the methodology for cost-effectiveness modelling between studies. Findings from the HTAs supported those from the PubMed and EM BASE searches; of the seven HTAs that included ranibizumab, six (including HTAs for Australia, Canada and the UK) concluded that ranibizumab was cost effective for the treatment of wet AMD; most compared ranibizumab with PDT and/or pegaptanib. By contrast, HTAs at best generally recommended pegaptanib or PDT for restricted use in subsets of patients with wet AMD. In the literature analyses, pegaptanib was found to be cost effective versus usual/best supportive care (including PDT) or no treatment in one of five studies; the other four studies found pegaptanib was of borderline cost effectiveness depending on the stage of disease and time horizon. PDT was shown to be cost effective versus usual/best supportive care or no treatment in five of nine studies; two studies showed that PDT was of borderline cost effectiveness depending on baseline visual acuity, and two showed that PDT was not cost effective. We identified no robust studies that properly evaluated the cost effectiveness of bevacizumab in wet AMD

Evaluation of the Wadden Sea Particularly sensitive Sea Area. On behalf of the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat.

The purpose of this document is to present the high level outcomes for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the Wadden Sea PSSA, seven years after its designation by the IMO. Key changes with regard to IMO and EU shipping policy are identified and described, followed by a review of ‘expert’ opinion focused on the issues relating to PSSAs. The development of an evaluative framework and the resulting findings are introduced and discussed in context. Using existing data against this evaluative framework we conclude that six key elements require action in order to fully describe the efficacy of the designation, and our recommendations to address these concerns are presented.<br/