Sources of Productivity Growth in Wheat: A Review of Recent Performance and Medium- to Long-Term Prospects

Sources of yield growth in wheat are investigated based on a stylized framework of technical change. Evidence suggests that the relative contribution of input intensification to yield growth has diminished in recent years and is likely to continue to decline in the future. One potential source of yield growth in wheat during the medium to long term is improved efficiency of input use, rather than input intensification, through sustainable wheat production practices rather than pure input increases. Other large gains could be made with continuous adoption of newer and better modern varieties based on advances in wheat breeding. Wide crossing and biotechnology could improve the stability of wheat yields in the intermediate term; their long-term impact on yield under optimal conditions is less certain. World wheat demand is likely to grow more slowly over the next 30 years than it did in the past 30 years. At the same time, a wider variety of technological options will need to be tapped over the next three decades to achieve the necessary gains in wheat yields. Research costs per unit of increased wheat production are likely to be somewhat higher. Nonetheless, continued investment in wheat research is necessary to achieve production levels consistent with constant or slowly declining real world wheat prices.Crop Production/Industries,

Performance indicators for primary care groups; an evidence-based approach

The NHS Executive and Department of Health have proposed a wide range of performance indicators many of which are applicable to future primary care groups Some of these indicators reflect access and efficiency, but few of the effectiveness indicators are based on primary care interventions for which there is evidence that increased uptake results in improved health outcomes We present a method to identify important primary care interventions of proved efficacy and suggest performance indicators that could monitor their use Our evidence based approach may be a complementary way of identifying areas for performance indicators to those proposed by the NHS Executive and Department of Health Our suggested indicators are more likely to help turn evidence into everyday practice and to have an impact on the population's healt

Integrating the impact of cigarette and waterpipe tobacco use among adolescents in the Eastern Mediterranean region: a cross sectional population level model of toxicant exposure

Background: Waterpipe smoking is more prevalent than cigarette smoking among adolescents in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR); however, simple prevalence masks complex waterpipe smoking patterns and makes uncertain its contribution to risk of tobacco-related harm. This study aimed to integrate the impact of cigarette and waterpipe tobacco use on toxicant exposure among EMR adolescents.Methods: A cross-sectional model made equivalent individual-level toxicant exposure data for cigarettes and waterpipes, and aggregated it to 23 countries in the EMR using the Global Youth Tobacco Survey. The waterpipe model adjusted for estimated frequency of use, session duration and sharing behaviours. The final model included 60?306 12–17-year olds, and modelled as outcomes nicotine, carbon monoxide (CO) and 14 carcinogens. Sensitivity analyses substantially reduced session duration and proportion of solo use.Results: Our model suggests waterpipe use may contribute a median of 36.4% (IQR 26.7–46.8%, n=16) of the total toxicant exposure from tobacco, and may reach up to 73.5% and 71.9% of total CO and benzene exposure, respectively. Sensitivity analyses reduced all values by 4.3–21.0%, but even the most conservative scenarios suggested over 50% of benzene and CO exposure was from waterpipe use. Between 69.2% and 73.5% of total toxicant exposure derived from dual cigarette and waterpipe users, who smoked cigarettes and waterpipe more frequently and intensely than single users.Conclusions: More research is warranted to refine our model's parameters. Tobacco control researchers should consider a move towards a single unit of measure for cigarette and waterpipe tobacco exposure in order to better inform health policy.<br/

A Longitudinal Study of Child Maltreatment and Mental Health Predictors of Admission to Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities

The child welfare system is an access point for children’s mental health services. Psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs) are the most restrictive, and most expensive setting for children to receive long-term care. Given the high rates of behavioral health concerns among maltreated children in out-of-home care, research is needed to examine the factors that predict entry in PRTFs among children investigated for maltreatment. This exploratory study used cross-sector administrative records linked across multiple systems, including child welfare records and Medicaid claims, from a single state over a five-year period (n = 105,982). Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to predict entry into a PRTF. After controlling for many factors, PRTF entry was predicted by diagnosis code indicating a trauma-related condition, antipsychotic medication prescriptions, and entry into lower levels of out-of-home care, supporting the view that youth are admitted to PRTFs largely due to clinical need. However, PRTF admission is also associated with characteristics of their experiences with the social service system, primarily foster care placement stability and permanency. Implications for practice and research are discussed

Analyzing Farmer Participation Intentions and Enrollment Rates for the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) Program

The 2008 Farm Bill created the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program as a new commodity support program. Using a multinomial logit model to analyze a mail survey administered before the ACRE sign-up deadline, we identify factors driving farmer intentions regarding ACRE participation. Using a two-limit Tobit model to analyze actual county-level ACRE enrollment rates, we assess the effect of similar factors on actual farmer decisions. Results suggest that primary crops, risk perceptions, risk aversion, and program complexity were important factors. Farmer beliefs and attitudes also played key roles and were evolving during the months before the ACRE deadline.

Defined Contribution Pension Plans in the Public Sector: A Benchmark Analysis

This chapter assesses best practice benchmarks for the design of defined contribution plans in the public sector, where such plans are the primary, or core, employment-based retirement benefit. These benchmarks rely on the notion that providing an adequate and secure retirement income for participants is the primary plan objective

The Bi-Functional Organization of Human Basement Membranes

The current basement membrane (BM) model proposes a single-layered extracellular matrix (ECM) sheet that is predominantly composed of laminins, collagen IVs and proteoglycans. The present data show that BM proteins and their domains are asymmetrically organized providing human BMs with side-specific properties: A) isolated human BMs roll up in a side-specific pattern, with the epithelial side facing outward and the stromal side inward. The rolling is independent of the curvature of the tissue from which the BMs were isolated. B) The epithelial side of BMs is twice as stiff as the stromal side, and C) epithelial cells adhere to the epithelial side of BMs only. Side-selective cell adhesion was also confirmed for BMs from mice and from chick embryos. We propose that the bi-functional organization of BMs is an inherent property of BMs and helps build the basic tissue architecture of metazoans with alternating epithelial and connective tissue layers