12 research outputs found
Disease Outbreaks and Agricultural Trade: The Case of Potatoes
This study analyzed the impact of PVYn and potato wart disease outbreaks in PEI on the potato industry. These disease outbreaks resulted in the loss of the US seed export market to PEI producers. The effects of the disease outbreaks were mitigated through value-added processing. Price premiums for processed potatoes allowed PEI potato producers to abandon seed exports without incurring losses. Evidence is presented to suggest that other countries have also used this approach when export restrictions were placed on domestic agricultural industries. Policy response to the two disease outbreaks include: i) development of a zones policy that helped to reopen markets into the US; and ii) financial compensation to producers above the minimum levels required under the Seeds Act and Regulations. Implementation of the zones policy had beneficial impacts on the potato industry and is mirrored in other disease outbreaks. In contrast, compensation above minimum requirements may set a costly precedent for future disease outbreaks and may have caused moral hazard problems.disease, trade, potatoes, Canada, food, safety, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development, International Relations/Trade,
Disease Outbreaks and Agricultural Trade: The Case of Potatoes
This study analyzed the impact of PVYn and potato wart disease outbreaks in PEI on
the potato industry. These disease outbreaks resulted in the loss of the US seed export
market to PEI producers. The effects of the disease outbreaks were mitigated through
value-added processing. Price premiums for processed potatoes allowed PEI potato
producers to abandon seed exports without incurring losses. Evidence is presented to
suggest that other countries have also used this approach when export restrictions were
placed on domestic agricultural industries. Policy response to the two disease
outbreaks include: i) development of a zones policy that helped to reopen markets into
the US; and ii) financial compensation to producers above the minimum levels required
under the Seeds Act and Regulations. Implementation of the zones policy had beneficial impacts on the potato industry and is mirrored in other disease outbreaks. In contrast, compensation above minimum requirements may set a costly precedent for future disease outbreaks and may have caused moral hazard problems
PVYn and Potato Wart Disease Outbreaks in Prince Edward Island: Policy Response and Analysis
"This study analyzed the impact of PVYn and potato wart disease outbreaks in PEI on the potato industry. The two disease outbreaks resulted in loss of the U.S. seed export market to PEI producers. The effects of the disease outbreaks were mitigated through value-added processing. Price premiums for processed potatoes allowed PEI potato farmers to abandon seed export and helped to sustain financial viability potato production. Policy responses to the two disease outbreaks include (i) development of zones policies, which helped to reopen markets into the United States, and (ii) compensation to producers above the minimum levels required under the federal Seeds Act and Regulations. Implementation of the zones policy had beneficial impacts on the potato industry. In contrast, compensation above minimum requirements may set a costly precedent for future disease outbreaks." Copyright 2007 Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.
Two sisters with cardiacâurogenital syndrome secondary to pathogenic splicing variant in the MYRF gene with unaffected parents: A case of gonadal mosaicism?
Abstract Background Cardiacâurogenital syndrome [MIM # 618280] is a newly described very rare syndrome associated with pathogenic variants in the myelin regulatory factor (MYRF) gene that leads to loss of protein function. MYRF is a transcription factor previously associated only with the control of myelinârelated gene expression. However, it is also highly expressed in other tissues and associated with various organ anomalies. The clinical picture is primarily dominated by complex congenital cardiac developmental defects, pulmonary hypoplasia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, and urogenital malformations. Case Presentation We present case reports of two siblings of unrelated parents in whom wholeâexome sequencing was indicated due to familial occurrence of extensive developmental defects. A new, previously undescribed splicing pathogenic variant c.1388+2T>G in the MYRF gene has been identified in both patients. Both parents are unaffected, tested negative, and have another healthy daughter. The identical de novo event in siblings suggests gonadal mosaicism, which can mimic recessive inheritance. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first published case of familial cardiacâurogenital syndrome indicating gonadal mosaicism
Structure-Function Analysis of Inositol Hexakisphosphate-induced Autoprocessing of the Vibrio cholerae Multifunctional Autoprocessing RTX Toxin*Sâ
Vibrio cholerae secretes a large virulence-associated
multifunctional autoprocessing RTX toxin (MARTXVc). Autoprocessing
of this toxin by an embedded cysteine protease domain (CPD) is essential for
this toxin to induce actin depolymerization in a broad range of cell types. A
homologous CPD is also present in the large clostridial toxin TcdB and recent
studies showed that inositol hexakisphosphate (Ins(1,2,3,4,5,6)P6
or InsP6) stimulated the autoprocessing of TcdB dependent upon the
CPD (Egerer, M., Giesemann, T., Jank, T., Satchell, K. J., and Aktories, K.
(2007) J. Biol. Chem. 282, 25314â25321). In this work, the
autoprocessing activity of the CPD within MARTXVc is similarly
found to be inducible by InsP6. The CPD is shown to bind
InsP6 (Kd, 0.6 Îźm), and
InsP6 is shown to stimulate intramolecular autoprocessing at both
physiological concentrations and as low as 0.01 Îźm. Processed
CPD did not bind InsP6 indicating that, subsequent to cleavage, the
activated CPD may shift to an inactive conformation. To further pursue the
mechanism of autoprocessing, conserved residues among 24 identified CPDs were
mutagenized. In addition to cysteine and histidine residues that form the
catalytic site, 2 lysine residues essential for InsP6 binding and 5
lysine and arginine residues resulting in loss of activity at low
InsP6 concentrations were identified. Overall, our data support a
model in which basic residues located across the CPD structure form an
InsP6 binding pocket and that the binding of InsP6
stimulates processing by altering the CPD to an activated conformation. After
processing, InsP6 is shown to be recycled, while the cleaved CPD
becomes incapable of further binding of InsP6