Futures for farmers: hedging participation and the Mexican corn scheme

Administered commodity price schemes in developing countries have proved ineffective in raising farmers' incomes and price stabilisation through futures markets is increasingly advocated as the alternative policy objective. A potential difficulty is that farmers tend not to hedge extensively, even in developed countries where access to futures markets is long established. Explanations for this reticence are examined here with context provided by the Mexican hedging programme, which incorporates financial incentives to spur adoption. Applying representative data for corn to a well-known analysis of the hedging decision suggests that limited participation may reflect rational calculation rather than farmer 'inertia'. A policy implication is that permanent access subsidies are difficult to justify from the national perspective.

Association Between Systemic Inflammation and Nutritional Compounds in Maternal-Infant Dyads

Many events during pregnancy and early infancy can affect infant brain development. Inflammation during pregnancy, around delivery and during early infancy appears to adversely affect infant brain development. As the brain is rapidly growing and developing from conception through early childhood, it is particularly vulnerable during this time to inflammatory insults, which may be exacerbated or ameliorated by nutritional factors. Inflammatory compounds, as well as many nutritional compounds, can be either pro- or anti-inflammatory. These compounds are of particular importance in preterm infants, who are at risk of deficiency in anti-inflammatory micronutrients typically stored as a result of prenatal maternal diets and thus reliant on post-natal dietary supplementation. Understanding the ways in which nutritional status and inflammation interact with each other has been identified as a key gap to fill in improving our ability to treat and prevent neurodevelopmental impairment as a result of prematurity. We examined the innovative conceptual framework by which nutritional compounds such as alpha- and beta-carotenes, lutein, lycopene and alpha-tocopherol are associated with decreased levels of pro-inflammatory compounds associated with inflammation in utero and after delivery. These studies will lay the foundation for long-term studies of neurodevelopment outcomes in these infants, as well as allow us to identify key pathways we might target for dietary or pharmacologic immunomodulation to improve neurologic outcomes in high risk infants. ASSOCIATION BETWEEN SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION AND NUTRITIONAL COMPOUNDS IN MATERNAL-INFANT DYAD

An X-ray Survey of Galaxies in Pairs

Results are reported from the first survey of X-ray emission from galaxies in pairs. The sample consists of fifty-two pairs of galaxies from the Catalog of Paired Galaxies Karachentsev (1972) whose coordinates overlap ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter pointed observations. The mean observed log l_x for early-type pairs is 41.35 +/-0.21 while the mean log l_x predicted using the l_x-l_b relationship for isolated early-type galaxies is 42.10 +/-0.19. With 95% confidence, the galaxies in pairs are underluminous in the X-ray, compared to isolated galaxies, for the same l_b. A significant fraction of the mixed pair sample also appear similarly underluminous. A spatial analysis shows that the X-ray emission from pairs of both types typically has an extent of ~10 - 50 kpc, much smaller than group intergalactic medium and thus likely originates from the galaxies. CPG 564, the most X-ray luminous early-type pair, 4.7x10^42 ergs/sec, is an exception. The extent of it's X-ray emission, >169 kpc, and HWHM, ~80 kpc, is comparable to that expected from an intergalactic medium. The sample shows only a weak correlation, ~81% confidence, between l_x and l_b, presumably due to variations in gas content within the galaxies. No correlation between l_x and the pair velocity difference, separation, or far-infrared luminosity is found though the detection rate is low, 22%.Comment: 40 pages, 6 jpg figures, ApJ (in press

Pre-operative optimisation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a condition commonly present in older people undergoing surgery and confers an increased risk of postoperative complications and mortality. Although predominantly a respiratory disease, it frequently has extra‐pulmonary manifestations and typically occurs in the context of other long‐term conditions. Patients experience a range of symptoms that affect their quality of life, functional ability and clinical outcomes. In this review, we discuss the evidence for techniques to optimise the care of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the peri‐operative period, and address potential new interventions to improve outcomes. The article centres on pulmonary rehabilitation, widely available for the treatment of stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but less often used in a peri‐operative setting. Current evidence is largely at high risk of bias, however. Before surgery it is important to ensure that what have been called the ‘five fundamentals’ of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treatment are achieved: smoking cessation; pulmonary rehabilitation; vaccination; self‐management; and identification and optimisation of co‐morbidities. Pharmacological treatment should also be optimised, and some patients may benefit from lung volume reduction surgery. Psychological and behavioural factors are important, but are currently poorly understood in the peri‐operative period. Considerations of the risk and benefits of delaying surgery to ensure the recommended measures are delivered depends on patient characteristics and the nature and urgency of the planned intervention