Potential impacts of a Turkish EU-membership on agri-food markets

This paper examines possible impacts of a Turkish accession to the EU on the agricultural markets in Turkey and the EU. AGMEMOD, an econometric, dynamic, multi-market, partial equilibrium economic model for EU agriculture at Member State level, has been extended with a model for the Turkish agricultural sector and afterwards applied to gain quantitative insights into Turkish accession effects. To establish a model for Turkey, the implementation of the model equations required parameter estimates, or the specification of synthetic model parameters. A database with time series on Turkish agricultural production, market balances and prices, macroeconomic variables and policy variables was developed in order to estimate such model parameters and to build an operational Turkish agriculture sector model. Most results show that the dominant impact of the Turkish accession on Turkish agriculture is a reduction of domestic producer prices, which induces further market effects. The - mostly decoupled - CAP support payments will induce smaller incentives to increase production than those which Turkish farmers receive prior to the EU accession. In Turkey effects of accession to the EU will be mostly negative for crop producers (except for tobacco), whereas the consumers are expected to gain from lower market prices. In contrast, producers of sheep meat, broiler and dairy milk could gain from an accession due to lower feed costs

Functionalizing self-assembled GaN quantum dot superlattices by Eu-implantation

Self-assembled GaN quantum dots (QDs) stacked in superlattices (SL) with AlN spacer layers were implanted with Europium ions to fluences of 1013, 1014, and 1015 cm−2. The damage level introduced in the QDs by the implantation stays well below that of thick GaN epilayers. For the lowest fluence, the structural properties remain unchanged after implantation and annealing while for higher fluences the implantation damage causes an expansion of the SL in the [0001] direction which increases with implantation fluence and is only partly reversed after thermal annealing at 1000 °C. Nevertheless, in all cases, the SL quality remains very good after implantation and annealing with Eu ions incorporated preferentially into near-substitutional cation sites. Eu3+ optical activation is achieved after annealing in all samples. In the sample implanted with the lowest fluence, the Eu3+ emission arises mainly from Eu incorporated inside the QDs while for the higher fluences only the emission from Eu inside the AlN-buffer, capping, and spacer layers is observed. © 2010 American Institute of PhysicsFCT-PTDC/CTM/100756/2008program PESSOA EGIDE/GRICESFCT-SFRH/BD/45774/2008FCT-SFRH/BD/44635/200

The FAOSTAT database of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Estimating large-scale signaling networks through nested effect models with intervention effects from microarray data

Motivation: Targeted interventions using RNA interference in combination with the measurement of secondary effects with DNA microarrays can be used to computationally reverse engineer features of upstream non-transcriptional signaling cascades based on the nested structure of effects

Shocks in economic growth=shocking effects for food security?

The recent economic and financial turmoil raises the question on how global economic growth affects agricultural commodity markets and, hence, food security. To address this question, this paper assesses the potential impacts of faster economic growth in developed and emerging economies on the one hand and a replication of the recent economic downturn on the other hand. The empirical analysis uses AGLINK-COSIMO, a recursive-dynamic, partial equilibrium, supply–demand model. Simulation results demonstrate that higher economic growth influences demand more than supply, resulting in higher world market prices for agricultural commodities. Emerging economies tend to import more and to stock less in order to cover their demand needs, while the rest of the world increases its exports. The modelled faster economic growth also helps developing countries to improve their trade balance, but does not necessarily give them the incentive to address domestic food security concerns by boosting domestic consumption. A replication of an economic downturn leads to lower world prices, and while the magnitude of the effects decreases over time, markets do not regain their baseline levels within a 5-year period. Due to the lower world market prices, developing countries import more and increase their per capita food calorie intake. However, as developing countries become more import dependent, this also implies that they become more vulnerable to disruptions in agricultural world markets

Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes With Tofacitinib Treatment in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis in the Open-Label Extension Study, OCTAVE Open

BACKGROUND Tofacitinib is an oral small molecule Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. We report health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes in patients with ulcerative colitis in the phase 3 open-label, long-term extension study, OCTAVE Open. METHODS The Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ), EuroQoL-5 Dimensions Health Questionnaire, and 36-Item Short Form Survey scores were analyzed up to month (M) 72 in 4 subpopulations: patients in remission at baseline (maintenance remitters) assigned tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily and patients not in remission at baseline (maintenance nonremitters, maintenance treatment failures, and induction nonresponders [IndNRs]) assigned tofacitinib 10 mg twice daily in OCTAVE Open. Data were analyzed overall and stratified by corticosteroid use at baseline, prior tumor necrosis factor inhibitor failure, and prior immunosuppressant failure. RESULTS Among maintenance remitters and nonremitters, HRQoL outcomes were maintained up to M72: 80.0% and 100.0% of patients had an IBDQ total score ≥170, respectively. At baseline, 7.4% of maintenance treatment failures had an IBDQ total score ≥170, and this increased to 54.3% and 75.0% at M2 and M72, respectively. Corresponding values for IndNRs were 22.6%, 51.0%, and 86.0%. HRQoL outcomes were independent of treatment history. Among patients not in remission at baseline, improvement in EuroQoL-5 Dimensions Health Questionnaire and 36-Item Short Form Survey scores was maintained or achieved by M2, and steady to M72 or M33, with maintenance treatment failures and IndNR subpopulations undergoing the biggest improvements from baseline. CONCLUSIONS A continued favorable impact on HRQoL was revealed with long-term tofacitinib treatment in OCTAVE Open, regardless of baseline remission status or treatment history. (ClinicalTrials.gov; number: NCT01470612)

Agricultural GHG emissions in the EU: an exploratory economic assessment of mitigation policy options

This report provides a quantitative assessment of possible implications of the implementation of specific policy options to mitigate agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the EU. The mitigation policy scenarios proposed and analysed within this report are all exploratory, i.e. it is intended to explore what could happen if policies would be implemented that explicitly force farmers in the EU to reach certain GHG emission reduction targets. It has to be stressed that all policy scenarios are rather theoretical and hypothetical and do not necessarily reflect mitigation policies that are already agreed on, or are under formal discussion

Effect of annealing on AlN/GaN quantum dot heterostructures: Advanced ion beam characterization and X-ray study of low-dimensional structures

Multilayers consisting of six GaN quantum dot (QD) layers separated by AlN spacer layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Structural properties and the effects of thermal annealing were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray reflection (XRR) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry/Channeling (RBS/C). Annealing was performed in nitrogen atmosphere for 20 min at temperatures between 1000 and 1200 • C. The GaN QDs on the surface were destroyed at temperatures ≥1100 • C while the AlN spacer layers protected the deeper lying QD layers. The multilayer structure was well preserved for all studied temperatures. Indications of interdiffusion in the interfaces were found. Thickness fluctuations were evidenced by XRR