Socioeconomic impacts of innovative dairy supply chain practices. The case of the Laiterie du Berger in the Senegalese Sahel

This study analyzes the Laiterie Du Berger (LDB)'s milk supply chain and its contribution to strengthening the food security and socioeconomic resources of Senegalese Sahelian pastoral households. Porter's value chain model is used to characterize the innovations introduced by the LDB dairy in its milk inbound logistics and supplier relationships. A socioeconomic food security index and qualitative data are used to assess the dairy's supply chain's contribution to strengthen smallholder households' livelihoods. Data for this research were obtained through individual surveys, focus groups and in-depth interviews of LDB managers and milk suppliers. Results show that milk income contributes significantly to household food security. Suppliers who stabilize their dairy income between rainy and dry seasons, diversify income sources and have larger herds are more likely to remain food secure. The LDB innovations contribute by helping herders access biophysical and economic resources, leading to better livestock feed and household food security. (Résumé d'auteur

Switch Function and Pathological Dissociation in Acute Psychiatric Inpatients

<div><p>Swift switching, along with atypical ability on updating and inhibition, has been found in non-clinical dissociators. However, whether swift switching is a cognitive endophenotype that intertwines with traumatisation and pathological dissociation remains unknown. Unspecified acute psychiatric patients were recruited to verify a hypothesis that pathological dissociation is associated with swift switching and traumatisation may explain this relationship. Behavioural measures of intellectual function and three executive functions including updating, switching and inhibition were administered, together with standardised scales to evaluate pathological dissociation and traumatisation. Our results showed superior control ability on switching and updating in inpatients who displayed more symptoms of pathological dissociation. When all three executive functions were entered as predictors, in addition to intellectual quotient and demographic variables to regress upon pathological dissociation, switching rather than updating remained the significant predictor. Importantly, the relationship between pathological dissociation and switching became non-significant when the effect of childhood trauma were controlled. The results support a trauma-related switching hypothesis which postulates swift switching as a cognitive endophenotype of pathological dissociation; traumatisation in childhood may explain the importance of swift switching.</p></div

Descriptive statistics of the behavioural and self-report measures between inpatients with high and low pathological dissociation.

<p>Descriptive statistics of the behavioural and self-report measures between inpatients with high and low pathological dissociation.</p

Regressing pathological dissociation with demographical variables, intellectual quotient, executive control and traumatic experience in hierarchical regression analysis.

<p>Regressing pathological dissociation with demographical variables, intellectual quotient, executive control and traumatic experience in hierarchical regression analysis.</p

AUT772813_Supplementary_material – Supplemental material for Prenatal and perinatal risk factors and the clinical implications on autism spectrum disorder

<p>Supplemental material, AUT772813_Supplementary_material for Prenatal and perinatal risk factors and the clinical implications on autism spectrum disorder by Yi-Ling Chien, Miao-Chun Chou, Wen-Jiun Chou, Yu-Yu Wu, Wen-Che Tsai, Yen-Nan Chiu and Susan Shur-Fen Gau in Autism</p

AUT772813_Lay_Abstract – Supplemental material for Prenatal and perinatal risk factors and the clinical implications on autism spectrum disorder

<p>Supplemental material, AUT772813_Lay_Abstract for Prenatal and perinatal risk factors and the clinical implications on autism spectrum disorder by Yi-Ling Chien, Miao-Chun Chou, Wen-Jiun Chou, Yu-Yu Wu, Wen-Che Tsai, Yen-Nan Chiu and Susan Shur-Fen Gau in Autism</p

Correlation between MMN and neuropsychological tests.

<p>Pearson's partial correlation, controlling for age and affected status.</p

P50 parameters between the controls and patients with schizophrenia.

<p>SD: standard deviation.</p>a<p>The test statistics were obtained by independent <i>t</i> tests.</p>b<p><i>P</i>-values were 2-sided.</p

Effects of age on mismatch negativity.

<p>Mean mismatch negativity amplitude (135–205 msec) at electrode Fz reduces with aging. The reduction rate were not significantly different between healthy control group (open circles and solid regression line) and schizophrenia group (crosses and dashed regression line).</p

Demographic data and clinical correlates.

*<p>Significant difference between controls and patients with schizophrenia (significant level at 0.05)Independent <i>t</i> test for continuous variables.</p><p>Pearson's chi-square (2-sided) test for categorical variables.</p><p>PPD: package per day.</p><p>d′: sensitivity index of undegraded CPT.</p><p>md′: sensitivity index of degraded CPT.</p