YOUTH AT RISK - POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Advancing subsidy reforms: towards a viable policy package

Executive Summary: World subsidies may total some $800 billion, of which perhaps two-thirds occur in the developed economies of the OECD. Reforming subsidy regimes that damage the prospects for sustainable development is immensely complex. Simply calling for subsidy removal is unlikely to succeed. The complexity arises from the fact that subsidies are manifestations of rent-seeking, which, in turn is part of a wider category of unproductive activity in economic systems. Rentseeking involves redirecting economic resources to special interest groups rather than using resources productively. Interest groups then use those resources to reinforce their privleged positions. Subsidy reform will inevitably conflict with those special interests. The idea that subsidy reform is a ‘win-win’ policy is therefore misleading – there will always be losers, even if they are undeserving losers. In many cases, the most harmful subsidies will be those that are least easy to remove. Subsidy reform is therefore about dissipating rents, has to be part of a wider programme of macroeconomic and political reform. Subsidies are often linked to corruption, thus emphasising the difficulty of securing the political changes that are needed. Moreover, instituting democratic reform is not sufficient either: democratic societies have even larger subsidy regimes than less democratic societies. Political change has to be combined with economic reform. Some have advocated ‘sudden shocks’ whereby dramatic events are seized as an opportunity to institute reform. There is some evidence to suggest that if a crisis does occur, it may be best to implement subsidy reform along with other transitional measures in one large package. An alternative is to let the almost inevitable growth of subsidies produce economic bankruptcy, and then institute reform. But many societies have proved surprisingly resilient whilst sustaining extensive subsidy regimes, and the costs of waiting may not be acceptable anyway. In the absence of crisis, a gradual approach is best. Policies need to be pre-announced and gradual subsidy reduction needs to be combined with careful public awareness campaigns and efforts at political transparency and accountability. Bilateral and multilateral lenders have a strong role to play, even though reforming subsidies as part of a conditionality package is still controversial. Reform almost inevitably involves privatisation since exposure to market forces is essential for rent dissipation. Nonetheless, reform is complex and its success if difficult to guarantee: for example, privatisation may simply shift rents from the public to the private sector. Subsidy regimes seem peculiarly resilient to change

Treating hepatic steatosis and fibrosis by modulating mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism

A hepatic comorbidity of metabolic syndrome, known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is increasing in prevalence in conjunction with the pandemics of obesity and diabetes. The spectrum of NAFLD ranges from simple hepatic fat accumulation to a more severe disease termed nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), involving inflammation, hepatocyte death, and fibrosis. Importantly, NASH is linked to a much higher risk of cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as an increased risk for nonhepatic malignancies and cardiovascular disease. Interest in the understanding of the disease processes and search for treatments for the spectrum of NAFLD-NASH has increased exponentially, but there are no approved pharmacologic therapies. In this review, we discuss the existing literature supporting insulin-sensitizing thiazolidinedione compounds as potential drug candidates for the treatment of NASH. In addition, we put these results into new context by summarizing recent studies suggesting these compounds alter mitochondrial metabolism by binding and inhibiting the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier. Keywords: Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis, Mitochondria, Pyruvate, Thiazolidinedion

Computed tomography and magnetic resonance diagnosis of variations in the anatomical location of the major salivary glands in 1680 dogs and 187 cats

During assessment of routine clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heads of dogs, variations in the location of mandibular and zygomatic salivary glands (SGs) were observed incidentally. The aims of this retrospective study were to describe anatomical variations of the major SGs found on MRI and computed tomography (CT) studies of the head in dogs and cats and to investigate possible clinical relevancy. No anatomical variation of the SGs was seen in cats, but in dogs, although variation of the parotid SG was not identified, that of the mandibular SG was found in 33/1680 animals (2%), either unilaterally (6/33 right-sided, 13/33 left-sided) or bilaterally (14/33). The Border terrier breed (19/33, 58%) was over-represented. Each atypically located mandibular SG was positioned medial to the digastric muscle and rostral to the retropharyngeal lymph node. The sublingual glands were difficult to delineate from the mandibular glands. Anatomical variation of one zygomatic gland (3/4 left-sided) was identified in four small-breed dogs (0.2%). Each atypically located zygomatic gland was tilted at the ventrorostral aspect of the masseter muscle underneath the skin surface. MRI and CT characteristics were not different between typically and atypically located SGs. None of the dogs had clinical signs related with SG disease. It was concluded that, with suspected breed predispositions, incidental unilateral or bilateral anatomical variations of mandibular and zygomatic SGs can be encountered in dogs and an awareness of these possible variations may be important in pre-surgical planning

A hypothalamic channel-system in the inferior lobes of a trigger-fish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus, Balistidae)

In the course of a general investigation of the optic system in some trigger-fishes, a hypothalamic, ventricular channel-system with pores, leading to the outside of the brain, has been discovered in the inferior lobes ofRhinecanthus aculeatus (Balistidae). A description of the morphological relations of the channel-system to the blood-vessel-supply and the cranium suggests that the organ-systems involved form a functional unit. The possibility of a hormone-producing system is discussed in the light of physiological and ecological aspects

Digital co-regulation: designing a supranational legal framework for the platform economy

This paper examines digital data-driven platforms and their impact on contemporary regulatory paradigms. While these phenomena are increasingly proclaimed as paradigm altering in many respects, they remain relatively little understood, including in their regulatory dimension. Lawmakers around the globe including the European Commission are currently trying to make sense of these evolutions and determine how to regulate digital platforms. In its 2016 Communication on Online Platforms, the European Commission proposed various options for regulating the platform economy, including self-regulatory and co-regulatory models. The Commission’s assumption that self-regulation or co-regulation can replace top-down legislative intervention in the platform economy forms the background of this paper, which examines these three options to determine their respective suitability. We shall conclude that as command-and-control regulation as well as self-regulation raise significant problems in their application to the platform economy, co-regulation emerges as the most adequate option if certain conditions are complied with

Expansão e redução de cláusulas infinitivas na fala de Florianópolis /

Dissertação (Mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão.Nesta pesquisa, tratamos da expansão e redução de cláusulas infinitivas, mais especificamente, das cláusulas adverbiais finais, causais e temporais, a partir de pressupostos teóricos do Funcionalismo Lingüístico, em especial do paradigma da Gramaticalização, e da Teoria Variacionista, investigando a influência de fatores lingüísticos e sociais sobre o emprego e a codificação dessas cláusulas. Os dados foram extraídos do Banco de Dados do Projeto VARSUL (Variação Lingüística Urbana na Região Sul) de Florianópolis. Os resultados obtidos por meio da análise quantitativa e qualitativa apontam, para as cláusulas finais e causais investigadas, usos praticamente categóricos quanto à sua forma de codificação, reduzidas e desenvolvidas, respectivamente, e, para as temporais, usos mais variáveis. Além disso, indicam, para todas as cláusulas, possibilidades de diferentes percursos quanto a graus de integração e estágios de gramaticalizaçã