BENEFIT CAPTURE: EVIDENCE FROM A RIVER CORRIDOR BENEFIT COST EVALUATION

The concept of and evidence for benefit capture are explored in a benefit cost analysis of selected water quality and infrastructure improvements in the Muskingum River corridor of South Eastern Ohio. Property tax revenues and CVM bid functions are estimated and implications for benefit capture and further research are developed.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Sequence Diversities of Serine-Aspartate Repeat Genes among Staphylococcus aureus Isolates from Different Hosts Presumably by Horizontal Gene Transfer

BACKGROUND: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is recognized as one of the major forces for bacterial genome evolution. Many clinically important bacteria may acquire virulence factors and antibiotic resistance through HGT. The comparative genomic analysis has become an important tool for identifying HGT in emerging pathogens. In this study, the Serine-Aspartate Repeat (Sdr) family has been compared among different sources of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) to discover sequence diversities within their genomes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Four sdr genes were analyzed for 21 different S. aureus strains and 218 mastitis-associated S. aureus isolates from Canada. Comparative genomic analyses revealed that S. aureus strains from bovine mastitis (RF122 and mastitis isolates in this study), ovine mastitis (ED133), pig (ST398), chicken (ED98), and human methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) (TCH130, MRSA252, Mu3, Mu50, N315, 04-02981, JH1 and JH9) were highly associated with one another, presumably due to HGT. In addition, several types of insertion and deletion were found in sdr genes of many isolates. A new insertion sequence was found in mastitis isolates, which was presumably responsible for the HGT of sdrC gene among different strains. Moreover, the sdr genes could be used to type S. aureus. Regional difference of sdr genes distribution was also indicated among the tested S. aureus isolates. Finally, certain associations were found between sdr genes and subclinical or clinical mastitis isolates. CONCLUSIONS: Certain sdr gene sequences were shared in S. aureus strains and isolates from different species presumably due to HGT. Our results also suggest that the distributional assay of virulence factors should detect the full sequences or full functional regions of these factors. The traditional assay using short conserved regions may not be accurate or credible. These findings have important implications with regard to animal husbandry practices that may inadvertently enhance the contact of human and animal bacterial pathogens

SPIRE - combining SGI-110 with cisplatin and gemcitabine chemotherapy for solid malignancies including bladder cancer: study protocol for a phase Ib/randomised IIa open label clinical trial

Background Urothelial bladder cancer (UBC) accounts for 10,000 new diagnoses and 5000 deaths annually in the UK (Cancer Research UK, http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/bladder-cancer, Cancer Research UK, Accessed 26 Mar 2018). Cisplatin-based chemotherapy is standard of care therapy for UBC for both palliative first-line treatment of advanced/metastatic disease and radical neoadjuvant treatment of localised muscle invasive bladder cancer. However, cisplatin resistance remains a critical cause of treatment failure and a barrier to therapeutic advance in UBC. Based on supportive pre-clinical data, we hypothesised that DNA methyltransferase inhibition would circumvent cisplatin resistance in UBC and potentially other cancers. Methods The addition of SGI-110 (guadecitabine, a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor) to conventional doublet therapy of gemcitabine and cisplatin (GC) is being tested within the phase Ib/IIa SPIRE clinical trial. SPIRE incorporates an initial, modified rolling six-dose escalation phase Ib design of up to 36 patients with advanced solid tumours followed by a 20-patient open-label randomised controlled dose expansion phase IIa component as neoadjuvant treatment for UBC. Patients are being recruited from UK secondary care sites. The dose escalation phase will determine a recommended phase II dose (RP2D, primary endpoint) of SGI-110, by subcutaneous injection, on days 1–5 for combination with GC at conventional doses (cisplatin 70 mg/m2, IV infusion, day 8; gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2, IV infusion, days 8 and 15) in every 21-day cycle. In the dose expansion phase, patients will be randomised 1:1 to GC with or without SGI-110 at the proposed RP2D. Secondary endpoints will include toxicity profiles, SGI-110 pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic biomarkers, and pathological complete response rates in the dose expansion phase. Analyses will not be powered for formal statistical comparisons and descriptive statistics will be used to describe rates of toxicity, efficacy and translational endpoints by treatment arm. Discussion SPIRE will provide evidence for whether SGI-110 in combination with GC chemotherapy is safe and biologically effective prior to future phase II/III trials as a neoadjuvant therapy for UBC and potentially in other cancers treated with GC

Agricultural Investments and Hunger in Africa Modelling Potential Contributions to SDG 2 - Zero Hunger

We use IFPRI’s IMPACT framework of linked biophysical and structural economic models to examine developments in global agricultural production systems, climate change, and food security. Building on related work on how increased investment in agricultural research, resource management, and infrastructure can address the challenges of meeting future food demand, we explore the costs and implications of these investments for reducing hunger in Africa by 2030. This analysis is coupled with a new investment estimation model, based on the perpetual inventory methodology (PIM), which allows for a better assessment of the costs of achieving projected agricultural improvements. We find that climate change will continue to slow projected reductions in hunger in the coming decades—increasing the number of people at risk of hunger in 2030 by 16 million in Africa compared to a scenario without climate change. Investments to increase agricultural productivity can offset the adverse impacts of climate change and help reduce the share of people at risk of hunger in 2030 to five percent or less in Northern, Western, and Southern Africa, but the share is projected to remain at ten percent or more in Eastern and Central Africa. Investments in Africa to achieve these results are estimated to cost about 15 billion USD per year between 2015 and 2030, as part of a larger package of investments costing around 52 billion USD in developing countries

Livestock 2.0 – genome editing for fitter, healthier, and more productive farmed animals

Abstract The human population is growing, and as a result we need to produce more food whilst reducing the impact of farming on the environment. Selective breeding and genomic selection have had a transformational impact on livestock productivity, and now transgenic and genome-editing technologies offer exciting opportunities for the production of fitter, healthier and more-productive livestock. Here, we review recent progress in the application of genome editing to farmed animal species and discuss the potential impact on our ability to produce food

Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI): Evaluation of outcomes based on the use of ASTI, 2008–2018

This is the final report for an evaluation of the use of one of the flagship programs of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI): the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI). In addition to identifying who has used ASTI and how, this report aims to go a step further and examine outcomes. An outcome may be defined as “a change in knowledge, skills, attitudes and/or relationships, manifest as a change in behavior, to which research outputs and related activities have contributed” (CGIAR MEL CoP 2018). In the CGIAR Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) context, the outcomes are usually changes in policies, programs, or investments. The recognition or use of outputs by partners in decision making or capacity strengthening can also be considered as an early, less mature, outcome. We first review previous reports that evaluated ASTI work. Then we describe the methods used for this study to develop an evidence base for ASTI outcomes. We summarize results from stakeholder surveys, citation searches, and downloads. Next, we present results from the survey of authors who have cited ASTI work.Non-PRIFPRI1; CPR2; ASTIPIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM

Statistics on Public Expenditures for Economic Development (SPEED): Evaluation of outcomes based on the use of the SPEED database, 2008–2018

This report evaluates the use of one of IFPRI’s flagship products, the Statistics on Public Expenditures for Economic Development1 (SPEED), which has been supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) since 2012. SPEED comprises a database on public expenditures, tools to visualize and manipulate the data, and reports that draw upon the data. The 2015 (latest) version of SPEED contains information from 10 public expenditure sectors in 147 countries from 1980 to 2012 (IFPRI 2015). The sectors are agriculture, communication, education, defense, health, mining, social protection, fuel and energy, transport, and transport and communication (as a group). IFPRI researchers have compiled data from multiple sources, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and national governments, and conducted extensive data checks and adjustments to ensure spending measurements that are consistent over time and free of exchange-rate fluctuations and currency denomination changes. This report also considers the use of the 2010 and 2013 versions of the SPEED database, which contain fewer sectors, feature country coverage that is less broad, and span fewer years than the 2015 edition (see IFPRI 2010 and IFPRI 2013).Non-PRIFPRI1; CPR2; SPEEDPIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM

Assessment of outcomes based on the use of PIM-supported foresight modeling work, 2012-2018

This report presents results of a study to assess the use of foresight modeling tools and outputs produced since 2012 and funded through Flagship 1, Cluster 1.1 of the CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM). The goal of this study is to examine how the tools and outputs of foresight modeling supported by PIM through Flagship 1 (hereafter “PIM-supported foresight modeling”) have been used by stakeholders. The study aims to identify as many uses of and outcomes from the PIM-supported foresight modeling as possible. It is by no means comprehensive, but it does cover usage by a wide range of stakeholders from across the CGIAR system, other international organizations, academia, and national governments.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP2; Global Futures and Strategic ForesightPIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM

Food aid: a primer

As an introduction to food aid this paper reviews various definitions of food aid and terminology used by practitioners and academics. It also briefly examines the size of food aid relative to Official Development Assistance, trade and food production in recipient countries and recognizes that in many instances food aid may play an important role in issues related to food security. Lastly, it summarizes actions taken by various international organizations to limit possible trade distortion resulting from food aid