DEVELOPING COUNTRY CONCERNS AND MULTILATERAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS

International Relations/Trade,

Strategic argument mapping

Includes bibliographical references (p. 38)

TRADE LIBERALIZATION UNDER NAFTA: WHERE FROM HERE?

International Relations/Trade,

DEMAND SYSTEM CHOICE BASED ON TESTING THE ENGEL CURVE SPECIFICATION

It is common to use a demand systems approach in estimating the key parameters from household consumption data. In conducting these studies the researcher is faced with selecting a functional form. In turn, each functional form implies a particular shape for the Engel curves. This analysis highlights the importance of testing the shape of Engel curves, especially if the researcher is interested in elasticity estimates well away from the sample mean. Using consumption data for selected households in Italy it is shown that many popular functional forms are rejected by the data.Demand and Price Analysis,

A Comparative Study of Two Pediatric Wheelchairs Based on Therapists\u27 Feedback

Summary Receiving feedback from therapists and seating specialists is an important part of evaluating and providing quantitative data to wheelchair manufacturers servicing less-resourced settings. Introduction There is currently a pressing need for research to enable proper donations of wheelchairs to less resourced settings1. To appropriately serve a population of persons with disabilities in a given location, it is important to understand the specific needs of that population2. People living in less resourced settings have a different lifestyle than those residing in more developed countries, and different functionality and design of wheelchairs is needed3. The goal of our study is to compare two pediatric wheelchairs designed for less-resourced settings using questionnaire feedback from clinicians and seating specialists. Methods After working with each wheelchair a least one hour and being involved with fitting a child to that chair, seating specialists, technicians and therapists will complete a visual analogue scale questionnaire with questions on the following: design and manufacturing of 11 structural regions of the wheelchair and 7 additional questions on the likelihood of the wheelchair’s performance in various categories. Preliminary Results Preliminary data indicate the design and manufacturing of the Hope Haven wheelchair is rated higher than the APDK chair in eight regions of the chair and one performance aspect. Conclusion Our sample group of subjects is very small at this point. Additional data collection is planned in conjunction with a trip to Kenya to complete a long term field study of the two chairs. A parallel study with feedback on energy cost of rolling and Follow-up on wheelchair donations and their functionality is an essential part of helping persons with disabilities in less-resourced settings as well as manufacturers

Modeling Bioterrorism in the Livestock Sectors of NAFTA Members

Until two years ago, most citizens of Canada, the United States and Mexico experienced terrorism as a distant reality viewed from the safety of their living rooms. Today, North Americans encounter constant reminders of the aggravation and economic costs imposed on them by the now real threat of terrorism. The United States, the most obvious target for new terrorist activity, has responded by tightening its border security with all countries including its NAFTA partners.(2) Canada and Mexico joined the NAFTA to obtain preferred and more secure access to the United States market. The increased threat of terrorist activity in North America raises three crucial questions for NAFTA members. First, how real is a bioterrorism threat? Second, how can the United States maintain access to its market for its NAFTA partners and at the same time meet its legitimate security concerns? Third, what are the potential economic effects of a bioterrorism attack on North America? While it is generally assumed that the United States would be the primary target of a terrorist attack, Canada, Mexico or all three NAFTA countries could be targeted.Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade,

Prospectus, September 23, 1974

ALL SET FOR STUGO ELECTION; Trustees Approve Budget For \u2774-\u2775, Partial Figures On Page 12; 16 Candidates On Ballot For 1st \u2774 Election; PC Counselors Offer More Than Counseling; Attention: Transfer Students; mercy for who?; The Short Circuit; The Kaleidoscope; Letters; Point-Counterpoint: How Do You View America\u27s Future?; Here Are Candidates\u27 Platforms; State House Candidates To Debate Here; Friends; Untitled; Lit. 1.: A Secret Something, Untitled, Rebirth, Everyone\u27s looking for...; \u27DIRT\u27 Comes Off Clean; Really Raunchy Record Review: Eric Clapton, 461 Ocean Boulevard; Meeting For Prospective Debators; Classified Ads; Books: All The President\u27s Men; Republicans To Have Coffee Wednesday; Phi Beta Lambda Meetings Scheduled; APO Chapter Formed Here; In The Dark: That\u27s Entertainment ; Jock Talk; Harriers Perform Well, Abbey Pleased; IM Football Starts Play On 25th; Howell First \u27Fast Freddy\u27; Bowling Bulletin Board; Watching A Counselor At Work; Registration Drive; Cross Country Schedule; Last Chance For Girls IM Football; Fast Freddy\u27s Football Forecast; Callboard; Parkland Events; Summary Of Approved Budget; Vets Elect Officers; A Column By And For Women; Fashion Forecasthttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1974/1009/thumbnail.jp

Genome-Wide Association Study Identifies High-Impact Susceptibility Loci for HCC in North America

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Despite the substantial impact of environmental factors, individuals with a family history of liver cancer have an increased risk for HCC. However, genetic factors have not been studied systematically by genome-wide approaches in large numbers of individuals from European descent populations (EDP). APPROACH AND RESULTS: We conducted a 2-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) on HCC not affected by HBV infections. A total of 1872 HCC cases and 2907 controls were included in the discovery stage, and 1200 HCC cases and 1832 controls in the validation. We analyzed the discovery and validation samples separately and then conducted a meta-analysis. All analyses were conducted in the presence and absence of HCV. The liability-scale heritability was 24.4% for overall HCC. Five regions with significant ORs (95% CI) were identified for nonviral HCC: 3p22.1, MOBP , rs9842969, (0.51, [0.40-0.65]); 5p15.33, TERT , rs2242652, (0.70, (0.62-0.79]); 19q13.11, TM6SF2 , rs58542926, (1.49, [1.29-1.72]); 19p13.11 MAU2 , rs58489806, (1.53, (1.33-1.75]); and 22q13.31, PNPLA3 , rs738409, (1.66, [1.51-1.83]). One region was identified for HCV-induced HCC: 6p21.31, human leukocyte antigen DQ beta 1, rs9275224, (0.79, [0.74-0.84]). A combination of homozygous variants of PNPLA3 and TERT showing a 6.5-fold higher risk for nonviral-related HCC compared to individuals lacking these genotypes. This observation suggests that gene-gene interactions may identify individuals at elevated risk for developing HCC. CONCLUSIONS: Our GWAS highlights novel genetic susceptibility of nonviral HCC among European descent populations from North America with substantial heritability. Selected genetic influences were observed for HCV-positive HCC. Our findings indicate the importance of genetic susceptibility to HCC development

Population-based targeted sequencing of 54 candidate genes identifies PALB2 as a susceptibility gene for high-grade serous ovarian cancer

Purpose: The known epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) susceptibility genes account for less than 50% of the heritable risk of ovarian cancer suggesting that other susceptibility genes exist. The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution to ovarian cancer susceptibility of rare deleterious germline variants in a set of candidate genes. Methods: We sequenced the coding region of 54 candidate genes in 6385 invasive EOC cases and 6115 controls of broad European ancestry. Genes with an increased frequency of putative deleterious variants in cases versus controls were further examined in an independent set of 14 135 EOC cases and 28 655 controls from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium and the UK Biobank. For each gene, we estimated the EOC risks and evaluated associations between germline variant status and clinical characteristics. Results: The ORs associated for high-grade serous ovarian cancer were 3.01 for PALB2 (95% CI 1.59 to 5.68; p=0.00068), 1.99 for POLK (95% CI 1.15 to 3.43; p=0.014) and 4.07 for SLX4 (95% CI 1.34 to 12.4; p=0.013). Deleterious mutations in FBXO10 were associated with a reduced risk of disease (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.07 to 1.00, p=0.049). However, based on the Bayes false discovery probability, only the association for PALB2 in high-grade serous ovarian cancer is likely to represent a true positive. Conclusions: We have found strong evidence that carriers of PALB2 deleterious mutations are at increased risk of high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Whether the magnitude of risk is sufficiently high to warrant the inclusion of PALB2 in cancer gene panels for ovarian cancer risk testing is unclear; much larger sample sizes will be needed to provide sufficiently precise estimates for clinical counselling