AN ECONOMY-WIDE ANALYSIS OF GM FOOD LABELING POLICIES IN TAIWAN

The development of agricultural biotechnology offers the opportunity to increase crop production, lowers farming costs, improves food quality and could reduce costs to consumers. For the food importing economies, the import quantities as well as prices will be affected through world market as the production technology of GM crops is adopted by the exporting countries. Many sectors will be affected by the use of these crops through vertical (or backward) and horizontal (or forward) linkages. The purpose of this paper is to develop an economy-wide quantitative assessment of the economic impacts of the introduction of GM products with and without labeling. The modeling framework used in this analysis is TAIGEM (Taiwan General Equilibrium Model), a multi-sectoral computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of the Taiwan¡¦s economy which is derived from ORANI model (Dixon, Parmenter, Sutton and Vincent, 1982). TAIGEM is amended by splitting corn and soybeans into GM and non-GM varieties. It also endogenizes the decision of producers and consumers to use GM vs. non-GM corn and soybeans in their intermediate uses and consumption, respectively. We also consider the consumers¡¦ acceptance of GM food so that the mandatory labeling policy can be examined. Our simulation results indicate that the most extreme import ban on GM crops would be very costly in terms of total production values, ranging from NT$ 40 to 90 billions per year.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Memories of the future

The year is 2020. Sheffield University’s MSc in Electronic & Digital Library Management has been running for 10 years. What paths have its graduates’ careers taken

Substance P scavenger enhances antioxidant defenses and prevents prothrombotic effects on the rat lung after acute exposure to oil smoke

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Airborne particulate matter, from cooking oil, smoking, engine exhaust and other sources, is associated with the development of atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. In order to explore the cellular and molecular events following exposure of rats to lard oil smoke, we measured the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), substance P, cellular adhesion molecules, and thrombosis in relation to inhibitors of substance P, the NK-1 receptor, and antioxidants.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Rats were exposed to oil smoke for 120 min with or without 20 min pretreatment with lovastatin (substance P scavenger), L733060 (NK-1 receptor antagonist), vitamin E (antioxidant) or catechins (antioxidant). The levels of substance P and ROS were measured. Histological studies observed ROS damage in the form of HEL adducts. The prothrombotic effects of oil smoke exposure were measured by experimental induction of thrombosis in vivo.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Oil smoke exposure significantly increased substance P levels, ROS levels, ROS damage (HEL adduct levels), and the size of experimentally induced thrombi. The pretreatments reduced all of these effects of oil smoke exposure; at many time points the reductions were statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We established a connection between oil smoke exposure and thrombosis which involves substance P and its receptor, the NK-1 receptor, and ROS. This study helps establish a mechanistic explanation of how airborne particulate matter can increase the risk of cardiovascular illness.</p

THE COMPARSION OF CURVATURE RADIUS IN DIFFERENT PERFORMANCES

The purpose of this study was to compare the curvature radius of different performance (63.20m and 68.46m) of hammer throw. The subject, who is the present record holder in Taiwan, has 9 years of experience in hammer throw. Two Peak-Performance high-speed video cameras operating at 120Hz were used simultaneously to record the performances of the subject. The results indicated that the patterns were completely different between two performances of hammer throw. The better performance was more periodic than the other. Based on the results of this study, it has been suggested that other sport events that include aspects of rotation may also benefit by adjustment of the pattern from their curvature radius

Always Open, Seven-Eleven: Education Targeting Healthier Food Choices in a High Convenience Store Density Area in Taipei

To enhance children's health, the promotion of nutrition literacy in school is vital as it helps prevent the development of health conditions and diseases and maintain healthy lifestyles. Taiwan features the top highest ratio of convenience stores per population density. Convenience stores, an increasingly popular dining place, were linked to the development of eating behavior and body weight issues in children. An eight-week classroom-based nutrition intervention, employing the Traffic Light Diet as a framework, targeting children's perception of and intention to visit the convenience store was implemented. The study conducted a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest research design with a comparison group. A total of 49 students participated in the study, with 25 in the intervention and 24 in the comparison group. Data were collected by utilizing surveys, interviews, and observations. The study's findings demonstrated the positive trajectory of the impact of this intervention on increasing food-and-nutrition-related knowledge and improving healthier diet choices at convenience stores among children. One main theme was identified in coding interviews: parent involvement in meal preparation may reduce convenience store use and increase consumption of vegetables among children. Assessing the influence of parental support for healthy dietary choices, eating nutritious foods at home, and involving the family in meal preparation is an area for future research

Factors Affecting Sesame Seed Exports in Burkina Faso: The Vector Error Correction Approach

The research is financed by Academia Sinica, Taiwan. Grant No. AS-SS-107-02. Abstract Burkina Faso's (BFA) dependence on a single export crop, namely cotton, has so far threatened its economy since the fluctuating and uncontrollable drops in world cotton prices. The diversification of cash crops has become a national priority that is appropriated day by day by actors of rural development, and more particularly by farmers seeking to improve and secure their income. Thus, export crops, such as sesame, appear obvious and essential, not only for farmers’ income security but also for the country by its ability to attract currencies. In the last decade, BFA’s the sesame sector has recorded a tremendous growth both in quantity and value of exports to being the eighth world largest exporter of sesame seed. Considering its unequaled performance in the export of sesame seed, we deemed relevant to identify the key factors affecting that performance and to study their effects on sesame seed export earnings in order to draft appropriated policies aimed to enhance the country’s earnings. This study uses the cointegration approach, and has purposely designed exports value as the independent variable to analyze the country exports performance using time series data for the period of 47 years (1970-2016). One cointegration vector is found between the variables employed; thereby the Vector Error Correction Model has been performed. The empirical results reveal that nominal exchange rate, producer price, world export volume of sesame seed as a proxy of world demand, and world price are key factors affecting significantly the country’s exports performance in the short-run. Moreover, in the long-run nominal exchange rate, production, producer price, and world export price are factors determining significantly export earnings of sesame seed in Burkina Faso. For Burkina Faso to increase its market shares and export earnings, especially in the long-run, it is principally recommended to boost the production by increasing significantly yields and ensure an appropriate transmission of international prices increments to farmers. Keywords: Agricultural Export, Determinants of Agricultural Exports, Sesame Seed, Cointegration, Burkina Faso. DOI: 10.7176/DCS/10-4-03 Publication date: April 30th 202