bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Survey of complementary and alternative medicine use at a tertiary children's hospital
Authors: Lim Alissa , Cranswick Noel , Skull Susan , South Mike
Published: August 2005

Objective: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) within the Australian community is common. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of CAM usage in children attending a tertiary children's hospital.

Methods: We conducted a cross‐sectional survey of children attending the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. Children were identified by consecutive acute admissions and attendance at outpatient clinics. A structured questionnaire with items about the use of CAM in the preceding year was administered by means of a face‐to‐face interview.

Results: Based on the 503 children surveyed, 51% reported CAM use in the preceding year. Forty‐three percent had used at least one CAM medication. The most common medicinal CAM used were multivitamins, vitamin C, herbal remedies and homeopathic treatments. Non‐medicinal CAM was used by 23% of the participants. The most commonly used therapies were chiropractic, naturopathy, aromatherapy, therapeutic massage and dietary restriction. The main reasons stated for CAM usage included promotion of general health and treatment of colds. Sixty‐three percent of those reporting CAM use had not discussed this with their treating doctor.

Conclusion: The use of CAM by children is common. Complementary and alternative medicine is particularly used for the treatment of common illnesses and conditions of childhood. Importantly, use is not always conveyed to treating physicians. Given the potential risk of adverse events associated with the use of CAM or interactions with conventional management, doctors should ask about their use as a part of routine history taking.
Adverse reactions to immunization with newer vaccines in the very preterm infant
Authors: Ellison Vanessa J , Davis Peter G , Doyle Lex W
Published: August 2005

Objective: To study the frequency and types of adverse reactions to currently available vaccines in very preterm infants.

Methods: Case notes were obtained for very preterm infants ≤30 weeks' gestational age who received their first immunization at the Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, during 1999–2003. Data were extracted for the time periods 48 h before and 48 h after immunizations, with the data extraction blinded as to whether the period being evaluated was pre‐ or post‐immunization. Data collected focused on the frequency and severity of apnoea, respiratory support, fever and clinical consequences of adverse reactions.

Results: A total of 48 very preterm infants were immunized during the period; 37 infants had Comvax (Haemophilus influenzae type B and hepatitis B vaccine), Infanrix (diphtheria, tetanus and acellular pertussis vaccine) and inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine, and 11 infants had Comvax and Infanrix only. Their mean (SD) gestational age at birth was 26.4 (1.7) weeks with mean birthweight of 872 (235) g. The mean postnatal age at immunization was 76 (20) days. Low‐grade fever (>37.5°C per axilla) occurred in 16 (33%) infants after immunization, but none before immunization (P < 0.001). There was no substantial change in recorded apnoea. No serious adverse events were noted. Four (8%) infants underwent a septic work up post‐immunization. The C‐reactive protein was increased in all four infants, but other tests for sepsis were negative.

Conclusion: Fever remains a common adverse event following immunization of the preterm infant in spite of the development of a new generation of vaccines.
Loss of diversity of ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria correlates with increasing salinity in an estuary system
Authors: Bernhard Anne E. , Donn Thomas , Giblin Anne E. , Stahl David A.
Published: August 2005

Ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria (AOB) play an important role in nitrogen cycling in estuaries, but little is known about AOB diversity, distribution and activity in relation to the chemical and physical changes encountered in estuary systems. Although estuarine salinity gradients are well recognized to influence microbial community structure, few studies have examined the influence of varying salinity on the diversity and stability of AOB populations. To investigate these relationships, we collected sediment samples from low‐, mid‐ and high‐salinity sites in Plum Island Sound estuary, MA, during spring and late summer over 3 years. Ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria distribution and diversity were assessed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) analysis of the ammonia monooxygenase (amoA) gene, and fragments were identified by screening amoA clone libraries constructed from each site. Most striking was the stability and low diversity of the AOB community at the high‐salinity site, showing little variability over 3 years. Ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria at the high‐salinity site were not closely related to any cultured AOB, but were most similar to Nitrosospira spp. Ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria at the mid‐ and low‐salinity sites were distributed among Nitrosospira‐like sequences and sequences related to Nitrosomonas ureae/oligotropha and Nitrosomonas sp. Nm143. Our study suggests that salinity is a strong environmental control on AOB diversity and distribution in this estuary.
Cultivation‐independent in situ molecular analysis of bacteria involved in degradation of pentachlorophenol in soil
Authors: Mahmood Shahid , Paton Graeme I. , Prosser James I.
Published: August 2005

The central aim of this study was to determine which components of an indigenous bacterial community in pristine grassland soil were capable of degrading pentachlorophenol (PCP) using two cultivation‐independent, in situ, molecular techniques. The first involved polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) amplification of 16S rRNA genes from DNA and RNA, respectively, extracted from PCP‐amended soil. The second involved stable isotope probing (SIP), with incubation of soil with 13C‐PCP and molecular analysis of 13C‐labelled RNA, derived from cells incorporating PCP or its breakdown products, after separation from 12C‐RNA by ultracentrifugation. Bacterial communities were characterized by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of amplification products. PCP was degraded at an approximate rate of 1.18 ± 0.25 (SEM) mg kg−1 day−1 and 39% of the measurable PCP fraction was degraded after incubation for 63 days. PCP degradation was associated with significant changes in bacterial community structure, leading to the appearance of seven bands in both DNA‐ and RNA‐based DGGE profiles, the latter providing clearer evidence of qualitative shifts in community structure. The majority of novel bands increased in relative intensity during the first 35 days and subsequently decreased in relative intensity as incubation continued. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis of six of these bands indicated most to have closest database relatives that were uncultured bacteria with sequence homologies to reported hydrocarbon degraders. No band could be detected in RNA‐SIP‐DGGE profiles derived from 13C‐RNA fractions at day 0 but several faint bands appeared in these fractions after incubation of soil for 4 days, indicating assimilation of PCP or its degradation products. These bands increased in intensity during subsequent incubation for 21 days and decreased with further incubation. With one exception, RNA‐SIP‐DGGE and RNA‐DGGE profiles were similar, indicating that RNA‐targeted DGGE, in this case, provided a good indication of the metabolically active microbial community.
Pseudomonas syringae genes induced during colonization of leaf surfaces
Authors: Marco Maria L. , Legac Jennifer , Lindow Steven E.
Published: August 2005

The foliar pathogen and ice nucleator, Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae B728a, demonstrates a high level of epiphytic fitness on plants. Using a promoter‐trapping strategy termed habitat‐inducible rescue of survival (HIRS), we identified genes of this organism that are induced during colonization of healthy bean leaf surfaces. These plant‐inducible genes (pigs) encode diverse cellular functions including virulence, transcription regulation, transport, nutrient acquisition and other known and unknown loci, some of which may result in antisense transcripts to annotated P. syringae genes. Prominent among the pigs was ssuE, a gene in the sulfate‐starvation regulon, indicating that sulfate is not abundant on leaf surfaces. inaZ reporter gene fusion assays of the plant‐inducible loci revealed up to 300‐fold higher levels of pig transcriptional activity on plant leaves compared with minimal medium. However, the maximum levels of pig transcriptional activity were typically too weak to be measured using a gfp reporter gene. One exception was orf6 in the hrp/hrc pathogenicity island which was highly induced in epiphytic P. syringae cells. Four pigs were disrupted by insertional mutagenesis. While growth of the ssuE mutant was impaired under certain conditions in laboratory medium, the epiphytic and virulence properties of the mutants on bean plants were identical to wild‐type P. syringae. Our results demonstrate the utility of HIRS to identify genes expressed on leaves and provide new insight into the leaf surface environment.
Novel vacuolate sulfur bacteria from the Gulf of Mexico reproduce by reductive division in three dimensions
Authors: Kalanetra Karen M. , Joye Samantha B. , Sunseri Nicole R. , Nelson Douglas C.
Published: August 2005

Large spherical sulfur bacteria, 180–375 µm in diameter, were found regularly and in abundance in surface sediments collected from hydrocarbon seeps (water depth 525–640 m) in the Gulf of Mexico. These bacteria were characterized by a thin ‘shell’ of sulfur globule‐filled cytoplasm that surrounded a central vacuole (roughly 80% of biovolume) containing high concentrations of nitrate (average 460 mM). Approximately 800 base pairs of 16S rRNA gene sequence data, linked to this bacterium by fluorescent in situ hybridization, showed 99% identity with Thiomargarita namibiensis, previously described only from sediments collected off the coast of Namibia (Western Africa). Unlike T. namibiensis, where cells form a linear chain within a common sheath, the Gulf of Mexico strain occurred as single cells and clusters of two, four and eight cells, which were clearly the product of division in one to three planes. In sediment cores maintained at 4°C, which undoubtedly experienced a diminishing flux of hydrogen sulfide over time, the Thiomargarita‐like bacterium remained viable for up to 2 years. During that long period, each cell appeared to undergo (as judged by change in biovolume) one to three reductive divisions, perhaps as a dispersal strategy in the face of diminished availability of its putative electron donor.
Natural microbial diversity in superficial sediments of Milazzo Harbor (Sicily) and community successions during microcosm enrichment with various hydrocarbons
Authors: Yakimov Michail M. , Denaro Renata , Genovese Maria , Cappello Simone , D’Auria Giuseppe , Chernikova Tatyana N. , Timmis Kenneth N. , Golyshin Peter N. , Giluliano Laura
Published: August 2005

Hydrocarbon‐contaminated superficial sediments collected from the Harbor of Milazzo (Tirrenean Sea, northern Sicily), a zone strongly affected by anthropogenic activities, were examined for in situ biodegradative capacities. A culture‐independent molecular phylogenetic approach was used to study the influence of hydrocarbon and nutrient addition on the activity and diversity of the indigenous microbiota during a microcosm evaluation. The autochthonous microbial community in non‐polluted sediments was represented by eubacterial phylotypes grouped within Proteobacteria, CFB and Firmicutes. The archaeal domain was represented by members of Marine Group I of Crenarchaeota. The majority of recovered sequences was affiliated with heterotrophic genera Clostridium and Vibrio, typical members of eutrophic coastal environments. Amendments of hydrocarbons and mineral nutrients to microcosms dramatically changed the initial diversity of the microbial community. Only bacterial phylotypes affiliated with Proteobacteria and CFB division were detected. The decrease in diversity observed in several microcosms could be explained by the strong selection for microorganisms belonging to group of marine hydrocarbonoclastic γ‐Proteobacteria, namely Alcanivorax, Cycloclasticus, Marinobacter, Marinobacterium/Neptunomonas and Thalassolituus. This study demonstrated that nutrient amendment to hydrocarbon‐contaminated superficial sediments enhanced the indigenous microbial biodegradation activity and that highly specialized marine hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria, representing a minor fraction in the natural microbial community, play an important role in the biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons accidentally entering the coastal environment.
A developing view of the origins of urgency: the importance of animal models
Authors: Gillespie James I.
Published: August 2005

Although caution should be used when applying animal data to human physiology, if care is taken to differentiate between general principles and complications of detail, particular to the species being examined, then experimentation on animal models can reveal basic phenomena in the bladder that offer clues to the origin of urgency. Recent data from the whole isolated bladder of guinea pigs showed unexpected complexities in autonomous activity during the filling phase of the micturition cycle: small, transient increases in intravesical pressure were associated with propagating waves of contractile activity and localized stretches of bladder wall. This complex, coordinated activity suggests that there are mechanisms within the bladder wall devoted specifically to generating phasic activity. Thus, there appear to be two systems controlling detrusor contractions: one associated with overall contractions similar to the micturition contraction and the other generating phasic activity. The mechanisms generating the phasic activity appear to be the point of complex integration of both excitatory and inhibitory inputs. There is evidence that local activity in the bladder wall generates afferent discharge, which probably contributes to bladder sensations. Animal data suggest a novel motor/sensory system incorporating contractile (motor) events, which cause stretches resulting in activation of afferent nerves (sensory). The motor element of this system appears to be controlled in a highly complex fashion such that the amplitude and frequency of the motor activity can be modulated by a variety of inputs. This raises the possibility that the sensitivity of the system informing the central nervous system, and thus awareness of the bladder's state during the micturition cycle, can be manipulated, possibly via novel drugs targeted at areas involved in overactive bladder, including urgency incontinence.
Nocturia in relation to sleep, health, and medical treatment in the elderly
Authors: Asplund Ragnar
Published: August 2005

Nocturia is a common condition in the elderly that profoundly influences general health and quality of life. It appears to predict a higher risk of death. One consequence of nocturia is sleep deterioration, with increased daytime sleepiness and loss of energy and activity. Accidents, e.g. falls, are increased both at night and during the day in elderly persons with nocturia. Nocturia is caused by nocturnal polyuria, reduced voided volumes, or a combination of the two. Nocturnal polyuria can be caused by numerous diseases, e.g. diabetes insipidus, diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, and sleep apnoea. A disorder of the vasopressin system, with very low or undetectable vasopressin levels at night, is manifested as an increased nocturnal urine output, which in the most extreme cases reaches 85% of the 24‐h diuresis: the prevalence of low or undetectable vasopressin levels at night has been estimated to be 3–4% in those aged ≥ 65 years. Treatment of nocturia may include avoiding excessive fluid intake and use of diuretic medication in the afternoon rather than the morning, oral desmopressin at bedtime in cases of nocturnal polyuria, and antimuscarinic agents in the case of overactive bladder or impaired storage capacity of the bladder.
Classification of nocturia in the adult and elderly patient: a review of clinical criteria and selected literature
Authors: Homma Yukio
Published: August 2005

Nocturia increases with age and significantly affects quality of life in both men and women. Attempts to determine the pathogenesis of nocturia have been based on frequency‐volume charts, and three types of nocturia have been identified: low voided volume (previously termed low bladder capacity), nocturnal polyuria, and mixed origin. Validated clinical criteria based on frequency‐volume data allow the type of nocturia to be specified using two threshold values, i.e. largest voided volume/body weight ratio <4 mL/kg for low voided volume; and nocturnal urinary output/body weight ratio >10 mL/kg for nocturnal polyuria. The utility of these thresholds was validated in a study of elderly patients with two or more nocturia episodes/night. Two other studies have improved the understanding of the epidemiology of nocturia. The first showed that in men and women, increased incidence with age was greater for nocturia than for the six other common lower urinary tract symptoms. The second study suggested that prostate changes in men (particularly bladder outlet obstruction caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia, which has been considered to be a major cause of nocturia) appear to play a relatively small role in the development of nocturia; the correlation was based on overall symptom score for seven common urological symptoms. Nocturia should thus be treated independently of other lower urinary tract symptoms, especially in men. The application of valid diagnostic criteria to differentiate the underlying cause of nocturia should help lead to more appropriate and effective management of this pervasive problem.
Subliminal Speech Priming
Authors: Kouider Sid , Dupoux Emmanuel
Published: August 2005

We present a novel subliminal priming technique that operates in the auditory modality. Masking is achieved by hiding a spoken word within a stream of time-compressed speechlike sounds with similar spectral characteristics. Participants were unable to consciously identify the hidden words, yet reliable repetition priming was found. This effect was unaffected by a change in the speaker's voice and remained restricted to lexical processing. The results show that the speech modality, like the written modality, involves the automatic extraction of abstract word-form representations that do not include non-linguistic details. In both cases, priming operates at the level of discrete and abstract lexical entries and is little influenced by overlap in form or semantics.
How Global Versus Local Perception Fits Regulatory Focus
Authors: Förster Jens , Higgins E. Tory
Published: August 2005

We propose a reciprocal relation between regulatory-focus systems and global versus local processing styles—specifically, that global processing fits a promotion focus on advancement, whereas local processing fits a prevention focus on security. In Study 1, participants were shown large letters made of small letters and decided if either of two specific letters appeared on the screen. Strength of promotion focus was positively correlated with speed of processing global letters and negatively correlated with speed of processing local letters, whereas the reverse was true for strength of prevention focus. In Study 2, participants first worked on a global or local task and later chose between two objects. Consistent with our fit proposal, participants who had performed the global task assigned a higher price to their chosen object if they had chosen it in apromotive, eager manner than if they had chosen it in a preventive, vigilant manner, whereas the reverse was true for participants who had performed the local task.
Hospitalized patients experienced suffering in life with incurable cancer
Authors: Rydahl‐Hansen Susan
Published: August 2005

The concept ‘suffering’ has been central within nursing since Florence Nightingale. But few researchers have made empirical studies about the lived phenomenon. Several researchers within nursing agree that more research concerning individual groups of patients has to be initiated. Within research about patients with incurable cancer focus has been on death, the terminal period and patients experience of being dying. This qualitative study was initiated to describe the characteristics of a group of Danish hospitalized patients’ experienced suffering in life with incurable cancer. Twenty‐five semi‐structured interviews were arranged with 12 patients ones a week within a period of 4 weeks. In week 2 and 4, the interviews were supplemented by questions developed on the basis of the potential signs of suffering which appeared during the participant observations that took place the day before each interview. C. S. Peirce's semiotic and phenomenological grounded theory of signs was used in order to identify the potential signs. A phenomenological methodology developed by A. Giorgi was used to develop and describe the general structure of the phenomenon. The phenomenon is described as: ‘The experience of living in an increasingly unpredictable existents at the mercy of the body, the consciousness, the illness, the death, the treatment, the professionals, one's articulateness, the past, the present and the future, influenced by increasing powerlessness, loneliness and isolation, and the experience of existing in an persistent, and with time, unconquerable struggle to maintain and regain control’.
Home care personnel's perspectives on successful discharge of elderly clients from hospital to home setting
Authors: Eija Grönroos , Marja‐Leena Perälä
Published: August 2005

The successful discharge of elderly patients from hospital to home care is a process requiring co‐operation between health and social care personnel in addition to their commitment and skills. During the discharge process it is important that health and social care professionals have a shared view of the health and mental status and needs of the patient so that appropriate plans for meeting these needs can be made. The aim of the study was to investigate home care personnel's (health and social care workers) views of which practices between the discharging hospital and home care are associated with the successful discharge of clients. Home care personnel in 22 Finnish municipalities (n = 1890, response rate 63%) received a questionnaire in spring 2001. When the respondents’ background factors were standardized, the best predictors of successful discharge from the home care personnel's point of view were adequate information received about the treatment of the patient's illnesses and their functional ability and cognitive potentials, timely information about the discharge, and good co‐operation between the discharging hospital, and the home care, social care and health care workers working in home care. There were differences in the opinions of social care workers and health care workers working in home care. From the home care personnel's point of view the most important correlates of an elderly client's discharge from hospital to a home setting were factors associated with how they can best plan their work. Their perspective on the discharge process may diverge from clients and their informal care givers point of view. To ensure the successful discharge process we must take them all into account.
The Impact of Patient Aggression on Carers Scale: instrument derivation and psychometric testing
Authors: Needham Ian , Abderhalden Chris , Halfens Rudolph J.G. , Dassen Theo , Haug Hans‐Joachim , Fischer Joachim E.
Published: August 2005

Patient aggression towards carers constitutes a problem for patients and carers alike. Patients’ aggressive behaviour often leads to adverse consequences for carers, especially nurses. Various extensive instruments have been developed to measure such adverse effects on carers. The ‘Impact of Patient Aggression on Carers Scale’ (IMPACS) is a short instrument intended for use in monitoring negative consequences of such incidents. The items of the IMPACS were derived basically from a review of the literature on negative effects of patient aggression on nurses. The IMPACS was administered to a convenience sample of nurses working on 14 psychiatric acute admission wards in the German speaking part of Switzerland. Factor analysis led to the exclusion of three of the original items and to an interpretable three‐factor solution with all factors demonstrating eigen values higher than 1. The factors demonstrate moderate to good internal consistency. Canonical correlation analysis using the dimensions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) produced a correlation coefficient of 0.457, thus demonstrating external reliability. In spite of some caveats such as possible response bias and the necessity of the investigation of the test–retest stability of the scale this study suggests that the IMPACS is a good measure of adverse effects and thus merits further development.
A man with pigmented skin, dark urine and arthritis: what is your diagnosis?
Authors: DAS Rabindra N. , SHETTY K. J. , DHAM S. K.
Published: August 2005

A 52‐year‐old Nepali presented with fixed flexion deformity of swollen and painful hips, knees and elbows. He was kyphosed and had bluish black pigmentation in the skin, chonca, sclera and gums. The X‐ray of the dorsolumbar spine shown dense calcification and reduced intervertebral disc space. The freshly voided straw‐coloured urine turned like darkish brown cola on standing in the laboratory. He was taking lots of analgesics and steroids. He developed chronic renal failure. The electrocardiogram showed prolonged QTc which led to torsades de pointes and ventricular fibrillation.
Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis‐induced dysphagia or DISHphagia
Authors: OZGOCMEN Salih
Published: August 2005

Dysphagia related to osteophyte compression in diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) or Forestier's disease and in cervical spondylosis has been identified as a cause of dysphagia. We report an elderly man who had dysphagia due to DISH or namely DISHphagia. Clinical findings, barium esophagogram, and magnetic resonance imaging findings have been presented. Good response to medical treatment with liquid forms of NSAIDs and soft diet has been achieved.
Non‐tumor necrosis factor biological therapies for rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: CHAU Lucia Shuk Yi , MOK Chi Chiu , CHOY Ernest
Published: August 2005

The emergence and use of the biological agents is one of the major recent advances in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Although the tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α) inhibitors are superior to conventional disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in terms of efficacy, certain patients may still be unresponsive or intolerant to them. Moreover, infection such as tuberculosis and the possibility of long‐term adverse effects such as malignancies are major concerns of the anti‐TNF‐α agents. Thus, newer and, hopefully, more effective but less toxic biological agents have to be developed as alternative therapies. This article reviews the preliminary clinical data on several non‐TNF‐α biological agents in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
Risk factors of symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee at a hospital in Indonesia
Authors: SOEROSO Joewono , DANS Leonila F. , AMARILLO Maria L. , SANTOSO Gina H. , KALIM Handono
Published: August 2005

Aim:  To determine the risk factors of symptomatic osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee.

Methods:  Two hundred and thirty‐nine cases of symptomatic OA of the knee (ACR Criteria for OA 1986) with radiographic OA (Kellgren‐Lawrence I or more) taken from a rheumatology outpatient clinic were compared to 279 controls without radiographic (Kellgren‐Lawrence 0) OA taken from general internal medicine outpatient clinic at the same hospital. Independent variables to be assessed were age, sex, ethnic group, body mass index (BMI), education, marital status, parity, smoking, and history of acute trauma, hysterectomy, anatomical abnormality of knee, diabetes mellitus, and uric acid levels. Multiple logistic regression analysis was done to assess the independent risk factors.

Results:  After going through the steps of multiple logistic regressions analysis, the results were: symptomatic cases compared to controls: age > 50 (OR: 1.86, 95% CI = 1.78–2.82), being female (OR: 2.08, 95% CI = 1.35–3.50), BMI > 25 units (OR: 3.28, 95% CI = 2.20–4.89), elementary education (OR: 0.29, 95% CI = 0.14–0.61) and genu valgus (OR: 4.07, 95% CI = 2.43–7.93). For the female subset of symptomatic cases compared with controls: age > 50 (OR: 9.34, 95% CI = 4.77–18.24), BMI > 25 units (OR: 5.27, 95% CI = 2.85–9.73) and genu valgus (OR: 13.64, 95% CI = 4.58–41.44).

Conclusions:  Age > 50, being female, BMI > 25 units and genu valgus, may be the risk factors for symptomatic OA of the knee.
Efficiency of research investments in the presence of international spillovers: wheat research in developing countries⋆
Authors: Maredia Mywish K. , Byerlee Derek
Published: August 2005

Expenditures on agricultural research in the public sector, including the International Agricultural Research Centers (IARCs) have stagnated and in some cases, declined sharply in recent years. This has focused attention on issues of efficiency of agricultural research systems, especially the number, size, scope, type, and locations of their programs. This paper examines the issue of research efficiency through a case study of wheat improvement research in developing countries. The basic premise of this study is that the optimal level of research investment should be determined in a global model that incorporates direct research spill‐ins. An analytical framework is developed to determine the threshold levels of crop production in a country (or a region within a country) needed to justify crop improvement research programs of different sizes in the presence of spill‐ins from abroad. Spill‐in coefficients are estimated from yield performance of varieties of different origins grown across a range of environments. The model is then applied to analyze the efficiency of current investments in 69 wheat improvement research programs in 35 developing countries. A major conclusion of the paper is that given the magnitude of potential spill‐ins from the international research system, many wheat research programs could significantly increase the efficiency of resource use by reducing the size of their wheat research programs and focusing on the screening of varieties developed elsewhere. ©2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
An error correction almost ideal demand system for meat in Greece
Authors: Karagiannis G. , Katranidis S. , Velentzas K.
Published: August 2005

This paper represents a dynamic specification of the Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) based on recent developments on cointegration techniques and error correction models. Based on Greek meat consumption data over the period 1958–1993, it was found that the proposed formulation performs well on both theoretical and statistical grounds, as the theoretical properties of homogeneity and symmetry are supported by the data and the LeChatelier principle holds. Regardless of the time horizon, beef and chicken may be considered as luxuries while mutton‐lamb and pork as necessities. In the short‐run, beef was found to have price elastic demand, pork an almost unitary elasticity, whereas mutton‐lamb, chicken and sausages had inelastic demands; in the long‐run, beef, and pork were found to have a demand elasticity greater than one, whereas mutton‐lamb, chicken, and sausages still had inelastic demands. All meat items are found to be substitutes to each other except chicken and mutton‐lamb, and pork and chicken.
The political economy of public research investment and commodity policies in agriculture: an empirical study
Authors: Swinnen Johan F.M. , de Goter Harry , Rausser Gordon C. , Banerjee Anurag N.
Published: August 2005

The paper tests a political economy theory of simultaneous government decision‐making on income redistribution through commodity policies and on public research investment in agriculture. We use data from 37 countries on agricultural protection and public agricultural research expenditures (PARI). The empirical results are consistent with the political economy hypotheses. The analysis suggest that structural changes in the economy have important effects on the political incentives for governments not only to subsidize or tax farmers, but also to invest in public agricultural research. Furthermore, the analysis supports the hypotheses that the impact of such structural changes on government decision‐making on PARI is non‐linear and conditional on other factors. Regarding the impact of political institutions, the results suggest that more democracy neither leads to more distortionary transfers (agricultural protection), nor to lower investment in public goods (PARI). ©2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Modeling the demand for alcoholic beverages and advertising specifications
Authors: Larivière Éric , Larue Bruno , Chalfant Jim
Published: August 2005

In this paper, the demand for beer, wine, spirits and soft drinks in Ontario is modeled in two parts: an equation is specifiec to endogenize group expenditures and a demand system is set up to allocate budgeted group expenditures across types o beverages. Advertising is allowed to influence both the level of group expenditures and its allocation. Three popula advertising specifications are compared using theJ‐test and the likelihood dominance criterion. Even though all threi specifications fitted well according to standard criteria, the calculated expenditure, price and advertising elasticities wen sensitive to the manner with which advertising is specified. This clearly highlights the need to rely on a sound criterion t< identify a dominant specification. From the identified dominant specification, we found that advertising has very subtle effect on expenditures on alcoholic beverages (group and individual beverages). Thus, advertising is not effective in enlarginj markets and this suggests that firms (especially breweries) use advertising to compete in zero‐sum market share games. From i public policy perspective, our results are comforting but future research should investigate whether the neutral effect o advertising on aggregated expenditures hide substantial offsetting changes in the drinking habits of individuals.
The geography and causes of food insecurity in developing countries
Authors: Smith Lisa C. , El Obeid Amani E. , Jensen Helen H.
Published: August 2005

At the 1996 World Food Summit, 186 countries made a commitment to reduce the number of chronically undernourished people by half by 2015. In order to formulate effective policies for reaching this goal, a thorough understanding of the location and causes of food insecurity is needed. This paper provides a broad overview of the current character of food insecurity in developing countries, focusing on two questions: (1) Why are they food insecure? and (2) Why are the food insecure? To answer the latter question data from 58 developing countries with high prevalences of food insecurity are employed to examine the relative importance of two of food insecurity's most basic causes: national food availability and the inability of people to access food due to poverty. Using child malnutrition as a proxy (along with descriptive controls for non‐food determinants of malnutrition), the paper finds little correlation between national food availabilities and food insecurity. The group of countries that exhibit the highest severity of food insecurity are those with high poverty and food (dietary energy) surpluses, consistent with the view that poverty is the most widespread cause of food insecurity in the 1990s. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the analysis for appropriate geographical and policy targeting to improve food security for the greatest numbers of people at the fastest pace, now and into the 21st century.
Valuing groundwater recharge through agricultural production in the Hadejia‐Nguru wetlands in northern Nigeria
Authors: Acharya Gayatri , Barbier Edward B.
Published: August 2005

This study applies a production function approach to value the groundwater recharge function of the Hadejia‐Nguru wetlands in northern Nigeria. The groundwater recharge function supports dry season agricultural production which is dependent on groundwater abstraction for irrigation. Using survey data this paper first carries out an economic valuation of agricultural production, per hectare of irrigated land. We then value the recharge function as an environmental input into the dry season agricultural production and derive appropriate welfare change measures. Welfare change is calculated using the estimated production functions and hypothetical changes in groundwater recharge and hence, groundwater levels. By focusing on agricultural production dependent solely on groundwater resources from the shallow aquifer, this study establishes that the groundwater recharge function of the wetlands is of significant importance for the floodplain.
The extent of resource use inefficiencies in cotton production in Pakistan's Punjab: an application of Data Envelopment Analysis
Authors: Shafiq Muhammad , Rehman Tahir
Published: August 2005

This paper attempts to identify sources of resource use inefficiency for cotton production in Pakistan's Punjab. The use of a non‐parametric method, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), is developed to study the relative technical and allocative efficiencies of individual farms which use similar inputs, produce the same product and operate under comparable circumstances. In the ‘cotton‐wheat’ system of Pakistan, there are a considerable number of farms that are both technically and allocatively inefficient. The use of DEA shows that the technique provides a clear identification of both the extent and the sources of technical and allocative inefficiencies in cotton production. However, both the interpretation of the farm level results generated and the projection of these results to a higher level require care, given the technical nature of the agricultural production processes.
Are we risking too much? Perspectives on risk in farm modeling
Authors: Pannell David J. , Malcolm Bill , Kingwell Ross S.
Published: August 2005

Risk and uncertainty have been extensively studied by agricultural economists. In this paper we question (a) the predominant use of static frameworks to formally analyse risk; (b) the predominant focus on risk aversion as the motivation for considering risk and (c) the notion that explicitly probabilistic models are likely to be helpful to farmers in their decision making. We pose the question: for a risk‐averse farmer, what is the extra value of a recommendation derived from a model that represents risk aversion, compared to a model based on risk neutrality? The conclusion reached is that for the types of the decision problems most commonly modelled by agricultural economists, the extra value of representing risk aversion is commonly very little.
The integration of water quality into transboundary allocation agreements Lessons from the southwestern United States
Authors: Bennett Lynne Lewis
Published: August 2005

There is now a fairly substantial literature that addresses transboundary water allocation both at the international and interstate level. However, most of this literature deals almost exclusively with the question of allocation and ignores quality considerations. At the same time, there is a growing literature on transboundary pollution control and upstream/downstream externalities. What is missing is an attempt to integrate quality consideration into allocation agreements. This paper examines several allocation agreements and disputes in the southwestern United States and Mexico and looks at the ramifications of omitting pollution control and quality considerations in these negotiations.
Technical change in Senegal's irrigated rice sector: impact assessment under uncertainty
Authors: Fisher Monica G. , Masters William A. , Sidibé Mamadou
Published: August 2005

This paper addresses the prospects for technical change in the irrigated rice sector of Senegal, and measures ex‐ante the economic returns to recent research efforts. In 1994, three new rice varieties were released to farmers in the Senegal River Valley (SRV), the major irrigated rice region in Senegal. The productivity advantage of the new varieties is based primarily on early maturity, which permits double‐cropping. (The seeds are also higher yielding than existing cultivars.)

We use a conventional [Akino and Hayami (1975), Am. J. Agric. Econ. 57, 1–10] partial‐equilibrium model adapted to the Senegalese situation, to assess the social benefits of research and compare those to its costs in calculating the internal rate of return (IRR). To account for uncertainty regarding the future values of model variables we use simulation which allows us to generate a distribution of all possible outcomes of the IRR. We find that rice research is almost certain to have a very high payoff over the 1995–2004 period. The expected value of the IRR is calculated to be 121% per year, with a 97.5% probability that it lies above annual capital costs of 18%. ©2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
The social cost of labor in rural development: job creation benefits re‐examined
Authors: Horbulyk Theodore M.
Published: August 2005

Job creation effects are examined as they would apply to social analysis of rural development programming by public or private sector agencies. A synthesis and critique are provided of approaches to valuing the social opportunity cost of labor. These approaches vary according to whether or not unemployment is present in the pre‐project state and according to whether or not there is interregional migration in response to project hiring. Graphical, partial equilibrium analysis illustrates why, in general, job creation and project employment give rise to social costs, not benefits. The magnitude of these social costs is shown to depend upon the presence of payroll taxes, wage subsidies and unemployment, in addition to the market's supply and demand elasticities. These social costs may be reduced or offset in specific instances where projects increase the value of labor's productivity or reduce its costs, such as with job training, worker mobility and skill development projects. Careful attention to these approaches can help society choose correctly among alternative development proposals and among alternative (labor‐intensive versus capital‐intensive) technologies.
Structural adjustment and soil degradation in Tanzania A CGE model approach with endogenous soil productivity
Authors: Wiig Henrik , Aune Jens B. , Glomsrød Solveig , Iversen Vegard
Published: August 2005

In this paper, a model of the nitrogen cycle in the soil is incorporated in a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model of the Tanzanian economy, thus establishing a two‐way link between the environment and the economy. For a given level of natural soil productivity, profit‐maximising farmers choose input levels – and hence production volumes – which in turn influence soil productivity in the following years through the recycling of nitrogen from the residues of roots and stover and the degree of erosion. The model is used to simulate the effects of typical structural adjustment policies like a reduction in agro‐chemicals’ subsidies, reduced implicit export tax rate etc. After 10 years, the result of a joint implementation is a 9% higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) level compared to the baseline scenario. The effect of soil degradation is found to represent a reduction in the GDP level of more than 5% for the same time period.
The influence of management characteristics on the technical efficiency of wheat farmers in eastern England
Authors: Wilson Paul , Hadley David , Asby Carol
Published: August 2005

Technical efficiency of wheat farms in eastern England is measured through the estimation of a stochastic frontier production function using panel data for the 1993–1997 crop years. Variations in the technical efficiency index across production units are explained through a number of managerial and farm characteristic variables following Battese and Coelli (1995) [Empirical Econ. 20, 325–332] and incorporating the spirit of Rougoor et al. (1998) [Agric. Econ. 18, 261–272]. The technical efficiency index across production units ranges from 62 to 98%. The objectives of maximising annual profits and maintaining the environment are positively correlated with, and have the largest influence on, technical efficiency. Moreover, those farmers who seek information, have more years of managerial experience, and have a large farm are also associated with higher levels of technical efficiency. Future studies that seek to explain variation in technical efficiency should include further aspects of the managerial decision‐making process.
How important is improving food availability for reducing child malnutrition in developing countries?
Authors: Smith Lisa Catherine , Haddad Lawrence
Published: August 2005

Do increases in the food supply per person in a country, i.e., national food availability, contribute substantially to reductions in malnutrition among its children? This paper sets out to answer this controversial question using panel data from 63 developing countries over 1970–1996. This paper gives evidence in support of a statistically significant and strong positive impact of national food availability on child nutrition, finding that increased food supplies have resulted in significant reductions in malnutrition since the 1970s despite population increases over the period. However, per‐capita food supplies have a declining marginal impact: their effect is quite strong for countries with very low food availability (e.g., most countries in sub‐Saharan Africa and South Asia), but weak or non‐existent for those with high levels (e.g., most countries in the Near East and North Africa). Further, non‐food factors, such as women's education and status and the quality of health environments, are also important determinants of children's nutritional status. Depending on the state of food availability in any particular geographic area and relative costs, these factors may merit greater priority in policies to reduce malnutrition.