bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Population growth, agricultural intensification, induced innovation and natural resource sustainability: An application of neoclassical growth theory
Authors: Pender John L.
Published: January 2020

Using a simple neoclassical type growth model including both man‐made and natural capital as inputs to production, the theoretical basis for a U‐shaped relationship between agricultural intensification and farm household investment in renewable resource capital is established. As development of technology, infrastructure, or markets increase the relative return to investment in man‐made capital over natural capital, resource depletion occurs as man‐made capital is substituted for lower return natural capital. Once returns are equalized, both man‐made and natural capital are accumulated. If labor and these forms of capital are complementary, the output effects outweigh the substitution effects in the long run, leading to net accumulation of natural as well as man‐made capital as a result of such technological or market development. Population growth also induces investment in both man‐made and natural resource capital in the long run by increasing their marginal products. However, population growth causes declining per capita levels of both natural and man‐made capital and production per capita in the long run, if technology is fixed and decreasing returns to scale. The model thus supports the Boserupian argument of induced intensification and resource improvement, as well as the Malthusian argument of the impoverishing effects of population growth. However, population growth may also induce development of infrastructure, markets, and technological or institutional innovation by reducing the fixed costs per capita of these changes, though these developments may not occur automatically. Government policies can play a large role in affecting whether these potential benefits of population growth are realized. In addition, credit policies may reduce resource degradation caused by substitution of man‐made for natural capital, by allowing farmers to accumulate man‐made capital (such as fertilizers) without depleting their natural capital. Policies to internalize the external environmental costs of using man‐made capital will reduce both types of capital and production, indicating a clear trade‐off between addressing environmental concerns on the one hand and reducing poverty and promoting resource conservation investments on the other. By contrast, internalizing the external benefits of investments in resources increases wealth and production per capita in the long run. The ‘intertemporal externality’ due to a higher private than social rate of time preference does not justify interventions to promote investments in resource capital; rather it argues for the promotion of savings and investment in general.
National agricultural commodity research priorities for Pakistan
Authors: Nagy Joseph G. , Quddus M.A.
Published: January 2020

A future agricultural research agenda for Pakistan and its provinces was developed as part of the national master agricultural research plan (NMARP) under the Government of Pakistan, World Bank agricultural research project II (ARP‐II). The current research agenda mainly keeps pace with maintenance research and little contribution is being made to increase the productivity above maintenance levels for most crop and livestock commodities. Thus, the present Pakistan agricultural research system cannot contribute in any substantial or efficient way to the narrowing of Pakistan's projected food deficit anticipated in the next 15 years. A major thrust of the ARP‐II project was identifying a new research agenda with agricultural research priority setting as the basis. An ex ante economic surplus priority setting analysis at the national level was undertaken for selected agricultural commodities as part of the priority setting process. Three eparate research funding scenarios were analyzed: (1) Scenario I: an ex ante analysis using the present research commodity funding levels and present research management level for each year over the next five years, (2) Scenario II: an ex ante analysis using double the present funding level for each year over the next 5 years with a higher research management level than at present, and (3) Scenario III; an ex ante analysis at an ‘optimally’ funded level with a higher research management level. An efficiency index (NPV divided by the present value of research expenditure) was used for the priority ranking of commodities. A framework for using the information generated by the ex ante economic surplus method is presented. The results of the analysis proved to be useful as baseline information for researchers and research managers to assess the overall budget commitment required for agricultural research in Pakistan and for identifying an overall research strategy at the national level.
Technical efficiency and productivity of maize producers in eastern Ethiopia: a study of farmers within and outside the Sasakawa‐Global 2000 project
Authors: Seyoum E.T. , Battese G.E. , Fleming E.M.
Published: January 2020

This paper investigates the technical efficiency of two samples of maize producers in eastern Ethiopia, one involving farmers within the Sasakawa‐Global 2000 project and the other involving farmers outside this program. The study uses stochastic frontier production functions in which the technical inefficiency effects are assumed to be functions of the age and education of the farmers, together with the time spent by extension advisers in assisting farmers in their agricultural production operations. For the cross‐sectional data obtained for the 1995/96 agricultural year, Cobb‐Douglas stochastic frontiers are found to be adequate representations of the data, given the specifications of the translog stochastic frontiers for farmers within and outside the project. The empirical results indicate that farmers within Ihe SO 2000 project are more technically efficient than farmers outside the project, relative to their respective technologies. The mean frontier output of maize lor farmers within the SG 2000 project is significantly greater than that for the farmers outside the project.
Cointegration and causality in international agricultural economics research
Authors: Zapata Hector O. , Gil José M.
Published: January 2020

A review of literature on applications of Granger causality to problems in international agricultural economics research is summarized. The review relates to cointegration theory, and it identifies the areas where recent econometric developments may be of value. Testing procedures are outlined, and a discussion is provided on questions such as non‐stationarity and asymptotic distribution of non‐causality tests, the relationship between cointegration and causation, the relative merits of various testing procedures, and concerns about testing bivariate causality in higher dimensional models. Finally, a recent econometric development is discussed and its future use in applied research is discussed.
Agricultural research priority setting under multiple objectives: an example from Zimbabwe
Authors: Mutangadura Gladys , Norton George W.
Published: January 2020

Strategic priorities are assessed tor the agricultural research system in Zimbabwe in a situation characterized by multiple objectives, farm types, and agro‐ecological zones. Economic surplus analysis is used to rank research programs by commodity and research program areas in total and disaggregated by large and small larms in high and low potential regions. No funding, current funding, and 50% more funding are allowed tor each program in the analysis. An optimal research portfolio is developed, first with all weight placed on efficiency, and second with increasing weights placed on benefits going to small‐holder farmers. Even with no additional weight placed on small holders. lesearch programs for both small farms and low potential areas enter into the optimal research portfolio. As more emphasis is given to small holders, the reduction in overall efficiency gained due to research is relatively modest, Maize and cotton were the highest ranked commodity research programs of the 36 commodities considered for both large and small larms. Agronomy and soils research are relatively more important for small holders, while plant breeding and crop protection are relatively more important for large‐scale farmers. priority selling: Economic surplus and mathematical programming analysis.
Intellectual property rights and developing country agriculture
Authors: Perrin Richard K.
Published: January 2020

Theoretical studies indicate that the welfare of the developing countries might either be improved or damaged by the strengthening of their own intellectual property rights. Net gains through their agricultural sectors will be positive if the payoff from new innovations is sufficiently different as compared to the technology‐exporting countries. Scattered evidence supports the hypotheses that agricultural R&D is responsive to IPRs in developing countries, but there is also evidence that developed‐country technology is sufficiently appropriate for developing countries as to offer substantial free‐rider gains. However, without IPRs it seems unlikely that the agricultural productivity rates in developing countries can begin to catch up with those in developed country agriculture.
The effects of land sales restrictions: evidence from south India
Authors: Pender John L. , Kerr John M.
Published: January 2020

The effects of land sales restrictions on credit use, land investment and cultivation decisions are investigated using data from two villages in south India. Sales restrictions are found to have little ellect on credit supply and demand or demand tor land improvements. Some household characteristics are found to affect investment demand on plots subject to sales restrictions in one village, suggesting that the ‘transactions effect’ of such restrictions may be inhibiting allocative efficiency. However, we also find that household characteristics influence investment on titled plots, and that the magnitude of impact of such characteristics is greater on titled plots. These results imply that sales restrictions are not a major source of inelficiency in the villages studied, and suggest that the nature of village credit and land markets and enforcement ot sales restrictions are critical determinants of the impacts of such restrictions.
What Drives Commuter Behaviour?
Authors: Dawkins Laura
Published: January 2020

Laura Dawkins describes a project to encourage commuters to leave their cars at home
Efficiency of volatile baited sticky traps for the Tarnished Plant Bug (Lygus lineolaris) in strawberry fields
Authors: Chouinard‐Thuly Laura , Dumont François , Provost Caroline , Lemieux Mathieu , Chapdelaine Daniel , Quintana Sanchez Oscar , Montiglio Pierre‐Olivier
Published: January 2020

Insecticides have adverse effects on human health and the environment. Thus, the development of non‐chemical replacement to manage insect pests is urgent. An alternative is to bait sticky traps with attractive insect sex pheromones or plant volatiles. In Quebec, the tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris) is a major insect pest. We tested the efficiency of sex pheromones (mixture of hexyl butyrate (HB), (E)‐2‐hexenyl butyrate (E2HB) and (E)‐4‐oxo‐2‐hexenal (KA)) and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) volatiles (pinene, sabinene and phenylacetaldehyde) as sticky trap baits for the tarnished plant bug in strawberry fields of the Laurentians in Southern Québec, Canada. The pheromones decreased the number of tarnished plant bug caught in the traps compared to a control. The sunflower volatile did not have any effect on the number of individuals caught in the traps. Different Lygus species use HB, E2HB and KA in different ratios for sexual signals and alarm signals and for species recognition. GC‐MS analysis of the sex pheromone bait revealed that the ratios between the three main compounds did not match the intended ratio for the L. lineolaris species. This mismatch probably explains our results. Individuals were not attracted to sunflower volatiles. Our results point to the difficulty of manufacturing and using sex pheromones as baits. Future work should assess the effect of several pheromone ratios.
Paleoproterozoic UHT metamorphism with isobaric cooling (IBC) followed by decompression–heating in the Khondalite Belt (North China Craton): New evidence from two sapphirine formation processes
Authors: Jiao Shujuan , Guo Jinghui
Published: January 2020

Interpretation of reaction microstructures may provide constraints on the P–T path followed by rocks, with implications for the geodynamic evolution. Sapphirine generally occurs in diverse microstructures in ultrahigh‐temperature (UHT) Mg–Al‐rich granulites. Understanding multi‐stage sapphirine formation processes and the resultant P–T path may provide insights into the cause of UHT metamorphism, which is otherwise under broad debate. Here, we investigate samples of UHT granulite containing two distinct types of sapphirine from the Dongpo locality in the Khondalite Belt, North China Craton, with the aim of understanding the processes of sapphirine formation and the metamorphic evolution of the host rocks. Petrographic observations show that early sapphirine, which occurs as coronas on spinel and as single porphyroblasts, formed together with biotite, sillimanite, and inclusion‐rich garnet. Late symplectitic sapphirine along with fine‐grained plagioclase and spinel plus plagioclase symplectites, formed by consumption of sillimanite, biotite, and garnet. Three pseudosections based on the bulk compositions of microdomains inferred to reflect spatially restricted equilibrium suggest that the rocks record near isobaric cooling (IBC) from ~980 to 830ºC at ~0.9 GPa for early sapphirine formation, and decompression and heating to ≤0.7 GPa and ~900ºC for late sapphirine formation. Our study in combination with other metamorphic P–T and age information reveals the common occurrence of IBC paths and long duration (c. 1.93 to 1.86 Ga) regional UHT metamorphism in the Khondalite Belt, North China Craton. Locally, this is followed by decompression–heating paths at c. 1.86 Ga. The Palaeoproterozoic UHT metamorphism with long‐lived IBC path in the Khondalite Belt, North China Craton supports large hot orogen model in the amalgamation of this part in the supercontinent Nuna.
Does temperature of distending medium matter in outpatient hysteroscopy? A double‐blinded cohort control observational study of room temperature versus warmed saline
Authors: Kapur Shikha , Gruber Amelia , Sekar Hasviniya , Mafuta Joadel , Lodhi Wasim , Sivashanmugarajan Viswapriya , Yoong Wai
Published: January 2020

Aim

There is little data assessing outcomes of outpatient hysteroscopy using warmed versus room temperature saline. The aim of this study was to determine if the temperature of the distending medium during outpatient hysteroscopy affect ease of procedure, clarity of view, procedural discomfort/pain and patient satisfaction.

Methods

This was a double‐blinded cohort control quasi‐randomized prospective study involving 100 women undergoing outpatient diagnostic and operative hysteroscopy for abnormal uterine bleeding, intrauterine contraceptive devices retrieval and removal of endometrial polyps. Outpatient hysteroscopy was performed either with normal saline either at room temperature (control at 25°C) or warmed to body temperature (37°C).

Results

Confounding variables such as age, parity, previous cervical surgery, previous vaginal births, menopausal status and indications for hysteroscopy were similar in the room temperature (n = 48) and warmed saline (n = 52) groups. Mean procedure duration (256 vs 233 s), ease of entry (Visual Analogue Scale [VAS] 9.55 vs 9.4) and the clarity of view (VAS 9.02 vs 9.3) were statistically similar in both groups (all P > 0.05) as was discomfort experienced during hysteroscopy (VAS 6.6/10 vs 6.8/10) and at 5 min post‐procedure (VAS 4.2/10 vs 3.2/10) (both P > 0.05). The likelihood of recommending the procedure to a friend was similar in both groups (mean VAS 6.9/10 vs 7.2/10; P = 0.1).

Conclusion

The temperature of the distension medium did not influence ease of procedure, clarity of hysteroscopy view, procedural discomfort/pain and patient satisfaction. Patients were not any more likely to recommend the procedure to a friend in the warmed saline compared to the room temperature group.
Dictyosphaerium‐like morphotype in terrestrial algae: what is Xerochlorella (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta)?1
Authors: Mikhailyuk Tatiana , Holzinger Andreas , Tsarenko Petro , Glaser Karin , Demchenko Eduard , Karsten Ulf
Published: January 2020

Several strains of terrestrial algae isolated from biological soil crusts in Germany and Ukraine were identified by morphological methods as the widely distributed species Dictyosphaerium minutum (=Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides). Investigation of the phylogeny showed their position unexpectedly outside of Chlorellaceae (Trebouxiophyceae) and distantly from Chlorella chlorelloides, to which this taxon was attributed after revision of the genus Chlorella based on an integrative approach. SSU rRNA phylogeny determined the position of our strains inside a clade recently described as a new genus of the cryptic alga Xerochlorella olmiae isolated from desert biological soil crusts in the United States. Investigation of the morphology of the authentic strain of X. olmiae showed Dictyosphaerium‐like morphology, as well as some other characters, common for our strains and morphospecies D. minutum. The latter alga was described as terrestrial and subsequently united with the earlier described aquatic representative D. chlorelloides because of their similar morphology. The revision of Chlorella mentioned above provided only one aquatic strain (D. chlorelloides), which determined its position in the genus. But terrestrial strains of the morphospecies were not investigated phylogenetically. Our study showed that the terrestrial D. minutum is not related to the morphologically similar D. chlorelloides (=Chlorella chlorelloides, Chlorellaceae), and instead represented a separate lineage in the Trebouxiophyceae, recently described as genus Xerochlorella. Therefore, revision of Xerochlorella is proposed, including nomenclatural combinations, epitypifications, and emendations of two species: X. minuta and X. dichotoma. New characters of the genus based on investigation of morphology and ultrastructure were determined.
NeogeneCorylopsisseeds from eastern Tennessee
Authors: Quirk Zack J. , Hermsen Elizabeth J.
Published: January 2020

A new fossil species ofCorylopsis(Hamamelidaceae),C. griseaQuirk & Hermsen sp. nov, based on seeds from the early Pliocene Gray Fossil Site (GFS), eastern Tennessee, USA, is described. The assignment of the seeds to Hamamelidaceae, subfamily Hamamelidoideae, is based on the overall size of the seeds, smooth testa, lack of a seed wing, and the presence of a terminal hilar scar. The assignment to the genusCorylopsisis based on seed size as well as the presence of a hilar facet, in addition to the hilar scar. AlthoughCorylopsispersists only in East Asia today, its fossil record indicates that the genus was widespread across the Northern Hemisphere in the past. Prior to its discovery at GFS,Corylopsiswas only known from the Paleogene in North America. The presence ofC. griseaat GFS extends the fossil record ofCorylopsisin North America to the Neogene and reinforces the interpretation of GFS as a forested refugium that provided a relatively moist, equable environment where subtropical to warm temperate plants could persist during a time of cooling and drying in the continental interior of North America. Its presence provides additional evidence for the biogeographic connection between the GFS paleoflora and the modern flora of eastern Asia.
What Do Religion Scholars Really Want? Scholarly Values in the Scientific Study of Religion
Authors: Shults F. LeRon , Wildman Wesley J. , Taves Ann , Paloutzian Raymond F.
Published: January 2020

This article presents selected findings of the Values in Scholarship on Religion (VISOR) project. Conversations about the values and norms that ought to shape the academic study of religion are quite common but typically based on anecdotal evidence and personal experience. The goal of VISOR was to gather data that could ground debates about the values that scholars of religion prize. Here, we present statistical analyses of VISOR data that shed light on the values guiding members of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion (SSSR) and the ways in which these compare with the values of members of other academic associations and other disciplines that study religion. Compared to current members of SSSR, members of the broader field of scholars whose approach to religion is sociological are more likely to be younger, female, liberal, and nonreligious. This sea change will put pressure on the SSSR to adapt.
Realizing the Right to Be Cold? Framing Processes and Outcomes Associated with the Inuit Petition on Human Rights and Global Warming
Authors: Jodoin Sébastien , Snow Shannon , Corobow Arielle
Published: January 2020

Our article provides an in-depth analysis of the framing processes and outcomes associated with a petition submitted by Inuit communities in the arctic on the human rights violations caused by climate change before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in 2005. Drawing on semi-structured interviews conducted in two different Inuit communities in Canada that have ties to the petition and with lawyers and activists in the transnational climate justice movement, we process-trace the role that the petition has played in promoting discursive and collective action frames related to the recognition of the “right to be cold.” We argue that the Inuit petition articulated a novel “climate rights” frame through an innovative combination of legal argumentation, scientific research, and the oral testimony of Inuit communities concerning the ways in which climate impacts were affecting their human rights and traditional practices. Our findings reveal that the resonance of this frame has varied significantly among different actors, influencing the ideas and strategies of climate activists and lawyers around the world, but having limited resonance among policymakers in the United States or Canada or among Inuit communities themselves. Our research thus speaks to the complex challenges and ethical responsibilities that must be addressed in initiatives that seek to draw on international human rights law to influence policy decisions and empower Indigenous communities in the context of climate change.
Repeat Players, the Law, and Social Change: Redefining the Boundaries of Environmental and Labor Governance Through Preemptive and Authoritarian Legality
Authors: Ipsen Annabel
Published: January 2020

Powerful corporations leverage the law to shape the regulatory environments in which they operate. A key strategy for achieving this is litigation. I ask under what conditions corporations litigate, and specifically, what happens when two repeat players, transnational agribusiness firms and local governments, face each other in court. I compare outcomes of two cases—Hawaii and Arica, Chile—documenting how different sociopolitical contexts and legal systems shape how actors engage the law. Interviews with firm managers, unions, government officials, lawyers, and advocacy organization leaders and document analysis reveal that firms seize on existing institutional norms and politics to define their localized legal strategies. Throughstrategic legalism, a defensive legal strategy that is outcome-oriented and context-specific, firms accomplish legal compliance and political containment of their opposition. In Hawaii, firms rely onpreemptive legality,a strategy that moves controversial issues like pesticide safety from one domain of democratic politics to another that is largely incontestable because it is preempted by a higher authority. In Chile, firms useauthoritarian legality, an approach that draws on authoritarian structures and policies within the state, to sway legal outcomes. These cases reveal the mechanisms that corporations draw on to institutionalize their power advantages through the law, offering a typology for future scholars to better understand how the strategic behavior of corporations shapes regulatory outcomes.
Psychological outcomes following surgical and endoscopic bariatric procedures: A systematic review
Authors: Spirou Dean , Raman Jayanthi , Smith Evelyn
Published: January 2020

Obesity is a leading global epidemic. Bariatric surgery is the only treatment demonstrating substantial long‐term weight loss and medical benefits. However, there is limited research on the psychological outcomes following surgery. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to systematically review depression, anxiety, and binge eating outcomes at different time points following bariatric surgery and identify whether bariatric surgery significantly reduces psychological symptoms over time. These outcomes were also examined among endoscopic bariatric procedures as a secondary aim. Forty‐eight studies met inclusion criteria. Findings suggested that most patients experience a short‐term reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms from pre‐surgery. Over time, however, these symptoms increase and may even return to pre‐surgery levels. Furthermore, while binge eating was uncommon after surgery, other disordered eating patterns may emerge. Binge eating may also restart over time as the stomach enlarges again. Overall, the complex psychological difficulties faced by individuals with obesity continue after surgery and may contribute to longer‐term weight recidivism. More comprehensive and standardised psychological assessment procedures, including clinical interviews and longer‐term follow‐up, may provide insight into the psychological mechanisms maintaining weight management issues, and may serve as a starting point for improving the long‐term success of patients with obesity.
Developmental changes of upper airway dimensions in children
Authors: Luscan Romain , Leboulanger Nicolas , Fayoux Pierre , Kerner Gaspard , Belhous Kahina , Couloigner Vincent , Garabedian Erea‐Noël , Simon François , Denoyelle Françoise , Thierry Briac
Published: January 2020

Background

Knowledge about airway dimensions during child growth is of paramount importance for pediatric clinical practice. Decisions about airway management in children are based on relatively limited, imprecise, or incomplete data about airway size.

Aims

The aim of this work was to determine the anatomical development and size of airway structures from birth to adolescence using high‐resolution computed tomography scans and to study the correlation between airway measurements and biometric data.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective study of all high‐resolution computed tomography scans including the respiratory tract, performed in our tertiary pediatric center (for reasons unrelated to airway symptoms) between June 1, 2016, and October 15, 2017, on children aged from 1 day to 14 years old. On each scan, 23 measurements of the larynx, trachea, and mainstem bronchi were performed. Patients were stratified into 16 groups according to their age. We calculated median value for each measurement in each group. Statistical models were calculated to explore correlation between measurements and age or weight.

Results

A total of 192 scans were included (127 boys/65 girls). The mean age was 7 years. The correlations between airway measurements and age or weight were always significant. The relationship between measurements and age was found to be suitably represented by a cubic polynomial equation suggesting that the airway has a rapid growth phase in the first 3 years, followed by a slow growth phase and a second rapid growth phase during adolescence. The most relevant biometric parameter was age concerning 21 of the measurements.

Conclusion

This comprehensive anatomical database of upper airway dimensions provides important data in the field of pediatric airway anatomy, particularly relating to the cricoid. We demonstrated that laryngeal, tracheal, and bronchial parameters correlate better to age and have three different growth phases.
VIPP2 interacts with VIPP1 and HSP22E/F at chloroplast membranes and modulates a retrograde signal for HSP22E/F gene expression
Authors: Theis Jasmine , Niemeyer Justus , Schmollinger Stefan , Ries Fabian , Rütgers Mark , Gupta Tilak Kumar , Sommer Frederik , Muranaka Ligia Segatto , Venn Benedikt , Schulz‐Raffelt Miriam , Willmund Felix , Engel Benjamin D. , Schroda Michael
Published: January 2020

VIPP proteins aid thylakoid biogenesis and membrane maintenance in cyanobacteria, algae, and plants. Some members of the Chlorophyceae contain two VIPP paralogs termed VIPP1 and VIPP2, which originate from an early gene duplication event during the evolution of green algae. VIPP2 is barely expressed under nonstress conditions but accumulates in cells exposed to high light intensities or H2O2, during recovery from heat stress, and in mutants with defective integration (alb3.1) or translocation (secA) of thylakoid membrane proteins. Recombinant VIPP2 forms rod‐like structures in vitro and shows a strong affinity for phosphatidylinositol phosphate. Under stress conditions, >70% of VIPP2 is present in membrane fractions and localizes to chloroplast membranes. A vipp2 knock‐out mutant displays no growth phenotypes and no defects in the biogenesis or repair of photosystem II. However, after exposure to high light intensities, the vipp2 mutant accumulates less HSP22E/F and more LHCSR3 protein and transcript. This suggests that VIPP2 modulates a retrograde signal for the expression of nuclear genes HSP22E/F and LHCSR3. Immunoprecipitation of VIPP2 from solubilized cells and membrane‐enriched fractions revealed major interactions with VIPP1 and minor interactions with HSP22E/F. Our data support a distinct role of VIPP2 in sensing and coping with chloroplast membrane stress.
Repairing the Spirit: The Society of Friends, Total War, and the Limits of Reconciliation
Authors: Proctor Tammy M.
Published: January 2020

This article investigates specific Quaker war relief and reconciliation projects among prisoners of war during and after World War I in Europe. The Friends’ efforts emphasized the individual face and experience of suffering—of seeing the victims as human—and provided a powerful model for reconciliation in the wake of devastating violence. Their deeply radical notion of having war victims helps war victims in order to reconcile enemies became central to the Friends’ relief projects and their lived values as pacifists. This approach could not easily be scaled up to meet the societal/structural/institutional power changes required after the war, especially as more workers joined the effort, sometimes from quite different backgrounds than the original Quaker volunteers. Through a sometimes painful process of small successes and failures, the Friends moved away from their early vision of reconciliation work toward cooperation with large‐scale professionalized postwar food aid programs, thereby ensuring their future viability in relief work.
Frequent EGFR expression/EGFR amplification and lack of activating mutation in testicular choriocarcinoma
Authors: Miyai Kosuke , Ito Keiichi , Matsukuma Susumu , Tsuda Hitoshi
Published: January 2020

Choriocarcinoma (CC) is the rarest but most aggressive histological component of adult testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT). Although we previously reported a putative role of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) alterations in the progression of CC, little is known about the kinase‐activating mutation status of EGFR, which predicts the response to EGFR‐tyrosine kinase inhibitors. In this study, we clinicopathologically reviewed a total of 12 cases of mixed TGCTs with CC components. Immunohistochemistry, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and direct sequencing was performed to investigate EGFR expression, EGFR copy number alterations, and functional mutation of EGFR in these CC components, respectively. Four (33%) of 12 cases exhibited predominant CC components (>50%), and all these patients died due to disease within 62 months. Overexpression of EGFR, higher copy number of EGFR, and amplification of EGFR was observed in 12 (100%), 10 (83%), and 9 (75%) of 12 CC components, respectively. None of the cases showed any mutational events in exons 18 to 24, which encode the tyrosine kinase domain of EGFR. These results confirm an important role of EGFR in the tumor aggressiveness of testicular CCs and may suggest its possible innate resistance against conventional anti‐EGFR therapies.
Golden Migrants: The Rise and Impact of Illegal Chinese Small‐Scale Mining in Ghana
Authors: Antwi‐Boateng Osman , Akudugu Mamudu Abunga
Published: January 2020

This article investigates factors that attract Chinese migrants into illegal small‐scale mining in Ghana, their role in the supply chain, and the impact of their involvement. This is accomplished via mixed qualitative techniques involving interviews with illegal small‐scale Chinese and Ghanaian miners, and relevant Ghanaian stakeholders. Although the majority of Chinese interests in African mining is state sponsored, the Ghana case demonstrates private Chinese agency that is mostly attracted to illegal small‐scale mining in Ghana due to push factors in the homeland and pull factors associated with Ghanaian state weakness. The Chinese dominate the supply chain of illegal small‐scale mining with their financial, technical, managerial acumen, the sale and transfer of gold proceeds, and political patronage. This dominance accounts for the massive negative social, economic, environmental, and political impact of illegal small‐scale mining in the country. Amid state weakness, Ghanaian civil society, exercising agency, remains a potent force against the phenomenon.

Related Articles

Abdulai, Abdul‐Gafaru, Justice Nyigmah Bawole, and Emmanuel Kojo Sakyi. 2018. “Rethinking Persistent Poverty in Northern Ghana: The Primacy of Policy and Politics over Geography.” Politics & Policy 46 (2): 233‐262. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12250

Davis, Charles. 2008. “Preemptive Federalism or Regulatory Dismantlement? The Bush Administration's Implementation of the Federal Coal Mining Reclamation Program.” Politics & Policy 36 (3): 400‐418. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2008.00114.x

Kim, Eun Kyung. 2019. “Issue Ownership and Strategic Policy Choice in Multiparty Africa.” Politics & Policy 47 (5): 956‐983. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12327

Related Media

The Guardian. 2013. “The Price of Gold: Chinese Mining in Ghana Documentary: Guardian Investigations.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohrrE1rjzLo

Voice of Africa. 2015. “Illegal Mining in Ghana.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=822czuf-Xxk

Ghana Broadcasting Corporation. 2017. “Ghana: Media Coalition Launches Campaign against Illegal Mining.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOwF_qYpwXI
The Rise of Homeschooling Regulation in the Era of School Choice: Legislative and Judicial Trends, 1972–2009
Authors: Renzulli Linda A. , Werum Regina E. , Kronberg Anne‐Kathrin
Published: January 2020

Over the past four decades, states have increasingly regulated the practice of homeschooling. It is unclear, however, what initial conditions prompt states to regulate and whether states use the legislative or judicial system to do so. Using event history analyses, we identify how state‐level political dynamics, social movement mobilization, and educational policies have shaped the timing of pertinent regulatory efforts by courts and state legislatures. Interestingly, predicting the timing of initial government court successes regarding homeschooling regulation is a different story from the one about the conditions that facilitate early adoption of homeschooling legislation. We show that homeschooling legislation reflects state‐level educational, diffusion, and social movement dynamics. In contrast, early regulation via the courts is primarily determined by diffusion, and not by educational or social movement dynamics. Courts are both leading and lagging indicators of homeschooling regulation, because courts react to legislation and vice versa. In contrast, homeschooling legislation tends to be purely a lagging indicator, enacted largely in response to court decisions and in light of highly contentious school‐choice and accountability‐related policies.
Health workers’ views on audit in maternal and newborn healthcare in LMICs: a qualitative evidence synthesis
Authors: Rousseva Christiana , Kammath Vishnu , Tancred Tara , Smith Helen
Published: January 2020

Objectives

To identify and summarise health workers’ views on the use of audit as a method to improve the quality of maternal and newborn healthcare in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs).

Methods

We conducted a qualitative evidence synthesis. PubMed, CINAHL and Global Health databases were searched using keywords, synonyms and MeSH headings for ‘audit’, ‘views’ and ‘health workers’ to find papers that used qualitative methods to explore health workers’ views on audit in LMICs. Titles and abstracts were then screened for inclusion. The remaining full‐text papers were then screened. The final included papers were quality assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool for qualitative research. Data on audit type and health workers’ perceptions were extracted and analysed using thematic synthesis.

Results

Nineteen papers were included in the review, most from sub‐Saharan Africa. Health workers generally held favourable views of audit and expressed dedication to the process. Similarly, they described positive experiences conducting audit. The main barriers to implementing audit were the presence of a blame culture, inadequate training and the lack of time and resources to conduct audit. Health workers’ motivation and dedication to the audit process helped to overcome such barriers.

Conclusions

Health workers are dedicated to the process of audit, but must be supported with training, leadership and adequate resources to use it. Decision‐makers and technical partners supporting audit should focus on improving audit training and finding ways to conduct audit without requiring too much staff time.
Effect of Temperature on the Geological Sequestration of CO2 in a Layered Carbonate Formation
Authors: Kumar Ram , Campbell Scott W. , Cunningham Jeffrey A.
Published: January 2020

Geological sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in deep saline aquifers is one of the most promising technologies for large-scale CO2 mitigation. Temperature can play a significant role in the ensuing geochemistry, affecting equilibria in a multicomponent system and impacting reactive transport processes. The objectives of this study are to quantify the effect of temperature on storage efficiency, solubility trapping of CO2, pH of residual brine, and changes in the mineralogy and porosity. Using toughreact 3.3 (a reactive transport simulator), we have simulated the injection of CO2 into a heterogeneous layered carbonate formation for a period of 50 years, followed by a 50-year equilibration period with no injection. Mineralogy and physical properties of the simulated aquifer are based on a dolomitic limestone aquifer located within the South Florida Basin. Simulations were conducted for seven values of temperature. Density of supercritical CO2 decreases with an increase in temperature, which leads to higher buoyancy at elevated temperatures. Therefore, the storage efficiency of the aquifer decreases as temperature increases. Simulation results indicate that an increase in temperature from 35 °C to 95 °C results in a 35% decrease in storage efficiency. However, surprisingly, solubility trapping of CO2 increases with an increase in temperature because the interfacial area increases with temperature. Temperature effects on pH and on porosity change (due to mineral dissolution and precipitation) are small. The study can be helpful in screening a reservoir for geological carbon storage based on the formation temperature.
Modeling of the Coal Particle Behavior in an Ultra-Supercritical Boiler With Large Eddy Simulation
Authors: Shen Haoshu , Zhang Yang , Wu Yuxin , Zhou Minmin , Zhang Hai , Yue Guangxi
Published: January 2020

Large eddy simulation (LES) is becoming a promising tool for the design and retrofit of utility boilers. It explicitly calculates the large-scale eddies which play an important role in the particle behavior inside the boilers. An ultra-supercritical tangentially fired boiler was simulated under the boiler maximum continuous rate (BMCR) condition by LES. The particle phase was tracked by the simplified direct quadrature method of moments in the Eulerian framework. Five particle sizes were adopted to represent the wide particle size distribution. The predicted gas velocities were in good agreement with the thermal calculation. The LES results showed that the particles were more likely to be concentrated in the main burner zone while quickly dispersed in the over fire air (OFA) zone. A theoretical analysis found that the particle Stokes number based on the sub-grid scale was much smaller than one. The particles would behave as tracers for the eddies resolved by LES. However, some differences between the small and large particles were observed in the particle number density distributed along the vertical and horizontal directions. It meant that the inertial effects on the particle motion cannot be neglected.
Industrial Process Description for the Recovery of Agricultural Water From Digestate
Authors: Pawlak-Kruczek Halina , Urbanowska Agnieszka , Yang Weihong , Brem Gerrit , Magdziarz Aneta , Seruga Przemyslaw , Niedzwiecki Lukasz , Pozarlik Artur , Mlonka-Mędrala Agata , Kabsch-Korbutowicz Małgorzata , Bramer Eduard A. , Baranowski Marcin , Sieradzka Małgorzata , Tkaczuk-Serafin Monika
Published: January 2020

Currently, the reclamation and reuse of water have not reached their full potential, although more energy is needed to obtain and transport freshwater and this solution has a more serious environmental impact. Agricultural irrigation is, by far, the largest application of reclaimed water worldwide, so the proposed concept may result in the production of water that can be used, among others, for crop irrigation. This paper describes a novel installation for the recovery of the agricultural water from the digestate, along with the results of initial experiments. Currently, water is wasted, due to evaporation, in anaerobic digestion plants, as the effluent from dewatering of the digestate is discharged into lagoons. Moreover, water that stays within the interstitial space of the digestate is lost in a similar fashion. With increasing scarcity of water in rural areas, such waste should not be neglected. The study indicates that hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) enhances mechanical dewatering of the agricultural digestate and approximately 900 L of water can be recovered from one ton. Dewatered hydrochars had a lower heating value of almost 10 MJ/kg, indicating the possibility of using it as a fuel for the process. The aim of this Design Innovation Paper is to outline the newly developed concept of an installation that could enable recovery of water from, so far, the neglected resource—i.e., digestate from anaerobic digestion plants.
Investigations on Crystallization Processes of Three Oxidic Gasifier Slag Systems
Authors: Schupsky Jan Peter , Guo Muxing , Blanpain Bart , Müller Michael
Published: January 2020

In entrained flow gasifiers, the production of oxidic slag accompanies the gasification process. This slag forms a layer on the refractory walls, flows downwards gravitationally, and is collected in a water quench. Hence, the slag flow must be constant, since a slag blockage represents a worst-case-scenario. Crystallization of the slag increases slag viscosity, subsequently leading to a possible slag blockage. Therefore, crystallization processes in oxidic slags need to be understood and hence investigated. In this study, three artificial, coal ash related oxidic slag systems were analyzed on their crystallization behavior. Therefore, their melt behavior was investigated via hot-stage microscopy and differential thermal analysis (DTA). Additional thermochemical calculations were performed to predict crystallized phases. Subsequently, quenching experiments were conducted to generate supercooled crystallization in the slag samples. These samples were analyzed afterward via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the morphologies of crystals were characterized/described. In-situ observations on crystallization growth were performed by using a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM). Finally, crystallized phases were compared with results obtained from thermochemical calculations, and the impact of kinetics on the distributed phases was discussed. The knowledge on the crystallization behavior of various phases can be transferred to other slag systems and can improve general crystallization predictions made by thermochemical calculations.
A Real-Time Parameter Estimation Method by Using Disturbance Observer-Based Control
Authors: Chen Kun-Yung
Published: January 2020

The robust tracking control and accurate real-time uncertainty estimation performances by using disturbance observer-based model reference adaptive control (DOBMRAC) are proposed in this article. An example of coefficient of friction estimation system is studied to demonstrate the proposed method. First, the uncertainty adaptation law in the traditional model reference adaptive control (MRAC) was usually assumed that the uncertainty is a constant or slowly variable. The adaptation law of MRAC could not deal with the time-varying uncertainties. Therefore, a time-varying uncertainty adaptation law by disturbance observer (DOB) is designed to accurately estimate the time-varying uncertainty. Then, a Lyapunov candidate function is implemented to integrate DOB and MRAC as DOBMRAC to perform robust tracking control and accurate real-time uncertainty estimation, simultaneously. The coefficients of friction estimation system are performed to verify robust tracking control and accurate real-time estimation performance by using DOBMRAC. From the simulation results, the proposed DOBMRAC and MRAC are compared, and the proposed method shows well robust tracking control performance and real-time estimation ability. The proposed DOBMRAC has the advantages of rapid convergence responses, robust tracking control, and accurate real-time uncertainty estimation, simultaneously.
Highly selective Si3N4/SiO2 etching using an NF3/N2/O2/H2 remote plasma. II. Surface reaction mechanism
Authors: Jung Ji-Eun , Barsukov Yuri , Volynets Vladimir , Kim Gonjun , Nam Sang Ki , Han Kyuhee , Huang Shuo , Kushner Mark J.
Published: January 2020

Developing processes for highly selective etching of silicon nitride (Si3N4) with respect to silicon dioxide (SiO2) is a major priority for semiconductor fabrication processing. In this paper and in Paper I [Volynets et al., J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 38, 023007 (2020)], mechanisms are discussed for highly selective Si3N4 etching in a remote plasma based on experimental and theoretical investigations. The Si3N4/SiO2 etch selectivity of up to 380 was experimentally produced using a remote plasma sustained in NF3/N2/O2/H2 mixtures. A selectivity strongly depends on the flow rate of H2, an effect attributed to the formation of HF molecules in vibrationally excited states that accelerate etching reactions. Based on experimental measurements and zero-dimensional plasma simulations, an analytical etching model was developed for etch rates as a function of process parameters. Reaction rates and sticking coefficients were provided by quantum chemistry models and also fitted to the experimental results. Etch rates from the analytical model show good agreement with the experimental results and demonstrate why certain etchants accelerate or inhibit the etch process. In particular, the modeling shows the important role of HF molecules in the first vibrationally excited state [HF(v = 1)] in achieving high Si3N4/SiO2 selectivity.