bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Invertebrates and the Restoration of a Forest Ecosystem: 30 Years of Research following Bauxite Mining in Western Australia
Authors: Majer Jonathan D. , Brennan Karl E. C. , Moir Melinda L. 
Published: August 2010

Abstract Restoration needs to consider more than just soils and plants. The role of terrestrial invertebrates in the restoration of Alcoa’s bauxite mines in the Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest of Western Australia has been the subject of over 20 individual studies. Projects range from arthropods in soil and leaf litter, to the understorey vegetation, and the tree canopy. Moreover, projects span a range of trophic groups, including decomposers (e.g., springtails and termites), predators (e.g., ants and spiders), and herbivores (e.g., true bugs and ants preying on seeds). Elucidation of recolonization trajectories uses both space‐for‐time substitutions and long‐term regular sampling. Importantly, many studies are at species level rather than coarser taxonomic ranks. This paper provides an historical account and an integrated review of this research. The role of ants as seed predators and as indicators of ecosystem health is described. Successional data for other groups, when measured by species richness (ants, spiders, and hemipterans) and composition (ants and spiders), show their reassembly trajectories tracking toward unmined reference areas. Hemipteran species composition tracks the vegetation reassembly trajectory but not toward unmined reference areas. Studies also have revealed optimal sampling methods for surveying invertebrates and their rich biodiversity in southwestern Australia. In restored mine pits burnt to reduce fuel loads, the response of spiders to this additional disturbance was retrogression/alteration of the post‐mining trajectory. Finally, attention is drawn to research areas receiving limited scrutiny to date, such as the contribution of terrestrial invertebrates to ecosystem function and taxonomic groups not yet studied.
Vertebrate Fauna Recolonization of Restored Bauxite Mines—Key Findings from Almost 30 Years of Monitoring and Research
Authors: Nichols Owen G. , Grant Carl D. 
Published: August 2010

Abstract Studies into the processes of vertebrate fauna colonization of Alcoa’s restored bauxite mines began around 1975. This recognized the key role of vertebrate fauna in jarrah forest ecosystem processes, and also the fact that some species were rare, so priority was given to determining their status in unmined forest, and promoting their return to restored areas following mining. Long‐term studies have since taken place on mammals, birds, and reptiles both in unmined forest and in restored areas of varying ages and techniques. Mammal recolonization varies between species depending on species’ food and shelter requirements and their distribution and abundance in the surrounding forest. Birds rapidly recolonize and 95% of species have been recorded in restoration. Bird community structure changes with restoration type and age, and in current restoration, it is similar to that of unmined forest by the age of 10 years. Studies on reptiles have shown that 21 of 24 species have recolonized. The remaining three include one legless lizard and two snakes, all of which feed on small vertebrates (e.g., skinks) and require shelter in the form of logs, stumps, and coarse woody debris. Some other reptile species consistently occur in restoration in lower densities than in unmined forest, and current studies are investigating the causes of this. Together, studies on these three vertebrate fauna groups have provided valuable, complementary information on their habitat requirements, and the extent to which Alcoa’s restoration program has been successful in reestablishing this important component of the jarrah forest’s biodiversity.
The Dangers of Automobile Travel: A Reconsideration
Authors: Roots Roger 
Published: August 2010

Abstract.  America's reliance on automobile transportation has attracted the scorn of academics for decades. Automobiles, it is said, are dangerous to life and limb, environmentally unfriendly, and wasteful of space and resources. Moreover, say the critics, automobiles produce inefficient individualistic social behavior that balkanizes communities and shatters the otherwise cohesive nature of American life.This article examines the costs and benefits of U.S. automobile travel from a historic perspective. First, it compares the safety of automobile travel with the horse and steam‐powered travel that preceded it. It then briefly addresses the changes wrought by American automobiles in terms of their impact on American life, economics, social mobility, and ecology. It concludes that the dangers of automobile use are substantially lower than the dangers posed by early horse‐driven and steam‐driven transportation methods, especially in terms of fatalities per mile. It finds that on a per‐mile or per‐trip basis, automobile travel is safer than virtually any other means of travel used popularly in U.S. history, and that the other contributions of automobile transportation have been seriously overlooked by transportation scholars.
Prediction of Interatrial and Interventricular Electromechanical Delays from P/QRS Measurements: Value for Pacemaker Timing Optimization
Authors: CHIRIFE RAUL , PASTORI JULIO , MOSTO HUGO , ARRASCAITE MÓNICA , SAMBELASHVILI ALEKSANDRE 
Published: August 2010

Summary:

Cardiac pacing creates spurious delays between and within the cardiac chambers. These are: 1. Left atrial (LA) transport delay (ATD) either sensed (s) or paced (p), (time from right atrial P‐wave to the end of LA transport (mitral Doppler A‐wave)). 2. Interventricular delay (IVD), (time from onsets of right (RV) to left ventricular (LV) contractions). 3. P‐sense offset (PSO), (time from P‐onset to P‐detection). Thus, restoration of left heart atrioventricular (AV) synchrony can be accomplished by compensating above delays, according to a previously published equation: RAV = ATD‐IVD‐PSO, where RAV = right heart AV.
Objective:

To test the hypothesis that ATD could be predicted from Ps and Pp, and that interventricular delay (IVD) could be predicted from QRSp, using three‐lead surface electrocardiograms (ECGs).
Methods:

Thirty‐six patients aged 63.5 ± 15.5 years, 64% males, all with previously implanted DDD pacemakers, were studied by echo‐Doppler and surface ECG obtained with a pacemaker programmer. Measurements included Ps; Pp; intrinsic QRSs; and paced QRSp, ATDs, ATDp, and IVD (difference between RVp and RVs left preejection intervals, PEI). Regressions between ECG and echo‐Doppler intervals were calculated.
Results:

Regressions and correlation coefficients: ATD (s+p) = 0.96*P + 55 (R = 0.94, P < 0.0001); PEIp = 0.75 * QRSp + 34.8 (R = 0.89, P< 0.0001); IVD = 0.39 *QRSp – 7.9 ms (R = 0.87, P = 0.002).
Conclusions:

Inter‐atrial and inter‐ventricular electromechanical delays can be predicted from P‐wave and QRS durations. These measurements allow AV delay optimization in DDD and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices with no need of Doppler echocardiography.
Comparative Effects of l‐Tryptophan and 1‐Methyl‐Tryptophan on Immunoregulation Induced by Sperm, Human Pre‐implantation Embryo and Trophoblast Supernatants
Authors: Gutiérrez G. , Fitzgerald J. S. , Pöhlmann T. , Hoppe I. , Markert U. R. 
Published: August 2010

Problem: The hypothesis that indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase (IDO) is necessary to regulate lymphocyte functions at the feto‐maternal interface has been postulated, although a possible role of tryptophan (Trp) depletion in the T‐cell tolerance during insemination as well as implantation has not been previously investigated.Method of study: Allogeneic phytohaemagglutinin stimulated lymphocytes were supplemented with pre‐implantation embryo supernatant (PES), seminal plasma (SP), spermatozoa culture supernatant (SCS), spermatozoa, trophoblast cells, or placenta explant culture supernatants, and analyzed for expression of CD25, CD71, and CD69. Trp‐degrading activity was assessed by addition of 1‐methyl‐Tryptophan or l‐Trp.Results: PES, SP, trophoblast, and explant supernatants reduced the expression of CD25 in CD3 lymphocytes. Inhibition of IDO as well as Trp supplementation prevented these effects.Conclusions: These data suggest that the expression of interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) receptor in maternal T lymphocytes is normally suppressed by Trp catabolism, and that either abnormal IDO levels or substances influencing IDO activity might lead to non‐adequate immune responses on sperm, harm the conceptus or even initiate fetal rejection.
Agricultural growth and economic development: a view through the globalization lens
Authors: Pingali Prabhu 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThis article re‐visits the age‐old proposition that agriculture growth contributes to overall economic development, and asks whether the relationship still holds in an increasingly globalized world. There is overwhelming empirical support for the above proposition, indeed, it is hard to find exceptions, barring a few city states, where sustained economic development has not been preceded by robust agricultural growth. However, there are a large number of countries that have witnessed neither agricultural growth nor economic development. Even in countries where agricultural growth has been significant, dramatic inter‐regional differences persist. This article examines the factors that contribute to or constrain the process of agricultural transformation. Does the process of globalization, and the resultant changes in agrifood systems, offer new opportunities for agriculture‐led growth, or will it further marginalize excluded countries, regions, and groups? The factors that cause exclusion are examined both in terms of globalization forces and in terms of domestic shortcomings in policies and governance. Policy interventions that attempt to reduce the costs of transition to a globalized agricultural system are explored, including safety nets for those left behind.
The impact of natural and manmade disasters on household welfare
Authors: Sawada Yasuyuki 
Published: August 2010

AbstractIn this article, we provide selective evidence on the impact of natural and manmade disasters on household welfare. First, we consider ex ante risk management and ex post risk‐coping behaviors separately, showing evidence from the Asian economic crisis, earthquakes, and tsunami disasters. Second, we differentiate idiosyncratic risks from nondiversifiable aggregate risks that characterize a disaster. We also discuss the difficulties of designing index‐type insurance against natural disasters, which are often rare, unforeseen events. Then, we investigate the role of self‐insurance against large‐scale disasters under which formal or informal mutual insurance mechanisms are largely ineffective. Credit accessibility is identified as one of the key factors facilitating risk‐coping strategies.
Globalization, privatization, and vertical coordination in food value chains in developing and transition countries
Authors: Swinnen Johan F. M. , Maertens Miet 
Published: August 2010

AbstractFood and agricultural commodity value chains in developing and transition countries have undergone tremendous changes in the past decades. Companies and property rights have been privatized, markets liberalized, and economies integrated into global food systems. The liberalization and privatization initially caused the collapse of state‐controlled vertical coordination. More recently, private vertical coordination systems have emerged and are growing rapidly as a response to consumer demand for food quality and safety on the one hand and the farms' production constraints caused by factor market imperfections. In this article we (1) demonstrate the importance of these changes, (2) discuss the implications for efficiency and equity, and (3) provide empirical evidence on the effects in several developing and transition countries.
Food regulation and trade under the WTO: ten years in perspective
Authors: Orden David , Roberts Donna 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThis article reviews the performance of the World Trade Organization in the oversight of national regulatory decisions affecting agricultural and food trade. A picture emerges of modest international disciplines on the regulatory decisions of sovereign nations and the need for ongoing improvements. A road map to regulations is presented and empirical assessments of the effects of technical regulation on trade are reviewed. Conflicts over sanitary and phytosanitary barriers raised in the relevant World Trade Organization committee are summarized and formal dispute settlement cases involving technical trade barriers are evaluated. Drawing on these reviews, suggestions are made for improving international food regulation.
Technological progress for sustaining food‐population balance: achievement and challenges
Authors: Hossain Mahabub 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe growth in land productivity in rice cultivation has slowed down substantially since the early 1990s due to technological progress reaching its limit in the irrigated ecosystem and nonavailability of suitable technologies for the unfavorable rainfed environments. This development raises concern regarding the world's ability to meet the food‐population balance in the coming decades. Rice research must deal with a number of difficult problems to meet the challenge: raising the yield ceilings of the current available rice varieties; protecting the past yield gains in the irrigated ecosystem; and using biotechnology tools to develop high yielding varieties for the rainfed systems that are tolerant to drought, submergence, and problem soils. The speed and extent of meeting these challenges depends on the level of resources that can be mobilized to support crop improvement research in the public sector.
Agricultural research and policy for better health and nutrition in developing countries: a food systems approach
Authors: Pinstrup‐Andersen Per 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThis article is about the two‐way causal relationships between the global food system and health and nutrition. It argues that the global food system begins and ends with health and that the prioritization and implementation of agricultural research and policy should consider health and nutrition effects. An integrated health and food policy approach is likely to be more effective in achieving both health and economic development goals that the current practice of separate sectorial policies. The article identifies a large number of health and nutrition factors affecting and affected by the food system and suggests research and policies to enhance positive effects and reduce negative ones.
Coping with drought in rice farming in Asia: insights from a cross‐country comparative study
Authors: Pandey Sushil , Bhandari Humnath , Ding Shijun , Prapertchob Preeda , Sharan Ramesh , Naik Dibakar , Taunk Sudhir K. , Sastri Asras 
Published: August 2010

AbstractDrought is a major constraint affecting rice production, especially in rainfed areas of Asia. Despite its importance in rice‐growing areas, the magnitude of economic losses arising from drought, its impact on farm households, and farmers' drought coping mechanisms are poorly understood. This article provides insights into these aspects of drought based on a cross‐country comparative analysis of rainfed rice‐growing areas in southern China, eastern India, and northeast Thailand. The economic cost of drought is found to be substantially higher in eastern India than in the other two countries. Higher probability and greater spatial covariance of drought and less diversified farming systems with rice accounting for a larger share of household income are the main reasons for this higher cost of drought in eastern India. Farmers deploy various coping mechanisms but such mechanisms are largely unable to prevent a reduction in income and consumption, especially in eastern India. As a result, welfare consequences on poor farmers are substantial with a large number of people falling back into poverty during drought years. The overall implications for technology design and for policy improvements for drought mitigation and drought relief are discussed in the light of the empirical findings of the study.
Designing frameworks to deliver unknown information to support market‐based instruments
Authors: Eigenraam Mark , Strappazzon Loris , Lansdell Nicola , Beverly Craig , Stoneham Gary 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThis article reports on an Australian auction to procure multiple environmental outcomes: EcoTender. EcoTender uses a Catchment Modelling Framework (CMF) to estimate the impact landholder actions have on carbon, terrestrial biodiversity, aquatic function (water quality and quantity), and saline land area. This framework solves the problem of linking paddock‐scale land use and management to catchment‐scale environmental outcomes. This is the first time a market‐based instrument has been fully integrated from desk to field with a biophysical model for the purchase of multiple environmental outcomes. A multiple outcome auction provides several new economic and scientific challenges. This article discusses the EcoTender approach to incorporating agency preferences, modeling the joint production of environmental outcomes and reporting environmental scores. Results indicate that linking EcoTender to the carbon market reduced the cost of procuring the environmental goods by 26%. Further, preliminary estimates show that the environmental gains from scoring the joint production of multiple outcomes are between 30% and 50% to the agency.
Meta‐analysis of general and partial equilibrium simulations of Doha Round outcomes
Authors: Hess Sebastian , Von Cramon‐Taubadel Stephan 
Published: August 2010

AbstractQuantification of welfare changes due to trade liberalization plays a crucial role for political decision making. However, significant differences in simulated gains from liberalization do not serve to increase confidence in quantitative assessments based on trade models. A meta‐analysis of trade simulations under the WTO Doha Round is employed to identify model characteristics that influence the magnitude of simulation results. Findings from a simple regression model are plausible and show that each simulation experiment represents a complex interaction of model characteristics and experimental settings that may not easily be communicated to nonexperts. Meta‐analysis proves to be useful for empirically assessing this complexity.
Land inequality and economic growth: a dynamic panel data approach
Authors: Fort Ricardo 
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe growing body of literature devoted to studying the impact of inequality on economic growth has centered its attention on the income distribution effect, even though the theoretical relationships are more related to assets distribution. While some recent studies have tried to overcome this limitation by introducing asset indicators, they meet new constraints when dealing only with time‐invariant measurements for this explanatory variable. This article provides a theoretical discussion and some novel empirical tests to better understand the relationships between assets distribution and economic growth. We assembled a new panel database that includes observations for more than 30 countries over the last three decades. The data include a time‐varying variable for changes in the Land Gini index over this period that enables us to overcome the limitations of previous studies. A system general method of moments (GMM) estimator is used to generate truly unbiased and consistent estimates for the parameters of interest. We explore some of the likely channels through which asset distribution and economic growth may be linked, paying particular attention to the role of secure property rights and the relations between land ownership and education. We find robust and significant negative signs for land inequality in the growth regressions, indicating that changes in asset distribution are an important factor for economic development.
A look into the nature of complex systems and beyond “Stonehenge” economics: coping with complexity or ignoring it in applied economics?
Authors: Noell Chris 
Published: August 2010

AbstractReal‐world economic systems are complex in general but can be approximated by the “open systems” approach. Economic systems are very likely to possess the basic and advanced emergent properties (e.g., self‐organized criticality, fractals, attractors) of general complex systems. The theory of “self‐organized criticality” is proposed as a major source of dynamic equilibria and complexity in economic systems. This is exemplified in an analysis for self‐organized criticality of Danish agricultural subsectors, indicated by power law distributions of the monetary production value for the time period from 1963 to 1999. Major conclusions from the empirical part are: (1) The sectors under investigation are obviously self‐organizing and thus very likely to show a range of complex properties. (2) The characteristics of the power law distributions that were measured might contain further information about the state or graduation of self‐organization in the sector. Varying empirical results for different agricultural sectors turned out to be consistent with the theory of self‐organized criticality. (3) Fully self‐organizing sectors might be economically the most efficient. Finally, empirical implications of the results are discussed. Complexity theory should be considered as a valuable supplement to the existing analytical toolbox.
Do farmers benefit from participating in specialty markets and cooperatives? The case of coffee marketing in Costa Rica1
Authors: Wollni Meike , Zeller Manfred 
Published: August 2010

AbstractHistorically low prices in the conventional coffee market have caused financial and social hardship among coffee farmers. In the face of this crisis, specialty markets have attracted the attention of the international donor community. These market segments have shown consistent growth over the last decade and exhibit price premiums in international markets. Therefore, if higher prices are passed on to farmers, access to specialty markets could help to alleviate the crisis brought on by low prices in the conventional sector. The present study attempts to identify the factors that determine farmers' participation in specialized markets and whether participation in these markets leads to higher prices for farmers. A two‐stage model is used to analyze farmers' marketing decisions and their effect on the prices received. This procedure allows us to control for the endogeneity bias introduced by the marketing choice. Our results indicate that farmers participating in the specialty coffee segment do in fact receive higher prices than those participating in conventional channels. Additionally, we find that participation in cooperatives has a positive impact on the probability that a farmer chooses to grow specialty coffee and analogously on the prices that they receive. Based on these results, it seems that efforts to increase participation in the specialty coffee segment and in cooperatives would help to lessen some of the hardships brought on by low prices in the conventional coffee sector.