bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Endogenous institutional innovation and agroindustrialization on the Peruvian coast
Authors: Escobal Javier , Agreda Victor , Reardon Thomas 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThis paper presents an analysis of endogenous institutional innovations that have recently emerged in the agroindustrial zone of Chincha, on the coast of Peru. These innovations include: (1) contracts between agroindustrial firms and large farmers, introduced by the firms themselves to assure timely delivery and compliance with strict requirements implied by the emerging demanding quality and safety standards for agro‐export of processed asparagus; (2) management services exchanged for labor supervision and land collateral in share tenancy contracts between a management company and “farmer companies” of small cotton farmers. These contracts introduced by the management company illustrate those described theoretically by Eswaran and Kotwal [Am. Econ. Rev. 75 (3), 352–367]. The nature and importance of these institutional changes are twofold: (1) They were induced institutional innovations driven by the requirements of agroindustrialization itself. (2) Together they had ambiguous employment and income impacts (tending to the negative). On the one hand, the emergence of asparagus and firm‐farm contracts reduced employment through exclusion of small farms and shifts to capital‐intensive crops. On the other hand, the reinforcement of smallholder cotton and the emergence of farmer companies increased employment and income of smallholders. The institutional innovation allowed them to reduce risk and increase profits and thus access some of the benefits of agroindustrialization and globalization. While processing firm‐farm contracts are common in Peru, as is the presence of NGOs bringing subsidized credit, the private management firm innovation is rare and new in Peru and apparently also in the region, and of great interest. In fact, policymakers and NGOs have recently discovered that this innovation is taking place and are asking hard questions about whether this innovation can and will be diffused. The interest in the private for‐profit institutional change is sharpened by growing doubts about how economically sustainable and widespread a response NGO help can be to small farmers in maintaining their participation in income‐enhancing agroindustrialization. Moreover, with changes in land laws and markets the fluidity of the situation is apparent, with agroindustrial firms even starting to ask themselves whether contracts with large farms are necessary and best.
Agroindustrialization through institutional innovation Transaction costs, cooperatives and milk‐market development in the east‐African highlands
Authors: Holloway Garth , Nicholson Charles , Delgado Chris , Staal Steve , Ehui Simeon 
Published: May 2008

AbstractSome small‐holders are able to generate reliable and substantial income flows through small‐scale dairy production for the local market; for others, a set of unique transaction costs hinders participation. Cooperative selling institutions are potential catalysts for mitigating these costs, stimulating entry into the market, and promoting growth in rural communities. Trends in cooperative organization in east‐African dairy are evaluated. Empirical work focuses on alternative techniques for effecting participation among a representative sample of peri‐urban milk producers in the Ethiopian highlands. The variables considered are a modern production practice (cross‐bred cow use), a traditional production practice (indigenous‐cow use), three intellectual‐capital‐forming variables (experience, education, and extension), and the provision of infrastructure (as measured by time to transport milk to market). A Tobit analysis of marketable surplus generates precise estimates of non‐participants' ‘distances’ to market and their reservation levels of the covariates — measures of the inputs necessary to sustain and enhance the market. Policy implications focus on the availability of cross‐bred stock and the level of market infrastructure, both of which have marked effects on participation, the velocity of transactions in the local community and, inevitably, the social returns to agroindustrialization.
The impact of the tomato agroindustry on the rural poor in Mexico
Authors: Barron María Antonieta , Rello Fernando 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThis article addresses the issue of whether the tomato agroindustry (TAI) has been an effective instrument in the reduction of rural poverty. The TAI is by far the most important agroindustry in Mexico in terms of exports and employment creation. Most of the laborers employed by the TAI in northwest Mexico are temporary migrants coming from poverty‐stricken regions in southern Mexico. Conditions of poverty‐induced migration are explained. The characteristics and strategies of large, modern tomato enterprises are analyzed. The main conclusion is that migrant income earned in the tomato fields and packing plants, is fundamental for the bare survival in villages in poverty‐stricken regions. However, this does not provide a solution to poverty alleviation because migrant income is not sufficient to contribute to capital formation in the migrating communities, or the to create the conditions for endogenous local development.
Links between economic liberalization and rural resource degradation in the developing regions
Authors: Barbier Edward B. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractThis paper examines evidence of the effects of economic liberalization and globalization on rural resource degradation in developing countries. The principal resource effects of concern are processes of land use change leading to forestland conversion, degradation and deforestation. The main trends in globalization of interest are trade liberalization and economy‐wide reforms in developing countries that have ‘opened up’ the agroindustrial sectors, thus increasing their export‐orientation. Such reforms have clearly spurred agroindustrialization, rural development and economic growth, but there is also concern that there may be direct and indirect impacts on rural resource degradation. The direct impacts may occur as increased agricultural activity leads to conversion of forests and increased land degradation from ‘unsustainable’ production methods. However, there may also be indirect effects if agroindustrial development displaces landless, near‐landless and rural poor generally, who then migrate to marginal agricultural lands and forest frontier regions. This paper explores these direct and indirect effects of globalization and agroindustrialization on rural resource degradation both generally, plus through examining case study evidence. The paper focuses in particular on the examples of structural adjustment, trade liberalization and agricultural development in Ghana, and maize sector liberalization in Mexico under North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Clinician observation of physiological trend monitoring to identify late‐onset sepsis in preterm infants
Authors: Dewhurst Christopher J , Cooke Richard WI , Turner Mark A 
Published: May 2008

AbstractAim: To determine whether trends in routinely collected physiological variables can be used retrospectively to classify infants according to the presence or absence of late‐onset neonatal sepsis.Methods: Case control study. Thirty infants born ≤32 weeks of gestation who developed late‐onset sepsis were matched with 30 controls for gestational and postnatal age but remained sepsis free. For each infant, 25 clinicians inspected 48 h of routine monitoring of heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen saturation. Clinicians were asked to determine whether the recording was obtained from an infant who did or did not develop sepsis and also indicate how confident they were in their judgement. Clinicians were stratified into three groups by professional role.Results: The median correct assignment of infant's recordings was 67% (IQR 62–72). When very confident, this improved to 82% (IQR 67–88). Overall sensitivity was 53% (IQR 43–63) and specificity 80% (IQR 67–87). Advanced neonatal nurse practitioners consistently assigned babies to the correct group more often than other professional groups.Conclusion: The simple observation physiological trend graphs can classify infants according to the presence or absence of late‐onset neonatal sepsis. The accuracy of this method is good to strong but varies with experience of neonatal intensive care.
Activities in daily living and schoolwork task performance in children with complex congenital heart disease
Authors: Granberg Marie , Rydberg Annika , Fisher Anne G 
Published: May 2008

AbstractAim: To examine if children with complex congenital heart disease (CHD) differ significantly from healthy children in performance of activities in daily living (ADL) and schoolwork tasks.Methods: Fourteen children with complex CHD (3–14 years) were matched in pairs by age and gender to healthy children (n = 14). The ADL Taxonomy was used to evaluate ability to perform ADL and the School Version of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) to evaluate quality of schoolwork task performance.Results: The children with complex CHD had significantly lower mean ADL, school motor and school process performance. Eight of the pairs differed significantly in school motor ability, ten in school process performance and nine in ability to perform ADL.Conclusion: This study indicates that there is a difference in overall performance both in ADL and schoolwork task performance between children with complex CHD and healthy children. These findings may suggest that early interventions should be provided for children with complex CHD, who often do not receive such services, in order to enhance participation in childhood ADL and schoolwork.
IgA endomysium antibodies – an early predictor for celiac disease in children without villous atrophy
Authors: Grodzinsky E , Fälth‐Magnusson K , Högberg L , Jansson G , Laurin P , Stenhammar L 
Published: May 2008

AbstractAim: To evaluate possible differences between children with anti‐endomysium antibodies (EMA) positivity and normal small bowel mucosa and children with positive EMA and an enteropathy diagnosed as celiac disease (CD).Methods: Children with suspected CD and positive EMA (≥1/10) undergoing small bowel biopsy during 1996 to 2002, were investigated (n = 133). Data registered were: year and month of birth, timing of the first biopsy, sex, heredity for CD, dermatitis herpetiformis and diabetes mellitus and outcome of the anti‐gliadin antibody test (AGA). The case group, with EMA positivity and normal histology (n = 39; 59% female, mean age at the first biopsy 7.3 years, range 1.4–16), was compared with the disease control group, with positive EMA and a biopsy suggestive and further on diagnosed as CD (n = 94; 56% female; mean age 7.6 years at the first biopsy, range 0.70–17).Results: AGA positivity and heredity for CD were found to predict the outcome of a pathological jejunal mucosa. Nineteen of the 39 children in the case group were rebiopsied of whom 11 had developed an enteropathy during a follow‐up period of 2–7 years (median 4.5 years).Conclusions: EMA positivity in the absence of small bowel enteropathy could be a very early predictor for later overt CD, and necessitates further follow‐up, especially if the child is AGA positive and there is a family history of CD.
False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) around the main Hawaiian Islands: Long‐term site fidelity, inter‐island movements, and association patterns
Authors: Baird Robin W. , Gorgone Antoinette M. , McSweeney Daniel J. , Webster Daniel L. , Salden Dan R. , Deakos Mark H. , Ligon Allan D. , Schorr Gregory S. , Barlow Jay , Mahaffy Sabre D. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractDespite their world‐wide distribution throughout the tropics and subtropics, false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) are one of the lesser‐known large odontocetes. Genetic evidence indicates a demographically isolated population around the main Hawaiian Islands. We examine site fidelity, movements and association patterns in this population using data from directed surveys and opportunistic photographs from 1986 to 2007. This species was only infrequently encountered, and while found in depths from 38 to 4,331 m, sighting rates were greatest in depths >3,000 m. We photo‐identified 152 distinctive individuals. Resighting rates were high, with an average of 76.8% of distinctive individuals within groups documented on more than one occasion. Most (86.6%) were linked by association into a single social network; only one large group (16 distinctive individuals), documented the farthest offshore (42–70 km), did not link by association to that large network, and may be part of an offshore population. Individual movements of up to 283 km were documented, with a large proportion of individuals moving among islands. Individuals were resighted up to 20.1 yr after first being documented, showing long‐term fidelity to the islands. Repeated associations among individuals were documented for up to 15 yr, and association analyses indicate preferred associations and strong bonds among individuals.
Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci in the Malaysian giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii
Authors: BHASSU S. , SEE L. M. , HASSAN R. , SIRAJ S. S. , TAN S. G. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractEight single locus microsatellite markers were developed to characterize the Malaysian giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii. These microsatellites were isolated from an enriched genomic library contained by using a 5′‐anchored polymerase chain reaction technique. Primers were designed to flank the repeat sequences and subsequently used to characterize 30 unrelated individuals of the giant freshwater prawn. The polymerase chain reaction amplification products of these eight microsatellite loci were polymorphic with the number of alleles ranging from two to 10 alleles per locus while the levels of heterozygosity ranged from 0.6333 to 0.8667.
Favorable environments and the persistence of naturally rare species
Authors: Harrison Susan , Viers Joshua H. , Thorne James H. , Grace James B. 
Published: May 2008

AbstractIn an era of rapid climate change, it is important to understand how naturally rare species—such as those with small geographic ranges, specialized habitat requirements, and low local abundances—have persisted in time and space. In the flora we studied, species with all three forms of rarity inhabited geographic regions with more benign climates (higher total and summer rainfall, less extreme seasonal temperatures) and larger areas of their specialized habitat within 10 km than did more common species in the same habitats. Similar differences were also seen in congener‐only comparisons. We found no evidence for two nonexclusive alternatives, that naturally rare species had more extinction‐resistant life history traits, or that they belonged to more rapidly speciating taxa than common species. Understanding the association of rare species with benign environments may help in the design of effective conservation strategies for geographic regions of high diversity and endemism under changing climates. In particular, our findings highlight the extra climatic sensitivities of rare species with edaphic or other specialization, and how the needs of these species may be met by either refugia or translocation strategies.
Dog‐Associated Risk Factors for Human Plague
Authors: Hannah Gould L. , Pape J. , Ettestad P. , Griffith K. S. , Mead P. S. 
Published: May 2008

SummaryPlague is a rare but often fatal zoonosis endemic to the western United States. Previous studies have identified contact with pets as a potential risk factor for infection. We conducted a matched case–control study to better define the risks associated with pets at both the household and individual levels. Using a written questionnaire, we surveyed nine surviving plague patients, 12 household members of these patients, and 30 age‐ and neighbourhood‐matched controls about household and individual exposures. Overall, 79% of households had at least one dog, 59% had at least one cat and 33% used flea control, with no significant differences between case and control households. Four (44%) case households reported having a sick dog versus no (0%) control households [matched odds ratio, (mOR) 18.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.3–∞], and four (44%) patients reported sleeping in the same bed with a pet dog versus three (10%) controls (mOR 5.7, 95% CI 1.0–31.6). Within case households with multiple members, two (40%) of five patients slept with their dogs versus none (0%) of 12 healthy family members (P = 0.13). The exposures to cats were not significant. Sleeping in the same bed as a pet dog remained significantly associated with infection in a multivariate logistic regression model (P = 0.046). Our findings suggest that dogs may facilitate the transfer of fleas into the home and that activities with close extended contacts with dogs may increase the risk of plague infection.
Effect of nationwide tobacco control policies on smoking cessation in high and low educated groups in 18 European countries
Authors: Schaap M M , Kunst A E , Leinsalu M , Regidor E , Ekholm O , Dzurova D , Helmert U , Klumbiene J , Santana P , Mackenbach J P 
Published: May 2008

Background:Recently a scale was introduced to quantify the implementation of tobacco control policies at country level. Our study used this scale to examine the potential impact of these policies on quit ratios in European countries. Special attention was given to smoking cessation among lower educational groups.Methods:Cross-sectional data were derived from national health surveys from 18 European countries. In the analyses we distinguished between country, sex, two age groups (25–39 and 40–59 years) and educational level. Age-standardised quit ratios were calculated as total former-smokers divided by total ever-smokers. In regression analyses we explored the correlation between national quit ratios and the national score on the Tobacco Control Scale (TCS).Results:Quit ratios were especially high (>45%) in Sweden, England, The Netherlands, Belgium and France and relatively low (<30%) in Lithuania and Latvia. Higher educated smokers were more likely to have quit smoking than lower educated smokers in all age-sex groups in all countries. National score on the tobacco control scale was positively associated with quit ratios in all age-sex groups. The association of quit ratios with score on TCS did not show consistent differences between high and low education. Of all tobacco control policies of which the TCS is constructed, price policies showed the strongest association with quit ratios, followed by an advertising ban.Conclusion:Countries with more developed tobacco control policies have higher quit ratios than countries with less developed tobacco control policies. High and low educated smokers benefit about equally from the nationwide tobacco control policies.
Meniscal Healing after Meniscal Repair
Authors: Pujol Nicolas , Panarella Ludovico , Selmi Tank Ait Si , Neyret Philippe , Fithian Donald , Beaufils Philippe 
Published: May 2008

Background Studies evaluating healing of repaired meniscus are rare and primarily retrospective. The aim of this study was to assess whether there were different healing rates for arthroscopic meniscal repair with respect to the different zones of the meniscus. Purpose This study was conducted to assess outcomes and to document anatomic characteristics of the repaired meniscus with postoperative arthrography combined with computed tomography (arthro-CT), particularly the dimensions and healing of the repaired meniscus. Study Design Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods Fifty-three arthroscopic meniscal repairs were prospectively evaluated between 2002 and 2004 in 2 orthopaedic departments. There were 36 medial and 17 lateral torn menisci. All ACL tears (n = 31, 58.5%) underwent reconstruction. Patients were preoperatively evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging. Clinical evaluation included International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores before the operation and 6 and 12 months afterward. Healing criteria were evaluated at 6 months by arthro-CT scan. Three parameters were evaluated—healing in thickness (Henning criteria), overall healing rate, and reduction in the width of the remaining meniscus. Results According to the objective IKDC score, 26 patients were graded A, 20 B, and 4 C (92% good results). The mean subjective IKDC score was 78.9 (standard deviation [SD], 16.2). According to Henning's criteria, 58% of the menisci healed completely, 24% partially, and 18% failed. The overall healing rate was 73.1% (SD, 38.5). Twenty tears located in the posterior part had a healing rate of 59.8% (SD, 46.0). Nineteen tears extending from the posterior to the middle part had a healing rate of 79.2% (SD, 28.2). Isolated tears located in the posterior part had a lower healing rate ( P < .05). There was a 9% ± 1.2% reduction in the width of the remaining medial meniscus in the middle and posterior repaired portions ( P < .02). There was a 15% ± 14% reduction in the width of the remaining lateral meniscus in the middle repaired portion ( P < .01). Complete healing of the posterior segment was associated with reduction in the width of the meniscus ( P < .04). Conclusion A modern technique using all-inside fixation or outside-in sutures provided good clinical and anatomic outcomes. No statistically significant effect on ACL reconstruction or laterality (medial vs lateral) on overall healing after meniscal repair was identified. Partial healing occurred often, with a stable tear on a narrowed and painless meniscus. The posterior segment healing rate remained low, suggesting a need for further technical improvements.
Academic and Industrial User Needs for a Concurrent Engineering Computer Simulation Game
Authors: Riedelt Johann c.k.h. , Pawar Kulwant S. , Barson Richard 
Published: May 2008

This paper describes the rationale of a multimedia computer based simulation game of concurrent engineering for use on university engineering courses and for the training of engineers in industry. It describes the methodology and results of the analysis of academic and industrial user needs. This included interviews and focus groups with users and players of the simulation. The learning goals for the simulation were developed from this analysis. These learning goals and the insights gained were used as an input in the development of a simulation modelling methodology and computer simulation model of CE. The outcome of the development methodology was the first prototype of the COSIGA CE simulation game. This prototype is currently undergoing testing, including assessing how well it delivers the learning goals. The game will aim to realistically simulate the collaborative and cooperative process of product development inherent in a concurrent engineering approach. It is a team player game, played by up to five people. It can be played by individuals in the same room or in a distributed group, using the internet and telecommunications (phone, fax, videophone, etc). Each person plays a role in the product development process and work collaboratively together, using whatever communication means they choose, to specify, design, and produce the final product - a type of truck. This would involve them drawing up a market specification, a product specification, designing the product and allocating production processes. The product's manufacturability will be put to the test in the simulated factory to produce the final products. The final product's conformance to specification, development time and costs are used to calculate the team's score. This two year project will make the final simulation game available on CD-Rom (with a demo version available on the internet) for use by other universities and industrial companies.