The Problems of Analysing Markets for Irrigation Water

The view that the price of water is too low and that water does not flow to its highest value end use, have led many analysts to conclude that a market for water, in which price can adjust to accommodate changes in the supply and demand for the product, is essential. However, this solution assumes that the market could approach something close to perfect competition, purely by making minor changes within the existing regime of property rights. In this paper it is argued that problems evident in this market stem from a multitude of market failures and characteristics that are particular to it. To understand this case more fully it is necessary to come to terms with the theoretical formulations of the market for water and the practical difficulties associated with it. It is concluded that it may not be possible to obtain an optimal solution in the market for water, as it currently exists. Thus, the solutions to the problems evident in the water market may need to rely on controlling quantity of water that flows through it, even though price is an ideal economiser of information.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Estimating Distributional Impacts of an Innovation Across Sectors in an Industry: A case study of the Australian wool industry

In this paper an approach that can be used to determine the distribution of a productivity gain on an industry is detailed. In particular, the model developed in this paper extends earlier evaluations by emphasising the crucial role of substitution between inputs across different participants in the supply chain. Crucial to any analysis of an industry are the estimates of the elasticity's of derived demand at each stage and how it changes, as the product is further refined. The wool industry is used to illustrate the effects of an innovation across sectors.Agribusiness, Production Economics,

Economics of Wastewater Treatment and Recycling: An Investigation of Conceptual Issues

In the context of continuous droughts, the search for alternative water sources and increasing environmental restrictions on discharge of treated wastewater into natural water bodies, treated wastewater recycling offers a potential solution. In this paper the methods needed to assess the questions - to what extent treated wastewater can complement the existing water sources in different sectors and at what cost - are discussed? It was concluded that a comparative Benefit Cost Analysis of different combinations of uses and treatment levels would be a critical component in the development of a decision support tool which could be used by urban planners and water authorities. It was also found that community acceptance of recycled water, distribution of costs and benefits of recycling and its broader impact on regional development are issues that need to be considered, along with the economics of wastewater recycling.Wastewater, recycling, water quality, pricing, allocation, urban design, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Spectral imaging of thermal damage induced during microwave ablation in the liver

Induction of thermal damage to tissue through delivery of microwave energy is frequently applied in surgery to destroy diseased tissue such as cancer cells. Minimization of unwanted harm to healthy tissue is still achieved subjectively, and the surgeon has few tools at their disposal to monitor the spread of the induced damage. This work describes the use of optical methods to monitor the time course of changes to the tissue during delivery of microwave energy in the porcine liver. Multispectral imaging and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy are used to monitor temporal changes in optical properties in parallel with thermal imaging. The results demonstrate the ability to monitor the spatial extent of thermal damage on a whole organ, including possible secondary effects due to vascular damage. Future applications of this type of imaging may see the multispectral data used as a feedback mechanism to avoid collateral damage to critical healthy structures and to potentially verify sufficient application of energy to the diseased tissue.Comment: 4pg,6fig. Copyright 2018 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other work

A six-coordinate aryl-germanium complex formed by the Kläui ligand

PhGeCl₃ reacts with Na{[OP(OEt)₂]₃CoCp} to give the six-coordinate complex PhCl₂Ge{[OP(OEt)₂]₃CoCp}, characterised spectroscopically and by an X-ray crystal structure determination which showed a firmly-attached tridentate ligand [Ge–O 1.973(2) Å]

Mixed High-Fat and Stock Diet Caused a Greater Increase in Body Mass than High-Fat Diet Alone

Increased dietary palatability may lead to excess food consumption which in turn causes an excess of caloric intake and weight gain. Although most obesity studies in rodents utilize a high-fat diet, food variation, a combination of different diets for example, may actually increase body weight and fat mass beyond that of solely high-fat feeding. Purpose: To examine the changes in weight gain and body composition in mice that consume either a high-fat diet or a combination of high-fat and stock diet. Methods: 10 CD-1 male mice were randomly assigned to one of two groups based on dietary composition (N=5/group). HF mice consumed a high-fat diet (60% kcal from fat) and HF+Stock mice consumed a 50:50 combination of high-fat and stock diet (13.5% kcal from fat) for 24-weeks. Bi-weekly measurements were made on body composition (lean and fat mass) using an EchoMRI scanner and body weight using a digital scale. Food intake was recorded weekly. Results: HF and HF+Stock gained significant body weight, 41% and 66% respectively, from baseline to week 24 (P\u3c0.001, F12,84=45.483). On average, HF gained 23% lean mass (P\u3c0.001, F10,70=42.276) and 170% fat mass (P\u3c0.001, F10,70=31.873), while HF+Stock gained 27% lean mass and 260% fat mass from baseline. There were no differences between groups for body weight, lean mass, or fat mass. Conclusions: Although not significant, there was a greater increase in body weight, lean and fat mass in mice that consumed a combination of high-fat and stock diets. The results suggest diet variation has a positive effect in inducing obesity in mice. This study is limited in that only five animals were used in each group, thus leading us to believe that increasing the N per group will result in significant differences between groups. Expansion of this pilot study is warranted in the future

Localized U(1) Gauge Fields, Millicharged Particles, and Holography

We consider U(1) gauge fields in a slice of AdS_5 with bulk and boundary mass parameters. The zero mode of a bulk U(1) gauge field can be localized either on the UV or IR brane. This leads to a simple model of millicharged particles in which fermions can have arbitrarily small electric charge. In the electroweak sector we also discuss phenomenological implications of a localized U(1)_Y gauge boson. Using the AdS/CFT correspondence we present the 4D holographic interpretation of the 5D model. In particular the photon is shown to be a composite particle when localized near the IR brane, whereas it is elementary when localized near the UV brane. In the dual interpretation the ``millicharge'' results from an elementary fermion coupling to a composite photon via a vector current with large anomalous dimension.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figur

Autobiographically Significant Concepts: More Episodic than Semantic in Nature? An Electrophysiological Investigation of Overlapping Types of Memory

A common assertion is that semantic memory emerges from episodic memory, shedding the distinctive contexts associated with episodes over time and/or repeated instances. Some semantic concepts, however, may retain their episodic origins or acquire episodic information during life experiences. The current study examined this hypothesis by investigating the ERP correlates of autobiographically significant (AS) concepts, that is, semantic concepts that are associated with vivid episodic memories. We inferred the contribution of semantic and episodic memory to AS concepts using the amplitudes of the N400 and late positive component, respectively. We compared famous names that easily brought to mind episodic memories (high AS names) against equally famous names that did not bring such recollections to mind (low AS names) on a semantic task (fame judgment) and an episodic task (recognition memory). Compared with low AS names, high AS names were associated with increased amplitude of the late positive component in both tasks. Moreover, in the recognition task, this effect of AS was highly correlated with recognition confidence. In contrast, the N400 component did not differentiate the high versus low AS names but, instead, was related to the amount of general knowledge participants had regarding each name. These results suggest that semantic concepts high in AS, such as famous names, have an episodic component and are associated with similar brain processes to those that are engaged by episodic memory. Studying AS concepts may provide unique insights into how episodic and semantic memory interact

Monocyte and Cytokine Responses are improved by Baker’s Yeast β-Glucan Supplementation following Exercise in a Hot, Humid Environment

Strenuous exercise is known to suppress the immune system, which can increase the chances of getting sick in the hours after exercise. The purpose of this study was to determine if 10-d of supplementation with yeast b-glucan alters monocyte concentration, LPS-stimulated cytokine production, and plasma cytokine concentration in recreationally active subjects. Recreationally active subjects (29 men, 31 women, 22±4 y) completed 49±6 min of cycling (37±2°C, 45±5% relative humidity) after consuming either yeast b-glucan (250 mg/d, BG) or a placebo (sugar pill, PL) for 10-days prior to each exercise session. The investigators were blinded to the supplement conditions until all data was collected and analyzed. Venous blood was collected at baseline (prior to supplement), pre-, post-, and 2-hours (2H) post exercise. Total and subset monocyte concentration was measured by flow cytometry. LPS-stimulated production of 12 cytokines was measured using a whole blood assay. Plasma concentration of 13 cytokines was measured using a high-sensitivity MagPix assay. Monocyte (CD14+) concentration was significantly greater at 2H (P=0.05) with BG. Also, compared to PL, BG boosted LPS-stimulated production IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, and IFN-g at PRE and POST (P\u3c0.05). Plasma concentration of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-7, IL-10, and IFN-g were significantly greater at 2H in the BG compared to PL. In the placebo condition we observed the traditional response to strenuous exercise (rise at POST and suppression at 2H). It appears that 10-days of supplementation with BG primed blood leukocytes for the production of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, and IFN-g. These cytokines were elevated prior to and immediately after exercise in LPS-stimulated cultures and subsequent elevation were observed at 2H with unstimulated plasma measures. In addition to cytokine changes, BG appeared to blunt post-exercise reduction in blood monocyte concentration, which may have implication of immune-surveillance. The key findings of the present study demonstrate that BG may be a suitable countermeasure to protect and boost the immune system following stressful exercise. Such boost is likely to lower the duration of the “open window” response. This study was funded by Biothera, The Immune Health Company