THE SPECIAL SAFEGUARD MECHANISM IN THE DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA: A CASE STUDY OF SOYBEANS

The Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) proposed for developing countries has become a thorny issue in the Doha Development Agenda’s (DDA) agricultural negotiations. Proponents of the mechanism argue that it is a necessary compromise to counter sharp price declines or rapid import surges in staple commodity markets of developing nations. Opponents of the SSM, which include many developed exporters, contend that the policy flexibility contained in current SSM proposals would severely limit market access if the mechanism is triggered. The impact of the SSM depends on a number of parameters: the number of times the SSM is triggered, whether the price or volume SSM is triggered, the size of current tariffs, the magnitude with which tariffs are reduced in the DDA, and the number of times a developing country will actually make use of the SSM. This study introduces a static, synthetic, global, partial equilibrium model of the world soybean complex to assess the preliminary aspects of the DDA’s proposed tariff cuts. Future work on this project will extend the model to a stochastic framework from which to simulate the effects of an SSM combined with the DDA tariff cutting formulas for developing nations.Agribusiness,

Engineering a robust quantum spin Hall state in graphene via adatom deposition

The 2007 discovery of quantized conductance in HgTe quantum wells delivered the field of topological insulators (TIs) its first experimental confirmation. While many three-dimensional TIs have since been identified, HgTe remains the only known two-dimensional system in this class. Difficulty fabricating HgTe quantum wells has, moreover, hampered their widespread use. With the goal of breaking this logjam we provide a blueprint for stabilizing a robust TI state in a more readily available two-dimensional material---graphene. Using symmetry arguments, density functional theory, and tight-binding simulations, we predict that graphene endowed with certain heavy adatoms realizes a TI with substantial band gap. For indium and thallium, our most promising adatom candidates, a modest 6% coverage produces an estimated gap near 80K and 240K, respectively, which should be detectable in transport or spectroscopic measurements. Engineering such a robust topological phase in graphene could pave the way for a new generation of devices for spintronics, ultra-low-dissipation electronics and quantum information processing.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure

Larva of the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella, is a suitable alternative host for studying virulence of fish pathogenic Vibrio anguillarum

Background: Microbial diseases cause considerable economic losses in aquaculture and new infection control measures often rely on a better understanding of pathogenicity. However, disease studies performed in fish hosts often require specialist infrastructure (e.g., aquaria), adherence to strict legislation and do not permit high-throughput approaches; these reasons justify the development of alternative hosts. This study aimed to validate the use of larvae of the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella) to investigate virulence of the important fish pathogen, Vibrio anguillarum. Results: Using 11 wild-type isolates of V. anguillarum, these bacteria killed larvae in a dose-dependent manner and replicated inside the haemolymph, but infected larvae were rescued by antibiotic therapy. Crucially, virulence correlated significantly and positively in larva and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) infection models. Challenge studies with mutants knocked out for single virulence determinants confirmed conserved roles in larva and fish infections in some cases (pJM1 plasmid, rtxA), but not all (empA, flaA, flaE). Conclusions: The G. mellonella model is simple, more ethically acceptable than experiments on vertebrates and, crucially, does not necessitate liquid systems, which reduces infrastructure requirements and biohazard risks associated with contaminated water. The G. mellonella model may aid our understanding of microbial pathogens in aquaculture and lead to the timely introduction of new effective remedies for infectious diseases, while adhering to the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement (3Rs) and considerably reducing the number of vertebrates used in such studies

ABA RPTE Conservation Easement Task Force Report: Recommendations Regarding Conservation Easements and Federal Tax Law

In October 2015, the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Trust and Estate Law (RPTE) section convened a Conservation Easement Task Force. The objective of the Task Force was to provide recommendations regarding federal tax law as it relates to conservation easements. This Report is the culmination of the Task Force’s work. Part I of the Report is an Executive Summary of the Task Force’s recommendations. Part II provides the background necessary to understand the Task Force’s recommendations. Part III briefly sets forth the Task Force’s comments on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 as it relates to charitable contributions in general and conservation easement donations in particular. In Part IV, the Task Force recommends that the Treasury publish safe harbor provisions that would be common to most conservation easements. Part V sets forth the Task Force’s recommendations regarding amendments and discretionary consents, the inconsistent use regulations, and furthering transparency in conservation easement administration. Part VI discusses issues surrounding valuation of conservation easements. Part VII contains a brief comment on syndicated conservation easement transactions. Part VIII is the Task Force response to certain proposals the Treasury Department made (most recently in 2016) to change conservation easement law.Appendix A sets forth the “perpetuity” requirements of § 170(h) and the Treasury Regulations.Appendix B offers specific language to facilitate the preparation of key safe harbor provisions

Costs and advance directives at the end of life: a case of the ‘Coaching Older Adults and Carers to have their preferences Heard (COACH)’ trial

Background Total costs associated with care for older people nearing the end of life and the cost variations related with end of life care decisions are not well documented in the literature. Healthcare utilisation and associated health care costs for a group of older Australians who entered Transition Care following an acute hospital admission were calculated. Costs were differentiated according to a number of health care decisions and outcomes including advance directives (ADs). Methods Study participants were drawn from the Coaching Older Adults and Carers to have their preferences Heard (COACH) trial funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. Data collected included total health care costs, the type of (and when) ADs were completed and the place of death. Two-step endogenous treatment-regression models were employed to test the relationship between costs and a number of variables including completion of ADs. Results The trial recruited 230 older adults with mean age 84 years. At the end of the trial, 53 had died and 80 had completed ADs. Total healthcare costs were higher for younger participants and those who had died. No statistically significant association was found between costs and completion of ADs. Conclusion For our frail study population, the completion of ADs did not have an effect on health care utilisation and costs. Further research is needed to substantiate these findings in larger and more diverse clinical cohorts of older people

SIMON and SPECK: Block Ciphers for the Internet of Things

The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) developed the SIMON and SPECK families of lightweight block ciphers as an aid for securing applications in very constrained environments where AES may not be suitable. This paper summarizes the algorithms, their design rationale, along with current cryptanalysis and implementation results