Agriculture-sector Policies and Poverty in the Philippines: a Computable General-Equilibrium (CGE) Analysis

The Philippines has undertaken substantial trade-policy reforms since the 1980s. However, the poverty impact is not very clear and has been the subject of intense debate, most crucial of which is the likely poverty effects of liberalizing the highly protected agricultural sector. A CGE micro-simulation model is employed to estimate and explain these impacts. Tariff reduction induces consumers to substitute cheaper imported agricultural products for domestic goods, thereby resulting in a contraction in agricultural output. In contrast, the prevalence of cheap, imported inputs reduces the domestic cost of production, benefiting the outward-oriented and import-dependent industrial sector as their output and export increases. The national poverty headcount decreases marginally as lower consumer prices outweigh the income reduction experienced by the majority of households. However, both the poverty gap and severity of poverty worsens, implying that the poorest of the poor become even poorer.Agriculture, International trade, Poverty, Computable general equilibrium, Micro-simulation, Philippines

Agricultural Price Distortions, Poverty and Inequality in the Philippines

This paper analyzes the poverty and inequality implications of removing agricultural and non-agricultural price distortions in the domestic market of the Philippines and abroad. Liberalization in the rest of the world is poverty and inequality reducing, whereas full domestic liberalization increases national poverty and inequality. Poverty declines while inequality increases marginally in the combined scenario of both global and domestic agriculture reform. Although the reduction in the national poverty headcount is small in the latter scenario, the poorest of the poor – particularly those living in the rural areas – emerge as “winners”, given their strong reliance on agricultural production and unskilled labor wages.Distorted incentives, agricultural and trade policy reforms, national agricultural development, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade, F13, F14, Q17, Q18,

Hubungan Jumlah Bakteri Patogen dalam Rumah dengan Kejadian Pneumonia pada Balita di Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Ngesrep Banyumanik Semarang Tahun 2014

Background : Pneumonia is an acute respiratory tract infections, in which there is inflammation in the lung tissue, caused by microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, inhaled foreign particles or irradiation. Semarang is a city with a high incidence of pneumonia, subdistrict Banyumanik is a district with a high incidence rate is 103.25 per 1000 population in 2012. Methods : This is an observasional reseach using case control design. The population in this research is 162 children under five years, using Random Sampling techniques, a sample of 70 children under five years.The data collection method in this research is the measurement by using the colony counter, lux metter, thermohygrometer, observations, questionnaires, interviews, and documentation. And data analysis in this study using chi square test and logistic regression test. Results : The results showed there was no significant relationship between the amount of bacterial pathogen in the house with incidence of pneumonia onchildren under five years with p value (0.356); OR (4.387); CI 95% (0.465-41.404) for Staphilococcus aureus, p value (0.112); OR (2.364), CI 95% (0.807-6.927) for Klebsiella pneumoniae, and p value (0.473); OR (1.410); CI 95% (0.551) for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. No significant relationship between temperature, lighting, and ventilation with the incidence of pneumonia on children under five years with p value (0.101);OR (2.522);CI 95% (0.821-7.748), p (0.614); OR (3.188); CI 95% (0.315-32.144), p (0.632); OR (0.795); CI 95% (0.311-2.034). Any relationship humidity with pneumonia the incidence of pneumonia on children under five years with p value (0.012); OR (0.265), CI 95% (0.092-0.765). Conslusion : The conclution of this reseach is a significant relationship between humidity with pneumonia on children under five years in working areas Public Health Center Ngesrep Banyumanik Semarang 2014

The effects of peripheral and central high insulin on brain insulin signaling and amyloid-β in young and old APP/PS1 mice

Hyperinsulinemia is a risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). In vitro experiments describe potential connections between insulin, insulin signaling, and amyloid-β (Aβ), but in vivo experiments are needed to validate these relationships under physiological conditions. First, we performed hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps with concurrent hippocampal microdialysis in young, awake, behaving APP(swe)/PS1(dE9) transgenic mice. Both a postprandial and supraphysiological insulin clamp significantly increased interstitial fluid (ISF) and plasma Aβ compared with controls. We could detect no increase in brain, ISF, or CSF insulin or brain insulin signaling in response to peripheral hyperinsulinemia, despite detecting increased signaling in the muscle. Next, we delivered insulin directly into the hippocampus of young APP/PS1 mice via reverse microdialysis. Brain tissue insulin and insulin signaling was dose-dependently increased, but ISF Aβ was unchanged by central insulin administration. Finally, to determine whether peripheral and central high insulin has differential effects in the presence of significant amyloid pathology, we repeated these experiments in older APP/PS1 mice with significant amyloid plaque burden. Postprandial insulin clamps increased ISF and plasma Aβ, whereas direct delivery of insulin to the hippocampus significantly increased tissue insulin and insulin signaling, with no effect on Aβ in old mice. These results suggest that the brain is still responsive to insulin in the presence of amyloid pathology but increased insulin signaling does not acutely modulate Aβ in vivo before or after the onset of amyloid pathology. Peripheral hyperinsulinemia modestly increases ISF and plasma Aβ in young and old mice, independent of neuronal insulin signaling. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The transportation of insulin from blood to brain is a saturable process relevant to understanding the link between hyperinsulinemia and AD. In vitro experiments have found direct connections between high insulin and extracellular Aβ, but these mechanisms presume that peripheral high insulin elevates brain insulin significantly. We found that physiological hyperinsulinemia in awake, behaving mice does not increase CNS insulin to an appreciable level yet modestly increases extracellular Aβ. We also found that the brain of aged APP/PS1 mice was not insulin resistant, contrary to the current state of the literature. These results further elucidate the relationship between insulin, the brain, and AD and its conflicting roles as both a risk factor and potential treatment

The cholesterol-raising diterpenes from coffee beans increase serum lipid transfer protein activity levels in humans

Cafestol and kahweol–diterpenes present in unfiltered coffee— strongly raise serum VLDL and LDL cholesterol and slightly reduce HDL cholesterol in humans. The mechanism of action is unknown. We determined whether the coffee diterpenes may affect lipoprotein metabolism via effects on lipid transfer proteins and lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase in a randomized, double-blind cross-over study with 10 healthy male volunteers. Either cafestol (61–64 mg/day) or a mixture of cafestol (60 mg/day) and kahweol (48–54 mg/day) was given for 28 days. Serum activity levels of cholesterylester transfer protein, phospholipid transfer protein and lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase were measured using exogenous substrate assays. Relative to baseline values, cafestol raised the mean (±S.D.) activity of cholesterylester transfer protein by 18±12% and of phospholipid transfer protein by 21±14% (both P<0.001). Relative to cafestol alone, kahweol had no significant additional effects. Lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase activity was reduced by 11±12% by cafestol plus kahweol (P=0.02). It is concluded that the effects of coffee diterpenes on plasma lipoproteins may be connected with changes in serum activity levels of lipid transfer proteins

Kerjasama Antar Notaris dalam Bentuk Persekutuan Perdata

Berlakunya Undang-Undang Nomor 30 Tahun 2004 tentang Jabatan Notaris (untuk selanjutnya disebut UUJN) melahirkan perkembangan hukum di bidang kenotariatan yaitu perserikatan perdata sebagai bentuk kerjasama antar Notaris sebagaimana di atur dalam Pasal 20. Menindaklanjuti Pasal 20 ayat (3) UUJN, diterbitkanlah Peraturan Menteri Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia Republik Indonesia Nomor M.HH.01.02.12 Tahun 2010 tentang Persyaratan Menjalankan Jabatan Notaris Dalam Bentuk Perserikatan Perdata. Permasalahan muncul ketika diundangkannya Undang-Undang Nomor 2 Tahun 2014 tentang Perubahan Atas Undang-Undang Nomor 30 Tahun 2004 tentang Jabatan Notaris (untuk selanjutnya disebut UUJN-P) yang menghapus ketentuan Pasal 20 ayat (3) UUJN dengan menimbulkan akibat hukum bahwa ketentuan lebih lanjut sebagaimana Peraturan Menteri Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia Republik Indonesia Nomor M.HH.01.02.12 Tahun 2010 tidak lagi berlaku. Peraturan pelaksana ini sesungguhnya sangat diperlukan, mengingat dalam Pasal 20 maupun dalam Penjelasan Pasal 20 UUJN-P ini tidak memberikan definisi yang konkrit mengenai persekutuan perdata. Hasil dari penelitian ini dapat disimpulkan karakteristik persekutuan perdata Notaris yang diatur dalam UUJN-P adalah persekutuan yang bertujuan tidak menjalankan Perusahaan dalam artian komersil dan keuntungan bukan menjadi orientasi bagi para Notaris yang bergabung dalam persekutuan perdata Notaris. Persekutuan perdata Notaris ini merupakan kantor bersama. Klien yang datang pada persekutuan perdata Notaris, nantinya akan menghadap pada salah satu Notaris yang tergabung di dalam persekutuan perdata Notaris tersebut, sehingga yang bertanggung jawab terhadap klien tersebut adalah Notaris yang bersangkutan

Hyperglycemia modulates extracellular amyloid-β concentrations and neuronal activity in vivo

Epidemiological studies show that patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and individuals with a diabetes-independent elevation in blood glucose have an increased risk for developing dementia, specifically dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These observations suggest that abnormal glucose metabolism likely plays a role in some aspects of AD pathogenesis, leading us to investigate the link between aberrant glucose metabolism, T2DM, and AD in murine models. Here, we combined two techniques — glucose clamps and in vivo microdialysis — as a means to dynamically modulate blood glucose levels in awake, freely moving mice while measuring real-time changes in amyloid-β (Aβ), glucose, and lactate within the hippocampal interstitial fluid (ISF). In a murine model of AD, induction of acute hyperglycemia in young animals increased ISF Aβ production and ISF lactate, which serves as a marker of neuronal activity. These effects were exacerbated in aged AD mice with marked Aβ plaque pathology. Inward rectifying, ATP-sensitive potassium (K(ATP)) channels mediated the response to elevated glucose levels, as pharmacological manipulation of K(ATP) channels in the hippocampus altered both ISF Aβ levels and neuronal activity. Taken together, these results suggest that K(ATP) channel activation mediates the response of hippocampal neurons to hyperglycemia by coupling metabolism with neuronal activity and ISF Aβ levels

Coulomb breakup of neutron-rich 29,30^{29,30}Na isotopes near the island of inversion

First results are reported on the ground state configurations of the neutron-rich $^{29,30}$Na isotopes, obtained via Coulomb dissociation (CD) measurements as a method of the direct probe. The invariant mass spectra of those nuclei have been obtained through measurement of the four-momentum of all decay products after Coulomb excitation on a $^{208}Pb$ target at energies of 400-430 MeV/nucleon using FRS-ALADIN-LAND setup at GSI, Darmstadt. Integrated Coulomb-dissociation cross-sections (CD) of 89 $(7)$ mb and 167 $(13)$ mb up to excitation energy of 10 MeV for one neutron removal from $^{29}$Na and $^{30}$Na respectively, have been extracted. The major part of one neutron removal, CD cross-sections of those nuclei populate core, in its' ground state. A comparison with the direct breakup model, suggests the predominant occupation of the valence neutron in the ground state of $^{29}$Na${(3/2^+)}$ and $^{30}$Na${(2^+)}$ is the $d$ orbital with small contribution in the $s$-orbital which are coupled with ground state of the core. The ground state configurations of these nuclei are as $^{28}$Na_{gs (1^+)\otimes\nu_{s,d} and $^{29}$Na$_{gs}(3/2^+)\otimes\nu_{ s,d}$, respectively. The ground state spin and parity of these nuclei, obtained from this experiment are in agreement with earlier reported values. The spectroscopic factors for the valence neutron occupying the $s$ and $d$ orbitals for these nuclei in the ground state have been extracted and reported for the first time. A comparison of the experimental findings with the shell model calculation using MCSM suggests a lower limit of around 4.3 MeV of the sd-pf shell gap in $^{30}$Na.Comment: Modified version of the manuscript is accepted for publication in Journal of Physics G, Jan., 201

An Integrated TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource to Drive High-Quality Survival Outcome Analytics

For a decade, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) program collected clinicopathologic annotation data along with multi-platform molecular profiles of more than 11,000 human tumors across 33 different cancer types. TCGA clinical data contain key features representing the democratized nature of the data collection process. To ensure proper use of this large clinical dataset associated with genomic features, we developed a standardized dataset named the TCGA Pan-Cancer Clinical Data Resource (TCGA-CDR), which includes four major clinical outcome endpoints. In addition to detailing major challenges and statistical limitations encountered during the effort of integrating the acquired clinical data, we present a summary that includes endpoint usage recommendations for each cancer type. These TCGA-CDR findings appear to be consistent with cancer genomics studies independent of the TCGA effort and provide opportunities for investigating cancer biology using clinical correlates at an unprecedented scale. Analysis of clinicopathologic annotations for over 11,000 cancer patients in the TCGA program leads to the generation of TCGA Clinical Data Resource, which provides recommendations of clinical outcome endpoint usage for 33 cancer types