Off-site Effects Research Articles

Economic and institutional incentives for managing the Ethiopian highlands of the Upper Blue Nile Basin: A latent class analysis

This article identifies incentives that motivate land users to participate in the management of private and communal lands in the Ethiopian highlands of the Upper Blue Nile Basin, where on-farm and off-farm impacts of soil erosion are threatening the livelihoods of millions of farmers and damaging water infrastructure across the Blue Nile River System. A choice experiment was set up requiring farmers to contribute with labour and to implement specific watershed management (WM) activities in exchange for subsidised credit facilities, better opportunities for livestock production in the form of grazing land reform, and an additional extension service. Thus, we address farmers’ combined choice of management of private and communal lands. We use a latent class model with attribute non-attendance for one class to accommodate the preferences of farmers who always select the status quo option without making a trade-off for experimentally designed policy attributes. Moreover, we estimate individual specific and socio-spatial group specific preferences across 90 units. Farmers’ preference within the same socio-spatial unit is fairly homogeneous. Apart from the non-attendance class, the study reveals two classes. One class, which is probably dominated by literate farmers and farmers who have easy credit access, is willing to contribute more labour and requires fewer subsidies than the other class. Furthermore, the two groups have opposite viewpoints on management (semi-privatisation of common land). Our results also revealed that the seasonal concentration of the WM workload is less preferred by all farmers than an evenly distributed workload. Thus, policy design to address both the on-site and off-site effects of soil erosion in the Ethiopian highlands of the Upper Blue Nile Basin should consider the workload distribution of various aspects of WM, as well as the heterogeneity of preference for incentives across different groups of farmers.

Non-conventional water resources research in semi-arid countries of the Middle East

Rapid population growth, climate impediments, poor implementation of regulatory frameworks, and challenging political relations have led to over-exploitation of conventional water resources in the Middle East. This situation may have impelled out-of-the-box thinking and advances in research on non-conventional water resources including desalination, wastewater reuse, rainwater harvesting, and long-distance water transfer. This paper aims to assess the extent of research on non-conventional water resources in the Middle East, and identify original and innovative research findings. Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Sudan, Syria, and Turkey were selected for this purpose. A systematic online library search of the scientific literature was conducted, and relations between national indicators and the number of articles and citations were assessed. There was an increasing trend in the number of articles addressing non-conventional water resources. Desalination was the most popular research topic (44%; 5.4 citations, on average), followed by wastewater reuse (37%; 11.5 citations, on average). Publication of desalination articles has increased significantly since 2001, with a substantial number authored by private companies. Non-conventional approaches include commercial salt production at a desalination plant, the strengthening of wastewater reuse standards based on the adverse effects of long-term reuse, the application of a water-harvesting plough for large-scale rangeland rehabilitation, and the development of a 78-km long under-sea pipeline for water transfer. Research on off-site effects and environmental impacts was lacking. Investment in research capacity, as an element of social capital, can contribute to water resources diversification and sustainable solutions both for water-stressed and more humid countries.

Impact of a security event at a TRIGA reactor

The aim of this work is the study of the impact of security-related events and their consequences for research reactors, with particular emphasis on the off-site effects. The study case is done for the ENEA-Casaccia TRIGA RC-1 research reactor near Rome. The RC-1 Safety Report includes three different safety-related accident scenarios, namely the insertion of a step of positive reactivity, the uncontrolled extraction of all control rods at start-up or during a power variation and the emptying of the reactor pool. None of these scenarios imply radioactive releases at all. In this work, the focus is instead the description of the worst case scenario related to a security event and its consequences. Several possible scenarios have been analysed, however, the physical protection measures deter intrusions and, as shown by the Safety Report, even sabotage actions with major effects such as, the emptying of the reactor pool have no consequences on the fuel integrity. For these reasons, the worst security-related scenario considered in this work is a large plane crash with the complete destruction of the reactor hall and the reactor core. Propagation of the source term to the environment and the effective dose calculations have been performed using RASCAL, HOTSPOT and GENII codes following the ICRP-60 standards.

PH-sensitive nanoformulated triptolide as a targeted therapeutic strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has one of the worst prognoses for survival as it is poorly responsive to both conventional chemotherapy and mechanism-directed therapy. This results from a lack of therapeutic concentration in the tumor tissue coupled with the highly toxic off-site effects exhibited by these compounds. Consequently, we believe the best packaging for holistic therapy for HCC will involve three components: a potent therapeutic, a rationally designed drug delivery vehicle to enrich the target site concentration of the drug, and a surface ligand that can enable a greater propensity to internalization by tumor cells compared to the parenchyma. We screened a library containing hundreds of compounds against a panel of HCC cells and found the natural product, triptolide, to be more effective than sorafenib, doxorubicin, and daunorubicin, which are the current standards of therapy. However, the potential clinical application of triptolide is limited due to its poor solubility and high toxicity. Consequently, we synthesized tumor pH-sensitive nanoformulated triptolide coated with folate for use in an HCC-subpopulation that overexpresses the folate receptor. Our results show triptolide itself can prevent disease progression, but at the cost of significant toxicity. Conversely, our pH-sensitive nanoformulated triptolide facilitates uptake into the tumor, and specifically tumor cells, leading to a further increase in efficacy while mitigating systemic toxicity.

Assessing soil erosion in inaccessible mountainous areas in the tropics: The use of land cover and topographic parameters in a case study in Thailand

Land degradation processes in hilly areas are often directly related to land cover changes. At the same time, many hilly areas in the tropics are inaccessible and thus lack proper data. As a result, data scarcity is a crucial problem when trying to assess soil erosion. In this paper a method is described showing the use of digital elevation, remote sensing and field measurement techniques for deriving necessary land cover parameters as required for erosion modeling. The study shows that correction of topography-induced illumination variation in remote sensing data helps improve classification accuracy while field measurements help in accurate estimation of cover factor. Similarly, the incorporation of DEM-derived parameters such as upslope catchment area and flow direction network in erosion modeling helps not only to improve the estimation of soil losses but also to identify the dominant erosion process active in the area. This makes the formulation of sound conservation measures for minimizing soil losses and reducing off-site erosion effects in low lying areas much easier.

Lessons from a BACE1 inhibitor trial: Off-site but not off base

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by formation of neuritic plaque primarily composed of a small filamentous protein called amyloid-β peptide (Aβ). The rate-limiting step in the production of Aβ is the processing of Aβ precursor protein (APP) by β-site APP-cleaving enzyme (BACE1). Hence, BACE1 activity plausibly plays a rate-limiting role in the generation of potentially toxic Aβ within brain and the development of AD, thereby making it an interesting drug target. A phase II trial of the promising LY2886721 inhibitor of BACE1 was suspended in June 2013 by Eli Lilly and Co., due to possible liver toxicity. This outcome was apparently a surprise to the study's team, particularly since BACE1 knockout mice and mice treated with the drug did not show such liver toxicity. Lilly proposed that the problem was not due to LY2886721 anti-BACE1 activity. We offer an alternative hypothesis, whereby anti-BACE1 activity may induce apparent hepatotoxicity through inhibiting BACE1's processing of β-galactoside α-2,6-sialyltransferase I (STGal6 I). In knockout mice, paralogues, such as BACE2 or cathepsin D, could partially compensate. Furthermore, the short duration of animal studies and short lifespan of study animals could mask effects that would require several decades to accumulate in humans. Inhibition of hepatic BACE1 activity in middle-aged humans would produce effects not detectable in mice. We present a testable model to explain the off-target effects of LY2886721 and highlight more broadly that so-called off-target drug effects might actually represent off-site effects that are not necessarily off-target. Consideration of this concept in forthcoming drug design, screening, and testing programs may prevent such failures in the future.

Comparison of erosion and erosion control works in Macedonia, Serbia and Bulgaria

While soils are as essential to human society as air and water, soil degradation has not received nearly as much attention as the threats to these other elements. On the map of water erosion of Europe, Southern Europe is red “colored”. Erosion in the Balkan countries, through both on and offsite effects is a major cause of soil and water degradation.This paper compares erosion control works in several countries from the Balkan region (Macedonia, Serbia, and Bulgaria). The basis for comparative analyses was various country reports as well as available published papers. Quantitative method-text analyze method was used for these study.Natural conditions in the Balkan countries contribute to the appearance of various erosion forms and the intensity of the erosion processes. Over the history of these countries, people who settled this region used the available natural resources to fill their needs (tree cutting, incorrect plugging, overgrazing), which contributed to soil erosion. Organized erosion control works in the Balkans started in the beginning of the 20th century (1905 in Bulgaria). The highest intensity of erosion control works were carried out during the period 1945 – 1990. Various erosion control works were launched. Bulgaria had a large anti-erosion afforestation, almost 1 million ha. Bulgaria's ecological river restoration approach has been in use for almost 50 years. Serbia contributed significant erosion and torrent control works on hilly agricultural areas. Specific screen barrages and afforestation on extremely dry areas are characteristic in Macedonia. A common characteristic for all countries is a high decrease in erosion control works in the last 20 years.

Sustained relief of neuropathic pain by AAV-targeted expression of CBD3 peptide in rat dorsal root ganglion

The Ca2+ channel-binding domain 3 (CBD3) peptide, derived from the collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP-2), is a recently discovered voltage-gated Ca2+ channel (VGCC) blocker with a preference for CaV2.2. Rodent administration of CBD3 conjugated to cell penetrating motif TAT (TAT-CBD3) has been shown to reduce pain behavior in inflammatory and neuropathic pain models. However, TAT-CBD3 analgesia has limitations, including short half-life, lack of cellular specificity and undesired potential off-site effects. We hypothesized that these issues could be addressed by expressing CBD3 encoded by high-expression vectors in primary sensory neurons. We constructed an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector expressing recombinant fluorescent CBD3 peptide and injected it into lumbar dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) of rats before spared nerve injury (SNI). We show that selective expression of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-CBD3 in lumbar 4 (L4) and L5 DRG neurons and their axonal projections results in effective attenuation of nerve injury-induced neuropathic pain in the SNI model. We conclude that AAV-encoded CBD3 delivered to peripheral sensory neurons through DRG injection may be a valuable approach for exploring the role of presynaptic VGCCs and long-term modulation of neurotransmission, and may also be considered for development as a gene therapy strategy to treat chronic neuropathic pain.

Temporal Variation of SOC Enrichment from Interrill Erosion over Prolonged Rainfall Simulations

Sediment generated by interrill erosion is commonly assumed to be enriched in soil organic carbon (SOC) compared to the source soil. However, the reported SOC enrichment ratios (ERSOC) vary widely. It is also noteworthy that most studies reported that the ERSOC is greater than unity, while conservation of mass dictates that the ERSOC of sediment must be balanced over time by a decline of SOC in the source area material. Although the effects of crusting on SOC erosion have been recognized, a systematic study on complete crust formation and interrill SOC erosion has not been conducted so far. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of prolonged crust formation and its variability on the ERSOC of sediment. Two silty loams were simultaneously exposed to a rainfall simulation for 6 h. The ERSOC in sediment from both soils increased at first, peaked around the point when steady-state runoff was achieved and declined afterwards. The results show that crusting plays a crucial role in the ERSOC development over time and, in particular, that the conservation of mass applies to the ERSOC of sediment as a consequence of crusting. A “constant” ERSOC of sediment is therefore possibly biased, leading to an overestimation of SOC erosion. The results illustrate that the potential off-site effects of selective interrill erosion require considering the crusting effects on sediment properties in the specific context of the interaction between soil management, rainfall and erosion.

INDO-LANKA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (FTA) AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS THE CASE OF LAND DEGRADATION IN SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka has implemented far- reaching trade policy reforms to improve internationalcompetitiveness of its agricultural and industrial products and trade-in services and to attractforeign direct investment (FOI) during the last two decades since the introduction of the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FAT), there has been growing concern on its environmentalimpacts on non-plantation agriculture.This paper analyzes the FAT-induced likely environmental impacts. In particular landdegradation -induced on site effects such as loss of agricultural production and off-site effectssuch as reduction in downstream irrigated agricultural production and hydro-power generationand increasing cost of flushing downstream reservoirs, operation and maintenance cost of uplandroad network, and cost of health hazards. In this analysis an appropriately modified computablegeneral equilibrium (CGE) model of the Sri Lankan economy is used.Results show that trade policy framework of ITA in non-plantation agriculture (i.e. imposingtariff on non-plantation agriculture) does not result in likely benign on- site and off- siteenvironmental on -site and off-site environmental effects. It is suggested that ITAhave effects that are harmful to long-term sustainability of non-plantation agriculture in SriLanka.

Tyrosine kinase inhibition increases functional parkin‐ B eclin‐1 interaction and enhances amyloid clearance and cognitive performance

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are effective therapies for leukaemia. Alzheimer is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by accumulation of β-amyloid (plaques) and hyper-phosphorylated Tau (tangles). Here we show that AD animals have high levels of insoluble parkin and decreased parkin-Beclin-1 interaction, while peripheral administration of TKIs, including Nilotinib and Bosutinib, increases soluble parkin leading to amyloid clearance and cognitive improvement. Blocking Beclin-1 expression with shRNA or parkin deletion prevents tyrosine kinase (TK) inhibition-induced amyloid clearance, suggesting that functional parkin-Beclin-1 interaction mediates amyloid degradation. Isolation of autophagic vacuoles (AVs) in AD mouse brain shows accumulation of parkin and amyloid, consistent with previous results in AD brains, while Bosutinib and Nilotinib increase parkin-Beclin-1 interaction and result in protein deposition in the lysosome. These data suggest that decreased parkin solubility impedes parkin-Beclin-1 interaction and amyloid clearance. We identified two FDA-approved anti-cancer drugs as potential treatment for AD.Two FDA-approved tyrosine kinase inhibitor drugs, Bosutinib and Nilotinib, are shown to ameliorate Alzheimer's disease pathology in mouse models by increasing soluble parkin and leading to amyloid clearance and cognitive improvement.

The role of landscape setting in minimizing hydrogeomorphic impacts of flow regulation

The Tongariro Power Development Scheme (TPDS) is used to regulate flow in the headwaters of the largest catchment on the North Island of New Zealand (the Waikato). Two small dams, the Rangipo Dam and the Poutu Intake Dam, were constructed in 1973 and 1983. The flow regime of the river is managed to divert freshes into the power scheme, but allows flows larger than 100 m3 s−1 to be released, to rework and transport sediment through the catchment. Analysis of aerial photos and maps spanning 1928 to 2007, alongside field measurements, show that there have been few hydrogeomorphic adjustments since dam construction. This includes limited changes to channel geometry, channel planform and bed material organization immediately downstream of the dams. In addition, offsite effects are minimal, both 500 m downstream of each dam, and in the more sensitive, less confined reaches in the lower catchment (11 km downstream of the Poutu Intake dam). The limited changes can be attributed to the locations of the dams within reaches characterised by bedrock gorges and confined within terraces. These locations act to flush sediments and impose margins that allow minimal adjustment of the channel. Bed material within this reach is characterised by the presence of a boulder lag. This is sourced from long-term incision into lahar deposits, and acts to limit the rate of incision, creating a steep and stable base upon which active fractions are transported. Just as importantly, significant storage in the low-relief volcanic plateau located in the upper catchment acts to disconnect and store the high sediment yields generated by active volcanic cones in the western sub-catchment upstream of the dams. This limits the rate of sediment supply to regulated reaches. Findings from this study show that analysis of reach-scale controls is essential in framing dam site locations in relation to the distribution of reaches and landscape units across the catchment. In this instance, tributary inputs downstream of the dams do not replenish the sediment and flow removed at the dam locations, as has been observed in other regulated systems. Rather, the river itself is resilient to change and flow variability is well managed allowing geomorphically effective floods to occur. Landscape setting is a key consideration in determining the hydrogeomorphic impact of flow regulation.

Enhancing ecosystem services with no-till

AbstractEcosystem functions and services provided by soils depend on land use and management. The objective of this article is to review and synthesize relevant information on the impacts of no-till (NT) management of croplands on ecosystem functions and services. Sustainable management of soil through NT involves: (i) replacing what is removed, (ii) restoring what has been degraded, and (iii) minimizing on-site and off-site effects. Despite its merits, NT is adopted on merely ∼9% of the 1.5 billion ha of global arable land area. Soil's ecosystem services depend on the natural capital (soil organic matter and clay contents, soil depth and water retention capacity) and its management. Soil management in various agro-ecosystems to enhance food production has some trade-offs/disservices (i.e., decline in biodiversity, accelerated erosion and non-point source pollution), which must be minimized by further developing agricultural complexity to mimic natural ecosystems. However, adoption of NT accentuates many ecosystem services: carbon sequestration, biodiversity, elemental cycling, and resilience to natural and anthropogenic perturbations, all of which can affect food security. Links exist among diverse ecosystem services, such that managing one can adversely impact others. For example, increasing agronomic production can reduce biodiversity and deplete soil organic carbon (SOC), harvesting crop residues for cellulosic ethanol can reduce SOC, etc. Undervaluing ecosystem services can jeopardize finite soil resources and aggravate disservices. Adoption of recommended management practices can be promoted through payments for ecosystem services by a market-based approach so that risks of disservices and negative costs can be reduced either through direct economic incentives or as performance payments.

Modelling potential landscape sediment delivery due to projected soybean expansion: A scenario study of the Balsas sub-basin, Cerrado, Maranhão state, Brazil

In Brazil, agriculture expansion is taking place primarily in the Cerrado ecosystems. With the aim of supporting policy development and protecting the natural environment at relevant hotspots, a scenario study was conducted that concerned not only land-use change, but also the resulting effects on erosion and deposition. This coupled approach helped to evaluate potential landscape impacts of the land-use scenarios. In the study area, the Balsas sub-basin in Maranhão State, a model chain was used to model plausible future soybean expansion locations (CLUE-S model) and resulting sediment mobilization patterns (LAPSUS model) for a business-as-usual scenario. In the scenario, more erosion occurred in areas where the conversion of natural vegetation into soybean cultivation is likely to take place, but the generated sediments tended to accumulate mainly within the conversion areas, thus limiting the offsite effects of the increased erosion. These results indicated that when agricultural expansion is kept away from rivers, Cerrado conversion will have only a limited impact on the sediment loads of local rivers. Where land-use changes are most concentrated are coincident with areas where more new sediments are generated (higher erosion) and where more sediments are re-deposited.

Assessment of the toxicity of ash-loaded runoff from a recently burnt eucalypt plantation

Although wildfires are identified as an important source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and PAHs are well-known for their pernicious properties, the toxicity of runoff from recently burnt areas has received little research attention. This knowledge gap was addressed here through laboratory assays in which four aquatic species from distinct trophic levels were exposed to different dilutions of ash-loaded runoff. The runoff was collected in a recently burnt eucalypt stand in north-central Portugal on two occasions, immediately after the wildfire and about 1 year later. The total PAH load was about four times higher at the first than second sampling occasion (1194 vs. 352 ng l−1) but even the latter value was considerably higher than those reported by prior studies on burnt areas. In addition, the two runoff samples differed noticeably in PAH composition, with a clear predominance of naphthalene in the second sample. Both runoff samples produced significant inhibitory effects on the three species representing the lower trophic levels, that is, the bacteria Vibrio fischeri, the algae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and the macrophyte Lemna minor. The invertebrate Daphnia magna was not significantly affected but chronic tests are needed to discard the probable propagation of toxic effects from the lower trophic levels. Surprisingly, the runoff collected 1 year after the wildfire was the most toxic to V. fischeri, P. subcapitata and L. minor. Possibly, this was due to predominance of naphthalene in this sample. Surely, however, this demonstrated that detrimental off-site effects of wildfires are not necessarily limited to the immediate post-fire situation.

UPTAKE AND UTILIZATION OF 5-SPLIT NITROGEN TOPDRESSING IN AN IMPROVED AND A TRADITIONAL RICE CULTIVAR IN THE BHUTAN HIGHLANDS

SUMMARYThe uptake of urea fertilizer (NDFF), applied with 150 kg nitrogen (N) ha−1, topdressed in five splits of 30 kg N ha−1 (30 N) each at 7, 26, 45, 70 and 83 days after transplanting (DAT) of rice (Oryza sativa L.), was investigated in an improved (Khangma Maap, KM) and a traditional (Janam, JN) cultivar in Bhutan highlands, using enriched 15N stable isotope. The treatments were arranged in a split–split plot design, with N fertilizer levels as main plots, cultivars as subplots and topdressing treatments as sub-subplots, with all the sub-subplots receiving the same dose except different timing of one split of enriched 15N to determine partial N fertilize use efficiency at each split dose. Although cultivar differences were not recorded in soil N accumulation and in total dry matter N, KM produced 21% higher grain yields compared to JN due to higher grain harvest index and partial factor productivity of N. Irrespective of the cultivars, topdressing timing had significant effects on NDFF, with highest mean N recovery (REN) of 29% of applied 30 N at 45 DAT during active tillering stage, resulting in mean NDFF total (grain + straw) uptake of 8.71 kg N ha−1 compared to least effective topdressing timing at 7 DAT with mean REN of 12% and NDFF total of 3.51 kg N ha−1. In similarity to topdressing at 45 DAT, topdressing at 70 DAT (panicle initiation stage) was equally effective with mean REN of 27% across the cultivars. Hence, fertilizer N topdressing recommendations that combine use of improved cultivars with N applications timed to coincide with maximum crop demand at 45 and 70 DAT, could enhance N fertilizer use efficiency for increased rice yields as well as reduce N losses downstream, which can cause adverse off-site environmental effects.

Cost-benefit analysis of soil and water conservation measure: The case of exclosures in northern Ethiopia

This paper is about the cost-benefit analysis of a specific soil and water conservation measure, commonly termed as ‘exclosures’ in the case study area of this research, adopted in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. The analysis integrated available data on on-site and off-site effects of the conservation measure. Major benefit and cost items related to this specific measure were identified, quantified, and valued. Direct market prices and variants of indirect environmental valuation techniques (cost based and productivity change methods) were employed in valuing the benefit and cost items included in the analysis. Our results indicate that establishing exclosures in degrading marginal lands generate a large positive net present value (NPV) of ETB 5620ha−1. However, putting productive agricultural land under exclosures yields a negative NPV even under some hypothetical scenarios of 50% rise in prices of forest products and a social discount rate halved from the base rate of 8%. Sensitivity analyses indicate that the net present value is quite volatile to changes in biomass production and the social discount rate. Thus, appropriate forest management schemes have to be adopted in order to maximize sustainable biomass production. Furthermore, factors such as credit constraints that affect local people's time preference should be addressed to induce local people to discount the future at lower rate.

A-kinase Anchoring Proteins: Temporal and Spatial Regulation of Intracellular Signal Transduction in the Cardiovascular System

The prototypical intracellular second messenger cAMP is locally controlled by multimolecular protein complexes organized by A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs). AKAPs serve as scaffolds for different sets of cAMP-metabolizing enzymes that control cAMP gradients and regulate cellular responses. In addition to adenylyl cyclases and phosphodiesterases, AKAPs bind signaling enzymes and ion channels that are important regulators of cardiac contractility and pathophysiological myocyte remodeling and hypertrophy. Compartmentation increases the local concentration of cAMP signaling components, providing faster, higher fidelity regulation of cellular processes. This review series highlights the contribution of AKAPs in the heart as scaffold proteins integrating protein kinases, phosphatases and other effector molecules involved in cAMP-dependent signaling.

Revealing the link between licensed outlets and violence: Counting venues versus measuring alcohol availability

Associations between alcohol-related harms and numbers of outlets at the neighbourhood level have been demonstrated; however, the degree to which alcohol consumption or sales plays a part in levels of violence is not clear. This has contributed to uncertainty regarding the actual mechanisms by which outlet density may influence levels of violence. This ecological cross-sectional study investigated the effect of outlet numbers and alcohol sales on the risk of assault in Western Australia. For 2000/2001, information on type, number and wholesale alcohol purchases of all licensed outlets in operation, police-reported assault offences, socioeconomic/demographic data were obtained from official sources. Multivariate negative binomial regression was applied to at local government area level in order to assess associations between outlet density, alcohol sales and violence occurring in both licensed and domestic settings. Average alcohol sales volume per off-site outlet was significantly associated with all measures of assault. Numbers of on-site outlets significantly predicted violence with the exception of assaults occurring at residential premises. Alcohol sales from off-site outlets predicted violence occurring at on-site outlets. The link between on-site outlets and violence may be primarily underpinned by negative amenity effects while off-site outlet effects occur via increased availability. Alcohol sales volumes from off-site outlets influence levels of violence, which occur at both licensed and residential settings. The substantial and wide-ranging effects of liquor stores on alcohol-related harms may have been underestimated in the literature and by policy makers.

Are soil conservation technologies “win-win?” A case study of Anjeni in the north-western Ethiopian highlands

This study measures the impact of fanya juu terraces on the net value of crop income in a high-rainfall area in the Ethiopian highlands using cross-sectional multiple plot observations. Using propensity score matching methods we find that the net value of crop income for plots with fanya juu terraces is lower than for plots without fanya juu terraces. This finding makes it difficult to avoid concluding that while the technologies might reduce soil erosion and associated off-site effects, they do so at the expense of poor farmers in the Ethiopian highlands. Therefore, fanya juu terraces cannot be characterized as a win-win measure to reduce soil erosion. New agricultural technologies need to be profitable to the farmer if they are to be adopted and sustained.