Analyse expérimentale du comportement des producteurs de céréales sèches face au risque financier dans un contexte de changement climatique

This study has two objectives: to characterize farmers according to their level of financial risk aversion and to analyze the factors explaining their propensity to take financial risk. Using a lottery system inspired by the work of Allais (1953) on 540 farmers in the groundnut basin of Senegal, the results show that 81.38 % of farmers are financially risk averse and only 8.57 % are risk lovers. Estimates with the probit model show that the propensity to take financial risk decreases if the farmer sets himself a high tolerable level of production loss. These results suggest that demand components should be considered in public agricultural financing and insurance policies.

Breaking Ground

This text is an interview by Chris Dupuis with Benj Gallander, Greg Holmgren, Robert Sherwood, Ben Stadelmann, and Carol Pauker, the founders of the SummerWorks Festival. The team first assembled after being unable to secure slots at the Toronto Fringe Festival, with the idea of starting an alternative summer theatre event that would offer space to artists unable to get into the Fringe. They discuss the first conversations around launching the event through its early years, including the challenges of starting from scratch and running the project collectively and the various triumphs and failures they experienced. They outline changes in the selection process, the move from a first come, first served, model to a lottery system similar to the Fringe, and the gradual introduction of curation through the Parallel Lab initiative. Finally, they discuss how the festival shaped them personally and the event’s lasting impacts on the Toronto theatre sector. The text also includes references the late eighties Toronto theatre scene, including Tomson Highway, Hillar Littoja, and Buddies in Bad Times.

Generalized Proxy Oblivious Signature and Its Mobile Application

Oblivious signature ensures users select from the specified candidates. However, users can choose only one candidate. This paper proposes a generalized oblivious signature scheme with proxy function. The scheme can be applied to many applications such as multichoice e-voting or e-lottery. Since there have been many applied research studies on e-voting, in this paper, we decided to apply this scheme to e-lottery, which is fair, secure, efficient, multiselect, and agent-based. In the lottery system, the server cannot cheat after a user makes a choice, and no one even the proxy can get any benefits. The signature scheme along with the lottery system is proved secure in the random oracle model. The lottery system is also implemented on Android smartphones. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work done on a generalized proxy oblivious signature along with a fair and secure multiple-choice e-lottery system.

Strategies to Manage Tocilizumab Shortages During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Tocilizumab is an anti-inflammatory medication that acts by inhibiting interleukin-6 (IL-6) and is shown to improve outcomes including mortality in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 requiring supplemental oxygen. Ontario supply of tocilizumab is limited, and tocilizumab demand in Ontario will likely exceed supply in the near future. A strategy that includes using a fixed, single intravenous dose of 400 mg for eligible patients, use of a provincial dashboard to help monitor and allocate use, and estimating supply-to-demand adequacy will optimize tocilizumab use. Sarilumab, another IL-6 inhibitor, can be considered as a substitute. As a default, a centralized allocation lottery system should be employed as soon as predicted demand exceeds supply. Other aspects may need to be taken into account for allocation, as appropriate.

The Effectiveness of Taalishadi Churna Compared with Sitopaladi Churna in the Management of Kasa

Introduction: Kasa is a Vata-kapha pradhana disease, caused due to Vata vimargagaman and Pranavaha shrotodusti. Due to the various similarities in its clinical presentation, Kasa can be correlated with cough (bronchitis). According to National center for health statistics, 62 million cases of common cold and cough occurs each year. Methodology: A total of 44 patients diagnosed as Kasa were randomly divided as per the lottery system of randomization. The patients of Group A were given 5 gram of Sitopaladi Churna twice a day for 30 days. The patients of Group B were given 5 gram of Taalishadi Churna twice a day for 30 days. The patients of both the groups were supposed to follow the dietary and behavioural advices. The response of the drug was assessed at pre-treatment and post-treatment time. Results: There was equal significant change in all of the Roga bala, Agni bala and Deha bala parameters by both Sitopaladi and Taalishadi Churna. It was revealed that all other blood parameters except Hb, TLC and Neutrophil count used in the study were not significant in both the groups. Both drugs were found equally highly significant (p< 0.0001) in Sushka kasa and Swarabheda. Sitopaladi churna was more effective in relieving Hritparswashool (p=0.002) whereas Taalishadi churna is more effective in reducing Pitanisthivanam (p=0.007). In case of Nirghosh, Sitopaladi churna was more effective (p<0.0001). On the other hand, Taalishadi churna was more effective in relieving Peenasa (p<0.001). Conclusion: Both Sitopaladi Churna and Taalishadi Churna were found to be equally effective in the treatment of Kasa.

The Effectiveness of Goksuradi Guggulu and Varunadi Kwath with Goksuradi Guggulu in the Management of Mutrasmari w.s.r. to Urolithiasis

Introduction: Mutrasmari is considered as Astamahagada in Ayurveda in which there is formation of stone in the Mutravaha srota. It is an ancient disease with global distribution. The symptoms of Mutrasmari are excruciating pain in urethra, ureter, urinary bladder and over umbilical region, haematuria etc and later that may lead to emergence by the obstruction in urination. Hence on the basis of pathology and its clinical presentation the disease is correlated with Renal calculus or Urolithiasis in modern Urology. Methodology: 38 patients diagnosed as Mutrasmari were randomly divided in two groups as per the lottery system of randomization. The patients of Group A were given 1000mg Goksuradi guggulu twice a day for 45 days. The patients of Group B were given 1000 mg of Gokshuradi guggulu along with 45 ml of Varunadi kwatha twice a day for 45 days. The patients of both the groups were advised to follow the dietary regimen and lifestyle modification. The effect of the intervention was assessed before and after treatment. Result: The treatment outcomes were statically analyzed and found that both treatment groups were significant in relieving the symptoms like abdominal pain, burning micturition, dysuria and expulsion of renal culculi. 100% relief noted on Surudhir mutrata (Hematuria) where only single patient complaint had been registered as Hematuria in Group B. In case of Mutradaha (Burning micturation) there was mild improvement in group A and moderate improvement in group B. Similarly there was complete remission in Mahati vedana (Dysuria and Pain in abdomen) case in both Group A and Group B after the treatment. Conclusion: Gokshuradi guggulu along with Varunadi Kwatha shows more significant result than Gokshuradi guggulu.

Making summer matter: The impact of youth employment on academic performance

This paper examines New York City's Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). SYEP provides jobs to youth ages 14–24, and due to high demand for summer jobs, allocates slots through a random lottery system. We match student‐level data from the SYEP program with educational records from the NYC Department of Education and use the random lottery to estimate the effects of SYEP participation on a number of academic outcomes, including test taking and performance. We find that SYEP participation has positive impacts on student academic outcomes, and these effects are particularly large for students who participate in SYEP multiple times.

“TO EVALUATE THE EFFECT OF SERUM VITAMIN D3 ON THE TREATMENT OF BPPV”

About- Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a clinical syndrome characterized by recurrent, brief episodes of severe vertigo and rotatory nystagmus, precipitated by speci􀃶c positions of the head relative to gravity.Diagnosis of BPPV is usually based on history, clinical examination and the mechanism of vertigo has been attributed to calcium debris within the p o s te r i o r s emi - c i rc u l a r c a n a l k n ow n a s canalithiasis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of serum Vitamin D3 on the treatment of BPPV, recurrences of BPPV and the relationship between serum Vitamin D3, serum calcium and recurrence of BPPV. Method- The Prospective Randomized Single Blind Case Control Study was carried out. A total number of 80 patients were enrolled in the study. Out of this only 50 patients came for regular and complete follow up. The patients were divided randomly into two groups on the basis of a vitamin D level (ng/ml) and computer-bas ed lottery system and each group had 25 patients. Result- Out of 50 patients, group A with vit D and group B without vit D supplementation. The recurrence rate in our study of group A and group B was 8% and 12% respectively. Conclusions- From our study we concluded that in the patients of BPPV, serum Vitamin D3 and Calcium was found to be de􀃶cient and BPPV has high tendency of recurrence and de􀃶ciency of Vitamin D3 is one of the causes of recurrences of BPPV. Keywords-Vitamin D3, serum calcium, BPPV.