No abstract

Joining the GATT has been established as one of the most important economic and political targets of the Taiwan government. However, the effects of this action are difficult to establish. Because of the openness of Taiwan's domestic market there could be serious changes in the production structure and income distribution, especially in the relative status of the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors, of protected and unprotected sectors, and also of producers and consumers. The possible high cost of this move on society has caused its necessity to be questioned. In order to clear up the controversy surrounding this issue, this paper, uses a CGE model to analyse the possible effects of this policy change. Following proposals from the Final Draft of the Uruguay Round, we use tariff and nontariff barriers, aggregate measurement of support (AMS), and export quota in our model as policy tools. We omit liberalization in the service sector, because of quantification difficulties. Our analysis includes the impacts on resource allocation, production structure, income distribution and consumers' welfare.

No abstract

It is evident that the plasma membrane NADPH oxidases (NOXs) play an important role in the generation of superoxide radicals (O 2 −• ) in plants during defense responses. This study was to clarify activation of NOXs in oxidative damage in Oryza sativa during SCN − exposure, particularly in the roles of jasmonic acid (JA) and hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) on transcriptional and enzymatic changes of NOXs. Results indicated that enzymatic activity of NOXs in both roots and shoots was significantly enhanced during SCN − exposure, whereas the application of JA and H 2 S donor (NaHS) significantly repressed NOXs activity in SCN-treated rice seedlings. Similarly, ROS analysis showed that SCN − exposure elevated the content of O 2 −• , hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in rice tissues significantly, whereas decreases in O 2 −• and H 2 O 2 were detected in roots and shoots of SCN-treated rice seedlings due to application of JA and NaHS. PCR analysis revealed different expression patterns of 7 plasma membrane-localized NOX genes in rice roots and shoots against SCN − exposure, suggesting that various isogenes of NOXs might regulate and determine activity of NOXs in rice organs. In conclusion, SCN − exposure was able to trigger activation of NOXs effectively, and led to oxidative damage and lipid peroxidation; the effects of JA and NaHS on inactivation of NOXs was evident and tissue specific, which in turn modulated ROS accumulation in rice plants.

No abstract