Case studies in rural co-operatives: three studies of the organisation and management or rural co-operatives providing post-harvest facilities in the kiwifruit industry: a research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agricultural Business and Administration at Massey University

The co-operative ownership structure is one that is commonly encountered in New Zealand's agricultural industry. This type of organisation would appear to have a number of natural advantages that should make it very competitive in modern agri-business. However it is apparent at least some co-operatives have not lived up to their members' expectations. This research project has been undertaken to identify some of the problems of co-operative enterprise and to provide some possible strategies to improve their operation. This report examines the management and organisational practices of three co-operative enterprises providing post-harvest facilities in the Kiwifruit industry. The research follows a longitudinal case study approach, with each co-operative described in terms of the six dimensions of history, facilities, shareholding, direction, operation and finance. The material generated by the study is discussed within a framework of central issues, established from evidence of other co-operative activity, both in New Zealand and overseas. The report concludes with a description of some 14 common problems, and a discussion concerning the effectiveness of management and organisational measures that have been implemented as possible solutions. It then goes on to outline 10 general strategies that could be of significance in the improved operation of rural co-operatives

PRODUCT COMPLEMENTARITY IN PRODUCTION: THE BY-PRODUCT CASE

Production Economics,

Petrographic Examination of Dolomitization, Miette Carbonate Complex, Jasper Park, Alberta.

Upper Devonian carbonate complexes show varying degrees of dolomitization throughout Alberta. The Miette complex of Jasper Park contains penecontemporaneous dolomite in several forms within platform and biostromal formations. Isolated dolomite euhedra selectively replace more permeable cement fabrics; less permeable micrite muds, intraclasts and globular stromatoporoids are not extensively dolomitized. Amphipora-rich beds and brecciated reef margin biostromes are almost totally replaced by dolomite, presumably because of their initial high porosity. Small-scale dolomite fronts have not selectively replaced host rocks; they occur in micrite, calcite spar and chert. Repeated penecontemporaneous mixing of fresh and salt water in the phreatic zone is the suggested mechanism for dolomitization. Fluctuations in sea level are inferred from cement fabrics, erosion surfaces and intertidal facies, detrital dolomite beds, and a general stratigraphic sequence of growth and extinction of organic banks and biostromes. Later diagenetic dolomite is present in veins and vug fillings.Bachelor of Arts (BA

AMPA Receptor Phosphorylation and Synaptic Colocalization on Motor Neurons Drive Maladaptive Plasticity below Complete Spinal Cord Injury.

Clinical spinal cord injury (SCI) is accompanied by comorbid peripheral injury in 47% of patients. Human and animal modeling data have shown that painful peripheral injuries undermine long-term recovery of locomotion through unknown mechanisms. Peripheral nociceptive stimuli induce maladaptive synaptic plasticity in dorsal horn sensory systems through AMPA receptor (AMPAR) phosphorylation and trafficking to synapses. Here we test whether ventral horn motor neurons in rats demonstrate similar experience-dependent maladaptive plasticity below a complete SCI in vivo. Quantitative biochemistry demonstrated that intermittent nociceptive stimulation (INS) rapidly and selectively increases AMPAR subunit GluA1 serine 831 phosphorylation and localization to synapses in the injured spinal cord, while reducing synaptic GluA2. These changes predict motor dysfunction in the absence of cell death signaling, suggesting an opportunity for therapeutic reversal. Automated confocal time-course analysis of lumbar ventral horn motor neurons confirmed a time-dependent increase in synaptic GluA1 with concurrent decrease in synaptic GluA2. Optical fractionation of neuronal plasma membranes revealed GluA2 removal from extrasynaptic sites on motor neurons early after INS followed by removal from synapses 2 h later. As GluA2-lacking AMPARs are canonical calcium-permeable AMPARs (CP-AMPARs), their stimulus- and time-dependent insertion provides a therapeutic target for limiting calcium-dependent dynamic maladaptive plasticity after SCI. Confirming this, a selective CP-AMPAR antagonist protected against INS-induced maladaptive spinal plasticity, restoring adaptive motor responses on a sensorimotor spinal training task. These findings highlight the critical involvement of AMPARs in experience-dependent spinal cord plasticity after injury and provide a pharmacologically targetable synaptic mechanism by which early postinjury experience shapes motor plasticity

Measurements of ψ(2S) and X(3872) → J/ψ π+π- production in pp collisions at √s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Differential cross sections are presented for the prompt and non-prompt production of the hidden-charm states X(3872) and ψ(2S), in the decay mode J/ψπ+π −, measured using 11.4 fb−1 of pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The ratio of cross sections X(3872)/ψ(2S) is also given, separately for prompt and non-prompt components, as well as the non-prompt fractions of X(3872) and ψ(2S). Assuming independent single effective lifetimes for non-prompt X(3872) and ψ(2S) production gives RB = Br(B→X(3872) + any)Br(X(3872)→J/ψπ+π−) Br(B→ψ(2S) + any)Br(ψ(2S)→J/ψπ+π−) = (3.95 ± 0.32(stat) ± 0.08(sys))%, while separating short and long-lived contributions, assuming that the short-lived component is due to Bc decays, gives RB = (3.57±0.33(stat)±0.11(sys))%, with the fraction of non-prompt X(3872) produced via Bc decays for pT (X(3872)) > 10 GeV being (25 ± 13(stat) ± 2(sys) ± 5(spin))%. The distributions of the dipion invariant mass in the X(3872) and ψ(2S) decays are also measured and compared to expectations

Extensive spontaneous plasticity of corticospinal projections after primate spinal cord injury.

Although axonal regeneration after CNS injury is limited, partial injury is frequently accompanied by extensive functional recovery. To investigate mechanisms underlying spontaneous recovery after incomplete spinal cord injury, we administered C7 spinal cord hemisections to adult rhesus monkeys and analyzed behavioral, electrophysiological and anatomical adaptations. We found marked spontaneous plasticity of corticospinal projections, with reconstitution of fully 60% of pre-lesion axon density arising from sprouting of spinal cord midline-crossing axons. This extensive anatomical recovery was associated with improvement in coordinated muscle recruitment, hand function and locomotion. These findings identify what may be the most extensive natural recovery of mammalian axonal projections after nervous system injury observed to date, highlighting an important role for primate models in translational disease research