9,695 research outputs found
Farm Animal Welfare and Quality Verification
Existing empirical evidence suggests that farm animal welfare may not be a top-of-mind issue for many consumers in North America. Nevertheless, there is pressure from animal welfare groups on food retailers and processors to implement more stringent requirements for their suppliers. Is the demand for more stringent animal welfare protocols primarily determined by a subset of consumers with very strong preferences or by an underlying change in consumer and societal preferences? Who do consumers trust for credible quality assurances with respect to farm animal welfare attributes? This paper provides a basis for further analysis of these issues. The roles of different stakeholders in delivering farm animal welfare quality assurances to consumers are first discussed. Then a social welfare analysis of the Canadian market for animal friendly pork is presented under different scenarios with respect to the strength of consumer preferences and the existence of voluntary standards versus mandatory standards. The analysis suggests that a situation of voluntary labelling that is reasonably credible is desirable as it maximizes the welfare that accrues to all players on the market. Furthermore, this scenario allows heterogeneous consumers to choose between different combinations of price and quality according to their preferences. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research.farm animal welfare, quality assurance, labelling, certification, heterogeneous consumers., Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Q13, Q18,
Memorable experiences in research
Distinguished scientists present at the scientific session held in connection with the formal opening of The Charles H. Best Institute were each asked in turn by Doctor Best "Which of your scientific investigations has given you the most satisfaction and pleasure?" Their replies follow.Bernardo Houssay responde a la pregunta ÂżCuál de sus investigaciones cientĂficas le ha proporcionado mayor satisfacciĂłn, placer? su respuesta en páginas 21 y 22.Fil: Adrian, E. D.. Royal Society; Reino Unidofond
Influence of firing mechanisms on gain modulation
We studied the impact of a dynamical threshold on the f-I curve-the
relationship between the input and the firing rate of a neuron-in the presence
of background synaptic inputs. First, we found that, while the leaky
integrate-and-fire model cannot reproduce the f-I curve of a cortical neuron,
the leaky integrate-and-fire model with dynamical threshold can reproduce it
very well. Second, we found that the dynamical threshold modulates the onset
and the asymptotic behavior of the f-I curve. These results suggest that a
cortical neuron has an adaptation mechanism and that the dynamical threshold
has some significance for the computational properties of a neuron.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, conference proceeding
Non-equilibrium Lifshitz theory as a steady state of a full dynamical quantum system
In this work we analyze the validity of Lifshitz's theory for the case of
non-equilibrium scenarios from a full quantum dynamical approach. We show that
Lifshitz's framework for the study of the Casimir pressure is the result of
considering the long-time regime (or steady state) of a well-defined fully
quantized problem, subjected to initial conditions for the electromagnetic
field interacting with real materials. For this, we implement the closed time
path formalism developed in previous works to study the case of two half spaces
(modeled as composite environments, consisting in quantum degrees of freedom
plus thermal baths) interacting with the electromagnetic field. Starting from
initial uncorrelated free subsystems, we solve the full time evolution,
obtaining general expressions for the different contributions to the pressure
that take part on the transient stage. Using the analytic properties of the
retarded Green functions, we obtain the long-time limit of these contributions
to the total Casimir pressure. We show that, in the steady state, only the
baths' contribute, in agreement with the results of previous works, where this
was assumed without justification. We also study in detail the physics of the
initial conditions' contribution and the concept of modified vacuum modes,
giving insights about in which situations one would expect a non vanishing
contribution at the steady state of a non-equilibrium scenario. This would be
the case when considering finite width slabs instead of half-spaces
Examination of Bursty Electromagnetic Waves Observed During Intervals of Turbulent Magnetosheath Reconnection
We investigate observations of intense bursts of electromagnetic waves in association with magnetic reconnection in the turbulent magnetosheath. These structured, broadband bursts occur above 80-Hz, often displaying features reminiscent of absorption bands and are observed at local minima in the magnetic field. We present detailed analyses of these intense bursts of electromagnetic waves and quantify their proximity to X- and O-nulls
Bursty, Broadband Electromagnetic Waves Associated with Thin Current Layers and Turbulent Magnetosheath Reconnection
We investigate observations of intense bursts of electromagnetic wave energy in association with the thin current layers of turbulent magnetosheath reconnection. These observed emissions form two distinct types: (i) broadband emissions that extend continuously to lOs of Hertz; and (ii) structured bursts of emitted energy that occur above 80-Hz, often displaying features reminiscent of absorption bands and are observed at local minima in the magnetic field. We present detailed analyses of these intense bursts of electromagnetic energy and quantify their proximity to X- and O-nulls, as well as their correlation to the amount of magnetic energy converted by the process of magnetic reconnection
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