Japanese Beef Policy and GATT Negotiations: An Analysis of Reducing Assistance to Beef Producers

International Development, Livestock Production/Industries,

Miniature modular microwave end-to-end receiver

An end-to-end microwave receiver system contained in a single miniature hybrid package mounted on a single heatsink is presented. It includes an input end connected to a microwave receiver antenna and an output end which produces a digital count proportional to the amplitude of a signal of a selected microwave frequency band received at the antenna and corresponding to one of the water vapor absorption lines near frequencies of 20 GHz or 30 GHz. The hybrid package is on the order of several centimeters in length and a few centimeters in height and width. The package includes an L-shaped carrier having a base surface, a vertical wall extending up from the base surface and forming a corner therewith, and connection pins extending through the vertical wall. Modular blocks rest on the base surface against the vertical wall and support microwave monolithic integrated circuits on top surfaces thereof connected to the external connection pins. The modular blocks lie end-to-end on the base surface so as to be modularly removable by sliding along the base surface beneath the external connection pins away from the vertical wall

Replication of Known Dental Characteristics in Porcine Skin: Emerging Technologies for the Imaging Specialist

This study demonstrates that it is sometimes possible to replicate patterns of human teeth in pig skin and determine scientifically that a given injury pattern (bite mark) correlates with the dentitions of a very small proportion of a population dataset, e.g., 5 percent or even 1 percent. The authors recommend building on the template of this research with a sufficiently large database of samples that reflects the diverse world population. They also envision the development of a sophisticated imaging software application that enables forensic examiners to insert parameters for measurement, as well as additional methods of applying force to produce bite marks for research. The authors further advise that this project is applied science for injury pattern analysis and is only foundational research that should not be cited in testimony and judicial procedures. It supplements but does not contradict current guidelines of the American Board of Forensic Odontology regarding bite mark analysis and comparisons. A much larger population database must be developed. The project’s methodology is described in detail, accompanied by 11 tables and 41 figures

Fuzzy set theory for cumulative trauma prediction

A widely used fuzzy reasoning algorithm was modified and implemented via an expert system to assess the potential risk of employee repetitive strain injury in the workplace. This fuzzy relational model, known as the Priority First Cover Algorithm (PFC), was adapted to describe the relationship between 12 cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) of the upper extremity, and 29 identified risk factors. The algorithm, which finds a suboptimal subset from a group of variables based on the criterion of priority, was adopted to enable the inference mechanism of a constructed knowledge-based system to predict CTD occurrence

Evaluation of a First Order Autoregressive Model for the Determination of Physiological Damping Under Field Conditions

The first order autoregressive (ARl) model proposed by Rappaport and Spear (1988) to determine physiological damping for solvent exposures over short time intervals was evaluated under field conditions. Two sets of data were collected for ethyl acetate, methylene chloride and perchloroethylene, respectively. Evaluation of the correlograms for each data set indicates that an AR(1) process may not be appropriate. The observed transmittance factors (inverse of damping) ranged from 0.47 to 0.64. The significance or causality of this observation is not presently known.Master of Science in Environmental Engineerin

Japanese Beef Policy and GATT Negotiations: Analysis of Reducing Assistance to Beef Producers

Since at least the mid-1970s, Japan and its beef import suppliers, the U.S. and Australia in particular, have engaged in heated negotiations on the level of the Japanese beef import quota. U.S. negotiators have demanded that Japan completely liberalize beef imports. The Japanese have responded in a piecemeal fashion, increasing the quota by comparatively small amounts in an apparent attempt both to appease U.S. interests and to minimize the opposition of the politically powerful domestic cattle producers. The most recent Japanese concession was an agreement in the fall of 1984 to expand the total beef import quota by 9,000 metric tons (mt) per year for four years, bringing total imports to 177,000 mt by early 1988

The Climate CoLab: Large scale model-based collaborative planning

The Climate CoLab is a system to help thousands of people around the world collectively develop plans for what humans should do about global climate change. This paper shows how the system combines three design elements (model-based planning, on-line debates, and electronic voting) in a synergistic way. The paper also reports early usage experience showing that: (a) the system is attracting a continuing stream of new and returning visitors from all over the world, and (b) the nascent community can use the platform to generate interesting and high quality plans to address climate change. These initial results indicate significant progress towards an important goal in developing a collective intelligence system - the formation of a large and diverse community collectively engaged in solving a single problem.Cisco Systems, Inc.Argosy FoundationMIT Energy InitiativeMIT Sloan Sustainability Initiativ

Metagenetic analysis of patterns of distribution and diversity of marine meiobenthic eukaryotes

AimMeiofaunal communities that inhabit the marine benthos offer unique opportunities to simultaneously study the macroecology of numerous phyla that exhibit different life-history strategies. Here, we ask: (1) if the macroecology of meiobenthic communities is explained mainly by dispersal constraints or by environmental conditions; and (2) if levels of meiofaunal diversity surpass existing estimates based on morphological taxonomy. LocationUK and mainland European coast. MethodsNext-generation sequencing techniques (NGS; Roche 454 FLX platform) using 18S nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene. Pyrosequences were analysed using AmpliconNoise followed by chimera removal using Perseus. ResultsRarefaction curves revealed that sampling saturation was only reached at 15% of sites, highlighting that the bulk of meiofaunal diversity is yet to be discovered. Overall, 1353 OTUs were recovered and assigned to 23 different phyla. The majority of sampled sites had c. 60-70 unique operational taxonomic units (OTUs) per site, indicating high levels of beta diversity. The environmental parameters that best explained community structure were seawater temperature, geographical distance and sediment size, but most of the variability (R-2=70%-80%) remains unexplained. Main conclusionsHigh percentages of endemic OTUs suggest that meiobenthic community composition is partly niche-driven, as observed in larger organisms, but also shares macroecological features of microorganisms by showing high levels of cosmopolitanism (albeit on a much smaller scale). Meiobenthic communities exhibited patterns of isolation by distance as well as associations between niche, latitude and temperature, indicating that meiobenthic communities result from a combination of niche assembly and dispersal processes. Conversely, isolation-by-distance patterns were not identified in the featured protists, suggesting that animals and protists adhere to radically different macroecological processes, linked to life-history strategies.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) [NE/E001505/1, NE/F001266/1, MGF-167]; Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) [SFRH/BD/27413/2006, SFRH/BPD/80447/2014]; EPSRC [EP/H003851/1]; BBSRC CASE studentship; Unilever; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [987347]; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EP/H003851/1]; Natural Environment Research Council [NE/F001290/1, NE/F001266/1, NE/E001505/1, NBAF010002]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio