Are Biotech Crops and Conventional Crops Like Products? An Analysis Under GATT

The transatlantic debate over the use of genetically modified organisms ( GMO s) as food products, with the US as a proponent on one side, and the European Union ( EU ) as an opponent on the other, is set to take center stage. The US has initiated formal legal action under the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement System, charging that the EU violates several agreements of international trade law, including Article III of GATT, an anti-protectionist measure which forbids a country from favoring its own products over imported like products. The US claims that GMOs and conventional crops are like products,, and that the EU moratorium on GMOs thus violates Article III. This iBrief assesses the US like products claim, most notably in light of Asbestos, a recent WTO case which provides important guidance for determining likeness under four criteria

A Study of Ineffective Investment Trust and Precious Metal Mining Issues

Inobject/target reconstruction and recognition based on laser radar data, the range value's accuracy is important. The range data accuracy depends on the accuracy in the laser radar's detector, especially the algorithm used for time-of-flight estimation. In this paper, a general direct-detection laser radar system applicable for hard-target measurements is modeled. The time- and range-dependent laser radar cross sections are derived for some simple geometric shapes (plane, cone, sphere, and paraboloid). The cross-section models are used, in simulations, to find the proper statistical distribution of uncertainties in time-of-flight range estimations. Three time-of-flight estimation algorithms are analyzed: peak detection, constant-fraction detection, and matched filter. The detection performance for various shape conditions and signal-to-noise ratios is analyzed. Two simple shape reconstruction examples are shown, and the detectors' performance is compared with the Cramér-Raolower bound. The performance of the peak detection and the constant-fraction detection is more dependent on the shape and noise level than that of the matched filter. For line fitting the matched filter performs close to the Cramér-Rao lower bound

Federal Civil Appellate Jurisdiction: An Interlocutory Restatement

In this paper, optimization approaches for object/background segmentation and object dimension/orientation estimation are studied. The data sets are collected with a laser radar or are simulated laser radar data. Three cases are defined: 1) Segmentation of the data set into object and background data. When there are several objects present in the scene, data from each object is also separated into different clusters. Bayesian hypothesis testing of two classes is studied. 2) Estimation of the object’s dimensions and orientation using object data only. 3) Estimation of the object’s dimensions and orientation using both object and background data. The dimension and orientation estimation problem is formulated using non-convex optimization, least squares and, convex optimization expressions. The performance of the methods are investigated in simulations

Protective Roles of Natural IgM Antibodies

Antibodies are a vital part of the armamentarium of the adaptive immune system for the fine-tuning of the recognition and response to foreign threats. However, in health there are some types of antibodies that instead recognize self-antigens and these contribute to the enhancement of primitive innate functions. This repertoire of natural IgM antibodies is postulated to have been selected during immune evolution for their contributions to critical immunoregulatory and housekeeping properties. The clearance of dying cells is one of the most essential responsibilities of the immune system, which is required to prevent uncontrolled inflammation and autoimmunity. In the murine immune system, natural IgM antibodies that recognize apoptotic cells have been shown to enhance the phagocytic clearance of dead and dying cells and to suppress innate immune signaling pathways. In the mouse, natural IgM are often the products of B-1 cell clones that arise during immune development without an absolute requirement for exogenous antigenic stimulation. In patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, IgM autoantibodies, which bind to neo-epitopes on apoptotic cells, have been demonstrated to be present at significantly higher levels in patients with lower disease activity and with less severe organ damage. While certain specificities of IgM autoantibodies correlate with protection from lupus renal disease, others may convey protective properties from lupus-associated atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. New and unexpected insights into the functional roles of IgM antibodies are still emerging, especially regarding the functions of natural antibodies. Herein, we review recent progress in our understanding of the potential roles of natural IgM autoantibodies in the regulation of immune homeostasis and for protection from autoimmune and inflammatory diseases

Evaluating 3D local descriptors for future LIDAR missiles with automatic target recognition capabilities

Future light detection and ranging seeker missiles incorporating 3D automatic target recognition (ATR) capabilities can improve the missile’s effectiveness in complex battlefield environments. Considering the progress of local 3D descriptors in the computer vision domain, this paper evaluates a number of these on highly credible simulated air-to-ground missile engagement scenarios. The latter take into account numerous parameters that have not been investigated yet by the literature including variable missile – target range, 6-degrees-of-freedom missile motion and atmospheric disturbances. Additionally, the evaluation process utilizes our suggested 3D ATR architecture that compared to current pipelines involves more post-processing layers aiming at further enhancing 3D ATR performance. Our trials reveal that computer vision algorithms are appealing for missile-oriented 3D ATR

Fundamental roles of the innate-like repertoire of natural antibodies in immune homeostasis

The composition of the early immune repertoire is biased with prominent expression of spontaneously arising B cell clones that produce IgM with recurrent and often autoreactive binding specificities. Amongst these naturally arising antibodies (NAbs) are IgM antibodies that specifically recognized amaged and senescent cells, often via oxidation-associated neo-determinants. These NAbs are present from birth and can be further boosted by apoptotic cell challenge. Recent studies have shown that IgM NAb to apoptotic cells can enhance phagocytic clearance, as well as suppress proinflammatory responses induced via Toll-like receptors, and block pathogenic IgG-immune complex (IC)-mediated inflammatory responses. Specific antibody effector functions appear to be involved, as these anti-inflammatory properties are dependent on IgM-mediated recruitment of the early recognition factors of complement. Clinical surveys have suggested that anti-apoptotic cell (AC) IgM NAbs may modulate disease activity in some patients with autoimmune disease. In mechanistic studies, anti-AC NAbs were shown to act in dendritic cells by inhibition of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, a primary signal transduction pathway that controls inflammatory responses. This immunomodulatory pathway has an absolute requirement for the induction of MAPK phosphatase-1. Taken together, recent studies have elucidated the novel properties of a class of protective NAbs, which may directly blunt inflammatory responses through a primitive pathway for regulation of the innate immune system

Optimization of Burner Kiln 7, Cementa Slite

In this report focus is put on the combustion process at a cement plant. Combustion is the heart of the cement making process and absolutely crucial to have under full control and well optimized. The fuel is put into the process through a burner pipe and this burner pipe is modified to reach a more efficient combustion. The primary target is to enable burning of heterogeneous alternative fuels and increase the production level. Other positive effects from this type of optimization is lowered specific fuel consumption and lowered CO2 emissions. A redundant burner is chosen for the project and overall the project steps are the following: 1. Installing a Jet air nozzle ring in a way so it can move both axially and radially due to temperature changes. 2. Remove the present refractory from the burner and order a new form to decrease the weight of the burner 3. Place a K6 blower in operating the axial channel. 4. Install Gauging equipment (Temp, pressure, ampere blower etc) 5. Carefully observe process values during the modified burners run in time. 6. Evaluate the results of the project 7. With the help of proven potential in the kiln system be able to convince management of the proceeds to invest in a new burner 8. If point 7 is fulfilled with the help of experience, be able to operate as a project coordinator in the purchase of a professional burner. This task will include coordinating the project group in various meetings and then lead to an RFQ (Request For Quotation). Results from the project show the great potential in an optimization of a burner at a cement plant. A production increase of 5% could be seen together with a lowered specific energy consumption which is extremely satisfactory results. Unfortunately a breakdown of the system occurred a bit down the path of optimisation that resulted in damages to the kiln. At this stage the optimization was stopped and the old burner was put back after finished kiln repair. Finally crucial to underline is that the proven results in this study convinced the Group Management of buying a new burner. The benefits from a professional tailor made burner are far greater than the cost of buying it. The payback time is roughly around a year for such an investment depending on current market conditions

Maskrör från Köpingesandstenen

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PENGARUH FAKTOR SOSIAL BUDAYA DAN ASUPAN MAKANAN TERHADAP GIZI KURANG PADA BALITA DI GAMPONG COT LAWEUENG KECAMATAN MUARAT TIGA KABUPATEN PIDIE

ABSTRAKKata Kunci : sosial budaya, asupan makanan, gizi kurangPenelitian Pengaruh Faktor Sosial Budaya dan Asupan Makanan terhadap Gizi Kurang Pada Balita di Gampong Cot Laweueng Kecamatan Muara Tiga Kabupaten Pidie bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh faktor sosial budaya dan asupan makanan terhadap gizi kurang pada balita di Gampong Cot Laweueng Kecamatan Muara Tiga Kabupaten Pidie. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah metode survei dengan instrumen berupa angket. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif, yaitu yang mendeskripsikan pengaruh faktor sosial budaya dan asupan makanan terhadap gizi kurang pada balita di Gampong Cot Laweueng Kecamatan Muara Tiga Kabupaten Pidie. Populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah seluruh ibu yang mempunyai balita yang berjumlah 111 orang dan yang dijadikan sebagai sampel semua ibu yang mempunyai balita yang mengalami gizi kurang yang berjumlah 46 orang. Teknik pengumpulan data dengan menggunakan angket tertutup. Data dianalisis dengan menggunakan uji Chi Square. Berdasarkan hasil uji Chi-Square pada faktor sosial budaya terhadap data hasil penelitian didapat ? hitung 115,3038, sedangkan ? tabel 28,9 pada taraf signifikan 5%, berarti ? hitung > ? tabel. Pada faktor asupan makanan didapat ? hitung 139,1534, sedangkan ? tabel 28,9 pada taraf signifikan 5%, berarti ? hitung> ? tabel. Dapat disimpulkan bahwa faktor sosial budaya dan faktor asupan makanan berpengaruh terhadap gizi kurang pada balita di Gampong Cot Laweung Kecamatan Muara Tiga Kabupaten Pidie, sehingga Ha diterima. Disarankan hendaknya masyarakat Gampong Cot Laweung lebih memperhatikan kebersihan lingkungan dan meningkat status gizi kesehatan balita melalui penyuluhan atau program Posyandu.Banda Ace

Health safety on plastic materials that come into contact with food and children toys about migration of primary aromatic amines examination in IPH- Skopje in period 01.01.2013 – 31.12.2013

Humans can be exposed to primary aromatic amines (PAAs) by the usage of a variety of synthetic products which come in contact with food and plastic children toys. PAAs are mainly originated from synthetic azo dyes widely applied as colorants on plastics and also from the use of adhesives based on polyurethanes (PU) in laminated food packing materials. Legislation introduced in the European Union countries limiting the migration level of PAAs into foodstuffs is 0.01 mg/kg. Aim of the study was establishing method for routine examination of PAAs in items made of plastics that come into direct contact with food and plastic toys. Material and Methods: Quantitative determination of sum of PAAs, expressed as aniline on 727 items of which 363 plastic toys, and 364 plastic containers, plastic utensils and plastic items that come in direct contact with food. Was using spectrophotometric method based on diazotization of PAAs and subsequent coupling of the obtained diazonium salts with N-(1-naphthyl) ethylenediamine dihydrochloride. Calibration was carried out using known amounts of aniline hydrochloride as standard. Detection limit (DL) and quantification limit (QL) evaluated for direct spectrophotometric method amounted to 0,000715 mg/l and 0,002165 mg/l, respectively. Only 6 tested samples were not correct in terms of increased concentration of PAAs in simulant solution. From the faulty samples 4 were toys, and 2 black kitchen sets which coming in contact with food. Conclusion: Requires increased sanitary inspection market, amid frequent occurrence of PAAs in plastic kitchen utensils, especially kitchen utensils in black and children toys made in China. Keywords: Food Contact Materials (FCM), Toys, Primary Aromatic Amines (PAAs), Migration, Safet