CAPTIVE SUPPLY TRENDS AND IMPACTS SINCE THE ADVENT OF MANDATORY PRICE REPORTING

Captive supplies have been a contentious issue in the livestock industry for fifteen years and the subject of both theoretical and empirical research. In 2001, mandatory price reporting was implemented. One objective by its proponents was to increase the amount of information available on captive supplies. This paper examines data now available as a result of mandatory price reporting to determine what additional information is available compared to previously. Second, several models were specified and estimated to determine the impacts captive supplies had on fed cattle prices in the two years following implementation of mandatory price reporting. Models showed mixed results. There was a consistent negative effect on cash market prices from formula priced trades; generally a positive impact from negotiated trades and packer owned trades on cash market prices; and mixed but often a positive impact from forward contract trades on cash market prices.Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

MARKET ADJUSTMENT INSIGHTS: PRIMARY VS. SECONDARY DATA

Producers, researchers, and policy makers have an interest in market effects from meatpacking plant closings and openings. This paper presents results from a study taking a dual approach to determining impacts from an anticipated hog slaughtering plant opening and an unexpected fed cattle slaughtering plant closing. Secondary data are used in a price differences and partial adjustment model. Primary data are used in a logit model. Results indicate a clearer price effect from the plant opening than the plant closing. Primary data provide additional insight into the dynamics related to the two plant events.Industrial Organization,

Price Effects from an Anticipated Meatpacking Plant Opening and Unexpected Plant Closing

Livestock producers primarily, but policy makers also, have an interest in market effects from meatpacking plant closings and openings. This article presents results from a study to determine price impacts from an anticipated hog slaughtering plant opening and an unexpected fed cattle slaughtering plant closing. The estimated price effects for each plant event were modeled with price difference and partial adjustment models. The plant opening resulted in higher absolute and relative hog prices in the Provincial market where the plant was located. However, adverse price impacts from the fed cattle plant closing were less evident.buyer competition, fed cattle, hogs, livestock prices, market dynamics, meatpacking, Demand and Price Analysis,

Laser-induced thermal acoustics (LITA) signals from finite beams

Laser-induced thermal acoustics (LITA) is a four-wave mixing technique that may be employed to measure sound speeds, transport properties, velocities, and susceptibilities of fluids. It is particularly effective in high-pressure gases (>1 bar). An analytical expression for LITA signals is derived by the use of linearized equations of hydrodynamics and light scattering. This analysis, which includes full finite-beam-size effects and the optoacoustic effects of thermalization and electrostriction, predicts the amplitude and the time history of narrow-band time-resolved LITA and broadband spectrally resolved (multiplex) LITA signals. The time behavior of the detected LITA signal depends significantly on the detection solid angle, with implications for the measurement of diffusivities by the use of LITA and the proper physical picture of LITA scattering. This and other elements of the physics of LITA that emerge from the analysis are discussed. Theoretical signals are compared with experimental LITA data

Transonic cryogenic test section for the Goettingen tube facility

The design of modern aircraft requires the solution of problems related to transonic flow at high Reynolds numbers. To investigate these problems experimentally, it is proposed to extend the Ludwieg tube facility by adding a transonic cryogenic test section. After stating the requirements for such a test section, the technical concept is briefly explained and a preliminary estimate of the costs is given

A Comparative Policy Analysis: Policies in Mexico and the United States Serving Youth in Street Situations

Street-involvement among children and youth is a global social concern. It is challenging to compare policies serving a population which varies in average age, risk factors, and needs, especially where distinct child welfare policies operate. While Mexican youth may remain with the family and work in the street to provide income, the parallel population in the U.S. is runaway, pushed-out and homeless youth, those usually driven away from the family system rather than working for it. Although these two nations have similarly operating policies serving street-involved youth, there are fundamental differences in practice based in cultural and political differences. Analyzing and comparing the relatively recent Mexican and United States policies - their historical, social, political, and economic influences - will inform current practices in considering how to best attend to street-involved youth, as well as develop a framework for social work practice in the U.S. and Mexico

Sparse 3D Point-cloud Map Upsampling and Noise Removal as a vSLAM Post-processing Step: Experimental Evaluation

The monocular vision-based simultaneous localization and mapping (vSLAM) is one of the most challenging problem in mobile robotics and computer vision. In this work we study the post-processing techniques applied to sparse 3D point-cloud maps, obtained by feature-based vSLAM algorithms. Map post-processing is split into 2 major steps: 1) noise and outlier removal and 2) upsampling. We evaluate different combinations of known algorithms for outlier removing and upsampling on datasets of real indoor and outdoor environments and identify the most promising combination. We further use it to convert a point-cloud map, obtained by the real UAV performing indoor flight to 3D voxel grid (octo-map) potentially suitable for path planning.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, camera-ready version of paper for "The 3rd International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Robotics (ICR 2018)