Off-Farm Work By Census-Farm Operators: An Overview of Structure and Mobility Patterns

The purpose of this paper is to provide descriptive statistics on off-farm labour supply and farm/off-farm labour reallocation for Canadian farmers using cross-sectional data and cross-sectional panel data, respectively, obtained from the Canadian Census of Agriculture. This report is part of a larger study on the off-farm labour supply and labour mobility of farm operators (Swidinsky, 1997). The data indicates that a growing proportion of operators worked off-farm between 1971 and 1991. As well, operators who work off-farm have allocated greater amounts of time to the off-farm labour market. The share of census-farm operators reporting 97-228 days of off-farm work has risen from 11 percent to 15 percent, while the share working more than 228 days off-farm has increased from 13 percent to 16 percent of all operators from 1971 to 1991. There is also some mobility between the status of full-time and part-time farming, but a high proportion of both types of operators exit farming over a five-year period. Less than 15 percent of operators farming full-time change to part-time, while approximately 20 percent of operators farming full-time change to part-time. In contrast, approximately 25 percent of full-time operators exit farming, while 35 percent of part-time operators exit farming over a typical five-year period.Labor and Human Capital,

Ultrafiltration in the Ontario Dairy Industry

The economics of introducing ultrafiltration (UF) into the Ontario dairy industry is analyzed. First, a partial budget is developed to determine feasibility of UF on the farm. The budget indicates that the great majority of Ontario dairy farms are not large enough to capture the economies of size inherent in the new technology. Second, a location-allocation model is used to determine the feasibility, number and location of UF collection centers in Ontario. The model indicates that the UF centers would capture the economies of size and the centers would benefit the dairy industry as a whole. However, processors of soft products and consumers of hard products could be worse off because of market changes caused by the UF center

Teaching Innovation as Part of an Agribusiness Curriculum

Innovation is critical to the survival of agricultural businesses in the U.S. yet few universities have classes in their curricula that focus on innovation and innovation management. Innovation includes developing new processes and concepts and taking products based on those ideas to market. By its nature, innovation generally involves technical components, market assessment, business analysis, and implementation strategies that include marketing campaigns to a target market. As a result, if innovation is going to be experientially taught to students, the class will likely need to include concepts from multiple disciplines. The objectives of this paper are to present an outline of capstone/senior design classes designed to cause students to learn innovation by participating in interdisciplinary teams working with real companies on the development of new product innovation.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

SeaWiFS technical report series. Volume 17: Ocean color in the 21st century. A strategy for a 20-year time series

Beginning with the upcoming launch of the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS), there should be almost continuous measurements of ocean color for nearly 20 years if all of the presently planned national and international missions are implemented. This data set will present a unique opportunity to understand the coupling of physical and biological processes in the world ocean. The presence of multiple ocean color sensors will allow the eventual development of an ocean color observing system that is both cost effective and scientifically based. This report discusses the issues involved and makes recommendations intended to ensure the maximum scientific return from this unique set of planned ocean color missions. An executive summary is included with this document which briefly discusses the primary issues and suggested actions to be considered

Ring-Closing Metathesis of Olefinic Peptides: Design, Synthesis, and Structural Characterization of Macrocyclic Helical Peptides

Heptapeptides containing residues with terminal olefin-derivatized side chains (3 and 4) have been treated with ruthenium alkylidene 1 and undergone facile ring-closing olefin metathesis (RCM) to give 21- and 23-membered macrocyclic peptides (5 and 6). The primary structures of peptides 3 and 4 were based upon a previously studied heptapeptide (2), which was shown to adopt a predominantly 3_(10)-helical conformation in CDCl_3 solution and an α-helical conformation in the solid state. Circular dichroism, IR, and solution-phase ^1H NMR studies strongly suggested that acyclic precursors 3 and 4 and the fully saturated macrocyclic products 7 and 8 also adopted helical conformations in apolar organic solvents. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction of cyclic peptide 8 showed it to exist as a right-handed 3_(10)-helix up to the fifth residue. Solution-phase NMR structures of both acyclic peptide 4 and cyclic peptide 8 in CD_2Cl_2 indicated that the acyclic diene assumes a loosely 3_(10)-helical conformation, which is considerably rigidified upon macrocyclization. The relative ease of introducing carbon−carbon bonds into peptide secondary structures by RCM and the predicted metabolic stability of these bonds renders olefin metathesis an exceptional methodology for the synthesis of rigidified peptide architectures

The Alzheimer's Biomarker Consortium-Down Syndrome: Rationale and methodology.

INTRODUCTION: Adults with Down syndrome (DS) are at exceptionally high risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD), with virtually all individuals developing key neuropathological features by age 40. Identifying biomarkers of AD progression in DS can provide valuable insights into pathogenesis and suggest targets for disease modifying treatments. METHODS: We describe the development of a multi-center, longitudinal study of biomarkers of AD in DS. The protocol includes longitudinal examination of clinical, cognitive, blood and cerebrospinal fluid-based biomarkers, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography measures (at 16-month intervals), as well as genetic modifiers of AD risk and progression. RESULTS: Approximately 400 individuals will be enrolled in the study (more than 370 to date). The methodological approach from the administrative, clinical, neuroimaging, omics, neuropathology, and statistical cores is provided. DISCUSSION: This represents the largest U.S.-based, multi-site, biomarker initiative of AD in DS. Findings can inform other multidisciplinary networks studying AD in the general population

Supramolecular approach to new inkjet printing inks

Electronically complementary, low molecular weight polymers that self-assemble through tunable π−π stacking interactions to form extended supramolecular polymer networks have been developed for inkjet printing applications and successfully deposited using three different printing techniques. Sequential overprinting of the complementary components results in supramolecular network formation through complexation of π-electron rich pyrenyl or perylenyl chain-ends in one component with π-electron deficient naphthalene diimide residues in a chain-folding polyimide. The complementary π−π stacked polymer blends generate strongly colored materials as a result of charge-transfer absorption bands in the visible spectrum, potentially negating the need for pigments or dyes in the ink formulation. Indeed, the final color of the deposited material can be tailored by varying the end-groups of the π-electron rich polymer component. Piezoelectric printing techniques were employed in a proof of concept study to allow characterization of the materials deposited, and a thermal inkjet printer adapted with imaging software enabled in situ analysis of the ink drops as they formed and of their physical properties. Finally, continuous inkjet printing allowed greater volumes of material to be deposited, on a variety of different substrate surfaces, and demonstrated the utility and versatility of this novel type of ink for industrial applications