Restructuring ad infinitum : the New Zealand pipfruit industry

The New Zealand Kellogg Rural Leaders Programme develops emerging agribusiness leaders to help shape the future of New Zealand agribusiness and rural affairs. Lincoln University has been involved with this leaders programme since 1979 when it was launched with a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, USA.No industry in New Zealand has been through the major changes that the pipfruit industry has over the past few seasons. New production systems, quality requirements, and corporatisation of the cooperative industry have challenged growers. After so much restructuring there is more to come. This paper looks at the evolution of the pipfruit industry, the associated bodies, and the current structures. How they came to their present structure, and what their structures may be in the future

Length-length and weight-length relationships of seven deep-water fishes in the Gulf of Mexico

Regression coefficients for equations of the form Y = a + bX were estimated for total length (TL) and whole weight (W) as a function of standard length (SL) and fork length (FL) and vice versa for seven deep-water fishes. All lengths were measured in millimeters and all weights in grams. There was a significant correlation between weight and length and the types of length measurements for all species. However, the amount of variation explained by each regression varied among species. Weight-length regressions were less precise than length-length regression, as they generally are, because weights of small fish measured at sea are more inaccurate than those of large fish.Marine Scienc

Determining VOC/HAP Emissions From Sheetfed Offset Lithographic Printing Operations

The principal reason why a printer needs to know their VOC and HAP emissions is because of construction and/or operating permits and emission inventory reporting requirements. Many state and local air pollution control agencies have instituted a system of permitting that requires a source of air pollution to obtain either a permit to construct and/or operate. Permits can be viewed as a contract between the printer and the permitting authority allowing the printer to operate as long as specified emission limits are not exceeded. If permits are required, they are required to be in hand prior to accepting delivery of a new press, significantly modifying an existing press such as adding a coating unit, or actually running the press.Ope

MACT Standard for Boilers and Process Heaters

On September 13, 2004, EPA issued a new air pollution control regulation called a maximum achievable control technology (MACT) standard for hazardous air pollutants emitted from commercial, industrial and institutional boilers and process heaters. This MACT standard can apply to a printing operation that is a “major source” for hazardous air pollutants and uses a boiler to heat the building or to create steam for stripping carbon adsorption beds or make corrugated packaging. This regulation establishes work practice standards and emission limits to control particulate matter, certain metals, mercury, hydrochloric acid, and carbon monoxide emissions.Ope

Determining VOC/HAP Emissions From Nonheatset Web Offset Lithographic Printing Operations

The two most important aspects involved in air pollution control regulations for the printer is knowing how much air pollution is being released from their operation and what specific air pollution permit and possible control regulations need to be met. The first step in determining what permit or possible control requirements apply is to determine both the actual and potential emissions of air pollutants from each press and from the entire facility as some state/local permitting authorities require permits for individual presses and many operating permits are required for the entire facility.Ope

Litho Printer Reduces Ink Waste With Innovative Sheetfed Ink Pumping System

John Roberts Company, a large commercial printer located in Minneapolis, MN, has installed a new ink pumping system that has reduced ink waste by over 2,000 pounds per year, which has translated into a savings of about $20,000 per year. The ink pumping system has allowed John Roberts to extend its commitment to managing all of its operations in an environmentally sound manner. The company’s published Environmental Policy states that its intention to involve employees, suppliers and customers in applying the principle that to conduct business at the expense of the environment is simply unacceptable. John Roberts has vowed to minimize the company’s intrusion on the environment through awareness, understanding, education and action.Ope

Introduction to EPA's Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Rule

On September 22, 2009 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) released its final rule for the first comprehensive national system for reporting emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases produced by larger emitters. This reporting rule was required by Congress in 2007 under the consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008 (Pub. L. No. 110-161) and required USEPA to issue the rule.Ope

The Spectroscopic Age of 47 Tuc

High signal-to-noise integrated spectra of the metal-rich globular cluster 47 Tuc, spanning the H-gamma(HR) and Fe4668 line indices, have been obtained. The combination of these indices has been suggested (Jones & Worthey 1995, ApJ, 446, L31) as the best available mechanism for cleanly separating the age-metallicity degeneracy which hampers the dating of distant, unresolved, elliptical galaxies. For the first time, we apply this technique to a nearby spheroidal system, 47 Tuc, for which independent ages, based upon more established methods, exist. Such an independent test of the technique's suitability has not been attempted before, but is an essential one before its application to more distant, unresolved, stellar populations can be considered valid. Because of its weak series of Balmer lines, relative to model spectra, our results imply a spectroscopic ``age'' for 47 Tuc well in excess of 20 Gyr, at odds with the colour-magnitude diagram age of 14+/-1 Gyr. The derived metal abundance, however, is consistent with the known value. Emission ``fill-in'' of the H-gamma line as the source of the discrepancy cannot be entirely excluded by existing data, although the observational constraints are restrictive.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, LaTeX, accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal, also available at http://casa.colorado.edu/~bgibson/publications.htm

Scotland Registry for Ankylosing Spondylitis (SIRAS) – Protocol

Funding SIRAS was funded by unrestricted grants from Pfizer and AbbVie. The project was reviewed by both companies, during the award process, for Scientific merit, to ensure that the design did not compromise patient safety, and to assess the global regulatory implications and any impact on regulatory strategy.Publisher PD

The epidemiology of regional and widespread musculoskeletal pain in rural versus urban settings in those ≥55 years

Objectives: To examine whether the prevalence of regional and chronic widespread pain (CWP) varies with rurality and to determine the characteristics of persons in rural locations in whom pain is found to be in excess. Methods: Participants, aged ≥55 years, from participating general practices in seven different geographical locations in Scotland were sent a postal questionnaire. The 1-month prevalence of 10 regional pain conditions plus CWP was identified using body manikins. Differences in the prevalence of pain with differing rurality were examined using Chi2 test for trend. Thereafter, among the rural population, the relationships between pain and putative risk factors were examined using Poisson regression. Thus, results are described as risk ratios. Results: There was some evidence to suggest that the prevalence of CWP increased with increasing rurality, although the magnitude of this was slight. No large or significant differences were observed with any regional pain conditions. Factors associated with the reporting of CWP included poor general health, feeling downhearted most of the time and selected measures of social contact. Factors independently associated with CWP included female gender (risk ratio: 1.24; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.997–1.55), poor self-rated health (risk ratio: 3.50; 95% CI: 1.92–6.39) and low mood (risk ratio: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.07–2.20). Also, having fewer than 10 people to turn to in a crisis was associated with a decrease in the risk of CWP – risk ratio: 0.68 (95% CI: 0.50–0.93) and 0.78 (95% CI: 0.60–1.02) for those with 5–10 and <5 people, respectively. Conclusions: This study provides no evidence that the prevalence of regional musculoskeletal pain is increased in rural settings, although there is some evidence of a modest increase in CWP. Risk factors for CWP are similar to those seen in the urban setting, including markers of general health, mental health and also aspects of social contact. It may be, however, that social networks are more difficult to maintain in rural settings, and clinicians should be aware of the negative effect of perceived social isolation on pain in rural areas