Is food security a new tariff? Explaining changes in sanitary and phytosanitary regulations by World Trade Organization members

Scholars at the intersection of agricultural trade policy and health regulation have speculated that some governments, under the pretext of health protection, have adopted food safety and plant and animal health regulations to shield domestic farmers from foreign competition. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between trade protection for agriculture and the number of trade‐restricting sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulatory notifications issued by World Trade Organization (WTO) members. We construct an empirical model to determine the influence of agricultural protectionism, agricultural interest groups, consumer sentiment, and institutional capacity on changes to a government’s SPS rules. The findings suggest that governments’ adoption of trade‐restricting sanitary and phytosanitary regulations are influenced by agricultural protectionism, even after controlling for consumer awareness and institutional capacity. The evidence suggests that health related trade policies are substituting for more traditional forms of agricultural protectionism

Determining the Longissimus lumborum and Psoas major Beef Steak Color Life Threshold and Effect of Postmortem Aging Time Using Meta-analysis

Using meta-analysis, the color life threshold for beef longissimus lumborum (LL) and psoas major (PM) steaks during retail display (phase 1) and the effect of postmortem aging time (phase 2) on the display color life of LL and PM steaks were determined. In phase 1, data were retrieved from 13 refereed journal articles for LL and 3 refereed journal articles for PM, which included a* and subjective visual scores. The total display day observations for LL and PM were 148 and 27, respectively. Lower bound estimates using a 95% confidence interval for a* as a threshold for the display color life of LL and PM steaks were 20.24 and 20.99, respectively. For phase 2, data were retrieved from 26 refereed journal articles for LL and 10 referred journal articles for PM, which included a* and postmortem aging time. The total display day observations for LL and PM in phase 2 were 255 and 71, respectively. For LL steaks, the actual postmortem aging time was grouped into 5 categories: 0–7 d, 8–14 d, 15–21 d, 22–28 d, and 29–65 d. Additionally, the postmortem aging time of PM steaks was grouped into 2 categories: 0–7 d and 8–21 d. The first 21-d postmortem aging time for LL steaks had the longest color life, with 7 d. Additionally, 22 to 28 d of postmortem aging time and 29 to 65 d of postmortem aging time had 5 d and 4 d, respectively, of color life for LL steaks. The borderline acceptability estimated for PM steaks with 0–7 d and 8–21 of postmortem aging time was 3 d and 2 d of color life, respectively. Estimations from this meta-analysis demonstrate that using LL and PM subprimals that have a postmortem aging time of 21 d or less and 7 d or less, respectively, would optimize the retail display color life of aerobically packaged steaks

In-street wind direction variability in the vicinity of a busy intersection in central London

We present results from fast-response wind measurements within and above a busy intersection between two street canyons (Marylebone Road and Gloucester Place) in Westminster, London taken as part of the DAPPLE (Dispersion of Air Pollution and Penetration into the Local Environment; www.dapple.org.uk) 2007 field campaign. The data reported here were collected using ultrasonic anemometers on the roof-top of a building adjacent to the intersection and at two heights on a pair of lamp-posts on opposite sides of the intersection. Site characteristics, data analysis and the variation of intersection flow with the above-roof wind direction (θref) are discussed. Evidence of both flow channelling and recirculation was identified within the canyon, only a few metres from the intersection for along-street and across-street roof-top winds respectively. Results also indicate that for oblique rooftop flows, the intersection flow is a complex combination of bifurcated channelled flows, recirculation and corner vortices. Asymmetries in local building geometry around the intersection and small changes in the background wind direction (changes in 15-min mean θref of 5–10 degrees) were also observed to have profound influences on the behaviour of intersection flow patterns. Consequently, short time-scale variability in the background flow direction can lead to highly scattered in-street mean flow angles masking the true multi-modal features of the flow and thus further complicating modelling challenges

Correlation of Bioelectrical Impedance With Freshness Quality Attributes of Beef Longissimus Lumborum Steaks

The quality attributes of beef longissimus lumborum during 15 d of retail display were assessed using surface bioelectrical impedance analysis (S-BIA) and internal bioelectrical impedance analysis (I-BIA). Beef loins (N = 18) were obtained from 3 commercial processors with 3 postmortem (PM) ages (27, 34, and 37 d). Loins were fabricated into twelve 2.54-cm-thick steaks, subdivided into 6 consecutively cut pairs, and randomly assigned to one of 6 display days (DD): 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, or 15. Steaks were assessed for S-BIA and I-BIA. Three locations were analyzed within each steak: top, middle, and bottom. Microbiological analysis, BIA, pH, instrumental color, proximate composition, and lipid oxidation were measured. There was a location × PM day × DD interaction (P < 0.05) for longissimus lumborum steaks for S-BIA. Among all 3 locations, steaks aged 27 d had higher (P < 0.05) S-BIA values on day 9 and 12 than steaks aged 34 and 37 d. There were no location × PM day × DD or two-way interactions (P > 0.05) for I-BIA. Display day affected (P < 0.05) all instrumental color data regardless of PM aging times. Among all PM aging times, steaks aged 27 d were 13% and 7% higher for a* and b* , respectively, compared with 34 and 37 d PM. There was a PM day × DD interaction (P < 0.05) for aerobic plate counts (APC). From day 0 and 9 of display, APC of steaks aged 27 d PM were 1 to 2.0 log colony-forming units/cm 2 lower than steaks aged 34 and 37 d. Quality attributes, including a*, b* , APC, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, were correlated (r = 0.70, − 0.64, − 0.56, and 0.69, respectively) with S-BIA. Overall, BIA values increased on aerobically packaged longissimus lumborum steaks and were correlated with various freshness quality parameters

Confining Properties of the Homogeneous Self-Dual Field and the Effective Potential in SU(2) Yang-Mills Theory

We examine in non-Abelian gauge theory the heavy quark limit in the presence of the (anti-)self-dual homogeneous background field and see that a confining potential emerges, consistent with the Wilson criterion, although the potential is quadratic and not linear in the quark separation. This builds upon the well-known feature that propagators in such a background field are entire functions. The way in which deconfinement can occur at finite temperature is then studied in the static temporal gauge by calculation of the effective potential at high temperature. Finally we discuss the problems to be surmounted in setting up the calculation of the effective potential nonperturbatively on the lattice.Comment: 31 pages, LaTeX, expanded discussion and derivations in Sections 2 and

The Time Course of Segmentation and Cue-Selectivity in the Human Visual Cortex

Texture discontinuities are a fundamental cue by which the visual system segments objects from their background. The neural mechanisms supporting texture-based segmentation are therefore critical to visual perception and cognition. In the present experiment we employ an EEG source-imaging approach in order to study the time course of texture-based segmentation in the human brain. Visual Evoked Potentials were recorded to four types of stimuli in which periodic temporal modulation of a central 3° figure region could either support figure-ground segmentation, or have identical local texture modulations but not produce changes in global image segmentation. The image discontinuities were defined either by orientation or phase differences across image regions. Evoked responses to these four stimuli were analyzed both at the scalp and on the cortical surface in retinotopic and functional regions-of-interest (ROIs) defined separately using fMRI on a subject-by-subject basis. Texture segmentation (tsVEP: segmenting versus non-segmenting) and cue-specific (csVEP: orientation versus phase) responses exhibited distinctive patterns of activity. Alternations between uniform and segmented images produced highly asymmetric responses that were larger after transitions from the uniform to the segmented state. Texture modulations that signaled the appearance of a figure evoked a pattern of increased activity starting at ∼143 ms that was larger in V1 and LOC ROIs, relative to identical modulations that didn't signal figure-ground segmentation. This segmentation-related activity occurred after an initial response phase that did not depend on the global segmentation structure of the image. The two cue types evoked similar tsVEPs up to 230 ms when they differed in the V4 and LOC ROIs. The evolution of the response proceeded largely in the feed-forward direction, with only weak evidence for feedback-related activity

Use of a stakeholder-driven DACUM process to define knowledge areas for food protection and defense

One of the important areas of vulnerability that has been repeatedly identified following the events of September 11, 2001 is the potential for an intentional attack on America’s food supply. Despite the importance of equipping professionals to protect our nation’s food supply, educators face a scarcity of information on which to base food protection and defense curricula and training development efforts. This research sought to identify a set of knowledge content areas required by food protection and defense professionals. A Developing A CurriculUM (DACUM) process was employed to create a job task analysis that identified duties, tasks, steps, and associated knowledge, skills, and abilities for this ccupational category. The knowledge areas identified during the DACUM process and validated through a stakeholder survey were used to frame the program for a training workshop and computer simulation in which participants responded to a mock intentional food contamination event. Results of this process can serve as foundational elements that can be shaped by instructional and curricular design experts to create educational programs in food protection and defense for graduate students and in-service professionals

Correction to Coupling Red-Mud Ketonization of a Model Bio-Oil Mixture with Aqueous Phase Hydrogenation Using Activated Carbon Monoliths

Correction to Coupling Red-Mud Ketonization of a Model Bio-Oil Mixture with Aqueous Phase Hydrogenation Using Activated Carbon Monolith

Impact of the Probiotic Organism Megasphaera elsdenii on Escherichia coli O157:H7 Prevalence in Finishing Cattle

Feedlot cattle commonly shed the foodborne pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7 in their feces. Megasphaera elsdenii (ME), a lactic acid-utilizing bacterium, is commonly administered to cattle to avoid lactate accumulation in the rumen and to control ruminal acidosis. The impact of administering ME on foodborne pathogen prevalence, specifically E. coli O157:H7, has not been explored. The purpose of this study was to quantify E. coli O157:H7 prevalence in finishing cattle administered ME. Cattle (n = 448) were assigned to treatments in a randomized complete block design with repeated measurements over two sampling periods. Treatments were arranged as a 2 × 2 factorial containing: ruminally protected lysine (RPL; included for a complementary study) fed at 0% or 0.45% of diet dry matter; with or without ME. Freeze-dried ME was administered as an oral drench (1 × 1010 CFU/steer on day one) and then top dressed onto basal diets (1 × 107 CFU/steer) daily thereafter. Rectoanal mucosal swabs (RAMS) were obtained from animals before harvest to determine the E. coli O157:H7 prevalence. The inclusion of RPL (P = 0.2136) and ME (P = 0.5012) did not impact E. coli O157:H7 prevalence, and RPL was not included in any significant interactions (P > 0.05). A significant interaction was observed between ME and sampling period (P = 0.0323), indicating that the effect of ME on E. coli O157:H7 prevalence varied over the sampling period. A diet containing ME reduced the odds of E. coli O157:H7 prevalence by 50% during sampling period 1 (8.0% and 14.7% for cattle with and without ME, respectively) and increased the odds by 23% during sampling period 2 (10.8% and 8.9% for cattle with and without ME, respectively). Administering ME in cattle diets did not impact E. coli O157:H7 in feedlot cattle. This is the first study to investigate the use of ME as a preharvest food safety intervention in cattle, and additional research is necessary to determine the efficac