The New Food Safety Regime in the US: How Will it Affect Canadian Competitiveness

The FSMA appears to be a major undertaking with a very large responsibility placed on the FDA. It would seem that bottlenecks to exporting are bound to appear which will be very frustrating for Canadian firms. It is important for Canadian firms and Canadian policy makers to work hard to ensure that temporary bottlenecks do not become permanent inhibitors of trade. The Canadian government needs to understand industry concerns and use any mechanisms – including those in the NAFTA – to initiate consultations with the US. Given the likely lags in implementation, North American food markets are likely to exhibit considerable disequilibrium over the near term. Trade flows will be affected. As the implementation programs of the FSMA become more transparent, more sophisticated analysis into its effect on Canadian competitiveness in the US market can be undertaken.food, safety, competitiveness, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

The New Food Safety Regime in the US: How Will it Affect Canadian Competitiveness

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) which was signed into law in January, 2011 represents a major initiative to improve food safety in the US. The legislation mandates the US Food and Drug Administration with developing a regulatory system to implement the Act. As yet, the full effect of the Act cannot be evaluated because the regulatory requirements are yet to be developed. There is little doubt, however, that those firms, both domestic and foreign, that wish to supply US consumers with food will face a considerable increase in regulatory costs. This paper outlines the major requirements of the FSMA and suggests how the regulatory burden may fall on foreign versus US domestic suppliers. Areas where Canadian firms may be disadvantaged relative to US firms are outlined. Opportunities that may arise from the FSMA for Canadian agri-food firms are discussed, as are the areas where the FSMA may not conform with the international trade commitments of the United States.competitiveness, food safety, regulatory burden, SPS, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Relations/Trade,

The large scale gas and dust distribution in the galaxy: Implications for star formation

Infrared Astronomy Observations are presented for the diffuse infrared (IR) emissions from the galactic plane at wavelengths of 60 and 100 microns and the total far infrared intensity and its longitudinal variations in the disk were derived. Using available CO, 5 GHz radio-continuum, and HI data, the IR luminosity per hydrogen mass and the ingrared excess (IRE) ratio in the Galaxy were derived. The longitudinal profiles of the 60 and 100 micron emission were linearly decomposed into three components that are associated with molecular (H2), neutral (HI), and ionized (HII) phases in the interstellar medium (ISM), and the relevant dust properties were derived in each phase. Implications of the findings for various models of the diffuse IR emisison and for star formation in the galactic disk are discussed

Loss of expression of ATM is associated with worse prognosis in colorectal cancer and loss of Ku70 expression is associated with CIN

Repair of double strand DNA breaks (DSBs) is pivotal in maintaining normal cell division and disruption of this system has been shown to be a key factor in carcinogenesis. Loss of expression of the DSB repair proteins have previously been shown to be associated with poorer survival in colorectal cancer. We wished to ascertain the relationship of altered expression of the DSB repair proteins γ-H2AX (gamma-H2AX), ATM and Ku70 with biological and clinico-pathological features of colorectal cancer. 908 tumours from the VICTOR clinical trial of stage II/III colorectal cancer were analysed for expression of γ-H2AX, ATM and Ku70 using immunohistochemistry. Expression levels were correlated with CIN and with diseasefree survival, correcting for microsatellite instability, BRAF/KRAS mutation status, Dukes stage, chemo/radiotherapy, age, gender and tumour location. Down-regulated Ku70 expression was associated with chromosomal instability (p=0.029) in colorectal cancer. Reduced ATM expression was an independent marker of poor disease-free survival (HR=1.67, 95% CI 1.11-2.50, p=0.015). For Ku70, further studies are required to investigate the potential relationship of non-homologous end joining with chromosomal instability. Loss of ATM expression might serve as a biomarker of poor prognosis in colorectal cancer

Not all the bots are created equal:the Ordering Turing Test for the labelling of bots in MMORPGs

This article contributes to the research on bots in Social Media. It takes as its starting point an emerging perspective which proposes that we should abandon the investigation of the Turing Test and the functional aspects of bots in favor of studying the authentic and cooperative relationship between humans and bots. Contrary to this view, this article argues that Turing Tests are one of the ways in which authentic relationships between humans and bots take place. To understand this, this article introduces the concept of Ordering Turing Tests: these are sort of Turing Tests proposed by social actors for purposes of achieving social order when bots produce deviant behavior. An Ordering Turing Test is method for labeling deviance, whereby social actors can use this test to tell apart rule-abiding humans and rule-breaking bots. Using examples from Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games, this article illustrates how Ordering Turing Tests are proposed and justified by players and service providers. Data for the research comes from scientific literature on Machine Learning proposed for the identification of bots and from game forums and other player produced paratexts from the case study of the game Runescape

Difficulties Encountered in Projecting Canada’s Aboriginal Population

Abstract not availabl

Evidence for a singularity in ideal magnetohydrodynamics: implications for fast reconnection

Numerical evidence for a finite-time singularity in ideal 3D magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) is presented. The simulations start from two interlocking magnetic flux rings with no initial velocity. The magnetic curvature force causes the flux rings to shrink until they come into contact. This produces a current sheet between them. In the ideal compressible calculations, the evidence for a singularity in a finite time $t_c$ is that the peak current density behaves like $|J|_\infty \sim 1/(t_c-t)$ for a range of sound speeds (or plasma betas). For the incompressible calculations consistency with the compressible calculations is noted and evidence is presented that there is convergence to a self-similar state. In the resistive reconnection calculations the magnetic helicity is nearly conserved and energy is dissipated.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Spinning BTZ Black Hole versus Kerr Black Hole : A Closer Look

By applying Newman's algorithm, the AdS_3 rotating black hole solution is ``derived'' from the nonrotating black hole solution of Banados, Teitelboim, and Zanelli (BTZ). The rotating BTZ solution derived in this fashion is given in ``Boyer-Lindquist-type'' coordinates whereas the form of the solution originally given by BTZ is given in a kind of an ``unfamiliar'' coordinates which are related to each other by a transformation of time coordinate alone. The relative physical meaning between these two time coordinates is carefully studied. Since the Kerr-type and Boyer-Lindquist-type coordinates for rotating BTZ solution are newly found via Newman's algorithm, next, the transformation to Kerr-Schild-type coordinates is looked for. Indeed, such transformation is found to exist. And in this Kerr-Schild-type coordinates, truely maximal extension of its global structure by analytically continuing to ``antigravity universe'' region is carried out.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure, Revtex, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.