LOGISTICAL COSTS AND RISKS OF MARKETING GENETICALLY MODIFIED WHEAT

Genetically modified (GM) grains have increased in importance. Moving biotech grains from producers to processors is a challenge for the grain handling system that could involve increased segregations. The objective of this research is to determine how testing strategies affect the logistical costs of a grain pipeline when GM wheat is present. A logistical model was developed and simulated to analyze impacts of uncertainty in demand, receipts, test accuracy, rail deliveries, and transit time. Sensitivities were conducted on certain variables to determine their effects on logistical costs. Analysis revealed that logistical costs are impacted by the number of quality categories and uncertainties in the system. Adding GM grains increased costs due to testing requirements and increased segregation demands as the number of wheat categories rises.Genetically Modified (GM) Grains, Logistical Costs, Testing, Risk, Segregation, Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

LOGISTICAL COSTS AND STRATEGIES FOR WHEAT SEGREGATION

Special segregations that provide unique qualities for end use products are being specified by buyers. As users of wheat become more specific about quality, the number of quality segregations that the logistical pipeline must accommodate increases. The additional cost of increased grain segregations will influence the optimal level of wheat variety segregations marketed in a supply chain. The primary objective of this research is to develop a model that captures the logistical costs of increased grain segregations in the marketing system. A simulation model was developed to add logistical uncertainty in demand, receipts, rail deliveries, and transit time. Sensitivities were conducted on certain variables to determine their effects on logistical costs. Logistical costs increase as more segregations are added. In addition, increasing uncertainty into the system raises logistical costs. Pipeline configuration also affects costs as the number of categories/storage bins present at origin may differ from the wheat categories demanded or the number of storage bins present at the export elevator.wheat, segregations, Crop Production/Industries,

Generation of High-Energy Photons with Large Orbital Angular Momentum by Compton Backscattering

Usually, photons are described by plane waves with a definite 4-momentum. In addition to plane-wave photons, "twisted photons" have recently entered the field of modern laser optics; these are coherent superpositions of plane waves with a defined projection hbar*m of the orbital angular momentum onto the propagation axis, where m is integer. In this paper, we show that it is possible to produce high-energy twisted photons by Compton backscattering of twisted laser photons off ultra-relativistic electrons. Such photons may be of interest for experiments related to the excitation and disintegration of atoms and nuclei, and for studying the photo-effect and pair production off nuclei in previously unexplored experimental regimes.Comment: 4 pages; RevTe

Trust in the US-EU fruit and vegetable chain: Do US exporters understand EU importers?

Research on organizational and inter organizational trust has become an important field in management and marketing literature, as it is perceived as a pivotal aspect of business transactions. However, clarifications are still needed on the issue of whom we trust; is the person whom we are trading with trusted, or the organization, or just the product‐quality? Not only has this question not been answered within this field of research, neither have cultural differences have been described to any great extent. Additionally, if the perceived factors important to establish trusting relationships may or may not be the same on the buyers and the sellers side in international business transaction in food chains. The primary objective of this research study therefore is to identify how well US exporters understand the elements of trust that establish strong relationships with EU importers. The Analytical Hierarchy Process was used to evaluate the importance of different trust elements in interviews conducted with US exporters and EU importers of fruits and vegetables. Results are compared, providing both a picture of the important facets of trust, as well as whether the partners understand the perspectives of the other partner

Extreme points of the set of density matrices with positive partial transpose

We present a necessary and sufficient condition for a finite dimensional density matrix to be an extreme point of the convex set of density matrices with positive partial transpose with respect to a subsystem. We also give an algorithm for finding such extreme points and illustrate this by some examples.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Stabilization and control system power sensitivity study

Stabilization and control system sensitivity to power-off failure rate studied by simulated missions using block power switchin

A Butterfly Effect: The Impact of Marriage and Family Therapy Training on Students\u27 Spouses

This qualitative study examines the impact of mar- riage and family therapy (MFT) training on the marriages of trainees. Analysis of data from 18 spouses of alumni from a training program in an evangelical Protestant seminary found participants reporting mostly negative impacts related to time and finances, both negative and positive impacts related to role changes and adjustments, and mostly positive impacts related to marital communication. The additional contribution of this study has to do with the report of an overwhelmingly positive impact of systemic, integrative MFT training on the student’s faith as observed by their spouse and on the spouse’s own faith

USDA Farm Programs: North Dakota Farmer Participation and Opinions

Agricultural and Food Policy,