Strategic Alliances in U.S. Branded Beef Programs

In this paper, we combine concepts from organizational economics to examine supply chain alliances formed to market branded beef products. To illustrate application of the framework, we examine three different types of alliances. We conclude that measuring costs associated with quality attributes have an important role in alliance structure.Agribusiness,

Digital camera: an interactive tutorial

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the possibilities of computer graphics applied to the creation of instructional projects. Chosen the topic of basic photography , I will produce an interactive application that will teach several techniques used when learning photography. The project, fully interactive, will combine several media (computer generated images, acquired images, sound, etc.), all controlled by the computer. The main goal is to develop a proper user interface which allows any person to utilize the application. The original proposal, cited above as it had been turned in to the Department, was slightly transformed. Rather than changed, it was extended. The first idea was then applied to a specific topic: the development of an interactive tutorial that shows how to use a camera, in this case the Nikon FM2. In the tutorial, basic knowledge of photography would be combined with the tips on how to operate the camera. The application should show several processes that help the user understand easily how to get more advantage of the camera. Printed manuals or operation books provide users with basic knowledge and technical information. New interactive applications, though, can enhance this knowledge with demos in a more friendly and personal way

Longitudinal Intra- and Inter-individual variation in T-cell subsets of HIV-infected and uninfected men participating in the LA Multi-Center AIDS Cohort Study.

To assess the intra-individual and inter-individuals biological variation and the effect of aging on lymphocyte T-cells subsets.We assessed lymphocyte phenotypes (CD3, CD4, and CD8 T-cells) in 89 HIV-1-infected and 88 uninfected white non-Hispanic men every 6 months, to examine the biological variation for those measurements, and the average change in lymphocyte phenotype over 34 years.The markers showed significant intra-individuality in HIV-infected and uninfected individuals with index of individuality of <1.4. No mean changes were seen over the 34 years, with the exception of percentage CD4T-cells in HIV-uninfected individuals.In the pre-HAART era, HIV-infected individuals experienced an increase in mean absolute CD3 T-cell numbers (11.21 cells/μL, P = 0.02) and absolute CD8 T-cell numbers (34.57 cell/μl, P < .001), and in the percentage of CD8 T-cells (1.45%, P < .001) per year and a significant decrease in mean absolute CD4 T-cell numbers (23.68 cells/μl, P < .001) and in the percentage of CD4 T-cells (1.49%, P < .001) per year.In the post-HAART era, no changes in mean levels were observed in absolute CD3 T-cell count (P = .15) or percentage (P = .99). Significant decreases were seen in mean count (8.56 cells/μl, P < .001) and percentage (0.59%, P < .001) of CD8 T-cells, and increases in mean absolute count (10.72 cells/μl, P < .001) and percentage (0.47%, P < .001) of CD4 T-cells.With the exception of CD4 (%), no average changes per year were seen in lymphocyte phenotype of HIV-uninfected men. The results of coefficients of variation of intra and inter-individuals of this study can be useful for HIV-1 infection monitoring and in addition the observation could be a useful guide for intra- and inter-individual coefficient variations, and establishing quality goal studies of different blood biomarkers in healthy and other diseases

Start-Up Experiences of Latino Business Owners in Lansing and Saginaw, Michigan

Presentation made at Latinos in the Heartland (12th : 2014 : St. Louis, Mo.) and published in the annual conference proceedingThe paper presents findings from qualitative data gleaned from formal interviews with 14 business owners from the Start-Up Experiences of Latino/a Business Owners in Michigan study conducted by the Julian Samora Research Institute in 2011 and 2012. The majority of respondents were men over the age of 51 with at least some postsecondary education who were born in the United States; half of the respondents were born in Michigan. For Latino/a business owners in Lansing and Saginaw, MI, family influences decisions to venture into business ownership both in terms of intrinsic motivation and through a history of business ownership. Consistent with earlier research (Martinez et al., 2011), the majority of business owners in our sample used either informal funds or a combination of formal and informal funds to start their business endeavors. Respondents acknowledged that discrimination, prejudice, and exclusion, while perhaps less severe than in past decades, remain inherent in Latino business start-up experiences. Our research begins to fill the gap of knowledge on how Latinos and Latinas are starting and building businesses. www.cambio.missouri.edu/Library/ Keywords: immigrant entrepreneurship, Latino businesses, business ownershi

Biodigestor : Una alternativa de innovación socio-económica amigable con el medio ambiente

Nicaragua es el país centroamericano que posee el menor rendimiento en cuanto a la generación de energía se refiere, aparte de tener el más bajo rendimiento de pobladores con acceso a la electricidad. Nicaragua depende en gran medida al petróleo para la generación de electricidad, con una dependencia del 75%, la cobertura en las áreas rurales es inferior al 40%, mientras que en áreas urbanas alcanza el 92% según datos de FODIEN año 2006. Este documento pretende analizar las bondades de tecnologías de biodigestores, apropiadas en el área rural, como una alternativa de desarrollo, protección y conservación del medio ambiente de Nicaragua. Para ello, los principales aspectos que se tomaran en cuenta se relacionan con lo siguiente: • Identificar los factores que hacen factible la implementación de biodigestores. • Caracterizar los efectos positivos y negativos que conlleva la construcción de un biodigestor en las familias rurales de Nicaragua. • Evaluar la importancia socio-económica del biodigestor. Los biodigestores suponen un adecuado tratamiento de los residuos orgánicos, que generan biogás y biol. Los biodigestores se convierten así en una herramienta de mitigación de la contaminación por manejar correctamente los residuos, produciendo combustible y evitando la deforestación, generando fertilizante natural, evitando el uso de químicos, aumentando la productividad y reduciendo la ampliación de frontera agrícola. Se mejora la calidad de vida de las comunidades, primeramente por cuestión de salud en mujeres y niños al poder cocinar sin humo. La producción y uso de fertilizante natural añade el valor agregado de ecológico a los productores, permitiendo incrementar los ingresos y aumentando la producción agropecuaria hasta un 50%, lo que repercute directamente en la economía obtenida por las familias. Además el biol puede ser vendido por los campesinos como fertilizante orgánico generando otra forma de ingreso. La investigación realizada encuentra que la adopción de tecnologías de biodigestores rurales en Nicaragua se muestra factible para su ejecución, debido al constante monitoreo y asistencia técnica brindadas para los productores nicaragüenses por parte de personas capacitadas para el aprovechamientos de los recursos con los que cuenta en su finca. Actualmente Nicaragua cuenta con 1500 unidades de biodigestores implementados a nivel nacional, con resultados alentadores. Los biodigestores de bajo costo son una alternativa eficaz para obtener beneficios del tratamiento de residuos

Hypothalamic AMPK-ER Stress-JNK1 Axis Mediates the Central Actions of Thyroid Hormones on Energy Balance

Thyroid hormones (THs) act in the brain to modulate energy balance. We show that central triiodothyronine (T3) regulates de novo lipogenesis in liver and lipid oxidation in brown adipose tissue (BAT) through the parasympathetic (PSNS) and sympathetic nervous system (SNS), respectively. Central T3 promotes hepatic lipogenesis with parallel stimulation of the thermogenic program in BAT. The action of T3 depends on AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-induced regulation of two signaling pathways in the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMH): decreased ceramide-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, which promotes BAT thermogenesis, and increased c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation, which controls hepatic lipid metabolism. Of note, ablation of AMPKalpha1 in steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1) neurons of the VMH fully recapitulated the effect of central T3, pointing to this population in mediating the effect of central THs on metabolism. Overall, these findings uncover the underlying pathways through which central T3 modulates peripheral metabolism