Supply Response of the Paddy Sector in West Malaysia - an Econometric Analysis

Paddy production in West Malaysia showed impressive growth in 1967-73 with an annual growth rate of seven (7) percent. However, despite the increasing intervention of the government in the rice sector, paddy production in 1974-84 decreased with the highest decline in 1981-84 at an annual rate of 6.3 percent. This study is conducted to describe the pattern of supply response of paddy producers in West Malaysia for the period 1966-84 and to evaluate the impact of changes in the level of price support and subsidy, fertilizer subsidy and retail price of rice on total domestic paddy output with 1980-84 as the base period. The Nerlovian Adjustment Mode l (NAM ) is used to describe the paddy area and yield response to various formulation of the paddy, rubber and input prices, damage variable as a proxy for risk, dummy for unusual years, and lagged paddy area and yield. The estimated area planted and yield equations are used to estimate the paddy output and to evaluate the impact of price policy changes

Prospects for Stochastic Background Searches Using Virgo and LSC Interferometers

We consider the question of cross-correlation measurements using Virgo and the LSC Interferometers (LIGO Livingston, LIGO Hanford, and GEO600) to search for a stochastic gravitational-wave background. We find that inclusion of Virgo into the network will substantially improve the sensitivity to correlations above 200 Hz if all detectors are operating at their design sensitivity. This is illustrated using a simulated isotropic stochastic background signal, generated with an astrophysically-motivated spectrum, injected into 24 hours of simulated noise for the LIGO and Virgo interferometers.Comment: 11 pages, uses IOP style files, submitted to CQG for GWDAW11 proceedings; revised in response to referee comment

Zymological indicators: a new concept applied to the detection of potential spoilage yeast species associated with fruit pulps and concentrates

DOI:10.1006/fmic.2000.0360; available online at http://www.idealibrary.comIn a survey of the microbial quality of raw materials used in fruit juice processing, yeast counts in fruit concentrates and pulps were found to range from51to 2?96103 cfu g71. Ascomycetous yeasts were representedby 76%of the isolateswhile 24%were basidiomycetes.The identi¢cation of strains isolated by the simpli¢ed identi¢cation system(SIM) revealed19 yeast species representing12 genera.Themost frequently isolated yeasts belonged to the genera Saccharomyces, Pichia, Cryptococcus, Kluyvero- myces and Candida. Fatty acid yeast composition allowed the separation of contaminating yeasts into one of threemajor groups. Group I included yeasts without linoleic (C 18:2) and linolenic (C 18:3) fatty acids such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Group II comprised yeasts without C 18:3 fatty acid like Zygosaccharo- myces rouxii and Torulaspora delbrueckii, and group III included yeasts with C18:2 and C18:3 acids that belong, among others, to one of the following yeast genera: Pichia, Candida, Kluyveromyces or Cryptococcus. Species-speci¢c PCR primers were used for the rapid detection and identi¢cation of the most dangerous species a¡ecting fruit concentrate stability. The simpli¢ed protocol used consisted of PCR-ampli¢cation of conserved tracts in the ITS region of the rDNA unit, thus enabling the detection ofpotentially dangerous £ora such as Zygosaccharomyces species andT. delbrueckii in contaminated fruit concentrates. Results from PCR-typing were in full agreement with the fatty acid compositions of these species. The grouping of contaminant yeasts into threemain groups showed that fatty acid compositionmay be used to di¡erentiate yeasts according to their technological signi¢cance.Yeasts isolated in thiswork as being most dangerous to product stability belong to either group II ( Z. rouxii and T. delbrueckii) or group I (Saccharomyces spp.). Group III was comprised of several species regarded as indicators of de¢ciencies in `good manufacturing practices'.Thus, each of the groups delineated may be considered to be a zymological indicator of technological signi¢cance.The conjugation of fatty acid pro¢les with PCR-typing methods may be used as a rapid detection system for contaminant yeasts. The fatty acid pro¢les provide a preliminary identi¢cation of yeasts potentially dangerous to product stability present within 48 h. of isolation. Whereas the PCR-typing method is mainly used to confirm isolate identity, when required, after the initial diagnosis has been performed, over a period of 4 h

Identification of yeasts isolated from wine-related environments and capable of producing 4-ethylphenol

www.elsevier.nl/locate/jnlabr/yfmic DOI:10.1016/S0740-0020(02)00152-1The ability to produce 4-ethylphenol from the substrate p-coumaric acid in synthetic media was evaluated for several yeast species associated with wine production.Molar conversion rates as high as 90% were found by only Dekkera bruxellensis, D. anomala and by some unidentified strains isolated from wine-related environments.Other unidentified strains produced traces of 4-ethylphenol. All unidentified strains showed the same cultural characteristics as D. bruxellensis when grown on DBDM (Dekkera/Brettanomyces differential medium) agar.The determination of long-chain fatty acid compositions and the utilization of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes specific for D. bruxellensis showed that the unidentified strains did not belong to this species.Further identification, by restriction pattern generated from PCR-amplification of the 5.8S rRNA gene and the two internal transcribed spacers (ITS), assigned the unidentified strains to Candida cantarelli, C. wickerhamii, Debaryomyces hansenii, Kluyveromyces lactis and Pichia guilliermondii.However, only some strains of P. guilliermondii were capable of converting p-coumaric acid into 4-ethylphenol with efficiencies close to those observed in D. bruxellensis and D. anomala

The hypophysis and secretion of insulin

The action of the hypophysis on the pancreas has been demonstrated by a number of direct and indirect proofs. The latter, first reported from this Institute, are as follows: (a) Complete kypophysectomy or anterior (distal) lobe removal produces: (1) Marked sensitivity to the hypoglycemic and toxic action of insulin and other hypoglycemie agents such as phloridzin, fasting, etc. (2) Reduction of intensity of pancreatic and phloridzin diabetes. (3) A rapid fall in blood sugar and tissue glycogen during fasting; of non-pancreatic origin since it occurs after pancreatectomy. The hypoglycemic symptoms can be relieved by prompt administration of glucose, or prevented by a carbohydrate or protein, but not fat diet.Fil: Houssay, Bernardo Alberto. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Foglia, Virgilio G.. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Smyth, F. S.. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Rietti, Ciro T.. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Houssay, Alberto B.. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentinafond

High-Accuracy Ring Laser Gyroscopes: Earth Rotation Rate and Relativistic Effects

The Gross Ring G is a square ring laser gyroscope, built as a monolithic Zerodur structure with 4 m length on all sides. It has demonstrated that a large ring laser provides a sensitivity high enough to measure the rotational rate of the Earth with a high precision of ∆ΩE < 10-8. It is possible to show that further improvement in accuracy could allow the observation of the metric frame dragging, produced by the Earth rotating mass (Lense-Thirring effect), as predicted by General Relativity. Furthermore, it can provide a local measurement of the Earth rotational rate with a sensitivity near to that provided by the international system IERS. The GINGER project is intending to take this level of sensitivity further and to improve the accuracy and the long-term stability. A monolithic structure similar to the G ring laser is not available for GINGER. Therefore the preliminary goal is the demonstration of the feasibility of a larger gyroscope structure, where the mechanical stability is obtained through an active control of the geometry. A prototype moderate size gyroscope (GP-2) has been set up in Pisa in order to test this active control of the ring geometry, while a second structure (GINGERino) has been installed inside the Gran Sasso underground laboratory in order to investigate the properties of a deep underground laboratory in view of an installation of a future GINGER apparatus. The preliminary data on these two latter instruments are presented