The law of one price and the role of market structure

This paper examines the role of market structure on the persistence of price deviations from the LOP using monthly actual product prices of 47 items collected from three different types of markets in Istanbul over 1993:01-2008:12. After showing the importance of market structure on the distribution of relative prices, we implement threshold autoregressive models. We find significant differences in average threshold estimates across markets which we explain referring to differing menu costs in each market. Yet, we find no differences in average half-life estimates across markets. We argue that this is due to low search costs in Istanbul. Robustness checks verify our findings

Review: NIR Spectroscopy as a Suitable Tool for the Investigation of the Horticultural Field

The last 10 years of knowledge on near infrared (NIR) applications in the horticultural field are summarized. NIR spectroscopy is considered one of the most suitable technologies of investigation worldwide used as a nondestructive approach to monitoring raw materials and products in several fields. There are different types of approaches that can be employed for the study of key issues for horticultural products. In this paper, an update of the information collected from the main specific International Journals and Symposia was reported. Many papers showed the use of NIR spectroscopy in the horticultural field, and the literature data were grouped per year, per product, and per application, such as studies of direct (chemical composition) and indirect (physical and sensorial) properties (P), process control (PC), and authenticity and classification studies (AC). A mention was made of a recent innovative approach that considers the contribution of water absorption in the study of biological systems

The law of one price and the role of market structure

This paper examines the role of market structure on the persistence of price deviations from the LOP using monthly actual product prices of 47 items collected from three different types of markets in Istanbul over 1993:01-2008:12. After showing the importance of market structure on the distribution of relative prices, we implement threshold autoregressive models. We find significant differences in average threshold estimates across markets which we explain referring to differing menu costs in each market. Yet, we find no differences in average half-life estimates across markets. We argue that this is due to low search costs in Istanbul. Robustness checks verify our findings

Estimating Food Waste Due To Food Safety Recalls And Investigating Ways To Minimize Negative Impacts

For years the issue of food waste has been recognized and quantified; however, food safety issues often go unrecognized as a source of food waste. One objective of this research is to estimate quantities and monetary value of fruits and vegetables implicated in food safety recalls, and thus wasted. Using publicly available data we identified all recalls involving vegetable or fruit commodities contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, pathogenic E. coli, or Salmonella during 2015-2018. When quantities were provided, monetary value of recalled product was calculated using USDA ERS 2016 average retail prices. Although data limitations only allowed analysis of 17% of the recalls that met the criteria of this study, we estimated an annual loss of 38 million pounds and $61 million in revenue. Overall this shows that food safety issues can result in food waste, therefore mitigation strategies are needed. There are many ways that produce can become contaminated, however contaminated soils are a potential source of produce contamination and treatments to mitigate this risk while maintaining soil health is lacking. Current biofumigation methods that use glucosinolate hydrolysis products in mustard seed meal to control plant pathogens could also be effective against foodborne pathogens in soil. The purpose of this research is to determine the fate of E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and L. monocytogenes in soil treated with Brassica spp seed meal and plant material. Seed meals were successful in reducing pathogen concentrations in soil, significant reductions (p \u3c 0.05) of E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella were observed in soil over 72 hours with the addition of 1.0 and 1.5 g of mustard seed meal. Increasing the seed meal concentration did not significantly (p \u3e 0.05) increase the observed log reduction for L. monocytogenes or Salmonella, reductions ranged from 5.6 – 5.9 log CFU/g. However, for E. coli O157:H7 seed meal concentration was significant (p \u3c 0.05). A 5.7 log CFU/g decrease was observed when 1.5 g of seed meal was used which was larger than 3.5 log CFU/g reduction observed with 1.0 g. Findings suggest that biofumigation with mustard seed meal could potentially be used to reduce E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella in contaminated soil. However, the use of plant material was not as successful as the use of the processed seed meals. In soil or in the absence of soil Brassica spp. plant material at 10% 15%, and 75% significantly increased E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella concentrations (p \u3c 0.05). The results of these studies support literature indicating Brassica spp. processed plant products, like seed meals or extracts may be a more effective strategy in reducing human pathogen concentrations in contaminated agricultural soils. While the process of Biofumigation using Brassica spp. cover crops has been successful in eliminating plant pests from agricultural soils, due to its low isothiocyanate release efficiency and reactivity in soil organic matter, it may not be sufficient as a soil decontamination method against human pathogens

A.H.E.A. Cookbook

Breads -- Desserts -- Main dishes -- Vegetables & salads -- Dormitory & miscellaneous.https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/sd_cookbooks/1020/thumbnail.jp

A Garden-Based Nutrition Education Summer Program Positively Impacts The Fruit And Vegetable Preferences Of Inner-City High School Students

Americans, especially low-income citizens, do not meet the daily USDA recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption. Low fruit and vegetable intake can be associated with several types of chronic diseases. The dietary patterns established at a young age often carry into adulthood, hence the need for nutrition education beginning in youth. Studies have shown that nutrition education coupled with a gardening program can impact youth\u27s nutrition choices and snack preferences. The Summer Experience was an eight-week garden-based nutrition education program designed to teach gardening, cooking, nutrition, business and life skills for inner-city high school students in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The study subjects were McKinley High School students (n=33), who reside in a primarily low-income, food desert in East Baton Rouge Parish. This study was to determine the impact of the Summer Experience on high school students\u27 knowledge, attitudes, and preferences regarding fruits and vegetables. A three section questionnaire was used to measure students\u27 nutrition knowledge, fruit and vegetable attitudes, and snack preferences. After participation in the program, students\u27 snack preferences significantly improved (p\u3c 0.025), however, there were no differences found in participants\u27 nutrition knowledge (p\u3c 0.187) or attitudes towards fruits and vegetables (p\u3c0.283). The program results suggest that skill building in gardening and cooking may positively impact factors related to the fruit and vegetable intake of inner city high school students

Assessing Food Availability and Variety at a Homeless Youth Drop-In Center

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the food supply of a drop-in center, located in central Ohio that specifically serves homeless youth and how this relates to the diet quality of homeless youth. Another purpose was to assess the youth's knowledge as related to dietary intake and behavior. Study Design and Methodology: This was an observational study that used surveys to collect socio-demographic and homeless experience data. Validated surveys were used to measure food inventory of the drop-in center, as well as the nutrition knowledge and diet quality of the homeless youth. Data was analyzed using SPSS Software. The analysis described homeless youth nutrition knowledge, the food inventory of the drop-in center, and explore (using univariate and multivariate method) the associations between the foods available at the drop-in center and diet quality. Results: A majority of the youth were male (60%), and nearly 73% had a high school diploma or less. The mean age for youth was 21.19 (1.76), while the average age of homelessness onset was 17.98 (3.31). HFI scores: Dairy: M = 5.33, SD = 1.37, (range 3-7); vegetables: M=12.17, SD = 2.86, (range 7-14); fruit: M = 10.83, SD = 2.23, (range 8-14); meat and other non-dairy protein: M= 9, SD =2.61, (range 5-10). The mean obesogenic food availability score was 31 ± 4.18, (range 23-34). Of the participants, 47% reported daily visit to the drop-in center, and 63% reported eating at the drop-in center one or two times each visit. The average nutrition knowledge score of the youth was 11.4 (2.94), and the average healthy eating index (HEI) score was 54.92 (10.8). There was no significant correlation between the HEI score and the frequency of drop-in center visits, or frequency or eating at the drop-in center. Conclusion: The drop-in center is providing a variety of healthy food options such as fruits and vegetables. In addition, there are limited unhealthy food options provided by the facility. However, the youth are not consuming the healthy food options provided by the drop-in center. This suggest there is another source, or way in which youth are acquiring the fruits and vegetables they are consuming.A three-year embargo was granted for this item.Academic Major: Human Nutritio

piRNA-dependent transcriptional gene silencing during Drosophila oogenesis and embryogenesis

The PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway is a small RNA based intracellular immune system protecting animal gonads from the deleterious effects of transposons, thus maintaining transgenerational genome integrity. In Drosophila melanogaster ovaries, piRNA-Piwi complexes localise to the nucleus and scan nascent transcripts for transposon expression by using complementary antisense piRNAs as guides. Following target engagement, the gonad-specific protein Panoramix (Panx) is recruited and induces transcriptional gene silencing (TGS) by connecting to the general chromatin silencing machinery of the cell resulting in changes of the epigenetic chromatin state, thus shutting down transcription. However, whether Panx acts on its own or if other proteins are involved in piRNA-dependent TGS remains unknown. During my PhD I studied the protein-protein interactions of Panx and codiscovered the Panx induced co-transcriptional silencing (PICTS) complex comprised of Panx, Nxf2 and Nxt1. The PICTS complex induces TGS at active transposon insertions in Drosophila ovaries. Furthermore, I studied the effects of epigenetic inheritance of piRNA-Piwi complexes and the PICTS complex during early Drosophila embryogenesis. Piwi showed no zygotic transcription in somatic cells but strong maternal deposition and localised not only to pole cells, the germ line precursors, but was also strongly enriched in somatic nuclei. Additionally, the PICTS complex was both maternally deposited and zygotically transcribed and co-localised with Piwi in somatic nuclei. Several transposons showed strong zygotic expression during early embryogenesis. However, transcriptional gene silencing occurred at individual transposon insertions and repressive chromatin marks accumulated around the genomic location of transposons targeted by maternally deposited piRNAs. Depletion of maternally deposited Piwi resulted in deregulation of transposons and loss of repressive chromatin marks at associated genomic regions. My PhD project uncovered an epigenetic transposon regulatory complex that showed expression not only in gonadal tissue but also in somatic cells during early embryogenesis and revealed a novel function of the piRNA pathway in transposon control by inducing epigenetic chromatin changes during early Drosophila development