Conformational studies of various hemoglobins by natural-abundance 13C NMR spectroscopy

Studies of variously liganded hemoglobins (both from human and rabbit) by natural-abundance 13C NMR spectroscopy have revealed apparent conformational differences that have been interpreted on the basis of two quaternary structures for the α2ß2 tetramer, and variable tertiary structures for the individual α and ß subunits. In solution, rabbit hemoglobins appear to have somewhat more flexibility than human hemoglobins

Contract Pricing and Packer Competition in Fed Cattle Market

We use a game-theoretical framework to analyze the coexistence of spot and contract markets in the cattle industry. A duopsony scenario with two packers and N feeders is used to reflect the reality in the cattle industry. Our main contribution is to incorporate the risk components and the pricing of hedonic attributes of cattle quality. Our preliminary results show that packers have an incentive to transform bidding strategies in spot markets when a series of hedonic characteristics play some significant roles in establishing cattle prices in contract market. That is, we will show that the effectiveness of contract with TOMP clauses on packer competition in a spot market depends on whether there is a correlation between spot price and hedonic characteristics. The results may shed light on understanding potential effects of captive supplies on market power and may aid in the assessment of the policies designed to enhance competition in the cattle industry.Marketing,

Dynamics of clustered opinions in complex networks

A simple model for simulating tug of war game as varying the player number in a team is discussed to identify the slow pace of fast change. This model shows that a large number of information sources leads slow change for the system. Also, we introduce an opinion diffusion model including the effect of a high degree of clustering. This model shows that the de facto standard and lock-in effect, well-known phenomena in economics and business management, can be explained by the network clusters.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure

Consumer Willingness-to-Pay for Fresh Pork Attributes

A survey was used to gauge consumer preferences toward four fresh pork attributes: juiciness, tenderness, marbling, and leanness. The survey elicited consumer willingness-to-pay a premium for an improvement in these attributes. Approximately one-half of the respondents were willing to pay some premium for the attributes of juiciness, leanness, and tenderness. The average premium size ranged from $0.20/lb. for marbling to$0.37/lb. for tenderness. Neither the choice of a certifying agency nor the use of a cheap talk script influenced premium levels.pork attributes, pork markets, willingness to pay, Agribusiness, Marketing,

Bag Formation in Quantum Hall Ferromagnets

Charged skyrmions or spin-textures in the quantum Hall ferromagnet at filling factor nu=1 are reinvestigated using the Hartree-Fock method in the lowest Landau level approximation. It is shown that the single Slater determinant with the minimum energy in the unit charge sector is always of the hedgehog form. It is observed that the magnetization vector's length deviates locally from unity, i.e. a bag is formed which accommodates the excess charge. In terms of a gradient expansion for extended spin-textures a novel O(3) type of effective action is presented, which takes bag formation into account.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure