LONG-TERM PROJECTIONS OF CHINA'S SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF ANIMAL FEEDSTUFFS

This paper was presented at the INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS SYMPOSIUM in Auckland, New Zealand, January 18-19, 2001. The Symposium was sponsored by: the International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium, the Venture Trust, Massey University, New Zealand, and the Centre for Applied Economics and Policy Studies, Massey University. Dietary changes, especially in developing countries, are driving a massive increase in demand for livestock products. The objective of this symposium was to examine the consequences of this phenomenon, which some have even called a "revolution." How are dietary patterns changing, and can increased demands for livestock products be satisfied from domestic resources? If so, at what cost? What will be the flow-on impacts, for example, in terms of increased demands for feedgrains and the pressures for change within marketing systems? A supply-side response has been the continued development of large-scale, urban-based industrial livestock production systems that in many cases give rise to environmental concerns. If additional imports seem required, where will they originate and what about food security in the importing regions? How might market access conditions be re-negotiated to make increased imports achievable? Other important issues discussed involved food safety, animal health and welfare and the adoption of biotechnology, and their interactions with the negotiation of reforms to domestic and trade policies. Individual papers from this conference are available on AgEcon Search. If you would like to see the complete agenda and set of papers from this conference, please visit the IATRC Symposium web page at: http://www1.umn.edu/iatrc.intro.htmDemand and Price Analysis, Production Economics,

The Law and Economics of Habitat Conservation: Lessons from an Analysis of Easement Acquisitions

There is a growing interest in incentive-based policies to motivate conservation by landowners. These policies include full- and partial-interest land purchases, tax-based incentives, and tradable or bankable development rights. Using legal and economic analysis, this paper explores potential pitfalls associated with the use of such policies. Incentive-based policies promise to improve the cost effectiveness of habitat preservation, but only if long-run implementation issues are meaningfully addressed. While the paper compares conservation policies, particular attention is devoted to the use of conservation easements and in particular a set of easement contracts and transactions in the state of Florida. The easement analysis highlights the importance of conservation policies' interactions with property markets, land management practices, and bureaucratic incentives. Specific challenges include difficulties associated with the long-term enforcement and monitoring of land use restrictions, the lack of market prices as indicators of value for appraisal, and the way in which incentives target specific properties for protection.

Hearing and regarding animal pain in Heinrich’s Reinhart Fuchs and Kaulbach’s Reineke Fuchs illustrations

This article considers representations of animal suffering, examining the cultural and political ramifications of images showing the mortal pain and fear of ‘lesser’ creatures. Relations between pathos and comedy can provide insights into the importance accorded either voice or vision in ethical appeal. Beginning with the poisoning of king Vrevel in the twelfth-century Reinhart Fuchs, an episode without precedent or analogue in the fox tradition, this article explores the legacies of reflection on animal identity and suffering across versions of the animal epic. As a later counterpoint to Heinrich’s verbal evocation, the piece examines the playfully savage silencing and debasement of animal tongues in Wilhelm von Kaulbach’s illustrations for the 1846 edition of Goethe’s Reineke Fuchs. Insofar as Vrevel’s death is an (animal) end of empire, the article also shows how the function of animals in Carolingian ideologies finds echo in later sources and suggests possibilities for further reflection. Keywords: animals, beast, Heinrich (‘der Glichezare’), Wilhelm von Kaulbach, Goethe, Hincmar of Reims, ethics, orality, pathos, tragi-comedy, Charlemagne, Carolingia

Automated Software Testing in the DoD: Current Practices and Opportunities for Improvement

The concept of automating the testing of software-intensive systems has been around for decades, but the practice of automating testing is scarce in many industries, especially in the government defense sector. A one-year project initiated by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Scientific Test and Analysis Techniques Center of Excellence (STAT COE) and sponsored by Navy OPNAV N94 set out to: study the degree to which the Department of Defense (DoD) has adopted automated software testing (AST); share the best software practices used by industry; and develop and distribute an AST implementation guide intended for program management and novice DoD software test automators. The Current State of Automated Software Testing in the Department of Defense, AST Practices and Pitfalls Guide, and the AST Implementation Guide are available at www.afit.edu/stat

Spatial patterns of grazing-related parameters in California coastal surface waters, July 1979

A surface survey using underway continuous mapping of temperature, chlorophyll, zooplankton (\u3e153 µm) wet weight density, and activity of the zooplankton digestive enzyme laminarinase was undertaken for a 20-day period during active upwelling in the California coastal region between Pt. Arena and Pt. Conception, California, U.S.A., during July, 1979...

Response Surface Splitplot Designs: A Literature Review

The fundamental principles of experiment design are factorization, replication, randomization, and local control of error. In many industrial experiments, however, departure from these principles is commonplace. Often in our experiments, complete randomization is not feasible because factor level settings are hard, impractical, or inconvenient to change, or the resources available to execute under homogeneous conditions are limited. These restrictions in randomization result in split-plot experiments. Also, we are often interested in fitting second-order models, which lead to second-order split-plot experiments. Although response surface methodology has experienced a phenomenal growth since its inception, second-order split-plot design has received only modest attention relative to other topics during the same period. Many graduate textbooks either ignore or only provide a relatively basic treatise of this subject. The peer-reviewed literature on second-order split-plot designs, especially with blocking, is scarce, limited in examples, and often provides limited or too general guidelines. This deficit of information leaves practitioners ill-prepared to face the many challenges associated with these types of designs. This article seeks to provide an overview of recent literature on response surface split-plot designs to help practitioners in dealing with these types of designs

Thermal Tolerance of Acid-Adapted and Non-adapted Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in Ground Beef During Storage

Thermal tolerance of acid-adapted Escherichia coli O157:H7 or Salmonella in ground beef was evaluated during storage at 4°C or –20°C. Both pathogens were adapted to acidic conditions (pH ∼4.6) by growing in tryptic soy broth supplemented with 1% glucose. A five-strain cocktail of E. coli O157:H7 or Salmonella was grown separately in TSB (pH ∼6.6) and TSB + 1% glucose for 24 h at 37°C to provide cells with or without acid adaptation. Irradiated ground beef was inoculated with either acid-adapted or non-adapted E. coli O157:H7 or Salmonella; the samples stored at 4°C were subjected to heat treatment at 62°C or 65°C on days 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28, and the samples stored at –20°C were subjected to heat treatment at 62°C or 65°C on days 1, 30, 60, 90, and 120. Decimal reduction time (D values) of the pathogens was determined as an indicator of thermal tolerance. Significantly higher D62 values were observed on days 21 and 28 for non-adapted E. coli O157:H7 stored at 4°C and on days 90 and 120 for non-adapted E. coli O157:H7 stored at –20°C (P \u3c 0.05). Higher D62 values were observed on days 21 and 28 among non-adapted Salmonella strains stored at 4°C and on day 28 for acid-adapted strains of Salmonella stored at 4°C (P \u3c 0.05). Higher D62 values for acid-adapted strains of Salmonella stored at –20°C were observed on days 30, 60, and 90 (P \u3c 0.05), when while no differences were observed in the D65 values of acid-adapted and non-adapted strains of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella throughout storage at both temperatures (P \u3e 0.05). This suggests that acid adaptation of foodborne pathogens provides a certain level of protection against heat treatment at lower cooking temperatures, while at higher temperatures there were no observed differences between the sensitivity of acid-adapted and non-adapted strains in an actual food system over an extended period of refrigerated and frozen storage

Adequate Levels of Adherence with Controller Medication Is Associated with Increased Use of Rescue Medication in Asthmatic Children

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Analysis of Congestion Control

Agents must work. Given the trends in elec- tronic models, programmers particularly note the construction of the lookaside buffer, which embodies the theoretical principles of dis- tributed systems. In order to overcome this chal- lenge, we consider how the Turing machine can be applied to the simulation of the UNIVAC computer

Efficient Use of Phosphorus in Temperate Grassland Systems

Phosphorus (P) fertilisers are important for high production in many grassland systems. However, there are increasing environmental, economic and strategic issues associated with using P, which is a non-renewable and “effectively finite” global resource. We review the P balance of temperate pastures to identify the factors that contribute to inefficient P use and discuss ways to improve P use efficiency. The most immediate gains can be made by ensuring that pastures are not over-fertilised. Plants with low critical P requirements, particularly as a result of better root foraging, will be important. Root traits such as fine roots (root diameter), branching, length and root hairs, and mycorrhizal associations all contribute to improved root foraging; some are amenable to plant breeding. Plants that can “mine” sparingly-available P in soils by producing organic anions and phosphatases are also needed; as are innovations in fertiliser technology. Soil microorganisms play a crucial role in P acquisition by pastures but are not particularly amenable to management. Selection of pasture species for root characteristics offers a more realistic approach to improving P efficiency but progress, to date, has been minimal. Traditional plant breeding, augmented by marker assisted selection and interspecific hybridisation, are likely to be necessary for progress. Inevitably, P efficient pastures will be achieved most effectively by a combination of plant genetic, fertiliser innovation and management responses. Success will bring economic and environmental benefits from reduced P fertiliser use, with consequent benefits for global resource and food security