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This paper considers the digitalisation of food infrastructure as a wider context within which smart farming and big data applications in agriculture are being introduced. It examines the use of digital devices aimed providing traceability and transparency across different sites of food supply chains, from farm to fork. The infrastructural perspective problematises ideas of digitalisation as a technological fix to the uncertainness of food supply chains, and highlights the relational nature of food. Digital devices aimed at ensuring food integrity and the control of supply chains are shown to reconstitute infrastructures of qualification by which the qualities of foodstuffs are established as they move through the processes of the supply chain, from production to consumption. The paper identifies question of power around the ongoing process of infrastructuring that generate a requirement for more labour by some actors; the possibility of new politics and relationships built around increased circulation of quality information; and questions of who controls access to information that are obscured by different understandings of transparency.

Since 2017, the Bitcoin blockchain system has experienced 105 fork divergences. The rapidly increasing blockchain forks have resulted in fierce competition and created significant controversies in blockchain community. To analyze this competitive aspect, we consider blockchain as a two-sided platform that serves both customers and miners. We develop a game-theoretic model to investigate how a blockchain platform's decision on its settings, such as block size and transaction fee, affects the competition between blockchain platforms as well as the participation behavior of customers and miners. Our findings suggest that increasing the transaction fee alleviates congestion on the platform when customers have a relatively balanced need between efficiency and safety. In contrast, it induces congestion when efficiency is valued over safety. In addition, under hard fork competition, the difference in blockchain platforms' block sizes directs the attention of miners towards different types of mining rewards. Moreover, it also affects the optimal types of customers the blockchain platforms should target. Furthermore, we find that the degree of congestion and the risk attitudes of participants play vital roles in differentiating different block-sized platforms' optimal transaction fees. We provide empirical evidence on the theoretical findings and practical implications for blockchain platform competition with respect to the behaviors of platform participants.

Numerous studies show that insects are efficient in converting organic waste into proteins and fats, which makes them an interesting alternative source of feed. Moreover, since around one-third of global food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, the production of insect-based meals from food waste is considered a sustainable alternative to other protein sources. This paper introduces a quantitative framework able to analyse the economic implications of developing a large-scale insect-based meal industry worldwide, which would require important regulatory changes. Our calculations, based on findings from the literature, suggest that almost 1.4 billion tonnes of food, that could potentially be used as insect feed, went to waste at the world level in 2018, a figure that is projected to rise to 2 billion tonnes by 2030. Results show that the use of food waste for insect meal and oil production would have important downward price impacts on meals and oils (fish- and plant-based), reducing feed costs and stimulating global aquaculture and livestock production, reducing total land use for agriculture production and lead to a lower dependence on protein imports.

High-growth enterprises (HGEs) have a large economic impact but are notoriously hard to predict. Previous research has linked high-growth episodes to the configuration of lumpy indivisible resources inside firms, such that high capacity utilisation levels might stimulate future growth. We theorize that firms reaching critically high capacity utilisation levels reach a “trigger point” involving either broad-based investment in further growth or shrinking back to previous levels. We analyze EIBIS survey data (matched to ORBIS) which features a question on time-varying capacity utilisation. Overcapacity is a transitory state. Firms enter into overcapacity after a period of the rapid growth of sales and profits, and the years surrounding overcapacity have higher employment growth rates. Firms operating at overcapacity make incremental investments (e.g. capacity expansion, process improvements and modern machinery) rather than investing in R&D and new product development. We find support for the “fork in the road” hypothesis: for some firms, overcapacity is associated with launching into massive investments and subsequent sales growth, while for other firms, overcapacity is negatively related to both investments and sales growth. Operating above maximum capacity is like a “fork in the road”: while some firms shrink back to stay within existing capacity constraints, others respond by launching into broad-based growth. We develop a theory of firm growth, according to which some firms are better positioned for subsequent growth, depending upon their state of capacity utilisation. Firms with plenty of slack capacity can easily grow within the bounds of existing capacity constraints. Firms that are already operating above maximum capacity cannot grow by drawing on slack resources, but instead, their growth requires a broad-based investment in many interconnected areas. Our statistical analysis shows that operating above maximum capacity is relatively rare and unlikely to persist and seems due to rising demand. Some firms respond to being above maximum capacity by slowing down and adapting to existing capacity constraints, while others treat overcapacity as a “trigger point” that launches them into subsequent growth. Our results are of interest to those seeking to understand and predict firm growth: investors, entrepreneurs, academics and policymakers.

Social enterprises (SEs) that receive early stakeholder support for their dual economic/social missions risk losing moral legitimacy when stakeholders assess them for social impact and find it lacking. We present a process model that begins at the “fork in the road” of stakeholder assessment and shows that when SEs continue to focus on primary stakeholders at the expense of secondary stakeholders impacted by the firm, they risk losing moral legitimacy and broader stakeholder support. Our model shows the process by which SEs can leverage their moral imagination and develop capabilities to generate long-term stakeholder support and sustained value creation.

The title of this “Food for Thought” article comes from a quote variously attributed, but mostly to the baseball player-philosopher Yogi Berra. I suppose the intent of the quote to be at once both funny and philosophical. We are all confronted with hard professional choices during our careers. Which fork in the road to take is ultimately determined by balancing our current situations (their positive and negative attributes) with an uncertain possibility to achieve more rewarding career and personal goals down a different path. I have been fortunate to have not one but three distinct careers in marine science—as a fishery stock assessment scientist, an agency senior science administrator, and as an academic. All of the choices I have made (both opportunities accepted and those declined) have presented professional challenges to get out of my comfort zone and take advantage of tremendous opportunities to learn new things and to grow professionally and personally. Over the course of my career, I have witnessed fisheries management and science maturing into an enormous enterprise so critical to the sustainability of our oceans. We have discovered much about the limits of human exploitation and the intricacies of how marine ecosystems respond to the human hand. Attitudes have matured regarding the process of fisheries management and the critical roles that fishers, regulators, scientists, and non-governmental organizations play in balancing ecology and economy. The most important lessons I have learned are those for working effectively in groups (active listening, authenticity vs. authority of leadership, openness) and understanding that successful teamwork requires establishing a stimulating and energetic environment for creative thinking and doing.

There are growing internal and external pressures for traceability in food supply chains due to food scandals. Traceability refers to tracking food from the consumer back to the farm and vice versa for quality control and management. However, many traceability solutions have failed to meet the needs of supply chain stakeholders. Blockchain is a novel distributed database technology that could solve some issues of traditional traceability systems, such as cost of adoption and vulnerabilities to hacking and data tampering. This study aims to gain insights on the benefits of applying blockchain technology for traceability in food supply chains through literature review and an investigation of five companies that are experimenting with blockchain-based food traceability. Our findings suggest that, upon implementation and contribution by all supply chain participants, blockchain-based traceability can provide cost-savings, reduced response time to food scandals and food-borne illness outbreaks, improved security and accuracy, better compliance with government regulations, and thus increase consumer trust.

The aim of the considerations was an attempt to outline the mutual relations between restrictions of trading in agricultural real estate introduced by the Act on shaping the agricultural system, food security and sustainable food systems, as well as to verify to what extent Polish regulations concerning the agricultural real estate may be perceived as an instrument to ensure food security and whether the legal solutions adopted are consistent with the “Farm to Fork” Strategy. The article presents the basic goals and assumptions of the “Farm to Fork” Strategy, taking into account the European Green Deal, explains the concept of food security, and outlines the basic instruments for restrictions of trading in agricultural real estate introduced by the Act on shaping the agricultural system. In the light of these findings, an assessment of the introduced solutions restricted trading in agricultural real estate in the context of food security and the “Farm to Fork” Strategy was made. The analysis carried out in the article leads to the conclusion that both the principle of purchasing agricultural real estate by individual farmers and the requirement to run a farm on the purchased agricultural real estate contribute to ensuring food security, but they only indirectly affect the implementation of the “Farm to Fork” Strategy.

The article presents a comprehensive analysis of the process of state building in Pridnestrovie based on the identification of the Pridnestrovian people. The issues of acquiring the mechanism of legitimacy of the Pridnestrovian state are considered, as well as tools for ensuring the Pridnestrovian choice in the realities of the XX-XXI centuries are presented. The analysis widely uses the historical method and systematic approach, which form an understanding of the degree of Russia’s involvement in regional processes, as well as the place of the foreign policy choice of the people of Pridnestrovie in the structure of Russian interests and the opinion of the citizens of the Russian Federation about the Pridnestrovian settlement. The author highlights the historical milestones in the formation of the Pridnestrovian identification code, comes to the conclusion that there is a significant difference in the content of the Moldovan foreign policy from the Pridnestrovian on this basis. Based on the data presented at the republican referendums in Pridnestrovie, as well as on the basis of the results of sociological surveys conducted on the territory of Pridnestrovie and on the territory of the Russian Federation, the peculiarities of the choice of Pridnestrovie are revealed, the opinion of Russians regarding the fate of Pridnestrovie is reflected. In addition, the official position of Russia on the Pridnestrovie settlement is indicated, which at present cannot be called strictly formed. It is shown that, being at the fork in the next cycle of the space-time continuum, the basis of the Pridnestrovian choice was the historical heritage of the republic, as well as the position of the Russian Federation on the settlement of Moldovan-Pridnestrovian relations. The hypothesis about the continuously growing role of Russia in the fate of Pridnestrovie, as well as the significant importance of Pridnestrovie for Russia, filled with historical, geopolitical and cultural content, was confirmed. The conclusion is made about an increase in the demand for protection of the national interests of Russia in certain segments of Russian public opinion.

Why do we have records of the past and not the future? Entropic explanations for this ‘record asymmetry’ have been popular ever since Boltzmann. Foremost amongst these is Albert and Loewer’s account, which explains the record asymmetry using a low-entropy initial macrostate (the ‘Past Hypothesis’) plus an initial probability distribution. However, the details of how this initial state underpins the record asymmetry are not fully specified. In this paper I attempt to plug this explanatory gap in two steps. First, I suggest the record asymmetry is more immediately explained by the ‘fork asymmetry’, which their picture omits. Second, by relating the fork asymmetry to an initial state that’s metaphysically similar to theirs, I clarify how this ultimately underpins the record asymmetry.

Demand for blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum is far larger than supply, necessitating a mechanism that selects a subset of transactions to include "on-chain" from the pool of all pending transactions. This paper investigates the problem of designing a blockchain transaction fee mechanism through the lens of mechanism design. We introduce two new forms of incentive-compatibility that capture some of the idiosyncrasies of the blockchain setting, one (MMIC) that protects against deviations by profit-maximizing miners and one (OCA-proofness) that protects against off-chain collusion between miners and users. This study is immediately applicable to a recent (August 5, 2021) and major change to Ethereum's transaction fee mechanism, based on a proposal called "EIP-1559." Historically, Ethereum's transaction fee mechanism was a first-price (pay-as-bid) auction. EIP-1559 suggested making several tightly coupled changes, including the introduction of variable-size blocks, a history-dependent reserve price, and the burning of a significant portion of the transaction fees. We prove that this new mechanism earns an impressive report card: it satisfies the MMIC and OCA-proofness conditions, and is also dominant-strategy incentive compatible (DSIC) except when there is a sudden demand spike. We also introduce an alternative design, the "tipless mechanism," which offers an incomparable slate of incentive-compatibility guarantees -- it is MMIC and DSIC, and OCA-proof unless in the midst of a demand spike., Preliminary version appeared in the 22nd ACM Conference on Economics and Computation (EC '21). This academic paper partially overlaps with the longer general-audience report published as arXiv:2012.00854

Parallel and distributed computing systems are foundational to the success of cloud computing and big data analytics. These systems process computational workflows in a way that can be mathematically modeled by a fork-and-join queueing network with blocking (FJQN/B). While engineering solutions have long been made to build and scale such systems, it is challenging to rigorously characterize their throughput performance at scale theoretically. What further complicates the study is the presence of heavy-tailed delays that have been widely documented therein. In this article, we utilize an infinite sequence of FJQN/Bs to study the throughput limit and focus on an important class of heavy-tailed service times that are regularly varying with index . The throughput is said to be scalable if the throughput limit infimum of the sequence is strictly positive as the network size grows to infinity. We introduce two novel geometric concepts—scaling dimension and extended metric dimension—and show that an infinite sequence of FJQN/Bs is throughput scalable if the extended metric dimension and only if the scaling dimension . We also show that for the cases where buffer sizes are scaling in an order of , the scalability conditions are relaxed by a factor of . The results provide new insights on the scalability of a rich class of FJQN/Bs with various structures, including tandem, lattice, hexagon, pyramid, tree, and fractals.

Extensive dolomitization is prevalent in the platform and periplatform carbonates in the Lower-Middle Permian strata in the Midland and greater Permian Basin. Early workers have found that the platform and shelf-top carbonates were dolomitized, whereas slope and basinal carbonates remained calcitic, proposing a reflux dolomitization model as the possible diagenetic mechanism. More importantly, they underline that this dolomitization pattern controls the porosity and forms an updip seal. These studies are predominately conducted using well logs, cores, and outcrop analogs, and although exhibiting high resolution vertically, such determinations are laterally sparse. We have used supervised Bayesian classification and probabilistic neural networks (PNN) on a 3D seismic volume to create an estimation of the most probable distribution of dolomite and limestone within a subsurface 3D volume petrophysically constrained. Combining this lithologic information with porosity, we then illuminate the diagenetic effects on a seismic scale. We started our workflow by deriving lithology classifications from well-log crossplots of neutron porosity and acoustic impedance to determine the a priori proportions of the lithology and the probability density functions calculation for each lithology type. Then, we applied these probability distributions and a priori proportions to 3D seismic volumes of the acoustic impedance and predicted neutron porosity volume to create a lithology volume and probability volumes for each lithology type. The acoustic impedance volume was obtained by model-based poststack inversion, and the neutron porosity volume was obtained by the PNN. Our results best supported a regional reflux dolomitization model, in which the porosity is increasing from shelf to slope while the dolomitization is decreasing, but with sea-level forcing. With this study, we determined that diagenesis and the corresponding reservoir quality in these platforms and periplatform strata can be directly imaged and mapped on a seismic scale by quantitative seismic interpretation and supervised classification methods.

Purpose. The purpose of the work is to identify the ways to increase the efficiency of engineering research, based on the significant amount of exploration work required in the creation of modern man-made objects, taking into account the shortcomings of existing instruments and equipment used to measure soil stress, and in relation to the need to improve the design of thermopressiometers, which are aimed to facilitate the study of frozen soils. Methodology. The ways to improve the blade thermopressiometer for the study of frozen soils with different aggregates were selected by the comparative-analytical method and the method of analogy. Thawing depth, absolute soil sediment, deformation modulus etc. were determined by thermal-technical calculations. Findings. The application issues of concern of the existing thermopressiometers (limited research of soils of a certain type, complexity and insufficient accuracy of readings) identified can be overcome by the proposed improved design of a blade thermopressiometer for testing frozen sandy-clay soils. It is based on the improved heating circuit, the applicationd of quality materials and changing the form of the blades and body. The device is intented for use on permafrost and natural frozen soils of the world, including Ukraine. Originality. For the first time we offered a model of an advanced thermopressiometer with an improved body shape made of high-quality corrosion-resistant materials, including non-metallic ones. It has the reduced number of blades to one retractable sector blade-stamp (square or round) and one heating blade-stamp. A special probe design with mechanical/hydraulical sensor drive with a thermocouple (or with two fork probes to improve the measurements) was proposed. It was also recommended to introduce an electric conductive system designed for thawed soils, with a rod for measuring the retractable blade-stamp. The possibility of using a thermopressiometer during the study of seasonally frozen soils is established. Practical value. Improving the device model should facilitate its application in engineering and geological research for various types of construction, including transport, hydraulic engineering, which use the methods of deep freezing of weak and unstable soils.

Work of all kinds increasingly takes place via networked digital environments that support diverse modes of collaboration. Previous work has investigated how collaborative writing takes place in shared and open workspaces. This study investigates how the "fork-and-pull'' model of distributed version management, now widely utilized in software development, supports coordination and public contribution in collaborative writing. We employ a case study approach to understand coordination around written artifacts in an open pull-based environment. Through interviews and archival analysis of two open text projects: a mathematics textbook on homotopy type theory (HoTT) and open source policies by 18F, a branch of federal agency, we reconstruct how text artifacts were created. We find that in both cases an intensive multi-channel communication among a small core preceded an explicit release action in the form of public communication to solicit broader contribution. Our analysis reveals a dichotomy between two modes of collaboration: a perfecting mode of crafting a public written document versus an evolution mode. In perfecting, authors used the fork-and-pull model to manage contributions refining the text to a more correct version. In evolution, authors used the fork-and-pull model to use a written artifact as a template and starting point, customizing it to their relevant scope. Based on our results, we consider how we might design systems and policies to support pull-based coordination around written artifacts and the forms it takes.

The author showed that the modern Western world is facing an extremely important fork in the road, meaning the choice of a further path and ideology of development and a new system of values and social motivation. It is argued that the leading cause of the crisis is the inhibition of the innovative development of modern civilization, which made impossible the neocolonial exploitation of the rest of the world, using innovative superiority. Also, the author showed that a severe problem of the West is the stimulation of growth of quality of life standards and lowering the cost of labour. The paper presents options for responding to this crisis — military suppression of competitors, innovative breakthrough, self-isolation, and information and social manipulation.

This article argues that a key value in focusing on linguistic life historical data is access to individual biographical details and how they inform the intellectual and affective significance spea...

We describe a transparency illusion that can be observed with an ordinary metal knife and fork. Placed in the correct configuration relative to the fork, the metal knife appears transparent, with some observers experiencing a bistable percept in which transparency alternates with reflective appearance. The effect is related to other illusory percepts that follow from careful placement of mirrored surfaces, but to our knowledge, it is unique in that the key feature of the illusion is how the mirrored surface (in this case, the knife) is perceived rather than how a mirror induces altered perception of other objects and surfaces. We describe conditions that do and do not affect the strength of the illusion and point out its connections to previously reported phenomena.

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a laser-writing-induced selective chemical etching (LWISCE) technique for effective micro-fabrication of lithium niobate (LN) crystal. Laser writing of LN crystal produces negative domains and domain walls. Also, it causes local lattice defects, in which the etching rates are significantly increased in comparison to the original LN crystal. In experiment, we use the LWISCE technique to fabricate various fork gratings in an X-cut LN crystal for the generation of vortex beams. In comparison to etching an untreated X-cut LN crystal, the etching rates of the laser-writing-induced boundaries and the central laser-irradiated areas are enhanced by a factor of 26 and 16, respectively. The width and depth of fork grating structure can be precisely controlled by laser writing parameters. Our method provides an efficient mask-free micro-fabrication technique for LN crystal, which can be readily applied to other ferroelectric crystals such as lithium tantalate, potassium titanyl phosphate and barium calcium titanate.

Strawberry cultivated in Japan widely known for its sweet and soft nature which regards as premium fruits in Japan. The objective of the present study was to give an overview of strawberry cultivation, and postharvest processing in selected manufacturers and farms in Nagano, and Hokkaido, Japan. The information was obtained through an interview session, and questionnaire distribution. Case study approach was used to obtain data. The cultivation of strawberries in Japan at the selected study area was mainly planted in the greenhouse under controlled temperature to maintain the quality and yield of strawberries. The strawberries in all the selected farm used manual grading process during the strawberry picking process. Processing of strawberries into other products was often done in small-scale by farmers and sold directly from the farm and distributed to other local seller and supermarket which portrayed “from farm to fork” practice. Strawberries processed into products such as jam, drinks and ingredients in bakery goods were labelled as premium products sold in special shops in Japan. Japan’s Strawberries and strawberrybased products produced by the larger manufacturer were able to penetrate the Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand market.

Law schools are at a fork in the road. There are two possible paths: one descending even more steeply than now into neoliberalism or another climbing into the light of a cooperative future.1 1 This...

Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum) is an invasive submersed macrophyte that has infested many waters in North America since its introduction. Eurasian watermilfoil has the ability to alter the structure and function of the ecosystems that it invades. Eurasian watermilfoil was first surveyed in the Clark Fork River, MT in 2008, alongside the native northern watermilfoil (Myriophyllum sibiricum). Three reservoirs (Cabinet Gorge, Noxon Rapids and Thompson Falls) on the lower Clark Fork River had entire lake surveys conducted using the point intercept method. Morphological data from these surveys showed that only Eurasian watermilfoil and northern watermilfoil were present during the time of the surveys in 2008. The results of the morphological identification were supported by molecular identification at three different laboratories. In 2015, a genetic survey of watermilfoil species was conducted on the Noxon Rapids Reservoir and found that hybrid watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum × sibiricum) was present. This hybridization event poses a number of issues for aquatic plant management. Hybrid watermilfoil is much more difficult to identify morphologically than its parent types. The hybrid is also more invasive and may be differentially susceptible to some herbicides than the parental type Eurasian watermilfoil.

The paper proposes the development of the mathematical variational Hashin-Strickman method, which was previously used to determine the maximum possible values of effective elastic characteristics. In this case, the effective plasticity characteristics of two-component composites are determined. In particular, the fork of possible values of the effective yield strength of such composite materials is determined

The precise age of terrestrial sediments in the Late Cretaceous Williams Fork Formation of western Colorado is poorly constrained due to a paucity of radiometric data. Sanidine and zircon dating of a volcanic ash encased in coal (i.e., the Coal Canyon ash) within the Cameo-Wheeler coal zone of the lower Williams Fork Formation in Coal Canyon, Colorado provides an important new age constraint for the southwestern Piceance Basin. A 10-30 cm thick, light gray, clayey mudstone encased in coal was sampled for both zircon U-Pb and sanidine 40Ar/39Ar geochronology. The presence of numerous euhedral zircon crystals, a lenticular geometry, and a clayey texture suggest that the mudstone is a minimally reworked and slightly altered volcanic ash. Analysis of the euhedral zircon crystals (n=108) in the ash produced a statistically robust U-Pb date with 93 grains yielding a weighed mean age of 74.52 ±0.11 Ma (1σ analytical uncertainty). 40Ar/39Ar sanidine analyses yielded a younger weighted mean age of 73.10 ±0.12 Ma (1σ analytical uncertainty) based on 6 of the 36 grains analyzed. Our preferred age is given by the weighted mean age of the sanidine as it is based on higher precision analyses that can better discriminate older inherited grains that are likely included in the zircon mean-age calculation. Isotopic data for the Coal Canyon ash overlap in age with a K-Ar date of 72.5 ±5.1 Ma for a widespread Williams Fork Formation tonstein, known as the Yampa Bed, found in coal-bearing outcrops and mine workings throughout the northern Piceance and Sand Wash basins and Axial Basin Uplift. Based on the similarity in isotopic age, sedimentologic context and stratigraphic position, we suggest that the Coal Canyon ash and the regionally extensive Yampa Bed are coeval. Additionally, this correlation corroborates that the Cameo-Wheeler coal zone of the Williams Fork Formation in the southwestern Piceance Basin is correlative with the Middle coal zone of the Danforth Hills and Yampa regions. Lastly, this proposed correlation may suggest that the Coal Canyon ash, like the Yampa Bed, correlates with the Baculites reesidei ammonite zone, which is associated regionally with a bentonite dated to 72.94 ±0.45 Ma. Detrital sanidine geochronology of two lower Williams Fork sandstone units that overly the Coal Canyon ash did not produce grains younger than the ash and thus do not quantitatively improve the chronostratigraphy of these specific units. Lastly, the Coal Canyon ash date serves as a basis for future evaluations of the diachroneity of non-marine strata of the Williams Fork Formation.

The current socio-political upheavals, which are fraught with undermining the Belarusian statehood, may also torpedo the planned transition to the implementation of the strategy of advanced development of the Republic of Belarus based on increasing cooperation between Belarusian economic entities and Russian ones on the legal basis of the Union state of Russia and Belarus (USRB) and the Eurasian economic Union (EAEU). Summing up the socio-economic evolution of post-Soviet Belarus, which is impressive against the background of the corresponding results of other ex-Soviet republics, the author of the article connects these successes with the capacity of the Belarusian management system, which has already mastered a number of institutions of a new (integral) world economic structure, including strategic indicative macroeconomic planning. However, this in itself does not save from socio-political upheavals of various forms, strength and scale. The Republic of Belarus, like other members of the EAEU, needs to harmonize the interests of various social groups and consolidate society based on the state policy of increasing public welfare. Based on these principles, developed in numerous previous publications of the author, he makes recommendations for coping with the growing socio-political and socio-economic crises, as well as builds options for future economic development, depending primarily on the vector of the upcoming integration construction — Eurasian or European — that the Belarusian people will choose. Keywords: the Republic of Belarus (RB), Belarus, the Union State of Russia and Belarus (USRB), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Eurasian Economic Commission, Eurasian economic integration, European economic integration, European Union (EU), cooperative interaction of economic entities, technological structure, new (sixth) technological structure, world economic structure, new (integrated) economic structure, strategy of advancing economic development, economic growth, convergent technology, the Republic of Ukraine (RU).

The Wild & Scenic North Fork American River in Placer County, CA benefits from decades of conservation efforts stemming from its recognition as a place needful and deserving of protection. This stu...

Proof of Work (PoW) is one of the key consensus mechanisms for blockchain systems to ensure trust and secure service. The PoW process, which is also known as mining, is computationally intensive, because the miners need to solve a well-crafted puzzle to add a new block to the chain. With cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin becoming more popular, it requires greater levels of mining power for successful mining. Most miners tend to join specific mining pools to share rewards contributed by their mining power. This leads to more centralized PoWbased blockchain systems, which contradicts the design goal of decentralization for blockchain. Mining power concentration may damage the trust and secure level of blockchain systems. However, no tools or studies could timely and quantitatively tell us how decentralized in terms of mining power the PoW blockchain system is. in this article, we design a decentralization index, called Endex, to efficiently quantify the degree of mining power decentralization and timely capture the abnormal phenomena of PoW blockchain systems. We then validate the effectiveness and accuracy of Endex over real mining datasets of four popular blockchain systems. The empirical study demonstrates that Endex can well capture the changes in mining power for these blockchain systems and detect in time the abnormal incidents such as double spending attack and hard fork.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has created an opportunity to rethink and rectify the existing loopholes in the global food production system The continuing “illegal” attacks of human being over the environment for decades has taken a turn back in the form of a novel pandemic virus This is not the first time we are facing a setback due to our invalid and primitive food habits that has been followed by certain sections of the society in different parts of the globe Considering the current scenario, it is necessary to update our food habits and food culture as it is the need of the time Although several studies have proven the persistence of viral particles on the surface materials that are routinely used in the food production systems Further studies are required to explore the possibilities of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via food and food packaging materials Although the pandemic has created a bit of awareness among the people, further campaigning is required to achieve an effective food safety system The strict implementation of FSMS (food safety management systems) such as GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices), HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) is advised for improving the food supply chain Besides these, proper cleaning and sanitization, GHP (Good Hygienic Practices), and efficient packaging systems are also necessary to generate wholesome food from farm to fork © 2020, Editorial board of Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences All rights reserved

Japanese Gulch Village was home to a community of Japanese millworkers and their families between 1903 and 1930. During this time, village residents pursued a wide range of options for acquiring goods. This article uses a consumption framework and archaeological Japanese ceramics to explore the ways that village residents negotiated among purchasing options to increase communal wellbeing and express individual agency. As a case study, Japanese Gulch Village highlights the complexities of consumption in transpacific contexts and the importance of drawing connections between the Japanese ceramics industry and its Japanese diaspora customers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Large networks of queueing systems model important real-world systems such as MapReduce clusters, web-servers, hospitals, call centers and airport passenger terminals. To model such systems accurately, we must infer queueing parameters from data. Unfortunately, for many queueing networks there is no clear way to proceed with parameter inference from data. Approximate Bayesian computation could offer a straightforward way to infer parameters for such networks if we could simulate data quickly enough. We present a computationally efficient method for simulating from a very general set of queueing networks with the R package queuecomputer. Remarkable speedups of more than 2 orders of magnitude are observed relative to the popular DES packages simmer and simpy. We replicate output from these packages to validate the package. The package is modular and integrates well with the popular R package dplyr. Complex queueing networks with tandem, parallel and fork/join topologies can easily be built with these two packages together. We show how to use this package with two examples: a call center and an airport terminal., Updated for queuecomputer_0.8.3

Internet of things (IoT) is a way of connecting anything with anyone at any time and place. IoT offers an advanced futuristic processing environment for farms, industries, warehouses, and supply chains. IoT-based key technologies include low-power wide area networks (LPWANs), ZigBee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, radio-frequency identification (RFID), etc. IoT has assisted the food sector in streamlining operations and providing better solutions from farm to fork. This chapter discusses big data, artificial technologies, blockchain technologies, and their role in ensuring food quality, efficient production, and supply chains, sound storage facilities, and smart packaging solutions. The chapter further discusses the future prospects such as the Internet of nano things, industry 4.0, green IoT, and deep learning. IoT's role has also been highlighted in providing direct or indirect technical solutions to most of the professionals and stakeholders during the production and processing stages of the food supply chain.

The Farm-to-Fork strategy, launched in May 2020, is the first attempt at a European-wide approach to food systems of this scale. The strategy sets ambitious targets and aims to create a ‘fair, healthy, and environmentally friendly food system’. Yet, within the bounds of its own regulatory and legislative context (including the Green Deal, the Circular Economy Action Plan and the new Biodiversity Strategy 2030), the strategy falls short of recognising key links in and between the food system. This review posits that the strategy and its targets do not adequately consider the importance of transforming agricultural practices for environmental outcomes; of agricultural practices for nutrition outcomes; nor the links between how we value nutrition along the supply chain, from farm to fork

The reintroduction of Equus caballus (horse) into North America during European-American contact altered Native American life on the Plains. The horse influenced a variety of cultural practices, in...

Young consumers value healthy foods and are willing to pay for them. As young consumers transition into higher paying jobs, their influence in the food system will compound. This study used a convenient sample of university students to understand how young consumers value attributes for fresh produce. With the proliferation of food labels, this study takes a step back to identify four consumer segments with regard to their values on explicit (i.e., organic and local) and implicit (i.e., small-family farms and sustainable) attributes: committed, farm-to-fork, unattached, and skeptic. The study also investigated the impact of personal motives on cluster membership. Although committed consumers placed high value on all attributes, farm-to-fork consumers valued local, sustainable, and small-family farm systems, but did not have positive valuation toward organic. Our findings suggest increasing access to local foods and farmers market patronage is likely to increase consumers’ valuing foods with local, organic, sustainable, and small-family farms attributes.

Food tourism events have become a large focus for economic development in rural and regional areas. Tourism has been a key driver of food festivals, where they play a role in attracting visitors and generating expenditure in the local economy. While these types of events are generally badged as enhancing sustainability, the criteria and tests for these claims are rarely specified. In this paper we explore how the sustainability of food tourism festivals can be considered and evaluated in economic terms, using a case study of the Truffle Festival — Canberra Region in Australia. A zonal travel cost analysis was conducted to measure consumer surplus, providing potential inputs into individual economic welfare and public good evaluation tests. The results estimate that the event generated consumer surpluses of $754/person and more than $8 million overall in 2016, highlighting the importance of artisan food experiences for tourism events. To further implement food experiences as an economic development strategy further consideration and linkages with agriculture, environment and community are required to ensure they are sustainable.

Author(s): Turner, Edward A. L. | Abstract: A large dataset is used to map the historical spread of iron use across Afro-Eurasia using a number of different methodologies. Traditional dates for the beginning of what archaeologists call the “Iron Age” in each region are unacceptable because they are imprecise and the dates themselves are reached on the basis of different methodologies. The author maps the spread of iron with a primary focus on its acceleration in use across many object classes. Three additional maps are also provided: the first critical use of iron for cutting tool or weapon, the spread of iron helmets and the spread of high-quality steel swords. While many of the maps are at the experimental stage, the results give a unique insight into technological change across history and can be used to test predictive models of historical change. As the mapping of the rise and spread of a technology has rarely or never been done before on this scale, the maps, the methodologies used, and the problems encountered provide a fork in the scholarship for more accurate and detailed successors.

Fast increase of fish aquaculture production to meet consumer demands is accompanied by important ecological concerns such as disease outbreaks. Meanwhile, food waste is an important concern with fish products since they are highly perishable. Recent aquaculture and fish product microbiology, and more recently, microbiota research, paved the way to a highly integrated approach to understand complex relationships between host fish, product and their associated microbial communities at health/disease and preservation/spoilage frontiers. Microbial manipulation strategies are increasingly validated as promising tools either to replace or to complement traditional veterinary and preservation methods. In this review, we consider evolutionary forces driving fish microbiota assembly, in particular the changes in the selective context along the production chain. We summarize the current knowledge concerning factors governing assembly and dynamics of fish hosts and food microbial communities. Then, we discuss the current microbial community manipulation strategies from an evolutionary standpoint to provide a perspective on the potential for risks, conflict and opportunities. Finally, we conclude that to harness evolutionary forces in the development of sustainable microbiota manipulation applications in the fish industry, an integrated knowledge of the controlling abiotic and especially biotic factors is required.

Background: This study determined the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility profiles of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from selected critical control points (farm, transport, abattoir, and retai...

The slot canyons of southern Utah have become popular destinations for hikers, climbers, and photographers. For most of these canyons, the geology is simple: sediment carried by flowing water abrades a thick, homogeneous sandstone. As time passes, the rate of down- cutting is rapid compared to the rate of cliff retreat. End of story. The strange abundance and configuration of the slot canyons along Dry Fork Coyote (a tributary of Coyote Gulch and the Escalante River), however, have a convoluted geologic history that is climate-driven and involves canyon cutting, canyon filling, and more canyon cutting.