Pork Value Chains: A Comparison of Catalonia, Spain and Manitoba, Canada

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comparative analysis of pork value chains in Catalonia, Spain and Manitoba, Canada. Intensive hog production models were implemented in Catalonia in the 1960s as a result of agriculture crises and fostered by feedstuffs factories. The expansion of the hog sector in Manitoba is more recent (in the 1990s) and brought about in large part by the opening of the Maple Leaf Meats processing plant in Brandon, Manitoba. This plant is capable of processing 90,000 hogs per week. Both hog production models ‐ the ‘older’ one in Catalonia (Spain) and the ‘newer’ in Manitoba‐ have been, until recently, examples of success. Inventories and production have been increasing substantially and both regions have proven to have great export potential. Recently, however, tensions have been developing with the hog production models of both regions, particularly as they relate to environmental concerns. The purpose of the paper is to compare the value chains with respect to their origins (e.g. supply a growing demand for pork, ensure farm profitability) and present states (e.g. environmental concerns, profitability). Keywords: pork value chain, hog farms, agri‐food studies. JEL: Q10, Q13, O57

Environmental Regulations in the Hog Farming Sector: A Comparison of Catalonia, Spain and Manitoba, Canada

This article examines the governance structures for managing the location and operation of Intensive Livestock Farming Operations (ILFOs). The article focuses on the hog sector and compares two very different jurisdictions: the Province of Manitoba, Canada and the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain. Both are regions that have witnessed recent increases in hog production, including increasing spatial concentration of ILFOs and increasing size of those ILFOs. Policy has both fostered and sought to manage the increased production. Following a brief background description of restructuring, the changing legislative framework for Manitoba and Catalonia are described. Keywords: environmental regulations, hog farms, manure management, animal feeding operations. JEL: Q15, Q58, R52, O57

Canvi tecnològic i desenvolupament econòmic durant la segona revolució industrial: la transferència tecnològica del sector tèxtil entre Anglaterra i Catalunya

Projecte de recerca elaborat a partir d’una estada a la University of Sussex, Gran Bretanya, entre març i juliol del 2008. L’estada ha estat centrada en obtenir fonts documentals primàries, per avançar en el projecte d’investigació sobre la transferència de tecnologia entre Catalunya i Anglaterra durant la Segona Revolució Industrial. Això ha estat possible gràcies a la consulta de les patents britàniques (Business & Intellectual Property Centre at the British Library). Així mateix, l’obtenció dels recursos documentals especialitzats de diverses biblioteques de referència situades al campus de la University of Sussex (Keith Pavitt Libray (SPRU), Library of Sussex, British Library of Development Studies) i a Ruddignton Framework Knitters’ Library a Nottingham han estat fonamentals, tal i com es pot veure en la relació detallada que es presenta.

Intra-Party Democracy and middle-level elites in Spain

The gradual implementation of new, more participatory and thus, more democratic mechanisms of intra-party decision-making has been pointed out by several party politics scholars. This phenomenon has been studied as the party elite’s reactions to a widespread trend in Western countries: the party membership decline. Spain is still a deviant case in both the party membership decline trend, and with regards to the introduction of more participatory and democratic decision-making mechanisms. However, the paper point out that support for intra-party democracy is quite widespread within Spanish party middle elites (party delegates). That is why the aim of this paper is to explain which factors are underpinning the supports for intra-party democracy amongst Spanish party delegates. After conducting a multivariate analysis, the results show that ideology, the involvement in intra-party experiences and the degree of pragmatism, amongst others, are factors strongly associated with the support for intraparty democracy in Spanish party middle elites.

A methodology to event reconstruction from trace images

The widespread use of digital imaging devices for surveillance (CCTV) and entertainment (e.g., mobile phones, compact cameras) has increased the number of images recorded and opportunities to consider the images as traces or documentation of criminal activity. The forensic science literature focuses almost exclusively on technical issues and evidence assessment [1]. Earlier steps in the investigation phase have been neglected and must be considered. This article is the first comprehensive description of a methodology to event reconstruction using images. This formal methodology was conceptualised from practical experiences and applied to different contexts and case studies to test and refine it. Based on this practical analysis, we propose a systematic approach that includes a preliminary analysis followed by four main steps. These steps form a sequence for which the results from each step rely on the previous step. However, the methodology is not linear, but it is a cyclic, iterative progression for obtaining knowledge about an event. The preliminary analysis is a pre-evaluation phase, wherein potential relevance of images is assessed. In the first step, images are detected and collected as pertinent trace material; the second step involves organising and assessing their quality and informative potential. The third step includes reconstruction using clues about space, time and actions. Finally, in the fourth step, the images are evaluated and selected as evidence. These steps are described and illustrated using practical examples. The paper outlines how images elicit information about persons, objects, space, time and actions throughout the investigation process to reconstruct an event step by step. We emphasise the hypothetico-deductive reasoning framework, which demonstrates the contribution of images to generating, refining or eliminating propositions or hypotheses. This methodology provides a sound basis for extending image use as evidence and, more generally, as clues in investigation and crime reconstruction processes.

What underlies localization and urbanization economies? Evidence from the location of new firms

The objective of this paper is to analyze why firms in some industries locate in specialized economic environments (localization economies) while those in other industries prefer large city locations (urbanization economies). To this end, we examine the location decisions of new manufacturing firms in Spain at the city level and for narrowly defined industries (three-digit level). First, we estimate firm location models to obtain estimates that reflect the importance of localization and urbanization economies in each industry. In a second step, we regress these estimates on industry characteristics that are related to the potential importance of three agglomeration theories, namely, labor market pooling, input sharing and knowledge spillovers. Localization effects are low and urbanization effects are high in knowledge-intensive industries, suggesting that firms (partly) locate in large cities to reap the benefits of inter-industry knowledge spillovers. We also find that localization effects are high in industries that employ workers whose skills are more industry-specific, suggesting that industries (partly) locate in specialized economic environments to share a common pool of specialized workers.

Iterative reconstruction methods in two different MDCT scanners: Physical metrics and 4-alternative forced-choice detectability experiments - A phantom approach.

This paper characterizes and evaluates the potential of three commercial CT iterative reconstruction methods (ASIR?, VEO? and iDose(4 ()?())) for dose reduction and image quality improvement. We measured CT number accuracy, standard deviation (SD), noise power spectrum (NPS) and modulation transfer function (MTF) metrics on Catphan phantom images while five human observers performed four-alternative forced-choice (4AFC) experiments to assess the detectability of low- and high-contrast objects embedded in two pediatric phantoms. Results show that 40% and 100% ASIR as well as iDose(4) levels 3 and 6 do not affect CT number and strongly decrease image noise with relative SD constant in a large range of dose. However, while ASIR produces a shift of the NPS curve apex, less change is observed with iDose(4) with respect to FBP methods. With second-generation iterative reconstruction VEO, physical metrics are even further improved: SD decreased to 70.4% at 0.5 mGy and spatial resolution improved to 37% (MTF(50%)). 4AFC experiments show that few improvements in detection task performance are obtained with ASIR and iDose(4), whereas VEO makes excellent detections possible even at an ultra-low-dose (0.3 mGy), leading to a potential dose reduction of a factor 3 to 7 (67%-86%). In spite of its longer reconstruction time and the fact that clinical studies are still required to complete these results, VEO clearly confirms the tremendous potential of iterative reconstructions for dose reduction in CT and appears to be an important tool for patient follow-up, especially for pediatric patients where cumulative lifetime dose still remains high.

Sunk costs, extensive R&D subsidies and permanent inducement effects

We study whether there is scope for using subsidies to smooth out barriers to R&D performance and expand the share of R&D firms in Spain. We consider a dynamic model with sunk entry costs in which firms’ optimal participation strategy is defined in terms of two subsidy thresholds that characterise entry and continuation. We compute the subsidy thresholds from the estimates of a dynamic panel data type-2 tobit model for an unbalanced panel of about 2,000 Spanish manufacturing firms. The results suggest that “extensive” subsidies are a feasible and efficient tool for expanding the share of R&D firms.

Decomposing the Tourist’s Satisfaction Gap: The Role of Expectations and Cognitions

In this paper we present an empirical methodology that allows the tourist’s satisfaction gap between two destinations to be decomposed into two components. One explains the role of differences in observed characteristics of the tourists and the stay (endowments). The other captures the share of the gap due to differences in the utility that tourists derive from those characteristics (cognitive). To illustrate the use of this method, we employ data coming from a sample of tourists visiting two touristic enclaves in Tarragona (Spain). Our results indicate that the cognitive component explains most of the satisfaction gap. Keywords: Satisfaction, expectations, cognition, touristic destination

The v-y latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap in the reconstruction of large posterior chest wall defects.

Posterior chest wall defects are frequently encountered after excision of tumors as a result of trauma or in the setting of wound dehiscence after spine surgery. Various pedicled fasciocutaneous and musculocutaneous flaps have been described for the coverage of these wounds. The advent of perforator flaps has allowed the preservation of muscle function but their bulk is limited. Musculocutaneous flaps remain widely employed. The trapezius and the latissimus dorsi (LD) flaps have been used extensively for upper and middle posterior chest wounds, respectively. Their bulk allows for obliteration of the dead space in deep wounds. The average width of the LD skin paddle is limited to 10-12 cm if closure of the donor site is expected without skin grafting. In 2001 a modification of the skin paddle design was introduced in order to allow large flaps to be raised without requiring grafts or flaps for donor site closure. This V-Y pattern allows coverage of large anterior chest defects after mastectomy. We have modified this flap to allow its use for posterior chest wall defects. We describe the flap design, its indications, and its limitations with three clinical cases. Level of Evidence V This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors at www.springer.com/00266 .

Enterocytozoon bieneusi (microsporidia) in faecal samples from domestic animals from Galicia, Spain

In this survey we examined 87 domestic animal stool samples in order to detect the possible presence of microsporidia in animals in close contact with humans in Galicia (NW, Spain). The detection of Enterocytozoon bieneusi spores was confirmed in faecal samples from two dogs and one goat by polymerase chain reaction. None of the positive samples for microsporidia in the staining method were amplified with species-specific primers for Encephalitozoon intestinalis, E. hellem and E. cuniculi. Four rabbits faecal samples reacted with anti-E. cuniculi serum. Our results could indicate the importance of domestic animals as zoonotic reservoirs of microsporidial human infections.

How Low Can We Go in Contrast-Enhanced CT Imaging of the Chest?: A Dose-Finding Cadaver Study Using the Model-based Iterative Image Reconstruction Approach.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Dose reduction may compromise patients because of a decrease of image quality. Therefore, the amount of dose savings in new dose-reduction techniques needs to be thoroughly assessed. To avoid repeated studies in one patient, chest computed tomography (CT) scans with different dose levels were performed in corpses comparing model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) as a tool to enhance image quality with current standard full-dose imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-five human cadavers were scanned (CT HD750) after contrast medium injection at different, decreasing dose levels D0-D5 and respectively reconstructed with MBIR. The data at full-dose level, D0, have been additionally reconstructed with standard adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR), which represented the full-dose baseline reference (FDBR). Two radiologists independently compared image quality (IQ) in 3-mm multiplanar reformations for soft-tissue evaluation of D0-D5 to FDBR (-2, diagnostically inferior; -1, inferior; 0, equal; +1, superior; and +2, diagnostically superior). For statistical analysis, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and the Wilcoxon test were used. RESULTS: Mean CT dose index values (mGy) were as follows: D0/FDBR = 10.1 ± 1.7, D1 = 6.2 ± 2.8, D2 = 5.7 ± 2.7, D3 = 3.5 ± 1.9, D4 = 1.8 ± 1.0, and D5 = 0.9 ± 0.5. Mean IQ ratings were as follows: D0 = +1.8 ± 0.2, D1 = +1.5 ± 0.3, D2 = +1.1 ± 0.3, D3 = +0.7 ± 0.5, D4 = +0.1 ± 0.5, and D5 = -1.2 ± 0.5. All values demonstrated a significant difference to baseline (P < .05), except mean IQ for D4 (P = .61). ICC was 0.91. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to ASIR, MBIR allowed for a significant dose reduction of 82% without impairment of IQ. This resulted in a calculated mean effective dose below 1 mSv.