Teeth are often assumed to be optimal for their function, which allows researchers to derive dietary signatures from tooth shape. Most tooth shape analyses normalize for tooth size, potentially masking the relationship between relative food item size and tooth shape. Here, we model how relative food item size may affect optimal tooth cusp radius of curvature (RoC) during the fracture of brittle...

A partial-equilibrium, two-country model is developed to analyze implications from the introduction of genetically modified (GM) products. In the model, innovators hold proprietary rights, farmers are (competitive) adopters, some consumers deem GM food to be inferior in quality to traditional food, and the mere introduction of GM crops affects the costs of non-GM food (because of costly identit...

The intraspecific interference of a top-predator is incorporated into a classical mathematical model for three-trophic food chains. All chaos types known to the classical model are shown to exist for this comprehensive model. It is further demonstrated that if the top-predator reproduces at high efficiency, then all chaotic dynamics will change to a stable coexisting equilibrium, a novel proper...

Aiming at improving the efficiency of food cold-chain logistics network, shortening the logistic time of food and reducing the logistics cost of food, this study analyzes the optimization strategy and various cost factors of the supply network of food cold chain and establishes and expands a kind of logistics network model adapting to the food cold-chain logistics. We use an improved genetic al...

This paper empirically studies (i) forecasting emergency relief aid shipments and (ii) redesigning upstream humanitarian supply chains as means to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of disaster response. The United States Agency for International Development provided unique data about its emergency food aid shipments over a period of about eleven years. We find that while it is not possib...