Consumer Demand for Food Commodities in the United States with Projections for 1980

This study analyzes the demand for food commodities in the United States in the postwar period using both time-series and cross-section data. Income-consumption relationships are based on data from 1955 and 1965 USDA household food consumption surveys. The analysis co cross section data emphasized: (1) effects of grouping observations, (2) choice between expenditures are quantities as the dependent variable, (3) effects of household size on income-consumption relationships, (4) shifts in the regression coefficients (intercepts and income elasticities) between 1955 and 1965, and (5) regional variations in the income-consumption relationships. A demand interrelationship matrix was developed for 49 commodities or commodity groups at the retail level. Commodities were classified into 15 separable groups and all direct and cross elasticities for commodities within a group were estimated directly. The cross elasticities corresponding to commodities outside a given group were estimated through assumptions of cardinal separability. The synthesis of demand interrelationships was achieved by the use of restrictions on demand equations for an individual consumer as suggested by Frisch (1959) and quantified by Brandow (1961). Consideration also was given to the measurement of time trends on consumption. Marketing margins were analyzed and demand interrelationships were developed at the farm level. Projections of 1980 consumption per capita were developed for individual commodities and group aggregates. These projections are based on a specification of constant real prices, exogenous projections of real income per capita, and continuation of past time trends for certain commodities.Demand and Price Analysis, Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

Eight weeks of different resistance training modes on big muscle hypertrophy of adolescents

To investigate the eight weeks of different resistance training modes on big muscle hypertrophy of adolescents. Eighty physically active and interested students (N=80) were randomly selected as subjects and their age ranged between 14 and 17 years. The selected subjects were randomly divided into four equal groups with twenty subjects each (N=20). Group I was engaged with progressive resistance training (PRG), group II was given fluctuated resistance training (FRG), group III was given regressive resistance training (RRG) and group IV acted as control (CG). The experimental groups underwent their respective experimental programme for eight weeks 3 days per week and a session on each day. Control group was not involved with any specific training in addition to their activities. Thigh girth was taken as variable for this investigation. The pre and post test were conducted one day before and after the experimental treatment. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyse the collected data. Scheffe’s test was applied as a post hoe test to determine which of the paired mean difference significantly. The results revealed that progressive, fluctuated and regressive resistance training (PRG, FRG and RRG) produced significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) on explosive power as compared to control group (CG). There was also significant difference (P≤ 0.05) between progressive and regressive resistance training groups (PRG & RRG) and fluctuated and regressive resistance training groups (FRG & RRG)

Progressive, Fluctuated and Regressive Resistance Training and its Impact on Lower Extremity Strength

The purpose of the study was to analyze the progressive, fluctuated and regressive resistance training and its impact on lower extremity strength. Eighty physically active and interested high school students (N=80) were randomly selected as subjects and their age ranged between 14 and 18 years. The selected subjects were randomly assigned into four equal groups with twenty subjects each (N=20). Group I was involved with progressive resistance training (PRG), group II was given fluctuated resistance training (FRG), group III was given regressive resistance training (RRG) and group IV acted as control (CG). The experimental groups underwent their respective experimental treatment for eight weeks 3 days per week and a session on each day. Control group was not exposed to any specific training apart from their curriculum. Leg strength was taken as variable for this investigation. The pre and post test were conducted one day before and after the experimental treatment. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the collected data. Scheffe’s test was used as a post hoe test to determine which of the paired mean difference significantly. The results revealed that progressive and fluctuated resistance training (PRG and FRG) produced significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) on leg strength as compared to control group (CG). However regressive resistance training (RRG) produced insignificant difference (P ≥ 0.05) on leg strength as compared to control group (CG)

Studies on Monitoring and Tracking Genetic Resources: An Executive Summary

The principles underlying fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from the utilization of genetic resources are set out in Article 15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, which stipulate that access to genetic resources is subject to the prior informed consent of the country where such resources are located and to mutually agreed terms regarding the sharing of benefits that could be derived from such access. One issue of particular concern for provider countries is how to monitor and track genetic resources once they have left the provider country and enter into use in a variety of forms. This report was commissioned to provide a detailed review of advances in DNA sequencing technologies, as those methods apply to identification of genetic resources, and the use of globally unique persistent identifiers for persistently linking to data and other forms of digital documentation that is linked to individual genetic resources. While the report was written for an audience with a mixture of technical, legal, and policy backgrounds it is relevant to the genomics community as it is an example of downstream application of genomics information

The spinorial geometry of supersymmetric heterotic string backgrounds

We determine the geometry of supersymmetric heterotic string backgrounds for which all parallel spinors with respect to the connection $\hat\nabla$ with torsion $H$, the NS$\otimes$NS three-form field strength, are Killing. We find that there are two classes of such backgrounds, the null and the timelike. The Killing spinors of the null backgrounds have stability subgroups K\ltimes\bR^8 in $Spin(9,1)$, for $K=Spin(7)$, SU(4), $Sp(2)$, $SU(2)\times SU(2)$ and $\{1\}$, and the Killing spinors of the timelike backgrounds have stability subgroups $G_2$, SU(3), SU(2) and $\{1\}$. The former admit a single null $\hat\nabla$-parallel vector field while the latter admit a timelike and two, three, five and nine spacelike $\hat\nabla$-parallel vector fields, respectively. The spacetime of the null backgrounds is a Lorentzian two-parameter family of Riemannian manifolds $B$ with skew-symmetric torsion. If the rotation of the null vector field vanishes, the holonomy of the connection with torsion of $B$ is contained in $K$. The spacetime of time-like backgrounds is a principal bundle $P$ with fibre a Lorentzian Lie group and base space a suitable Riemannian manifold with skew-symmetric torsion. The principal bundle is equipped with a connection $\lambda$ which determines the non-horizontal part of the spacetime metric and of $H$. The curvature of $\lambda$ takes values in an appropriate Lie algebra constructed from that of $K$. In addition $dH$ has only horizontal components and contains the Pontrjagin class of $P$. We have computed in all cases the Killing spinor bilinears, expressed the fluxes in terms of the geometry and determine the field equations that are implied by the Killing spinor equations.Comment: 73pp. v2: minor change

Brand origin identification by consumers: A classification perspective

The authors apply a classification perspective to (1) examine the extent to which consumers can identify the correct country of origin (COO) of different brands of consumer durables, (2) investigate the factors facilitating/hindering correct COO identification, and (3) trace the implications of correct/incorrect COO identification on brand evaluation. The results from a U.K. sample indicate that consumers' ability to classify brands correctly according to their origin is limited and also reveal substantial differences in the classification of different brands to their COO. Moreover, the key antecedent of correct COO identification is consumer ethnocentrism, with sociodemographics (e.g., age, gender) also playing a role. Finally, the authors find that though there are differences in brand evaluations depending on whether the correct COO was identified, such differences are not observed for all brands investigated

The Effect of Valproic Acid on Mesenchymal Pluripotent Cell Proliferation and Differentiation in Extracellular Matrices

Valproic acid (2-n-propylpentanoic acid, VPA) is a widely used antiepileptic and anticonvulsant drug. Previous studies have reported that VPA effects osteogenesis in vivo and in vitro, yet it remains unclear whether VPA promotes cell differentiation of osteoblasts derived from mesenchymal cells. The purpose of this study was to clarify the effect of VPA on undifferentiated pluripotent mesenchymal cell proliferation and differentiation into osteoblasts while analyzing the impact of the absence or presence of extracellular matrices (ECMs). Mouse mesenchymal cells were cultured on non-coated plastic, type I collagen-coated, and fibronectin-coated plates in the absence or presence of VPA. A cell proliferation assay was performed in which modified formazan dye content was analyzed and proliferation nuclear antigen (PCNA)-positive cells were counted at various concentrations of VPA. A high concentration of VPA did not clearly alter cell morphology, but large numbers of stress fibers were observed in these cells and the cell proliferation ratio was decreased with positive PCNA counts. In the presence of matrices, the cell proliferation ratio decreased at low VPA concentrations compared with the ratio obtained in the absence of these ECMs. On the other hand, VPA promoted osteoblastic differentiation in the presence of type I collagen. These findings indicate that for undifferentiated mesenchymal cells, VPA promotes a decrease in the cell proliferation rate in the presence of ECMs and promotes osteoblastic differentiation, both of which could provide insight into additional mechanisms of osteoblastic cell differentiation caused by VPA

X-ray Spectroscopy and Variability of AGN Detected in the 2 Ms Chandra Deep Field-North Survey

We investigate the nature of the faint X-ray source population through X-ray spectroscopy and variability analyses of 136 AGN detected in the 2 Ms Chandra Deep Field-North survey with > 200 background-subtracted 0.5-8.0 keV counts [F(0.5-8.0 keV)=(1.4-200)e-15 erg cm^{-2} s^{-1}]. Our preliminary spectral analyses yield median spectral parameters of Gamma=1.61 and intrinsic N_H=6.2e21 cm^{-2} (z=1 assumed when no redshift available) when the AGN spectra are fitted with a simple absorbed power-law model. However, considerable spectral complexity is apparent (e.g., reflection, partial covering) and must be taken into account to model the data accurately. Moreover, the choice of spectral model (i.e., free vs. fixed photon index) has a pronounced effect on the derived N_H distribution and, to a lesser extent, the X-ray luminosity distribution. Ten of the 136 AGN (~7%) show significant Fe Kalpha emission-line features with equivalent widths in the range 0.1-1.3 keV. Two of these emission-line AGN could potentially be Compton thick (i.e., Gamma < 1.0 and large Fe Kalpha equivalent width). Finally, we find that 81 (~60%) of the 136 AGN show signs of variability, and that this fraction increases significantly (~80-90%) when better photon statistics are available.Comment: Submitted to Advances in Space Research for New X-ray Results from Clusters of Galaxies and Black Holes (Oct 2002; Houston, TX), eds. C. Done, E.M. Puchnarewicz, M.J. Ward. Requires cospar.sty (6 pgs, 10 figs

New constraints on the evolution of the stellar-to-dark matter connection : a combined analysis of galaxy-galaxy lensing, clustering, and stellar mass functions from z = 0.2 to z = 1

Using data from the COSMOS survey, we perform the first joint analysis of galaxy-galaxy weak lensing, galaxy spatial clustering, and galaxy number densities. Carefully accounting for sample variance and for scatter between stellar and halo mass, we model all three observables simultaneously using a novel and self-consistent theoretical framework. Our results provide strong constraints on the shape and redshift evolution of the stellar-to-halo mass relation (SHMR) from z = 0.2 to z = 1. At low stellar mass, we find that halo mass scales as Mh vpropM 0.46 * and that this scaling does not evolve significantly with redshift from z = 0.2 to z = 1. The slope of the SHMR rises sharply at M * > 5 × 1010 M ☉ and as a consequence, the stellar mass of a central galaxy becomes a poor tracer of its parent halo mass. We show that the dark-to-stellar ratio, Mh /M *, varies from low to high masses, reaching a minimum of Mh /M * ~ 27 at M * = 4.5 × 1010 M ☉ and Mh = 1.2 × 1012 M ☉. This minimum is important for models of galaxy formation because it marks the mass at which the accumulated stellar growth of the central galaxy has been the most efficient. We describe the SHMR at this minimum in terms of the "pivot stellar mass," M piv *, the "pivot halo mass," M piv h , and the "pivot ratio," (Mh /M *)piv. Thanks to a homogeneous analysis of a single data set spanning a large redshift range, we report the first detection of mass downsizing trends for both M piv h and M piv *. The pivot stellar mass decreases from M piv * = 5.75 ± 0.13 × 1010 M ☉ at z = 0.88 to M piv * = 3.55 ± 0.17 × 1010 M ☉ at z = 0.37. Intriguingly, however, the corresponding evolution of M piv h leaves the pivot ratio constant with redshift at (Mh /M *)piv ~ 27. We use simple arguments to show how this result raises the possibility that star formation quenching may ultimately depend on Mh /M * and not simply on Mh , as is commonly assumed. We show that simple models with such a dependence naturally lead to downsizing in the sites of star formation. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results in the context of popular quenching models, including disk instabilities and active galactic nucleus feedback