Causality, Input Price Variability, and Structural Changes in the U.S. Livestock- Meat Industry

Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

Enhancement of Human Cheek Skin Texture by Acacia Nilotica Bark Extract Cream

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of a topical application of a cream formulation containing extract of Acacia nilotica bark extract on human cheek skin texture.Methods: A cream containing 3 % concentrated extract of Acacia nilotica bark was developed by entrapping the extract in the internal aqueous phase of the cream having strong antioxidant activity. A similar cream but without the extract was also prepared. Each of the formulations was applied to the cheeks of 11 human volunteers for a period of three months. Both cream formulations were assessed, using Visioscan VC 98, for various parameters including texture parameters (energy, contrast and variance) as well as for skin roughness (Ser), skin scaliness (SEsc), skin smoothness (SEsm) and skin wrinkles (Sew).Results: Unlike the cream base, the extract cream exhibited steady, significant improvement in skin parameters over the 3-month period of application. Images showed visible improvement of the overall skin appearance and reduction of fine lines by the extract cream. Furthermore, skin texture (variance and contrast) and SELS (SEr, SEsc, SEsm and SEw) parameters showed significant decline (p < 0.05) and the texture parameter of energy showed significant increase (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the cream containing 3 % Acacia nilotica bark extract possesses anti-aging effect and improves skin surface appearance..Keywords: Acacia nilotica, Cream, Visioscan VC 98, Skin texture, Anti-agin

Effects of city wastewater on the characteristics of wheat with varying doses of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium

Rapidly growing India is not only facing the problem of water scarcity, but also the mismanagement of tremendous amount of wastewater produced every day. Moreover, food sufficiency has also become challenge to feed the ever increasing population leading to excessive use of chemical fertilizers in agriculture. Therefore, the study was carried out in Aligarh City of India on wheat crop (Triticum aestivum L.) var. PBW 343 to check the suitability of city wastewater as a source of irrigation water as well as source of nutrients. Three pot experiments were conducted in the winter season of 2006-2008. In Experiment I, nitrogen (N) at the rate of 0, 40, 80, 120 kg ha-1; Experiment II, phosphorus (P) at the rate of 0, 20, 40, 60 kg ha-1; and in Experiment III, potassium (K) at the rate of 0, 15, 30 and 45 kg ha-1 were applied along with the basal doses under the three levels of water; ground water (GW), 50% wastewater (WW) and 100% WW. Lower fertilizer doses, 80 kg N ha-1, 40 kg P ha-1 and 30 kg K ha-1 together with 100%WW proved optimum in three experiments, respectively, enhancing tiller number plant-1, fresh mass plant-1, dry matter plant-1, leaf area, total chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate (PN), nitrate reductase (NR) activity, yield parameters (ear number plant-1, length ear-1, spikelet number ear-1, grain number ear-1 and 1000 grain weight), ultimately resulting in improved grain yield as well as grain carbohydrate and protein content as compared to control as well as higher fertilizer doses. Thus wastewater application not only provided stable supply of water, but also saved fresh water and contributed to environmental security. Moreover, it reduced the use of chemical fertilizers without showing any adverse effect on the yield and quality of wheat. Physicochemical characteristics of wastewater along with microbiological and some heavy metals were analyzed, and most of them were within the permissible limits set by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Interpersonal Problems in Arranged and Love Marriages

Marriage is often considered to be the cornerstone of a healthy social structure. The stronger the quality of a marriage, the healthier the social structure of society. The present research investigated the interpersonal problems among arranged and love marriages. The sample of this study comprised 100 couples who had married for love, and 100 couples whose marriage had been arranged by their families. The age range of participants was 20 to 40 years (Mean = 28, SD = 5.2). Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-32 (Horowitz, Alden, Wiggins, & Pincus, 2000) was administered to assess the nature of interpersonal problems experienced by the sample. The findings of present study revealed that the couples whose marriage was arranged by their families were more domineering and vindictive, compared to couples who had married for love.. However, couples in love marriages were more socially inhibited, non-assertive and intrusive when compared to arranged marriage couples. This research has important implications for social psychologists, marital counsellors and families

Generalized projections on general Banach spaces

In general Banach spaces, the metric projection map lacks the powerful properties it enjoys in Hilbert spaces. There are a few generalized projections that have been proposed in order to resolve many of the deficiencies of the metric projection. However, such notions are predominantly studied in Banach spaces with rich topological structures, such as uniformly convex Banach spaces. In this paper, we investigate two notions of generalized projection in general Banach spaces. Various examples are provided to demonstrate the proposed notions and the loss of structure in the generalized projections after migrating from specially structured Banach spaces to general Banach spaces. Connections between the generalized projection and the metric projection are thoroughly explored.Comment: 31 page

Inverse Problems for Nonlinear Quasi-Variational Inequalities with an Application to Implicit Obstacle Problems of pp-Laplacian Type

The primary objective of this research is to investigate an inverse problem of parameter identification in nonlinear mixed quasi-variational inequalities posed in a Banach space setting. By using a fixed point theorem, we explore properties of the solution set of the considered quasi-variational inequality. We develop a general regularization framework to give an existence result for the inverse problem. Finally, we apply the abstract framework to a concrete inverse problem of identifying the material parameter in an implicit obstacle problem given by an operator of $p$-Laplacian type

Comments on Percrocuta carnifex (Carnivora, Percrocutidae) based on new fossil material from the Nagri Formation (Middle Siwaliks) of Hasnot, Pakistan

New dentary material of Percrocuta carnifex (Pilgrim, 1913) from the Nagri Formation ofHasnot, Pakistan, is described. Specimens of this species from the Siwalik continental deposits described by previous authors are discussed in detail. In addition to the taxonomic description of the new material, the occurrence and stratigraphic position of this species within the Siwalik Hills are re-evaluated. Except for the holotype, the specimens assigned to this species are very fragmentary. The newly discovered material, a right mandibular ramus containing teeth, is the best preserved specimen found to date. The comparative analysis, based on tooth morphology and dimensions of previously reported specimens and of the specimen studied here, suggests that this species is restricted to the Chinji and Nagri formations. Finally, the dental morphological features of the studied specimen and those of other species of Percrocuta are compared, and then the phylogenetic relationship between these species is discussed. The described specimen is thus important for the taxonomic, stratigraphic and phylogenetic knowledge of P. carnifex from the Siwaliks