IMPACT OF SHELTERBELTS ON GROUNDNUT PRODUCTION IN THERILANDS: A DECOMPOSITION ANALYSIS.

In areas characterized by wind erosion and shifting sand dunes, shelterbelts can increase crop yields. Groundnut yields in southern India increased with the introduction and maturation of shelterbelts. Decomposition analysis attributed most of the yield increases to the shelterbelts themselves, with a small portion attributed to input use changes. While shelterbelt cost data are scarce, the estimated value of inputs saved due to shelterbelts suggested a net benefit stream that is initially negative but increasing into the indefinite future. Public investments in shelterbelts may be the most effective means of preventing land degradation.Crop Production/Industries,

PRICE SENSITIVITIES FOR U.S. FROZEN DAIRY PRODUCTS

Price elasticities and flexibilities for a system of frozen dessert products are estimated from scanner data. Simultaneity tests reject exogeneity of conditional expenditures, but not prices or quantities, at the weekly level. Inverting the elasticity matrix to obtain flexibilities, while theoretically appropriate, appears to be empirically unacceptable.Demand and Price Analysis,

A study of event traffic during the shared manipulation of objects within a collaborative virtual environment

Event management must balance consistency and responsiveness above the requirements of shared object interaction within a Collaborative Virtual Environment (CVE) system. An understanding of the event traffic during collaborative tasks helps in the design of all aspects of a CVE system. The application, user activity, the display interface, and the network resources, all play a part in determining the characteristics of event management. Linked cubic displays lend themselves well to supporting natural social human communication between remote users. To allow users to communicate naturally and subconsciously, continuous and detailed tracking is necessary. This, however, is hard to balance with the real-time consistency constraints of general shared object interaction. This paper aims to explain these issues through a detailed examination of event traffic produced by a typical CVE, using both immersive and desktop displays, while supporting a variety of collaborative activities. We analyze event traffic during a highly collaborative task requiring various forms of shared object manipulation, including the concurrent manipulation of a shared object. Event sources are categorized and the influence of the form of object sharing as well as the display device interface are detailed. With the presented findings the paper wishes to aid the design of future systems

Implications of a pre-exercise alkalosis-mediated attenuation of HSP72 on its response to a subsequent bout of exercise

The aim of this study was to investigate if a pre-exercise alkalosis-mediated attenuation of HSP72 had any effect on the response of the same stress protein after a subsequent exercise. Seven physically active males [25.0 ± 6.5 years, 182.1 ± 6.0 cm, 74.0 ± 8.3 kg, peak aerobic power (PPO) 316 ± 46 W] performed a repeated sprint exercise (EXB1) following a dose of 0.3 g kg⁻¹ body mass of sodium bicarbonate (BICARB), or a placebo of 0.045 g kg⁻¹ body mass of sodium chloride (PLAC). Participants then completed a 90-min intermittent cycling protocol (EXB2). Monocyte expressed HSP72 was significantly attenuated after EXB1 in BICARB compared to PLAC, however, there was no difference in the HSP72 response to the subsequent EXB2 between conditions. Furthermore there was no difference between conditions for measures of oxidative stress (protein carbonyl and HSP32). These findings confirm the sensitivity of the HSP72 response to exercise-induced changes in acid–base status in vivo, but suggest that the attenuated response has little effect upon subsequent stress in the same day

Repeated supra-maximal sprint cycling with and without sodium bicarbonate supplementation induces endothelial microparticle release

Under normal homeostatic conditions, the endothelium releases microparticles (MP), which are known to increase under stressful conditions and in disease states. CD105 (endoglin) and CD106 (vascular cell adhesion molecule-1) are expressed on the surface of endothelial cells and increased expression in response to stress may be observed. A randomised-controlled double-blinded study aimed to examine the use of endothelial microparticles as a marker for the state of one’s endothelium, as well as whether maintaining acid-base homeostasis affects the release of these MP. This study tested seven healthy male volunteers, who completed a strenuous cycling protocol, with venous blood analysed for CD105+ and CD106+ MP by flow cytometry at regular intervals. Prior to each trial participants consumed either 0.3 g·kg-1 body mass of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), or 0.045 g·kg-1 body mass of sodium chloride (NaCl). A significant rise in endothelial CD105+MP and CD106+MP (p < 0.05) was observed at 90 minutes post exercise. A significant trend was shown for these MP to return to resting levels 180 minutes post exercise in both groups. No significance was found between experimental groups, suggesting that maintaining acid-base variables closer to basal levels has little effect upon the endothelial stress response for this particular exercise mode. In conclusion, strenuous exercise is accompanied by MP release and the endothelium is able to rapidly recover in healthy individuals, whilst maintaining acid-base homeostasis does not attenuate the MP release from the endothelium after exercise