Assessing economic and demographic factors that influence United States dairy demand.

Low-fat dairy products are key components of a healthy diet for all Americans. As the USDA increases its focus on nutrition and healthy eating, it is important to understand the underlying demands for dairy products, both the healthy and the less healthy ones. The consumption of fluid milk products has decreased over the last decade, whereas milk used for manufactured dairy products such as cheese, ice cream, yogurt, and butter, and for use as an ingredient in other food products, has risen. The objective of this study is to determine the effects of changes in demographic variables, retail prices, and total dairy expenditure on at-home consumption of dairy products, using purchase data from Nielsen 2007 Homescan (ACNielsen, New York, NY) data. To derive the demand elasticities for 16 products, a censored Almost Ideal Demand System model is used. Results reveal that demographic variables do have effects on the purchase of the 16 products, and own-price elasticities are 1 or greater for all 16 products for both uncompensated and compensated elasticities except 4: ice cream, refrigerated yogurt, processed cheese, and margarine. A substitution relationship exists among all fluid milk categories, natural and processed cheese, low-fat ice cream, and refrigerated yogurt, butter, and margarine.

Electric-dipole transitions between group-III acceptor states in uniaxially compressed Ge.

We study the electric-dipole transitions between group-III acceptor states in Ge under stress along the [001] crystallographic direction in the effective mass approximation. We systematically investigate the cases of zero stress, infinitesimal stress, and finite stress including the low-stress and the high-stress regions. Our results show quantitative agreement with experimental data at zero stress and at infinitesimal stress. The relative intensities of infinitesimal-stress-induced components of transitions from the 1Γ(8)(+) state to the nΓ(8)(-) states do not correlate significantly with the species of acceptors except for the transition to the 1Γ(8)(-) state. The oscillator strengths of some transitions are susceptible to the stress in the low-stress region (<0.3 kbar), and could be zero at a specific stress. The behaviours of the stress dependence of oscillator strengths for different transition lines are explained in terms of the compositions of the wavefunctions and the dipole matrix elements. In the high-stress region (> or approximately equal3 kbar), the ground state is s-like, and only the transitions to the p-like states can have non-negligible oscillator strengths. The photon absorbed (emitted) and associated with each electric-dipole transition between the s-like and the p-like states is polarized either parallel or perpendicular to the stress direction. We also calculate the absorption spectra for Ge:Ga at liquid-helium temperature. The results are in good agreement with experiment.

An analysis of at-home demand for ice cream in the United States.

Ice cream has been manufactured commercially in the United States since the middle of the 19th century. Ice cream and frozen dessert products comprise an important and relatively stable component of the United States dairy industry. As with many other dairy products, ice cream is differentiated in several dimensions. A censored translog demand system model was employed to analyze purchases of 3 ice cream product categories. The objective of this study was to determine the effect that changes in retail prices and consumer income have on at-home ice cream consumption. The analysis was based on Nielsen 2005 home scan retail data and used marital status, age, race, education, female employment status, and location in the estimations of aggregate demand elasticities. Results revealed that price and consumer income were the main determinants of demand for ice cream products. Calculated own-price elasticities indicated relatively elastic responses by consumers for all categories except for compensated bulk ice cream. All expenditure elasticities were inelastic except for bulk ice cream, and most of the ice cream categories were substitutes. Ongoing efforts to examine consumer demand for these products will assist milk producers, dairy processors and manufacturers, and dairy marketers as they face changing consumer responses to food and diet issues.

Electronic structure analysis for group III acceptors in Ge under stress considering screening effect and central-cell correction.

We study theoretically the electronic structures of various group III acceptors in Ge under [001] stress, based on the effective-mass theory with a semi-empirical impurity potential which considers the q-dependent screening and the central-cell correction. An assignment is made for inter-level transition lines which were previously ignored or incorrectly assigned. In addition, our calculation can resolve crowding levels of final states of transition lines which have not been resolved by experimental techniques. The stress effect on the electronic structure can be understood by connecting with the composition of the states. Our results show that the binding energies decrease rapidly with the stress in the low-stress region, and for even-parity states they exhibit remarkable asymmetry in the stress dependence due to the large difference between the heavy-hole and the light-hole compositions. The acceptor states asymptotically approach a pure heavy-hole or light-hole state under high stress. In the limiting case of high stress, extra degeneracy appears. The central-cell correction may cause a significant chemical shift for even-parity states of nonisocoric acceptors. We also complete the assignment of the four line components into which the B line splits under stress. The newly assigned stress-dependent transition energies show excellent agreement with the experimental data for low stress. A justification is made for the applicability of our calculation scheme to the case of high stress.

Stimulatory effect of D-ephedrine on beta3-adrenoceptors in adipose tissue of rats.

The effect of ephedrine on beta3-adrenoceptos (beta3-AR) was studied in the isolated adipose tissue of Wistar rat. Incubation with D-ephedrine (0.1-10 microM) induced a concentration-dependent decrease of uptake of [14C]-deoxy-D-glucose into white adipose tissues (WAT). The inhibitory effect of D-ephedrine was potentiated by BRL 37344, the agonist of beta3-AR and concentration-dependently inhibited by SR 59230A, the selective antagonist of beta3-AR. The action of D-ephedrine on beta3-AR was further blocked by the antibodies for beta3-AR, but not the immunoglobulin. in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, D-ephedrine increased glycerol release from the isolated brown adipose tissues (BAT) and this action was also abolished by SR 59230A at concentration sufficient to block beta3-AR. Thus, these results suggest that D-ephedrine has the ability to activate beta3-AR both in WAT and BAT of Wistar rats in vitro.

Demand for traditional medicine in Taiwan: a mixed Gaussian-Poisson model approach.

Hurdle count models are used to examine the participation and consumption decisions in Chinese medicine use. Motivated by a household production model, a second censoring mechanism is introduced into existing single-hurdle models, and the resulting specification accommodates conscientious abstainers, as well as economic non-consumers, and admits excessive zeros in the sample. In contrast to previous studies that found few predictors, empirical results based on a Taiwanese national sample suggest that Western medicine is a gross substitute to Chinese medicine, and both time price and money price play more important roles than income. Insurance, lifestyle and demographics also determine the use of Chinese medicine.

Role of alpha1A-adrenoceptor in the regulation of glucose uptake into white adipocyte of rats in vitro.

In an attempt to know the functional role of alpha1A-adrenoceptors in adipose tissue, white adipocytes (WAT) of Wistar rats were used to investigate the change of glucose uptake after pharmacological activation of alpha1-adrenoceptors. Methoxamine enhanced the uptake of radioactive glucose into isolated WAT in a concentration-dependent manner. Translocation of glucose transporter (GLUT4) from cytosol to membrane was also stimulated with methoxamine. Action of methoxamine to raise glucose uptake was abolished in WAT pre-incubated with the antagonists, both tamsulosin and WB 4101, at concentrations sufficient to block alpha1A-adrenoceptors. However, chlorethylclonidine (CEC). the antagonist of alpha1B-adrenoceptors, showed the inhibition of methoxamine-induced action only at a higher concentration. Even under the treatment with maximal concentration of CEC, methoxamine can produce action about 80% of the vehicle-treated control. The major role of alpha1A-adrenoceptors in the stimulation of glucose uptake by methoxamine can thus be considered. In the presence of specific inhibitor of phospholipase C (PLC), U73312, methoxamine-stimulated glucose uptake into WAT was reduced in a concentration-dependent manner and U73343, the negative control of U73312, did not affect the action of methoxamine. Moreover, chelerythrine and GF 109203X diminished the methoxamine-stimulated glucose uptake at a concentration sufficient to inhibit protein kinase C (PKC). Inhibition of phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI-3 kinase) by LY294002 also abolished methoxamine-stimulated glucose uptake. Therefore. the obtained data suggest that an activation of alpha1A-adrenoceptors, presence in WAT, by agonist and/or neurotransmitter may increase the glucose uptake via PLC-PKC pathway and the activation of PI-3 kinase.

Stimulatory effect of octopamine on beta 3-adrenoceptors to lower the uptake of [14C]-deoxy-D-glucose into rat adipocytes in vitro.

1. The effect of octopamine on beta 3-adrenoceptors has been studied in isolated adipocytes of Wistar rats using uptake of [14C]-deoxy-D-glucose as the indicator. 2. Octopamine (0.1-1 nmol 1-1) induced a concentration-dependent decrease of [14C]-deoxy-D-glucose uptake into the adipocytes and this inhibition was not influenced by haloperidol at concentrations sufficient to block dopaminergic receptors. 3. Pindolol and propranolol reversed this inhibition of octopamine in a concentration-dependent manner. The effect of octopamine was reduced in the presence of Rp-cyclic AMPS triethylamine, the membrane-permeable antagonist of cyclic AMP (cAMP), indicating the mediation of cAMP in this inhibition. 4. A direct effect of octopamine on beta 3-adrenoceptors was proved using the application of antibodies. In the presence of an antibody for beta 3-adrenoceptors, the actions of octopamine were concentration-dependently reduced in a manner similar to the decrease of BRL37344-induced inhibitions. 5. The same degree of diminished activities for octopamine as that of BRL37344, the well-known specific agonist of beta 3-adrenoceptors, was also obtained in isoprenline-desensitized adipocytes. Insulin-stimulated uptake of [14C]-deoxy-D-glucose into adipocytes was not modified by isoprenaline induced desensitization. 6. These results suggest that octopamine can activate beta 3-adrenoceptors to lower the glucose uptake through an increase of cAMP in rat white adipocytes.

Short-term effect of correcting leg length discrepancy on performance of a forceful body extension task in young adults.

In this study we assessed the short-term effect of correcting leg length discrepancy on a vigorously performed task of resisted full body extension in 10 men, 18 to 35 years old, who had estimated leg length discrepancies of 10-15 mm. Using a cable ergometer we examined work performed, initial peak tension exerted on the ergometer, second peak tension, time to first peak tension, and mean velocity of the whole task. Each subject performed the task both with and without a heel lift, introduced to equalize leg length. The interval between testing under these two conditions was 48 hr. In the task of pulling the cable upward, each subject began from floor level with knees and trunk flexed, progressing to full body extension with the arms pulling the cable overhead with maximal effort. For each trial the task was repeated 15 times, with intervals of 90 seconds between the repetitions. Use of the lift failed to have a statistically significant effect on any of the variables, although it clearly enabled three of the subjects to exert greater strength with the arms and trunk during the second peak tension. This suggests that 1) overall body extension is influenced by too many factors to be affected in a consistently predictable way by a heel lift to correct leg length discrepancy, and 2) the heel lift may aid certain subjects with leg length discrepancy specifically during extension of the trunk in this task.

Activation of beta3-adrenoceptors by exogenous dopamine to lower glucose uptake into rat adipocytes.

The effect of dopamine hydrochloride on beta3-adrenoceptors was studied in isolated adipocytes of Wistar rats using uptake of [14C]-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) as the indicator. Dopamine induced a concentration-dependent decrease of 2-DG uptake into adipocytes in a manner which was not modified by haloperidol at concentrations sufficient to block dopaminergic receptors. Failure of blockade was also observed in samples receiving the pretreatment with a mixture of SCH23390 and domperidone, the dopaminergic antagonists. Absence of dopaminergic receptors in rat white adipocytes was further supported by the findings that dopaminergic agonists did not modify the glucose uptake and the negative response to receptor antibodies in immunoblotting analysis. Pindolol and propranolol reversed this inhibition of dopamine in a concentration-dependent manner. However, this action of dopamine was not affected by prazosin at concentrations sufficient to block alpha-adrenoceptors. Effect of dopamine was reduced in the presence of Rp-cyclic AMPS triethylamine, the membrane-permeable antagonist of cyclic AMP (cAMP), indicating the mediation of cAMP in this inhibition. Direct effect of exogenous dopamine on beta3-adrenoceptors was identified using the antibody for beta3-adrenoceptors that reversed the inhibition of dopamine. These results suggest that dopamine can activate beta3-adrenoceptors to lower glucose uptake into rat white adipocytes which lack dopaminergic receptors.

Individual cigarette consumption and addiction: a flexible limited dependent variable approach.

A variety of limited dependent variable models have been used in microeconometric studies of smoking. We present a general model of the simultaneous decisions of how much to smoke and whether to quit, which allows a more flexible parameterization and distributional assumptions. The model incorporates the fixed costs associated with quitting and allows for the separate influence of addiction on participation and consumption. The model is applied to data on smoking from the 1984-85 UK Health and Lifestyle Survey, and is shown to outperform a range of nested models that have been used extensively in the empirical literature.

A semiinvasive method for articular Colles' fractures.

An external fixation device that allows limited motion of the wrist joint without disruption of the anatomic alignment was used for the articular Colles' fractures in this study. From July 1985 to April 1989 during a 45-month period, 87 patients with 90 articular Colles' fractures (three cases with bilateral involvement) were treated with a modified dynamic external skeletal device after a closed reduction in full supination of the forearm. Excellent anatomic reduction near 91% of the sound wrist as well as satisfactory functional results around 90.5% of the sound wrist were gained during the 24-month follow-up period. Forearm muscles exert compression forces on distal radial metaphyseal fractures throughout the healing period. Any procedure or device that cannot provide constant counterforce to the action of forearm muscles during fracture healing will result in the loss of anatomic reduction. Adequate distraction counter-force was provided by an external fixation device that was superior to other conventional methods because of its simple application, low rate of complications, and excellent anatomic and functional results.