Cosmetic Standards Research Articles

Total umbilical reconstruction using a tri-radiate incision technique

BackgroundNeo-umbilicus aesthetics, often previously ignored or considered an afterthought, is now a major concern in abdominal surgical planning for abdominoplasty in morbid obesity and ventral hernia repairs. Umbilical loss or deformation is immediately recognised owing to its central position causing psychological discomfort, stress and low self-esteem in patients.Several umbilical surgical techniques are described, but there is no universally accepted “standard” technique for umbilical reconstruction.Our purpose was to describe a new method, the tri-radiate incision (TRI) which leads to the creation of an aesthetically pleasing navel, significantly improving the patient’s satisfaction and surgeon’s cosmetic standards. Methods and materialsThis study consisted of 21 consecutive cases of umbilical reconstruction of obese (18) and non-obese (3) patients during abdominoplasty (10) or ventral hernia repair (11) as the main indicators and patient satisfaction was rated post-operatively. ResultsNo major post-operative complications such as flap necrosis, umbilical stenosis, flattening or misplacement, cicatricial hypertrophic scarring, infection or haematoma, as recorded in various techniques requiring revision surgeries, were encountered. Serosanguineous discharge observed during the first week was very common.Patient satisfaction with the umbilicus was rated 10/10 by 17 patients and 9/10 by 4 patients from the obese and non-obese categories. ConclusionThe minimally scarring TRI neo-umbilicus technique offers a new option regardless of age, gender or body mass index in creating a neo-umbilicus that is safe, reliable and reproducible using a single-staged procedure. It achieves all the permanently desired aesthetic standards, with relatively little or no post-operative complications but high patient satisfaction in abdominoplasty and hernia repair.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: An Open Image Dataset for Automated Sorting of Good, Bad, and Imperfect Produce Using AI and Robotics

In the face of the impending challenge of feeding a growing global population, one-third of all food produced ends up as waste. A notable contributor to this problem is the wastage of a third of perfectly edible and nutritious fresh produce because they need to meet the high cosmetic standards expected by consumers. Eliminating this wastage of imperfect produce is, therefore, a crucial and sustainable means to increase the food supply for a growing global population. This can be achieved through automated sorting of good, bad and imperfect produce using automation, robotics and machine vision. A prerequisite for such automated sorting is fast and accurate machine vision algorithms for successful differentiation between good, bad and imperfect produce. Training such algorithms requires large image datasets. While much work has gone into collecting images of good and bad produce, to the best of our knowledge, no such dataset exists for imperfect produce items. In this paper, we attempt to fill this gap by developing the first publicly available dataset of good, bad and imperfect produce items. The dataset has been made publicly available on the Harvard Dataverse for use in training machine vision algorithms for sorting good, bad and imperfect produce. It is our hope that this open dataset will contribute to improving research and practice for sorting and saving imperfect produce in the food supply chain.

EVALUATION OF LOSSES AT THE PRIMARY PRODUCTION STAGE OF EDIBLE CARROTS

The aim of the article is to present the magnitude of losses at the stage of primary edible carrot production and to indicate directions for redistributing production waste. The study included producers of edible carrots located in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, whose average yield size in the years 2019-2021 corresponded to 15% of the total yield collected in the voivodeship and approximately 2.4% in the country. Based on expert interviews and commercial documentation analysis, it was found that, due to high customer demands regarding the appearance of carrots (cosmetic standards), on average, only about 44% of the weight of calibrated carrots intended for sale constituted the mass of the harvested raw material. Approximately 7% was allocated to processing plants, and around 26% of the raw material mass was used for animal feed. The remaining portion of the harvest represented production losses (19%) and fuel for biogas plants (4%). In order to reduce production losses, primarily resulting from the depreciation of items solely based on their appearance, recipients (e.g., retail chains) should enable producers to deliver less visually appealing raw materials with corresponding price discounts. It is also crucial to raise awareness among customers through educational and promotional efforts, emphasizing the equal nutritional value of raw materials regardless of their appearance (straight, curved, thicker, thinner). This will increase both the product’s availability to the public and production efficiency for the producer.

The Necessity of Sustainable Food Security in India – an Analysis

Food security means different to different people. It is context specific. One aspect is the yield per acre and availability of food grains. On the other aspect, it deals with policy interventions and their impact on social systems, particularly in India's context of 182.2 million people being undernourished. Food security means not only making the availability of food grains to the growing population but also its sustainability in terms of accessibility and acceptability of food grains. The inevitable policy interventions in India have shifted the production interests from traditional crops to commercial crops and increased the need for the intervention of private companies in production and marketing. The crops produced now are more export-based and urban-based, with less calorific value and high cosmetic standards. With a fragmented supply chain and increasing private monopoly over food production, the stability and sustainability of Indian food systems in feeding the 1.39 billion population are questionable. This study analyses how the policy interventions since independence have changed food production systems and their impact on sustaining food security.

Revalorization of Melon By-Product to Obtain a Novel Sparkling Fruity-Based Wine.

Fresh melons not meeting cosmetic standards were revaluated into sparkling melon-based wine. Firstly, still melon wine was elaborated and bottled into 750 mL bottles, closed with a crown seal, and stored for 10-weeks at 14 °C. The oenological parameters and polar compounds in must, still wine, and during the sparkling process were evaluated during the experiment. The volatile profile was qualified by GC-MS, and the odor activity value (OAV) and relative odor contribution (ROC) were measured for aroma characterization. Results show that sparkling wine resulted in 12% v/v ethanol. Certain amino acids contributed to the transformation and increase of volatile compounds via Ehrlich's pathway: leucine to isoamyl alcohol; valine to iso-butyl alcohol; and phenylalanine to phenethyl alcohol. The volatile compounds also increased after the first fermentation, principally in acetate and ethyl esters, and higher alcohols. Isoamyl acetate, ethyl decanoate, 3,6-nonadienyl acetate, and (E,Z)-nonadien-1-ol had the highest OAV and ROC values among the volatiles; this contributed to the sweet, fruity, banana, tropical, nutty and melon aroma in this sparkling wine. Sensory evaluation (100 to 40) was evaluated according to International Organisation of Vine and Wine compendium, the final product (10-week) scored 92 points, with great visual, nose, and taste values. This study demonstrates how by-products revalorization can provide new products such as this novel sparkling wine with a characteristic and distinctive aroma, good sensory acceptance and market potential.

Food losses perceived by family farms: Challenges and policy implications from a micro-approach quantification

During the last decade, food loss and waste (FLW) has been gaining more attention due to its negative effect on food security. However, the lack of information about FLW quantification and characterization remains a problem, especially from the perspectives of local citizens and farmers. There is limited literature examining food losses (FL) in primary production of the food supply chain (FSC) and specific policies are needed to improve the FLW measurement. The aim of this research is to analyze how much FL is generated at the farm level using a micro-approach methodology from harvest to primary commercialization stages among farmers located in Central Chile. Additionally, we explore factors affecting FL using a fractional regression model with special emphasis on the harvest stage. Data were collected using phone interviews, conducted in 2019, with 177 small-scale producers of vegetables and berries. FL generated by the sample from harvest to primary commercialization was 14.5% on average. Farmers identified a considerable volume of FL during primary production, mostly during the harvest. The factors that increased FL among small-scale farmers were the production system and its harvest period, commercialization channels, labor shortage, and cosmetic standards. As a case study, the information collected here can be useful for encouraging further research emphasizing the harvest stage and the role of the production systems in generating FLW.

Impact of Cosmetic Standards on Food Loss

Impact of Cosmetic Standards on Food Loss

Brewers’ spent hop revalorization for the production of high added-value cosmetics ingredients with elastase inhibition capacity

This article summarizes the analysis of α and β-acids and prenylflavonoids from brewers’ spent hop (BSH) as source of bioactive molecules to improve skin integrity by inhibiting elastase activity. To maximize the efficacy of the BSH extracts, it was necessary to identify the most bioactive hop compounds and the extraction parameters to maximize elastase inhibition and total antioxidant capacity. Thus, a computational methodology was carried out to test the anti-elastase potential of these hop molecules, detecting cis-iso-α-cohumulone and 8-prenylnaringenin as main inhibitors. Then, BSH extracts were optimized to ensure the maximum extraction of bioactive compounds, using compatible solvents (water and 100% plant-based propanediol) according to the green cosmetic standards. Finally, a determination and quantification method based on HPLC–MS/MS was used to guarantee the presence of the bioactive molecules, detecting a higher concentration of cis-iso-α-cohumulone and 8-prenylnaringenin in those samples with high anti-elastase activity. By optimizing extraction conditions and agents, a BSH extract was designed, showing high antioxidant (81.9 mmol Trolox/L) and high anti-elastase capacities.

The Impact of Surgical Advancement of Transoral Robotic Surgery on the Safety of Patients

Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) is a relatively new technological advancement in the surgical field of otolaryngology. However, there are many concerns of affordability, safety, patient expectations, and consent. This paper examines how the new surgical technology comes with a price many hospitals cannot afford, potentially compromising patient safety to gain a return on their investment. We analyze patient’s expectations as a reason for risking their safety because there are certain cosmetic standards patients adhere to and opt for minimally invasive procedures, but put themselves in harm's way. We detail out the topic of informed consent, whereby surgeons cannot perform surgery and limit patients’ treatment options. Finally, this paper also examines the role of the FDA in ensuring the safety and efficacy of the TORS technology.

Cosmetic outcomes of improved microscopic subinguinal varicocelectomy in patients with varicoceles.

Cosmetic outcomes of improved microscopic subinguinal varicocelectomy in patients with varicoceles.

Regulatory Provisions for Cosmetics in India

The cosmetics industry is undergoing significant transformations all over the world. Cosmetics regulation in regulated markets is significantly stricter in terms of quality, safety, nomenclature, and labelling in order to govern the use of cosmetic items. Cosmetic safety is governed by a variety of regulatory agencies around the world, i.e. countries with their own set of rules and regulations. According to a recent study, cosmetic regulations in India differ significantly from those in regulated markets such as the United States, the European Union, and Australia. India's cosmetics market is growing at a rate of roughly 20% per year, which is twice as fast as the US and European markets. Even though India's cosmetic standards are complicated and time-consuming, they are required for pre- and post-market approvals. The existing Indian cosmetic regulations include serious flaws, such as the following: Multiple and complex regulations under different bodies, lack of Central Drug Standard Control Organization implementation guidelines, BIS Cosmetics issues that require standard development and amendment, non-uniform licencing approvals between states, and a divergent approach across authorities in interpreting a certain issue are all issues that must be handled. India's cosmetic industry is governed by the Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1940 and the Rules of 1945. In India, cosmetics are held to high standards and are governed by strict rules. This paper discusses the overall cosmetics scenario, as well as the regulations for cosmetics import and manufacture registration.

Nutrient-Dense Shelf-Stable Vegetable Powders and Extruded Snacks Made from Carrots and Broccoli.

Perishable fresh vegetables that do not meet cosmetic standards and by-products of processing are currently wasted. Broccoli and carrots were selected as model vegetables to demonstrate that they can be converted into nutrient-dense and shelf-stable food ingredients and formulated into convenient ready-to-eat snacks. Broccoli powder was a rich source of protein (30%) and dietary fibre (28%). Carrot powder had lower protein (6.5%) and dietary fibre content (24%) and was higher in sugar (47%) compared to broccoli powder (21%). Compared to the whole-vegetable powders, pomace powders were richer in fibre but had lower levels of total carbohydrates. There was a reduced expansion of extruded snacks with increasing levels of the vegetable component in the formulation. Processing and storage for 12 months at 25 °C or 40 °C resulted in changes in the measured soluble phenolic content. Changes during storage were dependent on the temperature and time. The changes may be in part due to the changes in the material properties of the matrix as a consequence of processing and storage, which affect extractability. The conversion of perishable vegetables and pomace into shelf-stable nutrient-dense food ingredients and products will reduce food loss and waste in the vegetable industry.

Food loss and waste and the modernization of vegetable value chains in Thailand

The rapid growth of affluent urban populations and the associated modernization of food value chains are reshaping agricultural production and consumption in the Global South. Here we explore how the traditional-to-modern transition is affecting food loss and waste (FLW) using an empirical case study from Thailand. Despite the consolidation of modern retailing in the 1990s, traditional market channels and smallholder agriculture have remained operational and widespread across the country. We identified related factors affecting FLW and food quality requirements by combining stakeholder focus groups and semi-structured interviews with quantitative measurements along the value chain for Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa, subsp. pekinensis). Quality requirements were often accompanied by FLW generation and propagated upstream the value chain. At the field level, factors affecting both FLW and food quality included weather events, pests and diseases, and low prices at the farm gate. However, products that did not meet supermarket requirements could still find a market channel in traditional, wholesale markets. In both pathways, a head of cabbage lost 44 to 66% of its wet weight before reaching the consumer, as stakeholders trimmed the outer leaves at each node of the value chain. Stakeholders associated with modern retailers produced on average significantly more waste from trimming (42%) than other stakeholders that are less tied to cosmetic standards (18-24%). We conclude that, alongside technological advances in the modernization of food value chains, preserving pathways for non-compliant products is key to preventing FLW if cosmetic standards prevail.

Cosmetic pesticide use: quantifying use and its policy implications in California, USA

ABSTRACT Pesticide use is increasingly under scrutiny for its environmental and human health impacts. While government leaders promote sustainable pest management, including reductions in pesticide usage, growers face pressure to produce agricultural commodities at high cosmetic standards, which often requires the use of pesticides. California (United States) has a productive agricultural industry, many sustainability initiatives and a government that actively regulates pesticide use. We identified two cases where it was possible to quantify cosmetic pesticide use in California: stink bug control in processing tomato and red colour and large size in table grape. Between 2009 and 2019, 1.47% and 7.7% of total hectares treated with pesticides were treated with the subset of cosmetic pesticides examined in this study in processing tomato, and table and raisin grape, respectively. Individual hectares can be treated with multiple pesticides that each adds to the total hectares. We identified unique hectares treated with cosmetic pesticides: 8.14% and 57.1% of harvested hectares received at least one application of a cosmetic pesticide in processing tomato, and table and raisin grape, respectively. The current food system that supports high cosmetic standards, and thus demands pesticide usage, can inhibit the adoption of and transition to sustainable agricultural systems.

Spectrophotometric determination of cadmium, chromium, lead and nickel in five selected body creams sold in Benin City, Nigeria

The concentrations of cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr) lead (Pb), and nickel (Ni) were evaluated in five body creams sold in different shopping malls and markets in Benin City metropolis. The samples were classified into bleaching creams, toning creams and moisturizers. The moisture content of each cream sample was determined using standard methods while the heavy content was obtained using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). Pb was found to have the highest concentration in bleaching cream 2 (9.70 ppm) and the lowest in moisturizer 1 (1.50 ppm). The concentration range for Cd was from 9.20 ppm in moisturizer 2 to 2.90 ppm in the toning cream. The highest concentration of Ni was found in moisturizer 1 (7.00 ppm) and the lowest was in bleaching cream 2 (1.20 ppm). Cr was not detected in the bleaching and toning creams but it was found to be 26.00ppm in moisturizer 1. The results were compared with international standards and were found to be within the limits set by the cosmetic standards of USA, Canada and WHO. The results from this study has shown that the use of these body creams exposes users to some level of concentration of these toxic metals which could constitute potential health hazard due to their ability to bio-accumulate. Therefore, there should be regular monitoring of heavy metals and other chemicals used in the manufacture of body creams.

Effectiveness of anthropomorphism in ugly food promotion: Do gender and age matter?

ABSTRACT Due to the cosmetic standards of food service operators, most consumers have had limited exposure to visually unappealing foods. Thus, unused ugly foods end up becoming food waste. To encourage consumers to buy ugly foods with the hope of relieving the severity of food waste, this study attempts to further verify the effectiveness of anthropomorphism in advertising. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the effectiveness of anthropomorphism varies based on the individual consumer characteristics of gender and age. Specifically, the objectives of this study are 1) to investigate whether gender interacts with anthropomorphism and 2) to identify the moderating effect of age. A total of 421 participants were hired through Amazon Mturk, and a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects full-factorial experimental design was used. The results suggest that anthropomorphism could be advantageous in improving consumers’ purchase intentions, as well as confirm anthropomorphism’s interactional effect with gender. Furthermore, this interactional effect varies across different age groups (younger vs. older). This study extends the relevant literature and provides the food service industry with insightful marketing suggestions to promote ugly foods.

Hygienic and cosmetic care habits in polish women during COVID-19 pandemic.

BackgroundCOVID‐19 pandemic influences a lot of aspects of human life. Particularly, hygienic habits are affected.ObjectivesChanges in washing and cosmetic standards during the pandemic toward the past are in the focus of our interest.Material and MethodsThe questionnaire study was conducted anonymously in 140 women. The examination concerned pre‐ and during‐pandemic routine hygiene activities such as hands washing, hair washing, bathing, the use of disinfectants, and use of specific type of cosmetics.Results and DiscussionCompared were data before and during pandemic. Responders declared increased handwashing and taking shower after coming back home and after using local city transportation. We found also that increased use of disinfectants during COVID‐19 pandemic. In contrary to that, number of people washing their hair decreased slightly. Work documents that profile of used cosmetics was changed; increasing hand cream use and decreasing in makeup cosmetics. Nearly, half of the respondents declare that they will maintain new habits also after the pandemic has ended.

A study on clinical effectiveness of cosmetics containing human stem cell conditioned media

BackgroundWith the steadily increasing trend of functional cosmetics consumption, the public is increasingly expecting the efficacy of cosmetics, and in order to meet these consumer needs, the development of various effective raw materials, as well as products through technical convergence research, has been activating focusing on dermatology. In the Republic of Korea, much attention was paid to cosmetic raw materials using human stem cells as a new growth engine at the end of the 2000s. Accordingly, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety implemented the Regulations on Cosmetic Safety Standards, etc., which contains the safety standards of human-derived cell and tissue culture as raw materials for cosmetics.MethodsTwice a day, morning and evening, for 28 days, 3 mL of the sample provided for each subject was applied onto the entire face using an airbrush. The subjects were divided into a control group (C), an experimental group 1 (ADSC-CM 5% group, E1) and an experimental group 2 (polymersome-containing of ADSC-CM 5% group, E2), and there were 20 subjects in each group.ResultsMoisture content on the U-zone, melanin and erythema of lid-cheek, overall size and depth of eye wrinkles, and skin roughness of the items showed significant differences among all three groups. More specifically, E1 had a higher rate of skin improvement than C, and E2 had the highest skin improvement rate in all items: skin moisture content, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), melanin and erythema of lid-cheek, eye wrinkles, and skin roughness of lid-cheek.ConclusionsThe effectiveness of ADSC-CM was verified in all items: increases in moisture content, decrease in TEWL, and improvements of whitening and wrinkles. Moreover, the effectiveness of ADSC-CM was observed as higher in samples of polymersome-containing ADSC-CM than those of raw material ADSC-CM. Furthermore, percutaneous absorption was improved compared with previous studies on formulations in relation to polymersome at the same concentration of ADSC-CM, thereby resulting in higher effectiveness.Trial registrationKorea National Institute for Bioethics Policy, P01–201809–13-001, Registered 06 September 2018, http://public.irb.or.kr/.

Avoidable food losses and associated production-phase greenhouse gas emissions arising from application of cosmetic standards to fresh fruit and vegetables in Europe and the UK

The use of aesthetics for classifying and accepting fresh food for sale and consumption is built into food quality standards and regulations of the European Union. The food distribution sector in Europe and the UK is oligopolistic in nature; a small number of supermarket chains control a large market share. The influence of these ‘multiples’ enables them to impose additional proprietary ‘quality’ criteria. Produce that doesn't meet these standards may be lost from the food supply chain, never seeing a supermarket shelf – it may not get past the supplier, or even leave the farm. Here, for the first time, we estimate the quantity of food loss and waste of fresh fruit and vegetables arising from cosmetic standards in Europe and UK, and its associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We find few direct measurements of such losses, resulting in large uncertainties for key commodities. In the context of these uncertainties, we estimate avoidable FLW from on-farm cosmetic grade-outs of up to 4500 kt yr−1 in the UK and 51,500 kt yr−1 in the European Economic Area (EEA). Our estimates suggest over a third of total farm production is lost for aesthetic reasons, which equates to as much as 970 kt CO2e (UK) and 22,500 kt CO2e (EEA) of embedded production-phase GHG emissions annually. Examining the issue from the perspective of markets, suppliers, and consumers we establish there is an over-emphasis on superficial qualities (i.e. cosmetic appearance) of fresh produce, which leads to its unnecessary loss and waste. Using an illustrative case study, we provide potential avenues to mitigate these losses and the associated GHG emissions.

Shaping the future of medical aesthetics: consultations and new developments

Following its successful conference in September, the British Association of Cosmetic Nurses (BACN) is looking ahead to the next phase of its strategic plan and considering its response to the recently published standards from the Cosmetic Practice Standards Authority (CPSA). Andrew Rankin summarises the BACN's initial thoughts on the CPSA's documents and advises aesthetic nurses about level 7 training