We could make a meal out of nothing: contested explanations of inequalities in health

This paper reports on the qualitative findings from a comparative study of public health and lifestyles in South East England and Northern France, regions with similar geographic and economic characteristics. Data from health surveys showed that both countries had an increasing BMI with age, particularly in Northern France. This was despite the finding that the percentage eating fresh fruit and vegetable at least five days a week in Northern France increased with age (from well over 50% to over 90%) compared to around 50% to around 75% in South East England. Qualitative data on health inequalities and how they could be addressed were gathered by focus groups sampling from five tiers using the Townsend Index for comparability (14 in England with 106 participants overall; 13 in France with 143 participants). Both had about two thirds women participants, with a preponderance of middle aged and older people. There was a striking difference in the salience of diet between the two countries; in the French data it was raised only 14 times, whereas in England there were 165 occurrences, and these were often distinguished by their use of narrative. Older respondents contrasted the pressures on families today and the expense of fresh fruit and vegetables with their own childhood or childrearing, when cheap meals could be created using skills which have now been lost. These data therefore provide further evidence that providing food is a moral activity.

Modelling metal powder production by the gas atomisation process

Metal powder in the range of 10-100 microns is widely employed in the production of Raney nickel type catalysts for hydrogenation reactions and hydrogen fuel cell manufacture. In this presentation we examine the modelling of powder production in a gas atomisation vessel using CFD techniques. In a fully coupled Lagrangian-Eulerian two phase scheme, liquid meal particles are tracked through the vessel following atomisation of a liquid nickel-aluminium stream. There is full momentum, heat and turbulence transport between particles and surrounding argon gas and the model predicts the position of solidification depending on particle size and undercooled condition. Maps of collision probability of particles at different stages of solidification are computed, to predict the creation of satellite defects, or to initiate solidification of undercooled droplets. The model is used to support experimental work conducted under the ESA/EU project IMPRESS.

Influence of a fed or fasted state on the s-IgA response to prolonged cycling in active men and women

This study investigated the effect of a fed or fasted state on the salivary immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) response to prolonged cycling. Using a randomized, crossover design, 16 active adults (8 men and 8 women) performed 2 hr of cycling on a stationary ergometer at 65% of maximal oxygen uptake on 1 occasion after an overnight fast (FAST) and on another occasion 2 hr after consuming a 2.2-MJ high-carbohydrate meal (FED). Timed, unstimulated whole saliva samples were collected immediately before ingestion of the meal, immediately preexercise, 5 min before cessation of exercise, immediately postexercise, and 1 hr postexercise. The samples were analyzed for s-IgA concentration, osmolality, and cortisol, and saliva flow rates were determined to calculate s-IgA secretion rate. Saliva flow rate decreased by 50% during exercise (p < .05), and s-IgA concentration increased by 42% (p < .05), but s-IgA secretion rate remained unchanged. There was a 37% reduction in s-IgA:osmolality postexercise (p < .05), and salivary cortisol increased by 68% (p < .05). There was no effect of FED vs. FAST on these salivary responses. The s-IgA concentration, secretion rate, and osmolality were found to be significantly lower in women than in men throughout the exercise protocol (p < .05); however, there was no difference between genders in saliva flow rate, s-IgA:osmolality ratio, or cortisol. These data demonstrate that a fed or fasted state 2 hr before exercise does not influence resting s-IgA or the response to prolonged cycling. Furthermore, these results show lower levels of s-IgA and osmolality in women than in men at rest.