Let's talk about health: shoppers' discourse regarding health while food shopping

Objective: The present study aimed to examine the role of health in consumers’ food purchasing decisions through investigating the nature of people’s discourse regarding health while conducting their food shopping.

Design: The study employed the think-aloud technique as part of an accompanied shop. All mentions of health and terms relating to health were identified from the data set. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted to examine how health was talked about in relation to people’s food choice decisions.

Setting: Supermarkets in Dublin, Republic of Ireland and Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Subjects Participants: (n 50) were aged over 18 years and represented the main household shopper.

Results: Responsibility for others and the perceived need to illicit strict control to avoid ‘unhealthy’ food selections played a dominant role in how health was talked about during the accompanied shop. Consequently healthy shopping was viewed as difficult and effort was required to make the healthy choice, with shoppers relating to product-based inferences to support their decisions.

Conclusions: This qualitative exploration has provided evidence of a number of factors influencing the consideration of health during consumers’ food shopping. These results highlight opportunities for stakeholders such as public health bodies and the food industry to explore further ways to help enable consumers make healthy food choices.

Early-type stars in the Galactic halo from the Palomar-Green survey - III. Completion of a magnitude range limited sample

High-resolution (R approximate to 40 000) echelle spectroscopic observations of 13 high-latitude early-type stars are presented. These stars comprise the final part of a complete magnitude range limited sample based on low-resolution spectroscopy of targets drawn from the Palomar-Green survey. The magnitude range under consideration is 13 less than or equal to B-PG less than or equal to 14.6, corresponding to an approximate distance limit for main-sequence B-type objects of 5 less than or equal to d less than or equal to 40 kpc. Three stars are found to be apparently normal, young stars, based on their positions on the (T-eff, log g) diagram, normal abundance patterns and relatively large projected rotational velocities. A further star, PG 1209+263, was found to belong to the chemically peculiar (CP) silicon star class of objects. The remainder are evolved subluminous stars lying on post- horizontal branch (post-HB) tracks, with the exception of PG 2120+062, which appears to be in a post-asymptotic giant branch evolutionary stage. For the young stars in the sample, we have derived distance and age estimates through comparison of the atmospheric parameters with recent theoretical evolutionary models. We discuss formation scenarios by comparing times-of- flight and evolutionary time-scales. It is found that all stars could have formed in the Galactic disc and been ejected from there soon after their birth, with the exception of PG 1209+263. The adopted proper motion is found to be a crucial factor in the kinematical analysis. We also present some number densities for young B-type halo stars, which indicate that they are extremely scarce objects.

Chironomid-based reconstructions of summer air temperature from lake deposits in Lyndon Stream, New Zealand spanning the MIS 3/2 transition

We present chironomid-based temperature reconstructions from lake sediments deposited between ca 26,600 cal yr BP and 24,500 cal yr BP from Lyndon Stream, South Island, New Zealand. Summer (February mean) temperatures averaged 1 1C cooler, with a maximum inferred cooling of 3.7 1C. These estimates corroborate macrofossil and beetle-based temperature inferences from the same site and suggest climate amelioration (an interstadial) at this time. Other records from the New Zealand region also show a large degree of variability during the late Otiran glacial sequence (34,000–18,000 cal yr BP) including a phase of warming at the MIS 2/3 transition and a maximum cooling that did not occur until the global LGM (ca 20,000 cal yr BP). The very moderate cooling identified here at the MIS 2/3 transition confirms and enhances the long-standing discrepancy in New Zealand records between pollen and other proxies. Low abundances (o20%) of canopy tree pollen in records from late MIS 3 to the end of MIS 2 cannot be explained by the minor (o5 1C) cooling inferred from this and other studies unless other environmental parameters are considered. Further work is required to address this critical issue.

Balanced class e amplifier based multimode modulator

In this paper we present an adaptation to the classical I/Q modulator topology which simultaneously allows it to operate both as a multi-modulation standard modulator, and as a high efficiency balanced amplifier. This is made possible by concurrently exploiting the ability of the Class E amplifiers to produce variable output power at maximum power added efficiency, PAE, by simple dc bias control while faithfully reproducing phase encoded signals. Experimental evidence for the behaviour of the modulator when operated in QPSK mode at 2.33 GHz with a 1 Msymbol/s rate shows that Error Vector Magnitude of less than 5% with amplifier PAE of 65% is possible. The multimode modulator presented here should lead to significantly reduced complexity, enhanced functionality transceivers for use in dc power sensitive handheld wireless applications. © 2007 EuMA.

Do development and learning really decrease memory? On similarity and category-based induction in adults and children

In a recently published study, Sloutsky and Fisher [Sloutsky, V. M., & Fisher, A.V. (2004a). When development and learning decrease memory: Evidence against category-based induction in children. Psychological Science, 15, 553-558; Sloutsky, V. M., & Fisher, A. V. (2004b). Induction and categorization in young children: A similarity-based model. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 133, 166-188.] demonstrated that children have better memory for the items that they generalise to than do adults. On the basis of this finding, they claim that children and adults use different mechanisms for inductive generalisations;whereas adults focus on shared category membership, children project properties on the basis of perceptual similarity. Sloutsky & Fisher attribute children's enhanced recognition memory to the more detailed processing required by this similarity-based mechanism. In Experiment I we show that children look at the stimulus items for longer than adults. In Experiment 2 we demonstrate that although when given just 250 ms to inspect the items children remain capable of making accurate inferences, their subsequent memory for those items decreases significantly. These findings suggest that there are no necessary conclusions to be drawn from Sloutsky & Fisher's results about developmental differences in generalisation strategy. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Digital Baseband Predistortion Based Linearized Broadband Inverse Class-E Power Amplifier

A newly introduced inverse class-E power amplifier (PA) was designed, simulated, fabricated, and characterized. The PA operated at 2.26 GHz and delivered 20.4-dBm output power with peak drain efficiency (DE) of 65% and power gain of 12 dB. Broadband performance was achieved across a 300-Mitz bandwidth with DE of better than 50% and 1-dB output-power flatness. The concept of enhanced injection predistortion with a capability to selectively suppress unwanted sub-frequency components and hence suitable for memory effects minimization is described coupled with a new technique that facilitates an accurate measurement of the phase of the third-order intermodulation (IM3) products. A robust iterative computational algorithm proposed in this paper dispenses with the need for manual tuning of amplitude and phase of the IM3 injected signals as commonly employed in the previous publications. The constructed inverse class-E PA was subjected to a nonconstant envelope 16 quadrature amplitude modulation signal and was linearized using combined lookup table (LUT) and enhanced injection technique from which superior properties from each technique can be simultaneously adopted. The proposed method resulted in 0.7% measured error vector magnitude (in rms) and 34-dB adjacent channel leakage power ratio improvement, which was 10 dB better than that achieved using the LUT predistortion alone.

Microneedle-based drug delivery systems: Microfabrication, drug delivery, and safety

Many promising therapeutic agents are limited by their inability to reach the systemic circulation, due to the excellent barrier properties of biological membranes, such as the stratum corneum (SC) of the skin or the sclera/cornea of the eye and others. The outermost layer of the skin, the SC, is the principal barrier to topically-applied medications. The intact SC thus provides the main barrier to exogenous substances, including drugs. Only drugs with very specific physicochemical properties (molecular weight <500 Da, adequate lipophilicity, and low melting point) can be successfully administered transdermally. Transdermal delivery of hydrophilic drugs and macromolecular agents of interest, including peptides, DNA, and small interfering RNA is problematic. Therefore, facilitation of drug penetration through the SC may involve by-pass or reversible disruption of SC molecular architecture. Microneedles (MNs), when used to puncture skin, will by-pass the SC and create transient aqueous transport pathways of micron dimensions and enhance the transdermal permeability. These micropores are orders of magnitude larger than molecular dimensions, and, therefore, should readily permit the transport of hydrophilic macromolecules. Various strategies have been employed by many research groups and pharmaceutical companies worldwide, for the fabrication of MNs. This review details various types of MNs, fabrication methods and, importantly, investigations of clinical safety of MN.

Measurement-based Method for Wind Farm Power System Oscillations Monitoring

The global increase in the penetration of renewable energy is pushing electrical power systems into uncharted territory, especially in terms of transient and dynamic stability. In particular, the greater penetration of wind generation in European power networks is, at times, displacing a significant capacity of conventional synchronous generation with fixed-speed induction generation and now more commonly, doubly fed induction generators. The impact of such changes in the generation mix requires careful monitoring to assess the impact on transient and dynamic stability. This study presents a measurement-based method for the early detection of power system oscillations, with consideration of mode damping, in order to raise alarms and develop strategies to actively improve power system dynamic stability and security. A method is developed based on wavelet-based support vector data description (SVDD) to detect oscillation modes in wind farm output power, which may excite dynamic instabilities in the wider system. The wavelet transform is used as a filter to identify oscillations in frequency bands, whereas the SVDD method is used to extract dominant features from different scales and generate an assessment boundary according to the extracted features. Poorly damped oscillations of a large magnitude, or that are resonant, can be alarmed to the system operator, to reduce the risk of system instability. The proposed method is exemplified using measured data from a chosen wind farm site.

An understanding of chemoselective hydrogenation on crotonaldehyde over Pt(111) in the free energy landscape: The microkinetics study based on first-principles calculations

Microkinetic model is developed in the free energy landscape based on density functional theory (DFT) to quantitatively investigate the reaction mechanism of chemoselective partial hydrogenation of crotonaldehyde to crotyl alcohol over Pt(1 1 1) at the temperature of 353 K. Three different methods (mobile, immobile and collision theory models) were carried out to obtain free energy barrier of adsorption/desorption processes. The results from mobile and collision theory models are similar. The calculated TOFs from both models are close to the experiment value. However, for the immobile model, in which the free energy barrier of desorption approaches the energy barrier, the calculated TOF is 2 orders of magnitude lower than the other models. The difficulty of adsorption/ desorption may be overestimated in the immobile model. In addition, detailed analyses show that for the surface hydrogenation elementary steps, the entropy and internal energy effects are small under the reaction condition, while the zero-point-energy (ZPE) correction is significant, especially for the multi-step hydrogenation reaction. The total energy with the ZPE correction approaches to the full free energy calculation for the surface reaction under the reaction condition. (c) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Competence-Based Post-Disaster Reconstruction Process: Findings from Sri Lanka

As natural disasters continue to escalate in frequency and magnitude, NGOs are faced with numerous barriers as they attempt to implement post-disaster reconstruction (PDR) projects. In many cases, a lack of competency in key areas leads to a reduction in overall project success. This paper utilizes the competency-based framework of von Meding et al. (2010) as the starting point of its inquiry. In this context, a leading NGO responsible for the implementation of reconstruction and rehabilitation in Sri Lanka following the Asian Tsunami has been investigated in depth using a causal mapping interview procedure with key project staff. The combined barriers within this organization’s PDR operations have been identified and measured and solutions articulated. The study found that within this organization key objectives were to achieve the ‘build back better’ mantra and to effectively plan interventions in advance. The primary barriers to successful reconstruction were identified as the high turnover rate of humanitarian staff and a poor level of communication and co-operation between agencies. An essential strategy employed to combat these barriers is the consideration of staff capabilities, which links us back to competence-based theory. The results are highly valuable in the context of an ongoing wider research study on competence within humanitarian organizations.

Influence of the cation on the solubility of CO2 and H 2 in ionic liquids based on the bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide anion

Experimental values for the solubility of carbon dioxide and hydrogen in three room temperature ionic liquids based on the same anion- (bistrifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [Ntf2]-and three different cations-1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium, [C4mim], 1-ethyl-3- methylimidazolium, [C2mim] and trimethyl-butylammonium, [N 4111]-are reported between 283 and 343 K and close to atmospheric pressure. Carbon dioxide, with a mole-fraction solubility of the order of 10-2, is two orders of magnitude more soluble than hydrogen. The solubility of CO2 is very similar in the three ionic liquids although slightly lower in the presence of the [C2mim] cation. In the case of H2, noticeable differences were observed with larger mole fraction solubilities in the presence of [N4111] followed by [C 4mim]. All of the mole-fraction solubilities decrease with increasing temperature. From the variation of Henry's law constants with temperature, the thermodynamic functions of solvation were calculated. The precision of the experimental data, considered as the average absolute deviation of the Henry's law constants from appropriate smoothing equations, is always better than ±1%. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007.

Solubility of carbon dioxide and ethane in three ionic liquids based on the bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide anion

The objective of this work was to study the influence of changing the cation of the ionic liquid (IL) on gas solubility. For this purpose, the low-pressure solubility of carbon dioxide and of ethane in three ILs based on the bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide anion ([NTf2](-)) was determined experimentally. Solubility data is reported for 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ([C(1)C(2)Im](+)), 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium ([C(1)C(4)pyrr](+)) and propylcholinium ([N1132-OH](+)) bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide ILs between 300 and 345 K. These data are precise to within +/- 1% and accurate to within +/- 5%. In these ILs, carbon dioxide (mole fraction solubility between 1 and 3 x 10(-2), molarity between 0.03 and 0.1 mol L-1) is one order of magnitude more soluble than ethane. The effect of changing the cation is small but significant. Changing the cation has a similar effect on both gases even if the differences are more pronounced in the case of ethane with the order of solubility [C(1)C(4)pyrr][NTf2] > [C(1)C(2)Im][NTf2] > [N1132-OH][NTf2]. For all the systems, the solubility decreases with temperature corresponding to exothermic processes of solvation and negative enthalpies and entropies of solvation were calculated. The properties of solvation of the two gases in [C(1)C(4)pyrr][NTf2] do not vary significantly with temperature while important variations are depicted for both gases in [C(1)C(2)Im][NTf2]. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A single microphone capillary-based system for measuring the complex input impedance of musical wind instruments

Capillary-based systems for measuring the input impedance of musical wind instruments were first developed in the mid-20th century and remain in widespread use today. In this paper, the basic principles and assumptions underpinning the design of such systems are examined. Inexpensive modifications to a capillary-based impedance measurement set-up made possible due to advances in computing and data acquisition technology are discussed. The modified set-up is able to measure both impedance magnitude and impedance phase even though it only contains one microphone. In addition, a method of calibration is described that results in a significant improvement in accuracy when measuring high impedance objects on the modified capillary-based system. The method involves carrying out calibration measurements on two different objects whose impedances are well-known theoretically. The benefits of performing two calibration measurements (as opposed to the one calibration measurement that has been traditionally used) are demonstrated experimentally through input impedance measurements on two test objects and a Boosey and Hawkes oboe. © S. Hirzel Verlag · EAA.

New anti-HIV aptamers based on tetra-end-linked DNA G-quadruplexes: effect of the base sequence on anti-HIV activity.

This communication reports on the synthesis and biophysical, biological and SAR studies of a small library of new anti-HIV aptamers based on the tetra-end-linked G-quadruplex structure. The new aptamers showed EC(50) values against HIV-1 in the range of 0.04-0.15 µM as well as affinities for the HIV-1 gp120 envelope in the same order of magnitude

Inorganic arsenic in rice bran and its products are an order of magnitude higher than in bulk grain

Rice is more elevated in arsenic than all other grain crops tested to date, with whole grain (brown) rice having higher arsenic levels than polished (white). It is reported here that rice bran, both commercially purchased and specifically milled for this study, have levels of inorganic arsenic, a nonthreshold, class 1 carcinogen, reaching concentrations of approximately 1 mg/kg dry weight, around 10-20 fold higher than concentrations found in bulk grain. Although pure rice bran is used as a health food supplement, perhaps of more concern is rice bran solubles, which are marketed as a superfood and as a supplement to malnourished children in international aid programs. Five rice bran solubles products were tested, sourced from the United States and Japan, and were found to have 0.61-1.9 mg/kg inorganic arsenic. Manufactures recommend approximately 20 g servings of the rice bran solubles per day, which equates to a 0.012-0.038 mg intake of inorganic arsenic. There are no maximum concentration levels (MCLs) set for arsenic or its species in food stuffs. EU and U.S. water regulations, set at 0.01 mg/L total or inorganic arsenic, respectively, are based on the assumption that 1 L of water per day is consumed, i.e., 0.01 mg of arsenic/ day. At the manufacturers recommended rice bran solubles consumption rate, inorganic arsenic intake exceeds 0.01 mg/ day, remembering that rice bran solubles are targeted at malnourished children and that actual risk is based on mg kg(-1) day(-1) intake.