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The Taxonomy Regulation establishes common and science-based definitions to determine whether an economic activity is environmentally sustainable. It aims to make sustainable finance more accessible to investors, while also protecting them from false or misleading claims about a financial product’s sustainability. In doing so it shifts a large part of the burden to prevent greenwashing onto the legislator. This chapter therefore critically analyses the Taxonomy’s ability to protect investors from greenwashing and identifies a number of pitfalls. The market for sustainable financial products is rapidly growing, yet the Taxonomy so far only covers environmental sustainability in selected sectors. Gathering and disclosing the necessary environmental data can be challenging and costly and may discourage companies and financial market participants to offer Taxonomy-aligned products, possibly turning it into a niche product. The Taxonomy’s binary approach makes it difficult for investors to assess the sustainability of complex financial products and limits incentives for non-aligned companies to improve their performance. This chapter therefore argues for an extension of the Taxonomy that distinguishes between positive, intermediary and harmful activities and provides definitions for social and governance aspects of sustainability
In the limit of sufficiently fast rotation, rotating mirror traps are known to be stable against the loss-cone modes associated with conventional (non-rotating) mirrors. This paper calculates how quickly a mirror configuration must rotate in order for several of these modes to be stabilized (in particular, the high-frequency convective loss cone, drift cyclotron loss cone and Dory–Guest–Harris modes). Commonalities in the stabilization conditions for these modes then motivate a modified formulation of the Gardner free energy and diffusively accessible free energy to be used for systems in which the important modes have wavevectors that are orthogonal or nearly orthogonal to the magnetic field, as well as a modification to include the effects of a loss region in phase space.
Our limited knowledge of the climate prevailing over Europe during former glaciations is the main obstacle to reconstruct the past evolution of the ice coverage over the Alps by numerical modelling. To address this challenge, we perform a two-step modelling approach: First, a regional climate model is used to downscale the time slice simulations of a global earth system model in high resolution, leading to climate snapshots during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the Marine Isotope Stage 4 (MIS4). Second, we combine these snapshots and a climate signal proxy to build a transient climate over the last glacial period and force the Parallel Ice Sheet Model to simulate the dynamical evolution of glaciers in the Alps. The results show that the extent of modelled glaciers during the LGM agrees with several independent key geological imprints, including moraine-based maximal reconstructed glacial extents, known ice transfluences and trajectories of erratic boulders of known origin and deposition. Our results highlight the benefit of multiphysical coupled climate and glacier transient modelling over simpler approaches to help reconstruct paleo glacier fluctuations in agreement with traces they have left on the landscape.
Telomere length (TL) is a posited pathway through which chronic stress results in biological dysregulation and subsequent adverse health outcomes. Food insecurity is associated with shorter TL. Social support, which is defined by the size and function of an individual’s social network, is associated with better health outcomes. The present study assesses whether social support modifies the relationship between food security and TL.
Design:
Cross-sectional study design. Linear regression was used to assess the association between food insecurity and TL, stratified by social support level. A multiplicative interacted model was used to formally test modification.
Setting:
Data come from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2000 and 2001–2002 waves.
Participants:
Adults aged 60 years and older who have measurements for TL.
Results:
Our sample comprised 2674 participants, and 63·5 % of the total sample had low social support, with 13·3 % being food insecure. In fully adjusted models, food insecurity was negatively though modestly associated (P = 0·13) with TL. Associations between food insecurity and TL were significantly modified by social support (interaction P = 0·026), whereby food insecurity had a stronger effect among individuals with high social support (coefficient = –0·099 (95 % CI: –0·161, –0·038)) compared to low social support (coefficient = –0·001, (95 % CI: –0·033, 0·032)).
Conclusion:
Food insecurity is modestly associated with shorter TL. Contrary to our hypothesis, food insecurity had more deleterious effects on TL among participants with high social support than low social support. Results may indicate that the food insecure population is a higher needs population, and increased social support reflects these needs rather than providing protective effects.
At a time of pandemics, international economic downturns, and increasing environmental threats due to climate change, countries around the world are facing numerous crises. What impact might we expect these crises to have on the already common perception that executive leadership is a masculine domain? For years, women executives’ ability to lead has been questioned (Jalalzai 2013). However, the outbreak of COVID-19 brought headlines like CNN’s “Women Leaders Are Doing a Disproportionately Great Job at Handling the Pandemic” (Fincher 2020). Do crises offer women presidents and prime ministers opportunities to be perceived as competent leaders? Or do they prime masculinized leadership expectations and reinforce common conceptions that women are unfit to lead? We maintain that people’s perceptions of crisis leadership will depend on whether the crisis creates role (in)congruity between traditional gender norms and the leadership expectations generated by the particular crisis.
Research on the political science profession has shown that homophilous research networks—that is, those organized along the lines of gender and race/ethnicity—reproduce hierarchies. Research networks composed of white men experience the most prestige and lead to the most opportunities. This study documents homophilous networks in a setting where they likely are nurtured: academic conferences. Drawing data from the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, we examine the correspondence between the gender and the racial/ethnic composition of section members, panelists, and audience members for four research sections: Political Methodology; Political Psychology; Race, Ethnicity, and Politics; and Women and Politics. We find that attendees’ and panelists’ gender and racial/ethnic identity largely mirror the dominant gender and racial/ethnic group in their section. These findings indicate that homophily manifests at academic conferences and that efforts to diversify research networks should consider who listens to whom in these settings.
Bats are mammalian hosts to a large diversity of eukaryotic protozoan blood parasites, including different genera of haemosporidians and diverse species of trypanosomes. Phylogenetic studies suggest that bats, particularly in Africa, have played an important role in the evolutionary histories of these parasite groups. However, our understanding of the diversity and distribution of chiropteran haemosporidians and trypanosomes in Africa remains tenuous. We investigated the prevalence and phylogenetic relationships of the blood parasites in different bat species in Northern Nigeria using molecular methods. A low prevalence of Hepatocystis parasites was detected in a potentially rare host species, the African straw-coloured fruit bat (Eidolon helvum) confirming yet another fruit bat species in the diverse range of African bat hosts. Trypanosome infections were identified in 3 different bat species. The trypanosomes of Mops cf. pumilus were recovered as a distinct lineage that is related to Trypanosoma erneyi, a species which is closely related to Trypanosoma dionisii and Trypanosoma cruzi. Nycteris cf. macrotis bats were infected with trypanosomes that are related to the distinct lineage of Trypanosoma cf. livingstonei parasites. Further, 2 different lineages of trypanosomes in E. helvum bats share highest nucleotide identities with Trypanosoma livingstonei and a group of Trypanosoma sp. parasites that are closely related to T. cf. livingstonei and T. livingstonei, respectively. The findings of this study confirm the notion that trypanosomes of African bats are phylogenetically diverse and that African bats might harbour a variety of yet undescribed trypanosome species.
The problem of manterrupting, i.e. men interrupting women to take control of a conversation, claiming superior knowledge, or discrediting women's arguments, has garnered major attention in social and traditional media. Yet scholarly accounts of gendered speech interruption patterns in parliamentary debates are less common. In this article, I argue that manterrupting can be considered a form of resistance against women in politics and, in its worst iteration, prevent female representatives from representing women's interests. This article will analyze the problem of ‘manterrupting’ regarding parliamentary debates in Germany by investigating the nature and extent of male interruptions during parliamentary debates in the 17th legislative period. Drawing on insights from social psychology and masculinity studies, this article finds that in the case of Germany, manterruptions are neither systemic and frequent enough to constitute a form of resistance against women in politics nor do they prevent female representatives from engaging in the substantive representation of women.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), there were fifty active shooter incidents in 2016 and 2017. In the first five months of 2018, there have been 23 school shootings where someone was injured or killed. Hemorrhage-control tourniquets have proven their life-saving capability in the military and civilian EMS. Now, they are being advocated for use by civilians – the true “first responders.” Since Combat Application Tourniquets (CATs) are strap-and-windlass devices, the question remains whether a naïve population can intuitively apply them efficaciously.
Aim:
To determine the efficacy (speed, correct placement) of a CAT by an interprofessional group of healthcare students naïve to tourniquet hemorrhage control.
Methods:
Consenting students attempted to apply a CAT to a standardized patient with a simulated hemorrhaging brachial artery. No instruction was given except for the directions included in the package. Timing began upon removal of the tourniquet from the package and ended when the participants stated they completed their attempt. Errors in application were documented. Afterward, students received education and an opportunity to properly re-apply the tourniquet. The completion times of the students were compared to ten emergency medical technicians (EMT-P), serving as subject matter experts. Errors in application were categorized.
Results:
50 students from the following professions participated: Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, and Respiratory Therapy. The mean time of tourniquet application was 96.16 seconds (range: 25.12-226.31). This was statistically different from the EMT-Ps’ time of 42.83 seconds (range: 23.89-82.94). Additionally, only five (10%) placed the tourniquet correctly. Errors included improper location and windlass misuse or non-use. The instructions were frequently critiqued for being difficult to read and containing confusing graphics.
Discussion:
Provision of commercial tourniquets in public access areas must be accompanied by civilian education and the creation of CAT instructions that are simplistic, comprehensible, and suitably graphic.
This article explores how far the concepts of de-familialisation/familialisation are adequate to the classification of long-term care (LTC) policies for older people. In the theoretical debate over LTC policies, de-familialising and familialising policies are often treated as opposites. We propose re-conceptualising the relation between de-familialisation and familialisation, arguing that they represent substantially different types of policy that, in theory, can vary relatively autonomously. In order to evaluate this theoretical assumption, this article investigates the relation between the generosity level of LTC policies on extra-familial care, and the generosity level of LTC policies on paid family care, introducing a new multi-dimensional approach to measuring the generosity of LTC policy for older persons. It also explores the consequences of this for gender equality. The empirical study is based on a cross-national comparison of LTC policies in five European welfare states which show significant differences in their welfare state tradition. Data used are from document analysis of care policy law, the Mutual Information System on Social Protection, the European Quality of Life Survey and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The findings support the argument that de-familialising and familialising LTC policies can vary relatively independently of each other in theory. It turns out that we get a better understanding of the relationship between LTC policy and gender equality if we analyse the role of different combinations of extra-familial and familial LTC policies for gender equality. The paper brings new insights into the ways welfare states act in regard to their LTC policies. It helps to clarify how the concept of de-familialisation/familialisation can be understood, and what this means for the relationship between LTC policies and gender equality.
The Rocky Beach Metamorphic Melange contains metre-scale phacoids of high-P low-T metamorphic rocks embedded in chlorite-actinolite schist. The phacoids include eclogite, glaucophane schist and omphacitite and provide evidence for four episodes of metamorphism with mineral assemblages: M1 = actinolite-glaucophane-titanite-apaite, M2 = almandine-omphacite-lawsonite ±quartz, M3 = phengite- glaucophane-K-feldspar-quartz, and M4 = chlorite-actinolite-calcite-quartz-titanite-white mica ± albite ± talc. M1-M3 occurred at a Neoproterozoic-Early Palaeozoic convergent plate boundary close to the eastern margin of Gondwana. Peak metamorphic conditions were attained during the static phase M2, with temperatures of ~560°C and pressures in excess of 1.8 GPa, equivalent to a depth of burial of at least 54 km.
During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) the Tagliamento glacier delivered large amounts of sediment to the Cormor alluvial megafan on the southern Alpine foreland basin. To build a chronology of Late Pleistocene glacier fluctuations and assess the timing of the transition from interstadial to glacial conditions, we have performed radiocarbon (14C) dating on peat and macrofossil samples obtained from a drilling core from the distal Cormor megafan. Our chronology records fluvial and glaciofluvial aggradation from the end of MIS 3 until the end of the LGM. It shows a rapid transmission of signals of environmental change along the Cormor megafan, so that changes in the activity of the Tagliamento glacier directly affect glaciofluvial sedimentation. Our data demonstrate that the intrinsic heterogeneity of peat is most critical for the reliability and reproducibility of the obtained 14C ages. Macrofossil subsamples give evidence for significant mixing of organic components of different ages within single peat samples. Sample heterogeneity is also underlined by the results obtained from testing of different laboratory precleaning methods. Our results suggest that a rigorous ABA pretreatment is sufficient for peat cleaning. In contrast, the chemically stronger ABOX methods appear to rapidly degrade the peat, particularly destroying older organic components.
The former glacier at the type locality of the “Gschnitz Stadial” of the Alpine Late-glacial chronology is interpreted from a paleoglaciological and paleoclimatological point of view. The equilibrium-line altitude, ice flux through selected cross sections and mass-balance gradients are calculated from reconstructed glacier topography. They are used to determine total net ablation and accumulation and precipitation under the assumption of steady-state. The former temperature at the ELA and temperature change is estimated using various glacier—climate models. Precipitation was less than one-third of today’s values, and summer temperature was roughly 10°C lower than today. The climate during the Gschnitz Stadial appears to have been cold and continental, and was more similar to full glacial conditions than to the Younger Dryas climate in the Alps. This is further evidence for an older age of the Gschnitz Stadial.
As battery capacities become suitable for the mass market, there is an increasing demand on technologies to charge electric vehicles. Wireless charging is regarded as the most promising technique for automatic and convenient charging. Especially in publicly accessible parking spaces, foreign objects are able to enter the large air gap between the charging coils easily. Since the evoked magnetic field does not meet regulations, wireless charging systems are demanded to take further precautions related to the protection of endangered objects. Thus, additional sensors are required to protect primarily living objects by preventing them from being exposed to the magnetic field. In this paper, we propose a new approach for monitoring the air gap under the vehicle underbody using an automotive radar sensor on the vehicle side. The concept feasibility is evaluated with the help of a prototypical implementation. Further, two-dimensional signal processing techniques are applied to meet the requirements of inductive charging systems. Consequently, this paper provides measurement data for relevant use cases frequently discussed in the community of inductive charging.
In this study we compare two thermal annealing series of III/V semiconductor heterostructures on Si, where during the first series nitrogen is present in the in situ holder. The second, comparative, measurement is done in a tertiarybutylphosphine (TBP) environment. The sample annealed in a TBP environment shows favorable thermal stability up to 500°C compared to the unstabilized sample, which begins to degrade at less than 300°C. Evaporation of P from the material is tracked qualitatively by measuring the thickness of the sample during thermal annealing with and without stabilization. Finally, we investigate the in situ thermal annealing processes at atomic resolution. Here it is possible to study phase separation as well as the diffusion of As from a Ga(NAsP) quantum well in the surrounding GaP material during thermal annealing. To make these investigations possible we developed an extension for our in situ transmission electron microscopy setup for the safe usage of toxic and pyrophoric III/V semiconductor precursors. A commercially available gas cell and gas supply system were expanded with a gas mixing system, an appropriate toxic gas monitoring system and a gas scrubbing system. These components allow in situ studies of semiconductor growth and annealing under the purity conditions required for these materials.
Introduction: We characterised tobacco use, cessation patterns, and patient satisfaction with a cessation support program at an NCI Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center following a mandatory tobacco assessment and automatic referral.
Methods: A 3-month follow-up survey (via web, paper, or telephone) was administered between March 2013 and November 2013 for all patients referred to and contacted by a cessation support service, and who consented to participation three months prior to administration. Patients were asked about their perceived importance and self-efficacy to quit smoking, quit attempts, and satisfaction with the cessation service.
Results: Fifty-two percent (257/499) of patients who participated in the cessation support service, and consented to be contacted again, completed a follow-up survey. Of those who participated, 9.7% were referred to the service as having recently quit tobacco (in the past 30 days) and 23.6% reported having quit at the time of first contact. At the 3-month follow-up, 48.1% reported being smoke-free for the previous seven days. When patients were asked about their experience with the cessation service, 86.4% reported being very or mostly satisfied with the service, and 64.3% reported that their experience with the service increased their satisfaction with the care received at the cancer centre.
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that recently diagnosed cancer patients are aware that quitting tobacco is important, are making attempts to quit, and are amenable to an opt-out automatic referral cessation support service as part of their cancer care.
In this study, a modelling approach was used to investigate the cause of the diversion of erratic boulders from Mont Blanc and southern Valais by the Valais Glacier to the Solothurn lobe during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Using the Parallel Ice Sheet Model, we simulated the ice flow field during the LGM, and analyzed the trajectories taken by erratic boulders from areas with characteristic lithologies. The main difficulty in this exercise laid with the large uncertainties affecting the paleo climate forcing required as input for the surface mass-balance model. In order to mimic the prevailing climate conditions during the LGM, we applied different temperature offsets and regional precipitation corrections to present-day climate data, and selected the parametrizations, which yielded the best match between the modelled ice extent and the geomorphologically-based ice-margin reconstruction. After running a range of simulations with varying parameters, our results showed that only one parametrization allowed boulders to be diverted to the Solothurn lobe during the LGM. This precipitation pattern supports the existing theory of preferential southwesterly advection of moisture to the alps during the LGM, but also indicates strongly enhanced precipitation over the Mont Blanc massif and enhanced cooling over the Jura Mountains.