We previously reported that the addition of a specified mulberry fruit extract (MFE) to rice consistently reduces post-prandial glycaemic (PPG) and post-prandial insulinemic (PPI) responses. This research tested whether this effect generalises to a broad range of rice types, reflecting the wide variation in rice characteristics known to influence glycaemic responses. In a randomised, balanced, partial factorial crossover design, Sona Masoori (SM), Bora Saul (BS), Gobindobogh (Gb) and Banskati (Bn) rices were tested with and without 0·37 g MFE. Healthy, normal-weight Indian adults (N 120) each consumed four of the eight possible boiled rice meals, all containing about 50 g available carbohydrate. The primary outcome was the effect of MFE on PPG, expressed as the percentage change in the positive, incremental AUC over 2 h. The mean effect of MFE on PPG for all rice types combined was −11·4 % (P < 0·003). The reduction in PPG was in a qualitatively similar range for all rice types (–9·8 to −15·1 %), and this was statistically significant for Bn. MFE also reduced the corresponding PPI response to all rice types combined by a mean of 10·1 % (P < 0·001; range −6·1 to −13·4 %), and the reduction in PPI was statistically significant for SM, Gb and BS. In conclusion, addition of 0·37 g MFE modestly reduced PPG and PPI responses to rices in general, and the effects were statistically significant for specific rice types.

The first demonstration of laser action in ruby was made in 1960 by T. H. Maiman of Hughes Research Laboratories, USA. Many laboratories worldwide began the search for lasers using different materials, operating at different wavelengths. In the UK, academia, industry and the central laboratories took up the challenge from the earliest days to develop these systems for a broad range of applications. This historical review looks at the contribution the UK has made to the advancement of the technology, the development of systems and components and their exploitation over the last 60 years.

The role that vitamin D plays in pulmonary function remains uncertain. Epidemiological studies reported mixed findings for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D)–pulmonary function association. We conducted the largest cross-sectional meta-analysis of the 25(OH)D–pulmonary function association to date, based on nine European ancestry (EA) cohorts (n 22 838) and five African ancestry (AA) cohorts (n 4290) in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium. Data were analysed using linear models by cohort and ancestry. Effect modification by smoking status (current/former/never) was tested. Results were combined using fixed-effects meta-analysis. Mean serum 25(OH)D was 68 (sd 29) nmol/l for EA and 49 (sd 21) nmol/l for AA. For each 1 nmol/l higher 25(OH)D, forced expiratory volume in the 1st second (FEV1) was higher by 1·1 ml in EA (95 % CI 0·9, 1·3; P<0·0001) and 1·8 ml (95 % CI 1·1, 2·5; P<0·0001) in AA (Prace difference=0·06), and forced vital capacity (FVC) was higher by 1·3 ml in EA (95 % CI 1·0, 1·6; P<0·0001) and 1·5 ml (95 % CI 0·8, 2·3; P=0·0001) in AA (Prace difference=0·56). Among EA, the 25(OH)D–FVC association was stronger in smokers: per 1 nmol/l higher 25(OH)D, FVC was higher by 1·7 ml (95 % CI 1·1, 2·3) for current smokers and 1·7 ml (95 % CI 1·2, 2·1) for former smokers, compared with 0·8 ml (95 % CI 0·4, 1·2) for never smokers. In summary, the 25(OH)D associations with FEV1 and FVC were positive in both ancestries. In EA, a stronger association was observed for smokers compared with never smokers, which supports the importance of vitamin D in vulnerable populations.

Whether monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins differ from each other in a variety of phenotypes is important for genetic twin modeling and for inferences made from twin studies in general. We analyzed whether there were differences in individual, maternal and paternal education between MZ and DZ twins in a large pooled dataset. Information was gathered on individual education for 218,362 adult twins from 27 twin cohorts (53% females; 39% MZ twins), and on maternal and paternal education for 147,315 and 143,056 twins respectively, from 28 twin cohorts (52% females; 38% MZ twins). Together, we had information on individual or parental education from 42 twin cohorts representing 19 countries. The original education classifications were transformed to education years and analyzed using linear regression models. Overall, MZ males had 0.26 (95% CI [0.21, 0.31]) years and MZ females 0.17 (95% CI [0.12, 0.21]) years longer education than DZ twins. The zygosity difference became smaller in more recent birth cohorts for both males and females. Parental education was somewhat longer for fathers of DZ twins in cohorts born in 1990–1999 (0.16 years, 95% CI [0.08, 0.25]) and 2000 or later (0.11 years, 95% CI [0.00, 0.22]), compared with fathers of MZ twins. The results show that the years of both individual and parental education are largely similar in MZ and DZ twins. We suggest that the socio-economic differences between MZ and DZ twins are so small that inferences based upon genetic modeling of twin data are not affected.

We are measuring 36Cl in the upper part of the 1966 Camp Century deep core, using the tandem-accelerator mass-spectrometry facility at the University of Rochester. There are two primary motivations for measuring 36Cl in ice. The first is to look for correlations between 36Cl concentrations and changes in solar activity. Previous studies of 10Be and 14C (Stuiver and Quay 1980, Raisbeck and others 1981, Beer and others 1983) have demonstrated that the production of these radio-isotopes increases during periods of low solar activity. When the sun is active, the magnetic field induced by the solar wind deflects galactic cosmic rays from the inner solar system and thereby lowers the production of radio-isotopes. Our study of 36Cl in ice dating back to A.D. 1550, from Camp Century, Greenland, shows that there was an increase in 36Cl production during the Maunder Minimum (1650–1715). However, climatic variations introduce fluctuations of a factor of 2 or more over short periods and the Maunder Minimum peak is only readily apparent when the data are smoothed mathematically.

The second motivation for measuring 36Cl in ice is to test the possibility that the ratio of 36Cl to 10Be will provide a means for dating ice over 50 000 years old (Nishiizumi and others 1983). The dependence on both solar activity and climatic fluctuations mentioned above precludes dating with a single radio-isotope. If, however, the production rates of 36Cl and 10Be are each proportional to the cosmic-ray flux and are transported identically to the ice sheet, these fluctuations would cancel and the ratio of 36Cl to 10Be would provide a radiometric means of dating very old ice. The half-lives for 36Cl (3.0 × 105 years) and 10Be (1.6 × 106 years), combine to give a “half-life” for the 36Cl/10Be ratio of 3.7 × 105 years.

Unfortunately, preliminary results from Camp Century, Greenland, show that it will almost certainly not be possible to use the 10Be/36Cl ratio for dating. 10Be and 36Cl have been measured in more than 20 samples; the 10Be/36Cl ratio varied, without any obvious pattern, from below 5 to over 15. Additional evidence comes from Antarctica. We found that the 10Be/36Cl ratio changed significantly within a short depth interval within a single block of ice and that the calculated age of ice based on 10Be/36Cl differed from the age of an embedded meteorite, ALHA82102 (personal communication from K. Nishiizumi).

A variation in the 10Be/36Cl ratio may be caused by climatic effects: for example, changes in air circulation between the stratosphere and the troposphere in the polar region, in combination with chemical processes that affect aerosol chlorine and beryllium differently. Also, the 10Be/36Cl ratio is smaller than expected, indicating that there may be additional sources of 36Cl. If there is a source of 36Cl that varies independently from the galactic cosmic-ray flux, this would result in variations in the isotope ratio. Discovery of the cause of the variations may result in a new tool for understanding paleoclimate.

The High Plateaus of Utah include seven separate mountain ranges that supported glaciers during the Pleistocene. The Fish Lake Plateau, located on the eastern edge of the High Plateaus, preserves evidence of at least two glacial advances. Four cosmogenic 3He exposure ages of boulders in an older moraine range from 79 to 159 ka with a mean age of 129 ± 39 ka and oldest ages of 152 ± 3 and 159 ± 5 ka. These ages suggest deposition during the type Bull Lake glaciation and Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 6. Twenty boulder exposure ages from four different younger moraines indicate a local last glacial maximum (LGM) of ~ 21.1 ka, coincident with the type Pinedale glaciation and MIS 2. Reconstructed Pinedale-age glaciers from the Fish Lake Plateau have equilibrium-line altitudes ranging from 2950 to 3190 m. LGM summer temperature depressions for the Fish Lake Plateau range from −10.7 to −8.2°C, assuming no change in precipitation. Comparison of the Fish Lake summer temperature depressions to a regional dataset suggests that the Fish Lake Plateau may have had a slight increase (~ 1.5× modern) in precipitation during the LGM. A series of submerged ridges in Fish Lake were identified during a bathymetric survey and are likely Bull Lake age moraines.

We compare the preservation (taphonomic grade) and age of Chione (bivalve) and foraminifera from modern siliciclastic tidal flat sediments of Bahia la Choya, Sonora, Mexico (northern Gulf of California). Disarticulated shells of Chione collected from the sediment-water interface of Choya Bay exhibit a substantial range in taphonomic grade and age, several hundred years to ∼80–125 ka based on Accelerator Mass Spectrometer 14C dates and D-Alloisoleucine/L-Isoleucine values. There is not, however, a one-to-one correspondence between age and taphonomic alteration of Chione: old (or young) valves may be highly altered or they may be relatively pristine. In contrast to Chione, most foraminiferal tests at Choya Bay are quite pristine, which suggests a quite young age, but tests are surprisingly old (up to ∼2,000 calendar years based on Accelerator Mass Spectrometer 14C dates).

We suggest that following seasonal pulses in reproduction, some foraminiferal tests are rapidly incorporated into a subsurface shell layer by “Conveyor Belt” deposit feeders and preserved there, while the rest of the reproductive pulse rapidly dissolves. Ultimately, some of these buried tests, along with Chione, are transported back to the surface by biological activity and storms. The much greater range of taphonomic grades and ages among Chione shells suggests that they, unlike foraminifera, are sufficiently large and preservable (low surface/volume ratio and chemical reactivity) to undergo many cycles of degradation, burial, and exhumation before complete destruction. The age of foraminiferal tests indicates that time-averaging of microfossil assemblages at Choya Bay is much more insidious than would be expected considering the relatively pristine state of the tests alone.

Based on our studies, the lower limit of temporal resolution of shallow shelf microfossil assemblages appears to be ∼1000 years. We caution, however, that each depositional setting (taphofacies) should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis before gross generalizations are made. Indeed, the discrepancy between age and taphonomic grade of fossil assemblages at Choya Bay suggests that neither hardpart size or taphonomic grade are infallible indicators of test preservability or likely temporal resolution of the host assemblage, and that the dynamics of hardpart input and loss must also be evaluated.

We analyzed birth order differences in means and variances of height and body mass index (BMI) in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins from infancy to old age. The data were derived from the international CODATwins database. The total number of height and BMI measures from 0.5 to 79.5 years of age was 397,466. As expected, first-born twins had greater birth weight than second-born twins. With respect to height, first-born twins were slightly taller than second-born twins in childhood. After adjusting the results for birth weight, the birth order differences decreased and were no longer statistically significant. First-born twins had greater BMI than the second-born twins over childhood and adolescence. After adjusting the results for birth weight, birth order was still associated with BMI until 12 years of age. No interaction effect between birth order and zygosity was found. Only limited evidence was found that birth order influenced variances of height or BMI. The results were similar among boys and girls and also in MZ and DZ twins. Overall, the differences in height and BMI between first- and second-born twins were modest even in early childhood, while adjustment for birth weight reduced the birth order differences but did not remove them for BMI.

A trend toward greater body size in dizygotic (DZ) than in monozygotic (MZ) twins has been suggested by some but not all studies, and this difference may also vary by age. We analyzed zygosity differences in mean values and variances of height and body mass index (BMI) among male and female twins from infancy to old age. Data were derived from an international database of 54 twin cohorts participating in the COllaborative project of Development of Anthropometrical measures in Twins (CODATwins), and included 842,951 height and BMI measurements from twins aged 1 to 102 years. The results showed that DZ twins were consistently taller than MZ twins, with differences of up to 2.0 cm in childhood and adolescence and up to 0.9 cm in adulthood. Similarly, a greater mean BMI of up to 0.3 kg/m2 in childhood and adolescence and up to 0.2 kg/m2 in adulthood was observed in DZ twins, although the pattern was less consistent. DZ twins presented up to 1.7% greater height and 1.9% greater BMI than MZ twins; these percentage differences were largest in middle and late childhood and decreased with age in both sexes. The variance of height was similar in MZ and DZ twins at most ages. In contrast, the variance of BMI was significantly higher in DZ than in MZ twins, particularly in childhood. In conclusion, DZ twins were generally taller and had greater BMI than MZ twins, but the differences decreased with age in both sexes.

For over 100 years, the genetics of human anthropometric traits has attracted scientific interest. In particular, height and body mass index (BMI, calculated as kg/m2) have been under intensive genetic research. However, it is still largely unknown whether and how heritability estimates vary between human populations. Opportunities to address this question have increased recently because of the establishment of many new twin cohorts and the increasing accumulation of data in established twin cohorts. We started a new research project to analyze systematically (1) the variation of heritability estimates of height, BMI and their trajectories over the life course between birth cohorts, ethnicities and countries, and (2) to study the effects of birth-related factors, education and smoking on these anthropometric traits and whether these effects vary between twin cohorts. We identified 67 twin projects, including both monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins, using various sources. We asked for individual level data on height and weight including repeated measurements, birth related traits, background variables, education and smoking. By the end of 2014, 48 projects participated. Together, we have 893,458 height and weight measures (52% females) from 434,723 twin individuals, including 201,192 complete twin pairs (40% monozygotic, 40% same-sex dizygotic and 20% opposite-sex dizygotic) representing 22 countries. This project demonstrates that large-scale international twin studies are feasible and can promote the use of existing data for novel research purposes.

Solid waste disposal is a significant problem. It has been estimated that almost a ton of solid waste is collected per year per capita in the United States. Solid waste disposal, especially in rural areas, is frequently done in an unsanitary, potentially dangerous and often unslightly manner. To cope with these solid waste problems, both state legislatures and the Environmental Protection Agency are now in the process of requiring communities which presently utilize unsanitary disposal practices to upgrade their facilities and management practices. A sanitary landfill operation1 is usually the least-cost method of accomplishing these requirements, especially in rural areas.2 Quality facilities and management practices are not costless, however. It is estimated that the U.S. spends more than $4.5 billion each year on solid waste management, and more than 80 percent of this amount is for collection.