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Technological innovations in the online food delivery sector include the use of autonomous delivery vehicles. The aim of the present study was to investigate consumers’ intentions to use these services once they are widely available and their motivations for using them to access unhealthy food.
Design:
Online survey including a vignette describing a future world where autonomous food deliveries are in common use in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas.
Setting:
Australia.
Participants:
1078 Australians aged 18 years and older, nationally representative by sex, age and location (metropolitan v. non-metropolitan residence).
Results:
Around half of the sample reported intending to use an autonomous food delivery service at least once per week for fast food (53 %) and/or healthy pre-prepared food (50 %). Almost two-thirds (60 %) intended using autonomous vehicle deliveries to receive groceries. Around one in five (17 %) anticipated an increase in their fast-food intake as a result of access to autonomous delivery services compared with one in two (46 %) expecting others’ total fast-food intake to increase. The most common reason provided for using autonomous food deliveries was increased convenience. More frequent current fast-food ordering, higher socio-economic status, younger age and regional location were significantly associated with an anticipated increase in fast-food consumption.
Conclusions:
The emergence of autonomous food delivery systems may bring both benefits and adverse consequences that in combination are likely to constitute a substantial regulatory challenge. Proactive efforts will be required to avoid negative public health nutrition outcomes of this transport evolution.
The deep regolith of the southeastern United States has undergone rapid erosion in the last two centuries due to intensive agricultural practices, which has altered the landscape and its inherent fertility. Parent material, landscape position, and land use are important factors in controlling the mineral and elemental composition of soil profiles. Independent quantitative X-ray diffraction (QXRD) and whole-rock chemical analysis of eight weathering profiles agreed well and allow mineral reaction pathways to be constrained as particles are conveyed in the subsurface. QXRD analysis of saprolite, argillic, and soil A-horizons in the profiles highlights the imprint of bedrock on the regolith, which includes Neoproterozoic meta-tonalitic to meta-granodioritic and Paleozoic meta-granitic to biotite- and amphibolite-gneissic lithologies. Also, aeolian input slightly influenced A-horizon composition. The clay mineral assemblage is dominated by kaolinite, but profiles differ in the amount of interstratified clay minerals, halloysite, hematite, goethite, and gibbsite. Rare-earth element totals vary between 30 and 1048 ppm and are generally correlated positively with clay and clay mineral content. Eu and Ce anomalies reflect parent rocks and subsequent hydrolysis and redox history, with trends depending upon landscape position and clay content in the weathering profile. Weathering profiles on a high-order interfluve and those that were actively cultivated have thick argillic horizons (as defined by clay mineral abundance) and are depleted in alkali and alkaline-earth elements. Profiles proximally developed on old-field pine and never-cultivated hardwood forest land do not show large differences in mineral composition trends, whereas profiles on old-field sites with ongoing cultivation exhibit assemblages enriched in clay minerals and (oxyhydr)oxides. Old-field pine sites that were historically eroded by previous cultivation tend to have shallower and thinner argillic horizons, which may well impact critical-zone processes involving gas and water fluxes. This study highlights that mineral compositions of deep regolith, saprolite, and shallow soil horizons are dependent on local geomorphology (i.e. watershed- and hillshed-orders). Quantifying soil and regolith compositional trends across the landscape is a prerequisite for determining rates of chemical and physical erosion on human and geologic time scales.
To achieve the elimination of the hepatitis C virus (HCV), sustained and sufficient levels of HCV testing is critical. The purpose of this study was to assess trends in testing and evaluate the effectiveness of strategies to diagnose people living with HCV. Data were from 12 primary care clinics in Victoria, Australia, that provide targeted services to people who inject drugs (PWID), alongside general health care. This ecological study spanned 2009–2019 and included analyses of trends in annual numbers of HCV antibody tests among individuals with no previous positive HCV antibody test recorded and annual test yield (positive HCV antibody tests/all HCV antibody tests). Generalised linear models estimated the association between count outcomes (HCV antibody tests and positive HCV antibody tests) and time, and χ2 test assessed the trend in test yield. A total of 44 889 HCV antibody tests were conducted 2009–2019; test numbers increased 6% annually on average [95% confidence interval (CI) 4–9]. Test yield declined from 2009 (21%) to 2019 (9%) (χ2P = <0.01). In more recent years (2013–2019) annual test yield remained relatively stable. Modest increases in HCV antibody testing and stable but high test yield within clinics delivering services to PWID highlights testing strategies are resulting in people are being diagnosed however further increases in the testing of people at risk of HCV or living with HCV may be needed to reach Australia's HCV elimination goals.
BASF Corp. has developed p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) inhibitor–resistant cotton and soybean that will allow growers to use isoxaflutole in future weed management programs. In 2019 and 2020, a multi-state non-crop research project was conducted to examine weed control following isoxaflutole applied preemergence alone and with several tank-mix partners at high and low labeled rates. At 28 d after treatment (DAT), Palmer amaranth was controlled ≥95% at six of seven locations with isoxaflutole plus the high rate of diuron or fluridone. These same combinations provided the greatest control 42 DAT at four of seven locations. Where large crabgrass was present, isoxaflutole plus the high rate of diuron, fluridone, pendimethalin, or S-metolachlor or isoxaflutole plus the low rate of fluometuron controlled large crabgrass ≥95% in two of three locations 28 DAT. In two of three locations, isoxaflutole plus the high rate of pendimethalin or S-metolachlor improved large crabgrass control 42 DAT when compared to isoxaflutole alone. At 21 DAT, morningglory was controlled ≥95% at all locations with isoxaflutole plus the high rate of diuron and at three of four locations with isoxaflutole plus the high rate of fluometuron. At 42 DAT at all locations, isoxaflutole plus diuron or fluridone and isoxaflutole plus the high rate of fluometuron improved morningglory control compared to isoxaflutole alone. These results suggest that isoxaflutole applied preemergence alone or in tank mixture is efficacious on a number of cross-spectrum annual weeds in cotton, and extended weed control may be achieved when isoxaflutole is tank-mixed with several soil-residual herbicides.
Classrooms are key social settings that impact children's mental health, though individual differences in physiological reactivity may render children more or less susceptible to classroom environments. In a diverse sample of children from 19 kindergarten classrooms (N = 338, 48% female, M age = 5.32 years), we examined whether children's parasympathetic reactivity moderated the association between classroom climate and externalizing symptoms. Independent observers coded teachers’ use of child-centered and teacher-directed instructional practices across classroom social and management domains. Children's respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity to challenge tasks was assessed in fall and a multi-informant measure of externalizing was collected in fall and spring. Both the social and the management domains of classroom climate significantly interacted with children's respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity to predict spring externalizing symptoms, controlling for fall symptoms. For more reactive children, as classrooms shifted toward greater proportional use of child-centered methods, externalizing symptoms declined, whereas greater use of teacher-dominated practices was associated with increased symptoms. Conversely, among less reactive children, exposure to more teacher-dominated classroom management practices was associated with lower externalizing. Consistent with the theory of biological sensitivity to context, considering variability in children's physiological reactivity aids understanding of the salience of the classroom environment for children's mental health.
While much research has focused on crop damage following foliar exposure to auxin herbicides, reports documenting the risk posed by exposure via root uptake of irrigation water are lacking. Herbicide residues circulated in tailwater recovery systems may pose threats of cross-crop impacts to nonresistant cultivars with known sensitivity to auxins. An auxin-susceptible soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cultivar was grown in a controlled growth chamber environment and exposed to dicamba dissolved in irrigation water applied to the soil surface, simulating furrow irrigation. Five herbicide treatment concentrations, ranging from 0.05 to 5.0 mg L−1 and encompassing estimated field doses of 3.1 to 310g ha−1, were applied to the soil of potted soybean plants at V3/V4 or R1 growth stages. Plant injury (0% to 100%), dry mass, height, number of pods, and number of pod-bearing nodes were measured. Kruskal-Wallis and logistic regression analyses were performed to determine treatment differences and examine dose effects. Yield losses were projected using (1) 14 d after treatment plant injury assessments based on injury–yield relationships described for foliar exposures and (2) pod counts. Dicamba concentration was the main significant factor affecting all growth response metrics, and growth stage was a significant explanatory variable only for the height response metric. A nonlinear response to dicamba dose was observed, with the threshold response dose required to affect 50% of plants being three times greater for 40% crop injury compared with 20% injury. Yield projections derived from plant response to root uptake compared with foliar exposure indicate that soybean may express both magnitude of injury and specific symptomology differently when exposure occurs via root uptake. Drift exposure–based models may be incompatible to predict soybean yield loss when injury results from irrigation. Data are needed to develop correlations for predicting yield losses based on field-scale exposure to dicamba in irrigation water, as well as assessment of real-world concentrations of herbicide residues in tailwater recovery systems.
Microstructure and phase evolution in magnetron sputtered nanocrystalline tungsten and tungsten alloy thin films are explored through in situ TEM annealing experiments at temperatures up to 1000 °C. Grain growth in unalloyed nanocrystalline tungsten transpires through a discontinuous process at temperatures up to 550 °C, which is coupled to an allotropic phase transformation of metastable β-tungsten with the A-15 cubic structure to stable body centered cubic (BCC) α-tungsten. Complete transformation to the BCC α-phase is accompanied by the convergence to a unimodal nanocrystalline structure at 650 °C, signaling a transition to continuous grain growth. Alloy films synthesized with compositions of W–20 at.% Ti and W–15 at.% Cr exhibit only the BCC α-phase in the as-deposited state, which indicate the addition of solute stabilizes the films against the formation of metastable β-tungsten. Thermal stability of the alloy films is significantly improved over their unalloyed counterpart up to 1000 °C, and grain coarsening occurs solely through a continuous growth process. The contrasting thermal stability between W–Ti and W–Cr is attributed to different grain boundary segregation states, thus demonstrating the critical role of grain boundary chemistry in the design of solute-stabilized nanocrystalline alloys.
Kochia is a troublesome weed throughout the western United States. Although
glyphosate effectively controls kochia, poor control was observed in several
no-till fields in Kansas. The objectives of this research were to evaluate
kochia populations response to glyphosate and examine the mechanism that
causes differential response to glyphosate. Glyphosate was applied at 0, 54,
109, 218, 435, 870, 1305, 1740, 3480, and 5220 g ae ha−1 on 10
kochia populations. In general, kochia populations differed in their
response to glyphosate. At 21 d after treatment, injury from glyphosate
applied at 870 g ha−1 range from 4 to 91%. In addition,
glyphosate rate required to cause 50% visible injury (GR50)
ranged from 470 to 2149 g ha−1. Differences in glyphosate
absorption and translocation and kochia mineral content were not sufficient
to explain differential kochia response to glyphosate.
Sediment cores collected along a transect in Crooked Pond, southeastern Massachusetts, provide evidence of water-level changes between 15,000 cal yr B.P. and present. The extent of fine-grained, detrital, organic accumulation in the basin, inferred from sediment and pollen stratigraphies, varied over time and indicates low water levels between 11,200 and 8000 cal yr B.P. and from ca. 5300 to 3200 cal yr B.P. This history is consistent with the paleohydrology records from nearby Makepeace Cedar Swamp and other sites from New England and eastern Canada and with temporal patterns of regional changes in effective soil moisture inferred from pollen data. The similarities among these records indicate that (1) regional conditions were drier than today when white pine (Pinus strobus) grew abundantly in southern New England (11,200 to 9500 cal yr B.P.); (2) higher moisture levels existed between 8000 and 5500 cal yr B.P., possibly caused by increased meridonal circulation as the influence of the Laurentide ice sheet waned; and (3) drier conditions possibly contributed to the regional decline in hemlock (Tsuga) abundances at 5300 cal yr B.P. Although sea-level rise may have been an influence, moist climatic conditions during the late Holocene were the primary reason for a dramatic rise in water-table elevations.
For nearly 40 years, a massive, well-preserved glaciomarine delta more than 54,000 years old and ancillary landforms have formed the cornerstone of models positing limited ice-sheet extent in Arctic Canada during the late Wisconsinan. We present exposure ages for large boulders on the delta surface, which coupled with preservation of relict landforms demonstrate that the region was covered by minimally erosive, cold-based ice during the late Wisconsinan. Our data suggest that surficial features commonly used to define the pattern of late Wisconsinan ice movement cannot be used on their own to constrain late Wisconsinan ice-sheet margins in Arctic regions.
A man with acquired immune deficiency syndrome suddenly developed bilateral complete ptosis and minor vertical gaze limitation. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a lesion in the midbrain surrounding the sylvian aqueduct in addition to bilateral masses in the caudate nuclei. Pathologic examination showed that the caudate lesions were central nervous system lymphoma of B cell origin, but the midbrain lesion contained only signs of AIDS encephalopathy. The periaqueductal lesion involved the caudal central subnucleus and probably also the subnuclei of the superior and inferior recti of the oculomotor nuclear complex bilaterally.
This article examines two questions about scientists’ search for knowledge. First, which search strategies generate discoveries effectively? Second, is it advantageous to diversify search strategies? We argue pace Weisberg and Muldoon, “Epistemic Landscapes and the Division of Cognitive Labor” (this journal, 2009), that, on the first question, a search strategy that deliberately seeks novel research approaches need not be optimal. On the second question, we argue they have not shown epistemic reasons exist for the division of cognitive labor, identifying the errors that led to their conclusions. Furthermore, we generalize the epistemic landscape model, showing that one should be skeptical about the benefits of social learning in epistemically complex environments.
Previous studies have identified a number of psychosocial risk factors of dysregulated cortisol (frequently referred to as the “stress hormone”) among older adults with depression. However, these studies have typically only examined a handful of risk factors at a time and have sometimes yielded inconsistent results.
Method:
This study aims to address this gap in the literature by simultaneously examining a range of relevant psychosocial predictors of diurnal cortisol among 54 older adults with a depressive disorder. Salivary cortisol was assessed upon awakening, at 5 PM, and at 9 PM across two consecutive days. Participants also completed measures of global psychosocial stress, current psychiatric symptomatology, pervasive distress (e.g. history of past depression), and protective factors (e.g. social support, resiliency, extent to which one has “made sense” of a significant stressor).
Results:
High levels of current depressive symptoms, psychiatric comorbidities, past depressive episodes, trait anxiety, and poorer ability to make sense of one's stress were found to be associated with flatter (more abnormal) cortisol slopes. However, when all of these variables were entered simultaneously in a multiple regression analysis, only history of past depression and the degree of sense made of stress emerged as unique predictors of cortisol in the model.
Conclusions:
These findings have important implications for identifying depressed elderly individuals with dysregulated cortisol patterns who may be most at risk for health complications. Treatments that aim to limit the chronicity of depression and help to increase the sense made of stress could potentially have a positive impact on health.
Seventy-eight employees (32 males, 46 females) took part in a study to test the hypothesis that the core self-evaluation components of self-esteem and self-efficacy moderate the relationship between workplace stressors (role conflict and role-ambiguity) and strain (depression, anxiety, and tension-stress). Results supported our hypotheses in that self-efficacy moderated the relationship between role ambiguity and depression and between performance role ambiguity and stress, while self-esteem moderated the relationship between role ambiguity and anxiety, between performance role ambiguity and anxiety, and between performance role ambiguity and stress. These findings reinforce the importance of considering role stress variables in relation to the context of an interactive person/environment fit model and provide further insight into the nature of the stress process itself. Furthermore, these results indicate that the function of self-esteem and self-efficacy in the stress process is not identical. Implications for the conceptualisation of the transactional model of stress are discussed.
Using spectroscopic observations and photometric light curves of 280 nearby M dwarfs from the MEarth exoplanet transit survey, we examine the relationships between magnetic activity (quantified by Hα emission), rotation period, and stellar age (derived from three-dimensional space velocities). Although we have known for decades that a large fraction of mid-late-type M dwarfs are magnetically active, it was not clear what role rotation played in the magnetic field generation (and subsequent chromospheric heating). Previous attempts to investigate the relationship between magnetic activity and rotation in mid-late-type M dwarfs were hampered by the limited number of M dwarfs with measured rotation periods (and the fact that vsini measurements only probe rapid rotation). However, the photometric data from the MEarth survey allows us to probe a wide range of rotation periods for hundreds of M dwarf stars (from less than one to over 100 days). Over all M spectral types we find that magnetic activity decreases with longer rotation periods, including late-type, fully convective M dwarfs. We find that the most magnetically active (and hence, most rapidly rotating) stars are consistent with a kinematically young population, while slow-rotators are less active or inactive and appear to belong to an older, dynamically heated stellar population.