Can a nudge keep you warm? Using nudges to reduce excess winter deaths: insight from the Keeping Warm in Later Life Project (KWILLT)

Nudges are interventions that aim to change people's behaviour through changing the environment in which they choose rather than appealing to their reasoning. Nudges have been proposed as of possible use in relation to health-related behaviour. However, nudges have been criticized as ethically dubious because they bypass peoples reasoning and (anyway) are of little help in relation to affecting ill-health that results from social determinants, such as poverty. Reducing the rate of excess winter deaths (EWDs) is a public health priority; however, EWD seems clearly to be socially determined such that nudges arguably have little role. This article defends two claims: (i) nudges could have a place in tackling even the heavily socially determined problem of EWD. We draw on evidence from an empirical study, the Keeping Warm in Later Life Project (KWILLT), to argue that in some cases the risk of cold is within the person’s control to some extent such that environmental modifications to influence behaviour such as nudges are possible. (ii) Some uses of behavioural insights in the form of nudges are acceptable, including some in the area of EWD. We suggest a question-based framework by which to judge the ethical acceptability of nudges

How should public health professionals engage with lay epidemiology?

"Lay epidemiology" is a term used to describe the processes through which health risks are understood and interpreted by laypeople. It is seen as a barrier to public health when the public disbelieves or fails to act on public health messages. Two elements to lay epidemiology are proposed: (a) empirical beliefs about the nature of illness and (b) values about the place of health and risks to health in a good life. Both elements have to be dealt with by effective public health schemes or programmes, which would attempt to change the public's empirical beliefs and values. This is of concern, particularly in a context in which the lay voice is increasingly respected. Empirically, the scientific voice of standard epidemiology should be deferred to by the lay voice, provided a clear distinction exists between the measurement of risk, which is empirical, and its weighting, which is based on values. Turning to engagement with values, health is viewed to be an important value and is discussed and reflected on by most people. Public health professionals are therefore entitled and advised to participate in that process. This view is defended against some potential criticisms

A model of nitrous oxide evolution from soil driven by rainfall events: 2. Model applications

Simulations of nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from soils were carried out with a rain-event model of nitrogen and carbon cycling processes in soils (Li et al., this issue). Model simulations were compared with five field studies: a 1-month denitrification study of a fertilized grassland in England; a 2-month study of N2O emissions from a native and fertilized grassland in Colorado; a 1-year study of N2O emissions from agricultural fields on drained, organic soils in Florida; a 1-year study of CO2 emissions from a grassland in Germany; and a 1-year study of CO2 emissions from a cultivated agricultural site in Missouri. The trends and magnitude of simulated N2O (or N2O + N2) and CO2 emissions were consistent with the results obtained in field experiments. The successful simulation of nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions from the wide range of soil types studied indicates that the model, DNDC, will be a useful tool for studying linkages among climate, land use, soil-atmosphere interactions, and trace gas fluxes

A model of nitrous oxide evolution from soil driven by rainfall events: 1. Model structure and sensitivity

This paper describes a rain-event driven, process-oriented simulation model, DNDC, for the evolution of nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and dinitrogen (N2) from agricultural soils. The model consists of three submodels: thermal-hydraulic, decomposition, and denitrification. Basic climate data drive the model to produce dynamic soil temperature and moisture profiles and shifts of aerobic-anaerobic conditions. Additional input data include soil texture and biochemical properties as well as agricultural practices. Between rainfall events the decomposition of organic matter and other oxidation reactions (including nitrification) dominate, and the levels of total organic carbon, soluble carbon, and nitrate change continuously. During rainfall events, denitrification dominates and produces N2O and N2. Daily emissions of N2O and N2 are computed during each rainfall event and cumulative emissions of the gases are determined by including nitrification N2O emissions as well. Sensitivity analyses reveal that rainfall patterns strongly influence N2O emissions from soils but that soluble carbon and nitrate can be limiting factors for N2O evolution during denitrification. During a year sensitivity simulation, variations in temperature, precipitation, organic C, clay content, and pH had significant effects on denitrification rates and N2O emissions. The responses of DNDC to changes of external parameters are consistent with field and experimental results reported in the literature

Quantum mechanics based force field for carbon (QMFF-Cx) validated to reproduce the mechanical and thermodynamics properties of graphite

As assemblies of graphene sheets, carbon nanotubes, and fullerenes become components of new nanotechnologies, it is important to be able to predict the structures and properties of these systems. A problem has been that the level of quantum mechanics practical for such systems (density functional theory at the PBE level) cannot describe the London dispersion forces responsible for interaction of the graphene planes (thus graphite falls apart into graphene sheets). To provide a basis for describing these London interactions, we derive the quantum mechanics based force field for carbon (QMFF-Cx) by fitting to results from density functional theory calculations at the M06-2X level, which demonstrates accuracies for a broad class of molecules at short and medium range intermolecular distances. We carried out calculations on the dehydrogenated coronene (C24) dimer, emphasizing two geometries: parallel-displaced X (close to the observed structure in graphite crystal) and PD-Y (the lowest energy transition state for sliding graphene sheets with respect to each other). A third, eclipsed geometry is calculated to be much higher in energy. The QMFF-Cx force field leads to accurate predictions of available experimental mechanical and thermodynamics data of graphite (lattice vibrations, elastic constants, Poisson ratios, lattice modes, phonon dispersion curves, specific heat, and thermal expansion). This validates the use of M06-2X as a practical method for development of new first principles based generations of QMFF force fields

Integrating Nanosphere Lithography in Device Fabrication

This paper discusses the integration of nanosphere lithography (NSL) with other fabrication techniques, allowing for nano-scaled features to be realized within larger microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based devices. Nanosphere self-patterning methods have been researched for over three decades, but typically not for use as a lithography process. Only recently has progress been made towards integrating many of the best practices from these publications and determining a process that yields large areas of coverage, with repeatability and enabled a process for precise placement of nanospheres relative to other features. Discussed are two of the more common self-patterning methods used in NSL (i.e. spin-coating and dip coating) as well as a more recently conceived variation of dip coating. Recent work has suggested the repeatability of any method depends on a number of variables, so to better understand how these variables affect the process a series of test vessels were developed and fabricated. Commercially available 3-D printing technology was used to incrementally alter the test vessels allowing for each variable to be investigated individually. With these deposition vessels, NSL can now be used in conjunction with other fabrication steps to integrate features otherwise unattainable through current methods, within the overall fabrication process of larger MEMS devices. Patterned regions in 1800 series photoresist with a thickness of ~700nm are used to capture regions of self-assembled nanospheres. These regions are roughly 2-5 microns in width, and are able to control the placement of 500nm polystyrene spheres by controlling where monolayer self-assembly occurs. The resulting combination of photoresist and nanospheres can then be used with traditional deposition or etch methods to utilize these fine scale features in the overall design