An introduction to the waste input-output model : a methodology to evaluate sustainable behaviour around (food) waste?

Over the last century, the relationship between humans and the waste they produce has gone awry. In developed nations the combination of the advent of a stable supply chain and the emergence of a 'throwaway society' (Lucas 2002) has created a new paradigm of consumption where products are ever present, and thus are undervalued and disposable (Jones 2006). Waste has become an unwarranted economic and environmental burden on the planet rather than a resource stream to be nurtured as part of a sustainable economy.--Introduction

Climate change on the menu? : a retrospective look at the development of South Australian municipal food waste policy

Australian households are throwing out more than $5 billion worth of food each year, with over 40% of household food wasted. This non-consumed food constitutes a waste of resources and energy that needlessly contribute to Australia’s ecological and carbon footprints. To further complicate matters, the management, transport, and disposal of this non-consumed food is a problem that does not have a comprehensive federally legislated and governed solution. Instead, the collection and processing of municipal food waste is organised by local area councils with support and additional funding from state and federal governments. This has resulted in conflicting waste practices across Australia. This paper investigates the development of waste practices in South Australia, with the objective to understand how this particular state has developed a high level of political commitment to positive environmental action while other Australian states have taken a more conservative position. Opening with a broad discussion upon contemporary food waste policy in Australia, this paper will then delve into a historical discussion on the development of South Australia’s municipal waste system in conjunction with an evaluation of the present municipal food waste disposal options that are available within South Australian homes

What’s in a dog’s breakfast? Considering the social, veterinary and environmental implications of feeding food scraps to pets using three Australian surveys

Diverting food waste away from landfills is one way to minimise its serious environmental impact. Given that over a third of Australian households have at least one pet, the feeding of food waste to dogs constitutes one potentially significant waste diversion path. However, the proportion of dog owners that feed food waste to their pets is unknown. Moreover, there has been no investigation into any relationship between practices of feeding scraps to pets and the animals’ body condition, living arrangements (inside or outside) and exercise regime. To provide some insight, this paper presents findings from three surveys across two Australian studies. The first reports both pet and dog-specific findings from two surveys within a wider food waste research project (n = 1017), establishing that 28% of respondents fed leftovers to pets as a main food waste minimization strategy, yet in only 5% of households did this constitute more than half of the household’s food scraps. This modest diversion of food scraps from landfill to feeding pets was reflected in the finding that there was no significant difference seen in the claimed level of food discards to the waste stream for households feeding food scraps to dogs and those that did not. The second—a dog owner specific study (n = 355)—found that almost half (44%) of respondents reported feeding table scraps to dogs. They were more likely to be females, owners of medium sized dogs, and in larger households. There was no significant difference in self-rated dogs’ body condition scores between respondents who fed table scraps to their dog and those who did not. Further multidisciplinary research is recommended to reconcile the social, veterinary and environmental risks and benefits of feeding food waste to animals

Estimating informal household food waste in developed countries : the case of Australia

Food waste is a global problem. In Australia alone, it is estimated that households throw away AU$5.2 billion worth of food (AU$616 per household) each year. Developed countries have formal waste management systems that provide measures of food waste. However, much remains unknown about informal food waste disposal routes and volumes outside of the formal system. This article provides indicative metrics of informal food waste by identifying, in detail, five of the dominant informal food waste disposal routes used by Australian households: home composting, feeding scraps to pets, sewer disposal, giving to charity, and dumping or incineration. Informal waste generation rates are then calculated from three primary data sources, in addition to data from previous Australian and UK surveys, using a weighted average method in conjunction with a Monte-Carlo simulation. We find that the average Australian household disposes of 2.6 kgs of food waste per week through informal routes (1.7 kgs via household composting, 0.2 kgs via animals, and 0.6 kgs via sewage). This represents 20% of Australian household food waste flows. Our results highlight that informal food waste is a sizable food waste flow from Australian homes, deserving of greater research and government attention. Our examination of the full extent of food waste by disposal mode provides waste managers and policy makers with clear disposal routes to target for behaviour change and positive environmental outcomes

Brain health INnovation Diplomacy: A model binding diverse disciplines to manage the promise and perils of technological innovation

Background: Brain health diplomacy aims to influence the global policy environment for brain health (i.e. dementia, depression, and other mind/brain disorders) and bridges the disciplines of global brain health, international affairs, management, law, and economics. Determinants of brain health include educational attainment, diet, access to health care, physical activity, social support, and environmental exposures, as well as chronic brain disorders and treatment. Global challenges associated with these determinants include large-scale conflicts and consequent mass migration, chemical contaminants, air quality, socioeconomic status, climate change, and global population aging. Given the rapidly advancing technological innovations impacting brain health, it is paramount to optimize the benefits and mitigate the drawbacks of such technologies.Objective: We propose a working model of Brain health INnovation Diplomacy (BIND).Methods: We prepared a selective review using literature searches of studies pertaining to brain health technological innovation and diplomacy.Results: BIND aims to improve global brain health outcomes by leveraging technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and innovation diplomacy. It acknowledges the key role that technology, entrepreneurship, and digitization play and will increasingly play in the future of brain health for individuals and societies alike. It strengthens the positive role of novel solutions, recognizes and works to manage both real and potential risks of digital platforms. It is recognition of the political, ethical, cultural, and economic influences that brain health technological innovation and entrepreneurship can have.Conclusions: By creating a framework for BIND, we can use this to ensure a systematic model for the use of technology to optimize brain health

Brain health INnovation Diplomacy: A model binding diverse disciplines to manage the promise and perils of technological innovation

Background: Brain health diplomacy aims to influence the global policy environment for brain health (i.e. dementia, depression, and other mind/brain disorders) and bridges the disciplines of global brain health, international affairs, management, law, and economics. Determinants of brain health include educational attainment, diet, access to health care, physical activity, social support, and environmental exposures, as well as chronic brain disorders and treatment. Global challenges associated with these determinants include large-scale conflicts and consequent mass migration, chemical contaminants, air quality, socioeconomic status, climate change, and global population aging. Given the rapidly advancing technological innovations impacting brain health, it is paramount to optimize the benefits and mitigate the drawbacks of such technologies.Objective: We propose a working model of Brain health INnovation Diplomacy (BIND).Methods: We prepared a selective review using literature searches of studies pertaining to brain health technological innovation and diplomacy.Results: BIND aims to improve global brain health outcomes by leveraging technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and innovation diplomacy. It acknowledges the key role that technology, entrepreneurship, and digitization play and will increasingly play in the future of brain health for individuals and societies alike. It strengthens the positive role of novel solutions, recognizes and works to manage both real and potential risks of digital platforms. It is recognition of the political, ethical, cultural, and economic influences that brain health technological innovation and entrepreneurship can have.Conclusions: By creating a framework for BIND, we can use this to ensure a systematic model for the use of technology to optimize brain health

Oral Cavity Cancers: Ethnic Differences in Radiotherapy Outcomes in a Majority South Asian Leicester Community

Aims Squamous cell carcinoma oral cavity cancers (SCCOCCs) have a higher reported incidence in South Asian countries. We sought to compare presenting stage and outcome by ethnicity in patients with SCCOCC treated with radical radiotherapy in a single centre in the UK. Materials and methods All patients with SCCOCC treated with radical radiotherapy at an oncology department in Leicester (UK) between 2011 and 2017 were identified. Baseline demographic, clinical data and 2-year treatment outcomes were reported. Results Of the 109 patients included, 40 were South Asian and 59 were non-South Asian. South Asians had significantly poorer 2-year disease-free survival compared with non-South Asians (54.6% versus 73%, P = 0.01). Conclusion Our analysis suggests that South Asians with SCCOCC have poorer outcomes despite a younger age and similar disease characteristics. Environmental, social factors and differing biology of disease may be responsible and further research is required to inform targeted interventions.</p

UV-Optical Disk Reverberation Lags despite a Faint X-Ray Corona in the Active Galactic Nucleus Mrk 335

We present the first results from a 100-day Swift, NICER, and ground-based X-ray-UV-optical reverberation mapping campaign of the Narrow-line Seyfert 1 Mrk 335, when it was in an unprecedented low X-ray flux state. Despite dramatic suppression of the X-ray variability, we still observe UV-optical lags as expected from disk reverberation. Moreover, the UV-optical lags are consistent with archival observations when the X-ray luminosity was >10 times higher. Interestingly, both low- and high-flux states reveal UV-optical lags that are 6-11 times longer than expected from a thin disk. These long lags are often interpreted as due to contamination from the broad line region; however the u-band excess lag (containing the Balmer jump from the diffuse continuum) is less prevalent than in other active galactic nuclei. The Swift campaign showed a low X-ray-to-optical correlation (similar to previous campaigns), but NICER and ground-based monitoring continued for another 2 weeks, during which the optical rose to the highest level of the campaign, followed ∼10 days later by a sharp rise in X-rays. While the low X-ray countrate and relatively large systematic uncertainties in the NICER background make this measurement challenging, if the optical does lead X-rays in this flare, this indicates a departure from the zeroth-order reprocessing picture. If the optical flare is due to an increase in mass accretion rate, this occurs on much shorter than the viscous timescale. Alternatively, the optical could be responding to an intrinsic rise in X-rays that is initially hidden from our line of sight