Health communication implications of the perceived meanings of terms used to denote unhealthy foods

Background: Using appropriate terminology in nutrition education programs and behaviour change campaigns is important to optimise the effectiveness of these efforts. To inform future communications on the topic of healthy eating, this study explored adults’ perceptions of the meaning of four terms used to describe unhealthy foods: junk food, snack food, party food, and discretionary food. Methods: Australian adults were recruited to participate in an online survey that included demographic items and open-ended questions relating to perceptions of the four terms. In total, 409 respondents aged 25–64 years completed the survey. Results: ‘Junk food’ was the term most clearly aligned with unhealthiness, and is therefore likely to represent wording that will have salience and relevance to many target audience members. Snack foods were considered to include both healthy and unhealthy food products, and both snack foods and party foods were often described as being consumed in small portions. Despite being used in dietary guidelines, the term ‘discretionary food’ was unfamiliar to many respondents. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that different terms for unhealthy foods can have substantially different meanings for audience members. A detailed understanding of these meanings is needed to ensure that nutrition guidance and health promotion campaigns use appropriate terminology

Bronze Group Commemorating Emancipation :a Gift to the City of Boston from Hon. Moses Kimball, Dedicated December 6, 1879 ...

The Emancipation Group, Park Square, Boston: front.; The Proclamation of emancipation : p. [13]-15.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/fvw-pamphlets/1688/thumbnail.jp

Regional techno‐economic and life‐cycle analysis of the pyrolysis‐bioenergy‐biochar platform for carbon‐negative energy

This study investigates the sensitivity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the minimum fuel selling price for a 2000 metric ton day−1 integrated pyrolysis‐bioenergy‐biochar platform with respect to the biorefinery location and biomass types. The regional techno‐economic and life‐cycle analysis is evaluated in three US counties using representative crops: rice in Glenn County (California), corn in Hamilton County (Iowa), and peanuts in Jackson County (Florida). We evaluate the biochar selling price considering crop yield increases of 0.6%, 2.9%, and 10% after biochar application over 20 years in Glenn County, Hamilton County, and Jackson County, respectively. The biochar prices are calculated under low and high commodity prices to determine upper and lower bounds. Jackson County has the most economically beneficial scenario with an average minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) of $1.55 gal−1 of biofuel produced whereas Hamilton County has the highest average MFSP of$3.82 gal−1. The life‐cycle analysis shows that woody biomass has a strong potential to produce carbon‐negative energy compared to grass and straw. Of the 304 cases scenarios considered for this platform, 64% could produce biofuel with negative GHG emissions, which would meet the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) target for cellulosic biofuels

Designing theoretically-informed implementation interventions

Clinical and health services research is continually producing new findings that may contribute to effective and efficient patient care. However, the transfer of research findings into practice is unpredictable and can be a slow and haphazard process. Ideally, the choice of implementation strategies would be based upon evidence from randomised controlled trials or systematic reviews of a given implementation strategy. Unfortunately, reviews of implementation strategies consistently report effectiveness some, but not all of the time; possible causes of this variation are seldom reported or measured by the investigators in the original studies. Thus, any attempts to extrapolate from study settings to the real world are hampered by a lack of understanding of the effects of key elements of individuals, interventions, and the settings in which they were trialled. The explicit use of theory offers a way of addressing these issues and has a number of advantages, such as providing: a generalisable framework within which to represent the dimensions that implementation studies address, a process by which to inform the development and delivery of interventions, a guide when evaluating, and a way to allow for an exploration of potential causal mechanisms. However, the use of theory in designing implementation interventions is methodologically challenging for a number of reasons, including choosing between theories and faithfully translating theoretical constructs into interventions. The explicit use of theory offers potential advantages in terms of facilitating a better understanding of the generalisability and replicability of implementation interventions. However, this is a relatively unexplored methodological area

Chinese energy and climate policies after Durban: save the Kyoto Protocol

Nowadays, one of the urgent issues regarding global climate change is to discuss the future of the second period of the Kyoto Protocol. However, the divergence of views and opinions among parties in the last Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Durban in December 2011, is still large. One of the bones of contention is whether the emerging developing countries, like China, should make commitments and legally bind themselves to a Green House Gas (GHG) reduction target in near future. As the largest GHG emitting country, China and its energy and climate policies will play an important role in global climate change and will also significantly influence the other countries? policies and the global climate negotiation. In this paper, we review the current differences among parties in the Durban Conference, and we analyze the recent situation, barriers, and future policies in China. Finally we highlight the impact and potential effect of Clean Development Mechanisms in avoiding China?s barriers regarding climate change. Results show that China is making a great effort to mitigate climate change by establishing and reforming its energy and climate policies in order to achieve a low-carbon development. At the same time, more innovation and international collaboration is needed in China to achieve this goal

Evidence-informed health policy: are we beginning to get there at last

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Nitrogen and sulphur management: challenges for organic sources in temperate agricultural systems

A current global trend towards intensification or specialization of agricultural enterprises has been accompanied by increasing public awareness of associated environmental consequences. Air and water pollution from losses of nutrients, such as nitrogen (N) and sulphur (S), are a major concern. Governments have initiated extensive regulatory frameworks, including various land use policies, in an attempt to control or reduce the losses. This paper presents an overview of critical input and loss processes affecting N and S for temperate climates, and provides some background to the discussion in subsequent papers evaluating specific farming systems. Management effects on potential gaseous and leaching losses, the lack of synchrony between supply of nutrients and plant demand, and options for optimizing the efficiency of N and S use are reviewed. Integration of inorganic and organic fertilizer inputs and the equitable re-distribution of nutrients from manure are discussed. The paper concludes by highlighting a need for innovative research that is also targeted to practical approaches for reducing N and S losses, and improving the overall synchrony between supply and demand

Mental health care for irregular migrants in Europe: Barriers and how they are overcome

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Does physical activity counselling enhance the effects of a pedometer-based intervention over the long-term : 12-month findings from the Walking for Wellbeing in the West study

Peer reviewedPublisher PD