Income differences in food consumption in the 1995 Australian national nutrition survey

Objective: To assess the relationships between an index of per capita income and the intake of a variety of individual foods as well as groups of food for men and women in different age groups. Design: Cross-sectional national survey of free-living men and women. Subjects: A sample of 5053 males and 5701 females aged 18 y and over who completed the Australian National Nutrition Survey 1995. Methods: Information about the frequency of consumption of 88 food items was obtained. On the basis of scores on the Food Frequency Questionnaire, regular and irregular consumers of single foods were identified. The relationships between regularity of consumption of individual foods and per capita income were analysed via contingency tables. Food variety scores were derived by assigning individual foods to conventional food group taxonomies, and then summing up the dichotomised intake scores for individual foods within each food group. Two-way ANOVA (income age group) were performed on the food variety scores for males and females, respectively. Results: Per capita income was extensively related to the reported consumption of individual foods and to total and food group variety indices. Generally, both men and women in low income households had less varied diets than those in higher-income households. However, several traditional foods were consumed less often by young high-income respondents, especially young women. Conclusions: Major income differentials in food variety occur in Australia but they are moderated by age and gender. Younger high-income women, in particular, appear to have rejected a number of traditional foods, possibly on the basis of health beliefs. The findings also suggest that data aggregation has marked effects on income and food consumption relationships.<br /

Solid molecular hydrogen: The Broken Symmetry Phase

By performing constant-pressure variable-cell ab initio molecular dynamics simulations we find a quadrupolar orthorhombic structure, of $Pca2_1$ symmetry, for the broken symmetry phase (phase II) of solid H2 at T=0 and P =110 - 150 GPa. We present results for the equation of state, lattice parameters and vibronic frequencies, in very good agreement with experimental observations. Anharmonic quantum corrections to the vibrational frequencies are estimated using available data on H2 and D2. We assign the observed modes to specific symmetry representations.Comment: 5 pages (twocolumn), 4 Postscript figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Grip Force Reveals the Context Sensitivity of Language-Induced Motor Activity during “Action Words

Studies demonstrating the involvement of motor brain structures in language processing typically focus on \ud time windows beyond the latencies of lexical-semantic access. Consequently, such studies remain inconclusive regarding whether motor brain structures are recruited directly in language processing or through post-linguistic conceptual imagery. In the present study, we introduce a grip-force sensor that allows online measurements of language-induced motor activity during sentence listening. We use this tool to investigate whether language-induced motor activity remains constant or is modulated in negative, as opposed to affirmative, linguistic contexts. Our findings demonstrate that this simple experimental paradigm can be used to study the online crosstalk between language and the motor systems in an ecological and economical manner. Our data further confirm that the motor brain structures that can be called upon during action word processing are not mandatorily involved; the crosstalk is asymmetrically\ud governed by the linguistic context and not vice versa

The public bicycle-sharing scheme in Brisbane, Australia: Evaluating the influence of its introduction on changes in time spent cycling amongst a middle- and older-age population

Background: Active travel may improve individual health as it contributes to higher levels of physical activity, particularly in an aging society. Bicycle-sharing schemes may contribute to public health by encouraging active travel. Aim: To investigate whether exposure to a bicycle-sharing scheme—measured as residential proximity to a bicycle station—was associated with the propensity to use it. Second, we aimed to study the extent to which exposure to the scheme was associated with a change in time spent cycling. Method: In this natural-experimental study, we analysed a large panel of residents in Brisbane, Australia, who were surveyed before and after the introduction of a bicycle-sharing scheme in 2010. Data were collected as part of the HABITAT study, a multilevel longitudinal investigation of physical activity and health among ‘baby boomers’ (persons aged 40–65). Data were collected in 2009 (n = 7866), 2011 (n = 6900), and 2013 (n = 6520). Two self-reported outcome variables were examined: (1) a stages-of-change variable measuring the likelihood of using the scheme and the intention to use it in the future, and (2) change in time spent cycling between 2009 and 2013. Results: In the unadjusted model, proximity was significantly associated with stages of change, but became non-significant after adjustment. Moreover, higher levels of exposure to the intervention did not predict a change in time spent cycling. Younger respondents and respondents with a higher education level were more likely to consider using the bicycle-sharing scheme. Individuals who had a college degree were more likely to have used this scheme. Conclusion: Residential proximity to a bicycle-sharing station was not found to be associated with the use of the bicycle-sharing scheme nor did its introduction significantly predict an increase in time spent cycling. Other interventions may be more supportive of increasing cycling in the baby boomer cohort, and, thereby, improving their overall health

Temporal structure of consciousness and minimal self in schizophrenia

International audienceThe concept of the minimal self refers to the consciousness of oneself as an immediate subject of experience. According to recent studies, disturbances of the minimal self may be a core feature of schizophrenia. They are emphasized in classical psychiatry literature and in phenomenological work. Impaired minimal self-experience may be defined as a distortion of one's first-person experiential perspective as, for example, an " altered presence " during which the sense of the experienced self (" mineness ") is subtly affected, or " altered sense of demarcation, " i.e., a difficulty discriminating the self from the non-self. Little is known, however, about the cognitive basis of these disturbances. In fact, recent work indicates that disorders of the self are not correlated with cognitive impairments commonly found in schizophrenia such as working-memory and attention disorders. In addition, a major difficulty with exploring the minimal self experimentally lies in its definition as being non-self-reflexive, and distinct from the verbalized, explicit awareness of an " I. " In this paper, we shall discuss the possibility that disturbances of the minimal self observed in patients with schizophrenia are related to alterations in time processing. We shall review the literature on schizophrenia and time processing that lends support to this possibility. In particular we shall discuss the involvement of temporal integration windows on different time scales (implicit time processing) as well as duration perception disturbances (explicit time processing) in disorders of the minimal self. We argue that a better understanding of the relationship between time and the minimal self as well of issues of embodiment require research that looks more specifically at implicit time processing. Some methodological issues will be discussed

Mortality after admission for acute myocardial infarction in Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in New South Wales, Australia: a multilevel data linkage study

Background - Heart disease is a leading cause of the gap in burden of disease between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians. Our study investigated short- and long-term mortality after admission for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people admitted with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) to public hospitals in New South Wales, Australia, and examined the impact of the hospital of admission on outcomes. Methods - Admission records were linked to mortality records for 60047 patients aged 25–84 years admitted with a diagnosis of AMI between July 2001 and December 2008. Multilevel logistic regression was used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (AOR) for 30- and 365-day all-cause mortality. Results - Aboriginal patients admitted with an AMI were younger than non-Aboriginal patients, and more likely to be admitted to lower volume, remote hospitals without on-site angiography. Adjusting for age, sex, year and hospital, Aboriginal patients had a similar 30-day mortality risk to non-Aboriginal patients (AOR: 1.07; 95% CI 0.83-1.37) but a higher risk of dying within 365 days (AOR: 1.34; 95% CI 1.10-1.63). The latter difference did not persist after adjustment for comorbid conditions (AOR: 1.12; 95% CI 0.91-1.38). Patients admitted to more remote hospitals, those with lower patient volume and those without on-site angiography had increased risk of short and long-term mortality regardless of Aboriginal status. Conclusions - Improving access to larger hospitals and those with specialist cardiac facilities could improve outcomes following AMI for all patients. However, major efforts to boost primary and secondary prevention of AMI are required to reduce the mortality gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people

Ongoing methane discharge at well site 22/4b (North Sea)and discovery of a spiral vortex bubble plume motion

Highlights • Mega ebullition of biogenic methane from an abandoned offshore gas well, North Sea. • Evidence for midwater bubble plume intrusion, fallback, and short-circuiting of the plume. • Effective trapping of seabed released methane underneath the thermocline. • First observation of a spiral vortex methane plume and marginal turbulences. • Megaplumes appear less efficient in terms of vertical methane transport than previously thought. Abstract First direct evidence for ongoing gas seepage activity on the abandoned well site 22/4b (Northern North Sea, 57°55′ N, 01°38′ E) and discovery of neighboring seepage activity is provided from observations since 2005. A manned submersible dive in 2006 discovered several extraordinary intense seepage sites within a 60 m wide and 20 m deep crater cut into the flat 96 m deep seafloor. Capture and (isotope) chemical analyses of the gas bubbles near the seafloor revealed in situ concentrations of methane between 88 and 90%Vol. with δ13C–CH4 values around −74‰ VPDB, indicating a biogenic origin. Bulk methane concentrations throughout the water column were assessed by 120 Niskin water samples showing up to 400.000 nM CH4 in the crater at depth. In contrast, concentrations above the thermocline were orders of magnitude lower, with a median value of 20 nM. A dye tracer injection into the gas seeps revealed upwelling bubble and water motion with gas plume rise velocities up to ∼1 ms−1 (determined near the seabed). However, the dissolved dye did not pass the thermocline, but returned down to the seabed. Measurements of direct bubble-mediated atmospheric flux revealed low values of 0.7 ± 0.3 kty−1, much less than current state-of-the-art bubble dissolution models would predict for such a strong and upwelling in situ gas bubble flux at shallow water depths (i.e. ∼100 m). Acoustic multibeam water column imaging data indicate a pronounced 200 m lateral intrusion at the thermocline together with high methane concentration at this layer. A partly downward-orientated bubble plume motion is also visible in the acoustic data with potential short-circuiting in accordance to the dye experiment. This observation could partly explain the observed trapping of most of the released gas below the well-established thermocline in the North Sea. Moreover, 3D analyses of the multibeam water column data reveal that the upwelling plume transforms into a spiral expanding vortex while rising through the water column. Such a spiral vortex motion has never been reported before for marine gas seepage and might represent an important process with strong implication on plume dynamics, dissolution behavior, gas escape to the atmosphere, and is considered very important for respective modeling approaches

Do Differences in Social Environments Explain Gender Differences in Recreational Walking across Neighbourhoods?

Within a city, gender differences in walking for recreation (WfR) vary significantly across neighbourhoods, although the reasons remain unknown. This cross-sectional study investigated the contribution of the social environment (SE) to explaining such variation, using 2009 data from the How Areas in Brisbane Influence healTh and AcTivity (HABITAT) study, including 7866 residents aged 42-67 years within 200 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia (72.6% response rate). The analytical sample comprised 200 neighbourhoods and 6643 participants (mean 33 per neighbourhood, range 8-99, 95% CI 30.6-35.8). Self-reported weekly minutes of WfR were categorised into 0 and 1-840 mins. The SE was conceptualised through neighbourhood-level perceptions of social cohesion, incivilities and safety from crime. Analyses included multilevel binomial logistic regression with gender as main predictor, adjusting for age, socioeconomic position, residential self-selection and neighbourhood disadvantage. On average, women walked more for recreation than men prior to adjustment for covariates. Gender differences in WfR varied significantly across neighbourhoods, and the magnitude of the variation for women was twice that of men. The SE did not explain neighbourhood differences in the gender-WfR relationship, nor the between-neighbourhood variation in WfR for men or women. Neighbourhood-level factors seem to influence the WfR of men and women differently, with women being more sensitive to their environment, although Brisbane's SE did not seem such a factor

Health and Pleasure in Consumers' Dietary Food Choices: Individual Differences in the Brain's Value System

Taking into account how people value the healthiness and tastiness of food at both the behavioral and brain levels may help to better understand and address overweight and obesity-related issues. Here, we investigate whether brain activity in those areas involved in self-control may increase significantly when individuals with a high body-mass index (BMI) focus their attention on the taste rather than on the health benefits related to healthy food choices. Under such conditions, BMI is positively correlated with both the neural responses to healthy food choices in those brain areas associated with gustation (insula), reward value (orbitofrontal cortex), and self-control (inferior frontal gyrus), and with the percent of healthy food choices. By contrast, when attention is directed towards health benefits, BMI is negatively correlated with neural activity in gustatory and reward-related brain areas (insula, inferior frontal operculum). Taken together, these findings suggest that those individuals with a high BMI do not necessarily have reduced capacities for self-control but that they may be facilitated by external cues that direct their attention toward the tastiness of healthy food. Thus, promoting the taste of healthy food in communication campaigns and/or food packaging may lead to more successful self-control and healthy food behaviors for consumers with a higher BMI, an issue which needs to be further researched