902 research outputs found
Understanding sustainable diets: a descriptive analysis of the determinants and processes that influence diets and their impact on health, food security, and environmental sustainability
The confluence of population, economic development, and environmental pressures resulting from increased globalization and industrialization reveal an increasingly resource-constrained world in which predictions point to the need to do more with less and in a âbetterâ way. The concept of sustainable diets presents an opportunity to successfully advance commitments to sustainable development and the elimination of poverty, food and nutrition insecurity, and poor health outcomes. This study examines the determinants of sustainable diets, offers a descriptive analysis of these areas, and presents a causal model and framework from which to build. The major determinants of sustainable diets fall into 5 categories: 1) agriculture, 2) health, 3) sociocultural, 4) environmental, and 5) socioeconomic. When factors or processes are changed in 1 determinant category, such changes affect other determinant categories and, in turn, the level of âsustainabilityâ of a diet. The complex web of determinants of sustainable diets makes it challenging for policymakers to understand the benefits and considerations for promoting, processing, and consuming such diets. To advance this work, better measurements and indicators must be developed to assess the impact of the various determinants on the sustainability of a diet and the tradeoffs associated with any recommendations aimed at increasing the sustainability of our food system
Deletion Analysis of the Promoter for the Cucumber Necrosis Virus 0.9-kb Subgenomic RNA
AbstractSequences comprising the core promoter for the cucumber necrosis virus (CNV) 0.9-kb subgenomic RNA have been determined using deletion analysis and site-directed mutagenesis. The deletion studies indicate that the promoter lies within a region located 20 nucleotides upstream and 6 nucleotides downstream and including the subgenomic start site. Sequences further upstream or downstream of the core promoter do not appear to strongly affect promoter activity or viral RNA accumulation. Results of site-directed mutagenesis studies indicate that nucleotides immediately surrounding the subgenomic start site regulate promoter activity. Comparison of sequences within the CNV promoter region with the corresponding region of other tombusviruses shows that the tombusvirus promoter shares a region of near complete identity in 14 of the 26 core promoter nucleotides. Little similarity exists between the CNV 0.9-kb subgenomic RNA promoter and the region surrounding the transcription initiation site for the CNV 2.1-kb subgenomic RNA. Likewise, limited similarity occurs with the 5âČ region of CNV genomic RNA. Sequences similar to the ICR2-like motifs found in the promoters of several alphavirus-like (supergroup III) plant and animal viruses are not apparent. This study represents the first analysis of a subgenomic promoter from a member of supergroup II of positive-strand RNA viruses
Demonstration of the anthelmintic potency of marimastat in the Heligmosomoides polygyrus rodent model
In the course of a structure based drug discovery program the known anticancer candidate marimastat was uncovered as a potent inhibitor of an enzyme in nematode cuticle biogenesis. It was shown to kill Caenorhabditis elegans, and the sheep parasites Haemonchus contortus and Teladorsagia circumcinta via an entirely novel nematode-specific pathway, specifically by inhibiting cuticle-remodelling enzymes that the parasites require for the developmentally essential moulting process. This discovery prompted an investigation of the compound's effect on Heligmosomoides polygyrus parasites in a mouse model of helminth infection. Mice were administered the drug via oral gavage daily from day of infection for a period of 2 wk. A second group received the drug via intra-peritoneal implantation of an osmotic minipump for 4 wk. Control groups were administered identical volumes of water by oral gavage in both cases. Counts of H. polygyrus faecal egg and larval load showed that marimastat effected a consistent and significant reduction in egg laying, and a consistent but minor reduction in adult worm load when administered every day, starting on the first day of infection. However, the drug failed to have any significant effect on egg counts or worm burdens when administered to mice with established infections. Therefore, marimastat does not appear to show promise as an anthelmintic in gastrointestinal nematode infections, although other metalloproteases such as batimastat may prove more effective
Inelastic Neutron Scattering from the Spin Ladder Compound (VO)2P2O7
We present results from an inelastic neutron scattering experiment on the
candidate Heisenberg spin ladder vanadyl pyrophosphate, (VO)2P2O7. We find
evidence for a spin-wave excitation gap of meV, at a
band minimum near . This is consistent with expectations for
triplet spin waves in (VO)2P2O7 in the spin-ladder model, and is to our
knowledge the first confirmation in nature of a Heisenberg antiferromagnetic
spin ladder.Comment: 11 pages and 2 figures (available as hard copy or postscript files
from the authors, send request to [email protected] or
[email protected]), TEX using jnl, reforder and eqnorder, ORNL-CCIP-94-05
/ RAL-94-04
CuSiO_3 : a quasi - one - dimensional S=1/2 antiferromagnetic chain system
CuSiO_3, isotypic to the spin - Peierls compound CuGeO_3, was discovered
recently as a metastable decomposition product of the silicate mineral
dioptase, Cu_6Si_6O_{18}\cdot6H_2O. We investigated the physical properties of
CuSiO_3 using susceptibility, magnetization and specific heat measurements on
powder samples. The magnetic susceptibility \chi(T) is reproduced very well
above T = 8 K by theoretical calculations for an S=1/2 antiferromagnetic
Heisenberg linear chain without frustration (\alpha = 0) and a nearest -
neighbor exchange coupling constant of J/k_{B} = 21 K, much weaker than in
CuGeO_3. Below 8 K the susceptibility exhibits a substantial drop. This feature
is identified as a second - order phase transition at T_{0} = 7.9 K by specific
heat measurements. The influence of magnetic fields on T_{0} is weak, and ac -
magnetization measurements give strong evidence for a spin - flop - phase at
\mu_0H_{SF} ~ 3 T. The origin of the magnetic phase transition at T_{0} = 7.9 K
is discussed in the context of long - range antiferromagnetic order (AF) versus
spin - Peierls(SP)order. Susceptibility and specific heat results support the
AF ordered ground state. Additional temperature dependent ^{63,65}Cu nuclear
quadrupole resonance experiments have been carried out to probe the Cu^{2+}
electronic state and the spin dynamics in CuSiO_3
Thermodynamic Properties of the Dimerised and Frustrated S=1/2 Chain
By high temperature series expansion, exact diagonalisation and temperature
density-matrix renormalisation the magnetic susceptibility and the
specific heat of dimerised and frustrated chains are computed.
All three methods yield reliable results, in particular for not too small
temperatures or not too small gaps. The series expansion results are provided
in the form of polynomials allowing very fast and convenient fits in data
analysis using algebraic programmes. We discuss the difficulty to extract more
than two coupling constants from the temperature dependence of .Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, 4 table
Coexistence of double alternating antiferromagnetic chains in (VO)_2P_2O_7 : NMR study
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of 31P and 51V nuclei has been measured in a
spin-1/2 alternating-chain compound (VO)_2P_2O_7. By analyzing the temperature
variation of the 31P NMR spectra, we have found that (VO)_2P_2O_7 has two
independent spin components with different spin-gap energies. The spin gaps are
determined from the temperature dependence of the shifts at 31P and 51V sites
to be 35 K and 68 K, which are in excellent agreement with those observed in
the recent inelastic neutron scattering experiments [A.W. Garrett et al., Phys.
Rev. Lett. 79, 745 (1997)]. This suggests that (VO)_2P_2O_7 is composed of two
magnetic subsystems showing distinct magnetic excitations, which are associated
with the two crystallographically-inequivalent V chains running along the b
axis. The difference of the spin-gap energies between the chains is attributed
to the small differences in the V-V distances, which may result in the
different exchange alternation in each magnetic chain. The exchange
interactions in each alternating chain are estimated and are discussed based on
the empirical relation between the exchange interaction and the interatomic
distance.Comment: 10 pages, 11 embedded eps figures, REVTeX, Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Quantum Disordered Regime and Spin Gap in the Cuprate Superconductors
We discuss the crossover from the quantum critical, , to the quantum
disordered regime in high-T materials in relation to the experimental data
on the nuclear relaxation, bulk susceptibility, and inelastic neutron
scattering. In our scenario, the spin excitations develop a gap
well above T, which is supplemented by the
quasiparticle gap below T. The above experiments yield consistent estimates
for the value of the spin gap, which increases as the correlation length
decreases.Comment: 14 pages, REVTeX v3.0, PostScript file for 3 figures is attached,
UIUC-P-93-07-06
A calibration method for broad-bandwidth cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy performed with supercontinuum radiation
An efficient calibration method has been developed for broad-bandwidth cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy. The calibration is performed using phase shift cavity ring-down spectroscopy, which is conveniently implemented through use of an acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF). The AOTF permits a narrowband portion of the SC spectrum to be scanned over the full high-reflectivity bandwidth of the cavity mirrors. After calibration the AOTF is switched off and broad-bandwidth CEAS can be performed with the same light source without any loss of alignment to the set-up. We demonstrate the merits of the method by probing transitions of oxygen molecules O-2 and collisional pairs of oxygen molecules (O-2)(2) in the visible spectral range
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