165 research outputs found

    Performance of electric roasters

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    The National Committee on Household Equipment Research under the leadership of the Bureau of Home Economics, has been working\u27 for several years on test specifications for various household appliances, so that the several investigators in the field may be able to follow similar methods in testing equipment and have a basis for comparing results. Since research in the field of household equipment is of comparative recent date, very little data are available. It is necessary, therefore, to test the performance of appliances before test specifications can be set up and agreed upon. The present investigation was carried on for the purpose of obtaining necessary data for setting up test specifications for the electric roaster. The electric roaster is an appliance which provides many of the services of a range at much lower initial cost, with the added advantage of occupying comparatively small space and deriving current from a convenience outlet. The roaster is a recent addition to household equipment. There were, therefore, no established methods for testing it. Since the roaster is similar in many ways to the electric range oven it was considered feasible to used standard oven tests as a basis for developing methods for testing the roaster. The following discussion is divided into two parts. The first is a description of procedure followed in checking the empty performance of certain roasters to determine desirable tests methods. The second part records results of actual cooking operations

    Probabilistic model for contamination of egg dishes with Salmonella spp. made from shell eggs produced on the island of Ireland

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    A quantitative model was constructed to estimate the probability that a serving of food containing eggs produced on the island of Ireland is contaminated with Salmonella spp. The model is based on the prevalence of contaminated eggs at the time of lay and a set of parameters which describe the pooling of eggs in the home and in catering situations. Both external and internal contamination of the eggs by Salmonella spp. was considered. The model estimates that there is a 90% chance that the probability of a serving of food being contaminated is between 0.0043% and 0.038%. Sensitivity analysis demonstrated that egg prevalence drives this low probability and that, at the current level of egg prevalence at the time of lay, pooling of eggs has a minor effect. These results indicate the importance of maintaining the low prevalence of contaminated eggs at the time of lay to minimise the risk of human cases of salmonellosis from consumption of eggs

    Qualitative exposure assessment for Salmonella spp. in shell eggs produced on the island of Ireland

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    A qualitative exposure assessment for Salmonella in eggs produced on the island of Ireland was developed. The assessment was divided into three main modules (production and packing, distribution and storage, and preparation and consumption), and each of these stages into defined steps in the exposure pathway. In the production and packing stage the initial prevalences of Salmonella in the contents and on the shell of eggs were estimated to be negligible and low respectively. Numbers of Salmonella both in and on eggs were estimated to be low. At each subsequent step in the pathway, qualitative assessments were made of the impact of events on the probability and level of Salmonella contamination on the shells and in the contents of eggs. At the end of each module assessments were combined to give an overall probability and level of Salmonella contamination. In the first two modules the assessment focused on the effect of the duration and temperature of storage on yolk membrane integrity and the likelihood of shell penetration. During the final stage the influence of factors such as safe handling procedures, pooling practices, consumption patterns and the effectiveness of cooking, on the prevalence and level of Salmonella contamination in a food item at time of consumption was assessed. The outcome of this assessment was an estimate of a low probability and level of Salmonella contamination of egg containing foods, prepared with eggs produced on the island of Ireland

    A relational view of women's use of the internet: Exploring bodies, space and objects

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    This thesis reports on a research project investigating how women use the internet, and how this use is productive of femininity. It takes an approach to researching this technology that examines what it becomes when it is used, and looks in depth at this internet use in a small number of women’s lives. Diaries, online and offline interviews, photographs and participation online were used to investigate their use of and experience of the internet, to investigate what is particular about women’s use. The project attempted to think differently about the internet, to use a relational approach, influenced by phenomenology and home geography to argue that in order to understand the internet we need to consider embodied practices and the objects and movements that make it possible. The entity of the internet emerges in a range of modalities, with human, non-human, material and semiotic components in a constantly shifting ecology of relations, many of these gendered. It is not a simple or discrete entity. This means it can operate in the lives of women in very diverse ways, from a formal setting oriented to work, to a purely leisure uses, mediated through rooms, posture, expertise and affect

    Accuracy of self-reported physical activity in patients with anorexia nervosa: links with clinical features

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    BackgroundHigh levels of physical activity (PA) have long been described in patients with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). Despite the importance of measuring PA in this population, there are two important factors that remain unknown. First, it is not clear how accurate self-report measures of PA are among patients. Second, little is known about how clinical characteristics are associated with the accuracy of self-reported PA. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the accuracy of self-reported PA compared to an objective measure of PA in patients with AN. It also investigated whether levels of accuracy/inaccuracy were associated with compulsive exercise, motivation to change, and psychological distress.MethodData were analysed from 34 adult outpatients with AN. Patients wore an accelerometer device (ActiGraph) for 4 days and completed a retrospective self-report measure of exercise (Exercise Participation Screening Questionnaire). They also completed measures of compulsive exercise (Compulsive Exercise Test), motivation to change (The Anorexia Nervosa Stages of Change Questionnaire), and psychological distress (Kessler-10).ResultsOn the self-report measure, patients accurately reported their time spent in moderate and vigorous intensity PA, however, they significantly under-reported their light physical activity (compared to the accelerometer data). Accurate reporting of total PA was positively associated with higher levels of compulsive exercise. There was evidence to suggest that clinical features, such as motivation to change and psychological distress, may be associated with inaccurate reporting at some levels of PA intensity and not others.ConclusionsResults indicate that patients with AN are likely to under-report their light intensity PA. We also found preliminary evidence for how compulsive exercise, motivation to change, and distress are associated with self-reported PA accuracy. Clinical implications and directions for future research are considered

    Birth weight associations with DNA methylation differences in an adult population

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    The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) theory predicts that prenatal and early life events shape adult health outcomes. Birth weight is a useful indicator of the foetal experience and has been associated with multiple adult health outcomes. DNA methylation (DNAm) is one plausible mechanism behind the relationship of birth weight to adult health. Through data linkage between Generation Scotland and historic Scottish birth cohorts, and birth records held through the NHS Information and Statistics Division, a sample of 1,757 individuals with available birth weight and DNAm data was derived. Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) were performed in two independently generated DNAm subgroups (n(Set1) = 1,395, n(Set2) = 362), relating adult DNAm from whole blood to birth weight. Meta-analysis yielded one genome-wide significant CpG site (p = 5.97x10(−9)), cg00966482. There was minimal evidence for attenuation of the effect sizes for the lead loci upon adjustment for numerous potential confounder variables (body mass index, educational attainment, and socioeconomic status). Associations between birth weight and epigenetic measures of biological age were also assessed. Associations between lower birth weight and higher Grim Age acceleration (p((FDR)) = 3.6x10(−3)) and shorter DNAm-derived telomere length (p((FDR)) = 1.7x10(−3)) are described, although results for three other epigenetic clocks were null. Our results provide support for an association between birth weight and DNAm both locally at one CpG site, and globally via biological ageing estimates

    Review of research to inform California's climate scoping plan: Agriculture and working lands

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    Agriculture in California contributes 8% of the state's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To inform the state's policy and program strategy to meet climate targets, we review recent research on practices that can reduce emissions, sequester carbon and provide other co-benefits to producers and the environment across agriculture and rangeland systems. Importantly, the research reviewed here was conducted in California and addresses practices in our specific agricultural, socioeconomic and biophysical environment. Farmland conversion and the dairy and intensive livestock sector are the largest contributors to GHG emissions and offer the greatest opportunities for avoided emissions. We also identify a range of other opportunities including soil and nutrient management, integrated and diversified farming systems, rangeland management, and biomass-based energy generation. Additional research to replicate and quantify the emissions reduction or carbon sequestration potential of these practices will strengthen the evidence base for California climate policy
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