Assessing the influence of the built environment on physical activity for utility and recreation in suburban metro Vancouver

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Physical inactivity and associated co-morbidities such as obesity and cardiovascular disease are estimated to have large societal costs. There is increasing interest in examining the role of the built environment in shaping patterns of physical activity. However, few studies have: (1) simultaneously examined physical activity for leisure and utility; (2) selected study areas with a range of built environment characteristics; and (3) assessed the built environment using high-resolution land use data.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data on individuals used for this study are from a survey of 1602 adults in selected sites across suburban Metro Vancouver. Four types of physical activity were assessed: walking to work/school, walking for errands, walking for leisure and moderate physical activity for exercise. The built environment was assessed by constructing one-kilometre road network buffers around each respondent's postal code. Measures of the built environment include terciles of recreational and park land, residential land, institutional land, commercial land and land use mix.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Logistic regression analyses showed that walking to work/school and moderate physical activity were not associated with any built environment measure. Living in areas with lower land use mix, lower commercial and lower recreational land increased the odds of low levels of walking for errands. Individuals living in the lower third of land use mix and institutional land were more likely to report low levels of walking for leisure.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest that walking for errands and leisure have a greater association with the built environment than other dimensions of physical activity.</p

Thermal Tolerance of the Coffee Berry Borer Hypothenemus hampei: Predictions of Climate Change Impact on a Tropical Insect Pest

Coffee is predicted to be severely affected by climate change. We determined the thermal tolerance of the coffee berry borer , Hypothenemus hampei, the most devastating pest of coffee worldwide, and make inferences on the possible effects of climate change using climatic data from Colombia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. For this, the effect of eight temperature regimes (15, 20, 23, 25, 27, 30, 33 and 35°C) on the bionomics of H. hampei was studied. Successful egg to adult development occurred between 20–30°C. Using linear regression and a modified Logan model, the lower and upper thresholds for development were estimated at 14.9 and 32°C, respectively. In Kenya and Colombia, the number of pest generations per year was considerably and positively correlated with the warming tolerance. Analysing 32 years of climatic data from Jimma (Ethiopia) revealed that before 1984 it was too cold for H. hampei to complete even one generation per year, but thereafter, because of rising temperatures in the area, 1–2 generations per year/coffee season could be completed. Calculated data on warming tolerance and thermal safety margins of H. hampei for the three East African locations showed considerably high variability compared to the Colombian site. The model indicates that for every 1°C rise in thermal optimum (Topt.), the maximum intrinsic rate of increase (rmax) will increase by an average of 8.5%. The effects of climate change on the further range of H. hampei distribution and possible adaption strategies are discussed. Abstracts in Spanish and French are provided as supplementary material Abstract S1 and Abstract S2

Prompt and delayed spectroscopy of At-203: Observation of a shears band and a 29/2(+) isomeric state

Using fusion-evaporation reactions, a gas-filled recoil separator, recoil-gating technique and recoil-isomer decay tagging technique we have extended the level scheme of 203 At ( N = 118 ) significantly. We have observed an isomeric [ τ = 14.1 ( 3 ) μ s ] state with a spin and parity of 29 / 2 + . The isomeric state is suggested to originate from the π ( h 9 / 2 ) ⊗ ∣ ∣ 202 Po ; 11 − ⟩ coupling, and it is depopulated through 286 keV E 2 and 366 keV E 3 transitions. In addition, we have observed a cascade of magnetic-dipole transitions which is suggested to be generated by the shears mechanism.peerReviewe