1,123 research outputs found
EXPLAINING BENEFIT UTILIZATION VARIABILITY IN FMNP IN KENTUCKY: AN APPLICATION OF PIERRE BOURDIEU’S THEORY
Research has demonstrated the crucial role fresh fruit and vegetable consumption plays in maintaining good health. However, most Americans do not consume adequate amounts, and low-income Americans consume the lowest quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables. The Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) and Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) attempts to rectify this situation by providing vouchers to low-income women, children, and elders that can be used only at farmers’ markets for the purchase of locally grown, fresh fruits and vegetables. Unfortunately, FMNP and SFMNP exhibit variable and often low benefit utilization. This variable and often low benefit utilization is unique among all other federal food assistance programs. Given the importance of fresh fruit and vegetable consumption to health and the incomplete understanding of low-income food-related behaviors, this research endeavored to understand the unique benefit utilization patterns exhibited by FMNP.
Utilizing the theoretical framework of Pierre Bourdieu, benefit utilization was conceptualized as an inherently social activity occurring within the field of food acquisition. Through the use of extensive interviews with FMNP and SFMNP officials, field observations, and secondary data analysis, data was collected to determine the relevant capitals and features of the field contributing to benefit utilization. Cultural capital was deemed to be particularly important to benefit utilization vis-à-vis the requirement to enter the subfield of the farmers’ market to redeem their vouchers. Compared to SFMNP participants, FMNP participants exhibited lower and often multiple deficits of the types of cultural capital needed to successfully use the vouchers at farmers’ markets. However, the local fields in which the farmers’ markets operated also had a significant impact on benefit utilization. For example, Appalachian counties exhibited higher rates of benefit utilization that were statistically significant compared to non-Appalachian counties. This resulted in several policy recommendations including the distribution of recipes, interagency collaboration, and repeated opportunities to enter the subfield of the farmers’ market to encourage higher benefit utilization in FMNP and SFMNP
Baumol’s cost disease and the sustainability of the welfare state
If productivity increases more slowly for services than for manufactured goods then services suffer from Baumol's cost disease and tend to become relatively more costly over time. Since the welfare state in all countries is an important supplier of tax financed services, this translates into a financial pressure which seems to leave policymakers with a trilemma; increase taxes (and hence tax distortions), cut spending or redistribute less. Under the assumptions underlying Baumol's cost disease, we show that these dismal implications are not warranted. The welfare state is sustainable and Baumol growth leaves scope for Pareto improvements
Rheology to guide formulation development of particulate dispersions for automated capsule filling
The rheological properties of pharmaceutical formulations intended for liquid fill hard gelatin capsules are fundamental for their filling performance. Here we used the rheological characteristics of particulate drug formulations to develop formulations suitable for automated capsule filling
The Best Brown Dwarf Yet?: A Companion to the Hyades Eclipsing Binary V471 Tau
We have carried out an analysis of about 160 eclipse timings spanning over 30
years of the Hyades eclipsing binary V471 Tauri that shows a long-term
quasi-sinusoidal modulation of its observed eclipse arrival times. The O-Cs
have been analyzed for the ``light-time'' effect that arises from the
gravitational influence of a tertiary companion. The presence of a third body
causes the relative distance of the eclipsing pair to the Earth to change as it
orbits the barycenter of the triple system. The result of the analysis of the
eclipse times yields a light-time semi-amplitude of 137.2+/-12.0 s, an orbital
period of P_3 = 30.5+/-1.6 yr and an eccentricity of e_3 = 0.31+/-0.04. The
mass of the tertiary component is M_3 sin i_3 = 0.0393+/-0.0038 Mo when a total
mass of 1.61+/-0.06 Mo for V471 Tau is adopted. For orbital inclinations i_3 >
35 deg, the mass of the third body would be below the stable hydrogen burning
limit of M = 0.07 Mo and it thus would be a brown dwarf. In the next several
years (near maximum elongation), it should be feasible to obtain IR images and
spectra of V471 Tau C that, when combined with the known mass, age, distance,
and [Fe/H], will serve as a benchmark for understanding the physical properties
and evolution of brown dwarfs.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Impacts of Land Abandonment on Vegetation: Successional Pathways in European Habitats
Changes in traditional agricultural systems in Europe in recent decades have led to widespread abandonment and colonization of various habitats by shrubs and trees. We combined several vegetation databases to test whether patterns of changes in plant diversity after land abandonment in different habitats followed similar pathways. The impacts of land abandonment and subsequent woody colonization on vegetation composition and plant traits were studied in five semi-natural open habitats and two arable habitats in six regions of Europe. For each habitat, vegetation surveys were carried out in different stages of succession using either permanent or non-permanent plots. Consecutive stages of succession were defined on a physiognomic basis from initial open stages to late woody stages. Changes in vegetation composition, species richness, numbers of species on Red Lists, plant strategy types, Ellenberg indicator values of the vegetation, Grime CSR strategy types and seven ecological traits were assessed for each stage of the successional pathway. Abandonment of agro-pastoral land-use and subsequent woody colonization were associated with changes in floristic composition. Plant richness varied according to the different habitats and stages of succession, but semi-natural habitats differed from arable fields in several ecological traits and vegetation responses. Nevertheless, succession occurred along broadly predictable pathways. Vegetation in abandoned arable fields was characterized by a decreasing importance of R-strategists, annuals, seed plants with overwintering green leaves, insect-pollinated plants with hemi-rosette morphology and plants thriving in nutrient-rich conditions, but an increase in species considered as endangered according to the Red Lists. Conversely, changes in plant traits with succession within the initially-open semi-natural habitats showed an increase in plants thriving in nutrient-rich conditions, stress-tolerant plants and plants with sexual and vegetative reproduction, but a sharp decrease in protected species. In conclusion, our study showed a set of similarities in responses of the vegetation in plant traits after land abandonment, but we also highlighted differences between arable fields and semi-natural habitats, emphasizing the importance of land-use legacy
Induced radioactivity in AB-BNCT: an analysis of the different facilities worldwide
The global effort to establish Accelerator-Based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (AB-BNCT) facilities involves various accelerator technologies and neutron-producing targets, each characterized by different properties of the primary beam and neutron spectra they generate. With an emphasis on long-term sustainability, it is essential to minimize the production of residual radioactivity to the lowest possible level, particularly given their intended use in a hospital environment. This paper aims to quantitatively assess the residual radioactivity in these facilities, taking into account both primary and secondary activation. Primary activation primarily arises from the interaction of the proton or deuteron beam and the neutron-producing target. Secondary activation results from neutron-induced reactions on the elements exposed to the neutron flux, with the Beam Shaping Assembly (BSA) being the most exposed one. To assess activation, we evaluated a representative group of target-BSA configurations. Primary activation was calculated based on cross-sectional data and the corresponding target materials. Neutron activation was assessed using Monte Carlo simulations with the MCNP 6.1 code. Regarding target activation, our findings indicate that 9Be targets working with protons of less than 10 MeV represent the cleanest option, while 7Li targets working with protons lead to the highest activation levels. As for BSA activation, the neutron energy is a crucial factor. In the case of standard BSA materials, higher neutron energy results in an increased number of potential reactions that produce radioactive products. Additionally, our findings suggest that radioactivity induced by impurities and minor components in alloyed materials cannot be disregarded and must be taken into account in radioactivity calculations. In summary, this research provides a comprehensive analysis of activation of the commonly used targets and BSA materials, aimed at contributing to the optimization of AB-BNCT facilities from a radiological perspective
Konferencja międzynarodowa „Historia kalendarzy na świecie i ich powstawanie” (Korea Południowa, 29 XI – 2 XII 2016)
The article contains short information about the international conference on the history of world calendars and calendar making. The conference was organized to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the birth of Kim Dam (1416–1464), a leading Korean astronomer and calendar scholar. The papers presented at the conference included the interactions among different cultures and regions, and the contributions of astronomers to calendar making.Artykuł przedstawia krótką informację o międzynarodowej konferencji poświęconej historii kalendarzy w różnych rejonach świata oraz ich powstawaniu. Konferencję zorganizowano dla uczczenia 600. rocznicy urodzin Kim Dama (1416–1464), wybitnego astronoma koreańskiego, twórcy kalendarza. Referaty prezentowane na konferencji dotyczyły również wzajemnych powiązań pomiędzy różnymi kulturami i regionami na świecie, a także roli astronomów w tworzeniu kalendarzy
Magnetism in Nb(1-y)Fe(2+y) - composition and magnetic field dependence
We present a systematic study of transport and thermodynamic properties of
the Laves phase system NbFe. Our measurements confirm that
Fe-rich samples, as well as those rich in Nb (for ), show
bulk ferromagnetism at low temperature. For stoichiometric NbFe, on the
other hand, magnetization, magnetic susceptibility and magnetoresistance
results point towards spin-density wave (SDW) order, possibly helical, with a
small ordering wavevector \AA. Our results suggest that on
approaching the stoichiometric composition from the iron-rich side,
ferromagnetism changes into long-wavelength SDW order. In this scenario,
changes continuously from 0 to small, finite values at a Lifshitz point in the
phase diagram, which is located near . Further reducing the Fe content
suppresses the SDW transition temperature, which extrapolates to zero at
. Around this Fe content magnetic fluctuations dominate the
temperature dependence of the resistivity and of the heat capacity which
deviate from their conventional Fermi liquid forms, inferring the presence of a
quantum critical point. Because the critical point is located between the SDW
phase associated with stoichiometric NbFe and the ferromagnetic order which
reemerges for very Nb-rich NbFe, the observed temperature dependences could
be attributed both to proximity to SDW order or to ferromagnetism.Comment: 13 pages, 20 figure
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