Signs of use present a barrier to reusable packaging systems for takeaway food

Single-use packaging is one of the biggest contributors to plastic waste, and reuse has been identified as a key strategy to reduce such waste. However, reusable containers typically become worn, which may influence how consumers think and feel about reuse. The present research explored whether and how evaluations of a takeaway food service changed depending on the appearance of a reusable container. Two studies were conducted (using opportunity sampling) to (i) investigate the effects that signs of use have on people’s perceptions of reusable packaging systems using quantitative methods (Study 1) and (ii) understand the rationale underpinning these evaluations using qualitative methods (Study 2). Study 1 involved an online questionnaire where participants (n = 292) were shown images of reusable bowls for takeaway food with various levels of staining and asked to evaluate the container and the restaurant serving the food using rating scales. Study 2 involved in-person interviews where participants (n = 22) were given the opportunity to inspect either a clean bowl or a stained bowl and then were asked questions about the bowls. Signs of previous use seemed to undermine people’s willingness to reuse containers in the future and were associated with more negative evaluations of the packaging, product, and restaurant serving the food. These findings provide insights into the factors that affect people’s willingness to engage with reusable packaging systems, and we use these findings to suggest behavioural and design interventions that might mitigate negative evaluations and encourage reuse

Spherical and deformed structures in Pb189

γ-ray spectroscopy of high-spin states of the neutron-deficient nucleus Pb189 has been conducted with the Gd158(Ar36,5n) and Er164(Si29,4n) reactions. With the first of these, detection of evaporation residues and mass gating were used to unambiguously assign a number of prompt γ-ray transitions to Pb189. With the second reaction and a pulsed beam, an isomer with a mean life of 32 μs was found. Although inconclusive, the available evidence favors identification of the isomer with the 332+ state of the ν(i13/2)-3 configuration. The levels observed below the isomer can be identified with states involving three different structures: the neutron (i13/2)-3 multiplet in the spherical well; a prolate-deformed band involving mixed i13/2 neutron orbitals; and a state with the oblate π(2p-2h)0+ν(i13/ 2)-1 configuration. The evidence for structures associated with different shapes is supported by the observation of E0 components in some of the Jπ→Jπ transitions linking them

Two truncating variants in FANCC and breast cancer risk

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a genetically heterogeneous disorder with 22 disease-causing genes reported to date. In some FA genes, monoallelic mutations have been found to be associated with breast cancer risk, while the risk associations of others remain unknown. The gene for FA type C, FANCC, has been proposed as a breast cancer susceptibility gene based on epidemiological and sequencing studies. We used the Oncoarray project to genotype two truncating FANCC variants (p.R185X and p.R548X) in 64,760 breast cancer cases and 49,793 controls of European descent. FANCC mutations were observed in 25 cases (14 with p.R185X, 11 with p.R548X) and 26 controls (18 with p.R185X, 8 with p.R548X). There was no evidence of an association with the risk of breast cancer, neither overall (odds ratio 0.77, 95% CI 0.44-1.33, p = 0.4) nor by histology, hormone receptor status, age or family history. We conclude that the breast cancer risk association of these two FANCC variants, if any, is much smaller than for BRCA1, BRCA2 or PALB2 mutations. If this applies to all truncating variants in FANCC it would suggest there are differences between FA genes in their roles on breast cancer risk and demonstrates the merit of large consortia for clarifying risk associations of rare variants.Peer reviewe

Spectroscopy of PB-186 with mass identification

Transitions in the very neutron-deficient isotope 186Pb have been identified in mass-gated, recoil-gamma, and recoil-gamma-gamma coincidence data obtained with a fragment mass analyzer and Compton-suppressed Ge-detector array. The results of the present work confirm and extend a band of levels tentatively proposed in earlier work done elsewhere, and provide a definitive mass assignment of the observed transitions. The band observed in 186Pb bears a very close resemblance to the yrast band in the isotone 184Hg, supporting the view that the 186Pb band is built upon a prolate structure

Microstructural and residual stress development due to inertia friction welding in Ti-6246

A thorough investigation has been performed to assess the microstructural properties, mechanical properties (hardness and elastic modulus), and residual stress development in Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo (Ti-6246) inertia friction welds in the as-welded and postweld heat-treated conditions. It was evident that the thermomechanical deformation in the weld region occurred above the β transus, forming dynamically recrystallized β grains and precipitating acicular α within the β grains, which resulted in a localized hardness increase. In the heat-affected zone, a ghost microstructure of the base metal formed because of the absence of sufficient time for diffusion, resulting in Mo segregation in the prior primary α plates. Energy-dispersive synchrotron X-ray diffraction and neutron diffraction were used to assess the residual stress development in the three principal directions. The variation in the unstrained lattice parameters across the weld regions was established by imposing a stress balance on the axial stress component in the radial direction. It was found that the maximum stresses occurred in the hoop direction, with significantly lower stresses present in the radial and axial directions. The maximum tensile hoop stresses were located at ~4 mm from the weld centerline and not at the dynamically recrystallized β-rich weld zone. This was associated with the α → β phase transformation and the subsequent acicular α precipitation within the region surrounding the weld centerline