ABSTRACT
Dietary consumption contributes significantly to the environmental impacts of daily life. Changes to consumption are required, but limited work investigates the reasoning underlying relevant dietary choices. This study aimed to explore public understanding of sustainable diets and any willingness or attempts to make changes towards sustainability in a sample of the UK population. A qualitative approach was used. Twenty-one participants (10 males; predominantly young adults; with a range of living circumstances and cooking responsibilities) were interviewed. Interviews were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Four themes were identified that related to understanding sustainable diets: 'Consistent with the definition by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO)', 'Multiple benefits', 'Unsure' and 'Competing Interests'. Four themes related to making changes: 'Willing, but unsure', 'Small easy changes', 'Enablers' and 'Barriers'. An additional theme 'COVID-19 pandemic' reflected the period when the work was done (February-May 2021). Within these themes, participants were able to define sustainable eating in a manner that was consistent with and incorporated aspects of the definition by the FAO, could identify sustainable actions that they were undertaking or could undertake, and considered these to be beneficial, but there was a lot of uncertainty, and alternative or competing definitions and actions were also given. Participants were also willing to make changes to make their diet more sustainable, and preferences were expressed for small easy changes of high impact, but there was again considerable uncertainty as to what changes to make. Caution due to the small and select sample is required, but suggestions from this work include increasing awareness and knowledge of the environmental impacts of dietary choices, focusing on small easy changes of likely impact and personal benefit, and increasing availability and accessibility to sustainable diets.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Male , Young Adult , Humans , Diet , Environment , Food , United KingdomABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Lines of radiofrequency ablation for cure of atrial fibrillation are broad, and the consequent loss of atrial mass may impair atrial function and contribute to the risk of stroke. We studied whether Nd:YAG laser could produce deep but narrower lesions. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: Laser lesions were made in ventricular myocardium of nonperfused ovine hearts and at thoracotomy in dogs. RESULTS: Lesions were well demarcated, deep, and narrow. Saline irrigation prevented crater formation for energy levels below 200 J. Lesion depth increased with increasing duration of ablation (maximum 5.3 +/- 0.8mm, P < 0.01). The depth to width ratio was >1 in all cases (maximum 2.5 +/- 1.6). The narrowest lesions were made by using high power, short duration of exposure, and intermittent delivery. CONCLUSIONS: Irrigated Nd:YAG laser can be used to make deep narrow myocardial lesions without crater formation. Laser ablation may be more suitable than radiofrequency ablation for intraoperative or catheter-based cure of atrial fibrillation.
