Media Policy Silences: The Hidden Face of Communications Decision Making

The analysis of media policy usually, and understandably, focuses on visible instances of policy action: of government intervention, regulatory activity, civil society engagement, and corporate initiatives. Less frequently considered is the process by which certain issues, frames, and proposals are neglected inside decision-making structures. This article reflects on the relationship between “industrial activism” and policy silences in relation to government desire to secure a digital communications infrastructure for the twenty-first century. It argues that policy analysts need to look beyond immediate and visible instances of decision making in the media field and examine the ideological processes of exclusion and marginalization that distort media policy making and undermine the emergence of alternative paradigms and policy outcomes

\u27Take a deep breath’: how recreational SCUBA divers negotiate in-water constraints

A significant body of work now exists on what constrains people\u27s leisure. While early theorizations of constraints focused on what prevented individuals from participating in leisure, the literature has expanded to include discussions on how constraints may be negotiated, overcome or substituted. This article explores constraints negotiation in the context of adventurous leisure. This study considers how leisure constraints are negotiated in the in-situ experience of recreational scuba diving. In-depth interviews were conducted with 27 recreational divers. Analysis revealed three interrelated negotiation strategies used to deal with in-situ constraints, namely consolidate, co-operate, or cancel. These negotiation techniques were influenced by factors including divers\u27 histories, perceptions of the severity of the constraint and in-water experience. Findings support the recognition of in-situ constraints negotiation in adventurous leisure. Results highlight the need to reflect on how individuals negotiate constraints during leisure, particularly in difficult environments which can present unpredictable and dangerous risks

Phytosterols and phytosterolemia: gene–diet interactions

Phytosterol intake is recommended as an adjunctive therapy for hypercholesterolemia, and plant sterols/stanols can reduce cholesterol absorption at the intestinal lumen through the Niemann-Pick C1 Like 1 (NPC1L1) transporter pathway by competitive solubilization in mixed micelles. Phytosterol absorption is of less magnitude than cholesterol and is preferably secreted in the intestinal lumen by ABCG5/G8 transporters. Therefore, plasma levels of plant sterols/stanols are negligible compared with cholesterol, under an ordinary diet. The mechanisms of cholesterol and plant sterols absorption and the whole-body pool of sterols are discussed in this chapter. There is controversy about treatment with statins inducing further increase in plasma non-cholesterol sterols raising concerns about the safety of supplementation of plant sterols to such drugs. In addition, increase in plant sterols has also been reported upon consumption of plant sterol–enriched foods, regardless of other treatments. Rare mutations on ABCG5/G8 transporters affecting cholesterol/non-cholesterol extrusion, causing sitosterolemia with xanthomas and premature atheroslerotic disease are now known, and cholesterol/plant sterols absorption inhibitor, ezetimibe, emerges as the drug that reduces phytosterolemia and promotes xanthoma regression. On the other hand, common polymorphisms affecting the NPC1L1 transporter can interfere with the action of ezetimibe. Gene–diet interactions participate in this intricate network modulating the expression of genetic variants on specific phenotypes and can also affect the individual response to the hypolipidemic treatment. These very interesting aspects promoted a great deal of research in the field