Long-term evaluation of a UK Community Pharmacy-Based Weight Management Service

Obesity increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer, reducing both the quality and quantity of life. Consequently, government healthcare costs are significant. A greater than 5% reduction in weight has been shown to result in significant improvements in type II diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol levels and therefore effective interventions are required. This paper reports the results from 17 years of delivering a private, individualised very low calorie diet (VLCD) programme in community pharmacy. In line with national guidelines, a community pharmacy-based private weight management service was set up to support individuals over the age of 18. After assessment for clinical suitability, individuals were offered either a flexible weight loss plan or a strict weight loss plan using a very low calorie diet (VLCD). The VLCD was delivered using the protocols of the proprietary programme, Lipotrim™. These individuals followed one or more dieting sequences, defined as at least one week of attendance whilst following the VLCD, without discontinuation, producing at least a start and end weight. Data were recorded weekly and audited for this report including weight and BMI on initial presentation, weight and BMI lost and % weight and BMI loss. A total of 1875 dieting sequences were recorded from 1023 dieters. In 1261 (67.3%) sequences, a medically beneficial weight loss of >5% was achieved. Overall, the cohort demonstrated mean (sd) % weight losses of 10.1% (7.7). Mean (sd) % weight losses seen in people with type 2 diabetes was 10.4% (2.7) and 10.6% (5.9) in hypertension. In total, 555 diet sequences accessed long-term weight maintenance support. In 173 (31%) of these cases, a second weight check post weight loss could not be made. The remaining 382 individuals presenting showed a mean (sd) weight gain of only 1.4kg (4.3) equating to a mean (sd) % weight gain of only 1.8% (4.6) over a mean (sd) number of days post weight-loss of 132 days (179). The results from this long-term review demonstrate that with proper provision of a nutritionally complete VLCD, through private service provision, community pharmacies can make a significant contribution to reducing the obesity epidemic at no cost to state-funded health systems

Parallel Cross-Entropy Optimization

The cross-entropy (CE) method is a modern and effective optimization method well suited to parallel implementations. There is a vast array of problems today, some of which are highly complex and can take weeks or even longer to solve using current optimization techniques. This paper presents a general method for designing parallel CE algorithms for multiple instruction multiple data (MIVID) distributed memory machines using the message passing interface (MPI) library routines. We provide examples of its performance for two well-known test-cases: the (discrete) Max-Cut problem and (continuous) Rosenbrock problem. Speedup factors and a comparison to sequential CE methods are reported

TRUTH – A Conversation between P F Strawson and Gareth Evans (1973)

This is a transcript of a conversation between P F Strawson and Gareth Evans in 1973, filmed for The Open University. Under the title 'Truth', Strawson and Evans discuss the question as to whether the distinction between genuinely fact-stating uses of language and other uses can be grounded on a theory of truth, especially a 'thin' notion of truth in the tradition of F P Ramsey

Responsibility to Protect (R2P): The ICISS Commission Fifteen Years On (SWP 54)

Canada played a crucial role in the birth of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) norm, endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2005, and can remain proud of its achievement in generating a new international consensus about how to respond to genocide and other mass atrocity crimes. Good progress has been made against the four relevant benchmarks – R2P’s role as a normative force, institutional catalyst, effective preventive framework and effective reactive framework. Despite the breakdown of Security Council consensus over Libya in 2011, and the failure since then of R2P to stop mass atrocity crimes in Syria, there are grounds for optimism about its more effective implementation in the future. (This paper was adapted from a seminar given by the author in his capacity as the 2016–17 Simons Visiting Chair in International Law and Human Security, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, 16 September 2016.) &nbsp

"Maintaining Universities' raison d'etre: Meeting the challenge

University chancellors in Australia are a rather unique species. Unlike our counterparts in the UK where the office evolved, and in most of those Commonwealth countries who have inherited and retained it, we have a serious role to play in university governance, chairing as we do our universities’ governing councils or senates – not just dressing up in gorgeous robes to utter sonorous banalities on grand occasions. In the UK by contrast, the chancellor – when not a television personality usually a royal, or some other long-past-it old buffer – rarely does much else

Values and Interests in Foreign Policymaking

Why should Canadians, Australians or anyone else care about human rights atrocities, health epidemics, environmental catastrophes, weapons proliferation or any other problems afflicting faraway countries when they do not have any direct or immediate impact on our own physical security or economic prosperity, viz. our traditionally defined national interests? Are concerns about ‘value’ issues just optional add-ons to states’ foreign policy? This paper spells out my longheld belief, which has its origins in the Pearsonian liberal tradition, that there is a third kind of national interest which every country should pursue: being, and being seen to be, a good international citizen. My argument – which I illustrate with reference to issues such as nuclear disarmament, aid policy, the treatment of asylum seekers, and the responsibility to protect populations against genocide and other crimes against humanity – is that acting as a good international citizen wins hard-headed reputational and reciprocal-action returns, and as such bridges the gulf between idealism and realism by giving realists good reasons for behaving like idealists. (This paper was adapted from the author’s lecture, delivered in his capacity as the 2016–17 Simons Visiting Chair in International Law and Human Security, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, 15 September 2016.

Responsibility to Protect (R2P): The ICISS Commission Fifteen Years On

Canada played a crucial role in the birth of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) norm, endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2005, and can remain proud of its achievement in generating a new international consensus about how to respond to genocide and other mass atrocity crimes. Good progress has been made against the four relevant benchmarks – R2P’s role as a normative force, institutional catalyst, effective preventive framework and effective reactive framework. Despite the breakdown of Security Council consensus over Libya in 2011, and the failure since then of R2P to stop mass atrocity crimes in Syria, there are grounds for optimism about its more effective implementation in the future