Breaking the circle: The definition of individual liberty

The definition of individual liberty as the absence of coercion or violence (threatened or actual) includes a circularity problem. A look at prominent representatives of classical liberalism and libertarianism (Hayek, Rothbard, Hoppe, Jasay) reveals that this is typical of classical liberals as well as of libertarians, though the latter avoid a confusion of power and freedom. However, the respective definitions of individual liberty analysed here rest on the assumption that coercion (or violence) presupposes the absence of the (voluntary) agreement of the coerced party. Thus they use the definiendum in a modified form (voluntariness) as part of the definiens in order to define the definiendum. The resulting circle can be avoided by looking at coercion and freedom (non-coercion) as representatives of the class of two-level decisions (meta-decision and object-decision) with different costs on the meta-level. While coercion means that the coerced party has to face or faces artificial costs in case of a negative meta-decision, non-coercion (freedom) does not. As a conclusion we define freedom as the absence of artificial interference in the private sphere of another person that would produce artificial costs for that person if she/he opted for a negative meta-decision

The Effect of Multidomain Lifestyle Intervention on Daily Functioning in Older People

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of a 2-year multidomain lifestyle intervention on daily functioning of older people. DESIGN A 2-year randomized controlled trial (, NCT01041989). SETTING Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability. PARTICIPANTS A total of 1260 older adults, with a mean age of 69 years at the baseline, who were at risk of cognitive decline. INTERVENTION A multidomain intervention, including simultaneous physical activity intervention, nutritional counseling, vascular risk monitoring and management, and cognitive training and social activity. MEASUREMENTS The ability to perform daily activities (activities of daily living [ADLs] and instrumental ADLs) and physical performance (Short Physical Performance Battery). RESULTS The mean baseline ADL score was 18.1 (SD = 2.6) points; the scale ranges from 17 (no difficulties) to 85 (total ADL dependence). During the 2-year intervention, the ADL disability score slightly increased in the control group, while in the intervention group, it remained relatively stable. Based on the latent growth curve model, the difference in the change between the intervention and control groups was -0.95 (95% confidence interval [CI] = -1.61 to -0.28) after 1 year and -1.20 (95% CI = -2.02 to -0.38) after 2 years. In terms of physical performance, the intervention group had a slightly higher probability of improvement (from score 3 to score 4; P = .041) and a lower probability of decline (from score 3 to scores 0-2; P = .043) for chair rise compared to the control group. CONCLUSION A 2-year lifestyle intervention was able to maintain the daily functioning of the at-risk older population. The clinical significance of these results in this fairly well-functioning population remains uncertain, but the study results hold promise that healthy eating, exercise, and cognitive and social activity may have favorable effects on functional independence in older people.Peer reviewe

Update of the tolerable upper intake level for vitamin D for infants

Following a request from the European Commission, the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) was asked to revise the tolerable upper intake level (UL) for vitamin D for infants ( 64 1 year) set in 2012. From its literature review, the Panel concluded that the available evidence on daily vitamin D intake and the risk of adverse health outcomes (hypercalciuria, hypercalcaemia, nephrocalcinosis and abnormal growth patterns) cannot be used alone for deriving the UL for infants. The Panel conducted a meta-regression analysis of collected data, to derive a dose\u2013response relationship between daily supplemental intake of vitamin D and mean achieved serum 25(OH)D concentrations. Considering that a serum 25(OH)D concentration of 200 nmol/L or below is unlikely to pose a risk of adverse health outcomes in infants, the Panel estimated the percentage of infants reaching a concentration above this value at different intakes of vitamin D. Based on the overall evidence, the Panel kept the UL of 25 \u3bcg/day for infants aged up to 6 months and set a UL of 35 \u3bcg/day for infants 6\u201312 months. The Panel was also asked to advise on the safety of the consumption of infant formulae with an increased maximum vitamin D content of 3 \u3bcg/100 kcal (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/127 repealing Directive 2006/141/EC in 2020). For infants aged up to 4 months, the intake assessment showed that the use of infant formulae containing vitamin D at 3 \u3bcg/100 kcal may lead some infants to receive an intake above the UL of 25 \u3bcg/day from formulae alone without considering vitamin D supplemental intake. For infants aged 4\u201312 months, the 95th percentile of vitamin D intake (high consumers) estimated from formulae and foods fortified or not with vitamin D does not exceed the ULs, without considering vitamin D supplemental intake