473 research outputs found
A proposed approach to monitor private-sector policies and practices related to food environments, obesity and non-communicable disease prevention
Private-sector organizations play a critical role in shaping the food environments
of individuals and populations. However, there is currently
very limited independent monitoring of private-sector actions related to
food environments. This paper reviews previous efforts to monitor the
private sector in this area, and outlines a proposed approach to monitor
private-sector policies and practices related to food environments, and
their influence on obesity and non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention.
A step-wise approach to data collection is recommended, in which
the first (‘minimal’) step is the collation of publicly available food and
nutrition-related policies of selected private-sector organizations. The
second (‘expanded’) step assesses the nutritional composition of each
organization’s products, their promotions to children, their labelling
practices, and the accessibility, availability and affordability of their
products. The third (‘optimal’) step includes data on other commercial
activities that may influence food environments, such as political lobbying
and corporate philanthropy. The proposed approach will be further
developed and piloted in countries of varying size and income levels.
There is potential for this approach to enable national and international
benchmarking of private-sector policies and practices, and to inform
efforts to hold the private sector to account for their role in obesity and
NCD prevention
Suppression of hole-hole scattering in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures under uniaxial compression
Resistance, magnetoresistance and their temperature dependencies have been
investigated in the 2D hole gas at a [001] p-GaAs/AlGaAs
heterointerface under [110] uniaxial compression. Analysis performed in the
frame of hole-hole scattering between carriers in the two spin splitted
subbands of the ground heavy hole state indicates, that h-h scattering is
strongly suppressed by uniaxial compression. The decay time of the
relative momentum reveals 4.5 times increase at a uniaxial compression of 1.3
kbar.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. submitted to Phys.Rev.
Towards a developmental state? Provincial economic policy in South Africa
This paper explores the meaning of the developmental state for spatial economic policy in South Africa. Two main questions are addressed: do provincial governments have a role to play in promoting economic prosperity, and to what extent do current provincial policies possess the attributes of a developmental state? These attributes are defined as the ability to plan longer term, to focus key partners on a common agenda, and to mobilise state resources to build productive capabilities. The paper argues that the developmental state must harness the power of government at every level to ensure that each part of the country develops to its potential. However, current provincial capacity is uneven, and weakest where support is needed most. Many provinces seem to have partial strategies and lack the wherewithal for sustained implementation. Coordination across government appears to be poor. The paper concludes by suggesting ways provincial policies could be strengthened
’We do not have a writing culture’: exploring the nature of ‘academic drift’ through a study of lecturer perspectives on student writing in a vocational university
Vocational universities are increasingly becoming susceptible to pressures associated with the phenomenon known as ‘academic drift’. Yet the specific influence of such pressures is experienced differently at various institutional levels and by different stakeholders in such universities. Exploring lecturers’ understanding and perceptions of student academic writing can make visible the ways in which these pressures are realised, for example, in the types of writing given value and writing pedagogies deemed suitable in the context of the vocational university. In this paper, we report on an ethnographically shaped study exploring lecturers’ writing pedagogies and perceptions of students as academic writers at a South African vocational university. The study analytically illustrated how wider socio-political, regulatory and ideological framings of these universities were implicated in lecturers’ writing practices and pedagogies. The study found that lecturers and students were generally constricted by narrow vocationalist agendas, which reinforced negative conceptions of students as academic writers. Our findings suggest that while the explicit impact of academic drift drivers was minimally felt at the undergraduate diploma level of study in our research site, this appeared to close off the potential for writing to act as a means to facilitate students’ epistemic access to their disciplines
Dynamic location problems with limited look-ahead
Background Among the most frequently encountered mutations in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) are those in the lamin A/C (LMNA) gene. Our goal was to analyze the LMNA gene in patients with DCM and/or conduction disease referred to the cardiogenetics outpatient clinic and to evaluate the prevalence of LMNA mutations and their clinical expression. Methods and Results The LMNA gene was screened in 61 index patients. Eleven mutations (including 6 novel) were identified, mainly in the subgroup of familial DCM with cardiac conduction disease (3/10 index patients) and in patients with DCM and Emery-Dreifuss, Limb-Girdle, or unclassified forms of muscular dystrophy (7/8 index patients). In addition, a mutation was identified in 1 of 4 families with only cardiac conduction disease. We did not identify any large deletions or duplications.Genotype-phenotype relationships revealed a high rate of sudden death and cardiac transplants in carriers of the p.N 195K mutation. Our study confirmed that the p.R225X mutation leads to cardiac conduction disease with late or no development of DCM, underscoring the importance of this mutation in putative familial "lone conduction disease." Nearly one third of LMNA mutation carriers had experienced a thromboembolic event. Conclusions This study highlights the role of LMNA mutations in DCM and related disorders. A severe phenotype in p.N 195K mutation carriers and preferential cardiac conduction disease in p.R225X carriers was encountered. Because of the clinical variability, including the development of associated symptoms in time, LMNA screening should be considered in patients with DCM or familial lone conduction diseas
37<sup>th</sup> plenary meeting report of the scientific, technical and economic committee for fisheries (PLEN-11-02)
The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries hold its 37th plenary on 11-15 July 2011 in Copenhagen (Denmark). The terms of reference included both issues assessments of STECF Expert Working Group reports and additional requests submitted to the STECF by the Commission. Topics dealt with ranged from fisheries economics to management plan evaluation issues
Diet and Physical Activity for the Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Policy Review
Background: Diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are increasing rapidly in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) and constitute a leading cause of mortality. Although a call for global action has been resonating for years, the progress in national policy development in LMICs has not been assessed. This review of strategies to prevent NCDs in LMICs provides a benchmark against which policy response can be tracked over time. Methods and Findings: We reviewed how government policies in LMICs outline actions that address salt consumption, fat consumption, fruit and vegetable intake, or physical activity. A structured content analysis of national nutrition, NCDs, and health policies published between 1 January 2004 and 1 January 2013 by 140 LMIC members of the World Health Organization (WHO) was carried out. We assessed availability of policies in 83% (116/140) of the countries. NCD strategies were found in 47% (54/116) of LMICs reviewed, but only a minority proposed actions to promote healthier diets and physical activity. The coverage of policies that specifically targeted at least one of the risk factors reviewed was lower in Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Eastern Mediterranean compared to the other two World Health Organization regions, South-East Asia and Western Pacific. Of the countries reviewed, only 12% (14/116) proposed a policy that addressed all four risk factors, and 25% (29/116) addressed only one of the risk factors reviewed. Strategies targeting the private sector were less frequently encountered than strategies targeting the general public or policy makers. Conclusions: This review indicates the disconnection between the burden of NCDs and national policy responses in LMICs. Policy makers urgently need to develop comprehensive and multi-stakeholder policies to improve dietary quality and physical activity
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