Sir John Cornforth AC CBE FRS: his synthetic work

Sir John Cornforth’s work on the synthesis of cholesterol and penicillamine, on the chemistry of oxazoles, the stereochemistry of the synthesis of alkenes, the synthesis of abscisic acid and of dibenzophospholes as mimics of enzyme action, is reviewed

The governance of co-operatives and mutual associations: a paradox perspective

This paper presents a new theoretical framework for understanding the governance of co-operative and mutual organisations. The theoretical literature on the governance of co-operatives is relatively undeveloped in comparison with that on corporate governance. The paper briefly reviews some of the main theoretical perspectives on corporate governance and discusses how they can be usefully extended to throw light on the governance of co-operatives and mutuals. However, taken individually these different theories are rather one dimensional, only illuminating a particular aspect of the board's role. This has lead to calls for a new conceptual framework that can help integrate the insights of these different theories. The paper argues that a paradox perspective offers a promising way forward. Contrasting the different theoretical perspectives highlights some of the important paradoxes, ambiguities and tensions that boards face

A historical perspective on the discovery of statins

Cholesterol is essential for the functioning of all human organs, but it is nevertheless the cause of coronary heart disease. Over the course of nearly a century of investigation, scientists have developed several lines of evidence that establish the causal connection between blood cholesterol, atherosclerosis, and coronary heart disease. Building on that knowledge, scientists and the pharmaceutical industry have successfully developed a remarkably effective class of drugs—the statins—that lower cholesterol levels in blood and reduce the frequency of heart attacks

The semiology of changing brand image

This article considers the attempted change to the image of an established brand by studying the semiotics within the brand’s historical advertising campaigns. The use of semiotics to study the interpretation of messages is discussed, and the link between interpretation of messages and advertising effectiveness in changing brand image is explored. The authors deconstruct advertisements of a brand to provide a model containing opposing dialectics that may aid managers by highlighting alternative symbolic messages contained in advertisements. Oncwe identified, these alternative symbolic messages may be used to help change brand image and influence advertising effectiveness. Although the study focuses upon a major brand of beer, this is an industry in which there are numerous small firms, and many of those have constrained marketing budgets, and thus need to make sure that their advertising is effective. Equally, entrepreneurial marketing is not to found only in the small firm, and the case study discusses a radical and imaginative brand repositioning of a well established product

Effects of Various Fresh Meat Storage Methods on the Color of Cooked Ground Pork

The effects of microbial growth in raw materials on cooked pork color were investigated. In two trials with sow meat held aerobically at 2C for 3 weeks, microbial load reached spoilage levels (107 cfu/g), pH increased to 6.46, and samples cooked to 71C had red exudate, shown by absorption spectroscopy to contain myoglobin and cytochrome c. Samples cooked to 82C also received high panel ratings for red color, due to red, flocculent precipitate in the exudate, but undenatured myoglobin levels were low. In sow meat held frozen or vacuum-packaged at 2C, pH after 3 weeks was 6.03 and 6.18, and plate counts were 104 and 107, respectively, but exudates after cooking were much less red. In five trials with fresh pork legs, total plate counts also reached 107 cfu/g by 3 weeks storage, and pH increased to 6.37, but cooked samples were not red. Higher myoglobin levels in sow meat probably accounted for the red color and level of undenatured myoglobin remaining after cooking of high pH, spoiled samples