National Security Risks? Uncertainty, Austerity and Other Logics of Risk in the UK government’s National Security Strategy

Risk scholars within Security studies have argued that the concept of security has gone through a fundamental transformation away from a threat-based conceptualisation of defence, urgency and exceptionality to one of preparedness, precautions and prevention of future risks, some of which are calculable, others of which are not. This article explores whether and how the concept of security is changing due to this ‘rise of risk’, through a hermeneutically grounded conceptual and discourse analysis of the United Kingdom government’s national security strategy (NSS) from 1998 to 2011. We ask how risk-security language is employed in the NSS; what factors motivate such discursive shifts; and what, if any, consequences of these shifts can be discerned in UK national security practices. Our aim is twofold: to better understand shifts in the security understandings and policies of UK authorities; and to contribute to the conceptual debate on the significance of the rise of risk as a component of the concept of security

Recent developments in the field of cachexia, sarcopenia, and muscle wasting: highlights from the 12th Cachexia Conference

Abstract This article highlights preclinical and clinical studies in the field of wasting disorders that were presented at the 12th Cachexia Conference held in Berlin, Germany, in December 2019. Herein, we summarize the biological and clinical significance of different strategies including antibodies that target Fn14, Spsb 1, SAA1 treatment, ZIP14, a MuRF1 inhibitor, and new diagnostic tools like T‐cell communication targets and cut‐offs for the detection of skeletal muscle wasting. Of particular interest were the transplantation of mesenchymal stromal cells and muscle stem cell communication. Importantly, one presentation discussed the effect of metal ion transporter ZIP14 loss that reduces cancer‐induced cachexia. The potential of anti‐ZIP14 antibodies and zinc chelation as anti‐cachexia therapy may require testing in patients with cancer cachexia. Large clinical studies were presented such as RePOWER (observational study of patients with primary mitochondrial myopathy), MMPOWER (treatment with elamipretide in patients with primary mitochondrial myopathy), and ACT‐ONE as well as new mouse models like the KPP mouse. Promising treatments include rapamycin analogue treatment, anamorelin, elanapril, glucocorticoids, SAA1, antibodies that target Fn14, and a MuRF1 inhibitor. Clinical studies investigated novel approaches, including the role of exercise. It remains a fact, however, that effective treatments for cachexia and wasting disorders are urgently needed in order to improve patients' quality of life and their survival