What do we mean by the ‘underclass’?

Recent evidence points to the failure of the ‘troubled families’ programme launched by the Coalition government in 2011, a programme designed to intervene in the lives of the estimated 120,000 most behaviourally anti-social families in England and Wales. As John Macnicol argues, the concept of the ‘underclass’ underpinning this initiative has a long history, and has resurfaced in various forms for over a century in British politics and policy-makin

A Study of Satellite Navigation, Dilution of Precision, and Positioning Techniques for use on and around the Moon

The National Aeronautics and Space Agency is examining several approaches to meet navigational requirements for spacecraft in lunar orbit, in transit to or from the moon, and for personnel on the lunar surface requiring an accurate, real-time, on-board navigation capability. This work addresses one possible solution to the navigation problem in the vicinity of the moon using a lunar satellite navigation system. Dilution of precision is the figure of merit used to determine if a candidate lunar satellite navigation system can meet accuracy specifications based on a given satellite constellation and the measurement types used. Ten satellite constellations, using two measurement types (direct ranging and time-difference-of-arrival), are analyzed for numerous user locations on the moon. Using terrestrial and Earth-orbiting assets to augment the lunar constellations is also investigated. Sensitivity analyses are accomplished to determine the effect on the position solution accuracy of additional measurements, reduced measurements, and different combinations of measurement types

Dietary Cucumis melo Reduces Markers of Muscle and Articular Inflammation Following High-intensity Exercise in Horses

We evaluated the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory potential of daily oral supplementation with a proprietary powdered Cucumis melo pulp (CMP) on exercise-induced markers of articular and muscular oxidative stress and inflammation in 12 horses. Horses performed a high-intensity exercise test immediately prior to, and then following, 3 weeks of daily supplementation of 1 g powdered CMP (CMP; n=8). Controls (Co; n=8) underwent the same exercise and sampling regime but were not supplemented. Blood and synovial fluid (SF) samples were taken 24 h prior to exercise (BL), and at 1 and 24 h following exercise. Plasma and SF were analysed for prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), total antioxidant status (TAS), nitrite and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. SF was analysed for glycosaminoglycans (GAG), and plasma was analysed for thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS). Comparisons were made using repeated measures with the initial exercise test as a covariate. There was an increase in SF SOD activity in the CMP group. Compared to Co at 1 h, CMP reduced nitrite and GAG in SF, as well as maintained plasma TAS and lymphocyte levels. At 24 h, plasma PGE2 and creatine kinase were lower in horses receiving CMP. Three weeks of supplementation with CMP reduced markers of articular and skeletal muscle oxidative stress and inflammation in response to high-intensity exercise in horses. Nutritive antioxidants may provide a useful adjunct to the daily nutrition plan of horses undergoing regular exercise training and competition

A polymorphism associated with depressive disorders differentially regulates brain derived neurotrophic factor promoter IV activity

PMCID: PMC3712170Peer reviewedPublisher PD

International genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new primary biliary cirrhosis risk loci and targetable pathogenic pathways.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a classical autoimmune liver disease for which effective immunomodulatory therapy is lacking. Here we perform meta-analyses of discovery data sets from genome-wide association studies of European subjects (n=2,764 cases and 10,475 controls) followed by validation genotyping in an independent cohort (n=3,716 cases and 4,261 controls). We discover and validate six previously unknown risk loci for PBC (Pcombined<5 × 10(-8)) and used pathway analysis to identify JAK-STAT/IL12/IL27 signalling and cytokine-cytokine pathways, for which relevant therapies exist