Free Fatty Acids Quantification in Dairy Products

Quantification of free fatty acids in dairy products is not only important due to their (fatty acids) impact on the flavour and texture of dairy products but also because of their potential impact on nutrition and health, and as anti-microbial agents. This chapter provides an overview of the practical issues associated with existing lipid extraction techniques and quantification procedures using gas chromatography flame-ionization detection. The most widely used methods are compared and recent advancements in the quantification of free fatty acids in dairy products are discussed

Exploring student participation across different arenas of school life

Much has now been written on student participation at school. Yet a lack of conceptual clarity, contestation over purpose and benefits, and uncertainty about how to culturally embed and effectively facilitate participation in school contexts continue to pose considerable challenges. This article reports the qualitative findings from a large‐scale, mixed‐method study that sought to explore how participation is perceived and practised in schools. The qualitative phase involved students from Years 7–10 (n = 177) and staff (n = 32) across 10 government and Catholic secondary schools in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The data demonstrate that considerable efforts are being made in NSW schools to expand opportunities through which students might ‘participate’, with these explored across three key arenas of school life: the classroom; co‐curricular activities, including formal participatory structures; and informal relational spaces. Although participatory opportunities were largely ad hoc and often dependent upon the approach of individual teachers or school initiatives, differing enactments of childhood and adulthood were identifiable between the three arenas, along with varying expectations in this regard. The classroom emerged as a positive arena at present, and one in which adult–child relations are beginning to become reconfigured. The co‐curricular arena was much more contested, with the breadth of potential participatory opportunities perhaps distracting from the need to address underlying intergenerational issues. However, informal relational encounters between students and teachers were becoming increasingly egalitarian, and these offer scope for creating the cultural preconditions such that student participation might expand more evenly across school life

Variable δ15N Diet-Tissue Discrimination Factors among Sharks: Implications for Trophic Position, Diet and Food Web Models

The application of stable isotopes to characterize the complexities of a species foraging behavior and trophic relationships is dependent on assumptions of δ(15)N diet-tissue discrimination factors (∆(15)N). As ∆(15)N values have been experimentally shown to vary amongst consumers, tissues and diet composition, resolving appropriate species-specific ∆(15)N values can be complex. Given the logistical and ethical challenges of controlled feeding experiments for determining ∆(15)N values for large and/or endangered species, our objective was to conduct an assessment of a range of reported ∆(15)N values that can hypothetically serve as surrogates for describing the predator-prey relationships of four shark species that feed on prey from different trophic levels (i.e., different mean δ(15)N dietary values). Overall, the most suitable species-specific ∆(15)N values decreased with increasing dietary-δ(15)N values based on stable isotope Bayesian ellipse overlap estimates of shark and the principal prey functional groups contributing to the diet determined from stomach content analyses. Thus, a single ∆(15)N value was not supported for this speciose group of marine predatory fishes. For example, the ∆(15)N value of 3.7‰ provided the highest percent overlap between prey and predator isotope ellipses for the bonnethead shark (mean diet δ(15)N = 9‰) whereas a ∆(15)N value < 2.3‰ provided the highest percent overlap between prey and predator isotope ellipses for the white shark (mean diet δ(15)N = 15‰). These data corroborate the previously reported inverse ∆(15)N-dietary δ(15)N relationship when both isotope ellipses of principal prey functional groups and the broader identified diet of each species were considered supporting the adoption of different ∆(15)N values that reflect the predators' δ(15)N-dietary value. These findings are critical for refining the application of stable isotope modeling approaches as inferences regarding a species' ecological role in their community will be influenced with consequences for conservation and management actions

Association between early and current gastro-intestinal symptoms and co-morbidities in children and adolescents with Angelman syndrome

Background Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurogenetic disorder that causes severe intellectual disability, expressive language deficits, motor impairment, ataxia, sleep problems, epileptic seizures and a happy disposition. People with AS frequently experience gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. Method This study used data from the Global Angelman Syndrome Registry to explore the relationship between early and current GI symptoms and co-morbidity in children and adolescents with AS (\u1d62f = 173). Two groups that experienced a high (\u1d62f = 91) and a low (\u1d62f = 82) frequency of GI symptoms were examined in relation to feeding and GI history in infancy, sleep and toileting problems, levels of language and communication and challenging behaviours. Predictors of GI symptoms were then investigated using a series of logistic regressions. Results This analysis found that constipation and gastroesophageal reflux affected 84% and 64%, of the sample, respectively. The high frequency of GI symptoms were significantly associated with: ‘refusal to nurse’, ‘vomiting’, ‘arching’, ‘difficulty gaining weight’, gastroesophageal reflux, ‘solid food transition’, frequency of night-time urinary continence and sleep hyperhidrosis during infancy. GI symptoms were not significantly associated with sleep, toileting, language or challenging behaviours. Significant predictors of high frequency GI symptoms were gastroesophageal reflux and sleep hyperhidrosis. Conclusions Future research needs to investigate the association between AS and GI co-morbidity in adults with AS

Love, rights and solidarity: studying children's participation using Honneth's theory of recognition

Recent attempts to theorize children’s participation have drawn on a wide range of ideas, concepts and models from political and social theory. The aim of this article is to explore the specific usefulness of Honneth’s theory of a ‘struggle for recognition’ in thinking about this area of practice. The article identifies what is distinctive about Honneth’s theory of recognition, and how it differs from other theories of recognition. It then considers the relevance of Honneth’s conceptual framework to the social position of children, including those who may be involved in a variety of ‘participatory’ activities. It looks at how useful Honneth’s ideas are in direct engagement with young people’s praxis, drawing on ethnographic research with members of a children and young people’s forum. The article concludes by reflecting on the implications of this theoretical approach and the further questions which it opens up for theories of participation and of adult–child relations more generally

The practice of commissioning healthcare from a private provider: learning from an in-depth case study

Background: The direction of health service policy in England is for more diversification in the design, commissioning and provision of health care services. The case study which is the subject of this paper was selected specifically because of the partnering with a private sector organisation to manage whole system redesign of primary care and to support the commissioning of services for people with long term conditions at risk of unplanned hospital admissions and associated service provision activities. The case study forms part of a larger Department of Health funded project on the practice of commissioning which aims to find the best means of achieving a balance between monitoring and control on the one hand, and flexibility and innovation on the other, and to find out what modes of commissioning are most effective in different circumstances and for different services. Methods: A single case study method was adopted to explore multiple perspectives of the complexities and uniqueness of a public-private partnership referred to as the “Livewell project”. 10 single depth interviews were carried out with key informants across the GP practices, the PCT and the private provider involved in the initiative. Results: The main themes arising from single depth interviews with the case study participants include a particular understanding about the concept of commissioning in the context of primary care, ambitions for primary care redesign, the importance of key roles and strong relationships, issues around the adoption and spread of innovation, and the impact of the current changes to commissioning arrangements. The findings identified a close and high trust relationship between GPs (the commissioners) and the private commissioning support and provider firm. The antecedents to the contract for the project being signed indicated the importance of leveraging external contacts and influence (resource dependency theory). Conclusions: The study has surfaced issues around innovation adoption in the healthcare context. The case identifies ‘negotiated order’, managerial performance of providers and disciplinary control as three media of power used in combination by commissioners. The case lends support for stewardship and resource dependency governance theories as explanations of the underpinning conditions for effective commissioning in certain circumstances within a quasi marketised healthcare system

Ultrasound assessment of transversus abdominis muscle contraction ratio during abdominal hollowing: a useful tool to distinguish between patients with chronic low back pain and healthy controls?

Spine stabilisation exercises, in which patients are taught to preferentially activate the transversus abdominus (TrA) during "abdominal hollowing” (AH), are a popular treatment for chronic low back pain (cLBP). The present study investigated whether performance during AH differed between cLBP patients and controls to an extent that would render it useful diagnostic tool. 50patients with cLBP (46.3±12.5years) and 50healthy controls (43.6±12.7years) participated in this case-control study. They performed AH in hook-lying. Using M-mode ultrasound, thicknesses of TrA, and obliquus internus and externus were determined at rest and during 5s AH (5measures each body side). The TrA contraction-ratio (TrA-CR) (TrA contracted/rest) and the ability to sustain the contraction [standard deviation (SD) of TrA thickness during the stable phase of the hold] were investigated. There were no significant group differences for the absolute muscle thicknesses at rest or during AH, or for the SD of TrA thickness. There was a small but significant difference between the groups for TrA-CR: cLBP 1.35±0.14, controls 1.44±0.24 (p<0.05). However, Receiver Operator Characteristics (ROC) analysis revealed a poor and non-significant ability of TrA-CR to discriminate between cLBP patients and controls on an individual basis (ROC area under the curve, 0.60 [95% CI 0.495; 0.695], p=0.08). In the patient group, TrA-CR showed a low but significant correlation with Roland Morris score (Spearman Rho=0.328; p=0.02). In conclusion, the difference in group mean values for TrA-CR was small and of uncertain clinical relevance. Moreover, TrA-CR showed a poor ability to discriminate between control and cLBP subjects on an individual basis. We conclude that the TrA-CR during abdominal hollowing does not distinguish well between patients with chronic low back pain and healthy control

UpLIFTIng PFI: does LIFT improve public-private procurement?

The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) were both introduced by the UK government as part of a drive to improve public service provision. Both PFI and LIFT focus on leveraging the key strengths of the public and private sectors when developing new facilities. This paper does not seek to question the need for new infrastructure, but rather discusses the difficulties encountered when trying to analyse LIFT as a system and when evaluating whether it can address earlier concerns about the PFI procurement process. Our analysis suggests that it is difficult to predict whether LIFT will be capable of delivering on its promise of providing cost-effective, bespoke Primary Care facilities