Introduction to the themed issue - Corporate power : agency, communication, influence and social policy

This paper introduces this themed issue of Critical Social Policy on the question of corporate power. Corporate power is recognized as an important agent in social policy making and delivery. However, to date there has been comparatively little attention to the crucial role that lobbying and corporate 'spin' play in helping to shape policy making contexts. This special issue of Critical Social Policy is concerned to bring such issues to the mainstream of social policy analysis. It is argued here that the rise of spin and public relations is a key feature of neoliberalism in the past two decades. These have worked to reshape policy making, resulting in pronounced changes in the content and process of policy making and it is argued that these have tended to marginalize or undermine democratic processes

A small transitive family of continuous functions on the Cantor set

In this paper we show that, when we iteratively add Sacks reals to a model of ZFC we have for every two reals in the extension a continuous function defined in the ground model that maps one of the reals onto the other.Comment: 11 page

Limit-feeding a high-concentrate diet may alter nutrient absorption

Feeding newly arrived cattle is commonly characterized by a few days of feeding longstemmed hay followed by a series of step-up diets, wherein concentrate levels are increased to promote ruminal adaptation to a highconcentrate finishing diet. This is done to give the rumen microbes time to adjust to larger amounts of readily fermentable starches in cereal grains. Rumen epithelial adaptation may be achievable by limit-feeding a finishing diet, with gradual increases in feed intake, until the cattle are on full feed. If this can be achieved without causing ruminal disorders and days off feed, then the cost of feeding cattle can be reduced. By limit-feeding, the higher roughage step-up diets are replaced with a single high-concentrate diet. The cost of grain is less than that of roughage, and there are decreased costs in terms of storage space, waste disposal (due to decreased manure production), and mixing and hauling of rations. The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effects of a traditional step-up program versus a limit-fed finishing diet in terms of dry matter intake, acetate to propionate ratio, and ruminal dilution rate. Diet effects on volatile fatty acid concentration and absorption were also examined by using valerate as a marker for volatile fatty acid absorption

The theory–practice distinction and the complexity of practical knowledge

Over the past few decades, theologians have recognised the value of practice but have been optimistic about the ease with which practice is incorporated into theology. People use all sorts of adjectives to characterise the complex relationship – ‘integrally related’, a ‘deeper reciprocity’, ‘bound up in thickly intertwined ways’ – but connecting the two is not as easy as these words suggest. This article returns to the age-old question about the relationship between theory and practice. But it studies this question from the angle of practice. Although many scholars have analysed the distinction between theory and practice as it functions conceptually, few have examined challenges in relating the two as they emerge in practice. The article argues that there is an inevitable distinction between theory and practice that receives considerably less attention and needs more understanding and even respect. It also argues that the discipline of practical theology adds a distinctive angle on this discussion because it considers how the concepts function practically.Prof. Dr Miller-McLemore is participating in the research project ‘Gender Studies and Practical Theology Theory Formation’, directed by Prof. Dr Yolanda Dreyer, Department of Practical Theology, Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria.http://www.hts.org.zaam2016Practical Theolog

The 2dF QSO Redshift Survey - XII. The spectroscopic catalogue and luminosity function

We present the final catalogue of the 2dF QSO Redshift Survey (2QZ), based on Anglo-Australian Telescope 2dF spectroscopic observations of 44 576 colour-selected (ubJr) objects with 18.2

The pharmacokinetic behaviour of hypoxoside taken orally by patients with lung cancer in a phase I trial

No Abstract

Equilibrium clumped-isotope effects in doubly substituted isotopologues of ethane

We combine path-integral Monte Carlo methods with a new intramolecular potential energy surface to quantify the equilibrium enrichment of doubly substituted ethane isotopologues due to clumped-isotope effects. Ethane represents the simplest molecule to simultaneously exhibit 13C–13C, 13C–D, and D–D clumped-isotope effects, and the analysis of corresponding signatures may provide useful geochemical and biogeochemical proxies of formation temperatures or reaction pathways. Utilizing path-integral statistical mechanics, we predict equilibrium fractionation factors that fully incorporate nuclear quantum effects, such as anharmonicity and rotational-vibrational coupling which are typically neglected by the widely used Urey model. The magnitude of the calculated fractionation factors for the doubly substituted ethane isotopologues indicates that isotopic clumping can be observed if rare-isotope substitutions are separated by up to three chemical bonds, but the diminishing strength of these effects suggests that enrichment at further separations will be negligible. The Urey model systematically underestimates enrichment due to 13C–D and D–D clumped-isotope effects in ethane, leading to small relative errors in the apparent equilibrium temperature, ranging from 5 K at 273.15 K to 30 K at 873.15 K. We additionally note that the rotameric dependence of isotopologue enrichment must be carefully considered when using the Urey model, whereas the path-integral calculations automatically account for such effects due to configurational sampling. These findings are of direct relevance to future clumped-isotope studies of ethane, as well as studies of 13C–13C, 13C–D, and D–D clumped-isotope effects in other hydrocarbons

The 2dF QSO Redshift Survey - IV. The QSO power spectrum from the 10k catalogue

We present a power spectrum analysis of the 10k catalogue from the 2dF QSO Redshift Survey. Although the Survey currently has a patchy angular selection function, we use the Virgo Consortium's Hubble Volume simulation to demonstrate that we are able to make a useful first measurement of the power spectrum over a wide range of scales. We compare the redshift-space power spectra of QSOs with those measured for galaxies and Abell clusters at low redshift and find that they show similar shapes in their overlap range, , with . The amplitude of the QSO power spectrum at is almost comparable to that of galaxies at the present day if and (the Λ cosmology), and a factor of ≈ 3 lower if (the EdS cosmology) is assumed. The amplitude of the QSO power spectrum is a factor of ≈ 10 lower than that measured for Abell clusters at the present day. At larger scales, the QSO power spectra continue to rise robustly to ≈ 400 h1 Mpc, implying more power at large scales than in the APM galaxy power spectrum measured by Baugh & Efstathiou. We split the QSO sample into two redshift bins and find little evolution in the amplitude of the power spectrum, consistent with the result for the QSO correlation function. In models with this represents evidence for a QSO-mass bias that evolves as a function of time. We compare the QSO power spectra with cold dark matter (CDM) models to obtain a constraint on the shape parameter, Γ. For two choices of cosmology , and , , we find that the best-fitting model has . In addition, we have shown that a power spectrum analysis of the Hubble Volume ΛCDM mock QSO catalogues with as input produces a result that is statistically consistent with the data. The analysis of the mock catalogues also indicates that the above results for Γ are unlikely to be dominated by systematic effects, owing to the current catalogue window. We conclude that the form of the QSO power spectrum shows large-scale power significantly in excess of the standard CDM prediction, similar to that seen in local galaxy surveys at intermediate scales

The 2dF QSO Redshift Survey - XIV. Structure and evolution from the two-point correlation function

In this paper we present a clustering analysis of quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) using over 20000 objects from the final catalogue of the 2dF QSO Redshift Survey (2QZ), measuring the redshift-space two-point correlation function, ξ(s). When averaged over the redshift range 0.3 < z < 2.2 we find that ξ(s) is flat on small scales, steepening on scales above ~25h-1 Mpc. In a WMAP/2dF cosmology (Ωm= 0.27, ΩΛ= 0.73) we find a best-fitting power law with s0= 5.48+0.42-0.48h-1 Mpc and γ= 1.20 +/- 0.10 on scales s= 1 to 25h-1 Mpc. We demonstrate that non-linear redshift-space distortions have a significant effect on the QSO ξ(s) at scales less than ~10h-1 Mpc. A cold dark matter model assuming WMAP/2dF cosmological parameters is a good description of the QSO ξ(s) after accounting for non-linear clustering and redshift-space distortions, and allowing for a linear bias at the mean redshift of bQ(z= 1.35) = 2.02 +/- 0.07. We subdivide the 2QZ into 10 redshift intervals with effective redshifts from z= 0.53 to 2.48. We find a significant increase in clustering amplitude at high redshift in the WMAP/2dF cosmology. The QSO clustering amplitude increases with redshift such that the integrated correlation function, , within 20h-1 Mpc is and . We derive the QSO bias and find it to be a strong function of redshift with bQ(z= 0.53) = 1.13 +/- 0.18 and bQ(z= 2.48) = 4.24 +/- 0.53. We use these bias values to derive the mean dark matter halo (DMH) mass occupied by the QSOs. At all redshifts 2QZ QSOs inhabit approximately the same mass DMHs with MDH= (3.0 +/- 1.6) × 1012h-1 Msolar, which is close to the characteristic mass in the Press-Schechter mass function, M*, at z= 0. These results imply that L*Q QSOs at z~ 0 should be largely unbiased. If the relation between black hole (BH) mass and MDH or host velocity dispersion does not evolve, then we find that the accretion efficiency (L/LEdd) for L*Q QSOs is approximately constant with redshift. Thus the fading of the QSO population from z~ 2 to ~0 appears to be due to less massive BHs being active at low redshift. We apply different methods to estimate, tQ, the active lifetime of QSOs and constrain tQ to be in the range 4 × 106-6 × 108 yr at z~ 2. We test for any luminosity dependence of QSO clustering by measuring ξ(s) as a function of apparent magnitude (equivalent to luminosity relative to L*Q). However, we find no significant evidence of luminosity-dependent clustering from this data set

Effects of total and regional fat loss on plasma CRP and IL-6 in overweight and obese, older adults with knee osteoarthritis

SummaryObjectiveTo describe associations between total and regional body fat mass loss and reduction of systemic levels of inflammation (C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6)) in obese, older adults with osteoarthritis (OA), undergoing intentional weight loss.DesignData come from a single-blind, 18-month, randomized controlled trial in adults (age: 65.6 ± 6.2; Body mass index (BMI): 33.6 ± 3.7) with knee OA. Participants were randomized to diet-induced weight loss plus exercise (D + E; n = 150), diet-induced weight loss-only (D; n = 149), or exercise-only (E; n = 151). Total body and region-specific (abdomen and thigh) fat mass were measured at baseline and 18 months. High-sensitivity CRP and IL-6 were measured at baseline, six and 18 months. Intervention effects were assessed using mixed models and associations between inflammation and adiposity were compared using logistic and mixed linear regression models.ResultsIntentional total body fat mass reduction was associated with significant reductions in log-adjusted CRP (β = 0.06 (95% CI = 0.04, 0.08) mg/L) and IL-6 (β = 0.02 (95% CI = 0.01, 0.04) pg/mL). Loss of abdominal fat volume was also associated with reduced inflammation, independent of total body fat mass; although models containing measures of total adiposity yielded the best fit. The odds of achieving clinically desirable levels of CRP (<3.0 mg/L) and IL-6 (<2.5 pg/mL) were 3.8 (95% CI = 1.6, 8.9) and 2.2 (95% CI = 1.1, 4.6), respectively, with 5% total weight and fat mass loss.ConclusionsAchievement of clinically desirable levels of CRP and IL-6 more than double with intentional 5% loss of total body weight and fat mass. Global, rather than regional, measures of adiposity are better predictors of change in inflammatory burden.Clinical Trial Registration NumberNCT00381290