Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Natural Gas (NG) - fire prevention issues

In this paper it is proposed to identify Codes of Practice/Standards which are currently and widely used by enforcing authorities to ensure LPG/NG installations are installed and commissioned to a satisfactory relevant standard. It is proposed to highlight some key aspects of the codes for comparison purposes with a view to assisting enforcing authorities to identify and specify suitable precautions in relation to LPG/NG installations

The Many Ways of Justice

Much of my background lies in social ministry, but after ordination the provincial decreed that I was to work in philosophy also. It seemed an odd mix at the time: philosophers tend to be squeamish about the rough-and-tumble of social action, while some social activists give the impression that garlic should be worn to ward off the anemia-inducing influence of philosophers. The combination has given a certain Janus-like quality to my life; but it has worked, and I have felt no need to look back. Justice is the theme of my essay. Many of those in ministries such as education argue, rightly, that we need a wider notion of justice. People in social ministry worry about the notion of justice being made so wide that it means little more than doing good, and about the poor being taken to mean anyone in need; they too are right. A more careful analysis of the claim that justice promotion is integral to faith-service is the key to resolving the problem

Gaming in Britain 1900-1939: ‘I have got a good following. I have now a Duke and an Earl. In fact I have the cream of Society.’

Gaming, the organisation of Banker’s games for profit, in Britain prior to the Second World War has largely been ignored by academics and historians. There has been an assumption that gaming was conducted at such a small scale that it was either not worthy of research, or, that there was not enough evidence to support specific analysis. This paper will attempt to dispel the above academic myth utilising contemporary press coverage and archive material which will illustrate a vibrant, but illegal gaming industry. In fact, gaming during this period formulated in the minds of the authorities the need for substantial punishments to be utilised against identified operators, this undoubtably led to the introduction of gaming specific defence regulations into Britain during the Second World War. However, it will also establish a continuity of prejudice when dealing with offenders

A Child Rights-Based Approach to Food Marketing A Guide for Policy Makers

A Child Rights-Based Approach to Food Marketing: A Guide for Policy Makers offers a legal analysis that links the WHO Recommendations with a human rights framework, particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In this analysis, the CRC provides the foundation for a child rights-based approach to ending childhood obesity and the prevention of non-communicable diseases

A Continuous Improvement Journey in the Higher Education Sector: A Case Study of a University in Ireland

The paper’s purpose is to contribute to a developing literature in relation to Continuous Improvement (CI), incorporating Lean Six Sigma (LSS) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). This paper follows on from a previous study which focused on the initial steps taken by an Irish university on its CI journey by discussing the next steps, detailing the findings from these

Neutral genomic microevolution of a recently emerged pathogen, salmonella enterica serovar agona

Salmonella enterica serovar Agona has caused multiple food-borne outbreaks of gastroenteritis since it was first isolated in 1952. We analyzed the genomes of 73 isolates from global sources, comparing five distinct outbreaks with sporadic infections as well as food contamination and the environment. Agona consists of three lineages with minimal mutational diversity: only 846 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have accumulated in the non-repetitive, core genome since Agona evolved in 1932 and subsequently underwent a major population expansion in the 1960s. Homologous recombination with other serovars of S. enterica imported 42 recombinational tracts (360 kb) in 5/143 nodes within the genealogy, which resulted in 3,164 additional SNPs. In contrast to this paucity of genetic diversity, Agona is highly diverse according to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), which is used to assign isolates to outbreaks. PFGE diversity reflects a highly dynamic accessory genome associated with the gain or loss (indels) of 51 bacteriophages, 10 plasmids, and 6 integrative conjugational elements (ICE/IMEs), but did not correlate uniquely with outbreaks. Unlike the core genome, indels occurred repeatedly in independent nodes (homoplasies), resulting in inaccurate PFGE genealogies. The accessory genome contained only few cargo genes relevant to infection, other than antibiotic resistance. Thus, most of the genetic diversity within this recently emerged pathogen reflects changes in the accessory genome, or is due to recombination, but these changes seemed to reflect neutral processes rather than Darwinian selection. Each outbreak was caused by an independent clade, without universal, outbreak-associated genomic features, and none of the variable genes in the pan-genome seemed to be associated with an ability to cause outbreaks

CLA - A Health-Promoting Component of Animal and Milk Fat

End of Project ReportTeagasc acknowledges with gratitude financial assistance for this project from the Dairy Levy Fund and by the EU (Concerted Action FAIR-CT98-3671 and SM & T4 CT97-2144).In the recent past, there has been considerable interest in the potential health-promoting properties of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fatty acid produced naturally in ruminant animals. CLA has been shown to be a very effective anti-cancer agent in animal models and cell culture studies, as well as being capable of retarding the initiation and progression of heart disease (atherosclerosis). It has also been shown to have potential as a growth promoter and is capable of improving feed efficiency. Hence from a human health viewpoint, it appears desirable to increase CLA levels in foods to protect against disease and enhance general health and well-being. The primary sources of CLA are animal fats (including dairy fats) derived from ruminant animals while vegetable fats and oils contain significantly lower levels. This project was aimed at enriching the CLA content of dairy foods through animal dietary manipulation, and milk fat fractionation.Dairy Levy FundEuropean Unio

The Apoptosome Pathway to Caspase Activation in Primary Human Neutrophils Exhibits Dramatically Reduced Requirements for Cytochrome c

Caspase activation is a central event in numerous forms of apoptosis and results in the proteolytic degradation of multiple substrate proteins that contribute to the apoptotic phenotype. An important route to caspase activation proceeds via assembly of the “apoptosome” as a result of the cell stress–associated release of mitochondrial cytochrome c. Previous studies have shown that primary neutrophils are largely incapable of mitochondrial respiration, suggesting that these cells either lack functional mitochondria or possess a defective respiratory chain. This prompted us to examine whether neutrophils retain an intact cytochrome c/apoptotic protease-activating factor 1 (Apaf-1) pathway to caspase activation and apoptosis. We show that primary human neutrophils contain barely detectable levels of cytochrome c as well as other mitochondrial proteins. Surprisingly, neutrophil cell–free extracts readily supported Apaf-1–dependent caspase activation, suggesting that these cells may assemble cytochrome c–independent apoptosomes. However, further analysis revealed that the trace amount of cytochrome c present in neutrophils is both necessary and sufficient for Apaf-1–dependent caspase activation in these cells. Thus, neutrophils have a lowered threshold requirement for cytochrome c in the Apaf-1–dependent cell death pathway. These observations suggest that neutrophils retain cytochrome c for the purpose of assembling functional apoptosomes rather than for oxidative phosphorylation