Social marketing and healthy eating : Findings from young people in Greece

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12208-013-0112-xGreece has high rates of obesity and non-communicable diseases owing to poor dietary choices. This research provides lessons for social marketing to tackle the severe nutrition-related problems in this country by obtaining insight into the eating behaviour of young adults aged 18–23. Also, the main behavioural theories used to inform the research are critically discussed. The research was conducted in Athens. Nine focus groups with young adults from eight educational institutions were conducted and fifty-nine participants’ views towards eating habits, healthy eating and the factors that affect their food choices were explored. The study found that the participants adopted unhealthier nutritional habits after enrolment. Motivations for healthy eating were good health, appearance and psychological consequences, while barriers included lack of time, fast-food availability and taste, peer pressure, lack of knowledge and lack of family support. Participants reported lack of supportive environments when deciding on food choices. Based on the findings, recommendations about the development of the basic 4Ps of the marketing mix, as well as of a fifth P, for Policy are proposedPeer reviewe

Immune and hemorheological changes in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

BACKGROUND: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a multifactorial disorder that affects various physiological systems including immune and neurological systems. The immune system has been substantially examined in CFS with equivocal results, however, little is known about the role of neutrophils and natural killer (NK) phenotypes in the pathomechanism of this disorder. Additionally the role of erythrocyte rheological characteristics in CFS has not been fully expounded. The objective of this present study was to determine deficiencies in lymphocyte function and erythrocyte rheology in CFS patients. METHODS: Flow cytometric measurements were performed for neutrophil function, lymphocyte numbers, NK phenotypes (CD56(dim)CD16(+ )and CD56(bright)CD16(-)) and NK cytotoxic activity. Erythrocyte aggregation, deformability and fibrinogen levels were also assessed. RESULTS: CFS patients (n = 10) had significant decreases in neutrophil respiratory burst, NK cytotoxic activity and CD56(bright)CD16(- )NK phenotypes in comparison to healthy controls (n = 10). However, hemorheological characteristic, aggregation, deformability, fibrinogen, lymphocyte numbers and CD56(dim)CD16(+ )NK cells were similar between the two groups. CONCLUSION: These results indicate immune dysfunction as potential contributors to the mechanism of CFS, as indicated by decreases in neutrophil respiratory burst, NK cell activity and NK phenotypes. Thus, immune cell function and phenotypes may be important diagnostic markers for CFS. The absence of rheological changes may indicate no abnormalities in erythrocytes of CFS patients

Outside the gate: sub-urban legal practices in early medieval England

Many aspects of English early medieval (Anglo-Saxon) legal landscapes can be discerned in archaeological and toponymic evidence, ranging from the locations of legislative councils and judicial assemblies to sites of capital punishment. Among the corpus of such sites a striking group can be detected at the periphery of urban spaces. Gates into a number of towns appear to have functioned as legislative meeting-places, and even gave their names to some legally constituted communities, while suburban locations also feature prominently as sites of gallows and public punishment. In this paper historical, archaeological and toponymic evidence is used to examine this phenomenon of suburban legal practices and to pose questions about the wider dimensions of the early medieval legal landscape

Metagenomic analysis of viruses associated with maize lethal necrosis in Kenya

Background: Maize lethal necrosis is caused by a synergistic co-infection of Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) and a specific member of the Potyviridae, such as Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV), Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) or Johnson grass mosaic virus (JGMV). Typical maize lethal necrosis symptoms include severe yellowing and leaf drying from the edges. In Kenya, we detected plants showing typical and atypical symptoms. Both groups of plants often tested negative for SCMV by ELISA. Methods: We used next-generation sequencing to identify viruses associated to maize lethal necrosis in Kenya through a metagenomics analysis. Symptomatic and asymptomatic leaf samples were collected from maize and sorghum representing sixteen counties. Results: Complete and partial genomes were assembled for MCMV, SCMV, Maize streak virus (MSV) and Maize yellow dwarf virus-RMV (MYDV-RMV). These four viruses (MCMV, SCMV, MSV and MYDV-RMV) were found together in 30 of 68 samples. A geographic analysis showed that these viruses are widely distributed in Kenya. Phylogenetic analyses of nucleotide sequences showed that MCMV, MYDV-RMV and MSV are similar to isolates from East Africa and other parts of the world. Single nucleotide polymorphism, nucleotide and polyprotein sequence alignments identified three genetically distinct groups of SCMV in Kenya. Variation mapped to sequences at the border of NIb and the coat protein. Partial genome sequences were obtained for other four potyviruses and one polerovirus. Conclusion: Our results uncover the complexity of the maize lethal necrosis epidemic in Kenya. MCMV, SCMV, MSV and MYDV-RMV are widely distributed and infect both maize and sorghum. SCMV population in Kenya is diverse and consists of numerous strains that are genetically different to isolates from other parts of the world. Several potyviruses, and possibly poleroviruses, are also involved

Co-creating, co-producing and connecting: Museum practice today.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Barnes, P., & McPherson, G. (2019). Co‐Creating, Co‐producing and Connecting: Museum Practice Today. Curator: The Museum Journal, 62(2), 257-267., which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/cura.12309. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingWe argue in this paper that museums have become hybrid spaces, where consumers look and challenge what they see; they form part of what they see; with some aspects of exhibitions now co‐created and co‐produced by the consumer (Kershaw et al. 2018; Solis 2012). This paper draws on an example from a group that we worked with using performance as a tool to engage a ‘hard to reach’ or ‘socially excluded’ groups. We conclude that by allowing audiences to co‐create and co‐produce exhibitions and performance; this can turn the museum rhetoric of community engagement into practice and create a space that is truly inclusive for the communities it serves. We demonstrate how the possibility of seeing museums as hybrid spaces, which can adapt, can be used for education and entertainment, and how that has in turn led to the transformation of people's lives in a previously socially excluded community

Genome-wide association study identifies six new loci influencing pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure.

Numerous genetic loci have been associated with systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in Europeans. We now report genome-wide association studies of pulse pressure (PP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP). In discovery (N = 74,064) and follow-up studies (N = 48,607), we identified at genome-wide significance (P = 2.7 × 10(-8) to P = 2.3 × 10(-13)) four new PP loci (at 4q12 near CHIC2, 7q22.3 near PIK3CG, 8q24.12 in NOV and 11q24.3 near ADAMTS8), two new MAP loci (3p21.31 in MAP4 and 10q25.3 near ADRB1) and one locus associated with both of these traits (2q24.3 near FIGN) that has also recently been associated with SBP in east Asians. For three of the new PP loci, the estimated effect for SBP was opposite of that for DBP, in contrast to the majority of common SBP- and DBP-associated variants, which show concordant effects on both traits. These findings suggest new genetic pathways underlying blood pressure variation, some of which may differentially influence SBP and DBP

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead