An evaluation of nutrition welfare policies for low-income children in the United Kingdom

Introduction A child’s socioeconomic status is one factor determining their dietary quality. Food-assistance policies in the UK include Healthy Start and Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM). Around 17% of the population are eligible for these policies, yet uptake can be as low as 55%. However, they are under-evaluated and consequently, not well-understood. This thesis aims to evaluate these nutrition welfare policies on measures of dietary intake in British children. Methods In this thesis, I quantitively analyse nationally representative datasets to evaluate a range of food assistance policies, including Healthy Start and UIFSM. Multivariable regression methods were used to test how programme participation impacted the dietary intake in UK children. Indicators used to describe the impact of the policies on dietary intake included household purchases, nutrient and food content and degree of industrial food processing in the diet. Results Overall, I demonstrated mixed impacts of the food-assistance policies on the dietary intake of children. For instance, I did not find evidence that Healthy Start participation was associated with increased fruit and vegetable expenditure. Yet, I found that UIFSM was associated with lower national intakes of ultra-processed foods associated with packed lunches, contributing to lower sodium and saturated fat intakes. Furthermore, UIFSM was associated with lower socioeconomic dietary inequities. However, although school meals were preferable to packed lunches in this analysis, they were not optimal, with high levels of processed and sugary items. Conclusions Food-assistance policies in the UK have the potential to improve the diet of not only low-income children, but all children through universal schemes. However, improvements need to be made to realise their full potential. Key recommendations include broadening the age and income eligibility criteria of Healthy Start and Free School Meal policies, so they reach more of the population and ensure continuity of assistance throughout childhood.Open Acces

Motivations for the Building Program of Herod the Great

This thesis deals with the building program pursued by Herod the Great. It begins with a short historical summary and a description of the main features of Herodian style architecture. There is a catalogue of all of Herod’s known buildings in Judaea, and a short list of his works outside his own country. The constructions within Judaea are analyzed according to structure type, and Herod’s motivations examined. There is an extensive bibliography arranged by site

To what extent has research conducted by the GaWC Research Network aided our understanding of large EU law firm geography?

This thesis explores whether a specific group of large EU law firms exhibited multiple common behaviours regarding their EU geographies between 1998 and 2009. These potentially common behaviours included their preferences for trading in certain EU locations, their usage of law firm alliances, and the specific reasons why they opened or closed EU branch offices. If my hypothesis is confirmed, this may indicate that certain aspects of large law firm geography are predictable – a finding potentially of interest to various stakeholders globally, including legal regulators, academics and law firms. In testing my hypothesis, I have drawn on research conducted by the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Research Network to assist me. Between 1999 and 2010, the GaWC published seven research papers exploring the geographies of large US and UK law firms. Several of the GaWC’s observations arising from these studies were evidence-based; others were speculative – including a novel approach for explaining legal practice branch office change, not adopted in research conducted previously or subsequently. By distilling the GaWC’s key observations these papers into a series of “sub-hypotheses”, I been able to test whether the geographical behaviours of my novel cohort of large EU law firms reflect those suggested by the GaWC. The more the GaWC’s suggested behaviours are observed among my cohort, the more my hypothesis will be supported. In conducting this exercise, I will additionally evaluate the extent to which the GaWC’s research has aided our understanding of large EU law firm geography. Ultimately, my findings broadly support most of the GaWC’s observations, notwithstanding our cohort differences and the speculative nature of several of the GaWC’s propositions. My investigation has also allowed me to refine several of the GaWC’s observations regarding commonly-observable large law firm geographical behaviours, while also addressing a key omission from the group’s research output

School meals in the UK: ultra-processed, unequal, and inadequate

Recent research paints an alarming picture of the school food system in the UK. This commentary discusses the issues that undermine healthy school meals and considers the actions required to ensure the school food system can meet the challenges ahead

Kinetic characterization of selective peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma modulators in vitro

Background: The ligand-activated transcription factor, peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), has been shown to play an essential role in immunosuppression during sepsis. PPARγ is upregulated in T cells of septic patients, sensitizing these cells to PPARγ-dependent apoptosis and thus contributing to T-cell depletion. In the polymicrobial cecum ligation and puncture (CLP) sepsis model in mice, both T-cell-specific gene knockout (Lck-Cre PPARγfl/fl) and systemic pharmacological PPARγ antagonism by GW9662 improved survival. Because GW9662 was only effective when applied 3 hours after CLP, we were interested to extend this time frame. For this reason we characterized the kinetics of SPPARγMs when administered before or in combination with the agonist thiazolidinedione, rosiglitazone. Methods: A PPARγ-dependent transactivation assay was used in HEK293T cells. It is based on the vector pFA-PPARγ-LBD-GAL4-DBD encoding the hybrid protein PPARγ-LBD-GAL4-DBD and the reporter vector pFR-Luc, carrying a GAL4-responsive element in front of the Firefly luciferase gene. These two vectors were co-transfected, in combination with a control vector encoding Renilla luciferase (pRL-CMV) to normalize Firefly luciferase activity for transfection efficiency. Following transfection, cells were incubated with the SPPARγMs F-MOC and MCC-555 and the PPARγ antagonist GW9662 for different times (2 to 48 hours) and at increasing doses (0.01 to 10 μM), with or without rosiglitazone (0.01 to 10 μM). Transactivation was analyzed using a 96-well plate format. Results: Rosiglitazone transactivated PPARγ in a time-dependent and dose-dependent manner, the response gradually increasing to a maximum at 48 hours with 10 μM. Low concentrations (0.01 to 0.1 μM) of SPPARγMs F-MOC and MCC-555 and the PPARγ antagonist GW9662 all exerted dose-independent antagonistic effects at an early incubation time point (2 hours). From 10 hours onwards, MCC-555 and GW9662, given alone, both exerted PPARγ agonistic effects, MCC-555 in parallel to responses to rosiglitazone, but GW9662 with characteristics of partial antagonism. F-MOC showed no dose-dependent effect at any concentration at later time points. Only GW9662 (1 to 10 μM) was able to inhibit rosiglitazone (0.1 to 1 μM)-induced PPARγ transactivation after 10 hours. Conclusion: Our kinetic analysis reveals clear differences in the modulatory characteristics of PPARγ inhibitors, with previously unreported early inhibitory effects and late agonistic or partial agonistic activity. New SPPARγMs with extended inhibitory activity may prove useful in the therapy of sepsis

ultra-processed, unequal and inadequate

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Immunomodulatory approaches to the treatment of infections

Imunološki sustav nudi široki izbor potencijalnih ciljnih mjesta za modulaciju kod liječenja infektivnih bolesti. Raspoložive mogućnosti dozvoljavaju i profilaktičku i terapijsku imunomodulaciju za suportivno i direkto liječenje infekcija. Odgovarajuća prehrana koja sadrži biljne polifenole, osobito one iz voća, te mikronutrijente kao što su selen i cink, uz redovitu umjerenu fizičku aktivnost pomaže u održavanju učinkovite obrane domaćina od blagih do umjereno teških infekcija. Ovakva nadopuna prehrani obično je prijeko potrebna kod životno ugroženih bolesnika, tako neki biljni pripravci mogu smanjiti težinu i/ili duljinu trajanja infekcija gornjih dišnih putova. Primjena probiotika također potpomaže imunološkoj obrani gastrointestinalnog trakta. Nekoliko antibiotika, prvenstveno makrolidi i tetraciklini, osim antibakterijskog djelovanja imaju i imunomodulatorna i/ili protuupalna svojstva koja potpomažu uništavanju bakterija i/ili štite tkivo od "bystander" ozljeda. Također, mogu biti korisni i u prevenciji tzv. "citokinske oluje" izazvane virusima. Imunoglobulini, nekoliko rekombinantnih humanih citokina te različiti agonisti receptora sličnih Tollu zbog svog visoko specifičnog djelovanja na određene imunološke procese, posredovanog receptorima učinkoviti su kod mnogih infekcija. Vrlo je vjerojatno da bi razvoj novih imunomodulatora koji ciljaju specifične receptore mogao zamijeniti primjenu nespecifičnih modulatora prirođene imunosti kao pomoći pri obrani domaćina od infekcije.The immune system offers a wide variety of potential targets for modulation in the treatment of infectious diseases. Available possibilities permit both prophylactic and therapeutic immunomodulation for supportive and direct treatment of infections. In addition to regular moderate exercise, an adequate diet containing plant polyphenols, particularly from fruit, and micronutrients such as selenium and zinc helps maintain effective host defence against mild to moderate infections. Supplementation with these dietary constituents is usually necessary in critically ill patients and like some standardized phytopharmaceuticals, may also reduce the severity and/or duration of upper airways infections. Administration of probiotics also promotes gastrointestinal immune defence. Several antibiotics, especially the macrolides and tetracyclines, possess in addition to their antibacterial actions, immunomodulatory and/or anti-inflammatory properties which facilitate bacterial killing and/or protect tissue from bystander injury. They may also be useful in prevention of the virally-induced cytokine storm. Immunoglobulins, several recombinant human cytokines and selective agonists of Toll-like receptors are effective against many infections in their own right because of highly specific receptor-mediated actions on defined immune processes. The development of novel receptor-targeted immunomodulators is likely to replace the use of non-specific modulators of innate immunity in promoting host defence during infection

Overseas student recruitment in English colleges of further education.

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN038832 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Ionothermal synthesis : a new synthesis methodology using ionic liquids and eutectic mixtures as both solvent and template in zeotype synthesis

The aim of this thesis was to research the new synthesis methodology of ionothermal synthesis, used for the synthesis of zeolite type materials, mainly aluminophosphates. An ionic liquid or eutectic mixture is to act as both the organic template and the solvent, hence eliminating the space filling effects in the reaction from the water. Initial reactions were carried out using the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide which acted as the solvent and template in the production of four three-dimensional structures and one layered structure. The addition of cobalt into the aluminophosphate framework was investigated and resulted in three different cobalt-aluminophosphates being synthesised, including one new zeolite framework. Experiments were carried out into the effect of altering the imidazolium cation alkyl chain. It appears likely that in the presence of fluoride, some of the imidazolium cations undergo a metathesis reaction forming 1,3-dimethylimidazolium which acts as a template in the formation of an aluminophosphate. Preliminary investigations have also been started into the effects of changing the ionic liquid anion from bromide to phosphorus hexafluoride and bis((trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl)amide. The use of these anions resulted in the production of several different one and two-dimensional structures. The use of eutectic mixtures as solvent and template was also investigated as a cheaper, more easily synthesised solvent than the ionic liquids. The results show a new methodology of eutectic mixtures acting as template delivery agents through the slow, in situ decomposition of the urea derivative of the eutectic mixture. This synthesis method resulted in the formation of nine one and two-dimensional aluminophosphates