Leeds Free School Meals Research Project (Phase 2 Report: Findings from the pilot phase Leeds Metropolitan University)

Free school meals aim to provide a “nutritional safety net” for the poorest UK children. Yet it is estimated that up to 30% of those entitled do not take up this entitlement. In Leeds approximately 6,000 children do not take the free school meals that they are entitled to. National and local targets are for 100% take up. Phase 2 of the Leeds Free School Meal Research Project aimed to develop, implement and evaluate a series of interventions to increase the uptake of free school meals. The interventions were tested in ten Leeds schools between December 2007 and October 2008. The research was undertaken by the Department of Nutrition & Dietetics within The Centre of Food Nutrition and Health at Leeds Metropolitan University on behalf of Education Leeds

Review of Fredric Jameson, The Modernist Papers.

Fredric Jameson, The Modernist Papers. New York: Verso, 2007. 160 pp. ISBN 9781844670963

Insulin Solution Stability and Biocompatibility with Materials Used for an Implantable Insulin Delivery Device Using Reverse Phase HPLC Methods

open access articleAbstract: Insulin (Humulin® R IU500) has been delivered from an implantable artificial pancreas in diabetic rats and pigs. The artificial pancreas which was implanted in the peritoneum was fabricated from several biocompatible materials such as polycarbonate, stainless steel, polyurethane, titanium and a polyurethane resin. The device also contains a glucose responsive smart gel which controls the di usion of insulin dependent on the surrounding glucose environment. As the insulin reservoir is refillable and in contact with the device materials, assessing its biocompatibility with these various device component materials was conducted. Insulin can undergo chemical degradation mainly via a deamidation reaction on glutamine and asparagine residues rendering its biological hormone functionality. Two Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) methods were developed and validated for detection of insulin and degradant Asn A21 desamido insulin (method A) and insulin and degradant Asn B3 desamido insulin (method B). Material biocompatibility studies show that stainless steel and titanium are suitable for an implantable insulin delivery device design over a 31-day period. The use of polycarbonate and polyurethane could be considered if the insulin reservoir in the device was only to remain in the device for less than 11 days after which time there is a loss in cresol which acts in a protective capacity for insulin stability

Review of Fredric Jameson, The Modernist Papers.

Fredric Jameson, The Modernist Papers. New York: Verso, 2007. 160 pp. ISBN 9781844670963

Internal capital markets and analysts' earnings forecast errors

Corporate investment decisions are among the most important decisions of a firm. Internal capital markets play a key role in facilitating the allocation of capital resources in order to finance investment projects within diversified firms. This thesis investigates internal capital markets and its relationship with analysts earnings forecast errors in three countries with two distinct financial systems, namely, the market-based and bank-based financial system. Using segment level data for public listed companies in the UK, France and Germany between 2005 and 2010, we examine the operation and efficiency of internal capital markets in market- and bank-based systems. We also examine the impact of the financial crisis of 2008 on internal capital markets and analysts earnings forecasts errors, namely, the accuracy, bias and dispersion. The findings indicate internal capital markets actively facilitate the allocation of resources within diversified firms and, in general, operate inefficiently. Furthermore, internal capital markets appear to be more active in France compared with the UK. On the other hand, their role appears to be limited in Germany, as segments appear to rely more on their own resources and less on internal capital markets for investments. In addition, we find that internal capital market activity declines and efficiency improves during the financial crisis in UK. In contrast, there is no significant evidence to suggest that efficiency improves during the crisis in France or Germany. This research also finds some evidence to suggest internal capital markets operations aggravate firm complexity and, in turn, negatively affect short-term forecast accuracy in the UK. In addition to this, our analysis shows there is a positive relationship between the size of internal capital markets and dispersion in analysts earnings forecasts. In general, our study shows analysts are optimistic about firms future performance; however, the level of optimism significantly declines during the financial crisis. Lastly, we report a positive relationship between efficiency of internal capital markets and optimism in earnings forecasts

Using intervention mapping to develop a culturally appropriate intervention to prevent childhood obesity: the HAPPY (Healthy and Active Parenting Programme for Early Years) study.

INTRODUCTION: Interventions that make extensive use of theory tend to have larger effects on behaviour. The Intervention Mapping (IM) framework incorporates theory into intervention design, implementation and evaluation, and was applied to the development of a community-based childhood obesity prevention intervention for a multi-ethnic population. METHODS: IM was applied as follows: 1) Needs assessment of the community and culture; consideration of evidence-base, policy and practice; 2) Identification of desired outcomes and change objectives following identification of barriers to behaviour change mapped alongside psychological determinants (e.g. knowledge, self-efficacy, intention); 3) Selection of theory-based methods and practical applications to address barriers to behaviour change (e.g., strategies for responsive feeding); 4) Design of the intervention by developing evidence-based interactive activities and resources (e.g., visual aids to show babies stomach size). The activities were integrated into an existing parenting programme; 5) Adoption and implementation: parenting practitioners were trained by healthcare professionals to deliver the programme within Children Centres. RESULTS: HAPPY (Healthy and Active Parenting Programme for Early Years) is aimed at overweight and obese pregnant women (BMI > 25); consists of 12 × 2.5 hr. sessions (6 ante-natal from 24 weeks; 6 postnatal up to 9 months); it addresses mother's diet and physical activity, breast or bottle feeding, infant diet and parental feeding practices, and infant physical activity. CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated that IM is a feasible and helpful method for providing an evidence based and theoretical structure to a complex health behaviour change intervention. The next stage will be to assess the impact of the intervention on behaviour change and clinical factors associated with childhood obesity. The HAPPY programme is currently being tested as part of a randomised controlled feasibility trial

Manipulations of egg-gallery length to vary brood density in spruce beetle, Dendroctonus rufipennis (Coleoptera: Scolytidae): Effects on brood survival and quality

Different brood densities were produced under a constant bark surface area of the spruce host, by excising egg-producing female <i>Dendroctonus rufipennis</i> from the host material after they had excavated galleries of specified lengths. This procedure allowed a constant attack density. The numbers of adult progeny produced/cm of egg-gallery were significantly greater from bark slabs with short galleries and low densities: the sizes (pronotal widths) of adult progeny of both sexes were also significantly greater from low than from high densities; and the distribution patterns of chromatin differed significantly among high, medium and low densities

Glucose lowering strategies with insulin

open access journalPeople with type 1 diabetes must use insulin and a large fraction of those with type 2 condition also do so. Many therefore struggle with the unpredictable balancing of insulin dose with calorie intake and utility. A healthy pancreas makes meticulous adjustment on a continuous basis that present therapeutic insulin administration cannot match. However, much progress has been made to make it simpler to inject both background and fast-acting boost insulins with a view to better mimicking normal pancreatic output. The present fast insulins are reviewed with accent on the primary amino acid structures of the biosynthetic types that diffuse more quickly than regular insulin that associates in hexamers. This makes boost doses kinetically and clinically more effective, allowing people to inject better estimated boost and corrective doses. Formulation advances are discussed for their present and potential contributions. The newer slow-acting insulins are also described and compared, their advantage also being kinetic with a lower likelihood of inducing overnight hypoglycaemia when used optimally. Finally, the appreciation of the advantages of alternative routes of administration such as oral and peritoneal are included in this review because of the possibility of altering the hepatic to peripheral ratio, the reasons for which are more effective but less obesogenic insulin activity. The logistics of oral insulin are summarised in terms of the risks to the insulin structure, the facilitation of paracellular uptake at the apical surface and the paradoxically advantageous hepatic first pass. Other non-invasive routes are also included in the review

Immune defects in the risk of infection and response to vaccination in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and multiple myeloma

The plasma cell proliferative disorders monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) and malignant multiple myeloma (MM) are characterized by an accumulation of transformed clonal plasma cells in the bone marrow and production of monoclonal immunoglobulin. They typically affect an older population, with median age of diagnosis of approximately 70 years. In both disorders, there is an increased risk of infection due to the immunosuppressive effects of disease and conjointly of therapy in MM, and response to vaccination to counter infection is compromised. The underlying factors in a weakened immune response in MGUS and MM are as yet not fully understood. A confounding factor is the onset of normal aging, which quantitatively and qualitatively hampers humoral immunity to affect response to infection and vaccination. In this review, we examine the status of immune alterations in MGUS and MM and set these against normal aging immune responses. We focus primarily on quantitative and functional aspects of B-cell immunity. Furthermore, we review the current knowledge relating to susceptibility to infectious disease in MGUS and MM, and how efficacy of conventional vaccination is affected by proliferative disease-related and therapy-related factors