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Health and disease concepts cannot be grounded in social justice alone
Get PDFKukla (2014) has argued that we should we abandon naturalistic and social constructivist considerations in attempts to define health due to their alleged failure to account for their normativity and instead define them purely in terms of ‘social justice’. Here, I shall argue that such a purely normativist project is self-defeating, and hence, that health and disease cannot be grounded in social justice alone
Species responses to weather anomalies depend on local adaptation and range position
Get PDFSpecies show intra-specific variation in responses to climate change linked to adaptation to the local climatic conditions. Likewise, species are expected to be more resilient to climate change at the centre of their bioclimatic niche, but this pattern is not general. We show that species sensitivity to climatic anomalies varies with local adaptation and the position in the bioclimatic niche, using long-term butterfly monitoring data for 34 species. Climatic anomalies negatively affected all populations of locally adapted species. Globally adapted species were positively or negatively affected by climatic anomalies, depending on population location and direction of anomalies. These responses impacted population trends as globally adapted species showed steeper declines at the trailing margin. Surprisingly, locally adapted species showed stable abundances at the trailing margin, but declines at the leading; which could be explained by the with the 'warmer is better' hypothesis where thermodynamics limit insect performance at cooler conditions
Anhedonia and its sub-component processes predict clinically significant symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and loneliness in young people
Get PDFObjectives: Anhedonia, a core symptom of depression, is a risk factor for future depressive episodes and is linked to social withdrawal, which may contribute to loneliness—another risk factor for depression. Understanding how anhedonia and its sub-components relate to depression and loneliness could reveal targets for intervention development.
Methods: We recruited (N=275) young people (Mage: 20.5) with clinical levels of depression symptoms, scoring ≥27 on the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire. Participants completed the Anhedonia Scale for Adolescents (ASA) and its subscales 1: Enjoyment, Excitement, and Emotional Flattening, 2: Enthusiasm, Connection, and Purpose and 3: Effort, Motivation, and Drive, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale at baseline (N=273) and four-month follow-up (N=173). Multiple regression analyses examined the relationships between anhedonia, depressive symptoms and loneliness, cross-sectionally and longitudinally.
Results: Cross-sectionally, the ASA total scores (β = .655, p < .001), subscale 1 (β = .568, p < .001) and subscale 3 (β = .153, p = .034) were associated with depression. ASA total scores (β = .651, p < .001), subscale 1 (β = .397, p <.001), subscale 2 (β = .196, p <.001), and subscale 3 (β = .176, p = .018) were associated with loneliness. Longitudinally, ASA total scores (β = .485, p <.001), and subscale 1(β = .298, p = .008) predicted depression, while ASA subscale 2 showed a trend in predicting loneliness (β = .099, p = .058).
Conclusions: This study highlights the role of anhedonia sub-components in predicting depression and loneliness in young people. Knowing the specific anhedonia sub-components that predict increases in depression and loneliness could help guide more tailored anhedonia treatment development
Human influence on summer wetting in Northwest China from 1961 to 2014: roles of greenhouse gases and anthropogenic aerosols
No full textA significant increase in summer precipitation was observed in Northwest China (NWC) from 1961 to 2014, posing opportunities and challenges for the local ecosystem and human society. Using multi-model pre-industrial control simulations, and historical and single-forcing simulations from the state-of-the-art MIROC6 model, we attributed this wetting trend and explored the relative roles of individual external forcings. Our finding indicated that external forcing is the primary driver of this observed wetting, with anthropogenic forcing—dominated by greenhouse gases (GHG) and secondarily by anthropogenic aerosols (AA)—playing a significant role than natural forcing. Moisture budget analysis indicated that intensified moisture flux convergence, driven by circulation changes, is a key mechanism behind the NWC wetting in both GHG and AA simulations. Specifically, GHG forcing alters the Asian subtropical westerly jet (ASWJ), inducing a southward shift of the western branch and a weakening of the eastern branch. These changes correspond to an anomalous cyclone (anticyclone) in the west (east) of NWC, promoting moisture convergence over NWC of anomalous southwesterly and southeasterly winds. AA forcing weakens the ASWJ, producing a meridional dipole pattern of an anomalous anticyclone (cyclone) in the north (south), along with lower-level anomalous anticyclone over Mongolia and Northeast China. This circulation pattern facilitates moisture transport from the western North Pacific into inland NWC via anomalous easterlies and intensified moisture flux convergence
Sequential meals containing animal and plant based saturated fats have differential effects on postprandial gut hormones but no impact on satiety compared with unsaturated fats in generally healthy men: findings from the randomized controlled crossover CocoHeart study
Get PDFBackground: Saturated fat (SFA)-rich meals are often linked to elevated postprandial triacylglycerol responses compared with unsaturated fats. Despite the growing popularity of coconut oil in the UK diet, effects of this SFA-rich oil on postprandial lipemia and physiological appetite responses are unclear.
Objective: This study compared sequential high-fat test meals rich in butter and coconut oil with a vegetable oil blend (safflower and olive oil) on postprandial triacylglycerol (primary outcome), lipids, glucose and gut hormones responses, and physiological measures of appetite in healthy men.
Methods: In a single-blind, randomized acute three-armed crossover study, 13 men (53±3 years, BMI 24.4±3.0 kg/m2) consumed sequential test meals containing SFA-rich oils/fats or a vegetable oil blend (breakfast 53.6 g and lunch 33.6 g fat) on three occasions, each separated by a four-week period. Blood samples and satiety ratings were collected prior to and at regular intervals over 480 min post-test breakfast. Blood pressure and arterial stiffness were measured at 0, 150, 300 and 480 min. Postprandial data were analyzed using linear mixed models and satiety ratings using ANCOVA.
Results: Postprandial triacylglycerol, glucose, insulin, ghrelin, blood pressure and arterial stiffness or perceived satiety responses were similar between the test fat/oils. The incremental area under the curve (iAUC) for the postprandial glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide response was higher with vegetable oil versus the SFA-rich meals whereas the glucagon-like peptide-1 response was lower after the butter than coconut and vegetable oil-rich meals (p≤ 0.012). The iAUC for the peptide YY response was lower after butter than coconut oil-rich meals (p≤ 0.048), but not different versus vegetable oil.
Conclusion: Despite varying fatty acid compositions, postprandial triacylglycerol responses were similar between fats/oils. Our findings suggest that butter and coconut oil have differential effects on gut hormone responses compared with unsaturated fats without an impact on satiety in generally healthy men
The interdependence of the convention on the rights of the child: understanding the relationship of the right to play with other convention rights
No full textClimate forcing due to future ozone changes: an intercomparison of metrics and methods
Get PDFThis study assesses three different measures of radiative forcing (instantaneous: IRF, stratospheric-temperature adjusted: SARF, effective: ERF) for future changes in ozone. These, use a combination of online and offline methods. We separate the effects of changes in ozone precursors and ozone depleting substances (ODS), and configure model experiments such that only ozone changes (including consequent changes in humidity, clouds, surface albedo) affect the evolution of the model physics and dynamics.
In the shared socioeconomic pathway SSP3-7.0 we find robust increases in ozone due to future increases in ozone precursors and decreases in ODSs, leading to a radiative forcing increase from 2015 to 2050 of 0.268 ±0.084 Wm- 2 ERF, 0.244 ± 0.057 W m-2 SARF, and 0.288 ± 0.101 Wm-2 IRF. This increase makes ozone the second largest contributor to future warming by 2050 in this scenario, approximately half of which is due to stratospheric ozone recovery and half due to tropospheric ozone precursors.
Increases in ozone are found to decrease cloud fraction, causing an overall negative adjustment to the radiative forcing (positive in the short-wave, but negative in the long-wave). Non-cloud adjustments due to water vapour and albedo changes are positive. ERF is slightly larger than the offline SARF for the total ozone change, but approximately double the SARF for the ODS-driven change (0.156 ± 0.071 Wm-2 ERF, 0.076 ± 0.025 W m-2 SARF). Hence ERF is a more appropriate metric for diagnosing the climate effects of stratospheric ozone changes
Why did the mission to the Anglo-Saxons stall in 596: anxiety, politics or money?
Get PDFThis paper explores the crisis of 596 which interrupted Augustine of Canterbury's mission to the Anglo-Saxons, necessitating his return to Rome. Bede's interpretation of this as a moment of psychological failure is discounted. Political changes in Merovingian Gaul associated with the death of Childebert are reconsidered. A new economic explanation is advanced based on the wording of Gregory the Great's letter of encouragement to Augustine and his fellow missionaries, consideration of the management of the papal estates in Gaul and the behaviour of Virgilius, metropolitan of Arles
Business angel groups as collective action: an examination of the due diligence process
Get PDFAbstract
With the emergence of business angel groups, angel investing is increasingly an activity that is based on collective action. However, our understanding of the investment process of business angels is largely based on studies of angels who invest independently. This paper investigates the collective action practices of one UK business angel group – Henley Business Angels. We examine how the due diligence process is undertaken. This stage involves the verification of the information in the pitch and business plan and underpins the decision whether or not to make an investment. This stage in the investment process has attracted limited attention by researchers. We find that there is a lack of rigour in the due diligence that angels undertake. Further, the process involves limited collective action. Group members largely act on their own behalf in carrying out due diligence, generally investigating areas of interest or concern independently of other members. However, members typically do share and discuss information gleaned from their own due diligence process with other members in the group. Some members will also accept the due diligence of other members if it is outside of their own area of expertise or if they do not have the time to carry out the due diligence themselves