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    Evidence for fetal programming of obesity with a focus on putative mechanisms

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    Obesity is associated with insulin resistance, the metabolic syndrome (a clustering of three or more of increased waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting glucose and fasting plasma triacylglycerol levels and reduced HDL levels), and a marked increase in the risk of type 2 diabetes and CHD. The impact of obesity differs between individuals, particularly between men and women and between ethnic groups. For example, in South Asians, although overall obesity is less prevalent, central obesity and the metabolic syndrome are more prevalent than in Europeans and this pattern is associated with the development of type 2 diabetes and CHD at an earlier age. It is important to examine individual risk factors contributing to obesity because they may have a different impact in population subgroups. Many factors contribute to the aetiology of obesity and there is increasing evidence to suggest that altered early development is one such factor and is associated with abnormal fat accumulation, the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes in later life. The present review presents this evidence and discusses some of the mechanisms that may be involved in the pathogenesis of the programming of obesity

    Treatment of lipids to reduce cardiovascular risk among people with the metabolic syndrome or type 2 diabetes

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    The metabolic syndrome is present in approximately 20% of general populations in developed countries and in approximately 80% of people with type 2 diabetes. High triglyceride levels, low high-density cholesterol levels and central obesity are three of the five features of the metabolic syndrome and contribute to the increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among people with the metabolic syndrome. Lifestyle interventions and treatment with statins reduce risk of CVD but absolute risk of cardiovascular events among high-risk populations remains high. This article reviews the options for treating the atherogenic dyslipidaemia associated with the metabolic syndrome

    The benefits of a Mediterranean diet, statins, aspirin and unsaturated fats

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    Various pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions are effective in both preventing and reducing complications from atherosclerotic vascular disease (AVD). The purpose of this brief review is to discuss some of the recent evidence supporting a beneficial effect for the Mediterranean diet and the statin group of lipid-lowering therapy in reducing risk of AVD.<br/

    The 'true use of reading' : Sarah Fielding and mid eighteenth-century literary strategies.

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    PhDThe aim of this thesis is to explore, by examining her life and works, how Sarah Fielding (1710-68) established her identity as an author. The definition of her role involves her notions of the functions of writing and reading. Sarah Fielding attempts to invite readers to form a sense of ties by tacit understanding of her messages. As she believes that a work of literature is produced through collaboration between the writer and the reader, it is an important task in her view to show her attentiveness toward reading practice. In her consideration of reading, she has two distinct, even opposite views of her audience: on the one hand a familiar and limited circle of readers with shared moral and cultural values and on the other potential readers among the unknown mass of people. The dual targets direct her to devise various strategies. She tries to appeal to those who can endorse and appreciate her moral values as well as her learning. Her writings and letters testify that she is sensitive to the demands of the literary market, trying to lead the taste of readers by inventing new forms. The thesis opens with an overview of Sarah Fielding's career, followed by a consideration of her critical attention to the roles of reading. I go on to examine the narrative structures and strategies she deploys, with a particular emphasis on her use of the epistolary method. The following chapter deals with her attention to the reading of the moral message tangibly embodied in her educational writing. It is followed by an analysis of the activity which earned her a reputation as a learned woman. Various as the forms of her works are, they invariably reflect her attempt to balance herself between the two demands of inventiveness and familiarity

    Sarah Fielding: Satire and Subversion in the Eighteenth-Century Novel

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    This study of Sarah Fielding (1710―68) is an original contribution to Fielding scholarship that has a dual purpose: to support those who are striving to re-introduce her to the modern literary landscape in an effort to restore her eighteenth-century literary standing, and to firmly establish Fielding as an early feminist writer. It is argued here that throughout her oeuvre Fielding challenged prevailing traditions that denied women a choice, particularly in education, employment and marriage. These themes are also considered in the political treatises of Mary Astell (1666―1731) and Mary Wollstonecraft (1759―97), who are now widely recognised as feminist writers. It is further argued that Fielding’s subversion in fiction of the English patriarchal system is underscored by her unorthodox performance in the literary arena. This is fully explored alongside her use of sentimentalism as a literary tool with which she challenges her seemingly inhumane society. Fielding’s interest in ‘the Labyrinths of the Mind’ (in modern terms, human psychology) will also be addressed as will her placement in the history of feminism and her placement in the sentimental novel tradition. Fielding’s performance as a literary critic will be compared with the few female authors who, like her, dared to publish literary criticism during her writing career. Accordingly, extracts from Fielding’s novels and her two critical pamphlets will be thoroughly examined. An updated biography of Fielding that is also included here will provide evidence for a further claim, that her fiction is autobiographical in part. A comprehensive account of Fielding’s performance as a literary critic forms the final chapter of this work. It is the first full-length examination of her contribution to the genre and includes an appraisal of her recently unearthed critical pamphlet entitled A Comparison Between the Horace of Corneille and The Roman Father of Mr. Whitehead (1750) that is yet to be formerly attributed to her. Ultimately this study of Fielding will go far beyond what has previously been written about this remarkable eighteenth-century author, particularly regarding her feminist activity
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