Foreign multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in China, especially during the nineteenth century, have attracted less interest from historians than Chinese firms and expatriate merchant houses. However, in this period, MNEs shaped advertising in Shenbao, China’s most vital modern Chinese-language newspaper. Through our examination of the advertisements they placed during the newspaper’s first phase of publication, 1872–1889, we argue that MNEs were more significant to the history of business in China than heretofore recognized. We contend that they influenced Chinese print media advertising by pioneering product differentiation and branding in this newspaper. They did so, we suggest, because this approach to marketing, which differed from those used by most other foreign and Chinese domestic advertisers, provided a competitive advantage to overcome their liability of foreignness, and was facilitated by their global reach in the form of knowledge flows from offshore bases to onshore branches.

Resistant starch 2 (RS2) may offer therapeutic value to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients particularly in combination with minimally fermented fibre, but tolerability data are lacking. The present study evaluated the tolerability of RS2, sugarcane bagasse and their combination in IBS patients and healthy controls. Following baseline, participants consumed the fibres in escalating doses lasting 3 d each: RS2 (10, 15 and 20 g/d); sugarcane bagasse (5, 10 and 15 g/d); and their combination (20, 25 and 30 g/d). Gastrointestinal symptoms were assessed daily. Six IBS patients and five controls were recruited. No differences in overall symptoms from baseline were found across the fibre doses (IBS, P = 0⋅586; controls, P = 0⋅687). For IBS patients, all RS2 doses led to increased bloating. One IBS patient did not tolerate the low combination dose and another the high sugarcane bagasse dose. Supplementation of RS2 ≤ 20 g/d caused mild symptoms and was generally tolerated in IBS patients even when combined with minimally fermented fibre.

The therapeutic value of specific fibres is partly dependent on their fermentation characteristics. Some fibres are rapidly degraded with the generation of gases that induce symptoms in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), while more slowly or non-fermentable fibres may be more suitable. More work is needed to profile a comprehensive range of fibres to determine suitability for IBS. Using a rapid in vitro fermentation model, gas production and metabolite profiles of a range of established and novel fibres were compared. Fibre substrates (n 15) were added to faecal slurries from three healthy donors for 4 h with gas production measured using real-time headspace sampling. Concentrations of SCFA and ammonia were analysed using GC and enzymatic assay, respectively. Gas production followed three patterns: rapid (≥60 ml/g over 4 h) for fructans, carrot fibre and maize-derived xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS); mild (30–60 ml/g) for partially hydrolysed guar gum, almond shell-derived XOS and one type of high-amylose resistant starch 2 (RS2) and minimal (no differences with blank controls) for methylcellulose, another high-amylose RS2, acetylated or butyrylated RS2, RS4, acacia gum and sugarcane bagasse. Gas production correlated positively with total SCFA (r 0·80, P < 0·001) and negatively with ammonia concentrations (r –0·68, P < 0·001). Proportions of specific SCFA varied: fermentation of carrot fibre, XOS and acetylated RS2 favoured acetate, while fructans favoured butyrate. Gas production and metabolite profiles differed between fibre types and within fibre classes over a physiologically relevant 4-h time course. Several fibres resisted rapid fermentation and may be candidates for clinical trials in IBS patients.

A consensus workshop on low-calorie sweeteners (LCS) was held in November 2018 where seventeen experts (the panel) discussed three themes identified as key to the science and policy of LCS: (1) weight management and glucose control; (2) consumption, safety and perception; (3) nutrition policy. The aims were to identify the reliable facts on LCS, suggest research gaps and propose future actions. The panel agreed that the safety of LCS is demonstrated by a substantial body of evidence reviewed by regulatory experts and current levels of consumption, even for high users, are within agreed safety margins. However, better risk communication is needed. More emphasis is required on the role of LCS in helping individuals reduce their sugar and energy intake, which is a public health priority. Based on reviews of clinical evidence to date, the panel concluded that LCS can be beneficial for weight management when they are used to replace sugar in products consumed in the diet (without energy substitution). The available evidence suggests no grounds for concerns about adverse effects of LCS on sweet preference, appetite or glucose control; indeed, LCS may improve diabetic control and dietary compliance. Regarding effects on the human gut microbiota, data are limited and do not provide adequate evidence that LCS affect gut health at doses relevant to human use. The panel identified research priorities, including collation of the totality of evidence on LCS and body weight control, monitoring and modelling of LCS intakes, impacts on sugar reduction and diet quality and developing effective communication strategies to foster informed choice. There is also a need to reconcile policy discrepancies between organisations and reduce regulatory hurdles that impede low-energy product development and reformulation.

The mouth may be presented and understood in different ways, be subject to judgement by others and, as we age, may intrude on everyday life due to problems that affect oral health. However, research that considers older people's experiences concerning their mouths and teeth is limited. This paper reports on qualitative research with 43 people in England and Scotland, aged 65–91, exploring the significance of the mouth over the lifecourse. It uses the concept of ‘mouth talk’ to explore narratives of maintaining, losing and replacing teeth. Participants engaged in ‘mouth talk’ to downplay the impact of the mouth, demonstrate socially appropriate ageing, and distance themselves from ‘real’ old age by retaining a moral identity and sense of self. They also found means to challenge dominant discourses of ageing in how they spoke about missing teeth. Referring to Leder's notion of ‘dys-appearance’ and Gilleard and Higgs’ work on the social imaginary of the fourth age, the study illustrates the ways in which ‘mouth talk’ can contribute to sustaining a sense of self in later life, presenting the ageing mouth, with and without teeth, as an absent presence. It also argues for the importance of listening to stories of the mouth in order to expand understanding of people's approaches to oral health in older age.

Çatalhöyük is one of the most well-known and important Neolithic/Chalcolithic sites in the Middle East. Settlement at the site encompasses two separate tell mounds known as Çatalhöyük East and West, with the focus of attention having traditionally been upon what is often regarded as the main site, the earlier East Mound. Limitations of dating evidence have, however, rendered the nature of the relationship between the settlements on these mounds unclear. Traditional models favoured a hiatus between their occupation, or, alternatively, a rapid shift from one site to the other, often invoking changes in natural conditions by way of an explanation. New dates challenge these theories, and indicate a potentially significant overlap between the occupation of the mounds, starting in the late seventh millennium BC.

The appearance of the distinctive ‘Beaker package’ marks an important horizon in British prehistory, but was it associated with immigrants to Britain or with indigenous converts? Analysis of the skeletal remains of 264 individuals from the British Chalcolithic–Early Bronze Age is revealing new information about the diet, migration and mobility of those buried with Beaker pottery and related material. Results indicate a considerable degree of mobility between childhood and death, but mostly within Britain rather than from Europe. Both migration and emulation appear to have had an important role in the adoption and spread of the Beaker package.

Oersted in 1843 gave a brief description of Dodecaceria concharum collected from the Kattegat. This was inadequate for identifying the species. Caullery and Mesnil in 1898 described three forms of Dodecaceria (A, B and C) but they were uncertain which form Oersted described. Dehorne in 1933 described D caulleryi (now D. fimbriata), which reproduce asexually, and Form B of Caullery and Mesnil. By default Form B became D. concharum the parthenogenetic species Form A of Caullery and Mesnil. Gibson and Heppell in 1995 in an attempt to consolidate these names deposited new types for the two species at the Cambers Street Museum in Edinburgh.

In paediatric pulmonary embolism, cardiac findings and thromboembolic outcomes are poorly defined. We conducted a mixed retrospective-prospective cohort study of paediatric pulmonary embolism at the Children's Hospital Colorado between March, 2006 and January, 2011. A total of 58 consecutive children – age less than or equal to 21 years – with acute pulmonary embolism were enrolled. Data collection included clinical and laboratory characteristics, treatments, serial echocardiographic and electrocardiographic findings, and outcomes of pulmonary embolism non-resolution and recurrence. The median age was 16.5 years ranging from 0 to 21 years. The most prevalent clinical risk factors were oral contraceptive pill use (52% of female patients), presence of a non-infectious inflammatory condition (21%), and trauma (21%). Thrombophilias included heterozygous factor V Leiden in 21%; antiphospholipid antibody syndrome was established in 31% overall. Proximal pulmonary artery involvement was present in 34%. At presentation, nearly half of the patients had hypoxaemia and 37% had tachycardia. The classic electrocardiographic finding of S1Q3T3 was present in 12% acutely; tricuspid regurgitation greater than 3 metres per second, septal flattening, and right ventricular dilation were each present on acute echocardiogram in 25%. Nearly all patients received therapeutic anticoagulation, with initial systemic tissue plasminogen activator administered in 16% for occlusive iliofemoral deep venous thrombosis and/or massive pulmonary embolism. Pulmonary embolism resolution was observed in 82% by 6 months. Recurrent pulmonary embolism occurred in 9%. There were no pulmonary embolism-related deaths. Right ventricular dysfunction was rare in follow-up. These data indicate that acute heart strain is common, but chronic cardiac dysfunction is rare, following aggressive management of acute pulmonary embolism in children.

Six species of Trichomalus Thomson were reared as parasitoids of Ceutorhynchinae hosts in Europe during surveys in 2000–2004. Trichomalus rusticus (Walker) is treated as a valid species, resurrected from synonymy under T. lucidus (Walker), and T. lyttus (Walker) is transferred from synonymy under T. lucidus and newly placed in synonymy with T. rusticus. Illustrated keys to females and males are given to differentiate the six species (T. bracteatus (Walker), T. campestris (Walker), T. gynetelus (Walker), T. lucidus, T. perfectus (Walker), and T. rusticus) except for males of T. bracteatus and T. gynetelus. A lectotype female is designated for T. rusticus. Trichomalus campestris is newly recorded as a parasitoid of Ceutorhynchus cardariae Korotyaev. Implications of the host-parasitoid associations recovered by the surveys are discussed relative to introduction of species to North America for classical biological control.

The effect of the dietary n-3 long-chain PUFA, DHA (22 : 6n-3), on the growth of pre-term infants is controversial. We tested the effect of higher-dose DHA (approximately 1 % dietary fatty acids) on the growth of pre-term infants to 18 months corrected age compared with standard feeding practice (0·2–0·3 % DHA) in a randomised controlled trial. Infants born < 33 weeks gestation (n 657) were randomly allocated to receive breast milk and/or formula with higher DHA or standard DHA according to a concealed schedule stratified for sex and birth-weight ( < 1250 and ≥ 1250 g). The dietary arachidonic acid content of both diets was constant at approximately 0·4 % total fatty acids. The intervention was from day 2 to 5 of life until the infant's expected date of delivery (EDD). Growth was assessed at EDD, and at 4, 12 and 18 months corrected age. There was no effect of higher DHA on weight or head circumference at any age, but infants fed higher DHA were 0·7 cm (95 % CI 0·1, 1·4 cm; P = 0·02) longer at 18 months corrected age. There was an interaction effect between treatment and birth weight strata for weight (P = 0·01) and length (P = 0·04). Higher DHA resulted in increased length in infants born weighing ≥ 1250 g at 4 months corrected age and in both weight and length at 12 and 18 months corrected age. Our data show that DHA up to 1 % total dietary fatty acids does not adversely affect growth.

Heterogeneity is observed in the patterns of cognition in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Such heterogeneity might suggest the involvement of different etiological pathways or different host responses to pathology. A total of 627 subjects with mild/moderate AD underwent cognitive assessment with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Dementia Rating Scale-2 (DRS-2). Latent class analysis (LCA) was performed on cognition subscale data to identify and characterize cognitive subgroups. Clinical, demographic, and genetic factors were explored for association with class membership. LCA suggested the existence of four subgroups; one group with mild and another with severe global impairment across the cognitive domains, one group with primary impairments in attention and construction, and another group with primary deficits in memory and orientation. Education, disease duration, age, Apolipoprotein E-ε4 (APOE ε4) status, gender, presence of grasp reflex, white matter changes, and early or prominent visuospatial impairment were all associated with class membership. Our results support the existence of heterogeneity in patterns of cognitive impairment in AD. Our observation of classes characterized by predominant deficits in attention/construction and memory respectively deserves further exploration as does the association between membership in the attention/construction class and APOE ε4 negative status. (JINS, 2010, 16, 233–243.)

Dietary antioxidants are important in protecting against oxidative stress. We have previously demonstrated that circulating dietary antioxidant levels are reduced in asthma. The present study examined the variation in dietary antioxidant levels in asthma, according to airway responsiveness, asthma control and clinical asthma pattern. Peripheral blood was collected from forty-one subjects with stable, persistent asthma. Airway responsiveness was assessed by hypertonic saline challenge. Asthma control was assessed using the Asthma Control Questionnaire. Clinical asthma pattern was determined using Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) criteria. Whole-blood carotenoids (β-carotene, lycopene, α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein/zeaxanthin) and tocopherols (α-, δ-, γ-tocopherol) were measured by HPLC. Plasma antioxidant potential (AOP) was determined by colorimetric assay (OxisResearch, Portland, OR, USA). Asthmatic subjects with airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) had reduced levels of β-carotene and α-tocopherol compared with those without AHR. Subjects with uncontrolled asthma had low levels of AOP compared with those with controlled or partly controlled asthma. Subjects with a severe persistent clinical asthma pattern had reduced levels of α-tocopherol compared with those with a mild to moderate asthma pattern. We conclude that asthmatic subjects with AHR, uncontrolled asthma and a severe asthma pattern have impaired antioxidant defences and are thus most susceptible to the damaging effects of oxidative stress. This highlights the potential role for antioxidant supplementation in these subjects.

The distribution of Dodecaceria in northern Europe was found for samples borrowed from museums and other collections. Dodecaceria fimbriata was present in the coastal waters of mainland Britain and the Continent from the English Channel northwards. Dodecaceria concharum was only found in British mainland coastal waters and on the French coast at the western end of the English Channel. It was absent where salinities were below ~34%0. The two species were sampled along the Lothian and Borders coasts and the numbers of D. concharum fell with decreasing salinity as the Firth of Forth was approached. Dodecaceria diceria was found for the first time in the North Sea at depths of 100–200 m. The benthic salinity here is ~35%0.

Dedicated community-based services have been recommended for people with personality disorder, but little is known about how such services should be configured. We conducted a Delphi survey to assess opinions about this. A panel of expert authors, service providers and service users agreed on only 21 (39%) of 54 statements on the organisation and delivery of care. Consensus was not reached on important issues such as working with people with a history of violent offending, the role of community outreach and the use of compulsory treatment. Further work needs to be undertaken before the optimal organisation of dedicated personality disorder services can be agreed.