When you think of 1960s anarchism, community playgrounds and financial planning for tenants’ associations may not spring to mind, yet these, along with similar topics, were Anarchy's (1961–1970) staple fare. The A5 monthly, edited by British journalist Colin Ward (1924–2010), maintained a steady output of ‘anarchist applications’ in the spheres of education, housing, and community development. Although published during the 1960s, the origins and ethos of the journal lay in the previous decade. Responding to this heightened Cold War “moment,” Ward developed an idiosyncratic radical pragmatism prioritizing the practice of popular democracy over the theory of it. In reconstructing Anarchy's intellectual formation, this article contributes to revisionist scholarship acknowledging a more experimental radical culture in 1950s Britain than is usually granted, one that prefigured aspects of the later counterculture but also differed from it in important respects.

Epidemiological and intervention studies have reported negative health effects of sucrose intake, but many of these studies were not representative of typical dietary habits. In this pilot study, we aimed to test the effect of increasing sucrose intakes for 1 week on body composition and blood pressure and explore the feasibility of consuming high intakes of sucrose in addition to a habitual diet. In a randomised crossover design study, twelve healthy participants (50 % female, age 28⋅4 ± 10 years, BMI 25 ± 3 kg/m2), consumed either 40, 80 or 120 g sucrose in 500 ml water in addition to their habitual diet every day for 1 week, with a 1-week washout between treatment periods. Body composition (assessed using bioelectrical impedance) and blood pressure measurements were taken before and after each intervention phase. All participants reported no issues with consuming the sucrose dose for the intervention period. There was a significant increase in systolic blood pressure following 120 g sucrose intake (P = 0⋅006), however there was no significant changes to blood pressure, body weight, BMI, percentage protein, fat or water (P > 0⋅05) when comparing change from baseline values. There was also no effect of sucrose intakes on energy or macronutrient intakes during the intervention (P > 0⋅05). We show here that varying doses of sucrose over a 1-week period have no effect on body composition or blood pressure. The amounts of sucrose used were an acceptable addition to the habitual diet and demonstrate the feasibility of larger-scale studies of chronic sucrose supplementation.

Recommendations for free sugar intake in the UK should be no more than 5 % of total energy due to increased health risks associated with overconsumption. It was therefore of interest to examine free sugar intakes and associations with health parameters in the UK population. The UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey rolling programme (2008–2017) was used for this study. Dietary intake, anthropometrical measurements and clinical biomarker data collated from 5121 adult respondents aged 19–64 years were statistically analysed. Compared with the average total carbohydrate intake (48 % of energy), free sugars comprised 12·5 %, with sucrose 9 % and fructose 3·5 %. Intakes of these sugars, apart from fructose, were significantly different over collection year (P < 0·001) and significantly higher in males (P < 0·001). Comparing those consuming above or below the UK recommendations for free sugars (5 % energy), significant differences were found for BMI (P < 0·001), TAG (P < 0·001), HDL (P = 0·006) and homocysteine concentrations (P = 0·028), and significant sex differences were observed (e.g. lower blood pressure in females). Regression analysis demonstrated that free sugar intake could predict plasma TAG, HDL and homocysteine concentrations (P < 0·0001), consistent with the link between these parameters and CVD. We also found selected unhealthy food choices (using the UK Eatwell Guide) to be significantly higher in those that consumed above the recommendations (P < 0·0001) and were predictors of free sugar intakes (P < 0·0001). We have shown that adult free sugar intakes in the UK population are associated with certain negative health parameters that support the necessary reduction in free sugar intakes for the UK population.

Objectives: Although there is increased awareness of patient and public involvement (PPI) among health technology assessment (HTA) organizations, evaluations of PPI initiatives are relatively scarce. Our objective as members of Health Technology Assessment International's (HTAi's) Patient and Citizen Involvement Group (PCIG) was to advance understanding of the range of evaluation strategies adopted by HTA organizations and their potential usefulness.

Methods: In March 2016, a survey was sent to fifty-four HTA organizations through the International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA) and contacts of members of HTAi's PCIG. Respondents were asked about their organizational structure; how patients and members of the public are involved; whether and how PPI initiatives have been evaluated, and, if so, which facilitators and challenges to evaluation were found and how results were used and disseminated.

Results: Fifteen (n = 15) programs from twelve countries responded (response rate 27.8 percent) that involved patients (14/15) and members of the public (10/15) in HTA activities. Seven programs evaluated their PPI activities, including participant satisfaction (5/7), process (5/7) and impact evaluations (4/7). Evaluation results were used to improve PPI activities, identify education and training needs, and direct strategic priorities. Facilitators and challenges revolved around the need for stakeholder buy-in, sufficient resources, senior leadership, and including patients in evaluations.

Conclusions: A small but diverse set of HTA organizations evaluate their PPI activities using a range of strategies that reflect the range of rationales and approaches to PPI in HTA. It will be important for HTA organizations to draw on evaluation theories and methods.

We argue that a comprehensive model of human vocal behaviour must address both voluntary and involuntary aspects of articulate speech and non-verbal vocalizations. Within this, plasticity of vocal output should be acknowledged and explained as part of the mature speech production system.

Systems linking people and nature, known as social-ecological systems, are increasingly understood as complex adaptive systems. Essential features of these complex adaptive systems – such as nonlinear feedbacks, strategic interactions, individual and spatial heterogeneity, and varying time scales – pose substantial challenges for modeling. However, ignoring these characteristics can distort our picture of how these systems work, causing policies to be less effective or even counterproductive. In this paper we present recent developments in modeling social-ecological systems, illustrate some of these challenges with examples related to coral reefs and grasslands, and identify the implications for economic and policy analysis.

Crystalline precipitates from molybdenum-containing nuclear waste glasses are complex, often containing multiple cations which confound routine structural techniques. A simplified mixed-alkali borosilicate model glass was found to have minor crystalline phases which could not be identified by x-ray diffraction. Multinuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy revealed sharp peaks characteristic of crystallinity superimposed on the broader glass signals, but were unattributable to any known molybdate phases. When a comprehensive range of cesium molybdates failed to reveal any matches with the observed 133Cs magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR peaks in the composite glass/crystalline material, a series of mixed-alkali sodium-cesium molybdate phases was synthesized. 23Na, 133Cs and 95Mo MAS NMR revealed the formation of two mixed-cation molybdates which correlate with the observed NMR peaks for the phase-separated model glass. This work highlights the prominence of multiple crystalline phases in Mo-bearing nuclear waste glasses, and demonstrates the unique utility of solid-state NMR as a fingerprinting approach to identifying complex phases, especially where x-ray diffraction is limited by multiple phases, low concentrations or substitutionally disordered precipitates.

Bilinguals are better able to perceive speech-in-noise in their native compared to their non-native language. This benefit is thought to be due to greater use of higher-level, linguistic context in the native language. Previous studies showing this have used sentences and do not allow us to determine which level of language contributes to this context benefit. Here, we used a new paradigm that isolates the semantic level of speech, in both languages of bilinguals. Results revealed that in the native language, a semantically related target word facilitates the perception of a previously presented degraded prime word relative to when a semantically unrelated target follows the prime, suggesting a specific contribution of semantics to the native language context benefit. We also found the reverse in the non-native language, where there was a disadvantage of semantic context on word recognition, suggesting that such top–down, contextual information results in semantic interference in one's second language.

95Mo magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectroscopy is surprisingly sensitive to the local environment of tetrahedral molybdate species. A series of compounds related to expected crystallization products in nuclear waste glasses are probed to calibrate their spectral characteristics. Glasses formed with fast and slow quenching show a glassy peak corresponding to tetrahedral molybdate species. With slow quenching, a prominent sharp peak is observed, representing crystallinity. In sodium-borosilicate glasses with 2.5 mol% MoO3, the sharp peak corresponds to pure crystalline sodium molybdate. Cesium-sodium and lithium-sodium borosilicate glasses with Mo show crystalline peaks as well, and suggest that NMR may potentially be used to characterize mixed-cation molydates and more complex phase assemblages. While precise quantification of Mo in different phases is likely to be time-consuming, reasonable estimates can be obtained routinely, making 95Mo MAS NMR a useful tool for investigating phase separation and crystallization in model nuclear waste materials.

Organic photovoltaic devices are poised to fill the low-cost, low power niche in the solar cell market. Recently measured efficiencies of solid-state organic cells are nudging 5% while Grätzel’s more established dye-sensitized solar cell technology is more than double this. A fundamental understanding of the excitonic nature of organic materials is an essential backbone for device engineering. Bound electron-hole pairs, “excitons,” are formed in organic semiconductors on photo-absorption. In the organic solar cell, the exciton must diffuse to the donor–accepter interface for simultaneous charge generation and separation. This interface is critical as the concentration of charge carriers is high and recombination here is higher than in the bulk. Nanostructured engineering of the interface has been utilized to maximize organic materials properties, namely to compensate the poor exciton diffusion lengths and lower mobilities. Excitonic solar cells have different limitations on their open-circuit photo-voltages due to these high interfacial charge carrier concentrations, and their behavior cannot be interpreted as if they were conventional solar cells. This article briefly reviews some of the differences between excitonic organic solar cells and conventional inorganic solar cells and highlights some of the technical strategies used in this rapidly progressing field, whose ultimate aim is for organic solar cells to be a commercial reality.