Browsing by Author "Murphy R"

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    Untargeted metabolomics reveals plasma metabolites predictive of ectopic fat in pancreas and liver as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging: the TOFI_Asia study
    (Springer Nature Limited, 2021-08) Wu ZE; Fraser K; Kruger MC; Sequeira IR; Yip W; Lu LW; Plank LD; Murphy R; Cooper GJS; Martin J-C; Hollingsworth KG; Poppitt SD
    BACKGROUND: Excess visceral obesity and ectopic organ fat is associated with increased risk of cardiometabolic disease. However, circulating markers for early detection of ectopic fat, particularly pancreas and liver, are lacking. METHODS: Lipid storage in pancreas, liver, abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) from 68 healthy or pre-diabetic Caucasian and Chinese women enroled in the TOFI_Asia study was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging/spectroscopy (MRI/S). Plasma metabolites were measured with untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS). Multivariate partial least squares (PLS) regression identified metabolites predictive of VAT/SAT and ectopic fat; univariate linear regression adjusting for potential covariates identified individual metabolites associated with VAT/SAT and ectopic fat; linear regression adjusted for ethnicity identified clinical and anthropometric correlates for each fat depot. RESULTS: PLS identified 56, 64 and 31 metabolites which jointly predicted pancreatic fat (R2Y = 0.81, Q2 = 0.69), liver fat (RY2 = 0.8, Q2 = 0.66) and VAT/SAT ((R2Y = 0.7, Q2 = 0.62)) respectively. Among the PLS-identified metabolites, none of them remained significantly associated with pancreatic fat after adjusting for all covariates. Dihydrosphingomyelin (dhSM(d36:0)), 3 phosphatidylethanolamines, 5 diacylglycerols (DG) and 40 triacylglycerols (TG) were associated with liver fat independent of covariates. Three DGs and 12 TGs were associated with VAT/SAT independent of covariates. Notably, comparison with clinical correlates showed better predictivity of ectopic fat by these PLS-identified plasma metabolite markers. CONCLUSIONS: Untargeted metabolomics identified candidate markers of visceral and ectopic fat that improved fat level prediction over clinical markers. Several plasma metabolites were associated with level of liver fat and VAT/SAT ratio independent of age, total and visceral adiposity, whereas pancreatic fat deposition was only associated with increased sulfolithocholic acid independent of adiposity-related parameters, but not age.
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    Worlds Apart? – The Challenges of Aligning Brand Value for NGO’s
    (Springer Nature, 2022-09-01) Hand K; Murphy R; MacLachlan M; Carr SC
    Brands are increasingly part of how international aid and development Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) operate, but there are challenges in aligning NGO brand value across diverse stakeholders. This research explores how key decision makers within one major NGO – Oxfam—construct the challenges of brand value alignment, using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis methodology. Three master-themes emerge demonstrating key tensions around aligning NGOs brand value: the difficulty of balancing competing stakeholder needs, the internal cultural conflict around branding, and the existential dilemma underlying the societal effectiveness of NGOs. This paper proposes that NGOs can better navigate these intra—brand tensions using Brand-as-Purpose as an organizing principle; framing shared identity, creating a dynamic container for stakeholder interests and cultivating Moral Capital strongly anchored in increasing recipient wellbeing. This paper is one of the first pieces of research which explores how NGOs make sense of aligning brand value in the context of complex stakeholder cultures and recipient sovereignty. Brand-as Purpose is put forward as an organizing principle to help balance three key tensions around brand value alignment. This paper proposes that Moral Capital anchored in recipient wellbeing underpins NGO brand value and societal legitimacy and needs to be paramount in how NGO’s establish and legitimize their brands.