Sex-specific regulation of chemokine Cxcl5/6 controls neutrophil recruitment and tissue injury in acute inflammatory states

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Barts and The London Trustees Studentship (SM), Marie Curie fellowships (MB, JD), Arthritis Research UK career development fellowship (JW), William Harvey Research Foundation grant (JW/RSS), Kidney Research UK fellowship (NSAP), Barts and The London Vacation Scholarship (ISN), Wellcome Trust senior fellowship (DWG), and a Wellcome Trust career development fellowship (RSS). This work forms part of the research themes contributing to the translational research portfolio of Barts and The London Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit, which is supported and funded by National Institute for Health Researc

A survey of the hybridisation status of Cervus deer species on the island of Ireland

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) did not recolonise Ireland after the last glaciation, but the population in Co. Kerry is descended from an ancient (c. 5000 BP) introduction and merits conservation. During the mid-19th century exotic species including North American wapiti (C. canadensis) and Japanese sika deer (C. nippon nippon) were introduced to Ireland, mainly via Powerscourt Park, Co. Wicklow. While wapiti failed to establish, sika thrived, dispersed within Co. Wicklow and were translocated to other sites throughout Ireland. Red deer and sika are known to have hybridised in Ireland, particularly in Co. Wicklow, but an extensive survey with a large, highly diagnostic marker panel is required to assess the threat hybridisation potentially poses to the Co. Kerry red deer population. Here, 374 individuals were genotyped at a panel of 22 microsatellites and at a single mtDNA marker that are highly diagnostic for red deer and Japanese sika. The microsatellites are also moderately diagnostic for red deer and wapiti. Wapiti introgression was very low [trace evidence in 2 (0.53 %) individuals]. Despite long-standing sympatry of red deer and sika in the area, no red deer-sika hybrids were detected in Co. Kerry suggesting strong assortative mating by both species in this area. However, 80/197 (41 %) of deer sampled in Co. Wicklow and 7/15 (47 %) of deer sampled in Co. Cork were red-sika hybrids. Given their proximity and that hybrids are less likely to mate assortatively than pure individuals, the Co. Cork hybrids pose a threat to the Co. Kerry red deer.UK Natural Environment Research Council PhD studentshi

Land-bridge calibration of molecular clocks and the post-glacial colonization of Scandinavia by the Eurasian field vole microtus agrestis

Phylogeography interprets molecular genetic variation in a spatial and temporal context. Molecular clocks are frequently used to calibrate phylogeographic analyses, however there is mounting evidence that molecular rates decay over the relevant timescales. It is therefore essential that an appropriate rate is determined, consistent with the temporal scale of the specific analysis. This can be achieved by using temporally spaced data such as ancient DNA or by relating the divergence of lineages directly to contemporaneous external events of known time. Here we calibrate a Eurasian field vole (Microtus agrestis) mitochondrial genealogy from the well-established series of post-glacial geophysical changes that led to the formation of the Baltic Sea and the separation of the Scandinavian peninsula from the central European mainland. The field vole exhibits the common phylogeographic pattern of Scandinavian colonization from both the north and the south, however the southernmost of the two relevant lineages appears to have originated in situ on the Scandinavian peninsula, or possibly in the adjacent island of Zealand, around the close of the Younger Dryas. The mitochondrial substitution rate and the timescale for the genealogy are closely consistent with those obtained with a previous calibration, based on the separation of the British Isles from mainland Europe. However the result here is arguably more certain, given the level of confidence that can be placed in one of the central assumptions of the calibration, that field voles could not survive the last glaciation of the southern part of the Scandinavian peninsula. Furthermore, the similarity between the molecular clock rate estimated here and those obtained by sampling heterochronous (ancient) DNA (including that of a congeneric species) suggest that there is little disparity between the measured genetic divergence and the population divergence that is implicit in our land-bridge calibration

Evaluation of appendicitis risk prediction models in adults with suspected appendicitis

Background Appendicitis is the most common general surgical emergency worldwide, but its diagnosis remains challenging. The aim of this study was to determine whether existing risk prediction models can reliably identify patients presenting to hospital in the UK with acute right iliac fossa (RIF) pain who are at low risk of appendicitis. Methods A systematic search was completed to identify all existing appendicitis risk prediction models. Models were validated using UK data from an international prospective cohort study that captured consecutive patients aged 16–45 years presenting to hospital with acute RIF in March to June 2017. The main outcome was best achievable model specificity (proportion of patients who did not have appendicitis correctly classified as low risk) whilst maintaining a failure rate below 5 per cent (proportion of patients identified as low risk who actually had appendicitis). Results Some 5345 patients across 154 UK hospitals were identified, of which two‐thirds (3613 of 5345, 67·6 per cent) were women. Women were more than twice as likely to undergo surgery with removal of a histologically normal appendix (272 of 964, 28·2 per cent) than men (120 of 993, 12·1 per cent) (relative risk 2·33, 95 per cent c.i. 1·92 to 2·84; P < 0·001). Of 15 validated risk prediction models, the Adult Appendicitis Score performed best (cut‐off score 8 or less, specificity 63·1 per cent, failure rate 3·7 per cent). The Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score performed best for men (cut‐off score 2 or less, specificity 24·7 per cent, failure rate 2·4 per cent). Conclusion Women in the UK had a disproportionate risk of admission without surgical intervention and had high rates of normal appendicectomy. Risk prediction models to support shared decision‐making by identifying adults in the UK at low risk of appendicitis were identified

Extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy and garlic consumption: a lesson to learn

The first case of a kidney haematoma after extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (SWL) in a patient with nephrolithiasis who was taking aged garlic extraction is reported. Patient was treated conservatively without the need of any intervention. Urologists should be aware that herbal products including garlic, ginkgo, and ginseng have been associated with potential increased bleeding. The present case emphasises the need to specifically seek out a history of herbal use in presurgical patients. It is suggested that herbal medications should be discontinued up to 15 days prior to urologic surgery or SWL to minimise the risk of complications

Molecular and cellular changes associated with neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques.

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