UK survey of non-medical use of prescription drugs (NMURx) as a valuable source of general population illicit drug use data.

PURPOSE OF STUDY: The aim of the study is to describe the prevalence of illicit drug use in England and Wales using data from the UK Survey of Non-Medical Use of Prescription Drugs (NMURx) programme and to compare against the well-established Crime Survey England and Wales (CSEW). The rationale is that recreational and illicit drug use is common, but the prevalence is difficult to estimate with personal interviewing methods. STUDY DESIGN: We compared two cross-sectional population surveys (NMURx, n=8903 and CSEW, n=20 685) with data regarding self-reported recreational drug use and demographics. NMURx is an online survey using non-probability sampling methodology with preset demographical quotas based on census data. CSEW surveys drug use via computer-assisted self-interviewing as part of a computer-assisted personal-interviewing crime survey. RESULTS: Cannabis was the most frequently used drug regardless of demographics. Prevalence of drug use for specific substances was generally higher for males, younger ages and students. The relationship between income and drug misuse is less clear. Self-reported prevalence of drug use in the NMURx survey is consistently higher than CSEW (absolute difference 1%-3 % across substances and timescales) and persists after stratification for gender, age, student status and household income. CONCLUSIONS: The NMURx survey has a broad reach of participants, and a sampling scheme that achieves external validity, compared with general population demographics. NMURx's online format allows flexibility in items surveyed and in response to emerging trends. The self-reported drug use in the NMURx cohort is comparable, although slightly higher, than the CSEW estimates

Systemic Risk and the Ripple Effect in the Supply Chain

Supply chains are highly complex systems, and disruptions may ripple through these systems in unexpected ways, but they may also start in unexpected ways. We investigate the causes of ripple effect through the lens of systemic risk. We derive supply chain systemic risk from the finance discipline where sources of risk are found in systemic risk-taking, contagion, and amplification mechanisms. In a supply chain context, we identify three dimensions that influence systemic risk, the nature of a disruption, the structure, and dependency of the supply chain, and the decision-making. Within these three dimensions, there are several factors including correlation of risk, compounding effects, cyclical linkages, counterparty risk, herding behavior, and misaligned incentives. These factors are often invisible to decision makers, and they may operate in tandem to exacerbate ripple effect. We highlight these systemic risks, and we encourage further research to understand their nature and to mitigate their effect

What explains electoral responses to the 'Great Recession in Europe?

The ?Great Recession? in Europe started in early 2008 and was the greatest economic crisis facing the continent since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It produced a largescale loss of support for many incumbent parties. The purpose of this paper is to explain responses to the crisis among European electorates with the assistance of three rival models of electoral choice. The first is the cleavages model associated with Rokkan and Lipset which highlights the importance of social groups as the sources of electoral support. The second is the spatial model of party competition which focuses on the ideological distance between voters and parties in relation to divisive issues in society. The third is the valence model which argues that voters will support parties that deliver policies over which there is widespread agreement about what should be done. The paper models electoral support for incumbent parties using data from the European Social Surveys of 2006, conducted prior to the recession, and again in 2012 some four years into the crisis. The results show that all three models are relevant for understanding mass political responses to the crisis. It is also apparent that an ideological shift to the right occurred in electoral support between the two periods and this happened among both the voters and also the incumbent parties in Europe

Microbiological contamination of cubicle curtains in an out-patient podiatry clinic

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exposure to potential pathogens on contaminated healthcare garments and curtains can occur through direct or indirect contact. This study aimed to identify the microorganisms present on podiatry clinic curtains and measure the contamination pre and post a standard hospital laundry process.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>Baseline swabs were taken to determine colony counts present on cubical curtains before laundering. Curtains were swabbed again immediately after, one and three weeks post laundering. Total colony counts were calculated and compared to baseline, with identification of micro-organisms.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Total colony counts increased very slightly by 3% immediately after laundry, which was not statistically significant, and declined significantly (p = 0.0002) by 56% one-week post laundry. Three weeks post laundry colony counts had increased by 16%; although clinically relevant, this was not statistically significant. The two most frequent microorganisms present throughout were <it>Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus </it>and <it>Micrococcus </it>species. Laundering was not completely effective, as both species demonstrated no significant change following laundry.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This work suggests current laundry procedures may not be 100% effective in killing all microorganisms found on curtains, although a delayed decrease in total colony counts was evident. Cubicle curtains may act as a reservoir for microorganisms creating potential for cross contamination. This highlights the need for additional cleaning methods to decrease the risk of cross infection and the importance of maintaining good hand hygiene.</p

Mitochondrial genome deletions and minicircles are common in lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera)

Background The gene composition, gene order and structure of the mitochondrial genome are remarkably stable across bilaterian animals. Lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) are a major exception to this genomic stability in that the canonical single chromosome with 37 genes found in almost all other bilaterians has been lost in multiple lineages in favour of multiple, minicircular chromosomes with less than 37 genes on each chromosome. Results Minicircular mt genomes are found in six of the ten louse species examined to date and three types of minicircles were identified: heteroplasmic minicircles which coexist with full sized mt genomes (type 1); multigene chromosomes with short, simple control regions, we infer that the genome consists of several such chromosomes (type 2); and multiple, single to three gene chromosomes with large, complex control regions (type 3). Mapping minicircle types onto a phylogenetic tree of lice fails to show a pattern of their occurrence consistent with an evolutionary series of minicircle types. Analysis of the nuclear-encoded, mitochondrially-targetted genes inferred from the body louse, Pediculus, suggests that the loss of mitochondrial single-stranded binding protein (mtSSB) may be responsible for the presence of minicircles in at least species with the most derived type 3 minicircles (Pediculus, Damalinia). Conclusions Minicircular mt genomes are common in lice and appear to have arisen multiple times within the group. Life history adaptive explanations which attribute minicircular mt genomes in lice to the adoption of blood-feeding in the Anoplura are not supported by this expanded data set as minicircles are found in multiple non-blood feeding louse groups but are not found in the blood-feeding genus Heterodoxus. In contrast, a mechanist explanation based on the loss of mtSSB suggests that minicircles may be selectively favoured due to the incapacity of the mt replisome to synthesize long replicative products without mtSSB and thus the loss of this gene lead to the formation of minicircles in lice

Dephosphorylated NSSR1 Is Induced by Androgen in Mouse Epididymis and Phosphorylated NSSR1 Is Increased during Sperm Maturation

NSSR1 (Neural salient serine/arginine rich protein 1, alternatively SRp38) is a newly identified RNA splicing factor and predominantly expressed in neural tissues. Here, by Western blot analysis and immunofluorescent staining, we showed that the expression of dephosphorylated NSSR1 increased significantly during development of the caput epididymis. In adult mice, phosphorylated NSSR1 was mainly expressed in the apical side of epithelial cells, and dephosphorylated NSSR1 in caput epididymis was upregulated in a testosterone dependent manner. In addition, subcellular immunoreactive distribution of NSSR1 varied in different regions of the epididymis. With respect to the sperm, phosphorylated NSSR1 was detected in the mid-piece of the tail as well as the acrosome. Furthermore, NSSR1 was released from the sperm head during the capacitation and acrosome reaction. These findings for the first time provide the evidence for the potential roles of NSSR1 in sperm maturation and fertilization

Do pneumococcal conjugate vaccines provide any cross-protection against serotype 19A?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Introduction of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vCRM) in several countries has led to a rapid, significant drop in vaccine-type invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in immunized children. In the United States and some other countries with high antibiotic use, a subsequent rise in serotype 19A IPD has been taken to indicate that the 19F conjugate in the vaccine provides no cross-protection against the immunologically related 19A.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>We systematically assessed the clinical efficacy and effectiveness of 19F-containing vaccines against 19A disease or nasopharyngeal carriage by searching English-language articles in the electronic databases PubMed, Current contents, Scopus, and Embase from 1985 to 2008. The vaccine efficacy and effectiveness point estimates were consistently positive for modest protection against 19A IPD and acute otitis media (AOM). However, statistical significance was not reached in any individual study. No consistent impact of 7vCRM on 19A nasopharyngeal colonization could be detected. These findings are discussed in context of immunogenicity analyses indicating that 7vCRM induces functionally active anti-19A antibodies after the booster dose, and that other 19F-containing vaccine formulations may elicit higher levels of such antibodies after both primary and booster doses.</p> <p>Summary</p> <p>Taken together, these results suggest that 19F-conjugates can provide some protection against 19A disease. The magnitude of this protection in a given setting will likely depend on several factors. These include the anti-19A immunogenicity of the specific vaccine formulation, the number of doses of that formulation needed to elicit the response, and the burden of 19A disease that occurs after those doses. It is possible that a modest protective effect may be obscured by the presence of countervailing selection pressures (such as high antibiotic use) that favor an increase in colonization with antibiotic-non-susceptible strains of 19A.</p

High-throughput genetic screening of 51 pediatric cataract genes identifies causative mutations in inherited pediatric cataract in South Eastern Australia

Pediatric cataract is a leading cause of childhood blindness. This study aimed to determine the genetic cause of pediatric cataract in Australian families by screening known disease-associated genes using massively parallel sequencing technology. We sequenced 51 previously reported pediatric cataract genes in 33 affected individuals with a family history (cases with previously known or published mutations were excluded) using the Ion Torrent Personal Genome Machine. Variants were prioritized for validation if they were predicted to alter the protein sequence and were absent or rare with minor allele frequency GJA3, GJA8, CRYAA, CRYBB2, CRYGS, CRYGA, GCNT2, CRYGA, and MIP; and three previously reported cataract-causing mutations in GJA8, CRYAA, and CRYBB2 The most commonly mutated genes were those coding for gap junctions and crystallin proteins. Including previous reports of pediatric cataract-associated mutations in our Australian cohort, known genes account for >60% of familial pediatric cataract in Australia, indicating that still more causative genes remain to be identified