Molecular serotyping and virulence potential of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from bovine, swine and human in the province of Quebec

Listeria monocytogenes (L mono) cause rare but critical diseases, particularly for at risk population that include pregnant women. Food-borne origin of listeriosis is clearly recognised only since 1984. Since then, a great number of grouped cases occurred and milk or meat products, particularly pork meat, were implicated. Management of this zoonotic pathogen considers all strains as at equal risk. Recently a new perspective for characterisation of strain virulence was allowed since unaltered sequence of InlA was recognised as a key for strain virulence

The decline in youth drinking in England – is everyone drinking less? A quantile regression analysis

Background and Aims: Youth alcohol consumption has declined significantly over the past 15 years in many high income countries, which may have significant public health benefits. However, if the reductions in drinking occur mostly among lighter drinkers who are at lower risk, then rates of alcohol-related harm among young people today and adults in future may not fall in line with consumption. There is conflicting evidence from Swedish school studies with some suggesting all young people are drinking less while others suggest alcohol consumption among heavier drinkers may be stable or rising while average consumption declines. This paper extends the geographic focus of previous research and examines whether the decline in youth drinking is consistent across the consumption distribution in England. Design: Quantile regression of 15 waves of repeat cross-sectional survey data. Setting: England, 2001-2016. Participants: 31, 882 schoolchildren (50.7% male) aged 11-15 who responded to the Smoking Drinking and Drug Use amongst Young People surveys. Measurements: Past-week alcohol consumption in UK units at each fifth percentile of the consumption distribution. Findings: Reductions in alcohol consumption occurred at all percentiles of the consumption distribution analysed between 2001 and 2016 but the magnitude of the decline differed across percentiles. The decline in consumption at the 90th percentile (β = -.21, CI = -.24, - .18) was significantly larger than among either lighter drinkers at the 50th percentile (β = - .02, CI = -.02, -.01) or heavier drinkers at the 95th percentile (β = -.16, CI = -.18, -.13). Conclusions: Alcohol consumption among young people in England appears to be declining across the consumption distribution, and peaks among heavy drinkers. The magnitude of this decline differs significantly between percentiles of the consumption distribution, with consumption falling proportionally less among the lightest, moderate and very heaviest youth drinkers

Correlation between microstructure and magnetotransport in organic semiconductor spin valve structures

We have studied magnetotransport in organic-inorganic hybrid multilayer junctions. In these devices, the organic semiconductor (OSC) Alq$_3$ (tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum) formed a spacer layer between ferromagnetic (FM) Co and Fe layers. The thickness of the Alq$_3$ layer was in the range of 50-150 nm. Positive magnetoresistance (MR) was observed at 4.2 K in a current perpendicular to plane geometry, and these effects persisted up to room temperature. The devices' microstructure was studied by X-ray reflectometry, Auger electron spectroscopy and polarized neutron reflectometry (PNR). The films show well-defined layers with modest average chemical roughness (3-5 nm) at the interface between the Alq$_3$ and the surrounding FM layers. Reflectometry shows that larger MR effects are associated with smaller FM/Alq$_3$ interface width (both chemical and magnetic) and a magnetically dead layer at the Alq$_3$/Fe interface. The PNR data also show that the Co layer, which was deposited on top of the Alq$_3$, adopts a multi-domain magnetic structure at low field and a perfect anti-parallel state is not obtained. The origins of the observed MR are discussed and attributed to spin coherent transport. A lower bound for the spin diffusion length in Alq$_3$ was estimated as $43 \pm 5$ nm at 80 K. However, the subtle correlations between microstructure and magnetotransport indicate the importance of interfacial effects in these systems.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures and 2 table

Youth Drinking in Decline

Young people in England are drinking less. Evidence from multiple surveys shows a consistent pattern over 10-15 years of reduced participation in drinking, reduced consumption levels among drinkers, reduced prevalence of drunkenness and less positive attitudes towards alcohol. Similar changes are seen across the UK, Europe, North America and Australasia. The downward trends are also not limited to alcohol. Declines are also seen in smoking and illicit drug use among young people. This report launches a new four-year study funded by the Wellcome Trust, which aims to examine the patterns and causes of the decline in youth drinking. In this first publication, we bring together data from two long-running, nationally-representative surveys, the 1988-2016 Smoking Drinking and Drug Use amongst Young People in England surveys (SDD) and the 2001-2016 Health Surveys for England (HSE), to present the most comprehensive picture to date of the downturn in alcohol use among young people aged 8 to 24

Randomized trial of complete versus lesion-only revascularization in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for STEMI and Multivessel Disease

BACKGROUND: The optimal management of patients found to have multivessel disease while undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (P-PCI) for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction is uncertain.   OBJECTIVES: CvLPRIT (Complete versus Lesion-only Primary PCI trial) is a U.K. open-label randomized study comparing complete revascularization at index admission with treatment of the infarct-related artery (IRA) only.   METHODS: After they provided verbal assent and underwent coronary angiography, 296 patients in 7 U.K. centers were randomized through an interactive voice-response program to either in-hospital complete revascularization (n = 150) or IRA-only revascularization (n = 146). Complete revascularization was performed either at the time of P-PCI or before hospital discharge. Randomization was stratified by infarct location (anterior/nonanterior) and symptom onset (≤3 h or >3 h). The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause death, recurrent myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure, and ischemia-driven revascularization within 12 months.   RESULTS: Patient groups were well matched for baseline clinical characteristics. The primary endpoint occurred in 10.0% of the complete revascularization group versus 21.2% in the IRA-only revascularization group (hazard ratio: 0.45; 95% confidence interval: 0.24 to 0.84; p = 0.009). A trend toward benefit was seen early after complete revascularization (p = 0.055 at 30 days). Although there was no significant reduction in death or MI, a nonsignificant reduction in all primary endpoint components was seen. There was no reduction in ischemic burden on myocardial perfusion scintigraphy or in the safety endpoints of major bleeding, contrast-induced nephropathy, or stroke between the groups.   CONCLUSIONS: In patients presenting for P-PCI with multivessel disease, index admission complete revascularization significantly lowered the rate of the composite primary endpoint at 12 months compared with treating only the IRA. In such patients, inpatient total revascularization may be considered, but larger clinical trials are required to confirm this result and specifically address whether this strategy is associated with improved survival. (Complete Versus Lesion-only Primary PCI Pilot Study [CvLPRIT]; ISRCTN70913605)

‘When I came to university, that’s when the real shift came’: alcohol and belonging in English higher education

While young people’s alcohol consumption has fallen sharply in the United Kingdom and other high-income countries, universities remain places where heavy drinking is routine and normative. Drawing on interviews with undergraduate students, this article explores how heavy drinking is part of how students negotiate a sense of belonging and form personal relationships. Theoretical work on belonging and relationality is used to make sense of students’ encounters with alcohol. Consistent with the decline in youth drinking, several interviewees had limited experience of heavy drinking prior to university, and some were not interested in taking it up. After describing how heavy drinking facilitates belonging in certain spaces of student life, we examine the strategies of non- and low-drinking students in navigating these spaces. Attending to their strategies suggests that becoming known as ‘social persons’ is key to negotiating belonging without drinking heavily. We conclude by considering how universities might better accommodate the desire for belonging for the increasingly large proportion of students with limited experience of or desire for alcohol by creating opportunities for students to form personal relationships in ways that do not involve alcohol or where alcohol is peripheral to the activity

A latent class analysis of change and continuity in adolescent health and wellbeing in England during the decline in youth alcohol consumption: a repeat cross-sectional study

In England, the proportion of 13-15 year-olds who have ever drunk alcohol fell from 71% in 1999 to 35% in 2019. Despite substantial research literature studying this decline, we know little about connections with concurrent shifts in wider aspects of health and wellbeing. This paper aims to identify how indicators of health and wellbeing cluster within 15-year-olds in England, identify changes in clustering over time, and explore associations with sex and family affluence. We used latent class analysis of cross-sectional data from the Health Behaviours in School-aged Children study (n=5,942; four waves 2001/02-2013/14). Classes were defined by indicators of substance use, sexual activity, diet, exercise, school-related measures, e-media use, parental relationships, and wellbeing. We identified three classes, which we labelled Overall unhealthy, Substance abstainers with behavioural risk indicators, and Overall healthy. The probability of being in the Overall unhealthy class fell (2001/02: 0.39; 2013/14: 0.18) while the probability of being in the Overall healthy class increased (0.21 to 0.41). The probability of weekly alcohol use fell in all classes (e.g. Overall unhealthy: 0.71 to 0.28). Females (female vs male OR: 1.74 95%CI: 1.30 – 2.34) and those with low family affluence (high vs low family affluence OR: 0.18 95%CI: 0.08 – 0.44) had significantly higher odds of being in the Overall unhealthy class. Overall, adolescents became more likely to have co-occurring indicators of good health and wellbeing, including reduced alcohol consumption, sexual activity and cigarette smoking. However, girls and those from poorer families remained more likely to have poor health and wellbeing

Clustering of health-related behaviours within children aged 11–16: a systematic review

Objective We aimed to systematically review and synthesise evidence on the clustering of a broad range of health-related behaviours amongst 11–16 year olds. Method A literature search was conducted in September 2019. Studies were included if they used cluster analysis, latent class analysis, prevalence odds ratios, principal component analysis or factor analysis, and considered at least three health-related behaviours of interest among 11–16 year olds in high-income countries. Health-related behaviours of interest were substance use (alcohol, cigarettes and other drug use) and other behavioural risk indicators (diet, physical activity, gambling and sexual activity). Results The review identified 41 studies, which reported 198 clusters of health-related behaviours of interest. The behaviours of interest reported within clusters were used to define eight behavioural archetypes. Some included studies only explored substance use, while others considered substance use and/or other health-related behaviours. Consequently, three archetypes were comprised by clusters reporting substance use behaviours alone. The archetypes were: (1) Poly-Substance Users, (2) Single Substance Users, (3) Substance Abstainers, (4) Substance Users with No/Low Behavioural Risk Indicators, (5) Substance Abstainers with Behavioural Risk Indicators, (6) Complex Configurations, (7) Overall Unhealthy and (8) Overall Healthy. Conclusion Studies of youth health behavioural clustering typically find both a ‘healthy’ cluster and an ‘unhealthy’ cluster. Unhealthy clusters are often characterised by poly-substance use. Our approach to synthesising cluster analyses may offer a means of navigating the heterogeneity of method, measures and behaviours of interest in this literature

Geographies of alcohol and generation: examining the decline in youth drinking in England through a spatial lens

Introduction While international literature addresses the links between youth culture and the decline in youth drinking, little research has engaged with scholarship on youth geographies to more fully disentangle these links. This article explores how the decline is connected to shifts in where young people access and drink alcohol. Methods Qualitative interviews were conducted with young people aged 12–19 (N = 96) and 29–35 (N = 17) years in England. The interviews explored the place of alcohol in everyday life, with younger participants discussing the present and older participants discussing their youth in the late 1990s to early 2000s. Data were analysed thematically. Findings Buying alcohol in shops and licensed premises was a common experience for older participants when they were teenagers but few younger participants discussed buying alcohol from commercial settings. Older participants also reflected positively on drinking in outdoor public spaces whereas younger participants, particularly those from working-class backgrounds, regarded this as morally suspect. Young participants instead accessed alcohol from parents and siblings, and often consumed it in their or others' homes in supervised or moderated ways, seeing this as positive and normative. Discussion and Conclusion Spatial shifts in young people's drinking away from public spaces and toward the home appear an important part of a wider trend that renders youth drinking as increasingly moderate, risk-averse, incidental and mediated by parents, rather than excessive, transgressive and integral to youth culture