M‐type K⁺ channels in peripheral nociceptive pathways

Pathological pain is a hyperexcitability disorder. Since the excitability of a neuron is set and controlled by a complement of ion channels it expresses, in order to understand and treat pain, we need to develop a mechanistic insight into the key ion channels controlling excitability within the mammalian pain pathways and how these ion channels are regulated and modulated in various physiological and pathophysiological settings. In this review, we will discuss the emerging data on the expression in pain pathways, functional role and modulation of a family of voltage‐gated K⁺ channels called ‘M channels’ (KCNQ, Kv7). M channels are increasingly recognized as important players in controlling pain signalling, especially within the peripheral somatosensory system. We will also discuss the therapeutic potential of M channels as analgesic drug targets

DIA1R Is an X-Linked Gene Related to Deleted In Autism-1

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are frequently occurring disorders diagnosed by deficits in three core functional areas: social skills, communication, and behaviours and/or interests. Mental retardation frequently accompanies the most severe forms of ASDs, while overall ASDs are more commonly diagnosed in males. Most ASDs have a genetic origin and one gene recently implicated in the etiology of autism is the Deleted-In-Autism-1 (DIA1) gene. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using a bioinformatics-based approach, we have identified a human gene closely related to DIA1, we term DIA1R (DIA1-Related). While DIA1 is autosomal (chromosome 3, position 3q24), DIA1R localizes to the X chromosome at position Xp11.3 and is known to escape X-inactivation. The gene products are of similar size, with DIA1 encoding 430, and DIA1R 433, residues. At the amino acid level, DIA1 and DIA1R are 62 % similar overall (28 % identical), and both encode signal peptides for targeting to the secretory pathway. Both genes are ubiquitously expressed, including in fetal and adult brain tissue. Conclusions/Significance: Examination of published literature revealed point mutations in DIA1R are associated with X-linked mental retardation (XLMR) and DIA1R deletion is associated with syndromes with ASD-like traits and/or XLMR. Together, these results support a model where the DIA1 and DIA1R gene products regulate molecular traffic through the cellular secretory pathway or affect the function of secreted factors, and functional deficits cause disorders with ASD-lik

An exploration of text mining of narrative reports of injury incidents to assess risk

A topic model was explored using unsupervised machine learning to summarized free-text narrative reports of 77,215 injuries that occurred in coal mines in the USA between 2000 and 2015. Latent Dirichlet Allocation modeling processes identified six topics from the free-text data. One topic, a theme describing primarily injury incidents resulting in strains and sprains of musculoskeletal systems, revealed differences in topic emphasis by the location of the mine property at which injuries occurred, the degree of injury, and the year of injury occurrence. Text narratives clustered around this topic refer most frequently to surface or other locations rather than underground locations that resulted in disability and that, also, increased secularly over time. The modeling success enjoyed in this exploratory effort suggests that additional topic mining of these injury text narratives is justified, especially using a broad set of covariates to explain variations in topic emphasis and for comparison of surface mining injuries with injuries occurring during site preparation for construction

Severity of U.S. Construction Worker Injuries, 2015-2017

Workers in the U.S. construction industry experience workplace hazards that can lead to work-related injuries that sometimes are fatal. Reported in this paper is a case-control study of risks factors associated with 4,845 injured workers and their work environments that led to fatal rather than nonfatal injuries during 2015-2017. These injury data originally were assembled from information collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that were used in a machine learning competition, but were repurposed for this secondary analysis of injury risks. Sixty-one percent of workers recorded in this dataset were injured fatally. Multiple logistic regression was applied to model the probability of a fatal injury as a function of the nature of the injury, part of body injured, human factors involved, whether the injured worker was carrying out a regularly assigned task at the time of the injury, and the manner in which the injury was inflicted. Related positively, relative to benchmarks, to the probability of a fatality injury were: falls and strikes; electrocution; asphyxiation and drowning; injury to the head and neck; and working at a task not regularly assigned. Negatively related to the probability of a fatal injury were: chemical/temperature burns; amputation and crushing; fractures and dislocations; injuries to fingers, hands, wrists, and other extremities; and falls from an elevation or to the same level, although this last negative relationship is anomalous in the light of independent research findings. Findings of this study do not necessarily culpable causes of work-related death. Rather these findings identify risk factors that might prove fruitful for further analysis of the incidence, severity, and costs of construction injuries

Road traffic related mortality in Vietnam: evidence for policy from a national sample mortality surveillance system

Background: Road traffic injuries (RTIs) are among the leading causes of mortality in Vietnam. However, mortality data collection systems in Vietnam in general and for RTIs in particular, remain inconsistent and incomplete. Underlying distributions of external causes and body injuries are not available from routine data collection systems or from studies till date. This paper presents characteristics, user type pattern, seasonal distribution, and causes of 1,061 deaths attributable to road crashes ascertained from a national sample mortality surveillance system in Vietnam over a two-year period (2008 and 2009)