How did the British media represent European political parties during the European parliament elections, 2014: a Europeanized media agenda?

The European Parliament election of 2014 generated much interest on account of the rise of a whole array of populist ‘anti-EU’ parties. This was widely reported in the British media but did that coverage give British news consumers an insight into the character of these parties, where they stood in relation to one another and where they stood in relation to Britain’s own UKIP? This paper sets out to examine not only how much coverage there was in the British media about European political parties but also whether that coverage enabled citizens to get a sense of the political positioning of populist anti-EU parties. These questions touch on the extent to which British media reflect and comment on populist parties, European affairs and hence on the Europeanization of the news agenda

Reactive oxygen species induce virus-independent MAVS-oligomerization in systemic lupus erythematosus

The increased expression of genes induced by type I interferon (IFN) is characteristic of viral infections and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We showed that mitochondrial antiviral signaling (MAVS) protein, which normally forms a complex with retinoic acid gene I (RIG-I)–like helicases during viral infection, was activated by oxidative stress independently of RIG-I helicases. We found that chemically generated oxidative stress stimulated the formation of MAVS oligomers, which led to mitochondrial hyperpolarization and decreased adenosine triphosphate production and spare respiratory capacity, responses that were not observed in similarly treated cells lacking MAVS. Peripheral blood lymphocytes of SLE patients also showed spontaneous MAVS oligomerization that correlated with the increased secretion of type I IFN and mitochondrial oxidative stress. Furthermore, inhibition of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ prevented MAVS oligomerization and type I IFN production. ROS-dependent MAVS oligomerization and type I IFN production were reduced in cells expressing the MAVS-C79F variant, which occurs in 30% of sub-Saharan Africans and is linked with reduced type I IFN secretion and milder disease in SLE patients. Patients expressing the MAVS-C79F variant also had reduced amounts of oligomerized MAVS in their plasma compared to healthy controls. Together, our findings suggest that oxidative stress–induced MAVS oligomerization in SLE patients may contribute to the type I IFN signature that is characteristic of this syndrome

Fatal Vibrio vulnificus Infection Associated with Eating Raw Oysters, New Caledonia

International audienceTo the Editor: The bacterium Vi-brio vulnifi cus is a marine fl ora sap-rophyte that can cause necrotic skin infection and septicemia in humans who eat shellfi sh. Symptoms of sep-ticemia (mortality rate >50%) have been described mostly in Florida and Japan among persons who ate raw fi lter-feeding shellfi sh when seawater temperatures are >20°C (1). V. vulnifi cus–related septicemia introduced through the digestive system appears within 7 days after inges-tion (2). Clinical signs and symptoms include fever, collapse, and metastatic necrotic skin lesions. We report 3 patients from New Caledonia who died after V. vulnifi cus infection, which they probably acquired by eating contaminated oysters. These patients were hospitalized during February–May 2008 at Noumea Hospital (Noumea, New Caledonia). Patient 1 was a 51-year-old man with fever, muscle pains, bleeding gums, and a history of alcohol abuse; within 48 hours after symptom onset, he died of septic shock, with diffuse ecchymoses and purpura. Patient 2 was a 67-year-old woman with no known concurrent conditions who was admitted to the hospital with chills, diarrhea, and vomiting; septic shock developed, with painful erythematous plaques on the lower limbs becoming foamy, confl uent, and necrotic. Patient 3 was a 74-year-old woman with untreated lupus who was hospitalized with lower-limb edema, hypotension, hypothermia, and erythematous skin lesions. All 3 patients received cepha-losporins but died of multiple organ failure within 12 hours after hospital admission. Peripheral blood aerobic–anaer-obic samples were taken from all patients , stored in BacT/Alert FA vials (bioMérieux, Marcy-l'Etoile, France), and incubated in the BacT/Alert 3D system (bioMérieux). Curved mobile gram-negative bacilli were isolated from blood samples cultured on conventional media without additional salt within 24 h after incubation at 37°C in a 5% CO 2-enriched atmosphere. V. vulnifi cus was identifi ed through the Vitek2 system (bioMérieux) and con-fi rmed by using the Api 20E system (bioMérieux). Strains were sent to the Centre National de Reference des Vibrions et du Choléra, (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France), which by PCR confi rmed the gene encoding virulence-associated hemolysin, a species-specifi c marker (3). Molecular typing by pulsed-fi eld gel electrophoresis was performed to assess possible clonality of the strains. Several studies have shown the genomic diversity among environmental and clinical V. vulnifi cus isolates. The use of genotyping methods has identifi ed >100 V. vulnifi cus strains in a single oyster (4) and notable hetero-geneity among clinical isolates from multiple patients, even if a unique pathogenic strain causes the infection in each patient. Thus, V. vulnifi cus infections within a large population at risk may result from rare events controlled more by the host than by the bacterial strain (5). Pulsed-fi eld gel electrophoresis genotype analysis enabled us to divide the strains into 2 groups. One group included the isolate from patient 1, and the other group included isolates from patients 2 and 3, which despite having slightly different NotI and Sfi I patterns refl ecting genetic rearrangement , clearly belonged to a single clone. Isolation of strains with such a high degree of homogeneity is not common, raising the question of the existence of V. vulnifi cus clones that are particularly virulent or adapted to humans. Currently, however, reliable markers for determining V. vulnifi cus virulence do not exist. Thus, no geno-typing system is likely to be useful for rapidly identifying strains that affect public health (6). V. vulnifi cus–related analysis requires the assumption that all strains are virulent. Epidemiologic information collected from patients' families indicated recent consumption of raw oysters. Two of the 3 cases occurred within a short time frame and were associated with eating local oysters harvested on the west coast of New Caledonia. The literature mentions few cases of V. vulnifi cus infection in the South Pacifi c. Cases described were isolated, rarely fatal, and involved infection through the skin (7–10). The V. vulnifi-cus infections we report may be related to the emergence of a new clone or to changes in the climate or environmental conditions. New Caledonia experienced unusual weather conditions during the fi rst half of 2008 (heavy rains and exceptionally high temperatures). These specifi c conditions may have favored higher sea surface temperatures, lower salinity, increased turbidity, and subsequent multiplication of V. vulnifi-cus in seawater. A range of projects were implemented to train practitioners to recognize potential V. vulnifi cus infections. Local health authorities issued criteria for defi ning suspected cases of V. vulnifi cus infection and recommendations for early medical care of patients with clinical symptoms. Methods of detecting the bacterium in human and animal health laboratories were improved , particularly by the systematic use of selective media in the event of suspected clinical V. vulnifi cus infection and standardized reporting of V. vulnifi cus isolation. Preventive measures , such as improving microbial surveillance and warning consumers about risks associated with eating raw seafood, are essential to help reduce the risk for V. vulnifi cus–induced illness. 136 Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 17, No. 1, January 2011 LETTERS Acknowledgments We thank Jacob Kool, Martha Iwa-moto, Rajal Mody, and Dominique Hervio-Heath for help in investigating these cases and for formulating recommendations

Associations between tooth loss and prognostic biomarkers and the risk for cardiovascular events in patients with stable coronary heart disease

Background: Underlying mechanisms behind the hypothesized relationship between periodontal disease (PD) and coronary heart disease (CHD) have been insufficiently explored. We evaluated associations between self-reported tooth loss- a marker of PD- and prognostic biomarkers in 15,456 (97%) patients with stable CHD in the global STABILITY trial. Methods and results: Baseline blood samples were obtained and patients reported their number of teeth according to the following tooth loss levels: “26–32 (All)” [lowest level], “20–25”, “15–19”, “1–14”, and “No Teeth” [highest level]. Linear and Cox regression models assessed associations between tooth loss levels and biomarker levels, and the relationship between tooth loss levels and outcomes, respectively. After multivariable adjustment, the relative biomarker increase between the highest and the lowest tooth loss level was: high-sensitivity C-reactive protein 1.21 (95% confidence interval, 1.14–1.29), interleukin 6 1.14 (1.10–1.18), lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 activity 1.05 (1.03–1.06), growth differentiation factor 15 1.11 (1.08–1.14), and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) 1.18 (1.11–1.25). No association was detected for high-sensitivity troponin T 1.02 (0.98–1.05). Some attenuation of the relationship between tooth loss and outcomes resulted from the addition of biomarkers to the multivariable analysis, of which NT-proBNP had the biggest impact. Conclusions: A graded and independent association between tooth loss and several prognostic biomarkers was observed, suggesting that tooth loss and its underlying mechanisms may be involved in multiple pathophysiological pathways also implicated in the development and prognosis of CHD. The association between tooth loss and cardiovascular death and stroke persisted despite comprehensive adjustment including prognostic biomarkers

Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies from the CHARGE consortium identifies common variants associated with carotid intima media thickness and plaque

Carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) and plaque determined by ultrasonography are established measures of subclinical atherosclerosis that each predicts future cardiovascular disease events. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association data in 31,211 participants of European ancestry from nine large studies in the setting of the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium. We then sought additional evidence to support our findings among 11,273 individuals using data from seven additional studies. In the combined meta-analysis, we identified three genomic regions associated with common carotid intima media thickness and two different regions associated with the presence of carotid plaque (P < 5 × 10 -8). The associated SNPs mapped in or near genes related to cellular signaling, lipid metabolism and blood pressure homeostasis, and two of the regions were associated with coronary artery disease (P < 0.006) in the Coronary Artery Disease Genome-Wide Replication and Meta-Analysis (CARDIoGRAM) consortium. Our findings may provide new insight into pathways leading to subclinical atherosclerosis and subsequent cardiovascular events

Amicus Brief, Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital

Illinois Public Act 82-280, § 2-1706.5, as amended by P.A. 94-677, § 330 (eff. Aug. 25, 2005), and as codified as 735 ILCS 5/2-1706.5(a), imposes a $500,000 “cap” on the noneconomic damages that may be awarded in a medical malpractice suit against a physician or other health care professional, and a$1 million “cap” on the noneconomic damages that may be awarded against a hospital, its affiliates, or their employees. This brief will address two of the questions presented for review by the parties: 1. Does the cap violate the Illinois Constitution’s prohibition on “special legislation,” Art. IV, § 3, because it unnecessarily, arbitrarily, and irrationally grants exceptional benefits and privileges exclusively to certain classes of tort defendants. 2. Does the cap violate the Illinois Constitution’s guarantee of “equal protection,” Art. I, § 2, because it unnecessarily, arbitrarily, and irrationally imposes extraordinary burdens uniquely upon certain classes and sub-classes of tort plaintiffs