How did a lower drink‐drive limit affect bar trade and drinking practices?:A qualitative study of how alcohol retailers experienced a change in policy

Introduction and Aims Reducing the legal drink-drive limit from 0.08% to 0.05% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) can reduce road traffic accidents and deaths if properly enforced. Reduced limits may be opposed by alcohol retail and manufacturing industries on the basis of commercial impact. Our aim was to qualitatively explore how a reduction in the drink-drive limit from 0.08% to 0.05% BAC in Scotland, was experienced by bar owners or managers, including any resultant changes in customer drinking or business practice. This is the first study of this type. Design and Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 owners and managers of on-trade premises in Scotland in 2018, approximately 3 years after the drink-drive limit was reduced. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Most participants reported no long-term financial impact on their business, but a few, mainly from rural areas, reported some reduction in alcohol sales. Observed drinking changes included fewer people drinking after work or leaving premises earlier on weekdays. Adaptations to businesses included improving the range of no/low-alcohol drinks and food offered. Changes such as these were seen as key to minimising economic impact. Discussion and Conclusions Opposition to legislative measures that impact on commercial interests is often strong and receives significant public attention. This study found that Scottish businesses that adapted to the drink-drive limit change reported little long-term economic impact. These findings are of international relevance as potential BAC limit reductions in several other jurisdictions remain the subject of debate, including regarding the impact on business

Antifungal activity of selected plant leaves crude extracts against a pepper anthracnose fungus, Colletotrichum capsici (Sydow) butler and bisby (Ascomycota: Phyllachorales)

The antifungal activities of the leaves extract of 15 selected medicinal plants; Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd., Alstonia spatulata Blume., Annona muricata L., Blechnum orientale L., Blumea balsamifera L., Centella asiatica L., Dicranopteris linearis (Burm. f.) Underw., Dillenia suffruticosa (Griff ex Hook.f. and Thomson) Martelli, Litsea garciae Vidal., Melastoma malabathricum L., Momordica charantia L., Nephrolepis biserrata (Sw.), Pangium edule Reinw., Piper betle L. and Polygonum minus Huds., were evaluated on the plant pathogenic fungus, Colletotrichum capsici which was isolated from chilli. The antifungal assay was carried out in potato dextrose media in five different treatments, which were distilled water as the negative control, crude extract of leaves in methanol, chloroform, acetone and Kocide 101 as the positive control. They were carried out in three replicates. The two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out on all the data to justify the difference between critical difference (CD) of mean (P = 0.05) and coefficient of variation (CV %) in terms of mean percent reduction in colony diameter, sporulation and minimum inhibitory concentration (MICs) of C. capsici to take statistical decisions. Crude extract of P. betle in all the solvents was found to be the most effective and exhibited the highest antifungal activities. Crude extract of P. betle in methanol inhibited 85.25% of radial growth of C. capsici followed by 78.53% leaves crude extract in chloroform and 73.58% leaves crude extract in acetone at the concentration of 10 μg/ml (p < 0.05). The exact concentrations that had definite potential to fully restrict the growth (100% inhibition) of C. capsici (MIC) by P. betle was 12.50 μg/ml in methanol, 17.50 μg/ml in chloroform and 15.00 mg/ml in acetone. The sporulation assay also revealed that, P. betle leaves crude extracts showed the highest inhibition of spore germination rate of C. capsici overall at the concentration of 10 μg/ml; with 80.93% inhibition by leaves crude extracts in methanol, 74.09% by leaves crude extracts in chloroform and 72.91% by leaves crude extracts in acetone. Concentration of plant leaves crude extracts that inhibited 50% or more of the radial growth and sporulation was considered as effective (LC ≥ 50). As a conclusion, the leaf crude extracts that exhibited effectiveness by showing more than 50% inhibition against C. capsici should be considered for further evaluation. P. betle leaf crude extracts was the most effective in inhibiting the fungus respectively and thus, exhibited the highest potential as a new leading biofungicide in the agriculture field.Key words: Plant leaves crude extracts, antifungal activities, Colletotrichum capsici

Thalidomide-induced Teratogenesis : History and Mechanisms

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Delivering alcohol IBA: broadening the base from health to non-health contexts: review of the literature and scoping

A review of the literature and scoping on alcohol brief interventions. The review considers the evidence base on the delivery of identification and brief advice in a wide range of settings. It concludes that broader delivery of IBA is feasible, but requires strong organisational support, effective training and financial investment

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and European Cystic Fibrosis Society Survey of cystic fibrosis mental health care delivery

Background: Psychological morbidity in individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) and their caregivers is common. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) and European Cystic Fibrosis Society (ECFS) Guidelines Committee on Mental Health sought the views of CF health care professionals concerning mental health care delivery. Methods: An online survey which focused on the current provision and barriers to mental health care was distributed to CF health care professionals. Results: Of the 1454 respondents, many did not have a colleague trained in mental health issues and 20% had no one on their team whose primary role was focused on assessing or treating these issues. Insufficient resources and a lack of competency were reported in relation to mental health referrals. Seventy-three percent of respondents had no experience with mental health screening. Of those who did, they utilized 48 different, validated scales. Conclusions: These data have informed the decision-making, dissemination and implementation strategies of the Mental Health Guidelines Committee sponsored by the CFF and ECFS

Genome-wide association studies for corneal and refractive astigmatism in UK Biobank demonstrate a shared role for myopia susceptibility loci.

Previous studies have suggested that naturally occurring genetic variation contributes to the risk of astigmatism. The purpose of this investigation was to identify genetic markers associated with corneal and refractive astigmatism in a large-scale European ancestry cohort (UK Biobank) who underwent keratometry and autorefraction at an assessment centre. Genome-wide association studies for corneal and refractive astigmatism were performed in individuals of European ancestry (N = 86,335 and 88,005 respectively), with the mean corneal astigmatism or refractive astigmatism in fellow eyes analysed as a quantitative trait (dependent variable). Genetic correlation between the two traits was calculated using LD Score regression. Gene-based and gene-set tests were carried out using MAGMA. Single marker-based association tests for corneal astigmatism identified four genome-wide significant loci (P < 5 × 10-8) near the genes ZC3H11B (1q41), LINC00340 (6p22.3), HERC2/OCA2 (15q13.1) and NPLOC4/TSPAN10 (17q25.3). Three of these loci also demonstrated genome-wide significant association with refractive astigmatism: LINC00340, HERC2/OCA2 and NPLOC4/TSPAN10. The genetic correlation between corneal and refractive astigmatism was 0.85 (standard error = 0.068, P = 1.37 × 10-35). Here, we have undertaken the largest genome-wide association studies for corneal and refractive astigmatism to date and identified four novel loci for corneal astigmatism, two of which were also novel loci for refractive astigmatism. These loci have previously demonstrated association with axial length (ZC3H11B), myopia (NPLOC4), spherical equivalent refractive error (LINC00340) and eye colour (HERC2). The shared role of these novel candidate genes for astigmatism lends further support to the shared genetic susceptibility of myopia and astigmatism

Loneliness, social relations and health and wellbeing in deprived communities

There is growing policy concern about the extent of loneliness in advanced societies, and its prevalence among various social groups. This study looks at loneliness among people living in deprived communities, where there may be additional barriers to social engagement including low incomes, fear of crime, poor services and transient populations. The aim was to examine the prevalence of loneliness, and also its associations with different types of social contacts and forms of social support, and its links to self-reported health and wellbeing in the population group. The method involved a cross-sectional survey of 4,302 adults across 15 communities, with the data analysed using multinomial logistic regression controlling for sociodemographics, then for all other predictors within each domain of interest. Frequent feelings of loneliness were more common among those who: had contact with family monthly or less; had contact with neighbours weekly or less; rarely talked to people in the neighbourhood; and who had no available sources of practical or emotional support. Feelings of loneliness were most strongly associated with poor mental health, but were also associated with long-term problems of stress, anxiety and depression, and with low mental wellbeing, though to a lesser degree. The findings are consistent with a view that situational loneliness may be the product of residential structures and resources in deprived areas. The findings also show that neighbourly behaviours of different kinds are important for protecting against loneliness in deprived communities. Familiarity within the neighbourhood, as active acquaintance rather than merely recognition, is also important. The findings are indicative of several mechanisms that may link loneliness to health and wellbeing in our study group: loneliness itself as a stressor; lonely people not responding well to the many other stressors in deprived areas; and loneliness as the product of weak social buffering to protect against stressors

Enabling quantitative data analysis through e-infrastructures

This paper discusses how quantitative data analysis in the social sciences can engage with and exploit an e-Infrastructure. We highlight how a number of activities which are central to quantitative data analysis, referred to as ‘data management’, can benefit from e-infrastructure support. We conclude by discussing how these issues are relevant to the DAMES (Data Management through e-Social Science) research Node, an ongoing project that aims to develop e-Infrastructural resources for quantitative data analysis in the social sciences

Propionate has protective and anti-inflammatory effects on the blood–brain barrier

Production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) from dietary substrates by the gut microbiota is associated with health, with these metabolites influencing the host via the ‘gut–brain axis’. Micromolar quantities of microbially derived SCFAs are taken up from the gut and reach systemic circulation, where they can influence host gene expression through a variety of largely unknown mechanisms. The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is the major interface between the circulation and central nervous system, and is critically involved in the pathogenesis of neuroinflammatory disorders such as stroke and vascular dementia. We hypothesized exposure of the BBB to SCFAs influences barrier integrity and function. To test our hypothesis, we investigated the in vitro effects of a physiologically relevant concentration (1 μM) of propionate upon the human immortalised cerebromicrovascular endothelial cell line hCMEC/D3. Propionate is produced by the microbiota from dietary glucans, and is biologically active via the G protein coupled receptors FFAR2 and FFAR3. It is a highly potent FFAR2 agonist (agonist activity 3.99) and has close to optimal ligand efficiency (-ΔG=1.19 kcal mol-1 atom-1) for this receptor. Notably, FFAR3 is expressed on the vascular endothelium and a likely target for propionate in the BBB. After confirming the presence of FFAR3 on hCMEC/D3 cells, we undertook an unbiased transcriptomic analysis of confluent hCMEC/D3 monolayers treated or not for 24 h with 1 μM propionate, supported by in vitro validation of key findings and assessment of functional endothelial permeability barrier properties. Propionate treatment had a significant (PFDR < 0.1) effect on the expression of 1136 genes: 553 upregulated, 583 downregulated. Propionate inhibited several inflammation-associated pathways: namely, TLR-specific signalling, NFkappaB signalling, and cytosolic DNA-sensing. Functional validation of these findings confirmed the down-regulation of TLR signalling by propionate, achieved primarily through down-regulation of endothelial CD14 expression. Accordingly, propionate prevented LPS-induced increases in paracellular permeability to 70 kDa FITC-dextran and loss of transendothelial electrical resistance. Enrichr analysis indicated the activation by propionate of the NFE2L2 (NRF2)-driven protective response against oxidative stress. Confirming these data, propionate limited free reactive oxygen species induction by the mitochondrial respiratory inhibitor rotenone. Together, these data strongly suggest the SCFA propionate contributes to maintaining BBB integrity and protecting against inflammatory challenge by downregulating BBB responsiveness. In addition to its well-described effects on cholesterol metabolism, maintenance of propionate levels in the circulation may be an additional mechanism whereby a glucan-containing diet protects against neurovascular disease