Restricting paracetamol in the United Kingdom to reduce poisoning: a systematic review

Background Paracetamol poisoning is implicated in about 150-200 poisoning deaths per year in England and Wales. We review previous studies assessing the effectiveness of regulations introduced in 1998 to restrict sales of paracetamol and reduce paracetamol poisoning. Methods We searched the following electronic databases: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINHAL, HIMIC, COCH, APC, CENTRAL and DARE. English language publications between 1998 and 2003 were included. Studies were included if they took place in the United Kingdom and assessed changes in any aspect of paracetamol poisoning following the introduction of the 1998 regulations. Results Twelve studies were identified, which examined several different outcomes. Three studies examined admissions to liver transplant units; all reported reductions. Eight studies evaluated severity of paracetamol poisoning; three reported reductions but five did not. Five out of six studies reported reductions in hospital admissions. One study reported reduced mortality in England and Wales after 1 year while another found no difference in Scotland 2 years after the regulations were introduced. Two studies observed a significant reduction in over-the-counter sales. Studies suffered from several limitations including short follow-up periods, no case definition for paracetamol poisoning and lack of comparison groups. Conclusions The limitations of these studies makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions. They do, however, suggest that the 1998 regulations may have been associated with reduced admissions to liver units and liver transplants, reduced hospital attendance due to paracetamol poisoning and reduced sales of paracetamol. Further research is needed to fully evaluate the impact of the 1998 regulations. In the future, formal evaluation of the impact of similar interventions should be an integral part of policy formation

Phagosome-lysosome fusion is a calcium-independent event in macrophages.

Phagosome-lysosome membrane fusion is a highly regulated event that is essential for intracellular killing of microorganisms. Functionally, it represents a form of polarized regulated secretion, which is classically dependent on increases in intracellular ionized calcium ([Ca2+]i). Indeed, increases in [Ca2+]i are essential for phagosome-granule (lysosome) fusion in neutrophils and for lysosomal fusion events that mediate host cell invasion by Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes. Since several intracellular pathogens survive in macrophage phagosomes that do not fuse with lysosomes, we examined the regulation of phagosome-lysosome fusion in macrophages. Macrophages (M phi) were treated with 12.5 microM bis-(2-amino-S-methylphenoxy) ethane-N,N,N',N',-tetraacetic acid tetraacetoxymethyl ester (MAPT/AM), a cell-permeant calcium chelator which reduced resting cytoplasmic [Ca2+]; from 80 nM to < or = 20 nM and completely blocked increases in [Ca2+]i in response to multiple stimuli, even in the presence of extracellular calcium. Subsequently, M phi phagocytosed serum-opsonized zymosan, staphylococci, or Mycobacterium bovis. Microbes were enumerated by 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, dihydrochloride (DAPI) staining, and phagosome-lysosome fusion was scored using both lysosome-associated membrane protein (LAMP-1) as a membrane marker and rhodamine dextran as a content marker for lysosomes. Confirmation of phagosome-lysosome fusion by electron microscopy validated the fluorescence microscopy findings. We found that phagosome-lysosome fusion in M phi occurs noramlly at very low [Ca2+]i (< or = 20 nM). Kinetic analysis showed that in M phi none of the steps leading from particle binding to eventual phagosome-lysosome fusion are regulated by [Ca2+]i in a rate-limiting way. Furthermore, confocal microscopy revealed no difference in the intensity of LAMP-1 immunofluorescence in phagolysosome membranes in calcium-buffered vs. control macrophages. We conclude that neither membrane recognition nor fusion events in the phagosomal pathway in macrophages are dependent on or regulated by calcium

Temperature dependence of the single photon source efficiency based on QD-cQED

We study a photonic circuit consisting of a quantum dot, QD, coupled to a photon cavity over a wide range of temperature up to room temperature. A key component of such a system is presented here in the form of a Purcell-enhanced single-photon source based on Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics, cQED. We use a real set of pure dephasing data extracted from experimental measurements of InGaAs QD to calculate the effective QD-cavity coupling strength, the Purcell factor, and the single photon efficiency emerged from the QD-cavity system in the cases without and with detuning. In the non-detuned system, the effective coupling strength between the QD and the resonator decreases with increasing temperature, results in a decrease in efficiency. However, when the temperature of the QD-cavity system increases under Purcell effect conditions, the detuned QD-cavity system induces spontaneous emission rate enhancement. As a result, we found that the increase in efficiency can be obtained under a certain condition, when the maximum effective coupling strength and the Purcell factor are related to the spontaneous emission and the pure dephasing rates. Additionally, the influences of the pumping mechanism on the efficiency of the QD-system were examined and showed that the pumping process can be used to further increase in efficiency. Our results can be advantageous for advanced quantum optics applications once temperature is taken into account.Comment: RevTeX - pdfLaTeX, 9 pages with 10 included pdf figure

Editorial Special Issue on Enhancement Algorithms, Methodologies and Technology for Spectral Sensing

The paper is an editorial issue on enhancement algorithms, methodologies and technology for spectral sensing and serves as a valuable and useful reference for researchers and technologists interested in the evolving state-of-the-art and/or the emerging science and technology base associated with spectral-based sensing and monitoring problem. This issue is particularly relevant to those seeking new and improved solutions for detecting chemical, biological, radiological and explosive threats on the land, sea, and in the air

Views of patients about sickle cell disease management in primary care: a questionnaire-based pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: To determine how patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) perceive the quality of care that they receive from their primary healthcare providers. DESIGN: A questionnaire-based pilot study was used to elicit the views of patients about the quality of care they have been receiving from their primary healthcare providers and what they thought was the role of primary care in SCD management. SETTING: Sickle Cell Society and Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Centre, in the London Borough of Brent. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred questionnaires were distributed to potential participants with SCD between November 2010 and July 2011 of which 40 participants responded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Analysis of 40 patient questionnaires collected over a nine-month period. RESULTS: Most patients are generally not satisfied with the quality of care that they are receiving from their primary healthcare providers for SCD. Most do not make use of general practitioner (GP) services for management of their SCD. Collecting prescriptions was the reason most cited for visiting the GP. CONCLUSION: GPs could help improve the day-to-day management of patients with SCD. This could be facilitated by local quality improvement schemes in areas with high disease prevalence. The results of the survey have been used to help develop a GP education intervention and a local enhanced service to support primary healthcare clinicians with SCDs ongoing management

Possibilità di sviluppo della coltivazione del sorgo per l'alimentazione del bestiame in Somalia

In 1979, a trial concerning yield differences between 2 different periods of harvesting (soft dough and complete maturation of the grain) of a sorghum hybrid BR has been carried out in Afgoy (Somalia). The effects of four nitrogen level have been also evaluated. The results show no effect of different nitrogen levels on total dry matter production and grain quality. Maximum dry matter yield and maximum F.U. production has been reached at complete maturation of the grain. General level of grain yield has been restricted in consequence of bird damage in spite of the presence of the gene BR

Intelligent forecasting temperature measurements of solar PV cells using modified recurrent neural network

For microgrids to operate optimally and minimize the effects of uncertainty, anticipating solar PV measurements is essential. For residential and commercial microgrids that use solar PV, the predicting of solar energy over a short period is crucial for managing grid-connected PVeffectively. Therefore, this work develops a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) for forecasting temperature measurements as time series records, where a combination of long short-term memory (LSTM) architecture with RNN is used to process input measurements by updating the RNN state and winding over time degrees. Data from the entire prior time steps is stored in the RNN state. A dataset of temperature waveform measurements is used, which includes 2000 unnaturally produced signals of three channels with varying length. An LSTM neural network can be used to expect future values of a time series or sequence utilizing data from earlier time steps as input. Training of a regression LSTM neural network through the output of a sequence is performed, where the goals are the training sequence with records shifting one-time step, for training theLSTM neural architecture with time series forecasting. In other words, the weights of the LSTM neural structure learn to predict the following time step values of the input sequence at every time step. By considering the past forecasts as inputs, the closed-loop prediction forecasts the next time steps of sequences. The model makes the forecast without using the true data. The cross-entropy loss serves as the loss function. It is found that the mean RMSE overall test observations were about 0.5080 which promises to make better predictions from learning the temporal context of input sequence

Improvement of Unconfined Compressive Strength of Natural Organic Soil

The aim of this paper is to investigate the possible improvement of unconfined compressive strength of natural organic soil by using cement dust and fly ash. Natural organic soil with different percentage of organic content (0, 5, 10.15 and 20 %) is used. Three different percentages of cement dust and fly ash (3, 6 and 9 %) are used to improve the strength characteristics of the organic soil. The effect of curing time is investigates. The result show that unconfined compressive strength of organic soil decreased with increasing the organic content. The addition of cement dust increased the unconfined compressive strength for all percentage of organic content, while the addition of fly ash improved the strength characteristics of organic soil for samples with organic content greater than 10 %. Keywords: organic content, unconfined compressive strength, cement dust, fly ash

Variation of sugarcane varieties in stems yield and juice quality under the conditions of Sulaymaniyah Governorate- northern Iraq

This study aimed to investigate the effect of cultivating sugarcane varieties on the production of sugarcane juice and the purity of the juice as well as the yield of both the crop stems and the sugar under the conditions of Sulaymaniyah Governorate- northern Iraq. The space allocated for the experiment was divided according to a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. It included three different varieties: CP72-2086, CP89-2143, and CP81-325. The variety CP89-2143 produced the highest increase in the mean number of total stems, reaching 55.8 stems, while the variety CP72-2086 gave the lowest number of stems, reaching 45 stems. The variety CP89-2143 gave the lowest mean stem height, reaching 3.0 m, while the variety CP81-325 gave the highest mean stem height, reaching 3.8 m; 9 (3) The variety CP89-2143 produced the highest increase in mean stem diameter, reaching 3.4 cm, while the variety CP72-2086 gave the lowest diameter, reaching 2.5 cm;(4) The CP89-2143 variety achieved the highest increase in mean stems yield, reaching 92.827 tons/ha, while the CP72-2086 variety gave the lowest yield, reaching 81.474 tons/ha .The CP89-2143 variety recorded the highest increase in sucrose percentage, reaching 16.0 %, while the CP72-2086 variety gave the lowest percentage, reaching 12.2 :The variety CP89-2143 recorded the highest increase in the percentage of juice purity, reaching 87.5%, while the variety CP72-2086 gave the lowest percentage, reaching 67.6 %.The variety CP89-2143 achieved the highest increase in the mean sugar yield, reaching 15.017  tons/ha, while the variety CP72-2086 gave the lowest yield, reaching 9.862  tons/ha