Nighttime assaults: using a national emergency department monitoring system to predict occurrence, target prevention and plan services

Background: Emergency department (ED) data have the potential to provide critical intelligence on when violence is most likely to occur and the characteristics of those who suffer the greatest health impacts. We use a national experimental ED monitoring system to examine how it could target violence prevention interventions towards at risk communities and optimise acute responses to calendar, holiday and other celebration-related changes in nighttime assaults. Methods: A cross-sectional examination of nighttime assault presentations (6.01 pm to 6.00 am; n = 330,172) over a three-year period (31st March 2008 to 30th March 2011) to English EDs analysing changes by weekday, month, holidays, major sporting events, and demographics of those presenting. Results: Males are at greater risk of assault presentation (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 3.14, 95% confidence intervals [CIs] 3.11-3.16; P < 0.001); with male:female ratios increasing on more violent nights. Risks peak at age 18 years. Deprived individuals have greater risks of presenting across all ages (AOR 3.87, 95% CIs 3.82-3.92; P < 0.001). Proportions of assaults from deprived communities increase midweek. Female presentations in affluent areas peak aged 20 years. By age 13, females from deprived communities exceed this peak. Presentations peak on Friday and Saturday nights and the eves of public holidays; the largest peak is on New Year’s Eve. Assaults increase over summer with a nadir in January. Impacts of annual celebrations without holidays vary. Some (Halloween, Guy Fawkes and St Patrick’s nights) see increased assaults while others (St George’s and Valentine’s Day nights) do not. Home nation World Cup football matches are associated with nearly a three times increase in midweek assault presentation. Other football and rugby events examined show no impact. The 2008 Olympics saw assaults fall. The overall calendar model strongly predicts observed presentations (R2 = 0.918; P < 0.001). Conclusions: To date, the role of ED data has focused on helping target nightlife police activity. Its utility is much greater; capable of targeting and evaluating multi-agency life course approaches to violence prevention and optimising frontline resources. National ED data are critical for fully engaging health services in the prevention of violence

Characteristics of the Early Immune Response Following Transplantation of Mouse ES Cell Derived Insulin-Producing Cell Clusters

Background The fully differentiated progeny of ES cells (ESC) may eventually be used for cell replacement therapy (CRT). However, elements of the innate immune system may contribute to damage or destruction of these tissues when transplanted. Methodology/Principal Findings Herein, we assessed the hitherto ill-defined contribution of the early innate immune response in CRT after transplantation of either ESC derived insulin producing cell clusters (IPCCs) or adult pancreatic islets. Ingress of neutrophil or macrophage cells was noted immediately at the site of IPCC transplantation, but this infiltration was attenuated by day three. Gene profiling identified specific inflammatory cytokines and chemokines that were either absent or sharply reduced by three days after IPCC transplantation. Thus, IPCC transplantation provoked less of an early immune response than pancreatic islet transplantation. Conclusions/Significance Our study offers insights into the characteristics of the immune response of an ESC derived tissue in the incipient stages following transplantation and suggests potential strategies to inhibit cell damage to ensure their long-term perpetuation and functionality in CRT

INT reduction is a valid proxy for eukaryotic plankton respiration despite the inherent toxicity of INT and differences in cell wall structure

The reduction of 2-para (iodophenyl)-3(nitrophenyl)-5(phenyl) tetrazolium chloride (INT) is increasingly being used as an indirect method to measure plankton respiration. Its greater sensitivity and shorter incubation time compared to the standard method of measuring the decrease in dissolved oxygen concentration, allows the determination of total and size-fractionated plankton respiration with higher precision and temporal resolution. However, there are still concerns as to the method’s applicability due to the toxicity of INT and the potential differential effect of plankton cell wall composition on the diffusion of INT into the cell, and therefore on the rate of INT reduction. Working with cultures of 5 marine plankton (Thalassiosira pseudonana CCMP1080/5, Emiliania huxleyi RCC1217, Pleurochrysis carterae PLY-406, Scrippsiella sp. RCC1720 and Oxyrrhis marina CCMP1133/5) which have different cell wall compositions (silica frustule, presence/absence of calcite and cellulose plates), we demonstrate that INT does not have a toxic effect on oxygen consumption at short incubation times. There was no difference in the oxygen consumption of a culture to which INT had been added and that of a replicate culture without INT, for periods of time ranging from 1 to 7 hours. For four of the cultures (T. pseudonana CCMP1080/5, P. carterae PLY-406, E. huxleyi RCC1217, and O. marina CCMP1133/5) the log of the rates of dissolved oxygen consumption were linearly related to the log of the rates of INT reduction, and there was no significant difference between the regression lines for each culture (ANCOVA test, F = 1.696, df = 3, p = 0.18). Thus, INT reduction is not affected by the structure of the plankton cell wall and a single INT reduction to oxygen consumption conversion equation is appropriate for this range of eukaryotic plankton. These results further support the use of the INT technique as a valid proxy for marine plankton respiration

Taxonomic and Environmental Variability in the Elemental Composition and Stoichiometry of Individual Dinoflagellate and Diatom Cells from the NW Mediterranean Sea

Here we present, for the first time, the elemental concentration, including C, N and O, of single phytoplankton cells collected from the sea. Plankton elemental concentration and stoichiometry are key variables in phytoplankton ecophysiology and ocean biogeochemistry, and are used to link cells and ecosystems. However, most field studies rely on bulk techniques that overestimate carbon and nitrogen because the samples include organic matter other than plankton organisms. Here we used X-ray microanalysis (XRMA), a technique that, unlike bulk analyses, gives simultaneous quotas of C, N, O, Mg, Si, P, and S, in single-cell organisms that can be collected directly from the sea. We analysed the elemental composition of dinoflagellates and diatoms (largely Chaetoceros spp.) collected from different sites of the Catalan coast (NW Mediterranean Sea). As expected, a lower C content is found in our cells compared to historical values of cultured cells. Our results indicate that, except for Si and O in diatoms, the mass of all elements is not a constant fraction of cell volume but rather decreases with increasing cell volume. Also, diatoms are significantly less dense in all the measured elements, except Si, compared to dinoflagellates. The N:P ratio of both groups is higher than the Redfield ratio, as it is the N:P nutrient ratio in deep NW Mediterranean Sea waters (N:P = 20–23). The results suggest that the P requirement is highest for bacterioplankton, followed by dinoflagellates, and lowest for diatoms, giving them a clear ecological advantage in P-limited environments like the Mediterranean Sea. Finally, the P concentration of cells of the same genera but growing under different nutrient conditions was the same, suggesting that the P quota of these cells is at a critical level. Our results indicate that XRMA is an accurate technique to determine single cell elemental quotas and derived conversion factors used to understand and model ocean biogeochemical cycles

Processes and patterns of oceanic nutrient limitation

Microbial activity is a fundamental component of oceanic nutrient cycles. Photosynthetic microbes, collectively termed phytoplankton, are responsible for the vast majority of primary production in marine waters. The availability of nutrients in the upper ocean frequently limits the activity and abundance of these organisms. Experimental data have revealed two broad regimes of phytoplankton nutrient limitation in the modern upper ocean. Nitrogen availability tends to limit productivity throughout much of the surface low-latitude ocean, where the supply of nutrients from the subsurface is relatively slow. In contrast, iron often limits productivity where subsurface nutrient supply is enhanced, including within the main oceanic upwelling regions of the Southern Ocean and the eastern equatorial Pacific. Phosphorus, vitamins and micronutrients other than iron may also (co-)limit marine phytoplankton. The spatial patterns and importance of co-limitation, however, remain unclear. Variability in the stoichiometries of nutrient supply and biological demand are key determinants of oceanic nutrient limitation. Deciphering the mechanisms that underpin this variability, and the consequences for marine microbes, will be a challenge. But such knowledge will be crucial for accurately predicting the consequences of ongoing anthropogenic perturbations to oceanic nutrient biogeochemistry. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

Curcumin aggravates CNS pathology in experimental systemic lupus erythematosus.

Complement activation and inflammation are key disease features of systemic lupus erythematosus. Curcumin is an anti-inflammatory agent that inhibits the complement cascade. Therefore, we hypothesized that curcumin will be protective in CNS lupus. To assess the effect of curcumin on CNS-lupus, MRL/lpr mice were used. Brain MRI showed that curcumin (30mg/kg body wt. i.p. from 12-20 weeks) worsened regional brain atrophy. The volumes of the lateral and third ventricles are significantly increased (150%-213% and 107%-140%, without and with treatment respectively compared to MRL+/+ controls). The hippocampus was reduced further (83%-81%) by curcumin treatment. In line with increased brain atrophy, there were edematous cells (41% increase in cell size in MRL/lpr compared to MRL+/+ mice. The cell size was further increased by 28% when treated with curcumin; p&lt;0.02) in the cortex. In line with increased atrophy and edema, there was a significant increase (p&lt;0.02) in the mRNA and protein expression of the water channel protein, aquaporin 4 in these mice. The increase in the matrix proteins, glial fibrillary acidic protein and vimentin in lupus mice in the hippocampus was prevented by curcumin. Curcumin increased IgG deposits and decreased C3 deposits in brain with a corresponding increase in immune complexes and decrease in C3 concentration (by 60% in MRL/lpr mice Vs. MRL+/+ mice and a further 26% decrease when treated with curcumin) in circulation. Decrease in C3 could alter the transport of immune complexes leading to an increase in IgG deposits which could induce inflammatory pathways thereby leading to worsening of the disease. The neurological outcome as measured by maze performance indicates that the curcumin treated mice performed poorly compared to the untreated counterparts. Our results for the first time provide evidence that at the dose used in this study, curcumin aggravates some CNS disease manifestations in experimental lupus brain. Therefore, until a safe dose range is established by additional studies, and the validity of the findings is determined in human patients, caution may be warranted in the use of curcumin, even as adjuvant therapy for CNS lupus