Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference

A structured review of chronic care model components supporting transition between healthcare service delivery types for older people with multiple chronic diseases

Objective - Older people with chronic diseases often have complex and interacting needs and require treatment and care from a wide range of professionals and services concurrently. This structured review will identify the components of the chronic care model (CCM) required to support healthcare that transitions seamlessly between hospital and ambulatory settings for people over 65 years of age who have two or more chronic diseases. Method - A structured review was conducted by searching six electronic databases combining the terms 'hospital’, ‘ambulatory’, ‘elderly’, ‘chronic disease’ and ‘integration/seamless’. Four articles meeting the inclusion criteria were included in the review. Study setting, objectives, design, population, intervention, CCM components, outcomes and results were extracted and a process of descriptive synthesis applied. Results and conclusion - All four studies reported only using a few components of the CCM – such as clinical information sharing, community linkages and supported self-management – to create an integrated health system. The implementation of these components in a health service seemed to improve the seamless transition between hospital and ambulatory settings, health outcomes and patient experiences. Further research is required to explore the effect of implementing all CCM components to support transition of care between hospital and ambulatory services

MPs and Audiences on Social Media During Emergencies: Automatic and Manual Content Analyses of Facebook Posts

Part 1: General E-Democracy and E-ParticipationInternational audienceThe social media channels of the members of parliament (MPs) are significant arenas through which communication between the public and national leaders occurs. This is the first paper to explore how these channels function during emergencies. We present findings from a mixed-method study of automatic and manual content analysis of a unique dataset of all posts in Israeli MPs’ Facebook pages during the 19th Israeli parliament. We compare the scope of posting, engagement with posts, and the content in MPs’ Facebook pages during “ordinary” periods and an “emergency” period, focusing on the 2014 Israel/Gaza war. Findings present MPs’ social media pages as key hubs of information and interaction between MPs and audiences in emergencies, even more so than during ordinary periods. MPs’ social media pages involve significantly more posts, and engagement with posts, during emergencies, and the content in them becomes more emotional, less personal and focused on the emergency situation and the national leaders responding to it