Are there gender differences in the geography of alcohol-related mortality in Scotland? An ecological study

<b>Background</b> There is growing concern about alcohol-related harm, particularly within Scotland which has some of the highest rates of alcohol-related death in western Europe. There are large gender differences in alcohol-related mortality rates in Scotland and in other countries, but the reasons for these differences are not clearly understood. In this paper, we aimed to address calls in the literature for further research on gender differences in the causes, contexts and consequences of alcohol-related harm. Our primary research question was whether the kind of social environment which tends to produce higher or lower rates of alcohol-related mortality is the same for both men and women across Scotland. <b>Methods</b> Cross-sectional, ecological design. A comparison was made between spatial variation in men's and women's age-standardised alcohol-related mortality rates in Scotland using maps, Moran's Index, linear regression and spatial analyses of residuals. Directly standardised mortality rates were derived from individual level records of death registration, 2000–2005 (n = 8685). <b>Results</b> As expected, men's alcohol-related mortality rate substantially exceeded women's and there was substantial spatial variation in these rates for both men and women within Scotland. However, there was little spatial variation in the relationship between men's and women's alcohol-mortality rates (r2 = 0.73); areas with relatively high rates of alcohol-related mortality for men tended also to have relatively high rates for women. In a small number of areas (8 out of 144) the relationship between men's and women's alcohol-related mortality rates was significantly different. <b>Conclusion</b> In as far as geographic location captures exposure to social and economic environment, our results suggest that the relationship between social and economic environment and alcohol-related harm is very similar for men and women. The existence of a small number of areas in which men's and women's alcohol-related mortality had an different relationship suggests that some places may have unusual drinking cultures. These might prove useful for further investigations into the factors which influence drinking behaviour in men and women

Environmental differences between sites control the diet and nutrition of the carnivorous plant Drosera rotundifolia

Background and aims: Carnivorous plants are sensitive to small changes in resource availability, but few previous studies have examined how differences in nutrient and prey availability affect investment in and the benefit of carnivory. We studied the impact of site-level differences in resource availability on ecophysiological traits of carnivory for Drosera rotundifolia L. Methods: We measured prey availability, investment in carnivory (leaf stickiness), prey capture and diet of plants growing in two bogs with differences in N deposition and plant available N: Cors Fochno (0.62 g m−2 yr.−1, 353 μg l−1), Whixall Moss (1.37 g m−2 yr.−1, 1505 μg l−1). The total N amount per plant and the contributions of prey/root N to the plants’ N budget were calculated using a single isotope natural abundance method. Results: Plants at Whixall Moss invested less in carnivory, were less likely to capture prey, and were less reliant on prey-derived N (25.5% compared with 49.4%). Actual prey capture did not differ between sites. Diet composition differed – Cors Fochno plants captured 62% greater proportions of Diptera. Conclusions: Our results show site-level differences in plant diet and nutrition consistent with differences in resource availability. Similarity in actual prey capture may be explained by differences in leaf stickiness and prey abundance

Neuronal pentraxin II is highly upregulated in Parkinson’s disease and a novel component of Lewy bodies

Neuronal pentraxin II (NPTX2) is the most highly upregulated gene in the Parkinsonian substantia nigra based on our whole genome expression profiling results. We show here that it is a novel component of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites in sporadic Parkinson’s disease (PD). NPTX2 is also known as the neuronal activity-regulated protein (Narp), which is secreted and involved in long-term neuronal plasticity. Narp further regulates AMPA receptors which have been found to mediate highly selective non-apoptotic cell death of dopaminergic neurons. NPTX2/Narp is found in close association with alpha-synuclein aggregates in both substantia nigra and cerebral cortex in PD but unlike alpha-synuclein gene expression, which is down-regulated in the Parkinsonian nigra, NPTX2 could represent a driver of the disease process. In view of its profound (>800%) upregulation and its established role in synaptic plasticity as well as dopaminergic nerve cell death, NPTX2 is a very interesting novel player which is likely to be involved in the pathway dysregulation which underlies PD

Chances and Limitations of Wild Bird Monitoring for the Avian Influenza Virus H5N1 — Detection of Pathogens Highly Mobile in Time and Space

Highly pathogenic influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N1 proved to be remarkably mobile in migratory bird populations where it has led to extensive outbreaks for which the true number of affected birds usually cannot be determined. For the evaluation of avian influenza monitoring and HPAIV early warning systems, we propose a time-series analysis that includes the estimation of confidence intervals for (i) the prevalence in outbreak situations or (ii) in the apparent absence of disease in time intervals for specified regional units. For the German outbreak regions in 2006 and 2007, the upper 95% confidence limit allowed the detection of prevalences below 1% only for certain time intervals. Although more than 25,000 birds were sampled in Germany per year, the upper 95% confidence limit did not fall below 5% in the outbreak regions for most of the time. The proposed analysis can be used to monitor water bodies and high risk areas, also as part of an early-warning system. Chances for an improved targeting of the monitoring system as part of a risk-based approach are discussed with the perspective of reducing sample sizes

Identification of Novel Variants of Metadherin in Breast Cancer

Metadherin (MTDH, also known as AEG-1, and Lyric) has been demonstrated to play a potential role in several significant aspects of tumor progression. It has been reported that overexpression of MTDH is associated with progression of disease and poorer prognosis in breast cancer. However, there are no studies to date assessing variants of the MTDH gene and their potential relationship with breast cancer susceptibility. Thus, we investigated all variants of the MTDH gene and explored the association of the variants with breast cancer development. Our cohort consisted of full-length gene sequencing of 108 breast cancer cases and 100 healthy controls; variants were detected in 11 breast cancer cases and 13 controls. Among the variants detected, 9 novel variants were discovered and 2 were found to be associated with the susceptibility of breast cancer. However, additional studies need to be conducted in larger sample sizes to validate these findings and to further investigate whether these variants are prognostic in breast cancer patients

Response of Coastal Fishes to the Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster

The ecosystem-level impacts of the Deepwater Horizon disaster have been largely unpredictable due to the unique setting and magnitude of this spill. We used a five-year (2006–2010) data set within the oil-affected region to explore acute consequences for early-stage survival of fish species inhabiting seagrass nursery habitat. Although many of these species spawned during spring-summer, and produced larvae vulnerable to oil-polluted water, overall and species-by-species catch rates were high in 2010 after the spill (1,989±220 fishes km-towed−1 [μ ± 1SE]) relative to the previous four years (1,080±43 fishes km-towed−1). Also, several exploited species were characterized by notably higher juvenile catch rates during 2010 following large-scale fisheries closures in the northern Gulf, although overall statistical results for the effects of fishery closures on assemblage-wide CPUE data were ambiguous. We conclude that immediate, catastrophic losses of 2010 cohorts were largely avoided, and that no shifts in species composition occurred following the spill. The potential long-term impacts facing fishes as a result of chronic exposure and delayed, indirect effects now require attention