Non-transferrin-bound iron is associated with biomarkers of oxidative stress, inflammation and endothelial dysfunction in type 2 diabetes.

AIMS: To investigate the association between circulating non-transferrin-bound iron [NTBI], and markers of oxidative stress, endothelial function and inflammation in subjects with type 2 diabetes and non-diabetic subjects with varying degrees of obesity. METHODS: Plasma NTBI was measured by HPLC, together with total iron, iron-binding capacity, transferrin saturation and soluble transferrin receptor, together with total and reduced ascorbate, malondialdehyde [MDA], E-selectin and high-sensitivity c-reactive protein [hs-CRP] in groups of 28 subjects with type 2 diabetes, 28 non-obese controls and 17 obese non-diabetic subjects. RESULTS: Levels of NTBI were higher than controls in the diabetes group, but the total serum iron levels were lower. MDA levels were higher than controls in both the diabetes and obese groups, and this was associated with higher levels of oxidised ascorbate. hs-CRP levels were higher in both the diabetes and obese groups, and E-selectin was significantly higher in the diabetes group. There were strong positive correlations between HbA1c levels and NTBI [P<0.01], HbA1c and E-selectin [P<0.001] and NTBI and E-selectin [P<0.02] in the diabetes group. CONCLUSION: These results support the hypothesis that iron-mediated oxidative stress may be a mechanism linking poor glycaemic control with vascular dysfunction in type 2 diabetes

Epidemiologic parameters and evaluation of control measure for 2009 novel influenza a (H1N1) in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Containment of influenza A H1N1 virus spread was implemented successfully in Xiamen, with large-scale inoculation to reduce morbidity. To identify beneficial elements and to guide decision-making in epidemic containment, we analyzed the epidemiologic parameters and evaluated the control measures.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>We determined various parameters from laboratory-confirmed cases, including incubation period, duration of illness and reproductive number (R₀), and evaluated the control measures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were1414 cases with dates of onset between June 14, 2009 and March 22, 2010. The incidence was 56.79/100,000, and mortality was 0.12/100,000. The incidence during the community epidemic phase was 6.23 times higher than in the containment phase. A total of 296,888 subjects were inoculated with domestic influenza H1N1 virus cleavage vaccine. An epidemic curve showed that vaccination in students cut the peak incidence of illness significantly. Men (relative risk (RR) = 1.30, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.17-1.45) and persons aged 0-14 years were at greater risk of infection. The incidence increased with younger age (<it>χ</it>²= 950.675, <it>p </it>= ∞). Morbidity was lower in urban than in rural areas (RR = 0.56, 95%CI: 0.50-0.62). The median incubation time was 2 days, median duration of symptoms was 7 days, and the within-school reproductive number was 1.35.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our analysis indicated that the characteristics of this novel influenza virus were similar to those of seasonal influenza. The principle of "interception of imported cases" applied at Xiamen ports, and vaccination of students effectively limited the spread of the influenza pandemic and reduced the epidemic peak.</p

Standardising terminology and notation for the analysis of demographic processes in marked populations

The development of statistical methods for the analysis of demographic processes in marked animal populations has brought with it the challenges of communication between the disciplines of statistics, ecology, evolutionary biology and computer science. In order to aid communication and comprehension, we sought to root out a number of cases of ambiguity, redundancy and inaccuracy in notation and terminology that have developed in the literature. We invited all working in this field to submit topics for resolution and to express their own views. In the ensuing discussion forum it was then possible to establish a series of general principles which were, almost without exception, unanimously accepted. Here we set out the background to the areas of confusion, how these were debated and the conclusions which were reached in each case. We hope that the resulting guidelines will be widely adopted as standard terminology in publications and in software for the analysis of demographic processes in marked animal populationspostprin

The Social context of motorcycle riding and the key determinants influencing rider behavior: A qualitative investigation

Objective: Given the increasing popularity of motorcycle riding and heightened risk of injury or death associated with being a rider, this study explored rider behaviour as a determinant of rider safety and, in particular, key beliefs and motivations which influence such behaviour. To enhance the effectiveness of future education and training interventions, it is important to understand riders’ own views about what influences how they ride. Specifically, this study sought to identify key determinants of riders’ behaviour in relation to the social context of riding including social and identity-related influences relating to the group (group norms and group identity) as well as the self (moral/personal norm and self-identity). ----- ----- Method: Qualitative research was undertaken via group discussions with motorcycle riders (n = 41). Results: The findings revealed that those in the group with which one rides represent an important source of social influence. Also, the motorcyclist (group) identity was associated with a range of beliefs, expectations, and behaviours considered to be normative. Exploration of the construct of personal norm revealed that riders were most cognizant of the “wrong things to do” when riding; among those issues raised was the importance of protective clothing (albeit for the protection of others and, in particular, pillion passengers). Finally, self-identity as a motorcyclist appeared to be important to a rider’s self-concept and was likely to influence their on-road behaviour. ----- ----- Conclusion: Overall, the insight provided by the current study may facilitate the development of interventions including rider training as well as public education and mass media messages. The findings suggest that these interventions should incorporate factors associated with the social nature of riding in order to best align it with some of the key beliefs and motivations underpinning riders’ on-road behaviours

Mapping the Spread of Malaria Drug Resistance

Tim Anderson discusses a new study of molecular variation in alleles at the dihydropteroate synthase locus, which underlies resistance to sulfadoxine, in over 5,000 parasites from 50 locations

Prospective strategies to delay the evolution of anti-malarial drug resistance: weighing the uncertainty

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The evolution of drug resistance in malaria parasites highlights a need to identify and evaluate strategies that could extend the useful therapeutic life of anti-malarial drugs. Such strategies are deployed to best effect before resistance has emerged, under conditions of great uncertainty.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Here, the emergence and spread of resistance was modelled using a hybrid framework to evaluate prospective strategies, estimate the time to drug failure, and weigh uncertainty. The waiting time to appearance was estimated as the product of low mutation rates, drug pressure, and parasite population sizes during treatment. Stochastic persistence and the waiting time to establishment were simulated as an evolving branching process. The subsequent spread of resistance was simulated in simple epidemiological models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using this framework, the waiting time to the failure of artemisinin combination therapy (ACT) for malaria was estimated, and a policy of multiple first-line therapies (MFTs) was evaluated. The models quantify the effects of reducing drug pressure in delaying appearance, reducing the chances of establishment, and slowing spread. By using two first-line therapies in a population, it is possible to reduce drug pressure while still treating the full complement of cases.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>At a global scale, because of uncertainty about the time to the emergence of ACT resistance, there was a strong case for MFTs to guard against early failure. Our study recommends developing operationally feasible strategies for implementing MFTs, such as distributing different ACTs at the clinic and for home-based care, or formulating different ACTs for children and adults.</p

Biometric Fish Classification of Temperate Species Using Convolutional Neural Network with Squeeze-and-Excitation

submittedVersio

Hospital admissions for vitamin D related conditions and subsequent immune-mediated disease: record-linkage studies

PMCID: PMC3729414The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/11/171. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Epiparasitic plants specialized on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Over 400 non-photosynthetic species from 10 families of vascular plants obtain their carbon from fungi and are thus defined as myco-heterotrophs. Many of these plants are epiparasitic on green plants from which they obtain carbon by 'cheating' shared mycorrhizal fungi. Epiparasitic plants examined to date depend on ectomycorrhizal fungi for carbon transfer and exhibit exceptional specificity for these fungi, but for most myco-heterotrophs neither the identity of the fungi nor the sources of their carbon are known. Because many myco-heterotrophs grow in forests dominated by plants associated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF; phylum Glomeromycota), we proposed that epiparasitism would occur also between plants linked by AMF. On a global scale AMF form the most widespread mycorrhizae, thus the ability of plants to cheat this symbiosis would be highly significant. We analysed mycorrhizae from three populations of Arachnitis uniflora (Corsiaceae, Monocotyledonae), five Voyria species and one Voyriella species (Gentianaceae, Dicotyledonae), and neighbouring green plants. Here we show that non-photosynthetic plants associate with AMF and can display the characteristic specificity of epiparasites. This suggests that AMF mediate significant inter-plant carbon transfer in nature

Pre-eruption magma staging at the long-lived intraplate Dunedin Volcano, New Zealand

Funder: NZ Federation of Graduate WomenFunder: University of Otago; Id: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100008247Abstract: The oldest‐known rocks of the eroded Dunedin Volcano (DV), New Zealand, active 16.0–11.0 Ma, were emplaced by penecontemporaneous explosive eruptions and intrusions of magmas with a remarkable range of compositions, including basanite, alkali basalt, trachyte and phonolite. The compositional diversity of magmas emplaced in rapid succession during the earliest development of the volcano signify the existence of a complex magmatic system and highly evolved magmas, typical of those attributed to mature magmatic systems; here it developed in concert with the volcano's surface eruptions. We infer that multiple deep and shallow reservoirs were suddenly tapped as volcanism commenced. DV repeatedly erupted the same range of magmas over 5 Myr, suggests that these distributed reservoirs failed to significantly integrate through millions of years of slow volcano growth