Implications for alcohol minimum unit pricing advocacy: what can we learn for public health from UK newsprint coverage of key claim-makers in the policy debate?

On May 24th 2012, Scotland passed the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) Bill. Minimum unit pricing (MUP) is an intervention that raises the price of the cheapest alcohol to reduce alcohol consumption and related harms. There is a growing literature on industry’s influence in policymaking and media representations of policies, but relatively little about frames used by key claim-makers in the public MUP policy debate. This study elucidates the dynamic interplay between key claim-makers to identify lessons for policy advocacy in the media in the UK and internationally. Content analysis was conducted on 262 articles from seven UK and three Scottish national newspapers between 1st May 2011 and 31st May 2012, retrieved from electronic databases. Advocates’ and critics’ constructions of the alcohol problem and MUP were examined. Advocates depicted the problem as primarily driven by cheap alcohol and marketing, while critics’ constructions focused on youth binge drinkers and dependent drinkers. Advocates justified support by citing the intervention’s targeted design, but critics denounced the policy as illegal, likely to encourage illicit trade, unsupported by evidence and likely to be ineffective, while harming the responsible majority, low-income consumers and businesses. Critics’ arguments were consistent over time, and single statements often encompassed multiple rationales. This study presents advocates with several important lessons for promoting policies in the media. Firstly, it may be useful to shift focus away from young binge drinkers and heavy drinkers, towards population-level over-consumption. Secondly, advocates might focus on presenting the policy as part of a wider package of alcohol policies. Thirdly, emphasis on the success of recent public health policies could help portray the UK and Scotland as world leaders in tackling culturally embedded health and social problems through policy; highlighting past successes when presenting future policies may be a valuable tactic both within the UK and internationally

Representations of minimum unit pricing for alcohol in UK newspapers: a case study of a public health policy debate

Background: Mass media influence public acceptability, and hence feasibility, of public health interventions. This study investigates newsprint constructions of the alcohol problem and minimum unit pricing (MUP). Methods: Quantitative content analysis of 901 articles about MUP published in 10 UK and Scottish newspapers between 2005 and 2012. Results: MUP was a high-profile issue, particularly in Scottish publications. Reporting increased steadily between 2008 and 2012, matching the growing status of the debate. The alcohol problem was widely acknowledged, often associated with youths, and portrayed as driven by cheap alcohol, supermarkets and drinking culture. Over-consumption was presented as a threat to health and social order. Appraisals of MUP were neutral, with supportiveness increasing slightly over time. Arguments focused on health impacts more frequently than more emotive perspectives or business interests. Health charities and the NHS were cited slightly more frequently than alcohol industry representatives. Conclusion: Emphases on efficacy, evidence and experts are positive signs for evidence-based policymaking. The high profile of MUP, along with growing support within articles, could reflect growing appetite for action on the alcohol problem. Representations of the problem as structurally driven might engender support for legislative solutions, although cultural explanations remain common

A quantitative content analysis of UK newsprint coverage of proposed legislation to prohibit smoking in private vehicles carrying children

This project was funded by Cancer Research UK (MC_U130085862) and the Scottish School of Public Health Research. Cancer Research UK and the Scottish School of Public Health Research were not involved in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, writing of the manuscript or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Shona Hilton, Karen Wood and Chris Patterson were funded by the UK Medical Research Council as part of the Understandings and Uses of Public Health Research programme (MC_UU_12017/6) at the MRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow. Thanks to Josh Bain and Alan Pollock for coding assistance.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The genetics of canine atopic dermatitis

Canine atopic dermatitis (cAD) is a common and severe pruritic, inflammatory skin disease that can be considered a naturally-occurring, spontaneous model of human Atopic Dermatitis (hAD). The genetics of cAD are poorly understood and therefore the aim of this project was to investigate the genetic factors involved in the pathogenesis of cAD and to identify specific gene associations with cAD within and between dog breeds. It was hoped that this study would further strengthen the evidence that dogs are a suitable model hAD. Using dogs as a model to study the genetic basis of AD is advantageous because dog breeds form genetically isolated populations exhibiting strong linkage disequilibrium (LD). In contrast to humans where LD across the genome is weak (10-100 kb), domestic dog breeds have strong LD which extends over long distances (0.8 -5 Mb). This is highly advantageous in genetic studies because fewer genetic markers and smaller sample sizes are needed to find disease associations in dogs. To study the genetic basis of cAD a dual approach of candidate gene association study and genome wide association study (GWAS) was used. This gave not only a novel unbiased approach but also used information from previous studies on which gene selection was based. Therefore increasing the likelihood that the causative genes involved in cAD pathogenesis could be identified. This thesis demonstrated altered mRNA expression in 54 genes out of 22,000 transcripts by mRNA microarray in cAD. Further to this qPCR was used to confirm the microarray results and quantify gene expression in potential cAD candidate genes. This approach identified 11 genes with altered expression in cAD. The qPCR results were further correlated 2 with the clinical outcomes: Canine Atopic Dermatitis and Severity Index (CADESI-03) and number of responses on intra-dermal allergen tests. Eleven novel SNPs and 1 novel microsatellite were identified by transgenomic WAVE analysis. The microsatellite was further typed in 659 dogs and but no association with cAD was found. A GWAS with 22,362 SNPs was performed. The significant results were validated by Sequenom along with the SNPs from the candidate gene study (literature selected genes) in 659 dogs across 8 breeds. In total, 232 SNPs across 54 genes and 41 intergenic regions were genotyped on Sequenom. From this 45 putative associations were found in various breeds. A large number of these associations had relevant functions to AD and/or previous association with hAD

Can we understand and improve poorer cancer survival in rural-dwellers?

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Anti-angiogenic VEGFAxxxb transcripts are not expressed in the medio-basal hypothalamus of the seasonal sheep

Source at https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0197123.This study investigated Vegfa expression in the pars tuberalis (PT) of the pituitary and medio-basal hypothalamus (MBH) of sheep, across seasons and reproductive states. It has recently been proposed that season impacts alternative splicing of Vegfa mRNA in the PT, which shifts the balance between angiogenic VEGFAxxx and anti-angiogenic VEGFAxxxb isoforms (with xxx the number of amino acids of the mature VEGFA proteins) to modulate seasonal breeding. Here, we used various RT-PCR methodologies and analysis of RNAseq datasets to investigate seasonal variation in expression and splicing of the ovine Vegfa gene. Collectively, we identify 5 different transcripts for Vegfa within the ewe PT/MBH, which correspond to splicing events previously described in mouse and human. All identified transcripts encode angiogenic VEGFAxxx isoforms, with no evidence for alternative splicing within exon 8. These findings led us to investigate in detail how “Vegfaxxxb-like” PCR products could be generated by RT-PCR and misidentified as endogenous transcripts, in sheep and human HEK293 cells. In conclusion, our findings do not support the existence of anti-angiogenic VEGFAxxxb isoforms in the ovine PT/MBH and shed new light on the interpretation of prior studies, which claimed to identify Vegfaxxxb isoforms by RT-PCR

Whole transcriptome sequencing of the aging rat brain reveals dynamic RNA changes in the dark matter of the genome

Brain aging frequently underlies cognitive decline and is a major risk factor for neurodegenerative conditions. The exact molecular mechanisms underlying brain aging, however, remain unknown. Whole transcriptome sequencing provides unparalleled depth and sensitivity in gene expression profiling. It also allows non-coding RNA and splice variant detection/comparison across phenotypes. Using RNA-seq to sequence the cerebral cortex transcriptome in 6-, 12- and 28-month-old rats, age-related changes were studied. Protein-coding genes related to MHC II presentation and serotonin biosynthesis were differentially expressed (DE) in aging. Relative to protein-coding genes, more non-coding genes were DE over the three age-groups. RNA-seq quantifies not only levels of whole genes but also of their individual transcripts. Over the three age-groups, 136 transcripts were DE, 37 of which were so-called dark matter transcripts that do not map to known exons. Fourteen of these transcripts were identified as novel putative long non-coding RNAs. Evidence of isoform switching and changes in usage were found. Promoter and coding sequence usage were also altered, hinting of possible changes to mitochondrial transport within neurons. Therefore, in addition to changes in the expression of protein-coding genes, changes in transcript expression, isoform usage, and non-coding RNAs occur with age. This study demonstrates dynamic changes in RNA with age at various genomic levels, which may reflect changes in regulation of transcriptional networks and provides non-coding RNA gene candidates for further studies. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11357-012-9410-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

A-to-I RNA editing does not change with age in the healthy male rat brain

RNA editing is a post-transcriptional process, which results in base substitution modifications to RNA. It is an important process in generating protein diversity through amino acid substitution and the modulation of splicing events. Previous studies have suggested a link between gene-specific reductions in adenosine to inosine RNA editing and aging in the human brain. Here we demonstrate that changes in RNA editing observed in humans with age are not observed during aging in healthy rats. Furthermore, we identify a conserved editing site in rats, in Cog3. We propose that either age-related changes in RNA editing are specific to primates or humans, or that they are the manifestation of disease pathology. Since rodents are often used as model organisms for studying aging, these findings demonstrate the importance of understanding species-specific differences in RNA biology during aging. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10522-013-9433-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Hypothalamic tanycytes as mediators of maternally programmed seasonal plasticity

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