Fish fatty acids and mental health in older people

Background It has been suggested that the intake of fish and marine n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids could protect against age-related cognitive decline and impaired mental well-being. However, results from observational studies are inconclusive and data from randomized controlled trials in older people without clinical dementia or depression are scarce. The objective of this thesis was to investigate the effect of daily supplementation with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on cognitive performance and mental well-being in an older non-clinical population. We also examined the effect of fish oil on gene expression profiles in white blood cells to identify early changes in pathways possibly related to mental health. Furthermore, we assessed the association of fish and EPA+DHA intake with mental health in different aging populations. Methods The effect of low and high doses of EPA+DHA (400 and 1,800 mg per day, respectively) on cognitive performance, several measures of mental well-being, and gene expression was examined in a 26-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. This study was conducted in 302 individuals aged 65 years or older with no clinical diagnosis of dementia or depression. Furthermore, the cross-sectional association between fatty fish and EPA+DHA intake with cognitive performance and the association with cognitive change during 6 years of follow-up was assessed in 1,025 aging US men who participated in the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study (NAS). In addition, the associations of EPA+DHA and fish intake with depressive symptoms and dispositional optimism were assessed in 644 free-living Dutch subjects with a history of myocardial infarction. Results Daily intake of low or high doses of EPA+DHA did not affect cognitive performance, mental well-being, anxiety, or quality of life, after 13 or 26 weeks of intervention. However, treatment with EPA+DHA for 26 weeks altered gene expression in white blood cells to a more anti-inflammatory and more anti-atherogenic profile. In elderly US men we found no association of fatty fish or EPA+DHA intake with cognitive performance or 6-year cognitive change. Intake of EPA+DHA was positively associated with dispositional optimism in subjects with a history of myocardial infarction. There was also a tendency for less depressive symptoms with a higher EPA+DHA or fish intake, but this association was no longer statistically significant after controlling for confounders. Conclusion Supplemental intake of EPA+DHA is unlikely to have a short-term impact on cognitive performance or mental well-being of older people without a clinical diagnosis of dementia or depression. Whether long-term intake of EPA+DHA and fish could be beneficial to the maintenance of cognitive performance or mental well-being of older people in Western populations still needs to be established. <br/

Made to Order: A Preliminary Review of Crime Risk Assessments in New South Wales, Australia

In 2001, guidelines were introduced in New South Wales (NSW) to ensure that proposed developments/redevelopments of the built environment reflected key crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) principles. The guidelines state that in certain circumstances a crime risk assessment report is required on the proposed development. To date, these guidelines have not been evaluated, making it impossible to assess their impact and the utility of the associated crime risk assessment reports. Partially to address this gap, a small number (four) of publicly available crime risk assessment reports have been reviewed and key issues highlighted here. In particular, the relevance of some aspects of these reports is questioned, as is the impact of the relationship between the client (i.e. developer) commissioning the report and the ‘independent’ consultant. The small sample of risk assessment reports reviewed here cannot be considered representative of the larger body of such reports. Further research is required to determine the veracity of the findings of this small review.Sydney Institute of Criminology; School of Social Sciences at the University of Western Sydne

Observation of light echoes around very young stars

The goal of the paper is to present new results on light echoes from young stellar objects. Broad band CCD images were obtained over three months at one-to-two week intervals for the field of NGC 6726, using the large field-of-view remotely-operated telescope on top of Cerro Burek. We detected scattered light echoes around two young, low-amplitude, irregular variable stars. Observations revealed not just one, but multiple light echoes from brightness pulses of the T Tauri star S CrA and the Herbig Ae/Be star R CrA. Analysis of S CrA's recurring echoes suggests that the star is located 138 +/- 16 pc from Earth, making these the closest echoes ever detected. The environment that scatters the stellar light from S CrA is compatible with an incomplete dust shell or an inclined torus some 10,000 AU in radius and containing $\sim$ $2 \times 10^{-3}$ M_{\sun} of dust. The cause of such concentration at $\sim$ 10,000AU from the star is unknown. It could be the remnant of the envelope from which the star formed, but the distance of the cloud is remarkably similar to the nominal distance of the Oort cloud to the Sun, leading us to also speculate that the dust (or ice) seen around S CrA might have the same origin as the Solar System Oort cloud.Comment: A&A, in press Received: 16 March 2010 / Accepted: 01 June 201

Relation between dust and radio luminosity in optically selected early type galaxies

We have surveyed an optical/IR selected sample of nearby E/S0 galaxies with and without nuclear dust structures with the VLA at 3.6 cm to a sensitivity of 100 $\mu$Jy. We can construct a Radio Luminosity Function (RLF) of these galaxies to ~10^19 W/Hz and find that ~50% of these galaxies have AGNs at this level. The space density of these AGNs equals that of starburst galaxies at this luminosity. Several dust-free galaxies have low luminosity radio cores, and their RLF is not significantly less than that of the dusty galaxies.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&

The effects of uterine artery embolisation and surgical treatment on ovarian function in women with uterine fibroids

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare both ovarian function and menstrual characteristics following uterine artery embolisation (UAE) and surgery. Design Subgroup of women from a randomised controlled trial. Setting Gynaecology and radiology units in Scotland, UK. Population Ninety-six women from the randomised controlled trial comparing embolisation with surgery as a treatment for fibroids (REST), which recruited 157 patients (106 UAE; 51 surgery). Methods Seventy-three women undergoing UAE and 23 women undergoing surgery (with ovarian conservation) had serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) measurements taken on day 3 of the menstrual cycle prior to treatment, and at 6 and 12 months post-treatment. Data on menstrual cycle characteristics was also collected. Main outcome measures Ovarian failure, as defined by an FSH level of &gt; 40 iu/l, and change in duration of menses and length of menstrual cycle. Results There was no significant difference in the rate of ovarian failure at 12 months between UAE (11%) and surgical patients (18%) (P = 0.44). This finding was not influenced by age. The mean duration of menstrual flow decreased significantly, from baseline to 12 months, by 1.7 days (SD 3.8), (95% CI 0.8-2.6). There was no statistically significant change in mean cycle length at 12 months (0.7 days [SD 4.9]; 95% CI [-0.5, 1.9]). Conclusions There is no evidence for UAE accelerating a deterioration in ovarian function at 1 year, when compared with surgery. UAE is associated with a decrease in the duration of menstrual flow at 1 yea

Nucleotide Sequence and Expression in Escherichia coli of the Lactococcus lactis Citrate Permease Gene

The plasmid-encoded citrate determinant of the Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis var. diacetylactis NCDO176 was cloned and functionally expressed in a Cit- Escherichia coli K-12 strain. From deletion derivative analysis, a 3.4-kilobase region was identified which encodes the ability to transport citrate. Analysis of proteins encoded by the cloned fragment in a T7 expression system revealed a 32,000-dalton protein band, which correlated with the ability of cells to transport citrate. Energy-dependent [1,5-14C]citrate transport was found with membrane vesicles prepared from E. coli cells harboring the citrate permease-expressing plasmid. The gene encoding citrate transport activity, citP, was located on the cloned fragment by introducing a site-specific mutation that abolished citrate transport and resulted in a truncated form of the 32,000-dalton expression product. The nucleotide sequence for a 2.2-kilobase fragment that includes the citP gene contained an open reading frame of 1,325 base pairs coding for a very hydrophobic protein of 442 amino acids, which shows no sequence homology with known citrate carriers