How the upper and middle classes embraced a culture of household debt and aggressive financial risk taking

The last three decades have seen a growing role for financial markets and institutions in the economy, with households included in this trend. But how have households changed their attitudes and behaviors in relation to financial markets? In new research which looks at survey data on consumer finance, Adam Goldstein and Neil Fligstein find evidence of a new household ‘finance culture’. While financial firms sought out customers of all incomes, the upper and middle classes have embraced household borrowing and have become much more likely to take financial risks

Sternoclavicular joint arthropathy mimicking radiculopathy in a patient with concurrent C4-5 disc herniation

Background Patients with sternoclavicular joint arthropathy, which can result from septic arthritis, often present with localized sternoclavicular pain as well as shoulder pain. Such pain may be similar to the presenting symptoms of cervical intervertebral disc herniation. Clinical presentation A 47-year-old female presented with 1 month of significant pain in the neck as well as right anterior chest and deltoid. The patient was found to have reduced strength in the right deltoid muscle on physical examination. MRI revealed a C4-C5 herniated nucleus pulposus. The patient underwent successful C4-C5 anterior cervical discectomy, but subsequently developed painful swelling in the region of the right sternoclavicular joint with limited motor strength in the right shoulder and arm. A needle biopsy of the mass yielded negative results, but her erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) numbers did respond to antibiotics, consistent with infection of the sternoclavicular joint. A follow-up CT scan (6.5 months postoperatively) revealed apparent resolution right sternoclavicular joint arthropathy, thought the patient continued to experience pain. 15 months postoperatively, the patient was prescribed methotrexate due to persistent pain and mild weakness arising from a possible rheumatologic inflammation. 19 months postoperatively, the patient had full strength of the right shoulder and arm and visible decrease in swelling at the sternoclavicular joint. More than three years postoperatively, the patient was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which was appropriately treated. At follow-up four years postoperatively, the patient had an MRI showing new C6-C7 herniated nucleus pulposus, but no longer had any right shoulder or chest pain or associated weakness. Conclusion This case demonstrates that sternoclavicular joint arthropathy results in symptoms that can mimic the presenting symptoms of shoulder or cervical spine pathology, such as shoulder and neck pain, necessitating careful diagnosis and management

Off-line-locked laser diode species monitor system

An off-line-locked laser diode species monitor system includes: reference means for including at least one known species having a first absorption wavelength; a laser source for irradiating the reference means and at least one sample species having a second absorption wavelength differing from the first absorption wavelength by a predetermined amount; means for locking the wavelength of the laser source to the first wavelength of the at least one known species in the reference means; a controller for defeating the means for locking and for displacing the laser source wavelength from said first absorption wavelength by said predetermined amount to the second absorption wavelength; and a sample detector device for determining laser radiation absorption at the second wavelength transmitted through the sample to detect the presence of the at least one sample species

Risk factors for domestic physical violence: national cross-sectional household surveys in eight southern African countries

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The baseline to assess impact of a mass education-entertainment programme offered an opportunity to identify risk factors for domestic physical violence.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In 2002, cross-sectional household surveys in a stratified urban/rural last-stage random sample of enumeration areas, based on latest national census in Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Working door to door, interviewers contacted all adults aged 16–60 years present on the day of the visit, without sub-sampling. 20,639 adults were interviewed. The questionnaire in 29 languages measured domestic physical violence by the question "In the last year, have you and your partner had violent arguments where your partner beat, kicked or slapped you?" There was no measure of severity or frequency of physical violence.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>14% of men (weighted based on 1,294/8,113) and 18% of women (weighted based on 2,032/11,063) reported being a victim of partner physical violence in the last year. There was no convincing association with age, income, education, household size and remunerated occupation. Having multiple partners was strongly associated with partner physical violence. Other associations included the income gap within households, negative attitudes about sexuality (for example, men have the right to sex with their girlfriends if they buy them gifts) and negative attitudes about sexual violence (for example, forcing your partner to have sex is not rape). Particularly among men, experience of partner physical violence was associated with potentially dangerous attitudes to HIV infection.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Having multiple partners was the most consistent risk factor for domestic physical violence across all countries. This could be relevant to domestic violence prevention strategies.</p

Taurine is a potent activator of extrasynaptic GABAA receptors in the thalamus

Taurine is one of the most abundant free amino acids in the brain. In a number of studies, taurine has been reported to activate glycine receptors (Gly-Rs) at moderate concentrations (>= 100 mu M), and to be a weak agonist at GABA(A) receptors (GABA(A)-Rs), which are usually activated at high concentrations (>= 1 mM). In this study, we show that taurine reduced the excitability of thalamocortical relay neurons and activated both extrasynaptic GABAA-Rs and Gly-Rs in neurons in the mouse ventrobasal (VB) thalamus. Low concentrations of taurine (10 - 100 mu M) decreased neuronal input resistance and firing frequency, and elicited a steady outward current under voltage clamp, but had no effects on fast inhibitory synaptic currents. Currents elicited by 50 mu M taurine were abolished by gabazine, insensitive to midazolam, and partially blocked by 20 mu M Zn2+, consistent with the pharmacological properties of extrasynaptic GABA(A)-Rs (alpha 4 beta 2 delta subtype) involved in tonic inhibition in the thalamus. Tonic inhibition was enhanced by an inhibitor of taurine transport, suggesting that taurine can act as an endogenous activator of these receptors. Taurine-evoked currents were absent in relay neurons from GABA(A)-R alpha 4 subunit knock-out mice. The amplitude of the taurine current was larger in neurons from adult mice than juvenile mice. Taurine was a more potent agonist at recombinant alpha(4)beta 2 delta GABA(A)-Rs than at alpha 1 beta 2 gamma 2 GABA(A)-Rs. We conclude that physiological concentrations of taurine can inhibit VB neurons via activation of extrasynaptic GABA(A)-Rs and that taurine may function as an endogenous regulator of excitability and network activity in the thalamus

Social innovation: worklessness, welfare and well-being

The UK Government has recently implemented large-scale public-sector funding cuts and substantial welfare reform. Groups within civil society are being encouraged to fill gaps in service provision, and ‘social innovation’ has been championed as a means of addressing social exclusion, such as that caused by worklessness, a major impediment to citizens being able to access money, power and resources, which are key social determinants of health. The aim of this article is to make the case for innovative ‘upstream’ approaches to addressing health inequalities, and we discuss three prominent social innovations gaining traction: microcredit for enterprise; social enterprise in the form of Work Integration Social Enterprises (WISEs); and Self Reliant Groups (SRGs). We find that while certain social innovations may have the potential to address health inequalities, large-scale research programmes that will yield the quality and range of empirical evidence to demonstrate impact, and, in particular, an understanding of the causal pathways and mechanisms of action, simply do not yet exist

Golimumab 3-year safety update: an analysis of pooled data from the long-term extensions of randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials conducted in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis or ankylosing spondylitis

OBJECTIVE: To assess pooled golimumab safety up to year 3 of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) trials. METHODS: Golimumab 50 and 100 mg, administered subcutaneously (SC) every 4 weeks (q4wk), were assessed in patients with active RA (methotrexate-naive, methotrexate-experienced and anti-TNF (tumour necrosis factor)-experienced), PsA or AS, despite conventional therapy. Placebo control continued up to week (wk) 24 (wk 52, methotrexate-naive), with early escape at wk 16 (wk 28, methotrexate-naive); subsequently, all patients received golimumab 50 or 100 mg q4wk. After the blinded controlled period, golimumab doses could be adjusted per investigator discretion. Pooled safety analyses reported herein include data from placebo-controlled and uncontrolled study periods up to wk 160. Determinations of incidences/100 patient-years (pt-yrs) for rare events also included RA patients from a phase IIb trial. RESULTS: Across five phase III trials of SC golimumab, 639 patients received placebo and 2226 received golimumab 50 mg (n=1249) and/or 100 mg (n=1501) up to wk 160 (patients may be included in more than one group because non-responders were allowed early escape); 1179 patients were treated for \u3e /=156 weeks. For placebo, golimumab 50 mg and golimumab 100 mg, respective adverse event incidences/100 pt-yrs (95% CIs) up to wk 160 were: 0.28 (0.01 to 1.56), 0.30 (0.12 to 0.62), 0.41 (0.23 to 0.69) for death; 5.31 (3.20 to 8.30), 3.03 (2.36 to 3.82), 5.09 (4.36 to 5.90) for serious infection; 0.00 (0.00 to 0.84), 0.17 (0.05 to 0.44), 0.35 (0.18 to 0.62) for tuberculosis; 0.00 (0.00 to 0.84), 0.13 (0.03 to 0.38), 0.24 (0.10 to 0.46) for opportunistic infection; 0.00 (0.00 to 0.84), 0.00 (0.00 to 0.13), 0.12 (0.03 to 0.30) for demyelination; and 0.00 (0.00 to 0.84), 0.04 (0.00 to 0.24), 0.18 (0.06 to 0.38) for lymphoma. CONCLUSIONS: SC golimumab safety up to 3 years remained consistent with that of other TNF antagonists. Golimumab 100 mg showed numerically higher incidences of serious infections, demyelinating events and lymphoma than 50 mg; safety follow-up up to year 5 continues