Plasma homocysteine, folate and vitamin B(12) compared between rural Gambian and UK adults.

The disease risk indicator plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) is influenced by genetic and environmental factors, including folate and vitamin B(12) status. Little is known about the determinants of tHcy in rural West Africa. We explored the hypothesis that tHcy in rural Gambian adults might vary between the sexes and physiological groups, and/or with folate and vitamin B(12) status. Comparisons were made with a British national survey. Non-pregnant Gambian women (n 158) had tHcy concentrations (geometric mean 9.0 micromol/l) similar to those of non-pregnant UK women (n 449; 9.4 micromol/l), whereas pregnant Gambian women (n 12) had significantly lower values (6.2 micromol/l). Gambian men (n 22) had significantly higher values (14.7 micromol/l) than British men (n 354; 10.8 micromol/l). Gambian lactating women and British men and women exhibited significant inverse relationships between log(e)(tHcy) and folate status; however, only the British subjects exhibited significant inverse relationships between loge(tHcy) and vitamin B(12) status. In the British sample, and in Gambian lactating women, folate and vitamin B(12) status variations together accounted for 20-25 % of the variation in log(e)(tHcy). Within the UK, black-skinned adults had folate and tHcy levels similar to those of their white-skinned counterparts, but significantly higher vitamin B(12) values. We conclude that, whereas folate and vitamin B(12) status are similar between British and rural Gambian populations, tHcy is higher in Gambian men and lower in pregnant Gambian women, and that serum vitamin B(12) values appear to be higher in black-skinned than white-skinned British subjects. Possible reasons are discussed

FGF23 is correlated with iron status but not with inflammation and decreases after iron supplementation: a supplementation study.

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.BACKGROUND: Recent studies have described relationships between iron status and fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF23) but the possible confounding effects of inflammation on iron status have not been considered. The aims of this study were a) to consider a relationship between FGF23 and inflammation b) to identify relationships between iron status and FGF23 whilst correcting for inflammation and c) to assess the relationship between changes in FGF23 and iron status after supplementation. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY: Blood samples from an iron supplementation study in children (n=79) were collected at baseline and after 3 months supplementation with iron sulphate. The children were from a rural Gambian population where rates of iron deficiency and infection/inflammation are high. This study identified cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between FGF23, inflammation (C-reactive protein (CRP)) and iron status (ferritin, haemoglobin, and zinc protoporphyrin). CRP ≥ 5 mg/dL was used to indicate inflammation and FGF23 ≥ 125 RU/mL was considered elevated. RESULTS: FGF23 was not significantly correlated with CRP. At baseline, all markers of iron status were significantly correlated with FGF23. Ferritin was the strongest independent inverse predictor of FGF23 in subjects with and without elevated CRP (coefficient (SE)): All subjects=-0.57 (0.12), R2=22.3%, P≤0.0001; subjects with CRP < 5 mg/dL=-0.89 (0.14), R2=38.9%, P≤0.0001. FGF23 was elevated in 28% of children at baseline and 16% post supplementation (P=0.1). Improved iron status was associated with a decrease in FGF23 concentration in univariate (ferritin =-0.41 (0.11), R2=14.1%, P=0.0004; haemoglobin=-2.22 (0.64), R2=12.5%, P=0.0008; zinc protoporphyrin=1.12 (0.26), R2=18.6%, P≤0.0001) and multivariate analysis (R2=33.1%; ferritin=-0.36 (0.10), P=0.0007, haemoglobin = -1.83 (0.61), P=0.004, zinc protoporphyrin=0.62 (0.26), P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Iron status rather than inflammation is a negative predictor of plasma FGF23 concentration. Improvements in iron status following iron supplementation are associated with a significant decrease in FGF23 concentration

Emergency medical dispatch recognition, clinical intervention and outcome of patients in traumatic cardiac arrest from major trauma : an observational study

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to describe the demographics of reported traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) victims, prehospital resuscitation and survival to hospital rate. SETTING: Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) in south-east England, covering a resident population of 4.5 million and a transient population of up to 8 million people. PARTICIPANTS: Patients reported on the initial 999 call to be in suspected traumatic cardiac arrest between 1 July 2016 and 31 December 2016 within the trust's geographical region were identified. The inclusion criteria were all cases of reported TCA on receipt of the initial emergency call. Patients were subsequently excluded if a medical cause of cardiac arrest was suspected. OUTCOME MEASURES: Patient records were analysed for actual presence of cardiac arrest, prehospital resuscitation procedures undertaken and for survival to hospital rates. RESULTS: 112 patients were reported to be in TCA on receipt of the 999/112 call. 51 (46%) were found not to be in TCA on arrival of emergency medical services. Of the 'not in TCA cohort', 34 (67%) received at least one advanced prehospital medical intervention (defined as emergency anaesthesia, thoracostomy, blood product transfusion or resuscitative thoracotomy). Of the 61 patients in actual TCA, 10 (16%) achieved return-of-spontaneous circulation. In 45 (88%) patients, the HEMS team escorted the patient to hospital. CONCLUSION: A significant proportion of patients reported to be in TCA on receipt of the emergency call are not in actual cardiac arrest but are critically unwell requiring advanced prehospital medical intervention. Early activation of an enhanced care team to a reported TCA call allows appropriate advanced resuscitation. Further research is warranted to determine which interventions contribute to improved TCA survival.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Synthesis of empty bacterial microcompartments, directed organelle protein incorporation, and evidence of filament-associated organelle movement

Compartmentalization is an important process, since it allows the segregation of metabolic activities and, in the era of synthetic biology, represents an important tool by which defined microenvironments can be created for specific metabolic functions. Indeed, some bacteria make specialized proteinaceous metabolic compartments called bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) or metabolosomes. Here we demonstrate that the shell of the metabolosome (representing an empty BMC) can be produced within E. coil cells by the coordinated expression of genes encoding structural proteins. A plethora of diverse structures can be generated by changing the expression profile of these genes, including the formation of large axial filaments that interfere with septation. Fusing GFP to PduC, PduD, or PduV, none of which are shell proteins, allows regiospecific targeting of the reporter group to the empty BMC. Live cell imaging provides unexpected evidence of filament-associated BMC movement within the cell in the presence of Pdu

The assimilation of in-laws: the impact of newcomers on the structuration of families

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (July 18, 2006)Includes bibliographical references.Vita.Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2005.Dissertations, Academic -- University of Missouri--Columbia -- Communication.In this study, 42 participants (including newlyweds, parents of newlyweds, and siblings of newlyweds) were interviewed about their relationships with their in-laws. Most of the participants reported that they liked their in-laws and wanted to maintain good relationships with them, while only four of the participants reported problematic inlaw relationships. However, participants reported differing levels of discomfort with their in-laws when their routines differed for everyday life, holiday celebrations, religious practice, gift-giving, and interpersonal interactions. Families rarely communicated their routines directly. Instead they continued with their everyday routines and expected the newcomer to fit in. The newcomers found it easy to adjust to some routines that were similar to their own, but they felt confused or rebellious in response to other routines. The newcomers attempted to create roles for themselves in their spouse's families, and sometimes both the newcomer and the family of the spouse learned new values, created new routines, and found new ways to interact. Participants also reported that tensions existed between the married couple and their larger families regarding how much time the couple should spend with their families. These findings suggest that problematic inlaw relationships may be due to differences in family routines and communication patterns

Hydrogen Evolution by Polymer Photocatalysts; a Possible Photocatalytic Cycle

We propose, supported by ab-initio calculations, a possible photocatalytic cycle for hydrogen evolution by a prototypical polymer photocatalyst, poly(p-phenylene), in the presence of a sacrificial electron donor. As part of that cycle we also introduce a family of related sites on the polymer that in the absence of a noble metal co-catalyst can facilitate the evolution of molecular hydrogen when the polymer is illuminated. The bottlenecks for hydrogen evolution, electron transfer from the sacrificial electron donor and hydrogen-hydrogen bond formation, are discussed, as well as how they could potentially be improved by tuning the polymer properties and how they change in the presence of a noble-metal co-catalyst

Validation and clinical application of molecular methods for the identification of molds in tissue

Background. Invasive fungal infections due to less-common molds are an increasing problem, and accurate diagnosis is difficult.Methods. We used our previously established molecular method, which allows species identification of molds in histological tissue sections, to test sequential specimens from 56 patients with invasive fungal infections who were treated at our institution from 1982 to 2000.Results. The validity of the method was demonstrated with the establishment of a molecular diagnosis in 52 cases (93%). Confirmation of the causative organism was made in all cases in which a mold had been cultured from the tissue specimen. Less-common molds were identified in 7% of cases and appear to be an increasing problem.Conclusions. Our previously established method has proven to be of value in determining the incidence of invasive infection caused by less-common molds. Institutions should continue to pursue diagnosis of invasive fungal infections by means of tissue culture and microbiologic analysis

The effect of BCG on iron metabolism in the early neonatal period: A controlled trial in Gambian neonates.

Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination has been reported to protect neonates from non-tuberculous pathogens, but no biological mechanism to explain such effects is known. We hypothesised that BCG produces broad-spectrum anti-microbial protection via a hepcidin-mediated hypoferraemia, limiting iron availability for pathogens. To test this we conducted a trial in 120 Gambian neonates comparing iron status in the first 5-days of life after allocation to: (1) All routine vaccinations at birth (BCG/Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV)/Hepatitis B Vaccine (HBV)); (2) BCG delayed until after the study period (at day 5); and (3) All routine vaccinations delayed until after the study period. Vaccine regime at birth did not significantly impact on any measured parameter of iron metabolism. However, the ability to detect an effect of BCG on iron metabolism may have been limited by short follow-up time and high activation of the inflammatory-iron axis in the study population

Breaking the color-reddening degeneracy in type Ia supernovae

A new method to study the intrinsic color and luminosity of type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) is presented. A metric space built using principal component analysis (PCA) on spectral series SNe Ia between -12.5 and +17.5 days from B maximum is used as a set of predictors. This metric space is built to be insensitive to reddening. Hence, it does not predict the part of color excess due to dust-extinction. At the same time, the rich variability of SN Ia spectra is a good predictor of a large fraction of the intrinsic color variability. Such metric space is a good predictor of the epoch when the maximum in the B-V color curve is reached. Multivariate Partial Least Square (PLS) regression predicts the intrinsic B band light-curve and the intrinsic B-V color curve up to a month after maximum. This allows to study the relation between the light curves of SNe Ia and their spectra. The total-to-selective extinction ratio RV in the host-galaxy of SNe Ia is found, on average, to be consistent with typical Milky-Way values. This analysis shows the importance of collecting spectra to study SNe Ia, even with large sample publicly available. Future automated surveys as LSST will provide a large number of light curves. The analysis shows that observing accompaning spectra for a significative number of SNe will be important even in the case of "normal" SNe Ia.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure