The uptake of a Klebsiella pneumoniae capsule polysaccharide mutant triggers an inflammatory response by human airway epithelial cells

The means by which airway epithelial cells sense a bacterial infection and which intracellular signalling pathways are activated upon infection are poorly understood. A549 cells and human primary airway cells (NHBE) were used to investigate the response to infection with Klebsiella pneumoniae. Infection of A549 and NHBE with K. pneumoniae 52K10, a capsule polysaccharide (CPS) mutant, increased the surface levels of ICAM-1 and caused the release of IL-8. By contrast, the wild-type strain did not elicit these responses. Consistent with a functional role for these responses, there was a correlation between ICAM-1 levels and the number of adherent leukocytes on the epithelial cell surface. In addition, treatment of neutrophils with IL-8 enhanced their ability to kill K. pneumoniae. Strain 52K10 was internalized by A549 cells more efficiently than the wild-type, and when infections with 52K10 were performed in the presence of cytochalasin D the inflammatory response was abrogated. These findings suggest that cellular activation is mediated by bacterial internalization and that CPS prevents the activation through the blockage of bacterial adhesion and uptake. Collectively, the results indicate that bacterial internalization by airway epithelial cells could be the triggering signal for the activation of the innate immune system of the airway. Infection of A549 cells by 52K10 was shown to trigger the nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB. Evidence is presented showing that 52K10 activated IL-8 production through Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR4 pathways and that A549 cells could use soluble CD14 as TLR co-receptor.

Common variation near CDKN1A, POLD3 and SHROOM2 influences colorectal cancer risk.

We performed a meta-analysis of five genome-wide association studies to identify common variants influencing colorectal cancer (CRC) risk comprising 8,682 cases and 9,649 controls. Replication analysis was performed in case-control sets totaling 21,096 cases and 19,555 controls. We identified three new CRC risk loci at 6p21 (rs1321311, near CDKN1A; P = 1.14 × 10(-10)), 11q13.4 (rs3824999, intronic to POLD3; P = 3.65 × 10(-10)) and Xp22.2 (rs5934683, near SHROOM2; P = 7.30 × 10(-10)) This brings the number of independent loci associated with CRC risk to 20 and provides further insight into the genetic architecture of inherited susceptibility to CRC.

Ultrasound biomicroscopy in deep sclerectomy

Purpose: To evaluate by ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) the anatomical characteristics and the intraocular pressure (IOP) lowering mechanisms of deep sclerectomy after long-term follow-up. Methods: In all, 22 eyes of 21 consecutive patients who had deep sclerectomy were examined by UBM. Several UBM variables were prospectively evaluated, including the presence and maximum length and height of the intrascleral space, the minimum thickness of residual trabeculo-Descemet membrane (TDM), the presence and type of subconjunctival filtering bleb, and the presence of other possible drainage sites, for example suprachoroidal. Surgical success was considered to be achieved when the IOP was

Legislating about Unhealthy Food: A Millian Approach

Tackling food-related health conditions is becoming one of the most pressing issues in the policy agendas of western liberal democratic governments. In this article, I intend to illustrate what the liberal philosopher John Stuart Mill would have said about legislation on unhealthy food and I focus especially on the arguments advanced by Mill in his classic essay On Liberty ([1859] 2006). Mill is normally considered as the archetype of liberal anti-paternalism and his ideas are often invoked by those who oppose state paternalism, including those who reject legislation that restricts the consumption of unhealthy food. Furthermore, his views have been applied to related policy areas such as alcohol minimum pricing (Saunders 2013) and genetically modified food (Holtug 2001). My analysis proceeds as follows. First, I show that Mill’s account warrants some restrictions on food advertising and justifies various forms of food labelling. Second, I assess whether and to what extent Mill’s ‘harm principle’ justifies social and legal non-paternalistic penalties against unhealthy eaters who are guilty of other-regarding harm. Finally, I show that Mill’s account warrants taxing unhealthy foods, thus restricting the freedom of both responsible and irresponsible eaters and de facto justifying what I call ‘secondary paternalism’.

The influence of parents, older siblings, and non-parental care on infant development at nine months of age

Background: The majority of research examining the influence of social environment on early child development suggests benefits to two-parent households, but contradictory evidence for the effects of siblings. The aims of the present study were to examine the influence of the child's proximal social environment, and the effects of interactions between socioeconomic status and social environment on developmental outcomes.

Methods: Primary caregivers of a representative sample of 10,748 nine-month-old infants in Ireland completed the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and provided information on social environment. Adjustment was made for infant and maternal characteristics, household income, and area where the child was living at the time of the study. Further analyses tested for interactions between social environment and household income.

Results: Binary logistic regressions indicated no effects for number of parents in the household. However, the presence of siblings in the household was a consistent predictor of failing to reach milestones in communication, gross motor, problem-solving, and personal-social development. Furthermore, there was a gradient of increasing likelihood of failing in gross motor, problem-solving, and personal-social development with increasing numbers of siblings. Care by a grandparent decreased the likelihood of failing in communication and personal-social development.

Conclusions:These findings do not support the majority of research that finds positive benefits for two-parent households. Similarly, the findings suggest limited effects for non-parental care. However, the observed negative effects of siblings support both the confluence and resource dilution models of sibling effect. Examination of follow-up data may elucidate current findings.

The politicization of indigenous identities in Peru

Until now, scholars have argued that, unlike other Latin American countries with sizable indigenous populations, indigenous politics are largely unimportant in Peru because indigenous-based parties or national-level movements are absent. Rather than focusing solely on the emergence of indigenous parties or movements, which ignores the larger consequence of individuals' indigenous identifications for electoral politics, we argue that it is more important to examine the emergence of indigenous political divisions and their effects on indigenous representation. Using data from the World Values Survey across the presidential elections of 1995, 2001, and 2006, we show that, as indigenous identity has become more carefully defined, indigenous voting divisions have emerged in Peru, and concomitantly, parties have begun to recognize and respond to these divisions.

Determination of the persistence of dimetridazole, metronidazole and ronidazole residues in black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) tissue and stability during cooking

The depletion of three banned nitroimidazole drugs (dimetridazole (DMZ), metronidazole (MNZ) and ronidazole (RNZ)) was investigated in black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) following in-water medication. The highest concentrations of residues were measured immediately after the 24 h immersion (day 0). At this time, MNZ and MNZ-OH residues were measured in shrimp tissue samples at concentrations ranging from 361–4189 and 0.28–6.6 μg kg−1, respectively. DMZ and its metabolites HMMNI ranged in concentration between 31509–37780 and 15.0–31.9 μg kg−1, respectively. RNZ and HMMNI concentrations ranged 14530–24206 and 25.0–55 μg kg−1, respectively. MNZ, DMZ and RNZ were the more persistent marker residues and can be detected for at least eight days post-treatment. MNZ-OH was only detectable on day 0 following treatment with MNZ. HMMNI residues were only detectable up to day 1 (0.97–3.2 μg kg−1) or 2 (1.2–4.5 μg kg−1) following DMZ and RNZ treatment, respectively. The parent drugs, MNZ, DMZ and RNZ were still measureable on day 8 at 0.12–1.00, 40.5–55 and 8.8–18.7 μg kg−1, respectively. The study also investigated the stability of nitroimidazole residues under various cooking procedures (frying, grilling, boiling and boiling followed by microwaving). The experiments were carried out in shrimp muscle tissue containing both high and low concentrations of these residues. Different cooking procedures showed the impact on nitroimidazole residue concentration in shrimp tissuetheir concentration depleted significantly, but partially, by boiling and/or microwaving but the compounds were largely resistant to conventional grilling or frying. Cooking cannot therefore be considered as a safeguard against harmful nitroimidazole residues in shrimp.

Does vicarious traumatisation affect oncology nurses?:A literature review

It is widely documented that nurses experience work-related stress [Quine, L., 1998. Effects of stress in an NHS trust: a study. Nursing Standard 13 (3), 36-41; Charnley, E., 1999. Occupational stress in the newly qualified staff nurse. Nursing Standard 13 (29), 32-37; McGrath, A., Reid, N., Boore, J., 2003. Occupational stress in nursing. International Journal of Nursing Studies 40, 555-565; McVicar, A., 2003. Workplace stress in nursing: a literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing 44 (6), 633-642; Bruneau, B., Ellison, G., 2004. Palliative care stress in a UK community hospital: evaluation of a stress-reduction programme. International Journal of Palliative Nursing 10 (6), 296-304; Jenkins, R., Elliott, P., 2004. Stressors, burnout and social support: nurses in acute mental health settings. Journal of Advanced Nursing 48 (6), 622-631], with cancer nursing being identified as a particularly stressful occupation [Hinds, P.S., Sanders, C.B., Srivastava, D.K., Hickey, S., Jayawardene, D., Milligan, M., Olsen, M.S., Puckett, P., Quargnenti, A., Randall, E.A., Tyc, V., 1998. Testing the stress-response sequence model in paediatric oncology nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing 28 (5), 1146-1157; Barnard, D., Street, A., Love, A.W., 2006. Relationships between stressors, work supports and burnout among cancer nurses. Cancer Nursing 29 (4), 338-345]. Terminologies used to capture this stress are burnout [Pines, A.M., and Aronson, E., 1988. Career Burnout: Causes and Cures. Free Press, New York], compassion stress [Figley, C.R., 1995. Compassion Fatigue. Brunner/Mazel, New York], emotional contagion [Miller, K.I., Stiff, J.B., Ellis, B.H., 1988. Communication and empathy as precursors to burnout among human service workers. Communication Monographs 55 (9), 336-341] or simply the cost of caring (Figley, 1995). However, in the mental health field such as psychology and counselling, there is terminology used to captivate this impact, vicarious traumatisation. Vicarious traumatisation is a process through which the therapist's inner experience is negatively transformed through empathic engagement with client's traumatic material [Pearlman, L.A., Saakvitne, K.W., 1995a. Treating therapists with vicarious traumatization and secondary traumatic stress disorders. In: Figley, C.R. (Ed.), Compassion Fatigue: Coping with Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorder in Those Who Treat the Traumatized. Brunner/Mazel, New York, pp. 150-177]. Trauma not only affects individuals who are primarily present, but also those with whom they discuss their experience. If an individual has been traumatised as a result of a cancer diagnosis and shares this impact with oncology nurses, there could be a risk of vicarious traumatisation in this population. However, although Thompson [2003. Vicarious traumatisation: do we adequately support traumatised staff? The Journal of Cognitive Rehabilitation 24-25] suggests that vicarious traumatisation is a broad term used for workers from any profession, it has not yet been empirically determined if oncology nurses experience vicarious traumatisation. This purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of vicarious traumatisation and argue that it should be explored in oncology nursing. The review will highlight that empirical research in vicarious traumatisation is largely limited to the mental health professions, with a strong recommendation for the need to empirically determine whether this concept exists in oncology nursing.

Race, religion and identity in South Africa:A case study of a charismatic congregation

This article uses a case study of a Pentecostal/charismatic congregation to explore how inclusive, overarching identities are constructed in South Africa. It explores how the congregation's culture impacts on identity formation, contestation and change. It argues that the way people construct their identities correlates with their perceived level of empowerment. It concludes that for an overarching identity to become durable, it must be accompanied by structural changes that dismantle the power imbalances embedded in old racial categories.

Bioavailability of atrazine to soil microbes in the presence of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestrius (L.)

Experiments were conducted to investigate the interactions between an earthworm species (Lumbricus terrestrius) and soil microflora with respect to the bioavailability and mineralisation of ¹⁴C ring-labelled atrazine. Presence of earthworms had no affect on atrazine in soil solution (assayed by soil centrifugation). This soil solution pool was highly time dependent, decreasing considerably as the experiment proceeded. KCl-extractable label was, however, affected by the presence of earthworms, with this pool initially increasing in the presence of the worms. This pool was also highly time-dependent although, the pattern of this dependence did not follow that for label in soil solution. Mineralisation of the atrazine closely followed the KCl exchangeable pool and not that of the soil solution pool. However, label sorbed to the surface of the worms was closely correlated to the soil solution pool. Mineralisation in the presence of earthworms was double that of the controls. By the end of the experiment 6% of added radioactivity was present in the earthworm biomass.

Judges, Conflict, and the Past

Drawing upon interviews with senior judicial figures in Northern Ireland, South Africa and elsewhere, this article considers the role of the judiciary in a political conflict.1 Using the socio-legal literature on judicial performance and audience as well as transitional justice, the article argues that judges in Northern Ireland ‘performed’ to a number of ‘imagined’ audiences including Parliament, ‘the public’ and their judicial peers - all of which it is argued shaped their view of the judicial role. In light of ongoing efforts to deal with the past in the jurisdiction, and the experiences of other transitional societies, the article argues that the judiciary can and should engage in a mature, reflexive and, where appropriate, self-critical examination of the good and bad of their own institutional history during the conflict. It also argues that such a review of judicial performance requires an external audience in order to encourage the judiciary to see truth beyond the limits of legalism.

Intraocular pressure, central corneal thickness, and glaucoma in chinese adults: the liwan eye study.

PURPOSE: To describe the distribution of central corneal thickness (CCT), intraocular pressure (IOP), and their determinants and association with glaucoma in Chinese adults.DESIGN: Population-based cross-sectional study.METHODS: Chinese adults aged 50 years and older were identified using cluster random sampling in Liwan District, Guangzhou. CCT (both optical [OCCT] and ultrasound [UCCT]), intraocular pressure (by Tonopen, IOP), refractive error (by autorefractor, RE), radius of corneal curvature (RCC), axial length (AL), and body mass index (BMI) were measured, and history of hypertension and diabetes (DM) was collected by questionnaire. Right eye data were analyzed.RESULTS: The mean values of OCCT, UCCT, and IOP were 512 ± 29.0 μm, 542 ± 31.4 μm, and 15.2 ± 3.1 mm Hg, respectively. In multiple regression models, CCT declined with age (P < .001) and increased with greater RCC (P < .001) and DM (P = .037). IOP was positively associated with greater CCT (P < .001), BMI (P < .001), and hypertension (P < .001). All 25 persons with open-angle glaucoma had IOP <21 mm Hg. CCT did not differ significantly between persons with and without open- or closed-angle glaucoma. Among 65 persons with ocular hypertension (IOP >97.5th percentile), CCT (555 ± 29 μm) was significantly (P = .01) higher than for normal persons.CONCLUSIONS: The distributions of CCT and IOP in this study are similar to that for other Chinese populations, though IOP was lower than for European populations, possibly due to lower BMI and blood pressure. Glaucoma with IOP <21 mm Hg is common in this population. We found no association between glaucoma and CCT, though power (0.3) for this analysis was low.