How the causes, consequences and solutions for problem gambling are reported in Australian newspapers: a qualitative content analysis

OBJECTIVE: To inform public health approaches to problem gambling by examining how the news media covers problem gambling, with a particular focus on the causes, consequences and solutions to problem gambling, and the 'actors' and sources who influence media coverage. METHODS: A qualitative content analysis guided by framing theory analysed coverage of problem gambling in Australian newspapers in the period 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2012. RESULTS: Solutions to problem gambling were more frequently discussed than causes and consequences. A focus on the responsibility of individuals was preferred to reporting that focused on broader social, ecological, and industry determinants of problem gambling. Reporting was highly politicised, with politicians frequently quoted and political issues frequently discussed. In contrast, the community sector, health professionals and problem gamblers were rarely quoted. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: This analysis has revealed the need for a more proactive, coordinated approach to the media by both public health researchers and health groups. The establishment of a gambling-specific coalition to push for evidence-based reform is recommended.

Association between perception of fault for the crash and function, return to work and health status 1 year after road traffic injury: a registry-based cohort study

Objectives To establish the association between the patient's perception of fault for the crash and 12-month outcomes after non-fatal road traffic injury.Setting Two adult major trauma centres, one regional trauma centre and one metropolitan trauma centre in Victoria, Australia.Participants 2605 adult, orthopaedic trauma patients covered by the state's no-fault third party insurer for road traffic injury, injured between September 2010 and February 2014.Outcome measures EQ-5D-3L, return to work and functional recovery (Glasgow Outcome Scale—Extended score of upper good recovery) at 12 months postinjury.Results After adjusting for key confounders, the adjusted relative risk (ARR) of a functional recovery (0.57, 95% CI 0.46 to 0.69) and return to work (0.92, 95% CI 0.86 to 0.99) were lower for the not at fault compared to the at fault group. The ARR of reporting problems on EQ-5D items was 1.20–1.35 times higher in the not at fault group. Conclusions Patients who were not at fault, or denied being at fault despite a police report of fault, experienced poorer outcomes than the at fault group. Attributing fault to others was associated with poorer outcomes. Interventions to improve coping, or to resolve negative feelings from the crash, could facilitate better outcomes in the future.

What causes violent crime?

This study uses a new data set of crime ratesfor a large sample of countriesfor the period 1970- 1994, based on information from the United Nations World Crime Surveys, to ana/yze the determinants ofnational homicide and robbery rates. A simple model of the incentives to commit crimes is proposed, which explicit/y considers possible causes of the persistence of crime over time (criminal inertia). Several econometric mode/s are estimated, attempting to capture the . determinonts of crime rates across countries and over time. The empirical mode/s are first run for cross-sections and then applie'd to panel data. The former focus on erplanatory variables that do not change markedly over time, while the panel data techniques consider both the eflect of the business cyc1e (i.e., GDP growth rate) on the crime rate and criminal inertia (accountedfor by the inclusion of the /agged crime rate as an explanatory variable). The panel data techniques a/so consider country-specific eflects, the joint endogeneity of some of the erplanatory variables, and lhe existence of some types of measurement e"ors aJjlicting the crime data. The results showthat increases in income inequality raise crime rates, dete"ence eflects are significant, crime tends to be counter-cyclical, and criminal inertia is significant even after controlling for other potential determinants of homicide and robbery rates.

Causes of death of thoroughbred racehorses at Octavio Dupont Veterinary Hospital, Brazilian Jockey Club, Rio de Janeiro

Existem poucas pesquisas que abordam estudos epidemiológicos de mortes em cavalos de corrida de uma forma ampla. A maioria restringe-se a uma afecção ou procedimento específico. O Brasil não possui um programa de monitoramento de mortes instituído. Através de um estudo descritivo em associação a metodologia multivariada de análise, realizou-se um estudo epidemiológico de causa mortis relacionadas com afecções musculosqueléticas (MS), gastrointestinais (GI), sistema respiratório (RES), neurológico (NEU) e mortes súbitas (SD) durante os anos de 2002 a 2008 no Hospital Octavio Dupont, Rio de Janeiro. Os machos representaram o sexo mais afetado e a causa mortis relacionada com a taxa geral de mortalidade por grandes grupos de causas determinadas apresentou a seguinte ordem decrescentemente: MS>GI>SD>NEU>RES. A maioria dos óbitos registrados foi de cavalos na faixa etária de quatro a cinco anos (ID4-ID5). Seguidamente, observaram-se as seguintes relações de correspondência: (Triênio = SM-ID>5-SD; ID>5-GI; ID4-5-MS; SF-ID<4-RES/NEU); (Quatriênio = SM - ID>5 - GI; SF - ID<4 - NEU; ID4-5 - MS; GI - ID>5). O presente estudo aponta a importância e necessidade de estudos epidemiológicos sobre lesões em cavalos atletas, objetivando o diagnostico, reconhecimento de fatores predisponentes e prevenção.

Light exercise causes adaptive changes in muscles of young Brasileiro de Hipismo horses

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Loss of nuclear poly(A)-binding protein 1 causes defects in myogenesis and mRNA biogenesis

The nuclear poly(A)-binding protein 1 (PABPN1) is a ubiquitously expressed protein that plays a critical role in polyadenylation. Short expansions of the polyalanine tract in the N-terminus of PABPN1 lead to oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy (OPMD), which is an adult onset disease characterized by eyelid drooping, difficulty in swallowing and weakness in the proximal limb muscles. Although significant data from in vitro biochemical assays define the function of PABPN1 in control of poly(A) tail length, little is known about the role of PABPN1 in mammalian cells. To assess the function of PABPN1 in mammalian cells and specifically in cells affected in OPMD, we examined the effects of PABPN1 depletion using siRNA in primary mouse myoblasts from extraocular, pharyngeal and limb muscles. PABPN1 knockdown significantly decreased cell proliferation and myoblast differentiation during myogenesis in vitro. At the molecular level, PABPN1 depletion in myoblasts led to a shortening of mRNA poly(A) tails, demonstrating the cellular function of PABPN1 in polyadenylation control in a mammalian cell. In addition, PABPN1 depletion caused nuclear accumulation of poly(A) RNA, revealing that PABPN1 is required for proper poly(A) RNA export from the nucleus. Together, these experiments demonstrate that PABPN1 plays an essential role in myoblast proliferation and differentiation, suggesting that it is required for muscle regeneration and maintenance in vivo.

Prevalence and causes of visual impairment in a Brazilian population: The Botucatu Eye Study

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

High plasma uric acid concentration: causes and consequences

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A nonsense mutation in the tyrosinase gene causes albinism in water buffalo

Background: Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is an autosomal recessive hereditary pigmentation disorder affecting humans and several other animal species. Oculocutaneous albinism was studied in a herd of Murrah buffalo to determine the clinical presentation and genetic basis of albinism in this species.Results: Clinical examinations and pedigree analysis were performed in an affected herd, and wild-type and OCA tyrosinase mRNA sequences were obtained. The main clinical findings were photophobia and a lack of pigmentation of the hair, skin, horns, hooves, mucosa, and iris. The results of segregation analysis suggest that this disease is acquired through recessive inheritance. In the OCA buffalo, a single-base substitution was detected at nucleotide 1,431 (G to A), which leads to the conversion of tryptophan into a stop codon at residue 477.Conclusion: This premature stop codon produces an inactive protein, which is responsible for the OCA buffalo phenotype. These findings will be useful for future studies of albinism in buffalo and as a possible model to study diseases caused by a premature stop codon.

Diet-induced obesity causes metabolic, endocrine and cardiac alterations in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

GH overexpression causes muscle hypertrophy independent from local IGF-I in a zebrafish transgenic model

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Developmental exposure to diuron causes splenotoxicity in male Sprague-Dawley rat pups

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

In utero protein restriction causes growth delay and alters sperm parameters in adult male rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Possible causes of spatial variability in Diatraea saccharalis Fabr. (Lep., Crambidae) and its parasitoid populations in sugarcane fields in Brazil

Based on the large data set stored in some sugarcane mills regarding the biological control programme of Diatraea saccharalis using the parasitoids Cotesia flavipes and tachinid flies, the aim of the present study was to determine whether sugarcane varieties, number of cuts and plant ages are major determinants in promoting spatial variability in D. saccharalis, C. flavipes and tachinid fly populations in sugarcane fields in the state of São Paulo (Brazil). The data set used to support this study was provided by the Sao Joao and Barra sugarcane mills. Coefficient of variation was adopted as a measure of the spatial variability of population density. Spatial variability was estimated for the total density of D. saecharalis (parasitized + unparasitized larvae), and also for D. saccharalis larvae parasitized by tachinids and by C. flavipes. Statistical analysis revealed that the spatial variation in D. saccharalis populations was influenced by the number of cuts and by plant ages in the Barra and Sao Joao Mills, respectively. Similar results were obtained for D. saccharalis larvae parasitized by tachinids; however, in the Sao Joao Mill, the spatial variability of these populations was also influenced by the different number of varieties. Finally, considering D. saccharalis larvae parasitized by C. flavipes, no significant regressions with any of the three categories were observed for both sugarcane mills. The multitrophic implications for this agricultural system are also discussed.