Breastfeeding welcome here: good for mums, babies and your business

This booklet explains how the 'Breastfeeding welcome here' scheme works and includes the membership agreement for businesses to sign.

Public Health Agency Business plan 2010-2011

This second corporate business plan explains the purpose of the PHA and focuses on health improvement, health protection and addressing health inequalities. The business plan is available to download below.

Association of human leukocyte antigen DQ1 and dengue fever in a white Southern Brazilian population

Dengue is an infectious disease of viral etiology transmitted by the mosquitoes Aedes aegypti, A. albopictus, and A. scutellaris. It can develop either as a benign form or as a severe hemorrhagic form. Previous work showed an association of the hemorrhagic form with human leukocyte antigens (HLA), suggesting a role of genetic factors in disease susceptibility. Nevertheless, data on HLA association with the classical form of the disease is scarce in literature. Sixty-four patients and 667 normal individuals, living in the state of Paraná, Southern Brazil, were used as test and control group, respectively. The patients developed the disease during a virus 1 dengue outbreak either in Maringá city in 1995 (47) or in Paranavaí city in 1999 (17). The diagnostic was confirmed through serology and/or viral culture. HLA class I and II typing was performed by the classical microlynfocitotoxicity test using monoclonal antisera and fluorobeads. Qui-square statistical analysis confirmed a positive association with HLA-DQ1 (76.6% vs 57.7%; p = 0.005243; pc = 0.026215). HLA-DR1 also presented an increased frequency in the test group, not statistically significant after p correction though (32.8% vs 15.9%; p = 0.005729; pc = 0.080206). In conclusion, genetic factors may play a role on the susceptibility to the classical dengue, virus 1, in the Brazilian population. Further independent studies should be performed in the Brazilian population to confirm these preliminary data.

Association of urinary calcium excretion with serum calcium and vitamin D levels.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Population-based data on urinary calcium excretion are scarce. The association of serum calcium and circulating levels of vitamin D [25(OH)D2 or D3] with urinary calcium excretion in men and women from a population-based study was explored. DESIGN, SETTINGS, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: Multivariable linear regression was used to explore factors associated with square root-transformed 24-hour urinary calcium excretion (milligrams per 24 hours) taken as the dependent variable with a focus on month-specific vitamin D tertiles and serum calcium in the Swiss Survey on Salt Study. RESULTS: In total, 624 men and 669 women were studied with mean ages of 49.2 and 47.0 years, respectively (age range=15-95 years). Mean urinary calcium excretion was higher in men than in women (183.05 versus 144.60 mg/24 h; P<0.001). In adjusted models, the association (95% confidence interval) of square root urinary calcium excretion with protein-corrected serum calcium was 1.78 (95% confidence interval, 1.21 to 2.34) mg/24 h per milligram per deciliter in women and 0.59 (95% confidence interval, -0.11 to 1.29) mg/24 h per milligram per deciliter in men. Men in the third 25(OH)D3 tertile had higher square root urinary calcium excretion than men in the first tertile (0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.36 to 1.63 mg/24 h per nanogram per milliliter), and the corresponding association was 0.32 (95% confidence interval, -0.22 to 0.85) mg/24 h per nanogram per milliliter in women. These sex differences were more marked under conditions of high urinary sodium or urea excretions. CONCLUSIONS: There was a positive association of serum calcium with urinary calcium excretion in women but not men. Vitamin 25(OH)D3 was associated with urinary calcium excretion in men but not women. These results suggest important sex differences in the hormonal and dietary control of urinary calcium excretion.

Similarity between the association factor of ribosomal subunits and the protein Stm1p from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A ribosome association factor (AF) was isolated from the yeast Sacchharomyces cerevisiae. Partial amino acid sequence of AF was determined from its fragment of 25 kDa isolated by treating AF with 2-(2-nitrophenylsulfenyl)-3-methyl-3'-Bromoindolenine (BNPS-skatole). This sequence has a 86% identity to the product of the single-copy S. cerevisiae STM1 gene that is apparently involved in several events like binding to quadruplex and triplex nucleic acids and participating in apoptosis, stability of telomere structures, cell cycle, and ribosomal function. Here we show that AF and Stm1p share some characteristics: both bind to quadruplex and Pu triplex DNA, associates ribosomal subunits, and are thermostable. These observations suggest that these polypeptides belong to a family of proteins that may have roles in the translation process.

The prevalence of erectile dysfunction and its association with antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected men: the Swiss HIV Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Here, we aimed to determine the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) among HIV-infected men and its association with components of antiretroviral therapy. METHODS: Cross-sectional data on sexual dysfunction were collected in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) between December 2009 and November 2010. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between ED and exposure to 24 different antiretroviral drugs from four drug classes. RESULTS: During the study period, 5,194 of 5,539 eligible men in the SHCS had a follow-up visit; 4,064 men answered a question on ED for the first time. Among these men, ED was experienced often by 459 (11%), sometimes by 543 (13%), rarely by 389 (10%), never by 2,526 (62%) and 147 (4%) did not know. ED was associated with older age, an earlier HIV diagnosis and depression. No association was found with any drug class; however, ED was associated with cumulative exposure to either zalcitabine (OR 1.29 per year of use; 95% CI 1.07, 1.55) or enfuvirtide (OR 1.28; 95% CI 1.08, 1.52). CONCLUSIONS: Around 1 in 10 men in the SHCS reported often experiencing ED. We found no association between ED and any drug class, but those exposed to zalcitabine or enfurvitide (drugs no longer or rarely used) were more likely to report ED; this second association was probably not causal.

Kilkenny Allotments and Community Gardens Association

Our aim is to provide affordable sites for growing food across the city of Kilkenny and to provide education to families, individuals and community groups around growing food. Kilkenny Local Authorities Initiative Type Community Food Growing Projects Location Kilkenny Funding Kilkenny Local Authorities Partner Agencies Carlow Kilkenny Leader Partnership Future Proof Kilkenny GIY Kilkenny Local Authorities

More is not always better-comparison of three instruments measuring volume of drinking in a sample of young men and their association with consequences

OBJECTIVE: In general population survey instruments that measure volume of drinking, additional questions and shorter reference periods yield higher volumes. Comparison studies have focused on volume but not on associations between volume and consequences. METHOD: From a cohort study on substance use risk factors (Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors [C-SURF]), baseline data were analyzed for 5,074 young (approximately 20-year-old) men who were drinkers in the past 12 months. Volume of drinking was measured by a generic quantity-frequency (QF) instrument, an extended QF (separately for weekends and weekdays) instrument with 12-months recall, and a retrospective past-week diary. Associations of consequences with and without attribution of alcohol as a cause, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), criteria for dependence, and DSM-5 alcohol use disorder in the past 12 months were analyzed. RESULTS: The generic QF measure resulted in lower volume compared with either the extended QF measure (more questions) or the retrospective diary (the most questions and the shortest recall period). For outcomes, however, the extended QF assessment performed the best and the diary the worst. CONCLUSIONS: Higher volume yields are not always better regarding associations with outcomes. The extended QF instrument better captures the variability of drinking. The retrospective diary performs poorly for associations because of the mismatch with the recall period for past-12-months consequences and the potential for misclassification of past-week abstainers and heavy drinkers because of an uncommon past week. Diaries are not recommended for research investigating individual associations between exposure and outcomes in young populations if consequences are measured with a sufficiently long interval to capture rare consequences. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 75, 880-888, 2014).

New Alzheimer's Association report reveals 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia

2.3 Million Americans are “Long-Distance Caregivers” for people with Alzheimer’s; Costs for Long-Distance Caregivers are Almost Twice as High.According to the Alzheimer's Association 2013 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures report released today, one in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia in the United States. The new report shows that while deaths from other major diseases, such as heart disease, HIV/AIDS and stroke, continue to experience significant declines, Alzheimer’s deaths continue to rise — increasing 68 percent from 2000-2010.��“Unfortunately, today there are no Alzheimer’s survivors. If you have Alzheimer's disease, you either die from it or diewith it,” said Harry Johns, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association. “Now we know that 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Urgent, meaningful��action is necessary, particularly as more and more people age into greater risk for developing a disease��that today has no cure and no way to slow or stop its progression.”Read more here.����������

PHA Corporate business plan 2011-2012

The PHA Corporate Business Plan 2011-2012 is based on the four core goals and the common themes from the Corporate Strategy 2011-2015 and sets out a corporate picture of how the goals will be taken forward in year one (2011-2012) in line with existing AMT and board direction.�All Directorates were involved in developing the Corporate Business Plan and it reflects the content of each of the Directorate business plans.�It identifies a number of measurable indicators taken from the DHSSPS Commissioning Directions 2011-2012, as well as from each of the Directorate business plans.The Corporate Business Plan was approved by AMT on 1 November and by the PHA board on 17 November. Quarterly monitoring reports on progress against the indicators will be brought to the PHA board.

Association of rotavirus viroplasms with microtubules through NSP2 and NSP5

Rotavirus replication and virus assembly take place in electrodense spherical structures known as viroplasms whose main components are the viral proteins NSP2 and NSP5. The viroplasms are produced since early times after infection and seem to grow by stepwise addition of viral proteins and by fusion, however, the mechanism of viropIasms formation is unknown. In this study we found that the viroplasms surface colocalized with microtubules, and seem to be caged by a microtubule network. Moreover inhibition of microtubule assembly with nocodazole interfered with viroplasms growth in rotavirus infected cells. We searched for a physical link between viroplasms and microtubules by co-immunoprecipitation assays, and we found that the proteins NSP2 and NSP5 were co-immunoprecipitated with anti-tubulin in rotavirus infected cells and also when they were transiently co-expressed or individually expressed. These results indicate that a functional microtubule network is needed for viroplasm growth presumably due to the association of viroplasms with microtubules via NSP2 and NSP5.

Public Health Agency Business plan 2012-2013

This Business Plan sets out the key priorities and actions that will be progressed by the Public Health Agency (PHA) in 2012/13. The PHA believes that these actions will have the biggest impact on improving levels of health and social wellbeing, protecting the health of the community, and ensuring patients continue to receive high quality and safe treatment and care services.The business plan is available to download below.