In-play sports betting: a scoping study

Technology has changed the nature of gambling practices over the last decade and is continuing to do so. The online sports betting industry has become a rapidly growing sector of the global economy, with online sports betting contributing 37% of the annual online gambling market in Europe. There has been an integration of social and technological processes that has enabled the cultural saliency of contemporary online betting. One of the more newly introduced forms of online sports betting is in-play sports betting behaviour (the betting on events within a sporting event such as football and cricket). In-play sports betting features (such as 'cash out') are increasing in popularity amongst online gambling operators. A scoping study was carried out examining the evolution of this new form of gambling practice which included both a systematic literature review and the examination of 338 online gambling websites that offered sports betting. The present study identified a comprehensive list of what in-play betting features are currently being offered on online gambling websites as well as other information concerning in-play sports betting. A total of 16 academic papers and two 'grey literature' reports and were identified in the systematic review. Out of 338 online gambling websites that were visited, 26% of these offered at least on in-play betting feature. Results from the systematic review suggest that in-play sports betting has the potential to be more harmful than other ways of gambling because of the inherent structural characteristics

How common are vascular injuries in open tibial fractures? A prospective longitudinal cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Tibial fractures have an incidence of 15% of all adult fractures. They have been shown to have the highest incidence of non-union in long bone fractures and the highest incidence of vascular injury. Evidence from the literature suggests that a good vascular supply is important to ensure bone union. The aim of our study was to prospectively assess the incidence of vascular injuries in open tibial fractures and determine whether they were associated with an increased risk of non-union. METHODS: We performed a prospective study to investigate the incidence of arterial injuries with computed tomography angiography (CTA) in patients with Gustilo-Anderson grade I-III open tibial fractures between 2013 and 2015. CTA was performed with the trauma series at acute admission and reported by two independent musculoskeletal radiologists. Patients were followed up with clinical and radiographic assessment for 1 year. RESULTS: We recruited 77 patients into the study, and 56 patients (47 males, 9 females) were available for the final analysis, between 16 and 90 years of age. At the initial assessment, 29% had signs of arterial injury with active extravasation in 5%. The most common site of injury was in the diaphysis (87.5%), and the commonest mechanism was a road traffic accident. We found no significant relation between occult vascular injury and non-union (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The incidence of vascular injury in open tibial fractures is 29%, and CTA is therefore a useful test in identifying vascular injuries that may require vascular intervention

Androgen-regulation of the protein tyrosine phosphatase PTPRR activates ERK1/2 signalling in prostate cancer cells

Background: Androgens drive the onset and progression of prostate cancer (PCa) via androgen receptor (AR) signalling. The principal treatment for PCa is androgen deprivation therapy, although the majority of patients eventually develop a lethal castrate-resistant form of the disease, where despite low serum testosterone levels AR signalling persists. Advanced PCa often has hyper-activated RAS/ERK1/2 signalling thought to be due to loss of function of key negative regulators of the pathway, the details of which are not fully understood.<p></p> Methods: We recently carried out a genome-wide study and identified a subset of 226 novel androgen-regulated genes (PLOS ONE 6:e29088, 2011). In this study we have meta-analysed this dataset with genes and pathways frequently mutated in PCa to identify androgen-responsive regulators of the RAS/ERK1/2 pathway.<p></p> Results: We find the PTGER4 and TSPYL2 genes are up-regulated by androgen stimulation and the ADCY1, OPKR1, TRIB1, SPRY1 and PTPRR are down-regulated by androgens. Further characterisation of PTPRR protein in LNCaP cells revealed it is an early and direct target of the androgen receptor which negatively regulates the RAS/ERK1/2 pathway and reduces cell proliferation in response to androgens.<p></p> Conclusion: Our data suggest that loss of PTPRR in clinical PCa is one factor that might contribute to activation of the RAS/ERK1/2 pathway

In-play sports betting: a scoping study

Technology has changed the nature of gambling practices over the last decade and is continuing to do so. The online sports betting industry has become a rapidly growing sector of the global economy, with online sports betting contributing 37% of the annual online gambling market in Europe. There has been an integration of social and technological processes that has enabled the cultural saliency of contemporary online betting. One of the more newly introduced forms of online sports betting is in-play sports betting behaviour (the betting on events within a sporting event such as football and cricket). In-play sports betting features (such as 'cash out') are increasing in popularity amongst online gambling operators. A scoping study was carried out examining the evolution of this new form of gambling practice which included both a systematic literature review and the examination of 338 online gambling websites that offered sports betting. The present study identified a comprehensive list of what in-play betting features are currently being offered on online gambling websites as well as other information concerning in-play sports betting. A total of 16 academic papers and two 'grey literature' reports and were identified in the systematic review. Out of 338 online gambling websites that were visited, 26% of these offered at least on in-play betting feature. Results from the systematic review suggest that in-play sports betting has the potential to be more harmful than other ways of gambling because of the inherent structural characteristics

Selective laser sintering of hydroxyapatite reinforced polyethylene composites for bioactive implants and tissue scaffold development

Selective laser sintering (SLS) has been investigated for the production of bioactive implants and tissue scaffolds using composites of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) reinforced with hydroxyapatite (HA) with the aim of achieving the rapid manufacturing of customized implants. Single-layer and multilayer block specimens made of HA-HDPE composites with 30 and 40 vol % HA were sintered successfully using a CO2 laser sintering system. Laser power and scanning speed had a significant effect on the sintering behaviour. The degree of particle fusion and porosity were influenced by the laser processing parameters, hence control can be attained by varying these parameters. Moreover, the SLS processing allowed exposure of HA particles on the surface of the composites and thereby should provide bioactive products. Pores existed in the SLS-fabricated composite parts and at certain processing parameters a significant fraction of the pores were within the optimal sizes for tissue regeneration. The results indicate that the SLS technique has the potential not only to fabricate HA-HDPE composite products but also to produce appropriate features for their application as bioactive implants and tissue scaffolds

Presence of antioxidative agent, Pyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,4-dione, hexahydro- in newly isolated Streptomyces mangrovisoli sp. nov.

A novel Streptomyces, strain MUSC 149T was isolated from mangrove soil. A polyphasic approach was used to study the taxonomy of MUSC 149T, which shows a range of phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic properties consistent with those of the members of the genus Streptomyces. The diamino acid of the cell wall peptidoglycan was LL-diaminopimelic acid. The predominant menaquinones were identified as MK9(H8) and MK9(H6). Phylogenetic analysis indicated that closely related strains include Streptomyces rhizophilus NBRC 108885T (99.2 % sequence similarity), Streptomyces gramineus NBRC 107863T (98.7 %) and Streptomyces graminisoli NBRC 108883T (98.5 %). The DNA–DNA relatedness values between MUSC 149T and closely related type strains ranged from 12.4 ± 3.3 % to 27.3 ± 1.9 %. The DNA G + C content was determined to be 72.7 mol%. The extract of MUSC 149T exhibited strong antioxidant activity and chemical analysis reported identification of an antioxidant agent, Pyrrolo[1,2-a]pyrazine-1,4-dione, hexahydro-. These data showed that metabolites of MUSC 149T shall be useful as preventive agent against free-radical associated diseases. Based on the polyphasic study of MUSC 149T, the strain merits assignment to a novel species, for which the name Streptomyces mangrovisoli sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MUSC 149T (= MCCC 1K00699T = DSM 100438T)

A multicomponent approach for the preparation of homoallylic alcohols.

Here we report the in situ generation of transient allylic boronic species, by reacting TMSCHN2 and E-vinyl boronic acids, followed by their subsequent trapping with aldehydes as electrophiles to yield homoallylic alcohols. This metal-free reaction was initially discovered by the use of a flow chemistry approach to generate a variety of homoallylic alcohols in a straightforward fashion and then transferred to a batch protocol.We are grateful to the Cambridge Home and European Scholarship Scheme (J. S. P.), Croucher Foundation (S. H. L.), the Swiss National Science Foundation (D. N. T.), Pfizer Worldwide Research & Development (C. B.), and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (S. V. L. grant no. EP/K0099494/1 and EP/K039520/1) for financial support.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from RSC at http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C6SC02581A

Are bisphosphonates effective in the treatment of osteoarthritis pain? A meta-analysis and systematic review.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis worldwide. Pain and reduced function are the main symptoms in this prevalent disease. There are currently no treatments for OA that modify disease progression; therefore analgesic drugs and joint replacement for larger joints are the standard of care. In light of several recent studies reporting the use of bisphosphonates for OA treatment, our work aimed to evaluate published literature to assess the effectiveness of bisphosphonates in OA treatment

Streptomyces antioxidans sp. nov., a Novel Mangrove Soil Actinobacterium with Antioxidative and Neuroprotective Potentials

A novel strain, Streptomyces antioxidans MUSC 164(T) was recovered from mangrove forest soil located at Tanjung Lumpur, Malaysia. The Gram-positive bacterium forms yellowish-white aerial and brilliant greenish yellow substrate mycelium on ISP 2 agar. A polyphasic approach was used to determine the taxonomy status of strain MUSC 164(T). The strain showed a spectrum of phylogenetic and chemotaxonomic properties consistent with those of the members of the genus Streptomyces. The cell wall peptidoglycan was determined to contain LL-diaminopimelic acid. The predominant menaquinones were identified as MK-9(H(6)) and MK-9(H(8)), while the identified polar lipids consisted of aminolipid, diphosphatidylglycerol, glycolipid, hydroxyphosphatidylethanolamine, phospholipid, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and lipid. The cell wall sugars consist of galactose, glucose and ribose. The predominant cellular fatty acids (>10.0%) were identified as iso-C(15:)(0) (34.8%) and anteiso-C(15:)(0)(14.0%). Phylogenetic analysis identified that closely related strains for MUSC 164(T) as Streptomyces javensis NBRC 100777(T) (99.6% sequence similarity), Streptomyces yogyakartensis NBRC 100779(T) (99.6%) and Streptomyces violaceusniger NBRC 13459(T) (99.6%). The DNA–DNA relatedness values between MUSC 164(T) and closely related type strains ranged from 23.8 ± 0.3% to 53.1 ± 4.3%. BOX-PCR fingerprints comparison showed that MUSC 164(T) exhibits a unique DNA profile, with DNA G + C content determined to be 71.6 mol%. Based on the polyphasic study of MUSC 164(T), it is concluded that this strain represents a novel species, for which the name Streptomyces antioxidans sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MUSC 164(T) (=DSM 101523(T) = MCCC 1K01590(T)). The extract of MUSC 164(T) showed potent antioxidative and neuroprotective activities against hydrogen peroxide. The chemical analysis of the extract revealed that the strain produces pyrazines and phenolic-related compounds that could explain for the observed bioactivities

Marketing and advertising online sports betting: a problem gambling perspective

In this article, online sports betting is explored with the objective of critically examining the potential impact on problem gambling of the emerging product features and advertising techniques used to market it. First, the extent of the issue is assessed by reviewing the sports betting prevalence rates and its association with gambling disorders, acknowledging the methodological difficulties of an unambiguous identification of what exactly constitutes sports-related gambling today. Second, the main changes in the marketization of online betting products are outlined, with specific focus on the new situational and structural characteristics that such products present along with the convergence of online betting with other adjacent products. Third, some of the most prevalent advertising master narratives employed by the betting industry are introduced, and the implications for problem gamblers and minors are discussed