'Mindless markers of the nation': The routine flagging of nationhood across the visual environment

The visual environment has increasingly been used as a lens with which to understand wider processes of social and economic change with studies employing in-depth qualitative approaches to focus on, for example, gentrification or trans-national networks. This exploratory paper offers an alternative perspective by using a novel method, quantitative photo mapping, to examine the extent to which a particular socio-cultural marker, the nation, is ‘flagged’ across three contrasting sites in Britain. As a multi-national state with an increasingly diverse population, Britain offers a particularly fruitful case study, drawing in debates around devolution, European integration and Commonwealth migration. In contributing to wider debates around banal nationalism, the paper notes the extent to which nations are increasingly articulated through commerce, consumption and market exchange and the overall significance of everyday markers (signs, objects, infrastructure) in naturalising a national view of the world

National Salmonella and E. coli Monitoring (ESAM) data from Australian pig carcases from 2000 to 2006

Since 1997, pig carcases produced tn Australian export abattoirs have been routinely monitored for Salmonella spp. and E. coli contamination using the standard USDA method (i.e. swabbing 3x 100cm2 areas on chilled p1g carcases). The National Salmonella carcase prevalence and serotype isolation frequency was calculated for the years from January 2000 to September 2006. The yearly prevalence range was from 1.19% (7/586) to 2.73% (28/1025) with a 7-year average of 1.88% (132/7038). The most frequent serotypes ISolated were Derby, Anatum, Havana, London, Agona and Adelaide. Overall S. Typhimurium was isolated in 5.3% (7/132) of the positive samples. For the same period for E. coli detection, overall 97.65% (21891/22417) of samples were below the Australian regulatory m desirable benchmark {1 cfu/cm2) , with a yearly range from 95.92% to 98.07% of sam?,les. Overall, only 0.08% (18/22417) of samples were \u3e M , the upper regulatory limit ( 1 02cfu/cm )

Sirolimus therapy for angiomyolipoma in tuberous sclerosis and sporadic lymphangioleiomyomatosis: a phase 2 trial

This study showed sustained regression of renal angiomyolipomas in patients with tuberous sclerosis or sporadic LAM receiving 2 years of sirolimus treatment. Possible effects on pulmonary function and neurocognition require further investigation

BHPR research: qualitative1. Complex reasoning determines patients' perception of outcome following foot surgery in rheumatoid arhtritis

Background: Foot surgery is common in patients with RA but research into surgical outcomes is limited and conceptually flawed as current outcome measures lack face validity: to date no one has asked patients what is important to them. This study aimed to determine which factors are important to patients when evaluating the success of foot surgery in RA Methods: Semi structured interviews of RA patients who had undergone foot surgery were conducted and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis of interviews was conducted to explore issues that were important to patients. Results: 11 RA patients (9 ♂, mean age 59, dis dur = 22yrs, mean of 3 yrs post op) with mixed experiences of foot surgery were interviewed. Patients interpreted outcome in respect to a multitude of factors, frequently positive change in one aspect contrasted with negative opinions about another. Overall, four major themes emerged. Function: Functional ability & participation in valued activities were very important to patients. Walking ability was a key concern but patients interpreted levels of activity in light of other aspects of their disease, reflecting on change in functional ability more than overall level. Positive feelings of improved mobility were often moderated by negative self perception ("I mean, I still walk like a waddling duck”). Appearance: Appearance was important to almost all patients but perhaps the most complex theme of all. Physical appearance, foot shape, and footwear were closely interlinked, yet patients saw these as distinct separate concepts. Patients need to legitimize these feelings was clear and they frequently entered into a defensive repertoire ("it's not cosmetic surgery; it's something that's more important than that, you know?”). Clinician opinion: Surgeons' post operative evaluation of the procedure was very influential. The impact of this appraisal continued to affect patients' lasting impression irrespective of how the outcome compared to their initial goals ("when he'd done it ... he said that hasn't worked as good as he'd wanted to ... but the pain has gone”). Pain: Whilst pain was important to almost all patients, it appeared to be less important than the other themes. Pain was predominately raised when it influenced other themes, such as function; many still felt the need to legitimize their foot pain in order for health professionals to take it seriously ("in the end I went to my GP because it had happened a few times and I went to an orthopaedic surgeon who was quite dismissive of it, it was like what are you complaining about”). Conclusions: Patients interpret the outcome of foot surgery using a multitude of interrelated factors, particularly functional ability, appearance and surgeons' appraisal of the procedure. While pain was often noted, this appeared less important than other factors in the overall outcome of the surgery. Future research into foot surgery should incorporate the complexity of how patients determine their outcome Disclosure statement: All authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Assessment of Visual Attention in Teams with or without Dedicated Team Leaders: A Neonatal Simulation-Based Pilot Randomised Cross-Over Trial Utilising Low-Cost Eye-Tracking Technology

\ua9 2024 by the authors.Background: Eye-tracking technology could be used to study human factors during teamwork. Objectives: This work aimed to compare the visual attention (VA) of a team member acting as both a team leader and managing the airway, compared to a team member performing the focused task of managing the airway in the presence of a dedicated team leader. This work also aimed to report differences in team performance, behavioural skills, and workload between the two groups using validated tools. Methods: We conducted a simulation-based, pilot randomised controlled study. The participants included were volunteer paediatric trainees, nurse practitioners, and neonatal nurses. Three teams consisting of four team members were formed. Each team participated in two identical neonatal resuscitation simulation scenarios in a random order, once with and once without a team leader. Using a commercially available eye-tracking device, we analysed VA regarding attention to (1) a manikin, (2) a colleague, and (3) a monitor. Only the trainee who was the airway operator would wear eye-tracking glasses in both simulations. Results: In total, 6 simulation scenarios and 24 individual role allocations were analysed. Participants in a no-team-leader capacity had a greater number of total fixations on manikin and monitors, though this was not significant. There were no significant differences in team performance, behavioural skills, and individual workload. Physical demand was reported as significantly higher by participants in the group without a team leader. During debriefing, all the teams expressed their preference for having a dedicated team leader. Conclusion: In our pilot study using low-cost technology, we could not demonstrate the difference in VA with the presence of a team leader

Neutrophil-specific deletion of the CARD9 gene expression regulator suppresses autoantibody-induced inflammation in vivo

Neutrophils are terminally differentiated cells with limited transcriptional activity. The biological function of their gene expression changes is poorly understood. CARD9 regulates transcription during antifungal immunity but its role in sterile inflammation is unclear. Here we show that neutrophil CARD9 mediates pro-inflammatory chemokine/cytokine but not lipid mediator release during non-infectious inflammation. Genetic deficiency of CARD9 suppresses autoantibody-induced arthritis and dermatitis in mice. Neutrophil-specific deletion of CARD9 is sufficient to induce that phenotype. Card9(-/-) neutrophils show defective immune complex-induced gene expression changes and pro-inflammatory chemokine/cytokine release but normal LTB4 production and other short-term responses. In vivo deletion of CARD9 reduces tissue levels of pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines but not LTB4. The CARD9-mediated signalling pathway involves Src-family kinases, Syk, PLCγ2, Bcl10/Malt1 and NFκB. Collectively, CARD9-mediated gene expression changes within neutrophils play important roles during non-infectious inflammation in vivo and CARD9 acts as a divergence point between chemokine/cytokine and lipid mediator release

Cultural and serological analysis of the salmonella status of Australian pig production

The microbiological quality of food of animal origin is receiving widespread scrutiny as outbreaks of food-borne disease are increasingly reported in developed countries. In Australia, the pig industry has embarked on a national program to define and enhance the quality, including microbiological quality, of pig meat. The National Pig Meat Hygiene Program (PMHP) is part of this initiative, and aims to develop baseline data for microorganisms on pig meat, including public health pathogens, and to develop and implement management strategies to enhance the microbial quality of Australia\u27s pig meat production. The study reported here measured salmonella contamination on pig meat and carcases sampled nationwide, and adapted and validated an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for evaluating the salmonella infection status of pig herds

Unmet needs and wish for support of family caregivers of primary brain tumor patients

Background Most primary brain tumor patients rely on family caregivers for support. Caregiving can be rewarding, but also leads to significant burden from unmet needs. We aimed to: (1) identify and characterize caregivers’ unmet needs; (2) determine associations between unmet needs and wish for support; (3) evaluate acceptability of the Caregiver Needs Screen (CNS) and perceived feasibility in clinical practice. Methods Family caregivers of primary brain tumor patients were recruited from outpatient clinics and asked to complete an adapted version of the CNS consisting of 33 common issues caregivers report (item scale 0–10), and the wish for support (yes/no). Participants ranked acceptability and feasibility (item scale 0–7; higher scores being positive) of the adapted CNS. Descriptive and non-parametric correlational analyses were applied. Results Caregivers (N = 71) reported 1–33 unmet caregiving needs (M = 17.20, sd = 7.98) but did not always wish for support (range 0–28, M = 5.82, sd = 6.96). A weak correlation was found between total number of unmet needs and wish for support (r = 0.296, P = .014). Most distressing items were patients’ changes in memory/concentration (M = 5.75, sd = 3.29), patients’ fatigue (M = 5.58, sd = 3.43), and signs of disease progression (M = 5.23, sd = 3.15).Caregivers most often wished support with recognizing disease progression (N = 24), and least often with managing spiritual issues (N = 0). Caregivers evaluated acceptability and feasibility of the CNS tool positively (mean scores ranged 4.2–6.2). Conclusions Family caregivers experience distress resulting from many neuro-oncology specific needs, but this is not directly related to wish for support. Family caregiver needs screening could be useful to tailor support to suit their preferences in clinical practice

Association of Variants at 1q32 and STAT3 with Ankylosing Spondylitis Suggests Genetic Overlap with Crohn's Disease

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a common inflammatory arthritic condition. Overt inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) occurs in about 10% of AS patients, and in addition 70% of AS cases may have subclinical terminal ileitis. Spondyloarthritis is also common in IBD patients. We therefore tested Crohn's disease susceptibility genes for association with AS, aiming to identify pleiotropic genetic associations with both diseases. Genotyping was carried out using Sequenom and Applied Biosystems TaqMan and OpenArray technologies on 53 markers selected from 30 Crohn's disease associated genomic regions. We tested genotypes in a population of unrelated individual cases (n = 2,773) and controls (n = 2,215) of white European ancestry for association with AS. Statistical analysis was carried out using a Cochran-Armitage test for trend in PLINK. Strong association was detected at chr1q32 near KIF21B (rs11584383, P = 1.6×10−10, odds ratio (OR) = 0.74, 95% CI:0.68–0.82). Association with disease was also detected for 2 variants within STAT3 (rs6503695, P = 4.6×10−4. OR = 0.86 (95% CI:0.79–0.93); rs744166, P = 2.6×10−5, OR = 0.84 (95% CI:0.77–0.91)). Association was confirmed for IL23R (rs11465804, P = 1.2×10−5, OR = 0.65 (95% CI:0.54–0.79)), and further associations were detected for IL12B (rs10045431, P = 5.2×10−5, OR = 0.83 (95% CI:0.76–0.91)), CDKAL1 (rs6908425, P = 1.1×10−4, OR = 0.82 (95% CI:0.74–0.91)), LRRK2/MUC19 (rs11175593, P = 9.9×10−5, OR = 1.92 (95% CI: 1.38–2.67)), and chr13q14 (rs3764147, P = 5.9×10−4, OR = 1.19 (95% CI: 1.08–1.31)). Excluding cases with clinical IBD did not significantly affect these findings. This study identifies chr1q32 and STAT3 as ankylosing spondylitis susceptibility loci. It also further confirms association for IL23R and detects suggestive association with another 4 loci. STAT3 is a key signaling molecule within the Th17 lymphocyte differentiation pathway and further enhances the case for a major role of this T-lymphocyte subset in ankylosing spondylitis. Finally these findings suggest common aetiopathogenic pathways for AS and Crohn's disease and further highlight the involvement of common risk variants across multiple diseases

Whole-blood expression of inflammasome- and glucocorticoid-related mRNAs correctly separates treatment-resistant depressed patients from drug-free and responsive patients in the BIODEP study

Abstract: The mRNA expression signatures associated with the ‘pro-inflammatory’ phenotype of depression, and the differential signatures associated with depression subtypes and the effects of antidepressants, are still unknown. We examined 130 depressed patients (58 treatment-resistant, 36 antidepressant-responsive and 36 currently untreated) and 40 healthy controls from the BIODEP study, and used whole-blood mRNA qPCR to measure the expression of 16 candidate mRNAs, some never measured before: interleukin (IL)-1-beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha, macrophage inhibiting factor (MIF), glucocorticoid receptor (GR), SGK1, FKBP5, the purinergic receptor P2RX7, CCL2, CXCL12, c-reactive protein (CRP), alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M), acquaporin-4 (AQP4), ISG15, STAT1 and USP-18. All genes but AQP4, ISG15 and USP-18 were differentially regulated. Treatment-resistant and drug-free depressed patients had both increased inflammasome activation (higher P2RX7 and proinflammatory cytokines/chemokines mRNAs expression) and glucocorticoid resistance (lower GR and higher FKBP5 mRNAs expression), while responsive patients had an intermediate phenotype with, additionally, lower CXCL12. Most interestingly, using binomial logistics models we found that a signature of six mRNAs (P2RX7, IL-1-beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha, CXCL12 and GR) distinguished treatment-resistant from responsive patients, even after adjusting for other variables that were different between groups, such as a trait- and state-anxiety, history of childhood maltreatment and serum CRP. Future studies should replicate these findings in larger, longitudinal cohorts, and test whether this mRNA signature can identify patients that are more likely to respond to adjuvant strategies for treatment-resistant depression, including combinations with anti-inflammatory medications