Liquid water absorption in coated norway spruce: Impact of heartwood, sapwood, density and weather exposure

Water is one of the most significant factors for the durability of wood. A common solution is to use a coating to protect and maintain low water content. However, little knowledge exists how the underlying wood substrate affects the water sorption of coated wood. Therefore, the liquid water absorption of coated and uncoated Norway spruce heartwood and sapwood with a variety of densities was measured by letting the panels float freely in the water. The effect of one year weathering of the coatings was also included. Coated heartwood and sapwood had no difference in water absorption in opposite to uncoated spruce. The influence of heartwood and sapwood seemed to have limited impact when a coating hindered the presence of free water. Wood density had a positive effect on the absorption of coated wood, i.e. low absorption for low-density samples, in opposite to uncoated samples. Low-density characteristic also contributed to a lower increase of water absorption after weather degradation, for samples with water-borne coatings. Natural weathering enhanced the effect of wood characteristics on coated samples, likely by an increase of coating permeability

A Recombinant Vaccine Effectively Induces C5a-Specific Neutralizing Antibodies and Prevents Arthritis

OBJECTIVES: To develop and validate a recombinant vaccine to attenuate inflammation in arthritis by sustained neutralization of the anaphylatoxin C5a. METHODS: We constructed and expressed fusion protein of C5a and maltose binding protein. Efficacy of specific C5a neutralization was tested using the fusion protein as vaccine in three different arthritis mouse models: collagen induced arthritis (CIA), chronic relapsing CIA and collagen antibody induced arthritis (CAIA). Levels of anti-C5a antibodies and anti-collagen type II were measured by ELISA. C5a neutralization assay was done using a rat basophilic leukemia cell-line transfected with the human C5aR. Complement activity was determined using a hemolytic assay and joint morphology was assessed by histology. RESULTS: Vaccination of mice with MBP-C5a led to significant reduction of arthritis incidence and severity but not anti-collagen antibody synthesis. Histology of the MBP-C5a and control (MBP or PBS) vaccinated mice paws confirmed the vaccination effect. Sera from the vaccinated mice developed C5a-specific neutralizing antibodies, however C5 activation and formation of the membrane attack complex by C5b were not significantly altered. CONCLUSIONS: Exploitation of host immune response to generate sustained C5a neutralizing antibodies without significantly compromising C5/C5b activity is a useful strategy for developing an effective vaccine for antibody mediated and C5a dependent inflammatory diseases. Further developing of such a therapeutic vaccine would be more optimal and cost effective to attenuate inflammation without affecting host immunity

Niraparib in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and DNA repair gene defects (GALAHAD): a multicentre, open-label, phase 2 trial

Background Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancers are enriched for DNA repair gene defects (DRDs) that can be susceptible to synthetic lethality through inhibition of PARP proteins. We evaluated the anti-tumour activity and safety of the PARP inhibitor niraparib in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancers and DRDs who progressed on previous treatment with an androgen signalling inhibitor and a taxane. Methods In this multicentre, open-label, single-arm, phase 2 study, patients aged at least 18 years with histologically confirmed metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mixed histology accepted, with the exception of the small cell pure phenotype) and DRDs (assessed in blood, tumour tissue, or saliva), with progression on a previous next-generation androgen signalling inhibitor and a taxane per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors 1.1 or Prostate Cancer Working Group 3 criteria and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0–2, were eligible. Enrolled patients received niraparib 300 mg orally once daily until treatment discontinuation, death, or study termination. For the final study analysis, all patients who received at least one dose of study drug were included in the safety analysis population; patients with germline pathogenic or somatic biallelic pathogenic alterations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA cohort) or biallelic alterations in other prespecified DRDs (non-BRCA cohort) were included in the efficacy analysis population. The primary endpoint was objective response rate in patients with BRCA alterations and measurable disease (measurable BRCA cohort). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02854436. Findings Between Sept 28, 2016, and June 26, 2020, 289 patients were enrolled, of whom 182 (63%) had received three or more systemic therapies for prostate cancer. 223 (77%) of 289 patients were included in the overall efficacy analysis population, which included BRCA (n=142) and non-BRCA (n=81) cohorts. At final analysis, with a median follow-up of 10·0 months (IQR 6·6–13·3), the objective response rate in the measurable BRCA cohort (n=76) was 34·2% (95% CI 23·7–46·0). In the safety analysis population, the most common treatment-emergent adverse events of any grade were nausea (169 [58%] of 289), anaemia (156 [54%]), and vomiting (111 [38%]); the most common grade 3 or worse events were haematological (anaemia in 95 [33%] of 289; thrombocytopenia in 47 [16%]; and neutropenia in 28 [10%]). Of 134 (46%) of 289 patients with at least one serious treatment-emergent adverse event, the most common were also haematological (thrombocytopenia in 17 [6%] and anaemia in 13 [4%]). Two adverse events with fatal outcome (one patient with urosepsis in the BRCA cohort and one patient with sepsis in the non-BRCA cohort) were deemed possibly related to niraparib treatment. Interpretation Niraparib is tolerable and shows anti-tumour activity in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and DRDs, particularly in those with BRCA alterations

Implementation of pictorial support in communication with refugees - experiences of hospital staff in neonatal care

Studien syftade till att ur ett personalperspektiv undersöka den nyligen påbörjade implementeringsprocessen av ett bildstödsmaterial på en neonatalavdelning. Fynden relaterades till det teoretiska ramverket Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS). Ett ytterligare syfte var att undersöka vårdpersonalens upplevelser och erfarenheter av kommunikation med patientgruppen flyktingar med och utan användning av bildmaterialet. Tre semistrukturerade dyadintervjuer genomfördes med neonatalpersonal vid ett svenskt regionsjukhus. Fynden från en induktiv innehållsanalys indikerar att bildmaterialet upplevdes underlätta för vårdpersonalen i kommunikation med patientgruppen. Personalen var motiverad till att använda bildmaterialet och upplevde ett stort behov av det på avdelningen. Då PARiHS applicerades på fynden framkom att utbildning och formellt utsedda ansvariga på avdelningen är en viktig del i att göra implementeringen framgångsrik. Studiens viktigaste implikation är vikten av tydligt förmedlade ansvarsroller vid implementering av bilder som kommunikationsstöd.The aim of the study was to investigate the early implementation process of pictorial support in neonatal care from a caregiver’s perspective. Results were related to the theoretical framework Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARiHS). Another aim was to investigate the caregiver’s experience of communicating with refugees with and without the use of pictures. Three semi- structured dyadic interviews were conducted with hospital staff within neonatal care at a Swedish regional hospital. An inductive content analysis indicate that the informants found usage of pictures helpful in communication with refugees. They were motivated to use it and experienced a great need for it. PARiHS was applied to the findings and showed that education and having someone formally in charge is an important part of making the implementation successful. The main implication is the importance of clearly communicated roles of responsibility when implementing pictures as communication support

The clinical success, survival and failure of titanium-ceramic tooth-supported constructions submitted to patients at the Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University - A retrospective clinical study

Syfte: Syftet med föreliggande studie var att utvärdera kliniskt lyckande, överlevnad och misslyckande för metal-keramiska singelkronor och broar med underkonstruktion av titan som lämnats ut till patienter på Odontologiska fakulteten, Malmö högskola. Material och metod: För att svara på den aktuella frågeställningen identifierades patienter som mellan åren 2011-2015 fått fastsittande protetiska konstruktioner i titan-keramik, på Odontologiska fakulteten, Malmö högskola. Patienterna undersöktes av två tandläkarstudenter, under deras åttonde termin (april 2016), med visuell-taktil metod. Resultat: 47 stycken patienter ingick i studien, detta motsvarade 69% av alla patienter som matchade inklusions - och exklusionskriterierna. Hos dessa 47 patienter fanns totalt 67 konstruktioner med en medelålder på 35 månader och en medianålder på 29 månader. Av de inkluderade konstruktionerna var 47 stycken singelkronor och 20 broar. Den kliniska lyckande, överlevnad och misslyckande frekvensen för singelkronorna var 55%, 43% och 2%, medan den för broarna var 15%, 70% och 15%. Slutsats: Inom studiens begränsningar har följande slutsatser dragits: •De titan-keramiska singelkronorna utlämnade till patienter på Odontologiska fakulteten, Malmö högskola, hade en högre lyckandefrekvens än de titan-keramiska broarna. •Resultatet indikerade en övergripande hög lyckande- och överlevnadsfrekvens för titan-keramiska konstruktioner.Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical success, survival and failure rate of titanium-ceramic single crowns (SCs) and fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) submitted to patients at the Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University. Materials and Method: To answer the research question, patients with SCs and/or FDPs made in titanium-ceramic at the Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University, between year 2011-2015, were identified and later examined by, two dental students during their eight semester (April 2016), with a visual-tactile method. Results: The study contained a total of 47 participating patients, this outcome represented 69 % of all the patients found matching the inclusion and exclusion criteria during the patient selection. Out of the 47 participants, 67 restorations were obtained and examined. The 67 restorations that were included in the study had a mean age of 35 months and a median age of 29 months. Out of these, 47 were SCs and 20 were FDPs. The clinical success, survival and failure rate of the SCs were 55%, 43% and 2%, respectively. The clinical success, survival and failure rate of the FDPs were 15%, 70% and 15%, respectively. Conclusion: Within limits of this study the following conclusions were made: •The titan-ceramic SCs submitted to patients at the Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University had a higher success rate compared to the FDPs. •The results indicate an overall high and acceptable success and survival rate for the titan-ceramic restorations

Above Ground Durability of Swedish Softwood

This thesis describes aspects of durability of Swedish softwood in above ground applications. The thesis consists of a summary of nine papers, which all aim to explain the existing variation in above ground microbial durability and moisture sensitivity of Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). The methods used were two field tests, one accelerated durability test, and three water permeability tests. The main conclusions made in the study were that Norway spruce sapwood is more susceptible to discolouring fungi than heartwood. With respect to Scots pine, the only important factor for its natural durability above ground was whether the samples consisted of heartwood or of sapwood. There was also no systematic variation between pine heartwood from different stand origins in above ground conditions. Origin had no influence on durability in practice for neither spruce nor pine. Furthermore, in contradiction with traditional thinking, annual ring width and density had no influence on durability in any of the tests. The material came from two different samplings. The ‘old’ material was sampled in the beginning of the 1980s and consisted of Scots pine and Norway spruce from three different origins: the north, the central area, and the south of Sweden. The material was subjected to different handling conditions and surface and end-grain treatments. The ‘old’ material was used in a large above ground field test, carried out between 1985 and 1994. Unfortunately, the spruce sapwood and heartwood was not separated in this field test. In the field trial with the ‘old’ material, the most important factor for the durability of Norway spruce was the samples’ surface- and end-grain treatment. It was also observed that untreated spruce showed better durability than samples that were painted but without proper end-grain treatment. Samples originating from one of the stands were more sensitive towards air-drying than samples from the other two, which was reflected in a higher average moisture content and mass loss for the untreated samples. With respect to Scots pine, the most important factor was whether the sample consisted of heartwood or of sapwood. The heartwood samples were durable irrespective of their previous treatment. The Scots pine sapwood samples, on the other hand, had a very fluctuating moisture content if they were not surface- and end-painted. This was also reflected in higher mass losses in these samples. Even when properly surface- and end grain treated, the sapwood samples did not perform as well as the heartwood samples. The ‘new’ material consisted of Scots pine taken from six different stands, and Norway spruce from five different stands, all from areas in southern Sweden. The sampling was performed in order to achieve a large variation in wood properties. Thus, logs from areas with different climate and growth conditions were collected. This material was used for laboratory tests, and also for the second field test, which was evaluated after a test period of two years. In the second field test untreated Scots pine and Norway spruce samples from the ‘new’ material were investigated. Effects of origin and different tree diameters were examined. Furthermore, Scots pine was separated to heartwood and sapwood, and Norway spruce to mature and juvenile wood. The Norway spruce samples were sawn with vertical or horizontal annual rings. For the Norway spruce in the second field test, vertical annual rings were shown to be very beneficial for avoiding crack formation, while samples with horizontal annual rings displayed a large number of cracks. Despite this, the larger number of cracks did not result in a higher moisture content or more fungal discoloration. Juvenile wood had a slightly higher average discolouring fungal growth grading than the other spruce samples. For Scots pine, the only factor of importance was whether the samples consisted of heartwood or of sapwood. Annual ring width, density and origin had no significant effect on either fungal growth or moisture uptake. This observation held for both Norway spruce samples and Scots pine samples. An accelerated test was run in order to investigate Norway spruce sapwood and heartwood with respect to their differences in durability towards discolouring fungi and moisture uptake. The Mycologg method was used to accelerate fungal growth during a number of forced moisture cycles. The results showed that sapwood was much more sensitive to discolouring fungi than heartwood. Sapwood also recorded a higher average moisture content than heartwood. The differences that were observed between the types of samples were not due to annual ring width, density or origin. It was observed that Norway spruce sapwood samples and heartwood samples showed differences in liquid water permeability. This observation was made especially evident in a droplet absorption test. Water droplets were absorbed much faster on the sapwood samples in comparison with the heartwood samples. This higher affinity to water suggested that a sapwood surface would reach a higher moisture content than a heartwood surface. This observation provides a major explanation of why the sapwood samples showed poorer durability towards discolouring fungi in the Mycologg trials

: Significant others experience of support, when a relative is critically ill.

Bakgrund: Redan på 1970-talet uppmärksammades närståendes situation inom vården, och trots att det har skett en ökning kring familjerelaterad forskning under de senaste 20 åren finns det fortfarande brister inom familjerelaterad omvårdnad Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva närståendes upplevda behov av stöd från sjuksköterskan när en anhörig drabbas av allvarlig sjukdom eller skada. Metod: Den studie som genomfördes var en litteraturstudie, den inkluderar 10 artiklar varav 8 var kvalitativa och 2 var kvantitativa. Sökningar gjordes i Cinahl, PubMed och DiVA. Innehållet analyserades och kategorier identifierades. Resultat: Två huvudkategorier och tre underkategorier identifierades. Första huvudkategorin var närståendes behov, med underkategori betydelsen av kommunikation i vården med de närstående samt återhämtning. Den andra huvudkategorin var stöd som finns att tillgå, med underkategorierna närståendes delaktighet i vården. Slutsats: Studien visar på att närstående upplever ett stort behov av få vara delaktiga i vården kring patienten, framförallt genom att få information. Att göra närstående delaktiga kan minska den upplevda stressen vilket kan leda till ett ökat förtroende för vården.Background: Already in the 1970’s were significant others situation in the healthcare highlighted, and although there has been an increase on family-related research over the past 20 years, there are still gaps in family-related care. Aim: The aim was to describe significant others experience of needs from the nurse, when a patient suffer from a serious illness or injury. Method: The study was conducted as a literature review, which included 10 articles of which 8 were qualitative and 2 were quantitative. Searches were made in Cinahl, PubMed and DiVA. The content was analyzed and themes were identified. Result: Two main themes and three subthemes were identified. The first main theme was the significant other’s needs, with the first subtheme being the meaning of communication in healthcare with the significant other and the second subtheme being recovery. The second main theme was available support, with the subtheme being significant others participation in care. Conclusion: The study implies that significant others felt a need to be involved in health care around the patient, especially by getting information. To involve the significant other can reduce the stress experience, which in turn can raise the trust in health care

The influence of coating color, heartwood and sapwood, on moisture content and growth of microorganisms on the surface during outdoor exposure of Norway spruce boards

The use of wood contributes to the global transformation into a bio-based community. There are, however, challenges. The growth of mold, rot fungi, and algae on the coated surface is of major concern due to decreased aesthetic service life and shorter maintenance intervals. The colonization of a coated surface requires the presence of spores, nutrients, and a sufficient amount of water. This work studied the influence of using heartwood and sapwood on the moisture content (MC) and growth of microorganisms on the surface of coated Norway spruce boards [Picea abies (L.) Karst.]. The results revealed a relationship of heartwood samples having a lower MC and a lower or equal degree of biological growth on the coated surface than sapwood samples. The relationship was valid through a range of densities (309–548 kg/m3) and two different coating systems based on either an alkyd or an acrylic resin. Furthermore, the choice of coating color (red compared to white) affected the MC as the red-colored samples had a lower MC, combined with no growth of microorganisms

Alla elever till skolan : Specialpedagogers uppfattningar om orsaker och insatser kring elever i oroväckande frånvaro i gymnasiet

På senare år har skolfrånvaro blivit en allt större problematik som uppmärksammats genom olika rapporter. Vår studies syfte är att bidra med ökade kunskaper utifrån åtta specialpedagogers syn på orsaker och insatser när det gäller oroväckande frånvaro samt utveckling för att främja närvaro. Våra frågeställningar lyder: Hur beskriver specialpedagogerna orsakerna till oroväckande frånvaro? Hur beskriver specialpedagoger insatser kring elever i oroväckande frånvaro på sina respektive gymnasieskolor? Vilka insatser är enligt specialpedagogerna önskvärda för att utveckla verksamheten kring att främja närvaro? I vår intervjustudie framkommer att orsaker till oroväckande frånvaro främst ses ur ett kompensatoriskt perspektiv, vilket gör att eleven blir bärare av problematiken. Vi utläser två huvudsakliga kategorier som kompensatoriska förklaringsmodeller, nämligen bristförklaringar och psykologiska förklaringar. Studien pekar på vikten av att fånga upp oroväckande frånvaro tidigt. Tidigare insatser, kontaktpersoner och samverkan är exempel på hur specialpedagoger vill utveckla verksamheten för att främja närvaro. Det är ur ett dilemmaperspektiv vi relaterar problematiken som är komplex. Det finns inte någon enkel generell lösning utan insatser är unika och krävs på både på individ-, grupp- och organisationsnivå. Skolans verksamhet behöver arbeta främjande genom att skapa en lärmiljö som bygger på framgångsfaktorer och innefattar det som behövs för att alla ska må bra och utvecklas mot målen