Plasma creatinine in dogs: intra- and inter-laboratory variation in 10 European veterinary laboratories

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is substantial variation in reported reference intervals for canine plasma creatinine among veterinary laboratories, thereby influencing the clinical assessment of analytical results. The aims of the study was to determine the inter- and intra-laboratory variation in plasma creatinine among 10 veterinary laboratories, and to compare results from each laboratory with the upper limit of its reference interval.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Samples were collected from 10 healthy dogs, 10 dogs with expected intermediate plasma creatinine concentrations, and 10 dogs with azotemia. Overlap was observed for the first two groups. The 30 samples were divided into 3 batches and shipped in random order by postal delivery for plasma creatinine determination. Statistical testing was performed in accordance with ISO standard methodology.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Inter- and intra-laboratory variation was clinically acceptable as plasma creatinine values for most samples were usually of the same magnitude. A few extreme outliers caused three laboratories to fail statistical testing for consistency. Laboratory sample means above or below the overall sample mean, did not unequivocally reflect high or low reference intervals in that laboratory.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In spite of close analytical results, further standardization among laboratories is warranted. The discrepant reference intervals seem to largely reflect different populations used in establishing the reference intervals, rather than analytical variation due to different laboratory methods.</p

In vitro fordøyelse av myseproteiner fra geit ved humane gastrointestinale sekreter : Effekt av myseprotein hydrolysater og mysepeptider på in vitro cellekulturer

The objectives of this thesis were to characterise human gastrointestinal juices, to identify peptides produced after in vitro digestion of whey proteins by these juices, and to screen for immunomodulating properties of whey hydrolysates and single synthetic peptides. The volumes of gastric and duodenal juices as well as their pH differed between individuals. Large individual variations in the enzyme activities and amounts of duodenal bile acids were also observed. Frozen storage of gastric juice resulted in a rapid decrease in pepsin activity. The stability was not improved by adding 13% glycerol or by increasing the pH to 4. In duodenal juice the lipase activity on the other hand remained stable for 4 months and thereafter decreased. Total proteolytic and amylase activities remained stable. A two-step in vitro digestion model was performed to simulate digestion of whey proteins in the stomach and the duodenum. Protein degradation patterns were shown by SDS-PAGE and generated peptides were identified by nano-LC-MS/MS. Digestion using human gastroduodenal juices was compared with digestion by porcine digestive enzymes at similar enzyme activities. In addition, gastric digestion was performed at pH 2, 4 or 6 to account for normal pH variations. The results showed that the lower the gastric pH, the more degraded were the proteins in both steps. Porcine enzymes, especially pepsin, were more efficient at degrading the whey proteins compared to the human juices. The most extensive digestion of the proteins was observed after gastric digestion at pH 2 with porcine enzymes. The present study showed that digestion of whey proteins with human gastric and duodenal juices generated peptides of immunomodulatory nature. Twenty-two peptides identified within the digested caprine whey concentrate were synthesised. While whey proteins and hydrolysates demonstrated a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on T cell proliferation, the effect could not be explained by any of the single synthetic peptides alone. The whey protein samples were moreover shown not to be toxic to the cells and they did not induce apoptosis. The synthetic peptides and fractions of digested whey protein increased the secretion of IL-1β and IL-12, while the secretion of IL-4 and IL-5 was reduced by many samples. The peptides only affected the DC secretion of IL-6 and IL-8, whereas the levels of IL-10, IL-12 and IFN-γ were unaltered. Interestingly, each peptide seemed to induce unique changes in the cytokine profiles and could therefore potentially display different immunomodulating effects in vivo.Formålene med dette studiet var å karakterisere humane mage- og tarmsekreter, å identifisere peptider dannet ved in vitro fordøyelse av myseproteiner, og å lete etter immunmodulerende egenskaper ved myseproteinhydrolysater og syntetiske mysepeptider. Sekreterte volum av mage-og tarmsaft og pH i disse varierte mellom individer. I tillegg ble det registrert store variasjoner i enzymaktiviter og i mengde gallesalter i de individuelle førdøyelsessekretene. Ved fryselagring av sekretene avtok pepsinaktiviteten i magesaften raskt. Stabiliteten ble ikke bedret ved å tilsette 13% glycerol, eller ved å øke pH til 4. Lipaseaktiviteten i tarmsaften holdt seg stabil i 4 måneder, men avtok deretter. Total proteolytisk- og amylase-aktivitet holdt seg stabile under lagring. En to-trinns in vitro fordøyelsesmodell ble utført for å simulere fordøyelse i mage og tarm. Fordøyelse ved human mage- og tarmsaft ble sammenlignet med fordøyelse ved kommersielle førdøyelsesenzymer fra gris. I tillegg, ble ”magetrinnet” utført ved pH 2, 4 or 6 for å inkludere normale variasjoner i pH i magesekken. Resultatene viste at jo lavere pH var ved fordøyelse i magen, jo mer degraderete ble proteinene i begge trinn. Enzymene fra gris, og da særlig pepsin, var mer effektivt til å degradere myseproteinene sammenlignet med mage- og tarmsaften. Mest fordøyd ble proteinen etter fordøyelse ved pH 2 i magetrinnet og med kommersielle rensede enzymer fra gris. Denne studien viste at fordøyelse av myseproteiner med mage- og tarmsaft førte til dannelse av immunomodulerende peptider. 22 peptider som var identifisert i det fordøyde myseprotein konsentratet ble syntetisert. Myseproteiner og hydrolysater viste en dose-avhengig inhibering på T-celle proliferasjon, men effekten kunne ikke forklares ved ett av de syntetiske peptidene alene. Myseproteinene viste ingen toksisk effekt på cellene og induserte ikke apoptose. De syntetiske peptidene og fraksjoner av fordøyd myseprotein økte T cellenes sekresjon av of IL-1β og IL-12, mens sekresjonen av IL-4 og IL-5 avtok i nærvær av mange av disse prøvene. De syntetiske peptidene hadde kun effekt på den dendritiske cellenes sekresjon av IL-6 and IL-8, mens nivåene av IL-10, IL-12 og IFN-γ forble uendret. Særlig interesant var det at de enkelte peptidene så ut til å indusere unike endringer i cytokinprofilene til både T celler og dendritiske celler. Dette kan tyde på at de potensielt har ulike immunmodulating effekter in vivo.Østfold Hospital Trus

H2 Safety in Human Operations – and Safety guideline

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Does age matter? Examining age-dependent differences in at-fault collisions after attending a refresher course for older drivers

Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Abstract: The “Driver 65+” course is a voluntary refresher course offered to all drivers aged 65 years or older in Norway. The current study estimated differences in at-fault motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) between older drivers who had attended in the course and older drivers who had not attended the course. Methods: Two samples of drivers were selected from the database of an insurance company and were sent a questionnaire in the mail. The first sample consisted of 2039 car owners aged 70 years or older who had reported a collision to the insurance company during the last 24 months. The second sample consisted of 1569 drivers aged 70 or older who had not reported any collisions during the last 24 months. Results: The results indicated an age-dependent effect; drivers attending the course before 75 years of age had a significantly lower risk of being the at-fault driver in a multi-MVC than older drivers who did not attend the course. Conclusion: The results indicate that the refresher course had a beneficial effect on collision risk for drivers who attended the course before reaching 75 years of age. One possible explanation of this age-dependent effect is that a certain level of visual, cognitive, and motor functioning is needed to implement the strategies learned in the course. However, the design of the study makes it difficult to draw definite conclusions about the causal relationship between course attendance and later collision involvement.Does age matter? Examining age-dependent differences in at-fault collisions after attending a refresher course for older driverspublishedVersio

Novel Heat Integration in a Methane Reformer and High Temperature PEM Fuel Cell-based mCHP System

AbstractA highly integrated and optimized heat recovery system is essential for efficient operation of a HTPEM fuel cell-based mCHP system. The main challenge with such system is to design energy efficient systems with low start-up time. Recent studies have shown that this can be achieved by proper heat integration of the balance of plant (BOP) components. This study proposed a novel scheme that optimally integrated the sub-components of a mCHP system consisting of a 2 kWel HTPEM fuel cell integrated with methane processing units, for recovery and use of the process and waste heat. A steady state system modeling and simulation of the complete mCHP system was implemented in Aspen Plus v7.2. The design of the heat recovery system was achieved with pinch analysis techniques. Heat integration results show that external cooling utility is not required and result in a 5% increase in the overall system efficienc

Measures to enhance mobility among older people in Scandinavia. A literature review of best practice.

Mobiliteten eller rörligheten för äldre människor är fortfarande ett område under utveckling. Det visar en VTI-studie gällande Norge, Danmark och Sverige där man har studerat äldre personers resande med personbil, kollektivtrafik, cykel, gång och i viss mån även övriga transportmedel som definieras av motoriserade rullstolar, skotrar, mopedbilar, etc. Åtgärder för att öka resandet med kollektivtrafik är på dagordningen i alla tre länderna. Det återstår dock mycket som kan förbättras enligt de forskningsrapporter och utvärderingar som ingått i studien. Exempelvis är mer än 200-300 meter en för lång promenadsträcka till eller från busshållplatsen för många äldre människor och miljön på stationer och hållplatser upplevs av många äldre som obehaglig och stressig. Dessutom bör information före och under resan vara både visuell och hörbar, informationstavlor bör placeras i ögonhöjd, tidtabeller ska vara lätta att läsa och förstå, det ska vara lätt att köpa en biljett och hantera biljettautomater, låggolvsfordon är att föredra, lediga platser ska finnas ombord och föraren ska inte börja köra innan passagerarna har satt sig. Det kan ofta vara små förbättringar som utgör skillnader för dem som reser, till exempel att trottoarer är utan trappor och att det finns bänkar på gångvägen till busshållplatsen. Dessutom handlar strategier och åtgärder för att förbättra kollektivtrafiken inte bara om frågor som tillgängliga fordon, vindskydd och enkla trottoarer vid busshållplatser, utan också om frekvens och rutter i förhållande till resmönstren hos den nya rörliga generationen äldre. Dock är bristen på information och kunskap om kollektivtrafiken ofta utbredd bland äldre människor, vilket resulterar i att de reser mindre än de skulle ha gjort eller avstår helt från att använda kollektivtrafiken. Informationskampanjer skulle kunna samordnas bättre för att möta äldre människors resmönster. Nya sätt att sprida information med den senaste tekniken skulle också kunna organiseras i större utsträckning för att möta behoven hos äldre människor. Egentligen är problemet ibland inte brist på information, utan för mycket information eller fel slags information.The present report is part of a larger project about mobility and its impact on older people\u92s well-being and welfare: Mobile age: The impact of everyday mobility for elderly people\u92s welfare and well-being. The heterogenity of older people is emphasised, not only with respect to physical age but also with respect to the specific resource situation and social context of everyday life. The geographical context of the project is Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The report is a literature review examining and evaluating measures designed to improve the independency of mobility among older people. While a few good examples of \u93best practice\u94 in the Scandinavian area (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) have been highlighted, gaps and weaknesses remain. The areas which are examined in the present report are private car, public transport, cycling, walking and to some extent other transport modes defined by motorized wheelchairs, scooters, four-wheeled mopeds/motorcycles, etc. Measures to increase travel with public transport are on the agenda in all three countries, i.e. accessible vehicles and increased accessibility to the interchanges. Also, often small amendments through the travel route could make difference, such as pavements without stairs and benches on the way to the bus stop. Furthermore, strategies and measures for improving public transport concern not only issues such as accessible vehicles, wind shelters and plain pavements at bus stops, but also frequency and routes in relation to the mobility needs of a new generation of older people. However, lack of information and knowledge about public transport services is often rife among older people, which results in them travelling less than they might have done or shying away completely from using public transport. Information campaigns could be synchronised consciously to meet older people\u92s travel trajectories. New ways of providing information using the latest technology could be found to meet the needs of older people. Actually, sometimes the problem is not lack of information but too much of it or the wrong kind

High-pressure PEM water electrolyser performance up to 180 bar differential pressure

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Diskursanalyse: et mulig bidrag til utdanningshistorisk forskning

Diskursbegrepet er mangfoldig, og begrepet er på mote. Vi kan oppleve at begrepene diskurs og diskursanalyse brukes uten noen nærmere bestemmelse av begrepenes innhold eller begrensninger, men diskurs og diskursanalyse dekker ulike metodiske og teoretiske posisjoner. Begrepenes mangfoldighet er nok en av grunnene til deres gjennomslagskraft, men dette mangfoldet kan samtidig gjøre det teoretisk vanskelig å få grep om diskursbegrepet (Olesen 2006). Felles er imidlertid en problematisering rundt språket og språkets evne til å gjenspeile virkeligheten. Tidvis anvendes begrepet diskurs nesten som en forklaringskategori, hvor diskursen blir årsaken til forestillinger og handlinger som igjen produserer en sosial og kulturell praksis. Videre kan begrepet brukes ideologikritisk, og da som en innfallsvinkel til å analysere hvilke dominerende tale- og forståelsesmåter som er til stede i en konkret tekst, for eksempel i en utdanningspolitisk tekst. I artikkelen vil jeg først diskutere diskursbegrepet og vektlegge en presentasjon av Michel Foucaults diskursanalyse. Videre vil jeg si noe om den utdanningshistoriske forskningstradisjon, og til slutt antyder jeg hva en Foucaultinspirert diskursanalytisk tilnærming kan bidra med eller åpne opp for av analytiske perspektiv for utdanningshistorisk forskning

Fysioterapeuters erfaringer med eldre deprimerte og bruk av fysisk aktivitet

Masteroppgave i helsefag ME 518 Universitetet i Agder 2014This article is based upon a study of the experiences of physiotherapists working with elderly depressed patients and the use of physical activity. Depression in the elderly is a common condition, and it is estimated to be the second most common cause of failing health towards 2020. According to litterature physical activity has a positive effect on depression in the elderly. The aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of physiotherapist`s in the treament of eldely depressed patients over 65 years of age. Data was collected by qualitative reasearch interviews of 5 physiotherapists. Important findings of this study were that the physiotherapists experienced that they did not get any referrals to treatment solely due to depression, and that they needed a different approach to physical activity compared to other patient groups