Influenza vaccine effectiveness estimates in Europe in a season with three influenza type/subtypes circulating: the I-MOVE multicentre case–control study, influenza season 2012/13

In the fifth season of Influenza Monitoring Vaccine Effectiveness in Europe (I-MOVE), we undertook a multicentre case–control study (MCCS) in seven European Union (EU) Member States to measure 2012/13 influenza vaccine effectiveness against medically attended influenza-like illness (ILI) laboratory confirmed as influenza. The season was characterised by substantial co-circulation of influenza B, A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2) viruses. Practitioners systematically selected ILI patients to swab ≤7 days of symptom onset. We compared influenza-positive by type/subtype to influenza-negative patients among those who met the EU ILI case definition. We conducted a complete case analysis using logistic regression with study as fixed effect and calculated adjusted vaccine effectiveness (AVE), controlling for potential confounders (age, sex, symptom onset week and presence of chronic conditions). We calculated AVE by type/subtype. Study sites sent 7,954 ILI/acute respiratory infection records for analysis. After applying exclusion criteria, we included 4,627 ILI patients in the analysis of VE against influenza B (1,937 cases), 3,516 for A(H1N1)pdm09 (1,068 cases) and 3,340 for influenza A(H3N2) (730 cases). AVE was 49.3% (95% confidence interval (CI): 32.4 to 62.0) against influenza B, 50.4% (95% CI: 28.4 to 65.6) against A(H1N1)pdm09 and 42.2% (95% CI: 14.9 to 60.7) against A(H3N2). Our results suggest an overall low to moderate AVE against influenza B, A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2), between 42 and 50%. In this season with many co-circulating viruses, the high sample size enabled stratified AVE by type/subtype. The low estimates indicate seasonal influenza vaccines should be improved to achieve acceptable protection levels

ШЛЯХИ ОПТИМІЗАЦІЇ ПРАКТИЧНОЇ ПІДГОТОВКИ МАЙБУТНІХ ЛІКАРІВ ПІД ЧАС ПРОХОДЖЕННЯ ЛІТНЬОЇ ВИРОБНИЧОЇ ПРАКТИКИ

The aim of the work – tо іncrease the effectiveness and quality of student training by optimizing the practical training of future doctors during the summer production practice. The main body. The task of the higher medical education is to provide high professional training of specialists. The practice of students in clinics is one of the forms in the educational process and its essential component. A significant role in the formation of the future physicians’ personality is played by the formation of a value attitude to human life. Working with students, it is necessary to emphasize that the specificity of their future professional activity requires priority manifestation of such moral qualities as humanity, empathy, tolerance, honesty, especially in working with such categories as children, with special needs, hopelessly ill, etc. In the process of professional education of medical students, the preparation of various activities of volunteer units contributes to the formation of humanity, compassion, new skills of psychological support and communication with a special category of patients. As an example, our experience of medical students working in the Ternopil regional specialized child’s home and in the international prosperity fund Caritas in Ternopil during their summer practice. Conclusion. Formation of moral qualities of students of higher educational institutions is the basis of personal formation and requires the development of a specific model and the attraction to teaching and educational work of various methods and approaches. We suggest involving students during the summer practice in volunteer work (visiting orphanages, oncology departments for children, social organizations, etc.) in the framework of constructive cooperation.Мета роботи – підвищити ефективність та якість навчання студентів шляхом оптимізації практичної підготовки майбутніх лікарів під час проходження літньої виробничої практики. Основна частина. Перед вищою медичною освітою стоїть завдання – забезпечити високу професійну підготовку фахівців. Виробнича практика студентів є однією з форм навчального процесу і його суттєвою складовою частиною. Велику роль у становленні особистості майбутнього лікаря відіграє формування ціннісного ставлення до людського життя. Працюючи зі студентами, доцільно акцентувати увагу на тому, що специфіка їх майбутньої професійної діяльності потребує пріоритетного прояву таких моральних якостей, як гуманність, емпатійність, толерантність, чесність, а надто в роботі з такими категоріями, як діти, люди з особливими потребами, безнадійно хворі тощо. В процесі професійної освіти студентів-медиків підготовка різноманітних заходів волонтерських загонів сприяє формуванню людяності, співчуття, навиків психологічної підтримки та спілкування з особливою категорією пацієнтів. Як приклад, наш досвід роботи студентів-медиків у Тернопільському обласному спеціалізованому будинку дитини та соціальному центрі ТБФ “Карітас” під час проходження літньої виробничої практики. Висновок. Формування моральних якостей студентів вищих медичних навчальних закладів – основа особистісного становлення і потребує розробки конкретної моделі та залучення до навчально-виховної роботи різноманітних методик та підходів, рекомендуємо долучати студентів у період літньої виробничої практики до різноманітних заходів волонтерських загонів (відвідування дитячих будинків, онкологічних лікарень для дітей, соціальних організацій тощо) в рамках конструктивного співробітництва

Non-Keynesian Effects of Fiscal Consolidations in Central Europe in the Years 2000-2013

Last two decades were a period of significant discussion concerning determinants of effectiveness of fiscal policy. After some cases of expansionary episodes of fiscal consolidations in eighties of XX century, an intensive international research on the possibility of non-Keynesian effects of fiscal contractions in highly developed countries has started. The aim of the article is to analyze the possibility of obtaining non-Keynesian effects of fiscal consolidations in post-transformation countries of Central Europe. An important aim of macroeconomic policy in the analyzed economies is to benefit the advantages of convergence process. Thus, the empirical analysis is made within conditional β-convergence framework. The verification of hypothesis of β-convergence enables to identify the long term tendency of output per capita, in the same time it enables to identify non-Keynesian effects of fiscal prudence and to assess their role in the process of reducing GDP gap between the analyzed economies. Then the potential transmission channels for non-Keynesian effects of fiscal policy were analyzed. In the research the data from Eurostat and European Commission for the years 2000-2013 was used. The paper provides arguments in favor of the existence of non-Keynesian effects of fiscal consolidations in Central Europe that support the process of conditional convergence

Incorporating the effect of weather in construction scheduling and management with sine wave curves: application in the United Kingdom

The impact of (adverse) weather is a common cause of delays, legal claims and economic losses in construction projects. Research has recently been carried out aimed at incorporating the effect of weather in project planning; but these studies have focussed on either a narrow set of weather variables, or a very limited range of construction activities or projects. A method for processing a country’s historical weather data into a set of weather delay maps for some representative standard construction activities is proposed. Namely, sine curves are used to associate daily combinations of weather variables to delay and provide coefficients for expected productivity losses. A complete case study comprising the construction of these maps and the associated sine waves for the UK is presented along with an example of their use in building construction planning. Findings of this study indicate that UK weather extends project durations by an average of 21%. However, using climatological data derived from weather observations when planning could lead to average reductions in project durations of 16%, with proportional reductions in indirect and overhead costs

Maternal cadmium, iron and zinc levels, DNA methylation and birth weight

Background Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous and environmentally persistent toxic metal that has been implicated in neurotoxicity, carcinogenesis and obesity and essential metals including zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) may alter these outcomes. However mechanisms underlying these relationships remain limited. Methods We examined whether maternal Cd levels during early pregnancy were associated with offspring DNA methylation at regulatory sequences of genomically imprinted genes and weight at birth, and whether Fe and Zn altered these associations. Cd, Fe and Zn were measured in maternal blood of 319 women ≤12 weeks gestation. Offspring umbilical cord blood leukocyte DNA methylation at regulatory differentially methylated regions (DMRs) of 8 imprinted genes was measured using bisulfite pyrosequencing. Regression models were used to examine the relationships among Cd, Fe, Zn, and DMR methylation and birth weight. Results Elevated maternal blood Cd levels were associated with lower birth weight (p = 0.03). Higher maternal blood Cd levels were also associated with lower offspring methylation at the PEG3 DMR in females (β = 0.55, se = 0.17, p = 0.05), and at the MEG3 DMR in males (β = 0.72, se = 0.3, p = 0.08), however the latter association was not statistically significant. Associations between Cd and PEG3 and PLAGL1 DNA methylation were stronger in infants born to women with low concentrations of Fe (p < 0.05). Conclusions Our data suggest the association between pre-natal Cd and offspring DNA methylation at regulatory sequences of imprinted genes may be sex- and gene-specific. Essential metals such as Zn may mitigate DNA methylation response to Cd exposure. Larger studies are required

The effects of sex, age, season and habitat on diet of the red fox Vulpes vulpes in northeastern Poland

The diet of the red fox Vulpes vulpes was investigated in five regions of northeastern Poland by stomach content analysis of 224 foxes collected from hunters. The red fox is expected to show the opportunistic feeding habits. Our study showed that foxes preyed mainly on wild prey, with strong domination of Microtus rodents, regardless of sex, age, month and habitat. Voles Microtus spp. were found in 73% of stomachs and constituted 47% of food volume consumed. Other food items were ungulate carrion (27% of volume), other mammals (11%), birds (9%), and plant material (4%). Sex- and age-specific differences in dietary diversity were found. Adult males and juvenile foxes had larger food niche breadths than adult females and their diets highly overlapped. Proportion of Microtus voles increased from autumn to late winter. Significant habitat differences between studied regions were found. There was a tendency among foxes to decrease consumption of voles with increasing percentage of forest cover. Based on our findings, red foxes in northeastern Poland can be recognized as a generalist predators, consuming easily accessible and abundant prey. However, high percentage of voles consumed regardless of age, sex, month, or habitats may indicate red fox specialization in preying on Microtus rodents

Gliclazide may have an antiapoptotic effect related to its antioxidant properties in human normal and cancer cells

Experimental and clinical studies suggest that gliclazide may protect pancreatic β-cells from apoptosis induced by an oxidative stress. However, the precise mechanism(s) of this action are not fully understood and requires further clarification. Therefore, using human normal and cancer cells we examined whether the anti-apoptotic effects of this sulfonylurea is due to its free radical scavenger properties. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as a model trigger of oxidative stress was used to induce cell death. Our experiments were performed on human normal cell line (human umbilical vein endothelial cell line, HUVEC-c) and human cancer cell lines (human mammary gland cell line, Hs578T; human pancreatic duct epithelioid carcinoma cell line, PANC-1). To assess the effect of gliclazide the cells were pre-treated with the drug. The 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay was employed to measure the impact of gliclazide on cell viability. Generation of reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial membrane potential (∆Ψm), and intracellular Ca2+ concentration [Ca2+] were monitored. Furthermore, the morphological changes associated with apoptosis were determined using double staining with Hoechst 33258-propidium iodide (PI). Gliclazide protects the tested cells from H2O2-induced cell death most likely throughout the inhibition of ROS production. Moreover, the drug restored loss of ΔΨm and diminished intracellular [Ca2+] evoked by H2O2. Double staining with Hoechst 33258-PI revealed that pre-treatment with gliclazide diminished the number of apoptotic cells. Our findings indicate that gliclazide may protect both normal and cancer human cells against apoptosis induced by H2O2. It appears that the anti-apoptotic effect of the drug is most likely associated with reduction of oxidative stress