Procalcitonin as a biomarker in equine chronic pneumopathies

Background Procalcitonin (PCT), a precursor protein of the hormone calcitonin, is a sensitive inflammatory marker in human medicine, which is primarily used for diagnosis of bacterial sepsis, but is also useful in diagnosis of exacerbation of asthma and COPD. In this study, PCT was evaluated as a potential biomarker for different chronic pneumopathies in the horse using an equine specific ELISA in comparison to established clinical markers and different interleukins. Sixty-four horses were classified as free of respiratory disease, recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), inflammatory airway disease (IAD) or chronic interstitial pneumopathy (CIP) using a scoring system. PCT concentrations were measured in plasma (n = 17) and in the cell- free supernatant of bronchoalveolar lavage (n = 64). PCT concentrations were correlated to interleukins IL-1ß and IL-6 in BALF, clinical findings and BALF cytology. Results The median PCT concentrations in plasma were increased in respiratory disease (174.46 ng/ml, n = 7) compared to controls (13.94 ng/ml, n = 10, P = 0.05) and correlated to PCT in BALF supernatant (rs = 0.48). Compared to controls (5.49 ng/ml, n = 15), median PCT concentrations in BALF supernatant correlated to the overall clinical score (rs = 0.32, P = 0.007) and were significantly increased in RAO (13.40 ng/ml, n = 21) and IAD (16.89 ng/ml, n = 16), while no differences were found for CIP (12.02 ng/ml, n = 12). No significant increases were found for IL-1 and IL-6 between controls and respiratory disease in general as well as different disease groups. Conclusions Although some correlations were found between PCT in plasma, BALF supernatant and clinical scores, PCT in BALF does not seem to be a superior marker compared to established clinical markers. PCT in plasma seems to be more promising and a greater number of samples should be evaluated in further studies

Crianças e adolescentes com TDAH no ambiente escolar: revisão bibliográfica

Esta revisão de literatura apresenta intervenções pedagógicas para alunos com Transtorno de Déficit de Atenção e Hiperatividade (TDAH). Nos dias atuais, muitos professores relatam a dificuldade para trabalhar com a inclusão de crianças e adultos com TDAH. O objetivo do estudo foi realizar um levantamento bibliográfico sobre o tema em artigos. Realizou-se um levantamento de publicações no Periódico CAPES, considerando os estudos entre os anos de 2015 a 2019, utilizando a palavra chave TDAH. Selecionaram-se 19 artigos que atendiam ao objetivo deste estudo, que tratavam de pesquisas relacionadas ao TDAH e ao ambiente escolar. Os resultados mostram que as principais características de alunos com TDAH nas escolas estão relacionados com a falta de atenção ao realizar atividades, sendo assim pode-se concluir que o maior desafio está na forma como essa inclusão ocorre na prática

The role of teicoplanin in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a retrospective study in critically ill COVID-19 patients (Tei-COVID Study)

Teicoplanin has a potential antiviral activity expressed against SARS-CoV-2 and was suggested as a complementary option to treat COVID-19 patients. In this multicentric, retrospective, observational research the aim was to evaluate the impact of teicoplanin on the course of COVID-19 in critically ill patients

Task switching costs in preschool children and adults

Past research investigating cognitive flexibility has shown that preschool children make many perseverative errors in tasks that require switching between different sets of rules. However, this inflexibility may not necessary hold with easier tasks. The current study investigates the developmental differences in cognitive flexibility using a task-switching procedure that compares reaction times and accuracy in 4- to 6-year-olds to those of adults. The experiment involved simple target detection tasks, and was intentionally designed in a way that the stimulus and response conflicts were minimal, together with a long preparation window. Global mixing costs (performance costs when multiple tasks are relevant in a context), and local switch costs (performance costs due to switching to an alternative task) are typically thought to engage endogenous control processes. If this is the case, we should observe developmental differences with both these costs. Our results show, however, that when the accuracy was good, there were no age differences in cognitive flexibility between children and adults (i.e. the ability to manage multiple tasks and to switch between tasks). Even though preschool children had slower reaction times and were less accurate, the mixing and switch costs associated with task-switching were not reliably larger for preschool children. Preschool children did, however, show more commission errors and greater response repetition effects than adults, which may reflect differences in inhibitory control

Raskaana yksin - kokemuksia raskausaikana saadusta tuesta ja tuen tarpeesta

Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli kartoittaa yksinodottajien kokemuksia raskausajasta sekä heidän saamastaan tuesta ja tuen tarpeesta raskausaikana. Opinnäytetyöllä haluttiin selvittää, kuinka yksinodottajat ovat pärjänneet ilman kumppanin tukea ja tarvitsevatko yksinodottavat erityistä tukea ammattilaisilta tai muilta vertaisilta. Näihin haettiin vastausta opinnäytetyön tutkimustehtävillä. Opinnäytetyön tekijät halusivat perehtyä yksinodottamisen kokemuksiin, jotta voisivat kehittyä ja toimia asiantuntevasti sairaanhoitajina sekä terveydenhoitajina. Opinnäytetyön aineisto kerättiin kyselyn avulla Kaksplus.fi-, Helistin.fi- ja Vauva.fi- Internetsivujen keskustelupalstoilta. Internetissä oleva kysely oli avoinna kaikille yksinodottajille. Kyselyyn vastasi kahdeksan naista, jotka olivat raskaana yksin. Opinnäytetyö toteutettiin laadullisena tutkimuksena ja aineisto analysoitiin sisällönanalyysilla. Opinnäytetyön päätuloksiksi nousi voimaannuttavat ja voimia vievät kokemukset, sukulaisten, ystävien tai neuvolan/terveydenhuollonammattilaisten antama tuki. Lisäksi yksinodottajat olisivat tarvinneet asiantuntevaa tai muuta erityistä tukea raskausaikana. Yksinodottajat olivat kokeneet raskausajan voimaannuttavana tai voimia vievänä. Kokemuksesta voimaannuttavan teki odotuksen sujuminen suunnitelmien mukaan ja odottavan äidin sopeutuminen yksinodottamiseen. Kokemuksesta voimia vievän teki raskaana olevan yksinäisyys ja raskausajan vaikeudet. Tukea ja apua yksinodottajat olivat saaneet sukulaisilta, ystäviltä ja neuvolalta/terveydenhuollonammattilaisilta. Erittäin tärkeäksi asiaksi nousi sukulaisten ja ystävien mukana olo raskausaikana. Heiltä yksinodottajat saivat voimia jaksaa koko raskauden ajan. Yksinodottajat kaipasivat asiantuntevaa tukea esimerkiksi neuvolalta, sillä heitä tulisi huomioida ammattimaisemmin neuvolakäynneillä. Yksinodottavat äidit kokivat tarvitsevansa heille kohdennettua materiaalia tai esitteitä sekä luottamusta ympäröiviltä ihmisiltä. Kehittämiskohteiksi nousivat neuvolapalveluiden kehittäminen ja neuvolan/terveydenhuollonamamattilaisten antama huomio yksinodottaville terveystapaamisissa. Yksinodottaville olisi tarvetta kehittää oppaita tueksi ja neuvoiksi odotusaikaan. Jatkotutkimusaiheeksi nousi erityistä tukea tarvitsevien, kuten yksinodottavien, laajempi sekä systemaattisempi tutkiminen terveydenhuollossa.Pregnant alone - experiences on got support and needed support during pregnancy The purpose of this thesis was to survey what kind of experiences single mothers had during pregnancy and what kind of support pregnant women received and needed during pregnancy. The aim of this thesis was to find out how single mothers coped with their pregnancy without a partner's support and whether single mothers needed special support from professionals or their peers during pregnancy. Answers were explored through research tasks. The authors of the thesis wanted to become familiar with single mothers' experiences in order to improve their professional skills as registered nurses and public health nurses. The material for the thesis was collected with a questionnaire posted on the following webpages: Kaksplus.fi, Helistin.fi, and Vauva.fi. The questionnaire was open to all single mothers. Eight pregnant women filled in the questionnaire. The thesis was carried out as qualitative research and the content analysis method was used to analyze the data. The main results of the thesis concerned the support offered by relatives, friends and maternity clinic/healthcare professionals, and the participants also mentioned that some experiences were empowering while some sapped their strength, and that they would have benefitted from special support and expertise during pregnancy. The single mothers considered pregnancy empowering, but it also sapped their strength. The experience was empowering when the pregnancy went according to plan and when the pregnant mothers adapted well to pregnancy. The experience sapped their strength because the single mothers experienced loneliness and their pregnancies were difficult. The single mothers received support and help from relatives, friends and maternity clinic/healthcare professionals. The support from relatives and friends was considered extremely important during pregnancy. They gave strength to the single mothers to carry on through the pregnancy. The single mothers needed expert support from, for example, maternity clinics and they should be treated more professionally during maternity clinic visits. The single mothers wanted educational materials and brochures on single motherhood as well as confidence from people surrounding them. Research showed several areas in need of further development. Maternity clinic services should be improved and maternity clinic and health care professionals should pay more attention to single mothers during health appointments. Brochures should be developed to support and advise single mothers about motherhood. More extensive research could be done in the future on clients in need of special support, such as single mothers

Pyöräilyreittiesitteen suunnittelu

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli suunnitella Etelä-Karjalan alueella kulkevalle pyöräilyreitille reittiesite sekä informatiivinen Internet-kartta. Tarkoituksena oli tuottaa materiaalia reitin markkinoinnin tueksi ja pyöräilijöiden avuksi reitin varrelle. Opinnäytetyön tekijä pääsi mukaan työryhmään, joka kartoitti pyöräreittien tarvetta Etelä-Karjalan alueella ja laati hankesuunnitelman laajemmalle pyöräilyreittien kehittämishankkeelle. Työ tehtiin Etelä-Karjalan Virkistysaluesäätiölle ja Länsi-Saimaan Kehittämisyhdistykselle. Opinnäytetyö oli toiminnallinen. Teoriassa käsiteltiin tuotteistamista ja tuotteistamisprosessia. Teorian pohjana käytettiin aiheeseen liittyvää kirjallisuutta. Tietoa pyöräilystä kerättiin pyöräilyaiheisista tapahtumista ja palavereista työn tilaajien kanssa. Loppukäyttäjien eli pyöräilijöiden mielipiteitä saatiin laittamalla kysely pyöräilijöiden suosimalle palstalle Internetissä. Projektin tuloksena pyöräilyreitistä syntyi kaksisivuinen paperiesite ja Google Maps-karttapalvelulla tuotettu informatiivinen Internet-kartta. Kyselyn avulla saatiin selville pyöräilijöiden mielestä Suomen parhaat pyöräreitit sekä tärkeimmät kriteerit reitin valintaan. Pyöräilyreitin varrella tulee olla hyvät palvelut, nähtävyyksiä, eikä reitti saa kulkea liian isoja teitä pitkin.The purpose of this study was to create a brochure and informative Internet-map for a cycling route in South-Karelia. The purpose was to produce material to support the marketing of the route and to help cyclists along the route. The writer of this study participated in a team that surveyed the need of cycling routes in South Karelia. The team made a project plan for a larger project that developed cycling routes. This study was made for South Karelian Foundation of Recreation Areas and West Saimaa Development Association. The study is functional. The theory part of this study was about productization and the process of it. The information was collected from literature and meetings about cycling with the partner organizations. Opinions of cyclists were collected by making a questionnaire on the Internet. As a result of this study a two-paged paper brochure and Internet-map were made. With the questionnaire I found out the best cycling routes in Finland and the most important criteria in choosing the cycling route. There need to be good services and sights along the cycling route and the route must not go along too big roads

The Effect of Forest Access on the Market for Fuelwood in India

CESifo Working Paper No. 7095, 47 p.Fuelwood collection is often cited as the most important cause of deforestation in developing countries. Use of fuelwood in cooking is a leading cause of indoor air pollution. Using household data from India, we show that households located farther away from the forest spend more time collecting. Distant households are likely to sell more fuelwood and buy less. That is, lower access to forests increases fuelwood collection and sale. This counter-intuitive behavior is triggered by two factors: lower access to forests (a) increases the fixed costs of collecting, which in turn leads to more collection; and (b) drives up local fuelwood prices, which makes collection and sale more profitable. We quantify both these effects. Using our estimates we show that a fifth of the fuelwood collected is consumed outside of rural areas, in nearby towns and cities. Our results imply that at the margin, fuelwood scarcity may lead to increased collection and sale, and exacerbate forest degradation