Fearful or functional - a cross-sectional survey of the concepts of childhood fever among German and Turkish mothers in Germany

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Fever is one of the most common presenting complaints in paediatrics and general practice. In the majority of cases nothing harmful is diagnosed. However, the subjective meaning of fever often varies between doctors and parents. Knowledge of the parents' concept of fever may help tailor counselling to their needs.</p> <p>In this study we determine 1) the influence of socio-economic status and cultural background on two concepts of fever which we labelled "functional" and "fearful", each representing typical experiences of mothers, and 2) the actions taken by the mothers related to these concepts.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A standardized interview study was conducted among German and Turkish mothers in Germany in 2009. The questionnaire consisted of 36 questions and 205 items. Interviews were conducted in 16 private practices of paediatricians and 2 paediatric emergency departments in an urban region of Germany. The two fever concepts were represented in 6 statements that could be rated with a six-point Likert scale. The association of the socio-economic status and the cultural background with one of the fever concepts was determined by a multiple logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 338 mothers (49% with a Turkish background) completed the interview (response rate 92%). The average age of mothers with a German background was higher (34.1 years vs. 32.0 years, p = 0.0001). Mothers with a Turkish background were more likely to relate to the concept "fearful" [adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 1.99; confidence interval (CI) 1.16-3.44]. Mothers with a middle or high socio-economic status were more likely to respond to the concept "functional" [middle: AOR, 0.53; CI, 0.30-0.92; high: AOR, 0.44; CI, 0.21-0.95].</p> <p>Mothers adhering to the concept "fearful" more often gave acetaminophen before the recommended interval of 6 hours (46.8% vs. 31.3%, p = 0.005) and visited out-of-hours services more frequently in the preceding 9 months than the other group (0.7 vs. 0.4, p = 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A Turkish migrant background and a low socio-economic status are associated with the fever concept "fearful". Mothers with these attributes seem to require specific and reassuring counselling as they use antipyretic drugs extensively and out-of-hours services frequently.</p

DNA isolation protocol effects on nuclear DNA analysis by microarrays, droplet digital PCR, and whole genome sequencing, and on mitochondrial DNA copy number estimation.

Potential bias introduced during DNA isolation is inadequately explored, although it could have significant impact on downstream analysis. To investigate this in human brain, we isolated DNA from cerebellum and frontal cortex using spin columns under different conditions, and salting-out. We first analysed DNA using array CGH, which revealed a striking wave pattern suggesting primarily GC-rich cerebellar losses, even against matched frontal cortex DNA, with a similar pattern on a SNP array. The aCGH changes varied with the isolation protocol. Droplet digital PCR of two genes also showed protocol-dependent losses. Whole genome sequencing showed GC-dependent variation in coverage with spin column isolation from cerebellum. We also extracted and sequenced DNA from substantia nigra using salting-out and phenol / chloroform. The mtDNA copy number, assessed by reads mapping to the mitochondrial genome, was higher in substantia nigra when using phenol / chloroform. We thus provide evidence for significant method-dependent bias in DNA isolation from human brain, as reported in rat tissues. This may contribute to array "waves", and could affect copy number determination, particularly if mosaicism is being sought, and sequencing coverage. Variations in isolation protocol may also affect apparent mtDNA abundance

Detecting Material State Changes in the Nucleolus by Label-free Digital Holographic Microscopy

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Demographic details of individuals whose brains were used.

<p>Demographic details of individuals whose brains were used.</p

Whole genome sequencing coverage in relation to GC content.

<p>The mean normalized coverage per 100 kb window of PD3 cerebellum is shown, after 25 mg overnight SC isolation and Puregene isolation.</p

Effect of DNA isolation on copy number determination by ddPCR for cerebellar samples.

<p>(A) <i>EIF2C1</i> and (B) <i>TSC2</i>. The medians and interquartile ranges from the original results, and repeats after overnight SC extractions from 25 mg and 5 mg starting material, and Puregene, are shown. n = 6, except 5 mg SC, where n = 4.</p

Chromosome 1 in aCGH.

<p>The 10 Mb moving average and the aberration calls by ADM2 (after raising threshold to 12, with FZ off) are plotted for each sample. Losses are green, gains are red. </p><p></p><p></p><p>(A) Brain DNA hybridised against PBL reference DNA. Cerebellar samples are orange, and FC green. The moving average of a male to female DNA reference hybridisation is also shown (dark blue).</p><p></p><p></p><p>(B) Genome isochores. GC content range for each 100 kb isochore is 30–65% (blue to orange).</p><p></p><p></p><p>(C) Cerebellar DNA hybridised against FC DNA of the same brain for three PD cases with overnight SC extraction. PD1 = purple, PD2 = black, PD4 = green. Data for PD2 are derived after combining the dye-flip hybridisation pair.</p><p></p><p></p><p>(D) Hybridisations between DNA from the same brain as follows.</p><p>(1–3) Hybridisations of SC-isolated cerebellar DNA, with Puregene-isolated DNA from same cerebellum as reference. (1) PD3, 5 mg SC; (2) PD3, 25mg SC; (3) PD4, 25 mg SC.</p><p>(4) PD1, Puregene-isolated DNA, cerebellar (test) with FC as reference. Note the absence of waves and losses. This sample combination, but with spin column extraction, had led to waves and losses (PD1 in panel C).</p><p></p><p></p><p></p> <p>(A) Brain DNA hybridised against PBL reference DNA. Cerebellar samples are orange, and FC green. The moving average of a male to female DNA reference hybridisation is also shown (dark blue).</p> <p>(B) Genome isochores. GC content range for each 100 kb isochore is 30–65% (blue to orange).</p> <p>(C) Cerebellar DNA hybridised against FC DNA of the same brain for three PD cases with overnight SC extraction. PD1 = purple, PD2 = black, PD4 = green. Data for PD2 are derived after combining the dye-flip hybridisation pair.</p> <p>(D) Hybridisations between DNA from the same brain as follows.</p> <p>(1–3) Hybridisations of SC-isolated cerebellar DNA, with Puregene-isolated DNA from same cerebellum as reference. (1) PD3, 5 mg SC; (2) PD3, 25mg SC; (3) PD4, 25 mg SC.</p> <p>(4) PD1, Puregene-isolated DNA, cerebellar (test) with FC as reference. Note the absence of waves and losses. This sample combination, but with spin column extraction, had led to waves and losses (PD1 in panel C).</p