Två arbetsminnestest – samma utfall? Serieposition och andra faktorer som påverkar hågkomst

I den logopediska testarsenalen ingår ett test av komplext arbetsminne, det så kallade CLPT, Competing Language Processing Task. Vid testning med CLPT ska barnet bedöma om en mening är semantiskt acceptabel eller ej. Därefter ska det sista ordet i meningen, alternativt i flera meningar, återges. Ibland väljer logopeder istället att be barnet återge det första ordet. Forskare har under 1900-talet uppmärksammat så kallade seriepositionseffekter. Man har funnit att det ord försökspersoner sist har hört i en lista är lättast att komma ihåg. Fenomenet kallas för recencyeffekt. Motsatsen, att det första ordet är lättare att minnas, kallas primacyeffekt. För att kunna diskutera dessa fenomen samt andra faktorer som kan påverka hågkomsten, görs en kartläggning av de initiala och finala orden i CLPT vad gäller ordfrekvens, ordlängd och ordklass. Deltagare är 103 barn, i åldrarna 8;0-8;11 år och 10;0-10;11 år. Testningen utförs med CLPT uppdelat i två versioner, vilka författarna valt att kalla för CLPTi (initial återgivning) och CLPTf (final återgivning). Samtliga barn testas med både CLPTi och CLPTf. Studien har två syften. Det första är att utreda ifall det spelar någon roll om barnet ombeds att återge det första eller det sista ordet i CLPT. Det andra syftet är att relatera CLPT till ett annat arbetsminnestest BDR; Backward Digit Recall, vilket används av psykologer. I BDR ska barnet repetera upplästa sifferserier i omvänd ordning. Ingen signifikant skillnad återfinns mellan barnens resultat på CLPTi och CLPTf i någon av åldersgrupperna. Jämförelsen av egenskaperna hos de initiala och finala orden i CLPT visar på skillnader beträffande ordklass, där de initiala orden i CLPT alltid är konkreta substantiv. Detta kan göra CLPTi lättare och vara en förklaring till att resultatet på de båda testversionerna inte skiljer sig åt. Signifikanta medelstarka samband finns mellan CLPTi, CLPTf och BDR. Slutsatsen är att arbetsminnestesten verkar mäta någon/några gemensam/ma faktor/er, men att de inte mäter exakt samma sak. CLPT och BDR skiljer sig åt på många sätt, vilket gör att det ena inte kan ersätta det andra som test av komplext arbetsminne

Combining information from surveys of several species to estimate the probability of freedom from Echinococcus multilocularis in Sweden, Finland and mainland Norway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The fox tapeworm <it>Echinococcus multilocularis </it>has foxes and other canids as definitive host and rodents as intermediate hosts. However, most mammals can be accidental intermediate hosts and the larval stage may cause serious disease in humans. The parasite has never been detected in Sweden, Finland and mainland Norway. All three countries require currently an anthelminthic treatment for dogs and cats prior to entry in order to prevent introduction of the parasite. Documentation of freedom from <it>E. multilocularis </it>is necessary for justification of the present import requirements.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The probability that Sweden, Finland and mainland Norway were free from <it>E. multilocularis </it>and the sensitivity of the surveillance systems were estimated using scenario trees. Surveillance data from five animal species were included in the study: red fox (<it>Vulpes vulpes</it>), raccoon dog (<it>Nyctereutes procyonoides</it>), domestic pig, wild boar (<it>Sus scrofa</it>) and voles and lemmings (Arvicolinae).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The cumulative probability of freedom from EM in December 2009 was high in all three countries, 0.98 (95% CI 0.96-0.99) in Finland and 0.99 (0.97-0.995) in Sweden and 0.98 (0.95-0.99) in Norway.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Results from the model confirm that there is a high probability that in 2009 the countries were free from <it>E. multilocularis</it>. The sensitivity analyses showed that the choice of the design prevalences in different infected populations was influential. Therefore more knowledge on expected prevalences for <it>E. multilocularis </it>in infected populations of different species is desirable to reduce residual uncertainty of the results.</p

Breast Cancer with Neoductgenesis: Histopathological Criteria and Its Correlation with Mammographic and Tumour Features

Peer reviewe

Replacement of acetate with citrate in dialysis fluid: a randomized clinical trial of short term safety and fluid biocompatibility

Background The majority of bicarbonate based dialysis fluids are acidified with acetate. Citrate, a well known anticoagulant and antioxidant, has been suggested as a biocompatible alternative. The objective of this study was to evaluate short term safety and biocompatibility of a citrate containing acetate-free dialysis fluid. Methods Twenty four (24) patients on maintenance dialysis three times per week, 13 on on-line hemodiafiltration (HDF) and 11 on hemodialysis (HD), were randomly assigned to start with either citrate dialysis fluid (1 mM citrate, 1.5 mM calcium) or control fluid (3 mM acetate, 1.5 mM calcium) in an open-labeled cross-over trial (6 + 6 weeks with 8 treatments wash-out in between). Twenty (20) patients, 11 on HDF and 9 on HD were included in the analyses. Main objective was short term safety assessed by acid–base status, plasma ionized calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH). In addition, biocompatibility was assessed by markers of inflammation (pentraxin 3 (PTX-3), CRP, IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β) and thrombogenicity (activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and visual clotting scores). Results No differences dependent on randomization order or treatment mode (HD vs. HDF) were detected. Citrate in the dialysis fluid reduced the intra-dialytic shift in pH (+0.04 week 6 vs. +0.06 week 0, p = 0.046) and base excess (+3.9 mM week 6 vs. +5.6 mM week 0, p = 0.006) over the study period. Using the same calcium concentration (1.5 mM), citrate dialysis fluid resulted in lower post-dialysis plasma ionized calcium level (1.10 mM vs. 1.27 mM for control, p &lt; 0.0001) and higher post-dialysis PTH level (28.8 pM vs. 14.7 pM for control, p &lt; 0.0001) while pre-dialysis levels were unaffected. Citrate reduced intra-dialytic induction of PTX-3 (+1.1 ng/ml vs. +1.4 ng/ml for control, p = 0.04) but had no effect on other markers of inflammation or oxidative stress. Citrate reduced visual clotting in the arterial air chamber during HDF (1.0 vs. 1.8 for control, p = 0.03) and caused an intra-dialytic increase in APTT (+6.8 s, p = 0.003) without affecting post-dialysis values compared to control. Conclusions During this small short term study citrate dialysis fluid was apparently safe to use in HD and on-line HDF treatments. Indications of reduced treatment-induced inflammation and thrombogenicity suggest citrate as a biocompatible alternative to acetate in dialysis fluid. However, the results need to be confirmed in long term studies.Funding Agencies|Gambro Lundia AB||</p

Replacement of acetate with citrate in dialysis fluid: a randomized clinical trial of short term safety and fluid biocompatibility

Background The majority of bicarbonate based dialysis fluids are acidified with acetate. Citrate, a well known anticoagulant and antioxidant, has been suggested as a biocompatible alternative. The objective of this study was to evaluate short term safety and biocompatibility of a citrate containing acetate-free dialysis fluid. Methods Twenty four (24) patients on maintenance dialysis three times per week, 13 on on-line hemodiafiltration (HDF) and 11 on hemodialysis (HD), were randomly assigned to start with either citrate dialysis fluid (1 mM citrate, 1.5 mM calcium) or control fluid (3 mM acetate, 1.5 mM calcium) in an open-labeled cross-over trial (6 + 6 weeks with 8 treatments wash-out in between). Twenty (20) patients, 11 on HDF and 9 on HD were included in the analyses. Main objective was short term safety assessed by acid–base status, plasma ionized calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH). In addition, biocompatibility was assessed by markers of inflammation (pentraxin 3 (PTX-3), CRP, IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β) and thrombogenicity (activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and visual clotting scores). Results No differences dependent on randomization order or treatment mode (HD vs. HDF) were detected. Citrate in the dialysis fluid reduced the intra-dialytic shift in pH (+0.04 week 6 vs. +0.06 week 0, p = 0.046) and base excess (+3.9 mM week 6 vs. +5.6 mM week 0, p = 0.006) over the study period. Using the same calcium concentration (1.5 mM), citrate dialysis fluid resulted in lower post-dialysis plasma ionized calcium level (1.10 mM vs. 1.27 mM for control, p &lt; 0.0001) and higher post-dialysis PTH level (28.8 pM vs. 14.7 pM for control, p &lt; 0.0001) while pre-dialysis levels were unaffected. Citrate reduced intra-dialytic induction of PTX-3 (+1.1 ng/ml vs. +1.4 ng/ml for control, p = 0.04) but had no effect on other markers of inflammation or oxidative stress. Citrate reduced visual clotting in the arterial air chamber during HDF (1.0 vs. 1.8 for control, p = 0.03) and caused an intra-dialytic increase in APTT (+6.8 s, p = 0.003) without affecting post-dialysis values compared to control. Conclusions During this small short term study citrate dialysis fluid was apparently safe to use in HD and on-line HDF treatments. Indications of reduced treatment-induced inflammation and thrombogenicity suggest citrate as a biocompatible alternative to acetate in dialysis fluid. However, the results need to be confirmed in long term studies.Funding Agencies|Gambro Lundia AB||</p

Willingness to pay for compulsory deworming of pets entering Sweden to prevent introduction of Echinoccoccus multilocularis

To investigate if the Swedish entry rules for pets to prevent the introduction of Echinococcus multilocularis (EM) are proportional (i.e. that their costs do not exceed the value of their benefits), a dichotomous-choice contingent valuation study was conducted. The study was performed before the first case of EM was detected in Sweden in February 2011. About 5000, randomly selected, Swedish citizens were invited to participate and 2192 of them (44%) accepted to do so. Missing information on whether or not one would accept to pay for keeping the rules for 143 respondents resulted in 2049 observations (41%) available for the estimation of willingness to pay (WTP), and missing information on personal characteristics for another 274 respondents reduced the number of observations available for sensitivity analysis to 1775(36%). Annual expected WTP for keeping the rules ranged between (sic) 54.3 and (sic) 99.0 depending on assumptions about compensations demanded by respondents not willing to pay. The estimates are conservative since only answers from respondents that were absolutely certain they would pay the suggested bid were regarded as yes-responses. That WTP is positive implies that Swedish citizens perceived the benefits of the rules to be larger than their costs. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Long-term pattern of HIV-1 RNA load in perinatally infected children

The objective of this study was to describe the natural history of HIV-1 RNA load in vertically HIV-1-infected children. HIV-1 RNA in 156 plasma or serum samples (1-14, median 4 from each child) from 32 vertically HIV-1-infected children was detected with the NASBA® technique (Organon Teknika, The Netherlands). Twenty-one children were prospectively followed from birth, and 11 were identified and included at the age of 7-89 (median 61) months. The highest numbers of HIV-1 RNA copies were seen at 1.5-3 months of age. A quadratic curve model showed a reduction of HIV-1 RNA with increasing age up to approximately 8 years, and thereafter increasing numbers, p(age) = 0.002, p(age2) = 0.008, This pattern was not typical for individual children in whom a great variation in HIV-1 RNA numbers was seen over time. The interval from birth to the first HIV-1 RNA peak ranged from 1.5 months to more than 2 years. The HIV-1 RNA levels remained relatively high and fluctuating over the years in symptomatic as well as in long-term symptomatic children. This makes HIV-1 RNA determination in children more difficult to use than in adults, as the only tool for prediction of disease progression and for initiation of therapy