Prospective paediatric intensive care registry in Latvia : one year outcomes

Background: In Latvia, there is a single eight-bed paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) where all critically ill children are admitted. A recent retrospective audit of the outcomes of paediatric critical care in this unit revealed a high number of unplanned extubations and excess crude mortality. In 2017, our centre joined the UK and Ireland based Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network (PICANet) as a pilot project to investigate the feasibility of developing a paediatric critical care registry in Latvia and in the Baltic states. Methods: Riga Stradins University Ethics Committee approved the study. Anonymized data on all patients admitted to our unit from 1 June, 2017 to 31 May 2018 were prospectively entered onto the PICANet database. Results: A total of 774 PICU admissions were analysed; 45% of admissions were elective. The median age was 59 months (IQR: 14-149). The highest admission rate was on Wednesdays representing the flow of elective surgical patients. The median length of stay was 0.95 days (IQR: 0.79-1.98). Twenty-five percent required respiratory support. The expected number of deaths estimated using the Paediatric Index of Mortality 3 (PIM 3) 15.16; 15 patients (1.94%) died resulting in Standartized Mortality Ratio (SMR) of 0.99 (95% CI 0.57-1.60). The emergency readmission rate within 48 hours after PICU discharge was 0.9%. There were 1.8 unplanned extubations per 100 invasive ventilation days. Other paediatric intensive care audit networks reported similar adjusted mortality rates but lower rates of unplanned extubations. Thirty days after PICU discharge, 653 (84.36%) patients were alive and outside hospital, 98 (12.66%) were inpatients, six (0.78%) had died, two (0.26%) were lost to the follow-up. We observed a marked peak of infant emergency respiratory admissions in February. Conclusions: This project explored the possibility of prospective paediatric critical care audit in Latvia by joining an established international network. This allowed direct comparison of outcomes between the countries. Excess mortality was not observed during one-year data collection period, however a high rate of unplanned extubations was revealed. The results allowed a better planning of elective patient flow by spreading elective cases over the week to avoid "rush hours".publishersversionPeer reviewe

A 38-year study on Trichinella spp. in wild boar (Sus scrofa) of Latvia shows a stable incidence with an increased parasite biomass in the last decade

BACKGROUND: Trichinella spp. are zoonotic parasites transmitted to humans by the consumption of raw or insufficiently cooked meat of different animal species. The most common source of infection for humans is meat from pigs and wild boar (Sus scrofa). The aim of the present work was to evaluate the incidence of Trichinella spp. infections in wild boar hunted in Latvia over a 38 year interval (1976 to 2013). METHODS: A total 120,609 wild boars were individually tested for Trichinella spp. by trichinoscopy and, in case of negativity, by artificial digestion of 25 g muscles, in the 1976–2005 period, and by artificial digestion of 25–50 g muscles in the 2006–2013 period. Trichinella spp. larvae were identified at the species level by multiplex PCR. RESULTS: In the study period, the overall prevalence of infected wild boar was 2.5%. Trichinella britovi was the predominant (90%) species. The incidence of Trichinella spp. infection in wild boar exhibited two different trends. From 1976 to 1987, the incidence of infected/hunted wild boar increased from 0.23% to 2.56%, then it decreased to 0.19 in 1994. Thereafter, the incidence fluctuated between 0.05% and 0.37%. A statistically significant (P < 0.05) correlation (r = 0.54; p = 0.0199) was found between the trend of Trichinella spp. incidence in hunted wild boar and the number of snow cover days from 1976 to 1993. From 1997 to 2013, the estimated wild boar population of Latvia increased by 4.9 times and the hunting bag by 9.7 times, with a stable incidence of Trichinella spp. in the population. It follows that the biomass of Trichinella spp. larvae and of T. britovi, in particular, increased. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence trends of Trichinella spp. in wild boar could be related to the role played by the snow in reducing the thermal shock and muscle putrefaction which increases the survival of the larvae in muscle tissues of carrion in the 1976–1993 period; and, in the 1997–2013 period, to the increased biomass of Trichinella spp. due to the increased carnivore populations, which are the main reservoirs of these parasites

Schools network optimitization in Latvia

Darba mērķis ir aplūkot un analizēt lauku skolu tīkla optimizāciju Latvijā no 2009. līdz 2014.g. un arī tās iespējamos risinājumus nākotnē. Teorijas daļā aplūkota zinātniskās literatūras avotu analīze par mazo un lielo skolu problemātiku, skolu tīkla optimizācijas jautājumiem citur pasaulē; raksturota skolu tīkla veidošanās attīstība Latvijā, kas atklāj skolu slēgšanas un reorganizācijas norisi no 2009. līdz 2014.gadam un galvenos izaicinājumus nākotnē. Praktiskajā daļā analizētie lauku skolēnu rezultāti matemātikā SSNP 2012 pētījumā atklāj to galvenos ietekmējošos faktorus: mācību resursu kvalitāte, skolas lielums, papildnodarbību pieejamība, skolēnu motivācija. Veicot intervijas ar lauku skolu vadītājiem un skolotāju, tika noskaidrotas galvenās lauku skolu problēmas (slikta demogrāfiskā situācija valstī, nepietiekams finansējums un neziņa par nākotni), saņemtas pārdomas un ieteikumi skolu tīkla efektīvākai plānošanai un attīstībai. Tika izdarīti secinājumi par līdz šim realizēto un izveidoti ieteikumi skolu tīkla plānošanai un sakārtošanai Latvijā. Atslēgas vārdi: skolu tīkla optimizācija, mazās skolas, lielās skolas, OECD SSNP, skolēnu sasniegumi.The name of the master thesis is „Optimization of general education schools in Latvia”. The aim is to look at and analyze the optimization of the schools network issues in Latvia from 2009 to 2014 — and their solutions in the future. The theoretical part of the analysis of the scientific literature about the source of the problems of small and large schools, school network optimization issues elsewhere in the world, describes the development of a network of schools in Latvia, which reveals school closure and reorganisation from 2009 to 2014, and the main challenges for the future. The student’s math result analysis in PISA2012 reveals the main influencing factors: the quality of teaching resources, school size, availability of the additional lessons, students motivation. In the interviews with the school leaders and teacher the main problems of rural schools was identified (poor demographic situation in the country, lack of funding and uncertainty about the future). There was received reflections and suggestions from school leaders about more efficient planning and development of school network. The conclusion and proposals were made about schools network planning and organising in Latvia. Key words: optimisation of the school network, small schools, large schools, OECD PISA, the students achievements

Mathematical Modelling of Cancer Cell Population Dynamics

Mathematical models, that depict the dynamics of a cancer cell population growing out of the human body (in vitro) in unconstrained microenvironment conditions, are considered in this thesis. Cancer cells in vitro grow and divide much faster than cancer cells in the human body, therefore, the effects of various cancer treatments applied to them can be identified much faster. These cell populations, when not exposed to any cancer treatment, exhibit exponential growth that we refer to as the balanced exponential growth (BEG) state. This observation has led to several effective methods of estimating parameters that thereafter are not required to be determined experimentally. We present derivation of the age-structured model and its theoretical analysis of the existence of the solution. Furthermore, we have obtained the condition for BEG existence using the Perron- Frobenius theorem. Amathematical description of the cell-cycle control is shown for one-compartment and two-compartment populations, where a compartment refers to a cell population consisting of cells that exhibit similar kinetic properties. We have incorporated into our mathematical model the required growing/aging times in each phase of the cell cycle for the biological viability. Moreover, we have derived analytical formulae for vital parameters in cancer research, such as population doubling time, the average cell-cycle age, and the average removal age from all phases, which we argue is the average cell-cycle time of the population. An estimate of the average cell-cycle time is of a particular interest for biologists and clinicians, and for patient survival prognoses as it is considered that short cell-cycle times correlate with poor survival prognoses for patients. Applications of our mathematical model to experimental data have been shown. First, we have derived algebraic expressions to determine the population doubling time from single experimental observation as an alternative to empirically constructed growth curve. This result is applicable to various types of cancer cell lines. One option to extend this model would be to derive the cellcycle time from a single experimental measurement. Second, we have applied our mathematical model to interpret and derive dynamic-depicting parameters of five melanoma cell lines exposed to radiotherapy. The mathematical result suggests there are shortcomings in the experimental methods and provides an insight into the cancer cell population dynamics during post radiotherapy. Finally, a mathematical model depicting a theoretical cancer cell population that comprises two sub-populations with different kinetic properties is presented to describe the transition of a primary culture to a cell line cell population

Acquirement of speech skills in the process of getting acquainted with literary works among six-years old children

Kvalifikācijas darba autors: Inese Daukšte. Kvalifikācijas darba vadītāja: Aija Kalve Ineses Daukštes kvalifikācijas darba tēma ir „Sešgadīgu bērnu runas prasmju apguve literāro darbu iepazīšanas procesā”. Kvalifikācijas darba mērķis ir teorētiski noskaidrot un praktiski pētīt bērnu runas prasmju sekmēšanas iespējas literāro darbu iepazīšanas procesā. Lai mērķis tiktu sasniegts, bērni tika novēroti daiļdarbu lasīšanas laikā, tika spēlētas lomu rotaļas, lai sekmētu bērnu stāstītprasmi, raksturojot notikumus un tēlus literārajos darbos. Kvalifikācijas darbā autore iepazīstas un analizē pedagoģijas un psiholoģijas literatūru par runas un valodas attīstību. Tika izmantotas pārrunas, novērošanas metode, kā arī tika veikts pedagoģiskais izmēģinājums. Apstiprinājies, ka sešgadīgu bērnu runa literāro darbu iepazīšanas procesā tiks sekmēta, ja •ja izvēlētie literārie darbi būs atbilstoši vecumposmam; •ja izvēlētie metodiskie paņēmieni sekmēs runas attīstību; •ja literārie darbi tiks lasīti regulāri; Pētījums tika veikts Rīgas X pirmsskolas izglītības iestādē Pētījuma bāzi veido vecākās grupas( 6 gadi )bērni Pētījuma darbu veido divas nodaļas, secinājumi, literatūras avoti un pielikumi. Pētījuma darbs izklāstīts ir 55 lapaspusēs. Atslēgvārdi: Runa, valoda, literārie darbi, pirmsskola Anotation Author of the qualification paper: Inese Daukšte. Supervisor of the qualification paper: Aija Kalve The theme for the qualification paper of Inese Daukšte is “Acquirement of speech skills in the process of getting acquainted with literary works among six-years old children”. Purpose of the qualification paper is to theoretically clarify and practically research the ability to improve children’s mutual speech skills through acquaintance with literary works. In order to obtain the necessary information, the children were observed while they were reading, role-play games were played to improve children’s narrative skills by describing events and characters from the literary works. In the qualification paper the author analyzes pedagogy and psychology literature on speech and language development. Discussions, observation method, as well as pedagogical trial were conducted in the process. Through the research it was confirmed that the acquirement of speech skills in the process of getting acquainted with literary works among six years old children will be successful if •the chosen literary works are suitable for the according age group; •the chosen methodological techniques contribute to the development of speech; •the literary works are being read on a regular basis. The research was conducted in the Riga Preschool Educational Institution X. The research base was formed on six-years old children. The research consists of two chapters, conclusions, literature sources and annexes The research work is presented in 55 pages. Keywords – language, speech, literary works, pre-schoo

Possibilities to solve social inequality in Latvia in socialpolitical context of European Union.

Bakalaura darba tēma ir "Sociālās nevienlīdzības mazināšanas iespējas Latvijā Eiropas Savienības sociālās politikas kontekstā". Tēma ir aktuālā, jo viens no galvenajiem Eiropas Savienības, un jebkuras liberālas sabiedrības mērķiem ir pilnīga cilvēku vienlīdzība. Darba mērķis: izpētīt sociālās politikas rezultātus sociālās nevienlīdzības mazināšanā Eiropas Savienībā un Latvijas Republikā. Eiropas Savienības sociāla politika ir efektīva, bet darba pētījuma rezultāti paradīja, kā pastāv augsta sociāla nevienlīdzība tās dalībvalstīs. Darba apjoms – 80 lapas bez pielikumiem. Darbs sastāv no ievada, 3 nodaļām, secinājumiem, izmantotās literatūras un statistikas avotu sarakstā ar 91 avotiem un 12pielikumiem, ietvertas 2 tabulas un 16 attēli. Atslēgvārdi: sociālā nevienlīdzība, sociālā politika, sociālās programmas, Latvija, Eiropas SavienībaThe Theme of Bachelor Thesis is "Possibilities to solve social inequality in Latvia in sociopolitical context of European Union". The theme is actual, because social inequality is main target of European Union and each liberal society. The aim of Bachelor Thesis: to research results of social policy at decrease of the social inequality in European Union and Republic of Latvia. European Union social policy is effective, but results of research are showed that exist the high inequality rates at member states. The volume of Bachelor Thesis –80 pages without enclosures. The Bachelor Thesis consists of introduction, 3 chapters, conclusions, bibliography with 91 literature sources and 12 enclosures, 2 tables and 16 figures are included. Keywords: Social Inequality, Social Policy, Social Programs, European Union, Latvi

Prospective paediatric intensive care registry in Latvia: one year outcomes.

Background:In Latvia, there is a single eight-bed paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) where all critically ill children are admitted. A recent retrospective audit of the outcomes of paediatric critical care in this unit revealed a high number of unplanned extubations and excess crude mortality. In 2017, our centre joined the UK and Ireland based Paediatric Intensive Care Audit Network (PICANet) as a pilot project to investigate the feasibility of developing a paediatric critical care registry in Latvia and in the Baltic states. Methods:Riga Stradins University Ethics Committee approved the study. Anonymized data on all patients admitted to our unit from 1 June, 2017 to 31 May 2018 were prospectively entered onto the PICANet database. Results:A total of 774 PICU admissions were analysed; 45% of admissions were elective. The median age was 59 months (IQR: 14-149). The highest admission rate was on Wednesdays representing the flow of elective surgical patients. The median length of stay was 0.95 days (IQR: 0.79-1.98). Twenty-five percent required respiratory support. The expected number of deaths estimated using the Paediatric Index of Mortality 3 (PIM 3) 15.16; 15 patients (1.94%) died resulting in Standartized Mortality Ratio (SMR) of 0.99 (95% CI 0.57-1.60). The emergency readmission rate within 48 hours after PICU discharge was 0.9%. There were 1.8 unplanned extubations per 100 invasive ventilation days. Other paediatric intensive care audit networks reported similar adjusted mortality rates but lower rates of unplanned extubations. Thirty days after PICU discharge, 653 (84.36%) patients were alive and outside hospital, 98 (12.66%) were inpatients, six (0.78%) had died, two (0.26%) were lost to the follow-up. We observed a marked peak of infant emergency respiratory admissions in February. Conclusions:This project explored the possibility of prospective paediatric critical care audit in Latvia by joining an established international network. This allowed direct comparison of outcomes between the countries. Excess mortality was not observed during one-year data collection period, however a high rate of unplanned extubations was revealed. The results allowed a better planning of elective patient flow by spreading elective cases over the week to avoid "rush hours"

Data from: Senescence in immune priming and attractiveness in a beetle

Age-related decline in immune activity is referred to as immunosenescence and has been observed for both the adaptive immune response of vertebrates and the innate immune system of invertebrates. Since maintaining a basic level of immune defence and mounting an immune response is costly, optimal investment in immune function should vary over a wide range of individual states such as the individual’s age. In this study we tested whether the immune response and immunological priming within individuals become less efficient with age using mealworm beetles, Tenebrio molitor, as a model organism. We also tested whether aging and immunological priming affected the odours produced by males. We found that young males of T.molitor were capable of mounting an immune response a sterile nylon monofilament implant with the potential to exhibit a simple form of immune memory through mechanisms of immune priming. Older males did not increase their immune response to a second immune challenge, which negatively affected their sexual attractiveness and remaining life span. Our results indicate that the immune system of older males in T.molitor is less effective, suggesting complex evolutionary trade-offs between ageing, immune response and sexual attractiveness