Effects of Cultivation Conditions for Apples on Growth Rates of Fruit Fly Larvae and Contents of Phenolics

Apples were grown with 3 different alleyway groundcover management strategies, providing a wide range of nutrient availabilities to the trees, spanning the ranges normally found in both conventional and organic orchards. These treatments had significant effects on both yields and incidence of fungal diseases. However, the differences in yields and disease incidence cancelled each other out, resulting in identical average yields of marketable fruit, as reported earlier (Lindhard Petersen & Bertelsen 2002). These results indicated that the composition of the fruit may also differ, and that this material is useful as a model for investigating how growth conditions influence the content of nutritionally relevant compounds, and thus may affect the health of humans and animals. In a preliminary study, two species of fruit flies were reared on material from each of the 3 cultivation treatments, and the time when 50% of the flies in each vial had emerged was calculated. Development duration, hours Treatment: Annual clovergrass Perennial clovergrass Perennial grass (high N availability) (medium N availability) (low N availability) Species: D. melanogaster: 256 271 286 Drosophila hydei: 456 475 557 The fruit from each treatment, as well as corresponding fruit treated with pesticides, was analysed for contents of phenolic compounds. The number of flies produced in each treatment did not differ systematically, but observations indicate that the fastest development also resulted in the heaviest animals. It should be pointed out that excessive growth rates (obesity) is a major health risk in affluent human societies. This material is also used in ongoing rat feeding experiments

Effects of culivation conditions for apples on growth rates of fruit fly larvae and contents of phenolics

The different cultivation treatments significantly and systematically affected both rate of development of fruit fly larvae and contents of phenolic compounds, but not the total number of flies produced. This is in accordance with the hypothesis that cultivation methods can give large enough changes in composition of plant foods to affect physiological aspects important for health of consumers. It indicates that further stusies should be made of the links between plant cultivation, plant composition and health, for example regarding the question of the nutritional value of organic versus conventional food

Added value of 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT for the detection of bone metastases in patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer and a previous 99mTc bone scintigraphy

PURPOSE To investigate the added value and diagnostic accuracy of 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT versus bone scintigraphy (BS) for bone metastasis detection at the primary staging of prostate cancer (PCa). METHODS Inclusion criteria involved consecutive patients with newly diagnosed intermediate- to high-risk PCa, who had undergone BS, mostly with supplementary SPECT/low-dose CT, and 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT within less than 3 months without therapy initiation between the two investigations. BS was evaluated according to clinical routine and reported as no bone metastases (M0), bone metastases (M1), or equivocal (Me). The 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT was blindly evaluated by three specialists as M0, M1, or Me at the patient level. Sensitivity analyses were conducted using a "best valuable comparator" using all available imaging and clinical follow-up as a reference. RESULTS In total, 112 patients were included; 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT showed a sensitivity of 1.00, specificity of 0.93-0.96, positive predictive value of 0.74-0.81, and negative predictive value of 1.00. 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT revealed bone metastases in 8 of 81 patients with M0 disease according to BS. 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT confirmed the presence of bone metastases in all patients (n = 9) with M1 disease according to BS. In patients with Me by BS, 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT provided a definite result in 20 of 22 patients. 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT resulted in a false-positive answer in four patients with solitary rib lesions. CONCLUSION 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT revealed bone metastases in 10% of patients without bone metastases on BS and in 36% patients with indeterminate BS. However, solitary PSMA-avid lesions in the ribs should be interpreted cautiously as they may represent false-positive findings

”Dem der siger, at det ikke kan lade sig gøre, skal lade vær’ med at afbryde os, der allerede er i gang”

I denne artikel peger forfatterne på, hvorfor samskabelse mellem borgere og systemer (f.eks. kommuner) er vanskeligt, både når initiativet til samskabelsen kommer fra borgerne og fra systemet. Forfatterne beskriver i artiklen et eksempel på en innovation på handicapområdet, hvor to ansatte var nødt til at forlade deres ansættelse i kommunen for – sammen med borgerne - at gennemføre de udviklingshæmmedes drøm om et meningsfuldt arbejdsliv. Det initiativ førte megen læring med sig for alle involverede. Læring, der kan overføres til andre områder, hvor samskabelse mellem borger og system er i fokus. I artiklen beskrives den værdi, initiativet medførte på mange forskellige niveauer; hvilke barrierer der skulle overvindes undervejs, og hvilken læring initiativet afstedkom. Artiklen sluttes af med nogle anbefalinger til, hvordan den nødvendige samskabelsesdagsorden kan blive reel og værdiskabende for alle parter

a protocol for developing a patient-reported outcome measurement instrument

Introduction: There is no consensus about what constitutes the most appropriate patient-reported outcome measurement (PROM) instrument for measuring physical function in patients with rheumatic hand conditions. Existing instruments lack psychometric testing and vary in feasibility and their psychometric qualities. We aim to develop a PROM instrument to assess hand-related physical function in rheumatic hand conditions. Methods and analysis: We will perform a systematic search to identify existing PROMs to rheumatic hand conditions, and select items relevant for hand-related physical function as well as those items from the Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function (PF) item bank that are relevant to patients with rheumatic hand conditions. Selection will be based on consensus among reviewers. Content validity of selected items will be established through the use of focus groups. If patients deem necessary, we will develop new items based on the patients' input. We will examine whether it is valid to score all selected and developed items on the same scale as the original items from the PROMIS PF item bank. Our analyses will follow the methods used for calibrating the original PROMIS PF item bank in US samples, which were largely based on the general PROMIS approach. Ethics and dissemination: This study will be carried out in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration. Ethics approvals will be obtained where necessary, and signed informed consent will be obtained from all participants. We aim to disseminate the results of the study through publication in international peer-reviewed journals and at international conferences