Epidemiological study on reproductive pathogens with particular focus on Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus in dairy cattle in Tajikistan

Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV) is considered to be one of the most important infectious diseases of cattle. It causes substantial economic losses worldwide mainly due to reproductive disorders. Neospora caninum and Brucella abortus are other important diseases causing major economic losses due to reproductive failure. B. abortus is also an important zoonotic disease and many countries, like Tajikistan, have a vaccination program in order to control the disease. Tajikistan, located in Central Asia, is a country where approximately 80% of the households own livestock. Many people are dependent on their cattle for survival. Reproductive disorders among cattle can therefore be greatly disadvantageous to the work on reducing poverty in the country. The aims of this study were primarily to investigate the occurrence of BVDV in the western Tajikistan among dairy cattle and to study risk factors relevant for controlling the disease. The secondary aim was to investigate the occurrence of the differential diagnoses N. caninum and B. abortus among dairy cattle in the western Tajikistan. In total, 305 serum samples were collected from six governmental farms and four private farms. The samples were analysed for presence of antibodies to BVDV, N. caninum and B. abortus. Bulk milk was also collected from five governmental farms and one private farm and analysed for presence of antibodies to BVDV. The overall seroprevalence of BVDV was 77%. Governmental farms had higher seroprevalence than private farms. Young animals in private farms had lower seroprevalence than young animals in governmental farms. This might indicate that within the private farms there was ongoing self-clearance of BVDV. The overall seroprevalence of N. caninum was 21%. The seroprevalence was higher in private farms than in governmental farms. This might be due to more frequent horizontal transmission within the private farms. This is the first report, to my knowledge, of infection with BVDV and N. caninum in Tajikistan. The overall seroprevalence of B. abortus was 11%. Two thirds of the animals in this study were vaccinated against B. abortus. Although the seroprevalence was mainly due to vaccination, the results indicate that there was infection with B. abortus in the study area.Bovint virusdiarrévirus (BVDV) anses vara en av de viktigaste infektionssjukdomarna hos nötkreatur. Sjukdomen orsakar stora ekonomiska förluster världen över framför allt på grund av reproduktionsstörningar. Neospora caninum och Brucella abortus är två andra viktiga sjukdomar som orsakar reproduktionsstörningar och därmed stora ekonomiska bortfall hos nötkreatur. B. abortus är även en viktig zoonos och många länder, däribland Tajikistan, har vaccinationsprogram för att försöka kontrollera sjukdomen. Tajikistan, som ligger i Centralasien, är ett land där uppskattningsvis 80% av hushållen äger boskap, och många är beroende av dem för sin överlevnad. Reproduktionsstörningar hos mjölkkor kan därför ha en stor negativ inverkan på fattigdomsbekämpningen i landet. Målen med denna studie var primärt att undersöka förekomst av BVDV hos mjölkkor i västra Tajikistan samt att studera riskfaktorer relevanta för sjukdomskontroll. Sekundärt var målet att undersöka förekomst av N. caninum och B. abortus hos mjölkkor i samma område. Totalt samlades 305 serumprover in från sex statliga och fyra privata gårdar. Proverna analyserades för förekomst av antikroppar mot BVDV, N. caninum och B. abortus. Tankmjölk samlades också in från fem statliga gårdar och en privat gård och analyserades för förekomst av antikroppar mot BVDV. Den totala seroprevalensen BVDV var 77 %. Seroprevalensen var högre inom statliga gårdar jämfört med inom privata gårdar. Unga djur i privata gårdar hade lägre seroprevalens än motsvarande djur i statliga gårdar. Detta kan tyda på högre sannolikhet för självsanering (self-clearance) av BVDV inom privata gårdar jämfört med statliga. Seroprevalensen av N. caninum var 21 %. Den var högre inom privata gårdar jämfört med statliga gårdar. Detta kan bero på mer frekvent horisontell transmission inom de privata gårdarna. Detta är, mig veterligen, den första rapporten om infektion av BVDV och N. caninum hos mjölkkor i Tajikistan. Den totala seroprevalensen B. abortus var 11 %. Två tredjedelar av mjölkkorna i denna studie var vaccinerade mot B. abortus. Även om merparten av seroprevalensen speglar antikroppar från vaccination tyder resultaten på att infektion med B. abortus fanns inom studieområdet

Brucella in Tajikistan

One of the most powerful megatrends of our time is urbanization. Urban and peri-urban (UPU) farming is a common practice in many low-income countries because it increases the incomes of families that are often restrained by limited economic resources. However, there is a concern that the growing number of people and livestock living close together in UPU areas will increase the transmission of different zoonotic pathogens such as Brucella. Brucellosis is one of the most common and economically important zoonoses globally and Central Asia represents an area with high incidence among humans and livestock. This thesis aims to assess the occurrence of Brucella among livestock in an UPU area and to elucidate how farmers understand and respond to this zoonosis. The results of this thesis might contribute to raising awareness of how livestock in urban areas can constitute a public health risk if they are infected with Brucella or other zoonoses. The four studies included in this thesis were conducted among small-scale livestock farmers in the UPU region of Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. Blood samples were collected from 904 dairy cows and 667 sheep and goats and analysed with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The Brucella seroprevalence was 4.1% among the dairy cows at the herd level and ranged between 1.0% and 15.6% among sheep and goats at the individual level in the four included districts. Furthermore, 564 cow milk samples were analysed for Brucella DNA by IS711-based real-time PCR and 13.7% were found to be positive. All seropositive cows were positive by PCR, but 11.8% of the seronegative cows were also positive by PCR. Further characterization of the Brucella DNA suggests that there is a reservoir of B. abortus in the cattle population and a spillover of B. melitensis from small ruminants to cattle. A knowledge, attitudes and practice study targeting 441 households revealed poor knowledge of brucellosis and several high-risk behaviours, such as consumption of unpasteurized dairy products and not wearing protective clothing when handling potentially infectious materials like aborted foetuses and discharges. Brucella is widespread among the livestock in the UPU area of Dushanbe and this might constitute a serious risk to public health and cause significant economic losses. The discrepancy between serology and PCR results suggests that implementing complementary diagnostic strategies to detect false serological negative individuals might be warranted in Brucella control programmes. Poor knowledge, several high-risk behaviours and a willingness to learn more provide the rationale for developing campaigns to raise awareness of brucellosis and its associated risks among farmers

Serotonin-evoked cytosolic Ca2+ release and opioid receptor expression are upregulated in articular cartilage chondrocytes from osteoarthritic joints in horses

Osteoarthritis is a pain-associated progressive disease and pain mediators, such as opioid receptors, expressed in articular cartilage could represent novel therapeutic targets. Acute and chronic stages of OA indicate different metabolic abilities of the chondrocytes depending on inflammatory state.This study aimed to investigate the response of healthy and osteoarthritic chondrocytes and their expression and release of pain mediators in response to acute inflammation.Interleukin-1 beta (IL-beta) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were used to induce an acute inflammatory response in cultured equine chondrocytes harvested from healthy joints (HC) and osteoarthritic joints (OAC), the latter representing acute exacerbation of a chronic inflammatory state. Intracellular Ca2+ release was determined after exposure to serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), glutamate or ATP. Protein expression levels of F- and G-actin, representing actin rearrangement, and opioid receptors were investigated. Glutamate concentrations in culture media were measured. Cartilage was immunohistochemically stained for mu (MOR), kappa (KOR), and delta (DOR) opioid receptors.Upon exposure to acute inflammatory stimuli, OAC showed increased intracellular Ca2+ release after 5-HT stimulation and increased expression of MOR and KOR. When cells were stimulated by inflammatory mediators, glutamate release was increased in both HC and OAC. Immunostaining for MOR was strong in OA cartilage, whereas KOR was less strongly expressed. DOR was not expressed by cultured HC and OAC and immunostaining of OA cartilage equivocal.We show that chondrocytes in different inflammatory stages react differently to the neurotransmitter 5-HT with respect to intracellular Ca2+ release and expression of peripheral pain mediators.Our findings suggest that opioids and neurotransmitters are important in the progression of equine OA. The inflammatory stage of OA (acute versus chronic) should be taken into consideration when therapeutic strategies are being developed

Pre-vocational therapy in mental health : clients' desired and achieved productivity status

Background: Knowledge about work-related occupational therapy in psychiatric inpatient and day hospital clients is limited. Aims: The aim of the study was to explore the desired and achieved productivity status in mental health service users participating in a pre-vocational therapy (PVT) intervention. Outcome variables were productivity status and achievement of desired productivity status at discharge, and change or persistence of productivity status between admission and discharge. Methods: This is a short-term prospective study based on observational data from health records (N = 98). Results: At admission, 53.2% of participants named a clear desired productivity status; 46.8% did not. Of the former, 76.9% expressed a desire for employment or education on the regular job market; 28.0% achieved their desired outcome at discharge, whereas 72.0% did not. Overall, 58.5% retained, established or increased productive activities, while 41.5% were not engaged in or had reduced productive activities at discharge. These two groups differed in socio-economic and social-security-related characteristics, treatment-related characteristics and psychiatric diagnosis. Conclusions and significance: Some, but not all kinds of clients in acute psychiatric inpatient and day hospital settings manage to take a first step towards productive activities during the first phase of treatment

Orale bivirkninger for pasienter som får strålebehandling i forbindelse med behandling av hode-/halskreft, rapportert i form av PROMS-spørreskjema

Bakgrunn: Oral mukositt (OM) er blant de vanligste orale bivirkningene som oppstår blant pasienter som gjennomgår stråleterapi mot hode-/halsområdet. Det er i dag behov for rapporteringsverktøy for subjektive symptomer, for å kunne tilrettelegge for den enkelte pasient gjennom kreftbehandlingen, samt å kunne måle effektiviteten av medisinske tiltak. Patient-Reported Oral Mucositis Symptom (PROMS)-spørreskjema er et rapporteringsverktøy som ble utprøvd og validert til bruk blant hode-/halskreftpasienter i et forskningsprosjekt i Canada. Behovet for et tilsvarende skjema på norsk, gjorde at dette kvalitetsevalueringsprosjektet ble satt i gang. Hensikt og problemstilling: Formålet med kvalitetsevalueringsprosjektet, var å sammenligne de rapporterte PROMS-scorene fra en gruppe hode-/halskreftpasienter som gjennomgikk strålebehandling i Toronto, Canada, med en tilsvarende pasientkohorte fra Tromsø, Norge. Videre var hensikten å evaluere om PROMS-spørreskjema kan benyttes blant hode-/halskreftpasienter i Norge, for å vurdere i hvilken grad OM påvirker hode-/halskreftpasientene underveis i strålebehandlingen. Materiale og metode: Pasienter på øre-nese-hals (ØNH)-avdelingen i Tromsø ble tilbudt å fylle ut en norsk versjon av PROMS-spørreskjema ukentlig, i de seks behandlingsukene de gjennomgikk strålebehandling mot hode-/halsregionen. Spørreskjemaene ble samlet inn av helsepersonell på avdelingen, og ble anonymisert før vi som masterstudenter fikk tilgang til materialet. PROMS-scorene ble målt til nærmeste millimeter på en visuell analog skala (VAS), og deretter systematisert i Excel. Resultatene ble framstilt i en graf, og sammenlignet med en tilsvarende graf fra Toronto. Resultater: Studien som ble utført i Tromsø viste til at pasientrapportert funksjonsforstyrrelse og smerter, økte i takt med behandlingsforløpet, i samsvar med observasjoner gjort tidligere i Toronto. Pasientene fra Toronto scoret høyere enn pasientene fra Tromsø, gjennom de siste behandlingsukene. Konklusjon: Dette kvalitetsevalueringsprosjektet konkluderer med at PROMS-spørreskjema oversatt til norsk, kan benyttes under pasientbehandling, enten som supplement, eller som erstatning for klinisk undersøkelse, i de tilfellene hvor dette er indisert

The Tromso Infant Faces Database (TIF): development, validation and application to assess parenting experience on clarity and intensity ratings

Source at http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00409 Newborns and infants are highly depending on successfully communicating their needs; e.g., through crying and facial expressions. Although there is a growing interest in the mechanisms of and possible influences on the recognition of facial expressions in infants, heretofore there exists no validated database of emotional infant faces. In the present article we introduce a standardized and freely available face database containing Caucasian infant face images from 18 infants 4 to 12 months old. The development and validation of the Tromsø Infant Faces (TIF) database is presented in Study 1. Over 700 adults categorized the photographs by seven emotion categories (happy, sad, disgusted, angry, afraid, surprised, neutral) and rated intensity, clarity and their valance. In order to examine the relevance of TIF, we then present its first application in Study 2, investigating differences in emotion recognition across different stages of parenthood. We found a small gender effect in terms of women giving higher intensity and clarity ratings than men. Moreover, parents of young children rated the images as clearer than all the other groups, and parents rated “neutral” expressions as more clearly and more intense. Our results suggest that caretaking experience provides an implicit advantage in the processing of emotional expressions in infant faces, especially for the more difficult, ambiguous expressions