Immunological Change in a Parasite-Impoverished Environment: Divergent Signals from Four Island Taxa

Dramatic declines of native Hawaiian avifauna due to the human-mediated emergence of avian malaria and pox prompted an examination of whether island taxa share a common altered immunological signature, potentially driven by reduced genetic diversity and reduced exposure to parasites. We tested this hypothesis by characterizing parasite prevalence, genetic diversity and three measures of immune response in two recently-introduced species (Neochmia temporalis and Zosterops lateralis) and two island endemics (Acrocephalus aequinoctialis and A. rimitarae) and then comparing the results to those observed in closely-related mainland counterparts. The prevalence of blood parasites was significantly lower in 3 of 4 island taxa, due in part to the absence of certain parasite lineages represented in mainland populations. Indices of genetic diversity were unchanged in the island population of N. temporalis; however, allelic richness was significantly lower in the island population of Z. lateralis while both allelic richness and heterozygosity were significantly reduced in the two island-endemic species examined. Although parasite prevalence and genetic diversity generally conformed to expectations for an island system, we did not find evidence for a pattern of uniformly altered immune responses in island taxa, even amongst endemic taxa with the longest residence times. The island population of Z. lateralis exhibited a significantly reduced inflammatory cell-mediated response while levels of natural antibodies remained unchanged for this and the other recently introduced island taxon. In contrast, the island endemic A. rimitarae exhibited a significantly increased inflammatory response as well as higher levels of natural antibodies and complement. These measures were unchanged or lower in A. aequinoctialis. We suggest that small differences in the pathogenic landscape and the stochastic history of mutation and genetic drift are likely to be important in shaping the unique immunological profiles of small isolated populations. Consequently, predicting the impact of introduced disease on the many other endemic faunas of the remote Pacific will remain a challenge

Social support to adolescents with long-term or chronic illness : An interview study from school health nurses' perspective

Syfte: Att beskriva skolsköterskors sociala stöd till ungdomar med långvariga och kroniska sjukdomar.Bakgrund: Ungdomar med långvariga och kroniska sjukdomar hade behov av socialt stöd för att klara av sin skolgång på ett tillfredsställande sätt. Skolsköterskor ska arbeta förebyggande och främjande och genom hälsofrämjande omvårdnad stötta elever och vårdnadshavare vid sjukdom gentemot skolans miljö och krav. Eleverna värdesatte att skolsköterskorna lyssnade på dem aktivt och ställde motfrågor. Vidare ansåg eleverna att förtroende, uppmärksamhet, respekt, äkthet, tillgänglighet och kontinuitet var betydelsefullt i kontakten med skolsköterskorna.Design: Kvalitativ design med induktiv ansats.Metod: Individuella intervjuer utfördes med en semistrukturerad intervjuguide. Totalt nio skolsköterskor intervjuades och intervjuerna analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys.Resultat: Analysen resulterade i sex kategorier och 16 underkategorier. Studien visade att skolsköterskors sociala stöd till elever med långvariga och kroniska sjukdomar utgjordes av att finnas tillhands, vara lyhörd och stötta föräldrar i kontakten med vården. Skolsköterskorna upplevde det positivt att involvera föräldrarna i elevernas skolsituation. I interaktionen med elever och föräldrar var samtal ett betydelsefullt verktyg för skolsköterskorna. Tidsbrist bidrog till att det sociala stödet påverkades negativt och tillgängligheten för eleverna försämrades.Slutsats: Skolsköterskornas arbete var mångfacetterat, ställde krav på kompetens, flexibilitet och samarbetsförmåga. De hade en betydelsefull roll när det gällde att ge socialt stöd till ungdomar med långvariga och kroniska sjukdomar.Nyckelord: socialt stöd, skolsköterskor, elever, ungdomar, långvarig sjukdom, kronisk sjukdom, omvårdnadAim: To describe school nurses social support to adolescents with long-term and chronic illness. Background: Adolescents with long-term and chronic illness needed social support in order to cope with their schooling in a satisfactory manner. School health nurses work with health prevention and health promotion and should support students and their parents during illness towards the school environment and demands. Students appreciated that the school health nurses listened to them actively and asked counter-questions. Furthermore, the students felt that trust, attention, respect, genuineness, availability and continuity of contact with the school nurses were significant. Design: Qualitative design with inductive approach. Method: Individual interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. Nine nurses were interviewed and the interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings: The analysis resulted in six categories and 16 subcategories. The study showed that school health nurses’ social support to students with long-term and chronic illness were to be available, be responsive and to support parents in their contact with healthcare. The school health nurses experienced it positively to involve parents in students' school situation. In the interaction with students and parents the dialogue was a meaningful tool for the school health nurses. Social support was negatively affected by lack of time, and the availability for the students was deteriorated. Conclusion: School health nurses work was multifaceted, required expertise, flexibility and teamwork skills. They had a meaningful role in providing social support to adolescents with long-term and chronic illness.Keywords: social support, school health nurses, students, adolescents, long-term illness, chronic illness, nursin

Social support to adolescents with long-term or chronic illness : An interview study from school health nurses' perspective

Syfte: Att beskriva skolsköterskors sociala stöd till ungdomar med långvariga och kroniska sjukdomar.Bakgrund: Ungdomar med långvariga och kroniska sjukdomar hade behov av socialt stöd för att klara av sin skolgång på ett tillfredsställande sätt. Skolsköterskor ska arbeta förebyggande och främjande och genom hälsofrämjande omvårdnad stötta elever och vårdnadshavare vid sjukdom gentemot skolans miljö och krav. Eleverna värdesatte att skolsköterskorna lyssnade på dem aktivt och ställde motfrågor. Vidare ansåg eleverna att förtroende, uppmärksamhet, respekt, äkthet, tillgänglighet och kontinuitet var betydelsefullt i kontakten med skolsköterskorna.Design: Kvalitativ design med induktiv ansats.Metod: Individuella intervjuer utfördes med en semistrukturerad intervjuguide. Totalt nio skolsköterskor intervjuades och intervjuerna analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys.Resultat: Analysen resulterade i sex kategorier och 16 underkategorier. Studien visade att skolsköterskors sociala stöd till elever med långvariga och kroniska sjukdomar utgjordes av att finnas tillhands, vara lyhörd och stötta föräldrar i kontakten med vården. Skolsköterskorna upplevde det positivt att involvera föräldrarna i elevernas skolsituation. I interaktionen med elever och föräldrar var samtal ett betydelsefullt verktyg för skolsköterskorna. Tidsbrist bidrog till att det sociala stödet påverkades negativt och tillgängligheten för eleverna försämrades.Slutsats: Skolsköterskornas arbete var mångfacetterat, ställde krav på kompetens, flexibilitet och samarbetsförmåga. De hade en betydelsefull roll när det gällde att ge socialt stöd till ungdomar med långvariga och kroniska sjukdomar.Nyckelord: socialt stöd, skolsköterskor, elever, ungdomar, långvarig sjukdom, kronisk sjukdom, omvårdnadAim: To describe school nurses social support to adolescents with long-term and chronic illness. Background: Adolescents with long-term and chronic illness needed social support in order to cope with their schooling in a satisfactory manner. School health nurses work with health prevention and health promotion and should support students and their parents during illness towards the school environment and demands. Students appreciated that the school health nurses listened to them actively and asked counter-questions. Furthermore, the students felt that trust, attention, respect, genuineness, availability and continuity of contact with the school nurses were significant. Design: Qualitative design with inductive approach. Method: Individual interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. Nine nurses were interviewed and the interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings: The analysis resulted in six categories and 16 subcategories. The study showed that school health nurses’ social support to students with long-term and chronic illness were to be available, be responsive and to support parents in their contact with healthcare. The school health nurses experienced it positively to involve parents in students' school situation. In the interaction with students and parents the dialogue was a meaningful tool for the school health nurses. Social support was negatively affected by lack of time, and the availability for the students was deteriorated. Conclusion: School health nurses work was multifaceted, required expertise, flexibility and teamwork skills. They had a meaningful role in providing social support to adolescents with long-term and chronic illness.Keywords: social support, school health nurses, students, adolescents, long-term illness, chronic illness, nursin

Renal involvement in Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia: case report and review of literature

Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare lymphoid neoplasia, accounting for 2% of all hematological malignancies. Renal complications occur rather rarely compared to multiple myeloma. The most common renal manifestations are mild proteinuria and microhematuria. We describe a case of MW presenting with acute renal failure and NS. A 67-year-old man was referred to our hospital for sudden onset nephrotic syndrome. Electrophoresis revealed a monoclonal component in the gamma region, which was classified as an IgM k. During hospitalization, acute kidney injury developed, with creatinine up to 5 mg/dL, despite adequate hydration and alkalinization. A kidney biopsy was performed, showing minimal change disease (MCD) with interstitial and capsular lymphoid infiltrates of B-Lymphocytes CD20+. B-lymphocytes infiltration suggested the possibility of renal localization of lymphoproliferative disorder. So, bone marrow histology was performed, revealing lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (WM). The patient was treated with bortezomib, desamethasone, and rituximab, with partial recovery of renal function (creatinine 1.5 mg/dL) and complete remission of proteinuria after 8-month follow-up. The remission of NS in our patient with rituximab seems to emphasize the pathogenetic role of B cells in MCD, although a coincident effect of immunosuppression on both the underlying renal disease and the hematologic disease cannot be excluded

Eczema in early childhood is strongly associated with the development of asthma and rhinitis in a prospective cohort

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aimed to estimate the association between eczema in early childhood and the onset of asthma and rhinitis later in life in children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 3,124 children aged 1–2 years were included in the Dampness in Building and Health (DBH) study in the year 2000, and followed up 5 years later by a parental questionnaire based on an International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood protocol. The association between eczema in early childhood and the incidence of asthma and rhinitis later in life was estimated by univariable and multivariable logistic regression modelling.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence of eczema in children aged 1–2 years was 17.6% at baseline. Children with eczema had a 3-fold increased odds of developing asthma (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.07; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.79–5.27), and a nearly 3-fold increased odds of developing rhinitis (aOR, 2.63; 1.85–3.73) at follow-up compared with children without eczema, adjusted for age, sex, parental allergic disease, parental smoking, length of breastfeeding, site of living, polyvinylchloride flooring material, and concomitant allergic disease. When eczema was divided into subgroups, moderate to severe eczema (aOR, 3.56; 1.62–7.83 and aOR, 3.87; 2.37–6.33, respectively), early onset of eczema (aOR, 3.44; 1.94–6.09 and aOR, 4.05; 2.82–5.81; respectively), and persistence of eczema (aOR, 5.16; 2.62–10.18 and aOR, 4.00; 2.53–6.22, respectively) further increased the odds of developing asthma and rhinitis. Further independent risk factors increasing the odds of developing asthma were a parental history of allergic disease (aOR, 1.83; 1.29–2.60) and a period of breast feeding shorter than 6 months (aOR, 1.57; 1.03–2.39). The incidence of rhinitis was increased for parental history of allergic disease (aOR, 2.00; 1.59–2.51) and polyvinylchloride flooring (aOR, 1.60; 1.02–2.51).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Eczema in infancy is associated with development of asthma and rhinitis during the following 5-year period, and eczema is one of the strongest risk factors. Early identification is valuable for prediction of the atopic march.</p