Egg size and density estimates for three gadoids in Icelandic waters and their implications for the vertical distribution of eggs along a stratified water column

Postponed access: the file will be accessible after 2021-12-20The vertical distribution of fish eggs can have important consequences for recruitment through its influence on dispersal trajectories and thus connectivity between spawning and nursery locations. Egg density and size are key parameters for the modelling of vertical egg distributions, both of which show variation at the species level, as well as between and within individuals (i.e., through ontogeny). We conducted laboratory experiments on the eggs of wild-spawning cod, haddock and saithe from Icelandic waters to estimate these parameters throughout ontogeny. Subsequently, this information was used in a 1-dimensional model to generate vertical distributions for each species along a stratified water column. Saithe eggs were significantly smaller and less dense than cod and haddock eggs. Cod eggs were slightly denser than haddock eggs in the first ontogenetic stage but statistically similar in the later stages. No significant differences were found between the egg diameters of cod and haddock. For each species, both parameters changed significantly through ontogeny. Yet despite these significant results, the 1-d model suggests that neither the interspecific nor ontogenetic differences would have a significant impact on the vertical egg distributions. Only under highly stratified conditions, when buoyancy is minimised due to the freshwater layer, do distributional differences become evident. In such situations, incorporating intraspecific variation in egg density into the model substantially reduced the distributional differences and this is highlighted as an important consideration for the modelling of pelagic vertical egg distributions.acceptedVersio

Individual risk assessment and information technology to optimise screening frequency for diabetic retinopathy.

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field.AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: The aim of this study was to reduce the frequency of diabetic eye-screening visits, while maintaining safety, by using information technology and individualised risk assessment to determine screening intervals. METHODS: A mathematical algorithm was created based on epidemiological data on risk factors for diabetic retinopathy. Through a website, www.risk.is , the algorithm receives clinical data, including type and duration of diabetes, HbA(1c) or mean blood glucose, blood pressure and the presence and grade of retinopathy. These data are used to calculate risk for sight-threatening retinopathy for each individual's worse eye over time. A risk margin is defined and the algorithm recommends the screening interval for each patient with standardised risk of developing sight-threatening retinopathy (STR) within the screening interval. We set the risk margin so that the same number of patients develop STR within the screening interval with either fixed annual screening or our individualised screening system. The database for diabetic retinopathy at the Department of Ophthalmology, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark, was used to empirically test the efficacy of the algorithm. Clinical data exist for 5,199 patients for 20 years and this allows testing of the algorithm in a prospective manner. RESULTS: In the Danish diabetes database, the algorithm recommends screening intervals ranging from 6 to 60 months with a mean of 29 months. This is 59% fewer visits than with fixed annual screening. This amounts to 41 annual visits per 100 patients. CONCLUSION: Information technology based on epidemiological data may facilitate individualised determination of screening intervals for diabetic eye disease. Empirical testing suggests that this approach may be less expensive than conventional annual screening, while not compromising safety. The algorithm determines individual risk and the screening interval is individually determined based on each person's risk profile. The algorithm has potential to save on healthcare resources and patients' working hours by reducing the number of screening visits for an ever increasing number of diabetic patients in the world

Deconstructing Survivin: comprehensive genetic analysis of Survivin function by conditional knockout in a vertebrate cell line

Survivin is a key cellular protein thought to function in apoptotic regulation, mitotic progression, or possibly both. In this study, we describe the isolation of two conditional knockouts of the survivin gene in chicken DT40 cells. DT40 cells lacking Survivin die in interphase after failing to complete cytokinesis. However, these cells show normal sensitivity to the chemotherapeutic agent etoposide. Expression of Survivin mutants against a null background to reassess the role of several key residues reveals that DT40 cells can grow normally if their sole Survivin is missing a widely studied cyclin-dependent kinase phosphorylation site or sites reportedly essential for binding to Smac or aurora B. Mutations in the nuclear export sequence or dimerization interface render cells temperature sensitive for growth. As an important caveat for other studies in which protein function is studied by transient transfection, three of the Survivin mutants fail to localize in the presence of the wild-type protein but do localize and indeed support life in its absence

Case Report: Successful Implementation of Integrative Cognitive Remediation for Early Psychosis.

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked DownloadMany individuals demonstrate functionally relevant impairment in neurocognition as well as social cognition early on in the course of their psychotic disorder. There is robust evidence supporting cognitive remediation as an effective treatment of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. Increasingly it is accepted that earlier treatment is associated with better outcome and that it is important to systematically assess and treat cognitive dysfunction before the cognitive and functional disabilities are fully realized. However, the clinical availability of these interventions remains sparse. As we move forward with implementing evidence-based interventions into multi-component treatment for early psychosis, it is important to reflect on experience as well as evidence. This case report aims to describe the implementation of an integrative cognitive remediation program in coordinated specialty care (CSC) for early psychosis in Iceland and investigate whether the intervention is sustainable in a CSC setting. Data on the number of patients treated, facilitators trained, groups conducted, and funding was used to assess the sustainability. The results show that since initial implementation in 2016, the intervention has been routinely available as part of standard care, with over 100 patients having received the treatment. The report discusses key factors in the successful implementation of the program. Keywords: compensatory cognitive training; functional outcome; rehabilitation; schizophrenia; social cognition and interaction training.Research Fund Landspitali-The National University Hospital of Iceland 2017/2018 University of Icelan

Economic shocks and health resilience: lessons from the Russian Federation

Background: Despite extensive research on determinants of health, there is much less information on factors protecting health among those exposed to economic shocks. Using longitudinal data from the Russian Federation in the post-Soviet period, we examined individual-level factors that enhance resilience of health to economic shocks. Methods: Logistic regression analysed factors associated with good self-assessed health (SAH) and health resilience, using pooled samples from the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey-Higher School of Economics (1994–2012). Results: The general population consistently reported ‘average’ SAH, indicating almost invariant trends over the years. Male gender was the strongest predictor of good SAH and health resilience. Other factors positively associated with good SAH were age, higher education, employment, residing in rural areas, living in a larger and/or non-poor household. Among unemployed and those remaining unemployed, residing in rural areas, living in a larger and/or non-poor household remained the strongest predictors of good SAH and health resilience. These same factors were also important for males with recent job loss. Conclusions: Several factors predicting good SAH in the general population also influence health resilience factors among those remaining unemployed and experiencing a job loss. Such factors help to identify those most vulnerable and aid targeting assistance during economic crises

Use of complementary and alternative medicine in cancer patients: a European survey

Background: The aim of this study was to explore the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in cancer patients across a number of European countries. Methods: A descriptive survey design was developed. Fourteen countries participated in the study and data was collected through a descriptive questionnaire from 956 patients. Results: Data suggest that CAM is popular among cancer patients with 35.9% using some form of CAM (range among countries 14.8% to 73.1%). A heterogeneous group of 58 therapies were identified as being used. Herbal medicines and remedies were the most commonly used CAM therapies, together with homeopathy, vitamins/minerals, medicinal teas, spiritual therapies and relaxation techniques. Herbal medicine use tripled from use before diagnosis to use since diagnosis with cancer. Multivariate analysis suggested that the profile of the CAM user was that of younger people, female and with higher educational level. The source of information was mainly from friends/family and the media, while physicians and nurses played a small part in providing CAM-related information. The majority used CAM to increase the body's ability to fight cancer or improve physical and emotional well-being, and many seemed to have benefited from using CAM (even though the benefits were not necessarily related to the initial reason for using CAM). Some 4.4% of patients, however, reported side-effects, mostly transient. Conclusions: It is imperative that health professionals explore the use of CAM with their cancer patients, educate them about potentially beneficial therapies in light of the limited available evidence of effectiveness, and work towards an integrated model of health-care provisio

Long-term inpatient disease burden in the Adult Life after Childhood Cancer in Scandinavia (ALiCCS) study : A cohort study of 21,297 childhood cancer survivors

Background Survivors of childhood cancer are at increased risk for a wide range of late effects. However, no large population-based studies have included the whole range of somatic diagnoses including subgroup diagnoses and all main types of childhood cancers. Therefore, we aimed to provide the most detailed overview of the long-term risk of hospitalisation in survivors of childhood cancer. Methods and findings From the national cancer registers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden, we identified 21,297 5-year survivors of childhood cancer diagnosed with cancer before the age of 20 years in the periods 1943-2008 in Denmark, 1971-2008 in Finland, 1955-2008 in Iceland, and 1958-2008 in Sweden. We randomly selected 152,231 population comparison individuals matched by age, sex, year, and country (or municipality in Sweden) from the national population registers. Using a cohort design, study participants were followed in the national hospital registers in Denmark, 1977-2010; Finland, 1975-2012; Iceland, 1999-2008; and Sweden, 1968-2009. Disease-specific hospitalisation rates in survivors and comparison individuals were used to calculate survivors' standardised hospitalisation rate ratios (RRs), absolute excess risks (AERs), and standardised bed day ratios (SBDRs) based on length of stay in hospital. We adjusted for sex, age, and year by indirect standardisation. During 336,554 person-years of follow-up (mean: 16 years; range: 0-42 years), childhood cancer survivors experienced 21,325 first hospitalisations for diseases in one or more of 120 disease categories (cancer recurrence not included), when 10,999 were expected, yielding an overall RR of 1.94 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.91-1.97). The AER was 3,068 (2,980-3,156) per 100,000 person-years, meaning that for each additional year of follow-up, an average of 3 of 100 survivors were hospitalised for a new excess disease beyond the background rates. Approximately 50% of the excess hospitalisations were for diseases of the nervous system (19.1% of all excess hospitalisations), endocrine system (11.1%), digestive organs (10.5%), and respiratory system (10.0%). Survivors of all types of childhood cancer were at increased, persistent risk for subsequent hospitalisation, the highest risks being those of survivors of neuroblastoma (RR: 2.6 [2.4-2.8]; n = 876), hepatic tumours (RR: 2.5 [2.0-3.1]; n = 92), central nervous system tumours (RR: 2.4 [2.3-2.5]; n = 6,175), and Hodgkin lymphoma (RR: 2.4 [2.3-2.5]; n = 2,027). Survivors spent on average five times as many days in hospital as comparison individuals (SBDR: 4.96 [4.94-4.98]; n = 422,218). The analyses of bed days in hospital included new primary cancers and recurrences. Of the total 422,218 days survivors spent in hospital, 47% (197,596 bed days) were for new primary cancers and recurrences. Our study is likely to underestimate the absolute overall disease burden experienced by survivors, as less severe late effects are missed if they are treated sufficiently in the outpatient setting or in the primary health care system. Conclusions Childhood cancer survivors were at increased long-term risk for diseases requiring inpatient treatment even decades after their initial cancer. Health care providers who do not work in the area of late effects, especially those in primary health care, should be aware of this highly challenged group of patients in order to avoid or postpone hospitalisations by prevention, early detection, and appropriate treatments.Peer reviewe

Normal neonatal TREC and KREC levels in early onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Objective: Dysregulated central tolerance predisposes to autoimmune diseases. Reduced thymic output as well as compromised central B cell tolerance checkpoints have been proposed in the pathogenesis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). The aim of this study was to investigate neonatal levels of T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) and kappa-deleting element excision circles (KRECs), as markers of T- and B-cell output at birth, in patients with early onset JIA. Methods: TRECs and KRECs were quantitated by multiplex qPCR from dried blood spots (DBS), collected 2–5 days after birth, in 156 children with early onset JIA and in 312 matched controls. Results: When analysed from neonatal dried blood spots, the median TREC level was 78 (IQR 55–113) in JIA cases and 88 (IQR 57–117) copies/well in controls. The median KREC level was 51 (IQR 35–69) and 53 (IQR 35–74) copies/well, in JIA cases and controls, respectively. Stratification by sex and age at disease onset did not reveal any difference in the levels of TRECs and KRECs. Conclusion: T- and B-cell output at birth, as measured by TREC and KREC levels in neonatal dried blood spots, does not differ in children with early onset JIA compared to controls

CYP17 promoter polymorphism and breast cancer risk in males and females in relation to BRCA2 status

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldA T-C polymorphism in the promoter region of the CYP17 gene has been associated with male and female breast cancer risk as well as early-onset familial breast cancer. The potential role of this polymorphism was investigated in relation to breast cancer risk in Icelandic male and female carriers and noncarriers of a BRCA2 mutation. The study population consisted of 39 male and 523 female breast cancer cases and 309 male and 395 female controls. Of the cases, 15 males and 55 females carried a BRCA2 mutation. We did not find a significant association between male breast cancer risk and CYP17 genotypes. Among male breast cancer cases, the frequency of the CC genotype was higher among carriers of the 999del5 mutation (33.3%) than noncarriers (16.7%), although this difference also did not reach a statistical significance. No association was observed with breast cancer risk among females irrespective of menopausal status, stage of the disease or BRCA2 status. Our findings do not indicate a role for the CYP17 T-C polymorphism in female breast cancer, but a role in male carriers of a BRCA2 mutation could not be excluded because of the small sample size