Automatisoitu stilbeenien UV-fluoresenssin mittaus

201

Automated stilbene UV fluorescence measurement

201

Bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens analysed by qPCR: Findings from a prospective study of travellers' diarrhoea

Background: The diagnostics of travellers' diarrhoea (TD) has been revolutionised by multiplex qPCR assays. While mostly of bacterial aetiology, viruses and parasites account for the disease among 10-20% of travellers. Despite this, prospective studies applying qPCR assays remain scarce that cover not only bacteria, such as the various diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli (DEC), but also viral and parasitic pathogens. Method: We analysed by qPCR pre- and post-travel stool samples of 146 Finnish travellers for bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens: enteropathogenic (EPEC), enteroaggregative (EAEC), enterotoxigenic (ETEC), enterohaemorrhagic (EHEC), and enteroinvasive (EIEC) E. coli; Shigella, Campylobacter, Salmonella, Yersinia and Vibrio cholerae; norovirus G1 and G2, rotavirus, enteroviruses, and sapovirus; and Giardia lamblia, Entamoeba histolytica, and Cryptosporidium. Symptoms and medication data during travel were collected by questionnaires. Results: We detected bacterial pathogens in 102/146 samples (69.9%; EAEC, EPEC, ETEC most common), viral ones in 13 (8.9%; norovirus most common), and parasitic ones in one (0.7%; Giardia). Noroviruses were associated with severe symptoms (23.5% versus non-severe 4.9%). In the TD group, 41.7% (5/12) of those with viral pathogens (vs. 13.3%; 11/83 without) took antibiotics. Conclusion: Viral pathogens, particularly noroviruses, prevail in severe TD. The symptoms of viral disease are often severe and lead to unwarranted use of antibiotics.Peer reviewe

Männyn sydänpuun stilbeenipitoisuuden optinen mittaus

201

Optical measurement of Scots pine heartwood stilbene content

201

Left Ventricular Hypertrophy is a predictor of cardiovascular events in elderly hypertensives: hypertension in the the very elderly trial (HYVET)

Objective: We assessed the prognostic value of electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) using Sokolow-Lyon (SL-LVH), Cornell Voltage (CV-LVH) or Cornell Product (CP-LVH) Criteria in 3043 hypertensive people aged 80 years and over enrolled in the Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial. Methods: Multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular diseases, stroke and heart failure in participants with and without LVH at baseline. The mean follow-up was 2.1 years. Results: LVH identified by CV- or CP-LVH Criteria was associated with a 1.6 to 1.9-fold risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. The presence of CP-LVH was associated with an increased risk of heart failure (HR 2.38, 95% CL 1.16-4.86). In gender specific analyses, CV-LVH (HR 1.94, 95%Cl 1.06-3.55) and CP-LVH (HR 2.36, 95% CI 1.25-4.45) were associated with an increased risk of stroke in women and of heart failure in men, CV-LVH (HR 6.47, 95 % Cl 1.41-29.79) and CP-LVH (10.63, 95Cl % 3.58-31.57), respectively. There was no significant increase in the risk of any outcomes associated with SL LVH. LVH identified by these three methods was not a significant predictor of all-cause mortality. Conclusions: Use of Cornell Voltage and Cornell Product criteria for LVH predicted the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. Only Cornell Product was associated with an increased the risk of heart failure. This was particularly the case in men. The identification of electrocardiographic LVH proved to be important in very elderly hypertensive people

Is informed consent related to success in exercise and diet intervention as evaluated at 12 months? DR's EXTRA study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is a permanent need to evaluate and develop the ethical quality of scientific research and to widen knowledge about the effects of ethical issues. Therefore we evaluated whether informed consent is related to implementation and success in a lifestyle intervention study with older research participants. There is little empirical research into this topic.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The subjects (n = 597) are a subgroup of a random population sample of 1410 men and women aged 57-78 years who are participating in a 4-year randomized controlled intervention trial on the effects of physical exercise and diet on atherosclerosis, endothelial function and cognition. Data were collected in two steps: A questionnaire about informed consent was given to all willing participants (n = 1324) three months after the randomization. Data on implementation and success in the exercise and diet interventions were evaluated at 12 months by intervention-group personnel. The main purpose of the analysis procedure performed in this study was to identify and examine potential correlates for the chosen dependent variables and to generate future hypotheses for testing and confirming the independent determinants for implementation and success. The nature of the analysis protocol is exploratory at this stage.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>About half of the participants (54%) had achieved good results in the intervention. Nearly half of the participants (47%) had added to or improved their own activity in some sector of exercise or diet. Significant associations were found between performance in the interventions and participants' knowledge of the purpose of the study (p < 0.001), and between success in interventions and working status (p = 0.02), and the participants' knowledge of the purpose of the study (p = 0.04).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The main finding of this study was that those participants who were most aware or had understood the purpose of the study at an early stage had also attained better results at their 12-month intervention evaluation. Therefore, implementation and success in intervention is related to whether subjects receive a sufficient amount and are able to comprehend the information provided i.e. the core principles of informed consent.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>(ISRCTN 45977199)</p

Prospective study of pathogens in asymptomatic travellers and those with diarrhoea : aetiological agents revisited

Travellers' diarrhoea (TD) remains the most frequent health problem encountered by visitors to the (sub) tropics. Traditional stool culture identifies the pathogen in only 15% of cases. Exploiting PCR-based methods, we investigated TD pathogens with a focus on asymptomatic travellers and severity of symptoms. Pre- and post-travel stools of 382 travellers with no history of antibiotic use during travel were analysed with a multiplex quantitative PCR for Salmonella, Yersinia, Campylobacter, Shigella, Vibrio cholerae and five diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli: enteroaggregative (EAEC), enteropathogenic (EPEC), enterotoxigenic (ETEC), enterohaemorrhagic (EHEC) and enteroinvasive (EIEC). The participants were categorized by presence/absence of TD during travel and on return, and by severity of symptoms. A pathogen was indentified in 61% of the asymptomatic travellers, 83% of those with resolved TD, and 83% of those with ongoing TD; 25%, 43% and 53% had multiple pathogens, respectively. EPEC, EAEC, ETEC and Campylobacter associated especially with ongoing TD symptoms. EAEC and EPEC proved more common than ETEC. To conclude, modern methodology challenges our perception of stool pathogens: all pathogens were common both in asymptomatic and symptomatic travellers. TD has a multibacterial nature, but diarrhoeal symptoms mostly associate with EAEC, EPEC, ETEC and Campylobacter. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.Peer reviewe

Response to HYVET ambulatory blood pressure substudy

status: publishe

Integrating dispersal proxies in ecological and environmental research in the freshwater realm

Dispersal is one of the key mechanisms affecting the distribution of individuals, populations, and communities in nature. Despite advances in the study of single species, it has been notoriously difficult to account for dispersal in multispecies metacommunities, where it potentially has strong effects on community structure beyond those of local environmental conditions. Dispersal should thus be directly integrated in both basic and applied research by using proxies. Here, we review the use of proxies in the current metacommunity research, suggest new proxies, and discuss how proxies could be used in community modelling, particularly in freshwater systems. We suggest that while traditional proxies may still be useful, proxies formerly utilized in transport geography may provide useful novel insights into the structuring of biological communities in freshwater systems. We also suggest that understanding the utility of such proxies for dispersal in metacommunities is highly important for many applied fields such as freshwater bioassessment, conservation planning, and recolonization research in the context of restoration ecology. These research fields have often ignored spatial dynamics and focused mostly on local environmental conditions and changes therein. Yet, the conclusions of these applied studies may change considerably if dispersal is taken into account