Sixfold Post-Fracture Mortality in 16-To 30-Year-Old Patients-Suicides, Homicides, and Intoxications Among Leading Causes of Death

Background and Aims: The death of any young individual is associated with the loss of many potentially fulfilling years of life. It has been suggested that the relative mortality of fracture patients may be higher in younger age groups than in older cohorts. We determined the mortality and causes of death in a cohort of 16- to 30-year-old patients that had been hospitalized for fractures. Material and Methods: We collected data using criteria based on the diagnosis code (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision), surgical procedure code (Nordic Medico-Statistical Committee), and seven additional characteristics of patients admitted to the trauma ward at the Central Finland Hospital between 2002 and 2008. Patients were then followed to ascertain their mortality status until the end of 2012. Standardized mortality ratios were calculated and causes of death were determined by combining our registry data with data provided by Statistics Finland. Results: During the study, 199 women and 525 men aged 16-30 years had sustained fractures. None of these patients died during the primary hospital stay. At the end of follow-up (mean duration 7.4 years), 6 women and 23 men had died. The standardized mortality ratio for all patients was 6.2 (95% Confidence Interval: 4.3-8.9). Suicides and intoxications comprised over half, and motor vehicle accidents and homicides comprised nearly a third of the post-fracture deaths. Conclusion: We found a concerning increase in mortality among young adults that had been hospitalized due to a fracture compared to the general population that had been standardized by age, sex, and calendar-period. Leading causes of death were suicides and intoxications or motor vehicle accidents and homicides, which may be indicative of depressive disorders or impulse control disorders, respectively. Identification of the underlying psychosocial problems may provide an opportunity for preventive interventions.Peer reviewe

The diet of red-throated divers (Gavia stellata) overwintering in the German Bight (North Sea) analysed using molecular diagnostics

In Europe, the German Bight is one of the most important non-breeding areas for protected red-throated divers (Gavia stellata). It is unclear what attracts the birds to this area, especially as the food composition of seabirds outside the breeding season is notoriously difficult to study. To obtain information on prey species composition of red-throated divers in this area, faecal samples from 34 birds caught alive were analysed using DNA metabarcoding. Prey DNA was detected in 85% of the samples with a mean number of 4.2 ± 0.7 taxa per sample (n = 29). Altogether, we found a broad prey spectrum with 19 fish taxa from 13 families dominated by five groups: clupeids, mackerel, gadoids, flatfish and sand lances with clupeids being the most frequently detected prey. Our results indicate that red-throated divers are generalist opportunistic feeders in the German Bight, but pelagic schooling fish that aggregate at frontal zones and have a high energetic value might be favoured. Atlantic mackerel appears to be a more important prey for red-throated divers in this area than previously thought. The precision achievable using metabarcoding has revealed a number of prey species that are consumed by red-throated divers in the German Bight, which helps to explain the selection of this area by divers in winter and spring

Diel Variations in Survey Catch Rates and Survey Catchability of Spiny Dogfish and their Pelagic Prey in the Northeast US Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem

This study examines the potential uncertainty in survey biomass estimates of Spiny Dogfish Squalus acanthias in the Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (NES LME). Diel catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) estimates are examined from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center bottom trawl surveys conducted during autumn (1963-2009) and spring (1968-2009). Influential environmental variables on survey catchability are identified for Spiny Dogfish life history stages and five pelagic prey species: Butterfish Peprilus triacanthus, Atlantic Herring Clupea harengus, shortfin squid Illex spp., longfin squid Doryteuthis spp., and Atlantic Mackerel Scomber scombrus. Daytime survey catchability was significantly higher than nighttime catchability for most species during autumn and for mature male Spiny Dogfish, shortfin squid, and longfin squid during spring in the NES LME. For most stages and species examined, breakpoint analyses identified significant increases in CPUE in the morning, peak CPUE during the day, and significant declines in CPUE in the late afternoon. Seasonal probabilities of daytime catch were largely driven by solar zenith angle for most species, with stronger trends identified during autumn. Unadjusted CPUE estimates appear to overestimate absolute abundance, with adjustments resulting in reductions in absolute abundance ranging from 41% for Spiny Dogfish to 91% for shortfin and longfin squids. These findings have important implications for Spiny Dogfish regarding estimates of population consumption of key pelagic prey species and their ecological footprint within the NES LME

Environmental gradients explain species richness and community composition of coastal breeding birds in the Baltic Sea

Scientifically-based systematic conservation planning for reserve design requires knowledge of species richness patterns and how these are related to environmental gradients. In this study, we explore a large inventory of coastal breeding birds, in total 48 species, sampled in 4646 1 km(2) squares which covered a large archipelago in the Baltic Sea on the east coast of Sweden. We analysed how species richness (alpha diversity) and community composition (beta diversity) of two groups of coastal breeding birds (specialists, i.e. obligate coastal breeders; generalists, i.e. facultative coastal breeders) were affected by distance to open sea, land area, shoreline length and archipelago width. The total number of species per square increased with increasing shoreline length, but increasing land area counteracted this effect in specialists. The number of specialist bird species per square increased with decreasing distance to open sea, while the opposite was true for the generalists. Differences in community composition between squares were associated with differences in land area and distance to open sea, both when considering all species pooled and each group separately. Fourteen species were nationally red-listed, and showed similar relationships to the environmental gradients as did all species, specialists and generalists. We suggest that availability of suitable breeding habitats, and probably also proximity to feeding areas, explain much of the observed spatial distributions of coastal birds in this study. Our findings have important implications for systematic conservation planning of coastal breeding birds. In particular, we provide information on where coastal breeding birds occur and which environments they seem to prefer. Small land areas with long shorelines are highly valuable both in general and for red-listed species. Thus, such areas should be prioritized for protection against human disturbance and used by management in reserve selection

Online multi-element analysis of the top gas of a blast furnace by LIBS

The continuous and simultaneous monitoring of relative concentrations of Na, K, Zn and Pb as well as C, N, O, H, Ca and Fe - being constituents of top gas and dust particles carried therein - is demonstrated by a direct laser measuring in the top gas tube of a blast furnace. The measuring method is laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) which uses optical emission spectrometry (OES) of a plasma generated by focussing a laser beam into the top gas stream. The LIBS instrumentation consists of laser, optics, spectrometer and electronics installed in a container near the top gas tube access. An optical probe is installed to enable a traversing of the top gas tube. Due to the CO content of the top gas, safety measures such as monitoring the absence of O2 inside and CO outside of the top gas tube have been taken. The laser-based instrumentation was set-up and installed for measuring campaigns at three blast furnace sites in Germany, Finland and Spain. On-site measuring periods of up to 10 hours a day with an average measuring value every 10 s were carried out demonstrating the capability of this technique for online measuring tasks in rough industrial environments. The functionality of the system was shown successfully and first correlations of online monitored analytes in the top gas with blast furnace parameters were found