104 research outputs found
En mulig ny masteruddannelse i nordisk sprog- og teksdidaktik: placeret i et nordisk landskab
Denne artikel præsenterer, og behandler yderligere, problemstillinger som har været
diskuteret i løbet af den periode hvor det Nordplus-finansierede netværk for læreruddannelser i Norden, Nordisk Nabosprogsdidaktik og Nabosprogskommunikation i Læreruddannelserne, har arbejdet med nordisk sprogdidaktik.Edite
The influence of school on whether girls develop eating disorders.
BACKGROUND: Clinical anecdote suggests that rates of eating disorders (ED) vary between schools. Given their high prevalence and mortality, understanding risk factors is important. We hypothesised that rates of ED would vary between schools, and that school proportion of female students and proportion of parents with post-high school education would be associated with ED, after accounting for individual characteristics. METHOD: Multilevel analysis of register-based, record-linkage data on 55 059 females born in Stockholm County, Sweden, from 1983, finishing high school in 2002-10. Outcome was clinical diagnosis of an ED, or attendance at a specialist ED clinic, aged 16-20 years. RESULTS: The 5-year cumulative incidence of ED diagnosis aged 16-20 years was 2.4%. Accounting for individual risk factors, with each 10% increase in the proportion of girls at a school, the odds ratio for ED was 1.07 (1.01 to 1.13), P = 0.018. With each 10% increase in the proportion of children with at least one parent with post-high school education, the odds ratio for ED was 1.14 (1.09 to 1.19), P < 0.0001. Predicted probability of an average girl developing an ED was 1.3% at a school with 25% girls where 25% of parents have post-high school education, and 3.3% at a school with 75% girls where 75% of parents have post-high school education. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of ED vary between schools; this is not explained by individual characteristics. Girls at schools with high proportions of female students, and students with highly educated parents, have higher odds of ED regardless of individual risk factors
Association of Childhood Infection With IQ and Adult Nonaffective Psychosis in Swedish Men: A Population-Based Longitudinal Cohort and Co-relative Study.
Importance: Associations between childhood infection, IQ, and adult nonaffective psychosis (NAP) are well established. However, examination of sensitive periods for exposure, effect of familial confounding, and whether IQ provides a link between childhood infection and adult NAP may elucidate pathogenesis of psychosis further. Objectives: To test the association of childhood infection with IQ and adult NAP, to find whether shared familial confounding explains the infection-NAP and IQ-NAP associations, and to examine whether IQ mediates and/or moderates the childhood infection-NAP association. Design, Setting, and Participants: Population-based longitudinal cohort study using linkage of Swedish national registers. The risk set included all Swedish men born between 1973 and 1992 and conscripted into the military until the end of 2010 (n = 771 698). We included 647 515 participants in the analysis. Measurement of Exposures: Hospitalization with any infection from birth to age 13 years. Main Outcomes and Measures: Hospitalization with an International Classification of Diseases diagnosis of NAP until the end of 2011. At conscription around age 18 years, IQ was assessed for all participants. Results: At the end of follow-up, the mean (SD) age of participants was 30.73 (5.3) years. Exposure to infections, particularly in early childhood, was associated with lower IQ (adjusted mean difference for infection at birth to age 1 year: -1.61; 95% CI, -1.74 to -1.47) and with increased risk of adult NAP (adjusted hazard ratio for infection at birth to age 1 year: 1.19; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.33). There was a linear association between lower premorbid IQ and adult NAP, which persisted after excluding prodromal cases (adjusted hazard ratio per 1-point increase in IQ: 0.976; 95% CI, 0.974 to 0.978). The infection-NAP and IQ-NAP associations were similar in the general population and in full-sibling pairs discordant for exposure. The association between infection and NAP was both moderated (multiplicative, β = .006; SE = 0.002; P = .02 and additive, β = .008; SE = 0.002; P = .001) and mediated (β = .028; SE = 0.002; P < .001) by IQ. Childhood infection had a greater association with NAP risk in the lower, compared with higher, IQ range. Conclusions and Relevance: Early childhood is a sensitive period for the effects of infection on IQ and NAP. The associations of adult NAP with early-childhood infection and adolescent IQ are not fully explained by shared familial factors and may be causal. Lower premorbid IQ in individuals with psychosis arises from unique environmental factors, such as early-childhood infection. Early-childhood infections may increase the risk of NAP by affecting neurodevelopment and by exaggerating the association of cognitive vulnerability with psychosis.Dr Khandaker is supported by an Intermediate Clinical Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust (201486/Z/16/Z) and a Clinical Lecturer Starter Grant from the Academy of Medical Sciences, UK (80354). Dr Jones reports having grant support from the Wellcome Trust (095844/Z/11/Z and 088869/Z/09/Z) and from the National Institute for Health Research: RP-PG-0616-20003, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre and Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care East of England. Dr Dalman reports grant support from the Swedish Research Council. Dr Karlsson reports grant support from the Stanley Medical Research Institute
Does a history of cannabis use influence onset and course of schizophrenia?
Introduction: While evidence strongly supports a causal effect of cannabis on psychosis, it is less clear whether the symptom pattern, clinical course, and outcomes differ in cases of schizophrenia with and without a background of cannabis use. Methods: Analysis of medical records from a longitudinal follow‐up of Swedish conscripts with data on cannabis use in adolescence and subsequent incidence of schizophrenia. One hundred sixty patients with schizophrenia were assessed using the OPCRIT protocol. Cases were validated for diagnosis schizophrenia according to OPCRIT. Results: Patients with a cannabis history (n = 32), compared to those without (n = 128), had an earlier age at onset, a higher number of hospital admissions and a higher total number of hospital days. There was no significant difference in type of onset and clinical symptom profiles between the groups. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the disease burden of schizophrenia is greater in individuals who use cannabis during adolescence. Strengthening evidence on causality and teasing out long‐term effects of pre‐illness cannabis use from continued post‐illness has clinical implications for improving schizophrenia outcomes
Pilanesbergite: a new rock-forming mineral occurring in nepheline syenite from the Pilanesberg Alkaline Complex, South Africa
peer reviewedWe report the description and the characterization of a new mineral species, found in a rock sample from the geological formation called the Pilanesberg Complex, South Africa. This is a silicate mineral that contains a significant amount of sodium, calcium, iron, titanium and fluorine. Its atomic structure shows that it is related to other wöhlerite-group minerals. This work provides new insights into the crystallization conditions that ruled the formation of the Pilanesberg complex
Perinatal exposure to traffic-related air pollution and autism spectrum disorders
Background:
Studies from the United States indicate that exposure to air pollution in early life
is associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children, but the evidence is not consistent
with European data.
Objective: We aimed to investigate the association between exposure to air pollution from road
traffic and the risk of ASD in children, with careful adjustment for socioeconomic and other
confounders.
Method: Children born and residing in Stockholm, Sweden, during 1993–2007 with an ASD
diagnosis were identified through multiple health registers and classified as cases (n = 5,136). A
randomly selected sample of 18,237 children from the same study base constituted controls. Levels
of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter with diameter ≤ 10 μm (PM10) from road traffic
were estimated at residential addresses during mother’s pregnancy and the child’s first year of life by
dispersion models. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for ASD with or without
intellectual disability (ID) were estimated using logistic regression models after conditioning on
municipality and calendar year of birth as well as adjustment for potential confounders.
Result: Air pollution exposure during the prenatal period was not associated with ASD overall
(OR = 1.00; 95% CI: 0.86, 1.15 per 10-μg/m3 increase in PM10 and OR = 1.02; 95% CI:
0.94, 1.10 per 20-μg/m3 increase in NOx during mother’s pregnancy). Similar results were seen for
exposure during the first year of life, and for ASD in combination with ID. An inverse association
between air pollution exposure and ASD risk was observed among children of mothers who moved
to a new residence during pregnancy.
Conclusion: Early-life exposure to low levels of NOx and PM10 from road traffic does not appear
to increase the risk of ASD.NonePublishe
Perinatal exposure to traffic-related air pollution and autism spectrum disorders
Background: Studies from the United States indicate that exposure to air pollution in early life
is associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in children, but the evidence is not consistent
with European data.
Objective: We aimed to investigate the association between exposure to air pollution from road
traffic and the risk of ASD in children, with careful adjustment for socioeconomic and other
confounders.
Method: Children born and residing in Stockholm, Sweden, during 1993–2007 with an ASD
diagnosis were identified through multiple health registers and classified as cases (n = 5,136). A
randomly selected sample of 18,237 children from the same study base constituted controls. Levels
of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter with diameter ≤ 10 μm (PM10) from road traffic
were estimated at residential addresses during mother’s pregnancy and the child’s first year of life by
dispersion models. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for ASD with or without
intellectual disability (ID) were estimated using logistic regression models after conditioning on
municipality and calendar year of birth as well as adjustment for potential confounders.
Result: Air pollution exposure during the prenatal period was not associated with ASD overall
(OR = 1.00; 95% CI: 0.86, 1.15 per 10-μg/m3 increase in PM10 and OR = 1.02; 95% CI:
0.94, 1.10 per 20-μg/m3 increase in NOx during mother’s pregnancy). Similar results were seen for
exposure during the first year of life, and for ASD in combination with ID. An inverse association
between air pollution exposure and ASD risk was observed among children of mothers who moved
to a new residence during pregnancy.
Conclusion: Early-life exposure to low levels of NOx and PM10 from road traffic does not appear to increase the risk of ASD.Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (FORTE), 2012-0573, 2015-00289Swedish Research Council, 2011-3060Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS)Swedish Innovation Agency (VINNOVA), 259-2012-24Swedish Research Council, Swedish Initiative for Research on Microdata in the Social And Medical Sciences (SIMSAM), 340-2013-5867HKH Kronprinsessan Lovisas förening for barnasjukvårdStrategic Research Program in Epidemiology at Karolinska InstitutetPublishe
Utilization of an Eilat Virus-Based Chimera for Serological Detection of Chikungunya Infection.
In December of 2013, chikungunya virus (CHIKV), an alphavirus in the family Togaviridae, was introduced to the island of Saint Martin in the Caribbean, resulting in the first autochthonous cases reported in the Americas. As of January 2015, local and imported CHIKV has been reported in 50 American countries with over 1.1 million suspected cases. CHIKV causes a severe arthralgic disease for which there are no approved vaccines or therapeutics. Furthermore, the lack of a commercially available, sensitive, and affordable diagnostic assay limits surveillance and control efforts. To address this issue, we utilized an insect-specific alphavirus, Eilat virus (EILV), to develop a diagnostic antigen that does not require biosafety containment facilities to produce. We demonstrated that EILV/CHIKV replicates to high titers in insect cells and can be applied directly in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays without inactivation, resulting in highly sensitive detection of recent and past CHIKV infection, and outperforming traditional antigen preparations
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