Education, sense of mastery and mental health: results from a nation wide health monitoring study in Norway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Earlier studies have shown that people with low level of education have increased rates of mental health problems. The aim of the present study is to investigate the association between level of education and psychological distress, and to explore to which extent the association is mediated by sense of mastery, and social variables like social support, negative life events, household income, employment and marital status.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The data for the study were obtained from the Level of Living Survey conducted by Statistics Norway in 2002. Data on psychological distress and psychosocial variables were gathered by a self-administered questionnaire, whereas socio-demographic data were based on register statistics. Psychological distress was measured by Hopkins Symptom Checklist 25 items.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was a significant association between low level of education and psychological distress in both genders, the association being strongest in women aged 55–67 years. Low level of education was also significantly associated with low sense of mastery, low social support, many negative life events (only in men), low household income and unemployment,. Sense of mastery emerged as a strong mediating variable between level of education and psychological distress, whereas the other variables played a minor role when adjusting for sense of mastery.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Low sense of mastery seems to account for much of the association between low educational level and psychological distress, and should be an important target in mental health promotion for groups with low level of education.</p

Brucellosis Vaccines: Assessment of Brucella melitensis Lipopolysaccharide Rough Mutants Defective in Core and O-Polysaccharide Synthesis and Export

Background: The brucellae are facultative intracellular bacteria that cause brucellosis, one of the major neglected zoonoses. In endemic areas, vaccination is the only effective way to control this disease. Brucella melitensis Rev 1 is a vaccine effective against the brucellosis of sheep and goat caused by B. melitensis, the commonest source of human infection. However, Rev 1 carries a smooth lipopolysaccharide with an O-polysaccharide that elicits antibodies interfering in serodiagnosis, a major problem in eradication campaigns. Because of this, rough Brucella mutants lacking the O-polysaccharide have been proposed as vaccines. Methodology/Principal Findings: To examine the possibilities of rough vaccines, we screened B. melitensis for lipopolysaccharide genes and obtained mutants representing all main rough phenotypes with regard to core oligosaccharide and O-polysaccharide synthesis and export. Using the mouse model, mutants were classified into four attenuation patterns according to their multiplication and persistence in spleens at different doses. In macrophages, mutants belonging to three of these attenuation patterns reached the Brucella characteristic intracellular niche and multiplied intracellularly, suggesting that they could be suitable vaccine candidates. Virulence patterns, intracellular behavior and lipopolysaccharide defects roughly correlated with the degree of protection afforded by the mutants upon intraperitoneal vaccination of mice. However, when vaccination was applied by the subcutaneous route, only two mutants matched the protection obtained with Rev 1 albeit at doses one thousand fold higher than this reference vaccine. These mutants, which were blocked in O-polysaccharide export and accumulated internal O-polysaccharides, stimulated weak anti-smooth lipopolysaccharide antibodies. Conclusions/Significance: The results demonstrate that no rough mutant is equal to Rev 1 in laboratory models and question the notion that rough vaccines are suitable for the control of brucellosis in endemic areas.This work was funded by the European Commission (Research Contract QLK2-CT-2002-00918) and the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología of Spain (Proyecto AGL2004-01162/GAN)

Chronic spontaneous cervicothoracic epidural hematoma in an 8-month-old infant

Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma is an uncommon cause of cord compression in children, especially in infants. An 8-month-old infant was admitted to our hospital for a 40-day history of paraparesis in the lower extremities. This rapidly progressed to paraparesis with an inability to move the lower extremities. MRI of the cervicothoracic spine revealed an epidural mass with compression of the spinal cord. The infant underwent C7-T3 total laminectomies. The pathology and postoperative MRI confirmed spinal epidural hematoma from a vascular malformation. We present the case to highlight the significance of recognizing this chronic spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma and discuss the diagnosis, treatment options and prognosis

Spontaneous and idiopathic chronic spinal epidural hematoma: two case reports and review of the literature

Spinal epidural hematoma (SEH) represents the most frequent entity of acute or chronic spinal bleeding. Based upon pathogenesis, SEH can be classified as idiopathic, spontaneous, and secondary. The idiopathic forms are considered not to be attributed to any specific risk factors. Spontaneous SEH, accounting for 0.3–0.9% of all spinal epidural space occupying lesions, instead is associated with risk factors (such as substantial soft trauma or coagulation abnormalities). The chronic form, as our literature review revealed, is the rarest and its most frequent location is the lumbar spine. The pathophysiology of spontaneous and idiopathic SEH is still under debate: There are only a few reports in literature of chronically evolving SEH with progressively increasing pain and neurological impairment. Magnetic resonance imaging may be inconclusive for differential diagnosis. Here, we present two cases of lumbar chronic SEH with slow, progressive, and persistent lumbar radicular impairment. The first patient reported a minor trauma with slight back contusion and thus was classified as spontaneous SEH. In the second case not even a minor trauma was involved, so we considered it to be idiopathic SEH. In both cases preoperative blood and coagulation tests were normal and we did not find any other or co-factors in the patients’ clinical histories. MR imaging showed uncertain spinal canal obstructing lesions at L3 and L4 level in both cases. Surgical treatment allowed a correct diagnosis and resulted in full clinical and neuroradiological recovery after 1 year follow-up. Our aim is to discuss pathogenesis, clinical and radiological features, differential diagnosis and treatment options, on the background of relevant literature review

Empirical research on teaching and learning of mathematical modelling: a survey on the current state-of-the-art

The teaching and learning of mathematical modelling is an important research field all over the world. In this paper we present a survey of the state-of-the-art on empirical studies in this field. We analyse the development of studies focusing on cognitive aspects of the promotion of modelling, i.e. the promotion of modelling abilities resp. skills, or in newer terminology, modelling competencies. Furthermore, we provide a literature search on the role of empirical research in important mathematics education journals and point out that this topic is only seldom treated in these journals. In addition, Proceedings of the conference series on the teaching and learning of mathematical modelling and applications were analysed in order to identify the role of empirical research in this important series and the kind of topics which are examined. The literature research points out the dominance of case study approaches and cognitively oriented studies compared to studies which used quantitative research methods or focused on affect-related issues. Finally, the papers in this special issue are described and developments and future prospects are identified