270 research outputs found

    Korinthisch-attische Vasen

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    Denna studies syfte Àr att fÄ ökad förstÄelse och kunskap om elevers varierade uppfattningar av fenomenet krÀnkning i skolan. Studien Àr kvalitativ, vi vill veta hur elever utifrÄn sina erfarenheter uppfattar fenomenet krÀnkning och lyfta fram variationer i uppfattningarna. Studien bygger pÄ semi-strukturerade intervjuer med elever i Är sju, Ätta och nio. Vi har gjort en fenomenografisk analys av intervjumaterialet, vilket har resulterat i beskrivningskategorier. Vi har funnit tre kategorier i elevers uppfattningar av krÀnkning, dessa Àr krÀnkning som intrÄng, krÀnkning som nedvÀrdering och krÀnkning som uteslutning. NÀr det gÀller elevers uppfattningar av ÄtgÀrd vid krÀnkning har vi funnit tre kategorier, vilka Àr ÄtgÀrd som tillsÀgning, ÄtgÀrd som delegering och ÄtgÀrd som ignorering. Slutsatser vi kommit fram till Àr att avgörande för hur krÀnkning en uppfattas av eleven Àr vem som utför den och krÀnkningens art. Noggrant utarbetade handlingsplaner Àr en förutsÀttning för att personal i skolan ska kunna vidta lÀmpliga ÄtgÀrder. Tydliga vuxna som vistas ute bland eleverna skulle kunna minska antalet krÀnkningar

    Bacterial colonization and resistance patterns in 133 patients undergoing a primary hip- or knee replacement in Southern Sweden.

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    Background and purpose Prosthetic joint infections can be caused by bacteria derived from the patient's skin. The aim of the study was: (1) to determine which bacteria colonize the nose and groin in patients planned for primary hip or knee arthroplasty, (2) to determine the antimicrobial resistance patterns, and (3) to monitor changes in bacterial colonization and resistance patterns connected to surgery. Patients and methods 2 weeks before scheduled primary hip or knee arthroplasty, culture samples were taken from the anterior nares and from the groin of 133 consecutive patients. At surgery, cloxacillin was given prophylactically and cement with gentamicin was used. 2 weeks after surgery, another set of samples were taken from 120 of these patients. Bacterial findings and resistance patterns were analyzed. Results Preoperatively, 95% of the patients had coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) in the groin and 77% in the nose. The proportion of patients with a methicillin-resistant CNS in the groin increased from 20% preoperatively to 50% postoperatively (p < 0.001), and the proportion of patients with a gentamicin-resistant CNS in the groin increased from 5% to 45% (p < 0.001). 28% of the patients had Staphylococcus aureus in the nose preoperatively, and 7% in the groin. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was found in the nose of 1 patient. Interpretation In southern Sweden, beta-lactams were effective against 99% of the Staphylococcus aureus strains and 80% of the CNS strains colonizing the patients undergoing primary hip or knee arthroplasty. Gentamicin protects against most CNS strains in cemented primary joint replacements

    Towards Equity in Health: Researchers Take Stock.

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    For the 2016 end-of-the-year editorial, the PLOS Medicine editors asked 7 global health leaders to discuss developments relevant to the equitable provision of medical care to all populations. The result is a collection of expert views on ethical trial design, research during outbreaks, high-burden infectious diseases, diversity in research and protection of migrants

    Relation between smoking history and gene expression profiles in lung adenocarcinomas

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    Background: Lung cancer is the worldwide leading cause of death from cancer. Tobacco usage is the major pathogenic factor, but all lung cancers are not attributable to smoking. Specifically, lung cancer in never-smokers has been suggested to represent a distinct disease entity compared to lung cancer arising in smokers due to differences in etiology, natural history and response to specific treatment regimes. However, the genetic aberrations that differ between smokers and never-smokers' lung carcinomas remain to a large extent unclear. Methods: Unsupervised gene expression analysis of 39 primary lung adenocarcinomas was performed using Illumina HT-12 microarrays. Results from unsupervised analysis were validated in six external adenocarcinoma data sets (n=687), and six data sets comprising normal airway epithelial or normal lung tissue specimens (n=467). Supervised gene expression analysis between smokers and never-smokers were performed in seven adenocarcinoma data sets, and results validated in the six normal data sets. Results: Initial unsupervised analysis of 39 adenocarcinomas identified two subgroups of which one harbored all never-smokers. A generated gene expression signature could subsequently identify never-smokers with 79-100% sensitivity in external adenocarcinoma data sets and with 76-88% sensitivity in the normal materials. A notable fraction of current/former smokers were grouped with never-smokers. Intriguingly, supervised analysis of never-smokers versus smokers in seven adenocarcinoma data sets generated similar results. Overlap in classification between the two approaches was high, indicating that both approaches identify a common set of samples from current/former smokers as potential never-smokers. The gene signature from unsupervised analysis included several genes implicated in lung tumorigenesis, immune-response associated pathways, genes previously associated with smoking, as well as marker genes for alveolar type II pneumocytes, while the best classifier from supervised analysis comprised genes strongly associated with proliferation, but also genes previously associated with smoking. Conclusions: Based on gene expression profiling, we demonstrate that never-smokers can be identified with high sensitivity in both tumor material and normal airway epithelial specimens. Our results indicate that tumors arising in never-smokers, together with a subset of tumors from smokers, represent a distinct entity of lung adenocarcinomas. Taken together, these analyses provide further insight into the transcriptional patterns occurring in lung adenocarcinoma stratified by smoking history

    Cause-Specific Mortality in Patients During Long-Term Follow-Up After Atrial Switch for Transposition of the Great Arteries

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    Background Little is known about the cause of death (CoD) in patients with transposition of the great arteries palliated with a Mustard or Senning procedure. The aim was to describe the CoD for patients with the Mustard and Senning procedure during short- (20 years) follow-up after the operation. Methods and Results This is a retrospective, descriptive multicenter cohort study including all Nordic patients (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) who underwent a Mustard or Senning procedure between 1967 and 2003. Patients who died within 30 days after the index operation were excluded. Among 968 patients with Mustard/Senning palliated transposition of the great arteries, 814 patients were eligible for the study, with a mean follow-up of 33.6 years. The estimated risk of all-cause mortality reached 36.0% after 43 years of follow-up, and the risk of death was highest among male patients as compared with female patients (P=0.004). The most common CoD was sudden cardiac death (SCD), followed by heart failure/heart transplantation accounting for 29% and 27%, respectively. During short-, mid-, and long-term follow-up, there was a change in CoD with SCD accounting for 23.7%, 46.6%, and 19.0% (P=0.002) and heart failure/heart transplantation 18.6%, 22.4%, and 46.6% (P=0.0005), respectively. Conclusions Among patients corrected with Mustard or Senning transposition of the great arteries, the most common CoD is SCD followed by heart failure/heart transplantation. The CoD changes as the patients age, with SCD as the most common cause in adolescence and heart failure as the dominant cause in adulthood. Furthermore, the risk of all-cause mortality, SCD, and death attributable to heart failure or heart transplantation was increased in men >10 years after the Mustard/Senning operation.Peer reviewe

    Type I interferon is required for T helper (Th) 2 induction by dendritic cells

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    Type 2 inflammation is a defining feature of infection with parasitic worms (helminths), as well as being responsible for widespread suffering in allergies. However, the precise mechanisms involved in T helper (Th) 2 polarization by dendritic cells (DCs) are currently unclear. We have identified a previously unrecognized role for type I IFN (IFN-I) in enabling this process. An IFN-I signature was evident in DCs responding to the helminth Schistosoma mansoni or the allergen house dust mite (HDM). Further, IFN-I signaling was required for optimal DC phenotypic activation in response to helminth antigen (Ag), and efficient migration to, and localization with, T cells in the draining lymph node (dLN). Importantly, DCs generated from Ifnar1-/- mice were incapable of initiating Th2 responses in vivo. These data demonstrate for the first time that the influence of IFN-I is not limited to antiviral or bacterial settings but also has a central role to play in DC initiation of Th2 responses

    Genetic Determinants of Circulating Sphingolipid Concentrations in European Populations

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    Sphingolipids have essential roles as structural components of cell membranes and in cell signalling, and disruption of their metabolism causes several diseases, with diverse neurological, psychiatric, and metabolic consequences. Increasingly, variants within a few of the genes that encode enzymes involved in sphingolipid metabolism are being associated with complex disease phenotypes. Direct experimental evidence supports a role of specific sphingolipid species in several common complex chronic disease processes including atherosclerotic plaque formation, myocardial infarction (MI), cardiomyopathy, pancreatic beta-cell failure, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, sphingolipids represent novel and important intermediate phenotypes for genetic analysis, yet little is known about the major genetic variants that influence their circulating levels in the general population. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) between 318,237 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and levels of circulating sphingomyelin (SM), dihydrosphingomyelin (Dih-SM), ceramide (Cer), and glucosylceramide (GluCer) single lipid species (33 traits); and 43 matched metabolite ratios measured in 4,400 subjects from five diverse European populations. Associated variants (32) in five genomic regions were identified with genome-wide significant corrected p-values ranging down to 9.08 x 10(-66). The strongest associations were observed in or near 7 genes functionally involved in ceramide biosynthesis and trafficking: SPTLC3, LASS4, SGPP1, ATP10D, and FADS1-3. Variants in 3 loci (ATP10D, FADS3, and SPTLC3) associate with MI in a series of three German MI studies. An additional 70 variants across 23 candidate genes involved in sphingolipid-metabolizing pathways also demonstrate association (p = 10(-4) or less). Circulating concentrations of several key components in sphingolipid metabolism are thus under strong genetic control, and variants in these loci can be tested for a role in the development of common cardiovascular, metabolic, neurological, and psychiatric diseases

    Gynecologic cancers in pregnancy: guidelines based on a third international consensus meeting

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    We aimed to provide comprehensive protocols and promote effective management of pregnant women with gynecological cancers. New insights and more experience have been gained since the previous guidelines were published in 2014. Members of the International Network on Cancer, Infertility and Pregnancy (INCIP), in collaboration with other international experts, reviewed existing literature on their respective areas of expertise. Summaries were subsequently merged into a manuscript that served as a basis for discussion during the consensus meeting. Treatment of gynecological cancers during pregnancy is attainable if management is achieved by collaboration of a multidisciplinary team of health care providers. This allows further optimization of maternal treatment, while considering fetal development and providing psychological support and long-term follow-up of the infants. Nonionizing imaging procedures are preferred diagnostic procedures, but limited ionizing imaging methods can be allowed if indispensable for treatment plans. In contrast to other cancers, standard surgery for gynecological cancers often needs to be adapted according to cancer type and gestational age. Most standard regimens of chemotherapy can be administered after 14 weeks gestational age but are not recommended beyond 35 weeks. C-section is recommended for most cervical and vulvar cancers, whereas vaginal delivery is allowed in most ovarian cancers. Breast-feeding should be avoided with ongoing chemotherapeutic, endocrine or targeted treatment. More studies that focus on the long-term toxic effects of gynecologic cancer treatments are needed to provide a full understanding of their fetal impact. In particular, data on targeted therapies that are becoming standard of care in certain gynecological malignancies is still limited. Furthermore, more studies aimed at the definition of the exact prognosis of patients after antenatal cancer treatment are warranted. Participation in existing registries (www.cancerinpregnancy.org) and the creation of national tumor boards with multidisciplinary teams of care providers (supplementary Box S1, available at Annals of Oncology online) is encouraged

    Pre‐screening models for patient engagement: The MOPEAD project

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    AbstractBackgroundAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating condition that not only impacts greatly on the patient's health but also poses an important burden on the patient's immediate family circle. Early detection of AD allows patients to have an active role in managing their condition, and to plan how to minimize the strain on their dear ones. Despite known benefits, a large proportion of dementia cases remains undiagnosed or receives a late stage diagnosis. The MOPEAD project aims to address this issue by exploring innovative strategies to emerge "hidden" cases of cognitive impairment.MethodMemory clinics located in five different European countries participated in the project. Four innovative pre‐screening strategies were implemented to detect cognitive decline among individuals aged 65‐85 years who had never received a dementia related diagnosis: a) a web‐based pre‐screening tool along with an online marketing campaign, b) open house initiatives where people with memory complaints were invited to receive a quick evaluation at participating memory clinics, c) a primary care‐based protocol for early detection of cognitive decline using easily administered tools, and d) a tertiary care‐based pre‐screening at diabetologist clinics specifically designed to assess risk of dementia among patients with diabetes. A positive pre‐screening result implied that individuals were at high risk of having mild cognitive impairment or AD.ResultThe number of individuals enrolled, and the proportion of those with positive pre‐screening results varied across strategies. The web‐based tool evaluated the largest number of individuals (n=1487) and yielded 547 positive results (36.8%). The Open house initiative pre‐screened 661 subjects of whom 235 (35.6%) obtained a positive result. A total of 435 patients were pre‐screened in the primary care‐based strategy and 193 of them (44.4%) were found to have a positive result. Finally, 264 patients from diabetes clinics underwent pre‐screening and 154 (58.3%) showed a positive result.ConclusionUsing innovative pre‐screening strategies, we were able to identify 1129 individuals at high risk of having dementia who had otherwise remained unnoticed. Initiatives like this, show us the way to go in order to shift the paradigm of AD towards an earlier diagnosis
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