Serodiagnosis of Mycobacterium abscessus complex infection in cystic fibrosis

Early signs of pulmonary disease with Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABSC) can be missed in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). A serological method could help stratify patients according to risk. The objective of this study was to test the diagnostic accuracy of a novel method for investigating IgG activity against MABSC. A prospective study of all patients attending the Copenhagen CF Centre was conducted by culturing for MABSC during a 22-month period and then screening patients with an anti-MABSC IgG ELISA. Culture-positive patients had stored serum examined for antibody kinetics before and after culture conversion. 307 patients had 3480 respiratory samples cultured and were then tested with the anti-MABSC IgG ELISA. Patients with MABSC pulmonary disease had median anti-MABSC IgG levels six-fold higher than patients with no history of infection (434 versus 64 ELISA units; p<0.001). The test sensitivity was 95% (95% CI 74–99%) and the specificity was 73% (95% CI 67–78%). A diagnostic algorithm was constructed to stratify patients according to risk. The test accurately identified patients with pulmonary disease caused by MABSC and was suited to be used as a complement to mycobacterial culture

Fertility desires and condom use among HIV-positive women at an antiretroviral roll-out program in Zimbabwe

As access to anti-retroviral therapy (ART) increases in sub-Saharan Africa, fertility and contraception patterns are likely to change. Two hundred  HIV-positive women at an ART roll-out site in Zimbabwe responded to a questionnaire on fertility desires and condom use. Ten women (5%) reported planning a pregnancy in the next year, comprising 0% of women not yet eligible for ART, 8.22% of women on the waitlist for ART, and 4.17% of women on ART. Younger age, fewer living children, and higher quality of life were individually associated with intended pregnancy in the next year; however in multivariate analysis only the association with higher quality of life remained significant. Reported ever use of condoms was relatively low (46.5%) and condom use varied by neither ART status nor by fertility desires. In conclusion, our data demonstrates fertility desires among HIV-positive women in Zimbabwe correlate with higher perceived quality of life (Afr. J. Reprod. Health 2010; 14[2]: 27-35)

Associations between adherence, depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life in young adults with cystic fibrosis

BACKGROUND: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a life shortening disease, however prognosis has improved and the adult population is growing. Most adults with cystic fibrosis live independent lives and balance the demands of work and family life with a significant treatment burden. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among treatment adherence, symptoms of depression and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in a population of young adults with CF. METHODS: We administered three standardized questionnaires to 67 patients with CF aged 18–30 years; Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, Major Depression Inventory, and Cystic Fibrosis Questionnaire-Revised. RESULTS: There was a response rate of 77 % and a majority of the young adults (84 %) were employed or in an education program. Most participants (74 %) reported low adherence to medications. One third (32.8 %) of the participants reported symptoms of depression. HRQoL scores were especially low on Vitality and Treatment Burden, and symptoms of depression were associated with low HRQoL scores (p < 0.01) with medium to large deficits across on all HRQoL domains (Cohen’s d 0.60–1.72) except for the domain treatment burden. High depression symptom scores were associated with low adherence (r = −0.412, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Despite improved physical health, many patients with CF report poor adherence, as well as impaired mental wellbeing and HRQoL. Thus, more attention to mental health issues is needed

NMHCs and halocarbons in Asian continental outflow during the Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) Field Campaign: Comparison with PEM-West B

We present an overview of the spatial distributions of nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) and halocarbons observed over the western north Pacific as part of the NASA GTE Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE‐P) airborne field campaign (February–April 2001). The TRACE‐P data are compared with earlier measurements from the Pacific Rim during the Pacific Exploratory Mission‐West B (PEM‐West B), which took place in February–March 1994, and with emission inventory data for 2000. Despite the limited spatial and temporal data coverage inherent to airborne sampling, mean levels of the longer‐lived NMHCs (including ethane, ethyne, and benzene) were remarkably similar to our results during the PEM‐West B campaign. By comparison, mixing ratios of the fire extinguisher Halon‐1211 (CF2ClBr) increased by about 50% in the period between 1994 and 2001. Southern China (south of 35°N), and particularly the Shanghai region, appears to have been a substantial source of Halon‐1211 during TRACE‐P. Our previous analysis of the PEM‐West B data employed methyl chloroform (CH3CCl3) as a useful industrial tracer. However, regulations have reduced its emissions to the extent that its mixing ratio during TRACE‐P was only one‐third of that measured in 1994. Methyl chloroform mixing ratio “hot spots,” indicating regions downwind of continuing emissions, included outflow from the vicinity of Shanghai, China, but particularly high emission ratios relative to CO were observed close to Japan and Korea. Tetrachloroethene (C2Cl4) levels have also decreased significantly, especially north of 25°N, but this gas still remains a useful indicator of northern industrial emissions. Methyl bromide (CH3Br) levels were systematically 1–2 pptv lower from 1994 to 2001, in accord with recent reports. However, air masses that had been advected over Japan and/or South Korean port cities typically exhibited elevated levels of CH3Br. As a consequence, emissions of CH3Br from Japan and Korea calculated employing CH3Br/CO ratios and scaled to CO emission inventory estimates, were almost as large as for all of south China (south of 35°N). Total east Asian emissions of CH3Br and CH3Cl were estimated to be roughly 4.7 Gg/yr and 167 Gg/yr, respectively, in 2001

Economic globalization and decentralization : a centrifugal or centripetal relationship?

One of the most significant economic trends in the last decades has been the integration of countries in international markets. What have been the consequences of global economic integration upon the territorial organization of the states? Has it contributed to centralize powers or to further decentralization? The literature so far has provided inconclusive evidence. In this paper we shed new light on the relationship between economic globalization and territorial politics by using a varied source of data such as the Regional Authority Index, and the KOF indices of globalization for the period 1970-2010. Results show that economic globalization is positively associated to decentralization, particularly in those countries with more regionalist parties and where levels of inequality are lower. Conversely, higher levels of regional inequality can revert the effect

Small States in the Rearview Mirror: Legitimacy in the Management of Economy and Society

Small States in World Markets is about political efficacy and legitimation rather than scoring who is ahead in the economic sweepstakes. Its case for democratic corporatism rests on norms, particularly stability, rather than on narrow measures of economic efficiency. But stability and the efficacious management of the economy and social problems requires a degree of technocracy that undermines the legitimacy of the management process itself by helping to produce populist revolts

Dualization and subjective employment insecurity: Explaining the subjective employment insecurity divide between permanent and temporary workers across 23 European countries

Dualization theory posits that certain institutions cause dualization in the labour market, yet how institutions deepen the subjective insecurity divide between insiders and outsiders has not been examined. This paper examines this question using data from 23 European countries in 2008/9. Results show that the subjective employment insecurity divide between permanent and temporary workers varies significantly across different countries. Corporatist countries, with stronger unions, have larger subjective insecurity divides between permanent and temporary workers. However, this is because permanent workers feel more secure in these countries rather than because temporary workers are more exposed to feelings of insecurity

Steady state free radical budgets and ozone photochemistry during TOPSE

A steady state model, constrained by a number of measured quantities, was used to derive peroxy radical levels for the conditions of the Tropospheric Ozone Production about the Spring Equinox (TOPSE) campaign. The analysis is made using data collected aboard the NCAR/NSF C-130 aircraft from February through May 2000 at latitudes from 40° to 85°N, and at altitudes from the surface to 7.6 km. HO2 + RO2 radical concentrations were measured during the experiment, which are compared with model results over the domain of the study showing good agreement on the average. Average measurement/model ratios are 1.04 (σ = 0.73) and 0.96 (σ = 0.52) for the MLB and HLB, respectively. Budgets of total peroxy radical levels as well as of individual free radical members were constructed, which reveal interesting differences compared to studies at lower latitudes. The midlatitude part of the study region is a significant net source of ozone, while the high latitudes constitute a small net sink leading to the hypothesis that transport from the middle latitudes can explain the observed increase in ozone in the high latitudes. Radical reservoir species concentrations are modeled and compared with the observations. For most conditions, the model does a good job of reproducing the formaldehyde observations, but the peroxide observations are significantly less than steady state for this study. Photostationary state (PSS) derived total peroxy radical levels and NO/NO2ratios are compared with the measurements and the model; PSS-derived results are higher than observations or the steady state model at low NO concentrations

Economic development, human development, and the pursuit of happiness, April 1, 2, and 3, 2004

This repository item contains a single issue of the Pardee Conference Series, a publication series that began publishing in 2006 by the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. This was the Center's spring conference, which took place during April 1, 2, and 3, 2004.The conference asks the questions, how can we make sure that the benefits of economic growth flow into health, education, welfare, and other aspects of human development; and what is the relationship between human development and economic development? Speakers and participants discuss the role that culture, legal and political institutions, the UN Developmental Goals, the level of decision-making, and ethics, play in development