Assessment of the risk of African swine fever introduction into Finland using NORA : a rapid tool for semiquantitative assessment of the risk

The NORA rapid risk assessment tool was developed for situations where there is a change in the disease status of easily transmissible animal diseases in neighbouring countries or in countries with significant interactions with Finland. The goal was to develop a tool that is quick to use and will provide consistent results to support risk management decisions. The model contains 63 questions that define the potential for entry and exposure by nine different pathways. The magnitude of the consequences is defined by 23 statements. The weight of different pathways is defined according to the properties of the assessed disease. The model was built as an Excel spreadsheet and is intended for use by animal health control administrators. As an outcome, the model gives the possible pathways of disease entry into the country, an overall approximation for the probability of entry and the subsequent exposure, an overall estimate for the consequences and a combined overall risk estimate (probability multiplied by magnitude of consequences). Model validity was assessed by expert panels. Outside Africa, African swine fever is currently established in Russia and Sardinia. In addition, there have been cases in both wild boar and domestic pigs in Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Estonia. Finland has frequent contacts with Russia and Estonia, especially through passengers. The risk of African swine fever (ASF) introduction into Finland was tested with NORA for the situation in December 2015, when ASF was endemic in many parts of Russia, Africa and Sardinia and was present in Baltic countries and in Poland. African swine fever was assessed to have a high probability of entry into Finland, with high consequences and therefore a high overall risk

Barrier, converting, and tray-forming properties of paperboard packaging materials coated with waterborne dispersions

In this work, different food-contact experimental and commercial aqueous polymeric dispersions were applied to paperboard via rod coating technology to achieve <5% non-cellulosic content. Barrier (water, moisture and grease), mechanical (tensile and bending) and converting (heat-sealing and creasing) properties were analysed before tray formation trials on pilot-scale equipment. Dispersion-coated samples were compared against polyethylene terephthalate (PET) extrusion-coated paperboard, the principal industrial material used for food trays. Results show that, within the investigated properties, waterborne dispersions can achieve similar barrier properties compared with PET, yet at lower dry coat grammage (12 g/m(2) vs. 40 g/m(2 )of PET-coated paperboard). Additionally, the investigated coatings heat-sealed at temperatures as low as 80-90(degrees)C, almost 100(degrees)C less than PET; however, lower seal forces could be achieved (15-20 N/(25 mm) vs. 23 N/(25 mm) of PET-coated paperboard). Paperboard delamination occurred at the highest seal forces. Dispersion-coated trays were obtained at 4.5-5.0% blank moisture content. Formed trays at industrial processing parameters showed critical coating damage during converting due to tensile stresses. This work shows that milder processing conditions allow a reduction in coat defects

Salmonella enterica bacteraemia: a multi-national population-based cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Salmonella enterica </it>is an important emerging cause of invasive infections worldwide. However, population-based data are limited. The objective of this study was to define the occurrence of <it>S. enterica </it>bacteremia in a large international population and to evaluate temporal and regional differences.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted population-based laboratory surveillance for all salmonella bacteremias in six regions (annual population at risk 7.7 million residents) in Finland, Australia, Denmark, and Canada during 2000-2007.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 622 cases were identified for an annual incidence of 1.02 per 100,000 population. The incidence of typhoidal (serotypes Typhi and Paratyphi) and non-typhoidal (other serotypes) disease was 0.21 and 0.81 per 100,000/year. There was major regional and moderate seasonal and year to year variability with an increased incidence observed in the latter years of the study related principally to increasing rates of non-typhoidal salmonella bacteremias. Advancing age and male gender were significant risk factors for acquiring non-typhoidal salmonella bacteremia. In contrast, typhoidal salmonella bacteremia showed a decreasing incidence with advancing age and no gender-related excess risk.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>Salmonella enterica </it>is an important emerging pathogen and regional determinants of risk merits further investigation.</p

Progress towards high efficiency thin-film III-V quantum dot solar cells for space

This work summarizes our results in the development of high efficiency III-V quantum dot (QD) solar cells, aimed at tackling with two of the most relevant issues posed by QD solar cells (QDSCs), namely the degradation of open circuit voltage and the weak photon harvesting by QDs. In particular, we report our latest achievements in: i) The molecular beam epitaxy growth of high-quality QDSCs, demonstrating Voc as high as 0.94 V and low penalty (~ 40 mV) with respect to the single-junction reference cell. ii) The development by nanoimprint lithography of metal/polymer back reflectors with high diffraction efficiency, enabling four times increase of the QD photogenerated current. Experimental results are discussed with the support of numerical simulations

Rationale for and protocol of a multi-national population-based bacteremia surveillance collaborative

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Bloodstream infections are frequent causes of human illness and cause major morbidity and death. In order to best define the epidemiology of these infections and to track changes in occurrence, adverse outcome, and resistance rates over time, population based methodologies are optimal. However, few population-based surveillance systems exist worldwide, and because of differences in methodology inter-regional comparisons are limited. In this report we describe the rationale and propose first practical steps for developing an international collaborative approach to the epidemiologic study and surveillance for bacteremia.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>The founding collaborative participants represent six regions in four countries in three continents with a combined annual surveillance population of more than 8 million residents.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Future studies from this collaborative should lead to a better understanding of the epidemiology of bloodstream infections.</p

The reliability of the McCabe score as a marker of co-morbidity in healthcare-associated infection point prevalence studies

This study aimed to ascertain the reliability of the McCabe score in a healthcare-associated infection point prevalence survey.   A 10 European Union Member States survey in 20 hospitals (n = 1912) indicated that there was a moderate level of agreement (κ = 0.57) with the score. The reliability of the application of the score could be increased by training data collectors, particularly with reference to the ultimately fatal criteria. This is important if the score is to be used to risk adjust data to drive infection prevention and control interventions