253 research outputs found
The Digital Content Era
In order to become even more competitive, a partnering with other niche players is essential in achieving a competitive advantage and it enables opportunities for reintermediation. From an intermediate perspective, there are great possibilities for those who become content coordinators to enter the market. By becoming a bundler of services and products, the content coordinators will become the actors that will capture the most profit in the value web. The value creating drivers that have been identified in the business landscape of intermediates concern owning the content or owning the customer relationship. We find the possibilities of an intermediate actor, such as a content coordinator to achieve competitive advantage through strategic fit is subject to the context and the ability of creating more innovative and co-creative distribution systems. Our research shows that to have the potential of achieving competitive advantage in the value web, it is of utmost importance that the intermediate actor creates new value that has not been created yet. Reaching a critical mass is also essential to attain strategic fit and achieve competitive advantages in this business
Loss-of-function variants of the filaggrin gene are associated with atopic eczema and associated phenotypes in Swedish families
Att tillgodose ensamkommande barns individuella behov- en kvalitativ studie om HVB-personals arbete ur ett professionsperspektiv
The aim of this study was to examine how professionals on residential care for unaccompanied children worked with the youths needs. Due to the increase of refugees coming to Sweden and specially unaccompanied children it has become one of our present time most important political questions. In order to examine how the professionals are working with the unaccompanied children’s needs we believed that a qualitative study was necessary, and therefore we conducted six interviews. The theory of professional approach (Holm, 1995, 2001) was used to examined which approach the professionals used in their work with the youths, which need the professionals saw was the most important and if the personal put the youths needs before theirs. Our result showed that the needs the professionals saw were the most important with the youths, was the need of a safe relationship, being a participated in the decisions that involved them and the need of learning how to cope with their anxiety. Our result also showed that in their work with the youths needs the professionals had different approaches, an approach that was influenced by rules, an approach that saw the youths as responsible adults and an last approach there the professionals acted as a role model. We could also see that the professionals had an aptitude to see the youths need as a group and not as individual. The respondent expressed that achieving an individual work was hard when the youths all had different needs and different takes at what is important
The Swedish version of the Juvenile Arthritis Multidimensional Assessment Report (JAMAR)
The Juvenile Arthritis Multidimensional Assessment Report (JAMAR) is a new parent/patient-reported outcome measure that enables a thorough assessment of the disease status in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). We report the results of the cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the parent and patient versions of the JAMAR in the Swedish language. The reading comprehension of the questionnaire was tested in 10 JIA parents and patients. Each participating centre was asked to collect demographic, clinical data and the JAMAR in 100 consecutive JIA patients or all consecutive patients seen in a 6-month period and to administer the JAMAR to 100 healthy children and their parents. The statistical validation phase explored descriptive statistics and the psychometric issues of the JAMAR: the 3 Likert assumptions, floor/ceiling effects, internal consistency, Cronbach\u2019s alpha, interscale correlations, test\u2013retest reliability and construct validity (convergent and discriminant validity). A total of 68 JIA patients (8.8% systemic, 44.1% oligoarticular, 13.2% RF negative polyarthritis, 33.9% other categories) and 76 healthy children, were enrolled in two centres. The JAMAR components discriminated well healthy subjects from JIA patients. All JAMAR components revealed good psychometric performances. In conclusion, the Swedish version of the JAMAR is a valid tool for the assessment of children with JIA and is suitable for use both in routine clinical practice and clinical research
Predictors of long-term outcome of percutaneous coronary intervention in octogenarians with acute coronary syndrome
AbstractThe majority of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are elderly. Limited evidence makes decision-making on the use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) mainly empirical. Old age is one risk factor, but other factors than age may have an impact on mortality as well. Therefore, we investigated predictors of long-term all-cause mortality among octogenarians who have undergone PCI due to ACS. A total of 182 patients ≥ 80 years who underwent PCI during 2006–2007 at Sahlgrenska University Hospital were studied consecutively from recorded clinical data. All-cause five-year mortality of follow-up was 46.2%. Mean age was 83.7 ± 2.8, 62% were male, 76% were in sinus rhythm, and 42% had left ventricular ejection fraction < 45%. Indications for PCI were STEMI (52%), NSTEMI (36%) and unstable angina (11%). Multivariate analysis in two steps identified atrial fibrillation, moderate tricuspid valve regurgitation, moderate mitral valve regurgitation, dependency in ADL and eGFR ≤ 30 ml/min at the first step and moderate mitral valve regurgitation, atrial fibrillation and eGFR ≤ 30 ml/min at the last step, as independent predictors of all-cause mortality. Kaplan Meier analysis of positive parameters from both steps of multivariate analysis showed high significant difference in survival between patients having these parameters and those who were free from these parameters, with worst prognosis in patients with accumulation of these parameters. Accordingly, we have, in an octogenarian patient cohort who suffered from ACS, undergone PCI in daily clinical practice, identified five prognostic predictors for all-cause death after five years' follow-up
Abrupt permafrost thaw triggers activity of copiotrophs and microbiome predators
Permafrost soils store a substantial part of the global soil carbon and nitrogen. However, global warming causes abrupt erosion and
gradual thaw, which make these stocks vulnerable to microbial decomposition into greenhouse gases. Here, we investigated the microbial response to abrupt in situ permafrost thaw. We sequenced the total RNA of a 1 m deep soil core consisting of up to 26 500-year-old
permafrost material from an active abrupt erosion site. We analysed the microbial community in the active layer soil, the recently
thawed, and the intact permafrost, and found maximum RNA:DNA ratios in recently thawed permafrost indicating a high microbial
activity. In thawed permafrost, potentially copiotrophic Burkholderiales and Sphingobacteriales, but also microbiome predators dominated the community. Overall, both thaw-dependent and long-term soil properties significantly correlated with changes in community composition, as did microbiome predator abundance. Bacterial predators were dominated in shallower depths by Myxococcota,
while protozoa, especially Cercozoa and Ciliophora, almost tripled in relative abundance in thawed layers. Our findings highlight the
ecological importance of a diverse interkingdom and active microbial community highly abundant in abruptly thawing permafrost,
as well as predation as potential biological control mechanism
Psoriasis and associated variables in classification and outcome of juvenile idiopathic arthritis - an eight-year follow-up study
Background: To study the impact of psoriasis and features associated with psoriasis on classification and outcome in a population-based follow-up cohort of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Methods: In all, 440 children with JIA were followed for a median of 8 years in a prospective Nordic population-based cohort study. Data for remission was available for 427 of these children. The presence of psoriasis, psoriasis-like rash, dactylitis, nail pitting, enthesitis, tenosynovitis and heredity was assessed in relation to ILAR classification and remission. Results: Clinical findings associated with psoriasis developed consecutively during the 8-year period. Six of 14 children with psoriasis were not classified as juvenile psoriatic arthritis according to the ILAR criteria at 8 year follow-up. Dactylitis was more common in children with early onset of JIA. After 8 years we found a cumulative median number of eleven arthritic joints in children with psoriasis or psoriasis- like rash compared with six in the rest of the cohort (p = 0.02). Also, the chance for not being in remission after 8 years increased significantly in patients with psoriasis, psoriasis-like rash or at least two of: 1) first-degree heredity for psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, 2) dactylitis or 3) nail pitting, compared with the rest of the group (OR 3.32, p = 0.010). Conclusions: Our results indicate a more severe disease over time in psoriasis- associated JIA, as features of psoriasis develop during the disease course. This group is a major challenge to encompass in a future JIA classification in order to facilitate early tailored treatment.Peer reviewe
Predicting unfavorable long-term outcome in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: results from the Nordic cohort study
Abstract
Background
The aim was to develop prediction rules that may guide early treatment decisions based on baseline clinical predictors of long-term unfavorable outcome in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).
Methods
In the Nordic JIA cohort, we assessed baseline disease characteristics as predictors of the following outcomes 8 years after disease onset. Non-achievement of remission off medication according to the preliminary Wallace criteria, functional disability assessed by Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ) and Physical Summary Score (PhS) of the Child Health Questionnaire, and articular damage assessed by the Juvenile Arthritis Damage Index-Articular (JADI-A). Multivariable models were constructed, and cross-validations were performed by repeated partitioning of the cohort into training sets for developing prediction models and validation sets to test predictive ability.
Results
The total cohort constituted 423 children. Remission status was available in 410 children: 244 (59.5%) of these did not achieve remission off medication at the final study visit. Functional disability was present in 111/340 (32.7%) children assessed by CHAQ and 40/199 (20.1%) by PhS, and joint damage was found in 29/216 (13.4%). Model performance was acceptable for making predictions of long-term outcome. In validation sets, the area under the curves (AUCs) in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were 0.78 (IQR 0.72–0.82) for non-achievement of remission off medication, 0.73 (IQR 0.67–0.76) for functional disability assessed by CHAQ, 0.74 (IQR 0.65–0.80) for functional disability assessed by PhS, and 0.73 (IQR 0.63–0.76) for joint damage using JADI-A.
Conclusion
The feasibility of making long-term predictions of JIA outcome based on early clinical assessment is demonstrated. The prediction models have acceptable precision and require only readily available baseline variables. Further testing in other cohorts is warranted
Complement lectin pathway protein levels reflect disease activity in juvenile idiopathic arthritis : a longitudinal study of the Nordic JIA cohort
Abstract
Background
To determine the serum levels of the lectin pathway proteins early in the disease course and 17 years after disease onset and to correlate the protein levels to markers of disease activity in participants from a population-based Nordic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) cohort. Additionally, to assess the predictive value of lectin pathway proteins with respect to remission status.
Methods
A population-based cohort study of consecutive cases of JIA with a disease onset from 1997 to 2000 from defined geographical areas of Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark with 17 years of follow-up was performed. Clinical characteristics were registered and H-ficolin, M-ficolin, MASP-1, MASP-3, MBL and CL-K1 levels in serum were analyzed.
Results
In total, 293 patients with JIA were included (mean age 23.7 ± 4.4 years; mean follow-up 17.2 ± 1.7 years). Concentrations of the lectin protein levels in serum were higher at baseline compared to the levels 17 years after disease onset (p ≤ 0.006, n = 164). At baseline, the highest level of M-ficolin was observed in systemic JIA. Further, high M-ficolin levels at baseline and at 17-year follow-up were correlated to high levels of ESR. In contrast, high MASP-1 and MASP-3 tended to correlate to low ESR. CL-K1 showed a negative correlation to JADAS71 at baseline.
None of the protein levels had prognostic abilities for remission status 17 years after disease onset.
Conclusion
We hypothesize that increased serum M-ficolin levels are associated with higher disease activity in JIA and further, the results indicate that MASP-1, MASP-3 and CL-K1 are markers of inflammation
Predicting unfavorable long-term outcome in juvenile idiopathic arthritis : results from the Nordic cohort study
Background: The aim was to develop prediction rules that may guide early treatment decisions based on baseline clinical predictors of long-term unfavorable outcome in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). Methods: In the Nordic JIA cohort, we assessed baseline disease characteristics as predictors of the following outcomes 8 years after disease onset. Non-achievement of remission off medication according to the preliminary Wallace criteria, functional disability assessed by Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire (CHAQ) and Physical Summary Score (PhS) of the Child Health Questionnaire, and articular damage assessed by the Juvenile Arthritis Damage Index-Articular (JADI-A). Multivariable models were constructed, and cross-validations were performed by repeated partitioning of the cohort into training sets for developing prediction models and validation sets to test predictive ability. Results: The total cohort constituted 423 children. Remission status was available in 410 children: 244 (59.5%) of these did not achieve remission off medication at the final study visit. Functional disability was present in 111/340 (32.7%) children assessed by CHAQ and 40/199 (20.1%) by PhS, and joint damage was found in 29/216 (13.4%). Model performance was acceptable for making predictions of long-term outcome. In validation sets, the area under the curves (AUCs) in the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were 0.78 (IQR 0.72-0.82) for non-achievement of remission off medication, 0.73 (IQR 0.67-0.76) for functional disability assessed by CHAQ, 0.74 (IQR 0.65-0.80) for functional disability assessed by PhS, and 0.73 (IQR 0.63-0.76) for joint damage using JADI-A. Conclusion: The feasibility of making long-term predictions of JIA outcome based on early clinical assessment is demonstrated. The prediction models have acceptable precision and require only readily available baseline variables. Further testing in other cohorts is warranted.Peer reviewe
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