The children's garden : the outdoor environment of children's hospital - Uppsala

The outdoor environment at Children's hospital, the University Hospital, Uppsala, is used by sick children at the Children's hospital, their families and the hospital staff. The staff at the Children's hospital wanted to render the site more attractive and available. This graduation thesis is a proposal about how the outdoor environment at the Children's hospital can be improved. The aim is to design an environment for the sick children, their families and the hospital staff that will serve as a place for relaxation and privacy, as well as for play and movement. In order to find support for the redesign of this site I read literature about theories concerning healing environments, healing gardens, children's play and designs for children. I spoke to staff at the Children's hospital and administered a brief questionnaire to a few children at the hospital and their parents. I also studied other similar outdoor environments to get inspiration for my design. A stocktaking and an analysis were conducted of the site in order to obtain a good understanding of the outdoor environment at the Children's hospital. My proposal for a redesign was based on the literature, the above mentioned discussions, studies of other similar outdoor environments, and the stocktaking, with the aim of reflecting as much as possible of the knowledge and information I had gathered. Aspects that emerged as particularly important for the outdoor environment of the Children's hospital, both in the literature and in discussions with the staff, were: adaptation according to weather and climate, dividing the site into different rooms, miscellaneous vegetation, opportunities to choose freely between different types of places, ease of moving around the site, and consideration for children who sit in a wheel-chair. Welcoming entrances, enticement of movement, access to animals and places that appeal to teenagers were other aspects that I wanted to include in the design.Utemiljön vid Barnsjukhuset, Akademiska sjukhuset i Uppsala används av sjuka barn på Barnsjukhuset, deras familjer och de anställda på sjukhuset. Personalen vid Barnsjukhuset har önskemål om att platsen ska bli mer attraktiv och tillgänglig. Detta arbete är ett förslag på hur utemiljön vid Barnsjukhuset kan förbättras. Syftet är att utforma en miljö för de sjuka barnen, deras familjer och sjukhuspersonalen med plats både för avkoppling och avskildhet och för lek och rörelse. För att få stöd i gestaltningsarbetet läste jag litteratur om teorier bakom hälsofrämjande miljöer, hälsoträdgårdar, barns lek och utformning av platser för barn. Jag samtalade med personal på Barnsjukhuset och genomförde en kort enkät till barn på sjukhuset och deras föräldrar. Jag gjorde också studiebesök. För att få en god förståelse av Barnsjukhusets utemiljö gjorde jag en inventering och en analys av platsen. Utifrån litteraturen, samtalen, enkäterna, studiebesöken och inventeringen gjorde jag ett gestaltningsförslag för Barnsjukhusets utemiljö som är tänkt att spegla så mycket som möjligt av den kunskap och information jag inhämtat. Aspekter på utemiljön som jag tyckte var särskilt viktiga för Barnsjukhusets utemiljö var: väder- och klimatanpassningar, uppdelning i olika rum, varierad växtlighet, valfrihet mellan olika sorters platser, tillgänglighetsanpassning och hänsyn till barn som sitter i rullstol. Välkomnande entréer, att locka till rörelse, tillgång till djur och platser som tilltalar tonåringar är andra aspekter jag har fångat upp i förslaget

Johdanto

Peer reviewe

Clinical features and treatment response to differentiate idiopathic peritonitis from non-strangulating intestinal infarction of the pelvic flexure associated with Strongylus vulgaris infection in the horse

Background Peritonitis in horses secondary to non-strangulating infarction (NSII) has a guarded prognosis, even after intestinal resection. In contrast, horses with idiopathic peritonitis respond well to medical treatment. Affected horses in both cases often show signs of both colic and systemic inflammation, but early diagnosis is crucial for optimal treatment and an accurate prognosis. One cause of NSII is thrombus formation secondary to Strongylus vulgaris larval migration. There has been a documented increase in S. vulgaris prevalence in Sweden since the implementation of selective anthelmintic treatment in 2007, which subsequently could result in a rise in NSII cases. In a retrospective clinical study, medical records from cases diagnosed with NSII of the pelvic flexure or idiopathic peritonitis from three equine referral hospitals in Sweden during 2017-2020 were reviewed. Information including demographic data, relevant medical history, and clinical- and laboratory parameters were obtained from patient records. To facilitate the differentiation between cases of idiopathic peritonitis and cases with confirmed NSII of the pelvic flexure, the aim of the study was to compare clinical and laboratory parameters, clinical progression and initial response to antimicrobial treatment. A secondary aim was to compare survival-rates. Results Horses with NSII (n = 20) were significantly more likely to present during the winter months with a poorer response to medical treatment within 48 h. Cases of idiopathic peritonitis (n = 107) had a 100% survival rate with medical treatment, although one case required surgical correction of a colon displacement. In comparison, all confirmed NSII cases were non-responsive to antimicrobial treatment, with a survival rate to discharge of 50% after colon resection. Specific rectal findings and peripheral blood neutropenia were strongly associated with NSII. Conclusions In Sweden, idiopathic peritonitis cases still predominate over S. vulgaris associated NSII cases and have an excellent survival rate with antimicrobial treatment. However, horses presenting with septic peritonitis during the winter months with a palpable rectal mass and displaying fever and colic signs beyond 48 h of medical treatment are likely to suffer from NSII of the pelvic flexure and should be considered for abdominal surgery

Timeliness of Surveillance during Outbreak of Shiga Toxin–producing Escherichia coli Infection, Germany, 2011

In the context of a large outbreak of Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli O104:H4 in Germany, we quantified the timeliness of the German surveillance system for hemolytic uremic syndrome and Shiga toxin–producing E. coli notifiable diseases during 2003–2011. Although reporting occurred faster than required by law, potential for improvement exists at all levels of the information chain

Metabolite Pattern Derived from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum-Fermented Rye Foods and In Vitro Gut Fermentation Synergistically Inhibits Bacterial Growth

ScopeFermentation improves many food characteristics using microbes, such as lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Recent studies suggest fermentation may also enhance the health properties, but mechanistic evidence is lacking. The study aims to identify a metabolite pattern reproducibly produced during sourdough and in vitro colonic fermentation of various whole-grain rye products and how it affects the growth of bacterial species of potential importance to health and disease.Methods and resultsThe study uses Lactiplantibacillus plantarum DSMZ 13890 strain, previously shown to favor rye as its substrate. Using LC-MS metabolomics, the study finds seven microbial metabolites commonly produced during the fermentations, including dihydroferulic acid, dihydrocaffeic acid, and five amino acid metabolites, and stronger inhibition is achieved when exposing the bacteria to a mixture of the metabolites in vitro compared to individual compound exposures.ConclusionThe study suggests that metabolites produced by LAB may synergistically modulate the local microbial ecology, such as in the gut. This could provide new hypotheses on how fermented foods influence human health via diet–microbiota interactions.</p

Growth inhibition of oral mutans streptococci and candida by commercial probiotic lactobacilli - an in vitro study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Probiotic bacteria are suggested to play a role in the maintenance of oral health. Such health promoting bacteria are added to different commercial probiotic products. The aim of the study was to investigate the ability of a selection of lactobacilli strains, used in commercially available probiotic products, to inhibit growth of oral mutans streptococci and <it>C. albicans in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eight probiotic lactobacilli strains were tested for growth inhibition on three reference strains and two clinical isolates of mutans streptococci as well as two reference strains and three clinical isolates of <it>Candida albicans </it>with an agar overlay method.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At concentrations ranging from 10⁹to 10⁵CFU/ml, all lactobacilli strains inhibited the growth of the mutans streptococci completely with the exception of <it>L. acidophilus </it>La5 that executed only a slight inhibition of some strains at concentrations corresponding to 10⁷and 10⁵CFU/ml. At the lowest cell concentration (10³CFU/ml), only <it>L. plantarum </it>299v and <it>L. plantarum </it>931 displayed a total growth inhibition while a slight inhibition was seen for all five mutans streptococci strains by <it>L. rhamnosus </it>LB21, <it>L. paracasei </it>F19, <it>L. reuteri </it>PTA 5289 and <it>L. reuteri </it>ATCC 55730. All the tested lactobacilli strains reduced candida growth but the effect was generally weaker than for mutans streptococci. The two <it>L. plantarum </it>strains and <it>L. reuteri </it>ATCC 55730 displayed the strongest inhibition on <it>Candida albicans</it>. No significant differences were observed between the reference strains and the clinical isolates.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The selected probiotic strains showed a significant but somewhat varying ability to inhibit growth of oral mutans streptococci and <it>Candida albicans in vitro</it>.</p

Measurement and Interpretation of Fermion-Pair Production at LEP energies above the Z Resonance

This paper presents DELPHI measurements and interpretations of cross-sections, forward-backward asymmetries, and angular distributions, for the e+e- -> ffbar process for centre-of-mass energies above the Z resonance, from sqrt(s) ~ 130 - 207 GeV at the LEP collider. The measurements are consistent with the predictions of the Standard Model and are used to study a variety of models including the S-Matrix ansatz for e+e- -> ffbar scattering and several models which include physics beyond the Standard Model: the exchange of Z' bosons, contact interactions between fermions, the exchange of gravitons in large extra dimensions and the exchange of sneutrino in R-parity violating supersymmetry.Comment: 79 pages, 16 figures, Accepted by Eur. Phys. J.

A Determination of the Centre-of-Mass Energy at LEP2 using Radiative 2-fermion Events

Using e+e- -> mu+mu-(gamma) and e+e- -> qqbar(gamma) events radiative to the Z pole, DELPHI has determined the centre-of-mass energy, sqrt{s}, using energy and momentum constraint methods. The results are expressed as deviations from the nominal LEP centre-of-mass energy, measured using other techniques. The results are found to be compatible with the LEP Energy Working Group estimates for a combination of the 1997 to 2000 data sets.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, Accepted by Eur. Phys. J.

Study of Tau-pair Production in Photon-Photon Collisions at LEP and Limits on the Anomalous Electromagnetic Moments of the Tau Lepton

Tau-pair production in the process e+e- -> e+e-tau+tau- was studied using data collected by the DELPHI experiment at LEP2 during the years 1997 - 2000. The corresponding integrated luminosity is 650 pb^{-1}. The values of the cross-section obtained are found to be in agreement with QED predictions. Limits on the anomalous magnetic and electric dipole moments of the tau lepton are deduced.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, Accepted by Eur. Phys. J.