Allele diversity of the H-ras-1 variable number of tandem repeats in Norwegian lung cancer patients

We have examined restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the H-ras-1 gene in germ-line DNA from 214 lung cancer patients and 309 unaffected controls. When DNA samples were digested with MspI/HpaII, Southern blot analysis revealed at least 22 different alleles, grouped according to their frequencies as common, intermediate, and rare. The frequency of rare alleles in lung cancer patients (16/428) is significantly different (p = 0.002) from that in the control group (5/618). Individuals with rare alleles were found to be at 4.7-fold greater risk of lung cancer than those with no rare alleles.publishedVersio

Bringing Nordic mathematics education into the future : a review of the papers presented at the NORMA20 conference

The NORMA conferences held triennially gather academics from the Nordic area and beyond. The conferences offer a window into the key topics and outcomes of Nordic mathematics education research. This paper presents an analysis of the 73 regular papers presented at the NORMA20 conference held in Oslo in June 2021 and published in the conference pre- and proceedings. The analysis yields research questions, methods, and key findings for the educational levels spanning kindergarten through to higher education. The majority of the papers present research from primary school-level and pre- and in-service teacher education. Across the educational levels, teaching methods and classroom discourse emerged as the most frequent topics, dominated by empirical studies that applied qualitative methods.publishedVersio

Treatment outcome of new pulmonary tuberculosis in Guangzhou, China 1993–2002: a register-based cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Completion of treatment for tuberculosis (TB) is of utmost priority for TB control programs. The aims of this study were to evaluate the treatment outcome of TB cases registered in Guangzhou during the period 1993–2002, and to identify factors associated with treatment success.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two (of eight) districts in Guangzhou were selected randomly as objects of study and their surveillance database was analyzed to assess the treatment outcome and identify factors associated with treatment success for TB cases registered in Guangzhou. Six treatment outcome criteria were assessed based on guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Logistic regression was used to estimate risk factors for treatment outcome.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 6743 pulmonary tuberculosis cases (4903 males, 1840 females) were included in this study. The treatment success rate (including cured and complete treatment) was 88% (95%CI 87%–89%). One hundred and eight-six (2.8%) patients died and 401 (5.9%) patients defaulted treatment. In multivariate analysis, treatment success was found to be associated with young age, lack of cavitation and compliance with treatment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The total treatment success rate in the current study was similar to the WHO target for all smear positive cases, while the failure rate and the default rate in 2002 were slightly higher. Good care of elderly patients, early diagnosis of cavitation and compliance with treatment could improve the success rate of TB treatment.</p

Treatment outcome of new culture positive pulmonary tuberculosis in Norway

BACKGROUND: The key elements in tuberculosis (TB) control are to cure the individual patient, interrupt transmission of TB to others and prevent the tubercle bacilli from becoming drug resistant. Incomplete treatment may result in excretion of bacteria that may also acquire drug resistance and cause increased morbidity and mortality. Treatment outcome results serves as a tool to control the quality of TB treatment provided by the health care system. The aims of this study were to evaluate the treatment outcome for new cases of culture positive pulmonary TB registered in Norway during the period 1996–2002 and to identify factors associated with non-successful treatment. METHODS: This was a register-based cohort study. Treatment outcome was assessed according to sex, birthplace, age group, isoniazid (INH) susceptibility, mode of detection and treatment periods (1996–1997, 1998–1999 and 2000–2002). Logistic regression was also used to estimate the odds ratio for treatment success vs. non-success with 95% confidence interval (CI), taking the above variables into account. RESULTS: Among the 655 patients included, the total treatment success rate was 83% (95% CI 80%–86%). The success rates for those born in Norway and abroad were 79% (95% CI 74%–84%) and 86% (95% CI 83%–89%) respectively. There was no difference in success rates by sex and treatment periods. Twenty-two patients (3%) defaulted treatment, 58 (9%) died and 26 (4%) transferred out. The default rate was higher among foreign-born and male patients, whereas almost all who died were born in Norway. The majority of the transferred out group left the country, but seven were expelled from the country. In the multivariate analysis, only high age and initial INH resistance remained as significant risk factors for non-successful treatment. CONCLUSION: Although the TB treatment success rate in Norway has increased compared to previous studies and although it has reached a reasonable target for treatment outcome in low-incidence countries, the total success rate for 1996–2002 was still slightly below the WHO target of success rate of 85%. Early diagnosis of TB in elderly patients to reduce the death rate, abstaining from expulsion of patients on treatment and further measures to prevent default could improve the success rate further

Increased incidence trend of low-grade and high-grade neuroendocrine neoplasms

Purpose: The incidence of neuroendocrine neoplasms is increasing. This work aimed at: (i) establishing worldwide incidence trend of low-grade neuroendocrine neoplasms; (ii) defining the incidence and temporal trend of high-grade neuroendocrine neoplasms in USA utilizing the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database; (iii) comparing trends for low-grade vs. high-grade neuroendocrine neoplasms. Methods: We conducted a literature search on MEDLINE and Scopus databases and incidence trends were plotted for 1973-2012. The Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database was used to identify incidence rates in USA for 1973-2012. Incidence rates were stratified according to histological grade, gender and ethnicity. Trends were summarized as annual percent change and corresponding 95% confidence interval. Results: 11 studies were identified involving 72,048 cases; neuroendocrine neoplasm incidence rates increased over time in all countries for all sites, except for appendix. In Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results low-grade neuroendocrine neoplasm incidence rate increased from 1.09 in 1973 to 3.51 per 100,000 in 2012. During this interval, high-grade neuroendocrine neoplasm incidence rate increased from 2.54 to 10.52 per 100,000. African Americans had the highest rates of digestive neuroendocrine neoplasms with male prevalence in high-grade. Conclusions: Our data indicate an increase in the incidence of neuroendocrine neoplasms as a worldwide phenomenon, affecting most anatomical sites and involving both low-grade and high-grade neoplasms. © 2017, The Author(s)