EPIZOOTIOLOGY OF ELAPHOSTRONGYLUS ALCES IN SWEDISH MOOSE

A total of 961 harvested and 241 unharvested moose (Alces alces) carcasses and parts from throughout Sweden were examined for Elaphostrongylus alces from 1985 to 1989. When available, the central nervous system and skeletal muscles were searched for adult nematodes, and lungs and feces were examined for first-stage larvae. The parasite was distributed throughout Sweden with highest prevalence (56%) in the central region and lowest in the south (13%). Prevalence was highest in calves and old moose (>9 years) and lowest in middle-aged animals (5–9 years), with no statistical difference between sexes, although prevalence trended higher in young males. Body condition and abundance of Elaphostrongylus alces were negatively correlated, and condition was poorer in unharvested than harvested moose. A short (39–73 days) prepatent period was documented, and calves as young as 1.5 months were infected. These results indicate the importance of continued surveillance of Elaphostrongylus alces, particularly because a warming climate will likely increase abundance of intermediate mollusk hosts and possibly cause increased infection of moose

EPIZOOTIOLOGY OF ELAPHOSTRONGYLUS ALCES IN SWEDISH MOOSE

A total of 961 harvested and 241 unharvested moose (Alces alces) carcasses and parts from throughout Sweden were examined for Elaphostrongylus alces from 1985 to 1989. When available, the central nervous system and skeletal muscles were searched for adult nematodes, and lungs and feces were examined for first-stage larvae. The parasite was distributed throughout Sweden with highest prevalence (56%) in the central region and lowest in the south (13%). Prevalence was highest in calves and old moose (>9 years) and lowest in middle-aged animals (5–9 years), with no statistical difference between sexes, although prevalence trended higher in young males. Body condition and abundance of Elaphostrongylus alces were negatively correlated, and condition was poorer in unharvested than harvested moose. A short (39–73 days) prepatent period was documented, and calves as young as 1.5 months were infected. These results indicate the importance of continued surveillance of Elaphostrongylus alces, particularly because a warming climate will likely increase abundance of intermediate mollusk hosts and possibly cause increased infection of moose

EPIZOOTIOLOGY OF ELAPHOSTRONGYLUS ALCES IN SWEDISH MOOSE

A total of 961 harvested and 241 unharvested moose (Alces alces) carcasses and parts from throughout Sweden were examined for Elaphostrongylus alces from 1985 to 1989. When available, the central nervous system and skeletal muscles were searched for adult nematodes, and lungs and feces were examined for first-stage larvae. The parasite was distributed throughout Sweden with highest prevalence (56%) in the central region and lowest in the south (13%). Prevalence was highest in calves and old moose (>9 years) and lowest in middle-aged animals (5–9 years), with no statistical difference between sexes, although prevalence trended higher in young males. Body condition and abundance of Elaphostrongylus alces were negatively correlated, and condition was poorer in unharvested than harvested moose. A short (39–73 days) prepatent period was documented, and calves as young as 1.5 months were infected. These results indicate the importance of continued surveillance of Elaphostrongylus alces, particularly because a warming climate will likely increase abundance of intermediate mollusk hosts and possibly cause increased infection of moose

Cadmium in blood and urine--impact of sex, age, dietary intake, iron status, and former smoking--association of renal effects.

We studied determinants of cadmium status and kidney function in nonsmoking men and women living on farms in southern Sweden. Median blood Cd (BCd) was 1.8 nmol/L (range, 0.38-18) and median urinary Cd (UCd) was 0.23 nmol/mmol creatinine (range, 0.065-0.99). The intake of Cd per kilogram body weight did not significantly differ between sexes and did not correlate with BCd or UCd, which may be explained by a low and varying bioavailibility of Cd from food items. However, when a subgroup of the study population, couples of never-smoking men and women, were compared, a lower intake per kilogram body weight was found in the women, but the women had a 1.8 times higher BCd and a 1.4 times higher UCd. The higher female BCd and UCd may be explained by higher absorption due to low iron status. BCd and UCd both increased with age and were higher in the ex-smokers, who had stopped smoking more than 5 years before the study, compared to never-smokers. The contribution of locally produced food to the total Cd intake was relatively low and varied. Males living in areas with low soil Cd had lower UCd than the others. However, Cd levels in kidneys from pigs, fed locally produced cereals, did not predict BCd or UCd in humans at the same farms. The kidney function parameter ss2-microglobulin-creatinine clearance was related to UCd, whereas urinary protein-HC, N-acetyl-ss-glucoseaminidase or albumin-creatinine clearance was not when age was accounted for. Hence, even at the low exposure levels in this study population, there was an indication of effect on biochemical markers of renal function

Biomonitoring of cadmium in cattle, pigs and humans

For the general non-smoking population food, and especially cereals, is the main source of exposure to cadmium (Cd), a nefrotoxic element. Cd exposure was studied in livestock and humans, and different indicators were evaluated for biomonitoring of Cd. Sampling of the outer part of cattle and pig kidney cortex was the optimal sampling technique to detect small differences between groups. Organically raised cows had lower levels of Cd in kidney, liver and mammary tissue than conventionally raised cows. The lower levels in the "organic" cows may be explained by a lower input of Cd to the soil, and lower levels in roughage, different feed composition, or a lower bioavailability of Cd in the feed. Long-term studis in well-defined systems are required to clarify if organic farming can lower the amount of Cd reaching the food chain. Cd was followed in the chain from soil via crops and feed, to pig blood and kidney and human blood and urine. The levels of Cd in pig kidney were significantly related to the levels in feed, however, there was no relationship to the locally produced cereals, the main ingredient in the feed. Thus, Cd in pig kidneys did not reflect available Cd in the local environment. The Cd content in non-locally produced feed ingredients constitutes an external source of Cd to the local circulation via excretion in feces and application of manure to arable soils. Food of vegetable origin contributed the major part (83%) of the human Cd exposure. The contribution of locally produced food to the total Cd intake was relatively low and varying. The dietary intake of Cd was higher in males than females living at the same farm, but the women had 1.8 times higher blood Cd (BCd) and 1.4 times higher urinary Cd (UCd) levels than the men. Cd levels in kidneys from pigs, fed locally produced cereals, could not be used to predict BCd and UCd in humans. However, males living in areas with low soil-Cd was not correlated with BCd or UCd. The higher female BCd and UCd are probably explained by higher absorption due to low iron status. BCd and UCd both increased with age and were higher in former-smokers than in never-smokers. Even at the relatively low exposure levels in this study there was an indication of effect on a biochemical marker (β₂-microglobulin-creatinine-clearance) of renal function, an effect that remained also when age was allowed for

Experimental Designs at the Crossroads of Drug Discovery

New techniques and approaches for organic synthesis, purification and biological testing are enabling pharmaceutical industries to produce and test increasing numbers of compounds every year. Surprisingly, this has not led to more new drugs reaching the market, prompting two questions – why is there not a better correlation between their efforts and output, and can it be improved? One possible way to make the drug discovery process more efficient is to ensure, at an early stage, that the tested compounds are diverse, representative and of high quality. In addition the biological evaluation systems have to be relevant and reliable. The diversity of the tested compounds could be ensured and the reliability of the biological assays improved by using Design Of Experiments (DOE) more frequently and effectively. However, DOE currently offers insufficient options for these purposes, so there is a need for new, tailor-made DOE strategies. The aim of the work underlying this thesis was to develop and evaluate DOE approaches for diverse compound selection and efficient assay optimisation. This resulted in the publication of two new DOE strategies; D-optimal Onion Design (DOOD) and Rectangular Experimental Designs for Multi-Unit Platforms (RED-MUP), both of which are extensions to established experimental designs. D-Optimal Onion Design (DOOD) is an extension to D-optimal design. The set of possible objects that could be selected is divided into layers and D-optimal selection is applied to each layer. DOOD enables model-based, but not model-dependent, selections in discrete spaces to be made, since the selections are not only based on the D-optimality criterion, but are also biased by the experimenter’s prior knowledge and specific needs. Hence, DOOD selections provide controlled diversity. Assay development and optimisation can be a major bottleneck restricting the progress of a project. Although DOE is a recognised tool for optimising experimental systems, there has been widespread unwillingness to use it for assay optimisation, mostly because of the difficulties involved in performing experiments according to designs in 96-, 384- and 1536- well formats. The RED-MUP framework combines classical experimental designs orthogonally onto rectangular experimental platforms, which facilitates the execution of DOE on these platforms and hence provides an efficient tool for assay optimisation. In combination, these two strategies can help uncovering the crossroads between biology and chemistry in drug discovery as well as lead to higher information content in the data received from biological evaluations, providing essential information for well-grounded decisions as to the future of the project. These two strategies can also help researchers identify the best routes to take at the crossroads linking biological and chemical elements of drug discovery programs

The Cost of Inaction : A Socioeconomic analysis of costs linked to effects of endocrine disrupting substances on male reproductive health

Exposure to endocrine disruptors(EDs) is suspected to lead to a number of negative effects on human health and for wildlife. In this report the costs for effects on male reproductive health (testicular cancer, hypospadias, cryptorchidism and infertility) are estimated. The model used is built on incidence of disease in the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) and cost per case based on cost per patient data from Sweden. Extrapolation to EU28 is made based on population size. Assuming that EDs constitute 2, 20 or 40% the total costs for the selected health effects are 3.6, 36.1 or 72.3 million Euros/year of exposure in the Nordic countries, this corresponds to 59, 592 and 1,184 million Euros/year at EU-level. As these costs only represent a fraction of the endocrine related diseases there are good reasons to continue the work to minimize exposure to EDs

Hur upplever elever med Asperger syndrom sin grundskoletid?

Syftet med studien är att skildra hur elever med Asperger syndrom har upplevt sin tid i grundskolan. Vi vill ta reda på om de upplever att de fått tillräckligt med stöd och hjälp i skolan och om hur de upplevt relationerna till professionella och andra elever. De frågeställningar vi utgått ifrån har varit: Hur upplever ungdomarna det stöd och hjälp de fått i grundskolan? Vad upplever de har fungerat bra respektive dåligt? Hur upplever ungdomarna sina relationer till professionella och andra elever under grundskoletiden? I studien använder vi oss av en kvalitativ ansats där vi intervjuat fem ungdomar, fyra föräldrar till dessa barn, en lärare och en specialpedagog. Vi har därefter analyserat intervjuerna med hjälp av en fenomenologisk ansats där avsikten har varit att skapa en bild av ungdomarnas livsvärld. Resultaten av intervjuerna har presenterats utifrån intervjuguidens områden för att sedan tolkas mot bakgrund av den tidigare forskning vi presenterat i studien och med hjälp av begrepp från symbolisk interaktionism och systemteori. Resultaten visar att stödet och hjälpen till dessa elever med Asperger syndrom är mycket bristfällig. Framförallt handlar det om lärare och assistenter som har långt ifrån tillräcklig kunskap om vad det innebär att ha AS. Detta har många gånger orsakat konflikter. Eleven med funktionshinder har ofta blivit utpekad som syndabock. Vidare kan vi se att det förekommit mobbing och att kompisrelationer i det närmaste varit obefintlig. Studien visar att ungdomarna känt sig kränkta och missförstådda under sin grundskoletid vilket ofta har lett till ohållbara situationer för alla inblandade