247 research outputs found

    Blood transfusion as a risk factor for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

    Get PDF
    In a case-control study of 280 out of 426 consecutive patients with a recent diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and 1827 control subjects, 53 (19%) and 230 (13%) respectively had received blood transfusions 1 year or more before the interview. Using an age- and sex-stratified analysis the odds ratio (OR) for transfusion was 1.74 (95% CI 1.24-2.44). ORs were also determined for transfusions received in the intervals 1-5, 6-15, 16-25 and > or = 26 years before diagnosis. In the interval 6-15 years, the OR for transfusion was 2.83 (95% CI 1.60-4.99) whereas ORs for transfusions received in other intervals were lower and not significantly elevated. Histological diagnoses (Kiel classification) and results of staging procedures were known for 185 patients. For low-grade NHL of nodal B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL) or immunocytoma type, the OR for transfusions was 4.15 (95% CI 1.92-9.01). For low-grade nodal lymphomas of follicle centre cell type and high-grade nodal lymphomas, no relation to transfusions could be demonstrated. For high-grade extranodal lymphoma as sole manifestation, OR for transfusions was 3.27 (95% CI 1.30-8.24). It is concluded that blood transfusion may be a risk factor for NHLs especially those of B-CLL or immunocytoma type and for high-grade extranodal lymphoma

    FÖR ÄNDRINGENS SKULL - en studie av hur ledarskap kan anvĂ€ndas som verktyg för att styra en förĂ€ndring

    Get PDF
    Examensarbetets titel: FÖR ÄNDRINGENS SKULL – en studie av hur ledarskap kan anvĂ€ndas som verktyg för att styra en förĂ€ndring. Seminariedatum: 2009-06-03. Ämne/kurs: FEKP01, Examensarbete magisternivĂ„, Företagsekonomi, Strategi, 15 HP. Författare: Simon Madeling, Henrik Möller & Stefan Olsson. Handledare: Anna Jonsson & Magnus Nilsson. Fem nyckelord: Ledarskap, kommunikation, change management, organisationskultur & strategi. Syfte: VĂ„rt syfte med studien Ă€r att öka förstĂ„elsen för de faktorer som Ă€r centrala i förĂ€ndringsprocesser samt att öka förstĂ„elsen för hur dessa faktorer bör hanteras av ledningen i syfte att förankra tron pĂ„ förĂ€ndringen. Metod: Studien har en abduktiv ansats med en longitudinell, kvalitativ fallstudie som grund för primĂ€rdata. Teoretiska perspektiv: Studiens teoretiska ansats utgĂ„r frĂ„n Change management-litteraturen med inriktning inom Ă€mnet mot ledarskap och kommunikation. Empiri: Studien tar sin grund i det svenska distanshandelsföretaget HalĂ©ns AB. Under 2008 och 2009 inför företaget ett nytt produktinformationssystem, nĂ„got som förvĂ€ntas förĂ€ndra organisationens arbetssĂ€tt frĂ„n grunden. VĂ„r primĂ€rdata stammar frĂ„n tio stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer, en öppen observation samt empiri frĂ„n den tidigare studien av samma objekt. Slutsatser: VisionĂ€rt ledarskap vid förĂ€ndring skapar osĂ€kerhet hos anstĂ€llda. Ledarna mĂ„ste Ă„tnjuta förtroende hos medarbetarna men samtidigt ge utrymme för intern problemlösning. MotstĂ„nd inbĂ€ddat i kulturen bör motverkas med Ă„tgĂ€rder frĂ„n högsta ledningen. En viktig Ă„tgĂ€rd Ă€r att ha en dynamisk och reaktiv kommunikationsstrategi. Positivt ledarskap i kombination med oundviklig, negativ kommunikation förmedlar ambivalenta signaler till de anstĂ€llda. FörstĂ„else för helheten av förĂ€ndring Ă€r essentiellt för en lyckad implementeringsprocess

    Prevalence and predictors of falls and dizziness in people younger and older than 80 years of age-A longitudinal cohort study.

    Get PDF
    The objectives were to investigate the prevalence and predictors for falls and dizziness among people younger and older than 80 years of age. The sample was drawn from the Swedish National study on Aging and Care (SNAC) and comprised 973 and 1273 subjects with data on the occurrence of falls and dizziness respectively at baseline. Follow-ups were made after 3- and 6-years. Data included socio-demographics, physical function, health complaints, cognition, quality of life and medications. The prevalence of falls was 16.5% in those under aged 80 and 31.7% in those 80+ years while dizziness was reported by 17.8% and 31.0% respectively. Predictors for falls in those under aged 80 were neuroleptics, dependency in personal activities of daily living (PADL), a history of falling, vision impairment and higher age, and in those 80+ years a history of falling, dependency in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), fatigue and higher age. Factors predicting dizziness in those under aged 80 were a history of dizziness, feeling nervous and reduced grip strength and in those 80+ years a history of dizziness and of falling. Predictors for falls and dizziness differed according to age. Specific factors were identified in those under aged 80. In those 80+ years more general factors were identified implying the need for a comprehensive investigation to prevent falls. This longitudinal study also showed that falling and dizziness in many older people are persistent and therefore should be treated as chronic conditions

    Essential coastal habitats for fish in the Baltic Sea

    Get PDF
    Many coastal and offshore fish species are highly dependent on specific habitat types for population maintenance. In the Baltic Sea, shallow productive habitats in the coastal zone such as wetlands, vegetated flads/lagoons and sheltered bays as well as more exposed rocky and sandy areas are utilized by fish across many life history stages including spawning, juvenile development, feeding and migration. Although there is general consensus about the critical importance of these essential fish habitats (EFH) for fish production along the coast, direct quantitative evidence for their specific roles in population growth and maintenance is still scarce. Nevertheless, for some coastal species, indirect evidence exists, and in many cases, sufficient data are also available to carry out further quantitative analyses. As coastal EFH in the Baltic Sea are often found in areas that are highly utilized and valued by humans, they are subjected to many different pressures. While cumulative pressures, such as eutrophication, coastal construction and development, climate change, invasive species and fisheries, impact fish in coastal areas, the conservation coverage for EFH in these areas remains poor. This is mainly due to the fact that historically, fisheries management and nature conservation are not integrated neither in research nor in management in Baltic Sea countries. Setting joint objectives for fisheries management and nature conservation would hence be pivotal for improved protection of EFH in the Baltic Sea. To properly inform management, improvements in the development of monitoring strategies and mapping methodology for EFH are also needed. Stronger international cooperation between Baltic Sea states will facilitate improved management outcomes across ecologically arbitrary boundaries. This is especially important for successful implementation of international agreements and legislative directives such as the Baltic Sea Action Plan, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Habitats Directive, and the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, but also for improving the communication of information related to coastal EFH among researchers, stakeholders, managers and decision makers. In this paper, efforts are made to characterize coastal EFH in the Baltic Sea, their importance and the threats/pressures they face, as well as their current conservation status, while highlighting knowledge gaps and outlining perspectives for future work in an ecosystem-based management framework. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

    Leukocyte-connective tissue cell interaction. I. Stimulation of hyaluronate synthesis by live and dead leukocytes

    Full text link
    During the interaction of fibroblasts and leukocytes in vitro, there was a two- to sixfold increase in the total amount of hyaluronate formed, and a corresponding increase in the rate (pg./cell/day) of hyaluronate synthesis. Increased glucose uptake from the culture medium (two- to fourfold) was associated with stimulation of hyaluronate formation. Cultures receiving leukocytes suffered an 8 to 33 per cent decrement in the fibroblast population. Leukocytes themselves consumed little glucose and produced no detectable hyaluronate. Viable and non-viable lymphocytes and PMN's induced qualitatively similar behavioral alterations in synovial fibroblasts. Fibroblasts from normal and rheumatoid joints responded similarly to WBC. Normal and rheumatoid WBC had similar potential for altering the behavior of fibroblasts in vitro. Erythrocytes had little effect on fibroblast cultures.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/37711/1/1780120404_ftp.pd

    Predictors of dizziness in older persons: a 10-year prospective cohort study in the community

    Full text link
    BACKGROUND: The current diagnosis-oriented approach of dizziness does not suit older patients. Often, it is difficult to identify a single underlying cause, and when a diagnosis is made, therapeutic options may be limited. Identification of predictors of dizziness may provide new leads for the management of dizziness in older patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate long-term predictors of regular dizziness in older persons. METHODS: Population-based cohort study of 1,379 community-dwelling participants, aged ≄60 years, from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA). Regular dizziness was ascertained during face-to-face medical interviews during 7- and 10-year follow-up. We investigated 26 predictors at baseline from six domains: socio-demographic, medical history, medication, psychological, sensory, and balance/gait. We performed multivariate logistic regression analyses with presence of regular dizziness at 7- and 10-year follow-up as dependent variables. We assessed the performance of the models by calculating calibration and discrimination. RESULTS: Predictors of regular dizziness at 7-year follow-up were living alone, history of dizziness, history of osteo/rheumatoid arthritis, use of nitrates, presence of anxiety or depression, impaired vision, and impaired function of lower extremities. Predictors of regular dizziness at 10-year follow-up were history of dizziness and impaired function of lower extremities. Both models showed good calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow P value of 0.36 and 0.31, respectively) and acceptable discrimination (adjusted AUC after bootstrapping of 0.77 and 0.71). CONCLUSIONS: Dizziness in older age was predicted by multiple factors. A multifactorial approach, targeting potentially modifiable predictors (e.g., physical exercise for impaired function of lower extremities), may add to the current diagnosis-oriented approach. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2318-14-133) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

    Improved Bayesian multimodeling: Integration of copulas and Bayesian model averaging

    Get PDF
    Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) is a popular approach to combine hydrologic forecasts from individual models, and characterize the uncertainty induced by model structure. In the original form of BMA, the conditional probability density function (PDF) of each model is assumed to be a particular probability distribution (e.g. Gaussian, gamma, etc.). If the predictions of any hydrologic model do not follow certain distribution, a data transformation procedure is required prior to model averaging. Moreover, it is strongly recommended to apply BMA on unbiased forecasts, whereas it is sometimes difficult to effectively remove bias from the predictions of complex hydrologic models. To overcome these limitations, we develop an approach to integrate a group of multivariate functions, the so-called copula functions, into BMA. Here, we introduce a copula-embedded BMA (Cop-BMA) method that relaxes any assumption on the shape of conditional PDFs. Copula functions have a flexible structure and do not restrict the shape of posterior distributions. Furthermore, copulas are effective tools in removing bias from hydrologic forecasts. To compare the performance of BMA with Cop-BMA, they are applied to hydrologic forecasts from different rainfall-runoff and land-surface models. We consider the streamflow observation and simulations for ten river basins provided by the Model Parameter Estimation Experiment (MOPEX) project. Results demonstrate that the predictive distributions are more accurate and reliable, less biased, and more confident with small uncertainty after Cop-BMA application. It is also shown that the post-processed forecasts have better correlation with observation after Cop-BMA application
    • 

    corecore