Psychological distress, iron deficiency, active disease and female gender are independent risk factors for fatigue in patients with ulcerative colitis

Patients with ulcerative colitis often report fatigue

Fecal Luminal Factors from Patients with Gastrointestinal Diseases Alter Gene Expression Profiles in Caco-2 Cells and Colonoids

Previous in vitro studies have shown that the intestinal luminal content, including metabolites, possibly regulates epithelial layer responses to harmful stimuli and promotes disease. Therefore, we aimed to test the hypothesis that fecal supernatants from patients with colon cancer (CC), ulcerative colitis (UC) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) contain distinct metabolite profiles and establish their effects on Caco-2 cells and human-derived colon organoids (colonoids). The metabolite profiles of fecal supernatants were analyzed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and distinguished patients with CC (n = 6), UC (n = 6), IBS (n = 6) and healthy subjects (n = 6). Caco-2 monolayers and human apical-out colonoids underwent stimulation with fecal supernatants from different patient groups and healthy subjects. Their addition did not impair monolayer integrity, as measured by transepithelial electrical resistance; however, fecal supernatants from different patient groups and healthy subjects altered the gene expression of Caco-2 monolayers, as well as colonoid cultures. In conclusion, the stimulation of Caco-2 cells and colonoids with fecal supernatants derived from CC, UC and IBS patients altered gene expression profiles, potentially reflecting the luminal microenvironment of the fecal sample donor. This experimental approach allows for investigating the crosstalk at the gut barrier and the effects of the gut microenvironment in the pathogenesis of intestinal diseases

The 10,000-year biocultural history of fallow deer and its implications for conservation policy

Over the last 10,000 y, humans have manipulated fallow deer populations with varying outcomes. Persian fallow deer ( Dama mesopotamica ) are now endangered. European fallow deer ( Dama dama ) are globally widespread and are simultaneously considered wild, domestic, endangered, invasive and are even the national animal of Barbuda and Antigua. Despite their close association with people, there is no consensus regarding their natural ranges or the timing and circumstances of their human-mediated translocations and extirpations. Our mitochondrial analyses of modern and archaeological specimens revealed two distinct clades of European fallow deer present in Anatolia and the Balkans. Zooarchaeological evidence suggests these regions were their sole glacial refugia. By combining biomolecular analyses with archaeological and textual evidence, we chart the declining distribution of Persian fallow deer and demonstrate that humans repeatedly translocated European fallow deer, sourced from the most geographically distant populations. Deer taken to Neolithic Chios and Rhodes derived not from nearby Anatolia, but from the Balkans. Though fallow deer were translocated throughout the Mediterranean as part of their association with the Greco-Roman goddesses Artemis and Diana, deer taken to Roman Mallorca were not locally available Dama dama , but Dama mesopotamica . Romans also initially introduced fallow deer to Northern Europe but the species became extinct and was reintroduced in the medieval period, this time from Anatolia. European colonial powers then transported deer populations across the globe. The biocultural histories of fallow deer challenge preconceptions about the divisions between wild and domestic species and provide information that should underpin modern management strategies

The 10,000-year biocultural history of fallow deer and its implications for conservation policy

Over the last 10,000 years, humans have manipulated fallow deer populations with varying outcomes. Persian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica) are now endangered. European fallow deer (Dama dama) are globally widespread and are simultaneously considered wild, domestic, endangered, invasive, and are even the national animal of Barbuda and Antigua. Despite their close association with people, there is no consensus regarding their natural ranges or the timing and circumstances of their human-mediated translocations and extirpations. Our mitochondrial analyses of modern and archaeological specimens revealed two distinct clades of European fallow deer present in Anatolia and the Balkans. Zooarchaeological evidence suggests these regions were their sole glacial refugia. By combining biomolecular analyses with archaeological and textual evidence, we chart the declining distribution of Persian fallow deer and demonstrate that humans repeatedly translocated European fallow deer, sourced from the most geographically distant populations. Deer taken to Chios and Rhodes in the Neolithic derived not from nearby Anatolia, but from the Balkans. Though fallow deer were translocated throughout the Mediterranean as part of their association with the Greco-Roman goddesses Artemis and Diana, deer taken to Roman Mallorca were not locally available Dama dama, but Dama mesopotamica. Romans also initially introduced fallow deer to Northern Europe but the species became extinct and was reintroduced in the medieval period, this time from Anatolia. European colonial powers then transported deer populations across the globe. We argue that these biocultural histories of fallow deer should underpin modern management strategie

Worked goose radii from medieval England : What were they used for?

This paper examines an artefact type of unknown function, found in several places across medieval England. These artefacts are mostly made from goose radii, but other species, such as chicken and hare, are also known. The worked radii have often been interpreted as being related to writing, but a closer examination suggests that they are more likely to be awls

Att arbeta i dödens närhet : Rutiner och ritualer i äldreomsorg

This study is based mainly on observations and interviews accomplished on two occasions with nursing assistants employed at two group living units for older people suffering from dementia in Sweden. The interviews and observations were carried out one year apart, before and after a project that also included supervision of managers and nursing assistants. I interviewed 12 nursing assistants, 8 of them in two occasions. In a supplementary study, that was part of another research project at another unit for older people, I have performed group interviews on two occasions with two managers and four nursing assistants. The questions used in the later study were the result of questions raised by the first project and were especially concerned with how being close to death affects the staff and their daily work. The aim was an attempt to describe and analyse the daily work practice of nursing assistants at special units for older people. Questions that assisted me in formulating the material were 1) what function do working routines have for the staff, 2) what is the relationship between working routines and the habits of the older people and 3) what is the relationship between the work of the nursing assistants and the frailty, the dying process of the older people? Apart from a description of the daily routines based on empirical studies, the report contains an introduction of the attitudes to ageing, the dying process and the death, as well as a summary of existing, relevant and closely related research.An attempt to summarise my interpretations and conclusions from the empirical studies went like this: The function of routines is, among other things, to maintain an illusion of predictability. Routines are also a function to give a feeling of security at work. The dying process in this context forms a natural part of daily work. The group living units in this study were, for ideological reasons, architectonically formed to afford no space for staff or, according to Goffman’s (1963) concept of "backstage", somewhere staff can retire for a break, rest or reflection. I consider working with older people suffering from dementia to be an extremely demanding work and I am surprised that screens and backstage areas that exist in most other service and care facilities are absent in this case. My interpretation of the function of routine tasks is that they can be seen as a kind of mental screen, you can "shut yourself in" with the necessary tasks and justifiably be inattentive towards the older people, because of the tasks that must be done. This inattentiveness can often be seen as showing consideration, when a friendly nod is given without participating in a more demanding communications scenario