Urban aerosol number size distributions

International audienceAerosol number size distributions have been measured since 5 May 1997 in Helsinki, Finland. The presented aerosol data represents size distributions within the particle diameter size range 8-400nm during the period from May 1997 to March 2003. The daily, monthly and annual patterns of the aerosol particle number concentrations were investigated. The temporal variation of the particle number concentration showed close correlations with traffic activities. The highest total number concentrations were observed during workdays; especially on Fridays, and the lowest concentrations occurred during weekends; especially Sundays. Seasonally, the highest total number concentrations were observed during winter and spring and lower concentrations were observed during June and July. More than 80% of the number size distributions had three modes: nucleation mode (30nm), Aitken mode (20-100nm) and accumulation mode (90nm). Less than 20% of the number size distributions had either two modes or consisted of more than three modes. Two different measurement sites were used; in the first (Siltavuori, 5.5.1997-5.3.2001), the arithmetic means of the particle number concentrations were 7000cm, 6500cm, and 1000cm respectively for nucleation, Aitken, and accumulation modes. In the second site (Kumpula, 6.3.2001-28.2.2003) they were 5500cm, 4000cm, and 1000cm. The total number concentration in nucleation and Aitken modes were usually significantly higher during workdays than during weekends. The temporal variations in the accumulation mode were less pronounced. The lower concentrations at Kumpula were mainly due to building construction and also the slight overall decreasing trend during these years. During the site changing a period of simultaneous measurements over two weeks were performed showing nice correlation at both sites

Norovirus genotypes in endemic acute gastroenteritis of infants and children in Finland between 1994 and 2007

Noroviruses are, after rotaviruses, the second most common causative agents of acute gastroenteritis in young children. We studied norovirus genotypes in faecal specimens collected from Finnish children followed-up prospectively in rotavirus vaccine trials. Almost 5000 faecal specimens collected from cases of acute gastroenteritis were examined using reverse transcriptase–PCR. A total of 1172 cases (25% of all acute gastroenteritis) were associated with noroviruses. Of these, 96% were genogroup GII. GII.4 was the most common genotype (46%) throughout the study period but the proportion of this genotype varied in different norovirus epidemic seasons. Additional norovirus genotypes detected were: GII.7 (15%), GII.3 (14%), GII.1 (9%), GII.b (7%), GII.2 (3%), and GI.3 (2%). GII.4 dominated during the following years: 1998–1999 (75%), 2002–2003 (88%) and 2006–2007 (98%) while recombinant genotype GII.b was dominant between 2003 and 2004 (83%). In conclusion, genotypes GII.4 and GIIb have emerged as predominant norovirus genotypes in endemic gastroenteritis affecting young infants and children in Finland

Can Practical Nurses Identify Older Home Care Clients at Risk of Drug-Related Problems-Geriatricians' Appraisal of Their Risk Screenings: A Pilot Study

Background: Home care (HC) clients are increasingly older, have many chronic diseases, and use multiple medicines and thus are at high risk for drug-related problems (DRPs). Objective: Establish the sensitivity of practical nurse (PN) administered DRP risk assessment tool (DRP-RAT) compared with geriatrician's assessment of the medical record. Identify the clinically most significant DRPs needing action. Methods: Twenty-six PNs working in HC of Harkatie Health Center in Lieto, Finland, 46 HC clients (>= 65 years), and a geriatrician participated in this pilot study. The geriatrician reviewed HC clients' medications using 3 different methods. The reviews were based on the following: (1) the PN's risk screening (ie, PN-completed DRP-RAT) and medication list, (2) health center's medical records, and (3) methods 1 and 2 together. The main outcome was the number of "at-risk patients" (ie, the patient is at risk of clinically significant DRPs) by using each review method. Secondary outcomes were clinically most significant DRP-risk predicting factors identified by the geriatrician. Results: The geriatrician reviewed 45 clients' medications using all 3 methods. Based on PN-completed DRP-RAT and medication list, 93% (42/45) of the clients were classified as "at-risk patients." Two other review methods resulted in 45/45 (100%) "at-risk patients." Symptoms suggestive of adverse drug reactions were the most significant risk predicting factors. Small sample size limits the generalizability of the results. Conclusions: The PN-completed DRP-RAT was able to provide clinically important timely patient information for clinical decision making. DRP-RAT could make it possible to more effectively involve PNs in medication risk management among older HC clients

Theory and practice in Finnish teacher education : a rhetorical analysis of changing values from the 1960s to the present day

Our aim in this article is to examine the relationship between theory and practice in Finnish teacher education from the 1960s to the present. We identify four different periods to represent this relationship based on our analysis of national committee and evaluation reports. Theory and practice gradually converged, culminating in a research-based agenda that reflects the current situation. This relationship between theory and practice also reflects the ideal teacher of different times and what a teacher's working orientation should be. We use rhetorical analysis and the concept of a 'philosophical pair' introduced by Perelman and Olbrechts-Tyteca to interpret this development.Peer reviewe

Use of CNS medications and cognitive decline in the aged: a longitudinal population-based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies have found associations between the use of central nervous system medication and the risk of cognitive decline in the aged. Our aim was to assess whether the use of a single central nervous system (CNS) medication and, on the other hand, the combined use of multiple CNS medications over time are related to the risk of cognitive decline in an older (≥ 65 yrs) population that is cognitively intact at baseline.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a longitudinal population-based study of cognitively intact older adults. The participants were 65 years old or older and had Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) sum scores of 24 points or higher. The study included a 7.6-year follow-up. The use of benzodiazepines and related drugs (BZDs), antipsychotics (APs), antidepressants (ADs), opioids (Ops), anticholinergics (AChs) and antiepileptics (AEs) was determined at baseline and after a 7.6-years of the follow-up period. Cognitive functioning was used as an outcome variable measured with MMSE at baseline and at the mean follow-up of 7.6 years. Control variables were adjusted with analyses of covariance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After adjusting for control variables, the use of Ops and the concomitant use of Ops and BZDs as well as the use of Ops and any CNS medication were associated with cognitive decline. The use of AChs was associated with decline in cognitive functioning only in men.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Of all the CNS medications analyzed in this study, the use of Ops may have the greatest effect on cognitive functioning in the ageing population. Due to small sample sizes these findings cannot be generalized to the unselected ageing population. More studies are needed concerning the long-term use of CNS medications, especially their concomitant use, and their potential cognitive effects.</p

A subpopulation of Talin 1 resides in the nucleus and regulates gene expression

Talin 1 (TLN1) is best known for its role at focal adhesions, where it activates β-integrin receptors and transmits mechanical stimuli to the actin cytoskeleton. Interestingly, the localization of TLN1 is not restricted to the focal adhesions, but its function in other cellular compartments remains poorly understood. By utilizing both biochemical and confocal microscopy analyses, we show that TLN1 localizes to the nucleus and that it strongly interacts with the chromatin. Importantly, depletion of endogenous TLN1 results in extensive changes in the gene expression profile of human breast epithelial cells. To determine the impact of nuclear TLN1 on gene regulation, we expressed a TLN1 fusion protein containing a nuclear localization signal. Our results reve aled that nuclear TLN1 regulates a specific subset of the TLN1-dependent genes. Taken together, we show that apart from localizing at the plasma membrane and cytoplasm, TLN1 also resides in the nucleus where it functions in the regulation of gene expression

Psychiatric disorders are a common prognostic marker for worse outcome in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension

Objective: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is aetiologically unknown disorder that associates with endocrinological disturbances, including dysfunction of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis. Neuroendocrinological dysfunctions have also been characterized in psychiatric disorders, and therefore we investigated the presence of psychiatric disorders of patients with IIH in a well-defined cohort.Patients and methods: A total of 51 patients with IIH were included. Patient demographics, symptoms, imaging data, ophthalmological and clinical findings were collected.Results: At the time of diagnosis the mean age was 32.5years (SD 10.7), the body mass index was 37.1 kg/m(2) (SD 7.4), and the opening pressure 29.1 mmHg (SD 6.2). A total of 88.2% of patients were female and 45.1% were diagnosed with a psychiatric co-morbidity prior to IIH diagnosis. The mean follow-up time was 4.4 years (SD 5.4). The overall treatment outcome was significantly poorer on a group of patients with psychiatric diagnosis when compared to individuals without such history (p = 0.001), but there were no differences in the resolution of papilledema (p = 0.405). Patients with IIH and psychiatric disorders had more often empty sella on their imaging at diagnosis when compared to patients without psychiatric co-morbidity (p = 0.044).Conclusion: Psychiatric disorders are highly prevalent in patients with IIH and associate with worse subjective outcomes. These findings advocate for monitoring the mental health of patients with IIH and warrant further multidisciplinary research to understand the potentially underlying psychosocial and neuroendocrinological mechanisms

Psychotropic drugs and the risk of fractures in old age: a prospective population-based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is evidence that the use of any psychotropic and the concomitant use of two or more benzodiazepines are related to an increased risk of fractures in old age. However, also controversial results exist. The aim was to describe associations between the use of a psychotropic drug, or the concomitant use of two or more of these drugs and the risk of fractures in a population aged 65 years or over.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study was a part of a prospective longitudinal population-based study carried out in the municipality of Lieto, South-Western Finland. The objective was to describe gender-specific associations between the use of one psychotropic drug [benzodiazepine (BZD), antipsychotic (AP) or antidepressant (AD)] or the concomitant use of two or more psychotropic drugs and the risk of fractures in a population 65 years or over. Subjects were participants in the first wave of the Lieto study in 1990-1991, and they were followed up until the end of 1996. Information about fractures confirmed with radiology reports in 1,177 subjects (482 men and 695 women) during the follow-up was collected from medical records. Two follow-up periods (three and six years) were used, and previously found risk factors of fractures were adjusted as confounding factors separately for men and women. The Poisson regression model was used in the analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The concomitant use of two or more BZDs and the concomitant use of two or more APs were related to an increased risk of fractures during both follow-up periods after adjusting for confounding factors in men. No similar associations were found in women.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The concomitant use of several BZDs and that of several APs are associated with an increase in the risk of fractures in older men. Our findings show only risk relations. We cannot draw the conclusion that these drug combinations are causes of fractures.</p

A reversible phospho-switch mediated by ULK1 regulates the activity of autophagy protease ATG4B

Upon induction of autophagy, the ubiquitin-like protein LC3 is conjugated to phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) on the inner and outer membrane of autophagosomes to allow cargo selection and autophagosome formation. LC3 undergoes two processing steps, the proteolytic cleavage of pro-LC3 and the de-lipidation of LC3-PE from autophagosomes, both executed by the same cysteine protease ATG4. How ATG4 activity is regulated to co-ordinate these events is currently unknown. Here we find that ULK1, a protein kinase activated at the autophagosome formation site, phosphorylates human ATG4B on serine 316. Phosphorylation at this residue results in inhibition of its catalytic activity in vitro and in vivo. On the other hand, phosphatase PP2A-PP2R3B can remove this inhibitory phosphorylation. We propose that the opposing activities of ULK1-mediated phosphorylation and PP2A-mediated dephosphorylation provide a phospho-switch that regulates the cellular activity of ATG4B to control LC3 processing

Distribution of Spoligotyping Defined Genotypic Lineages among Drug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Clinical Isolates in Ankara, Turkey

Background: Investigation of genetic heterogeneity and spoligotype-defined lineages of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates collected during a three-year period in two university hospitals and National Tuberculosis Reference and Research Laboratory in Ankara, Turkey. Methods and Findings: A total of 95 drug-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates collected from three different centers were included in this study. Susceptibility testing of the isolates to four major antituberculous drugs was performed using proportion method on Löwenstein–Jensen medium and BACTEC 460-TB system. All clinical isolates were typed by using spoligotyping and IS6110-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) methods. Seventy-three of the 95 (76.8%) drug resistant M. tuberculosis isolates were isoniazid-resistant, 45 (47.4%) were rifampicin-resistant, 32 (33.7%) were streptomycinresistant and 31 (32.6%) were ethambutol-resistant. The proportion of multidrug-resistant isolates (MDR) was 42.1%. By using spoligotyping, 35 distinct patterns were observed; 75 clinical isolates were grouped in 15 clusters (clustering rate of 79%) and 20 isolates displayed unique patterns. Five of these 20 unique patterns corresponded to orphan patterns in th