Determining factors related to poor quality of life in patients with axial spondyloarthritis : results from the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register (BSRBR-AS)

The BSRBR-AS is funded by the British Society for Rheumatology who have received funding for this from Pfizer, AbbVie and UCB. These companies receive advance copies of manuscripts for comments, but made none in relation to this manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Water-based strippable coatings containing bentonite clay for heavy metal surface decontamination

In this paper, a novel approach for water-based strippable coatings for surface decontamination is reported. The novelty of this work consists in the development of a new method of removing heavy metals from contaminated surfaces by using polyvinyl alcohol strippable coatings containing bentonite clay. Viscosity measurements, evaporation rate tests, thermal analyses, FT-IR and tensile tests were performed for the optimization of the decontamination solution composition. For the decontamination experiments, copper surfaces were contaminated with mercury and, further, the decontamination water solutions containing polyvinyl alcohol, glycerol, EDTA and bentonite were applied onto these surfaces. After the removal of the polymer films, the copper coupons were subjected to SEM–EDX analysis, which revealed that introduction of bentonite in the polymer solution leads to a significant increase of the decontamination factor

Closing gaps for performing a risk assessment on Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods : activity 3, the comparison of isolates from different compartments along the food chain, and from humans using whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis

We would like to thank all the persons and institutes that have provided the project with isolates and accompanying information. Without them, this project would not have been possible. Lin Cathrine T. Brandal, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway Julio Vázquez Moreno and Raquel Abad Torreblanca, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain Marc Lecuit, Institut Pasteur, France Alexandre Leclercq, Institut Pasteur, France Iva Hristova, National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Bulgaria Marija Trkov, National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food, Slovenia Cecilia Jernberg, Public Health Agency of Sweden, Sweden Ariane Pietzka, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, Austria Eelco Franz and Ingrid Friesema, RIVM, The Netherlands Carlo Spanu, University of Sassari Sardinia Ifip, French Institute for Pig and Pork Industry, Maisons-Alfort, France All the NRLs for providing the isolates from the EU baseline study Special thanks to Sylvain Brisse and Alexandra Moura, Institut Pasteur, France, for providing cgMLST data. The authors would also like to thank the EFSA staff members: Maria Teresa da Silva Felicio, Beatriz Guerra, Ernesto Lìebana and Valentina Rizzi as well as the members of the Working Group on Listeria monocytogenes contamination of ready-to-eat foods: Kostas Koutsoumanis, Roland Lindqvist, Moez Sanaa, Panagiotis Skandamis, Niko Speybroek, Johanna Takkinen and Martin Wagner for the support, revisions and suggestions during the development of the present procurement activity and report.Publisher PD

Childbearing intentions in a low fertility context: the case of Romania

This paper applies the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to find out the predictors of fertility intentions in Romania, a low-fertility country. We analyse how attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control relate to the intention to have a child among childless individuals and one-child parents. Principal axis factor analysis confirms which items proposed by the Generation and Gender Survey (GGS 2005) act as valid and reliable measures of the suggested theoretical socio-psychological factors. Four parity-specific logistic regression models are applied to evaluate the relationship between the socio-psychological factors and childbearing intentions. Social pressure emerges as the most important aspect in fertility decision-making among childless individuals and one-child parents, and positive attitudes towards childbearing are a strong component in planning for a child. This paper also underlines the importance of the region-specific factors when studying childbearing intentions: planning for the second child significantly differs among the development regions, representing the cultural and socio-economic divisions of the Romanian territory

LiSEQ – whole-genome sequencing of a cross-sectional survey of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods and human clinical cases in Europe

Funding information This work was funded by EFSA, contract number C/EFSA/BIOCONTAM/2014/01-CT 1 on “Closing gaps for performing a risk assessment on Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) foods: activity 3, the comparison of isolates from different compartments along the food chain, and from humans using whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis’, EFSA-Q-2014-00 026. Acknowledgements A. P., T. D. and K. G. are affiliated to the National Institute for Health Research – Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Gastrointestinal Infections at University of Liverpool in partnership with Public Health England, in collaboration with the University of East Anglia, the University of Oxford and the Quadram Institute. A. P., T. D. and K. G. are based at Public Health England. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, the Department of Health or Public Health England.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Using sequence data to identify alternative routes and risk of infection: a case-study of campylobacter in Scotland

<b>Background:</b> Genetic typing data are a potentially powerful resource for determining how infection is acquired. In this paper MLST typing was used to distinguish the routes and risks of infection of humans with Campylobacter jejuni from poultry and ruminant sources.<p></p> <b>Methods:</b> C. jejuni samples from animal and environmental sources and from reported human cases confirmed between June 2005 and September 2006 were typed using MLST. The STRUCTURE software was used to assign the specific sequence types of the sporadic human cases to a particular source. We then used mixed case-case logistic regression analysis to compare the risk factors for being infected with C. jejuni from different sources.<p></p> <b>Results:</b> A total of 1,599 (46.3%) cases were assigned to poultry, 1,070 (31.0%) to ruminant and 67 (1.9%) to wild bird sources; the remaining 715 (20.7%) did not have a source that could be assigned with a probability of greater than 0.95. Compared to ruminant sources, cases attributed to poultry sources were typically among adults (odds ratio (OR) = 1.497, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) = 1.211, 1.852), not among males (OR = 0.834, 95% CIs = 0.712, 0.977), in areas with population density of greater than 500 people/km(2) (OR = 1.213, 95% CIs = 1.030, 1.431), reported in the winter (OR = 1.272, 95% CIs = 1.067, 1.517) and had undertaken recent overseas travel (OR = 1.618, 95% CIs = 1.056, 2.481). The poultry assigned strains had a similar epidemiology to the unassigned strains, with the exception of a significantly higher likelihood of reporting overseas travel in unassigned strains.<p></p> <b>Conclusions:</b> Rather than estimate relative risks for acquiring infection, our analyses show that individuals acquire C. jejuni infection from different sources have different associated risk factors. By enhancing our ability to identify at-risk groups and the times at which these groups are likely to be at risk, this work allows public health messages to be targeted more effectively. The rapidly increasing capacity to conduct genetic typing of pathogens makes such traced epidemiological analysis more accessible and has the potential to substantially enhance epidemiological risk factor studies

Geographic determinants of reported human Campylobacter infections in Scotland

<p><b>Background:</b> Campylobacteriosis is the leading cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in most developed countries. People are exposed to infection from contaminated food and environmental sources. However, the translation of these exposures into infection in the human population remains incompletely understood. This relationship is further complicated by differences in the presentation of cases, their investigation, identification, and reporting; thus, the actual differences in risk must be considered alongside the artefactual differences.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> Data on 33,967 confirmed Campylobacter infections in mainland Scotland between 2000 and 2006 (inclusive) that were spatially referenced to the postcode sector level were analysed. Risk factors including the Carstairs index of social deprivation, the easting and northing of the centroid of the postcode sector, measures of livestock density by species and population density were tested in univariate screening using a non-spatial generalised linear model. The NHS Health Board of the case was included as a random effect in this final model. Subsequently, a spatial generalised linear mixed model (GLMM) was constructed and age-stratified sensitivity analysis was conducted on this model.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> The spatial GLMM included the protective effects of the Carstairs index (relative risk (RR) = 0.965, 95% Confidence intervals (CIs) = 0.959, 0.971) and population density (RR = 0.945, 95% CIs = 0.916, 0.974. Following stratification by age group, population density had a significant protective effect (RR = 0.745, 95% CIs = 0.700, 0.792) for those under 15 but not for those aged 15 and older (RR = 0.982, 95% CIs = 0.951, 1.014). Once these predictors have been taken into account three NHS Health Boards remain at significantly greater risk (Grampian, Highland and Tayside) and two at significantly lower risk (Argyll and Ayrshire and Arran).</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> The less deprived and children living in rural areas are at the greatest risk of being reported as a case of Campylobacter infection. However, this analysis cannot differentiate between actual risk and heterogeneities in individual reporting behaviour; nevertheless this paper has demonstrated that it is possible to explain the pattern of reported Campylobacter infections using both social and environmental predictors.</p&gt

Environmental Long Term Impact on a Romanian Military Testing Range

Military range management has become extremely important in recent years, in order to comply with the limitations imposed by national and international environmental regulations. In this regard, soil, vegetation and ground water samples from a testing facility belonging to the Romanian Ministry of National Defense were analyzed for contamination with metals and energetic materials. The tests confirmed the presence of contaminants as energetic materials and heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn), with a heterogeneous distribution on the range and concentrated in the impact and firing line areas