Regional Eradication of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae From Pig Herds and Documentation of Freedom of the Disease

The objectives of this study were to 1) screen all sow herds in a region for M. hyopneumoniae, 2) to effectuate an eradication programme in all those herds which were shown to be infected with M. hyopneumoniae, and 3) to follow the success of the screening and the eradication programmes. The ultimate goal was to eradicate M. hyopneumoniae from all member herds of a cooperative slaughterhouse (153 farrowing herds + 85 farrowing-to-finishing herds + 150 specialised finishing herds) before year 2000. During 1998 and 1999, a total of 5067 colostral whey and 755 serum samples (mean, 25 samples/herd) were collected from sow herds and analysed for antibodies to M. hyopneumoniae by ELISA. Antibodies were detected in 208 (3.6%) samples. Two farrowing herds (1.3%) and 20 farrowing-to-finishing herds (23.5%) were shown to be infected with M. hyopneumoniae. A programme to eradicate the infection from these herds was undertaken. During March 2000, a survey was made to prove the success of the screening and the eradication programmes. In total, 509 serum samples were collected randomly from slaughtered finishing pigs. Antibodies to M. hyopneumoniae were not detected in 506 of the samples, whereas 3 samples were considered suspicious or positive. Accordingly, 3 herds were shown to be infected. One of the herds was previously falsely classified as non-infected. Two of the herds were finishing herds practising continuous flow system (CF). Unlike finishing herds which practice all-in/all-out management routines on herd level, CF herds do not get rid of transmissible diseases spontaneously between batches, for which reason a screening was made in the rest of the CF herds (total n = 7). Consequently, 2 more infected herds were detected. In addition to the results of the survey, a decreasing prevalence of lung lesions at slaughter (from 5.2% to 0.1%) and lack of clinical breakdowns indicated that all member herds were finally free from M. hyopneumoniae in the end of year 2000

The Transition to Upper Secondary Level After Basic Education for Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Finland

This chapter provides an exploration of the preparation of pupils with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for transition to upper secondary level after Finnish basic education. It also examines the importance of supports required during the transition phase. Two examples of pupils with ASD (Kalle and Maija) are utilized to illustrate how to plan and support pupils with ASD during their initial post-school transition. Transitions are defined, after which education opportunities after basic education for pupils with ASD in Finland are examined. This is followed by a brief illustration of the Finnish comprehensive school system to provide context with a focus on support arrangements and the preparation of support for transition. Then, the individual transition-planning documents are examined, after which the two cases of Kalle and Maija are introduced. This is followed by an illustration of the use of the documents in practice for the two pupils. The summary includes a discussion of implications for future directions.Peer reviewe

Medial patellofemoral ligament injury patterns and associated pathology in lateral patella dislocation: an MRI study

BACKGROUND: Lateral Patella dislocations are common injuries seen in the active and young adult populations. Our study focus was to evaluate medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) injury patterns and associated knee pathology using Magnetic Resonance Imaging studies. METHODS: MRI studies taken at one imaging site between January, 2007 to January, 2008 with the final diagnosis of patella dislocation were screened for this study. Of the 324 cases that were found, 195 patients with lateral patellar dislocation traumatic enough to cause bone bruises on the lateral femoral trochlea and the medial facet of the patella were selected for this study. The MRI images were reviewed by three independent observers for location and type of MPFL injury, osteochondral defects, loose bodies, MCL and meniscus tears. The data was analyzed as a single cohort and by gender. RESULTS: This study consisted of 127 males and 68 females; mean age of 23 yrs. Tear of the MPFL at the patellar attachment occurred in 93/195 knees (47%), at the femoral attachment in 50/195 knees (26%), and at both the femoral and patella attachment sites in 26/195 knees (13%). Attenuation of the MPFL without rupture occurred in 26/195 knees (13%). Associated findings included loose bodies in 23/195 (13%), meniscus tears 41/195 (21%), patella avulsion/fracture in 14/195 (7%), medial collateral ligament sprains/tears in 37/195 (19%) and osteochondral lesions in 96/195 knees (49%). Statistical analysis showed females had significantly more associated meniscus tears than the males (27% vs. 17%, p = 0.04). Although not statistically significant, osteochondral lesions were seen more in male patients with acute patella dislocation (52% vs. 42%, p = 0.08). CONCLUSION: Patients who present with lateral patella dislocation with the classic bone bruise pattern seen on MRI will likely rupture the MPFL at the patellar side. Females are more likely to have an associated meniscal tear than males; however, more males have underlying osteochondral lesions. Given the high percentage of associated pathology, we recommend a MRI of the knee in all patients who present with acute patella dislocation

Determination of HIV Tropism in Patients with Antiretroviral Therapy Failure in Arkhangelsk Region

The aim of the study was to determine the tropism of the human immunodeficiency virus in patients with virological failure of antiretroviral therapy (ART) from the Arkhangelsk Region based on the analysis of the env gene V3 loop nucleotide sequence.Materials and methods. We used blood plasma samples obtained from 76 HIV-infected persons from the Arkhangelsk Region with virological failure of antiretroviral therapy. The nucleotide sequences of the HIV env gene C2-V3-C3 region were studied by PCR followed by sequencing. The genotype of the studied strains was determined based on the analysis of their phylogenetic relations with reference sequences from the international GenBank database, as well as using specialized programs. To predict viral tropism, the Garrido rule and the online bioinformatic tool Geno2Pheno[coreceptor] were used. The Geno2Pheno[coreceptor] algorithm, determines the false positive rate (FPR) based on the analysis of the env gene V3 loop nucleotide sequence. Results and discussion. Significantly lower representation of R5X4/X4-tropic HIV variants in long-term infected persons with subsubtype A6 virus compared to subtype B virus has been shown. For all FPR cut-off algorithms, a significant correlation between subtype and HIV tropism was observed (p=0.0014 and p=0.013 for FPR 10 % and FPR 20 %, respectively). While among subtype B strains, at least 57 % were identified as R5X4/X4-tropic variants (for an FPR of 10 %), including two strains classified as X4-tropic; among HIV subsubtype A6 even at an FPR of 20 %, the frequency of R5X4/X4-tropic samples only slightly exceeded 22 %. It can be assumed that the dynamics of changes in HIV tropism depends on the virus subtype. Significant differences in the distribution of amino acid residues of the V3 region sequences in the examined group between R5-tropic and R5X4/X4-tropic strains of subsubtype A6 for positions 18 (χ2=7.616, p=0.0058), 21 (χ2=7.281, p=0.007), 24 (χ2=5.587, p=0.0181), and 34 (χ2=5.144, p=0.0233) have been demonstrated. Among the R5X4/X4-tropic strains of the A6 subsubtype, amino acid substitutions were registered at positions 6, 19, 21, 26, 29, 30, which were not found in the R5-tropic A6 strains. The high occurrence frequency of a number of mutations previously described as presumably associated with resistance to maraviroc and similar drugs may indicate a natural polymorphism characteristic of the A6 subsubtype, which does not correlate with resistance to CCR5 co-receptor antagonists

The microstructure and technological properties of ultra high strength 1100MPa grade strip steel

The article describes the microstructure and the technological properties of a direct quenched ultrahighstrength strip steel with the minimum specific yield strength of 1100MPa. The microstructure of thislow carbon, Mn-Cr-Mo-Cu-Ni alloyed steel consists mainly of auto-tempered lath martensite. Due to thesophisticated thermo-mechanical controlled processing schedule, the martensite transformation takesplace from a fine and uniform austenite grain structure. State-of-the-art steelmaking and continuous castingoperations guarantee a good inclusion cleanness and low level of segregation. The steel has excellent impactand fracture toughness properties with respect to its ultra-high strength level. The determined transitiontemperature for 28J in Charpy-V test and fracture toughness characteristic temperature, T0, were below-100°C. The weldability tests indicated that the impact toughness of the heat affected zone (HAZ) is excellentand there is no significant softening in the HAZ or in the welded joint in the wide range of t8/5 cooling times.The steel allows crack-free bending with a minimum inside bending radius equal to 3 times material thicknessirrespective of the bending direction. In addition, the steel has a good resistance to atmospheric corrosion

Transglutaminase inhibition ameliorates experimental diabetic nephropathy

Diabetic nephropathy is characterized by excessive extracellular matrix accumulation resulting in renal scarring and end-stage renal disease. Previous studies have suggested that transglutaminase type 2, by formation of its protein crosslink product epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)lysine, alters extracellular matrix homeostasis, causing basement membrane thickening and expansion of the mesangium and interstitium. To determine whether transglutaminase inhibition can slow the progression of chronic experimental diabetic nephropathy over an extended treatment period, the inhibitor NTU281 was given to uninephrectomized streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats for up to 8 months. Effective transglutaminase inhibition significantly reversed the increased serum creatinine and albuminuria in the diabetic rats. These improvements were accompanied by a fivefold decrease in glomerulosclerosis and a sixfold reduction in tubulointerstitial scarring. This was associated with reductions in collagen IV accumulation by 4 months, along with reductions in collagens I and III by 8 months. This inhibition also decreased the number of myofibroblasts, suggesting that tissue transglutaminase may play a role in myofibroblast transformation. Our study suggests that transglutaminase inhibition ameliorates the progression of experimental diabetic nephropathy and can be considered for clinical application

Risk factors for death from invasive pneumococcal disease, europe, 2010

We studied the possible association between patient age and sex, clinical presentation, Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype, antimicrobial resistance, and death in invasive pneumococcal disease cases reported by 17 European countries during 2010. The study sample comprised 2,921 patients, of whom 56.8% were men and 38.2% were >65 years of age. Meningitis occurred in 18.5% of cases. Death was reported in 264 (9.0%) cases. Older age, meningitis, and nonsusceptibility to penicillin were signifcantly asso ciated with death. Non-pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) serotypes among children 65 years of age, risk did not differ by serotype. These fndings highlight differences in case-fatality rates between sero types and age; thus, continued epidemiologic surveillance across all ages is crucial to monitor the long-term effects of PCVs