Operationalisering van het begrip 'veerkracht van ecosystemen' : een empirische verkenning voor planten en dagvlinders

Voor het natuurbeleid is het van belang inzicht te krijgen in de meerwaarde van het begrip ecologische veerkracht, mede in het licht van de toename van verstoringen door de klimaatverandering. Er is een analyse uitgevoerd naar de relatie tussen heterogeniteit van het landschap en het voorkomen van eigenschappen van dagvlinders en planten. De heterogeniteit van het landschap is in buffers van 500 m tot 10.000 m beschreven met de Shannon-index, de Contagion-index, slootlengte, lengte bomenrijen en oppervlakte moeras of bos. De eigenschappen van planten en dagvlinders hangen samen met resistentie voor verstoringen, herstelvermogen en tolerantie voor variatie in milieufactoren. Een RLQ-analyse laat zien dat in heterogene gebieden vaker eigenschapswaarden voorkomen, die samenhangen met een groot herstelvermogen na een verstoring of een zekere weerstand tegen verstoringen. Dit zijn eigenschappen die de veerkracht van het ecosysteem bij een toenemende kans op weersextremen ten goede zullen kome

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

SARS-CoV-2-specific nasal IgA wanes 9 months after hospitalisation with COVID-19 and is not induced by subsequent vaccination

BACKGROUND: Most studies of immunity to SARS-CoV-2 focus on circulating antibody, giving limited insights into mucosal defences that prevent viral replication and onward transmission. We studied nasal and plasma antibody responses one year after hospitalisation for COVID-19, including a period when SARS-CoV-2 vaccination was introduced. METHODS: In this follow up study, plasma and nasosorption samples were prospectively collected from 446 adults hospitalised for COVID-19 between February 2020 and March 2021 via the ISARIC4C and PHOSP-COVID consortia. IgA and IgG responses to NP and S of ancestral SARS-CoV-2, Delta and Omicron (BA.1) variants were measured by electrochemiluminescence and compared with plasma neutralisation data. FINDINGS: Strong and consistent nasal anti-NP and anti-S IgA responses were demonstrated, which remained elevated for nine months (p < 0.0001). Nasal and plasma anti-S IgG remained elevated for at least 12 months (p < 0.0001) with plasma neutralising titres that were raised against all variants compared to controls (p < 0.0001). Of 323 with complete data, 307 were vaccinated between 6 and 12 months; coinciding with rises in nasal and plasma IgA and IgG anti-S titres for all SARS-CoV-2 variants, although the change in nasal IgA was minimal (1.46-fold change after 10 months, p = 0.011) and the median remained below the positive threshold determined by pre-pandemic controls. Samples 12 months after admission showed no association between nasal IgA and plasma IgG anti-S responses (R = 0.05, p = 0.18), indicating that nasal IgA responses are distinct from those in plasma and minimally boosted by vaccination. INTERPRETATION: The decline in nasal IgA responses 9 months after infection and minimal impact of subsequent vaccination may explain the lack of long-lasting nasal defence against reinfection and the limited effects of vaccination on transmission. These findings highlight the need to develop vaccines that enhance nasal immunity. FUNDING: This study has been supported by ISARIC4C and PHOSP-COVID consortia. ISARIC4C is supported by grants from the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Medical Research Council. Liverpool Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre provided infrastructure support for this research. The PHOSP-COVD study is jointly funded by UK Research and Innovation and National Institute of Health and Care Research. The funders were not involved in the study design, interpretation of data or the writing of this manuscript

Large-scale phenotyping of patients with long COVID post-hospitalization reveals mechanistic subtypes of disease

One in ten severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infections result in prolonged symptoms termed long coronavirus disease (COVID), yet disease phenotypes and mechanisms are poorly understood1. Here we profiled 368 plasma proteins in 657 participants ≥3 months following hospitalization. Of these, 426 had at least one long COVID symptom and 233 had fully recovered. Elevated markers of myeloid inflammation and complement activation were associated with long COVID. IL-1R2, MATN2 and COLEC12 were associated with cardiorespiratory symptoms, fatigue and anxiety/depression; MATN2, CSF3 and C1QA were elevated in gastrointestinal symptoms and C1QA was elevated in cognitive impairment. Additional markers of alterations in nerve tissue repair (SPON-1 and NFASC) were elevated in those with cognitive impairment and SCG3, suggestive of brain–gut axis disturbance, was elevated in gastrointestinal symptoms. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) was persistently elevated in some individuals with long COVID, but virus was not detected in sputum. Analysis of inflammatory markers in nasal fluids showed no association with symptoms. Our study aimed to understand inflammatory processes that underlie long COVID and was not designed for biomarker discovery. Our findings suggest that specific inflammatory pathways related to tissue damage are implicated in subtypes of long COVID, which might be targeted in future therapeutic trials

Correspondence with W. Allen Wallis (University of Chicago)

May 1937 – January 1955. 18 letters and notes and telegram

Goodwillredovisningens värderelevans: avskrivning eller nedskrivningstest? : En studie om avskrivning eller nedskrivning av goodwill är mer värderelevant hos svenska börsnoterade företag under perioden 2005-2012

Bakgrund: År 2005 infördes IFRS i EU:s medlemsländer och goodwill redovisas sedan dess i enlighet med IAS 36 och IFRS 3. Den nya regleringen innebär att företag inte längre ska utföra avskrivningar på goodwill, utan de ska istället varje år, eller oftare om nödvändigt, genomföra ett nedskrivningstest mot verkligt värde. En av anledningarna till att IAS 36 infördes var att den tidigare standarden inte ansetts vara tillräckligt värderelevant. Forskningsfråga: Hade värderelevansen i svenska börsnoterade företags redovisning varit högre eller lägre under perioden 2005-2012 om avskrivning av goodwill bibehållits, och vilken avskrivningstid hade i så fall varit mest värderelevant? Tidigare forskning: Det saknas konsensus i litteraturen om avskrivningar eller nedskrivningar är det mest värderelevanta sättet att redovisa goodwill. Exempelvis anser Jenning et al (2001) och Moehrle et al (2001) att avskrivningar av goodwill inte är värderelevanta, medan Ojala (2007) anser att de är värderelevanta, och AbuGhazaleh et al (2012) och Lapointe-Antunes et al (2009)menar att nedskrivningar av goodwill är värderelevanta. Metod: Värderelevansen hos redovisningsmodeller med olika avskrivningstider och med eller utan nedskrivningar testas med regressioner och deras respektive förklaringsgrader analyseras. Grundurvalet består av företag från OMXS, First North och Aktietorget samt företag på dessa marknader som under perioden avnoterats. Resultat och slutsats: Värderelevansen minskar ju kortare avskrivningstider som används. Dagens modell med nedskrivningstest är mer värderelevant än alla de testade avskrivningsmodellerna, med undantag av den modell som skriver av goodwill på 100 år. Allra mest värderelevant är den modell som varken skriver av eller skriver ned goodwill. Varken avskrivningar eller nedskrivningar av goodwill är därmed värderelevanta.

Poder discriminativo do teste de combinação de probabilidades na análise de grupo de experimentos Discriminative power of the combining probabilities test in analysis series of experiments

A análise clássica de grupos de experimentos constitui um dos problemas mais sérios com que se defrontam os estatísticos, fitotecnistas e melhoristas de plantas. Vários métodos têm sido propostos para contornar os problemas que podem surgir na análise conjunta e que tomam, muitas vezes, complicada a comparação entre médias. O desenvolvido por Fisher permite combinar a probabilidade dos resultados de testes de comparação de médias ou testes de contrastes, independentemente, entre outros fatores, do tipo de teste e de experimento, do número de repetições, da existência de erros experimentais diferentes ou de interações. Neste trabalho, procurou-se avaliar a importância da precisão experimental, da média geral do experimento e da amplitude das diferenças entre o tratamento-controle e os demais tratamentos sobre o poder discriminativo do teste de combinação de probabilidades, de Fisher, quando empregados o teste 't' de Student e o de Bonferroni. Na sua aplicação, foram considerados três estratos, definidos em função do coeficiente de variação, da média do experimento e da magnitude dos contrastes, o que corresponde a condições favoráveis, medianamente favoráveis e desfavoráveis ao desenvolvimento da cultura. Tais condições poderiam ser, entre outras causas, devidas a variações de solo, clima ou ambos. Foram feitos agrupamentos de experimentos dentro de um mesmo estrato (bom, médio ou ruim) e de estratos diferentes. A partir da simulação de 2.160 experimentos em blocos ao acaso, com seis tratamentos e quatro, oito ou doze repetições, foram obtidos os seguintes resultados: o teste t apresentou, em qualquer tipo de agrupamento, poder discriminativo maior ou igual ao de Bonferroni; as magnitudes dos coeficientes de variação e dos contrastes a eles associados tiveram grande influência sobre o poder discriminativo dos testes efetuados; nos agrupamentos de três anos que incluíram anos bons (B) médios (M) e ruins (R), quando utilizado um mínimo de oito repetições e considerado o contraste referente à maior diferença entre médias, obteve-se, com o uso do teste de combinação de probabilidades, poder discriminativo superior a 90% para o teste t e maior que 80% para o de Bonferroni; nos agrupamentos de 4 e 5 anos dos tipos BMMR e BMMMR, considerando, também, a maior diferença entre médias, o poder discriminativo do teste t foi superior a 80% com oito repetições, sendo necessárias doze repetições no de Bonferroni para obter o mesmo resultado.<br>The classical analysis of series of experiments presents some levels of complications due, among several reasons, to the possibility of existence of heterogeneity of variances from place to place, lack of homogeneity of errors from one season to another or different number of treatments or replications in each place. Fisher developed a method, to analysis series of experiments, that combine the probability of the means tests results or tests of contrasts, independently of the test used, the number of replications, the structure of the experiments or the presence of interactions. In order to evaluate the influence of the experimental precision, the magnitude of the general mean of the experiment and the magnitude of the contrasts between the control and another treatment mean on the test proposed by Fisher, using the 't' test of Student and that of Bonferroni, it was simulated 2,160 experiments in completely randomized block design with six treatments and three different number of replications, four, eight and twelve. The combined analysis was made considering three strata defined by the precision and level of yield production: good (B), median (M) and low (R). The experiments were grouped within each strata, for example, three years (BBB), (MMM) or (RRR) and another group considering different strata (BMR). The results showed that the magnitude of the coefficient of variation and the magnitude of the contrasts were very important on the discriminative power of the tests used; when the groups were formed by experiments from three different levels of precision and yield, using at least eight replications and considering the highest value of the contrast between means, the use of the test of combining probabilities showed that the discriminative power of the Student "t" test was greater than 90% and that of Bonferroni's was greater than 80%; when it was combined four or five experiments including more than one experiment of median precision the discriminative power of the "t" test was greater than 80% when the number of replication used was eight, but it was needed twelve replications for Bonferroni's test