Prevalence of tail biting in pigs and associations to carcass condemnations - a Finnish pilot study

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of tail biting in Finland and the relationship between tail biting and carcass condemnation

Feasibility of Using Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation for Pain in Persons with Parkinson's Disease

Objectives. To assess the feasibility of treating musculoskeletal pain in the lower back and/or lower extremities in persons with Parkinson's disease (PD) with cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES). Design. Randomized, controlled, double-blind trial. Setting. Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Community. Participants. Nineteen persons with PD and pain in the lower back and/or lower extremities. Thirteen provided daily pain rating data. Intervention. Of the thirteen participants who provided daily pain data, 6 were randomly provided with active CES devices and 7 with sham devices to use at home 40 minutes per day for six weeks. They recorded their pain ratings on a 0-to-10 scale immediately before and after each session. Main Outcome Measure. Average daily change in pain intensity. Results. Persons receiving active CES had, on average, a 1.14-point decrease in pain compared with a 0.23-point decrease for those receiving sham CES (Wilcoxon Z = −2.20, P = .028). Conclusion. Use of CES at home by persons with PD is feasible and may be somewhat helpful in decreasing pain. A larger study is needed to determine the characteristics of persons who may experience meaningful pain reduction with CES. Guidelines for future studies are provided

Register-based study of the incidence, comorbidities and demographics of obsessive-compulsive disorder in specialist healthcare

BackgroundIncidence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been suspected to increase but nationwide epidemiological studies are limited. This study aims to examine sex-specific incidence time trends and characterize psychiatric and neurodevelopmental comorbidities and sociodemographic risk factors of OCD in specialist healthcare in Finland.MethodsA nationwide register-based study using data from four Finnish registers identified 3372 OCD cases and 13,372 matched controls (1:4). Cumulative incidence in subjects born between 1987 and 2001 was estimated at ages of 10, 15, 20 and 23 years. Conditional logistic regression was used to examine the sociodemographic factors.ResultsThe cumulative incidence of OCD was 0.4% by age 23. Incidence by age 15 among three cohorts increased from 12.4 to 23.7 /10000 live born males and 8.5 to 28.0 /10000 live born females. 73% of the sample had a comorbid condition. Males were significantly more comorbid with psychotic and developmental disorders; females were more comorbid with depressive and anxiety disorders (p ConclusionsThese findings suggest that incidence of treated OCD in specialist healthcare has increased. The reason may be increased awareness and rate of referrals but a true increase cannot be ruled out. Further research on risk factors of OCD is warranted.</div

Aktinomykeettien ja homeiden esiintyminen verkostovedessä

Valtaosa Suomen talousvesistä täyttää kaikki asetetut normit ja kuluttajat pitävät talousveden laatua hyvänä, mutta myös suomalaisissa talousvesissä esiintyy mikrobiologisia ongelmia. Yksi tällainen ilmiö on verkostovesien haju- ja makuongelmat, jotka aiheutuvat verkostoissa tapahtuvasta mikrobikasvusta. Tässä oleelliset tekijät ovat putkistojen pinnoilla biofilmeillä kasvavat aktinomykeetit ja mikrosienet (homeet ja hiivat). Aiempaa tutkimustietoa asiasta ei juuri ole, joten Kansanterveyslaitos aloitti vuonna 2004 Vesihuoltolaitosten kehittämisrahaston tukemana tutkimuksen, jossa selvitettiin homeiden ja aktinomykeettien esiintymisestä Suomen talousvesiverkostoissa. Tutkimus käynnistettiin valtakunnallisella kyselyllä, johon vastasi 405: vedenottamoa. Näistä n. 10%:lla oli homeisiin/aktinomykeetteihinmahdollisesti liittyviä haju- tai makuongelmia verkostovesissä

Gut Microbiota Composition in Mid-Pregnancy Is Associated with Gestational Weight Gain but Not Prepregnancy Body Mass Index

Background: Pregnancy is a time of numerous hormonal, metabolic, and immunological changes for both the mother and the fetus. Furthermore, maternal gut microbiota composition (GMC) is altered during pregnancy. One major factor affecting GMC in pregnant and nonpregnant populations is obesity. The aim was to analyze associations between maternal overweight/obesity, as well as gestational weight gain (GWG) and GMC. Moreover, the modifying effect of depression and anxiety symptom scores on weight and GMC were investigated. Methods: Study included 46 women from the FinnBrain Birth Cohort study, of which 36 were normal weight, and 11 overweight or obese according to their prepregnancy body mass index (BMI). Stool samples were collected in gestational week 24, and the GMC was sequenced with Illumina MiSeq approach. Hierarchical clustering was executed to illuminate group formation according to the GMC. The population was divided according to Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes dominance. Symptoms of depression, general anxiety, and pregnancy-related anxiety were measured by using standardized questionnaires. Results: Excessive GWG was associated with distinct GMC in mid-pregnancy as measured by hierarchical clustering and grouping according to Firmicutes or Bacteroidetes dominance, with Bacteroidetes being prominent and Firmicutes being less prominent in the GMC among those with increased GWG. Reduced alpha diversity was observed among the Bacteroidetes-dominated subjects. There were no zero-order effects between the abundances of bacterial genera or phyla, alpha or beta diversity, and prepregnancy BMI or GWG. Conclusion:Bacteroidetes-dominated GMC in mid-pregnancy is associated with increased GWG and reduced alpha diversity.</p

Microbial characteristics in homes of asthmatic and non-asthmatic adults in the ECRHS cohort

Microbial exposures in homes of asthmatic adults have been rarely investigated; specificities and implications for respiratory health are not well understood. The objectives of this study were to investigate associations of microbial levels with asthma status, asthma symptoms, bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR), and atopy. Mattress dust samples of 199 asthmatics and 198 control subjects from 7 European countries participating in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey II study were analyzed for fungal and bacterial cell wall components and individual taxa. We observed trends for protective associations of higher levels of mostly bacterial markers. Increased levels of muramic acid, a cell wall component predominant in Gram-positive bacteria, tended to be inversely associated with asthma (OR's for different quartiles: II 0.71 [0.39-1.30], III 0.44 [0.23-0.82], and IV 0.60 [0.31-1.18] P for trend .07) and with asthma score (P for trend .06) and with atopy (P for trend .02). These associations were more pronounced in northern Europe. This study among adults across Europe supports a potential protective effect of Gram-positive bacteria in mattress dust and points out that this may be more pronounced in areas where microbial exposure levels are generally lower.Peer reviewe

Environmental variability and population dynamics: do European and North American ducks play by the same rules?

Density dependence, population regulation, and variability in population size are fundamental population processes, the manifestation and interrelationships of which are affected by environmental variability. However, there are surprisingly few empirical studies that distinguish the effect of environmental variability from the effects of population processes. We took advantage of a unique system, in which populations of the same duck species or close ecological counterparts live in highly variable (north American prairies) and in stable (north European lakes) environments, to distinguish the relative contributions of environmental variability (measured as between-year fluctuations in wetland numbers) and intraspecific interactions (density dependence) in driving population dynamics. We tested whether populations living in stable environments (in northern Europe) were more strongly governed by density dependence than populations living in variable environments (in North America). We also addressed whether relative population dynamical responses to environmental variability versus density corresponded to differences in life history strategies between dabbling (relatively "fast species" and governed by environmental variability) and diving (relatively "slow species" and governed by density) ducks. As expected, the variance component of population fluctuations caused by changes in breeding environments was greater in North America than in Europe. Contrary to expectations, however, populations in more stable environments were not less variable nor clearly more strongly density dependent than populations in highly variable environments. Also, contrary to expectations, populations of diving ducks were neither more stable nor stronger density dependent than populations of dabbling ducks, and the effect of environmental variability on population dynamics was greater in diving than in dabbling ducks. In general, irrespective of continent and species life history, environmental variability contributed more to variation in species abundances than did density. Our findings underscore the need for more studies on populations of the same species in different environments to verify the generality of current explanations about population dynamics and its association with species life history.Peer reviewe

IL-6 and other biomarkers as predictors of severity in COVID-19

ObjectiveCytokine release syndrome is suggested to be the most important mechanism triggering acute respiratory distress syndrome and end organ damage in COVID-19. The severity of disease may be measured by different biomarkers.MethodsWe studied markers of inflammation and coagulation as recorded in 29 patients on admission to the hospital in order to identify markers of severe COVID-19 and need of ICU.ResultsPatients who were eventually admitted to ICU displayed significantly higher serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and procalcitonin. No statistical differences were found between the groups in median levels of lymphocytes, D-dimer or ferritin.ConclusionsIL-6 and CRP were the strongest predictors of severity in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.</p