Dementia and Primary-Care Health Measures:Hearing, Gait, and Markers of Inflammation

Dementia is a syndrome associated with declining cognitive function that has a variety of types and causes, and is encountered frequently in general medical practice. Researchers are actively exploring possible risk factors for dementia. The St. Louis University Mental Status (SLUMS) exam is a dementia-screening exam used in primary care visits to detect cognitive impairment that may be a sign of dementia. This study compared scores on the SLUMS exam to other measures recorded in a typical primary care visit in 86 patients of age 65 and older to look for correlations between indicators of health, such as physical examination measures and complete blood count panels, and cognitive impairment, as measured by score on the SLUMS exam. Abnormal gait was associated with a lower score on the SLUMS exam compared to normal (p=.006), failure of the hearing test in both ears was associated with a lower score on the SLUMS exam compared to patients passing the hearing test in one or both ears (p=.046), red blood cell count was positively correlated with SLUMS exam score (p=.020), white blood cell count was negatively correlated with SLUMS exam score (p=.003), and serum albumin levels were negatively correlated with SLUMS exam score (p=.002). These data support the view that both physical impairments and markers of an inflammatory response are related to dementia

The genetics of gaits in Icelandic horses goes beyond DMRT3, with RELN and STAU2 identified as two new candidate genes

BackgroundIn domesticated animals, many important traits are complex and regulated by a large number of genes, genetic interactions, and environmental influences. The ability of Icelandic horses to perform the gait ‘pace’ is largely influenced by a single mutation in the DMRT3 gene, but genetic modifiers likely exist. The aim of this study was to identify novel genetic factors that influence pacing ability and quality of the gait through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and correlate new findings to previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) and mutations.ResultsThree hundred and seventy-two Icelandic horses were genotyped with the 670 K+ Axiom Equine Genotyping Array, of which 362 had gait scores from breeding field tests. A GWAS revealed several SNPs on Equus caballus chromosomes (ECA) 4, 9, and 20 that were associated (p ConclusionsOur findings provide valuable information about the genetic architecture of pace beyond the contribution of the DMRT3 gene and indicate genetic interactions that contribute to the complexity of this trait. Further investigation is needed to fully understand the underlying genetic factors and interactions

Elaboração e validação de um instrumento para monitoramento de indicadores do desenvolvimento infantil

bjective: To create and validate an instrument for child development monitoring.Methods: Methodological study, based on the World Bank’s proposition to monitor child devel-opment indicators in low- and middle-income countries. The stages of the study included thefollowing: development of an inventory of items for child development evaluation, based onopen access instruments; content validation by a group of experts on the topic, using consen-sus techniques; selection of questions to describe children and their families; pre-test of theinstrument during the vaccination campaign in 2016 in three municipalities, and conductingcognitive interviews.Results: A total of 431 items were sent for the evaluation of the specialists; 77 were initiallyexcluded and the others were evaluated in-person by the group, with 162 items covering themotor, cognitive, language, and socio-emotional domains, distributed in ten age ranges. Ques-tions about health, nutrition, early learning, protection and safety, and responsive care werealso included. The instrument was applied by volunteer undergraduate students to 367 mothersof children under 5 years, showing good adherence of the caregivers. The time of applicationof the questionnaire was, on average, 20 minutes. The cognitive interviews allowed the finaladjustment of 19 items of the instrument for better understanding by the caregivers. Conclusions: The instrument created and validated by experts fills a gap, as it allows a com-prehensive evaluation of the development of children under 5 years at the population level,using a fast and inexpensive tool, and can be useful for monitoring indicators of developmentin Brazilian children in vaccination campaigns.Objetivo Elaborar e validar um instrumento para o monitoramento de indicadores do desenvolvimento infantil. Métodos Estudo metodológico baseado na proposta do Banco Mundial para medir indicadores do desenvolvimento infantil em países de baixa e média renda. As etapas do estudo contemplaram: elaboração de um inventário de itens para avaliação do desenvolvimento infantil, com base em instrumentos de livre acesso; validação de conteúdo por um grupo de especialistas no tema, com técnicas de consenso; seleção de questões para descrever as crianças e suas famílias; pré-teste do instrumento durante a campanha de vacinação de 2016 em três municípios e realização de entrevistas cognitivas. Resultados Foram enviados 431 itens foram enviados para avaliação dos especialistas, 77 foram excluídos e os demais apreciados presencialmente pelo grupo. No fim foram selecionados 162 itens que abrangeram os domínios motor, cognitivo, de linguagem e socioemocional, distribuídos em 10 faixas etárias. Foram incluídas questões sobre saúde, nutrição, aprendizagem precoce, proteção e segurança e cuidado responsivo. O instrumento foi aplicado por universitários voluntários a 367 mães de crianças menores de cinco anos, mostrou boa adesão dos cuidadores. O tempo médio de aplicação do questionário foi 20 minutos. As entrevistas cognitivas permitiram ajustar 19 itens do instrumento para melhor compreensão dos cuidadores. Conclusões O instrumento construído e validado por especialistas preenche uma lacuna, que permite uma avaliação abrangente do desenvolvimento de crianças menores de cinco anos, em nível populacional, de forma rápida e barata, pode ser útil para o monitoramento de indicadores do desenvolvimento em campanhas de vacinação

Du kan aldrig ana vad som hände sen! En kvantitativ innehållsanalys av klickrubriker som ett exempel på kommersialiseringen av nyhetsmedia

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate clickbaits as an example of how traditional news media is being commercialized through the movement to online news. The online media demands a more frequently updated material, which results in challenges for the news producers. Because of the large amount of online news, news producers who’s material is online-based need to find more innovative ways to attract their audience. One of these ways is to create headlines that make the reader curious and prone to click their way into the article. Our study aimed to examine the frequency of these clickbaits on one of Sweden’s largest online-based media companies, Nyheter24. We wanted to see which articles were published with clickbaits and whether the clickbaits had coverage in the articles or not. Through a quantitative content analysis we examined 350 headlines with associated articles under nine news categories on Nyheter24’s webpage. We used theories of commercialization of media and news values to be able to understand the results of our study. The results showed that 31 percent of the examined material could count as clickbaits, based on the definition which we had formed. The largest amount of clickbaits was discovered in the category revolving scientific research, where nearly 60 percent of the headlines were clickbaits. The least amount of clickbaits were found in the foreign news, where the result was only 8 percent. The study also showed that a total of 18 percent of the headlines included reinforcing words and expressions which gave the article in question a higher news value. In the category Internet, 47 percent of the headlines included reinforcing words while only 2 percent were found in the headlines revolving scientific research. We found that many of the headlines spoke to the reader directly, often through personal appeals. 31 percent of the total amount of headlines were focused on the reader and 25 percent of the headlines revolved around a normal person, who had experienced something sensational. The study also examined the amount of coverage the headlines had in the articles and the results showed that 47 percent of the clickbaits had full coverage. 10 percent could count as having no coverage at all. Considering the results of this study, we found that the articles published with a clickbait had lower news value based on the traditional news value criterias. Key words: News media commercialization, news value, clickbait, headline. Nyckelord: Kommersialisering av nyhetsmedia, nyhetsvärdering, klickrubrik, rubrik

Intensive Precipitation and Pluvial Floods in Umeå, Sweden

During intensive rainfall, the ground is at risk of flooding if the water has no opportunity to infiltrate into the ground or drain. Cities are most heavily affected by such pluvial floods due to their predominantly solid surfaces. An example of such a city is Umeå, which experienced extensive floods causing up to 40 million Swedish kronor in damages. During the period 1970 to 2020, the population of Umeå has increased from 70,000 to 130,000 inhabitants, which means that both housing demand and thus the proportion of hardened surfaces in the municipality increased rapidly. To avoid future flooding problems, studying intensive precipitation trends as well as factors that affect the risk of pluvial floods is of the utmost importance. The purpose of this research is thus to investigate heavy precipitation trends as well as study how climate change and hardened surfaces affect the risk of flooding in Umeå. This study shows that the frequency of intense rainfall in Umeå has increased compared to the mean of the period 1963-1987 and that climate change could lead to an even higher frequency. Increased frequency of intensive precipitation in combination with an increased proportion of hardened surfaces increases the risk of flooding problems. Furthermore, heavy rainfalls, defined as precipitation above ten millilitres a day, occurred eighteen times a year during the period 1996-2020, which is four days more than the 1963-1987 average. By the end of the twenty-first century, climate change is expected to increase these number of days by a further 20-30% (equivalent to 7-12 days) according to SMHI predictions. Intense rainfall is likely to become more common in the future and population growth in Umeå will likely lead to an increase in the number of paved areas. These changes, in combination, place high demands on Umeå municipality to work efficiently with urban planning and climate adaptation.

Intensive Precipitation and Pluvial Floods in Umeå, Sweden

During intensive rainfall, the ground is at risk of flooding if the water has no opportunity to infiltrate into the ground or drain. Cities are most heavily affected by such pluvial floods due to their predominantly solid surfaces. An example of such a city is Umeå, which experienced extensive floods causing up to 40 million Swedish kronor in damages. During the period 1970 to 2020, the population of Umeå has increased from 70,000 to 130,000 inhabitants, which means that both housing demand and thus the proportion of hardened surfaces in the municipality increased rapidly. To avoid future flooding problems, studying intensive precipitation trends as well as factors that affect the risk of pluvial floods is of the utmost importance. The purpose of this research is thus to investigate heavy precipitation trends as well as study how climate change and hardened surfaces affect the risk of flooding in Umeå. This study shows that the frequency of intense rainfall in Umeå has increased compared to the mean of the period 1963-1987 and that climate change could lead to an even higher frequency. Increased frequency of intensive precipitation in combination with an increased proportion of hardened surfaces increases the risk of flooding problems. Furthermore, heavy rainfalls, defined as precipitation above ten millilitres a day, occurred eighteen times a year during the period 1996-2020, which is four days more than the 1963-1987 average. By the end of the twenty-first century, climate change is expected to increase these number of days by a further 20-30% (equivalent to 7-12 days) according to SMHI predictions. Intense rainfall is likely to become more common in the future and population growth in Umeå will likely lead to an increase in the number of paved areas. These changes, in combination, place high demands on Umeå municipality to work efficiently with urban planning and climate adaptation.

The genetics of gaits in Icelandic horses goes beyond DMRT3, with RELN and STAU2 identified as two new candidate genes

Background: In domesticated animals, many important traits are complex and regulated by a large number of genes, genetic interactions, and environmental influences. The ability of Icelandic horses to perform the gait 'pace' is largely influenced by a single mutation in the DMRT3 gene, but genetic modifiers likely exist. The aim of this study was to identify novel genetic factors that influence pacing ability and quality of the gait through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and correlate new findings to previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) and mutations. Results: Three hundred and seventy-two Icelandic horses were genotyped with the 670 K+ Axiom Equine Genotyping Array, of which 362 had gait scores from breeding field tests. A GWAS revealed several SNPs on Equus caballus chromosomes (ECA) 4, 9, and 20 that were associated (p < 1.0 x 10(-5)) with the breeding field test score for pace. The two novel QTL on ECA4 and 9 were located within the RELN and STAU2 genes, respectively, which have previously been associated with locomotor behavior in mice. Haplotypes were identified and the most frequent one for each of these two QTL had a large favorable effect on pace score. The second most frequent haplotype for the RELN gene was positively correlated with scores for tolt, trot, gallop, and canter. Similarly, the second most frequent haplotype for the STAU2 gene had favorable effects on scores for trot and gallop. Different genotype ratios of the haplotypes in the RELN and STAU2 genes were also observed in groups of horses with different levels of pacing ability. Furthermore, interactions (p < 0.05) were detected for the QTL in the RELN and STAU2 genes with the DMRT3 gene. The novel QTL on ECA4, 9, and 20, along with the effects of the DMRT3 variant, were estimated to account jointly for 27.4% of the phenotypic variance of the gait pace. Conclusions: Our findings provide valuable information about the genetic architecture of pace beyond the contribution of the DMRT3 gene and indicate genetic interactions that contribute to the complexity of this trait. Further investigation is needed to fully understand the underlying genetic factors and interactions

The prevalence of having coeliac disease in children with type 1 diabetes was not significantly higher during the Swedish coeliac epidemic

Aim: From 1986 to 1996, there was a four-fold increase in coeliac disease among young Swedish children, known as the Swedish coeliac epidemic. Children with type 1 diabetes have an increased risk of developing coeliac disease. We studied whether the prevalence of coeliac disease differed in children with type 1 diabetes born during and after this epidemic. Methods: We compared national birth cohorts of 240 844 children born in 1992–1993 during the coeliac disease epidemic and 179 530 children born in 1997–1998 after the epidemic. Children diagnosed with both type 1 diabetes and coeliac disease were identified by merging information from five national registers. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of coeliac disease among children with type 1 diabetes between the two cohorts: 176/1642 (10.7%, 95% confidence interval 9.2%–12.2%) in the cohort born during the coeliac disease epidemic versus 161/1380 (11.7%, 95% confidence interval 10.0%–13.5%) in the post-epidemic cohort. Conclusion: The prevalence of having both coeliac disease and type 1 diabetes was not significantly higher in children born during, than after, the Swedish coeliac epidemic. This may support a stronger genetic disposition in children who develop both conditions