Tumori mozga i epilepsija

Brain tumors are a common cause of epilepsy. Tumor type and location are determining factors that significantly influence seizure frequency. The aim of this study was to analyze clinical data of patients diagnosed with brain tumors and epilepsy. Data for this study were obtained from patient medical records over a 6-year period (2000-2005). Patient history and findings obtained by diagnostic methods such as electroencephalography, computerized tomography and magnetic resonance were analyzed. Data were analyzed by appropriate statistical methods and the structure, prevalence, mean and standard deviation were calculated. The significance of results was tested by use of t-test and χ2-test. A total of 15 933 patient charts were analyzed. Out of 15 933 patients, 10.8% were diagnosed with epilepsy and 175 (1.09%) patients had brain tumor, 75 (42.86%) of which were significantly associated with epilepsy (P>0.05). Almost forty-three percent (42.86%) of tumors were epileptogenic, with no significant sex difference (confidence level of 95%). Fifty-seven (32.5%) brain tumor patients were aged 51-60. The mean age of all patients with brain tumors was 41.6 years. Focal sensorimotor seizures were dominant in 40 (53.3%) cases. Among epilepsy cases with known etiology, 75 (6.8%) patients had epileptogenic tumors. Types of seizures in patients with epilepsy were different from seizures provoked by brain tumors. The most common tumor site was temporal region (43.4%). There was no significant difference according to epileptogenesis. Focal sensorimotor seizures were common in patients with frontal and parietal region tumors.Tumori mozga su čest uzrok epilepsije. Vrst tumora i lokalizacija su odlučujući čimbenici koji značajno utječu na učestalost konvulzija. Cilj ove studije bio je analizirati kliničke podatke bolesnika s dijagnosticiranim tumorom mozga i epilepsijom. Podaci za studiju prikupljeni su iz medicinske dokumentacije bolesnika kroz 6-godišnje razdoblje, od 2000.do 2005. godine. Analizirani su anamnestički podaci i nalazi dobiveni dijagnostičkim metodama poput elektroencefalografije, kompjutorizirane tomografije i magnetske rezonancije. U analizi su se primijenile odgovarajuće statističke metode, te je izračunata struktura, učestalost te srednja vrijednost i standardna devijacija. Značajnost rezultata ispitana je pomoću t-testa i χ2-testa. Analiza je obuhvatila 15933 bolesničkih kartona. Od 15933 bolesnika epilepsija je bila dijagnosticirana u 10,8%; 175 (1,09%) bolesnika je imalo tumor mozga, od kojih je 75 (42,86%) bilo značajno udruženo s epilepsijom (P>0,05). Gotovo je 43% (točnije, 42,86%) tumora bilo epileptogeno, bez značajne razlike prema spolu, na razini pouzdanosti od 95%. Utvrđeno je 57 (32,5%) slučajeva tumora mozga među bolesnicima u dobi od 51 do 60 godina. Srednja dob svih bolesnika s tumorom mozga bila je 41,6 godina. Žarišni senzomotorni napadaji prevladavali su u 40 (53,3%) bolesnika. Među bolesnicima s epilepsijom poznate etiologije 75 (6,8%) ih je imalo epileptogene tumore. Vrste napadaja u bolesnika s epilepsijom razlikovale su se od napadaja izazvanih tumorom mozga. Najčešće mjesto tumora bilo je temporalno područje (43,4%) i nije bilo značajne razlike u odnosu na epileptogenezu. Žarišni senzomotorni napadaji bili su česti u bolesnika s tumorima frontalnog i parietalnog područja

Self-assessment of essential public health operations in Kosovo

Aim: The National Institute of Public Health of Kosovo (NIPHK) considered the challenge of assessing the availability and performance of critical public health services in Kosovo. To this end, support was requested from the World Health Organization (WHO) European Regional Office, through the WHO office in Pristina, for an action-oriented process. The systematic process of the self-assessment of public health operations aimed to generate sufficient empirical evidence to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the country’s health services and functions to provide recommendations for future public health actions in Kosovo.Methods: The NIPHK team followed the systematic self-assessment methodology of the Essential Public Health Operations (EPHO) model that the WHO’s regional office for Europe developed. The appraisal was conducted throughout 2018 and the first quarter of 2019 and involved a broad spectrum of public health actors. It also followed a participatory, interdisciplinary, and inter-sectoral approach. It was developed in three phases: preparation and collection of information, analysis and interpretation of the data, and critical recommendations for the Kosovo health authorities’ consideration. Results: The assessment resulted in an overall score of 48% sufficiency for the set of public health operations (core and enablers). The most in need of development were EPHO 6, which is related to governance (only 20% of what is needed in this dimension as a whole), followed by EPHO 3, which considers vital aspects of health protection (35%), and EPHO 10, which is related to research capacities (40%). Based on the EPHO assessment results, the specialized teams developed a set of priority recommendations to strengthen the implementation of the EPHOs in Kosovo.Conclusion: The self-assessment revealed that, despite ongoing initiatives and measures to strengthen public health, the application of EPHOs has much room for improvement. We believe that decision-makers can use this method and the findings that it reveals to implement the most effective interventions to protect and promote the population’s health. In addition, the methodology and experience can be used for educational and training purposes

Phage Paride can kill dormant, antibiotic-tolerant cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by direct lytic replication

Bacteriophages are ubiquitous viral predators that have primarily been studied using fast-growing laboratory cultures of their bacterial hosts. However, microbial life in nature is mostly in a slow- or non-growing, dormant state. Here, we show that diverse phages can infect deep-dormant bacteria and suspend their replication until the host resuscitates ("hibernation"). However, a newly isolated Pseudomonas aeruginosa phage, named Paride, can directly replicate and induce the lysis of deep-dormant hosts. While non-growing bacteria are notoriously tolerant to antibiotic drugs, the combination with Paride enables the carbapenem meropenem to eradicate deep-dormant cultures in vitro and to reduce a resilient bacterial infection of a tissue cage implant in mice. Our work might inspire new treatments for persistent bacterial infections and, more broadly, highlights two viral strategies to infect dormant bacteria (hibernation and direct replication) that will guide future studies on phage-host interactions

Tularemia Outbreak Investigation in Kosovo: Case Control and Environmental Studies

A large outbreak of tularemia occurred in Kosovo in the early postwar period, 1999-2000. Epidemiologic and environmental investigations were conducted to identify sources of infection, modes of transmission, and household risk factors. Case and control status was verified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Western blot, and microagglutination assay. A total of 327 serologically confirmed cases of tularemia pharyngitis and cervical lymphadenitis were identified in 21 of 29 Kosovo municipalities. Matched analysis of 46 case households and 76 control households suggested that infection was transmitted through contaminated food or water and that the source of infection was rodents. Environmental circumstances in war-torn Kosovo led to epizootic rodent tularemia and its spread to resettled rural populations living under circumstances of substandard housing, hygiene, and sanitation

Biosafety standards for working with Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus

In countries from which Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is absent, the causative virus CCHF virus (CCHFV) is classified as a hazard group 4 agent and handled in containment level 4. In contrast, most endemic countries out of necessity have had to perform diagnostic tests under biosafety level (BSL) -2 or -3 conditions. In particular, Turkey and several of the Balkan countries have safely processed more than 100000 samples over many years in BSL-2 laboratories. It is therefore advocated that biosafety requirements for CCHF diagnostic procedures should be revised, to allow the required tests to be performed under enhanced BSL-2 conditions with appropriate biosafety laboratory equipment and personal protective equipment used according to standardized protocols in the affected countries. Downgrading of CCHFV research work from Cl-4, BSL-4 to Cl-3, BSL-3 should also be considered.Additional co-authors: Gülay Korukluoglu, Pieter Lyssen, Ali Mirazimi, Johan Neyts, Matthias Niedrig, Aykut Ozkul, Anna Papa, Janusz Paweska, Amadou A Sall, Connie S Schmaljohn, Robert Swanepoel, Yavuz Uyar, Friedemann Weber, Herve Zelle

Biosafety standards for working with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus

In countries from which Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is absent, the causative virus CCHF virus (CCHFV) is classified as a hazard group 4 agent and handled in containment level 4. In contrast, most endemic countries out of necessity have had to perform diagnostic tests under biosafety level (BSL) 2 or 3 conditions. In particular, Turkey and several of the Balkan countries have safely processed more than 100000 samples over many years in BSL-2 laboratories. It is therefore advocated that biosafety requirements for CCHF diagnostic procedures should be revised, to allow the required tests to be performed under enhanced BSL-2 conditions with appropriate biosafety laboratory equipment and personal protective equipment used according to standardized protocols in the affected countries. Downgrading of CCHFV research work from Cl- 4,BSL-4 to Cl-3 ,BSL-3 should also be considered.Funding was received through CCH Fever Network (Collaborative Project) supported by the European Commission under the Health Cooperation Work Program of the 7th Framework Program (Grant agreement no. 260427) (http://www.cch-fever.eu/).http://vir.sgmjournals.orghb2017Veterinary Tropical Disease

Kinesiological analysis of football referees

Football is a sport of endurance in which players perform activities of varying intensity over a 90 min play period, which is one of the most popular and entertaining sports in the world (A.I. Da Silva et al., 2011). It is estimated that each week in a competitive season, 1.3 million referees enter the football field in order to regulate the behavior of players on the field and enforce the rules of the game (Minten., 2003). During an elite football match, referees have been reported to cover an average distance ranging from 9 to 13 km (Castagna et al., 2007). Time movement analysis has revealed that elite level referees change the way they move approximately every 4 seconds, reaching 1,268 activity changes during an average match. Of these 1,268 activity changes, 588 and 161 are due to low and intensely high intensity in match management (Krustrup, Bangsbo., 2001). Key references have been shown to cover about 10-12 km during the course of matches with an average heart rate (HRmean) of 86% of the maximum heart rate (HRmax) (Mallo et al. 2009a) with 34% of the total distance of 13 km / h (Mallo et al., 2009a). However, assistant referees have been shown to have 5-6 km during football matches with almost 20% of this distance covering it with high intensity (Krustrup et al., 2009) and a 77% HRmean of HRmax (Mallo et al., 2009b). The purpose of this analyze was to examine the physical condition, and some motor information that referents have. Therefore, in order to further increase the physical preparation of referees in matches, the information of this analysis supports the application of intensive sessions and in conjunction with modern training where they should have priority in high intensity aerobics. This analysis examines the knowledge available in terms of the performance of football referees which is an attempt to describe the motor condition by referring to statistical information and condition training which they do according to the program of FIFA and UEFA