WISER deliverable D3.1-4: guidance document on sampling, analysis and counting standards for phytoplankton in lakes

Sampling, analysis and counting of phytoplankton has been undertaken in European lakes for more than 100 years (Apstein 1892, Lauterborn 1896, Lemmermann 1903, Woloszynska 1912, Nygaard 1949). Since this early period of pioneers, there has been progress in the methods used to sample, fix, store and analyse phytoplankton. The aim of the deliverable D3.1-4 is to select, harmonize and recommend the most optimal method as a basis for lake assessment. We do not report and review the huge number of European national methods or other published manuals for phytoplankton sampling and analysis that are available. An agreement on a proper sampling procedure is not trivial for lake phytoplankton. In the early 20th century, sampling was carried out using plankton nets. An unconcentrated sample without any pre-screening is required for quantitative phytoplankton analysis, for which various water samplers were developed. Sampling of distinct water depths or an integral sample of the euphotic zone affects the choice of the sampler and sampling procedure. The widely accepted method to quantify algal numbers together with species determination was developed by Utermöhl (1958), who proposed the counting technique using sediment chambers and inverse microscopy. This is the basis for the recently agreed CEN standard “Water quality - Guidance standard on the enumeration of phytoplankton using inverted microscopy (Utermöhl technique)” (CEN 15204, 2006). This CEN standard does not cover the sampling procedure or the calculation of biovolumes for phytoplankton species, although Rott (1981), Hillebrand et al (1999) and Pohlmann & Friedrich (2001) have contributed advice on how to calculate taxa biovolumes effectively. Willén (1976) suggested a simplified counting method, when counting 60 individuals of each species. For the Scandinavian region an agreed phytoplankton sampling and counting manual was compiled, which has been in use for about 20 years (Olrik et al. 1998, Blomqvist & Herlitz 1998). It is very unfortunate that no European guidance on sampling of phytoplankton in lakes was agreed before the phytoplankton assessment methods for the EU-WFD were developed and intercalibrated by Member States. In 2008 an initiative by the European Commission (Mandate M424) for two draft CEN standards on sampling in freshwaters and on calculation of phytoplankton biovolume was unfortunately delayed by administrative difficulties. Recently a grant agreement was signed between the Commission and DIN (German Institute for Standardization) in January 2012 to develop these standards. We believe this WISER guidance document can usefully contribute to these up-coming standards

Perfectionism and depressive symptoms : The effects of psychological detachment from work

We examined the association of perfectionism with depressive symptoms and tested whether psychological detachment from work would both mediate and moderate the association. The participants were 76 primary school teachers (87% female) who responded to measures of perfectionism (Multidimensional Inventory on Perfectionism in Sports adapted for teachers), psychological detachment from work (The Recovery Experience Questionnaire), and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II). Perfectionism comprised both adaptive and maladaptive dimensions. Adaptive perfectionism referred to striving for perfection, whereas maladaptive perfectionism involved negative reactions to imperfection and perceived pressure to be perfect. According to our results, negative reactions to imperfection were associated with higher depressive symptoms, and lower level of psychological detachment from work played a minor mediating role in the association. There was, however, no association between negative reactions to imperfection and higher depressive symptoms when detachment from work was high. Our findings suggest that striving for perfection and perceived pressure to be perfect might not contribute to depressive symptoms in teaching. Instead, teachers experiencing negative reactions to imperfection and low psychological detachment from work could be at risk for developing depressive symptoms. Finding ways to psychologically detach from work may benefit teachers characterized by negative reactions to imperfection. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Is the Association Between Depressive Symptoms and Glucose Bidirectional? A Population-Based Study

Objective: Depressive symptoms have been associated with Type 2 diabetes, but the temporal direction of this association and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. The present study examined a potential bidirectional association between depressive symptoms and glucose levels in women and men, and the factors mediating this association. Method: The participants were from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, a prospective, population-based, cohort study (N = 2,534). Depressive symptoms were assessed using a modified Beck Depression Inventory. Fasting glucose was measured concurrently with depressive symptoms. To analyze the data, a multiple-group cross-lagged analysis and parallel multiple mediation in structural equation modeling were used. Results: Depressive symptoms in 2001 were positively associated with glucose levels in 2012 in women (beta = .07, p = .023) but not in men (beta = -.03, p = .45). This sex difference was statistically significant (p = .042). Glucose levels in 2001 did not predict depressive symptoms in 2012 in either women or men (ps = .96). Changes in body mass index, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, alcohol consumption, or tobacco or cigarette smoking did not mediate the observed association (ps > .05). Conclusions: The results showed a positive association between depressive symptoms and glucose levels in women but not in men. The direction of this relationship seems to be from depressive symptoms to glucose levels rather than the reverse. Changes in body fat, inflammation, alcohol consumption, or tobacco or cigarette smoking may not play a mediating role in this observed association.Peer reviewe

The Association Between Social Support, Body Mass Index and Increased Risk of Prediabetes : the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study

The psychosocial determinants of prediabetes are poorly understood. The aims of our study were (1) to analyse the association between perceived social support in young adulthood and fasting glucose levels and prediabetes in mid-adulthood in a cohort of healthy Finns, (2) to explore whether body mass index (BMI), inflammation or depression mediate this relationship, (3) and to examine the association between social support trajectory groups and fasting glucose. A prospective design was used with an analytic sample of 1250 participants aged 3-18 years at baseline (1980) and aged 12-39 years when social support was measured. Fasting glucose and prediabetes were assessed 32 years after baseline. Linear and logistic regression was used to examine the association between social support and the outcome measures. A bootstrapping technique was used to examine mediation effects. Social support was associated with future glucose levels in women after adjusting for childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and youth depression (beta = -0.136, p = 0.001) and also predicted prediabetes in women after adjusting for childhood SES (beta = 1.31, 95 % CI 1.02 to 1.69, p = 0.031). Both associations were attenuated after adjusting for BMI in mid-adulthood. BMI was found to mediate the relationship between social support and prediabetes in women (beta for indirect effect beta = 0.09, SE = 0.03, CI = 0.03 to 0.16). Low perceived social support in young adulthood is associated with high fasting glucose and prediabetes in mid-adulthood in women but not men. The association between social support and prediabetes in women can be partly explained by BMI.Peer reviewe

The relationship of dispositional compassion with well-being : a study with a 15-year prospective follow-up

We investigated the associations of individual's compassion for others with his/her affective and cognitive well-being over a long-term follow-up. We used data from the prospective Young Finns Study (N = 1312-1699) between 1997-2012. High compassion was related to higher indicators of affective well-being: higher positive affect (B = 0.221, p <.001), lower negative affect (B = -0.358, p <.001), and total score of affective well-being (the relationship of positive versus negative affect) (B = 0.345, p <.001). Moreover, high compassion was associated with higher indicators of cognitive well-being: higher social support (B = 0.194, p <.001), life satisfaction (B = 0.149, p <.001), subjective health (B = 0.094, p <.001), optimism (B = 0.307, p <.001), and total score of cognitive well-being (B = 0.265, p <.001). Longitudinal analyses showed that high compassion predicted higher affective well-being over a 15-year follow-up (B = 0.361, p <.001) and higher social support over a 10-year follow-up (B = 0.230, p <.001). Finally, compassion was more likely to predict well-being (B = [-0.076; 0.090]) than vice versa, even though the predictive relationships were rather modest by magnitude.Peer reviewe

Psychosocial environment in childhood and body mass index growth over 32 years

The psychosocial environment and especially various psychosocial risks in childhood have been shown to predict later negative health behavior and health problems. In this study, we examined whether various psychosocial factor domains in childhood and adolescence: socioeconomic status, theemotional family environment (parental nurturance, life-satisfaction), parental lifestyle, life-events, the child's self-regulatory behavior and the child's social adaptation were associated with body mass index (BMI) trajectories individually by domain and as a cumulative score across domains. The participants were a nationally representative sample of 2016 men and women fromthe Young Finns study aged 3-18 years at study entry in 1980. Their BMI wasmeasured at six study phases from 1980 to 2012. Their parents reported all the factors related to their psychosocial environment in 1980. The participants responded to questions on adulthood socioeconomic status in 2007. The accumulation of psychosocial factors in childhood was the main exposure variable. The findings fromrepeated measuresmultilevelmodeling showed that parental lifestyle and life-events and the more positive cumulative psychosocial factors score were associated with a slower increase in BMI during follow-up (regression coefficient range from - 0.06 to -0.50). In conclusion, the psychosocial environment in childhood and adolescence, particularly parental lifestyle and lack of stressful life-events, are associated with a lower increase of BMI. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

A comprehensive model for measuring real-life cost-effectiveness in eyecare: automation in care and evaluation of system (aces-rwm™)

This paper describes a holistic, yet simple and comprehensible, ecosystem model to deal with multiple and complex challenges in eyecare. It aims at producing the best possible wellbeing and eyesight with the available resources. When targeting to improve the real-world cost-effectiveness, what gets done in everyday practice needs be measured routinely, efficiently and unselectively. Collection of all real-world data of all patients will enable evaluation and comparison of eyecare systems and departments between themselves nationally and internationally. The concept advocates a strategy to optimize real-life effectiveness, sustainability and outcomes of the service delivery in ophthalmology. The model consists of three components: (1) resource-governing principles (i.e., to deal with increasing demand and limited resources), (2) real-world monitoring (i.e., to collect structured real-world data utilizing automation and visualization of clinical parameters, health-related quality of life and costs), and (3) digital innovation strategy (i.e., to evaluate and benchmark real-world outcomes and cost-effectiveness). The core value and strength of the model lies in the consensus and collaboration of all Finnish university eye clinics to collect and evaluate the uniformly structured real-world outcomes data. In addition to ophthalmology, the approach is adaptable to any medical discipline to efficiently generate real-world insights and resilience in health systems

Positive Psychosocial Factors in Childhood Predicting Lower Risk for Adult Type 2 Diabetes : The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, 1980-2012

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes is a public health concern, but psychosocial factors that may protect against the disease are unknown. This study examines whether a positive psychosocial environment in childhood is associated with lower risk for Type 2 diabetes in adulthood or healthier glucose trajectories over the life course, and whether BMI mediates the associations. Methods: A cohort of 3,596 Finnish children was followed into adulthood over 32 years. An overall positive psychosocial score, consisting of six subdomains, was measured at study baseline (1980). Relative risk ratios and multilevel growth curve modeling were used to examine associations of the psychosocial score with Type 2 diabetes (2012) and glucose trajectories (1986-2012). The mediating effect by BMI was examined using mediation analysis. The analyses were conducted between June 2015 and January 2016. Results: There was a 21% decrease in the rate of Type 2 diabetes (relative risk ratio, 0.79; 95% CI = 0.66, 0.94) for each 1-SD increase in the positive psychosocial score after adjustment for childhood cardiovascular risk factors and dietary behaviors. Adult BMI mediated 52% and weight gain mediated 25% of the association. The growth curve model showed healthier glucose trajectories (age X psychosocial score interaction, b = -0.01; p = 0.010) for participants with higher versus lower positive psychosocial score in childhood. Conclusions: Positive psychosocial environment in childhood seems to have beneficial influences on the risk for Type 2 diabetes over the life span. RCTs will be required to see if interventions directed at early-life circumstances are warranted. (C) 2017 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Non-Invasive Quantification of White and Brown Adipose Tissues and Liver Fat Content by Computed Tomography in Mice

OBJECTIVES: Obesity and its distribution pattern are important factors for the prediction of the onset of diabetes in humans. Since several mouse models are suitable to study the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes the aim was to validate a novel computed tomograph model (Aloka-Hitachi LCT-200) for the quantification of visceral, subcutaneous, brown and intrahepatic fat depots in mice. METHODS: Different lean and obese mouse models (C57BL/6, B6.V-Lep(ob), NZO) were used to determine the most adequate scanning parameters for the detection of the different fat depots. The data were compared with those obtained after preparation and weighing the fat depots. Liver fat content was determined by biochemical analysis. RESULTS: The correlations between weights of fat tissues on scale and weights determined by CT were significant for subcutaneous (r(2) = 0.995), visceral (r(2) = 0.990) and total white adipose tissue (r(2) = 0.992). Moreover, scans in the abdominal region, between lumbar vertebrae L4 to L5 correlated with whole-body fat distribution allowing experimenters to reduce scanning time and animal exposure to radiation and anesthesia. Test-retest reliability and measurements conducted by different experimenters showed a high reproducibility in the obtained results. Intrahepatic fat content estimated by CT was linearly related to biochemical analysis (r(2) = 0.915). Furthermore, brown fat mass correlated well with weighted brown fat depots (r(2) = 0.952). In addition, short-term cold-expose (4 °C, 4 hours) led to alterations in brown adipose tissue attributed to a reduction in triglyceride content that can be visualized as an increase in Hounsfield units by CT imaging. CONCLUSION: The 3D imaging of fat by CT provides reliable results in the quantification of total, visceral, subcutaneous, brown and intrahepatic fat in mice. This non-invasive method allows the conduction of longitudinal studies of obesity in mice and therefore enables experimenters to investigate the onset of complex diseases such as diabetes and obesity

A multi-centre randomized controlled trial comparing arthroscopic osteochondroplasty and lavage with arthroscopic lavage alone on patient important outcomes and quality of life in the treatment of young adult (18-50) Femoroacetabular impingement

Background: Several cross-sectional studies have estimated that the prevalence of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) ranges from 14-17% among asymptomatic young adults to almost 95% among competitive athletes. With FAI, there is abnormal contact between the proximal femur and the acetabulum, resulting in abnormal mechanics with terminal motion such as hip flexion and rotation. This condition results from bony anomalies of the acetabular rim (Pincer) and or femoral head/neck junction (CAM) and typically causes hip pain and decreased hip function. The development of hip pain potentially serves as an indicator for early cartilage and labral damage that may result in hip osteoarthritis. Although surgical correction of the misshaped bony anatomy and associated intra-articular soft tissue damage of the hip is thought to improve hip pain and alter the natural history of degenerative disease, the supportive evidence is based upon low quality observational studies. The Femoroacetabular Impingement RandomiSed controlled Trial (FIRST) compares outcomes following surgical correction of the impingement morphology (arthroscopic osteochondroplasty) with/without labral repair versus arthroscopic lavage of the hip joint in adults aged 18 to 50 diagnosed with FAI. Methods and design: FIRST is a multi-centre, randomized controlled trial with a sample size of 220 patients. Exclusion criteria include the presence of hip syndromes, previous surgery or trauma to the affected hip, and significant medical comorbidities. The primary outcome is pain and the secondary outcomes include patient function, quality of life, complications, and cost-effectiveness - all within one year of follow-up. Patients are stratified based on centre and impingement sub-type. Patients, outcome assessors, data analysts, and the Steering Committee are blinded to surgical allocation. Using an intention-to-treat approach, outcome analyses will be performed using an analysis of covariance and descriptive statistics. Discussion: Symptomatic FAI is associated with chronic hip pain, functional limitations, and secondary osteoarthritis. Therefore, optimizing treatment has the potential to improve the lives millions of young, active persons who are diagnosed with this condition. Few orthopaedic surgical trials have similar potential to shift the paradigm of care dramatically towards (or away) from surgical bony and soft tissue interventions.Peer reviewe