Utvärdering av möjligheten att införa en plattform för djurägarinitierad dödsfallsrapportering av hundar samt därpå baserad forskning och avelsurval

There are about 700 000 dogs in Sweden. Roughly 70 % of the dogs are purebred and registered in the database at the Swedish Kennel Club (SKC). The database includes records of birth date, pedigree, offspring and results from e.g. veterinary examinations related to genetic health programs. Every year approximately 10% of the dogs die; most are euthanized by a veterinarian. Dog mortality data is stored as digital medical records at animal clinics and in insurance databases. Dog owners tend to register their puppy in the SKC, but they rarely report that the dog has passed away. A dog registered in the SKC database is handled as being alive until it is either reported dead or 20 years have passed. This means that the records of most registered dogs are out of date and that the total number of live dogs registered in the SKC database is unknown. In order to properly evaluate a genetic health program, birth, health and mortality data is required. Combining SKC data, including birth date and examination results with mortality data such as date and cause of death, would provide the necessary information. The main purpose of this study was to present and evaluate the possibilities of introducing the concept of “dog mortality reporting”, meaning that animal clinic personnel report to the SKC as required by the pet owner. The work included describing a solution, or platform, that can be used for entry and analysis of canine mortality data. Another purpose was to analyse if and how this platform could be used for research and planned breeding. Information was gathered mainly by interviewing people at the SKC, animal clinics, insurance companies as well as breeders and dog owners. Questions in writing were sent to software vendors and to the Swedish Board of Agriculture. One conclusion was that it most likely would be possible to introduce “dog mortality reporting” in Sweden, provided that the SKC is successful in informing and motivating both breeders/dog owners and veterinarians/employees at animal clinics around the country. Mortality data could then be transferred from the Veterinary Practice Management Software at the clinic to the SKC database and be presented e.g. through the SKC web site. The SKC database, including mortality data, would then provide a data source that can be used for selection of breeding stock, evaluating genetic health programs and various studies regarding canine mortality.I Sverige finns över 700 000 hundar, varav ca 70 % är av känd ras. Flertalet hundar av känd ras är registrerade i Svenska Kennelklubben (SKK). I SKK:s olika register lagras bland annat uppgifter om födelsedatum, härstamning, avkommor, tävlingsresultat och resultat från veterinärundersökningar inom genetiska hälsoprogram. Varje år avlider drygt 70 000 hundar, och de flesta avlivas av veterinär. Komplett dödsfallsinformation finns framför allt lagrad i de journalsystem som finns på djurkliniker och djursjukhus ute i landet. Delar av denna information finns också i databaser hos djurförsäkringsbolagen, i vissa fall överförd online. Idag är det naturligt för hundägare att registrera sin hund i SKK, men dödsfall inrapporteras mycket sällan. Följden blir att hundarna i det så kallade Hundregistret ligger kvar som aktiva, tills de efter 20 år markeras som avlidna. Detta medför, förutom inaktuella uppgifter på individnivå, att korrekt information om totalt antal registrerade hundar saknas. För att bättre kunna utvärdera effekterna av genetiska hälsoprogram, vore det önskvärt att kombinera SKK:s uppgifter om den enskilda hunden inklusive resultat från veterinärundersökningar, med information om orsak och tidpunkt för dödsfall/avlivning. På så sätt skulle individerna kunna följas ”hela livet”. Detta arbete syftar primärt till att utreda förutsättningarna för att införa en frivillig dödsfallsregistrering av hundar, där klinikerna på djurägarens begäran hanterar inrapportering av dödsfall till SKK. En viktig del av arbetet har bestått i att identifiera och belysa förutsättningarna för att skapa en lösning för detta. Utöver detta har möjligheter och begränsningar för att utnyttja den föreslagna lösningen för utvärdering av genetiska hälsoprogram, avelsurval och forskning beskrivits. Information har huvudsakligen samlats in via intervjuer med nyckelpersoner inom SKK, på djurkliniker och djursjukhus, försäkringsbolag samt representanter för uppfödare och hundägare. Frågor har ställts skriftligen till systemleverantörer och Jordbruksverket. En viktig slutsats av arbetet var att det sannolikt skulle vara möjligt att införa en frivillig och djurägarinitierad dödsfallsrapportering, förutsatt att SKK lyckas med att informera och motivera såväl djurägare som klinikpersonal. Dödsfallsdata från klinikernas journalsystem skulle då kunna överföras till SKK:s register för att presenteras via exempelvis SKK Avelsdata, och på så sätt kunna utnyttjas för bland annat avelsurval. Vidare gjordes bedömningen att ett framtida SKK-register, som inkluderar en ”tillräcklig mängd” dödsfallsdata, skulle utgöra en datakälla väl lämpad för både avelsurval, utvärdering av genetiska hälsoprogram och studier kring hundars mortalitet

Childhood signs of ADHD and psychosocial outcomes in adolescence : a longitudinal study of boys and girls

Childhood neurodevelopmental problems (NDPs; encompassing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], autism spectrum disorder [ASD], tic disorder [TD], learning disorder [LD], and developmental coordination disorder [DCD]), affect around 10% of children worldwide. ADHD is the most common disorder, with an estimated prevalence between 5 and 10%. Based on its relatively high prevalence and associated impairments and adverse outcomes, ADHD is considered a major public health problem. The etiology of ADHD is multifactorial, including both genetic and environmental factors. ADHD affects both boys and girls in various areas of functioning; including academic, cognitive, psychosocial, and mental health. Previous longitudinal research on ADHD has rarely included aspects of comorbidity in relation to such outcomes. Also, it remains unclear how genetic and environmental factors influence the association between ADHD and internalizing problems during childhood and adolescence. To avoid the potentially artificial demarcation of a diagnostic cut-off, several studies have assessed the degree of core ADHD-symptoms rather than the clinical diagnosis. Such work indicates that subthreshold levels of ADHD may also be associated with negative outcomes such as poorer academic achievements, lower selfesteem, and relationship problems. A particular challenge for society lies in the fact that only children who are clinically assessed and diagnosed with ADHD may be entitled to care and support, when in fact individuals with subthreshold level symptoms might also benefit from such interventions. The general aim of this thesis was to investigate how childhood symptoms of ADHD affect psychosocial outcomes in adolescence, with a special focus on gender differences. We used data from a population-based cohort of twins, who were assessed for the presence of NDP symptoms during childhood and followed up at age 15. Study I investigated the diagnostic predictive validity of the screening-interview A-TAC, an instrument that is used throughout all studies in this thesis. The results demonstrated that ATAC is an effective screening tool for NDPs, and that it can be used for the purpose of predictive assessment in the general population. Overall, A-TAC demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties as a screening instrument. Study II examined the association between childhood signs of ADHD and/or other NDPs (at age 9 or 12) and psychosocial outcomes at age 15. The results demonstrated that symptoms of NDPs or other mental health problems at the age of 9 or 12 were associated with a higher degree of psychosocial problems during adolescence. Despite the presence of comorbidity, childhood ADHD symptoms stood out as the most important risk factor for later antisocial development and impaired daily functioning. Study III examined if different levels of ADHD symptoms were differentially associated with psychosocial problems in adolescent boys and girls. ADHD symptoms as well as their associated negative outcomes were dimensionally distributed in the study cohort. Girls and boys displayed somewhat different risk profiles, even after controlling for other neuropsychiatric symptoms. Study IV explored the relative contribution of genetic and environmental influences associated with childhood ADHD and internalizing problems to symptoms of internalizing problems during adolescence. ADHD and internalizing problems were associated. There was a gender difference in the genetic explanation of internalizing problems at age 15. In both boys and girls, both new genetic and new environmental factors emerged in adolescence. In summary, childhood symptoms of ADHD turned out to be the most important risk factor for adolescent antisocial behavior and impaired daily functioning, despite the presence of comorbid symptoms. During adolescence, increasing levels of ADHD-related symptoms were associated with increasing levels of psychosocial problems. Girls and boys displayed somewhat different risk profiles, e.g. girls displayed more internalizing symptoms and seemed to have a higher risk for drug misuse. The finding that ADHD symptoms were associated with higher drug misuse in girls motivates particular attention and active screening routines. The findings also point to the need for increased awareness and further study of the complex etiologic and developmental relationship between internalizing symptoms and ADHD

Post-Marketing Safety Profile of Vortioxetine Using a Cluster Analysis and a Disproportionality Analysis of Global Adverse Event Reports

INTRODUCTION: Vortioxetine, a multimodal serotonergic drug, is widely used as treatment for major depressive disorder. Although on the market since late 2013, the data of the relative safety of vortioxetine, especially compared to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are still scarce. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to explore the adverse event reporting pattern of vortioxetine through a cluster analysis. Furthermore, to compare the adverse event reporting pattern for vortioxetine with that of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. METHODS: Individual case safety reports for vortioxetine in VigiBase up to 1 November, 2019 were subjected to consensus clustering, to identify and describe natural groupings of reports based on their reported adverse events. A vigiPoint exploratory analysis compared vortioxetine to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in terms of relative frequencies for a wide range of covariates, including patient sex and age, reported drugs and adverse events, and reporting country. Important differences were identified using odds ratios with adaptive statistical shrinkage. RESULTS: Thirty-six clusters containing at least five reports were identified and analysed. The two largest clusters included 48% of the vortioxetine reports and appeared to represent gastrointestinal adverse events and hypersensitivity adverse events. Other distinct clusters were related to, respectively, fatigue, aggression/suicidality, convulsion, medication errors, arthralgia/myalgia, increased weight, paraesthesia and anticholinergic effects. Some of these clusters are not labelled for vortioxetine, such as arthralgia/myalgia and paraesthesia, but are known adverse events for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. A vigiPoint analysis revealed a higher proportion of reports from consumers and non-health professionals for vortioxetine as well as higher relative reporting rates of gastrointestinal symptoms, pruritus and mood-related symptoms, consistent with the cluster analysis. CONCLUSIONS: A pattern of co-reported adverse events that is consistent with labelled adverse events for vortioxetine and the safety profile for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in general was revealed. Clusters of unlabelled adverse events were identified that reflect clinical entities that might represent signals of previously unknown adverse events. More extensive analyses of spontaneous reports may help to further understand the reporting pattern of adverse events. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40264-021-01139-y

30 Grade-Eight Students : Discourse switch and bilingual students solving text problems in mathematics

In this paper, I investigate how discourse switch is influenced by agency as students orally solve a statistical problem. The linguistic and cultural backgrounds of bilingual students are often viewed as deficiencies that contribute to low performance in school. One example of a deficit explanation, in Sweden, is a student’s "lack of Swedishness". I use the notion of agency to avoid deficiency explanations of bilingual students’ performance in school mathematics. In this problem solving episode, Swedish serves as the main language of instruction. Discourse switches from a dominant discourse of "Swedish only" to a discourse of recognising bilingualism, as the teacher translates into Arabic and explains in Arabic

An immigrant student’s identity formation in a Swedish bilingual mathematics classroom

This paper challenges current understandings of multicultural and bilingual students in mathematics classrooms in Sweden. Bilingual students are often pre-defined as disadvantaged and bilingualism is constructed as an obstacle. But students’ identity formation can be effects of agency and of participation in a variety of competing discourses available in a classroom. In a discourse where bilingualism is encouraged an immigrant student’s ability to positively build upon opportunities in the mathematics classroom seems to enhance

Students’ mathematical identity formations in a Swedish multilingual mathematics classroom

In this article I explore how students’ mathematical identities are formatted in a multilingualmathematics classroom. The study has been conducted in a group of ten multilingual Arabic and Swedish speaking students in grade eight and nine. In the articlethe focus is on two of the students. Students’ mathematical identity formations areeffects of exercise of a variety of discourses available in the mathematics classroom.In discourses promoting multilingualism and social relations students’ possibilities topositively build upon opportunities in the mathematics classroom seem to enhanceand identity formations as engaged mathematics learners is not an obstacle

Bilingual students' mother tongue : a resource for teaching and learning matematics

This article presents some of the main results of a bilingual mathematics teaching project, which run in five multicultural schools in Sweden. The main research question was: How do mathematical practices emerge in bilingual mathematics classrooms? In the project bilingual mathematics teachers seemed to promote mathematical learning and engagement in the classroom by using two languages in mathematical discourses. Pupils and teachers communicated mathematically in different ways, and the interplay between mathematics and language often became obvious. Bilingual pupils participating in the project expressed that they were able to learn more and they felt secure with the ways of using languages and learning mathematics. Participating in the project gave many of the pupils’ confidence in their mathematics learning competence

30 Grade-Eight Students : Discourse switch and bilingual students solving text problems in mathematics

In this paper, I investigate how discourse switch is influenced by agency as students orally solve a statistical problem. The linguistic and cultural backgrounds of bilingual students are often viewed as deficiencies that contribute to low performance in school. One example of a deficit explanation, in Sweden, is a student’s "lack of Swedishness". I use the notion of agency to avoid deficiency explanations of bilingual students’ performance in school mathematics. In this problem solving episode, Swedish serves as the main language of instruction. Discourse switches from a dominant discourse of "Swedish only" to a discourse of recognising bilingualism, as the teacher translates into Arabic and explains in Arabic