Maatalouden ympäristötuen sopimusalueiden laatu ja hoidon toteutuminen: Perinnebiotooppien hoidon ja luonnon monimuotoisuuden edistämisen erityistuet

Maatalouden ympäristötuen vaikutusten seurantatutkimuksen (MYTVAS 2) osana toteutettiin kesällä 2004 maastoselvitysperinnebiotooppien hoidon sekä luonnon monimuotoisuuden edistämisen erityistuista. Tavoitteena oli arvioida tukialueiden luontoarvoa sekä tehtyjen hoitotoimien oikeellisuutta ja vaikuttavuutta. Selvitys tehtiin Uudenmaan, Pirkanmaan ja Pohjois-Pohjanmaan TE-keskusten alueilla. Maastokäynti tehtiin 168 perinnebiotooppien hoidon sekä 91 luonnon monimuotoisuuden edistämisen erityistukikohteelle. Kohteilta arvioitiin joukko niiden luontoarvoa sekä hoidon tasoa kuvaavia laadullisia muuttujia. Perinnebiotooppien hoidon erityistukikohteet olivat pääosin luontoarvoiltaan merkittäviä tai kunnostettavissa ja tehdyt hoitotoimet oikeansuuntaisia. Puuston raivaukset olivat silti suurella osalla kohteista puutteellisia ja laidunnus usein riittämätöntä. Rehevöityminen oli ongelma monella kohteella. Moneen tukisopimukseen sisältyi vähäarvoisia, peltomaisia laidunosia ja tavallisia talousmetsiä. Ketojen ja tuoreiden niittyjen määrät osoittautuivat selvästi tilastoitua pienemmiksi. Luonnon monimuotoisuuden edistämisen erityistuen kohteista valtaosa osoittautui perinnebiotooppien kaltaisiksi. Muunlaisista tukikohteista monet arvioitiin luontoarvoiltaan vaatimattomiksi ja kehittämiskelpoisuudeltaan heikoiksi. Etenkin reunavyöhykkeet ja metsäsaarekkeet olivat usein heikkolaatuisia. Niillä hoito oli lähinnä puuston raivausta, jota oli yleensä tehty vain pienellä osalla tukialasta. Tehdyt raivaukset olivat silti pääsääntöisesti oikeanlaisia. Tulosten perusteella perinnebiotooppien hoidon erityistuki toimii kohtalaisen hyvin monimuotoisuuden edistämisessä. Luonnon monimuotoisuuden edistämisen erityistuen toteutuksessa oli suuria puutteita, minkä vuoksi sekä viljelijöille että viranomaisille tarvitaan tarkempaa ohjeistusta

Costs of on-demand and prophylactic treatment for severe haemophilia in Norway and Sweden.

The expected annual cost (in the year 2000 prices) for a 30-year-old patient with average individual and treatment characteristics for on-demand EUR 51 832 (95% CI: 44 324-59 341) and for prophylaxis EUR 146 118 (95% CI: 129 965-162 271), was obtained from panel-data analysis of an 11-year retrospective panel of 156 patients with severe haemophilia in Norway and Sweden. Costs included haemophilia-related treatment costs within the health-care sector (factor concentrate, doctors' visits, diagnostic procedures, hospitalisation, invasive procedures, etc.) and cost for haemophilia-related resource use in other sectors (lost production, use of special equipment, adaptation of workplace and domicile, etc). Although costs of lost production, reconstructive surgery and hospitalisation were higher for on-demand, they did not balance out the higher costs of factor-concentrate consumption in prophylaxis. The cut-off risk of premature death, where on-demand and prophylaxis would have been equally costly, was 3.7 percentage units higher for on-demand than for prophylaxis. Such a great risk difference has not been reported elsewhere to our knowledge. Estimated cost-elasticities indicated that annual costs of prophylaxis would increase by approximately the same proportion as a potential increase in the price of factor concentrate and decrease less than proportionately with a reduction in prescribed dose kg-1. For on-demand, the annual costs would increase by approximately the same proportion as an increase in the prescribed dose kg-1

On-demand vs. prophylactic treatment for severe haemophilia in Norway and Sweden: differences in treatment characteristics and outcome.

Using an 11-year panel of 156 Norwegian and Swedish patients with severe haemophilia, and including retrospective case-book data from birth, we compared the differences in the haemophilia-related resource use between on-demand and prophylactic treatment. Patients treated on-demand had more surgery (arthrodeses, prostheses implantations and synovectomies) and more days lost from work. Median annual factor-concentrate consumption among adults (18+) was 211 000 IU [interquartile range (IQR) 154 000-268 000] or 3 024 IU kg-1 year-1 for patients on prophylactic treatment and 55 000 IU (IQR 28 000-91 000) for on-demand patients (780 IU kg-1 year-1). This was partly explained by the fact that the median dose per kg body weight was twice as great 28, (IQR 24-32) for prophylaxis compared with 14 (IQR 12-16) for on-demand. Prescribed dose per kg body weight was found to be an important factor explaining the variation in total annual factor-concentrate consumption per patient for both types of treatment. Other variables included in the panel-data regression analysis were the number of weeks on secondary prophylaxis for on-demand patients and age, body weight and type of haemophilia for children (0-17 years) on prophylaxis. Differences were consistently substantial and will affect both costs and benefits of the two treatment strategies

Analyysi maatalouden ympäristötukijärjestelmästä 2000-2006

Hankkeessa pyrittiin tuottamaan arvio Suomessa v. 2000 - 2006 käytössä olleen ympäristötukijärjestelmän vaikuttavuudesta ympäristöön. Työssä arvioitiin yksittäisiä toimenpiteitä sekä järjestelmää kokonaisuutena. Järjestelmän toimivuutta peilattiin sille asetettuja tavoitteita vastaan ja etsittiin parannusmahdollisuuksia. Toimenpiteiden vesiensuojelullisen kustannustehokkuuden lisäksi tarkasteltiin monimuotoisuuskustannustehokkuutta ja kehitettiin siihen liittyvää arviointimenetelmää. Hankkeessa myös kehitettiin menetelmää toimenpiteiden ympäristövaikutusten yhdennettyyn arviointiin. Vesiensuojelullisen tehon lisäämiseksi lannoitukseen ja kasvipeitteisyyteen liittyviä toimenpiteitä tulee edelleen tehostaa ja kohdentaa. Varsinkin lannan käyttöä tulee tehostaa. Väkilannoitteiden pintalannoituksesta tulisi pystyä luopumaan ja lannan levityksessä nopea multaus on tärkeää. Kasvipeitteisyyden lisääminen maan etelä- ja länsiosissa ja varsinkin jyrkillä rantapelloilla on eroosion torjunnan kannalta tärkeää. Korkeita maan helppoliukoisen fosforin pitoisuuksia on alennettava. Luonnon monimuotoisuuden edistämisen kannalta olisi oleellista kehittää perustukeen kuuluva laajasti toteutettava ja vaikuttava toimenpide. Pientareet ja suojakaistat –toimenpiteen merkitys monimuotoisuuden edistämisessä paranisi, jos se sisältäisi vesistöjen reunojen lisäksi myös muita reuna-alueita. Taantuneen ja uhanalaisen maatalousalueiden lajiston säilyttämiseksi perinnebiotooppien erityistuki on periaatteiltaan hyvin toimiva tukimuoto. Hoidettavien perinnebiotooppien määrää tulee edelleen lisätä koko maassa

Practical Recommendations for Optimal Thromboprophylaxis in Patients with COVID-19:A Consensus Statement Based on Available Clinical Trials

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been shown to be strongly associated with increased risk for venous thromboembolism events (VTE) mainly in the inpatient but also in the outpatient setting. Pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis has been shown to offer significant benefits in terms of reducing not only VTE events but also mortality, especially in acutely ill patients with COVID-19. Although the main source of evidence is derived from observational studies with several limitations, thromboprophylaxis is currently recommended for all hospitalized patients with acceptable bleeding risk by all national and international guidelines. Recently, high quality data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) further support the role of thromboprophylaxis and provide insights into the optimal thromboprophylaxis strategy. The aim of this statement is to systematically review all the available evidence derived from RCTs regarding thromboprophylaxis strategies in patients with COVID-19 in different settings (either inpatient or outpatient) and provide evidence-based guidance to practical questions in everyday clinical practice. Clinical questions accompanied by practical recommendations are provided based on data derived from 20 RCTs that were identified and included in the present study. Overall, the main conclusions are: (i) thromboprophylaxis should be administered in all hospitalized patients with COVID-19, (ii) an optimal dose of inpatient thromboprophylaxis is dependent upon the severity of COVID-19, (iii) thromboprophylaxis should be administered on an individualized basis in post-discharge patients with COVID-19 with high thrombotic risk, and (iv) thromboprophylaxis should not be routinely administered in outpatients. Changes regarding the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variants, the wide immunization status (increasing rates of vaccination and reinfections), and the availability of antiviral therapies and monoclonal antibodies might affect the characteristics of patients with COVID-19; thus, future studies will inform us about the thrombotic risk and the optimal therapeutic strategies for these patients

N-body models of globular clusters: metallicity, half-light radii and mass-to-light ratios

Size differences of approx. 20% between red (metal-rich) and blue (metal-poor) sub-populations of globular clusters have been observed, generating an ongoing debate as to weather these originate from projection effects or the difference in metallicity. We present direct N-body simulations of metal-rich and metal-poor stellar populations evolved to study the effects of metallicity on cluster evolution. The models start with N = 100000 stars and include primordial binaries. We also take metallicity dependent stellar evolution and an external tidal field into account. We find no significant difference for the half-mass radii of those models, indicating that the clusters are structurally similar. However, utilizing observational tools to fit half-light (or effective) radii confirms that metallicity effects related to stellar evolution combined with dynamical effects such as mass segregation produce an apparent size difference of 17% on average. The metallicity effect on the overall cluster luminosity also leads to higher mass-to-light ratios for metal-rich clusters.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

ISTH guidelines for antithrombotic treatment in COVID-19

Antithrombotic agents reduce risk of thromboembolism in severely ill patients. Patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may realize additional benefits from heparins. Optimal dosing and timing of these treatments and benefits of other antithrombotic agents remain unclear. In October 2021, ISTH assembled an international panel of content experts, patient representatives, and a methodologist to develop recommendations on anticoagulants and antiplatelet agents for patients with COVID-19 in different clinical settings. We used the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association methodology to assess level of evidence (LOE) and class of recommendation (COR). Only recommendations with LOE A or B were included. Panelists agreed on 12 recommendations: three for non-hospitalized, five for non-critically ill hospitalized, three for critically ill hospitalized, and one for post-discharge patients. Two recommendations were based on high-quality evidence, the remainder on moderate-quality evidence. Among non-critically ill patients hospitalized for COVID-19, the panel gave a strong recommendation (a) for use of prophylactic dose of low molecular weight heparin or unfractionated heparin (LMWH/UFH) (COR 1); (b) for select patients in this group, use of therapeutic dose LMWH/UFH in preference to prophylactic dose (COR 1); but (c) against the addition of an antiplatelet agent (COR 3). Weak recommendations favored (a) sulodexide in non-hospitalized patients, (b) adding an antiplatelet agent to prophylactic LMWH/UFH in select critically ill, and (c) prophylactic rivaroxaban for select patients after discharge (all COR 2b). Recommendations in this guideline are based on high-/moderate-quality evidence available through March 2022. Focused updates will incorporate future evidence supporting changes to these recommendations

Die Rolle des Freibergerpferdes im Pferdemarkt Schweiz

Das Freiberger Pferd hat wie viele andere vergleichbare lokale, ursprüngliche europäische Pferderassen mit rückläufigen Bestandes- und Geburtenzahlen sowie einer fehlenden Rentabilität auf Stufe Produktion zu kämpfen. Agroscope, Schweizer Nationalgestüt SNG, untersuchte im Zuge der Erarbeitung eines Strategierapportes zur Erhaltung der Freibergerrasse die Marktkonformität des Freibergerpferdes (FM: franches-montagnes) mittels einer Umfrage bei Pferdeeigentümern sowie ergänzenden Experteninterviews. Die Ergebnisse lassen den Schluss zu, dass bei einer Mehrheit der befragten Pferdeeigentümer die persönlichen Erwartungen an ein Pferd mit der Beurteilung der Qualitäten und der generellen Wahrnehmung des Freibergerpferdes deckungsgleich sind. Daraus lässt sich ableiten, dass der FM über Qualitäten verfügt, die im Grundsatz im Freizeitpferdemarkt nachgefragt werden (einfacher Charakter, Polyvalenz, Robustheit, Gesundheit). Das Image des Markenbildes FM ist bei den nicht FM-Besitzern deutlich weniger positiv als bei den FM-Besitzern. Die Ergebnisse der Umfrage sowie der Experteninterviews zeigten, dass vor allem Anstrengungen zur Verbesserung der Vermarktung und des Images notwendig sind, um einen besseren Absatz von Freibergerpferden zu gewährleisten und damit auch langfristig einen Anstieg der Geburten zu erreichen

Biallelic Variants in UBA5 Link Dysfunctional UFM1 Ubiquitin-like Modifier Pathway to Severe Infantile-Onset Encephalopathy

The ubiquitin fold modifier 1 (UFM1) cascade is a recently identified evolutionarily conserved ubiquitin-like modification system whose function and link to human disease have remained largely uncharacterized. By using exome sequencing in Finnish individuals with severe epileptic syndromes, we identified pathogenic compound heterozygous variants in UBAS, encoding an activating enzyme for UFM1, in two unrelated families. Two additional individuals with biallelic UBAS variants were identified from the UK-based Deciphering Developmental Disorders study and one from the Northern Finland Intellectual Disability cohort. The affected individuals (n = 9) presented in early infancy with severe irritability, followed by dystonia and stagnation of development. Furthermore, the majority of individuals display postnatal microcephaly and epilepsy and develop spasticity. The affected individuals were compound heterozygous for a missense substitution, c.1111G>A (p.A1a371Thr; allele frequency of 0.28% in Europeans), and a nonsense variant or c.164G>A that encodes an amino acid substitution p.Arg5SHis, but also affects splicing by facilitating exon 2 skipping, thus also being in effect a loss-of-function allele. Using an in vitro thioester formation assay and cellular analyses, we show that the p.A1a371Thr variant is hypomorphic with attenuated ability to transfer the activated UFM1 to UFC1. Finally, we show that the CNS-specific knockout of Ufml in mice causes neonatal death accompanied by microcephaly and apoptosis in specific neurons, further suggesting that the UFM1 system is essential for CNS development and function. Taken together, our data imply that the combination of a hypomorphic p.A1a371Thr variant in trans with a loss-of-function allele in UBAS underlies a severe infantile-onset encephalopathy.Peer reviewe

The Glanville fritillary genome retains ancient karyotype and reveals selective chromosomal fusions in Lepidoptera

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