17 research outputs found
Description of a species of Sarcocystis (Apicomplexa Sarcocystidae), a parasite of the northern saw-whet owl, Aegolius acadicus, and experimental transmission to deer mice Peromyscus maniculatus
No full textSporocysts of Sarcocystis were recovered from the intestinal mucosa of A. acadicus from Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA. Sporocysts measured 12.0 x 9.7 micro m (9.6-14.0 x 8.0-12.0 micro m; n = 100). Doses of 0, 500, and 2500 sporocysts were administered orally to 5 P. maniculatus and 5 Swiss-Cox white mice. At necropsy, 28 days pi, deer mice administered 500 and 2500 sporocysts had sarcocysts in skeletal muscles and cardiac muscle. White mice were negative at all dose levels. Sarcocysts had a thin wall (<1 micro m) that consisted of a primary cyst wall and a coarse granular layer composed of 36.6-nm granules (25.6-51.2 nm; n = 11). Thickness of the primary cyst wall was 62.5 nm (38.4-116.1 nm; n = 10). Metrocytes were 2.3 x 1.7 micro m (1.5-3.5 x 1.2-2.5 micro m; n = 25). Bradyzoites were 5.2 x 1.1 micro m (4-7 x 1-2 micro m; n = 25). There is no previous report of a Sarcocystis-like organism with A. acadicus as definitive hosts and P. maniculatus as the intermediate host..RE: 9 ref.; SC: VE; CA; PA; 0YSource type: Electronic(1
Analysing Intranet Search Satisfaction and Findability. A Quantitative Study of Changes in Perception of Organisational Search Satisfaction and Intranet Findability
No full textAside from the fact that intra-organisational networks are centralised platforms and that information
publishing is limited to selected employees, organisations find search satisfaction and findability to
have reached an average level. As the purchase, development and the implementation of a search
tool is an expensive investment for an organisation which strives to improve the organisational
search satisfaction and intranet findability, improvement is desired. However, only a small amount of
research has been done in the subject of intranets and academia appears to be more concerned with
the public web rather than the intranets. This study has attempted to fill this void, by analysing how
factors, correlated with organisational search satisfaction and intranet findability, vary over the time
frame of three years. In this study we have analysed data provided by a company specialised in
search solutions. The data were collected over three years in the form of annual surveys. Analysing
this data we have formulated our research question to how specific factors impact the perceived
organisational search satisfaction and intranet findability and how the impact changes over time. By
limiting the research to the perception of search managers, a term including all roles who are in
charge of maintaining the intranet search applications, this study was adapted to an organisational
level. This means that the respondents in the surveys used in this study are not end-users but the
manager of the search applications. In our conclusions, we present the number of employees, the
use of taxonomy and key performance indicators as the three principal factors which create the most
significant impact on organisational search satisfaction and intranet findability as well as how
satisfaction and findability have varied over time
The stability of IQ in people with low intellectual ability: an analysis of the literature
No full textA meta-analysis of the stability of low IQ (IQ 80) was performed on IQ tests that have been
commonly used—tests that were derived by D. Wechsler (1949, 1955, 1974, 1981, 1991, 1997)
and those based on the Binet scales (L. M. Terman, 1960; L. M. Terman & Merrill, 1972). Weighted-
mean stability coefficients of .77 and .78 were found for Verbal IQ (V IQ) and Performance IQ
(P IQ) on the Wechsler tests and .82 for Full-Scale IQ (FS IQ) on both Wechsler and Binet tests,
for a mean test–retest interval of 2.8 years. Although the majority of FS IQs changed by less than
6 points, 14% changed by 10 points or more. The author suggests that the results of IQ assessment
should be treated with more caution than previously thought
Recommended from our members
Estimating tropospheric and stratospheric winds using infrasound from explosions
No full textThe receiver-to-source backazimuth of atmospheric infrasound signals is biased when cross-winds are present along the propagation path. Infrasound from 598 surface explosions from over 30 years in northern Finland is measured with high spatial resolution on an array 178 km almost due North. The array is situated in the classical shadow-zone distance from the explosions. However, strong infrasound is almost always observed, which is most plausibly due to partial reflections from stratospheric altitudes. The most probable propagation paths are subject to both tropospheric and stratospheric cross-winds, and the wave-propagation modelling in this study yields good correspondence between the observed backazimuth deviation and cross-winds from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis (ERA)-Interim reanalysis product. This study demonstrates that atmospheric cross-winds can be estimated directly from infrasound data using propagation time and backazimuth deviation observations. This study finds these cross-wind estimates to be in good agreement with the ERA-Interim reanalysis
Antiviral treatments reduce severity of diabetes in Ljungan virus-infected CD-1 mice and delay onset in diabetes-prone BB rats
No full textThe effects of LV in two different species, CD-1 mice, without a genetic disposition for diabetes, and BB rats prone to T1D were examined. Male CD-1 mice that had been exposed to LV in utero developed a type 2-like diabetes with increased blood glucose, insulin levels and epididymal fat at the age of 10-15 weeks. Combination therapy including LV-antiserum and an antiviral drug, Pleconaril, significantly reduced the levels of blood glucose and insulin and the amount of abdominal fat. In BB rats, LV has been found in both prediabetic- and diabetic diabetes-prone rats, as well as in diabetes-resistant rats. To evaluate whether the presence of LV has any influence on the onset of T1D, prediabetic BB rats were treated with an antiserum against LV or a combination of the antiviral drugs Pleconaril and Ribavirin. In the group treated with antiviral drugs, the onset was significantly delayed. These results indicate that the presence of LV can be involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes in these animal models
Uptake of the first to fifth doses of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine in individuals with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: A nationwide cohort study in Sweden
No full textAbstract Objectives Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) have an increased risk of severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) as well as impaired responses to COVID‐19 vaccination, which may be overcome by repeated booster vaccinations. Our objective was to explore the uptake of the COVID‐19 vaccine in this population since records of this are scarce. Methods In this nationwide cohort study, we used multiple population‐based health and sociodemographic registries to study COVID‐19 vaccine uptake in individuals with CLL in Sweden, from 27 December 2020 to 28 February 2023. Results A total of 6304 individuals were included. The cumulative incidence (95% confidence interval) at the end of the study period was 95%, 94%, 88%, 78% and 56% for the first, second, third, fourth and fifth doses, respectively. The uptake was significantly higher compared with the age‐standardized nationwide uptake. However, there were large disparities, especially for the fourth and fifth doses, across different age groups, birth regions, and income quartiles. These differences were especially pronounced in intersectional analyses, where individuals born abroad in the lowest income quartile had a vaccine uptake of only 49% and 24% for the fourth and fifth doses, respectively. Conclusions Even though uptake was generally high in individuals with CLL, it seems to be declining from dose three and onwards, and there are significant sociodemographic disparities in vaccine uptake
Evolution of patient-reported outcome measures, 1, 2, and 5 years after surgery for subaxial cervical spine fractures, a nation-wide registry study
No full textBACKGROUND CONTEXT: A longer duration of patient follow up arguably provides more reli-able data on the long-term effects of a treatment. However, the collection of long-term follow up data is resource demanding and often complicated by missing data and patients being lost to follow up. In surgical fixation for cervical spine fractures, data are lacking on the evolution of patient reported out -come measures (PROMs) beyond 1-year of follow up. We hypothesized that the PROMs would remain stable beyond the 1-year postoperative follow up mark, regardless of the surgical approach. PURPOSE: To assess the trends in the evolution of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) at 1, 2-, and 5-years following surgery in patients with traumatic cervical spine injuries. STUDY DESIGN: Nation-wide observational study on prospectively collected data. PATIENT SAMPLE: Individuals treated for subaxial cervical spine fractures with anterior, poste-rior, or combined anteroposterior approaches, between 2006 and 2016 were identified in the Swed-ish Spine Registry (Swespine). OUTCOME MEASURES: PROMs consisting of EQ-5D-3Lindex and the Neck Disability Index (NDI) were considered. METHODS: PROMs data were available for 292 patients at 1 and 2 years postoperatively. Five-years PROMs data were available for 142 of these patients. A simultaneous within-group (longitu-dinal) and between group (approach-dependent) analysis was performed using mixed ANOVA. The predictive ability of 1-year PROMs was subsequently assessed using linear regression. RESULTS: Mixed ANOVA revealed that PROMs remained stable from 1-to 2-years as well as from 2-to 5-years postoperatively and were not significantly affected by the surgical approach (p<0.05). A strong correlation was found between 1-year and both 2-and 5-years PROMs (R>0.7; p<0.001). Linear regression confirmed the accuracy of 1-year PROMs in predicting both 2-and 5-years PROMs (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: PROMs remained stable beyond 1-year of follow up in patients treated with ante-rior, posterior, or combined anteroposterior surgeries for subaxial cervical spine fractures. The 1 -year PROMs were strong predictors of PROMs measured at 2, and 5 years. The 1-year PROMs were sufficient to assess the outcomes of subaxial cervical fixation irrespective of the surgical approach.& COPY; 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc.This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Inborn errors of immunity are associated with increased COVID-19–related hospitalization and intensive care compared to the general population
No full textBackground: It is thought that patients with inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are more susceptible to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than the general population, but a quantification of this potential risk is largely missing. Objective: We assessed the impact of COVID-19 on patients with IEI. Methods: A nationwide cohort study was performed to estimate the relative risk (RR) for hospitalization, intensive care, and death within 30 days after a positive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 test result in an IEI population (n = 2392) compared to the general population (n = 8,270,705) using data from Swedish national registries. Three time periods were studied: the prevaccination period, and the Alpha/Delta and Omicron periods. Adjustment was made for demographics, income, comorbidities, and vaccination status. Results: During the prevaccination period, 25.2% of the IEI population was hospitalized, compared to 17.5% and 5.2% during the Alpha/Delta and Omicron periods, respectively. For the 3 time periods, the adjusted RR [95% confidence interval] for hospitalization in the IEI population compared to the general population was 3.1 [2.1-4.2], 3.5 [2.4-4.8], and 4.3 [2.5-6.7], respectively. The respective values for intensive care after COVID-19 were 5.6 [2.6-10.8], 4.7 [1.7-10.1], and 4.7 [1.7-10.1] for the 3 periods. Five patients (0.6%) in the IEI population died within 30 days of a positive PCR test result compared to 18,773 (0.2%) in the general population during the 3 study periods. Conclusion: Patients with IEI had a 3 to 4 times higher risk for hospitalization and a 5 times higher risk for intensive care during COVID-19 compared to the general population
T-cell immune responses following vaccination with mRNA BNT162b2 against SARS-CoV-2 in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: results from a prospective open-label clinical trial
No full textOutcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic in chronic lymphocytic leukemia : focus on the very early period and Omicron era
No full textIndividuals with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) face an increased risk for severe COVID-19. This study from Sweden, a country that only had a few mandatory restrictions at the onset of the pandemic, used 10 nationwide registers to compare the risks for severe COVID-19 outcomes of polymerase chain reaction-verified severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections through February 2023 in individuals with and those without CLL. From a population of 8 275 839 (6653 CLL) individuals born between 1930 and 2003, 2 088 163 first infections (1289 CLL) were included. The 90-day all-cause mortality rate and adjusted relative risk (aRR; 95% confidence interval) for individuals with CLL vs the general population was 24.8% (1.95; 1.58-2.41) during wild-type, 17.2% (2.38; 1.58-3.57) during Alpha, 4.1% (0.71; 0.24-2.08) during Delta, and 12.6% (1.49; 1.24-1.78) during Omicron infections. Their mortality during Omicron was 0.6% (<65 years), 5.4% (65-74 years), and 19.7% (≥75 years). Small molecule inhibitors (1.56; 1.03-2.37) and corticosteroid usage (1.45; 1.04-2.02) was associated with increased mortality. Next, we analyzed the all-cause mortality in the capital (Stockholm), widely affected by SARS-CoV-2 at the onset of the pandemic. Mortality in individuals with CLL increased by 55% during the first 6 months of 2020 vs 2019, and the age- and sex-aRR by 30 June was 1.53 (1.09-2.15) for individuals with CLL (P = .02) and 1.29 (1.25-1.33) for the general population (P < .001). Collectively, a significantly increased risk for severe COVID-19 and death was observed among individuals with CLL in Sweden, particularly at the onset of the pandemic when few national protective measures were introduced and also after Omicron emerged, emphasizing the need for a more pro-active pandemic strategy for CLL
