Losses due to predation are recognized as an important factor affecting shellfish stocks, restoration efforts and aquaculture production. Managing and mitigating the impact of predators require ...information on the population dynamics and functional responses to prey availability under varying environmental conditions.
Asterias
spp. are well-known keystone predators with the capacity to exert a top down control on shellfish populations.
Asterias
spp
.
populations are extremely plastic, booming fast when prey is abundant and exhibiting a remarkable individual resilience to starvation and adverse environmental conditions. These aspects have led
Asterias
spp
.
to be considered pests by shellfish producers and fishers and to be catalogued among the most devastating invasive species. Assessment and mitigation of the impact of
Asterias rubens
in northern Europe have been the objective of several projects. However, there is still a limited understanding of the processes behind
A. rubens
population plasticity and how environmental conditions affect individual growth and predation. Under these circumstances a comprehensive eco-physiological model becomes necessary. These models can integrate available information on biology and eco-physiology to gain understanding of the effect of the environmental conditions on the impact of
A. rubens
.
In this work, we performed a number of eco-physiological experiments and combined them with field data from a Danish estuary to estimate and validate the parameters of a dynamic energy budget (DEB) model for the whole life cycle of
A. rubens
. DEB models can be used to assess the effects of environmental variability on the life cycle and key population traits allowing the prediction of the performance, abundance, resource requirements and potential distribution of individuals and populations under dynamic environments. As such the DEB model presented in this study aims to become a tool to be used to assess and manage the impact of
A. rubens
in cultured and natural shellfish populations. The successfully parameterised DEB model describes
A. rubens
as a plastic species, an efficient predator with low maintenance costs and, at least while feeding on mussels, a high energy yield from its prey. The model validation against independent data resulted in the model being capable to assess growth, food demand, reproductive output and reserves dynamics of
A. rubens
under experimental and natural conditions. Moreover, application of the model to the Limfjorden seastar fishery is used to further discuss the use of the model to understand biology and ecology of this pest species in the context with the management of shellfish stocks and impact mitigation.
Dieses Buch dient der Vorbereitung der mündlichen Staatsprüfung.Für alle Arten der mündlichen Prüfung werden konkrete Handlungsempfehlungen aufgezeigt. Skizzierte Prüfungsgespräche ermöglichen zudem ...die Wiederholung des Pflichtfachstoffs.
Background
The fully human monoclonal antibody erenumab, which targets the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor, was licensed in Switzerland in July 2018 for the prophylactic treatment of ...migraine.
To complement findings from the pivotal program, this observational study was designed to collect and evaluate clinical data on the impact of erenumab on several endpoints, such as quality of life, migraine-related impairment and treatment satisfaction in a real-world setting.
Methods
An interim analysis was conducted after all patients completed 6 months of erenumab treatment. Patients kept a headache diary and completed questionnaires at follow up visits. The overall study duration comprises 24 months.
Results
In total, 172 adults with chronic or episodic migraine from 19 different sites across Switzerland were enrolled to receive erenumab every 4 weeks. At baseline, patients had 16.6 ± 7.2 monthly migraine days (MMD) and 11.6 ± 7.0 acute migraine-specific medication days per month. After 6 months, erenumab treatment reduced Headache Impact Test (HIT-6™) scores by 7.7 ± 8.4 (
p
< 0.001), the modified Migraine Disability Assessment (mMIDAS) by 14.1 ± 17.8 (
p
< 0.001), MMD by 7.6 ± 7.0 (
p
< 0.001) and acute migraine-specific medication days per month by 6.6 ± 5.4 (
p
< 0.001). Erenumab also reduced the impact of migraine on social and family life, as evidenced by a reduction of Impact of Migraine on Partners and Adolescent Children (IMPAC) scores by 6.1 ± 6.7 (
p
< 0.001). Patients reported a mean effectiveness of 67.1, convenience of 82.4 and global satisfaction of 72.4 in the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM-9). In total, 99 adverse events (AE) and 12 serious adverse events (SAE) were observed in 62 and 11 patients, respectively. All SAE were regarded as not related to the study medication.
Conclusions
Overall quality of life improved and treatment satisfaction was rated high with erenumab treatment in real-world clinical practice. In addition, the reported impact of migraine on spouses and children of patients was reduced.
Trial registration
BASEC ID 2018–02,375 in the Register of All Projects in Switzerland (RAPS).
Graphical Abstract
Background and Objective. The course of central and peripheral motor recovery after cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) may be investigated by electrophysiological measures. The goal of this study was ...to compare the 2 over the first year after injury in relation to motor gains. Methods. Compound motor action potentials (CMAPs), motor-evoked potentials (MEPs), and F-waves were recorded from the abductor digiti minimi and CMAP and F-waves from abductor hallucis muscles in 305 patients at about 15 days, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months following an acute traumatic SCI. Results. The MEP amplitudes and F-wave persistences were lower with more severe sensorimotor impairment. They steadily increased in most subgroups within 6 months after SCI. The amplitude of the CMAPs was low for the first 3 months in the most severely affected participants. This was also found for CMAPs from tibial nerve originating well below the cervical lesion level. Improvement in neurophysiological parameters correlated with improved upper extremity motor scores. Conclusion. The results point to a systematic interrelation of corticospinal transmission, spinal motoneuron excitability, and its axon function, respectively. Electrophysiological correlates of neural excitability show distinct spatial and temporal interrelations within central and peripheral motor pathways following acute cervical SCI. A strong secondary deterioration within the peripheral motor system with incomplete or no recovery depends on anatomical distance caudal to lesion and on lesion severity. Electrophysiological assessments may increase the sensitivity of interventional studies in addition to clinical measures.
To examine the diagnostic pattern, level of severity of illness or injuries, and mortality among children for whom a physician-staffed helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) was dispatched.
...Population-based cohort study including patients aged less than 16 years treated by the Danish national HEMS from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2018. Diagnoses were retrieved from inhospital medical records, and the severity of illness or injuries was assessed by a severity score on scene, administration of advanced out-of-hospital care, need for intensive care in a hospital, and mortality.
In total, 651 HEMS missions included pediatric patients aged less than 1 year (9.2%), 1 to 2 years (29.0%), 3 to 7 years (28.3%), and 8 to 15 years (33.5%). A third of the patients had critical emergencies (29.6%), and for 20.1% of the patients, 1 or more out-of-hospital interventions were performed: intubation, mechanical chest compressions, intraosseous vascular access, blood transfusion, chest tube insertion, and/or ultrasound examination. Among the 525 patients with hospital follow-up, the most frequent hospital diagnoses were injuries (32.2%), burns (11.2%), and respiratory diseases (7.8%). Within 24 hours of the mission, 18.1% of patients required intensive care. Twenty-nine patients (5.1%, 95% confidence interval CI 3.6 to 7.3) died either on or within 1 day of the mission, and the cumulative 30-day mortality was 35 of 565 (6.2%, 95% CI 4.5 to 8.5) (N=565 first-time missions).
On Danish physician-staffed HEMS missions, 1 in 5 pediatric patients required advanced out-of-hospital care. Among hospitalized patients, nearly one-fifth of the patients required immediate intensive care and 6.2% died within 30 days of the mission.
Food contact materials (FCM) are any type of item intended to come into contact with foods and thus represent a potential source for human exposure to chemicals. Regarding FCMs made of paper and ...board, information pertaining to their chemical constituents and the potential impacts on human health remains scarce, which hampers safety evaluation. We describe an effect-directed strategy to identify and characterize emerging chemicals in paper and board FCMs. Twenty FCMs were tested in eight reporter gene assays, including assays for the AR, ER, AhR, PPARγ, Nrf2 and p53, as well as mutagenicity. All FCMs exhibited activities in at least one assay. As proof-of-principle, FCM samples obtained from a sandwich wrapper and a pizza box were carried through a complete step-by-step multi-tiered approach. The pizza box exhibited ER activity, likely caused by the presence of bisphenol A, dibutyl phthalate, and benzylbutyl phthalate. The sandwich wrapper exhibited AR antagonism, likely caused by abietic acid and dehydroabietic acid. Migration studies confirmed that the active chemicals can transfer from FCMs to food simulants. In conclusion, we report an effect-directed strategy that can identify hazards posed by FCMs made from paper and board, including the identification of the chemical(s) responsible for the observed activity.
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•A strategy for an effect-directed analysis of food contact materials has been developed.•Twenty food packaging materials were toxicologically profiled.•Bisphenol A and phthalates were responsible for estrogenic activity of a pizza box.•Abietic acid and dehydroabietic acid were responsible for androgen receptor antagonism in a sandwich wrapper.•A tool for identifying emerging chemicals in food packaging has been developed.
Infections, including sepsis, are leading causes of death and fluid administration is part of the treatment. The optimal fluid therapy remains controversial. If the patient is transported by ...Emergency Medical Services (EMS), fluids can be initiated during transportation, which may result in increased overall fluid administration and fluid overload, which may be harmful. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of EMS transportation on 24-h fluid administration in patients with suspected infection.
This is a
study of a prospective, multicenter, observational study, conducted in three Danish Emergency Departments (EDs), 20 January-2 March 2020, aiming at describing fluid administration in patients with suspected infection. Patients were stratified into the groups: simple infection or sepsis, in accordance with SEPSIS-3-guidelines. The primary outcome of the current study was 24-h total fluid volume (oral and intravenous) stratified by transportation mode to the EDs.
Total 24-h fluids were registered for 734 patients. Patients with simple infection or sepsis arriving by EMS (
= 388, 54%) received mean 3,774 ml (standard deviation SD: 1900) and non-EMS received 3,627 ml (SD: 1568); mean difference (MD) was 303 ml 95% CI: 32; 573 adjusted for age, site, and total SOFA-score. Patients brought in by EMS received more intravenous fluids (MD: 621 ml 95% CI: 378; 864) and less oral fluids (MD: -474 ml 95% CI: -616; -333) than non-EMS patients.
Patients transported by EMS received more intravenous fluids and less oral fluids but overall, more fluid in total in the first 24-h than non-EMS after adjusting for age, site and SOFA-score.
: This study reports the results of implant therapy involving a sinus membrane lift and of conventional implant therapy in 68 periodontally compromised patients treated between June 1990 and June ...2002. Patients had at least two implants inserted, one of which was placed in the maxillary sinus region following fenestration of the lateral sinus wall and lifting of the sinus membrane. Two implant systems were used: a two‐stage system (Astra®) and a one‐stage system (ITI®). Annual follow‐up visits included recording of plaque, probing pocket depth and measurement of the radiographic distance in millimeter from the implant shoulder to the alveolar crest. Survival analysis showed that the proportion of implants that had not been explanted after 5 years ranged between 88.7% for ITI® sinus implants and 97% for ASTRA® conventional implants. After 10 years, the proportion of implants remaining in situ ranged between 59% for ITI® conventional implants and 97% for ASTRA® conventional implants. Cox regression analyses showed that the factors influential for implant explantation were implant type (HRITI=2.8), implant length (HR10 mm=3.1), patient being a smoker (HRsmoking=2.2) and patient having at least 20 natural teeth (HR20 teeth=3.8). Our results demonstrate that sinus implants may be inserted with the same success as conventional implants in periodontally compromised patients.
•Peripheral vestibular deficits were quantified in inflammatory neuropathy patients.•Decreased vestibular function was frequent but large parts of the vestibular apparatus were intact.•Our data does ...not support routine vestibular testing in inflammatory neuropathy patients.
We aimed to quantify peripheral-vestibular deficits that may contribute to imbalanced stance/gait in patients with inflammatory neuropathies.
Twenty-one patients (58 ± 15 y mean age ± 1SD; chronic-inflammatory-demyelinating-polyneuropathy = 10, Guillain-Barré Syndrome = 5, Anti-MAG peripheral neuropathy = 2, multifocal-motor-neuropathy = 4) were compared with 26 healthy controls. All subjects received video-head-impulse testing (vHIT), caloric irrigation and cervical/ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic-potentials (VEMPs). The Yardley vertigo-symptom-scale (VSS) was used to rate vertigo/dizziness. Postural stability was assessed using the functional gait-assessment (FGA). Pure-tone audiograms (n = 18), otoacoustic emissions (n = 12) and auditory brainstem responses were obtained (n = 12).
Semicircular-canal hypofunction was noted in 9/21 (43%) patients (vHIT = 6; caloric irrigation = 5), whereas otolith function was impaired in 12/21 (57%) (oVEMPs = 8; cVEMPs = 5), resulting in vestibular impairment of at least one sensor in 13/21 (62%). On average, 2.4 ± 1.1 vestibular end organs (each side: anterior/posterior/horizontal canal, utriculus, sacculus; total = 10) were affected. The VSS-scores were higher in patients (16.8 ± 8.6 vs. 9.5 ± 6.2, p = 0.002) but did not correlate with the number of affected organs. Auditory neuropathy was found in 1/12 (8%) patients.
Impairment of one or more vestibular end organs was frequent, but usually mild, possibly contributing to imbalance of stance/gait in inflammatory neuropathies.
While our data does not support routine vestibular testing in inflammatory neuropathies, this may be considered in selected cases.
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