The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) has been translated into the different Nordic languages between 1996 and 2003. During the past few years, SDQs have been completed for nearly ...100,000 children and adolescents in population-based studies as well as in clinical samples. The largest studies have been performed in Norway and Denmark, and in these countries the diagnostic interview DAWBA has also been used in conjunction with the SDQ.
In addition to a brief overview of past and ongoing SDQ work in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland, we present scale means and standard deviations from selected community studies with comparable age groups, including parental reports for 7, 9 and 11 year-old children and self-reports of 13 and 15 year-olds.
The descriptive statistics suggest that the distributions of SDQ scores are very similar across the Nordic countries. Further collaborative efforts in establishing norms and evaluating the validity of the SDQ as a screening instrument are encouraged.
Previous calculations of the ozone impact from a fleet of high‐speed civil transports (HSCTs) have been carried out by global two‐dimensional (2‐D) models Bekki and PyIe, 1993; Pitari et al., 1993 ...which have not included explicit wake processing of sulfur species. This processing could be important for the global sulfate aerosol and ozone perturbations Weisenstein et al., 1996. For an HSCT scenario with emission indices of NOx and sulfur equal to 5 and 0.4, respectively, and a cruise speed of Mach 2.4 Stolarski and Wesoky, 1993b, the Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) 2‐D model gives 0.50–1.1% as the range of the annually averaged O3 column depletion at 40°–50°N. This range is determined by the extreme assumption that emitted SO2 is diluted into the global model grid box either as gas or as 10 nm sulfate particles. A hierarchy of models is used here to investigate the impact of processes in the wake on the calculated global ozone response to sulfur emissions by a proposed HSCT fleet. We follow the evolution of aircraft emissions from the nozzle plane using three numerical models: the Standard Plume Flowfield‐II/Plume Nucleation and Condensation model (SPF‐II/PNC), an AER far wake model incorporating microphysics of aerosol particles, and the AER global 2‐D chemistry‐transport model. Particle measurements in the wake of the Concorde Fahey et al., 1995a are used to place constraints on sulfur oxidation processes in the engine and the near field. To explain the Concorde measurements, we consider cases with different fractions of SO3 (2%, 20%, and 40%) in the sulfur emissions at the nozzle plane and also the possibility of other unknown heterogeneous or homogeneous oxidation processes for SO2 in the wake. Assuming similar characteristics for the proposed HSCT fleet, the global ozone response is then calculated by the 2‐D model. Using the model‐calculated wake processing of sulfur emissions under the above assumptions and constrained by the Concorde particle measurements, the range of annually averaged O3 column depletion at 40°–50°N is reduced from 0.5–1.1% to 0.75–1.0%. Our analysis shows that the global ozone response is more sensitive to the assumed partitioning of sulfur emissions between SO2 and SO3 at the nozzle plane than to the wake dilution rate. Outstanding uncertainties and recommendations for further wake‐sampling experiments are also discussed.
Background Meso-Rex bypass is used to treat patients with clinically important extrahepatic portal vein obstruction (EHPVO). Usually, an autologous left internal jugular vein graft is used to bypass ...the portal blood circulation from the superior mesenteric vein to the left portal vein. Other vascular conduits have included the autogenous saphenous vein, splenic vein, right gastroepiploic vein, and inferior mesenteric vein. Methods A total of 20 umbilical veins with attached livers were harvested from 20 deceased liver donors. Umbilical veins were dilated mechanically and checked for patency and communication with the left portal vein. Vein length and diameter after dilatation were recorded. Cross-sections of 15 recanalized umbilical veins were processed by routine histologic examination and stained with hematoxylin and eosin, as well as processed by immunohistochemistry for CD31 and factor VIII antigens. Subsequently, 3 children with EHPVO underwent this modified meso-Rex bypass using the umbilical vein as a vascular conduit. Results The mean length of harvested umbilical veins was 15 cm (range, 7–21); the mean length of recanalized and usable umbilical veins was 10 cm (range, 5–15). Recanalization was successful in 16 (80%) of the 20 donor umbilical veins. The mean diameter of the umbilical veins after serial dilatation and recanalization was 1.2 cm (range, 1–2). In 11 (73%) of the 15 recanalized vein specimens, the lumen was lined by endothelial cells. In 2 children, the vascular conduit was constructed entirely with native umbilical vein. In the remaining child, 3 cm of umbilical vein was preserved and anastomosed to a mobilized inferior mesenteric vein due to inadequate length. All 3 children had patent bypass and resolution of clinical manifestations of portal hypertension at a mean follow-up of 21 months. Conclusion Meso-Rex bypass may prove to be a definitive treatment for patients with EHPVO. The use of native umbilical vein as a vein conduit achieved decompression of the splanchnic venous system and should be considered a natural alternative to other interposition vein grafts.
In this study, we sought evidence for an underlying atrial or ventricular myopathy in patients with paroxysmal lone atrial fibrillation using standard echocardiographic parameters in addition to ...Doppler tissue imaging of mitral annular motion. No impairment in atrial contractile function was found, but there was evidence for impaired diastolic function in these patients.
We present an analysis of the impact of heterogeneous chemistry on the partitioning of nitrogen species measured by the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) instruments. The UARS measurements ...utilized include N2O, HNO3, and ClONO2 from the cryogenic limb array etalon spectrometer (CLAES), version 7 (v.7), and temperature, methane, ozone, H2O, HCl, NO and NO2 from the halogen occultation experiment (HALOE), version 18. The analysis is carried out for the UARS data obtained between January 1992 and September 1994 in the 100- to 1-mbar (approx. 17-47 km) altitude range and over 10 deg latitude bins from 70 deg S to 70 deg N. The spatiotemporal evolution of aerosol surface area density (SAD) is adopted from analysis of the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) II data. A diurnal steady state photochemical box model, constrained by the temperature, ozone, H2O, CH4, aerosol SAD, and columns of O2 and O3 above the point of interest, has been used as the main tool to analyze these data. Total inorganic nitrogen (NOY) is obtained by three different methods: (1) as a sum of the UARS-measured NO, NO2, HNO3, and ClONO2; (2) from the N2O-NOY correlation; and (3) from the CH4-NOY correlation. To validate our current understanding of stratospheric heterogeneous chemistry for post-Pinatubo conditions, the model-calculated monthly averaged NO(x)/NO(y) ratios and the NO, NO2, and HNO3 profiles are compared with the UARS-derived data. In general, the UARS-constrained box model captures the main features of nitrogen species partitioning in the post-Pinatubo years, such as recovery of NO(x) after the eruption, their seasonal variability and vertical profiles. However, the model underestimates the NO2 content, particularly in the 30- to 7-mbar (approx. 23-32 km) range. Comparisons of the calculated temporal behavior of the partial columns of NO2 and HNO3 and ground-based measurements at 45 deg S and 45 deg N are also presented. Our analysis indicates that ground-based and HALOE v.18 measurements of the NO2 vertical columns are consistent within the range of their uncertainties and are systematically higher (up to 50%) than the model results at midlatitudes in both hemispheres. Reasonable agreement is obtained for HNO3 columns at 45 deg S, suggesting some problems with nitrogen species partitioning in the model. Outstanding uncertainties are discussed.
Cell-based therapies are a potential therapeutic alternative for the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD). However, transplanted cells undergo significant death in the living subject. Hypoxic ...preconditioning (HPC) is a potential intervention to increase transplanted cell survival. However, the biological mechanisms of this benefit remain unclear. We hypothesize that the beneficial effect of HPC on stem cell survival is in part due to preservation of oxidant status, an effect that will be monitored using state-of-the-art molecular imaging.
H9c2 rat cardiomyoblasts expressing the construct CMV-firefly luciferase (h9c2-fluc), with and without HPC, were exposed to hypoxia, and oxidative stress and cell survival were measured. Subsequently, H9c2-fluc cells, with and without HPC, were injected into the myocardium of rats and cell survival was monitored daily with Bioluminescence (BLI) using a CCD camera.
Compared to controls, cells exposed to hypoxia had increased amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS, control: 14.1±0.9 vs. hypoxia: 19.5 ± 2.0 RFU/µg protein, P=0.02) and decreased cell survival (control: 0.29 ± 0.005 vs. hypoxia: 0.24 ± 0.005 OD, P<0.001). HPC treatment decreased the amount of hypoxia-induced ROS (HPC: 11.5 ± 0.7RFU/µg protein, P=0.002 vs. hypoxia and P=0.11 vs. control), associated with improved survival (HPC: 0.27 ± 0.004OD/µg protein, P=0.002 vs. hypoxia and P=0.005 vs. control). Most importantly, compared to un-conditioned cells, HPC-cells had increased cell survival after transplantation to the myocardium (C: 34.7 ± 6.7% vs. HPC: 83.4 ± 17.5% at day 5 compared to day 1, P=0.01).
The beneficial effect of HPC is in part due to preservation of oxidant status. Molecular imaging can assess changes in cell survival in the living subject and has the potential to be applied clinically.
To investigate the contribution of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II molecules in susceptibility to inflammatory demyelination, we induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in ...transgenic (tg) mice expressing the HLA-DR3, HLA-DQ8 and HLA-DQ6 molecules in the absence of endogenous class II (Ab
o). Following immunization with mouse myelin, HLA-DR3 tg mice mounted strong T-cell proliferative responses, and developed inflammatory lesions and demyelination in the central nervous system with mild to moderate clinical symptoms of EAE. HLA-DQ8 and HLA-DQ6 tg mice elicited weak T-cell proliferative responses and did not develop clinical symptoms of EAE. HLA-DR3/DQ6 double tg mice immunized with mouse myelin experienced clinical disease similar to the single tg HLA-DR3 tg mice, indicating that expression of DQ6 in this line had no effect on disease. In contrast, HLA-DR3/DQ8 double tg mice developed severe inflammatory lesions and clinical disease in response to immunization with mouse myelin. Our data suggest that in the presence of two susceptible class II alleles, namely HLA-DR3 and DQ8, there is additional selection and expansion of potential autoreactive T cells, resulting in enhanced severity of disease.
The major surface protein (MSP) 1a of the ehrlichial cattle pathogen Anaplasma marginale, encoded by the single-copy gene msp1alpha, has been shown to have a neutralization-sensitive epitope and to ...be an adhesin for bovine erythrocytes and tick cells. msp1alpha has been found to be a stable genetic marker for the identification of geographic isolates of A. marginale throughout development in acutely and persistently infected cattle and in ticks. The molecular weight of MSP1a varies among geographic isolates of A. marginale because of a varying number of tandemly repeated peptides of 28-29 amino acids. Variation in the sequence of the tandem repeats occurs within and among isolates, and may have resulted from evolutionary pressures exerted by ligand-receptor and host-parasite interactions. These repeated sequences include markers for tick transmissibility that may be important in the identification of ehrlichial pathogens because they may influence control strategies and the design of subunit vaccines.
Effectively tackling the growing noncommunicable disease (NCD) burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) is a major challenge. To address research needs in this setting for NCDs, in 2009, ...National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and UnitedHealth Group (UHG) engaged in a public-private partnership that supported a network of 11 LMIC-based research centers and created the NHLBI-UnitedHealth Global Health Centers of Excellence (COE) Program. The Program's overall goal was to contribute to reducing the cardiovascular and lung disease burdens by catalyzing in-country research institutions to develop a global network of biomedical research centers. Key elements of the Program included team science and collaborative approaches, developing research and training platforms for future investigators, and creating a data commons. This Program embraced a strategic approach for tackling NCDs in LMICs and will provide capacity for locally driven research efforts that can identify and address priority health issues in specific countries' settings.
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