| 1. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(författare)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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| 2. |
- Jacobs, Alan M., et al.
(författare)
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The Qualitative Transparency Deliberations : Insights and Implications
- 2021
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Ingår i: Perspectives on Politics. - 1537-5927 .- 1541-0986. ; 19:1, s. 171-208
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In recent years, a variety of efforts have been made in political science to enable, encourage, or require scholars to be more open and explicit about the bases of their empirical claims and, in turn, make those claims more readily evaluable by others. While qualitative scholars have long taken an interest in making their research open, reflexive, and systematic, the recent push for overarching transparency norms and requirements has provoked serious concern within qualitative research communities and raised fundamental questions about the meaning, value, costs, and intellectual relevance of transparency for qualitative inquiry. In this Perspectives Reflection, we crystallize the central findings of a three-year deliberative process-the Qualitative Transparency Deliberations (QTD)-involving hundreds of political scientists in a broad discussion of these issues. Following an overview of the process and the key insights that emerged, we present summaries of the QTD Working Groups' final reports. Drawing on a series of public, online conversations that unfolded at www.qualtd.net, the reports unpack transparency's promise, practicalities, risks, and limitations in relation to different qualitative methodologies, forms of evidence, and research contexts. Taken as a whole, these reports-the full versions of which can be found in the Supplementary Materials-offer practical guidance to scholars designing and implementing qualitative research, and to editors, reviewers, and funders seeking to develop criteria of evaluation that are appropriate-as understood by relevant research communities-to the forms of inquiry being assessed. We dedicate this Reflection to the memory of our coauthor and QTD working group leader Kendra Koivu.(1)
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| 3. |
- Andersson, Lisa, et al.
(författare)
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Changes in opioid-related deaths following increased access to opioid substitution treatment
- 2021
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Ingår i: Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy. - : BioMed Central. - 1747-597X. ; 16:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Opioid-related mortality is high and increasing in the Western world, and interventions aimed at reducing opioid-related deaths represent an important area of study. In Skane County, Sweden, a patient choice reform resulted in increased access to opioid substitution treatment (OST). In addition, a gradual shift towards less restrictive terms for exclusion from OST has been implemented. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of these policy changes on opioid-related deaths. Methods Detailed data on opioid-related deaths in Skane during the 2 years prior to and following the policy change were obtained from forensic records and from health care services. Data on overdose deaths for Skane and the rest of Sweden were obtained using publicly available national register data. Time periods were used as the predictor for opioid-related deaths in the forensic data. The national level data were used in a natural experiment design in which rates of overdose deaths were compared between Skane and the rest of Sweden before and after the intervention. Results There was no significant difference in the number of deaths in Skane between the data collection periods (RR: 1.18 95% CI:0.89-1.57, p= 0.251). The proportion of deaths among patients enrolled in OST increased between the two periods (2.61, 1.12-6.10, p= 0.026). There was no change in deaths related to methadone or buprenorphine in relation to deaths due to the other opioids included in the study (0.92, 0.51-1.63, p= 0.764). An analysis of national mortality data showed an annual relative decrease in unintentional drug deaths in Skane compared to the rest of Sweden following the onset of the reform (0.90, 0.84-0,97, p= 0.004). Conclusions Opioid-related deaths, as assessed using forensic data, has not changed significantly in Skane following a change to lower-threshold OST. By contrast, national level data indicate that the policy change has been associated with decreased overdose deaths. The discrepancy between these results highlights the need for more research to elucidate this issue. The result that more patients die during ongoing OST following an increase in access to treatment underlines the need for further preventive interventions within the OST treatment setting.
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| 4. |
- Andersson, Lisa, et al.
(författare)
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Investigating opioid-related fatalities in southern Sweden : contact with care-providing authorities and comparison of substances
- 2020
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Ingår i: Harm Reduction Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1477-7517. ; 17:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Opioid-related deaths have increased in Western countries over recent decades. Despite numerous studies investigating opioid-related mortality, only a few have focused on the lives of the deceased individuals prior to their deaths, specifically regarding contact with care-providing authorities such as health, social and correctional services. Furthermore, a change has been noted in the last two decades as to which opioids cause most deaths, from heroin to prescription opioids. However, studies comparing fatalities caused by different substances are rare. The aim of this study was to investigate contact with care-providing authorities during the year prior to death among individuals who died as a result of opioid intoxication and to analyse differences relating to which opioids caused their deaths. METHODS: The study is based on retrospective register data and includes 180 individuals with a history of illicit drug use, who died from opioid intoxication in Skåne, Sweden, between 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013 and 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2016. Intoxications caused by heroin, methadone, buprenorphine and fentanyl were included. Data were collected from the National Board of Forensic Medicine, regional health care services, municipal social services and the Prison and Probation Service. Statistical testing was performed using Pearson's chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and the Mann-Whitney U test to analyse group differences. RESULTS: A total of 89% of the deceased individuals had been in contact with one or more of the care-providing authorities during the year prior to death; 75% had been in contact with health care, 69% with the social services, 28% with the Prison and Probation Service, and 23% had been enrolled in opioid substitution treatment at some point during their final year of life. Few differences appeared between the substance groups with regard to which opioid contributed to the death. In addition to opioids, sedatives were present in more than 80% of the cases. Individuals whose deaths were buprenorphine-related had been in contact with the social services to a significantly lesser extent during the year prior to death. CONCLUSIONS: The studied population is characterised by extensive contact with care-providing authorities, thus providing numerous opportunities for authorities to reach this group with preventive and other interventions. Few differences emerged between groups with regard to which opioid had contributed to the death.
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| 5. |
- Andersson, Lisa, et al.
(författare)
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Patient choice as a means of empowerment in opioid substitution treatment : a case from Sweden
- 2020
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Ingår i: Drugs. - : Taylor & Francis. - 0968-7637 .- 1465-3370. ; 27:2, s. 105-117
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Patient choice of treatment provider was introduced within opioid substitution treatment in the southern Swedish county of Skåne in 2014. Substitution treatment has often been criticised for being strict, rule-based, and driven by an ethos of discipline. This study explores the patients’ views and experiences of patient choice, particularly as a potential means of empowerment. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with 33 patients at six substitution treatment clinics in two cities. Patient choice within substitution treatment has empowered the patients in that many are able to choose their treatment provider and transfer to another provider. The interviewees appreciated the possibility to choose and transfer, and felt that they had gained more influence on their treatment. Experiences of poor staff conduct and the new clinic’s policies and practice on prescribing benzodiazepines were important reasons for choosing and transferring between clinics. In particular, the patients stressed the importance of the possibility to leave a clinic they felt offered substandard treatment, and the psychologically important feeling of knowing that they could transfer to another facility. However, patient choice in addiction treatment is very rare in Sweden, and the demographic structure limits the development of patient choice within substitution treatment.
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| 6. |
- Andersson, Lisa
(författare)
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Problematisk opioidanvändning : om opioidrelaterade dödsfall och LARO i södra Sverige
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Problematic opioid use constitutes an extensive global problem. Correspondingly, opioid-related mortality is high and has increased in several Western countries, including Sweden, during the 2000s. In Sweden, the most effective treatment method, opioid substitution treatment (OST), was for a long time limited with respect to the number of patients. The treatment was also characterized by strict rules and conducted in a high-threshold manner, which has meant that it has not been fully appealing to people with problematic opioid use. Therefore, in Skåne County in southern Sweden, patient choice of treatment provider was introduced for OST in 2014 with the intention to increase the number of treatment places and strengthen patient empowerment. The overall aims of this thesis are (1) to investigate opioid-related deaths in Skåne with a focus on contact with care-providing authorities and in relation to increased access to OST, and (2) to examine patients’ and clinic managers’ attitudes towards the introduction of the patient choice reform for OST and their views of the reform's objectives of increased accessibility to OST and strengthening patients' empowerment and influence over their treatment.The four papers in this thesis are based on two research projects with various empiric material. Paper I and II are based on data on opioid overdose deaths from a period of two years before and two years following the introduction of the patient choice reform. Forensic data regarding the presence of various substances and which opioid caused the death, as well as demographic data and information on contact with care-providing authorities (health care, social services, and the Prison and Probation Service), were collected. Paper I examines clinical background and contact with care-providing authorities of opioid-related fatalities, as well as differences with regard to which opioid caused the death. Paper II examines the possible impact of the intervention on the development of opioid-related deaths in the region. National mortality data were also used in this study to investigate the development in Skåne compared to the rest of Sweden. The second research project focused on stakeholders’ views on the implementation of the patient choice reform. Paper III includes interviews with 33 OST patients, and paper IV consists of interviews with the managers of all OST clinics in Skåne. The results from paper I show that of the 180 deceased in opioid overdose included in the study, almost 90 per cent had been in contact with one of the examined care-providing authorities during the year prior to death. Few differences appeared with regard to which opioid contributed to the death. Paper II indicates that there has been no significant change in opioid-related deaths in Skåne after the patient choice reform and increased access to OST. An analysis on national mortality data however showed a significant yearly decrease in drug-related deaths in Skåne compared to other Swedish counties in the years following the reform (2015–2017). No change was noted in deaths related to methadone or buprenorphine in Skåne. The proportion of deaths among patients in OST increased after the introduction of the reform. The third paper indicates that patients in OST in Skåne have gained increased empowerment and influence over their treatment since the patient choice reform was introduced. Patients especially appreciated the knowledge that they could make an exit and change clinics if they so wished, even if they so far had chosen not to. In paper IV, the clinic managers were largely positive to the trend towards increased influence for patients over their treatment situation. They were more critical of the fact that there was no major differentiation between treatment providers, and that the competition that arose after the patient choice reform mainly was related to prescribing benzodiazepines.Conclusions drawn from the papers in this thesis include that patient choice of treatment provider can be viewed as a means of empowerment for patients in OST, which was regarded as positive by both patients and treatment providers. The limitations of such a system for providing OST that emerged were lack of diversity between clinics and that the competition between treatment providers largely comprised of differing views on the prescription of benzodiazepines. Further, improved access to low-threshold OST in Skåne was not associated with an increased overdose death-rate. The result that people who died from opioid overdose to a very large extent are known to society’s care-providing authorities suggests that there are considerable opportunities to reach people with problematic opioid use for therapeutic and harm reducing measures such as low-threshold OST and take-home naloxone.
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| 7. |
- Biró, Péter, et al.
(författare)
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Modelling and optimisation in European Kidney Exchange Programmes
- 2021
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Ingår i: European Journal of Operational Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0377-2217. ; 291:2, s. 447-456
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The complex multi-criteria optimisation problems arising in Kidney Exchange Programmes have received considerable attention both in practice and in the scientific literature. Whereas theoretical advancements are well reviewed and synthesised, this is not the case for practice. We present a synthesis of models and methods applied in present European Kidney Exchange Programmes, which is based on detailed descriptions we created for this purpose. Most descriptions address national programmes, yet we also present findings on emerging cross-national programmes. The synthesis provides a systematic and detailed description of the models and methods the programmes use, revealing important commonalities as well as considerable variation among them. Rather than distilling a single best practice from these results, we find that the variation in models and methods arises because of variation in country characteristics, policies, and ethics. The synthesised state of the art may benefit future national and cross-national initiatives and direct future theoretical contributions within and across the boundaries of the Operations Research discipline.
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| 8. |
- Hendry, Alexandra, et al.
(författare)
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Atypical Development of Attentional Control Associates with Later Adaptive Functioning, Autism and ADHD Traits
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of autism and developmental disorders. - : Springer Nature. - 0162-3257 .- 1573-3432. ; 50:11, s. 4085-4105
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Autism is frequently associated with difficulties with top-down attentional control, which impact on individuals’ mental health and quality of life. The developmental processes involved in these attentional difficulties are not well understood. Using a data-driven approach, 2 samples (N = 294 and 412) of infants at elevated and typical likelihood of autism were grouped according to profiles of parent report of attention at 10, 15 and 25 months. In contrast to the normative profile of increases in attentional control scores between infancy and toddlerhood, a minority (7–9%) showed plateauing attentional control scores between 10 and 25 months. Consistent with pre-registered hypotheses, plateaued growth of attentional control was associated with elevated autism and ADHD traits, and lower adaptive functioning at age 3 years.
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| 9. |
- Johnson, Candice, et al.
(författare)
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Skin sensitization in silico protocol
- 2020
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Ingår i: Regulatory toxicology and pharmacology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0273-2300 .- 1096-0295. ; 116
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The assessment of skin sensitization has evolved over the past few years to include in vitro assessments of key events along the adverse outcome pathway and opportunistically capitalize on the strengths of in silico methods to support a weight of evidence assessment without conducing a test in animals. While in silico methods vary greatly in their purpose and format; there is a need to standardize the underlying principles on which such models are developed and to make transparent the implications for the uncertainty in the overall assessment. In this contribution, the relationship between skin sensitization relevant effects, mechanisms, and endpoints are built into a hazard assessment framework. Based on the relevance of the mechanisms and effects as well as the strengths and limitations of the experimental systems used to identify them, rules and principles are defined for deriving skin sensitization in silico assessments. Further, the assignments of reliability and confidence scores that reflect the overall strength of the assessment are discussed. This skin sensitization protocol supports the implementation and acceptance of in silico approaches for the prediction of skin sensitization.
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| 10. |
- Johnson, Mats, 1956, et al.
(författare)
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No neurochemical evidence of neuronal injury or glial activation in children with Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome: An explorative pilot study.
- 2021
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Ingår i: The world journal of biological psychiatry : the official journal of the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1814-1412. ; 22:10, s. 800-804
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Summary Objective: Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) is characterized by an acute onset of obsessive compulsive disorder, combined with at least two other neuropsychiatric symptoms with acute onset. Diagnostic criteria also require that no specific medical etiology is identified. Although there are no verified etiological biomarkers, PANS is assumed to be a neuroinflammatory disorder with a possible autoimmune etiology. Neurochemical markers such as neurofilament light (NfL, a neuronal injury marker) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP, an astrocytic activation marker) have not been published for this patient group. Method: Blood samples from 17 children meeting diagnostic criteria for PANS, after assessment at a child neuropsychiatry clinic were analysed for serum concentrations of NfL and GFAP. Ten age-matched children without any neurological or psychiatric disorder served as a comparison group. Results: No difference was found in mean NfL and mean GFAP serum concentrations between children with PANS and controls. Conclusion: Neuronal injury and astrocyte activation do not seem to be a major event in PANS. The study group was small, and even if findings may be reassuring for parents and patients, they should be interpreted with caution and verified in larger cohort and possibly with other markers in both serum and CSF.
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