| 1. |
- Abdelaziz, Omar Y., et al.
(författare)
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On the Oxidative Valorization of Lignin to High-Value Chemicals : A Critical Review of Opportunities and Challenges
- 2022
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Ingår i: ChemSusChem. - : Wiley. - 1864-5631 .- 1864-564X. ; 15:20
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The efficient valorization of lignin is crucial if we are to replace current petroleum-based feedstock and establish more sustainable and competitive lignocellulosic biorefineries. Pulp and paper mills and second-generation biorefineries produce large quantities of low-value technical lignin as a by-product, which is often combusted on-site for energy recovery. This Review focuses on the conversion of technical lignins by oxidative depolymerization employing heterogeneous catalysts. It scrutinizes the current literature describing the use of various heterogeneous catalysts in the oxidative depolymerization of lignin and includes a comparison of the methods, catalyst loadings, reaction media, and types of catalyst applied, as well as the reaction products and yields. Furthermore, current techniques for the determination of product yields and product recovery are discussed. Finally, challenges and suggestions for future approaches are outlined.
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| 2. |
- Chertok, Ilana Azulay, et al.
(författare)
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Factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding at discharge during the COVID-19 pandemic in 17 WHO European Region countries.
- 2022
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Ingår i: International breastfeeding journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1746-4358. ; 17:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Exclusive breastfeeding is the optimal infant nutrition, providing infants immunoprotection against many diseases including SARS-CoV-2 infection. Restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic may have negatively affected breastfeeding practices inmaternity care facilities. The aims of the study were to examine exclusive breastfeeding rates at discharge over time and to identify factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding during the pandemic.A cross-sectional survey was conducted among mothers who gave birth in a maternity care facility in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The socio-ecological model was employed to examine intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, and community/society factors associated with maternal report of exclusive breastfeeding at the time of discharge.There were 26,709 participating mothers from 17 European Region countries who were included in the analysis. Among the mothers, 72.4% (n=19,350) exclusively breastfed and 27.6% (n=7,359) did not exclusively breastfeed at discharge. There was an overall decline in exclusive breastfeeding rates over time (p=0.015) with a significantly lower rate following the publication of the WHO breastfeeding guidelines on 23 June 2020 (AOR 0.88; 95% CI 0.82, 0.94). Factors significantly associated with exclusive breastfeeding outcomes in the logistic regression analysis included maternal age, parity, education, health insurance, mode of birth, inadequate breastfeeding support, lack of early breastfeeding initiation, lack of full rooming-in, birth attendant, perceived healthcare professionalism and attention, facility room cleanliness, timing of birth, and location of birth.Results from the study indicate the decline in exclusive breastfeeding rates in the WHO European Region during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the socio-ecological model to identify factors associated with breastfeeding outcomes facilitates an integrated and holistic approach to address breastfeeding needs among women across the region. These findings demonstrate the need to augment breastfeeding support and to protect exclusive breastfeeding among mother-infant dyads, in an effort to reverse the declining exclusive breastfeeding rates. The study highlights the need to educate mothers and their families about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, reduce maternal-infant separation, increase professional breastfeeding support, and follow evidence-based practice guidelines to promote breastfeeding in a comprehensive and multi-level manner.Clinical Trials NCT04847336.
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| 3. |
- Costa, Raquel, et al.
(författare)
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Quality of maternal and newborn care around the time of childbirth for migrant versus nonmigrant women during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results of the IMAgiNE EURO study in 11 countries of the WHO European region.
- 2022
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Ingår i: International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. - : Wiley. - 1879-3479 .- 0020-7292. ; 159:Suppl 1, s. 39-53
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To describe the perception of quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) around the time of childbirth among migrant and nonmigrant women in Europe.Women who gave birth at a health facility in 11 countries of the WHO European Region from March 2020 to July 2021 were invited to answer an online questionnaire including demographics and childbirth experience. Data were analyzed and compared for 1781 migrant and 20653 nonmigrant women.Migrant women who experienced labor perceived slightly more difficulties in attending routine antenatal visits (41.2% vs 39.4%; P=0.001), more barriers in accessing facilities (32.9% vs 29.9%; P=0.001), lack of timely care (14.7% vs 13.0%; P=0.025), inadequate room comfort and equipment (9.2% vs 8.5%; P=0.004), inadequate number of women per room (9.4% vs 8.6%; P=0.039), being prevented from staying with their baby as they wished (7.8% vs 6.9%; P=0.011), or suffering abuse (14.5% vs 12.7%; P=0.022) compared with nonmigrant women. For women who had a prelabor cesarean, migrant women were more likely not to receive pain relief after birth (16.8% vs.13.5%; P=0.039) and less likely to provide informal payment (1.8% vs 4.4%; P=0.005) compared with nonmigrant women. Overall, the QMNC index was not significantly different for migrant compared with nonmigrant women.Gaps in overall QMNC were reported by both migrant and nonmigrant women, with improvements to healthcare necessary for all.
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| 4. |
- Costa, Raquel, et al.
(författare)
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Regional differences in the quality of maternal and neonatal care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal : Results from the IMAgiNE EURO study
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. - : Wiley. - 0020-7292 .- 1879-3479. ; 159:S1, s. 137-153
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To compare women's perspectives on the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) around the time of childbirth across Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 2 (NUTS-II) regions in Portugal during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Women participating in the cross-sectional IMAgiNE EURO study who gave birth in Portugal from March 1, 2020, to October 28, 2021, completed a structured questionnaire with 40 key WHO standards-based quality measures. Four domains of QMNC were assessed: (1) provision of care; (2) experience of care; (3) availability of human and physical resources; and (4) reorganizational changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Frequencies for each quality measure within each QMNC domain were computed overall and by region. Results: Out of 1845 participants, one-third (33.7%) had a cesarean. Examples of high-quality care included: low frequencies of lack of early breastfeeding and rooming-in (8.0% and 7.7%, respectively) and informal payment (0.7%); adequate staff professionalism (94.6%); adequate room comfort and equipment (95.2%). However, substandard practices with large heterogeneity across regions were also reported. Among women who experienced labor, the percentage of instrumental vaginal births ranged from 22.3% in the Algarve to 33.5% in Center; among these, fundal pressure ranged from 34.8% in Lisbon to 66.7% in Center. Episiotomy was performed in 39.3% of noninstrumental vaginal births with variations between 31.8% in the North to 59.8% in Center. One in four women reported inadequate breastfeeding support (26.1%, ranging from 19.4% in Algarve to 31.5% in Lisbon). One in five reported no exclusive breastfeeding at discharge (22.1%; 19.5% in Lisbon to 28.2% in Algarve). Conclusion: Urgent actions are needed to harmonize QMNC and reduce inequities across regions in Portugal.
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| 5. |
- Hober, Sophia, Professor, 1965-, et al.
(författare)
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Systematic evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 antigens enables a highly specific and sensitive multiplex serological COVID-19 assay
- 2021
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Ingår i: Clinical & Translational Immunology. - : Wiley. - 2050-0068. ; 10:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective. The COVID-19 pandemic poses an immense need for accurate, sensitive and high-throughput clinical tests, and serological assays are needed for both overarching epidemiological studies and evaluating vaccines. Here, we present the development and validation of a high-throughput multiplex bead-based serological assay. Methods. More than 100 representations of SARS-CoV-2 proteins were included for initial evaluation, including antigens produced in bacterial and mammalian hosts as well as synthetic peptides. The five best-performing antigens, three representing the spike glycoprotein and two representing the nucleocapsid protein, were further evaluated for detection of IgG antibodies in samples from 331 COVID-19 patients and convalescents, and in 2090 negative controls sampled before 2020. Results. Three antigens were finally selected, represented by a soluble trimeric form and the S1-domain of the spike glycoprotein as well as by the C-terminal domain of the nucleocapsid. The sensitivity for these three antigens individually was found to be 99.7%, 99.1% and 99.7%, and the specificity was found to be 98.1%, 98.7% and 95.7%. The best assay performance was although achieved when utilising two antigens in combination, enabling a sensitivity of up to 99.7% combined with a specificity of 100%. Requiring any two of the three antigens resulted in a sensitivity of 99.7% and a specificity of 99.4%. Conclusion. These observations demonstrate that a serological test based on a combination of several SARS-CoV-2 antigens enables a highly specific and sensitive multiplex serological COVID-19 assay.
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| 6. |
- Lazzerini, Marzia, et al.
(författare)
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Rates of instrumental vaginal birth and cesarean and quality of maternal and newborn health care in private versus public facilities: Results of the IMAgiNE EURO study in 16 countries.
- 2022
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Ingår i: International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics. - : Wiley. - 1879-3479 .- 0020-7292. ; 159:Suppl 1, s. 22-38
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To explore the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) during the COVID-19 pandemic by facility type among 16 European countries, comparing rates of instrumental vaginal birth and cesarean.Women who gave birth in the WHO European Region from March 1, 2020, to February 7, 2022, answered a validated online questionnaire. Rates of instrumental birth, instrumental vaginal birth, and cesarean, and a QMNC index were calculated for births in public versus private facilities.Responses from 25 206 participants were analyzed. Women giving birth in private compared with public facilities reported significantly more frequent total cesarean (32.5% vs 19.0%; aOR 1.70; 95% CI 1.52-1.90), elective cesarean (17.3% vs 7.8%; aOR 1.90; 95% CI 1.65-2.19), and emergency cesarean before labor (7.4% vs 3.9%; aOR 1.39; 95% CI 1.14-1.70) (P <0.001 for all comparisons), with analyses by country confirming these results. QMNC index results were heterogeneous across countries and regions in the same country and were largely affected by geographical distribution of regions rather than by type of facility alone.The study confirms that births in private facilities have higher odds of cesarean. It also suggests that QMNC should be closely monitored in all facilities to achieve high-quality care, independent of facility type or geographical distribution.NCT04847336.
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| 7. |
- Macassa, Gloria, et al.
(författare)
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Experiences of involuntary job loss and health during the economic crisis in Portugal
- 2021
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Ingår i: Porto Biomedical Journal. - : Wolters Kluwer. - 2444-8664 .- 2444-8672. ; 6:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: The economic recession that started in 2008 left many unemployed across several European countries. Many studies have analyzed the relationship between job loss, health, and well-being in other contexts. This study aimed to explore experiences of involuntary unemployment during the economic recession and their relationship with health, conceptualized as a state of physical, mental, and social well-being among unemployed individuals.Methods: Semistructured qualitative interviews were carried out among a convenience sample of participants who became unemployed during the economic recession. The analysis was conducted to identify patterns and themes.Results: Participants (n=22; 8 men and 14 women; 23–51years) experienced feelings of loss of identity, stress, and a sense of powerlessness due to unemployment, as well as a lack of purpose and structure in their daily lives. Six themes were identified: work as the basis for life structure and personal fulfillment; response to unemployment and the importance of its duration; unemployment leading to isolation and loss of a role in society; impact of a change in financial situation on social life and consumption patterns; the physical and psychological health consequences of unemployment; and searching for ways to cope with unemployment and to feel well.Conclusions: Losing a job is an adverse experience that impairs an individual’s perception of overall health and well-being. From a public health perspective, the results of this study highlight the need for policymakers’ awareness to help mitigate the potential consequences of involuntary job loss in the short- and long-term.
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| 8. |
- Papadopoulos, Nikolaos G, et al.
(författare)
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Research needs in allergy: an EAACI position paper, in collaboration with EFA.
- 2012
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Ingår i: Clinical and translational allergy. - : Wiley. - 2045-7022. ; 2:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- ABSTRACT: In less than half a century, allergy, originally perceived as a rare disease, has become a major public health threat, today affecting the lives of more than 60 million people in Europe, and probably close to one billion worldwide, thereby heavily impacting the budgets of public health systems. More disturbingly, its prevalence and impact are on the rise, a development that has been associated with environmental and lifestyle changes accompanying the continuous process of urbanization and globalization. Therefore, there is an urgent need to prioritize and concert research efforts in the field of allergy, in order to achieve sustainable results on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of this most prevalent chronic disease of the 21st century.The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is the leading professional organization in the field of allergy, promoting excellence in clinical care, education, training and basic and translational research, all with the ultimate goal of improving the health of allergic patients. The European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations (EFA) is a non-profit network of allergy, asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) patients' organizations. In support of their missions, the present EAACI Position Paper, in collaboration with EFA, highlights the most important research needs in the field of allergy to serve as key recommendations for future research funding at the national and European levels.Although allergies may involve almost every organ of the body and an array of diverse external factors act as triggers, there are several common themes that need to be prioritized in research efforts. As in many other chronic diseases, effective prevention, curative treatment and accurate, rapid diagnosis represent major unmet needs. Detailed phenotyping/endotyping stands out as widely required in order to arrange or re-categorize clinical syndromes into more coherent, uniform and treatment-responsive groups. Research efforts to unveil the basic pathophysiologic pathways and mechanisms, thus leading to the comprehension and resolution of the pathophysiologic complexity of allergies will allow for the design of novel patient-oriented diagnostic and treatment protocols. Several allergic diseases require well-controlled epidemiological description and surveillance, using disease registries, pharmacoeconomic evaluation, as well as large biobanks. Additionally, there is a need for extensive studies to bring promising new biotechnological innovations, such as biological agents, vaccines of modified allergen molecules and engineered components for allergy diagnosis, closer to clinical practice. Finally, particular attention should be paid to the difficult-to-manage, precarious and costly severe disease forms and/or exacerbations. Nonetheless, currently arising treatments, mainly in the fields of immunotherapy and biologicals, hold great promise for targeted and causal management of allergic conditions. Active involvement of all stakeholders, including Patient Organizations and policy makers are necessary to achieve the aims emphasized herein.
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| 9. |
- Pumpure, Elizabete, et al.
(författare)
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Womenʼs perspectives on the quality of maternal and newborn care in childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia : Results from the IMAgiNE EURO study on 40 WHO standards-based quality measures
- 2022
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Ingår i: International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics. - : Wiley. - 0020-7292 .- 1879-3479. ; 159:S1, s. 97-112
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To investigate women's perspectives on the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) around the time of childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia, comparing the years 2020 and 2021, among women who went into labor or had a prelabor cesarean. Methods: Women giving birth in healthcare facilities in Latvia from March 1, 2020, to October 28, 2021, answered an online questionnaire including 40 WHO standards-based quality measures. Descriptive and multivariate quantile regression analyses were performed to compare QMNC in 2020 and 2021. Results: 2079 women were included in the analysis: 1860 women who went into labor (group 1) and 219 with prelabor cesarean (group 2). Among group 1, 66.4% (n = 99/149) of women received fundal pressure in an instrumental vaginal birth, 43.5% (n = 810) lacked involvement in choices, 17.4% (n = 317) reported suffering abuse, 32.7% (n = 609) reported inadequate breastfeeding support while 5.2% (n = 96) lack of early breastfeeding. A significant reduction in QMNC due to the COVID-19 pandemic was reported by 29.5% (n = 219) and 25.0% (n = 270) of respondents in 2020 and 2021, respectively (P = 0.045). Multivariate analyses highlighted a significantly lower QMNC index for 2020 compared with 2021 (P < 0.001). Conclusion: This first study investigating QMNC in Latvia showed significant gaps in QMNC perceived by respondents, with slightly better results in 2021. Appropriate healthcare strategies to improve health care for women and newborns in Latvia are required. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:NCT04847336.
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| 10. |
- Valente, Emanuelle Pessa, et al.
(författare)
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WHO Standards-based questionnaire to measure health workers' perspective on the quality of care around the time of childbirth in the WHO European region : development and mixed-methods validation in six countries
- 2022
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Ingår i: BMJ Open. - : BMJ. - 2044-6055. ; 12:4, s. 1-10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVES: Develop and validate a WHO Standards-based online questionnaire to measure the quality of maternal and newborn care (QMNC) around the time of childbirth from the health workers' perspective.DESIGN: Mixed-methods study.SETTING: Six countries of the WHO European Region.PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: The questionnaire is based on lessons learnt in previous studies, and was developed in three sequential phases: (1) WHO Quality Measures were prioritised and content, construct and face validity were assessed through a Delphi involving a multidisciplinary board of experts from 11 countries of the WHO European Region; (2) translation/back translation of the English version was conducted following The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research guidelines; (3) internal consistency, intrarater reliability and acceptability were assessed among 600 health workers in six countries.RESULTS: The questionnaire included 40 items based on WHO Standards Quality Measures, equally divided into four domains: provision of care, experience of care, availability of human and physical resources, organisational changes due to COVID-19; and its organised in six sections. It was translated/back translated in 12 languages: Bosnian, Croatian, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish. The Cronbach's alpha values were ≥0.70 for each questionnaire section where questions were hypothesised to be interrelated, indicating good internal consistence. Cohen K or Gwet's AC1 values were ≥0.60, suggesting good intrarater reliability, except for one question. Acceptability was good with only 1.70% of health workers requesting minimal changes in question wording.CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that the questionnaire has good content, construct, face validity, internal consistency, intrarater reliability and acceptability in six countries of the WHO European Region. Future studies may further explore the questionnaire's use in other countries, and how to translate evidence generated by this tool into policies to improve the QMNC.TRAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04847336.
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