| 1. |
- Carvalho, Raquel N., et al.
(författare)
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Mixtures of chemical pollutants at European legislation safety concentrations : how safe are they?
- 2014
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Ingår i: Toxicological Sciences. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1096-6080 .- 1096-0929. ; 141:1, s. 218-233
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The risk posed by complex chemical mixtures in the environment to wildlife and humans is increasingly debated, but has been rarely tested under environmentally relevant scenarios. To address this issue, two mixtures of 14 or 19 substances of concern (pesticides, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, a surfactant, and a plasticizer), each present at its safety limit concentration imposed by the European legislation, were prepared and tested for their toxic effects. The effects of the mixtures were assessed in 35 bioassays, based on 11 organisms representing different trophic levels. A consortium of 16 laboratories was involved in performing the bioassays. The mixtures elicited quantifiable toxic effects on some of the test systems employed, including i) changes in marine microbial composition, ii) microalgae toxicity, iii) immobilization in the crustacean Daphnia magna, iv) fish embryo toxicity, v) impaired frog embryo development, and vi) increased expression on oxidative stress-linked reporter genes. Estrogenic activity close to regulatory safety limit concentrations was uncovered by receptor-binding assays. The results highlight the need of precautionary actions on the assessment of chemical mixtures even in cases where individual toxicants are present at seemingly harmless concentrations.
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| 2. |
- Edman-Wallér, Jon, et al.
(författare)
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Systemic symptoms predict presence or development of severe sepsis and septic shock
- 2016
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Ingår i: Infectious Diseases. - : Informa UK Limited. - 2374-4235 .- 2374-4243. ; 48:3, s. 209-214
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Severe sepsis is a major cause of mortality and morbidity globally. As the time to adequate treatment is directly linked to outcome, early recognition is of critical importance. Early, accessible markers for severe sepsis are desirable. The systemic inflammatory response in sepsis leads to changes in vital signs and biomarkers and to symptoms unrelated to the focus of infection. This study investigated whether the occurrence of any of six systemic symptoms could predict severe sepsis in a cohort of patients admitted to hospital for suspected bacterial infections. Methods: A retrospective, consecutive study was conducted. All adult patients admitted during 1 month to a 550-bed secondary care hospital in western Sweden and given intravenous antibiotics for suspected community-acquired infection were included (n=289). Symptoms (fever/chills, muscle weakness, localised pain, dyspnea, altered mental status and gastrointestinal symptoms) were registered along with age, sex, vital signs and laboratory values. Patients who fulfilled criteria of severe sepsis within 48 h were compared with patients who did not. Odds ratios for severe sepsis were calculated, adjusted for age, sex and comorbidities. Results: Criteria for severe sepsis were fulfilled by 90/289 patients (31.1%). Altered mental status (OR=4.29, 95% CI=2.03–9.08), dyspnea (OR=2.92, 95% CI=1.69–5.02), gastrointestinal symptoms (OR=2.31, 95% CI=1.14–4.69) and muscle weakness (OR=2.24, 95% CI=1.06–4.75) were more common in patients who had or later developed severe sepsis. Conclusions: Systemic symptoms in combination with other signs of infection should be considered warning signs of severe sepsis.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Johansson, Lina, et al.
(författare)
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Personality Traits in Swedish High School Alpine Skier : A Comparison between Injured and Uninjured Skiers
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy. - : OMICS Publishing Group. - 2161-0487. ; 5:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Prevention of alpine ski injuries is less studied when it comes to psychological aspects. The aim of the present investigation was to study if there were any relationships between some personality traits and alpine ski injuries. Additionally, find out if gender could be a significant factor in these relationships. Methods: 298 alpine skiers (139 males, 159 females) at a Swedish ski high school completed the Swedish universities Scales of Personality (SSP). SSP is a self-report personality inventory containing 91 items divided into 13 subscales regarding e.g. stress susceptibility, impulsivity and sensation seeking behavior. Three groups of skiers were analyzed those without any injuries, with one injury, and with two or more injuries. Results: Injury rate was significantly related to stress susceptibility (p=0,046) with higher values for the uninjured skiers and the lowest values for the group with higher injury rates (for both males and females). No signficant relationships were found between adventure seekiing, impulsivity, and anxiety proness and injury rate. Conclusion: Stress susceptibility seems to be a preventing factor in alpine skiing injuries among skiers 16-20 years old.
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| 5. |
- Koch, Eckhard, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of non-chemical seed treatment methods for the control of Alternaria dauci and A. radicina on carrot seeds
- 2010
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Ingår i: European journal of plant pathology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0929-1873 .- 1573-8469. ; 127:1, s. 99-112
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The current study was initiated to evaluate the efficacy of physical methods (hot water, aerated steam, electron treatment) and agents of natural origin (resistance inducers, plant derived products, micro-organisms) as seed treatments of carrots for control of Alternaria dauci and A. radicina. Control of both Alternaria species by seed treatment with the resistance inducers was generally poor. Results were also not satisfactory with most of the formulated commercial micro-organism preparations. Based on the average of five field trials, one of these, BA 2552 (Pseudomonas chlororaphis), provided a low but significant increase in plant stand. Among the experimental micro-organisms, the best results were obtained with Pseudomonas sp. strain MF 416 and Clonostachys rosea strain IK726. A similar level of efficacy was provided by seed treatment with an emulsion (1%) of thyme oil in water. Good and consistent control was generally achieved with the physical methods aerated steam, hot water and electron treatment. Aerated steam treatment was, apart from the thiram-containing chemical standard, the best single treatment, and its performance may at least partially be due to extensive pre-testing, resulting in dosages optimally adapted to the respective seed lot. In some of the experiments the effect of the hot water treatment, which was tested at a fixed, not specifically adapted dosage, was significantly improved when combined with a Pseudomonas sp. MF 416 or C. rosea IK726 treatment. The results are discussed in relation to the outcome of experiments in which the same seed treatment methods and agents were tested in other seed-borne vegetable pathosystems.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Werner, Maria, 1957, et al.
(författare)
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A 10-year survey of blood culture negative endocarditis in Sweden: aminoglycoside therapy is important for survival.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Scandinavian journal of infectious diseases. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0036-5548 .- 1651-1980. ; 40:4, s. 279-85
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We estimated the prevalence of blood culture negative endocarditis (CNE) and described and analysed data with special attention to antibiotic treatment from patients with infective endocarditis (IE) reported to the Swedish endocarditis registry during the 10-y period 1995-2004. All 29 departments of infectious diseases in Sweden reported data to the registry. During the 10-y period, 2509 IE episodes (78% Duke definite) were identified in 2410 patients. 304 CNE episodes (25% Duke definite) were found. The proportion of CNE was measured to be 12% of all IE episodes. Fatal outcome occurred in 10.7% of all IE patients and in 5% of the CNE patients. The risk of dying was significantly increased in female (9%) compared to male (2%) CNE patients (OR 5.1). Mortality was significantly decreased in patients treated with an aminoglycoside (3%) versus patients without aminoglycoside therapy (13%), OR 0.2. In conclusion, the prevalence of CNE was 12% in Swedish IE patients in a 10-y survey. The mortality in IE was low (10.7%) and 4.6% for CNE. Women have higher mortality rates than men in CNE. CNE patients who received aminoglycoside therapy survived more frequently than CNE patients without this therapy.
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| 8. |
- Werner, Maria, 1957, et al.
(författare)
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A clinical study of culture-negative endocarditis.
- 2003
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Ingår i: Medicine. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0025-7974. ; 82:4, s. 263-73
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Culture-negative infective endocarditis (CNE) is a diagnostic problem in spite of improved echocardiographic and blood culturing techniques. We conducted the present study to estimate the proportion of CNE in patients with infective endocarditis, to investigate data regarding risk factors, and to evaluate the Duke and the modified Beth Israel criteria in patients with CNE. We evaluated 820 consecutive suspected episodes of infective endocarditis in adults at the Departments of Infectious Diseases in Göteborg and Borås, Sweden (1984-1996). All patients were diagnosed and treated according to a protocol; 487 episodes were identified as infective endocarditis. Episodes with absence of bacterial growth at blood culture were defined as CNE and were classified with the Duke and the modified Beth Israel criteria. We identified 116 CNE episodes (median age, 67 yr). Mortality was 7%, and in 15%, cardiac surgery was performed. The Duke criteria classified 20 definite, 80 possible, and 16 reject episodes. The modified Beth Israel criteria distinguished 13 definite, 15 probable, 27 possible, and 61 reject episodes. The proportion of CNE among patients with infective endocarditis varied from 19% to 27% at the 2 departments. Antibiotic treatment preceded blood culture in 45% of the CNE episodes. About 20% in a Scandinavian population of infective endocarditis patients have CNE. Antibiotic pretreatment explains less than 50% of all CNE episodes. The Duke criteria are more sensitive but less specific than the modified Beth Israel criteria in classifying patients with CNE.
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| 9. |
- Werner, Maria, 1957
(författare)
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Blood Culture Negative Endocarditis
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The lethal disease infective endocarditis (IE) is caused by microorganisms that attack heart valves. Early diagnosis and identification of the causative agents are important for the choice of treatment. Optimal treatment may be difficult to achieve if blood culture negative endocarditis (CNE) is present. This study was designed to estimate the prevalence of CNE, analyze clinical data from CNE patients, and to evaluate different diagnostic criteria. Further purposes were to evaluate the antibiotics used as treatment, to study serological evidence for fastidious bacterial infection and to assess the association of Chlamydophila pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) antibodies with an increased risk of development for IE. We analyzed data from presumptive IE patients in clinics at Borås (n=70) (Paper I) and Göteborg (n= 750) (Paper I, II, III) and at the Swedish Endocarditis registry (n=2509) (Paper IV). Serum samples from Göteborg IE patients were tested for the presence of Bartonella, Coxiella burnetii and C. pneumoniae antibodies. Samples from controls selected from the same geographic population were searched for antibodies to C. pneumoniae. Twelve to 27% of all IE episodes were CNE with a mortality of 5-7 %. Antibiotic treatment preceded blood culturing in 45% of the episodes. Women died significantly more often than men with this disease (odds ratio 5.5). For establishing IE diagnosis, the Duke definite criteria were more sensitive but probably less specific than the Beth Israel criteria. One patient had serologically verified Q-fever IE, but no Bartonella was detected. The proportion of C. pneumoniae antibodies did not differ significantly in patients with CNE from those with blood culture positive IE. However amounts of C. pneumoniae IgA and IgG were significantly higher in women with IE than in the female controls. The mortality rate was significantly lower in CNE patients treated with aminoglycosides. CNE occurred in 12-27% of IE patients reviewed here, but antibiotic treatment preceding blood culture diminished the validity of negative test results. Fastidious bacteria were identified mainly by testing with antibodies, yet interpretations of such results are difficult. Clearly, additional methods are needed for diagnosing CNE.
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