| 1. |
- Bousquet, J, et al.
(författare)
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GA2LEN (Global Allergy and Asthma European Network) addresses the allergy and asthma 'epidemic'.
- 2009
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Ingår i: Allergy. - : Wiley. - 1398-9995 .- 0105-4538. ; 64:7, s. 969-77
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Allergic diseases represent a major health problem in Europe. They are increasing in prevalence, severity and costs. The Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA(2)LEN), a Sixth EU Framework Program for Research and Technological Development (FP6) Network of Excellence, was created in 2005 as a vehicle to ensure excellence in research bringing together research and clinical institutions to combat fragmentation in the European research area and to tackle allergy in its globality. The Global Allergy and Asthma European Network has benefited greatly from the voluntary efforts of researchers who are strongly committed to this model of pan-European collaboration. The network was organized in order to increase networking for scientific projects in allergy and asthma around Europe and to make GA(2)LEN the world leader in the field. Besides these activities, research has also been carried out and the first papers are being published. Achievements of the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network can be grouped as follows: (i) those for a durable infrastructure built up during the project phase, (ii) those which are project-related and based on these novel infrastructures, and (iii) the development and implementation of guidelines. The major achievements of GA(2)LEN are reported in this paper.
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| 2. |
- Cardwell, Chris R, et al.
(författare)
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Birth order and childhood type 1 diabetes risk: a pooled analysis of 31 observational studies
- 2011
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Ingår i: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EPIDEMIOLOGY. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS, GREAT CLARENDON ST, OXFORD OX2 6DP, ENGLAND. - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 40:2, s. 363-374
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background The incidence rates of childhood onset type 1 diabetes are almost universally increasing across the globe but the aetiology of the disease remains largely unknown. We investigated whether birth order is associated with the risk of childhood diabetes by performing a pooled analysis of previous studies. Methods Relevant studies published before January 2010 were identified from MEDLINE, Web of Science and EMBASE. Authors of studies provided individual patient data or conducted pre-specified analyses. Meta-analysis techniques were used to derive combined odds ratios (ORs), before and after adjustment for confounders, and investigate heterogeneity. Results Data were available for 6 cohort and 25 case-control studies, including 11 955 cases of type 1 diabetes. Overall, there was no evidence of an association prior to adjustment for confounders. After adjustment for maternal age at birth and other confounders, a reduction in the risk of diabetes in second- or later born children became apparent [fully adjusted OR = 0.90 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.83-0.98; P = 0.02] but this association varied markedly between studies (I-2 = 67%). An a priori subgroup analysis showed that the association was stronger and more consistent in children andlt; 5 years of age (n = 25 studies, maternal age adjusted OR = 0.84 95% CI 0.75, 0.93; I-2 = 23%). Conclusion Although the association varied between studies, there was some evidence of a lower risk of childhood onset type 1 diabetes with increasing birth order, particularly in children aged andlt; 5 years. This finding could reflect increased exposure to infections in early life in later born children.
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| 3. |
- Henneberger, P K, et al.
(författare)
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The occupational contribution to severe exacerbation of asthma.
- 2010
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Ingår i: The European respiratory journal : official journal of the European Society for Clinical Respiratory Physiology. - : European Respiratory Society (ERS). - 1399-3003 .- 0903-1936. ; 36:4, s. 743-50
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The goal of this study was to identify occupational risk factors for severe exacerbation of asthma and estimate the extent to which occupation contributes to these events. The 966 participants were working adults with current asthma who participated in the follow-up phase of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. Severe exacerbation of asthma was defined as self-reported unplanned care for asthma in the past 12 months. Occupations held in the same period were combined with a general population job-exposure matrix to assess occupational exposures. 74 participants reported having had at least one severe exacerbation event, for a 1-yr cumulative incidence of 7.7%. From regression models that controlled for confounders, the relative risk (RR) was statistically significant for low (RR 1.7, 95% CI 1.1-2.6) and high (RR 3.6, 95% CI 2.2-5.8) biological dust exposure, high mineral dust exposure (RR 1.8, 95% CI 1.02-3.2), and high gas and fumes exposure (RR 2.5, 95% CI 1.2-5.5). The summary category of high dust, gas, or fumes exposure had RR 3.1 (95% CI 1.9-5.1). Based on this RR, the population attributable risk was 14.7% among workers with current asthma. These results suggest occupation contributes to approximately one in seven cases of severe exacerbation of asthma in a working population, and various agents play a role.
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| 4. |
- Olivieri, M., et al.
(författare)
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Healthy hire effect, job selection and inhalation exposure among young adults with asthma
- 2010
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Ingår i: European Respiratory Journal. - : European Respiratory Society (ERS). - 0903-1936 .- 1399-3003. ; 36:3, s. 517-523
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of the present study was to assess whether asthma onset prior to entering the workforce influences whether a person holds a subsequent job with asthma-related inhalation exposures. The data of 19,784 adults from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey were analysed. For each respondent, a current or previously held job was linked to a job exposure matrix assigning high, low or no exposure to dust, gases or fumes. Jobs were also categorised according to the risk of exposures related to occupational asthma. Associations between asthma and subsequent occupational exposures were assessed using logistic regression models, with a random intercept for study centre and fixed adjustment for age, sex, type of study sample and smoking status. Of the respondents, 8% (n=1,619) reported asthma with onset before completion of full-time education. This population was at decreased risk of having a job with high (odds ratio 0.79; 95% confidence interval 0.68-0.92) or low (0.91; 0.80-1.03) exposure to dust, gases or fumes. The associations were consistent across exposure types (dusts, gases or fumes) and for jobs with a high risk of occupational asthma. Adults with asthma onset prior to entering the workforce may be less likely to hold jobs involving inhalation exposures.
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| 5. |
- Cardwell, Chris R, et al.
(författare)
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Breast-Feeding and Childhood-Onset Type 1 Diabetes A pooled analysis of individual participant data from 43 observational studies
- 2012
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Ingår i: Diabetes Care. - : American Diabetes Association. - 0149-5992 .- 1935-5548. ; 35:11, s. 2215-2225
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE-To investigate if there is a reduced risk of type 1 diabetes in children breastfed or exclusively breastfed by performing a pooled analysis with adjustment for recognized confounders. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanRESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-Relevant studies were identified from literature searches using MEDLINE, Web of Science, and EMBASE. Authors of relevant studies were asked to provide individual participant data or conduct prespecified analyses. Meta-analysis techniques were used to combine odds ratios (ORs) and investigate heterogeneity between studies. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanRESULTS-Data were available from 43 studies including 9,874 patients with type 1 diabetes. Overall, there was a reduction in the risk of diabetes after exclusive breast-feeding for andgt;2 weeks (20 studies; OR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.64-0.88), the association after exclusive breast-feeding for andgt;3 months was weaker (30 studies; OR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.75-1.00), and no association was observed after (nonexclusive) breast-feeding for andgt;2 weeks (28 studies; OR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.81-1.07) or andgt;3 months (29 studies; OR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.78-1.00). These associations were all subject to marked heterogeneity (I-2 = 58, 76, 54, and 68%, respectively). In studies with lower risk of bias, the reduced risk after exclusive breast-feeding for andgt;2 weeks remained (12 studies; OR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.75-0.99), and heterogeneity was reduced (I-2 = 0%). Adjustments for potential confounders altered these estimates very little. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanCONCLUSIONS-The pooled analysis suggests weak protective associations between exclusive breast-feeding and type 1 diabetes risk. However, these findings are difficult to interpret because of the marked variation in effect and possible biases (particularly recall bias) inherent in the included studies.
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| 6. |
- Fehrenbacher, G., et al.
(författare)
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Measurement of the fluence response of the GSI neutron ball in high-energy neutron fields produced by 500 A Mev and 800 AMev deuterons
- 2007
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Ingår i: Radiation Protection Dosimetry. - 0144-8420 .- 1742-3406. ; 126:1-4, s. 497-500
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Experiments were performed in Cave C of GSI (Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung) using the LAND (Large Area Neutron Detector) in combination with the deflection magnet ALADIN (A LArge DIpol magNet) in front of the LAND where charged particles and neutrons can be separated. This arrangement is used to create high-energetic neutron fields by irradiation of a thick lead target (5 cm) with deuteron beams with the energies of 500 or 800 MeV per nucleon. In break-up reactions the neutron is separated from the proton which is deflected in the magnetic field of the ALADIN. The produced neutron radiation, which has a pronounced peak at the nucleon energy, is used to measure the fluence response of the GSI neutron ball. A thermoluminescence (TL) based spherical neutron dosemeter was developed for the area monitoring for the quantity H*(10) at high-energy accelerators. In the same experiment, the spectral neutron fluence Phi(E) is measured with the LAND in the energy range from 100 MeV to 1 GeV. The measured fluence responses are compared with results of FLUKA calculations and the corresponding fluence-to-dose conversion coefficients. The measured dosemeter responses are too high in comparison to the calculated ones (up to similar to 50%), the dosemeter reading gives dose values which are too high by a factor of 1.1-2.2 related to the corresponding fluence-to-dose conversion factors.
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| 7. |
- Marutescu, L. G., et al.
(författare)
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Wastewater treatment plants, an "escape gate" for ESCAPE pathogens
- 2023
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Microbiology. - 1664-302X. ; 14
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Antibiotics are an essential tool of modern medicine, contributing to significantly decreasing mortality and morbidity rates from infectious diseases. However, persistent misuse of these drugs has accelerated the evolution of antibiotic resistance, negatively impacting clinical practice. The environment contributes to both the evolution and transmission of resistance. From all anthropically polluted aquatic environments, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are probably the main reservoirs of resistant pathogens. They should be regarded as critical control points for preventing or reducing the release of antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) into the natural environment. This review focuses on the fate of the pathogens Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Clostridium difficile, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacteriaceae spp. (ESCAPE) in WWTPs. All ESCAPE pathogen species, including high-risk clones and resistance determinants to last-resort antibiotics such as carbapenems, colistin, and multi-drug resistance platforms, were detected in wastewater. The whole genome sequencing studies demonstrate the clonal relationships and dissemination of Gram-negative ESCAPE species into the wastewater via hospital effluents and the enrichment of virulence and resistance determinants of S. aureus and enterococci in WWTPs. Therefore, the efficiency of different wastewater treatment processes regarding the removal of clinically relevant ARB species and ARGs, as well as the influence of water quality factors on their performance, should be explored and monitored, along with the development of more effective treatments and appropriate indicators (ESCAPE bacteria and/or ARGs). This knowledge will allow the development of quality standards for point sources and effluents to consolidate the WWTP barrier role against the environmental and public health AR threats.
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| 8. |
- Pasqual, E, et al.
(författare)
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Exposure to Medical Radiation during Fetal Life, Childhood and Adolescence and Risk of Brain Tumor in Young Age: Results from The MOBI-Kids Case-Control Study
- 2020
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Ingår i: Neuroepidemiology. - : S. Karger AG. - 1423-0208 .- 0251-5350. ; 54:4, s. 343-355
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- <b><i>Background:</i></b> We explored the association between ionizing radiation (IR) from pre-natal and post-natal radio-diagnostic procedures and brain cancer risk within the MOBI-kids study. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> MOBI-kids is an international (Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Spain, The Netherlands) case-control study including 899 brain tumor (645 neuroepithelial) cases aged 10–24 years and 1,910 sex-, age-, country-matched controls. Medical radiological history was collected through personal interview. We estimated brain IR dose for each procedure, building a look-up table by age and time period. Lifetime cumulative doses were calculated using 2 and 5 years lags from the diagnostic date. Risk was estimated using conditional logistic regression. Neurological, psychological and genetic conditions were evaluated as potential confounders. The main analyses focused on neuroepithelial tumors. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Overall, doses were very low, with a skewed distribution (median 0.02 mGy, maximum 217 mGy). ORs for post-natal exposure were generally below 1. ORs were increased in the highest dose categories both for post and pre-natal exposures: 1.63 (95% CI 0.44–6.00) and 1.55 (0.57–4.23), respectively, based on very small numbers of cases. The change in risk estimates after adjustment for medical conditions was modest. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> There was little evidence for an association between IR from radio-diagnostic procedures and brain tumor risk in children and adolescents. Though doses were very low, our results suggest a higher risk for pre-natal and early life exposure, in line with current evidence.
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| 9. |
- Rodriguez-Molina, D., et al.
(författare)
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Carriage of ESBL-producing Enterobacterales in wastewater treatment plant workers and surrounding residents - the AWARE Study
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0934-9723 .- 1435-4373.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To investigate whether wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) workers and residents living in close proximity to a WWTP have elevated carriage rates of ESBL-producing Enterobacterales, as compared to the general population. From 2018 to 2020, we carried out a cross-sectional study in Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania among WWTP workers (N = 344), nearby residents (living <= 300 m away from WWTPs; N = 431) and distant residents (living >= 1000 m away = reference group; N = 1165). We collected information on potential confounders via questionnaire. Culture of participants' stool samples was performed with ChromID (R)-ESBL agar plates and species identification with MALDI-TOF-MS. We used logistic regression to estimate the odds ratio (OR) for carrying ESBL-producing E. coli (ESBL-EC). Sensitivity analyses included stratification by country and interaction models using country as secondary exposure. Prevalence of ESBL-EC was 11% (workers), 29% (nearby residents), and 7% (distant residents), and higher in Romania (28%) than in Germany (7%) and the Netherlands (6%). Models stratified by country showed that within the Romanian population, WWTP workers are about twice as likely (aOR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.22-4.50) and nearby residents about three times as likely (aOR = 3.17, 95% CI: 1.80-5.59) to be ESBL-EC carriers, when compared with distant residents. In stratified analyses by country, we found an increased risk for carriage of ESBL-EC in Romanian workers and nearby residents. This effect was higher for nearby residents than for workers, which suggests that, for nearby residents, factors other than the local WWTP could contribute to the increased carriage.
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| 10. |
- Rodriguez-Molina, D., et al.
(författare)
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International Travel as a Risk Factor for Carriage of Extended-Spectrum beta-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli in a Large Sample of European Individuals-The AWARE Study
- 2022
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Ingår i: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH. - : MDPI AG. - 1660-4601. ; 19:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Antibiotic resistance (AR) is currently a major threat to global health, calling for a One Health approach to be properly understood, monitored, tackled, and managed. Potential risk factors for AR are often studied in specific high-risk populations, but are still poorly understood in the general population. Our aim was to explore, describe, and characterize potential risk factors for carriage of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-resistant Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC) in a large sample of European individuals aged between 16 and 67 years recruited from the general population in Southern Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania. Questionnaire and stool sample collection for this cross-sectional study took place from September 2018 to March 2020. Selected cultures of participants' stool samples were analyzed for detection of ESBL-EC. A total of 1183 participants were included in the analyses: 333 from Germany, 689 from the Netherlands, and 161 from Romania. Travels to Northern Africa (adjusted Odds Ratio, aOR 4.03, 95% Confidence Interval, CI 1.67-9.68), Sub-Saharan Africa (aOR 4.60, 95% CI 1.60-13.26), and Asia (aOR 4.08, 95% CI 1.97-8.43) were identified as independent risk factors for carriage of ESBL-EC. Therefore, travel to these regions should continue to be routinely asked about by clinical practitioners as possible risk factors when considering antibiotic therapy.
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