Optimal beef cattle management under agricultural policy reforms in Finland

Selostus: Politiikkamuutosten vaikutus lihanautojen optimaaliseen ruokintaan ja teurastuksen ajoitukseen

Optimizing the supply chain strategy of a multi-unit Finnish nursery company

Abstract

Trafficking in Human Beings.THB unit in Stockholm

Our police work against human trafficking started in 2004 on behalf of the government. (Police Department received 300 000 euros which was divided between the three largest cities in Sweden, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. Then, each police district had to find out how .THB looked like in their district and how it best could be combated.

Comparison of hospital-wide and unit-specific cumulative antibiograms in hospital- and community-acquired infection.

BACKGROUND: Empirical antibacterial therapy in hospitals is usually guided by local epidemiologic features reflected by institutional cumulative antibiograms. We investigated additional information inferred by aggregating cumulative antibiograms by type of unit or according to the place of acquisition (i.e. community vs. hospital) of the bacteria. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Antimicrobial susceptibility rates of selected pathogens were collected over a 4-year period in an university-affiliated hospital. Hospital-wide antibiograms were compared with those selected by type of unit and sampling time (<48 or >48 h after hospital admission). RESULTS: Strains isolated >48 h after admission were less susceptible than those presumably arising from the community (<48 h). The comparison of units revealed significant differences among strains isolated >48 h after admission. When compared to hospital-wide antibiograms, susceptibility rates were lower in the ICU and surgical units for Escherichia coli to amoxicillin-clavulanate, enterococci to penicillin, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to anti-pseudomonal beta-lactams, and in medical units for Staphylococcus aureus to oxacillin. In contrast, few differences were observed among strains isolated within 48 h of admission. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital-wide antibiograms reflect the susceptibility pattern for a specific unit with respect to community-acquired, but not to hospital-acquired strains. Antibiograms adjusted to these parameters may be useful in guiding the choice of empirical antibacterial therapy.

Effects of muscle fibre shortening on the characteristics of surface motor unit potentials.

Traditionally, studies dealing with muscle shortening have concentrated on assessing its impact on conduction velocity, and to this end, electrodes have been located between the end-plate and tendon regions. Possible morphologic changes in surface motor unit potentials (MUPs) as a result of muscle shortening have not, as yet, been evaluated or characterized. Using a convolutional MUP model, we investigated the effects of muscle shortening on the shape, amplitude, and duration characteristics of MUPs for different electrode positions relative to the fibre-tendon junction and for different depths of the MU in the muscle (MU-to-electrode distance). It was found that the effects of muscle shortening on MUP morphology depended not only on whether the electrodes were between the end-plate and the tendon junction or beyond the tendon junction, but also on the specific distance to this junction. When the electrodes lie between the end-plate and tendon junction, it was found that (1) the muscle shortening effect is not important for superficial MUs, (2) the sensitivity of MUP amplitude to muscle shortening increases with MU-to-electrode distance, and (3) the amplitude of the MUP negative phase is not affected by muscle shortening. This study provides a basis for the interpretation of the changes in MUP characteristics in experiments where both physiological and geometrical aspects of the muscle are varied.

Detecting the oxidative reactivity of nanoparticles: a new protocol for reducing artifacts

Understanding the oxidative reactivity of nanoparticles (NPs; <100 nm) could substantially contribute to explaining their toxicity. We attempted to refine the use of 2′7-dichlorodihydrofluorescein (DCFH) to characterize NP generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Several fluorescent probes have been applied to testing oxidative reactivity, but despite DCFH being one of the most popular for the detection of ROS, when it has been applied to NPs there have been an unexplainably wide variability in results. Without a uniform methodology, validating even robust results is impossible. This study, therefore, identified sources of conflicting results and investigated ways of reducing occurrence of artificial results. Existing techniques were tested and combined (using their most desirable features) to form a more reliable method for the measurement of NP reactivity in aqueous dispersions. We also investigated suitable sample ranges necessary to determine generation of ROS. Specifically, ultrafiltration and time-resolved scan absorbance spectra were used to study possible optical interference when using high sample concentrations. Robust results were achieved at a 5 µM DCFH working solution with 0.5 unit/mL horseradish peroxidase (HRP) dissolved in ethanol. Sonication in DCFH-HRP working solution provided more stable data with a relatively clean background. Optimal particle concentration depends on the type of NP and in general was in the µg/mL range. Major reasons for previously reported conflicting results due to interference were different experimental approaches and NP sample concentrations. The protocol presented here could form the basis of a standardized method for applying DCFH to detect generation of ROS by NPs.

T cell receptor delta gene rearrangement and T early alpha (TEA) expression in immature alpha beta lineage thymocytes: implications for alpha beta/gamma delta lineage commitment.

Mature T cells comprise two mutually exclusive lineages expressing heterodimeric alpha beta or gamma delta antigen receptors. During development, beta, gamma, and delta genes rearrange before alpha, and mature gamma delta cells arise in the thymus prior to alpha beta cells. The mechanism underlying commitment of immature T cells to the alpha beta or gamma delta lineage is controversial. Since the delta locus is located within the alpha locus, rearrangement of alpha genes leads to deletion of delta. We have examined the rearrangement status of the delta locus immediately prior to alpha rearrangement. We find that many thymic precursors of alpha beta cells undergo VDJ delta rearrangements. Furthermore, the same cells frequently coexpress sterile T early alpha (TEA) transcripts originating 3' of C delta and 5' of the most upstream J alpha, thus implying that individual alpha beta lineage cells undergo sequential VDJ delta and VJ alpha rearrangements. Finally, VDJ delta rearrangements in immature alpha beta cells appear to be random, supporting models in which alpha beta lineage commitment is determined independently of the rearrangement status at the TCR delta locus.

Optimal culture incubation time in orthopedic device-associated infections: a retrospective analysis of prolonged 14-day incubation.

Accurate diagnosis of orthopedic device-associated infections can be challenging. Culture of tissue biopsy specimens is often considered the gold standard; however, there is currently no consensus on the ideal incubation time for specimens. The aim of our study was to assess the yield of a 14-day incubation protocol for tissue biopsy specimens from revision surgery (joint replacements and internal fixation devices) in a general orthopedic and trauma surgery setting. Medical records were reviewed retrospectively in order to identify cases of infection according to predefined diagnostic criteria. From August 2009 to March 2012, 499 tissue biopsy specimens were sampled from 117 cases. In 70 cases (59.8%), at least one sample showed microbiological growth. Among them, 58 cases (82.9%) were considered infections and 12 cases (17.1%) were classified as contaminations. The median time to positivity in the cases of infection was 1 day (range, 1 to 10 days), compared to 6 days (range, 1 to 11 days) in the cases of contamination (P < 0.001). Fifty-six (96.6%) of the infection cases were diagnosed within 7 days of incubation. In conclusion, the results of our study show that the incubation of tissue biopsy specimens beyond 7 days is not productive in a general orthopedic and trauma surgery setting. Prolonged 14-day incubation might be of interest in particular situations, however, in which the prevalence of slow-growing microorganisms and anaerobes is higher.

Optimal CD8 T cell responsiveness is controlled within a defined TCR affinity window

Protective immune responses relyon TCR-mediated recognition of antigenspresented by MHC molecules. Tcells directed against tumor antigensare thought to express TCRs of loweraffinity/avidity than pathogen-specificT lymphocytes. An attractivestrategy to improve anti-tumor T cellresponses is to adoptively transferCD8+ T cells engineered with TCRsof optimized affinity. However, themechanisms that control optimal Tcell activation and responsiveness remainpoorly defined. We aim at characterizingTCR-pMHC binding parametersand downstream signalingevents that regulate T cell functionalityby using an in silico designedpanel of tumor antigen-specific TCRsof incremental affinity for pMHC(Kd100 M- 15 nM).We found that optimalT cell responses (cytokine secretionand target cell killing) occurredwithin a well-defined window ofTCR-pMHC binding affinity (5 M-1 M), while drastic functional declinewas detected in T cells expressingvery low and very high TCRaffinities,which was not caused by any increasein apoptosis. Whole-genomemicroarray analysis revealed that Tcells with optimal TCR affinitieshighly up-regulated transcription ofgenes typical of T cell activation (i.e.IFN-, NF-B and TNFR), while reducedexpression was detected in Tcells of very low or very high TCR affinity.Strikingly, hierarchical clusteringshowed that the latter two variantsclustered together with the un-stimulatedcontrol Tcells.Yet, despite commonclustering, several genes seemedto be differentially expressed, suggestingthat the mechanisms involvedin this "unresponsiveness state" maydiffer between those two variants. Finally,calcium influx assays also demonstratedattenuated responses in Tcells of very high TCR affinity. Ourresults indicate that optimal T cellfunction is tightly controlled within adefinedTCRaffinity window throughvery proximal TCR-mediated mechanisms,possibly at the TCR-pMHCbinding interface. Uncovering themechanisms regulating optimal/maximalT cell function is essential to understandand promote therapeutic designlike adoptive T cell therapy.