This research uses data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to determine dietary and other factors associated with serum 25(OH)-Vitamin D concentration for 5,474 adults age 20 years and older. After multivariate adjustment, we found that serum 25(OH)-Vitamin D concentration was positively associated with diets high in fruits, vegetables, and lean meats, while diets high in processed foods and high-fat meats were inversely associated with vitamin D level. Serum 25(OH)-Vitamin D concentration was also signifi-cantly associated with age, gender, race/ethnicity, BMI, physical activity, supplementation, and the season of survey administration. Self-reported cardiovascular and kidney disease were significantly associated with serum 25 (OH)-Vitamin D concentration after adjustment for significant confounders.

Non-traditional security has become an important issue of international security issues, and is also facing a threat to cross-strait relations. If it is the connotation of military facets of cooperation (agreement) to facilitate the development of the cross-Strait relations, it also reduces the doubts surrounding countries. Therefore, the proposal of this thesis has focused on the non-traditional security. This research has primarily focused on non-traditional security fields including disaster prevention, disease control and sea rescue to explore current cross-strait cooperation model. Further, this study discussed future research on construction of security cooperation mechanism, and analyzed the cross-strait military security in response to the law of non-traditional sources and strategies. The result of this research found that cross-strait exchange in the dispute over sovereignty is the main constraining factor. Both in response to non-traditional security threats related to resources have not yet integrated to build the mechanism of security cooperation, and play an important role in the military are cross-strait to toward the future. In addition, the conclusion of this research indicated that cross-strait should build a non-traditional security through academic exchange, channels of negotiation, friendly reciprocal visits, and joint exercises of compound disaster, and the inclusion of cross-strait military security cooperation mechanism within policy formation process.

No description available.

Diss. (sammanfattning) SLU : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2009. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2009. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Over the past couple of decades, there has been an increased interest in evaluating the environmental impacts of some turfgrass management practices. Two independent studies were conducted to examine different questions of turfgrass management impacts and sustainability. The first study examined the inputs and outputs of four different turfgrass home lawn systems. Two of these systems were designated as high maintenance and were composed of either a pure stand of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) or tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). The other two systems were designated as low maintenance and were composed of either a pure stand of zoyisagrass (Zoysia japonica Steud.) or a mixed species endemic polystand. Soil samples were taken yearly from each plot and analyzed to determine total carbon content. Results from this study indicated carbon and nitrogen pools were not significantly different between the four systems but depth of sampling was significant. For the second study, various formulated surfactants were examined to determine if they could enhance the fungicidal activity of a protein washed and concentrated from tobacco leaves (Nicotiana tabacum L.) that has been shown to be effective in combating foliar-infecting turfgrass diseases in previous studies. Since previous studies indicated the protein was most effective at high concentrations when applied every seven days, it was hypothesized a surfactant may allow the protein to perform as well for a longer period of time or at lower concentrations. The efficacy of the protein against a root infecting pathogen (Ophiosphaerella korrae) was also examined. Results from this study indicated a water based surfactant may allow solutions of the protein applied every 14 days to perform similarly to solutions of the protein alone applied every 7 days without a surfactant against Sclerotinia homoeocarpa F. T. Bennett. Also, the protein did appear to be somewhat effective in combating the root infecting pathogen tested in this study when applied on a schedule similar to current commercial fungicide recommendations.

In Manitoba, potato fields have been found to be infested with Verticillium dahliae, which can produce Vertcillium wilt disease severity of up to 90% and reduce yield. Potato producers have then an increased interest on use of green manures and organic amendments to control Verticillium wilt. The objectives of this research were to evaluate selected green manure and organic amendments for their ability to reduce propagule density of V. dahliae in soil, incidence and severity of Verticillium wilt, and to enhance potato yield in Manitoba. In addition, a second study was conducted for the purpose of studying the potential of mustard green manure and seed meal to inhibit the germination of microsclerotia. Findings suggest that composted-cattle-manure and oriental mustard seed-meal amendments have promise as an alternative strategy for the control of V. dahliae. However, only composted beef cattle manure reduced disease, increased potato yield and improved nutrient availability (P) in soil

In Manitoba, potato fields have been found to be infested with Verticillium dahliae, which can produce Vertcillium wilt disease severity of up to 90% and reduce yield. Potato producers have then an increased interest on use of green manures and organic amendments to control Verticillium wilt. The objectives of this research were to evaluate selected green manure and organic amendments for their ability to reduce propagule density of V. dahliae in soil, incidence and severity of Verticillium wilt, and to enhance potato yield in Manitoba. In addition, a second study was conducted for the purpose of studying the potential of mustard green manure and seed meal to inhibit the germination of microsclerotia. Findings suggest that composted-cattle-manure and oriental mustard seed-meal amendments have promise as an alternative strategy for the control of V. dahliae. However, only composted beef cattle manure reduced disease, increased potato yield and improved nutrient availability (P) in soil

Bakgrund: Inom förskolan finns det många aktivitetersom utsätter både barnoch personal för risken att bli drabbad av smittsam sjukdom. Detta påverkar inte bara deras hälsa utan även spridningen av infektioner i samhället. Barn i förskola löper två till tre gånger högre risk för att få infektioner än barn som inte vistas på förskola. Tidigare studier visart.ex. att enkla förändringar på förskolan som skrivna riktlinjer för hygienrutiner, följsamhet till hand-och blöjbyteshygien och utbildning av personal och föräldrarkan minska sjukfrånvaron och risken förspridning av smitta. Syfte: 1) Att kartlägga grundläggande kunskaper hos förskolans personal,om hur sjukdomar sprids och hur man kan minska smittspridning. 2) Att undersöka inställningen hos föräldrartill de befintliga hygienrutinerna i förskolan. Metod: 123personal och 104 föräldrar från förskolor inom Kiruna kommun, Sverige svarade på en webb -baserad enkät. Resultat: Resultatet visade på avsaknad avfortbildning, för få skriftliga rutiner, bristande kunskap om hur smitta sprids och begränsad vetskap om informationskällor angående smittsamma sjukdomar. Föräldrar önskar mer information om de hygienrutiner som finns och personal önskar mer kunskap hur de kan informera föräldragruppen. Tillgång till material som handskar, handsprit och pappershanddukar för att kunna följa rekommenderade hygienrutiner fanns på alla förskolor. Både personal och barn reser mycket utanför Sverige, vilket tillsammans med de identifierade bristerna på förskoskolorna bidrar till ökad risk för spridning av smitta. Konklusion:Personalen på förskolorna är inte sjukvårdsutbildade och deras främsta uppgift är att bedriva pedagogisk verksamhet.Trots detta måste förskolor erbjuda en god omsorg till alla barn oavsett hälsostatus. Egenkontroll och dokumentation av förskolans hygienarbete är ett lagstadgat krav och avsaknad av rutiner är en allvarlig brist. Det är av vikt att fokusera på riktlinjer som kan förbättra hygienarbetet. Kan personal och föräldrar hjälpa till att minska risken för smittsamma sjukdomar är det av stor betydelse. För detta krävs god kunskap, samarbetepå olika nivåer, ändamålsenliga lokaler och rätt utrustning / Background: Activities in preschool expose children, staff members, and society at large to com-municable diseases. The risk of infection among preschool children is 2-to 3-fold higher compared to children cared for at home.Recent studies show that simple changes in preschool e.g.written hy-giene guidelines,-and adherence to recommended hygiene practices for changing diapers, improved hand-washing technique, and parental education can prevent infection-based illness and decrease the spread of communicable diseases. Aims: This study aimed to (i)survey the knowledge of preschool staff regarding the spread and pre-ventionof contagious diseases and (ii) investigate the attitude of parents toward current guidelines in preschools. Methods: 123 staff members and 104 parents at preschools in Kiruna,Sweden completed an inter-net-based questionnaire. Results: Our results identified a lack of continuing education for staff members, the absence of writ-ten guidelines at preschools, inadequate understanding of how infection is spreads, and limited knowledge of information sources for communicable diseases. Parents wanted information about current hygiene guidelines, whereas the staff members requested more education to help them better inform parents about the guidelines.The supply of protective gloves, alcohol-based handdisinfect-ants,and paper towels was available at all preschools in accordance with the recommended hygiene practices. We also determined that it was common to travel abroad both among the staff members and the children which, together with the other identified shortcomings at the preschools contributes to an increased risk of spreading infections. Conclusion: Because preschool staff members mainly perform pedagogical activities, they currently lack formal education about health care. However, preschools must offer excellent care to all chil-dren, regardless of health status.Although government regulations require preschools to control hy-giene internally, including documentation, the absence of routines and guidelines is serious. There-fore, preschools should focus on guidelines that improve hygiene. Importantly, preschool staff can both work to prevent communicable diseases.This requires skilled staff, collaboration on different levels, and suitable and well-equipped facilities / <p>978-91-86739-59-1</p>

Abstract The age of an adult female mosquito is a critical determinant of its ability to transmit a range of human pathogens such as the dengue viruses. Since most pathogens require a relatively long period of development in their mosquito vector before they can be transmitted to a new host, only older insects are of epidemiological importance. It has been proposed that life-shortening strains of the inherited bacterial symbiont Wolbachia may be potentially useful to shift mosquito population age structure towards younger individuals, thereby reducing pathogen transmission without eradicating the mosquito population. However, life-shortening Wolbachia strains do not occur in mosquitoes naturally. To facilitate the evaluation of this potential strategy, the major aim of this project was to transfer a life-shortening Wolbachia strain, wMelPop, from the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, to the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti. After successful transinfection, I then characterized the wMelPop infection in this mosquito species, and the associated phenotypic effects of this Wolbachia strain on several aspects of Ae. aegypti life-history. The horizontal transfer of the obligate intracellular bacterium Wolbachia pipientis between invertebrate hosts hinges on the ability of Wolbachia to adapt to new intracellular environments. Previous attempts to directly transfer wMelPop from D. melanogaster to Ae. aegypti have been unsuccessful, presumably due to mal-adaptation of wMelPop to this novel mosquito host. In an attempt to adapt wMelPop to the mosquito intracellular environment to facilitate transfer, we serially passaged this infection for 3 years in Aedes cell culture. After long-term serial passage in mosquito cell lines, wMelPop was then initially reintroduced into its native host, D. melanogaster, by embryonic microinjection to examine the phenotypic outcome of this process. The cell line-adapted wMelPop strains were characterized by a loss of infectivity when reintroduced into Drosophila, grew to decreased densities, and had reduced abilities to cause life-shortening infection and cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), when compared to the original wMelPop strain. These results were suggestive of adaptation of this Wolbachia strain to the mosquito intracellular environment. Subsequently, we successfully established wMelPop in Ae. aegypti using embryonic microinjection. Two independently transinfected Ae. aegypti lines, PGYP1 and PGYP2, were generated. Analogous to infection in Drosophila, the presence of wMelPop in both of these lines halved adult mosquito lifespan under a range of laboratory conditions. The new association is stable, and wMelPop is maternally inherited with high fidelity across Ae. aegypti life span. It is capable of inducing near perfect CI that does not diminish as male Ae. aegypti age, which should facilitate its invasion into natural field populations and persistence over time. Fecundity assays using young PGYP1 females revealed that wMelPop infection induced minimal costs for reproductive fitness for females during their first gonotrophic cycle. The phenotypic effects of wMelPop on several aspects of Ae. aegypti life-history were additionally characterized. Overall, minor costs of wMelPop infection for pre-imaginal survivorship, development and adult size were observed. However, wMelPop infection decreased the viability of quiescent Ae. aegypti eggs over time. Similarly, the reproductive fitness of wMelPop-infected Ae. aegypti females declined with age. These results revealed a general pattern associated with wMelPop pathogenesis in Ae. aegypti, where host fitness costs incurred by this infection increase during aging of both immature and adult life-history stages. We also discovered that wMelPop-infected Ae. aegypti have a reduced ability to utilise blood from non-human hosts for egg development. Blood feeding by wMelPop-infected females on mouse, guinea pig or chicken hosts resulted in a near complete abolishment of reproductive output associated with both a decline in the numbers of eggs oviposited as well as the hatching rate of successfully laid eggs. In contrast, the reproductive output of wMelPop-infected females fed human blood was normal, with intermediate effects observed with other vertebrate blood sources. Removal of Wolbachia from mosquitoes using antibiotic treatment restored egg development to standard levels on all blood sources. Further blood feeding assays over two reproductive cycles definitively illustrated a nutritional interaction between host blood source and egg development in wMelPop-infected Ae. aegypti. This dramatic phenotype may provide new insights into the nutritional basis of mosquito anthropophily. The results presented in this thesis highlight several important parameters required to theoretically model the infection dynamics of wMelPop, and its potential impacts on Ae. aegypti populations. Moreover, the successful establishment of wMelPop in Ae. aegypti forms the primary basis for further field-based evaluations, which will ultimately determine the viability of this Wolbachia-based strategy as an applied tool to reduce dengue transmission.