Theresa.J.Ochoa@uth.tmc.edu / Article / BACKGROUND: Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli strains are being recognized as important pediatric enteropathogens worldwide. However, it is unclear whether there are differences in age-related susceptibility to specific strains, especially among infants. METHODS: We conducted a passive surveillance cohort study of diarrhea that involved 1034 children aged 2-12 months in Lima, Peru. Control stool samples were collected from randomly selected children without diarrhea. All samples were analyzed for common enteric pathogens and for diarrheagenic E. coli with use of multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: The most frequently isolated pathogens in 1065 diarrheal episodes were diarrheagenic E. coli strains (31%), including enteroaggregative (15.1%) and enteropathogenic E. coli (7.6%). Diarrheagenic E. coli, Campylobacter species, and rotavirus were more frequently isolated from infants aged >or=6 months. Among older infants, diffusely adherent E. coli and enterotoxigenic E. coli were more frequently isolated from diarrheal samples than from control samples (P <.05). Children aged >or=6 months who were infected with enterotoxigenic E. coli had a 4.56-fold increased risk of diarrhea (95% confidence interval, 1.20-17.28), compared with younger children. Persistent diarrhea was more common in infants aged <6 months (13.5% vs 3.6%; P <.001). Among children with diarrheagenic E. coli-positive samples, coinfections with other pathogens were more common in children with diarrhea than in control children (40.1% vs 15.6%; P <.001). CONCLUSIONS: Diarrheagenic E. coli strains were more frequently isolated in samples from older infants. In this setting with high frequency of pathogen exposure and high frequency of breastfeeding, we hypothesize that the major age-related differences result from decreased exposure to milk-related protective factors and from increased exposure to contaminated food and water.

A factor analysis was performed on eleven variables derived from scores on the McGill Pain Questionnaire, Oswestry Activity Rating Scale, graphic rating scales designed to assess the average pain intensity, frequency of leg pain, back pain, numbness and tingling in legs, and weakness in legs, as well as bothersomeness of back pain, leg pain, numbness and tingling in legs and weakness of legs. A composite Pain Index was created on the basis of three factors: leg pain, back pain, and overall pain complaints. Extraclassificatory variables, such as negative affect including depression and anxiety, cognitions regarding health status and expectation of recovery, bodily awareness/somatization and demographic variables such as smoking or non-smoking, compensation status, litigation status, use of narcotic and non-narcotic medication, use of alcohol, and time off of work were analyzed in combination and independently in relationship to the Pain Index.

The current investigation examined the singular and interactive effects of anxiety sensitivity (AS) and perceived control over anxiety-related events in the prediction of panic symptoms using a biological challenge paradigm. Two hundred and twenty-nine participants (mage = 21.02, SD = 7.55, 124 females) were recruited from the greater Burlington, Vermont community. Results indicated that pre-challenge AS, but not perceived control over anxiety-related events, significantly predicted post-challenge panic attack symptoms, anxiety focused on bodily sensations, and interest in returning for another challenge (behavioral avoidance). There were no interactive effects between AS and perceived control over anxiety-related events. For the physiological measures, pre-challenge AS was predictive of change in skin conductance level (pre-post challenge), and pre-challenge perceived control over anxiety-related events was predictive of change in respiration rate (breathes per minute). No significant effects were evident for heart rate and there were no significant interactive effects between AS and perceived control over anxiety-related events for any of the physiological variables. Findings of the investigation are discussed in relation to the role of AS and perceived control over anxiety-related events in terms of vulnerability for panic psychopathology.

Title: Analysis of pharmacotherapy and drug related problems in patients with arterial hypertension in Greece Student: Zisis Papadopoulos Tutor: Jiri Vlcek Department of Social and Clinical Pharmacy, Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Kralove Background: Arterial hypertension or high blood pressure is a chronic medical condition which is characterized by elevated blood pressure in the arteries and is an important risk factor for future development of cardiovascular disease. Also belongs to asymptomatic diseases because it usually does not cause symptoms for years until a vital organ is damaged. Moreover is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, due to its association with some other serious diseases like coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, atherosclerosis, renal disease, dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome. Arterial hypertension for adults, who don't suffer from any other kind of diseases, is defined by an elevation of blood pressure to 140 / 90 mm Hg or to higher values. Aim: In the theoretical part the main aim is to analyze information regarding etiopathogenesis, diagnostic methods and treatment strategies of arterial hypertension, as well as classification and causes of drug-related-problems to antihypertensive agents. In the...

The methodology for investigation of drug-related crime is the topic of this thesis. There are a few reasons why I have chosen this topic. The issue of drugs, drug-related crime, drug addiction and also illegal drug traffic has become recently the worldwide problem which intervenes into many areas of human life and therefore we must constantly pay attention to it. Especially this fact, together with other reasons as my personal connection with drug issue (few-year-long involvement in the program focused on the primary prevention from drugs at secondary schools) made me to choose this topic. My thesis is divided into 6 parts. In the first two chapters I define the general notions related to the drug issue and I provide with the division of drugs into groups under chosen criteria. For the better orientation in this issue I have listed the most common types of drugs with the description of their effect on the organism of humans. In the third part of my thesis I focus on the criminal prosecution of drug offences and the historical development of the legal regulation of this issue. More deeply I analyze the Act No. 140/1961 Coll., the Criminal Act, as amended and the actual legal regulation governing the prosecution of drug offences, the Act No. 40/20096 Coll., the Criminal Code, as amended. The forth...

<p>This dissertation studies capacity investments in energy sources, with a focus on renewable technologies, such as solar and wind energy. We develop analytical models to provide insights for policymakers and use real data from the state of Texas to corroborate our findings. </p><p>We first take a strategic perspective and focus on electricity pricing policies. Specifically, we investigate the capacity investments of a utility firm in renewable and conventional energy sources under flat and peak pricing policies. We consider generation patterns and intermittency of solar and wind energy in relation to the electricity demand throughout a day. We find that flat pricing leads to a higher investment level for solar energy and it can still lead to more investments in wind energy if considerable amount of wind energy is generated throughout the day.</p><p>In the second essay, we complement the first one by focusing on the problem of matching supply with demand in every operating period (e.g., every five minutes) from the perspective of a utility firm. We study the interaction between renewable and conventional sources with different levels of operational flexibility, i.e., the possibility</p><p>of quickly ramping energy output up or down. We show that operational flexibility determines these interactions: renewable and inflexible sources (e.g., nuclear energy) are substitutes, whereas renewable and flexible sources (e.g., natural gas) are complements. </p><p>In the final essay, rather than the capacity investments of the utility firms, we focus on the capacity investments of households in rooftop solar panels. We investigate whether or not these investments may cause a utility death spiral effect, which is a vicious circle of increased solar adoption and higher electricity prices. We observe that the current rate-of-return regulation may lead to a death spiral for utility firms. We show that one way to reverse the spiral effect is to allow the utility firms to maximize their profits by determining electricity prices.</p> / Dissertation

Nowadays firms are dealing with fierce competition and are "forced" to keep launching new products and strategies that would attract consumers'attention. One of the fastest growing marketing strategies - Cause-related marketing (CRM) addresses these trends as well as benefits from them. Cause-related marketing is a strategic partnership between a for-profit and non-profit organization. The contributions to the cause are made via consumer'purchases. As many statistics prove, CRM is a very effective strategy resulting in higher sales, enhanced image as well as loyalty. The question remains: how is it possible? What marketing concepts and techniques stand behind CRM? The diploma theses answers those questions and explains most important markteting and psychologial concepts from consumer's and firm's perspective.

A large part of the center of the city of Uppsala is located on postglacial clay. This clay often contain sulfur, this in the form of sulfide, and thus it is generally called sulfide clay (or sulfidlera in Swedish). The amount of sulfide in the clay varies from location to location. When the sulfide-rich postglacial clay comes in contact with the air it oxidizes and can give rise to acid leachate and leaching of heavy metals that were bound to the sediments. The knowledge of this has made the interest of sulfide content in soils greater in recent years, this during for example excavations on building sites. The aim of this project is therefore to summarize and present data related to sulfiderich sediments in a perspicuous way, and thus make it easier to survey the measures that could be necessary to take into consideration for construction work in the city of Uppsala. A lot of the data is taken from the archive of Bjerking AB, but some of the information on sites with sulfide rich clay is taken from Miljökontoret. Using the computer program MapInfo, the locations with sulfide rich soils has been marked on a map of Uppsala and additional information about for instance layering, NNP and pH is connected to these markings, though this is only viewable together with the map in a program supporting the “.tab” file format. / Uppsala stad ligger till stor del på postglacial lera. Denna lera innehåller ofta svavel i form av sulfid och brukar kallas ”sulfidlera”. Lerans sulfidhalt varierar från lokal till lokal. När den sulfidhaltiga postglaciala leran kommer i kontakt med luft oxiderar den och kan då ge upphov till surt lakvatten och urlakning av tungmetaller som är bundna i sedimenten. Vetskapen om detta har gjort att man på senare år börjat intressera sig mer för markens sulfidhalt vid exempelvis schaktning. Syftet med detta arbete att på ett enkelt sätt sammanställa data relaterade till sulfidhaltiga sediment och på så vis ge en överblick över vilka åtgärder som skulle behöva vidtas vid byggnation i Uppsala stad. Mycket data är taget från Bjerking AB's arkiv men också enstaka uppgifter om sulfidlera hämtade från Miljökontoret har använts. Med hjälp av programmet MapInfo har de platser, där sulfidhaltiga sediment hittats, märkts ut på en karta över Uppsala och information om bland annat lagerföljd, NNP och pH har kopplats till dessa punkter.

Sedan några år tillbaks utvecklas vid Institutionen för geovetenskap, sedimentologi, Uppsala Universitet en modell för att simulera transportförloppet av radionuklider vid ett eventuellt läckage av kärnbränsleavfall deponerat långt nere i berggrunden. Som en viktig del av transportförloppet ingår adsorption av cesiumjoner på bergets sprickväggar. Adsorptionsprocessen har i detta examensarbete studerats genom att blanda varierande koncentrationer av granitpartiklar från olika fraktioner med cesiumkontaminerat grundvatten. Koncentrationen av cesiumjoner mättes m h a en gammaräknare tills jämvikt mellan de adsorberade och de lösta jonerna infann sig. Adsorptionen karakteriserades beroende på partikelstorleken av en enstegskinetik eller en tvåstegskinetik. Tvåstegsadsorptionen är en följd av att större partiklar innehåller betydligt fler mikrosprickor än vad de mindre partiklarna gör. Resultaten utvärderades m a p dels distributionskoefficienten kd och dels reaktionskonstanten kr. Anpassningen av kd-värdena gav ett mycket bra resultat med ett R2-värde över 0,99 medan anpassningen av kr inte alls var lika bra (R2 ≈ 0.36), vilket antas bero på att uttrycket för nettoadsorptionen G är felaktigt. / Over the last few years, a model that simulates the transport of radionuclides in fractured rock has been developed at the Department of Earth Sciences/Sedimentology, Uppsala University, Sweden. The aim has been to predict the outcome of a possible leak from deposits of nuclear waste fuel in deep bedrock. The adsorption of cesium ions at the fractures is an important part of the transport mechanism. This study has attempted to explore the adsorption kinetics of cesium ions at the surface of granite particles. A certain amount of cesium was mixed with synthetic groundwater along with different fractions and amounts of clean granite particles. The concentration of cesium in the liquid was frequently measured in order to estimate the change in cesium adsorption with time. The measurements were carried out until an equilibrium between adsorbed and solute ions was achieved. Depending on the size of the particles, the adsorption was characterized by either a one- or a two step kinetics. The reason for this was that larger particles contain micro fractures which affect the adsorption curve. The results were evaluated from the estimated values of the distribution coefficient kd and the reactivity coefficient kr. A model that evaluates the available surface of the rock gave very good results for the kd-values with a R2-value above 0.99. The fitting of kr was not by near equally good (R2 ≈ 0.36), and this is assumed to depend on an incorrect expression of the net adsorption G.

A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences (Internal Medicine), University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 2017 / South Africa has the largest ARV treatment programme in the world, wherein highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) has improved the health related quality of life (HRQoL) in HIV/AIDS patients. On the contrary, cancers not previously associated with HIV/AIDS (non-Aids defining cancers; NADCs) have been shown to be increasing, compared to the AIDS defining cancers (ADCs). Lung cancer, as a NADC has been documented in the HIV/AIDS population as a leading malignancy. The poor understanding of the association between ARV drugs and lung cancer places a burden on public health, both globally and in South Africa (SA). Furthermore, the deregulation of the cell-cycle is one of the hallmarks of cancer, including lung cancer. The main aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of HAART components Efavirenz (EFV) and Lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) on cell-cycle related genes in an in vitro lung cancer model. To achieve this, cellular based, molecular and Bio-Informatics approaches were employed. First, the cytotoxic effects of EFV (at 4, 13, 26, 50 μM) and LPV/r (at 10, 32, 50, 80 μM), for 24h, 48h and 72h on normal lung fibroblasts (MRC-5) and lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells, were evaluated using the Alamar Blue (AB) assay. This was then followed by cell-impedance “xCELLigence” real-time cell analysis (RTCA) assay. This was done to determine the effects of EFV (at 4, 13, 50 μM) and LPV/r (at 10, 32, 80 μM) on cell viability, cell death and proliferation. Cell-cycle analysis using propidium iodide (PI) by Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) was done to quantify DNA present at each of the cell-cycle stages of the cell-cycle in response to ARV treatment. Subsequently, an apoptosis assay using Annexin V FITC and Propidium iodide (PI) dual staining by FACS was carried out to confirm and quantify the ARVs potential apoptotic effects. Then, 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining was used to assess changes in nuclear morphology exerted by the ARVs’ effects. A more in depth interrogation of the cell-cycle was performed using a focussed gene array panel of some 84 human cell-cycle related genes. First, total RNA was isolated from both treated and untreated MRC-5 and A549 cells and reverse transcribed to cDNA for use as template in the PCR array reactions. From the array gene expression results, by convention a ±2 fold up-or-down-regulation was used as the basis of target selection. Following this, a real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) validation of selected genes of interest was done to quantify and confirm the PCR array results. This was followed by in-silico Bio-informatics analysis to map the molecular pathways regulated by the identified targets. For this purpose, STRING, Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID), Reactome and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) databases were used. Interestingly, double-edged oncogenic properties of both EFV and LPV/r at different concentrations were identified. The proliferative effects of EFV at 4, 13μM and LPV/r at10 μM, were elucidated, while 26, 50μM of EFV, and 32μM of LPV/r had slight inhibitory effects on cell proliferation. LPV/r at concentrations of 50 and 80μM exerted cytotoxic effects on the cells, as demonstrated by the AB and xCELLigence RTCA assays. Cell-cycle analysis using PI staining, particularly showed cell-cycle arrest at 32μM LPV/r, and a shift to G2/M by 13μM EFV, plasma relevant doses, compared to the untreated cells. An increasing apoptosis percentage was observed with increasing LPV/r concentrations, that is, 80μM LPV/r raised the apoptosis percentage almost two-fold compared to 32μM. This was coupled by necrosis, observed in a time-dependant manner. DAPI staining confirmed loss of nuclear integrity post ARV exposure, suggesting that both EFV and LPV/r impose damage to the genomic DNA. To further assess the observed changes in nuclear morphology, the effects of EFV and LPV/r on the expression of an arrayed panel of human cell-cycle genes in cancer and normal lung cells was determined. Significantly differentially expressed targets were identified and further quantified and confirmed by RT-qPCR. Such targets included ATM, p53, cyclin-dependant kinase inhibitors (CDKIs), such as, p21, aurora kinase B (AURKB), Mitotic Arrest Deficient-Like 2 (MAD2L2) and the apoptosis related gene, caspase 3 (CASP3). Bio-Informatics analyses revealed close and direct protein-protein interactions (PPIs) between these targets, notably, with change in interaction between the gene products involved in DNA repair mechanisms, observed between ARV treated and untreated groups, as illustrated by STRING interactions. DAVID, Reactome and IPA analysis showed changes in expression of genes related to stress and toxicity and DNA damage response genes. In particular, ATM, p53 and its downstream targets such as GADD45A (growth arrest and DNA damage inducible alpha) gene were up-regulated by ARV treatment, while cyclin/CDK activity was down-regulated, resulting in reduced cell proliferation. Thus in summary, both EFV and LPV/r altered the expression levels of cell-cycle related genes, influencing overall cellular health, acting to either inhibit or stimulate cell proliferation. This suggests EFV’s and LPV/r’s proliferative and inhibitory roles in the proliferation of lung cells. Moreover, future directions can include the transfection of lung cells with HIV provirus followed by treatment of the cells with the same ARVs under study. This could be substantiated by including HIV positive patient samples on and off ARV drug treatment with lung cancer, including HIV negative patients with cancer as one of the controls. / MT2018