Pathogenicity of nodavirus strains from striped jack Pseudocaranx dentex and Atlantic halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus, studied by waterborne challenge of yolk-sac larvae of both teleost species

The present study shows that differences in pathogenicity exist among fish nodavirus strains. In challenge trials, a Japanese strain (SJ93Nag) was highly virulent to larvae of the striped jack Pseudocaranx dentex but replication was not detected in larvae of Atlantic halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus at 6 degrees C. Conversely, a Norwegian nodavirus strain (AH95NorA) that was highly virulent to the Atlantic halibut larvae did not replicate in striped jack larvae at 20 degrees C. Occurrence of the disease viral encephalopathy and retinopathy (VER) and cumulative mortality were significantly different in the 2 species when challenged with the 2 nodavirus strains. The presence of nodavirus in nervous tissue was monitored by immunohistochemical methods. Our results support the view that the genetic diversity among nodavirus strains reflects the existence of different viral phenotypes which may be adapted to infect different host species and/or for replicating at different temperatures. Fish nodaviruses represent surveyable pathogens well suited for studying the relation between viral genotypic and phenotypic properties such as host specificity, temperature optima, neuroinvasiveness and neurovirulence

A Horizon Metadata Transformer for Multi-horizon Forecasting

Multi-horizon time series forecasting poses fundamental challenges to machine learning and statistics with applications in many domains. In direct multi-horizon forecasting, the standard approach of neural nets is to either have one output node per horizon or use a sequence to sequence method to achieve solid forecasts. This thesis proposes a novel multi-horizon forecasting scheme that only uses one output node for all horizons. The method achieves differentiation of horizons by encoding and injection of horizon metadata into the models. Furthermore, we introduce a multi-horizon time series adaptation of the Vision Transformer. Moreover, we propose three different ways in which to inject the horizon metadata for the transformer structure, yielding rich representations per horizons and improved results compared to a multilayered perceptron baseline. In addition, we provide six different ways to encode the different horizons into metadata. Lastly, we show that the correct encoding structure for the horizon metadata allow the encoding of the time series dynamics into the model. Ultimately, this allows the models to perform interpolation tasks

Postoperative emergence delirium in children:A narrative review of recent publications

Background: Emergence delirium is a challenge in pediatric anesthesiology, with important unanswered questions concerning incidence, causation, diagnosis, treatment, and sequelae. In this review, we will present the recent research with a particular focus placed on treatment and prevention options. Methods: A wide literature search was conducted across MEDLINE and other databases using PubMed, Embase, Ovid, and the Cochrane Library (latest access: 23 November 2020). The collected publications were assessed for relevance. Only randomized controlled trials and observational studies on postoperative emergence delirium in children were included. Exclusion criteria were articles published before 2018, and studies comprising children older than 12 years of age, mental retardation, or chronic diseases. Results: The final number of studies included in this review was 44. Risk factors identified for emergence delirium were volatile inhalation anesthetics, young age, child temperament, preoperative anxiety, male gender, and specific surgical procedures. Preventive and/or intervention measures were pharmacological (e.g. TIVA, α 2-adrenergic agonists (particularly dexmedetomidine), ketamine, propofol, midazolam, opioids (fentanyl)) and non-pharmacological measures (e.g. video or tablet distraction, familiarization with the operating environment, use of mother’s voice, visual preconditioning in eye surgery). Conclusion: ED should be considered a “vital sign” and recorded and documented in all children in the PACU. There is an urgent need for future research to fill in missing gaps of knowledge regarding ED. Implementation of a standardized and validated screening tool for ED are high priorities as is the impact of perioperative monitoring of children at risk to prevent ED. </p

Matrix gla protein in turbot (Scophthalmus maximus): gene expression analysis and identification of sites of protein accumulation

Matrix Gla protein (Mgp) is a secreted vitamin K-dependent extracellular matrix protein and a physiological inhibitor of calcification whose gene structure, amino acid sequence and tissue distribution have been conserved throughout evolution. In the present work, the turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) mgp cDNA was cloned and the sequence of the deduced protein compared to that of other vertebrates. As expected, it was closer to teleosts than to other vertebrate groups but there was a strict conservation of amino-acids thought to be important for protein function. Analysis of mgp gene expression indicated branchial arches as the site with higher levels of expression, followed by heart, vertebra and kidney. These results were confirmed by in situ hybridization with a strong mgp expression in branchial arch chondrocytes. Mgp was found to accumulate in gills where it appeared to be restricted to chondrocytes from branchial filaments, while in vertebrae it was localized in vertebral end plates, in growth zones, in vertebral arches and spines and in notochord cells. In the soft tissues analysed, Mgp was mainly detected in kidney and heart, consistent with previous data and providing further evidence for a role of Mgp as a calcification inhibitor and a modulator of the mineralization process. Our studies provide evidence that turbot, an important new species for aquaculture, is also a useful model to study function and expression of Mgp

Re: Baseline findings of the Italian multicenter randomized controlled trial of "once-only sigmoidoscopy"--SCORE

This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Journal of the National Cancer Institute following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jnci/95.14.1089Accepted versio

Risk of colorectal cancer seven years after flexible sigmoidoscopy screening: randomised controlled trial

Objective To determine the risk of colorectal cancer after screening with flexible sigmoidoscopy

Er det forskningsmessig interessant å koble data fra Medisinsk fødselsregister med data fra Kreftregisteret?

Medisinsk fødselsregister og Kreftregisteret inneholder personidentifiserbare data som via fødselsnummeret kan kobles sammen innenfor de rammer som lovverket gir. Denne sammenkoblingen gir oss interessante muligheter til å studere fødselskarakteristikas betydning for risikoen for å få kreft senere i livet. På den måten vil vi også kunne få informasjon om hvilke mekanismer som er med å påvirke vår kreftrisiko. Det gir oss også muligheter til å studere hvilke konsekvenser kreftforekomst med påfølgende behandling kan ha både for senere svangerskap og barn som blir født.Per 2006 er det akkumulert 12 443 krefttilfeller blant de barn som er registrert i Medisinsk fødselsregister siden det ble etablert i 1967. Selv om dette er et betydelig antall krefttilfeller, er de fordelt på mange krefttyper, noe som har begrenset nytteverdien i kreftforskningen så langt. Imidlertid vil forskningsmuligheteneøke med alderen til registeret. Også andre nordiske land har muligheter for slike koblinger, og til sammen gir dette unike muligheter til å gjennomføre interessant forskning.I denne fremstillingen gis en kort presentasjon av gjennomførte og pågående vitenskapelige studier basert på sammenkobling mellom data fra Medisinsk fødselsregister og Kreftregisteret.</jats:p

Meta-analysis of five genome-wide association studies identifies multiple new loci associated with testicular germ cell tumor

The international Testicular Cancer Consortium (TECAC) combined five published genome-wide association studies of testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT; 3,558 cases and 13,970 controls) to identify new susceptibility loci. We conducted a fixed-effects meta-analysis, including, to our knowledge, the first analysis of the X chromosome. Eight new loci mapping to 2q14.2, 3q26.2, 4q35.2, 7q36.3, 10q26.13, 15q21.3, 15q22.31, and Xq28 achieved genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10−8). Most loci harbor biologically plausible candidate genes. We refined previously reported associations at 9p24.3 and 19p12 by identifying one and three additional independent SNPs, respectively. In aggregate, the 39 independent markers identified to date explain 37% of father-to-son familial risk, 8% of which can be attributed to the 12 new signals reported here. Our findings substantially increase the number of known TGCT susceptibility alleles, move the field closer to a comprehensive understanding of the underlying genetic architecture of TGCT, and provide further clues to the etiology of TGCT