Surveillance of Fish Diseases in the Nordic Countries

Due to the increasing importance of disease problems in the fish farming industry and the impact disease may have on both feral and farmed fish in the Nordic countries, monitoring and surveillance on diseases have for many years been considered to be of socioeconomic importance. All the Nordic countries have a national legislation as basis for their surveillance and disease control in aquatic animals and regulations listing notifiable diseases of concern to the countries. The list of diseases vary between the countries. In addition, Denmark, Finland and Sweden are ruled by [3] as regards placing on the market of aquaculture animals and products. The surveillance for viral diseases in all the Nordic countries has mainly been based on the testing procedures given in the EU Commission [2].     

Surveillance of Ruminant Diseases in the Nordic Countries

All the Nordic countries have a basis for their surveillance and disease control in ruminants in national legislation and regulations listing notifiable diseases of concern to the countries. The Nordic countries are a disease-free zone comparing to other parts of the world and the aim of the surveillance is to keep that status and be able to document it. Following is a short summary from each country.

     

Surveillance of Ruminant Diseases in the Nordic Countries

All the Nordic countries have a basis for their surveillance and disease control in ruminants in national legislation and regulations listing notifiable diseases of concern to the countries. The Nordic countries are a disease-free zone comparing to other parts of the world and the aim of the surveillance is to keep that status and be able to document it. Following is a short summary from each country.     

Surveillance of Fish Diseases in the Nordic Countries

Due to the increasing importance of disease problems in the fish farming industry and the impact disease may have on both feral and farmed fish in the Nordic countries, monitoring and surveillance on diseases have for many years been considered to be of socioeconomic importance. All the Nordic countries have a national legislation as basis for their surveillance and disease control in aquatic animals and regulations listing notifiable diseases of concern to the countries. The list of diseases vary between the countries. In addition, Denmark, Finland and Sweden are ruled by [3] as regards placing on the market of aquaculture animals and products. The surveillance for viral diseases in all the Nordic countries has mainly been based on the testing procedures given in the EU Commission [2].

     

Organic Farming in the Nordic Countries – Animal Health and Production

Organic farming (or ecological agriculture) is of growing importance in the agricultural sector worldwide. In the Nordic countries, 1–10% of the arable land was in organic production in 1999. Organic farming can be seen as an approach to agriculture where the aim is to create integrated, humane, environmentally and economically sustainable agricultural production systems. Principles like nutrient recycling, prevention rather than treatment and the precautionary principle are included in aims and standards. Animal welfare is another hallmark of organic livestock production but despite this, several studies have indicated severe health problems e.g. in organic poultry production in Denmark. Also the quality of animal food products in relation to human health, particularly the risk of zoonotic infections, has been debated. For these reasons there is a need for improvement of production methods and animal health status. Vets play an important role in this development through work in clinical practice and in research. On-farm consultancy should be tailored to the individual farmers needs, and the practitioner should be willing to take up new ideas and when needed, to enter a critical dialogue in relation to animal welfare. Better base line data on animal health and food safety in organic food systems are needed.     

Multilocus Sequence Typing Identifies Epidemic Clones of Flavobacterium psychrophilum in Nordic Countries

Flavobacterium psychrophilum is the causative agent of bacterial cold water disease (BCWD), which affects a variety of freshwater-reared salmonid species. A large-scale study was performed to investigate the genetic diversity of F. psychrophilum in the four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Multilocus sequence typing of 560 geographically and temporally disparate F. psychrophilum isolates collected from various sources between 1983 and 2012 revealed 81 different sequence types (STs) belonging to 12 clonal complexes (CCs) and 30 singleton STs. The largest CC, CC-ST10, which represented almost exclusively isolates from rainbow trout and included the most predominant genotype, ST2, comprised 65% of all isolates examined. In Norway, with a shorter history (<10 years) of BCWD in rainbow trout, ST2 was the only isolated CC-ST10 genotype, suggesting a recent introduction of an epidemic clone. The study identified five additional CCs shared between countries and five country-specific CCs, some with apparent host specificity. Almost 80% of the singleton STs were isolated from non-rainbow trout species or the environment. The present study reveals a simultaneous presence of genetically distinct CCs in the Nordic countries and points out specific F. psychrophilum STs posing a threat to the salmonid production. The study provides a significant contribution toward mapping the genetic diversity of F. psychrophilum globally and support for the existence of an epidemic population structure where recombination is a significant driver in F. psychrophilum evolution. Evidence indicating dissemination of a putatively virulent clonal complex (CC-ST10) with commercial movement of fish or fish products is strengthened.     

Psychological Stress and Hospitalization for Childhood Asthma-a Nationwide Cohort Study in Two Nordic Countries

Objective

Exposures to psychological stress in early life may contribute to the development or exacerbation of asthma. We undertook a cohort study based on data from several population-based registers in Denmark and Sweden to examine whether bereavement in childhood led to increased asthma hospitalization.

Methods

All singleton children born in Denmark during 1977-2008 and in Sweden during 1973-2006 were included in the study (N=5,202,576). The children were followed from birth to the date of first asthma hospitalization, emigration, death, their 18^th birthday, or the end of study (31 December 2007 in Sweden and 31 December 2008 in Denmark), whichever came first. All the children were assigned to the non-bereaved group until they lost a close relative (mother, father or a sibling), from when they were included in the bereaved group. We evaluated the hazard ratio (HR) of first hospitalization for asthma in bereaved children using Cox proportional hazards regression models, compared to those who were in the non-bereaved group. We also did a sub-analysis on the association between bereavement and first asthma medication.

Results

A total of 147,829 children were hospitalized for asthma. The overall adjusted HR of asthma hospitalization in bereaved children was 1.10 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04-1.16), compared to non-bereaved children. The risk of asthma hospitalization was increased in those who lost a close relative at age of 14-17 years (HR=1.54, 95% CI: 1.23-1.92), but not in younger age groups. The association between bereavement and asthma hospitalization did not change over time since bereavement. In the sub-analysis in singleton live births during 1996-2008 recorded in the DMBR, bereavement was associated with a lower use of asthma medication (HR=0.87, 95% CI: 0.80-0.95).

Conclusions

Our data suggests that psychological stress following bereavement in late adolescence is associated with an increased risk of asthma hospitalization or lowers the threshold for asthma hospitalization.     

Mortality after Parental Death in Childhood: A Nationwide Cohort Study from Three Nordic Countries

Background

Bereavement by spousal death and child death in adulthood has been shown to lead to an increased risk of mortality. Maternal death in infancy or parental death in early childhood may have an impact on mortality but evidence has been limited to short-term or selected causes of death. Little is known about long-term or cause-specific mortality after parental death in childhood.

Methods and Findings

This cohort study included all persons born in Denmark from 1968 to 2008 (n = 2,789,807) and in Sweden from 1973 to 2006 (n = 3,380,301), and a random sample of 89.3% of all born in Finland from 1987 to 2007 (n = 1,131,905). A total of 189,094 persons were included in the exposed cohort when they lost a parent before 18 years old. Log-linear Poisson regression was used to estimate mortality rate ratio (MRR). Parental death was associated with a 50% increased all-cause mortality (MRR = 1.50, 95% CI 1.43–1.58). The risks were increased for most specific cause groups and the highest MRRs were observed when the cause of child death and the cause of parental death were in the same category. Parental unnatural death was associated with a higher mortality risk (MRR = 1.84, 95% CI 1.71–2.00) than parental natural death (MRR = 1.33, 95% CI 1.24–1.41). The magnitude of the associations varied according to type of death and age at bereavement over different follow-up periods. The main limitation of the study is the lack of data on post-bereavement information on the quality of the parent-child relationship, lifestyles, and common physical environment.

Conclusions

Parental death in childhood or adolescence is associated with increased all-cause mortality into early adulthood. Since an increased mortality reflects both genetic susceptibility and long-term impacts of parental death on health and social well-being, our findings have implications in clinical responses and public health strategies. Please see later in the article for the Editors'' Summary     

The Nordic Vegetation Survey - concepts and perspectives

Abstract. The background of the Nordic Vegetation Survey is outlined and the concepts for this international collaboration project are reviewed. The project includes, so far, institutions in Denmark, Faeroes, Finland, Norway and Sweden. We are setting up a common basis for a vegetation database, with a Nordic species list, exchange of data and joint revisions of important Nordic vegetation types. Progress in the Nordic Vegetation Survey is described and the future perspectives indicated.     

Life Expectancy and Death by Diseases of the Circulatory System in Patients with Bipolar Disorder or Schizophrenia in the Nordic Countries

Objective

Excess mortality from diseases and medical conditions (natural death) in persons with psychiatric disorders has been extensively reported. Even in the Nordic countries with well-developed welfare systems, register based studies find evidence of an excess mortality. In recent years, cardiac mortality and death by diseases of the circulatory system has seen a decline in all the Nordic countries, but a recent paper indicates that women and men in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, who had been hospitalised for a psychotic disorder, had a two to three-fold increased risk of dying from a cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to compare the mortality by diseases of the circulatory system among patients with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia in the three Nordic countries Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. Furthermore, the aim was to examine and compare life expectancy among these patients. Cause specific Standardized Mortality Rates (SMRs) were calculated for each specific subgroup of mortality. Life expectancy was calculated using Wiesler’s method.

Results

The SMR for bipolar disorder for diseases of the circulatory system was approximately 2 in all countries and both sexes. SMR was slightly higher for people with schizophrenia for both genders and in all countries, except for men in Denmark. Overall life expectancy was much lower among persons with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, with life expectancy being from 11 to 20 years shorter.

Conclusion

Our data show that persons in the Nordic countries with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder have a substantially reduced life expectancy. An evaluation of the reasons for these increased mortality rates should be prioritized when planning healthcare in the coming years.     

蓝黄红菇的化学成分

从野生真菌蓝黄红菇Ｒｕｓｓｕｌａ ｃｙａｎｏｘａｎｔｈａ Ｓｃｈａｅｆｆ．Ｆｒ．子实体中分得６个化合物,经光谱法分别鉴定为４个麦角甾醇：５α,８α－ｅｐｉｄｉｏｘｙ－（２２Ｅ,２４Ｒ）－ｅｒｇｏｓｔａ－６,２２－ｄｉｅｎ－３β－ｏｌ １,５α,８α－ｅｐｉｄｉｏｘｙ－（２４Ｓ）－ｅｒｇｏｓｔａ－６－ｅｎ－３β－ｏｌ ２,（２４Ｓ）－ｅｒｇｏｓｔａ－７－ｅｎｅ－３β,５α,６β－ｔｒｉｏｌ ３,     

Cuticular terminology in Russula (agaricales)

The pileus cuticle is one-layered in a few species ofRussula, but in the others it can be interpreted as composed of two layers—the epicutis uppermost and below this, the subcutis. The basic difference between the two layers is in hyphal orientation. Cell inflation may obscure the orientation in the cuticles of some species. This has given rise to differing interpretations of cuticular structure, especially in regard to the number of nameable layers present, and thus to differing terms for the layers. No Russulas illustrate this better than those of subsectionVirescentinae, of which the two most common North American species,R. crustosa Peck andR. virescens (Schaeffer ex Secretan) Fries, are discussed and described.     

中国红菇属分类研究进展

<正>红菇属Russula由Persoon(1796)建立,分类学上隶属于担子菌门Basidiomycota、担子菌纲Basidiomycetes、红菇目Russulales Kreisel ex P.M.Kirk,P.F.Cannon&J.C.David.(2001)、红菇科RussulaceaeLotsy.(1907)。该属的特征为:子实体各个部位(特别是菌褶)很脆,菌柄短而粗,菌盖常有鲜艳的颜色,菌褶通常有囊状体,子实体通常肉质,菌肉由较典型菌丝缠绕着成群球状胞组成,菌丝无锁状联合,孢子具淀粉质纹饰(应建浙和臧     

New Lactarane Sesquiterpenoid from the Fungus Russula emetica

A new lactarane sesquiterpenoid with a β,γ-epoxy-γ-lactone moiety was isolated from the neutral fraction of an extract of Russula emetica, together with three known sesquiterpenoids. The structures of these compounds were identified by chemical transformation of related compounds and by spectroscopic methods.     

红菇属两种凝集素的分离纯化与比较研究

以红菇属大白菇Russula delica和美丽红菇Russula lepida子实体为材料,利用离子交换柱层析、凝胶过滤层析的手段,分离获得新的凝集素RDL和RLL。结合凝胶过滤层析和SDS-PAGE的手段,确定RDL和RLL分别是分子量为60kDa和32kDa的双亚基蛋白,其N-末端部分氨基酸序列分别为GLKLAKQFAL和VWYIVAIKTDVPRTT。性质研究表明,RDL在20－70℃、低于25mmol/L HCl或12.5mmol/L NaOH下稳定,其凝集活性可以被邻硝基苯酚-β-D呋喃型半乳糖苷（25mmol/L）和菊糖（50mmol/L）所抑制;RDL具有抑制人肝癌Hep G2和人乳腺癌MCF7细胞增殖以及HIV-1反转录酶（RT）的活性,其半抑制浓度IC50分别为0.88μmol/L、0.52μmol/L和0.26μmol/L。RLL在20－70℃、低于12.5mmol/L HCl或NaOH下稳定,其凝集活性可以被菊糖（25mmol/L）和邻硝基苯酚-β-D呋喃型半乳糖苷（100mmol/L）所抑制;RDL具有抑制人肝癌Hep G2和人乳腺癌MCF7细胞增殖的活性,其半抑制浓度IC50分别为1.60μmol/L和0.90μmol/L,但不具有抑制HIV-1 RT的活性。