Decreased startle modulation during anticipation in the postpartum period in comparison to late pregnancy

Knowledge about healthy women’s psychophysiological adaptations during the large neuroendocrine changes of pregnancy and childbirth is essential in order to understand why these events have the potential to disrupt mental health in vulnerable individuals. This study aimed to compare startle response modulation, an objective psychophysiological measure demonstrated to be influenced by anxiety and depression, longitudinally across late pregnancy and the postpartum period. The acoustic startle response modulation was assessed during anticipation of affective images and during image viewing in 31 healthy women during gestational weeks 36–39 and again at 4 to 6 weeks postpartum. No startle modulation by affective images was observed at either time point. Significant modulation during anticipation stimuli was found at pregnancy assessment but was reduced in the postpartum period. The women rated the unpleasant images more negative and more arousing and the pleasant images more positive at the postpartum assessment. Self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms did not change between assessments. The observed postpartum decrease in modulation of startle by anticipation suggests a relatively deactivated defense system in the postpartum period

Inhibition of Intestinal Bile Acid Transporter Slc10a2 Improves Triglyceride Metabolism and Normalizes Elevated Plasma Glucose Levels in Mice

Interruption of the enterohepatic circulation of bile acids increases cholesterol catabolism, thereby stimulating hepatic cholesterol synthesis from acetate. We hypothesized that such treatment should lower the hepatic acetate pool which may alter triglyceride and glucose metabolism. We explored this using mice deficient of the ileal sodium-dependent BA transporter (Slc10a2) and ob/ob mice treated with a specific inhibitor of Slc10a2. Plasma TG levels were reduced in Slc10a2-deficient mice, and when challenged with a sucrose-rich diet, they displayed a reduced response in hepatic TG production as observed from the mRNA levels of several key enzymes in fatty acid synthesis. This effect was paralleled by a diminished induction of mature sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (Srebp1c). Unexpectedly, the SR-diet induced intestinal fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 15 mRNA and normalized bile acid synthesis in Slc10a2−/− mice. Pharmacologic inhibition of Slc10a2 in diabetic ob/ob mice reduced serum glucose, insulin and TGs, as well as hepatic mRNA levels of Srebp1c and its target genes. These responses are contrary to those reported following treatment of mice with a bile acid binding resin. Moreover, when key metabolic signal transduction pathways in the liver were investigated, those of Mek1/2 - Erk1/2 and Akt were blunted after treatment of ob/ob mice with the Slc10a2 inhibitor. It is concluded that abrogation of Slc10a2 reduces hepatic Srebp1c activity and serum TGs, and in the diabetic ob/ob model it also reduces glucose and insulin levels. Hence, targeting of Slc10a2 may be a promising strategy to treat hypertriglyceridemia and diabetes

Evaluating the Congo red staining method with the aim to solve problematics in the work process and optimize amyloidosis diagnostics

Some diagnostic methods have been used for a very long time. Congo red stain saw the light of day in 1883, and quickly became important in many fields of use. Nowadays we recognize the importance of Congo red in diagnose of amyloid diseases. However, the technique and experience needed throughout the process from a suspected case to the diagnose is of greate importance. When diagnostic difficulties appeared in a few patient cases at the local hospital in Gävle, Sweden, a solution was needed. A delayed diagnose could have a potential devastating outcome seen in the perspective of the patient. Therefore it is crucial to have both sensitive and specific diagnostic methods that are optimized against the sought pathogenesis. This study aspired to find the solution to the difficulties in diagnostic work, brought to light by a pathology doctor at the hospital. Several different methodical procedures are used throughout the process, and were evaluated with focus lying on the thickness of the tissue, the staining method and the microscopes used in diagnostics. Different thickness of the tissue was cut and stained. The results demonstrated the importance of proper techniques and methods in preparing the tissue, and the tools to analyse it with. The thickness of tissue and the lightsource in the microscope played a cruicial role in diagnostics. Additionally it showed the importance to continue to raise the quality of work and make progress in the diagnostic and scientific field, possibly by finding new applications for old methods

Project: The foundation of company "Sudraba fantāziju darbnīca"

Maģistra darba mērķis ir izstrādāt uzņēmuma, kas nodarbojas ar personalizētu sudraba rotaslietu izgatavošanu pēc pasūtījuma, izveidošanas projektu. Projektā ir izpētīti ar uzņēmuma dibināšanu saistīti jautājumi, uzņēmuma darbības nozares pagātne, tagadne un nākotne. Darbā ir apskatīti uzņēmuma specifiskie darbības aspekti, veikta tirgus izpēte un sniegts konkurentu un potenciālo klientu raksturojums, sastādīts projekta finanšu plāns, kā arī noteikti un novērtēti ar projekta realizāciju saistītie riski. Periods, kas apskatīts maģistra darbā, attiecas uz projekta sākumu un pirmajiem darbības gadiem, t.i. no 01.07.2016. līdz 31.12.2019. Projekta mērķis ir jaunas saimnieciskās darbības uzsākšana, iepazīstinot Latvijas patērētājus ar jaunas un inovatīvas sudraba rotaslietu izgatavošanas tehnoloģijas produktiem. Uzņēmuma stratēģiskais mērķis ir 10 gadu laikā izveidot un ieņemt nišu vienkāršu personalizētu sudraba rotaslietu tirgū. Uzņēmuma taktiskais mērķis ir 3 gadu laikā sākt pelnīt. Uzņēmuma operatīvais mērķis ir darboties spējīga uzņēmuma izveide 1 gada laikā. Iepriekš minētie izstrādājumi un to izgatavošanas tehnoloģija Latvijas patērētajiem nav labi pazīstama, tomēr ir pamats uzskatīt, ka pēc šādiem izstrādājumiem būs pieprasījums, jo tie ir oriģināli, individuāli, mīļi un sirsnīgi, bet tādas lietas ir aktuālas vienmēr. Uzņēmuma sudraba rotaslietas acīmredzami atšķiras no konkurentu piedāvājuma. Tās tiks gatavotas konkrētam cilvēkam, vienā eksemplārā, un to galvenā vērtība būs nevis skaistums, lielā cena vai mākslinieciskā kvalitāte, bet gan personiskā attieksme, ko rotaslietas valkātājs saņems un varēs izjust. Projekts paredz uzņēmuma - sabiedrības ar ierobežotu atbildību “Sudraba fantāziju darbnīca” - izveidi. Uzņēmums būs pievienotās vērtības nodokļa maksātājs. Uzņēmums iegādāsies franšīzes licenci no Apvienotās Karalistes uzņēmuma Smallprint (Franchising) Ltd. Vienreizēja maksa par franšīzes licenci ir EUR 15 000. Projekta izstrādes pasūtītājs - uzņēmuma dibinātājs ir viena fiziska persona. Uzņēmējdarbības uzsākšanai nepieciešamais kapitāls tiek plānots EUR 45 000 (EUR 30 000 no tā ir pamatkapitāls, EUR 15 000 – aizņēmums no īpašnieka). Darbības uzsākšanai uzņēmums plāno iegādāties pamatlīdzekļus EUR 4100 apmērā, kā arī inventāru EUR 2865 apmēra. Telpas un automobilis tiks nomāti. Uzņēmumā strādās septiņi darbinieki – valdes loceklis, tirgvedības speciālists, divi klientu apkalpošanas speciālisti un trīs sudrabkaļi. Ārējais finansējums netiks piesaistīts, jo uzņēmuma īpašniekam nav izdevies atrast ārējo finansējumu uz tādiem noteikumiem, kas viņu apmierinātu. Uzņēmums darbosies juvelierizstrādājumu un līdzīgu izstrādājumu ražošanas nozarē (NACE 2. red. kods 32.12).The objective of this master’s paper is to develop a project of a company specialising in production of custom-made personalised silver jewellery. The project studies the aspects related to the establishment of the company, the past, the present and the future of business activity in the respective field. The paper focuses on specific operational aspects of such business, it also includes market research and a description of the potential customers, the financial plan of the project, as well as assessment of the risks associated with the implementation of the project. The paper focuses on the period from the beginning of the project and the first years of operation, i.e. from 01.07.2016 to 31.12.2019. The objective of the project is the initiation of a new economic activity and to introduce Latvian consumers to products made using new innovative silver jewellery production technology. The strategic goal of the company is to establish and gain a stable position in a niche in the market of simple personalised silver jewellery within 10 years. The tactical goal of the company is to gain profits within the first three years of its operation. The operative goal of the company is the establishing of an operational company within 1 year. Latvian consumers are not aware of the above mentioned products and their production technology, but there is a reason to assume that there will be a demand for such products, since they are original, personalised, lovely and heartfelt and there is always a demand for such items. The company offers a type of silver jewellery which certainly differs from competitors’ products. They will be custom-made for each customer; the main value of these products will not be their beauty, large price or artistic value, but the personal attitude, which will be received and felt by each person who will wear such jewellery. The project is developed for the purposes of establishing a limited liability company Sudraba fantāziju darbnīca. The company will be a value added tax payer. The company will purchase a franchise license from the United Kingdom based company Smallprint (Franchising) Ltd. The one-time payment for the franchise license is EUR 15,000. The project is ordered by the founder of the company – a natural person. The planned starting capital is EUR 45,000 (EUR 30,000 – the fixed capital; EUR 15,000 – a loan from the owner). In order to initiate its activity, the company is planning to acquire fixed assets in amount of EUR 4,100 and equipment in amount of EUR 2,865. The premises and a car will be rented. The company will employ seven employees: the member of the board, the marketing specialist, two customer service specialists and three silversmiths. External funding will not be attracted, since the owner of the company was not able to find external funding with satisfying conditions. The company will operate in the field of manufacture of jewellery and related items (NACE rev 2, code 32.12)

Utveckling av inkluderande lärmiljöer på en F-6 skola

Det övergripande syftet med projektet är att etablera ett samarbete, mellan högskola och en F-6 skola där grundsärskolan är integrerad. Fokus i projektet utgår från skolans önskan om att utveckla en inkluderande praxis på denna F-6 skola. Utgångspunkt tas därmed i styrdokumentens grundprincip (SFS 2010:801; Skolverket, 2011a; Skolverket, 2011b) om att ge förutsättningar för att alla elever ska kunna utvecklas så långt som möjligt. Det finns i dagsläget få empiriska studier och begränsad kunskap för att stödja en inkluderande praxis (Florian, 2014; Göransson & Nilholm, 2014; Haug, 2017). Samtidigt efterfrågas empiriska studier i undervisningspraxis där strategier implementeras gällande inkludering (Florian & Black-Hawkins, 2010). Projektet involverar fyra forskare från högskolan, Daniel Östlund, Maria Rubin och Helena Andersson och Cecilia Segerby. Våra kompetenser kompletterar olika infallsvinklar för att utveckla inkluderande lärmiljöer i och med praktiken. Genom Daniel Östlund fokuseras grundsärskolans utmaningar, genom Maria Rubin inkludering i relation till språkliga utmaningar och förutsättningar i undervisningen särskilt i relation till flerspråkiga elever. Cecilia Segerbys medverkan omfattas av ingångar och utmaningar som är kopplade till matematik och matematiksvårigheter. Helena Andersson har med sin specialpedagogiska bakgrund särskilt fokus på skolutveckling och övergripande frågor rörande inkludering och utveckling av inkluderande lärmiljöer Projektet är i uppstartsfasen. Vår presentation syftar därför till att diskutera frågeställningar och metodologiska överväganden. Referens Florian, L. (2014). What counts as evidence of inclusive education? European Journal of Special Needs Education, 29(3), 286-294. Florian, L., & Black-Hawkins, K. (2010). Exploring inclusive pedagogy. British Educational Research Journal, 37(5), 813-828. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01411926.2010.501096 Göransson, K. & Nilholm, C. (2014). Conceptual diversities and empirical shortcomings - a critical analysis of research on inclusive education. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 29(3), 265-280. Haug, P. (2017). Understanding inclusive education: ideals and reality. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 19(3), 206-217. SFS 2010: 800. Den nya skollagen – för kunskap, valfrihet och trygghet. Stockholm: Allmänna Förlaget. Skolverket. (2011a). Läroplan för grundskolan, förskoleklassen och fritidshemmet. Stockholm: Fritzes. Skolverket. (2011b). Läroplan för grundsärskolan. Stockholm: Fritzes

Schools' efforts to create inclusive learning environments

The study is part of a three-year school-improvement program in Sweden on creating inclusive learning environments, comprising several organizational levels from policy and management level to classroom praxis (http://www.ifous.se/programomraden-forskning/inkludering/). Research on inclusive education in an international context frequently focuses the placement of individual students, administrative and organizational problems and attitudes towards policy and steering documents (Forlin, Douglas & Hattie, 1996 ; Ainscow & Miles, 2008 ). Often, a praxis of exclusion is built into educational systems (Van de Putte & De Schauwer, 2013 ) where thinking of students in categories forces pedagogues into locked positions (Tetler, 2000 ). In school development, the formation of teachers into teams may play a central part as an improvement strategy (Nordholm and Blossing, 2014 ). The aim of the present study is to document and analyze the processes experienced by 32 school teams, chosen by their school leaders in 12 municipalities to implement the intentions to create inclusive learning environments in their schools. The research interest focuses how the informants describe pedagogical and didactic prerequisites and organizational conditions and how they acted when implementing inclusive learning environments in the local school context, their role and legitimacy, the support structures and the signs of change they have seen towards a more inclusive learning environment during the developmental program. The methodological approach is inspired by on-going evaluation (Ahnberg, Lundgren, Messing & von Schantz Lundgren, 2010) as a way to contribute knowledge about longitudinal developmental processes in school development close to local school context and praxis. Group interviews with the members of the teams were conducted each year in a dialogic manner with the ambition to give continuous feed back to the school teams as a way to promote developmental learning during the program. Except for visits to the schools and interviews, the researchers took part in seminars within the program and collected written documentation from the schools. The research interest concerns intentions expressed by the teams in the beginning of the program, the processes during the implementation phases and a final evaluation after three years. Data was analyzed according to qualitative content analysis and contains a rich variety of experiences and thick descriptions from the participants. Significant shifts of perspectives during the three years appear in the findings displaying how school problems and student-perspectives were understood, how the concept of inclusion was interpreted and enacted, how the teachers used analysis and reflection to promote inclusive learning environments and how frustration and insecurity among staff was transferred into collegial cooperation. The main shifts can be described in terms of taking steps from ideology to implementation, from being stuck in locked group constellations to finding flexible solutions, from seeing the teacher as the carrier of problems to collegial professionalism, and from viewing the student as the carrier of problems to analysing difficulties on several levels. School development related to inclusive learning environment is a democratic issue relevant in a Nordic as well as a global educational context and the complexity of educational organisation on different levels (Scheerens, 2015)

Skolors strävan efter inkluderande lärmiljöer

IFOUS FoU-program Inkluderande lärmiljöe

Why and When Physicians Google : Resident Physicians' Information-Seeking Strategies During Patient Consultations

Physicians depend on access to accurate, up-to-date information and knowledge to make decisions and carry out their work. Today, access to online medical information has become easier than ever before. There is a stream of research interested in understanding how online health information intervenes and influences the patient-physician relationship. While many studies have focused on patients' online health information seeking, fewer studies have addressed how physicians seek and use online medical information. In this qualitative study, focus groups using clinical scenarios were conducted to examine why and when resident physicians turn to search engines like Google for medical information seeking at the point of care. The paper provides insights in physicians' perceptions and experiences of using digital tools for information seeking during patient consultations. Specifically, we identify and discuss information-seeking strategies of physicians during the patient consultation, contributing crucial knowledge for improving the quality of healthcare and patient outcomes.CC BY-NC 4.0</p

The DENOVA score efficiently identifies patients with monomicrobial Enterococcus faecalis bacteremia where echocardiography is not necessary

Objectives: Enterococcal bacteremia can be complicated by infective endocarditis (IE) and when suspected, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) should be performed. The previously published NOVA score can identify patients with enterococcal bacteremia at risk for IE and we aimed to improve the score. Methods: Factors associated with IE were studied retrospectively in a population-based cohort of patients with monomicrobial Enterococcus faecalis bacteremia (MEFsB). Factors associated with IE in multivariable analysis were included in a new score system which was compared to the NOVA score and validated in a cohort of patients with MEFsB from another region. Results: Among 397 episodes of MEFsB, 44 episodes with IE were compared to those without IE. Long Duration of symptoms (≥ 7 days) and Embolization were associated with IE in the multivariate analysis and hence were added to the NOVA variables (Number of positive cultures, Origin of infection unknown, Valve disease, and Auscultation of murmur) to generate a novel score; DENOVA. The area under the curve in ROC analyses was higher for DENOVA (0.95) compared to NOVA (0.91) (p = 0.001). With a cutoff at ≥ 3 positive variables the DENOVA score has a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 83% which is superior to the NOVA score (specificity 29%). The DENOVA score was applied to the validation cohort (26 IE episodes and 256 non-IE episodes) and the resulting sensitivity was 100% and the specificity was 85% compared to 35% for NOVA. Conclusions: The DENOVA score is a useful tool to identify patients with MEFsB where TEE is not needed