Diakonalt arbeid i møte med barnefattigdom. En kvalitativ undersøkelse om diakoniens rolle i kampen mot barnefattigdom i Frelsesarmeen.

Denne masteroppgaven handler om diakoniens rolle i kampen mot barnefattigdom og hvordan Frelsesarmeens gjennom sitt diakonale arbeid kan hjelpe barnefamilier å komme ut av fattigdommen. Jeg har satt fokus på Frelsesarmeens forståelse av barnefattigdom i Norge. Jeg ønsket å undersøke hva Frelsesarmeen tilbyr som offentlige institusjoner ikke kan tilby av betydningsfull hjelp mot barnefattigdommen. Jeg har også sett på konsekvenser for barn som opplever fattigdom under oppveksten. Forskning viser at mange barn lever under dårlige levekår i Norge. Hvilke effekter kan tilbudene fra Frelsesarmeen ha på barnas levekår og livskvalitet? Jeg har ikke funnet noen forskning på akkurat denne problemstillingen og dette perspektivet, og målet med oppgaven er å kaste lys over situasjonen, da fattigdom er et fenomen som Frelsesarmeen inkluderer i sitt arbeid, og som de må håndtere i sitt virke. I oppgaven brukte jeg kvalitativ metode hvor jeg intervjuet sju barnefamilier som får hjelpetilbud fra Frelsesarmeen i to store byer i Norge, og i tillegg, har jeg snakket med to ansatte / medarbeidere fra Frelsesarmeen som håndterer barnefattigdomsproblematikken i arbeidet sitt. I tillegg brukte jeg litteraturstudie og observasjon. Det var interessant å se nærmere på brukernes subjektive mening omkring sin fattigdom. Dette er et følsomt tema, og jeg har fått varierende svar fra informantene om dette temaet. Det er tydelig at det er mye stigmatisering og skam rundt det å ha dårlig råd og bli oppfattet som fattig. Dårlig familiens økonomi påvirker barns livskvalitet på mange områder, for eksempel når det gjelder helse, deres forhold til venner, samt muligheter til deltakelse i fritidsaktiviteter. Ansatte fikk i tillegg spørsmål knyttet til Frelsesarmeens forståelse av diakoni, og hvordan det kommer til uttrykk i deres faktiske virksomhet. Formålet med undersøkelsen var å skape kunnskap om hvordan Frelsesarmeen oppfatter og beskriver diakonalt arbeid mot barnefattigdom. Undersøkelsen har vist at Frelsesarmeens diakonale arbeid gir omsorg for hele mennesket. Frelsesarmeen avhjelper øyeblikkelig nød, viser medmenneskelig omsorg og nestekjærlighet, skaper inkluderende fellesskap og utøver kristen sjelesorg. Informantene har satt stor pris på Frelsesarmeens sosiale engasjement

Commodity price integration in Norway 1832 - 1871 : a quantitative study

This thesis explores price integration in Norwegian commodity markets in the 19th century, using quantitative methods. Convergence regressions confirm that the price growth rate is lower in towns with high initial prices, implying that the price level was equalised. This supports the assumption that the price differentials were diminished, and that the commodity markets became more integrated. Cointegration tests performed on a selection of the commodities reveal that there was a fixed relationship between the prices in different locations. Cointegration is mostly found for the so-called traded goods in the dataset, supporting the assumption that there was a stronger relationship between the prices of goods that were more frequently traded then others

Complement factor C5 in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): characterization of cDNA, protein and glycosylation

Complement component 5 (C5) is an essential factor of the defensive complement system in all vertebrates. We report the characterization of C5 cDNA and protein from Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), a teleost fish species of high importance in aquaculture. The C5 cDNA cloned from liver is 5079 nucleotides long, whose translation product has a molecular weight of 190 kDa, with the classical β-α orientation and motifs/sites for β-α cleavage (678RPKR681) and cleavage by C5 convertases (R758). Mass spectrometric analysis show a single N-linked, biantennary, complex glycan at N1125. Moreover, the N-linked glycan displays an unusual modification in the form of acetylated sialic acid residues. Three anti-C5 antisera produced in mice using purified C5 worked in immunohistochemical analyses of formalin fixed liver tissue. The purification method, whereby inactive and activated (C5b) forms were isolated, opens for interesting studies on the complement function in fish, including possible connection to stress, disease and glycosylation.publishedVersio

Global biochemical and structural analysis of the type IV pilus from the Gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus sanguinis

Type IV pili (Tfp) are functionally versatile filaments, widespread in prokaryotes, that belong to a large class of filamentous nanomachines known as type IV filaments (Tff). Although Tfp have been extensively studied in several Gram-negative pathogens where they function as key virulence factors, many aspects of their biology remain poorly understood. Here, we performed a global biochemical and structural analysis of Tfp in a recently emerged Gram-positive model, Streptococcus sanguinis. In particular, we focused on the five pilins and pilin-like proteins involved in Tfp biology in S. sanguinis. We found that the two major pilins, PilE1 and PilE2, (i) follow widely conserved principles for processing by the prepilin peptidase PilD and for assembly into filaments; (ii) display only one of the post-translational modifications frequently found in pilins, i.e. a methylatedN terminus; (iii) are found in the same heteropolymeric filaments; and (iv) are not functionally equivalent. The 3D structure of PilE1, solved byNMR,revealed a classical pilin-fold with a highly unusual flexible C terminus. Intriguingly, PilE1 more closely resembles pseudopilins forming shorter Tff than bona fide Tfp-forming major pilins, underlining the evolutionary relatedness among different Tff. Finally, we show that S. sanguinis Tfp contain a low abundance of three additional proteins processed by PilD, the minor pilins PilA, PilB, and PilC. These findings provide the first global biochemical and structural picture of a Gram-positive Tfp and have fundamental implications for our understanding of a widespread class of filamentous nanomachines

Characterization of TCDD-inducible poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (TIPARP/ARTD14) catalytic activity

YesHere, we report the biochemical characterization of the mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (TIPARP/ARTD14/PARP7), which is known to repress aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)-dependent transcription. We found that the nuclear localization of TIPARP was dependent on a short N-terminal sequence and its zinc finger domain. Deletion and in vitro ADP-ribosylation studies identified amino acids 400–657 as the minimum catalytically active region, which retained its ability to mono-ADP-ribosylate AHR. However, the ability of TIPARP to ADP-ribosylate and repress AHR in cells was dependent on both its catalytic activity and zinc finger domain. The catalytic activity of TIPARP was resistant to meta-iodobenzylguanidine but sensitive to iodoacetamide and hydroxylamine, implicating cysteines and acidic side chains as ADP-ribosylated target residues. Mass spectrometry identified multiple ADP-ribosylated peptides in TIPARP and AHR. Electron transfer dissociation analysis of the TIPARP peptide 33ITPLKTCFK41 revealed cysteine 39 as a site for mono-ADP-ribosylation. Mutation of cysteine 39 to alanine resulted in a small, but significant, reduction in TIPARP autoribosylation activity, suggesting that additional amino acid residues are modified, but loss of cysteine 39 did not prevent its ability to repress AHR. Our findings characterize the subcellular localization and mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase activity of TIPARP, identify cysteine as a mono-ADP-ribosylated residue targeted by this enzyme, and confirm the TIPARP-dependent mono-ADP-ribosylation of other protein targets, such as AHR.This work was supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) operating grants [MOP-494265 and MOP-125919]; CIHR New Investigator Award; an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Innovation [ER10-07-028]; the Johan Throne Holst Foundation; Novo Nordic Foundation; and the Norwegian Cancer Society to J.M. This work was also funded by grants from the Johan Throne Holst Foundation; and the Novo Nordic Foundation to H.I.N

A multi-centre polyp detection and segmentation dataset for generalisability assessment

Polyps in the colon are widely known cancer precursors identified by colonoscopy. Whilst most polyps are benign, the polyp’s number, size and surface structure are linked to the risk of colon cancer. Several methods have been developed to automate polyp detection and segmentation. However, the main issue is that they are not tested rigorously on a large multicentre purpose-built dataset, one reason being the lack of a comprehensive public dataset. As a result, the developed methods may not generalise to different population datasets. To this extent, we have curated a dataset from six unique centres incorporating more than 300 patients. The dataset includes both single frame and sequence data with 3762 annotated polyp labels with precise delineation of polyp boundaries verified by six senior gastroenterologists. To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive detection and pixel-level segmentation dataset (referred to as PolypGen) curated by a team of computational scientists and expert gastroenterologists. The paper provides insight into data construction and annotation strategies, quality assurance, and technical validation

The transformation from existential to theoretical theodicy in the work of Julian of Norwich

Much has been written about Julian of Norwich's theological conclusions that alle schalle be wele and that loue was his menyng. Less attention has been paid to how Julian arrived at these affirmations. It is herein argued that an examination of the two direct questions Julian asked God during her visionary experience demonstrates that theodicy was her purpose. Essentially, Julian was struggling with the most religious of all questions: how could she reconcile the existence of a loving God with the prevalence of suffering and evil in her world? Her world consisted of plague, war, and pestilence, and because every aspect of medieval life held symbolic religious meaning, interpreted and delivered by the Church, social conditions of life could not be disentangled from one's religiosity. These two aspects of Julian's consciousness, her medieval world and the religious meaning assigned to it, are crucial to one's understanding of Julian's central theological concern and are reflected in her questions to God. Julian's vision is an optimistic answer to her anxieties, and although it provided direct emotional consolation, it did not leave her intellectually satisfied. Julian would spend another twenty years studying her visionary insights before the deeper theological meaning surfaced. This intellectual examination transformed Julian's work from an existential theodicy to an enduring theoretical theodicy with which she could be satisfied. This thesis will examine that progression

SCL-90-R anvendt som indikator på psykisk lidelse i DPS-ruspoliklinikk : validering og tolkning

Bakgrunn: Behandling for rusmisbruk i Norge er nå forankret i spesialisthelsetjenesten. Dette har medført et krav om at evidensbaserte og strukturerte metoder skal inkluderes i behandlingen for å utrede og diagnostisere pasientenes psykiske helse på like linje med andre typer pasienter. Bruk av psykologiske kartleggingsverktøy for å måle psykiske symptomer hos personer som også misbruker rusmidler viser seg å være problematisk når det gjelder testresultatenes pålitelighet. SCL-90-R er et slikt kartleggingsverktøy og blir i dag brukt på pasienter i DPS-ruspoliklinikk som indikator på psykisk lidelse. Det foreligger ingen empiriske studier av SCL-90-Rs egenskaper anvendt i en slik pasientpopulasjon. Formål og problemstillinger: Redegjøring av problematikken knyttet til psykometrisk utredning av psykisk helse hos pasienter med rusmiddelproblematikk og hvordan SCL-90-R er oppbygd. Deretter undersøkes to empiriske problemstillinger: A) hvorvidt SCL-90-R er en reliabel og valid indikator på psykisk lidelse i en ruspoliklinisk pasientpopulasjon og B) gyldigheten av to kjente forklaringsmodeller for sammenhengen mellom rusmisbruk og psykisk lidelse målt med SCL-90-R. Metode: SCL-90-R-besvarelser fra 100 pasienter i DPS-ruspoliklinikk har blitt samlet inn og analysert. Indre konsistens og struktur i SCL-90-R blir undersøkt samt hvordan SCL-90-R samvarierer med andre mål på psykisk lidelse. Deretter blir hypoteser og forventninger knyttet til selvmedisineringsmodellen og skademodellen analysert for å undersøke gyldigheten til disse som forklaringsmodeller for sammenhengen mellom rusmisbruk og psykisk lidelse målt med SCL-90-R. Resultater: SCL-90-R er et reliabelt og valid mål på psykisk lidelse også i en ruspoliklinisk populasjon, dog en mer generell enn spesifikk indikator på psykisk lidelse. Skademodellen ser ut til å ha mest empirisk støtte i denne undersøkelsen som forklaringsmodell for sammenhengen mellom rusmisbruk og psykisk lidelse

Commodity price integration in Norway 1832 - 1871 : a quantitative study

This thesis explores price integration in Norwegian commodity markets in the 19th century, using quantitative methods. Convergence regressions confirm that the price growth rate is lower in towns with high initial prices, implying that the price level was equalised. This supports the assumption that the price differentials were diminished, and that the commodity markets became more integrated. Cointegration tests performed on a selection of the commodities reveal that there was a fixed relationship between the prices in different locations. Cointegration is mostly found for the so-called traded goods in the dataset, supporting the assumption that there was a stronger relationship between the prices of goods that were more frequently traded then others