Intention to Change Dietary Habits, and Weight Loss Among Norwegian-Pakistani Women Participating in a Culturally Adapted Intervention

The aim was to explore the relationships between degree of participation in a culturally adapted lifestyle intervention and stages of change for healthy eating and weight loss among Pakistani immigrant women in Norway. The intervention lasted 7 months and included 198 women, randomized into control and intervention groups. The odds of losing weight from baseline to follow-up, and being in action stages of change (compared to pre-action stages) with regard to intake of amount and type of fat, sugar and white flour at follow-up, increased significantly with number of group sessions attended. Those in action stage of reducing intake of fat and increasing intake of vegetables, as well as of reducing weight, were significantly more likely than others to have experienced weight loss at follow-up. Participation in the culturally adapted intervention was related to increase in intentions to change dietary behaviours and to weight loss

Human papillomavirus infection as a risk factor for anal and perianal skin cancer in a prospective study

Human papillomavirus has emerged as the leading infectious cause of cervical and other anogenital cancers. We have studied the relation between human papillomavirus infection and the subsequent risk of anal and perianal skin cancer. A case–cohort study within two large Nordic serum banks to which about 760 000 individuals had donated serum samples was performed. Subjects who developed anal and perianal skin cancer during follow up (median time of 10 years) were identified by registry linkage with the nationwide cancer registries in Finland and Norway. Twenty-eight cases and 1500 controls were analysed for the presence of IgG antibodies to HPV 16, 18, 33 or 73, and odds ratios of developing anal and perianal skin cancer were calculated. There was an increased risk of developing anal and perianal skin cancer among subjects seropositive for HPV 16 (OR=3.0; 95%CI=1.1–8.2) and HPV 18 (OR=4.4; 95%CI=1.1–17). The highest risks were seen for HPV 16 seropositive patients above the age of 45 years at serum sampling and for patients with a lag time of less than 10 years. This study provides prospective epidemiological evidence of an association between infection with HPV 16 and 18 and anal and perianal skin cancer

Ascitic complement system in ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer spreads intraperitoneally and forms fluid, whereby the diagnosis and therapy often become delayed. As the complement (C) system may provide a cytotoxic effector arm for both immunological surveillance and mAb-therapy, we have characterised the C system in the intraperitoneal ascitic fluid (AF) from ovarian cancer patients. Most of the AF samples showed alternative and classical pathway haemolytic activity. The levels of C3 and C4 were similar to or in the lower normal range when compared to values in normal sera, respectively. However, elevated levels of C3a and soluble C5b-9 suggested C activation in vivo. Malignant cells isolated from the AF samples had surface deposits of C1q and C3 activation products, but not of C5b-9 (the membrane attack complex; MAC). Activation could have become initiated by anti-tumour cell antibodies that were detected in the AFs and/or by changes on tumour cell surfaces. The lack of MAC was probably due to the expression of C membrane regulators CD46, CD55 and CD59 on the tumour cells. Soluble forms of C1 inhibitor, CD59 and CD46, and the alternative pathway inhibitors factor H and FHL-1 were present in the AF at concentrations higher than in serum samples. Despite the presence of soluble C inhibitors it was possible to use AF as a C source in antibody-initiated killing of ovarian carcinoma cells. These results demonstrate that although the ovarian ascitic C system fails as an effective immunological surveillance mechanism, it could be utilised as an effector mechanism in therapy with intraperitoneally administrated mAbs, especially if the intrinsic C regulators are neutralised

Knowledge of learning disabilities: the relationship with choice, duty of care and non-aversive approaches

The present study examines the relationship between the knowledge of the diagnostic criteria for a learning disability (based on DSM IV criteria), care practices and experience in health care and social care staff. Responses to a questionnaire were analysed in terms of participants emphasis on: recognizing duty of care; enabling choice; non-aversive and aversive strategies. Results indicated that the knowledge of the criteria for a learning disability was limited, with only I6% of the sample correctly identifying all three criteria. There were no significant differences between the two groups in relation to experience or level of knowledge. No clear cut differences were found between the groups in relation to tendency to emphasize a particular management approach, with the strategies adopted appearing to be influenced by vignettes used in this study. Participants tended to give responses that identified both a recognition of their duty of care to clients and the need to enable choice. Limitations of this study are discussed

The Temporal Relationship Between Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes and Associated Optical Pulses From Lightning

We present 221 Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) and associated optical pulses observed by the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) on board the International Space Station. The events were detected between the end of March 2019 and November 2020 and consist of X- and gamma-ray energy detections, as well as photometer data (180–230, 337, and 777 nm) and optical camera data (337 and 777 nm). Using the available ASIM data and applying a consistency check based on TGF characteristics and lightning detections from lightning radio atmospherics close in time, we determine the most likely position of the TGFs in relation to the photometer field of view (FoV), and the association to the observed optical pulses. Out of the 221 events we find 72 events where the TGF and optical data are determined to be associated and inside the photometer FoV. Using the measured TGF durations and the time between the onsets of the TGFs and optical pulses we find: (a) That the TGF onsets are always before or at the same time as the optical pulse onsets (taking into account cloud scattering). (b) A tendency for longer duration TGFs to have longer delays between onsets. (c) Two groups of events: (a) where there is a possible overlap between the TGFs and the optical emissions, as the TGFs last longer than the delay between onsets and (b) where the TGFs and optical emissions do not overlap, as there are long delays between the onsets, which cannot be explained by cloud scattering.publishedVersio

Body size and thyroid cancer in two million Norwegian men and women

We investigated relations between measured body mass index (BMI) and stature and thyroid cancer (3046 cases) in a large Norwegian cohort of more than two million individuals. The risk of thyroid cancer, especially of the papillary and follicular types, increased moderately with increasing BMI and height in both sexes

Ancient origin of fucosylated xyloglucan in charophycean green algae

Mikkelsen et al. demonstrate molecular and cellular evidence of the evolution of xyloglucan (XyG), a structural component of the cell walls of most land plants, in charophyte algae. This study describes the structure of XyG in charophyte algae, including identification of fucosylated XyG, and furthermore identifies orthologs required to produce XyG