Norway and norwegian NGOs in international climate diplomacy : a separate or symbiotic relationship?

Climate change and its consequences is a major challenge facing the world today, and it needs the world to come together to solve it, or to slow it down. This is the reason for the establishment of the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change, which allows states to come together and discuss efforts against climate change with the goal of creating a strong international agreement on climate change. Non-state actors, such as NGOs, can be a huge contribution to this. This thesis strives to place non-state actors within diplomatic theory, and explain the contributions they come with in diplomatic processes. In order to do this it looks at the climate negotiations within UNFCCC. This thesis narrows down to the roles and actions of the Norwegian government and official delegation, and that of the Norwegian NGOs. It also looks at the relationship between them, and how this as affected their impact at the negotiations. The main theoretical framework is based on the writings of John Robert Kelley, who claims that official and non-official diplomats work separately within the same sphere, but that the states that have a close relationship with the NGOs, and actively interacts and use them, are those that will have most success in the future. James Der Derian’s six paradigms are also used to show the complexity of the diplomatic evolution, and show tension points between the traditional and non-traditional actors in diplomacy. They also introduce the paradigm that this thesis is in, that of techno-diplomacy. My findings suggest that Norway and the Norwegian NGOs do not work separately, but they work closely together, both prior and during the COPs. Their relationship is formal in the way that the formal delegation from Norway has two representatives from the NGOs. This relationship is mutually beneficial. The Norwegian NGOs gain access to closed negotiation rooms, and thus gets knowledge and information they can share with other NGOs. They also have a direct link to the top negotiators in Norway, which is beneficial when they want to influence the Norwegian positions and strategies. For the “official” Norway, this relationship gives them new perspectives and ideas they may not have thought of, and they get access to the international networks the NGOs have. They may also help in negotiations, by providing information gained through informal channels the Norwegian delegation is not privy to. It also helps Norway with its good international reputation, which again helps Norway in the negotiating process.M-I

Sikkerhetskultur i politiet

Politiet skal ivareta borgernes sikkerhet. Hvor gode er de til å ta vare på sin egen sikkerhet og i hvilken grad innehar politiet en god sikkerhetskultur under daglig drift og oppdragsløsning? Dette når vi vet at det i Norge i gjennomsnitt skades 458 ansatte i politiet hvert år. Jeg har i denne oppgaven kartlagt sikkerhetskulturen i politiet ut fra rapporteringer i avvikssystemet, Synergi, og sett på svakheter og mulige forbedringspunkter

Identification and Validation of Leucine-rich α-2-glycoprotein 1 as a Noninvasive Biomarker for Improved Precision in Prostate Cancer Risk Stratification.

BACKGROUND: More accurate risk assessments are needed to improve prostate cancer management. OBJECTIVE: To identify blood-based protein biomarkers that provided prognostic information for risk stratification. DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Mass spectrometry was used to identify biomarker candidates from blood, and validation studies were performed in four independent cohorts retrospectively collected between 1988 and 2015. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The primary outcome objectives were progression-free survival, prostate cancer-specific survival (PCSS), and overall survival. Statistical analyses to assess survival and model performance were performed. RESULTS AND LIMITATION: Serum leucine-rich α-2-glycoprotein 1 (LRG1) was found to be elevated in fatal prostate cancer. LRG1 provided prognostic information independent of metastasis and increased the accuracy in predicting PCSS, particularly in the first 3 yr. A high LRG1 level is associated with an average of two-fold higher risk of disease-progression and mortality in both high-risk and metastatic patients. However, our study design, with a retrospective analysis of samples spanning several decades back, limits the assessment of the clinical utility of LRG1 in today's clinical practice. Thus, independent prospective studies are needed to establish LRG1 as a clinically useful biomarker for patient management. CONCLUSIONS: High blood levels of LRG1 are unfavourable in newly diagnosed high-risk and metastatic prostate cancer, and LRG1 increased the accuracy of risk stratification of prostate cancer patients. PATIENT SUMMARY: High blood levels of leucine-rich α-2-glycoprotein 1 are unfavourable in newly diagnosed high-risk and metastatic prostate cancer

Clinical and biochemical impact of vitamin B6 deficiency in primary sclerosing cholangitis before and after liver transplantation

Background and aims We previously demonstrated that people with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) had reduced gut microbial capacity to produce active vitamin B6 (pyridoxal 5’-phosphate [PLP]), which corresponded to lower circulating PLP levels and poor outcomes. Here, we define the extent and biochemical and clinical impact of vitamin B6 deficiency in people with PSC from several centers before and after liver transplantation (LT). Methods We used targeted liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to measure B6 vitamers and B6-related metabolic changes in blood from geographically distinct cross-sectional cohorts totaling 373 people with PSC and 100 healthy controls to expand on our earlier findings. Furthermore, we included a longitudinal PSC cohort (n = 158) sampled prior to and serially after LT, and cohorts of people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) without PSC (n = 51) or with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) (n = 100), as disease controls. We used Cox regression to measure the added value of PLP to predict outcomes before and after LT. Results In different cohorts, 17-38% of people with PSC had PLP levels below the biochemical definition of a vitamin B6 deficiency. The deficiency was more pronounced in PSC than in IBD without PSC and PBC. Reduced PLP was associated with dysregulation of PLP-dependent pathways. The low B6 status largely persisted after LT. Low PLP independently predicted reduced LT-free survival in both non-transplanted people with PSC and in transplant recipients with recurrent disease. Conclusions Low vitamin B6 status with associated metabolic dysregulation is a persistent feature of PSC. PLP was a strong prognostic biomarker for LT-free survival both in PSC and recurrent disease. Our findings suggest that vitamin B6 deficiency modifies the disease and provides a rationale for assessing B6 status and testing supplementation. Impact and implications We previously found that people with PSC had reduced gut microbial potential to produce essential nutrients. Across several cohorts, we find that the majority of people with PSC are either vitamin B6 deficient or have a marginal deficiency, which remains prevalent even after liver transplantation. Low vitamin B6 levels strongly associate with reduced liver transplantation-free survival as well as deficits in biochemical pathways dependent on vitamin B6, suggesting that the deficiency has a clinical impact on the disease. The results provide a rationale for measuring vitamin B6 and to investigate whether vitamin B6 supplementation or modification of the gut microbial community can help improve outcomes for people with PSC.publishedVersio

NMR-Based Prostate Cancer Metabolomics

Author's accepted version (postprint).This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Springer in Methods in Molecular Biology on 22 May 2018.Available online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7845-8_14acceptedVersio

Experiences of MbC (Mindfulness based Coping) in a substance abuse treatment program

Hensikten med dette studiet var å få innblikk i hvordan pasienter i rusbehandling opplevde deltakelsen i et MbC-kurs (Mindfulness based Coping ). Kurset bygger på elementer fra mindfulness og kognitiv terapi. MbC-kurset er en vesentlig del av behandlingsopplegget ved behandlingavdelingen på Rogaland A-senter. De gir tilbud om innleggelse for mennesker som har opplevd vansker grunnet omfattende rusmisbruk. Formålet med oppgaven var å undersøke hvilke endringsprosesser deltakerne opplevde gjennom kurset, særlig knyttet til rusmestring. Det ble gjennomført semi-strukturerte kvalitative dybdeintervju og basert på hva forfatteren opplevde som de viktigste endringsprosessene ble resultatene oppsummert i ulike meningskategorier. Det fremstod 5 overordnede tema: 1) større ro, 2) økt klarhet, 3) økt selv-aksept, 4) endrede relasjoner 5) styrket indre stemme. Forholdet mellom temaene ble drøftet i lys av annen teori og forskning. Deltakernes viktigste erfaring med MbC-kurset kan oppsummeres som en prosess med å "finne seg selv". Abstract The aim of this study was to explore how patients percieved particpating in a Mindfulness- Based Coping program for substance abuse. The program consists of elements from mindfulness and cognitive therapy. MbC is an important feature of the treatment program in a substance abuse treatment center. They offer treatment in a post for patients who have experienced difficulties due to extensively substance abuse. The aim of the study was to explore processes of change the patients experienced through the course, especially related to coping with substance abuse. Semi-structrured qualitative depth interviews were conducted and based on the authors interpretation the results were summarized into different categories of meaning. 5 themes emerged: 1) deepened calmness, 2) increased clarity, 3) increased selfacceptance, 4) change in relationships 5) strengthened inner voice. The relation between the themes were discussed in relation to excisting literature and research. The main experience described by the participants can be summarized in the process of: «finding yourself»

Business Intelligence og datavarehus : en praktisk tilnærming

Dette kompendiet er skrevet for kurset BID3000- Business Intelligence og datavarehus – ved campus Ringerike i Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge. Kurset er på 7,5 studiepoeng. Det er seks hoveddeler i kurset: - Teoretisk bakgrunn for å forstå den rollen business intelligence spiller i en virksomhet - Teoretisk bakgrunn for oppbygning av et datavarehus - Bruk av SQL for å bygge opp et datavarehus, fylle det med data og oppdatere det på regulær basis - Bruk av et modelleringsverktøy for å gjøre det samme - Bruk av dataverktøy for å presentere data som tabeller og grafer - En kort innføring i kunstig intelligens, data mining og big data Hovedvekten er lagt på bruk av databaser, sql og verktøy for modellering og presentasjon