Akademisk frihet i Norge

Fremstillingen tar for seg noen problemstillinger rundt akademisk frihet etter kodifiseringen i 2007

25(OH)D3-enriched or fortified foods are more efficient at tackling inadequate vitamin D status than vitamin D3

The ability to synthesise sufficient vitamin D through sunlight in human subjects can be limited. Thus, diet has become an important contributor to vitamin D intake and status; however, there are only a few foods (e.g. egg yolk, oily fish) naturally rich in vitamin D. Therefore, vitamin D-enriched foods via supplementing the animals’ diet with vitamin D or vitamin D fortification of foods have been proposed as strategies to increase vitamin D intake. Evidence that cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) and calcifediol (25(OH)D3) content of eggs, fish and milk increased in response to vitamin D3 supplementation of hens, fish or cows’ diets was identified when vitamin D-enrichment studies were reviewed. However, evidence from supplementation studies with hens showed only dietary 25(OH)D3, not vitamin D3 supplementation, resulted in a pronounced increase of 25(OH)D3 in the eggs. Furthermore, evidence from randomised controlled trials indicated that a 25(OH)D3 oral supplement could be absorbed faster and more efficiently raise serum 25(OH)D concentration compared with vitamin D3 supplementation. Moreover, evidence showed the relative effectiveness of increasing vitamin D status using 25(OH)D3 varied between 3·13 and 7·14 times that of vitamin D3, probably due to the different characteristics of the investigated subjects or study design. Therefore, vitamin D-enrichment or fortified foods using 25(OH)D3 would appear to have advantages over vitamin D3. Further wellcontrolled studies are needed to assess the effects of 25(OH)D3 enriched or fortified foods in the general population and clinical patients

Effects of a Short-Term Mindfulness Meditation on a Battery of Muscular Fitness in Active College Individuals

Mindfulness meditation programs of long-term duration have been used by prior research as long-term meditation programs implemented for collegiate athletes. However, there was a lack of short-term based programs and the effects on exercise performance. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of short-term mindfulness meditation effect on exercise performance by examining the effects of mindfulness on strength, power, and endurance exercises. METHODS: Nine college individuals, ages of 20.7±1.0, who were physically active participated in this study. Participants completed pre- and post- exercises of hand grip, vertical jump for height, and plank hold for time. Participants were randomly assigned to either complete the mindfulness meditation or control at the first session. During the second testing session, participants completed the opposite intervention from the first testing session. A paired samples t-test was used to determine the significance of the mindfulness meditation intervention on the difference of pre- to post- measurements for control and intervention groups of the hand grip, vertical jump, and plank hold. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the pre- to post- means of the control and intervention measurements for each exercise; hand grip (t=-2.01, p=0.79), vertical jump (t=-0.84, p=0.42), plank hold (t=-2.20, p=0.058). CONCLUSION: There was no significant effect of mindfulness meditation on a battery of muscular fitness in this study. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This study received funding from the OURS grant from the College of Saint Benedict Experiential Learning department

DEI support structures: Relationships between organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and employee experience

In recent years, civil rights movements, such as the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement have called out organizations for treating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a marketing ploy to attract employees and customers. However, each year organizations spend billions of dollars on DEI efforts such as training, recruitment, strategy consultants, and more. Perhaps the misalignment of such large investments and tangible outcomes stems from the lack of evidence regarding which organizational systems (i.e., policies and practices) contribute to DEI goal attainment. The current study utilized data from 36 organizations across the Omaha metropolitan area. Data included both organizational variables, that is, the number of company policies across seven workplace functions (e.g., handbook policies), and employee experience data across two dimensions of employee experience; namely, belonging and justice. Multilevel analyses assessed the relationships of policies and practices to employees’ organizational experiences and whether employee identity (i.e., race/ethnicity, gender, and management status) moderated the relationships. Results indicated that organizations that had more DEI policies were more racially/ethnically, but not more gender, diverse. There was no evidence of a relationship between the number of DEI policies and employee experiences of belonging, although employees in organizations that had more vision, mission, values policies perceived greater justice. Further, none of the relationships between DEI policies and employee experiences were moderated by employee identity. These results suggest that having a greater number of DEI supportive policies are not sufficient to promote cultures of belonging and justice within organizations

Prediction of the mechanical response of canine humerus to three-point bending using subject-specific finite element modelling

Subject-specific finite element models could improve decision making in canine long-bone fracture repair. However, it preliminary requires that finite element models predicting the mechanical response of canine long bone are proposed and validated. We present here a combined experimental–numerical approach to test the ability of subject-specific finite element models to predict the bending response of seven pairs of canine humeri directly from medical images. Our results show that bending stiffness and yield load are predicted with a mean absolute error of 10.1% (±5.2%) for the 14 samples. This study constitutes a basis for the forthcoming optimization of canine long-bone fracture repair

Vitamin D Binding Protein, Total and Free Vitamin D Levels in Different Physiological and Pathophysiological Conditions.

This review focuses on the biologic importance of the vitamin D binding protein (DBP) with emphasis on its regulation of total and free vitamin D metabolite levels in various clinical conditions. Nearly all DBP is produced in the liver, where its regulation is influenced by estrogen, glucocorticoids and inflammatory cytokines but not by vitamin D itself. DBP is the most polymorphic protein known, and different DBP alleles can have substantial impact on its biologic functions. The three most common alleles-Gc1f, Gc1s, Gc2-differ in their affinity with the vitamin D metabolites and have been variably associated with a number of clinical conditions. Although DBP has a number of biologic functions independent of vitamin D, its major biologic function is that of regulating circulating free and total levels of vitamin D metabolites. 25 hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) is the best studied form of vitamin D as it provides the best measure of vitamin D status. In a normal non-pregnant individual, approximately 0.03% of 25(OH)D is free; 85% is bound to DBP, 15% is bound to albumin. The free hormone hypothesis postulates that only free 25(OH)D can enter cells. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that mice lacking DBP, and therefore with essentially undetectable 25(OH)D levels, do not show signs of vitamin D deficiency unless put on a vitamin D deficient diet. Similar observations have recently been described in a family with a DBP mutation. This hypothesis also applies to other protein bound lipophilic hormones including glucocorticoids, sex steroids, and thyroid hormone. However, tissues expressing the megalin/cubilin complex, such as the kidney, have the capability of taking up 25(OH)D still bound to DBP, but most tissues rely on the free level. Attempts to calculate the free level using affinity constants generated in a normal individual along with measurement of DBP and total 25(OH)D have not accurately reflected directly measured free levels in a number of clinical conditions. In this review, we examine the impact of different clinical conditions as well as different DBP alleles on the relationship between total and free 25(OH)D, using only data in which the free 25(OH)D level was directly measured. The major conclusion is that a number of clinical conditions alter this relationship, raising the question whether measuring just total 25(OH)D might be misleading regarding the assessment of vitamin D status, and such assessment might be improved by measuring free 25(OH)D instead of or in addition to total 25(OH)D

Phase I/II Study of Refametinib (BAY 86-9766) in Combination with Gemcitabine in Advanced Pancreatic cancer

Background Activating KRAS mutations are reported in up to 90% of pancreatic cancers. Refametinib potently inhibits MEK1/2, part of the MAPK signaling pathway. This phase I/II study evaluated the safety and efficacy of refametinib plus gemcitabine in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Methods Phase I comprised dose escalation, followed by phase II expansion. Refametinib and gemcitabine plasma levels were analyzed for pharmacokinetics. KRAS mutational status was determined from circulating tumor DNA. Results Ninety patients overall received treatment. The maximum tolerated dose was refametinib 50 mg twice daily plus standard gemcitabine (1000 mg/m2 weekly). The combination was well tolerated, with no pharmacokinetic interaction. Treatment-emergent toxicities included thrombocytopenia, fatigue, anemia, and edema. The objective response rate was 23% and the disease control rate was 73%. Overall response rate, disease control rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival were higher in patients without detectable KRAS mutations (48% vs. 28%, 81% vs. 69%, 8.8 vs. 5.3 months, and 18.2 vs. 6.6 months, respectively). Conclusion Refametinib plus gemcitabine was well tolerated, with a promising objective response rate, and had an acceptable safety profile and no pharmacokinetic interaction. There was a trend towards improved outcomes in patients without detectable KRAS mutations that deserves future investigation

Gastrointestinal toxicity of vorinostat: reanalysis of phase 1 study results with emphasis on dose-volume effects of pelvic radiotherapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In early-phase studies with targeted therapeutics and radiotherapy, it may be difficult to decide whether an adverse event should be considered a dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) of the investigational systemic agent, as acute normal tissue toxicity is frequently encountered with radiation alone. We have reanalyzed the toxicity data from a recently conducted phase 1 study on vorinostat, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, in combination with pelvic palliative radiotherapy, with emphasis on the dose distribution within the irradiated bowel volume to the development of DLT.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Of 14 eligible patients, three individuals experienced Common Terminology Criteria of Adverse Events grade 3 gastrointestinal and related toxicities, representing a toxicity profile vorinostat has in common with radiotherapy to pelvic target volumes. For each study patient, the relative volumes of small bowel receiving radiation doses between 6 Gy and 30 Gy at 6-Gy intervals (V6-V30) were determined from the treatment-planning computed tomography scans. The single patient that experienced a DLT at the second highest dose level of vorinostat, which was determined as the maximum-tolerated dose, had V6-V30 dose-volume estimates that were considerably higher than any other study patient. This patient may have experienced an adverse radiation dose-volume effect rather than a toxic effect of the investigational drug.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>When reporting early-phase trial results on the tolerability of a systemic targeted therapeutic used as potential radiosensitizing agent, radiation dose-volume effects should be quantified to enable full interpretation of the study toxicity profile.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00455351">NCT00455351</a></p

Let Me In: Building an I-O Bridge That Combats the Subtle Redlining of the Scientist-Practitioner Gap

Amid discussions of the scientist–practitioner gap in I-O, it is often assumed that there is a single bridge to cross that has two parties on either side: academic researchers and practitioners. However, whether intentionally or not, small businesses have largely been neglected in efforts to fortify the bridge between the aforementioned parties, leaving the route between academic research and small businesses poorly maintained. As such, our commentary will focus on various aspects of the points of invitation for debate provided in Zhou et al. (Reference Zhou, Campbell and Fyffe2024), namely the prevalence of the scientist–practitioner gap between I-O researchers and small business owners and the access small businesses have to academic research insights. Although all authors on this paper are I-O-trained researchers working in and contributing to the academic field, two coauthors are also small business owners, adding nuanced richness to this conversation. Further, as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) researchers, we consider equitable access to the knowledge generated by academic research as a key principle to our work