Comparative analysis of boulderingspecific performance determinants between advanced male and female boulderers

Master i kroppsøvings- og idrettsvitenskap - Nord universitet 202

Does childcare make children more stressed? : a meta-analysis of the effects of childcare on children’s cortisol levels

Prior research has indicated that being in childcare causes children to be stressed. However, research on the effect of childcare on children’s stress levels, as measured by the hormone cortisol, has yielded inconsistent results. While some studies have found a strong positive association between childcare and increased cortisol levels, other studies have found no such association, or a negative association. The aim of this study was to review the literature and to perform two meta-analyses on the effect childcare has on children’s cortisol levels. A total of 10 studies (N=738) were reviewed and provided the basis for the analyses. I used two designs for the meta-analyses: the first design estimated an effect on a relative scale, and was based on a comparison of the difference between cortisol levels in the morning and afternoon for children at home compared to children in childcare. The second design estimated an effect on an absolute scale, and was based on comparing the average of the morning and afternoon cortisol levels of children at home compared to children in childcare. The findings of this study suggest that, on a relative scale, the cortisol levels of children in childcare did not decrease as much throughout the day as they did for children at home (d = 0:31, 95% CI [0.20, 0.41]). However, on an absolute scale, children in childcare did not display significantly higher cortisol levels on average than children at home (d = 0:06, 95% CI [ 0:15; 0:26]). Overall, these findings suggest that the effect of childcare on children’s cortisol levels is to some extent present, but the effect size is arguably weak.Master i barnehagepedagogik

Læring i skolenettverk. Mininettverk som utviklingsstrategi

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FMRI study of implicit emotional face processing in patients with MDD with melancholic subtype

IntroductionThe accurate perception of facial expressions plays a vital role in daily life, allowing us to select appropriate responses in social situations. Understanding the neuronal basis of altered emotional face processing in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) may lead to the appropriate choice of individual interventions to help patients maintain social functioning during depressive episodes. Inconsistencies in neuroimaging studies of emotional face processing are caused by heterogeneity in neurovegetative symptoms of depressive subtypes. The aim of this study was to investigate brain activation differences during implicit perception of faces with negative and positive emotions between healthy participants and patients with melancholic subtype of MDD. The neurobiological correlates of sex differences of MDD patients were also examined.MethodsThirty patients diagnosed with MDD and 21 healthy volunteers were studied using fMRI while performing an emotional face perception task.ResultsComparing general face activation irrespective of emotional content, the intensity of BOLD signal was significantly decreased in the left thalamus, right supramarginal gyrus, right and left superior frontal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and left fusiform gyrus in patients with melancholic depression compared to healthy participants. We observed only limited mood-congruence in response to faces of differing emotional valence. Brain activation in the middle temporal gyrus was significantly increased in response to fearful faces in comparison to happy faces in MDD patients. Elevated activation was observed in the right cingulate for happy and fearful faces, in precuneus for happy faces, and left posterior cingulate cortex for all faces in depressed women compared to men. The Inventory for Depressive Symptomatology (IDS) score was inversely correlated with activation in the left subgenual gyrus/left rectal gyrus for sad, neutral, and fearful faces in women in the MDD group. Patients with melancholic features performed similarly to controls during implicit emotional processing but showed reduced activation.Discussion and conclusionThis finding suggests that melancholic patients compensate for reduced brain activation when interpreting emotional content in order to perform similarly to controls. Overall, frontal hypoactivation in response to implicit emotional stimuli appeared to be the most robust feature of melancholic depression

Nordnorsk gasellebedrift i 2007 - Fortsatte veksten?

Masteroppgave i bedriftsledelse (MBA) - Universitetet i Nordland, 201

Acquisition of the majority language in Norwegian ECEC: Relating language-learning environment in ECEC to expressive vocabulary

Developing proficiency in the language(s) spoken in any given society is crucial for the inclusion and attainment of children in that society. With an enrolment rate in Norwegian early childhood education and care (ECEC) of 93.4% for children between age one and five, ECEC constitutes an important out-of-home learning environment for children in Norway. In this study, we examine how the quality of language-learning environments in toddler and preschool groups predicts children’s expressive vocabulary in the majority language depending on children’s home languages. Data from the quality rating scales ITERS R and ECERS-R were used to model quality factors related to expressive vocabulary in toddler and preschool groups. The sample included 1,078 children (876 children with parents who spoke the majority language exclusively, 104 children with one parent who spoke the majority language and one parent who spoke another language, and 57 children with no majority language speaking parents). The results show that the quality of the language-learning environment in toddler and preschool groups is positively associated with expressive vocabulary in the majority language at age three and five, but only for children whose parents spoke the majority language exclusively.publishedVersio

Consultations and antibiotic treatment for urinary tract infections in Norwegian primary care 2006–2015, a registry-based study

Background Extensive use of antibiotics and the resulting emergence of antimicrobial resistance is a major health concern globally. In Norway, 82% of antibiotics is prescribed in primary care and one in four prescriptions are issued for the treatment of urinary tract infections (UTI). The aim of this study was to investigate time trends in antibiotic treatment following a consultation for UTI in primary care. Methods For the period 2006–2015 we linked data from the Norwegian Registry for Control and Payment of Health Reimbursements on all patient consultations for cystitis and pyelonephritis in general practice and out-of-hours (OOH) services, and data from the Norwegian Prescription Database on all dispensed prescriptions of antibiotics. Results Altogether 2,426,643 consultations by attendance for UTI took place in the study period, of these 94.5% for cystitis and 5.5% for pyelonephritis. Of all UTI consultations, 79.4% were conducted in general practice and 20.6% in OOH services. From 2006 to 2015, annual numbers of cystitis and pyelonephritis consultations increased by 33.9 and 14.0%, respectively. The proportion of UTI consultations resulting in an antibiotic prescription increased from 36.6 to 65.7% for cystitis, and from 35.3 to 50.7% for pyelonephritis. These observed changes occurred gradually over the years. Cystitis was mainly treated with pivmecillinam (53.9%), followed by trimethoprim (20.8%). For pyelonephritis, pivmecillinam was most frequently used (43.0%), followed by ciprofloxacin (20.5%) and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (16.3%). For cystitis, the use of pivmecillinam increased the most during the study period (from 46.1 to 56.6%), and for pyelonephritis, the use of sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (from 11.4 to 25.5%) followed by ciprofloxacin (from 18.2 to 23.1%). Conclusions During the 10-year study period there was a considerable increase in the proportion of UTI consultations resulting in antibiotic treatment. Cystitis was most often treated with pivmecillinam, and this proportion increased during the study period. Treatment of pyelonephritis was characterized by more use of broader-spectrum antibiotics, use of both sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim and ciprofloxacin increased during the study period. These trends, indicative of enduring changes in consultation and treatment patterns for UTIs, will have implications for future antibiotic stewardship measures and policy.publishedVersio

Fabrication of a scaled MgB2 racetrack demonstrator pole for a 10 MW direct drive wind turbine generator

Field windings made of MgB2 wires or tapes are considered for their potential to reduce volume, weight and cost of large offshore wind turbine generators. To gain experience of how to use this relatively new material in full-scale generators, tests of different winding methodologies and techniques are needed. In this paper, we describe in detail the steps used to wind a racetrack coil with a length of 1 m and a width of 0.5 m out of 4.5 km of MgB2 superconducting tape. The width corresponds to a full-scale pole of a 10 MW generator, whereas the length of the straight section is shorter than the corresponding full-scale pole. The coil was built up of 10 double pancake coils. Each double pancake coil was wet-wound using a semi-automatic winding process, where Stycast 2850 was applied directly to the MgB2 tape without any other dedicated electrical insulation. The strengths and weaknesses of the winding process are discussed and compared to the dry-winding method.acceptedVersio

Fabrication of a scaled MgB2 racetrack demonstrator pole for a 10 MW direct drive wind turbine generator

Field windings made of MgB2 wires or tapes are considered for their potential to reduce volume, weight and cost of large offshore wind turbine generators. To gain experience of how to use this relatively new material in full-scale generators, tests of different winding methodologies and techniques are needed. In this paper, we describe in detail the steps used to wind a racetrack coil with a length of 1 m and a width of 0.5 m out of 4.5 km of MgB2 superconducting tape. The width corresponds to a full-scale pole of a 10 MW generator, whereas the length of the straight section is shorter than the corresponding full-scale pole. The coil was built up of 10 double pancake coils. Each double pancake coil was wet-wound using a semi-automatic winding process, where Stycast 2850 was applied directly to the MgB2 tape without any other dedicated electrical insulation. The strengths and weaknesses of the winding process are discussed and compared to the dry-winding method.acceptedVersio

Å drive IKT-basert skoleutviklingsarbeid i mininettverk: erfaringer fra Haldennettverket

Lærende nettverk var et femårig prosjekt som ble avsluttet i 2009. Dette er det største pedagogiske prosjektet innenfor den nasjonale satsningen ”Program for digital kompetanse 2004-2008”. Med dette programmet skulle Norge bli ledende i verden i forhold til bruk av IKT i skolen. Denne rapporten beskriver et lite utsnitt av den nettverksaktivitet som har foregått. Fortellingen om Haldennettverket (samarbeid mellom tre skoler) dokumenterer at prosjektdeltakerne har styrket sin egen digitale kompetanse i prosjektperioden. Nettverket har samarbeidet tett og klarte også i siste prosjektperiode å spre sine erfaringer til andre lærere i Haldenskolene. I et IKT-perspektiv vil man derfor kunne hevde at man har nådd hovedmålsetningen med lærende nettverk: ”Gjennom kunnskapsdeling og kunnskapsutvikling i lærende nettverk skal skoler, skoleeiere og lærerutdanning bevisstgjøres og kvalifiseres slik at IKT i større grad tas i bruk i læringsarbeidet der det gir faglig og pedagogisk merverdi.” Allikevel er det kanskje enda viktigere at prosjektdeltakerne i større grad innser verdien av å jobbe i nettverk. Vi har gjennom prosjektet også sett fremveksten av flere nye delingsarenaer som mininettverk (samarbeid mellom prosjektdeltakere fra et lite antall skoler) og regionale konferanser der det er lærerne selv som holder innlegg for hverandr