Suspected Hazard Area Mapping in Non-Technical Landmine Surveys

This article is a reference for individuals who are planning on performing non-technical landmine surveys of suspected hazard areas or for those individuals who plan to use such data. The author brings the process to life through this detailed account from the description of suspected hazard areas to mapping the data, to storing the data and improving its method

Outcomes following PDA surgery in extremely preterm born subjects. Focusing on left vocal cord paralysis and associated short- and long-tem outcomes

Background: Extremely preterm born (EPB) infants are at risk of a range of complications, among them a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). If a conservative approach does not reduce the cardiopulmonary compromise imposed by the PDA, pharmacological or surgical closure is required. The rate of PDA surgery has declined over the last decade, in part due to reports of postoperative complications such as left vocal cord paralysis. The incidence and prevalence of LVCP and outcomes associated with left vocal cord paralysis (LVCP) after neonatal PDA surgery has not been sufficiently described. Aim: The aims of this thesis were to investigate incidence and prevalence of LVCP after surgical PDA closure in EPB subjects, and to study associations between PDA surgery with or without LVCP versus outcomes in the neonatal period and later, focusing on respiratory and voice related symptoms, exercise capacity and lung function. Methods: In Study #I, we conducted a systematical review and meta-analysis to investigate previous reports of LVCP incidence after PDA surgery and associated outcomes using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for quality assessment of individual studies. Study #II and #III were both based on a national prospective cohort study, enrolling all infants born at gestational age (GA) <28 weeks or with birthweight (BW) <1000 grams during 1999–2000. In Study #II, we compared parental reports on voice and exercise related respiratory symptoms in three groups of EPB schoolchildren who either underwent neonatal PDA surgery, received other management for PDA or did not have PDA. In Study #III, EPB young adults with a history of neonatal PDA surgery, EPB controls, and term-born controls underwent spirometry, maximal treadmill exercise testing and answered questionnaires including questions about voice and exercise related respiratory symptoms. The PDA surgery-group also underwent laryngoscopy examination at rest and during the exercise test, allowing the scoring of exercise induced laryngeal obstruction. Results: The systematic review showed an overall incidence of LVCP following surgical closure of PDA was 9%, with a wide dispersion (0–67%). The incidence was highest in a subanalysis of studies where all subjects underwent laryngoscopy examinations after PDA surgery (overall: 32%, range 11–67%), and heterogeneity decreased with stratification based on study design. LVCP was associated with dysphonia, stridor, and adverse neonatal outcomes, such as chronic lung disease and feeding difficulties. In Study #II, surgical closure of a PDA was associated with an increased crude odds ratio of parental reports regarding voice and exercise related respiratory symptoms compared to other methods of managing PDA. However, days on mechanical ventilation was identified as a potential confounder in multivariate analyses. Study #III revealed a 53% prevalence of LVCP in the PDA surgery group. LVCP was associated with increased laryngeal obstruction during physical exertion and subjective reports of voice symptoms, but not with lung function (zFEV1), exercise capacity (peakVO2) or subjective reports of exercise related respiratory symptoms. PDA surgery was associated with impaired lung function, also after adjusting for BPD. Exercise capacity was not associated with LVCP nor PDA surgery, but all EPB groups performed poorer compared to term-born subjects, even after adjusting for gender. However, low levels of physical activity among those born EP may have impacted the results. Conclusion and implications: We found that reported incidence of LVCP after PDA surgery in EPB subjects varied across studies and study designs, and that the prevalence of LVCP in our national cohort was high compared to the pooled incidence from the systematic review. Despite associations between LVCP and adverse neonatal outcomes, exercise induced laryngeal obstruction and frequent reports of voice and exercise related respiratory symptoms, LVCP was not associated with poor lung function or exercise capacity. PDA surgery was associated with increased rates of voice- and exercise related respiratory symptoms, but not with exercise capacity. However, the average lung function in the PDA surgery group was below the 5th percentile, and these individuals might represent a group in need of extra pulmonary follow-up in the future. To ensure correct diagnosis and follow-up of patients with LVCP, laryngoscopy examination should be performed routinely after PDA surgery in EPB neonates. Further, EPB adults with a history of PDA surgery who complain of voice problems or respiratory symptoms should undergo laryngoscopy examination to look for LVCP. Despite a nationwide recruitment, relatively low sample size may have contributed to some of the results being inconclusive. To further enlighten our research questions on incidence, prevalence, and outcomes of LVCP after PDA surgery in the EPB population, an international longitudinal multicentre study is warranted to enable recruitment of a sample with power to detect any true between-group differences.Doktorgradsavhandlin

Improving brain creatine uptake by Klotho protein stimulation: can diet hit the big time?

Creatine plays a pivotal role in cellular bioenergetics, acting as a temporal and spatial energy buffer in cells with high and fluctuating energy requirements (1). Jeopardizing delicate creatine homeostasis can be detrimental to many energy-demanding tissues, including the brain. For instance, cerebral creatine hypometabolism accompanies various neurological conditions, including a number of developmental disorders (2, 3), neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular diseases (4, 5), and brain cancer (6). A reduced creatine availability in the brain has been thus recognized as an apposite therapeutic target, and supplying exogenous creatine to compensate for a disease-driven shortfall emerged as a first possible approach. However, early success in animal models of neurological diseases was not corroborated in human trials, with the use of creatine supplementation proved largely disappointing in clinical studies with a number of symptomatic neurological disorders [for a detailed review, see (7)]. A meager delivery of creatine to the brain could be partly due to a low activity/density of creatine transporter (CT1 or SLC6A8), a transmembrane sodium- and chloride-dependent protein that mediates creatine uptake into the target cells (8). For that reason, the upregulation of CT1 function has been identified as an innovative course of action to facilitate creatine uptake, with several exotic agents and routes were cataloged so far, including glucocorticoid-regulated kinases, mammalian target of rapamycin, ammonia, and Klotho protein (9).publishedVersio

Politics over Profits? A quantitative study of the effect of state-ownership and development on the incentive to shift profits

The literature covers empirical evidence examining the profit shifting behaviour of multinational firms within advanced economies. With the increasing interest of governments in detecting profit shifting behaviour, few existing papers investigate if there are differences in the incentive to shift profits in countries classified as developing relative to more advanced economies. Moreover, due to the state’s grip on the overall global economy and its presence in developing economies, it is interesting to investigate state-owned multinationals’ response to a change in the tax differentials between affiliates. Following the novel method developed by Huizinga and Laeven (2008) and employing a panel data study on affiliate-year observations for 2013 to 2020, we ran regressions with different socio-political characteristics as categorisations on the dependent variable, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). When analysing financial and ownership data provided by the Orbis database, we could not find a true relationship between the tax differential and the reported EBIT. Moreover, we could not find a significant difference between the tax incentives of state-owned multinationals and other multinationals. However, by categorising the observations after governance indicators, we observe positive levels of tax sensitivity with an increase in the government effectiveness and regulatory quality of a country. Thus, the multinationals’ response to a change in the tax differential may be incentivised by differences in socio-political factors between affiliates with different host countries.nhhma

Food and health teachers’ experience of online teaching of a practical school subject during the initial Corona lockdown

When the Norwegian authorities closed all schools with immediate effect on March 12th 2020 due to Coronavirus, teachers had to find new strategies for educating their pupils online. Food and health are a compulsory subject in Norwegian primary and lower secondary schools, where the main focus is on practical cooking lessons. We hypothesised that practical subjects like food and health would be difficult to perform online. Therefore, we aimed to investigate how food and health teachers carried out their teaching and evaluated the pupils in this challenging situation. A short online survey was developed. An invitation to respond was sent by email to all primary and lower secondary schools containing a link to the survey. The survey included questions about the teachers’ digital tools, how they communicated with the pupils, and how pupils documented their work. A total of 817 food and health teachers responded, and 710 of them completed the full survey. After excluding teachers who had only answered the demographic questions, we ended up with 751 participants. Most teachers taught food and health in 5th-7th grade (44%) and 8th-10th grade (51%). Only 5 % were teaching at 1st-4th grade. 86% of the respondents were women. The most widely used teaching tool used for online teaching was videos found on the internet, closely followed by digital learning platforms. Regarding documentation of the pupils’ work, photos and log were most frequently used. Written communication in digital platforms and video conference was the most preferred tools for keeping contact with the pupils. Although most of the teachers stated that they had changed a lot on both their planned teaching and teaching practice, the majority did not find the teaching, follow-up nor assessment of the pupils too challenging, and most of them were satisfied with their teaching.publishedVersionPaid open acces

Dyrevelferdslovens strafferettslige vern. Utstrekningen av vernet i dyrevelferdsloven § 37, herunder om dyreforsøk etter dyrevelferdsloven § 13

Oppgaven tar for seg vilkårene i dyrevelferdsloven § 37 og myndighetenes håndhevelse av lovbestemmelsen. Hvor langt strekker det strafferettslige vernet seg? Er det grunnlag for en skjerpet straffutmålingspraksis? Det ses også nærmere på forsøksdyr og deres vern i dyrevelferdsloven § 13.MasteroppgaveJUS399MAJUR-2MAJU

Cystic adventitial disease : a trap for the unwary

Cystic adventitial disease is an uncommon condition. A case of cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery is reported in a young man who has been followed up for 14 years after surgical treatment. Early recognition and treatment of the condition will prevent progression to popliteal thrombosis and critical ischaemia. However, diagnosis of the condition is difficult. Characteristic features in the presenting history, such as fluctuation in severity of symptoms, sudden onset after vigorous activity and delayed recovery time after cessation of exercise are identified, which should help the clinician avoid misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis of the condition. The clinician is also warned of the associated misleading clinical features such as the presence of normal peripheral pulses and normal ankle pressures in some cases of CAD.peer-reviewe

Musikkbransjen i Kristiansand- En kvalitativ undersøkelse av musikkbransjen i Kristiansand i relasjon til Regionplan Agder 2030

Regionplan Agder 2030 er et overordnet strategisk styringsdokument som skal gjelde for utvikling av hele Agder-regionen. Regionplanen inkluderer fem hovedsatsingsområder, hvor et området omhandler kultur. Denne oppgaven fokuserer på hovedsatsingsområdet kultur, og nærmere bestemt målet: “Tettheten av kunstnere og kulturarbeidere er den høyeste i landet utenfor Oslo”. For å nå dette målet, må det sysselsettes betydelig flere innenfor kunst- og kulturyrker enn det er i dag. Denne oppgaven ser på hvordan musikkbransjen i Kristiansand kan utvikles og profesjonaliseres for å bidra til å nå tetthetsmålet. Musikkbransjen i Kristiansand er i dag en fragmentert bransje, og den mangler flere sentrale bransjeledd som er nødvendig for å ha hele økosystemet som en velfungerende musikkbransje trenger. Dette er en kvalitativ undersøkelse. Vi har intervjuet åtte sentrale kulturarbeidere som har god kjennskap til musikkbransjen og/eller tetthetsmålet i Regionplan Agder 2030. Gjennom funn i det empiriske grunnlaget, ser vi at musikkbransjen i Kristiansand trenger å opprette velfungerende bransjeledd for å kunne sysselsette flere kunst- og kulturarbeidere. I tillegg er mangel på møteplasser og mangel på samarbeid utfordringer som musikkbransjen må få på plass for å kunne bidra til å nå tetthetsmålet

Musikkbransjen i Kristiansand - En kvalitativ undersøkelse av musikkbransjen i Kristiansand i relasjon til Regionplan Agder 2030

Regionplan Agder 2030 er et overordnet strategisk styringsdokument som skal gjelde for utvikling av hele Agder-regionen. Regionplanen inkluderer fem hovedsatsingsområder, hvor et området omhandler kultur. Denne oppgaven fokuserer på hovedsatsingsområdet kultur, og nærmere bestemt målet: “Tettheten av kunstnere og kulturarbeidere er den høyeste i landet utenfor Oslo”. For å nå dette målet, må det sysselsettes betydelig flere innenfor kunst- og kulturyrker enn det er i dag. Denne oppgaven ser på hvordan musikkbransjen i Kristiansand kan utvikles og profesjonaliseres for å bidra til å nå tetthetsmålet. Musikkbransjen i Kristiansand er i dag en fragmentert bransje, og den mangler flere sentrale bransjeledd som er nødvendig for å ha hele økosystemet som en velfungerende musikkbransje trenger. Dette er en kvalitativ undersøkelse. Vi har intervjuet åtte sentrale kulturarbeidere som har god kjennskap til musikkbransjen og/eller tetthetsmålet i Regionplan Agder 2030. Gjennom funn i det empiriske grunnlaget, ser vi at musikkbransjen i Kristiansand trenger å opprette velfungerende bransjeledd for å kunne sysselsette flere kunst- og kulturarbeidere. I tillegg er mangel på møteplasser og mangel på samarbeid utfordringer som musikkbransjen må få på plass for å kunne bidra til å nå tetthetsmålet

A report on the global effects of internet fragmentation

The Internet since its conception has been revolutionizing the way people think, do business and communicate (FCC, 2013). Hostility to the current multistakeholder Internet governance model in the geopolitical environment has been a significant contributor to the reconfiguration of the Internet’s openness. A potential result of these tensions is Internet fragmentation (Chadwick, 2009; BBC, 2005; Arthur, 2012). Internet fragmentation is a rising concern globally mainly due to issues regarding the control of the Internet. This topic is being discussed at international summits and conferences, and a possible fragmentation of the Internet is becoming a reality. Governments, global businesses and other stakeholders have diverse and conflicting viewpoints on how the Internet should be governed. The main governing body of the Internet, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), has raised awareness of this issue in order to protect this open source of free flowing information. They have commissioned a team of students from the University of Greenwich in the MA/MBA International Business programme to conduct exploratory research to understand the potential impact of Internet fragmentation on the current structure of stakeholder authority. This project consists of four parts: An analysis of the social and political effects of fragmentation; an analysis of the effects of fragmentation on international trade through blockmodeling; Internet Fragmentation and its influence on global trade through interpretive analysis; and an assessment of the impact of Internet fragmentation on international business operations