Christian Carlsen: Visions of the Afterlife in Old Norse Literature

In a much-anthologized story from Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica, a pagan counselor of King Edwin compares earthly life to a sparrow flying through the hall, illuminated “for the briefest of moments” by the comfortable fires burning within, passing “out of the stormy winter and into it again”. If Christianity, he concludes, “brings us more certain information”, it is appropriate and right to accept it (II.13). A clearer conception of where one goes after death is posited as the single most significant attraction of the new Christian faith. It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that the core element of lay belief in Norway and Iceland, according to Nedkvitne, was “doctrines about eternal life and salvation” (p. 310). In this book, Carlsen takes a look at some of the narratives generated by these core Christian beliefs: visions of the afterlife in Old Norse literature

The sagas and conversion history: Kristni sagaand other texts

Different attitudes have been expressed about the historicity of Kristni saga since the saga was edited and translated into Latin in 1773. For historians up until the mid-twentieth century, it was a reliable source for conversion history, and its account of the missions to Iceland was used frequently in works of history in combination with Ari, the conversion þættir in Flateyjarbók, and extracts from the family sagas. More recently, however, it has been dismissed by those more sceptical about the historicity of saga literature as containing little of any value for the serious historian, and classed along with legendary and hagiographical works like Oddr and Gunnlaugr’s sagas of Óláfr Tryggvason. At the same time it is generally recognized not only that the saga’s skaldic verses are valuable historical sources, but also that some of the anecdotes not found in Ari may have a kernel of historical truth. The saga’s probable connection with the historian Sturla Þórðarson suggests that a serious historical purpose lies behind it. He collected and ordered his material on historical principles, adding both chronological and geographical details not found elsewhere, and including a passage on the missionary Þangbrandr’s stay in Borgarfjörðr. This is probably based on oral sources and its numerous place-names may reflect Sturla’s familiarity with the area. Although his written sources included hagiographical and fictional material from Oddr and Gunnlaugr’s work, Sturla is careful to revise and sometimes rewrite entirely those passages that contravene the saga’s impression of historicity. While it is difficult to tell whether he made these changes because he had access to more reliable information or purely on stylistic grounds, it is clear from comparison with other texts that the main impulse behind the saga was neither religious nor aesthetic, but historical in nature. There are several reasons why Sturla might have compiled Kristni saga or supervised its compilation. His model is usually thought to have been Snorri Sturluson’s Heimskringla and he may have wished to provide a comprehensive overview of Icelandic history just as Snorri did for the kings of Norway. In this overview, Kristni saga was the link between Landnámabók and the contemporary sagas, placing the conversion at the centre of the island’s history. Secondly, there is Sturla’s noted interest in legal matters: as in Ari’s account of the conversion, the shift from paganism to Christianity in the saga is portrayed less as a religious phenomenon than as the establishment and development of Christian law. Finally, Sturla may have seen in Iceland’s conversion an opportunity to explore the relationship between Iceland and Norway, a central problem in accounts of the conversion from Ari to the family sagas. The belief that the Norwegian king Ólafr Tryggvason brought Christianity to Iceland raised important issues concerning the political relationship between the two countries, and Iceland’s loss of independence to Norway during Sturla’s lifetime made an evaluation of that relationship especially relevant

Development and evaluation of a test program for Y-site compatibility testing of total parenteral nutrition and intravenous drugs

Published version. Source at http://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-016-0149-x.Background: There is no standardized procedure or consensus to which tests should be performed to judge compatibility/ incompatibility of intravenous drugs. The purpose of this study was to establish and evaluate a test program of methods suitable for detection of physical incompatibility in Y-site administration of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) and drugs. Methods: Eight frequently used methods (dynamic light scattering, laser diffraction, light obscuration, turbidimetry, zeta potential, light microscopy, pH-measurements and visual examination using Tyndall beams), were scrutinized to elucidate strengths and weaknesses for compatibility testing. The responses of the methods were tested with samples containing precipitation of calcium phosphate and with heat destabilized TPN emulsions. A selection of drugs (acyclovir, ampicillin, ondansetron and paracetamol) was mixed with 3-in-1 TPN admixtures (Olimel® N5E, Kabiven® and SmofKabiven®) to assess compatibility (i.e. potential precipitates and emulsion stability). The obtained compatibility data was interpreted according to theory and compared to existing compatibility literature to further check the validity of the methods. Results: Light obscuration together with turbidimetry, visual inspection and pH-measurements were able to capture signs of precipitations. For the analysis of emulsion stability, light obscuration and estimation of percent droplets above 5 μm (PFAT5) seemed to be the most sensitive method; however laser diffraction and monitoring changes in pH might be a useful support. Samples should always be compared to unmixed controls to reveal changes induced by the mixing. General acceptance criteria are difficult to define, although some limits are suggested based on current experience. The experimental compatibility data was supported by scattered reports in literature, further confirming the suitability of the test program. However, conflicting data are common, which complicates the comparison to existing literature. Conclusions: Testing of these complex blends should be based on a combination of several methods and accompanied by theoretical considerations

Erfaringer fra hjemmeboende eldre (uten andre helse- og omsorgstjenester) med bruk av den mobile trygghetsalarmen

Bakgrunn: Framskrivinger viser at vi blir flere eldre. Samtidig vil antallet yrkesaktive per person over 67 år reduseres, noe som vil gi utfordringer for de kommunale helsetjenestene. Bruk av teknologi i det kommunale tjenestetilbudet er til nå lite kartlagt. Intensjonen med bruk av velferdsteknologi, som den mobile trygghetsalarmen, er at de eldre skal kunne bo trygt og selvstendig i eget hjem så lenge som mulig. Hjemmet blir fra politisk hold sett på som det mest foretrukne og kostnadseffektive stedet å yte omsorgstjenester. Hensikt: Studiens hensikt er å få kunnskap om hvilke erfaringer hjemmeboende eldre (uten andre helse- og omsorgstjenester) har med bruk av den mobile trygghetsalarmen. Slik kunnskap vil være nyttig for å utvikle trygghetsalarmtjenestene videre. Metode: Studien har et deskriptiv design med kvalitative forskningsintervju for innsamling av data. Inklusjonskriteriene var hjemmeboende eldre i alderen 65 til 89 år som hadde tatt i bruk den mobile trygghetsalarmen. Ingen av dem mottok andre helse- og omsorgstjenester fra kommunen. Intervjuene ble gjennomført hjemme hos deltakerne i en bydel øst i Oslo. Lydopptak fra intervjuene ble transkribert. Intervjuene ble analysert med systematisk tekstkondensering basert på Malteruds analysemetode. Funn: Det er tre hovedfunn i denne studien: 1) de eldre er usikre på den mobile trygghetsalarmens funksjon relatert til mangel på opplæring, svikt i teknologien og til deres egen alder og skrøpelighet, 2) de erfarer at alarmen gir økt trygghet og trygghetsfølelse når de oppholder seg alene, at pårørende blir tryggere, og økt trygghet i samtale med alarmsentralen og er positive til muligheten for å bli lokalisert 3) at noen eldre ikke ser behov for alarmen enten fordi de har tilgang til alternative trygghetsfaktorer og/eller fordi de ikke føler seg utrygge. 6 Konklusjon: Studien viser at deltakernes erfaringer med bruk av den mobile trygghetsalarmen er varierte og til dels motstridende. Funnene reiser spørsmål om hvorvidt den mobile trygghetsalarmen understøtter muligheten til å eldes i eget hjem slik implementeringen pr. i dag praktiseres

Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of supportive parents – coping kids (SPARCK)—a transdiagnostic and personalized parent training intervention to prevent childhood mental health problems

Background: To meet the scientific and political call for effective prevention of child and youth mental health problems and associated long-term consequences, we have co-created, tested, and optimized a transdiagnostic preventive parent-training intervention, Supportive parents – coping kids (SPARCK), together with and for the municipal preventive frontline services. The target group of SPARCK is parents of children between 4 and 12 years who display symptoms of anxiety, depression, and/or behavioral problems, that is, indicated prevention. The intervention consists of components from various empirically supported interventions representing different theorical models on parent–child interactions and child behavior and psychopathology (i.e., behavioral management interventions, attachment theory, emotion socialization theory, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and family accommodation intervention). The content and target strategies of SPARCK are tailored to the needs of the families and children, and the manual suggests how the target strategies may be personalized and combined throughout the maximum 12 sessions of the intervention. The aim of this project is to investigate the effectiveness of SPARCK on child symptoms, parenting practices, and parent and child stress hormone levels, in addition to later use of specialized services compared with usual care (UC; eg. active comparison group). Methods: We describe a randomized controlled effectiveness trial in the frontline services of child welfare, health, school health and school psychological counselling services in 24 Norwegian municipalities. It is a two-armed parallel group randomized controlled effectiveness and superiority trial with 252 families randomly allocated to SPARCK or UC. Assessment of key variables will be conducted at pre-, post-, and six-month follow-up. Discussion: The current study will contribute with knowledge on potential effects of a preventive transdiagnostic parent-training intervention when compared with UC. Our primary objective is to innovate frontline services with a usable, flexible, and effective intervention for prevention of childhood mental health problems to promote equity in access to care for families and children across a heterogeneous service landscape characterized by variations in available resources, personnel, and end user symptomatology. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NTCT0580052

The Causal Cascade to Multiple Sclerosis: A Model for MS Pathogenesis

BACKGROUND: MS pathogenesis seems to involve both genetic susceptibility and environmental risk factors. Three sequential factors are implicated in the environmental risk. The first acts near birth, the second acts during childhood, and the third acts long thereafter. Two candidate factors (vitamin D deficiency and Epstein-Barr viral infection) seem well suited to the first two environmental events. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A mathematical Model for MS pathogenesis is developed, incorporating these environmental and genetic factors into a causal scheme that can explain some of the recent changes in MS-epidemiology (e.g., increasing disease prevalence, a changing sex-ratio, and regional variations in monozygotic twin concordance rates). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This Model suggests that genetic susceptibility is overwhelmingly the most important determinant of MS pathogenesis. Indeed, over 99% of individuals seem genetically incapable of developing MS, regardless of what environmental exposures they experience. Nevertheless, the contribution of specific genes to MS-susceptibility seems only modest. Thus, despite HLA DRB1*1501 being the most consistently identified genetic marker of MS-susceptibility (being present in over 50% of northern MS patient populations), only about 1% of individuals with this allele are even genetically susceptible to getting MS. Moreover, because genetic susceptibility seems so similar throughout North America and Europe, environmental differences principally determine the regional variations in disease characteristics. Additionally, despite 75% of MS-patients being women, men are 60% more likely to be genetically-susceptible than women. Also, men develop MS at lower levels of environmental exposure than women. Nevertheless, women are more responsive to the recent changes in environmental-exposure (whatever these have been). This explains both the changing sex-ratio and the increasing disease prevalence (which has increased by a minimum of 32% in Canada over the past 35 years). As noted, environmental risk seems to result from three sequential components of environmental exposure. The potential importance of this Model for MS pathogenesis is that, if correct, a therapeutic strategy, designed to interrupt one or more of these sequential factors, has the potential to markedly reduce or eliminate disease prevalence in the future

Longevity risk and the implications for Norwegian annuity providers : a quantitative analysis of longevity risk in light of the solvency II standard formula and internal model

A significant part of the liabilities of Norwegian insurance companies and annuity providers consists of lifetime pension products. These pension products are subject to what is referred to as longevity risk, i.e. the risk that individuals who receive pension annuities live longer than anticipated. Insurance companies and annuity providers are required to hold capital buffers today to cover for the uncertainty in future cash flows. The calculation of the size of these buffers is regulated by a European-wide framework known as Solvency II. The Solvency II framework proposes two solutions for determining Solvency Capital Requirements (SCR); the Standard Formula and an Internal Model. For longevity risk, the Standard Formula assumes a 20% reduction in mortality rates, while the Internal Model is calculated based on the 99.5% Value-atRisk on a one-year time horizon. In this thesis, we compare the SCRs calculated by the Standard Formula with the SCRs calculated by an Internal Model, based on mortality projections from the Lee-Carter and the Cairns-Blake-Dowd mortality models. We use a simplified pension product to quantify the difference in capital requirements for Norwegian annuity providers. We find that the 20% reduction of mortality rates following the Standard Formula leads to higher SCRs than those based on the 99.5% VaR-approach using Internal Models. Furthermore, we find that the Lee-Carter model outperforms the CBD-model in terms of both describing historical Norwegian mortality rates, and in estimating lower SCRs. This implies that insurers and annuity providers should develop Internal Models based on a Lee-Carter model to minimize their SCRs. However, the implication is somewhat offset by the costly process of developing Internal Models. This means that approximations by the Standard Formula may be more expedient for smaller insurers. Larger annuity providers, on the other hand, may benefit from an Internal Model through both reduced capital requirements and a more detailed account of their risk exposure.nhhma