Politisk tillit og Nasjonalisme. Nasjonalfølelse - et fasettert tilskudd til det liberale demokratiet

En rekke studier understreker nødvendigheten av politisk tillit i et liberalt demokrati. Min studie har til hensikt å undersøke i hvilken grad nasjonalisme, definert som nasjonalfølelse, påvirker den politiske tilliten i Europa. I denne tverrsnittsstudien benyttes datasettet European Social Survey runde 9, og jeg produserer videre en multivariat regresjonsanalyse som forteller at graden av nasjonalfølelse korrelerer positivt på politisk tillit. Allikevel, gjennom et kurvediagram avdekkes en knekk i regresjonslinjen på nasjonalismens øverste verdi. Ifølge min studie har altså nasjonalisme en positiv effekt på politisk tillit, men om nasjonalfølelsen er ekstrem har den videre en negativ effekt. På bakgrunn av mine resultater og litteraturen som blir presentert argumenterer jeg for at ekstrem nasjonalfølelse samsvarer med politisk nasjonalisme, hvor det å hegne om egne grenser står sentralt

Kundevurderinger og hotellenes bærekraftsertifiseringer: En analyse av deres påvirkning på norske hotellrompriser : En empirisk studie av hotellrompriser ved hjelp av multippel regresjonsanalyse

Denne masteroppgaven har fokusert på hvordan norske hotellrompriser påvirkes av både kundevurderinger og hotellenes bærekraftsertifiseringer. I dagens digitale samfunn er tilbakemeldinger fra tidligere gjester lett tilgjengelige og synlige for potensielle kunder på plattformer som Booking.com. Dette gir potensielle kjøpere muligheten til å basere sine hotellvalg på tilbakemeldingene fra tidligere gjester. Samtidig blir hotellenes eventuelle bærekraftsertifisering synliggjort på slike tredjepartskanaler som Booking.com. Basert på disse observasjonene har vi formulert følgende problemstilling: Hvordan påvirkes hotellromprisene i det norske markedet av kundevurderinger og hotellenes bærekraftsertifiseringer? For å svare på dette innhentet vi data fra Booking.com ved hjelp av web-skraping. Dette ga oss raskt et utvalg på 720 hoteller. Denne svært effektive formen for datainnsamling gjorde at vi kunne utføre en tversnittundersøkelse med stor grad av reliabilitet, i et marked som preges av meget dynamisk prissetting. Å analysere hele landet som ett samlet marked viste seg å være utfordrende, og vi så betydelige forskjeller mellom hvilke variabler som var viktige i ulike regioner. Derfor valgte vi å dele markedet inn i to dimensjoner: byhoteller og distriktshoteller. Inndelingen skiller vår studie fra tidligere publikasjoner om emnet, og representerer således en ny metode for hvordan man kan undersøke et nasjonalt hotellmarked. Ved å se på alle hotellene i hver dimensjon, i én samlet modell, konstaterte vi at segmenttilhørighet (stjernenivå) var en viktig faktor, og at hele 94 % av våre observasjoner ligger innenfor segmentnivå tre og fire. Dette gjorde at vi utarbeidet en modell som fordelte hotellene på segmentnivå. Resultatene indikerer at hva som påvirker hotellromprisene varierer betydelig, avhengig av både markedstilhørighet og segmentnivå. Innenfor hvert segment er det kun noen få variabler som faktisk påvirker hotellromprisene. For eksempel viser det seg at beliggenhet er den eneste faktoren som har en signifikant effekt på prisen for byhoteller i segment tre, og at en økt score for attributter som fasiliteter, komfort, personale, renhold og WiFi, ikke gir en høyere hotellrompris. Dette funnet kan forklares med at kundene forventer en viss standard innenfor hvert segment. Dette er et gjennomgående mønster for alle segmenter og tyder på at segmenttilhørighet er den viktigste indikatoren på hva et hotell tilbyr. Hotellene må imidlertid ikke undervurdere faktorer som ikke direkte påvirker romprisen, da de fortsatt betraktes som grunnleggende goder, selv om de ikke differensierer prisene mellom hotellene. Et annet aspekt ved denne studien, som skiller den fra andre studier, er at den analyserer både kundevurderinger og bærekraftsertifiseringer opp mot pris. Våre funn for bærekraftsertifiseringer tyder på at hoteller som prioriter bærekraft ikke oppnår en høyere rompris, nesten uavhengig av segment- og dimensjonstilhørighet. Vi har kun identifisert betalingsvilje for bærekraftsertifisering blant kundene i segment fire i distriktene. Generelt er faktoren segmenttilhørighet viktigere enn hvorvidt et hotell er bærekraftsertifisert. Oppgaven konkluderer med at hotellromprisene i det norske markedet blir påvirket av kundevurderinger og hotellenes bærekraftsertifiseringer, men bare til en viss grad. Det norske hotellmarkedet er komplekst, og det er vanskelig å generalisere i hvilken grad hvert attributt påvirker hotellromprisen. Dette avhenger av hotellenes segmenttilhørighet og hvor hotellet er plassert.nhhma

Hvordan bli felt av PFU: Hvor ligger hodet til journalistene?

Temaet for denne oppgaven er de norske mediehusenes håndtering av Vær Varsom-plakatens (VVP) punkt 4.14. Problemstillingen er: «I hvor stor grad begrunner mediehusene sine brudd på VVP-punkt 4.14 med medienes endrede arbeidsvilkår som følge av digitaliseringen i samfunnet? » For å besvare denne problemstillingen har vi tatt for oss 58 saksbehandlingsrapporter publisert på presse.no. Her har vi sett etter likhetstrekk mellom sakene for å kunne sette dem inn i kategorier, og dermed se hvordan mediehusene argumenterer bruddene av punkt 4.14. Ut i forskningen måtte vi likevel se oss nødt til å se på 4.15 i tillegg til 4.14. Våre tanker da vi gikk inn på oppgaven var at mediene ville skylde på tid. Funnene viser likevel at det ikke er like enkelt som det. De viser oss at saksbehandlingene i Pressens Faglige Utvalg (PFU) er like grå som journalistikken skal etterstrebe. Journalistene vil ikke legge skyld på tidspress, men teorien vi har funnet tilsier likevel at teknologisk utvikling i journalistikken har påvirket arbeidet og viser oss bakenforliggende årsaker som kan ligge til grunne for de mange behandlingene av punkt 4.14. Et essensielt punkt i denne oppgaven er å se hva som i teorien er etisk riktig, veid opp mot journalistisk praksis i et digitalisert samfunn. Av den grunn trekker vi fram den etiske teorien til Svein Brurås, Kildeutvalget og Jan Thoresen, sammen med undersøkelsne av praktisk arbeid gjort av Helle Sjøvaag og Emili Knutson.The aim of this project is to assess the Norwegian media houses management of the “Be Wary poster” (no.: Vær Varsom-plakaten (VVP)), section 4.14. The thesis question is: “To what extent do the media houses justify their breaches of VVP article 4.14 with the media’s changed working conditions as a result of the digitalisation in society?” To answer this question, we have considered 58 case processing reports published on presse.no. Assessing the similarities between the cases allowed us to put them into categories, and thus see how the media houses argue the violations of section 4.14. After extensive research we found that in addition to 4.14 we also had to look at 4.15. Our expectations going into this project were that the media would put the blame on time constraints. However, our findings suggest that it is more complex than this. They indicate that the case processing in the Press’ Academic Commission (no.: Pressens Faglige Utvalg (PFU)) is as grey as journalism should strive for. Journalists do not want to blame time pressure. Nevertheless, the subject literature we have found suggests that the technological development has influenced the journalistic work and indicates the underlying reasons that may be essential to the many considerations of appeal in article 4.14. The objective of this thesis is to see how the ethics considered correct in theory, differentiates to its practice in a digital society. Therefore, we highlight the ethical theory of Svein Brurås, the Source Committee and Jan Thoresen, in addition to the investigations of practical journalism done by Helle Sjøvaag and Emili Knutson

Quantitative proteomic analyses of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells reveal differentially expressed proteins in multiple sclerosis patients and healthy controls

Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune, neuroinflammatory disease, with an unclear etiology. However, T cells play a central role in the pathogenesis by crossing the blood–brain-barrier, leading to inflammation of the central nervous system and demyelination of the protective sheath surrounding the nerve fibers. MS has a complex inheritance pattern, and several studies indicate that gene interactions with environmental factors contribute to disease onset. Methods In the current study, we evaluated T cell dysregulation at the protein level using electrospray liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry to get novel insights into immune-cell processes in MS. We have analyzed the proteomic profiles of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells purified from whole blood from 13 newly diagnosed, treatment-naive female patients with relapsing–remitting MS and 14 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Results An overall higher protein abundance was observed in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells from MS patients when compared to healthy controls. The differentially expressed proteins were enriched for T-cell specific activation pathways, especially CTLA4 and CD28 signaling in CD4+ T cells. When selectively analyzing proteins expressed from the genes most proximal to > 200 non-HLA MS susceptibility polymorphisms, we observed differential expression of eight proteins in T cells between MS patients and healthy controls, and there was a correlation between the genotype at three MS genetic risk loci and protein expressed from proximal genes. Conclusion Our study provides evidence for proteomic differences in T cells from relapsing–remitting MS patients compared to healthy controls and also identifies dysregulation of proteins encoded from MS susceptibility genes.publishedVersio

Impact of treatment on cellular immunophenotype in MS: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: To establish cytometry profiles associated with disease stages and immunotherapy in MS. METHODS: Demographic/clinical data and peripheral blood samples were collected from 227 patients with MS and 82 sex- and age-matched healthy controls (HCs) enrolled in a cross-sectional study at 4 European MS centers (Spain, Italy, Germany, and Norway). Flow cytometry of isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells was performed in each center using specifically prepared antibody-cocktail Lyotubes; data analysis was centralized at the Genoa center. Differences in immune cell subsets were assessed between groups of untreated patients with relapsing-remitting or progressive MS (RRMS or PMS) and HCs and between groups of patients with RRMS taking 6 commonly used disease-modifying drugs. RESULTS: In untreated patients with MS, significantly higher frequencies of Th17 cells in the RRMS population compared with HC and lower frequencies of B-memory/B-regulatory cells as well as higher percentages of B-mature cells in patients with PMS compared with HCs emerged. Overall, the greatest deviation in immunophenotype in MS was observed by treatment rather than disease course, with the strongest impact found in fingolimod-treated patients. Fingolimod induced a decrease in total CD4(+) T cells and in B-mature and B-memory cells and increases in CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-regulatory and B-regulatory cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our highly standardized, multisite cytomics data provide further understanding of treatment impact on MS immunophenotype and could pave the way toward monitoring immune cells to help clinical management of MS individuals

Prognostic value of single-subject grey matter networks in early multiple sclerosis

The identification of prognostic markers in early multiple sclerosis (MS) is challenging and requires reliable measures that robustly predict future disease trajectories. Ideally, such measures should make inferences at the individual level to inform clinical decisions. This study investigated the prognostic value of longitudinal structural networks to predict five-year EDSS progression in patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS). We hypothesized that network measures, derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), outperform conventional MRI measurements at identifying patients at risk of developing disability progression. This longitudinal, multicentre study within the Magnetic Resonance Imaging in MS (MAGNIMS) network included 406 patients with RRMS (mean age = 35.7 ± 9.1 years) followed up for five years (mean follow-up = 5.0 ± 0.6 years). Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) was determined to track disability accumulation. A group of 153 healthy subjects (mean age = 35.0 ± 10.1 years) with longitudinal MRI served as controls. All subjects underwent MRI at baseline and again one year after baseline. Grey matter (GM) atrophy over one year and white matter (WM) lesion load were determined. A single-subject brain network was reconstructed from T1-weighted scans based on GM atrophy measures derived from a statistical parameter mapping (SPM)-based segmentation pipeline. Key topological measures, including network degree, global efficiency and transitivity, were calculated at single-subject level to quantify network properties related to EDSS progression. Areas under receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed for GM atrophy, WM lesion load and the network measures, and comparisons between ROC curves were conducted. The applied network analyses differentiated patients with RRMS who experience EDSS progression over five years through lower values for network degree [H(2)=30.0, p<0.001] and global efficiency [H(2)=31.3, p<0.001] from healthy controls but also from patients without progression. For transitivity, the comparisons showed no difference between the groups (H(2)= 1.5, p=0.474). Most notably, changes in network degree and global efficiency were detected independent of disease activity in the first year. The described network reorganization in patients experiencing EDSS progression was evident in the absence of GM atrophy. Network degree and global efficiency measurements demonstrated superiority of network measures in the ROC analyses over GM atrophy and WM lesion load in predicting EDSS worsening (all p-values < 0.05). Our findings provide evidence that GM network reorganization over one year discloses relevant information about subsequent clinical worsening in RRMS. Early GM restructuring towards lower network efficiency predicts disability accumulation and outperforms conventional MRI predictors

Immune cell subpopulations and serum neurofilament light chain are associated with increased risk of disease worsening in multiple sclerosis

Changes is lymphocyte subpopulations in peripheral blood have been proposed as biomarkers for evaluation of disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS). Serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) is a biomarker reflecting neuro-axonal injury in MS that could be used to monitor disease activity, response to drugs and to prognosticate disease course. Here we show a moderate correlation between sNfL and lymphocyte cell subpopulations, and our data furthermore suggest that sNfL and specific immune cell subpopulations together could predict future disease worsening in MS

Brain disconnectome mapping derived from white matter lesions and serum neurofilament light levels in multiple sclerosis: a longitudinal multicenter study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Connectivity-based approaches incorporating the distribution and magnitude of the extended brain network aberrations caused by lesions may offer higher sensitivity for axonal damage in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) than conventional lesion characteristics. Using individual brain disconnectome mapping, we tested the longitudinal associations between putative imaging-based brain network aberrations and levels of serum neurofilament light chain (NfL) as a neuroaxonal injury biomarker. METHODS: MS patients (n = 312, mean age 42.9 years, 71 % female) and healthy controls (HC) (n = 59, mean age 39.9 years, 78 % female) were prospectively enrolled at four European MS centres, and reassessed after two years (MS, n = 242; HC, n = 30). Post-processing of 3 Tesla (3 T) MRI data was performed at one centre using a harmonized pipeline, and disconnectome maps were calculated using BCBtoolkit based on individual lesion maps. Global disconnectivity (GD) was defined as the average disconnectome probability in each patient's white matter. Serum NfL concentrations were measured by single molecule array (Simoa). Robust linear mixed models (rLMM) with GD or T2-lesion volume (T2LV) as dependent variables, patient as a random factor, serum NfL, age, sex, timepoint for visit, diagnosis, treatment, and center as fixed factors were run. RESULTS: rLMM revealed significant associations between GD and serum NfL (t = 2.94, p = 0.003), age (t = 4.21, p = 2.5 × 10(-5)), and longitudinal changes in NfL (t = -2.29, p = 0.02), but not for sex (t = 0.63, p = 0.53) or treatments (t = 0.80-0.83, p = 0.41-0.42). Voxel-wise analyses revealed significant associations between dysconnectivity in cerebellar and brainstem regions and serum NfL (t = 7.03, p < 0.001). DISCUSSION: In our prospective multi-site MS cohort, rLMMs demonstrated that the extent of global and regional brain disconnectivity is sensitive to a systemic biomarker of axonal damage, serum NfL, in patients with MS. These findings provide a neuroaxonal correlate of advanced disconnectome mapping and provide a platform for further investigations of the functional and potential clinical relevance of brain disconnectome mapping in patients with brain disorders

Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal MRI Brain Scans Reveal Accelerated Brain Aging in Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system. By combining longitudinal MRI-based brain morphometry and brain age estimation using machine learning, we tested the hypothesis that MS patients have higher brain age relative to chronological age than healthy controls (HC) and that longitudinal rate of brain aging in MS patients is associated with clinical course and severity. Seventy-six MS patients [71% females, mean age 34.8 years (range 21–49) at inclusion] were examined with brain MRI at three time points with a mean total follow up period of 4.4 years (±0.4 years). We used additional cross-sectional MRI data from 235 HC for case-control comparison. We applied a machine learning model trained on an independent set of 3,208 HC to estimate individual brain age and to calculate the difference between estimated and chronological age, termed brain age gap (BAG). We also assessed the longitudinal change rate in BAG in individuals with MS. MS patients showed significantly higher BAG (4.4 ± 6.6 years) compared to HC (Cohen's D = 0.69, p = 4.0 × 10−6). Longitudinal estimates of BAG in MS patients showed high reliability and suggested an accelerated rate of brain aging corresponding to an annual increase of 0.41 (SE = 0.15) years compared to chronological aging (p = 0.008). Multiple regression analyses revealed higher rate of brain aging in patients with more brain atrophy (Cohen's D = 0.86, p = 4.3 × 10−15) and increased white matter lesion load (WMLL) (Cohen's D = 0.55, p = 0.015). On average, patients with MS had significantly higher BAG compared to HC. Progressive brain aging in patients with MS was related to brain atrophy and increased WMLL. No significant clinical associations were found in our sample, future studies are warranted on this matter. Brain age estimation is a promising method for evaluation of subtle brain changes in MS, which is important for predicting clinical outcome and guide choice of intervention