Pension incentives, labor supply and heterogenous pension systems

People with an uncertain health condition might face a double worry. They fear to get disabled, and if they are disabled, that they will receive a low pension. To keep their health they should work less. To improve their disability pension they should work more. This paper demonstrates that the latter effect is the strongest empirically. Thus to protect one self against the income loss of a bad event, the bad event is more likely to happen. Comparing register data from disabled and non-disabled individuals shows that being disabled increases income in the last year before the time of disablement. Further, more generous pension systems increase pre-disablement income even more

Disability pension motivated income adjustment

One element of the Norwegian disability pension system makes the extent to which pension responds to changes in income in the last three years before disablement vary over different income profiles. This special feature is explored in order to identify an individual specific pension incentive for income adjustment. If disability is foreseen, this feature implies that there is a motive for increasing income in the years before disablement and through this increase pensions. Analysis on register data for all persons receiving disability pension 1992-2001 shows that the possibility to affect pensions increases income, indicating that disability to some extent is foreseen and that individuals strategically adjust their income in order to increase their pensions

Multidrug Resistance in Breast Cancer: From In Vitro Models to Clinical Studies

The development of multidrug resistance (MDR) and subsequent relapse on therapy is a widespread problem in breast cancer, but our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms is incomplete. Numerous studies have aimed to establish the role of drug transporter pumps in MDR and to link their expression to response to chemotherapy. The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are central to breast cancer MDR, and increases in ABC expression levels have been shown to correlate with decreases in response to various chemotherapy drugs and a reduction in overall survival. But as there is a large degree of redundancy between different ABC transporters, this correlation has not been seen in all studies. This paper provides an introduction to the key molecules associated with breast cancer MDR and summarises evidence of their potential roles reported from model systems and clinical studies. We provide possible explanations for why despite several decades of research, the precise role of ABC transporters in breast cancer MDR remains elusive

It ain't necessarily so

There are currently about 300,000 individuals receiving disability pension in Norway. A key question regarding the evolvement of the number of disabled workers is if the growth is related to the growth in the generosity of the pension system. This paper presents statistics on disability pensioners 1992-2001 and argues measurements of the generosity of the system has to be done with caution for several reasons. There is no clear link from the disablement process to the inflow of new disability pensioners. Further, I show that the ratio of disability pension to labor income vary with different definitions of the pension and income level

Access to

The development of multidrug resistance (MDR) and subsequent relapse on therapy is a widespread problem in breast cancer, but our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms is incomplete. Numerous studies have aimed to establish the role of drug transporter pumps in MDR and to link their expression to response to chemotherapy. The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are central to breast cancer MDR, and increases in ABC expression levels have been shown to correlate with decreases in response to various chemotherapy drugs and a reduction in overall survival. But as there is a large degree of redundancy between different ABC transporters, this correlation has not been seen in all studies. This paper provides an introduction to the key molecules associated with breast cancer MDR and summarises evidence of their potential roles reported from model systems and clinical studies. We provide possible explanations for why despite several decades of research, the precise role of ABC transporters in breast cancer MDR remains elusive

Using games for teaching crisis communication in higher education and training

© 2016 IEEE. Terror actions and catastrophes are frequently described in media. As more and more countries experience terror actions and natural disasters, there has been a greater focus on learning how to handle and to manage them. In Norway on the 22nd of July 2011, Anders Behring Breivik placed a bomb in a car that exploded near the Governmental Offices killing 8 persons. He went on to an island where there was a political camp for youths killing another 67. The rescue operations unveiled an unprepared task force. The Gjrv-report provide a massive critique towards the call out services [1]. This kicked off a major work on updating safety routines in all municipalities. The municipalities are now obliged to have a plan for crisis preparedness [2]. This again triggered the need for education within the area of crisis preparedness, crisis training and crisis management. Hedmark University of Applied Science now offers different study programs, including a BA within these areas. It is, however, very expensive to train realistically and the need for different approaches regarding training has been discussed. One of the solutions that the University is currently working on, is the use of games. Game based learning, also called 'serious games', has become an academic genre and using games for learning and training has proven fruitful [3-12]. In the military, games have been used for simulation purposes [13] and spin offs from these have also reached a commercial market [14, 15]. Using games in education opens up a range of opportunities. One of them is within the area of Crisis Communication. Crisis Communication as a curriculum is about how to approach the area of crisis communication, understanding the key concepts and develop skills within the curriculum. Games that support communication between the gamers can for instance contribute towards a greater understanding of communication in a crisis situation. What is needed to communicate and how messages are received, in order to support handling a crisis, are amongst the concrete learning objectives one can attribute towards this type of training. To use games to support the hands on training can thus provide the learners with valuable know how, and support their learning outcome. The learning from this will be beneficial to the organizations they work in as they will have an experience that will aid them in the work on planning for and preparing for crisis in their own organizations

The breast tumor microenvironment: role in cancer development, progression and response to therapy

Introduction: Numerous clinical and pre-clinical studies have provided ample evidence supporting that the tumor microenvironment plays a significant role during breast cancer development, progression and in determining the therapeutic response. Areas covered: This review focuses on the evolving concept of the microenvironment as the critical participant in each step of the multi-stage process of malignant progression. Currently, only a small number of molecules form part of routine molecular diagnostics in breast caner, but microenvironment-derived biomarkers are potential additions to existing predictive and prognostic marker panels. The authors discuss the dependency of the breast tumor cells on different components of the microenvironment for their survival, dissemination, dormancy and establishment in secondary sites to form overt metastasis, as well as the potential as a therapeutic target to improve breast cancer outcome. Expert commentary: Despite the importance in the development of breast cancer, the contribution of the microenvironment is not considered in routine diagnostic testing or informing therapeutic decisions. However, introduction of immunotherapy will increasingly require patient selection based on the stromal composition of the primary breast tumor. Better understanding of the role of specific microenvironment-derived molecules is likely to inform personalized therapy, leading to improved patient outcome

Design of a static full-ring multi-pinhole collimator for brain SPECT

In clinical practice, brain SPECT is mostly performed using a dual-head SPECT scanner with fan-beam or parallel-beam collimators rotating around the patient's head. The resolution of such a system is typically about 6-8 mm, which is rather poor to image the complex structures of the human brain. We developed a non-rotating multi-pinhole collimator for brain SPECT imaging with a resolution of 4 mm. A full-ring geometry allows for complete transaxial sampling. This enables the use of a stationary collimator. The collimator is a tungsten ring with two rows of pinholes. Each pinhole can individually be opened or closed with shutters. A sequence of shutter movements is performed to obtain an acquisition setup that simulates a rotational movement. The collimator is designed for the LaPET system (a PET detector ring made of 24 LaBr 3 detectors) and is optimized to maximize the system performance, resulting in a collimator radius of 145 mm and a pinhole diameter of 2 mm. This system has a sensitivity that is 4 times lower than a dual-head system with LEHR parallel-beam collimators. However, the resolution is 2 times better, a trade-off that is supported by Muehllehner [1]. Monte-Carlo simulated projections of a resolution phantom are successfully reconstructed and the resulting image shows that a resolution of 4 mm is indeed achieved

Effect of dietary replacement of fish meal with insect meal on in vitro bacterial and viral induced gene response in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) head kidney leukocytes

Abstract With the fast growth of today's aquaculture industry, the demand for aquafeeds is expanding dramatically. Insects, which are part of the natural diet of salmonids, could represent a sustainable ingredient for aquaculture feed. The aim of the current study was to test how a partial or total replacement of dietary fishmeal with insect meal affect gene responses involved in inflammation, the eicosanoid pathway and stress response in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) in isolated head kidney leukocytes after exposure to bacterial or viral mimic. Insect meal (IM) was produced from black soldier fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens) larvae. Seawater Atlantic salmon were fed three different diets for 8 weeks; a control diet (IM0, protein from fishmeal and plant based ingredients (25:75) and lipid from fish oil and vegetable oil (33:66); and two insect-meal containing diets, IM66 and IM100, where 66 and 100% of the fishmeal protein was replaced with IM, respectively. Leukocytes were isolated from the head kidney of fish (n = 6) from each of the three dietary groups. Isolated leukocytes were seeded into culture wells and added either a bacterial mimic (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) or a viral mimic (polyinosinic acid: polycytidylic acid, poly I: C) to induce an inflammatory response. Controls (Ctl) without LPS and poly I: C were included. The transcription of interleukins IL-1β, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF-α were elevated in LPS treated leukocytes isolated from salmon fed the three dietary groups (IM0, IM66 and IM100). The inflammatory-related gene expression in head kidney cells were, however, not affected by the pre-fed substitution of fish meal with IM in the diet of salmon. Gene transcriptions of PTGDS and PTGES were neither affected by LPS, poly I: C or the experimental diets fed prior to cell isolation, while salmon fed with IM showed a lower expression of LOX5. The gene expression of TLR22 and C/EBP-β were down-regulated by the LPS treatment in the cells isolated from salmon fed insect-based diets (IM66 and IM100) compared to fish fed the IM0. Similarly, the leukocytes challenged with LPS and isolated from fish fed with IM66 and IM100 down-regulated the expression of Mn-SOD, GPx1, HSP27 and HSP70 compared to salmon fed IM0. In general, these results suggested that replacement of fishmeal with IM in the diets of Atlantic salmon had no effect on the transcription of pro-inflammatory genes in the head kidney cells. There was, however, an effect of dietary IM on the transcription of antioxidant and stress related genes in the leukocytes

Leucine did not stimulate growth and accretion in either stressed or unstressed Atlantic salmon

The aim of the current trial was to test whether leucine affected growth and accretion including test any effects on leucine upon stress. Quadruplicate tanks each containing 50 Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) (mean start body weight of 524 ± 28 g) were fed diets containing 27.3, 30.0, 35.0 and 41.0 g leucine/kg diet for 74 days. Two tanks per dietary group were exposed to a stressor (5 min chasing) three days a week to test whether enriched leucine diet aid coping with chronic stress, while two tanks per dietary groups were left unstressed. The stressed fish consumed less feed and grew less than the unstressed fish, irrespective of diet. Leucine inclusion did not affect protein accretion, but leucine retention declined with increasing dietary leucine in both stressed and unstressed fish. No difference between the stressed or unstressed fish was present. Leucine did not affect relative liver size, but unstressed fish had slightly higher relative liver size compared with stressed fish (p = 0.05). Free leucine in the muscle and liver was not affected by dietary leucine, but unstressed fish had higher concentration of valine and isoleucine in the muscle compared with the stressed fish. Muscle of fish fed elevated leucine had lower mRNA expression of murf1 (p = 0.037) and higher expression of ppara (p = 0.012). Muscle of stressed fish had higher expression of the oxydative genes mnsod (p = 0.049) and catalase (p = 0.037) compared with the fish left unstressed, while in liver, there were no differences of expression of any of the genes tested. In conclusion, diets enriched in leucine had minor effects and neither protein accretion nor growth was affected in either stressed or unstressed fish.publishedVersio