39 research outputs found

    Utvikling av nye fellesmoduler innen sosialarbeiderutdanningene i Midt-Norge og Universitetet i Agder

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    -I Stortingsmelding nr. 13 (2011-2012) Utdanning for velferd. Samspill i praksis (Samspillsmeldingen) kap. 9.7.1 påpekes spesielt utfordringer innen utdanning til sosialfaglig arbeid og det å få tydeliggjort sosialfaglig felleskompetanse. Det er behov for endring innenfor hver av BSV-utdanningene og i samspillet mellom dem. Det ønskes bredere grunnutdanninger og mer tverrfaglig samarbeid. Det er nødvendig med flere faglige felleselementer og tverrprofesjonell samarbeidslæring, og den sosialfaglige kompetansen må styrkes. Kunnskapsdepartementet bestemte seg for gjennomføring av et nasjonalt SAK-prosjekt som skulle ledes av UHR. I regi av UHR er St.meld. 13 blitt fulgt opp med prosjektet Sosialfaglig kompetanse og BSV-utdanningene. Sosialfagprosjektet skal blant annet bidra til å styrke og videreutvikle de sosialfaglige felleselementene i dagens tre BSV-utdanninger. Dessuten skal prosjektet stimulere til tettere samarbeid mellom utdanningsinstitusjonene og stimulere til samordnet forskningsinnsats i nært samarbeid med yrkesfeltene på tvers av studieprogrammer og utdanningsinstitusjoner

    The Effect of Intensive Implementation Support on Fidelity for Four Evidence‑Based Psychosis Treatments: A Cluster Randomized Trial

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    Abstract Purpose: Service providers need effective strategies to implement evidence-based practices (EBPs) with high fidelity. This study aimed to evaluate an intensive implementation support strategy to increase fidelity to EBP standards in treatment of patients with psychosis. Methods: The study used a cluster randomized design with pairwise assignment of practices within each of 39 Norwegian mental health clinics. Each site chose two of four practices for implementation: physical health care, antipsychotic medication management, family psychoeducation, illness management and recovery. One practice was assigned to the experimental condition (toolkits, clinical training, implementation facilitation, data-based feedback) and the other to the control condition (manual only). The outcome measure was fidelity to the EBP, measured at baseline and after 6, 12, and 18 months, analyzed using linear mixed models and effect sizes. Results: The increase in fidelity scores (within a range 1-5) from baseline to 18 months was significantly greater for experimental sites than for control sites for the combined four practices, with mean difference in change of 0.86 with 95% CI (0.21; 1.50), p = 0.009). Effect sizes for increase in group difference of mean fidelity scores were 2.24 for illness management and recovery, 0.68 for physical health care, 0.71 for antipsychotic medication management, and 0.27 for family psychoeducation. Most improvements occurred during the first 12 months. Conclusions: Intensive implementation strategies (toolkits, clinical training, implementation facilitation, data-based feedback) over 12 months can facilitate the implementation of EBPs for psychosis treatment. The approach may be more effective for some practices than for others. Keywords: Evidence-based practice; Fidelity scale; Implementation support; Mental health services; Psychoses. © 2021. The Author(s).publishedVersio

    Functional SARS-CoV-2 cross-reactive CD4+ T cells established in early childhood decline with age.

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    Pre-existing SARS-CoV-2-reactive T cells have been identified in SARS-CoV-2-unexposed individuals, potentially modulating COVID-19 and vaccination outcomes. Here, we provide evidence that functional cross-reactive memory CD4+ T cell immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is established in early childhood, mirroring early seroconversion with seasonal human coronavirus OC43. Humoral and cellular immune responses against OC43 and SARS-CoV-2 were assessed in SARS-CoV-2-unexposed children (paired samples at age two and six) and adults (age 26 to 83). Pre-existing SARS-CoV-2-reactive CD4+ T cell responses targeting spike, nucleocapsid, and membrane were closely linked to the frequency of OC43-specific memory CD4+ T cells in childhood. The functional quality of the cross-reactive memory CD4+ T cell responses targeting SARS-CoV-2 spike, but not nucleocapsid, paralleled OC43-specific T cell responses. OC43-specific antibodies were prevalent already at age two. However, they did not increase further with age, contrasting with the antibody magnitudes against HKU1 (β-coronavirus), 229E and NL63 (α-coronaviruses), rhinovirus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and influenza virus, which increased after age two. The quality of the memory CD4+ T cell responses peaked at age six and subsequently declined with age, with diminished expression of interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and CD38 in late adulthood. Age-dependent qualitative differences in the pre-existing SARS-CoV-2-reactive T cell responses may reflect the ability of the host to control coronavirus infections and respond to vaccination

    Inhibition of mitochondrial respiration prevents BRAF-mutant melanoma brain metastasis

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    Melanoma patients carry a high risk of developing brain metastases, and improvements in survival are still measured in weeks or months. Durable disease control within the brain is impeded by poor drug penetration across the blood-brain barrier, as well as intrinsic and acquired drug resistance. Augmented mitochondrial respiration is a key resistance mechanism in BRAF-mutant melanomas but, as we show in this study, this dependence on mitochondrial respiration may also be exploited therapeutically. We first used high-throughput pharmacogenomic profiling to identify potentially repurposable compounds against BRAF-mutant melanoma brain metastases. One of the compounds identified was β-sitosterol, a well-tolerated and brain-penetrable phytosterol. Here we show that β-sitosterol attenuates melanoma cell growth in vitro and also inhibits brain metastasis formation in vivo. Functional analyses indicated that the therapeutic potential of β-sitosterol was linked to mitochondrial interference. Mechanistically, β-sitosterol effectively reduced mitochondrial respiratory capacity, mediated by an inhibition of mitochondrial complex I. The net result of this action was increased oxidative stress that led to apoptosis. This effect was only seen in tumor cells, and not in normal cells. Large-scale analyses of human melanoma brain metastases indicated a significant role of mitochondrial complex I compared to brain metastases from other cancers. Finally, we observed completely abrogated BRAF inhibitor resistance when vemurafenib was combined with either β-sitosterol or a functional knockdown of mitochondrial complex I. In conclusion, based on its favorable tolerability, excellent brain bioavailability, and capacity to inhibit mitochondrial respiration, β-sitosterol represents a promising adjuvant to BRAF inhibitor therapy in patients with, or at risk for, melanoma brain metastases.publishedVersio

    Thioridazine inhibits autophagy and sensitizes glioblastoma cells to temozolomide

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    Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) has a poor prognosis with an overall survival of 14–15 months after surgery, radiation and chemotherapy using temozolomide (TMZ). A major problem is that the tumors acquire resistance to therapy. In an effort to improve the therapeutic efficacy of TMZ, we performed a genome‐wide RNA interference (RNAi) synthetic lethality screen to establish a functional gene signature for TMZ sensitivity in human GBM cells. We then queried the Connectivity Map database to search for drugs that would induce corresponding changes in gene expression. By this approach we identified several potential pharmacological sensitizers to TMZ, where the most potent drug was the established antipsychotic agent Thioridazine, which significantly improved TMZ sensitivity while not demonstrating any significant toxicity alone. Mechanistically, we show that the specific chemosensitizing effect of Thioridazine is mediated by impairing autophagy, thereby preventing adaptive metabolic alterations associated with TMZ resistance. Moreover, we demonstrate that Thioridazine inhibits late‐stage autophagy by impairing fusion between autophagosomes and lysosomes. Finally, Thioridazine in combination with TMZ significantly inhibits brain tumor growth in vivo, demonstrating the potential clinical benefits of compounds targeting the autophagy‐lysosome pathway. Our study emphasizes the feasibility of exploiting drug repurposing for the design of novel therapeutic strategies for GBM.</p

    New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

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    Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

    Psykisk helsearbeid i Oslo kommune. Bruker Spør Bruker S-B-S Evaluering 2006-2008

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    Kvalitativ analyse av brukernes tilbakemeldinger på helsetjenestene. Bruker Spør Bruker består av 6 trinn: 1) Utarbeiding av problemstillinger for evaluering i samarbeid med den tjenesten som har bestilt evalueringen. 2) Gruppeintervjuer og individuelle intervjuer med brukere om deres erfaringer med tjenesten. Intervjuene gjennomføres av forskere med brukererfaring. 3) Forskerne presenterer resultatene fra analysen i en prosessrapport som legges fram for ansatte og brukere. 4) Ansatte og brukere møtes i en dialogkonferanse for å diskutere og validere de foreløpige funnene. 5) Nye vinklinger og fokus som kommer fram, innarbeides i en sluttrapport. 6) Evalueringen presenteres i en sluttrapport. Sluttrapporten er en beskrivelse av resultatene etter at de har blitt diskutert av brukere og ansatte i en dialogkonferanse
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