Norway leads the world in gender equality and work-life balance: a qualitative life course study of Norwegian women

Norway is one of the world\u27s leading countries in gender equality and work-life balance and therefore proves to be an exceptional model for study to improve gender equality and work–life balance around the world (Strømland, 2009). Norway continues to rank top three in the Global Gender Gap Index in addition to being the happiest country, best country to live, leading country in gender equality and work-life balance, best country for motherhood, and one of the top three countries for business (Badenhausen, 2015; Berglund, 2010; Bradford, 2011; Dresser, 2010; Helman, 2011; McNeil, 2010; “Norway tops ‘best country’ list, U.S. ranks 10th,” 2010; Rienstra, 2010; Winter, 2010; Worley, 2014). Data collected from the interviews of 22 Norwegian women are used to understand the relationship between gender equality and work-life balance, that this relationship enables more women to work and be leaders, and that gender equality leads to financially successful organizations. This phenomenological study uses Giele\u27s (2002, 2008, 2009) life story method and theoretical framework and Weber\u27s (2011) instrument to explore Norwegian women\u27s experiences through the dimensions of identity, relational style, motivation, and adaptive style as shaped by Norway\u27s culture and laws to gain further insight and understanding. Findings from this study suggest supportive relationships and autonomy are major contributors to Norway\u27s success in gender equality and work-life balance, which offers a countering view to the GLOBE study\u27s (House, Hanges, Javidan, Dorfman, & Gupta, 2004) assessment of family groups in the Nordics. Furthermore, 20 work-life balance strategies were revealed, in addition to a new leadership intelligence framework: Nordic Intelligence (NQ). The findings from this study may help to create happier people, more satisfied employees, better and effective leaders, successful organizations, and stronger nations and economies worldwide

Optic disc parameters in manifest and suspected glaucoma

Structure and function measurements are important in glaucoma management. Digital fundus photography has become a standard procedure and the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT), commonly used by glaucoma specialists, provides a glaucoma probability score (GPS). The visual field index (VFI) is a novel statistic, aiming to facilitate follow-up of glaucoma patients. The aim of this study was to compare the results from the digital analysis of fundus photographs with HRT measurements including GPS and VFI in patients with ocular hypertension, suspect glaucoma or glaucoma, and if possible define an optic disc index, useful in glaucoma diagnosis. Fifty-eight consecutive patients from a glaucoma service were included. Optic disc parameters (disc and cup areas) were measured on digital fundus photographs, using a semi-automatic method, and compared with the GPS from the HRT and the VFI from standard automated perimetry. A significant relationship was observed between the GPS group classification (normal, borderline, or abnormal) and VFI classification (normal or abnormal), both when the GPS borderline group was regarded as normal (P = 0.0038 Fisher test) and as abnormal (P=0.0179, kappa = 0.33). No significant relationship was observed between VFI and optic disc parameters. The threedimensional information in the GPS appears to be more related to visual function, as measured by VFI, than the planimetric measures of the optic disc

Statistical significance of rising and oscillatory trends in global ocean and land temperature in the past 160 years

Submitted manuscript version.Various interpretations of the notion of a trend in the context of global warming are discussed, contrasting the difference between viewing a trend as the deterministic response to an external forcing and viewing it as a slow variation which can be separated from the background spectral continuum of long-range persistent climate noise. The emphasis in this paper is on the latter notion, and a general scheme is presented for testing a multi-parameter trend model against a null hypothesis which models the observed climate record as an autocorrelated noise. The scheme is employed to the instrumental global sea-surface temperature record and the global land temperature record. A trend model comprising a linear plus an oscillatory trend with period of approximately 70 yr, and the statistical significance of the trends, are tested against three different null models: first-order autoregressive process, fractional Gaussian noise, and fractional Brownian motion. The parameters of the null models are estimated from the instrumental record, but are also checked to be consistent with a Northern Hemisphere temperature reconstruction prior to 1750 for which an anthropogenic trend is negligible. The linear trend in the period 1850–2010 AD is significant in all cases, but the oscillatory trend is insignificant for ocean data and barely significant for land data. However, by using the significance of the linear trend to constrain the null hypothesis, the oscillatory trend in the land record appears to be statistically significant. The results suggest that the global land record may be better suited for detection of the global warming signal than the ocean record

Dynamic buckling of actin within filopodia

Filopodia are active tubular structuresprotruding from the cell surface which allow the cell to sense and interact with the surrounding environment through repetitive elongation-retraction cycles. The mechanical behavior of filo-podia has been studied by measuring the traction forces exerted on external sub-strates.1 These studies have revealed that internal actin flow can transduce a force across the cell surface through transmem-brane linkers like integrins. In addition to the elongation-retraction behavior filo-podia also exhibit a buckling and rota-tional behavior. Filopodial buckling in conjunction with rotation enables th

Single Particle and PET-based Platform for Identifying Optimal Plasmonic Nano-Heaters for Photothermal Cancer Therapy

Plasmonic nanoparticle-based photothermal cancer therapy is a promising new tool to inflict localized and irreversible damage to tumor tissue by hyperthermia, without harming surrounding healthy tissue. We developed a single particle and positron emission tomography (PET)-based platform to quantitatively correlate the heat generation of plasmonic nanoparticles with their potential as cancer killing agents. In vitro, the heat generation and absorption cross-section of single irradiated nanoparticles were quantified using a temperature sensitive lipid-based assay and compared to their theoretically predicted photo-absorption. In vivo, the heat generation of irradiated nanoparticles was evaluated in human tumor xenografts in mice using 2-deoxy-2-[F-18]fluoro-D-glucose ((18)F-FDG) PET imaging. To validate the use of this platform, we quantified the photothermal efficiency of near infrared resonant silica-gold nanoshells (AuNSs) and benchmarked this against the heating of colloidal spherical, solid gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). As expected, both in vitro and in vivo the heat generation of the resonant AuNSs performed superior compared to the non-resonant AuNPs. Furthermore, the results showed that PET imaging could be reliably used to monitor early treatment response of photothermal treatment. This multidisciplinary approach provides a much needed platform to benchmark the emerging plethora of novel plasmonic nanoparticles for their potential for photothermal cancer therapy