The Construction of Lay Rescuers in Bystander CPR Classes

There are many situations in society and life in which the body is expected to play an important role for the acquisition of particular skills. This article reports on a study of such a situation, namely when information about first aid and how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CRP) is mediated to nonmedical professionals. The aim of the article is to tease out how different modes of informing feature in first aid and CPR classes for the lay public in order to transform participants in such classes into CPR-trained lay rescuers ready to intervene in cases of what is suspected to be cardiac arrests. The understanding of the role of the body in information-related activities is based on a practice-theoretical approach. How information figures in the practice of first aid and CPR training is also discussed in light of Foucault’s notions of biopolitics and self-technologies. The practice-theoretical approach illuminates how bodies are en-twined in information activities, and the notions of biopolitics and self-technology illuminate how the practice of bystander CPR training instantiates control through the different kinds of informing activities that occur in classes. This study is based on material gathered through observations in bystander CPR classes

Development and the documentation of indigenous knowledge: Good intentions in bad company?

There appears to be an increasing interest within library and information studies (LIS) in so-called indigenous or traditional knowledge. Discussions on usefulness and applicability of indigenous knowledge in development seem to be motivating electronic documentation and the creation of databases. Often, definitions provided by international organisations are drawn on unquestioningly, while power structures embedded in descriptions provided by such organisations are ignored. This article aims at drawing attention to the ways in which international organisations define and talk about indigenous knowledge in relation to development. This is achieved by critical, close reading of six publications issued between 1998 and 2008 by the following organisations: WIPO, UNESCO, ICSU, UNDP, the World Bank, and IFLA. The critical reflections are also intended to shed light on how documentation practises can be understood as extensions of power. For this the authors draw on Foucauldian notions of power and discourse as well as on post-development and postcolonial perspectives. Relationships and discursive procedures for statements on science, development discourse and intellectual property rights, are shown to be influential in the creation of the concept indigenous knowledge. Relating indigenous knowledge to post-colonial and post-development studies reveals how indigenous knowledge is created and kept marginalized within the discursive structure of development. The analysis concludes by showing how knowledge named indigenous knowledge is trapped and created in a circular flow which legitimises international aid organizations, development discourse and the intellectual property rights system. The article concludes by demanding greater awareness among LIS researchers and practitioners regarding the culturally embedded character of knowledge practices and of the power of classifying and defining

Activity of lactoperoxidase when adsorbed on protein layers

Lactoperoxidase (LPO) is an enzyme, which is used as an antimicrobial agent in a number of applications, e.g., food technology. In the majority of applications LPO is added to a homogeneous product phase or immobilised on product surface. In the latter case, however, the measurements of LPO activity are seldom reported. In this paperwe have assessed LPO enzymatic activity on bare and protein modified gold surfaces by means of electrochemistry. It was found that LPO rapidly adsorbs to bare gold surfaces resulting in an amount of LPO adsorbed of 2.9mg/m2. A lower amount of adsorbed LPO is obtained if the gold surface is exposed to bovine serum albumin, bovine or human mucin prior to LPO adsorption. The enzymatic activity of the adsorbed enzyme is in general preserved at the experimental conditions and varies only moderately when comparing bare gold and gold surface pretreated with the selected proteins. The measurement of LPO specific activity, however, indicate that it is about 1.5 times higher if LPO is adsorbed on gold surfaces containing a small amount of preadsorbed mucin in comparison to the LPO directly adsorbed on bare gold

Impact of IL28B-Related Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms on Liver Histopathology in Chronic Hepatitis C Genotype 2 and 3

Peer reviewe

PNPLA 3 I148M genetic variant associates with insulin resistance and baseline viral load in HCV genotype 2 but not in genotype 3 infection

Peer reviewe

Breathing Life into a Standard : The configuration of resuscitation in practices of informing

The study inquires into how a specific piece of standardised information, namely the standard for bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), is configured in the practices of lifesaving and bystander CPR-training. Standardisation is commonly thought of as leading to uniformity and order, while practices are dynamic. They evolve and change through repeated enactments. The aim of this thesis is to explore what happens in the meeting of these two apparently conflicting phenomena, practices and standards. The study’s analytical framework is primarily based on theories of practice, previous studies of standards and a foucauldian governmentality perspective. In order to attain the aim the CPR standard is followed ethnographically and a few specific incidents of its enactment are examined in detail. The material the study is based on has been compiled by observing bystander CPR classes, interviews with participants in CPR training and documents from some of the central actors involved in this practice which develop, update and distribute guidelines. The study demonstrates how the standard in the pursuits of making CPR an intervention to be carried out by the lay public is linked to and associated with technologies, hopes and aspirations. As these diverse elements are connected to each other, additional configurations of lifesaving and resuscitation than that delineated by the standard appear. The ways in which information features and informing happens in these pursuits are diverse and shown to have implications for the shaping of a particular kind of subjects, lay rescuers. This study consequently raises questions about how standardised information is configured in practices and how diverse ways in which informing happens in practice are associated with different forms of governance