Employer branding – en ide på reise. En kvalitativ forskning vedrørende oversetting av employer branding til en lokal praksis

Master i samfunnsvitenskap med fordypning i Human Resource Management 202

Nordisk luftforsvarssamarbeid – defensive kontraluftoperasjoner med kampfly og bakkebasert luftvern

Hvordan er dagens samarbeid innen defensive kontraluftoperasjoner med kampfly og bakkebasert luftvern i Norden, og hvordan kan man videreutvikle disse for å ivareta luftkontroll i egne geografiske virkeområder? Studien vil ta for seg dagens samarbeid innen defensive kontraluftoperasjoner på tvers av de nordiske luftforsvarene innenfor områdene kampfly og bakkebasert luftvern. Hensikten med studier er å undersøke hvordan dagens samarbeid om defensive kontraluftoperasjoner er, og hvilke muligheter man har til å videreutvikle det med kapasitetene man har i dag, og de som er besluttet å anskaffe. Oppgaven vil ta utgangspunkt i at Sveriges søknad om NATO-medlemskap blir innvilget, og se på mulighetene et finsk og svensk medlemskap kan gi Nordens evne til å ivareta luftkontroll.publishedVersio

Komplementærøkonomi - større bæreevne ved å lære av naturens økosystemer

Forfatterens aksepterte manuskript (postprint).Dette er et akseptert manuskript av en artikkel som ble publisert av Universitetsforlaget i Praktisk økonomi & finans 01/10/2021.Tilgjengelig online: https://www.idunn.no/doi/pdf/10.18261/issn.1504-2871-2021-03-08acceptedVersio

A population-based study of inflammatory mechanisms and pain sensitivity

This is a non-final version of an article published in final form in Schistad, E. I., Kong, X. Y., Furberg, A.-S., Bäckryd, E., Grimnes, G., Emaus, N., ... Nielsen, C. S. (2019). A population-based study of inflammatory mechanisms and pain sensitivity. Pain, 161(2), 338-350. https://doi.org/10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001731Two recent studies suggest that experimental pain sensitivity is associated with low-grade systemic inflammation. However, only 2 biomarkers have been identified, and the studies were conducted in adult individuals where confounding effects of comorbid diseases cannot be excluded. We therefore tested associations between pain sensitivity and 119 inflammation-related serum biomarkers in 827 healthy adolescents (15-19 years) in the population-based Tromsø Study: Fit Futures. The main outcome measure was cold-pressor pain tolerance (CPT), tested by placing the dominant hand in circulating cold (3°C) water for a maximum of 105 seconds. Secondary outcomes were heat and pressure pain threshold and tolerance. Twelve proteins and 6 fatty acids were significantly associated with CPT after adjustment for possible confounding factors and correction for multiple comparisons. Of these, all fatty acids and 10 proteins were protective, ie, higher biomarkers levels were associated with increased CPT, whereas 2 biomarkers were associated with lower tolerance. Taken together, these biomarkers predicted completion of the tolerance test with a C-statistic of 0.65. Results for heat and pressure pain tolerance were remarkably similar, strengthening the generalizability of our findings. In this cohort of young healthy individuals, we found a relationship between inflammation-related biomarkers and pain tolerance and thresholds. Biomarkers with anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects predominated, suggesting that the development of prophylactic dietary or pharmaceutical treatments may be possible

Correlation between gene expression and MRI STIR signals in patients with chronic low back pain and Modic changes indicates immune involvement

Disability and distress caused by chronic low back pain (LBP) lacking clear pathoanatomical explanations cause huge problems both for patients and society. A subgroup of patients has Modic changes (MC), identifiable by MRI as vertebral bone marrow lesions. The cause of such changes and their relationship to pain are not yet understood. We explored the pathobiology of these lesions using profiling of gene expression in blood, coupled with an edema-sensitive MRI technique known as short tau inversion recovery (STIR) imaging. STIR images and total RNA from blood were collected from 96 patients with chronic LBP and MC type I, the most inflammatory MC state. We found the expression of 37 genes significantly associated with STIR signal volume, ten genes with edema abundancy (a constructed combination of STIR signal volume, height, and intensity), and one gene with expression levels significantly associated with maximum STIR signal intensity. Gene sets related to interferon signaling, mitochondrial metabolism and defense response to virus were identified as significantly enriched among the upregulated genes in all three analyses. Our results point to inflammation and immunological defense as important players in MC biology in patients with chronic LBP.publishedVersio

Exploratory study for identifying systemic biomarkers that correlate with pain response in patients with intervertebral disc disorders

Molecular events that drive disc damage and low back pain (LBP) may precede clinical manifestation of disease onset and can cause detrimental long-term effects such as disability. Biomarkers serve as objective molecular indicators of pathological processes. The goal of this study is to identify systemic biochemical factors as predictors of response to treatment of LBP with epidural steroid injection (ESI). Since inflammation plays a pivotal role in LBP, this pilot study investigates the effect of ESI on systemic levels of 48 inflammatory biochemical factors (cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors) and examines the relationship between biochemical factor levels and pain or disability in patients with disc herniation (DH), or other diagnoses (Other Dx) leading to low back pain, which included spinal stenosis (SS) and degenerative disc disease (DDD). Study participants (n = 16) were recruited from a back pain management practice. Pain numerical rating score (NRS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and blood samples were collected pre- and at 7 to 10 days post-treatment. Blood samples were assayed for inflammatory mediators using commercial multiplex assays. Mediator levels were compared pre- and post-treatment to investigate the potential correlations between clinical and biochemical outcomes. Our results indicate that a single ESI significantly decreased systemic levels of SCGF-β and IL-2. Improvement in pain in all subjects was correlated with changes in chemokines (MCP-1, MIG), hematopoietic progenitor factors (SCGF-β), and factors that participate in angiogenesis/fibrosis (HGF), nociception (SCF, IFN-α2), and inflammation (IL-6, IL-10, IL-18, TRAIL). Levels of biochemical mediators varied based on diagnosis of LBP, and changes in pain responses and systemic mediators from pre- to post-treatment were dependent on the diagnosis cohort. In the DH cohort, levels of IL-17 and VEGF significantly decreased post-treatment. In the Other Dx cohort, levels of IL-2Rα, IL-3, and SCGF-β significantly decreased post-treatment. In order to determine whether mediator changes were related to pain, correlations between change in pain scores and change in mediator levels were performed. Subjects with DH demonstrated a profile signature that implicated hematopoiesis factors (SCGF-β, GM-CSF) in pain response, while subjects with Other Dx demonstrated a biomarker profile that implicated chemokines (MCP-1, MIG) and angiogenic factors (HGF, VEGF) in pain response. Our findings provide evidence that systemic biochemical factors in patients with LBP vary by diagnosis, and pain response to treatment is associated with a unique profile of biochemical responses in each diagnosis group. Future hypothesis-based studies with larger subject cohorts are warranted to confirm the findings of this pilot exploratory study

Sammenhengen mellom tilfredsstillelse av behovet for autonomi, tilhørighet og kompetanse og opplevelse av initativ i fysisk aktivitet

This study examined the relationship between the experiences of initiative in physical activity, satisfaction of the basic needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness derived from self- determination theory, adult supervision and level of physical activity in leisure physical activity.Method: The study is based on the Norwegian data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children. A WHO Cross National Survey (HBSC) among 10th graders. N=1534 (response rate 58 %).Instruments: Initiative scale extracted from The Youth Experiences Survey, Basic Need Satisfaction Scale, single item measures of level of activity and adult supervision.Results: The results indicate a relationship between initiative experiences and satisfaction of basic human needs. In a stepwise regression analysis level of physical activity predicted initiative experiences, followed by competence and adult supervision. Autonomy and relatedness were weak, but significant predictors.Discussion: The results indicate that satisfaction of basic human needs is related to the experiences of initiative in physical activity. Linking the well-developed self-determination theory with the initiative concept can generate research hypotheses and have practical implications