Struggling for recognition and inclusion—parents' and pupils' experiences of special support measures in school

During the last decade an increasing use of differentiated support measures for pupils with special educational needs, indicative of a discrepancy between educational policies and practices, has been witnessed in Sweden. Another trend has been the increased use of medical diagnoses in school. The aim of this study was to explore the main concern of support given to pupils with special educational needs and how pupils and parents experience and handle this. Interviews were conducted with eight pupils in Grades 7–9—and their parents—at two compulsory schools in a city in northern Sweden. A grounded theory approach was used for analyzing the interview data. A conceptual model was generated illuminating the main concern of special support measures for pupils and parents. The core category of the model, struggling for recognition and inclusion, was related to two categories, which further described how this process was experienced and handled by the participants. These categories were labeled negotiating expertise knowledge within a fragmented support structure and coping with stigma, ambivalence, and special support measures. The developed conceptual model provides a deeper understanding of an ongoing process of struggle for recognition and inclusion in school as described by the pupils and parents

Platelet activating factor stimulates arachidonic acid release in differentiated keratinocytes via arachidonyl non-selective phospholipase A2

Platelet activating factor (PAF, 1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) is known to be present in excess in psoriatic skin, but its exact role is uncertain. In the present study we demonstrate for the first time the role of group VI PLA2 in PAF-induced arachidonic acid release in highly differentiated human keratinocytes. The group IVα PLA2 also participates in the release, while secretory PLA2s play a minor role. Two anti-inflammatory synthetic fatty acids, tetradecylthioacetic acid and tetradecylselenoacetic acid, are shown to interfere with signalling events upstream of group IVα PLA2 activation. In summary, our major novel finding is the involvement of the arachidonyl non-selective group VI PLA2 in PAF-induced inflammatory responses

Genotypes and haplotypes in the insulin-like growth factors, their receptors and binding proteins in relation to plasma metabolic levels and mammographic density

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increased mammographic density is one of the strongest independent risk factors for breast cancer. It is believed that one third of breast cancers are derived from breasts with more than 50% density. Mammographic density is affected by age, BMI, parity, and genetic predisposition. It is also greatly influenced by hormonal and growth factor changes in a woman's life cycle, spanning from puberty through adult to menopause. Genetic variations in genes coding for hormones and growth factors involved in development of the breast are therefore of great interest. The associations between genetic polymorphisms in genes from the IGF pathway on mammographic density and circulating levels of IGF1, its binding protein IGFBP3, and their ratio in postmenopausal women are reported here.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Samples from 964 postmenopausal Norwegian women aged 55-71 years were collected as a part of the Tromsø Mammography and Breast Cancer Study. All samples were genotyped for 25 SNPs in IGF1, IGF2, IGF1R, IGF2R, IGFALS and IGFBP3 using Taqman (ABI). The main statistical analyses were conducted with the PROC HAPLOTYPE procedure within SAS/GENETICS™ (SAS 9.1.3).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The haplotype analysis revealed six haploblocks within the studied genes. Of those, four had significant associations with circulating levels of IGF1 or IGFBP3 and/or mammographic density. One haplotype variant in the IGF1 gene was found to be associated with mammographic density. Within the IGF2 gene one haplotype variant was associated with levels of both IGF1 and IGFBP3. Two haplotype variants in the IGF2R were associated with the level of IGF1. Both variants of the IGFBP3 haplotype were associated with the IGFBP3 level and indicate regulation in cis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Polymorphisms within the IGF1 gene and related genes were associated with plasma levels of IGF1, IGFBP3 and mammographic density in this study of postmenopausal women.</p

Investigating Population Genetic Structure in a Highly Mobile Marine Organism: The Minke Whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata acutorostrata in the North East Atlantic

Inferring the number of genetically distinct populations and their levels of connectivity is of key importance for the sustainable management and conservation of wildlife. This represents an extra challenge in the marine environment where there are few physical barriers to gene-flow, and populations may overlap in time and space. Several studies have investigated the population genetic structure within the North Atlantic minke whale with contrasting results. In order to address this issue, we analyzed ten microsatellite loci and 331 bp of the mitochondrial D-loop on 2990 whales sampled in the North East Atlantic in the period 2004 and 2007–2011. The primary findings were: (1) No spatial or temporal genetic differentiations were observed for either class of genetic marker. (2) mtDNA identified three distinct mitochondrial lineages without any underlying geographical pattern. (3) Nuclear markers showed evidence of a single panmictic population in the NE Atlantic according STRUCTURE's highest average likelihood found at K = 1. (4) When K = 2 was accepted, based on the Evanno's test, whales were divided into two more or less equally sized groups that showed significant genetic differentiation between them but without any sign of underlying geographic pattern. However, mtDNA for these individuals did not corroborate the differentiation. (5) In order to further evaluate the potential for cryptic structuring, a set of 100 in silico generated panmictic populations was examined using the same procedures as above showing genetic differentiation between two artificially divided groups, similar to the aforementioned observations. This demonstrates that clustering methods may spuriously reveal cryptic genetic structure. Based upon these data, we find no evidence to support the existence of spatial or cryptic population genetic structure of minke whales within the NE Atlantic. However, in order to conclusively evaluate population structure within this highly mobile species, more markers will be required

Spørreundersøkelse blant rypejegere etter jaktsesongen 2006/07. Datagrunnlag og noen sentrale funn fra Rypeforvaltningsprosjektet 2006-2011

Andersen, O., Kaltenborn, B. P., Pedersen, H. C., Storaas, T., Faye-Schjøll, E. & Solvang, H. 2008. Spørreundersøkelse blant rypejegere etter jaktsesongen 2006/07. Datagrunnlag og noen sentrale funn fra Rypeforvaltningsprosjektet 2006-2011 - NINA Rapport 379. 44 s. Her rapporteres data fra en postal og en internett-basert spørreundersøkelse blant rypejegere som jaktet rype sesongen 2006/07. Postalundersøkelsen ga 1841 svar, en svarprosent på 68,5%. Internettundersøkelsen ga 1215 svar. Vår totale datamengde ble da 3056 respondenter. I den postale undersøkelsen var det 233 respondenter som hadde krysset av for at de ikke hadde jaktet i 2006, til tross for at de hadde kjøpt jaktkort. Jegere som ikke hadde jaktet sesongen 2006/07 ble utelatt fra analysene. Totalt antall respondenter i analysene er derfor 2 823, noe som tilsvarer 5% av landets rypejegere dette jaktåret. Deskriptiv del Rypejegeren har en gjennomsnittsalder på 49 år, 21 års jakterfaring og har fullført 14,5 år med skole. Førtini prosent av jegerne bor i en by med mer enn 10 000 innbyggere og de aller fleste er gift eller samboende. Rypejegeren skyter i gjennomsnitt 250 treningsskudd på skytebanen før jakta, hvilket tilsvarer 10 25-skudds serier på skytebanen. Utelates de 5% av respondentene som skyter mer enn 1000 skudd før jakta, blir gjennomsnittet 127 skudd. Dette tilsvarer fem 25-skudds serier på skytebanen. Det brukes 1 dag (medianverdi) på planlegging av jakta. Tjuesju prosent jakter bare på lirype og 4% jakter bare på fjellrype, mens 69% jakter på begge artene. Drøyt halvparten av jegerne (54%) jakter med hund, 32% jakter uten hund, mens 14% jakter både med og uten hund. Femtifem prosent har jaktet i samme jaktterreng i mer enn 5 år og 65% mener at det er viktig å kunne få jakte i samme terreng flere år på rad. Jegerne oppga at de jaktet i gjennomsnitt 7,6 dager etter lirype og 4,6 dager etter fjellrype. De skjøt 8,4 liryper og 3,8 fjellryper. Kun 29% oppgir at de skjøt andre viltarter mens de var på rypejakt. Det er mest vanlig at jaktutøvelsen foregår i en gruppe på mellom 2-4 personer, og at overnatting skjer i egen hytte eller leid hytte med lav standard. Under selve jakta hadde jegerne gjennomsnittlig snaut 6 jaktbare situasjoner per dag og de anslår at de observerte ca 25 ryper per dag. Jegertettheten opplevdes å være mellom lav og meget lav, mens fuglebestanden opplevdes å ligge nærmere middels god enn god. Gjennomsnittlig fornøydhet med hvordan jakta hadde vært var 60,5%, men 39% av jegerne var allikevel mer misfornøyd enn fornøyd. Sekstien prosent av jegerne var mer fornøyd enn misfornøyd. Jegerne oppga at de syntes det viktigste var å se mange ryper i vakkert terreng og å skyte godt, mens husvære med god standard, mye felt vilt og tilgjengeligheten fra bilvei var de faktorer som var minst viktige. Til tross for at de oppgir mye felt vilt til å være mindre viktig, øker tilfredsheten med antall ryper som ble skutt. Når dette tallet øker fra 0 til 4 skutte ryper pr dag, øker tilfredsheten fra 47 til 87%. Dersom uttaket av rype måtte begrenses, foretrakk både jegere med og uten hund en årlig totalkvote. For jegere med hund, er det mer ønskelig å kutte ut vinterjakt, enn å ha en dagskvote. Jegere uten hund foretrekker en kvote på 2 ryper/dag fremfor å dele opp jaktsesongen eller å kutte ut vinterjakt. Den minst foretrukne uttaksbegrensningen blant begge jegergrupper er å korte ned jaktsesongen, selv om hundejegeren gjerne kan kutte ut vinterjakt. Jegerne aksepterer at inntil 30% av det jaktbare arealet fredes som et viltrefugie. Jegerne er villige til å akseptere kvoter på 10 ryper eller mer i året. På spørsmål om hva jegerne syntes størrelsen på en årlig kvote burde være, var gjennomsnittet 17,3 ryper/år. Mest penger brukes på jaktkort og leie av jaktterreng (1670 NOK, ± S.E. 75), jaktbekledning (1362 NOK, ± S.E. 48) og våpen og ammunisjon (1025 NOK, ± S.E. 51). De tilbudene som rypejegerne synes var mest interessante var muligheten til å benytte buer (gratis) under jakta. Videre kom husvære med enkel standard i jaktterrenget og åpne buer som kan leies ut under jakta. Som en grov gjennomsnitts karakteristikk kan vi si at rypejegere som gruppe i samfunnet er kraftig overrepresentert av gifte og samboende menn med middels- høyt utdanningsnivå, de har lang jakterfaring, tjener godt og bor i relativt store befolkningssentra. Analytisk del Når det gjelder beskatningsreguleringer fant vi at jegere foretrakk en årlig kvote (som i dette tilfellet var på 15 ryper i året) fremfor dagskvoter (som her var 2 ryper/dag) eller forbud mot vinterjakt. Tre viktige faktorer som rypejegerne knyttet til ”en god jaktopplevelse” ble identifisert. Dette var (1) Komfort, (2) Viltkontakt og (3) Tilgjengelighet. Komfortmotivet var positivt knyttet til alle reguleringer, med unntak av dagskvote (ikke statistisk sikker sammenheng) og til kraftig reduksjon av antall jegere, hvor det ble funnet en negativ sammenheng. Motivet viltkontakt var negativt relatert til restriksjoner som begrenset uttaket (dagskvoter og årlig kvote ), men positivt relatert til å dele opp jaktsesongen i flere korte perioder. Tilgjengelighetsmotivet var positivt relatert til å forby vinterjakt, men negativt relatert til alle andre restriksjoner som gikk på uttak, jaktsesongens lengde eller reduksjon i antall jegere, dog ikke statistisk sikkert når det gjaldt årskvote og oppdeling av jaktsesongen i kortere perioder. Demografiske variable som bosted (graden av urbanitet, altså om man bor i en stor by eller på et lite sted med spredt bebyggelse) og utdanningsnivå viste ingen signifikant sammenheng med synet på forvaltningsrestriksjonene det ble spurt om. Menn var sterkt negative til dagskvoter og likte heller ingen andre reguleringer spesielt godt. Eldre jegere synes å ha stor aksept for kvotejakt og ikke jakt etter nyttår, men likte ikke tanken på reduksjon i antall jegere. Lokale jegere var positivt relatert til de fleste former for begrensninger, men ikke en reduksjon i antall jegere. Forvalterne mente at det var en glissen rypebestand ved ca 10 ryper/km2 og at det var en god bestand ved ca 30 ryper/km2 . Forvalterne foretrakk restriksjoner som er enkle å kontrollere, slik som å innføre dagskvote, redusere antall jegere kraftig eller forbud mot vinterjakt. For å studere jegernes terrengpreferanser, inkluderte vi spørsmål om hvordan jegerne oppfattet en rekke landskapstyper i form av 12 bilder. Ved bruk av faktoranalyse kunne vi gruppere de 12 landskaps bildene i tre kategorier som fikk merkelappene; Fjellskog, Lavalpint og Høyalpint. Vi fant at jaktform er mer bestemmende for terrengpreferanse enn om jegeren er innenbygds eller utenbygds. Personer som jakter med hund foretrekker i større grad fjellskog og lavalpine miljøer enn de høyalpine områdene. Jegere uten hund hadde på sin side en høyere preferanse for de høyalpine områdene enn jegere med hund. Forskjellene her er ikke overraskende etter som støkkjegere i større grad jakter fjellrype i de høyere liggende områdene, enn jegere med hund. Jegere som deltar i begge former for jakt, dvs. med og uten hund, uttrykker mer allsidige terrengpreferanser enn de som bare jakter med hund, eller bare jakter uten hund. Vi har sett på sammenhengen mellom estimert rypetetthet før jakt, basert på linjetaksering med stående fuglehunder, og hva jegerne selv rapporterer skutt i forhold til jaktinnsatsen de har lagt ned, altså jegereffektiviteten. Vi ser at det skytes omtrent like mye rype per innsatsenhet ved lave tettheter (6-10 ryper/km2 ) som ved moderate tettheter (20-25 ryper/km2 ) og tettheter som ligger over dette. Faktisk var jegere på terreng med kun 6 ryper/km2 like effektive som jegere som jaktet på terreng med 17, 21 eller 60 ryper/km2 , selv om vi ser en tendens til at jegereffektiviteten øker fra ca 20 til 40 ryper/km2 . En lineær regresjon viser at det er tendenser til en sammenheng mellom jegereffektivitet og tetthet, men sammenhengen er ikke signifikant. For å finne hvordan jaktsuksess (målt som CPUE) ble påvirket av ulike faktorer knyttet til egenskaper ved jegeren eller jaktterrenget, brukte vi en GLM-modell. Den beste modellen var statistisk signifikant, og inkluderte prediktorvariablene jaktteknikk, jakterfaring vis, antall dager på jakt, antall dager brukt på planlegging, hvor lettjaktet terrenget var, antall ryper observert per dag og avstand fra vei til jaktterrenget . Jakterfaring var den minst signifikante variabelen som ble inkludert i modellen. Det negative estimatet for hvor lettjaktet terrenget var indikerer at CPUE øker, desto vanskeligere jegerne synes det var å jakte i terrenget, med tanke på fremkommelighet, kuperthet osv. Jaktteknikk viste en negativ sammeheng, noe som indikerer at jegere uten hund er mer effektive enn jegere med hund ved økende tettheter. Planlegging viste en negativ sammenheng, mens jakterfaring viste en svak, positiv sammenheng. Antall ryper sett per dag og avstand fra bilvei hadde en positiv sammenheng med CPUE i forhold til økende tetthet. I undersøkelsen har jegerne også opplyst hvor mange treningsskudd de skjøt før jaktsesongen 2006/07. Jegerne ble gruppert etter antall treningsskudd og delt inn i 6 grupper. Estimert treffrate for de ulike gruppene, basert på antall treningsskudd, ble sammenlignet i en enveis variansanalyse. Det var ingen statistisk sikker forskjell mellom gruppene. Det synes her som om man må skyte over 300 treningsskudd før man får en merkbar effekt på treffraten. Fangst per jegerdagsverk økte imidlertid fra 0,9 ryper/dag for de med mindre enn 50 treningsskudd, til mellom 1,01 og 1,05 ryper/dag for de som skjøt mellom 100-300 treningsskudd. De som skjøt mer enn 300 treningsskudd hadde en fangst/jegerdagsverk på 1,25. Gjennomsnittlig fangst per jegerdagsverk for de ulike gruppene, basert på antall treningsskudd, ble sammenlignet i en enveis variansanalyse. Det var statistisk sikker forskjell mellom gruppen som skyter mindre enn 50 treningsskudd og de som skyter mer enn 300 treningsskudd.This report presents findings from two surveys, one postal and one internet-based, among willow ptarmigan hunters who hunted during the 2006/07 season. The postal survey resulted in 1841 completed surveys, a response rate of 68,5%. We received a total of 3056 responses, including 1215 responses to the internet survey. 233 respondents in the postal survey stated that they had not been hunting in 2006, although they had purchased a hunting license. Hunters who had not been hunting during the 2006/2007 season were omitted from the analyses which were based on 2823 respondents. This is equivalent to 5% of Norway’s willow ptarmigan hunters. Descriptive The average willow ptarmigan hunter in this survey is 49 years of age, has 21 years of hunting experience and has completed 14,5 years of education. 49% of the hunters live in towns with a population of more than 10 000 and is either married or cohabitant. On average he/she has fired 250 shots on the shooting range before hunting (clay pigeons), which equals 10 series of 25 shots. If we leave out the respondents firing more than 1000 training shots (5%), an average of 127 training shots are fired, equaling 5 series of 25 shots on the shooting range. The median value for planning for the hunting trips was 1 day. Among the respondents, willow ptarmigan and rock ptarmigan are hunted by 87% and 52% respectively. More than one-half of the respondents report using dogs when hunting, 32% do not use dogs, while 14% report to hunt both with and without a dog. A majority (55%) has been hunting in the same area for more than 5 years and 65% are of the opinion that it is important to be able to hunt the same places for several years in a row. On average the respondents hunted for 7,6 days for willow ptarmigan and 4,6 days for rock ptarmigan, killing on average 8,4 willow ptarmigan and 3,8 rock ptarmigan. Only 29% shot other game species while hunting for willow ptarmigan. A group of willow ptarmigan hunters normally consists of 2-4 persons, who find accommodation either in privately owned cabins or rented low standard cabins. During hunting each hunter experienced around 6 game encounters per day, observing approximately 25 willow ptarmigan each day. Hunter density is perceived to be between low and very low, while the willow ptarmigan population density is perceived as closer to medium than good. Average contentment was 60,5%, whereas 39% stated that they were more dissatisfied than satisfied, and 61% expressed more satisfaction than dissatisfaction. Most important to the hunters was seeing plenty of willow ptarmigan, scenic nature and shooting well, whereas factors such as the quality of lodging, number of killed game and accessibility from a motor road were of minor importance. Although amount of killed game is claimed to be a minor factor, satisfaction increases with the number of willow ptarmigan bagged. When this number increases by 0 to 4 killed willow ptarmigan per day, a high level of satisfaction rises from 47% to 87%. An annual total quota is the preferred harvest regulation by both groups of hunters. Hunters with dogs would rather refrain from winter hunting than having a daily bag limits. Hunters without dogs prefer a daily bag limit of 2 willow ptarmigan to a splitting of the season or leaving out the winter season. The least preferred harvest regulation is shortening of the hunting season. The hunters can accept that as much as 30% of the hunting area is preserved as game refuge. Bag limits of 10 willow ptarmigan/year or more attain wide acceptance. When the hunters are questioned about the size of a possible annual quota, the average preferred level is 17,3 willow ptarmigan/year. Hunting permits and access to hunting areas comprise the highest expense item (NOK 1670 NOK, ± S.E. 75), followed by clothing (NOK 1362, ± S.E. 48) and weapons and ammunition (NOK 1025, ± S.E. 51). Next to simple standard lodging and open cabins available for rent, free disposal of cabins during hunting was considered the most valuable benefit. Analytical part Hunters preferred an annual quota, rather than daily bag limit or winter hunting moratorium. Three important factors related to a good hunting experience were found: (1) Comfort, (2) game contact and (3) access. Comfort-domain was positively related to all regulations, except daily bag-limit (not significant) and to strongly reduce number of hunters, where a negative relationship was found. The game-contact domain was negatively related to all regulations that restricted the off-take, but positive to split up the hunting season in several short periods. The access-domain was positively related to stop hunting in winter, but negative to all other regulations that affected off-take, length of the hunting season or reduction in the number of hunters. However, the relationship was not significant for the regulations annual bag and to split up the season in several short periods. Demographic variables, such as education and degree of urbanization, were not significantly related to attitudes to harvest regulations. Males were strongly negative to daily bag-limits, and disliked in general all other harvest regulations as well. Older hunters had high acceptance for quotas and winter hunting moratorium, but disliked a strong reduction in number of hunters. Local hunters showed a strong, positive relationship to most of the harvest regulations, but not to strongly reduce number of hunters. Mangers reported a low population of willow ptarmigan at 10 birds/km2 and a good population level at 30 birds/km2 . Managers preferred harvest regulations that was easy to control, such as daily bag limit, strongly reduce the number of hunters or winter hunting moratorium. We included 12 pictures to study terrain preferences among the hunters. A factor analysis revealed 3 groups of habitats, mountain-forest, low-alpine and high-alpine. We found that hunting technique was more deterministic for terrain preferences, than if the hunter was a local or nonlocal hunter. Hunters with dogs prefer mountain forests and low-alpine environments, rather than high-alpine environments. Hunters without dogs preferred high-alpine environments, which is not surprising, since hunters without dogs more often hunt rock-ptarmigan than willow ptarmigan. Hunters that engage in both forms of hunting are more versatile in their habitat preferences. We analyzed the relationship between estimated density of willow ptarmigan/km2 before hunting season and hunters off-take. The hunters bagged approximately the same number of birds on low-moderate densities (6-25 birds/km2 ), but there is a tendency for higher efficiency with increasing densities. However, a linear regression showed no significant relationship. To examine how catch per unit effort (CPUE) was affected by factors related to the hunter or the hunting terrain, we used a General linear model (GLM) with BIC as selection criteria. The most parsimonious model was significant and included parameters as hunting technique, experience, number of days hunting, number of days spent on planning, how easy it was to hunt in the terrain, number of birds observed per day and distance from road to the hunting terrain. Hunting experience was the less significant predictor. The negative estimate for how easy it was to hunt in the terrain indicates that CPUE increases, the harder it is to hunt in the terrain. Hunting technique had also a negative estimate, indicating that a hunter without dog is more efficient when densities increase. Hunting experience showed a weak, positive estimate. Number of birds observed per day and distance to hunting terrain from road showed a slightly more positive relationship to CPUE when density increased. The hunters also reported number of training shots they shot before hunting season. We grouped the hunters into 6 groups. Estimated hit-rate for each group was compared in a oneway analysis of variance (ANOVA). There were no significant differences between the groups. However, hunters with more than 300 training shots had a notable effect on hit-rate. Catch per day increased from 0,9 willow ptarmigan per day in the group with less than 50 training shots, to 1,01-1,05 willow ptarmigan per day for hunters with 100-300 training shots. Hunters with more than 300 training shots had in average 1,25 willow ptarmigan per day. There was a significant difference between hunters with less than 50 training shots and hunters with more than 300 training shots.© Norsk institutt for naturforskning. Publikasjonen kan siteres fritt med kildeangivelse