Higher antioxidant content in organic milk than in conventional milk due to feeding strategy

Over recent years, several studies have shown that differences in the composition of organic and conventional milk are either small or non-existent. However, a new study, made by the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences and the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, shows that the content of antioxidants is significantly higher in organic milk

Legitimitet og styringssystemer: En analyse og vurdering av nedleggelsen av Ullevål Sykehus og planleggingen av Nye OUS

Ulike styringssystemer gjør seg gjeldene i arealplanleggingen; tradisjonell offentlig forvaltning, ny offentlig styring og ny offentlig forvaltning. Styringssystemene har ulike systematiske vilkår for medvirkning og demokratiske prosesser, og disse styringssystemene kan virke samtidig i planprosessene (Amdam, 2019). Dette gir ulike utfordringer som påvirker legitimitetsgrunnlaget til institusjoner og avgjørelser som blir tatt på vegne av befolkningen. Input-legitimiteten kan bli lav hvis berørte parter og interessenter ikke får påvirke planleggingen. Kvaliteten på planene avhenger av aksept for planene og tillitt til at de som utvikler og avgjør planene kan oppnå håndgripelige resultater (output-legitimitet). Throughput-legitimiteten viser til at transparente prosesser i planleggingen og politikkutforming er viktig for at interessenter kan ansvarliggjøre beslutningstakere (Falleth, Hanssen & Saglie, 2010). Styringssystemene vektlegger de ulike legitimitetsformene forskjellig. I denne studien brukes legitimitet og styringssystemer for å analysere og vurdere en case. Casen gjelder avgjørelsen om å legge ned Ullevål Sykehus og planene for Nye OUS. Det er to studiespørsmål som besvares i studien: «Hvilken rolle spiller ulike former for styringssystemer seg i prosessen og hvordan kan disse legitimeres?». “Hvordan er legitimitet satt på spill for ulike interessenter i nedleggelsen av Ullevål Sykehus» Studien avdekker at det er flere legitimitetsutfordringer i avgjørelsen om å legge ned Ullevål Sykehus og planene for Nye Oslo Universitetssykehus. Disse er både strukturelle og handler om interessentene selv. Planene har skapt motstand, da berørte parter ikke har opplevd at de har kunnet påvirke prosjektet. Helseforetaket har ikke klart å gjennomføre en prosess som har skapt tillitt til at de har vurdert og valgt de beste alternativene. Det er også funnet at styringssystemet som helseforetaksmodellen er en del av, Ny offentlig styring, har en liten grad av legitimitet. Det har vært vanskelig å ansvarliggjøre noen for beslutningene som er tatt. Helseforetaket står i en porsjon der de er relativt autonome selv om de er underlagt folkevalgte representanter. Beslutningen om å gjennomføre planene som statlig regulering i 2022 går imot prinsippet om lokalt selvstyre. Dette har gitt opphav til spørsmål om hvem som burde ha makten i beslutningene som er tatt. Å godta planer utviklet av helseforetakene selv, som allerede har hatt problemer med å legitimere planene sine, kan bidra til å svekke tilliten til nasjonale folkevalgte og foretaksmodellen.Different governance systems apply in land use planning: Traditional public administration, new public management, and new public governance. The governance systems have different systematic conditions for participation and democratic processes, and these governance systems can operate simultaneously in planning processes (Amdam, 2019). This presents different challenges that affect the legitimacy basis of institutions and decisions made on behalf of the population. Input legitimacy may be low if affected parties and stakeholders do not get to influence planning. The quality of plans depends on acceptance of the plans and trust that those who develop and decide on the plans can achieve tangible results (output legitimacy). Throughput legitimacy refers to transparent processes in planning and policy development, which are essential for stakeholders to hold decision-makers accountable (Falleth, Hanssen & Saglie, 2010). The different governance systems prioritize the different forms of legitimacy differently. This study uses legitimacy and governance systems to analyse and evaluate a case. The case concerns the decision to close Ullevål Hospital and the plans for New Oslo University Hospital. The study answers two research questions: "What roles do different forms of governance systems play in the process and how can they be legitimized?" "How is legitimacy at stake for different stakeholders in the closure of Ullevål Hospital?" The study reveals that there are several legitimacy challenges in the decision to close Ullevål Hospital and the plans for New Oslo University Hospital. These are both structural and related to the stakeholders themselves. The plans have created resistance, as affected parties have not felt they could influence the project. The healthcare organization has not managed to conduct a process that creates trust that they have assessed and chosen the best alternatives. It has also been found that the governance system which the healthcare organization model is a part of - new public management - has a low degree of legitimacy. It has been difficult to hold anyone accountable for the decisions made. The healthcare organization is in a position where they are relatively autonomous, even though they are subject to elected representatives. The decision to implement the plans as a state regulation in 2022 goes against the principle of local self-governance. This has raised questions about who that should have power in the decisions made. Accepting plans developed by the healthcare organizations themselves, who have already had problems legitimizing their plans, can contribute to weakened trust in national elected officials and the organizational model

Health Equity: Everyone Counts - The Need for Disaggregated Data on Marginalized or Excluded Racial/Ethnic Groups

When data are unavailable for a marginalized racial/ethnic group, their needs are rendered invisible when policies are made, resources are allocated, and programs are designed and implemented.Regardless of intentions, the ways in which data are collected, analyzed, and reported may have inequitable consequences. The effects of policies that make data unavailable on excluded or marginalized groups can put those populations at further disadvantage that may reflect systemic racism.This report, produced in partnership with the University of California, San Francisco, should be relevant to those planning, conducting, or funding ethnic/racial data collection, analysis, and/ or reporting, for both federally and privately funded data, in all sectors, not only health

Pain relief in palliative care

Bacheloroppgave sykepleie, 2016Hensikt: Å få økt kunnskap i hvordan pasienter med lungekreft på sykehus kan få optimal smertelindring, og hva som er sykepleierens lindrende funksjon ved smerter i palliativ fase. Vi ønsker også å se på hvordan sykepleieren kan ivareta de psykiske, sosiale og åndelige/eksistensielle dimensjonene ved lindring av smerter. Problemstilling: «Hvordan kan vi som sykepleiere lindre smerte hos pasienter med lungekreft i palliativ fase på sykehus?» Metode: Oppgaven vår er basert på litteraturstudier, der vi har benyttet forskningsartikler, pensumlitteratur, selvvalgt litteratur og erfaringer fra praksis. Vi har brukt databasene; CINAHL og Oria. Funn: Våre utvalgte funn: Sykepleierens evne til å skape et menneske – til – menneske – forhold, sykepleierens lindrende funksjon og ansvar og ivaretakelse av de fire dimensjonene ved kreftsmerter. Teori: Her presenterer vi teori som vi anser som relevant for å belyse problemstillingen. Vi har valgt å dele teorien inn i tre kapitler. I første kapittel har vi teori om pasienten med lungekreft, det andre kapittelet har vi teori om smerte og det siste kapittelet presenterer vi sykepleieteori. Konklusjon: I smertelindring er sykepleierens kunnskap, kompetanse, kommunikasjonsferdigheter, respekt og ivaretakelse av de fire dimensjonene viktige punkter i lindring av smerte hos pasienter med lungekreft. Det er viktig at sykepleieren skaper et menneske – til – menneske – forhold gjennom kommunikasjon og gjensidig respekt for å danne et helhetlig bilde av pasientens smerteopplevelse. Gode rutiner ved kartlegging, medikamentell og ikke – medikamentell vil kunne bidra til en bedre smertelindring

Retro-inversion of certain cell-penetrating peptides causes severe cellular toxicity

AbstractCell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are a promising group of delivery vectors for various therapeutic agents but their application is often hampered by poor stability in the presence of serum. Different strategies to improve peptide stability have been exploited, one of them being “retro-inversion” (RI) of natural peptides. With this approach the stability of CPPs has been increased, thereby making them more efficient transporters. Several RI-CPPs were here assessed and compared to the corresponding parent peptides in different cell-lines. Surprisingly, treatment of cells with these peptides induced trypsin insensitivity and rapid severe toxicity in contrast to l-peptides. This was measured as reduced metabolic activity and condensed cell nuclei, in parity with the apoptosis inducing agent staurosporine. Furthermore, effects on mitochondrial network, focal adhesions, actin cytoskeleton and caspase-3 activation were analyzed and adverse effects were evident at 20μM peptide concentration within 4h while parent l-peptides had negligible effects. To our knowledge this is the first time RI peptides are reported to cause cellular toxicity, displayed by decreased metabolic activity, morphological changes and induction of apoptosis. Considering the wide range of research areas that involves the use of RI-peptides, this finding is of major importance and needs to be taken under consideration in applications of RI-peptides

Tumstatin, a Matrikine Derived from Collagen Type IVα3, is Elevated in Serum from Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

OBJECTIVES: Fibrosis and cancer are characterized by extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling. The basement membrane is mainly composed by collagen type IV and laminin. Tumstatin is a matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) generated matrikine of collagen type IV α3 chain. We evaluated the potential of tumstatin as a diagnostic biomarker of lung disorders. METHODS: A monoclonal antibody was raised against the neo-epitope tumstatin. A novel competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of tumstatin (TUM), was developed and technically characterized. Levels of TUM were measured in serum of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) belonging to two cohorts. RESULTS: The developed TUM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was technically robust. In cohort 1, levels of TUM were significantly higher in NSCLC compared to healthy controls, IPF, and COPD (P = 0.007, P = 0.03 and P = 0.001, respectively). The area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) for separation of patients with NSCLC from healthy controls was 0.97, for separation of NSCLC and IPF patients was 0.98, and for separation of NSCLC and COPD patients was 1.0. In cohort 2, levels of TUM were also significantly higher in patients with NSCLC compared to healthy controls (P = 0.002), and the AUROC for separation of NSCLC and healthy controls was 0.73. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a technically robust competitive ELISA targeting the fragment tumstatin. The level of TUM in circulation was significantly higher in patients with NSCLC compared to patients with IPF, COPD and healthy controls. The assay provided high diagnostic accuracy in separating NSCLC patients from other lung disorders and from healthy controls

Retro-inversion of certain cell-penetrating peptides causes severe cellular toxicity

AbstractCell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are a promising group of delivery vectors for various therapeutic agents but their application is often hampered by poor stability in the presence of serum. Different strategies to improve peptide stability have been exploited, one of them being “retro-inversion” (RI) of natural peptides. With this approach the stability of CPPs has been increased, thereby making them more efficient transporters. Several RI-CPPs were here assessed and compared to the corresponding parent peptides in different cell-lines. Surprisingly, treatment of cells with these peptides induced trypsin insensitivity and rapid severe toxicity in contrast to l-peptides. This was measured as reduced metabolic activity and condensed cell nuclei, in parity with the apoptosis inducing agent staurosporine. Furthermore, effects on mitochondrial network, focal adhesions, actin cytoskeleton and caspase-3 activation were analyzed and adverse effects were evident at 20μM peptide concentration within 4h while parent l-peptides had negligible effects. To our knowledge this is the first time RI peptides are reported to cause cellular toxicity, displayed by decreased metabolic activity, morphological changes and induction of apoptosis. Considering the wide range of research areas that involves the use of RI-peptides, this finding is of major importance and needs to be taken under consideration in applications of RI-peptides