Att kommunicera som en ideell organisation : En surveystudie om marknadsföringskanaler och marknadsföringsmetoder

Denna studie behandlar ideella organisationer inom den svenska ideella sektorn samt deras prioriteringar av val i marknadsföring i form av marknadsföringskanaler och marknadsföringsmetoder. Ideella organisationer bedriver verksamhet utan vinstsyfte och har ofta som mål att sprida ett budskap, en vision, ett uppdrag eller att hjälpa till i olika sammanhang. På detta vis skiljer de sig ofta ganska mycket från mer kommersiella organisationerna. Utan att lägga resurser på insamlingskostnader, däribland marknadsföring, så når ideella organisationer inte ut till givare, vilket innebär mindre likvida medel till ändamålet. Det finns därför en avvägning att göra i hur mycket som ska fördelas åt marknadsföringen inom en ideell organisation eftersom målet är att kostnaderna ska hållas till ett minimum och att merparten av insamlade medel ska nå ändamålet. Teorierna som behandlas i denna studie är NPO Marketing mix, som är en variant av den klassiska Marketing mix modellen, anpassad för ideella verksamheter. SOEP-modellen som är en variant av den klassiska PESO-modellen samt ICT: capacity and barriers, som behandlar olika typer av barriärer som ofta förekommer hos ideella verksamheter. Dessa teorier ligger till grund för hur empirin har analyserats och har hjälpt till att besvara frågeställningen. Metoden är av en kvantitativ ansats med en tvärsnittsdesign där enkäter samlats in från 112 ideella organisationer av totalt 431 aktiva organisationer, alla med en 90-konto stämpel.  Slutsatsen som denna studie kommit fram till är att delad media är det primära kanalvalet bland ideella organisationer på den svenska ideella marknaden. Anledningen till detta beror främst på att resurser i form av pengar och personal anses som den största barriären för ideella verksamheter. Det var även tydligt att syftet med organisationen var den primära faktorn till varför ideella organisationer upplever att givare fortsätter att donera. Trots detta kunde det konstateras att relationen med givarna också är en essentiell faktor som bidrar till donationer. Denna studie visar således på att 25 %-taket som Svensk Insamlingskontroll satt upp inte upplevs som ett hinder för de flesta ideella verksamheter då dessa lär sig att anpassa sig utefter de restriktioner som finns. Slutligen kan denna studie bekräfta, likt tidigare studier kring detta ämne, att marknadsföringsmetoderna SNS och WOM är de mest populära bland ideella organisationer.This thesis sets out to analyse non-profit organizations, operating within the Swedish non-profit sector, whom are prioritizing various forms of marketing channels and marketing methods to capitalize on monetary, as well as profitable gains. Non-profit entities are ultimately driven, without a definitive end goal, to maximise financial yield for their own economic progression. Instead, non-profits presently serve purposes of spreading an often positive message, a revolutionary vision or simply that they aim to achieve a goal in which areas of need are attended to, nurtured and re-fulfilled. Without allocating resources to the objective of monetary collection, such as differing marketing avenues, non-profit organisations cannot expect to reach and affect their supporters to act on their behalf (donation or volunteering). This creates a demand within the non-profit sector to balance face value costs and assemble trade-offs when choosing to engage in marketing activities, seeing as their final goal, as established, is to provide as much financial support to aid selected areas of need. The theories used in this thesis include the NPO Marketing mix, which is a variant of the classical Marketing mix model, customized specifically to fit non-profit organizations. In addition to this is the SOEP-model, which originates from the PESO-model, and is a rearranged order of how one prioritizes media types and content to suit the non-profit sector. Finally there is ICT; capacity and barriers, which includes different kinds of barriers and obstacles that occur in the non-profit sector. These theories are fundamental for how the empirical data has been analysed and how the issue, in this thesis, has been addressed. The method in which this thesis has been conducted is that of a quantitative survey design, in which 112 surveys were collected from a total of 431 non-profit organizations within the Swedish non-profit sector, all with the “90-konto” label.  The conclusion that this thesis came to was that shared media is the primary channel choice among non-profit organizations within the Swedish non-profit market. The reasoning behind this is mainly due to the fact that resources, in the form of capital and manpower, are considered as the biggest barrier for Swedish non-profits when pursuing marketing activities. It was also clear that the organization's sole purpose was the primary factor for why non-profit organizations feel that donors continue to donate. Despite this, it could be stated that the relationship with such donors is also an essential factor which contributes to donations, since it is the initial step in building trust and constructive recognition. This study thus shows that the 25%-ceiling set by the Swedish fundraising control is not perceived as an obstacle for most non-profit activities as they have learnt to adapt to the existing restrictions. Finally, this study can confirm, like previous studies on this topic, that the SNS and WOM marketing methods are the most popular among non-profit organizations

General Anesthesia and the Young Brain: The Importance of Novel Strategies with Alternate Mechanisms of Action

Over the past three decades, we have been grappling with rapidly accumulating evidence that general anesthetics (GAs) may not be as innocuous for the young brain as we previously believed. The growing realization comes from hundreds of animal studies in numerous species, from nematodes to higher mammals. These studies argue that early exposure to commonly used GAs causes widespread apoptotic neurodegeneration in brain regions critical to cognition and socio-emotional development, kills a substantial number of neurons in the young brain, and, importantly, results in lasting disturbances in neuronal synaptic communication within the remaining neuronal networks. Notably, these outcomes are often associated with long-term impairments in multiple cognitive-affective domains. Not only do preclinical studies clearly demonstrate GA-induced neurotoxicity when the exposures occur in early life, but there is a growing body of clinical literature reporting similar cognitive-affective abnormalities in young children who require GAs. The need to consider alternative GAs led us to focus on synthetic neuroactive steroid analogues that have emerged as effective hypnotics, and analgesics that are apparently devoid of neurotoxic effects and long-term cognitive impairments. This would suggest that certain steroid analogues with different cellular targets and mechanisms of action may be safe alternatives to currently used GAs. Herein we summarize our current knowledge of neuroactive steroids as promising novel GAs

Neonatal ketamine exposure impairs infrapyramidal bundle pruning and causes lasting increase in excitatory synaptic transmission in hippocampal CA3 neurons

Preclinical models demonstrate that nearly all anesthetics cause widespread neuroapoptosis in the developing brains of infant rodents and non-human primates. Anesthesia-induced developmental apoptosis is succeeded by prolonged neuropathology in the surviving neurons and lasting cognitive impairments, suggesting that anesthetics interfere with the normal developmental trajectory of the brain. However, little is known about effects of anesthetics on stereotyped axonal pruning, an important developmental algorithm that sculpts neural circuits for proper function. Here, we proposed that neonatal ketamine exposure may interfere with stereotyped axonal pruning of the infrapyramidal bundle (IPB) of the hippocampal mossy fiber system and that impaired pruning may be associated with alterations in the synaptic transmission of CA3 neurons. To test this hypothesis, we injected postnatal day 7 (PND7) mouse pups with ketamine or vehicle over 6 h and then studied them at different developmental stages corresponding to IPB pruning (PND20–40). Immunohistochemistry with synaptoporin (a marker of mossy fibers) revealed that in juvenile mice treated with ketamine at PND7, but not in vehicle-treated controls, positive IPB fibers extended farther into the stratum pyramidale of CA3 region. Furthermore, immunofluorescent double labeling for synaptoporin and PSD-95 strongly suggested that the unpruned IPB caused by neonatal ketamine exposure makes functional synapses. Importantly, patch-clamp electrophysiology for miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) in acute brain slices ex vivo revealed increased frequency and amplitudes of mEPSCs in hippocampal CA3 neurons in ketamine-treated groups when compared to vehicle controls. We conclude that neonatal ketamine exposure interferes with normal neural circuit development and that this interference leads to lasting increase in excitatory synaptic transmission in hippocampus

Do We Have Viable Protective Strategies against Anesthesia-Induced Developmental Neurotoxicity?

Since its invention, general anesthesia has been an indispensable component of modern surgery. While traditionally considered safe and beneficial in many pathological settings, hundreds of preclinical studies in various animal species have raised concerns about the detrimental and long-lasting consequences that general anesthetics may cause to the developing brain. Clinical evidence of anesthetic neurotoxicity in humans continues to mount as we continue to contemplate how to move forward. Notwithstanding the alarming evidence, millions of children are being anesthetized each year, setting the stage for substantial healthcare burdens in the future. Hence, furthering our knowledge of the molecular underpinnings of anesthesia-induced developmental neurotoxicity is crucially important and should enable us to develop protective strategies so that currently available general anesthetics could be safely used during critical stages of brain development. In this mini-review, we provide a summary of select strategies with primary focus on the mechanisms of neuroprotection and potential for clinical applicability. First, we summarize a diverse group of chemicals with the emphasis on intracellular targets and signal-transduction pathways. We then discuss epigenetic and transgenerational effects of general anesthetics and potential remedies, and also anesthesia-sparing or anesthesia-delaying approaches. Finally, we present evidence of a novel class of anesthetics with a distinct mechanism of action and a promising safety profile

Antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of red wine after in vitro simulated digestion in the presence of complex food matrix

The beneficial effect of moderate wine consumption is attributed to its micronutrients, especially polyphenols and largely depends on the digestion process. This work aimed to examine the influence of in vitro simulated digestion in the presence of complex food matrix on antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of red wine. The obtained results showed that total phenolic content of wine sample after in vitro digestion was higher compared to undigested wine, while the antioxidant activity of these samples was similar before and after digestion. Furthermore, it has been noticed that digested wine showed cytotoxic activity on SKBR3 breast adenocarcinoma cells near 20% after 72 h of treatment. This pioneering study that examined biological potential of in vitro digested wine in the presence of complex food matrix indicate that antioxidant and cytotoxic activity of red wine is preserved after digestion