Akademisk frihet i Norge

Fremstillingen tar for seg noen problemstillinger rundt akademisk frihet etter kodifiseringen i 2007

Effects of a Short-Term Mindfulness Meditation on a Battery of Muscular Fitness in Active College Individuals

Mindfulness meditation programs of long-term duration have been used by prior research as long-term meditation programs implemented for collegiate athletes. However, there was a lack of short-term based programs and the effects on exercise performance. PURPOSE: To examine the effect of short-term mindfulness meditation effect on exercise performance by examining the effects of mindfulness on strength, power, and endurance exercises. METHODS: Nine college individuals, ages of 20.7±1.0, who were physically active participated in this study. Participants completed pre- and post- exercises of hand grip, vertical jump for height, and plank hold for time. Participants were randomly assigned to either complete the mindfulness meditation or control at the first session. During the second testing session, participants completed the opposite intervention from the first testing session. A paired samples t-test was used to determine the significance of the mindfulness meditation intervention on the difference of pre- to post- measurements for control and intervention groups of the hand grip, vertical jump, and plank hold. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the pre- to post- means of the control and intervention measurements for each exercise; hand grip (t=-2.01, p=0.79), vertical jump (t=-0.84, p=0.42), plank hold (t=-2.20, p=0.058). CONCLUSION: There was no significant effect of mindfulness meditation on a battery of muscular fitness in this study. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This study received funding from the OURS grant from the College of Saint Benedict Experiential Learning department

DEI support structures: Relationships between organizational diversity, equity, and inclusion policies and employee experience

In recent years, civil rights movements, such as the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement have called out organizations for treating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a marketing ploy to attract employees and customers. However, each year organizations spend billions of dollars on DEI efforts such as training, recruitment, strategy consultants, and more. Perhaps the misalignment of such large investments and tangible outcomes stems from the lack of evidence regarding which organizational systems (i.e., policies and practices) contribute to DEI goal attainment. The current study utilized data from 36 organizations across the Omaha metropolitan area. Data included both organizational variables, that is, the number of company policies across seven workplace functions (e.g., handbook policies), and employee experience data across two dimensions of employee experience; namely, belonging and justice. Multilevel analyses assessed the relationships of policies and practices to employees’ organizational experiences and whether employee identity (i.e., race/ethnicity, gender, and management status) moderated the relationships. Results indicated that organizations that had more DEI policies were more racially/ethnically, but not more gender, diverse. There was no evidence of a relationship between the number of DEI policies and employee experiences of belonging, although employees in organizations that had more vision, mission, values policies perceived greater justice. Further, none of the relationships between DEI policies and employee experiences were moderated by employee identity. These results suggest that having a greater number of DEI supportive policies are not sufficient to promote cultures of belonging and justice within organizations

Gastrointestinal toxicity of vorinostat: reanalysis of phase 1 study results with emphasis on dose-volume effects of pelvic radiotherapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In early-phase studies with targeted therapeutics and radiotherapy, it may be difficult to decide whether an adverse event should be considered a dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) of the investigational systemic agent, as acute normal tissue toxicity is frequently encountered with radiation alone. We have reanalyzed the toxicity data from a recently conducted phase 1 study on vorinostat, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, in combination with pelvic palliative radiotherapy, with emphasis on the dose distribution within the irradiated bowel volume to the development of DLT.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Of 14 eligible patients, three individuals experienced Common Terminology Criteria of Adverse Events grade 3 gastrointestinal and related toxicities, representing a toxicity profile vorinostat has in common with radiotherapy to pelvic target volumes. For each study patient, the relative volumes of small bowel receiving radiation doses between 6 Gy and 30 Gy at 6-Gy intervals (V6-V30) were determined from the treatment-planning computed tomography scans. The single patient that experienced a DLT at the second highest dose level of vorinostat, which was determined as the maximum-tolerated dose, had V6-V30 dose-volume estimates that were considerably higher than any other study patient. This patient may have experienced an adverse radiation dose-volume effect rather than a toxic effect of the investigational drug.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>When reporting early-phase trial results on the tolerability of a systemic targeted therapeutic used as potential radiosensitizing agent, radiation dose-volume effects should be quantified to enable full interpretation of the study toxicity profile.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00455351">NCT00455351</a></p

25(OH)D3-enriched or fortified foods are more efficient at tackling inadequate vitamin D status than vitamin D3

The ability to synthesise sufficient vitamin D through sunlight in human subjects can be limited. Thus, diet has become an important contributor to vitamin D intake and status; however, there are only a few foods (e.g. egg yolk, oily fish) naturally rich in vitamin D. Therefore, vitamin D-enriched foods via supplementing the animals’ diet with vitamin D or vitamin D fortification of foods have been proposed as strategies to increase vitamin D intake. Evidence that cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) and calcifediol (25(OH)D3) content of eggs, fish and milk increased in response to vitamin D3 supplementation of hens, fish or cows’ diets was identified when vitamin D-enrichment studies were reviewed. However, evidence from supplementation studies with hens showed only dietary 25(OH)D3, not vitamin D3 supplementation, resulted in a pronounced increase of 25(OH)D3 in the eggs. Furthermore, evidence from randomised controlled trials indicated that a 25(OH)D3 oral supplement could be absorbed faster and more efficiently raise serum 25(OH)D concentration compared with vitamin D3 supplementation. Moreover, evidence showed the relative effectiveness of increasing vitamin D status using 25(OH)D3 varied between 3·13 and 7·14 times that of vitamin D3, probably due to the different characteristics of the investigated subjects or study design. Therefore, vitamin D-enrichment or fortified foods using 25(OH)D3 would appear to have advantages over vitamin D3. Further wellcontrolled studies are needed to assess the effects of 25(OH)D3 enriched or fortified foods in the general population and clinical patients

Serum-borne factors in cancer patients with advanced cachexia: influence on adipose cells

Background: The clinical syndrome cancer cachexia is recognized by a considerable weight loss being out of proportion to any reduction in energy intake. The underlying mechanisms are not completely known, but the marked weight loss is attributable to depletion of adipose tissue as well as skeletal muscle mass. Enhanced lipolysis in adipocytes, apoptosis of preadipocytes may be important for loss of adipose tissue.Results: Sera from cachectic cancer patients induced apoptosis in cultured human preadipocytes at a higher rate than sera from non-cachectic cancer patients (control group). There was a tendency towards increased mRNA levels of the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 gene Bax after incubation of preadipocytes with cachectic sera. Moreover, the mRNA levels of anti-apoptotic Bcl-XL and pro-apoptotic Bcl-XS were increased and decreased, respectively, as compared to incubation with control sera. However, lipolysis was not enhanced in cultured human adipocytes after incubation with sera from cachectic cancer patients as compared to non-cachectic cancer patients.Methods: Serum samples from cachectic cancer patients (n=8) and non-cachectic cancer patients (n=6) were collected. Human SGBS (Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome) preadipocytes and differentiated adipocytes were incubated in the presence of serum from cachectic and non-cachectic (control) cancer patients. Induction of apoptosis and necrosis was examined by cell staining with Hoechst 342 (HO342) and propidium iodide (PI), respectively. Expression of pro- and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 genes was measured by quantitative RT-PCR. Lipolysis was monitored by measuring the release of radiolabeled fatty acids.Conclusion: Our in vitro data suggest that apoptosis of preadipocytes can be increased by serum-borne factors in cancer cachexia. Death or survival of preadipocytes may depend on the balance of pro- and anti-apoptotic mediators. Further studies of patients with cancer cachexia will be needed to reveal if the disease involves loss of adipose tissue due to apoptosis of preadipocytes. We could not show that serum-borne factors associated with cachexia have a major impact on lipolysis in cultured human adipocytes.Adipobiology 2009; 1: 57-66

Comparative retention and effectiveness of migraine preventive treatments: A nationwide registry-based cohort study

Background and purpose Little is known about the comparative effects of migraine preventive drugs. We aimed to estimate treatment retention and effectiveness of migraine preventive drugs in a nationwide registry-based cohort study in Norway between 2010 and 2020. Methods We assessed retention, defined as the number of uninterrupted treatment days, and effectiveness, defined as the reduction in filled triptan prescriptions during four 90-day periods after the first preventive prescription, compared to a 90-day baseline period. We compared retention and efficacy for different drugs against beta blockers. Comparative retention was estimated with hazard ratios (HRs), adjusted for covariates, using Cox regression, and effectiveness as odds ratios (ORs) using logistic regression, with propensity-weighted adjustment for covariates. Results We identified 104,072 migraine patients, 81,890 of whom were female (78.69%) and whose mean (standard deviation) age was 44.60 (15.61) years. Compared to beta blockers, botulinum toxin (HR 0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42–0.44) and calcitonin gene-related peptide pathway antibodies (CGRPabs; HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.59–0.66) were the least likely to be discontinued, while clonidine (HR 2.95, 95% CI 2.88–3.02) and topiramate (HR 1.34, 95% CI 1.31–1.37) were the most likely to be discontinued. Patients on simvastatin, CGRPabs, and amitriptyline were more likely to achieve a clinically significant reduction in triptan use during the first 90 days of treatment, with propensity score-adjusted ORs of 1.28 (95% CI 1.19–1.38), 1.23 (95% CI 0.79–1.90), and 1.13 (95% CI 1.08–1.17), respectively. Conclusions We found a favorable effect of CGRPabs, amitriptyline, and simvastatin compared with beta blockers, while topiramate and clonidine were associated with poorer outcomes.publishedVersio