Terminus-driven retreat of a major southwest Greenland tidewater glacier during the early 19th century : insights from glacier reconstructions and numerical modelling

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Effekten av Frisklivsresepten på kroppens maksimale oksygenopptak og andre helsevariabler - En evaluering av Frisklivssentralens fysiske aktivitetstilbud

Sammendrag Introduksjon Frisklivssentralen er en kommunal tjeneste som tilbyr individuell oppfølging for å forebygge ikke-smittsomme sykdommer. Basert på tidligere studier gjort på tilbudet kalt Frisklivsresepten er det usikkert hvor godt det fungerer, og hvilken effekt den har på ulike variabler for helse. Siden bare 30% av den norske befolkning oppfyller aktivitetsanbefalingene, er dette et tilbud som er viktig og som bør optimaliseres. Siden maksimalt oksygenopptak (V̇O2maks) er en god prediktor for langt liv med god helse, er målet med denne studien å evaluere den 12 ukers lange Frisklivsresepten og hvordan den påvirker V̇O2maks i tillegg til arbeidsøkonomi, maksimal styrke og kroppssammensetning. Metode Studien hadde et pretest-posttest design og testet frisklivsgruppen opp mot en negativ kontrollgruppe. Ved pretest var det 16 personer i frisklivsgruppen (11 kvinner og fem menn) og 22 i kontrollgruppen (10 kvinner og 12 menn). Underveis droppet fire personer ut av frisklivsgruppen og tre fra kontrollgruppen. Det ble gjort tre analyser, intention to treat (ITT-analyse) hvor alle deltakere ble inkludert, for frisklivsdeltakerne som trente ≥ to ganger i uken (tre stk; PP2-analyse) og for ≥ én trening i uken (sju stk; PP2-analyse). Resultater Frisklivsdeltakerne i PP2-analysen trente 2:21 ± 0:38 timer i uken, PP1-analysen trente 1:41 ± 0:40 timer i uken, mens de resterende fire som bare var med i ITT-analysen trente 0:28 ± 0:06 timer. Det var ikke forskjell i endringen i V̇O2maks mellom frisklivsgruppe og kontrollgruppe ved ITT- og PP1-analysene (henholdsvis P= 0,467 og P= 0,262). Imidlertid viste PP2-analysen forskjell i endring mellom gruppene i fordel frisklivsgruppen (P = 0,003); frisklivsgruppen økte V̇O2maks med 12,7% og 4,1 ± 1,8 ml/kg/min. Ved arbeidsøkonomi, maksimal styrke og kroppssammensetning var det ingen forskjell i endring mellom frisklivs- og kontrollgruppen, verken ved ITT-, PP2- eller PP1-analyse. Det var en signifikant sammenheng mellom antall treningsøkter (treningsøkter/uke) og endring i V̇O2maks (r = 0,594 med P = 0,046). Konklusjon Frisklivsresepten kunne ikke vise til høyere V̇O2maks sammenlignet med en kontrollgruppe, imidlertid var det et dose-respons forhold mellom V̇O2maks og antall treningsøkter. Frisklivsresepten forbedret ikke arbeidsøkonomi, muskelstyrke eller kroppssammensetningen.Abstract Introduction Norwegian Healthy Life Centers (Frisklivssentralen) is a municipal communtal service that offers lifestyle intervention and individual follow-up to prevent non-communicable diseases. Based on previous studies, it is still unknown how impactful the services were on various health variables within the general population. Since only 30% of the Norwegian population meet the activity recommendations, this is an offer that is important and should be optimized. Since maximum oxygen consumption (V̇O2max) is a good predictor for a long life with good health, the aim of this study was to evaluate the 12-week long intervention and how it, among other things, affects V̇O2max. The primary variable was V̇O2max (ml/kg/min), and secondary variables were work economy, maximum strength, and body composition. Method The study had a pretest-posttest design and tested an intervention group against a negative control group. During the pretest trial, there were 16 candidates in the intervention group (11 women and five men) and 22 in the control group (10 women and 12 men). However, during the experiment, four people dropped out of the intervention group and three from the control group. The intervention consisted of three different analyses. The first analysis was: intention to treat (ITT-analysis), where all participants were included, then per protocol-analyses for participants who exercised ≥ twice a week (three participants; PP2-analysis), and the last was per protocol-analysis for participants who exercised ≥ one training session a week (seven participants; PP2-analysis). Results Intervention participants in the PP2 analysis exercised 2:21 ± 0:38 hours per week, intervention participants in the PP1 analysis exercised 1:41 ± 0:40 hours per week, while the remaining four only participated in the ITT analysis exercised 0:28 ± 0:06 hours. There was no difference in change within the V̇O2max between the intervention group and control group in the ITT- and PP1- analysis (P= 0.467 and P= 0.262, respectively). However, the PP2 analysis showed a difference in change between the groups in favor of the intervention group (P = 0.003); the intervention group increased V̇O2max by 12.7% and 4.1 ± 1.8 ml/kg/min. In terms of work economy, maximum strength and body composition, there was no difference in change between the intervention group and control group, neither by ITT-, PP2- or PP1-analysis. Additionally we observed that there was a significant correlation between training frequency (training sessions/week) and change within the V̇O2max (r = 0.594 with P = 0.046). Conclusion The intervention did not show a higher V̇O2max compared to a control group, however, there was a dose-response relationship between V̇O2max and the number of training sessions per week. The intervention group did not improve work economy, muscle strength or body composition

Past and recent changes in the North Atlantic oscillation

The North Atlantic oscillation (NAO) is under current climate conditions the leading mode of atmospheric circulation variability over the North Atlantic region. While the pattern is present during the entire year, it is most important during winter, explaining a large part of the variability of the large-scale pressure field, being thus largely determinant for the weather conditions over the North Atlantic basin and over Western Europe. In this study, a review of recent literature on the basic understanding of the NAO, its variability on different time scales and driving physical mechanisms is presented. In particular, the observed NAO variations and long-term trends are put into a long term perspective by considering paleo-proxy evidence. A representative number of recently released NAO reconstructions are discussed. While the reconstructions agree reasonably well with observations during the instrumental overlapping period, there is a rather high uncertainty between the different reconstructions for the pre-instrumental period, which leads to partially incoherent results, that is, periods where the NAO reconstructions do not agree even in sign. Finally, we highlight the future need of a broader definition of the NAO, the assessment of the stability of the teleconnection centers over time, the analysis of the relations to other relevant variables like temperature and precipitation, as well as on the relevant processes involve

Zoonotic endoparasites in dogs and cats in mainland Norway

Hovedformålet med denne oppgaven har vært å samle informasjon om de zoonotiske endoparasittene vi finner hos hund og katt i fastlands-Norge i ett informativt oppslagsverk. Et stort antall mennesker her i landet lever med eller tett på hund og katt i hverdagen og risikerer derfor å komme i kontakt med disse parasittene. Svært få har derimot kunnskap om disse parasittene, hvordan de arter seg, og hvordan de smitter. I oppgaven tar vi derfor for oss parasittene Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium canis og Cryptosporidium felis, Toxoplasma gondii og Toxocara canis og Toxocara cati. For hver av de listede parasittene har vi med informasjon om parasittens forekomst i Norge, dens livssyklus, morfologi, diagnostikk, kliniske symptomer, behandling, smitteoverføring og smitteforebyggende tiltak. I tillegg til parasittene nevnt ovenfor tar oppgaven også for seg noen viktige punkter om Echinococcus multilocularis og Echinococcus granulosus grunnet deres zoonotiske rolle. Oppslagsverket skal kunne fungere som ett hjelpemiddel for både dyrehelsepersonell og dyreeiere som ønsker mer informasjon om de aktuelle parasittene

The higher oxygen consumption during multiple short intervals is sex-independent and not influenced by skeletal muscle characteristics in well-trained cyclists

It has been suggested that time spent at a high fraction of maximal oxygen consumption (%mathematical equationO2max) plays a decisive role for adaptations to interval training. However, previous studies examining how interval sessions should be designed to achieve a high %mathematical equationO2max have exclusively been performed in males. The present study compared the %mathematical equationO2max attained during three different 6 × 8 min interval protocols, in female (n = 11; mathematical equationO2max, 62.5 (6.4) mL · min−1·kg−1) and male (n = 8; mathematical equationO2max, 81.0 (5.2) mL · min−1·kg−1) cyclists. Mean power output during work intervals were identical across the three interval protocols, corresponding to the cyclist's 40 min maximal effort (PO40min): (1) 30 s intervals at 118% of PO40min interspersed with 15 s active recovery at 60% (30/15), (2) constant pace at 100% of PO40min (CON), and (3) altering between 60 s intervals at 110% and 60 s at 90% of PO40min (60/60). Additionally, the study explored whether the m. vastus lateralis characteristics of the cyclists (fiber type proportion, capillarization, and citrate synthase activity) were associated with the %mathematical equationO2max attained during the interval sessions. Overall, mean %mathematical equationO2max and time ≥90% of mathematical equationO2max were higher during 30/15 compared to CON (86.7 (10.1)% and 1123 (787) s versus 85.0 (10.4)% and 879 (779) s, respectively; both p ≤ 0.01) and 60/60 (85.6 (10.0)% and 917 (745) s, respectively; both p ≤ 0.05), while no difference was observed between 60/60 and CON (both p ≥ 0.36). During interval sessions, %mathematical equationO2max and time ≥90% of mathematical equationO2max did not differ between sexes. Skeletal muscle characteristics were not related to %mathematical equationO2max during interval sessions. In conclusion, well-trained cyclists demonstrate highest %mathematical equationO2max during 30/15, irrespective of sex and skeletal muscle characteristics.publishedVersio

Analysis of Thyroid Response Element Activity during Retinal Development

Thyroid hormone (TH) signaling components are expressed during retinal development in dynamic spatial and temporal patterns. To probe the competence of retinal cells to mount a transcriptional response to TH, reporters that included thyroid response elements (TREs) were introduced into developing retinal tissue. The TREs were placed upstream of a minimal TATA-box and two reporter genes, green fluorescent protein (GFP) and human placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP). Six of the seven tested TREs were first tested in vitro where they were shown to drive TH-dependent expression. However, when introduced into the developing retina, the TREs reported in different cell types in both a TH-dependent and TH-independent manner, as well as revealed specific spatial patterns in their expression. The role of the known thyroid receptors (TR), TRα and TRβ, was probed using shRNAs, which were co-electroporated into the retina with the TREs. Some TREs were positively activated by TR+TH in the developing outer nuclear layer (ONL), where photoreceptors reside, as well as in the outer neuroblastic layer (ONBL) where cycling progenitor cells are located. Other TREs were actively repressed by TR+TH in cells of the ONBL. These data demonstrate that non-TRs can activate some TREs in a spatially regulated manner, whereas other TREs respond only to the known TRs, which also read out activity in a spatially regulated manner. The transcriptional response to even simple TREs provides a starting point for understanding the regulation of genes by TH, and highlights the complexity of transcriptional regulation within developing tissue

Maternal hormonal milieu influence on fetal brain development

An adverse maternal hormonal environment during pregnancy can be associated with abnormal brain growth. Subtle changes in fetal brain development have been observed even for maternal hormone levels within the currently accepted physiologic ranges. In this review, we provide an update of the research data on maternal hormonal impact on fetal neurodevelopment, giving particular emphasis to thyroid hormones and glucocorticoids. Thyroid hormones are required for normal brain development. Despite serum TSH appearing to be the most accurate indicator of thyroid function in pregnancy, maternal serum free T4 levels in the first trimester of pregnancy are the major determinant of postnatal psychomotor development. Even a transient period of maternal hypothyroxinemia at the beginning of neurogenesis can confer a higher risk of expressive language and nonverbal cognitive delays in offspring. Nevertheless, most recent clinical guidelines advocate for targeted high-risk case finding during first trimester of pregnancy despite universal thyroid function screening. Corticosteroids are determinant in suppressing cell proliferation and stimulating terminal differentiation, a fundamental switch for the maturation of fetal organs. Not surprisingly, intrauterine exposure to stress or high levels of glucocorticoids, endogenous or synthetic, has a molecular and structural impact on brain development and appears to impair cognition and increase anxiety and reactivity to stress. Limbic regions, such as hippocampus and amygdala, are particularly sensitive. Repeated doses of prenatal corticosteroids seem to have short-term benefits of less respiratory distress and fewer serious health problems in offspring. Nevertheless, neurodevelopmental growth in later childhood and adulthood needs further clarification. Future studies should address the relevance of monitoring the level of thyroid hormones and corticosteroids during pregnancy in the risk stratification for impaired postnatal neurodevelopment.This work was supported by the grant "Doutoramento em Medicina Jose de Mello Saude 2014" by Jose de Mello Saude to AM