Physical activity initiated by employer induces improvements in a novel set of biomarkers of inflammation: an 8-week follow-up study

PURPOSE: We investigated the level of pro- and anti-inflammatory biomarkers before and after 8 weeks of unsupervised physical activity (PA) initiated by employer. METHODS: During autumn 2014, background data, blood samples and self-reported exercise level were collected from 76 men and 41 women in a Norwegian road maintenance company. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), leptin, adiponectin, p-selectin and CD40 ligand (CD40L) were analyzed. [Formula: see text] was measured in a subgroup of 50 subjects. RESULTS: With reference point of exercise ≤1 time/week, we found that participants who exercised 2–3 times/week had higher [Formula: see text] values (5.6 mL kg(−1) min(−1); 95% CI [1.3, 9.9]). MCP-1 was lower in those who exercised ≥ 4 times/week (−81.98 pg/ml [−142.9, −21.0]). IL-6 and p-selectin levels were lower in females who exercised ≥4 times/week (−1.04 pg/ml [−2.04, −0.03] and −13.75 ng/ml [−24.03, −3.48]). Leptin was lower in participants who exercised 2–3 times/week (−0.39 µg/ml ln [−0.68, −0.09]) and ≥4 times/week (−0.69 µg/ml ln [−1.10, −0.28]). During follow-up, [Formula: see text] increased (2.9 mL kg(−1) min(−1) [1.5, 4.3]), while p-selectin and CD40L decreased (−2.33 ng/ml [−3.78, −0.87] and 718.14 ng/ml [−1368, −68]). MCP-1 levels decreased among men (−32.70 pg/ml [−51.21, −14.19]). A joint analysis of all biomarkers (inversed adiponectin) showed that those who exercised ≥4 times/week at baseline had lower total levels of biomarkers and that total biomarker levels decreased during follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Exercising several times a week was associated with less inflammation compared to exercising once a week or less. During the 8-week follow-up, total levels of biomarkers of inflammation improved. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00421-016-3533-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Using customer integration in New Service Development : A study in swedish retailing

For a retailer, who has a close and everyday contact with its customers, understanding the customers can be of benefit if they know how to use the information in the right way. One way of using the customer is to integrate customers when developing new services, to enhance the possibility of the new service gaining market acceptance. Customer insight, Omnichannel retailing and Big Data are areas that recently have caught the interest of retailers. The latter two are of interest as these provide retailers with better possibilities of gaining customer insight, by taking the opportunities to observe the customers’ virtual footsteps to a whole new level. This thesis is a study made with the market research company Nepa as employer of the thesis, in order to develop their B2B offer with end-customer integration. Why and how customers are integrated were further studied through the frame of reference. The factors that were chosen to describe from a theoretical standpoint how customers can be integrated were type of integration, role of the customer, type of customer and timing of the integration. The underlying factors that were chosen to answer why retailers choose different alternatives among the above mentioned factors were market orientation, service/goods dominant logic, environmental uncertainty and market maturity. The study was made with a qualitative, positivistic approach using a collective case study. The case study is a good way to be able to answer both how and why-questions and was therefore chosen as method. By investigating multiple cases and performing a cross case analysis the authors were able to draw more generalizable conclusions. Five retailers took part in the study and for each of these a developed service was chosen as case for investigation. By doing low structured interviews using a method called story-telling, the authors let the respondents from each company speak freely about the chosen case, and that information could then be analyzed. The conclusions of the study concern the different ways retailers choose to integrate customers and the reasons they do it in different ways. A company’s market orientation affects if and what type of customer integration is used in the idea-generating phases. The degree of market orientation also affects the amount of occasions and what type of customer integration is used in the execution-oriented phases. Retailers’ turbulent technology environment has influenced their general perception of risk and the risk of unacceptance with the specific project. This results in that a company can initially integrate customers proactively to let them guide the company or the company can consider customer integration to be secondary. Retailers generally are guided by a goods dominant logic which leads to them not choosing to integrate the customers in active roles in the innovation process. Instead, the retailers combine different integration techniques to gain some of the advantages that active customer could have brought. This is also connected to the retailers wanting to get quickly through the early phases of the process and instead use agile development after the launch of the service. The retailers do not choose different types of customers for integration, but the combination of integration techniques can still provide them with some of the characteristics of the more knowledgeable customer

The effect of physical activity or exercise on key biomarkers in atherosclerosis – A systematic review

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to summarize published papers on the effect of physical activity (PA)/exercise on key atherosclerotic factors in patients with risk factors for or established cardiovascular disease (CVD).METHODS: Studies involving PA and cytokines, chemokines, adhesion molecules, CRP and angiogenic factors were searched for in Medline and Cochrane library. Original human studies of more than 2 weeks of PA intervention were included. Study quality was assessed according to the GRADE system of evidence.RESULTS: Twenty-eight papers fulfilled the inclusion criteria. PA decreases the cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interferon-y IFN-y (high, moderate and low evidence, respectively). The effect of PA on chemokines; stromal derived factor-1 (SDF-1), interleukin-8 (IL-8) (insufficient evidence) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) (low evidence) was inconclusive. Aerobic exercise decreased the adhesion molecules, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) (moderate and high evidence, respectively), while effects of PA on E- and P-selectin were inconclusive. PA decreases C-reactive protein (CRP) (high evidence). The angiogenic actors, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are increased (high evidence) and VEGF is decreased (moderate evidence) by PA. The effect of PA on these factors seems to depend on the type and duration of exercise intervention and patient factors, such as presence of ischemia.CONCLUSION: As presented in this review, there is a high level of evidence that physical activity positively affects key players in atherosclerosis development. These effects could partly explain the scientifically proven anti-atherogenic effects of PA, and do have important clinical implications.</p

En kvantitativ undersökning av Tobins q på Stockholmsbörsen

Syftet med denna uppsats är att genom en kvantitativ undersökning av slumpmässigt valda bolag på Stockholmsbörsen se om det går att finna en ett mönster mellan avkastningen och nivån på företagens q- värde. Utifrån problemformuleringen har en undersökning gjorts på en urvalspopulation som innefattar 50 observatoner per år under 1993- 2003. Materialet analyserades sedan statistiskt och slutsatsen är att undersökningen kan visa att det inte finns något statisitiskt säkerhetsställt samband mellan Tobins q och avkastning, under undersökningsperioden. Analyserna har utförts på hela perioden om 11 år , men även sambandet månad för månad har undersökts för att försäkra att det inte finns några månatliga anomalier

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Change in testosterone concentrations over time is a better predictor than the actual concentrations for symptoms of late onset hypogonadis

Current issues of the balance between economic and environmental interests in the territorial planning process

Darbā tiek aplūkoti aktuālie jautājumi teritorijas plānošanas procesā, sabalansējot ekonomiskās intereses ar vides aizsardzības interesēm, kas Latvijas Republikas Satversmē tiek aizsargātas kā tiesības uz īpašumu un tiesības uz labvēlīgu vidi. Šo interešu sabalansēšanas mērķis ir radīt līdzsvarotu, ilgtspējīgas attīstības principam atbilstošu teritorijas plānojumu, kurā vienlīdz tiktu aizsargātas gan ekonomiskās un vides intereses, gan arī tiktu risināti sociālie un kultūras jautājumi. Darba uzdevums ir izpētīt tiesību uz īpašumu un tiesību uz labvēlīgu vidi ietvarus Satversmē, kā arī šo tiesību sabalansēšanas iespējas teritorijas plānošanas procesā. Pētījuma mērķis ir noskaidrot pretrunu rašanās cēloņus Satversmes tiesas spriedumos teritorijas plānošanas lietās un dod iespējamos risinājumus šo pretrunu novēršanai nākotnē.In this research author will examine current issues of the balance between economic and environmental interests, which are protected as rights to own property and rights to live in benevolent environment in the Constitution of Latvia. The aim for balancing these interests is to create equal and sustainable territorial plan, which equally protects economic and environmental interests, and deals with social and cultural aspects. The main task for this research is to examine borders for rights to own property and rights to live in benevolent environment in the Constitution of Latvia and to find out how to balance each of these rights in the territorial planning process. Moreover, to examine why there are differences in judgments in praxis of the Constitutional Court of Latvia, and to give author’s perspective how to solve these problems in future

Change in testosterone concentrations over time is a better predictor than the actual concentrations for symptoms of late onset hypogonadism

Background. Symptoms of late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) and concentrations of testosterone (T) and bioavailable testosterone (BT) were studied in relation to the data from the same men 5 years earlier. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanMethods. In 2008, 282 men, aged 60-82 years, answered a questionnaire regarding demographic data, medical history, different symptoms of LOH and the 10 questions from the Androgen Decline in Aging Males (ADAM)-questionnaire. Blood samples were analysed for concentrations of T and calculations were made for BT. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanResults. A total of 87.2% of the questionnaires were returned and analysed, and 75.2% of the responders gave blood samples. The oldest third of the men were most affected by LOH symptoms (p andlt; 0.05). Both T and BT concentrations decreased during the 5 years (p andlt; 0.05) but only the symptom less strong erections changed significantly (p andlt; 0.05). Men reporting one of the four specific symptoms from the ADAM-questionnaire for the first time in 2008 had a higher loss of T and BT than men who had unchanged or fewer symptoms than that reported in 2003. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanConclusions. The magnitude of the decrease in concentrations is a better predictor of LOH than are the actual concentrations of T and BT. A combination of symptoms predicts LOH better than any single symptom.Funding Agencies|Swedish Medical Research Council|K2000-72X-12651-04B