SERUM ANTI-PHOSPHORYLCHOLINE AND ANTI-CARDIOLIPIN CONCENTRATIONS FOLLOWING PERIODONTAL SCALING AND ROOT PLANING

Atherosclerosis is an insidious disease with serious morbidity and mortality including ischemic heart disease, stroke, and myocardial infarction. This condition is progressive and can start early in life eventually leading to large plaques and arterial occlusion. Two key components of this process are the immune system and lipids; in particular, LDL which accumulates within the arterial walls and macrophages which recognize and engulf oxidized-LDL (oxLDL) to form foam cells. Knowing that certain antibodies directed against bacterial antigens such as phosphorylcholine (PC) and cardiolipin (CL) show opsonizing cross-reactivity with oxLDL it can be proposed that there is a link between immune responses to periodontal bacteria and atherosclerosis. The aim of this investigation was to determine whether periodontal bacteria are capable of inducing serum antibodies potentially involved in cardiovascular diseases; specifically, IgG anti-PC, IgG anti-CL, and IgM anti-CL. To test this, 17 subjects with chronic periodontitis received scaling and root planing in conjunction with blood sample analysis to determine if periodontal instrumentation resulted in changes in these serum antibodies. If plaque bacteria are responsible for an immune response then serum levels of these antibodies should decrease following periodontal therapy. We found that serum levels of IgG anti-PC, IgG anti-CL, and IgM anti-CL decreased following periodontal scaling and root planing but the change was significant only for IgG anti-PC (P 0.045). Serum levels of IgM anti-CL approached significance (P 0.054). The results support the hypothesis that the immune response to periodontal bacterial microflora contributes to serum concentrations of antiphospholipid antibodies

Tablet-based strength-balance training to motivate and improve adherence to exercise in independently living older people: Part 2 of a phase ii preclinical exploratory trial

Home-based exercise programs can improve physical functioning and health status of elderly people. Successful implementation of exercise interventions for older people presents major challenges and supporting elderly people properly while doing their home-based exercises is essential for training success. We developed a tablet-based system-ActiveLifestyle-that offers older adults a home-based strength-balance training program with incorporated motivation strategies and support features. Objective: The goal was to compare 3 different home-based training programs with respect to their effect on measures of gait quality and physical performance through planned comparisons between (1) tablet-based and brochure-based interventions, (2) individual and social motivation strategies, and (3) active and inactive participants. Methods: A total of 44 autonomous-living elderly people (mean 75, SD 6 years) were assigned to 3 training groups: social (tablet guided, n=14), individual (tablet guided, n=13), and brochure (brochure guided, n=17). All groups joined a 12-week progressive home-based strength-balance training program. Outcome measures were gait performance under single and dual task conditions, dual task costs of walking, falls efficacy, and physical performance as measured by the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Furthermore, active (≥75% program compliance) and inactive (<75% program compliance) individuals were compared based on their characteristics and outcome measures. Results: The tablet groups showed significant improvements in single and dual task walking, whereas there were no significant changes observable in the brochure group. Between-groups comparisons revealed significant differences for gait velocity (U=138.5; P=.03, r=.33) and cadence (U=138.5, P=.03 r=.34) during dual task walking at preferred speed in favor of the tablet groups. The brochure group had more inactive participants, but this did not reach statistical significance (U=167, P=.06, r=.29). The active participants outperformed the inactive participants in single and dual task walking, dual task costs of walking, and SPPB scores. Significant between-groups differences were seen between the tablet groups and the brochure group, in favor of the tablet groups. Conclusions: A tablet-based strength-balance training program that allows monitoring and assisting autonomous-living older adults while training at home was more effective in improving gait and physical performance when compared to a brochure-based program. Social or individual motivation strategies were equally effective. The most prominent differences were observed between active and inactive participants. These findings suggest that in older adults a tablet-based intervention enhances training compliance; hence, it is an effective way to improve gait

Motivating and assisting physical exercise in independently living older adults: A pilot study

Background: With age reaction time, coordination and cognition tend to deteriorate, which may lead to gait impairments, falls and injuries. To reduce this problem in elderly and to improve health, well-being and independence, regular balance and strength exercises are recommended. However, elderly face strong barriers to exercise. Objective: We developed Active Lifestyle, an IT-based system for active and healthy aging aiming at improving elderly's balance and strength. Active Lifestyle is a proactive training application, running on a tablet, which assists, monitors and motivates elderly to follow personalized training plans autonomously at home, while integrating them socially. The objective is to run a pilot study to investigate: (i) the feasibility of assisting the autonomous, physical training of independently living elderly with the Active Lifestyle system, (ii) the adherence of the participants to the training plans, and (iii) the effectiveness of the motivation instruments built into the system. Methods: After three introductory meetings, 13 elderly adults followed personalized two-weeks strength and balance training plans using the Active Lifestyle app autonomously at home. Questionnaires were used to assess the technological familiarity of the participants, the feasibility aspects of the physical intervention, and the effectiveness of the motivation instruments. Adherence to the exercise plan was evaluated using the performance data collected by the app during the study. Results: A total of 13 participants were enrolled, of whom 11 (85%) completed the study (mean age 77. ±. 7 years); predominantly females (55%), vocational educated (64%), and their past profession requiring moderate physical activity (64%). The Active Lifestyle app facilitated autonomous physical training at home (median. =. 7 on a 7-point Likert scale), and participants expressed a high intention to use the app also after the end of the study (median. =. 7). Adherence with the training plans was 73% (89% on the balance exercises and 60% on the strength exercises). The outcome from our questionnaires showed that without the app the participants did not feel motivated to perform exercises; with the support of the app they felt more motivated (median. =. 6). Participants were especially motivated by being part of a virtual exercise group and by the capability to automatically monitor their performance (median. =. 6 for both). Conclusions: This study shows that the Active Lifestyle app prototype has valuable potential to support physical exercise practice at home and it is worthwhile to further develop it into a more mature system. Furthermore, the results add to the knowledge base into mobile-based applications for elderly, in that it shows that elderly users can learn to work with mobile-based systems. The Active Lifestyle app proved viable to support and motivate independently living elderly to autonomously perform balance and strength exercises. © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd

The legitimacy of Jesus : an Afrocentric reading of the birth of Jesus

Bibliography: leaves 77-82.The primary intention of this study is to contribute to scholarly interpretation of the New Testament Infancy Narratives. It owes much to Schaberg (1990) who, undoubtedly, has done an extensive study of the infancy narratives. In contrast, it is a challenge to her claim that, studied from a feminist theological approach, the texts dealing with the origin of Jesus, Matthew 1:1-25 and Luke 1:20-56 and 3:23-38 originally were about an illegitimate conception and not about a miraculous virginal conception. It challenges her claim that the intention of the evangelists was to transmit the tradition that Jesus, the Messiah, was illegitimately conceived during the time when Mary, his mother, was still betrothed to Joseph. My argument is that, looked at from a womanist Afrocentric perspective, these infancy narratives were about the legitimate conception of Jesus and nothing else. They were, rather, aimed at passing down the tradition that Jesus, charged with illegitimacy, was, in fact, conceived legitimately. The charge only served to defame Jesus. In other words, that charge had a social and not a biological value. An investigation of the understanding of Jesus's birth in the Mediterranean world in chapter 4 shows that that charge came solely from Jesus's opponents whether they were Jewish or non-Jewish. An examination of pre-marital sexual relations and marriage customs among African societies in chapter 4 shows that Joseph could be the biological father of Jesus. He probably made Mary pregnant before or during the betrothal period. Given that, Joseph could not only be the legal father of Jesus but his biological father too. Chapter 5 and 6 of this study look at Matthew's and Luke's reading of the virgin birth. There is really nothing suggesting that the evangelists intended to write about the illegitimacy of Jesus. They were clearly writing about the legitimate conception of Jesus

Norway – a global maritime knowledge hub

Knowledge based industrial development takes place in Global Knowledge Hubs or superclusters characterized by a high concentration of innovative industrial actors interacting closely with advanced research institutions, venture capital and competent ownership. The extreme example of a global knowledge hub is the biotech and life science industry in Boston. The greater Boston area has a higher concentration of advanced universities, research labs and specialized biotech firms, than anywhere else in the world. Thus Boston has taken the global leadership position in the high growth biotech industries by capitalizing on their knowledge resources. In this report, the global knowledge hub model is applied to the Norwegian maritime industry. The Norwegian maritime and offshore industry is characterized by a high number of global actors operating out of Norway, forming subclusters in shipping, technological and commercial maritime services, specialized ship building and ship equipment, energy and offshore industry, maritime and subsea operations. Norway has build a strong global maritime knowledge base, extending from fisheries and governance of marine resources, to shipping, maritime operations, and offshore oil and gas, especially when it comes to deep and arctic waters. Norway combines the knowledge and technology targeting the marine, maritime and energy industries. For sustaining such a global knowledge position in the maritime areas, Norway needs to develop specialized knowledge infrastructure to attract talent and technology on a global basis. The plans for establishing a new Ocean Space Center at Marintek and NTNU in Trondheim should be understood and analyzed in these terms. The ambition is to create a global knowledge center for Ocean Space Technology, covering a large range of ocean space challenges of the future, including the high priority arctic and climate challenges

Tablet-based strength-balance training to motivate and improve adherence to exercise in independently living older people: A phase II preclinical exploratory trial

Background: Reaction time, coordination, and cognition performance typically diminish in older adults, which may lead to gait impairments, falls, and injuries. Regular strength-balance exercises are highly recommended to reduce this problem and to improve health, well-being, and independence in old age. However, many older people face a lack of motivation in addition to other strong barriers to exercise. We developed ActiveLifestyle, an information technology (IT)-based system for active and healthy aging aiming at improving balance and strength. ActiveLifestyle is a training app that runs on a tablet and assists, monitors and motivates older people to follow personalized training plans autonomously at home. Objective: The objectives were to (1) investigate which IT-mediated motivation strategies increase adherence to physical exercise training plans in older people, (2) assess the impact of ActiveLifestyle on physical activity behavior change, and (3) demonstrate the effectiveness of the ActiveLifestyle training to improve gait speed. Methods: A total of 44 older adults followed personalized, 12-week strength and balance training plans. All participants performed the exercises autonomously at home. Questionnaires were used to assess the technological familiarity and stage of behavior change, as well as the effectiveness of the motivation instruments adopted by ActiveLifestyle. Adherence to the exercise plan was evaluated using performance data collected by the app and through information given by the participants during the study. Pretests and posttests were performed to evaluate gait speed of the participants before and after the study. Results: Participants were 75 years (SD 6), predominantly female (64%), held a trade or professional diploma (54%), and their past profession was in a sitting position (43%). Of the 44 participants who enrolled, 33 (75%) completed the study. The app proved to assist and motivate independently living and healthy older adults to autonomously perform strength-balance exercises (median 6 on a 7-point Likert scale). Social motivation strategies proved more effective than individual strategies to stimulate the participants to comply with the training plan, as well as to change their behavior permanently toward a more physically active lifestyle. The exercises were effective to improve preferred and fast gait speed. Conclusions: ActiveLifestyle assisted and motivated independently living and healthy older people to autonomously perform strength-balance exercises over 12 weeks and had low dropout rates. The social motivation strategies were more effective to stimulate the participants to comply with the training plan and remain on the intervention. The adoption of assistive technology devices for physical intervention tends to motivate and retain older people exercising for longer periods of time

Case study - the global maritime knowledge hub

MARINTEK is currently conducting a pilot project to develop a new maritime knowledge center, World Ocean Space Center, as part of the vision project "The Third Wave”. Based on this project, MARINTEK (Trondheim) has asked BI Norwegian School of Management to conduct this case study. The case study is a follow-up to the research report, “Norway - a global maritime knowledge hub” (Reve 2009). Marius Nordkvelde, BI Norwegian School of Management has been responsible for data collection, interviews and case study write ups. Herman Ness and Nicolai Alexander Kirkeng, BI Norwegian School of Management have made significant contributions to the following case studies in the form of write ups and interviews: DNV, Hywind, Ulstein Group, Sway, Fugro OCEANOR and Kongsberg Maritime. Torger Reve has provided the theoretical and methodological framework of the study. The case study has been conducted as part of the large national research project, “A Knowledge- Based Norway” at BI Norwegian School of Management, led by professor Torger Reve

Theoretical and methodological advances in cluster research

This is the accepted and refereed manuscript to the articlePurpose: The paper assesses the dissemination of cluster ideas advanced in the “Competitive Advantage of Nations” and three subsequent national studies and the reasons for their substantial public policy impact in Norway. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents the theoretical and methodological novelties of each of the national studies, the inclusive study-organizing principle employed and public policy impact. Findings: The papers finds that the dissemination of cluster thinking and the development of a successful cluster-based industrial policy in Norway is largely a function of the nature and extent of the cluster research efforts that took place in Norway. The national cluster research projects mobilized all the key industrial and governmental actors in a very effective way making studies both rigor and relevant. Due to advanced and demanding policy makers, the studies also evolved in terms of the theoretical models and methodologies employed. Originality/value: The paper contributes by illuminating the direct and indirect impact of the “Competitive Advantage of Nations” on both academic endeavors and public policies in Norway and by explicating how studies that make it possible for academics and practitioners to work in tandem substantially affect public policy.1, Forfatterversjo

The role of clusters in addressing societal challenges in European regions

Clusters can play an important role in helping regions to address transformative innovation policies in Europe focusing mainly on (i) sustainability (ii) smart specialization, promoting diversified specialization and (ii) reshoring/regionalization of value chains to secure economic sustainability and resilience. Clusters can be considered key change agents in aligning cluster policies with transformative policies and repositioning their role in the innovation policy landscape.publishedVersio

Physical activity to improve cognition in older adults: can physical activity programs enriched with cognitive challenges enhance the effects? A systematic review and meta-analysis

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