Narcotic offences and drug use disorders among young refugees in Norway.

Aims: We examined the patterns of healthcare utilisation for drug use disorders (DUDs) and charges related to narcotics among young refugees in Norway considering the role of sex, country of origin and condition of arrival (accompanied versus unaccompanied minors).

Methods: Based on national registers, sex-stratified Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios to assess the risk of being charged with a narcotics offence and the use of healthcare services related to DUDs. The sample consisted of 15,068 young refugees and 573,241 young Norwegians born in Norway to two Norwegian-born parents.

Health outcomes in young adulthood among former child refugees in Denmark, Norway and Sweden: A cross-country comparative study.

Aims: This study aimed at comparing several health outcomes in young adulthood among child refugees who settled in the different immigration and integration policy contexts of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

Methods: The study population included refugees born between 1972 and 1997 who immigrated before the age of 18 and settled in the three Nordic countries during 1986-2005. This population was followed up in national registers during 2006-2015 at ages 18-43 years and was compared with native-born majority populations in the same birth cohorts using sex-stratified and age-adjusted regression analyses.

How to reach trustworthy decisions for caesarean sections on maternal request: a call for beneficial power.

Caesarean delivery is a common and life-saving intervention. However, it involves an overall increased risk for short-term and long-term complications for both mother and child compared with vaginal delivery. From a medical point of view, healthcare professionals should, therefore, not recommend caesarean sections without any anticipated medical benefit.

Tensions and interplay: A qualitative study of access to patient-centered birth counseling of maternal cesarean requests in Norway.

Objective: This study aimed to explore women's access to patient-centered counseling for concerns initiating cesarean requests in absence of obstetric indications in pregnancy, and to identify tensions, barriers and facilitators affecting such care.

Design, Setting And Informants: This qualitative study (June 2016 to August 2017) obtained data through semi-structured in-depth interviews with 17 women requesting planned C-section during birth counseling at a university hospital in Norway and focus group discussions with 20 caregivers (9 midwives and 11 obstetricians) employed at the same hospital. Analysis was carried out by systematic text condensation, a method for thematic analysis in medical research, presented within the frames of Levesque and colleagues' conceptual framework of access to patient-centered care.

Maternal reasons for requesting planned cesarean section in Norway: a qualitative study.

Background: Pregnant women who request a cesarean section in the absence of obstetric indication have become a highly debated issue in academic as well as popular literature. In order to find adequate, targeted treatment and preventive strategies, we need a better understanding of this phenomenon. The aim of this study is to provide a qualitative exploration of maternal requests for a planned cesarean section in Norway, in the absence of obstetric indications.

Exploring Professional Development for New Investigators Underrepresented in the Federally Funded Biomedical Research Workforce.

Objective: The National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) is a strategic partnership whose goals include remedying documented disparities by race and ethnicity in the awarding of National Institutes of Health research grants. Our objectives were to offer a profile of early-career investigators who applied to NRMN's Grantsmanship Coaching Programs (GCP) and test for differences in the research productivity, professional obligations, research resources, and motivations of applicants from underrepresented groups (URGs) compared with applicants from well-represented groups (WRGs). We also evaluated how employment at a minority serving institution (MSI) influenced access to research resources and professional obligations.

Health, Education and Employment Outcomes in Young Refugees in the Nordic Countries: A Systematic Review.

Since 2000, approximately 500,000 refugees have settled in the Nordic countries, about a third of them being children and young people. To identify general trends, and to detect gaps in the existing knowledge about the socioeconomic and health status of these young refugees, this review discusses the literature regarding three key areas related to welfare policy: health, education and employment. A systematic search in PubMed, Scopus, SocINDEX, Sociological Abstracts, Embase and Cochrane, and a search for publications from relevant institutions were undertaken.

A new approach to mentoring for research careers: the National Research Mentoring Network.

Background And Purpose: Effective mentorship is critical to the success of early stage investigators, and has been linked to enhanced mentee productivity, self-efficacy, and career satisfaction. The mission of the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) is to provide all trainees across the biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences with evidence-based mentorship and professional development programming that emphasizes the benefits and challenges of diversity, inclusivity, and culture within mentoring relationships, and more broadly the research workforce. The purpose of this paper is to describe the structure and activities of NRMN.

Impact of a peer-counseling intervention on breastfeeding practices in different socioeconomic strata: results from the equity analysis of the PROMISE-EBF trial in Uganda.

Background: Undernutrition is highly prevalent among infants in Uganda. Optimal infant feeding practices may improve nutritional status, health, and survival among children.

Objective: Our study evaluates the socioeconomic distribution of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and growth outcomes among infants included in a trial, which promoted EBF by peer counselors in Uganda.

The role of active site aromatic residues in substrate degradation by the human chitotriosidase.

Human chitotriosidase (HCHT) is a glycoside hydrolase family 18 chitinase synthesized and secreted in human macrophages thought be an innate part of the human immune system. It consists of a catalytic domain with the (β/α)8 TIM barrel fold having a large area of solvent-exposed aromatic amino acids in the active site and an additional family 14 carbohydrate-binding module. To gain further insight into enzyme functionality, especially the effect of the active site aromatic residues, we expressed two variants with mutations in subsites on either side of the catalytic acid, subsite -3 (W31A) and +2 (W218A), and compared their catalytic properties on chitin and high molecular weight chitosans.

The effect of the carbohydrate binding module on substrate degradation by the human chitotriosidase.

Human chitotriosidase (HCHT) is one of two active glycoside hydrolase family 18 chitinases produced by humans. The enzyme is associated with several diseases and is thought to play a role in the anti-parasite responses of the innate immune system. HCHT occurs in two isoforms, one 50 kDa (HCHT50) and one 39 kDa variant (HCHT39).

Activation of enzymatic chitin degradation by a lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase.

For decades, the enzymatic conversion of recalcitrant polysaccharides such as cellulose and chitin was thought to solely rely on the synergistic action of hydrolytic enzymes, but recent work has shown that lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are important contributors to this process. Here, we have examined the initial rate enhancement an LPMO (CBP21) has on the hydrolytic enzymes (ChiA, ChiB, and ChiC) of the chitinolytic machinery of Serratia marcescens through determinations of apparent k(cat) (k(cat)(app)) values on a β-chitin substrate. k(cat)(app) values were determined to be 1.

Maternal and neonatal mortality in south-west Ethiopia: estimates and socio-economic inequality.

Introduction: Ethiopia has achieved the fourth Millennium Development Goal by reducing under 5 mortality. Nevertheless, there are challenges in reducing maternal and neonatal mortality. The aim of this study was to estimate maternal and neonatal mortality and the socio-economic inequalities of these mortalities in rural south-west Ethiopia.

Analysis of productive binding modes in the human chitotriosidase.

Human chitotriosidase (HCHT) is a family 18 chitinase that is an innate part of the immune system. We have mapped preferred productive binding modes of chito-oligosaccharide substrates to HCHT and the data show that HCHT has strong binding affinity in the +3 subsite. Moreover, HCHT shows anomer-specific binding affinities in subsites +2 and +3.

Unaccompanied refugee children--vulnerability and agency.

Unlabelled: The numbers of refugee adolescents that arrive in Europe without their families has increased in recent years, particularly in Sweden. Research has demonstrated that these children have high rates of mental health problems, particularly depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, during the first years after resettlement. Despite this, there are also indications that many of these unaccompanied children are resourceful and arrive with a clear vision of a positive future in the new country.

Core-flood experiment for transport of reactive fluids in rocks.

Investigation of the transport of reactive fluids in porous rocks is an intriguing but challenging task and relevant in several areas of science and engineering such as geology, hydrogeology, and petroleum engineering. We designed and constructed an experimental setup to investigate physical and chemical processes caused by the flow of reactive and volatile fluids such as supercritical CO(2) and/or H(2)S in geological formations. Potential applications are geological sequestration of CO(2) in the frame of carbon capture and storage and acid-gas injection for sulfur disposal and/or enhanced oil recovery.

Prioritizing child health interventions in Ethiopia: modeling impact on child mortality, life expectancy and inequality in age at death.

Background: The fourth Millennium Development Goal calls for a two-thirds reduction in under-5 mortality between 1990 and 2015. Under-5 mortality rate is declining, but many countries are still far from achieving the goal. Effective child health interventions that could reduce child mortality exist, but national decision-makers lack contextual information for priority setting in their respective resource-constrained settings.

Human chitotriosidase-catalyzed hydrolysis of chitosan.

Chitotriosidase (HCHT) is one of two family 18 chitinases produced by humans, the other being acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase). The enzyme is thought to be part of the human defense mechanism against fungal parasites, but its precise role and the details of its enzymatic properties have not yet been fully unraveled. We have studied the properties of HCHT by analyzing how the enzyme acts on high-molecular weight chitosans, soluble copolymers of β-1,4-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc, A), and glucosamine (GlcN, D).

DynaCT in pre-treatment evaluation of aortic aneurysm before EVAR.

Objective: DynaCT(®) is a method for obtaining computed tomography (CT)-like images using a C-arm system. Our aim was to compare the accuracy of these images to multidetector CT (MDCT) images prior to endovascular aortic repair (EVAR).

Methods: A non-consecutive group of 20 elective patients were prospectively exposed to MDCT and one additional DynaCT before EVAR.

Investigation of koi herpesvirus latency in koi.

Koi herpesvirus (KHV) has recently been classified as a member of the family of Alloherpesviridae within the order of Herpesvirales. One of the unique features of Herpesviridae is latent infection following a primary infection. However, KHV latency has not been recognized.

Results of total DNA measurement in koi tissue by Koi Herpes Virus real-time PCR.

Koi Herpes Virus (KHV) has been classified recently as a member of the Alloherpesviridae within the Herpesvirales order (Waltzek et al., 2005). Although one of the unique features of Herpesviridae, the sister family of Herpesvirales, is latent infection, it has not been demonstrated consistently that KHV of Alloherpesviridae can cause latent infection and be reactivated from latency.

Reduction of herpes simplex virus type-2 replication in cell cultures and in rodent models with peptide-conjugated morpholino oligomers.

Background: Genital herpes, caused by herpes simplex virus type-2 (HSV-2), is a recurrent, lifelong disease affecting tens of millions of people in the USA alone. HSV-2 can be treated therapeutically with acyclovir (ACV) and its derivatives; however, no treatment can prevent HSV reactivation. Novel topical anti-HSV microbicides are much needed to reduce HSV-2 transmission and to treat primary or reactivated infections, especially for ACV-resistant strains.

Inhibition of HSV-1 ocular infection with morpholino oligomers targeting ICP0 and ICP27.

Alternative therapies are needed for HSV-1 infections in patients refractory to treatment with Acyclovir (ACV) and its derivatives. Peptide-conjugated phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PPMO) are single-stranded DNA analogues that enter cells readily and reduce target gene expression through steric blockage of complementary RNA. When applied before or soon after infection PPMO targeting the translation-start-site regions of HSV-1 ICP0 or ICP27 mRNA reduced HSV-1 plaque formation by 70-98% in vitro.