Background: During the COVID-19 response in Norway, many municipalities used the Fiks contact tracing tool (FiksCT) to register positive individuals and follow-up contacts. This tool is based on DHIS2, an open source, web-based platform. In this study we examined if data completeness in FiksCT improved after integration with national registers between May 2020 and September 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe study aims at exploring health system resilience by defining the scope on health information systems, one of the six building blocks of the health system. The empirical evidence is derived using qualitative data collection and analysis in the context of Norway, Sri Lanka and Rwanda during the COVID-19 pandemic. The case studies elicit bounce back and bounce forward properties as well as the agility as major attributes of resilience present across the countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVariants of the cranial closing wedge ostectomy (CCWO) may be used to manage cranial cruciate ligament deficient stifles by reduction of the tibial plateau angle (TPA). Concerns have been raised about predictability of achieving target TPA, limb shortening, axis shift, and distalization of the tibial tuberosity. Landmarks derived from tibial radiographs (n = 50) by 5 observers, along with outlines of the cranial and caudal proximal tibial cortices, were used to simulate six CCWO variants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Combining the power of magnetic guidance and the biological activities of stem cells transformed into biohybrid microrobots holds great promise for the treatment of several diseases including cancer.
Results: We found that human MSCs can be readily loaded with magnetic particles and that the resulting biohybrid microrobots could be guided by a rotating magnetic field. Rotating magnetic fields have the potential to be applied in the human setting and steer therapeutic stem cells to the desired sites of action in the body.
Cranial cruciate ligament rupture is a common cause of femorotibial joint instability in the dog. Numerous techniques including several tibial osteotomies have been described for stabilization, but there is no current consensus on the best method. The instantaneous center of rotation (ICR) can aid investigations of pathological joint movement, but its use is problematic in the femorotibial joint due to combined rotation and translation during flexion and extension.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTibial plateau levelling osteotomy is widely performed for stabilization of cranial cruciate ligament deficient stifles in dogs. A wide range of postoperative tibial plateau angles around the target angle has been reported. The main aim of this study was to investigate if osteotomy placement could explain this range.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCentre of rotation of angulation (CORA)-based levelling osteotomy (CBLO) is a recent addition to surgical procedures for stabilization of the cranial cruciate ligament-deficient canine stifle joint. Careful identification of the CORA location preoperatively and use of this location intraoperatively are required to ensure accurate correction of the tibial plateau angle. Limited data are available regarding the magnitude and source of potential errors during planning and execution of CBLO.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGuanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins) act as molecular switches to regulate many fundamental cellular processes. The lipid modification, palmitoylation, can be considered as a key factor for proper G protein function and plasma membrane localization. In Dictyostelium discoidum, Gα2 is essential for the chemotactic response to cAMP in their developmental life cycle.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Periodontitis is the primary clinical indication for enamel matrix derivative (EMD). Recent investigations, showing that EMD inhibits the production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) when added to human whole blood, indicate a novel role for EMD as a modulator of systemic inflammation. In the present study, we investigated the systemic effects of EMD in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged pigs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActa Anaesthesiol Scand
September 2005
Background: Glycine, the simplest of the amino acids, is an essential component of important biological molecules, a key substance in many metabolic reactions, the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the spinal cord and brain stem, and an anti-inflammatory, cytoprotective, and immune modulating substance.
Material And Methods: Based on available literature, we discuss some of the important biological properties of glycine. In addition, we describe some clinical disorders where glycine plays a central role, either as an essential structural element, or through its metabolism or receptors.
The guanine nucleotide binding regulatory proteins (G proteins) play essential roles in a wide variety of physiological processes, such as vision, hormone responses, olfaction, immune response, and development. The heterotrimeric G proteins consist of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-subunits and act as molecular switches to relay information from transmembrane receptors to intracellular effectors. The switch mechanism is a function of the inherent GTPase activity of the alpha-subunit.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Dental amalgam has been suggested to cause long-term physical and mental problems. Claims that removal of the amalgam may lead to dramatic improvements in health have not been tested empirically in controlled studies with a long follow-up period.
Purpose: To investigate the long-term effects of removal of dental amalgam on physical and mental symptoms in self-referred patients who complained of multiple somatic and mental symptoms attributed to dental amalgam fillings.
Mutations impairing the GTPase activity of G protein Galpha subunits can result in activated Galpha subunits that affect signal transduction and cellular responses and, in some cases, promote tumor formation. An analogous mutation in the Dictyostelium Galpha4 subunit gene (Q200L substitution) was constructed and found to inhibit Galpha4-mediated responses to folic acid, including the accumulation of cyclic nucleotides and chemotactic cell movement. The Galpha4-Q200L subunit also severely inhibited responses to cAMP, including cyclic nucleotide accumulation, cAMP chemotaxis, and cellular aggregation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe heterotrimeric G protein, G2, from the eukaryotic organism Dictyostelium discoideum participates in signal transduction pathways which are essential to Dictyostelium's developmental life cycle. G2 is activated by cell surface cAMP receptors and in turn is required for the activation of a host of effectors, including adenylyl cyclase, guanylyl cyclase, and phospholipase C. Myristoylation of G protein alpha-subunits is known to affect alpha-subunit association with the beta gamma subunits and membrane localization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTidsskr Nor Laegeforen
April 1999
Since 1995, parallel import of drugs to Norway has been allowed under the European Economic Area Agreement. The health authorities have stated that there are no concerns connected with the use of parallel-imported drugs. This study is an interview survey among general practitioners, pharmacy staff and pharmacists working in pharmacies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe G alpha 2-subunit of Dictyostelium discoideum is essential to the initial stage of the cell's developmental life cycle. In response to the extracellular chemoattractant, cAMP, G alpha 2 is activated and transiently phosphorylated on serine-113 [Chen et al. (1994): J Biol Chem 269:20925-20930].
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStarving Dictyostelium discoideum cells monitor the local density of other starving cells by simultaneously secreting and sensing CMF. CMF regulates signal transduction through the chemoattractant cAMP receptor, cAR1. cAR1 activates a heterotrimeric G protein by stimulating G alpha 2 to release GDP and bind GTP.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The physical and mental symptomatology of 99 self-referred patients complaining of multiple somatic and mental symptoms attributed to dental amalgam fillings were compared with patients with known chronic medical disorders seen in alternative (N = 93) and ordinary (N = 99) medical family practices and patients with dental amalgam fillings (N = 80) seen in an ordinary dental practice.
Method: The assessments included written self-reports, a 131-item somatic symptom checklist; Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire, and Toronto Alexithymia Scale.
Results: The dental amalgam sample reported significantly more physical symptoms from all body regions.
The G protein alpha-subunit G alpha 2 is essential to the developmental program of Dictyostelium. G alpha 2 is transiently phosphorylated on a serine residue(s) following stimulation with extracellular cAMP (Gundersen, R. E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe ciliated protozoan Paramecium tetraurelia contains two protein kinase activities (CaPK-1 and CaPK-2) that are dependent on Ca2+ (Gundersen, R. E., and Nelson, D.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol
November 1993
Extracellular adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) serves multiple roles in Dictyostelium development, acting as a chemoattractant, a cell-cell signaling molecule, and an inducer of differentiation. The Dictyostelium G-protein alpha subunit G alpha 2 appears to be the major transducer linking the surface cAMP receptor to these intracellular responses. On stimulation of cells with cAMP, G alpha 2 is phosphorylated on one or more serine residues, resulting in an alteration of its electrophoretic mobility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA G-protein linked signal transduction mechanism controls chemotaxis in eukaryotes. During development the social amoeba Dictyostelium directs chemotaxis towards external cAMP with its G-protein linked cAMP receptor. Interactions of the receptor and G-proteins transduce the chemotactic signal to the interior of the cell and eventually to the motor apparatus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSoc Gen Physiol Ser
September 1990