Evaluation of dietary quality in patients with functional gastrointestinal symptoms: a Norwegian single centre study.

Background: Poor dietary quality has been described as a contributor to symptoms in subjects with functional gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. Hitherto, the focus in dietary evaluation and treatment in this patient group has mainly been on avoiding individual nutrient deficiencies, and less attention has been given to the dietary pattern and the overall food quality. Hence, we aim to describe and evaluate the dietary quality in patients with functional GI symptoms.

Valorization of shrimp processing waste-derived chitosan into anti-inflammatory chitosan-oligosaccharides (CHOS).

Bioconversion of chitosan into soluble anti-inflammatory chitosan oligosaccharides (CHOS) using a Bacillus chitosanase, BsCsn46A, was investigated, including food-grade approaches. After 48 h of enzymatic reaction, most of the final products were dimers and trimers. None of the CHOS products showed toxicity to human fibroblasts.

Diet-microbiota interaction in irritable bowel syndrome: looking beyond the low-FODMAP approach.

Background: Diet is one of the main modulators of the gut microbiota, and dietary patterns are decisive for gut-microbiota-related diseases, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). The low-FODMAP diet (LFD) is commonly used to treat IBS, but its long-term effects on microbiota, symptoms and quality of life (QoL) are unclear. Alternative dietary strategies promoting beneficial gut microbiota, combined with reduced symptoms and improved QoL, are therefore of interest.

Focused group analytic psychotherapy: An integration of clinical experience and research.

Objective: Group-analytic psychotherapy is probably the most commonly used psychodynamic group therapy in Europe. This paper describes focused group analytic psychotherapy (FGAP), a new time-limited version of this therapy, based on clinical experience and research.

The Therapy/suitability Of Patients: It is relatively structured and individually oriented, and designed for patients with a certain ability to tolerate internal and external stress, without decompensating or developing serious behavioral disturbances (they should have a limited degree of personality pathology).

Synergistic Antifungal Activity of Chito-Oligosaccharides and Commercial Antifungals on Biofilms of Clinical Isolates.

The development of yeast biofilms is a major problem due to their increased antifungal resistance, which leads to persistent infections with severe clinical implications. The high antifungal activity of well-characterized chitosan polymers makes them potential alternatives for treating yeast biofilms. The activity of a chito-oligosaccharide with a depolymerization degree (DP) of 32 (C32) and a fraction of acetylation (F) of 0.

Genomic and Proteomic Study of Isolated from an Anthill Reveals an Extensive Repertoire of Chitinolytic Enzymes.

Chitin is an abundant natural polysaccharide that is hard to degrade because of its crystalline nature and because it is embedded in robust co-polymeric materials containing other polysaccharides, proteins, and minerals. Thus, it is of interest to study the enzymatic machineries of specialized microbes found in chitin-rich environments. We describe a genomic and proteomic analysis of , a chitinolytic Gram-negative bacterium isolated from an anthill.

Linguistic and content validation of the translated and culturally adapted PG-SGA, as perceived by Norwegian cancer patients and healthcare professionals.

Background & Aims: The Scored Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA©) is a validated nutritional screening, assessment, monitoring, and triage tool. When translated to other languages, the questions and answering items need to be conceptually, semantically, and operationally equivalent to the original tool. In this study, we aimed to assess linguistic and content validity of the PG-SGA translated and culturally adapted for the Norwegian setting, as perceived by Norwegian cancer patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs).

Antibiotic saving effect of combination therapy through synergistic interactions between well-characterized chito-oligosaccharides and commercial antifungals against medically relevant yeasts.

Combination therapies can be a help to overcome resistance to current antifungals in humans. The combined activity of commercial antifungals and soluble and well-defined low molecular weight chitosan with average degrees of polymerization (DPn) of 17-62 (abbreviated C17 -C62) and fraction of acetylation (FA) of 0.15 against medically relevant yeast strains was studied.

Antifungal activity of well-defined chito-oligosaccharide preparations against medically relevant yeasts.

Due to their antifungal activity, chitosan and its derivatives have potential to be used for treating yeast infections in humans. However, to be considered for use in human medicine, it is necessary to control and know the chemical composition of the compound, which is not always the case for polymeric chitosans. Here, we analyze the antifungal activity of a soluble and well-defined chito-oligosaccharide (CHOS) with an average polymerization degree (DPn) of 32 and fraction of acetylation (FA) of 0.

Can a patient-focussed bookings approach reduce patient non-attendance in postnatal and continence physiotherapy?

Background: There are unique life-stage and psychosocial barriers to attendance for women referred for postnatal and continence physiotherapy. These barriers affect access to care, clinic utilization and patient waiting lists. In a patient-focused bookings system, the patient is invited to contact the health service to book their appointment at a time and day that suits them, increasing patient choice and engagement in the booking process.

Bioconversion of chitosan into chito-oligosaccharides (CHOS) using family 46 chitosanase from Bacillus subtilis (BsCsn46A).

BsCsn46A, a GH family 46 chitosanase from Bacillus subtilis had been previously shown to have potential for bioconversion of chitosan to chito-oligosaccharides (CHOS). However, so far, in-depth analysis of both the mode of action of this enzyme and the composition of its products were lacking. In this study, we have employed size exclusion chromatography, H NMR, and mass spectrometry to reveal that BsCsn46A can rapidly cleave chitosans with a wide-variety of acetylation degrees, using a non-processive endo-mode of action.

Childhood Trauma and Minimization/Denial in People with and without a Severe Mental Disorder.

Unlabelled: Childhood trauma has garnered extensive research concerning its role in the psychopathology of mental disorders, including psychosis. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) utilizes a minimization/denial (MD) scale to denote potential under-reporters of trauma, yet MD scores are infrequently reported and validations of the scale are lacking in the literature.

Study Aim: Elucidate differences in MD between patients with severe mental disorders to healthy individuals, and secondly, investigate if MD influences reports of childhood trauma between the groups.

Patterns of Change in Interpersonal Problems During and After Short-term and Long-term Psychodynamic Group Therapy: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective: In this study, we compared the patterns of change in interpersonal problems between short-term and long-term psychodynamic group therapy.

Method: A total of 167 outpatients with mixed diagnoses were randomized to 20 or 80 weekly sessions of group therapy. Interpersonal problems were assessed with the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems at six time points during the 3-year study period.

Group Psychotherapy in Norway.

This paper gives an overview of group psychotherapy in Norway: the history, approaches in use, programs for systematic training, how group services are financed, and finally how practice and research are integrated in the public mental health system.

Short-term intensive psychodynamic group therapy versus cognitive-behavioral group therapy in day treatment of anxiety disorders and comorbid depressive or personality disorders: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral group therapies are frequently applied in day hospitals for the treatment of anxiety disorders and comorbid depressive or personality disorders in Poland and other Eastern European countries. Yet there is not enough evidence as to their effectiveness in this environment; this study addresses this gap. The aim of the study is to determine the effectiveness of these two kinds of day treatment care consisting of intensive, short-term group psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral therapy, for patients with anxiety disorders and/or comorbid depressive or personality disorders.

The Effectiveness of Short- and Long-Term Psychodynamic Group Psychotherapy on Self-Concept: Three Years Follow-Up of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

We compared differences in self-concept change across three years after short-(STG) and long-term (LTG) psychodynamic group psychotherapy, in a mixed sample of outpatients. Self-concept was assessed at baseline and three years later, using the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior Questionnaire. Vector scores Affiliation and Autonomy were primary, and the eight cluster scores-self-free, self-affirm, self-love, self-protect, self-control, self-blame, self-attack, and self-neglect-were secondary outcome measures.

Enzyme processivity changes with the extent of recalcitrant polysaccharide degradation.

Glycoside hydrolases depolymerize polysaccharides. They can subtract single carbohydrate chains from polymer crystals and cleave glycosidic bonds without dissociating from the substrate after each catalytic event. This processivity is thought to conserve energy during polysaccharide degradation.

Interpretation of appearance: the effect of facial features on first impressions and personality.

Appearance is known to influence social interactions, which in turn could potentially influence personality development. In this study we focus on discovering the relationship between self-reported personality traits, first impressions and facial characteristics. The results reveal that several personality traits can be read above chance from a face, and that facial features influence first impressions.

Personality disorder moderates outcome in short- and long-term group analytic psychotherapy: A randomized clinical trial.

Objectives: In a randomized clinical trial, short- and long-term psychodynamic group psychotherapy (STG and LTG, respectively) schedules were equally effective for the 'typical' patient during a 3-year study period. Although several studies have reported good effects for patients with personality disorders (PD) in diverse forms of psychotherapy, the significance of treatment duration is unclear. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that PD patients would improve more during and after LTG than STG.

Altered systemic cortisol metabolism in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is suggested as a pathophysiological factor in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Increased clearance of cortisol was recently indicated as a component in the HPA axis hyperdrive. The aim of the present study was to test the model of increased cortisol metabolism in a new replication sample separately and combined with a previously published sample of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Characteristics of patients frequently subjected to pharmacological and mechanical restraint--a register study in three Norwegian acute psychiatric wards.

This retrospective study from three catchment-area-based acute psychiatric wards showed that of all the pharmacologically and mechanically restrained patients (n=373) 34 (9.1%) had been frequently restrained (6 or more times). These patients accounted for 39.

Childhood trauma is associated with severe clinical characteristics of bipolar disorders.

Objective: Beyond genetic risk variants, the pathophysiology of bipolar disorders is likely to be partly determined by environmental susceptibility factors. Our study is one of the first to investigate, in a large sample of well-characterized bipolar patients, associations between clinical presentations and childhood trauma subtypes, including neglect and abuse items.

Method: 587 patients with DSM-IV-defined bipolar disorder were recruited from France and Norway between 1996-2008 and 2007-2012, respectively.