Open Digital Health Workshops - A Model for Mutual Contact and Knowledge Exchange with the Local Community.

The increasing percentage of elderly in our society is challenging the health care system. To meet the challenge, we have implemented an experience-based master's programme in digital health care. The 3-yrs 90 ECTS programme consists of physical sessions of three days duration and weekly 2-3-hour digital lectures and bi-weekly supervisions.

Global health systems strengthening: FIGO's strategic view on reducing maternal and newborn mortality worldwide.

Objective: To demonstrate that successful health systems strengthening (HSS) projects have addressed disparities and inequities in maternal and perinatal care in low-income countries.

Methods: A comprehensive literature review covered the period between 1980 and 2022, focusing on successful HSS interventions within health systems' seven core components that improved maternal and perinatal care.

Results: The findings highlight the importance of integrating quality interventions into robust health systems, as this has been shown to reduce maternal and newborn mortality.

FilmArray (BCID2) provides essential and timely results in bloodstream infections in small acute care hospitals without conventional microbiology services.

We have evaluated the performance of FilmArray BCID2 in reactive blood cultures in a small acute care hospital compared to conventional diagnostics at a regional microbiological laboratory. This is a retrospective observational study of BactAlert reactive blood cultures (n = 160) from Helgeland Hospital, July-December 2021, analysed by BCID2 locally and conventional culture at a regional laboratory. The overall clinical and analytic sensitivity with BCID2 were 87.

Chemokine N-terminal-derived peptides differentially regulate signaling by the receptors CCR1 and CCR5.

Inflammatory chemokines are often elevated in disease settings, where the largest group of CC-chemokines are the macrophage inflammatory proteins (MIP), which are promiscuous for the receptors CCR1 and CCR5. MIP chemokines, such as CCL3 and CCL5 are processed at the N terminus, which influences signaling in a highly diverse manner. Here, we investigate the signaling capacity of peptides corresponding to truncated N termini.

Identification of a Salt Bridge That Is Functionally Important for Chemokine Receptor CXCR1 but not CXCR2.

CXC chemokine receptors 1 (CXCR1) and 2 (CXCR2) have high sequence similarity and overlapping chemokine ligand profiles. Residue positions 3.32 and 7.

Associations of urinary orosomucoid, N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase, and albumin with blood pressure and hypertension after 7 years. The Tromsø Study.

Subclinical chronic kidney disease is known to exacerbate hypertension and progression of kidney damage. In order to initiate timely interventions, early biomarkers for this vicious circle are needed. Our aim was to describe the cross-sectional associations of urinary orosomucoid and urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (NAG) with blood pressure and the longitudinal associations of urinary orosomucoid and NAG to hypertension after 7 years, and to compare the strength of these associations to the urinary albumin excretion (UAE).

Urinary orosomucoid is associated with diastolic dysfunction and carotid arteriopathy in the general population. Cross-sectional data from the Tromsø study.

Urinary albumin excretion is a risk marker for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Studies suggest that urinary orosomucoid may be a more sensitive marker of general endothelial dysfunction than albuminuria. The aim of this population-based cross-sectional study was to examine the associations between urinary orosomucoid to creatinine ratio (UOCR), urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR) and subclinical CVD.

The non-ELR CXC chemokine encoded by human cytomegalovirus UL146 genotype 5 contains a C-terminal β-hairpin and induces neutrophil migration as a selective CXCR2 agonist.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a major pathogen in immunocompromised patients. The UL146 gene exists as 14 diverse genotypes among clinical isolates, which encode 14 different CXC chemokines. One genotype (vCXCL1GT1) is a known agonist for CXCR1 and CXCR2, while two others (vCXCL1GT5 and vCXCL1GT6) lack the ELR motif considered crucial for CXCR1 and CXCR2 binding, thus suggesting another receptor targeting profile.

Identification of a conserved chemokine receptor motif that enables ligand discrimination.

Extensive ligand-receptor promiscuity in the chemokine signaling system balances beneficial redundancy and specificity. However, this feature poses a major challenge to selectively modulate the system pharmacologically. Here, we identified a conserved cluster of three aromatic receptor residues that anchors the second extracellular loop (ECL2) to the top of receptor transmembrane helices (TM) 4 and 5 and enables recognition of both shared and specific characteristics of interacting chemokines.

Working in a minefield; Nurses' strategies for handling medicine administration interruptions in hospitals, -a qualtiative interview study.

Background: Administering medicines is one of the most high-risk tasks in health care. However, nurses are frequently interrupted during medicine administration, which jeopardises patient safety. Few studies have examined nurses' experiences and the strategies they adopt to cope with interruptions during medicine rounds.

Global surgery, obstetric, and anaesthesia indicator definitions and reporting: An Utstein consensus report.

Background: Indicators to evaluate progress towards timely access to safe surgical, anaesthesia, and obstetric (SAO) care were proposed in 2015 by the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery. These aimed to capture access to surgery, surgical workforce, surgical volume, perioperative mortality rate, and catastrophic and impoverishing financial consequences of surgery. Despite being rapidly taken up by practitioners, data points from which to derive the indicators were not defined, limiting comparability across time or settings.

Discovery of GPR183 Agonists Based on an Antagonist Scaffold.

The G protein-coupled receptor GPR183/EBI2, which is activated by oxysterols, is a therapeutic target for inflammatory and metabolic diseases where both antagonists and agonists are of potential interest. Using the piperazine diamide core of the known GPR183 antagonist (E)-3-(4-bromophenyl)-1-(4-(4-methoxybenzoyl)piperazin-1-yl)prop-2-en-1-one (NIBR189) as starting point, we identified and sourced 79 structurally related compounds that were commercially available. In vitro screening of this compound collection using a Ca mobilization assay resulted in the identification of 10 compounds with agonist properties.

Fracture and embolization of an implantable venous access device in patient with atrial septal defect.

Totally implantable venous access devices (TIVADs) are frequently used for the administration of chemotherapy or parenteral nutrition and have proved to be safe and improve patient quality of life during treatment. Catheter-related infections are the most common complication, whereas catheter fracture and embolization is rarely seen. We present a case of a 61-year-old cancer patient in which the TIVAD fractured and embolized to the patient's left knee 18 months after its initial placement.

Patients' perception of user involvement in psychiatric outpatient treatment: Associations with patient characteristics and satisfaction.

Background: The patient's right to be involved in treatment decisions is anchored in guidelines and legislation in many countries. Previous research suggests challenges in the implementation of user involvement across different areas of health care, including mental health. However, little is known about psychiatric outpatients' experiences of being involved in their treatment.

Conflicting priorities: Observation of medicine administration.

Aims And Objectives: To identify sources of interruptions and distractions to medicine administration rounds in hospitals.

Background: Nurses are frequently interrupted during medicine administration. There is no systematic description of nurses' behaviours and interruptions during administration of medicines to patients.

Experimental Determination of Drug Diffusion Coefficients in Unstirred Aqueous Environments by Temporally Resolved Concentration Measurements.

The diffusion coefficient (also known as diffusivity) of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) is a fundamental physicochemical parameter that affects passive diffusion through biological barriers and, as a consequence, bioavailability and biodistribution. However, this parameter is often neglected, and it is quite difficult to find diffusion coefficients of small molecules of pharmaceutical relevance in the literature. The available methods to measure diffusion coefficients of drugs all suffer from limitations that range from poor sensitivity to high selectivity of the measurements or the need for dedicated instrumentation.

Inhibition of HIV Fusion by Small Molecule Agonists through Efficacy-Engineering of CXCR4.

CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is involved in multiple physiological and pathological processes, notably as a coreceptor for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cell entry. Its broad expression pattern and vital biological importance make CXCR4 a troublesome drug target, as disruption of the interaction with its endogenous ligand, CXC chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12), has severe consequences. In fact, only one CXCR4 drug, the bicyclam antagonist and HIV entry inhibitor AMD3100 (Plerixafor/Mozobil), has been approved for clinical use, however only for stem cell mobilization-a consequence of CXCR4 antagonism.

Fatal poisonings in Northern Finland: causes, incidence, and rural-urban differences.

Background: In this study we evaluate differences between rural and urban areas in the causes and incidence of fatal poisonings.

Methods: Data from all fatal poisonings that occurred in Northern Finland from 2007 to 2011 were retrieved from Cause of Death Registry death certificates provided by Statistics Finland. The demographics and causes of fatalities were compared between rural and urban areas.

First-aid training in school: amount, content and hindrances.

Background: To increase knowledge and competence about first aid in the population, first-aid instruction is included in primary and secondary school curricula. This study aimed to establish how much time is spent on first-aid training, which first-aid measures are taught, and which factors prevent teachers from providing the quantity and quality of first-aid training that they wish to give.

Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to teachers in physical education in primary and secondary schools and to teachers in vocational subjects in higher secondary schools.

Geographical accessibility and duration of untreated psychosis: distance as a determinant of treatment delay.

Background: The duration of untreated psychosis is determined by both patient and service related factors. Few studies have considered the geographical accessibility of services in relation to treatment delay in early psychosis. To address this, we investigated whether treatment delay is co-determined by straight-line distance to hospital based specialist services in a mainly rural mental health context.

Do pre-hospital poisoning deaths differ from in-hospital deaths? A retrospective analysis.

Background: Most fatal poisonings occur outside the hospital and the victims found dead. The purpose of this study was to determine the general pattern and patient demographics of fatal poisonings in Northern Finland. In particular, we wanted to analyze differences between pre-hospital and in-hospital deaths.