| 11. |
- Aalto, K, et al.
(författare)
-
Nerve growth factor in serum of children with systemic lupus erythematosus is correlated with disease activity
- 2002
-
Ingår i: Cytokine. - : ACADEMIC PRESS LTD ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 1043-4666 .- 1096-0023. ; 20:3, s. 136-139
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a neurotrophic factor, which is expressed both in the nervous system and in peripheral organs. NGF is also present in mast cells, and in B- and T-lymphocytes, and may play a role in the immune cell development and differentiation. Various cytokines have been shown to affect NGF expression, and NGF is elevated in inflammation and in some autoimmune diseases. Here we have studied NGF concentrations in serum of pediatric patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) using a two-site enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We have further correlated the levels of NGF to the inflammatory state of the disease. The mean value of serum NGF in SLE patients was significantly increased compared with controls (3346 vs 627 pg/ml). There was a correlation between the activity of SLE and the levels of NGF. The results show that NGF is elevated in childhood SLE and that the levels are correlated with disease activity. The present results suggest that NGF may play a role in the pathogenesis of SLE and may have a prognostic value in evaluating the course of the disease and in outlining the medication. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
|
|
| 12. |
- Aardal, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
-
Cortisol in Saliva : Reference Ranges and Relation to Cortisol in Serum
- 1995
-
Ingår i: European Journal of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Biochemistry. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 0939-4974. ; 33, s. 927-932
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to establish morning and evening reference ranges for cortisol in saliva. Another objective was to compare the concentrations of the mainly free cortisol in saliva to those of total cortisol in serum as determined with a commercial radioimmunoassay. The concentrations were determined in matched samples of saliva and serum collected at 8am and 10pm from 197 healthy volunteers. The saliva samples were stable for at least 7 days at room temperature and for 9 months at —20 °C. Reference ranges, the central 95%, were estimated to 3.5—27.0 nmol/1 at 8 am and < 6.0 nmol/1 at 10 pm. The intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV) was below 5% and total CV below 10%. The relation between the cortisol concentrations in serum and saliva was nonlinear with r = 0.86 for serum concentrations < 450 nmol/1 and r = 0.44 for serum concentrations ^ 450 nmol/1. In conclusion, the satisfactory precision of the analysis and the simple non-invasive sampling procedure suggest that saliva may be used for cortisol measurements in situations where blood sampling is difficult to perform.
|
|
| 13. |
- Aardal-Eriksson, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
-
Salivary cortisol : an alternative to serum cortisol determinations in dynamic function tests
- 1998
-
Ingår i: Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. - 1434-6621 .- 1437-4331. ; 36:4, s. 215-222
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Salivary cortisol was measured as an alternative to serum cortisol as a marker for adrenocortical function following insulin tolerance test, corticotropin-releasing-hormone stimulation and adreno-corticotrophic hormone stimulation. During insulin tolerance test and corticotropin-releasing-hormone stimulation adreno-corticotrophic hormone was also measured. The tests were performed on healthy control subjects as well as on patients under investigation for various disturbances in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (insulin tolerance test: 3 controls on two occasions and 14 patients; corticotropin-releasing-hormone stimulation: 4 controls and 18 patients; adreno-corticotrophic hormone stimulation: 6 controls and 10 patients). Five patients underwent both insulin tolerance test and corticotropin-releasing-hormone stimulation. Using criteria for adequate cortisol response in serum, the patients were classified as good or poor responders. In 42 of the 45 tests performed the same conclusion as to cortisol status was drawn when based on serum and salivary cortisol responses. In healthy subjects and good responders the mean cortisol relative increase was greater in saliva than in serum in all three tests (p < 0.05). Characteristic of the results for the insulin tolerance test was a significant initial mean decrease (p < 0.05), not found in serum, and the highest observed salivary cortisol value was delayed for at least 30 minutes compared to that in serum. Plasma adreno-corticotrophic hormone correlated significantly with the cortisol concentrations determined 15 minutes later in serum (r = 0.54–0.64) and in saliva (r = 0.76–0.85). The more pronounced cortisol response in saliva than in serum and its closer correlation with adreno-corticotrophic hormone offer advantages over serum cortisol, suggesting salivary cortisol measurement may be used as an alternative parameter in dynamic endocrine tets.
|
|
| 14. |
- Aardal-Eriksson, Elisabeth
(författare)
-
Salivary cortisol and posttraumatic stress reactions : methodological and applied studies before and after trauma
- 2002
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The field of psychotraumatology has its roots in ancient history. During the past decades, the surveillance of the psychobiological background of reactions to and consequences of traumatic stress has made great progress and the complexity of the human stress response system stands out. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis activity, modulated by various neuroimmunological substances, seems to play a major role in the stress response. However, there are still inconsistencies in explanations of relationships between biological and psychological changes following traumatic stress. Moreover, the matter of predictive factors for the development of posttraumatic morbidity is still in a speculative phase.The aims of the present thesis were to further develop a commercial serum cortisol radioimmunoassay (RIA) for determination of cortisol in saliva and to test its reliability, specificity and sensitivity as a biochemical assay. The saliva sampling procedures and sample storage stability were also to be tested. Further issues were to investigate determinations of salivary cortisol and serum prolactin in relation to selfratings of posttraumatic psychological distress and general psychological health. Possible predictive and concurrent validity of salivary cortisol as a biochemical marker for posttraumatic psychological distress were to be tested.Cortisol is present in saliva mainly in non-protein form, representing the free, biologically active fraction of the total plasma cortisol concentration. In a first phase of the present thesis, the commercial serum cortisol RIA was modified for determination of cortisol in saliva. The relation between salivary and serum cortisol concentrations was tested. Reference ranges at 8 AM and 10 PM for the salivary cortisol assay were established from 195 healthy subjects. Salivary cortisol concentrations were tested in relation to serum cortisol in estimating adrenocortical function during endocrine dynamic function tests in 37 patients and 13 healthy controls. In testing salivary cortisol as a marker for stress for fieldwork use, a screening study was performed on 66 male rescue workers. Salivary cortisol at 8 AM and 10 PM and serum prolactin were determined and general psychological health and posttraumatic psychological distress were estimated with the self-rating scales General Health Questionnaire, Impact of Event Scale and Posttraumatic Symptom Scale. These scales were used in the second phase of the thesis. Three applied follow-up studies were performed with sampling of salivary cortisol and self-ratings: (a) a study of 31 UN-soldiers five days, two and nine months after a mine accident; (b) a study of 145 UN-soldiers before, at return, and two and six month after a six month mission. (c) a study of 101 UN-soldiers six and twelve months after a six month mission with severe combat exposure.The results from the present thesis indicate that the modified method of salivary cortisol determination possesses sufficient precision, accuracy, sample storage stability and procedural advantages for laboratory, clinical and field application. Moreover, it possesses moderate predictive information and moderate to high concurrent validity as a biochemical marker for posttraumatic psychological distress.
|
|
| 15. |
|
|
| 16. |
- Aardal-Eriksson, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
-
Salivary cortisol and serum prolactin in relation to stress rating scales in a group of rescue workers
- 1999
-
Ingår i: Biological Psychiatry. - 0006-3223 .- 1873-2402. ; 46:6, s. 850-855
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Rescue service personnel are often exposed to traumatic events as part of their occupation, and higher prevalence rates of psychiatric illness have been found among this group.Methods: In 65 rescue workers, salivary cortisol at 8 am and 10 pm and serum prolactin at 8 am were related to the psychiatric self-rating scale General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) measuring psychiatric health, and the Impact of Events Scale (IES) and Post Traumatic Symptom Scale (PTSS) measuring posttraumatic symptoms.Results: Seventeen percent of the study population scored above the GHQ-28 cut-off limit but none scored beyond the cut-off limit in the IES and PTSS questionnaires. Salivary cortisol concentration at 10 pm correlated with statistical significance to anxiety (p < .005) and depressive symptoms (p < .01) measured with GHQ-28, as well as to posttraumatic symptoms, with avoidance behavior measured with IES (p < .01) and PTSS (p < .005). Two of the rescue workers were followed over time with the same sampling procedure after a major rescue commission.Conclusions: The correlation between evening salivary cortisol and anxiety, depressiveness, and posttraumatic avoidance symptoms indicates that these parameters can be used in screening and follow-up after traumatic stress events.
|
|
| 17. |
- Aardal-Eriksson, Elisabeth, et al.
(författare)
-
Salivary cortisol, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and general health in the acute phase and during 9-month follow-up
- 2001
-
Ingår i: Biological Psychiatry. - 0006-3223 .- 1873-2402. ; 50:12, s. 986-993
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Because traumatic events are unpredictable, there are few studies of psychobiological states immediately following such events. Our study aimed to determine the relation of salivary cortisol to psychologic distress immediately after a traumatic event and then during follow-up.Methods: Measurement of morning and evening salivary cortisol and ratings of psychologic distress (using the Impact of Events Scale [IES], the Post Traumatic Symptom Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire) were performed with 31 United Nations soldiers at three time points—5 days and 2 and 9 months—following a mine accident in Lebanon.Results: Five days after the accident, 15 subjects reported substantial posttraumatic distress according to the IES, as well as significantly lower morning and higher evening cortisol levels compared with the low-impact group. Within 9 months, the posttraumatic distress of the high-impact group was reduced, accompanied by an increase in morning and a decrease in evening cortisol levels. There were significant relationships between evening cortisol and all rating scales at the first and third time points.Conclusions: Subclinical posttraumatic stress following an adverse event can be measured biologically via salivary cortisol levels soon after the event.
|
|
| 18. |
- Aarsand, Pål André
(författare)
-
Alternating between online and offline : tags and frame switches as interactional resources
- 2007
-
Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The present data are based on an ethnographic study of computer use in everyday interactions in a seventh grade class (of 13-14 year-olds). The data were analysed in terms of activity frames and participation frameworks (Goffman 1981), exploring how students deployed online and offline activity frames in their identity performance. It is shown how MSN (online) identities are invoked in subsequent and intermittent face-to-face interaction; a dialogue can start on MSN and continue in faceto-face interaction, and vice versa. This means that frame switches are important features of the students’ identity work. Similarly, the students employed nicknames or tags, that is, textual-visual displays of ‘speaker’ identities, located in the boundary zone between online and offline activities. In terms of participation frameworks, it is also documented ways in which students engaged in crossplay (Goffman 1981), where a ratified participant communicated with a non-ratified participant. Yet, one problem in analysing participation frameworks and particularly byplay and sideplay (Goffman 1981) is that these concepts require that the analyst can identify one dominant activity. This was not possible in the present data. Instead, the data are primarily analysed in terms of borderwork, that here entails frame switchings, crossplay and a strategic use of tags.
|
|
| 19. |
- Aarsand, Pål André, 1970-
(författare)
-
Around the Screen : Computer activities in children’s everyday lives
- 2007
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The present ethnography documents computer activities in everyday life. The data consist of video recordings, interviews and field notes, documenting (i) 16 students in a seventh grade class in a computer room and other school settings and (ii) 22 children, interacting with siblings, friends and parents in home settings. The thesis is inspired by discourse analytical as well as ethnographic approaches, including notions from Goffman (1974, 1981), e.g. those of activity frame and participation framework, which are applied and discussed.The thesis consists of four empirical studies. The first study focuses on students’ illegitimate use, from the school’s point of view, of online chatting in a classroom situation. It is shown that the distinction offline/online is not a static one, rather it is made relevant as part of switches between activity frames, indicating the problems of applying Goffman’s (1981) notions of sideplay, byplay and crossplay to analyses of interactions in which several activity frames are present, rather than one main activity. Moreover, it is shown that online identities, in terms of what is here called tags, that is, visual-textual nicknames, are related to offline phenomena, including local identities as well as contemporary aesthetics. The second study focuses on placement of game consoles as part of family life politics. It is shown that game consoles were mainly located in communal places in the homes. The distinction private/communal was also actualized in the participants’ negotiations about access to game consoles as well as negotiations about what to play, when, and for how long. It is shown that two strategies were used, inclusion and exclusion, for appropriating communal places for computer game activities. The third study focuses on a digital divide in terms of a generational divide with respect to ascribed computer competence, documenting how the children and adults positioned each other as people ‘in the know’ (the children) versus people in apprentice-like positions (the adults). It is shown that this generation gap was deployed as a resource in social interaction by both the children and the adults. The forth study focuses on gaming in family life, showing that gaming was recurrently marked by response cries (Goffman, 1981) and other forms of blurted talk. These forms of communication worked as parts of the architecture of intersubjectivity in gaming (cf. Heritage, 1984), indexing the distinction virtual/‘real’. It is shown how response cries, sound making, singing along and animated talk extended the virtual in that elements of the game became parts of the children’s social interaction around the screen, forming something of an action aesthetic, a type of performative action for securing and displaying joint involvement and collaboration. As a whole, the present studies show how the distinctions master/apprentice, public/private, virtual/real and subject/object are indexicalized and negotiated in computer activities.
|
|
| 20. |
- Aarsand, Pål André
(författare)
-
Computer- and Video games in Family Life : The digital divide as a resource in intergenerational interactions
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Childhood. - : SAGE Publications. - 0907-5682 .- 1461-7013. ; 14:2, s. 235-256
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this ethnographic study of family life, intergenerational video and computer game activities were videotaped and analysed. Both children and adults invoked the notion of a digital divide, i.e. a generation gap between those who master and do not master digital technology. It is argued that the digital divide was exploited by the children to control the game activities. Conversely, parents and grandparents positioned themselves as less knowledgeable, drawing on a displayed divide as a rhetorical resource for gaining access to playtime with the children. In these intergenerational encounters, the digital divide was thus an interactional resource rather than a problem.
|
|
