<i>Background</i> - There are indications that an increased intake of calcium has a vitamin D sparing effect, which might be explained by a decreased catabolism of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D). However, there are only a few studies where this has been examined.<p> <p><i>Method</i> - In the seventh survey of the Tromsø study, serum 25(OH)D and parathyroid hormone were measured, and questionnaires ...

<i>Objective</i>: Assessing the effects of caffeine withdrawal on migraine.<p> <p><i>Background</i>: The effects of caffeine withdrawal on migraineurs are at large unknown.<p> <p><i>Methods</i>: This was a randomized, double-blind, crossover study (NCT03022838), designed to enroll 80 adults with episodic migraine and a daily consumption of 300–800 mg caffeine. Participants substituted their ...

<i>Background</i> - Attitudes towards learning clinical communication skills at the end of medical school are likely to reflect the students’ training and motivation for the continued development of their skills as doctors. Students from two Norwegian medical schools, one with a traditional, and the other with an integrated curriculum, were approached in 2003 and 2015; with regard to changes in ...

A strong decline and thinning of the Arctic sea-ice cover over the past five decades has been documented. The former multiyear sea-ice system has largely changed to an annual system and with it the dynamics of sea-ice transport across the Arctic Ocean. Less sea ice is reaching the Fram Strait and more ice and ice-transported material is released in the northern Laptev Sea and the central Arctic ...

Following a successful renal transplantation circulating markers of inflammation may remain elevated, and systemic inflammation is associated with worse clinical outcome in renal transplant recipients (RTRs). Vitamin D-receptor (VDR) activation is postulated to modulate inflammation and endothelial function. We aimed to explore if a synthetic vitamin D, paricalcitol, could influence systemic ...

Sponges have recently been proposed as ideal candidates to act as natural samplers for environmental DNA due to their efficiency in filtering water. However, validation of the usefulness of DNA recovered from sponges to reveal vertebrate biodiversity patterns in Marine Protected Areas is still needed. Additionally, nothing is known about how different sponge species and morphologies influence the ...

The aim of this article is to present the first results of a dialectological expedition undertaken by undergraduate and postgraduate students from the University of Tromsø to the Ter Coast of the White Sea. The paper presents some historical and ethnographical facts from two small villages, Varzuga and Umba. The people in these villages speak Pomor dialects which are poorly investigated but interesting ...

<p><i>Background - </i>Almost all health care interventions have the potential to be associated with risk to patient safety. Different terminologies are used to define treatment induced risk to patient safety and a common definition is the term adverse effect. Beyond the concept of adverse effect and specific to homeopathy is the concept of homeopathic aggravation. Homeopathic aggravation describes ...

The article “... please do not forget that you have a friend”: Olaf Broch and Aleksej Aleksandrovič Šachmatov is based on archivе materials containing hitherto unknown facts from the life of the Norwegian Slavist Olaf Broch. The article focuses primarily on aspects of Broch’s biography after the death of his colleague and friend, the Russian Academy member Aleksej Šachmatov. Fragments of the ...