This special issue of Barents Studies attempts to contribute to a better understanding of the role of local governance in strategic development of the High North, with examples from the Barents Region. The High North regions have gained increased attention for their natural resources (including fish, oil, gas, minerals, tourist destinations, new transport solutions, and digital infrastructure), for ...

Prostate cancer (PC) is a highly heterogenous disease and one of the leading causes of mortality in developed countries. Recently, studies have shown that expression of immune checkpoint proteins are directly or indirectly repressed by microRNAs (miRs) in many types of cancers. The great advantages of using miRs based therapy is the capacity of these short transcripts to target multiple molecules ...

<p><i>Background and purpose — </i>The literature is scarce on the outcome of the youngest patients with total hip arthroplasties (THAs). We analyzed register data, revision risk, and related factors in patients 21 years or younger with THAs in the Nordic Arthroplasty Register Association (NARA). <p><i>Patients and methods — </i>We included all THA patients 21 years or younger reported during 1995 ...

<p><i>Objectives - </i>To investigate whether preoperative echocardiographic evaluation of ventricular function, especially right ventricular systolic and diastolic parameters including speckle-tracking analysis, could aid in the prediction of 30-day mortality after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in patients with aortic stenosis. <p><i>Methods - </i>This is a prospective observational ...

Receptor-defined subtypes of breast cancer represent distinct cancer types and have differences in risk factors. Whether the two main hormonal forms of oral contraceptives (OCs); i.e. progestin-only (POC) and combined oral contraceptives (COC), are differentially associated with these subtypes are not well known. The aim of our study was to assess the effect of POC and COC use on hormone receptor-defined ...

Innovations are needed to meet increasing challenges in public healthcare, and type of motivation has been identified as a pivotal factor for the success of an innovation. New public management crowd out the intrinsic motivation of employees which has resulted in a quest for more self-reliant service providers. This paper takes the opposite point of departure asking if intrinsic motivation can be ...

Previous studies of Eurasian tundra reindeer (<i>Rangifer tarandus tarandus</i>) in Norway indicate that their rumen microbiota play a key role in degrading lichen secondary metabolites. We investigated the presence of usnic acid and atranorin in faecal samples from Svalbard reindeer (<i>R. tarandus platyrhynchus</i>). Samples were collected in Bolterdalen valley together with vegetation samples ...

This issue discusses the concept of social innovation (SI) as a potentially transformative factor in urban planning and local development. SI represents an alternative to economic and technology-oriented approaches to urban development, such as that of ‘smart cities’, ‘creative cities’, etc. This is thanks to the emphasis SI puts on human agency and the empowerment of local communities and citizens ...

Autophagy is a cell renovation system that directs almost any type of cell contents for lysosomal degradation and recycling of building blocks. It is fundamental for cellular homeostasis and for determining cell fate in response to stress. Hence, understanding the regulation of autophagy-related proteins is of great importance. This study focuses on the effect of posttranslational modifications on ...

Children who are next of kin to parents with physical or mental illness and/or substance abuse need access to mental health support and several cost-effective interventions are available. Because most parents in the target group often consult general practitioners (GPs), GPs may have a crucial role in identifying burdened children and ensuring their follow-up. However, this important topic has ...