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T Jacobsen

Publications and source records attributed to T Jacobsen.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Selective tuning of cortical sound-feature processing by language experience.

In 'quantity-languages', such as Japanese or Finnish, sound duration is linguistically relevant. We showed that quantity-language speakers were superior to speakers of a non-quantity language in discriminating the duration of even non-speech sounds. In contrast, there was no group difference in the discrimination of sound frequency. This result, obtained both by behavioural and neural indices at attentive and automatic levels of processing, indicates precise feature-specific tuning of the auditory-cortex functions by the mother tongue.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed2005

Outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in two nursing homes in Central Norway.

Until recently, infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have mainly been associated with hospital outbreaks in Norway. However, increasingly cases are contracted outside hospitals. This paper reports the first two outbreaks of MRSA in two nursing homes in central Norway, affecting 23 residents and five staff members. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis showed that all strains from nursing home A were identical and that the strains from nursing home B were genotypically similar with one or two band differences. Multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) showed that the strains from the two nursing homes belong to clonal complex 45, with each strain being a single-locus variant of sequence type 45 (ST 45), a well-known European epidemic strain. No evident source of the two outbreaks was found, and there was no obvious connection between the two outbreaks. The latter is also supported by the minor differences observed by MLST, suggesting a connection at some time in the past. The outbreaks led to a heavier workload and economic strain on both nursing homes. The outbreak in nursing home A was brought to an end, whereas two residents remained colonized in nursing home B despite several eradication attempts. These outbreaks show the potential for MRSA spread in a nursing home. If the prevalence of MRSA in Norway continues to increase, nursing home staff and residents may have to be included in the groups to be screened for MRSA upon hospital admission.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Application of Leuconostoc carnosum for biopreservation of cooked meat products.

AIMS: To optimize the practical use of the bacteriocin producing Leuconostoc carnosum 4010 in order to inhibit the growth of Listeria monocytogenes in sliced meat products. METHODS AND RESULTS: Four different methods for biopreservation using the partially purified bacteriocin or the living culture of Leuc. carnosum 4010 were evaluated. The methods using the living protective culture added to the sliced gas packed meat product were more effective in preventing growth of L. monocytogenes than the use of the partially purified leucocins 4010 or bacteriocin produced during fermentation before heat treatment of the saveloy. The application method giving the highest reduction in L. monocytogenes used nozzles for sprinkling the protective culture on all surfaces of each slice of the meat product. In the control samples without the protective culture, L. monocytogenes grew to ca. 107 CFU g(-1), whereas for the application method using nozzles for distributing the protective culture, counts of L. monocytogenes never exceeded 10 CFU g(-1) during 4 weeks of storage at 10 degrees C. CONCLUSIONS: The live cells of the bacteriocin producing Leuc. carnosum 4010 was the most efficient method as it inhibited the growth of L. monocytogenes in cooked, sliced and gas packed saveloy stored at 5 and 10 degrees C for 4 weeks. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The results indicate that biopreservation with lactic acid bacteria is a suitable alternative to chemical preservatives. An even distribution of the protective culture was found to be essential for the efficacy of the protective culture in pilot plant trials.

Antibiosis↗
PubMed2001

Facilitation of visual search at new positions: a behavioral and ERP study of new object capture.

Visual search was studied in two consecutive displays. Display 1 items changed identity whilst retaining their positions when the additional items appeared in Display 2. In the New condition, the target appeared at one of the new positions, whereas in the Old condition, the target appeared at one of the old positions. Responses were faster and accuracy increased in the New condition. Event-related brain potentials revealed an Old-New difference 400 ms after Display 2 onset for the smaller set size, suggesting that subjects had a holistic impression that the target was absent at a new position. A posteriorly distributed processing difference between both conditions was manifest at around 1200 ms, suggesting a bias for search at new positions.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Insight into mental illness and child maltreatment risk among mothers with major psychiatric disorders.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relationship between insight into mental illness and current child maltreatment risk among mothers who had a major psychiatric disorder and who had lost custody of a child because of abuse, neglect, or having placed the child at risk of harm. Specifically, a measure of insight was examined in relation to systematically observed parenting behaviors known to be correlated with past child maltreatment and in relation to a comprehensive clinical determination of risk. METHODS: Forty-four mothers who had a major psychiatric disorder were independently rated for their insight into their illness, the quality of mother-child interaction, and the overall clinical risk of maltreatment. RESULTS: Better insight into mental illness was associated with more sensitive mothering behavior and with lower assessed clinical risk of maltreatment. The association remained when mothers with current psychotic symptoms were excluded from the analyses. Better insight did not appear to be associated with past psychotic symptoms, maternal psychiatric diagnosis, or the mother's level of education. CONCLUSIONS: Insight into mental illness may function as a protective factor that influences the risk of child maltreatment in mothers with mental illness. Measures of insight could be usefully incorporated into comprehensive parenting assessments for mothers with psychiatric disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Is there pre-attentive memory-based comparison of pitch?

The brain's responsiveness to changes in sound frequency has been demonstrated by an overwhelming number of studies. Change detection occurs unintentionally and automatically. It is generally assumed that this brain response, the so-called mismatch negativity (MMN) of the event-related brain potential or evoked magnetic field, is based on the outcome of a memory-comparison mechanism rather than being due to a differential state of refractoriness of tonotopically organized cortical neurons. To the authors' knowledge, however, there is no entirely compelling evidence for this belief. An experimental protocol controlling for refractoriness effects was developed and a true memory-comparison-based brain response to pitch change was demonstrated.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Calcium leaching from dentin and shear bond strength after etching with phosphoric acid of different concentrations.

Based on the H2O-P2O5-CaO phase diagram, we hypothesize that a phosphoric acid concentration around 27 wt% leaches most calcium from dentin. We also hypothesize that bond strength is affected by resin infiltration, and that resin infiltration becomes incomplete when calcium leakage exceeds a certain value. Dentin disks were cut from human molars. Eight phosphoric acid concentrations were prepared (15.7-51.2 wt%). For each acid group, there were four etch time subgroups (15, 30, 60 and 120 s). The dentin disks were etched in acid and rinsed in water for times corresponding to 15 s, 30 s, 60 s and 120 s. The calcium concentrations were analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Composite cylinders were bonded to the remaining parts of the teeth using the same etching protocol, and shear bond strength was determined. The 29.2 wt% group demonstrated the highest and the 15.7 wt% group the lowest calcium leaching value. Even though there were trends towards lower bond strength for longer etch times, a statistically significant difference was only found between 30 and 120 s. There was no significant correlation between calcium leaching and bond strength. The results support the tested hypothesis that the highest leaching value would be around 27 wt% phosphoric acid.

Acid Etching, Dental↗
PubMed2000

Maternal expressed emotion related to attachment disorganization in early childhood: a preliminary report.

Using a longitudinal sample of children, this study examined the relation between maternal Expressed Emotion (EE) and mother-child attachment disorganization at age 6 years. A nonclinical sample of 33 children (at ages 12 months and 18 months) from Berlin, Germany participated with their mothers in Ainsworth's Strange Situation. Thirty-two children were again observed with their mothers at age 6 years in a standard laboratory attachment observation. At the time of the 6-year assessment, maternal EE was assessed based on a Five-Minute Speech Sample. Mothers also completed the Life Events Questionnaire, a measure of family stress, and the Present State Examination, a measure of maternal depression. Maternal Expressed Emotion was significantly linked to mother-child attachment security at age 6 years. Further analyses revealed that High EE was most closely linked to the disorganized attachment pattern at age 6 years, an at-risk attachment pattern that has been associated with intrusive and hostile maternal behavior. The relationship was upheld when other relevant variables, including infant attachment disorganization and a measure of perceived family stress, were simultaneously considered. The study provides independent validation of Expressed Emotion as a measure of relationship quality in early childhood. It also provides a basis for the further investigation of the nature of the relation between maternal Expressed Emotion and attachment disorganization.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Effects of consciousness on human brain waves following binocular rivalry.

When the two eyes of an observer are exposed to conflicting stimuli, they enter into binocular rivalry and the two possible percepts will alternate in dominance. We investigated neural activity and its time course following binocular rivalry by measuring human event-related brain potentials to transitions from rivalrous to non-rivalrous stimulation. When these changes did not entail a change in conscious perception they elicited a markedly attenuated N1 component and a delayed and attenuated P3 peak as compared to percept-incompatible changes and non-rivalrous control conditions. These results suggest that in humans binocular rivalry is resolved at latest in extrastriate visual areas.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Development of a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis reference method for the analysis and identification of fish species in raw and heat-processed samples: a collaborative study.

A collaborative study was carried out in seven European labs with the aim of achieving a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) standard operation procedure to identify fish species in raw and cooked samples. Urea and SDS-containing solutions were evaluated as extractants. Several preelectrophoretic operations--such as treatment with RNase/DNase, ultrafiltration and desalting--and up to ten types of gels and three SDS-PAGE systems were considered. The SDS-containing solution allowed a higher protein extractability than urea. Unlike urea extraction, SDS extraction seemed not to be influenced so much by the state of the sample (raw, cooked at 60 degrees C, cooked at 85 degrees C). Desalting, ultrafiltration or treatment with RNase/DNase did not improve the discriminatory power of the protein patterns. Commercial homogeneous 15% ExcelGels, especially when they were silver stained, yielded good results and afforded higher reproducibility, thus allowing a better matching of results among the laboratories participating in this collaborative study. Under the optimized technical conditions described above, all the fish species tested, either raw and cooked, yielded reproducible and discriminant species-specific protein patterns.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Effects of grammatical gender on picture and word naming: evidence from German.

The present study investigated the effects of prior grammatical gender information (masculine, feminine, and neuter) provided by a minimal sentence context on both picture- and word-naming latencies. Named targets were nouns or pictures of concepts featuring unambiguous grammatical gender. Simple sentence fragments were presented auditorily prior to each picture or word target; the relation between these sentence primes and the word or picture target was either gender-congruent, gender-incongruent, or gender-neutral. Relative to the gender-neutral baseline, reliable facilitation and inhibition effects were both observed in the picture-naming task. By contrast, only inhibition effects were observed in the word-naming task. The results suggest that the processes of picture and word naming differ qualitatively when gender information is precued. The findings are discussed with respect to the distinction between postlexical and intralexical loci of the effects of gender context on word recognition and production.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Expression of the psoriasis-associated antigen, Pso p27, is inhibited by cyclosporin A.

The psoriasis-associated antigen, pso p27, can be isolated from psoriasis scale and is present in complement-activating immune complexes in psoriatic scale, and in serum from patients with psoriasis. The antigen is produced by tryptase-positive cells in the skin lesions and is shown to be a major antigen in the immune reactions in psoriasis. The synthesis of this particular antigen is reduced with the remission of inflammation in the skin lesions. In this study we followed 3 patients with severe plaque psoriasis during treatment with cyclosporin A. In all patients we observed a decrease in the expression of the antigen pso p27 during the therapy. The effectiveness of the therapy varied among the patients, but there was a clear correlation between disease activity and expression of the antigen pso p27 as demonstrated by immunofluorescence in biopsies from selected skin lesions. This observation strengthens our hypothesis that the pso p27 antigen plays an important role in the inflammation in psoriasis.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Assessing children's representational attachment models: links to mother-child attachment quality in infancy and childhood.

The authors examined whether the finding of a correspondence between specific behavioral patterns of attachment in infancy and childhood and specific representational patterns in childhood could be replicated using children's responses to a story depicting an imagined parent-child separation experience. The participants were 33 German mothers and their children (16 girls, 17 boys). Attachment quality was assessed via standard and exploratory attachment observations at ages 12 months, 18 months, and 6 years. Chi-square analyses indicated that there was a good level of concordance between the behavioral and representation attachment patterns in infancy and childhood.

Anxiety, Separation↗
PubMed1999

Effect of various salts on the stability of lansoprazole, omeprazole, and pantoprazole as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A fast and reproducible reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay method has been developed for the simultaneous quantitation of omeprazole, lansoprazole, and pantoprazole. The three compounds were monitored at 280 nm using Zorbax Eclipse XDB C8 (5 microns, 150 cm x 4.6 mm i.d.) and a mobile phase consisting of 700:300 phosphate buffer:acetonitrile with the pH adjusted to 7.0 with phosphoric acid. The method was used to study the effect of pH and various salts on the stability of the three compounds. The pH rate profile curve showed that pantoprazole was the most stable compound and lansoprazole the least stable. The stabilities of the compounds in salt solutions were found to be in the following order: phosphate buffer < trisodium citrate < citrate buffer < or = acetate buffer < citric acid < or = monosodium citrate < or = calcium carbonate < sodium bicarbonate < sodium chloride < water. The rate of degradation had a direct relationship with the H+ and salt concentration.

2-Pyridinylmethylsulfinylbenzimidazoles↗
PubMed1998

[Bacteremia with granulocytopenia--microbiology and empiric antibiotic treatment].

This article sums up a retrospective analysis of 84 episodes of bacteraemia in acute leukaemia patients with severe neutropenia in a Norwegian teaching hospital during the period 1990-95. Gram negative bacteria represented 54% of the blood culture isolates, all of which were susceptible to aminoglycosides, and nearly all to ceftazidime and imipenem. Penicillin/aminoglycoside was used as initial therapy in 43% of the episodes. Initial empiric therapy was modified in 52% of the events. Only 15% of patients receiving the penicillin/aminoglycoside combination actually had infections with organisms susceptible to penicillin. Only 2% of patients with gram negative infections received initial synergistic treatment with two effective drugs. Mortality from infections was 8% in acute leukaemia patients with documented bacteraemia. Deaths mainly occurred in patients with terminal leukaemia disease. Late breakthrough bacteraemias with Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa caused 50% of all fatal infections. The analysis suggests that no patients died during initial bacteraemia with penicillin-resistant organisms treated with penicillin/aminoglycoside. The antibiotic susceptibility of the isolated bacteria was favourable compared to what has been found in other countries. For the time being, we believe that the ecological advantages of using penicillin/aminoglycoside as initial empiric treatment of febrile neutropenia are greater than the disadvantages.

Agranulocytosis↗