Higher order multipoles in metamaterial homogenization

The higher order multipoles above the electric quadrupole are commonly neglected in metamaterial homogenization. We show that they nevertheless can be significant when second order spatial dispersive effects, such as the magnetic response, are considered. In this respect, they can be equally important as the magnetization and quadrupole terms, and should not automatically be neglected.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Metabolic Flexibility in Cancer Cells

Abstract Colorectal cancer is the third most occurring cancer type among both men and women in the United States. Even though cancer therapies have been revolutionarily improved over the decades, there is a high demand for more effective treatments, making research within the complex aspect of cancer crucial for the design of highly specific and effective therapies. Manipulation of cancer metabolism has been an interesting topic of research and has shown to be a promising field for future therapeutic methods as a part of cancer therapy. Metformin (bimethylbiguanide) belongs in a class of drugs named biguanides and is today used as a medication to treat type-II diabetes. Dichloroacetate (DCA) is currently used to treat diabetes mellitus, lipid and lipoprotein disorders, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and acquired and congenital lactic acidosis. Both drugs have shown interesting effects on the metabolism of cancer. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of metformin and DCA on colorectal cancer cell lines HCT116 and SW948 with the use of alamarBlue- and CCK-8 assays as well as flow cytometry. The results indicate that metformin has a decreasing effect on the viability in both cell lines, where the most effective treatment was a 6 mM concentration after an exposure period of 48 hours. DCA showed an opposing effect in respect to metformin, where the highest concentration (6 mM) and longest exposure period (48 hours) generated the highest viability. These results indicates that our specific cell lines are more reliant on the mitochondrial metabolism rather than the glycolytic. The flow cytometry for this study measured the expression of Akt, p-Akt, AMPK, and p-AMPK. Both cell lines showed an increase in the expression of p-Akt and AMPK after the treatment with metformin. SW948 also had a minor shift in the Akt expression. DCA had no impact on neither of the protein expressions.Abstract Colorectal cancer is the third most occurring cancer type among both men and women in the United States. Even though cancer therapies have been revolutionarily improved over the decades, there is a high demand for more effective treatments, making research within the complex aspect of cancer crucial for the design of highly specific and effective therapies. Manipulation of cancer metabolism has been an interesting topic of research and has shown to be a promising field for future therapeutic methods as a part of cancer therapy. Metformin (bimethylbiguanide) belongs in a class of drugs named biguanides and is today used as a medication to treat type-II diabetes. Dichloroacetate (DCA) is currently used to treat diabetes mellitus, lipid and lipoprotein disorders, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and acquired and congenital lactic acidosis. Both drugs have shown interesting effects on the metabolism of cancer. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of metformin and DCA on colorectal cancer cell lines HCT116 and SW948 with the use of alamarBlue- and CCK-8 assays as well as flow cytometry. The results indicate that metformin has a decreasing effect on the viability in both cell lines, where the most effective treatment was a 6 mM concentration after an exposure period of 48 hours. DCA showed an opposing effect in respect to metformin, where the highest concentration (6 mM) and longest exposure period (48 hours) generated the highest viability. These results indicates that our specific cell lines are more reliant on the mitochondrial metabolism rather than the glycolytic. The flow cytometry for this study measured the expression of Akt, p-Akt, AMPK, and p-AMPK. Both cell lines showed an increase in the expression of p-Akt and AMPK after the treatment with metformin. SW948 also had a minor shift in the Akt expression. DCA had no impact on neither of the protein expressions

Relevance of Adult Higher Education on Knowledge Management in the Healthcare Sector

Organizations, including the healthcare sector, are subject to changes in market, technology and regulations. This requires enhanced and different types of knowledge and has led to an increased demand for adult higher education. However, the competencies required need to be met by the providers of higher education. This article presents a qualitative case study investigating the work relevance of an adult education study bachelor program for middle managers of the public health sector in Norway. The paper explores how the education has shaped the interplay between the student/practitioner and his/her surroundings. The data in the study have been collected using in-depth interviews. The case study showcases the potential impacts of higher education within public healthcare management in the workplace, also highlighting the factors that are predominant regarding the application and dissemination of formal knowledge in the workplace. The primary findings of this study are that there is an interplay between the form and content of the education, personal capabilities, and individual characteristics of the student (employee/health manager), as well as an organizational maturity pertaining to knowledge-management and the exposure to organizational innovation in the broader healthcare system. The case study contributes to the field of knowledge management issues by showing how a study program can support the development of knowledge management practices in an organization, through focusing on the relevance pronounced through the management practices.publishedVersio

The Relationship Between Future Self-Guides and L2 Anxiety in Norwegian ESL Learners – A Quantitative Study

Master i grunnskolelærerutdanning 5-10. Engelsk 4. Nord universitet 202

Improvements in exercise capacity during a 4-weeks pulmonary rehabilitation program for COPD patients do not correspond with improvements in self-reported health status or quality of life

Ninety-two patients with moderate or severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were assessed for walking tolerance, lung function, perceived health status (HS), perceived quality of life (QoL) and anxiety before and after a four weeks inpatient pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) program. There were significant improvements on all outcomes except anxiety, although the effect sizes were small or moderate. The largest improvement was observed on the walking test, but patients also improved on perceived health status (HS) and perceived quality of life (QoL). Relations between outcome indicators were analyzed cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Cross-sectional correlations were in line with earlier studies. However, improvements on the walking test were generally unrelated to changes in lung function, HS and QoL. Different patients improve on different outcome measures following PR, and this could have implications for the planning and designs of PR programs

The Importance of Tacit and Explicit Knowledge Transfer in an Onboarding Programme

Abstract: “Onboarding” is one way of facilitating training for newcomers to get them socialized and trained for the job in question. Getting newcomers “up to speed” and reducing turnover is cost saving for a company. In this paper, we showcase how this has been done in a company in Norway. This organization suffered from high turnover and a lengthy training period for newcomers. Theory on socio-cultural learning, organizational culture, and knowledge management has enlightened our study. To display the interplay between organizational socialization and learning at work, we will present our findings on the development of an onboarding initiative. We dive into the subtleties of the border between formal structures of the onboarding and the informal best practices. Tacit knowledge conveyed through the informal best practices can be transferred and adapted through conversation and behavior. The data material is collected through qualitative in-depth interviews over a period of three years. The onboarding is not only contributing towards higher effectiveness and less turnover, but also developing, and continuously improving, learning structures in the organization.publishedVersio

On Work Relevance of Adult Education: A Case Study Narrative

There is an increased focus on relevance of higher education. Mostly it is about enhanced job opportunities or job advancements for the individual. However, relevance of higher education may also be towards solving important issues or problems at a workplace. There are some necessary preconditions as to how an educational activity becomes relevant. Firstly, the student must be capable to discover how generic knowledge and acquired skills may or may not apply to concrete situations at work. This requires experience, understanding of the norms and culture of the organisation and a certain form of practical intelligence. Secondly, the conditions at work place must be conducive to innovation and change in various ways. In this article, we present a case study where employee turnover and lack of effective training routines were a major efficiency constraint in a Norwegian firm. With constant competition, changes in markets and other factors that influence the sustainability of an organization, cutting costs, such as high turnover and the time from being newcomer to being fully operative in the job. The responsible for training activities in the firm realized that additional formal education at the higher education level was needed, and he decided to enrol in a Knowledge Management study program at The Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences in order to learn how he could improve knowledge management and learning processes of new employees at his workplace. The case study ultimately demonstrates how crucial the interplay between content and form of education on one hand and specific conditions facilitating changes and improvements at work on the other is for the relevance in formal higher education narrative.publishedVersio

Norsk klassisk gitarhistorie fra 1800 til 1980 : en sammenliknende analyse av den klassiske gitars popularitet i Norge, Sverige og Danmark fra 1800 til omkring 1980, med vekt på utviklingen i Norge

Masteroppgave i klassisk musikk- Universitetet i Agder 2009En sammenliknende analyse av den klassiske gitars popularitet i Norge, Sverige og Danmark fra 1800 til rundt 1980 med vekt på utviklingen i Norge”, søker generelt å belyse gitarens posisjon i Norden og spesielt dens popularitet her til lands. Nøkkelord: Klassisk, gitarister, foreninger, radio- og tv-programmer, pedagoger, utøvere, lærebøker, svensker, dansker, nordmenn, sammenlikning, inspirasjon, popularitet. Gjennomgang av kapitler: Oppgaven omfatter en kort introduksjon av gitarens historie (2). Noen navn blir omtalt i forbindelse med 1800-tallet og Frelsesarmeen får en presentasjon (3). I dette århundre var danskene ”tidlig på banen” med gode utøvere og komponister og da spesielt Lemming og Rung. På begynnelsen av 1900-tallet ser Sverige sin første profesjonelle gitarist, Larsson (4). Sammen med et par andre er han en av dem som har størst innvirkning på det som skal skje i Norge. I forkant av andre verdenskrig starter de første norske pedagoger med undervisning og forfatter de første lærebøker (5). Westbye og brødrene Gundhus er pionerene her til lands. På 1960-tallet får gitaren endelig ordentlig fotfeste gjennom foreninger som ”Venner av den klassiske gitar” og programmer på eteren som ”Fra Barokk til Rock” og ”Gitarforum”. En av dem som var mye delaktig på denne tiden, Ingelin Engelstad (f. Bakke), har jeg valgt å betegne som Norges gitarbestemor (6). 1970-tallet er tiåret for de første norske debutene (7) og de som var først ute blir presentert her. Noen av disse var også involvert i omleggingen av konservatoriet til Norges musikkhøgskole (NMH) i 1973 (8). Helt til slutt konkluderer jeg med at uten de nordiske forbindelsene hadde ikke Norsk Klassisk Gitarhistorie sett ut som den gjør i dag. (9

Forsikringsselskapenes adgang til ansvarsbegrensning som følge av den forsikredes helsetilstand, jf. FAL § 13-5. Helseerklæringens betydning for hvor langt forsikringsselskapenes ansvar strekker seg.

Oppgavens problemstilling er forsikringsselskapenes adgang til ansvarsbegrensning som følge av den forsikredes helsetilstand, jf. FAL § 13-5. Avhandlingen vil belyse helseerklæringens betydning for hvor langt forsikringsselskapenes ansvar strekker seg. Hovedfokus i oppgaven er ansvarsbegrensning etter FAL § 13-5 andre ledd

Hvilke holdninger har de voksne i barnehagen til risikofylt lek? Og tenker førskolelærere det samme som assistenter?

Problemstilling: Hvilke holdninger har de voksne i barnehagen til risikofylt lek? Og tenker førskolelærere det samme som assistenter?bachelor-v201