Conflation \u3cem\u3eOr When I Say You, I Mean I\u3c/em\u3e

Conflation or When I Say You, I Mean I is a poetic interrogation catalyzed by the ideas within Anne Carson’s Eros the Bittersweet and Georges Bataille’s Erotism: Death and Sensuality. The interrogation takes place within a form that positions failed love poems alongside poetic analyses or reflections. By doing so the erotic relationship that exists within the genre of the love poem as well as the hierarchy created between the roles of lover and beloved is put into question

Crystal ball or wishful thinking? Reference pathways as tools for net zero investing in pension funds

This thesis will examine the premonitions and parameters of two models for sustainable finance development: the International Energy Agency (IEA) model Net Zero by 2050, and the Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance (NZAOA) model One Earth Climate Model. It will also share observations from my internship period in Norway's largest pension fund, KLP, where reference pathways are a part of their climate strategy. The thesis will briefly compare and contrast the two climate models and their reference pathways. After investigating the prerequisites for using these models, the thesis looks at some likely consequences of integrating them into organisations, as well as how these models/pathways work as market devices with agencies of their own. Some key questions this thesis will ask, are: What can these models provide us? What are some of the background parameters for the models? How are these models actually integrated and used?Praksisbasert masteroppgaveSDG351MAHF-SD

Heller filantropi enn demokrati. Statoils CSR i utlandet.

Multinasjonale selskaper opplever stadig høyere forventninger til å ta ansvar for sosial og politisk utvikling i de landene de opererer i. Statoil, som er i ferd med å utvide sin virksomhet i land utenfor Norge, har satt i gang en rekke tiltak innen Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). I denne masteroppgaven prøver jeg å finne ut hvilke faktorer som påvirker Statoils innsats innen CSR, og hvorvidt disse tiltakene har positiv innvirkning på demokratiet i vertslandet. Oppgaven består i en komparativ analyse av landene hvor Statoil har gjort såkalte Social Investments (SI) i følge årsrapporten av 2010. Jeg ser SI-budsjettene i forhold til økonomiske, politiske, sosiale og kulturelle faktorer i vertslandene, målt ved ulike indekser. Til slutt foretar jeg en case-studie av to av landene, Angola og Canada, hvor jeg analyserer de konkrete SI-prosjektene med tanke på demokratibyggingspotensiale. Mine analyser viser at Statoils SI-tiltak til en viss grad påvirkes av økonomiske, politiske, sosiale og kulturelle faktorer, men også strategier med tanke på posisjonering og merkevarebygging. Den lokale konteksten i vertslandene spiller en rolle, og investeringene synes forøvrig å styres av tilfeldigheter og initiativer fra vertslandet. Når det gjelder demokratibygging, ser vi at Statoils sosiale investeringer i Angola og Canada kan deles i to nivåer av CSR: Veldedighet og kunnskapsoverføring. Veldedighet har liten effekt på den demokratiske utviklingen, og kunnskapsoverføring kan resultere i klientelisme, hvor man styrker det nåværende styresettets legitimitet og sementerer de demokratiske utfordringene. Utover SI-tiltakene finner jeg imidlertid at Statoil påvirker demokratiet på et tredje nivå: Som et positivt eksempel på gjennomsiktighet og gode relasjoner til de ansatte. Ved å la seg inspirere av den norske korporatismen i sine utenlandsoperasjoner kan selskapet kan være en pådriver for demokratiske strukturer. I et demokratibyggingsperspektiv er det mer tjenelig å fokusere på å eksportere demokratiske verdier gjennom å opptre som et godt eksempel, enn ved filantropisk CSR som veldedighet og kunnskapsoverføring. Dette er noe Statoil og andre norske bedrifter bør ta hensyn til i utviklingen av nye strategier for CSR og Human Relations. Den norske korporatismens potensiale som et eksempel til etterfølgelse i andre land, gjennom norske bedrifters tilstedeværelse, bør dessuten undersøkes nærmere i fremtidig forskning.SAMPOL650MASV-DEMO

Establishing cell lines from fresh or cryopreserved tissue from the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus):A preliminary protocol

This study describes a successful protocol for establishing cell lines from the threatened Triturus cristatus in terms of collection, preparing, establishing, cryopreserving, thawing and quality checking. Different parameters such as media, media change, fresh vs. cryopreserved tissue and seeding density were tested to optimize culture conditions for this species. With fresh tissue, no considerable differences in the use of two different media were found, but with cryopreserved tissue, a combination of ITS (insulin/transferrin/selenite) and 2-mercaptoethanol had a positive effect on growth. Real-time measurements on the cell lines were used, for the first time in amphibian cells, to investigate the effect of different treatments such as media change with or without washing. Media change had a positive impact on the cells, whereas the effect was negative when combined with washing. It is concluded that establishment of cell lines is possible from the great crested newt, especially when using fresh tissue, but much more challenging if the tissue has been cryopreserved. Real-time measurement during cell culture is a useful tool to visualize the sensitivity of amphibian cells during different culture treatments

Læring, utvikling og prestasjon i ildledningsmiljøet ved Luftvernbataljonen

publishedVersio

The effect of low pH on surface hardness, volume, surface area and morphology of direct dental restorative materials

Background: Dental erosions as a disease is an increasing problem today, in particularly among adolescents. They may be caused by intrinsic factors such as gastric juice, frequently present in the oral cavity of bulimic patients. Direct dental restorative materials may be used to treat erosions, but the data regarding the effects of low pH on volume changes of these materials are limited. Objective: To investigate the effect of a hydrochloric acidic solution with a pH of 1.2 on surface hardness, volume, surface area and morphology of three direct dental restorative materials, using microhardness test, micro computed tomography (micro-CT) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Material and methods: Using Tetric EvoCeram, Tetric EvoFlow and GC Fuji II LC, 13 specimens of each material were made. The prepared specimens were thereafter randomly allocated within their respective material group and exposed to a hydrochloric acidic solution (pH 1.2) for 6 and 48 hours (equivalent to 2 and 16 years of vomiting, respectively), before they underwent microhardness test, micro-CT and SEM. The tests were performed both before and after acidic exposure. Statistical analyses were performed using a significance level set to 5%. Results: A reduction in microhardness was seen in all the materials, but only Tetric EvoCeram had a significant reduction in Knoop hardness number (KHN) (P = 0.039) after 48 hours of acidic exposure (mean values from 29.73 to 27.13 KHN). Significant volume reductions were seen after 48 hours for Tetric EvoFlow (P = 0.039) (mean values from 56.04 to 54.17 mm3) and GC Fuji II LC (P = 0.023) (mean values from 63.86 to 55.11 mm3). No significance was found regarding surface area. SEM showed varying results regarding surface morphology; several images exhibit an apparent increase in roughness with acidic exposure, while others did the opposite. Conclusion: In general – in the absence of mechanical stimulus – the microhardness of the materials may be reduced, there may be a loss of volume, and differences in surface area and morphology may appear after acidic exposure. The observed changes were small, and few were significant. Consequently, this indicates that dental restorative materials may have a protective effect against erosions on non-loaded areas of the dentition. However, there are several limitations of our study; a low sample size, multiple clinical factors we did not take into account, and uncertainty about the validity of the exposure times used. This complicates the drawing of any certain conclusions, making further investigations required to obtain complementary results. Keywords: Erosion, bulimia, direct dental restorative materials, resin-based composites, resin-modified GIC, acidic exposure, microhardness, micro-CT, SEM

Effects of post-mortem storage conditions of bovine epididymides on sperm characteristics:investigating a tool for preservation of sperm from endangered species

The aim of this study was to establish and validate a reliable and efficient protocol for the recovery and cryopreservation of epididymal spermatozoa used for in vitro fertilization, using bulls of two different age classes. Testicles from 26 (37–51 weeks old, group 1) and 19 (52–115 weeks old, group 2) Danish Holstein bulls were collected after slaughter and stored at 5°C. After 0, 24 or 48 h, epididymides were isolated and spermatozoa collected. Assessments included spermatozoal motility, viability and morphology before and after cryopreservation and in vitro embryo production. Results showed that live spermatozoa can be collected from epididymides of bulls after their death. Storage of the testicles at 5°C for 24 h followed by cryopreservation of recovered epididymal spermatozoa resulted in 21% (group 1) and 31% (group 2) blastocysts produced in vitro. These results illustrate that epididymal spermatozoa recovered from testicles kept in specific conditions can be used to preserve genetic material from endangered and threatened species or populations in nature as well as in domestic and zoo animals

The clonal evolution of metastatic colorectal cancer

Tumor heterogeneity and evolution drive treatment resistance in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Patient-derived xenografts (PDXs) can model mCRC biology; however, their ability to accurately mimic human tumor heterogeneity is unclear. Current genomic studies in mCRC have limited scope and lack matched PDXs. Therefore, the landscape of tumor heterogeneity and its impact on the evolution of metastasis and PDXs remain undefined. We performed whole-genome, deep exome, and targeted validation sequencing of multiple primary regions, matched distant metastases, and PDXs from 11 patients with mCRC. We observed intricate clonal heterogeneity and evolution affecting metastasis dissemination and PDX clonal selection. Metastasis formation followed both monoclonal and polyclonal seeding models. In four cases, metastasis-seeding clones were not identified in any primary region, consistent with a metastasis-seeding-metastasis model. PDXs underrepresented the subclonal heterogeneity of parental tumors. These suggest that single sample tumor sequencing and current PDX models may be insufficient to guide precision medicine