Regulation of cytochrome P450 mRNA expression in primary porcine hepatocytes by selected secondary plant metabolites from chicory (Cichorium intybus L.)

Chicory (Cichorium intybus) has been shown to induce enzymes of pharmacokinetic relevance (cytochrome P450; CYP). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of selected secondary plant metabolites with a global extract of chicory root, on the expression of hepatic CYP mRNA (1A2, 2A19, 2C33, 2D25, 2E1 and 3A29), using primary porcine hepatocytes. Of the tested secondary plant metabolites, artemisinin, scoparone, lactucin and esculetin all induced increased expression of specific CYPs, while esculin showed no effect. In contrast, a global extract of chicory root decreased the expression of CYP1A2, 2C33, 2D25 and 3A29 at high concentrations. The results suggest that purified secondary metabolites from chicory affect CYP expression and thereby might affect detoxification in general, and that global extracts of plants can have effects different from individual components

Feynman integral relations from parametric annihilators

We study shift relations between Feynman integrals via the Mellin transform through parametric annihilation operators. These contain the momentum space IBP relations, which are well-known in the physics literature. Applying a result of Loeser and Sabbah, we conclude that the number of master integrals is computed by the Euler characteristic of the Lee-Pomeransky polynomial. We illustrate techniques to compute this Euler characteristic in various examples and compare it with numbers of master integrals obtained in previous works.Comment: v2: new section 3.1 added, several misprints corrected and additional remark

Combinatorial classification of quantum lens spaces

We answer the question of how large the dimension of a quantum lens space must be, compared to the primary parameter $r$, for the isomorphism class to depend on the secondary parameters. Since classification results in C*-algebra theory reduces this question to one concerning a certain kind of $SL$-equivalence of integer matrices of a special form, our approach is entirely combinatorial and based on the counting of certain paths in the graphs shown by Hong and Szyma\'nski to describe the quantum lens spaces.Comment: 27 pages, 2 figure

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Masteroppgave i informasjonsvitenskapINFO390MASV-INF

Spatio-temporal Diptera visitation to Silene acaulis flowers studied with time-lapse cameras in Svalbard and Greenland

Flower visitation by flying arthropods has mainly been studied by direct human observation, which usually neglects seasonal development of flower abundance even though this is known to be important for visitor dynamics and match between trophic levels. In the present study, the arthropod visitor community focusing on Diptera was investigated on the cushion plant Silene acaulis (L.) Jacq. in relation to the available flower area. This was done using time-lapse cameras at one sub-Arctic, one low Arctic, and two high Arctic sites at Svalbard and Greenland. The S. acaulis flower visitor match at the Svalbard site was in addition characterized by using independent invertebrate traps located next to the camera site. Image annotation of cushion’s visitors ensured a high temporal resolution of data throughout the flowering season and showed a highly increased visitation frequency when more flowers were open. Individuals from several trophic levels visited S. acaulis, supporting the claim of S. acaulis as nursing plant and community hotspot. True flies (Diptera) were by far the most abundant visitors of the visitors identified. The Diptera visitor abundance per unit flower area showed large variations and varied over seasonal development, years, and between sites. Image-annotated visitors were observed both on open flowers and the remaining image. In average 40 % of Diptera visitors were observed on flowers. This percentage followed the increase in image area with open flowers and peaked the same time as flowering peak, thought the number was also site and year specific. For the largest camera site in Svalbard, this percentage of visitors on flowers strongly decreased during the three-year study period. The decrease may have been enhanced by delays in flowering onset that led to increased competition with other flower species, making S. acaulis flowers less attractive to visitors

Parkour og den mobile teknologi: En etnografisk undersøgelse af fænomenet parkour i dimensionerne krop, by og medialisering

Parkour betegnes af udøverne som en ”bevægelseskunst”. Den grundlæggende idé er at bevæge sig i et flow gennem omgivelserne kun ved brug af kroppen for at komme fra punkt A til punkt B så hurtigt og effektivt som muligt. Udøverne, som kaldes ”traceurs” og primært er unge mænd, traverserer byrummet i højt tempo og flydende bevægelser: De glider over gelændre, husmure, hegn, bænke og parkerede biler. Ofte filmer de deres løb med digitalkameraer og uploader materialet på nettet, hvor det kommenteres af og inspirerer andre traceurs. Hvordan nærmer man sig metodisk en kultur som parkourkulturen, der både er en krops-, en by- og en mediekultur? Artiklen refererer til en nu afsluttet undersøgelse af parkourkulturen og diskuterer et metodisk-teoretisk design, der imødekommer dette spørgsmål. Der peges på, at det snarere end at nærme sig feltet, handler om at følge det og dets transformationer gennem både kropslige, rumlige og medierede aspekter. Denne tilgang laver en heterogen og ”mere-end repræsentationel” mapping og prioriterer det relationelle og flertydige ved at fokusere på mulige forbindelser mellem teori, metode og empiri

‘There is a Row about Foetal Abnormality Underway’ : the debate about inclusion of a eugenics clause in the contraception, sterilisation, and abortion act, 1977–1978

Abstract: On 15 December 1977 the New Zealand Parliament passed the highly restrictive Contraception, Sterilisation and Abortion Act that determined the grounds on which a woman could legally procure an abortion. The passage of the law was the culmination of passionate debate between Members of Parliament (MPs). Indeed, a member of the ruling National Party’s Cabinet in the 1970s recalls that the abortion question caused ‘the bitterest parliamentary debates of the decade’.1 Occurring during a period of great social change in New Zealand, the abortion debate had raged across the country since the late 1960s and the governing National Party hoped the law would finally bring matters to an end. But its passage was also extremely controversial outside of Parliament, provoking strong criticism from the public regarding the contents of the law as well as the process the government had employed to pass it..

Parkour og den mobile teknologi: En etnografisk undersøgelse af fænomenet parkour i dimensionerne krop, by og medialisering

Parkour betegnes af udøverne som en ”bevægelseskunst”. Den grundlæggende idé er at bevæge sig i et flow gennem omgivelserne kun ved brug af kroppen for at komme fra punkt A til punkt B så hurtigt og effektivt som muligt. Udøverne, som kaldes ”traceurs” og primært er unge mænd, traverserer byrummet i højt tempo og flydende bevægelser: De glider over gelændre, husmure, hegn, bænke og parkerede biler. Ofte filmer de deres løb med digitalkameraer og uploader materialet på nettet, hvor det kommenteres af og inspirerer andre traceurs. Hvordan nærmer man sig metodisk en kultur som parkourkulturen, der både er en krops-, en by- og en mediekultur? Artiklen refererer til en nu afsluttet undersøgelse af parkourkulturen og diskuterer et metodisk-teoretisk design, der imødekommer dette spørgsmål. Der peges på, at det snarere end at nærme sig feltet, handler om at følge det og dets transformationer gennem både kropslige, rumlige og medierede aspekter. Denne tilgang laver en heterogen og ”mere-end repræsentationel” mapping og prioriterer det relationelle og flertydige ved at fokusere på mulige forbindelser mellem teori, metode og empiri