Charlotte Svendler Nielsen

Host‐related factors explaining interindividual variability of carotenoid bioavailability and tissue concentrations in humans

Carotenoid dietary intake and their endogenous levels have been associated with a decreased risk of several chronic diseases. There are indications that carotenoid bioavailability depends, in addition to the food matrix, on host factors. These include diseases (e.g. colitis), life‐style habits (e.g. smoking), gender and age, as well as genetic variations including single nucleotide polymorphisms that govern carotenoid metabolism. These are expected to explain interindividual differences that contribute to carotenoid uptake, distribution, metabolism and excretion, and therefore possibly also their association with disease risk. For instance, digestion enzymes fostering micellization (PNLIP, CES), expression of uptake/efflux transporters (SR‐BI, CD36, NPC1L1), cleavage enzymes (BCO1/2), intracellular transporters (FABP2), secretion into chylomicrons (APOB, MTTP), carotenoid metabolism in the blood and liver (LPL, APO C/E, LDLR), and distribution to target tissues such as adipose tissue or macula (GSTP1, StARD3) depend on the activity of these proteins. In addition, human microbiota, e.g. via altering bile‐acid concentrations, may play a role in carotenoid bioavailability. In order to comprehend individual, variable responses to these compounds, an improved knowledge on intra‐/interindividual factors determining carotenoid bioavailability, including tissue distribution, is required. Here, we highlight the current knowledge on factors that may explain such intra‐/interindividual differences.

Researching embodied learning by using videographic participation for data collection and audiovisual narratives for dissemination – illustrated by the encounter between two acrobats

The article concerns doing ethnography in education and it reflects upon using ‘videographic participation’ for data collection and the concept of ‘audiovisual narratives’ for dissemination, which is inspired by the idea of developing academic video. The article takes a narrative approach to qualitative research and presents a case from contemporary circus education examining embodied learning, whereas the particular focus in this article is methodology and the development of a dissemination strategy for empirical material generated through videographic participation. Drawing on contributions concerned with the senses from the field of sport sciences and from the field of visual anthropology and sensory ethnography, the article concludes that using videographic participation and creating audiovisual narratives might be a good option to capture the multisensuous dimensions of a learning situation.

Children’s Embodied Voices

We constantly experience and express ourselves through our bodies, and children use their bodies to communicate even before they develop a verbal language. The body is central in our efforts to create meaning and make sense of our experiences. For example, when children develop concepts of wet and dry, wet means wetter than my body (Egan, 1997, p. 40). It is through our bodies that we translate our perceptions to actions and vice versa – actions also colour our perceptions. According to Kieran Egan (1997), curriculum should involve the somatic1 dimension to a much higher degree and ensure that this dimension is a continuous part of children’s education and development.