The Fluid Structure Interaction Analysis of a Peristaltic Pump

The thesis work models the squeezing of the tube and computes the fluid motion of a peristaltic pump. The simulations have been conducted by using COMSOL Multiphysics FSI module. The model is setup in axis symmetric with several simulation cases to have a clear understanding of the results. The model captures total displacement of the tube, velocity magnitude, and average pressure fluctuation of the fluid motion. A clear understanding and review of many mathematical and physical concepts are also discussed with their applications in real field. In order to solve the problems and work around the resource constraints, a thorough understanding of mass balance and momentum equations, finite element concepts, arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian method, one-way coupling method, two-way coupling method, and COMSOL Multiphysics simulation setup are understood and briefly narrated.

Plant-Herbivore Interaction in a Fragmented Landscape: Local Adaptation and Inbreeding

Reciprocal selection between interacting species is a major driver of biodiversity at both the genetic and the species level. This reciprocal selection, or coevolution, has led to the diversification of two highly diverse and abundant groups of organisms, flowering plants and their insect herbivores. In heterogeneous environments, the outcome of coevolved species interactions is influenced by the surrounding community and/or the abiotic environment. The process of adaptation allows species to adapt to their local conditions and to local populations of interacting species. However, adaptation can be disrupted or slowed down by an absence of genetic variation or by increased inbreeding, together with the following inbreeding depression, both of which are common in small and isolated populations that occur in fragmented environments. I studied the interaction between a long-lived plant Vincetoxicum hirundinaria and its specialist herbivore Abrostola asclepiadis in the southwestern archipelago of Finland. I focused on mutual local adaptation of plants and herbivores, which is a demonstration of reciprocal selection between species, a prerequisite for coevolution. I then proceeded to investigate the processes that could potentially hamper local adaptation, or species interaction in general, when the population size is small. I did this by examining how inbreeding of both plants and herbivores affects traits that are important for interaction, as well as among-population variation in the effects of inbreeding. In addition to bi-parental inbreeding, in plants inbreeding can arise from self-fertilization which has important implications for mating system evolution. I found that local adaptation of the plant to its herbivores varied among populations. Local adaptation of the herbivore varied among populations and years, being weaker in populations that were most connected. Inbreeding caused inbreeding depression in both plants and herbivores. In some populations inbreeding depression in herbivore biomass was stronger in herbivores feeding on inbred plants than in those feeding on outbred ones. For plants it was the other way around: inbreeding depression in anti-herbivore resistance decreased when the herbivores were inbred. Underlying some of the among-population variation in the effects of inbreeding is variation in plant phenolic compounds. However, variation in the modification of phenolic compounds in the digestive tract of the herbivore did not explain the inbreeding depression in herbivore biomass. Finally, adult herbivores had a preference for outbred host plants for egg deposition, and herbivore inbreeding had a positive effect on egg survival when the eggs were exposed to predators and parasitoids. These results suggest that plants and herbivores indeed exert reciprocal selection, as demonstrated by the significant local adaptation of V. hirundinaria and A. asclepiadis to one another. The most significant cause of disruption of the local adaptation of herbivore populations was population connectivity, and thus probably gene flow. In plants local adaptation tended to increase with increasing genetic variation. Whether or not inbreeding depression occurred varied according to the life-history stage of the herbivore and/or the plant trait in question. In addition, the effects of inbreeding strongly depended on the population. Taken together, inbreeding modified plant-herbivore interactions at several different levels, and can thus affect the strength of reciprocal selection between species. Thus inbreeding has the potential to affect the outcome of coevolution.

Novel Interaction Techniques for Mobile Augmented Reality applications. A Systematic Literature Review

This study reviews the research on interaction techniques and methods that could be applied in mobile augmented reality scenarios. The review is focused on themost recent advances and considers especially the use of head-mounted displays. Inthe review process, we have followed a systematic approach, which makes the reviewtransparent, repeatable, and less prone to human errors than if it was conducted in amore traditional manner. The main research subjects covered in the review are headorientation and gaze-tracking, gestures and body part-tracking, and multimodality– as far as the subjects are related to human-computer interaction. Besides these,also a number of other areas of interest will be discussed.

Interaction on the Page: Paratexts in two manuscripts of the Middle English Polychronicon

Tutkimuksessani tarkastelen myöhäiskeskiaikaisen maailmanhistoriateoksen, Ranulph Higdenin Polychroniconin, materiaalisia ilmentymiä. Vertailuun valittiin kaksi käsikirjoitusta, jotka sisältävät John Trevisan keskienglanninkielisen käännöksen kyseisestä teoksesta. Tutkielman lähtökohtana on ajatus, jonka mukaan käsikirjoitusten ja painettujen kirjojen välisistä eroista huolimatta myös ensin mainittuja voidaan tutkia kirjoina eli lukijan kohtaamina fyysisinä esineinä, jotka sisältävät varsinaisen tekstin lisäksi tekstuaalisia ja visuaalisia elementtejä, joilla tekstiä jäsennellään ja esitellään lukijalle ja jotka vaikuttavat lukijan lukukokemukseen ja ohjaavat lukuprosessia. Näiden elementtien kuvaamiseen ja analysointiin olen soveltanut Gérard Genetten parateksti-käsitettä, jonka käyttö käsikirjoitusten tutkimuksessa on toistaiseksi ollut vähäistä. Tutkielman tavoitteena on historiallisen pragmatiikan mukaisesti ottaa huomioon tekstien fyysinen ja sosiaalinen konteksti. Näkökulma painottuu vuorovaikutukseen kirjan tuottajien ja sen lukijoiden välillä, ja tutkielman tarkoitus on paitsi selvittää, millaisia elementtejä käsikirjoituksista löytyy lukijan lukuprosessia ohjaamaan ja tukemaan, myös tarkastella lukijoiden itsensä tekemiä merkintöjä. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että lukijoiden merkinnät noudattelivat osin samoja muotoja ja käyttötarkoituksia kuin kirjurien valmiiksi täydentämät elementit (esim. glossat) käsikirjoituksissa, mutta joitakin elementtejä täydennettiin mahdollisesti myös painettujen kirjojen myötä yleistyneiden käytäntöjen pohjalta. Analyysissani tarkastelen lähemmin myös teokseen liitettyjä esipuheita ja muita tekstejä tarkoituksenani selvittää, mitkä niistä voidaan luokitella parateksteiksi ja mikä merkitys niillä on kokonaisuuden kannalta. Tutkimuksessa kävi ilmi, että tekijän ja kääntäjän esipuheista löytyivät kaikki Genetten määrittämät kriteerit, kun taas aineiston toiseen käsikirjoitukseen sisältyvät muiden kirjoittajien tekstit eivät ole luokiteltavissa parateksteiksi, vaikka ne ulkoisesti sellaisilta vaikuttavat ja vaikka niistä on tullut paratekstien kaltainen kiinteä osa Polychroniconia.

Stromal interaction molecule 1 and its role in the regulation, proliferation and protein expression in follicular ML-1 thyroid cancer cells

Calcium (Ca2+) is involved in the regulation of variety of cellular functions including hallmarks of cancer development such as cellular migration and cellular proliferation. Store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) is a central mechanism in cellular calcium signaling and in maintaining the cellular calcium balance. Stromal interaction molecule 1(STIM1) has been identified as an important constituent of SOCE. In this thesis , the STIM1 proteins are studied for their importance in cellular processes and their effects on the expression of S1P1, S1P2, S1P3, VEGFR-2, and TRPC-1 in follicular ML-1 thyroid cancer cells. The results show the importance of STIM1 proteins in SOCE in these cells. The SOCE is significantly reduced in the STIM1 knockdown cells. The results also show the importance of STIM1 proteins in the expression of S1P2 and VEGFR-2 in these cells, as knockdown of STIM1 was shown to upregulate the expression of S1P2 and VEGFR-2. The migration and proliferation is also considerably reduced in the cells in which STIM1 has been knocked down showing the significance of STIM1 in the migration and proliferation in these cells.

Integrated reporting – a new form of a firm’s interaction with stakeholders

This study examines a new kind of public reporting, called integrated reporting as a form of a firm’s interaction with stakeholders. The study concerned issues such as how the studied organization defined its stakeholders and how this definition evolved during the transition period from 2009 to 2013, how has the integrated reporting of the organization evolved as an instrument of interaction with stakeholders over the transition period, and how the organization reported its value creation according to the international integrated reporting framework in the final, full-featured report. In examining the theory, the study used a qualitative analysis method that allowed deriving conceptual tools necessary to carry out the study. This study is based on the material of the five integrated reports written in Russian from a subsidiary of a Russian public company. The subsidiary carried out the transition to an integrated reporting for the five years from 2009 to 2013. A comparative qualitative method was used in reviewing the empirical material. During the research, an active cooperation of the organization with key stakeholders was revealed, which occurred during the whole period of development of integrated reporting. As a result, integrated reports were produced in cooperation with various key stakeholders, allowing balancing the financial and non-financial information in the reports. The study found that during the transition period, integrated reports gradually changed in the direction of greater clarity and ease of access to perception, consistency of presentation and materiality. The integrated reporting of the organization began reflect the basic requirements of the international integrated reporting framework regarding the content elements and guiding principles. Thus, the organization’s reports began including features of financial and non-financial reporting and connecting the three aspects of the organization's activities: economic, environmental and social. This study reveals the importance of identifying key stakeholders and their influence on the creation of organizational value. The new form of reporting suits better the requirements of modern organizations to interact with their stakeholder groups. The integrated reporting, which reflects the principles of the international integrated reporting framework, is an active resource for companies to communicate with stakeholders and a platform of transmission the necessary information on the creation of value in the long term.