Left-Handed DNA in Synthetic and Topologically Constrained Form V-DNA

We have investigated structural transitions in Poly(dG-dC) and Poly(dG-Me5dC) in order to understand the exact role of cations in stabilizing left-handed helical structures in specific sequences andthe biological role, if any, of these structures. From a novel temperature dependent transition it has been shown that a minor fluctuation in Na+ concentration at ambient temperature can bring about Β to Ζ transition. Forthe first time, wehave observed a novel double transition in poly(dG-Me5dC) as the Na+ concentration is gradually increased. This suggests that a minor fluctuation in Na+ concentration in conjunction with methylation may transform small stretches of CG sequences from one conformational state to another. These stretches could probably serve as sites for regulation. Supercoiled formV DNA reconstituted from pBR322 and pßG plasmids have been studied as model systems, in order to understand the nature and role of left-handed helical conformation in natural sequences. A large portion of DNA in form V, obtained by reannealing the two complementary singlestranded circles is forced to adopt left-handed double helical structure due to topological constraints (Lk = 0). Binding studies with Z-DNA specific antibody and spectroscopic studies confirm the presence of left-handed Z-structure in the pßG and pßR322 form V DNA. Cobalt hexamine chloride, which induces Z-form in Poly(dG-dC) stabilizes the Z-conformation in form V DNA even in the non-alternating purine-pyrimidine sequences. A reverse effect is observed with ethidium bromide. Interestingly, both topoisomerase I and II (from wheat germ) act effectively on form V DNA to give rise to a species having an electrophoretic mobility on agarose gel similar to that of open circular (form II) DNA. Whether this molecule is formed as a result of the left-handed helical segments of form V DNA undergoing a transition to the right-handed B-form during the topoisomerase action remains to be solved.

Electronic-structures of h2o.bf3 and related n-v addition-compounds - a combined eels-ups study in vapor-phase

The detailed electronic structure of the n-v addition compound H2O·BF3 has been investigated for the first time by a combined use of electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and UV photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) augmented by MO calculations. The calculated molecular orbital energies of H2O·BF3 agree well with the UPS results and have been used to assign the electronic transitions obtained from EELS and to construct an orbital correlation diagram. The Journal of Chemical Physics is copyrighted by The American Institute of Physics.

Primestoimenno-otnositel'nye konstrukcii v sovremennom russkom jazyke

Relative Constructions with Pronominal Heads in Contemporary Russian Chapter 1 introduces the distinctive syntactic and semantic properties of Russian relative constructions (RCs), which are then divided into two main classes according to the type of the head phrase. The study concentrates on RCs with pronominal heads, which are systematically compared with noun-headed RCs. Chapter 2 clarifies the categorization of pronouns in Russian. The conclusion is that Russian pronouns include only personal, reflexive and wh-pronouns. The remaining words that are traditionally seen as pronouns are actually functional equivalents of determiners. This idea leads to the suggestion that RCs with these determiner-like words as the only constituent of the head phrase are actually headed by zero pronouns. In the other type of RCs with pronominal heads, the head position is occupied by wh-pronouns with clitics expressing different types of indefiniteness and quantification. Comparison of the two types of pronoun-headed RCs shows that the wh-heads and zero-heads share a number of common properties with respect to the grammatical gender, number and person as well as to the semantic distinction between animates and inanimates. The rest of Chapter 2 gives an overview of various uses of wh-pronouns in Russian and an experimental analysis of RCs headed by pronominal adverbs. Chapter 3 discusses fundamental differences between RCs with noun and pronominal heads. One of the main findings is that the choice of the relative pronoun (kto 'who' and chto 'what' versus kotoryj 'which') is motivated by a tendency to reproduce maximally the essential grammatical and semantic properties of the antecedent. Chapter 4 gives a detailed description of the determiner-like words and wh-based heads used in the two types of RCs with pronominal heads. In addition, several issues related to the syntax and semantics of free relatives are discussed. The conclusion is that there is no need to establish a separate category of free relatives in Russian. Chapter 5 discusses the syntax and semantics of correlative and free concessive constructions. They share a number of properties with pronoun-headed RCs and the two are often confused in Russian linguistics. However, a detailed analysis shows that these constructions must be distinguished from RCs. The study combines the methods of functionally-oriented Russian structuralism with some insights from generative syntax.

Èto i to v povesti Staruha Daniila Harmsa

This dissertation focuses on the short story Starukha (The Old Woman), one of the last works of the Russian writer Daniil Kharms (1905-1942). The story, written in 1939, is analysed using the Kharmsian concepts èto and to (this and that) as a heuristic interpretative model. The first chapter gives a detailed analysis of this model, as well as a survey of the critical work done to date on Kharms and Starukha. In the second chapter the model is applied to study the different states of consciousness of the male protagonist. This is significant, because he is the "I" of the work, from whose point of view everything is being told. The third chapter takes a closer look at the reality of the world that exists independently of the consciousness of the protagonist. Physical objects can be said to bear - besides their everyday meaning - a hidden symbolic meaning. Similarly, the characters can be considered as representatives of everyday reality and otherworldliness. The fourth chapter deals with the narrative devices of Starukha. The problematics of the relation between fact and fiction plays an essential role in the story. Kharms's use of Ich-Erzählung and different tenses, which contributes to achieving a complicated elaboration of this kind of problematics, is examined in detail. The fifth chapter provides an intertextual reading of Starukha, based on its allusions to the Bible and the Christian tradition. As a result, the whole story can be seen as a kind of meditation on the Passion of Christ. The final chapter examines how the important Kharmsian concepts of the grotesque and the absurd manifest themselves in Starukha. The old woman represents in a grotesque way two opposite systems: the religious and the totalitarian. The absurdity of Starukha can be claimed to be illusory. Therefore, it is better to speak about paradoxicality. Starukha itself is a kind of paradox, in the sense that it tries to say something of the ultimate truth of reality, which inevitably remains ineffable.

Mifopoètika Andreja Platonova v romane Sčastlivaja Moskva

This dissertation focuses on the mythopoetics of the Soviet writer Andrej Platonov (1899-1951) in his late novel Schastlivaja Moskva (Happy Moscow), written in 1932 1936. The purpose of the work is to reveal the mythopoetic world model in the novel, to characterize the most significant features of Platonov's mythopoetics and finally, to reconstruct the author's myth in the novel by placing the novel in the context of Platonov's oeuvre and Russian literature and culture as a whole. The first chapter provides a representation of the problem and methodology of the work, a short overview of the history of creating and publishing the novel, and a survey of critical work on Platonov done to date. The study utilizes a structuralistic-semiotic approach devised by Tarto-Moscow scholars for analyzing mythopoetic texts and applies the methodology of a conceptual analysis of the mythology of language. The second chapter examines the peculiarities of Platonov's mythopoetics, and its relation to the neomythological paradigm of Russian literature. Some special consideration is given to the character of the scientific utopism of Platonov's myth, to the relation of Platonov's mythopoetic world model with mythopoetic thinking and to the syntagmatical, and paradigmatical aspects of Platonov's myth, in particular to the mythopoetical metasjuzhet and the ambivalent binary structure of myth. The third chapter presents a close examination of the mythopoetics of the novel by discerning the motif structure of the novel, analyzing the characters and main thematic oppositions of Platonov's myth in the novel. It is contended that in every textual level Platonov strives for ambivalency which provides an opportunity to discern his poetics as both utopian and antiutopian. The analysis in the fourth chapter of the key Platonovian ideological concepts revoljucia, kommunizm and socializm confirms this observation. The study concludes that Platonov's myth in the novel is based on the mythologema of his early prose, but reflect the gradual transition from early utopian themes to the intimate "humble" prose of the late 1930's.

Recipient v russkom razgovore : o raspredelenii funkcij mezhdu otvetami da, nu i tak

The study investigates actions by recipients in spontaneous Russian conversations by focusing on DA, NU and TAK, when they are used as responses to the main speaker's larger on-going turn. The database for the study consists of some 7 hours of spontaneous conversations. The participants of the conversations come from different parts of Russia. The use of DA, NU and TAK was analyzed by applying the method of ethnomethodological conversation analysis from the point of view of the type of the context, the sequential placement of the response and its manner of production. The particles were analyzed both in contexts in which they responded to an informing and in affective contexts. The particles NU and TAK were used by the speakers almost exclusively in informing contexts, whereas DA was the central response type in affective contexts. DA was also the most common response to information with affective implications. The information, to which the particle NU provided as response, was often unspesific and projected a spesification or explanation by its speaker as the next action. DA and TAK, by contrast, treated the information as one that could be followed and was sufficient in its local context. As a response to parenthetical information NU responded to information that was only loosely connected with the mainline of talk. The particle DA, by contrast, was used as a response to such parenthetical information, which was more crucial for the larger on-going activity. Only NU was used as a response that invited the main speaker to continue a turn that she or he had offered as possibly complete. NU was also used by the recipient after her or his own contribution as a continuer. In affective contexts, DA expressed, depending on its more spesific context, not only agreement but also other functions, such as giving up arguing or prior knowledge on the topic being discussed. In addition DA responses were used to display empathy and identification with the state of affairs expressed by the co-participant. NU, by contrast, was seldom used as a response to a turn that expressed affect. When it was used in affective contexts, it displayed agreement with the co-participant or just registered an assessment by her or him.

Vyra enie obob čёnno-ličnogo zna��enija v russkom jazyke

Expressing generalized-personal meaning in Russian Based on data from Russian, this doctoral dissertation examines generalized-personal meaning that is, generic expressions referring to all human beings, people in general, each or any person (e.g. S vozrastom na��inae cenit prostye ve či With age you start to appreciate simple things ). The study shares its basic theoretical orientation with functional approaches going from meaning to form . The objective of the thesis is to determine and describe the various linguistic means which can be used by the speaker to express generalized-personal meaning. The main material of the study consists of 2,000 examples collected from modern Russian literature, newspapers, and magazines. The linguistic means of expressing generalized-personal meaning are divided into three main classes. Morphological and lexico-grammatical means (22% of the material) include the use of personal pronouns and personal verbal endings. In Russian, all personal forms except the 3rd person singular can be used in a generalized-personal meaning. Lexical means (14% of the material) involve, above all, pronouns like vse all , ka dyj everyone , nikto no one , as well as the nouns čelovek man and ljudi people . In emotional speech, generalized-personal meaning can also be conveyed lexically by using utterances like da e idiot znaet even an idiot knows . In rhetorical questions the pronoun kto who can appear in this meaning (cf. Kto ne ljubit moro enoe?! Who doesn t like ice cream?! ). The third main class, syntactic means (64% of the material), consists of constructions in which the generic person is not expressed at the surface level. This class mainly includes two-component structures in which the infinitive relates to a modal predicative adverb (e.g. mo no can, be allowed to , nado must ), modal verb (e.g. stoit be worth(while) , sleduet must, be obliged to ), or predicative adverb ending in -о (e.g. trudno it is hard to , neprilično is not appropriate ). Other syntactic means are: one-component infinitive structures, so-called embedded structures, structures with a processual noun, passive constructions, and gerund constructions. The different forms of expression available in Russian are not interchangeable in all contexts. Even if a given context tolerates the substitution of one construction for another, the two expressions are never entirely synonymous. In addition to determining the range of forms which can express generalized-personal meaning, the study aims to compare these forms and to specify the conditions and possible restrictions (contextual, semantic, syntactic, stylistic, etc.) associated with the use of each construction. In Russian linguistics, the generalized-personal meaning has not been extensively studied from a functional perspective. The advantage of a meaning-based functional approach is that it gives a comprehensive picture of the diversity and distribution of the phenomenon.

Ivanov-mistik : Okkul'tnye motivy v poèzii i proze Vja��eslava Ivanova (1907-1919)

The subject of this work is the mysticism of Russian poet, critic and philosopher Vjacheslav Ivanov (1866-1949). The approach adopted involves the textual and discourse analysis and findings of the history of ideas. The subject has been considered important because of Ivanov's visions of his dead wife, writer Lydia Zinovieva-Annibal, which were combined with audible messages ("automatic writings"). Several automatic writings and descriptions of the visions from Ivanov's archive collections in St.Petersburg and Moscow are presented in this work. Right after the beginning of his hallucinations in the autumn of 1907, Ivanov was totally captivated by the theosophical ideas of Anna Mintslova, the background figure for this work. Anna Mintslova, a disciple of Rudolf Steiner's Esoteric School, offered Ivanov the theosophical concept of initiation to interpret paranormal phenomena in his intimate life. The work is divided into three main chapters, an introduction and aconclusion. The first chapter is called The Mystical Person: Anthropology of Ivanov and describes the role of the inner "Higher Self" in Ivanov's views on the nature of human consciousness. The political implications of the concepts, "mystical anarchism" and "sobornost" (religious unity) are also examined. The acquaintance and contacts with Anna Mintslova during 1906-1907 gave a framework to Ivanov's search for an organic society and personal religious experience. The second part, Mystics of Initiation and Visionary Aesthetics describes the influence of the initiation concept on Ivanov's aesthetic views (mainly "realistic symbolism"). On the other hand, some connections between the imagery of his visions and symbols in his verses of that period are established. Since Mintslova represented the ideas of Rudolf Steiner in Russia, several symbols shared by Steiner and Ivanov ("rose", "rose and cross") have been another subject of investigation. The preference for strict verse form in the lyrics of Ivanov's visionary period is interpreted as an attempt to place his own poetic creation within two traditions, a mystical and literary one. The third part of this work, Mystics of Hope and Terror, examines Ivanov's conception of Russia in connection with Mintslova's ideas of occult danger from the East. Ivanov's view of the "Russian idea" and his nationalistic idea during World War I are considered as a representation of the fear of the danger. Ivanov's interpretation of the October revolution is influenced by the theosophical concept of the "keeper of the threshold" which occurs in the context of the discourse of occult danger.

Èvoljucija sistemy glasnyh fonem v nekotoryh russkih govorah Vologodskoj oblasti

The present dissertation analyses 36 local vernaculars of villages surrounding the northern Russian city of Vologda in relation to the system of the vowels in the stressed syllables and those preceding the stressed syllables by using the available dialectological researches. The system in question differs from the corresponding standard Russian system by that the palatalisation of the surrounding consonants affects the vowels much more significantly in the vernaculars, whereas the phonetic difference between the stressed and non-stressed vowels is less obvious in them. The detailed information on the local vernaculars is retrieved from the Dialektologičeskij Atlas Russkogo Jazyka dialect atlas, the data for which were collected, for the most part, in the 1940 s and 1950 s. The theoretical framework of the research consists of a brief cross-section of western sociolinguistic theory related to language change and that of historical linguistics related to the Slavonic vowel development, which includes some new theories concerning the development of the Russian vowel phonemes. The author has collected dialect data in one of the 36 villages and three villages surrounding it. During the fieldwork, speech of nine elderly persons and ten school children was recorded. The speech data were then transcribed with coded information on the corresponding etymological vowels, the phonetic position, and the factual pronunciation at each appearance of vowels in the phonetic positions named above. The data from both of the dialect strata were then systematised to two corresponding systems that were compared with the information retrievable from the dialect atlas and other dialectological literature on the vowel phoneme system of the traditional local vernacular. As a result, it was found out (as hypothesised) that the vernacular vowel phoneme system has approached that of the standard language but has nonetheless not become similar to it. The phoneme quantity of the traditional vernacular is by one greater than that of the standard language, whereas the vowel phoneme quantity in the speech of the school children coincides with that in the standard language, although the phonetic realisations differ to some extent. The analysis of the speech of the elderly people resulted in that it is quite difficult to define the exact phoneme quantity of this stratum due to the fluctuation and irregularities in the realisation of the old phoneme that has ceased to exist in the newest stratum. It was noticed that the effect of the quality of the surrounding consonants on the phonetic realisation of the vowel phonemes has diminished, and the dependence of the phonetic realisation of a vowel phoneme on its place in a word in relation to the word stress has become more and more obvious, which is the state of affairs in the standard language as well.

Adsorption isotherms for neutral organic compounds - A hierarchy in modelling: Part V. Models for the inner layer potential difference in the presence of dipolar adsorption

The relations for the inner layer potential &fference (E) in the presence of adsorbed orgamc molecules are derived for three hterarchlcal models, m terms of molecular constants like permanent &pole moments, polarlzablhtles, etc It is shown how the experimentally observed patterns of the E vs 0 plots (hnear m all ranges of $\sigma^M$, non-linear in one or both regions of o M, etc ) can be understood in a serm-quantltatlve manner from the simplest model in our hierarchy, viz the two-state site panty version Two-state multi-site and three-state (sxte panty) models are also analysed and the slope (3E/80),,M tabulated for these also The results for the Esm-Markov effect are denved for all the models and compared with the earlier result of Parsons. A comparison with the GSL phenomenologlcal equation is presented and its molecular basis, as well as the hmltatlons, is analysed. In partxcular, two-state multa-slte and three-state (site panty) models yield E-o M relations that are more general than the "umfied" GSL equation The posslblhty of vaewlng the compact layer as a "composite medium" with an "effective dlelectnc constant" and obtaimng novel phenomenological descnptions IS also indicated.

Breakdown voltage and V-Z characteristics of sodium vapour using coaxial cylindrical electrodes

Experimental results for breakdown voltage of sodium vapour measured for the first time using coaxial cylindrical electrodes of fixed gap distance (5 mm) and pressure (corrected to2 0 "C) in the range2 1 to 652 Pa are reported, and are founfdo l ltoow Paschen's Law. The investigations also reveal that V th-Ie characteristics are pressure dependent; the current during the breakdown and the buoifl dc-uurpre nt after a breakdoiws nei ther positive or negative. in spite of the central cylinder being always maintained at a positive potential

Slovo lider i ego upotreblenie v sovremennoj rossijskoj presse

Venäjän kieleen on kautta historian lainautunut sanoja muista kielistä. Historian tapahtumat ovat vaikuttaneet siihen, mistä kielistä sanoja on lainautunut eri aikakausina. Viime vuosikymmeninä venäjän kieleen on tulvinut lainasanoja englannin kielestä yhteiskunnan eri alueille. Tiiviit poliittiset, taloudelliset ja kulttuurisuhteet maiden ja kansojen välillä ovat ulkoisia, ei-kielellisiä syitä sanojen lainaamiseen. Kielen osa-alueista sanasto on kaikista avoimin ulkoisille vaikutteille ja samalla se on alue, johon heijastuvat yhteiskunnassa tapahtuvat muutokset. Lainasanojen ilmaantumiselle kieleen on myös sisäisiä, kielellisiä syitä. Lainasanojen ilmaantumisessa kirjallisessa muodossa venäjän kieleen voidaan erottaa kolme tapaa: transplantaatio eli sitaattilaina, translitteraatio sekä käytännöllinen transkriptio, jossa jokainen vieraskielinen foneemi pyritään esittämään vastaavalla venäjän foneemilla, jolloin vieraskielisen sanan ääntämys säilyy mahdollisimman alkuperäisenä. Lider-sana on esimerkki käytännöllisestä transkriptiosta, jossa venäläinen kirjoitusasu vastaa englannin kielen ääntämystä. Tutkimuksen kohteena on englanninkielinen lainasana lider, joka on ilmaantunut venäjän kieleen jo 1800-luvun puolivälissä. Sana on johdettu verbistä lead, merkityksessä ’johtaa, olla johdossa���, ja siinä on muodostunut substantiivi leader, ’johtaja���. Tutkimusaineistoa varten on poimittu 100 poliittiseen kielenkäyttöön liittyvää lider-sanaa sähköisessä tietokannassa Integrumissa olevassa Izvestija-lehdestä kahtena eri ajanjaksona, vuoden 1994 alusta alkaen sekä vuoden 2004 alusta alkaen. Tutkimuksessa keskityttiin lider-sanan käyttöön poliittisessa kielenkäytössä, mutta tutkimusaineiston keräysvaiheessa kirjattiin ylös myös muilla aihealueilla esiintyneet lider-sanat niidenkin käytön tarkastelua varten. Tutkimusta varten tarkasteltiin, millaisia määrityksiä lider-sanalle löytyy erilaisista nykykielen sanakirjoista eri vuosikymmeniltä. Vanhin mukana oleva sanakirja on venäläis-suomalainen sanakirja vuodelta 1912, jossa lider-sana määritellään yhdellä sanalla, ’puolueenjohtaja���. Aineisto jaettiin myös kolmeen ryhmään maantieteellisen sijainnin mukaan: Venäjä, entiset neuvostotasavallat ja ulkomaat. Tällä haluttiin selvittää, käytetäänkö lider-sanaa enemmän ulkomaisten vai venäläisten tapahtumin yhteydessä. Tutkimuksessa ilmeni, että suurin osa lider-sanoista liittyi Venäjän tapahtumiin molempina tarkasteluajanjaksoina – v. 1994 osuus oli 54 % ja v. 2004 50 %. Tähän tulokseen vaikuttavat varmaankin v. 1993 joulukuussa pidetyt ensimmäiset parlamenttivaalit sekä vuoden 2003 joulukuussa pidetyt duuman vaalit. Tutkimuksessa lider-sana jaettiin seitsemään eri kategoriaan käyttöyhteytensä mukaan ja saatujen tulosten perusteella suuri9n osa sanoista kuului kategoriaan ”puolueen johtaja���, v. 1994 osuus oli 47 % ja v. 2004 oli 40 %. Lider-sanan käyttö on levinnyt myös monelle muulle alueelle: urheilu, liike-elämä, kulttuuri, taide, tiede ja tekniikka. Venäjän kieleen ilmaantuu koko ajan vieraskielisiä sanoja, mutta kaikki niistä eivät sopeudu eivätkä juurru kieleen. Lainasanan on täytettävä tiettyjä edellytyksiä, jotta sitä voitaisiin pitää kieleen sopeutuneena: mukautumien kielen foneettiseen järjestelmään, sopeutuminen kielen graafiseen järjestelmään, sopeutuminen kieliopilliseen ympäristöön, semanttinen vakiintuminen sekä vakiintuminen vähintään kahdelle temaattiselle alueelle. Lainasanan juurtumisesta ja sopeutumisesta ovat todisteena myös siitä johdetut sanat. Lider-sana täyttää kaikki em. ehdot, joten sitä voidaan pitää venäjän kieleen sopeutuneena ja juurtuneena.