Non-Abelian monopoles break color. II. Field theory and quantum mechanics

Many grand unified theories (GUT's) predict non-Abelian monopoles which are sources of non-Abelian (and Abelian) magnetic flux. In the preceding paper, we discussed in detail the topological obstructions to the global implementation of the action of the "unbroken symmetry group" H on a classical test particle in the field of such a monopole. In this paper, the existence of similar topological obstructions to the definition of H action on the fields in such a monopole sector, as well as on the states of a quantum-mechanical test particle in the presence of such fields, are shown in detail. Some subgroups of H which can be globally realized as groups of automorphisms are identified. We also discuss the application of our analysis to the SU(5) GUT and show in particular that the non-Abelian monopoles of that theory break color and electroweak symmetries.

The white-rot fungi Phlebia radiata and Dichomitus squalens in wood-based cultures: expression of laccases, lignin peroxidases, and oxalate decarboxylase

Basidiomycetous white-rot fungi are the only organisms that can efficiently decompose all the components of wood. Moreover, white-rot fungi possess the ability to mineralize recalcitrant lignin polymer with their extracellular, oxidative lignin-modifying enzymes (LMEs), i.e. laccase, lignin peroxidase (LiP), manganese peroxidase (MnP), and versatile peroxidase (VP). Within one white-rot fungal species LMEs are typically present as several isozymes encoded by multiple genes. This study focused on two effi cient lignin-degrading white-rot fungal species, Phlebia radiata and Dichomitus squalens. Molecular level knowledge of the LMEs of the Finnish isolate P. radiata FBCC43 (79, ATCC 64658) was complemented with cloning and characterization of a new laccase (Pr-lac2), two new LiP-encoding genes (Pr-lip1, Pr-lip4), and Pr-lip3 gene that has been previously described only at cDNAlevel. Also, two laccase-encoding genes (Ds-lac3, Ds-lac4) of D. squalens were cloned and characterized for the first time. Phylogenetic analysis revealed close evolutionary relationships between the P. radiata LiP isozymes. Distinct protein phylogeny for both P. radiata and D. squalens laccases suggested different physiological functions for the corresponding enzymes. Supplementation of P. radiata liquid culture medium with excess Cu2+ notably increased laccase activity and good fungal growth was achieved in complex medium rich with organic nitrogen. Wood is the natural substrate of lignin-degrading white-rot fungi, supporting production of enzymes and metabolites needed for fungal growth and the breakdown of lignocellulose. In this work, emphasis was on solid-state wood or wood-containing cultures that mimic the natural growth conditions of white-rot fungi. Transcript analyses showed that wood promoted expression of all the presently known LME-encoding genes of P. radiata and laccase-encoding genes of D. squalens. Expression of the studied individual LME-encoding genes of P. radiata and D. squalens was unequal in transcript quantities and apparently time-dependent, thus suggesting the importance of several distinct LMEs within one fungal species. In addition to LMEs, white-rot fungi secrete other compounds that are important in decomposition of wood and lignin. One of these compounds is oxalic acid, which is a common metabolite of wood-rotting fungi. Fungi produce also oxalic-acid degrading enzymes of which the most widespread is oxalate decarboxylase (ODC). However, the role of ODC in fungi is still ambiguous with propositions from regulation of intra and extracellular oxalic acid levels to a function in primary growth and concomitant production of ATP. In this study, intracellular ODC activity was detected in four white-rot fungal species, and D. squalens showed the highest ODC activity upon exposure to oxalic acid. Oxalic acid was the most common organic acid secreted by the ODC-positive white-rot fungi and the only organic acid detected in wood cultures. The ODC-encoding gene Ds-odc was cloned from two strains of D. squalens showing the first characterization of an odc-gene from a white-rot polypore species. Biochemical properties of the D. squalens ODC resembled those described for other basidiomycete ODCs. However, the translated amino acid sequence of Ds-odc has a novel N-terminal primary structure with a repetitive Ala-Ser-rich region of ca 60 amino acid residues in length. Expression of the Ds-odc transcripts suggested a constitutive metabolic role for the corresponding ODC enzyme. According to the results, it is proposed that ODC may have an essential implication for the growth and basic metabolism of wood-decaying fungi.

Systematic review of the psychological consequences of false-positive screening mammograms

- Background In the UK, women aged 50–73 years are invited for screening by mammography every 3 years. In 2009–10, more than 2.24 million women in this age group in England were invited to take part in the programme, of whom 73% attended a screening clinic. Of these, 64,104 women were recalled for assessment. Of those recalled, 81% did not have breast cancer; these women are described as having a false-positive mammogram. - Objective The aim of this systematic review was to identify the psychological impact on women of false-positive screening mammograms and any evidence for the effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce this impact. We were also looking for evidence of effects in subgroups of women. - Data sources MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, EMBASE, Health Management Information Consortium, Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects, CRD Health Technology Assessment (HTA), Cochrane Methodology, Web of Science, Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index, Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science, Conference Proceeding Citation Index-Social Science and Humanities, PsycINFO, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Sociological Abstracts, the International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, the British Library's Electronic Table of Contents and others. Initial searches were carried out between 8 October 2010 and 25 January 2011. Update searches were carried out on 26 October 2011 and 23 March 2012. - Review methods Based on the inclusion criteria, titles and abstracts were screened independently by two reviewers. Retrieved papers were reviewed and selected using the same independent process. Data were extracted by one reviewer and checked by another. Each included study was assessed for risk of bias. - Results Eleven studies were found from 4423 titles and abstracts. Studies that used disease-specific measures found a negative psychological impact lasting up to 3 years. Distress increased with the level of invasiveness of the assessment procedure. Studies using instruments designed to detect clinical levels of morbidity did not find this effect. Women with false-positive mammograms were less likely to return for the next round of screening [relative risk (RR) 0.97; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.96 to 0.98] than those with normal mammograms, were more likely to have interval cancer [odds ratio (OR) 3.19 (95% CI 2.34 to 4.35)] and were more likely to have cancer detected at the next screening round [OR 2.15 (95% CI 1.55 to 2.98)]. - Limitations This study was limited to UK research and by the robustness of the included studies, which frequently failed to report quality indicators, for example failure to consider the risk of bias or confounding, or failure to report participants' demographic characteristics. - Conclusions We conclude that the experience of having a false-positive screening mammogram can cause breast cancer-specific psychological distress that may endure for up to 3 years, and reduce the likelihood that women will return for their next round of mammography screening. These results should be treated cautiously owing to inherent weakness of observational designs and weaknesses in reporting. Future research should include a qualitative interview study and observational studies that compare generic and disease-specific measures, collect demographic data and include women from different social and ethnic groups.

Rural Income Generation and Diversification : A Case Study in Eastern Zambia

Rural income diversification has been found to be rather the norm than the exception in developing countries. Smallholder households tend to diversify their income sources because of the need to manage risks, secure a smooth flow of income, allocate surplus labour, respond to various kinds of market failures, and apply coping strategies. The Agricultural Household Model provides a theoretical rationale for income diversification in that rural households aim at maximising their utility. There are several elements involved, such as agricultural production for their own consumption and markets, leisure activities and income from non-farm sources. The aim of the present study is to enhance understanding of the processes of rural income generation and diversification in eastern Zambia. Specifically, it explores the relationship between household characteristics, asset endowments and income-generation patterns. According to the sustainable- rural-livelihoods framework, the assets a household possesses shape its capacity to seize new economic opportunities. The study is based on two surveys conducted among rural smallholder households in four districts of Eastern Province in Zambia in 1985/86 and 2003. Sixty-seven of the interviewed households were present in both surveys and this panel allows comparison between the two points of time. The initial descriptive analysis is complemented with an econometric analysis of the relationships between household assets and income sources. The results show that, on average, 30 per cent of the households income originated from sources outside their own agriculture. There was a slight increase in the proportion of non-farm income from 1985/86 to 2003, but total income clearly declined mainly on account of diminishing crop income. The land area the household was able to cultivate, which is often dependent on the available labour, was the most significant factor affecting both the household-income level and the diversification patterns. Diversification was, in most cases, a coping strategy rather than a voluntary choice. Measured as income/capita/day, all households were below the poverty line in 2003. The agricultural reforms in Zambia, combined with other trends such as changes in rainfall pattern, the worsening livestock situation and the incidence of human disease, had a negative impact on agricultural productivity and income between 1985/86 and 2003. Sources of non-farm income were closely linked to agriculture either upstream or downstream and the income they generated was not enough to compensate for the decline of agricultural income. Household assets and characteristics had a smaller impact on diversification patterns than expected, which could reflect the lack of opportunities in the remote rural environment.

Family in war - a personal chronicle : [1938-1943].

The book contains an introduction by Paul Weisz and a collection of family letters written during World War II. The letters were written between February 1938 and September 1945. Some were translated into English and complemented by commentary by the editor, Paul Weisz. Paul Weisz' introduction is 10 pages long and serves as a short memoir by itself. He provides a family chronicle, the living circumstances of his family, and his childhood in Vienna. He ends in 1938 when the family was eager to leave Austria. The following years are covered by the various letters he brought together in this book. The authors are cousin Willie, then already in Palestine, his father Samuel, his mother Stephanie, and his sister Ruth. His father and mother fled to Belgium, but were arrested after the beginning of World War II. They were deported to internment camps in France (St. Cyprien). His sister Ruth tried to escape from Austria to Palestine via the Danube. She got stuck in Yugoslavia, and was interned in Sabac internment camp. Paul's mother died in France in 1942, his father was sent to a concentration camp in Poland and murdered. His sister Ruth was murdered in Yugoslavia. Paul was released in Canada, and was enabled to go to college. He later named his children after his family members who did not survive the Nazi terror: Stephanie, Ruth, and Samuel.

The effectiveness of SMS reminders on appointment attendance: A meta-analysis

Objective To identify the efficacy of short message service (SMS) reminders in health care appointment attendance. Materials and Methods A systematic review was undertaken to identify studies published between 2005 and 2015 that compared the attendance rates of patients receiving SMS reminders compared to patients not receiving a reminder. Each article was examined for information regarding the study design, sample size, population demographics and intervention methods. A meta-analysis was used to calculate a pooled estimate odds ratio. Results Twenty-eight (28) studies were included in the review, including 13 (46%) randomized controlled trials. The pooled odds ratio of the randomized control trials was 1.62 (1.35 – 1.94). Half of the studies reviewed sent the reminder within 48 hour prior to the appointment time, yet no significant subgroups differences with respect to participant age, SMS timing, rate or type, setting or specialty was detectable. Discussion All studies, except one with a small sample size, demonstrated a positive OR, indicating SMS reminders were an effective means of improving appointment attendance. There was no significant difference in OR when controlling for when the SMS was sent, the frequency of the reminders or the content of the reminder. Conclusion SMS appointment reminders are an effective and operative method in improving appointment attendance in a health care setting and this effectiveness has improved over the past five years. Further research is required to identify the optimal SMS reminder timing and frequency, specifically in relation to the length of time since the appointment.

Studies on metal complex formation of environmentally friendly aminopolycarboxylate chelating agents

Aminopolykarboksyylaatteja, kuten etyleenidiamiinitetraetikkahappoa (EDTA), on käytetty useiden vuosikymmenien ajan erinomaisen metalli-ionien sitomiskyvyn vuoksi kelatointiaineena lukuisissa sovelluksissa sekä analytiikassa että monilla teollisisuuden aloilla. Näiden yhdisteiden biohajoamattomuus on kuitenkin herättänyt huolta viime aikoina, sillä niiden on havaittu olevan hyvin pysyviä luonnossa. Tämä työ on osa laajempaa tutkimushanketta, jossa on tavoitteena löytää korvaavia kelatointiaineita EDTA:lle. Tutkimuksen aiheena on kuuden kelatointiaineen metalli-ionien sitomiskyvyn kartoitus. EDTA:a paremmin luonnossa hajoavina nämä ovat ympäristöystävällisiä ehdokkaita korvaaviksi kelatointiaineiksi useisiin sovelluksiin. Työssä tutkittiin niiden kompleksinmuodostusta useiden metalli-ionien kanssa potentiometrisella titrauksella. Metalli-ionivalikoima vaihteli hieman kelatointiaineesta riippuen sisältäen magnesium-, kalsium-, mangaani-, rauta-, kupari-, sinkki-, kadmium-, elohopea-, lyijy- ja lantaani-ionit. Tutkittavat metallit oli valittu tähtäimessä olevien sovellusten, synteesissä ilmenneiden ongelmien tai ympäristönäkökohtien perusteella. Tulokset osoittavat näiden yhdisteiden metallinsitomiskyvyn olevan jonkin verran heikompi kuin EDTA:lla, mutta kuitenkin riittävän useisiin sovelluksiin kuten sellunvalkaisuprosessiin. Myrkyllisten raskasmetallien, kadmiumin, elohopen ja lyijyn kohdalla EDTA:a heikompi sitoutuminen on eduksikin, koska se yhdistettynä parempaan biohajoavuuteen saattaa alentaa tutkittujen yhdisteiden kykyä mobilisoida kyseisiä metalleja sedimenteistä. Useimmilla tutkituista yhdisteistä on ympäristönäkökulmasta etuna myös EDTA:a pienempi typpipitoisuus.

Entrepreneurship education: revisiting our role and its purpose

This paper seeks to focus on two questions. First, what value is created by entrepreneurship education? Second, how could any such value be created? The aim therefore is to go beyond any assumed notion that entrepreneurship education is beneficial to students in higher education, to question its underlying value. Design/methodology/approach – A critical realist approach is used to discuss the ontological nature of entrepreneurship education. Specifically, the process through which enterprise knowledge is developed and used by students in higher education. This research is based on a single-site case study at UTAS with the data collected by the author and complemented by other recent work that sought to empirically consider the notion of student value from entrepreneurship education within the same (UTAS) context. Findings – The paper argues that students in higher education understand quite well the limitations of the knowledge they develop about entrepreneurship. That they (the educators) need to better understand the students' journeys so that they can better develop learning environments within which the students' personal development can be advanced. Practical implications – The degree to which educators understand their limitations and the limitations of their students as potential entrepreneurs is critical to maximizing the likely value of entrepreneurship education in higher education. Originality/value – The paper provides a unique way of understanding the process of learning to be entrepreneurial in higher education. As such it offers an alternative way to understand how educators can redefine their importance in the provision of entrepreneurship education. It also highlights the likely limitations of student advancement in the domain of entrepreneurship education in higher education.

Public Demand for Safer Speeds: Identification of Interventions for Trial

Speeding is a major contributor to road injuries and fatalities and remains prevalent. Changing community perceptions about speeding is an important priority. Austroads commissioned research to identify a range of potential interventions for future trial and evaluation aimed at creating, increasing, and/or sustaining public demand for safer speeds. This project had three phases: a literature review; consultations with key stakeholders regarding intervention options (including feasibility, and likely benefits and costs of identified interventions); and providing research results, including recommendations for future phases of the program of work. The literature review led to the development of a draft Campaign Strategy targeting nine aims across three themes underpinning this research: 1) creating, 2) increasing, and 3) sustaining public demand for safer speeds on the road. Twenty-one stakeholders commented on the suitability and feasibility of, and likely barriers to, countermeasures within the draft Campaign Strategy and its applicability to the Australian and New Zealand context. There was overwhelming positive support for the proposed Campaign Strategy by the majority of respondents; many, noting that it addressed key misperceptions and complemented many existing approaches. A small number of respondents expressed some concerns with various aspects. Stakeholder feedback was incorporated into the final proposed Campaign Strategy to enhance its potential effectiveness. Wide diversity across jurisdictions makes the recommendation of individual interventions for specific areas problematic. Individual jurisdictions should consider a range of costs and benefits of the proposed Campaign Strategy to determine the likely feasibility from their unique perspective. Issues to be addressed when considering implementation of the proposed Campaign Strategy include speed limit setting policies, resourcing, messaging and advertising strategies, and political will associated with promoting safer speeds.

Efficient search for statistically significant dependency rules in binary data

Analyzing statistical dependencies is a fundamental problem in all empirical science. Dependencies help us understand causes and effects, create new scientific theories, and invent cures to problems. Nowadays, large amounts of data is available, but efficient computational tools for analyzing the data are missing. In this research, we develop efficient algorithms for a commonly occurring search problem - searching for the statistically most significant dependency rules in binary data. We consider dependency rules of the form X->A or X->not A, where X is a set of positive-valued attributes and A is a single attribute. Such rules describe which factors either increase or decrease the probability of the consequent A. A classical example are genetic and environmental factors, which can either cause or prevent a disease. The emphasis in this research is that the discovered dependencies should be genuine - i.e. they should also hold in future data. This is an important distinction from the traditional association rules, which - in spite of their name and a similar appearance to dependency rules - do not necessarily represent statistical dependencies at all or represent only spurious connections, which occur by chance. Therefore, the principal objective is to search for the rules with statistical significance measures. Another important objective is to search for only non-redundant rules, which express the real causes of dependence, without any occasional extra factors. The extra factors do not add any new information on the dependence, but can only blur it and make it less accurate in future data. The problem is computationally very demanding, because the number of all possible rules increases exponentially with the number of attributes. In addition, neither the statistical dependency nor the statistical significance are monotonic properties, which means that the traditional pruning techniques do not work. As a solution, we first derive the mathematical basis for pruning the search space with any well-behaving statistical significance measures. The mathematical theory is complemented by a new algorithmic invention, which enables an efficient search without any heuristic restrictions. The resulting algorithm can be used to search for both positive and negative dependencies with any commonly used statistical measures, like Fisher's exact test, the chi-squared measure, mutual information, and z scores. According to our experiments, the algorithm is well-scalable, especially with Fisher's exact test. It can easily handle even the densest data sets with 10000-20000 attributes. Still, the results are globally optimal, which is a remarkable improvement over the existing solutions. In practice, this means that the user does not have to worry whether the dependencies hold in future data or if the data still contains better, but undiscovered dependencies.

Co2 emissions and income trajectory in Australia: The role of technological change

This study investigates the relationship between per capita carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and per capita GDP in Australia, while controlling for technological state as measured by multifactor productivity and export of black coal. Although technological progress seems to play a critical role in achieving long term goals of CO2 reduction and economic growth, empirical studies have often considered time trend to proxy technological change. However, as discoveries and diffusion of new technologies may not progress smoothly with time, the assumption of a deterministic technological progress may be incorrect in the long run. The use of multifactor productivity as a measure of technological state, therefore, overcomes the limitations and provides practical policy directions. This study uses recently developed bound-testing approach, which is complemented by Johansen- Juselius maximum likelihood approach and a reasonably large sample size to investigate the cointegration relationship. Both of the techniques suggest that cointegration relationship exists among the variables. The long-run and short-run coefficients of CO2 emissions function is estimated using ARDL approach. The empirical findings in the study show evidence of the existence of Environmental Kuznets Curve type relationship for per capita CO2 emissions in the Australian context. The technology as measured by the multifactor productivity, however, is not found as an influencing variable in emissionsincome trajectory.

Developing standardized methods to assess cost of healthy and unhealthy (current) diets in Australia

Unhealthy diets contribute at least 14% to Australia's disease burden and are driven by ‘obesogenic’ food environments. Compliance with dietary recommendations is particularly poor amongst disadvantaged populations including low socioeconomic groups, those living in rural/remote areas and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The perception that healthy foods are expensive is a key barrier to healthy choices and a major determinant of diet-related health inequities. Available state/regional/local data (limited and non-comparable) suggests that, despite basic healthy foods not incurring GST, the cost of healthy food is higher and has increased more rapidly than unhealthy food over the last 15 years in Australia. However, there were no nationally standardised tools or protocols to benchmark, compare or monitor food prices and affordability in Australia. Globally, we are leading work to develop and test approaches to assess the price differential of healthy and less-healthy (current) diets under the food price module of the International Network for Food and Obesity/non-communicable diseases (NCDs) Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS). This presentation describes contextualization of the INFORMAS approach to develop standardised Australian tools, survey protocols and data collection and analysis systems. The ‘healthy diet basket’ was based on the Australian Foundation Diet, 1 The ‘current diet basket’ and specific items included in each basket, were based on recent national dietary survey data.2 Data collection methods were piloted. The final tools and protocols were then applied to measure the price and affordability of healthy and less healthy (current) diets of different household groups in diverse communities across the nation. We have compared results for different geographical locations/population subgroups in Australia and assessed these against international INFORMAS benchmarks. The results inform the development of policy and practice, including those relevant to mooted changes to the GST base, to promote nutrition and healthy weight and prevent chronic disease in Australia.

Elämää syövän kanssa : Narratiivinen tutkimus henkisen ja hengellisen tuen merkityksestä syöpää sairastavalle

Cancer diseases are considered to be relatively common among the Finnish population, every fourth Finn has been affected by cancer in their lifetime. Around 24,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year in Finland. According to the estimations, about half of all diseased will recover. This research examines cancer patients experiences and needs for mental and spiritual support. This paper answers questions what kind of support cancer patients were given after the diagnosis and how did they felt about it. My research was conducted by thematic interviews (N=7) with cancer patients and letters (N=13). To analyze I used narrative holistic-content analysis and holistic analysis of form. Narrative holistic-content analysis consists of reading the material and writing down common points, themes and deflections. By using holistic analysis of form, I observed changes and turning points in one s story of life. Then I could graphically show the emotional changes in the cancer patients life. By rereading the material, examining and comparing it, I was able to build different categories. After defining these categories (Longing, Supported, Individualists, Believers) I reread the interviews in terms of which category it belonged to. I chose one story from each category to represent the whole group. This so-called central story was complemented by other stories from the same group. Analysis enables to define a type story from each group, they were examples of the various ways of reacting about support that they were giving or not having the support that were needed. The stories reflect the participants feelings about support they were given but some cases feeling rejected.

Microeconometric Studies on Unemployment and Business Cycles

Väitöskirja koostuu neljästä esseestä, joissa tutkitaan empiirisen työntaloustieteen kysymyksiä. Ensimmäinen essee tarkastelee työttömyysturvan tason vaikutusta työllistymiseen Suomessa. Vuonna 2003 ansiosidonnaista työttömyysturvaa korotettiin työntekijöille, joilla on pitkä työhistoria. Korotus oli keskimäärin 15 % ja se koski ensimmäistä 150 työttömyyspäivää. Tutkimuksessa arvioidaan korotuksen vaikutus vertailemalla työllistymisen todennäköisyyksiä korotuksen saaneen ryhmän ja vertailuryhmän välillä ennen uudistusta ja sen jälkeen. Tuloksien perusteella työttömyysturvan korotus laski työllistymisen todennäköisyyttä merkittävästi, keskimäärin noin 16 %. Korotuksen vaikutus on suurin työttömyyden alussa ja se katoaa kun oikeus korotettuun ansiosidonnaiseen päättyy. Toinen essee tutkii työttömyyden pitkän aikavälin kustannuksia Suomessa keskittyen vuosien 1991 – 1993 syvään lamaan. Laman aikana toimipaikkojen sulkeminen lisääntyi paljon ja työttömyysaste nousi yli 13 prosenttiyksikköä. Tutkimuksessa verrataan laman aikana toimipaikan sulkemisen vuoksi työttömäksi jääneitä parhaassa työiässä olevia miehiä työllisinä pysyneisiin. Työttömyyden vaikutusta tarkastellaan kuuden vuoden seurantajaksolla. Vuonna 1999 työttömyyttä laman aikana kokeneen ryhmän vuosiansiot olivat keskimäärin 25 % alemmat kuin vertailuryhmässä. Tulojen menetys johtui sekä alhaisemmasta työllisyydestä että palkkatasosta. Kolmannessa esseessä tarkastellaan Suomen 1990-luvun alun laman aiheuttamaa työttömyysongelmaa tutkimalla työttömyyden kestoon vaikuttavia tekijöitä yksilötasolla. Kiinnostuksen kohteena on työttömyyden rakenteen ja työn kysynnän muutoksien vaikutus keskimääräiseen kestoon. Usein oletetaan, että laman seurauksena työttömäksi jää keskimääräistä huonommin työllistyviä henkilöitä, jolloin se itsessään pidentäisi keskimääräistä työttömyyden kestoa. Tuloksien perusteella makrotason kysyntävaikutus oli keskeinen työttömyyden keston kannalta ja rakenteen muutoksilla oli vain pieni kestoa lisäävä vaikutus laman aikana. Viimeisessä esseessä tutkitaan suhdannevaihtelun vaikutusta työpaikkaonnettomuuksien esiintymiseen. Tutkimuksessa käytetään ruotsalaista yksilötason sairaalahoitoaineistoa, joka on yhdistetty populaatiotietokantaan. Aineiston avulla voidaan tutkia vaihtoehtoisia selityksiä onnettomuuksien lisääntymiselle noususuhdanteessa, minkä on esitetty johtuvan esim. stressin tai kiireen vaikutuksesta. Tuloksien perusteella työpaikkaonnettomuudet ovat syklisiä, mutta vain tiettyjen ryhmien kohdalla. Työvoiman rakenteen vaihtelu saattaa selittää osan naisten onnettomuuksien syklisyydestä. Miesten kohdalla vain vähemmän vakavat onnettomuudet ovat syklisiä, mikä saattaa johtua strategisesta käyttäytymisestä.

Mu in vitro Transposition Technology in Functional Genetics and Genomics: Applications on Mouse and Bacteriophages

Transposons are mobile elements of genetic material that are able to move in the genomes of their host organisms using a special form of recombination called transposition. Bacteriophage Mu was the first transposon for which a cell-free in vitro transposition reaction was developed. Subsequently, the reaction has been refined and the minimal Mu in vitro reaction is useful in the generation of comprehensive libraries of mutant DNA molecules that can be used in a variety of applications. To date, the functional genetics applications of Mu in vitro technology have been subjected to either plasmids or genomic regions and entire genomes of viruses cloned on specific vectors. This study expands the use of Mu in vitro transposition in functional genetics and genomics by describing novel methods applicable to the targeted transgenesis of mouse and the whole-genome analysis of bacteriophages. The methods described here are rapid, efficient, and easily applicable to a wide variety of organisms, demonstrating the potential of the Mu transposition technology in the functional analysis of genes and genomes. First, an easy-to-use, rapid strategy to generate construct for the targeted mutagenesis of mouse genes was developed. To test the strategy, a gene encoding a neuronal K+/Cl- cotransporter was mutagenised. After a highly efficient transpositional mutagenesis, the gene fragments mutagenised were cloned into a vector backbone and transferred into bacterial cells. These constructs were screened with PCR using an effective 3D matrix system. In addition to traditional knock-out constructs, the method developed yields hypomorphic alleles that lead into reduced expression of the target gene in transgenic mice and have since been used in a follow-up study. Moreover, a scheme is devised to rapidly produce conditional alleles from the constructs produced. Next, an efficient strategy for the whole-genome analysis of bacteriophages was developed based on the transpositional mutagenesis of uncloned, infective virus genomes and their subsequent transfer into susceptible host cells. Mutant viruses able to produce viable progeny were collected and their transposon integration sites determined to map genomic regions nonessential to the viral life cycle. This method, applied here to three very different bacteriophages, PRD1, ΦYeO3 12, and PM2, does not require the target genome to be cloned and is directly applicable to all DNA and RNA viruses that have infective genomes. The method developed yielded valuable novel information on the three bacteriophages studied and whole-genome data can be complemented with concomitant studies on individual genes. Moreover, end-modified transposons constructed for this study can be used to manipulate genomes devoid of suitable restriction sites.