The Far Eastern Question at the Washington Conference (1921-1922) with an outline of its implications for internal politics in China

This dissertation is a narrative account of the negotiations concerning the question of the Far East and the Shandong issue at the Washington Conference, leading to treaties, agreements and resolutions. In this dissertation, a certain stress is laid on the interaction between the Conference and the internal situation in China, particularly concerning the question of the implications of the Conference for Cabinet politics in Peking. Through the narrative account of the Conference, the general aim is an attempt to reassess the achievements of the Washington Conference. Too often the Washington Conference has been viewed negatively. The political aim behind the legal framework was to open the door to China as a sovereign State member of the international community whose territorial integrity was internationally recognized, despite its chaotic internal situation. It is undeniable that the Washington Conference opened a new chapter in modern Chinese history. The violations of the agreements concerning China that occurred in the 1930s should not lead to the belief that these agreements were of no value. Peace may not be lasting and evolves according to circumstances; agreements are transitory, and new situations need new arrangements. This dissertation tries to demonstrate that the agreements in themselves were not the cause of their failure, but the failure was due to the lack of determination on the part of the Signatories Powers to defend them.

Heme is a positive regulator of cytochrome P-450 gene transcription

Inhibitors of heme biosynthesis such as CoCl2, 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole, and thioacetamide block the 3-methylcholanthrene-mediated induction of cytochrome P-450 (c + d) messenger RNAs and their transcription in rat liver. This effect is specific, since the messenger RNA levels for albumin and glutathione transferase (Ya + Yc) and their transcription are not significantly influenced under conditions of heme depletion. Exogenous administration of heme at very low doses (50 μg/100 g body wt) is able to completely counteract the effects of the heme biosynthetic inhibitors on cytochrome P-450 (c + d) messenger RNA levels and their transcription. This constitutes a direct proof for the role of heme as a positive regulator of cytochrome P-450 gene transcription.

Despairing Justice and the Ethics of Legal Interpretation

This study discusses legal interpretation. The question is how legal texts, for instance laws, statutes and regulations, can and do have meaning. Language makes interpretation difficult as it holds no definite meanings. When the theoretical connection between semantics and legal meaning is loosened and we realise that language cannot be a means of justifying legal decisions, the responsibility inherent in legal interpretation can be seen in full. We are thus compelled to search for ways to analyse this responsibility. The main argument of the book is that the responsibility of legal interpretation contains a responsibility towards the text that is interpreted (and through the mediation of the text also towards the legal system), but not only this. It is not simply a responsibility to read and read well, but it transcends on a broader scale. It includes responsibility for the effects of the interpretation in a particular situation and with regard to the people whose case is decided. Ultimately, it is a responsibility to do justice. These two aspects of responsibility are conceptualised here as the two dimensions of the ethics of legal interpretation: the textual and the situational. The basic conception of language presented here is provided by Ludwig Wittgenstein s later philosophy, but the argument is not committed to only one philosophical tradition. Wittgenstein can be counterpointed in interesting ways by Jacques Derrida s ideas on language and meaning. Derrida s work also functions as a contrast to hermeneutic theories. It is argued that the seed to an answer to the question of meaning lies in the inter-personal and situated activity of interpretation and communication, an idea that can be discerned in different ways in the works of Wittgenstein, Derrida and Hans-Georg Gadamer. This way the question of meaning naturally leads us to think about ethics, which is approached here through the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas. His thinking, focusing on topics such as otherness, friendship and hospitality, provides possibilities for answering some of the questions posed in this book. However, at the same time we move inside a normativity where ethics and politics come together in many ways. The responsibility of legal interpretation is connected to the political and this has to be acknowledged lest we forget that law always implies force. But it is argued here that the political can be explored in positive terms as it does not have to mean only power or violence.

The Politics and Policies of Reproductive Agency

This study examines the politics and policies of reproductive agency through a redescription of three Finnish policy documents dealing with the declining birth rate: the Government report on the future 'Finland for people of all ages' (2004), Business and Policy Forum EVA report 'Condemned to Diminish?' (Tuomitut vähenemään?) (2003), and the Family Federation's 'Population Policy Program' (2004). The redescription is done with the help of the notion of reproductive agency, which draws on Drucilla Cornell's concepts of the imaginary domain and bodily integrity. The imaginary domain is the moral and psychic space people need in order to form their personality, which is created in constant identificatory processes. The aim of the processes is imaginary coherence. As the personality is embodied, forming one s imaginary coherence always includes attempts for bodily integrity, also entailing attempts to arrive at an understanding of one's procreative capacities. Besides Cornell, I draw on Judith Butler's thinking and comprehend gender performatively as doing, and in relation to that agency as part of the performative process of one's personality. Reproductive agency is understood in this study as the possibilities to live differently the hegemonic forms of procreative life. I deal with three redescriptive themes: the family, economics and gender. The family is a central element in that it is considered the main location of reproduction. With regard to reproductive agency, the documents include problematic conceptions of the family. It is defined as a heterosexual, monogamous, conjugal relationship, which affects reproductive agency in that these notions do not allow for different modes of family life. The second prominent aspect, economics, features on two levels: the macroeconomic level of GDP, employment and competitiveness, and the level of family policies and concern about family finances. Macroeconomic-level argumentation is problematic in the context of reproductive agency because it implies that procreation is a duty of citizens, and thus has effects on values attached to reproductive potential. On the other hand, family policies may advance reproductive agency in supporting families financially. However, such policies also define how the family is understood, thereby affecting reproductive agency. The third theme, gender, intersects with many issues in the policy documents. All three texts consider the roles of men and women differently: women are primarily responsible for the family, and both men's and women's reproductive agency is affected in that the roles in the procreative process are predefined. EVA and the Family Federation see women as the main target of population policies, and consider it legitimate to try to change women s reproductive decisions. Implicit in the notion of reproductive agency is the idea that it should be possible to overcome and live differently the sex difference, but the three documents do not open up opportunities for that. The notion of reproductive agency makes it also possible to question the legitimacy of population policies in general and offers new perspectives on the vocabularies used in the three policy texts, providing insights into the values and logics that support the concepts.

Wire-cylinder corona discharge with the wire at positive potential studies of iron oxides

A wire-cylinder corona discharge was studied in nitrogen and dry air in crossed electric and magnetic fields for values of magnetic field ranging from 0 to 3000 G with the wire at positive potential. In the absence of a magnetic field pre-onset streamers and pulses were observed in nitrogen. In both nitrogen and dry air breakdown streamers were observed just before spark breakdown of the gap. Furthermore, experiments in dry air at atmospheric pressure in an electric field indicate regular pre-onset streamers appearing at time intervals of 19.5 µs. The appearance of regular pre-onset streamers suggests that it is not possible for negative ions to form a sheath close to the anode as postulated by Hermstein (1960) for the formation of steady or glow corona in a point-plane gap.

A new method for modulating the activity of parvalbumin-positive neurons and cerebellar Purkinje cells in vivo

Neurons can be divided into various classes according to their location, morphology, neurochemical identity and electrical properties. They form complex interconnected networks with precise roles for each cell type. GABAergic neurons expressing the calcium-binding protein parvalbumin (Pv) are mainly interneurons, which serve a coordinating function. Pv-cells modulate the activity of principal cells with high temporal precision. Abnormalities of Pv-interneuron activity in cortical areas have been linked to neuropsychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia. Cerebellar Purkinje cells are known to be central to motor learning. They are the sole output from the layered cerebellar cortex to deep cerebellar nuclei. There are still many open questions about the precise role of Pv-neurons and Purkinje cells, many of which could be answered if one could achieve rapid, reversible cell-type specific modulation of the activity of these neurons and observe the subsequent changes at the whole-animal level. The aim of these studies was to develop a novel method for the modulation of Pv-neurons and Purkinje cells in vivo and to use this method to investigate the significance of inhibition in these neuronal types with a variety of behavioral experiments in addition to tissue autoradiography, electrophysiology and immunohistochemistry. The GABA(A) receptor γ2 subunit was ablated from Pv-neurons and Purkinje cells in four separate mouse lines. Pv-Δγ2 mice had wide-ranging behavioral alterations and increased GABA-insensitive binding indicative of an altered GABA(A) receptor composition, particularly in midbrain areas. PC-Δγ2 mice experienced little or no motor impairment despite the lack of inhibition in Purkinje cells. In Pv-Δγ2-partial rescue mice, a reversal of motor and cognitive deficits was observed in addition to restoration of the wild-type γ2F77 subunit to the reticular nucleus of thalamus and the cerebellar molecular layer. In PC-Δγ2-swap mice, zolpidem sensitivity was restored to Purkinje cells and the administration of systemic zolpidem evoked a transient motor impairment. On the basis of these results, it is concluded that this new method of cell-type specific modulation is a feasible way to modulate the activity of selected neuronal types. The importance of Purkinje cells to motor control supports previous studies, and the crucial involvement of Pv-neurons in a range of behavioral modalities is confirmed.

Potentiodynamic behaviour of β-lead dioxide in neutral media at positive potentials

The behaviour of the PbO2 electrode in NaNO3, Na2SO4 NaClO4 and NaCl in the pH range 3.0–10.5 has been studied by cyclic voltammetry. When the electrode is cycled between 0.30 and 1.90 V, a large cathodic current peak appears in the negative scan; in the subsequent cycle, two anodic peaks appear. The addition of H2O2 at low concentrations to the electrolyte also results in two anodic peaks at the same potentials. A number of possible explanations for the appearance of the cathodic peak, and a mechanism for the oxidation of PbO to PbO2 through Pb3O4 corresponding to the two anodic peaks, are proposed.

The politics of forest bureaucracy as a subject of comparative studies.

XVIII IUFRO World Congress, Ljubljana 1986.

Wire-cylinder corona discharge with the wire at positive potential

A wire-cylinder corona discharge was studied in nitrogen and dry air in crossed electric and magnetic fields for values of magnetic field ranging from 0 to 3000 G with the wire at positive potential. In the absence of a magnetic field pre-onset streamers and pulses were observed in nitrogen. In both nitrogen and dry air breakdown streamers were observed just before spark breakdown of the gap. Furthermore, experiments in dry air at atmospheric pressure in an electric field indicate regular pre-onset streamers appearing at time intervals of 19.5 µs. The appearance of regular pre-onset streamers suggests that it is not possible for negative ions to form a sheath close to the anode as postulated by Hermstein (1960) for the formation of steady or glow corona in a point-plane gap.

A Novel Method for the Uniform Incorporation of Grain-Boundary Layer Modifiers in Positive Temperature Coefficient of Resistivity Barium Titanate

The presently developed two-stage process involves diping the prefired porous disks of n-BaTiO3 in nonaqueous solutions containing Al-buty rate, Ti-isopropoxide, and tetraethyl silicate and subsequent sintering. This leads to uniform distribution of the grain-boundary layer (GBL) modifiers (Al2O3+ TiO2+ SiO2) and better control of the grain size as well as the positive temperature coefficient of resistivity characteristics. The technique is particularly suited for GBL modifiers in low concentrations (< 1%).

Juoksuhaudoista yhteiskuntaan : Vuosien 1965-1975 sotilaallista maanpuolustusta ja puolustusvoimia koskevan joukkotiedotuksen diskursiivinen tarkastelu

The Finnish society developed rapidly in the 1960´s and 1970´s. This was result of international trends. Development of education, urbanization and wide organization of society increased discontent towards prevailing social structure and towards the power elite. Development of technology created possibility to present radical perspectives in mass media. This caused widely spread discussions dividing opinions. The purpose of this thesis was to complement research on national defence and the Finnish Defence Forces especially between years 1965 and 1975. The task of research was to clarify how changes in society and how the significance of this change was interpreted in public discussion about national defence and development of the Defence Forces. The most essential points for this thesis turned out to be discourses structured from public discussion. Main research material consisted of approximately 35000 news, editorials, articles and opinions presented in mass media supplemented by literature, committee reports and other archival sources. Frame of reference for this thesis is based on relativistic worldview. According to this, social reality is relative and there is no single truth. Environment has significant influence on the issue how knowledge and truth are formed. Data analysis was based on critical discourse. The key objective was to clarify the effects of broad changes in society using discursive methods. One essential goal was to form order of discourse using linguistic analysis and also connect discourses to wider sociocultural custom. On this thesis I came to the conclusion that on the review period there were five significant ensembles of discourse. They consisted of several discussions focused on different themes. The discourse of official security policy aimed to define national defence and the position of the Defence Forces as parts of foreign policy. Foreign policy is often perceived as the most significant part of security policy. Historical memory, geographical position of Finland and also the state contracts, changes in international warfare, tasks of the Defence Forces and increasing critic of national defence and the difference in thinking between generations formed the discourse of security policy. In the discourse of the liability to military service, the issue was about individual responsibility to society and national defence. Resisters and unarmed defence demands, encouraged by international examples were the themes. The discourse pointed out how mass media is used to influence and forced the Defence Forces to develop the practices in public information. The discourses of democracy and politics were closer to internal development of the Defence Forces to integrate more into society. The discourse of democracy focused in changing power relationships of the Defence Forces that were known as authoritarian. Issues like conscript and personnel union activity had lot of similarities to general social development. The discourse of politics presented how the Defence Forces were pushed towards parliamentary decision making. The personnel was granted the same rights as other population. Themes related to the discourse on the will to national defence were development of mental national defence, increasing education on national defence and creation of more open public information culture. According to discourses presented above I can state, that the position of the Defence Forces in society was changed between years 1965-1975. This change was advanced by the Defence Forces reformed attitude towards mass media and public information in general. Active participation in public information important became important instead of only answering topics. This positive development created an atmosphere, that was easier for the public to understand and create own pictures of the armed forces. Due to this, I can describe that the defenders and supporters of the armed forces were stuck in their trenches, until discussions presented in discourses and themes developed the Defence Forces to be better fitting part of society. Key words; society, national defence, Defence Forces, discourse, mass media, security policy, liability to military service, conscription, democracy

Growing pseudo-eigenmodes and positive logarithmic norms in rotating shear flows

Rotating shear flows, when angular momentum increases and angular velocity decreases as functions of radiation coordinate, are hydrodynamically stable under linear perturbation. The Keplerian flow is an example of such a system, which appears in an astrophysical context. Although decaying eigenmodes exhibit large transient energy growth of perturbation which could govern nonlinearity in the system, the feedback of inherent instability to generate turbulence seems questionable. We show that such systems exhibiting growing pseudo-eigenmodes easily reach an upper bound of growth rate in terms of the logarithmic norm of the involved non-normal operators, thus exhibiting feedback of inherent instability. This supports the existence of turbulence of hydrodynamic origin in the Keplerian accretion disc in astrophysics. Hence, this answers the question of the mismatch between the linear theory and experimental/observed data and helps in resolving the outstanding question of the origin of turbulence therein.

Influence of Bi 3+ ions in enhancing the magnitude of positive temperature coefficients of resistance in n-BaTiO3 ceramics

Bi3+ ions substituting at Ba-sites in a limited concentration range with another donor dopant occupying the Ti-sites in polycrystalline BaTiO3 enhanced the positive temperature coefficient of resistance (PTCR) by over seven orders of magnitude. These ceramics did not require normal post sinter annealing or a change to an oxygen atmosphere during annealing. These ceramics had low porosities coupled with better stabilities to large applied electric fields and chemically reducing atmospheres. Bi3+ ions limited the grain growth to less than 8 mum in size, they enhanced the concentration of acceptor-type trap centres at the grain-boundary-layer regions and maintained complete tetragonality at low grain sizes in BaTiO3 ceramics.

On the performance of stabilized ?-nickel hydroxide as a nickel-positive electrode in alkaline storage batteries

The internal resistance of a stabilized alpha-nickel hydroxide electrode is found to be lower than that of a beta-nickel hydroxide electrode as shown from studies of the open-circuit potential-time transients at all states-of-charge. Nevertheless, the self-discharge rates of the former is higher. Gasometric studies reveal that the charging efficiency of the alpha-nickel hydroxide electrode is higher than that of the beta-nickel hydroxide electrode.

The two-step positive temperature coefficient in resistance characteristics of n-(Ba,Pb)TiO3 ceramics created through inclusion of grain boundary modifier additives

Donor-doped n-(Ba,Pb)TiO3 polycrystalline ceramics exhibit distinctly two-step positive temperature coefficient of resistance (PTCR) characteristics when formulated with suitable combinations of B2O3 and Al2O3 as grain boundary modifiers by heterogeneous addition. B2O3 or Al2O3 when added singularly resulted in either steep or broad PTCR jumps respectively across the phase transition. The two-step PTCR is attributed to the activation of the acceptor states, created through B2O3 and Al2O3, for various temperature regimes above the Curie point (T-c). The changing pattern of trap states is evident from the presence of Ti4+-O--Al3+ type hole centres in the grain boundary layer regions, identified in the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra. That charge redistribution occurs among the inter-band gap defect states on crossing the Curie temperature is substantiated by the temperature coefficient in the EPR results. Capacitance-voltage results clearly show that there is an increase in the density of trap states with the addition of B2O3 and Al2O3. The spread in energy values of these trap states is evident from the large change in barrier height (phi similar or equal to 0.25-0.6 eV) between 500 and 650 K.