Överviktens betydelser

Meanings of overweight In societal discourses overweight is defined as a growing individual and a social problem leading to sickness and disability, mental distress, increased use of health care and reduced economic productivity. A strong normative pressure is directed at the overweight but relatively few succeed in reducing their weight. Therefore, the overweight need to manage a double stigma; the overweight body per se and their inability to conform to norms about bodyweight. This article investigates how individuals present their overweight to their social environment. Empirical data was collected as part of an evaluation study of a keep-fit project directed at home-care staff. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 49 participants and 30 of them had either tried or were trying to reduce their weight. The analysis shows that the informants presented a divided self consisting of a biological body, with its own drives, and a mind that is aware of the body and its social meanings. They portrayed their lives as a battle between these two sides. Their presentations of the divided self can be analysed as a defence of their social selves. The overweight can account for the kilos by blaming the biological drives, which leaves the core of themselves – their minds – unblemished. They can express an intention to loose weight and thereby conform to norms about bodyweight. When they fail to loose weight, the responsibility can be attributed to the unruly body.

Interactions of Electrons and Rydberg Atoms in Ultra-Cold Plasmas

This thesis discusses an experimental technique for investigating electron temperature control by Rydberg atoms in ultra-cold plasmas. The objective we set ourselves was twofold. Firstly, we sought to gain an insight into the processes whereby the creation of Rydberg atoms within the plasma lengthens the lifetime of the plasma. To this end, we created the plasma using a Littman dye laser and subsequently, at a variable time delay, we excited neutral atoms in the plasma to specific Rydberg states using a narrow bandwidth pulsed dye laser. Secondly, we employed radio-frequency (rf) electric fields to excite electron oscillations within the plasma in order to infer such information as plasma density and electron temperature. Although we found that the introduction of high angular momentum Rydberg states did lengthen the plasma lifetime we were not able to differentiate between the temperature moderation effect due to the Rydberg atoms cooling the plasma, and the binding effect due to an increased positive space charge within the plasma.

Hierarchical status and colour preference in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

We studied the colour preference of isolated Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and whether previous residence or body size can affect environmental colour choice. In the first phase, a cylindrical tank was divided into five differently coloured compartments (yellow, blue, green, white and red), a single fish was introduced into the tank and the frequency at which this fish visited each compartment was recorded over a 2-day study period. An increasingly larger fish (approx +2 cm in length each time) was then added into the tank on each of days 3, 5 and 7 (=four fish in the tank by day 7), and the frequency at which each fish visited the different compartments of the tank was observed twice a day to obtain visit frequency data on the differently sized fishes. This experiment was replicated six times. In the first phase, the solitary fish established residence inside the yellow compartment on the first and second days. Following the introduction of a larger fish, the smaller fish was displaced from the occupied compartment. Nile tilapia possibly shows this preference for yellow as a function of its visual spectral sensitivity and/or the spectral characteristics of its natural environment. Moreover, body size is an important factor in determining hierarchical dominance and territorial defence, and dominant fish chose the preferred environmental colour compartment as their territory.

The village that vanished : The roots of erosion in a Tanzanian village

In the village'of Citing in the northern highlands of Tanzania, the factors: social stratification, land tenure, production strategies, investment patterns and the economic uncertainties of society are studied and their relationship to land degradation is examined. The main assumption of the study is that the causes of land degradation are so complex that a methodology that emphasises contextualisation has to be used. A methodological framework that considers inter-linkages between all these factors is developed and tested. The result of the test shows that contextualisation gives a more in-depth and complex explanation than conventional, positivist research. The study gives a detailed account of the relationship that various wealth groups have to land and land degradation in the village. It is found that all wealth groups are destructive to the land but in varying ways. The rich farmers are over-cultivating land marginal to agriculture, the middle peasants have too many cattle in the village while the poor peasants are so marginalised socially that they hardly influence land management. Those identified as having economic as well as social incentives to maintain soil fertility are the middle peasants, while the rich farmers are shown to be consciously soil-mining the former grazing areas.

Dissecting the role of the Golgi complex and lipid rafts in biosynthetic transport of cholesterol to the cell surface

In this study, we compared the transport of newly synthesized cholesterol with that of influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) from the endoplasmic reticulum to the plasma membrane. The arrival of cholesterol on the cell surface was monitored by cyclodextrin removal, and HA transport was monitored by surface trypsinization and endoglycosidase H digestion. We found that disassembly of the Golgi complex by brefeldin A treatment resulted in partial inhibition of cholesterol transport while completely blocking HA transport. Further, microtubule depolymerization by nocodazole inhibited cholesterol and HA transport to a similar extent. When the partitioning of cholesterol into lipid rafts was analyzed, we found that newly synthesized cholesterol began to associate with low-density detergent-resistant membranes rapidly after synthesis, before it was detectable on the cell surface, and its raft association increased further upon chasing. When cholesterol transport was blocked by using 15°C incubation, the association of newly synthesized cholesterol with low-density detergent-insoluble membranes was decreased and cholesterol accumulated in a fraction with intermediate density. Our results provide evidence for the partial contribution of the Golgi complex to the transport of newly synthesized cholesterol to the cell surface and suggest that detergent-resistant membranes are involved in the process.

TGF-β3-induced Palatogenesis Requires Matrix Metalloproteinases

Cleft lip and palate syndromes are among the most common congenital malformations in humans. Mammalian palatogenesis is a complex process involving highly regulated interactions between epithelial and mesenchymal cells of the palate to permit correct positioning of the palatal shelves, the remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM), and subsequent fusion of the palatal shelves. Here we show that several matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), including a cell membrane-associated MMP (MT1-MMP) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) were highly expressed by the medial edge epithelium (MEE). MMP-13 was expressed both in MEE and in adjacent mesenchyme, whereas gelatinase A (MMP-2) was expressed by mesenchymal cells neighboring the MEE. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β3-deficient mice, which suffer from clefting of the secondary palate, showed complete absence of TIMP-2 in the midline and expressed significantly lower levels of MMP-13 and slightly reduced levels of MMP-2. In concordance with these findings, MMP-13 expression was strongly induced by TGF-β3 in palatal fibroblasts. Finally, palatal shelves from prefusion wild-type mouse embryos cultured in the presence of a synthetic inhibitor of MMPs or excess of TIMP-2 failed to fuse and MEE cells did not transdifferentiate, phenocopying the defect of the TGF-β3-deficient mice. Our observations indicate for the first time that the proteolytic degradation of the ECM by MMPs is a necessary step for palatal fusion.

Silta- ja rumpurakenteiden aukkomitoitus

Ilmastomallien mukaan sademäärät kasvavat kaikkialla suomessa. Sadeolojen ennustetaan äärevöityvän eli yhtäältä esiintyy pitkiä kuivia kausia ja toisaalta rankkasateet voimistuvat ja toistuvat nykyistä useammin. Etelä-Suomessa talviaika lyhenee ja lumipeite jää ohuemmaksi. Vesisateiden osuus kokonaissadannasta kasvaa ja tämä lisää talviaikaisia valuntoja. Etelä-Suomessa lumipeitteen ohenemisen vuoksi sulamisvesistä syntyvä kevätylivirtaama jää nykyistä pienemmäksi ja vuotuinen ylivirtaama-ajankohta sattuu useammin muuksi kuin kevääksi. Pohjois-Suomessa talviaikaiset sateet ovat tulevaisuudessakin suurimmaksi osaksi lunta. Vaikka lumipeitteinen aika lyhenee sielläkin, sademäärien kasvu saattaa lisätä lumipeitteen vesiarvoja ja kasvattaa sulamisvesien aiheuttamia kevätylivirtaamia (RATU, Water Adapt). Tämä korostaa silta- ja rumpuaukkojen riittävän mitoittamisen tärkeyttä. Useimmat ELY-keskukset ovat luopuneet aukkolausuntojen antamisesta. Oppaan tarkoituksena on antaa aukkomitoituksia tekeville henkilöille tietoa laskentaperusteista ja hyväksi koetuista toimintatavoista. Oppaan avulla on mahdollista luoda yhtenäinen käytäntö silta- ja rumpuaukkojen mitoituksessa. Samalla sen toivotaan korostavan hyvän suunnittelun merkitystä siltojen ja rumpujen rakentamisessa. Tämän oppaan pohjana on ollut siltojen ja rumpujen mitoitusta koskeva osa vesihallituksen vuoden 1986 julkaisusta ”Maankuivatuksen suunnittelu I osa”, joka on korvattu vuonna 2015 päivitetyllä julkaisulla ”Maan-kuivatuksen ja kastelun suunnittelu”. Opas sisältää tietoa sillan ja rummun vesiaukon mitoittamisesta. Suosittelemalla nykyistä harvemmin esiintyviä mitoitusvirtaamia pyritään pienentämään riskejä. Ohjeita aukon aiheuttaman padotuksen määrittämiseksi on selkeytetty. Oppaassa on kiinnitetty aiempaa enemmän huomiota myös aukkorakenteiden haitallisten ympäristövaikutusten ehkäisyyn. Taustalla on yhteiseurooppalaisen vesipolitiikan vaatimus vapaasta ja yhtenäisestä uomajatkumosta. Sen tila ei voi olla ekologisesti hyvä, jos silta- ja rumpurakenteet katkaisevat jatkumon. Suomen ympäristökeskus on julkaissut oppaan alun perin vuonna 2007 nimellä ”Silta- ja rumpulausunnot – Luonnos oppaaksi”. Julkaisun tekemiseen on osallistunut asiantuntijoita Suomen ympäristökeskuksesta ja ELY-keskuksista sekä konsulttina yli-insinööri Raimo K. Nissinen. Peruskuivatuksen ja ojitustoimitusten toimintamalliryhmä on päivittänyt opasta ottaen huomioon vuonna 2012 voimaan tulleen vesilainsäädännön uudistuksen (587 / 2011) sekä aluehallinnossa ja ympäristöhallinnossa tapahtuneet

Käyttöpääoman ennustaminen kysyntäennusteen avulla

Työn tavoite on selvittää erilaisia käyttöpääoman ennustusmalleja, jotka pohjautuvat kysyntäennusteeseen. Tavoitteena on esittää malleja niin pitkän kuin lyhyenkin aikavälin ennustamiseen. Pitkällä aikavälillä mallien on tarkoitus ennustaa yrityksissä sitoutuvan käyttöpääoman kokonaistarvetta, kun taas lyhyen aikavälin malleilla pureudutaan käyttöpääomaerien (lopputuotevarasto ja myyntisaamiset) ennustamiseen tuotekohtaisesti. Työssä pyritään myös vastaamaan, miksi käyttöpääomaa kannattaa ennustaa ja miten sen hallintaa voidaan tehostaa. Työ on toteutettu kirjallisuuskatsauksena, mitä on elävöitetty laskuesimerkein. Laskuesimerkkien tarkoitus on antaa lukijalle kuva käyttöpääoman ennustamisen todellisista mahdollisuuksista, jotta työ ei jäisi pelkäksi sanahelinäksi. Työssä esitetyt ennustusmallit on valittu matemaattisen yksinkertaisuutensa ehdolla, jotta niiden käyttäminen yritysmaailmassa olisi mahdollista. Käyttöpääomatarpeen ennustamisen suurimpana haasteena voidaan pitää kysyntäennusteen luotettavuutta. Vuositasolla käyttöpääomatarpeen keskimääräinen osuus suhteessa liikevaihtoon on helpohko ennustaa liiketoiminnan pysyessä melko vakiona. Tarve voi kuitenkin vaihdella hyvin paljon kysynnän vaihdellessa kuukausi-, viikko- ja päivätasolla. Jos kysyntäennustetta saadaan tarkennettua, lopputuotevaraston kokoa ja siihen sitoutuvaa käyttöpääomaa on mahdollista pienentää, koska varmuusvaraston määrittelyssä käytettävä hajonta pienenee. Myyntisaamisten osalta lähitulevaisuudessa sitoutuvaan käyttöpääomaan vaikuttaa eniten asiakaskohtainen maksukäyttäytyminen, koska myyntisaamisiin vaikuttava kysyntä on suurimmalta osaltaan jo toteutunut.

A method for assessing ecological values to reconcile multiple land use needs

We present a new method for ecologically sustainable land use planning within multiple land use schemes. Our aims were (1) to develop a method that can be used to locate important areas based on their ecological values; (2) to evaluate the quality, quantity, availability, and usability of existing ecological data sets; and (3) to demonstrate the use of the method in Eastern Finland, where there are requirements for the simultaneous development of nature conservation, tourism, and recreation. We compiled all available ecological data sets from the study area, complemented the missing data using habitat suitability modeling, calculated the total ecological score (TES) for each 1 ha grid cell in the study area, and finally, demonstrated the use of TES in assessing the success of nature conservation in covering ecologically valuable areas and locating ecologically sustainable areas for tourism and recreational infrastructure. The method operated quite well at the level required for regional and local scale planning. The quality, quantity, availability, and usability of existing data sets were generally high, and they could be further complemented by modeling. There are still constraints that limit the use of the method in practical land use planning. However, as increasing data become available and open access, and modeling tools improve, the usability and applicability of the method will increase.