La imagen corporal en la sociedad del siglo XXI

La imagen corporal (IC) representa la forma en la que un individuo se percibe, imagina, siente y actúa respecto a su propio cuerpo. Es un concepto dinámico que puede modificarse a lo largo de la vida. La percepción de nuestro propio cuerpo está influida por factores socioculturales. Desde el punto de vista histórico, el concepto de belleza se ha modificado sustancialmente. En la prehistoria, la belleza se asociaba a la reproducción de la especie, mientras que en la actualidad, se asocia al éxito personal, profesional y social. El estereotipo de belleza femenino de las sociedades contemporáneas se basa en la extrema delgadez y el masculino en cuerpos musculados. La lucha por alcanzar el canon de belleza impuesto por la sociedad ha contribuido a la aparición de diferentes trastornos de la imagen corporal (TIC). Los medios de comunicación son un factor importante en el desarrollo de determinados procesos patológicos, en la insatisfacción con la propia IC y en la estigmatización del individuo. Se consideran los principales impulsores de los patrones estéticos, siendo las mujeres y los adolescentes los más vulnerables. Las diferentes investigaciones indican que los TIC son frecuentes siendo los trastornos de la conducta alimentaria (TCA) los que suponen un mayor número de ingresos y reingresos entre la población femenina. Aunque los TCA afectan principalmente a la población adolescente, los estudios muestran que puede aparecer en la edad adulta e incluso en la infancia. En el sexo masculino, el trastorno dismórfico corporal (TDC) parece ser el más prevalente. La prevención y el tratamiento de este tipo de trastornos es primordial. En este sentido, enfermería tiene un papel fundamental debido al frecuente contacto que mantiene con el paciente. Debido a la importancia concedida en la sociedad actual a la apariencia física y las posibles repercusiones que ello conlleva, el presente trabajo pretende realizar una revisión de la literatura con el objetivo de analizar el valor y la exigencia que otorga la sociedad a la IC. Palabras clave: imagen corporal, desórdenes mentales, estigma social, medios de comunicación, epidemiología, cuidados de enfermería, proceso de atención de enfermería.

A propòsit d'una cançó popular recollida per Jacint Verdaguer i enviada al seu amic Marià Aguiló

«Comiat de Vic» forma part del recull de cançons populars que Jacint Verdaguer va enviar al seu amic i erudit mallorquí Marià Aguiló. La lletra de la cançó traça un itinerari a través de la ciutat que va fent menció dels edificis religiosos que es troben durant el trajecte. L’emoció acumulada i el dolor de la partença indiquen que probablement es tracta del comiat definitiu d’un condemnat a mort.

Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793), cientista e tradutor de Newton

Although Jean Paul Marat (1743-1793) is known as a political activist and as a founder of the controversial journal L'Ami du Peuple during the French Revolution, an important period of his life was spent as a medical practionner, and as a scientist. In 1765 he went to England, where he remained for eleven years mostly dedicated to medical practice and publications on that subject and on political and moral questions. Returning to France in 1776 he iniciated his researches on fire, electricity and light, that lasted practically until the French Revolution. In 1787 he published a translation of Newton's Opticks. In this article we describe in some detail his medical and scientific practice giving particular emphasis to his experiments on optics and to his theory about colors which strongly departs from newtonian theory, fully accepted by the French scientific community of the time.

Työnkulkumoottorien käyttö sähköisten huutokauppojen koordinoinnissa

Sähköinen huutokauppapaikka on internetissä sijaitseva huutokauppalaitos. Sähköiset huutokauppapaikat ovat kasvattaneet suosiotaan huimasti, mistä johtuen sähköisten huutokauppojen kehittäminenkin on lisääntynyt. Tässä työssä tutkitaan kuinka sähköisen huutokaupan järjestäjä voi kasvattaa tuloaan kutsumalla vain potentiaalisimmat huutajat huutokauppaansa. Huutajien kutsuminen perustuu webpalveluiden käyttöön, joiden avulla huutajia voidaan koordinoida heidän ominaisuuksiensa mukaan. Asian tutkimiseksi selvitetään mitkä tekijät tekevät huutajasta potentiaalisen huutajan, ja miten huutokaupan järjestäjä voi kasvattaa tuloaan kutsumalla nämä huutajat huutokauppaansa web-palveluiden avulla. Työssä toteutetaan koordinointipalvelu, jonka avulla tutkitaan kuinka huutajien koordinointi voidaan toteuttaa web-palveluiden avulla. Toteutettu web-palvelu etsii potentiaalisimmat huutajat oletetusta huutajarekisteristä, ja voisi toimia esimerkiksi sähköisen huutokauppatalon promootiotyökaluna asiakkaille.

Herätyskokous

Herätyskokous ulkona. Laulukuoro. "Glory to his name". Autojen ääniä taustalla.

La investigación didáctica: hacia la interdisciplinariedad y la cooperación

This article aims to explain the main references that characterize the educational research in our context. This requires assessing the main external influences and the way how are you we have been conditioned. Briefly describes the trajectory of specific teaching in Spain give to his creation to the present moment, to understand the passage of its constitution to create the research and its effects. Highlights the emerging methodologies and proposed findings that point to new perspectives on the proposed interdisciplinary teaching compared

Helisaeus Röslin y la libertad de religión

[spa]En las historias generales de la tolerancia religiosa no figura Helisaeus Röslin. Sin embargo Carlos Gilly ha mostrado en diferentes trabajos que el médico suabo-alsaciano sostuvo a lo largo de su obra de modo incansable la necesidad de la libertad religiosa y de conciencia como un postulado religioso y como un factor de progreso económico y paz social. El presente trabajo pretende analizar en profundidad la teorización rösliniana de la libertad de religión poniéndola en relación con su concepción de la historia, con su obra de cronología y con su interpretación de las novedades celestes contemporáneas, en particular la nova de 1604 y el descubrimiento galileano de los planetas mediceos en 1610, tal como se refleja en dos de las últimas obras de Röslin: Mitternächtige Schiffarth (1611) y la Tabella des Welt Spiegels (1612).

Dies Irae, la seqüència perdurable : anàlisi i comparació de diferents lectures de la seqüència gregoriana en la història de la música

La seqüència gregoriana Dies Irae s'ha convertit en un material musical àmpliament utilitzat per compositors per dotar d'un significat concret a la seves obres. Però a mesura que han passat el segles es pot determinar que l'objectiu que han tingut els compositors en voler incloure una referència a aquesta seqüència ha variat notablement. En aquest treball tracto de demostrar quins canvis hi ha hagut segons l'època i el compositor, ja sigui des del punt de vista conceptual com des del punt de vista tècnic tot analitzant obres de moments i estils diferents, parant atenció a sis obres concretes que o tenen importància a causa de la seva influència o la seva singularitat. Alhora, exposo com tot això m'ha influït per compondre obres que estiguin relacionades amb el Dies Irae i amb la música al voltant de la mort.

Contextuality in SME Ownership – Studies on Owner-managers’ Ownership Behavior

The purpose of this study is to deepen the understanding of the meaning of ownership in the context of small and medium sized businesses. The research on ownership has increased and widened during the last few years. Ownership is treated increasingly as a psychological phenomenon and it has been noticed that it is common for SME ownermanagers to be mentally linked to their firms. Previous research is suggesting that the central role of an owner-manager in an SME is specifying the concept of SMEs, and that ownership is creating a great heterogeneity within SMEs. This study suggests that there is a variation whitin ownership behaviour of small business owners, and the variation is not totally random or irrational, but following the general patterns of business ownership and of doing business on an SME level. This study is a concept analytical in nature and it builds on the theoretical clarification of the concept of ownership. The theoretical consideration concludes with proposing a definition of ownership: Ownership means a subject’s relatively sustaining position of control in regard to an object. The empirical part of this study consists of five articles, out of which one is conceptual and four are empirical in nature. The notion of contextuality of ownership and the notions of SME characteristics form the basic premise of this study and the theoretical basis for the publications. From the owner-managers point of view, ownership relates the owner also to his or her environment and therefore also to the valuations of the owner-managers. This means that all the dimensions are not equally valued, but certain dimensions in his or her ownership are more important. The presented empirical research is supporting the claim that there is a variation whitin ownership behaviour of small business owners. When bringing the definition of ownership onto a personal and psychological level and into the SME context, it was noticed that ownership is not only a closed system phenomenon occurring between the owner and object owned, but it is also elementarily connected to the environment. Ownership - along with the psychological side of it - is a contextual phenomenon where the fundamental factor is the relatively sustaining position of control with regard to an object. As a contribution of the study, this definition is bringing a new point of view to the discussion on SMEs, SME strategic behaviour and family businesses. The study concludes with pointing out directions for future research.

Esiopetuskirjojen harjoitukset kielellisen tietoisuuden kehittäjinä

Tutkimus oli kasvatustieteellinen varhaiskasvatuksen alan tutkimus, jossa hyödynnettiin kielitieteellistä käsitteistöä. Tutkimuksen kohteena olivat esiopetuskirjojen kielellisen tietoisuuden harjoitukset. Aineistona oli 12 esiopetuksen harjoituskirjaa ja opettajan opasta. Kirjoissa oli yhteensä yli 2000 sivua ja yli 1300 harjoitusta. Tarkemmassa analyysissä olleiden harjoitusten määrä oli noin 460. Analyysimenetelmänä käytettiin sisällönanalyysiä, jonka avulla tutkittiin, millaisia kielellisen tietoisuuden harjoituksia esiopetuskirjoissa oli ja miten harjoitukset etenivät. Kielellisen tietoisuuden harjoitukset luokiteltiin fonologisen, morfologisen ja syntaktisen tietoisuuden harjoituksiin. Fonologinen tietoisuus käsitettiin lapsen kyvyksi havaita ja käsitellä kielen äännerakennetta. Morfologisella tietoisuudella tarkoitettiin kykyä havaita ja käsitellä kielen morfeemeja eli pienimpiä merkityksellisiä osia. Syntaktisella tietoisuudella tarkoitettiin lapsen tietoisuutta siitä, miten lauseet rakentuvat. Olennaisiksi piirteiksi fonologisen tietoisuuden harjoituksissa identifioituivat harjoitusten edellyttämä tai harjoittama tietoisuuden taso, harjoitusten kohteena olevien lingvististen yksiköiden taso ja harjoitustyyppi sekä morfologisen ja syntaktisen tietoisuuden harjoituksissa tietoisuuden taso ja harjoitustyyppi. Tutkimuksessa luotiin aikaisempien tutkimusten pohjalta mallit siitä, miten eri harjoitukset etenisivät optimaalisesti lapsen kielellisen tietoisuuden kehittymisen kannalta. Eri harjoituskirjojen harjoitusten etenemistä verrattiin näihin malleihin. Fonologisen tietoisuuden harjoituksista voitiin tunnistaa viisi päätyyppiä, joista useat jakautuivat vielä alatyypeiksi. Harjoitusten alatyypit ilmaisivat yleensä harjoituksissa käytettävän kognitiivisen operaation – käytettiinkö harjoituksessa tunnistamista, yhdistämistä vai osiin jakamista. Tämä samoin kuin harjoituksessa käytetty lingvistinen yksikkö (sana, loppusointu, tavu tai äänne) ja tietoisuuden taso olivat yhteydessä harjoituksen vaikeuteen. Tutkimuksissa ja interventioissa esiopetusikäisilläkin käytettyjä muunteluharjoituksia, joissa sanasta tai tavusta poistetaan osa, siihen lisätään osa tai osaa siirretään, harjoituskirjoissa ei ollut. Morfologisen tietoisuuden harjoitukset kohdistuivat yhdyssanoihin, taivutuspäätteisiin tai johdoksiin. Syntaktisen tietoisuuden harjoituksista identifioitui yhdentoista harjoituslajin alatyypin kautta kuusi päätyyppiä. Tutkimusta voidaan hyödyntää esiopetuskirjojen arvioinnissa ja laatimisessa sekä varhaiskasvatus- ja esiopetuspedagogiikassa.

Rukoile ja työtä tee. Onni Puhakan kehitys innovaattorista oman tien kulkijaksi

Pray and work. The development of Onni Puhakka: from innovator to nonconformist This ethnological biographical study examines the modernization which began in the mid-1800s, continued into the mid-1900s, and has changed Finnish society in many ways. This era has been studied on a general level quite extensively, but this work explores the life and everyday experiences of Onni Puhakka (1870−1955), a farmer who spent most of his life in the town of Liperi. The goal is to find new perspectives on the development of the modernization process in society through the experiences of an individual. In this study, a central theme is the rural co-operative movement represented in Finland by Pellervo as well as its development in this country and as a significant undertaking in Onni Puhakka’s life. The co-operative movement was one of the most significant sectors affecting modernization in rural communities. The main character in the study is the grandfather of the present author, and thus this research belongs to the newly accepted ethnological research tradition of studying one’s own community. Written documents, mainly collected and preserved by Onni Puhakka himself during his lifetime, form the research material. The material consists mainly of Puhakka’s extensive correspondence, personal notes and diaries, documents related to his farm, and photographs taken by him. Earlier research and other written material examining the general development of the period were used to provide a background for the study. The co-operative movement formed a comprehensive ideology for Onni Puhakka, in which the possibilities for the development of both individuals and the community were combined. His life was based on a religious conviction, and he felt that the co-operative movement was the application of Christian love for one’s neighbour in practice. At the beginning of his active working career, Puhakka was an innovator, a reformer at the forefront of progress, but quite soon he became a sworn critic of the development of the co-operative movement in particular. One of Puhakka’s criticisms of the co-operative movement was the shifting of decision-making power to professional managers and central organizations, far from the reach of local actors. A fundamental reason for his dissatisfaction was the development within the co-operative movement in which the ideological background was forgotten, and economic goals and making a profit took an excessive significance. This assessment of the co-operative movement made by Onni Puhakka and his predictions about its development were not unfounded. This has been shown by several studies examining the development of both the Pellervo and working class cooperative movements. The professionalization of management, managerialism, as well as the direct links between professional managers of local co-operatives and central organizations have lead to the situation in which fewer and fewer people make the decisions, and management has as its goal economic success and growth. Co-operative enterprises that have grown in size have become estranged from the everyday life of their members. Instead of taking care of relations with the membership of the co-op, competitive ability and the market share have become the most important concerns of the management. As the membership has become alienated, their interest in large-scale co-ops has also become largely economic. A significant change among the membership of the Pellervo movement occurred at the stage when the co-operative movement shifted from rural areas to urban centres. This meant that the commitment of the membership became much looser than it had been in the farmers’ production and consumer co-ops. From the point of view of its members, the nature of the co-operative movement has become diametrically opposed to its point of departure: the active members who previously formed the subject of the co-operative movement have become the object of the economic activities of that same movement. The co-operative movement has been transformed from the progressive agent of change of its early years into a business activity which no longer has any significant task as a social reformer. This study confirms the observations of the latest research on modernization which states that modernization has not been a straightforward and inevitable development that has lead to the present situation. For example, the criticism directed by Puhakka toward the co-operative movement includes information that shows that a few others who were initially actively involved also criticized the development of the movement. Despite his occasional frustration, Onni Puhakka continued his criticism and attempts to get the co-operative movement to change its course and return to its ‘roots’. In the early years of the cooperative movement he probably did not differ much from the other pioneers in the sense that many of them had adopted and internalized the same values and motive for being involved that he had. However, Puhakka differed from his colleagues in the sense that he was able to believe in what he called the “fundamental values” of the co-operative movement longer than many of them.

Leiomioma do esôfago removido por videolaparoscopia

This report describes a leiomyoma of the inferior third section of the esophagus removed during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The patient is a woman 55-years-age, carrying esophageal myoma of 40 mm in diameter wide, situated in the posterior wall of the lower esophagus. Indications for surgery were based mainly on the growth of the mass (6 mm when discovered 7 years previously, increased to 40 mm). Recently the patient returned suffering from pain, which could be attributed to his litiasic cholecystopaty. A small degree of low disphagia could also be observed. Radiologic imaging, direct endoscopic examination and endoscopic ultrasound showed that the mioma protruded on to the oesophagic lumen, discreetly diminishing there. A laparoscopic esophageal myomectomy was indicated at the same session of the laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Once the pneunoperitoneum was installed, five ports were placed as if for a hiatus hernia surgery. The cholecystectomy was uneventful. Next, an esophagoscopy was performed so as to determine the precise area covering the base of the tumour; at the right-lateral site. Longitudinal and circular fibres of the esophagus was severed over the lesion and the enucleation of the tumour was performed alternating the monopolar dissection, bipolar and hidrodisection. Control-endoscopy was carried out to verify mucosa integrity. Four suture points with poliglactine 3-0 string so as to close the musculature followed this. One suture was placed in for diminution of the size of the esophagean hiatus. Total time of intervention: two hours (30m for the cholecystectomy and one hour and thirty minutes for the myomectomy). Postoperative period: uneventful. Disappearance of the disphagia was observed. Radiologic transit control with water-soluble contrast at 4th post-operative day: good passage. Diagnosis from laboratory of pathology: conjunctive tumour formed by muscle non-striated cells: leiomyoma. The patient was re-examined on the two-month postoperative follow-up. General conditions were good and there were no complain of dysphagia. Neither there were any symptoms of gastro-esophageal reflux.

Sivistyksestä sivilisaatioon. Kulttuurikäsitys J. V. Snellmanin historiallisessa ajattelussa

From Bildung to Civilisation. Conception of Culture in J. V. Snellman’s Historical Thinking The research explores Johan Vilhelm Snellman’s (1806–1881) conception of culture in the context of his historical thinking. Snellman was a Finnish, Swedish-speaking journalist, teacher and thinker, who held a central position in the Finnish national discourse during the nineteenth century. He has been considered as one of the leading theorists of a Finnish nation, writing widely about the themes such as the advancement of the national education, Finnish language and culture. Snellman is already a widely studied person in Finnish intellectual history, often characterised as a follower of G. W. F. Hegel’s philosophical system. My own research introduces a new kind of approach on Snellman’s texts, emphasising the conceptual level of his thought. With this approach, my aim is to broaden the Finnish research tradition on conceptual history. I consider my study as a cultural history of concepts, belonging also to the field of intellectual history. My focus is on one hand on the close reading of Snellman’s texts and on the other hand on contextualising his texts to the European intellectual tradition of the time. A key concept of Snellman’s theoretical thinking is his concept of bildning, which can be considered as a Swedish counterpart of the German concept of Bildung. The Swedish word incorporated all the main elements of the German concept. It could mean education or the so-called high culture, but most fundamentally it was about the self-formation of the individual. This is also the context in which Snellman’s concept of bildning has often been interpreted. In the study, I use the concept of bildning as a starting point of my research but I broaden my focus on the cognate concepts such as culture (kultur), spirit (anda) and civilisation. The purpose of my study is thus to illustrate how Snellman used and modified these concepts and from these observations to draw a conclusion about the nature of his conception of culture. Snellman was an early Finnish philosopher of history but also interested in the practice of the writing of history. He did not write any historical presentations himself but followed the publications in the field of history and introduced European historical writing to the Finnish, Swedish-speaking reading audience in his newspapers. The primary source material consists of different types of Snellman’s texts, including philosophical writings, lecture material, newspaper articles and private letters. I’m reading Snellman’s texts in the context of other texts produced both by his Finnish predecessors and contemporaries and by Swedish, German and French writers. Snellman’s principal philosophical works, Versuch einer spekulativen Entwicklung der Idee der Persönlichkeit (1841) and Läran om staten (1842), were both written abroad. Both of the works were contributions to contemporary debates on the international level, especially in Germany and Sweden. During the 1840s and 1850s Snellman had two newspapers of his own, Saima and Litteraturblad, which were directed towards the Swedish-speaking educated class. Both of the newspapers were very popular and their circulations were among the largest of their day in Finland. The topics of his articles and reviews covered literature, poetry, philosophy and education as well as issues concerning the economic, industrial and technical development in Finland. In his newspapers Snellman not only brought forth his own ideas but also spread the knowledge of European events and ideas to his readers. He followed very carefully the cultural and political situation in Western Europe. He also followed European magazines and newspapers and was well acquainted with German, French and also English literature – and of course Swedish literature to with which he had the closest ties. In his newspapers Snellman wrote countless number of literary reviews and critics, introducing his readers to European literature. The study consists of three main chapters in which I explore my research question in three different, yet overlapping contexts. In the first of these chapters, I analyse Snellman’n theoretical thinking and his concepts of bildning, kultur, anda and civilisation in the context of earlier cultural discourse in Finland as well as the tradition of German idealistic philosophy and neo-humanism. With the Finnish cultural discourse I refer to the early cultural discussion in Finland, which emerged after the year 1809, when Finland became an autonomous entity of its own as a Grand Duchy of Russia. Scholars of the Academy of Turku opened a discussion on the themes such as the state of national consciousness, the need for national education and the development of the Finnish language as a national language of Finland. Many of these academics were also Snellman’s teachers in the early years of his academic career and Snellman clearly formulated his own ideas in the footsteps of these Finnish predecessors. In his theoretical thinking Snellman was a collectivist; according to him an individual should always be understood in connection with the society, its values and manners, as well as to the traditions of a culture where an individual belongs to. In his philosophy of the human spirit Snellman was in many ways a Hegelian but his notion of education or ‘bildning’ includes also elements that connect him with the wider tradition of German intellectual history, namely the neo-humanist tradition and, at least to some extent, to the terminology of J. G. Herder or J. G. Fichte, for example. In this chapter, I also explore Snellman’s theory of history. In his historical thinking Snellman was an idealist, believing in the historical development of the human spirit (Geist in German language). One can characterise his theory of history by stating that it is a mixture of a Hegelian triumph of the spirit and Herderian emphasis on humanity (Humanität) and the relative nature of ‘Bildung’. For Snellman, the process of ‘bildning’ or ‘Bildung’ is being realised in historical development through the actions of human beings. Snellman believed in the historical development of the human civilization. Still Snellman himself considered that he had abandoned Hegel’s idea about the process of world history. Snellman – rightly or wrongly – criticised Hegel of emphasising the universal end of history (the realisation of the freedom of spirit) at the expense of the historical plurality and the freedom of each historical era. Snellman accused Hegel of neglecting the value and independency of different historical cultures and periods by imposing the abstract norm, the fulfilment of the freedom of spirit, as the ultimate goal of history. The historicist in Snellman believed in the individuality of each historical period; each historical era or culture had values, traditions and modes of thought of its own. This historicist in Snellman could not accept the talk about one measure or the end of history. On the other hand Snellman was also a universalist. He believed that mankind had a common task and that task was the development of ‘Bildung’, freedom or humanity. The second main chapter consists of two parts. In the first part, I explore the Finnish nationalistic discourse from the cultural point of view by analysing the notions such as a nation, national spirit or national language and showing how Snellman formulated his own ideas in a dialogic situation, participating in the Finnish discourse but also reacting to international discussions on the themes of the nation and nationality. For Snellman nationality was to a great extent the collective knowledge and customs or practices of the nation. Snellman stated that nationality is to be considered as a form of ‘bildning’. This could be seen not simply as affection for the fatherland but also for the mental identity of the nation, its ways of thinking, its practices, national language, customs and laws, the history of the nation. The simplest definition of nationality that Snellman gives is that nationality is the social life of the people. In the second part of the chapter I exam Snellman’s historical thinking and his understanding about historical development, interaction between different nations and cultures in the course of history, as well as the question of historical change; how do cultures or civilisations develop and who are the creators of culture? Snellman did not believe in one dominating culture but understood the course of history as a dialogue between different cultures. On the other hand, his views are very Eurocentric – here he follows the ideas of Hegel or for example the French historian François Guizot – for Snellman Europe represented the virtue of pluralism; in Europe one could see the diversity of cultures which, on the other hand, were fundamentally based on a common Christian tradition. In the third main chapter, my focus is on the writing of history, more precisely on Snellman’s ideas on the nature of history as a science and on the proper way of writing historical presentations. Snellman wrote critics on the works of history and introduced his readers to the writing of history especially in France, Sweden and German-speaking area – in some extend also in Britain. Snellman’s collectivistic view becomes evident also in his reviews on historical writing. For Snellman history was not about the actions of the states and their heads, nor about the records of ruling families and battles fought. He repeatedly stressed that history is a discipline that seeks to provide a total view of a phenomenon. A historian should not only collect information on historical events, since this information touches only the surface of a certain epoch or civilisation; he has to understand an epoch as totality. This required an understanding about the major contours in history, connections between civilisations and an awareness of significant turning points in historical development. In addition, it required a holistic understanding about a certain culture or historical era, including also the so-called inner life of a specific nation, a common people and their ways of life. Snellman wrote explicitly about ‘cultural history’ in his texts, referring to this kind of broad understanding of a society. In historical writing Snellman found this kind of broader view from the works of the French historians such as François Guizot and Jules Michelet. In all of these chapters, I elaborate the conceptual dimension of Snellman’s historical thinking. In my study I argue that Snellman not only adopted the German concepts of Bildung or Kultur in his own thinking but also developed the Swedish concepts in a way that include personal and innovative aspects. Snellman’s concept of bildning is not only a translation from ‘Bildung’ but he uses the Swedish concept in a versatile way that includes both the moral aspect of human development and social dimension of a human life. Along with ‘bildning’ Snellman used also the terms ‘kultur’ and ‘civilisation’ when referring to the totality of a certain nation or historical era, including both the so-called high culture (arts, science, religion) and the modes of thought as well as ways of life of the people as a whole. Unlike many of his Finnish contemporaries, Snellman did not use civilisation as a negative concept, lacking the moral essence of German term ‘Bildung’ or ‘Kultur’. Instead, for Snellman civilisation was a neutral term and here he comes close to the French tradition of using the term. In the study I argue that Snellman’s conception of culture in fact includes a synthesis of the German tradition of ‘Bildung’ and the French tradition of ‘civilisation’.

Mutations of androgen receptor gene in Brazilian patients with male pseudohermaphroditism

We describe the identification of point mutations in the androgen receptor gene in five Brazilian patients with female assignment and behavior. The eight exons of the gene were amplified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and analyzed for single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) to detect the mutations. Direct sequencing of the mutant PCR products demonstrated single transitions in three of these cases: G®A in case 1, within exon C, changing codon 615 from Arg to His; G®A in case 2, within exon E, changing codon 752 from Arg to Gln, and C®T in case 3, within exon B, but without amino acid change.

Flavianate, an amino acid precipitant, is a competitive inhibitor of trypsin at pH 3.0

Textile dyes bind to proteins leading to selective co-precipitation of a complex involving one protein molecule and more than one dye molecule of opposite charge in acid solutions, in a process of reversible denaturation that can be utilized for protein fractionation. In order to understand what occurs before the co-precipitation, a kinetic study using bovine ß-trypsin and sodium flavianate was carried out based on reaction progress curve techniques. The experiments were carried out using a-CBZ-L-Lys-p-nitrophenyl ester as substrate which was added to 50 mM sodium citrate buffer, pH 3.0, containing varying concentrations of ß-trypsin and dye. The reaction was recorded spectrophotometrically at 340 nm for 30 min, and the families of curves obtained were analyzed simultaneously by fitting integrated Michaelis-Menten equations. The dye used behaved as a competitive inhibitor of trypsin at pH 3.0, with Ki = 99 µM; kinetic parameters for the substrate hydrolysis were: Km = 32 µM, and kcat = 0.38/min. The competitive character of the inhibition suggests a specific binding of the first dye molecule to His-57, the only positively charged residue at the active site of the enzyme.