Sphingomonas wittichii RW1 gene reporters interrogating the dibenzofuran metabolic network highlight conditions for early successful development in contaminated microcosms.

In order to better understand the fate and activity of bacteria introduced into contaminated material for the purpose of enhancing biodegradation rates, we constructed Sphingomonas wittichii RW1 variants with gene reporters interrogating dibenzofuran metabolic activity. Three potential promoters from the dibenzofuran metabolic network were selected and fused to the gene for enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). The stability of the resulting genetic constructions in RW1 was examined, with plasmids based on the broad-host range vector pME6012 being the most reliable. One of the selected promoters, upstream of the gene Swit_4925 for a putative 2-hydroxy-2,4-pentadienoate hydratase, was inducible by growth on dibenzofuran. Sphingomonas wittichii RW1 equipped with the Swit_4925 promoter egfp fusion grew in a variety of non-sterile sandy microcosms contaminated with dibenzofuran and material from a former gasification site. The strain also grew in microcosms without added dibenzofuran but to a very limited extent, and EGFP expression indicated the formation of consistent small subpopulations of cells with an active inferred dibenzofuran metabolic network. Evidence was obtained for competition for dibenzofuran metabolites scavenged by resident bacteria in the gasification site material, which resulted in a more rapid decline of the RW1 population. Our results show the importance of low inoculation densities in order to observe the population development of the introduced bacteria and further illustrate that the limited availability of unique carbon substrate may be the most important factor impinging growth.

Dynamic application development in Symbian OS

Diplomityössä tutkitaan, kuinka Symbian-sovelluskehitystä voitaisiin tehostaa. Työssä esitellään Symbian-käyttöjärjestelmä, sekä pohditaan haasteita ja rajoitteita joita Symbian sovelluskehityksessä kohdataan. Myöskin jo olemassa olevia kehitystapoja pohditaan työn tavoitteen kannalta. Symbian-sovelluskehityksessä tehdään toistuvasti samoja asioita. Koska Symbian on avoin käyttöjärjestelmä, sovelluskehittäjiä on paljon. Tehokkaamman kehitystavan löytäminen säästäisi paljon resursseja. Tällä hetkellä perinteiset ohjelmointitavat näyttävät olevan suosituin tapa kehittää sovelluksia. Kuitenkin on jo olemassa useita ratkaisuja, jotka pyrkivät tehostamaan sovelluskehitystä, mikä todistaa tarpeen kehittää tehokkuutta. Työssä toteutettu systeemi ajaa Symbian sovelluksia XML-määrityksen pohjalta. Kun käytetään XML-määritystä C++-koodin sijasta, sovelluskehitys muuttuu. Näiden muutosten täytyy kuitenkin olla myönteisiä, eivätkä ne saa haitata ohjelmiston laatua tai käytettävyyttä.

Psychosexual development in men with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism on long-term treatment: a mixed methods study.

INTRODUCTION: Congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) is a rare, genetic, reproductive endocrine disorder characterized by absent puberty and infertility. Limited information is available on the psychosocial impact of CHH and psychosexual development in these patients. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of CHH on psychosexual development in men on long-term treatment. METHODS: A sequential mixed methods explanatory design was used. First, an online survey (quantitative) was used to quantify the frequency of psychosexual problems among CHH men. Second, patient focus groups (qualitative) were conducted to explore survey findings in detail and develop a working model to guide potential nursing and interdisciplinary interventions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patient characteristics, frequency of body shame, difficulty with intimate relationships, and never having been sexually active were assessed. Additionally, we collected subjective patient-reported outcomes regarding the impact of CHH on psychological/emotional well-being, intimate relationships, and sexual activity. RESULTS: A total of 101 CHH men on long-term treatment (>1 year) were included for the analysis of the online survey (mean age 37 ± 11 years, range 19-66, median 36). Half (52/101, 51%) of the men had been seen at a specialized academic center and 37/101 (37%) reported having had fertility-inducing treatment. A high percentage of CHH men experience psychosexual problems including difficulty with intimate relationships (70%) and body image concerns/body shame (94/101, 93%), and the percentage of men never having been sexually active is five times the rate in a reference group (26% vs. 5.4%, P < 0.001). Focus groups revealed persisting body shame and low self-esteem despite long-term treatment that has lasting impact on psychosexual functioning. CONCLUSIONS: CHH men frequently experience psychosexual problems that pose barriers to intimate relationships and initiating sexual activity. These lingering effects cause significant distress and are not ameliorated by long-term treatment. Psychosexual assessment in CHH men with appropriate psychological support and treatment should be warranted in these patients. Dwyer AA, Quinton R, Pitteloud N, and Morin D. Psychosexual development in men with congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism on long-term treatment: A mixed methods study. Sex Med 2015;3:32-41.

Contrast : a concept in language and its development in Medieval Spanish

The purpose of this PhD thesis is to investigate a semantic relation present in the connection of sentences (more specifically: propositional units). This relation, which we refer to as contrast, includes the traditional categories of adversatives - predominantly represented by the connector but in English and pero in Modern Spanish - and concessives, prototypically verbalised through although / aunque. The aim is to describe, analyse and - as far as possible - to explain the emergence and evolution of different syntactic schemes marking contrast during the first three centuries of Spanish (also referred to as Castilian) as a literary language, i.e., from the 13th to the 15th century. The starting point of this question is a commonplace in syntax, whereby the semantic and syntactic complexity of clause linkage correlates with the degree of textual elaboration. In historical linguistics, i.e., applied to the phylogeny of a language, it is commonly referred to as the parataxis hypothesis A crucial part of the thesis is dedicated by the definition of contrast as a semantic relation. Although the label contrast has been used in this sense, mainly in functional grammar and text linguistics, mainstream grammaticography and linguistics remain attached to the traditional categories adversatives and concessives. In opposition to this traditional view, we present our own model of contrast, based on a pragma-semantic description proposed for the analysis of adversatives by Oswald Ducrot and subsequently adopted by Ekkehard König for the analysis of concessives. We refine and further develop this model in order for it to accommodate all, not just the prototypical instances of contrast in Spanish, arguing that the relationship between adversatives and concessives is a marked opposition, i.e., that the higher degree of semantic and syntactic integration of concessives restricts some possible readings that the adversatives may have, but that this difference is almost systematically neutralised by contextual factors, thus justifying the assumption of contrast as a comprehensive onomasiological category. This theoretical focus is completed by a state-of-the-question overview attempting to account for all relevant forms in which contrast is expressed in Medieval Spanish, with the aid of lexicographic and grammaticographical sources, and an empirical study investigating the expression of corpus in a corpus study on the textual functions of contrast in nine Medieval Spanish texts: Cantar de Mio Cid, Libro de Alexandre, Milagros de Nuestra Sehora, Estoria de Espana, Primera Partida, Lapidario, Libro de buen amor, Conde Lucanor, and Corbacho. This corpus is analysed using quantitative and qualitative tools, and the study is accompanied by a series of methodological remarks on how to investigate a pragma-semantic category in historical linguistics. The corpus study shows that the parataxis hypothesis fails to prove from a statistical viewpoint, although a qualitative analysis shows that the use of subordination does increase over time in some particular contexts.

Partnering in the International Marketplace: The Role of Culture for Trust Development in Multicultural Partnerships

Tutkimuksen tarkoitus oli kasvattaa tietämystä kultuurin vaikutuksesta luottamuksen rakentamiseen monikulttuurisissa partnerisuhteissa. Kulttuurin oletettiin aiheuttavan hankaluuksia pitkäaikaisen suhteen luomisessa, etenkin luottamuksen ollessa kyseessä, sillä kulttuurit ja tavat olivat erilaisia toimittajan ja asiakkaan päässä. Tutkimus käsitteli johtajan nakökulmaa: mikä oli johtajien mielestä kriittistä luottamuksen ja yhteistyön onnistumiselle. Empiirinen osa suoritettiin UPM-Kymmenellä ja sen kolme partneria valittiin case-esimerkeiksi. Tutkimus keskittyi ostaja-myyjä –suhteeseen. Materiaali kerättiin case-asiakkaista vastuussa olevia myyntijohtajia haastattelemalla. Tulos oli, että johtajille tärkeintä yhteistyössä olivat samanlaiset organisaatiokulttuurit sekä normit. Kansallisella kulttuurilla oli merkittävä vaikutus suhteen alussa sekä liikeasioiden mennessä huonosti. Luottamuksen havaitseminen eri kultuurien välillä todettiin vaikeaksi. Eri arvot, viestintätyylit, jopa kieli joissain tapauksissa vaikeuttivat luottamuksen rakentamista. Luottamus oli erilaista maasta riippuen, sen tyyli ja määrä vaihteli.

Infrastructure and Economic Growth in Spain, 1845-1935

Between the mid-nineteenth century and the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, Spain undertook a sustained process of economic growth and structural change, but was unable to converge with the core European economies.1 The reasons behind Spain"s failure to converge have been a subject of debate among historians for decades. 2 This dissertation aims to analyze the role played by infrastructure in Spanish economic growth during that period, and tries to find out to what extent the potential shortage or inadequacy of the Spanish infrastructure endowment was one of the factors to blame for the country"s nonconvergence. The dissertation draws on recent research on the economic impact of infrastructure, and on the numerous attempts to measure that impact which have been undertaken in the wake of David Aschauer"s work on the United States.

Wage inequality and economic growth in Mexican regions

Only a few studies have analysed the relationship between intraregional inequality and growth, although several studies have measured inequality at the regional level. The objective of this paper is to analyse the relationship between income (wage) inequality and economic growth in different regions of Mexico. We also try to identify factors that explain the variation of intra-regional inequality across Mexican regions and over time. Using macroeconomic databases and publicly available microdata, we apply techniques used in the fields of statistics and econometrics to obtain robust evidence on the relationship between growth and inequality. Our aim is to provide policy recommendations to support the design and implementation of growth-promoting measures thatavoid the exclusion of certain social groups. This paper provides reasons to use a spatial approach and an analysis of particular regions to avoid «one size fits all» policy recommendations.

Distinct roles of NMDA receptors at different stages of granule cell development in the adult brain.

NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-dependent forms of synaptic plasticity are thought to underlie the assembly of developing neuronal circuits and to play a crucial role in learning and memory. It remains unclear how NMDAR might contribute to the wiring of adult-born granule cells (GCs). Here we demonstrate that nascent GCs lacking NMDARs but rescued from apoptosis by overexpressing the pro-survival protein Bcl2 were deficient in spine formation. Insufficient spinogenesis might be a general cause of cell death restricted within the NMDAR-dependent critical time window for GC survival. NMDAR loss also led to enhanced mushroom spine formation and synaptic AMPAR activity throughout the development of newborn GCs. Moreover, similar elevated synapse maturation in the absence of NMDARs was observed in neonate-generated GCs and CA1 pyramidal neurons. Together, these data suggest that NMDAR operates as a molecular monitor for controlling the activity-dependent establishment and maturation rate of synaptic connections between newborn neurons and others.

Secondary growth of the Arabidopsis hypocotyl-vascular development in dimensions.

The secondary thickening of plant organs in extant dicotyledons is a massive growth process that constitutes the major carbon sink in perennial, woody plants. Yet, our understanding of its molecular genetic control has been mostly obtained by its analysis in an herbaceous annual model, Arabidopsis. Recent years have seen increased interest in this somewhat under-researched topic, and various (non-)cell autonomous factors that guide the extent and vascular patterning of secondary growth have been identified. Concomitantly, a more detailed understanding of vascular differentiation processes has been obtained through analyses of primary growth, mostly in the root meristem. A future challenge will be the integration of these patterning and differentiation modules together with cambial activity into the 4-dimensional frame of secondary thickening.

High Altitude Increases Alteration in Maximal Torque but Not in Rapid Torque Development in Knee Extensors after Repeated Treadmill Sprinting.

We assessed knee extensor neuromuscular adjustments following repeated treadmill sprints in different normobaric hypoxia conditions, with special reference to rapid muscle torque production capacity. Thirteen team- and racquet-sport athletes undertook 8 × 5-s "all-out" sprints (passive recovery = 25 s) on a non-motorized treadmill in normoxia (NM; FiO2 = 20.9%), at low (LA; FiO2 = 16.8%) and high (HA; FiO2 = 13.3%) normobaric hypoxia (simulated altitudes of ~1800 m and ~3600 m, respectively). Explosive (~1 s; "fast" instruction) and maximal (~5 s; "hard" instruction) voluntary isometric contractions (MVC) of the knee extensors (KE), with concurrent electromyographic (EMG) activity recordings of the vastus lateralis (VL) and rectus femoris (RF) muscles, were performed before and 1-min post-exercise. Rate of torque development (RTD) and EMG (i.e., Root Mean Square or RMS) rise from 0 to 30, -50, -100, and -200 ms were recorded, and were also normalized to maximal torque and EMG values, respectively. Distance covered during the first 5-s sprint was similar (P > 0.05) in all conditions. A larger (P < 0.05) sprint decrement score and a shorter (P < 0.05) cumulated distance covered over the eight sprints occurred in HA (-8 ± 4% and 178 ± 11 m) but not in LA (-7 ± 3% and 181 ± 10 m) compared to NM (-5 ± 2% and 183 ± 9 m). Compared to NM (-9 ± 7%), a larger (P < 0.05) reduction in MVC torque occurred post-exercise in HA (-14 ± 9%) but not in LA (-12 ± 7%), with no difference between NM and LA (P > 0.05). Irrespectively of condition (P > 0.05), peak RTD (-6 ± 11%; P < 0.05), and normalized peak RMS activity for VL (-8 ± 11%; P = 0.07) and RF (-14 ± 11%; P < 0.01) muscles were reduced post-exercise, whereas reductions (P < 0.05) in absolute RTD occurred within the 0-100 (-8 ± 9%) and 0-200 ms (-10 ± 8%) epochs after contraction onset. After normalization to MVC torque, there was no difference in RTD values. Additionally, the EMG rise for VL muscle was similar (P > 0.05), whereas it increased (P < 0.05) for RF muscle during all epochs post-exercise, independently of the conditions. In summary, alteration in repeated-sprint ability and post-exercise MVC decrease were greater at high altitude than in normoxia or at low altitude. However, the post-exercise alterations in RTD were similar between normoxia and low-to-high hypoxia.

Maritime transportation in the Gulf of Finland in 2007 and in 2015

The Gulf of Finland is said to be one of the densest operated sea areas in the world. It is a shallow and economically vulnerable sea area with dense passenger and cargo traffic of which petroleum transports have a share of over 50 %. The winter conditions add to the risks of maritime traffic in the Gulf of Finland. It is widely believed that the growth of maritime transportation will continue also in the future. The Gulf of Finland is surrounded by three very different national economies with, different maritime transportation structures. Finland is a country of high GDP/per capita with a diversified economic structure. The number of ports is large and the maritime transportation consists of many types of cargoes: raw materials, industrial products, consumer goods, coal and petroleum products, and the Russian transit traffic of e.g. new cars and consumer goods. Russia is a large country with huge growth potential; in recent years, the expansion of petroleum exports has lead to a strong economic growth, which is also apparent in the growth of maritime transports. Russia has been expanding its port activities in the Gulf of Finland and it is officially aiming to transport its own imports and exports through the Russian ports in the future; now they are being transported to great extend through the Finnish, Estonian and other Baltic ports. Russia has five ports in the Gulf of Finland. Estonia has also experienced fast economic growth, but the growth has been slowing down already during the past couples of years. The size of its economy is small compared to Russia, which means the transported tonnes cannot be very massive. However, relatively large amounts of the Russian petroleum exports have been transported through the Estonian ports. The future of the Russian transit traffic in Estonia looks nevertheless uncertain and it remains to be seen how it will develop and if Estonia is able to find replacing cargoes if the Russian transit traffic will come to an end in the Estonian ports. Estonia’s own import and export consists of forestry products, metals or other raw materials and consumer goods. Estonia has many ports on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, but the port of Tallinn dominates the cargo volumes. In 2007, 263 M tonnes of cargoes were transported in the maritime traffic in the Gulf of Finland, of which the share of petroleum products was 56 %. 23 % of the cargoes were loaded or unloaded in the Finnish ports, 60 % in the Russian ports and 17 % in the Estonian ports. The largest ports were Primorsk (74.2 M tonnes) St. Petersburg (59.5 M tonnes), Tallinn (35.9 M tonnes), Sköldvik (19.8 M tonnes), Vysotsk (16.5 M tonnes) and Helsinki (13.4 M) tonnes. Approximately 53 600 ship calls were made in the ports of the Gulf of Finland. The densest traffic was found in the ports of St. Petersburg (14 651 ship calls), Helsinki (11 727 ship calls) and Tallinn (10 614 ship calls) in 2007. The transportation scenarios are usually based on the assumption that the amount of transports follows the development of the economy, although also other factors influence the development of transportation, e.g. government policy, environmental aspects, and social and behavioural trends. The relationship between the development of transportation and the economy is usually analyzed in terms of the development of GDP and trade. When the GDP grows to a certain level, especially the international transports increase because countries of high GDP produce, consume and thus transport more. An effective transportation system is also a precondition for the economic development. In this study, the following factors were taken into consideration when formulating the future scenarios: maritime transportation in the Gulf of Finland 2007, economic development, development of key industries, development of infrastructure and environmental aspects in relation to maritime transportation. The basic starting points for the three alternative scenarios were: • the slow growth scenario: economic recession • the average growth scenario: economy will recover quickly from current instability • the strong growth scenario: the most optimistic views on development will realize According to the slow growth scenario, the total tonnes for the maritime transportation in the Gulf of Finland would be 322.4 M tonnes in 2015, which would mean a growth of 23 % compared to 2007. In the average growth scenario, the total tonnes were estimated to be 431.6 M tonnes – a growth of 64 %, and in the strong growth scenario 507.2 M tonnes – a growth of 93%. These tonnes were further divided into petroleum products and other cargoes by country, into export, import and domestic traffic by country, and between the ports. For petroleum products, the share of crude oil and oil products was estimated and the number of tanker calls in 2015 was calculated for each scenario. However, the future development of maritime transportation in the GoF is dependent on so many societal and economic variables that it is not realistic to predict one exact point estimate value for the cargo tonnes for a certain scenario. Plenty of uncertainty is related both to the degree in which the scenario will come true as well as to the cause-effect relations between the different variables. For these reasons, probability distributions for each scenario were formulated by an expert group. As a result, a range for the total tonnes of each scenario was formulated and they are as follows: the slow growth scenario: 280.8 – 363 M tonnes (expectation value 322.4 M tonnes)

Agglomeration vs. dispersion of economic activities in the districts of Paris

The spatial distribution of economic activity has often been analysed for wide geographical areas such as regions or metropolitan areas, but it has rarely been subject to microanalysis, especially outside the U.S. In this paper we focus on what happens within a large European city (Par is), and analyse how the industrial composition of its districts differs and how these districts evolve. We also analyse suburbanization process for both residents and the workforce and provide empirical evidence about the changing roles of the core and intramuros periphery. Keywords: agglomeration, suburbanization, Paris, micropolitan analysis

Winner-Loser Performance and Macroeconomic Effects during three last Economic Crises in Finnish Stock Market

The main purpose of this thesis is to investigate winner-loser performance when financial markets are facing crisis. This is examined through the idea that does the prior loser portfolios outperform the prior winner portfolios during the three major crises: The depression of the 1990s, the IT-Bubble and the Subprime -crisis. Firstly, the winner and loser portfolios superiority is counted by using the cumulative excess returns from the examination period. The portfolios were formed by counting the excess returns and locating them in to the order of superiority. The excess returns are counted by using one year pre-data before the actual examination period. The results of this part did not support the results of De Bondt & Thaler’s (1985) paper. Secondly, it is investigated how the Finnish and the US macroeconomic factors are seen to be affecting the stock market valuation in Finnish Stock Markets during economic crises. This is done to explain better the changes in the successes of the winner-loser performance. The crises included different amount of selected macro factors. Two latest crises involved as well few selected US macro factors. Exclusively the IT-Bubble -crisis had the most statistically significant results with the US factors. Two other crises did not receive statistically significant results. An extra research was produced to study do the US macro factors impact more significantly on Finnish stock exchange after lags. The selected lags were three, six, nine and twelve months. Three and six month lagged US macro factors during the IT-Bubble -crisis improved the results. The extra research did not improve the results of the Subprime -crisis.

GLUT2-mediated glucose uptake and availability are required for embryonic brain development in zebrafish

Glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2; gene name SLC2A2) has a key role in the regulation of glucose dynamics in organs central to metabolism. Although GLUT2 has been studied in the context of its participation in peripheral and central glucose sensing, its role in the brain is not well understood. To decipher the role of GLUT2 in brain development, we knocked down slc2a2 (glut2), the functional ortholog of human GLUT2, in zebrafish. Abrogation of glut2 led to defective brain organogenesis, reduced glucose uptake and increased programmed cell death in the brain. Coinciding with the observed localization of glut2 expression in the zebrafish hindbrain, glut2 deficiency affected the development of neural progenitor cells expressing the proneural genes atoh1b and ptf1a but not those expressing neurod. Specificity of the morphant phenotype was demonstrated by the restoration of brain organogenesis, whole-embryo glucose uptake, brain apoptosis, and expression of proneural markers in rescue experiments. These results indicate that glut2 has an essential role during brain development by facilitating the uptake and availability of glucose and support the involvement of glut2 in brain glucose sensing.