High temperature deformation and densification in alumina-yttria composites

Pinning by second phase particles offers a potent means for limiting grain growth and enhancing superplasticity in alumina-based ceramics. In the present study, a colloidal technique was used to produce green bodies of alumina-yttria composites; at elevated temperatures, the yttria particles react with alumina to produce YAG particles. The densification and high temperature deformation characteristics of alumina-YAG composites were studied using conventional free sintering and sinter-forging, which involves the application of a compressive stress without any lateral constraints. It is shown that the YAG particles retard both densification and grain growth. The experiments indicate also that the presence of YAG particles does not significantly alter the stress exponent for creep deformation.

The trend toward pre-graduation professional work experience for Australian young planners: Essential experience or essentially exploitation

This paper explores the changing employment expectations that frame the early professional work experiences of young planners in Australia. In particular, it considers the rising popularity of pre-graduation professional work experience as a precursor to formal entry into the workforce as a practising planner. This shift is being driven in part by employer expectations that graduates will already have ‘real world’ and relevant work experience. However, an equally significant driver appears to be a growing desire for early career and graduate planners to find ways to distinguish themselves from their peers in an increasingly tight labour market. Using data from an ongoing research project into the formative work experiences of young people this paper describes the three main types of pre-graduation professional work experience undertaken by young planners. It highlights the potential challenges and benefits of pre-graduation work experience from a legal, social and ethical perspective as well as from the perspective of young planners themselves. The paper concludes by reflecting on the role of the planning profession – employers, peak bodies and planning educators – in managing the tensions between producing ‘work ready’ graduates and safeguarding the employment conditions of early career planning professionals.

Architecture, the body and authority in performance

This is a theoretical investigation seeking to learn more about architecture by looking at architectural practice through another discipline. In this research architecture is investigated by examining its relationship with bodies through performance and theatre set design. This thesis aims to build on existing architectural theory, in which an absence of discourse on the body has been identified, by analysing representations of architecture and the body in performance. The research specifically examines the relationship between the body, architecture and authority in performance through the analysis of several performance works.

Phoenix activity: Regulatory challenges and the law

Remedying the mischief of phoenix activity is of practical importance. The benefits include continued confidence in our economy, law that inspires best practice among directors, and law that is articulated in a manner such that penalties act as a sufficient deterrent and the regulatory system is able to detect offenders and bring them to account. Any further reforms must accommodate and tolerate legal phoenix activity. Phoenix activity pushes tolerance of entrepreneurial activity to its absolute limits. The wisest approach would be to front end the reforms so as to alleviate the considerable detection and enforcement burden upon regulatory bodies. There is little doubt that breach of the existing law is difficult and expensive to detect; and this is a significant burden when regulators have shrinking budgets and are rapidly losing feet on the ground. This front end approach may need to include restrictions on access to limited liability. The more limited liability is misused, the stronger the argument to limit access to limited liability. This paper proposes that such an approach is a legitimate next step for a robust and mature capitalist economy.

Importance of amino-terminus in maintenance of oligomeric structure of cytosolic serine hydroxymethyltransferase

The role of the amino and carboxyl-terminal regions of cytosolic serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) in subunit assembly and catalysis was studied using six amino-terminal (lacking the first 6, 14, 30, 49, 58, and 75 residues) and two carboxyl-terminal (lacking the last 49 and 185 residues) deletion mutants. These mutants were constructed from a full length cDNA clone using restriction enzyme/PCR-based methods and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. The overexpressed proteins, des-(A1-K6)-SHMT and des-(A1- W14)-SHMT were present in the soluble fraction and they were purified to homogeneity. The deletion clones, for des-(A1–V30)-SHMT and des-(A1–L49)-SHMT were expressed at very low levels, whereas des-(A1–R58)-SHMT, des-(A1–G75)-SHMT, des-(Q435–F483)-SHMT and des-(L299-F483)-SHMT mutant proteins were not soluble and formed inclusion bodies. Des-(A1–K6)-SHMT and des-(A1–W14)-SHMT catalyzed both the tetrahydrofolate-dependent and tetrahydrofolate-independent reactions, generating characteristic spectral intermediates with glycine and tetrahydrofolate. The two mutants had similar kinetic parameters to that of the recombinant SHMT (rSHMT). However, at 55 °C, the des-(A1–W14)-SHMT lost almost all the activity within 5 min, while at the same temperature rSHMT and des-(A1–K6)-SHMT retained 85% and 70% activity, respectively. Thermal denaturation studies showed that des-(A1–W14)-SHMT had a lower apparent melting temperature (52°C) compared to rSHMT (56°C) and des-(A1–K6)-SHMT (55 °C), suggesting that N-terminal deletion had resulted in a decrease in the thermal stability of the enzyme. Further, urea induced inactivation of the enzymes revealed that 50% inactivation occurred at a lower urea concentration (1.2 ± 0.1 M) in the case of des-(A1–W14)-SHMT compared to rSHMT (1.8 ±0.1 M) and des-(A1–K6)-SHMT (1.7 ±0.1 M). The apoenzyme of des-(A1- W14)-SHMT was present predominantly in the dimer form, whereas the apoenzymes of rSHMT and des-(A1–K6)-SHMT were a mixture of tetramers (≈75% and ≈65%, respectively) and dimers. While, rSHMT and des-(A1–K6)-SHMT apoenzymes could be reconstituted upon the addition of pyridoxal-5'-phosphate to 96% and 94% enzyme activity, respectively, des-(A1–W14)-SHMT apoenzyme could be reconstituted only upto 22%. The percentage activity regained correlated with the appearance of visible CD at 425 nm and with the amount of enzyme present in the tetrameric form upon reconstitution as monitored by gel filtration. These results demonstrate that, in addition to the cofactor, the N-terminal arm plays an important role in stabilizing the tetrameric structure of SHMT.

Importance of the amino terminus in maintenance of oligomeric structure of sheep liver cytosolic serine hydroxymethyltransferase

The Role Of The Amino And Carboxyl-Terminal Regions Of Cytosolic Serine Hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT) In Subunit Assembly And Catalysis Was Studied Using Sis Amino-Terminal (Lacking The First 6, 14, 30, 49, 58, And 75 Residues) And Two Carboxyl-Terminal (Lacking The Last 49 And 185 Residues) Deletion Mutants. These Mutants Were Constructed From A Full Length Cdna Clone Using Restriction Enzyme/PCR-Based Methods And Overexpressed In Escherichia Coli. The Overexpressed Proteins, Des-(A1-K6) SHMT And Des-(A1-W14)-SHMT Were Present In The Soluble Fraction And They Were Purified To Homogeneity. The Deletion Clones, For Des-(A1-V30)-SHMT And Des-(A1-L49)-SHMT Were Expressed At Very Low Levels, Whereas Des-(A1-R58)-SHMT, Des-/A1-G75)-SHMT, Des-(Q435-F483)-SHMT And Des-(L299-F483)-SHMT Mutant Proteins Were Not Soluble And Formed Inclusion Bodies. Des-(A1-K6)-SHMT And Des-(A1-W14)-SHMT Catalyzed Both The Tetrahydrofolate-Dependent And Tetrahydrofolate-Independent Reactions, Generating Characteristic Spectral Intermediates With Glycine And Tetrahydrofolate. The Two Mutants Had Similar Kinetic Parameters To That Of The Recombinant SHMT (Rshmt). However, At 55 Degrees C, The Des-(A1-W14)-SHMT Lost Almost All The Activity Within 5 Min, While At The Same Temperature Rshmt And Des-(A1-K6)-SHMT Retained 85% And 70% Activity, Respectively. Thermal Denaturation Studies Showed That Des-(A1-W14)-SHMT Had A Lower Apparent Melting Temperature (52 Degrees C) Compared To Rshmt (56 Degrees C) And Des-(A1-K6)-SHMT (55 Degrees C), Suggesting That N-Terminal Deletion Had Resulted In A Decrease In The Thermal Stability Of The Enzyme. Further Urea Induced Inactivation Of The Enzymes Revealed That 50% Inactivation Occurred At A Lower Urea Concentration (1.2+/-0.1 M) In The Case Of Des-(A1-W14)-SHMT Compared To Rshmt (1.8+/-0.1 M) And Des-(A1 -K6)-SHMT (1.7+/-0.1 M). The Apoenzyme Of Des-/A1-K6)-SHMT Was Present Predominantly In The Dimer Form, Whereas The Apoenzymes Of Rshmt And Des-(A1-K6)-SHMT Were A Mixture Of Tetramers (Approximate To 75% And Approximate To 65%, Respectively) And Dimers. While, Rshmt And Des-(A1-K6)-SHMT Apoenzymes Could Be Reconstituted Upon The Addition Of Pyridoxal-5'-Phosphate To 96% And 94% Enzyme Activity, Respectively Des-(A1-W14)-SHMT Apoenzyme Could Be Reconstituted Only Upto 22%. The Percentage Activity Refined Correlated With The Appearance Of Visible CD At 425 Nm And With The Amount Of Enzyme Present In The Tetrameric Form Upon Reconstitution As Monitored By Gel Filtration. These Results Demonstrate That, In Addition To The Cofactor, The N-Terminal Arm Plays An Important Role In Stabilizing The Tetrameric Structure Of SHMT.

Therapeutic upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in children : An audit of 443 procedures and literature review

The safety, effectiveness and capabilities of therapeutic upper fibreoptic endoscopy in children undergoing therapeutic endoscopic procedures (n = 443) was studied. Therapy for gastrointestinal bleeding formed the major group (injection sclerotherapy for varices, n = 197 procedures; thermocoagulation for haemorrhagic gastritis, n = 1; and photocoaulation for Dieulafoy's disease, n = 1). Sclerotherapy was 97% effective in controlling acute bleeding and 84% effective in obliterating varices with no serious complications or deaths. Oesophageal dilatations for surgical, caustic, congenital and peptic strictures and achalasia (n = 193) were performed with no oesophageal perforations or deaths. Foreign bodies were retrieved (n = 34) with no failures or complications. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy was performed (n = 11) with one failure, proceeding to an unsuccessful surgical gastrostomy. Miscellaneous procedures included endoscopic transpyloric tube placement (n = 5) and endoscopic diathermy of pyloric web (n = 1). Therapeutic fibreoptic endoscopy is therefore concluded to be safe and effective in children, replacing rigid oesophagoscopy and some traditional surgical approaches.

Il mundus muliebris nelle fonti latine e nei contesti Pompeiani

The subject of the study is the classical Latin concept 'mundus muliebris', usually translated simply as women’s toiletry items. The task of the research is, on one hand, to find a more accurate and comprehensive literary definition for the concept as used in the early Imperial period, and on the other, to examine whether it is possible to find corresponding groupings of material objects among the finds from Pompeian houses destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The study is based on two different bodies of evidence, literary and material, and consequently uses two independent methods of research. In the philological part of the study, all occurrences of the concept 'mundus muliebris' in classical Latin texts were identified and analysed in their proper literary context, paying special attention to information about the nature of the objects included (name, owner, quantity, value, location in the house). On the basis of this analysis, mirrors were chosen as the key elements of the archaeological research, being ̶ hypothetically ̶ the most probable objects to be found among any extant 'mundus muliebris' contexts in Pompeian houses. In the archaeological part of the study, all mirrors deposited in the Archaeological Storerooms of Pompeii, mostly unpublished, were examined, together with their original find contexts. For more detailed documentation, classification, as well as quantitative and functional analysis, the fifty-nine best preserved household or shop contexts were chosen. Among these contexts, only a few ‘ideal’ groups closely corresponding to the literary definitions were found. However, in most cases a functional artifact pattern of toiletry items could indeed be found grouped together with the mirror. The arrangement of the contexts in the domestic space also revealed a clear pattern. Firstly, the contexts consistently seem to be found in the place of storage, inside locked boxes, not in the place of use. Secondly, they show that for the storage of such objects small closed rooms flanking the main entrance of the house were preferred. Culturally, 'mundus muliebris' can be described as a very complex multi-layered concept intimately interrelated with the female gender, an instrument of its bodily creation and a symbol of its nature. Concretely, it has at its core mirrors and instruments for the care of skin and hair, and includes, in more technical definitions, washing equipment as well. In the Roman domus, lacking specific women’s quarters, this box containing toiletries and other personal objects could be defined as the true, although mobile, private space of the household’s female members.

Rikollisia sattumalta? : Naisten keskinäistä haureutta koskevat oikeudenkäynnit 1950-luvun Itä-Suomessa

The main focus of the research is on the genealogy of women's same-sex fornication in Finnish criminal law from 1889/1894 to 1971. Why were women included in the concept of same-sex fornication in Finland and why, where, and when was the law put into effect? Which women were tried, how did the trial proceedings evolve, and what kind of effects did the trials have afterwards? Which concepts were used? These questions have been approached through the analysis of the Finnish Penal Code, the criminal law science and four trial proceedings in Eastern Finland during the 1950s. The research draws on the epistemology of the closet and the concept of heteronormativity adapted from queer theories. It is method critical in utilising ethnography, micro history and feminist ethical self-reflection. The research consists of six scientific refereed articles (see appendix) and of a theoretical introduction. The main results of the research are: 1) The genealogy of Finnish decency [Sittlichkeit] can not be researched without oral histories, due to the late modernisation of Finnish society and the legal system, which does not follow the pattern of English, French and German societies. 2) The inclusion of women's same-sex fornication in the Finnish Penal Code is not incomprehensible when compared to the early modern European legislations and court practices. Women have been punished for the sins of Sodom, though not directly under the 1734 Swedish law. 3) Fornication and decency were ambivalent concepts in the 1889/1894 law, and juridical authorities offered controversial interpretations of them during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 4) A peak in women's convictions occurred in the 1950s, and most of the trial proceedings took place in rural Eastern Finland. Neither the state nor the police were active in prosecuting; instead, the trial proceedings began "by accident". 5) From 1940 to 1960 police training lacked instructions concerning the interrogation of women suspected of same-sex fornication. 6) The figure of the penitent woman was produced in the chiasmic encounter of confession and police interrogation which moulded and was moulded by the epistemological matrix of shame, honour, and decency. Women's speech acts were judicialised as confessions which enabled the disciplinary tampering with the women's bodies. 7) Gender and personality, more than sexuality, or "criminality" defined the status of the convicted women in their village communities after the trials. 8) Relations between police training, sexuality, and decency have not been well researched in Finland. 9) Decriminalisation in 1971 did not mark the end of homophobic legal discourse, even though the 1999 reform of sexual crimes took the form of gender neutral conceptualisation

Makt, konst, elit - konstfältets positioner, relationer och resurser i 1940- och 1950-talens Helsingfors

The dissertation examines the power mechanisms and institutional power hierarchies of the 1940s-1950s era arts elite in Helsinki and their influence on issues of taste in the visual arts. For the purposes of this study, the elite is understood to consist mainly of the board members of the principal elected bodies in the field of the arts. The theoretical framework employed is based on Pierre Bourdieu s field theory and the network perspective. The author has examined what the key, pervasive valuations were that governed the exercising of power by the arts elite in issues of taste, involving determination of who was an acknowledged artist and what was good art. The dissertation demonstrates that this exercising of power was governed by certain collective practices which maintained the illusion that the exercising of power was democratic and based on artistic quality. These practices were the corporate system, using artistic arguments in issues of taste, and using networks in the exercising of power. The struggle in the field of the arts was about who ultimately was entitled to define the value of contemporary art; the issue did not arise regarding historical art. Artists managed to gain a leading position as gatekeepers in issues regarding contemporary art. The author discusses a number of conflicts in the field of the arts that highlight the institutional hierarchies and the capital held by the various players. The structural changes that occurred in administration in the field of cultural production in the 1950s led to the separation of bureaucratic competence on the one hand and aesthetic competence on the other. There was a hierarchy in the field of the arts between institutions, between instruments of legitimisation, and between the symbolic and social capital of players in the field. The hierarchy in the arts ultimately depended on how well the elite could influence tastes through the instruments at their disposal. The various instruments of legitimisation grants, purchases, etc. were ranked differently in the evaluation of acknowledged artists and good art. The dissertation discusses what values, in the form of types of symbolic capital, the arts elite embraced and what role these played in the elite s exercising of power, with particular focus on gender, language, region and economic capital. The aesthetic capital of an artist was of only minor importance in the exercising of power by the arts elite. The dissertation further discusses the points of contact between the arts elite and players in other fields, such as the economic, media and consumer fields. When the arts elite, through the Academy of Fine Arts, became an active player in the art market, this led to a hierarchy where the division between acknowledged and not-acknowledged galleries became sharper.

Vikuroivia vilkaisuja : Ruumis, sukupuoli, seksuaalisuus ja visuaalisen kulttuurin tutkimus

The PhD dissertation "Bucking Glances: On Body, Gender, Sexuality and Visual Culture Research" consists of theoretical introduction and five articles published between 2002-2005. The articles analyze the position of visual representations in the processes of knowledge production on acceptable genders, bodies, and sexualities in contemporary Wes¬tern societies. The research material is heterogeneous, consisting of representations of contemporary art, advertisements, and fashion images. The ideological starting point of the PhD dissertation is the politics of the gaze and the methods used to expose this are the concepts of oppositional gaze, close reading, and resisting reading. The study situates visual representations in dialogue with the concepts of the grotesque and androgyny, as well as with queer-theory and theories of the gaze. The research challenges normative meanings of visual representations and opens up space for more non-conventional readings attached to femininity and masculinity. The visual material is read as troubling the prevailing heteronormative gender system. The dissertation also indicates how visual culture research utilizing the approach of queer theory can be fruitful in opposing and re-visioning changes in the repressive gender system. The article "A Heroic Male and A Beautiful Woman. Teemu Mäki, Orlan and the Ambivalence of the Grotesque Body" problematizes the concept of heroic masculinity through the analysis of the Finnish artist Teemu Mäki's masochistic performance The Good Friday (1989). It also analyzes cosmetic surgery, undertaken by the French artist Orlan, as a cultural tool in constructing and visualizing the contemporary, com¬mercial ideals of female beauty. The article "Boys Will Be Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls. The Ambivalence of Androgyny in Calvin Klein' Advertisements" is a close reading of the Calvin Klein perfume advertisement One (1998) in reference to the concept of androgyny. The critical point of the article is that androgynous male bodies allow the extension of the categorical boundaries of masculinity and homosexuality, whereas representations of androgynous women feed into the prevailing stereotypes of femininity, namely the fear of fat. The article "See-through Closet: Female Androgyny in the 1990s Fashion Images, New Woman and Lesbian Chic" analyzes the late 1990s fashion advertisements through the concept of female androgyny. The article argues that the figures of the masculine female androgynes in the late 1990s fashion magazines do not problematize the dichotomous gender binary. The women do not pass as men but produce a variation of heterosexual desirability. At the same time, the representations open up space for lesbian gazing and desiring. The article "Why are there no lesbian advertisements?" addresses the issue of femme gaze and desire in relation to heterosexual fashion advertisements from the British edition of the mainstream fashion magazine Vogue. The article considers possibilities for resistant femme visibility, identification, and desire. The article "Woman, Food, Home. Pirjetta Brander's and Heidi Romo's Works as Bucking Representations of Femininity" analyses the production and queering of heteronormative femininity and family through the analysis of art works. The article discusses how the term queer has been translated into Finnish. The article also introduces a new translation for the term queer: the noun vikuuri, i.e. faulty form and the verb vikuroida, i.e. to buck. In Finnish, the term vikuuri is the vernacular or broken form of the term figure, i.e. figuuri. Vikuuri represents all forms situated outside the norm and the normative.

Viemärin päässä Kotkan kaupunki : Vesiensuojelun kehitys Kymijoen itäisen päähaaran suulla 1945-1970

The focus of this thesis is the marine environmental history of the eastern part and the estuary of the Kymi river from 1945 to 1970. There is no previous research on this area from an environmentally historical perspective, nor have many of the sources here discussed been previously used. Therefore the thesis expands academic understanding of local environmental processes and protection in and around the city of Kotka and the Kymi river. The thesis falls within the methodological field of socio-political history, as the research focus is centered on the local process of establishing the nature of environmental problems and solving them. The principal assumption has been that the city of Kotka, due to its ongoing expansion, was slow to respond to environmental hazards. The Kymi river was among the most degraded bodies of water during this period. Kotka on the other hand was a major center of wood processing industry and one of Finlands major industrial ports. In the past the river and its estuary had provided ample resources for fishers. It is this contradictory use of the environment that allows one to discuss the local struggle for the correct use of the environment. Primary sources include local and city archives, environmental studies, and legal documents linked with the above. The archives of the city of Kotka and of various private associations form the core sources. Environmental studies from the research period have been dealt with as sources to the local political power struggle. Alongside with current environmental research they also provide insight into the state of the environment. Another goals has been to accumulate environmental research for a future multidisciplinary study in this area. As a final conclusion it can be said that environmental degradation was widely understood as a problem only in the 1960s. The influential role of the city of Kotka however determined the pace with which these problems were then solved.

The conundrum of phoenix activity: Is further reform necessary?

Phoenix activity presents a conundrum for the law and its regulators. While there is economic cost associated with all phoenix activity, the underlying behaviour is not always illegal. A transaction with indicators of phoenix activity may be an entirely innocent and well-intentioned display of entrepreneurial spirit, albeit one that has ended in failure. Restructuring post business failure is not illegal per se. Recent reforms targeting phoenix activity fail to grapple with the vast range of behaviour that can be described as phoenix activity since they do not differentiate between legal and illegal activity. This article explores the importance of the distinction between legal and illegal phoenix activity, the extent to which the existing law captures a range of behaviour that can be described as illegal phoenix activity and the response of key regulators and governmental bodies to the absence of single law that attempts to define illegal phoenix activity.

Unsteady Incompressible Two-Dimensional and Axisymmetric Turbulent Boundary Layer Flows

The unsteady turbulent incompressible boundary-layer flow over two-dimensional and axisymmetric bodies with pressure gradient has been studied. An eddy-viscosity model has been used to model the Reynolds shear stress. The unsteadiness is due to variations in the free stream velocity with time. The nonlinear partial differential equation with three independent variables governing the flow has been solved using Keller's Box method. The results indicate that the free stram velocity distribution exerts strong influence on the boundary-layer characteristics. The point of zero skin friction is found to move upstream as time increases.

Drivers for uptake of environmental management systems by pastoralists in western Queensland

Pastoralists from 37 beef cattle and sheep properties in western Queensland developed and implemented an environmental management system (EMS) over 18 months. The EMS implemented by them was customised for the pastoral industry as part of a national EMS pilot project, and staff from this project encouraged and assisted pastoralists during this trial. The 31 pastoralists surveyed at the end of the pilot project identified few benefits of EMS implementation, and these were largely associated with environmental management and sustainability. In terms of the reasons for uptake of an EMS, these pastoralists identified drivers similar to those reported in other primary industry sectors. These included improving property and environmental management, financial incentives, a range of market benefits, assistance with red tape issues, access to other training opportunities and assistance and support with the development of their EMS. However, these drivers are weak, and are not motivating pastoralists to adopt an EMS. In contrast, barriers to adoption such as the time involved in developing and implementing EMS are tangible and immediate. Given a lack of effective drivers and that pastoralists are under considerable pressure from ongoing rural adjustment processes, it is not surprising that an EMS is a low priority. It is concluded that widespread uptake and on-going use of an EMS in the pastoral industry will not occur unless pastoralists are required or rewarded for this by markets, governments, financiers, and regional natural resource management bodies.