Understanding Membranes through the Molecular Design of Lipids

Lipids are amphiphilic molecules that are composed of hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions. A typical membranous aggregate (vesicles, water-filled lipid nanospheres) is formed upon the self-organization of lipids in water from a diverse collection of amphiphiles producing a dynamic supramolecular structure that shows phase behavior and ordering as required for specific biological functions. The determination of various physical properties of lipid aggregates is the key to determining structure-function relationships. Over the years, we have designed and synthesized a wide variety of lipid molecular systems for the investigation of their membrane-forming properties and have used them for purposes such as gene delivery and enzyme activation. In this feature article, we focus on our work on various types of lipids including ion-paired amphiphiles, cholesterol-based lipids, aromatic lipids, macrocyclic lipids containing disulfide tethers; cationic dimeric lipids, and so forth. The emphasis is oil experimental design and bottom-line conclusions.

Automatic Road Extraction using High Resolution Satellite Image Based on Texture Progressive Analysis and Normalized Cut Method

In this paper the approach for automatic road extraction for an urban region using structural, spectral and geometric characteristics of roads has been presented. Roads have been extracted based on two levels: Pre-processing and road extraction methods. Initially, the image is pre-processed to improve the tolerance by reducing the clutter (that mostly represents the buildings, parking lots, vegetation regions and other open spaces). The road segments are then extracted using Texture Progressive Analysis (TPA) and Normalized cut algorithm. The TPA technique uses binary segmentation based on three levels of texture statistical evaluation to extract road segments where as, Normalizedcut method for road extraction is a graph based method that generates optimal partition of road segments. The performance evaluation (quality measures) for road extraction using TPA and normalized cut method is compared. Thus the experimental result show that normalized cut method is efficient in extracting road segments in urban region from high resolution satellite image.

Understanding data flow and security requirements in wireless Body Area Networks for healthcare

The Body Area Network (BAN) is an emerging technology that focuses on monitoring physiological data in, on and around the human body. BAN technology permits wearable and implanted sensors to collect vital data about the human body and transmit it to other nodes via low-energy communication. In this paper, we investigate interactions in terms of data flows between parties involved in BANs under four different scenarios targeting outdoor and indoor medical environments: hospital, home, emergency and open areas. Based on these scenarios, we identify data flow requirements between BAN elements such as sensors and control units (CUs) and parties involved in BANs such as the patient, doctors, nurses and relatives. Identified requirements are used to generate BAN data flow models. Petri Nets (PNs) are used as the formal modelling language. We check the validity of the models and compare them with the existing related work. Finally, using the models, we identify communication and security requirements based on the most common active and passive attack scenarios.

Efficient content-based image retrieval based on multi-feature fusion

The increased availability of image capturing devices has enabled collections of digital images to rapidly expand in both size and diversity. This has created a constantly growing need for efficient and effective image browsing, searching, and retrieval tools. Pseudo-relevance feedback (PRF) has proven to be an effective mechanism for improving retrieval accuracy. An original, simple yet effective rank-based PRF mechanism (RB-PRF) that takes into account the initial rank order of each image to improve retrieval accuracy is proposed. This RB-PRF mechanism innovates by making use of binary image signatures to improve retrieval precision by promoting images similar to highly ranked images and demoting images similar to lower ranked images. Empirical evaluations based on standard benchmarks, namely Wang, Oliva & Torralba, and Corel datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed RB-PRF mechanism in image retrieval.

Deeper and wider fully convolutional network coupled with conditional random fields for scene labeling

Deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) have been employed in many computer vision tasks with great success due to their robustness in feature learning. One of the advantages of DCNNs is their representation robustness to object locations, which is useful for object recognition tasks. However, this also discards spatial information, which is useful when dealing with topological information of the image (e.g. scene labeling, face recognition). In this paper, we propose a deeper and wider network architecture to tackle the scene labeling task. The depth is achieved by incorporating predictions from multiple early layers of the DCNN. The width is achieved by combining multiple outputs of the network. We then further refine the parsing task by adopting graphical models (GMs) as a post-processing step to incorporate spatial and contextual information into the network. The new strategy for a deeper, wider convolutional network coupled with graphical models has shown promising results on the PASCAL-Context dataset.

Psykoterapia, masennus ja sisäinen tarina

Psychotherapy has been shown to be an effective treatment for depression, but not enough is known about the subjective meanings of therapy for human life. This study focuses on experiences of the effects of psychotherapy, thoughts about changes in depression and meanings of the therapy in the inner narratives of persons who sought psychotherapy for their depression. The study was based on interviews of 14 persons, who took part in the Helsinki Psychotherapy Study (HPS). Half of them took part in short-term solution-focused therapy and half in long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy. The sample included both women and men. Part of them had recovered from their depression by the end of therapy (BDI<10), part had not. Therapy was experienced to have effects on one s immediate feelings, thoughts and social actions. Some barriers were also connected to the therapy and the HPS research frame. The relief of depression was explained by enhanced understanding and perspective changes. Also the therapeutic alliance and factors not connected to therapy were seen to have influence on the experienced changes. The resumption of depression was regarded as the consequence of ill-fitting therapy or therapist, incompleteness of the therapy or other reasons not connected to the therapy itself. With the narrative analysis three interpretations were constructed concerning how the persons had sought for therapy, what was the image they had about themselves and their problems and what were their expectations for the therapy. The interpretations were summed up to the life historical, situational and moral inner narrative. Through the psychotherapy some inner narratives came true. In these cases psychotherapy reinforced the original inner narrative. In other cases psychotherapy did not meet the inner narrative of the person, neither had the narrative changed. For some persons the inner narrative got new forms during the therapy: the analyses showed that psychotherapy had reconstructed the persons conceptions about themselves and their problems, which led to changes in the expectations concerning the therapy. Key words: psychotherapy, depression, inner narrative, qualitative research, analysis of narrative, narrative analysis

Understanding Connectivity between Groundwater Chemistry Data and Geological Stratigraphy via 3D Sub-surface Visualization and Analysis

This paper describes the 3D Water Chemistry Atlas - an open source, Web-based system that enables the three-dimensional (3D) sub-surface visualization of ground water monitoring data, overlaid on the local geological model. Following a review of existing technologies, the system adopts Cesium (an open source Web-based 3D mapping and visualization interface) together with a PostGreSQL/PostGIS database, for the technical architecture. In addition a range of the search, filtering, browse and analysis tools were developed that enable users to interactively explore the groundwater monitoring data and interpret it spatially and temporally relative to the local geological formations and aquifers via the Cesium interface. The result is an integrated 3D visualization system that enables environmental managers and regulators to assess groundwater conditions, identify inconsistencies in the data, manage impacts and risks and make more informed decisions about activities such as coal seam gas extraction, waste water extraction and re-use.

Kansallinen identiteetti ja suomalaiseksi samastuminen

National identity is a general, more or less shared meaning structure. Those who share it, identify with a nation according to their beliefs of what national identity consists of. The present study examined the Finnish national identity in relation to other spatial identities, such as local or European identity. Data were drawn from a sample of 179 respondents who represented the adult population in the year 1993. The focus was on the representation of the Finnish national identity, the limits and components of this identity, and on the position of national identification among all human identifications. Categorization, the basic process in the construction of national identity, consists of inclusion and exclusion. Different forms of identification could be distinguished along with different contents. Discrimination and derogation of outgroups were associated with identification that emphasized inter-nation comparison and framed identity in an essentialistic and thus exclusionary way. The contents of national identity were examined using a quantitative word-assessment method, and related to different forms of identification. With regard to Finnish identification, few differences between age, educational or SES groups were found. Despite the lack of differences in the strength of Finnish identification, those with more education to a greater extent relativized their Finnishness. Those who held positive attitudes to immigrants associated Finnishness with both positive and negative traits. Pro-immigrant attitude was related to an emphasis on cultural Finnishness and a de-emphasis on comparative and status-oriented Finnishness. Among the respondents with lower level of education, the emphasis on cultural Finnishness clearly predicted pro-immigrant attitudes. Those who did not produce any spontaneous response to a request to define Finnishness were more likely to be anti-immigrant. Thus, reflexive self-understanding implies openness towards other nationalities. Changes in the representation of Finnishness are suggested by differential weights given by respondents to different aspects of the national identity. Older respondents regarded the moral-anthropomorphic aspects of identity as more important. The younger respondents felt relatively more Finnish in the company of foreigners than did the older generations, to whom being with friends and in other close relationships stood out as contexts of national identification. The aspect of identity which is based on categorization and comparison could be called identity for others. The other aspect of the national identity is identity for ourselves, which emphasizes self and cultural self-understanding. A modern marketing oriented “image-of-Finland” identity represents identity for others.

Viitotut elämät : Kuurojen nuorten aikuisten kokemuksia viittomakielisestä elämästä Suomessa

The goal of the study is to build an image of deafness and of the lives of the deaf from their own per-spectives. The lives of deaf sign language users are analysed through the concept of identity. The start-ing point for the study is the idea that identities are moulded and structured in action and interaction and are, therefore, continuous processes. The terminology and ideas used in the present study are mostly based on Erving Goffman s (1971, 1986) work in which he sees identity as a representation of self. Via our language and our actions we build and present an image of ourselves to others and to ourselves alike. The research aims at answering the following questions concerning the lives of deaf sign language users: how do deaf people build an image of themselves as deaf people, what kind of meanings does deafness acquire in their lives, and what opportunities do they have to be perceived by others as they feel they are, i.e. to present their true self . In order to answer these questions, the narratives provided by eighteen deaf young adults, aged 25 35, in narrative interviews carried out in sign language, have been analysed. The methodology used is that of a data-based, qualitative analysis and narrative analy-sis. The study follows the lines of prior qualitative research carried out in the field of sociology of health and in the study of everyday life. The subjects are divided into three groups according to the linguistic environment dominant in the family: 1) a deaf child in a deaf family, 2) a deaf child in a hearing family using sign language, and 3) a deaf child in a hearing family where sign language was not used. The childhood family has great significance in the way a child constructs his or her identity as a deaf person. The process of construct-ing an identity in the first group can be defined as being automatic or inherited, in the second group the process can be described as being a collective/joint identity-building process, whereas in the third group the process is ambivalent and delayed. The opportunities the deaf have in building their identi-ties as deaf people have been examined through the concept of a collective story reservoir. Research shows that the deaf have, at least partly, a different collective story reservoir that they can rely on from the one the hearing have. Interaction with other deaf people and access to the collective story reservoir is important, because it enables the deaf to form an idea of their own deafness and the life of a deaf person. Three different ways of understanding deafness can be conceptualized from the narratives of the inter-viewed deaf people. In the outdated counter-narrative and the reductive narrative of deafness as an abnormality, the subjects are not capable of seeing themselves as forming part of the narratives or identifying themselves with the ways the deaf are depicted. Yet, the characterizations prevalent in them are the ones that the deaf constantly come across in their day-to-day lives. The narrative through which the subjects depict themselves and their lives can be defined as a pluralistic narrative. The plu-ralistic narrative consists of three elements: the coexistence of the world of the deaf and that of the hearing, the orientation to sign language, and the replacement of local networks with global networks. Although modern Finnish society and its varied social services and subsidy systems enable the realiza-tion of the kind of life described in the pluralistic narrative, the issues of power and inequality still frequently emerge in the narratives in which the deaf young adults described themselves and their lives. Two kinds of power mechanisms can be perceived in the descriptions: belittling and excluding power. These considerably diminish the opportunities of sign language users to create the kind of life that would reflect their personalities while limiting the chances for presenting the self to others.

The dynamics of solvation of an electron in the image potential state by a layer of polar adsorbates

Recently, ultrafast two-photon photoemission has been used to study electron solvation at a two-dimensional metal/polar adsorbate interfaces [A. Miller , Science 297, 1163 (2002)]. The electron is bound to the surface by the image interaction. Earlier we have suggested a theoretical description of the states of the electron interacting with a two-dimensional layer of the polar adsorbate [K. L. Sebastian , J. Chem. Phys. 119, 10350 (2003)]. In this paper we have analyzed the dynamics of electron solvation, assuming a trial wave function for the electron and the solvent polarization and then using the Dirac-Frenkel variational method to determine it. The electron is initially photoexcited to a delocalized state, which has a finite but large size, and causes the polar molecules to reorient. This reorientation acts back on the electron and causes its wave function to shrink, which will cause further reorientation of the polar molecules, and the process continues until the electron gets self-trapped. For reasonable values for the parameters, we are able to obtain fair agreement with the experimental observations. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Inhibitory activity of Image -asparaginase from Mycobcacterium tuberculosis on Yoshida ascites sarcoma in rats

The antitumor activity of Image -asparagine amidohydrolases (EC 3.5.1.1) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and H37Ra strains has been tested on Yoshida ascites sarcoma in rats. The enzyme specific to M. tuberculosis H37Ra but not to H37Rv has proved to be effective in inhibiting the growth of the sarcoma. Comparative studies on the activity of this enzyme with that of similar enzyme from Escherichia coli B, has shown that at the same levels the former is more effective than the latter. Long-lived immunity to this tumor in A/IISc Wistar rats following treatment of tumor bearing animals with M. tuberculosis H37Ra, pH 9.6 Image -asparaginase has been observed. Immunity in these rats was demonstrated by tumor rejection and detection of humoral antibodies in the sera to the antigen of the cell-free extract of the tumor. The enzyme was ineffective in inhibiting fibrosarcoma in mice at the dose levels tested.

Slummiparakeista kyläkarnevaaleihin : Kumpulan ja Toukolan imagonmuutos sanomalehdissä 1963-1999

Having to do with residential areas, geographical image research in Finland has concentrated mainly on those areas with a relatively negative image, such as eastern parts of Helsinki. However, Kumpula and Toukola are former working class residential areas whose image nowadays is mainly positive. This research aims at understanding the process through which their image has gradually come to be that way. Theoretical background of the research relies on human geography and it s viewpoints on places, spaces and areas. Areas, in this research, are understood to be founded on discursive processes that form meanings in societies. This approach is useful because it provides a way to research newspapers and to see how they affect the society. In addition I lean on Sirpa Tani s research on place images to study image and it s formation process. Her point of view covers especially well the effect of media on images and their formation. Articles published in Helsingin Sanomat and Ilta-Sanomat between the years 1963 and 1999 form the data of the research. Methodologically I proceeded by using content analysis to see what kind of topics have been dominating the news feed from Kumpula and Toukola. Content analysis was followed by discourse analysis, which allowed me to focus on the ways of speaking about and representing Kumpula and Toukola. Discourse analysis also reveals whose viewpoint is being represented in media when it comes to publishing news from these parts of the city. It is clearly visible from the results of this research that the image of Kumpula and Toukola has gone through a significant change between 1963 and 1999. In the 1960s discussion in newspapers was dominated by the need for more effective city planning. This meant that Kumpula and Toukola were under a demolition threat in order for the city to built more effectively on those areas. At the same time there was discussion about wooden houses that were built in Kumpula and Toukola right after the second World War. Those houses were in a poor condition, it was even said in the newspapers that people were living in slum-like conditions in them. By the 1980s the image of Kumpula and Toukola gradually started to change. At this time gentrification process was affecting the areas and well-educated working force moved to Kumpula and Toukola. Already in the beginning of 1990s the image of the areas was highly positive. Throughout this decade newspapers published news on Kumpula and Toukola that commented favorably on the atmosphere and the feeling of togetherness among the residents. In addition Kumpula village carnivals, that were first held in 1991, brought a lot of positive publicity to the areas. This research has revelead that especially the active participationg of the residents to promote joint causes has positively affected the image of Kumpula and Toukola. Since the 1960s fighting for the preservation of the areas has provided a reason for a stronger feeling of communality and identifying in the community. This feeling of togetherness in a community has carried all the way to the 1990s, when the areas, having been affected by gentrification, could make good use of the positive image in order to promote joint causes. Keywords: Image, reputation, newspapers, discursive practices

Image -asparaginases from Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains H37Rv and H37Ra

M. tuberculosis H37Ra possesses two Image -asparaginases while the H37Rv strain possesses only a single enzyme. These enzymes have been purified and their properties studied. The two Image -asparaginases in H37Ra strain differ from each other in pH optima, heat inactivation, Michaelis constant and effects of inhibitors, while one of them resembles the single Image -asparaginase present in the H37Rv strain. Image -Cysteine inhibits both Image -asparaginases in an allosteric manner probably because it is one of the end-products in Image -asparagine metabolism. This is the first time that a qualitative difference has been reported in the enzyme pattern between the avirulent and virulent strains of M. tuberculosis.