Microbial communities in Pb contaminated boreal forest soil

Lead contamination in the environment is of particular concern, as it is a known toxin. Until recently, however, much less attention has been given to the local contamination caused by activities at shooting ranges compared to large-scale industrial contamination. In Finland, more than 500 tons of Pb is produced each year for shotgun ammunition. The contaminant threatens various organisms, ground water and the health of human populations. However, the forest at shooting ranges usually shows no visible sign of stress compared to nearby clean environments. The aboveground biota normally reflects the belowground ecosystem. Thus, the soil microbial communities appear to bear strong resistance to contamination, despite the influence of lead. The studies forming this thesis investigated a shooting range site at Hälvälä in Southern Finland, which is heavily contaminated by lead pellets. Previously it was experimentally shown that the growth of grasses and degradation of litter are retarded. Measurements of acute toxicity of the contaminated soil or soil extracts gave conflicting results, as enchytraeid worms used as toxicity reporters were strongly affected, while reporter bacteria showed no or very minor decreases in viability. Measurements using sensitive inducible luminescent reporter bacteria suggested that the bioavailability of lead in the soil is indeed low, and this notion was supported by the very low water extractability of the lead. Nevertheless, the frequency of lead-resistant cultivable bacteria was elevated based on the isolation of cultivable strains. The bacterial and fungal diversity in heavily lead contaminated shooting sectors were compared with those of pristine sections of the shooting range area. The bacterial 16S rRNA gene and fungal ITS rRNA gene were amplified, cloned and sequenced using total DNA extracted from the soil humus layer as the template. Altogether, 917 sequenced bacterial clones and 649 sequenced fungal clones revealed a high soil microbial diversity. No effect of lead contamination was found on bacterial richness or diversity, while fungal richness and diversity significantly differed between lead contaminated and clean control areas. However, even in the case of fungi, genera that were deemed sensitive were not totally absent from the contaminated area: only their relative frequency was significantly reduced. Some operational taxonomic units (OTUs) assigned to Basidiomycota were clearly affected, and were much rarer in the lead contaminated areas. The studies of this thesis surveyed EcM sporocarps, analyzed morphotyped EcM root tips by direct sequencing, and 454-pyrosequenced fungal communities in in-growth bags. A total of 32 EcM fungi that formed conspicuous sporocarps, 27 EcM fungal OTUs from 294 root tips, and 116 EcM fungal OTUs from a total of 8 194 ITS2 454 sequences were recorded. The ordination analyses by non-parametric multidimensional scaling (NMS) indicated that Pb enrichment induced a shift in the EcM community composition. This was visible as indicative trends in the sporocarp and root tip datasets, but explicitly clear in the communities observed in the in-growth bags. The compositional shift in the EcM community was mainly attributable to an increase in the frequencies of OTUs assigned to the genus Thelephora, and to a decrease in the OTUs assigned to Pseudotomentella, Suillus and Tylospora in Pb-contaminated areas when compared to the control. The enrichment of Thelephora in contaminated areas was also observed when examining the total fungal communities in soil using DNA cloning and sequencing technology. While the compositional shifts are clear, their functional consequences for the dominant trees or soil ecosystem remain undetermined. The results indicate that at the Hälvälä shooting range, lead influences the fungal communities but not the bacterial communities. The forest ecosystem shows apparent functional redundancy, since no significant effects were seen on forest trees. Recently, by means of 454 pyrosequencing , the amount of sequences in a single analysis run can be up to one million. It has been applied in microbial ecology studies to characterize microbial communities. The handling of sequence data with traditional programs is becoming difficult and exceedingly time consuming, and novel tools are needed to handle the vast amounts of data being generated. The field of microbial ecology has recently benefited from the availability of a number of tools for describing and comparing microbial communities using robust statistical methods. However, although these programs provide methods for rapid calculation, it has become necessary to make them more amenable to larger datasets and numbers of samples from pyrosequencing. As part of this thesis, a new program was developed, MuSSA (Multi-Sample Sequence Analyser), to handle sequence data from novel high-throughput sequencing approaches in microbial community analyses. The greatest advantage of the program is that large volumes of sequence data can be manipulated, and general OTU series with a frequency value can be calculated among a large number of samples.

Domestic violence on #qanda: The “Man” question in live Twitter discussion on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Q&A

Domestic violence is currently undergoing a period of heightened visibility in Australia. This article uses social media to analyze public discussions about this violence with respect to a specific theoretical frame, which Adrian Howe has called the “Man” question: where and how are men visible or invisible in narratives about their violence against women? The article presents a qualitative study of the Twitter conversation surrounding a special episode of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television program Q&A, themed around family violence, which aired in February 2015. We found that the place of men in this conversation was contested. Some tweets privileged men's voices and concerns, as did the organization and production of the program. However, feminist voices were also highly visible via presenting facts, legitimating survivor voices, and recuperating anti-feminist memes to challenge hegemonic patriarchal discourses on men's violence against women. La violence conjugale connait actuellement une visibilité accrue en Australie. Les auteures du présent article utilisent les réseaux sociaux pour analyser les débats publics sur cette violence selon un cadre théorique précis, qu'Adrian Howe a appelé la question de « l'homme » : où et comment les hommes sont-ils visibles ou invisibles dans les récits de leur violence envers les femmes? L'article présente une étude qualitative d'une conversation sur Twitter au sujet d'un épisode axé sur la famille diffusé en février 2015 dans le cadre de l'émission Q & A, à la télévision nationale d'Australie. Nous avons remarqué que dans cette conversation la place des hommes était remise en question. Certains tweets privilégiaient les voix et les craintes des hommes, comme l'ont fait les organisateurs et les producteurs de l'émission. Cependant, il y avait une forte présence de voix féministes dans la présentation des faits, légitimant le point de vue des survivantes et relevant des éléments culturels antiféministes afin de défier les discours hégémoniques et patriarcaux sur la violence des hommes envers les femmes.

Trust and Collectives

"Trust and Collectives" is a compilation of articles: (I) "On Rational Trust" (in Meggle, G. (ed.) Social Facts & Collective Intentionality, Dr. Hänsel-Hohenhausen AG (currently Ontos), 2002), (II) "Simulating Rational Social Normative Trust, Predictive Trust, and Predictive Reliance Between Agents" (M.Tuomela and S. Hofmann, Ethics and Information Technology 5, 2003), (III) "A Collective's Trust in a Collective's action" (Protosociology, 18-19, 2003), and (IV) "Cooperation and Trust in Group Contexts" (R. Tuomela and M.Tuomela, Mind and Society 4/1, 2005 ). The articles are tied together by an introduction that dwells deeply on the topic of trust. (I) presents a somewhat general version of (RSNTR) and some basic arguments. (II) offers an application of (RSNTR) for a computer simulation of trust.(III) applies (RSNTR) to Raimo Tuomela's "we-mode"collectives (i.e. The Philosophy of Social Practices, Cambridge University Press, 2002). (IV) analyzes cooperation and trust in the context of acting as a member of a collective. Thus, (IV) elaborates on the topic of collective agency in (III) and puts the trust account (RSNTR) to work in a framework of cooperation. The central aim of this work is to construct a well-argued conceptual and theoretical account of rational trust, viz. a person's subjectively rational trust in another person vis-à-vis his performance of an action, seen from a first-person point of view. The main method is conceptual and theoretical analysis understood along the lines of reflective equilibrium. The account of rational social normative trust (RSNTR), which is argued and defended against other views, is the result of the quest. The introduction stands on its own legs as an argued presentation of an analysis of the concept of rational trust and an analysis of trust itself (RSNTR). It is claimed that (RSNTR) is "genuine" trust and embedded in a relationship of mutual respect for the rights of the other party. This relationship is the growing site for trust, a causal and conceptual ground, but it is not taken as a reason for trusting (viz. predictive "trust"). Relevant themes such as risk, decision, rationality, control, and cooperation are discussed and the topics of the articles are briefly presented. In this work it is argued that genuine trust is to be kept apart from predictive "trust." When we trust a person vis-à-vis his future action that concerns ourselves on the basis of his personal traits and/or features of the specific situation we have a prediction-like attitude. Genuine trust develops in a relationship of mutual respect for the mutual rights of the other party. Such a relationship is formed through interaction where the parties gradually find harmony concerning "the rules of the game." The trust account stands as a contribution to philosophical research on central social notions and it could be used as a theoretical model in social psychology, economical and political science where interaction between persons and groups are in focus. The analysis could also serve as a model for a trust component in computer simulation of human action. In the context of everyday life the account clarifies the difference between predictive "trust" and genuine trust. There are no fast shortcuts to trust. Experiences of mutual respect for mutual rights cannot be had unless there is respect.

Construing and Defining the Out of Control : Addiction in the Media 1968-2008.

The four scientific articles comprising this doctoral dissertation offer new information on the presentation and construction of addiction in the mass media during the period 1968 - 2008. Diachronic surveys as well as quantitative and qualitative content analyses were undertaken to discern trends during the period in question and to investigate underlying conceptions of the problems in contemporary media presentations. The research material for the first three articles consists of a sample of 200 texts from Finland s biggest daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, from the period 1968 - 2006. The fourth study examines English-language tabloid material published on the Internet in 2005 - 2008. A number of principal trends are identified. In addition to a significant increase in addiction reporting over time, the study shows that an internalisation of addiction problems took place in the media presentations under study. The phenomenon is portrayed and tackled from within the problems themselves, often from the viewpoint of the individuals concerned. The tone becomes more personal, and technical and detailed accounts are more and more frequent. Secondly, the concept of addiction is broadened. This can be dated to the 1990s. The concept undergoes a conventionalisation: it is used more frequently in a manner that is not thought to require explanation. The word riippuvuus (the closest equivalent to addiction in Finnish) was adopted more commonly in the reporting at the same time, in the 1990s. Thirdly, the results highlight individual self-governance as a superordinate principle in contemporary descriptions of addiction. If the principal demarcation in earlier texts was between us and them , it is now focused primarily on the individual s competence and ability to govern the self, to restrain and master one's behaviour. Finally, in the fourth study investigating textual constructions of female celebrities (Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears and Kate Moss) in Internet tabloids, various relations and functions of addiction problems, intoxication, body and gender were observed to function as cultural symbols. Addiction becomes a sign, or a style, that represents different significations in relation to the main characters in the tabloid stories. Tabloids, as a genre, play an important role by introducing other images of the problems than those featured in mainstream media. The study is positioned within the framework of modernity theory and its views on the need for self-reflexivity and biographies as tools for the creation and definition of the self. Traditional institutions such as the church, occupation, family etc. no longer play an important role in self-definition. This circumstance creates a need for a culture conveying stories of success and failure in relation to which the individual can position their own behaviour and life content. I propose that addiction , as a theme in media reporting, resolves the conflict that emanates from the ambivalence between the accessibility and the individualisation of consumer society, on the one hand, and the problematic behavioural patterns (addictions) that they may induce, on the other.

A metabolomic approach to studying mechanisms of polymeric gene delivery to retinal pigment epithelial cells

Tiivistelmä ReferatAbstract Metabolomics is a rapidly growing research field that studies the response of biological systems to environmental factors, disease states and genetic modifications. It aims at measuring the complete set of endogenous metabolites, i.e. the metabolome, in a biological sample such as plasma or cells. Because metabolites are the intermediates and end products of biochemical reactions, metabolite compositions and metabolite levels in biological samples can provide a wealth of information on on-going processes in a living system. Due to the complexity of the metabolome, metabolomic analysis poses a challenge to analytical chemistry. Adequate sample preparation is critical to accurate and reproducible analysis, and the analytical techniques must have high resolution and sensitivity to allow detection of as many metabolites as possible. Furthermore, as the information contained in the metabolome is immense, the data set collected from metabolomic studies is very large. In order to extract the relevant information from such large data sets, efficient data processing and multivariate data analysis methods are needed. In the research presented in this thesis, metabolomics was used to study mechanisms of polymeric gene delivery to retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. The aim of the study was to detect differences in metabolomic fingerprints between transfected cells and non-transfected controls, and thereafter to identify metabolites responsible for the discrimination. The plasmid pCMV-β was introduced into RPE cells using the vector polyethyleneimine (PEI). The samples were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to a triple quadrupole (QqQ) mass spectrometer (MS). The software MZmine was used for raw data processing and principal component analysis (PCA) was used in statistical data analysis. The results revealed differences in metabolomic fingerprints between transfected cells and non-transfected controls. However, reliable fingerprinting data could not be obtained because of low analysis repeatability. Therefore, no attempts were made to identify metabolites responsible for discrimination between sample groups. Repeatability and accuracy of analyses can be influenced by protocol optimization. However, in this study, optimization of analytical methods was hindered by the very small number of samples available for analysis. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that obtaining reliable fingerprinting data is technically demanding, and the protocols need to be thoroughly optimized in order to approach the goals of gaining information on mechanisms of gene delivery.

Using a botanic garden collection to test a bioclimatic vegetation scheme

Vegetation maps and bioclimatic zone classifications communicate the vegetation of an area and are used to explain how the environment regulates the occurrence of plants on large scales. Many practises and methods for dividing the world’s vegetation into smaller entities have been presented. Climatic parameters, floristic characteristics, or edaphic features have been relied upon as decisive factors, and plant species have been used as indicators for vegetation types or zones. Systems depicting vegetation patterns that mainly reflect climatic variation are termed ‘bioclimatic’ vegetation maps. Based on these it has been judged logical to deduce that plants moved between corresponding bioclimatic areas should thrive in the target location, whereas plants moved from a different zone should languish. This principle is routinely applied in forestry and horticulture but actual tests of the validity of bioclimatic maps in this sense seem scanty. In this study I tested the Finnish bioclimatic vegetation zone system (BZS). Relying on the plant collection of Helsinki University Botanic Garden’s Kumpula collection, which according to the BZS is situated at the northern limit of the hemiboreal zone, I aimed to test how the plants’ survival depends on their provenance. My expectation was that plants from the hemiboreal or southern boreal zones should do best in Kumpula, whereas plants from more southern and more northern zones should show progressively lower survival probabilities. I estimated probability of survival using collection database information of plant accessions of known wild origin grown in Kumpula since the mid 1990s, and logistic regression models. The total number of accessions I included in the analyses was 494. Because of problems with some accessions I chose to separately analyse a subset of the complete data, which included 379 accessions. I also analysed different growth forms separately in order to identify differences in probability of survival due to different life strategies. In most analyses accessions of temperate and hemiarctic origin showed lower survival probability than those originating from any of the boreal subzones, which among them exhibited rather evenly high probabilities. Exceptionally mild and wet winters during the study period may have killed off hemiarctic plants. Some winters may have been too harsh for temperate accessions. Trees behaved differently: they showed an almost steadily increasing survival probability from temperate to northern boreal origins. Various factors that could not be controlled for may have affected the results, some of which were difficult to interpret. This was the case in particular with herbs, for which the reliability of the analysis suffered because of difficulties in managing their curatorial data. In all, the results gave some support to the BZS, and especially its hierarchical zonation. However, I question the validity of the formulation of the hypothesis I tested since it may not be entirely justified by the BZS, which was designed for intercontinental comparison of vegetation zones, but not specifically for transcontinental provenance trials. I conclude that botanic gardens should pay due attention to information management and curational practices to ensure the widest possible applicability of their plant collections.

Kronisk njursjukdom hos typ 1 diabetiker utan albuminuri

Inledning Diabetisk nefropati är den mest fruktade diabeteskomplikationen. Utvecklingen av nefropati har redan länge undersökts genom mätning av mängden albuminutsöndring i urinen. Nyligen har man upptäckt att njurfunktionen kan vara nedsatt oberoende av albuminuri. Mål Att undersöka prevalensen samt associationer av kronisk njursvikt utan albuminuri (nonalbuminuric renal disease eller NARD) hos typ 1 diabetiker. Betydelsen av blodtrycksmedicinering, speciellt ACE-/AT2-inhibitorer, behandlas också. Material och metoder Studien ingår i den nationella multicenterstudien FinnDiane. En population på ca. 4000 typ 1 diabetiker har analyserats. Patienter med nefropati utan albuminuri identifierades. Statistiska analyser gjordes med SPSS 19.0. Njurfunktionen (eGFR) estimerades med CKD-EPI ekvationen. Resultat Prevalensen av NARD inom den normoalbuminura gruppen var 3,5%, prevalensen hos män 1,0% samt hos kvinnor 5,4%. Sammanlagt 79 patienter med NARD (12 män och 67 kvinnor) identifierades. ACE-/AT2-inhibitorer kan påverka prevalensen av NARD men inte statistiskt signifikant (p=0,067). Risken för progression av NARD till mikroalbuminuri var betydligt större hos denna grupp (p=0,006) i jämförelse med den normoalbuminura gruppen med normal njurfunktion. I en överlevnadsanalys framkom att mortaliteten var högre inom mikroalbuminuri-gruppen än inom NARD-gruppen (p<0,001, ålders- samt könskorrigerat). Diskussion Prevalensen av NARD var lägre än i motsvarande studier utomlands på typ 2 diabetiker. NARD patienterna hade en ökad risk för progression till mikroalbuminuri men inte en ökad mortalitet. ACE-/AT2-inhibitorerna kan delvis förklara NARD fenomenet. Nya studier med ett större antal NARD patienter behövs för en noggrannare utredning.

Design and fabrication of an indigenous molecular beam ultraviolet photoelectron spectrometer

An ultraviolet photoelectron spectrometer for the study of van der Waals molecules has been designed and fabricated indigenously. The spectrometer consists of an HeI discharge lamp, a molecular beam sample inlet system, an electrostatic lens, a 180-degrees hemispherical electrostatic analyser and a channeltron detector. Performance of the spectrometer is illustrated with an example.

Field intercomparison of four methane gas analysers suitable for eddy covariance flux measurements

Eddy covariance (EC)-flux measurement technique is based on measurement of turbulent motions of air with accurate and fast measurement devices. For instance, in order to measure methane flux a fast methane gas analyser is needed which measures methane concentration at least ten times in a second in addition to a sonic anemometer, which measures the three wind components with the same sampling interval. Previously measurement of methane flux was almost impossible to carry out with EC-technique due to lack of fast enough gas analysers. However during the last decade new instruments have been developed and thus methane EC-flux measurements have become more common. Performance of four methane gas analysers suitable for eddy covariance measurements are assessed in this thesis. The assessment and comparison was performed by analysing EC-data obtained during summer 2010 (1.4.-26.10.) at Siikaneva fen. The four participating methane gas analysers are TGA-100A (Campbell Scientific Inc., USA), RMT-200 (Los Gatos Research, USA), G1301-f (Picarro Inc., USA) and Prototype-7700 (LI-COR Biosciences, USA). RMT-200 functioned most reliably throughout the measurement campaign and the corresponding methane flux data had the smallest random error. In addition, methane fluxes calculated from data obtained from G1301-f and RMT-200 agree remarkably well throughout the measurement campaign. The calculated cospectra and power spectra agree well with corresponding temperature spectra. Prototype-7700 functioned only slightly over one month in the beginning of the measurement campaign and thus its accuracy and long-term performance is difficult to assess.

Breakup of drops around the edges of Rushton turbine

A detailed experimental and simulation study has been carried out in the present work to understand drop breakup in regions around the edge of the Rushton turbine in agitated vessels. The effect of impeller speed, impeller size, interfacial tension, and the viscosities of the two phases is studied on drop breakup through their effect on dmax, the size of the largest drop in the system, and the whole size distribution. The measurements were carried out using Galai particle size analyser and optical microscope. Experimental analysis shows that the dmax, maximum stable drop diameter varies with impeller tip velocity to the power -1. The variation of dmax with interfacial tension is studied using different surfactants. The effect of viscosity ratio, achieved by changing the dispersed phase viscosity, on dmax is captured. For the same dmax values obtained from two different dispersed phases show that the wider drop size distribution is observed for higher dispersed phase viscosity.

Oral malodour – background and diagnostics

Bad breath or oral malodour can be related to gingival diseases, trimethylaminuria, various inflammation diseases of upper respiratory tract, foreign bodies in nasal cavity etc. Bad breath is usually, in 85 % to 95 % of cases, inflicted by gram negative anaerobic bacteria in tongue coating. These bacteria have a tendency of producing foul-smelling sulphur containing gases called volatile sulphur compounds or VSC. Main cause of bad breath is parodontitis or postnasal drip into posterior part of the tongue. Detecting bad breath is most efficiently done by organoleptic method. By skilled analyser the reason for oral malodour can be determined with great accuracy. For scientific study the most effective method is gas chromatography (GC) with flame photometric detector (FPD). With it almost every component of exhaled air can be detected both quantitative and qualitative. Effective chairside methods include portable sulphur monitors and saliva tests.

The Determination of the Surface Tensions of Liquid-Iron, Nickel and Iron-Nickel Alloys using the electromagnetic Oscillating Droplet Technique

An oscillating droplet method combined with electromagnetic levitation has been applied to determine the surface tensions of liquid pure iron, nickel and iron-nickel alloys as a function of the temperature. The natural frequency of the oscillating droplet is evaluated using a Fourier analyser. The theoretical background of this method and the experimental set-up were described, and the influence of magnetic field strength was also discussed. The experimental results were compared with those of other investigators and interpreted using theoretical models (Butler's equation, subregular and perfect solution model for the surface phase).

The Determination of the Surface Tensions of Nickel Sulfur Alloys using the Electromagnetic Oscillating Droplet Technique

An oscillating droplet method combined with electromagnetic levitation technique has been applied to determine the surface tensions of liquid nickel sulphur alloys as a function of the temperature and composition. The natural frequency of the oscillating droplet is evaluated using a Fourier analyser, and the influence of magnetic field strength on the surface tension was considered. Furthermore, the applicability of Butler's equation and subregular solution model for the surface was shown to predict the surface tension of the systems containing the surface active elements.

Water Modeling Study Of The Jet Characteristics In A Continuous-Casting Mold

The jet characteristics and the fluid flow pattern in a continuous slab caster have been studied using a water model. The fluid jet is studied under free fall and submerged discharge conditions. In the latter case, the jet was followed by dye-injection technique and image analyser was used to find out the effect of nozzle parameters on jet-spread angle, jet-discharge angle and the volume entrainment by the jet. All free-fall jets with nozzle port angle zero and upward are found to be spinning. Some of the free-fall jets with downward nozzle-port angle are found to be spinning and rest are smooth. The spinning direction of the jets are found to change with time. The well depth, port diameter and the inner diameter of the nozzle have a clear effect on the free-fall jets with downward port angle. The jet-spread angle is found to be about 17-degrees for smooth jets. The spread angle for spinning jet increases as the nozzle-port angle is increased from downward 25 to upward 15-degrees. The jet-discharge angle is always downward even when the nozzle-discharge ports are angled upward. The extent of volume entrainment by the spinning jet is higher and it increases as the nozzle-port angle is increased from 25 downward to 15-degrees upward.

Kannada WordNet - a lexical database

This paper presents the preliminary analysis of Kannada WordNet and the set of relevant computational tools. Although the design has been inspired by the famous English WordNet, and to certain extent, by the Hindi WordNet, the unique features of Kannada WordNet are graded antonyms and meronymy relationships, nominal as well as verbal compoundings, complex verb constructions and efficient underlying database design (designed to handle storage and display of Kannada unicode characters). Kannada WordNet would not only add to the sparse collection of machine-readable Kannada dictionaries, but also will give new insights into the Kannada vocabulary. It provides sufficient interface for applications involved in Kannada machine translation, spell checker and semantic analyser.