Electromagnetic signatures of lightning near the HF frequency band

The dissertation deals with remote narrowband measurements of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by lightning flashes. A lightning flash consists of a number of sub-processes. The return stroke, which transfers electrical charge from the thundercloud to to the ground, is electromagnetically an impulsive wideband process; that is, it emits radiation at most frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, but its duration is only some tens of microseconds. Before and after the return stroke, multiple sub-processes redistribute electrical charges within the thundercloud. These sub-processes can last for tens to hundreds of milliseconds, many orders of magnitude longer than the return stroke. Each sub-process causes radiation with specific time-domain characteristics, having maxima at different frequencies. Thus, if the radiation is measured at a single narrow frequency band, it is difficult to identify the sub-processes, and some sub-processes can be missed altogether. However, narrowband detectors are simple to design and miniaturize. In particular, near the High Frequency band (High Frequency, 3 MHz to 30 MHz), ordinary shortwave radios can, in principle, be used as detectors. This dissertation utilizes a prototype detector which is essentially a handheld AM radio receiver. Measurements were made in Scandinavia, and several independent data sources were used to identify lightning sub-processes, as well as the distance to each individual flash. It is shown that multiple sub-processes radiate strongly near the HF band. The return stroke usually radiates intensely, but it cannot be reliably identified from the time-domain signal alone. This means that a narrowband measurement is best used to characterize the energy of the radiation integrated over the whole flash, without attempting to identify individual processes. The dissertation analyzes the conditions under which this integrated energy can be used to estimate the distance to the flash. It is shown that flash-by-flash variations are large, but the integrated energy is very sensitive to changes in the distance, dropping as approximately the inverse cube root of the distance. Flashes can, in principle, be detected at distances of more than 100 km, but since the ground conductivity can vary, ranging accuracy drops dramatically at distances larger than 20 km. These limitations mean that individual flashes cannot be ranged accurately using a single narrowband detector, and the useful range is limited to 30 kilometers at the most. Nevertheless, simple statistical corrections are developed, which enable an accurate estimate of the distance to the closest edge of an active storm cell, as well as the approach speed. The results of the dissertation could therefore have practical applications in real-time short-range lightning detection and warning systems.

Patient exposure monitoring and radiation qualities in two-dimensional digital x-ray imaging

The methods for estimating patient exposure in x-ray imaging are based on the measurement of radiation incident on the patient. In digital imaging, the useful dose range of the detector is large and excessive doses may remain undetected. Therefore, real-time monitoring of radiation exposure is important. According to international recommendations, the measurement uncertainty should be lower than 7% (confidence level 95%). The kerma-area product (KAP) is a measurement quantity used for monitoring patient exposure to radiation. A field KAP meter is typically attached to an x-ray device, and it is important to recognize the effect of this measurement geometry on the response of the meter. In a tandem calibration method, introduced in this study, a field KAP meter is used in its clinical position and calibration is performed with a reference KAP meter. This method provides a practical way to calibrate field KAP meters. However, the reference KAP meters require comprehensive calibration. In the calibration laboratory it is recommended to use standard radiation qualities. These qualities do not entirely correspond to the large range of clinical radiation qualities. In this work, the energy dependence of the response of different KAP meter types was examined. According to our findings, the recommended accuracy in KAP measurements is difficult to achieve with conventional KAP meters because of their strong energy dependence. The energy dependence of the response of a novel large KAP meter was found out to be much lower than with a conventional KAP meter. The accuracy of the tandem method can be improved by using this meter type as a reference meter. A KAP meter cannot be used to determine the radiation exposure of patients in mammography, in which part of the radiation beam is always aimed directly at the detector without attenuation produced by the tissue. This work assessed whether pixel values from this detector area could be used to monitor the radiation beam incident on the patient. The results were congruent with the tube output calculation, which is the method generally used for this purpose. The recommended accuracy can be achieved with the studied method. New optimization of radiation qualities and dose level is needed when other detector types are introduced. In this work, the optimal selections were examined with one direct digital detector type. For this device, the use of radiation qualities with higher energies was recommended and appropriate image quality was achieved by increasing the low dose level of the system.

Law student lifestyle pressures

One significant factor influencing student wellbeing is the degree to which their studies are subject to external lifestyle pressures. These pressures are relieved or exacerbated by choices students make around their approaches to study, and the amount of time they devote to work and leisure. This Chapter considers results from a 2012 survey of law students at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia. Those results are compared to results from a similar US law student survey, and comparable data from the UK and Australia more broadly. In addition, the UNSW study compares key lifestyle choices of undergraduate (LLB) and graduate (JD) law students. The significance of the analysis in this Chapter for understanding law students’ wellbeing is that comparing American and Australian law students’ lifestyle patterns provides insights into contextual variation between both groups, which is important to bear in mind when comparing American and Australian research on law students’ wellbeing, and appreciating the limits of such comparisons. In particular, much of the wellbeing literature to date has focused on course-based stressors, but in light of recent research indicating that improvements in students’ course-based experiences may not have a direct effect on law students’ elevated levels of psychological distress, it is important to understand the broader life pressures and stressors that may be impacting law students’ wellbeing.

The relationship between class participation and law students' learning, engagement and stress: Do demographics matter?

Student participation in the classroom has long been regarded as an important means of increasing student engagement and enhancing learning outcomes by promoting active learning. However, the approach to class participation common in U.S. law schools, commonly referred to as the Socratic method, has been criticised for its negative impacts on student wellbeing. A multiplicity of American studies have identified that participating in law class discussions can be alienating, intimidating and stressful for some law students, and may be especially so for women, and students from minority backgrounds. Using data from the Law School Student Assessment Survey (LSSAS), conducted at UNSW Law School in 2012, this Chapter provides preliminary insights into whether assessable class participation (ACP) at an Australian law school is similarly alienating and stressful for students, including the groups identified in the American literature. In addition, we compare the responses of undergraduate Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and graduate Juris Doctor (JD) students. The LSSAS findings indicate that most respondents recognise the potential learning and social benefits associated with class participation in legal education, but remain divided over their willingness to participate. Further, in alignment with general trends identified in American studies, LLB students, women, international students, and non-native English speakers perceive they contribute less frequently to class discussions than JD students, males, domestic students, and native English speakers, respectively. Importantly, the LSSAS indicates students are more likely to be anxious about contributing to class discussions if they are LLB students (compared to their JD counterparts), and if English is not their first language (compared to native English speakers). There were no significant differences in students’ self-reported anxiety levels based on gender, which diverges from the findings of American research.

Kuntoutusosallisuuden diagnoosi : Tutkimus entisten rappiokäyttäjien kuntoutumisen muodoista, mekanismeista ja mahdollisuuksista

The main theme of the research centres on the idea that social inclusion can be analysed as inclusions and exclusions. The research is focused on the phenomenon of inclusion that is defined as widely understood social relationships and social binds emerging in a rehabilitation process. Information was gathered from 13 ex substance abusers, who had a background of heavy substance abuse for appr. 15 years and who have been sober for about 7 years. Also 34 persons who helped them to rehabilitate by the helped persons’ perspectives, were interviewed. The speciality of the research is that 5 of the ex abusers were also physically or mentally disabled. A Simmelian interaction process analysis was applied for the narrative analysis of the collected data. The aim of the analysis was to define different kinds of configurations of social relations and social binds. According to the research 3 different forms of inclusion are emerged in rehabilitation. At the early stage rehabilitation leans towards controlling the new sober life style (inclusion of life control). When people begin to rely on their temperance, they begin to make decisions about an own way of living (life political inclusion) and can also dissociate from the institutional thought patterns. People must also find a way into the circles of social relationships to develop own esteemed individual settings of codes for their action (inclusion of life orientation). The main result of the research represents the ‘mechanism of the social’ of rehabilitation. It is composed of the forms of inclusion mentioned above, their contents and the specific reflection mechanism of inclusion. It consists of the heavy structure of the disciplines of the rehabilitation system and the light structure of social worlds. Finally rehabilitation in the long run seems to lean on aesthetic of social relationships – how the person is connected to the circle of social relationships in this reflection. The conclusions are the following. The role of institutional disciplines is an important social resource for controlling life. Other institutions, i.e. the institutions of adult education offer opportunities to organize the abuser’s life. Unfortunately, the institutional rehabilitation seems to offer feeble help, especially to those who are actualising a kind of life orientation that does not comply with legitimated institutional thought patterns. If the helpers cannot define the need for aid in this situation, the helped easily becomes perversely socially excluded. In a discreet way the institutional rehabilitation is shaping subjectivities of the ex abusers by transferring responsibilities for them. This incident already increases the uncertainty of life of ex abuser, who is disposed towards feeling shame and inferiority. It is more secure to strengthen social binds with the institutional rehabilitation and its membership. Thus, getting individually responsible increases addictive behaviours.

Work Stress in the Nursing Profession : An Evaluation of Organizational Causal Attribution

The goal of this study was to examine the role of organizational causal attribution in understanding the relation of work stressors (work-role overload, excessive role responsibility, and unpleasant physical environment) and personal resources (social support and cognitive coping) to such organizational-attitudinal outcomes as work engagement, turnover intention, and organizational identification. In some analyses, cognitive coping was also treated as an organizational outcome. Causal attribution was conceptualized in terms of four dimensions: internality-externality, attributing the cause of one’s successes and failures to oneself, as opposed to external factors, stability (thinking that the cause of one’s successes and failures is stable over time), globality (perceiving the cause to be operative on many areas of one’s life), and controllability (believing that one can control the causes of one’s successes and failures). Several hypotheses were derived from Karasek’s (1989) Job Demands–Control (JD-C) model and from the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner & Schaufeli, 2001). Based on the JD-C model, a number of moderation effects were predicted, stating that the strength of the association of work stressors with the outcome variables (e.g. turnover intentions) varies as a function of the causal attribution; for example, unpleasant work environment is more strongly associated with turnover intention among those with an external locus of causality than among those with an internal locuse of causality. From the JD-R model, a number of hypotheses on the mediation model were derived. They were based on two processes posited by the model: an energy-draining process in which work stressors along with a mediating effect of causal attribution for failures deplete the nurses’ energy, leading to turnover intention, and a motivational process in which personal resources along with a mediating effect of causal attribution for successes foster the nurses’ engagement in their work, leading to higher organizational identification and to decreased intention to leave the nursing job. For instance, it was expected that the relationship between work stressors and turnover intention could be explained (mediated) by a tendency to attribute one’s work failures to stable causes. The data were collected from among Finnish hospital nurses using e-questionnaires. Overall 934 nurses responded the questionnaires. Work stressors and personal resources were measured by five scales derived from the Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised (Osipow, 1998). Causal attribution was measured using the Occupational Attributional Style Questionnaire (Furnham, 2004). Work engagement was assessed through the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli & al., 2002), turnover intention by the Van Veldhoven & Meijman (1994) scale, and organizational identification by the Mael & Ashforth (1992) measure. The results provided support for the function of causal attribution in the overall work stress process. Findings related to the moderation model can be divided into three main findings. First, external locus of causality along with job level moderated the relationship between work overload and cognitive coping. Hence, this interaction was evidenced only among nurses in non-supervisory positions. Second, external locus of causality and job level together moderated the relationship between physical environment and turnover intention. An opposite pattern of interaction was found for this interaction: among nurses, externality exacerbated the effect of perceived unpleasantness of the physical environment on turnover intention, whereas among supervisors internality produced the same effect. Third, job level also disclosed a moderation effect for controllability attribution over the relationship between physical environment and cognitive coping. Findings related to the mediation model for the energetic process indicated that the partial model in which work stressors have also a direct effect on turnover intention fitted the data better. In the mediation model for the motivational process, an intermediate mediation effect in which the effects of personal resources on turnover intention went through two mediators (e.g., causal dimensions and organizational identification) fitted the data better. All dimensions of causal attribution appeared to follow a somewhat unique pattern of mediation effect not only for energetic but also for motivational processes. Overall findings on mediation models partly supported the two simultaneous underlying processes proposed by the JD-R model. While in the energetic process the dimension of externality mediated the relationship between stressors and turnover partially, all the dimensions of causal attribution appeared to entail significant mediator effects in the motivational process. The general findings supported the moderation effect and the mediation effect of causal attribution in the work stress process. The study contributes to several research traditions, including the interaction approach, the JD-C, and the JD-R models. However, many potential functions of organizational causal attribution are yet to be evaluated by relevant academic and organizational research. Keywords: organizational causal attribution, optimistic / pessimistic attributional style, work stressors, organisational stress process, stressors in nursing profession, hospital nursing, JD-R model, personal resources, turnover intention, work engagement, organizational identification.

Paimen vailla hiippakuntaa : Kenttäpiispan viran synty ja vaikutus sotilaspapiston asemaan Suomen puolustusvoimissa ja kirkossa vuosina 1939 - 1944

The main purpose of this research is to shed light on the factors that gave rise to the office of Field Bishop in the years 1939-1944. How did military bishophood affect the status of the head of military pastoral care and military clergy during these years? The main sources of my research are the collections in the Finnish National Archives, and I use a historical-qualitative method. The position of the military clergy was debated within both the Church and the Defence Forces before 1939. At that stage, Church law did not yet recognize the office of the leading military priest, the Field Dean. There had been a motion in 1932 to introduce the office of a military bishop, but the bishops' synod blocked it. The concept of Field Bishop appeared for the first time in 1927 in a Finnish military document, which dealt with pastoral care in the Polish military. The Field Dean in Finland had regularly proposed improvements to the salary of the military clergy before the Winter War. After the Winter War, arguments were made for strengthening the position of the military clergy: these arguments were based on the increased respect shown towards this clergy, especially due to their role in the care of the fallen, which had become their task during the war. Younger members of the military clergy in particular supported the demands to improve their position within the Church and the army. The creation of a Field Bishop was perceived as strengthening the whole military clergy, as the Field Bishop was envisioned as a bishop within the Church and a general within the Defence Forces. During that time the Field Dean was still without any military rank. The idea of a Field Bishop was recommended to Mannerheim in June 1940, after which the Defence Forces lent their support to the cause. The status of the military clergy, in Church law, made it to the agenda of the Church council in January 1941, thanks largely to the younger priests' group influence and Mannerheim's leverage. The bishops opposed the notion of a Field Bishop mostly on theological grounds but were ready to concede that the position the Field Dean in Church law required further defining. The creation of the office of Field Bishop was blocked in the Church law committee report issued close to the beginning of the Continuation War. The onset of that war, however, changed the course of events, as the President of the Republic appointed Field Dean Johannes Björklund as Field Bishop. Speculation has abounded about Mannerheim's role in the appointment, but the truth of the matter is not clear. The title of Field Bishop was used to put pressure on the Church, and, at the same time, Mannerheim could remain detached from the matter. Later, in September 1941, the Church council approved the use of the Field Bishop title to denote the head of military pastoral care in Church law, and Field Bishops were assigned some of the duties formerly pertaining to bishops. Despite all expectations and hopes, the new office of Field Bishop did not affect the status of the military clergy within the Defence Forces, as no ranks were established for them, and their salary did not improve. However the office of the Field Bishop within Army HQ was transformed from a bureau into a department in the summer of 1942. At the beginning of the Continuation War, the Field Bishop was criticized by certain military and Church clergy for favouring Russian Orthodox Christians in Eastern Karelia. Björklund agreed in principle with most of the Lutheran clergy on the necessity of Lutheranizing East Karelia but had to take into account the realities at Army HQ. As well, at the same time the majority of the younger clergy were serving in the army, and there was a lack of parish priests on the home front. Bishop Lehtonen had actually expressed the wish that more priests could have been released from the front to serve in local parishes. In his notes Lehtonen accused Björklund of trying to achieve the position of Field Bishop by all possible means. However, research has revealed a varied group of people behind the creation of the office of Field Bishop, including in particular younger clergy and the Defence Forces.

Differential synthesis of proteins by T4 phage and its head protein amber mutant

There was no difference in the incorporation of S-35 label into proteins of T4 and amber B17 phage grown on Escherichia coli B. The head protein peak was absent in the polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic profile of the S-35 labeled proteins of amber B17 grown on non-permissive host, E.coli B. However, an increase of 15–70% in the synthesis of other phage proteins of amber B17 over that of T4 phage was observed. The lysozyme activity increased by two fold in amber B17 in comparison with that of T4 phage grown on E.coli B. These results imply that in the absence of head protein synthesis by amber mutant there was an increase in the synthesis of other phage proteins.

Transfer of saline tolerance from one strain of rice to another by injection of DNA

Direct injection of genomic DNA from salt tolerant cv. Pokkali into developing floral tillers on IR20 produced transgenic seeds similar to Pokkali in husk colour and which germinated well in 0.2 M NaCl and had a 4-6-fold higher proline content.

Initiation of transcription of rDNA in rice

Three direct repeats of 320, 340 and 238 nucleotides were detected upstream to the 5′ end of the 18S rRNA gene of an rDNA unit present on a 9.8 kb EcoRT fragment of the rice DNA. The primer extension analysis showed that the site of initiation of transcription is in the 1st repeat at an A, the 623rd nucleotide upstream to the 5′ end of the 18S rRNA gene. Different stretches of the intergenic spacer DNA linked to the Chloramphenicol acetyl transferase gene were transcribed in the intact nuclei of rice embryos. The S1 nuclease protection analysis of the transcripts using [32P]-labelled Chloramphenicol acetyl transferase gene as the probe showed the presence of multiple promoters for rDNA transcription.

Nucleotide-sequence of 5S RNA from mycobacterium-smegmatis

32P labelled 5S RNA isolated fromMycobacterium smegmatis was digested withT 1 and pancreatic ribonucleases separately and fingerprinted by two dimensional high voltage electrophoresis on thin-layer DEAE-cellulose plates. The radioactive spots were sequenced and their molar yields were determined. The chain length of the 5S RNA was found to be 120. It showed resemblances to both prokaryotic and eukaryotic 5S RNAs.

The hard-particle model for a dense granular flow down an inclined plane

Perfectly hard particles are those which experience an infinite repulsive force when they overlap, and no force when they do not overlap. In the hard-particle model, the only static state is the isostatic state where the forces between particles are statically determinate. In the flowing state, the interactions between particles are instantaneous because the time of contact approaches zero in the limit of infinite particle stiffness. Here, we discuss the development of a hard particle model for a realistic granular flow down an inclined plane, and examine its utility for predicting the salient features both qualitatively and quantitatively. We first discuss Discrete Element simulations, that even very dense flows of sand or glass beads with volume fraction between 0.5 and 0.58 are in the rapid flow regime, due to the very high particle stiffness. An important length scale in the shear flow of inelastic particles is the `conduction length' delta = (d/(1 - e(2))(1/2)), where d is the particle diameter and e is the coefficient of restitution. When the macroscopic scale h (height of the flowing layer) is larger than the conduction length, the rates of shear production and inelastic dissipation are nearly equal in the bulk of the flow, while the rate of conduction of energy is O((delta/h)(2)) smaller than the rate of dissipation of energy. Energy conduction is important in boundary layers of thickness delta at the top and bottom. The flow in the boundary layer at the top and bottom is examined using asymptotic analysis. We derive an exact relationship showing that the a boundary layer solution exists only if the volume fraction in the bulk decreases as the angle of inclination is increased. In the opposite case, where the volume fraction increases as the angle of inclination is increased, there is no boundary layer solution. The boundary layer theory also provides us with a way of understanding the cessation of flow when at a given angle of inclination when the height of the layer is decreased below a value h(stop), which is a function of the angle of inclination. There is dissipation of energy due to particle collisions in the flow as well as due to particle collisions with the base, and the fraction of energy dissipation in the base increases as the thickness decreases. When the shear production in the flow cannot compensate for the additional energy drawn out of the flow due to the wall collisions, the temperature decreases to zero and the flow stops. Scaling relations can be derived for h(stop) as a function of angle of inclination.

The stress in a slowly sheared granular column

We report measurements of the wall stress in a granular material sheared in a cylindrical Couette cell, as a function of the distance from the free surface. Our results shows that when the material is static, all components of the stress saturate to constant values within a short distance from the free surface, in conformity with earlier experiments and theoretical predictions. When the material is sheared by rotating the inner cylinder at a constant rate, the stresses are remarkably altered. The radial normal stress does not saturate, and increases even more rapidly with depth than the linear hydrostatic pressure profile. The axial shear stress changes sign on shearing, and its magnitude increases with depth. These results are discussed in the context of the predictions of the classical and Cosserat plasticity theories.

Vanhukset ja päihteet. Sosiaalityöntekijöiden ja sosiaaliohjaajien käsityksiä ikääntyneiden päihteidenkäytöstä, palveluista ja päihdepalveluiden kehittämisestä

Ikääntyneiden päihteidenkäyttö on ajankohtainen ilmiö, joka kohdataan sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon palvelujärjestelmän eri tasoilla aiempaa useammin. Tutkielmassani tarkastellaan empiirisen tutkimusaineiston avulla käsityksiä, joita vanhusten palveluiden sosiaalityöntekijät ja sosiaaliohjaajat liittävät ikääntyneiden päihteidenkäyttöön, palveluihin ja päihdepalveluiden kehittämiseen. Tutkimusaineistoni koostuu maaliskuussa 2010 tehdyistä Helsingin sosiaaliviraston vanhusten palveluiden sosiaalityöntekijöiden ja sosiaaliohjaajien haastatteluista (N=16). Haastattelut on toteutettu puolistrukturoituina teemahaastatteluina. Analyysimenetelmänä olen käyttänyt fenomenografista analyysia. Analyysin tulokset olen kuvannut kuvauskategorioina, joiden avulla esittelen käsityksiä ikääntyneiden päihteidenkäytöstä, palveluista ja päihdepalveluiden kehittämisestä. Tutkielmani teoreettinen viitekehys perustuu pääosin sosiaaligerontologi Jyrki Jyrkämän (2007) esittämään kuvaukseen ikääntyneiden päihteidenkäytöstä toimijuuden lajina. Huomioni kiinnittyy tässä tutkielmassa erityisesti sosiaalityöntekijöiden ja sosiaaliohjaajien kuvaamiin ikääntyneiden päihteidenkäyttöön, palveluihin ja päihdepalveluiden kehittämiseen liittämiin määrittelyihin, joita he käsityksillään ilmaisevat. Ikääntyneiden päihteidenkäyttö näyttäytyy tutkielmassani kompleksisena ja monisyisenä ilmiönä, johon määrittelyjä kohdistavat ikääntyneen henkilön lisäksi myös omaiset, muut läheiset ja palvelujärjestelmän työntekijät. Palvelujärjestelmän työntekijät kohtaavat ikääntyneiden päihdeasiakkaiden kanssa työskennellessään usein ammatillisen riittämättömyyden ja neuvottomuuden tunteita. Sosiaalityöntekijöiden ja sosiaaliohjaajien kuvaamien käsitysten mukaan palvelujärjestelmän kyky vastata päihteitä käyttävien ikääntyneiden henkilöiden tarpeisiin on rajallinen, koska avohuollon palvelut on suunnattu usein nuorille ja työikäisille aikuisille. Päihteidenkäyttö vaikuttaa myös omaishoitajien, hoitavien omaisten ja palvelutaloissa asuvien ikääntyneiden arkeen. Ilmiö voi jäädä näkymättömäksi, koska runsaasti päihteitä käyttävät ikääntyneet eivät usein hakeudu oma-aloitteisesti sosiaali- ja terveyspalveluiden piiriin. Päihteidenkäyttö voi määritellä ikääntyneiden päihteidenkäyttäjien palveluihin pääsyn ehtoja ja vaikuttaa heidän jäämiseensä palveluiden ulkopuolelle. Päihteidenkäytön aloittaminen myöhemmällä iällä liittyy usein ikääntyneiden elämässä tapahtuviin kielteisiin muutoksiin, joihin etsitään lohtua alkoholista. Asiakkaan tavoitteellinen arki ei näyttäydy ikääntyneen raitistumisena, vaan alkoholinkäytön vähentämisenä tai kykynä osallistua päihteidenkäytölle vaihtoehtoiseen toimintaan. Sosiaalityöntekijät ja sosiaaliohjaajat kuvaavat käsityksinään, että vanhusten palveluissa tarvittaisiin lisää päihdeaiheista koulutusta ja päihdeasioihin keskittyvää työnohjausta. Ikääntyneille päihteidenkäyttäjille tulisi tarjota moniammatillisia asiantuntijapalveluita joiden tuottajina voivat olla sosiaali- ja terveydenhuollon palvelujärjestelmän lisäksi kolmannen sektorin toimijat.