Paperin aistinvarainen arviointi

Paperin tärkeiden teknisten ominaisuuksien lisäksi myös paperin aistinvaraiset ominaisuudet ovat nousseet merkittäviksi parametreiksi paperia luonnehdittaessa. Aistinvaraisilla ominaisuuksilla tarkoitetaan ominaisuuksia, jotka ihminen aistii käsitellessään tuotetta. Tällaisia ominaisuuksia ovat esimerkiksi paperin karheus, liukkaus, jäykkyys sekä ääni paperia selattaessa. Paperin aistinvaraiset ominaisuudet luovat lukijalle mielikuvan lukemastaan lehdestä lehden sisällön lisäksi. Tämän työn tavoitteena oli kehittää olemassa olevan aistinvaraisten ominaisuuksien arviointiraadin toimintaa. Arviointimenetelmän tilalle pyrittiin löytämään toinen menetelmä sekä kehittämään uusi tulosten raportointimalli. Työssä käytettiin kahta subjektiivista arviointimenetelmää, parivertailua ja ranking-menetelmää. Tuloksia verrattiin aiemmin käytössä olleen referenssimenetelmän tuloksiin. Näytteistä arvioitiin karheus, liukkaus, tahmeus, jäykkyys, selailtavuus, äänen voimakkuus ja äänen laatu. Näiden lisäksi näytteiden miellyttävyyttä arvioitiin parivertailua käyttäen. Arvioitsijoiden yksimielisyyttä selvitettiin parivertailun yhteydessä. Näytteet olivat painamattomia, mutta painokoneen läpi menneitä lehtiformaattiin taitettuja. Visuaalisissa arvioinneissa käytettiin painettuja näytteitä samasta paperivalikoimasta. Arviointimenetelmien tuloksia vertailtaessa, voidaan menetelmien välillä havaita muutamia eroja. Sekä parivertailussa että ranking-menetelmässä näytteet jakaantuivat lähes kokonaan annetulle arviointiskaalalle, kun referenssimenetelmällä ne kasautuivat hyvin pienelle alueelle. Ranking-menetelmässä näytteet jakautuivat vielä laajemmalle kuin parivertailussa. Parivertailu erotteli näytteet paremmin toisistaan kuin referenssimenetelmä. Ranking-menetelmän ja parivertailun välillä vastaavaa eroa erotuskyvyssä ei havaittu. Tulosten perusteella voidaan sanoa, että parivertailu

Entwicklung, in-house Validierung und Anwendung des ganzheitlichen Verfahrens Biokristallisation für die Unterscheidung von Weizen-, Möhren- und Apfelproben aus unterschiedlichem Anbau und Verarbeitungsschritten

Die Qualität ökologischer Produkte wird über den Prozess und nicht am Produkt selbst bestimmt. Die zunehmende Nachfrage nach ökologischen Produkten fordert Methoden, die den Prozess am Produkt zeigen (Authentizitätsprüfung). Eine Literaturstudie für die vorliegende Habilitationsschrift ergab, dass ganzheitliche Verfahren sich dazu besonders eignen. Zu solchen ganzheitlichen Verfahren gehört die Biokristallisation. Bei diesem Verfahren kristallisiert eine Mischung aus Probe und CuCl2 auf einer Glasplatte zu einem Bild, das sowohl visuell, als auch computergestützt ausgewertet werden kann. Es wurden zunächst alle Schritte im Labor dokumentiert und entsprechende Standardarbeitsanweisungen erstellt. Mit einem eigens entwickelten Computerprogramm werden die Bedingungen während der Probenaufbereitung und Kristallisation für jede Probe und jedes Bild erfasst. Mit einer Texturanalyse können auch die für diese Arbeiten erstellte große Menge an Bildern ausgewertet und die Ergebnisse statistisch bearbeitet werden. Damit ist es möglich das Verfahren und Methoden für Weizen- und Möhrenproben zu charakterisieren. Es wurden verschiedene Einflussgrößen untersucht. Das Verfahren ist besonders gegenüber Änderungen in der Probenvorbereitung (z.B. Vermahlung, Mischungsverhältnis) empfindlich. Es wurde sowohl die Methodenstreuung, als auch der Anteil einzelner Schritte an der Gesamtstreuung für Weizen-, Möhren- und Apfelproben ermittelt. Die Verdampfung und Kristallisation hat den größten Anteil an der Gesamtstreuung. Die Durchführung eines Laboreignungstests zeigte, dass die so dokumentierten und charakterisierten Methoden in anderen Laboratorien erfolgreich eingesetzt werden können. Das Verfahren wurde für die nominale Unterscheidung von Weizen-, Möhren- und Apfelproben aus unterschiedlichem Anbau und Verarbeitungsschritten eingesetzt. Weizen-, Möhren- und Apfelproben aus definiertem Anbau können signifikant unterschieden werden. Weizen-, Möhren- und Apfelproben vom Erzeuger (Markt) konnten im Paarvergleich (ökologisch, konventionell) teilweise signifikant getrennt werden. Das Verfahren ist auch für die Charakterisierung von verarbeiteten Proben einsetzbar. Es konnte der Einfluss von Saftherstellung, Erwärmung und Alterung signifikant gezeigt werden. Darüber hinaus lässt sich das Verfahren auf weitere Probenarten anwenden. Das Verfahren arbeitet ganzheitlich, d.h. es werden keine Einzelstoffe analytisch bestimmt, sondern als Ergebnis wird ein Bild erhalten. Die Textur- und Struktureigenschaften dieses Bildes können mit standardisierten Methoden ausgewertet werden.

Visuell utvärdering av frekvensmodulerat raster på obestruket papper.

This thesis investigated if a combination of increased under colour removal (decreasing the total ink limit), normal andincreased density and modern FM-screening could be used to provide a visually better print on uncoated and coated paperin comparison with AM-screening using the same conditions.Two different test groups (one with graphic background, the other with no graphic background) were asked to a visuallyassess the quality of the prints presented in a pair comparison using a reference image.The results show that the FM-screening did not obtain any significant visual difference in comparison with AM-screening,regardless of paper types and density levels. In general however, prints on coated paper were graded higher.

Individual differences in occupational perceptions: a developmental study

This thesis presents an investigation of the structure of people's occupational perceptions. The questionnaires used In this study collected both descriptive information about people's perceptions of occupations and also pair comparison similarities data. The data were collected both in the United States of America and England from samples of subjects who differed in terms of age and sex. This provided, therefore, both cross-cultural and developmental dimensions to the study. A cognitive orientation to the study of vocational behaviour is developed and multidimensional scaling procedures are used to analyze the data. A prime concern of the thesis is to examine the appropriateness of this approach and these techniques to this subject area. The results of this study show that a considerable range of individuaI differences exist in occupational perceptions.0lder subjects have a more complex structure to their perceptions and showed greater consensus as to how they perceived occupations to relate to each other. Younger subjects exhibited a greater range of individual differences in occupational perceptions but had, on average, a simpler subjective occupational structure. The multidimensional scaling procedures used in this study were able to reveal how occupational perceptions were structured, to relate these occupational perceptions to occupational preferences and other evaluative data, and to show that the groupings and structure of occupational perceptions ore similar to the dimensions used in occupational classification schemes. ImpIications of these resultts to vocationaI guidance theory and practice are discussed. The resuIts reported here strongly support both the use of the cognitive approach adopted here and demonstrate the potential of multidimensional scaling techniques for further:research in the field of vocational psychology.

Comparison of ion pair and buffered mobile phase chromatography of haloacetic acids using direct and indirect UV and fluorescence detection

Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic methods for the analysis of Haloacetic acids have been developed and compared to conventional direct detection methods. Haloacetic acids commonly found in drinking water, including monochloro-, dichloro-, bromo-, iodo- and trichloroacetic acids- have been studied. The ion pairing agent benzyltributylammonium ion was studied in detail using indirect UV and indirect fluorescence detection. Five different competing ions were evaluated to decrease analysis times and lower the detection limit by this new method. The direct detection method utilized an ammonium sulfate buffer and UV detection yielding a detection limit of 100 ppb. The indirect method developed has the advantage of being able to simultaneously analyze UV and non-UV absorbing ions and molecules but requires long equilibration times and demonstrated lower sensitivity than the direct method. ^

Coherent Contributions to Isospin Mixing in the Mirror Pair (67)As and (67)Se

Isospin symmetry breaking has been investigated in mass A = 67 mirror nuclei through the experimental determination of the E1 strengths of analog electromagnetic transitions. Lifetimes of excited states have been measured in (67)Se and (67)As with the centroid shift method. Through the comparison of the B(E1) strengths of the mirror 9/2(+) -> 7/2(-) transitions, the isovector and the isoscalar components of the electromagnetic transition amplitude were extracted. The presence of a large isoscalar component provides evidence for coherent contributions to isospin mixing, probably involving the isovector giant monopole resonance.

Arthrodesis of the equine proximal interphalangeal joint: a biomechanical comparison of 3-Hole 4.5 mm locking compression plate and 3-hole 4.5 mm narrow dynamic compression plate, with two transarticular 5.5 mm cortex screws

Objectives To compare the biomechanical characteristics of 2 arthrodesis techniques for the equine proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP) using either a 3-hole 4.5 mm locking compression plate (LCP) or 3-hole 4.5 mm narrow dynamic compression plate (DCP), both with 2 transarticular 5.5 mm cortex screws. Study Design Experimental. Sample Population Cadaveric adult equine forelimbs (*n=6 pairs). Methods For each forelimb pair, 1 limb was randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatment groups and the contralateral limb by default to the other treatment group. Construct stiffness, gap formation across the PIP joint, and rotation about the PIP joint were determined for each construct before cyclic axial loading and after each of four, 5000 cycle loading regimens. After the 20,000 cycle axial loading regimen, each construct was loaded to failure. Results There were no significant differences in construct stiffness, gap formation, or sagittal plane rotation between the LCP and DCP treatment groups at any of the measured time points. Conclusion Biomechanically, fixation of the equine PIP joint with a 3-hole 4.5 mm LCP is equivalent to fixation with a 3-hole 4.5 mm narrow DCP under the test conditions used.

Cl gene cluster encoding several small nucleolar RNAs: a comparison amongst trypanosomatids

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that modify RNA molecules such as rRNA and snRNA by guiding 2'-O-ribose methylation (C/D box snoRNA family) and pseudouridylation reactions (H/ACA snoRNA family). H/ACA snoRNAs are also involved in trans-splicing in trypanosomatids. The aims of this work were to characterise the Cl gene cluster that encodes several snoRNAs in Trypanosoma rangeli and compare it with clusters from Trypanosoma cruzi, Trypanosoma brucei, Leishmania major, Leishmania infantum, Leishmania braziliensis and Leptomonas collosoma. The T. rangeli Cl gene cluster is an 801 base pair (bp) repeat sequence that encodes three C/D (Cl1, Cl2 and Cl4) and three H/ACA (Cl3, Cl5 and Cl6) snoRNAs. In contrast to T. brucei, the Cl3 and Cl5 homologues have not been annotated in the Leishmania or T. cruzi genome projects (http//:www.genedb.org). Of note, snoRNA transcribed regions have a high degree of sequence identity among all species and share gene synteny. Collectively, these findings suggest that the Cl cluster could constitute an interesting target for therapeutic (gene silencing) or diagnostic intervention strategies (PCR-derived tools).

Overcoming the heterologous bias: an in vivo functional analysis of multidrug efflux transporter, CgCdr1p in matched pair clinical isolates of Candida glabrata.

We have taken advantage of the natural milieu of matched pair of azole sensitive (AS) and azole resistant (AR) clinical isolates of Candida glabrata for expressing its major ABC multidrug transporter, CgCdr1p for structure and functional analysis. This was accomplished by tagging a green fluorescent protein (GFP) downstream of ORF of CgCDR1 and integrating the resultant fusion protein at its native chromosomal locus in AS and AR backgrounds. The characterization confirmed that in comparison to AS isolate, CgCdr1p-GFP was over-expressed in AR isolates due to its hyperactive native promoter and the GFP tag did not affect its functionality in either construct. We observed that in addition to Rhodamine 6 G (R6G) and Fluconazole (FLC), a recently identified fluorescent substrate of multidrug transporters Nile Red (NR) could also be expelled by CgCdr1p. Competition assays with these substrates revealed the presence of overlapping multiple drug binding sites in CgCdr1p. Point mutations employing site directed mutagenesis confirmed that the role played by unique amino acid residues critical to ATP catalysis and localization of ABC drug transporter proteins are well conserved in C. glabrata as in other yeasts. This study demonstrates a first in vivo novel system where over-expression of GFP tagged MDR transporter protein can be driven by its own hyperactive promoter of AR isolates. Taken together, this in vivo system can be exploited for the structure and functional analysis of CgCdr1p and similar proteins wherein the artefactual concerns encountered in using heterologous systems are totally excluded.

Topological comparison of methods for predicting transcriptional cooperativity in yeast

Background: The cooperative interaction between transcription factors has a decisive role in the control of the fate of the eukaryotic cell. Computational approaches for characterizing cooperative transcription factors in yeast, however, are based on different rationales and provide a low overlap between their results. Because the wealth of information contained in protein interaction networks and regulatory networks has proven highly effective in elucidating functional relationships between proteins, we compared different sets of cooperative transcription factor pairs (predicted by four different computational methods) within the frame of those networks. Results: Our results show that the overlap between the sets of cooperative transcription factors predicted by the different methods is low yet significant. Cooperative transcription factors predicted by all methods are closer and more clustered in the protein interaction network than expected by chance. On the other hand, members of a cooperative transcription factor pair neither seemed to regulate each other nor shared similar regulatory inputs, although they do regulate similar groups of target genes. Conclusion: Despite the different definitions of transcriptional cooperativity and the different computational approaches used to characterize cooperativity between transcription factors, the analysis of their roles in the framework of the protein interaction network and the regulatory network indicates a common denominator for the predictions under study. The knowledge of the shared topological properties of cooperative transcription factor pairs in both networks can be useful not only for designing better prediction methods but also for better understanding the complexities of transcriptional control in eukaryotes.

Comparison of human chromosome 21 conserved nongenic sequences (CNGs) with the mouse and dog genomes shows that their selective constraint is independent of their genic environment.

The analysis of conservation between the human and mouse genomes resulted in the identification of a large number of conserved nongenic sequences (CNGs). The functional significance of this nongenic conservation remains unknown, however. The availability of the sequence of a third mammalian genome, the dog, allows for a large-scale analysis of evolutionary attributes of CNGs in mammals. We have aligned 1638 previously identified CNGs and 976 conserved exons (CODs) from human chromosome 21 (Hsa21) with their orthologous sequences in mouse and dog. Attributes of selective constraint, such as sequence conservation, clustering, and direction of substitutions were compared between CNGs and CODs, showing a clear distinction between the two classes. We subsequently performed a chromosome-wide analysis of CNGs by correlating selective constraint metrics with their position on the chromosome and relative to their distance from genes. We found that CNGs appear to be randomly arranged in intergenic regions, with no bias to be closer or farther from genes. Moreover, conservation and clustering of substitutions of CNGs appear to be completely independent of their distance from genes. These results suggest that the majority of CNGs are not typical of previously described regulatory elements in terms of their location. We propose models for a global role of CNGs in genome function and regulation, through long-distance cis or trans chromosomal interactions.

Comparison of preferences for object properties in the rat using paired- and free-choice paradigms

A common method for testing preference for objects is to determine which of a pair of objects is approached first in a paired-choice paradigm. In comparison, many studies of preference for environmental enrichment (EE) devices have used paradigms in which total time spent with each of a pair of objects is used to determine preference. While each of these paradigms gives a specific measure of the preference for one object in comparison to another, neither method allows comparisons between multiple objects simultaneously. Since it is possible that several EE objects would be placed in a cage together to improve animal welfare, it is important to determine measures for rats' preferences in conditions that mimic this potential home cage environment. While it would be predicted that each type of measure would produce similar rankings of objects, this has never been tested empirically. In this study, we compared two paradigms: EE objects were either presented in pairs (paired-choice comparison) or four objects were presented simultaneously (simultaneous presentation comparison). We used frequency of first interaction and time spent with each object to rank the objects in the paired-choice experiment, and time spent with each object to rank the objects in the simultaneous presentation experiment. We also considered the behaviours elicited by the objects to determine if these might be contributing to object preference. We demonstrated that object ranking based on time spent with objects from the paired-choice experiment predicted object ranking in the simultaneous presentation experiment. Additionally, we confirmed that behaviours elicited were an important determinant of time spent with an object. This provides convergent evidence that both paired choice and simultaneous comparisons provide valid measures of preference for EE objects in rats. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen bond-induced pair formation of glycine on the chiral Cu{531} surface

Enantio-specific interactions on intrinsically chiral or chirally modified surfaces can be identified experimentally via comparison of the adsorption geometries of similar nonchiral and chiral molecules. Information about the effects of substrate-related and in interactions on the adsorption geometry of glycine, the only natural nonchiral amino acid, is therefore important for identifying enantio-specific interactions of larger chiral amino acids. We have studied the long- and short-range adsorption geometry and bonding properties of glycine on the intrinsically chiral Cu{531} surface with low-energy electron diffraction, near-edge X-ray absorption One structure spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and temperature-programmed desorption. For coverages between 0.15 and 0.33 ML (saturated chemisorbed layer) and temperatures between 300 and 430 K, glycine molecules adsorb in two different azimuthal orientations, which are associated with adsorption sites on the {110} and {311} microfacets of Cu{531}. Both types of adsorption sites allow a triangular footprint with surface bonds through the two oxygen atoms and the nitrogen atom. The occupation of the two adsorption sites is equal for all coverages, which can be explained by pair formation due to similar site-specific adsorption energies and the possibility of forming hydrogen bonds between molecules on adjacent {110} and {311} sites. This is not the ease for alanine and points toward higher site specificity in the case of alanine, which is eventually responsible for the enantiomeric differences observed for the alanine system.

Evaluation and comparison of SYBR Green I Real-Time PCR and TaqMan Real-Time PCR methods for quantitative assay of Listeria monocytogenes in nutrient broth and milk

Specific traditional plate count method and real-time PCR systems based on SYBR Green I and TaqMan technologies using a specific primer pair and probe for amplification of iap-gene were used for quantitative assay of Listeria monocytogenes in seven decimal serial dilution series of nutrient broth and milk samples containing 1.58 to 1.58×107 cfu /ml and the real-time PCR methods were compared with the plate count method with respect to accuracy and sensitivity. In this study, the plate count method was performed using surface-plating of 0.1 ml of each sample on Palcam Agar. The lowest detectable level for this method was 1.58×10 cfu/ml for both nutrient broth and milk samples. Using purified DNA as a template for generation of standard curves, as few as four copies of the iap-gene could be detected per reaction with both real-time PCR assays, indicating that they were highly sensitive. When these real-time PCR assays were applied to quantification of L. monocytogenes in decimal serial dilution series of nutrient broth and milk samples, 3.16×10 to 3.16×105 copies per reaction (equals to 1.58×103 to 1.58×107 cfu/ml L. monocytogenes) were detectable. As logarithmic cycles, for Plate Count and both molecular assays, the quantitative results of the detectable steps were similar to the inoculation levels.