19 research outputs found
“Sohrab and Rustum” : Matthew Arnold’s spectacle
No full textAbstractThis thesis is, on the one hand, an investigation into Matthew Arnold’s (1822–1888) literary communications and, on the other hand, an attempt to mediate between his writings and a twenty-first century readership. Arnold’s oeuvre is substantial and varied, but this study focuses on his epic poetry, which has remained a neglected part of his body of work despite its significance both to the author himself and to developing an understanding of Arnold’s development as a poet, cultural critic, and iconic ‘Victorian sage’. Furthermore, it is his epic poetry that seems to most fully address the theme of communication, and thus these longer poems function as points of orientation for a broader inquiry into Arnold’s communications. Arnold himself was keenly aware of the complicated status of communicative acts, but these complications have not always been acknowledged by the generations of criticism that have emerged since his death. Critics have thus produced images of Arnold which have not always done justice to the complexity of his communications. Based on an understanding of ‘communicative’ as a position of mediation between writers and readers, this thesis addresses the need for a more balanced communicative framework for mediating between Arnold’s writings in general — and his epic poetry in particular — his critics, and present audiences.Original papersOriginal papers are not included in the electronic version of the dissertation.Alarauhio, J.-P. (2012). Towards a Dialogical Approach to Matthew Arnold. In Sell, Roger D. (Ed.) Literary Community-Making: The dialogicality of English Texts from the Seventeenth Century to the Present. (131 - 142) Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Alarauhio, J.-P. (2007). Sohrab and Rustum and Balder Dead – Communicating about Communication. In Nordic Journal of English Studies, 6(2), 47 - 64.Alarauhio, J.-P. (in press). Sohrab and Rustum – Matthew Arnold’s Spectacle. https://doi.org/10.1075/fillm.11.06alaSelf-archived versionTiivistelmäTässä väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan Matthew Arnoldin (1822–1888) kirjallista kommunikaatiota, pyrkien välittämään hänen kirjoitustensa merkityksiä 2000-luvun yleisölle. Arnoldin kirjallinen tuotanto on runsas ja monipuolinen, mutta tässä tutkimuksessa keskitytään erityisesti hänen runoepiikkansa tulkintaan. Tämä osa hänen työstään on jäänyt tutkimuksessa verrattain vähäiseen asemaan huolimatta siitä, että Arnoldin kaksi lyhyttä runoeeposta olivat tärkeitä paitsi hänelle itselleen, mutta erityisesti osana hänen kehitystään runoilijana, kulttuurikriitikkona ja ikonisena viktoriaanisen ajan julkisena intellektuellina.Arnoldin runoepiikka vaikuttaa myös tutkivan kommunikaation teemaa laajemmin kuin hänen muut runonsa, ja toimii myös tällä tavoin keskiönä hänen oman kommunikaationsa laajemmalle tarkastelulle. Arnold oli varsin tietoinen kommunikaatiopyrkimystensä haasteista, mutta näitä ongelmia ei ole hänen kuolemansa jälkeen ilmestyneessä kritiikissä aina otettu huomioon. Näin on syntynyt monia Arnold-käsityksiä, jotka eivät välttämättä tee oikeutta hänen kommunikaationsa monivivahteisuudelle. Tämä väitöskirja pyrkii tuottamaan tasapainoisemman kommunikatiivisen lähestymistavan toimiakseen välittäjänä Arnoldin kirjoitusten, eritoten hänen eepostensa, ja nykylukijan välillä.OsajulkaisutOsajulkaisut eivät sisälly väitöskirjan elektroniseen versioon.Alarauhio, J.-P. (2012). Towards a Dialogical Approach to Matthew Arnold. In Sell, Roger D. (Ed.) Literary Community-Making: The dialogicality of English Texts from the Seventeenth Century to the Present. (131 - 142) Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Alarauhio, J.-P. (2007). Sohrab and Rustum and Balder Dead – Communicating about Communication. In Nordic Journal of English Studies, 6(2), 47 - 64.Alarauhio, J.-P. (in press). Sohrab and Rustum – Matthew Arnold’s Spectacle. https://doi.org/10.1075/fillm.11.06alaRinnakkaistallennettu versioAcademic dissertation to be presented with the assent of the Doctoral Training Committee of Human Sciences of the University of Oulu for public defence in the OP-auditorium (L10), Linnanmaa, on 26 January 2019, at 12 noonAbstract
This thesis is, on the one hand, an investigation into Matthew Arnold’s (1822–1888) literary communications and, on the other hand, an attempt to mediate between his writings and a twenty-first century readership. Arnold’s oeuvre is substantial and varied, but this study focuses on his epic poetry, which has remained a neglected part of his body of work despite its significance both to the author himself and to developing an understanding of Arnold’s development as a poet, cultural critic, and iconic ‘Victorian sage’. Furthermore, it is his epic poetry that seems to most fully address the theme of communication, and thus these longer poems function as points of orientation for a broader inquiry into Arnold’s communications. Arnold himself was keenly aware of the complicated status of communicative acts, but these complications have not always been acknowledged by the generations of criticism that have emerged since his death. Critics have thus produced images of Arnold which have not always done justice to the complexity of his communications. Based on an understanding of ‘communicative’ as a position of mediation between writers and readers, this thesis addresses the need for a more balanced communicative framework for mediating between Arnold’s writings in general — and his epic poetry in particular — his critics, and present audiences.Tiivistelmä
Tässä väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan Matthew Arnoldin (1822–1888) kirjallista kommunikaatiota, pyrkien välittämään hänen kirjoitustensa merkityksiä 2000-luvun yleisölle. Arnoldin kirjallinen tuotanto on runsas ja monipuolinen, mutta tässä tutkimuksessa keskitytään erityisesti hänen runoepiikkansa tulkintaan. Tämä osa hänen työstään on jäänyt tutkimuksessa verrattain vähäiseen asemaan huolimatta siitä, että Arnoldin kaksi lyhyttä runoeeposta olivat tärkeitä paitsi hänelle itselleen, mutta erityisesti osana hänen kehitystään runoilijana, kulttuurikriitikkona ja ikonisena viktoriaanisen ajan julkisena intellektuellina.
Arnoldin runoepiikka vaikuttaa myös tutkivan kommunikaation teemaa laajemmin kuin hänen muut runonsa, ja toimii myös tällä tavoin keskiönä hänen oman kommunikaationsa laajemmalle tarkastelulle. Arnold oli varsin tietoinen kommunikaatiopyrkimystensä haasteista, mutta näitä ongelmia ei ole hänen kuolemansa jälkeen ilmestyneessä kritiikissä aina otettu huomioon. Näin on syntynyt monia Arnold-käsityksiä, jotka eivät välttämättä tee oikeutta hänen kommunikaationsa monivivahteisuudelle. Tämä väitöskirja pyrkii tuottamaan tasapainoisemman kommunikatiivisen lähestymistavan toimiakseen välittäjänä Arnoldin kirjoitusten, eritoten hänen eepostensa, ja nykylukijan välillä
Grafeenin epäpuhtauksien ja reunojen mallintaminen
No full textGraphene is a two-dimensional allotrope of carbon with incredible mechanical strength, high charge carrier mobility and excellent thermal conductivity. These remarkable properties present numerous potential applications in nanoelectronics and related fields. However, using graphene in a field-effect transistor requires opening a band gap, which can be achieved by cutting graphene into ribbons. Furthermore, the electronic structure and transport properties of graphene are modified by various kinds of defects, such as vacancies, impurities and grain boundaries. Both the defects and edges can host magnetic states that are useful in spintronics applications.
In this Thesis, impurities and edges in graphene are simulated using computational techniques. Part of the research has been done in collaboration with experimental groups. The computational simulations provide the necessary link between theory and experiment, aiding in the interpretation of the measurements. The main computational methods used are tight-binding, exact diagonalization and density functional theory, of which the tight-binding and exact diagonalization methods were implemented by the author. Exact diagonalization was used to evaluate correlation energies and reference data to exchange-correlation functionals in two-dimensional quantum dots, electron-positron annihilation in three-dimensional quantum dots, and many-body properties of finite graphene nanoribbons.
The research sheds light on the electronic and magnetic properties of graphene. By using the first-principles density functional theory, the formation energies of silicon and silicon-nitrogen impurities were evaluated to identify the relevant low-energy configurations. By fitting to tight-binding models, the transport properties of systems containing randomly distributed impurities were determined. Moreover, hydrogen adatoms with noncollinear spins were shown to scatter the electron spin strongly close to the charge neutrality point. The narrow finite graphene nanoribbons were found to have only small band gaps, and the simulated scanning tunneling microscopy maps and spectra of the ribbons agreed with the experiments. The precise atomic structure at the graphene-hexagonal boron nitride interfaces was determined with the help of simulations, and the interfaces were shown to host electronic states similar to those on the graphene edges. Overall, the theoretical and computational results build up the knowledge and understanding of graphene-related systems.Grafeeni on hiilen kaksiulotteinen muoto. Sen rakenteellisen vahvuuden sekä hyvän sähkön- ja lämmönjohtavuuden ansiosta sille on esitetty monia mahdollisia sovelluskohteita esimerkiksi nanoelektroniikassa. Grafeenin käyttö transistoreissa kuitenkin vaatisi äärellisen energia-aukon, joka saadaan leikkaamalla grafeenia nauhoiksi. Grafeenin elektronirakenne ja kuljetusominaisuudet riippuvat hilavirheistä, kuten vakansseista, epäpuhtauksista ja raerajoista. Epäpuhtauksiin ja reunohin liittyvät tilat voivat olla magneettisia, mitä voisi hyödyntää spintroniikan sovelluksissa.
Tässä väitöskirjassa grafeenin epäpuhtauksia ja reunoja on tutkittu laskennallisilla menetelmillä. Osa tutkimuksesta on tehty yhteistyössä kokeellisten ryhmien kanssa. Tietokonesimulaatiot liittävät teorian ja kokeet toisiinsa ja auttavat kokeellisten mittausten tulkinnassa. Työssä on käytetty tiukan sidoksen mallia, eksaktia diagonalisointia ja tiheysfunktionaaliteoriaa, joista kirjoittaja on toteuttanut kaksi ensimmäiseksi mainittua. Eksaktia diagonalisointia on sovellettu muun muassa kaksiulotteisten kvanttipisteiden korrelaatioenergian sekä vaihto- ja korrelaatiofunktionaalien vertailukohtana, kolmiulotteisten kvanttipisteiden elektroni-positroni-annihilaation mallinnukseen, sekä äärellisten grafeeninauhojen monen kappaleen ominaisuuksien laskemiseen.
Tutkimus paljastaa tietoa grafeenin elektronirakenteesta ja magneettisista ominaisuuksista. Tiheysfunktionaaliteoriaa soveltamalla on laskettu erilaisten pii- ja pii-typpi -epäpuhtauksien muodostumisenergioita, jotta matalaenergiset rakenteet voidaan tunnistaa. Tiukan sidoksen malliin sovittamalla voidaan määrittää kuljetusominaisuuksille tunnusomaiset piirteet todenmukaisissa epäjärjestyneissä systeemeissä. Tämän lisäksi magneettisten vetyatomien muodostamien epäpuhtauksien on osoitettu sirottavan elektronin spiniä voimakkaasti, erityisesti jos epäpuhtaustilojen spinit osoittavat eri suuntiin. Tunnelointimikroskoopilla mitattiin hyvin pieniä energia-aukkoja ohuille grafeeninauhoille, ja mittauksia mallintavat laskut olivat sopusoinnussa mittaustulosten kanssa. Grafeenin ja boorinitridin rajapintojen tarkka atomirakenne määritettiin simulaatioiden avulla, ja rajapinnoille näytettiin muodostuvan samankaltaisia reunatiloja kuin grafeenissakin. Työn teoreettiset ja laskennalliset tulokset edistävät grafeeniin pohjautuvia sovelluksia
The evolving reputation of Richard Hooker : an examination of responses to the Ecclesiastical Polity, 1640-1714.
No full textSIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN033104 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
Author Correction: Suppression of a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in the Italian municipality of Vo’
No full textFatty acids and their metabolism critically regulate podocyte survival
No full textDiabetic nephropathy (DN) is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease in industrialized countries, and most affected patients have type 2 diabetes. Podocyte injury and loss are considered critical in the development, and progression of DN. Several factors of the diabetic milieu are well known to impair function and survival of podocytes. However, the role of free fatty acids (FFAs), which are elevated in type 2 diabetes, and the role of their metabolism are just emerging in the pathogenesis of DN. FFAs were reported to regulate podocyte survival. Saturated FFAs, i.e. palmitic acid, were found to induce endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and podocyte death, whereas monounsaturated FFAs, i.e. palmitoleic acid or oleic acid, were protective.
The aims of the present study were to investigate whether FFA metabolism is regulated in glomeruli of type 2 diabetic patients with DN and whether regulation of FFA metabolism affects the susceptibility of podocytes towards palmitic acid. Particularly, I aimed to investigate whether regulation of fatty acid oxidation (FAO) modifies palmitic acid-induced podocyte death. As genome wide association studies suggest that acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) 2, an important enzyme in the regulation of FAO, is involved in the pathogenesis of DN, I performed detailed studies investigating the role of ACCs in podocytes. Furthermore, I explored the effect of palmitic acid on podocytes in combination with well-known proapoptotic stimuli of the diabetic milieu.
The present study uncovered that palmitic acid can aggravate the toxicity of other factors which are known to be important in the pathogenesis of DN and which are considered to cause podocyte loss. In particular the toxicity of high glucose concentrations and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β are substantially increased by palmitic acid, whereas the effect of palmitic acid on tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α induced podocyte death is discret.
In the main part of this study FFA metabolism and its effect on palmitic acid induced podocyte death was investigated. The study finds that in glomeruli of type 2 diabetic patients mRNA expression levels of several key enzymes involved in fatty acid metabolism are altered. Of particular relevance for my detailed studies on FAO, a significant upregulation of all three isoforms of carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT)-1, the rate-limiting enzyme for FAO, and a downregulation of ACC-2, which catalyzes the formation of the CPT-1 inhibitor malonyl-CoA, are found which suggest a disposition for increased FAO. In vitro, stimulation of FAO by aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1β-D-ribofuranoside (Aicar) or by adiponectin, activators of the low-energy sensor AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), protect from palmitic acid induced podocyte death. Conversely, inhibition of CPT-1, a downstream target of AMPK, by etomoxir augments palmitic acid toxicity and impedes the protective Aicar effect. Etomoxir blocked the Aicar induced FAO measured with tritium labeled palmitic acid. Of note, only double knockdown of ACC1 and ACC2 has a protective effect on palmitic acid induced cell death, which indicates that both isoforms contribute to the regulation of FAO in podocytes. Furthermore, the effect of Aicar is associated with a reduction of ER-stress as indicated by a significant attenuation of the palmitic acid induced upregulation of immunoglobulin heavy chain binding protein (BiP), an ER chaperone, and of the proapoptotic transcription factor C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP).
In conclusion, palmitic acid increases the toxicity of other factors known to contribute to podocyte loss, which underlines the potentially important contribution of elevated saturated FFAs in the pathogenesis of DN. An important role of FFAs and of their metabolism in the pathogenesis of DN is further suggested by profound changes in gene expression levels of key enzymes of FFA metabolism in glomerular extracts of type 2 diabetic patients. The changed expression profile indicates a compensatory, protective response. Moreover, the results of this study uncover that stimulation of FAO by modulating the AMPK-ACC-CPT-1 pathway protects from palmitic acid induced podocyte death. The results of this study should encourage further investigations to evaluate the therapeutic potential of interfering with FFA metabolism specifically with stimulating FAO for the prevention and therapy of DN
Author Correction: SARS-CoV-2 antibody dynamics and transmission from community-wide serological testing in the Italian municipality of Vo’
No full textTilaäänentoisto virtuaaliympäristössä – havaintoja paikantamisesta, suunnistamisesta ja orientaatiosta
No full textThe topic of this research was spatial sound reproduction in a cave-like virtual room (EVE) of the Helsinki University of Technology. Spatial sound reproduction is widely used, for example, in movie industry and computer games. In virtual environments it has been employed less than visual and tactile modalities. There are several common tasks in virtual reality applications in which spatial audio could be used. This thesis concentrates on localization, navigation, and orientation.
This research is one of the first studies in localization accuracy of loudspeaker reproduction in a virtual room. In the localization experiments, subjects pointed to the perceived direction of the sound source. According to the measurements, the achieved localization accuracy was at the same level as presented in literature for headphone reproduction. Localization of the moving sound sources was not as accurate as localization of the static sources.
In the navigation experiments, the task of the users was to move from waypoint to waypoint according to the visual and auditory cues. In the first experiment, auditory, visual, and audio-visual conditions were tested, and in the second experiment, different auditory cues were compared. Audio-visual navigation was the most efficient. Analysis of the travel paths indicated that an auditory cue was used at the beginning to locate direction of the next target, and a visual cue was used in the final approach to the target. In addition, all the subjects could navigate using the auditory cue alone. Auditory navigation performance increased when additional information about the distance and elevation of the target was included in auditory cues.
In the orientation experiment, subjects flew a predefined route inside an architectural model. Their task was to keep the model as balanced as possible during their flight. Three auditory artificial horizons were designed using "ball on a plate" metaphor. The sound was played from the direction towards which the virtual world was tilted. According to test results, the designed horizons helped the user to keep the model better in an upright position than without them.
Additional results included how the design of the virtual room and direction indication method affect on measured localization accuracy.Tutkimuksen kohteena on ollut kaiuttimin tuotetun tilaäänentoisto Teknillisen korkeakoulun cave-tyyppisessä virtuaalitilassa (EVE). Tilaääntä käytetään laajalti muun muassa elokuvissa ja tietokonepeleissä. Keinotodellisuustutkimuksessa pääpaino on äänen sijasta toistaiseksi ollut näkö- ja voimapalautteen tuottamisessa. Keinotodellisuussovelluksissa on monia tehtäviä, joissa tilaääntä voidaan käyttää apuna. Tässä väitöskirjassan keskitytään paikannukseen, navigointiin ja asennon havaitsemiseen (orientaatioon).
Tämä tutkimus on ensimmäisiä joissa on mitattu virtuaalitilojen kaiuttimin toteutetun tilaäänentoiston paikantamistarkkuutta. Paikannustarkkuus mitattiin käyttäjätestein, joissa testihenkilöt osoittivat havaitsemansa äänen tulosuunnan. Mittausten mukaan saavutettu äänilähteiden paikannustarkkuus on samaa tasoa kuin parhaimmillaan kuulokkeita käytettäessä. Liikkuvien äänilähteiden paikantaminen on epätarkempaa kuin staattisten.
Navigointikokeissa tehtävänä oli liikkua kääntöpisteeltä toiselle annettujen vihjeiden perusteella. Kokeissa verrattiin ensin auditorisen, visuaalisen ja audiovisuaalisen vihjeen eroa ja toisessa vaiheessa erilaisten auditoristen vihjeiden eroa. Audiovisuaalinen navigointi oli kaikkein tehokkainta. Testihenkilöiden liikkumisreittejä analysoitaessa havaittiin, että alussa kohteen suuntaa haettaessa auditorisesta vihjeestä on kaikkein eniten hyötyä. Loppulähestyminen kohteeseen taas tapahtui parhaiten visuaalisen vihjeen avulla. Kaikki koehenkilöt suorituivat navigointitehtävästä, myös pelkän auditorisen vihjeen avulla. Kun auditorisen vihjeen avulla välitettiin myös etäisyys ja korkeustieto, käyttäjät navigoivat paremmin.
Orientaatiotestissä käyttäjien tehtävänä oli lentää ennalta määritelty reitti arkkitehtonisen mallin sisällä ja samalla pitää malli mahdollisimman vaakasuorassa. Testiä varten suunniteltiin ja toteutettiin kolme erilaista auditorista keinohorisonttia. Testihenkilö sai kuulla auditorisen vihjeen suunnasta, johon malli oli kallistunut eniten. Testin perusteella malli pystyttiin pitämään paremmin vaakasuorassa auditoristen keinohorisonttien avulla kuin ilman niitä.
Päätulosten lisäksi tutkimuksen aikana saatiin selville, miten virtuaalitilan ja osoituslaitteen suunnittelu vaikuttaa mitattuun paikannustarkkuuteen.reviewe
Antimicrobial Activities of Bacteria Associated with the Brown Alga Padina pavonica
No full textGeneral rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. Macroalgae belonging to the genus Padina are known to produce antibacterial compounds that may inhibit growth of human-and animal pathogens. Hitherto, it was unclear whether this antibacterial activity is produced by the macroalga itself or by secondary metabolite producing epiphytic bacteria. Here we report antibacterial activities of epiphytic bacteria isolated from Padina pavonica (Peacocks tail) located on northern coast of Tunisia. Eighteen isolates were obtained in pure culture and tested for antimicrobial activities. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences the isolates were closely related to Proteobacteria (12 isolates; 2 Alpha-and 10 Gammaproteobacteria), Firmicutes (4 isolates) and Actinobacteria (2 isolates). The antimicrobial activity was assessed as inhibition of growth of 12 species of pathogenic bacteria (Aeromonas salmonicida, A. hydrophila, Enterobacter xiangfangensis, Enterococcus faecium, Escherichia coli, Micrococcus sp., Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sp., Vibrio alginoliticus, V. proteolyticus, V. vulnificus) and one pathogenic yeast (Candida albicans). Among the Firmicutes, isolate P8, which is closely related to Bacillus pumilus, displayed the largest spectrum of growth inhibition of the pathogenic bacteria tested. The results emphasize the potential use of P. pavonica associated antagonistic bacteria as producers of novel antibacterial compounds
