Uskonnolliset tilaisuudet verkossa : ominaispiirteet ja kokemukset viidessä seurakunnassa

This thesis is a qualitative study of religious events on the Internet, characteristics and experiences in five congregations. The main data collection method was the interview. The following Lutheran congregations were involved in the study: Helsinki Cathedral congregation (Agricola church) and congregations in Kangasala, in Lieto, in Varkaus and in Oulu. The rapid technological development of the Internet, especially the increase of the access speeds in the network, has made possible to transfer live video and audio over a network. Broadcasting of religious events through the network has been proven to be an inexpensive way to bring a service of church to be followed through the network. The systems for religious events were considered to be easy to use in the studied congregations. The image quality was rated to be good on average by the interviewees. The sound quality was evaluated up to be a very good in three churches by the interviewees. The study shows, that there are on average same number of people as followers through the network as number of persons in the church for worship. Taking into account also those people who follow the worship service afterwards via the network, the number of people is even larger than number of people present in the church during the service. Religious events in the church on holidays are followed through the network more than the usual Sunday worships. Especially popular have been the holiday music productions, such as Easter passions that have collected thousands of followers across the network. Based on the interviews, the network service is appreciated most favorable by the members of the congregation. Some of the priests were a little worried at the beginning, when the service is transmitted to the network, but they became accustomed to it very soon. The most common motive for the network transmission has been to bring the church where the people are. Webcasts have become an integral part of the weekend's media offerings in the studied congregations. Other motives to offer webcasts are to proclaim gospel in modern media. In the church of Agricola there is willingness to raise awareness of the spiritual artists for webcasts. Network broadcasts have influenced in a positive way to the image of the congregation. Many local newspapers were interested in the topic and have written articles in magazines. The network broadcasts of the religious events have not influenced descending to the number of visitors in the events in studied churches. In all the studied congregations there were built communal and ritual elements on the webcasts. Examples of ritual elements are e.g. possibility to send prayers, to participate in the offering, or to sing hymns and spiritual songs when the hymn numbers are shown, or the lyrics are displayed on the screen. There is also possibility to send prayers via webcast to the religious event. It is part of communal dimension when the congregation prays together for prayer requests sent to the religious event. The dimension of the community in prayers is linked to the fact that there should be a possibility to pray for the prayers, which is sent to the service. In three congregations there have been made trials for discussion possibilities during the network broadcast of service. Experience has shown that most functioning discussion platforms have been the platforms of social media (like Facebook) where the discussion is made by own names. By the time of this interview, the online discussions have not been very active.Tämä tutkielma on laadullinen tutkimus uskonnollisista tilaisuuksista verkossa, niiden ominaispiirteistä ja kokemuksista tutkituissa viidessä seurakunnassa. Pääasiallisena aineiston keruun menetelmänä on haastattelu. Tutkimuksessa mukana olevat seurakunnat ovat Helsingin tuomiokirkkoseurakunta (Agricolan kirkko), Kangasalan seurakunta, Liedon seurakunta, Varkauden seurakunta ja Oulun seurakuntayhtymä. Internetin nopea tekninen kehitys, erityisesti verkon yhteysnopeuksien kasvaminen, on mahdollistanut elävän kuvan ja äänen välittämisen verkon kautta. Uskonnollisten tilaisuuksien lähettäminen verkkoon on osoittautunut edulliseksi tavaksi tuoda seurakunnan keskeistä sisältöä verkon kautta seurattavaksi. Tutkituissa seurakunnissa verkkokirkkojärjestelmiä pidettiin pääosin helppokäyttöisinä. Haastateltavat arvioivat kuvan laadun keskimäärin hyväksi verkkokirkoissa. Äänen laatu arvioitiin jopa erittäin hyväksi verkkolähetyksissä kolmessa tutkitussa seurakunnassa. Tutkituissa seurakunnissa jumalanpalveluksia seuraa verkon kautta keskimäärin saman verran ihmisiä, mitä kirkossa on läsnäolijoita jumalanpalveluksessa. Kun otetaan huomioon myös ne henkilöt, jotka katsovat jumalanpalveluksen verkosta jälkeenpäin, nousee verkon kautta seuranneiden lukumäärä suuremmaksi kuin kirkossa läsnä olleiden lukumäärä. Juhlapyhien jumalanpalveluksia seurataan verkon kautta enemmän kuin tavallisten sunnuntaiden jumalanpalveluksia. Erityisen suosittuja ovat olleet juhlapyhien musiikkiproduktiot, esimerkiksi pääsiäisajan passiot, jotka ovat keränneet tuhansia seuraajia verkon välityksellä. Haastattelujen perusteella myönteisimmin palveluun ovat suhtautuneet seurakuntalaiset, joille palvelu on suunnattu. Osa papeista oli alussa hieman huolestuneita, kun lähetys menee verkkoon, mutta siihen totuttiin varsin pian. Yleisin motiivi verkkolähetyksen tarjoamiseen on ollut viedä kirkko sinne, missä ihmiset ovat. Verkkolähetyksistä on tullut olennainen osa viikonlopun mediatarjontaa. Osassa tutkituista seurakunnista evankeliumin eteenpäin vieminen nähtiin myös tärkeänä verkkolähetyksissä. Agricolan kirkossa haluttiin tuoda esiin myös hengellisen musiikin artisteja verkkolähetysten avulla. Verkkolähetysten aloittaminen on vaikuttanut positiivisella tavalla seurakuntien julkisuuskuvaan. Monet paikallislehdet olivat kiinnostuneet asiasta ja tehneet juttuja lehtiin. Kirkossa kävijöiden mää-rään verkkolähetykset eivät ole vaikuttaneet laskevasti tutkituissa seurakunnissa. Kaikissa tutkimuksessa mukana olleissa seurakunnissa oli rakennettu verkkolähetysten yhteyteen yhteisöllisiä ja rituaalisia elementtejä. Rituaalisia tai uskonnon harjoittamiseen liittyviä elementtejä olivat esimerkiksi mahdollisuus lähettää rukouksia, osallistua kolehtiin tai laulaa virsien ja hengellisten laulujen mukana, kun virsien numerot ilmoitetaan tai laulujen sanat tulevat näkyviin kuvaruudulle. Verkon välityksellä voidaan lähettää myös rukouksia uskonnolliseen tilaisuuteen. Tämä on tärkeä yhteisöllinen elementti, kun seurakuntalaisten lähettämien esirukouspyyntöjen puolesta rukoillaan tilaisuudessa yhdessä. Rukousten osalta verkon kautta tapahtuva yhteisöllisyys on sidoksissa uskonnollisen tilaisuuden yhteisöllisyyteen. Kolmessa seurakunnassa oli kokeiltu keskustelumahdollisuutta verkkolähetysten aikana. Kokemusten perusteella parhaiten toimiviksi ovat osoittautuneet valmiit sosiaalisen median keskustelualustat (esimerkiksi Facebook), joissa voidaan käydä keskustelua omalla nimellä. Haastatteluhetkeen mennessä keskustelut verkkolähetyksen yhteydessä eivät olleet virinneet kovinkaan paljon

Engineering of Three-Finger Fold Toxins Creates Ligands with Original Pharmacological Profiles for Muscarinic and Adrenergic Receptors

Protein engineering approaches are often a combination of rational design and directed evolution using display technologies. Here, we test “loop grafting,” a rational design method, on three-finger fold proteins. These small reticulated proteins have exceptional affinity and specificity for their diverse molecular targets, display protease-resistance, and are highly stable and poorly immunogenic. The wealth of structural knowledge makes them good candidates for protein engineering of new functionality. Our goal is to enhance the efficacy of these mini-proteins by modifying their pharmacological properties in order to extend their use in imaging, diagnostics and therapeutic applications. Using the interaction of three-finger fold toxins with muscarinic and adrenergic receptors as a model, chimeric toxins have been engineered by substituting loops on toxin MT7 by those from toxin MT1. The pharmacological impact of these grafts was examined using binding experiments on muscarinic receptors M1 and M4 and on the α1A-adrenoceptor. Some of the designed chimeric proteins have impressive gain of function on certain receptor subtypes achieving an original selectivity profile with high affinity for muscarinic receptor M1 and α1A-adrenoceptor. Structure-function analysis supported by crystallographic data for MT1 and two chimeras permits a molecular based interpretation of these gains and details the merits of this protein engineering technique. The results obtained shed light on how loop permutation can be used to design new three-finger proteins with original pharmacological profiles

Clinical Validation of Integrated Nucleic Acid and Protein Detection on an Electrochemical Biosensor Array for Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosis

BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common infection that poses a substantial healthcare burden, yet its definitive diagnosis can be challenging. There is a need for a rapid, sensitive and reliable analytical method that could allow early detection of UTI and reduce unnecessary antibiotics. Pathogen identification along with quantitative detection of lactoferrin, a measure of pyuria, may provide useful information towards the overall diagnosis of UTI. Here, we report an integrated biosensor platform capable of simultaneous pathogen identification and detection of urinary biomarker that could aid the effectiveness of the treatment and clinical management. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The integrated pathogen 16S rRNA and host lactoferrin detection using the biosensor array was performed on 113 clinical urine samples collected from patients at risk for complicated UTI. For pathogen detection, the biosensor used sandwich hybridization of capture and detector oligonucleotides to the target analyte, bacterial 16S rRNA. For detection of the protein biomarker, the biosensor used an analogous electrochemical sandwich assay based on capture and detector antibodies. For this assay, a set of oligonucleotide probes optimized for hybridization at 37°C to facilitate integration with the immunoassay was developed. This probe set targeted common uropathogens including E. coli, P. mirabilis, P. aeruginosa and Enterococcus spp. as well as less common uropathogens including Serratia, Providencia, Morganella and Staphylococcus spp. The biosensor assay for pathogen detection had a specificity of 97% and a sensitivity of 89%. A significant correlation was found between LTF concentration measured by the biosensor and WBC and leukocyte esterase (p<0.001 for both). CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: We successfully demonstrate simultaneous detection of nucleic acid and host immune marker on a single biosensor array in clinical samples. This platform can be used for multiplexed detection of nucleic acid and protein as the next generation of urinary tract infection diagnostics

New mechanistic insights, novel treatment paradigms, and clinical progress in cerebrovascular diseases

The past decade has brought tremendous progress in diagnostic and therapeutic options for cerebrovascular diseases as exemplified by the advent of thrombectomy in ischemic stroke, benefitting a steeply increasing number of stroke patients and potentially paving the way for a renaissance of neuroprotectants. Progress in basic science has been equally impressive. Based on a deeper understanding of pathomechanisms underlying cerebrovascular diseases, new therapeutic targets have been identified and novel treatment strategies such as pre- and post-conditioning methods were developed. Moreover, translationally relevant aspects are increasingly recognized in basic science studies, which is believed to increase their predictive value and the relevance of obtained findings for clinical application.This review reports key results from some of the most remarkable and encouraging achievements in neurovascular research that have been reported at the 10th International Symposium on Neuroprotection and Neurorepair. Basic science topics discussed herein focus on aspects such as neuroinflammation, extracellular vesicles, and the role of sex and age on stroke recovery. Translational reports highlighted endovascular techniques and targeted delivery methods, neurorehabilitation, advanced functional testing approaches for experimental studies, pre-and post-conditioning approaches as well as novel imaging and treatment strategies. Beyond ischemic stroke, particular emphasis was given on activities in the fields of traumatic brain injury and cerebral hemorrhage in which promising preclinical and clinical results have been reported. Although the number of neutral outcomes in clinical trials is still remarkably high when targeting cerebrovascular diseases, we begin to evidence stepwise but continuous progress towards novel treatment options. Advances in preclinical and translational research as reported herein are believed to have formed a solid foundation for this progress