Ziltoid the Peritextual. Constructing Science Fiction in Music Albums through Peritexts

Den här avhandlingen studerar peritexter på musikalbumen Ziltoid the Omniscient och uppföljaren Z² av Devin Townsend respektive The Devin Townsend Project. Syftet med studien är att ta reda på hur temat science fiction kan skapas genom peritextuella komponenter så som bilder, färger, typsnitt, troper och genom eventuella intertextuella drag hos dessa komponenter. Albumen innehåller progressiv metallmusik och science fiction är ett ofta återkommande tema i genren. Jag använder mig av Gérard Genettes definition av peritexter och i stor utsträckning av Julia Kristevas grundläggande definition av intertextualitet. Science fiction-temat är påtagligt på albumen i både handlingen och peritexterna. Jag uppmärksammar på vilket sätt dessa peritexter hänsyftar till science fiction och vad detta innebär för albumen i fråga. Många allusioner till populära science fiction-filmer och -romaner förekommer i materialet och dessa bidrar till att stärka temat. Allusioner till väldigt prominenta filmer som exempelvis Star Wars och E.T. är relativt uppenbara, men allusioner till andra mindre kända science fiction-historier är svårare att identifiera. Åtskilliga science fiction-troper förekommer i albumens peritexter, som exempelvis flygande tefat, meteorer, stjärnor, planeter, hologram samt i textform i låttitlar på albumens bakre omslag. Dessutom förekommer troper i form av vad som händer i bilderna, till exempel en sammandrabbning mellan utomjordingar och människor. Utomjordingen Ziltoid är protagonisten i båda historierna och han är därmed även den mest frekvent förekommande karaktären i albumens peritexter. Det framkommer tydligt på bilderna av Ziltoid att han är en utomjording, vilket indikerar att albumen är knutna till science fiction. Ziltoid är en väldigt intertextuell figur som exempelvis alluderar till Darth Vader, E.T., Zorro och Indiana Jones. Analysen visar att albumens peritexter utnyttjas till att tydligt indikera science fiction-temat. Troper och andra visuella element som är kännetecknande för genren i allmänhet förekommer i stor utsträckning på båda albumen i studien och antyder därmed vad albumen handlar om.fi=Opinnäytetyö kokotekstinä PDF-muodossa.|en=Thesis fulltext in PDF format.|sv=Lärdomsprov tillgängligt som fulltext i PDF-format

Divine Law Enforcement and Mission Transculturality: The Finnish Missionary Society and the emerging of the first Church Rules on the Ovambo mission field in South West Africa

This article scrutinises the work of the Finnish Missionary Society as regards the creating of a Church Law in the emerging Ovambo Lutheran Church, in what is today the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia. The work resulted, in 1924, in the church’s first Church Rules. In this endeavour, the Finnish missionaries took as a model the Finnish Church Law of 1869, but also utilised elements from the old Swedish Church Law from 1686. The aim of the missionaries was to create a law that could establish proper foundations for a Lutheran Church of their own preference. In the two last chapters of the article, the issue of transculturality is discussed. It is suggested that the Finnish mission’s undertaking in Namibia was not simply characterised by the imposition of a new religion and new rules, but rather that this work was a fitting example of cultural exchange and transfusion. In this cultural exchange, various hybridised groups and individuals interacted in what would eventually result in a Lutheran church built on different cultural traditions, religious practices, and memories

Genetics of Type 2 Diabetes - Pitfalls and Possibilities

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a complex disease that is caused by a complex interplay between genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. While the major environmental factors, diet and activity level, are well known, identification of the genetic factors has been a challenge. However, recent years have seen an explosion of genetic variants in risk and protection of T2D due to the technical development that has allowed genome-wide association studies and next-generation sequencing. Today, more than 120 variants have been convincingly replicated for association with T2D and many more with diabetes-related traits. Still, these variants only explain a small proportion of the total heritability of T2D. In this review, we address the possibilities to elucidate the genetic landscape of T2D as well as discuss pitfalls with current strategies to identify the elusive unknown heritability including the possibility that our definition of diabetes and its subgroups is imprecise and thereby makes the identification of genetic causes difficult.Peer reviewe

The Gut-Kidney Axis : Putative Interconnections Between Gastrointestinal and Renal Disorders

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a devastating condition associated with increased morbidity and premature mortality. The etiology of DKD is still largely unknown. However, the risk of DKD development and progression is most likely modulated by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Patients with autoimmune diseases, like type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and celiac disease, share some genetic background. Furthermore, gastrointestinal disorders are associated with an increased risk of kidney disease, although the true mechanisms have still to be elucidated. Therefore, the principal aim of this review is to evaluate the impact of disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract on the development of renal disorders.Peer reviewe

Genetic basis of diabetic kidney disease and other diabetic complications

Diabetic kidney disease and other long-term complications are common in diabetes, and comprise the main cause of co-morbidity and premature mortality in individuals with diabetes. While familial clustering and heritability have been reported for all diabetic complications, the genetic background and the molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. In recent years, genome-wide association studies have identified a few susceptibility loci for the renal complications as well as for diabetic retinopathy, diabetic cardiovascular disease and mortality. As for many complex diseases, the genetic factors increase the risk of complications in concert with the environment, and certain associations seem specific for particular conditions, for example, SP3-CDCA7 associated with end-stage renal disease only in women, or MGMT and variants on chromosome 5q13 associated with cardiovascular mortality only under tight glycaemic control. The characterization of the phenotypes is one of the main challenges for genetic research on diabetic complications, in addition to an urgent need to increase the number of individuals with diabetes with high quality phenotypic data to be included in future genetic studies.Peer reviewe

THE EFFECT OF KINESIOTAPING COMPARED TO NO TAPE ON SURFACE EMG ACTIVITY OF THE SHOULDER MUSCLES DURING OVERHEAD FUNCTIONAL MOVEMENTS

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Kinesio Tape (KT) to no tape on electromyographic (EMG) activity of the teres minor (TM), infraspinatus (IS), and supraspinatus (SS) muscles when completing a variety of functional movement patterns. Thirty healthy individuals performed three repetitions of reaching into flexion, abduction, and external rotation with and without KT. The mean absolute EMG activity (mV) was recorded using a Delsys Trigno Wireless EMG System. There was a significant increase in EMG activity for the IS during external rotation, (t(21)=2.532, p=.019); and a significant decrease in TM, (t(21)=2.018, p=.057); and SS (t(21)=2.190, p=.04) during flexion with tape. Therefore, the application of tape may assist clinicians in altering (facilitating or decreasing) specific rotator cuff muscle activity level

Clusters provide a better holistic view of type 2 diabetes than simple clinical features

Non peer reviewe

Ethnic differences in the contribution of insulin action and secretion to type 2 diabetes in immigrants from the Middle East compared to native Swedes.

We investigated insulin action (insulin sensitivity index, ISI) and insulin secretion (oral disposition indices, DIo) and studied metabolic, demographic and lifestyle-related risk factors for type 2 diabetes and insulin action, in the largest non-European immigrant group to Sweden, immigrants from Iraq and native Swedes

Common variants in CNDP1 and CNDP2, and risk of nephropathy in type 2 diabetes.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Several genome-wide linkage studies have shown an association between diabetic nephropathy and a locus on chromosome 18q harbouring two carnosinase genes, CNDP1 and CNDP2. Carnosinase degrades carnosine (β-alanyl-L-: histidine), which has been ascribed a renal protective effect as a scavenger of reactive oxygen species. We investigated the putative associations of genetic variants in CNDP1 and CNDP2 with diabetic nephropathy (defined either as micro- or macroalbuminuria) and estimated GFR in type 2 diabetic patients from Sweden. METHODS: We genotyped nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and one trinucleotide repeat polymorphism (D18S880, five to seven leucine repeats) in CNDP1 and CNDP2 in a case-control set-up including 4,888 unrelated type 2 diabetic patients (with and without nephropathy) from Sweden (Scania Diabetes Registry). RESULTS: Two SNPs, rs2346061 in CNDP1 and rs7577 in CNDP2, were associated with an increased risk of diabetic nephropathy (rs2346061 p = 5.07 × 10(-4); rs7577 p = 0.021). The latter was also associated with estimated GFR (β = -0.037, p = 0.014), particularly in women. A haplotype including these SNPs (C-C-G) was associated with a threefold increased risk of diabetic nephropathy (OR 2.98, 95% CI 2.43-3.67, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: These data suggest that common variants in CNDP1 and CNDP2 play a role in susceptibility to kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes