A Kuznets rise and a Piketty fall : income inequality in Finland, 1865–1934

This study presents the new Gini coefficient and top income share series for Finland in the years 1865–1934 by utilizing Finnish tax statistics, which provide data on a poor country on the threshold of modern economic growth. Income inequality was relatively moderate in 1865, while famine (1867–1868) decreased it further. Income inequality increased substantially during the late nineteenth century, then declined during WWI and its aftermath, followed by another increase in inequality in the late 1920s that was halted by the Great Depression. The rising level of inequality before WWI fits well with the ideas of the Kuznets curve and maximum inequality, whereas the decline in inequality was due to shocks (e.g., civil war).Peer reviewe

Ydinmagneettinen resonanssimittaus nestemäisen heliumin lämpötiloissa

In this master’s thesis I describe our recently upgraded measurement techniques and devices based on the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques used to investigate superfluid helium. At present, our research concentrates on the superfluid phase 3He-B. The most important part in our NMR circuit is a two-stage cryogenic MESFET preamplifier operating at 4 K. It is capacitively coupled to a high-Q (Q approximately 40000 in test conditions) LC-resonance circuit. The 3He-B sample is placed inside the superconducting pick-up coil, which is a part of the resonance circuit. High sensitivity and low noise levels are the requirements for the measurement circuitry. Our measurements have shown the signal-to-noise level to be around 8000 which is enough to detect small changes in the signal from the superfluid 3He-B sample. I also present the theories on which our measurements are based and analyze the NMR responses measured from the normal fluid and from the superfluid. The effect of rotation and vortices on the signal response is explained. We have also measured spin-wave spectra at different temperatures and rotation speeds. The data we have gathered shows the NMR response to be congruent with the theories and earlier measurements. All 3He measurements have been performed in a rotating cryostat, with which we can achieve sample temperatures below 500 μK. Overall, the measurement accuracy is enough to investigate the properties of 3He-B on approaching the zero temperature limit.Tässä diplomityössä esittelen supranesteheliumin tutkimuksessa käyttämiämme ja viimeisen vuoden aikana uudistamiamme ydinmagneettiseen resonanssiin (nuclear magnetic resonance, NMR) perustuvia mittaustekniikoita. Tällä hetkellä tutkimuksemme keskittyvät 3He-B supranesteeseen. NMR-mittauspiirimme tärkein osa on 4 K:n lämpötilassa toimiva kahden MESFET:in kaskodikytkentään perustuva esivahvistin, joka on kapasitiivisesti kytketty korkean Q-arvon (testiolosuhteissamme Q-arvo noin 40000) LC-resonanssipiiriin. 3He-B supranestenäyte on sijoitettu resonanssipiirin osana olevan suprajohtavan kelan sisään. Mittauspiiriltä vaaditaan korkeaa herkkyyttä ja vähäistä kohinatasoa. Olemme mitanneet signaali-kohinasuhteen olevan luokkaa 8000, joka on riittävän hyvä havaitaksemme pienet näytteen aiheuttamat muutokset signaalissa. Esittelen myös mittaustemme perustana olevan teorian ja analysoin sekä normaali- että supranestetilasta mittaamiamme NMR-vasteita. Myös pyörityksen ja kvantittuneiden virtauspyörteiden eli vorteksien vaikutus NMR-signaaliin selostetaan. Olemme mitanneet spin-aaltospektrejä eri lämpötiloissa sekä eri pyöritysnopeuksilla. Keräämämme mittausaineisto osoittaa NMR-vasteen olevan teorioiden mukainen. Kaikki 3He-mittaukset on tehty pyörivässä kryostaatissa, jolla voimme jäähdyttää näytteemme alle 500 μK:n lämpötilaan. Kaiken kaikkiaan laitteistomme pystyy riittävän tarkkoihin NMR-mittauksiin tutkiessamme 3He-B:n ominaisuuksia nollalämpötilarajaa lähestyttäessä

Slow science: vaihtoehto yliopiston macdonaldisoitumiselle?

Suomalaisessa yliopistolaitoksessa on toteutettu 2000-luvun aikana merkittäviä (tiede)poliittiisia uudistuksia, joiden myötä siinä on alettu jäljitellä talouselämän toimintatapoja. Yliopiston toimintaa on pyritty tehostamaan ja nopeuttamaan tavalla, joka muistuttaa kriitikkojen mielestä pikaruokaketjun toimintaa. Yliopiston macdonaldisoituminen on jo käsite (mm. Kaita-Aho 2007)

Taiteellinen tutkimus – jatkuva prototyyppi

Teema: taiteellinen tutkimus.Vertaisarvioitu artikkeli.Lehden numeron taiteilijan taidekuvista vain kuvatekstit, ei kuvia

Lignin-Rich PHWE Hemicellulose Extracts Responsible for Extended Emulsion Stabilization

Peer reviewe

Oseltamivir treatment of influenza A and B infections in infants

Background: Oseltamivir treatment is currently the only way of managing influenza in young infants for whom influenza vaccines are not licensed, but little data exist on the effectiveness of the treatment in this age group.Methods: In a prospective study, we enrolled 431 newborn infants and followed them up for 10 months during their first respiratory season (September 2017-June 2018). During each respiratory illness, we examined the infants and obtained nasopharyngeal specimens for determination of the viral etiology. Infants with influenza were re-examined at short intervals, and additional nasopharyngeal specimens were obtained at each visit for measuring the viral load. All infants with symptoms Results: Among 23 infants with influenza A, the mean total duration of illness in oseltamivir recipients was 82.1 hours, compared with 253.5 hours in infants without treatment (P = .0003). For infants with influenza B, the corresponding durations were 110.0 and 173.9 hours, respectively (P = .03). In infants with influenza A, total symptom scores were significantly lower in oseltamivir-treated infants at all time points between days 3 and 11 after the onset of therapy. In most children with either influenza A or B, viral antigen concentrations declined rapidly within 1-2 days after the initiation of oseltamivir treatment.Conclusions: Oseltamivir treatment of infants with influenza rapidly decreased the viral load in nasopharyngeal secretions and shortened the duration and severity of symptoms. The clinical effectiveness of oseltamivir appeared to be greater against influenza A than against influenza B infections.</p

Genome-wide landscape of liver X receptor chromatin binding and gene regulation in human macrophages

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The liver X receptors (LXRs) are oxysterol sensing nuclear receptors with multiple effects on metabolism and immune cells. However, the complete genome-wide cistrome of LXR in cells of human origin has not yet been provided.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We performed ChIP-seq in phorbol myristate acetate-differentiated THP-1 cells (macrophage-type) after stimulation with the potent synthetic LXR ligand T0901317 (T09). Microarray gene expression analysis was performed in the same cellular model. We identified 1357 genome-wide LXR locations (FDR < 1%), of which 526 were observed after T09 treatment. <it>De novo </it>analysis of LXR binding sequences identified a DR4-type element as the major motif. On mRNA level T09 up-regulated 1258 genes and repressed 455 genes. Our results show that LXR actions are focused on 112 genomic regions that contain up to 11 T09 target genes per region under the control of highly stringent LXR binding sites with individual constellations for each region. We could confirm that LXR controls lipid metabolism and transport and observed a strong association with apoptosis-related functions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This first report on genome-wide binding of LXR in a human cell line provides new insights into the transcriptional network of LXR and its target genes with their link to physiological processes, such as apoptosis.</p> <p>The gene expression microarray and sequence data have been submitted collectively to the NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus <url>http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo</url> under accession number GSE28319.</p

Relationships between self-reported childhood traumatic experiences, attachment style, neuroticism and features of borderline personality disorders in patients with mood disorders

Background: Co-occurring borderline personality disorder (BPD) features have a marked impact on treatment of patients with mood disorders. Overall, high neuroticism, childhood traumatic experiences (TEs) and insecure attachment are plausible aetiological factors for BPD. However, their relationship with BPD features specifically among patients with mood disorders remains unclear. We investigated these relationships among unipolar and bipolar mood disorder patients. Methods: As part of the Helsinki University Psychiatric Consortium study, the McLean Screening Instrument (MSI), the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R), the Short Five (S5) and the Trauma and Distress Scale (TADS) were filled in by patients with mood disorders (n=282) in psychiatric care. Correlation coefficients between total scores of scales and their dimensions were estimated, and multivariate regression (MRA) and mediation analyses were conducted. Results: Spearman's correlations were strong (rho=0.58; p <0.001) between total scores of MSI and S5 Neuroticism and moderate (rho=0.42; p <0.001) between MSI and TADS as well as between MSI and ECR-R Attachment Anxiety. In MRA, young age, S5 Neuroticism and TADS predicted scores of MSI (p <0.001). ECR-R Attachment Anxiety mediated 33% (CI=17-53%) of the relationships between TADS and MSI. Limitations: Cross-sectional questionnaire study. Conclusions: We found moderately strong correlations between self-reported BPD features and concurrent high neuroticism, reported childhood traumatic experiences and Attachment Anxiety also among patients with mood disorders. Independent predictors for BPD features include young age, frequency of childhood traumatic experiences and high neuroticism. Insecure attachment may partially mediate the relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and borderline features among mood disorder patients.Peer reviewe