1,367 research outputs found

    FROM LINGUISTIC FEATURES TO CULTURAL PATTERNS: PERSPECTIVES FROM LARGE-SCALE TEXT STUDIES OF DANISH SERMONS

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    This article discusses the concept of reading and presents a method thatcombines distant and close reading, while drawing on insights fromcomputational humanities. Focusing on basic features in language, distantreading allows for the construction of new types of text. By close reading thesetexts, it is possible to analyse cultural patterns across individual texts. Thismethod of reading is illustrated by two cases stemming from a project basedon a corpus of 11,955 Danish sermons. The first case begins with a distantreading of gendered pronouns in the corpus. The second case begins with adistant reading of named agents.

    Photoreductive dissolution of ferrihydrite by methanesulfinic acid: Evidence of a direct link between dimethylsulfide and iron-bioavailability

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    Within open‐ocean regions where excess macronutrients are present, phytoplankton growth is limited by the bioavailability of iron supplied to these areas primarily within atmospheric aerosols of crustal origin. However, processes that control the abundance of biologically accessible iron in these aerosols are largely unknown. Here we show that dissolution of ferrihydrite, a surrogate iron(oxy)hydroxide phase found in atmospheric waters, is enhanced in the presence of methanesulfinic acid (MSIA, CH3SO2H, a dimethylsulfide (DMS) oxidation intermediate) in laboratory irradiation experiments with aqueous suspensions that simulate marine aerosol particles. The increased release of soluble Fe(II) is attributed to a species specific and direct photochemical reduction rather than a proton‐promoted effect, and suggests an efficient mechanism by which iron‐starved phytoplankton can actively increase aerosol iron‐bioavailability by increasing DMS emissions

    Personal continuity of GP care and outpatient specialist visits in people with type 2 diabetes: A cross-sectional survey

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    Background - Continuity of care is particularly important for patients with chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). Continuity is shown to reduce overall health service utilization among people with diabetes, however, evidence about how it relates to the utilization of outpatient specialist services in Norway is lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate continuity of GP care for people with T2D, and its association with the use of outpatient specialist health care services. Methods - We used e-mail questionnaire data obtained from members of The Norwegian Diabetes Association in 2018. Eligible for analyses were 494 respondents with T2D and at least one GP visit during the previous year. By descriptive statistics and logistic regressions, we studied usual provider continuity (UPC) and duration of the patient-GP relationship and associations of these measures with somatic outpatient specialist visits. Analyses were adjusted for gender, age, education, self-rated health, and diabetes duration. Results - Mean age was 62.6 years and mean UPC was 0.85 (CI 0.83–0.87). Two thirds of the sample (66.0%) had made all visits to the regular GP during the previous year (full continuity). Among these, 48.1% had made one or more specialist visits during the previous year, compared to 65.2% among those without full continuity. The probability of outpatient specialist visits was significantly lower among participants with full continuity, compared to those without full continuity (Odds Ratio 0.53, Confidence Interval 0.35–0.80). The probability of visiting outpatient specialist services was not associated with duration of the patient-GP relationship. Conclusions - We conclude that continuity of care, as measured by Usual Provider Continuity, is high and associated with reduced use of somatic outpatient specialist services in people with T2D in Norway. Continuity and its benefits will become increasingly important as the number of older people with diabetes and other chronic diseases increases

    Chemical characterization of ambient aerosol collected during the northeast monsoon season over the Arabian Sea: Labile-Fe(II) and other trace metals

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    Ambient aerosol samples were collected over the Arabian Sea during the month of March of 1997, aboard the German R/V Sonne, as part of the German Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) project. This is the third study in a series of analogous measurements taken over the Arabian Sea during different seasons of the monsoon. Dichotomous high‐volume collector samples were analyzed for ferrous iron immediately after collection, while trace metals, anions, and cations were determined upon return to the laboratory. The main crustal component was geochemically well represented by the average crustal composition and amounted to 5.94 ± 3.08 μg m−3. An additional crustal constituent of clay‐like character, rich in water‐soluble Ca and Mg, was seen in the fine fraction in air masses of Arabian origin. Total ferrous iron concentrations varied from 3.9 to 17.2 ng m−3 and averaged 9.8 ± 3.4 ng m−3, with 87.2% of Fe(II) present in the fine aerosol fraction. Fe(II) concentrations accounted for on average 1.3 ± 0.5% of the total Fe. While ferrous iron in the coarse fraction appeared to be correlated with the main crustal component, the fine Fe(II) fraction exhibited a more complex behavior. The anthropogenic contribution to the aerosol, as traced by Pb, Zn, and some anions and cations, was found to be considerably larger, especially during the first 10 days of this cruise, than in previously collected samples from the inter‐monsoon and southwest monsoon of 1995

    Unveiling the Character Gallery of Sermons: A Social Network Analysis of 11,955 Danish Sermons

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    In this article we examine the character gallery in a digitized corpus of 11,955 Danish sermons from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark written between 2011 and 2016. We study these sermons as a collective text production in which the characters represented illustrate aspects of Christian tradition and cultural history. We depart from the following questions: which characters populate Danish sermons, and what representations of biblical texts and history are displayed from the interrelations of these characters? In line with Bakhtinian thought we approach the sermonic character gallery as a polyphony of voices, and informed by the Deleuzian idea of the rhizome, we understand this character gallery as a network in which characters through their connections to other characters form clusters of thematic narratives. We represent this network through a social network analysis using computational tools, and closely analyse which characters are connected in the network’s sub-groups, and how. We find that biblical figures especially enhance stories of Jesus as saviour, teacher, or caretaker, while political figures tend to be dissociated from biblical figures and representing narratives of historical atrocities. In addition to these figures a large group of anonymized characters prevails

    Low temperature lignocellulose pretreatment: effects and interactions of pretreatment pH are critical for maximizing enzymatic monosaccharide yields from wheat straw

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    BACKGROUND: The recent development of improved enzymes and pentose-using yeast for cellulosic ethanol processes calls for new attention to the lignocellulose pretreatment step. This study assessed the influence of pretreatment pH, temperature, and time, and their interactions on the enzymatic glucose and xylose yields from mildly pretreated wheat straw in multivariate experimental designs of acid and alkaline pretreatments. RESULTS: The pretreatment pH was the most significant factor affecting both the enzymatic glucose and xylose yields after mild thermal pretreatments at maximum 140°C for 10 min. The maximal enzymatic glucose and xylose yields from the solid, pretreated wheat straw fraction were obtained after pretreatments at the most extreme pH values (pH 1 or pH 13) at the maximum pretreatment temperature of 140°C. Surface response models revealed significantly correlating interactions of the pretreatment pH and temperature on the enzymatic liberation of both glucose and xylose from pretreated, solid wheat straw. The influence of temperature was most pronounced with the acidic pretreatments, but the highest enzymatic monosaccharide yields were obtained after alkaline pretreatments. Alkaline pretreatments also solubilized most of the lignin. CONCLUSIONS: Pretreatment pH exerted significant effects and factor interactions on the enzymatic glucose and xylose releases. Quite extreme pH values were necessary with mild thermal pretreatment strategies (T ≤ 140°C, time ≤ 10 min). Alkaline pretreatments generally induced higher enzymatic glucose and xylose release and did so at lower pretreatment temperatures than required with acidic pretreatments

    Detection of Radioactive Isotopes from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in the Kittitas Valley of Washington State

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    Following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in March, 2011, various radioactive isotopes were emitted from the plant [Ewing, 2011]. We hypothesized that emissions would bind to particulate matter, which then could be dispersed by wind currents and deposited across the planet. We analyzed an aerosol sample collected with a high volume cascade impactor in the Kittitas Valley of Washington state. NaI(Tl) gamma spectrometry revealed the presence of the isotopes 132Te and 131I, consistent with the type of nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi

    Geographic classification of U.S. Washington State wines using elemental and water isotope composition

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    Wine fraud leaves wineries vulnerable to damage in reputation and potential lost revenue. To reduce this risk for wines from Washington State (WA), USA, advanced analytical instrumentation and statistical methods were employed to geographically classify 133 wines from 4 major wine producing regions, including 70 wines from WA. Analyses of 37 elements and 2 water isotopes were performed with Triple Quadrupole Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy, respectively. Linear discriminant analysis resulted in 96.2% discrimination, achieved with 11 parameters (Mn, Zn, Pb, Ni, As, D/H, La, Ce, Si, Zr and Sr) that were linearly combined into 3 functions. WA wines were uniquely distinguished in large part with low D/H ratios and Mn concentrations derived from the isotopically light precipitation and volcanic loess soils encountered in this region, respectively. This study is the first of its kind to focus on the authentication of WA wines
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