Syvään taisteluun : johdatus Neuvostoliiton maavoimien sotataitoon 1917-1991

Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulun sotahistorian opetuksessa on pitkään koettu ongelmana se, että neuvostoliittolaisesta sotataidosta ei ole ollut käytettävissä sellaista suomenkielistä yleisesitystä, jonka avulla lukija voisi nopeasti saada yleiskuvan aiheesta ja joka sisältäisi myös tuoreimman tutkimustiedon. Tämä julkaisu on tarkoitettu täyttämään todettua aukkoa Neuvostoliiton maavoimien osalta. Tarkastelussa keskitytään uhkakuvan, doktriinin, keskeisten yhtymäorganisaatioiden ja sotataidon eri osa-alueiden — strategian, operaatiotaidon ja taktiikan — kehitykseen. Esityksen sivumäärä on pidetty tarkoituksellisesti suppeana, ja tapahtumahistoriaa on otettu mukaan vain sikäli kun se on ollut tarpeellista näiden painopistealueiden ymmärtämiseksi. Aiheesta enemmän kiinnostuneelle kirja antaa perusteita, jotka toivottavasti herättävät kysymyksiä ja kannustavat tietämyksen syventämiseen. Esitys perustuu pääasiassa länsimaisiin teoksiin ja artikkeleihin, joita on täydennetty venäjänkielisillä yleisesityksillä, Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulussa laadituilla tutkielmilla ja muulla aineistolla. Aihepiirin lukuisten tutkijoiden joukosta on erityisesti korostettava yhdysvaltalaisen David Glantzin panosta. Kirjoittaja on voinut tukeutua paljon hänen laajaan tuotantoonsa, jossa on monipuolisesti hyödynnetty myös Neuvostoliitossa ja Venäjällä julkaistua alan kirjallisuutta. Mittavien kokonaisuuksien pelkistämisessä ja sotataidollisten kehityslinjojen havainnollistamisessa on käytetty paljon numerotietoja. Lukuihin on suhtauduttava kriittisesti, sillä niiden luotettavuutta ei ole kaikilta osin ollut mahdollista varmistaa tieteellisen tutkimuksen edellyttämällä tavalla. Tätä ongelmaa ei tekstissä erikseen korosteta, mutta lukijan tulee ottaa se huomioon lukuja käyttäessään

Esteettisen asenteen kysymys: asenneteorioiden arviointia kritiikin valossa

Kiinnostus esteettisen asenteen käsitteeseen on herännyt: useampi uusi filosofinen julkaisu on esittänyt tukensa Jerome Stolnitzin esteettisen asenteen teorialle. Tämän kandidaatintutkielma tarkastelee Stolnitzin 1961 julkaistua teoriaa esteettisestä asenteesta ja George Dickien siitä 1964 "The Journal of aesthetics and art criticism"-lehdessä esittämää kritiikkiä. Tutkielman tarkoituksena on selvittää, onko Stolnitzin esteettisen asenteen teoria luotettava Dickien sille esittämän kritiikin valossa. Tutkimusmenetelmänä on kirjallisuuskatsaus. Tutkielman hypoteesi on, että Dickien esittää riittävästi perusteita Stolnitzin sekä muiden esteettisen asenteen teorioiden hylkäämiseen. Tutkielman tulokset tukevat hypoteesia: Stolnitzin teorian tiukkojen reunaehtojen vuoksi esteettisen asenteen toteutuminen on käytännössä mahdotonta. Dickien kritiikki vaikuttaa johdonmukaiselta, koska se onnistuu tuomaan esille Stolnitzin teoriaan liittyviä ristiriitoja. Tärkeimmiksi argumenteiksi Stolnitzin teoriaa vastaan voidaan tunnistaa, että esteettistä asennetta ei tosiasiassa ole olemassa minään tiettynä tilana (1) ja se, että huomio on riittävä vaatimus esteettiselle tarkastelulle (2). Tämän perusteella esteettinen asenne ei vaikuta luotettavalta käsitteeltä kuvaamaan esteettisen tarkastelun kokemusta. Kritiikistä huolimatta esteettisen asenteen teoriaan sisältyvä ajatus aktiivisesta ja positiivisesta keskittymisestä huomion kohteeseen vaikuttaa lupaavalta lähtökohdalta jatkotutkimukselle. Asenneteorioiden puolustaminen vaatisi uudenlaisten vaatimusten määrittelyn sille, milloin pyyteetön, esteettisen asenteen mahdollistava mielentila voisi syntyä

Avidin related protein 2 shows unique structural and functional features among the avidin protein family

BACKGROUND: The chicken avidin gene family consists of avidin and several avidin related genes (AVRs). Of these gene products, avidin is the best characterized and is known for its extremely high affinity for D-biotin, a property that is utilized in numerous modern life science applications. Recently, the AVR genes have been expressed as recombinant proteins, which have shown different biotin-binding properties as compared to avidin. RESULTS: In the present study, we have employed multiple biochemical methods to better understand the structure-function relationship of AVR proteins focusing on AVR2. Firstly, we have solved the high-resolution crystal structure of AVR2 in complex with a bound ligand, D-biotin. The AVR2 structure reveals an overall fold similar to the previously determined structures of avidin and AVR4. Major differences are seen, especially at the 1–3 subunit interface, which is stabilized mainly by polar interactions in the case of AVR2 but by hydrophobic interactions in the case of AVR4 and avidin, and in the vicinity of the biotin binding pocket. Secondly, mutagenesis, competitive dissociation analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were used to compare and study the biotin-binding properties as well as the thermal stability of AVRs and avidin. These analyses pinpointed the importance of residue 109 for biotin binding and stability of AVRs. The I109K mutation increased the biotin-binding affinity of AVR2, whereas the K109I mutation decreased the biotin-binding affinity of AVR4. Furthermore, the thermal stability of AVR2(I109K) increased in comparison to the wild-type protein and the K109I mutation led to a decrease in the thermal stability of AVR4. CONCLUSION: Altogether, this study broadens our understanding of the structural features determining the ligand-binding affinities and stability as well as the molecular evolution within the protein family. This novel information can be applied to further develop and improve the tools already widely used in avidin-biotin technology

Outline of a fault diagnosis system for a large-scale board machine

Global competition forces process industries to continuously optimize plant operation. One of the latest trends for efficiency and plant availability improvement is to set up fault diagnosis and maintenance systems for online industrial use. This paper presents a methodology for developing industrial fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) systems. Since model or data-based diagnosis of all components cannot be achieved online on a large-scale basis, the focus must be narrowed down to the most likely faulty components responsible for abnormal process behavior. One of the key elements here is fault analysis. The paper describes and briefly discusses also other development phases, process decomposition, and the selection of FDD methods. The paper ends with an FDD case study of a large-scale industrial board machine including a description of the fault analysis and FDD algorithms for the resulting focus areas. Finally, the testing and validation results are presented and discussed.Peer reviewe

Structural and functional characteristics of xenavidin, the first frog avidin from Xenopus tropicalis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Avidins are proteins with extraordinarily high ligand-binding affinity, a property which is used in a wide array of life science applications. Even though useful for biotechnology and nanotechnology, the biological function of avidins is not fully understood. Here we structurally and functionally characterise a novel avidin named xenavidin, which is to our knowledge the first reported avidin from a frog.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Xenavidin was identified from an EST sequence database for <it>Xenopus tropicalis </it>and produced in insect cells using a baculovirus expression system. The recombinant xenavidin was found to be homotetrameric based on gel filtration analysis. Biacore sensor analysis, fluorescently labelled biotin and radioactive biotin were used to evaluate the biotin-binding properties of xenavidin - it binds biotin with high affinity though less tightly than do chicken avidin and bacterial streptavidin. X-ray crystallography revealed structural conservation around the ligand-binding site, while some of the loop regions have a unique design. The location of structural water molecules at the entrance and/or within the ligand-binding site may have a role in determining the characteristic biotin-binding properties of xenavidin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The novel data reported here provide information about the biochemically and structurally important determinants of biotin binding. This information may facilitate the discovery of novel tools for biotechnology.</p

Internalization of novel non-viral vector TAT-streptavidin into human cells

BACKGROUND: The cell-penetrating peptide derived from the Human immunodeficiency virus-1 transactivator protein Tat possesses the capacity to promote the effective uptake of various cargo molecules across the plasma membrane in vitro and in vivo. The objective of this study was to characterize the uptake and delivery mechanisms of a novel streptavidin fusion construct, TAT(47–57)-streptavidin (TAT-SA, 60 kD). SA represents a potentially useful TAT-fusion partner due to its ability to perform as a versatile intracellular delivery vector for a wide array of biotinylated molecules or cargoes. RESULTS: By confocal and immunoelectron microscopy the majority of internalized TAT-SA was shown to accumulate in perinuclear vesicles in both cancer and non-cancer cell lines. The uptake studies in living cells with various fluorescent endocytic markers and inhibiting agents suggested that TAT-SA is internalized into cells efficiently, using both clathrin-mediated endocytosis and lipid-raft-mediated macropinocytosis. When endosomal release of TAT-SA was enhanced through the incorporation of a biotinylated, pH-responsive polymer poly(propylacrylic acid) (PPAA), nuclear localization of TAT-SA and TAT-SA bound to biotin was markedly improved. Additionally, no significant cytotoxicity was detected in the TAT-SA constructs. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that TAT-SA-PPAA is a potential non-viral vector to be utilized in protein therapeutics to deliver biotinylated molecules both into cytoplasm and nucleus of human cells

Application of mild autohydrolysis to facilitate the dissolution of wood chips in direct-dissolution solvents

Wood is not fully soluble in current non-derivatising direct-dissolution solvents, contrary to the many reports in the literature quoting wood 'dissolution' in ionic liquids. Herein, we demonstrate that the application of autohydrolysis, as a green and economical wood pre-treatment method, allows for a massive increase in solubility compared to untreated wood. This is demonstrated by the application of two derivitising methods (phosphitylation and acetylation), followed by NMR analysis, in the cellulose-dissolving ionic liquids 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([amim]Cl) and 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-enium acetate ([DBNH][OAc]. In addition, the non-derivitising tetrabutylphosphonium acetate ([P-4444][OAc]) : DMSO-d6 electrolyte also allowed for dissolution of the autohydrolysed wood samples. By combination of different particle sizes and P-factors (autohydrolysis intensity), it has been clearly demonstrated that the solubility of even wood chips can be drastically increased by application of autohydrolysis. The physiochemical factors affecting wood solubility after autohydrolysis are also discussed.Peer reviewe

pH-dependent deformations of the energy landscape of avidin-like proteins investigated by single molecule force spectroscopy

Avidin and avidin-like proteins are widely used in numerous techniques since the avidin-biotin interaction is known to be very robust and reliable. Within this study, we investigated this bond at the molecular level under harsh conditions ranging from very low to very high pH values. We compared avidin with streptavidin and a recently developed avidin-based mutant, chimeric avidin. To gain insights of the energy landscape of these interactions we used a single molecule approach and performed the Single Molecule Force Spectroscopy atomic force microscopy technique. There, the ligand (biotin) is covalently coupled to a sharp AFM tip via a distensible hetero-bi-functional crosslinker, whereas the receptor of interest is immobilized on the probe surface. Receptor-ligand complexes are formed and ruptured by repeatedly approaching and withdrawing the tip from the surface. Varying both pulling velocity and pH value, we could determine changes of the energy landscape of the complexes. Our results clearly demonstrate that avidin, streptavidin and chimeric avidin are stable over a wide pH range although we could identify differences at the outer pH range. Taking this into account, they can be used in a broad range of applications, like surface sensors at extreme pH values

Structure and characterization of a novel chicken biotin-binding protein A (BBP-A)

BACKGROUND: The chicken genome contains a BBP-A gene showing similar characteristics to avidin family genes. In a previous study we reported that the BBP-A gene may encode a biotin-binding protein due to the high sequence similarity with chicken avidin, especially at regions encoding residues known to be located at the ligand-binding site of avidin. RESULTS: Here, we expand the repertoire of known macromolecular biotin binders by reporting a novel biotin-binding protein A (BBP-A) from chicken. The BBP-A recombinant protein was expressed using two different expression systems and purified with affinity chromatography, biochemically characterized and two X-ray structures were solved – in complex with D-biotin (BTN) and in complex with D-biotin D-sulfoxide (BSO). The BBP-A protein binds free biotin with high, "streptavidin-like" affinity (K(d )~ 10(-13 )M), which is about 50 times lower than that of chicken avidin. Surprisingly, the affinity of BBP-A for BSO is even higher than the affinity for BTN. Furthermore, the solved structures of the BBP-A – BTN and BBP-A – BSO complexes, which share the fold with the members of the avidin and lipocalin protein families, are extremely similar to each other. CONCLUSION: BBP-A is an avidin-like protein having a β-barrel fold and high affinity towards BTN. However, BBP-A differs from the other known members of the avidin protein family in thermal stability and immunological properties. BBP-A also has a unique ligand-binding property, the ability to bind BTN and BSO at comparable affinities. BBP-A may have use as a novel material in, e.g. modern bio(nano)technological applications