Tracking the Limnoecological History of Lake Hiidenvesi (Southern Finland) Using the Paleolimnological Approach

Correction: Water, Air and Soil Pollution, 230 :9 (2019), art. 228 DOI: 10.1007/s11270-019-4262-2We examined a sediment record from Lake Hiidenvesi in southern Finland using paleolimnological methods to trace its limnoecological history. In our record, beginning from the 1940s, chironomid (Diptera) assemblages shifted from typical boreal taxa towards mesotrophic community assemblages at similar to 1960-1980 CE being finally replaced by eutrophic taxa from the 1990s onward. The diatom (Bacillariophyceae) assemblages reflected relatively nutrient rich conditions throughout the record showing a further increase in eutrophic taxa from the 1970s onward. A chironomid-based reconstruction of late-winter hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions suggested anoxic conditions already in the 1950s, probably reflecting increased inlake production due to allochthonous nutrient inputs and related increase in biological oxygen consumption. However, the reconstruction also indicated large variability in long-term oxygen conditions that appear typical for the basin. With regard to nutrient status, chironomid- and diatom-based reconstructions of total phosphorus (TP) showed a similar trend throughout the record, although, chironomids indicated a more straightforward eutrophication process in the benthic habitat and seemed to reflect the intensified human activities in the catchment more strongly than diatoms. The DO and TP reconstructions were mostly similar in trends compared to the measured data available since the 1970s/1980s. However, the increase in TP during the most recent years in both reconstructions was not visible in the monitored data. The results of our multiproxy study emphasize the significance of including both epilimnetic and hypolimnetic systems in water quality assessments and provide important long-term limnoecological information that will be useful in the future when setting targets for restoration.Peer reviewe

Induced short estrous cycles in cyclic dairy heifers and cows

Fertility in dairy cows has decreased worldwide, also in Finland. The most common reason for treatments of dairy cattle is various fertility disorders (18 % of all animals in 2013). In practice, decreased fertility warrants use of hormonal estrus synchronization protocols to control follicular waves and luteal regression to achieve acceptable pregnancy rates, without unwanted side effects such as short estrous cycles. In the earlier studies of our research group, short estrous cycles were noted in some cyclic dairy heifers and cows when estrus and ovulation were induced with agonistic analogues of prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) and GnRH treatments administered 24 h apart. Possible causes for such induced short estrous cycles were further elucidated in the four experiments described in this thesis. Estrus and ovulation were induced with PGF2α and GnRH given 24 h apart during early (Day 7 after ovulation) or late (Day 14 after ovulation) diestrus. Also the effect of gonadorelin doses of 0.1 mg or 0.5 mg given 24 h after PGF2α on the occurrence of short estrous cycles, and on the preovulatory release of LH during 6 h following the gonadorelin administration was investigated. The effect of the time interval between PGF2α and GnRH (0 vs. 24 h) given during early diestrus on the occurrence of short estrous cycles was investigated in cyclic dairy heifers and cows. The expression of endometrial receptors of oxytocin, estrogen-α and progesterone as well as enzymes 20α-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase and cyclo-oxygenase-II, on Days 2 and 5 after ovulation was analyzed with real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. The occurrence of induced short estrous cycles was significantly increased with simultaneous administration of PG and GnRH, but was neither related to the size of the preovulatory follicle nor to the GnRH-induced preovulatory release of LH. Also the basal postovulatory release of LH on Days 1, 3 and 5 after ovulation was similar for induced short and normal length estrous cycles. Lower basal LH concentration after ovulation coincided with higher progesterone concentration. The size of the preovulatory follicle was significantly larger when PG and GnRH were given 24 h apart during early diestrus in comparison with late diestrus, but the occurrence of short estrous cycles was similar. The size of the preovulatory follicle in cows did not correlate with the preovulatory secretion of estradiol-17β. The endometrial expressions of receptors and enzymes analyzed were similar for short and normal length estrous cycles. The results described should be taken into account in estrus synchronization protocols utilizing sequential treatments with PG and GnRH.Lypsylehmien tiinehtyvyys on heikentynyt usean vuosikymmenen ajan kaikkialla maailmassa, myös Suomessa, jossa lehmien poikimaväli on pidentynyt noin kuukaudella viimeisten parinkymmenen vuoden aikana. Toisaalta hedelmällisyyshäiriöt ovat tavallisin eläinlääkärien antamien hoitojen syy lypsylehmillä (vuonna 2013 hoidettiin 18 % eläimistä). Hedelmällisyyden heikkenemisen myötä ja samalla aikaa vievän kiimantarkkailun korvaamiseksi maailmalla on kehitetty erilaisia kiimansynkronointiohjelmia. Näissä keltarauhasen regressio, follikkeliaallot ja ovulaatio pyritään synkronoimaan niin, että eläimet voidaan siementää ajoitetusti. Tutkimusryhmämme on aiemmin todennut, että kiimansynkronointiohjelmissa yleisesti käytetyt hormonit prostaglandiini F2α (PGF2α) ja gonadotropiineja vapauttava hormoni (GnRH), tässä tapauksessa 24 tunnin välein annettuna, aiheuttivat osalle eläimistä lyhyen keltarauhasvaiheen eli indusoidun lyhyen kiimakierron, joka oli kestoltaan 8-12 päivää normaalin noin kolmen viikon sijaan. Näiden indusoitujen lyhyiden syklien selvittely jatkui tämän väitöskirjan osakokeissa, joissa tutkittiin PGF2α:n ja GnRH:n antoajankohdan ja antovälin sekä GnRH-annoksen vaikutusta lyhyiden syklien esiintyvyyteen. Lisäksi tutkittiin eräiden kohdun limakalvoreseptoreiden ja -entsyymien geeniekspressiota indusoitujen lyhyiden ja normaalien syklien alussa. Tutkittu hormonihoito aiheutti osalle eläimistä lyhyen kiimakierron. Lääkitysten antoajankohta (7 tai 14 päivää ovulaatiosta) ja GnRH-annos (0,1 tai 0,5 mg) eivät vaikuttaneet näiden esiintyvyyteen. Annos ei niin ikään vaikuttanut preovulatoriseen LH-eritykseen. LH-hormonin peruseritys kiimakierron alussa oli samanlainen lyhyissä ja normaaleissa sykleissä. Annettaessa tutkitut hormonit samanaikaisesti 24 tunnin välin sijaan ovulaatioita tapahtui vähemmän ja lyhyitä syklejä esiintyi enemmän. Kohdun limakalvon oksitosiini-, progesteroni- ja estrogeenireseptorien tai COX-II- ja 20α-HSD-entsyymien ekspressiossa ei todettu eroa niiden lehmien välillä, joilla oli lyhyt tai normaali kiimakierto. Nämä tutkimustulokset tulee huomioida kehitettäessä ja käytettäessä kiimansynkronointiohjelmia, jotta vältytään haitallisilta vaikutuksilta tiinehtyvyyteen

The fate of the Antennae galaxies

27 pages, 18 figures, submitted to MNRASWe present a high-resolution smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulation of the Antennae galaxies (NGC 4038/4039) and follow the evolution $3$ Gyrs beyond the final coalescence. The simulation includes metallicity dependent cooling, star formation, and both stellar feedback and chemical enrichment. The simulated best-match Antennae reproduces well both the observed morphology and the off-nuclear starburst. We also produce for the first time a simulated two-dimensional metallicity map of the Antennae and find good agreement with the observed metallicity of off-nuclear stellar clusters, however the nuclear metallicities are overproduced by $\sim 0.5$ dex. Using the radiative transfer code SKIRT we produce multi-wavelength observations of both the Antennae and the merger remnant. The $1$ Gyr old remnant is well fitted with a S\'ersic profile of $n=4.05$, and with an $r$-band effective radius of $r_{\mathrm{e}}= 1.8$ kpc and velocity dispersion of $\sigma_{\mathrm{e}}=180$ km$/$s the remnant is located on the fundamental plane of early-type galaxies (ETGs). The initially blue Antennae remnant evolves onto the red sequence after $\sim 2.5$ Gyr of secular evolution. The remnant would be classified as a fast rotator, as the specific angular momentum evolves from $\lambda_R\approx0.11$ to $\lambda_R\approx0.14$ during its evolution. The remnant shows ordered rotation and a double peaked maximum in the mean 2D line-of-sight velocity. These kinematical features are relatively common among local ETGs and we specifically identify three local ETGs (NGC 3226, NGC 3379 and NGC 4494) in the ATLAS$^\mathrm{3D}$ sample, whose photometric and kinematic properties most resemble the Antennae remnant.We present a high-resolution smoothed particle hydrodynamic simulation of the Antennae galaxies (NGC 4038/4039) and follow the evolution 3 Gyr beyond the final coalescence. The simulation includes metallicity-dependent cooling, star formation, and both stellar feed-back and chemical enrichment. The simulated best-match Antennae reproduce well both the observed morphology and the off-nuclear starburst. We also produce for the first time a simulated two-dimensional (2D) metallicity map of the Antennae and find good agreement with the observed metallicity of off-nuclear stellar clusters; however, the nuclear metallicities are overproduced by similar to 0.5 dex. Using the radiative transfer code SKIRT, we produce multiwavelength observations of both the Antennae and the merger remnant. The 1-Gyr-old remnant is well fitted with a Sersic profile of n = 7.07, and with an r-band effective radius of r(e) = 1.6 kpc and velocity dispersion of sigma(e) = 180 km s(-1) the remnant is located on the Fundamental Plane of early-type galaxies (ETGs). The initially blue Antennae remnant evolves on to the red sequence after similar to 2.5 Gyr of secular evolution. The remnant would be classified as a fast rotator, as the specific angular momentum evolves from lambda(Re) approximate to 0.11 to 0.14 during its evolution. The remnant shows ordered rotation and a double peaked maximum in the mean 2D line-of-sight velocity. These kinematical features are relatively common amongst local ETGs and we specifically identify three local ETGs (NGC 3226, NGC 3379, and NGC 4494) in the ATLAS(3D) sample, whose photometric and kinematic properties most resemble the Antennae remnant.Peer reviewe

MSTAR - a fast parallelized algorithmically regularized integrator with minimum spanning tree coordinates

We present the novel algorithmically regularized integration method MSTAR for high-accuracy (vertical bar Delta E/E vertical bar greater than or similar to 10(-14)) integrations of N-body systems using minimum spanning tree coordinates. The twofold parallelization of the O(N-part(2)) force loops and the substep divisions of the extrapolation method allow for a parallel scaling up to N-CPU = 0.2 x N-part. The efficient parallel scaling of MSTAR makes the accurate integration of much larger particle numbers possible compared to the traditional algorithmic regularization chain (AR-CHAIN) methods, e.g. N-part = 5000 particles on 400 CPUs for 1 Gyr in a few weeks of wall-clock time. We present applications of MSTAR on few particle systems, studying the Kozai mechanism and N-body systems like star clusters with up to N-part = 10(4) particles. Combined with a tree or fast multipole-based integrator, the high performance of MSTAR removes a major computational bottleneck in simulations with regularized subsystems. It will enable the next-generation galactic-scale simulations with up to 109 stellar particles (e.g. m(star) = 100 M-circle dot) for an M-star = 10(11) M-circle dot galaxy), including accurate collisional dynamics in the vicinity of nuclear supermassive black holes.Peer reviewe

”Oi” on krapulan mittayksikkö:tutkimus YLE:n alkoholivalistusta koskevien tietoiskujen käyttämästä retoriikasta

Tiivistelmä. Tämän tutkimuksen aiheena on selvittää, millaisia vaikuttamisen keinoja Yleisradion tekemissä alkoholivalistusta koskevissa tietoiskuissa on käytetty. Aineisto koostuu viidestätoista alkoholivalistusta koskevasta tietoiskusta, joista kaksitoista löytyi YLE Areenasta ja Elävästä arkistosta. Lisäksi videopalvelu Youtubesta löytyi vielä kolme YLE:n tekemää videota, jotka ovat mukana tutkimuksessa. Tutkimuksessa tietoiskuja tutkitaan retoriikkaa metodina käyttäen ja tarkastellaan, miten niissä hyödynnetään eetosta, paatosta ja logosta. Tietoiskuja tarkastellaan myös kuvallisten keinojen eli kuvan, äänen, valon ja valaistuksen, värin ja kerronnan näkökulmista. Teoreettinen viitekehys muodostuu alkoholi- ja terveysvalistuksesta, viestinnästä ja kuvallisista keinoista. Tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan retoriikan ja kuvallisten keinojen hyödyntämistä tietoiskuissa. Tutkimuksessa todetaan, että alkoholivalistusta koskevissa tietoiskuissa eetos jätettiin huomioitta ja kaikissa viidessätoista tietoiskussa katsojaan pyrittiin vetoamaan etenkin paatoksen avulla. Yhdeksässä tietoiskussa hyödynnettiin myös logosta ja se oli ainoastaan yhdessä tietoiskussa pääasiallinen vaikuttamisen keino. Kuvalliset keinot tukivat suurimmassa osassa videoissa käytettyjä retoriikan keinoja. Tietoiskuja ei ole suunniteltu suoraan retoriikan pohjalta, vaikka niissä pyritään selkeästi vaikuttamaan katsojaan paatoksen ja logoksen avulla

Lack of hybridization between Yersinia enterocolitica and HLA-B27 DNA

Inhaltverz. nicht vollständig

Resolving the Complex Evolution of a Supermassive Black Hole Triplet in a Cosmological Simulation

We present here a self-consistent cosmological zoom-in simulation of a triple supermassive black hole (SMBH) system forming in a complex multiple galaxy merger. The simulation is run with an updated version of our code KETJU, which is able to follow the motion of SMBHs down to separations of tens of Schwarzschild radii while simultaneously modeling the large-scale astrophysical processes in the surrounding galaxies, such as gas cooling, star formation, and stellar and AGN feedback. Our simulation produces initially an SMBH binary system for which the hardening process is interrupted by the late arrival of a third SMBH. The KETJU code is able to accurately model the complex behavior occurring in such a triple SMBH system, including the ejection of one SMBH to a kiloparsec-scale orbit in the galaxy due to strong three-body interactions as well as Lidov-Kozai oscillations suppressed by relativistic precession when the SMBHs are in a hierarchical configuration. One pair of SMBHs merges similar to 3 Gyr after the initial galaxy merger, while the remaining binary is at a parsec-scale separation when the simulation ends at redshift z = 0. We also show that KETJU can capture the effects of the SMBH binaries and triplets on the surrounding stellar population, which can affect the binary merger timescales as the stellar density in the system evolves. Our results demonstrate the importance of dynamically resolving the complex behavior of multiple SMBHs in galactic mergers, as such systems cannot be readily modeled using simple orbit-averaged semianalytic models.Peer reviewe

The formation of extremely diffuse galaxy cores by merging supermassive black holes

Given its velocity dispersion, the early-type galaxy NGC 1600 has an unusually massive ($M_\bullet = 1.7 \times 10^{10} M_\odot$) central supermassive black hole (SMBH), surrounded by a large core ($r_\mathrm{b} = 0.7$ kpc) with a tangentially biased stellar distribution. We present high-resolution equal-mass merger simulations including SMBHs to study the formation of such systems. The structural parameters of the progenitor ellipticals were chosen to produce merger remnants resembling NGC 1600. We test initial stellar density slopes of $\rho \propto r^{-1}$ and $\rho \propto r^{-3/2}$ and vary the initial SMBH masses from $8.5 \times 10^8$ to $8.5 \times 10^9$ $M_\odot$. With increasing SMBH mass the merger remnants show a systematic decrease in central surface brightness, an increasing core size, and an increasingly tangentially biased central velocity anisotropy. Two-dimensional kinematic maps reveal decoupled, rotating core regions for the most massive SMBHs. The stellar cores form rapidly as the SMBHs become bound, while the velocity anisotropy develops more slowly after the SMBH binaries become hard. The simulated merger remnants follow distinct relations between the core radius and the sphere-of-influence, and the SMBH mass, similar to observed systems. We find a systematic change in the relations as a function of the progenitor density slope, and present a simple scouring model reproducing this behavior. Finally, we find the best agreement with NGC 1600 using SMBH masses totaling the observed value of $M_\bullet = 1.7 \times 10^{10} M_\odot$. In general, density slopes of $\rho \propto r^{-3/2}$ for the progenitor galaxies are strongly favored for the equal-mass merger scenario.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

Post-Newtonian Dynamical Modeling of Supermassive Black Holes in Galactic-scale Simulations

We present KETJU, a new extension of the widely used smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulation code GADGET-3. The key feature of the code is the inclusion of algorithmically regularized regions around every supermassive black hole (SMBH). This allows for simultaneously following global galactic-scale dynamical and astrophysical processes, while solving the dynamics of SMBHs, SMBH binaries, and surrounding stellar systems at subparsec scales. The KETJU code includes post-Newtonian terms in the equations of motions of the SMBHs, which enables a new SMBH merger criterion based on the gravitational wave coalescence timescale, pushing the merger separation of SMBHs down to similar to 0.005 pc. We test the performance of our code by comparison to NBODY7 and rVINE. We set up dynamically stable multicomponent merger progenitor galaxies to study the SMBH binary evolution during galaxy mergers. In our simulation sample the SMBH binaries do not suffer from the final-parsec problem, which we attribute to the nonspherical shape of the merger remnants. For bulge-only models, the hardening rate decreases with increasing resolution, whereas for models that in addition include massive dark matter halos, the SMBH binary hardening rate becomes practically independent of the mass resolution of the stellar bulge. The SMBHs coalesce on average 200 Myr after the formation of the SMBH binary. However, small differences in the initial SMBH binary eccentricities can result in large differences in the SMBH coalescence times. Finally, we discuss the future prospects of KETJU, which allows for a straightforward inclusion of gas physics in the simulations.Peer reviewe