Discursive space of the European Parliament plenary:Nigel Farage and the continuum of populist Eurosceptic discourse

Abstract. This thesis explores the discourse strategies employed by Nigel Farage in the European Parliament plenary and attempts to relate one of his speeches to a larger continuum of populist and Eurosceptic discourses. The former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) gained notoriety as an outgoing spokesman for Brexit, the British exit from the European Union. As such, studying his argumentative strategies gives insight into what aspects construct his narrative concerning the British referendum and EU policies. This thesis also attempts to answer whom Farage directs his speech at in the plenary sitting, and whether his speech is a serious attempt at debate in the plenary or rather an attempt to show himself opposing the EU on its own turf. The analysis will employ Critical Discourse Analysis as its approach, and further, Discourse Historic Approach as the methodological base for the analysis.Tiivistelmä. Tämä opinnäytetyö tutkii Nigel Faragen käyttämiä diskursiivisia strategioita Euroopan Parlamentin täysistunnossa, ja pyrkii yhdistämään yhden hänen puheistaan suurempaan populististen sekä Euroskeptisten diskurssien jatkumoon. Entisenä UK Independence Partyn (UKIP) johtajana Farage sai julkisuutta Brexitin, Britannian EU-eron, kannattajana. Siitä syystä hänen argumentoivien strategioidensa tutkiminen valaisee sitä, mitkä rakenteet luovat hänen narratiivinsa liittyen Ison-Britannian EU-jäsenyyttä koskeneeseen kansanäänestykseen, sekä yleisesti EU:n rakentamaan politiikkaan. Tämä opinnäytetyö pyrkii myöskin vastaamaan kenelle Farage kohdistaa puheensa EP:n täysistunnossa, ja mikäli hänen puheensa todellinen tarkoitus on olla osa täysistunnon väittelyä, vaiko pelkkä pyrkimys saada näkyvyyttä itsellensä hänen vastustaessa Euroopan Unionia sen omalla kotikentällään. Opinnäytetyön analyysi käyttää CDA:ta (Critical Discourse Analysis) tieteellisenä lähestymistapana analyysille, sekä DHA:ta (Discouse Historical Approach) metodologisena pohjana analyysille

Crisis of the rule of law:dimensions of political discourse between the European Commission and Hungary

Abstract. The European Union has experienced a rule of law crisis for the past several years. As a result, the Union attached a rule of law clause into its multiannual budget of 2021–2027 that would enable suspension of funds from Member States that violate the principles of the rule of law. Hungary has been a target for rule of law related proceedings by the union, and it cast a veto on the multiannual budget because of the rule of law clause attached to it. This thesis will explore the discourse surrounding the Hungarian veto, and rule of law in general. Using the Discourse-Historical Approach (DHA) of Critical Discourse Analysis, this thesis will explore the different dimensions of discourse surrounding the rule of law crisis in the European Union. As materials, this study will use the 2020 Rule of Law Report by the European Commission, as well as two texts by Hungarian ministers associated with it; a statement by the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and an opinion piece by the Hungarian Minister of Justice Judit Varga. The aim of this paper is to explore discursive strategies used by the European Commission, Viktor Orbán and Judit Varga as well as how they construct rule of law as a term in the materials. Additionally, this paper will examine how their discursive strategies have evolved over time. Ultimately, this thesis attempts to describe the discourse about rule of law in the discursive spaces of the European Commission and the Hungarian Government.Oikeusvaltioperiaatteen kriisi : Euroopan Komission ja Unkarin välisen poliittisen diskurssin ulottuvuudet. Tiivistelmä. Euroopan Unioni on ollut keskellä oikeusvaltioperiaatteen kriisiä jo monen vuoden ajan. Tämän seurauksena EU liitti oikeusvaltioperiaatetta koskevan ehdollisuusasetuksen vuosien 2021–2027 budjettiesitykseen. Ehdollisuusasetus mahdollistaa rahoituksen jäädyttämisen jäsenmaalta, jonka katsotaan toimivan oikeusvaltioperiaatetta vastaan. Unkari on ollut oikeusvaltioperiaatetta koskevien käsittelyiden kohteena, ja se käytti veto-oikeuttansa budjettiesityksestä äänestettäessä kyseisen ehdollisuusasetuksen takia. Tämä pro gradu -tutkielma tutkii Unkarin vetoääntä ja laajemmin oikeusvaltioperiaatetta ympäröivää diskurssia. Käyttäen tutkimusmetodina kriittiseen diskurssianalyysiin perustuvaa diskurssihistoriallista lähestymistapaa (DHA), tämä opinnäytetyö tarkastelee Euroopan unionin oikeusvaltioperiaatetta koskevan diskurssin eri ulottuvuuksia. Materiaalina työssä käytetään Euroopan komission julkaisemaa vuoden 2020 oikeusvaltiokertomusta sekä kahta unkarilaisten ministerien tekstiä; Unkarin pääministeri Viktor Orbánin lausuntoa liittyen budjettiesityksen vetoääneen, sekä Unkarin oikeusministeri Judit Vargan kirjoittamaa mielipidekirjoitusta. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena on tarkastella Euroopan komission, Viktor Orbánin sekä Judit Vargan käyttämiä diskursiivisia strategioita sekä sitä, miten oikeusvaltioperiaate rakentuu terminä heidän teksteissään. Lisäksi tämä tutkimus tarkastelee, miten kyseisten toimijoiden diskursiiviset strategiat ovat muotoutuneet ajan myötä. Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tarkoituksena on lopulta pyrkiä kuvailemaan Euroopan komission sekä Unkarin luomaa diskursiivista tilaa oikeusvaltioperiaatteeseen liittyen

Association between DNA methylation and ADHD symptoms from birth to school age: a prospective meta-analysis

Attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common childhood disorder with a substantial genetic component. However, the extent to which epigenetic mechanisms play a role in the etiology of the disorder is unknown. We performed epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) within the Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics (PACE) Consortium to identify DNA methylation sites associated with ADHD symptoms at two methylation assessment periods: birth and school age. We examined associations of both DNA methylation in cord blood with repeatedly assessed ADHD symptoms (age 4–15 years) in 2477 children from 5 cohorts and of DNA methylation at school age with concurrent ADHD symptoms (age 7–11 years) in 2374 children from 9 cohorts, with 3 cohorts participating at both timepoints. CpGs identified with nominal significance (p < 0.05) in either of the EWAS were correlated between timepoints (ρ = 0.30), suggesting overlap in associations; however, top signals were very different. At birth, we identified nine CpGs that predicted later ADHD symptoms (p < 1 × 10–7 ), including ERC2 and CREB5. Peripheral blood DNA methylation at one of these CpGs (cg01271805 in the promoter region of ERC2, which regulates neurotransmitter release) was previously associated with brain methylation. Another (cg25520701) lies within the gene body of CREB5, which previously was associated with neurite outgrowth and an ADHD diagnosis. In contrast, at school age, no CpGs were associated with ADHD with p < 1 × 10−7 . In conclusion, we found evidence in this study that DNA methylation at birth is associated with ADHD. Future studies are needed to confirm the utility of methylation variation as biomarker and its involvement in causal pathways

Genome-wide meta-analyses reveal novel loci for verbal short-term memory and learning

Understanding the genomic basis of memory processes may help in combating neurodegenerative disorders. Hence, we examined the associations of common genetic variants with verbal short-term memory and verbal learning in adults without dementia or stroke (N = 53,637). We identified novel loci in the intronic region of CDH18, and at 13q21 and 3p21.1, as well as an expected signal in the APOE/APOC1/TOMM40 region. These results replicated in an independent sample. Functional and bioinformatic analyses supported many of these loci and further implicated POC1. We showed that polygenic score for verbal learning associated with brain activation in right parieto-occipital region during working memory task. Finally, we showed genetic correlations of these memory traits with several neurocognitive and health outcomes. Our findings suggest a role of several genomic loci in verbal memory processes.Peer reviewe

Genome-wide meta-analyses reveal novel loci for verbal short-term memory and learning

Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).Understanding the genomic basis of memory processes may help in combating neurodegenerative disorders. Hence, we examined the associations of common genetic variants with verbal short-term memory and verbal learning in adults without dementia or stroke (N = 53,637). We identified novel loci in the intronic region of CDH18, and at 13q21 and 3p21.1, as well as an expected signal in the APOE/APOC1/TOMM40 region. These results replicated in an independent sample. Functional and bioinformatic analyses supported many of these loci and further implicated POC1. We showed that polygenic score for verbal learning associated with brain activation in right parieto-occipital region during working memory task. Finally, we showed genetic correlations of these memory traits with several neurocognitive and health outcomes. Our findings suggest a role of several genomic loci in verbal memory processes.Peer reviewe

Tribological properties of thin films made by atomic layer deposition sliding against silicon

Interfacial phenomena, such as adhesion, friction, and wear, can dominate the performance and reliability of microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices. Here, thin films made by atomic layer deposition (ALD) were tested for their tribological properties. Tribological tests were carried out with silicon counterpart sliding against ALD thin films in order to simulate the contacts occurring in the MEMS devices. The counterpart was sliding in a linear reciprocating motion against the ALD films with the total sliding distances of 5 and 20 m. Al2O3 and TiO2 coatings with different deposition temperatures were investigated in addition to Al2O3-TiO2-nanolaminate, TiN, NbN, TiAlCN, a-C:H [diamondlike carbon (DLC)] coatings, and uncoated Si. The formation of the tribolayer in the contact area was the dominating phenomenon for friction and wear performance. Hardness, elastic modulus, and crystallinity of the materials were also investigated. The nitride coatings had the most favorable friction and wear performance of the ALD coatings, yet lower friction coefficient was measured with DLC a-C:H coating. These results help us to take steps toward improved coating solutions in, e.g., MEMS applicationspeerReviewe

Genome-wide meta-analyses reveal novel loci for verbal short-term memory and learning

Understanding the genomic basis of memory processes may help in combating neurodegenerative disorders. Hence, we examined the associations of common genetic variants with verbal short-term memory and verbal learning in adults without dementia or stroke (N = 53,637). We identified novel loci in the intronic region of CDH18, and at 13q21 and 3p21.1, as well as an expected signal in the APOE/APOC1/TOMM40 region. These results replicated in an independent sample. Functional and bioinformatic analyses supported many of these loci and further implicated POC1. We showed that polygenic score for verbal learning associated with brain activation in right parieto-occipital region during working memory task. Finally, we showed genetic correlations of these memory traits with several neurocognitive and health outcomes. Our findings suggest a role of several genomic loci in verbal memory processes

Maternal anxiety during pregnancy and newborn epigenome-wide DNA methylation

Abstract Maternal anxiety during pregnancy is associated with adverse foetal, neonatal, and child outcomes, but biological mechanisms remain unclear. Altered foetal DNA methylation (DNAm) has been proposed as a potential underlying mechanism. In the current study, we performed a meta-analysis to examine the associations between maternal anxiety, measured prospectively during pregnancy, and genome-wide DNAm from umbilical cord blood. Sixteen non-overlapping cohorts from 12 independent longitudinal studies of the Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics Consortium participated, resulting in a combined dataset of 7243 mother-child dyads. We examined prenatal anxiety in relation to genome-wide DNAm and differentially methylated regions. We observed no association between the general symptoms of anxiety during pregnancy or pregnancy-related anxiety, and DNAm at any of the CpG sites, after multiple-testing correction. Furthermore, we identify no differentially methylated regions associated with maternal anxiety. At the cohort-level, of the 21 associations observed in individual cohorts, none replicated consistently in the other cohorts. In conclusion, contrary to some previous studies proposing cord blood DNAm as a promising potential mechanism explaining the link between maternal anxiety during pregnancy and adverse outcomes in offspring, we found no consistent evidence for any robust associations between maternal anxiety and DNAm in cord blood. Larger studies and analysis of DNAm in other tissues may be needed to establish subtle or subgroup-specific associations between maternal anxiety and the foetal epigenome

Genome-wide meta-analyses reveal novel loci for verbal short-term memory and learning

Understanding the genomic basis of memory processes may help in combating neurodegenerative disorders. Hence, we examined the associations of common genetic variants with verbal short-term memory and verbal learning in adults without dementia or stroke (N = 53,637). We identified novel loci in the intronic region of CDH18, and at 13q21 and 3p21.1, as well as an expected signal in the APOE/APOC1/TOMM40 region. These results replicated in an independent sample. Functional and bioinformatic analyses supported many of these loci and further implicated POC1. We showed that polygenic score for verbal learning associated with brain activation in right parieto-occipital region during working memory task. Finally, we showed genetic correlations of these memory traits with several neurocognitive and health outcomes. Our findings suggest a role of several genomic loci in verbal memory processes.Peer reviewe