Complete, Single-Horizon Quantum Corrected Black Hole Spacetime

We show that a semi-classical polymerization of the interior of Schwarzschild black holes gives rise to a tantalizing candidate for a non-singular, single horizon black hole spacetime. The exterior has non-zero quantum stress energy but closely approximates the classical spacetime for macroscopic black holes. The interior exhibits a bounce at a microscopic scale and then expands indefinitely to a Kantowski-Sachs spacetime. Polymerization therefore removes the singularity and produces a scenario reminiscent of past proposals for universe creation via quantum effects inside a black hole.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. A shortened version with some new reference

“It is a thing passing strange to me that the healing hand should also wield the sword”:Aragorn’s masculinities in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings

Abstract. This thesis analyses the masculinities of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, focusing on two types of masculinity, hegemonic masculinity, and alternative masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity refers to the masculinity that is held in higher regard than other types of masculinity, and is in a position of power in society. Alternative masculinities are the masculinities that fall outside the hegemonic norm, and they often have qualities that are considered feminine. Aragorn’s character appears to have both hegemonically and alternatively masculine traits, of which the following were chosen for closer examination: for hegemonically masculine characteristics Aragorn’s depiction as a mysterious stranger, him acting as a leader, and him being a warrior were selected, and for alternative masculinity his work as a healer and him in comparison to Boromir were chosen. The analysis was conducted by examining all the passages of text that included descriptions of Aragorn, his actions, or his words, utilizing close reading to ensure attention to details and thorough understanding of the text. The analysis suggests that Aragorn’s character has a balance of hegemonic and alternative masculinities, both of which are equally important for him in his journey to become the king of Gondor.”Suuresti minua hämmästyttää se että parantava käsi käyttelee myös miekkaa” : Aragornin maskuliinisuudet Tolkienin Tarussa Sormusten Herrasta. Tiivistelmä. Tämä opinnäytetyö analysoi Aragornin maskuliinisuuksia Tarussa Sormusten Herrasta, keskittyen kahteen erityyppiseen maskuliinisuuteen, hegemoniseen maskuliinisuuteen ja alternatiiviseen maskuliinisuuteen. Hegemonisella maskuliinisuudella viitataan maskuliinisuuteen, joka saa osakseen enemmän arvostusta kuin muut maskuliinisuudet, ja joka on valta-asemassa yhteiskunnassa. Alternatiiviset maskuliinisuudet ovat puolestaan niitä maskuliinisuuksia, jotka jäävät hegemonisen normin ulkopuolelle, ja niissä on usein feminiinisenä pidettyjä piirteitä. Aragornin hahmo vaikuttaa omaavan sekä hegemonisesti että alternatiivisesti maskuliinisia piirteitä, joista seuraavat piirteet on valittu tarkempaan tarkasteluun: hegemonisesti maskuliinisista piirteistä Aragornin kuvaus salaperäisenä muukalaisena, hänen toimintansa johtajana ja hänen toimintansa sotilaana, ja alternatiivisen maskuliinisuuden piirteistä hänen työnsä parantajana ja hän verrattuna Boromiriin. Analyysi on tehty tarkastelemalla kaikkia niitä tekstinosia, joissa esiintyy kuvausta Aragornista, hänen toimintaansa tai hänen sanojansa. Analyysissa on hyödynnetty lähilukua sen varmistamiseksi, että yksityiskohtiin on kiinnitetty huomiota, ja että teksti on tullut syvällisesti ymmärretyksi. Analyysin perusteella voidaan päätellä, että Aragornin hahmolla on hegemonisten ja alternatiivisten maskuliinisuuksien tasapaino, joista molemmat ovat yhtä tärkeitä hänen matkallaan kohti Gondorin kuninkuutta

Role of Editing of R–R Intervals in the Analysis of Heart Rate Variability

This paper reviews the methods used for editing of the R–R interval time series and how this editing can influence the results of heart rate (HR) variability analyses. Measurement of HR variability from short and long-term electrocardiographic (ECG) recordings is a non-invasive method for evaluating cardiac autonomic regulation. HR variability provides information about the sympathetic-parasympathetic autonomic balance. One important clinical application is the measurement of HR variability in patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction. However, HR variability signals extracted from R–R interval time series from ambulatory ECG recordings often contain different amounts of artifact. These false beats can be either of physiological or technical origin. For instance, technical artifact may result from poorly fastened electrodes or be due to motion of the subject. Ectopic beats and atrial fibrillation are examples of physiological artifact. Since ectopic and other false beats are common in the R–R interval time series, they complicate the reliable analysis of HR variability sometimes making it impossible. In conjunction with the increased usage of HR variability analyses, several studies have confirmed the need for different approaches for handling false beats present in the R–R interval time series. The editing process for the R–R interval time series has become an integral part of these analyses. However, the published literature does not contain detailed reviews of editing methods and their impact on HR variability analyses. Several different editing and HR variability signal pre-processing methods have been introduced and tested for the artifact correction. There are several approaches available, i.e., use of methods involving deletion, interpolation or filtering systems. However, these editing methods can have different effects on HR variability measures. The effects of editing are dependent on the study setting, editing method, parameters used to assess HR variability, type of study population, and the length of R–R interval time series. The purpose of this paper is to summarize these pre-processing methods for HR variability signal, focusing especially on the editing of the R–R interval time series

“You are a woman, and your part is in the house.”:gender norms and the female characters in The Lord of the Rings

Abstract. This thesis examines whether the female characters in The Lord of the Rings books conform to gender norms or challenge them. In this thesis, two aspects of female gender norms are analyzed in particular; woman’s role in society, and qualities that are traditionally deemed feminine. Four female characters, Éowyn, Galadriel, Arwen, and Goldberry, have been chosen to be analyzed. The analysis is conducted by carefully reading through the story, and closely examining all of the parts, in which these four female characters are present, or are spoken about by other characters. Then, each of these characters is analyzed in terms of actions, words, outer appearance, and qualities in order to determine whether or not they challenge the gender norms. The analysis suggests that Éowyn and Galadriel seem to be challenging the female gender norms by acting in ways that are traditionally associated with masculinity, such as being powerful, taking on leadership positions, and in the case of Éowyn, occasionally choosing to emphasize masculine aspects of herself. On the other hand, Arwen and Goldberry are mostly conforming to the traditional woman’s role, and displaying mostly qualities, that are considered traditionally feminine.Tiivistelmä. Tämä opinnäytetyö tutkii Taru Sormusten Herrasta -kirjoissa esiintyvien naishenkilöhahmojen mukautumista perinteisiin sukupuolinormeihin, tai vaihtoehtoisesti niistä poikkeamista. Tässä opinnäytetyössä tarkastellaan erityisesti kahta naissukupuolen normeihin liittyvää tekijää; naisen paikkaa yhteiskunnassa, sekä ominaisuuksia, joita pidetään perinteisesti naisellisina. Neljä naishenkilöhahmoa, Éowyn, Galadriel, Arwen, ja Kultamarja, on valittu analyysin kohteeksi. Analyysi suoritetaan lukemalla tarina huolellisesti läpi, ja tarkastelemalla erityisesti kaikkia niitä kohtia, joissa kyseiset neljä henkilöhahmoa ovat läsnä, sekä myöskin sellaisia kohtia, joissa muut hahmot puhuvat heistä. Analyysin kohteena on naishenkilöhahmojen kieli, teot sekä ulkoiset ja sisäiset ominaisuudet sekä niiden kuvaukset, joiden avulla määritellään hahmojen mukautumista sukupuolinormeihin ja mahdollista normien haastamista Analyysin perusteella näyttäisi siltä, että Éowyn ja Galadriel haastavat sukupuolinormit käyttäytymällä perinteisesti maskuliinisuuteen yhdistettävillä tavoilla, esimerkiksi olemalla voimakkaita, ja esiintymällä johtoasemissa, sekä Éowynin tapauksessa myös ajoittain päättämällä korostaa maskuliinisia puolia itsessään. Arwen ja Kultamarja taas esiintyvät pääasiallisesti perinteisessä naisen roolissa, sekä heistä on havaittavissa vain perinteisesti naisellisina pidettyjä ominaisuuksia

Characterization of Thin p-on-p Radiation Detectors with Active Edges

Active edge p-on-p silicon pixel detectors with thickness of 100 $\mu$m were fabricated on 150 mm Float zone silicon wafers at VTT. By combining measured results and TCAD simulations, a detailed study of electric field distributions and charge collection performances as a function of applied voltage in a p-on-p detector was carried out. A comparison with the results of a more conventional active edge p-on-n pixel sensor is presented. The results from 3D spatial mapping show that at pixel-to-edge distances less than 100 $\mu$m the sensitive volume is extended to the physical edge of the detector when the applied voltage is above full depletion. The results from a spectroscopic measurement demonstrate a good functionality of the edge pixels. The interpixel isolation above full depletion and the breakdown voltage were found to be equal to the p-on-n sensor while lower charge collection was observed in the p-on-p pixel sensor below 80 V. Simulations indicated this to be partly a result of a more favourable weighting field in the p-on-n sensor and partly of lower hole lifetimes in the p-bulk.Comment: 23 pages, 16 figures, 1 tabl

Effective Polymer Dynamics of D-Dimensional Black Hole Interiors

We consider two different effective polymerization schemes applied to D-dimensional, spherically symmetric black hole interiors. It is shown that polymerization of the generalized area variable alone leads to a complete, regular, single-horizon spacetime in which the classical singularity is replaced by a bounce. The bounce radius is independent of rescalings of the homogeneous internal coordinate, but does depend on the arbitrary fiducial cell size. The model is therefore necessarily incomplete. It nonetheless has many interesting features: After the bounce, the interior region asymptotes to an infinitely expanding Kantowski-Sachs spacetime. If the solution is analytically continued across the horizon, the black hole exterior exhibits asymptotically vanishing quantum-corrections due to the polymerization. In all spacetime dimensions except four, the fall-off is too slow to guarantee invariance under Poincare transformations in the exterior asymptotic region. Hence the four-dimensional solution stands out as the only example which satisfies the criteria for asymptotic flatness. In this case it is possible to calculate the quantum-corrected temperature and entropy. We also show that polymerization of both phase space variables, the area and the conformal mode of the metric, generically leads to a multiple horizon solution which is reminiscent of polymerized mini-superspace models of spherically symmetric black holes in Loop Quantum Gravity.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures. Added discussion about the dependency on auxiliary structures. Matches with the published versio