Cause-specific contributions to sex differences in adult mortality among whites and African Americans between 1960 and 1995

The purpose of this paper is to describe trends in sex differences in mortality in young adulthood and in middle age among African Americans and whites in the United States between 1960 and 1995. We examine trends in all-cause mortality and estimate the contribution of leading causes of death to the change in the sex difference in mortality over time. Between 1960 and 1995 the sex difference in mortality increased for African Americans and whites at ages 15-39 and declined for whites but increased for African Americans at ages 40-64. Our results reveal considerable variation in the sex difference in mortality by cause of death as well as in the contribution various causes of death make to the change in the sex mortality difference over time.cause of death, mortality, USA

Artistic Research Syndrome

En aquest assaig presento una construcció heurística que anomeno «la síndrome de la investigació artística», una constel·lació de símptomes culturals associats, a grans trets, que tenen a veure amb el desplaçament del sentit. El meu objectiu és obrir una nova perspectiva a les pràctiques d'investigació artística en un marc teorètic cultural més ampli. El plantejament s'informa per la hipòtesi que hi ha una desestabilització en curs de les jerarquies condicionades culturalment entre les diferents dimensions del sentit (en tots els sentits de la paraula sentit) i que les pràctiques de la investigació artística tenen un paper significatiu en aquesta desestabilització. «El síndrome de la investigación artística» indica una crisi en els models d'investigació motivats per la teoria i el renaixement dels marcs d'investigació pragmatogònics. És un senyal de la relativització radical de les concepcions del món centrades en els humans i el reconeixement d'agències no humanes. Provoca el reconeixement de formes de coneixement prèviament subestimades. Domina en els punts neuràlgics de les economies i ecologies del coneixement d'avui dia. Abordaré alguns aspectes clau de la síndrome de la investigació artística per mitjà d'un conjunt de qüestions interrelacionades que afecten la relació entre l'estètica i la investigació artística. Formularé aquestes qüestions amb els termes tècniques culturals, desplaçament del sentit i treball de frontera.En este ensayo, presento una construcción heurística que llamo «el síndrome de la investigación artística», una constelación de síntomas culturales asociados en líneas generales que tienen que ver con el desplazamiento del sentido. Mi objetivo es abrir una nueva perspectiva a las prácticas de investigación artística en un marco teorético cultural más amplio. El planteamiento se informa por la hipótesis de que hay una desestabilización en curso de las jerarquías condicionadas culturalmente entre las diferentes dimensiones del sentido (en todos los sentidos de la palabra «sentido») y que las prácticas de la investigación artística juegan un papel significativo en esta desestabilización. «El síndrome de la investigación artística» indica una crisis en los modelos de investigación motivados por la teoría y el renacimiento de los marcos de investigación pragmatogónicos. Es una señal de la relativización radical de las concepciones del mundo centradas en los humanos y el reconocimiento de agencias no humanas. Provoca el reconocimiento de formas de conocimiento previamente subestimadas. Domina en los puntos neurálgicos de las economías y ecologías del conocimiento de hoy en día. Abordaré algunos aspectos clave del «síndrome de la investigación artística» a través de un conjunto de cuestiones interrelacionadas concernientes a la relación entre la estética y la investigación artística. Formularé estas cuestiones en términos de «técnicas culturales», «desplazamiento del sentido» y «trabajo fronterizo».In this essay, I present a heuristic construction that I call “artistic research syndrome”, a constellation of loosely associated cultural symptoms that all have to do with displacement of sense. My aim is to open a new perspective on artistic research practices in a wider cultural, theoretical frame. The approach is informed by the hypothesis that there is an on-going destabilisation of the culturally conditioned hierarchies between different dimensions of sense (in all senses of the word “sense”) and that artistic research practices play a significant role in this destabilisation. “Artistic research syndrome” indicates a crisis of theory-driven models of research and the revival of pragmatogonic research settings. It is signaling the radical relativisation of human-centered conceptions of the world and the recognition of non-human agencies. It provokes the recognition of previously underestimated forms of cognition. It holds sway on the neuralgic points of today’s economies and ecologies of knowledge.I will address some key aspects of “artistic research syndrome” through a set of interrelated questions concerning the relation of aesthetics and arts research. I will formulate these questions in terms of “cultural techniques”, “displacement of sense” and “boundary work”

Logistiikan amk-opintojen ammatillisten perusosaamisten ostotoiminta ammattioppilaitoksesta

Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli selvittää, mitä kaikkia koulutuksia Satakunnan ammattikorkeakoulu voisi ostaa Länsirannikon Koulutus Oy WinNovalta logis-tiikkainsinööriopiskelijoita varten. SAMKilla ei ole toimitiloja ja välineitä logistiikan alan käytännön työn opetusta varten. Tällaista koulutusta on muun muassa trukilla ajaminen ja kuorman sidonta ja tuenta. Tästä syystä SAMK joutuu kääntymään ulkopuolisten toimijoiden puoleen ja ostotoimintaan. Teoriaosuudessa käsiteltiin ensin SAMKin ja WinNovan logistiikan opetussuunnitelmia. Tämän jälkeen avattiin insinöörien työelämäkentän teorioita, sekä käsiteltiin erityisesti logistiikkainsinöörien työelämää ja työtehtäviä. Teoriaosuuden tarkoituksena oli tukea työn toiminnallista osuutta. Työn toiminnallisessa osuudessa käytettiin hyväksi SAMKin logistiikan opiskelijoille teetetyn kyselytutkimuksen tuloksia, sekä WinNovan logistiikan alan koulutuspäällikön sähköpostihaastattelun vastauksia. Näiden avulla saatiin selvitettyä, kuinka moni opiskelija kokee koulutuksien tarpeellisiksi, sekä mitä kaikkia koulutuksia WinNova voi myydä SAMKille ja mitä välineitä ja toimitiloja WinNovalla on käytössä. Tämä työ tehtiin, koska logistiikkainsinöörien on hyvä myös osata oman alan käytännön työn taitoja. Tästä syystä SAMK haluaa järjestää opiskelijoille tällaista koulutusta, jotta koulusta valmistuvat insinöörit olisivat entistä pätevimpiä työelämässä.The purpose of this thesis was to find out what training Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) could outsource to Länsirannikon Koulutus Oy WinNova (WinNova) for its logistics engineering students. SAMK does not have the facilities and tools needed to teach its students practical skills such as load security or how to operate a forklift. This is why SAMK has to turn to outsourcing and purchasing. The theoretical part of the thesis first dealt with the logistics curricula of SAMK and WinNova. This was followed by descriptions of the most important skills required of an engineer and what logistics engineers really do. The purpose of the theoretical part was to support the operational part of the study. The operational part of the study used the results of a survey conducted amongst logistics students at SAMK and the responses to an e-mail interview with the WinNova logistics training director. With this information, it was possible to determine how many students find the practical training necessary, what training could be outsourced to WinNova and what tools and facilities WinNova have at their disposal. This study was based on the understanding that logistics engineers also need to have good practical skills. SAMK wants to offer its logistics students training in these skills so that they would be more competent in their future jobs

Transcriptional regulation of the human pre-implantation embryo

Millions of couples worldwide have difficulties in conceiving a child. These couples, affected by infertility, suffer from symptoms of stress. The causes of infertility are largely unknown and current available treatment, in vitro fertilization has moderate success rates. The in vitro fertilization covers pre-implantation stage of the human embryo development. Better understanding of the molecular mechanisms in the early development might help to improve the in vitro fertilization methods. Much of the knowledge on early development has been gained from model organisms: nematode, fruit fly, zebrafish and mouse. Mouse is a commonly used model organism for mammalian pre-implantation development. Global gene expression studies have been performed on mouse and human. Overall, gene expression changes seem to be similar in principle between the organisms. However, the expression of the first transcribed genes in the early development may not be as conserved between species as other genes expressed later in development. Therefore, human pre-implantation development should also be studied on human material for better translation of the results. Genes with a dynamic expression profile in human pre-implantation development were identified in Paper I. Various criteria such as conservation, expression profile in mouse, relevance in cancer and novelty were applied to choose seventy genes of potential importance in human early development. Expression of those genes was studied in mouse and compared with human orthologues. The results showed differences in the expression profiles between human and mouse. Paper II found novel regulatory elements and potentially important transcription factors from human early development by single-cell RNA sequencing. About 350 of oocytes and blastomeres from early embryos were studied, the promoters of activated genes were analyzed, and many PRD-like homeodomain genes with first-time evidence of expression were cloned. These genes were suggested to regulate the early development. Paper III describes the expression pattern, target genes and potential function in early development for the PRD-like homeodomain gene LEUTX. A novel variant of LEUTX was identified and cloned, providing a full homeodomain-containing and functional isoform of the protein. LEUTX was found expressed exclusively in human pre-implantation embryos. The target genes of LEUTX were enriched among the genes activated by human embryo, which strongly indicated regulatory function for LEUTX in the early development. The other PRD-like homeodomain containing proteins were studied in Paper IV. Expression of those genes was found to be specific for early development. The targets of CPHX1 and DPRX were found to be enriched among the genes activated in the early human embryo. General overlap of the target genes allowed for discussion of their possible functional redundancy. The thesis offers novel findings for understanding gene expression and regulation in human pre-implantation embryos. The studies identify novel PRD-like homeodomain containing transcription factors that may have a crucial importance in the regulation of gene expression in the human pre-implantation embryos

Ikääntyneiden käsityksiä kuolemasta

Tämä opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli tutkia ikääntyneiden käsityksiä kuolemasta. Ikään-tyneillä tarkoitetaan tässä työssä yli 65-vuotiaita ihmisiä, joilla on jo kokemusta elämäs-tä ja kuolemasta. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään millaisia käsityksiä ikääntyneillä on kuo-lemasta, mitkä elämän kokemukset, tapahtumat ja ajatukset ovat muokanneet käsitystä kuolemasta ja millainen on ikääntyneiden mielestä hyvä kuolema. Tutkimus on laadullinen tutkimus ja tutkimusmenetelmänä käytin teemahaastattelua. Haastateltavat valittiin yhdessä Vihdin seurakunnan kanssa sekä tutkijan työpaikalta. Jokaiselta haastateltavalta kysyttiin etukäteen halukkuus osallistua kyseisen haastattelun tekemiseen ja tähdennettiin, että tutkimustuloksissa ei ilmene haastateltavan henkilöllisyyttä. Tutkimukseen osallistui viisi ikääntynyttä, joiden keski-ikä oli 83 vuotta. Tutkimuksessa kävi ilmi, että ikääntyneiden lapsuudella ja sieltä saaduilla opeilla on suuri merkitys siihen miten he suhtautuivat kuolemaan. Elämässä tapahtuneet asiat kuten läheisten kuolemat ja sodat vaikuttivat ikääntyneiden käsitykseen kuolemasta. Ikääntyessä suhtautuminen kuolemaan muuttui luonnolliseksi ja siitä haluttiin keskustella. On tärkeää tietää, mikä kuolemassa tai kuolemisessa mietityttää ja ehkä pelottaa ikääntynyttä. Kuoleman hetkellä ihminen on haavoittuvimmillaan ja tilanne vaatii erityistä herkkyyttä ja ammattitaitoa. Kuolemaa tulee kunnioittaa sen vaatimalla tavalla.The main goal for this thesis was to investigate the death perception of the elderly people. Age-outstanding debt means in this work more than 65 years of age people who already have experience of life-and death. The study explores what perceptions older people have about death, what life experiences, events, and ideas have shaped the perception of death and what is the older view good death. The research is a qualitative research and the research method I used the theme inter-view. Interviewees were selected together with the congregation of Vihti as well as investigator jobs. Each challenge asked in advance for willingness to participate in the interview and stressed that the study results does not occur in the interviewee's identi-ty. The study involved five elderly, whose average age was 83 years. The investigation revealed that the ageing of our childhood, and there received teach-ings have a big impact on how they felt about the death. In life things happen and as of close deaths and wars affected the older conception of death. Aging in the attitude toward death changed as a natural and it was to discuss. It is important to know what dying or dead in mind and maybe scared elderly. At the moment of death the human is most vulnerable and the situation requires special sensitivity and skills. Death will come to respect it

Digital finger: beyond phenomenological figures of touch

The article reflects on digitality and interface design in terms of the multiple senses of touch. Touching is presented as a ‘‘pathic’’ sense of being exposed, which implies that touching exceeds the tactile and even the phenomenal world. A particular focus is set on Aristotle’s and Husserl’s ways of thematizing the sense of touch. In this way, two extremes of the phenomenological thinking of touching are articulated: touching as an indistinct and heterogeneous constituent of sensitivity and touching as the guarantor of immediacy of the sense experience. Referring to Derrida’s critical notes concerning haptocentrism, the article attempts to problematize the hand and the finger as phenomenological figures of touch and as holds of haptic realism. The article concludes that insofar as digital interface design aims at haptic realism it conceives of the sense of touch in terms of narcissistic feedback and thus tends to conceal the pathic moment of touching

Preclinical evaluation of novel radiopharmaceuticals for positron emission tomography imaging of animal models of multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common autoimmune disease of central nervous system (CNS) that causes chronic neurological impairment and clinical disability. Neuroinflammation is a major element in MS pathology and is present throughout the disease course contributing to clinical symptoms and irreversible neuronal damage. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the preferred imaging modality to diagnose MS. However, traditional clinical diagnosis tools are not accurate for comprehensive pathological assessment or short-term treatment evaluation. Therefore, new medical imaging methods are needed for better understanding of the disease process. The goal of this work was to evaluate novel vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) and folate receptor (FR) targeted radiotracers and compare them with translocator protein 18-kDa (TSPO) targeted radiotracer for positron emission tomography (PET) using rat models of MS. PET studies were performed using 68Ga-DOTA-Siglec-9, 18F-FOL, 68Ga-FOL and 11C-PBR28 radioligands to assess their ability to monitor neuroinflammation, disease progression and efficacy of therapies. MRI, histology, immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry were performed to validate novel findings and to support PET data. VAP-1-targeting 68Ga-DOTA-Siglec-9 was able to visualize acute neuroinflammatory lesions ex vivo, but lacked the sensitivity to detect treatment effect and early MS-like lesions. FR-targeting 18F-FOL could also visualize the lesions and, most importantly, was able to outperform 11C-PBR28 by differentiating between acute and chronic lesions. 68Ga-FOL was not sensitive enough to detect treatment effect or lesion progression although it could visualize the MS-like lesions. In conclusion, FR targeting radioligands provide more specificity to PET imaging of MS-like lesions. FR is a potential target for in vivo imaging and development of therapies for MS patients.Uusien positroniemissiotomografia kuvantamisen radiolääkeaineiden prekliininen arviointi MS-taudin eläinmalleilla Multippeliskleroosi eli MS-tauti on yleisin keskushermoston autoimmunisairaus, joka aiheuttaa kroonisia neurologisia toimintahäiriöitä ja kliinistä toimintakyvyn alenemaa. Tulehdus on merkittävä osatekijä MS-taudissa ja esiintyy koko taudin ajan vaikuttaen kliiniseen oirekuvaan ja pysyvään hermosolujen rappeutumiseen. Magneettikuvaus on ensisijainen kuvantamismenetelmä MS-taudin diagnostiikassa. Perinteiset kliiniset diagnosointimenetelmät eivät kuitenkaan ole tarpeeksi tarkkoja kokonaisvaltaisen diagnoosin tai lyhyen ajan hoitovasteen arvioinnissa. Siksi uusia lääketieteellisiä kuvantamismenetelmiä tarvitaan ymmärtääksemme paremmin MStaudin kulkua. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli arvioida uusien verisuonen pinnan tartuntamolekyyli-1:een (VAP-1), ja folaattireseptoriin (FR) kohdentuvien radioaktiivisten PET merkkiaineiden käyttökelpoisuutta verrattuna 18-kDa:n translokaatio proteiiniin (TSPO) kohdentuvaan merkkiaineeseen MS-taudin rottamalleissa. PET tutkimukset tehtiin 68Ga-DOTA-Siglec-9, 18F-FOL, 68Ga-FOL ja 11C-PBR28 merkkiaineilla, jotta voitaisiin arvioida näiden merkkiaineiden kykyä seurata tulehdusreaktiota, taudin etenemistä ja lääkehoitojen vastetta. Magneettikuvausta, histologiaa, immunofluoresenssia ja immunohistokemiaa käytettiin uusien löydösten validointiin ja PET löydösten tukemiseen. VAP-1:een kohdentuva 68Ga-DOTA-Siglec-9 pystyi havaitsemaan akuutin vaiheen tulehdukselliset leesiot, mutta ei lääkkeen hoitovastetta tai uusia MS-taudin kaltaisia leesioita. FR:iin kohdentuva 18F-FOL kykeni myös havaitsemaan leesioita ja ennen kaikkea onnistui erottamaan akuutin ja kroonisen vaiheen leesiot toisistaan paremmin kuin 11C-PBR28. Myös 68Ga-FOL havaitsi leesioita, mutta ei osoittanut lääkehoidon vastetta tai leesioiden etenemistä. Yhteenvetona voidaan todeta, että FR:iin kohdentuvat merkkiaineet tarjoavat lisää spesifisyyttä MS-taudin kaltaisten leesioiden PET-kuvantamiseen. FR on lupaava kohde sekä MS-taudin in vivo kuvantamiselle että lääkehoitojen kehittämiselle

The Effects of Fibroblast Growth Factor 8b on Reproductive Organs and Prostate Tumorigenesis

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are involved in the development and homeostasis of the prostate and other reproductive organs. FGF signaling is altered in prostate cancer. Fibroblast growth factor 8 (FGF8) is a mitogenic growth factor and its expression is elevated in prostate cancer and in premalignant prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) lesions. FGF8b is the most transforming isoform of FGF8. Experimental models show that FGF8b promotes several phases of prostate tumorigenesis - including cancer initiation, tumor growth, angiogenesis, invasion and development of bone metastasis. The mechanisms activated by FGF8b in the prostate are unclear. In the present study, to examine the tumorigenic effects of FGF8b on the prostate and other FGF8b expressing organs, an FGF8b transgenic (TG) mouse model was generated. The effect of estrogen receptor beta (ERβ) deficiency on FGF8binduced prostate tumorigenesis was studied by breeding FGF8b-TG mice with ERβ knockout mice (BERKOFVB). Overexpression of FGF8b caused progressive histological and morphological changes in the prostate, epididymis and testis of FGF8b-TG-mice. In the prostate, hyperplastic, preneoplastic and neoplastic changes, including mouse PIN (mPIN) lesions, adenocarcinomas, sarcomas and carcinosarcomas were present in the epithelium and stroma. In the epididymis, a highly cancer-resistant tissue, the epithelium contained dysplasias and the stroma had neoplasias and hyperplasias with atypical cells. Besides similar histological changes in the prostate and epididymis, overexpression of FGF8b induced similar changes in the expression of genes such as osteopontin (Spp1), connective tissue growth factor (Ctgf) and FGF receptors (Fgfrs) in these two tissues. In the testes of the FGF8b-TG mice, the seminiferous epithelium was frequently degenerative and the number of spermatids was decreased. A portion of the FGF8b-TG male mice was infertile. Deficiency of ERβ did not accelerate prostate tumorigenesis in the FGF8b-TG mice, but increased significantly the frequency of mucinous metaplasia and slightly the frequency of inflammation in the prostate. This suggests putative differentiation promoting and anti-inflammatory roles for ERβ. In summary, these results underscore the importance of FGF signaling in male reproductive organs and provide novel evidence for a role of FGF8b in stromal activation and prostate tumorigenesis.Siirretty Doriast

The Role of Television in Sports Development in Nigeria

Sports as a collected term, represents one important area of national life which most nations of the world continue to emphasize. Such countries use it to project their image. Flowing from this fact, there is, therefore, the need to develop the area as a way of integrating a country into the global nexus. Sports development involves the mass media which contribute to this development in a number of ways. This paper focuses, particularly on Nigerian television and its role in sports development in Nigeria. The paper finds that the medium has failed to adequately perform its role in this regard. The paper thus suggests a new role for Nigerian television and suggests ways of performing this role. Keywords: sports, development, television