Teachers’ Knowledge of Curriculum Integration : A Current Challenge for Finnish Subject Teachers

The purpose of this chapter is to explore and analyze the kind of knowledge curriculum integration required of teachers and how teacher education should be developed to prepare teachers better for curriculum integration. The chapter is organized as follows: First, the concept of curriculum integration (CI) is briefly introduced in the context of the Finnish curriculum for comprehensive schools. Then Lee Shulman’s theory of teachers’ knowledge is discussed and applied to the framework of CI to identify the challenges teachers may face in implementing CI. Finally, implications for teacher education are suggested based on the current challenges identified in the Finnish context.The purpose of this chapter is to explore and analyze the kind of knowledge curriculum integration (CI) required of teachers and how teacher education should be developed to prepare teachers better for CI. The chapter is organized as follows: First, the concept of CI is briefly introduced in the context of the Finnish curriculum for comprehensive schools. Then Lee Shulman’s theory of teachers’ knowledge is discussed and applied to the framework of CI to identify the challenges teachers may face in implementing it. Finally, implications for teacher education are suggested based on the current challenges identified in the Finnish context.Peer reviewe

Wide-angle X-ray scattering studies on contemporary and ancient bast fibres used in textiles - ultrastructural studies on stinging nettle

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is a potential source material for industrial applications. However, systematic research on the ultrastructural properties of nettle fibres is lacking. Determining the ultrastructure of nettle and the other bast fibres also provides new insights into the studies of archaeological fibres and their usage. In this study, the nanostructure of modern and ancient nettle samples was studied using wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and compared to other bast fibres. The culturo-historical fibre samples consisted of nettle, flax, and hemp from White Karelian textiles collected 1894 as well as of 800-900-year-old archaeological textile fragments from Ravattula Ristimaki burial site, Finland. Using WAXS, the average cellulose crystallite widths, relative crystallinities and orientational order (including microfibril angle for the modern fibres) were determined and compared. The results also revealed the suitability of the WAXS analysis for fibre identification. The crystallite widths were of the similar size for all modern fibres (3.4-4.8 nm). Subtle differences in the relative crystallinities in descending order (from flax to nettle, and finally hemp) were observed. Also, subtle differences in the mean MFAs were observed (10 +/- 1 degrees for flax, 12 +/- 1 degrees for nettle, and 14 +/- 1 degrees for hemp). For the culturo-historical fibres, the values for crystallite widths and relative crystallinities were larger compared to the corresponding modern references. In addition, features due to the presence of non-cellulosic, crystalline substances (e.g., calcium oxalates) were detected in the WAXS patterns of all the modern nettle fibres. These features could potentially be used as a tool for identification purposes.Peer reviewe

Doctoral Students' Social Support Profiles and Their Relationship to Burnout, Drop-out Intentions, and Time to Candidacy

Peer reviewe

Errors-in-Variables Modeling of Personalized Treatment-Response Trajectories

Estimating the impact of a treatment on a given response is needed in many biomedical applications. However, methodology is lacking for the case when the response is a continuous temporal curve, treatment covariates suffer extensively from measurement error, and even the exact timing of the treatments is unknown. We introduce a novel method for this challenging scenario. We model personalized treatment-response curves as a combination of parametric response functions, hierarchically sharing information across individuals, and a sparse Gaussian process for the baseline trend. Importantly, our model accounts for errors not only in treatment covariates, but also in treatment timings, a problem arising in practice for example when data on treatments are based on user self-reporting. We validate our model with simulated and real patient data, and show that in a challenging application of estimating the impact of diet on continuous blood glucose measurements, accounting for measurement error significantly improves estimation and prediction accuracy.Peer reviewe

Personality disorders and suicide attempts in unipolar and bipolar mood disorders

Background: Comorbid personality disorders may predispose patients with mood disorders to suicide attempts (SAs), but factors mediating this effect are not well known. Methods: Altogether 597 patients from three prospective cohort studies (Vantaa Depression Study, Jorvi Bipolar Study, and Vantaa Primary Care Depression Study) were interviewed at baseline, at 18 months, and in VDS and PC-VDS at 5 years. Personality disorders (PDs) at baseline, number of previous SAs, life-charted time spent in major depressive episodes (MDEs), and precise timing of SAs during follow-up were determined and investigated. Results: Overall, 219 (36.7%) patients had a total of 718 lifetime SAs; 88 (14.7%) patients had 242 SAs during the prospective follow-up. Having any PD diagnosis increased the SA rate, both lifetime and prospectively evaluated, by 90% and 102%, respectively. All PD clusters increased the rate of new SAs, although cluster C PDs more than the others. After adjusting for time spent in MDEs, only cluster C further increased the SA rate (by 52%). Mediation analyses of PD effects on prospectively ascertained SAs indicated significant mediated effects through time at risk in MDEs, but also some direct effects. Limitations: Findings generalizable only to patients with mood disorders. Conclusions: Among mood disorder patients, comorbid PDs increase the risk of SAs to approximately two-fold. The excess risk is mostly due to patients with comorbid PDs spending more time in depressive episodes than those without. Consequently, risk appears highest for PDs that most predispose to chronicity and recurrences. However, also direct risk-modifying effects of PDs exist. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

In Search of Clinical Markers: Indicators of Exposure in Dampness and Mold Hypersensitivity Syndrome (DMHS)

Potential markers were sought to diagnose mold hypersensitivity. Indoor air condensed water and human macrophage THP-1 test were applied to evaluate the buildings. Basophil activation tests (BAT) were conducted and mold-specific immunoglobulins (IgE, IgG, IgA, and IgD) were measured in study subjects’ serum and feces. Exposed subjects reported markedly more symptoms from occupational air than controls. Basophils from exposed subjects died/lost activity at 225 times lower concentrations of toxic extracts from the target building than recommended in the common BAT protocol. Fecal IgG and IgD levels against Acrostalagmus luteoalbus and Aspergillus versicolor produced receiver operating curves (ROC) of 0.928 and 0.916, respectively, when plotted against the inflammation marker MRP8/14. Assaying serum immunoglobulin concentrations against the toxic Chaetomium globosum (MTAV35) from another building, a test control, did not differentiate study individuals. However, if liver metabolism produced the same core molecule from other Chaetomium globosum strains, this would explain the increased response in fecal immunoglobulins in the exposed. The altered immunoglobulin values in the samples of exposed when compared to controls revealed the route of mold exposure. The toxicity of indoor air condensed water samples, BAT and serology confirmed the severity of symptoms in the target building’s employees, supporting earlier findings of toxicity in this building

Spirometrian suorittaminen ja tulkinta : uudet suomalaiset ja monikansalliset viitearvot käyttöön - Suomen Kliinisen Fysiologian yhdistyksen ja Suomen Keuhkolääkäriyhdistyksen suositus 2015

•Hil­jattain on jul­kaistu uu­det suoma­laiset ai­kuisten spi­ro­metrian vii­tearvot, joi­den mit­taukset kat­tavat myös vanhus­väestön 84 vuo­den ikään as­ti. •Uu­sien ar­vojen tulkin­nassa otetaan käyt­töön mi­tatun ar­von poik­keaman mää­rä viitear­vo­po­pu­laation ­kes­kiar­vosta z-yksik­köinä (sama kuin SD). Muu­toksen vaikeu­saste ar­vioidaan z-ar­von mu­kaan. •Nor­maalin va­riaation ala­raja on klii­ni­sissä tutki­muk­sissa kai­kille spi­ro­met­ria­muut­tu­jille sa­ma (z-ar­vona –1,65). Ter­veistä 95 % asettuu tä­män ra­jan ylä­puo­lelle. •Syn­ty­pe­rältään ulko­maa­laisten las­ten ja ai­kuisten tutki­muk­sissa suosi­tellaan käytet­tä­väksi uu­sia kansain­vä­lisiä GLI2012-vii­tear­voja. •Suo­ma­laisten las­ten tutki­muk­sissa suosi­tellaan käytet­tä­väksi edelleen van­hoja suoma­laisia viitear­voja, mut­ta nii­den klii­ni­sessä sovel­ta­mi­sessa suosi­tellaan nyt z-ar­vojen käyt­töä. •Ai­kuisten van­hat suoma­laiset vii­tearvot ei­vät ole perus­tuneet todel­lisiin mittaus­tu­loksiin yli 64-vuo­tiailla. Van­hojen ar­vojen käyt­tö on aiheut­tanut toden­nä­köi­sesti hengi­tys­tieobst­ruktion yli­diag­nos­tiikkaa vanhem­missa ikä­ryh­missä.Peer reviewe

Early-onset atopic dermatitis and food hypersensitivity increase the risk of atopic march

Non peer reviewe

Partnering with the Old Order Mennonites in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State to Identify the Mechanisms of Protective Immunity Against Atopic Disease Development

Old Order Mennonites (OOM) follow a traditional agrarian lifestyle; key aspects include home births, large families, limited antibiotic usage, consumption of whole foods and unpasteurized milk, and early exposure to soil, stables, and farm animals. There is evidence that a farming lifestyle protects against asthma and allergies, yet the biological mechanisms behind this protective effect remain unknown. The “Zooming into Old Order Mennonites” (ZOOM) cohort study was established to further explore protective factors and mechanisms. This study compares immune development among OOM children from the Finger Lakes Region of New York to those residing 65 miles northwest in Rochester, NY. Participants completed prenatal and post-natal questionnaires and biomarker sampling throughout the infant’s first two years. Questionnaires on lifestyle, diet, and environmental exposures continued through year five. The success of this study depended on a partnership between the University of Rochester study team and the OOM community, which began in 2009 with a pilot study on prenatal lifestyle behaviors and environmental exposures. Since then, the study team and the OOM community have collaborated to investigate the prevalence and mechanisms underlying atopic disease. The study team has remained mindful of OOM cultural practices by carefully engaging community members and potential participants through key informant interviews, focus groups, and “town hall” data-sharing meetings. To truly respect this community, they must be involved at every step of the research process. Through these efforts, the ZOOM study team recruited 90 OOM mother-infant pairs. Ultimately, this study marks a step closer to preventing allergic disease. [Abstract by authors.

Dynamics of attachment and emotion regulation in daily life : uni- and bidirectional associations

Attachment theory proposes that the activation of the attachment system enacts emotion regulation (ER) to maintain security or cope with insecurity. However, the effects of ER on attachment states and their bidirectional influences remain poorly understood. In this ecological momentary assessment study, we examined the dynamics between attachment and ER. We hypothesised that attachment states and ER influence each other through time. Specifically, we hypothesised bidirectional short-term cycles between state attachment security and reappraisal, state attachment anxiety and rumination, and state attachment avoidance and suppression. We also tested how trait attachment is related to state attachment and ER. One hundred twenty-two participants (M-age = 26.4) completed the Experiences in Close Relationship-Revised and reported state attachment and ER seven times daily for seven days. The results were only partly consistent with our cycle hypotheses yet revealed a cycle between low state attachment security and rumination that was attenuated by reappraisal. Moreover, rumination and suppression predicted increased insecure states, and reappraisal predicted increased secure and insecure states. Finally, trait attachment showed associations with state attachment and ER. Our study suggests regulatory dynamics between attachment and ER and opens important questions about their functional relationship in maintaining attachment-related behavioural patterns and emotional well-being.Peer reviewe