History teaching in Finnish general upper secondary schools: Objectives and practices

In Finland, the trend towards a new kind of history teaching emphasizing the understanding of historical knowledge and historical thinking skills began in the mid-1990s, when history teaching objectives were defined much more broadly in the curriculum than previously. In this article, we examine how, in over twenty years since the changes in curriculum objectives were made, general upper secondary school teachers have come to value the curriculum objectives of history teaching and how these have impacted on their teaching. The data for this article were collected by a semi-structured survey in 2016. Using counts, percentages, means, standard deviations and medians, a descriptive exploration was made of history teachers’ perceptions of the essential objectives in teaching history and how often they were put into practice in related student activities. To investigate the balance between the objectives the teachers emphasized as the most essential and the teaching methods they actually used, we applied the Kruskal–Wallis test and the Friedman test. According to the results, what the teachers considered essential for teaching history did not correlate with their teaching methods. In addition, according to the results, this state of affairs is still undergoing change; old traditions and new objectives of history teaching are creating tensions. The results were interpreted in the light of the cultural viewpoints of Finnish teaching, the position of matriculation examinations in Finnish general upper secondary schools and the challenges the curriculum is setting for history teacher

Kalvobioreaktorien hyödyntäminen teollisuuden jätevesien puhdistuksessa

Tiivistelmä. Kalvobioreaktoreissa yhdistyvät tavanomainen biologinen vedenkäsittely ja veden mekaaninen suodattaminen. Bioreaktorissa tapahtuu biologinen vedenpuhdistus ja membraanisuodattimen avulla puhdistettavasta vedestä poistetaan kiintoaineet. Tutkielman tarkoituksena on perehtyä kalvobioreaktoreihin ja niiden käyttöön teollisuuden jätevesien puhdistuksessa. Lisäksi kalvobioreaktoreita verrattiin kahteen muuhun vedenpuhdistusprosessiin. Membraanikalvo voi olla upotettuna samaan altaaseen bioreaktorin kanssa tai se voi olla sivuvirtaan kytkettynä. Sivuvirtaisen kalvobioreaktorissa vaadittava paine on korkeampi kuin upotetussa kalvobioreaktorissa, jolloin sivuvirtaisen kalvobioreaktorin energiankulutus on pienempi kuin upotetun. Toisaalta sivuvirtaisen kalvobioreaktorin virtaama on suurempi eli sillä saadaan puhdistettua enemmän vettä tietyssä aikayksikössä. Kalvobioreaktoreissa vaihtelevat myös muun muassa membraanien huokoskoko, membraanimateriaali, sekä membraanien muoto. Tyypillisiä membraanimateriaaleja ovat erilaiset polymeerit ja keraamiset materiaalit, joilla huokoskoot vaihtelevat kymmenestä mikrometristä muutamiin nanometreihin. Kalvomembraanit voivat olla tasomaisia kalvoja, onttokuitukalvoja, putkimaisia kalvoja ja spiraalimaisia kalvoja. Teollisuuden jätevesien puhdistuksessa käytetään tyypillisesti tasomaisia kalvoja ja onttokuitukalvoja. Kalvobioreaktorien vahvuuksia ovat esimerkiksi pieni fyysinen pintaala ja erittäin hyvä puhdistuskyky. Membraanisuodatuksen avulla kalvobioreaktoreilla saadaan tuotettua erittäin puhdasta vettä, joka ei sisällä pääasiassa ollenkaan kiintoainetta. Membraanikalvojen likaantuminen ja korkea energiankulutus ovat kalvobioreaktoreiden haasteita. Membraanikalvojen likaantuminen johtuu esimerkiksi jäteveden sisältämästä kiintoaineesta ja niiden hajoamistuotteista sekä kuolleista bakteereista. Korkea energiankulutus johtuu erilaisista pumpuista ja ilmastimista, joita vaaditaan ylläpitämään tarvittavaa liukoisen hapen määrää ja ehkäisemään membraanien likaantumista. Membraanien likaantumista voidaan ehkäistä myös vastavirtahuuhtelulla, relaksaatiolla sekä emäs- ja happopesuilla. Kalvobioreaktorilaitokset ovat tyypilliseen aktiivilieteprosessiin ja liikkuva peti bioreaktorilaitokseen verrattuna pienempiä fyysiseltä kooltaan. Kuitenkin näihin laitoksiin verrattuna kalvobioreaktorilaitoksen energiankulutus on huomattavasti korkeampi, johtuen kalvobioreaktorien membraanien kaasuttamisesta, joka ehkäisee membraanien likaantumista. Aktiivilieteprosessi, liikkuva peti bioreaktori ja kalvobioreaktori kukin tuottavat korkealaatuista vettä, mutta kalvobioreaktorien erinomaisuus piilee niiden kyvyssä poistaa lähes kaikki kiintoaines jätevedestä.

Ketoacidosis at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes: Effect of prospective studies with newborn genetic screening and follow up of risk children

We studied the frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in children at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in a region where newborn infants have since 1995 been recruited for genetic screening for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-conferred disease susceptibility and prospective follow up. The aim was to study whether participation in newborn screening and follow up affected the frequency of DKA, and to follow the time trends in DKA frequency. We first included children born in Oulu University Hospital since 1995 when the prospective studies have been ongoing and diagnosed with T1DPeer reviewe

Ketoacidosis at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes: Effect of prospective studies with newborn genetic screening and follow up of risk children

We studied the frequency of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) in children at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in a region where newborn infants have since 1995 been recruited for genetic screening for human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-conferred disease susceptibility and prospective follow up. The aim was to study whether participation in newborn screening and follow up affected the frequency of DKA, and to follow the time trends in DKA frequency. We first included children born in Oulu University Hospital since 1995 when the prospective studies have been ongoing and diagnosed with T1DPeer reviewe

Long-term antipsychotic use and its association with outcomes in schizophrenia - the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966

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Analyses of regulatory CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+) T cells and observations from peripheral T cell subpopulation markers during the development of type 1 diabetes in children

Our aim was to study whether the aberrant amount or function of regulatory T cells is related to the development of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in children. We also set out to investigate the balance of different T cell subtype markers during the T1D autoimmune process. Treg cells were quantified with flow cytometric assay, and the suppression capacity was analysed with a carboxyfluorescein succinimidyl ester (CFSE)-based T cell suppression assay in children in various phases of T1D disease process and in healthy autoantibody-negative control children. The mRNA expression of different T cell subpopulation markers was analysed with real-time qPCR method. The proportion and suppression capacity of regulatory T cells were similar in seroconverted children at an early stage of beta cell autoimmunity and also in children with T1D when compared to healthy and autoantibody-negative children. Significant differences were observed in the mRNA expression of different T cell subpopulation markers in prediabetic children with multiple (2) autoantibodies and in children with newly diagnosed T1D when compared to the control children. In conclusion, there were no quantitative or functional differences in regulatory T cells between the case and control groups in any phase of the autoimmune process. Decreased mRNA expression levels of T cell subtype markers were observed in children with multiple islet autoantibodies and in those with newly diagnosed T1D, probably reflecting an exhaustion of the immune system after the strong immune activation during the autoimmune process or a generally aberrant immune response related to the progression of the disease.Peer reviewe