Liikunnan lukutaidon tukeminen : Tapaustutkimus luokanopettajaopiskelijoiden käsityksistä

Physical literacy precedes and influences the physically active lifestyle, which is a key element of physical education. Especially, primary school physical education has an important task in the formation of the physically active lifestyle because it reaches all age cohorts. Classroom teachers are mainly in charge of implementing the curriculum in the primary schools. Thus, it is important to know more about their perceptions on physical literacy. Our research question was: How do classroom teacher students perceive the ways of supporting physical literacy? The data of this case study consists of four semi-structured interviews, which were analysed using content analysis. The concept of physical literacy, developed by Whitehead (1993), was used to categorize the data. Furthermore, the answers in the categories were combined in themes that the result of responses to the research question. As a key result of this study, it was found that classroom student teachers perceive the ways of supporting physical literacy as follows: 1) Motivation can be supported by atmosphere, teaching methods, contents and learning environments; (2) Physical competence and self-confidence is supported by experiences of success, developmentally appropriate physical activities and motor skills and 3) Knowledge and understanding can be supported by creating meanings and adjusted objectives, evaluation and individualization. Our results suggest that future classroom teachers have a quite broad understanding of supporting physical literacy, which is in line with their broad educational duties that differ from those of subject teachers. The results of our research are especially useful for classroom teachers. An approach that emphasizes personal potential can be one solution to challenges of immobility. In the future, it is important to study what kind of pedagogical practices based on physical literacy could lead to the development of teaching in physical education in primary schools.Physical literacy precedes and influences the physically active lifestyle, which is a key element of physical education. Especially, primary school physical education has an important task in the formation of the physically active lifestyle because it reaches all age cohorts. Classroom teachers are mainly in charge of implementing the curriculum in the primary schools. Thus, it is important to know more about their perceptions on physical literacy. Our research question was: How do classroom teacher students perceive the ways of supporting physical literacy? The data of this case study consists of four semi-structured interviews, which were analysed using content analysis. The concept of physical literacy, developed by Whitehead (1993), was used to categorize the data. Furthermore, the answers in the categories were combined in themes that the result of responses to the research question. As a key result of this study, it was found that classroom student teachers perceive the ways of supporting physical literacy as follows: 1) Motivation can be supported by atmosphere, teaching methods, contents and learning environments; (2) Physical competence and self-confidence is supported by experiences of success, developmentally appropriate physical activities and motor skills and 3) Knowledge and understanding can be supported by creating meanings and adjusted objectives, evaluation and individualization. Our results suggest that future classroom teachers have a quite broad understanding of supporting physical literacy, which is in line with their broad educational duties that differ from those of subject teachers. The results of our research are especially useful for classroom teachers. An approach that emphasizes personal potential can be one solution to challenges of immobility. In the future, it is important to study what kind of pedagogical practices based on physical literacy could lead to the development of teaching in physical education in primary schools.Peer reviewe

A Strategy For Identifying Putative Causes Of Gene Expression Variation In Human Cancer

There is often a need to predict the impact of alterations in one variable on another variable. This is especially the case in cancer research, where much effort has been made to carry out large-scale gene expression screening by microarray techniques. However, the causes of this variability from one cancer to another and from one gene to another often remain unknown. In this study we present a systematic procedure for finding genes whose expression is altered by an intrinsic or extrinsic explanatory phenomenon. The procedure has three stages: preprocessing, data integration and statistical analysis. We tested and verified the utility of this approach in a study, where expression and copy number of 13,824 genes were determined in 14 breast cancer samples. The expression of 270 genes could be explained by the variability of gene copy number. These genes may represent an important set of primary, genetically "damaged" genes that drive cancer progression

Attenuated Semliki Forest virus for cancer treatment in dogs : safety assessment in two laboratory Beagles

Background: Dogs suffer from spontaneous tumors which may be amenable to therapies developed for human cancer patients, and dogs may serve as large-animal cancer models. A non-pathogenic Semliki Forest virus vector VA7-EGFP previously showed promise in targeting human tumor xenografts in mice, but the oncolytic capacity of the virus in canine cancer cells and the safety of the virus in higher mammals such as dogs, are not known. We therefore assessed the oncolytic potency of VA7-EGFP against canine cancer cells by infectivity and viability assays in two dog solid tumor cell lines. Furthermore we performed a 3-week safety study in two adult Beagles which received a single intravenous injection of similar to 2 x 10(5) plaque forming units of parental A7(74) strain. Results: VA7-EGFP was able to replicate in and kill both canine cancer cell lines tested. No adverse events were observed in either of the two virus-injected adult Beagles and no infective virus could be recovered from any of the biological samples collected over the course of the study. Neutralizing antibodies to Semliki Forest virus became detectable in the dogs at 5 days post infection and remained elevated until study termination. Conclusions: Based on these results, testing of the oncolytic potential of attenuated Semliki Forest virus in canine cancer patients appears feasible.Peer reviewe

The Impact of Bdnf Gene Deficiency to the Memory Impairment and Brain Pathology of APPswe/PS1dE9 Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Peer reviewe

Impact of childhood experiences on the development of entrepreneurial intentions

Fostering entrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial culture has become a key policy priority for governments. To encourage entrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial culture, however, there is a need to understand the factors that influence and shape individuals' intentions to start a business. This study extends models of entrepreneurial intentions by investigating the influence of various childhood-experience factors on the perceived feasibility and desirability of starting a business. A structured questionnaire was completed by over 1,000 university students and analysed using regression analysis. Results indicated that perceptions of entrepreneurship were influenced not only by parental ownership of a business, but also by a difficult childhood and frequent relocation

Entrepreneurship, export orientation and economic growth

In this paper the relationship between a country’s prevalence of new ventures and its rate of economic growth is investigated, while taking into account new ventures’ export orientation. It is generally acknowledged that new venture creation as well as export activity may both be important strategies for achieving national economic growth. However, to our knowledge no attempt has been made to investigate empirically the role of export-driven new ventures in economic growth. We focus on the national level and use data for a sample of 34 countries over the period 2002–2008. Our results suggest that, on top of a positive relation between entrepreneurial activity in general and subsequent macroeconomic growth, there is an additional positive effect of export-oriented early-stage entrepreneurship in higher-income countries. However, there is no such additional effect in lower-income countries

Uncovering Portuguese teachers' difficulties in implementing sciences curriculum

Many countries recognize the positive and effective results of improving science education through the introduction of reforms in the sciences curriculum. However, some important issues are generally neglected like, for example, the involve- ment of the teachers in the reform process. Taking the sciences curriculum reform under analysis and benefitting from 10 years of teachers’ experiences in teaching sciences based on this curriculum, 19 semi-structure interviews were applied so as to identify the major difficulties felt by science teachers when implementing the Portuguese sci- ences curriculum in the third cycle of middle school (pupils’ age range of 12–15). Some of the difficulties depicted by the data analysis include: length of the curriculum, lack of time, unsuitable laboratory facilities, insufficient means and materials for experimental work, pupils’ indiscipline and little interest in learning sciences. Although less frequently mentioned, the lack of professional development was also referred to as a constraint that seems to play an essential role in this process. Some recommendations for improv- ing the success of sciences curriculum reforms’ implementation are given: defining and conceptualizing curricular policies by relating the reality of both the schools and the sci- ence classrooms; reorganizing and restructuring pre-service teachers’ courses; organiz- ing professional development courses for in-service teachers

A C. elegans Model for Mitochondrial Fatty Acid Synthase II: The Longevity-Associated Gene W09H1.5/mecr-1 Encodes a 2-trans-Enoyl-Thioester Reductase

Our recognition of the mitochondria as being important sites of fatty acid biosynthesis is continuously unfolding, especially in light of new data becoming available on compromised fatty acid synthase type 2 (FASII) in mammals. For example, perturbed regulation of murine 17β-HSD8 encoding a component of the mitochondrial FASII enzyme 3-oxoacyl-thioester reductase is implicated in polycystic kidney disease. In addition, over-expression in mice of the Mecr gene coding for 2-trans-enoyl-thioester reductase, also of mitochondrial FASII, leads to impaired heart function. However, mouse knockouts for mitochondrial FASII have hitherto not been reported and, hence, there is a need to develop alternate metazoan models such as nematodes or fruit flies. Here, the identification of Caenorhabditis elegans W09H1.5/MECR-1 as a 2-trans-enoyl-thioester reductase of mitochondrial FASII is reported. To identify MECR-1, Saccharomyces cerevisiae etr1Δ mutant cells were employed that are devoid of mitochondrial 2-trans-enoyl-thioester reductase Etr1p. These yeast mutants fail to synthesize sufficient levels of lipoic acid or form cytochrome complexes, and cannot respire or grow on non-fermentable carbon sources. A mutant yeast strain ectopically expressing nematode mecr-1 was shown to contain reductase activity and resemble the self-complemented mutant strain for these phenotype characteristics. Since MECR-1 was not intentionally targeted for compartmentalization using a yeast mitochondrial leader sequence, this inferred that the protein represented a physiologically functional mitochondrial 2-trans-enoyl-thioester reductase. In accordance with published findings, RNAi-mediated knockdown of mecr-1 in C. elegans resulted in life span extension, presumably due to mitochondrial dysfunction. Moreover, old mecr-1(RNAi) worms had better internal organ appearance and were more mobile than control worms, indicating a reduced physiological age. This is the first report on RNAi work dedicated specifically to curtailing mitochondrial FASII in metazoans. The availability of affected survivors will help to position C. elegans as an excellent model for future pursuits in the emerging field of mitochondrial FASII research

An Outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes serotype 3a infections from butter in Finland

In February 1999, an outbreak of listeriosis caused by Listeria monocytogenes serotype 3a occurred in Finland. All isolates were identical. The outbreak strain was first isolated in 1997 in dairy butter. This dairy began delivery to a tertiary care hospital (TCH) in June 1998. From June 1998 to April 1999, 25 case patients were identified (20 with sepsis, 4 with meningitis, and 1 with abscess; 6 patients died). Patients with the outbreak strain were more likely to have been admitted to the TCH than were patients with other strains of L. monocytogenes (60% vs. 8%; odds ratio, 17.3; 95% confidence interval, 2.8136.8). Case patients admitted to the TCH had been hospitalized longer before cultures tested positive than had matched controls (median, 31 vs. 10 days; P = .008). An investigation found the outbreak strain in packaged butter served at the TCH and at the source dairy. Recall of the product ended the outbreak