Biocompatibility of Thermally Hydrocarbonized Porous Silicon Nanoparticles and their Biodistribution in Rats

Peer reviewe

Openness in participation, assessment, and policy making upon issues of environment and environmental health: a review of literature and recent project results

Issues of environment and environmental health involve multiple interests regarding e.g. political, societal, economical, and public concerns represented by different kinds of organizations and individuals. Not surprisingly, stakeholder and public participation has become a major issue in environmental and environmental health policy and assessment. The need for participation has been discussed and reasoned by many, including environmental legislators around the world. In principle, participation is generally considered as desirable and the focus of most scholars and practitioners is on carrying out participation, and making participation more effective. In practice also doubts regarding the effectiveness and importance of participation exist among policy makers, assessors, and public, leading even to undermining participatory practices in policy making and assessment

Kasvatustieteen teoria–käytäntö-suhde:teoreetikoiden ja praktikoiden vuoropuhelua

Abstract This study examines the relationship between theory and practice in the science of education. In the first part of the study, theorists’ views about the relationship are examined in three continental orientations of pedagogy or science of education: hermeneutic-humanistic pedagogy (geisteswissenschaftliche Pädagogik), empirical-analytic science of education and critical pedagogy. In the context of empirical-analytic orientation, the science of education takes the shape of a technical discipline allowing practitioners of education to make diagnoses, prognoses, and technical prognoses. However, in reality the practical application of empirical-analytic knowledge about education is a highly complex and demanding enterprise. In hermeneutic-humanistic pedagogy and critical pedagogy, the relationship between theory and practice is more clearly structured according to the notion of practical or moral science. For pedagogy or science of education, it is not sufficient to merely describe or interpret phenomena of education and their socio-historical context. Education must also have orientation, and educational theories are to serve possible or future practice. In the second part of the study, drawing from the interviews of practitioners from various fields of education, five practitioner’s views about the relationship between theory and practice in education are reconstructed. According to the first view, the source of the problems concerning the relationship between theory and practice in education lies in the questionable scientific status of the science of education and educational theories. The core of the second practitioner’s view is that the problems encountered when applying educational theories to practice stem from the failure of the science of education to acknowledge the pedagogical difference between educational theory and practice. The third practitioner’s view holds that in order to act in the practice of education, the practitioner must focus reflection on the task at hand. The fourth practitioner’s view reconstructed in this study is a notion about the unrealistic and unempirical character of educational theories: instead of describing what really happens in the practice of education, educational theories often outline the actions of ideal educators and subjects of education. According to the fifth practitioner’s view, the practitioner must function as the personal and individual element bridging the gap between theory and practice.Tiivistelmä Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan kasvatustieteen teoria–käytäntö-suhdetta. Työn alkuosassa eritellään teoria–käytäntö-suhdetta koskevia teoreetikkojen näkemyksiä henkitieteellisessä pedagogiikassa, empiiris-analyyttisessa kasvatustieteessä ja kriittisessä kasvatustieteessä. Empiiris-analyyttisesta kasvatustieteestä on muodostunut teknologinen tiede, jonka avulla käytännön kasvattajien on periaatteessa mahdollista diagnosoida, prognosoida ja teknisesti prognosoida. Empiiris-analyyttisen kasvatusta koskevan tiedon soveltaminen käytäntöön on kuitenkin todellisuudessa huomattavan monimutkaista. Henkitieteellisessä pedagogiikassa ja kriittisessä kasvatustieteessä teoria–käytäntö-suhde on rakentunut edellistä selvemmin praktisen tieteen mallin mukaiseksi. Kasvatustieteen tai tieteellisen pedagogiikan osalta ei tällöin riitä, että tutkimuskohteena olevaa toimintaa ja sen yhteiskunnallis-historiallista kontekstia vain kuvataan tai tulkitaan. Pedagogista toimintaa on myös orientoitava, ja teorioiden on palveltava mahdollista tai tulevaa inhimillistä käytäntöä. Tutkimuksen loppuosassa rekonstruoidaan kasvatuksen eri alueilla toimivilta kerätyn empiirisen haastatteluaineiston perusteella viisi praktikon näkemystä kasvatustieteen teoria–käytäntö-suhteesta. Ensimmäisen näkemyksen mukaan kasvatustieteen teoria–käytäntö-suhteen ongelmien alkulähteenä on kyseenalainen tieteellinen status. Toisessa näkemyksessä teoria–käytäntö-suhteen ongelmat seuraavat kasvatustieteen epäonnistumisesta paikanmäärityksessään pedagogisen differenssin suhteen. Kolmannen näkemyksen yhteydessä esitetään ajatus siitä, että jotta pedagoginen toiminta käytännössä olisi mahdollista, on reflektio välttämättä tarkennettava käytännön toiminnassa käsillä olevaan kohteeseen. Neljäs praktikon näkemys on ajattelutapa, jonka mukaan kasvatustieteelliset teoriat ovat epärealistisia ja epäempiirisiä: ne kuvaavat reaalisen sijaan idealisoidun kasvattajan ja idealisoitujen kasvatettavien toimintaa. Viides praktikon näkemys kiteytyy ajatukseen siitä, että praktikko itse on teoriaa ja käytäntöä välittävä persoonallinen ja yksilöllinen silta

Profiles of doctoral students’ experience of ethics in supervision:an inter-country comparison

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine variation in doctoral students’ experiences of ethics in doctoral supervision and how these experiences are related to research engagement, burnout, satisfaction, and intending to discontinue PhD studies. Data were collected from 860 doctoral students in Finland, Estonia, and South Africa. Four distinct profiles of ethics experience in doctoral supervision were identified, namely students puzzled by the supervision relationship, strugglers in the ethical landscape, seekers of ethical allies, and students with ethically trouble-free experiences. The results show that the profiles were related to research engagement, satisfaction with supervision and studies, and burnout. Not experiencing any major ethical problems in supervision was associated with experiencing higher engagement and satisfaction with supervision and doctoral studies and low levels of exhaustion and cynicism. Similar profiles were identified across the countries, yet with different emphases. Both Estonian and South African PhD students were overrepresented in the profile of students with ethically trouble-free experiences, while the Finnish students were underrepresented in this profile. The Finnish PhD students were overrepresented among the seekers of ethical allies. Profiles provide information that can alert supervisors and administrators about the extent of the risk of burnout or discontinuing of PhD studies based on students’ negative experiences of the ethics in supervision

The changes in lower secondary school students’ interest during collaborative learning

Abstract This study explored the situational interest and emotional valence of 13-year-old students (N = 94) participating in a five-session science course. The relationship between students’ situational interest and emotional valence and their individual interest was also studied. During each session, students participated in a collaborative learning task. Before and after each task, students’ situational interest and emotional valence were measured through a single-item self-report questionnaire. Individual interest was measured by the Task Interest Inventory scale at the beginning of the course. Students showed increasing levels of emotional valence after each collaborative learning task; however, they only reported significantly higher situational interest after the first task. Furthermore, the relationship between students’ emotional valence and their individual interest frequently decreased after collaborative learning tasks. The findings suggest that collaborative learning could be a potential factor in changing situational interest. Areas for further research are provided

Health 2000 score - development and validation of a novel cardiovascular risk score

<p><b>Background:</b> Previous risk scores for predicting myocardial infarctions and strokes have mainly been based on conventional risk factors. We aimed to develop a novel improved risk score that would incorporate other widely available clinical variables for predicting the broadest range of endpoints, including revascularizations.</p> <p><b>Methods:</b> A nationwide sample of 5843 Finns underwent a clinical examination in 2000–2001. The participants were followed for a median of 11.2 years for incident cardiovascular events. Model discrimination and calibration were assessed and internal validation was performed.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Sex, age, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, smoking status, parental death from cardiovascular disease, left ventricular hypertrophy, hemoglobin A1c, and educational level remained significant predictors of cardiovascular events (p ≤ 0.005 for all). The share of participants with ≥10% estimated cardiovascular risk was 28.9%, 18.5%, 36.9% and 23.8% with the Health 2000, Finrisk, Framingham and Reynolds risk scores. The Health 2000 score (<i>c</i>-statistic: 0.850) showed superior discrimination to the Framingham (<i>c</i>-statistic improvement: 0.021) and Reynolds (<i>c</i>-statistic improvement: 0.007) scores (p < 0.001 for both comparisons). Model including left ventricular hypertrophy, hemoglobin A1c, and educational level improved the model prediction (<i>c</i>-statistic improvement: 0.006, p = 0.003).</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> The Health 2000score improves cardiovascular risk prediction in the current study population.KEY MESSAGES</p><p>Previous risk scores for predicting myocardial infarctions and strokes have mainly been based on conventional risk factors.</p><p>We aimed to develop a novel improved risk score that would incorporate other widely available clinical variables (including left ventricular hypertrophy, hemoglobin A1c, and education level) for predicting the broadest range of endpoints, including revascularizations.</p><p>The Health 2000 score improved cardiovascular risk prediction in the current study population compared with traditional cardiovascular risk prediction scores.</p><p></p> <p>Previous risk scores for predicting myocardial infarctions and strokes have mainly been based on conventional risk factors.</p> <p>We aimed to develop a novel improved risk score that would incorporate other widely available clinical variables (including left ventricular hypertrophy, hemoglobin A1c, and education level) for predicting the broadest range of endpoints, including revascularizations.</p> <p>The Health 2000 score improved cardiovascular risk prediction in the current study population compared with traditional cardiovascular risk prediction scores.</p

Engaged and/or burnt out?:Finnish and South African doctoral students’ experiences

Abstract Purpose: Doctoral students’ ill-being in terms of stress, exhaustion and high levels of mental health problems has been well documented. Yet, the well-being of doctoral students is more than the absence of these negative symptoms. The number of studies exploring the combination of positive and negative attributes of doctoral students’ well-being is limited. Therefore, this study aims to focus on exploring individual variation in doctoral students’ experienced engagement and burnout across two distinct socio-cultural contexts in Finland and in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 884 doctoral students from Finland (n = 391) and South Africa (n = 493) responded to the cross-cultural Doctoral Experience Survey. The data were quantitatively analyzed. Findings: Altogether four distinctive engagement–burnout profiles were detected, including engaged, engaged–exhausted, moderately engaged–burnout and burnout profiles. Differences between the Finnish and South African students were identified in profile emphasis. The profiles were also related to several study progress attributes such as drop-out intentions, time-to-candidacy and satisfaction with study. Originality/value: This study provides new understanding on doctoral students’ well-being by focusing on both positive and negative attributes and exploring doctoral students’ discrepant profiles with a cross-country design