Calibration of Gantry-Tau Robot and Prototyping of Extruder for 3D Printing

This master thesis is about improving the accuracy of a Gantry-Tau robot by identifying the key parameters in the kinematics of the robot. This is done using a vision system and then estimating the parameters by minimizing the closure equation of the kinematics. The robot with improved control is then used for additive manufacturing. Furthermore, a prototype for a large plastic printer head is presented

Olfactory and gustatory functions after free flap reconstruction and radiotherapy for oral and pharyngeal cancer : a prospective follow-up study

The senses of smell and taste can be adversely affected by both tumour- and treatment-related factors amongst head and neck cancer patients. The consequences may negatively impact nutritional status as well as quality of life in this patient population. This prospective longitudinal follow-up study is consisted of 44 patients treated for oral cavity, oropharyngeal or hypopharyngeal cancer with tumour resection and microvascular free tissue transfer reconstruction at the Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland. Thirty-nine (89%) of them also received radiotherapy. The senses of smell (odour detection, identification and threshold test) and taste (electrogustometry) and quality of life (UW-QOL) were evaluated preoperatively, and at 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months, postoperatively. There were higher scores in the odour detection values in the 6-week and 3-month tests compared with preoperative values for the tumour side. Other detection scores did not differ statistically from the preoperative values neither in the tumour nor the contralateral side. However, in the odour identification test, all posttreatment values were statistically significantly higher than pretreatment ones. In the olfactory threshold test, no statistically significant differences were found between pre- and posttreatment values. Electrogustometry values for the taste on the tumour side were statistically significantly impaired at 6 weeks (p <0.05) and at 3 months (p <0.01) compared with the pretreatment results. They were also impaired at 6 months and at 12 months, although the differences were not statistically significant. The quality of life was impaired after treatment in this patient series. However, the correlation between quality of life and sense of taste was found only at one time point (3 months) and only with contralateral side measurements. We conclude that in oral and pharyngeal cancer patients the postoperative taste problems are related to the impairment on the taste sensation in the tongue but not with the sense of smell. Moreover, the impairment in the quality of life is not clearly related to the impaired sense of taste.Peer reviewe

SHANK3 conformation regulates direct actin binding and crosstalk with Rap1 signaling

Actin-rich cellular protrusions direct versatile biological processes from cancer cell invasion to dendritic spine development. The stability, morphology, and specific biological functions of these protrusions are regulated by crosstalk between three main signaling axes: integrins, actin regulators, and small guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases). SHANK3 is a multifunctional scaffold protein, interacting with several actin -binding proteins and a well-established autism risk gene. Recently, SHANK3 was demonstrated to sequester integrin-activating small GTPases Rap1 and R-Ras to inhibit integrin activity via its Shank/ProSAP N-terminal (SPN) domain. Here, we demonstrate that, in addition to scaffolding actin regulators and actin-binding proteins, SHANK3 interacts directly with actin through its SPN domain. Molecular simulations and targeted mutagenesis of the SPN-ankyrin repeat region (ARR) interface reveal that actin binding is inhibited by an intramolecular closed conformation of SHANK3, where the adjacent ARR domain covers the actin-binding interface of the SPN domain. Actin and Rap1 compete with each other for binding to SHANK3, and mutation of SHANK3, resulting in reduced actin binding, augments inhibition of Rap1-mediated integrin activity. This dynamic crosstalk has functional implications for cell morphology and integrin activity in cancer cells. In addition, SHANK3-actin interaction regulates dendritic spine morphology in neurons and autism-linked phenotypes in vivo.Peer reviewe

SHANK3 conformation regulates direct actin binding and crosstalk with Rap1 signaling

Actin-rich cellular protrusions direct versatile biological processes from cancer cell invasion to dendritic spine development. The stability, morphology, and specific biological functions of these protrusions are regulated by crosstalk between three main signaling axes: integrins, actin regulators, and small guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases). SHANK3 is a multifunctional scaffold protein, interacting with several actin-binding proteins and a well-established autism risk gene. Recently, SHANK3 was demonstrated to sequester integrin-activating small GTPases Rap1 and R-Ras to inhibit integrin activity via its Shank/ProSAP N-terminal (SPN) domain. Here, we demonstrate that, in addition to scaffolding actin regulators and actin-binding proteins, SHANK3 interacts directly with actin through its SPN domain. Molecular simulations and targeted mutagenesis of the SPN-ankyrin repeat region (ARR) interface reveal that actin binding is inhibited by an intramolecular closed conformation of SHANK3, where the adjacent ARR domain covers the actin-binding interface of the SPN domain. Actin and Rap1 compete with each other for binding to SHANK3, and mutation of SHANK3, resulting in reduced actin binding, augments inhibition of Rap1-mediated integrin activity. This dynamic crosstalk has functional implications for cell morphology and integrin activity in cancer cells. In addition, SHANK3-actin interaction regulates dendritic spine morphology in neurons and autism-linked phenotypes in vivo

Baltic International Fish Survey Working Group (WGBIFS)

The Baltic International Fish Survey Working Group (WGBIFS) plans, coordinates, and imple-ments demersal trawl surveys and hydroacoustic surveys in the Baltic Sea including the Baltic International Acoustic Survey (BIAS), the Baltic Acoustic Spring Survey (BASS), and the Baltic International Trawl Surveys (BITS) in the 1st and 4th quarter on an annual basis. The group com-piles results from these surveys and provides the herring, sprat, cod and flatfish abundance in-dices for the Baltic Fisheries Assessment Working Group (WGBFAS) to use as tuning fleets. In 2023, WGBIFS completed the following tasks: (1) compiled survey results from 2022 and the first half of 2023, (2) planned and coordinated all Baltic fish stocks assessment relevant surveys for the second half of 2023 and the first half of 2024, (3) updated the common survey manuals according to decisions made during the annual WGBIFS meeting. Data from the recent BITS was added to the ICES Database of Trawl Surveys (DATRAS). The Tow-Database was corrected and updated. The Access-databases for aggregated acoustic data and the ICES database of acoustic-trawl surveys for disaggregated data were updated. All countries registered collected litter ma-terials to DATRAS. The area coverage and the number of control hauls in the BASS, BIAS and GRAHS in 2022 were considered to be appropriate to the calculation of tuning indices and the data can be used for the assessment of Baltic herring and sprat stocks. The number of valid hauls accomplished during the 4th quarter 2022 and 1st quarter 2023 BITS were considered by the group as appropriate to tuning series and the data can be used for the assessment of Baltic and Kattegat cod and flatfish stocks. BIAS and BASS survey sampling variance calculation questions were discussed and standard deviation for Central Baltic herring acoustic index series calculated. In comparison exercises between the StoX survey computational method and traditional IBAS calculation methods it was found that the StoX project, developed for the WGBIFS, has small methodological differences compared to the standard calculation method used by the group, as specified in the Manual for the International Baltic Acoustic Surveys (IBAS), and is thereby caus-ing a small difference in the total number of herring and sprat., The work with transition to a more transparent calculation software (e.g. StoX) will continue during the next period with more thorough analysis of calculation methodologies. A further comparison exercise between the StoX method and traditional Gulf of Riga Herring Survey calculation method was performed using data from 11 last years. It showed no major differences in herring total abundance estimates for most of the years. However, notable differ-ences were in the age compositions of those two methods. Some errors and differences in input data (uploaded into the ICES database) were found and therefore the further analysis was post-poned until these issues are fixed. WGBIFS is planning to continue with analogical comparison exercises in the coming years before the final transition to a transparent reproducible pathway into the ICES Transparent Assessment Framework (TAF) can be done. Work towards transitioning to TAF will continue during the next 3-year period until all methodological and database differences are resolved. Inquiries from other ICES expert groups were discussed and addressed

Contextualizing inquiry. Negotiations of tasks, tools and actions in an upper secondary classroom.

The challenges for education in contemporary society are complex. The emergence of the post-industrial society – an information- or knowledge society, where the development of digital technologies are pivotal – have altered the premises for the production, communication and uptake of knowledge. Students of today are not only expected to learn specific knowledge and skills, but also to develop more generic and complex competences and dispositions, like critical reasoning and democratic values. They are also to be life-long learners. How can education be arranged and instruction carried out in order to face these challenges? One answer is to develop instructional methods building on principles of inquiry. Inquiry has a long history, originating from progressivist and constructivist traditions, with roots in the work of John Dewey. In the last decades, inquiry has received renewed attention, both theoretically and practically. The work presented in this thesis sets out to investigate, theoretically and empirically, how principles of inquiry are integrated, or contextualised, in contemporary education and the consequences for classroom activities; and for learning and development. The empirical material was collected in an ethnographic field study in a Swedish upper secondary school program, organised according to principles of inquiry. The students are involved in planning their own studies, organise their work according to a PBL-format; and carry out thematic projects spanning over several school subjects. Digital technologies are integrated in the students’ activities. In four analyses, different aspects of the students’ work are penetrated. In the first empirical chapter, students’ planning of group work, involving complex questions, is analysed. How the students manage tensions between integrative and local rationales inherent in the task, and the consequences of this for the development of competences for managing inquiry, is discussed. The second empirical chapter addresses students’ argumentation. In the analysis, students’ unfolding argumentation in a controversial issue is followed over an extended period of time. The relationship between the involvement in argumentative activities, authenticity and learning in the setting is discussed. The third empirical chapter considers text production. Students’ work with an essay is investigated focusing on how writing activities are organised and integrated as part of inquiry, and how these contribute to the development of literacy. In the fourth empirical chapter, students’ project work – where they have the task of planning a housing area – is studied. As part of the work they are to move outside the school, investigating how city planning is carried out in the local society. The analysis is focusing on how the actions of the students are directed, how they navigate in the intersection between school and society, and what kind of knowledge is developed in the process. All analyses point to the central role of negotiations of tasks, tools and actions in realizing pedagogy in accordance with the principles of inquiry. This “communicative ecology of negotiation” plays a key role in creating premises for the processes of learning and development observed

Miksi ja miten vapaalaskuelokuvia tehdään?

Opinnäytetyössä käsiteltiin vapaalaskuelokuvien peruselementtejä. Työssä on esitelty vapaalaskun ja vapaalaskuelokuvien historiaa, niiden perinteistä rakennetta, kuvailmaisua, musiikkia sekä leikkausta. Opinnäyte on tehty lukijalle pikaoppaaksi vapaalaskuelokuvien ja sen sisällä olevan kulttuurin pariin, jotta tarvittaessa lajista tietämättömän media-alan ammattilaisen on mahdollista toteuttaa aiheeseen liittyvä video. Peruselementtien läpi käynnin jälkeen havainnoitiin Imagination: Tom Wallisch -videota soveltamalla benchmarkingin ajatusta. Hyvin toteutetussa lasketteluvideossa peruselementit ovat selkeästi nähtävillä, mutta niiden päälle on tuotu tarinallisia ja visuaalisesti mietittyjä yksityiskohtia. Tehdäkseen jotain uutta on ymmärrettävä asioiden perusteet. Siten on mahdollista kiinnittää huomiota yksityiskohtiin unohtamatta lajille tärkeitä lainalaisuuksia. Opinnäytetyön tuloksena voidaan todeta, että vaikka videoita on tehty pitkään, ne ovat kehittyneet hyvin hitaasti eteenpäin. Aiheen käsittelyä voisi jatkaa miettimällä, miten videoita sekä elokuvia voisi kehittää esiteltyjen perusteiden pohjalta. Tutkimukseen voisi ottaa haastatteluja muilta tekijöiltä sekä lajin harrastajilta ja pyrkiä selvittämään mitä he haluaisivat nähdä.This thesis deals with the basic elements of freeskiing movies. The aim of the thesis was to present the history of freeskiing movies, and to discuss the structure, visual elements, music, and editing traditionally associated with them. The purpose of this thesis was to provide a quick guide to freeskiing movies and the related culture, so the upcoming industry professional will be able to do freeskiing related videos if needed. After going through the basic elements, the video “Imagination: Tom Wallisch” was analyzed by case example. In a well-executed skiing video, the basic elements are there, but there are storylines and the visual details are carefully considered. In order to do something new, the basics must be first understood. As a conclusion, it can be said that skiing movies have been made for a long time, but they have developed very slowly. It is suggested that skiing movies should be developed further on basis of the principles also discussed in this thesis. For instance, interviews with other filmmakers and skiing enthusiasts would likely work well towards this goal

Nätbaserad kurs med flexibel fördjupning

Projektet nätbaserad kurs med flexibel fördjupning är ett pedagogiskt utredningsprojekt som bedrivits från 2011 till och med 2012. Projektet är genomfört i ett samarbete mellan Sahlgrenska akademin och IT fakulteten med ekonomiskt stöd av enheten för pedagogisk utveckling och interaktivt lärande (PIL). Projektet prövar idén med och konsekvenser av att mellan olika avdelningar/ institutioner samköra ett kurskoncept med två delar, dels en allmän teoretisk grund, dels en tillämpningsfördjupning. De båda delarna skiljer sig åt på flera sätt bl.a. inplacering inom organisationen, pedagogisk utformning, praktiska inslag, relationen till externa aktörer, utformning av studentgrupper, fördjupningsnivå och administration. Projektet visar att det är möjligt att ta fram en sådan kurs inom ramen för ett strukturerat utbyte mellan avdelningar. Erfarenheterna visar att utmaningar ligger inom det juridiska området vid uppbyggnad och upprätthållande av projektpooler med externa fallbaserade projekt, samt i komplexitet relaterat till olika intressenters inbördes relationer till moment och komponenter i kurskonceptet

Samverkan för utveckling av Lärarprofessionens digitala kompetens (SamLär)

Samverkansprojektet SamLär syftar till att bidra till utvecklingen av programmering och digital kompetens som kunskapsområden i ett professionsövergripande perspektiv, genom att utveckla en modell för hur olika delar av lärarprofessionen kan mötas för att lära, reflektera och utbyta erfarenheter. Projektets nav är de utbildningsaktiviteter som organiseras av den ideella föreningen KomTek. KomTek är en teknik- och entreprenörsskola med syfte att väcka intresse för teknik och entreprenörskap med fokus på barn och ungdomar. Forskarna har deltagit i och spelat in samtliga aktiviteter KomTek genomfört med lärarstudenter (både digitalt och fysiskt) under 2021. Vidare har lärarstudenters analyser av sitt eget lärande kring digital kompetens studerats. Den vetenskapliga delen av projektet är förankrad i praktikteori med fokus på Stephen Kemmis arbeten. Videodata har analyserats för att undersöka relationer mellan olika praktiksammanhang inom lärarprofessionen. Forskargruppens expertis inom interaktionsanalys har även varit en utgångspunkt under planering, datainsamling och analys. Preliminära resultat anger att aktiviteterna på KomTek fyller ett behov av praktiska erfarenheter och inspirerande undervisningsupplägg kring programmering som studenter upplever sig sakna på utbildningen i övrigt. I ett lärarutbildningsperspektiv blir det samtidigt viktigt att studenter kan motivera pedagogiska upplägg och val av teknologier med teoretiskt, empiriskt och begreppsligt underbyggda argument. De erfarenheter som görs på KomTek kan inte förväntas leda till detta och de behöver behandlas inom andra moment inom ramen för lärarutbildningen. Dessa preliminära resultat visar på relevansen av en modell där studenter, lärare och forskare kan mötas för att på ett teoretiskt underbyggt sätt ägna sig åt reflektion och erfarenhetsutbyte