The influence of school smoking policy and school prevention programs on the smoking behaviour of high school students in Prince Edward Island, Canada

The aim of the study was to examine the influence of school smoking policy and school smoking prevention programs on the smoking behaviour of students in high schools in Prince Edward Island using the School Health Action Planning Evaluation System (SHAPES). A total sample included 13,131 observations of students in grades 10-12 in ten high schools in Prince Edward Island over three waves of data collection (1999, 2000, and 2001). Changes in prevalence of smoking and factors influencing smoking behaviour were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-Square tests. Multi-level logistic regression analyses were used to examine how both school and student characteristics were associated with smoking behaviour (I, II, III, IV). Since students were located within schools, a basic 2-level nested structure was used in which individual students (level 1) were nested within schools (level 2). For grade 12 students, the combination of both school policies and programs was not associated with the risk of smoking and the presence of the new policy was not associated with decreased risk of smoking, unless there were clear rules in place (I). For the grade 10 study, (II) schools with both policies and programs were not associated with decreased risk of smoking. However, the smoking behaviour of older students (grade 12) at a school was associated with younger students’ (grade 10) smoking behaviour. Students first enrolled in a high school in grade 9, rather than grade 10, were at increased risk of occasional smoking. For students who transitioned from grade 10 to 12 (III), close friends smoking had a substantial influence on smoking behaviour for both males and females (III). Having one or more close friends who smoke (Odds Ratio (OR) = 37.46; 95% CI = 19.39 to 72.36), one or more smokers in the home (OR = 2.35; 95% CI = 1.67 to 3.30) and seeing teachers and staff smoking on or near school property (OR=1.78; 95% CI = 1.13 to 2.80), were strongly associated with increased risk of smoking for grade 12 students. Smoking behaviour increased for both junior (Group 1) and senior (Group 2) students (IV). Group 1 students indicated a greater decrease in smoking behaviour and factors influencing smoking behaviour compared to those of Group 2. Students overestimating the percentage of youth their age who smoke was strongly associated with increased likelihood of smoking. Smoking rates showed a decreasing trend (1999, 2000, and 2001). However, policies and programs alone were not successful in influencing smoking behaviour of youth. Rather, factors within the students and schools contextual environment influenced smoking behaviour. Comprehensive approaches are required for school-based tobacco prevention interventions. Keywords: schools, policy, programs, smoking prevention, adolescents Subject Terms: school-based programming, public health, health promotion

Survival in the Rainforest : Change and Resilience among the Punan Vuhang of Eastern Sarawak, Malaysia

This dissertation concerns the Punan Vuhang, former hunter-gatherers who are now part-time farmers living in an area of remote rainforest in the Malaysian state of Sarawak. It covers two themes: first, examining their methods of securing a livelihood in the rainforest, and second looking at their adaptation to a settled life and agriculture, and their response to rapid and large-scale commercial logging. This study engages the long-running debates among anthropologists and ecologists on whether recent hunting-gathering societies were able to survive in the tropical rainforest without dependence on farming societies for food resources. In the search for evidence, the study poses three questions: What food resources were available to rainforest hunter-gatherers? How did they hunt and gather these foods? How did they cope with periodic food shortages? In fashioning a life in the rainforest, the Punan Vuhang survived resource scarcity by developing adaptive strategies through intensive use of their knowledge of the forest and its resources. They also adopted social practices such as sharing and reciprocity, and resource tenure to sustain themselves without recourse to external sources of food. In the 1960s, the Punan Vuhang settled down in response to external influences arising in part from the Indonesian-Malaysian Confrontation. This, in turn, initiated a series of processes with political, economic and religious implications. However, elements of the traditional economy have remained resilient as the people continue to hunt, fish and gather, and are able to farm on an individual basis, unlike neighboring shifting cultivators who need to cooperate with each other. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Punan Vuhang face a new challenge arising from the issue of rights in the context of the state and national law and large-scale commercial logging in their forest habitat. The future seems bleak as they face the social problems of alcoholism, declining leadership, and dependence on cash income and commodities from the market.

Semi-supervised learning of WLAN radio maps

In this thesis a manifold learning method is applied to the problem of WLAN positioning and automatic radio map creation. Due to the nature of WLAN signal strength measurements, a signal map created from raw measurements results in non-linear distance relations between measurement points. These signal strength vectors reside in a high-dimensioned coordinate system. With the help of the so called Isomap-algorithm the dimensionality of this map can be reduced, and thus more easily processed. By embedding position-labeled strategic key points, we can automatically adjust the mapping to match the surveyed environment. The environment is thus learned in a semi-supervised way; gathering training points and embedding them in a two-dimensional manifold gives us a rough mapping of the measured environment. After a calibration phase, where the labeled key points in the training data are used to associate coordinates in the manifold representation with geographical locations, we can perform positioning using the adjusted map. This can be achieved through a traditional supervised learning process, which in our case is a simple nearest neighbors matching of a sampled signal strength vector. We deployed this system in two locations in the Kumpula campus in Helsinki, Finland. Results indicate that positioning based on the learned radio map can achieve good accuracy, especially in hallways or other areas in the environment where the WLAN signal is constrained by obstacles such as walls.

Future chemistry teachers use of knowledge dimensions and high-order cognitive skills in pre-laboratory concept maps

This poster describes a pilot case study, which aim is to study how future chemistry teachers use knowledge dimensions and high-order cognitive skills (HOCS) in their pre-laboratory concept maps to support chemistry laboratory work. The research data consisted of 168 pre-laboratory concept maps that 29 students constructed as a part of their chemistry laboratory studies. Concept maps were analyzed by using a theory based content analysis through Anderson & Krathwohls' learning taxonomy (2001). This study implicates that novice concept mapper students use all knowledge dimensions and applying, analyzing and evaluating HOCS to support the pre-laboratory work.

Late Svecofennian leucogranites of southern Finland : Chronicles of an orogenic collapse

Leucogranite magmatism occurred in southern Finland during the later stages of the Paleoproterozoic Svecofennian orogeny. The leucogranites are considered to have formed from pre-existing crustal rocks that have undergone anatexis in the extensional stage of the orogeny, following continental collision and resultant crustal thickening. The leucogranites have been studied in the field using petrographic and mineralogical methods, elemental and isotope geochemistry on whole rocks and minerals, and U-Pb geochronology. On outcrop scale, these granites typically form heterogeneous, layered, sheet-like bodies that migmatize their country rocks. All of the leucogranites are peraluminous and rich in SiO2, but otherwise display significant geochemical variation. Their Nd isotope composition ranges from fairly juvenile to very unradiogenic, and the Hf isotope composition of their zircon shows a varying degree of mixing in the source, the zircon populations becoming more heterogeneous and generally less radiogenic towards the east. The leucogranites have been dated using U-Pb isotopic analyses, utilizing thermal ionization mass spectrometry, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and laser ablation multicollector ICP mass spectrometry on zircon and monazite. The results show that the granites were emplaced between 1.85 Ga and 1.79 Ga, which is a considerably longer period than has traditionally been perceived for these rocks. The rocks tend to become younger towards the east. Single crystal data also display a wide array of inherited zircons, especially in the eastern part of the leucogranite belt. The most common inherited age groups are ~2.8 2.5 Ga, ~2.1 2.1 Ga, and ~1.9 Ga. Magmatic zircon and monazite usually record similar ages for any one sample.Thermobarometric calculations indicate that the leucogranites in the Veikkola area of southcentral Finland were formed from relatively low-temperature melts, and emplaced at 17-25 km depth, i.e. at mid-crustal level. It is likely that these conditions apply to the Svecofennian leucogranites in general. Large differences in the Hf and Nd isotope compositions, emplacement ages, and distributions of inherited zircon ages show that these granites were formed from different types of source rocks, which probably included both sedimentary and igneous rocks.

Rannansiirtyminen ja ihmisen toimintaympäristön muutos Mätäjokilaakson alueella esihistoriallisella ajalla

In this thesis, I study the changing ladscape and human environment of the Mätäjoki Valley, West-Helsinki, using reconstructions and predictive modelling. The study is a part of a larger project funded by the city of Helsinki aming to map the past of the Mätäjoki Valley. The changes in landscape from an archipelago in the Ancylus Lake to a river valley are studied from 10000 to 2000 years ago. Alongside shore displacement, we look at the changing environment from human perspective and predict the location of dwelling sitesat various times. As a result, two map series were produced that show how the landscape changed and where inhabitance is predicted. To back them up, we have also looked at what previous research says about the history of the waterways, climate, vegetation and archaeology. The changing landscape of the river valley is reconstructed using GIS methods. For this purpose, new laser point data set was used and at the same time tested in the context landscape modelling. Dwelling sites were modeled with logistic regression analysis. The spatial predictive model combines data on the locations of the known dwelling sites, environmental factors and shore displacement data. The predictions were visualised into raster maps that show the predictions for inhabitance 3000 and 5000 years ago. The aim of these maps was to help archaeologists map potential spots for human activity. The produced landscape reconstructions clarified previous shore displacement studies of the Mätäjoki region and provided new information on the location of shoreline. From the shore displacement history of the Mätäjoki Valley arise the following stages: 1. The northernmost hills of the Mätäjoki Valley rose from Ancylus Lake approximately 10000 years ago. Shore displacement was fast during the following thousand years. 2. The area was an archipelago with a relatively steady shoreline 9000 7000 years ago. 8000 years ago the shoreline drew back in the middle and southern parts of the river valley because of the transgression of the Litorina Sea. 3. Mätäjoki was a sheltered bay of the Litorina Sea 6000 5000 years ago. The Vantaanjoki River started to flow into the Mätäjoki Valley approximately 5000 years ago. 4. The sediment plains in the southern part of the river valley rose from the sea rather quickly 5000 3000 years ago. Salt water still pushed its way into the southermost part of the valley 4000 years ago. 5. The shoreline proceeded to Pitäjänmäki rapids where it stayed at least a thousand years 3000 2000 years ago. The predictive models managed to predict the locations of dwelling sites moderately well. The most accurate predictions were found on the eastern shore and Malminkartano area. Of the environment variables sand and aspect of slope were found to have the best predictive power. From the results of this study we can conclude that the Mätäjoki Valley has been a favorable location to live especially 6000 5000 years ago when the climate was mild and vegetation lush. The laser point data set used here works best in shore displacement studies located in rural areas or if further specific palaeogeographic or hydrologic analysis in the research area is not needed.

The Far Eastern Question at the Washington Conference (1921-1922) with an outline of its implications for internal politics in China

This dissertation is a narrative account of the negotiations concerning the question of the Far East and the Shandong issue at the Washington Conference, leading to treaties, agreements and resolutions. In this dissertation, a certain stress is laid on the interaction between the Conference and the internal situation in China, particularly concerning the question of the implications of the Conference for Cabinet politics in Peking. Through the narrative account of the Conference, the general aim is an attempt to reassess the achievements of the Washington Conference. Too often the Washington Conference has been viewed negatively. The political aim behind the legal framework was to open the door to China as a sovereign State member of the international community whose territorial integrity was internationally recognized, despite its chaotic internal situation. It is undeniable that the Washington Conference opened a new chapter in modern Chinese history. The violations of the agreements concerning China that occurred in the 1930s should not lead to the belief that these agreements were of no value. Peace may not be lasting and evolves according to circumstances; agreements are transitory, and new situations need new arrangements. This dissertation tries to demonstrate that the agreements in themselves were not the cause of their failure, but the failure was due to the lack of determination on the part of the Signatories Powers to defend them.

Management of bushland vegetation using rainwater harvesting in eastern Kenya.

Microcatchment water harvesting (MCWH) improved the survival and growth of planted trees on heavy soils in eastern Kenya five to six years after planting. In the best method, the cross-tied furrow microcatchments, the mean annual increments (MAI; based on the average biomass of living trees multiplied by tree density and survival) of the total and usable biomass in Prosopis juliflora were 2787 and 1610 kg ha-1 a-1 respectively, when the initial tree density was 500 to 1667 trees per hectare. Based on survival, the indigenous Acacia horrida, A. mellifera and A. zanzibarica were the most suitable species for planting using MCWH. When both survival and yield were considered, a local seed source of the introduced P. juliflora was superior to all other species. The MAI in MCWH was at best distinctly higher than that in the natural vegetation (163­307 and 66­111 kg ha-1 a-1 for total and usable biomass respectively); this cannot satisfy the fuelwood demand of concentrated populations, such as towns or irrigation schemes. The density of seeds of woody species in the topsoil was 40.1 seeds m-2 in the Acacia-Commiphora bushland and 12.6 seeds m-2 in the zone between the bushland and the Tana riverine forest. Rehabilitation of woody vegetation using the soil seed bank alone proved difficult due to the lack of seeds of desirable species. The regeneration and dynamics of woody vegetation were also studied both in cleared and undisturbed bushland. A sub-type of Acacia-Commiphora bushland was identified as Acacia reficiens bushland, in which the dominant Commiphora species is C. campestris. Most of the woody species did not have even-aged populations but cohort structures that were skewed towards young individuals. The woody vegetation and the status of soil nutrients were estimated to recover in 15­20 years on Vertic Natrargid soils after total removal of above-ground vegetation.

Molecular Characterization of Viruses Causing the Cassava Brown Streak Disease Epidemic in Eastern Africa

Cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) was described for the first time in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) about seven decades ago. Tanganyika (now Tanzania) about seven decades ago. It was endemic in the lowland areas of East Africa and inland parts of Malawi and caused by Cassava brown streak virus (CBSV; genus Ipomovirus; Potyviridae). However, in 1990s CBSD was observed at high altitude areas in Uganda. The causes for spread to new locations were not known.The present work was thus initiated to generate information on genetic variability, clarify the taxonomy of the virus or viruses associated with CBSD in Eastern Africa as well as to understand the evolutionary forces acting on their genes. It also sought to develop a molecular based diagnostic tool for detection of CBSD-associated virus isolates. Comparison of the CP-encoding sequences of CBSD-associated virus isolates collected from Uganda and north-western Tanzania in 2007 and the partial sequences available in Genbank revealed occurrence of two genetically distinct groups of isolates. Two isolates were selected to represent the two groups. The complete genomes of isolates MLB3 (TZ:Mlb3:07) and Kor6 (TZ:Kor6:08) obtained from North-Western (Kagera) and North-Eastern (Tanga) Tanzania, respectively, were sequenced. The genomes were 9069 and 8995 nucleotides (nt), respectively. They translated into polyproteins that were predicted to yield ten mature proteins after cleavage. Nine proteins were typical in the family Potyviridae, namely P1, P3, 6K1, CI, 6K2, VPg, NIa-Pro, NIb and CP, but the viruses did not contain HC-Pro. Interestingly, genomes of both isolates contained a Maf/HAM1-like sequence (HAM1h; 678 nucleotides, 25 kDa) recombined between the NIb and CP domains in the 3’-proximal part of the genomes. HAM1h was also identified in Euphorbia ringspot virus (EuRSV) whose sequence was in GenBank. The HAM1 gene is widely spread in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) it is known to be a nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) pyrophosphatase. Novel information was obtained on the structural variation at the N-termini of polyproteins of viruses in the genus Ipomovirus. Cucumber vein yellowing virus (CVYV) and Squash vein yellowing virus (SqVYV) contain a duplicated P1 (P1a and P1b) but lack the HC-Pro. On the other hand, Sweet potato mild mottle virus (SPMMV), has a single but large P1 and has HC-Pro. Both virus isolates (TZ:Mlb3:07 & TZ:Kor6:08) characterized in this study contained a single P1 and lacked the HC-Pro which indicates unique evolution in the family Potyviridae. Comparison of 12 complete genomes of CBSD-associated viruses which included two genomes characterized in this study, revealed genetic identity of 69.0–70.3% (nt) and amino acid (aa) identities of 73.6–74.4% at polyprotein level. Comparison was also made among 68 complete CP sequences, which indicated 69.0-70.3 and 73.6-74.4 % identity at nt and aa levels, respectively. The genetic variation was large enough for dermacation of CBSD-associated virus isolates into two distinct species. The name CBSV was retained for isolates that were related to CBSV isolates available in database whereas the new virus described for the first time in this study was named Ugandan cassava brown streak virus (UCBSV) by the International Committee on Virus Taxonomy (ICTV). The isolates TZ:Mlb3:07 and TZ:Kor6:08 belong to UCBSV and CBSV, respectively. The isolates of CBSV and UCBSV were 79.3-95.5% and 86.3-99.3 % identitical at nt level, respectively, suggesting more variation amongst CBSV isolates. The main sources of variation in plant viruses are mutations and recombination. Signals for recombination events were detected in 50% of isolates of each virus. Recombination events were detected in coding and non-coding (3’-UTR) sequences except in the 5’UTR and P3. There was no evidence for recombination between isolates of CBSV and UCBSV. The non-synonomous (dN) to synonomous (dS) nucleotide substitution ratio (ω) for the HAM1h and CP domains of both viruses were ≤ 0.184 suggesting that most sites of these proteins were evolving under strong purifying selection. However, there were individual amino acid sites that were submitted to adaptive evolution. For instance, adaptive evolution was detected in the HAM1h of UCBSV (n=15) where 12 aa sites were under positive selection (P< 0.05) but not in CBSV (n=12). The CP of CBSV (n=23) contained 12 aa sites (p<0.01) while only 5 aa sites in the CP gene of UCBSV were predicted to be submitted to positive selection pressure (p<0.01). The advantages offered by the aa sites under positive selection could not be established but occurrence of such sites in the terminal ends of UCBSV-HAMIh, for example, was interpreted as a requirement for proteolysis during polyprotein processing. Two different primer pairs that simultaneously detect UCBSV and CBSV isolates were developed in this study. They were used successfully to study distribution of CBSV, UCBSV and their mixed infections in Tanzania and Uganda. It was established that the two viruses co-infect cassava and that incidences of co-infection could be as high as 50% around Lake Victoria on the Tanzanian side. Furthermore, it was revealed for the first time that both UCBSV and CBSV were widely distributed in Eastern Africa. The primer pair was also used to confirm infection in a close relative of cassava, Manihot glaziovii (Müller Arg.) with CBSV. DNA barcoding of M. glaziovii was done by sequencing the matK gene. Two out of seven M. glaziovii from the coastal areas of Korogwe and Kibaha in north eastern Tanzania were shown to be infected by CBSV but not UCBSV isolates. Detection in M. glaziovii has an implication in control and management of CBSD as it is likely to serve as virus reservoir. This study has contributed to the understanding of evolution of CBSV and UCBSV, which cause CBSD epidemic in Eastern Africa. The detection tools developed in this work will be useful in plant breeding, verification of the phytosanitary status of materials in regional and international movement of germplasm, and in all diagnostic activities related to management of CBSD. Whereas there are still many issues to be resolved such as the function and biological significance of HAM1h and its origin, this work has laid a foundation upon which the studies on these aspects can be based.

Suomussalmen varhaisproterotsooisten diabaasien mineralogia tektonisessa tulkinnassa

The object of this research is to study the mineralogy of the diabase dykes in Suomussalmi and the relevance of the mineralogy to tectonic events, specifically large block movements in the Archaean crust. Sharp tectonic lines separate two anomalies in the dyke swarms, shown on a geomagnetic map as positive anomalies. In one of these areas, the Toravaara anomaly, the diabases seem to contain pyroxenes as a main component. Outside the Toravaara anomaly hornblende is the main ferromagnesian mineral in diabases. The aim of this paper is to research the differences in the diabases inside and outside the anomalies and interpret the processes that formed the anomalies. The data for this sudy consist of field observations, 120 thin sections, 334 electron microprobe analyses, 19 whole-rock chemical analyses, a U-Pb age analysis and geomagnetic low-altitude aerial survey maps. The methods are interpretation of field observations, chemical analyses, microprobe analyses of single minerals and radiometric age determination, microscopic studies of the thin sections, geothermometers and geobarometers. On the basis of field observations and petrographic studies the diabases in the area are divided into pyroxene diabases, hornblende diabases and the Lohisärkkä porphyritic dyke swarm. Hornblende diabases are found in the entire study area, while the pyroxene diabases concentrate on the area of the Toravaara geomagnetic anomaly. The Lohisärkkä swarm transects the whole area as a thin line from east to west. The diabases are fairly homogenous both chemically and by mineral composition. The few exceptions are part of rarer older swarms or are significantly altered. The Lohisärkkä dyke swarm was dated as 2,21 Ga old, significantly older than the most common 1,98 Ga swarm in the area. The geothermometers applied showed that the diabases on the Toravaara anomaly were stabilized at a much higher temperature than the dykes outside the anomaly. The geobarometers showed the pyroxenes to have crystallized at varying depths. The research showed the Toravaara anomaly to have formed by a vertical block movement, and the fault on its west side to have a total lateral transfer of only a few kilometers. The formation of the second anomaly was also interpreted to be tectonic in nature. In addition, the results of the geothermobarometry uncovered necessary conditions for the study of diabase emplacement depth: the minerals for the study must be chosen by minimum crystallization depth, and a geobarometer capable of determining the magmatic temperature must be used. In addition, it would be more suitable to conduct this kind of study in an area where the dykes are more exposed.