History, Transfer, Politics : Five studies on the legacy of Uppsala philosophy

The Uppsala school of Axel Hägerström can be said to have been the last genuinely Swedish philosophical movement. On the other hand, the Swedish analytic tradition is often said to have its roots in Hägerström s thought. This work examines the transformation from Uppsala philosophy to analytic philosophy from an actor-based historical perspective. The aim is to describe how a group of younger scholars (Ingemar Hedenius, Konrad Marc-Wogau, Anders Wedberg, Alf Ross, Herbert Tingsten, Gunnar Myrdal) colonised the legacy of Hägerström and Uppsala philosophy, and faced the challenges they met in trying to reconcile this legacy with the changing philosophical and political currents of the 1930s and 40s. Following Quentin Skinner, the texts are analysed as moves or speech acts in a particular historical context. The thesis consists of five previously published case studies and an introduction. The first study describes how the image of Hägerström as the father of the Swedish analytic tradition was created by a particular faction of younger Uppsala philosophers who (re-) presented the Hägerströmian philosophy as a parallel movement to logical empiricism. The second study examines the confrontations between Uppsala philosophy and logical empiricism in both the editorial board and in the pages of Sweden s leading philosophical journal Theoria. The third study focuses on how the younger generation redescribed Hägerströmian legal philosophical ideas (Scandinavian Legal Realism), while the fourth study discusses how they responded to the accusations of a connection between Hägerström s value nihilistic theory and totalitarianism. Finally, the fifth study examines how the Swedish social scientist and Social Democratic intellectual Gunnar Myrdal tried to reconcile value nihilism with a strong political programme for social reform. The contribution of this thesis to the field consists mainly in a re-evaluation of the role of Uppsala philosophy in the history of Swedish philosophy. From this perspective the Uppsala School was less a collection of certain definite philosophical ideas than an intellectual legacy that was the subject of fierce struggles. Its theories and ideas were redescribed in various ways by individual actors with different philosophical and political intentions.

Digestion capasity, nutrient digestibilities and physico-chemical conditions in the intestine influenced by the age of growing turkeys

Six experiments have been conducted to examine digestibility and feeding value of domestic Finnish fibre-rich cereals (barley and oats as compared to maize and wheat) and protein sources (rapeseed meal and cake, peas, faba beans, lupin seeds) for growing turkeys and to investigate effects of age of the birds (from 3 to 12 weeks of age) on digestion process and estimated nutrient digestibility and energy values. Besides, an objective of the study was to test applications of digestibility research methodology for turkeys. Total tract digestibility and apparent metabolizable energy (AME) was assayed in experimental cages using excreta collection, and a slaughter method was applied to sample small intestinal digesta for determination of apparent ileal crude protein digestibility (AICPD), jejuno-duodenal digesta viscosity and caecal volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration. Digesta viscosity decreased and caecal VFA production increased with age of growing turkeys. Digesta retention times in the small intestine were generally longer in the older birds than in the younger ones. Crude fat digestibility and AME increased with age of growing turkeys, especially with viscous diets. AICPD seemed to decrease with age in most cases. Supplementation with β-gucanase-xylanase decreased viscosity, improved crude fat digestibility and metabolizable energy value and increased VFA production especially in barley-fed turkeys and especially in the young birds. Poor protein digestibility and low energy value of rapeseed meal and rapeseed cake decreased their feeding value for turkeys. In addition, a typical goitrogenic effect of rapeseed feeding was detected. Use of legume seeds as feed for growing turkeys is limited mostly by the low energy value in lupin seeds and the low ileal protein and amino acid digestibility in faba beans. Digestibility of fibre-rich protein sources was not improved with age of the turkeys. Euthanizing the turkeys for AICPD determination by carbon dioxide and bleeding led to lower digestibility values than mechanical stunning and cervical dislocation, suggesting inferiority of carbon dioxide stunning in experimental use. Comparison of AICPD and AME results obtained using different markers showed that considerable differences may occur, especially on total tract level, when acid-insoluble ash gave considerably lower AME values than titanium dioxide and chromic oxide.

The effects of the 2004 reduction in the price of alcohol on alcohol-related harm in Finland : A natural experiment based on register data

Changes in alcohol pricing have been documented as inversely associated with changes in consumption and alcohol-related problems. Evidence of the association between price changes and health problems is nevertheless patchy and is based to a large extent on cross-sectional state-level data, or time series of such cross-sectional analyses. Natural experimental studies have been called for. There was a substantial reduction in the price of alcohol in Finland in 2004 due to a reduction in alcohol taxes of one third, on average, and the abolition of duty-free allowances for travellers from the EU. These changes in the Finnish alcohol policy could be considered a natural experiment, which offered a good opportunity to study what happens with regard to alcohol-related problems when prices go down. The present study investigated the effects of this reduction in alcohol prices on (1) alcohol-related and all-cause mortality, and mortality due to cardiovascular diseases, (2) alcohol-related morbidity in terms of hospitalisation, (3) socioeconomic differentials in alcohol-related mortality, and (4) small-area differences in interpersonal violence in the Helsinki Metropolitan area. Differential trends in alcohol-related mortality prior to the price reduction were also analysed. A variety of population-based register data was used in the study. Time-series intervention analysis modelling was applied to monthly aggregations of deaths and hospitalisation for the period 1996-2006. These and other mortality analyses were carried out for men and women aged 15 years and over. Socioeconomic differentials in alcohol-related mortality were assessed on a before/after basis, mortality being followed up in 2001-2003 (before the price reduction) and 2004-2005 (after). Alcohol-related mortality was defined in all the studies on mortality on the basis of information on both underlying and contributory causes of death. Hospitalisation related to alcohol meant that there was a reference to alcohol in the primary diagnosis. Data on interpersonal violence was gathered from 86 administrative small-areas in the Helsinki Metropolitan area and was also assessed on a before/after basis followed up in 2002-2003 and 2004-2005. The statistical methods employed to analyse these data sets included time-series analysis, and Poisson and linear regression. The results of the study indicate that alcohol-related deaths increased substantially among men aged 40-69 years and among women aged 50-69 after the price reduction when trends and seasonal variation were taken into account. The increase was mainly attributable to chronic causes, particularly liver diseases. Mortality due to cardiovascular diseases and all-cause mortality, on the other hand, decreased considerably among the-over-69-year-olds. The increase in alcohol-related mortality in absolute terms among the 30-59-year-olds was largest among the unemployed and early-age pensioners, and those with a low level of education, social class or income. The relative differences in change between the education and social class subgroups were small. The employed and those under the age of 35 did not suffer from increased alcohol-related mortality in the two years following the price reduction. The gap between the age and education groups, which was substantial in the 1980s, thus further broadened. With regard to alcohol-related hospitalisation, there was an increase in both chronic and acute causes among men under the age of 70, and among women in the 50-69-year age group when trends and seasonal variation were taken into account. Alcohol dependence and other alcohol-related mental and behavioural disorders were the largest category in both the total number of chronic hospitalisation and in the increase. There was no increase in the rate of interpersonal violence in the Helsinki Metropolitan area, and even a decrease in domestic violence. There was a significant relationship between the measures of social disadvantage on the area level and interpersonal violence, although the differences in the effects of the price reduction between the different areas were small. The findings of the present study suggest that that a reduction in alcohol prices may lead to a substantial increase in alcohol-related mortality and morbidity. However, large population group differences were observed regarding responsiveness to the price changes. In particular, the less privileged, such as the unemployed, were most sensitive. In contrast, at least in the Finnish context, the younger generations and the employed do not appear to be adversely affected, and those in the older age groups may even benefit from cheaper alcohol in terms of decreased rates of CVD mortality. The results also suggest that reductions in alcohol prices do not necessarily affect interpersonal violence. The population group differences in the effects of the price changes on alcohol-related harm should be acknowledged, and therefore the policy actions should focus on the population subgroups that are primarily responsive to the price reduction.

Kohti lyyristä abstraktismia : Anitra Lucanderin 1950-luvun modernismi

Towards Lyrical Abstraction Anitra Lucander s Modernism in the 1950s Anitra Lucander (1918-2000) was one of the early pioneers of abstract art in Finland. During the Second World War Finnish art and cultural life was isolated and stagnated and figurative art was still dominant after the war. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, new international abstract art movements started to come to Finland. Anitra Lucander was one of the artists of the younger generation after the war who took an interest in the abstract movements in the early 1950s. At the beginning of the 1950s, abstract art came to Finland primarily in the form of Concretism, but simultaneously, a more delicate abstract movement emerged, and Anitra Lucander was among those cultivating such conceptions in her art. In this thesis, I observe and analyze through Anitra Lucander s art this central movement in Finnish modern art that has not yet been extensively studied. I examine how Anitra Lucander s art connects with the style change in Finnish art. I scrutinize the factors that affected Lucander and turned her towards abstract expression, and the effect her art had on emergence of abstract art in Finland. I will also consider the development of her art, the reception and critique of her art and the effect the critique had on her position in the 1950s art world. Because of a lack of earlier studies, I will undertake basic research, relying on empirical primary source material, where the starting point is to place the phenomenon under examination in the historical and cultural context. The most significant study materials are the artist s paintings and graphics from 1948 to 1960, newspaper and magazine articles from the same era, archive sources and interviews with Lucander s relatives, fellow artists and friends. An interesting aspect of the topic is the fact that Anitra Lucander was the only woman among the important pioneers of early Finnish abstract art. Through Lucander s art, I also examine the position of female artists in the tradition of Modernism as well as in the Finnish art world of the 1950s. This theoretical background is provided by the studies of feminist art historians, such as Marsha Meskimmon, Gill Perry, Griselda Pollock and Anne Middleton Wagner. Lucander s position in the male-dominated Finnish art scene of the 1950s, and how she achieved her position, emerges as one of the central themes of the study. I will also observe whether gender is evident in Lucander s art and expression, as well as her reception and critique compared to the reception of her male colleagues art. From a woman s point of view, I reveal the masculine rhetoric and gendered attitudes in the critique of the era. As a theoretical and methodological frame of reference, I use discourse analysis. Anitra Lucander encountered modernistic, international art movements during her journeys to Paris in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Her art evolved from the geometric Concretism of the early decade towards more delicate and painterly abstract expression. After the mid-1950s, she had developed her signature expression; through Cubism and a collage technique, she developed in her painting a delicate, coloristic imagery, which can be characterized as Lyrical Abstraction. Lucander did not consider abstract expression to be categorical, but saw the abstract and the nonfigurative as equals: the line between the abstract and the figurative is very often fleeting in her art. Already in her own time, Lucander achieved a position as one of the most talented young artists of her generation and her work was included in significant exhibitions. This success can definitely be attributed to the fact that she embraced Modernism in its extreme form, abstraction, already at the beginning of her career and networked with male painters who shared her outlook and modernistic expression. For her, this was either a conscious or an unconscious method of adapting to the male-dominated Finnish art field in the 1950s. In spite of acclaim and attention, Lucander had to encounter the gendered attitudes in the critique of the time, and her art was often perceived through stereotypical views as overly feminine and dependent. However, with her art, Lucander played an important role in the breakthrough for colorism and abstract art in Finland in the 1950s.

Kuluttaminen ja ylhäisaatelin elämäntapa 1700-luvun Ruotsissa

Consumption and the lifestyle of the high nobility in eighteenth-century Sweden This monograph is an analysis of the lifestyle, consumption and private finances of the Swedish high nobility during the eighteenth century (ca 1730 1795). It describes the lifestyle of one noble house, the House of Fersen. The Fersen family represents the leading political, economic and cultural elite in eighteenth-century Sweden. The analysis concentrates on Count Carl von Fersen (1716 1786) and his brother Count Axel von Fersen (1719 1794), their spouses and children. Carl von Fersen was a courtier whilst Axel von Fersen was an officer and one of the leaders of the Francophile Hat party. His son, Axel von Fersen the younger, was in his time an officer and a favourite of Gustavus III, King of Sweden, as well as a favourite and trusted confidant of Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France. The research is based upon the Fersen family s private archives, the Counts personal account books, probate inventories, letters and diaries. The study discusses the Fersens landed property and investments in ironworks and manufacturing, the indebtedness of the high nobility, high offices in civil administration, the militia and at court, as well as marriages as the foundations of noble wealth and power. It analyses the Count von Fersens revenue and expenditure, their career options and personal expenses, their involvement in the building and decorating of palaces, and the servants in service of the Fersen family as well as the ideal nobleman and his consumption. Central themes are inheritance, children s education, marriages and ladies preparing their trousseaux, the nobility ordering luxury goods from France, the consumption of Counts and Countesses before and after marrying and having children, the pleasures of a noble life as well as the criticism of luxury and sumptuousness. The study contributes to the large body of research on consumption and nobility in the eighteenth century by connecting the lifestyle, consumption and private finances of the Swedish high nobility to their European context. Key words: nobility, Fersen, lifestyle, consumption, private finances, Sweden, eighteenth century

Herrana metsässä : Kansatieteellinen tutkimus metsänhoitajuudesta

The aim of the research is to interpret the professional culture of Finnish university-educated foresters in historical perspective. The main material of this research consists of biographical interviews, altogether 226 life stories of Finnish foresters, as well as foresters private photograph collections and articles in forest students' magazines. This study is the first published Ph. D. dissertation of a large oral history project "Forestry Professions in a Changing Society" 1999 2002 collected by The Finnish Forest History Society, the University of Helsinki (Ethnology) and The Finnish Forest Museum Lusto. The forester education was organized in the Evo Forest Institute 1862 1908, at the University of Helsinki since 1908 and additionally at the University of Joensuu since 1982. At first all the vacancies were in the service of the Board of Forestry, but during the 20th century the working opportunities of foresters significantly expanded, even outside the traditional areas of forestry or abroad. At the same time the whole area of Finnish forestry had integrated more versatile values concerning the forests and their use. The male-dominated profession gained its first female members already in the 1920s, and the number of female students rose gradually from the 1970s onwards. In the 1990s almost half of the new forest students were women. The content of both work and education of Finnish forest professionals has faced huge changes during the 19th and 20th centuries. Despite this however, there has been a long-term vision of a firm profession based on joint experiences, shared memories and the common task of foresters in the Finnish forestry. The feeling of togetherness the forester spirit which was created in a tight-knit student group which kept in touch also later as professionals was needed to make the work possible. Through foresters' own attitudes and narratives of themselves, the study is focused on forest professionalism as a cultural process of successive generations of foresters. How have foresters socialized themselves into their profession? How has forest professionalism been maintained? What is the meaning of joint experiences and shared memories in the profession? By studying the manifestations of a culture it is possible to interpret the culture itself. There seems to be an astounding consensus of opinion concerning forest professionalism in the oral, visual and written stories of foresters. Even if all the individuals and some separate groups, such as female foresters and the younger generation of foresters, did not always share the same experiences, the vision of forest professionalism was collectively recognized and often even approved. The shared idea of "a real forest professionalism" is like a model narrative, a point of comparison, which is needed while looking for one s own professional identity.

Familial aggregation of type 1 diabetes and diabetic nephropathy in Finland

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a common, multifactorial disease with strong familial clustering. In Finland, the incidence of T1D among children aged 14 years or under is the highest in the world. The increase in incidence has been approximately 2.4% per year. Although most new T1D cases are sporadic the first-degree relatives are at an increased risk of developing the same disease. This study was designed to examine the familial aggregation of T1D and one of its serious complications, diabetic nephropathy (DN). More specifically the study aimed (1) to determine the concordance rates of T1D in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins and to estimate the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors to the variability in liability to T1D as well as to study the age at onset of diabetes in twins; (2) to obtain long-term empirical estimates of the risk of T1D among siblings of T1D patients and the factors related to this risk, especially the effect of age at onset of diabetes in the proband and the birth cohort effect; (3) to establish if DN is aggregating in a Finnish population-based cohort of families with multiple cases of T1D, and to assess its magnitude and particularly to find out whether the risk of DN in siblings is varying according to the severity of DN in the proband and/or the age at onset of T1D: (4) to assess the recurrence risk of T1D in the offspring of a Finnish population-based cohort of patients with childhood onset T1D, and to investigate potential sex-related effects in the transmission of T1D from the diabetic parents to their offspring as well as to study whether there is a temporal trend in the incidence. The study population comprised of the Finnish Young Twin Cohort (22,650 twin pairs), a population-based cohort of patients with T1D diagnosed at the age of 17 years or earlier between 1965 and 1979 (n=5,144) and all their siblings (n=10,168) and offspring (n=5,291). A polygenic, multifactorial liability model was fitted to the twin data. Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to provide the cumulative incidence for the development of T1D and DN. Cox s proportional hazards models were fitted to the data. Poisson regression analysis was used to evaluate temporal trends in incidence. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) between the first-degree relatives of T1D patients and background population were determined. The twin study showed that the vast majority of affected MZ twin pairs remained discordant. Pairwise concordance for T1D was 27.3% in MZ and 3.8% in DZ twins. The probandwise concordance estimates were 42.9% and 7.4%, respectively. The model with additive genetic and individual environmental effects was the best-fitting liability model to T1D, with 88% of the phenotypic variance due to genetic factors. The second paper showed that the 50-year cumulative incidence of T1D in the siblings of diabetic probands was 6.9%. A young age at diagnosis in the probands considerably increased the risk. If the proband was diagnosed at the age of 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15 or more, the corresponding 40-year cumulative risks were 13.2%, 7.8%, 4.7% and 3.4%. The cumulative incidence increased with increasing birth year. However, SIR among children aged 14 years or under was approximately 12 throughout the follow-up. The third paper showed that diabetic siblings of the probands with nephropathy had a 2.3 times higher risk of DN compared with siblings of probands free of nephropathy. The presence of end stage renal disease (ESRD) in the proband increases the risk three-fold for diabetic siblings. Being diagnosed with diabetes during puberty (10-14) or a few years before (5-9) increased the susceptibility for DN in the siblings. The fourth paper revealed that of the offspring of male probands, 7.8% were affected by the age of 20 compared with 5.3% of the offspring of female probands. Offspring of fathers with T1D have 1.7 times greater risk to be affected with T1D than the offspring of mothers with T1D. The excess risk in the offspring of male fathers manifested itself through the higher risk the younger the father was when diagnosed with T1D. Young age at onset of diabetes in fathers increased the risk of T1D greatly in the offspring, but no such pattern was seen in the offspring of diabetic mothers. The SIR among offspring aged 14 years or under remained fairly constant throughout the follow-up, approximately 10. The present study has provided new knowledge on T1D recurrence risk in the first-degree relatives and the risk factors modifying the risk. Twin data demonstrated high genetic liability for T1D and increased heritability. The vast majority of affected MZ twin pairs, however, remain discordant for T1D. This study confirmed the drastic impact of the young age at onset of diabetes in the probands on the increased risk of T1D in the first-degree relatives. The only exception was the absence of this pattern in the offspring of T1D mothers. Both the sibling and the offspring recurrence risk studies revealed dynamic changes in the cumulative incidence of T1D in the first-degree relatives. SIRs among the first-degree relatives of T1D patients seems to remain fairly constant. The study demonstrates that the penetrance of the susceptibility genes for T1D may be low, although strongly influenced by the environmental factors. Presence of familial aggregation of DN was confirmed for the first time in a population-based study. Although the majority of the sibling pairs with T1D were discordant for DN, its presence in one sibling doubles and presence of ESRD triples the risk of DN in the other diabetic sibling. An encouraging observation was that although the proportion of children to be diagnosed with T1D at the age of 4 or under is increasing, they seem to have a decreased risk of DN or at least delayed onset.

Early growth and adult health: focus on blood pressure, glucose tolerance status and body composition

Theory of developmental origins of adult health and disease proposes that experiences during critical periods of early development may have consequences on health throughout a lifespan. Thesis studies aimed to characterize associations between early growth and some components of the metabolic syndrome cluster. Participants belong to two epidemiological cohorts with data on birth measurements and, for the younger cohort, on serial recordings of weight and height during childhood. They were born as singletons between 1924-33 and 1934-44 in the Helsinki University Central Hospital, and 500 and 2003 of them, respectively, attended clinical studies at the age of 65-75 and 56-70 years, respectively. In the 65-75 year old men and women, the well-known inverse relationship between birth weight and systolic blood pressure (SBP) was confined to people who had established hypertension. Among them a 1-kg increase in birth weight was associated with a 6.4-mmHg (95% CI: 1.0 to 11.9) decrease in SBP. This relationship was further confined to people with the prevailing Pro12Pro polymorphism of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ2 (PPARγ2) gene. People with low birth weight were more likely to receive angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin-receptor blockers (ACEI/ARB, p=0.03), and, again, this relationship was confined to the carriers of the Pro12Pro (p=0.01 for interaction). These results suggest that the inverse association between birth weight and systolic BP becomes focused in hypertensive people because pathological features of BP regulation, associated with slow fetal growth, become self-perpetuating in adult life. Insulin resistance of the Pro12Pro carriers with low birth weight may interact with the renin-angiotensin system leading to raised BP levels. Habitual physical activity protected men and women who were small at birth, and thus at increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes, against glucose intolerance more strongly. Among subjects with birth weight ≤3000 g, the odds ratio (OR) for glucose intolerance was 5.2 (95% CI: 2.1 to 13) in those who exercised less than 3 times per week compared to regular exercisers; in those who scored their exercise light compared with moderate exercisers (defined as comparable to brisk walking) the OR was 3.5 (1.5 to 8.2). In the 56-70 year old men a 1 kg increase in birth weight corresponded to a 4.1 kg (95% CI: 3.1 to 5.1) and in women to a 2.9 kg (2.1 to 3.6) increase in adult lean mass. Rapid gain in body mass index (BMI), i.e. crossing from an original BMI percentile to a higher one, before the age of 2 years increased adult lean mass index (LMI, lean mass/height squared) without excess fat accumulation whereas rapid gain in BMI during later childhood, despite the concurrent rise in LMI, resulted in a relatively higher increase in adult body fat mass. These findings illustrate how genes, the environment and their interactions, early growth patterns, and adult lifestyle modify adult health risks which originate from early life.

Life events and social support among patients with major depressive disorder

The study is part of a research project of 269 psychiatric patients with major depression, Vantaa Depression Study, in the Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research of the National Public Health Institute and the Department of Psychiatry of the Peijas Medical Care District. The aim was to study at the onset of MDE psychosocial differences in subgroups of patients and clustering of events into time before depression and its prodromal phase, to study whether more severe life events and less social support predict poorer outcome in all patients, but most among those currently in partial remission, whether social support declines as a consequence of time spent in MDE, is sensitive to improvement, and whether social support is influenced by neuroticism and extraversion. After screening, a semistructured interview (SCAN, version 2.0) was used for the presence of DSM-IV MDE, and other psychiatric diagnoses. Life events and social support were studied with semistructured methods (IRLE, Paykel 1983; IMSR, Brugha et al. 1987), perceived social support and neuroticism/extraversion with questionnaires (PSSS-R, Blumenthal et al. 1987; EPI, Eysenck and Eysenck 1964) at baseline, 6 and 18 months. At the onset of depression life events were common. No major differences between subgroups of patients were found; the younger had more events, whereas those with comorbid alcoholism and personality disorders perceived less support. Although events were distributed evenly between the time before depression, the prodromal phase and the index MDE, two thirds of the patients attributed their depression to some life event. Adversities and poor perceived support influenced the outcome of all psychiatric patients, most in the subgroup of full remission. In the partial remission group, the impact of severe events and in the MDE, perceived support was important. Low objective and subjective support were predicted by longer time spent in MDE. Along with improvement subjective support improved. Neuroticism and extraversion were associated with the size of social network and perceived support and predicted change of perceived support. In conclusion, adversities were common in all phases of depression. They may thus have many roles; before depression they may precipitate it, in the prodromal phase worsen symptoms, and during the MDE, the outcome of depression. Patients often attributed their depression to a life event. Psychosocial subgroup differences were quite small. Perceived support predicted the outcome of depression, and time spent in MDE objective and subjective support. Neuroticism and extraversion may modify the level and change particularly in perceived support, thereby indirectly effecting vulnerability to depression.

SPECT-aided diagnostics and genetic risk factors in Parkinson's disease

Hypokinesia, rigidity, tremor, and postural instability are the cardinal symptoms of Parkinson s disease (PD). Since these symptoms are not specific to PD the diagnosis may be uncertain in early PD. Etiology and pathogenesis of PD remain unclear. There is no neuroprotective therapy. Genetic findings are expected to reveal metabolic routes in PD pathogenesis and thereby eventually lead to therapeutic innovations. In this thesis, we first aimed to study the usefulness and accuracy of 123I-b-CIT SPECT in the diagnosis of PD in a consecutive clinic-based material including various movement disorders. We subsequently a genetic project to identify genetic risk factors for sporadic PD using a candidate gene approach in a case-control setting including 147 sporadic PD patients and 137 spouse controls. Dopamine transporter imaging by 123I-b-CIT SPECT could distinguish PD from essential tremor, drug-induced parkinsonism, dystonia and psychogenic parkinsonism. However, b-CIT uptake in Parkinson plus syndromes (PSP and multiple system atrophy) and dementia with Lewy bodies was not significantly different from PD. 123I-b-CIT SPECT could not reliably differentiate PD from vascular parkinsonism. 123I-b-CIT SPECT was 100% sensitive and specific in the diagnosis of PD in patients younger than 55 years but less specific in older patients, due to differential distribution of the above conditions in the younger and older age groups. 123I-b-CIT SPECT correlated with symptoms and detected bilateral nigrostriatal defect in patients whose PD was still in unilateral stage. Thus, in addition to as a differential diagnostic aid, 123I-b-CIT SPECT may be used to detect PD early, even pre-symptomatically in at-risk individuals. 123I-b-CIT SPECT was used to aid in the collection of patients to the genetic studies. In the genetic part of this thesis we found an association between PD and a polymorphic CAG-repeat in POLG1 gene encoding the catalytic subunit of mitochondrial polymerase gamma. The CAG-repeat encodes a polyglutamine tract (polyQ), the two most common lengths of which are 10Q (86-90%) and 11Q. In our Finnish material, the rarer non-10Q or non-11Q length variants (6Q-9Q, 12Q-14Q, 4R+9Q) were more frequent in patients than in spouse controls (10% vs. 3.5 %, p=0.003), or population controls (p=0.001). Therefore, we performed a replication study in 652 North American PD patients and 292 controls. Non-10/11Q alleles were more common in the US PD patients compared to the controls but the difference did not reach statistical significance (p=0.07). This larger data suggested our original definition of variant length allele might need reconsideration. Most previous studies on phenotypic effects of POLG1 polyQ have defined 10Q as the only normal allele. Non-10Q alleles were significantly more common in patients compared to the controls (17.3% vs. 12.3 %, p= 0.005). This association between non-10Q length variants and PD remained significant when compared to a larger set of 1541 literature controls (p=0.00005). In conclusion, POLG1 polyQ alleles other than 10Q may predispose to PD. We did not find association between PD and parkin or DJ-1, genes underlying autosomal recessive parkinsonism. The functional Val158Met polymorphism, which affects the catalytic effect of COMT enzyme, and another coding polymorphism in COMT were not associated with PD in our patient material. The APOE e2/3/4 polymorphism modifies risk for Alzheimer s disease and prognosis of for example brain trauma. APOE promoter and enhancer polymorphisms 219G/T and +113G/C, and APOE e3 haplotypes, have also been shown to modify the risk of Alzheimer s disease but not reported in PD. No association was found between PD and APOE e2/3/4 polymorphism, the promoter or enhancer polymorphisms, or the e3 haplotypes.

Cyclosporine population pharmacokinetics in pediatric renal transplant recipients

Cyclosporine is an immunosuppressant drug with a narrow therapeutic index and large variability in pharmacokinetics. To improve cyclosporine dose individualization in children, we used population pharmacokinetic modeling to study the effects of developmental, clinical, and genetic factors on cyclosporine pharmacokinetics in altogether 176 subjects (age range: 0.36–20.2 years) before and up to 16 years after renal transplantation. Pre-transplantation test doses of cyclosporine were given intravenously (3 mg/kg) and orally (10 mg/kg), on separate occasions, followed by blood sampling for 24 hours (n=175). After transplantation, in a total of 137 patients, cyclosporine concentration was quantified at trough, two hours post-dose, or with dose-interval curves. One-hundred-four of the studied patients were genotyped for 17 putatively functionally significant sequence variations in the ABCB1, SLCO1B1, ABCC2, CYP3A4, CYP3A5, and NR1I2 genes. Pharmacokinetic modeling was performed with the nonlinear mixed effects modeling computer program, NONMEM. A 3-compartment population pharmacokinetic model with first order absorption without lag-time was used to describe the data. The most important covariate affecting systemic clearance and distribution volume was allometrically scaled body weight i.e. body weight**3/4 for clearance and absolute body weight for volume of distribution. The clearance adjusted by absolute body weight declined with age and pre-pubertal children (< 8 years) had an approximately 25% higher clearance/body weight (L/h/kg) than did older children. Adjustment of clearance for allometric body weight removed its relationship to age after the first year of life. This finding is consistent with a gradual reduction in relative liver size towards adult values, and a relatively constant CYP3A content in the liver from about 6–12 months of age to adulthood. The other significant covariates affecting cyclosporine clearance and volume of distribution were hematocrit, plasma cholesterol, and serum creatinine, explaining up to 20%–30% of inter-individual differences before transplantation. After transplantation, their predictive role was smaller, as the variations in hematocrit, plasma cholesterol, and serum creatinine were also smaller. Before transplantation, no clinical or demographic covariates were found to affect oral bioavailability, and no systematic age-related changes in oral bioavailability were observed. After transplantation, older children receiving cyclosporine twice daily as the gelatine capsule microemulsion formulation had an about 1.25–1.3 times higher bioavailability than did the younger children receiving the liquid microemulsion formulation thrice daily. Moreover, cyclosporine oral bioavailability increased over 1.5-fold in the first month after transplantation, returning thereafter gradually to its initial value in 1–1.5 years. The largest cyclosporine doses were administered in the first 3–6 months after transplantation, and thereafter the single doses of cyclosporine were often smaller than 3 mg/kg. Thus, the results suggest that cyclosporine displays dose-dependent, saturable pre-systemic metabolism even at low single doses, whereas complete saturation of CYP3A4 and MDR1 (P-glycoprotein) renders cyclosporine pharmacokinetics dose-linear at higher doses. No significant associations were found between genetic polymorphisms and cyclosporine pharmacokinetics before transplantation in the whole population for which genetic data was available (n=104). However, in children older than eight years (n=22), heterozygous and homozygous carriers of the ABCB1 c.2677T or c.1236T alleles had an about 1.3 times or 1.6 times higher oral bioavailability, respectively, than did non-carriers. After transplantation, none of the ABCB1 SNPs or any other SNPs were found to be associated with cyclosporine clearance or oral bioavailability in the whole population, in the patients older than eight years, or in the patients younger than eight years. In the whole population, in those patients carrying the NR1I2 g.-25385C–g.-24381A–g.-205_-200GAGAAG–g.7635G–g.8055C haplotype, however, the bioavailability of cyclosporine was about one tenth lower, per allele, than in non-carriers. This effect was significant also in a subgroup of patients older than eight years. Furthermore, in patients carrying the NR1I2 g.-25385C–g.-24381A–g.-205_-200GAGAAG–g.7635G–g.8055T haplotype, the bioavailability was almost one fifth higher, per allele, than in non-carriers. It may be possible to improve individualization of cyclosporine dosing in children by accounting for the effects of developmental factors (body weight, liver size), time after transplantation, and cyclosporine dosing frequency/formulation. Further studies are required on the predictive value of genotyping for individualization of cyclosporine dosing in children.

Kansallinen identiteetti ja suomalaiseksi samastuminen

National identity is a general, more or less shared meaning structure. Those who share it, identify with a nation according to their beliefs of what national identity consists of. The present study examined the Finnish national identity in relation to other spatial identities, such as local or European identity. Data were drawn from a sample of 179 respondents who represented the adult population in the year 1993. The focus was on the representation of the Finnish national identity, the limits and components of this identity, and on the position of national identification among all human identifications. Categorization, the basic process in the construction of national identity, consists of inclusion and exclusion. Different forms of identification could be distinguished along with different contents. Discrimination and derogation of outgroups were associated with identification that emphasized inter-nation comparison and framed identity in an essentialistic and thus exclusionary way. The contents of national identity were examined using a quantitative word-assessment method, and related to different forms of identification. With regard to Finnish identification, few differences between age, educational or SES groups were found. Despite the lack of differences in the strength of Finnish identification, those with more education to a greater extent relativized their Finnishness. Those who held positive attitudes to immigrants associated Finnishness with both positive and negative traits. Pro-immigrant attitude was related to an emphasis on cultural Finnishness and a de-emphasis on comparative and status-oriented Finnishness. Among the respondents with lower level of education, the emphasis on cultural Finnishness clearly predicted pro-immigrant attitudes. Those who did not produce any spontaneous response to a request to define Finnishness were more likely to be anti-immigrant. Thus, reflexive self-understanding implies openness towards other nationalities. Changes in the representation of Finnishness are suggested by differential weights given by respondents to different aspects of the national identity. Older respondents regarded the moral-anthropomorphic aspects of identity as more important. The younger respondents felt relatively more Finnish in the company of foreigners than did the older generations, to whom being with friends and in other close relationships stood out as contexts of national identification. The aspect of identity which is based on categorization and comparison could be called identity for others. The other aspect of the national identity is identity for ourselves, which emphasizes self and cultural self-understanding. A modern marketing oriented “image-of-Finland” identity represents identity for others.

Paimen vailla hiippakuntaa : Kenttäpiispan viran synty ja vaikutus sotilaspapiston asemaan Suomen puolustusvoimissa ja kirkossa vuosina 1939 - 1944

The main purpose of this research is to shed light on the factors that gave rise to the office of Field Bishop in the years 1939-1944. How did military bishophood affect the status of the head of military pastoral care and military clergy during these years? The main sources of my research are the collections in the Finnish National Archives, and I use a historical-qualitative method. The position of the military clergy was debated within both the Church and the Defence Forces before 1939. At that stage, Church law did not yet recognize the office of the leading military priest, the Field Dean. There had been a motion in 1932 to introduce the office of a military bishop, but the bishops' synod blocked it. The concept of Field Bishop appeared for the first time in 1927 in a Finnish military document, which dealt with pastoral care in the Polish military. The Field Dean in Finland had regularly proposed improvements to the salary of the military clergy before the Winter War. After the Winter War, arguments were made for strengthening the position of the military clergy: these arguments were based on the increased respect shown towards this clergy, especially due to their role in the care of the fallen, which had become their task during the war. Younger members of the military clergy in particular supported the demands to improve their position within the Church and the army. The creation of a Field Bishop was perceived as strengthening the whole military clergy, as the Field Bishop was envisioned as a bishop within the Church and a general within the Defence Forces. During that time the Field Dean was still without any military rank. The idea of a Field Bishop was recommended to Mannerheim in June 1940, after which the Defence Forces lent their support to the cause. The status of the military clergy, in Church law, made it to the agenda of the Church council in January 1941, thanks largely to the younger priests' group influence and Mannerheim's leverage. The bishops opposed the notion of a Field Bishop mostly on theological grounds but were ready to concede that the position the Field Dean in Church law required further defining. The creation of the office of Field Bishop was blocked in the Church law committee report issued close to the beginning of the Continuation War. The onset of that war, however, changed the course of events, as the President of the Republic appointed Field Dean Johannes Björklund as Field Bishop. Speculation has abounded about Mannerheim's role in the appointment, but the truth of the matter is not clear. The title of Field Bishop was used to put pressure on the Church, and, at the same time, Mannerheim could remain detached from the matter. Later, in September 1941, the Church council approved the use of the Field Bishop title to denote the head of military pastoral care in Church law, and Field Bishops were assigned some of the duties formerly pertaining to bishops. Despite all expectations and hopes, the new office of Field Bishop did not affect the status of the military clergy within the Defence Forces, as no ranks were established for them, and their salary did not improve. However the office of the Field Bishop within Army HQ was transformed from a bureau into a department in the summer of 1942. At the beginning of the Continuation War, the Field Bishop was criticized by certain military and Church clergy for favouring Russian Orthodox Christians in Eastern Karelia. Björklund agreed in principle with most of the Lutheran clergy on the necessity of Lutheranizing East Karelia but had to take into account the realities at Army HQ. As well, at the same time the majority of the younger clergy were serving in the army, and there was a lack of parish priests on the home front. Bishop Lehtonen had actually expressed the wish that more priests could have been released from the front to serve in local parishes. In his notes Lehtonen accused Björklund of trying to achieve the position of Field Bishop by all possible means. However, research has revealed a varied group of people behind the creation of the office of Field Bishop, including in particular younger clergy and the Defence Forces.

Hyveiden harjoittaminen : edellytykset ja esteet

In the first half of the 20th century, most moral philosophers took the concept of virtue to be secondary to moral principles or emotions, though in various and mutually conflicting ways. In the early 1960s interest in the virtues was restored by the analytic philosophers Elizabeth Anscombe and Georg Henrik von Wright, the younger colleagues and friends of the late Wittgenstein. Later, Alasdair MacIntyre became a leading virtue ethicist. In 1981, MacIntyre introduced in After Virtue the concept of practices, which he based on the Aristotelian distinction between praxis and poiesis. This dissertation examines MacIntyre s characterization of the interconnectedness between practices and virtues, especially in relation to skills, education, and certain emotions. The primary position of the virtues is defended against the tendency in modern moral philosophy to overemphasize the role either of principles and rules or of emotions. The view according to which rational action and acting according to the virtues is best conceptualized as following rules or principles is criticized by arguments that are grounded by some Wittgensteinian observations, and that can be characterized as transcendental. Even if the virtues cannot be defined by, and are not based entirely on, emotions, the role of certain emotions on the learning and education of skills and virtues are studied more carefully than by MacIntyre. In the cases of resentment, indignation, and shame, the analysis of Peter Strawson is utilized, and in the case of regret, the analysis of Bernard Williams. Williams analysis of regret and moral conflict concludes in a kind of antirealism, which this study criticizes. Where education of practices and skills and the related reactive emotions are examined as conditions of learning and practicing the virtues, institutions and ideologies are examined as obstacles and threats to the virtues. This theme is studied through Karl Marx s conception of alienation and Karl Polanyi s historical and sociological research concerning the great transformation . The study includes six Finnish-published articles carrying the titles Our negative attitudes towards other persons , Authority and upbringing , Moral conflicts, regret and ethical realism , Practices and institutions , Doing justice as condition to communal action: a transcendental argument for justice as virtue , and Alienation from practices in capitalist society: Alasdair MacIntyre s Marxist Aristotelianism . The introductory essay sums up the themes of the articles and presents some central issues of virtue ethics by relating the classical Socratic questions to Aristotelian practical philosophy, as well as to current controversies in metaethics and moral psychology.

Yhteiskuntaluokka ja maku

Thee thesis, which consists of four original articles and a summarizing chapter, discusses homology between social class and cultural taste. Cultural taste is defined as the choices made in different areas of culture (television, cinema, reading, music, visual arts, sports, dining out, and leisure pursuits). Taste choices manifest themselves as likes and dislikes but also in what a person does. Social class is observed through occupational status, level of education, income and subjective views on class. The central research question concerns the relationship between social class and consumption of culture. The study aims to clarify what kind of class related differences can be found in cultural consumption, but also how these differences are connected to other factors stratifying the society such as gender, age and mother tongue. The data that is being analyzed consists of the data gathered by the project Cultural Capital and Social Differentiation in Contemporary Finland: An International Comparison. Class identification and the relation of cultural divisions to the socioeconomic ones are being analyzed using a nationally represent-ative survey data (N = 1388). Individual interviews (N = 25) and twenty focus group interviews (N = 20) on cultural consumption are also being analyzed. The theoretical framework is built around Pierre Buourdieu s theory of distinction and its critique but also recent research that expands on bourdieusian theory. In the theory of distinction lifestyle is thought to be defined through the quantity and quality of different capitals (economic, cultural and social). Cultural tastes are therefore linked to class status through different capitals. The study shows that the majority of Finns can place themselves in the class scene. Moreover, class-related differences can be found in cultural consumption in empirical analyses. The main differences between classes can be seen in how different classes relate to cultural products but also in the number of leisure pursuits. Being well-off economically is connected to being well-off culturally. High status manifests as omnivorous cultural consumption. The central differences are built upon occupational class so that the working class is more passive than other class groups. Same difference can be found in relation to education and income level. Other im-portant divisive variable is age. Age group defines what is being consumed: the younger respondents are inclined to choose popular culture whereas the older age groups choices represent more traditional taste choices.