Simulations of dimensionally reduced effective theories of high temperature QCD

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory describing interaction between quarks and gluons. At low temperatures, quarks are confined forming hadrons, e.g. protons and neutrons. However, at extremely high temperatures the hadrons break apart and the matter transforms into plasma of individual quarks and gluons. In this theses the quark gluon plasma (QGP) phase of QCD is studied using lattice techniques in the framework of dimensionally reduced effective theories EQCD and MQCD. Two quantities are in particular interest: the pressure (or grand potential) and the quark number susceptibility. At high temperatures the pressure admits a generalised coupling constant expansion, where some coefficients are non-perturbative. We determine the first such contribution of order g^6 by performing lattice simulations in MQCD. This requires high precision lattice calculations, which we perform with different number of colors N_c to obtain N_c-dependence on the coefficient. The quark number susceptibility is studied by performing lattice simulations in EQCD. We measure both flavor singlet (diagonal) and non-singlet (off-diagonal) quark number susceptibilities. The finite chemical potential results are optained using analytic continuation. The diagonal susceptibility approaches the perturbative result above 20T_c$, but below that temperature we observe significant deviations. The results agree well with 4d lattice data down to temperatures 2T_c.

The role of p73 in cancer – a pathway towards more effective cancer therapy

The p53-family consists of three transcription factors, p53, p73 and p63. The family members have similar but also individual functions connected to cell cycle regulation, development and tumorigenesis. p53 and p73 act mainly as tumor suppressors. During DNA damage caused by anticancer drugs or irradiation, p53 and p73 levels are upregulated in cancer cells leading to apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. p53 is mutated in almost 50 per cent of the cancers, causing the cancer cells unable to undergo cell death. Instead, p73 is rarely mutated in cancer cells and because of that could be more viable target for anticancer therapy. The network surrounding the regulation of p73 is extensive and has several potential targets for cancer therapy. One of the most studied is Itch ligase, the negative regulator of p73 levels. Gene therapy directed towards knockdown of Itch ligase is a potential approach but in need for more in vivo proof. p73 has two isoforms, transactivating TA-forms and dominant-negative ΔN-forms. The specific regulation of these isoforms could also offer a possible way for more effective cancer treatment. The literature work includes information of structures, isoforms, functions and possible therapeutic targets of p73. Also the main therapeutic approaches to date are introduced. The experimental part is based on transfection and cytotoxicity studies done e.g. in pancreatic cancer cells (Mia PaCa-2, PANC1, BxPc-3 and HPAC). The aim of the experimental work was to optimize the conditions for effective transfection with DAB16 dendrimer nanoparticles and to measure the cytotoxicity of plain dendrimers and DAB16-pDNA complexes. Also the protein levels of p73 and Itch ligase were measured by Western blotting. The work was done as a part of a bigger project, which was aiming to down regulate Itch ligase (negative regulator of p73) by siRNA/shRNA. Tranfection results were promising, showing good transfection efficacy with DAB16 N/P30 in pancreatic cancer cells (except in BxPc-3). Pancreatic cancer cells showed recovery in 3 days after they were exposed to plain dendrimer solution or to DAB16-pDNA. Measurement of protein levels by Western blotting was not optimal and the proposals for the improvement regarding e.g. the gels and the extracted protein amounts have been done.

A Touch of Red : Archaeological and Ethnographic Approaches to Interpreting Finnish Rock Paintings

Approximately 125 prehistoric rock paintings have been found in the modern territory of Finland. The paintings were done with red ochre and are almost without exception located on steep lakeshore cliffs associated with ancient water routes. Most of the sites are found in the central and eastern parts of the country, especially on the shores of Lakes Päijänne and Saimaa. Using shore displacement chronology, the art has been dated to ca. 5000 – 1500 BC. It was thus created mainly during the Stone Age and can be associated with the so-called ‘Comb Ware’ cultures of the Subneolithic period. The range of motifs is rather limited, consisting mainly of schematic depictions of stick-figure humans, elks, boats, handprints and geometric signs. Few paintings include any evidence of narrative scenes, making their interpretation a rather difficult task. In Finnish archaeological literature, the paintings have traditionally been associated with ’sympathetic’ hunting magic, or the belief that the ritual shooting of the painted animals would increase hunting luck. Some writers have also suggested totemistic and shamanistic readings of the art. This dissertation is a critical review of the interpretations offered of Finnish rock art and an exploration of the potentials of archaeological and ethnographic research in increasing our knowledge of its meaning. Methods used include ’formal’ approaches such as archaeological excavation, landscape analysis and the application of neuropsychological research to the study of rock art, as well as ethnographically ’informed’ approaches that make use of Saami and Baltic Finnish ethnohistorical sources in interpretation. In conclusion, it is argued that although North European hunter-gatherer rock art is often thought to lie beyond the reach of ‘informed’ knowledge, the exceptional continuity of prehistoric settlement in Finland validates the informed approach in the interpretation of Finnish rock paintings. The art can be confidently associated with shamanism of the kind still practiced by the Saami of Northern Fennoscandia in the historical period. Evidence of similar shamanistic practices, concepts and cosmology are also found in traditional Finnish-Karelian epic poetry. Previous readings of the art based on ‘hunting magic’ and totemism are rejected. Most of the paintings appear to depict experiences of falling into a trance, of shamanic metamorphosis and trance journeys, and of ‘spirit helper’ beings comparable to those employed by the Saami shaman (noaidi). As demonstrated by the results of an excavation at the rock painting of Valkeisaari, the painted cliffs themselves find a close parallel in the Saami cult of the 'sieidi', or sacred cliffs and boulders worshipped as expressing a supernatural power. Like the Saami, the prehistoric inhabitants of the Finnish Lake Region seem to have believed that certain cliffs were ’alive’ and inhabited by the spirit helpers of the shaman. The rock paintings can thus be associated with shamanic vision quests, and the making of ‘art’ with an effort to socialize the other members of the community, especially the ritual specialists, with trance visions. However, the paintings were not merely to be looked at. The red ochre handprints pressed on images of elks, as well as the fact that many paintings appear ’smeared’, indicate that they were also to be touched – perhaps in order to tap into the supernatural potency inherent in the cliff and in the paintings of spirit animals.

Exploring the experiences and conceptions of good teaching in higher education : Development of a questionnaire for assessing students' approaches to learning and experiences of the teaching-learning environment

The aim of this dissertation was to adapt a questionnaire for assessing students’ approaches to learning and their experiences of the teaching-learning environment. The aim was to explore the validity of the modified Experiences of Teaching and Learning Questionnaire (ETLQ) by examining how the instruments measure the underlying dimensions of student experiences and their learning. The focus was on the relation between students’ experiences of their teaching-learning environment and their approaches to learning. Moreover, the relation between students’ experiences and students’ and teachers’ conceptions of good teaching was examined. In Study I the focus was on the use of the ETLQ in two different contexts: Finnish and British. The study aimed to explore the similarities and differences between the factor structures that emerged from both data sets. The results showed that the factor structures concerning students’ experiences of their teaching-learning environment and their approaches to learning were highly similar in the two contexts. Study I also examined how students’ experiences of the teaching-learning environment are related to their approaches to learning in the two contexts. The results showed that students’ positive experiences of their teaching-learning environment were positively related to their deep approach to learning and negatively to the surface approach to learning in both the Finnish and British data sets. This result was replicated in Study II, which examined the relation between approaches to learning and experiences of the teaching-learning environment on a group level. Furthermore, Study II aimed to explore students’ approaches to learning and their experiences of the teaching-learning environment in different disciplines. The results showed that the deep approach to learning was more common in the soft sciences than in the hard sciences. In Study III, students’ conceptions of good teaching were explored by using qualitative methods, more precisely, by open-ended questions. The aim was to examine students’ conceptions, disciplinary differences and their relation to students’ approaches to learning. The focus was on three disciplines, which differed in terms of students’ experiences of their teaching-learning environment. The results showed that students’ conceptions of good teaching were in line with the theory of good teaching and there were disciplinary differences in their conceptions. Study IV examined university teachers’ conceptions of good teaching, which corresponded to the learning-focused approach to teaching. Furthermore, another aim in this doctoral dissertation was to compare the students’ and teachers’ conceptions of good teaching, the results of which showed that these conceptions appear to have similarities. The four studies indicated that the ETLQ appears to be a sufficiently robust measurement instrument in different contexts. Moreover, its strength is its ability to be at the same time a valid research instrument and a practical tool for enhancing the quality of students’ learning. In addition, the four studies emphasise that in order to enhance teaching and learning in higher education, various perspectives have to be taken into account. This study sheds light on the interaction between students’ approaches to learning, their conceptions of good teaching, their experiences of the teaching-learning environment, and finally, the disciplinary culture.

Teaching in Higher Education : From Content-focused to Learning-focused Approaches to Teaching

The aim of this dissertation was to explore teaching in higher education from the teachers’ perspective. Two of the four studies analysed the effect of pedagogical training on approaches to teaching and on self-efficacy beliefs of teachers on teaching. Of these two studies, Study I analysed the effect of pedagogical training by applying a cross-sectional setting. The results showed that short training made teachers less student-centred and decreased their self-efficacy beliefs, as reported by the teachers themselves. However, more constant training enhanced the adoption of a student-centred approach to teaching and increased the self-efficacy beliefs of teachers as well. The teacher-focused approach to teaching was more resistant to change. Study II, on the other hand, applied a longitudinal setting. The results implied that among teachers who had not acquired more pedagogical training after Study II there were no changes in the student-focused approach scale between the measurements. However, teachers who had participated in further pedagogical training scored significantly higher on the scale measuring the student-focused approach to teaching. There were positive changes in the self-efficacy beliefs of teachers among teachers who had not participated in further training as well as among those who had. However, the analysis revealed that those teachers had the least teaching experience. Again, the teacher-focused approach was more resistant to change. Study III analysed approaches to teaching qualitatively by using a large and multidisciplinary sample in order to capture the variation in descriptions of teaching. Two broad categories of description were found: the learning-focused and the content-focused approach to teaching. The results implied that the purpose of teaching separates the two categories. In addition, the study aimed to identify different aspects of teaching in the higher-education context. Ten aspects of teaching were identified. While Study III explored teaching on a general level, Study IV analysed teaching on an individual level. The aim was to explore consonance and dissonance in the kinds of combinations of approaches to teaching university teachers adopt. The results showed that some teachers were clearly and systematically either learning- or content-focused. On the other hand, profiles of some teachers consisted of combinations of learning- and content-focused approaches or conceptions making their profiles dissonant. Three types of dissonance were identified. The four studies indicated that pedagogical training organised for university teachers is needed in order to enhance the development of their teaching. The results implied that the shift from content-focused or dissonant profiles towards consonant learning-focused profiles is a slow process and that teachers’ conceptions of teaching have to be addressed first in order to promote learning-focused teaching.