The paribhasas arthavadgrahane nanarthakasya, laksanapratipadoktayoh pratipadoktasyaiva grahanam and ekadesavikrtam ananyavat : Studies on some Metarules in Paninian system

In his grammatical treatise, the Astadhyayi, Panini includes sutras that state guiding rules for the right interpretation and application of his other directly grammatical sutras. These sutras are called paribhasas. In addition to these paribhasas, the various commentaries on Panini frequently invoke supplementary paribhasas which are not stated explicitly in his Astadhyayi. These paribhasas have been a subject of study since early times after Panini and have also occupied modern scholars on Panini s grammar. In regard to most of them, it remains unsettled even today whether they are used in the Astadhyayi, where they apply, what is their role, and whether they are necessary in arriving at the desired grammatical form. Some scholars go even further and argue that none of such paribhasas were intended by Panini. This study aims to settle this question by dealing with three such of these paribhasas individually considering all the information available in the commentaries in their regard and examining the cases in which, according to commentaries, the paribhasas apply. I select the paribhasas arthavadgrahane nanarthakasya, laksanapratipadoktayoh pratipadoktasyaiva grahanam and ekadesavikrtam ananyavat, which are all considered nyayasiddha or lokanyayasiddha; they express logical and obvious principles which are found in daily life. On this basis, Paniniyas explain why Panini did not mention them in the Astadhyayi. I discuss each paribhasa separately and all the issues it involves. I present and explain the cases where the specified paribhasas are invoked in the major commentaries, the Mahabhasya, the Kasika and the Siddhantakaumudi and the arguments found in the commentaries concerning these cases. If available, I supply other solutions to the difficulties for which these paribhasas are invoked. The study aims to make the issue of these paribhasas clearer, which will help us to reach a solution to the key question, that is, whether Panini has presupposed them in his Astadhyayi. My study shows that Panini has presupposed the paribhasa ekadesavikrtam ananyavat (or a similar principle). He also may have used the paribhasa arthavadgrahane nanarthakasya (or a similar principle) as this paribhasa does not lead to undesired results. As for the paribhasa laksanapratipadoktayoh pratipadoktasyaiva grahanam (or a similar principle), the original scope of this paribhasa was clearly extended by later Paniniyas. Moreover, their interpretation of this paribhasa conflicts with Panini s procedure. If Panini has used this paribhasa, he has used it in a very limited way.

The Population Consequences of Sex and Conflict

Natural selection generally operates at the level of the individual, or more specifically at the level of the gene. As a result, individual selection does not always favour traits which benefit the population or species as a whole. The spread of an individual gene may even act to the detriment of the organism in which it finds. Thus selection at the level of the individual can affect processes at the level of the organism, group or even at the level of the species. As most behaviours ultimately affect births, deaths and the distribution of individuals, it seems inevitable that behavioural decisions will have an impact on population dynamics and population densities. Behavioural decisions can often involve costs through allocation of energy into behavioural strategies, such as the investment into armaments involved in fighting over resources or increased mortality due to injury or increased predation risk. Similarly, behaviour may act o to benefit the population, in terms of higher survival and increased fecundity. Examples include increased investment through parental care, choosing a mate based on the nuptial gifts they may supply and choosing territories in the face of competition. Investigating the impact of behaviour on population ecology may seem like a trivial task, but it is likely to have important consequences at different levels. For example, antagonistic behaviour may occasionally become so extreme that it increases the risk of extinction, and such extinction risk may have important implications for conservation. As a corollary, any such behaviour may also act as a macroevolutionary force, weeding out populations with traits which, whilst beneficial to the individuals in the short term, ultimately result in population extinction. In this thesis, I examine how behaviours, specifically conflict and competition over a resource and aspects of behaviour involved in sexual selection, can affect population densities, and what the implications are for the evolution and ecology of the populations in question. It is found that both behaviours related to individual conflict and mating strategies can have an effect at the level of the population, but that various factors, such as a feedback between selection and population densities or macroevolution caused by species extinctions, may act to limit the intensity of conflicts that we observe in nature.

Pathways to health : Determinants of health, health behaviour and health inequalities in early adulthood

There is increasing evidence that the origins of poor adult health and health inequalities can be traced back to circumstances preceding current socioeconomic position and living conditions. The life-course approach to examining the determinants of health has emphasised that exposure to adverse social and economic circumstances in earlier life or concurrent adverse circumstances due to unfavourable living conditions in earlier life may lead to poor health, health-damaging behaviour, disease or even premature death in adulthood. There is, however, still a lack of knowledge about the contribution of social and economic circumstances in childhood and youth to adult health and health inequalities, and even less is known about how environmental and behavioural factors in adulthood mediate the effects of earlier adverse experiences. The main purpose of this study was to deepen our understanding of the development of poor health, health-damaging behaviours and health inequalities during the life-course. Its aim was to find out which factors in earlier and current circumstances determine health, the most detrimental indicators of health behaviour (smoking, heavy drinking and obesity as a proxy for the balance between nutrition and exercise), and educational health differences in young adults in Finland. Following the ideas of the social pathway theory, it was assumed that childhood environment affects adult health and its proximal determinants via different pathways, including educational, work and family careers. Early adulthood was studied as a significant phase of life when many behavioural patterns and living conditions relevant to health are established. In addition, socioeconomic health inequalities seem to emerge rapidly when moving into adulthood; they are very small or non-existent in childhood and adolescence, but very marked by early middle age. The data of this study were collected in 2000 2001 as part of the Health 2000 Survey (N = 9,922), a cross-sectional and nationally representative health interview and examination survey. The main subset of data used in this thesis was the one comprising the age group 18 29 years (N = 1,894), which included information collected by standardised structured computer-aided interviews and self-administered questionnaires. The survey had a very high participation rate at almost 90% for the core questions. According to the results of this study, childhood circumstances predict the health of young adults. Almost all the childhood adversities studied were found to be associated with poor self-rated health and psychological distress in early adulthood, although fewer associations were found with the somatic morbidity typical of young adults. These effects seemed to be more or less independent of the young adult s own education. Childhood circumstances also had a strong effect on smoking and heavy drinking, although current circumstances and education in particular, played a role in mediating this effect. Parental smoking and alcohol abuse had an influence on the corresponding behaviours of offspring. Childhood circumstances had a role in the development of obesity and, to a lesser extent, overweight, particularly in women. The findings support the notion that parental education has a strong effect on early adult obesity, even independently of the young adult s own educational level. There were marked educational differences in self-rated health in early adulthood: those in the lowest educational category were most likely to have average or poorer health. Childhood social circumstances seemed to explain a substantial part of these educational differences. In addition, daily smoking and heavy drinking contributed substantially to educational health differences. However, the contribution of childhood circumstances was largely shared with health behaviours adopted by early adulthood. Employment also shared the effects of childhood circumstances on educational health differences. The results indicate that childhood circumstances are important in determining health, health behaviour and health inequalities in early adulthood. Early recognition of childhood adversities followed by relevant support measures may play an important role in preventing the unfortunate pathways leading to the development of poor health, health-damaging behaviour and health inequalities. It is crucially important to recognise the needs of children living in adverse circumstances as well as children of substance abusing parents. In addition, single-parent families would benefit from support. Differences in health and health behaviours between different sub-groups of the population mean that we can expect to see ever greater health differences when today s generation of young adults grows older. This presents a formidable challenge to national health and social policy as well as health promotion. Young adults with no more than primary level education are at greatest risk of poor health. Preventive policies should emphasise the role of low educational level as a key determinant of health-damaging behaviours and poor health. Keywords: health, health behaviour, health inequalities, life-course, socioeconomic position, education, childhood circumstances, self-rated health, psychological distress, somatic morbidity, smoking, heavy drinking, BMI, early adulthood

Psychosocial processes of health behaviour change in a lifestyle intervention : Influences of gender, socioeconomic status and personality

Background: The onset of many chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes can be delayed or prevented by changes in diet, physical activity and obesity. Known predictors of successful behaviour change include psychosocial factors such as selfefficacy, action and coping planning, and social support. However, gender and socioeconomic differences in these psychosocial mechanisms underlying health behaviour change have not been examined, despite well-documented sociodemographic differences in lifestyle-related mortality and morbidity. Additionally, although stable personality traits (such as dispositional optimism or pessimism and gender-role orientation: agency and communion) are related to health and health behaviour, to date they have rarely been studied in the context of health behaviour interventions. These personality traits might contribute to health behaviour change independently of the more modifiable domain-specific psychosocial factors, or indirectly through them, or moderated by them. The aims were to examine in an intervention setting: (1) whether changes (during the three-month intervention) in psychological determinants (self-efficacy beliefs, action planning and coping planning) predict changes in exercise and diet behaviours over three months and 12 months, (2) the universality assumption of behaviour change theories, i.e. whether preintervention levels and changes in psychosocial determinants are similar among genders and socioeconomic groups, and whether they predict changes in behaviour in a similar way in these groups, (3) whether the personality traits optimism, pessimism, agency and communion predict changes in abdominal obesity, and the nature of their interplay with modifiable and domain-specific psychosocial factors (self-efficacy and social support). Methods: Finnish men and women (N = 385) aged 50 65 years who were at an increased risk for type 2 diabetes were recruited from health care centres to participate in the GOod Ageing in Lahti Region (GOAL) Lifestyle Implementation Trial. The programme aimed to improve participants lifestyle (physical activity, eating) and decrease their overweight. The measurements of self-efficacy, planning, social support and dispositional optimism/pessimism were conducted pre-intervention at baseline (T1) and after the intensive phase of the intervention at three months (T2), and the measurements of exercise at T1, T2 and 12 months (T3) and healthy eating at T1 and T3. Waist circumference, an indicator of abdominal obesity, was measured at T1 and at oneyear (T3) and three-year (T4) follow-ups. Agency and communion were measured at T4 with the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). Results: (1) Increases in self-efficacy and planning were associated with three-month increases in exercise (Study I). Moreover, both the post-intervention level and three-month increases (during the intervention) in self-efficacy in dealing with barriers predicted the 12-month increase in exercise, and a high postintervention level of coping plans predicted the 12-month decrease in dietary fat (Study II). One- and three-year waist circumference reductions were predicted by the initial three-month increase in self-efficacy (Studies III, IV). (2) Post-intervention at three months, women had formed more action plans for changing their exercise routines and received less social support for behaviour change than men had. The effects of adoption self-efficacy were similar but change in planning played a less significant role among men (Study I). Examining the effects of socioeconomic status (SES), psychosocial determinants at baseline and their changes during the intervention yielded largely similar results. Exercise barriers self-efficacy was enhanced slightly less among those with low SES. Psychosocial determinants predicted behaviour similarly across all SES groups (Study II). (3) Dispositional optimism and pessimism were unrelated to waist circumference change, directly or indirectly, and they did not influence changes in self-efficacy (Study III). Agency predicted 12-month waist circumference reduction among women. High communion coupled with high social support was associated with waist circumference reduction. However, the only significant predictor of three-year waist circumference reduction was an increase in health-related self-efficacy during the intervention (Study IV). Conclusions: Interventions should focus on improving participants self-efficacy early on in the intervention as well as prompting action and coping planning for health behaviour change. Such changes are likely to be similarly effective among intervention participants regardless of gender and educational level. Agentic orientation may operate via helping women to be less affected by the demands of the self-sacrificing female role and enabling them to assertively focus on their own goals. The earlier mixed results regarding the role of social support in behaviour change may be in part explained by personality traits such as communion.

Terveyteen liittyvä elämänlaatu laitoskuntoutuksen vaikuttavuuden arvioinnissa : RAND-36-mittarin soveltuvuus työikäisten laitoskuntoutuksen ongelmaprofiilin määrittämiseen ja kuntoutuksen vaikutusten arvioimiseen

The aim of the present research was to examine the validity of the RAND-36 measure of health-related quality of life among the working age rehabilitation clients. The research included two cross-sectional studies and one follow-up study. The subjects of the first study (n = 794) participated in the first period of the five following types of rehabilitation: occupationally oriented medical rehabilitation, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, medical rehabilitation for job burnout, rehabilitation for supporting the work ability and capacity of disabled subjects (vocational rehabilitation) and individualized rehabilitation between October 2000 and October 2001. The subjects of the second study (n = 990) participated in the same rehabilitation during their first rehabilitation period between May 2007 and May 2008. The first subjects participated in a follow-up period no later than May 2003 with the exception of the individual rehabilitation clients (n = 588). Based on the ICF classification, the RAND-36 provides a diverse measure of the health-related quality of life and of the capacity for subjective, perceived physical and psycho-social functioning. The construct properties of the RAND-36 measure proved to be very consistent on the basis of both the cluster and confirmatory factor analyses. At the group level, the RAND-36 measure was shown to be illustrative and sensitive in differentiating the clients’ rehabilitation needs. The results of cluster analyses with the two cross-sectional data indicated a consistent five-cluster solution of rehabilitation groups on the basis of the eight subscales of health-related quality of life. Each of these clusters represented a clear difference in their need for rehabilitation. The RAND-36 measure proved to be sensitive to change. The changes observed in the pre- and post-conditions in relation to all the subscales of quality of life were statistically significant. Depending on the rehabilitation type, different changes in the subscales of the measure were observed, and these changes corresponded to the different emphasis and goals of the specific type of rehabilitation intervention. Similarly, changes in the subscales of the measure were observed in relation to the RAND groups formed by cluster analysis, which were logical and corresponded to the problem profiles of these groups. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated a two-factor solution: an index of the capacity for physical functioning (self-rated general health, bodily pain, physical functioning, physical role functioning) and an index of the capacity for psycho-social functioning (psychological well-being, social functioning, psychological role functioning and energy). These two indices describing functional capacity proved also to be sensitive to change. This two-factor solution seems to be usable for group level analyses when assessing the effects of rehabilitation. The moderately strong correlation between the RAND-36 and work ability index suggests that they partly measure the same phenomenon: perceived health-related quality of life, subjective capacity for activity and perceived work ability have strong links. As expected, the capacity for physical functioning had a stronger correlation with work ability index than with the capacity for psycho-social functioning. According to the present research, the RAND-36 measure can be considered as a screening method for rehabilitation orientation in relation to rehabilitation needs and as a follow-up measure for the health-related quality of life among the working age clients. The RAND-36 measure is also shown to be a useful instrument in estimating the benefits of rehabilitation as well as in effectiveness research.

Actin Dynamics in Muscle Cells

In every cell, actin is a key component involved in migration, cytokinesis, endocytosis and generation of contraction. In non-muscle cells, actin filaments are very dynamic and regulated by an array of proteins that interact with actin filaments and/or monomeric actin. Interestingly, in non-muscle cells the barbed ends of the filaments are the predominant assembly place, whereas in muscle cells actin dynamics was reported to predominate at the pointed ends of thin filaments. The actin-based thin filament pointed (slow growing) ends extend towards the middle of the sarcomere's M-line where they interact with the thick filaments to generate contraction. The actin filaments in muscle cells are organized into a nearly crystalline array and are believed to be significantly less dynamic than the ones in other cell types. However, the exact mechanisms of the sarcomere assembly and turnover are largely unknown. Interestingly, although sarcomeric actin structures are believed to be relatively non-dynamic, many proteins promoting actin dynamics are expressed also in muscle cells (e.g ADF/cofilin, cyclase-associated protein and twinfilin). Thus, it is possible that the muscle-specific isoforms of these proteins promote actin dynamics differently from their non-muscle counterparts, or that actin filaments in muscle cells are more dynamic than previously thought. To study protein dynamics in live muscle cells, I used primary cell cultures of rat cardiomyocytes. My studies revealed that a subset of actin filaments in cardiomyocyte sarcomeres displays rapid turnover. Importantly, I discovered that the turnover of actin filaments depends on contractility of the cardiomyocytes and that the contractility-induced actin dynamics plays an important role in sarcomere maturation. Together with previous studies those findings suggest that sarcomeres undergo two types of actin dynamics: (1) contractility-dependent turnover of whole filaments and (2) regulatory pointed end monomer exchange to maintain correct thin filament length. Studies involving an actin polymerization inhibitor suggest that the dynamic actin filament pool identified here is composed of filaments that do not contribute to contractility. Additionally, I provided evidence that ADF/cofilins, together with myosin-induced contractility, are required to disassemble non-productive filaments in developing cardiomyocytes. In addition, during these studies we learned that isoforms of actin monomer binding protein twinfilin, Twf-1 and Twf-2a localise to myofibrils in cardiomyocytes and may thus contribute to actin dynamics in myofibrils. Finally, in collaboration with Roberto Dominguez s laboratory we characterized a new actin nucleator in muscle cells - leiomodin (Lmod). Lmod localises towards actin filament pointed ends and its depletion by siRNA leads to severe sarcomere abnormalities in cardiomyocytes. The actin filament nucleation activity of Lmod is enhanced by interactions with tropomyosin. We also revealed that Lmod expression correlates with the maturation of myofibrils, and that it associates with sarcomeres only at relatively late stages of myofibrillogenesis. Thus, Lmod is unlikely to play an important role in myofibril formation, but rather might be involved in the second step of the filament arrangement and/or maintenance through its ability to promote tropomyosin-induced actin filament nucleation occurring at the filament pointed ends. The results of these studies provide valuable new information about the molecular mechanisms underlying muscle sarcomere assembly and turnover. These data offer important clues to understanding certain physiological and pathological behaviours of muscle cells. Better understanding of the processes occurring in muscles might help to find strategies for determining, diagnosis, prognosis and therapy in heart and skeletal muscles diseases.

Behavioural and physiological responses to predators of captive-bred Arctic charr: significance of genetics, learning and ontogeny

Predation forms one of the main selective forces in nature and in a vast number of prey species the behavioural responses form the main way to avoid predation. World wide numerous captive breeding programs are used to produce fish and other animal species for conservational reintroductions. However, rearing animals in the absence of predators in captivity has been shown to weaken their predator avoidance skills and lead to behavioural divergence between wild and captive-bred populations. In my thesis I studied the effects of predator odour exposures on antipredator behavioural and physiological responses of captive reared Saimaa Arctic charr. This charr population is the most endangered fish population in Finland and a sample of the remaining population has been taken to captive breeding and used for an extensive reintroduction program. Lowered responsiveness to predators is probably one of the major reasons for the poor survival probability of the charr after release into the wild. The main aims of my thesis were to explore the reasons for behavioural phenotypic variation in this charr population and whether naïve charr young could be trained to recognise their natural predators. The predator species in my thesis were burbot (Lota lota) and pikeperch (Sander lucioperca). In my thesis I showed that the captive-bred charr responded to chemical cues from burbot and pikeperch, but the magnitude of responses was linked to the predator species. The burbot odour increased the spatial odour avoidance of the charr young. On the other hand, in the pikeperch treatment charr reduced their relative swimming activity and tended to show more freezing behaviour relative to the burbot treatment. It seems evident that these different responses are related to the different hunting tactics of predator species. Furthermore, I detected wide between-family differences in antipredator responsiveness (i.e. inherited variation in antipredator behaviours) in this captive stock. Detected differences were greater in the response towards burbot than towards pikeperch. These results, in addition to predator-specific antipredator responses, suggest that there is a clear inherited component in antipredator responsiveness in Saimaa charr population and that the detected inherited differences could explain a part of the behavioural phenotypic variation in this population. In my thesis I also found out that both social learning and direct exposure to live predators enhance the antipredator responsiveness of charr young. In addition, I obtained indications that predator odour exposures (i.e. life-skills training) in alevin and fry stages can fine-tune the innate antipredator responsiveness of charr. Thus, all these methods have the potential to enhance the innate antipredator responsiveness of naïve charr young, possibly also improving the post-release survival of these trained individuals in the wild. However, the next logical phase would be to carry out large scale survival studies in the wild to test this hypothesis. Finally, the results of my thesis emphasize that possible long-term life-skills training methods should take into account not only the behavioural but also the physiological effects of training.

Proofs, Paradoxes, and Probabilities : The Logical Turn of Philosophy in Finland

This monograph describes the emergence of independent research on logic in Finland. The emphasis is placed on three well-known students of Eino Kaila: Georg Henrik von Wright (1916-2003), Erik Stenius (1911-1990), and Oiva Ketonen (1913-2000), and their research between the early 1930s and the early 1950s. The early academic work of these scholars laid the foundations for today's strong tradition in logic in Finland and also became internationally recognized. However, due attention has not been given to these works later, nor have they been comprehensively presented together. Each chapter of the book focuses on the life and work of one of Kaila's aforementioned students, with a fourth chapter discussing works on logic by authors who would later become known within other disciplines. Through an extensive use of correspondence and other archived material, some insight has been gained into the persons behind the academic personae. Unique and unpublished biographical material has been available for this task. The chapter on Oiva Ketonen focuses primarily on his work on what is today known as proof theory, especially on his proof theoretical system with invertible rules that permits a terminating root-first proof search. The independency of the parallel postulate is proved as an example of the strength of root-first proof search. Ketonen was to our knowledge Gerhard Gentzen's (the 'father' of proof theory) only student. Correspondence and a hitherto unavailable autobiographic manuscript, in addition to an unpublished article on the relationship between logic and epistemology, is presented. The chapter on Erik Stenius discusses his work on paradoxes and set theory, more specifically on how a rigid theory of definitions is employed to avoid these paradoxes. A presentation by Paul Bernays on Stenius' attempt at a proof of the consistency of arithmetic is reconstructed based on Bernays' lecture notes. Stenius correspondence with Paul Bernays, Evert Beth, and Georg Kreisel is discussed. The chapter on Georg Henrik von Wright presents his early work on probability and epistemology, along with his later work on modal logic that made him internationally famous. Correspondence from various archives (especially with Kaila and Charlie Dunbar Broad) further discusses his academic achievements and his experiences during the challenging circumstances of the 1940s.