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| 2. |
- Belancic, Kristina, et al.
(författare)
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Institutionalised Sámi education in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The school was one of the main institutions where policies of colonization and assimilation took place. Currently, in the four countries where Sami people reside, namely Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, different policies for supporting Sami languages are carried out. Sami teaching at school is provided in these countries to different extents. In addition to physical teaching in these four countries, remote Sami language education in primary and secondary schools is provided solely in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. In Norway, two universities offer different Sami language courses within teacher training programmes. In addition, the Sami University of Applied Sciences carries out North Sami teacher education, both for early childhood education as well as primary and secondary education, and it is taught in the North Sami language. In Sweden, the University of Umeå provides courses for Sami language teachers. In Finland, several universities offer Sami language courses for teachers. In Russia, the Murmansk Arctic State University offers a philological master programme called ‘Technologies of the Sami Language Teaching’. The Institute of the Peoples of the North of the Herzen University offers pedagogical education at the bachelor level. Within this education, Sami language courses are provided. This chapter demonstrates the positive policy tendencies regarding Sami people in four countries and their languages. Besides this, there are an increasing number of projects on Sami language learning and professional training across the four countries. Nevertheless, there is still work to be done to improve the existing tendencies.
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| 3. |
- Helander, Hanna, et al.
(författare)
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Positioning the Voice and Agency of Young Children in the Distance Education of the Sami Languages
- 2022
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Ingår i: Multiethnica. - : Uppsala University: The Hugo Valentin Centre. - 0284-396X .- 2002-3413. ; 42, s. 7-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article examines the agency and voices of children aged six and seven who study the endangered Indigenous Sami languages Northern, Skolt and Inari Sami through distance education in Finland. While ensuring the agency and voices of children, this article addresses connections between microlevel actions in online teaching and, more widely, the surrounding sociopolitical context. About 75% of Sami-speaking children under the age of 10 live outside the Finnish Sami homeland, while the Basic Education Act secures teaching in Sami languages only within the homeland. Outside this region, children can participate in teaching for two hours per week as an extracurricular activity. The data is drawn from children’s interviews (N=10) conducted in spring 2020. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, interviews were conducted online, mainly as group interviews, but individual interviews were also conducted. The findings indicate that despite the challenging learning context of distance education, children with diverse linguistic backgrounds were highly motivated to learn Sami languages and connect to their Sami backgrounds through an integral motivation strategy. Despite receiving varying levels of support at society, at home and at school, there was a strong relational intergenerational connectivity fostered between parents and children through Sami language learning.
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| 4. |
- Helander, Hanna
(författare)
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Studies on growth hormone regulation of the CYP2C12 gene in rat liver
- 2003
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Growth hormone (GH) is secreted from the pituitary gland in a sexually dimorphic manner in the rat. This leads to a sexual dimorphism in the expression of a number of hepatic GH-target genes including members of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) family. Transcription of the female specific CYP2C12 gene is dependent on continuous presence of GH in serum, which characterizes the female rat. To understand which component(s) of the GH secretion pattern that is recognized as male or female by the hepatocyte, it is essential to understand how GH transduces its signal into the cell. This thesis focuses on elucidating signaling events in response to continuous GH exposure and the expression of the female specific CYP2C12 gene. GH elicits its effects by dimerizing membrane bound receptors (GHR). When primary rat hepatocytes were exposed to increasing doses of rat GH (rGH), the expression of P450 2C12 mRNA reached a plateau. The induction of IGF-I, a classical GH response gene, appeared biphasic. This is in line with a sequential binding mechanism, as described for hGH. When hepatocytes were treated with a site 2 mutant, G118RrGH, an unexpected agonistic effect was observed. The lack of antagonism together with the difficulty in achieving bell-shaped dose-response curves with rGH, indicate that the binding sites of rGH have similar affinity. Moreover, the agonistic effect of G118RrGH was bell-shaped, indicating an interaction with two receptors. This could imply that G118RrGH, via its site 2, can interact with another receptor than GHR. GH regulates expression of CYP2C12 at the transcriptional level. In gel shift experiments, using an element in the proximal promoter of CYP2C12, binding of HNF-3 proteins was observed with liver nuclear extracts from rats devoid of GH, and a complex distinct from the HNF-3 complexes was detected with liver nuclear extracts from rats exposed to GH. The bound protein was identified as HNF- 6, a liver enriched transcription factor. Transient cotransfection experiments showed that both HNF-3beta and HNF-6 could transactivate CYP2C12-luciferase constructs, indicating a physiological function of these transcription factors in the regulation of the gene. The CYP2C12 gene harbors Stat5 binding elements both in the 5flanking region and in the 3 untranslated region (UTR). Interestingly, several different STAT5 complexes were formed on the 3UTR element. In addition to full-length STAT5 also carboxy-truncated STAT5 (STAT5beta)- proteins, lacking their transactivating domain, bound to this element. Moreover, in transient transfection studies, we demonstrated that the presence of the 3UTR element reduced GH activation of a CYP2C12-luciferase construct conveyed by the 5-STAT5 elements. Thus, it is possible that binding of STAT50 to the 3UTR element could be of relevance for the GH-dependent and sex-specific expression of CYP2C12. The family of SOCS/CIS proteins represents negative regulators of cytokine signal transduction. We demonstrated that SOCS-2 and CIS expression in rat liver is dependent on the presence of GH. Furthermore, in cotransfection studies, overexpression of CIS, but not SOCS-2, inhibited GH-induced transactivation of a STAT5-responsive reporter gene construct. This suggests that GH induction of CIS could be one mechanism behind the desensitization of GH-dependent JAK/STAT5 signaling in liver cells continuously exposed to GH.
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| 5. |
- Leipold, Sina, et al.
(författare)
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Lessons, narratives, and research directions for a sustainable circular economy
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley. - 1088-1980 .- 1530-9290. ; 27:1, s. 6-18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The current enthusiasm for the circular economy (CE) offers a unique opportunity to advance the impact of research on sustainability transitions. Diverse interpretations of CE by scholars, however, produce partly opposing assessments of its potential benefits, which can hinder progress. Here, we synthesize policy-relevant lessons and research directions for a sustainable CE and identify three narratives—optimist, reformist, and skeptical—that underpin the ambiguity in CE assessments. Based on 54 key CE scholars’ insights, we identify three research needs: the articulation and discussion of ontologically distinct CE narratives; bridging of technical, managerial, socio-economic, environmental, and political CE perspectives; and critical assessment of opportunities and limits of CE science–policy interactions. Our findings offer practical guidance for scholars to engage reflexively with the rapid expansion of CE knowledge, identify and pursue high-impact research directions, and communicate more effectively with practitioners and policymakers.
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| 6. |
- Njenga, Mary, et al.
(författare)
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Gasifier as a cleaner cooking system in rural Kenya
- 2016
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Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 121, s. 208-217
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Global demand for wood fuel energy is high and rising due to population increases, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where firewood and charcoal are the main sources of cooking energy. Inefficient cooking techniques consume large amounts of fuel and create indoor pollution, with negative health impacts particularly among women and small children. Efficient cooking stoves can potentially save fuel and reduce the health risks of smoke in the kitchen. This study compared the ease of use, energy consumption, fuel use efficiency and gas and particle emissions of a small-scale gasifier cooking stove with that of a traditional three-stone stove and an improved Hifadhi stove in a smallholder farming setting in Kenya. This was done by participatory evaluation of these cooking techniques by women on smallholder farms, assessing fuel consumption, time used in cooking and indoor air concentrations of carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter. It was found that compared with traditional and improved cooking stoves, the gasifier domestic cooking system saved 27-40% of fuel, reduced cooking time by 19-23% and reduced emissions by 40-90%. Thus the gasifier system has potential to alleviate energy and time poverty among small-scale farmers, while improving kitchen air quality. These new findings can assist in development of cleaner biomass cooking technologies in developing countries. Women who cooked using the gasifier preferred it to current cooking practices due to perceived benefits. Thus the gasifier is appropriate for rural areas; it constitutes a cleaner cooking system that saves fuel, produces charcoal for another round of cooking, cooks rapidly, and reduces indoor air pollution from cooking with biomass fuel. However, there is a need to improve the design to make it more stable and safer.
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| 7. |
- Saikkonen, Kari, et al.
(författare)
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Defoliation and mycorrhizal symbiosis: a functional balance between carbon sources and below-ground sinks
- 1999
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Ingår i: Ecology Letters. - : Wiley. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 2:1, s. 19-26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Herbivory is generally assumed to negatively influence mycorrhizal fungi because of reduced photosynthate to support mycorrhizae following defoliation. We examined effects of 60% and 100% defoliation (excluding current year needles) on tree growth and ectomycorrhizal associations of 10±15 year old Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris). Over 98% of short roots were colonized by mycorrhizal fungi, and contrary to expectation, defoliation did not decrease the proportion of living fungi in fine roots. Furthermore, defoliation did not alter the ratios of produced needle biomass to the biomass of fine roots or living fungi in fine roots. The composition of mycorrhizal morphotypes was changed, however, which suggests competition among different mycorrhizal growth forms owing to their carbon demands. We propose that these outcomes are a consequence of a functional balance between carbon sources in plant foliage and below-ground sinks, i.e. growing roots and mycorrhizal associates.
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