| 1. |
- Hjelm, Linnea C., 1993-
(författare)
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Development of new affinity proteins for neurodegenerative disorders
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Neurodegenerative disorders include a full spectrum of diagnoses, including dementias and other neuronal diseases, characterised by degradation of neurons in the brain occurring along with disease progression. Amongst the dementias, the most prevalent are Alzheimer’s (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) that affect millions of people worldwide. During the last years, advancements in potential treatments have been made where the first two clinical antibodies have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a disease modifying effect on Alzheimer’s disease.As alternatives to antibodies, other types of affinity reagents that are based on non-immunoglobulin protein scaffolds are also investigated. Such alternative scaffolds often demonstrate distinct and complementary properties compared to antibodies. In this thesis, the development of a new type of affinity protein scaffold called sequestrin is described. Sequestrins are derived from the affibody molecule and comprise two heterogenic subunits with truncated N-terminals fused as a head-to-tail construct. Sequestrins undergo a structural rearrangement upon target binding and forms a stabile complex. The scaffold is designed for interactions with disease-related amyloidogenic peptides e.g. amyloid beta and alpha-synuclein involved in AD and PD, respectively. In the first paper, a sequestrin library was developed and its compatibility with phage display was investigated. Successful panning against the amyloid beta peptide resulted in binders with high affinity. Further on in paper II, the alpha-synuclein peptide was targeted and sequestrins with low nanomolar affinities were obtained. All sequestrins displayed structural rearrangement upon target engagement, which stabilized the interaction to the target peptides and further inhibited toxic aggregation, opening up for future studies of disease modifying effects in vivo.When targeting the brain, passage through the blood–brain barrier (BBB) is an obstacle that needs to be addressed to reach sufficiently high therapeutic concentrations. To overcome this barrier, brain shuttles have been developed with the capability to transport a cargo over the BBB. One such mechanism of transportation is by receptor-mediated transcytosis, which is utilized by e.g. the transferrin receptor (TfR). In paper III, a TfR-targeting shuttle was investigated for BBB passage when fused to a sequestrin targeting the amyloid beta peptide, resulting in a higher penetration through the BBB, and maintained functionality of the sequestrin.High-throughput in vitro methods would facilitate development of novel brain shuttles. Thus, in paper IV, a transwell system based on nanofibrillar silkmembranes with murine brain endothelial cells was developed. Evaluation of the method using a TfR-specific antibody demonstrated higher transfer over the barrier compared to an isotype control and the method has potential to facilitate screening of transcytosis capability of brain shuttles.In paper V, TfR-specific affibody-based brain shuttles were developed and investigated for transcytosis capability using the in vitro transcytosis assay. A panel of affibody molecules were evaluated, demonstrating both cross-species reactivity to murine and human TfR and active receptor-mediated transcytosis. These candidates could thus potentially be used in further development of CNS-targeting therapeutics.In conclusion, a new sequestrin scaffold was developed that can be utilised for targeting amyloidogenic peptides found in neurodegenerative disorders. An affibody-based brain shuttle was also developed, which showed transcytosis capability. In the future, the new brain shuttle might be combined with sequestrins to create multifunctional fusion proteins for facilitated delivery over the BBB, which hopefully can result in therapeutic concentrations in the brain even when administered with a lower dosage.
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| 2. |
- Sandberg, Ylva, 1968-
(författare)
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Bilingual subject-specific literacies? Teachers’ and learners’ views and experiences of two school languages in biology, civics, history and mathematics : Case studies from the Swedish upper secondary school
- 2018
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This licentiate thesis investigates teachers’ and students’ cognitions of bilingual subject-specific literacies. The thesis builds on three different studies, referred to as case studies, conducted in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) study programmes in the Swedish upper secondary school. Participants’ views and experiences of two languages of schooling, English and Swedish, were elicited in interviews, and analysed thematically. To gain understanding of the three studies in combination, a further analytical framework was developed and tested. In this analysis, participants’ descriptions, explanations and reflections on teaching and learning curriculum content bilingually emerged as three-dimensional discourses.In the first study, new and experienced teachers’ challenges and strategies were in focus. The biology and civics teachers, who were new teachers, and new to CLIL, found teaching through the second language of schooling, English, time-consuming and demanding. They expressed concern about limited communication and learning in the classroom. The mathematics teachers, who had long teaching experience, and of teaching in the CLIL programme, had developed strategies to meet perceived challenges, for example, they had designed parts of lessons in a monolingual mode, and parts of lessons in a bilingual mode.The second study explored intermediate CLIL teachers’ rationales for language choice in teaching. The biology and history teachers found that access to English, as afforded through the CLIL framework, coincided well with the new syllabi for their school subjects. For instance, the history teachers could use web-based study materials in English in class, and found teaching and learning more authentic than in the mainstream, Swedish-speaking, study programmes. The biology teachers mentioned that access to English terminology facilitated the teaching and learning of complex subject-specific content areas. It functioned as a potential source to enhance students’ understanding.The third study documented students ́cognitionsof CLIL. The views of upper secondary students studying curriculum content through English were overall positive. However, results showed that their experiences of CLIL varied with school subject. Whereas studying mathematics through English was reported to be conducive to learning and understanding, learning civics through English only, or trying to listen to lectures in civics, where teachers would change languages seemingly without a rationale, were perceived as less conducive to learning.
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| 3. |
- Avery, Helen
(författare)
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Moving together – conditions for intercultural development at a highly diverse Swedish school
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis is a case study of a primary school in a highly diverse urban neighbourhood in Sweden. Basic pre-conditions for intercultural school development are studied by examining the overall organisation of teaching, learning and opportunities for collaboration in the investigated case. The study focuses on the targeted support measures to enhance learning for students with an immigrant background: Mother tongue instruction, Swedish as a Second Language, and tutoring in the mother tongue, as well as looking at pedagogical support provided by the school library. The latter has a mission to promote learning and inclusion, where non-native speakers of Swedish are a prioritised group.Communities of practice linked to the work organisation at a meso-level are investigated, and the collaborative relationships between professional groups at the school involved in the various support measures. Teacher relationships and categorisations implied by support measures impact the learning spaces that are shaped for students and the teaching spaces within which teachers work. Collaborative opportunities and convergence of concerns in the teaching spaces combine to shape the overall space for intercultural development.The raw data for the case study consists of interviews, national policy documents and additional information on local work organisation gained through documents and observations. Four articles resulted from the case study, each focusing a specific support measure. An overarching analysis is then made of findings from these articles and the other dimensions of the investigation. The analysis describes the organisation in terms of monocultural or intercultural school cultures, pointing to significant characteristics of the landscapes of practice, with respect to their overall implications for the spaces of school development. In the discussion, findings are considered in relation to research on professional development in education, collaboration, democracy and inclusive schooling.The relative positioning of languages and cultures is given particular attention, to ascertain if the school culture is monocultural or intercultural in the sense given by Lahdenperä (2008), and to what extent it could enable intercultural development. Such positioning plays a role interms of affordances for identity, participation and engagement discussed by Wenger (1998).This case study should be understood against the wider background of recent social developments in Europe linked to globalisation and technological changes. It is argued that looking at the concrete specifics which facilitate or obstruct school development, and simultaneously reflecting on how the different forms of teaching interrelate in the overall organisation and in policy may provide a useful vantage point from which structural changes can be contemplated.The discussion underlines the importance of the physical localisation of activities, continuity in personal contacts and time available for joint pedagogical reflection, as basic conditions for effective intercultural dialogue in the organisation. Finally, the impact of policy is considered, looking at connections between levels of policy, expressed in official steering documents, and conditions for teaching and learning at the level of an individual school.
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| 4. |
- Bradling, Björn
(författare)
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Låt romanen komma in – Transformativt lärande i gymnasieskolans litteraturundervisning
- 2020
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- “Låt romanen komma in – Transformativt lärande i gymnasieskolans litteraturundervisning“ är en litteraturdidaktisk studie i forskningsämnet pedagogik som tar syftestexten för litteraturundervisningen i det gymnasiala svenskämnet som utgångspunkt. Genom en förstudie där elva svensklärare och en skolbibliotekarie samtalar i fokusgrupper riktas projektet mot sitt huvudfokus som är en läsloggsintervention där 31 elever i gymnasiekursen Svenska 3 läser John Ajvide Lindqvists “Låt den rätte komma in” (Ordfront, 2004/2015). Med hjälp av begrepp från läsforskning (Rita Felski, “Uses of Literature”, Blackwell Publishing, 2008) och erfarenheter från förstudien för eleverna logg över sin läsning. Resultatet av läsloggsinterventionen visar att elevernas metareflektion hjälps framåt av begreppsanvändningen och att eleverna därmed tar steget in i en transformativ lärandeprocess. Licentiatavhandlingen innehåller en analys av den didaktiska potentialen för transformativt lärande med fokus på fokalisation och främmandegöring i Ajvide Lindqvists roman samt en praktisk modell för hur begreppsorienterad litteraturundervisning med läslogg på gymnasiet kan utformas.
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| 5. |
- Sundström, Johan, Professor, 1971-, et al.
(författare)
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Risk factors for subarachnoid haemorrhage : a nationwide cohort of 950 000 adults
- 2019
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Ingår i: International Journal of Epidemiology. - : Oxford University Press. - 0300-5771 .- 1464-3685. ; 48:6, s. 2018-2025
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is a devastating disease, with high mortality rate and substantial disability among survivors. Its causes are poorly understood. We aimed to investigate risk factors for SAH using a novel nationwide cohort consortium.METHODS: We obtained individual participant data of 949 683 persons (330 334 women) between 25 and 90 years old, with no history of SAH at baseline, from 21 population-based cohorts. Outcomes were obtained from the Swedish Patient and Causes of Death Registries.RESULTS: During 13 704 959 person-years of follow-up, 2659 cases of first-ever fatal or non-fatal SAH occurred, with an age-standardized incidence rate of 9.0 [95% confidence interval (CI) (7.4-10.6)/100 000 person-years] in men and 13.8 [(11.4-16.2)/100 000 person-years] in women. The incidence rate increased exponentially with higher age. In multivariable-adjusted Poisson models, marked sex interactions for current smoking and body mass index (BMI) were observed. Current smoking conferred a rate ratio (RR) of 2.24 (95% CI 1.95-2.57) in women and 1.62 (1.47-1.79) in men. One standard deviation higher BMI was associated with an RR of 0.86 (0.81-0.92) in women and 1.02 (0.96-1.08) in men. Higher blood pressure and lower education level were also associated with higher risk of SAH.CONCLUSIONS: The risk of SAH is 45% higher in women than in men, with substantial sex differences in risk factor strengths. In particular, a markedly stronger adverse effect of smoking in women may motivate targeted public health initiatives.
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| 6. |
- von Knorring, Anna Irma, 1981-
(författare)
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Utforskande meningsskapande via digital teknik i sva-undervisning : en etnografisk fallstudie om nyanlända elevers digitala meningsskapande i svenska som andraspråk
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- An important issue in teaching and research is how newly arrived students best can develop their linguistic resources in learning. The overall aim of the dissertation is to contribute with in-depth knowledge of the context for newly arrived primary school students' digital meaning-making in Swedish as a second language (SSL) when the subject is studied in parallel with Swedish. The context includes the orchestration and content of the teaching, resources for meaning-making, reading and writing processes, and texts; all aspects are essential for the students' scope for meaning-making. This dissertation contains four articles, each aiming to answer the over-arching research questions. I have chosen to divide the context of newly arrived primary school students' digital meaning-making into three levels: conceptual, didactic, and production level. The levels are three different layers rather than a hierarchical system; the levels interact with each other and can move upwards or downwards in the system. The first level, which I chose to call conceptual, concerns teachers' experiences teaching newly arrived students with digital technology in Swedish. Through fieldwork and interviews, I study how teachers manage linguistic complexity involving increasingly digitized teaching. I investigate how teachers' reason whether digital technology can support or hinder learning Swedish as a second language. Here, I focus on the teachers' experiences and perceptions of using technology to help newly arrived students' learning. The second level-the didactic level -focuses on teaching with digital tools and how digital technology affects the organization of teaching in the classroom. How linguistic and spatial boundaries are challenged and handled in teaching with digital technology is studied through observations of teaching. I explore how teachers' teaching orchestration contributes to newly arrived students' opportunities for digital meaning-making, how teachers scaffold newly arrived pupils' digital text activities, and how the teachers use the students: multilingual resources. The third level, the production level, focuses the context surrounding students' text creation and agency in the writing process. In the dissertation, the production level is studied via written text activities, as part of students' meaning-making. I have observed teachers' writing instructions and analysed student texts to explore how newly arrived students create meaning, communicate, and express thehemselves with digital technology and how they can use their multilingual potential in digital writing within different text types. types. This thesis takes its point of departure in sociocultural perspectives that are an overarching term for several closely related human learning (Vygotsky, 1978). By studying how people use tools or tools to understand, act and interact in the outside world and how people adopt, or appropriate, the mediating tools, it is possible to approach how people learn (Salji:i, 2020). Language is a mediating tool, a dynamic and constantly evolving sign system that interacts with other forms of expression (Saljo, 2020). The thesis also has a multimodal perspective (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 2006; Selander, 2017). Multimodality focuses on the different symbols people use to communicate with each other and express themselves (Kress, 2009). Different modalities can give room for multilingual ways of expression. In the thesis, I study how students use modalities in digital meaning-making processes and how students and teachers interpret and get involved in meaning-making. In analyzing students' digital meaning- making and their digital compositions, it is essential to notice how different modalities can contribute to how students use their multilingual palette.The overall methodological approach in the thesis is an ethnographic case study. I chose the case study approach to capture the complexity and activities of a school subject (Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2011, p. 128). Inspired by Yin (2009), I intended to create broad empirical material to understand and analyze the context of newly arrived primary school students' digital meaning-making in SSL. Levy and Moore (2018) argue for qualitative methods to investigate how language teaching uses technology. Through qualitative research, learning processes can be studied moment by moment via the alternating use of an outside and an inside perspective. The thesis's most important results are that teachers had an inclusion focus on digital technology, where newly arrived students, together with teachers and other classmates, explored digital meaning-making through multilingualism and translanguaging. However, multilingual components were nothing the newly arrived students could build on in digitally mediated narrative and retelling texts.One of the main contributions of the thesis is how it empirically visualized the context for newly arrived primary school students as well as opportunities and limitations in digital text activities in the Swedish subject. The study results contribute to developing teaching with a multilingual perspective regarding how technology is used, the orchestration of educati9n, and how students are scaffolded.
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| 7. |
- Waermö, Mimmi, 1970-
(författare)
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Dialectics of Negotiagency : Micro Mechanisms in Children’s Negotiation in Play Activity
- 2017
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This study is about the children in a fourth and fifth grade Swedish primary school class and their play during breaktimes. The study takes the theoretical point of departure in seeing children’s breaktime play as a cultural historical activity. The overarching research problem concerns breaktime play emphasising the phenomena of children’s negotiation, participation and agency. It concerns how breaktime play takes shape and which capacities children possess, who are breaktime play literate, to participate and to uphold play. What is the significance of children’s capacity to negotiate rules and roles? How do they use culturally, historically developed objects and motives to transform and expand established versions of play and games? The research problem foregrounds how the play activity emerges, is carried out and how participation is enabled through negotiation. The aim of the study is to explore the phenomena of children’s negotiation and agency in dialectical change processes in breaktime play activity. The questions explored are: RQ: What are the mechanisms in dialectical processes of collectividual action and collective object transformation in children’s play activity? How does the play activity emerge?How does the object of the play activity transform?The data consists of field notes from participant observations and of audio memos. Audio memos, short smartphone recordings of the children’s verbal reflections on aspects of their actions and experiences, were continuously produced to get the children’s verbal reflections in the immediacy of acting. Various documents and interviews form additional data. The findings show how the children negotiate involvement, rules, role set-up and the hierarchy of demands as a continuous elaboration of the conditions to establish and maintain boundaries of playfully accomplished activity. The notion of negotiagency is introduced, uncovering that breaktime play literacy does not occur in the children’s minds apart from social interaction but develops in and through negotiation. Negotiagency emerges and is realised when the children are engaged in a playfully accomplished activity. The dialectical processes of collectividual action and collective object transformation in playfully accomplished activity are enabled through negotiation. This whole mechanism is referred to as Dialectics of Negotiagency.
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| 8. |
- Lindberg, Ylva, et al.
(författare)
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Culture on the move : Language and literature as vectors for cultural empowerment in Swedish education
- 2024
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Ingår i: Educare. - : Malmö universitet. - 1653-1868 .- 2004-5190. ; :1, s. 1-10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This special issue consists of five position papers, four articles and two essays covering diverse aspects of the theme Culture on the Move that foregrounds language and literature both as pedagogical tools and disciplinary fields necessary for learning to live and work in a culturally diverse world. The contributions stem from the initial activities within the graduate school “Culturally Empowering Education through Language and Literature” (CuEEd-LL). Centre-staging teaching and learning in Swedish education, the texts in this issue present a range of inroads into how language and literature can be used to support cultural diversity among pupils, students and teachers since cultural diversity is steadily gaining attention both as a resource and a challenge in education and society.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Lindberg, Ylva, et al.
(författare)
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Letter from the guest editors
- 2024
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Ingår i: Educare. - : Malmö University Press. - 1653-1868 .- 2004-5190. ; :1, s. i-ii
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This special issue consists of five position papers, four articles and two essays covering diverse aspects of the theme Culture on the Move that foregrounds language and literature both as pedagogical tools and disciplinary fields necessary for learning to live and work in a culturally diverse world. The contributions stem from the initial activities within the graduate school “Culturally Empowering Education through Language and Literature” (CuEEd-LL). Centre-staging teaching and learning in Swedish education, the texts in this issue present a range of inroads into how language and literature can be used to support cultural diversity among pupils, students and teachers since cultural diversity is steadily gaining attention both as a resource and a challenge in education and society.
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