Context: VET programmes in most countries are organised as a combination of learning in schools and learning in workplaces, with elements of workplace learning ranging from a few hours of job shadowing to longer duration internships or full apprenticeships. While there is no doubt about the benefits of work-based learning opportunities for young people, combining school learning and on-the-job learning also poses challenges for learners. Learning in a school context and in the workplace are inherently different, with different rationales, cultures and purposes, and research has emphasised that students and apprentices often experience difficulties in their transitions between school and the workplace. Approach: This scoping review aims to systematically map the international research over the last two decades on vocational teachers’ work at the school-work boundary in upper secondary vocational education and training. Following a comprehensive search of seven databases, 18 studies from 10 countries were selected as eligible in line with predefined inclusion criteria. These articles were systematically screened by means of a coding scheme to identify the following information: country of origin of the study, its aim, research de­sign and methods, theoretical framework and key findings. Findings: Findings show that vocational teachers employ a range of school-specific and work-resembling activities and practices that can potentially facilitate student learning; however, there is a lack of research on the effects of teacher work on student learning and outcomes. Furthermore, the findings show that communication with workplace supervisors is in many ways crucial to the work of vocational teachers in their efforts to facilitate learning between school and the workplace. At the same time, however, teachers experience various obstacles to communication with workplaces, and there is a gap regarding evidence on how to address the challenges that teachers experience in their communication with workplaces. Conclusions: This review presents numerous examples of how vocational teachers can play a crucial role in supporting students and apprentices in their learning between the two learning environments. However, the findings highlight the need for quantitative, longitudinal and intervention studies to analyse the effects of different pedagogical and didactic approaches on facilitating learning between school and the workplace and to identify and evaluate measures to facilitate communication between teachers and workplace supervisors.

In many countries with apprenticeship-based vocational education and training (VET), dropout from apprenticeship training is a major concern. Leaving an apprenticeship early can be problematic, particularly for young people who do not continue their training at another company or in another occupation, and drop out of the education system without obtaining a qualification. Previous research mostly has used a quantitative design focussing mainly on the perspective of apprentices who left training early and on attributes of the individual that may lead to dropout. Drawing on literature on quality of workplace learning environments, this study used a qualitative comparative approach to analyse the workplace learning environment from the perspectives of both young people who left their apprenticeships early and apprentices at the end of their training. The analysis revealed striking differences between the stayers and leavers in terms of two main characteristics of the workplace learning environment. The findings illustrate how being given responsibility can promote professional development and self-confidence, but also can lead to stress, exhaustion and insecurity if an early transfer of responsibility is not accompanied by support and guidance. Furthermore, the findings emphasise the importance of creating safe learning environments in which apprentices experience support and room for making mistakes. The study concludes that future research may include measures related to transfer and fulfilment of responsibility and handling of mistakes in workplaces to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the processes leading to early contract terminations.

This article aims to shed light on ethical pitfalls that may occur when researchers conduct research with young people (aged 15–24). Young age itself does not automatically indicate vulnerability. Yet, young research participants may be in need of extraordinary measures that safeguard their well-being. The presented pitfalls centre around the issues of consent, power and agency, and relationships and confidentiality. The article contributes to the research literature by creating awareness about these ethical pitfalls that otherwise may pass by unnoticed and by exploring how such pitfalls may be avoided or addressed. To this purpose, the authors build upon the existing knowledge base and reflect upon their own experiences as youth researchers. The article may be used as a thinking or discussion tool and concludes with recommendations that may become part of youth researchers’ ethical toolkit.

Rapport is generally considered an essential component of successful interviewing, where participants are willing to share and divulge information. The present paper contributes to the research on rapport in qualitative interviewing by exploring ethical tensions that researchers may experience when conducting qualitative interviews with vulnerable participants. The analysis is based on semi-structured interviews with nine researchers from various fields within social sciences who had extensive experience in doing research with diverse vulnerable groups. We identified six ethical tensions related to building rapport with people in vulnerable life situations that cover issues concerning both too little and too much rapport. Findings illustrate that rapport as the 'ideal' for the researcher-participant relationship may need nuancing. The study concludes that researchers undertaking qualitative interviews on sensitive topics need to have a conscious awareness of ethical tensions that may arise when building rapport with their participants

Research on teachers' relational practices and how they develop relationships with their students is a growing field, internationally and in Scandinavia. However, research on teachers' relational work in disadvantaged areas is rare. This study examines how vocational teachers in schools in disadvantaged areas describe their relational work with students. Taking the narratives of 25 vocational students about their teachers as a starting point, the study is based on individual in-depth interviews with the students' contact teachers (N = 8). Reflexive thematic analysis revealed several key aspects integral to teachers' relational work. The findings suggest that building positive relationships with students entails a balancing act between providing close support and fostering students' autonomy. Furthermore, building relationships also requires a balance between recognising individual needs and developing strong classroom communities. Finally, teachers' relational work with students can be described as an act of caring and subtle communication. Implications for practice are discussed.

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Background/Aim: Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a major polyphenol of green tea, has been shown to inhibit cancer cell proliferation. In this study the effect of EGCG on cell metabolism and the human hedgehog signalling pathway (HH) in human rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) cells was investigated. Materials and Methods: Two human RMS cell lines (RD and RH30) were incubated with EGCG. To evaluate the effects of EGCG on RMS cells, cell viability, colony formation, cell migration, and alteration of genes related to the HH signalling pathway were investigated. Results: EGCG showed cytostatic effects on RMS cells in a dose-dependent manner. Incubation with 25 μM EGCG resulted in a significant reduction of cell migration by 70% and downregulation of the HH pathway transcription factor GLI1. Conclusion: EGCG inhibits RMS cells in vitro by reducing cell proliferation and downregulating the HH signalling pathway. It may therefore be a promising agent in chemoresistant or advanced RMS in children.

Immune milieus play an important role in various types of cancer. The present study focuses on the effect of Th1 cytokines on pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The reaction of ALL cell lines and patient-derived xenografts (PDX) to the most important Th1 cytokines TNF-α (tumor necrosis factor alpha) and IFN-γ (interferon gamma) is analyzed and correlated with the respective cytokine receptors and the intracellular signaling molecules. ALL cell lines and ALL PDX display a great heterogeneity in cell death after incubation with TNF-α and IFN-γ. Several samples show a dose-dependent and additive induction of cell death by both cytokines; others do not react at all or even display an increased viability. Apoptosis is the main type of cell death induced by Th1 cytokines in ALL cells. Over all leukemia cells analyzed, IFN-γ receptor (IFNGR) shows a higher expression than both TNF-receptors, resulting in higher phosphorylation of STAT1 (signal transducer and activator of transcription) compared to phosphorylation of NF-κB (nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B-cells) in the TNF pathway. The activation of STAT1 correlates with the amount of cell death after stimulation with Th1 cytokines. TNF-α and IFN-γ lead to heterogeneous reactions in ALL cell lines and ALL PDX but are able to induce cell death by apoptosis in the majority of ALL blasts. The correlation of a high expression of IFNGR and following activation of STAT1 with cell death indicates an important role for IFN-γ signaling in this setting.

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how representatives of describe inclusion . Based on qualitative interviews with 18 administration staff representatives, the illustrate how the respondents describe inclusion from the perspectives of equal opportunity, equality and inclusiveness. The findings thus show the paradigm shift in inclusion from the old special needs support paradigm towards the new paradigm of inclusion for all. However, the authors also find that the representatives of the Finnish administration lack consideration of students’ activity in different educational communities and students ’ own experiences of being included or excluded. Based on their findings, the authors argue that explicit and

Biomarkers allowing characterization of pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) are lacking. Epitope detection in monocytes (EDIM) is a novel method focused on detection of the biomarkers TKTL1 (transketolase-like protein 1) and Apo10 (epitope of DNaseX) in activated monocytes (CD14+/CD16+) from patient’s blood. We investigated the expression of these biomarkers in RMS cell lines, tumor material, and peripheral blood from RMS patients. Expression levels of TKTL1 and DNaseX/Apo10 in RMS cell lines (RH30, RD) and tumor samples were analyzed by RT-PCR and flow cytometry. Blood samples of 29 RMS patients were measured and compared to 27 healthy individuals. The percentages of activated CD14+/CD16+ monocytes harboring TKTL1 and Apo10 were determined. EDIM-TKTL1 and EDIM-Apo10 expression scores were calculated. The relationship between TKTL1 expression and DNA-hypomethylation was evaluated. Both RMS cell lines and tumor samples showed significantly higher expression levels of TKTL1 and DNaseX/Apo10 compared to skeletal muscle cells (SkMC). EDIM-TKTL1 and EDIM-Apo10 scores were positive in 96.5% of patients with RMS. All healthy controls had negative corresponding scores. RMS cell lines show increased expression levels of the biomarkers TKTL1 and DNaseX/Apo10. The sensitivity of the EDIM blood test indicates that this assay might serve as an additional tool in pediatric RMS.

Purpose Natural products are generally regarded as safe and have been shown to mediate anticancer activities against a variety of cell types. Zerumbone is a natural cyclic sesquiterpene derived from the rhizome of Zingiber zerumbet, which has attracted extensive attention in the recent decade for anticancer activities. The present study investigates the in vitro effect of zerumbone on rhabdomyosarcoma cells. Methods Two rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines (RD and RH30) were used as the model system. The growth inhibition of zerumbone was measured by MTT-assay, apoptosis via flow cytometry, gene expression by real-time PCR, the migration by transwell assay, and intracellular signaling by Western blotting. Results Zerumbone shows anticancer effects on RD and RH30 cells in a dose-dependent manner via cell growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis. Exposure of RD and RH30 cells on zerumbone also resulted in a decrease of migration and downregulation of the hedgehog pathway. Conclusions Taken together, our study provided the first evidence that zerumbone imparted strong inhibitory and apoptotic effects on pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma cell lines and merit further investigation as a promising candidate for the anticancer therapy.

Artikkelen omhandler praksisbrevordningen, et toårig praksisbasert løp i videregående opplæring som ble innført som tiltak mot frafall på yrkesfag. I 2016 fikk fylkeskommunene plikt til å ha minst ett tilbud om praksisbrev. Basert på statistiske data fra fylker som har brukt ordningen, og intervju med ansvarlige for implementeringen i fylkeskommunene undersøker artikkelen hvordan ordningen praktiseres, og hvordan ansvarlige i fylkeskommunene vurderer ordningen. Funnene viser at alle involverte fylkeskommuner praktiserer ordningen som delmål på vei mot fullt fagbrev, og at ordningen på denne måten ivaretar både sosiale og økonomiske hensyn.