METSO-ohjelman yhteistoimintaverkostoilla hyviä tavoitteita mutta niukasti resursseja

Tieteen tori: Metsäluonnon monimuotoisuus ja suojel

Lack of hybridization between Yersinia enterocolitica and HLA-B27 DNA

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The two phases of core formation : orbital evolution in the centres of ellipticals with supermassive black hole binaries

The flat stellar density cores of massive elliptical galaxies form rapidly due to sinking supermassive black holes (SMBHs) in gas-poor galaxy mergers. After the SMBHs form a bound binary, gravitational slingshot interactions with nearby stars drive the core regions towards a tangentially biased stellar velocity distribution. We use collisionless galaxy merger simulations with accurate collisional orbit integration around the central SMBHs to demonstrate that the removal of stars from the centre by slingshot kicks accounts for the entire change in velocity anisotropy. The rate of strong (unbinding) kicks is constant over several hundred Myr at similar to 3 M-circle dot yr(-1) for our most massive SMBII binary (M-BH = 1.7 x 10(10) M-circle dot). Using a frequency-based orbit classification scheme (box, x-tube, z-tube, rosette), we demonstrate that slingshot kicks mostly affect box orbits with small pericentre distances, leading to a velocity anisotropy of beta less than or similar to -0.6 within several hundred Myr as observed in massive ellipticals with large cores. We show how different SMBH masses affect the orbital structure of the merger remnants and present a kinematic tomography connecting orbit families to integral field kinematic features. Our direct orbit classification agrees remarkably well with a modern triaxial Schwarzschild analysis applied to simulated mock kinematic maps.Peer reviewe

Tapaustutkimus erityiskoulun etäryhmästä integroituneena yleisopetuksen kouluun

Tiivistelmä. Tutkielman kohteena oleva erityiskoulun etäryhmä aloitti toimintansa osana yleisopetuksen koulua syksyllä 2020. Ryhmän oppilaat ovat yläkouluikäisiä ja heillä on neuropsykiatrisia häiriöitä, pääasiassa autismikirjoa. Osalla oppilaista esiintyy psyykkisiä häiriöitä esimerkiksi ahdistuneisuutta. Toimintamallina etäryhmä on uusi ja se on perustettu vastaamaan oppilaiden yksilöllisiin tarpeisiin. Yläkoulun jälkeen oppilaiden aikomuksena on siirtyä toiselle asteelle, kuten lukioon. Tavoitteena on ollut tarjota oppilaille mahdollisuus harjoitella isossa ryhmässä toimimista erityisluokanopettajan ja koulunkäynninohjaajan tuen avulla. Integroiminen osaksi yläkoulua on mahdollistanut oppilaille aineenopettajien opetuksen tiettyjen oppiaineiden osalta. Muu opetus on tapahtunut erityisluokanopettajan toimesta. Toimintamallilla on pyritty vastaamaan oppilaiden hyvätasoisiin kognitiivisiin kykyihin. Opetus on suunniteltu tapahtuvan oppilaiden voimavarojen mukaisesti. Oppilailla on ollut mahdollista osallistua aineenopetukseen omassa etäryhmän luokassaan sekä yleisopetuksen ryhmässä. Pyyntö etäryhmän toiminnan tutkimisesta tuli erityiskoululta. Tutkielman tarkoituksena oli kartoittaa oppilaiden ja heidän huoltajiensa kokemuksia oppilaiden oppimisesta ja muuhun koulunkäyntiin liittyvistä tekijöistä, kuten kommunikoinnista muiden kanssa. Teoreettinen viitekehys käsittelee autismikirjoa osana neuropsykiatrisia häiriöitä. Tutkielmassa painottuu erityisesti autismikirjon näkyminen koulussa ja sosiaalisessa vuorovaikutuksessa. Inkluusiota kuvataan osana suomalaista peruskoulua. Huoltajien vaikutus autismikirjon oppilaan koulunkäyntiin on myös huomioitu. Tutkielma toteutettiin laadullisena tapaustutkimuksena. Aineisto kerättiin kahden eri kyselyn ja puolistrukturoidun haastattelun avulla. Kyselyyn osallistui suurin osa luokan oppilaista, joista kolmea haastateltiin. Huoltajista noin puolet vastasivat kyselyyn. Aineiston analyysi tehtiin sisällönanalyysin mukaisesti sekä deskriptiivisesti. Oppilaat ovat hyötyneet aineenopettajien opetuksesta ja se on lisännyt heidän motivaatiotaan opiskelua kohtaan. Oppilaiden ja huoltajien mukaan oppilaiden kuormittuneisuus ei ole muuttunut huomattavasti aiempaan verrattuna. Oppilaiden toimiminen yleisopetuksen ryhmässä näyttäytyi yksilöllisesti erilaisina tuen tarpeina. Huoltajien mukaan oppilaiden sosiaaliset taidot ovat kehittyneet etäryhmässä toimimisen myötä. Oppilaat ovat kokeneet sosiaalisen kanssakäymisen tärkeäksi erityisesti oman luokan oppilaiden kanssa. Tapaustutkimuksen vuoksi tutkielman tulokset eivät ole yleistettävissä, mutta ne ovat samansuuntaisia aiempien tutkimusten kanssa. Oppilaiden ja huoltajien kokemusten perusteella toimintamalli on koettu hyödylliseksi.Abstract. In the autumn of 2020, a remote group of a special school was created to be integrated into a mainstream education school. The pupils in the group are in secondary school and they have neurodevelopmental disorders, mostly autism spectrum disorder without intellectual disability. Some of the pupils also have other disorders such as anxiety. The remote group as an operating model is new and has been formed to accommodate the pupils’ individual needs and their well-developed cognitive skills. The pupils’ goal after secondary school is to study at the upper secondary level with their peers. The aim of the remote group has been to offer the pupils a chance to practice studying in bigger groups among their peers with the help of their special class teacher and special needs assistant. Being integrated into the secondary school has enabled pupils to take part in subject teachers’ teaching in certain subjects. Aside from that, they have been taught by a special class teacher. Pupils’ reserves of strength have been taken into account while planning their teaching. The pupils have had an opportunity to take part in the lessons of subject teachers either in their own remote group’s class or in a mainstream education class. The special school requested to have research conducted on their remote group. This thesis aimed to provide information about pupils’ and their parents’ experiences in the pupils’ learning and other parts of school attendance while being part of the remote group. The theoretical framework describes autism spectrum disorder as a neurodevelopmental disorder. This thesis highlights the disorder’s manifestation in a school environment and in social interaction. Inclusion is described as a part of Finnish comprehensive school. Parents’ role in the school attendance of pupils with autism spectrum disorder has also been taken into account. This thesis is a qualitative case study. Data was collected by using two different questionnaires and a semi-structured interview. Almost all pupils in the group and half of their parents took part in our questionnaires. In addition, three pupils were interviewed. Data was analyzed by using content analysis and descriptive analysis. Subject teachers’ classes have enhanced the pupils’ learning and increased their motivation for studying. According to the pupils and their parents, the pupils’ stress level has not changed remarkably compared to earlier. Functioning in a big group seems to vary individually, especially when it comes to needing help from the remote group’s adults. The parents have reported that the pupils’ social skills have developed while studying in the remote group. The pupils have felt that social interaction, especially with the other pupils in their class, is important to them. Because this was a case study, these results can’t be generalised. However, the results seemed to be in a line with earlier studies. On grounds of the pupils’ and parents’ experiences, the operating model has been useful

Transgenerational Effects of Heavy Metal Pollution on Immune Defense of the Blow Fly Protophormia terraenovae

Recently environmental conditions during early parental development have been found to have transgenerational effects on immunity and other condition-dependent traits. However, potential transgenerational effects of heavy metal pollution have not previously been studied. Here we show that direct exposure to heavy metal (copper) upregulates the immune system of the blow fly, Protophormia terraenovae, reared in copper contaminated food. In the second experiment, to test transgenerational effects of heavy metal, the parental generation of the P. terraenovae was reared in food supplemented with copper, and the immunocompetence of their offspring, reared on uncontaminated food, was measured. Copper concentration used in this study was, in the preliminary test, found to have no effect on mortality of the flies. Immunity was tested on the imago stage by measuring encapsulation response against an artificial antigen, nylon monofilament. We found that exposure to copper during the parental development stages through the larval diet resulted in immune responses that were still apparent in the next generation that was not exposed to the heavy metal. We found that individuals reared on copper-contaminated food developed more slowly compared with those reared on uncontaminated food. The treatment groups did not differ in their dry body mass. However, parental exposure to copper did not have an effect on the development time or body mass of their offspring. Our study suggests that heavy metal pollution has positive feedback effect on encapsulation response through generations which multiplies the harmful effects of heavy metal pollution in following generations

Antimicrobial resistance in Staphylococcus spp., Escherichia coli and Enterococcus spp. in dogs given antibiotics for chronic dermatological disorders, compared with non-treated control dogs

The aim of this study was to evaluate antimicrobial resistance in canine staphylococci, Escherichia coli and enterococci, which were isolated from 22 dogs with pyoderma and a history of previous antibiotic treatment, compared to bacterial isolates from 56 non-treated control dogs. Two isolates of each bacterial species per dog were investigated, if detected. Staphylococcal isolates from dogs with pyoderma (35 isolates) were more resistant to sulphatrimethoprim than the isolates from controls (56 isolates) (57% vs. 25%, p < 0.004). Multiresistance in staphylococci was also more common in dogs with pyoderma (29% vs. 9%, p = 0.02). A similar trend among isolates of E. coli was detected (24 and 74 isolates from treated and control dogs, respectively), but the differences were not significant. Resistance for macrolide-lincosamides was approximately 20% among staphylococci in both groups. Resistance to ampicillin among enterococci was 4%–7%. The age of the dogs might have an impact on resistance: multiresistance among staphylococcal isolates from younger dogs (≤5 years) was more common than in older dogs (≥6 years) (24%, vs. 0%, 63 and 27 isolates, respectively, p = 0.02). Staphylococci in younger dogs were more resistant to tetracycline (48% vs. 11%, p < 0.001) and sulphatrimethoprim (48% vs. 15%, p < 0.01) than those in older dogs. In contrast, the isolates of E. coli from older dogs tended to be more resistant, although a significant difference was detected only in resistance to tetracycline (13% vs. 2% of 40 and 50 isolates respecthely, p = 0.04)). The results of this small study indicate that resistance in canine staphylococci in the capital area of Finland is comparable with many other countries in Europe. Resistance in indicator bacteria, E. coli and enterococci, was low

Conferencing otherwise: a feminist new materialist writing experiment

This paper attempts to reconfigure hegemonic framings of ‘the academic conference’ and thereby offer a means to (re-)encounter the spatial, temporal and affective forces that conferences generate, differently. We are a geographically dispersed but multiply entangled group of academic researchers united by theoretical fault lines within our work that seek to ask what if (Haraway, 2016) and what else (Manning, 2016). This ‘what if’ and ‘what else’ thinking has manifested in experimental and subversive doings otherwise at a series of academic conferences. The storying practices presented in this paper were made possible by the vital materialism (Bennett, 2010) of a shared google.doc. It was within this virtual environment that we attempted to weave diffractive accounts of what conferencing otherwise produces. This writing experiment offers a series of speculative provocations and counter-provocations to ask what else does conferencing make possible. This article is an invitation to the reader to plunge in and wallow (Taylor, 2016) within the speculative accounts which ensue and to contemplate the possibilities of breaking free from sedimented ways of neoliberal conferencing

Energy transition looming behind the headlines? Newspaper coverage of biogas production in Finland

Background: Media coverage can play an important part in energy transitions. It creates awareness of landscape-level megatrends affecting energy systems. It influences and is influenced by public and policy agendas on a regime level. On a niche level, it can spread or screen out information and motivate or discourage actors to adopt new technologies and practices. However, relatively few studies have specifically addressed the role of media in energy transitions. Newspaper coverage of biogas is studied here as a case of media framing of a potential renewable energy solution.Methods: This article examines the long-term development of newspaper coverage of biogas in Finland. The aim of the quantitative content analysis is to draw an overall picture of the main phases of biogas coverage of a widely read newspaper focusing on agriculture and forestry, actors using discursive power in this coverage and key framings of the discussion. The results are discussed from the perspective of energy transition studies. In particular, future expectations created by the media are explored.Results: The results show a lack of newspaper coverage on biogas in the early 2000s, followed by a rapid increase and stabilisation of the volume of newspaper coverage. Biogas was most often mentioned as a secondary topic of broader discussions related to renewable energy. The core discussion focusing on biogas was characterised by very positive framings of biogas as a preferable energy solution fully compatible with the principle of circular economy. The news stories often had a strong future orientation, and examples of enthusiastic forerunners were frequently presented. However, the coverage also emphasised the poor economic profitability of biogas technologies and a need for considerable public subsidies that are inherently unpredictable.Conclusions: The future of niche-level energy technologies such as biogas can be strongly shaped by information flows, public perceptions and expectations created in part by media coverage. The analysed newspaper coverage in Finland was ambivalent from the perspective of energy transition. On the one hand, biogas production was represented as a preferable, environmentally friendly niche-level energy technology that should be encouraged. On the other hand, by emphasising the economic unviability of biogas technologies, the analysed newspaper coverage did not promote the adoption of biogas

The obesity paradox predicts the second wave of COVID-19 to be severe in western countries

Funding Information: This work was funded by the Latvian Council of Science grants lzp-2018/1-0393 (I.A.K.), lzp-2018/2-0057 (T.K.), and lzp-2020/2-0271 (T.K.). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.While COVID-19 infection and mortality rates are soaring in Western countries, Southeast Asian countries have successfully avoided the second wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic despite high population density. We provide a biochemical hypothesis for the connection between low COVID-19 incidence, mortality rates, and high visceral adiposity in Southeast Asian populations. The SARS-CoV-2 virus uses angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) as a gateway into the human body. Although the highest expression levels of ACE2 are found in people’s visceral adipose tissue in Southeast Asia, this does not necessarily make them vulnerable to COVID-19. Hypothetically, high levels of visceral adiposity cause systemic inflammation, thus decreasing the ACE2 amount on the surface of both visceral adipocytes and alveolar epithelial type 2 cells in the lungs. Extra weight gained during the pandemic is expected to increase visceral adipose tissue in Southeast Asians, further decreasing the ACE2 pool. In contrast, weight gain can increase local inflammation in fat depots in Western people, leading to worse COVID-related outcomes. Because of the biological mechanisms associated with fat accumulation, inflammation, and their differential expression in Southeast Asian and Western populations, the second wave of the pandemic may be more severe in Western countries, while Southeast Asians may benefit from their higher visceral fat depots.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Global simulations of monoterpene-derived peroxy radical fates and the distributions of highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) and accretion products

We evaluate monoterpene-derived peroxy radical (MT-RO2) unimolecular autoxidation and self- and cross-reactions with other RO2 species in the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model. The formation of associated highly oxygenated organic molecules (HOMs) and accretion products are tracked in competition with other bimolecular reactions. Autoxidation is the dominant fate up to 6-8 km for first-generation MT-RO2, which can undergo unimolecular H shifts. Reaction with NO can be a more common fate for H-shift rate constants < 0.1 s(-1) or at altitudes higher than 8 km due to the imposed Arrhenius temperature dependence of unimolecular H shifts. For MT-derived HOM-RO2, generated by multistep autoxidation of first-generation MT-RO2, reaction with other RO2 species is predicted to be the major fate throughout most of the boreal and tropical forest regions, whereas reaction with NO dominates in the temperate and subtropical forests of the Northern Hemisphere. The newly added reactions result in an approximate 4 % global average decrease in HO2 and RO2, mainly due to faster self-/cross-reactions of MT-RO2, but the impact upon HO2, OH, and NOx abundances is only important in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) over portions of tropical forests. Predicted HOM concentrations in MT-rich regions and seasons can exceed total organic aerosol predicted by the standard version of the GEOS-Chem model depending on the parameters used. Comparisons to observations reveal that large uncertainties remain for key reaction parameters and processes, especially with respect to the photochemical lifetime and volatility of HOMs as well as the rates and branching of associated RO2 accretion products. Further observations and laboratory studies related to MT-RO2-derived HOMs and gas-phase RO2 accretion product formation kinetics - especially their atmospheric fate, such as gas-particle partitioning, multiphase chemistry, and net secondary organic aerosol formation - are needed.Peer reviewe