Biodiversity loss, consumption and telecoupling – Why do we need to look beyond our borders?

Biodiversity loss is advancing rapidly, and the previous international goals for halting biodiversity loss have not been met. Besides protecting biodiversity within, e.g. Finland, it is essential to understand that our current way of life is causing global biodiversity loss through, for example, overconsumption. The current paper aims to increase understanding of the complex multi-level human impacts beyond our borders, resulting in significant global challenges. We discuss biodiversity loss and consumption with telecoupling, a phenomenon related to the geographical separation of consumption and production of goods and services that accelerates climate change and biodiversity loss in distant locations through international trade

History teaching in Finnish general upper secondary schools: Objectives and practices

In Finland, the trend towards a new kind of history teaching emphasizing the understanding of historical knowledge and historical thinking skills began in the mid-1990s, when history teaching objectives were defined much more broadly in the curriculum than previously. In this article, we examine how, in over twenty years since the changes in curriculum objectives were made, general upper secondary school teachers have come to value the curriculum objectives of history teaching and how these have impacted on their teaching. The data for this article were collected by a semi-structured survey in 2016. Using counts, percentages, means, standard deviations and medians, a descriptive exploration was made of history teachers’ perceptions of the essential objectives in teaching history and how often they were put into practice in related student activities. To investigate the balance between the objectives the teachers emphasized as the most essential and the teaching methods they actually used, we applied the Kruskal–Wallis test and the Friedman test. According to the results, what the teachers considered essential for teaching history did not correlate with their teaching methods. In addition, according to the results, this state of affairs is still undergoing change; old traditions and new objectives of history teaching are creating tensions. The results were interpreted in the light of the cultural viewpoints of Finnish teaching, the position of matriculation examinations in Finnish general upper secondary schools and the challenges the curriculum is setting for history teacher

Long-Term Reward Patterns Contribute to Personal Goals at Work Among Finnish Managers

The research addresses the impact of long-term reward patterns on contents of personal work goals among young Finnish managers (N = 747). Reward patterns were formed on the basis of perceived and objective career rewards (i.e., career stability and promotions) across four measurements (years 2006 –2012). Goals were measured in 2012 and classified into categories of competence, progression, well-being, job change, job security, organization, and financial goals. The factor mixture analysis identified a three-class solution as the best model of reward patterns: High rewards (77%); Increasing rewards (17%); and Reducing rewards (7%). Participants with Reducing rewards reported more progression, well-being, job change and financial goals than participants with High rewards as well as fewer competence and organizational goals than participants with Increasing rewards. Workplace resources can be in a key role in facilitating goals towards building competence and organizational performance

Advancing environmental sustainability through nature-based science tourism: The potential of universities

This review examines the potential of universities to advance environmental sustainability through nature-based science tourism, in which scientists are actively involved in co-creating nature-based tourism experiences. We first justify the review by presenting the current changes facing academia, namely the pressure to increase societal effectiveness, science democratization, and environmental sustainability. Then, we define science tourism and address the role of science and scientists in nature-based tourism. Finally, we evaluate the potential of nature-based science tourism to affect tourists’ environmental knowledge, attitudes and behavior. Based on previous literature, we suggest that universities and scientists, who have the knowledge about environmental sustainability, biodiversity crisis, and climate change, could have a more significant role in providing nature-based tourism experiences and shaping tourists’ attitudes and behavior regarding environmental sustainability. In line with recent discussions on science dissemination, this requires not only providing scientific knowledge to large audiences but also active scientific engagement and interaction with tourists

Compact supercontinuum source for the visible using gain-switched Ti:Sapphire laser as pump

We demonstrate the use of a miniature gain-switched Ti:Sapphire laser for efficient generation of visible supercontinuum light in a highly nonlinear microstructured optical fiber. This allows for a compact setup that puts out nanosecond pulses of light that cover the spectral range from 410 to 1300 nm. It offers a low-cost alternative to the mode-locked-laser-pumped systems as a source of visible supercontinuum light

Intergenerational Transmission of Birth Weight Across 3 Generations

While previous studies have shown intergenerational transmission of birth weight from mother to child, whether the continuity persists across 3 generations has rarely been assessed. We used the Aberdeen Maternity and Neonatal Data-bank (United Kingdom) to examine the intergenerational correlations of birth weight, birth weight adjusted for gestational age and sex, and small- and large-for-gestational-age births across 3 generations among 1,457 grandmother-mother-child triads. All participants were born between 1950 and 2015. The intergenerational transmission was examined with linear regression analyses. We found that grandmaternal birth weight was associated with grandchild birth weight, independently of prenatal and sociodemographic covariates and maternal birth weight (B = 0.12 standard deviation units, 95% confidence interval: 0.07, 0.18). Similar intergenerational continuity was found for birth weight adjusted for sex and gestational age as well as for small-for-gestational-age births. In conclusion, birth weight and fetal growth showed intergenerational continuity across 3 generations. This supports the hypothesis that the developmental origins of birth weight and hence later health and disease are already present in earlier generations.Peer reviewe

The Effect of Low-Dose Aspirin On Serum Placental Growth Factor Levels In a High-Risk PREDO Cohort

Objectives: Our first aim was to study the longitudinal changes of serum placental growth factor (PlGF) concentration between 12(+0) and 28(+0) weeks of gestation in the prospective PREDO cohort. Our second aim was to study the effect of low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (LDA; 100 mg/day), started before the 14th week of gestation, on PlGF concentration. Study design: Blood samples were collected at 12(+0)-14(+0), 18(+0)-20(+0) and 26(+0)-28(+0) weeks of gestation in 101 women without and 309 with clinical risk factors for pre-eclampsia. Risk-women were divided into two groups: to those who had medium risk for pre-eclampsia and to those who had high risk for pre-eclampsia. Finally there were seven groups according to risk, treatment (no prevention/placebo/LDA) and outcome measure pre-eclampsia. Longitudinal changes in the PlGF concentration between groups were compared. To investigate the effect of LDA on serum PlGF concentration, placebo (N = 62) and LDA (N = 61) groups were compared. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze differences in PlGF levels between the groups. Results: The increase in serum PlGF concentration was higher in LDA than in placebo group (time x group effect, p = 0.046). The increase in serum PlGF concentration during pregnancy was lower in high-risk women who had placebo and developed pre-eclampsia and in medium-risk women who developed pre-eclampsia compared to the other women (time x group effect, p <0.001). There were no differences in PlGF change between low-risk women, medium-risk women who did not develop pre-eclampsia, high-risk women in the placebo group without pre-eclampsia and high-risk women in the LDA group with and without pre-eclampsia (p = 0.15). Conclusions: Our finding suggests an association between LDA started before 14 weeks of gestation and higher increase in serum PlGF concentration.Peer reviewe

Association between breastfeeding and better preserved cognitive ability in an elderly cohort of Finnish men

Background. Being breastfed in infancy has been shown to benefit neurodevelopment. However, whether the benefits persist to old age remains unclear. Methods. We examined the associations between breastfeeding and its duration on cognitive ability in young adulthood and old age, and on aging-related cognitive change over five decades. In total, 931 men from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study born in 1934-1944 in Finland took the Finnish Defence Forces Basic Intellectual Ability Test (total and verbal, arithmetic and visuospatial subtest scores) twice, at ages 20.2 and 67.9 years, and had data on breastfeeding (yes v. no) and its duration ('never breastfed', 'up to 3', '3 to 6' and 6 or more months'). Linear and mixed model regressions tested the associations. Results. At 20.2 years, breastfed men had higher cognitive ability total and visuospatial subtest scores [mean differences (MDs) ranged between 3.0-3.9, p values <0.013], and its longer duration predicted higher cognitive ability total and arithmetic and visuospatial subtest scores (MDs ranged between 3.0 and 4.8, p values <0.039). At 67.9 years, breastfed men had higher total cognitive ability and all subtest scores (MDs ranged between 2.6 and 3.4, p values <0.044) and its longer duration predicted all cognitive ability scores (MDs ranged between 3.1 and 4.7, p values <0.050). Verbal subtest scores decreased over five decades in men who were never breastfed or were breastfed for 3 months or less, and increased in those breastfed for longer than 3 months. Conclusions. Neurodevelopmental advantages of breastfeeding and its longer duration persist into old age, and longer duration of breastfeeding may benefit aging-related change, particularly in verbal reasoning ability.Peer reviewe

Advancing environmental sustainability through nature-based science tourism: The potential of universities

This review examines the potential of universities to advance environmental sustainability through nature-based science tourism, in which scientists are actively involved in co-creating nature-based tourism experiences. We first justify the review by presenting the current changes facing academia, namely the pressure to increase societal effectiveness, science democratization, and environmental sustainability. Then, we define science tourism and address the role of science and scientists in nature-based tourism. Finally, we evaluate the potential of nature-based science tourism to affect tourists’ environmental knowledge, atitudes and behavior. Based on previous literature, we suggest that universities and scientists, who have the knowledge about environmental sustainability, biodiversity crisis, and climate change, could have a more significant role in providing nature-based tourism experiences and shaping tourists’ attitudes and behavior regarding environmental sustainability. In line with recent discussions on science dissemination, this requires not only providing scientific knowledge to large audiences but also active scientific engagement and interaction with tourists.</div