Ympäristökasvatus osana luokanopettajien kokemusta ja toimijuutta alakoulussa

Tiivistelmä. Ympäristökasvatukselle on suurempi tarve kuin koskaan aikaisemmin. Ympäristö muuttuu ihmisten toiminnan seurauksena kiihtyvällä tahdilla. Ympäristöahdistus ja huoli maapallon tilasta on lisääntynyt, mutta samaan aikaan ihmiset vieraantuvat luonnosta yhä enemmän. Jotta voidaan toimia ympäristön kannalta kestävällä tavalla, ihmisten täytyy löytää yhteys luontoon. Luokanopettajat ovat merkittävässä roolissa ympäristötiedon välittäjänä lapsille ja nuorille, mutta myös luontokokemusten tarjoajana. Luokanopettajan työtä ohjaa valtakunnallinen opetussuunnitelma. Tällä hetkellä voimassa oleva Perusopetuksen opetussuunnitelman perusteet 2014 painottaa ympäristö- ja kestävyysasioiden käsittelemistä opetuksessa ja kasvatuksessa erilaisissa ympäristöissä. Jo perusopetuksen arvoperusta linjaa, että koulujen tulee ottaa huomioon kestävän elämäntavan välttämättömyys sekä vastuullinen suhtautuminen ympäristöön. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää luokanopettajien teoreettista ymmärrystä ympäristökasvatuksesta ja sen käytännön toteutusta heidän opetustyössään. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin myös ympäristökasvatuksen järjestämiseen vaikuttavia tekijöitä, joiden nähtiin joko tukevan tai estävän opetus- ja kasvatustyötä. Tutkimus toteutettiin laadullisena tutkimuksena fenomenologisen lähestymistavan kautta. Tutkimuksen aineisto kerättiin sähköisellä kyselytutkimuksella, johon osallistuivat alakoulussa työskentelevät luokanopettajat. Aineisto analysoitiin teoriaohjaavan sisällönanalyysin vaiheiden kautta. Tutkimuksen tulosten mukaan luokanopettajien teoreettinen ymmärrys ympäristökasvatus-käsitteestä on monipuolinen ja yhteneväinen aikaisemman tutkimuksen kanssa. Käytäntöön liitettiin osittain samoja sisältöjä kuin teoriaan, mutta etenkään osallisuus ja toimijuus eivät toteutuneet koko opetusta ja muuta toimintaa läpäisevällä tavalla. Tutkimuksen tulokset osoittivat, että luokanopettajien ympäristökasvatustyötä tukevia tekijöitä ovat käytössä olevat resurssit, sisäinen motivaatio, vuorovaikutus työyhteisössä ja sen ulkopuolella, lait ja asetukset sekä eheyttävä opetus. Estäviä tekijöitä olivat riittämättömät resurssit, sosiaaliset haasteet, työkyky sekä aikataululliset haasteet

Evolving DNA methylation and gene expression markers of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia are present in pre-diagnostic blood samples more than 10 years prior to diagnosis

Background B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a common type of adult leukemia. It often follows an indolent course and is preceded by monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis, an asymptomatic condition, however it is not known what causes subjects with this condition to progress to CLL. Hence the discovery of prediagnostic markers has the potential to improve the identification of subjects likely to develop CLL and may also provide insights into the pathogenesis of the disease of potential clinical relevance. Results We employed peripheral blood buffy coats of 347 apparently healthy subjects, of whom 28 were diagnosed with CLL 2.0–15.7 years after enrollment, to derive for the first time genome-wide DNA methylation, as well as gene and miRNA expression, profiles associated with the risk of future disease. After adjustment for white blood cell composition, we identified 722 differentially methylated CpG sites and 15 differentially expressed genes (Bonferroni-corrected p < 0.05) as well as 2 miRNAs (FDR < 0.05) which were associated with the risk of future CLL. The majority of these signals have also been observed in clinical CLL, suggesting the presence in prediagnostic blood of CLL-like cells. Future CLL cases who, at enrollment, had a relatively low B-cell fraction (<10%), and were therefore less likely to have been suffering from undiagnosed CLL or a precursor condition, showed profiles involving smaller numbers of the same differential signals with intensities, after adjusting for B-cell content, generally smaller than those observed in the full set of cases. A similar picture was obtained when the differential profiles of cases with time-to-diagnosis above the overall median period of 7.4 years were compared with those with shorted time-to-disease. Differentially methylated genes of major functional significance include numerous genes that encode for transcription factors, especially members of the homeobox family, while differentially expressed genes include, among others, multiple genes related to WNT signaling as well as the miRNAs miR-150-5p and miR-155-5p. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate the presence in prediagnostic blood of future CLL patients, more than 10 years before diagnosis, of CLL-like cells which evolve as preclinical disease progresses, and point to early molecular alterations with a pathogenetic potential

Diabetes status-related differences in risk factors and mediators of heart failure in the general population:results from the MORGAM/BiomarCaRE consortium

Background: The risk of heart failure among diabetic individuals is high, even under tight glycemic control. The correlates and mediators of heart failure risk in individuals with diabetes need more elucidation in large population-based cohorts with long follow-up times and a wide panel of biologically relevant biomarkers. Methods: In a population-based sample of 3834 diabetic and 90,177 non-diabetic individuals, proportional hazards models and mediation analysis were used to assess the relation of conventional heart failure risk factors and biomarkers with incident heart failure. Results: Over a median follow-up of 13.8 years, a total of 652 (17.0%) and 5524 (6.1%) cases of incident heart failure were observed in participants with and without diabetes, respectively. 51.4% were women and the mean age at baseline was 48.7 (standard deviation [SD] 12.5) years. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for heart failure among diabetic individuals was 2.70 (95% confidence interval, 2.49–2.93) compared to non-diabetic participants. In the multivariable-adjusted Cox models, conventional cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as smoking (diabetes: HR 2.07 [1.59–2.69]; non-diabetes: HR 1.85 [1.68–2.02]), BMI (diabetes: HR 1.30 [1.18–1.42]; non-diabetes: HR 1.40 [1.35–1.47]), baseline myocardial infarction (diabetes: HR 2.06 [1.55–2.75]; non-diabetes: HR 2.86 [2.50–3.28]), and baseline atrial fibrillation (diabetes: HR 1.51 [0.82–2.80]; non-diabetes: HR 2.97 [2.21–4.00]) had the strongest associations with incident heart failure. In addition, biomarkers for cardiac strain (represented by nT-proBNP, diabetes: HR 1.26 [1.19–1.34]; non-diabetes: HR 1.43 [1.39–1.47]), myocardial injury (hs-TnI, diabetes: HR 1.10 [1.04–1.16]; non-diabetes: HR 1.13 [1.10–1.16]), and inflammation (hs-CRP, diabetes: HR 1.13 [1.03–1.24]; non-diabetes: HR 1.29 [1.25–1.34]) were also associated with incident heart failure. In general, all these associations were equally strong in non-diabetic and diabetic individuals. However, the strongest mediators of heart failure in diabetes were the direct effect of diabetes status itself (relative effect share 43.1% [33.9–52.3] and indirect effects (effect share 56.9% [47.7-66.1]) mediated by obesity (BMI, 13.2% [10.3–16.2]), cardiac strain/volume overload (nT-proBNP, 8.4% [-0.7–17.4]), and hyperglycemia (glucose, 12.0% [4.2–19.9]). Conclusions: The findings suggest that the main mediators of heart failure in diabetes are obesity, hyperglycemia, and cardiac strain/volume overload. Conventional cardiovascular risk factors are strongly related to incident heart failure, but these associations are not stronger in diabetic than in non-diabetic individuals. Active measurement of relevant biomarkers could potentially be used to improve prevention and prediction of heart failure in high-risk diabetic patients

Lead exposure in adult males in urban Transvaal Province, South Africa during the apartheid era

Human exposure to lead is a substantial public health hazard worldwide and is particularly problematic in the Republic of South Africa given the country’s late cessation of leaded petrol. Lead exposure is associated with a number of serious health issues and diseases including developmental and cognitive deficiency, hypertension and heart disease. Understanding the distribution of lifetime lead burden within a given population is critical for reducing exposure rates. Femoral bone from 101 deceased adult males living in urban Transvaal Province (now Gauteng Province), South Africa between 1960 and 1998 were analyzed for lead concentration by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Of the 72 black and 29 white individuals sampled, chronic lead exposure was apparent in nearly all individuals. White males showed significantly higher median bone lead concentration (ME = 10.04 µg·g−1), than black males (ME = 3.80 µg·g−1) despite higher socioeconomic status. Bone lead concentration covaries significantly, though weakly, with individual age. There was no significant temporal trend in bone lead concentration. These results indicate that long-term low to moderate lead exposure is the historical norm among South African males. Unexpectedly, this research indicates that white males in the sample population were more highly exposed to lead

Linking genetic, metabolic, and phenotypic diversity among Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains using multi-omics associations

The selection of bioengineering platform strains and engineering strategies to improve the stress resistance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae remains a pressing need in bio-based chemical production. Thus, a systematic effort to exploit the genotypic and phenotypic diversity to boost yeast's industrial value is still urgently needed. Here, we analyzed 5400 growth curves obtained from 36 S. cerevisiae strains and comprehensively profiled their resistances against 13 industrially relevant stresses. We observed that bioethanol and brewing strains exhibit higher resistance against acidic conditions, however, plant isolates tend to have wider range of resistance, which may be associated with their metabolome and fluxome signatures in TCA cycle and fatty acid metabolism. By deep genomic sequencing we found that industrial strains have more genomic duplications especially affecting transcription factors, presenting disparate evolutionary paths in comparison to the environmental strains which have more InDels, gene deletions and strain-specific genes. Genome-wide association studies coupled with protein-protein interaction networks uncovered novel genetic determinants of stress resistances. These resistance-related engineering targets and strain rankings provide a valuable source for engineering significantly improved industrial platform strains.G.P. would like to thank Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) CRC/Transregio 124 “Pathogenic fungi and their human host: Networks of interaction,” subproject B5. B.B., L.D., M.J.H., and J.F. thank the Novo Nordisk Foundation for financial support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dietary and lifestyle determinants of acrylamide and glycidamide hemoglobin adducts in non-smoking postmenopausal women from the EPIC cohort

Purpose Acrylamide was classified as 'probably carcinogenic' to humans in 1994 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. In 2002, public health concern increased when acrylamide was identified in starchy, plant-based foods, processed at high temperatures. The purpose of this study was to identify which food groups and lifestyle variables were determinants of hemoglobin adduct concentrations of acrylamide (HbAA) and glycidamide (HbGA) in 801 non-smoking postmenopausal women from eight countries in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort. Methods Biomarkers of internal exposure were measured in red blood cells (collected at baseline) by high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS/MS) . In this cross-sectional analysis, four dependent variables were evaluated: HbAA, HbGA, sum of total adducts (HbAA + HbGA), and their ratio (HbGA/HbAA). Simple and multiple regression analyses were used to identify determinants of the four outcome variables. All dependent variables (except HbGA/HbAA) and all independent variables were log-transformed (log2) to improve normality. Median (25th-75th percentile) HbAA and HbGA adduct levels were 41.3 (32.8-53.1) pmol/g Hb and 34.2 (25.4-46.9) pmol/g Hb, respectively. Results The main food group determinants of HbAA, HbGA, and HbAA + HbGA were biscuits, crackers, and dry cakes. Alcohol intake and body mass index were identified as the principal determinants of HbGA/HbAA. The total percent variation in HbAA, HbGA, HbAA + HbGA, and HbGA/HbAA explained in this study was 30, 26, 29, and 13 %, respectively. Conclusions Dietary and lifestyle factors explain a moderate proportion of acrylamide adduct variation in non-smoking postmenopausal women from the EPIC cohort

Polymorphisms in MGP gene and their association with lead toxicity

Matrix γ-carboxy glutamic acid protein (MGP) is a 10-kDa secreted protein containing five residues of the vitamin K-dependent calcium binding amino acid γ-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla). This study was carried out to examine the effects of MGP gene promoter polymorphism (T-138C) on blood lead levels (BLL) and hematological parameters in 113 battery manufacturing unit workers occupationally exposed to lead and 102 controls. Genotypes for the MGP T-138C polymorphism were determined by PCR and restriction fragment length digestion. BLL were determined by Anode Stripping Voltammetry using ESA Model 3010B Lead analyzer. Complete blood picture (CBP) was analyzed using ADVIA Cell counter for each sample. The frequencies of MGP–TT, CT and CC genotypes in our population were 38.6%, 44.3%, and 17.2%, respectively. The frequencies for T and C alleles were 0.612 and 0.386, respectively. Although BLL did not differ significantly among genotypes; they were higher in workers with TT/CT genotype compared to CC genotype subjects (76–88 μg/dL vs 22–45 μg/dL, p > 0.05). About 29.2% of volunteers (n = 33) from the occupationally exposed group had hemoglobin levels below 10.0 gms/dl. There was no significant difference in total white cell count and platelet count between occupational and non-exposed groups. The possible role of SNPs in the promoter region of MGP gene with relation to lead toxicity was investigated for the first time in the Indian population; although significance could not be achieved in this study, further assessments over a larger population size may help in better understanding of the consequences of lead exposure

Quality of life, psychological morbidity and family stress in elderly residing in the community

Este estudo procurou investigar as relações existentes entre morbilidade psicológica, stress familiar e qualidade de vida (QV) da pessoa idosa. A amostra foi constituída por 126 idosos. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: The Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL), Quality of Life (WHOQOL-Bref), Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GSI), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS); e Index of Family Relations (IFR). Os resultados revelaram a importância da idade, estado civil, escolaridade e número de patologias assim como o género na capacidade funcional, morbilidade, stress familiar e QV. Ao nível dos preditores, a depressão foi a variável que mais contribuiu para a QV. Não foram encontradas variáveis moderadoras no modelo. A discussão e implicações dos resultados são abordadas bem como a intervenção psicológica nesta população.This study sought to understand the relationships among psychological morbidity, family stress and quality of life (QL) of elderly. The sample consisted of 126 elderly. The following instruments were used: the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL); Quality of Life (WHOQOL-Bref), Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GSI), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and the Index of Family Relations (IFR). Results revealed the importance of age, marital status, education and number of pathologies as well as gender on functional capacity, morbidity, family stress and QV. In terms of predictors, depression was the variable that contributed the most to QL. There were no moderating variables in the model. Discussion and implications of results are addressed as well as psychological interventions.(undefined