Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Borderline Intellectual Functioning: Etiological, Neurophysiological, and Mri Findings in a Cohort of 651 Patients

This retrospective chart review study explored the etiology, use, and yield of the etiological investigations of 651 children and adolescents diagnosed with borderline intellectual functioning (BIF). Neurological, neurodevelopmental, or neuropsychiatric comorbidities were frequent, and in 23%, the BIF diagnosis evolved into an intellectual disability (ID) by the time of discharge. A primary etiological cause was found in 37.6%, the most prevalent causes being pre- or perinatal conditions, genetic syndromes/chromosomal abnormalities, fetal exposure to maternal substance use, cerebral dysgenesis, and neurological diseases. In total, 79.1% of patients went through one or more investigations during their follow-up. The best etiologic yield leading to a diagnosis in this study population was with exome sequencing, a specific gene panel, microarrays, electroneuromyography, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Etiological investigations were performed more frequently among those children receiving an ID diagnosis. Yet, there was no statistically significant difference in the proportion of abnormal findings between the BIF and ID groups. This may mean that the current strategy for determining the need for etiological investigations or current means to gain an etiology is still indecisive. Considering that BIF is defined to include individuals performing between normal cognitive functioning and mild ID, this implies that the prevalence would be anywhere between 7 and 14%. Thus, it could be argued whether in-depth etiological investigations may be justified in cases other than ID in this age group of children over five. With these children and adolescents, the clinicians have to discern between those with a normal variation and those having major difficulties in adaptive behavior affecting everyday life in order to specify and prescribe the rehabilitation or other measures needed. We advocate for a targeted etiological search after careful history-taking and neurological examination. National guidelines that take into account the severity of developmental delay are warranted

Regret Analysis for River Water Quality Management

The treatment of uncertainty inherent in water quality policy development and related modeling is a key issue. This is particularly true in the Central and Eastern European region which is characterized by high pollution levels, strong economic transition, lack of financial resources and scarce and imprecise data availability. Possibilities to account for uncertainties in policy development by a regret analysis approach were studied. The risks associated with regret in decision making were qualitatively and quantitatively defined. The design of a decision making procedure where these risks are accounted for was analyzed from a theoretical and practical viewpoint. A regret analysis procedure was implemented within an experimental decision support system (DSS) for water quality management of a river. This system was tested with a hypothetical situation where the best option of upgrading of a number of waste water treatment plants was to be selected from a small set of possible options. The main problem of analyses of this kind is the curse of dimensionality. The study shows that a modular approach, which uses already available software components and models, speeds up the building of a DSS

Rates of Water Loss and Absorption in Stick Insect Eggs

The thorny devil stick insect (Eurycantha calcarata) of New Guinea has eggs that take four months or more to develop—incredibly long for an insect. Long development times can be a challenge for eggs because of their finite resources, including nutrients, energy to support development, and water. I investigated the physiological mechanisms underlying long development times in stick insect eggs. The first experiment examined rates of water loss and survival of eggs held in different experimental humidities (0, 75, or 100% RH). Eggs dried quickly in the 0% humidity “dry” container; and more slowly in the 75% humidity “intermediate” container. The eggs did not dry out in the 100% “saturated” container and maintained their original mass throughout the experiment. While none of the dry treatment eggs hatched, one of the intermediate treatment eggs did, and nearly all of the saturated eggs hatched. To see if the eggs could reabsorb water, they were dried until they reached 90% of their original mass. Then they were transferred into a 100% humidity or wet cotton treatment. In both cases, the eggs gained some mass, but never returned to their original mass. These experiments show that the eggs require a high humidity to survive, and that they cannot absorb water from their environment. For these eggs, water is a finite resource. Finally, using flow-through respirometry, I measured metabolic rates of eggs during four months of development. Eggs were held in high humidity (100% RH) and their metabolic rates measured every 3 – 4 weeks. Metabolic rates were extraordinarily low early in development but increased near hatching. These data suggest that eggs delay much of their metabolism until late in development. I speculate that this delay in development is a way to keep the eggshell’s conductance to gases low, allowing the eggs to better conserve water

Challenges and Neuropsychological Functioning in Children and Adolescents with Borderline Intellectual Functioning

This retrospective chart review study sought to explore neuropsychological profiles, neuropsychiatric and psychiatric comorbidity, changes in diagnoses, support at daycare and school, medication use, psychiatric referrals, and progression into further education in a cohort of participants with borderline intellectual functioning (BIF). Additionally, developmental factors connected to BIF were studied. Delays in language and gross motor development were the initial reasons for the parents to seek health care. Comorbid neuropsychiatric and psychiatric diagnoses were frequent, a total of 41% of participants were referred to psychiatric services, and 45% used medication. Educational support was needed by 92% of the study participants. The majority of those graduating elementary school continued their studies at ordinary or special vocational schools. The risk of dropping out during secondary studies appeared to increase. The results in most of the neuropsychological subdomains declined over time, and 23% of the participants were later diagnosed with an intellectual disability (ID). The early developmental signs pointing towards BIF and the need for prompt support were a delay in language and motor development, difficulties in executive function, a delay in learning the activities of daily living among children under school age, and difficulties in reading and arithmetic skills and abstract reasoning at school age. It is important to follow up and support individuals with BIF as their risk for being left behind in the society is increased. Also, it would be important to repeat the neuropsychological testing of cognitive and adaptive functions before graduating elementary school as to capture those who meet the ID criteria

Rates of Water Loss and Metabolism in the Eggs of Stick Insect Eurycantha calcarata

The thorny devil stick insect (Eurycantha calcarata) of New Guinea has eggs that take four months or more to develop—incredibly long for an insect. Long development times can be a challenge for eggs because of their finite resources, including nutrients, energy to support development, and water. I investigated the physiological mechanisms underlying long development times in stick insect eggs. The first experiment examined rates of water loss and survival of eggs held in different experimental humidities (0, 75, or 100% RH). Eggs dried quickly in the 0% humidity “dry” container; and more slowly in the 75% humidity “intermediate” container. The eggs did not dry out in the 100% “saturated” container and maintained their original mass throughout the experiment. While none of the dry treatment eggs hatched, one of the intermediate treatment eggs did, and nearly all of the saturated eggs hatched. To see if the eggs could reabsorb water, they were dried until they reached 90% of their original mass. Then they were transferred into a 100% humidity or wet cotton treatment. In both cases, the eggs gained some mass, but never returned to their original mass. These experiments show that the eggs require a high humidity to survive, and that they cannot absorb water from their environment. For these eggs, water is a finite resource. Finally, using flow-through respirometry, I measured metabolic rates of eggs during four months of development. Eggs were held in high humidity (100% RH) and their metabolic rates measured every 3 – 4 weeks. Metabolic rates were extraordinarily low early in development but increased near hatching. These data suggest that eggs delay much of their metabolism until late in development. I speculate that this delay in development is a way to keep the eggshell’s conductance to gases low, allowing the eggs to better conserve water

Epidemic as a natural process

Mathematical epidemiology is a well-recognized discipline to model infectious diseases. It also provides guidance for public health officials to limit outbreaks. Nevertheless, epidemics take societies by surprise every now and then, for example, when the Ebola virus epidemic raged seemingly unrestrained in Western Africa. We provide insight to this capricious character of nature by describing the epidemic as a natural process, i.e., a phenomenon governed by thermodynamics. Our account, based on statistical mechanics of open systems, clarifies that it is impossible to predict accurately epidemic courses because everything depends on everything else. Nonetheless, the thermodynamic theory yields a comprehensive and analytical view of the epidemic. The tenet subsumes various processes in a scale-free manner from the molecular to the societal levels. The holistic view accentuates overarching procedures in arresting and eradicating epidemics.Peer reviewe

Influence of Lithium ions on conidiophore size in Neurospora crassa

Lithium (Li) ions are known to affect Neurospora crassa’s growth speed and circadian clock period, while elevated temperatures abolish these influences. We wondered whether Li has also an effect on conidia size. We used cryo-SEM to investigate this question and report here the results of 1720 measurements showing that at 20°C the long and short conidial axes are significantly reduced at high Li concentrations (10-15 mM), while the ratio between the long and short axes remains approximately constant. An increased temperature (30°C) appears to abolish the Li effect on conidia size

Impacts of Climate Change on Physical Characteristics of Lakes in Europe

One of the tasks of the EEWAI action is the assessment of the impacts of climate change on ecological water quality in order to support the implementation of the Water Framework Directive. This task requires development of comprehensive knowledge base, models, and databases to provide tools for the evaluation of the adaptation needs of the EU water resources management with respect of the anticipated changes in water quality due to climate change. In 2008, EEWAI initiated a service contract between Joint Research Centre and Helsinki University of Technology in order to develop further a Decision Support System elaborated within the EU project CLIME into a new tool called CLIME Maps. The aim was to extend the central lake database, to update the computational basis of lake physical parameters by applying the newest achievements in this field of science, and enable creating map views of the projected changes of physical parameters of basic lake types. Based on the model results, this report gives an overview of the impacts that climate change may have on physical properties of lakes and demonstrates further implications that these changes have on lake ecosystems. The technical report on CLIME Maps and the users¿ manual are included in annexes of the report.JRC.H.5-Rural, water and ecosystem resource

Koulutuksen vaikutus talouskasvuun kehitysmaissa : teorian ja empirian ristiriita

Only abstract. Paper copies of master’s theses are listed in the Helka database (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Electronic copies of master’s theses are either available as open access or only on thesis terminals in the Helsinki University Library.Vain tiivistelmä. Sidottujen gradujen saatavuuden voit tarkistaa Helka-tietokannasta (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Digitaaliset gradut voivat olla luettavissa avoimesti verkossa tai rajoitetusti kirjaston opinnäytekioskeilla.Endast sammandrag. Inbundna avhandlingar kan sökas i Helka-databasen (http://www.helsinki.fi/helka). Elektroniska kopior av avhandlingar finns antingen öppet på nätet eller endast tillgängliga i bibliotekets avhandlingsterminaler.Neoklassisten ja endogeenisen kasvun talouskasvuteorioiden mukaan inhimillinen pääoma ja koulutus vaikuttavat positiivisesti talouskasvuun. Kuitenkaan monissa kehitysmaissa tapahtuneen koulutussijoitusten nopean kasvun ja talouskasvun välillä ei ole useissa uusissa empiirisissä tutkimuksissa havaittu positiivista yhteyttä. Maakohtaista vaihtelua löytyy, mutta kaikkiaan tilastoaineiston ja teorian välillä vallitsee ristiriita. Tässä tutkielmassa käydään ensin läpi koulutuksen ja talouskasvun yhdistävää teoriataustaa sekä aiheesta tehtyjä empiirisiä tutkimuksia. Tämän jälkeen etsitään syitä havaittuun ristiriitaan. Lopuksi on käytännön esimerkkimaana Vietnam, jossa toteutettiin vuosina 1986-1996 laaja talouskasvun kiihdyttämiseen tähdännyt koulutusjärjestelmän uudistus. Selitysehdotuksia empiiristen tulosten ja teorian väliselle ristiriidalle on useita. Tuloksiin on vaikuttanut käytettävissä olleiden kehitysmaita koskevien tilastojen epäluotettavuus, puutteellisuus ja tilastollisten aikasarjojen lyhyys. Myös odotukset koulutuksen vaikutuksesta, erityisesti sen nopeudesta, ovat olleet epärealistisia. Tutkielmassa kiinnitetään erityisesti huomiota pitkän aikavälin tarkastelun vähäisyyteen tutkimuksissa, sillä koulutussijoitusten todellinen tuotto näkyy vasta pitkällä aikaviiveellä. Osassa empiirisiä tutkimuksia on havaittu, että inhimillisen pääoman rajatuotto riippuu positiivisesti jo olemassaolevasta inhimillisen pääoman varannosta. Teoreettisena selityksenä tälle ilmiölle esitetään Azariadisin ja Drazenin malli, jossa koulutuksen positiivisilla ulkoisvaikutuksilla on kynnysominaisuus. Ennenkuin riittävä inhimillisen pääoman alkuvaranto on saavutettu ei koulutus tuota mallissa talouskasvua. Kynnystason saavutettuaan koulutuksen vaikutus on merkittävä. Kaikki koulutussijoitukset eivät kuitenkaan johda kehitysmaata kohti inhimillisen pääoman teoreettista kynnyarvoa edes pitkällä aikavälillä. Koulutussijoitusten tuotto riippuu myös koulutuksen laadusta ja kohdentamisesta sekä yhteiskunnallisista olosuhteista. Koska koulutuksen laatu riippuu läheisesti käytettävissä olevista varoista, köyhissä maissa oleellisin kysymys on koulutuksen oikea kohdentaminen. Koulutuksen jakautumisen ja kohdentamisen merkitystä tarkastellaan ensin yleisesti Judsonin koulutuksen "kultakaivosmallin" perusteella, ja sitten köyhien ja naisten koulutukseen liittyvien erityisominaisuuksien mukaan. Koulutuksen jakautuminen on harvoin optimaalista. Erityisesti köyhät ja naiset jäävät kehitysmaissa usein aliedustetuiksi koulutusjärjestelmässä. Koulutussijoitusten tuoton maksimoiminen edellyttää lisäksi vakaata yhteiskuntarakennetta. Vietnamissa toteutetut uudistukset koskivat pääosin koulutuksen rahoitusta. Julkisen rahoituksen painopisteen siirtäminen perusasteen koulutuksesta ylemmille koulutusasteille johti lyhyellä aikavälillä eriarvoisuuden kasvuun väestöryhmien välillä ja korkeasti koulutettujen ylitarjontaan kehittymättömillä markkinoilla. Talouskasvuvaikutukset näkyvät vasta tulevaisuudessa. Kirjallisuuskatsaustyyppisen tutkielman tärkeimpinä lähteinä: Azariadis ja Drazen (1990), Judson (1998) ja Pritchett (1996

Ajan rakentuminen Bo Carpelanin romaaneissa Benjamins bok ja Berg

Tutkielmassa käsitellään ajan rakentumista Bo Carpelanin (1926 2011) romaaneissa Benjamins bok (1997) ja Berg (2005). Kyseisissä teoksissa aikatasot minäkertojan vanhuus ja lapsuus vaihtelevat ja limittyvät toisiinsa. Lapsuudenkuvauksesta välittyy vahva, aistivoimainen kokemus, ja muistelu on usein menneisyyden traumoja toistavaa. Kohdeteoksissa nousevat esiin etenkin ajan ja trauman teemat. Tutkielman keskeisin tutkimuskysymys on, miten aika rakentuu Bo Carpelanin romaaneissa Benjamins bok ja Berg. Tämän tutkimuskysymyksen alle asettuvat seuraavat aikaan ja traumaan liittyvät kysymykset: millainen aikarakenne kohdeteoksissa on, miten ajan kulku ja henkilöhahmojen kokemus ajasta kerronnallistetaan ja tematisoidaan, miten trauma kohdeteoksissa syntyy, mitä traumafiktion piirteitä niistä löytyy ja miten trauman käsittely vaikuttaa romaanien aikarakenteeseen? Kaksi tutkimuksen tärkeintä teoriakehystä ovat narratologia ja kirjallisuudentutkimuksen piirissä tehty traumatutkimus. Kerronnanteorian osalta hyödynnetään ja vertaillaan toisiinsa Dorrit Cohnin ja Monika Fludernikin teorioita, jotka jakautuvat edustamaan klassista ja jälkiklassista narratologiaa. Cathy Caruthin ja Anne Whiteheadin tutkimusten avulla kohdeteoksia taas tarkastellaan traumafiktiona. Näiden lisäksi tutkielman läpi kulkee mukana temaattinen näkökulma, minkä osalta käytetään Heta Pyrhösen teeman määrittelyä. Aikaisempi Carpelanin tuotannosta tehty tutkimus toimii tekstianalyysin vertailupohjana ja etenkin Anna Hollstenin tutkimus tarjoaa tukea myös temaattiseen analyysiin. Tutkimuksessa vertaillaan edellä mainittuja teorioita ja suhteutetaan toisiinsa niiden avulla saatuja tuloksia. Tavoitteena on yhtäältä avata uudenlaisia näkökulmia aiempaan Carpelan-tutkimukseen ja toisaalta säilyttää yhteys jo olemassa olevan tutkimuksen luomaan pohjaan. Tutkimuksen keskeisin tulos on se, että Benjamins bokin ja Bergin aikaa määrittelee voimakkaimmin kertovien henkilöhahmojen kokemus. Tämä tulee esille aikamuotojen, aikatasojen ja tempon vaihteluna, assosiatiivisuutena sekä traumaan liittyvien muistojen korostumisena ja toistumisena. Aikarakenne on epäkronologinen ja edestakainen sekä teosten traumafiktiivisistä piirteistä johtuen fragmentaarinen ja toisteinen. Tästä huolimatta teoksiin syntyy koherenssia ja yhtenäisyyttä temaattisella tasolla toistuvien motiivien ja syklisten taustarakenteiden ansiosta. Tutkielmassa tullaan siihen tulokseen, että kohdeteoksista välittyvän kokemuksen rakentuminen on kerrontahetkeen saakka jatkuva prosessi. Näin ollen myös kokemuksen traumaattisuus muotoutuu jälkikäteisesti ja vähitellen siihen muotoonsa, missä se lukijalle välittyy