Lapsuudentutkimus haastaa muutoksiin varhaiskasvatuksen käytännöt.

Kirjallisuusarvostel

Elisabeth Alander, Aukusti Salo ja suomalaisen lastentarhan idea

In the 1920´ the question of kindergartens was lively discussed in the Finnish teachers' journals. It was treated from social and educational viewpoints demanding that the kindergartens should be included in the public educational system. The demand of director Aukusti Salo was justified with the claim that the kindergarten and school belonged to the same educational category. Elisabeth Alander (1859–1940), one of the grand pioneers of the Finnish kindergarten pedagogy resisted the demand. In her writings she presented on interpretation from different trends of the Froebelian tradition. She did not understand the unifying of schools and kindergartens. In this article the above mentioned education political situation is investigated in the light of the journal Alkuopetus. An attempt was made to establish the journal Alkuopetus as a common discussion forum to the lower elementary school teachers and kindergarten teachers. In the analysis of the texts the subject of interest is particularly the education political articles which Elisabeth Alander has written as the pioneer of kindergarten work and the director of the kindergarten teacher education.Itsenäistymisen jälkeisinä vuosina käytiin vilkasta keskustelua lastentarhasta ja lastentarhan paikasta uudistuvassa suomalaisessa koulutusjärjestelmässä. Lastentarhan periaatteiden, tarkoituksen ja toimintatapojen puntarointi tihentyi vuosina 19201922 Alkuopetus-lehdessä. Moniosaisissa kirjoituksissa Elisabeth Alander ja Aukusti Salo esittivät omat tulkintansa lastentarhan ideasta. Kuinka nämä tulkinnat erosivat toisistaan

Oral Health Behaviour of Nine-Year-Old Children and Their Parents in Sarajevo

The oral health situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is among the worst in Europe. We investigated the oral health behaviour of primary schoolchildren and their parents in Sarajevo. This was an anonymous cross-sectional survey among third-grade schoolchildren and their parents’ oral health habits in Canton Sarajevo. Cluster random sampling yielded a representative sample from all the public schools in Canton Sarajevo in 2019. The survey targeted a total of 441 children and 365 parents. Two thirds (66.5%) of the children reported brushing their teeth twice daily, and almost half of them failed to use fluoride toothpaste daily. Girls brushed their teeth significantly more often than did the boys (74% vs. 58%, p = 0.004). Children living in residential areas of middle and high socioeconomic status (SES) reported better oral health habits than did those living in areas of low SES. Our study showed that Sarajevo children’s oral health habits were poor. One-third of the nine-year-olds failed to brush their teeth according to recommendations, and almost half of them failed to use fluoride toothpaste daily. Improving the children’s oral health in the future will urgently require national oral health promotion and prevention programmes.publishedVersio

Traumatic Dental Injuries, Treatment and Complications in Children and Adolescents: A Register-Based Study

Objective Traumatic dental injury (TDI) is a common dental concern among children worldwide. We performed a retrospective patient register study among children under 18 years to investigate TDIs with respect to causes, treatment, and complications. Materials and Methods  We collected information on TDIs from the original patient records of 407 child patients visiting dental clinic of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania. We analyzed all child patients’ (n = 407) background, cause, type of TDI, treatment, complications, and time elapsed from injury to visit to the dentist. Statistical Analysis The χ 2-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests served in the statistical analyses. Results A total of 579 TDI cases occurred during 2010 to 2016. Lateral luxation (19.8%) and intrusion (14.8%) occurred more often in the primary than the permanent dentition (p < 0.05). The most common cause of TDI was falling (56%). Avulsion occurred in approximately 10% of cases. Follow-up (44.5%) and tooth extraction (48.3%) were the most frequent treatments in the primary and splinting (25.3%) in the permanent teeth. Pulp necrosis was the most frequent complication in primary (92%) and permanent (54%) dentition. About 1% of the patients obtained dental care during the first hour after injury. Conclusion The most frequent TDIs included lateral luxation in primary teeth and enamel-dentine fractures in permanent teeth. We observed a delay in patients obtaining emergency dental care.publishedVersio

Hypothesis : Chemical activity regulates and coordinates the processes maintaining glycerophospholipid homeostasis in mammalian cells

Mammalian cells maintain the complex glycerophospholipid (GPL) class compositions of their various membranes within close limits because this is essential to their well-being or viability. Surprisingly, however, it is still not understood how those compositions are maintained except that GPL synthesis and degradation are closely coordinated. Here, we hypothesize that abrupt changes in the chemical activity of the individual GPL classes coordinate synthesis and degradation as well other the homeostatic processes. We have previously proposed that only a limited number of “allowed” or “optimal” GPL class compositions exist in cellular membranes because those compositions are energetically more favorable than others, that is, they represent local free energy minima (Somerharju et al 2009, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1788, 12-23). This model, however, could not satisfactorily explain how the “optimal” compositions are sensed by the key homeostatic enzymes, that is, rate-limiting synthetizing enzymes and homeostatic phospholipases. We now hypothesize that when the mole fraction of a GPL class exceeds an optimal value, its chemical activity abruptly increases which (a) increases its propensity to efflux from the membrane thus making it susceptible for hydrolysis by homeostatic phospholipases; (b) increases its potency to inhibit its own biosynthesis via a feedback mechanism; (c) enhances its conversion to another glycerophospholipid class via a novel process termed “head group remodeling” or (d) enhances its translocation to other subcellular membranes. In summary, abrupt change in the chemical activity of the individual GPL classes is proposed to regulate and coordinate those four processes maintaining GPL class homeostasis in mammalian cells.Peer reviewe

Challenges experienced in the dental care of persons with special needs: a qualitative study among health professionals and caregivers

Background: This study aimed to explore the challenges experienced in dental health care by professionals and caregivers of persons with special needs in Trinidad and Tobago. This research presented results from the first qualitative study which gained insight into the service component of dental care for people with special needs in this country. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted between March and June 2021. Recruitment of participants used both purposive and snowball sampling. A semi-structured interview schedule was used in the interviews of dentists, (a dental assistant), physicians and caregivers of people with special needs. Narrative inquiry was used in data analysis. The transcripts were individually coded and a follow-up peer debriefing session to cross reference responses and increase the validity of the analysis was performed. Results: Barriers related to the provision of dental care included readiness of health care professionals, the level of specialized care and the resources required for patient treatment. Caregivers encountered barriers such as cost and lack of accessible dental care for persons with special needs. Possible solutions were education of key stakeholders, policy intervention, advocacy and prevention strategies. Conclusions: Caregivers and allied health care professions experience multiple barriers when treating patients with special needs. Study participants indicated a need change in the provision and access of dental services for people with special needs. Education of healthcare professionals, improved social policies and health promotion is warranted.publishedVersio