Musiikin vaikutukset empatiaan:tutkimus musiikin yhteydestä lasten empatian ilmenemiseen

Tiivistelmä. Pro gradu -tutkielmani tarkastelee lyhytkestoisen musiikillisen vuorovaikutuksen ja empatian kokemisen välistä yhteyttä lapsilla. Musiikin ja empatian yhteys on havaittu aikaisemmissa tutkimuksissa ja erityisesti musiikillisen vuorovaikutuksen on havaittu lisäävän lasten empatiaa. Empatian puute on viime aikoina näkynyt esimerkiksi kouluväkivallan raaistumisena, minkä vuoksi on tärkeää löytää erilaisia keinoja vahvistaa lasten empatiaa. Tämän tutkielman yhtenä tavoitteena on kokeilla käytännössä musiikillisen vuorovaikutuksen ja empatian osoittamisen välistä yhteyttä. Tutkimuskysymykseni on: Onko musiikkituokiolla yhteys suuremman empatian osoittamiseen kyselylomakkeen vastauksissa? Lisäksi tutkimukseni alatutkimuskysymys on: Miten empatia ilmenee kyselylomakkeen vastauksissa? Tutkimus on mixed methods -lähestymistapaa hyödyntävä poikittaistutkimus, jonka kokeellinen asetelma on esi- tai puolikokeellinen. Tutkimuksen koekäsittelynä toimii lyhytkestoinen musiikkituokio ja tutkimuksen aineisto koostuu empatiaa mittaavan tarinallisen kyselylomakkeen vastauksista. Tutkimukseen osallistui yhteensä 30 (N=30) perusopetuksen neljäsluokkalaista, joista koeryhmään kuului 13 (n=13) ja kontrolliryhmään 17 (n=17) oppilasta. Aineisto on analysoitu kuvailevan tilastollisen analyysin sekä teoriaohjaavan sisällönanalyysin keinoin. Tulosten mukaan lyhytkestoinen musiikillinen vuorovaikutus ei johtanut koeryhmän kohdalla suuremman empatian osoittamiseen kyselylomakkeen vastauksissa kontrolliryhmään verrattuna. Syynä tähän voivat olla pieni otoskoko ja sen vahvistamat yksilölliset erot, jotka heikentävät myös tutkimukseni luotettavuutta, sekä tarinallisuus kyselylomakkeen käytössä. Kyselylomake onnistui kuitenkin mittaamaan empatiaa ja sen eri lajeja. Empatian kokeminen ilmeni vastauksissa affektiivisena ja kognitiivisena empatiana sekä haluna prososiaaliseen toimintaan. Koettujen tunnetilojen ja prososiaalisen toiminnan perusteluissa ilmenivät myös empatian eri lajit. Tutkimus tuo esiin lisätutkimuksen tarpeen aiheesta

Student participatory role profiles in collaborative science learning: Relation of within-group configurations of role profiles and achievement

During collaborative learning, students tend to spontaneously enact different participatory roles that may significantly affect collaborative learning processes. Only few empirical studies to date have investigated groups as systems based on emerging roles and role profiles of the participating students, and how emerging role profile configurations affect achievement. This exploration of students' self-adopted roles investigated the relationship between role profile configurations and achievement. The statistically driven identification of role profiles was based on fine-grained observations of student groups' interactions in two distinct collaborative science-learning settings. While higher achieving groups typically exhibited versatile science-oriented role profile configurations, opinion-based configurations prevailed in lower achieving groups. Although role profiles with a social orientation were rare, a student with a distracting profile can have a significant influence on group work. Consolidated by in-depth case examples, the findings highlight the importance of understanding how collaborating groups' emergent role profiles dynamically interact during collaborative learning and how different role profile configurations relate to achievement

SNAP-tagged Chikungunya Virus Replicons Improve Visualisation of Non-Structural Protein 3 by Fluorescence Microscopy

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a mosquito-borne alphavirus, causes febrile disease, muscle and joint pain, which can become chronic in some individuals. The non-structural protein 3 (nsP3) plays essential roles during infection, but a complete understanding of its function is lacking. Here we used a microscopy-based approach to image CHIKV nsP3 inside human cells. The SNAP system consists of a self-labelling enzyme tag, which catalyses the covalent linking of exogenously supplemented synthetic ligands. Genetic insertion of this tag resulted in viable replicons and specific labelling while preserving the effect of nsP3 on stress granule responses and co-localisation with GTPase Activating Protein (SH3 domain) Binding Proteins (G3BPs). With sub-diffraction, three-dimensional, optical imaging, we visualised nsP3-positive structures with variable density and morphology, including high-density rod-like structures, large spherical granules, and small, low-density structures. Next, we confirmed the utility of the SNAP tag for studying protein turnover by pulse-chase labelling. We also revealed an association of nsP3 with cellular lipid droplets and examined the spatial relationships between nsP3 and the non-structural protein 1 (nsP1). Together, our study provides a sensitive, specific, and versatile system for fundamental research into the individual functions of a viral non-structural protein during infection with a medically important arthropod-borne virus (arbovirus)

Relationship of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms with Falls in Alzheimer's Disease : Does Exercise Modify the Risk?

Peer reviewe

Monetary value of informal caregiving in dementia from a societal perspective

Peer reviewe

Effect of Exercise on Drug-Related Falls Among Persons with Alzheimer's Disease : A Secondary Analysis of the FINALEX Study

Introduction No study has investigated how exercise modifies the effect of fall-related drugs (FRDs) on falls among people with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Objective The aim of this study was to investigate how exercise intervention and FRDs interact with fall risk among patients with AD. Methods In the FINALEX trial, community-dwelling persons with AD received either home-based or group-based exercise twice weekly for 1 year (n = 129); the control group received normal care (n = 65). The number of falls was based on spouses' fall diaries. We examined the incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for falls among both non-users and users of various FRDs (antihypertensives, psychotropics, drugs with anticholinergic properties [DAPs]) in both control and combined intervention groups. Results Between the intervention and control groups, there was no difference in the number of falls among those without antihypertensives or psychotropics. In the intervention group taking antihypertensives, the IRR was 0.5 falls/person-year (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.4-0.6), while in the control group, the IRR was 1.5 falls/person-year (95% CI 1.2-1.8) [p <0.001 for group, p = 0.067 for medication, p <0.001 for interaction]. Among patients using psychotropics, the intervention group had an IRR of 0.7 falls/person-year (95% CI 0.6-0.9), while the control group had an IRR of 2.0 falls/person-year (95% CI 1.6-2.5) [p <0.001 for group, p = 0.071 for medication, p <0.001 for interaction]. There was a significant difference in falls between the intervention and control groups not using DAPs (0.6, 95% CI 0.5-0.7; 1.2, 95% CI 1.0-1.4), and between the intervention and control groups using DAPs (1.1, 95% CI 0.8-1.3; 1.5, 95% CI 1.0-2.1) [p <0.001 for group, p = 0.014 for medication, p = 0.97 for interaction]. Conclusion Exercise has the potential to decrease the risk for falls among people with AD using antihypertensives and psychotropics.Peer reviewe

How Do Community-Dwelling Persons with Alzheimer Disease Fall? Falls in the FINALEX Study

Peer reviewe

Epigenetic drug screening identifies enzyme inhibitors A-196 and TMP-269 as novel regulators of sprouting angiogenesis

Epigenetic therapy has gained interest in treating cardiovascular diseases, but preclinical studies often encounter challenges with cell-type-specific effects or batch-to-batch variation, which have limited identification of novel drug candidates targeting angiogenesis. To address these limitations and improve the reproducibility of epigenetic drug screening, we redesigned a 3D in vitro fibrin bead assay to utilize immortalized human aortic endothelial cells (TeloHAECs) and screened a focused compound library with 105 agents. Compared to the established model using primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells, TeloHAECs needed a higher-density fibrin gel for optimal sprouting, successfully forming sprouts under both normoxic and hypoxic cell culture conditions. We identified two epigenetic enzyme inhibitors as novel regulators of sprouting angiogenesis: A196, a selective SUV4-20H1/H2 inhibitor, demonstrated pro-angiogenic effects through increased H4K20me1 levels and upregulation of cell cycle associated genes, including MCM2 and CDK4. In contrast TMP-269, a selective class IIa HDAC inhibitor, exhibited anti-angiogenic effects by downregulating angiogenesis-related proteins and upregulating pro-inflammatory signaling. These findings highlight the suitability of the modified TeloHAEC fibrin bead assay for drug screening purposes and reveal both pro-angiogenic and anti-angiogenic drug candidates with therapeutic potential

Early mathematical skill profiles of prematurely and full-term born children

Preterm birth is associated with low mathematical skills in children. This study on five-year-old Finnish children investigated whether mathematical skill profiles would differ between prematurely and full-term born children and how such profiles and other cognitive skills would be related. Mathematical skills included digit knowledge, spontaneous focusing on numerosity, arithmetic, counting and geometric skills. The investigated cognitive skills were phonological processing, working memory, instruction comprehension, speeded naming, inhibition and visuomotor skills. The participants were 119 preterm children with birth weight <1501 g and 100 full-term born children with normal birth weight. The results of latent profile analyses showed that preterm and full term born children differed in both number and shape of latent mathematical skill profiles,indicating quantitative and qualitative disparities. After controlling for birth weight or gestational age, maternal education, and other cognitive skills phonological processing, visuospatial working memory and speeded naming were uniquely associated with prematurely born children's five mathematical profiles. In full-term born children, only verbal working memory was related to their four mathematical profiles. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved