Teacher satisfaction at the educational placement of students with special educational needs

This study conducted a large-scale survey to investigate the satisfaction of Finnish primary school teachers toward the current educational placement of their students with special educational needs (SEN). Teachers were asked to recommend the most suitable educational placement for each of their SEN students from a pool of six alternatives: a mainstream classroom, part-time special education, a special classroom in the mainstream school, a special school, a state special school, or an institution. Data were obtained from 980 students representing 68 schools. The results showed that, in the majority of cases, teachers recommended a different level to the current level of placement for their SEN students. Teachers in the mainstream classrooms mostly recommended special classrooms, while teachers of the special education classrooms frequently recommended special schools, and teachers of the special schools often recommended state special schools or special education classrooms. A less restrictive environment was recommended for 20% and a more restrictive environment was recommended for 33% of the students. The results are interpreted in terms of organizational selection

Comparison of and Habituation to Four Common Methods of Handling and Lifting of Rats with Cardiovascular Telemetry

Daily routines in the animal house may influence the results and interpretation of experiments. Handling  is one such routine since it is necessary to immobilize animals for even minor procedures. This study  assesses the influence of four common handling and lifting methods on cardiovascular parameters (blood  pressure, heart rate) and locomotor activity of Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats. Seven rats were implanted  with radio-telemetry transmitters. After a recovery period, they were housed in groups of three with two  intact rats. Each instrumented rat was subjected to the four methods of handling and lifting (scruff, encircling,  plastic cone, lifting and holding by the tail on the arm) and, the same method was repeated during  three consecutive weekdays. The method was changed every second week in a rotational order. Handling  increased cardiovascular parameters for about 30 min, these changes being statistically significant (p <  0.05) as compared to control conditions immediately before the procedure. With holding by the scruff, the  response duration decreased significantly from day one to days two and three, indicative of habituation to  this procedure. Rats did not habituate to the cone handling, nor to encircling or lifting and holding by the  tail; with the restraint cone being apparently the most disturbing. In conclusion, we have found that there  are measurable differences in the impact of various handling and lifting methods and the correct choice  permits refinement (one of the “Three Rs” of animal usage) of the procedure. Cardiovascular telemetry  appears to be a useful method when used for refining procedures on animals, such as handling and lifting.

Leisure-time physical activity and DNA methylation agea twin study

BackgroundEpigenetic clocks may increase our understanding on human aging and how genetic and environmental factors regulate an individual aging process. One of the most promising clocks is Horvath's DNA methylation (DNAm) age. Age acceleration, i.e., discrepancy between DNAm age and chronological age, tells us whether the person is biologically young or old compared to his/her chronological age. Several environmental and lifestyle factors have been shown to affect life span. We investigated genetic and environmental predictors of DNAm age in young and older monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins with a focus on leisure time physical activity.ResultsQuantitative genetic modeling revealed that the relative contribution of non-shared environmental factors was larger among older compared with younger twin pairs [47% (95% CI 35, 63) vs. 26% (95% CI: 19, 35), pPeer reviewe

Clinical and nutritional biomarkers - tools to verify effects of personal APOE gene risk status information and health guidance intervention

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Vanhuksen gerastenia - tunnista riskipotilas

•Gerastenia on useiden elinjärjestelmien toiminnan heikentymisestä ja reservien hiipumisesta aiheutuva oireyhtymä, joka nivoutuu osin päällekkäin monisairastavuuden ja toimintakyvyn laskun kanssa. •Pienikin stressitekijä, kuten infektio tai uusi lääke, voi romahduttaa haurastuneen elimistön tasapainon ja johtaa toimintakyvyn laskuun, deliriumiin, kaatumisiin, sairaalahoitoon ja itsenäisyyden menetykseen. •Gerastenia voidaan määritellä usealla eri tavalla, joista tunnetuimmat ovat fenotyyppimalli ja toiminnan vajeista sekä sairauksista laskettuun Frailty-indeksiin perustuva malli. •Gerastenian varhainen tunnistaminen sekä kokonaisvaltainen geriatrinen arviointi ja yksilöllinen hoito¬suunnitelma auttavat estämään toimintakyvyn laskua entisestään.Peer reviewe

Incidence and long-term outcomes of surgically treated childhood hepatic malignancies in Finland

Aim To analyse incidence, treatment and outcomes of paediatric liver malignancies in Finland during 1987-2017. Methods Medical records and national cancer registry data of 47 children with liver malignancies were reviewed. Survival was calculated with the Kaplan-Meier method. Results During follow-up, liver malignancy incidence remained stable at 1.1:10(6). Altogether, 42 patients with hepatoblastoma (n = 24), hepatocellular carcinoma (n = 11) and undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma (n = 7) underwent surgery at median age 4.6 (interquartile range, 2.0-9.6) years and were followed up for 13 (7.0-19) years. Cumulative 5-year survival was 86% for hepatoblastoma, 41% for hepatocellular carcinoma and 67% for undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma. Five-year survival was decreased among hepatoblastoma patients aged >= 2.4 years (73% versus 100%, P = .040), with PRETreatment EXTent of disease IV (PRETEXT, 60% vs 100%, P = .004), and with recurrent disease (67% vs 88%, P = .029). Recurrent/residual disease associated with decreased 5-year survival in hepatocellular carcinoma (0% vs 83%, P = .028). Survival was similar among 19 transplanted and 23 resected patients. In total, 14 deaths occurred either for the underlying malignancy (n = 8), adverse effects of chemotherapy (n = 5) or unrelated reasons (n = 1). Conclusion Outcomes for PRETEXT I-III hepatoblastoma and un-metastasized hepatocellular carcinoma were encouraging. Adverse effects of chemotherapy significantly contributed to mortality.Peer reviewe

Leisure-time physical activity and DNA methylation agea twin study

BackgroundEpigenetic clocks may increase our understanding on human aging and how genetic and environmental factors regulate an individual aging process. One of the most promising clocks is Horvath's DNA methylation (DNAm) age. Age acceleration, i.e., discrepancy between DNAm age and chronological age, tells us whether the person is biologically young or old compared to his/her chronological age. Several environmental and lifestyle factors have been shown to affect life span. We investigated genetic and environmental predictors of DNAm age in young and older monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins with a focus on leisure time physical activity.ResultsQuantitative genetic modeling revealed that the relative contribution of non-shared environmental factors was larger among older compared with younger twin pairs [47% (95% CI 35, 63) vs. 26% (95% CI: 19, 35), p<0.001]. Correspondingly, genetic variation accounted for less of the variance in older [53% (95% CI 37, 65)] compared with younger pairs [74% (95% CI 65, 82)].We tested the hypothesis that leisure time physical activity is one of the non-shared environmental factors that affect epigenetic aging. A co-twin control analysis with older same-sex twin pairs (seven MZ and nine DZ pairs, mean age 60.4years) who had persistent discordance in physical activity for 32years according to reported/interviewed physical-activity data showed no differences among active and inactive co-twins, DNAm age being 60.7 vs. 61.8years, respectively [between-group mean-difference: -1.17 (95%CI -3.43,1.10)]. Results from the younger cohort of twins supported findings that LTPA is not associated with DNAm age acceleration.ConclusionsIn older subjects, a larger amount of variance in DNAm age acceleration was explained by non-shared environmental factors compared to young individuals. However, leisure time physical activity during adult years has at most a minor effect on DNAm age acceleration. This is consistent with recent findings that long-term leisure time physical activity in adulthood has little effect on mortality after controlling for genetic factors

Association of Sit-to-Stand Capacity and Free-Living Performance Using Thigh-Worn Accelerometers among 60- to 90-Yr-Old Adults

Purpose Five times sit-to-stand (STS) test is commonly used as a clinical assessment of lower-extremity functional ability, but its association with free-living performance has not been studied. Therefore, we investigated the association between laboratory-based STS capacity and free-living STS performance using accelerometry. The results were stratified according to age and functional ability groups. Methods This cross-sectional study included 497 participants (63% women) 60-90 yr old from three independent studies. A thigh-worn triaxial accelerometer was used to estimate angular velocity in maximal laboratory-based STS capacity and in free-living STS transitions over 3-7 d of continuous monitoring. Functional ability was assessed with short physical performance battery. Results Laboratory-based STS capacity was moderately associated with the free-living mean and maximal STS performance (r = 0.52-0.65, P &lt; 0.01). Angular velocity was lower in older compared with younger and in low- versus high-functioning groups, in both capacity and free-living STS variables (all P &lt; 0.05). Overall, angular velocity was higher in capacity compared with free-living STS performance. The STS reserve (test capacity - free-living maximal performance) was larger in younger and in high-functioning groups compared with older and low-functioning groups (all P &lt; 0.05). Conclusions Laboratory-based STS capacity and free-living performance were found to be associated. However, capacity and performance are not interchangeable but rather provide complementary information. Older and low-functioning individuals seemed to perform free-living STS movements at a higher percentage of their maximal capacity compared with younger and high-functioning individuals. Therefore, we postulate that low capacity may limit free-living performance.</p

Ympäristönsuojelulain toimivuus- ja vaikuttavuusarviointi

Hankkeessa toteutettiin ympäristönsuojelulain (527/2014) toimivuus- ja vaikuttavuusarvioin-ti, jossa selvitettiin kyselyillä ja haastatteluilla eri tahojen näkemyksiä lain uudistuksista. Selvityksen perusteella myönteisinä asioina on koettu muun muassa lupahakemusten laatua ja tiedonkulkua parantaneet ennakkotapaamiset, turvetuotannon sijoituspaikan luonnonar-vojen parempi huomioiminen lupaharkinnassa, valvonnan perustellumpi kohdistuminen ja yhdenmukaistuminen riskiperusteisuuden ja maksullisuuden myötä sekä mahdollisuus maa-aines- ja ympäristöluvan yhteiskäsittelyyn. Myös lupamääräysten tarkistamismenettelystä luopuminen on otettu pääasiassa myönteisesti vastaan erityisesti kunnissa ja toiminnanhar-joittajien keskuudessa. Menettelyt ovat uudistusten myötä osin nopeutuneet. Selvityksestä käy ilmi, että ympäristönsuojelun tason ylläpitäminen nähdään erittäin tärkeänä menettelyitä kehitettäessä. Sama koskee myös osallistumis- ja vaikuttamis-mahdollisuuksia sekä niihin liittyvää haitankärsijöiden asemaa. Nämä näkökohdat tulee huomioida entistäkin selkeämmin jatkossa ympäristönsuojelulain¬säädäntöä kehitettäessä. Muita kehitettäviä asioita ovat muun muassa lupamääräysten tarkistamis¬menettelyn palauttaminen tarkemmin määriteltävissä tapauksissa, jälkivalvonta¬menettelyiden tukeminen palvelemaan paremmin haitankärsijöitä sekä valvontamaksujen tarkistaminen.Tämä julkaisu on toteutettu osana valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimussuunnitelman toimeenpanoa.(tietokayttoon.fi) Julkaisun sisällöstä vastaavat tiedon tuottajat, eikä tekstisisältö välttämättä edusta valtioneuvoston näkemystä