Lapset haluavat selvittää: ”Millaista on olla koira?”:monilajinen etnografinen tutkimus koirakerhosta

Tiivistelmä. Ihmistieteellisessä tutkimuksessa lapset ja eläimet ovat olleet marginaalissa ja objektin asemassa. Tämän pro gradu- tutkielman kontekstina toimi Harrastamisen Suomen malli -hankkeeseen kuuluva lasten koirakerho. Koira-avusteisuutta käytetään vapaa-ajan toimintojen lisäksi terapioissa, kasvatuksessa ja koulutuksessa. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää lasten mielenkiinnon pohjalta syntynyttä kysymystä, millaista on olla koira. Työssä havainnoitiin, millaisia koiruuden ulottuvuuksia ilmeni sekä miten lasten ja koirien välille rakentui ainutlaatuisia suhteita. Taustalla on ajatus posthumanismista, jossa pyritään purkamaan ihmiskeskeisyyttä ja ottamaan tutkimukseen mukaan eläimet täysivertaisina. Opinnäytetyö on lähellä eläintiedettä. Tutkielma toteutettiin monilajisena etnografisena tutkimuksena lukuvuoden 2021–2022 aikana. Aineistonkeruumenetelmänä käytettiin osallistuvaa havainnointia. Aineisto koostuu kenttäpäiväkirjasta, litteroiduista keskusteluista sekä vapaamuotoisesta etnografisesta haastattelusta. Analyysi toteutettiin sisällöllisen analyysin keinoin. Aineistoa järjesteltiin erilaisten teemojen alle, joita tarkasteltiin tutkimuskysymysten kautta. Löydöksien perusteella voidaan todeta koiruuteen liittyvän erityisesti aistit, tunteet, oppiminen ja elekieli. Koirien ja lasten suhteen rakentuminen koirakerhossa vaati molemminpuolista ymmärrystä ja luottamusta. Tutkimuksessa tuli esille erityisesti kosketuksen merkitys. Lajien välinen suhde rakentui myös spontaaneissa tilanteissa, kuten tervehtimisen ja hyvästelemisen yhteydessä. Leikin ja hauskanpidon osuus lasten ja koirien elämässä on suuri. Kohtaamisiin kuuluvat myös väärinymmärrykset. Lasten ja koirien välisessä suhteessa ennen kaikkea toiminnallisuus rakensi luottamusta ja yhteistä tekemistä. Monilajisen etnografisen tutkimuksen tarkoituksena ei ole tuottaa laajoja, pitäviä ja yleistettäviä tuloksia, vaan tarkasti kuvailla koirakerhon arkea. Pyrkimyksenä on, että tämä työ herättää tarkastelemaan aidosti eläimen osuutta eläinavusteisessa työskentelyssä

Weighted Shortest Common Supersequence problem revisited

A weighted string, also known as a position weight matrix, is a sequence of probability distributions over some alphabet. We revisit the Weighted Shortest Common Supersequence (WSCS) problem, introduced by Amir et al. [SPIRE 2011], that is, the SCS problem on weighted strings. In the WSCS problem, we are given two weighted strings (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) and a threshold (Formula presented) on probability, and we are asked to compute the shortest (standard) string S such that both (Formula presented) and (Formula presented) match subsequences of S (not necessarily the same

Charge separation relative to the reaction plane in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}= 2.76 TeV

Measurements of charge dependent azimuthal correlations with the ALICE detector at the LHC are reported for Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV. Two- and three-particle charge-dependent azimuthal correlations in the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta| < 0.8$ are presented as a function of the collision centrality, particle separation in pseudo-rapidity, and transverse momentum. A clear signal compatible with a charge-dependent separation relative to the reaction plane is observed, which shows little or no collision energy dependence when compared to measurements at RHIC energies. This provides a new insight for understanding the nature of the charge dependent azimuthal correlations observed at RHIC and LHC energies.Comment: 12 pages, 3 captioned figures, authors from page 2 to 6, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/286

A note on comonotonicity and positivity of the control components of decoupled quadratic FBSDE

In this small note we are concerned with the solution of Forward-Backward Stochastic Differential Equations (FBSDE) with drivers that grow quadratically in the control component (quadratic growth FBSDE or qgFBSDE). The main theorem is a comparison result that allows comparing componentwise the signs of the control processes of two different qgFBSDE. As a byproduct one obtains conditions that allow establishing the positivity of the control process.Comment: accepted for publicatio

Transverse sphericity of primary charged particles in minimum bias proton-proton collisions at s=0.9\sqrt{s}=0.9, 2.76 and 7 TeV

Measurements of the sphericity of primary charged particles in minimum bias proton--proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=0.9$, 2.76 and 7 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC are presented. The observable is linearized to be collinear safe and is measured in the plane perpendicular to the beam direction using primary charged tracks with $p_{\rm T}\geq0.5$ GeV/c in $|\eta|\leq0.8$. The mean sphericity as a function of the charged particle multiplicity at mid-rapidity ($N_{\rm ch}$) is reported for events with different $p_{\rm T}$ scales ("soft" and "hard") defined by the transverse momentum of the leading particle. In addition, the mean charged particle transverse momentum versus multiplicity is presented for the different event classes, and the sphericity distributions in bins of multiplicity are presented. The data are compared with calculations of standard Monte Carlo event generators. The transverse sphericity is found to grow with multiplicity at all collision energies, with a steeper rise at low $N_{\rm ch}$, whereas the event generators show the opposite tendency. The combined study of the sphericity and the mean $p_{\rm T}$ with multiplicity indicates that most of the tested event generators produce events with higher multiplicity by generating more back-to-back jets resulting in decreased sphericity (and isotropy). The PYTHIA6 generator with tune PERUGIA-2011 exhibits a noticeable improvement in describing the data, compared to the other tested generators.Comment: 21 pages, 9 captioned figures, 3 tables, authors from page 16, published version, figures from http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/308

Use of CNS medications and cognitive decline in the aged: a longitudinal population-based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies have found associations between the use of central nervous system medication and the risk of cognitive decline in the aged. Our aim was to assess whether the use of a single central nervous system (CNS) medication and, on the other hand, the combined use of multiple CNS medications over time are related to the risk of cognitive decline in an older (≥ 65 yrs) population that is cognitively intact at baseline.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a longitudinal population-based study of cognitively intact older adults. The participants were 65 years old or older and had Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) sum scores of 24 points or higher. The study included a 7.6-year follow-up. The use of benzodiazepines and related drugs (BZDs), antipsychotics (APs), antidepressants (ADs), opioids (Ops), anticholinergics (AChs) and antiepileptics (AEs) was determined at baseline and after a 7.6-years of the follow-up period. Cognitive functioning was used as an outcome variable measured with MMSE at baseline and at the mean follow-up of 7.6 years. Control variables were adjusted with analyses of covariance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After adjusting for control variables, the use of Ops and the concomitant use of Ops and BZDs as well as the use of Ops and any CNS medication were associated with cognitive decline. The use of AChs was associated with decline in cognitive functioning only in men.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Of all the CNS medications analyzed in this study, the use of Ops may have the greatest effect on cognitive functioning in the ageing population. Due to small sample sizes these findings cannot be generalized to the unselected ageing population. More studies are needed concerning the long-term use of CNS medications, especially their concomitant use, and their potential cognitive effects.</p