Sadut Päiväkodissa

Opinnäytetyöni tavoitteena on selvittää yhden rovaniemeläisen päiväkodin työntekijöiden mielipiteitä ja näkemyksiä siitä, mitä satu on. Haluan herättää toimijoita pohtimaan sadun merkitystä lapselle heidän päiväkodissaan. Selvitin myös miten satuja voidaan käyttää päiväkodin toiminnassa ja mitä satuja luettaessa on otettava huomioon. Teoriaosuudessa määrittelen sadun käsitettä ja esittelen erilaisia satuja. Kuvaan myös lapsen kielen kehittymistä, satujen käyttöä varhaiskasvatuksessa sekä sitä, miten sadut on huomioitu varhaiskasvatussuunnitelmassa. Opinnäytetyöni on kvalitatiivinen eli laadullinen tutkimus. Aineisto on kerätty teemahaastattelujen avulla. Teemahaastatteluilla sain runsaan ja monipuolisen aineiston. Aineistossa työntekijät pohtivat mikä merkitys sadulla lapselle on ja miten sitä voitaisiin päiväkodin toiminnassa vielä vahvistaa. Päiväkoti on uusi, minkä vuoksi aika on mennyt arjen toimintojen suunnitteluun ja satujen käytön suunnittelu ja itse toiminta on jäänyt vähäiseksi. Haastatteluissa selvisi kuitenkin, että sadut ovat tärkeä osa päiväkodin ydintoimintaa. Satujen ympärille voidaan rakentaa monipuolista lapsenkehitystä tukevaa toimintaa ja satukirjoja käytetään päivittäin. Opinnäytetyöni herätti työntekijöissä hyviä ajatuksia siitä, miten päiväkodissa voidaan tehdä sadunlukuhetkestä ja toiminnasta lapsille vielä antoisampaa ja rikkaampaa. Satukirjoja käytetään silti jo päivittäin ahkerasti. Keskeisenä johtopäätöksenä opinnäytetyössäni selvisi, että satujen merkitys lapselle on todella suuri. Lapsi ammentaa saduista työkaluja erilaisiin arjen haasteisiin. Sadun avulla viihdytetään, rohkaistaan, lohdutetaan ja opetetaan lasta. Tämä vahvistuu entisestään, kun sadun lukija on sydämellään läsnä sadunlukuhetkessä. Sadut ovat nyt ja tulevaisuudessa tärkeä osa päiväkodin jokapäiväistä toimintaa. Sadut, sadut varhaiskasvatuksessa, satujen merkitys lapsell

Esitutkimus brändi-identiteetistä: tapaus jäänmurtaja Sampo

Kohteiden välinen kilpailu matkailijoista lisääntyy ja muuttuu jatkuvasti yhä haasteellisemmaksi. Tulevaisuudessa matkailijat ovat yhä kokeneempia ja vaativampia. Matkailijoiden tarpeiden tyydyttämiseksi kohteiden tulee jatkossa olla yhä houkuttelevampia, persoonallisempia ja kilpailukykyisempiä. Brändäys on eräs keino lisätä tuotteiden, palveluiden ja kohteiden näkyvyyttä, tunnettuutta ja erottautumista kilpailijoista. Aikaisemmin brändejä tarkasteltiin kuluttajien näkökulmasta. Uusimmat tutkimukset kuitenkin osoittavat, että erityisesti kohdebrändejä on tarkasteltava vuorovaikutuksen ja suhdetoiminnan näkökulmasta. Jäänmurtaja Sampo on maailmalla tunnettu, ainutlaatuinen ja eksoottinen matkakohde. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan tätä erästä Lapin matkailun kärkituotetta, ja asiakkaiden mielikuvia siitä. Tavoitteena on selvittää ja analysoida jäänmurtaja Sampon asiakkaiden näkemyksiä kohteesta, sekä ymmärtää, onko jäänmurtaja Sampo tarpeeksi omaleimainen, vetovoimainen ja kilpailukykyinen kohde, jotta se voisi profiloitua brändiksi. Tutkimuksen empiirinen aineisto kerättiin strukturoitujen kyselylomakkeiden avulla. Empiirisen aineiston järjestelyssä ja tulkinnassa oli tarkoitus hyödyntää SPSS – tilastoohjelmaa. Tästä kuitenkin luovuttiin vastausprosentin jäädessä alhaiseksi. Tutkimuksen avulla kerätystä aineistosta nostettiin lopulta vain esiin muutamia jäänmurtaja Sampon brändi-identiteetin keskeisimpiä elementtejä. Tätä tutkimusta voidaan siten pitää esiselvityksenä, ja sen avulla kerättyä aineistoa voidaan myöhemmin hyödyntää mahdollisessa jatkotutkimuksessa

Differentiation of Murine C2C12 Myoblasts Strongly Reduces the Effects of Myostatin on Intracellular Signaling

Alongside in vivo models, a simpler and more mechanistic approach is required to study the effects of myostatin on skeletal muscle because myostatin is an important negative regulator of muscle size. In this study, myostatin was administered to murine (C2C12) and human (CHQ) myoblasts and myotubes. Canonical and noncanonical signaling downstream to myostatin, related ligands, and their receptor were analyzed. The effects of tumorkines were analyzed after coculture of C2C12 and colon cancer-C26 cells. The effects of myostatin on canonical and noncanonical signaling were strongly reduced in C2C12 cells after differentiation. This may be explained by increased follistatin, an endogenous blocker of myostatin and altered expression of activin receptor ligands. In contrast, CHQ cells were equally responsive to myostatin, and follistatin remained unaltered. Both myostatin administration and the coculture stimulated pathways associated with inflammation, especially in C2C12 cells. In conclusion, the effects of myostatin on intracellular signaling may be cell line- or organism-specific, and C2C12 myotubes seem to be a nonoptimal in vitro model for investigating the effects of myostatin on canonical and noncanonical signaling in skeletal muscle. This may be due to altered expression of activin receptor ligands and their regulators during muscle cell differentiation.Peer reviewe

Retinoic-Acid-Induced Downregulation of the 67 KDa Laminin Receptor Correlates with Reduced Biological Aggressiveness of Human Neuroblastoma Cells

16 pages (217-232), 6 figuresThe authors are indebted to Dr. S. Menard (Milan, Italy) for the gift of the antibody against 37LRP. C. M. R. L. was supported by Programa de Personal Técnico de Apoyo (PTA-2003-02-00207; Ministry of Education and Science, Spain). This work was supported by grants from the Spanish former Ministry of Education and Science and Ministry of Science and Innovation (SAF2003-00311, SAF2006–00647 and SAF2007–60780) and Generalitat Valenciana (GRUPOS 03/15 and ACOMP 09/212) (to D. B.) , and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (RD20-102 to S. N.).Peer reviewe

Xylo-Oligosaccharides in Prevention of Hepatic Steatosis and Adipose Tissue Inflammation: Associating Taxonomic and Metabolomic Patterns in Fecal Microbiomes with Biclustering

We have shown that prebiotic xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) increased beneficial gut microbiota (GM) and prevented high fat diet-induced hepatic steatosis, but the mechanisms associated with these effects are not clear. We studied whether XOS affects adipose tissue inflammation and insulin signaling, and whether the GM and fecal metabolome explain associated patterns. XOS was supplemented or not with high (HFD) or low (LFD) fat diet for 12 weeks in male Wistar rats (n = 10/group). Previously analyzed GM and fecal metabolites were biclustered to reduce data dimensionality and identify interpretable groups of co-occurring genera and metabolites. Based on our findings, biclustering provides a useful algorithmic method for capturing such joint signatures. On the HFD, XOS-supplemented rats showed lower number of adipose tissue crown-like structures, increased phosphorylation of AKT in liver and adipose tissue as well as lower expression of hepatic miRNAs. XOS-supplemented rats had more fecal glycine and less hypoxanthine, isovalerate, branched chain amino acids and aromatic amino acids. Several bacterial genera were associated with the metabolic signatures. In conclusion, the beneficial effects of XOS on hepatic steatosis involved decreased adipose tissue inflammation and likely improved insulin signaling, which were further associated with fecal metabolites and GM

Xylo-Oligosaccharides in Prevention of Hepatic Steatosis and Adipose Tissue Inflammation: Associating Taxonomic and Metabolomic Patterns in Fecal Microbiomes with Biclustering

We have shown that prebiotic xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) increased beneficial gut microbiota (GM) and prevented high fat diet-induced hepatic steatosis, but the mechanisms associated with these effects are not clear. We studied whether XOS affects adipose tissue inflammation and insulin signaling, and whether the GM and fecal metabolome explain associated patterns. XOS was supplemented or not with high (HFD) or low (LFD) fat diet for 12 weeks in male Wistar rats (n = 10/group). Previously analyzed GM and fecal metabolites were biclustered to reduce data dimensionality and identify interpretable groups of co-occurring genera and metabolites. Based on our findings, biclustering provides a useful algorithmic method for capturing such joint signatures. On the HFD, XOS-supplemented rats showed lower number of adipose tissue crown-like structures, increased phosphorylation of AKT in liver and adipose tissue as well as lower expression of hepatic miRNAs. XOS-supplemented rats had more fecal glycine and less hypoxanthine, isovalerate, branched chain amino acids and aromatic amino acids. Several bacterial genera were associated with the metabolic signatures. In conclusion, the beneficial effects of XOS on hepatic steatosis involved decreased adipose tissue inflammation and likely improved insulin signaling, which were further associated with fecal metabolites and GM

Branched-Chain Amino Acid Deprivation Decreases Lipid Oxidation and Lipogenesis in C2C12 Myotubes

Impaired lipid metabolism is a common risk factor underlying several metabolic diseases such as metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) that include valine, leucine and isoleucine have been proven to share a role in lipid metabolism and hence in maintaining metabolic health. We have previously introduced a hypothesis suggesting that BCAA degradation mechanistically connects to lipid oxidation and storage in skeletal muscle. To test our hypothesis, the present study examined the effects of BCAA deprivation and supplementation on lipid oxidation, lipogenesis and lipid droplet characteristics in murine C2C12 myotubes. In addition, the role of myotube contractions on cell metabolism was studied by utilizing in vitro skeletal-muscle-specific exercise-like electrical pulse stimulation (EPS). Our results showed that the deprivation of BCAAs decreased both lipid oxidation and lipogenesis in C2C12 myotubes. BCAA deprivation further diminished the number of lipid droplets in the EPS-treated myotubes. EPS decreased lipid oxidation especially when combined with high BCAA supplementation. Similar to BCAA deprivation, high BCAA supplementation also decreased lipid oxidation. The present results highlight the role of an adequate level of BCAAs in healthy lipid metabolism.Peer reviewe

Blocking Activin Receptor Ligands Is Not Sufficient to Rescue Cancer-Associated Gut Microbiota—A Role for Gut Microbial Flagellin in Colorectal Cancer and Cachexia?

Colorectal cancer (CRC) and cachexia are associated with the gut microbiota and microbial surface molecules. We characterized the CRC-associated microbiota and investigated whether cachexia affects the microbiota composition. Further, we examined the possible relationship between the microbial surface molecule flagellin and CRC. CRC cells (C26) were inoculated into mice. Activin receptor (ACVR) ligands were blocked, either before tumor formation or before and after, to increase muscle mass and prevent muscle loss. The effects of flagellin on C26-cells were studied in vitro. The occurrence of similar phenomena were studied in murine and human tumors. Cancer modulated the gut microbiota without consistent effects of blocking the ACVR ligands. However, continued treatment for muscle loss modified the association between microbiota and weight loss. Several abundant microbial taxa in cancer were flagellated. Exposure of C26-cells to flagellin increased IL6 and CCL2/MCP-1 mRNA and IL6 excretion. Murine C26 tumors expressed more IL6 and CCL2/MCP-1 mRNA than C26-cells, and human CRC tumors expressed more CCL2/MCP-1 than healthy colon sites. Additionally, flagellin decreased caspase-1 activity and the production of reactive oxygen species, and increased cytotoxicity in C26-cells. Conditioned media from flagellin-treated C26-cells deteriorated C2C12-myotubes and decreased their number. In conclusion, cancer increased flagellated microbes that may promote CRC survival and cachexia by inducing inflammatory proteins such as MCP-1. Cancer-associated gut microbiota could not be rescued by blocking ACVR ligands

Blocking Activin Receptor Ligands Is Not Sufficient to Rescue Cancer-Associated Gut Microbiota—A Role for Gut Microbial Flagellin in Colorectal Cancer and Cachexia?

Colorectal cancer (CRC) and cachexia are associated with the gut microbiota and microbial surface molecules. We characterized the CRC-associated microbiota and investigated whether cachexia affects the microbiota composition. Further, we examined the possible relationship between the microbial surface molecule flagellin and CRC. CRC cells (C26) were inoculated into mice. Activin receptor (ACVR) ligands were blocked, either before tumor formation or before and after, to increase muscle mass and prevent muscle loss. The effects of flagellin on C26-cells were studied in vitro. The occurrence of similar phenomena were studied in murine and human tumors. Cancer modulated the gut microbiota without consistent effects of blocking the ACVR ligands. However, continued treatment for muscle loss modified the association between microbiota and weight loss. Several abundant microbial taxa in cancer were flagellated. Exposure of C26-cells to flagellin increased IL6 and CCL2/MCP-1 mRNA and IL6 excretion. Murine C26 tumors expressed more IL6 and CCL2/MCP-1 mRNA than C26-cells, and human CRC tumors expressed more CCL2/MCP-1 than healthy colon sites. Additionally, flagellin decreased caspase-1 activity and the production of reactive oxygen species, and increased cytotoxicity in C26-cells. Conditioned media from flagellin-treated C26-cells deteriorated C2C12-myotubes and decreased their number. In conclusion, cancer increased flagellated microbes that may promote CRC survival and cachexia by inducing inflammatory proteins such as MCP-1. Cancer-associated gut microbiota could not be rescued by blocking ACVR ligands