Elämyksellinen ja pelilähtöinen oppiminen koulun ulkopuolisissa oppimisympäristöissä:maantietoaiheinen digitaalinen oppimispolku Oulun kasvitieteellisellä puutarhalla

Tiivistelmä. Peruskouluissa on viimeisen kahden vuoden ajan siirrytty vaiheittain uuteen opetussuunnitelmaan, jonka tulee olla kokonaisuudessaan käytössä viimeistään syksyllä 2019. Uudessa opetussuunnitelmassa korostuvat elämyksellinen ja pelillinen oppiminen, sekä erilaiset toiminnalliset ja kokemukselliset työtavat, joita tässä tutkielmassa on hyödynnetty. Tutkielma on tehty yhteistyössä Oulun kasvitieteellisen puutarhan kanssa osana osallistavaan, tutkimuslähtöiseen ja elämykselliseen oppimiseen liittyvää hanketta. Hankkeen tarkoituksena on luoda yhteistyökulttuuria kasvitieteellisen puutarhan ja koulujen välille. Tutkielmaa varten kasvitieteelliselle puutarhalle suunniteltiin uuden opetussuunnitelman mukainen, maantietoaiheinen digitaalinen oppimispolku yläasteikäisille oppilaille. Tutkimukseen osallistui yhteensä neljä oppilasryhmää, jotka tulivat suorittamaan oppimispolkua kasvitieteelliselle puutarhalle keväällä 2017. Tutkimuksen aineisto koostui kahdesta kyselylomakkeesta, jotka oppilaat täyttivät ennen ja jälkeen puutarhalla vierailun. Kyselyiden avulla selvitettiin, millaisena oppilaat kokivat oppimispolkua varten suunnitellun digitaalisen oppimispelin, millaisena oppimisympäristönä he kokivat kasvitieteellisen puutarhan, ja millainen kokonaisuus digitaalinen oppimispolku heidän mielestään oli. Saatujen tulosten perusteella selvitettiin myös oppilaiden oppimispolusta saamia oppimiskokemuksia. Oppilaiden kokemusten kautta pyrittiin myös keräämään tietoa oppimispolun onnistumisista ja kehityskohteista, jotta sitä voidaan tulevaisuudessa mahdollisesti muokata paremmaksi. Saatua aineistoa käsiteltiin kvalitatiivisesti aineistolähtöisen sisällönanalyysin keinoin ja kvantitatiivisesti Excel-ohjelman avulla. Tulosten mukaan oppilaat kokivat digitaalisen oppimispolun hauskaksi, mielenkiintoiseksi ja opettavaiseksi. Oppilaat oppivat mielestään paremmin digitaalisen oppimispelin avulla kuin normaalisti koulussa, ja he kokivat kasvitieteellisen puutarhan innostavana ja elämyksellisenä oppimisympäristönä, jonne voisi tulla uudelleen oppimaan. Oppilaiden oppimispolkukokemuksia heikensi ajoittainen huono internet-yhteys sekä joidenkin ryhmien osalta liian lyhyt vierailu- ja peliaika. Tulosten perusteella oppilaat haluaisivat opiskella tulevaisuudessa enemmän digitaalisten pelien avulla ja useammin erilaisissa koulun ulkopuolisissa oppimisympäristöissä. Tutkimuksen perusteella uuden opetussuunnitelman painottamat elämyksellinen ja pelillinen oppiminen voidaan todeta hyviksi ja kannattaviksi opetusmenetelmiksi

Outcome of Chair-Side Dental Fear Treatment: Long-Term Follow-Up in Public Health Setting

Aim. Purpose of this practice and data-based study was to evaluate the outcome of dental fear treatment of patients referred to the Clinic for Fearful Dental Patients (CFDP) in the primary oral health care, City of Oulu, Finland, during period 2000-2005. Methods. A psychological approach including behavioral interventions and cognitive behavioral therapy (BT/CBT) was used for all participants combined with conscious sedation or dental general anesthesia (DGA), if needed. The outcome was considered successful if later dental visits were carried out without any notifications in the patient records of behavioral problems or sedation. Data collection was made in 2006; the average length of the observation period from the last visit in the CFPD to data collection was 2y 3m (SD 1y 5m). All information was available for 163 patients (mean age 8.9y at referral). Study population was dominated by males (58.0%). Cause for referrals was mostly dental fear (81.0%) or lack of cooperation. Results. The success rate was 69.6% among females and 68.1% among males. Success seemed to be (p=0.053) higher for those treated in 12years compared with the older ones. The participants, without need for dental general anesthesia (DGA) in the CFDP, had significantly a higher success rate (81.4%) compared with those who did (54.8%, p<0.001). Use of conscious oral sedation (p=0.300) or N2O (p=0.585) was not associated with the future success. Conclusions. A chair-side approach seems successful in a primary health care setting for treating dental fear, especially in early childhood. Use of sedation seems not to improve the success rate

Self-reported temporomandibular disorder symptoms and severity of malocclusion in prospective orthognathic-surgical patients

Objective: The objective of this study is to analyze the association between self-reported symptoms of temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) and the severity of malocclusion in prospective orthognathic-surgical patients.Material and methods: The subjects consisted of 50 consecutive patients (13 males and 37 females) referred to two university clinics for assessment of orthodontic-surgical treatment need. Data considering self-reported TMD symptoms were gathered using a semi-structured diary. At the first appointment, all patients rated the importance of treatment (on a scale of 1-10) and assessed self-perceived dental appearance using a VAS scale. The scale was anchored with photographs 1 and 10 from the Aesthetic Component (AC) of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN). Study models were assessed by an experienced orthodontic specialist using the Peer Assessment Rating (PAR) index and the Index of Complexity, Outcome and Need (ICON). Association between the PAR and ICON scores and the number of reported symptoms was analyzed statistically.Results: Seventy-one percent of patients reported experiencing TMD symptoms. The most prevalent symptoms were pain in the head and/or neck region and fatigue in the TMJ region. The number of symptoms was highest in the morning. Ninety percent of males and 86% of females rated the importance of treatment as high; males experiencing TMD symptoms tended to rate surgery as more important compared with males with no symptoms (p=0.056).Conclusions: In this sample, the results cannot unambiguously confirm an association between self-reported symptoms of TMD and objectively defined severity of malocclusion

Oral health assessment in domiciliary care service planning of older people

ObjectivesThe aim was to examine importance and consideration of oral health‐related issues (OHRIs) during service planning by the case managers (CMs).Methods and resultsThe study was conducted in a major Finnish city. All 25 CMs, supervising over 450 domiciliary care employees who are caring for 4600 domiciliary care clients, received a multiple‐choice questionnaire with additional open‐ended questions. CMs were dichotomized by age and educational background. Differences were compared with the chi‐square test and Fisher´s exact test. Response rate was 88%. All CMs considered OHRIs important. However, OHRIs were not routinely considered during service planning, especially by the CMs with a social service than health background (0% vs 30%, P ConclusionOHRIs are not routinely considered in service planning. This study indicated a need for structured guidelines and further education for assess the need for oral home care assistance.</div

Information collected during the post-breeding season guides future breeding decisions in a migratory bird

Breeding habitat choice and investment decisions are key contributors to fitness in animals. Density of individuals is a well-known cue of habitat quality used for future breeding decisions, but accuracy of density cues decreases as individuals disperse from breeding sites. Used nests remain an available information source also after breeding season, but whether such information is used for breeding decisions is less well known. We experimentally investigated whether migratory, cavity-nesting pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) prospect potential breeding sites after breeding season and use old nests as a cue for future breeding decisions. In late summer 2013, forest sites were assigned to four treatments: (1) sites including nest boxes with old nests of heterospecifics (tits), (2) sites including suitable but empty nest boxes, (3) sites with unsuitable nest boxes, or (4) sites without any nest boxes. In the following year, we investigated pied flycatcher habitat choice and reproductive investment according to these "past" cues while also controlling for additional information sources present during settlement. Flycatchers preferred sites where tits had been perceived to breed in the previous year, but only if great tits were also currently breeding in the site and had a relatively high number of eggs. Old flycatchers avoided sites previously treated with suitable but empty cavities, whereas young flycatchers preferred sites where tits had apparently bred in the previous year. Also egg mass, but not clutch size or clutch mass, was affected by the combination of past treatment information and current tit abundance

Characterization of the first beta-class carbonic anhydrase from an arthropod (Drosophila melanogaster) and phylogenetic analysis of beta-class carbonic anhydrases in invertebrates

BACKGROUND: The beta-carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) enzymes have been reported in a variety of organisms, but their existence in animals has been unclear. The purpose of the present study was to perform extensive sequence analysis to show that the beta-CAs are present in invertebrates and to clone and characterize a member of this enzyme family from a representative model organism of the animal kingdom, e.g., Drosophila melanogaster. RESULTS: The novel beta-CA gene, here named DmBCA, was identified from FlyBase, and its orthologs were searched and reconstructed from sequence databases, confirming the presence of beta-CA sequences in 55 metazoan species. The corresponding recombinant enzyme was produced in Sf9 insect cells, purified, kinetically characterized, and its inhibition was investigated with a series of simple, inorganic anions. Holoenzyme molecular mass was defined by dynamic light scattering analysis and gel filtration, and the results suggested that the holoenzyme is a dimer. Double immunostaining confirmed predictions based on sequence analysis and localized DmBCA protein to mitochondria. The enzyme showed high CO2 hydratase activity, with a kcat of 9.5 x 105 s-1 and a kcat/KM of 1.1 x 108 M-1s-1. DmBCA was appreciably inhibited by the clinically-used sulfonamide acetazolamide, with an inhibition constant of 49 nM. It was moderately inhibited by halides, pseudohalides, hydrogen sulfide, bisulfite and sulfate (KI values of 0.67 - 1.36 mM) and more potently by sulfamide (KI of 0.15 mM). Bicarbonate, nitrate, nitrite and phenylarsonic/boronic acids were much weaker inhibitors (KIs of 26.9 - 43.7 mM). CONCLUSIONS: The Drosophila beta-CA represents a highly active mitochondrial enzyme that is a potential model enzyme for anti-parasitic drug development

Do large-scale associations in birds imply biotic interactions or environmental filtering?

Aim There has been a wide interest in the effect of biotic interactions on species' occurrences and abundances at large spatial scales, coupled with a vast development of the statistical methods to study them. Still, evidence for whether the effects of within-trophic-level biotic interactions (e.g. competition and heterospecific attraction) are discernible beyond local scales remains inconsistent. Here, we present a novel hypothesis-testing framework based on joint dynamic species distribution models and functional trait similarity to dissect between environmental filtering and biotic interactions. Location France and Finland. Taxon Birds. Methods We estimated species-to-species associations within a trophic level, independent of the main environmental variables (mean temperature and total precipitation) for common species at large spatial scale with joint dynamic species distribution (a multivariate spatiotemporal delta model) models. We created hypotheses based on species' functionality (morphological and/or diet dissimilarity) and habitat preferences about the sign and strength of the pairwise spatiotemporal associations to estimate the extent to which they result from biotic interactions (competition, heterospecific attraction) and/or environmental filtering. Results Spatiotemporal associations were mostly positive (80%), followed by random (15%), and only 5% were negative. Where detected, negative spatiotemporal associations in different communities were due to a few species. The relationship between spatiotemporal association and functional dissimilarity among species was negative, which fulfils the predictions of both environmental filtering and heterospecific attraction. Main conclusions We showed that processes leading to species aggregation (mixture between environmental filtering and heterospecific attraction) seem to dominate assembly rules, and we did not find evidence for competition. Altogether, our hypothesis-testing framework based on joint dynamic species distribution models and functional trait similarity is beneficial in ecological interpretation of species-to-species associations from data covering several decades and biogeographical regions.Peer reviewe

TIA model is attainable in Wistar rats by intraluminal occlusion of the MCA for 10 min or shorter

Transient ischemic attack (TIA) has received only little attention in the experimental research field. Recently, we introduced a TIA model for mice, and here we set similar principles for simulating this human condition in Wistar rats. In the model: 1) transient nature of the event is ensured, and 2) 24 h after the event animals are free from any sensorimotor deficit and from any detectable lesion by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Animals experienced varying durations of ischemia (5, 10, 12.5, 15, 25, and 30 min, n = 6-8 per group) by intraluminal middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Ischemia severity and reperfusion rates were controlled by cerebral blood flow measurements. Sensorimotor neurological evaluations and MRI at 24 h differentiated between TIA and ischemic stroke. Hematoxylin and eosin staining and apoptotic cell counts revealed pathological correlates of the event. We found that already 12.5 min of ischemia was long enough to induce ischemic stroke in Wistar rats. Ten min or shorter durations induced neither gross neurological deficits nor infarcts visible on MRI, but histologically caused selective neuronal necrosis. A separate group of animals with 10 min of ischemia followed up to 1 week after reperfusion remained free of infarction and any MRI signal change. Thus, 10 min or shorter focal cerebral ischemia induced by intraluminal MCAO in Wistar rats provides a clinically relevant TIA the rat. This model is useful for studying molecular correlates of TIA. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Cloning, purification, kinetic and anion inhibition studies of a recombinant beta-carbonic anhydrase from the Atlantic salmon parasite platyhelminth Gyrodactylus salaris

A beta-class carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) was cloned from the genome of the Monogenean platyhelminth Gyrodactylus salaris, a parasite of Atlantic salmon. The new enzyme, GsaCA beta has a significant catalytic activity for the physiological reaction, CO2 + H2O (sic) HCO3- + H+ with a k(cat) of 1.1 x 10(5) s(-1) and a k(cat)/K-m of 7.58 x 10(6) M-1 x s(-1). This activity was inhibited by acetazolamide (K-I of 0.46 mu M), a sulphonamide in clinical use, as well as by selected inorganic anions and small molecules. Most tested anions inhibited GsaCA beta at millimolar concentrations, but sulfamide (K-I of 81 mu M), N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate (K-I of 67 mu M) and sulphamic acid (K-I of 6.2 mu M) showed a rather efficient inhibitory action. There are currently very few non-toxic agents effective in combating this parasite. GsaCA beta is subsequently proposed as a new drug target for which effective inhibitors can be designed.Peer reviewe

Life-course leisure-time physical activity trajectories in relation to health-related behaviors in adulthood : the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study

BackgroundEvidence on whether leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) facilitates individuals' adoption of multiple healthy behaviors remains scarce. This study investigated the associations of diverse longitudinal LTPA trajectories from childhood to adulthood with diet, screen time, smoking, binge drinking, sleep difficulties, and sleep duration in adulthood.MethodsData were drawn from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study. Participants were aged 9-18years (N=3553; 51% females) in 1980 and 33-49years at the latest follow-up in 2011. The LTPA trajectories were identified using a latent profile analysis. Differences in self-reported health-related behaviors across the LTPA trajectories were studied separately for women and men by using the Bolck-Croon-Hagenaars approach. Models were adjusted for age, body mass index, education level, marital status, total energy intake and previous corresponding behaviors.ResultsPersistently active, persistently low-active, decreasingly and increasingly active trajectories were identified in both genders and an additional inactive trajectory for women. After adjusting the models with the above-mentioned covariates, the inactive women had an unhealthier diet than the women in the other trajectories (p0.50). The low-active men followed an unhealthier diet than the persistently and increasingly active men (p0.50). Compared to their inactive and low-active peers, smoking frequency was lower in the increasingly active women and men (p0.20) and persistently active men (p0.20). The increasingly active men reported lower screen time than the low-active (p0.50) and persistently active (p0.20) men. The increasingly and persistently active women reported fewer sleep difficulties than the inactive (p0.80) and low-active (p0.50 and>0.80, respectively) women. Sleep duration and binge drinking were not associated with the LTPA trajectories in either gender, nor were sleep difficulties in men and screen time in women.ConclusionsNot only persistently higher LTPA but also an increasing tendency to engage in LTPA after childhood/adolescence were associated with healthier diet and lower smoking frequency in both genders, having less sleep difficulties in women and lower screen time in increasingly active men. Inactivity and low activity were associated with the accumulation of several unhealthy behaviors in adulthood. Associations were stronger in women.Peer reviewe