136 research outputs found
Miesten kokemus isyydestään lastensuojelun tilannearviossa
Tutkimuksessa tutkittiin isien kokemaa vanhemmuutta omaan lapseen kohdistuneen lastensuojeluilmoituksen tilannearvion yhteydessä. Tavoitteena oli tuoda näkyväksi isien perheensisäistä kokemuksellista vanhemmuutta suhteessa puolisoon ja lapseen sekä tarkastella isien näkemystä siitä, miten lastensuojeluilmoitustilanne koski heidän isyyttään. Sukupuolikysymykset ovat oleellisia lastensuojelussa, koska työ on perinteisesti ollut naissosiaalityöntekijöiden työtä äitien kanssa, jolloin isien osallisuus jää vähäiseksi. Miehiä ei saa nähdä sosiaalityössä pelkkinä ongelmien aiheuttajina vaan perhettä voidaan parhaiten auttaa, jos isien kertomat voimavarat vanhemmuudessa saadaan todelliseen käyttöön ja osallisuus vahvistuu. Lastensuojelutyöstä puuttuvat suunnitelma isien tukemiseksi sekä isät huomioivat työmenetelmät.
Tutkimus oli laadullinen tutkimus, jossa isien kokemusta tutkittiin hermeneuttis-fenomenologisella tutkimusotteella. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin puolistrukturoiduilla lyhyillä kahdenkeskisillä teemahaastatteluilla toimisto- ja kotikäynneillä sekä puhelimitse kuudeltatoista isältä aikavälillä 11.3 – 24.6 2013 Oulunsalon lastensuojelussa. Aineisto analysoitiin teemoittelemalla, luokittelemalla ja tyypittelemällä kokemusten merkitystihentymiä. Analyysissä käytettiin apuna SPSS-tilasto-ohjelmaa, jolla laskettiin tunnuslukuja sekä vertailtiin ja ristiintaulukointiin merkitysmuuttujia taustamuuttujien kanssa.
Valtaosa isistä oli 30-40-vuotiaita, ammattitutkinnon suorittaneita, työssäkäyviä, parisuhteessa olevia ja lasten kanssa yhdessä asuvia. Seitsemän oli eronnut. Lastensuojeluilmoitusten tärkeimpiä huolia olivat alkoholin käyttö, parisuhdeväkivalta sekä lasten pahoinpitelyepäilyt. Haastattelutilanteissa korostui isien vaikeus sanoittaa vanhemmuuttaan. Kokemuksissa suhteessa lapseen korostuivat toiminnallisuus, pehmoisyys, elämän opettajana toimiminen, kurinpitäminen sekä läsnäolo. Suhteessa puolisoon isän rooli näyttäytyi kokemuskuvauksissa tasa-arvoisuutena, kasvattajuutena, kotitöiden tekijyytenä, elättäjyytenä ja omien lasten hoitajuutena. Alkoholia käyttävien sekä eronneiden isien vanhemmuus näkyi kokemuskuvauksissa heikompana kuin muilla iseillä. Isät kokivat lastensuojeluilmoituksen ja tilannearviotilanteen negatiivisten tunteiden kautta ja toivat esille tavoitteita isyyden parantamisesta. Tutkimusasetelmassa lastensuojelukontekstin epäsuhtainen valtatilanne näkyi isien pyrkimyksissä kuvata vanhemmuuttaan mahdollisimman hyvänä ja nykyhetken negatiivisia asioita ohittaen. Tästä johtuen isyys näyttäytyi vahvana eikä aineistoon päätyneet tilannearviotapaamisista poisjättäytyneet isät
Expression of activin subunits and receptors in the developing human ovary:activin A promotes germ cell survival and proliferation before primordial follicle formation
Self and Informant Memory Reports in FINGER : Associations with Two-Year Cognitive Change
Background:Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) may be the first sign of cognitive decline in aging. Objective:To examine whether SMCs reported by oneself and informant predict cognitive change over 2 years among at-risk elderly people, and to determine the relationship of different types of SMCs (prospective and retrospective memory complaints) and change in cognitive function. Methods:This investigation is part of the FINGER project, which is a multicenter randomized controlled trial aiming at preventing cognitive decline in cognitively healthy older adults with increased risk of dementia. A subsample of 303 control-group participants (aged 60–80 years) and their informants (n = 261) rated the frequency of SMCs, using the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ). Cognitive performance was measured at baseline and at 1- and 2-year follow-up visits using a neuropsychological test battery. Results:Participants who reported more SMCs improved less in global cognition, executive function, and memory during the subsequent 2 years in the fully-adjusted analyses. Self-reported retrospective memory problems predicted less improvement in all cognitive domains, whereas prospective memory problems did not. Informant-reported memory problems were not linked to subsequent change in cognition. Conclusion:Our results indicate that self-reported SMCs, measured with PRMQ, predict future cognitive change in several cognitive domains. By contrast, reports by informants were not linked to changes in cognition. Among cognitively healthy at-risk elderly individuals, the persons themselves observe more easily problems relevant for their future cognitive trajectories than their informants.Peer reviewe
Associations between Prospective and Retrospective Subjective Memory Complaints and Neuropsychological Performance in Older Adults : The Finger Study
Objectives: Subjective memory complaints (SMCs) are among the key concerns in the elderly, but their role in detecting objective cognitive problems is unclear. The aim of this study was to clarify the association between SMCs (both prospective and retrospective memory complaints) and neuropsychological test performance in older adults at risk of cognitive decline. Methods: This investigation is part of the FINGER project, a multicenter randomized controlled trial aiming at preventing cognitive decline in high-risk individuals. The cognitive assessment of participants was conducted at baseline using a modified neuropsychological test battery (NTB). SMCs were evaluated with the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ) in a sub-sample of 560 participants (mean age, 69.9 years). Results: Having more prospective SMCs was associated with slower processing speed, but not with other NTB domains. Retrospective SMCs were linked to poorer function on NTB total score, processing speed, and memory. Executive function domain was not associated with any PRMQ ratings. Depressive symptoms and poor quality of life diluted the observed associations for NTB total score and memory. However, the association between PRMQ and processing speed remained even after full adjustments. Conclusions: Our results indicate that self-reported memory problems, measured with PRMQ, are associated with objectively measured cognitive performance. Such complaints in healthy elderly people also seem to reflect reduced mental tempo, rather than memory deficits. Slowing of processing speed may thus be negatively related to memory self-efficacy. It is also important to consider affective factors among those who report memory problems.Peer reviewe
Expression of SDF-1α and leptin, and their effect on expression of angiogenic factors in mouse ovaries
WNT4 is expressed in human fetal and adult ovaries and its signaling contributes to ovarian cell survival
Assessment of the role of transcript for GATA-4 as a marker of unfavorable outcome in human adrenocortical neoplasms
BACKGROUND: Malignant neoplasia of the adrenal cortex is usually associated with very poor prognosis. When adrenocortical neoplasms are diagnosed in the early stages, distinction between carcinoma and adenoma can be very difficult to accomplish, since there is yet no reliable marker to predict tumor recurrence or dissemination. GATA transcription factors play an essential role in the developmental control of cell fate, cell proliferation and differentiation, organ morphogenesis, and tissue-specific gene expression. Normal mouse adrenal cortex expresses GATA-6 while its malignant counterpart only expresses GATA-4. The goal of the present study was to assess whether this reciprocal change in the expression of GATA factors might be relevant for predicting the prognosis of human adrenocortical neoplasms. Since human adrenal cortices express luteinizing hormone (LH/hCG) receptor and the gonadotropins are known to up-regulate GATA-4 in gonadal tumor cell lines, we also studied the expression of LH/hCG receptor. METHODS: We conducted a study on 13 non-metastasizing (NM) and 10 metastasizing/recurrent (MR) tumors obtained from a group of twenty-two adult and pediatric patients. The expression of GATA-4, GATA-6, and LH/hCG receptor (LHR) in normal and tumoral human adrenal cortices was analysed using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) complemented by dot blot hybridization. RESULTS: Messenger RNA for GATA-6 was detected in normal adrenal tissue, as well as in the totality of NM and MR tumors. GATA-4, by its turn, was detected in normal adrenal tissue, in 11 out of 13 NM tumors, and in 9 of the 10 MR tumors, with larger amounts of mRNA found among those presenting aggressive clinical behavior. Transcripts for LH receptor were observed both in normal tissue and neoplasms. A more intense LHR transcript accumulation was observed on those tumors with better clinical outcome. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the expression of GATA-6 in human adrenal cortex is not affected by tumorigenesis. GATA-4 expression is more abundant in MR tumors, while NM tumors express more intensely LHR. Further studies with larger cohorts are needed to test whether relative expression levels of LHR or GATA-4 might be used as prognosis predictors
Downregulation of both gene expression and activity of Hsp27 improved maturation of mouse oocyte in vitro
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