Starting Day Care in Espoo from the Viewpoint of Chinese Parents

The thesis is a small-scale evaluative research. The day care start folder, which provided practical and detailed information about starting Finnish day care to support multicultural parents in Otaniemi day-care centre and Servin-Maija day-care centre, was assessed among nine Chinese parents of children in five municipal and outsourced day-care centres in the City of Espoo. The purposes of the current research were to find out how Chinese parents perceive starting day care in the City of Espoo and their difficulties and suggestions concerning starting day care in the City of Espoo; to evaluate how the day care start folder is experienced as a working method in opinion of Chinese parents living in the City of Espoo; and to further improve the day care start folder as a working method for multicultural families and personnel in Otaniemi day-care centre and possibly for other day-care centres in the similar situation. Two types of interview, namely semi-structured individual interview and focus group interview, were utilised as the primary qualitative data-collecting methods in the current research. In addition, questionnaire as an assistant quantitative data-collecting method was employed as well to ensure verification of the consistency of the data, and supplement the abundance of the narrative data collected from interviews. The qualitative data gathered from the six interviews was coded, categorised and analysed in accordance with the method of content analysis. The results showed that the participating Chinese parents basically concerned about the information on starting day care; their child’s language learning; their communication and cooperation with day-care staff; cultures, religions and festivals; playing, learning and friends; child protection and legislation and so forth. Furthermore, these Chinese parents also put forward some important problems and suggestions on Finnish day care, such as problems caused by cultural differences, different opinions on learning by playing and Finnish as a second language-teaching, difficulties to obtain enough English information about Finnish day care, and the lack of mediums for foreign families to receive help concerning Finnish day care. In addition, these Chinese parents perceived the day care start folder as useful and adequate. The results based on the questionnaires supported and verified the results generated from the qualitative data analysis

Initiation of GalNAc-type O-glycosylation in the endoplasmic reticulum promotes cancer cell invasiveness

Invasiveness underlies cancer aggressiveness and is a hallmark of malignancy. Most malignant tumors have elevated levels of Tn, an O-GalNAc glycan. Mechanisms underlying Tn up-regulation and its effects remain unclear. Here we show that Golgi-to-endoplasmic reticulum relocation of polypeptide N-acetylgalactosamine-transferases (GalNAc-Ts) drives high Tn levels in cancer cell lines and in 70% of malignant breast tumors. This process stimulates cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix, as well as migration and invasiveness. The GalNAc-Ts lectin domain, mediating high-density glycosylation, is critical for these effects. Interfering with the lectin domain function inhibited carcinoma cell migration in vitro and metastatic potential in mice. We also show that stimulation of cell migration is dependent on Tn-bearing proteins present in lamellipodia of migrating cells. Our findings suggest that relocation of GalNAc-Ts to the endoplasmic reticulum frequently occurs upon cancerous transformation to enhance tumor cell migration and invasiveness through modification of cell surface proteins

Ecotopic viral integration site 1 (EVI1) regulates multiple cellular processes important for cancer and is a synergistic partner for FOS protein in invasive tumors

Ecotropic viral integration site 1 (EVI1) is an oncogenic dual domain zinc finger transcription factor that plays an essential role in the regulation of hematopoietic stem cell renewal, and its overexpression in myeloid leukemia and epithelial cancers is associated with poor patient survival. Despite the discovery of EVI1 in 1988 and its emerging role as a dominant oncogene in various types of cancer, few EVI1 target genes are known. This lack of knowledge has precluded a clear understanding of exactly how EVI1 contributes to cancer. Using a combination of ChIP-Seq and microarray studies in human ovarian carcinoma cells, we show that the two zinc finger domains of EVI1 bind to DNA independently and regulate different sets of target genes. Strikingly, an enriched fraction of EVI1 target genes are cancer genes or genes associated with cancer. We also show that more than 25% of EVI1-occupied genes contain linked EVI1 and activator protein (AP)1 DNA binding sites, and this finding provides evidence for a synergistic cooperative interaction between EVI1 and the AP1 family member FOS in the regulation of cell adhesion, proliferation, and colony formation. An increased number of dual EVI1/AP1 target genes are also differentially regulated in late-stage ovarian carcinomas, further confirming the importance of the functional cooperation between EVI1 and FOS. Collectively, our data indicate that EVI1 is a multipurpose transcription factor that synergizes with FOS in invasive tumors.

Toll-like receptor 3 expressing tumor parenchyma and infiltrating natural killer cells in hepatocellular carcinoma patients

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly aggressive cancer that is linked to chronically dysregulated liver inflammation. However, appropriate immune responses can control HCC progression. Here we investigated the role and underlying mechanism of toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) in HCC. Methods HCC cell death, and natural killer (NK) cell activation and cytotoxicity were assessed in vitro after treatment with the TLR3 ligand poly(I:C). The effect of TLR3 on the tumor parenchyma and infiltrating immune cells was investigated in a spontaneous liver tumor mouse model and a transplanted tumor mouse model (n = 3-9 mice per group). Immunohistochemistry and quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used to analyze tumor samples from 172 HCC patients. Paired t-tests and analysis of variance tests were used to calculate P-values. The relationship between TLR3 expression and survival was determined by the Kaplan-Meier univariate survival analysis and a log-rank test. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results TLR3 activation increased cell death in the TLR3(+) SNU182 HCC cell line (30.5% vs 8.5%, P = .03) and promoted NK-cell activation (32.6% vs 19.4%, P < .001) and cytotoxicity (relative fourfold increase, P = .03) in vitro. In vivo, poly(I:C) treatment increased intratumoral chemokine expression, NK-cell activation and tumor infiltration, and proliferation of tumor-infiltrating T and NK cells. Proliferation of tumor parenchyma cells was decreased. Also, expression of chemokines or treatment with poly(I:C) decreased tumor growth. TLR3 expression in patient samples correlated with NK-cell activation, NK- and T-cell tumor infiltration, and inversely correlated with tumor parenchyma cell viability. TLR3 expression was also associated with longer survival in HCC patients (hazard ratio of survival = 2.1, 95% confidence interval = 1.3 to 3.4, P = .002). Conclusions TLR3 is an important modulator of HCC progression and is a potential target for novel immunotherapy

Evi1 regulates the expression of other CHD genes during embryonic heart development.

<p>(A) The number of CHD genes represented in Evi1 ChIP-Seq data (Evi1 bound genes) or in the list of genes regulated by Mecom. An enriched number of CHD genes were found bound or regulated by Mecom (50 out of 143 genes), p = 0.0453 and p = 0.0276, respectively. These genes represent potential Mecom target genes in heart development. (B) Mecom regulates the expression of 23 CHD genes, which contain Evi1-binding sites specifically in heart. Heart and head (neural crest) tissues were harvested from WT and Evi1^δex3/δex3 embryos of somite number 9 to 18. RT-qPCR assays were performed. Genes considered to be mis-regulated in Evi1^δex3/δex3 hearts were increased or decreased in expression by at least three fold in average for all samples of the same time-point. These graphs are representative of two to five independent experiments.</p

Expression of Mecom mRNA in cardiac structures of wild type embryos.

<p>(A–D) Whole mount mRNA <i>in situ</i> hybridization to show Mecom expression. A–C) Expression during subsequent stages of heart tube formation E8.5 (black brackets). D) At E9.5 Evi1 is expressed in the endothelial cells and in the endocardium of the heart and in the mesenchyme of the aortic arches. Expression also includes a population of migrating neural crest cells (white arrowhead). E–J) E10.5 Sagittal sections (from right to left) showing Evi1 in the aortic arches (a), mesenchyme of the secondary heart field (black arrowheads), outflow and atrio-ventricular canal endocardium including the cushions.</p

Overview of Major Reported Expression Domains.

<p><b>Key</b></p><p>AA – Aortic Arch and Aortic Arch Arteries.</p><p>CC/HT - Cardiac Crescent/Heart Tube.</p><p>End – Endocardium (+Csn – including Cushions).</p><p>Myo – Myocardium.</p><p>NC –Neural Crest (Cardiac).</p><p>OFT – Outflow Tract.</p><p>SHF – Secondary Heart Field.</p