Microbiological tests and measurements in the assessment of harmful substances and pollution

New chemicals are produced in increasing numbers. In Finland every year about 28 000 different products are manufactured or imported which can be classified as harmful. These products contain about 5000 different harmful substances. We also receive harmful compounds in airborne emissions. Substances are further transformed in industrial processes, in waste management and in the environment by human activities and natural processes. However, only rather limited monitoring data is available about the environmental concentrations of these compounds (concerning about 20–40 substances). The environmental risks of harmful substances can be recognized, assessed and managed by : 1) measuring concentrations in the environment, 2) testing the effects on biota in toxicity tests and 3) monitoring ecosystem changes in the environment. Microbes have a key role in the environment as degraders in the carbon and nutrient cycles. They also have the capability to transform and degrade many harmful man-made substances. Microbes have a strong effect on the exposure of other biota to chemical substances. Hence they can be regarded as primary targets for harmful effects of chemicals or active transformers of chemicals in the environment.The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness and applicability of microbial toxicity tests, biodegradation tests and microbial biomass and activity measurements in the environment for the environmental hazard identification and risk assessment of chemicals, effluents and contaminated soils. The study considers both aquatic and soil environments. The effects of modern pulp mill bleaching effluents on biota were assessed by a set of different biotests and by chemical analysis. The effluents and their long term effects on aquatic microbial processes were also studied in outdoor mesocosms. In one part the biodegradation kinetics of carbon-14-labeled model compounds in standard tests and in environmental conditions were measured and compared. The effects of several pesticides on soil microbes were tested and assessed in laboratory tests and in field trials. The applicability of microbial toxicity tests in the assessment of soil pollution and bioremediation processes was also studied in comparison with chemical analysis. The results of the study can support the development and selection of test methods for environmental risk management and regulatory decisions

Eväitä elämään - ravitsemusaiheiset tuokiot Hakametsän päiväkodin esikouluikäisille

Tämän opinnäytetyön aiheena oli ravitsemusaiheiset tuokiot Hakametsän päiväkodin esikouluikäisille. Opinnäytetyö toteutettiin yhteistyössä Uudessakaupungissa sijaitsevan Hakametsän päiväkodin kanssa. Tämä opinnäytetyö toteutettiin projektina, jonka tarkoituksena oli järjestää Hakametsän päiväkotiin Eväitä elämään - ravitsemusaiheisia tuokioita. Tuokioiden kohderyhmänä olivat päiväkodin esikouluikäiset lapset. Tavoitteena oli, että lasten tietämys ruoasta, ruoan alkuperästä ja ruoka-annoksen koostamisesta lautasmallin mukaan lisääntyisi erilaisten menetelmien avulla. Terveydenhoitajaopiskelijan henkilökohtaisia tavoitteita oli osata suunnitella, toteuttaa ja arvioida projektia sekä kehittää omaa ammatillista osaamista esikouluikäisen ravitsemuksesta, ravitsemuskasvatuksesta ja ravitsemuskasvatuksen toteuttamisesta opinnäytetyössä käytettävien menetelmien keinoin. Opinnäytetyöntekijä järjesti päiväkodin esikouluikäisille lapsille ravitsemusaiheisia tuokioita, joissa lapset pääsivät tutustumaan ruoan alkuperään, ravitsemussuosituksiin ja ruoka-annoksen koostamiseen lautasmallin mukaan. Tuokioita järjestettiin yhteensä kolme. Jokaisella tuokiolla oli oma teemansa, jotka olivat: maito, kasvikset, hedelmät ja marjat sekä lautasmalli. Tuokioissa ravitsemuskasvatusta toteutettiin erilaisten menetelmien avulla. Menetelminä käytettiin muun muassa leikkejä, videota, keskusteluja, askartelua, satua ja loruja. Tuokioihin osallistuneet päiväkodin henkilökunnan jäsenet arvioivat projektin onnistumista ja tavoitteiden saavuttamista arviointilomakkeen avulla. Opinnäytetyöntekijä arvioi tavoitteiden saavuttamista myös lapsien kanssa luetun aukkotarinan avulla, jossa kerrattiin tuokioiden aikana käsiteltyjä asioita. Tavoitteiden saavuttamista arvioitiin myös opinnäytetyöntekijän omien havaintojen ja aikataulussa pysymisen pohjalta. Henkilökunnalta saadun palautteen mukaan projekti edisti lasten tietämystä ruoasta, ruoan alkuperästä ja ruoka-annoksen koostamisesta lautasmallin mukaan. Palautteen mukaan aihe oli kohderyhmän lapsille tärkeä, merkityksellinen ja kiinnostava. Henkilökunta koki, että käytetyt menetelmät olivat toimivia lasten ravitsemuskasvatuksessa. Aukkotarinan avulla opinnäytetyöntekijä huomasi, että lapset muistivat hyvin tuokioiden aikana käsiteltyjä asioita ja tiesivät paljon esimerkiksi ruoan alkuperästä ja lautasmallinmukaisesta aterian koostamisesta. Omien havaintojen ja saadun palautteen perusteella tuokiot toteutuivat hyvin ja tavoitteet saavutettiin. Samantapaisia projekteja olisi hyvä tehdä jatkossa myös muihin päiväkoteihin. Tässä projektissa käytetyt menetelmät ja raportti jäivät kohdeorganisaation käyttöön. Menetelmät voisivat jatkossa toimia yhtenä työkaluna ravitsemuskasvatuksessa.PROVISIONS FOR LIFE – NUTRITION-THEMED ACTIVITIES FOR PRE-SCHOOLERS AT HAKAMETSÄ DAYCARE Ahtiainen, Marika Satakunnan ammattikorkeakoulu, Satakunta University of Applied Sciences Degree Programme in Nursing March 2014 Supervisor: Lahtinen, Elina Number of pages: 47 Appendices: 6 Keywords: pre-schooler, nutrition recommendations, nutrition education, project ____________________________________________________________________ The topic of this thesis was nutrition-themed activities for pre-schoolers at Hakametsä daycare. The thesis was carried out in co-operation with Hakametsä daycare situated in Uusikaupunki, Finland. The thesis was executed as a project, with the objective to arrange Provisions for life - nutrition-themed activities for Hakametsä daycare. The target group of the activities was the daycare’s pre-schoolers. By using different methods, the aim was to build the children’s knowledge on food and its origins as well as educate children on putting their plates together according to the healthy eating plate –model. The personal objectives of the nursing student were to be able to plan, execute and evaluate the project as well as developing professionalism on pre-schoolers’ nutrition, nutrition education and carrying out nutrition education through the methods used in the thesis. The thesis worker arranged the daycare’s pre-schoolers nutrition-themed activities, where children were introduced the origins of food, nutrition recommendations and putting one’s plate together according to the healthy eating plate –model. Altogether 3 activities were arranged. Each activity had their own theme, which were: milk, vegetables, fruit and berries and the healthy eating plate. During the activities, nutrition education was carried out through different methods. The methods used were for example playing, videos, discussions, arts and crafts, as well as telling stories and rhymes. Employees of the daycare who participated in the activities, evaluated the success of the project and how the objectives were achieved through an evaluation form. The thesis worker also evaluated how the objectives were achieved by reading the children a word gap story, through which the topics discussed during the activities were revised. Achieving the objectives was also evaluated through the thesis worker’s own observations and by evaluating how the activities stayed on schedule. According to the feedback given by the employees, the project enhanced the children’s knowledge on food and its origins and arranging one’s plate according to the healthy eating plate model. According to the feedback, the topic was important, of significance and interesting for the children. The employees found the used methods useful for children’s nutrition education. Through the word gap story, the thesis worker noticed that the children remembered the discussed topics well and that they knew a lot for example about the origins of food and how to put together one’s plate according to the healthy eating plate –model. According to the thesis worker’s own observations and the feedback given, the activities were executed well and the objectives were met. In the future, similar projects should be done in other daycares. The methods used and the report were given for the use of the co-operative organization. In the future, the methods could work as a tool in nutrition education

Internet recruitment and employer branding on the company internet recruitment site

Siirretty Doriast

Regulating Mechanisms of Gonadal and Pituitary Tumorigenesis in Mice Producing Human Chorionic Gonadotropin

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and luteinizing hormone (LH) are structurally and functionally similar glycoprotein hormones acting through the same luteinizing hormone chorionic gonadotropin receptor (LHCGR). The functions of LH in reproduction and hCG in pregnancy are well known. Recently, the expression of LHCGR has been found in many nongonadal tissues and cancers, and this has raised the question of whether LH/hCG could affect the function or tumorigenesis of these nongonadal tissues. We have also previously generated an hCG expressing mouse model presenting nongonadal phenotypes. Using this model it is possible to improve our understanding of nongonadal action of highly elevated LH/hCG. In the current study, we analyzed the effect of moderately and highly elevated hCG levels on male reproductive development and function. The main finding was the appearance of fetal Leydig cell (FLC) adenomas in prepubertal males. However, the development and differentiation of FLCs were not significantly affected. We also show that the function of hCG is different in FLCs and in adult Leydig cells (ALC), because in the latter cells hCG was not able to induce tumorigenesis. In FLCs, LHCGR is not desensitized or downregulated upon ligand binding. In this study, we found that the testicular expression of two G protein-coupled receptor kinases responsible for receptor desensitization or downregulation is increased in adult testis. Results suggest that the lack of LHCGR desensitization or downregulation in FLCs protect testosterone (Te) synthesis, but also predispose FLCs for LH/hCG induced adenomas. However, all the hCG induced nongonadal changes observed in male mice were possible to explain by the elevated Te level found in these males. Our findings indicate that the direct nongonadal effects of elevated LH/hCG in males are not pathophysiologically significant. In female mice, we showed that an elevated hCG level was able to induce gonadal tumorigenesis. hCG also induced the formation of pituitary adenomas (PA), but the mechanism was indirect. Furthermore, we found two new potential risk factors and a novel hormonally induced mechanism for PAs. Increased progesterone (P) levels in the presence of physiological estradiol (E2) levels induced the formation of PAs in female mice. E2 and P induced the expression and nuclear localization of a known cell-cycle regulator, cyclin D1. A calorie restricted diet was also able to prevent the formation of PAs, suggesting that obesity is able to promote the formation of PAs. Hormone replacement therapy after gonadectomy and hormone antagonist therapy showed that the nongonadal phenotypes observed in hCG expressing female mice were due to ovarian hyperstimulation. A slight adrenal phenotype was evident even after gonadectomy in hCG expressing females, but E2 and P replacement was able to induce a similar phenotype in WT females without elevated LH/hCG action. In conclusion, we showed that the direct effects of elevated hCG/LH action are limited only to the gonads of both sexes. The nongonadal phenotypes observed in hCG expressing mice were due to the indirect, gonadal hormone mediated effects of elevated hCG. Therefore, the gonads are the only physiologically significant direct targets of LHCGR signalling.Siirretty Doriast

Fullanin ja Hargreavesin muutosajattelun vivahteet : Muutosteoreettinen näkökulma Suomen erityisopetusopetusreformiin

Change-theories and theoretical conceptualizations of educational development are the primary focal points of this investigation. Michael Fullan’s and Andy Hargreaves’s change theories are examined for their breadth and depth. Then the Finnish special educational reform measures (2005–2012) are investigated. The research questions concern 1) what are the key characteristics of selected Fullan’s and Hargreaves’s works? 2) What are the most compelling similarities and differences in the theoretical models of educational change? 3) To what extent is the construction of a synthesized Fullan-Hargreavesian change model of value and even possible? 4) How well does a Fullan-Hargreavesian model apply to Finnish special education reform? Three data sets undergird the research: 1) Interview data. Fullan was interviewed in 2013 and Hargreaves in 2011; 2) Selected works from Fullan (n=4) and Hargreaves (n=4), and 3) Finnish policy documents (n=19) representing different phases of the entire reform process in 2005–2012. The examination of Fullan’s and Hargreaves’s theories resulted in two lines of thought about educational change. Alongside theoretical aspects lie an assortment of professional practice pathways. They were gleaned through interview data and substantiated through analysis of their literature. By combining their change-theoretical approaches a Fullan-Hargreavesian model was constructed consisting of four categories: Entry, Objective, Dissemination, and Impact. Through the conceptual framework of change the nature and content of political eloquence in the policy documents became visible, the process explicated upper and lower level reasons for the reform, visiting the means for disseminating the new policy, and reflected the means for evaluating the impact of the reform measures in Finland. The contributions to the field of educational change are multifold, including the examination and comparison, and the incorporation of Fullan’s and Hargreaves’s change-theories. The quest is to deliver an innovative theoretical approach to policy analysis. The analysis of the Finnish reform process points toward a new phase in the theoretical model, Preparation, as a type of understanding of long-term pre-reform happenings, and a dimension that is absent in Fullan’s and Hargreaves’s theories included in this study. The field of special education benefits from the thorough description of the reform process, and the analytical approach to the reform process brings new insights to the research in that field. The Finnish education system, and no doubt many other systems, could benefit from a more systematic and well-structured theory-oriented approach to educational change that would be applied in the early stages of the process.Tutkimuksessa tarkastelen Michael Fullanin ja Andy Hargreavesin muutosteorioita. Muutosteorioiden avulla voidaan selittää koulun muutokseen liittyviä tekijöitä ja tehdä muutosta ymmärrettävämmäksi koulumaailmassa työskenteleville. Teoriat tarjoavat malleja, joiden tavoitteena on tukea työntekijöitä kohtaamaan muutosprosessissa eteen tulevia ongelmakohtia, ratkaisemaan niitä ja tunnistamaan muutosta eteenpäin vieviä tekijöitä. Käytän Fullanin ja Hargreavesin teorioita viitekehyksenä peruskoulun erityisopetuksen uudistuksen analysoinnissa. Tutkimuksessani on kaksi päälinjaa: Fullanin ja Hargreavesin teorioiden analyysi sekä Suomen erityisopetusuudistuksen kuvaaminen ja uudistuksen muutosteoreettinen analyysi. Kolmiosainen aineisto koostui pääosin kirjallisesta materiaalista eli muutosteorioita käsittelevistä teoksista ja koulutuspoliittisista asiakirjoista. Lisäksi aineistoon kuului kyseisten teoreetikoiden haastattelut. Teoreettinen analyysi tuotti kaksi muutosajattelullista päälinjaa, joiden kautta toin esiin koulunmuutokseen liittyvät keskeiset tekijät. Tein päälinjoista synteesin, jota käyttäen rakensin muutosteoreettisen mallin. Mallini koostui neljästä osa-alueesta 1) uudistuksen esittely (Entry), 2) tavoitteiden erittely (Objective), 3) keinot, joilla tietoa uudistuksesta levitetään (Dissemination) ja 4) tekijät, joilla uudistuksen vaikutuksia arvioidaan (Impact). Malli toimi tarkastelukehikkona erityisopetusuudistukselle ja kuvasi sitä muutosteoreettisen käsitteistön kautta. Tutkimukseni tarjoaa käyttökelpoisen tavan hyödyntää Fullanin ja Hargreavesin teorioita muutosprosesseissa. Tulosteni mukaan teorioihin perustuva malli ei kuitenkaan kata kaikkia suomalaisen erityisopetuksen kehittämistyön vaiheita. Malli ei selitä Suomen koulutuspolitiikkaan olennaisesti kuuluvaa, uudistuksia ennakoivaa vaihetta, joka voi kestää vuosia. Analyysini tulosten perusteella malliin tulisi lisätä ensimmäiseksi tarkastelukohteeksi valmistelu (Preparation). Tutkimukseni osoitti myös, että erityisopetuksen uudistuksen suunnittelusta ja toteutuksesta puuttui muutosteoreettinen viitekehys. Siten suomalaisessa uudistusten suunnittelussa ja toteutuksessa tulee hyödyntää systemaattista teoriaperustaista koulunkehittämisen viitekehystä ja se kannattaa tuoda mukaan prosessiin jo varhaisessa vaiheessa eli sisällyttää se kokonaisuuden suunnitteluun, kuvaamiseen, toteutukseen ja arviointiin. Tutkimukseni sisällöllinen anti hyödyttää myös kansainvälistä erityispedagogista tutkimusta

Valuing international marine resources: A meta-analysis on the Baltic Sea

The study uses meta-analysis to provide insights into the value of international marine resources, illustrating the issue with the case of the Baltic Sea. Willingness to pay for water quality improvements varies systematically with factors such as a country's income level, characteristics of the change in water quality, water body type, study year and methodology. The results of the meta-analysis are applied to benefit transfer in order to assess the distribution of the benefits of marine protection measures between the Baltic Sea countries and to compare the results with previous research. The net benefits of protecting the Baltic are positive, but they are asymmetrically distributed between the littoral countries

Top 5 Euroopan jalkapalloliigat - Yhteys taloudellisen ja urheilullisen menestyksen välillä

Objectives of the study The research consists of two primary objectives. First one is to provide an extensive theory basis of European club football in the field of sports economics. The second objective is to further study the connection between financial performance and sporting success in European club football. The study especially seeks answers if financially successful clubs do well also in the field and vice versa. Motivational factor behind the study is UEFA’s Financial Fair Play Regulations, and the study aims to reveal their impact on the connection between clubs’ financial and sporting performance. Data and methodology The sample consists of 690 observations of 139 different clubs that have played in top-five leagues (English Premier League, German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1, Italian Serie A and Spanish La Liga) between years 2008 and 2016. Financial data consists of revenues and operating profit, and it’s restricted through public availability. Sporting success is measured by domestic league positions. Various multivariate linear regression models are built to study the correlation between financial and sporting performance. In addition, correlation results are analysed through various sensitivity tests, such as comparisons pre- and post- UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations. Results The study offers lots of significant results of which one of the most important is that domestic league winners generate on average $59.2 million greater revenues and$13.5 million greater operating profit than other clubs. In addition, reaching one position higher on the league table rewards the club with $1.3 million greater revenues on average. Positive correlation between league position and operating profit is found only in German Bundesliga, where reaching one position higher on the league table rewards club on average with$1.2 million greater operating profit. Interestingly negative correlation is found in Italian Serie A, where cost of reaching higher on the table is on average $0.6 million reduction in operating profit. Almost same negative connection ($0.5 million) is found for whole data set before UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations were introduced, but after the introduction no statistically significant connection can be found. Hence, it could be argued that UEFA’s regulations have already had a positive impact on operational profit of the most sportingly successful clubs in Europe

Live Tissue Imaging Sheds Light on Cell Level Events During Ectodermal Organ Development

Embryonic development of ectodermal organs involves a very dynamic range of cellular events and, therefore, requires advanced techniques to visualize them. Ectodermal organogenesis proceeds in well-defined sequential stages mediated by tissue interactions. Different ectodermal organs feature shared morphological characteristics, which are regulated by conserved and reiterative signaling pathways. A wealth of genetic information on the expression patterns and interactions of specific signaling pathways has accumulated over the years. However, the conventional developmental biology methods have mainly relied on two-dimensional tissue histological analyses at fixed time points limiting the possibilities to follow the processes in real time on a single cell resolution. This has complicated the interpretation of cause and effect relationships and mechanisms of the successive events. Whole-mount tissue live imaging approaches are now revealing how reshaping of the epithelial sheet for the initial placodal thickening, budding morphogenesis and beyond, involve coordinated four dimensional changes in cell shapes, well-orchestrated cell movements and specific cell proliferation and apoptosis patterns. It is becoming evident that the interpretation of the reiterative morphogenic signals takes place dynamically at the cellular level. Depending on the context, location, and timing they drive different cell fate choices and cellular interactions regulating a pattern of behaviors that ultimately defines organ shapes and sizes. Here we review how new tissue models, advances in 3D and live tissue imaging techniques have brought new understanding on the cell level behaviors that contribute to the highly dynamic stages of morphogenesis in teeth, hair and related ectodermal organs during development, and in dysplasia contexts.Peer reviewe