Onko varhaisen tuen päiväkoti mahdollinen? : Tutkimus varhaiskasvatuksen yhteisöllisestä kehittämisestä

Is the early childhood day care facility possible? The research considering communal development of the early education. In Finland mothers and fathers look after 400 000 pre-school children. Half of these attend day care facilities, in which 50 000 staff are employed. The aim of this research is to develop co-operation practices within the day care centre. This research refines and expands my own interest in and knowledge of day care management and content development. The basis of the research draws upon ethnographic material covering the period 1999–2005. The day care centre chosen as a central informant was the first suburban centre founded in 1963, and it provided a rich local and welfare state research perspective. It became clear that the day care facility’s co-operation practices formed the basis of bringing up children and at the same time produced a new multi-operational and multi-layered community for child participation. Adult day care centre workers bringing up the children as a professional work and solutions defining the conditions for the work are expressed in a child’s upbringing. This obviously has an impact in where as the development of communities. From the human and community scientific point of view, the group of youngest children will take up a future position as key players in communities as essential actors and reformers. The research was carried out as multiphase and multiscientific practical research and iterative data formation. The results verified that the co-operation between parents and day care staff produces important benefits for all the stakeholders. However, the day care staff has difficulties in implementing the benefits. During the research process, it became clear that conceptually day care staff saw the practices as ”very important, but not easily realised in practice”. As a result this demanded further research to address this issue and to extend this to the carefacility’s co-operation practises and their communal and social conditions. The research looks at the carefacility’s co-operation with key stakeholders. At the same time it undertakes an analytical and historical examination of carefacilitys’s with an experimental focus as two day care centres chosen as experimental objects. The results of the research showed that the benefits gained by children were determined by the day care centre’s socio-political structure and the parent’s resources. The research framework categorised early childhood education as generational and gender based structures. As part of the research, the strains endemic to these formations have been examined. The system for bringing up children was created as part of a so called welfare state project by implemented by the Day Care Act in year 1973. The law secured the subjective right for every pre-school child to have access to day care facilities. The law also introduced a labour and sosiopolitical phase and the refinement of the day care facility’s education-care concept. The latest phase that started during the early 1990´s was called the market-based social services strategy. As a result of this phase, state support was limited and the screening function of the law was relaxed. This new strategy resulted in a divisive and bureaucratic social welfare system, that individualised and segregated children and their parents, leaving some families outside the communal and welfare state benefit net. The modern day care centre is a hybrid of different aims. Children spend longer and more irregular time in day care. The families are multicultural and that requires more training for the staff. The work in day care has been enhanced, for example he level of education for the staff has been lowered and productivity has been improved. However, administrative work and different kinds of support and net work functions together with the continuous change have taken over from the work done face to face with children. Staff experiences more pressure as the management and the work load has increased. Consequently the long-term planning and daily implementation of the nuclear task of the day care facility is difficult to control. This will have an effect on both motivation and manageability of the work. Overall quality of the early childhood upbringing has been weakened. The possibilities for the near future were tested in the two day care centres chosen as an experi-ment objects. The analysis of these experiments showed that generative interaction work will benefit everyone: children, parents and employees. The main results of the research are new concepts of an early support day care centre, which can be empirically and theoretically possi-ble for development the near future. Key words: Day care facility’s co-operation practises, early childhood education as generational structure, child’s multi-operational and multi-layered community, multi-subjective operator, generative interaction work, communal composition.

Lake sediment research as a part of lake management - case studies and implications from southern Finland

In Finland one of the most important current issues in the environmental management is the quality of surface waters. The increasing social importance of lakes and water systems has generated wide-ranging interest in lake restoration and management, concerning especially lakes suffering from eutrophication, but also from other environmental impacts. Most of the factors deteriorating the water quality in Finnish lakes are connected to human activities. Especially since the 1940's, the intensified farming practices and conduction of sewage waters from scattered settlements, cottages and industry have affected the lakes, which simultaneously have developed in to recreational areas for a growing number of people. Therefore, this study was focused on small lakes, which are human impacted, located close to settlement areas and have a significant value for local population. The aim of this thesis was to obtain information from lake sediment records for on-going lake restoration activities and to prove that a well planned, properly focused lake sediment study is an essential part of the work related to evaluation, target consideration and restoration of Finnish lakes. Altogether 11 lakes were studied. The study of Lake Kaljasjärvi was related to the gradual eutrophication of the lake. In lakes Ormajärvi, Suolijärvi, Lehee, Pyhäjärvi and Iso-Roine the main focus was on sediment mapping, as well as on the long term changes of the sedimentation, which were compared to Lake Pääjärvi. In Lake Hormajärvi the role of different kind of sedimentation environments in the eutrophication development of the lake's two basins were compared. Lake Orijärvi has not been eutrophied, but the ore exploitation and related acid main drainage from the catchment area have influenced the lake drastically and the changes caused by metal load were investigated. The twin lakes Etujärvi and Takajärvi are slightly eutrophied, but also suffer problems associated with the erosion of the substantial peat accumulations covering the fringe areas of the lakes. These peat accumulations are related to Holocene water level changes, which were investigated. The methods used were chosen case-specifically for each lake. In general, acoustic soundings of the lakes, detailed description of the nature of the sediment and determinations of the physical properties of the sediment, such as water content, loss on ignition and magnetic susceptibility were used, as was grain size analysis. A wide set of chemical analyses was also used. Diatom and chrysophycean cyst analyses were applied, and the diatom inferred total phosphorus content was reconstructed. The results of these studies prove, that the ideal lake sediment study, as a part of a lake management project, should be two-phased. In the first phase, thoroughgoing mapping of sedimentation patterns should be carried out by soundings and adequate corings. The actual sampling, based on the preliminary results, must include at least one long core from the main sedimentation basin for the determining the natural background state of the lake. The recent, artificially impacted development of the lake can then be determined by short-core and surface sediment studies. The sampling must be focused on the basis of the sediment mapping again, and it should represent all different sedimentation environments and bottom dynamic zones, considering the inlets and outlets, as well as the effects of possible point loaders of the lake. In practice, the budget of the lake management projects of is usually limited and only the most essential work and analyses can be carried out. The set of chemical and biological analyses and dating methods must therefore been thoroughly considered and adapted to the specific management problem. The results show also, that information obtained from a properly performed sediment study enhances the planning of the restoration, makes possible to define the target of the remediation activities and improves the cost-efficiency of the project.

Development of a new flexor tendon repair technique performed with bioabsorbable poly-L/D-lactide (PLDLA) suture

Sormen koukistajajännevamman korjauksen jälkeisen aktiivisen mobilisaation on todettu johtavan parempaan toiminnalliseen lopputulokseen kuin nykyisin yleisesti käytetyn dynaamisen mobilisaation. Aktiivisen mobilisaation ongelma on jännekorjauksen pettämisriskin lisääntyminen nykyisten ommeltekniikoiden riittämättömän vahvuuden vuoksi. Jännekorjauksen lujuutta on parannettu kehittämällä monisäieommeltekniikoita, joissa jänteeseen tehdään useita rinnakkaisia ydinompeleita. Niiden kliinistä käyttöä rajoittaa kuitenkin monimutkainen ja aikaa vievä tekninen suoritus. Käden koukistajajännekorjauksessa käytetään yleisesti sulamattomia ommelmateriaaleja. Nykyiset käytössä olevat biohajoavat langat heikkenevät liian nopeasti jänteen paranemiseen nähden. Biohajoavan laktidistereokopolymeeri (PLDLA) 96/4 – langan vetolujuuden puoliintumisajan sekä kudosominaisuuksien on aiemmin todettu soveltuvan koukistajajännekorjaukseen. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli kehittää välittömän aktiivisen mobilisaation kestävä ja toteutukseltaan yksinkertainen käden koukistajajännekorjausmenetelmä biohajoavaa PLDLA 96/4 –materiaalia käyttäen. Tutkimuksessa analysoitiin viiden eri yleisesti käytetyn koukistajajänneompeleen biomekaanisia ominaisuuksia staattisessa vetolujuustestauksessa ydinompeleen rakenteellisten ominaisuuksien – 1) säikeiden (lankojen) lukumäärän, 2) langan paksuuden ja 3) ompeleen konfiguraation – vaikutuksen selvittämiseksi jännekorjauksen pettämiseen ja vahvuuteen. Jännekorjausten näkyvän avautumisen todettiin alkavan perifeerisen ompeleen pettäessä voima-venymäkäyrän myötöpisteessä. Ydinompeleen lankojen lukumäärän lisääminen paransi ompeleen pitokykyä jänteessä ja suurensi korjauksen myötövoimaa. Sen sijaan paksumman (vahvemman) langan käyttäminen tai ompeleen konfiguraatio eivät vaikuttaneet myötövoimaan. Tulosten perusteella tutkittiin mahdollisuuksia lisätä ompeleen pitokykyä jänteestä yksinkertaisella monisäieompeleella, jossa ydinommel tehtiin kolmen säikeen polyesterilangalla tai nauhamaisen rakenteen omaavalla kolmen säikeen polyesterilangalla. Nauhamainen rakenne lisäsi merkitsevästi ompeleen pitokykyä jänteessä parantaen myötövoimaa sekä maksimivoimaa. Korjauksen vahvuus ylitti aktiivisen mobilisaation jännekorjaukseen kohdistaman kuormitustason. PLDLA 96/4 –langan soveltuvuutta koukistajajännekorjaukseen selvitettiin tutkimalla langan biomekaanisia ominaisuuksia ja solmujen pito-ominaisuuksia staattisessa vetolujuustestauksessa verrattuna yleisimmin jännekorjauksessa käytettävään punottuun polyesterilankaan (Ticron®). PLDLA –langan todettiin soveltuvan hyvin koukistajajännekorjaukseen, sillä se on polyesterilankaa venymättömämpi ja solmujen pitävyys on parempi. Viimeisessä vaiheessa tutkittiin PLDLA 96/4 –langasta valmistetulla kolmisäikeisellä, nauhamaisella jännekorjausvälineellä tehdyn jännekorjauksen kestävyyttä staattisessa vetolujuustestauksessa sekä syklisessä kuormituksessa, joka simuloi staattista testausta paremmin mobilisaation toistuvaa kuormitusta. PLDLA-korjauksen vahvuus ylitti sekä staattisessa että syklisessä kuormituksessa aktiivisen mobilisaation edellyttämän vahvuuden. Nauhamaista litteää ommelmateriaalia ei aiemmin ole tutkittu tai käytetty käden koukistajajännekorjauksessa. Tässä tutkimuksessa ommelmateriaalin nauhamainen rakenne paransi merkitsevästi jännekorjauksen vahvuutta, minkä arvioidaan johtuvan lisääntyneestä kontaktipinnasta jänteen ja ommelmateriaalin välillä estäen ompeleen läpileikkautumista jänteessä. Tutkimuksessa biohajoavasta PLDLA –materiaalista valmistetulla rakenteeltaan nauhamaisella kolmisäikeisellä langalla tehdyn jännekorjauksen vahvuus saavutti aktiivisen mobilisaation edellyttämän tason. Lisäksi uusi menetelmä on helppokäyttöinen ja sillä vältetään perinteisten monisäieompeleiden tekniseen suoritukseen liittyvät ongelmat.

Accumulation of point mutations and reassortment of genomic RNA segments are involved in the microevolution of Puumala hantavirus in a bank vole (Myodes glareolus) population

"The genetic diversity of Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) was studied in a local population of its natural host, the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). The trapping area (2.5x2.5 km) at Konnevesi, Central Finland, included 14 trapping sites, at least 500 m apart; altogether, 147 voles were captured during May and October 2005. Partial sequences of the S, M and L viral genome segments were recovered from 40 animals. Seven, 12 and 17 variants were detected for the S, M and L sequences, respectively; these represent new wild-type PUUV strains that belong to the Finnish genetic lineage. The genetic diversity of PUUV strains from Konnevesi was 0.2-4.9% for the S segment, 0.2-4.8% for the M segment and 0.2-9.7% for the L segment. Most nucleotide substitutions were synonymous and most deduced amino acid substitutions were conservative, probably due to strong stabilizing selection operating at the protein level. Based on both sequence markers and phylogenetic clustering, the S, M and L sequences could be assigned to two groups, 'A' and 'B'. Notably, not all bank voles carried S, M and L sequences belonging to the same group, i.e. SAMALA or SBMBLB.. A substantial proportion (8/40, 20%) of the newly characterized PUUV strains possessed reassortant genomes such as SBMALA, SAMBLB or SBMALB. These results suggest that at least some of the PUUV reassortants are viable and can survive in the presence of their parental strains."

Mercury in Finnish forest lakes and reservoirs : anthropogenic contribution to the load and accumulation in fish

Yhteenveto: Elohopea Suomen metsäjärvissä ja tekoaltaissa: ihmisen vaikutus kuormitukseen ja pitoisuuksiin kaloissa.

Effect of drainage basin characteristics on the diffuse load of phosphorus and nitrogen.

Tiivistelmä: Valuma-alueen vaikutus fosforin ja typen hajakuormitukseen.