Tutkijakollegium : pitkiä kysymyksiä, lyhyitä vastauksia

Kysymykset: Esko Rahikainen

Aarteita kansalliskirjastossa

Aarteet-näyttely kansalliskirjastossa 9.3.-15.10.2005

Early pregnancy sex steroids and maternal risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.

Well-established associations between reproductive characteristics and epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) support an involvement of sex steroid hormones in the etiology of EOC. Limited previous studies have evaluated circulating androgens and the risk of EOC, and estrogens and progesterone have been investigated in only one of the previous studies. Furthermore, there is little data on potential heterogeneity in the association between circulating hormones and EOC by histological subgroup. Therefore, we conducted a nested case-control study within the Finnish Maternity Cohort and the Northern Sweden Maternity Cohort to investigate the associations between circulating pre-diagnostic sex steroid concentrations and the histological subtypes of EOC. We identified 1052 EOC cases among cohort members diagnosed after recruitment (1975-2008) and before March 2011. Up to three controls were individually matched to each case (n=2694). Testosterone, androstenedione, 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP), progesterone, estradiol (E2), and sex hormone-binding globulin levels were measured in serum samples collected during the last pregnancy before EOC diagnosis. We used conditional logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs. Associations between hormones and EOC differed with respect to tumor histology and invasiveness. Sex steroid concentrations were not associated with invasive serous tumors; however, doubling of testosterone and 17-OHP concentration was associated with approximately 40% increased risk of borderline serous tumors. A doubling of androgen concentrations was associated with a 50% increased risk of mucinous tumors. The risk of endometrioid tumors increased with higher E2 concentrations (OR: 1.89 (1.20-2.98)). This large prospective study in pregnant women supports a role of sex steroid hormones in the etiology of EOC arising in the ovaries.

Cimera per la sostenibilitat

“Cimera per la sostenibilitat” és una seqüència didàctica programada per 4 sessions d’aula i dissenyada per treballar continguts del bloc 4 (L’espècie humana a la biosfera) de la matèria Ciències pel Món Contemporani de 1º de Batxillerat. L’eix vertebrador de la seqüència gira entorn la realització d’unaexposició oral de mesures que promoguin la sostenibilitat, emmarcades en diferents àmbits d’aplicació (individual, domèstic, d’edifici, municipal i de país).En aquest sentit, el producte final que es demana als alumnes és la simulació d’una cimera. El context d’aprenentatge és l’anàlisi de dades reals de consum energètic, balanç energètic, creixement i desenvolupament humà a partir de textos, notícies i fragments d’acords i tractats vigents sobre sostenibilitat.

Lost! On som?

Unitat didàctica sobre “Relleu I mapes” dissenyada en format webquest per alumnes de 3er d’ESO. El context d’aprenentatge planteja la següent aventura: L’avió d’uns expedicionaris s’estavella en una illa desconeguda després d’una tempesta. És una illa deserta I hauran d’esbrinar on són per poder escapar. L’avió està espatllat, així que hauran d’iniciar la seva expedició amb l’ajuda de l’únic nadiu que hi viu a la illa. Hauran d’aprendre a orientar-se amb elements de la natura i posar en pràctica el que saben de mapes i coordenades. La recerca que fan amb la webquest anirà orientada també a aprendre a elaborar un mapa topogràfic. Els objectius d’aprenentatge, procedimentals I actitudinals es recullen a la guía del professor, així com la programació per portar‐la a l’aula. La webquest distribueix els continguts d’aprenentatge en 4 rols diferents: “exploradora”, “cartògraf”, “pilot” I “nadiu”. Tots treballen individualment, en parelles d’experts I com a grup cooperatiu.

The economics of infertility

Infertility is a growing issue that affects thousands of Spanish couples; increasingly there are more and more people who cannot raise a family by themselves. Instead they have to resort to ART, adoption -local or international- or surrogacy abroad, a practice that many couples consider but that isn’t legalized in Spain. In this paper we have broken down each option in detail by analysing the market, differentiating its variants and specific steps, calculating its “price” and suggesting possible improvements that could be made from an economic perspective. We end our paper with the “SWOT” analysis of a hypothetical surrogacy market in Spain by calculating an estimated price, using the US as a reference, and the degree of acceptance it would have, based on the results of random surveys.