Self-sampling in cervical cancer screening : comparison of a brush-based and a lavage-based cervicovaginal self-sampling device

Background: High coverage and attendance is essential for cervical cancer screening success. We investigated whether the previous positive experiences on increasing screening attendance by self-sampling in Finland are sampler device dependent. Methods: All women identified to cervical cancer screening in 2013 in 28 Finnish municipalities were randomised to receive a lavage- (n = 6030) or a brush type of self-sampling device (n = 6045) in case of non-attendance after two invitation letters. Seven hundred seventy non-attending women in the lavage device group and 734 in the brush group received the self-sampling offer. Women's experiences were enquired with an enclosed questionnaire. Results: Total attendance in the lavage group increased from 71.0 to 77.7 % by reminder letters and further to 80.5 % by self-sampling. Respective increase in the brush group was from 72.2 to 78.6 % and then to 81.5 %. The participation by self-sampling was 21.7 % (95 % CI 18.8-24.6) in the lavage group and 23.8 % (95 % CI 20.8-26.9) in the brush group. Women's self-sampling experiences were mainly positive and the sampler devices were equally well accepted by the women. Conclusion: Our study shows that the lavage device and brush device perform similarly in terms of uptake by non-attending women and user comfort. If self-sampling is integrated to the routine screening program in Finland, either of the devices can be chosen without the fear of losing participants due to a less acceptable device.Peer reviewe

Multispectral photon-counting for medical imaging and beam characterization - A project review

Central focus of the MPMIB project – funded via the Academy of Finland’s RADDESS 2018–2021 programme – has been research towards a next-generation radiation detection system operating in a photon-counting (PC) multispectral mode: The extraction of energy spectrum per detector pixel data will lead to better efficacy in medical imaging with ionizing radiation. Therefore, it can be an important asset for diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy, enabling better diagnostic outcome with lower radiation dose as well as more versatile characterization of the radiation beam, leading for example to more accurate patient dosimetry. We present our approach of fabricating direct-conversion detectors based on cadmium telluride (CdTe) semiconductor material hybridized with PC mode capable application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and will give a review on our achievements, challenges and lessons learned. The CdTe crystals were processed at Micronova, Finland’s national research infrastructure for micro- and nanotechnology, employing techniques such as surface passivation via atomic layer deposition, and flip chip bonding of processed sensors to ASIC. Although CdTe has excellent photon radiation absorption properties, it is a brittle material that can include large concentrations of defects. We will therefore also emphasize our quality assessment of CdTe crystals and processed detectors, and present experimental data obtained with prototype detectors in X-ray and Co-60 beams at a standards laboratoryPeer reviewe

Response of boreal lakes to episodic weather-induced events

Weather-induced episodic mixing events in lake ecosystems are often unpredictable, and their impacts are therefore poorly known. The impacts can be short-lived, including changes in water temperature and stratification, but long-lasting effects on the lake’s biology may also occur. In this study we used automated water quality monitoring (AWQM) data from 8 boreal lakes to examine how the episodic weather-induced mixing events influenced thermal structure, hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen (DO), fluorometric chlorophyll estimates (Chl-a), and lake metabolism and how these events varied in frequency and magnitude in lakes with different characteristics. Rise in wind speed alone had an effect on the lakes with the weakest thermal stability, but a decrease in air temperature together with strong wind induced mixing events in all lakes. The return period of these mixing events varied widely (from 20 to 92 d) and was dependent on the magnitude of change in weather. In lakes with strong stability, thermal structure and hypolimnetic DO concentration were only slightly affected. Weather-induced mixing in the upper water column diluted the surface water Chl-a repeatedly, whereas seasonal maximum occurred in late summer on each lake. Although Finnish lakes have been characterized with stable stratification during summer, we observed many substantial mixing events of relatively short return periods relevant to both chemical and biological properties of the lakes

Puutavaranmittauksen neuvottelukunnan kokous 1/2021

Pöytäkirjaluonnos 25.2.2021. Hyväksytään 3.6.202

Puutavaranmittauksen neuvottelukunnan kokous 3/2021

Pöytäkirjaluonnos 25.10.2021. Hyväksytään seuraavassa neuvottelukunnan kokouksessa

Geographic and temporal variations in turbulent heat loss from lakes: a global analysis across 45 lakes

Heat fluxes at the lake surface play an integral part in determining the energy budget and thermal structure in lakes, including regulating how lakes respond to climate change. We explore patterns in turbulent heat fluxes, which vary across temporal and spatial scales, using in situ high‐frequency monitoring data from 45 globally distributed lakes. Our analysis demonstrates that some of the lakes studied follow a marked seasonal cycle in their turbulent surface fluxes and that turbulent heat loss is highest in larger lakes and those situated at low latitude. The Bowen ratio, which is the ratio of mean sensible to mean latent heat fluxes, is smaller at low latitudes and, in turn, the relative contribution of evaporative to total turbulent heat loss increases toward the tropics. Latent heat transfer ranged from ~ 60% to > 90% of total turbulent heat loss in the examined lakes. The Bowen ratio ranged from 0.04 to 0.69 and correlated significantly with latitude. The relative contributions to total turbulent heat loss therefore differ among lakes, and these contributions are influenced greatly by lake location. Our findings have implications for understanding the role of lakes in the climate system, effects on the lake water balance, and temperature‐dependent processes in lakes