Nanoparticle-Assisted Immunoassays for Point-of-Care Testing - With Specific Interest in Minimally Interference-Prone Assays for Cardiac Troponin I

Cardiac troponins (cTn) I and T are the current golden standard biochemical markers in the diagnosis and risk stratification of patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome. During the past few years, novel assays capable of detecting cTn‐concentrations in >50% of apparently healthy individuals have become readily available. With the emerging of these high sensitivity cTn assays, reductions in the assay specificity have caused elevations in the measured cTn levels that do not correlate with the clinical picture of the patient. The increased assay sensitivity may reveal that various analytical interference mechanisms exist. This doctoral thesis focused on developing nanoparticle‐assisted immunometric assays that could possibly be applied to an automated point‐of‐care system. The main objective was to develop minimally interference‐prone assays for cTnI by employing recombinant antibody fragments. Fast 5‐ and 15‐minute assays for cTnI and D‐dimer, a degradation product of fibrin, based on intrinsically fluorescent nanoparticles were introduced, thus highlighting the versatility of nanoparticles as universally applicable labels. The utilization of antibody fragments in different versions of the developed cTnI‐assay enabled decreases in the used antibody amounts without sacrificing assay sensitivity. In addition, the utilization of recombinant antibody fragments was shown to significantly decrease the measured cTnI concentrations in an apparently healthy population, as well as in samples containing known amounts of potentially interfering factors: triglycerides, bilirubin, rheumatoid factors, or human anti‐mouse antibodies. When determining the specificity of four commercially available antibodies for cTnI, two out of the four cross‐reacted with skeletal troponin I, but caused crossreactivity issues in patient samples only when paired together. In conclusion, the results of this thesis emphasize the importance of careful antibody selection when developing cTnI assays. The results with different recombinant antibody fragments suggest that the utilization of antibody fragments should strongly be encouraged in the immunoassay field, especially with analytes such as cTnI that require highly sensitive assay approaches.Siirretty Doriast

The spoilage flora of vacuum-packaged, sodium nitrite or potassium nitrate treated, cold-smoked rainbow trout stored at 4°C or 8°C

http://www.elsevier.nl/locate/01681605The spoilage flora of vacuum-packaged, salted, cold-smoked rainbow trout fillets, with or without the addition of nitrate or nitrite, stored at 4°C and 8°C, was studied. Of 620 isolates, lactic acid bacteria were the major fraction (76%), predominating in all samples of spoiled product. However, the phenotypical tests used were insufficient to identify the lactic acid bacteria to the species level. Gram-positive, catalase-positive cocci, Gram-negative, oxidase-negative rods and Gram-negative, oxidase-positive rods were found in 6%, 16% and 2% of the samples, respectively. Of 39 Gram-positive, catalase-positive cocci, 29 were identified as staphylococci and 10 as micrococci. Eighty-five isolates were found to belong to the family Enterobacteriaceae, with 45 of those being Serratia plymuthica. Eleven isolates from the nitrate treated samples stored at 8°C were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The occurrence of P. aeruginosa and staphylococci in the nitrate-containing samples, stored at 8°C, may cause problems with respect to the safety of the product. The types of lactic acid and other bacteria in the spoilage flora were generally reduced by the addition of nitrate or nitrite to fillets

Teuraslinjan koneturvallisuuden kehittäminen

Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli selvittää, täyttääkö Atrian A-sikateurastamon tuotantolinjan kolme konetta niille asetut turvallisuusmääräykset koneturvallisuudessa. Tavoitteena oli löytää mahdolliset riskit ja löytää riskien poistamiseksi parhaiten kaikkia koneen käyttäjiä palveleva ratkaisu. Kaikki konelinjan koneet ovat erilaisia, joten niissä kaikissa on myös erilaisia vaa-roja. Osa koneista oli koneturvallisuudeltaan täysin kunnossa eikä niistä löytynyt kuin pieniä muutostarpeita, joilla pystyy helpottamaan koneen turvallista käyttöä. Osassa koneista taas oli merkittäviä turvallisuuspuutteita, joihin työssä valitaan käyttöön parhaiten soveltuva ratkaisu. Koneet on asennettu vuonna 2006, joten niiden ei tarvitse täyttää Euroopan parlamentin laatimaa konedirektiiviä 2006/42/EY eikä myöskään konedirektiivin pohjalta laadittua Valtioneuvoston asetusta koneiden turvallisuudesta 400/2008. Koneiden tulee täyttää Euroopan parlamentin konedirektiivi 95/16/EY. Koneiden tulee täyttää käyttöasetus (403/2008), koska niitä käytetään työssä.This thesis was made to see if the three machines of a factory line at Atria A-sikateurastamo meet the machine safety requirements. The goal of this project was to find risks, and then a way to remove the risks. The chosen way should be the best solution for everyone using the machine. Two machines were already safe to use and required only little adjustments to make it easier to use them safe-ly. One machine had significant safety deficiencies, and the aim of this thesis was to solve them. The machines studied had been assembled and installed in 2006, so they did not need to meet all the newest laws and standards. They did not need to meet the machine directive 2006/42/EY, nor the Finnish government decree 400/2008 on machine safety either. However, it was mandatory that the machines had been made following such standards which are in accordance with the machine di-rective 95/16/EY. Because the machines were used daily in work, they also had to meet the standards of 403/2008, which is a decree for using machines

Russian food import ban - impacts on rural and regional development in Finland

This paper investigates the economic effects of the food import ban that Russia imposed vis-à-vis the European Union in 2014 on the development of two structurally different rural regions in Finland. A detailed, rural-urban dataset was compiled for use with a recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium model. In the medium run, the overall economic effects of the trade ban were negative for both regions, and the value added of agriculture and food industries fell notably. When the rigidities of capital availability were relaxed, regional GDP and employment increased in South Ostrobothnia as, for instance, metal industry and construction accelerated economic growth. In North Karelia, where agriculture and food industry account for a minor share of economy, other industries could not compensate the losses the ban caused. Accordingly, the impacts were dependent on the economic structure of the region.Peer reviewe

Sustainable development – international framework – overview and analysis in the context of forests and forest products with a stakeholder view – a literature review

Co-operation between different stakeholder groups is found important. Private owners have an important position and privately owned forests form a remarkable resource for forestry in Finland. Sustainable development is followed by several international organizations: for example the United Nations and the OECD with green strategies. Features of sustainable development may be found in the green concepts. Forests and forest products are presented with sustainable development characteristics in many national and international associations, linking to diverse ecosystems, in various programmes, standards and certification schemes. In the value chain from forests, forest certification is a market-based tool. The Corporate Social Responsibility strengthens corporate’s profitability. Forests and forest products with sustainable development characteristics are represented internationally by organizations, in the national and international regulation as the EU regulation and in corporations with the customer social responsibility aspect. The research method of this study is a qualitative study and a literature review.Peer reviewe

Sustainable development - International framework - Overview and analysis in the context of forests and forest products - Opportunities for sustainable markets - Literature review

Peer reviewe

Vocational Education and Training in Finnish Open Prisons: A Multilevel Approach to Young Incarcerated People’s Barriers to Participation

Having relevant skills and education are considered the best indicators of reintegration into society after release from prison, but majority of young, incarcerated people have a lower education level and participate less in education compared to the same age population at large. This article focuses on finding solutions for overcoming the barriers to prison education in Finland. We explored those barriers, asking: What are the perceptions and experiences of barriers to education among prisoner-students, educators, and other professionals engaged in vocational prison education in Finland? The research data consists of 29 interviews of vocational education and training (VET) students (11), teachers, prison staff and other experts (18). The analysis is based on a framework of the comprehensive lifelong learning (LLL) participation model (Boeren, 2017). The analysis demonstrated that the conflicting policies and practices of education and jurisdiction, the two sectors involved in prison education, challenge low educated individuals’ successful entry to and participation in education while incarcerated