Relating Employee Satisfaction and Voluntary Turnover

Voluntary turnover has been an enduring topic in organizational management theory and a subject of numerous empirical studies due to its great influence on organizations’ efficiency. Currently the goal was to investigate which employee satisfaction issues relate to turnover intentions and do they relate to actual voluntary turnover. The empirical study was conducted in Estonian government office: questionnaire describing employee satisfaction and turnover intentions was carried out twice and the qualitative input was received from the interviews with all resigning employees.. It appeared that employees less satisfied with items having more direct influence on their daily job and communication, were more eager to leave the organization. Employees less satisfied with distant matters concerning their job, were less willing to leave. Subsequently the results indicated that whether the employees think about leaving and their approximate estimation on further length of service, can be associated with actual turnover. The examination of the departure interviews showed that the relations detected by the analyses of the survey results, were quite accurately put into practice.employee satisfaction; job satisfaction; voluntary turnover; turnover intentions.

Decoherence control in different environments

We investigate two techniques for controlling decoherence, focusing on the crucial role played by the environmental spectrum. We show how environments with different spectra lead to very different dynamical behaviours. Our study clearly proves that such differences must be taken into account when designing decoherence control schemes. The two techniques we consider are reservoir engineering and quantum-Zeno control. We focus on a quantum harmonic oscillator initially prepared in a nonclassical state and derive analytically its non-Markovian dynamics in presence of different bosonic thermal environments. On the one hand we show how, by modifying the spectrum of the environment, it is possible to prolong or reduce the life of a Schr\"odinger cat state. On the other hand we study the effect of nonselective energy measurements on the degradation of quantumness of initial Fock states. In this latter case we see that the crossover between Zeno (QZE) and anti-Zeno (AZE) effects, discussed by Maniscalco et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 130402 (2006)], is highly sensitive to the details of the spectrum. In particular, for certain types of spectra, even very small variations of the system frequency may cause a measurement-induced acceleration of decoherence rather than its inhibition.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, new figures added, text modified for clarit

Antioxidant and antihypertensive activities of rice bran peptides

Protein isolates and peptide fractions from food sources (cereal grains), have been shown to exert bioactive properties including antiobesity, anticancer, antiangiogenic, etc. One such food source is rice bran, which is an underutilized co-product of rough rice milling. It contains 90% of the nutrients and nutraceuticals of value to health, including high quality protein. The high quality protein is a potential source to generate peptides that can reduce hypertension and oxidative stress, both being important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this study was to extract peptide hydrolysates from heat stabilized defatted rice bran by enzymatic hydrolysis, evaluate the hydrolysates for gastrointestinal (GI) resistance, fractionate the GI-resistant hydrolysates by ultrafiltration to obtain \u3e50 and 10-50 kDa fractions, and determine antihypertensive and antioxidant activities in the fractions. For antihypertension activity, angiotension-1 converting enzyme (ACE) assay, and for antioxidant activity, the 2,2-Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was conducted. We report that the ACE-I inhibition activity values for the unfractionated and unhydrolyzed (control), and fractions of \u3e50 kDa, and 10-50 kDa were 6% (control), 78%, and 55%, respectively, clearly denoting antihypertensive activity for the peptide fractions. When tested for antioxidant activity, the \u3e50 kDa fraction decreased from an initial DPPH of 95.48 to 78.99 mg/g, while the 10-50 kDa fraction decreased from an initial 110.35 to 76.53 mg/g, depicting reduction of radical-induced oxidant stress. The results demonstrated that the high molecular sized peptide hydrolysate fractions (\u3e50 and 10-50 kDa) from rice bran bear antihypertensive and antioxidant properties and could possibly find a place as a health beneficial nutraceutical ingredient in food applications

Älypakkaukset

Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoite on selvittää älypakkausten tämänhetkinen tilanne Suomessa ja niiden tulevaisuus. Työssä käydään myös läpi pakkauslainsäädäntöä ja pakkausten ominaisuuksia. Teknologian kehittyessä tuotteilta ja palveluilta vaaditaan aiempaa enemmän, ja osa tuotteista onkin jo yhteydessä internettiin eli nykykielellä älyyn. Työn teoriaosuus koostuu pakkauslainsäädännöstä, pakkauksen tunnistusmenetelmistä, pakkausten ominaisuuksia käsittelevistä osiosta sekä älypakkauksista. Pakkauslainsäädäntö-osio koostuu pakkausmateriaaleista, pakkausmerkinnöistä sekä pakkausjäteasetuksesta. Työssä tutkittiin pakkauksia käsitteleviä artikkeleita ja internetlähteitä. Pakkauksen tunnistusmenetelmistä kerrotaan yleisesti sekä selvitetään yleisimmät käytössä olevat tunnisteet, joita ovat viivakoodit, QR-koodit sekä RFID-tunnisteet. Pakkaussuunnittelu ja ekologisuus kuvataan myös lyhyesti. Tutkimusmenetelminä käytettiin internetlähteiden tulkintaa ja vertailua pakkauksista ja älypakkauksista sekä niiden ominaisuuksista. Tutkimus perustuu täysin internetlähteisiin, joten sen luotettavuus on niihin perustuva.The objective of this bachelor’s thesis is to define both the current status and the future of smart packaging in Finland. The thesis also considers the legislation and features of packaging. As technology gets more advanced, the quality requirements of products and services get higher and for this reason most of the products are already connected to Internet. The theory part of the thesis consists of the legislation of packaging, the identification methods of a package, a part that considers the features of packages and smart packaging. The legislation of packaging part consists of packaging materials, markings and Finnish package waste decree. While making the thesis, articles and Internet sources that consider the packages were studied. The identification methods of a package are discussed in general. Also, the most common identifiers, such as barcode, QR code and RFID, are explained. The package design and ecology are also considered. The research is fully based on Internet sources, so its reliability rests on them. The methods of research were comparing the internet sources from packaging to smart packaging

Liiketoimintasuunnitelma perhekodin perustamiseen

Opinnäytetyössä käsitellään teoriaosuudessa liiketoimintasuunnitelmaa ja sen eri osa-alueita. Myös käsite ammatillinen perhekoti ja sitä koskevat lait aukaistaan lyhyesti lukijalle. Liiketoimintasuunnitelman teoriaosuudessa käsitellään yhteiskunnallista ja yksityistä yrittäjää ja näiden eri yritysmuotoja. Tämän pohjalta päätän, olisiko perustettavasta perhekodista yhteiskunnalliseksi yritykseksi. Teoriaosuuden pohjalta laaditaan alustavaa liiketoimintasuunnitelma perustettavalle perhekodille. Liiketoimintasuunnitelmassa paneudutaan liikeidean, yrityksen arvojen, yritysmuodon sekä organisaation esittelyyn. Yrityksen markkinointi, riskit sekä rahoitus on esitelty pääpiirteittäin, sillä yrityksen perustaminen ei ole tällä hetkellä ajankohtainen.A business plan and its separate sectors are introduced in the theory. Also the vocational family home and the laws concerning it are briefly defined to the reader. In the theory share of the business plan a societal entrepreneur and private entrepreneur is dealt with in context of their different company forms. Based on this it is decided whether a family home could be established as a societal company form. Based on the theory section a business plan is made for the established family home. In the business plan it is better introduced of a business idea, the value of the company, company form and organisation. The marketing of the company, risks and financing have been presented only in general outline because the establishment of the company is not topical at the moment

Prenatal maternal stress and infant gut microbiota

TAVOITTEET. Yhteys äidin raskaudenaikaisen stressin ja lapsen terveydellisten ja kehityksellisten haitallisten seurausten välillä on tunnettu jo pitkään, mutta selitykset yhteydelle ovat olleet riittämättömiä. Yksi uusimmista selityksistä on suolistomikrobiomia. Tutkimuksia raskaudenaikaisen stressin ja lapsen suolistomikrobiomin yhteydestä on tehty vasta muutamia, ja niihin on liittynyt huomattavia puutteita. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on lisätä tietoa äidin raskaudenaikaisen stressin ja lapsen suolistomikrobiomin yhteydestä vauvan ensimmäisen elinvuoden aikana laajamittaisella seurantatutkimuksella ja selvittää onko yhteys erilainen tytöillä ja pojilla. MENETELMÄT. Aineistona käytetään HELMi-kohortista valittua 825 äitiä ja heidän HELMi-kohorttiin kuuluvia lapsiaan. Äidin raskaudenaikaista stressiä mitataan itsearviointilomakkeella, ja lapsen suolistomikrobiomia ulostenäytteistä. Mikrobiomin analysoinnissa käytetään 16S rRNA sekvensointia. TULOKSET. Vauvoilla, joiden äidit kokivat paljon stressiä raskausaikana, oli pienempi mikrobiomin alfa-diversiteetti kolme viikkoa syntymän jälkeen. Eroja rikkaudessa ja beta-diversiteetissä ei löytynyt. Useat pääjakso, heimo ja luokka tasoilla mitatut bakteerit olivat yhteydessä raskaudenaikaiseen stressiin. Vertailtaessa yhteyksiä tytöillä ja pojilla, eroja ei löytynyt rikkaudessa, tai alfa- tai beta-diversiteetissä. Vertailtaessa yhteyksiä pääjakso, heimo ja luokka tason bakteereihin, pojilla löytyi enemmän yhteyksiä kuin tytöillä. JOHTOPÄÄTÖKSET. Pääsääntöisesti tämän tutkimuksen tulokset olivat ristiriitaisia aiempien tutkimusten kanssa. Stressillä ei näyttänyt olevan yhteyttä vauvan kokonaisvaltaiseen mikrobiomin rakenteeseen. Eri bakteerien osalta yhteys näytti olevan vahvempi lähempänä syntymää, ja vahvempi pojille kuin tytöille. Nykyisen tietämyksen valossa ei vielä kuitenkaan voida tehdä tarkkoja johtopäätöksiä.OBJECTIVES. The association between prenatal maternal stress and adverse health and developmental offspring outcomes has been long known but explanations for this association remain insufficient. One of the most recent suggestions is gut microbiota. Only a few studies with many limitations have concentrated on the association between prenatal stress and offspring gut microbiota. The aim of this study is to conduct a large scale study with follow-up covering the whole infancy, and to test whether the association differs between girls and boys. METHODS. This study’s sample consists of 825 mothers and their infants from HELMi cohort. Prenatal maternal stress is measured with self-report questionnaire, and infant gut microbiota from fecal samples. 16S rRNA sequencing is used in analyzing the microbiota. RESULTS. High stress group had lower alpha-diversity than low stress group at 3 weeks. No differences were found in richness and beta-diversity. Several phylum, family, and genus level bacteria were associated with prenatal stress. Regarding sex differences, no differences were found in richness or in alpha- or beta-diversity. However, in phylum, family, and genus level bacterial relative abundances, more associations were found in boys than in girls. CONCLUSION. Overall the findings in this study were contradicting compared to previous findings. There was indication that there is no clear association between prenatal stress and infant overall microbiota composition. Also, the association regarding bacterial abundances could decline over age, and the association might be stronger in boys. However, not very consistent conclusions can be made based on research conducted so far

Neuroloogia. Mida teha, kui noorel krüptogeense insuldiga patsiendil on kodade vaheseinas väike mulk?

Eesti Arst 2017; 96(9):554–55

Maastiku ja visuaalse mõju hindamine Eesti tee-ehituse praktikas

Master’s Thesis Curriculum in Landscape ArchitectureThe aim of the thesis is to identify whether landscape and visual impact assessment is being used in road construction practice in Estonia. Turns out, it is not. The landscape and visual impact assessment carried out within the thesis, refers to rather significant effect on the landscape and its visual receptors. Although, evident generalisations could not be conducted, it can be stated that the landscape and visual impact should be assessed preceding or during road design process. However, the methodology should be adapted to meet the peculiarities of roads.Töö eesmärk on välja selgitada, kas Eesti tee-ehituse praktikas arvestatakse objektide mõjuga maastikule ning vaadetele. Töö käigus selgus, et seda ei tehta, peamiselt majanduslikel põhjustel, kuid meetodil võiks potentsiaali olla. Läbi viidud maastiku ja visuaalse mõju hindamised kinnitasid, et maantee objektidel on mõju maastikule ning see on kohati päris tõsine, ent üldistavaid järeldusi teha ei saa, mistõttu oleks metoodikat vaja praktika jaoks kohandada maanteede eripärasid arvestade

Resisting For the River: Local Struggle Against the Proposed Saptakoshi River Dam

On the Saptakoshi River in Nepal, the proposed construction of a hydropower dam may represent progress for parts of the country but loss for local communities. This paper draws on the experiences of people living in villages by the river who will be affected if the proposed high dam is built. By using qualitative information generated from interviews with villagers, the paper is an ethnographic account of the experiences and perspectives of the local populations that will be most directly affected by the dam. It was found that most subjects interviewed believe that the high dam would cause extreme environmental, cultural, and religious loss for Nepal and would result in more disadvantages than benefits. Due to trauma from past floods and distrust of the government’s promises of compensation, there is a strong fear of the dam project and many people are planning actions to resist. The paper explores the importance of the river to the affected communities, followed by a discussion of the ways in which local communities believe they will be affected by the dam, examining both perceived benefits and drawbacks of the project. The paper then examines the methods of anti-dam resistance, with a focus on the demands for and perceptions of compensation. Finally, the paper analyzes the beliefs about local wellbeing in relation to the greater good of Nepal and discusses the challenges faced by communities interacting with large-scale development projects