Specialisation through co-operation between farms in organic farming

Co-operation in organic production provides the potential for production specialisation with the help of co-operation in machinery use, input integration, crop rotation, shared buildings and marketing. Co-operation models provide the opportunity to optimise production between different lines of production from environmental, economic and functional perspectives

Towards more ecoefficient food production: MFA approach

The key for the sustainable development is dematerialisation and ecoefficiency. Applied to agriculture ecoefficiency means production of nutritionally better food by using less inputs and by reducing the environmental burden. In restricting the material throughput it is essential to identify the most voluminous material flows and to direct the measures to them. Improving ecoefficiency of the food production requires that the benefits and the inputs are quantified in an unambiguous way and that the inputs are estimated for the whole production chain. A comprehensive view of the whole system is necessary. The food system comprises four mutually linked loops: 1) the plant production 2) the livestock husbandry, 3) the food processing industry and 4) the human consumption. In the present paper MFA approach has been used to describe the system. A general framework for estimating and balancing the materials flow is outlined. The focus is on agriculture, specifically on the materials flow created by the biological metabolism of the animal husbandry. The holistic MFA approach provides means to evaluate environmental and economic consequences of the production. For the decision-makers the MFA approach is a tool to guide the development and to assess the progress towards increasing ecoefficiency within the food system. The results can be used in developing new sustainability indicators. Some of the possibilities are shortly discussed. The study is the first step in developing MFA methods to analyse and to monitor the materials flow of the Finnish food systems. It is a part of the project “The Materials Flow and Ecoefficiency of Agriculture and the Sustainable Compatibility of the Food Production” carried out in collaboration between the MTT - Agrifood Research Finland and the Thule Institute at the University of Oulu. The results are used also in compiling the Finnish physical input-output tables. The study, thus, contributes to the overall development of the materials flow accounting statistics

Towards more ecoefficient food production: MFA approach

The food flux comprises four mutually linked loops: 1)plant production, 2)livestock husbandry, 3) food processing industry and 4) human consumption. In the present paper MFA approach has been used to describe the system. A general framework and practical solutions for estimating and balancing the materials flow are outlined. The focus in this paper is agriculture

Eläinlääkäripalveluiden saatavuus ja kustannukset

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Eläinlääkäripalveluiden kustannukset nyt ja neljässä päivystyksen muutosskenaariossa

Tässä selvityksessä tarkastellaan eläinlääkäripalveluiden kunnille aiheuttamia kustannuksia sekä kuntien ja yksityisten palveluntarjoajien toiminnan laajuutta nyt ja neljässä julkisen päivystyspalvelun tarjonnan muutosta kuvaavassa skenaariossa. Eläinlääkäripalveluiden kustannus- ja hintatasoa arvioitiin koko maan tasolla sekä kullakin ympäristöterveydenhuollon yhteistoiminta-alueella. Neljän eri järjestämisvaihtoehdon osalta selvitettiin yksityisen palvelun saatavuutta sekä julkisten palvelujen poistamisen vaikutusta asiakashintoihin, kunnille aiheutuviin kustannuksiin, kuntien eläinlääkärivirkojen lukumäärään, hyötyeläinten palvelujen järjestämiseen ja yksityisen palveluntarjonnan vaatimaan tukeen. Vaihtoehdoissa keskityttiin seura- ja harraste-eläinpäivystystä koskeviin muutoksiin. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin kyselyllä yhteistoiminta-alueille ja yksityisille palveluntuottajille. Kyselyaineistot yhdistettiin Aluehallintoviraston VYHA-raportteihin (Ympäristöterveydenhuollon valvontayksikkötietojen hallintajärjestelmä), joista saatiin mm. eläinlääkärikäyntien lukumäärät. Aineistoja yhdistämällä voitiin arvioida eläinlääkäripalveluiden järjestämisen kustannukset käyntikertaa kohti ja arvioida kustannuksia koko maan tasolla. Kyselyaineistoon sovitettiin regressiomalli, joka selitti kustannuskertymää eläinlääkärikäyntiä kohti kyselyyn vastanneilla yhteistoiminta-alueilla. Eläinlääkäripalveluiden järjestämisestä kunnille aiheutuviksi kokonaiskustannuksiksi arvioitiin yhteensä 42,7 miljoonaa euroa vuonna 2017. Tästä pieneläinkäyntien osuus oli arviolta 65 % ja muiden eläinkäyntien 35 %. Virka-aikana toteutuneiden käyntien osuus kokonaiskustannuksesta oli vuonna 2017 noin 84 % ja päivystyskäyntien noin 16 %. Selvityksessä käytetyn mallin perusteella eläinlääkäripalveluiden järjestämisestä aiheutuva kustannus oli keskimäärin noin 8,5 € asukasta kohti. Tämä luku huomioi yhteistoiminta-alueiden väliset erot eläinlääkäripalveluiden kulutuksessa. Palveluiden hintataso vaikutti olevan Suomessa alempi kuin Ruotsissa tai Tanskassa, mutta korkeampi kuin Virossa. Tehdyt simulaatiot kunnallisten eläinlääkäripalveluiden järjestämisvaihtoehdoista viittaavat siihen, että kuntien osalta taloudellisesti paras vaihtoehto oli skenaario, jossa kunta ei tukenut palveluiden siirtymistä yksityisille palveluntarjoajille ja taloudellisesti toiseksi paras vaihtoehto oli nykyisen mukainen päivystystoiminta. Kunnaneläinlääkäreiden osalta tulojen näkökulmasta paras vaihtoehto oli nykymallin mukainen toiminta ja taloudellisesti toiseksi paras vaihtoehto oli skenaario, jossa päivystystoiminta annettiin kokonaan yksityisten toimijoiden järjestettäväksi niillä alueilla, joilla on saatavilla yksityistä eläinlääkäripalvelua seura- ja harraste-eläimille. Eläinten omistajien näkökulmasta taloudellisesti parhaita vaihtoehtoja olivat nykyinen päivystysmalli ja skenaario, jossa päivystyspalvelutarjontaa tuettiin julkisista varoista. Yksityisten palveluntarjoajien näkökulmasta eniten liikevaihtoa tuotti skenaario, jossa yksityisten toimijoiden vastuu päivystyspalveluiden järjestämisestä oli laajin. Kyselyn ja simulaatioiden tulokset viittaavat siihen, että mikäli eläinlääkäripalvelujen toimintamallia muutetaan tukemalla yksityisiä toimijoita, kompensaation tulisi olla riittävän suuri, mikäli yksityistä palvelutarjontaa halutaan syntyvän laajasti.201

Associations of cognitive reserve and psychological resilience with cognitive functioning in subjects with cerebral white matter hyperintensities

Background and purpose Cerebral small vessel disease is characterized by progressive white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and cognitive decline. However, variability exists in how individuals maintain cognitive capabilities despite significant neuropathology. The relationships between individual cognitive reserve, psychological resilience and cognitive functioning were examined in subjects with varying degrees of WMH. Methods In the Helsinki Small Vessel Disease Study, 152 subjects (aged 65-75 years) underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment, evaluation of subjective cognitive complaints and brain magnetic resonance imaging with volumetric WMH evaluation. Cognitive reserve was determined by education (years) and the modified Cognitive Reserve Scale (mCRS). Psychological resilience was evaluated with the Resilience Scale 14. Results The mCRS total score correlated significantly with years of education (r = 0.23, p < 0.01), but it was not related to age, sex or WMH volume. Together, mCRS score and education were associated with performance in a wide range of cognitive domains including processing speed, executive functions, working memory, verbal memory, visuospatial perception and verbal reasoning. Independently of education, the mCRS score had incremental predictive value on delayed verbal recall and subjective cognitive complaints. Psychological resilience was not significantly related to age, education, sex, WMH severity or cognitive test scores, but it was associated with subjective cognitive complaints. Conclusions Cognitive reserve has strong and consistent associations with cognitive functioning in subjects with WMH. Education is widely associated with objective cognitive functioning, whereas lifetime engagement in cognitively stimulating leisure activities (mCRS) has independent predictive value on memory performance and subjective cognitive complaints. Psychological resilience is strongly associated with subjective, but not objective, cognitive functioning.Peer reviewe

Thalamic Atrophy Without Whole Brain Atrophy Is Associated With Absence of 2-Year NEDA in Multiple Sclerosis

Purpose: To study which brain volume measures best differentiate early relapsing MS (RMS) and secondary progressive MS (SPMS) patients and correlate with disability and cognition. To test whether isolated thalamic atrophy at study baseline correlates with NEDA (no evidence of disease activity) at 2 years.Methods: Total and regional brain volumes were measured from 24 newly diagnosed RMS patients 6 months after initiation of therapy and 2 years thereafter, and in 36 SPMS patients. Volumes were measured by SIENAX and cNeuro. The patients were divided into subgroups based on whole brain parenchyma (BP) and thalamic atrophy at baseline. Standard scores (z-scores) were computed by comparing individual brain volumes against healthy controls. A z-score cut-off of - 1.96 was applied to separate atrophic from normal brain volumes. The Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) were assessed at baseline and at 2 years. Differences in achieving NEDA-3, NEDA-4, EDSS progression, and SDMT change were analyzed between patients with no thalamic or BP atrophy and in patients with isolated thalamic atrophy at baseline.Results: At baseline, 7 SPMS and 12 RMS patients had no brain atrophy, 8 SPMS and 10 RMS patients had isolated thalamic atrophy and 2 RMS and 20 SPMS patients had both BP and thalamic atrophy. NEDA-3 was reached in 11/19 patients with no brain atrophy but only in 2/16 patients with isolated thalamic atrophy (p = 0.012). NEDA-4 was reached in 7/19 patients with no brain atrophy and in 1/16 of the patients with isolated thalamic atrophy (p = 0.047). At 2 years, EDSS was same or better in 16/19 patients with no brain atrophy but only in 5/17 patients with isolated thalamic atrophy (p = 0.002). There was no significant difference in the EDSS, relapses or SDMT between patients with isolated thalamic atrophy and no atrophy at baseline.Conclusion: Patients with isolated thalamic atrophy were at a higher risk for not reaching 2-year NEDA-3 and for EDSS increase than patients with no identified brain atrophy. The groups were clinically indistinguishable. A single measurement of thalamic and whole brain atrophy could help identify patients needing most effective therapies from early on

Regional brain morphometry in patients with traumatic brain injury based on acute- and chronic-phase magnetic resonance imaging.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by a sudden external force and can be very heterogeneous in its manifestation. In this work, we analyse T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) brain images that were prospectively acquired from patients who sustained mild to severe TBI. We investigate the potential of a recently proposed automatic segmentation method to support the outcome prediction of TBI. Specifically, we extract meaningful cross-sectional and longitudinal measurements from acute- and chronic-phase MR images. We calculate regional volume and asymmetry features at the acute/subacute stage of the injury (median: 19 days after injury), to predict the disability outcome of 67 patients at the chronic disease stage (median: 229 days after injury). Our results indicate that small structural volumes in the acute stage (e.g. of the hippocampus, accumbens, amygdala) can be strong predictors for unfavourable disease outcome. Further, group differences in atrophy are investigated. We find that patients with unfavourable outcome show increased atrophy. Among patients with severe disability outcome we observed a significantly higher mean reduction of cerebral white matter (3.1%) as compared to patients with low disability outcome (0.7%)

Multi-Method Analysis of MRI Images in Early Diagnostics of Alzheimer's Disease

The role of structural brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is becoming more and more emphasized in the early diagnostics of Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study aimed to assess the improvement in classification accuracy that can be achieved by combining features from different structural MRI analysis techniques. Automatically estimated MR features used are hippocampal volume, tensor-based morphometry, cortical thickness and a novel technique based on manifold learning. Baseline MRIs acquired from all 834 subjects (231 healthy controls (HC), 238 stable mild cognitive impairment (S-MCI), 167 MCI to AD progressors (P-MCI), 198 AD) from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database were used for evaluation. We compared the classification accuracy achieved with linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and support vector machines (SVM). The best results achieved with individual features are 90% sensitivity and 84% specificity (HC/AD classification), 64%/66% (S-MCI/P-MCI) and 82%/76% (HC/P-MCI) with the LDA classifier. The combination of all features improved these results to 93% sensitivity and 85% specificity (HC/AD), 67%/69% (S-MCI/P-MCI) and 86%/82% (HC/P-MCI). Compared with previously published results in the ADNI database using individual MR-based features, the presented results show that a comprehensive analysis of MRI images combining multiple features improves classification accuracy and predictive power in detecting early AD. The most stable and reliable classification was achieved when combining all available features