A Novel Two-Lipid Signature Is a Strong and Independent Prognostic Factor in Ovarian Cancer

Simple SummaryMost ovarian cancer patients initially show a response to primary treatments, but the development of refractory disease is a major problem. Currently, there are no blood-based prognostic biomarkers, and the prognosis of a patient is determined by the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage and residual disease after cytoreductive surgery. In this study, we developed and validated a novel test based on the ratio of two circulatory lipids that enables the prognostic stratification of ovarian cancer patients at the time of diagnosis, prior to any oncological treatments. The translational relevance of this test is to find those patients with poor prognosis early on, and to identify patients that are at high risk of recurrence despite complete cytoreduction. Thus, the test enables the early direction of novel targeted therapies to those ovarian cancer patients at greatest risk of recurrence and death.Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) generally responds well to oncological treatments, but the eventual development of a refractory disease is a major clinical problem. Presently, there are no prognostic blood-based biomarkers for the stratification of EOC patients at the time of diagnosis. We set out to assess and validate the prognostic utility of a novel two-lipid signature, as the lipidome is known to be markedly aberrant in EOC patients. The study consisted of 499 women with histologically confirmed EOC that were prospectively recruited at the university hospitals in Turku (Finland) and Charite (Berlin, Germany). Lipidomic screening by tandem liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was performed for all baseline serum samples of these patients, and additionally for 20 patients of the Turku cohort at various timepoints. A two-lipid signature, based on the ratio of the ceramide Cer(d18:1/18:0) and phosphatidylcholine PC(O-38:4), showed consistent prognostic performance in all investigated study cohorts. In the Turku cohort, the unadjusted hazard ratios (HRs) per standard deviation (SD) (95% confidence interval) were 1.79 (1.40, 2.29) for overall and 1.40 (1.14, 1.71) for progression-free survival. In a Charite cohort incorporating only stage III completely resected patients, the corresponding HRs were 1.59 (1.08, 2.35) and 1.53 (1.02, 2.30). In linear-mixed models predicting progression of the disease, the two-lipid signature showed higher performance (beta per SD increase 1.99 (1.38, 2.97)) than cancer antigen 125 (CA-125, 1.78 (1.13, 2.87)). The two-lipid signature was able to identify EOC patients with an especially poor prognosis at the time of diagnosis, and also showed promise for the detection of disease relapse

Ohjauskeinoja kotitalouksien kulutuksen hiilijalanjäljen pienentämiseen

Suomen keskipitkän aikavälin ilmastosuunnitelmassa kannustetaan kuluttajia puolittamaan hiilijalanjälki. Tässä tutkimuksessa muodostettiin ohjauskeinoyhdistelmiä vahvistamaan kotitalouksien kulutuksen (asuminen, liikenne, ruoka, muut tavarat ja palvelut) ilmasto-ohjausta. Päästövähennysten lisäksi on arvioitu hyväksyttävyyttä, toteutettavuutta, oikeudellisia näkökohtia ja kustannuksia. Arviointiin osallistettiin tutkijayhteisöä Delfoi-menetelmällä. Kotitalouksien kulutuksen hiilijalanjälki perustuu tarkasteluun ympäristölaajennetulla panos-tuotosmallilla (ENVIMAT). Tutkimuksessa kehitettiin mallia ja päivitettiin tilannekuva Suomen kansantalouden kasvihuonekaasupäästöistä (julkinen kulutus, kotitaloudet, investoinnit) vuonna 2019 ja kotitalouksien kulutuksen aikasarja vuosille 2000–2021. Myös kotitalouksien kulutuksen hiilijalanjälki perusura ilmasto- ja energiapolitiikan valossa vuonna 2035 tuotettiin ENVIMAT-mallilla. Perusuran ja päästövähennyksiä vahvistavien keinojen yhdistelmällä voitaisiin pienentää kotitalouksien kulutuksen hiilijalanjälkeä lähes puoleen vuosien 2016 ja 2035 välillä. Ohjausta tulisi vahvistaa liikkumistarpeeseen, kulkutapoihin ja sähköistymisen kohdentumiseen vaikuttamalla; ruokavaliomuutosta tukemalla; tavaroiden käyttöiän pidentämisellä; ja tavaroiden ja palveluiden vähähiilisyyteen vaikuttamalla.Tämä julkaisu on toteutettu osana valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimussuunnitelman toimeenpanoa (tietokayttoon.fi). Julkaisun sisällöstä vastaavat tiedon tuottajat, eikä tekstisisältö välttämättä edusta valtioneuvoston näkemystä

Verkkokaupan kehittäminen : case Worna

Opinnäytetyön aiheena on Worna-verkkokaupan kehittäminen. Työssä kerrotaan yleisesti Worna-verkkokaupasta ja sen toiminnasta. Teoriaosuudessa käsitellään liiketoimintaa yleisesti, verkkoliiketoimintaa ja sen kehittämistä sekä verk-kosivujen suunnittelua. Työssä käytetyt menetelmät ovat kysely ja haastattelu. Haastattelusta saatuja tie-toja käytettiin Worna-verkkokaupan yleiskuvauksessa. Kyselystä saatuja tuloksia apuna käyttäen tehtiin kehittämissuunnitelma. Worna-verkkokaupan kehittämisessä on ensin kuvattu Worna-verkkokaupan nykytila, jossa käydään läpi sivuston sisältöä, ulkoasua ja toimivuutta. SWOT-analyysillä kartoitetaan laajempaa kuvaa yrityksen vahvuuksista, heikkouksista, mahdollisuuksista ja uhista. Worna-verkkokaupan tavoitteena on olla näkyvä toimija alallaan ja saada lisättyä asiakkaita. Kehittämissuunnitelmassa kuvataan miten tavoitetilaan päästään kehittäessä sisältöä, ulkoasua ja toimivuutta. Lopuksi esitellään uudistuneen Worna-verkkokaupan sivustoa.This thesis is about an online store Worna and the developing of its business. The thesis describes Worna in general and its business in the field of online stores of music instruments. The theory part of this thesis handles the business in general, e-commerce and its development and also the designing of the websites. The methods of this thesis are survey and interview. Information from the interview was used for describing Worna. Information from the survey was used for the development plan of Worna online store. The development process of Worna starts by describing Worna’s present state. Attention is paid to the functionality, layout and content of the web site of the company. SWOT analysis is used to survey the strengths, weaknesses, possibili-ties and threats of Worna. Worna’s principle aim is to be a strong operator in its business field and to increase the number of its clients. The principle aim of this thesis is to design a development plan for Worna. The development plan includes improvement ideas for the content, functionality and layout of the web site of Worna. The new web site of Worna- is introduced at the end of this thesis

Policy instruments to reduce the carbon footprint of household consumption

In Finland’s medium-term climate plan, consumers are encouraged to halve their carbon footprints. The present study has developed policy mixes to support climate policy targeted at household consumption (housing, mobility, food, other goods and services). In addition to emission reductions, evaluations were made concerning acceptability, implementation, legal aspects and costs. The scientific community was engaged in the evaluation using the Delphi method. The climate footprint of household consumption was calculated using an environmentally extended input-output model (ENVIMAT). In the present study, the model was developed further and the status of carbon dioxide emissions from Finland’s national economy (public consumption, households, investments) in 2019 was calculated, as well as a time series for consumption in 2000-2021. Moreover, the baseline carbon footprint of household consumption under current policies was calculated for the year 2035 using the ENVIMAT model. When combining the current policy baseline and a policy mix that enhances emission reductions, the carbon footprint from household consumption can be almost cut in half between 2016 and 2035. This requires additional policy measures to reduce transport needs, change transport modes and target electrification; to support dietary changes; to extend product lifetimes and to decarbonize goods and services

Development and validation of a ceramide- and phospholipid-based cardiovascular risk estimation score for coronary artery disease patients

AIMS: Distinct ceramide lipids have been shown to predict the risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events, especially cardiovascular death. As phospholipids have also been linked with CVD risk, we investigated whether the combination of ceramides with phosphatidylcholines (PCs) would be synergistic in the prediction of CVD events in patients with atherosclerotic coronary heart disease in three independent cohort studies. METHODS AND RESULTS: Ceramides and PCs were analysed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) in three studies: WECAC (The Western Norway Coronary Angiography Cohort) (N = 3789), LIPID (Long-Term Intervention with Pravastatin in Ischaemic Disease) trial (N = 5991), and KAROLA (Langzeiterfolge der KARdiOLogischen Anschlussheilbehandlung) (N = 1023). A simple risk score, based on the ceramides and PCs showing the best prognostic features, was developed in the WECAC study and validated in the two other cohorts. This score was highly significant in predicting CVD mortality [multiadjusted hazard ratios (HRs; 95% confidence interval) per standard deviation were 1.44 (1.28-1.63) in WECAC, 1.47 (1.34-1.61) in the LIPID trial, and 1.69 (1.31-2.17) in KAROLA]. In addition, a combination of the risk score with high-sensitivity troponin T increased the HRs to 1.63 (1.44-1.85) and 2.04 (1.57-2.64) in WECAC and KAROLA cohorts, respectively. The C-statistics in WECAC for the risk score combined with sex and age was 0.76 for CVD death. The ceramide-phospholipid risk score showed comparable and synergistic predictive performance with previously published CVD risk models for secondary prevention. CONCLUSION: A simple ceramide- and phospholipid-based risk score can efficiently predict residual CVD event risk in patients with coronary artery disease