Environmental responsibility in hospital care : findings from a qualitative study

Objective: To identify the key elements of environmental responsibility in hospital care and the stakeholders involved. Background: Hospital care causes a significant global environmental burden, which threatens human health and wellbeing. Environmental responsibility has been identified as an essential part of patient care with regard to health promotion and wellbeing of humans, but it has often been regarded as a secondary issue in hospitals. In addition, the lack of organizational structures and administrative as well as managerial support inhibit the promotion of environmental responsibility in hospitals. Methods: We used a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Our data was drawn from the environmental managers of five Finnish university hospitals and documents on their environmental programs. Results: We found that the aim of environmental responsibility in hospital care was to avoid unnecessary emissions, and that it was guided by the authorities and by ethical values. It included targets for sustainable use of material, electricity, water and transport. Environmental responsibility required the involvement of several stakeholders, including administrators, environmental manager, immediate leaders, environmental support people, staff and patients. Implementation of environmental responsibility was promoted by collaboration, education, diverse initiatives to motivate staff, and continuously developing practices. Conclusions: Environmental responsibility extended throughout a hospital organization. Staff was in a key position to implement it, but they needed versatile organizational support, including education, clear procedures, defined roles, and a motivational culture and facilities. Implications for hospital management: This study yields new knowledge that will provide information for the development of organisational structures with respect to environmental responsibility in hospital care. Keywords: Environmental manager, Environmental program, Environmental responsibility, Hospital, Key informan

Biome-specific rodent dynamics and hantavirus epidemiologies in Europe

Henttonen, H., Leirs, H., Kallio, E.R., Tersago, K., Voutilainen, L

Kick Scooter Injuries in Children and Adolescents : Minor Fractures and Bruise

Background: Kick scooters are popular among children in both transportation and recreational activities. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the incidence of and injury patterns associated with kick scooter accidents in school-aged children and adolescents. Methods: All 171 patients at the age of 7-15 years who were treated for kick scooter-related injuries in the metropolitan Helsinki area, Southern Finland from January 2008 to December 2013 were included. Electronic medical records were reviewed and Pediatric Trauma Scores and Injury Severity Scores were utilized to assess the injuries. Results: The annual number of patients increased from 7 in 2008 to 55 in 2013. Almost all patients (94%, n = 161) were injured after a fall from their own height. Most patients (n = 118; 69%) were diagnosed with a fracture but only 26 patients (15%) required surgical procedures under general anesthesia. Pediatric Trauma Scores were low and only one patient had an Injury Severity Score > 15 which can be considered major trauma. Conclusion: Most injuries acquired from kick scooter injuries were easily treatable fractures and bruises. Considering the background population of 105,000 in the respective age group and the 6-year period of data collection from tertiary care, scooting seems a safe means of increasing the physical activity levels of school-aged children and adolescents.Peer reviewe

Opiskelijan seksuaaliterveyteen liittyvä tiedon välttely ja tunteet

Tiivistelmä. Tutkielmani tavoitteena on selvittää seksuaaliterveystiedon välttelyn eri ilmenemismuotoja Oulun yliopiston opiskelijoilla. Teoreettisena pohjana käytettiin Wilsonin (1999) informaatiokäyttäytymisen mallia. Aiempi tutkimus aiheesta osoittaa, että terveysinformaation välttelyn syyt ovat moninaiset ja käytös on arkipäiväistä. Tunteisiin liittyvästä tiedonvälttelystä ei tiedetä vielä paljon, joten on tärkeää selvittää asiaa. Kvantitatiivinen tutkimus toteutettiin Oulun yliopiston humanistisen tiedekunnan opiskelijoille. Kyselyn vastausaika oli 18–28. 10.2016. Vastauksia kertyi 170. Tutkimukseen osallistuneiden opiskelijoiden kohdalla voidaan todeta, että pieni osa opiskelijoista välttelee seksuaaliterveystietoa ja tällaisen tiedon käyttöä. Yleisin välttelytapa oli terveystarkastuksen vältteleminen. Opiskelijat näyttävät vieroksuvan vanhempiaan, sosiaalista mediaa ja erittäin vahvasti työkavereitaan tiedonlähteinä. Alle puolet opiskelijoista kertoo välttelevänsä tietoa, jotteivat tuntisi negatiivisia tunteita. Vielä harvempi sanoo negatiivisten tunteiden aktivoituvan tiedonvälttelyn seurauksena. Opiskelijat ovat kiinnostuneita seksuaaliterveystiedosta, mutta näkevät, että se on yksityinen asia eikä ympäristö kannusta avoimuuteen. Laadullisen jatkotutkimuksen tekeminen antaisi mahdollisuuden syventää ymmärrystämme aiheesta

Neuropsychological outcome of cognitive training in mild to moderate dementia : A randomized controlled trial

Effectiveness of a 12-week cognitive training (CT) programme for community-dwelling patients with dementia was evaluated on various cognitive functions (attention, memory, executive functions and reasoning) and psychological well-being (PWB). A single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted in adult day care centres in Helsinki, Finland. Participants (N = 147) were older individuals with mild to moderate dementia living at home and attending day care (mean age 83 years, 72% female, 63% at mild stage of dementia). The intervention group (n= 76) received systematic CT for 45 min twice a week while the control group (n = 71) attended day care as usual. The cognitive and psychological outcomes were measured at baseline, and followed up at 3 and 9 months. No differences between the two groups in changes of any of the cognitive functions, or PWB over time were found. We observed a positive trend at 3 months in the change for PWB favouring the intervention group, but no significant interaction effect was found (p = .079;d = -0.31). Thus, systematic CT appears to have no effect on neuropsychological outcomes of cognitive functioning and PWB in older adults who already have dementia.Peer reviewe

Chikungunya virus infections in Finnish travellers 2009-2019 : Infection Ecology & Epidemiology

ABSTRACT The mosquito-borne chikungunya virus (CHIKV) causes an acute febrile illness with rash, joint and muscle pain.A realtime RT-PCR assay for CHIKV detecting non-structural protein (nsP2; CHIKV nsP2-RT-qPCR) was set up. All the serodiagnosed CHIKV cases detected during 2009-2019 in Finland were screened with the assay, followed by isolations attempts and sequencing using Sanger and next generation sequencing (NGS). To validate the assay external and in-house quality control samples were used and all were correctly identified. Specificity of the assay was 100%. Assay was sensitive to detect CHIKV RNA in dilution of 10-8.During years 2009-2019 34 patients were diagnosed for acute CHIKV infection. Twelve out of 34 cases were positive by CHIKV nsP2-RT-qPCR.Two CHIKV isolations succeeded from two individuals infected originally in Thailand, 2019. From 12 CHIKV nsP2-RT-qPCR positive samples, five (42%) CHIKVs were successfully sequenced. In this study, CHIKVs from year 2019 clustered with CHIKV ECSA-lineage forming sub-cluster with strains from ones detected in Bangladesh 2017, and the ones from Jamaica (2014) within Asian lineage showing highest similarity to strains detected in Caribbean outbreak 2013-15.  Majority of the CHIKV infections detected in Finland originates from Asia and virus lineages reflect the global circulation of the pathogen.Peer reviewe

Oxygen Ion Escape From Venus Is Modulated by Ultra‐Low Frequency Waves

We study the solar wind‐driven, nonthermal escape of O+ ions from Venus in a global hybrid simulation. In the model, a well‐developed ion foreshock forms ahead of the Venusian quasi‐parallel bow shock under nominal upstream conditions. Large‐scale magnetosonic ultra‐low frequency (ULF) waves at 20‐ to 30‐s period are excited and convect downstream along the foreshock with the solar wind. We show that the foreshock ULF waves transmit through the bow shock in the downstream region and interact with the planetary ion acceleration, causing 25% peak‐to‐peak fluctuations in the O+ escape rate. These results demonstrate the importance of upstream plasma waves on the energization and escape of heavy ions from the planetary atmospheres.Key PointsA global hybrid simulation predicts fluctuations in the O+ escape from VenusThe fluctuations are associated with the foreshock ULF waves, which modulate the acceleration of heavy pickup ionsUpstream waves need to be taken into account in the interpretation of heavy ion erosion from unmagnetized planetsPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155962/1/grl60648_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155962/2/grl60648-sup-0001-Figure_SI-S01.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155962/3/grl60648.pd

Metabolic engineering strategies for butanol production in Escherichia coli

The global market of butanol is increasing due to its growing applications as solvent, flavoring agent and chemical precursor of several other compounds. Recently, the superior properties of n-butanol as a biofuel over ethanol have stimulated even more interest. (Bio)butanol is natively produced together with ethanol and acetone by Clostridium species through Acetone-Butanol-Ethanol fermentation, at non-competitive, low titers compared to petrochemical production. Different butanol production pathways have been expressed in Escherichia coli, a more accessible host compared to Clostridium species, to improve butanol titers and rates.. The bioproduction of butanol is here reviewed from a historical and theoretical perspective. All tested rational metabolic engineering strategies in E. coli to increase butanol titers are reviewed: manipulation of central carbon metabolism; elimination of competing pathways; cofactor balancing; development of new pathways; expression of homologous enzymes; consumption of different substrates and molecular biology strategies. The progress in the field of metabolic modeling and pathway generation algorithms and their potential application to butanol production are also summarized here. The main goals are to gather all the strategies, evaluate the respective progress obtained, identify and exploit the outstanding challenges. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior, Grant/Award Number: ERA‐IB‐2/0002/2014; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Grant/Award Numbers: ERA‐IB‐2/0002/2014, LISBOA¬01¬0145¬FEDER¬007660, PD/BD/52366/2013; European Commission, Grant/Award Number: H2020‐LEIT‐BIO‐2015‐1 686070–1info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio