Benzothiadiazole induces the accumulation of phenolics in strawberry

We have studied the potency of benzothiadiazole against powdery mildew disease in strawberry under greenhouse conditions, where the disease can be a problem. The results show that, in addition to other cultivation techniques, BTH-induced resistance could be exploited to obtain fruits with higher amount of beneficial health compounds

”Ei tarvi olla maailman paras koululainen vaan oma ittensä” : aineistolähtöinen tutkimus oppilaiden pedagogisen hyvinvoinnin rakentumisesta

Suomalainen koulujärjestelmä tuottaa loistavia oppimistuloksia, mutta toisaalta tutkimusten mukaan oppilaat eivät voi hyvin koulussa. Ovatko nämä toisensa poissulkevia ilmiöitä? Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli tutkia oppilaiden oppimisen ja hyvinvoinnin yhtäaikaista esiintymistä eli pedagogista hyvinvointia. Pro gradu -tutkielman pääkysymys olikin, miten oppilaiden pedagoginen hyvinvointi rakentuu. Alakysymyksissä puolestaan tarkasteltiin pedagogisen hyvinvoinnin niin ulkoisia kuin oppilaasta itsestäänkin johtuvia tekijöitä. Lisäksi tarkasteltiin oppilaiden antamia merkityksiä pedagogiselle hyvinvoinnille. Tutkimuksen aineistona käytettiin erään Pohjois-Pohjanmaan kunnan oppilaiden tuottamia eläytymismenetelmäkertomuksia sekä heidän kanssaan toteutettuja ryhmähaastatteluita. Yhteensä tutkimukseen osallistuneita oppilaita oli 169. Haastattelut toteutettiin avoimen haastattelun periaatteella oppilaiden johdatellessa pääosin keskustelua. Lisäksi aiemmin hankitun aineiston pohjalta muodostettiin muutamia aiheita, joista haastatteluissa keskusteltiin. Grounded teoriaan pohjautuvan lähestymistavan mukaisesti aineistoa analysoitiin jatkuvan vertailun periaatteella jo aineistoa hankittaessa. Lopulta analyysin tuloksena muodostettiin käsitteellinen malli oppilaiden pedagogisen hyvinvoinnin rakentumisesta. Kyseinen ilmiö osoittautui hyvin moniulotteiseksi ilmiöksi. Analyysissa saadut rakentumiseen vaikuttavat kategoriat jaettiin neljään tasoon niiden ulottuvuuksiensa mukaan: ulkoinen päätöksenteko, toimintakulttuuri ja toimintatavat, lähiyhteisön vuorovaikutus- ja ihmissuhdetekijät sekä yksilöllinen oppilas. Näiden tasojen alla olevien kategorioiden ydin ja siten koko tutkimuksen tiivistelmä muodostui seuraavaksi: Yksilöllinen ja vuorovaikutuksellinen oppilas pedagogisen hyvinvointinsa rakentajana ulkoisten tekijöiden määrittämällä kentällä. Oppilaat pitivät pedagogista hyvinvointia merkittävänä tekijänä niin tämänhetkisen elämän kuin tulevaisuudenkin kannalta. Kokemishetkellä vaikutukset näkyvät optimaalisena oppimisena sekä viihtymisenä, kun taas tulevaisuuteen ilmiö vaikuttaa tasapainoisen kasvun ja kehityksen kautta

Young men with asthma : Prognosis and effect on work ability

Asthma is a significant growing health problem of the working-age population and may start already in childhood or early adulthood. Therefore, despite current treatment options, asthma can potentially affect work ability, and occupational exposure to dust gases and fumes can influence asthma prognosis. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of asthma on work ability and the effect of occupational exposure on current asthma status in approximately 40-year-old men with asthma since youth. The current goal to extend careers makes this study highly relevant. We found that both men with mild asthma and men with relatively severe asthma in youth had diminished self-reported work ability, and decreased work life participation, compared with men without asthma in youth. Among the asthmatics currently smoking, lower educational level, a blue-collar occupation and current severe asthma had the strongest associations with decreased work ability. Exposure to irritants, based on Job Exposure Matrix, and selfreported occupational exposure to abnormal temperatures also associated with poorer work ability. Occupational health care professionals should pay attention and support the work ability of those with asthma since youth. This joint work of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and the Finnish Defence Forces was founded by the Finnish Work Environment Fund

Benzothiadiazole induces the accumulation of phenolics and improves resistance to powdery mildew in strawberries

Benzothiadiazole (BTH) enhanced the accumulation of soluble and cell-wall-bound phenolics in strawberry leaves and also improved the resistance to powdery mildew infection under greenhouse conditions. The most pronounced change was seen in the levels of ellagitannins, which increased up to 2- to 6-fold 4 days after the BTH application, but persisted only in the inoculated plants. The induction of phenolic metabolism by BTH was also reflected in the fruits, several compounds being increased in inoculated, BTH-treated plants. Basal salicylic acid (SA) content was high in strawberry leaves, but increased in a similar fashion to other phenolics after the treatments. Several phenolic compounds were identified in strawberries for the first time. For example, ellagic acid deoxyhexose, three agrimoniin-like ellagitannins, sanguiin H-10- and lambertianin C-like ellagitannins in the leaves, ellagic acid, p-coumaric acid, gallic acid, and kaempferol hexose in the cell-wall-bound fraction of the leaves, and kaempferol malonylglucoside in the fruits. The findings show that BTH can enhance the accumulation of phenolics in strawberry plants which may then be involved in the BTH-induced resistance to powdery mildew

Pelvic organ prolapse surgery and quality of life-a nationwide cohort study : Nationwide cohort study

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction and health-related quality of life are nowadays considered as the most important outcomes of pelvic organ prolapse treatment, and large, prospective clinical studies reporting the patient-reported surgical outcomes are needed. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of female pelvic organ prolapse surgery on health-related quality of life and patient satisfaction and to determine predictors of outcome. STUDY DESIGN: This prospective nationwide cohort study consisted of 3515 women undergoing surgery for pelvic organ prolapse in 2015. The outcomes were measured by validated health-related quality of life instruments (generic 15D, Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-20, and Patient Global Impression of Improvement) at 6 months and 2 years postoperatively. The baseline predictors of outcomes were studied with logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: In total, 2528 (72%) women were eligible for analysis at 6 months and 2351 (67%) at 2 years. The mean change in the total 15D score suggested a clinically important improvement at 6 months but not at 2 years. However, an improvement in sexual activity, discomfort and symptoms, and excretion was observed during both follow-up assessments. Altogether, 77% and 72% of the participants reported a clinically significant improvement in Pelvic Floor Distress Inventory-20 at the 6month and 2-year follow-ups, respectively. A total of 84% were satisfied with the outcome and 90% reported an improvement in comparison with the preoperative state with Patient Global Impression of ImprovementI. The strongest predictive factors for a favorable outcome were advanced apical prolapse (adjusted odds ratio, 2.06; 95% confidence interval, 1.58-2.70) and vaginal bulge (1.90, 1.30-2.80). Smoking was associated with an unfavorable outcome as measured by Patient Global Index of Improvement-I (1.69, 1.02-2.81). CONCLUSION: Pelvic organ prolapse surgery improved health-related quality of life in 7 of 10 patients over a 2-year follow-up period, and patient satisfaction was high. Apical prolapse beyond the hymen and vaginal bulge were the most consistent predictors for improvement. Our results suggest that patients should be encouraged to stop smoking to avoid an unfavorable outcome.Peer reviewe

Kielletyt aineet ja menetelmät urheilussa ja erivapaus urheilijan lääkityksessä

Dopingvalvonnan alaiset kilpaurheilijat sairastavat ja voivat tarvita hoitoa lääkkeillä tai menetelmillä, jot‑ ka ovat kiellettyjen aineiden ja menetelmien luettelossa. Urheilussa kielletyt lääkeaineet voi tarkistaa Suomessa myyntiluvallisten valmisteiden osalta ”Kielletyt aineet ja menetelmät urheilussa” (KAMU) ‑lää‑ kehaun avulla. Mikäli tasomäärittelyn piiriin kuuluvan urheilijan sairauden hoito vaatii jonkin kielletyn lääkeaineen käyttöä, hoidolle voidaan hakea erivapautta. Erivapauden hakuohjeistukseen löytyy linkki KAMUsta ja SUEKin sivuilta (1). Dopingvalvonta on tehostunut analyysi- ja testausmenetelmien kehit‑ tyessä. Tehokas antidopingtoiminta vähentää urheilussa kiellettyjen aineiden väärinkäyttöä ja niiden ai‑ heuttamia terveyshaittoja sekä tukee puhtaiden urheilijoiden tasavertaista kilpailua.</p

Kielletyt aineet ja menetelmät urheilussa ja erivapaus urheilijan lääkityksessä

Vertaisarvioitu.Dopingvalvonnan alaiset kilpaurheilijat sairastavat ja voivat tarvita hoitoa lääkkeillä tai menetelmillä, jotka ovat kiellettyjen aineiden ja menetelmien luettelossa. Urheilussa kielletyt lääkeaineet voi tarkistaa Suomessa myyntiluvallisten valmisteiden osalta "Kielletyt aineet ja menetelmät urheilussa" (KAMU) -lääkehaun avulla. Mikäli tasomäärittelyn piiriin kuuluvan urheilijan sairauden hoito vaatii jonkin kielletyn lääkeaineen käyttöä, hoidolle voidaan hakea erivapautta. Erivapauden hakuohjeistukseen löytyy linkki KAMUsta ja SUEKin sivuilta (1). Dopingvalvonta on tehostunut analyysi- ja testausmenetelmien kehittyessä. Tehokas antidopingtoiminta vähentää urheilussa kiellettyjen aineiden väärinkäyttöä ja niiden aiheuttamia terveyshaittoja sekä tukee puhtaiden urheilijoiden tasavertaista kilpailua.Peer reviewe

Expression profiles of long non-coding RNAs located in autoimmune disease-associated regions reveal immune cell-type specificity

Background: Although genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of variants associated with a risk for autoimmune and immune-related disorders (AID), our understanding of the disease mechanisms is still limited. In particular, more than 90% of the risk variants lie in non-coding regions, and almost 10% of these map to long non-coding RNA transcripts (lncRNAs). lncRNAs are known to show more cell-type specificity than protein-coding genes. Methods: We aimed to characterize lncRNAs and protein-coding genes located in loci associated with nine AIDs which have been well-defined by Immunochip analysis and by transcriptome analysis across seven populations of peripheral blood leukocytes (granulocytes, monocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, B cells, memory T cells, naive CD4(+) and naive CD8(+) T cells) and four populations of cord blood-derived T-helper cells (precursor, primary, and polarized (Th1, Th2) T-helper cells). Results: We show that lncRNAs mapping to loci shared between AID are significantly enriched in immune cell types compared to lncRNAs from the whole genome (a <0.005). We were not able to prioritize single cell types relevant for specific diseases, but we observed five different cell types enriched (a <0.005) in five AID (NK cells for inflammatory bowel disease, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, primary biliary cirrhosis, and psoriasis; memory T and CD8(+) T cells in juvenile idiopathic arthritis, primary biliary cirrhosis, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis; Th0 and Th2 cells for inflammatory bowel disease, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, primary biliary cirrhosis, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis). Furthermore, we show that co-expression analyses of lncRNAs and protein-coding genes can predict the signaling pathways in which these AID-associated lncRNAs are involved. Conclusions: The observed enrichment of lncRNA transcripts in AID loci implies lncRNAs play an important role in AID etiology and suggests that lncRNA genes should be studied in more detail to interpret GWAS findings correctly. The co-expression results strongly support a model in which the lncRNA and protein-coding genes function together in the same pathways