Käyttökokemuksen suunnittelu jääkiekkosovellukseen

Mobile applications are becoming the norm of digital content. One recently emerged application area is sports. This thesis describes a study and design conducted for an ice hockey themed application. The application's main objective is to enhance the spectator experience of ice hockey fans. The main research objective of this thesis is finding out what kind of user experience needs are there in a live spectating setting for a mobile application. Secondly, based on these findings, a design is proposed and the success of this design is validated using a questionnaire. This study uses several methods for creating the application design. First, a literature review for existing theory is conducted. Using SWOT analysis, a competitor analysis is performed. User research is conducted using interviews and prototype evaluations. Based on these findings, information guiding the application design is constructed in form of personas, experience goals and context scenarios. User needs in the application context corroborate previous research: watching ice hockey is more than passive entertainment. Spectators view the game as a social event. They want to meet friends and family. Avid fans of ice hockey wish to know more detailed information of the game and its events. They also want a centralized location to fetch this data from. For this, this thesis presents a technological solution. The main finding regarding the created solution is that while the solution has potential and arouses users' interest, there is a want for more detailed data. Further research should be done in the direction of creating an application that spectators can use as a tool for creating co-experiences. Spectators are also interested in seeing the play situations in more detail, and for this, the proposed solution should incorporate video material of the plays delivered to the spectators phone

Involuntary staying and self-rated health : A multilevel study on housing, health and neighbourhood effects

Involuntary staying, or a desire to move without the possibility to do so, is an under-studied topic. In this study, we examine involuntary staying among the residents of post-Second World War Finnish housing estates; we study its frequency, association with self-rated health and role in the relationship between neighbourhood disadvantage and self-rated health. Involuntary staying and poor health are expected to be associated through long-term stress related to housing and health-based selection in inconvenient housing outcomes. Furthermore, we address the self-perceived reasons for involuntary staying and the interaction between involuntary staying and household income. Two types of involuntary staying are distinguished, depending on whether a resident wants to move within or away from the current neighbourhood. The survey data (n = 7369) from a stratified cluster sample of the residents of 70 Finnish housing estate neighbourhoods are combined with the corresponding geo-referenced register data on these neighbourhoods’ sociodemographic characteristics. Of the residents, 35% are found to be involuntary stayers, and over half of the involuntary stayers want to move away from their current neighbourhoods. Financial concern is the most common self-perceived reason for involuntary staying. Both types of involuntary staying are associated with low self-rated health after adjusting for potential confounders. Being trapped in the current neighbourhood partially mediates the adjusted association between neighbourhood disadvantage and self-rated health. The association between self-rated health and involuntary staying is not modified by household income. In conclusion, involuntary staying is common in the study population and furthers the understanding about neighbourhood inequalities in health.Peer reviewe

Perceived social disorder in suburban housing estates in the Helsinki region : A contextual analysis

Peer reviewe

Exercise training improves biventricular oxidative metabolism and left ventricular efficiency in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy

AbstractObjectivesThe aim of this study was to determine the effect of exercise training on myocardial oxidative metabolism and efficiency in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and mild heart failure (HF).BackgroundExercise training is known to improve exercise tolerance and quality of life in patients with chronic HF. However, little is known about how exercise training may influence myocardial energetics.MethodsTwenty clinically stable patients with DCM (New York Heart Association classes I through III) were prospectively separated into a training group (five-month training program; n = 9) and a non-trained control group (n = 11). Oxidative metabolism in both the right and left ventricles (RV and LV) was measured using [11C]acetate and positron emission tomography. Myocardial work power was measured using echocardiography. Myocardial efficiency for forward work was calculated as myocardial work power per mass/LV oxidative metabolism.ResultsSignificant improvements were noted in exercise capacity (Vo2) and ejection fraction in the training group, whereas no changes were observed in the non-trained group. Exercise training reduced both RV and LV oxidative metabolism and elicited a significant increase in LV forward work efficiency, although no significant changes were observed in the non-trained group.ConclusionsExercise training improves exercise tolerance and LV function. This is accompanied by a decrease in biventricular oxidative metabolism and enhanced forward work efficiency. Therefore, exercise training elicits an energetically favorable improvement in myocardial function and exercise tolerance in patients with DCM

Effect of nitric oxide synthase inhibition on the exchange of glucose and fatty acids in human skeletal muscle

BACKGROUND: The role of nitric oxide in controlling substrate metabolism in humans is incompletely understood. METHODS: The present study examined the effect of nitric oxide blockade on glucose uptake, and free fatty acid and lactate exchange in skeletal muscle of eight healthy young males. Exchange was determined by measurements of muscle perfusion by positron emission tomography and analysis of arterial and femoral venous plasma concentrations of glucose, fatty acids and lactate. The measurements were performed at rest and during exercise without (control) and with blockade of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) with N(G)-monomethyl-l-arginine (L-NMMA). RESULTS: Glucose uptake at rest was 0.40 ± 0.21 μmol/100 g/min and increased to 3.71 ± 2.53 μmol/100 g/min by acute one leg low intensity exercise (p < 0.01). Prior inhibition of NOS by L-NMMA did not affect glucose uptake, at rest or during exercise (0.40 ± 0.26 and 4.74 ± 2.69 μmol/100 g/min, respectively). In the control trial, there was a small release of free fatty acids from the limb at rest (−0.05 ± 0.09 μmol/100 g/min), whereas during inhibition of NOS, there was a small uptake of fatty acids (0.04 ± 0.05 μmol/100 g/min, p < 0.05). During exercise fatty acid uptake was increased to (0.89 ± 1.07 μmol/100 g/min), and there was a non-significant trend (p = 0.10) for an increased FFA uptake with NOS inhibition 1.23 ± 1.48 μmol/100 g/min) compared to the control condition. Arterial concentrations of all substrates and exchange of lactate over the limb at rest and during exercise remained unaltered during the two conditions. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis does not alter muscle glucose uptake during low intensity exercise, but affects free fatty acid exchange especially at rest, and may thus be involved in the modulation of energy metabolism in the human skeletal muscle

18F-FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography of cardiac implantable electronic device infections

Background. The diagnosis of cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infection is challenging because of its variable presentations. We studied the value of 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in the detection of CIED infection.Methods and results. Thirty patients with suspected CIED infection underwent 18F-FDG-PET/CT. The control group was ten patients with asymptomatic CIED who underwent cancer related 18F-FDG-PET/CT. 18F-FDG-PET/CT was evaluated visually, semiquantitatively as maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and target-to-background ratio (TBR). Final diagnosis of CIED infection was based on clinical and bacteriological data. 18F-FDG-PET/CT was visually positive in all 9 patients with recent ( ≤ 8 weeks) implantation of CIED, but only 4 had confirmed CIED infection. 18F-FDG-PET/CT was true positive in 9 out of 21 cases with remote implantation of CIED and false positive in 3 (14.3%) cases. 18F-FDG-PET/CT was also false positive in 3 (30%) cases of control group. The SUVmax of the pocket area was significantly higher in patients with CIED infection than in the control group (4.8 ± 2.4 vs 2.0 ± .8, P Conclusions. 18F-FDG-PET/CT is a sensitive but nonspecific method in the diagnosis of CIED infection.</p