Oxidized LDL and physical fitness in healthy young men: associations with body composition, smoking, metabolic syndrome and androgen status

Background: In the past, oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) has been associated with an unbeneficial lipid profile. This atherogenic lipid profile increases the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases. Physical fitness has substantial effect on serum lipoprotein concentration as well as body composition and humoral responses, however interrelationships between ox-LDL and physical fitness have not been widely examined in a nationally representative sample. Aims: This thesis evaluates how cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness associate with ox-LDL lipids and how the other known risk factors of atherosclerosis might alter these associations. Subjects and Methods: The study cohort consisted of 846 healthy young males (mean age 25.1, SD 4.6) who were gathered by voluntary nationwide recruitment. Each participant conducted a series of physical fitness tests (cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness) and answered a detailed questionnaire that included lifestyle habits (i.e. smoking and leisuretime physical activity). Venous blood samples including ox-LDL and serum lipids were also collected. Results: Higher levels of ox-LDL were found in overweight and obese men, however, high cardiorespiratory fitness seemed to protect the overweight from high levels of ox-LDL. Young men who smoked and had poor cardiorespiratory or muscular fitness possessed a higher concentration of ox-LDL lipids when compared to comparable levels of cardiorespiratory or muscular fitness non-smoking young men. Metabolic syndrome was associated with increased levels of ox-LDL and high levels of ox-LDL combined with poor cardiorespiratory and abdominal muscle fitness seems to predict metabolic syndrome in young men. Also, participants with poor cardiorespiratory fitness and low levels of testosterone had higher levels of ox-LDL when compared to participants with high cardiorespiratory fitness / low testosterone as well as those with poor cardiorespiratory fitness / high testosterone. Conclusions: Good cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness protects young men from increased levels of ox-LDL lipids. This association was discovered in young men who were categorized as being overweight, smokers, metabolic syndrome or with low levels of testosterone. Being fit seems to prevent higher levels of ox-LDL, even in young healthySiirretty Doriast

Effects of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in cognitive performance in adulthood.

Objectives – Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (HB), also referred to as neonatal jaundice, can alter child’s neurodevelopment, and thus significantly increase infant’s risk for severe neurological disability. Although the majority of neonatal HB cases benign, there are several cases where bilirubin levels grow alarmingly and remain elevated, eventually causing permanent physical harm and frequently altering the development of central nervous system. Research on the long-term effects of HB has been lacking: the follow-ups have been relative short, and there are not many studies focusing on how neonatal HB might influence neurocognition in later adulthood (> 30 year of age). The aim of this study is to further investigate the association between neonatal HB and later cognitive performance in adulthood by using data from over 40-year-long Finnish follow-up study. Methods – In a longitudinal prospective study, data were collected from 125 subject who had experienced neonatal HB and from 77 controls. Cognitive performance was assessed at age of 40 by using various previously validated methods designed to assess executive function and attention, memory, verbal functions, and visuo-perceptual functions. Four factors were formed for neuropsychological variables: Cognitive flexibility, Visual memory and perception, Verbal memory, and Reading. In addition, all subjects had performed WAIS-IV assessments. Data from these assessments were used to create four new factors – Verbal comprehension, Working Memory, Perceptual Reasoning, and Processing Speed – reflecting different cognitive areas. Also, Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) was included. Linear regression analyses were used to assess the relation between HB-classification and neuropsychological variables. Differences between the groups were further studied by pair-wise comparisons using t-test, after which Mann–Whitney-U test was used to take into account moderate to highly skewed distributions of the variables. Effects of different HB levels on later neurocognition was studied by using linear regression, where sex, mother’s age at birth, and mother’s education level were controlled. Results – Neonatal HB was associated with slower performance in Cognitive Flexibility, and with lower performance in Perceptual Reasoning and in FSIQ. Highest measured neonatal bilirubin levels within HB group had a linear effect on Verbal Comprehension at age of 40; however, the effect was not found in other cognitive domains. Conclusions – Neonatal HB has effect on performance in FSIQ at age of 40 years. In addition, it was associated with both poorer Perceptual Reasoning and slower Cognitive Flexibility. Results might be due to perceptual reasoning’s high vulnerability to neuronal damage and to difficulty of compensating perceptual biological limitations with learning. Since the measured neonatal bilirubin levels within HB group was associated only with lower performance in Verbal Reasoning in this study, it could be concluded that after reaching the inclusion criteria the excess level of bilirubin was no longer significant influence on severity of the outcome

The effect of crowdedness on the content of word-of-mouth communications

Word-of-mouth (WOM) communications have a great importance for brands’ marketing success and sales. The context in which the WOM communications take place is not yet well studied, and its effect on WOM behavior is not well known. This research studies on how crowdedness affects what people share and focuses on whether crowdedness makes consumers more likely to share self-presentational (as opposed to audience-focused or useful) content. Hypothesis that consumers are more likely to share self-presentational content in crowded environments was not supported by the controlled experiment conducted, but additional analyses provide insights on how different emotions affect what people share

"Virkkaaminen on akkojen puuhaa" : Sukupuoliroolit 1940-1950-lukujen sekä 2000-luvun lastenkirjoissa

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on selvittää mitä ovat sukupuoliroolit ja miten ne ovat muuttuneet 1940–1950-luvuilta 2000-luvulle. Tarkoituksena on myös tutkia, millaisia kyseisten vuosikymmenten lastenkirjat ovat ja miten sukupuoliroolit näkyvät niissä. Teoriataustassa käsitellään sukupuolta ja sukupuolirooleja, feminiinisyyttä ja maskuliinisuutta sekä jonkin verran sukupuolisensitiivisyyttä ja –neutraaliutta. Lisäksi käsitellään lastenkirjallisuutta ja siinä tapahtuneita muutoksia sekä sadun merkitystä lapselle. Opinnäytetyö on laadullinen eli kvalitatiivinen. Analyysimenetelmänä käytetään sisällönanalyysiä. Tutkittavana aineistona käytetään viittä lastenkirjaa sekä 1940–1950-luvuilta että 2000-luvulta. Kirjojen henkilöt tyypitellään lokeroihin heidän feminiinisien ja maskuliinisien piirteidensä perusteella. Opinnäytetyön tuloksena selvisi eroja ja yhtäläisyyksiä vanhojen ja uusien kirjojen sukupuolirooleissa. Äidin rooli uusissa ja vanhoissa kirjoissa oli hyvin erilainen. Tämä oli naisten rooleista keskeisin huomio. Tyttöjen välillä ei ollut suurta eroa. Ainoastaan poikien pelastamat tytöt vanhoissa kirjoissa oli selkeä ero uusiin kirjoihin. Vanhojen kirjojen miehet olivat melko maskuliinisia ja perinteisessä miehen roolissa, kun taas uusissa miehet olivat enemmän feminiinisiä. Poikien välilläkin oli eroa. Vanhojen kirjojen pojat olivat yhtä poikkeusta lukuun ottamatta maskuliinisia, kun taas uusissa pojista löytyi monenlaisissa rooleissa olevia henkilöitä.The purpose of this thesis project was to investigate gender roles and how they have changed from the 1940s–1950s to the 2000s. The intent was also to examine the nature of children’s books during these decades and how gender roles are visible in them. As theoretical background we discuss gender and gender roles, feminineness and masculinity, and to some degree gender sensitivity and neutrality. We also cover children’s literature, changes in it, and the significance of stories for children. This thesis is qualitative. We approach the topic through content analysis. The material consists of five children’s books each from both the 1940s–1950s and the 2000s. We categorize the characters in the books on the basis of their feminine and masculine traits. We found both differences and similarities in gender roles in the old and new books. The role of the mother was very different in the new and old books. This was the main observation regarding women’s roles. There was not much difference between girls. The only big difference in the old books compared with the new was in girls being rescued by boys. Men were quite masculine and had traditional men’s roles in the old books, while in the new books they were more feminine. There were also differences between boys. In all except one case, boys in the old books were masculine, but in the new books boys had a variety of roles

Acceptable quality of life and low disease activity achievable among transition phase patients with rheumatic disease

ObjectivesAcross diagnosis groups, transition of adolescents and young adults from children's hospitals to adult care associates with decreased treatment adherence and suboptimal treatment results. Our aim was to compare the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and disease activity of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) patients after the transfer of care to the adult clinic and adult patients in the same outpatient clinic.MethodsAll consecutive JIA patients aged 16 to 20years who visited the transition clinic between September 2016 and August 2017 and all consecutive adult onset arthritis patients between December 2016 and August 2017 in the rheumatology outpatient clinic of Helsinki University Hospital were evaluated. HRQoL was measured by a generic instrument, 15D.ResultsA total of 291 patients, 130 JIA, and 161 adults were identified with respective median disease durations of 6.5 and 4.0years. Adults had lower HRQoL measured by 15D (median 0.90 vs. 0.96, PPeer reviewe

Patients with psychiatric diagnoses have lower quality of life than other patients with juvenile rheumatic disease : a prospective study

Objectives. Transition of adolescents with chronic diseases from paediatric healthcare to adult care requires attention to maintain optimal treatment results. We examined changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and disease activity among JIA patients with or without concomitant psychiatric diagnoses after transfer to an adult clinic. Methods. We prospectively followed 106 consecutive patients who were transferred from the New Children's Hospital to the Helsinki University Hospital Rheumatology outpatient clinic between April 2015 and August 2019 and who had at least one follow-up visit. HRQoL was measured using 15D, a generic instrument. Results. The patients' median age at transfer was 16 years and disease duration 4.0 years. Patients were followed for a median of 1.8 years. Disease activity and overall HRQoL remained stable, but distress (dimension 13 of 15D) increased during follow up (P=0.03). At baseline, patients with at least one psychiatric diagnosis had lower overall 15D scores [mean 0.89 (S.D. 0.14) vs 0.95 (S.D. 0.05), P Conclusion. Transition-phase JIA patients with psychiatric diagnoses had lower HRQoL than other JIA patients. Despite reduced disease activity and pain, HRQoL of patients with psychiatric diagnoses remained suboptimal at the end of follow-up. Our results highlight the necessity of comprehensive care and support for transition-phase JIA patients.Peer reviewe

Cost-effectiveness of managing Natura 2000 sites: an exploratory study for Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland

Natura 2000 sites are expected to assure the long-term survival of Europe's most valuable and threatened species and habitats. It follows that successful management of the sites is of great importance. Next to goal attainment, cost-effectiveness is increasingly recognised as a key requirement for gaining social and political acceptance for costly conservation measures. We identify and qualitatively examine issues of cost-effectiveness related to the design and implementation of management measures in Natura 2000 sites in Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Given the wide variety of management design and implementation options within the four countries, our study is purely of an exploratory nature. We derive recommendations for improving the cost-effectiveness of management in Natura 2000 sites and for future research. Examples of policy recommendations include guaranteeing the availability of funds for longer periods, and ensuring the appropriate allocation of funds between the different tasks of designing and implementing management plans. Further research should examine the cost-effectiveness of controversial suggestions such as, for example, more tailored payment schemes for conservation measures that result in higher ecological outputs but are costly to administer. Moreover, more research is needed to better understand how rules for administrations, as well as rules and governance structures for tasks within administrations, should be designed