Value Creation Through Home Staging in Real Estate Market

Objectives The main objective of this study was to explore home staging as a marketing tool in real estate market in Finland. This study aims to explore and evaluate the effects of home staging. Summary This study explores home staging as marketing tool. The marketing tool was studied using qualitative unstructured expert interviews. Two realtors and a stylist were interviewed. The effects of home staging were evaluated using in- depth consumer interviews. The consumer interviews were formed based on themes that were coded from the expert interviews. Ten consumers were interviewed. Conclusions Using home staging as a marketing tool is considered competitive advantage in real estate market. Home staging can be seen in high-quality photography and in social media marketing. This study suggests that home staging impact positively on consumer perception. In addition, consumers are willing to visit staged propertie

System-wide approaches to uncover Th2 cell lineage commitment

T helper (Th) cells are vital regulators of the adaptive immune system. When activated by presentation of cognate antigen, Th cells demonstrate capacity to differentiate into functionally distinct effector cell subsets. The Th2 subset is required for protection against extracellular parasites, such as helminths, but is also closely linked to pathogenesis of asthma and allergies. The intracellular molecular signal transduction pathways regulating T helper cell subset differentiation are still incompletely known. Moreover, great majority of studies regarding Th2 differentiation have been conducted with mice models, while studies with human cells have been fewer in comparison. The goal of this thesis was to characterize molecular mechanisms promoting the development of Th2 phenotype, focusing specifically on human umbilical cord blood T cells as an experimental model. These primary cells, activated and differentiated to Th2 cells in vitro, were investigated by complementary system-wide approaches, targeting levels of mRNA, proteins, and lipid molecules. Specifically, the results indicated IL4-regulated recruitment of nuclear protein, and described novel components of the Th2-promoting STAT6 enhanceosome complex. Furthermore, the development of the activated effector cell phenotype was found to correlate with remodeling of the cellular lipidome. These findings will hopefully advance the understanding of human Th2 cell lineage commitment and development of Th2-associated disease states.Siirretty Doriast

Workplace guidelines to ensure the quality of work and orientation in a complex factory site

The aim of this thesis is to create a guide book for the Sinebrychoff factory site for the secu-rity guards of Securitas. The work was ordered by both parties and was made in collaboration with the facility manager of Sinebrychoff, the facility foreman of Securitas and the other se-curity guards working at the site. The development project for the thesis is to rearrange the guidelines that are made for the site and to gather them in a concise form of a guide book. Information for the guide book was gathered from the old guidelines and the employees of the factory site, as well as from my own working experience of seven years. The framework is the theory of orientation and knowledge management. The research meth-ods used for this thesis are interviewing and case study. The Occupational Safety and Health Act gives a legislative frame for the thesis. The outcome of the thesis is that the security guards in general will be orientated properly and they get the information in dire situations quickly. The orientation process itself cannot be based on the guide book alone, but must be in co-operation with the elder working secu-rity guard that is conducting the orientation itself. After gathering the proper knowledge base for the site and the processes within it, the quality of work can be guaranteed with the product that was made in this thesis project. Further recommendations for the security guards and Securitas are that they would progres-sively use and develop the guide book. Also, they need to refresh the information within it as the processes evolve at the site. The employees of the site should make short videos or pod-casts for the most difficult situations because sentences can be hard to read when in haste. Thus, it might be easier to comprehend the task when the instructions can be heard or seen. The result of the thesis was as predicted before the beginning: the guidebook is in use and the employees are satisfied in the simplicity of it

Mindfulness based childbirth and parenting program : Supporting a good beginning

Introduction: Considering the scale of population mental health problems and the risk of transmission of mental health vulnerability within families, it is urgent to find and implement efficient preventive interventions starting early in life. In line with this rationale, this thesis evaluates a Swedish version of the Mindfulness Based Childbirth and Parenting Program (MBCP). Objectives: This thesis aims to: 1) test the short- and long-term efficacy of MBCP in reducing pregnant women’s perceived stress and preventing perinatal depression; 2) evaluate effects on infant social-emotional development; and 3) explore MBCP-participants’ experiences of the program. Methods: Pregnant women (n = 193) at risk for perinatal depression were randomized to MBCP or an active control condition (a Lamaze childbirth class). Self-reported data on perceived stress, depressive symptoms, positive states of mind, and levels of mindfulness were provided by the women at baseline, postintervention and at three, nine, and twelve months postpartum. At three months postpartum, the mothers also reported estimates of their infants’ social-emotional development. At the same timepoint, 16 in-depth interviews were carried out with mothers and fathers who had participated in the MBCP program. Results: From pre- to postintervention, the women who were randomized to MBCP reported significantly larger reductions in perceived stress and depressive symptoms and larger increases of positive states of mind and level of mindfulness compared to the women randomized to the control condition. The treatment effects of MBCP on perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and positive states of mind seemed to be mediated by increased levels of mindfulness. These initial effects were not sustained at longer-term follow-up assessments during the first year postpartum. However, the mothers in the MBCP-arm, who continued to practice mindfulness during the follow-up period retained the interventioneffects to a higher degree than the mothers in the MBCP-arm who did not continue to practice. At three months, mothers in the MBCP-arm perceived that they could understand their infants’ cues to a higher degree and that their infant had a better capacity to selfregulate, compared with mothers in the Lamaze-arm. Mothers and fathers who were interviewed, experienced that participating in the MBCP program increased their capacity to cope with stress, anxiety, pain, and distress. A number of parents also experienced becoming more self-compassionate, insightful, better at communicating and having a stronger sense of being present in nature and with their infant. Conclusion: The crucial developmental phase humans go through, in the womb, in infancy, and during pregnancy and early parenting – men and women alike, gives us a window of opportunity to support a positive development in ways that can have far-reaching effects. MBCP is a promising intervention for seizing that opportunity. The intervention promotes well-being and builds resilience to deal with challenges in pregnancy, childbirth, infant-care, co-parenting and life in general

Eteisvärinäpotilaiden vertaistuen tarve potilasjärjestöiltä

Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena on selvittää, mitä tietoa eteisvärinäpotilaat ovat saaneet hoito-henkilökunnalta potilasjärjestöistä, sekä näkemyksiä vertaistuen tärkeydestä hoidon eri vaiheissa. Lisäksi halutaan selvittää, minkälaista vertaistukea eteisvärinäpotilaat kokevat tarvitsevansa potilasjärjestöiltä. Työn tavoitteena on tuottaa tietoa potilasjärjestöjen kautta saadusta vertaistuesta. Opinnäytetyö toteutettiin Espoon Järjestöjen Yhteisön vertaisresepti-hankkeeseen. Vertais-reseptihanke alkoi vuonna 2011 ja siinä pyritään yhdistämään vapaaehtois- ja vertaistukitoiminta potilaan hoitoon, mahdollisesti luomalla jonkinlainen toimintamalli potilasjärjestöjen toiminnasta tiedottamiseen. Opinnäytetyö toteutettiin määrällisellä kyselyllä ja tuloksia täydennettiin teemahaastatteluilla. Määrällinen kysely toteutettiin kahdella Espoon terveysasemalla sekä Helsingin Sydänpiirin vertaistukiryhmässä. Haastattelut suoritettiin kahdelle Helsingin Sydänpiirin vertaistuen piirissä oleville eteisvärinää sairastaville potilaalle. Määrälliset kyselyt analysoitiin Microsoft Excel – ohjelmalla. Opinnäytetyön tulosten mukaan vain vajaa puolet vastanneista oli saanut tietoa potilasjärjestöistä hoitohenkilökunnalta ja sitä oli saatu eniten puoli vuotta diagnoosista. Tiedotus ei ole niinkään painottunut vertaistukeen vaan enemmänkin potilasoppaista ja internet-sivuista tiedottamiseen. Kyselyn vastaajat olisivat toivoneet vertaistukea aiemmin, kun taas haastateltavat olivat tyytyväisiä vertaistuen ajankohtaan. Tulosten mukaan vertaistukea kaipaa vasta kun sairaus on vakavampi. Lisää tukea kaivattiin lääkehoitoon ja 40 % vastanneista kaipasi lisää vertaistukea eteisvärinään sairautena. Suurin osa vastaajista (75 %) koki vertaistuen olleen tarpeellista. Eteisvärinä-vertaistukiryhmät ovat vasta kehittymässä ja tällä hetkellä Helsingin Sydänpiiri kehittää Internetissä toimivaa vertaistukimuotoa eteisvärinäpotilaille. Tästä voisi saada hyviä jatkotutkimusaiheita eteisvärinäpotilaiden vertaistukeen liittyen.Atrial fibrillation patients need for peer support from patient organizations The purpose of the thesis is to study what kind of information atrial fibrillation patients have received about patient organizations from nursing staff and views about the importance of peer support during the different stages of the treatment. The idea is also to find out what kind of support atrial fibrillation patients need from patient organizations. The aim of the thesis is to produce new information of peer support received through patient organizations. The thesis was carried out in co-operation with The Community of the Organizations of Espoo, in the Peer Receipt- project. The project started year 2011 and the purpose is to incorporate voluntary and peer support work to the treatment of the patient, possibly creating a new approach for informing the patient about informing patient organizations. The thesis was carried out by using a quantitative questionnaire and it was completed with theme interviews. The quantitative questionnaire was conducted in two health centers in Espoo and in the peer support group of the Heart Organization of Helsinki. The interviews were carried out with the patients of the peer support group of the Heart Organization in Helsinki. The quantitative questionnaires were analyzed with the Microsoft Excel programme. According to the results less than half of the respondents had received information about patient organizations from nursing staff. Providing information concentrates more on the patient guides and web pages than on peer support. The respondents would have wanted peer support earlier when the interviewees were satisfied with the time of receiving peer support. According to the results peer support is needed when the disease is more severe. More support was hoped for regarding treatment and 40 % of the respondents hoped for more peer support regarding information of the disease. Peer support groups for atrial fibrillation patients are just developing and at the moment the Heart Organization in Helsinki is developing peer support online groups in the internet. From this you could get good topics for further research related to peer support with atrial fibrillation

Metal Ion Chelates as Surrogates of Nucleobases for the Recognition of Nucleic Acid Sequences: The Pd2+ Complex of 2,6-Bis(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl)purine Riboside

A 2,6-bis(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl)purine ribonucleoside has been prepared and incorporated as a conventionally protected phosphoramidite into a 9-mer 2′-O-methyl oligoribonucleotide. According to 1H NMR spectroscopic studies, this nucleoside forms with Pd2+ and uridine a ternary complex that is stable at a micromolar concentration range. CD spectroscopic studies on oligonucleotide hybridization, in turn, suggest that the Pd2+ chelate of this artificial nucleoside, when incorporated in a 2′-O-methyl-RNA oligomer, is able to recognize thymine within an otherwise complementary DNA strand. The duplex containing thymidine opposite to the artificial nucleoside turned out to be somewhat more resistant to heating than its counterpart containing 2′-deoxycytidine in place of thymidine, but only in the presence of Pd2+. According to UV-melting measurements, replacement of 2′-O-methyladenosine with the artificial nucleoside markedly enhances hybridization with a DNA target, irrespective of the identity of the opposite base and the presence of Pd2+. With the thymidine containing DNA target, the Tm value is 2–4°C higher than with targets containing any other nucleoside opposite to the artificial nucleoside, but the dependence on Pd2+ is much less clear than in the case of the CD studies

Pd2 +-mediated base pairing in oligonucleotides

International audienceTwo short glycol nucleic acid (GNA) oligonucleotides, having either a terminal or an intrachain nucleobase replaced by the pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide chelate of Pd2 +, have been synthesized and their hybridization properties studied by melting temperature measurements. In the termini of a double-stranded oligonucleotide, the Pd2 + chelates provided dramatic stabilization of the duplex relative to its metal-free counterpart, in all likelihood owing to formation of Pd2 +-mediated base pairs between pyridine-2,6-dicarboxamide and the opposing nucleobase. In contrast, no stabilization was observed when the Pd2 + chelate was placed in the middle of the chain. Furthermore, the results could not be reproduced by adding a Pd2 + salt in situ to the dilute oligonucleotide solutions but the palladated oligonucleotides had to be synthesized and purified prior to the hybridization studies. This behavior, presumably attributable to the relatively slow ligand-exchange reactions of Pd2 +, differs greatly from what is usually observed with more labile metal ions. The present results offer an explanation for the failure of previous attempts to incorporate Pd2 +-mediated base pairs into oligonucleotides

Access to the market - a question of collaboration?

When contemplating entering an alliance the rationale behind the decision should differ depending on the size of the companies involved as well as on other important factors. The important factors influencing the decision are related to the resource pooling potential of the alliance, the power structure along with the business network the companies are a part of. The analysis has shown proof of a need for cooperation if one wish to succeed in the telecommunication industry and it has also determined which resources that are deemed to be most important to get in touch with, for our study object, to facilitate its access to the market. Those resources are defined as a direct channel to the customer, funds/capital and the access to relevant business networks. To get in touch with these lacking resources, three alternative approaches has been proposed; all of them involving a strategic alliance decision. Furthermore a strategy on how to survive, once the company has reached the market, is also analysed