Työsuhde-etujen kehittäminen Suur-Savon osuuspankin Mikkelin konttorissa

Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli kehittää Suur-Savon Osuuspankin Mikkelin konttorin henkilöstön työsuhde-etuja, erityisesti henkilöstöruokailua. Tutkimusongelmana oli kuinka tyytyväisiä työntekijät ovat Suur-Savon osuuspankin, Mikkelin konttorin työsuhde-etuihin ja kuinka niitä voisi kehittää. Opinnäytetyön teoreettisessa viitekehyksessä käsiteltiin palvelun laatua, palkitsemista ja työsuhde-etuja. Palvelun laadun osalta esille tuotiin palvelun laatuun vaikuttavia tekijöitä. Työsuhde-eduissa käsiteltiin niiden verotusta ja niiden merkitystä motivaatioon. Palkitsemisen osalta käsiteltiin palkitsemisen muoto-ja sekä palkitsemisen merkitystä motivaatioon. Tutkimusmenetelmänä käytettiin pääosin kvantitatiivista eli määrällistä menetelmää. Tutkimus sisälsi myös jonkun verran kvalitatiivista eli laadullista tutkimusta avointen kysymysten osalta. Tutkimus toteu-tettiin henkilöstökyselynä. Kohteena olivat Mikkelin konttorin työntekijät, 100 henkilöä. Kyselyyn saatiin 81 vastausta, joten vastausprosentiksi muodostui 81 %. Tutkimustulosten perusteella henkilöstö oli melko tyytyväinen nykyisiin työsuhde-etuihin. Vastaajat olivat melko samaa mieltä siitä, kuinka kehittää henkilöstöetuja. Henkilöstöruokailun osalta parannusta kaivattiin ruoan laatuun sekä ruokalan viihtyvyyteen. Tutkimustuloksista ilmeni, että henkilöstöetuja kehittäessä tulisi panostaa eduista tiedottamiseen. Merkittävimpinä työsuhde-etuina pidettiin omaan hyvinvointiin liittyviä etuja ja näistä tärkeimpänä oli työterveyshuolto. Tutkimustulosten perusteella henkilöstöruokalaa voitaisiin kehittää parantamalla sekä ruoan laatua että ruokalan viihtyvyyttä. Työsuhde-etujen tiedottamiseen tulisi yrityksessä panostaa viestimällä tehok-kaammin käyttäen eri viestintäkanavia. Yrityksessä tulisi kehittää erityisesti hyvinvointiin liittyviä työ-suhde-etuja, jotta henkilöstö voi hyvin.The aim of this thesis was to find out how the employee benefits in the bank Suur-Savon Osuuspankki Mikkeli can be improved and developed. Our thesis focused on finding ways to improve especially the quality of the staff restaurant. The research problem was to find out what the level of satisfaction of em-ployee benefits was and how to improve employee benefits. The theoretical framework of the thesis consisted of the components that affect service quality and find-ing out what is the importance of a bonus system and employee benefits. The research method was mainly quantitative, and the research also included qualitative methods be-cause there were some open ended questions. The data was collected by a questionnaire and the target group of the research was all the 100 employees of the Mikkeli office. The questionnaire was returned by 81 employees and thus the response rate was 81 %. The replies were quite similar and the employees agreed with each other about how to improve the em-ployee benefits. The study showed that the company should pay attention to informing more effectively concerning employee benefits. The company also should improve the quality of food and the staff restau-rant´s pleasant environment. The employee benefits which concerned the personnel’s own welfare were the most significant. The results indicate that the company should especially develop the quality of food and improve the en-vironment in the staff restaurant. The company should also inform about employee benefits using differ-ent communicational channels. The company should pay attention to improving especially personnel’s own welfare benefits, because it has a remarkable influence on the company that employees are healthy

Prolyl 4-hydroxylase subunit alpha 1 (P4HA1) is a biomarker of poor prognosis in primary melanomas and its depletion inhibits melanoma cell invasion and disrupts tumor blood vessel walls

Abstract Melanoma is an unpredictable, highly metastatic malignancy, and treatment of advanced melanoma remains challenging. Novel molecular markers based on the alterations in gene expression and the molecular pathways activated or deactivated during melanoma progression are needed for predicting the course of the disease already in primary tumors and for providing new targets for therapy. Here, we sought to identify genes whose expression in primary melanomas correlate with patient disease-specific survival using global gene expression profiling. Many of the identified potential markers of poor prognosis were associated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, extracellular matrix formation, and angiogenesis. We studied further the significance of one of the genes, prolyl 4-hydroxylase subunit alpha 1 (P4HA1), in melanoma progression. P4HA1 depletion in melanoma cells reduced cell adhesion, invasion, and viability in vitro. In melanoma xenograft assays, we found that P4HA1 knockdown reduced melanoma tumor invasion as well as the deposition of collagens, particularly type IV collagen, in the interstitial extracellular matrix and in the basement membranes of tumor blood vessels, leading to vessel wall rupture and hemorrhages. Further, P4HA1 knockdown reduced the secretion of collagen triple helix repeat containing 1 (CTHRC1), an important mediator of melanoma cell migration and invasion, in vitro and its deposition around tumor blood vessels in vivo. Taken together, P4HA1 is an interesting potential prognostic marker and therapeutic target in primary melanomas, influencing many aspects of melanoma tumor progression.Peer reviewe

Baletin jäljillä

Suomen Kansallisbaletti täyttää 100 vuotta vuonna 2022, mutta baletista Suomessa on kirjoitettu hämmästyttävän vähän. Työnimellä Kansallisbaletti100 kulkevassa tietokirjahankkeessa kymmenen toimittajaa ja tutkijaa tarkastelee baletin historiaa ja nykypäivää lähtökohtinaan kansainvälisyys ja taiteidenvälisyys. Esittelemme tässä artikkelissa vielä keskeneräistä projektia, tarkastelemme käyttämiämme lähteitä ja sitä, miten eri tavoin tutkija ja toimittaja voivat lähestyä aihettaan

Prostaglandin E-2-EP2-NF-kappa B signaling in macrophages as a potential therapeutic target for intracranial aneurysms

Intracranial aneurysms are common but are generally untreated, and their rupture can lead to subarachnoid hemorrhage. Because of the poor prognosis associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage, preventing the progression of intracranial aneurysms is critically important. Intracranial aneurysms are caused by chronic inflammation of the arterial wall due to macrophage infiltration triggered by monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage activation mediated by the transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B), and inflammatory signaling involving prostaglandin E-2 (PGE(2)) and prostaglandin E receptor subtype 2 (EP2). We correlated EP2 and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) with macrophage infiltration in human intracranial aneurysm lesions. Monitoring the spatiotemporal pattern of NF-kappa B activation during intracranial aneurysm development in mice showed that NF-kappa B was first activated in macrophages in the adventitia and in endothelial cells and, subsequently, in the entire arterial wall. Mice with a macrophage-specific deletion of Ptger2 (which encodes EP2) or macrophage-specific expression of an I kappa B alpha mutant that restricts NF-kappa B activation had fewer intracranial aneurysms with reduced macrophage infiltration and NF-kappa B activation. In cultured cells, EP2 signaling cooperated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) to activate NF-kappa B and synergistically induce the expression of proinflammatory genes, including Ptgs2 (encoding COX-2). EP2 signaling also stabilized Ccl2 (encoding MCP-1) by activating the RNA-stabilizing protein HuR. Rats administered an EP2 antagonist had reduced macrophage infiltration and intracranial aneurysm formation and progression. This signaling pathway in macrophages thus facilitates intracranial aneurysm development by amplifying inflammation in intracranial arteries. These results indicate that EP2 antagonists may therefore be a therapeutic alternative to surgery.Peer reviewe

Assessment of the Relaxation-Enhancing Properties of a Nitroxide-Based Contrast Agent TEEPO-Glc with In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging examinations are frequently carried out using contrast agents to improve the image quality. Practically all clinically used contrast agents are based on paramagnetic metals and lack in selectivity and specificity. A group of stable organic radicals, nitroxides, has raised interest as new metal-free contrast agents for MRI. Their structures can easily be modified to incorporate different functionalities. In the present study, a stable nitroxide TEEPO (2,2,6,6-tetraethylpiperidin-1-oxyl) was linked to a glucose moiety (Glc) to construct a water-soluble, potentially tumor-targeting compound with contrast-enhancing ability. The ability was assessed with in vivo MRI experiments. The constructed TEEPO-Glc agent proved to shorten the T-1 relaxation time in tumor, while the T-1 time in healthy brain tissue remained the same. The results indicate the potential of TEEPO-Glc as a valuable addition to the growing field of metal-free contrast enhancement in MRI-based diagnostics.Peer reviewe

Cognitive Performance at Time of AD Diagnosis : A Clinically Augmented Register-Based Study

We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using real-world register data for identifying persons with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to describe their cognitive performance at the time of diagnosis. Patients diagnosed with AD during 2010-2013 (aged 60-81 years) were identified from the Finnish national health registers and enlarged with a smaller private sector sample (total n = 1,268). Patients with other disorders impacting cognition were excluded. Detailed clinical and cognitive screening data (the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease neuropsychological battery [CERAD-nb]) were obtained from local health records. Adequate cognitive data were available for 389 patients with mild AD (31%) of the entire AD group. The main reasons for not including patients in analyses of cognitive performance were AD diagnosis at a moderate/severe stage (n = 266, 21%), AD diagnosis given before full register coverage (n = 152, 12%), and missing CERAD-nb data (n = 139, 11%). The cognitive performance of persons with late-onset AD (n = 284), mixed cerebrovascular disease and AD (n = 51), and other AD subtypes (n = 54) was compared with that of a non-demented sample (n = 1980) from the general population. Compared with the other AD groups, patients with late-onset AD performed the worst in word list recognition, while patients with mixed cerebrovascular disease and AD performed the worst in constructional praxis and clock drawing tests. A combination of national registers and local health records can be used to collect data relevant for cognitive screening; today, the process is laborious, but it could be improved in the future with refined search algorithms and electronic data.Peer reviewe

Education-Based Cutoffs for Cognitive Screening of Alzheimer’s Disease

Introduction: The educational background and size of the elderly population are undergoing significant changes in Finland during the 2020s. A similar process is likely to occur also in several European countries. For cognitive screening of early Alzheimer’s disease (AD), using outdated norms and cutoff scores may negatively affect clinical accuracy. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of education, age, and gender on the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease neuropsychological battery (CERAD-nb) in a large register-based, clinical sample of patients with mild AD and nondemented at-risk persons from the general population (controls) and to examine whether corrected cutoff scores would increase the accuracy of differentiation between the 2 groups. Methods: CERAD-nb scores were obtained from AD patients (n = 389, 58% women, mean age 74.0 years) and from controls (n = 1,980, 52% women, mean age 68.5 years). The differences in CERAD-nb performance were evaluated by univariate GLM. Differentiation between the 2 groups was evaluated using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, where a larger area under the ROC curve represents better discrimination. Youden’s J was calculated for the overall performance and accuracy of each of the measures. Results: Of the demographic factors, education was the strongest predictor of CERAD-nb performance, explaining more variation than age or gender in both the AD patients and the controls. Education corrected cutoff scores had better diagnostic accuracy in discriminating between the AD patients and controls than existing uncorrected scores. The highest level of discrimination between the 2 groups overall was found for two CERAD-nb total scores. Conclusions: Education-corrected cutoff scores were superior to uncorrected scores in differentiating between controls and AD patients especially for the highest level of education and should therefore be used in clinical cognitive screening, also as the proportion of the educated elderly is increasing substantially during the 2020s. Our results also indicate that total scores of the CERAD-nb are better at discriminating AD patients from controls than any single subtest score. A digital tool for calculating the total scores and comparing education-based cutoffs would increase the efficiency and usability of the test.Peer reviewe

Hepsin regulates TGF beta signaling via fibronectin proteolysis

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF beta) is a multifunctional cytokine with a well-established role in mammary gland development and both oncogenic and tumor-suppressive functions. The extracellular matrix (ECM) indirectly regulates TGF beta activity by acting as a storage compartment of latent-TGF beta, but how TGF beta is released from the ECM via proteolytic mechanisms remains largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrate that hepsin, a type II transmembrane protease overexpressed in 70% of breast tumors, promotes canonical TGF beta signaling through the release of latent-TGF beta from the ECM storage compartment. Mammary glands in hepsin CRISPR knockout mice showed reduced TGF beta signaling and increased epithelial branching, accompanied by increased levels of fibronectin and latent-TGF beta 1, while overexpression of hepsin in mammary tumors increased TGF beta signaling. Cell-free and cell-based experiments showed that hepsin is capable of direct proteolytic cleavage of fibronectin but not latent-TGF beta and, importantly, that the ability of hepsin to activate TGF beta signaling is dependent on fibronectin. Altogether, this study demonstrates a role for hepsin as a regulator of the TGF beta pathway in the mammary gland via a novel mechanism involving proteolytic downmodulation of fibronectin.Peer reviewe

Clathrin-independent entry of baculovirus triggers uptake of E. coli in non-phagocytic human cells

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