A new efficient bait-trap model for Lepidoptera surveys – the “Oulu” model

To get reliable estimates of biodiversity or relative population sizes, it is important to develop and properly test new survey tools in comparison with previous methods. Here, we introduce a new, effective bait-trap model, viz. the “Oulu” model, for Lepidoptera surveys and monitoring schemes. An extensive field experiment showed that the new bait-trap model captures more individuals and more species than the widely-used “Jalas”model, while the species richness and species composition of the total catches did not differ between the trap models. The differences between the trap models were consistent over time and habitats. We suggest that the “Oulu” model yields high catches because few individuals can escape from the trap. It is thus an effective tool to be used in Lepidoptera surveys and studies

The Datafication of Hate : Expectations and Challenges in Automated Hate Speech Monitoring

Laaksonen, S-M.; Haapoja, J.; Kinnunen, T., Nelimarkka, M. & Pöyhtäri, R. (2020, accepted). . Frontiers in Big Data: Data Mining and Management / Critical Data and Algorithm Studies. doi:10.3389/fdata.2020.00003Hate speech has been identified as a pressing problem in society and several automated approaches have been designed to detect and prevent it. This paper reports and reflects upon an action research setting consisting of multi-organizational collaboration conducted during Finnish municipal elections in 2017, wherein a technical infrastructure was designed to automatically monitor candidates' social media updates for hate speech. The setting allowed us to engage in a 2-fold investigation. First, the collaboration offered a unique view for exploring how hate speech emerges as a technical problem. The project developed an adequately well-working algorithmic solution using supervised machine learning. We tested the performance of various feature extraction and machine learning methods and ended up using a combination of Bag-of-Words feature extraction with Support-Vector Machines. However, an automated approach required heavy simplification, such as using rudimentary scales for classifying hate speech and a reliance on word-based approaches, while in reality hate speech is a linguistic and social phenomenon with various tones and forms. Second, the action-research-oriented setting allowed us to observe affective responses, such as the hopes, dreams, and fears related to machine learning technology. Based on participatory observations, project artifacts and documents, interviews with project participants, and online reactions to the detection project, we identified participants' aspirations for effective automation as well as the level of neutrality and objectivity introduced by an algorithmic system. However, the participants expressed more critical views toward the system after the monitoring process. Our findings highlight how the powerful expectations related to technology can easily end up dominating a project dealing with a contested, topical social issue. We conclude by discussing the problematic aspects of datafying hate and suggesting some practical implications for hate speech recognition.Peer reviewe

Modulating sustained drug release from nanocellulose hydrogel by adjusting the inner geometry of implantable capsules

Nanocellulose hydrogel has been shown to be an excellent platform for drug delivery and it has been lately studied as an injectable drug carrier. 3D printing is an effective method for fast prototyping of pharmaceutical devices with unique shape and cavities enabling new types of controlled release. In this study, we combined the versatility of 3D printing capsules with controlled geometry and the drug release properties of nanocellulose hydrogel to accurately modulate its drug release properties. We first manufactured non-active capsules via 3D printing from biocompatible poly(lactic acid) (PLA) that limit the direction of drug diffusion. As a novel method, the capsules were filled with a drug dispersion composed of model compounds and anionic cellulose nanofiber (CNF) hydrogel. The main benefit of this device is that the release of any CNF-compatible drug can be modulated simply by modulating the inner geometry of the PLA capsule. In the study we optimized the size and shape of the capsules inner cavity and performed drug release tests with common beta blockers metoprolol and nadolol as the model compounds. The results demonstrate that the sustained release profiles provided by the CNF matrix can be accurately modulated via adjusting the geometry of the 3D printed PLA capsule, resulting in adjustable sustained release for the model compounds.Peer reviewe

Sosiaalisen median ennustekyky kaupan myynnissä : esimerkkinä veganismi ja vegaaniset ruuat

Sosiaalisen median aineistoja on pyritty hyödyntämään ennustemalleissa esimerkiksi vaalitulosten, työttömyysasteen, osakekurssien tai kuluttajatuotteiden kysynnän ennakoinnissa. Laajempia kulutusilmiöitä on kuitenkin harvemmin pyritty ennustamaan sosiaalisen median avulla. Tämä tutkimus keskittyy veganismiin, viime vuosina pinnalla olleeseen kulutusilmiöön, vertaamalla sitä koskevien sosiaalisen median viestien määrää vegaanisten kasvimaitotuotteiden myyntiin. Analysoimalla viikoittaista myyntimäärää ja sosiaalisen median hakusanaryppäiden osumien määrää vuodesta 2012 vuoteen 2016 autoregressivisen vektorivirheenkorjausmallin (VECM) avulla tämä tutkimus osoittaa, että kasvimaitotuotteiden myynnillä sekä sosiaalisen median viesteillä on olemassa pitkän aikavälin riippuvuussuhde. Yleistä ilmiötä, veganismia, koskevat viestit selittivät kasvimaitotuotteiden myyntiä, mutta kyseisiä tuotteita koskevat viestit eivät. Myynnin ennustamisessa toimii kuitenkin parhaiten pelkkään myyntiaineistoon pohjautuva SARIMAX-ennuste.Peer reviewe

Assessing an Electronic Health Record research platform for identification of clinical trial participants

Electronic health records (EHR) are a potential resource for identification of clinical trial participants. We evaluated how accurately a commercially available EHR Research Platform, InSite, is able to identify potential trial participants from the EHR system of a large tertiary care hospital. Patient counts were compared with results obtained in a conventional manual search performed for a reference study that investigated the associations of atrial fibrillation (AF) and cerebrovascular incidents. The Clinical Data Warehouse (CDW) of Turku University Hospital was used to verify the capabilities of the EHR Research Platform.The EHR query resulted in a larger patient count than the manual query (EHR Research Platform 5859 patients, manual selection 2166 patients). This was due to the different search logic and some exclusion criteria that were not addressable in structured digital format. The EHR Research Platform (5859 patients) and the CDW search (5840 patients) employed the same search logic. The temporal relationship between the two diagnoses could be identified when they were available in structured format and the time difference was longer than a single hospital visit.Searching for patients with the EHR Research Platform can help to identify potential trial participants from a hospital's EHR system by limiting the number of records to be manually reviewed. EHR query tools can best be utilized in trials where the selection criteria are expressed in structured digital format.</p

Expression of sterol regulatory element-binding transcription factor (SREBF) 2 and SREBF cleavage-activating protein (SCAP) in human atheroma and the association of their allelic variants with sudden cardiac death

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Disturbed cellular cholesterol homeostasis may lead to accumulation of cholesterol in human atheroma plaques. Cellular cholesterol homeostasis is controlled by the sterol regulatory element-binding transcription factor 2 (SREBF-2) and the SREBF cleavage-activating protein (SCAP). We investigated whole genome expression in a series of human atherosclerotic samples from different vascular territories and studied whether the non-synonymous coding variants in the interacting domains of two genes, <it>SREBF-2 </it>1784G>C (rs2228314) and <it>SCAP </it>2386A>G, are related to the progression of coronary atherosclerosis and the risk of pre-hospital sudden cardiac death (SCD).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Whole genome expression profiling was completed in twenty vascular samples from carotid, aortic and femoral atherosclerotic plaques and six control samples from internal mammary arteries. Three hundred sudden pre-hospital deaths of middle-aged (33–69 years) Caucasian Finnish men were subjected to detailed autopsy in the Helsinki Sudden Death Study. Coronary narrowing and areas of coronary wall covered with fatty streaks or fibrotic, calcified or complicated lesions were measured and related to the <it>SREBF-2 </it>and <it>SCAP </it>genotypes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Whole genome expression profiling showed a significant (p = 0.02) down-regulation of <it>SREBF-2 </it>in atherosclerotic carotid plaques (types IV-V), but not in the aorta or femoral arteries (p = NS for both), as compared with the histologically confirmed non-atherosclerotic tissues. In logistic regression analysis, a significant interaction between the <it>SREBF-2 </it>1784G>C and the <it>SCAP </it>2386A>G genotype was observed on the risk of SCD (p = 0.046). Men with the <it>SREBF-2 </it>C allele and the <it>SCAP </it>G allele had a significantly increased risk of SCD (OR 2.68, 95% CI 1.07–6.71), compared to <it>SCAP </it>AA homologous subjects carrying the <it>SREBF-2 </it>C allele. Furthermore, similar trends for having complicated lesions and for the occurrence of thrombosis were found, although the results were not statistically significant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results suggest that the allelic variants (<it>SREBF-2 </it>1784G>C and <it>SCAP </it>2386A>G) in the cholesterol homeostasis regulating SREBF-SCAP pathway may contribute to SCD in early middle-aged men.</p

Characteristics and Outcomes of 79 Patients with an Insulinoma : A Nationwide Retrospective Study in Finland

Objective. Insulinomas are rare pancreatic tumours. Population-based data on their incidence, clinical picture, diagnosis, and treatment are almost nonexistent. The aim of this study was to clarify these aspects in a nationwide cohort of insulinoma patients diagnosed during three decades. Design and Methods. Retrospective analysis on all adult patients diagnosed with insulinoma in Finland during 1980-2010. Results. Seventy-nine patients were diagnosed with insulinoma over the research period. The median follow-up from diagnosis to last control visit was one (min 0, max 31) year. The incidence increased from 0.5/million/year in the 1980s to 0.9/million/year in the 2000s (p = 0 002). The median diagnostic delay was 13 months and did not change over the study period. The mean age at diagnosis was 52 (SD 16) years. The overall imaging sensitivity improved from 39% in the 1980s to 98% in the 2000s (p <0 001). Seventy- one (90%) of the patients underwent surgery with a curative aim, two (3%) had palliative surgery, and 6 (8%) were inoperable. There were no significant differences in the types of surgical procedures between the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s; tumour enucleations comprised 43% of the operations, distal pancreatic resections 45%, and pancreaticoduodenectomies 12%, over the whole study period. Of the patients who underwent surgery with a curative aim, 89% had a full recovery. Postoperative complications occurred in half of the patients, but postoperative mortality was rare. Conclusions. The incidence of insulinomas has increased during the past three decades. Despite the improved diagnostic options, diagnostic delay has remained unchanged. To shorten the delay, clinicians should be informed and alert to consider the possibility of hypoglycemia and insulinoma, when symptomatic attacks are investigated in different sectors of the healthcare system. Developing the surgical treatment is another major target, in order to lower the overall complication rate, without compromising the high cure rate of insulinomas.Peer reviewe

Long-term morbidity and mortality in patients diagnosed with an insulinoma

Objective: Insulinomas are rare functional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours. As previous data on the long-term prognosis of insulinoma patients are scarce, we studied the morbidity and mortality in the Finnish insulinoma cohort. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Incidence of endocrine, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and psychiatric disorders, and cancers was compared in all the patients diagnosed with an insulinoma in Finland during 1980-2010 (n = 79, including two patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 syndrome), vs 316 matched controls, using the Mantel-Haenszel method. Overall survival was analysed with Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. Results: The median length of follow-up was 10.7 years for the patients and 12.2 years for the controls. The long-term incidence of atrial fibrillation (rate ratio (RR): 2.07 (95% CI: 1.02-4.22)), intestinal obstruction (18.65 (2.09-166.86)), and possibly breast (4.46 (1.29-15.39) and kidney cancers (RR not applicable) was increased among insulinoma patients vs controls, P < 0.05 for all comparisons. Endocrine disorders and pancreatic diseases were more frequent in the patients during the first year after insulinoma diagnosis, but not later on. The survival of patients with a non-metastatic insulinoma (n = 70) was similar to that of controls, but for patients with distant metastases (n = 9), the survival was significantly impaired (median 3.4 years). Conclusions: The long-term prognosis of patients with a non-metastatic insulinoma is similar to the general population, except for an increased incidence of atrial fibrillation, intestinal obstruction, and possibly breast and kidney cancers. These results need to be confirmed in future studies. Metastatic insulinomas entail a markedly decreased survival.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Interplay of Cultures Studio – Sámi: Architecture that leaves no trace in the environment, Master's level course in Architecture

Who are the Sámi? What is Sámi culture? What is Sápmi? What can be called Sámiarchitecture? Who has the right to design in Sápmi? What is cultural appropriation? How can one experience Sápmi? Who has the right to own the land? How can we learn about indigenous culture, here Sámi, without perpetuating colonization? What have we learned about the way Sámi cultures relate to our material reality and how could this inform the way we build today in Western culture as we strive for a sustainable way to live on the planet? During the beginning of the year 2022 the multidisciplinary architecture master studio,Interplay of Culture introduced 16 students to Sámi culture. Here are a few questions that we asked ourselves, and tried to answer with more questions than definite answers. The focus of this course is on the thematic area of Global Sustainability and Cultural Locality. The aim was to gain insight on sustainable building solutions and culturally sensitive architecture in indigenous northern cultures context. This publication is the summary of our exploration on the extremely broad and fascinatingSámi cultures. It gives diversified insight on what students explored, learned and understood of Sámi culture and building knowledge.Peer reviewe

Characteristics and Outcomes of 79 Patients with an Insulinoma: A Nationwide Retrospective Study in Finland

Objective. Insulinomas are rare pancreatic tumours. Population-based data on their incidence, clinical picture, diagnosis, and treatment are almost nonexistent. The aim of this study was to clarify these aspects in a nationwide cohort of insulinoma patients diagnosed during three decades. Design and Methods. Retrospective analysis on all adult patients diagnosed with insulinoma in Finland during 1980-2010. Results. Seventy-nine patients were diagnosed with insulinoma over the research period. The median follow-up from diagnosis to last control visit was one (min 0, max 31) year. The incidence increased from 0.5/million/year in the 1980s to 0.9/million/year in the 2000s (p = 0 002). The median diagnostic delay was 13 months and did not change over the study period. The mean age at diagnosis was 52 (SD 16) years. The overall imaging sensitivity improved from 39% in the 1980s to 98% in the 2000s (p < 0 001). Seventy- one (90%) of the patients underwent surgery with a curative aim, two (3%) had palliative surgery, and 6 (8%) were inoperable. There were no significant differences in the types of surgical procedures between the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s; tumour enucleations comprised 43% of the operations, distal pancreatic resections 45%, and pancreaticoduodenectomies 12%, over the whole study period. Of the patients who underwent surgery with a curative aim, 89% had a full recovery. Postoperative complications occurred in half of the patients, but postoperative mortality was rare. Conclusions. The incidence of insulinomas has increased during the past three decades. Despite the improved diagnostic options, diagnostic delay has remained unchanged. To shorten the delay, clinicians should be informed and alert to consider the possibility of hypoglycemia and insulinoma, when symptomatic attacks are investigated in different sectors of the healthcare system. Developing the surgical treatment is another major target, in order to lower the overall complication rate, without compromising the high cure rate of insulinomas