Adverse Childhood Experiences and Risk of Binge Drinking and Drunkenness in Middle-Aged Finnish Men

Objective. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between adverse childhood experiences and binge drinking and drunkenness in adulthood using both historical and recalled data from childhood. Methods. Data on childhood adverse experiences were collected from school health records and questionnaires completed in adulthood. Adulthood data were obtained from the baseline examinations of the male participants (n = 2682) in the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study (KIHD) in 1984–1989 from eastern Finland. School health records from the 1930s to 1950s were available for a subsample of KIHD men (n = 952). Results. According to the school health records, men who had adverse childhood experiences had a 1.51-fold (95% CI 1.05 to 2.18) age- and examination-year adjusted odds of binge drinking in adulthood. After adjustment for socioeconomic position in adulthood or behavioural factors in adulthood, the association remained unchanged. Adjustment for socioeconomic position in childhood attenuated these effects. Also the recalled data showed associations with adverse childhood experiences and binge drinking with different beverages. Conclusions. Our findings suggest that childhood adversities are associated with increased risk of binge drinking in adulthood

Tutkimuksen monitieteisyys ja laatu

http://www.minedu.fi/OPM/Julkaisut/2016/tutkimuksen_monitieteisyys.html?lang=f

Ruokohelven polttoaineketjun kehittäminen liiketoimintamahdollisuuksien parantamiseksi

vokKA

Stapled truncated orexin peptides as orexin receptor agonists

The peptides orexin-A and -B, the endogenous agonists of the orexin receptors, have similar 19-amino-acid C-termini which retain full maximum response as truncated peptides with only marginally reduced potency, while further N-terminal truncations successively reduce the activity. The peptides have been suggested to bind in an α‐helical conformation, and truncation beyond a certain critical length is likely to disrupt the overall helical structure. In this study, we set out to stabilize the α‐helical conformation of orexin‐A15–33 via peptide stapling at four different sites. At a suggested hinge region, we varied the length of the cross-linker as well as replaced the staple with two α-aminoisobutyric acid residues. Modifications close to the peptide C‐terminus, which is crucial for activity, were not allowed. However, central and N‐terminal modifications yielded bioactive peptides, albeit with decreased potencies. This provides evidence that the orexin receptors can accommodate and be activated by α-helical peptides. The decrease in potency is likely linked to a stabilization of suboptimal peptide conformation or blocking of peptide backbone–receptor interactions at the hinge region by the helical stabilization or the modified amino acids.Peer reviewe

Heterocyst-specific flavodiiron protein Flv3B enables oxic diazotrophic growth of the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120

Flavodiiron proteins are known to have crucial and specific roles in photoprotection of photosystems I and II in cyanobacteria. The filamentous, heterocyst-forming cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 contains, besides the four flavodiiron proteins Flv1A, Flv2, Flv3A, and Flv4 present in vegetative cells, two heterocyst-specific flavodiiron proteins, Flv1B and Flv3B. Here, we demonstrate that Flv3B is responsible for light-induced O2 uptake in heterocysts, and that the absence of the Flv3B protein severely compromises the growth of filaments in oxic, but not in microoxic, conditions. It is further demonstrated that Flv3B-mediated photosynthetic O2 uptake has a distinct role in heterocysts which cannot be substituted by respiratory O2 uptake in the protection of nitrogenase from oxidative damage and, thus, in an efficient provision of nitrogen to filaments. In line with this conclusion, the Δflv3B strain has reduced amounts of nitrogenase NifHDK subunits and shows multiple symptoms of nitrogen deficiency in the filaments. The apparent imbalance of cytosolic redox state in Δflv3B heterocysts also has a pronounced influence on the amounts of different transcripts and proteins. Therefore, an O2-related mechanism for control of gene expression is suggested to take place in heterocysts

Terpene emissions from boreal wetlands can initiate stronger atmospheric new particle formation than boreal forests

Aerosols and their interaction with clouds constitute the largest uncertainty in estimating the radiative forcing affecting the climate system. Secondary aerosol formation is responsible for a large fraction of the cloud condensation nuclei in the global atmosphere. Wetlands are important to the budgets of methane and carbon dioxide, but the potential role of wetlands in aerosol formation has not been investigated. Here we use direct atmospheric sampling at the Siikaneva wetland in Finland to investigate the emission of methane and volatile organic compounds, and subsequently formed atmospheric clusters and aerosols. We find that terpenes initiate stronger atmospheric new particle formation than is typically observed over boreal forests and that, in addition to large emissions of methane which cause a warming effect, wetlands also have a cooling effect through emissions of these terpenes. We suggest that new wetlands produced by melting permafrost need to be taken into consideration as sources of secondary aerosol particles when estimating the role of increasing wetland extent in future climate change. Boreal wetlands emit terpenes which initiate atmospheric new particle formation to an even greater degree than is usually seen over boreal forests, according to direct measurements of volatile organic compounds from a Finnish wetland.Peer reviewe

Aerosol particle formation in the upper residual layer

According to current estimates, atmospheric new particle formation (NPF) produces a large fraction of aerosol particles and cloud condensation nuclei in the Earth's atmosphere, which have implications for health and climate. Despite recent advances, atmospheric NPF is still insufficiently understood in the lower troposphere, especially above the mixed layer (ML). This paper presents new results from colocated airborne and ground-based measurements in a boreal forest environment, showing that many NPF events (similar to 42 %) appear to start in the topmost part of the residual layer (RL). The freshly formed particles may be entrained into the growing mixed layer (ML) where they continue to grow in size, similar to the aerosol particles formed within the ML. The results suggest that in the boreal forest environment, NPF in the upper RL has an important contribution to the aerosol load in the boundary layer (BL).Peer reviewe

Tuulivoimarakentamisen edistäminen : Keinoja sujuvaan hankekehitykseen ja eri tavoitteiden yhteensovitukseen

Tuulivoimaloiden määrä Suomessa on kasvanut viimeisen vuosikymmenen aikana voimakkaasti ja tavoitteena on edelleenkin kasvattaa tuulivoiman osuutta energiantuotannosta. Tuulivoiman lisääminen edesauttaa Suomen uusiutuvan energian tavoitteiden saavuttamista. Tässä selvityksessä on tutkittu tapoja edistää tuulivoimarakentamista kolmen osakokonaisuuden kautta: tuulivoimarakentamista koskevien viranomaismenettelyiden sujuvoittaminen ja selkeyttäminen; merituulivoiman kannattavuuden parantaminen; tuulivoimarakentamisen ja aluevalvonnan yhteensovittaminen. Kukin osakokonaisuus koostuu nykytilanteen kuvauksesta sekä johtopäätöksinä esitetyistä toimenpide-ehdotuksista. Viranomaismenettelyiden sujuvoittamisehdotukset koostuvat ohjeistuksen ja toimijoiden välisen vuoropuhelun lisäämisestä sekä yksityiskohtaisemmista ehdotuksista koskien YVA-menettelyä, kaavoitusta, vaikutusten arviointia sekä eräitä muita lupa- ja lausuntomenettelyitä. Viranomaismenettelyiden osalta työssä on kiinnitetty erityistä huomiota siihen, että myös talousvyöhykkeellä edellytetyt viranomaismenettelyt on kuvattu kattavasti. Merituulivoiman kannattavuuden edistämiseksi ehdotetaan muun muassa tarkempaa selvitystä valtion takauksien hyödyntämisestä pitkäaikaisissa sähkönostosopimuksissa. Puolustusvoimien aluevalvonnan ja tuulivoiman yhteensovittamisen teknologisia mahdollisuuksia on kuvattu kattavasti. Yhteensovittamisen kehittämiseksi esitetään, että tuulivoimaloiden tarvitsemasta Puolustusvoimien hyväksynnästä säädetään lailla. Selvitykseen ei ole sisältynyt esitettyjen toimenpiteiden vaikutustenarviointi.Tämä julkaisu on toteutettu osana valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimussuunnitelman toimeenpanoa. (tietokayttoon.fi) Julkaisun sisällöstä vastaavat tiedon tuottajat, eikä tekstisisältö välttämättä edusta valtioneuvoston näkemystä