Miten ja missä ihomelanoomapotilasta seurataan?

Teema: Ihomelanooma. English summar

Characterization of signal kinetics in real time surgical tissue classification system

Effective surgical margin assessment is paramount for good oncological outcomes and new methods are in active development. One emerging approach is the analysis of the chemical composition of surgical smoke from tissues. Surgical smoke is typically removed with a smoke evacuator to protect the operating room staff from its harmful effects to the respiratory system. Thus, analysis of the evacuated smoke without disturbing the operation is a feasible approach. Smoke transportation is subject to lags that affect system usability. We analyzed the smoke transportation delay and evaluated its effects to tissue classification with differential mobility spectrometry in a simulated setting using porcine tissues. With a typical smoke evacuator setting, the front of the surgical plume reaches the analysis system in 380 ms and the sensor within one second. For a typical surgical incision (duration 1.5 s), the measured signal reaches its maximum in 2.3 s and declines to under 10% of the maximum in 8.6 s from the start of the incision. Two-class tissue classification was tested with 2, 3, 5, and 11 s repetition rates resulting in no significant differences in classification accuracy, implicating that signal retention from previous samples is mitigated by the classification algorithm.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Factor H family proteins in complement evasion of microorganisms

Human-pathogenic microbes possess various means to avoid destruction by our immune system. These include interactions with the host complement system that may facilitate pathogen entry into cells and tissues, expression of molecules that defuse the effector complement components and complexes, and acquisition of host complement inhibitors to downregulate complement activity on the surface of the pathogen. A growing number of pathogenic microorganisms have acquired the ability to bind the complement inhibitor factor H (FH) from body fluids and thus hijack its host protecting function. In addition to FH, binding of FH-related (FHR) proteins was also demonstrated for several microbes. Initial studies assumed that these proteins are complement inhibitors similar to FH. However, recent evidence suggests that FHR proteins may rather enhance complement activation both directly and also by competing with the inhibitor FH for binding to certain ligands and surfaces. This mini review focuses on the role of the main alternative pathway regulator FH in host-pathogen interactions, as well as on the emerging role of the FHR proteins as enhancers of complement activation

Optimizing the processing of oat-based oil-in-water emulsions

The growing interest towards plant-based products has led to a rapid increase in the choice of vegan products in the food market. In Finland, several oat-based vegan prod-ucts have been launched recently. Many of the products are based on emulsions. How-ever, the formulation of an oat-based emulsion differs greatly from that of dairy-based ones, as the oat is lacking protein but is rich in starch and beta-glucan. Therefore, oat emulsions have higher viscosity and lower emulsion stability compared to dairy-emulsions. It is well known that unstable and very viscous emulsion may cause notably challenges during the processing. The aim of this work was to decrease the viscosity and improve the emulsion stability of an oat-based oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion. The emulsion matrix was optimized by focus-ing on the dosage and type of hydrocolloids and emulsifiers. The viscosity of the sam-ples was measured, and the stability of the emulsion was evaluated visually after the foaming step and after the freezing-thawing cycle. The target emulsion of the study is a raw material for an existing, industrially produced vegan dessert. The viscosity of the emulsion was reduced by 88%, when the hydrocol-loidal gums, especially gellan gum, were removed. Additionally, the sensory properties of the product were rated to be better than in the original. The viscosity was further de-creased, when the emulsion stability was improved by changing the type of emulsifier and optimizing the dosage of the emulsifier. The achieved excellent emulsion stability leads to a decrease in the viscosity by 32% and greatly improves the air distribution in the mix: the air bubbles are smaller and evenly spread throughout the mixture. Moreover, the optimized emulsion is stable over freezing-thawing-cycle, in contrast to the original emulsion. The results were confirmed in a large-scale pilot trial and finally in a production scale trial. The modification suggested in this work will be thus adapted to the formulation of the emulsion. With the new formulation, the product can be processed more cost-effectively and ecologically. The less viscous and more stable emulsion provides easier pumping and portioning as well as longer shelf life, which reduces the amount of scrap

Soft Skills in Construction Management Education

This thesis aimed at creating a plan for a course that could be implemented in construction management studies and that would provide the basic soft skills needed by a construction manager. Literary sources were studied to find what soft skills are considered important in the construction industry. Based on the findings, the framework for the course was chosen. This framework included 11 sets of skills which were then each individually studied. As a result, one of the sets was excluded from the course. Each skill set was given a simple content on what could be taught and insights on how the skill set relates to construction field. Finally learning outcomes and assessment criteria for the course were given based on similar, already existing courses. The thesis resulted in a 5-credit course that could be implemented in any construction management degree, with the possibility to modify it to fit the curriculum. The course covers a wide range of skills and could also easily be extended into several courses or be partially integrated into already existing courses, as long as the teachers have adequate knowledge