Control of potato late blight by caraway oil in organic farming

Caraway (Carum carvi) seeds contain biologically active essential oils, which have shown potential in controlling Phytophthora infestans (P.i.). An attempt is being made to develop a P.i. control strategy for organic farming based on caraway oil

Safety considerations of plant polysaccharides for food use: a case study on phenolic-rich softwood galactoglucomannan extract

A growing population and concern over the sufficiency of natural resources for feeding this population has motivated researchers and industries to search for alternative and complementary sources of food ingredients and additives. Numerous plant species and parts of plants are explored as raw materials for food production. An interesting example is wood; to date, few wood-based additives or ingredients are authorized for food use. Wood hemicelluloses, such as softwood galactoglucomannans (GGM), constitute an abundant bioresource that shows a highly potential functionality in edible materials. Spruce GGM—“spruce gum”—acts as a multi-functional emulsion stabilizer, and it could be used in various processed food products, replacing less effective, conventional emulsifiers. Before new materials can be released onto the food market, their safety must be evaluated, according to the Novel Food regulation. This review focuses on the safety aspects that must be considered before polysaccharide- and phenolic-rich plant extracts can be awarded the status of authorized food ingredients. In this review, GGM is presented as a case study and examples are given of plant-based polysaccharides that are already authorized for food purposes. The legislation regarding Novel Food ingredients in Europe is also briefly reviewed.Peer reviewe

History teaching in Finnish general upper secondary schools: Objectives and practices

In Finland, the trend towards a new kind of history teaching emphasizing the understanding of historical knowledge and historical thinking skills began in the mid-1990s, when history teaching objectives were defined much more broadly in the curriculum than previously. In this article, we examine how, in over twenty years since the changes in curriculum objectives were made, general upper secondary school teachers have come to value the curriculum objectives of history teaching and how these have impacted on their teaching. The data for this article were collected by a semi-structured survey in 2016. Using counts, percentages, means, standard deviations and medians, a descriptive exploration was made of history teachers’ perceptions of the essential objectives in teaching history and how often they were put into practice in related student activities. To investigate the balance between the objectives the teachers emphasized as the most essential and the teaching methods they actually used, we applied the Kruskal–Wallis test and the Friedman test. According to the results, what the teachers considered essential for teaching history did not correlate with their teaching methods. In addition, according to the results, this state of affairs is still undergoing change; old traditions and new objectives of history teaching are creating tensions. The results were interpreted in the light of the cultural viewpoints of Finnish teaching, the position of matriculation examinations in Finnish general upper secondary schools and the challenges the curriculum is setting for history teacher

Introduction to Dynamic Linear Models for Time Series Analysis

Dynamic linear models (DLM) offer a very generic framework to analyse time series data. Many classical time series models can be formulated as DLMs, including ARMA models and standard multiple linear regression models. The models can be seen as general regression models where the coefficients can vary in time. In addition, they allow for a state space representation and a formulation as hierarchical statistical models, which in turn is the key for efficient estimation by Kalman formulas and by Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. A dynamic linear model can handle non-stationary processes, missing values and non-uniform sampling as well as observations with varying accuracies. This chapter gives an introduction to DLM and shows how to build various useful models for analysing trends and other sources of variability in geodetic time series.Comment: A chapter submitted to a book with a proposed title: Geodetic Time Series Analysis and Applications, editors. J.-P. Montillet and M. Bo

Weekly precipitation cycles? Lack of evidence from United States surface stations

[1] Previouswork has inferred a relationship between human activity and the occurrence and amount of precipitation through examining possible weekly cycles in precipitation. Daily precipitation records for 219 surface observing stations in the United States for the 42-year period 1951– 1992 are investigated for weekly cycles in precipitation. Results indicate that neither the occurrence nor amount of precipitation significantly depends upon the day of th

Challenges and solutions in determining dilution ratios and emission factors from chase measurements of passenger vehicles

Vehicle chase measurements used for studying real-world emissions apply various methods for calculating emission factors. Currently available methods are typically based on the dilution of emitted carbon dioxide (CO2) and the assumption that other emitted pollutants dilute similarly. A problem with the current methods arises when the studied vehicle is not producing CO2, e.g. during engine-motoring events, such as on downhill sections. This problem is also encountered when studying non-exhaust particulate emissions, e.g. from electric vehicles. In this study, we compare multiple methods previously applied for determining the dilution ratios. Additionally, we present a method applying multivariate adaptive regression splines and a new method called near-wake dilution. We show that emission factors for particulate emissions calculated with both methods are in line with the current methods for vehicles producing CO2. In downhill sections, the new methods were more robust to low CO2 concentrations than some of the current methods. The methods introduced in this study can hence be applied in chase measurements with changing driving conditions and be possibly extended to estimate non-exhaust emissions in the future.</p

Association between breastfeeding and better preserved cognitive ability in an elderly cohort of Finnish men

Background. Being breastfed in infancy has been shown to benefit neurodevelopment. However, whether the benefits persist to old age remains unclear. Methods. We examined the associations between breastfeeding and its duration on cognitive ability in young adulthood and old age, and on aging-related cognitive change over five decades. In total, 931 men from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study born in 1934-1944 in Finland took the Finnish Defence Forces Basic Intellectual Ability Test (total and verbal, arithmetic and visuospatial subtest scores) twice, at ages 20.2 and 67.9 years, and had data on breastfeeding (yes v. no) and its duration ('never breastfed', 'up to 3', '3 to 6' and 6 or more months'). Linear and mixed model regressions tested the associations. Results. At 20.2 years, breastfed men had higher cognitive ability total and visuospatial subtest scores [mean differences (MDs) ranged between 3.0-3.9, p values <0.013], and its longer duration predicted higher cognitive ability total and arithmetic and visuospatial subtest scores (MDs ranged between 3.0 and 4.8, p values <0.039). At 67.9 years, breastfed men had higher total cognitive ability and all subtest scores (MDs ranged between 2.6 and 3.4, p values <0.044) and its longer duration predicted all cognitive ability scores (MDs ranged between 3.1 and 4.7, p values <0.050). Verbal subtest scores decreased over five decades in men who were never breastfed or were breastfed for 3 months or less, and increased in those breastfed for longer than 3 months. Conclusions. Neurodevelopmental advantages of breastfeeding and its longer duration persist into old age, and longer duration of breastfeeding may benefit aging-related change, particularly in verbal reasoning ability.Peer reviewe

Asiakaspalvelualan slangeista:vartija- ja McDonald’s-slangin vertailua

Tiivistelmä. Tarkastelimme kahden erilaisen työyhteisön slangia pro gradu -tutkielmassamme Asiakaspalvelualan slangeista: vartija- ja McDonalds-slangin vertailua. Informantteina toimivat Oulun alueella työskentelevät vartijat sekä Kempeleen McDonald’sin työntekijät. Käytimme aineisonkeruumenetelminä kyselylomakkeita, haastetteluita sekä osallistuvaa havainnointia. Tutkimuksemme tavoitteena oli selvittää työyhteisöjen slangisanojen muodostumista sekä niiden tunnettuutta ja käyttöä. Selvitimme myös slangin käyttäjien havaintoja siitä, miten slangi heidän mielestään muodostuu ja miksi slangia käytetään. Tällaista kahta työpaikkaslangia vertailevaa tutkimusta ei ole aiemmin tehty. Uusi näkökulma on myös se, että tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan slanginkäyttäjien omia käsityksiä slangin käytöstä. Tutkimuksemme mukaan molemmissa slangeissa slangisanat muodostuvat useimmiten muokkaamalla sanoja äänteellisesti. McDonald’s-slangissa lainasanoista muodostuu toiseksi eniten slangisanoja. Vartijoiden slangissa lainaperäiset slangisanat ovat vähemmistönä. Johtimellisista sanoista Ari-johtimellisia sanoja oli molemmissa aineistoissa selkeästi eniten. Toiseksi suureksi ryhmäksi muodostuivat U-johtimelliset sanat. Molempien tutkittavien työyhteisöjen naisinformantit tuntevat slangisanastoa miehiä vähemmän. He myös ilmoittivat käyttävänsä slangia miehiä vähemmän. Eniten slangia käytetään kollegoiden ja esimiehen kanssa, vähiten asiakkaan kanssa. McDonald’sin tiiviissä työyhteisössä slangisanat omaksutaan nopeammin kuin vartijoiden hajanaisessa työyhteisössä. Pikaruokaravintolan työntekijät myös tuntevat suuremman osan esitellystä slangisanastosta kuin vartijat. Molempien tutkittavien slangien informantit mainitsivat useimmiten lyhentämisen keinona muodostaa slangisanoja. Muita informanttien havaitsemia sanamuodostuskeinoja ovat muun muassa sanojen äänteellinen muokkaaminen ja lainasanat. Slangin käyttämisen syitä kysyttäessä vastaajat viittasivat useimmiten sujuvuuteen, kommunikoinnin helppouteen ja nopeuteen. Vartijoiden vastauksissa korostui lisäksi se, että slangia käytetään myös salaamiseen ja koodikielenä. McDonald’sin informanttien vastauksissa nousi puolestaan esiin yhteenkuuluvuus ja slangin hauskuus

Phenolic residues in spruce galactoglucomannans improve stabilization of oil-in-water emulsions

Hypothesis: Amphiphilic character of surfactants drives them at the interface of dispersed systems, such as emulsions. Hemicellulose-rich wood extracts contain assemblies (lignin-carbohydrate complexes, LCC) with natural amphiphilicity, which is expected to depend on their chemical composition resulting from the isolation method. Lignin-derived phenolic residues associated with hemicelluloses are hypothesized to contribute to emulsions' interfacial properties and stability. Experiments: We investigated the role of phenolic residues in spruce hemicellulose extracts in the stabilization of oil-in-water emulsions by physical and chemical approach. Distribution and changes occurring in the phenolic residues at the droplet interface and in the continuous phase were studied during an accelerated storage test. Meanwhile, the physical stability and lipid oxidation in emulsions were monitored. Findings: Naturally associated lignin residues in GGM act as vehicles for anchoring these hemicelluloses into the oil droplet interface and further enable superior stabilization of emulsions. By adjusting the isolation method of GGM regarding their phenolic profile, their functionalities, especially interfacial behavior, can be altered. Retaining the native interactions of GGM and phenolic residues is suggested for efficient physical stabilization and extended protection against lipid oxidation. The results can be widely applied as guidelines in tailoring natural or synthetic amphiphilic compounds for interfacial stabilization. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Analysis of nucleation events in the European boundary layer using the regional aerosol-climate model REMO-HAM with a solar radiation-driven OH-proxy

This work describes improvements in the regional aerosol–climate model REMO-HAM in order to simulate more realistically the process of atmospheric new particle formation (NPF). A new scheme was implemented to simulate OH radical concentrations using a proxy approach based on observations and also accounting for the effects of clouds upon OH concentrations. Second, the nucleation rate calculation was modified to directly simulate the formation rates of 3 nm particles, which removes some unnecessary steps in the formation rate calculations used earlier in the model. Using the updated model version, NPF over Europe was simulated for the periods 2003–2004 and 2008–2009. The statistics of the simulated particle formation events were subsequently compared to observations from 13 ground-based measurement sites. The new model shows improved agreement with the observed NPF rates compared to former versions and can simulate the event statistics realistically for most parts of Europe