Intensification of the operation through the learning organization

Tutkimus suoritettiin anonyymisti eteläsuomalaisessa kohdekaupungissa, jossa oli tartuttu tuottavuuden parantamisen tarpeisiin sekä haasteisiin. Muutaman vuoden takaiseen palvelustrategiaan liittyen kohdekaupungissa oli lähdetty selvittämään kaupungin tarjoamia palveluja, niiden tuottamista ja vaihtoehtoisia tuotantotapoja. Myös tutkimusyksikkö Tilapalvelut sai oman selvityshankkeen, palvelujen ulkoistamisen tutkimisen. Kohdekaupungissa päätettiin Tilapalvelujen osalta monien vaiheiden kautta jatkaa palvelujen tuottamista omana työnä, mutta toimintaa tehostaen. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli laatia kokonaiskuva ja saada syvällisempi ymmärrys Tilapalvelujen nykyisestä tilanteesta. Tarkoituksena oli selvittää kohdeyksikön palvelutuotannon tehostamista ja ohjeistusta sekä dokumentoida Tilapalveluille asetettujen tavoitteiden historia. Toiseksi tavoitteeksi asetettiin oppivan organisaation mahdollisuuksien tutkiminen vaihtoehtoisena tehostamiskeinona. Tarkoituksena oli selvittää, mikä oppiva organisaatio on ja millä tavoin se kohdeyksikössä nykyisin esiintyy. Tavoitteena oli myös löytää kunnallisen toimintaympäristön asettamia keskeisiä edellytyksiä tai rajoituksia kohdeyksikön toimintaan. Tutkimus toteutettiin kahdessa vaiheessa. Teoreettisen viitekehyksen sisällä tutkittiin ensin kirjallisuutta ja sitä hyödyntämällä suoritettiin toinen, tutkimuksen empiirinen osa. Aineistona toiminnan kehittämisen tarkastelussa käytettiin dokumentteja ja oppivan organisaation nykyistä esiintymistä mitattiin henkilöstökyselyllä. Tilapalvelut on osa kuntaorganisaatiota, jota ohjaa lainsäädäntö ja muut julkiset toimenpiteet; esimerkiksi kunnan toimintaa markkinoilla on rajoitettu. Lisäksi kunnallisen toiminnan tarkoitus ei ole tuottaa voittoa vaan vaikuttavuutta. Vaikka kohdeyksikkö ei toimi vapailla markkinoilla, on se mukana laajennetussa kilpailussa, joten esimerkiksi laadun varmistaminen on sille tärkeää. Kunnan toimintaa ohjaa valtuusto, jonka tehtävänä on laatia strategia kunnan tavoitteista. Tilapalveluiden on organisaation osana noudatettava kaupungissa laadittuja strategioita ja myös muita ohjeita. Tilapalveluissa jo tehdyt ja tulevaisuudessa tehtävät tehostamistoimenpiteet vaativat, mutta myös mahdollistavat osaamisen kehittämistä sekä uuden oppimista. Oppivan organisaation tila Tilapalveluissa osoittautui keskinkertaiseksi. Vaikka oppivan organisaation mallia ei voida kokonaisuudessaan ottaa käyttöön, eri osatekijöiden parantamisen kautta voidaan osaamisen ja jatkuvan oppimisen myönteistä ilmapiiriä ja keinoja edistää. Kehittämistä tukee kohdekaupungin myönteinen suhtautuminen oppimiseen ja koulutukseen, sekä osaavan ja ammattitaitoisen henkilökunnan arvostus sekä ymmärrys sen tärkeydestä hyvälle palvelutuotannolle

Development of a versatile sample preparation method and its application for rare-earth pattern and Nd isotope ratio analysis in nuclear forensics

An improved sample preparation procedure for trace-levels of lanthanides in uranium-bearing samples was developed. The method involves a simple co-precipitation using Fe(III) carrier in ammonium carbonate medium to remove the uranium matrix. The procedure is an effective initial pre-concentration step for the subsequent extraction chromatographic separations. The applicability of the method was demonstrated by the measurement of REE pattern and 143Nd/144Nd isotope ratio in uranium ore concentrate samples.JRC.E.7-Nuclear Safeguards and Forensic

The gut microbiota is a major regulator of androgen metabolism in intestinal contents

Androgens exert important effects both in androgen-responsive tissues and in the intestinal tract. To determine the impact of the gut microbiota (GM) on intestinal androgen metabolism, we measured unconjugated (free) and glucuronidated androgen levels in intestinal contents from the small intestine, with a low bacterial density, and from cecum and colon, with a high bacterial density. Using a specific, sensitive gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method, we detected high levels of glucuronidated testosterone (T) and dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in small intestinal content of mice of both sexes, whereas in the distal intestine we observed remarkably high levels of free DHT, exceeding serum levels by >20-fold. Similarly, in young adult men high levels of unconjugated DHT, >70-fold higher than in serum, were detected in feces. In contrast to mice with a normal GM composition, germ-free mice had high levels of glucuronidated T and DHT, but very low free DHT levels, in the distal intestine. These findings demonstrate that the GM is involved in intestinal metabolism and deglucuronidation of DHT and T, resulting in extremely high free levels of the most potent androgen, DHT, in the colonic content of young and healthy mice and men

Työntekijöiden terveys- ja turvallisuusriskit rakennusten kosteusvaurioselvityksissä

Työterveyslaitoksen tutkimushankkeen tavoitteena oli arvioida moniammatillisesti kosteusvauriorakennuksia tutkivan ammattiryhmän terveydellisiä vaaratekijöitä sekä niiden suuruutta ja merkitystä. Lisäksi laadittiin riskinarvioinnin tarkistuslista, jonka avulla asiantuntijat ja viranomaiset voivat itsenäisesti arvioida työn vaaroja ja riskejä omissa työkohteissaan sekä huomioida vaaratekijät työn suunnittelussa, toteutuksessa ja työssä suojautumisessa. Tutkimuksessa kehitettyyn tarkistuslistaan on koottu keskeiset selvitystyöhön liittyvät riskit ja niihin liittyvät suojautumisohjeet. Tarkistuslistaa ja tutkimuksessa saatua tietoa työn sisällöstä voidaan hyödyntää riskien ja vaarojen arvioinnin lisäksi myös työterveyshuollossa terveystarkastusten sisällön suunnittelussa sekä tietojen antamisessa, neuvonnassa ja ohjauksessa. Tutkimuksessa annettiin suosituksia kosteusvaurioselvityksiä tekevien työntekijöiden terveydentilan seuraamiseksi ja terveyden ja työkyvyn ylläpitämiseksi

Joint IAEA/NNSA International Workshop Nuclear Forensics Methodologies for Practitioners 2013 Scenario Based Exercise – Version 4.0 Instructor’s Manual

[Participants will serve as border guards for Reimerland. They will be given brief instruction on the operation of hand‐held RadioIsotope DetectorS (RIDS) and be provided an intelligence briefing that tells them to be on the lookout for suspicious activity at their post. Their instruction will include directing suspicious vehicles to a location for secondary screening. If, after secondary screening, suspicions of a criminal act involving nuclear and or radioactive materials remain, participants have been instructed to request assistance from the NLEA, who will then setup and manage a radiological crime scene. Participants will watch a demonstration of two vehicles containing radioactive materials driving through and setting off a portal monitor. The first vehicle, a semi‐tractor trailer, sets off only a gamma alarm. After the driver provides a shipping manifest of fertilizer, participants, posing as border guards, are expected to waive this vehicle through inspection. The second vehicle, an SUV, set off both gamma and 2 neutron alarms. The alarming of the neutron monitor should prompt participants to set up a secondary inspection of the vehicle immediately. The driver of the vehicle indicates he is in legal possession of an industrial instrument containing an old 133Ba source that has decayed to a level no longer requiring official paperwork according to the IAEA and internationally accepted transportation regulations. Authorities have verified that the industrial source does fit the description of one that is sold commercially. However, upon setting up a secondary screening, participants will use hand‐held detectors to locate several other radioactive sources emanating from a black duffle bag in the rear of the vehicle (Figure 1). Hand held detectors detect the presence of 133Ba, and Pu. Upon questioning, the driver only commits to having the 133Ba industrial source and cannot account for the detection of neutrons within his vehicle. Since neutron alarms also sounded, participants should indicate that a neutron alarm would be inconsistent with a 133Ba source alone and should therefore conclude further investigation is warranted. This will prompt participants to call in a response team from the NLEA to set up a radiological crime scene around the vehicle in question. The response team is able to shoot a 3‐D X‐ray radiograph of the duffle bag without moving it to ensure it is rendered safe and moveable without disturbing the contents in the field (Figure 2). At this point, the duffle bag is entered into inventory as evidence and a chain of custody form is initiated. Swipes are taken from the outer bag to confirm there is no dispersible contamination. The bag and its contents are considered valuable for the investigation by the lead investigator. He determines the duffle bag is safe to transport to RRL for evidence inventory and analysis. The duffle bag and its contents are packaged and sent off to the RRL.

Central Exercise Action Increases the AMPK and mTOR Response to Leptin

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and mammalian Target of Rapamycin (mTOR) are key regulators of cellular energy balance and of the effects of leptin on food intake. Acute exercise is associated with increased sensitivity to the effects of leptin on food intake in an IL-6-dependent manner. To determine whether exercise ameliorates the AMPK and mTOR response to leptin in the hypothalamus in an IL-6-dependent manner, rats performed two 3-h exercise bouts, separated by one 45-min rest period. Intracerebroventricular IL-6 infusion reduced food intake and pretreatment with AMPK activators and mTOR inhibitor prevented IL-6-induced anorexia. Activators of AMPK and fasting increased food intake in control rats to a greater extent than that observed in exercised ones, whereas inhibitor of AMPK had the opposite effect. Furthermore, the reduction of AMPK and ACC phosphorylation and increase in phosphorylation of proteins involved in mTOR signal transduction, observed in the hypothalamus after leptin infusion, were more pronounced in both lean and diet-induced obesity rats after acute exercise. Treatment with leptin reduced food intake in exercised rats that were pretreated with vehicle, although no increase in responsiveness to leptin-induced anorexia after pretreatment with anti-IL6 antibody, AICAR or Rapamycin was detected. Thus, the effects of leptin on the AMPK/mTOR pathway, potentiated by acute exercise, may contribute to appetite suppressive actions in the hypothalamus

Satellite Cells Derived from Obese Humans with Type 2 Diabetes and Differentiated into Myocytes In Vitro Exhibit Abnormal Response to IL-6

Obesity and type 2 diabetes are associated with chronically elevated systemic levels of IL-6, a pro-inflammatory cytokine with a role in skeletal muscle metabolism that signals through the IL-6 receptor (IL-6Rα). We hypothesized that skeletal muscle in obesity-associated type 2 diabetes develops a resistance to IL-6. By utilizing western blot analysis, we demonstrate that IL-6Rα protein was down regulated in skeletal muscle biopsies from obese persons with and without type 2 diabetes. To further investigate the status of IL-6 signaling in skeletal muscle in obesity-associated type 2 diabetes, we isolated satellite cells from skeletal muscle of people that were healthy (He), obese (Ob) or were obese and had type 2 diabetes (DM), and differentiated them in vitro into myocytes. Down-regulation of IL-6Rα was conserved in Ob myocytes. In addition, acute IL-6 administration for 30, 60 and 120 minutes, resulted in a down-regulation of IL-6Rα protein in Ob myocytes compared to both He myocytes (P<0.05) and DM myocytes (P<0.05). Interestingly, there was a strong time-dependent regulation of IL-6Rα protein in response to IL-6 (P<0.001) in He myocytes, not present in the other groups. Assessing downstream signaling, DM, but not Ob myocytes demonstrated a trend towards an increased protein phosphorylation of STAT3 in DM myocytes (P = 0.067) accompanied by a reduced SOCS3 protein induction (P<0.05), in response to IL-6 administration. Despite this loss of negative control, IL-6 failed to increase AMPKα2 activity and IL-6 mRNA expression in DM myocytes. There was no difference in fusion capacity of myocytes between cell groups. Our data suggest that negative control of IL-6 signaling is increased in myocytes in obesity, whereas a dysfunctional IL-6 signaling is established further downstream of IL-6Rα in DM myocytes, possibly representing a novel mechanism by which skeletal muscle function is compromised in type 2 diabetes