Preliminary evaluation of perennial forage legumes for organic farming in Finland

In 1998-2001 fourteen forage legume species were evaluated for their productivity in mixed organic swards. The aim was to find new alternatives for red clover. Medicago falcata produced the highest dry matter yield (about 11 000 kg/ha/year). Dry matter production of Trifolium pratense, Trifolium hybridum and Medicago sativa varied from 2 200 to 10 600 kg/ha/year

Preliminary evaluation of annually cultivated forage legumes for organic farming in Finland

In 1998-2001 nineteen forage legume species (Lupinus, Medicago, Melilotus, Pisum, Trifolium and Vicia species) were evaluated at two sites of Eastern Finland (Mikkeli and Juva). Species were studied for their annual productivity in pure stands and in mixtures with cereals (barley and oats) and Italian ryegrass. Swards were cut either twice or once (whole grain silage stage of barley)

Management of red clover content of organic grassland

The clover content is an important factor in organic grassland management to optimize yield, feeding value and pre-crop effect of the ley. The variation of red clover (Trifolium pratense) content in swards of different age is often rather high in Finland. In the ongoing field experiment (1999-2002) staggered sowing of red clover seed was tested to regulate the clover content of the mixed sward. Sowing strategy did not have clear effect on the clover content or the yield of the sward. However the seeding rate affected the clover density of the field (plants/m²) in the first year. After two years the differences were equated. The best strategy to control the clover amount in the mixed swards seems sowing of 2 or 3 kg/ha (100 or 150 seeds/m²) clover seeds in establishment and then oversow on a first second ley year 1 or 2 kg/ha (50 or 100 seeds/m²)

Clover content and yield of swards on organic farms - maintenance and estimation

Grassland production based on legumes is an essential part of the productivity and economy of the organic farming systems. The clover content is an important factor in organic grassland management to optimize the yield, feed value and pre-crop effect of ley. The ley yield and clover content of one-, two- and three-year-old leys were determined on eight organic farms in 1998. Two-year-old leys produced the highest (6500 kg/ha dm) and three-year-old leys (4900 kg/ha dm) the lowest yields, with no significant differences between one- and two-year-old leys. The clover content (20-80 % of dm) diminished to the same extent as the yields. Because the ley samples from the organic farms gave strong evidence of decreasing yield level and clover content in the 3-year-old leys, we started to develop a technique to maintain the ley productivity in older swards. This technique includes oversowing of clover in the spring of the second ley year and utilization of lime-pelleted, pre-inoculated seed. Lime-pelleted, pre-inoculated clover seed oversown at different times in spring were compared with the aim of developing an oversowing method for Finnish conditions. The preliminary results do not show any differences, but studies are ongoing

Aikuisten toiminnan vaikutus lasten ja nuorten ilmastonmuutokseen liittyvään psyykkiseen hyvinvointiin

Tiivistelmä. Ilmastonmuutoksen on tunnustettu olevan suurin 2000-luvulla kohtaamamme globaali terveydellinen haaste. Aiemmin ilmastokriisin on nähty olevan ongelmana lähinnä ei-emotionaalinen, mutta viime vuosina sen on ymmärretty olevan itse asiassa kriisi myös mielenterveyden kannalta. Lapset ja nuoret ovat ilmastonmuutoksen suhteen erityisen haavoittuvainen ryhmä, ja tutkimukset ovat osoittaneet heille kasaantuvan ilmastonmuutokseen liittyvän sekä fyysisen että psyykkisen tautikuorman olevan huomattavan suuri. Merkittävällä osalla lapsista ja nuorista on havaittu huolestuneisuutta ilmastonmuutokseen liittyen, ja heistä moni on kertonut tulevaisuuden aiheuttavan heissä pelkoa. Esimerkiksi ilmastoahdistus on ilmiö, josta on lasten, nuorten ja nuorten aikuisten kohdalla puhuttu viime vuosina julkisuudessa paljon. Sillä, miten aikuiset toimivat, on vaikutusta lasten ja nuorten ilmastonmuutokseen liittyvään psyykkiseen hyvinvointiin, mutta sitä ei erillisenä tutkimusaiheena ole juurikaan tutkittu. Tässä tutkielmassa tarkoituksenani on selvittää, miten aikuisten toiminta lasten ja nuorten ilmastonmuutokseen liittyvään psyykkiseen hyvinvointiin vaikuttaa. Tutkimusmenetelmänäni käytän kuvailevaa kirjallisuuskatsausta, eli kokoan yhteen ja tarkastelen kriittisesti aiempien tutkimusten tuloksia. Jotta aiheesta saisi tulosten tarkastelua varten riittävän kattavan kuvan, taustoitan tutkimustuloksia ensin kuvaamalla ilmastonmuutoksen ja mielenterveyden yhteyttä sekä yleisemmin että lasten ja nuorten kohdalla erikseen. Tutkielmani perusteella lapsilla ja nuorilla esiintyy paljon yleistä tyytymättömyyttä aikuisiin ja siihen, miten aiemmat sukupolvet ja päättäjät ovat ilmastonmuutokseen reagoineet. Lapset ja nuoret eivät aina koe tulevansa huoltensa kanssa kuulluiksi, mikä aiheuttaa heille muun muassa lannistumisen ja epätoivon kokemuksia, minkä lisäksi se, jos aikuiset rajoittavat lasten ja nuorten ilmastotoimijuutta, voi heillä johtaa epäoikeudenmukaisuuden kokemuksiin. Vanhemmuustyyli voi vaikuttaa lasten ja nuorten psyykkiseen hyvinvointiin sekä myönteisesti että kielteisesti. Aikuisten tulisi ottaa lasten ja nuorten huolet vakavasti, antaa heille tilaa keskustella tunteistaan ja paitsi auttaa heitä löytämään sopivia keinoja ilmastotekojen tekemiseen, lisäksi jakaa ilmastonmuutoksen aiheuttamaa psyykkistä taakkaa toimimalla ilmaston hyväksi myös itse

Energy Balance, Hormonal Status, and Military Performance in Strenuous Winter Training

Severe energy deficit may impair hormonal regulation and physical performance in military trainings. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between energy intake, expenditure, and balance, hormones and military performance during a winter survival training. Two groups were studied: the FEX group (n = 46) had 8-day garrison and field training, whereas the RECO group (n = 26) had a 36-h recovery period after the 6-day garrison and field training phase. Energy intake was assessed by food diaries, expenditure via heart rate variability, body composition by bioimpedance, and hormones by blood samples. Strength, endurance and shooting tests were done for evaluating military performance. PRE 0 d, MID 6 d, POST 8 d measurements were carried out. Energy balance was negative in PRE and MID (FEX −1070 ± 866, −4323 ± 1515; RECO −1427 ± 1200, −4635 ± 1742 kcal·d−1). In POST, energy balance differed between the groups (FEX −4222 ± 1815; RECO −608 ± 1107 kcal·d−1 (p < 0.001)), as well as leptin, testosterone/cortisol ratio, and endurance performance (p = 0.003, p < 0.001, p = 0.003, respectively). Changes in energy intake and expenditure were partially associated with changes in leptin and the testosterone/cortisol ratio, but not with physical performance variables. The 36-h recovery restored energy balance and hormonal status after strenuous military training, but these outcomes were not associated with strength or shooting performance

Predicting the effect of prandial stage and particle size on absorption of ODM-204.

The prediction of absorption properties plays a key role in formulation development when the compound under development shows poor solubility and its absorption is therefore presumed to be solubility limited. In our work, we combined and compared data obtained from in vitro dissolution tests, transit intestinal model studies (TIM -1) and physiologically based pharmacokinetic modelling. Our aim was to determine the ability of these methods to predict performance of poorly soluble lipophilic weak base in vivo. The validity of the predictive methods was evaluated against the in vivo clinical pharmacokinetic (PK) data obtained after administration of the first test formulation, Tl. The aim of our study was to utilize the models in evaluating absorption properties of the second test formulation, T2, which has not yet been clinically administered. The compound in the studies was ODM-204, which is a novel, orally administered, investigational, nonsteroidal dual inhibitor of CYP17A1 and androgen receptor. Owing to its physicochemical properties ODM-204 is prone to low or variable bioavailability. The models examined provided congruent data on dose dependent absorption, food effect at a dose of 200 mg and on the effect of API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) particle size on absorption. Our study shows that the predictive tools of in vitro dissolution, TIM-1 system and the PBPK (physiologically based pharmacokinetic) simulation, showed predictive power of different mechanisms of bioavailability and together provided valuable information for decision making.Peer reviewe

Effect of Donor Simvastatin Treatment on Gene Expression Profiles in Human Cardiac Allografts during Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

Purpose Numerous studies have shown that statin therapy initiated early after heart transplantation has beneficial effects on the development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy. Recently, we were able to show in a randomized clinical trial that simvastatin treatment of brain-dead donors conditions the heart transplant to withstand ischemia-reperfusion injury and to reduce the need for rejection treatments early after transplantation. In this study, we analyzed myocardial gene expression profiles in cardiac allografts after donor simvastatin treatment. Methods 84 heart transplant donors received 80 mg of simvastatin via nasogastric tube (n=42), or no treatment (n=42) in a prospective, double-blinded randomized controlled trial. Transmural Tru-Cut biopsies were taken from the apex of left ventricle of the donor heart immediately before reperfusion and 1 hour after reperfusion. 20 heart biopsies from donors without treatment and 20 heart biopsies from donors with simvastatin treatment will be analyzed with RNA sequencing. Results The preliminary analysis of RNA sequencing data from myocardial biopsies revealed altogether 137 significantly differentially expressed genes in all pairwise comparisons. The overall biological functions of these genes were related to gene ontology terms such as response to toxic substance, leukocyte migration, neutrophil mediated immunity, response to lipopolysaccharide, and response to oxidative stress. At the KEGG pathway level, our results indicated alterations in IL-17, TNF, MAPK and the AGE-RAGE signaling pathways. Conclusion We have shown in previous studies that donor simvastatin treatment induces protective effects against IRI in heart transplant recipients. In this study, we were able to detect significantly differentially expressed genes related to effects of simvastatin treatment. In order to single out genes that show beneficial effects of simvastatin treatment, further analysis will be conducted by exploring gene expression changes in specific biological functional categories, such as interleukin signaling and neutrophil degranulation. The complete analysis will be presented at the ISHLT 2019 congress.Peer reviewe

How to Teach Health IT Evaluation: Recommendations for Health IT Evaluation Courses

Systematic health IT evaluation studies are needed to ensure system quality and safety and to provide the basis for evidence-based health informatics. Well-trained health informatics specialists are required to guarantee that health IT evaluation studies are conducted in accordance with robust standards. Also, policy makers and managers need to appreciate how good evidence is obtained by scientific process and used as an essential justification for policy decisions. In a consensus-based approach with over 80 experts in health IT evaluation, recommendations for the structure, scope and content of health IT evaluation courses on the master or postgraduate level have been developed, supported by a structured analysis of available courses and of available literature. The recommendations comprise 15 mandatory topics and 15 optional topics for a health IT evaluation course

Enhanced light extraction from InGaN/GaN quantum wells with silver gratings

We demonstrate that an extraction enhancement by a factor of 2.8 can be obtained for a GaN quantum well structure using metallic nanostructures, compared to a flat semiconductor. The InGaN/GaN quantum well is inserted into a dielectric waveguide, naturally formed in the structure, and a silver grating is deposited on the surface and covered with a polymer film. The polymer layer greatly improves the extraction compared to a single metallic grating. The comparison of the experiments with simulations gives strong indications on the key role of weakly guided modes in the polymer layer diffracted by the grating.Peer reviewe