Effect of Policies to Accelerate the Adoption of Battery Electric Vehicles in Finland—A Delphi Study

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transport contribute significantly to climate change. Some of the transport policies with the greatest potential to mitigate climate change are related to zero-emission vehicles. This study aimed to analyse the different factors, and their importance, influencing purchase decisions for battery electric vehicles (BEV). Experts’ perceptions were collected with a Delphi study consisting of a two-round survey to assess factors that would increase the probability of a petrol- or diesel-car owner purchasing a BEV in Finland in the year 2025. Increasing the possibilities for home charging and the provision of a purchase subsidy were seen as the most important factors. Public fast charging and the difference in use costs between current technology vehicles and BEVs were also recognised as important factors. Existing systems of financial instruments and policies must be constantly evaluated and updated due to the evolving BEV industry

Interactions between the Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans secretin HofQ and host cytokines indicate a link between natural competence and interleukin-8 uptake

Naturally competent bacteria acquire DNA from their surroundings to survive in nutrient-poor environments and incorporate DNA into their genomes as new genes for improved survival. The secretin HofQ from the oral pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans has been associated with DNA uptake. Cytokine sequestering is a potential virulence mechanism in various bacteria and may modulate both host defense and bacterial physiology. The objective of this study was to elucidate a possible connection between natural competence and cytokine uptake in A. actinomycetemcomitans. The extramembranous domain of HofQ (emHofQ) was shown to interact with various cytokines, of which IL-8 exhibited the strongest interaction. The dissociation constant between emHofQ and IL-8 was 43 nM in static settings and 2.4 μM in dynamic settings. The moderate binding affinity is consistent with the hypothesis that emHofQ recognizes cytokines before transporting them into the cells. The interaction site was identified via crosslinking and mutational analysis. By structural comparison, relateda type I KH domain with a similar interaction site was detected in the Neisseria meningitidis secretin PilQ, which has been shown to participate in IL-8 uptake. Deletion of hofQ from the A. actinomycetemcomitans genome decreased the overall biofilm formation of this organism, abolished the response to cytokines, i.e., decreased eDNA levels in the presence of cytokines, and increased the susceptibility of the biofilm to tested β-lactams. Moreover, we showed that recombinant IL-8 interacted with DNA. These results can be used in further studies on the specific role of cytokine uptake in bacterial virulence without interfering with natural-competence-related DNA uptake

Building model trains and planes : an autoethnographic investigation of a human occupation.

This research paper utilises an autoethnographic method, termed collective autobiography, to explore the nature and meaning of the amateur hobby of building models from childhood to adulthood. Hobbies and leisure activities are areas of human occupation of increasing interest to a variety of disciplines e.g. healthcare. Although model making may concern the miniature representation of any subject, this paper focuses on the construction of model aircraft kits, trains and their layouts. As a complex specific human occupation modelling is revealed as significant to personal wellbeing, and while the activity may start in childhood its associated motivations and required skills develop over a life time. The findings reveal aspects of the nature of the relationship between the modeller, the process of modelling and the final product. In addition they also reveal some elements of the gendered nature of modelling, its role within father-son relationships, and the accommodation of modelling activities within shared domestic spaces. The specific modelling activities described are recognised as having their origins within the culture of post-war baby boomer Britain, and the socioeconomic and technological environment of that period. This recognition necessitates discussion of the modeller as a skilled consumer as well as a creative individual

Power training and postmenopausal hormone therapy affect transcriptional control of specific co-regulated gene clusters in skeletal muscle

At the moment, there is no clear molecular explanation for the steeper decline in muscle performance after menopause or the mechanisms of counteractive treatments. The goal of this genome-wide study was to identify the genes and gene clusters through which power training (PT) comprising jumping activities or estrogen containing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may affect skeletal muscle properties after menopause. We used musculus vastus lateralis samples from early stage postmenopausal (50–57 years old) women participating in a yearlong randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial with PT and HRT interventions. Using microarray platform with over 24,000 probes, we identified 665 differentially expressed genes. The hierarchical clustering method was used to assort the genes. Additionally, enrichment analysis of gene ontology (GO) terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways was carried out to clarify whether assorted gene clusters are enriched with particular functional categories. The analysis revealed transcriptional regulation of 49 GO/KEGG categories. PT upregulated transcription in “response to contraction”—category revealing novel candidate genes for contraction-related regulation of muscle function while HRT upregulated gene expression related to functionality of mitochondria. Moreover, several functional categories tightly related to muscle energy metabolism, development, and function were affected regardless of the treatment. Our results emphasize that during the early stages of the postmenopause, muscle properties are under transcriptional modulation, which both PT and HRT partially counteract leading to preservation of muscle power and potentially reducing the risk for aging-related muscle weakness. More specifically, PT and HRT may function through improving energy metabolism, response to contraction as well as by preserving functionality of the mitochondria

Nicotinamide riboside improves muscle mitochondrial biogenesis, satellite cell differentiation, and gut microbiota in a twin study

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) precursor nicotinamide riboside (NR) has emerged as a promising compound to improve obesity-associated mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic syndrome in mice. However, most short-term clinical trials conducted so far have not reported positive outcomes. Therefore, we aimed to determine whether long-term NR supplementation boosts mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolic health in humans. Twenty body mass index (BMI)- discordant monozygotic twin pairs were supplemented with an escalating dose of NR (250 to 1000 mg/day) for 5 months. NR improved systemic NAD(+) metabolism, muscle mitochondrial number, myoblast differentiation, and gut microbiota composition in both cotwins. NR also showed a capacity to modulate epigenetic control of gene expression in muscle and adipose tissue in both cotwins. However, NR did not ameliorate adiposity or metabolic health. Overall, our results suggest that NR acts as a potent modifier of NAD(+) metabolism, muscle mitochondrial biogenesis and stem cell function, gut microbiota, and DNA methylation in humans irrespective of BMI.Peer reviewe

Haptic Teleoperation of UAV Equipped with Gamma-Ray Spectrometer for Detection and Identification of Radio-Active Materials in Industrial Plants

Large scale factories such as steel, wood, construction, recycling plants and landfills involve the procurement of raw material which may include radiating parts, that must be monitored, because potentially dangerous for workers. Manufacturing operations are carried out in unstructured environments, where fully autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) inspection is hardly applicable. In this work we report on the development of a haptic teleoperated UAV for localization of radiation sources in industrial plants. Radiation sources can be localized and identified thanks to a novel CZT-based custom gamma-ray detector integrated on the UAV, providing light, compact, spectroscopic, and low power operation. UAV operation with a human in the loop allows an expert operator to focus on selected candidate areas, thereby optimizing short flight mission in face of the constrained acquisition times required by nuclear inspection. To cope with the reduced situational awareness of the remote operator, force feedback is exploited as an additional sensory channel. The developed prototype has been demonstrated both in relevant and operational environments