Lithostratigraphy and age of pre-Late Weichselian sediments in the Suupohja area, western Finland

Different types of laterally extensive sand- and gravel-dominated deposits, up to several tens of metres thick, were investigated in the Suupohja area of western Finland. The studied sediments were deposited in glacial, ice-marginal, glaciofluvial, sea or lake, littoral and terrestrial environments during several glacial-non-glacial cycles. Seventeen pre-Late Weichselian and three Late Weichselian/Holocene sedimentary units were identified. These were divided into ten formally and two informally defined formations that were together termed the Suupohja Group. Every unit are nevertheless not detectable throughout the study area. The informally defined “Karhukangas lower deposits” represent the lowest units in the Suupohja Group. The Karhukangas lower deposits with 5 till units, 3 glaciolacustrine/-marine units and 2 sand units, were interpreted as having been deposited during possibly four glacial-non-glacial cycles before the Late Pleistocene Subepoch (MIS 6 or earlier). The Kankalo Sand above the Karhukangas lower deposits comprises glaciofluvial and aeolian sands of Late Saalian, Eemian or Early Weichselian origin (MIS 6–MIS 5c). The Kariluoma Till above the Kankalo Sand was possibly deposited during the Late Saalian glacial advance, although an Early Weichselian origin is also possible. The Harrinkangas Formation, with glaciofluvial and quiet-water sediments, is interpreted as having been deposited during the Late Saalian and Eemian Stages (MIS 6–MIS 5e). The uppermost units in the deposits studied, the Kodesjärvi Formation (shore deposit), Isojoki Sand (aeolian), Rävåsen Formation (glaciofluvial), Vanhakylä Formation (shore line deposit), Dagsmark Till and Kauhajoki Till, were deposited during the Weichselian Stage (MIS 5d–MIS 2). In addition, Early Holocene (MIS 1) eskers without till cover were informally termed the “Holocene esker deposits”. The Lumikangas Formation represents gravelly shore deposits formed in the Holocene Epoch, when these areas last emerged from the sea. The first Weichselian ice expansion possibly reached the western part of Suupohja in the Early Weichselian Substage (MIS 5d?), but it did not expand further to the east. The second Weichselian glaciation of relatively short duration occupied the southern part of Finland in the later part of Middle Weichselian (MIS 3). Thus, the southern half of the country remained ice-free for the majority (~65–75%) of the Weichselian Stage. Instead, both humid temperate and periglacial conditions alternated. In the initial part of Middle Weichselian, this area was partly submerged, which indicates eastward expansion of the Scandinavian ice sheet(s), depressing the lithosphere. The exceptionally thick sediment cover, multiple lithofacies, relict landscape and preserved preglacially weathered bedrock are evidence of weak glacial erosion in the Suupohja area during the latest as well as earlier glaciations, making this area one of the key areas in Quaternary research.Siirretty Doriast

Synthesis and study of two hydrogelators derived from L-Valine

Treball Final de Grau en Química. Codi: QU0943. Curs acadèmic: 2019/2020Gels are solid-like viscoelastic materials formed by solvent and gelator. Supramolecular gels are formed by weak interactions between small molecules unlike macromolecular gels which are formed by macromolecules or polymers.1 Supramolecular gels can be utilized, for example, in tissue engineering, wound healing and drug delivery.2 The dynamic and reversible nature of non-covalent interactions that hold supramolecular gels network structures together results in the inherent ability of them to respond to external stimuli such as temperature, pH, solvent, light, and redox reactions.3 The response to stimuli of supramolecular gels makes them very important in Materials Science. For example, some supramolecular gels are sensitive to light or chemical entities by incorporating a spectroscopically active group or receptor unit as part of a gelator. This makes them easily applicable in many areas.4 [...

Puzzling Prices : Information insufficiency and misidentification of monetary policy shocks in VAR models

Traditional low-dimensional VAR models do not contain enough information to ensure reliable identification of monetary policy shocks and thus tend to produce a price puzzle. The often used commodity price and exchange rate controlling is found to be negligible at best and evidence is shown that the seeming successfulness of traditional models can be attributed to trend components turning the used economic activity variable to a crude output gap estimate. Traditional Cholesky identification is found to be unjustified for most applications and to underestimate the effect sizes of monetary shocks especially in lower dimensional models. Models including a measure for the output gap, data-rich FAVAR models and statistical identification are found to be more successful in identifying monetary shocks. These models indicate, that there is no price puzzle for the euro area. A 25 basis point monetary shock is found to have a 10 to 15 basis point negative effect to the euro area HICP inflation rate, peaking around 12 months and converging to zero around 30 months after impact.Perinteisten mataladimensioisten VAR-mallien informaatiojoukko ei mahdollista rahapolitikkashokkien luotettavaa identifiointia, jonka takia ne tuottavat usein niin kutsutun hintapähkinän. Tulokseni näyttävät, että informaatiojoukon laajentaminen tavanomaisilla hyödykehinta- ja valuuttakurssikontrolleilla ei tuota merkittävää parannusta tähän, ja perinteisten mallien onnistuminen selittyy malleissa käytetyillä trendikomponenteilla, jotka muuttavat käytetyn tuotantomuuttujan lineaariseksi tuotantokuiluestimaatiksi. Empiiriset tulokseni hylkäävät rekursiivisen Cholesky-identifikaation lähes jokaisessa mallissa. Lisäksi Cholesky-identifikaatio vaikuttaisi tuottavan todellista pienempiä estimaatteja mataladimensioisissa malleissa. Tuotantokuilun sisältävät mallit, isoista aineistoista estimoidut FAVAR-mallit sekä tilatollinen identifikaatio mahdollistavat rahapolitiikkashokkien identifikaation luotettavammin. Näiden mallien tuottamien tulosten perusteella euroalueella ei ole havaittavissa hintapähkinää. Tulosteni perusteella 25 korkopisteen rahapolitiikkashokilla on 10-15 korkopisteen negatiivinen vaikutus inflaatioasteeseen noin 12 kuukauden viiveellä, jonka jälkeen vaikutus konvergoituu nollaan noin 30 kuukauteen mennessä

Yritysten uusiutuvan energian hankinnan kehittymisestä ja tuntikohtaisten vihreän sähkön sertifikaattimarkkinoiden taloudellisesta mallintamisesta

Sähkö on nopeimmin kasvava lopullinen energiamuoto, ja sen kysynnän odotetaan kasvavan nopeasti tulevina vuosikymmeninä. Markkinoille tarvitaan läpinäkyvämpää ja tarkempaa päästölaskentaa, vihreän siirtymän ja kansallisten hiilidioksidipäästötavoitteiden nopeammaksi saavuttamiseksi. Monet organisaatiot kehittävät parhaillaan strategioita tuntitason hiilineutraaliuuteen, sillä monien yksityisten uusiutuvan energian hankintojen kunnianhimo ylittää olemassa olevan sääntelyn tavoitteet. Yritysten kestävyysjohtamisen korkeat standardit ohjaavat siirtymistä kohti uusiutuvan energian ajallista täsmäytystä tai "24/7-täsmäytystä", mikä voisi myös lisätä uskottavuutta hiilineutraaliusväitteisiin sekä vähentää päästöoikeuksien kaksinkertaista laskemista ja viherpesua. Toistaiseksi sähkön alkuperää on seurattu markkinapohjaisilla vihreillä sertifikaateilla; Euroopassa Guarantees of Origin, jotka mahdollistavat sähkön vuosittaisen tai kuukausittaisen kulutuksen yhdistämisen uusiutuvaan energiaan. Vihreän sähkön osuuden kasvaessa sähköntuotannossa, sähköntuotanto kuitenkin siirtyy aiempaa ajoittaisemmaksi ja vaihtelevammaksi. Kaikilla uusiutuvan energian teknologioilla on omanlaisensa tuotantoprofiilit sekä kausittaiset ja päivänsisäiset vaihtelut. Täten vihreän sähkön kulutus ei aina vastaa sen tuntikohtaista saatavuutta. Lisäksi nykyiset vihreät sertifikaattijärjestelmät eivät heijasta riittävästi uusiutuvan energian oikea-aikaista saatavuutta eivätkä näin ollen edistä investointeja, jotka voisivat tarjota järjestelmän joustavuutta ja vihreän energian ympärivuorokautista saatavuutta. Tämän ongelman ratkaisemiseksi on parhaillaan kehitteillä pilottiversioita vihreän sähkön sertifikaattijärjestelmästä, joka mahdollistaisi sähkön tuotannon ja kulutuksen tuntikohtaisen täsmäytyksen, sillä siirtyminen kohti vihreän energian 24/7-täsmäytystä herättää yhä enemmän kiinnostusta. Ennen uusien instrumenttien ottamista mukaan markkinoille on kuitenkin välttämätöntä selvittää niiden mahdolliset markkinavaikutukset. Tässä tutkielmassa esittelemme tuntisertifikaattimarkkinoiden taloustieteellisen mallin ja vertaamme 24/7-täsmäytyksen volyymi- ja hintavaikutuksia vihreän sähkön sertifikaateilla perinteisiin sertifikaattimarkkinoihin, joissa sähkönkulutusta täsmäytetään uusiutuvan energian kanssa vuosittain. Analysoimme myös, kuinka kuluttajan hyöty tuntikohtaisista vihreistä sertifikaateista vaihtelee eri ajankohtien välillä, kun uusiutuvan energian saatavuus vaihtelee. Havaitsemme, että kuluttajien hyöty tuntikohtaisten sertifikaattien hankinnasta laskee uusiutuvan energian tuotannon kasvaessa. Näin ollen kuluttajan hyöty sertifikaateista on suurin silloin, kun myös korkeapäästöisen energian osuus on korkea. Tuntikohtaiset vihreät sertifikaatit voisivat siis tarjota eniten hyötyä sekä kuluttajille että tuottajille niinä tunteina, jolloin uusiutuvaa energiaa on tarjolla vähemmän. Havaitsemme myös, että tuntikohtainen täsmäytys voisi joko lisätä tai vähentää kuluttajan uusiutuvan energian hankintakustannuksia ja tuottajan tuloja yksittäisten tuntien sisällä verrattuna vuosittaiseen tai kuukausittaiseen täsmäyttämiseen. Näin ollen tuntikohtainen sertifiointi voisi tarjota lisähyötyä teknologioille, joita tarvitaan täydelliseen järjestelmän laajuiseen hiilidioksidipäästöjen nollaamiseen, kuten energian varastointiratkaisuille. Näin ollen tuntikohtaisen sertifikaattijärjestelmän kehittämisessä tulisi keskittyä tämän vaikutuksen korostamiseen, mikä voisi edelleen kannustaa investointeja sähkömarkkinajärjestelmän joustavuuteen. Tarvitaan kuitenkin lisätutkimusta mahdollisten vaikutusten selvittämiseksi erityisesti sähkömarkkina-alueilla, joissa uusiutuvan energian osuus on jo korkea. Lisäksi täytyy vielä selvittää, onko tällaiselle järjestelmälle kysyntää yksityissektorilla ja johtaisiko tuntikohtainen täsmäytys yhteiskunnan kannalta optimaalisesti korkeampiin päästövähennyksiin kuin perinteiset sertifikaattijärjestelmät.Electricity is the fastest-growing final form of energy, and its demand is expected to increase rapidly in the coming decades. More transparent and accurate emission accounting is needed to accelerate green transition and achieve national decarbonization targets. Many organizations are currently developing strategies to reach carbon neutrality on an hourly basis as private renewable energy procurement is outpacing regulatory targets. The high standards of corporate sustainability management are driving the movement towards temporal matching or “24/7 matching” of renewable energy, which could also provide more credibility to net zero claims as well as decrease double-counting and greenwashing. Thus far, electricity has been tracked with tradable green certificates, Guarantees of Origin in Europe, which enable matching electricity consumption on an annual or monthly basis with renewable energy. However, while the share of green power grows in the electricity generation mix, it also comes with problems of intermittent and variable production. All renewable energy technologies have unique resource profiles and seasonal and intra-day fluctuations. Thus, supply from green energy is unlikely to always align with the actual timing of consumption. In addition, the current green certificate systems do not adequately reflect the timely availability of renewable energy and hence do not drive investments that could provide system flexibility and around-the-clock availability of green energy. To address this issue, pilot versions of tradable certification instrument that would enable hourly or sub-hourly tracking of electricity are currently under development as the movement towards 24/7 matching of green energy is gaining more interest. However, before introducing new instruments to the existing markets, it is essential to study the possible market effects. In this thesis, we introduce an economic model for the hourly certificate market and compare the volume and price effects of 24/7 matching with hourly renewable energy certificates with traditional certificate markets, where electricity consumption is matched on an annual basis. We also analyze how the consumer’s utility from hourly green certificates varies between times with more available renewable energy generation and when green power is less abundant. We find that consumers utility from purchasing hourly certificates decreases when the share of renewable energy surges. Accordingly, the consumer’s utility from hourly certificates is the highest when also the share of emitting energy is high. Therefore, hourly green certificates could provide the most benefit to both, consumers, and producers, in hours when renewable energy is less abundant. We also find that hourly matching could either increase or decrease the consumer’s procurement costs and the revenues of the producer within single hours or sub-hours than matching with an annual or monthly goal. Consequently, hourly certification could provide additionality to technologies needed for complete system-wide decarbonization, such as energy storage solutions. Thus, the scheme’s development should focus on accentuating this effect that could further spur investments into system flexibility. However, more research is needed to examine the possible system effects especially in grids with already high renewable energy penetration, whether there is demand for such a system from the residential sector, and whether hourly certificates would lead to higher grid decarbonization than traditional schemes in a socially optimal way

Karitsojen painojen ja kasvujen perinnölliset ja fenotyyppiset tunnusluvut suomenlampaalla

Pro gradu-työ 1991vokKirjasto Aj-

Metalinguistic awareness and the cross-linguistic influence of L2 English as resources in the acquisition of L3 Swedish:perspectives from Finnish university students

Abstract. This thesis is concerned with metalinguistic awareness (MLA) and cross-linguistic influence (CLI) and how they could potentially be utilized by Finnish students in their acquisition of L3 Swedish. Metalinguistic awareness has been defined as the ability to think about language, while cross-linguistic influence refers to the way in which acquired languages affect one another. The research questions set for the study contemplated whether Finnish students could utilize their metalinguistic awareness of L2 English in their acquisition of L3 Swedish, and whether the cross-linguistic influence of L2 English has a positive or negative effect on the acquisition process. In this qualitative study, four university level students pursuing L3 Swedish participated in a semi-structured interview regarding their past and present language studies. They were first presented with general questions about their language studies, after which they were tasked with translating English and Swedish sentences as a way to activate their MLA and to enhance their recollection of cross-linguistic similarities. Finally, they were prompted to assess how L2 English has affected their acquisition of L3 Swedish and whether they had consciously utilized English in some manner during their TLA process. A thematic analysis of the interviews produced findings that would suggest that the participants had benefitted from their earlier L2 English competence in their acquisition of L3 Swedish. The participants had utilized their metalinguistic awareness of English to enhance their acquisition and production of Swedish. Additionally, the CLI of English had aided the acquisition of linguistic features that are similar to those used in Swedish, although some interference had also occurred. These instances of MLA and CLI were most notable in the earliest stages of the third-language acquisition (TLA) process, potentially warranting future research on individuals who are at an earlier stage of their TLA process.Tiivistelmä. Tämä tutkielma käsittelee metakielellistä tietoisuutta (’metalinguistic awareness’), kieltenvälistä vaikutusta (’cross-linguistic influence’) ja niiden mahdollisia sovelluksia suomalaisopiskelijoiden ruotsin omaksumisessa. Metakielellinen tietoisuus on määritelty kyvyksi ajatella kieltä tietoisesti, kun taas kieltenvälinen vaikutus viittaa tapaan, jolla omaksutut kielet vaikuttavat toisiinsa. Tutkielmalle asetetut tutkimuskysymykset liittyivät suomalaisten ruotsinopiskelijoiden kykyyn hyödyntää metakielellistä tietoisuuttaan englannista heidän ruotsin omaksumisessaan sekä aiemmista englanninopinnoista aiheutuvaan positiiviseen ja negatiiviseen kieltenväliseen vaikutukseen. Kvalitatiiviseen tutkimukseen osallistuneita neljää yliopistotason ruotsinopiskelijaa haastateltiin heidän entisiin ja nykyisiin kieliopintoihinsa liittyen. Heille esitettiin ensin yleisiä kysymyksiä kieltenopiskelusta, jonka jälkeen he suorittivat englannin- ja ruotsinkielisiä käännöstehtäviä metakielellisen tietoisuuden aktivoimiseksi ja kieltenvälisten samankaltaisuuksien muistamisen parantamiseksi. Lopuksi heitä pyydettiin arvioimaan miten englanti toisena kielenä on vaikuttanut ruotsin omaksumiseen kolmantena kielenä ja miten he ovat mahdollisesti hyödyntäneet englantia tietoisesti ruotsinopinnoissaan. Haastatteluista tuotetun temaattisen analyysin tulokset implikoivat, että haastateltavat olivat hyötyneet aiemmista englannin opinnoistaan ruotsin omaksumisessa. Haastateltavat olivat hyödyntäneet metakielellistä tietoisuuttaan englannista parantaakseen ruotsin omaksumista ja tuottamista. Tämän lisäksi englanti oli auttanut haastateltavia omaksumaan ruotsin kielestä englannin kielen kaltaisia ominaisuuksia kieltenvälisen vaikutuksen kautta, vaikkakin myös interferenssiä oli ilmennyt. Metakielellinen tietoisuus ja kieltenvälinen vaikutus vaikuttivat ruotsin omaksumiseen eritoten kielenomaksumisen varhaisimmissa vaiheissa, joten aiheeseen liittyviä jatkotutkimuksia voisi mahdollisesti kohdistaa varhaisemman vaiheen kielenoppijoihin

Improving meaningful use and user experience of healthcare information systems towards better clinical outcomes

This paper outlines a practical approach for enabling user-centric healthcare information systems development in large scale. The approach is especially powerful at the current stage of clinical informatics adoption by the leading countries which have already set deadlines for standardized capture and sharing of personal health records at national level. This stage is followed by more efficient usage of the data and improvements in clinical processes as topical action points towards optimizing actual clinical outcomes. So far the program for meaningful use in the US and strong orientation of the Nordic countries have led to reasonable availability of electronic health records, but challenges remain in their actual utilization for clinical use and readiness for new clinical processes. We propose an innovative and scalable approach for supporting the systems development, which empowers the users not only to solve problems of use, but to contribute excellence in clinical behaviour with the experiences and insights along the actual work. As a result, conceptual framework is presented and a couple of examples presented how user experience monitoring support to improve measurement of data accessibility, system use and clinical behaviour towards better clinical outcomes

Venäläisen avantgarden kirjakokoelma Helsingin yliopiston kirjastossa

Peer reviewe

Ramsay Hunt syndrome : characteristics and patient self-assessed long-term facial palsy outcome

Purpose To explore the characteristics, medical treatments, and long-term facial palsy outcome in Ramsay Hunt syndrome. Methods Patient questionnaire including self-assessment of long-term facial palsy outcome and retrospective chart review. Initial facial palsy grade was compared to self-assessed or patient record stated palsy outcome. Occurrence of different characteristics (blisters, hearing loss, vertigo, etc.) of the syndrome were assessed. Results Altogether 120 patients were included of which 81 answered the questionnaire. All but one patient had received virus medication (aciclovir, valaciclovir), and half received simultaneous corticosteroids. If the medication was started within 72 h of Ramsay Hunt diagnosis, facial palsy recovered totally or with only slight sequelae in over 80% of the patients. Only a minority of the patients experienced varicella blisters simultaneously with facial palsy, blisters more often preceded or followed the palsy. Approximately 20% of the patients had their blisters in hidden places in the ear canal or mouth. Conclusions The long-term outcome of facial palsy in medically treated Ramsay Hunt syndrome was approaching the outcome of Bell's palsy. It is crucial to ask and inform the patient about the blisters and look for them since, more often than not, the blisters precede or follow the palsy and can be in areas not easily seen.Peer reviewe

Facial palsy in children : long-term outcome assessed face-to-face and follow-up revealing high recurrence rate

Purpose To evaluate the long-term (minimum of 2 years from the palsy onset) outcome of pediatric facial palsy by patient questionnaire and face-to-face assessment by the Sunnybrook facial grading system, House-Brackmann grading system, and Facial Nerve Grading System 2.0. To compare the outcome results of self-assessment with the face-to-face assessment. To assess the applicability of the grading scales. To assess the palsy recurrence rate (minimum of a 10-year follow-up). Methods 46 consecutive pediatric facial palsy patients: 38 (83%) answered the questionnaire and 25 (54%) attended a follow-up visit. Chart review of 43 (93%) after a minimum of 10 years for the facial palsy recurrence rate assessment. Results Of the 25 patients assessed face-to-face, 68% had totally recovered but 35% of them additionally stated subjective sequelae in a self-assessment questionnaire. Good recovery was experienced by 80% of the patients. In a 10-year follow-up, 14% had experienced palsy recurrence, only one with a known cause. Sunnybrook was easy and logical to use, whereas House-Brackmann and the Facial Nerve Grading System 2.0 were incoherent. Conclusions Facial palsy in children does not heal as well as traditionally claimed if meticulously assessed face-to-face. Patients widely suffer from subjective sequelae affecting their quality of life. Palsy recurrence was high, much higher than previously reported even considering the whole lifetime. Of these three grading systems, Sunnybrook was the most applicable.Peer reviewe