Human serum metabolites as outcome predictors in moderate and severe traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is major global health problem. Outcome of TBI varies between death and good neurological recovery. Several clinical characteristics are known to affect outcome, still prognostication after TBI has proven difficult. Novel biomarkers have been studied, but none have performed well enough to be useful in clinical work. Metabolic profiling has shown promise in many disease entities including TBI. In this study metabolic profile is compared between unfavorable outcome patients and favorable outcome patients during first week after the injury. Also, between fatalities and survivors. Prognostic model using logistic regression was generated and its performance was compared to existing IMPACT and CRASH models. Metabolic profile was found to differ between unfavorable and favorable outcome patients. It was observed that metabolic difference is likely to change in unfavorable and favorable outcome patients during the first week after injury. Change in metabolic profile is even greater between fatalities and survivors than between unfavorable and favorable outcome patients in first days after injury. Metabolic modeling shows promise as outcome predictor in moderate and severe TBI and performs with good accuracy in single center setup but validates poorly. Existing clinical models perform with poor accuracy in this cohort. Larger studies are needed in future to validate these findings. The changing difference in metabolic profiles between unfavorable and favorable outcome patients during the first week after injury is interesting finding, which have not been reported before

What Makes a (Ro)bot Smart? Examining the Antecedents of Perceived Intelligence in the Context of Using Physical Robots, Software Robots, and Chatbots at Work

In recent years, the acceptance and use of intelligent robots and other kinds of intelligent systems have begun to gain more and more attention also in information systems research. Here, many studies have found the perceived intelligence of robots to act as one critical antecedent for their acceptance and use, but few studies have focused on the antecedents of perceived intelligence itself. In this study, we aimed to address this gap in prior research by examining the effects of individual intelligence dimensions on the overall intelligence perception of robots in the work context. In addition, we also examined the potential differences in these effects as well as in the individual intelligence dimensions and overall intelligence perception themselves between three common types of robots: physical robots, software robots, and chatbots. These examinations were based on online survey data from 1,080 present or prior users of robots at work. In summary, we found that adaptability, personality, autonomy, and multifunctionality act as the most influential antecedents of perceived intelligence in the case of all three types of robots. In addition, we also found that software robots and chatbots perform better than physical robots in most individual intelligence dimensions and in overall intelligence perception

One More, One More... You Get Stuck – The Role of Craving in Smartphone-Related Technostress

Smartphones have been integrated into nearly every aspect of human life. Because of them, being entertained, communicating with others, and finding information has never been easier. Even though such possibilities are positive on the surface, the versatile nature of smartphones has also created issues, such as people using them compulsively or excessively. By collecting and analyzing data from 30 semi-structured interviews, we explored how users may experience craving (unstoppable/uncontrollable desire to use, despite the negative consequences) that make them use smartphones compulsively or excessively. Such use may eventually lead to technostress, which is stress caused by technology use. We present three levels of craving (stimuli, sensation, and content) and discuss how they affect smartphone use and technostress. We contribute to research by discussing craving in the context of technostress. As a practical implication, different stakeholders could use our results to address the issues relating to stress caused by smartphone use

Venyvän elektroniikan vaihtoehtoiset valmistus- ja tutkimusmenetelmät

Stretchable electronics are used in wearable applications to implement intelligent features. The main characteristic of stretchable electronics is stretchability enabling deformation required in wearable objects such as bandages and clothes. In this thesis, the stretchable electronics consist of elastic substrates, printed stretchable interconnections, adhesives and rigid modules with traditional electronic components. The modules on the elastic substrate form rigid islands that allow the substrate to stretch. Stretchable electronics can endure only a specific amount of elongation before their electrical interconnections fail. Adhesion and deformation mechanisms in the joint and in the joint area of the module and the substrate affect elongation. The durability of stretchable electronics can be improved by improving adhesion and controlling the deformations via optimizing the structure of the joint and the joint area. In this thesis, the stretchable electronics were studied on several levels. A thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) film was used as the elastic substrate. Wettability and effectiveness of pre-treatments on wettability were examined. The substrate was investigated by measuring contact angles of droplets with a drop shape analyzer. Adhesion and peel behavior of non-conductive adhesives between the TPU-film and the rigid substrates were studied with a floating roller peel test setup. Finally, tensile testing was used to investigate deformations and elongation of the fabricated stretchable electronics samples. In the tensile test samples, width of the interconnection, the amount of the conductive adhesive and the use of a supportive frame structure were varied. The tests presented new results that can be adopted alone or as whole. The wettability of the TPU-film improved most with a plasma pre-treatment that decreased the contact angles up to 63 percent. The peel tests showed that the sample with one cyanoacrylate adhesive with a primer had the highest momentary bond strength (0,5 N/mm). The high bond strength made the TPU-film elongate during the peeling test. Unlike the tested structural adhesives, an elastic transfer tape adhesive had the most even peeling force during the tests (between 0,2 – 0,3 N/mm) and was the easiest adhesive to process. According to the stress peaking concept, in the tensile testing, when the samples elongated, stress concentrated close to the attached module and broke the samples. The strongest interconnection elongated 91,7 % before failure. The referred sample type had the supportive frame and conductive adhesive only under the contacts. Similarly, according to the concept, the stress exerted on this sample was more uniform compared to the other tensile test samples, which explains the good results

Emergence of technostress among employees working with physical robots

Despite the growing body of literature on technostress, there is limited knowledge about the emergence of technostress among people working with physical robots. In this paper, we aim to address this research gap by exploring how technostress emerges among employees working with physical robots. The study was based on qualitative online questionnaire responses from 199 present or previous users of robots at work. Based on our data, we identified several robot-related environmental conditions that contributed to perceived work-related stress. In addition, we identified personal and situational factors that influenced perceived stress. Our findings reveal that the emergence of technostress among employees working with physical robots has distinct characteristics, and that the technostressors identified in previous studies are insufficient for explaining stress in this context. Therefore, our study extends the technostress literature and provides insights into employees’ experiences in organizations that use physical robots

EMPLOYEES’ CHALLENGES AND NEEDS FOR RESKILLING WHEN WORKING WITH SOFTWARE ROBOTS

Software robots are becoming increasingly adopted in different industries. The growing rate of automatization will affect more and more people and will result in changes in businesses of all sizes. Impacts can be observed at both the organizational and individual employee levels. A growing number of studies of software robots’ advantages and disadvantages on an organizational or industry-specific level have been carried out. However, there is limited knowledge about the employees’ perceptions of challenges and new skills needed when working with software robots. This study addresses this gap by using open-ended questionnaire responses from employees who have worked with software robots. This study aims to contribute to prior knowledge by identifying comprehensive sets of subcategories for employees’ perceptions of (1) the challenges as well as (2) the new skills needed when working with software robots. As practical implications, our findings can help organizations and individual workers prepare for the implementation and use of software robots by identifying potential challenges, planning for overcoming such challenges via suitable skills, and providing training for employees. According to our findings, many respondents mentioned learning new technical skills as a challenge, and because they have had to work with software robots, they have acquired additional knowledge, such as basic programming skills. Challenges related to reskilling constitute an interesting topic for further research

Exploring Early Adolescents\u27 Problem-Focused Strategies for Coping With Stressful IT Use Experiences

In today’s technology-oriented world, individuals’ ability to cope with information technology (IT) has become increasingly important. This is especially relevant for early adolescents, who are expected to use IT from an early age on as part of their everyday lives. Although early adolescents’ IT use and its outcomes have been studied, their related coping strategies have received less attention. The current study focuses on early adolescents’ problem-focused strategies used to cope with stressful IT use experiences. The underlying data consist of semistructured interviews with 31 early adolescents. The results show that the strategies used by early adolescents differ in terms of their pervasiveness and level of IT use. Additionally, we reveal details about the connections of the strategies within different contexts, such as school and leisure. Although this study provides important insights for understanding early adolescents’ coping strategies, more research is needed to assess the effectiveness of these strategies

SCHOOLTEACHERS’ EXPERIENCES OF THE CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY USE IN TRADITIONAL AND ONLINE EDUCATION

In the aftermath of COVID-19, it is important to examine the different aspects of educational IT use in their respective contexts, including considerations to the potential well-being outcomes associable with IT use (e.g., technostress and related strains). In 26 semi-structured interviews with comprehen-sive school teachers, this study explores the challenges related to IT use in traditional (on-site) and online education. The results suggest that, although similar challenges can be identified in both set-tings (e.g., technical challenges and detrimental effects on teachers’ well-being), their prevalence and circumstances can vary. For example, while directing focus from IT use to schoolwork is viewed as a challenge for traditional education, reaching pupils and fostering interaction can become problematic for online education. However, the teachers have formed practices to address the challenges and can identify IT use-related opportunities for education as well. Future research should consider the multi-dimensionality of IT use that is present in different educational contexts

Ruokahävikin seuranta Seinäjoen keskussairaalalla : Case: EPSHP henkilöstöravintola Pihlaja

Työssä seurattiin Etelä-Pohjanmaan sairaanhoitopiirin henkilöstöravintola Pihlajassa syntyvää ruokahävikkiä kolmen viikon ajan. Seurantaan kuului Törnävän keskuskeittiöltä saapuvan ruoan punnitseminen aamulla sekä päivän päätteeksi syntyneen tarjoilu- sekä lautashävikin määrän punnitseminen. Hävikin laskennan lisäksi testattiin ruokalajin kysynnän kaavan toimivuutta, joka vähentäisi hävikin muodostumista. Kaavan avulla voisi laskea viikonpäiville lasketuilla kertoimilla, ruoka-annoksien keskimääräisellä asiakasmäärällä ja keskimääräisillä annoskoilla todellisen menekin kullekin ruokalajille. Kaavan avulla ei tarvitsisi arvioida, paljonko ruokailijoita tulee. Gustavssonin ym. (2011, 6) mukaan jopa 1,3 miljardia tonnia ruokaa menee hukkaan vuosittain maailmanlaajuisesti. Suomessa vastaava luku on keskimäärin noin 400 miljoonaa kiloa, josta ruokapalvelut tuottavat noin 20 %, eli noin 80 miljoonaa kiloa (Silvennoinen ym. 2012, 7). Työn menetelmänä käytettiin fyysistä punnitsemista kolmen viikon ajan. Tuloksia tarkasteltiin Exceliin laadittujen hävikinseurantalomakkeiden avulla. Hävikinseurantalomakkeiden laadintaan apuna on käytetty toimeksiantajalta saatuja vaatimuksia sekä Silvennoisen, Nisosen ja Lahden (2019, 7) tietoja. Kerättyä tietoa on verrattu muun muassa Silvennoisen ym. (2012) tutkimukseen. Hävikinseurannan tuloksena saatiin selville, kuinka henkilöstöravintola Pihlajassa syntyvä tarjoiluhävikki jakautui kolmen viikon aikana. Pääruokien, lisäkkeiden sekä salaattien osuus tarjoiluhävikistä jakaantui tasaisesti 20–27 %, jälkiruoan osuus tarjoiluhävikistä oli alhainen, vain 3 %. Ruoan kokonaismenekki oli noin 60 % saapuneesta ruoasta ja hävikkiin joutui 20 %. Hyödynnettyjen ruokien osuus oli noin 20 %. Kuten Silvennoisen ym. (2012) mukaankin tämänkaltaisissa ravintoloissa, tarjoiluhävikki on suurin ruokahävikin aiheuttaja, tässä tapauksessa 90 % kokonaishävikistä. Tähän suurin vaikuttaja on valmistuskeittiön remontti, jolloin ruokaa ei voida valmistaa tarpeen vaatiessa, vaan tilaus on tehtävä edellisten viikkojen ruokailijamäärien mukaan. Tästä syystä myöskään valmistushävikkiä ei voitu ottaa työhön, koska sen seuranta väistötiloissa ei aikataulullisesti ollut mahdollista.The research monitored the amount of food waste at Pihlaja staff restaurant at Seinäjoki Central Hospital during three weeks. The monitoring included weighing the food when it came from the central kitchen in Törnävä in the morning, as well as weighing the amount of serving and plate waste at the end of the day. In addition to the calculation of food waste, the functionality of the dish demand formula was tested to be able to reduce the amount of food waste. With the formula, it is possible to calculate the actual consumption of food with coefficients calculated for each day of the week, the average number of food portions and the average portion sizes. Using the formula, it would not be necessary to estimate how many diners are coming in. According to Gustavsson et al. (2011, 6), up to 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted annually worldwide. In Finland, the corresponding figure is about 400 million kilograms, of which the food services produce about 20 % i.e. 80 million kilograms (Silvennoinen et al. 2012, 7). Physical weighing was used as the work method during three weeks. The results were viewed using waste monitoring forms prepared for Excel. The requirements received from the client of the study and information in Silvennoinen, Nisonen and Lahti (2019, 7) have been used as help in preparing the waste monitoring forms. The collected data was compared with the research by Silvennoinen et al. (2012). The food waste monitoring revealed how the serving loss extended at the staff restaurant Pihlaja over the three-week period. Regarding the main courses, side dishes and salads, the share of serving waste was evenly distributed between 20 % and 27 %, desserts accounted for a low percentage of the serving waste, only 3 %. The total consumption of food was about 60 % of the food that arrived and 20 % of it was thrown away. The proportion of recovered food was about 20 %. As according to Silvennoinen et al. (2012) in restaurants of this kind, service waste is the biggest cause of food waste, in this case 90 % of the total food waste. The main contributor to this is the renovation of the preparation kitchen. The food cannot be prepared when necessary, but the order must be made according to the number of diners in previous weeks. For this reason, the preparation waste could not be taken as a part of the study, as monitoring it at the temporary facilities was not possible to schedul

Predicting utilization of healthcare services from individual disease trajectories using RNNs with multi-headed attention

Peer reviewe