Vascular adhesion protein-1, its ligands and role in cardiovascular disease prediction

To study the pathogenesis and prevention of diseases, population studies in which hundreds of measurements are done from the same persons have a crucial role. A biomarker is any measurable characteristic that gives information on the biological state of the body. At its best a biomarker can predict future disease events. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are chronic diseases in which one feature is harmful leukocyte trafficking. In this thesis project, I studied vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1), a molecule involved in leukocyte trafficking. I wanted to identify the ligands on the surface of leukocytes to which VAP-1 binds to and thus helps the leukocytes to migrate from blood to tissues. A soluble form of VAP-1 (sVAP-1) is present in the blood. To study sVAP-1 as a biomarker, I developed two different assays to measure the sVAP-1 levels in a high throughput way. This enabled the measurements of the sVAP-1 levels in two population cohorts and examine whether sVAP-1 associates with early phases of CVDs. Furthermore, I investigated the ability of sVAP-1 levels to predict future cardiovascular events in a Finnish population. In this thesis, the first leukocyte ligands for VAP-1 were identified. Sialic acid binding Ig-like lectins Siglec-10 and Siglec-9 are expressed on different leukocytes and were able to bind to VAP-1. In addition, the sVAP-1 levels from nearly 5000 Finns were measured with the newly developed assays. The statistical analyses revealed that increased levels of serum sVAP-1 correlated with early manifestations of atherosclerosis. Additionally, sVAP-1 levels could predict future cardiovascular events and even improved the reclassification of patients to correct risk categories.Vaskulaarinen adheesioproteiini-1, sen ligandit ja rooli sydän- ja verisuonitautien ennustamisessa Sydän- ja verisuonitaudit ovat suomalaisten kansantauteja. Näille sairauksille ominaista on häiriintynyt valkosoluliikenne. Näiden tautien kehittymisestä ja ennaltaehkäisystä saadaan tietoja kansallisilla väestötutkimuksilla, joissa ihmisestä voidaan mitata niin kutsuttaja biomarkkereita, jotka antavat tietoa elimistön tilasta. Parhaimmillaan biomarkkerit ennustavat tulevia tautitapahtumia vuosien päähän näytteenottohetkestä. Tässä väitöskirjatyössä keskeisessä roolissa oli soluliikenteessä vaikuttava biomolekyyli, vaskulaarinen adheesioproteiini-1 (VAP-1). Työssä etsittiin valkosolujen pinnalla esiintyviä molekyylejä, ligandeja, joihin VAP-1 sitoutuu, ja näin auttaa valkosoluja siirtymään verestä kudoksiin. Lisäksi kahta veren liukoisen VAP-1:n määrää mittaavaa menetelmää kehitettiin väestötutkimuksiin sopivammaksi VAP-1:n biomarkkeri-roolin selvittämiseksi. Näillä highthroughput -menetelmillä oli tarkoitus selvittää assosioituuko VAP-1 sydän- ja verisuonitautien alkuvaiheisiin ja voidaanko VAP-1:n tasoilla ennustaa tulevia sydän- ja verisuonitautitapahtumia suomalaisessa väestössä. Tutkimuksissa löysimme ensimmäiset valkosoluligandit VAP-1:lle. Siaalihappoihin sitoutuvat immunoglobuliini-tyyppiset lektiinit, Siglec-10 ja Siglec-9 ilmentyvät eri valkosolujen pinnalla ja sitoutuvat VAP-1:een. Kehittämiemme menetelmien avulla määritimme VAP-1-tasot lähes 5000:lta väestötutkimuksiin osallistuneelta suomalaiselta. VAP-1-tulosten tilastollinen analyysi muiden väestötutkimuksissa määritettyjen muuttujien ohella osoitti, että VAP-1-tasot korreloivat kaulavaltimon seinämäpaksuuden kanssa. Lisäksi VAP- 1-tasoilla pystyttiin selittämään tulevien sydäntautitapahtumien riskiä ja parantamaan tilastollisen ennustemallin uudelleenluokittelukykyä

Finland as a tourist destination through the eyes of the japanese : an interview study on Japanese people living in Finland

The aim of this study was to get an impression of the image of Finland from those Japanese who already have some knowledge on the country. As many Japanese tourist only use the Helsinki-Vantaa airport as a transfer airport to Europe, there is a need to consider how to keep the Japanese in the country. Thus, there is also a need to understand why the tourists visit the places they do. This is question this study aims also to answer. The study was carried out by interviewing Japanese who have been living or staying in Finland for more than three months but no more than five years. As the purpose was to find interviewees who had more experience from Finland than an average tourist, but had not yet fully integrated to the Finnish society, this timespan was seen as the most suitable. The data was then analyzed by using qualitative thematic analysis. The results of the interviews showed that the reasons why the respondents had come to Finland were quite similar; most came to Finland due to studies, work or because their spouse moved. Safety, English language skills and good education system were the most common reasons why Finland was chosen. The general opinion of Finland as a tourist destination was positive and most would recommend visiting Finland to their friends. Opi-nions on Finnish culture and people were positive as well. Over half of the respondents said that they would visit Finland again in the future. Those who wouldn’t, said that they would probably choose another Nordic country. Bureaucracy, darkness du-ring the winter, difficulties finding friends and job and learning the Finnish language were mentioned as negative aspects related living in Finland. As for the image about Finland, the most commonly mentioned “Finnish things” were sauna, Moomin and forests and nature. The respondents had traveled relatively lot around Finland. Most had visited different cities reachable by public transport and different destinations in Lapland. Porvoo, Turku and Tampere were mentioned as the memorable because of their beautiful sceneries, old towns and history, and Lapland because of its nature. Places where the respondents had not yet visited but would like to were mostly in Lapland and archipelago. Defining ‘rural area’ was found difficult to the respondents, but the impressions of it were still positive. Places the respondents would like to show or have their friends experience were diverse. Most were in the Helsinki area and experiences included sauna and forest scenery. When asked to describe and expe-rience the respondents would like to create for their Japanese friends or family if there were no budget limitations, most would like to tour around Helsinki area and after this visit Lapland and other parts of Finland. Quite many would also like to combine other countries such as Sweden, Norway and Estonia to the tour. There is definitely a need to improve tourist information available in English and especially in Japanese. This lack of information can be the reason why rural areas were hard for the respondents to comprehend. The results of the study were gene-rally in line with previous studies about important product characteristics for Japanese tourists. However, the results also brought up new insights on potential tourist attractions and ideas for developing existing and new products

Developing Participatory Public e-services for Rural Peripheries

Non peer reviewe

Prenatal Screening and Genetics

Although the term 'genetic screening' has been used for decades, this paper discusses how, in its most precise meaning, genetic screening has not yet been widely introduced. 'Prenatal screening' is often confused with 'genetic screening'. As we show, these terms have different meanings, and we examine definitions of the relevant concepts in order to illustrate this point. The concepts are i) prenatal, ii) genetic screening, iii) screening, scanning and testing, iv) maternal and foetal tests, v) test techniques and vi) genetic conditions. So far, prenatal screening has little connection with precisely defined genetics. There are benefits but also disadvantages in overstating current links between them in the term genetic screening. Policy making and professional and public understandings about screening could be clarified if the distinct meanings of prenatal screening and genetic screening were more precisely observed

Parenting in place : The reception centre as the spatial context for laying the foundations for asylum-seeking children's healthy development

Brain architecture is shaped by early childhood experiences, which thus affect future physical and mental health. These experiences consist primarily of parenting, intertwined with environment. The mental health of migrants has received much attention in research; however, early childhood experiences and the spatiality of parenting have largely been ignored. This study examines asylum-seeking parents' perceptions of parenting their 2-6-year old children, focusing on the spatial context of the reception centre. We conducted 26 semi-structured interviews among parents in three reception centres in Finland. The results show that parenting was challenged by all three dimensions of place: location, locale and sense of place. The findings indicate that for parents, the reception centre is an essential factor interacting with parenting, enabling or impeding caregiving. These findings are discussed from the viewpoints of transnationalism, insufficient children's spaces and activities and lost sense of place. We urge policy-makers to improve the spatial context for parenting in reception centres by ensuring adequate children's spaces and activities, including opportunities for early learning, privacy of the family, parents' social support and possibilities for establishing everyday routines. We suggest that these improvements would have far-reaching beneficial implications for the healthy development and future mental health of asylum seeking children.Peer reviewe

The effect of the severity of parental alcohol abuse on mental and behavioural disorders in children

Many studies have shown that children of alcohol abusing parents have a higher risk for mental and behavioural disorders compared to other children. Using a retrospective population-based cohort study, based on health care and social welfare registers that include children born in Finland in 1997 and their biological parents, we evaluated whether the severity of parental alcohol abuse is related to these disorders in children. We examined (1) differences in the incidence of mental and behavioural disorders over time among the children of parents with no alcohol problems, parents with less severe alcohol problems and parents with severe alcohol problems, and (2) associations between mother’s and father’s alcohol abuse and children’s risk of disorders. Children were followed up until the age of 15. A diagnosis of mental or behavioural disorders during the follow-up was received by 15.4% of the boys and 9.0% of the girls. Both less severe alcohol abuse (HR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.14–1.61) and severe alcohol abuse (HR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.11–1.49) in mothers increased the risk of these disorders in their offspring. The corresponding figures among fathers were HR = 1.19, 95% CI 0.92–1.54 and HR = 1.16, 95% CI 1.02–1.32. Our results indicate that both maternal alcohol abuse and paternal alcohol abuse, regardless of severity, are associated with an increased risk of mental and behavioural disorders in children. It is crucial for professionals working with children to pay attention to all children whose parents have any alcohol abuse problems.Peer reviewe

The effect of plant-derived C flow on the microbial community structure and enzymatic activities in boreal forest

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