Geeniterapian oikeutuksesta

Nykyaikaisen molekyylibiologian – perintöaineksen rakennetta ja toimintaa tutkivan tieteenalan – parinkymmenvuotinen historia on erinomainen esimerkki perustutkimuksen havaintojen nopeasta siirtymisestä käytännön sovelluksiin. Vaikka tämä innovaatioketjun pidentämisprosessi on vasta aluillaan, ovat niin geenitestit kuin yhdistelmä–DNA-tekniikoilla tuotetut lääkeaineet, geneettisesti muokatut elintarvikkeet ja geeniterapia jo osa meitä ympäröivää arkipäivää

PREVIOUS MILITARY PILOTS AND THEIR LATER FATAL CIVIL AVIATION ACCIDENTS

Military pilots undergo rigorous selection compared with civilian professional pilots because of different operational requirements. There are no studies of military pilots' subsequent civil aviation careers and fatal pilot aviation accidents. This study focuses on Vietnam War (VW) pilots and subsequent fatal aviation accidents in the U.S from 1965 to 2018. In total nine aviation accidents met the inclusion criteria and are described in detail, including the pilots' previous civil aviation incidents. The VW pilots were healthy, had valid Medicals and continued to fly in demanding pilot positions after their military careers. Although the data are limited, this study suggests that previous military pilots may differ slightly from other pilots in their subsequent civil aviation careers.Peer reviewe

Mouse cathepsin K: cDNA cloning and predominant expression of the gene in osteoclasts, and in some hypertrophying chondrocytes during mouse development

AbstractWe have constructed cDNA clones covering the entire coding region of mouse, human and rabbit preprocathepsin K mRNA for studies on bone turnover. The clone pMCatK-1 for mouse cathepsin K shares 87% nucleotide homology with the corresponding human and rabbit sequences. Analysis of a panel of mouse tissues for tissue distribution of cathepsin K mRNA revealed the highest levels in musculoskeletal tissues: bone, cartilage and skeletal muscle. In situ hybridization of developing mouse embryos was performed to identify the cellular source of cathepsin K mRNA. The strongest mRNA signal was detected in osteoclasts of bone, identified in serial sections by positive TRAP staining. Cathepsin K mRNA was also observed in some hypertrophic chondrocytes of growth cartilages. Association of cathepsin K production with degradation of bone and cartilage matrix suggests that this enzyme and its mRNA levels could serve as markers for matrix degradation in diseases affecting these tissues

Aircraft-Assisted Pilot Suicides in the General Aviation Increased for One-Year Period after 11 September 2001 Attack in the United States

Pilot aircraft-assisted suicides (AAS) are rare, and there is limited understanding of copycat phenomenon among aviators. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible effect the 11 September 2001, terrorist attacks had on pilot AASs in the U.S. Fatal aviation accidents in the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) database were searched using the following search words: “suicide”, “murder-suicide” and “homicide-suicide”. The timeline between 11 September 1996, and 11 September 2004, was analyzed. Only those accidents in which NTSB judged that the cause of the accident was suicide were included in the final analysis. The relative risk (RR) of the pilot AASs in all fatal accidents in the U.S. was calculated in order to compare the one, two, and three-year periods after the September 11 terrorist attacks with five years preceding the event. The RR of a fatal general aviation aircraft accident being due to pilot suicide was 3.68-fold (95% confidence interval 1.04–12.98) during the first year after 11 September 2001, but there was not a statistically significant increase in the later years. This study showed an association, albeit not determinate causal effect, of a very specific series of simultaneous terrorist murder-suicides with subsequent pilot AASs

Comparative Effects of Interleukin-1 and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α on Collagen Production and Corresponding Procollagen mRNA Levels in Human Dermal Fibroblasts

The effects of recombinant human Interleukin-1α (IL-1α), Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) on collagen biosynthesis were studied in vitro using dermal fibroblast cultures. Both forms of IL-1 and TNF-α induced a dose-dependent inhibition of both types I and III collagen synthesis, as measured by radioimmunoassay, gel electrophoresis, or collagenase-sensitive material. This effect was accompanied by a significant release of postaglandin E2 into the culture medium. However, indomethacin, a potent inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis, could not prevent the inhibitory effect of the three cytokines on collagen synthesis.Measurement of type I and type III procollagen mRNA levels in IL-1 treated cells revealed that both IL-1α and IL-1β were potent enhancers of procollagen gene expression at pre-translational level. On the other hand, TNF-α was found to reduce the steady-state levels of type I and III procollagen mRNA in a dose-dependent manner.Quantitation of IL-1β and TNF-α transcripts following TNF-α treatment of fibroblasts indicated that this cytokine can induce IL-1β gene expression in these cells. By contrast, TNF-α mRNA remained at a constant level after TNF-α exposure.These data suggest that IL-1 and TNF-α, two cytokines that share several biologic activities, modulate collagen deposition in dermal fibroblasts by mechanisms that are clearly different: TNF-α appears to act at a transcriptional level to inhibit collagen synthesis, whereas IL-1 inhibitory action involves important translational regulation, still unknown, that counterbalances its stimulatory effect on procollagen mRNA levels. Moreover, our data suggest the existence of local fibroblastic cytokine production that may be involved in the modulation of extracellular matrix deposition

Copycats in Pilot Aircraft-Assisted Suicides after the Germanwings Incident

Aircraft-assisted pilot suicide is a rare but serious phenomenon. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in pilot aircraft-assisted suicide risks, i.e., a copycat effect, in the U.S. and Germany after the Germanwings 2015 incident in the French Alps. Aircraft-assisted pilot suicides were searched in the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident investigation database and in the German Bundestelle fur Flugunfalluntersuchung (BFU) Reports of Investigation database five years before and two years after the deliberate crash of the Germanwings flight into the French Alps in 2015. The relative risk (RR) of the aircraft-assisted pilot suicides was calculated. Two years after the incident, three out of 454 (0.66%) fatal incidents were aircraft-assisted suicides compared with six out of 1292 (0.46%) in the prior five years in the NTSB database. There were no aircraft-assisted pilot suicides in the German database during the two years after or five years prior to the Germanwings crash. The relative aircraft-assisted pilot suicide risk for the U.S. was 1.4 (95% CI 0.3-4.2) which was not statistically significant. Six of the pilots who died by suicide had told someone of their suicidal intentions. We consider changes in the rate to be within a normal variation. Responsible media coverage of aircraft incidents is important due to the large amount of publicity that these events attract.Peer reviewe

Roadmap for a precision-medicine initiative in the Nordic region

The Nordic region, comprising primarily Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, has many of the necessary characteristics for being at the forefront of genome-based precision medicine. These include egalitarian and universal healthcare, expertly curated patient and population registries, biobanks, large population-based prospective cohorts linked to registries and biobanks, and a widely embraced sense of social responsibility that motivates public engagement in biomedical research. However, genome-based precision medicine can be achieved only through coordinated action involving all actors in the healthcare sector. Now is an opportune time to organize scientists in the Nordic region, together with other stakeholders including patient representatives, governments, pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions and funding agencies, to initiate a Nordic Precision Medicine Initiative. We present a roadmap for how this organization can be created. The Initiative should facilitate research, clinical trials and knowledge transfer to meet regional and global health challenges.Non peer reviewe

Kotiin palaaminen kriisinhallintaoperaatiosta : Opas rauhanturvaajalle

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli tuottaa käytännönläheinen opas kriisinhallintaoperaatiosta kotiin palaavalle rauhanturvaajalle. Opinnäytetyön tilaaja oli Suomen Rauhanturvaajaliitto ry. Opas sisältää tietoa haasteista, joita rauhanturvaajat voivat kohdata kotiin palatessaan ja arkeen sopeutuessaan, sekä ajatuksia ja käytännönvinkkejä rauhanturvaajilta arkeen sopeutumisesta. Lisäksi oppaassa on tietoa rauhanturvaajalle tarjolla olevista tukipalveluista. Opinnäytetyön tarkoitus oli kuvailla kirjallisuuteen ja aikaisempaan tutkimustietoon perustuen kriisinhallintaoperaatioihin liittyviä erilaisia stressitekijöitä ja arkeen sopeutumisen haasteita sekä hankkia opasta varten kokemustietoa ja vinkkejä arkeen sopeutumiseen kyselylomakkeen avulla seitsemältä 2000- luvulla palvelleilta rauhanturvaajilta. Kirjallisessa osuudessa on tietoa myös rauhanturvaoperaatioista sekä rauhanturvaamisen historiasta suomalaisittain. Opinnäytetyö on toiminnallinen. Opinnäytetyön tehtävänä oli selvittää millaiset asiat vaikuttavat kriisinhallintaoperaatiosta palaavan rauhanturvaajan arkeen sopeutumiseen sekä saada käytännön vinkkejä, miten rauhanturvaajien arkeen sopeutumista voitaisiin helpottaa. Tehtävä kysymykset olivat, miten tunnistaa tuen ja avun tarve? Miten rauhanturvaaja voi itse tukea arkeen sopeutumistaan? Mistä rauhanturvaaja saa apua kotiin palattuaan? Mitkä ovat tukitoimet entiselle rauhanturvaajalle? Tehdyn kyselyn perusteella ilmeni, että arkeen sopeutumista koettiin helpottavan oma perhe ja ystävät, harrastukset, arjen rutiinit sekä vertaistuki. Haasteina koettiin mahdollinen työttömyys, perheettömyys, arjen tylsyys sekä saman henkisen porukan puuttuminen ympäriltä. Vastanneiden mielestä kotiuttamistilaisuuden pituutta tulisi lisätä nykyisestä niin, että 6-10 kuukauden kuluttua kotiin paluusta olisi tilaisuus, missä kartoitettaisiin, kuinka arkeen sopeutuminen on lähtenyt käyntiin sekä huomattaisiin ne, jotka ovat mahdollisesti lisäavun tarpeessa.The aim of this thesis was to produce a practical guide for peacekeepers returning home from a crisis management operation. The client of this thesis was The Finnish Peacekeepers’ Union. The guide contains information about the possible challenges peacekeepers might face after homecoming, together with thoughts and practical tips from former peacekeepers about homecoming and adaptation to everyday life. In addition, the guide has information about the support and help services available to former peacekeepers. The purpose of this thesis was to describe, using academic literature and previous research, different kinds of stressors regarding crisis management operations and challenges in adaptation to everyday life. Another target was to acquire information from seven peacekeepers who have served in crisis management operation in the 2000s, using a questionnaire about their experiences regarding homecoming and adaptation to life back home. The theory part also contains information about the history of Finnish peacekeeping operations. This thesis is a functional research. The meaning of this study was to find out the factors that influence home returning peacekeepers’ adaptation to everyday life, as well as to get practical hints on how to facilitate home returning peacekeepers’ adaptation to everyday life. The research questions of this thesis were: What are the matters that affect adaptation to everyday life for peacekeepers returning from crisis management operations? How to recognize the need for support and help? How can peacekeepers themselves support adaptation to everyday life? Where can peacekeepers get help after coming home? What are the support services for former peacekeepers? The results of the questionnaire indicate that family, friends, hobbies, everyday routines and peer support made adaptation to everyday life easier. Adaptation challenges were possible unemployment, being single, everyday life apathy, as well as the lack of a similar group of friends around. Many respondents suggested that it would be good to organize a 6-10 month-event after homecoming, where it could be evaluated how adaptation is going on and who is in need of further ai