Transnational comparison : A retrospective study on e-health in sparsely populated areas of the northern periphery

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Hydroponisen rehuntuotannon mahdollisuudet Suomessa

Hydroponisella rehuntuotannolla tarkoitetaan siementen idätystä ja versotusta niin, että iduista ja versoista syntyy kokonaisuudessaan eläimille syötettävä rehumassa tai –matto. Hydrorehu-hankkeessa selvitettiin hydroponisen rehuntuotannon mahdollisuuksia Pohjois-Savon ja Etelä-Pohjanmaan olosuhteissa vuosina 2017–2018. Hankkeessa kokeiltiin ja kehitettiin hydroponista rehuntuotantoa Itä-Suomen yliopiston kasvatuskaapeissa sekä kuudella kotieläintilalla Pohjois-Savossa ja Etelä-Pohjanmaalla tarkoitusta varten vuokratussa siirrettävässä kasvatusdemokontissa. Kasvatuskokeissa optimaaliseksi kasvatuslämpötilaksi osoittautui +21 °C. Viljoilla ja herneellä riittävä kasvatusaika kasvatuskontissa oli 7 vrk, kun siemenet esikäsiteltiin vedellä ja liotettiin 4–12 h. Lisäksi havaittiin, että kasteluveden määrä on aina säädettävä kullekin siemenerälle ja kasvatussysteemille erikseen ja että suhteellisen edulliset kasveille tarkoitetut LED-valot soveltuivat hyvin hydroponiseen versonkasvatukseen. Homeet lisääntyivät kasvustoissa nopeasti, mikäli kasvatushuoneen lämpötila nousee korkeaksi ja kosteus on korkea. Optimaalinen tilanne kasvun kannalta on, kun kosteus on 50–60% ja huoneistossa on riittävä ilman vaihto. Kasvatuksessa kokeiltiin eri lajeja ja lajikkeita. Ohra, kaura ja härkäpapu kasvoivat huonosti ja kasvustoissa oli homeita. Vehnä ja herne kasvoivat hyvin. Tuoresatoa saatiin sekä vehnästä että herneestä keskimäärin 4,5 kg käytettyä siemenkiloa kohti, vaihtelu satomäärissä oli kohtalaisen suurta. Salmonellaa ei löydetty ja Escherichia coli –bakteerin pitoisuudet olivat kahta versorehunäytettä lukuun ottamatta hyvällä tasolla ja kahdella versorehunäytteellä tulokset sijoittuivat luokkaan, jota pidetään elintarvikekäytössä hyväksyttävänä rajana. Alkuperäiseen siemenmateriaaliin verrattuna versorehu sisälsi enemmän raakavalkuaista, NDF-kuitua sekä kivennäis- ja hivenaineita, mutta vähemmän solunsisällyshiilihydraatteja. Puhdas kasvusto maittoi eläimille pääasiassa hyvin. Havaittiin, että rehu tulee syöttää nopeasti, sillä se ei kestä varastointia.Ulkomailla tehtyjen tutkimusten mukaan hydroponinen viljely on hyvin harvoin nähty taloudellisesti kannattavana rehuntuotantomuotona. Hydrorehu-hankkeen demokasvatuksissa havaittiin, että työkustannukset, energiakustannukset, siemenkustannukset sekä haasteet rehun laadussa tuovat uhkia sekä kustannuksia hydroponisen rehun tuottoon. Mahdollisuudet kasvatuksessa voivat olla esimerkiksi virikerehun tuotannossa tai pieneläinten ja hyönteisten rehuntuotannossa. Sato tuotetaan ympäristöystävällisesti, sillä rehun tuotannossa ei tarvitse käyttää kemiallisia lannoitteita eikä kasvinsuojeluaineita tai muita kemikaaleja, mikäli siemen on hyvälaatuista. Lisätutkimuksia hydroponisesti tuotettujen rehujen merkityksestä kotieläinten hyvinvointiin tarvitaan, jotta saadaan selville hydroponisen tuotannon todellinen kannattavuu

Human DNA polymerase ε associated proteins:identification and characterization of the B-subunit of DNA polymerase ε and TopBP1

Abstract DNA polymerase ε from HeLa cells has been purified as a heterodimer of a 261 kDa catalytic subunit and a tightly associated smaller polypeptide, the B-subunit. The cDNAs encoding the B-subunits of both human and mouse Pol ε were cloned and shown to encode proteins with a predicted molecular weight of 59 kDa. These subunits are 90 % identical and share 22 % identity with the 80 kDa B-subunit of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pol ε. The gene for the human Pol ε B-subunit was localized to chromosome 14q21-q22 by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Primary structure analysis of the Pol ε B-subunits demonstrated that they are similar to the B-subunits of Pol α, Pol δ and archaeal DNA polymerases, and comprise a novel protein family of DNA polymerase associated-B-subunits. The family members have 12 conserved motifs distributed in the C-terminal parts, which apparently form crucial structural and functional sites. Secondary structure predictions indicate that the B-subunits share a similar fold, and phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the B-subunits of Pol α and ε form one subfamily, while the B-subunits of Pol δ and the archaeal proteins form a second subfamily. The corresponding eukaryotic and archaeal catalytic subunits are not related, but all have the characteristics of replicative DNA polymerases. This indicates that the B-subunits of replicative DNA polymerases from archaea to eukaryotes belong to the same protein family and perform similar functions. In S. cerevisiae, Pol ε associates with the checkpoint protein Dpb11. In this study, a human protein, TopBP1, with structural similarity to the budding yeast Dpb11, fission yeast Cut5 and the breast cancer susceptibility gene product Brca1 was identified. The human TOPBP1 gene localizes to chromosome 3q21-q23 and encodes a phosphoprotein of 180 kDa. TopBP1 has eight BRCT domains and is also closely related to the recently identified Drosophila melanogaster Mus101. TopBP1 expression is induced at the G1/S boundary and it performs an important role in DNA replication, as evidenced by inhibition of DNA synthesis by TopBP1 antiserum in isolated nuclei. TopBP1 also associates with Pol ε and localizes, together with Brca1 to distinct foci in S-phase, but not to sites of ongoing DNA replication. Inhibition of DNA replication leads to re-localization of TopBP1 and Brca1 to stalled replication forks. DNA damage induces formation of distinct TopBP1 foci that co-localize with Brca1 in S-phase, but not in G1-phase. The role of TopBP1 in the DNA damage response is also supported by the interaction between TopBP1 and the human checkpoint protein hRad9. These results implicate TopBP1 in replication and checkpoint functions

Artificial intelligence-enhanced care pathway planning and scheduling system: content validity assessment of required functionalities

Abstract Background Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are transforming the optimization of clinical and patient workflows in healthcare. There is a need for research to specify clinical requirements for AI-enhanced care pathway planning and scheduling systems to improve human–AI interaction in machine learning applications. The aim of this study was to assess content validity and prioritize the most relevant functionalities of an AI-enhanced care pathway planning and scheduling system. Methods A prospective content validity assessment was conducted in five university hospitals in three different countries using an electronic survey. The content of the survey was formed from clinical requirements, which were formulated into generic statements of required AI functionalities. The relevancy of each statement was evaluated using a content validity index. In addition, weighted ranking points were calculated to prioritize the most relevant functionalities of an AI-enhanced care pathway planning and scheduling system. Results A total of 50 responses were received from clinical professionals from three European countries. An item-level content validity index ranged from 0.42 to 0.96. 45% of the generic statements were considered good. The highest ranked functionalities for an AI-enhanced care pathway planning and scheduling system were related to risk assessment, patient profiling, and resources. The highest ranked functionalities for the user interface were related to the explainability of machine learning models. Conclusion This study provided a comprehensive list of functionalities that can be used to design future AI-enhanced solutions and evaluate the designed solutions against requirements. The relevance of statements concerning the AI functionalities were considered somewhat relevant, which might be due to the low level or organizational readiness for AI in healthcare

Artificial intelligence-enhanced care pathway planning and scheduling system:content validity assessment of required functionalities

Abstract Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are transforming the optimization of clinical and patient workflows in healthcare. There is a need for research to specify clinical requirements for AI-enhanced care pathway planning and scheduling systems to improve human–AI interaction in machine learning applications. The aim of this study was to assess content validity and prioritize the most relevant functionalities of an AI-enhanced care pathway planning and scheduling system. Methods: A prospective content validity assessment was conducted in five university hospitals in three different countries using an electronic survey. The content of the survey was formed from clinical requirements, which were formulated into generic statements of required AI functionalities. The relevancy of each statement was evaluated using a content validity index. In addition, weighted ranking points were calculated to prioritize the most relevant functionalities of an AI-enhanced care pathway planning and scheduling system. Results: A total of 50 responses were received from clinical professionals from three European countries. An item-level content validity index ranged from 0.42 to 0.96. 45% of the generic statements were considered good. The highest ranked functionalities for an AI-enhanced care pathway planning and scheduling system were related to risk assessment, patient profiling, and resources. The highest ranked functionalities for the user interface were related to the explainability of machine learning models. Conclusion: This study provided a comprehensive list of functionalities that can be used to design future AI-enhanced solutions and evaluate the designed solutions against requirements. The relevance of statements concerning the AI functionalities were considered somewhat relevant, which might be due to the low level or organizational readiness for AI in healthcare