Effects of cage size and obstructed view from cage on use of resting platforms by farmed silver foxes

The effects of cage size and an obstructed view from the cage on the use of wooden non walled resting platforms by juvenile male (n=10) and female (n=15) silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes) were assessed in a 10 week experiment. The degree of the view and the free floor area of the cage varied between the five types of cage used. Each animal spent 2 weeks in each type of cage and their behaviour was videorecorded for a 24-h period in each 2-week period. The foxes spent 59 ± 13% of their daily time on the platforms. Use declined from 72 ± 13% in September to 35 ± 21% in November. Males used the platforms more than did females. In late October and early November, the foxes in cages with an obstructed view from the floor made more use of the platforms for both active behaviour and resting than did those in cages with an unobstructed view from the floor. The larger the free floor area of the cage, the less the silver foxes used the platforms during activity in mid-August and mid-September. One probable function of the platform is to offer the foxes an observation and resting place with an open view in all directions

Complex housing environment for farmed blue foxes (Vulpes lagopus): use of various resources

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The Nordic back pain subpopulation program: predicting outcome among chiropractic patients in Finland

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In a previous Swedish study it was shown that it is possible to predict which chiropractic patients with persistent LBP will not report definite improvement early in the course of treatment, namely those with LBP for altogether at least 30 days in the past year, who had leg pain, and who did not report definite general improvement by the second treatment. The objectives of this study were to investigate if the predictive value of this set of variables could be reproduced among chiropractic patients in Finland, and if the model could be improved by adding some new potential predictor variables.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study was a multi-centre prospective outcome study with internal control groups, carried out in private chiropractic practices in Finland. Chiropractors collected data at the 1st, 2^ndand 4^thvisits using standardized questionnaires on new patients with LBP and/or radiating leg pain. Status at base-line was identified in relation to pain and disability, at the 2^ndvisit in relation to disability, and "definitely better" at the 4^thvisit in relation to a global assessment. The Swedish questionnaire was used including three new questions on general health, pain in other parts of the spine, and body mass index.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The Swedish model was reproduced in this study sample. An alternative model including leg pain (yes/no), improvement at 2^ndvisit (yes/no) and BMI (underweight/normal/overweight or obese) was also identified with similar predictive values. Common throughout the testing of various models was that improvement at the 2^ndvisit had an odds ratio of approximately 5. Additional analyses revealed a dose-response in that 84% of those patients who fulfilled none of these (bad) criteria were classified as "definitely better" at the 4^thvisit, vs. 75%, 60% and 34% of those who fulfilled 1, 2 or all 3 of the criteria, respectively.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>When treating patients with LBP, at the first visits, the treatment strategy should be different for overweight/obese patients with leg pain as it should be for all patients who fail to improve by the 2^ndvisit. The number of predictors is also important.</p

Tutkimus ikääntyneille toteutettavista e-hyvinvointipalveluista HyvinvointiTV:n kontekstissa

Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoitus on löytää ikääntyneille toteutettavat hyvinvointia edistävät e-hyvinvointipalvelut. Tavoitteena on sekä asiantuntija- että asiakashaastattelujen perusteella löytää ne e-hyvinvointipalvelut, jotka voidaan toteuttaa HyvinvointiTV:n ohjelma-alustalla. HyvinvointiTV:n e-hyvinvointipalvelut ovat muodostaneet entistä merkittävämmän osan HyvinvointiTV:n tuotannollista sisältöä syksyllä 2009. Ajatus HyvinvointiTV:n kautta järjestetystä e-hyvinvointipalvelutuotannosta sai alkunsa helmikuussa 2009 aloittaneen Turvallinen Koti –hankkeen aikana. HyvinvointiTV on vuorovaikutteinen ja osallistumismahdollisuuden tarjoava televisiojärjestelmä. HyvinvointiTV:n on kehittänyt Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu. Opinnäytetyön tutkimusmenetelmänä on käytetty laadullista tutkimusmenetelmää. Tutkimuksessa kerätty data on analysoitu käyttämällä laadullista sisällönanalyysia. Perusteluna tutkimusmenetelmän valinnalle on tutkimuskohteen vaikea määritettävyys ilmiönä. Tiedonkeruumenetelmäksi on valittu puolistrukturoitu haastattelu. Perusteluna tiedonkeruumenetelmälle on tutkimuksen tarve vertailukelpoiselle datan koonnille. Hyvinvointipalveluiden asiantuntijoille on tehty erillinen kyselylomake, jolla analysoidaan e-hyvinvointipalvelun toteutuskelpoisuutta. Lisäksi palvelutaloasiakkaille on oma kyselylomakkeensa, jonka tarkoitus on selvittää ne ikääntyneen palvelutarpeet, jotka voidaan toteuttaa e-hyvinvointipalveluna. Näin voidaan tulevaisuudessa keskittää HyvinvointiTV:n ohjelmatuotannon resursseja vastaamaan paremmin ikääntyneiden asiakkaiden tarpeita. Tutkimuksen tuloksena havaittiin, että ikääntyneen päivittäiset tarpeet, kuten pukeutuminen, ruuanlaitto, lääkehuolto ja siivous eivät ole toteutettavissa HyvinvointiTV:n kontekstissa. Sen sijaan ikääntyneen sosiaalisia tarpeita, turvallisuutta, älyllisyyttä, henkisyyttä ja yhteisöllisyyttä on mahdollista edistää e-hyvinvointipalveluiden avulla. Keskeiseksi tekijäksi asiantuntijanäkökulmasta nousi tekninen luotettavuus, jota ilman säännöllistä e-hyvinvointipalvelua ei voida järjestää.Research of implementable e-services for elderly people in the CaringTV® context The purpose of this thesis is to discover implementable virtual e-services for elderly people. By interviewing welfare service experts and shelter home clients the objective is to discover those particular virtual e-services which are implementable in the CaringTV® environment. Virtual e-services have played a major role in CaringTV production since autumn 2009. The idea of e-service production through CaringTV has been developed during the Safe Home- project which started in February 2009. CaringTV is an interactive and participative television system which has been developed by Laurea University of Applied Sciences. This thesis was accomplished as qualitative research. The argument is the complex definition of the objective. The selected data collection method is half-structured interview. The argument for the selected method is eliciting comparable data compaction. There is a separate questionnaire to interview welfare experts. The aim of the welfare expert questionnaire is to analyze the viability of virtual e-service in the CaringTV context. In addition to this, there is a separate questionnaire for shelter home clients the aim of which is to discover the implementable service needs in the CaringTV context. After all it will be easier to refocus CaringTV production resources to match better to elderly people´s needs in the future. As a result of this research it was observed that the elderly people´s daily needs such as dressing, cooking, medical treatment and cleaning could not be fulfilled as a virtual e-service in the CaringTV context. Instead of this fact it is possible to enhance elderly people´s welfare such as communality, intelligence, spirituality, security and social needs. An essential factor from the expert point of view was technical reliability. Regular e-service production could not be arranged without technical reliability

Effects of group size and early handling on some behavioural and physiological welfare parameters in farmed blue foxes

The present study included two procedures, both aimed at improving animal welfare: early handling and changing the social conditions of the animals. Production and welfare related parameters as well as behaviour were assessed in blue fox (Alopex lagopus) cubs who were either handled or not before weaning, and housed after weaning either in pairs or in six-animal groups. The effect of the larger group size was observed in the larger number of bite scars in the female cubs housed in six-animal groups. Furthermore, the group size seemed to affect the performance of foxes most clearly in the late autumn when intra-litter aggression was observed during the feeding test. On the other hand, early handling had only short-term positive effects on the performance of the foxes but later transpired to have a negative impact on the stress profile of these animals.Tarhattuja sinikettuja kasvatetaan vieroituksen jälkeen yleisimmin uros-naaraspareittain perinteisissä kettuhäkeissä. Kritiikki tätä kasvatustapaa kohtaan ja yleinen kiinnostus tuotantoeläinten hyvinvointiin on kuitenkin lisännyt tarvetta etsiä vaihtoehtoisia kasvatusmuotoja tarhattaville turkiseläimille. Tässä työssä selvitettiin sisarusten läsnäolon (sosiaalinen rikaste) ja varhaisen käsittelyn (eläimen pelokkuuden vähentäminen ihmisen läheisyyteen tottumisen seurauksena) vaikutusta tarhattujen sinikettupentujen hyvinvointiin. Saadut tulokset osoittivat, että sinikettujen varhaisella käsittelyllä oli vain lyhytkestoinen positiivinen vaikutus, joka näkyi kasvun parantumisena kasvukauden alussa. Myöhemmin syksyllä varhaista käsittelyä saaneiden kettujen lisämunuaisen aktiivisuus oli kuitenkin korkeampaa, eli käsitellyt ketut näyttivät kokeneen pitkäkestoista stressiä enemmän kuin käsittelemättömät ketut. Ryhmäkoko (uros-naaraspari tai ryhmä, jossa kolme urosta ja kolme naarasta) ei vaikuttanut mitattuihin fysiologisiin hyvinvointiparametreihin, vaikka ryhmänsisäistä aggressiivisuutta havaittiinkin syyskuussa suoritettujen ruokintatestien yhteydessä. Lisäksi kuuden ketun ryhmässä kasvaneilla naarasketuilla oli nahassaan enemmän puremajälkiä kuin urosveljensä kanssa kahden kasvaneilla naarasketuilla. Yhteenvetona tuloksista voidaan todeta, että sinikettupentujen kasvattaminen sosiaalista virikettä enemmän antavissa penturyhmissä voisi olla yksi vaihtoehtoinen kasvatusmuoto tarhatuille siniketuille

Detection and molecular characterisation of Cryptosporidium spp. in Swedish pigs

Background Cryptosporidiumis a genus of apicomplexan parasites that cause enteric disease in vertebrates. In pigs, infections are most often asymptomatic, but may result in diarrhoea and poor growth. The most common species detected in pigs areC. suisandC. scrofarumwith low zoonotic potential.C. parvum, with higher zoonotic potential, may also be found. As previous knowledge on the occurrence ofCryptosporidiumin Swedish pigs is scarce, this was investigated in our study. Faecal samples from 13 pig herds were collected and a total of 222 pooled pen samples, from suckling piglets (n = 48), growers, aged 6-12 weeks (n = 57), fatteners, aged 13-24 weeks (n = 67) and adult animals (n = 50) were included. Samples were analysed using microscopy and positive samples were further analysed using polymerase chain reaction and sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene and the 28S rRNA gene to determine species. Results Cryptosporidiumspp. were detected in all sampled herds and in 25% (56/222) of the individual pen samples. Infections were most common in growers and fatteners with 51% (29/57) and 35% (20/67) positive samples in each group, respectively. The piglets had 8% (4/48) positive samples and adults had 6% (3/50). Species determination showedC. suisandC. scrofarumin piglets and growers,C. scrofarumin the fatteners, andC. suisandC. parvumin the adults. Although no mixed infections could be confirmed we saw signs of double peaks in the 28S rRNA gene chromatograms, possibly indicating more than one species present per sample. Conclusion Cryptosporidiumspp. were detected on every sampled farm and in 25% of the individual pen samples in our study. We therefore conclude thatCryptosporidiumspp. are present and likely common in Swedish pig herds, where pigs are loose and reared on solid floors. However, none of the farms reported any problems with poor weight gain, diarrhoea, or reduced appetite in their pig herds. The pig adaptedC. suisandC. scrofarumwere the predominant species identified. Two samples were positive for the more zoonoticC. parvum, and pigs should hence not be disregarded as a possible source of zoonotic cryptosporidiosis

Case study: Microsoft Azure Cloud experiences in teaching at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences

In November 2019 the digital innovation hub for cloud-based services (DIHUB) project was started, which is co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. DIHUB’s aim is to setup a European wide knowledge cluster on cloud-based technologies and services for the needs of innovation development, education and the generation of new start-ups (Aunimo, 2022; Aunimo et al., 2021) This paper presents a case study on how learning offerings involving the use of Microsoft Azure materials, laboratories and certifications can be designed, piloted and implemented in an institution of higher education. The focus was on using Azure cloud services in part of the teaching curriculum for the degree programme in Business Information Technology at Haaga-Helia. The Azure study offering development was partly possible by being part of the DIHUB project. Developing a cloud curriculum, piloting new courses belonging to the curriculum and gathering feedback from them were important activities of the project (Aunimo et al., 2022)

Effects of cage size and obstructed view from cage on use of resting platforms by farmed silver foxes

Häkkikoon ja häkissä olevien näköesteiden vaikutusta nuorten hopeakettujen puisten makuuhyllyjen käyttöön tutkittiin kymmenen viikkoa kestäneessä kokeessa. Kokeessa vertailtiin viittä erilaista häkkityyppiä. Häkkien koko ja näkyvyys häkistä vaihtelivat. Jokainen eläin vietti kaksi viikkoa kunkin tyyppisessä häkissä. Eläinten käyttäytymistä videoitiin 24 tuntia yhtäjaksoisesti jokaisen kahden viikon jakson jälkimmäisellä viikolla. Kettu viettivät 59 ± 13% päivittäisestä ajastaan hyllyillä. Käyttö väheni syksyn kuluessa syyskuun 72 ± 13%:sta marraskuun 35 ± 21%:iin. Urokset käyttivät hyllyjä hieman enemmän kuin naaraat. Lokakuun loppupuolella ja marraskuun alkupuolella kettu käyttivät hyllyjä enemmän sekä aktiiviseen käyttäytymiseen että lepoon häkeissä, joista näkyvyys häkin lattialta oli osittain estetty verrattuna häkkeihin, joista oli avoin näkyvyys. Elokuun puolivälissä ja syyskuun puolivälissä vapaan lattiapinta-alan suuruus vaikutti hyllyjen käyttöön: mitä suurempi vapaa lattiapinta-ala, sitä pienemmän osuuden aktiivisesta ajastaan eläimet viettivät hyllyllä. Hyllyt toimivat mitä ilmeisimmin tarkkailu- tai lepopaikkoina, joista on esteetön näkyvyys ympäristöön.The effects of cage size and an obstructed view from the cage on the use of wooden nonwalled resting platforms by juvenile male (n=10) and female (n=15) silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes) were assessed in a 10 week experiment. The degree of the view and the free floor area of the cage varied between the five types of cage used. Each animal spent 2 weeks in each type of cage and their behaviour was videorecorded for a 24-h period in each 2-week period. The foxes spent 59 ± 13% of their daily time on the platforms. Use declined from 72 ± 13% in September to 35 ± 21% in November. Males used the platforms more than did females. In late October and early November, the foxes in cages with an obstructed view from the floor made more use of the platforms for both active behaviour and resting than did those in cages with an unobstructed view from the floor. The larger the free floor area of the cage, the less the silver foxes used the platforms during activity in mid-August and mid-September. One probable function of the platform is to offer the foxes an observation and resting place with an open view in all directions.vokHäkin koon ja häkissä olevien näköesteiden vaikutus tarhattujen hopeakettujen makuuhyllyn käyttöö