Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Patients May Have Undiagnosed Narcolepsy

Background Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients have many comorbidities. Narcoleptic patients have a big prevalence of ADHD (15%-30%). Both groups suffer from similar symptoms and benefit from the same class of medications. As such, narcolepsy could be masked in ADHD patients. Low serum ferritin has been found both in ADHD patients as well as in patients with narcolepsy. Materials & methods We enrolled 26 participants (14 ADHD patients and 12 controls). They answered several questionnaires, and blood samples were obtained from 20 participants. We had clear exclusion criteria. Results Using the Ullanlinna Narcolepsy Scale (UNS), we identified three possible narcolepsy patients within the ADHD group and no suspects in the control group. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between serum iron levels and ADHD symptom severity. No correlation was found measuring serum ferritin levels. Conclusions Narcolepsy may be more common within ADHD patients than in the general population. Some of these patients could benefit from a change in medication. Low serum iron and ferritin levels could he relevant in ADHD pathophysiology. This requires further exploratory research.Peer reviewe

In Greensight: Healthier Futures for Urban Cores in Transition

This paper develops new perspectives of cross-disciplinary methods combining futures studies and urbanplanning to help imagine healthier futures for compact urban cores. Our empirical basis lies in research-based collaboration between 2016 and 2019 with the City of Turku, the former capital of Finland. The goal was the creation of an ambitious but realistic vision and strategic plan focused on liveability and wellbeing and addressing challenges posed by spatial fragmentation and lack of cohesion. Through the process, it was concluded that to create a positive transition, planning requires the adoption of a ‘greensight’ perspective as a point of departure. The basic argument was that in order to reach a new level of human-centredness andinterconnectedness, urban cores need to act as the strong support system for the healthier urban societies of the future. In this paper, we explain the lessons learned and provide an analysis of green areas in the context of Turku. We share wisdom on two key aspects: 1) the growing importance of human health for a more future-oriented approach to the planning of green areas and 2) the rising levels of urban complexity that make adequate distribution of green areas hard to achieve

Mot en roll som föregångare? - utvärdering av framtidsredogörelsen om klimat- och energipolitiken

Utvärderingen gäller statsrådets framtidsredogörelse om klimat- och energipolitiken som lämnades till riksdagen hösten 2009. Både redogörelsen och det bakgrundsmaterial som tagits fram är enligt utvärderingen omfattande och mångsidigt. Den bild som redogörelsen presenterar av klimatförändringens nuläge och de risker som klimatförändringen förorsakar samt kalkylerna över potentialen för utsläppsminskning skapar en grund för rationell medborgardiskussion och politiskt beslutsfattande. Scenarierna i redogörelsen skisserar upp olika sätt att ta fram en modell för ett utsläppssnålt Finland inom de följande fyrtio åren. Syftet med redogörelsen är att skapa en grund för Finland som föregångare inom klimat- och energipolitiken. Redogörelsen innehåller många förträffliga ingredienser som tjänar detta syfte. Redogörelsen skulle emellertid ha kunnat gå djupare in på de ekonomiska konsekvenserna av klimat- och energipolitiken för sysselsättningen, industrialiseringen, investeringarna och utbildningspolitiken. Perspektivet på utvecklingen av landsbygden skulle också ha kunnat behandlas något utförligare. I utvärderingen fästs även uppmärksamhet vid hur väl olika administrativa enheter är lämpade för att möta den strategiska utmaning som klimatförändringen innebär. Tyngdpunkten i utvecklandet av framtidsredogörelser bör ligga på bl.a. hur långsiktiga mål och deras beroende av olika utvecklingsalternativ skulle kunna behandlas mer detaljerat med hjälp av scenarieteknik. Det är också viktigt att ministerierna i tillräckligt hög grad förbinder sig att genomföra redogörelsen

A GREEN URBAN FUTURE : Scaled-Up Perspectives in Urban Green for Human-Centered and Livable Urban Cores

This report has been prepared in the frame of the Green-In-TURKU Project; Towards a Greener Urban Future: Investigating Innovative Solutions to Increase Livability in the Inner City-Perspectives for the City of Turku to provide Turku’s city officials with a state-of-the-art update on global greening strategies across European cities and abroad. The report introduces fresh perspectives for how cities are promoting the value in green capital to find solutions to local challenges and it is the first of three reports scheduled for this project. A second report A Study of Green And Open Spaces in Turku has been prepared as part of an in-depth investigation of Turku’s urban structure including past and present developments in the green front, and it will be integrated into the project’s final report and spatial analysis with recommendations for increasing urban vibrancy and livability in the city center of Turku

Kohti edelläkävijyyttä? - ilmasto- ja energiapoliittisen tulevaisuusselonteon arviointi

Arviointi koskee valtioneuvoston ilmasto- ja energiapoliittista tulevaisuusselontekoa, joka annettiin eduskunnalle syksyllä 2009. Selonteko ja sen taustaksi tuotettu materiaali on arvioinnin mukaan laaja ja monipuolinen. Selonteon tuottama kuva ilmastonmuutoksen nykytilanteesta ja sen tuottamista riskeistä sekä laskelmat eri sektoreiden päästövähennyspotentiaalista luovat pohjaa rationaaliselle kansalaiskeskustelulle sekä poliittiselle päätöksenteolle. Selonteon tuottamat skenaariot hahmottelevat erilaisia tapoja toteuttaa vähäpäästöisen Suomen malli seuraavan 40 vuoden kuluessa. Selonteon tavoitteena on luoda pohjaa Suomen edellekävijyydelle ilmasto- ja energiapolitiikasssa. Tähän selonteko antaa paljon oivallisia aineksia. Toisaalta selonteko olisi voinut mennä syvemmälle ilmasto- ja energiapolitiikan talousvaikutuksiin, siis työllisyyteen, teollistamiseen, investointeihin ja koulutuspolitiikkaan. Myös näkökulma maaseudun kehittämiseen jäi hieman heiveröiseksi. Arvioinnissa kohdistetaan myös huomio siihen, kuinka hyvin hallinnolliset jaot vastaavat ilmastonmuutoksen strategiseen haasteeseen. Tulevaisuusselontekojen kehittämisessä tulisi painopiste olla mm. siinä, kuinka pitkän aikavälin tavoitteita ja niihin liittyviä polkuriippuvuuksia voitaisiin yksityiskohtaisemmin käsitellä skenaariotekniikan avulla. Tärkeää on myös se, että ministeriöt sitoutuvat riittävästi selonteon toteutukseen

Towards a pioneering status? - Assessment of the Foresight Report on Long-term Climate and Energy Policy

This assessment concerns the Government Foresight Report on Long-term Climate and Energy Policy, submitted to Parliament in the autumn of 2009. The assessment characterises the report and its background material as extensive and versatile. By providing a picture of the current state of climate change and the risks it creates, alongside calculations of the emission reduction potential of various sectors, the report serves as a basis for a rational national debate and political decision-making. Various scenarios chart different ways of implementing the model of a lowcarbon Finland within the next 40 years. The report thus aims to lay a foundation for Finland's pioneering status in climate and energy policy. Plenty of excellent material is provided to this end. On the other hand, the report could have provided deeper coverage of the climate and energy policy's economic impact, in terms of employment, industrialisation, investments and education policy. The rural development perspective was also somewhat lacking. In addition, the assessment describes administrative divisions' suitability for meeting the strategic challenge posed by climate change. The development of foresight reports should focus on how long-term goals and the related path dependencies can be handled in greater detail by employing a scenario technique. Furthermore, the ministries must show sufficient commitment to the report's implementation

RE-ACTING THE FUTURE : New Ways to Work. The Case of Reaktor

The Human Being and Value in the Sixth Wave (HUVA) project investigates organisations that are the harbingers of a new way not only to survive, but flourish in this new era of work. The main research case has been a Finnish IT-consulting company Reaktor that has pioneered a uniquely human-centric organisation model. Their approach to organising has resulted from a conscious, systematic effort to break from old ways of running a business, in order to create ways of organising that offer both high-level performance, quality in customer service, as well as worker satisfaction and fulfilment. It is due to these factors that Reaktor has been repeatedly chosen to be the best place to work, not only in Finland, but also in Europe. In this report the study and its findings are presented. First, as motivation for the study, the writers contextualise the ongoing change into the historical shifts that have influenced organisations in the past, and then they try to give shape to the current emerging era with the demands, and opportunities that shape organising as a human endeavour. In chapters three to five the study is presented in detail: the research settings, and the results, as well interpretations of them. At the end of the report there are recommendations to other organisations that would like to learn from Reaktor’s way of operatin

Futures of a Complex World : Proceedings of the Conference “Futures of a Complex World”, 12–13 June 2017, Turku, Finland

”Futures of a Complex World” conference 2017 was a success by all standards. We got record amount of participants - 330 experts from 29 countries - with fascinating array of topics from future of agriculture to new modeling tools. This publication, based on papers presented in the conference, is a token of the fascinating variety of approaches we can adopt while penetrating the future with the tools of our research. As such, it also represents in a splendid way the complexity of our world, embedded with grand challenges as well as fascinating new developments. Complexity science itself proves us that we need particularly two capacities to thrive in the ever more complex world: on the one hand we need to build more resilience into our systems, on the other, we should create new capacities to transform, if necessary. Both aspects are well represented in the articles of this publications