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In this study, we examined the Twitter (now X, but hereafter still referred to as Twitter) hashtag #Savethecrew, a hashtag and movement created and maintained by Columbus Crew SC supporters in their attempt to prevent the relocation of their soccer team, from Columbus, Ohio, to Austin, Texas. We used two constructs – Sense of place and cultural entrepreneurship – as the basis for a critical exploration and thematic analysis. We analysed over 4000 Tweets and relevant media documents (eg local newspapers, club press statements) to explicate and frame the culturally resonant narratives and resistance strategies of Crew supporters. The case study emphasizes the ongoing importance of place and associated meanings, such as community, as strategically and culturally relevant resources that can be used to craft powerful and persuasive narratives. Ultimately, this culturally resonant narrative was used to resist ownership led activities that do not align with supporter ideals for what is best for soccer clubs and their surrounding communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of dual career (DC) research has shifted from exploring individual experiences within Athletic Talent Development Environments (ATDEs) toward understanding the impact of the environment and the broader cultural context on individuals' developmental trajectories in Dual Career Development Environments (DCDEs). To comply with national and EU recommendations for socially responsible elite sport, many successful ATDEs list DC as one of their primary values and advertise themselves as DCDEs in order to attract more athletes. The present study aimed to evaluate whether and how a talent development environment for youth athletes in Finland has transformed from an ATDE to DCDE by exploring the environment's success factors and organisational culture. This study is grounded in the theoretical framework of Holistic Ecological Approach and follows the Real-Time Case Method. Principal methods of data collection included interviews, observations, and documents. The results indicated that the environment was characterised by an incoherent organisational culture, and the environment was identified as an ATDE rather than a DCDE. We suggest that for the Finnish sports environment to successfully transform into a functioning DCDE, changes in the organisational culture are necessary and DC recommendations should be integrated into the environment to provide resources for student-athletes to develop a balanced life and the prerequisites to succeed in future endeavours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate demographic and pre-injury factors in Finnish school-aged children admitted to pediatric neurology services after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The relation of these factors to prolonged injury symptoms and later visits into psychiatric care was assessed. Methods: Demographic information, pre-injury learning status, and neuropsychological test results of 120 patients aged 7-16 years were retrospectively collected from the hospital medical records. Data were compared with self- or parent-reported injury symptoms at 1-3 months post-injury and later visits to psychiatric care. Results: According to medical records, 14.2% of the children with mTBI had a diagnosed neurobehavioral or psychiatric condition pre-injury. Additionally, 53.3% of the children had some neurobehavioral or psychiatric concerns or traits prior to the injury. Over half (56.7%) of the children studied were symptomatic at 1-3 months following the injury. Female gender and presence of prolonged symptoms were predictive for later visit into psychiatric care. Conclusions: Pre-injury neurobehavioral or psychiatric problems may predict prolonged injury symptoms following pediatric mTBI. In this retrospective patient series, prolonged symptoms and female gender seem to predict the need for later psychiatric care. Monitoring the recovery of children with mTBI and preinjury risk factors is important for timely interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of deep level impurities on static and dynamic properties of InGaP-based light emitters grown by all-solid-source molecular-beam epitaxy is analyzed. The improvement of the output power and the decrease in modulation bandwidth induced by the burn-in process are explained by the recombination enhanced annealing of one deep level trap. This assumption is experimentally proven through comparison of small-signal analysis for resonant cavity light-emitting diodes operating at 650 nm and deep level transient spectroscopy results. Finally, the concentration of the midgap recombination center N3 in the active region is shown to play an important role in the performance of the InGaP devices. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The frequency of coeliac disease (CD) has been on the rise over the past decades, especially in Western Europe, but current trends are unclear. Aim To research the recent temporal changes in the incidence of adult, biopsy-verified coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) in Finland, a country with a high frequency of coeliac disease. Methods All coeliac disease and DH cases diagnosed at age 20-79 years during 2005-2014 were retrieved from a nationwide database documenting all applicants for monthly compensation to cover the extra cost of maintaining a gluten-free diet. This benefit is granted on the basis of histology, not socioeconomic status. Temporal trends in the annual incidences were estimated using Poisson regression analyses. Results The total incidence of coeliac disease decreased from 33/100 000 during the years 2005-2006 to 29/100 000 during 2013-2014. The mean annual incidence of coeliac disease was nearly twice as high among women as among men, 42 vs 22 per 100 000, respectively. For middle- and old-aged women, the average rate of decrease in incidence was 4.8% (95% CI 3.9-5.7) per year and for men 3.0% (1.8-4.1) ( P for linear trend <.001, for both). Similarly, the annual incidence of DH declined. For young adults, the rate of change remained low and nonsignificant throughout the period 2005-2014. Conclusions Although the awareness of coeliac disease has increased during the past decades, the incidence of biopsy-verified diagnoses is not increasing, which suggests that exposure to yet unidentified triggering factors for coeliac disease has plateaued among the Finnish adult population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Finland, medical surveillance, including spirometry, is periodically performed for workers who are exposed to agents capable of causing occupational asthma (OA). Although it has been shown that surveillance can detect OA at an early stage, few studies have assessed its benefits or the role of surveillance spirometry. Aims: To assess the role of surveillance and spirometry in detecting OA and to evaluate the quality of spirometry. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical files of patients in health surveillance programmes who were diagnosed with sensitizer-induced OA at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health in 2012-14. We collected information on work exposure, respiratory symptoms, healthcare visits that initiated the diagnostic process, first spirometry and other diagnostic tests. Results: Sixty files were reviewed. Medical surveillance detected 11 cases (18%) and 49 cases (82%) were detected at doctors' appointments that were not related to surveillance. The median delay from the onset of asthma symptoms to diagnosis was 2.2 years. Delay did not differ between these groups. No cases were detected on the basis of abnormal spirometry without respiratory symptoms. However, five patients (8%) initially reported solely work-related rhinitis symptoms. Spirometry was normal in half of the cases and quality criteria were fulfilled in 86% of the tests. Conclusions: Fewer than one in five OA cases were detected through medical surveillance. Investigations were initiated by respiratory symptoms. No asymptomatic worker was referred because of abnormal spirometry. Our results highlight the importance of work-related nasal symptoms in detecting OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Consumption of Lactobacillus paracasei Lpc-37 or Bifidobacterium lactis HN019 by 2-5-year-old children was found to reduce risk for diarrhoea and fever during the rainy season. Objective: Can changes in faecal short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) or branched chain fatty acids (BCFAs) explain the observed positive influence of probiotics and their role on nutritional status and diarrhoea risk? Design: Faecal samples were analysed for SCFAs and BCFAs and correlated to Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus levels; both at the start and after nine months' consumption of either of the two probiotic strains, or placebo. Results: No differences in SCFAs, BCFAs, Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium levels were found between boys and girls. Severely underweight children were observed to have the highest Lactobacillus levels. Probiotic intervention was found to be associated with higher levels of selected SCFAs and BCFAs in subjects who had experienced diarrhoea. Treatment with either of the probiotics led to changes in SCFAs and BCFAs. SCFAs, acetate, propionate and butyrate, were found to correlate with each other. Likewise, BCFAs isobutyrate, 2-methylbutyrate and isovalerate correlated with each other. After the intervention, L. paracasei Lpc-37 correlated positively with total Bifidobacterium counts and isovalerate levels. B. lactis HN019 counts were found to correlate positively with total bacterial counts and negatively with propionate levels. Conclusions: Nutritional status was associated with higher levels of faecal lactobacilli; the meaning of this requires further investigation. The intervention with the two probiotics was observed to influence the levels of faecal SCFAs and BCFAs and there is a differential response in those who developed diarrhoea and those who did not. It is, however, not clear to what extent this is a mechanism that explains the earlier observed effect the strains had on diarrhoea risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive disease with median survival from 2 to 7 years. Palliative care is an important part of patients' care as lung transplantation is not an option for the majority of patients. The aim of this study was to describe treatment practices, decision-making and symptoms during end-of-life care of IPF patients. Methods: We identified 59 deceased patients from a national prospective IPF cohort study (FinnishIPF) and analyzed retrospectively their health care documentation during the 6 months that preceded death. Results: Hospital was the place of death for 47 patients (80 %). A majority of the patients (93 %) were hospitalized for a mean of 30 days (range 1-96 days) during the last 6 months of their life. Altogether, patients spent 15 % of their last 6 months of life in a hospital. End-of-life decisions and do not resuscitate (DNR) orders were made for 19 (32 %) and 34 (57 %) of the patients, respectively, and 22 (42 %) of these decisions were made ≤ 3 days prior to death. During the final hospital stay, antibiotics were given to 79 % and non-invasive ventilation to 36 % of patients. During the last 24 h of life, radiologic imaging or laboratory tests were taken in 19 % and 53 % of the hospitalized patients, respectively. These tests and life prolonging therapies were more common in tertiary hospitals compared to other places of death. Dyspnea (66 %) and pain (31 %) were the most common symptoms recorded. Opioids were prescribed to 71 % of the patients during the last week before death. Conclusions: The majority of IPF patients died in a hospital with ongoing life-prolonging procedures until death. The frequent use of opioids is an indicator of an intention to relieve symptoms, but end-of-life decisions were still made very late. Early integrated palliative care with advance care plan could improve the end-of-life care of dying IPF patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Essential oils (EOs) are important aromatic components of herbs and spices and their biological activities have been known and utilised since ancient times in perfumery, food preservation, flavouring, and medicine. Some of their biological activities include antibacterial, antifungal, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects amongst others. EOs have received attention in recent years as potential 'natural' alternatives for replacing antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) in animal diets due to their positive impact on growth performance, gut microbiota and welfare. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of our own published and unpublished data on the antibacterial, antifungal and insecticidal activity of thymol and cinnamaldehyde (TC blend), and to describe the effects of this specific EO blend on gut microbiota, growth performance and welfare, carcass characteristics and food safety. The possible modes of action of EOs are discussed and areas for future research are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of the study was to investigate the timing of the appearance of autoantibodies associated with type 1 diabetes between birth and puberty, the natural fate of these autoantibodies and the predictive power of autoantibody concentrations for early progression to clinical diabetes. Methods: Children were recruited to the Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention Project, an ongoing study based on HLA-conferred genetic risk. Autoantibodies against islet cells, insulin, GAD65 and islet antigen 2 were analysed at 3-12 month intervals, starting from birth. Results: During the follow-up, 1,320 children (18.4% of the cohort of 7,165 children) were autoantibody positive in at least one sample. Altogether, 184 autoantibody-positive children progressed to type 1 diabetes. Seroconversion occurred at an early age in the progressors (median 1.5 years), among whom 118 (64%) and 150 (82%) seroconverted to autoantibody positivity before the age of 2 and 3 years, respectively. The incidence of seroconversion peaked at 1 year of age. Compared with other autoantibody-positive children, the median autoantibody levels were already markedly higher 3 to 6 months after the seroconversion in children who later progressed to diabetes. Conclusions/interpretation: Early initiation of autoimmunity and rapid increases in autoantibody titres strongly predict progression to overt diabetes before puberty, emphasising the importance of early life events in the development of type 1 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated salivary cholesterol of children from 6 to 16 years of age in response to dietary intervention. One thousand sixty-two infants started in the prospective, randomized project. At 3 years of age, every fifth child was invited into the study (n = 178). Of these, 148 enrolled, and 86 completed the oral sub-study at 16 years of age. The intervention aimed at restricting the child’s saturated fat and cholesterol intake. Control children received no special recommendations. Every third year, paraffin-stimulated saliva samples (10.0 mL) were collected for cholesterol assays. Nutrient intakes and serum total cholesterol concentrations were regularly followed up by means of 4-day food records and blood samples. Intake of saturated fatty acids (SAFA) was lower in the intervention than in the control group (p < 0.001). Salivary cholesterol concentration increased from 1.9 (± 1.1) µmol/L at 6 years of age to 16.0 (± 9.0) µmol/L at 16 years of age. The increase was smaller in the intervention than in the control group (p < 0.001). The ratios of salivary to serum cholesterol concentrations tended to be higher in boys than in girls (p = 0.07). Thus, dietary intervention was reflected in children’s salivary cholesterol values more sensitively than in serum cholesterol values. (clinicaltrials.gov NCT00223600). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of individualised dietary and lifestyle counselling, primarily aimed to decrease serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, on the clustering of overweight-related cardiometabolic risk factors in children. Design and participants: The 7-month-old study children were randomized either to counselling (n = 540) or control group (n = 522). Main outcome measures: The 5- to 15-year-old participants who fulfilled the international criteria were classified as overweight. Being in the highest [lowest for high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol] age- and gender-specific quintile of body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, serum triglycerides, HDL cholesterol or glucose was considered a risk factor. A cluster was defined as having high BMI and ≥2 other risk factors. Results: The counselling did not reduce the prevalence of overweight in 5- to 15-year-old participants. From age 7 onwards, the proportion of children with ≥2 risk factors was lower in the intervention than in the control group (p = 0.005). At the age of 15 years, 13.0% of girls and 10.8% of boys in the intervention group and 17.5% of girls and 18.8% of boys in the control group had the risk factor cluster (p = 0.046 for main effect of the study group). Having even one risk factor at the age of 5 years predicted the clustering of risk factors at the age of 15 years (OR: 3.8, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Repeated, individualized dietary and lifestyle counselling may reduce the clustering of overweight-related cardiometabolic risk factors in adolescents even though the counselling is not intense enough to prevent overweight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. In this study the effect of a blend of essential oils (EO) comprising 15 g/tonne thymol and 5 g/tonne cinnamaldehyde on the performance and intestinal microbiota of broilers was investigated. 2. A total of 720 male Ross broilers were divided into two dietary treatments with 12 replicate pens per treatment. Broilers were given a control soybean-wheat-based diet with or without added EO in two diet phases (0-21 d and 22-42 d). 3. The blend of EO increased body weight gain of broilers from 0 to 42 d by 4⋅5%. 4. Caecal microbiota were affected by the EO blend; in particular increases in the proportions of Lactobacillus and Escherichia coli at 41 d was observed. 5. The EO blend had major effects on caecal metabolites. The proportion of caecal butyrate at 20 and 41 d of age increased, whereas the proportion of caecal acetic acid at 20 d, and propionic acid and isovaleric acid at 41 d, decreased with the EO blend. In addition, the caecal proportion of spermine increased and tyramine decreased at 41 d of age with the EO treatment. 6. The present study shows that EO supplementation exerts a positive effect on intestinal microbiota with a concomitant enhancement in growth performance. The study suggests that modulation of broiler gut microbiota composition and activity through the administration of EO offers an effective means for improving broiler performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To cite this article: Int J Dent Hygiene DOI: 10.1111/j.1601-5037.2009.00403.x Rantanen M, Johansson K, Honkala E, Leino-Kilpi H, Saarinen M, Salanterä S. Dental patient education: A survey from the perspective of dental hygienists. Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the current patient education practices of dental hygienists by exploring their views concerning their skills and knowledge related to patient education and by determining the implementation of patient education in their work, with regard to both method and content. Methods: The target group consisted of 416 dental hygienists ( n = 222, 53%) The research strategy used was a survey. The material was gathered using questionnaire. Results: According to the dental hygienists, their skills and knowledge about patient education were good. However, the implementation of education was not in line with these assessments. The content of the education given focused mostly on the functional dimension. Little use was made of various educational methods, and the dental hygienists felt that they were not in good enough command of the methods. The patient’s expectations and learning were not assessed systematically. The education provided and the assessment of the need for education often focused on the professional him/herself and the standpoint of the patient empowerment was disregarded. Conclusions: These results lay the foundation for additional research aimed at developing the patient education given by these professionals and making it support the empowerment of each patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the aspects of the ecology and natural history of Paraergasilus Rylovi parasitic in unionids of Finland. Analysis on the prevalence and intensity of infection of Anodonta piscinalis in relation to host age, length, sex, and habitat; Examination on the seasonal differences in the intensity of infection and the reproductive period of P. rylovi; Analysis on the intensity of P. rylovi infection in relation to the occurrence of the digenean parasite Rhipidocotyle fennica.

Describes the development of a method to kill or expel the gill-dwelling crustacean parasite Paraergasilus rylovi from a common freshwater clam, Anodonta piscinalis. Exposure of naturally infected clams to different water-quality treatment and monitoring in the laboratory.

The aim of this study was to examine the burrowing and crawling behaviour of three unionid clam species in the field. Of the four study lakes in southern Finland, Anodonta piscinalis occurred in all, Pseudanodonta complanata in three and Unio pictorum in only one. In all three species, there was a positive correlation between the height of the above-sediment part of the shell and the burrowing angle (deviation from the horizontal position). When surfacing, the position of the clam became more vertical. Anodonta piscinalis was more visible in June than in August in one population, while in other populations monthly differences were not found. The result suggests that A. piscinalis may be more visible during its spawning period in early summer (June) than in late summer. This behaviour could have a reproductive function, ensuring external fertilization. Monthly differences in crawling activity of A. piscinalis were also found in one population: in Lake Alvajärvi, A. piscinalis crawled more in August than in June. No monthly differences in the burrowing or crawling of P. complanata were found. In Unio pictorum, no differences were observed in crawling, but the clams were more visible in August than in June. When compared with P. complanata, A. piscinalis and U. pictorum were more visible and in a more vertical position. In A. piscinalis, the bigger individuals were more visible than the smaller individuals, but this was not the case in P. complanata and U. pictorum. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

All studies of the microbial community of the gastrointestinal tract of salmon to date have employed culture-based approaches, typically on pond- or tank-raised, freshwater animals. We present a phylogenetic survey of the bacterial populations present in the distal intestine of salmon from three different marine locations in Europe. This was accomplished through PCR amplification, cloning, and sequencing of partial 16S rDNA genes from microbial community DNA isolated from the contents of the GI tract distal to the pyloric ceca. Using this approach, the intestinal microbial communities of wild salmon from Scotland and pen-raised salmon from Scotland and Norway were compared. The predominating bacterial populations detected were Acinetobacter junii and a novel Mycoplasma phylotype. This Mycoplasma phylotype apparently comprised ~96% of the total microbes in the distal intestine of wild salmon. Substantial differences in intestinal microbial community composition and diversity were observed between the two groups of pen-raised salmon, which, in addition to geographical separation, were raised on different feeds. The microbial profiles found in this study were substantially different from those indicated in earlier culture-based studies for several species of fish, presumably because of the culture-independent techniques employed. Further, analysis of short-chain fatty acids in the digestive tract indicated that the decreasing redox gradient from proximal to distal reaches common to homeothermic animals was absent in salmon, and that the bacterial fermentation levels were much lower than are reported in homeothermic animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method was developed for the determination of fifteen biogenic amines in the intestinal digesta and feces of animal or human origin. The method involves the addition of an internal standard (heptylamine), extraction of the amines, and precipitation of the proteins with perchloric acid. The amines are derivatised with dansyl chloride, separated on a C18 column using gradient elution with 0.2M ammonium acetate at pH 5, water and acetonitrile, and detected with a fluorescence detector. The separation was achieved in a 40 min run. Recoveries ranged from 67 to 110%, the relative standard deviation for intra-assay precision being <5% and the limit of determination 1–5 mg kg−1. The method is specific for biogenic amines in intestinal and fecal samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetocardiograms of 24 normal subjects and of 31 patients with cardiac disorders have been studied with the aid of a magnetometer of the gradiometer principle which utilizes a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). The precordial magnetocardiograms observed are closely related to the conventional 12-lead electrocardiogram, but also reveal new information as compared with the standard ECG. There are differences between MCGs in different cardiac disorders, but the small number of cases and recording positions applied do not permit analysis of the specifity of the MCG patterns. There are certain differences between 12-lead ECG and precordial MCG in the relative sensitivity to different phases of the cardiac electromotive events. For instance, the magnitude of an S-T segment shift, as measured relative to QRS amplitude, was greater in the MCG. A part of these differences may be explained by a greater proximity effect in magnetocardiography. Magnetocardiography may prove to be of clinical value in cardiac disorders, especially in those producing primary abnormalities in the repolarization process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents a study which aims to examine the efficacy of praziquantel drug against the cercariae of diplostomum species, rhipidocotyle fennica, and rhipidocotyle campanula. In this study, the praziquantel is dissolved with ethanol, added to tap water at various concentrations, and exposed to the three parasites. Results of the study show that rhipidocotyle campanula cercariae are less susceptible to praziquantel than cercariae of rhipidocotyle fennica and diplostomum species.

Bismuth (Bi) is a surfactant which controls the electronic and structural properties of epitaxially grown GaInAs and GaInP alloys. The authors have studied Bi-terminated surfaces of GaInAs(100) layers, deposited onto InP(100) substrates, by means of scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It appears that Bi stabilizes an interesting (2×1) surface reconstruction on GaInAs(100). Under certain conditions, this reconstruction undergoes a phase transition to (2×4), which has about one-half of the Bi content of the (2×1) surface. Based on the experimental findings, they discuss mechanisms leading to this phase transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monolithic resonant cavity light-emitting diodes exhibiting an external quantum efficiency (ηex) up to 6.5% for 84-μm size devices at a wavelength at 655 nm have been demonstrated. Larger diodes, 150-300 μm in diameter, have the maximum ηex between 5.5% and 4.9% and launch power output up to 8 mW [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

State-of-the-art modulation bandwidths are presented for multiquantum well resonant cavity light emitting diodes (RCLED's) emitting at 650 nm. 84-μm size epoxy coated RCLED's have a 1.4-mW (CW) output power and a small signal modulation bandwidth of 200 MHz at 40 mA bias. 150-μm diameter devices yield 3.25-mW and 150-MHz bandwidth at 70-mA bias. An open eye-diagram at 622 Mb/s achieved for the 84-μm device makes it very attractive for SONET OC-12 data communication links [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]