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Background Previous studies have shown that the rapid transition to emergency remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for healthcare teachers in many ways. This sudden change made them face ethical dilemmas that challenged their values and ethical competence. Research aim This study aimed to explore and gain a deeper understanding of the ethical dilemmas healthcare teachers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research design This was an inductive qualitative study using a hermeneutic approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed thematically. Participants and research context Healthcare teachers (n = 20) from eight universities and universities of applied sciences in the Nordic and Baltic countries participated. Ethical considerations This study was based on the research ethics of the Norwegian National Research Ethics Committee for Medicine and Health Sciences and approved by the Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research. Findings Healthcare teachers faced several ethical dilemmas due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis revealed three main themes: How should I deal with students’ ill-being, and what can I as a teacher do?; What can I demand from myself and my students, what is good teaching?; How do I manage the heavy workload and everyone’s needs, and who gets my time? Conclusions This study highlights the importance of healthcare teachers’ continuous need for pedagogic and didactic education, especially considering new technology and ethical issues. During the pandemic, the ethical consequences of remote teaching became evident. Ethical values and ethical dilemmas should be addressed in healthcare education programmes at different levels, especially in teacher education programmes. In the coming years, remote teaching will grow. Therefore, we need more research on this issue from an ethical perspective on its possible consequences for students and healthcare teachers.

Background: Previous studies have shown that the rapid transition to emergency remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for healthcare teachers in many ways. This sudden change made them face ethical dilemmas that challenged their values and ethical competence. Research aim: This study aimed to explore and gain a deeper understanding of the ethical dilemmas healthcare teachers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research design: This was an inductive qualitative study using a hermeneutic approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed thematically. Participants and research context: Healthcare teachers (n = 20) from eight universities and universities of applied sciences in the Nordic and Baltic countries participated. Ethical considerations: This study was based on the research ethics of the Norwegian National Research Ethics Committee for Medicine and Health Sciences and approved by the Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research. Findings: Healthcare teachers faced several ethical dilemmas due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis revealed three main themes: How should I deal with students’ ill-being, and what can I as a teacher do?; What can I demand from myself and my students, what is good teaching?; How do I manage the heavy workload and everyone’s needs, and who gets my time? Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of healthcare teachers’ continuous need for pedagogic and didactic education, especially considering new technology and ethical issues. During the pandemic, the ethical consequences of remote teaching became evident. Ethical values and ethical dilemmas should be addressed in healthcare education programmes at different levels, especially in teacher education programmes. In the coming years, remote teaching will grow. Therefore, we need more research on this issue from an ethical perspective on its possible © The Author(s) 2023., CC BY 4.0

Background Previous studies have shown that the rapid transition to emergency remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for healthcare teachers in many ways. This sudden change made them face ethical dilemmas that challenged their values and ethical competence. Research aim This study aimed to explore and gain a deeper understanding of the ethical dilemmas healthcare teachers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research design This was an inductive qualitative study using a hermeneutic approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed thematically. Participants and research context Healthcare teachers (n = 20) from eight universities and universities of applied sciences in the Nordic and Baltic countries participated. Ethical considerations This study was based on the research ethics of the Norwegian National Research Ethics Committee for Medicine and Health Sciences and approved by the Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research. Findings Healthcare teachers faced several ethical dilemmas due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis revealed three main themes: How should I deal with students’ ill-being, and what can I as a teacher do?; What can I demand from myself and my students, what is good teaching?; How do I manage the heavy workload and everyone’s needs, and who gets my time? Conclusions This study highlights the importance of healthcare teachers’ continuous need for pedagogic and didactic education, especially considering new technology and ethical issues. During the pandemic, the ethical consequences of remote teaching became evident. Ethical values and ethical dilemmas should be addressed in healthcare education programmes at different levels, especially in teacher education programmes. In the coming years, remote teaching will grow. Therefore, we need more research on this issue from an ethical perspective on its possible consequences for students and healthcare teachers.

Background. There is an ongoing debate regarding the value and applicability of brain-based understandings of addiction. This study examines how professionals in the Finnish addiction service system view this matter. Methods. The study participants (n = 997) were recruited at different levels of policy-making, treatment, prevention work, education, administration and research. We created an online questionnaire containing both multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed. Results. There was a broad agreement among survey participants regarding the relevance and importance of brain-based understandings, per se. The support seemed to have increased a great deal in the past decades. On a closer view, a dichotomous attitude prevailed among the respondents: They expressed robust support for etiologies and ontologies of brain-based addiction, but simultaneously acknowledged some greater risks with neurocentrism and with wider implementations of neuroscientifically based interventions. New divisions of responsibility and the weakening of rights among concerned parties were presented as risk scenarios. The respondents feared that a medicalization of addiction would sideline social approaches. Conclusion. The Finnish addiction service professionals were not prepared to let brain-based ideas of addiction guide the country’s addiction services but saw them as a useful supplementary hermeneutic and pedagogic tool.

The gatekeeping literature has turned to look at the factors and practices that shape gatekeeping in the post-publication environment, i.e., after news has entered circulation. This article adds to the discussion and argues that news workers share gatekeeping power in the post-publication environment with audiences, platforms, and regulations. Further, this study extends the post-publication gatekeeping framework and considers it in the context of datafication. The article aims to broadly understand how (audience) data is part of editorial decision-making in news media from news workers’ perceptions. The current study was conducted by interviewing news workers from three Finnish news organisations. The interview data was analysed utilising qualitative iterative content analysis. Our analysis revealed that the use of (audience) data in news organisations increasingly shapes news workers’ journalistic decision-making processes. We found that news workers were ambivalent toward data (use) and that their reliance on platform data depended on the particular platform. Furthermore, when interviewed about journalism ethics, news workers only connected it with legislative issues, such as General Data Protection Regulation. Lastly, we could see that regulatory factors of data, i.e., legislation and media self-regulation, have power over news production and distribution. This study reflects how journalism (research) is shifting from an audience-centric view to a data-driven one, i.e., it is experiencing a data turn.

News media trust, and the lack thereof, has been a prominent topic of discussion among journalism scholars in recent years. In this article, we study young adults’ trust in news media from the perspectives of platformisation and datafication. For the empirical study, we collected interview data from 23 Finnish 19–25-year-old young adults and analysed it inductively with applied thematic analysis. Our analysis reveals that trust negotiation is relational and entails not accepted, but forced vulnerability in relation to news media and the platforms on which they operate. Unclarity about the agency of news media on social media platforms causes young adults to experience powerlessness and anxiety in the face of data collection, which in practice translates into indifference toward their data being used by both news media and social media platforms. We show that young adults face a variety of challenges when navigating the online (news) media environment, which as we identify, can result in three trust-diminishing confusions about content, platforms, and data. This may have profound effects on how journalism is viewed as a cornerstone of a democratic society.

The gatekeeping literature has turned to look at the factors and practices that shape gatekeeping in the post-publication environment, i.e., after news has entered circulation. This article adds to the discussion and argues that news workers share gatekeeping power in the post-publication environment with audiences, platforms, and regulations. Further, this study extends the post-publication gatekeeping framework and considers it in the context of datafication. The article aims to broadly understand how (audience) data is part of editorial decision-making in news media from news workers’ perceptions. The current study was conducted by interviewing news workers from three Finnish news organisations. The interview data was analysed utilising qualitative iterative content analysis. Our analysis revealed that the use of (audience) data in news organisations increasingly shapes news workers’ journalistic decision-making processes. We found that news workers were ambivalent toward data (use) and that their reliance on platform data depended on the particular platform. Furthermore, when interviewed about journalism ethics, news workers only connected it with legislative issues, such as General Data Protection Regulation. Lastly, we could see that regulatory factors of data, i.e., legislation and media self-regulation, have power over news production and distribution. This study reflects how journalism (research) is shifting from an audience-centric view to a data-driven one, i.e., it is experiencing a data turn.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are ways to tackle climate change while at the same time strengthening biodiversity and delivering ecosystem services to humans. The Nordic region aims to become the most sustainable in the world by 2030. That is why The Nordic Council of Ministers launched a research programme running from 2021-24, encouraging the Nordic countries to work together and enhance the knowledge base on nature-based solutions, restoration, climate mitigation and blue-green infrastructure. S-ITUATION is the first of five projects under this programme. The project report aims to synthesize and present existing research on NBS relevant in the Nordic context, including relevant projects and experiences, policies, knowledge gaps and cost-benefit analyses.

Background Detecting antibody responses following infection with SARS-CoV-2 is necessary for sero-epidemiological studies and assessing the role of specific antibodies in disease, but serum or plasma sampling is not always viable due to logistical challenges. Dried blood spot sampling (DBS) is a cheaper, simpler alternative and samples can be self-collected and returned by post, reducing risk for SARS-CoV-2 exposure from direct patient contact. The value of large-scale DBS sampling for the assessment of serological responses to SARS-CoV-2 has not been assessed in depth and provides a model for examining the logistics of using this approach to other infectious diseases. The ability to measure specific antigens is attractive for remote outbreak situations where testing may be limited or for patients who require sampling after remote consultation. Methods We compared the performance of SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike and anti-nucleocapsid antibody detection from DBS samples with matched serum collected by venepuncture in a large population of asymptomatic young adults (N = 1070) living and working in congregate settings (military recruits, N = 625); university students, N = 445). We also compared the effect of self-sampling (ssDBS) with investigator-collected samples (labDBS) on assay performance, and the quantitative measurement of total IgA, IgG and IgM between DBS eluates and serum. Results Baseline seropositivity for anti-spike IgGAM antibody was significantly higher among university students than military recruits. Strong correlations were observed between matched DBS and serum samples in both university students and recruits for the anti-spike IgGAM assay. Minimal differences were found in results by ssDBS and labDBS and serum by Bland Altman and Cohen kappa analyses. LabDBS achieved 82.0% sensitivity and 98.2% specificity and ssDBS samples 86.1% sensitivity and 96.7% specificity for detecting anti-spike IgGAM antibodies relative to serum samples. For anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucle

Tiivistelmä. Voimistettu ääni on tärkeä työkalu esimerkiksi poliisin ja jalkapallovalmentajien työtehtävissä. Pitkään jatkunut tai toistuva äänen voimistaminen aiheuttaa kuitenkin äänihäiriöitä, jotka vaikuttavat työkykyyn. Äänenkäyttöön liittyvällä informoinnilla ja koulutuksella kyetään vaikuttamaan näihin ongelmiin. Ammattiäänenkäyttäjien äänihäiriöiden tutkimus on tärkeää, jotta ongelmat tunnistettaisiin ajoissa ja niiden aiheuttajiin pystyttäisiin puuttumaan mahdollisimman aikaisessa vaiheessa. Tutkimustulosten perusteella myös ennaltaehkäisevän koulutuksen kehittäminen ja tarjonnan parantaminen on mahdollista. Tämän kandidaatintutkielman tarkoituksena on tarkastella, millaisia äänihäiriöitä ja seurauksia voimakas äänenkäyttö työtehtävissä aiheuttaa. Lisäksi tarkoituksena on selvittää, ovatko työssään voimistettua ääntä käyttävät henkilöt saaneet äänenkäyttöön liittyvää koulutusta. Tutkielma perustuu kahdeksaan vuosina 2001–2021 julkaistuun tieteelliseen tutkimusartikkeliin. Kaikki artikkelit käsittelivät ammatteja, joissa toistuvasta äänen voimistamisesta johtuen esiintyy äänihäiriöitä. Artikkeleista neljässä käsiteltiin lisäksi äänenkäytöstä annettua koulutusta. Tulokset osoittivat, että ammattiäänenkäyttäjät kohtaavat usein työssään erimittaisia jaksoja, jolloin äänihäiriöt vaikuttavat heidän työhyvinvointiinsa. Äänihäiriöt muun muassa vaikeuttivat työtehtävissä pärjäämistä ja aiheuttivat työpoissaoloja. Koulutus ei lähtökohtaisesti kuulunut ammattiäänenkäyttäjien koulutusohjelmiin ja sen saatavuus muuta kautta oli myös hyvin vaihtelevaa. Tämän tutkielman ja aiempien tutkimusten perusteella äänihäiriöt vaikuttavat laajasti eri ammattilaisten työhyvinvointiin. Myös ennaltaehkäisevän äänenkäytön koulutukselle koetaan tarvetta. Jatkotutkimuksia tarvitaan niin ammattiäänenkäyttäjäryhmien äänihäiriöiden vaikutuksista yksilö- ja yhteiskuntatasolla, kuin myös koulutusten sisällöistä ja niiden vaikuttavuudesta.

Semantic interoperability (SI) is at the heart of the FAIR principles and of the design of large scale cross disciplinary infrastructures. The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is a European-wide effort towards such an infrastructure, aiming to deepen the regional research collaboration and realising a shared data space for science, research and innovation. In this context, the research community’s voice is represented by the EOSC Association (EOSC-A) and a number of advisory groups with a broad range of representatives from different stakeholder organisations. The advisory group on metadata and data quality has formed a task force focusing on developing and implementing recommendations for SI (EOSC SI Task Force) with the ambition to converge on globally relevant and scalable SI solutions for EOSC. This paper provides context to SI in EOSC, the various components contributing to it, as well as some views on the socio-technical challenges to arriving at a consensus. In particular, the paper provides motivation for exploring the heterogeneity of SI solutions demonstrated across scientific communities and insight into the task force’s planned approach to conduct a survey to identify relevant components and structures. The paper is also an invitation to the global community to align and engage with the task force’s activities going forward.

The gatekeeping literature has turned to look at the factors and practices that shape gatekeeping in the post-publication environment, i.e., after news has entered circulation. This article adds to the discussion and argues that news workers share gatekeeping power in the post-publication environment with audiences, platforms, and regulations. Further, this study extends the post-publication gatekeeping framework and considers it in the context of datafication. The article aims to broadly understand how (audience) data is part of editorial decision-making in news media from news workers’ perceptions. The current study was conducted by interviewing news workers from three Finnish news organisations. The interview data was analysed utilising qualitative iterative content analysis. Our analysis revealed that the use of (audience) data in news organisations increasingly shapes news workers’ journalistic decision-making processes. We found that news workers were ambivalent toward data (use) and that their reliance on platform data depended on the particular platform. Furthermore, when interviewed about journalism ethics, news workers only connected it with legislative issues, such as General Data Protection Regulation. Lastly, we could see that regulatory factors of data, i.e., legislation and media self-regulation, have power over news production and distribution. This study reflects how journalism (research) is shifting from an audience-centric view to a data-driven one, i.e., it is experiencing a data turn.

The gatekeeping literature has turned to look at the factors and practices that shape gatekeeping in the post-publication environment, i.e., after news has entered circulation. This article adds to the discussion and argues that news workers share gatekeeping power in the post-publication environment with audiences, platforms, and regulations. Further, this study extends the post-publication gatekeeping framework and considers it in the context of datafication. The article aims to broadly understand how (audience) data is part of editorial decision-making in news media from news workers’ perceptions. The current study was conducted by interviewing news workers from three Finnish news organisations. The interview data was analysed utilising qualitative iterative content analysis. Our analysis revealed that the use of (audience) data in news organisations increasingly shapes news workers’ journalistic decision-making processes. We found that news workers were ambivalent toward data (use) and that their reliance on platform data depended on the particular platform. Furthermore, when interviewed about journalism ethics, news workers only connected it with legislative issues, such as General Data Protection Regulation. Lastly, we could see that regulatory factors of data, i.e., legislation and media self-regulation, have power over news production and distribution. This study reflects how journalism (research) is shifting from an audience-centric view to a data-driven one, i.e., it is experiencing a data turn.

Wastewaters from fish processing cause a high organic load for municipal wastewater treatment and can interfere with treatment operations due to their high oil and grease content. In the present study, a modular dissolved air flotation (DAF) unit was used to remove oil, grease and other suspended solids from fish processing plant wastewater. After DAF treatment, the residual particles and nutrients were adsorbed onto a mixture of hemp and spruce biochar in a pilot-scale column filtration system. The proposed integrated treatment process aims to improve the quality of the fish processing wastewater, facilitate water reuse, and recover the dissolved nutrients in a reusable form. The DAF treatment removed nearly all the oil and grease from the wastewater. Also, chemical oxygen demand, turbidity and phosphorus concentration clearly decreased during the DAF process. The biochar filtration further clarified the DAF-treated wastewater and partly adsorbed the residual nutrients. Furthermore, in the spent biochar mixture, the nitrogen and phosphorus content increased significantly (N to 9.1–10.5 mg/g, P to 0.32–1.38 mg/g), which indicates the improved properties of the biochar as a possible soil conditioner.

The application of multiple omics technologies in biomedical cohorts has the potential to reveal patient-level disease characteristics and individualized response to treatment. However, the scale and heterogeneous nature of multi-modal data makes integration and inference a non-trivial task. We developed a deep-learning-based framework, multi-omics variational autoencoders (MOVE), to integrate such data and applied it to a cohort of 789 people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes with deep multi-omics phenotyping from the DIRECT consortium. Using in silico perturbations, we identified drug–omics associations across the multi-modal datasets for the 20 most prevalent drugs given to people with type 2 diabetes with substantially higher sensitivity than univariate statistical tests. From these, we among others, identified novel associations between metformin and the gut microbiota as well as opposite molecular responses for the two statins, simvastatin and atorvastatin. We used the associations to quantify drug–drug similarities, assess the degree of polypharmacy and conclude that drug effects are distributed across the multi-omics modalities., Correction in DOI 10.1038/s41587-023-01805-9QC 20230626

Identifying cancer and other diseases that cause lesions (damages or abnormalities to tissue) early is crucial to assure the best treatment. However, lesions are often missed which can cause diseases to progress to an advanced-stage of the diseases which is harder to cure. The application of machine learning in lesion detection can significantly aid medical experts in their diagnostic efforts.The impact of image resolution in training and using machine learning models is significant, as higher resolutions require higher end hardware and result in slower execution times. This study investigates how the image resolution of CT scan affects a machine learning model’s ability to detect lesions. The study used the YOLOv5 object detection model and trained it on a large dataset containing CT scans with identified and annotated lesions. Four models were trained on four different resolutions and the overall accuracy was measured for each model. When increasing the image resolution, lesions were detected with a higher overall accuracy. An optimal resolution was not found as the performance kept improving when a higher resolution was used., Att identifiera cancer och andra sjukdomar som orsakar lesioner (organ eller vävnadsskador) i ett tidigt stadium är avgörande för att säkerställa bästa möjliga behandling. Tyvärr missas dessa lesioner ofta, vilket kan leda till att sjukdomen förvärras och blir svårare att bota. Maskininlärning kan användas för att lättare upptäcka lesioner vilket kan underlätta läkare i deras diagnostiska arbete. Bildupplösning har en betydande faktor vid träning och användning av maskininlärningsmodeller eftersom högre bildupplösning kräver kraftfullare hårdvara och resulterar i längre exekveringstider. Denna studie undersöker hur bildupplösningen påverkar förmågan hos en maskininlärningsmodell att upptäcka lesioner i datortomografibilder. Studien använder objekt detekterings modellen YOLOv5 och tränar modellen med hjälp av ett stort dataset med datortomografier som har identifierade och annoterade organskador. Fyra modeller tränades på varsin bildupplösning och deras noggrannheter av att hitta organskador mättes. Studien fann att modeller som använde en högre bildupplösning upptäckte lesioner med en högre noggrannhet. Tyvärr kunde studien inte fastställa om det fanns en optimal bildupplösning att använda eftersom modellens noggrannhet fortsatte att öka vid användning av varje högre upplösning.

News media trust, and the lack thereof, has been a prominent topic of discussion among journalism scholars in recent years. In this article, we study young adults’ trust in news media from the perspectives of platformisation and datafication. For the empirical study, we collected interview data from 23 Finnish 19–25-year-old young adults and analysed it inductively with applied thematic analysis. Our analysis reveals that trust negotiation is relational and entails not accepted, but forced vulnerability in relation to news media and the platforms on which they operate. Unclarity about the agency of news media on social media platforms causes young adults to experience powerlessness and anxiety in the face of data collection, which in practice translates into indifference toward their data being used by both news media and social media platforms. We show that young adults face a variety of challenges when navigating the online (news) media environment, which as we identify, can result in three trust-diminishing confusions about content, platforms, and data. This may have profound effects on how journalism is viewed as a cornerstone of a democratic society.

Background: Previous studies have shown that the rapid transition to emergency remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for healthcare teachers in many ways. This sudden change made them face ethical dilemmas that challenged their values and ethical competence. Research aim: This study aimed to explore and gain a deeper understanding of the ethical dilemmas healthcare teachers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research design: This was an inductive qualitative study using a hermeneutic approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed thematically. Participants and research context: Healthcare teachers (n = 20) from eight universities and universities of applied sciences in the Nordic and Baltic countries participated. Ethical considerations: This study was based on the research ethics of the Norwegian National Research Ethics Committee for Medicine and Health Sciences and approved by the Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research. Findings: Healthcare teachers faced several ethical dilemmas due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis revealed three main themes: How should I deal with students’ ill-being, and what can I as a teacher do?; What can I demand from myself and my students, what is good teaching?; How do I manage the heavy workload and everyone’s needs, and who gets my time? Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of healthcare teachers’ continuous need for pedagogic and didactic education, especially considering new technology and ethical issues. During the pandemic, the ethical consequences of remote teaching became evident. Ethical values and ethical dilemmas should be addressed in healthcare education programmes at different levels, especially in teacher education programmes. In the coming years, remote teaching will grow. Therefore, we need more research on this issue from an ethical perspective on its possible © The Author(s) 2023., CC BY 4.0

Background: Previous studies have shown that the rapid transition to emergency remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for healthcare teachers in many ways. This sudden change made them face ethical dilemmas that challenged their values and ethical competence. Research aim: This study aimed to explore and gain a deeper understanding of the ethical dilemmas healthcare teachers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research design: This was an inductive qualitative study using a hermeneutic approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed thematically. Participants and research context: Healthcare teachers (n = 20) from eight universities and universities of applied sciences in the Nordic and Baltic countries participated. Ethical considerations: This study was based on the research ethics of the Norwegian National Research Ethics Committee for Medicine and Health Sciences and approved by the Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research. Findings: Healthcare teachers faced several ethical dilemmas due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis revealed three main themes: How should I deal with students’ ill-being, and what can I as a teacher do?; What can I demand from myself and my students, what is good teaching?; How do I manage the heavy workload and everyone’s needs, and who gets my time? Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of healthcare teachers’ continuous need for pedagogic and didactic education, especially considering new technology and ethical issues. During the pandemic, the ethical consequences of remote teaching became evident. Ethical values and ethical dilemmas should be addressed in healthcare education programmes at different levels, especially in teacher education programmes. In the coming years, remote teaching will grow. Therefore, we need more research on this issue from an ethical perspective on its possible © The Author(s) 2023., CC BY 4.0

We evaluate the shared genetic regulation of mRNA molecules, proteins and metabolites derived from whole blood from 3029 human donors. We find abundant allelic heterogeneity, where multiple variants regulate a particular molecular phenotype, and pleiotropy, where a single variant associates with multiple molecular phenotypes over multiple genomic regions. The highest proportion of share genetic regulation is detected between gene expression and proteins (66.6%), with a further median shared genetic associations across 49 different tissues of 78.3% and 62.4% between plasma proteins and gene expression. We represent the genetic and molecular associations in networks including 2828 known GWAS variants, showing that GWAS variants are more often connected to gene expression in trans than other molecular phenotypes in the network. Our work provides a roadmap to understanding molecular networks and deriving the underlying mechanism of action of GWAS variants using different molecular phenotypes in an accessible tissue.

News media trust, and the lack thereof, has been a prominent topic of discussion among journalism scholars in recent years. In this article, we study young adults’ trust in news media from the perspectives of platformisation and datafication. For the empirical study, we collected interview data from 23 Finnish 19–25-year-old young adults and analysed it inductively with applied thematic analysis. Our analysis reveals that trust negotiation is relational and entails not accepted, but forced vulnerability in relation to news media and the platforms on which they operate. Unclarity about the agency of news media on social media platforms causes young adults to experience powerlessness and anxiety in the face of data collection, which in practice translates into indifference toward their data being used by both news media and social media platforms. We show that young adults face a variety of challenges when navigating the online (news) media environment, which as we identify, can result in three trust-diminishing confusions about content, platforms, and data. This may have profound effects on how journalism is viewed as a cornerstone of a democratic society.

This poster was presented during the Poster Exhibition session at the Research Data Alliance (RDA) 21st Plenary during International Data Week 2023 in Salzburg, Austria on 23–26 October 2023. It was submitted by Kurt Baumann on behalf of the EOSC Semantic Interoperability Task Force. Description of the poster Interoperability is at the heart of the FAIR principles and the design of large-scale cross-disciplinary infrastructures. The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is a European-wide effort towards such an infrastructure, aiming to deepen regional research collaboration and realising a shared data space for science, research and innovation. The advisory group on metadata and data quality has formed a task force focusing on developing and implementing recommendations for SI (EOSC SI Task Force). This poster serves as an invitation to the global RDA community to join forces with the European research stakeholders to converge on globally relevant and scalable solutions for Semantic Interoperability (SI). Semantic Interoperability is in fact not easy to implement. Any strategy for achieving SI must take this complexity into account. The poster presents the work of a stakeholder organisation that represents the research community's voice in EOSC and focuses on the activities of a task force developing and implementing recommendations for SI. Realising solutions for semantic interoperability involves a broad spectrum of socio-technical challenges. The poster will give insights into the chosen approach and structure of an ongoing survey that will result in a landscape overview of the use of components required to enable SI across a wide range of disciplines and use cases. Individual members of the task force are already committed contributors across various RDA interest groups and working groups and by presenting this poster the ambition is to showcase existing synergies and to identify new venues for collaborations. EOSC Project m

Background: Previous studies have shown that the rapid transition to emergency remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging for healthcare teachers in many ways. This sudden change made them face ethical dilemmas that challenged their values and ethical competence. Research aim: This study aimed to explore and gain a deeper understanding of the ethical dilemmas healthcare teachers faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research design: This was an inductive qualitative study using a hermeneutic approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed thematically. Participants and research context: Healthcare teachers (n = 20) from eight universities and universities of applied sciences in the Nordic and Baltic countries participated. Ethical considerations: This study was based on the research ethics of the Norwegian National Research Ethics Committee for Medicine and Health Sciences and approved by the Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research. Findings: Healthcare teachers faced several ethical dilemmas due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis revealed three main themes: How should I deal with students’ ill-being, and what can I as a teacher do?; What can I demand from myself and my students, what is good teaching?; How do I manage the heavy workload and everyone’s needs, and who gets my time? Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of healthcare teachers’ continuous need for pedagogic and didactic education, especially considering new technology and ethical issues. During the pandemic, the ethical consequences of remote teaching became evident. Ethical values and ethical dilemmas should be addressed in healthcare education programmes at different levels, especially in teacher education programmes. In the coming years, remote teaching will grow. Therefore, we need more research on this issue from an ethical perspective on its possible © The Author(s) 2023., CC BY 4.0

Background: It is widely accepted that exercise alters the number and function of circulating leukocytes, and many factors are suggested to influence this phenomenon. The aim here was to compare white blood cell mobilization between sexes after acute vigorous-intensity exercise bout. Methods: The study included healthy and physically active subjects, 10 men (aged 26 (SD 7) years) and 10 women (aged 33 (SD 8) years). Participants performed a 30-min cycling ergometer exercise at 70% VO2max. Blood samples were drawn at rest and 3 min, 1 and 2 h post-exercise. Changes in total leukocyte, neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, eosinophil, and basophil count were analyzed and corrected for plasma volume change. Results: Women had higher lymphocyte counts and lower eosinophil proportion of total leukocytes compared to men at all time points. Acute exercise significantly increased the number of total leukocytes and all leukocyte subpopulations excluding eosinophils in both women and men. The mobilization of all leukocyte subpopulations was similar in both sexes, but mobilization of total leukocytes, as a percentage change from rest, was greater in men. Increase in total leukocyte, neutrophil, and lymphocyte counts correlated positively with lactate concentration at 3-min timepoint and decrease in lymphocyte and basophil count after exercise correlated negatively with mean exercising heart rate in both sexes. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that mobilization of total leukocytes is greater in men. The sex-difference however is small and not observed in any leukocyte subpopulations. Further, exercise intensity driven physiological perturbation has a role in immune cell mobilization.

Precision medicine is part of the logical evolution of contemporary evidence-based medicine that seeks to reduce errors and optimize outcomes when making medical decisions and health recommendations. Diabetes affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, many of whom will develop life-threatening complications and die prematurely. Precision medicine can potentially address this enormous problem by accounting for heterogeneity in the etiology, clinical presentation and pathogenesis of common forms of diabetes and risks of complications. This second international consensus report on precision diabetes medicine summarizes the findings from a systematic evidence review across the key pillars of precision medicine (prevention, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis) in four recognized forms of diabetes (monogenic, gestational, type 1, type 2). These reviews address key questions about the translation of precision medicine research into practice. Although not complete, owing to the vast literature on this topic, they revealed opportunities for the immediate or near-term clinical implementation of precision diabetes medicine; furthermore, we expose important gaps in knowledge, focusing on the need to obtain new clinically relevant evidence. Gaps include the need for common standards for clinical readiness, including consideration of cost-effectiveness, health equity, predictive accuracy, liability and accessibility. Key milestones are outlined for the broad clinical implementation of precision diabetes medicine.

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are ways to tackle climate change while at the same time strengthening biodiversity and delivering ecosystem services to humans. The Nordic region aims to become the most sustainable in the world by 2030. That is why The Nordic Council of Ministers launched a research programme running from 2021-24, encouraging the Nordic countries to work together and enhance the knowledge base on nature-based solutions, restoration, climate mitigation and blue-green infrastructure. S-ITUATION is the first of five projects under this programme. The project report aims to synthesize and present existing research on NBS relevant in the Nordic context, including relevant projects and experiences, policies, knowledge gaps and cost-benefit analyses.

We evaluate the shared genetic regulation of mRNA molecules, proteins and metabolites derived from whole blood from 3029 human donors. We find abundant allelic heterogeneity, where multiple variants regulate a particular molecular phenotype, and pleiotropy, where a single variant associates with multiple molecular phenotypes over multiple genomic regions. The highest proportion of share genetic regulation is detected between gene expression and proteins (66.6%), with a further median shared genetic associations across 49 different tissues of 78.3% and 62.4% between plasma proteins and gene expression. We represent the genetic and molecular associations in networks including 2828 known GWAS variants, showing that GWAS variants are more often connected to gene expression in trans than other molecular phenotypes in the network. Our work provides a roadmap to understanding molecular networks and deriving the underlying mechanism of action of GWAS variants using different molecular phenotypes in an accessible tissue.

The application of multiple omics technologies in biomedical cohorts has the potential to reveal patient-level disease characteristics and individualized response to treatment. However, the scale and heterogeneous nature of multi-modal data makes integration and inference a non-trivial task. We developed a deep-learning-based framework, multi-omics variational autoencoders (MOVE), to integrate such data and applied it to a cohort of 789 people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes with deep multi-omics phenotyping from the DIRECT consortium. Using in silico perturbations, we identified drug–omics associations across the multi-modal datasets for the 20 most prevalent drugs given to people with type 2 diabetes with substantially higher sensitivity than univariate statistical tests. From these, we among others, identified novel associations between metformin and the gut microbiota as well as opposite molecular responses for the two statins, simvastatin and atorvastatin. We used the associations to quantify drug–drug similarities, assess the degree of polypharmacy and conclude that drug effects are distributed across the multi-omics modalities.

Identifying cancer and other diseases that cause lesions (damages or abnormalities to tissue) early is crucial to assure the best treatment. However, lesions are often missed which can cause diseases to progress to an advanced-stage of the diseases which is harder to cure. The application of machine learning in lesion detection can significantly aid medical experts in their diagnostic efforts.The impact of image resolution in training and using machine learning models is significant, as higher resolutions require higher end hardware and result in slower execution times. This study investigates how the image resolution of CT scan affects a machine learning model’s ability to detect lesions. The study used the YOLOv5 object detection model and trained it on a large dataset containing CT scans with identified and annotated lesions. Four models were trained on four different resolutions and the overall accuracy was measured for each model. When increasing the image resolution, lesions were detected with a higher overall accuracy. An optimal resolution was not found as the performance kept improving when a higher resolution was used., Att identifiera cancer och andra sjukdomar som orsakar lesioner (organ eller vävnadsskador) i ett tidigt stadium är avgörande för att säkerställa bästa möjliga behandling. Tyvärr missas dessa lesioner ofta, vilket kan leda till att sjukdomen förvärras och blir svårare att bota. Maskininlärning kan användas för att lättare upptäcka lesioner vilket kan underlätta läkare i deras diagnostiska arbete. Bildupplösning har en betydande faktor vid träning och användning av maskininlärningsmodeller eftersom högre bildupplösning kräver kraftfullare hårdvara och resulterar i längre exekveringstider. Denna studie undersöker hur bildupplösningen påverkar förmågan hos en maskininlärningsmodell att upptäcka lesioner i datortomografibilder. Studien använder objekt detekterings modellen YOLOv5 och tränar modellen med hjälp av ett stort dataset med datortomografier som har identifierade och annoterade organskador. Fyra modeller tränades på varsin bildupplösning och deras noggrannheter av att hitta organskador mättes. Studien fann att modeller som använde en högre bildupplösning upptäckte lesioner med en högre noggrannhet. Tyvärr kunde studien inte fastställa om det fanns en optimal bildupplösning att använda eftersom modellens noggrannhet fortsatte att öka vid användning av varje högre upplösning.

The role of exercise in cancer prevention and control is increasingly recognized, and based on preclinical studies, it is hypothesized that mobilization of leukocytes plays an important role in the anti-tumor effect. Thus, we examined how 10-min acute exercise modulates immune cells in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Blood samples were taken at rest, immediately after exercise and 30 min after exercise and phenotypic characterization of major leukocyte subsets was done using 9-color flow cytometry. Total leukocyte count increased by 29%, CD8+ T cell count by 34%, CD19+ B cell count by 18%, CD56+CD16+ NK cell count by 130%, and CD14+CD16+ monocyte count by 51% immediately after acute exercise. Mobilization of CD45+, CD8+, CD19+, and CD56+CD16+ cells correlated positively with exercising systolic blood pressure, heart rate percentage of age predicted maximal heart rate, rate pressure product, and mean arterial pressure. Our findings indicate that a single bout of acute exercise of only 10 min can cause leukocytosis in breast cancer patients. Mobilization of leukocytes appear to be directly related to the intensity of exercise. It is possible that the positive effect of exercise on oncologic outcome might be partly due to immune cell mobilization as documented in the present study. © 2023, The Author(s).

Semantic interoperability (SI) is at the heart of the FAIR principles and the design of large-scale cross-disciplinary infrastructures. The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is a European-wide effort towards such an infrastructure, aiming to deepen regional research collaboration and realising a shared data space for science, research and innovation. In this context, the research community’s voice is represented by the EOSC Association (EOSC-A) and a number of advisory groups with a broad range of representatives from different stakeholder organisations. The advisory group on metadata and data quality has formed a task force focusing on developing and implementing recommendations for SI (EOSC SI Task Force) to converge on globally relevant and scalable SI solutions for EOSC. This paper provides context to SI in EOSC, the various components contributing to it, as well as some views on the socio-technical challenges to arriving at a consensus. In particular, the paper provides motivation for exploring the heterogeneity of SI solutions demonstrated across scientific communities and insight into the task force’s planned approach to conducting a survey to identify relevant components and structures. The paper is also an invitation to the global community to align and engage with the task force’s activities going forward.

This document provides supplementary material for the paper "Converging towards a Semantic interoperability framework for EOSC: understanding the different community solutions to semantic interoperability" submitted as a contribution to the 2nd Workshop on Ontologies for FAIR and FAIR Ontologies (Onto4FAIR). Its purpose is to provide additional information and insights about the questionnaire approach proposed to survey the resources utilised by communities in addressing semantic interoperability issues. This document will be used as a guide in the implementation of the questionnaire, planned to be ready by the end of June. The survey itself will be ongoing over the summer and terminate at the end of September 2023.

The application of multiple omics technologies in biomedical cohorts has the potential to reveal patient-level disease characteristics and individualized response to treatment. However, the scale and heterogeneous nature of multi-modal data makes integration and inference a non-trivial task. We developed a deep-learning-based framework, multi-omics variational autoencoders (MOVE), to integrate such data and applied it to a cohort of 789 people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes with deep multi-omics phenotyping from the DIRECT consortium. Using in silico perturbations, we identified drug-omics associations across the multi-modal datasets for the 20 most prevalent drugs given to people with type 2 diabetes with substantially higher sensitivity than univariate statistical tests. From these, we among others, identified novel associations between metformin and the gut microbiota as well as opposite molecular responses for the two statins, simvastatin and atorvastatin. We used the associations to quantify drug-drug similarities, assess the degree of polypharmacy and conclude that drug effects are distributed across the multi-omics modalities.

The application of multiple omics technologies in biomedical cohorts has the potential to reveal patient-level disease characteristics and individualized response to treatment. However, the scale and heterogeneous nature of multi-modal data makes integration and inference a non-trivial task. We developed a deep-learning-based framework, multi-omics variational autoencoders (MOVE), to integrate such data and applied it to a cohort of 789 people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes with deep multi-omics phenotyping from the DIRECT consortium. Using in silico perturbations, we identified drug-omics associations across the multi-modal datasets for the 20 most prevalent drugs given to people with type 2 diabetes with substantially higher sensitivity than univariate statistical tests. From these, we among others, identified novel associations between metformin and the gut microbiota as well as opposite molecular responses for the two statins, simvastatin and atorvastatin. We used the associations to quantify drug-drug similarities, assess the degree of polypharmacy and conclude that drug effects are distributed across the multi-omics modalities.

Seawater mining is certainly a green alternative source for obtaining minerals as seawater is a natural renewable and unlimited available resource. Based on the lack of ways to obtain certain raw materials, the European Union has created the Critical Raw Materials (CRM) list. Seawater contains almost all elements, including some of those present in the CRM list, but only a few are economically feasible to be extracted as most of them are considered Trace Elements (TEs) (µg L-1). Therefore, an improvement in TEs extraction must be carried out. Saltwork brines can be considered as they are naturally concentrated (20–40 times) compared to seawater, which makes the extraction and recovery of TEs easier. Selective polymeric and inorganic sorbents were evaluated for TEs recovery (Li, B, Co, Ga, Ge, Rb, Sr, and Cs) from synthetic brines mimicking sea saltwork bitterns. Distribution coefficients were determined to characterize selectivity patterns toward TEs. Although amine and sulphonic sorbents showed low sorption of TEs, carboxylic sorbents presented good sorption and recovery for Co and Ga. Among phosphonic/phosphinic sorbents, MTX8010 achieved >98% sorption and desorption of Ga. Aminophosphonic and iminodiacetic are the best sorbents for Sr, but its desorption was incomplete. B was only sorbed by N-Methylglucamine (>98%) and N-Methylpyridine sorbents (75%), and its desorption was 37–64% and 66->99%, respectively. SbTreat presented good performance targeting Ga and Ge, and CsTreat demonstrated high Cs uptake, but its desorption was unachieved. The most highly selective sorbents could provide the possibility of building a green option to recover critical elements for societal development in the next decade., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Precision medicine is part of the logical evolution of contemporary evidence-based medicine that seeks to reduce errors and optimize outcomes when making medical decisions and health recommendations. Diabetes affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, many of whom will develop life-threatening complications and die prematurely. Precision medicine can potentially address this enormous problem by accounting for heterogeneity in the etiology, clinical presentation and pathogenesis of common forms of diabetes and risks of complications. This second international consensus report on precision diabetes medicine summarizes the findings from a systematic evidence review across the key pillars of precision medicine (prevention, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis) in four recognized forms of diabetes (monogenic, gestational, type 1, type 2). These reviews address key questions about the translation of precision medicine research into practice. Although not complete, owing to the vast literature on this topic, they revealed opportunities for the immediate or near-term clinical implementation of precision diabetes medicine; furthermore, we expose important gaps in knowledge, focusing on the need to obtain new clinically relevant evidence. Gaps include the need for common standards for clinical readiness, including consideration of cost-effectiveness, health equity, predictive accuracy, liability and accessibility. Key milestones are outlined for the broad clinical implementation of precision diabetes medicine.

Precision medicine is part of the logical evolution of contemporary evidence-based medicine that seeks to reduce errors and optimize outcomes when making medical decisions and health recommendations. Diabetes affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, many of whom will develop life-threatening complications and die prematurely. Precision medicine can potentially address this enormous problem by accounting for heterogeneity in the etiology, clinical presentation and pathogenesis of common forms of diabetes and risks of complications. This second international consensus report on precision diabetes medicine summarizes the findings from a systematic evidence review across the key pillars of precision medicine (prevention, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis) in four recognized forms of diabetes (monogenic, gestational, type 1, type 2). These reviews address key questions about the translation of precision medicine research into practice. Although not complete, owing to the vast literature on this topic, they revealed opportunities for the immediate or near-term clinical implementation of precision diabetes medicine; furthermore, we expose important gaps in knowledge, focusing on the need to obtain new clinically relevant evidence. Gaps include the need for common standards for clinical readiness, including consideration of cost-effectiveness, health equity, predictive accuracy, liability and accessibility. Key milestones are outlined for the broad clinical implementation of precision diabetes medicine.

We evaluate the shared genetic regulation of mRNA molecules, proteins and metabolites derived from whole blood from 3029 human donors. We find abundant allelic heterogeneity, where multiple variants regulate a particular molecular phenotype, and pleiotropy, where a single variant associates with multiple molecular phenotypes over multiple genomic regions. The highest proportion of share genetic regulation is detected between gene expression and proteins (66.6%), with a further median shared genetic associations across 49 different tissues of 78.3% and 62.4% between plasma proteins and gene expression. We represent the genetic and molecular associations in networks including 2828 known GWAS variants, showing that GWAS variants are more often connected to gene expression in trans than other molecular phenotypes in the network. Our work provides a roadmap to understanding molecular networks and deriving the underlying mechanism of action of GWAS variants using different molecular phenotypes in an accessible tissue.

The gatekeeping literature has turned to look at the factors and practices that shape gatekeeping in the post-publication environment, i.e., after news has entered circulation. This article adds to the discussion and argues that news workers share gatekeeping power in the post-publication environment with audiences, platforms, and regulations. Further, this study extends the post-publication gatekeeping framework and considers it in the context of datafication. The article aims to broadly understand how (audience) data is part of editorial decision-making in news media from news workers’ perceptions. The current study was conducted by interviewing news workers from three Finnish news organisations. The interview data was analysed utilising qualitative iterative content analysis. Our analysis revealed that the use of (audience) data in news organisations increasingly shapes news workers’ journalistic decision-making processes. We found that news workers were ambivalent toward data (use) and that their reliance on platform data depended on the particular platform. Furthermore, when interviewed about journalism ethics, news workers only connected it with legislative issues, such as General Data Protection Regulation. Lastly, we could see that regulatory factors of data, i.e., legislation and media self-regulation, have power over news production and distribution. This study reflects how journalism (research) is shifting from an audience-centric view to a data-driven one, i.e., it is experiencing a data turn.

Understanding how weather conditions affect animal populations is essential to foresee population changes in times of global climate shifts. However, assessing year-round weather impacts on demographic parameters is hampered in migratory animals due to often unknown occurrence in space and time. We addressed this by coupling tracking and weather data to explain extensive variation in apparent survival across 19 years in a northern European population of little ringed plovers (Charadrius dubius). Over 90% (n = 21) of tracked individuals followed migration routes along the Indo-European flyway to south India. Building on capture–recapture histories of nearly 1400 individuals, we found that between-year variation in precipitation during post-breeding staging in northern South Asia explained 47% of variation in apparent adult survival. Overall, the intensity of the monsoon in South Asia explained 31–33% of variability in apparent survival. In contrast, weather conditions in breeding, final non-breeding and pre-breeding quarters appeared less important in this species. The integration of multi-source data seems essential for identifying key regions and periods limiting population growth, for forecasting future changes and targeting conservation efforts.

The costs and benefits of dispersal are often assessed by comparing fitness between dispersing and non-dispersing individuals. Importantly, individuals that disperse between their natal and first breeding site may subsequently be more likely to disperse between breeding sites compared to those that remained philopatric to their natal site. Such within-individual consistency in dispersal behaviour can bias local survival estimation, and thus the survival comparison between dispersing and non-dispersing individuals, if breeding dispersal leads to permanent emigration from the study area. We examined whether adult survival correlates with natal dispersal in a migratory shorebird, the southern dunlin Calidris alpina schinzii, in two isolated patchy populations where permanent emigration is expected to be extremely rare. To assess whether local adult survival could be biased by non-random breeding dispersal, we analysed between-patch breeding dispersal probability and quantified within-individual consistency in dispersal. Among females, natal dispersers were more likely to disperse again as adults compared to non-dispersers, while no difference was observed in males which were always highly site faithful. Yet, adult survival did not differ between natal dispersing and non-dispersing individuals in either sex. Breeding dispersal probability was higher in failed compared to successful breeders. Breeding dispersal often resulted in dispersal back to the natal patch, i.e. delayed natal philopatry. Our results suggest no survival costs of dispersal after first reproduction. Despite individual consistency, survival estimates of dispersing individuals were not biased because nearly all available breeding habitat was covered. We show that consistency in dispersal can occur even in site faithful species like the southern dunlin. Studies of the effects of dispersal on survival should therefore account for within-individual consistency in dispersal if not all available bre

Generalist predators using small mammals as their primary prey are suggested to shift hunting alternative prey such as bird nests, when small mammals are in short supply (the alternative prey hypothesis, APH). Nest survival and survival of young individuals should be positively linked to small mammal abundance and negatively linked to predator abundance, but little information exists from survival of chicks, especially until recruitment. We test these predictions of the APH using 13 years (2002–2014) of life history data from a ground nesting shorebird breeding on coastal meadows. We use small mammal abundance in the previous autumn as a proxy for spring predator abundance, mainly of mammalian predators. We examine whether small mammal abundance in the spring and previous autumn explain annual variation in nest survival from depredation and local recruitment of the southern dunlin Calidris alpina schinzii. As predicted by the APH, survival from nest predation was positively linked to spring small mammal abundance and negatively linked to autumn small mammal abundance. Importantly, local recruitment showed opposite responses. This counterintuitive result may be explained by density-dependent survival. When nest depredation rates are low, predators may show stronger numerical and functional responses to high shorebird chick abundance on coastal meadows, whereas in years of high nest depredation, few hatching chicks lure fewer predators. The opposite effects on nest and local recruitment demonstrate the diverse mechanisms by which population size variation in primary prey can affect dynamics of alternative prey populations.

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) constitutes the lowest metabolic rate in a resting animal and is, therefore, considered to reflect the energetic cost of maintenance in endotherms. BMR is a reversible plastic trait that changes with environmental and ecological circumstances, albeit being heritable and susceptible to selection. Inter-individual variation within populations of small birds is substantial, and while many of the drivers of such variation have been identified, many remain unexplained. We studied winter BMR variation of juveniles over a 15-year period in a wild population of great tits Parus major at the northern border of their distribution. BMR during winter consistently changed between years, even after controlling for environmental factors, suggestive of a non-reversible developmental plasticity shaping the adult metabolic phenotype. BMR in cohorts of wintering great tits varied among winters as a response to minimum ambient temperatures experienced early in life, during the prehatching period. This developmental plasticity might be adaptive if temperatures experienced by growing embryos would metabolically prime them to an environment that they will likely encounter in future life. However, in line with a more unpredictable future climate, the risk of phenotype-environment mismatch is likely to lead to certain cohorts being poorly adapted to prevailing winter conditions, resulting in wider annual fluctuations in population size.

I studied the rare and threatened lesser white-fronted goose (Anser erythropus), abbreviated LWfG in 1989–1996 in sub-arctic Finnish Lapland (I). The studied subpopulation consisted of 2–15 breeding pairs annually. A total of 30 broods were observed with an average of 2.9 goslings per brood. The 1st year survival of tagged 10 geese was low. Satellite locations, recoveries and re-sightings were received from NW Russia, Kazakhstan and the Azov Sea area. Cold spells had a negative, and the sum of effective temperatures by 5 July a positive influence on reproduction. Habitat selection (II) was studied in the same area. LWfG preferred the vicinity of water, flat close-range landscape, low forest height and intermediate relative altitudes. LWfG aggregated in the vicinity of conspecifics within the preferred habitats. The averaged RSF model assigned observation and random points correctly with 83.4% success. Locations of historical observations of LWfG matched the predicted distribution of breeding sites. (III) Spring migration patterns on the Bothnian Bay coast of LWfG were examined in 1907–1916 and 1949–2014 and the taiga bean goose (Anser fabalis fabalis) in 1975–2014. Arrival of the short-distance migrant A. fabalis advanced more and earlier than the long-distance migrant A. erythropus, 10.9 days since late 1980’s vs. 5.3 days since the beginning of the 2000’s. In the LWfG, the best model for explaining variation in timing included global and local temperatures, in A. fabalis global and local temperatures and winter NAO. Increasing global temperatures seem to explain trends in both. In the spring staging places of the Bothnian Bay almost all dietary items of the LWfG were Monocotyledons, mostly grasses growing in extensive sea-shore meadows (IV). Only Phragmites, Festuca and possibly Triglochin palustris were preferred. Lesser White-fronts preferred extensive natural meadows. Mowing and grazing benefit the restoration of habitats. Genetic structuring of the LW, Tiivistelmä Tutkin uhanalaisen kiljuhanhen (Anser erythropus) pientä, 2–15 parin pesimäpopulaatiota vuosina 1989–1996 Tunturi-Lapissa (I). Yhteensä näimme 30 poikuetta, joissa oli keskimäärin 2,9 poikasta. Rengastettujen ja lähettimillä varustettujen kiljuhanhien ensimmäisen vuoden säilyvyys oli alhainen kertoen kovasta metsästyspaineesta muuttomatkoilla. Paikannuksia ja löytöjä saatiin Luoteis-Venäjältä, Kazakstanista ja Asovanmereltä. Takatalvilla oli negatiivinen ja alkukesän tehoisalla lämpösummalla positiivinen vaikutus lisääntymiseen. Kiljuhanhet suosivat veden läheisyyttä, laakeaa lähimaastoa, matalaa pensasmaista koivikkoa ja lieviä suhteellisia korkeuseroja sekä lajin toisten parien läheisyyttä (II). Resurssienvalintamallin havainto- ja satunnaispisteet osuivat kohdalleen 83,4 %:n todennäköisyydellä ja historialliset havainnot hyvin mallin ennustamille pesimäalueille. Kevätmuuttoa tutkittiin Perämerellä 1907–1916 ja 1949–2014 kilju- ja 1975–2014 taigametsähanhella (Anser fabalis fabalis) (III). Lyhyenmatkan-muuttaja metsähanhen muutto aikaistui enemmän ja varhaisemmin kuin pitemmän matkan muuttaja kiljuhanhen, 10,9 vuorokautta 1980-luvun lopun jälkeen, vs. 5,3 päivää 2000-luvun alun jälkeen. Kiljuhanhella parhaassa vaihtelun selittävässä mallissa olivat globaalit ja paikalliset lämpötilat, metsähanhella myös talven NAO. Maapallon kohoavat lämpötilat selittävät aikaistumisen molemmilla. Kiljuhanhen Perämeren kevätlevähdyspaikkojen ravinto (IV) koostui yksisirkkaisista, etupäässä heinistä. Kiljuhanhi suosi järviruokoa, punanataa ja ehkä paljon harvinaisempaa hentosuolaketta. Kiljuhanhi ei ole ravintospesialisti, mutta suosii avarimpia rantaniittyjä. Niitto ja laidunnus ylläpitävät elinympäristöä. Maailmankannan geneettistä rakennetta (V) tutkittiin Fennoskandiasta Itä-Aasiaan. Mitokondrio-DNA:n kontrollialueen pätkä sekvensoitiin 110 yksilöstä. 15 haplotyyppiä jakaantuivat kahteen päälinjaan. Molekyylivarianssissa läntisen Venäjän – Keski-Siperian ja Itä-Aasi

The social and health care educator’s role in educating future professionals need to be stronger emphasised and deserves international recognition. The purpose of this study was to develop and test an empirical model of social and health care educators’ competence in higher and professional education. The presented research employed a cross-sectional study design. Data were collected using HeSoEduCo-instrument from 28 educational institutions in Finland. The model was empirically tested with confirmatory factor analysis through Structural Equation Modelling that applied the Full Imputation Maximum Likelihood estimator. A total of 422 social and health care educators participated in the study. The empirical model of social and health care educators including eight competence areas: leadership and management, collaboration and societal, evidence-based practice, subject and curriculum, mentoring students in professional competence development, student-centred pedagogy, digital collaborative learning, and cultural and linguistic diversity. All of the connections between concepts of the empirical model were found to be statistically significant. There were strong connections between most of the identified competence concepts; however, two weak connections were found, namely, the link between competence in evidence-based practice and competence in subject and curriculum, along with the link between competence in digital collaborative learning and competence in student-centred pedagogy. The presented empirical model can help stakeholders identify which areas of social and health care educators’ curricula should be further developed. The model is also relevant for improving continuous education, allowing educators to assess their competence levels and evaluating educators’ performance at the organisational level.

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) constitutes the lowest metabolic rate in a resting animal and is, therefore, considered to reflect the energetic cost of maintenance in endotherms. BMR is a reversible plastic trait that changes with environmental and ecological circumstances, albeit being heritable and susceptible to selection. Inter-individual variation within populations of small birds is substantial, and while many of the drivers of such variation have been identified, many remain unexplained. We studied winter BMR variation of juveniles over a 15-year period in a wild population of great tits Parus major at the northern border of their distribution. BMR during winter consistently changed between years, even after controlling for environmental factors, suggestive of a non-reversible developmental plasticity shaping the adult metabolic phenotype. BMR in cohorts of wintering great tits varied among winters as a response to minimum ambient temperatures experienced early in life, during the prehatching period. This developmental plasticity might be adaptive if temperatures experienced by growing embryos would metabolically prime them to an environment that they will likely encounter in future life. However, in line with a more unpredictable future climate, the risk of phenotype-environment mismatch is likely to lead to certain cohorts being poorly adapted to prevailing winter conditions, resulting in wider annual fluctuations in population size.

Background: This study examined whether hemoglobin (Hb) and white blood cell count (WBC) associate with body adiposity and other cardiometabolic risk factors, as well as accelerometer-measured sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA), when adjusted for body mass index (BMI). Methods: The cross-sectional analysis included 144 participants (42 men) with a mean age of 57.0 years and a mean BMI of 31.7 kg/m2. SB and standing time, breaks in sedentary time and PA were measured during four consecutive weeks with hip-worn accelerometers. A fasting blood sample was collected from each participant during the 4-week measurement period and analyzed using Sysmex XN and Cobas 8000 c702 analyzers. Associations of WBC, Hb and other red blood cell markers with cardiometabolic risk factors and physical activity were examined by Pearson’s partial correlation coefficient test and with linear mixed regression models. Results: In sex- and age-adjusted correlation analyses both BMI and waist circumference correlated positively with Hb, WBC, red blood cell count (RBC), and hematocrit. Hb was also positively correlated with systolic blood pressure, insulin resistance scores, liver enzymes, LDL, and triglyceride levels. Sedentary time correlated positively with WBC, whereas standing time correlated negatively with WBC. Lying time correlated positively with WBC, RBC, hematocrit, and Hb. Regarding SB and PA measures, only the association between lying time and RBC remained significant after adjustment for the BMI. Conclusion: We conclude that body adiposity, rather than components of SB or PA, associates with Hb levels and WBC, which cluster with general metabolic derangement. © 2022 by the authors.

The bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis is the leading cause of bacterial sexually transmitted infection worldwide. When left untreated, chlamydial infections can lead to severe complications, such as infertility. Lack in current prevention and management due to its asymptomatic course of infection highlight the need for an effective vaccine against chlamydia. There is no vaccine at present to protect against chlamydia, but research is ongoing. A research group at Örebro University has developed a protein antigen candidate. This project focused on the production of the candidate, here called Protein X, for preclinical trials. This included optimising production in Escherichia coli to maximise formation of soluble protein, optimising purification, buffer exchange and removal of His-tag. It was found that formation of soluble protein was favoured in lower expression temperatures. Furthermore, purification was performed on soluble and insoluble protein fractions using immobilised metal affinity chromatography. However, issues with inefficient binding to the resin and purity could not be solved and further optimisation is needed. Buffers were tested to find a suitable buffer for preclinical experiments, but the protein precipitated in all buffers. It was however found that protein from the insoluble fraction dissolved in pure water. Lastly, removal of the His-tag was performed with a non-enzymatic method that utilises nickel ions instead of expensive proteases. Efficient removal was however not achieved and enzymatic methods may be considered instead. In conclusion, this project highlighted issues in the production of Protein X and may guide the research group towards improving this process for efficient preclinical preparations.