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Aim: Some previous studies suggest that the consumption of tobacco and nicotine products overall declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the results are mixed. We investigated tobacco and nicotine product sales in Finland, including the sales of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). Our particular focus was on nicotine pouches used as NRT. We aimed to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sales of tobacco and NRT products in 2020 by comparing the sales to the previous year. Methods: The data were derived from a large sales group (S group) in Finland, representing 46% of the market share in grocery trade in 2020. The gross weekly sales of tobacco (cigarettes, loose tobacco) and NRT (patches, inhalers, tablets, gum and "other", consisting mainly of nicotine pouches) were retrieved from February to December 2020 from 1062 points of sale throughout the country and compared to the same period in 2019. Results: During this period, there was a significant increase in cigarette sales. Moreover, the sales of NRT were significantly higher throughout 2020 compared with 2019. Specifically, the sales of nicotine pouches sold as NRT increased, especially after the travel restrictions in Finland were initiated and the national boundaries closed in the spring of 2020. Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland, the sales of cigarettes and NRT products increased, especially those of nicotine pouches sold as NRT. Our findings call for further research to reveal the factors leading to this increase and to determine whether the situation is long-standing., Competing Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Large multi-site studies that combine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data across research sites present exceptional opportunities to advance neuroscience research. However, scanner or site variability and non-standardised image acquisition protocols, data processing and analysis pipelines can adversely affect the reliability and repeatability of MRI derived brain measures. We implemented a standardised MRI protocol based on that used in the Adolescent Brain Cognition Development (ABCD) Ⓡ study in two sites, and across four MRI scanners. Twice repeated measurements of a single healthy volunteer were obtained in two sites and in four 3T MRI scanners (vendors: Siemens, Philips, and GE). Imaging data included anatomical scans (T1 weighted, T2 weighted), diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and resting state functional MRI (rs-fMRI). Standardised containerized pipelines were utilised to pre-process the data and different image quality metrics and test-retest variability of different brain metrics were evaluated. The implementation of the MRI protocols was possible with minor adjustments in acquisition (e.g. repetition time (TR), higher b-values) and exporting (DICOM formats) of images due to different technical performance of the scanners. This study provides practical insights into the implementation of standardised sequences and data processing for multisite studies, showcase the benefits of containerised preprocessing tools, and highlights the need for careful optimisation of multisite image acquisition., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or Sconpersonal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Difficulties in recovery persisting for months have been reported in patients with severe COVID-19. Our aim was to investigate respiratory and overall recovery one year after hospital discharge., Methods: Finnish patients hospitalised due to COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic were recruited to a survey of symptoms, quality of life (RAND-36), work status, and health care use one year after hospital discharge. Patients with lung function test and chest x-ray results available from 3-6 months after hospital discharge underwent spirometry and a chest x-ray at one year., Results: Ninety-six patients responded to the one-year survey, 32 underwent spirometry and 32 a chest x-ray. Of those working full-time before COVID-19, median duration of sick leave was 40 days and 10% had not returned to work at one year. Health-care service use related to COVID-19 after discharge was reported by 79%, 50% using primary care, 34% occupational health care and 32% specialist care, respectively. Tiredness, fatigue, and physical difficulties increased in follow-up ( p  = 0.022-0.033). Quality of life did not change. Chest x-ray abnormalities decreased in follow-up, with an abnormal chest x-ray in 58% at 3-6 months and 25% at one year. A restrictive spirometry pattern was more common at one year (16 vs. 34%, p  = 0.014)., Conclusions: Prolonged symptoms are common, some patients have decreased lung function, and a small minority of patients still have not returned to work one year after severe COVID-19. This calls for further research into the underlying causes and risk factors for prolonged recovery.

The study examined the effect of reciprocal teaching on students' reading comprehension, reading fluency, and metacognitive knowledge of reading strategies, especially among students with learning difficulties. The special focus was to assess how the increase in reading fluency and metacognitive knowledge during the intervention contributes to the reading comprehension outcome. The sample consisted of 301 Grade 3 students, of whom 77 had learning difficulties. Analyzes of (co)variances were used for estimating the effects of reciprocal teaching on the development of reading comprehension, reading fluency, and metacognitive knowledge. Multigroup path analysis was used for testing the effect of increase in reading fluency and metacognitive knowledge on reading comprehension. We found reciprocal teaching had a positive effect on reading comprehension, especially for students with learning difficulties. Reading fluency and metacognitive knowledge improved significantly, but similarly in both the intervention and control groups. However, the increase in metacognitive knowledge only contributed to reading comprehension in the intervention group, not in the control group. The study sheds light on the cognitive and metacognitive mechanisms underlying students' reading comprehension process, emphasizing metacognitive knowledge and especially the systematic practice of reading strategies as key factors in improving reading comprehension., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Juhkam, Jõgi, Soodla and Aro.)

The aim of the study was to examine the accuracy of Estonian teachers' and support specialists' judgements of students' spelling skills and reading fluency and to investigate the provision of special education services to students as a factor influencing teachers' judgements. The sample included 11 classroom teachers, 8 support specialists, and 187 third-grade students. The judgements were collected using scales, and students' literacy skills were assessed using group and individual tests. The results indicated that judgements of reading fluency were less accurate than those of spelling skills. In addition, the provision of special education services influenced teachers' judgements, directing them to identify students in need of help, even if the teacher did not initially assign the student to the low-skilled group. Unexpectedly, teachers' judgements of the skills of students receiving special education services were slightly more accurate than support specialists' judgements., (© 2022 The Authors. Dyslexia published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Studies have found math anxiety and achievement to be related from the beginning of formal schooling, but the knowledge regarding the direction of the relationship is vague. The purpose of the present study was to study this relationship. We investigated math anxiety from two points of view: trait and state anxiety. In the first substudy, we investigated the longitudinal relationship between math anxiety and performance from sixth to seventh grade (n = 848) with cross-lagged modeling. In the second substudy, we investigated the situational relationship of anxiety and performance by giving the participants (n = 149) challenging and nonchallenging math tasks adapted to their skill level, and then examining the association between anxiety and the performance. The results suggest that math anxiety has a small longitudinal effect on performance: High anxiety in sixth grade predicted low performance in seventh grade. Anxiety also had a situational association with performance: when anxiety was aroused, the participants performed more poorly compared to their skill level. The results adduce the two-fold effect of anxiety on achievement: math anxiety seems to have both a real-time association with performance and a long-term effect on the development of basic arithmetic skills., (© 2022 The Authors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of New York Academy of Sciences.)

Background: The significant morbidity caused by COVID-19 necessitates further understanding of long-term recovery. Our aim was to evaluate long-term lung function, exercise capacity, and radiological findings in patients after critical COVID-19., Methods: Patients who received treatment in ICU for COVID-19 between March 2020 and January 2021 underwent pulmonary function tests, a 6MWD and CXR 6 months after hospital discharge., Results: A restrictive ventilatory defect was found in 35% (23/65) and an impaired diffusing capacity in 52% (32/62) at 6 months. The 6-minute walk distance was reduced in 33% (18/55), and 7% (4/55) of the patients had reduced exercise capacity. Chest X-ray was abnormal in 78% (52/67) at 6 months after hospital discharge., Conclusion: A significant number of patients had persisting lung function impairment and radiological abnormalities at 6 months after critical COVID-19. Reduced exercise capacity was rare., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: The long-term sequelae after COVID-19 are not yet fully known. Our aim was to evaluate subjective symptoms and quality of life in Finnish hospitalized COVID-19 patients at six months follow-up., Methods: Hospitalised adult patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from March to June 2020 were recruited. We conducted a survey on demographics and comorbidities, ten specific symptoms, and a RAND-36 quality of life questionnaire six months after hospital discharge. We collected clinical data manually from medical records., Results: 101 patients (54 male) out of 246 invited completed the survey. Their median age was 60 years, and the mean hospital length of stay was 15 d. Most patients (90%) experienced symptoms, the most common of which were tiredness (88%), fatigue (79%), sleeping problems (76%), and dyspnoea (70%). In regard to gender, women showed a shorter time of hospitalization ( p  = .048) and lower peak flow of supplementary oxygen ( p  = .043). Women reported more frequently dyspnoea, fatigue, tiredness, sleeping problems, and mood problems ( p  = .008-.033), and a lower quality of life in seven of eight dimensions ( p  < .001-.015). Five explanatory variables for the reduced quality of life were identified in multivariate analysis: age, female sex, BMI, sleep apnoea, and duration of mechanical ventilation. Of the patients who worked full-time before COVID-19, 11% had not returned to work., Conclusions: Most patients experienced symptoms six months after hospital discharge. Women reported more symptoms and a lower quality of life than men. These findings highlight the differences in recovery between men and women and call for active rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients.