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The atmosphere of Mars has been studied for many years now by a long series of missions. The paper focuses on the results obtained by two of these that are led by European researchers overseen by the European Space Agency, i.e., Mars Express which was launched in 2003 and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter launched in 2016. Both missions are still providing high-quality data about the atmosphere of Mars, such as abundances of its key species – CO2, CO, H2O, O3 - playing an important role in the different cycles existing on the planet, as well as other trace gases – O2 (mixing ratio of 3.1 to 5.8 × 10−3 above 90 km), the recently discovered HCl (up to 4 ppbv below 30 km), and the elusive CH4 (stringent detection limit of 20 pptv). Some instruments are also sensitive enough to provide information on isotopologues of the key elements and have delivered for some of these the first and unique vertical profiles available today ( δ 13 C and δ 18 O in CO2 and CO, D/H, δ 17 O and δ 18 O in water vapour). The paper retraces the history of the exploration of the Martian atmosphere putting the results from both missions in perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European Space Agency's Mars Express (MEX) has been orbiting Mars for 20 years and its instruments have provided a plethora of observations of atmospheric dust and clouds. These observations have been analysed to produce many unique views of the processes leading to dust lifting and cloud formation, and a full picture of the climatologies of dust and clouds has emerged. Moreover, the orbit of MEX enables viewing the planet at many local times, giving a unique access to the diurnal variations of the atmosphere. This article provides an overview of the observations of dust and clouds on Mars by MEX, complemented by the Trace Gas Orbiter that has been accompanying MEX on orbit for some years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Launched on 2 June 2003 and arriving at Mars on 25 December 2003 after a 7-month interplanetary cruise, Mars Express was the European Space Agency's first mission to arrive at another planet. After more than 20 years in orbit, the spacecraft and science payload remain in good health and the mission has become the second oldest operational planetary orbiter after Mars Odyssey. This contribution summarizes the Mars Express mission operations, science planning and data archiving systems, processes, and teams that are necessary to run the mission, plan the scientific observations, and execute all necessary commands. It also describes the data download, the ground processing and distribution to the scientific community for the study and analysis of Mars sub-surface, surface, atmosphere, magnetosphere, and moons. This manuscript also describes the main challenges throughout the history of the mission, including several potentially mission-ending anomalies. We summarize the evolution of the ground segment to provide new capabilities not envisaged before launch, whilst simultaneously maintaining or even increasing the quality and quantity of scientific data generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to David Hume values do not belong to the world of facts and cannot be derived from facts. However, Hume's argument is based on questionable presumptions. His conception of experience as sense perception is erroneous. On contemporary standards it is simply false because sense organs are not channels that passively receive inputs from the world. It is too narrow as it does not take the role of action into account. Further, Hume's argument is based on the dichotomy between external and internal. Mind is strictly separated from the external world of facts. This entails that experiences, perceptions and ideas do not belong to the world of facts. Causality and values cannot be literally perceived. Therefore they are beyond the scope of empirical knowledge. Hume's presumptions can be rejected. The consequence is that mind is embodied, and bodies belong to the world of facts. And so do embodied minds. Broadening the notion of experience brings causality and values within the scope of experience. They are experienced on a daily basis in various practices. Values related to vital needs are based on biological facts. More generally, the relation of facts and values can be analyzed if one rejects the hidden causes of perceptions as the object of knowledge. The alternative is the operational conception of knowledge. To know is to know what to do in order to proceed from a problematic situation to future circumstances where the problems are solved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Protected areas (PA) are central to biodiversity, but their efficiency is challenged by human-induced habitat loss and fragmentation. In the Fennoscandian boreal region, forestry with clearcutting is a threat to biodiversity causing the loss of mature forest elements and deterioration of ecological processes in forest landscapes, ultimately affecting PAs via declined structural connectivity. This paper aims to (1) determine PAs with high, red-listed species concentrations; (2) estimate the change in forest habitat around these PAs on different spatial scales; and (3) determine if forest management intensity is higher around biologically most valuable PAs. Occurrences of red-listed forest-dwelling species in Finland were used to identify PAs harbouring these species and to produce site-specific importance indices. CORINE landcover data was used as a baseline for the distribution of forests to assess the cover of clear-cuttings from 2001 to 2019 with the Global Forest Change (GFC) data set in three buffer areas around the PAs with occurrences of red-listed species. Results: The largest proportion of clear-cuts occurred in 1 km and 10 km buffers around the PAs in the southern and middle boreal zones, being ca. 20%. This indicates that the forest habitat is degrading fast at regional and landscape levels. On the positive side, the change in forest cover was lower around the biologically most important PAs compared to other PAs with red-listed species. Conclusions: Open and free satellite-data based assessments of the cover and change of forests provide reliable estimates about the rates at which mature and old-growth forests are being converted into young managed ones in Finland mainly via clear-cuts on different scales around PAs. The rate of clear-cuts was lowest in adjacent buffer areas next to the most species-rich PAs, which provides opportunities for biodiversity conservation efforts to be targeted to the remaining mature and old-growth forests found in the vicinity of these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling of textiles is of importance due to the large amount of waste generated from the increasing consumption and use worldwide. Cotton-rich pre-consumer textiles are considered as potential raw material for production of man-made regenerated fibres, but demands purification from the blends with synthetic fibres as well as the dyes and finishing chemicals. In this study we explore the use of different pre-treatments of pre-consumer textiles to meet specific parameters for production of fibres in the cold NaOH(aq) or cellulose carbamate process. The pre-treatments consisted of different bleaching sequences and were performed on both uncoloured and coloured pre-consumer textiles. For the uncoloured textile, degree of polymerisation and amount of inorganic content was efficiently reduced making the material suitable for both the cold NaOH(aq) and the cellulose carbamate process. In case of the coloured textile, the pre-treatments were able to remove the dye and decrease the inorganic content as well as reduce the degree of polymerisation but only sufficiently enough for production of fibres in the cellulose carbamate process. The work was able to prove a fibre-to-fibre concept while further optimisation of the regeneration steps is expected to improve the mechanical properties of the produced fibres in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Long-term usage of the antiarrhythmic drug digoxin has been connected to lowered risk of prostate cancer. A recent study has suggested that beta-blockers might also have similar risk-decreasing effects. We evaluated the association between use of digoxin, beta-blocker sotalol, and other antiarrhythmic drugs and prostate cancer risk in a retrospective cohort study.Methods: Our study population consisted of men in the Finnish Prostate Cancer Screening Trial during 1996-2012 (n = 78,615). During median follow-up of 12 years, 6,639 prostate cancer cases were diagnosed. The national prescription database was the source of the information of antiarrhythmic drug purchases. Data were analyzed using Cox regression method with medication use as a time-dependent variable.Results: No association was found for overall prostate cancer risk with antiarrhythmic drug use (HR 1.05 95% CI 0.94-1.18). Neither sotalol (HR 0.97 95% CI 0.76-1.24) nor digoxin (HR 1.01 95% CI 0.87-1.16) users had a decreased risk of prostate cancer. Similar results were obtained for high-grade (Gleason 7-10) and metastatic prostate cancer. Nevertheless, the risk estimates for Gleason 7-10 prostate cancer tended to decrease by duration of digoxin use (p for trend = 0.052), suggesting that the drug may reduce the risk in long-term usage (HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.49-1.03). In analysis stratified by screening trial arm, the protective association against Gleason 7-10 disease was observed only in the screening arm (HR 0.31, 95% CI 0.12-0.84 for men who had used digoxin for 5 years or longer).Conclusion: Digoxin or other antiarrhythmic drugs are not associated with any clear decrease in prostate cancer risk. However, digoxin might have a benefit in long-term use by reducing risk of high-grade disease. Further research will be needed to evaluate possible effects on prostate cancer survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress has become an important health problem, but existing stress detectors are inconvenient in long-term real-life use because users either have to wear dedicated devices or expend notable interaction efforts in system adaptation to specifics of each person. Adaptation is necessary because individuals significantly differ in their perception of stress and stress responses, but typical adaptation employs supervised learning methods and hence requires fairly large sets of labelled data (i.e. information on whether each reporting period was stressful or not) from every user. To address these problems, we propose a novel unsupervised stress detector, based on using a smartphone as the only device and using discrete hidden Markov models (HMM) with maximum posterior marginal (MPM) decisions for analysis of phone data. Our detector requires neither additional hardware nor data labelling and hence is truly unobtrusive and suitable for lifelong use. Its accuracy was evaluated using two real-life datasets: in the first case, adaptation was based on very short (a few days) phone interaction histories of each individual, and in the second case—on longer histories. In these tests, the proposed HMM-MPM achieved 59 and 70% accuracies, respectively, which is comparable with results of fully supervised methods, reported by other works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Martian mesosphere and thermosphere, the region above about 60 km, is not the primary target of the ExoMars 2016 mission but its Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) can explore it and address many interesting issues, either in-situ during the aerobraking period or remotely during the regular mission. In the aerobraking phase TGO peeks into thermospheric densities and temperatures, in a broad range of latitudes and during a long continuous period. TGO carries two instruments designed for the detection of trace species, NOMAD and ACS, which will use the solar occultation technique. Their regular sounding at the terminator up to very high altitudes in many different molecular bands will represent the first time that an extensive and precise dataset of densities and hopefully temperatures are obtained at those altitudes and local times on Mars. But there are additional capabilities in TGO for studying the upper atmosphere of Mars, and we review them briefly. Our simulations suggest that airglow emissions from the UV to the IR might be observed outside the terminator. If eventually confirmed from orbit, they would supply new information about atmospheric dynamics and variability. However, their optimal exploitation requires a special spacecraft pointing, currently not considered in the regular operations but feasible in our opinion. We discuss the synergy between the TGO instruments, specially the wide spectral range achieved by combining them. We also encourage coordinated operations with other Mars-observing missions capable of supplying simultaneous measurements of its upper atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in interplanetary dust modelling provide much improved estimates of the fluxes of cosmic dust particles into planetary (and lunar) atmospheres throughout the solar system. Combining the dust particle size and velocity distributions with new chemical ablation models enables the injection rates of individual elements to be predicted as a function of location and time. This information is essential for understanding a variety of atmospheric impacts, including: the formation of layers of metal atoms and ions; meteoric smoke particles and ice cloud nucleation; perturbations to atmospheric gas-phase chemistry; and the effects of the surface deposition of micrometeorites and cosmic spherules. There is discussion of impacts on all the planets, as well as on Pluto, Triton and Titan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We derived estimates of overdiagnosis by polygenic risk groups and examined whether polygenic risk-stratified screening for prostate cancer reduces overdiagnosis.Methods: We calculated the polygenic risk score based on genotypes of 66 known prostate cancer loci for 4967 men from the Finnish section of the European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer. We stratified the 72 072 men in the trial into those with polygenic risk below and above the median. Using a maximum likelihood method based on interval cancers, we estimated the mean sojourn time (MST) and episode sensitivity. For each polygenic risk group, we estimated the proportion of screen-detected cancers that are likely to be overdiagnosed from the difference between the observed and expected number of screen-detected cancers.Results: Of the prostate cancers, 74% occurred among men with polygenic risk above population median. The sensitivity was 0.55 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.45-0.65) and MST 6.3 (95% CI 4.2-8.3) years. The overall overdiagnosis was 42% (95% CI 37-52) of the screen-detected cancers, with 58% (95% CI 54-65) in men with the lower and 37% (95% CI 31-47) in those with higher polygenic risk.Conclusion: Targeting screening to men at higher polygenic risk could reduce the proportion of cancers overdiagnosed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is evidence that prostate cancer (PC) screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) serum test decreases PC mortality, but screening has adverse effects, such as a high false-positive (FP) rate. We investigated the proportion of FPs in a population-based randomised screening trial in Finland.Methods: Finland is the largest centre in the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer. We have completed three screening rounds with a 4-year screening interval (mean follow-up time 9.2 years) using a PSA cutoff level of 4.0 ng ml(-1); in addition, men with PSA 3.0-3.9 and a positive auxiliary test were referred. An FP result was defined as a positive screening result without cancer in biopsy within 1 year from the screening test.Results: The proportion of FP screening results varied from 3.3 to 12.1% per round. Of the screened men, 12.5% had at least one FP during three rounds. The risk of next-round PC following an FP result was 12.3-19.7 vs 1.4-3.7% following a screen-negative result (depending on the screening round), risk ratio 3.6-9.9. More than half of the men with one FP result had another one at a subsequent screen. Men with an FP result were 1.5 to 2.0 times more likely to not participate in subsequent rounds compared with men with a normal screening result (21.6-29.6 vs 14.0-16.7%).Conclusion: An FP result is a common adverse effect of PC screening and affects at least every eighth man screened repeatedly, even when using a relatively high cutoff level. False-positive men constitute a special group that receives unnecessary interventions but may harbour missed cancers. New strategies are needed for risk stratification in PC screening to minimise the proportion of FP men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European Union has set a 70 % recycling goal for construction and demolition waste by 2020. In Finland, for example, 40 % of this waste is wood. The purpose of this study was to test the technical feasibility of pulping contaminated wood waste from the construction industry and using such pulps for fibre-based products outside of the conventional paper industry. It was found out that both chemical and thermo-mechanical pulping, and mechanical milling can be used for pulping contaminated wood waste chips received from construction waste treatment plant. The resulting pulps were then utilized successfully to prepare product demonstrations (wood fibre filaments and thick foam formed panel structures). There are no technical restraints for pulping contaminated construction wood waste, and the resulting pulp quality depends on the shape and size of the woodchips, dry content, wood species and type of contaminants. Although wood treated with copper preservatives can set special safety and process requirements, it does not necessarily impair the key properties of the final product. Graphical Abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to study the activity and functionality of laccase incorporated into laboratory-coated surface-sized paper. The effects of the physicochemical properties of the studied sized paper grades (permeability, porosity, and wetting) on the enzyme activity were studied. The enzymatic activity of laccase was measured either by following the oxidation of the substrate (mediator) with spectrophotometry or by monitoring the reduction of oxygen by luminescence quenching. The results showed that the initial activity of laccase incorporated into the coating did not decrease during the first 4 weeks and the activity was partly preserved even after 6 months. The functionality of the enzyme in sized papers was examined using 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) as the substrate. ABTS was inkjet-printed on the sized paper, and the reaction between laccase and ABTS appeared as a color change. The most important factor affecting the color response was the enzyme activity. Other beneficial factors affecting the color response were the hygroscopic nature and wettability of the sized paper. The results showed that the fabrication of bioactive paper is possible with a relatively simple strategy, i.e., by incorporation of the biomolecules in the coating formulation (paste). No major investments would be needed to start the production of this kind of environmentally sustainable, low-cost, and lightweight paper-based bio-indicator, e.g., for authentication applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The suitability of paper-based arrays for biofilm formation studies by Staphylococcus aureus is demonstrated. Laboratory-coated papers with different physicochemical properties were used as substrates. The array platform was fabricated by patterning the coated papers with vinyl-substituted polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) -based ink. The affinity of bacteria onto the flexographically printed hydrophobic and smooth PDMS film was very low whereas bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation occurred preferentially on the unprinted areas, i.e. in the reaction arrays. The concentration of the attached bacteria was quantified by determining the viable colony forming unit (CFU/cm) numbers. The distribution and the extent of surface coverage of the biofilms were determined by atomic force microscopy. In static conditions, the highest bacterial concentration and most highly organized biofilms were observed on substrates with high polarity. On a rough paper surface with low polarity, the biofilm formation was most hindered. Biofilms were effectively removed from a polar substrate upon exposure to (+)-dehydroabietic acid, an anti-biofilm compound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:The association between nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and prostate cancer risk remains controversial. We examined the risk among NSAID users in 78 615 men in the Finnish Prostate Cancer Screening Trial.Methods:We obtained information on NSAID prescription usage from Finnish nationwide prescription database and on over-the-counter use by a questionnaire. Prostate cancer cases were identified from the Finnish Cancer Registry.Results:Prostate cancer risk was elevated among current NSAID prescription users irrespective of screening (hazard ratio (HR)=1.45, confidence interval (95% CI)=1.33-1.59 and HR=1.71, 95% CI=1.58-1.86 in the screening and control arm, respectively), but not for previous use of NSAIDs. The risk increase was similar among coxib and acetaminophen current users, and stronger for metastatic prostate cancer (HR=2.41, 95% CI=1.59-3.67 and HR=3.44, 95% CI=2.60-4.55 in the screening and control arm, respectively). Previous use of NSAIDs, aspirin use and over-the-counter NSAID usage were not associated with prostate cancer.Conclusions:Differing association for current and previous use suggests that the risk increase is unlikely to be directly caused by the medication, but may be due to the conditions indicating NSAID prescription usage, such as symptoms of undiagnosed prostate cancer. To reduce inconsistency between the study outcomes, future epidemiological studies on NSAID use and prostate cancer risk should assess the indications for NSAID usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eighteen novel microsatellite markers for European Beech, Fagus sylvatica, were developed using next-generation sequencing technique. Subsequently, four multiplex PCRs were established for the fast and cost-effective use of the primers. In 60 individuals, we found 3-12 alleles per locus, an expected and observed heterozygosity of 0.445-0.821 and 0.250-0.867, respectively. Fixation index was significant in three loci. Yet, if these measures were jointly estimated with the probability of null alleles, these loci and an additional two indicated low occurrence of null alleles while the overall fixation index was non-significant. The loci were not in linkage disequilibrium. Overall, these markers will be useful for population genetic research to support management decisions for the preservation of this species in changing environmental conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The zebrafish ( Danio rerio) is increasingly becoming an important model species for studies on the genetic and neural mechanisms controlling behaviour and cognition. Here, we utilized a conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm to study social learning in zebrafish. We tested whether social interactions with conditioned demonstrators enhance the ability of focal naïve individuals to learn an associative foraging task. We found that the presence of conditioned demonstrators improved focal fish foraging behaviour through the process of social transmission, whereas the presence of inexperienced demonstrators interfered with the learning of the control focal fish. Our results indicate that zebrafish use social learning for finding food and that this CPP paradigm is an efficient assay to study social learning and memory in zebrafish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fabrication concept for a low-cost sensor device using reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as the sensing material on a porous paper substrate is presented. The sensors were characterized using conductivity and capacitance measurements, atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The effects of different reducing agents, graphene oxide (GO) flake size and film thickness were studied. The sensor was sensitive to NO, and devices based on a thin (10-nm) hydrazine-reduced GO layer had the best sensitivity, reaching a 70 % reduction in resistance after 10 min of exposure to 10 ppm NO. The sensitivity was high enough for the detection of sub-parts per million levels of NO. Desorption of gas molecules, i.e. the recovery of the sensor, could be accelerated by UV irradiation. The structure and preparation of the sensor are simple and up-scalable, allowing their fabrication in bulk quantities, and the fabrication concept can be applied to other materials, too. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider channel state information (CSI) feedback in 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE)-Advanced context. In LTE-Advanced, switching between single user and multiuser transmission schemes is possible without higher layer signaling, which means that the feedback should support both single user and multiuser transmissions. Typically, the CSI feedback consists of a precoding matrix index (PMI) and channel quality indication(s) (CQI). For PMI feedback, we consider different PMI selection schemes and study whether there is a tradeoff between single user and multiuser specific codeword selection metrics. For multiuser CQI, we consider different CQI estimation strategies for two paired users, which is the primary case in LTE-Advanced. The schemes include single user single stream and two stream CQIs and several multiuser specific CQI estimation options. We find that estimating the multiuser CQI as an average over unitary pairs or as the minimum of the signal-to-interference and noise ratios of the unitary pairs offers a stable, well-performing options for different signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) ranges and antenna correlation values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial has shown a protective effect of finasteride on prostate cancer in low-risk men. It is uncertain whether similar results can be expected when finasteride is used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia.Methods: We performed an observational cohort study within the Finnish Prostate Cancer Screening Trial. Using a comprehensive prescription database on medication reimbursements during 1995-2004 of men using finasteride or alpha-blockers for benign prostatic hyperplasia, we evaluated prostate cancer incidence among 23 320 men screened during 1996-2004.Results: Compared to medication non-users, overall prostate cancer incidence was not significantly affected in finasteride users (hazard ratio 0.87; 95% CI 0.63-1.19). Incidence of Gleason 2-6 tumours, however, was decreased among finasteride users (HR 0.59; 95% CI 0.38-0.91), whereas incidence of Gleason 7-10 tumours was unchanged (HR 1.33; 95% CI 0.77-2.30). The protective effect concerned mainly screen-detected tumours. Overall prostate cancer risk was not significantly reduced among alpha-blocker users relative to non-users, but decreased incidence of high-grade tumours was observed (0.55; 95% CI 0.31-0.96).Conclusions: The detection of low-grade, early-stage tumours is decreased among men who use finasteride for symptomatic BPH. The protective effect of finasteride can also be expected in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  This study was initiated due to the lack of experimental data on ship collisions. The feasibility of model-scale ship collision experiments was examined and a series of model-scale ship collision experiments is presented. The theoretical background for the analysis of experiments is given together with the principles of scaling. Proper scaling should assure physical similarity to the large-scale experiments conducted in the Netherlands. The Froude scaling law was followed, resulting in the improper scaling of some forces: the effects of this are discussed. The study concentrates on the dynamics of collisions. The structural response, properly scaled from the large-scale experiments, was modelled using polyurethane foam as the ship’s side structure. The collision process was analysed and the results of model-scale tests, large-scale experiments, and a simple analytical model were compared, showing that there was both quantitative and qualitative agreement in the results of the experiments conducted at different scales. The analytical model yielded good quantitative assessment of the deformation energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specificity constitutes a component of validity for a screening test. The number of false-positive (FP) results has been regarded as one of major shortcomings in prostate cancer screening. We estimated the specificity of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) determination in prostate cancer screening using data from a randomised, controlled screening trial conducted in Finland with 32 000 men in the screening arm. We calculated the specificity as the proportion of men with negative findings (screen negatives, SN) relative to those with negative and FP results (SN/(SN+FP)). A SN finding was defined as either PSA4 ng ml−1 or PSA 3.0–3.9 ng ml−1 combined with a negative ancillary test (digital rectal examination, DRE or free/total, F/T PSA ratio). False positives were those with positive screening test followed by a negative diagnostic examination. Of the 30 194 eligible men, 20 794 (69%) attended the first screening round and 1968 (9.5%) had a screen-positive finding. A total of 508 prostate cancers were detected at screening (2.4%). Hence, the number of SN findings was 18 825 and the number of FP results 1358. Specificity was estimated as 0.933 (18 825 out of 20 183) with 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.929–0.936. Specificity decreased with age. Digital rectal examination as ancillary examination had similar or higher specificity than F/T PSA. In the second screening round, specificity was slightly lower (0.912, 95% CI 0.908–0.916). The specificity of PSA screening in the Finnish screening trial is acceptable. Further improvement in specificity could, however, improve acceptability of screening and decrease screening costs.British Journal of Cancer (2007) 96, 56–60. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6603522 www.bjcancer.com [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a series of sensitivity studies conducted using a one-dimensional Mars model (hereafter 1D model) of the University of Helsinki (UH). The reference case was the Pathfinder simulation for the second Martian day. Pathfinder temperatures and new wind speed observations from near the surface were available for validation. The Monin–Obukhov similarity parametrization for surface-layer turbulence was tested with various forms for the stability functions, and compared with the Pathfinder observations. The Dyer–Businger (DB) forms proved appropriate in the highly turbulent daytime Martian boundary layer. An iterative surface-layer treatment was introduced; this did not significantly change the results but showed that the Obukhov length L was about -30 m during daytime and +%5 m during nighttime. The importance of including water vapour and dust in the radiative transfer was tested in the Pathfinder simulations. Water vapour seems to have a significant effect, especially on the nighttime surface temperatures, by increasing the downwelling longwave radiation. Dust acts similarly and has an even greater longwave effect. It also extinguishes solar radiation strongly, thereby damping the surface temperature cycle. The sensitivity of the diurnal surface temperature variation on various physical properties of the soil (regolith) was studied. Thermal inertia and thermal conductivity had the largest effects. The Beagle 2 Lander of the European Space Agency (ESA) landed unsuccessfully on Mars at the end of the year 2003. The selected landing site was in the Northern Hemisphere tropics where seasonal variations are small, and the landing time corresponded roughly to early spring (Ls = 330°). The expected weather conditions at the site were simulated for four approximate Martian ‘months’ consisting of 60 Martian solar days each. The driving conditions for the simulations were taken from the Mars climate database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 20 000 men 55-67 years of age from two areas in Finland were identified from the Population Registry and randomized either to the screening arm (1/3) or the control arm (2/3) of a prostate cancer screening trial. In the first round, the participation rate in the screening arm was 69%. Of the 5053 screened participants, 428 (8.5%) had a serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentration of 4.0 ng/ml or higher, and diagnostic examinations were performed on 399 of them. A total of 106 cancers were detected among them corresponding to a positive predictive value of 27%, which is comparable with mammography screening for breast cancer. The prostate cancer detection rate based on a serum PSA concentration of 4.0 ng ml[SUP-1] or higher was 2.1%. Approximately nine out of ten screen-detected prostate cancers were localized (85% clinical stage T1-T2) and well or moderately differentiated (42% World Health Organization (WHO) grade I and 50% grade II), which suggests a higher proportion of curable cancers compared with cases detected by other means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrophysiological measurements have shown that contrast adaptation can increase the contrast gain of cortical cells of the cat and the monkey. This implies that adaptation could enhance the contrast discrimination sensitivity. Psychophysical contrast discrimination experiments were performed with and without contrast adaptation. The stimuli were spatially separated stationary Gabor patterns. The pedestal contrast was varied from 6 to 75 per cent. The spatial frequency was 1.5, 5.0 or 20 cpd. After adaptation the contrast detection thresholds are elevated and the subjective contrast is lowered. The contrast discrimination thresholds remain unchanged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to miscommunication in the terms of using the first dataset a correction to the list of authors is required: Added authors, Ilmari Määttänen2 and Mikko Lindholm1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal separation (MS) in neonates can lead to intestinal injury. MS in neonatal mice disrupts mucosal morphology, induces colonic inflammation and increases trans-cellular permeability. Several studies indicate that intestinal epithelial stem cells are capable of initiating gut repair in a variety of injury models but have not been reported in MS. The pathophysiology of MS-induced gut injury and subsequent repair remains unclear, but communication between the brain and gut contribute to MS-induced colonic injury. Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) is one of the mediators involved in the brain-gut axis response to MS-induced damage. We investigated the roles of the CRH receptors, CRHR1 and CRHR2, in MS-induced intestinal injury and subsequent repair. To distinguish their specific roles in mucosal injury, we selectively blocked CRHR1 and CRHR2 with pharmacological antagonists. Our results show that in response to MS, CRHR1 mediates gut injury by promoting intestinal inflammation, increasing gut permeability, altering intestinal morphology, and modulating the intestinal microbiota. In contrast, CRHR2 activates intestinal stem cells and is important for gut repair. Thus, selectively blocking CRHR1 and promoting CRHR2 activity could prevent the development of intestinal injuries and enhance repair in the neonatal period when there is increased risk of intestinal injury such as necrotizing enterocolitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prebiotics are non-digestible oligosaccharides that promote the growth of beneficial gut microbes, but it is unclear whether they also have direct effects on the intestinal mucosal barrier. Here we demonstrate two commercial prebiotics, inulin and short-chain fructo-oligosaccharide (scFOS), when applied onto intestinal epithelia in the absence of microbes, directly promote barrier integrity to prevent pathogen-induced barrier disruptions. We further show that these effects involve the induction of select tight junction (TJ) proteins through a protein kinase C (PKC) δ-dependent mechanism. These results suggest that in the absence of microbiota, prebiotics can directly exert barrier protective effects by activating host cell signaling in the intestinal epithelium, which represents a novel alternative mechanism of action of prebiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problematic Internet use is recognised as an emerging public health issue, particularly among young adults. Yet, there is scarce information on problematic Internet use as a predictor for academic burnout. This study aimed to identify academic burnout’s association with both problematic Internet use and specific health-risk behaviour among higher education students. We analysed the population-based cross-sectional survey data (with post-stratification weighting) of Finnish higher education students. Data was collected in 2021 (n = 6258; age 18–34). Regression analyses were used to investigate academic burnout’s relationship with problematic Internet use and health-risk behaviours. The results revealed that female gender, learning difficulties, the use snus (the Swedish-type of moist snuff), problematic Internet use, online shopping, and perceived loneliness were significantly and positively associated with academic burnout. In addition, a higher number of study credits earned, self-perceived good health, and a satisfactory financial level were significantly and inversely associated with academic burnout. The findings suggest that screening students for problematic behaviour and offering support for those in need are likely to be effective at increasing academic well-being among higher education students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]