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The vasculature is an essential, physiological element in virtually all human tissues. Formation of perfusable vasculature is therefore crucial for reliable tissue modeling. Three-dimensional vascular networks can be formed through the co-culture of endothelial cells (ECs) with stromal cells embedded in hydrogel. Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) derived from bone marrow (BMSCs) and adipose tissue (ASCs) are an attractive choice as stromal cells due to their natural perivascular localization and ability to support formation of mature and stable microvessels in vitro. So far, BMSCs and ASCs have been compared as vasculature-supporting cells in static cultures. In this study, BMSCs and ASCs were co-cultured with endothelial cells in a fibrin hydrogel in a perfusable microfluidic chip. We demonstrated that using MSCs of different origin resulted in vascular networks with distinct phenotypes. Both types of MSCs supported formation of mature and interconnected microvascular networks-on-a-chip. However, BMSCs induced formation of fully perfusable microvasculature with larger vessel area and length whereas ASCs resulted in partially perfusable microvascular networks. Immunostainings revealed that BMSCs outperformed ASCs in pericytic characteristics. Moreover, co-culture with BMSCs resulted in significantly higher expression levels of endothelial and pericyte-specific genes, as well as genes involved in vasculature maturation. Overall, our study provides valuable knowledge on the properties of MSCs as vasculature-supporting cells and highlights the importance of choosing the application-specific stromal cell source for vascularized organotypic models.

Digitalization has been identified as one of the major trends changing society and business. Digitalization causes changes for companies due to the adoption of digital technologies in the organization or in the operation environment. This paper discusses digitalization from the viewpoint of diverse case studies carried out to collect data from several companies, and a literature study to complement the data. This paper describes the first version of the digital transformation model, derived from synthesis of these industrial cases, explaining a starting point for a systematic approach to tackle digital transformation. The model is aimed to help companies systematically handle the changes associated with digitalization. The model consists of four main steps, starting with positioning the company in digitalization and defining goals for the company, and then analyzing the company’s current state with respect to digitalization goals. Next, a roadmap for reaching the goals is defined and implemented in the company. These steps are iterative and can be repeated several times. Although company situations vary, these steps will help to systematically approach digitalization and to take the steps necessary to benefit from it.

In many parts of the world, public sector organizations are increasingly interested in collaborating across organizational (and even national) boundaries to develop software solutions under an open licence. However, without sound lifecycle management practices, the full benefits of open collaboration are not achieved and projects fail to achieve sustained success. This paper introduces a lifecycle management model and framework for government-driven open-source projects and reports about its use in a real-life case study. Our focus is on lifecycle management activities which take place between deployment and end-of-life. The framework was developed iteratively through a series of focus group discussions with representatives of public sector organizations. After the framework had been taken into use in our real-life case project, individual qualitative interviews were conducted to collect experiences on its benefits and weaknesses. According to the initial evidence, the deployment of the framework seems to have brought concrete benefits to the project, e.g. by contributing positively to community growth, software quality and inter-organizational learning.

BackgroundPatients who are chronically ill need novel patient counseling methods to support their self-care at different stages of the disease. At present, knowledge of how effective digital counseling is at managing patients’ anxiety, depression, and adherence to treatment seems to be fragmented, and the development of digital counseling will require a more comprehensive view of this subset of interventions. ObjectiveThis study aims to identify and synthesize the best available evidence on the effectiveness of digital counseling environments at improving anxiety, depression, and adherence to treatment among patients who are chronically ill. MethodsSystematic searches of the EBSCO (CINAHL), PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were conducted in May 2019 and complemented in October 2020. The review considered studies that included adult patients aged ≥18 years with chronic diseases; interventions evaluating digital (mobile, web-based, and ubiquitous) counseling interventions; and anxiety, depression, and adherence to treatment, including clinical indicators related to adherence to treatment, as outcomes. Methodological quality was assessed using the standardized Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tool for randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental studies. As a meta-analysis could not be conducted because of considerable heterogeneity in the reported outcomes, narrative synthesis was used to synthesize the results. ResultsOf the 2056 records screened, 20 (0.97%) randomized controlled trials, 4 (0.19%) pilot randomized controlled trials, and 2 (0.09%) quasi-experimental studies were included. Among the 26 included studies, 10 (38%) digital, web-based interventions yielded significantly positive effects on anxiety, depression, adherence to treatment, and the clinical indicators related to adherence to treatment, and another 18 (69%) studies reported positive, albeit statistically nonsignificant, changes among patients who were chronically ill. The results indicate that an effective digital counseling environment comprises high-quality educational materials that are enriched with multimedia elements and activities that engage the participant in self-care. Because of the methodological heterogeneity of the included studies, it is impossible to determine which type of digital intervention is the most effective for managing anxiety, depression, and adherence to treatment. ConclusionsThis study provides compelling evidence that digital, web-based counseling environments for patients who are chronically ill are more effective than, or at least comparable to, standard counseling methods; this suggests that digital environments could complement standard counseling.

Ubiquitous learning and the use of ubiquitous learning environments heralds a new era in higher education. Ubiquitous learning environments enhance context-aware and seamless learning experiences available from any location at any time. They support smooth interaction between authentic and digital learning resources and provide personalized learning opportunities. The research area surrounding the ubiquitous learning phenomenon is highly specific and the criteria for ubiquitous learning environments have not been systemically described. The aim of this scoping review was to identify criteria for ubiquitous learning environments, and to summarize the relevant knowledge in this research area. The purpose was to identify research gaps and help map the scope of ubiquitous learning environments in higher education use. A systematic literature search was conducted in 2016 by searching nine international databases and grey literature. The searches retrieved 889 original studies. After filtering the titles, the abstracts (n = 78) and full texts (n = 30) were screened. Seven eligible studies were included in the final review. The study meets high scientific quality standards and guidelines for scoping literature reviews. The data was extracted and key themes were formalized. The original extracts were listed under sub-categories and final categories were defined. An inductive content analysis was used for the analysis. The results defined the criteria for ubiquitous learning environment as context-awareness, interactivity, personalization and flexibility supported by learning management systems, functional objects, wireless networks and mobile devices. All the studied learning environments were developed for specific purposes to support learning in specific contents. Components and outcomes varied between the environments. The results of the scoping review summarize the knowledge in this narrow research area, and have identified gaps in the existing literature. The review illustrates the scope of used ubiquitous learning environments in higher education contexts. It also raises the need for transparent research presenting practical implications for generalizability of future development processes.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of an online course, as well its development after implementation, and to focus on the health sciences educators’ and educator candidates’ assessments of their digipedagogical competence after the course. Semi-structured interviews to learners (n = 11) were used to collect data that were then analysed using inductive content analysis. The learners perceived that their ability to exploit digital applications increased and that they critically reflected upon their use of digital technology in teaching. The feedback from and presence of the tutors, as well as the collaborative activities with peer learners in the course, were generally regarded positively. Suggestions for improving the course were to limit the course content and to increase communality and other factors that support learners’ learning and work. The lessons learned from this study can be applied in basic and continuing professional development of health sciences educators.

We present a method for communicating personalized genetic risk information to citizens and their physicians using a secure web portal. We apply the method for 3,177 Finnish individuals in the P5 Study where estimates of genetic and absolute risk, based on genetic and clinical risk factors, of future disease are reported to study participants, allowing individuals to participate in managing their own health. Our method facilitates using polygenic risk score as a personalized tool to estimate a person’s future disease risk while offering a way for health care professionals to utilize the polygenic risk scores as a preventive tool in patient care.

The purpose of this pilot study was to explore connection of an educational intervention on the competence of health care educators and educator candidates (n=11) in digital pedagogy as a part of national TerOpe project. An educational intervention, Basics of Digital Pedagogy was developed by the TerOpe project’s experts. The participating educators and educator candidates of the educational intervention were recruited from the universities and university of applied sciences, which were involved in TerOpe project. All the participants of the educational interventions were invited to take part in this study. The educational intervention was conducted during spring 2019. Pre- and post-tests were implemented digitally by using an Educators’ and Educator Candidates’ Competence in Digital Pedagogy self-assessment instrument (OODI), which was developed for this study. The OODI includes 32 items divided in six digital competence areas professional engagement, digital resources, teaching and learning, assessment, empowering learners and facilitating learners’ digital competence. The data was analysed statistically. The self-assessed level of overall competence in digital pedagogy and competence in all competence areas of digital pedagogy increased statistically significantly during the intervention. The educational intervention used in this study seems to increase educators’ self-assessed competence in digital pedagogy. We recommend that all educators be encouraged to conduct continuous education on the basics of digital pedagogy.

Digital transformation (DT) refers to the changes in ways of working and business offering caused by adoption of digital technologies in an organization. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are struggling with this transformation because of their limited resources and know-how. Thus, SMEs need practical grassroots-level help for DT that allows the companies to analyze where they stand in digitalization, and how they should proceed. This article discusses how SMEs can be supported in their DT by utilizing the DT model consisting of four consecutive phases for supporting companies’ systematic development of digitalization. The article focuses on the first phase of the DT model, positioning, where company’s digitalization status is analyzed in detail, and development ideas are identified. The positioning phase was conducted for 19 SMEs in Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland. The results indicate that the used process and tools were suitable to support SMEs for analyzing their digitalization status and identifying areas for improvement. The DT model and piloted tools have been published as a free-of-charge ApuaDigiin.fi online service to facilitate their widespread use in the future. In this way, public regional business development authors or research organizations can utilize the online service while supporting the digitalization of SMEs.

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Abstract Background In the field of regenerative medicine, delivery of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hASCs) has shown great promise to promote wound healing. However, a hostile environment of the injured tissue has shown considerably to limit the survival rate of the transplanted cells, and thus, to improve the cell survival and retention towards successful cell transplantation, an optimal cell scaffold is required. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential use of wood-derived nanofibrillar cellulose (NFC) wound dressing as a cell scaffold material for hASCs in order to develop a cell transplantation method free from animal-derived components for wound treatment. Methods Patient-derived hASCs were cultured on NFC wound dressing without cell adhesion coatings. Cell characteristics, including cell viability, morphology, cytoskeletal structure, proliferation potency, and mesenchymal cell and differentiation marker expression, were analyzed using cell viability assays, electron microscopy, immunocytochemistry, and quantitative or reverse transcriptase PCR. Student’s t test and one-way ANOVA followed by a Tukey honestly significant difference post hoc test were used to determine statistical significance. Results hASCs were able to adhere to NFC dressing and maintained high cell survival without cell adhesion coatings with a cell density-dependent manner for the studied period of 2 weeks. In addition, NFC dressing did not induce any remarkable cytotoxicity towards hASCs or alter the morphology, proliferation potency, filamentous actin structure, the expression of mesenchymal vimentin and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins collagen I and fibronectin, or the undifferentiated state of hASCs. Conclusions As a result, NFC wound dressing offers a functional cell culture platform for hASCs to be used further for in vivo wound healing studies in the future.

Abstract Background Infrapatellar fat pad (IFP) has recently emerged as a potential source of inflammation in knee arthropathies. It has been proposed to be one source of adipocytokines, fatty acids (FA), and FA-derived lipid mediators that could contribute to the pathophysiological processes in the knee joint. Alterations in synovial fluid (SF) lipid composition have been linked to both osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The aim of the present study was to compare the FA signatures in the IFP and SF of RA and OA patients. Methods Pairs of IFP and SF samples were collected from the same knees of RA (n = 10) and OA patients (n = 10) undergoing total joint replacement surgery. Control SF samples (n = 6) were harvested during diagnostic or therapeutic arthroscopic knee surgery unrelated to RA or OA. The FA composition in the total lipids of IFP and SF was determined by gas chromatography with flame ionization and mass spectrometric detection. Results Arthropathies resulted in a significant reduction in the SF proportions of n-6 polyunsaturated FA (PUFA), more pronouncedly in OA than in RA. OA was also characterized with reduced percentages of 22:6n-3 and lower product/precursor ratios of n-3 PUFA. The proportions of total monounsaturated FA increased in both RA and OA SF. Regarding IFP, RA patients had lower proportions of 20:4n-6, total n-6 PUFA, and 22:6n-3, as well as lower product/precursor ratios of n-3 PUFA compared to OA patients. The average chain length of SF FA decreased in both diagnoses and the double bond index in OA. Conclusions The observed complex alterations in the FA signatures could have both contributed to but also limited the inflammatory processes and cartilage destruction in the RA and OA knees.