Recent publications
We have irradiated YBa
Cu
O
(YBCO) films without artificial pinning sites with Ag
ions with energies of 75 MeV and 150 MeV and fluences between 2–8
ions/cm
in order to create as controlled nanorod pinning sites as possible. The structural and superconducting properties were determined before and after the irradiation with x-ray diffraction and magnetic measurement. After the irradiation also transport and transmission electron microscopy measurements were made. It was noted that the ion tracks are all parallel to the YBCO
c
-axis of the sample and those done with 150 MeV ions formed continuous 5 nm diameter tracks, whereas with 75 MeV ions, the tracks were not continuous through the sample. The
and
decreased with the irradiation, but the in-field
increased. The maximum increase was obtained with the 150MeV and 4
ions/cm
sample with continuous rods, where the distance between the rods was closest to the diameter of the rods. Thus, the previous theoretical models predicting optimal pinning when the pinning site diameter is approximately equal to the distance between the pinning sites, are experimentally verified for these very pure samples, with no other external pinning sites.
Viologen derivatives feature two reversible one‐electron redox processes and have been extensively utilized in aqueous organic flow batteries (AOFBs). However, the early variant, methyl viologen (MVi), exhibits low stability in aqueous electrolytes, restricting its practical implementation in AOFB technology. In this context, leveraging the tunability of organic molecules, various substituents have been incorporated into the viologen core to achieve better stability, lower redox potential, and improved solubility. In this work, we introduce bisphosphonate‐substituted viologens (BBPE−Vi and MBPE−Vi) as candidates for AOFBs. The bulkiness and negative charges of the bisphosphonate groups enhance the solubility and the electrostatic repulsion among viologen molecules, minimizing the bimolecular side reactions that lead to degradation. Additionally, the electron‐rich character of this new substituent in its deprotonated state significantly lowers the redox potential. As a result, the proposed viologen derivatives exhibit high solubility (1.45 M in water) and stability (capacity decay of 0.009 %/cycle or 0.229 %/day when tested at 0.5 M). These parameters are coupled with the lowest redox potentials exceeding all previously reported viologens utilized in AOFBs (−0.503 V and −0.550 V against SHE for MBPE−Vi and BBPE−Vi, respectively).
Gold (Au) segregation at Pt grain boundaries (GBs) plays an important role in the properties of Pt-based alloys. It was reported that close-packed GBs and open GBs exhibit different segregation behaviors, and their origin is still unclear. Based on the density functional theory as implemented in the exact muffin-tin orbitals method and the full charge density technique, we investigate the impact of bulk composition and temperature on the segregation behaviors of the Σ 3 ( 111 ) [ 1 1 ¯ 0 ] , Σ5(310)[001], and Σ 9 ( 221 ) [ 1 1 ¯ 0 ] symmetric tilt GBs in Pt–Au alloys. It is revealed that the segregation driving forces are correlated with the large local volume near the GB and the miscibility gap in Pt–Au alloys. At finite temperatures when the configurational entropy is considered, a competition between the chemical driving force and the configurational entropy is responsible for the segregation anisotropy in Pt–Au alloys. The bulk composition has a small effect on the segregation energy but strongly impacts the equilibrium concentration profiles at finite temperatures. The present study provides a theoretical analysis for the segregation anisotropy, and the methodology utilized in this work can be generalized to other binary or multi-component dilute or concentrated alloys while the composition variation is involved.
Objective
To investigate the role of neuroinflammation in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) across different parkinsonian disorders—Parkinson's disease (PD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and multiple system atrophy (MSA)—by examining SNc dopaminergic neuron counts, neuroinflammatory T cells, and microglial activity.
Methods
Postmortem neuropathological samples were collected from 79 individuals (PD, n = 38; PSP, n = 15; MSA, n = 14; controls, n = 12). The density of SNc tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)‐positive neurons, T cells (CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+), and Iba 1 expression ( Iba 1‐positive microglia/macrophages) were examined in the SNc and crus cerebri. Demographic and clinical data were gathered from patient histories.
Results
PSP patients had 89 to 212% more nigral CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells compared to MSA patients ( p < 0.04), 125 to 178% more CD3+ and CD4+ T cells than healthy controls ( p < 0.002), and 95% more CD4+ T cells than PD patients ( p = 0.001). Iba 1 expression in the SNc was higher in PD patients than in MSA patients ( p = 0.004), with no significant differences observed across other conditions. There was a negative association between disease duration and SNc CD3+ T cell density ( p = 0.002), and a positive correlation between nigral dopaminergic neuron density and CD3+ density, CD8+ density, and Iba 1 expression in PD patients.
Interpretation
The study reveals distinctive neuroinflammatory patterns in the SNc, with T cell‐mediated inflammation prominent in PSP and microglia‐mediated inflammation in PD. PSP and MSA show greater SNc dopaminergic neuron loss compared to PD. Increased neuroinflammatory response is seen in earlier disease stages, diminishing with greater neuron loss, which may inform disease progression understanding and therapeutic strategies. ANN NEUROL 2025
Background and purpose: In complex primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA), constrained condylar knee (CCK) or rotating hinge knee (RHK) designs may be required to provide stability or address bony deficiencies. We analyzed trends in incidence of these designs in primary TKA and evaluated the mid- to long-term survivorship of CCK and RHK in 4 Nordic countries.Methods: From 2000 to 2017, 5,134 CCK and 2,515 RHK primary TKAs were identified from the NARA database. Kaplan–Meier (K–M) survival and flexible parametric survival model (FPSM) analyses were performed to estimate revision risk, expressed as hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), with minimally stabilized (MS) TKA acting as the control group (n = 456,137).Results: The incidence of CCK and RHK implants increased significantly in Finland, while it was moderate in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. With revision for any reason as the endpoint the 15-year K–M cumulative revision risk for RHK was 13.6% (CI 10.4–16.7) and for CCK it was 11.3% (CI 9.1–13.5). Compared with MS TKA, the hazard ratio for revision was 2.1 (CI 1.8–2.3) for CCK and 2.5 (CI 2.1–2.8) for RHK. Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) was the most common reason for revision, accounting for 44% of CCK and 47% of RHK cases. After excluding revisions for PJI, the hazard ratio remained high for both designs, at 1.5 (CI 1.3–1.7) for CCK and 1.6 (CI 1.3–2.0) for RHK compared with MS.Conclusion: The incidence of CCK and RHK increased during the study period. Both designs showed consistent 15-year revision risks of 11–14%, with no major differences between them. The higher revision risk compared with MS TKAs may reflect the complexity of the surgeries.
Capability Approach (CA) extends our understanding of wellbeing by underlining the importance of freedoms. There is a need to operationalize CA components for empirical measurement in different settings and population groups. This study investigated the conversion process from perceived resources to perceived capabilities by investigating the role of perceived conversion factors (personal and contextual) among a particular population group of Finnish long-term unemployed persons (N = 511, year 2016), aged 20–64 years, not receiving activation services, recruited through a service system and registers (random sampling). We used the label “perceived” to highlight that our approach was subjective, meaning that we measured respondents’ own perceptions of their commodities, conversion factors and capabilities. Data were collected in the PROMEQ project using a structured, self-employed questionnaire. Perceived capabilities were measured on a 7 + 1 item scale of self-reported capabilities. The main statistical methods applied were crosstabs with chi² tests, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Long-term unemployed perceived poorer capabilities compared to the general Finnish population. Long-term unemployed men perceived poorer capabilities compared to long-term unemployed women. CFA indicated the data fit with the CA. The SEM model supported the theoretical assumptions of CA: perceived commodities associated with perceived capabilities strongly but indirectly through perceived social and environmental conversion factors. Group analysis (SEM) demonstrated, that between genders the CA-models were slightly differentiated. The results indicate the need for more effective capability promotion, and for targeted practices acknowledging variety of circumstances of the long-term unemployed. CA could offer a comprehensive tool for this task.
Remote monitoring has been proposed to provide new opportunities to monitor pregnancy in the home environment and reduce the number of follow-up visits to the maternity clinic. Still, the integration of remote monitoring into the pregnancy care process has not been achieved. This descriptive qualitative study aimed to explore pregnant women’s and healthcare professionals’ perceptions of integrating remote monitoring into pregnancy monitoring process. A convenience sample of 10 pregnant women and 11 healthcare professionals participated in the focus group interviews. The data were analyzed with reflexive thematic analysis. The results comprised a four-step pregnancy monitoring process organizing the issues to consider when integrating remote monitoring into these steps. According to pregnant women and healthcare professionals, remote pregnancy monitoring should allow a holistic assessment to ensure the well-being of the pregnant woman and the fetus. Clear criteria for monitoring should guide the adaptation of monitoring to the identified monitoring needs. Ideally, remote monitoring could enable more personalized maternity care, supporting the monitoring-related decision-making of both pregnant women and healthcare professionals and facilitating the early detection of pregnancy complications. However, integration of remote monitoring would require significant restructuring of current pregnancy care processes.
This paper investigates how entrepreneurs frame the sustainability of their business ventures when pitching their business prospects and sustainability approaches to investors. Drawing on framing theory, this research explores the classification and application of sustainability‐related frames employed in business pitches. A qualitative multiple case study methodology is applied to collect and analyze data from startup pitches presented at the startup event Slush, which is held annually in Finland. The sample consists of active startups and those that did not survive following the pitching event. The Need–Approach–Benefit–Competition (NABC) pitching model and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals serve as frameworks for systematically analyzing the content of the verbal pitch presentations. We disentangle how entrepreneurs formulate business ideas within frames related to sustainability themes on the micro, meso, and macro levels using cognitive, strategic, technological, and institutional frames. The resulting model distinguishes between different combinations of sustainability framing elements applied in startup pitches.
By conducting a problematizing review, this study explores whether entrepreneurship could benefit mothers caring for children with additional needs (ANs). Through role conflict theory, we argue that entrepreneurship provides the time and space flexibility necessary to combine work and care roles and to experience the autonomy not available in paid employment. However, a supportive institutional framework, such as affordable child care, is needed. Based on role enrichment theory, we suggest that mothers caring for AN children possess skills, such as resilience and networking, which are beneficial to entrepreneurship. Furthermore, provided that a fair division of responsibilities exists within the household, AN children can strengthen the family unit and make it an important resource in entrepreneurship for mothers. We develop a future research agenda for mompreneurship with AN children in line with inclusive entrepreneurship.
JEL CLASSIFICATION: L26 Entrepreneurship
The chapter discusses the heuristic value of the concept “displacement” in studying relations between the art and the place in the context of the war. Building on the seminal work of E. Relph “Place and Placelessness” (1976), artistic practice is interpreted as capable of mitigating displacement and shifting the existential outsideness to the existential insideness through an artistically created perceptual space. The latter encompasses reshaping of the displaced personal place identities of the artists and identities of places presented in the artworks. The text provides empirical evidence on displacement and consequent replacing and place-making activities of Ukrainian artists, who were forced to leave their home cities during the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Identifying the wildlife reservoirs of bacterial pathogens, spatially and temporally, is important for assessing the threats to human and the rest of the biosphere. Our objective was to study Europe-wide characteristics of the fecal microbiota of four highly mobile migratory vertebrates, that is, one bat ( Pipistrellus nathusii ) and three bird species ( Turdus merula , Anas platyrhynchos , Columba palumbus ). The 351 sample PacBio data set of almost the entire 16S rRNA gene with 438,997 amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) assigned 3,277 bacterial species. A significant proportion of the ASVs were assigned to bacterial genera having species pathogenic to human or animals. These pathogen ASVs accounted for 45% of all the ASVs and statistically were more frequent at higher latitudes and in younger age groups. In 36 samples, more than >90% of all the PacBio reads were assigned to these pathogenic genera. We designate to individuals of these samples a new term, that is, a pathogen bloomer. The pathogen bloomers, which did not display apparent macroscopic disease symptoms, were detected in Nathusius bat ( n = 8; Finland and Latvia), blackbird ( n = 6; Finland, Latvia and Denmark), and wood pigeon ( n = 22; Finland and France), but not in mallard. Key species-level taxonomic assignments in the pathogen bloomers were the two well-known enteropathogens ( Campylobacter jejuni or Escherichia coli ) and one emerging enteropathogen ( Escherichia marmotae ). Our data imply that the studied common migratory vertebrates may contribute to the transmission of bacterial pathogens across the European continent.
IMPORTANCE
The understanding of gut microbiota composition and dynamics in wild vertebrate populations, especially in highly mobile vertebrates, birds and bats, remains limited. Our study sheds light on the critical knowledge gap in how common pathogenic bacterial taxa of fecal microbiota are in migratory bats and birds in Europe. We found out that bacterial genera having species pathogenic to human or animals constituted a substantial portion of the fecal microbiota in all the studied host taxa. Most importantly, we identified asymptomatic individuals that were dysbiotic with bacterial pathogen overgrowth. These previously unknown pathogen bloomers appear as potent Europe-wide transmitters of bacterial pathogens, which cause, for example, diarrhea and bacteremia in human. Our findings may contribute to better understanding of seasonal disease hotspots and pathogen spillover risks related to migratory vertebrates.
Aim
To evaluate the longitudinal coagulation profile after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in pediatric patients with hematological malignancies.
Methods
Several coagulation variables were measured at predetermined time points for two years after HSCT in 30 pediatric patients.
Results
At six months post-HSCT, endothelial activation was reflected by 1.4-fold increase in circulating von Willebrand factor activity (p < 0.05), and by 2-fold increase in thrombin-antithrombin complex levels (p < 0.05), suggesting sustained coagulation system activity. In six patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD), specifically in those having gastrointestinal (GI) tract cGVHD, we observed continued longitudinal alterations in the coagulation system. The activities of both, coagulation factors (FV, FVII, FVIII, fibrinogen), and natural anticoagulants (antithrombin and protein C) were higher than prior to conditioning (p < 0.05) at most time points in patients with cGVHD. Moreover, fibrin turnover marker D-dimer was elevated from 6 to 18 months after HSCT (p < 0.05).
Conclusion
Pediatric patients undergoing HSCT demonstrate prolonged derangement of the coagulation system, with a new alleviating balance after 6 months post-HSCT. However, in patients with cGVHD, and in particular when cGVHD affects the GI tract, the persisting derangement of coagulation suggest its contributing role in cGVHD and related complications.
Originality” is the key requirement for copyright protection in the EU. Judgements of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) such as Painer and Brompton show that many aspects of the standard of originality are linked as much to the creative process as to the resulting subject matter. This is particularly true for the “free and creative choices” that authors must make when producing a copyright-protected work. However, we do not have much information about how the standard of originality is manifested in the practices of the creative sectors, especially when it comes to applied arts and industrial design, such as fashion design. Combining a narrative approach to research with the doctrinal study of law, this article examines a creative process by following the journey of the design of a garment – a dress – from idea to expression. The narrative is used as a case study to illustrate the kinds of choices made in the creative process that are significant for the dress to merit copyright protection. The significance of these copyright-relevant choices is contrasted with EU design law where they may lead to a different protection outcome. It is concluded that the more information we have about the creative process of an artistic work – regardless of category – the more accurately we can assess whether it qualifies for copyright protection. The article further argues that the process of fashion design is not inherently any less creative than other, less controversial, areas of copyright protection.
Promising intrinsic electronic properties, such as narrow bandgap and high charge carrier mobilities, make germanium (Ge) a good replacement for silicon in optoelectronic applications (e.g., photodetectors). However, successful fabrication of efficient Ge devices requires minimization of both reflectance and surface recombination losses. This work begins with an observation that metal‐assisted chemical etching (MACE) of Ge surfaces, used for optics improvement, reduces surface recombination without application of any intentional passivation. We proceed with investigation of the effect of MACE solution components and their mixtures on Ge surface passivation. The results demonstrate that HF:H 2 O 2 aqueous solution leads to efficient and stable passivation. The film formed in this solution secures surface recombination velocity ( S eff ) of 14 cm s ⁻¹ . Morphological and chemical characterization of the structure reveals porous germanium (PGe) layer with some GeO x included. Finally, we propose several hypotheses on a mechanism behind this passivation, among which are the presence of GeO 2 at the film‐bulk Ge interface and appearance of a potential barrier due to the heterojunction formation. The presented Ge passivation with PGe layer provides a simple and cost‐efficient alternative to existing state‐of‐the‐art passivation schemes.
Introduction: Familial cerebral cavernous malformations (FCCM), Sturge-Weber Syndrome (SWS), and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia with brain arteriovenous malformations (HHT) are neurovascular disorders driven by genetic mutations while cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are primarily associated with the aging process. All are associated with different vascular dysmorphisms and/or propensity to bleed.
Hypothesis: We hypothesized that common and distinct circulating microribonucleic acids (miRNAs), reflecting shared and different pathobiology, can serve as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
Methods: Plasma miRNAs from patients with FCCM (n=10), SWS (n=10), and HHT (n=10) compared to age and sex-propensity-matched healthy young (HY) subjects (n=10) were extracted and sequenced. Similarly, CMB patients (n=10) were age and sex propensity-matched with healthy old (HO) subjects (n=10). Differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs of each disorder were identified (p<0.05, FDR corrected, absolute fold change [|FC|]>1.5]). Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was conducted to determine gene targets and pathways of DE miRNAs. DE genes based on the transcriptome of each disorder were identified and utilized to filter gene targets of circulating miRNAs.
Results: Eleven DE miRNAs were identified in FCCM, 40 in SWS, 41 in HHT, and 26 in CMB (p<0.05, FDR-corrected, [|FC|]>1.5]). Further analyses showed that 18 miRNAs were commonly dysregulated in two of the studied neurovascular disorders. IPA identified 17 genes targeted by at least two DE miRNAs in each of the four cerebrovascular disorders. Functional enrichment of those shared gene targets showed that PTEN, CDKN1A, NCL2L1, and CCND2 were involved in the PI3K-Akt Signaling Pathway. Moreover, the ROBO SLIT Signaling Pathway was identified as an involved pathway across all four disorders.
Conclusion: The common dysregulated miRNAs across the disorders underscore their potential as biomarkers and therapeutic targets, reflecting their mechanistic involvement in shared pathophysiological pathways. Furthermore, the commonly targeted genes and implicated pathways suggest shared functionality of the miRNAs. These findings pave the way for further exploration of these miRNAs, aiming at the clinical application for disease monitoring and therapeutic intervention.
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