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A Comprehensive Statistical Analysis of Multi-Story Timber Residential Buildings in Finland (1995-2025)
No full textBy the end of 2024, Finland had approximately 1.55 million buildings, excluding holiday residences and agricultural structures, with residential buildings accounting for nearly 65% of the total gross floor area. Among European countries, Finland ranks second after Spain in terms of the proportion of multi-story residential buildings, with nearly 47% of Finnish housing units located in such structures. Despite an annual construction rate of 35,000–45,000 new housing units, timber multi-story apartments represent only 1% of total new housing construction. However, when two-story buildings are included, the market share of wooden residential buildings increases to approximately 6%. By March 2025, Finland had constructed around 200 timber residential buildings exceeding two stories, comprising 6,000 apartments. In recent years, the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) in frame-based volumetric modular element construction has gained significant traction within Finland’s timber residential sector, reflecting a growing shift toward industrialized wood-based building solutions.Peer reviewe
Once upon a time: Teachers’ narratives on climate change education
No full textEducation plays a vital role in addressing climate change, a globally significant phenomenon. Teachers’ role in educating more responsible and climate-sensitive citizens is of paramount importance. Recognising the complexity of climate change (CC) and climate change education (CCE), this study aims to investigate teachers’ narratives on climate change, providing valuable insights to support the integration of CCE into the curriculum and school programmes. Using a narrative approach, the authors interviewed eleven teachers (six women, five men) in Aceh, Indonesia, to explore their perceptions, experiences and strategies related to CCE as well as their positioning within narratives on the subject. After analysing the data obtained, the authors identified three prominent themes: (1) understanding of climate change, (2) teaching methodologies and curriculum integration, and (3) the influence of school culture. The teachers demonstrated diverse conceptualisations of climate change, influenced by personal experiences and local environmental challenges. In conclusion, this study underscores the significance of CCE in Indonesia and highlights the need for narrativity and a narrative approach in order to empower teachers to address CCE within local and cultural contexts.Peer reviewe
The ambiguities of autonomy in youth training programmes
No full textIn recent decades, young people have been provided with various support systems, including therapeutic training programmes to enhance their mental health and well-being through empowerment and support of individual autonomy. In this paper, we examine the ideal of autonomy professed by training programmes for young people. We focused on analysing the inherent ambivalence surrounding the nature of this autonomy, and its manifestation in two youth support systems, specifically cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) based training programmes. By utilising Michel Foucault’s theoretical work on ‘technologies of the self’, we examined how these training programmes aim to guide individuals to transform themselves, and how they define the boundaries of autonomy within practice. Our findings indicate that rather than a stable capacity, autonomy emerges as a dynamic ideal that is always on the verge of its opposite – heteronomy. These programmes not only assume autonomy but require its ongoing cultivation through structured psychological labour. Ultimately, we argue that therapeutic training enacts a paradoxical model of subjectivity in which autonomy and heteronomy are deeply interwoven within the logic of contemporary governance.Peer reviewe
The Infant Gut Microbiota and Socio-Emotional Development at Ages 4–6
No full textIntroduction. A child’s early socio-emotional skills are known to have an impact on later well-being. Prior studies have connected gut microbiota to factors relevant to socio-emotional development, such as negative emotionality. Also, previous research has linked early-life gut microbiota to early appearing neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, which is characterized by socio-emotional challenges. Therefore, it is reasonable to hypothesize that early gut microbiota could be related to later socio-emotional development also in neurotypical children.
The gut microbiota is known to regulate brain function and contribute to the development of neurological diseases through a bidirectional microbiota-gut-brain axis. Child’s gut microbiota undergoes major changes during the first three years of life before it becomes more stable. It has been suggested that during these years there are different periods of sensitivity when the gut microbiota may have a particular impact on the neurodevelopment of child. The aim of this study was to examine whether gut microbiota composition and diversity measured at one year of age is associated with socio-emotional development measured at 4-6 years of age among neurotypical children.
Methods. The participants (n = 236) of the study were derived from the Health and the Early Life Microbiota (HELMi)-cohort. Stool samples were analysed with 16s rRNA sequencing. Microbiota diversity was assessed with alpha diversity (i.e. Shannon Diversity Index) and composition with beta diversity (i.e. Aitchison distance), bacterial clusters and by exploring the role of individual bacterial genera. Socio-emotional development was assessed using parent-rated Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Socio Emotional-2. Children were divided into low- and high-risk socio-emotional challenges groups. Associations between gut microbiota and socio-emotional development were analysed using logistic regression, PERMANOVA and MaAsLin2. Analyses were carried out in pooled data controlling for sex and each sex separately. Analyses were run after controlling for potential covariates.
Results. For boys, lower gut microbiota diversity at one-year of age was associated with a higher risk for socio-emotional challenges at 4-6 years of age (OR = 0.331; 95 % Cl: 0.11–0.89, p = .033). No other statistically significant associations between gut microbiota diversity or composition and socio-emotional development were found.
Conclusion. This thesis provides valuable information on the role of the gut microbiota in the socio-emotional development of neurotypical children of each sex. The results suggest that higher gut microbiota diversity is associated with more favourable socio-emotional development in boys. The findings of this thesis support the notion that future gut microbiome-brain axis studies should consider the sexes separately
A Multi-Criteria Approach to Electro-Mechanical Actuator Selection in Non-Road Mobile Machines
No full textThe electrification of non-road mobile machines has gained momentum due to tightening emissions regulations. However, linear actuating systems in these machines often remain hydraulic, despite advancements in electro-mechanical actuators (EMAs), which offer benefits such as improved energy efficiency, controllability, and noise reduction. Selecting EMA for diverse applications involves complex trade-offs, requiring detailed simulations that can increase time-to-market. To address this, a novel EMA selection tool has been developed, incorporating a scaling algorithm to adjust operating points for lower force and velocity constraints. The tool evaluates EMA alternatives based on productivity, size and cost using a multi attribute decision-making approach, supported by a modified analytic hierarchy process to weight design criteria. The tool is tested on two non-road mobile machines—an excavator, and a forest forwarder—using duty cycle data generated using the co-simulation models based on Mevea and Matlab/Simulink simulation environments. This structured approach aims to streamline EMA selection, accelerate electrification adoption, and promote sustainable solutions in non-road mobile machines.Peer reviewe
Neurofilament light chain evaluated with a new automated commercially available method for outcome prediction in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients
No full textAim of the study: The biomarker neurofilament light (NfL) measured from plasma predicts outcome at 12–72 h after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). We performed a post-hoc analysis of NfL using samples from 112 patients in the COMACARE trial, applying the Siemens Atellica NfL. Methods: We analyzed samples collected between 2016 and 2017 using the Siemens Atellica NfL and compared the results with those from the Quanterix Simoa NF-Light-method. We defined poor outcome as Cerebral Performance Category (CPC) 3–5 at six months after OHCA. We evaluated the accuracy of NfL measured at 24–72 h for outcome prediction with high specificity. We calculated the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) and compared the results of the two methods. Results: The Atellica NfL showed high prognostic performance, with AUROCs (0.97–0.98) comparable to those of the Simoa NfL method with a minimal difference (−0.008–0.001). Tentative cut-off values based on this limited sample size for predicting poor outcome at six months after OHCA with 99 % specificity were 112, 229, and 331 ng/L at 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively. Cut off values for predicting good outcome with 100 % sensitivity were below 29 ng/L at 24, 48, and 72 h. Conclusion: The Atellica NfL assay accuracy appears well comparable to that obtained using the more laborious Simoa method. Further larger studies are needed to determine cut-off values in heterogenous populations of cardiac arrest patients.Peer reviewe
Composition-controlled recovery time of SWIR (2–2.4 µm) GaSb-based SESAMs
No full textSEmiconductor Saturable Absorber Mirrors (SESAMs) have revolutionized the ultrafast laser industry. While SESAMs are well-established in the near-infrared regime, using GaAs-wafer epitaxy, there is an increasing interest for the short-wave infrared (SWIR) regime, for which SESAMs can be fabricated using the GaSb material system. Compared to GaAs-based SESAMs, the nonlinear response of GaSb absorbers has been reported to exhibit inherent ultrafast response and a different interplay between the response time and fabrication process. Here we report new advanced features of this interplay in a detailed study investigating the effects of lattice mismatch (LMM, e.g., strain) in the quantum wells (QWs), and barrier materials of SESAMs designed for a center wavelength between 2 and 2.4 µm. At 2 µm, SESAMs with ternary InGaSb, GaAsSb, and quaternary In(x)Ga(1-x)As(y)Sb(1-y) QWs embedded in GaSb were grown with varying levels of QW LMM, ranging from compressive strain (-1.7% LMM) to tensile strain (+0.9% LMM). We observed a strong dependence of the recovery time on the QW strain. While a maximum interband recovery time of 340 ps was measured for lattice matched QWs (-0.1% LMM), both compressively and tensilely strained QWs exhibit a shorter interband recovery time. Furthermore, a set of In0.27GaSb QW SESAMs embedded in AlxGa1−xAsSb barriers with different Al content have been grown. We observed that an increasing Al content in the barrier significantly slows down the interband recovery time. All findings are consistent for different heterostructures designed for operation at 2–2.4 µm.Peer reviewe
Enhanced Single Switch Ultra High Step-Up DC-DC Converter with Soft-Switching Capability
No full textRenewable energy systems (RES) require high step-up DC-DC converters to increase low input voltage levels to connect to microgrids. This paper introduces an ultra-high voltage gain DC-DC converter that employs a single-switch configuration, and the switch is soft-switched during turn-on. A key feature of this converter is that all diodes are turned-off softly, which effectively minimizes reverse recovery losses by utilizing a resonant tank and the leakage inductance of a three-winding coupled inductor (CI). The converter achieves a significantly higher voltage gain while effectively managing to reduce voltage stress of the semiconductors. Furthermore, low input current ripple makes it highly suitable for renewable energy applications. The paper thoroughly examines the proposed converter’s steady-state operation and compares its performance with recent converters. Simulation with MATLAB was conducted to validate the theoretical analysis. The presented converter can be validated by experimental results. More examination and experimental observations will be introduced in future work.Peer reviewe
Exploring the applicability of project alliancing to interorganizational projects: An alliance governance design matrix
No full textThe academic discussion on relational forms of project governance in general and project alliancing in particular has centred on megaprojects. The applicability of project alliancing to other types of interorganizational projects requires more attention. The aim of project alliancing is to promote goal alignment and innovativeness across project actors by sharing risks and rewards through an alliance contract. As interorganizational projects are prone to inter-actor conflicts, it is necessary to understand the utilization of project alliancing in various kinds of interorganizational projects. The aim of this conceptual study is to scrutinize the applicability of project alliancing to varying interorganizational projects. Building primarily on the project governance, relational contracting, project network, and project alliancing literatures, we analyze the common alliance applicability criteria and relational governance mechanisms, and introduce an alliance governance design matrix. The matrix combines the criteria for alliancing applicability with governance mechanisms and reveals ways of matching them in various interorganizational projects. Evaluating governance mechanisms in project alliancing and their connections with the applicability criteria helps extend the applicability of alliancing to versatile contexts and resolve potential inter-actor conflicts. For practitioners, we offer a framework for assessing the applicability of project alliancing in delivering the expected solutions, choosing appropriate governance mechanisms, and assessing organizations’ readiness to participate in alliances.Peer reviewe