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Smartphone application versus written material for smoking reduction and cessation in individuals undergoing low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for lung cancer : a phase II open-label randomised controlled trial
No full textBackground: Counseling, nicotine replacement, and other cessation medications have been proven effective in smoking cessation. The wide-scale adoption of smartphones and other mobile devices has opened new possibilities for scalable and personalized smoking cessation approaches. The study investigated whether a smartphone application would be more effective than written material for smoking cessation and reduction in smoking in individuals undergoing low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for lung cancer (NCT05630950).Methods: This randomized controlled trial enrolled 201 current smokers with marked smoking history (smoked ≥15 cigarettes/day for ≥25 years or smoked ≥10 cigarettes/day for ≥30 years). Participants were stratified by age and pack-years and randomized in 1:1 fashion to the developed smartphone application (experimental arm) or written material (standard of care). All the subjects underwent LDCT screening. Self-reported smoking cessation at three and six months were the primary endpoints of the study. The smoking-related secondary endpoints of the study were the percentage of individuals who had reduced the number of smoked cigarettes/d from the baseline.Findings: Between Nov 18, 2022, and Apr 14, 2023, 201 patients were screened at Oulu University Hospital, Finland, of whom all were randomly assigned to smartphone application (n = 101) or written cessation material (n = 100); 200 were included in the full analysis set. Study arms were well-balanced for all the studied demographic factors. Subjects randomized to the smartphone application arm had significantly higher rates for self-reported smoking cessation at three (19.8 versus 7.1%; OR 3.175 CI 95% 1.276-7.899) and six months (18.8 versus 7.1%; OR 2.847 CI 95% 1.137-7.128). In the experimental arm, individuals with a frequent use of the application had a higher chance for smoking cessation at three (p Interpretation: The study showed that the developed smartphone application increases the likelihood for smoking cessation in individuals undergoing lung cancer LDCT screening.</p
Sydämen rasituskaikukuvaus
No full textSydämen rasituskaikukuvaus on pitkään käytössä ollut, monipuolinen sydänsairauksien tutkimusmenetelmä. Rintakipupotilaan hemodynaamisesti merkittävä, ahtauttava sepelvaltimotauti on mahdollista todeta seinämäliikehäiriönä, joka kehittyy rasituksen aiheuttaman sydänlihasiskemian seurauksena. Kaikukuvauksen avulla on mahdollista arvioida sydänlihasiskemian sijaintia ja laajuutta sekä sen yhteyttä potilaan kuormitukseen ja oireisiin. Rasituskaikukuvaus mahdollistaa sydämen rakenteen ja toiminnan monipuolisen tutkimisen, kuten vasemman kammion systolisen ja diastolisen toimintahäiriön toteamisen. Tutkimuksen käyttöaiheet ovat laajentuneet, ja sitä käytetään aiempaa enemmän muun muassa läppävikojen vaikeuden, sydänlihassairauksien ja epäselvän hengenahdistuksen selvittelyssä. </p
Assessing the Relevance of the 1992 Namibian Language in Education Policy (NLiEP) Document
No full textThe current Namibian Language in Education Policy (NLiEP) document was first introduced in 1991 immediately after the country gained its independence. Even though this document has been in existence for more than 30 years, it has never been formally assessed or modified despite the changing socio-economic and language practices. Using four criteria (authenticity, representativeness, meaning, and credibility) suggested to evaluate documents for relevance, the article seeks to establish the relevance of the current NLiEP document. The findings suggest that the NLiEP document is out of touch with the developing multilingual realities of Namibians and the current debates on multilingual pedagogies in postcolonial Africa and the Global South generally. The article concludes with a discussion of an ideal prospective language policy document for Namibian schools.</p
Language-specific hotspots of interest in IUCN Red Listed terrestrial mammals
No full textBiodiversity conservation continues to be a global priority and insights into societal interest and support for targeted species conservation actions are essential for their success. Taking advantage of emerging culturomics methods, here we propose a new methodology for mapping societal interest towards terrestrial mammals by combining the IUCN Red List range maps with indicators of societal interest towards species derived from Wikipedia pageviews data for different languages. We show that societal interest towards terrestrial mammals varies between different language groups and is not necessarily concentrated in areas of high biodiversity. We propose that our mapping method can help to identify hot- and cold-spots of societal interest towards biodiversity for different taxonomic and language groups, and we discuss potential conservation applications of the proposed mapping method
Bioinformatics insights into CENP-T and CENP-W protein-protein interaction disruptive amino acid substitution in the CENP-T-W complex
No full textKinetochores are multi-protein assemblies present at the centromere of the human chromosome and play a crucial role in cellular mitosis. The CENP-T and CENP-W chains form a heterodimer, which is an integral part of the inner kinetochore, interacting with the linker DNA on one side and the outer kinetochore on the other. Additionally, the CENP-T-W dimer interacts with other regulatory proteins involved in forming inner kinetochores. The specific roles of different amino acids in the CENP-W at the protein-protein interaction (PPI) interface during the CENP-T-W dimer formation remain incompletely understood. Since cell division goes awry in diseases like cancer, this CENP-T-W partnership is a potential target for new drugs that could restore healthy cell division. We employed molecular docking, binding free energy calculations, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the disruptive effects of amino acids substitutions in the CENP-W chain on CENP-T-W dimer formation. By conducting a molecular docking study and analysing hydrogen bonding interactions, we identified key residues in CENP-W (ASN-46, ARG-53, LEU-83, SER-86, ARG-87, and GLY-88) for further investigation. Through site-directed mutagenesis and subsequent binding free energy calculations, we refined the selection of mutant. We chose four mutants (N46K, R53K, L83K, and R87E) of CENP-W to assess their comparative potential in forming CENP-T-W dimer. Our analysis from 250 ns long revealed that the substitution of LEU83 and ARG53 residues in CENP-W with the LYS significantly disrupts the formation of CENP-T-W dimer. In conclusion, LEU83 and ARG53 play a critical role in CENP-T and CENP-W dimerization which is ultimately required for cellular mitosis. Our findings not only deepen our understanding of cell division but also hint at exciting drug-target possibilities.</p
The Emerald Handbook of Research Management and Administration Around the World
No full textFinland aims to increase its research and development (R&D) expenditure to 4% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030. The parliamentary working group proposed to advance Finland's research, development and innovation objectives which are now strongly committed by the Finnish government. This will allow universities to invest in the research and innovation not only more in the future but also in the long-term and sustainable way. This would also provide opportunities and challenge the national research management and administration (RMA) community to develop the RMA profession, not only to increase the number of RMAs, but also to better meet the more diverse and complex tasks of the future RMA profession. Finn-ARMA creates a good platform for co-operation between RMAs in various positions and for the professionalisation of the current community and its future new members.First editio
The magnitude of legal wildlife trade and implications for species survival
No full textThe unsustainable use of wildlife is a primary driver of global biodiversity loss. No comprehensive global dataset exists on what species are in trade, their geographic origins, and trade's ultimate impacts, which limits our ability to sustainably manage trade. The United States is one of the world's largest importers of wildlife, with trade data compiled in the US Law Enforcement Management Information System (LEMIS). The LEMIS provides the most comprehensive publicly accessible wildlife trade database of non- the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) listed species. In total, 21,097 species and over 2.85 billion individuals were traded over the past 22 y (2000- 2022). When LEMIS data are combined with CITES records, the United States imported over 29,445 wild species, including over 50% of all globally described species in some taxonomic groups. For most taxa, around half of the individuals are declared as sourced from the wild. Although the LEMIS provides the only means to assess trade volumes for many taxa, without any associated data on most wild populations, it is impossible to assess the impact on biodiversity, sustainability of trade, or any potential risk of pest or pathogen spread. These insights underscore the considerable underestimation of trade and the urgent need for other countries to adopt similar mechanisms to accurately record trade
Interactional practices in technology-rich L2 environments in and beyond the physical borders of the classroom
No full textThe current special issue is dedicated to studies exploring social interaction in second language educational environments that feature technology. In this introduction article, we contextualize the empirical studies included here with respect to the changing role of technology in education and situate them in the research tradition of multimodal and ethnomethodological Conversation Analysis (CA). We also present the individual contributions and briefly discuss how they promote a conceptualization of classrooms as pedagogically meaningful material-technological ecologies for teaching and learning actions rather than a physically delimited space.</p
The incidence and triggers of adult-onset Guillain-Barré syndrome in southwestern Finland 2004-2013.
No full text
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:
A Swiss study recently reported surgery as a potential risk factor for developing Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). It was sought to establish this in the Finnish adult population.
METHODS:
Persons over 16 years of age who received a diagnosis of GBS in 2004-2013 were identified from the patient register of Turku University Hospital and their patient records were analyzed to identify possible triggers.
RESULTS:
A cohort of 69 adult patients with GBS (63.8% men) was identified giving an annual incidence of 1.82/100 000. Of these, four (5.8%) had experienced a surgical procedure during the preceding 6 weeks with a relative risk of 6.28 (95% confidence interval 4.15-9.47, P
CONCLUSIONS:
The overall incidence of GBS in the adult population of southwestern Finland was similar to previous studies worldwide and the most common triggers were respiratory tract infections and gastroenteritis. Surgery was a rare risk factor and of vaccinations only the one against pandemic influenza raised the risk of GBS.</p
Magnetohydrodynamic With Embedded Particle-In-Cell Simulation of the Geospace Environment Modeling Dayside Kinetic Processes Challenge Event
No full textWe use the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) with embedded particle-in-cell model (MHD-EPIC) to study the Geospace Environment Modeling (GEM) dayside kinetic processes challenge event at 01:50-03:00 UT on 18 November 2015, when the magnetosphere was driven by a steady southward interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). In the MHD-EPIC simulation, the dayside magnetopause is covered by a PIC code so that the dayside reconnection is properly handled. We compare the magnetic fields and the plasma profiles of the magnetopause crossing with the MMS3 spacecraft observations. Most variables match the observations well in the magnetosphere, in the magnetosheath, and also during the current sheet crossing. The MHD-EPIC simulation produces flux ropes, and we demonstrate that some magnetic field and plasma features observed by the MMS3 spacecraft can be reproduced by a flux rope crossing event. We use an algorithm to automatically identify the reconnection sites from the simulation results. It turns out that there are usually multiple X-lines at the magnetopause. By tracing the locations of the X-lines, we find that the typical moving speed of the X-line endpoints is about 70 km/s, which is higher than but still comparable with the ground-based observations