The effects of RT-qPCR standards on reproducibility and comparability in monitoring SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater.

Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) is widely used for monitoring viruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), in wastewater. Various materials, including plasmid DNA, synthetic nucleic acids, PCR amplicons, genomic DNA, and cDNA, are currently used for SARS-CoV-2 quantification by generating standard curves. We assessed three common standards on quantifying SARS-CoV-2 RNA across nine wastewater treatment plants in Finland, as part of the national wastewater surveillance effort.

The association of economic difficulties with social and health care costs of children-target trial emulation using complete birth cohort data in Finland.

It is unclear how much costs economic difficulties in families with children incur to the health and social care sector. We examined the health and social service costs after families entered into, and transitioned out of, social assistance used as a proxy measure for economic difficulties. We analyzed register data on all Finnish children born in 1997 and used the non-randomized target trial framework.

Cost-efficiency analysis of multiple ecosystem services across forest management regimes.

Forest management is at the crossroads of economic, environmental, and social goals, often requiring strategic trade-offs. As global demands surge, it's vital to employ management strategies fostering multifunctional landscapes, enabling ecosystem integrity while procuring resources. Historically, the boreal forest in Fennoscandia has been intensively managed for timber, causing environmental shifts and conflicts with biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation policies.

Detection of SARS-COV-2 variants and their proportions in wastewater samples using next-generation sequencing in Finland.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants may have different characteristics, e.g., in transmission, mortality, and the effectiveness of vaccines, indicating the importance of variant detection at the population level.

Cost-efficient management of peatland to enhance biodiversity in Finland.

Peatlands provide a variety of ecosystem services besides being important ecosystems for biodiversity. Sustainable peatland management requires that its impacts are identified, and all management is allocated in a cost-efficient manner. In this study, we assessed how peatland management influences the habitat suitability of red-listed plant species and the financial performance of management measured as net present value (NPV).

Face mask recommendations in schools did not impact COVID-19 incidence among 10-12-year-olds in Finland - joinpoint regression analysis.

Background: In autumn 2021 in Finland, a recommendation to use face masks was implemented nationwide in schools for pupils ages 12 years and above. While national guidelines were in form of recommendations, cities implemented mandatory masking in schools. Some cities extended this mandate for younger pupils as well.

Impacts on water quality in the peatland dominated catchment due to foreseen changes in Nordic Bioeconomy Pathways.

The Nordic Bioeconomy Pathways (NBPs), conceptualized subsets of Shared Socioeconomic Pathways varying from environmentally friendly to open-market competition scenarios, can lead to plausible stressors in future for using bioresources. This study analysed the impacts of NBPs on hydrology and water quality based on two different land system management attributes: management strategy and a combination of reduced stand management and biomass removal at a catchment-scale projection. To understand the potential impacts of NBPs, the Simojoki catchment in northern Finland was chosen, as the catchment mainly covered peatland forestry.

Predicting the stability of early employment with its timing and childhood social and health-related predictors: a mixture Markov model approach.

To extend work careers, it is important to focus on all working-aged people including young adults. The aim of this study was to identify typical patterns of work participation among young adults after their first entry into the labour market and to examine whether the timing of entry together with parental and own socio-economic position and health predict early work participation. More in-depth understanding of early careers and their early determinants is important to plan targeted interventions and to promote more stable work participation among young adults.

Online searches of children's oseltamivir in public primary and specialized care: Detecting influenza outbreaks in Finland using dedicated databases for health care professionals.

Introduction: Health care professionals working in primary and specialized care typically search for medical information from Internet sources. In Finland, Physician's Databases are online portals aimed at professionals seeking medical information. As dosage errors may occur when prescribing medication to children, professionals' need for reliable medical information has increased in public health care centers and hospitals.

Land use synergies and conflicts identification in the framework of compatibility analyses and spatial assessment of ecological, socio-cultural and economic values.

Land-use conflicts can be costly and time-consuming and cause social burden to all parties. In this study, we developed an approach for mapping synergy and conflict potential between land uses and tested it on nature protection, nature-based tourism, forestry and mining. First, we calculated the ecological and socio-cultural values for the study area, and further the economic values related to forestry and mining.

Rationale and Description of Implementation of Regional Collaborative Service Model for Enhancing Psychosocial Wellbeing of Children and Families-Oulu Collective Impact Study.

Background: The psychosocial wellbeing of children and adolescents is an ongoing global concern. Despite positive outcomes of child- and family-focused programs, the fragmentation of services presents challenges. To enhance harmonization and diminish fragmentation of service policies, we implement a preventive collaborative service model for children and families.

Detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater influent in relation to reported COVID-19 incidence in Finland.

Wastewater-based surveillance is a cost-effective concept for monitoring COVID-19 pandemics at a population level. Here, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was monitored from a total of 693 wastewater (WW) influent samples from 28 wastewater treatment plants (WWTP, N = 21-42 samples per WWTP) in Finland from August 2020 to May 2021, covering WW of ca. 3.

Closing lower secondary schools had no impact on COVID-19 incidence in 13-15-year-olds in Finland.

School lockdowns have been widely used to control the COVID-19 pandemic. However, these lockdowns may have a significant negative impact on the lives of young people. In this study, we have evaluated the impact of closing lower secondary schools for COVID-19 incidence in 13-15-year-olds in Finland, in a situation where restrictions and recommendation of social distancing were implemented uniformly in the entire country.

Estimating societal benefits from Nordic catchments: An integrative approach using a final ecosystem services framework.

Nordic catchments provide a variety of ecosystem services, from harvestable goods to mitigation of climate change and recreational possibilities. Flows of supplied ecosystem services depend on a broad range of factors, including climate, hydrology, land management and human population density. The aims of this study were: 1) to quantify the total economic value (TEV) of consumed ecosystem services across Nordic catchments, 2) to explain variation in ecosystem service value using socio-geographic and natural factors as explanatory variables in multiple linear regression, and 3) to determine which societal groups benefit from these ecosystem services.

Potential impacts of a future Nordic bioeconomy on surface water quality.

Nordic water bodies face multiple stressors due to human activities, generating diffuse loading and climate change. The 'green shift' towards a bio-based economy poses new demands and increased pressure on the environment. Bioeconomy-related pressures consist primarily of more intensive land management to maximise production of biomass.

Applying ecosystem services as a framework to analyze the effects of alternative bio-economy scenarios in Nordic catchments.

The inherently unknown future development of a Nordic bio-economy was studied with four scenarios applied in an ecosystem service assessment framework. This framework couples CORINE land use cover with estimates of 15 final ecosystem services from the CICES 5.1 classification in biophysical and monetary terms.

Mining in the Arctic environment - A review from ecological, socioeconomic and legal perspectives.

The development of mining and other resource-based industries are among key drivers of economic development in the Arctic. The fragile environment and the presence of nature-based livelihoods and indigenous communities pose challenges for mining development. Mining operations should be optimized so that the profitability is maintained in changing market conditions and to meet increasing societal and environmental demands.

Projecting biodiversity and wood production in future forest landscapes: 15 key modeling considerations.

A variety of modeling approaches can be used to project the future development of forest systems, and help to assess the implications of different management alternatives for biodiversity and ecosystem services. This diversity of approaches does however present both an opportunity and an obstacle for those trying to decide which modeling technique to apply, and interpreting the management implications of model output. Furthermore, the breadth of issues relevant to addressing key questions related to forest ecology, conservation biology, silviculture, economics, requires insights stemming from a number of distinct scientific disciplines.

Spatially dynamic forest management to sustain biodiversity and economic returns.

Production of marketed commodities and protection of biodiversity in natural systems often conflict and thus the continuously expanding human needs for more goods and benefits from global ecosystems urgently calls for strategies to resolve this conflict. In this paper, we addressed what is the potential of a forest landscape to simultaneously produce habitats for species and economic returns, and how the conflict between habitat availability and timber production varies among taxa. Secondly, we aimed at revealing an optimal combination of management regimes that maximizes habitat availability for given levels of economic returns.

Cost-efficiency of decaying wood as a surrogate for overall species richness in boreal forests.

Decaying wood is one of the most important elements for species richness in boreal forests. We tested how well reserve selection based on the amount and quality of decaying wood results in a representation of four ecologically different taxa (beetles, birds, wood-inhabiting fungi, and vascular plants). We also compared the cost-efficiency of the use of dead-wood indicators with comprehensive species inventory.

The application of teleophthalmology in examining patients with glaucoma: a pilot study.

Purpose: To test the feasibility of teleophthalmology applications in examining patients with glaucoma, test its use for training purposes in an ophthalmology residency program and as a consultation link between primary healthcare unit and university eye clinic, and to introduce a preliminary model for economic assessment of telemedicine application in ophthalmology.

Methods: A video slit-lamp, an automated perimeter, a nonmydriatic fundus camera and a videoconferencing system were installed in a healthcare center in a rural area. Twenty-nine patients with glaucoma were examined in the rural healthcare center instead of the university eye clinic.