Occupational noise exposure and maternal pregnancy complications: register-based cohort from urban areas in four Nordic countries.

Objective: To assess the role of occupational noise exposure on pregnancy complications in urban Nordic populations.

Methods: A study population covering five metropolitan areas in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden was generated using national birth registries linked with occupational and residential environmental exposures and sociodemographic variables. The data covered all pregnancies during 5-11 year periods in 2004‒2016, resulting in 373 184 pregnancies.

Near-infrared germanium PIN-photodiodes with >1A/W responsivity.

Even though efficient near-infrared (NIR) detection is critical for numerous applications, state-of-the-art NIR detectors either suffer from limited capability of detecting incoming photons, i.e., have poor spectral responsivity, or are made of expensive group III-V non-CMOS compatible materials.

Predictors of non-completion of upper secondary education in Finland based on register data.

Aims: School non-completion is a public health and educational concern in most countries. This study sought to identify the strongest predictors of the non-completion of upper secondary education based on register data.

Methods: A cross-validated elastic net regression analysis was used to predict school non-completion in a population of 2696 students in the city of Jyväskylä, Finland.

Trunk muscle activation of core stabilization exercises in subjects with and without chronic low back pain.

Background: Weakness and atrophy in trunk muscles have been associated with chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Objective: This study aimed to identify isometric exercises resulting the highest trunk muscle activity for individuals with and without CLBP.

Methods: Fourteen males with CLBP and 15 healthy age-matched healthy subjects were recruited for this study.

Nature contact and general health: Testing multiple serial mediation pathways with data from adults in 18 countries.

The role of neighbourhood nature in promoting good health is increasingly recognised in policy and practice, but consistent evidence for the underlying mechanisms is lacking. Heterogeneity in exposure methods, outcome measures, and population characteristics, little exploration of recreational use or the role of different types of green or blue space, and multiple separate mediation models in previous studies have limited our ability to synthesise findings and draw clear conclusions. We examined multiple pathways linking different types of neighbourhood nature with general health using a harmonised international sample of adults.

Boron-Implanted Black Silicon Photodiode with Close-to-Ideal Responsivity from 200 to 1000 nm.

Detection of UV light has traditionally been a major challenge for Si photodiodes due to reflectance losses and junction recombination. Here we overcome these problems by combining a nanostructured surface with an optimized implanted junction and compare the obtained performance to state-of-the-art commercial counterparts. We achieve a significant improvement in responsivity, reaching near ideal values at wavelengths all the way from 200 to 1000 nm.

Urban green space and mental health among people living alone: The mediating roles of relational and collective restoration in an 18-country sample.

Rates of living alone, especially in more urbanised areas, are increasing across many industrialised countries, with associated increases in feelings of loneliness and poorer mental health. Recent studies have suggested that access to nature (e.g.

Black Ultra-Thin Crystalline Silicon Wafers Reach the 4n Absorption Limit-Application to IBC Solar Cells.

Cutting costs by progressively decreasing substrate thickness is a common theme in the crystalline silicon photovoltaic  industry for the last decades, since drastically thinner wafers would significantly reduce the substrate-related costs. In addition to the technological challenges concerning wafering and handling of razor-thin flexible wafers, a major bottleneck is to maintain high absorption in those thin wafers. For the latter, advanced light-trapping techniques become of paramount importance.

Efficient surface passivation of germanium nanostructures with 1% reflectance.

Germanium (Ge) is a vital element for applications that operate in near-infrared wavelengths. Recent progress in developing nanostructured Ge surfaces has resulted in >99% absorption in a wide wavelength range (300-1700 nm), promising unprecedented performance for optoelectronic devices. However, excellent optics alone is not enough for most of the devices (e.

Special Issue: Place, Space, and Mental Health.

Global megatrends, including climate change and urbanisation, are shaping and changing how we live in the future [...

Grass-like alumina coated window harnesses the full omnidirectional potential of black silicon photodiodes.

Packaged photodiodes suffer from Fresnel reflection from the package window glass, especially at high angles of incidence. This has a notable impact particularly on black silicon (b-Si) photodiodes, which have extreme sensitivity. In this work, we show that by adding a simple grass-like alumina antireflection (AR) coating on the window glass, excellent omnidirectional sensitivity and high external quantum efficiency (EQE) of b-Si photodiodes can be retained.

Use of Health Services Among People Living Alone in Finland.

Although health issues are more common in people living alone than in those living with someone, research on the service use of people living alone has focused on older age groups. Based on large Finnish cross-sectional health survey (FinHealth 2017, n = 4686), we examined the difference in the use and assessment of health services between those living alone and those living with someone, and whether some sub-groups within those living alone use or perceive the use of health care services differently to those living with someone. The adjusted proportions, based on logistic regression models controlling for demographic variables and perceived health and mental health, showed that those living alone had seen a doctor in the past year less often (65.

Profiles of subjective health among people living alone: a latent class analysis.

Background: Living alone has increased globally and especially in Finland where 45% of all households are single occupancy. Epidemiological research has found that living alone a risk factor for a wide range of adversities related to quality of life but the rapidly-changing demographics of people living alone calls for a more detailed investigation of their subjective health status.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional survey sent for a random sample of Finnish residents in single-person households (n = 884), we explored with latent class analysis whether the respondents form different health profiles based on the three health dimensions defined by the World Health Organization: physical, social, and mental well-being.

Positive Mental Health of Finnish People Living Alone: The Role of Circumstantial Factors and Leisure-Time Activities.

Living alone has become more common across Europe. Past research has consistently identified living alone as a risk factor for poor mental health while evidence on the positive dimension(s) of mental health has been scarce. Positive mental health has been associated with rather stable circumstantial factors, such as socio-economic characteristics and social relationships, and day-to-day activities in the form of leisure participation, in general populations.

Efficient photon capture on germanium surfaces using industrially feasible nanostructure formation.

Nanostructured surfaces are known to provide excellent optical properties for various photonics devices. Fabrication of such nanoscale structures to germanium (Ge) surfaces by metal assisted chemical etching (MACE) is, however, challenging as Ge surface is highly reactive resulting often in micron-level rather than nanoscale structures. Here we show that by properly controlling the process, it is possible to confine the chemical reaction only to the vicinity of the metal nanoparticles and obtain nanostructures also in Ge.

Black-Silicon Ultraviolet Photodiodes Achieve External Quantum Efficiency above 130.

At present, ultraviolet sensors are utilized in numerous fields ranging from various spectroscopy applications via biotechnical innovations to industrial process control. Despite this, the performance of current UV sensors is surprisingly poor. Here, we break the theoretical one-photon-one-electron barrier and demonstrate a device with a certified external quantum efficiency above 130% in UV range without external amplification.

Neighbourhood blue space, health and wellbeing: The mediating role of different types of physical activity.

Background: Evidence suggests that living near blue spaces such as the coast, lakes and rivers may be good for health and wellbeing. Although greater levels of physical activity (PA) may be a potential mechanism, we know little about the types of PA that might account for this.

Objectives: To explore the mediating role of: a) 'watersports' (e.

Can Nature Walks With Psychological Tasks Improve Mood, Self-Reported Restoration, and Sustained Attention? Results From Two Experimental Field Studies.

The evidence for restorative effects of contact with nature is vast. Drawing from two well-known theories in Environmental Psychology, Stress reduction theory and Attention restoration theory, restoration can be seen as a sequential, interactive process that begins with physiological relaxation and results in affective and attention restoration and broader life reflection. This interaction between a person and their environment may be facilitated by actively engaging with the environment but this has been understudied.

Environmental Strategies of Affect Regulation and Their Associations With Subjective Well-Being.

Environmental strategies of affect regulation refer to the use of natural and urban socio-physical settings in the service of regulation. We investigated the perceived use and efficacy of environmental strategies for regulation of general affect and sadness, considering them in relation to other affect regulation strategies and to subjective well-being. Participants from Australia, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, India, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden ( = 507) evaluated the frequency of use and perceived efficacy of affect regulation strategies using a modified version of the Measure of Affect Regulation Styles (MARS).

Black silicon significantly enhances phosphorus diffusion gettering.

Black silicon (b-Si) is currently being adopted by several fields of technology, and its potential has already been demonstrated in various applications. We show here that the increased surface area of b-Si, which has generally been considered as a drawback e.g.

Exercise therapy for functional capacity in chronic diseases: an overview of meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials.

Objective: To summarise all meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials that have evaluated the effects of exercise therapy on functional capacity in patients with chronic diseases.

Design: Umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials.

Data Sources: We systematically searched the CENTRAL, CINAHL, DARE, Medline, OTSeeker, PEDro, SPORTDiscus, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Database, Web of Science, Scopus, OpenGrey and BMC Proceedings from database inception to 1 September 2016.

Learning under your gaze: the mediating role of affective arousal between perceived direct gaze and memory performance.

Previous studies have shown that cognitive performance can be affected by the presence of an observer and self-directed gaze. We investigated whether the effect of gaze direction (direct vs. downcast) on verbal memory is mediated by autonomic arousal.