Evaluating quick return restrictions on sickness absence in healthcare employees: A difference-in-differences study.

Background: Short intervals between shifts, known as quick returns, have been linked to adverse health effects, and increased risk of occupational accidents, particularly among healthcare employees. To safeguard employee health, the 2020 reform of Working Time Act in Finland limited rest periods under 11 h in irregular shift work.

Objective: To evaluate the changes in quick returns following the 2020 reform of the Working Time Act in Finland and their association with sickness absence among public healthcare employees.

Determination of mode strengths in channel waveguide from the complex electric field.

We show that the mode strengths of a guided field in an arbitrary asymmetric channel waveguide can be uniquely determined from self-referencing interferometric measurements at the exit plane of the waveguide. This requires knowledge of both the amplitude and phase of the complex electric field distribution. Although the amplitude can be obtained from the measured intensity profile easily, the phase retrieval is usually non-trivial.

A retrospective longitudinal study of 52 Finnish patients with X-linked retinoschisis.

Purpose: To describe clinical characteristics in Finnish patients with X-linked retinoschisis (XLRS) longitudinally with emphasis on retinal morphology and genotype-phenotype correlations.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study reviewed medical records from patients with genetically confirmed XLRS from the Department of Ophthalmology, Helsinki University Hospital. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), refraction, colour fundus photography, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and genetic information were collected.

Prospective In Vivo Confocal Microscopy of the Central Cornea in Terrien Marginal Degeneration.

Purpose: To analyze central corneal in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) in Terrien marginal degeneration (TMD).

Methods: An observational prospective case-control study. Ten Finnish patients with TMD from a tertiary referral center were compared with 10 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers.

Pathogenic Germline Variants in Uveal Melanoma Driver and BAP1-Associated Genes in Finnish Patients with Uveal Melanoma.

Uveal melanoma (UM) is a rare yet aggressive eye cancer causing over 50% mortality from metastasis. Familial UM, amounting to 1%-6% of patients in Finland and the United States, mostly lack identified genetic cause, while 8% show associations with other cancer syndromes. We searched novel genetic associations for predisposition to UM, additional to already studied BAP1 and MBD4, by using targeted amplicon sequencing of 19 genes associated with UM, BAP1, or renal cell carcinoma in 270 consecutively enrolled Finnish patients with UM.

Born to move? Birth order and emigration.

This paper studies the interrelation between birth order and emigration adopting a family fixed-effects approach. We use register data on all persons in full-siblings groups born 1970-2002 in the entire Finnish-born population, and observe their first move abroad since age 18 in the period 1987-2020. The total number of siblings is 1,352,908, the total number of sibling groups 549,842, and the total number of first moves abroad 31,192.

Detecting mining impacts on freshwater ecosystems using replicated sampling before and after the impact.

Detecting human impact on freshwater ecosystems is problematic without rigorous assessment of temporal changes. Assessments of mining impacts are further complicated by the strong influence of local catchment geology on surface waters even in unmined environments. Such influence cannot be effectively considered by using broad-scale reference frameworks based on regionalization and stream types.

Gut Mycobiome in Atopic Dermatitis and in Overweight Young Children: A Prospective Cohort Study in Finland.

Gut bacterial alterations have been previously linked to several non-communicable diseases in adults, while the association of mycobiome is not well understood in these diseases, especially in infants and children. Few studies have been conducted on the association between gut mycobiome and non-communicable diseases in children. We investigated gut mycobiome composition using 194 faecal samples collected at birth, 6 months after birth, and 18 months after birth in relation to atopic dermatitis (AD) and overweight diagnoses at the age of 18 or 36 months.

Rare genetic variation in VE-PTP is associated with central serous chorioretinopathy, venous dysfunction and glaucoma.

Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) is a fluid maculopathy whose etiology is not well understood. Abnormal choroidal veins in CSC patients have been shown to have similarities with varicose veins. To identify potential mechanisms, we analyzed genotype data from 1,477 CSC patients and 455,449 controls in FinnGen.

The Pediatric and Young Adult Choroidal and Ciliary Body Melanoma Genetic Study, A Survey by the European Ophthalmic Oncology Group.

Purpose: To explore the genetic background of choroidal and ciliary body melanoma among children and young adults, with special focus on BAP1 germline variants in this age group.

Methods: Patients under the age of 25 and with confirmed choroidal or ciliary body melanoma were included in this retrospective, multicenter observational study. Nuclear BAP1 immunopositivity was used to evaluate the presence of functional BAP1 in the tumor.

Gut microbiome-derived bacterial extracellular vesicles in patients with solid tumours.

Introduction: Gut microbiome-derived nanoparticles, known as bacterial extracellular vesicles (bEVs), have garnered interest as promising tools for studying the link between the gut microbiome and human health. The diverse composition of bEVs, including their proteins, mRNAs, metabolites, and lipids, makes them useful for investigating diseases such as cancer. However, conventional approaches for studying gut microbiome composition alone may not be accurate in deciphering host-gut microbiome communication.

Psychotherapy duration and work disability: A prospective Finnish register study.

Introduction: The influence of psychotherapy duration on common mental disorder (CMD) outcomes remains a topic of ongoing debate. Whereas most research has focused on CMD symptom change, the evidence on the psychotherapy duration of subsequent CMD-related work disability and the change in psychotropic drug purchases is scarce.

Methods: We used a register-based cohort representing 33% of the Finnish population.

Modulation of macrophage metabolism as an emerging immunotherapy strategy for cancer.

Immunometabolism is a burgeoning field of research that investigates how immune cells harness nutrients to drive their growth and functions. Myeloid cells play a pivotal role in tumor biology, yet their metabolic influence on tumor growth and antitumor immune responses remains inadequately understood. This Review explores the metabolic landscape of tumor-associated macrophages, including the immunoregulatory roles of glucose, fatty acids, glutamine, and arginine, alongside the tools used to perturb their metabolism to promote antitumor immunity.

Influence of water color and catchment lake cover on stream macroinvertebrate communities: Ecological insights into browning effects.

Browning of streams due to increased export of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and iron has been observed in vast areas of the northern hemisphere with likely adverse ecological effects. Lake basins in stream catchments can moderate DOC export and influence stream communities, which complicates understanding of the effects of DOC. In this study, we explored the independent and interactive effects of water color (proxy for DOC and iron) and catchment lake cover on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in 94 medium-sized boreal forest streams.

Association of APOE Haplotypes With Common Age-Related Ocular Diseases in 412,171 Individuals.

Purpose: Apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4), a known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease, has controversially been associated with reduced risk of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Here, we sought to systematically quantify the associations of APOE haplotypes with age-related ocular diseases and to assess their scope and age-dependency.

Methods: We included genetic and registry data from 412,171 Finnish individuals in the FinnGen study.

Functional assay for assessment of pathogenicity of BAP1 variants.

Background: Pathogenic germline variants in BRCA1-Associated Protein 1 (BAP1) cause BAP1 tumor predisposition syndrome (BAP1-TPDS). Carriers run especially a risk of uveal (UM) and cutaneous melanoma, malignant mesothelioma, and clear cell renal carcinoma. Approximately half of increasingly reported BAP1 variants lack accurate classification.

Sociodemographic Factors as Predictors of the Duration of Long-term Psychotherapy: Evidence from a Finnish Nationwide Register Study.

Objective: The role of sociodemographic factors in determining psychotherapy duration has been largely unexplored despite their known association with treatment use. We examined the association between sociodemographic factors and rehabilitative psychotherapy treatment duration, as well as any changes in duration over time.

Method: We used three register-based nationally representative cohorts.

Bacterial extracellular vesicles - brain invaders? A systematic review.

Introduction: Knowledge on the human gut microbiota in health and disease continues to rapidly expand. In recent years, changes in the gut microbiota composition have been reported as a part of the pathology in numerous neurodegenerative diseases. Bacterial extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been suggested as a novel mechanism for the crosstalk between the brain and gut microbiota, physiologically connecting the observed changes in the brain to gut microbiota dysbiosis.

Modulation of Pro-Inflammatory IL-6 Trans-Signaling Axis by Splice Switching Oligonucleotides as a Therapeutic Modality in Inflammation.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine that plays a crucial role in maintaining normal homeostatic processes under the pathogenesis of various inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. This context-dependent effect from a cytokine is due to two distinctive forms of signaling: -signaling and . IL-6 involves binding IL-6 to the membrane-bound IL-6 receptor and Glycoprotein 130 (GP130) signal-transducing subunit.

Reduction formula for cross-spectral purity of nonstationary light fields.

We examine cross-spectral purity of random, nonstationary (pulsed), scalar light fields with arbitrary spectral bandwidth. In particular, we derive a reduction formula in terms of time-integrated coherence functions, which ensures cross-spectral purity of interfering fields having identical normalized spectra. We further introduce fields that are cross-spectrally pure in either a global or local sense.

Efficacy and safety of Lpc-37® in students facing examination stress: A randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (the ChillEx study).

Lpc-37 (Lpc-37) has previously shown to reduce perceived stress in healthy adults. The ChillEx study investigated whether Lpc-37 reduces stress in a model of chronic examination stress in healthy students. One hundred ninety university students (18-40 y) were randomized to take 1.

Investigating prenatal and perinatal factors on meconium microbiota: a systematic review and cohort study.

Background: The first-pass meconium has been suggested as a proxy for the fetal gut microbiota because it is formed in utero. This systematic review and cohort study investigated how pre- and perinatal factors influence the composition of the meconium microbiota.

Methods: We performed the systematic review using Covidence by searching PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases with the search terms "meconium microbiome" and "meconium microbiota".