COVID-19 infection and later risk of sickness absence by socioeconomic status: a cohort study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was a significant health risk and resulted in increased sickness absence during the pandemic. This study examines whether a history of COVID-19 infection is associated with a higher risk of subsequent sickness absence.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 32,124 public sector employees responded to a survey on COVID-19 infection and lifestyle factors in 2020 and were linked to sickness absence records before (2019) and after (2021-2022) the survey.

General medical comorbidities in psychotic disorders in the Finnish SUPER study.

Schizophrenia (SZ), schizoaffective disorder (SZA), bipolar disorder (BD), and psychotic depression (PD) are associated with premature death due to preventable general medical comorbidities (GMCs). The interaction between psychosis, risk factors, and GMCs is complex and should be elucidated. More research particularly among those with SZA or PD is warranted.

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.

Characterization of the anesthetic effects of dexmedetomidine-vatinoxan-ketamine combinations in cats.

Objective: To characterize the anesthetic effects of dexmedetomidine, vatinoxan and ketamine combinations in cats.

Study Design: Randomized crossover experimental study.

Animals: A group of seven healthy male neutered cats, with body mass 5.

Seasonality in mortality and its impact on life expectancy levels and trends across Europe.

Background: Seasonal fluctuations in mortality affect annual life expectancy at birth (e). Nevertheless, evidence on the impact of seasonal mortality on longevity is very limited and mainly restricted to assessing season-specific mortality levels due to shocks (e.g.

Impaired coagulation parameters in early RA are restored by effective antirheumatic therapy: a prospective pilot study.

Objectives: To assess the effect of treatment on haemostatic parameters in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed RA started methotrexate and were randomised to additional conventional treatment, certolizumab pegol, abatacept or tocilizumab. Several biomarkers for haemostasis were analysed including parameters of the two global haemostatic assays-overall haemostatic potential (OHP) and endogenous thrombin potential (ETP), as well as single haemostatic factors-fibrinogen, prothrombin fragment 1+2 (F1+2), D-dimer, thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) and clot lysis time (CLT) in 24 patients at baseline, 12 and 24 weeks after the start of the treatment.

Artificial Intelligence Models Could Enhance the Diagnostic Accuracy (DA) of Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) in the Detection of Colorectal Adenoma in a Screening Setting.

Background/aim: This study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy (DA) for colorectal adenomas (CRA), screened by fecal immunochemical test (FIT), using five artificial intelligence (AI) models: logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), neural network (NN), random forest (RF), and gradient boosting machine (GBM). These models were tested together with clinical features categorized as low-risk (lowR) and high-risk (highR).

Patients And Methods: The colorectal neoplasia (CRN) screening cohort of 5,090 patients included 222 CRA patients and 264 non-CRA patients.

Improved Vitamin D Status Is Associated With Lower Incidence of Stillbirth.

Background/aim: Two retrospective studies of prospective cohorts showed doubled odds of birth asphyxia among women with low plasma vitamin D levels, and another study reported a four-fold increased risk of stillbirth. It was not known whether this was related to low sun exposure or to insufficient vitamin D per se. We aimed to assess if it was due to vitamin D status.

What makes an expert in childhood vaccinations? Perceptions of parents in Finland.

In Finland, trust in science and research organisations is high. This correlates with the fact that childhood vaccination uptake is generally good in Finland, with vaccine refusal being rare. However, there are differences between vaccines and regions in terms of uptake.

Imprecise Coding in Allergic Contact Dermatitis: A Register-Study From Northern Finland Between Years 1999 and 2022.

Background: Registry-based data are increasingly used in dermatological research. A recent epidemiological study has shown that the use of non-specific diagnostic codes is common among dermatologists.

Objectives: To study closely the use of the diagnostic codes L23.

Effect of Oral Inflammatory Burden on Size and Stage of Oral Tongue Cancer.

Objective: Oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma is an aggressive life-threatening disease, the prognosis of which is affected by tumor stage and size. We retrospectively studied whether oral inflammatory burden and established tongue carcinoma etiological factors exert an impact on tumor size and stage.

Materials And Methods: Medical records of 183 subjects diagnosed with tongue carcinoma at Helsinki University Hospital were investigated.

Continued Implementation and Use of a Digital Informal Care Support Platform Before and After COVID-19: Multimethod Study.

Background: With the growing need of support for informal caregivers (ICs) and care recipients (CRs) during COVID-19, the uptake of digital care collaboration platforms such as Caren increased. Caren is a platform designed to (1) improve communication and coordination between ICs and health care professionals, (2) provide a better overview of the care process, and (3) enhance safe information sharing within the care network. Insights on the impact of COVID-19 on the implementation and use of informal care platforms such as Caren are still lacking.

Association of hemoglobin levels with metabolic traits in women with PCOS.

Introduction: Within normal variation, higher hemoglobin (Hb) levels are associated with poorer metabolic profile in population cohorts, underlying the link between oxygen delivery and cell metabolism. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder among women and is commonly accompanied by metabolic derangements. In this study we sought to investigate Hb levels, and their metabolic associations, in women with PCOS.

Parents' Need for Support From Family and Friends During Their Preterm Infants' Hospitalisation: A Cross-National Qualitative Study.

Aim: To explore the need for support from family and friends among parents of preterm infants within neonatal intensive care.

Design: A cross-national qualitative study.

Methods: In autumn 2019, 73 parents of preterm infants hospitalised in neonatal intensive care units in Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden were interviewed.

From museum drawer to tree: Historical DNA phylogenomics clarifies the systematics of rare dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae) from museum collections.

Although several methods exist for extracting and sequencing historical DNA originating from dry-preserved insect specimens deposited in natural history museums, no consensus exists as to what is the optimal approach. We demonstrate that a customized, low-cost archival DNA extraction protocol (∼€10 per sample), in combination with Ultraconserved Elements (UCEs), is an effective tool for insect phylogenomic studies. We successfully tested our approach by sequencing DNA from scarab dung beetles preserved in both wet and dry collections, including unique primary type and rare historical specimens from internationally important natural history museums in London, Paris and Helsinki.

LIFEPLAN: A worldwide biodiversity sampling design.

As the technology for mass identification of species is advancing rapidly, we developed a field sampling method that takes advantage of the emerging possibilities of combining sensor-based data with automated high-throughput data processing. This article describes the five field sampling methods used by the LIFEPLAN project to collect biodiversity data in a systematic manner, all over the world. These methods are designed for use by anyone with basic biology or ecology knowledge from the higher education or university level.

Evidence for bottom-up effects of moth abundance on forest birds in the north-boreal zone alone.

Insect declines are raising alarms regarding cascading effects on ecosystems, especially as many insectivorous bird populations are also declining. Here, we leveraged long-term monitoring datasets across Finland to investigate trophic dynamics between functional groups of moths and birds in forested habitats. We reveal a positive association between the biomass of adult- or egg-overwintering moths and the biomasses of resident and long-distance migrant birds reliant on caterpillars as breeding-season food in the north-boreal zone.

Personalized multifactorial risk assessment in neoadjuvant-treated breast carcinoma.

Purpose: Due to biological heterogeneity of breast carcinoma, predicting the individual response to neoadjuvant treatment (NAT) is complex. Consequently, there are no comprehensive, generally accepted practices to guide post-treatment follow-up. We present clinical and histopathological criteria to advance the prediction of disease outcome in NA-treated breast cancer.

Separating dementia with Lewy bodies from Alzheimer's disease dementia using a volumetric MRI classifier.

Objectives: Distinguishing dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) from Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia, particularly in patients with DLB and concomitant AD pathology (DLB/AD+), can be challenging and there is no specific MRI signature for DLB. The aim of this study is to examine the additional value of MRI-based brain volumetry in separating patients with DLB (AD+/-) from patients with AD and controls.

Methods: We included 1518 participants from four cohorts (ADC, ADNI, PDBP and PredictND); 147 were patients with DLB (n = 76, DLB/AD+; n = 71, DLB/AD-), 668 patients with AD dementia, and 703 controls.

Detection of Porcine Norovirus GII.18 Strains in Pigs Using Broadly Reactive RT-qPCR Assay for Genogroup II Noroviruses.

Noroviruses, belonging to the family Caliciviridae, are classified into at least ten genogroups (G) based on their major capsid protein (VP1). The common genogroup to be identified in both humans and pigs is GII, although porcine noroviruses (PoNoVs) belong to genotypes of their own (GII.11, GII.

Inheritance of Material Wealth in a Natural Population.

Evolutionary adaptation occurs when individuals vary in access to fitness-relevant resources and these differences in 'material wealth' are heritable. It is typically assumed that the inheritance of material wealth reflects heritable variation in the phenotypic abilities needed to acquire material wealth. We scrutinise this assumption by investigating additional mechanisms underlying the inheritance of material wealth in collared flycatchers.

Fates of nutrient elements and heavy metals during thermal conversion of cattle slurry-derived anaerobic digestates.

Thermal processes are emerging as promising solutions to recovering phosphorus and other nutrient elements from anaerobic digestates. The feasibility of nutrient element recovery depends largely on the fates of nutrient elements and heavy metals during thermal processing. This study assesses the partitioning of macronutrients (N, P, K, Na, Ca and Mg) and heavy metals (Zn, Cu, and Mn) between condensed and gaseous phases during thermal conversion of cattle slurry digestates in gas atmospheres of pyrolysis, combustion, and gasification processes.

Integrative Approaches to Study Virus Structures.

A virus particle must work as a strongroom to protect its genome, but at the same time it must undergo dramatic conformational changes to infect the cell in order to replicate and assemble progeny. Thus, viruses are miniaturized wonders whose structural complexity requires investigation by a combination of different techniques that can tackle both static and dynamic processes. In this chapter, we will illustrate how major structural techniques such as X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy can be combined with other techniques to determine the structure of complex viruses.