Mobile Diary for Wellness Management—Results on Usage and Usability in Two User Studies

The prevalence of lifestyle-related health problems is increasing rapidly. Many of the diseases and health risks could be prevented or alleviated by making changes toward healthier lifestyles. We have developed the Wellness Diary (WD), a concept for personal and mobile wellness management based on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Two implementations of the concept were made for the Symbian Series 60 (S60) mobile phone platform, and their usability, usage, and acceptance were studied in two 3-month user studies. Study I was related to weight management and study II to general wellness management. In both the studies, the concept and its implementations were well accepted and considered as easy to use and useful in wellness management. The usage rate of the WD was high and sustained at a high level throughout the study. The average number of entries made per day was 5.32 (SD = 2.59, range = 0–14) in study I, and 5.48 (SD = 2.60, range = 0–17) in study II. The results indicate that the WD is well suited for supporting CBT-based wellness management.      

Structural features of a polypeptide carrier promoting secretion of a β-lactamase fusion protein in yeast

Escherichia coli β-lactamase was secreted into the culture medium of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in biologically active form, when fused to the C-terminus of the hsp150δ-carrier. The hsp150δ-carrier is an N-terminal fragment of the yeast hsp150 protein, having a signal peptide and consisting mostly of a 19 amino acid peptide repeated 11 times in tandem. Here we expressed the hsp150δ-carrier fragment alone in S. cerevisiae. Apparently due to a positional effect of the gene insertion, large amounts of the hsp150δ-carrier were synthesized. About half of the de novo synthesized carrier molecules were secreted into the culture medium, the rest remaining mostly in the pre-Golgi compartment. The extensively O-glycosylated carrier fragment was purified from the culture medium under non-denaturing conditions. Circular dichroism spectroscopy showed that it had no regular secondary structure. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that a non-glycosylated synthetic peptide, the consensus sequence of the repetitive 19 amino acid peptide, also lacked secondary structure. The unstructured carrier polypeptide may facilitate proper folding and secretion of heterologous proteins attached to it.     

Quantified factory worker: field study of a web application supporting work well-being and productivity

Cognition, Technology & Work - The work on the factory floor is gradually changing to resemble knowledge work due to highly automated manufacturing machines. In the increasingly automated work...     

Assessment of water quality in the vicinity of peat extraction sites: The case of Pien‐Saimaa,Finland

Peatlands have an important global role as carbon sinks. Locally, however, peat bog extraction can cause pollution in nearby watercourses. The aim of this study is to investigate the application of multivariate methods in the renovation and protection of eutrophic lakes surrounded by agricultural and peat extraction areas. The analytical data used in the study originated from a national water quality database and the period studied was 2000–2013. Multivariate methods: Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) were applied to solve interactions of variables and pollution sources in a complex water ecosystem. Leaching from the peat bog area was found to be the main source of iron, which has an important role as a precipitator of phosphorus in loose sediment and in water. Nutrient ratios had no direct correlation to algae blooms, but high ratios indicated an increased likelihood of an upcoming bloom.     

The ORF YNL274c (GOR1) codes for glyoxylate reductase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The enzyme glyoxylate reductase reversibly reduces glyoxylate to glycolate, or alternatively hydroxypyruvate to D-glycerate, using either NADPH or NADH as a co-factor. The enzyme has multiple metabolic roles in different organisms. In this paper we show that GOR1 (ORF YNL274c) encodes a glyoxylate reductase and not a hydroxyisocaproate dehydrogenase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, even though it also has minor activity on alpha-ketoisocaproate. In addition, we show that deletion of the glyoxylate reductase-encoding gene leads to higher biomass concentration after diauxic shift.     

Evaluation of a participatory ergonomic intervention process in kitchen work

We evaluated a participatory ergonomic intervention process applied in 59 municipal kitchens. In groups of three to five kitchens, the workers participated in eight workshops, and generated and evaluated solutions to optimize musculoskeletal load in their work. An ergonomist initiated and supported the process. By the end, 402 changes were implemented. Evaluative data were collected using research diaries, questionnaires, and focus group interviews. The intervention model proved feasible and the participatory approach was mostly experienced as motivating. The workers’ knowledge and awareness of ergonomics increased, which improved their ability to tackle ergonomic problems by themselves. The changes in ergonomics were perceived to decrease physical load and improve musculoskeletal health. As hindering factors for implementation, lack of time and motivation, and insufficient financial resources were mentioned. In addition, the workers expressed a wish for more support from the management, technical staff, and ergonomists.     

Ubimedia based on readable and writable memory tags

Ubimedia is a concept where media files are embedded in everyday objects and the environment. We propose an approach where the user can read and write these files with his/her personal mobile phone simply by touching the physical objects. This facilitates easy access and storage of, e.g. video and audio files related to the physical object in question. This paper describes our work in developing a technical solution for ubimedia and studying user acceptance of forthcoming ubimedia services. Our technical development of the ubimedia concept has been focused on a mobile phone platform with a tag reader/writer, memory tags with large storage capacity, and the communication between the phone and the tags. Currently, the technical design is in test and evaluation phase. The preliminary results show that the concept works and it can be implemented technically. In parallel with the technical development, we have studied usage possibilities for ubimedia and user acceptance of future ubimedia services. User acceptance has been studied in a web survey and in user evaluations of proofs-of-concept. In addition, an ethical assessment has been carried out. The users appreciated especially the simplicity, speed, low cost and reliability of ubimedia. Ethical concerns were related to control over the download with regard to viruses and other unwanted content.     

Emissions of nitrous oxide from boreal agricultural clay and loamy sand soils

Long-term studies of greenhouse gas fluxes from agricultural soils in different climate regions are needed to improve the existing calculation models used in greenhouse gas inventories. The aim of this study was to obtain more information on nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from agricultural mineral soils in the boreal region. N₂O emissions were studied during 2000–2002 on two soil types in Finland, a loamy sand and a clay with plots of grass, barley and fallow. N₂O fluxes were measured with static chambers throughout the year. Other parameters measured were water filled pore space (WFPS), soil mineral nitrogen concentration, soil porosity, soil temperature and depth of soil frost. The annual fluxes from the clay soil ranged from 3.7 to 7.8 kg N ha^–1 and those from sandy loam from 1.5 to 7.5 kg N ha^–1. On average 60% of the annual fluxes occurred outside the growing season, from October to April. Increasing the number of freeze-thaw events was found to increase the fluxes during winter and during the thawing period in spring. The results suggest that N₂O fluxes from these boreal mineral soils do not vary much as a function of applied fertiliser N and could probably be better estimated from soil physical properties, including soil porosity.     

Contribution of nitrification and denitrification to N2O production in peat, clay and loamy sand soils under different soil moisture conditions

Agricultural soils are a significant source of nitrous oxide (N₂O). Since mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions is needed in all sectors of society, it is important to identify the processes producing N₂O and the factors affecting the production rates in agricultural soils. This study aimed to elucidate the N₂O production in peat, clay and loamy sand at four different soil moisture conditions (40, 60, 80 and 100% Water Filled Pore Space). The ace­tylene inhibition technique was used to evaluate the contribution of nitrification to N₂O production. Nitrous oxide production responded markedly to soil moisture in all three soils. The highest N₂O production, measured at the wettest soils (100% WFPS), was up to four orders of magnitude higher than that at the dry soils (40% WFPS). In dry conditions N₂O production decreased in the order of peat > clay > loamy sand, while in wet conditions the highest N₂O production was measured in loamy sand, then in peat, and the lowest in clay soils. Nitrification was the dominant N₂O producing process in all the soils at 60% WFPS. In the sandy soil 70% of the total N₂O production originated from nitrification, while in the peat soil most of the total N₂O production originated from denitrification. Data on processes producing N₂O in agricultural soils are needed to develop process-based models that could reduce the uncertainty of the emission estimates in greenhouse gas inventories.     

The hsp150Δ-carrier confers secretion competence to the rat nerve growth factor receptor ectodomain in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

When the extracellular domain of rat low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR_e) was synthesized in Saccharomyces cerevisiae with the signal peptide of invertase, NGFR_e was translocated to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and retained there. However, when NGFR_e was fused to the C-terminus of the hsp150Δ-carrier, the hsp150Δ–NGFR_e fusion protein was efficiently secreted to the growth medium with no apparent retention in the ER. The NGFR_e portion was disulphide-bonded and its single N-glycosylation site was occupied. The hsp150Δ-carrier is an N-terminal signal peptide-containing fragment of a yeast secretory glycoprotein. Hsp150Δ–NGFR_e, harvested from the culture medium, inhibited the cross-linking of [¹²⁵I]NGF to authentic NGFR on the surface of human melanoma cells. Moreover, [¹²⁵I]NGF could be chemically cross-linked to secretory hsp150Δ–NGFR_e, suggesting that the NGFR_e portion had adopted a ligand-binding conformation. However, inhibition of the cross-linking by unlabelled NGF was less effective than in the case of the authentic receptor. The hsp150Δ-carrier may have potential in the production of mammalian proteins, which require elaborate folding and disulphide formation in the ER.