Turku University of Applied Sciences

Kuvaus The University of California and Los Angeles Loneliness Scale eli UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS) on itsearviointina täytettävä kysely, joka on kehitetty mittaamaan nuorten ja aikuisten koettua yksinäisyyttä. Daniel Russell kollegoineen kehittivät mittarin vuonna 1978 mittaamaan yliopisto-opiskelijoiden yksinäisyyttä. Mittarista on kehitetty kolme virallista versiota ja lisäksi lukuisia lyhennettyjä ja muokattuja versioita. Kolmas versio sisältää 11 kielteisesti ja yhdeksän myönteisesti muotoiltua väittämää neliluokkaisella Likert-asteikolla (1 = ’ei koskaan’, 4 = ’aina’). Myönteisesti muotoiltujen väittämien vastausasteikko käännetään vastaamaan kielteisesti muotoiltuja väittämiä. Vastauksista lasketaan summapistemäärä, jossa korkea viittaa voimakkaaseen yksinäisyyteen. Tavoite Mittarin psykometrisia ominaisuuksia on tutkittu paljon, ja mittari on vakiintunut laajalti käyttöön. Sen ominaisuuksista ei kuitenkaan ole yksimielisyyttä, eikä mittarin soveltuvuudesta suomalaisten yksinäisyyden mittaamiseen ole selvyyttä. Siksi tässä systemaattisessa kirjallisuuskatsauksessa tarkastellaan UCLA-LS-mittarin psykometrisia ominaisuuksia nuorilla ja aikuisilla tarkoituksena arvioida mittarin soveltuvuutta suomalaisten yksinäisyyden arviointiin. Kirjallisuushaku Systemaattinen kirjallisuushaku tehtiin kuuteen tietokantaan huhtikuussa 2025. Hakutuloksista (k = 495) katsaukseen sisällytettiin 13 artikkelia. Lisäksi tarkistettiin pohjoismaiset PsykTestBarn- ja Metodguiden-tietokannat, mutta niistä ei löytynyt mittarin arvioita. Kirjallisuuskatsaukseen valikoituneissa tutkimuksissa oli käytössä mittarin toinen ja kolmas versio useilla eri kielillä. Psykometriset ominaisuudet Tutkimuksissa arvioitiin pääasiassa mittarin validiteettia ja reliabiliteettia. Faktorirakenne vaihteli nuorten ja aikuisten aineistoissa: osa tutkimuksista tuki yksiulotteista rakennetta, osa kahden tai kolmen faktorin rakennetta, mikä viittaa mittarin moniulotteisuuteen. Mittarilla oli hyvä konvergenssi- ja erotteluvaliditeetti. Kriteerivaliditeettia ei tutkimuksissa arvioitu. Sisäinen yhtenevyys oli kauttaaltaan hyvä. Toistomittausreliabiliteettia arvioitiin vain yhdessä tutkimuksessa, jossa se oli hyvä. Viitearvoja raportoitiin vain yhdessä tutkimuksessa. Johtopäätös Kirjallisuuskatsauksen perusteella UCLA-LS-yksinäisyysmittarilla on hyvä validiteetti ja erinomainen reliabiliteetti. Mittarilla on kohtalainen käyttökelpoisuus, mutta viitearvot pistemäärille puuttuvat. Johtopäätös perustuu mittarin kahta uusinta virallista versiota tarkastelleisiin kansainvälisiin tutkimuksiin. Mittarin pistemäärille ei ole asetettu kansallisia tai kansainvälisiä viitearvoja. Mittarin faktorirakenne on yhä epäselvä: katsauksen tutkimukset ehdottavat kaksi- tai kolmiulotteista rakennetta, mutta väittämien muotoilun aiheuttamia metodivaikutuksia ei voida sulkea pois. UCLA-LS (versio 2) -mittarin ominaisuuksia on tarkasteltu kahdessa suomalaisessa tutkimuksessa, tutkimusten perusteella muokattu mittari sopii suomalaisten aikuisten yksinäisyyden arviointiin. Suomalaisilla nuorilla mittaria ei ole arvioitu. Myöskään mittarin kolmatta versiota ei ole tutkittu suomalaisella otoksella, eikä mittarista ole julkaistu virallista suomalaista käännöstä.

Meaningful living and working are increasingly important for modern people. Alongside this search for meaning, many find themselves anxious, even desperate, not only about their own futures but also about the fate of our planet. These existential concerns are intensified by ecological and moral states of emergency, manifested in biodiversity loss, climate change, overconsumption, ideological and societal polarization (IPBES; Planetary Boundaries; JMS 2026). This presentation focuses on the logotheoretic concept of ‘meaning fulfilment’ as an alternative view for understanding motivation and human behavior, and thereby implementing transformative change. Logotheory is a meta-psychology combining being human and meaningful existence (Frankl 1953; 2010; 2021). It is developed by Viktor Frankl (1905–1997), who is regarded as the pioneer of the scholarly meaning research (King & Hicks 2021; Steger 2019). As an existential approach building on early phenomenologists’ value-realism, logotheory regards the human ‘will to meaning’ as the motivational impetus of a mature adult and ‘meaning fulfilment’ as the final goal of human life (DuBois 1993; Frankl 2010). However, Frankl does not specify what ‘meaning fulfilment’ consists of, but the information is scattered throughout his writings. Based on a hermeneutic in-depth reading of Frankl’s works, this presentation introduces a process of ‘meaning fulfilment’ and proposes it as a meta-level motivational basis for meaningful action needed amidst today’s ecological crisis and societal polarization. Further, from the logotheory perspective, values and value-apprehension represent undertheorized areas in contemporary research on meaningfulness (Salo 2025). This includes the domain of ‘meaningful work’, which has recently discovered Frankl’s ideas and where further research based on his ideas is called for (Bailey et al. 2019). By proposing that ‘meaning fulfilment’ consists of five steps – the demand, orientation, discovering, commitment, and action; or conceptually: ‘identifying the question’, ‘will to meaning’, ‘meaning-discovering’, ‘taking responsibility’, and ‘value-realization’ – this presentation advances theorizing of motivation and human conduct based on the ‘will to meaning’, and application of ‘meaning fulfilment’ in the contexts of meaningful work and sustainability transformation. Since transformative change has not been explored from the motivational perspective of logotheory, it offers a foundation for novel and mainstream-challenging ideas for implementing the change.

• Identified 3 car-free and 3 car-dependent mobility lifestyles in Finnish cities. • Over half of participants belong to car-free mobility lifestyles. • Car-dependent lifestyles are associated with unimodal travel behaviour. • Findings support policies promoting sustainable and active urban mobility. Car-centric urban development and car-dependent mobility practices are causing increasing harm to society and the environment. Achieving transformative changes in urban mobility requires a deeper understanding of citizens’ mobility lifestyles. This study investigates mobility lifestyles in three Finnish cities using public participation geographic information system (PPGIS) survey data from 3,260 participants. Cluster analysis identified six distinct lifestyle profiles based on travel attitudes and neighbourhood preferences. These profiles differ in travel behaviour, sociodemographic characteristics, residential locations, and perceived health and well-being. We identified three car-oriented and three sustainable mobility lifestyle profiles, indicating the coexistence of contrasting orientations within urban populations. Sustainable mobility lifestyles were more commonly associated with car-free attitudes, multimodal travel behaviour, younger age groups, lower income, and women. Attitudes towards active mobility, car use, and car ownership varied and were predictors of travel behaviour across profiles. However, mismatches between travel attitudes and behaviour were also observed, indicating that mobility choices may be caused by contextual factors. Neighbourhood preferences aligned partially with both sustainable and car-oriented profiles, suggesting nuanced associations with mobility behaviour. The findings advance understanding of the diverse motivations and conditions shaping everyday mobility practices. By revealing group-specific barriers and opportunities for behavioural change, the study provides actionable insights to support targeted interventions and sustainability transitions in urban mobility.

Adult obesity has been linked to specific infections, but evidence across the full spectrum of infectious diseases remains scarce. In this multicohort study with impact modelling, we examined the association between this preventable risk factor and the incidence, hospitalisations, and mortality of 925 bacterial, viral, parasitic, and fungal infectious diseases, and estimated their global and regional attributable impact. We used pooled data from two Finnish cohort studies and repeated analyses in an independent population from the UK Biobank. BMI was assessed at baseline (1998-2002 in the Finnish studies; 2006-10 in UK Biobank), and participants were categorised as having healthy weight (18·5-24·9 kg/m2), overweight (25·0-29·9 kg/m2) or obesity, classified as class I (30·0-34·9 kg/m2), class II (35·0-39·9 kg/m2), or class III (≥40·0 kg/m2). Participants were followed up through national hospitalisation and mortality registries for hospital admissions and deaths due to infectious diseases. Using hazard ratios derived from the Finnish cohorts and UK Biobank, along with obesity prevalence estimates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study database, we estimated the proportion of fatal infections attributable to obesity globally, regionally, and by country for the years 2018 (before), 2021 (during), and 2023 (after the COVID-19 pandemic). The analysis included 67 766 adults (mean age 42·1 [SD 10·8] years; 49 516 [73·1%] females, 18 250 [26·9%] males) from the Finnish cohorts and 479 498 adults (mean age 57·0 [SD 8·1] years; 261 084 [54·4%] females, 218 414 [45·6%] males) from UK Biobank. Participants had no recent history of infection-related hospitalisations at baseline. During follow-up, there were 8230 incident infection cases in the Finnish cohorts and 81 945 in UK Biobank. Compared with individuals of healthy weight, those with class III obesity had a three-times higher risk of infection-related hospital admissions (Finnish cohorts 2·75 [95% CI 2·24-3·37], UK Biobank 3·07 [2·95-3·19]), death (Finnish cohorts 3·06 [1·25-7·49], UK Biobank 3·54 [3·15-3·98]), or either outcome (Finnish cohorts 2·69 [2·19-3·30], UK Biobank 3·07 [2·95-3·19]). The corresponding pooled hazard ratio for either fatal or non-fatal severe infection among individuals with any obesity (classes I-III) was 1·7 (1·7-1·8). This association was consistent across different indicators of obesity (BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio), demographic and clinical subgroups, and a wide range of infections (non-fatal and fatal, acute and chronic, bacterial and viral [including subtypes], and parasitic and fungal). Applying these risk estimates to global burden of disease data, the population attributable fractions of infection-related deaths due to obesity were estimated at 8·6% (6·6-11·1) in 2018, 15·0% (12·8-17·4) in 2021, and 10·8% (8·6-13·6) in 2023. Adult obesity is a risk factor for infection-related hospitalisations and mortality across diverse pathogen types, populations, and baseline clinical profiles, with evidence suggesting that approximately one in ten infection-related deaths worldwide might be attributable to obesity. Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, and Research Council of Finland.

Many traditional and state-of-the-art ship routing methods rely on single-objective formulations, deterministic weather inputs, or fixed operational assumptions, which may lead to suboptimal or impractical routing decisions under realistic and uncertain marine environments. This study presents an ensemble-based multi-objective optimization framework for ship route planning under uncertain weather conditions. The framework integrates a neural network model, trained on real onboard ship performance data and tuned using Bayesian hyperparameter optimization, to predict fuel consumption based on ship speed and marine weather parameters. An ensemble of weather forecasts is assigned to route waypoints using a bootstrapping method, enabling the evaluation of multiple cost functions reflecting trade-offs between voyage time, fuel consumption, and safety. Four optimization objective strategies — ensemble mean, worst-case, risk-aware, and Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) — are implemented within a Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) to derive optimal routes across various voyages. The results demonstrate notable variations in route performance based on the selected strategy. For example, the CVaR approach achieves a balance between robustness and efficiency, with voyage fuel consumption for the longest journey (Voyage 3) reaching 490,475 kg, while the worst-case strategy prioritizes risk-averse paths, resulting in the highest fuel usage at 505,308 kg. Conversely, the ensemble mean strategy offers the lowest average fuel consumption (474,078 kg) but may expose the voyage to higher uncertainty. Furthermore, the proposed GWO demonstrates high precision in schedule adherence, maintaining arrival time deviations within a 30-minute margin across all optimized voyages, thereby justifying its effectiveness in handling complex multi-objective constraints. The developed framework is applicable to real-time voyage optimization and can support ship operators in achieving fuel efficiency and safety under varying ocean conditions. • Ensemble weather data integrated into ship routing optimization. • Bayesian-optimized NN model predicts ship fuel consumption. • Four strategies compare trade-offs in fuel consumption, duration, and risk. • GWO-based optimization applies ensemble mean, worst-case, risk-aware, and CVaR objectives. • CVaR balances efficiency and risk, while worst-case ensures maximum safety.

Abstract Today’s organizations face unprecedented challenges related to societal and environmental matters. The long-term trends related to climate change are expected to generate instability in the credit market and negatively affect organizational performance. Organizations can mitigate these issues and better grasp different trends by having a diverse board (i.e., board members of different genders, ages, qualifications and nationalities). However, that same diversity may also create conflicts and worsen strategic decision-making. Grounded on stakeholder theory, this study investigates the impact of board diversity on bank performance, assuming that board diversity also shapes environmental, social, and governance (ESG) engagement, which is linked to financial performance. Our data comprises a sample of public commercial banks located in OECD countries. The results suggest that board diversity (as a bundle of different traits and characteristics) contributes positively to performance. However, the impact measured by the means of accounting-based and market-based performance measures differs. In addition, we found that ESG investments adversely affect profitability ratios, but a more diverse board mitigates the possible detrimental effects of ESG expenses on company returns. By helping to illuminate the short- and long-term effects of board diversity on bank performance, the results hold value for regulators, policymakers, supervisory authorities, banks, and managers.

Abstract The Tsaghkunyats Mountain of Armenia (26,354 ha) doesn’t have a legally protected status and requires evaluation as a potential Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) and Prime Butterfly Area (PBA). Recent surveys have found that 136 species of birds are recorded in, among which 113 are breeding and 23 occur during migration or stay in the area over winter. The area meets the criteria A1, B1a, B1b, and B2a of IBAs, hosting significant populations of Caucasian grouse Tetrao mlokosiewiczi Taczanowski (55-65 lekking males), semi-collared flycatcher Ficedula semitorquata Homeyer (41-56 pairs), green warbler Phylloscopus nitidus Blyth (108-363 pairs), and Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus L. (2 pairs). Among butterflies, 141 species have been recorded in the area, including several species of global, regional, and national importance, such as Phengaris arion L. and Phengaris nausithous Bergsträsser, listed in IUCN Global Red List; ten species listed in the European Red Book of Butterflies, and eight species listed in the Red Book of Animals of Armenia. Also, the area hosts relict populations of temperate species such as Nymphalis antiopa L., Proclossiana eunomia tenera Morgun (endemic subspecies) and Melitaea diamina Lang. The site, therefore, qualifies for designation as a PBA. In addition, the area qualifies as an Emerald Site under the Bern Convention, hosting essential populations of 23 bird species listed in Resolution 6. Existence of several threats, such as overgrazing, poorly controlled water abstraction, uncontrolled haymaking, illegal logging and snag removal, illegal hunting, and human-induced fires, require designation of the area as protected.

This study reports the synthesis and biological evaluation of four novel N-acetyl-derived heterocyclic compounds, namely 2-((1-acetyl-3-substituted-5-oxo-1,5-dihydro-4H-1,2,4-triazol-4-yl)iminomethyl)-phenyl-naphthalene-2-sulfonates. The compounds were synthesized via acetylation reactions using acetic anhydride and were fully characterized by IR, 1H NMR, 1 3C NMR, elemental analysis, and HR-MS techniques. The anticancer activities of the synthesized compounds were evaluated in the concentration range of 1.563-200µM against HepG2 (hepatocellular carcinoma) and U87 (glioblastoma) cell lines, showing significant cytotoxic effects. Enzyme inhibition assays demonstrated potent inhibitory activities against α-glucosidase, α-amylase, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and glutathione S-transferase (GST), with IC50 values ranging from 1.4 to 2.9µM. Molecular docking studies, performed using DFT-optimized geometries, supported the experimental findings and revealed strong and specific interactions with the target proteins. Among the studied derivatives, compound 2a exhibited the highest affinity toward α-glucosidase, 2d showed superior binding to α-amylase and AChE, while 2c demonstrated enhanced interaction with GST. Compound 2b displayed promising anticancer potential, forming stable complexes with proteins associated with the HepG2 and U87 cell lines.