Occurrence of the "applause sign" in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The applause sign was originally described as a quick bedside test to discriminate progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) (positive applause sign, PAS) from Parkinson's disease (PD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) (negative applause sign). However, recent research demonstrated that the test is positive not only in a subset of patients with PD and FTD, but also in other neurodegenerative diseases. We tested 22 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) together with 22 healthy sex- and age-matched controls for the occurrence of PAS. Furthermore, we performed neuropsychological testing with the EXIT-25 battery to correlate PAS with neuropsychological deficits, especially frontal lobe dysfunction. Five ALS patients (23%) and none of the controls displayed PAS (p≤0.05). The occurrence of PAS in ALS patients was not correlated with pathologic EXIT-25 scores or subtests for aberrant motor behaviour. We describe for the first time the occurrence of the applause sign in ALS and provide additional evidence that PAS is not specific for Parkinsonian disorders. Although its occurrence has been related to aberrant motor behaviour due to frontal involvement, in our study PAS did not correlate with executive dysfunction as tested by the EXIT-25 test battery, or with subtests of aberrant motor behaviour.

Individual differences in control of language interference in late bilinguals are mainly related to general executive abilities

Background: Recent research based on comparisons between bilinguals and monolinguals postulates that bilingualism enhances cognitive control functions, because the parallel activation of languages necessitates control of interference. In a novel approach we investigated two groups of bilinguals, distinguished by their susceptibility to cross-language interference, asking whether bilinguals with strong language control abilities ('non-switchers") have an advantage in executive functions (inhibition of irrelevant information, problem solving, planning efficiency, generative fluency and self-monitoring) compared to those bilinguals showing weaker language control abilities ('switchers"). Methods: 29 late bilinguals (21 women) were evaluated using various cognitive control neuropsychological tests [e.g., Tower of Hanoi, Ruff Figural Fluency Task, Divided Attention, Go/noGo] tapping executive functions as well as four subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. The analysis involved t-tests (two independent samples). Non-switchers (n = 16) were distinguished from switchers (n = 13) by their performance observed in a bilingual picture-naming task. Results: The non-switcher group demonstrated a better performance on the Tower of Hanoi and Ruff Figural Fluency task, faster reaction time in a Go/noGo and Divided Attention task, and produced significantly fewer errors in the Tower of Hanoi, Go/noGo, and Divided Attention tasks when compared to the switchers. Non-switchers performed significantly better on two verbal subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (Information and Similarity), but not on the Performance subtests (Picture Completion, Block Design). Conclusions: The present results suggest that bilinguals with stronger language control have indeed a cognitive advantage in the administered tests involving executive functions, in particular inhibition, self-monitoring, problem solving, and generative fluency, and in two of the intelligence tests. What remains unclear is the direction of the relationship between executive functions and language control abilities.

El papel de la memoria de trabajo en el cálculo mental un cuarto de siglo después de Hitch = The role of working memory in mental arithmetic a quarter of century after Hitch

Desde que Hitch (1978) publicó el primer estudio sobre el rol de la memoria de trabajo en el cálculo han idoaumentando las investigaciones en este campo. Muchos trabajos han estudiado un único subsistema, pero nuestroobjetivo es identificar qué subsistema de la memoria de trabajo (bucle fonológico, agenda viso-espacial o ejecutivocentral) está más implicado en el cálculo mental. Para ello hemos realizado un estudio correlacional en el quehemos administrado dos pruebas aritméticas y nueve pruebas de la “Bateria de Test de Memòria de Treball” dePickering, Baqués y Gathercole (1999) a una muestra de 94 niños españoles de 7-8 años. Nuestros resultadosindican que el bucle fonológico y sobretodo el ejecutivo central inciden de forma estadísticamente significativa enel rendimiento aritmético

Is there a relationship between bilingual language switching and executive functions in bilingualism? Introducing a within-group analysis approach

Several studies have suggested a bilingual advantage in executive functions, presumably due to bilinguals' massive practice with language switching that requires executive resources, but the results are still somewhat controversial. Previous studies are also plagued by the inherent limitations of a natural groups design where the participant groups are bound to differ in many ways in addition to the variable used to classify them. In an attempt to introduce a complementary analysis approach, we employed multiple regression to study whether the performance of 30- to 75-year-old FinnishSwedish bilinguals (N = 38) on tasks measuring different executive functions (inhibition, updating, and set shifting) could be predicted by the frequency of language switches in everyday life (as measured by a language switching questionnaire), L2 age of acquisition, or by the self-estimated degree of use of both languages in everyday life. Most consistent effects were found for the set shifting task where a higher rate of everyday language switches was related to a smaller mixing cost in errors. Mixing cost is thought to reflect top-down management of competing task sets, thus resembling the bilingual situation where decisions of which language to use has to be made in each conversation. These findings provide additional support to the idea that some executive functions in bilinguals are affected by a lifelong experience in language switching and, perhaps even more importantly, suggest a complementary approach to the study of this issue.

DWI and complex brain network analysis predicts vascular cognitive impairment in spontaneous hypertensive rats undergoing executive function tests

The identification of biomarkers of vascular cognitive impairment is urgent for its early diagnosis. The aim of this study was to detect and monitor changes in brain structure and connectivity, and to correlate them with the decline in executive function. We examined the feasibility of early diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict cognitive impairment before onset in an animal model of chronic hypertension: Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats. Cognitive performance was tested in an operant conditioning paradigm that evaluated learning, memory, and behavioral flexibility skills. Behavioral tests were coupled with longitudinal diffusion weighted imaging acquired with 126 diffusion gradient directions and 0.3 mm(3) isometric resolution at 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, and 40 weeks after birth. Diffusion weighted imaging was analyzed in two different ways, by regional characterization of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) indices, and by assessing changes in structural brain network organization based on Q-Ball tractography. Already at the first evaluated times, DTI scalar maps revealed significant differences in many regions, suggesting loss of integrity in white and gray matter of spontaneously hypertensive rats when compared to normotensive control rats. In addition, graph theory analysis of the structural brain network demonstrated a significant decrease of hierarchical modularity, global and local efficacy, with predictive value as shown by regional three-fold cross validation study. Moreover, these decreases were significantly correlated with the behavioral performance deficits observed at subsequent time points, suggesting that the diffusion weighted imaging and connectivity studies can unravel neuroimaging alterations even overt signs of cognitive impairment become apparent.

Kunnan kiinteistöjen energiansäästöpotentiaali

Tämän diplomityön tarkoitus oli selvittää kolmen suomalaisen HINKU-kunnan, Mynämäen, Padasjoen ja Kuhmoisten kiinteistöjen energiansäästöpotentiaali. Työssä käytiin aluksi läpi kunnan kiinteistöjen perustiedot sekä kulutuslukemat, jonka jälkeen kiinteistöihin tutustuttiin kiinteistönhoitajan avustuksella. Tämän jälkeen pyrittiin identifioimaan säästötoimet muutamien yritysten sekä vuorovaikutteisesti kiinteistönhoitajien kanssa. Säästötoimien vaikuttavuuden arvioinnissa hyödynnettiin sähkön ja lämmön tuntimittarointia. Lopuksi tulokset esiteltiin kuntien johdolle. Säästöpotentiaalia löytyi lähes jokaiselta osa-alueelta. Perinteisesti suurin säästöpotentiaali on löytynyt ilmanvaihdosta, mutta tämän työn puitteissa suurimmat säästöt löydettiin valaistuksesta. Etenkin LED-tekniikan kehittyminen on muuttamassa valaistuksen tulevaisuutta. Yksittäisten kohteiden suurimmat säästömahdollisuudet olivat vanhojen öljylämmitysten muuttamisessa maa- ja kaukolämpöön. Myös ilmanvaihdosta löytyi hyvin merkittävä potentiaali useassa kohteessa. Mynämäellä säästöpotentiaalia löytyi kaikkiaan noin 17 % kunnan energialaskusta. Padasjoella ja Kuhmoisissa vastaava luku oli noin 12–13 % kummassakin. Työn laajentaminen muihin kuntiin ei pääosin ole suoraviivaista, koska kuntien rakennuskanta poikkeaa toisistaan ja lisäksi kaikki rakennukset ovat yksilöllisiä. Työ pystyi kuitenkin tuottamaan kohdekunnissa erilaista havaintoaineistoa ja toimenpide-ehdotuksia, jotka toimivat muissa kunnissa herättelijöinä, ideoiden antajina ja tarkistuslistana siihen, miten asiat on hoidettu ja minkälaisiin toimenpiteisiin tulisi ryhtyä.

Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early Detection of Alzheimer`s Disease. A Positron Emission Tomography Study

Alzheimer`s disease (AD) is characterised neuropathologically by the presence of extracellular amyloid plaques, intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles, and cerebral neuronal loss. The pathological changes in AD are believed to start even decades before clinical symptoms are detectable. AD gradually affects episodic memory, cognition, behaviour and the ability to perform everyday activities. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) represents a transitional state between normal aging and dementia disorders, especially AD. The predictive accuracy of the current and commonly used MCI criteria devide this disorder into amnestic (aMCI) and non-amnestic (naMCI) MCI. It seems that many individuals with aMCI tend to convert to AD. However many MCI individuals will remain stable and some may even recover. At present, the principal drugs for the treatment of AD provide only symptomatic and palliative benefits. Safe and effective mechanism-based therapies are needed for this devastating neurodegenerative disease of later life. In conjunction with the development of new therapeutic drugs, tools for early detection of AD would be important. In future one of the challenges will be to detect at an early stage these MCI individuals who will convert to AD. Methods which can predict which MCI subjects will convert to AD will be much more important if the new drug candidates prove to have disease-arresting or even disease–slowing effects. These types of drugs are likely to have the best efficacy if administered in the early or even in the presymptomatic phase of the disease when the synaptic and neuronal loss has not become too widespread. There is no clinical method to determine with certainly which MCI individuals will progress to AD. However there are several methods which have been suggested as predictors of conversion to AD, e.g. increased [11C] PIB uptake, hippocampal atrophy in MRI, low CSF A beta 42 level, high CSF tau-protein level, apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele and impairment in episodic memory and executive functions. In the present study subjects with MCI appear to have significantly higher [¹¹C] PIB uptake vs healthy elderly in several brain areas including frontal cortex, the posterior cingulate, the parietal and lateral temporal cortices, putamen and caudate. Also results from this PET study indicate that over time, MCI subjects who display increased [¹¹C] PIB uptake appear to be significantly more likely to convert to AD than MCI subjects with negative [¹¹C] PIB retention. Also hippocampal atrophy seems to increase in MCI individuals clearly during the conversion to AD. In this study [¹¹C] PIB uptake increases early and changes relatively little during the AD process whereas there is progressive hippocampal atrophy during the disease. In addition to increased [¹¹C] PIB retention and hippocampal atrophy, the status of APOE ε4 allele might contribute to the conversion from MCI to AD.

Osakeyhtiölain maksukykyisyystestin sisältö ja tulkintaongelmat

Tämä Pro gradu -työ on lainopillinen selvitys maksukykyisyystestin sääntelystä ja tulkintaongelmista. Tavoitteena on selvittää maksukykyisyystestin sisältöä sekä esitellä ja analysoida erilaisia näkökantoja siitä, miten maksukykyisyystestiä on tulkittu. Testin mukaan osakeyhtiöstä ei saa jakaa varoja, jos jaosta päätettäessä tiedetään tai pitäisi tietää yhtiön olevan maksukyvytön tai varojenjaon aiheuttavan maksukyvyttömyyden. Maksukykyisyystestin avulla hallitaan osakeyhtiön varojenjakoa: maksukykyisyystesti on siis vain väline rajoittaa varojen jakamista. On monia tapoja jakaa varoja, mutta tässä tutkimuksessa keskitytään osingonjakoon. Tutkimusmenetelmänä on laadullinen tutkimus. Tarkastelen aihetta pääosin oikeustieteellisestä näkökulmasta, mutta tutkimus sivuaa myös liiketaloustieteellistä tutkimusmetodia, koska usein maksukykyisyystestiä on perusteltu taloudellisista lähtökohdista käsin ja taloudellisilla tunnusluvuilla. Juridisen tarkastelun muodostaa osakeyhtiölaki ja muita lakeja tarkastellaan vain siinä määrin, kuin ne välittömästi liittyvät maksukykyisyystestiin. Perimmäisenä tutkimuskysymyksenä on selvittää maksukyvyn arvioinnin ajankohta ja kenen vastuulla maksukykyisyystestin toteuttaminen lopulta on: onko se hallituksen, toimitusjohtajan vai osakkeenomistajan vastuulla? Etenkin hallituksen vastuuta ja sen suhdetta maksukykyisyystestiin on oleellista tarkastella, koska tutkimuksen kohteena ovat pörssiyhtiöt.

Training executive functions in the laboratory and in real life : cognitive consequences of computer-based exercises and bilingualism

The question of the trainability of executive functions and the impact of such training on related cognitive skills has stirred considerable research interest. Despite a number of studies investigating this, the question has not yet been solved. The general aim of this thesis was to investigate two very different types of training of executive functions: laboratory-based computerized training (Studies I-III) and realworld training through bilingualism (Studies IV-V). Bilingualism as a kind of training of executive functions is based on the idea that managing two languages requires executive resources, and previous studies have suggested a bilingual advantage in executive functions. Three executive functions were studied in the present thesis: updating of working memory (WM) contents, inhibition of irrelevant information, and shifting between tasks and mental sets. Studies I-III investigated the effects of computer-based training of WM updating (Study I), inhibition (Study II), and set shifting (Study III) in healthy young adults. All studies showed increased performance on the trained task. More importantly, improvement on an untrained task tapping the trained executive function (near transfer) was seen in Study I and II. None of the three studies showed improvement on untrained tasks tapping some other cognitive function (far transfer) as a result of training. Study I also used PET to investigate the effects of WM updating training on a neurotransmitter closely linked to WM, namely dopamine. The PET results revealed increased striatal dopamine release during WM updating performance as a result of training. Study IV investigated the ability to inhibit task-irrelevant stimuli in bilinguals and monolinguals by using a dichotic listening task. The results showed that the bilinguals exceeded the monolinguals in inhibiting task-irrelevant information. Study V introduced a new, complementary research approach to study the bilingual executive advantage and its underlying mechanisms. To circumvent the methodological problems related to natural groups design, this approach focuses only on bilinguals and examines whether individual differences in bilingual behavior correlate with executive task performances. Using measures that tap the three above-entioned executive functions, the results suggested that more frequent language switching was associated with better set shifting skills, and earlier acquisition of the second language was related to better inhibition skills. In conclusion, the present behavioral results showed that computer-based training of executive functions can improve performance on the trained task and on closely related tasks, but does not yield a more general improvement of cognitive skills. Moreover, the functional neuroimaging results reveal that WM training modulates striatal dopaminergic function, speaking for training-induced neural plasticity in this important neurotransmitter system. With regard to bilingualism, the results provide further support to the idea that bilingualism can enhance executive functions. In addition, the new complementary research approach proposed here provides some clues as to which aspects of everyday bilingual behavior may be related to the advantage in executive functions in bilingual individuals.

Effect of practice and span length on the dual-task coordination executive test

The measure "mu", proposed as an index of the ability to coordinate concurrent box-crossing (BC) and digit-span (DS) tasks in the dual task (DT), should reflect the capacity of the executive component of the working memory system. We investigated the effect of practice in BC and of a change in the digit span on mu by adding previous practice trials in BC and diminishing, maintaining or increasing the digit sequence length. The mu behavior was evaluated throughout three trials of the test. Reported strategies in digit tasks were also analyzed. Subjects with diminished span showed the best performance in DT due to a stable performance in DS and BC in the single- and dual-task conditions. These subjects also showed a more stable performance throughout trials. Subjects with diminished span tended to employ effortless strategies, whereas subjects with increased span employed effort-requiring strategies and showed the lowest means of mu. Subjects with initial practice trials showed the best performance in BC and the most differentiated performance between the single- and dual-task conditions in BC. The correlation coefficient between the mu values obtained in the first and second trials was 0.814 for subjects with diminished span and practice trials in BC. It seems that the within-session practice in BC and the performance variability in DS affect the reliability of the index mu. To control these factors we propose the introduction of previous practice trials in BC and a modification of the current method to determine the digit sequence length. This proposal should contribute to the development of a more reliable method to evaluate the executive capacity of coordination in the dual-task paradigm.

Value based pricing and marketing of marine engines

Objective of the thesis is to create a value based pricing model for marine engines and study the feasibility of implementing such model in the sales organization of a specific segment in the case company’s marine division. Different pricing strategies, concept of “value”, and how perceptions of value can be influenced through value based marketing are presented as theoretical background for the value based pricing model. Forbis and Mehta’s Economic Value to Customer (EVC) was selected as framework to create the value based pricing model for marine engines. The EVC model is based on calculating and comparing life-cycle costs of the reference product and competing products, thus showing the quantifiable value of the company’s own product compared to competition. In the applied part of the thesis, the components of the EVC model are identified for a marine diesel engine, the components are explained, and an example calculation created in Excel is presented. When examining the possibilities to implement in practice a value based pricing strategy based on the EVC model, it was found that the lack of precise information on competing products is the single biggest obstacle to use EVC exactly as presented in the literature. It was also found that sometimes necessary communication channels are missing and that there is simply a lack of interest from some clients and product end-users part to spend time on studying the life-cycle costs of the product. Information on the company’s own products is however sufficient and the sales force is capable to communicate to sufficiently high executive levels in the client organizations. Therefore it is suggested to focus on quantifying and communicating the company’s own value proposition. The dynamic nature of the business environment (variance in applications in which engines are installed, different clients, competition, end-clients etc.) means also that each project should be created its own EVC calculation. This is demanding in terms of resources needed, thus it is suggested to concentrate on selected projects and buyers, and to clients where the necessary communication channels to right levels in the customer organization are available. Finally, it should be highlighted that as literature suggests, implementing a value based pricing strategy is not possible unless the whole business approach is value based.

Category fluency test: effects of age, gender and education on total scores, clustering and switching in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking subjects

Verbal fluency tests are used as a measure of executive functions and language, and can also be used to evaluate semantic memory. We analyzed the influence of education, gender and age on scores in a verbal fluency test using the animal category, and on number of categories, clustering and switching. We examined 257 healthy participants (152 females and 105 males) with a mean age of 49.42 years (SD = 15.75) and having a mean educational level of 5.58 (SD = 4.25) years. We asked them to name as many animals as they could. Analysis of variance was performed to determine the effect of demographic variables. No significant effect of gender was observed for any of the measures. However, age seemed to influence the number of category changes, as expected for a sensitive frontal measure, after being controlled for the effect of education. Educational level had a statistically significant effect on all measures, except for clustering. Subject performance (mean number of animals named) according to schooling was: illiterates, 12.1; 1 to 4 years, 12.3; 5 to 8 years, 14.0; 9 to 11 years, 16.7, and more than 11 years, 17.8. We observed a decrease in performance in these five educational groups over time (more items recalled during the first 15 s, followed by a progressive reduction until the fourth interval). We conclude that education had the greatest effect on the category fluency test in this Brazilian sample. Therefore, we must take care in evaluating performance in lower educational subjects.

Fuusion tavoitteiden toteutuminen, saavutetut hyödyt ja niihin taustalla vaikuttavat tekijät - Case: Kymenlaakson Osuuspankki

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on ollut selvittää fuusiossa tavoiteltujen hyötyjen saavuttamista Kymenlaakson Osuuspankissa. Työssä on tutkittu saavutettuja onnistumisia sekä mahdollisia haasteita ja epäonnistumisia hallituksen, toimitusjohtajan ja hallintoneuvoston puheenjohtajan näkökulmaa painottaen. Tutkimusmenetelmänä on käytetty henkilökohtaisia puolistrukturoituja haastatteluja. Haastattelujen avulla on saavutettu kokonaiskuva paitsi onnistumisista ja haasteista, myös näihin asioihin taustalla vaikuttavista tekijöistä, joita fuusioprosessissa olisi hyvä ottaa aina huomioon. Tuloksista selvisi, että tavoitteissa on onnistuttu pääosin hyvin ottaen huomioon fuusion toteutumisajankohta ja taloudellinen toimintaympäristö. Kuitenkin oli myös selvästi nähtävissä, että paljon on edelleen monella osa-alueella saavutettavissa. Tätä selittää vielä varsin lyhyt toimintahistoria fuusioitumisen jälkeen. Kohdatuissa haasteissa on nähtävissä selkeästi myös aiemmissa tutkimuksissa havaittuja haasteita ja vastoinkäymisiä. Nämä ovat haastavia ottaa kokonaisvaltaisesti huomioon, sillä fuusioprosessi on monisyinen tapahtuma, jossa mukana on useita eri tahoja ja toteuttajia. Tuloksissa on kuitenkin tullut ilmi se, että vaikka haasteisiin ei välttämättä olisi täysin ennalta kyetty varautumaan, on näihin niitä kohdatessa vastattu hyvin nopealla reagoinnilla ja tämä on osittain vahvistanut saavutettuja tuloksia.

Suorituskyvyn analysointijärjestelmä teknologiateollisuuden pk-yritykselle

Monesti yritysjohtajan on vaikea hahmottaa, mitä kaikkia ulottuvuuksia ja menetelmiä suorituskyvyn analysointiin liittyy. Pelkkään talouteen keskittyvä johtaminen edustaa hyvin kapeaa näkökulmaa yrityksen toiminnasta ja voi lopulta johtaa yrityksen vääriin valintoihin ja hyvin kohtalokkaisiin virhearviointeihin. Suorituskyvyn mittaamisella ja analysoimisella saadaan kokonaisvaltainen näkemys yrityksen toiminnasta ja sen tilasta. Yrityksen suorituskykyä pystytään tarkastelemaan hyvin monella tavalla ja erilaisista näkökulmista. Tutkimuksen päätavoitteena on selvittää millainen suorituskyvyn analysointijärjestelmä soveltuu teknologiateollisuuden pk-yritykselle. Alatavoitteena on tutkia millaiset mittaus- ja johtamistarpeet ovat toimialalle tyypillisiä (1) sekä miten toiminnanohjausjärjestelmä ja suori-tuskyvyn mittaristo voidaan integroida toisiinsa (2). Case-yritykselle rakennetaan suorituskyvyn mittaristo ja verrataan sitä toiminnanohjausjärjestelmään sekä selvitetään mittariston tarpeellisuutta Case-yritykselle. Teknologiateollisuuden pk-yrityksille ei voida suoraan määrittää sopivaa suorituskyvyn ana-lysointijärjestelmää. BSC osoittautui kuitenkin parhaimmaksi valinnaksi. BSC pakottaa pk-yrityksiä huomioimaan useampi suorituskyvyn osa-alue. BSC ei myöskään tarvitse montaa mittaria kuvaamaan suorituskyvyn osa-alueita. Tutkimuksessa selvisi hyvin paljon suorituskykyyn vaikuttavia tekijöitä. Projektiluonteisuuden vuoksi case-yrityksen projektiseurantaa kehitettiin ja rakennettiin BSC-pohjainen suorituskyvyn analysointijärjestelmä.