Academy of Finland

About: Academy of Finland is a government organization based out in Helsinki, Finland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 286 authors who have published 419 publications receiving 15304 citations. The organization is also known as: Finlands Akademi & Suomen Akatemia.

Genome-wide Association Study in 79,366 European-ancestry Individuals Informs the Genetic Architecture of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels

Abstract: Vitamin D is a steroid hormone precursor that is associated with a range of human traits and diseases. Previous GWAS of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations have identified four genome-wide significant loci (GC, NADSYN1/DHCR7, CYP2R1, CYP24A1). In this study, we expand the previous SUNLIGHT Consortium GWAS discovery sample size from 16,125 to 79,366 (all European descent). This larger GWAS yields two additional loci harboring genome-wide significant variants (P = 4.7×10−9 at rs8018720 in SEC23A, and P = 1.9×10−14 at rs10745742 in AMDHD1). The overall estimate of heritability of 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum concentrations attributable to GWAS common SNPs is 7.5%, with statistically significant loci explaining 38% of this total. Further investigation identifies signal enrichment in immune and hematopoietic tissues, and clustering with autoimmune diseases in cell-type-specific analysis. Larger studies are required to identify additional common SNPs, and to explore the role of rare or structural variants and gene–gene interactions in the heritability of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.

Genome-wide association study in 79,366 European-ancestry individuals informs the genetic architecture of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels

Abstract: Vitamin D is a steroid hormone precursor that is associated with a range of human traits and diseases. Previous GWAS of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations have identified four genome-wide significant loci (GC, NADSYN1/DHCR7, CYP2R1, CYP24A1). In this study, we expand the previous SUNLIGHT Consortium GWAS discovery sample size from 16,125 to 79,366 (all European descent). This larger GWAS yields two additional loci harboring genome-wide significant variants (P = 4.7×10−9 at rs8018720 in SEC23A, and P = 1.9×10−14 at rs10745742 in AMDHD1). The overall estimate of heritability of 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum concentrations attributable to GWAS common SNPs is 7.5%, with statistically significant loci explaining 38% of this total. Further investigation identifies signal enrichment in immune and hematopoietic tissues, and clustering with autoimmune diseases in cell-type-specific analysis. Larger studies are required to identify additional common SNPs, and to explore the role of rare or structural variants and gene–gene interactions in the heritability of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.

Customer‐relationship levels – from spurious to true relationships

Abstract: Relationship marketing (RM) has been widely accepted as an important determinant of long‐term business success and is believed to be especially well suited for services because of the personal contact between customers and service providers. Past research has focused mainly on the advantages of RM for companies, while less attention has been paid to relationships from the customer’s point of view. We suggest that relationships may be described as ranging from spurious to true, depending on customer‐perceived relationship benefits, trust and commitment. A qualitative study of customer relationships was conducted in a car dealership, where profitability depends on customer commitment to both after‐sales services and the car brand. Customer relationships were found to be more spurious than true. The study revealed that behavioural commitment to after‐sales services was high, but that affective commitment was low to moderate. Customers were satisfied but did not perceive the services to be superior to the competitors’ service offerings. They trusted authorised repair in general and did not feel that after‐sales service would have more than a minor influence on their future car purchases.

Coping of parents with physically and/or intellectually disabled children.

Abstract: Objective The aim was to clarify how families with physically and/or intellectually disabled children cope, what kind of coping strategies they use and how the families with good and poor coping capacities differ. Methods The parents of eight children (aged 8–10 years) with physical and/or intellectual disability were interviewed twice, and the data elicited in these interviews were analysed qualitatively using the grounded theory method. Results Information and acceptance, good family co-operation and social support were related to the coping strategies most frequently used. Half of the families seemed to have found successful ways of coping, whereas another half had major problems. There were five main domains in which the high- and low-coping families differed most from each other: (1) parents’ initial experiences; (2) personal characteristics; (3) effects of the child’s disability on family life; (4) acting in everyday life; and (5) social support. Conclusion The findings can be utilized in developing supportive activities for families with disabled children. By recognizing the coping strategies used by the family, professionals and service providers can find the right ways to support their adaptation. As the role of physicians, nursing staff and other professionals in this process is very important, more attention should be attached to the collaboration between these groups, to enable them to view the situation from the perspective of the whole family.