Research projects 13

The article-based PhD thesis builds on five published articles. It explores how international human rights law regulates the prevention of honour-related violence (also called honour-based violence). The thesis analyses the obligation of the State to not only punish this form of violence but also to undertake other preventive measures. The legal discussion of honour-related violence has so far largely focused on criminalisation. This research brings to the fore the questions of whether States also should try to abolish the underlying causes of honour-related violence, above all strict gender roles and negative gender stereotypes that regard men as superior to women.

Team

VitalSens is a joint research project with the main goal of designing a smart, cost effective and scale-able personalized biomedical remote monitoring health platform. Printable wireless electronic sensors for continuous ECG monitoring are designed. Further, the ECG recordings are stored in a cloud storage. We then proceed by developing a computational engine which processes the physiological measurements and provide automated event detection for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The primary focus is to create an intelligent processing system which is adaptive to the patient ECG recording.

Team

Sampo Nurmentaus, Metropolia UAS, Moncef Gabbouj, TUT, Tapio Seppänen, OU, Niku Oksala, UTA.

Biomedical Robotics and Applications (BioRA) focused on the staff exchange between the partners of EU and China, and on the development of new technologies and applications in the field of biomedical robotics on the macro, micro and nano scales for biological cell detection, manipulation, test and injection. It met the objectives and requirements of the Marie Curie Action: International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES), by setting up multiple bridges between European and Chinese institutions.

Team

Pasi Kallio, Koivikko Anastasia, Seriola Veikko

  • Head of research Sara Lindeman
  • Language n/a

The world needs hands on solutions to wicked problems such as climate change, resource scarcity and poverty, and we need to nd the pathways that enable such solutions to emerge. To maintain competitiveness in the future, Finland needs to improve it’s capacity to innovate and collaborate in new ways, to provide holistic and sustainable solutions to global challenges, both in emerging markets as well as disruptive new approaches to service provision in Europe. New global studies frugal and reverse innovations in complex global systems.

Team

Minna Halme, Teija Lehtonen, Jarkko Levänen, Helena Sandman, Emma Nkonoki, Tatu Lyytinen, Anne Hyvärinen, Sini Numminen, Sini Suomalainen, Marleen Wierenga, Marko Keskinen, Peter Lund, Olli Varis

  • Head of research Wolfgang Fritzsche
  • Language n/a

The windows developed in this project will prevent the heat from solar radiation from entering buildings, and instead convert that to usable energy. Thus, the need for air conditioning is drastically reduced without compromising daylight illumination. On the other hand, our widows will also increase the use of solar power by integrating the collectors directly into the facades of buildings.

Team

Jussi Toppari, Janne Simonen, Wolfgang Fritzsche, Frank Garwe, Vamsi Komarala, Eshwar Thouti, Johannes Skaar, Christopher Dirdal

  • Head of research Harri Pietarila
  • Language n/a

The Nepal PPCR Project Development Objective is to enhance government capacity to mitigate climate-related hazards by improving the accuracy and timeliness of weather and flood forecasts and warnings for climate-vulnerable communities, as well as developing agricultural management information system services to help farmers mitigate climate-related production risks.

Team

  • Head of research Sirkka Heinonen
  • Language n/a

The foresight part of NEO-CARBON ENERGY explores possible futures of a new renewables-based energy production and storage system, which is being developed by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and University of Turku – Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC). This joint research project is one of the strategic research openings of Tekes – The Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation. The foresight work is conducted in the Finland Futures Research Centre. A possibly distributed energy production system of neo-/low-carbon technologies and emerging issues such as prosumerism can drive economic, political, cultural and social changes. Radically new innovations, services and practices could emerge as a result of the third industrial revolution.

Team

Sirkka Heinonen, Juho Ruotsalainen, Joni Karjalainen, Marjukka Parkkinen

The production of hydrogen by solar energy is an attractive technique to realize global renewable energy supply. The photoinduced water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen by the direct use of sunlight is an ideal, renewable method of hydrogen production that integrates solar energy collection and water electrolysis into a single photoelectrode. Although the concept is attractive to produce sustainable fuel, the suitable electrode material (performance, stability and low cost) is yet to be found.

Team

Nagarajan Subramaniyam (Finland), Markku Sopanen (Finland), Rajendra singh (India), Ashutosh Kumar (India)

Mitochondria,as "energy factories", are responsible for creating more than 90% of the energy needed by the body to sustain life. Mitochondrial disease is a group of disorders cuased by dysfunctional mitochondria. About 1 in 4,000 children will develope this disease by the age of 10 years.Currently there is no specific method to detect this disorder clinically. This study is designated to develop a novel PET tracer for imaging mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), which is a key inditor for moniting mitochondrial function.This is an international collaboration project with China: one researcher comes from China and part of project will be performed in China (synthesis of precursor).

Team

Xiaoqing Zhuang, Olof Solin;Merja Haapanranta-Solin, Tove Grönroos;Juhani Knuuti

We are looking at how fish farming affects the socio-economical status of women in Nepal, the challenges they face and mitigation measures available. In addition we are also looking at how women establish their businesses and work together in cooperatives. We are also looking the impact of fish farming on food and nutrition security in communities in 3 districts.

Team

Sunila Rai