Finnish Energy Policy in Transition

This open access book examines the role of citizens in sustainable energy transitions across Europe. It explores energy problem framing, policy approaches and practical responses to the challenge of securing clean, affordable and sustainable energy for all citizens, focusing on households as the main unit of analysis. The book revolves around ten contributions that each summarise national trends, socio-material characteristics, and policy responses to contemporary energy issues affecting householders in different countries, and provides good practice examples for designing and implementing sustainable energy initiatives. Prominent concerns include reducing carbon emissions, energy poverty, sustainable consumption, governance, practices, innovations and sustainable lifestyles. The opening and closing contributions consider European level energy policy, dominant and alternative problem framings and similarities and differences between European countries in relation to reducing household energy use. Overall, the book is a valuable resource for researchers, policy-makers, practitioners and others interested in sustainable energy perspectives. In Finland, energy policy is in transition towards integrating energy projects in broader sustainability, liveability and innovation contexts. While energy saving has been pursued for decades, it is now part of a broader tendency in urban planning to promote sustainable lifestyles. Transition manifests in local actors’ redistribution of power, challenging conventional ways of infrastructure development, forging new networks, and seeking novel solutions. The experimental case presented in the chapter, Smart Kalasatama, shows that local governments are close to citizens and, therefore, can infuence the conditions for sustainable consumption and quality of life. Although they have an important role in energy policy, they still might lack the resources, expertise and the power to innovate, to evaluate projects, and in particular, to scale up innovative practices.Non peer reviewe

Multigrid method for electronic structure calculations

A general real-space multigrid algorithm for the self-consistent solution of the Kohn-Sham equations appearing in the state-of-the-art electronic-structure calculations is described. The most important part of the method is the multigrid solver for the Schrödinger equation. Our choice is the Rayleigh quotient multigrid method (RQMG), which applies directly to the minimization of the Rayleigh quotient on the finest level. Very coarse correction grids can be used, because there is, in principle, no need to represent the states on the coarse levels. The RQMG method is generalized for the simultaneous solution of all the states of the system using a penalty functional to keep the states orthogonal. The performance of the scheme is demonstrated by applying it in a few molecular and solid-state systems described by nonlocal norm-conserving pseudopotentials.Peer reviewe

Developing LCA-based benchmarks for sustainable consumption - for and with users

This article presents the development process of a consumer-oriented, illustrative benchmarking tool enabling consumers to use the results of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) to make informed decisions. Active and environmentally conscious consumers and environmental communicators were identified as key target groups for this type of information. A brochure presenting the benchmarking tool was developed as an participatory, iterative process involving consumer focus groups, stakeholder workshops and questionnaire-based feedback. In addition to learning what works and what does not, detailed suggestions on improved wording and figures were obtained, as well as a wealth of ideas for future applications

Clinical Spectrum and Geographic Distribution of Keratitis Fugax Hereditaria Caused by the Pathogenic Variant c.61G>C in NLRP3

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)PURPOSE: To chart clinical findings in individuals with keratitis fugax hereditaria (KFH) and the geographic distribution of their ancestors. DESIGN: A prospective cross-sectional study. METHODS: This study took place in a tertiary referral center with a cohort of 84 Finnish patients (55% female) from 25 families with the pathogenic nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich repeat (NLR) family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) variant c.61G>C. Observation procedures and main outcome measures were Sanger sequencing, clinical examination, corneal imaging, and a questionnaire regarding symptoms, quality of life, treatment, and comorbidities. RESULTS: The oldest members in each family were born in Ostrobothnia in Western Finland or in Southwestern Finland with historical ties to Sweden. One carrier was asymptomatic. Most (77%, 46/60) experienced their first attack between age 6 and 20 years. Three-quarters had unilateral attacks 3 to 5 times annually, primarily triggered by cold wind or air, or stress. Eighty percent (48/60) reported ocular pain (median, 7 on scale 1-10), conjunctival injection, photophobia, foreign body sensation, and tearing during attacks. Visual blur occurred in 75% (45/60) and 91% (55/60) during and after the attack, respectively, for a median of 10 days (range, 1 day-2 months). Forty-seven percent (39/60) had corneal oval opacities with irregular tomography patterns and mild to moderate decrease (20/60 or better) in best-corrected visual acuity that improved with scleral contact lenses. Except for headache in 40%, systemic symptoms were absent during the attacks. CONCLUSIONS: Symptoms and signs of KFH are restricted to the anterior segment of the eye and vary widely between individuals. We recommend scleral contact lenses as the first-line treatment for reduced vision. Allele frequencies suggest that KFH goes unrecognized in Sweden and populations with Scandinavian heritage.Peer reviewe

Different Predictors of Right and Left Ventricular Metabolism in Healthy Middle-Aged Men

Dysfunction of the right ventricle (RV) plays a crucial role in the outcome of various cardiovascular diseases. Previous studies on RV metabolism are sparse although evidence implies it may differ from left ventricular (LV) metabolism. Therefore, the aims of this study were (1) to determine predictors of RV glucose uptake (GU) and free fatty acid uptake (FFAU) and (2) to compare them to predictors of LV metabolism in healthy middle-aged men. Altogether 28 healthy, sedentary, middle-aged (40-55 years) men were studied. Insulin-stimulated GU and fasting FFAU were measured by positron emission tomography and RV and LV structural and functional parameters by cardiac magnetic resonance. Several parameters related to whole-body health were also measured. Predictors of RV and LV metabolism were determined by pairwise correlation analysis, lasso regression models, and variable clustering using heatmap. RVGU was most strongly predicted by age and moderately by RV ejection fraction (EF). The strongest determinants of RVFFAU were exercise capacity (peak oxygen uptake), resting heart rate, LVEF, and whole body insulin stimulated glucose uptake rate. When considering LV metabolism, age and RVEF were associated also with LVGU. In addition, LVGU was strongly, and negatively, influenced by whole-body insulin-stimulated glucose uptake rate. LVFFAU was predicted only by LVEF. This study shows that while RV and LV metabolism have shared characteristics, they also have unique properties. Age of the subject should be taken into account when measuring myocardial glucose utilization. Ejection fraction is related to myocardial metabolism, and even so that RVEF may be more closely related to GU of both ventricles and LVEF to FFAU of both ventricles, a finding supporting the ventricular interdependence. However, only RV fatty acid utilization associates with exercise capacity so that better physical fitness in a relatively sedentary population is related with decreased RV fat metabolism. To conclude, this study highlights the need for further study designed specifically on less known RV as the results on LV metabolism and physiology may not be directly applicable to the RV.</p

Sleep-wake sensitive mechanisms of adenosine release in the basal forebrain of rodents : an in vitro study

Adenosine acting in the basal forebrain is a key mediator of sleep homeostasis. Extracellular adenosine concentrations increase during wakefulness, especially during prolonged wakefulness and lead to increased sleep pressure and subsequent rebound sleep. The release of endogenous adenosine during the sleep-wake cycle has mainly been studied in vivo with microdialysis techniques. The biochemical changes that accompany sleep-wake status may be preserved in vitro. We have therefore used adenosine-sensitive biosensors in slices of the basal forebrain (BFB) to study both depolarization-evoked adenosine release and the steady state adenosine tone in rats, mice and hamsters. Adenosine release was evoked by high K+, AMPA, NMDA and mGlu receptor agonists, but not by other transmitters associated with wakefulness such as orexin, histamine or neurotensin. Evoked and basal adenosine release in the BFB in vitro exhibited three key features: the magnitude of each varied systematically with the diurnal time at which the animal was sacrificed; sleep deprivation prior to sacrifice greatly increased both evoked adenosine release and the basal tone; and the enhancement of evoked adenosine release and basal tone resulting from sleep deprivation was reversed by the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor, 1400 W. These data indicate that characteristics of adenosine release recorded in the BFB in vitro reflect those that have been linked in vivo to the homeostatic control of sleep. Our results provide methodologically independent support for a key role for induction of iNOS as a trigger for enhanced adenosine release following sleep deprivation and suggest that this induction may constitute a biochemical memory of this state

A novel multigrid method for electronic structure calculations

A general real-space multigrid algorithm for the self-consistent solution of the Kohn-Sham equations appearing in the state-of-the-art electronic-structure calculations is described. The most important part of the method is the multigrid solver for the Schroedinger equation. Our choice is the Rayleigh quotient multigrid method (RQMG), which applies directly to the minimization of the Rayleigh quotient on the finest level. Very coarse correction grids can be used, because there is no need to be able to represent the states on the coarse levels. The RQMG method is generalized for the simultaneous solution of all the states of the system using a penalty functional to keep the states orthogonal. The performance of the scheme is demonstrated by applying it in a few molecular and solid-state systems described by non-local norm-conserving pseudopotentials.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Men, masculinities and young people: north–south dialogues

Dialoguing across national borders and specifically global North-South centres and margins has increasingly been viewed as a way to enhance critical and feminist studies and engagement with men and masculinities. This article draws on narratives levels, both in interpersonal and intergroup relations, as well as in public representation of collaborative work. generated by a group of researchers in South Africa and Finland who have been engaged in a transnational research project that included a strong focus on young men, masculinities and gender and sexual justice. The piece provides an account of the nuanced and complex experiences and dynamics involved in transnational research collaboration, particularly within the framework on historical and continued inequalities between the global North and South. While obvious benefits are raised, this experience also foregrounds a range of challenges and constraints involved in transnational research collaboration within this field and possibly many others. Key learnings gleaned from this analysis of reported experiences and thoughts include the importance of careful, considered and critical reflexivity at all moments and at al

Spherical harmonic representation of the gravitational potential of discrete spherical mass elements

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73812/1/j.1365-246X.1991.tb01157.x.pd