Towards sustainable energy culture in the industrial sector:introducing an interdisciplinary method for understanding energy culture in business industries

Abstract Background There have been numerous research papers focusing on improving energy consumption and energy behaviour in domestic and residential contexts. However, workplaces and especially industry settings have gained less attention in scientific literature, even though the industry sector is one of the largest energy consumers in the world. This article introduces a methodological framework that utilizes the energy culture concept, to support understanding the factors that influence energy culture at business industry companies. Methods Building on the concept of energy culture, we introduce an interdisciplinary method, which assesses organizations’ energy culture from different perspectives and recognizes the possibilities for sustainability transitions. To validate this method, the developed energy culture survey has been verified by 27 expert participants from different industry-related companies located in Finland, Italy, Switzerland, Germany France, and Austria. Results Our analysis highlights the need to consider diverse, interdisciplinary aspects to create a successful method for enhancing energy culture in the industrial sector. This will take into consideration human aspects, related to cognitive norms, beliefs, and aspirations, as well as to human interaction with the material world. Conclusions Industrial energy cultures context differs from domestic and residential contexts, and the knowledge from one context cannot be transferred to another context as such. Based on investigated studies undertaken for residential, office, and other sectors and the lessons learned, we developed a systematic method for energy culture understanding in industries. Energy managers may use it, as well as other individuals involved in energy culture issues in the industrial business sector, to evaluate the state of energy culture and engage employees towards new energy-related practices

Polycation-PEG Block Copolymer Undergoes Stepwise Phase Separation in Aqueous Triflate Solution

A block copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium triflate), PEG-PVBTMA-OTf, and a homopolymer PVBTMA-OTf were synthesized through RAFT reactions. The polymers were studied in aqueous triflate solutions with varying temperatures, changing also the polymer and salt concentrations. The hydrophobic triflate anion turns polycations thermoresponsive, and they show an UCST. In the block copolymer, the interaction between the PEG and the cationic block makes the phase separation occur in distinct steps. Upon cooling, transparent solutions first turn turbid and then partially clear at T-cL. The T-cL is not observed in a mixed solution of PVBTMA-OTf and PEG macro-CTA. By considering the interplay between ionic, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic interactions, an overall picture of the complex phase separation processes is suggested.Peer reviewe

Stimuli-Responsive Nanodiamond–Polyelectrolyte Composite Films

Nanodiamonds (NDs) can considerably improve the mechanical and thermal properties of polymeric composites. However, the tendency of NDs to aggregate limits the potential of these non-toxic, mechanically- and chemically-robust nanofillers. In this work, tough, flexible, and stimuli-responsive polyelectrolyte films composed of cross-linked poly(butyl acrylate-co-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (P(BA-co-DMAEMA)) were prepared by photopolymerization. The effects of the added carboxylate-functionalized NDs on their mechanical and stimuli-responsive properties were studied. When the negatively charged NDs were added to the polymerization media directly, the mechanical properties of the films changed only slightly, because of the uneven distribution of the aggregated NDs in the films. In order to disperse and distribute the NDs more evenly, a prepolymerized polycation block copolymer complexing agent was used during the photopolymerization process. This approach improved the mechanical properties of the films and enhanced their thermally-induced, reversible phase-transition behavior

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care(1) or hospitalization(2-4) after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes-including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)-in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease.Peer reviewe

Promoting dual careers at higher education institutions: 31 benefits ranked by the project Student Athletes Erasmus+ Mobility in Europe (SAMEurope)

IntroductionThe project Student Athletes Erasmus+ Mobility in Europe identified and defined a total of 31 benefits offered to dual-career student athletes who are combining their university studies with high-level training. The project was co-funded by the European Union and carried out by five universities: Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), Institut national des sciences appliquées de Lyon (France), University of Jyväskylä (Finland), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), and Universitat Jaume I (Spain).MethodsThe purpose of the study was to rank these benefits by combining the perspectives of the university staff and the student athletes from each university in the consortium. The university staff included experts from sports services and the international relations office. A questionnaire was also sent to the dual-career athletes enrolled at the consortium's universities. Of the 514 dual-career athletes, 208 (116 women) completed the questionnaire. The overall response rate was 40.47%. The university staff assessed the importance of each benefit, how easy it was to implement at the institution, and whether or not the university offered the benefit to its students. The dual-career students rated each of the 31 benefits and indicated whether or not they had used them. A specific methodology was designed to rank these benefits using the ratings of the university staff and the student athletes. Intra-group and inter-group Pearson correlations were performed.ResultsThe results show a strong and significant correlation between the benefits from the perspective of the university staff (r = 0.710, p = 7.76E-7) and from the perspective of the students (r = 0.715, p = 2.44E-6). The correlation is moderate and significant when the benefits are correlated from the perspective of the two groups as a whole (0.363, p = 0.045), with the three most important benefits being the free use of sports facilities, justification for absences, and the adaptation of the pace of studies.DiscussionThe study makes visible the commitment of higher education institutions to facilitating the dual career of student athletes and identifies those benefits that may be of greater interest to European universities as a whole. The European perspective has been considered, while respecting the specificities of each university and the country in which it is located

A molecular-based identification resource for the arthropods of Finland

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Molecular Ecology Resources published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.To associate specimens identified by molecular characters to other biological knowledge, we need reference sequences annotated by Linnaean taxonomy. In this study, we (1) report the creation of a comprehensive reference library of DNA barcodes for the arthropods of an entire country (Finland), (2) publish this library, and (3) deliver a new identification tool for insects and spiders, as based on this resource. The reference library contains mtDNA COI barcodes for 11,275 (43%) of 26,437 arthropod species known from Finland, including 10,811 (45%) of 23,956 insect species. To quantify the improvement in identification accuracy enabled by the current reference library, we ran 1000 Finnish insect and spider species through the Barcode of Life Data system (BOLD) identification engine. Of these, 91% were correctly assigned to a unique species when compared to the new reference library alone, 85% were correctly identified when compared to BOLD with the new material included, and 75% with the new material excluded. To capitalize on this resource, we used the new reference material to train a probabilistic taxonomic assignment tool, FinPROTAX, scoring high success. For the full-length barcode region, the accuracy of taxonomic assignments at the level of classes, orders, families, subfamilies, tribes, genera, and species reached 99.9%, 99.9%, 99.8%, 99.7%, 99.4%, 96.8%, and 88.5%, respectively. The FinBOL arthropod reference library and FinPROTAX are available through the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility (www.laji.fi) at https://laji.fi/en/theme/protax. Overall, the FinBOL investment represents a massive capacity-transfer from the taxonomic community of Finland to all sectors of society.Peer reviewe

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types