Rakennetun ympäristön ja Suomen rakennuskannan kehitys tulevaisuudessa EU:n tavotteiden pohjalta

Tiivistelmä. Rakennukset kattavat 40 % EU:n kokonaisenergiakulutuksesta ja 36 % kaikista hiilidioksidipäästöistä. Rakennusten energiatarpeen vähentäminen onkin yksi tärkeimpiä aiheita EU:n ilmasto- ja energiapolitiikassa. Energian tuotanto ja kulutus vaikuttavat ilmastonmuutokseen ja erityisesti niistä aiheutuvien hiilidioksidipäästöjen vähentäminen on avainasemassa ilmastonmuutoksen hillinnässä. Tämän kandidaatintyön aiheena on Suomen rakennetun ympäristön ja rakennuskannan kehitys tulevaisuudessa EU:n tavoitteiden pohjalta. Työssä kerrotaan siitä, minkälainen Suomen rakennuskanta on tällä hetkellä ja toisekseen, mihin suuntaan sen on tarkoitus kehittyä. Kandidaatintyössä tutustutaan rakennusten energiatehokkuuteen ja siihen, mitkä asiat vaikuttavat energian kulutukseen. Työssä perehdytään Suomen tavoitteisiin muuttaa rakennuskanta lähes nollaenergia tasolle sekä tutustutaan Suomen pitkän aikavälin korjausrakentamisen strategiaan. Kandidaatintyössä kerrotaan myös lainsäädännöstä, joka ohjaa saavuttamaan tavoitteet energiatehokkaasta rakennuskannasta. Kandidaatintyössä tutkitaan sitä, mitkä lait ja säädökset ohjaavat rakentamista ja rakennusten energiatehokkuutta Suomessa. Työssä tutkitaan myös, minkälainen rakennuskanta Suomessa on tällä hetkellä ja perehdytään siihen, mitkä ovat keinot, joilla muutetaan rakennuskanta energiatehokkaaksi. Kandidaatintyössä tutkimuskysymyksiin on perehdytty tekemällä kirjallisuusselvitys. Kandidaatintyön ensimmäisessä osiossa esitellään lainsäädäntöä, joka ohjaa saavuttamaan tavoitteet energiatehokkaasta rakennuskannasta. Ilmastonmuutos ja EU:n ilmasto- ja energiapolitiikka ohjaavat rakentamisen kehitystä, sillä rakennukset ja niiden energiatehokkuus ovat yksi merkittävimmistä kehityskohteista. Suomessa rakentamista ohjaa Maankäyttö- ja rakennuslaki yhdessä Rakentamismääräyskokoelman kanssa. Suomen rakentamista koskevat kansalliset lait ja asetukset muodostuvat Euroopan Unionin direktiivien pohjalta. Yksi tärkeimpiä rakennuskantaamme vaikuttavia EU:n direktiivejä on EPBD 2018/844/EU eli rakennusten energiatehokkuusdirektiivi. Kandidaatintyön toisessa osiossa perehdytään siihen, minkälainen rakennuskanta Suomessa on tällä hetkellä. Työssä kerrotaan myös siitä, minkälainen on tämänhetkisen rakennuskannan energiakulutus ja mihin energiaa käytetään. Suomessa rakennuskanta on pääosin 1960–1980 luvulla rakennettuja asuinrakennuksia, joista suurin osa on pientaloja ja kerrostaloja. Rakennuksien energiankulutus on ollut laskussa lainsäädännöllisten pakotteiden johdosta. Rakennuksien lämmitys on merkittävin energiankulutuksen kohde. Suurimmat hiilidioksidipäästöt tulevat lämmitykseen käytettävästä kevyestä polttoöljystä, sähköstä sekä kaukolämmöstä. Työn kolmannessa osiossa perehdytään Suomen tavoitteisiin muuttaa rakennuskanta lähes nollaenergiatasolle sekä tutustutaan Suomen pitkän aikavälin korjausrakentamisen strategiaan. EU on määrännyt rakennusten energiatehokkuusdirektiivisissään jäsenmaita luomaan kyseisen korjausrakentamisen strategian, joka edesauttaisi rakennuksien muuttamista energiatehokkaammiksi eli ne saavuttaisivat vähitellen lähes nollaenergiatason. Suomen pitkänaikavälin korjausrakentamisen strategian mukaan korjausrakentamisella, poistumalla ja tilatehokkuudella sekä suunnitelmallisella kunnossapidolla pystytään parantamaan nykyisen rakennuskannan energiatehokkuutta. Työn lopussa tarkastellaan myös uudisrakentamisen suunnittelussa huomioitavia tekijöitä eli niitä, miten rakennuksesta luodaan energiatehokas jo suunnitteluvaiheessa.Future development of the Finnish built environment and building stock on the basis of EU objectives. Abstract. At the moment, buildings consume 40% of the European Union’s total energy and are responsible for 36% of all carbon dioxide emissions in European Union. Reducing the energy demand of buildings is therefore one of the key issues in European Union climate and energy policy. Energy production and consumption contribute to climate change and reducing their carbon dioxide emissions is the main key factor for mitigating the climate change. The aim of this bachelor’s thesis is to study the future development of Finland’s built environment and building stock based on European Union targets. This thesis introduces current building stock and future development of the buildings in Finland. This thesis also introduces the energy efficiency of buildings and the impacting factors of the building’s energy consumption. The long-term renovation strategy of Finland is also investigated for finding suitable ways to increase the energy efficiency of the building stock in Finland in order to achieve a nearly zero energy level for it. This thesis investigates which laws and regulations are guiding the energy efficiency of built environment and buildings in Finland. The study also investigates the current state of the building stock in Finland and investigates various ways of improving its energy efficiency. The bachelor’s thesis is carried out by conducting a literature review. The thesis introduces legislation that guides the achievement of an energy-efficient building stock. Climate change and European Union’s climate and energy policy are driving the development of construction because buildings and their energy efficiency are one of the most important areas for development. In Finland, construction is governed by the Land Use and Building Act together with The National Building Code of Finland. National laws and regulations concerning the construction of buildings in Finland are formed by the basis of European Union directives. One of the most important European Union directives affecting to Finnish building stock is called the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive EPBD 2018/844/EU. In the next part of the bachelor’s thesis, the current state of the building stock of Finland will be presented. The thesis also describes the energy consumption of the current building stock and introduces where the energy is consumed. In Finland, the building stock is mainly residential buildings built between the 1960s and 1980s, of which most of them are detached houses and blocks of flats. Energy consumption in buildings has been declining due to regulatory requirements. Heating of buildings is the most significant area of energy consumption. The largest heating related carbon dioxide emissions come from combustion of light fuel oil and from the usage of electricity and district heating. In the third part of this thesis, Finland’s targets to achieve a nearly zero energy level on its building stock is presented. Additionally, the long term renovation strategy of Finland is introduced. European Union has instructed its member states to set up such a renovation strategy that would help to make buildings more energy-efficient and gradually reach nearly zero energy level. According to Finland’s long-term renovation strategy, renovation, removal, and space efficiency, as well as planned maintenance, can improve the energy efficiency of the current building stock. At the end of this thesis, the energy efficient choices at the design phase of a new building are presented

Mosaic of submerged habitats in the Venice lagoon shows signs of marinization

The relationships between habitat patterns and ecosystem functioning have been widely explored in terrestrial ecosystems, but less in marine and coastal ecosystems, calling for further research in this direction. This work focuses on the mosaic of submerged habitats in the Venice lagoon, Italy. It aims to describe the habitats’ spatial patterns at multiple spatial scales, and to explore their linkages with the ecological status defined according to the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC). The submerged habitats’ mosaic has been analysed by calculating a set of seascape metrics at different spatial scales. These metrics have been linked with the biological quality elements (BQEs) that are monitored in the lagoon in compliance to the WFD. The results show that the habitats’ spatial patterns differ between the areas of the lagoon with marine-like features and the areas which still retain more lagoon characteristics. The similarity between the pattern found in the whole lagoon and those found in marine-like areas suggests a general loss of lagoon characteristics at the lagoon scale. Regarding the ecological status, every BQE seems to be associated with a different habitat configuration at the water body scale. This does not facilitate the joint improvement of the BQEs, as required by the Directive. If we cannot achieve that, at some point we will probably have to choose what to prioritize. On a broader perspective, this calls for a reflection on what lagoon we want for the future, a vision that should be shared and account for the lagoon’s complexity, current trends and challenges

Frequency of Retinal Redetachment Based on the Primary Reattachment Treatment and Intraocular Tamponade

Introduction: To observe the number and presentation of retinal redetachment after primary reattachment treatment in a national eye center. Methods: This study was designed for ob- servational-descriptive of the medical record from April 2011 to March 2012. Selected cases were identified on the secondary retinal surgery for retinal reattachment followed the failure of the primary treatment. Cases were then classified into 4 groups based on the primary reattach- ment procedure: pneumatic retinopexy (PR), scleral buckle (SB), pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), and combined SB with PPV. Furthermore, in the group of PPV and SB+PPV were then divided into 3 subgroups based on the intraocular tamponade: SF6 gas, silicone oil, and heavy silicone oil. Results: At one-year followed-up data, the presentation retinal redetachment was 7.1%, relative to the sex female (26%) was less than male (74%) with the most common age group was 41-50 years-old. Regarding with primary reattachment treatment, cases of retinal redetachment after pneumatic retinopexy was 6%, the scleral buckle was 16%, pars plana vitrectomy was 29%, and combined sclera buckle with pars plana vitrectomy was 48%. Con- clusions: Rates of retinal redetachment after primary reattachment treatment varied from 6% to 48%, that were performed by combined scleral buckling and pars plana vitrectomy with or without tamponade silicone oil

FREQUENCY OF RETINAL REDETACHMENT BASED ON THE PRIMARY REATTACHMENT TREATMENT AND INTRAOCULAR TAMPONADE

ABSTRACT Introduction: To observe the number and  presentation of retinal redetachment after primary reattachment treatment in a national eye  center. Methods:  This study was designed for ob- servational-descriptive of the medical record  from April 2011  to March 2012.  Selected cases were identified on the secondary retinal surgery for retinal reattachment followed the failure of the primary treatment. Cases were then classified into 4 groups based on the primary reattach- ment procedure: pneumatic retinopexy (PR), scleral buckle (SB), pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), and combined SB with PPV. Furthermore, in the group of PPV and SB+PPV  were then divided into 3 subgroups based on the intraocular tamponade: SF6  gas, silicone oil, and heavy  silicone oil. Results:  At one-year followed-up data, the presentation retinal redetachment was 7.1%, relative to the sex female (26%) was less than  male (74%) with the most common age  group was 41-50  years-old. Regarding with primary reattachment treatment, cases  of retinal redetachment after pneumatic retinopexy was 6%,  the  scleral buckle was 16%,  pars plana vitrectomy was 29%, and  combined sclera buckle with pars plana vitrectomy was 48%. Con- clusions: Rates of retinal redetachment after primary reattachment treatment varied from 6% to 48%, that were  performed by combined scleral buckling and  pars plana vitrectomy with or without tamponade silicone oil. Keyword : Retinal redetachment, pars plana vitrectomy, scleral buckle, silicon oil, intraocular gas

Spectroscopic Studies of the Iron and Manganese Reconstituted Tyrosyl Radical in Bacillus Cereus Ribonucleotide Reductase R2 Protein

Ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) catalyzes the rate limiting step in DNA synthesis where ribonucleotides are reduced to the corresponding deoxyribonucleotides. Class Ib RNRs consist of two homodimeric subunits: R1E, which houses the active site; and R2F, which contains a metallo cofactor and a tyrosyl radical that initiates the ribonucleotide reduction reaction. We studied the R2F subunit of B. cereus reconstituted with iron or alternatively with manganese ions, then subsequently reacted with molecular oxygen to generate two tyrosyl-radicals. The two similar X-band EPR spectra did not change significantly over 4 to 50 K. From the 285 GHz EPR spectrum of the iron form, a g1-value of 2.0090 for the tyrosyl radical was extracted. This g1-value is similar to that observed in class Ia E. coli R2 and class Ib R2Fs with iron-oxygen cluster, suggesting the absence of hydrogen bond to the phenoxyl group. This was confirmed by resonance Raman spectroscopy, where the stretching vibration associated to the radical (C-O, ν7a = 1500 cm−1) was found to be insensitive to deuterium-oxide exchange. Additionally, the 18O-sensitive Fe-O-Fe symmetric stretching (483 cm−1) of the metallo-cofactor was also insensitive to deuterium-oxide exchange indicating no hydrogen bonding to the di-iron-oxygen cluster, and thus, different from mouse R2 with a hydrogen bonded cluster. The HF-EPR spectrum of the manganese reconstituted RNR R2F gave a g1-value of ∼2.0094. The tyrosyl radical microwave power saturation behavior of the iron-oxygen cluster form was as observed in class Ia R2, with diamagnetic di-ferric cluster ground state, while the properties of the manganese reconstituted form indicated a magnetic ground state of the manganese-cluster. The recent activity measurements (Crona et al., (2011) J Biol Chem 286: 33053–33060) indicates that both the manganese and iron reconstituted RNR R2F could be functional. The manganese form might be very important, as it has 8 times higher activity

Pharmacological development of target-specific delocalized lipophilic cation-functionalized carboranes for cancer therapy

PURPOSE: Tumor cell heterogeneity and microenvironment represent major hindering factors in the clinical setting toward achieving the desired selectivity and specificity to malignant tissues for molecularly targeted cancer therapeutics. In this study, the cellular and molecular evaluation of several delocalized lipophilic cation (DLC)-functionalized carborane compounds as innovative anticancer agents is presented. METHODS: The anticancer potential assessment of the DLC-carboranes was performed in established normal (MRC-5, Vero), cancer (U-87 MG, HSC-3) and primary glioblastoma cancer stem (EGFRpos, EGFRneg) cultures. Moreover, the molecular mechanism of action underlying their pharmacological response is also analyzed. RESULTS: The pharmacological anticancer profile of DLC-functionalized carboranes is characterized by: a) a marked in vitro selectivity, due to lower concentration range needed (ca. 10 fold) to exert their cell growth-arrest effect on U-87 MG and HSC-3, as compared with that on MRC-5 and Vero; b) a similar selective growth inhibition behavior towards EGFRpos and EGFRneg cultures (>10 fold difference in potency) without, however, the activation of apoptosis in cultures; c) notably, in marked contrast to cancer cells, normal cells are capable of recapitulating their full proliferation potential following exposure to DLC-carboranes; and, d) such pharmacological effects of DLC-carboranes has been unveiled to be elicited at the molecular level through activation of the p53/p21 axis. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the data presented in this work indicates the potential of the DLC-functionalized carboranes to act as new selective anticancer therapeutics that may be used autonomously or in therapies involving radiation with thermal neutrons. Importantly, such bifunctional capacity may be beneficial in cancer therapy

Semi-Automated Image Analysis for the Assessment of Megafaunal Densities at the Arctic Deep-Sea Observatory HAUSGARTEN

Megafauna play an important role in benthic ecosystem function and are sensitive indicators of environmental change. Non-invasive monitoring of benthic communities can be accomplished by seafloor imaging. However, manual quantification of megafauna in images is labor-intensive and therefore, this organism size class is often neglected in ecosystem studies. Automated image analysis has been proposed as a possible approach to such analysis, but the heterogeneity of megafaunal communities poses a non-trivial challenge for such automated techniques. Here, the potential of a generalized object detection architecture, referred to as iSIS (intelligent Screening of underwater Image Sequences), for the quantification of a heterogenous group of megafauna taxa is investigated. The iSIS system is tuned for a particular image sequence (i.e. a transect) using a small subset of the images, in which megafauna taxa positions were previously marked by an expert. To investigate the potential of iSIS and compare its results with those obtained from human experts, a group of eight different taxa from one camera transect of seafloor images taken at the Arctic deep-sea observatory HAUSGARTEN is used. The results show that inter- and intra-observer agreements of human experts exhibit considerable variation between the species, with a similar degree of variation apparent in the automatically derived results obtained by iSIS. Whilst some taxa (e. g. Bathycrinus stalks, Kolga hyalina, small white sea anemone) were well detected by iSIS (i. e. overall Sensitivity: 87%, overall Positive Predictive Value: 67%), some taxa such as the small sea cucumber Elpidia heckeri remain challenging, for both human observers and iSIS

Semi-Automated Image Analysis for the Assessment of Megafaunal Densities at the Arctic Deep-Sea Observatory HAUSGARTEN

Megafauna play an important role in benthic ecosystem function and are sensitive indicators of environmental change. Non-invasive monitoring of benthic communities can be accomplished by seafloor imaging. However, manual quantification of megafauna in images is labor-intensive and therefore, this organism size class is often neglected in ecosystem studies. Automated image analysis has been proposed as a possible approach to such analysis, but the heterogeneity of megafaunal communities poses a non-trivial challenge for such automated techniques. Here, the potential of a generalized object detection architecture, referred to as iSIS (intelligent Screening of underwater Image Sequences), for the quantification of a heterogenous group of megafauna taxa is investigated. The iSIS system is tuned for a particular image sequence (i.e. a transect) using a small subset of the images, in which megafauna taxa positions were previously marked by an expert. To investigate the potential of iSIS and compare its results with those obtained from human experts, a group of eight different taxa from one camera transect of seafloor images taken at the Arctic deep-sea observatory HAUSGARTEN is used. The results show that inter- and intra-observer agreements of human experts exhibit considerable variation between the species, with a similar degree of variation apparent in the automatically derived results obtained by iSIS. Whilst some taxa (e. g. Bathycrinus stalks, Kolga hyalina, small white sea anemone) were well detected by iSIS (i. e. overall Sensitivity: 87%, overall Positive Predictive Value: 67%), some taxa such as the small sea cucumber Elpidia heckeri remain challenging, for both human observers and iSIS

Identification and Characterization of Alternative Promoters, Transcripts and Protein Isoforms of Zebrafish R2 Gene

Ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the de novo synthesis of deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates. Expression of RNR subunits is closely associated with DNA replication and repair. Mammalian RNR M2 subunit (R2) functions exclusively in DNA replication of normal cells due to its S phase-specific expression and late mitotic degradation. Herein, we demonstrate the control of R2 expression through alternative promoters, splicing and polyadenylation sites in zebrafish. Three functional R2 promoters were identified to generate six transcript variants with distinct 5′ termini. The proximal promoter contains a conserved E2F binding site and two CCAAT boxes, which are crucial for the transcription of R2 gene during cell cycle. Activity of the distal promoter can be induced by DNA damage to generate four transcript variants through alternative splicing. In addition, two novel splice variants were found to encode distinct N-truncated R2 isoforms containing residues for enzymatic activity but no KEN box essential for its proteolysis. These two N-truncated R2 isoforms remained in the cytoplasm and were able to interact with RNR M1 subunit (R1). Thus, our results suggest that multilayered mechanisms control the differential expression and function of zebrafish R2 gene during cell cycle and under genotoxic stress

Key criteria for developing ecosystem service indicators to inform decision making

Decision makers are increasingly interested in information from ecosystem services (ES) assessments. Scientists have for long recognised the importance of selecting appropriate indicators. Yet, while the amount and variety of indicators developed by scientists seems to increase continuously, the extent to which the indicators truly inform decision makers is often unknown and questioned. In this viewpoint paper, we reflect and provide guidance on how to develop appropriate ES indicators for informing decision making, building on scientific literature and practical experience collected from researchers involved in seven case studies. We synthesized 16 criteria for ES indicator selection and organized them according to the widely used categories of credibility, salience, legitimacy (CSL). We propose to consider additional criteria related to feasibility (F), as CSL criteria alone often seem to produce indicators which are unachievable in practice. Considering CSL & F together requires a combination of scientific knowledge, communication skills, policy and governance insights and on-field experience. We present a checklist to evaluate CSL & F of your ES indicators. This checklist helps to detect and mitigate critical shortcomings in an early phase of the development process, and aids the development of effective indicators to inform actual policy decisions