Ecological decision analysis in support of societal decision making : Final report of the MetZo-II project

The MetZo II -project has applied ecological decision analysis to support societal decisions about nature conservation and land use. Spatial prioritization analyses implemented within the project using the Zonation approach have been utilized, e.g., in the South Finland Forest Biodiversity Program (METSO), in the targeting of habitat restoration for Natura 2000 areas, and in land use zoning. Additionally, design principles have been developed for biodiversity offsets, which are currently under active consideration in Finland. Background work by MetZo II has created opportunities for other projects. Forest analyses have provided administrators and land owners materials that support on-the-ground conservation decisions done as part of METSO. The Natura 2000 analyses have sought cost-effective opportunities for habitat management and restoration. Materials developed in the project have been used to assist zoning. The project has also participated in the planning of the expansion of the national peatland protection program, and marine spatial analyses implemented in association with MetZo II are groundbreaking in quality. The MetZo-II project has been primarily funded by the Finnish Ministry of the Environment and it has been run by the Metsähallitus Parks and Wildlife Finland, the Finnish Environment Institute and the University of Helsinki

Exploring Non-Linear Dependencies in Atmospheric Data with Mutual Information

Relations between atmospheric variables are often non-linear, which complicates research efforts to explore and understand multivariable datasets. We describe a mutual information approach to screen for the most significant associations in this setting. This method robustly detects linear and non-linear dependencies after minor data quality checking. Confounding factors and seasonal cycles can be taken into account without predefined models. We present two case studies of this method. The first one illustrates deseasonalization of a simple time series, with results identical to the classical method. The second one explores associations in a larger dataset of many variables, some of them lognormal (trace gas concentrations) or circular (wind direction). The examples use our Python package ‘ennemi’

Weekly precipitation cycles? Lack of evidence from United States surface stations

[1] Previouswork has inferred a relationship between human activity and the occurrence and amount of precipitation through examining possible weekly cycles in precipitation. Daily precipitation records for 219 surface observing stations in the United States for the 42-year period 1951– 1992 are investigated for weekly cycles in precipitation. Results indicate that neither the occurrence nor amount of precipitation significantly depends upon the day of th

Ekologinen päätösanalyysi yhteiskunnallisen päätöksenteon tukena : MetZo II -projektin loppuraportti

MetZo II -projekti soveltaa ekologista päätösanalyysiä yhteiskunnallisen, lähinnä luonnonsuojelua ja maankäyttöä koskevan, päätöksenteon tueksi. Projektissa Zonation-menetelmällä tuotettuja priorisointeja on hyödynnetty mm. Etelä-Suomen metsien monimuotoisuusohjelmassa (METSO), Natura 2000 -alueiden hoidon kohdennuksessa sekä kaavoituksessa. Lisäksi projektissa on esimerkiksi kehitetty suunnitteluperiaatteet ekologiselle kompensaatiolle, jonka käyttöönotosta keskustellaan parhaillaan aktiivisesti. Projektin puitteissa tehty kehitystyö on luonut toimintaedellytyksiä muille hankkeille. Metsäanalyysien tavoitteena on ollut tukea METSOn toteutusta ja Suomen metsien suojelualueverkoston vahvistamista tarjoamalla apumateriaalia maanomistajien kanssa asioiville. Natura 2000 -analyyseissä on etsitty luonnonhoito- ja ennallistamisalueita, joilla tehtävät toimenpiteet tuottaisivat suuren ekologisen hyödyn suhteessa kustannuksiin. Hankkeessa tuotettuja aineistoja on hyödynnetty myös kaavoituksen apuna. Hanke on myös osallistunut soidensuojelun täydennysehdotuksen suunnitteluun ja tukenut jopa maailman mittakaavassa erityisen hienoja merialueanalyysejä. MetZo II -projekti (2015–2019) on suurimmalta osin ympäristöministeriön rahoittama ja se on toteutettu Metsähallituksen, Suomen ympäristökeskuksen (SYKE) ja Helsingin yliopiston johdolla

Koronapandemian vaikutukset apteekin verkkopalvelun käyttöön : esimerkkinä Yliopiston Apteekki

English summary. Suomenkielinen tiivistelmä.Peer reviewe

The effect of cloudiness on new-particle formation : investigation of radiation levels

Peer reviewe

Particle number, mass, and black carbon emissions from fuel-operated auxiliary heaters in real vehicle use

Fuel-operated auxiliary heaters (AHs) are frequent solutions to heat the vehicle engines and cabins in cold areas. Particulate exhaust emissions of AHs are unregulated; therefore, their contribution to local air quality and thus human health and even the global emissions budget is unknown. Experiments for studying the AH-originated emissions were performed under Finnish winter conditions mimicking real-world use for six selected vehicles with original AHs installed, including both gasoline- and diesel-powered heaters. We present quantitative results of particle number emissions down to 1.3 nm, particle size distributions, particulate mass, and black carbon, and compare to gaseous emissions. The start-up and shutdown phases showed the highest particle peaks, while the particle concentrations were stable between these. The mean particle number, mass and BC emission factors were found to be as high as 590 × 1012 kgfuel−1, 33 mg kgfuel−1 and mg 18 kgfuel−1 for gasoline-operated heaters and 560 × 1012 kgfuel−1, 20 mg kgfuel−1 and 12 mg kgfuel−1 for diesel-operated heaters. Comparing total number of particles larger than 23 nm emitted during vehicle preheating with AH to vehicle tailpipe emissions during drive shows that a typical heating cycle emits an equal number of particles to drive dozens or even thousands of kilometers.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Metabolic profiles reflect weight loss maintenance and the composition of diet after very-low-energy diet

Background & aims: Diet and weight loss affect circulating metabolome. However, metabolite profiles induced by different weight loss maintenance diets and underlying longer term weight loss maintenance remain unknown. Herein, we investigated after-weight-loss metabolic signatures of two isocaloric 24-wk weight maintenance diets differing in satiety value due to dietary fibre, protein and fat contents and identified metabolite features that associated with successful weight loss maintenance. Methods: Non-targeted LC-MS metabolomics approach was used to analyse plasma metabolites of 79 women and men (mean age \ub1 SD 49.7 \ub1 9.0 years; BMI 34.2 \ub1 2.5 kg/m2) participating in a weight management study. Participants underwent a 7-week very-low-energy diet (VLED) and were thereafter randomised into two groups for a 24-week weight maintenance phase. Higher satiety food (HSF) group consumed high-fibre, high-protein, and low-fat products, while lower satiety food (LSF) group consumed isocaloric low-fibre products with average protein and fat content as a part of their weight maintenance diets. Plasma metabolites were analysed before the VLED and before and after the weight maintenance phase. Metabolite features discriminating HSF and LSF groups were annotated. We also analysed metabolite features that discriminated participants who maintained ≥10% weight loss (HWM) and participants who maintained <10% weight loss (LWM) at the end of the study, irrespective of the diet. Finally, we assessed robust linear regression between metabolite features and anthropometric and food group variables. Results: We annotated 126 metabolites that discriminated the HSF and LSF groups and HWM and LWM groups (p < 0.05). Compared to LSF, the HSF group had lower levels of several amino acids, e.g. glutamine, arginine, and glycine, short-, medium- and long-chain acylcarnitines (CARs), odd- and even-chain lysoglycerophospholipids, and higher levels of fatty amides. Compared to LWM, the HWM group in general showed higher levels of glycerophospholipids with a saturated long-chain and a C20:4 fatty acid tail, and unsaturated free fatty acids (FFAs). Changes in several saturated odd- and even-chain LPCs and LPEs and fatty amides were associated with the intake of many food groups, particularly grain and dairy products. Increase in several (lyso)glycerophospholipids was associated with decrease in body weight and adiposity. Increased short- and medium-chain CARs were related to decreased body fat-free mass. Conclusions: Our results show that isocaloric weight maintenance diets differing in dietary fibre, protein, and fat content affected amino acid and lipid metabolism. Increased abundances of several phospholipid species and FFAs were related with greater weight loss maintenance. Our findings indicate common and distinct metabolites for weight and dietary related variables in the context of weight reduction and weight management. The study was registered in isrctn.org with identifier 67529475

Engine preheating under real-world subfreezing conditions provides less than expected benefits to vehicle fuel economy and emission reduction for light-duty vehicles

Six light-duty vehicles, both gasoline- and diesel-fueled, were driven a prescribed 13.8 km route in a real-world low-traffic environment under Finnish subfreezing winter conditions (−28. −10 °C). Cold starts, hot starts, and starts with different preheating strategies were used. Fuel consumption and emissions of particles and nitrogen oxides (NOx) were examined by a chasing method with a mobile laboratory. Both electric preheaters (0.3–1.2 kW) and fuel-operated auxiliary heaters (5 kW) were used in the experiments where a cold engine was preheated before starting. While most vehicles showed potential for reducing fuel consumption and emissions of particles (PM), black carbon (BC), and NOx during hot starts compared to subfreezing-cold starts, the benefits of preheating were relatively small and limited to only a few vehicles. The fuel consumption for the 13.8 km drive decreased less than 4% with one gasoline vehicle and one diesel vehicle by preheating. These two vehicles are both equipped with a fuel-operated auxiliary heater, and taking the fuel consumption of the heater during preheating into account leads to about 30% higher total fuel consumption, canceling the preheating benefit out. These two vehicles also showed the largest reductions in PM, BC, and NOx emissions achieved with preheating, e.g., the PM emission reductions being 72% (the gasoline vehicle) and 24% (the diesel vehicle). Whereas the NOx emission reduction for this gasoline vehicle was 41% when considering only the drive, it decreases to 15% when the NOx emissions from the auxiliary heater during preheating are also taken into account. High particle number (PN) emissions from all vehicles and NOx emissions from the diesel vehicles were detected. The PN emissions of particles larger than 23 nm were up to 2 orders of magnitude higher and the NOx emissions up to a factor of 21 higher than the corresponding limits in the European regulations for type-approval of new vehicles. The PN emissions did not depend on the start types; thus, no benefits to reduce them with preheating were detected. The limit-exceeding PN emissions are partially explained with the used measurement method for PN taking both nonvolatile and semivolatile particles into account, whereas the regulations take only the nonvolatile particles into account. The PM emissions were also observed to consist mostly of semivolatile material in most of the cases, organics being the main component of the semivolatile material.Peer reviewe