From a rare inhabitant into a potential pest – status of the nun moth in Finland based on pheromone trapping

Forests are being hit by climate change in various ways. This includes abiotic factors such as droughts, but also an increased risk of damage caused by biotic agents such as insects. There are numerous examples from cases where a pest insect has benefitted from endured growing season or from warmer summers. Similarly, new pest insects have been able to expand their range due to climatic conditions that have changed from hostile to tolerable. Such seems to be the case with the nun moth (Lymantria monacha), Europe’s most significant defoliator of coniferous trees. For centuries, the species has had massive outbreaks across Central-Europe while it has been only a rare inhabitant in Northern Europe. Recently, the nun moth population in Finland has not only expanded in range, but also grown more abundant. This research note describes the results from the first years (2018-2019) of a monitoring program that is being conducted with pheromone traps across central and southern Finland. So far, the northernmost individuals were trapped near the 64 N degrees. However, there were more southern where no moths were trapped. The species was present in every trapping site below the latitude of 62 N degrees. More importantly, at some sites the abundance of the nun moth suggested that local forest damage may not be a distant scenario. Given the current climatic scenarios for Fennoscandia, it is likely that the nun moth populations will continue to grow, which is why systematic surveys on their abundance and range expansions are vital.202

Increasing Doctors’ Employment in Companies by Tailored Teaching and Matchmaking Actions

Active industry - academia interaction is of fundamental importance in addressing our global challenges. In this paper, we present two programs that lower the barrier between these two domains. The experimental educational program for doctoral students is an adaptation of top-level management training program to the academic environment. The matchmaking program between a company and a young doctor provides a low entry barrier to companies to test new ideas with the doctor and build new competences by hiring the doctor. In this program, the funding for the research phase is covered by a foundation and the development phase by the company.©2022 International Society for Professional Innovation management, Lappeenranta University of Technology.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Diet and breeding habitat preferences of White-tailed Eagles in a northern inland environment

Many apex predator populations are recolonizing old areas and dispersing to new ones, with potential consequences for their prey species and for livestock. An increasing population of the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) has settled north of the Arctic Circle in northern Finland, mainly at two big water reservoirs but also in areas with mainly terrestrial habitat. We examined nesting habitat preferences and prey use of White-tailed Eagles in this environment, where reindeer husbandry is a traditional livelihood and concerns are rising that the growing White-tailed Eagle population poses a threat to reindeer calves. Lakes, peat bogs, and marshlands were preferred habitats in the nesting territories. Fish constituted 64.3% of the identified prey items, with birds accounting for 28.5% and mammals 7.2%. The nesting territory habitat within a 10 km radius and the latitude influenced the prey composition at both the group and species level. The occurrence of reindeer calves as prey increased with latitude but was not associated with any habitat. Knowledge of the diet and territory preferences can be used to predict future dispersal and local prey use of this species. Nesting White-tailed Eagles do not seem to pose a threat to traditional reindeer herding, but further research is needed regarding non-breeding sub-adults and whether the White-tailed Eagles actually kill reindeer calves or simply exploit their carcasses

Paras käytettävissä oleva tekniikka (BAT) liuottimia käyttävässä pintakäsittelyssä

Tähän BAT-raporttiin on koottu tietoa parhaan käytettävissä olevan tekniikan (BAT) mukaisista liuottimia käyttävän pintakäsittelyn prosesseista ja keinoista päästöjen rajoittamiseen ja hallintaan. Liuottimia käyttävän pintakäsittelyn tärkeimmät ympäristövaikutukset liittyvät VOC-yhdisteiden päästöihin ilmaan ja jätevesiin, syntyviin jätteisiin, maaperän ja pohjaveden suojeluun sekä meluun. Tässä selvityksessä on keskitytty pieniin ja keskisuuriin laitoksiin. Julkaisussa kerrotaan muun muassa liuottimia käyttävän pintakäsittelyn toimintojen lainsäädännöllisestä taustasta, menetelmistä VOC-päästöjen rajoittamiseen ja hallintaan. Raportissa on kuvattu erityisesti maalauksen ja painatuksen toimintojen BAT-tekniikoita ja menetelmiä, mutta sitä voidaan käyttää soveltuvin osin hyväksi myös muiden orgaanisia liuottimia ja haihtuvia orgaanisia yhdisteitä käyttävien toimintojen VOC-päästöjen rajoittamisessa. Selvitys on tarkoitettu toiminnanharjoittajille, ympäristölupa- ja valvontaviranomaisille sekä muille toimialasta kiinnostuneille parhaan käytettävissä olevan tekniikan vertailuinformaatioksi

Optimized riboswitch-regulated AAV vector for VEGF-B gene therapy

Gene therapy would greatly benefit from a method to regulate therapeutic gene expression temporally. Riboswitches are small RNA elements that have been studied for their potential use in turning transgene expression on or off by ligand binding. We compared several tetracycline and toyocamycin-inducible ON-riboswitches for a drug responsive transgene expression. The tetracycline-dependent K19 riboswitch showed the best control and we successfully applied it to different transgenes. The induction of gene expression was 6- to 10-fold, dose-dependent, reversible, and occurred within hours after the addition of a clinically relevant tetracycline dose, using either plasmid or adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors. To enhance the switching capacity, we further optimized the gene cassette to control the expression of a potential therapeutic gene for cardiovascular diseases, VEGF-B. Using two or three riboswitches simultaneously reduced leakiness and improved the dynamic range, and a linker sequence between the riboswitches improved their functionality. The riboswitch function was promoter-independent, but a post-transcriptional WPRE element in the expression cassette reduced its functionality. The optimized construct was a dual riboswitch at the 3′ end of the transgene with a 100 bp linker sequence. Our study reveals significant differences in the function of riboswitches and provides important aspects on optimizing expression cassette designs. The findings will benefit further research and development of riboswitches

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New loci for body fat percentage reveal link between adiposity and cardiometabolic disease risk

To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of adiposity and its links to cardiometabolic disease risk, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of body fat percentage (BF%) in up to 100,716 individuals. Twelve loci reached genome-wide significance (P<5 × 10−8), of which eight were previously associated with increased overall adiposity (BMI, BF%) and four (in or near COBLL1/GRB14, IGF2BP1, PLA2G6, CRTC1) were novel associations with BF%. Seven loci showed a larger effect on BF% than on BMI, suggestive of a primary association with adiposity, while five loci showed larger effects on BMI than on BF%, suggesting association with both fat and lean mass. In particular, the loci more strongly associated with BF% showed distinct cross-phenotype association signatures with a range of cardiometabolic traits revealing new insights in the link between adiposity and disease risk

New loci for body fat percentage reveal link between adiposity and cardiometabolic disease risk

To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of adiposity and its links to cardiometabolic disease risk, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of body fat percentage (BF%) in up to 100,716 individuals. Twelve loci reached genome-wide significance (P <5 x 10(-8)), of which eight were previously associated with increased overall adiposity (BMI, BF%) and four (in or near COBLL1/GRB14, IGF2BP1, PLA2G6, CRTC1) were novel associations with BF%. Seven loci showed a larger effect on BF% than on BMI, suggestive of a primary association with adiposity, while five loci showed larger effects on BMI than on BF%, suggesting association with both fat and lean mass. In particular, the loci more strongly associated with BF% showed distinct cross-phenotype association signatures with a range of cardiometabolic traits revealing new insights in the link between adiposity and disease risk.Peer reviewe