Sustainable Buildings for the High North. Energy performance, technologies and challenges of new buildings in Russia and Scandinavia

Since 2019 and 2021 energy performance of nearly zero energy level is required from new residential and non-residential buildings by Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). Currently, building sector consumes large 40 % share of the final energy usage. Pressures for energy saving efforts are created by legislation induced by proceeding climate change, national economies and healthy indoor climate. Growth rate of residential building sector is 1 % in many European countries. The modern-age buildings constructed in the period 1991-2010 form only 14-19 % of the entire housing stock. Although new buildings have lower energy consumption levels in comparison to old ones they may also have higher electricity use due to increased need for ventilation, cooling, lighting and office equipment. By quality assurance process, commissioning, the intended performance of new building is aimed to confirm before the operation phase. Optimal operation of mechanical, electrical and HVAC systems generate additional energy saving options for new buildings. The common aim is to produce best possible indoor climate with least amount of energy

Multiple endosymbionts in populations of the ant Formica cinerea

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Many insects, including ants, are infected by maternally inherited <it>Wolbachia </it>endosymbiotic bacteria though other secondary endosymbionts have not been reported in ants. It has been suggested that the ability of <it>Wolbachia </it>to invade and remain in an ant population depends on the number of coexisting queens in a colony. We study the genetic and social structure of populations in the ant <it>Formica cinerea </it>which is known to have populations with either monogynous or polygynous colonies. We screen populations for several endosymbiotic bacteria to evaluate the presence of different endosymbionts, possible association between their prevalence and the social structure, and the association between endosymbiont prevalence and genetic differentiation of ant populations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found three endosymbiotic bacteria; 19% of the nests were infected by <it>Wolbachia</it>, 3.8% by <it>Cardinium </it>and 33% by <it>Serratia</it>. There was significant variation among the populations regarding the proportion of nests infected by <it>Serratia</it>, <it>Wolbachia </it>and the pooled set of all the endosymbionts. Some individuals and colonies carried two of the bacteria, the frequency of double infections agreeing with the random expectation. The proportion of infected ants (individuals or colonies) did not correlate significantly with the population level relatedness values. The difference in the prevalence of <it>Wolbachia </it>between population pairs correlated significantly with the genetic distance (microsatellites) of the populations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The discovery of several endosymbionts and co-infections by <it>Wolbachia </it>and <it>Cardinium </it>demonstrate the importance of screening several endosymbionts when evaluating their possible effects on social life and queen-worker conflicts over sex allocation. The low prevalence of <it>Wolbachia </it>in <it>F. cinerea </it>departs from the pattern observed in many other <it>Formica </it>ants in which all workers have been infected. It is likely that the strain of <it>Wolbachia </it>in <it>F. cinerea </it>differs from those in other <it>Formica </it>species. The correlation between the difference in <it>Wolbachia </it>prevalence and the pair-wise genetic distance of populations suggests that spreading of the bacteria is restricted by the isolation of the host populations.</p

A high recombination rate in eusocial Hymenoptera: evidence from the common wasp Vespula vulgaris

Peer reviewe

An arylthiazyne derivative is a potent inhibitor of lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis providing neuroprotection in vitro and in vivo

Lipid peroxidation-initiated ferroptosis is an iron-dependent mechanism of programmed cell death taking place in neurological diseases. Here we show that a condensed benzo[b]thiazine derivative small molecule with an arylthiazine backbone (ADA-409-052) inhibits tert-Butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP)-induced lipid peroxidation (LP) and protects against ferroptotic cell death triggered by glutathione (GSH) depletion or glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4) inhibition in neuronal cell lines. In addition, ADA-409-052 suppresses pro-inflammatory activation of BV2 microglia and protects N2a neuronal cells from cell death induced by pro-inflammatory RAW 264.7 macrophages. Moreover, ADA-409-052 efficiently reduces infarct volume, edema and expression of pro-inflammatory genes in a mouse model of thromboembolic stroke. Targeting ferroptosis may be a promising therapeutic strategy in neurological diseases involving severe neuronal death and neuroinflammation.Peer reviewe

Sustainable Buildings for the High North. Energy performance of current building stock in Scandinavia and Russia

Worldwide, buildings are responsible for one-third of the total final energy consumption, and are among most significant creators of carbon dioxide emissions. Due to constantly increasing prices of energy and changing environmental circumstances, more emphasis is given on the discovery of energy efficient solutions. Exploitation of energy efficient technological solutions and renewable energy sources provide environmental friendly and cost-effective alternatives also for renovation of buildings and living. Local infrastructure as well as directives, laws and standards set by the European Union and governments guide energy performance of buildings and implementation of renovations. By adjusting and unifying regulations, the challenges of cold climate could be encountered in sustainable manner and cross-border trade accelerated in the high north, where vast resources are available. In this report, building stock, renovation status, energy production and usage are discussed in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. The work is mainly done for the purposes of the SBHN-project. The goals of the Sustainable Buildings for the High North (SBHN) -project are to discover arctic climate- adjusted methods to improve energy efficiency of residential apartment buildings and to enhance cross-border trade between Scandinavian countries and Russia. The results of the project are expected to promote various business opportunities and the development of close co-operation between the northern countries in the fields of building technology industry, innovative research and education among companies, universities, colleges and the authorities

Sustainable Buildings for the High North. Strategic plan for the implementation of energy efficient renovation and construction in Northern parts of Russia

Buildings constitute remarkable share of the global energy consumption. Efforts to measure and standardize energy usage have been developed across countries. In 2010 Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD) was recast with added specifications regarding energy certification and building types by European Union. Energy consumption in Russian building sector is also acknowledged recently. Presidential decree given in 2008 states that energy intensity must be reduced by 40 % from the level of 2007 until 2020. The energy efficient construction and renovation markets are vast in Russia. Total investment value is evaluated to be 300 billion USD. Only 7 % of the value is budgeted for federal and regional parties, thus private sector investments are required. Especially low-cost and high impact technological methods are studied to improve energy performance of Russian and Scandinavian buildings

Sustainable Buildings for the High North. Existing buildings – technologies and challenges for residential and commercial use

Depending on the intended use lifecycle of buildings may vary remarkably. Short term constructions such as summer cottages may last only a few decades whereas age of historical buildings may extend over hundreds of years. In Europe, three quarters of building stock is comprised of residential buildings. Approximately 40 % of the stock is built before 1960s, at the time when energy legislations were rather scarce. Consequently the age of buildings that have not undergone renovation is largely associated with the energy consumption level. Nowadays, scheduled renovations are commonly planned to reduce energy use in older section of building stock. Impacts of refurbishments are also associated on mitigation of the climate change as well as on improvement of indoor climate quality

The role of factors promoting genetic diversity within social insect colonies

Abstract The evolution of sociality is often associated with close relatedness and genetic similarity of interacting individuals. However, colonies of advanced social insects (e.g. ants, bees and wasps) characterized by large colony size and division of tasks, are also shaped by acquisition of genetic diversity by polyandry, polygyny, recombination and even by hybridization. The balance between forces selecting for high relatedness on one hand and for improved colony performance though increased genetic diversity on the other hand forms an intriguing area of research. My study has produced the first genetic linkage maps for ants (Acromyrmex echinatior and Pogonomyrmex rugosus) and social wasps (Vespula vulgaris). Together with the findings of earlier honeybee research, it is shown that advanced eusocial insects have higher recombination rates than any other insect (or animal) studied so far. The estimates obtained here were 14 cM/Mb for P. rugosus, 9.7 cM/Mb for V. vulgaris and 6.2 cM/Mb for A. echinatior. Pogonomyrmex harvester ants have a genetic caste determination system in which workers arise from mating between two hybridizing lineages whereas sexuals are produced by within-lineage mating. I evaluated the origin of the lineages and the caste determination system by using 751 variable nuclear genetic markers. Fertile hybrids would lead to introgression, particularly in genomic regions characterized by a high recombination rate and lack of strongly selected loci. The hybridizing lineages (lineage pairs J1/J2 and H1/H2) showed many fixed differences. Nineteen of them were in the constructed linkage map, scattered in different linkage groups. The results suggest that there has been no recent introgression. As the hybrids are viable (as workers), caste differentiation can be affected by many loci scattered throughout the ant genome or by a small number of very strongly selected loci. Genetic diversity in colonies of the ant Formica cinerea is affected by varying levels of polygyny. I tested the hypotheses that the prevalence of endosymbiotic bacteria can vary in polygynous colonies but be either very low or very high in monogynous colonies. However, I found no association between the level of polygyny and endosymbiont prevalence. In addition to Wolbachia, I found two other endosymbiotic bacteria Cardinium and Candidatus Serratia symbiotica which have not been earlier reported from ants. Genetic diversity in insect colonies is affected by polyandry and polygyny. My results indicate that high a recombination rate is also an important factor influencing diversity. Genotypically diverse progenies can enhance colony success, e.g. through effects on division of labour or defence against pathogens. Recombination differs from the other factors in its effects on genetic relatedness among colony members