Trees for tough urban sites

The main body of work in this thesis was to develop and test a working procedure for identification of new tree species and genotypes that holds the potential to diversify urban tree populations. This process has been set in context through a literature review which characterise species-specific information about the tolerance of trees to the environmental stresses in urban paved sites. With a Scandinavian focus, a review of literature was made in order to characterise species-specific information concerning site tolerance for urban paved environments as it is disseminated in scientific papers, dendrology literature, books addressing plant use in urban environments, plant nursery catalogues. The information was evaluated against the requirements of urban tree planners which should ideally be; contextual; local, referring to existing urban plantings, specify the urban site type(s) for which a given species can be recommended, and include the full range of tree species that are well adapted to the urban paved environment in a given climate region. In the analysis of the literature, abundant restrictions and misleading guidance were apparent. The results showed that existing information is piecemeal and that most is either too general (dendrology literature) or too specific or contradictory (scientific literature) to meet the requirements of urban tree planners, while books intended for plant use in cities do not sufficiently integrate the regional perspective. Moreover, contextual information local to the Scandinavian region is mainly provided for already much used species. With a focus on the northern parts of Central Europe and the adjoining milder parts of Scandinavia (CNE-region), a working procedure for the identification of potential tree species and genotypes for in inner-city environments was developed. The procedure was made through two case studies; in the Qinling Mountains, China, and in north-east Romania and neighbouring parts of the Republic of Moldavia. In total, 27 tree species were identified as tolerable for warm and periodically dry habitats. Of these tree species, only four are currently much used or used to some extent in northern Europe. Accordingly, the reaming 23 tree species identified hold potential to supplement and diversify the urban tree populations in the CNE-region

How green is an urban tree? The impact of species selection in reducing the carbon footprint of park trees in Swedish cities

Introduction: Planting trees in urban areas can mitigate some of the emissions generated in cities by carbon sequestration (annual uptake of CO2 through the process of photosynthesis) and carbon storage (amount of carbon stored in the tree's biomass throughout its lifespan). The aim of this study was to calculate the carbon footprint from nursery production to final establishment of different tree species grown for planting in urban parks in a northern European context.Material and methods: The analysis included a cradle-to-gate approach and investigated the amount of carbon the adult trees needed to sequester in order to compensate for initial carbon emissions and which temporal perspectives are of concern. Greenhouse gas emissions were estimated based on an inventory of consumption of fuels, energy, materials and other production inputs during cultivation, delivery, planting and establishment of three different tree species in three different locations in Sweden. The tree species considered in the analysis (Salix alba, Quercus rubra, Pinus sylvestris) were selected due to significant differences in their growth rates. Salix alba is a competitive strategist in resource-rich habitats, and is proficient at converting these resources into vigorous growth. Pinus sylvestris is a pronounced stress strategist with good ability to handle resource-limited habitats, and invests in traits accordingly, resulting in significantly slower development. Quercus rubra has its main distribution in cool and moderately resource-rich habitats, but has relatively high stress tolerance and can be considered intermediate between the other two species in terms of growth rate.Results and discussion: The results showed that within 16 years of planting, all species in all three cities, except Pinus sylvestris planted in Umeå, compensated for initial carbon emissions, i.e. showed net absorption of CO2 after emissions from cultivation, delivery, planting and establishment of the trees had been deducted. There was a clear link between the time by which compensation of initial carbon emissions was achieved and growth rate of the different species, with the fast-growing Salix alba showing the best results. The single largest source of emissions among all activities carried out during cultivation, delivery and planting of all species, regardless of the city in which they were planted, was fuel consumption during tree planting

Turvallisuuskulttuuri säteilyn käytössä: Perehdytysvideomateriaali röntgenhoitajaopiskelijoille itsenäiseen työskentelyyn

TIIVISTELMÄ Lääketieteellinen säteilyn käyttö perustuu säteilylainsäädäntöön. Turvallisten toimintatapojen omaksuminen edellyttää lääketieteellisen säteilyn käyttäjältä laaja-alaista perehtymistä aiheeseen. Röntgenhoitajaopiskelijalle ammattitaidon kehittyminen sekä turvallisuuskulttuurin omaksuminen on tärkeää. Opiskelijoiden tulee teoriatiedon lisäksi hallita myös säteilyä tuottavien laitteiden käyttö. Videoiden käyttö opetuksessa on lisääntynyt ja ne koetaan tehokkaana opetusmenetelmänä. Videot ovat myös hyödyllinen apuväline kerratessa jo opittuja asioita. Projektin tavoitteena oli suunnitella ja toteuttaa toimiva ja käytännönläheinen perehdytysvideomateriaali aloittaville röntgenhoitajaopiskelijoille. Tarkoituksena oli, että opiskelijat voivat käyttää videoita perehtyessään ensimmäisiä kertoja simulaatiotilan natiivikuvauslaitteeseen, sekä myöhemmin tehdessään itsenäisiä tehtäviä. Pitkän ajan tavoitteena oli perehdyttää opiskelijat varhaisemmassa vaiheessa säteilyn turvalliseen käyttöön sekä vähentää opettajan tuen tarvetta simulaatiotilassa. Kokosimme tietoperustan oppimiseen ja säteilyturvallisuuteen liittyvistä artikkeleista, kirjoista sekä säteilyturvakeskuksen ohjeista. Tietoperustaa käytimme hyväksi suunnitellessamme videoiden asiasisältöä. Videoiden sisältö ja määrä suunniteltiin osittain opiskelijoilta saadun palautteen perusteella sekä ohjausryhmän kanssa yhdessä. Kuvasimme ja editoimme videot itse. Perehdytysvideoiden asiasisältö tarkistutettiin asiantuntijoilla ja aloittavat röntgenhoitajaopiskelijat testasivat valmiiden videoiden toimivuuden. Kaikki antoivat myös kirjallisen palautteen. Jatkossa opetusvideot tulevat aloittavien röntgenhoitajaopiskelijoiden käyttöön perehdytyksen ja itsenäisen harjoittelun tueksi. Jatkokehityshaasteena videot voisi tuottaa myös muista simulaatiotilan kuvauslaitteista.Medical use of radiation is based on law in Finland. The user of radiation must absorb safety working skills which demands wide orientation from this field. When you are studying to be a radiographer it is important to develop skills and absorb safety culture already in the beginning of studies. Students must know both theoretical knowledge but also how to use the equipment’s which produces radiation. Using videos as a teaching method has increased. Videos are known as an effective way to learn. They are also useful when already learned subjects need to be repeated. The goal of this project was to design and produce functional and practical learning material to students who are just started their studies in Radiography and Radiation Therapy program. Project included tutorial videos to the simulation room. Meaning of this project was that the students can use videos when they are doing their orientation to the simulation room and later on when they are doing their independent exercises. A long term target of this project was to induct the students earlier to use radiation safely. Target was also to decrease the need of support from the teachers in the simulation room. We got acquainted to this subject via literature. We collected information and facts from articles and books. We also used guides which were published by STUK (Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in Finland). We used this collection when we were planning subject matter for the videos. The content and amount of videos was partly based to the feedback which was given by the students. The details of the videos was planned collaboration with the supervisors. We filmed and edited the films by ourselves. The information of the videos was checked by professionals. Completed videos was tested by new radiographer students who also gave us a feedback about the videos. New radiographer students can use videos for orientation and as a support when they are doing the independent work in the simulation room in the future. Continue for this project could be other tutorial videos which are related to the simulation room

Selection of Shrubs for Urban Environments-An Evaluation of Drought Tolerance of 120 Species and Cultivars

comprise a very large proportion of the plant material used in public as well as private green spaces. Yet, there is currently a lack of quantitative assess-ments of stress tolerance in a large proportion of available species and cultivars of shrubs, thus complicating any design process involving shrubs. The aim of this study was to evaluate drought tolerance of many common and less traditional shrubs in-tended for public planting. Through this compilation, a first contribution (dataset) to species selection to obtain expected ecosystem services of shrubs is offered. As water stress is a major constraint for landscape plants in urban environments and is likely to increase in many regions under future climate scenarios, the quantitative drought tolerance of a species or genotype must be a fundamental consideration for plant selection for urban environments. In this study, we used water potential at the turgor loss point (TP0) as a key trait for evaluating drought tolerance of different species of shrubs. TP0 is a highly instructive trait because it represents a quantifiable measure of physiological drought tolerance. More negative TP0 values represent greater drought tolerance by allowing the leaf to maintain physiological function over a greater range of leaf water potentials. TP0 was estimated for a wide range of shrubs, representing a total of 44 genera and 120 species and cultivars. The mean TP0 value for all 120 shrub species and cultivars was -2.76 MPa, with the overall species TP0 value ranging from -1.48 MPa to -4.23 MPa. Intraspecific variation (variation between cultivars) was evaluated using five cultivars of Spiraea japonica and one wild collected genotype. Within this species, there was a range of TP0 values of 1.66 MPa, with S. japonica 'Little Princess' having the highest estimated drought tolerance (TP0 = -2.78) and the wild-type S. japonica having the lowest (TP0 = -4.44 MPa)

Very low noise cryogenic receivers and measurement electronics

The purpose of this thesis was to develop very low noise cryogenic receivers and related high accuracy measurement setups to validate the operation of the receivers. Different types of cryogenic noise measurement setups were developed and compared. The noise measurement accuracy was improved for cryogenic temperatures at millimeter wave frequencies. A demonstrator was built for the continuous comparator receiver topology at millimeter waves. Measurement equipment were constructed to validate the receiver operation. Finally, an integrated 70 GHz continuous comparator receiver was built and suitable measurement tools were developed to ensure proper spacecraft operation. Individual cryogenic amplifiers showed the best noise and gain results at the time of measurement. The noise temperature of the 20 K physical temperature split block mounted amplifiers was -30 K, very close to its physical limits. The demonstrator receiver measurements expanded the knowledge of operation of continuous comparator millimeter wave receivers. A noise temperature of 40 K was measured for the demonstrator receiver, providing 1⁄f-knee frequencies lower than 10 mHz. The receiver topology was verified at 70 GHz with high stability at cryogenic temperatures. The integrated receiver was measured to have noise temperature of 30 K and a 1⁄f-knee frequency lower than 50 mHz. The integrated receiver was developed for the Elegant Bread Board (EBB) receiver in ESA's Planck Project. The required measurement equipment and facilities were built for spacecraft payload simulation. A large cryogenic chamber and cooling system were also designed and constructed for testing

The use of serotyping and PFGE-typing of Listeria monocytogenes in food processing contamination studies and human foodborne infections

Two different typing methods, serotyping and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing, were used to study Listeria monocytogenes contamination in food processing plants and human foodborne L. monocytogenes infections. L. monocytogenes contamination was studied in two different types of food processing plants: one ice cream plant and two broiler abattoirs. A dominant L. monocytogenes PFGE type of serotype 1/2b was found to have persisted in this ice cream plant for at least seven years. This strain was found in the production environment, ice cream, and equipment, especially in the packaging machine. Two broiler abattoirs were evaluated for L. monocytogenes contamination of the processing environment, broiler meat, and broiler meat products. Contaminated sites in the broiler processing environment included the air chiller, the conveyor belt leading to the meat packaging area, and the skin removing machine, possibly suggesting important contamination points of broiler meat. The two broiler abattoirs harboured different L. monocytogenes PFGE types. Retail broiler meat samples were also analyzed in order to compare the results to those from the broiler abattoirs. Of the raw broiler meat pieces bought from retail stores, 62% tested positive for L. monocytogenes. PFGE types found in the retail raw broiler meat pieces were identical to the PFGE types found at the broiler abattoirs where they had been processed. PFGE characterized these industrial strains and enabled targeted cleaning and disinfection practices at these food processing plants. L. monocytogenes isolates from human invasive infections from 1990-2001 in Finland were studied in order to detect a possible clustering of cases. The most common L. monocytogenes serotype was 1/2a. Altogether 81 different PFGE types were found using one restriction enzyme (AscI). A strain of an identical PFGE type of serotype 1/2a had appeared in 1994, accounting for 12% of the invasive infections. In addition to the human invasive infections, we studied two foodborne L. monocytogenes outbreaks in Finland. In the first outbreak in 1997, five healthy persons fell ill with febrile gastroenteritis. The outbreak was associated with the consumption of vacuum-packed cold-smoked rainbow trout containing L. monocytogenes. Indistinguishable L. monocytogenes PFGE types of serotype 1/2a were isolated from the incriminated fish product lot and human stool samples. This same L. monocytogenes PFGE type was identical to the most common PFGE type in human invasive L. monocytogenes infections in Finland during 1994-2001. The second outbreak studied occured in 1999, when 25 patients acquired listeriosis from butter, 6 of whom died. This outbreak was initially identified with the help of timely serotyping and PFGE typing, and resulted from a globally uncommon strain of L. monocytogenes of serotype 3a and unique PFGE type. For regular epidemiological surveillance of human L. monocytogenes infections with PFGE typing, the use of one restriction enzyme is sufficient, but in the case of contamination studies or suspected outbreaks, the use of at least two restriction enzymes is recommended in order to increase the discrimination power of PFGE typing.Listeria monocytogenes on ympäristössä esiintyvä bakteeri, joka aiheuttaa ihmisille ja eläimille listerioositautia. Listerioosin tyypillisiä oireita ovat verenmyrkytys, aivokalvontulehdus, kuume, keskenmeno ja joskus ripuli. Ihmisillä kuolleisuus listerioosiin on 20-30 %. Listerioosin riskiryhmään kuuluvat henkilöt, joilla on heikentynyt vastustuskyky esim. syövän, korkean iän tai raskauden vuoksi. Ihminen saa listeriatartunnan elintarvikkeen välityksellä. Tyypillisiä riskielintarvikkeita ovat sellaisenaan syötävät elintarvikkeet, joissa listeria voi lisääntyä, esim. tyhjiöpakatut graavi- ja kylmäsavustetut kalajalosteet, homejuustot ja pastöroimattomasta maidosta valmistetut tuorejuustot. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin eri L. monocytogenes -kantojen erottelemiseksi toisistaan serotyypitystä ja molekyylibiologista tyypitysmenetelmää pulssikenttäelektroforeesia (PFGE). Tutkimuksessa selvitettiin L. monocytogenes bakteerin esiintymistä jäätelötehtaassa ja kahdessa broileriteurastamossa. Tyypitystutkimuksilla voitiin todeta, että jäätelötehtaalla oli säilynyt sama L. monocytogenes -kanta ainakin seitsemän vuotta. Samaa listeriakantaa todettiin jäätelötehtaan tuotantotiloissa, tuotteessa ja tuotantolaitteissa. L. monocytogenesta todettiin broileriruhojen jäähdyttämössä, lihan kuljetinhihnoilta teurastamolta lihan pakkaamotiloihin ja broilerilihan nahanpoistolaitteista. Tyypitystutkimuksissa todettiin, että molemmissa broileriteurastamoissa oli erilaiset L. monocytogenes-kannat. Vähittäismyynnistä otetuista broilerinlihanäytteistä todettiin 62 %:ssa L. monocytogenesta ja eristetyt kannat todettiin tyypitystutkimuksissa samanlaisiksi kuin broileriteurastamoissa esiintyneet kannat. PFGE-tyypitysmenetelmän avulla voitiin kohdentaa elintarviketuotantolaitosten puhdistus- ja desinfiointitoimet tärkeisiin saastumiskohtiin. Tyypitysmenetelmien avulla verrattiin myös vuosina 1990-2001 suomalaisista listerioosipotilaista eristettyjä L. monocytogenes -kantoja toisiinsa. Yleisin serotyyppi oli 1/2a ja todettiin 81 erilaista PFGE-tyyppiä. Yleisintä PFGE-tyyppiä esiintyi 12 %:lla potilaista ja sitä on esiintynyt vuodesta 1994 lähtien. Lisäksi kahta L. monocytogenes -epidemiaa tutkittiin tarkemmin. Vuonna 1997 viisi henkilöä sairastui ruokamyrkytysoirein kuumeiseen suolistotulehdukseen, jonka aiheutti L. monocytogenes tyhjiöpakatusta kylmäsavustetusta kirjolohijalosteesta. Tyypitystutkimuksissa todettiin sama L. monocytogenes -kanta kalajalosteessa ja potilaiden ulostenäytteissä. Kanta oli serotyyppiä 1/2a ja samaa PFGE-tyyppiä kuin vuosina 1994-2001 yleisin listerioosipotilaista eristetty L. monocytogenes -kanta. Vuonna 1999 25 henkilöä sairastui, joista 6 henkilöä menehtyi, voin välityksellä saatuun listerioosiin. Voiepidemia havaittiin listerioosipotilaista eristettyjen kantojen ajantasaisen sero- ja PFGE-tyypityksen avulla. Voiepidemiakanta oli harvinaista 3a-serotyyppiä ja erilaista PFGE-tyyppiä kuin aiemmat listeroosikannat

How the West was Lost: Chief Information Officers and the Battle of Jurisdictional Control

Recent research has highlighted the potential downfall of the role and profession of Chief Information Officer (CIO). As the top executive responsible for IT in an organization, this role has gone through several shifts since its advent in the 1980’s. This study addresses how the role has evolved, and, explores how it may evolve in the years to come. The study utilizes a combination of structured literature review and interviews, and is informed by Abbott’s systems of professions perspective. The findings show that after an increase in jurisdictional control prior to the turn of the millennium, the profession has decreased and is continuing to decrease its jurisdictional control. This is in part linked to the imposition of IT Governance frameworks designed to shift risk from the profession of CIOs to neighboring professions. This is discussed in light of calls for future research