Pharmacy Industry in Russia and in the Baltic States

The aim of this study is to describe the structure of the pharmacy industry in four post-Soviet states on the Baltic Sea: Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In addition to this, the opportunities that these markets have to offer for international pharmaceutical companies are explored. After the Soviet Union collapsed at the beginning of 1990s, the pharmacy sector has gone through tremendous changes. The pharmacy market shifted from a centrally controlled, one supplier system to an industry in which multiple distributors are competing in importing, wholesaling, and retailing of medicinal products. In the Baltic States, the number of pharmacies has not increased during the last years and companies have been growing mainly by acquisitions. Especially in Estonia the market is saturated and price competition is fierce. Similarly, in Latvia and Lithuania, markets are consolidating and wholesalers are growingly taking part in retailing by acquiring smaller chains. In Russia, the market is still fragmented and only one national pharmacy chain can be named, pharmacy chain “36.6”. Pharmacy chains are growing mostly through organic growth and competition between the biggest players is relatively low. The Russian market clearly offers many opportunities for international pharmaceutical operators. The ageing population, growing level of income, and changing living habits are creating new and growing needs for modern healthcare services and products.

Natural Science in the Bothnian Sea During 1975-2008: A Review

The Baltic Sea is one of the most studied areas in the world. However, parts of its northernmost reach, the Bothnian Sea, seem to be under represented in the natural scientific literature compared to other parts of the Baltic. The Bothnian Sea represents a unique inland sea environment for the scientific community to study due to its shallowness and low salinity. The natural sciences research carried out on the Bothnian Sea has been reviewed between 1975 and 2008. This time period was chosen to continue on from an earlier review paper ending in 1974. Along with the number of papers published the goal was also to review the content of the papers, indentifying dominating themes to evaluate gaps in the current knowledge on the Bothnian Sea and provide recommendations for topics of future research focus. In a classification into specific research topics biodiversity was the leading research focus followed by chemical and physical oceanography, pollution and toxins, and fish biology and fisheries. The current good condition of the Bothnian Sea is highly valued with its historically less eutrophic and clearer waters when compared to the Baltic. However, today the Bothnian Sea is facing eutrophication resulting from nutrient-rich water transported by the many rivers draining into it from Sweden and Finland making it an area in need of protection and preservation. More human activity will also concentrate on the Bothnian Sea in the future. Therefore the use of the sea and its coastal areas must be planned carefully to minimize the harmful effects of this increasing human activity. To achieve this more information is needed for the basis of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) and maritime spatial planning (MSP). For example, for the Bothnian Sea the information on the underwater nature which is essential for ICZM is so far missing to a large extent. Specific biological, chemical and physical oceanographic information is needed to combine with economic analyses and environmental policies regarding this region. More research of a multidisciplinary nature is required on the unique Bothnian Sea environment and this we feel is best achieved through a joint Finnish-Swedish research strategy.

Past, present and future - assessing changes in aquatic environments using subfossil diatoms

The deterioration of surface waters is one of the most important issues in the environmental management of the European Union. Thus, the EU Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD) requires “good ecological and chemical status” of surface waters by 2015 allowing only a slight departure from ecological reference conditions characterized by the biological communities typical for the conditions of minimal anthropogenic impact. The WFD requires the determination of ecological reference conditions and the present ecological status of surface waters. To meet this legislative demand, sedimentary diatom assemblages were used in these studies with various methods 1) to assess natural and human activity induced environmental changes, 2) to characterize background conditions 3) to evaluate the present ecological status and 4) to predict the future of the water bodies in the light of palaeolimnological data. As the WFD refers to all surface waters, both coastal and inland sites were included. Two long and two short sediment cores from the Archipelago Sea in the northern Baltic Sea were examined for their siliceous microfossils in order to assess (1) the Holocene palaeoenvironmental history and (2) the recent eutrophication of the area. The diatom record was divided into local diatom assemblage zones (LDAZ, long cores) and diatom assemblage zones (DAZ, short cores). Locally weighted weighted averaging regression and calibration (LWWA) was applied for the quantitative reconstruction of past TN concentrations (short cores). An age model for the long cores was constructed by using independent palaeomagnetic and AMS-14C methods. The short cores were dated using radiometric (210Pb, 226Ra and 137Cs) methods. The long cores date back to the early history of the Archipelago Sea, which was freshwater – no salinity increase referable to the brackish phase of the Yoldia Sea is recognized. The nutrient status of the lacustrine phase was slightly higher in the Archipelago Sea than in the Baltic Proper. Initial brackish-water influence is observed at 8 150 ±80 cal. BP (LDAZ4), but fully brackish conditions were established at 7 700 ±80 cal. BP (LDAZ5). The diatom assemblages indicate increasing salinity, warming climate and possible eutrophic conditions during the lacustrine to brackish-water transition. The decreasing abundance of Pseudosolenia calcar-avis (Schultze) Sundström and the increasing abundance of the ice-cover indicator species Pauliella taeniata (Grunow) Round and Basson indicate decreasing salinity and climatic cooling after ca. 5 000 cal. BP. Signs of eutrophication are visible in the most recent diatom assemblage zones of both short cores. Diatom-inferred total nitrogen (DI-TN) reconstructions partially fail to trace the actual measured total nitrogen concentrations especially from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s. This is most likely due to the dominating diatom species Pauliella taeniata, Thalassiosira levanderi Van Goor and Fragilariopsis cylindrus (Grunow) W. Krieger being more influenced by factors such as the length of the ice-season rather than nutrient concentrations. It is concluded that the diatom assemblages of the study sites are principally governed by climate fluctuations, with a slight influence of eutrophication visible in the most recent sediments. There are indications that global warming, with reduced ice cover, could impact the spring blooming diatom species composition in the Archipelago Sea. In addition, increased sediment accumulation in the early 90s coincides with the short ice-seasons suggesting that warming climate with decreasing ice-cover may increase sedimentation in the study area. The diverse diatom assemblages dominated by benthic species (54 %) in DAZ1 in the Käldö Fjärd core can be taken as background diatom assemblages for the Archipelago Sea. Since then turbidity has increased and the diatom assemblages have been dominated by planktonic diatoms from around the mid 1800s onwards. The reconstructed reference conditions for the total nitrogen concentrations fluctuate around 400 μg l-1. Altogether two short sediment cores and eight short cores for top-bottom analysis were retrieved from Lake Orijärvi and Lake Määrjärvi to assess the impact of the acid mine drainage (AMD) derived metals from the Orijärvi mine tailings on the diatom communities of the lakes. The Cu (Pb, Zn) mine of Orijärvi (1757 – 1956) was the first one in Finland where flotation techniques (1911 – 1955) were used to enrich ore and large quantities of tailings were produced. The AMD derived metal impact to the lakes was found to be among the heaviest thus far recorded in Finland. Concentrations of Cu, Pb and Zn in Lake Orijärvi sediments are two to three orders of magnitude higher than background values. The metal inputs have affected Lake Orijärvi and Lake Määrjärvi diatom communities at the community levels through shifts in dominant taxa (both lakes) and at the individual level through alteration in frustule morphology (Lake Orijärvi). At present, lake water still has elevated heavy metal levels, indicating that the impact from the tailings area continues to affect both lakes. Lake Orijärvi diatom assemblages are completely dominated by benthic species and are lacking planktonic diatoms. In Lake Määrjärvi the proportion of benthic and tychoplanktonic diatoms has increased and the planktonic taxa have decreased in abundance. Achnanthidium minutissimum Kützing and Brachysira vitrea (Grun.) R. Ross in Hartley were the most tolerant species to increased metal concentrations. Planktonic diatoms are more sensitive to metal contamination than benthic taxa, especially species in the genus Cyclotella (Kützing) Brébisson. The ecological reference conditions assessed in this study for Lake Orijärvi and Lake Määrjärvi comprise diverse planktonic and benthic communitites typical of circumneutral oligotrophic lakes, where the planktonic diatoms belonging to genera Cyclotella , Aulacoseira Thwaites, Tabellaria Ehrenberg and Asterionella Hassall dominate in relative abundances up to ca. 70%. The benthic communities are more diverse than the planktonic consisting of diatoms belonging to the genera Achnanthes Bory, Fragilaria Lyngbye and Navicula St. Vincent. This study clearly demonstrates that palaeolimnological methods, especially diatom analysis, provide a powerful tool for the EU Water Frame Work Directive for defining reference conditions, natural variability and current status of surface waters. The top/bottom approach is a very useful tool in larger-scale studies needed for management purposes. This “before and after” type of sediment sampling method can provide a very time and cost effective assessment of ecological reference conditions of surface waters.

Five Baltic Ports Togehter: Forecasts, Trends and Recommendations

The ports of Stockholm, Tallinn, Helsinki, Naantali and Turku play key roles in making the Central Baltic region accessible. Effective, competitive, eco-friendly and safe port procedures and solutions for the transportation of goods are of major importance for trade in the Baltic Sea region. This report presents the most essential results and recommendations of the PENTA project, which focused on how ports could better comprehend and face current and future challenges facing carriage of goods by sea. Each of the four work packages (WPs) of the PENTA project analysed the changes from a different perspective. WP2 focused on traffic flows between the PENTA ports. Its main emphasis was on the ports, shipowners, and logistics companies that are the key parties in freight transport and on the changes affecting the economy of those ports. In WP3 noise as an environmental challenge for ports was investigated and the analysis also shed light on the relationship between the port and the city. In WP4 procedures related to safety, security and administrative procedures were researched. The main emphasis was on identifying the requirements for the harmonisation of those procedures. Collaboration is highlighted throughout this report. In order to prepare for the future, it was found that ports need to respond to growing competition, increasing costs and shifts in customer demand by strengthening their existing partnerships with other actors in the maritime cluster. Cargo and passenger transport are the main sources of income for most ports. Cargo traffic between the PENTA ports is expected to grow steadily in the future and the outlook for passenger traffic is positive. However, to prepare for the future, ports should not only secure the core activities which generate revenue but also seek alternative ways to make profit. In order to gain more transit traffic, it is suggested that ports conduct a more thorough study of the future requirements for doing business with Russia. The investigation of noise at ports revealed two specific dilemmas that ports cannot solve alone. Firstly, the noise made by vessels and, secondly, the relationship between the port and the surrounding city. Vessels are the most important single noise source in the PENTA ports and also one of the hardest noise sources to handle. Nevertheless, port authorities in Finland and Sweden are held responsible for all noise in the port area, including noise produced by vessels, which is noise the port authority can only influence indirectly. Building housing by waterfront areas close to ports may also initiate disagreements because inhabitants may want quiet areas, whereas port activities always produce some noise from their traffic. The qualitative aspects of the noise question, cooperating with the stakeholders and the communicating of issues related to noise are just as important. We propose that ports should follow the logic of continuous improvement in their noise management. The administrative barriers discussed in this report are mainly caused by differences in international and national legislation, variations in the customs procedures of each country, the incompatibility of the IT systems used in maritime transport, noncompliance with regulations regarding dangerous goods, and difficulties in applying Schengen regulations to vessels from non-EU countries. Improving the situation is out of the hands of the ports to do alone and requires joint action on a variety of levels, including the EU, national authorities and across administrative borders.

Spatial and temporal variation in fish populations and assemblages in coastal waters of the northern Baltic Proper

The distribution and traits of fish are of interest both ecologically and socio-economically. In this thesis, phenotypic and structural variation in fish populations and assemblages was studied on multiple spatial and temporal scales in shallow coastal areas in the archipelago of the northern Baltic Proper. In Lumparn basin in Åland Islands, the fish assemblage displayed significant seasonal variation in depth zone distribution. The results indicate that investigating both spatial and temporal variation in small scale is crucial for understanding patterns in fish distribution and community structure in large scale. The local population of Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis L displayed habitat-specific morphological and dietary variation. Perch in the pelagic zone were on average deeper in their body shape than the littoral ones and fed on fish and benthic invertebrates. The results differ from previous studies conducted in freshwater habitats, where the pelagic perch typically are streamlined in body shape and zooplanktivorous. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen differed between perch with different stomach contents, suggesting differentiation of individual diet preferences. In the study areas Lumparn and Ivarskärsfjärden in Åland Islands and Galtfjärden in Swedish east coast, the development in fish assemblages during the 2000’s indicated a general shift towards higher abundances of small-bodied lower-order consumers, especially cyprinids. For European pikeperch Sander lucioperca L., recent declines in adult fish abundances and high mortalities (Z = 1.06–1.16) were observed, which suggests unsustainably high fishing pressure on pikeperch. Based on the results it can be hypothesized that fishing has reduced the abundances of large predatory fish, which together with bottom-up forcing by eutrophication has allowed the lower-order consumer species to increase in abundances. This thesis contributes to the scientific understanding of aquatic ecosystems with new descriptions on morphological and dietary adaptations in perch in brackish water, and on the seasonal variation in small-scale spatial fish distribution. The results also demonstrate anthropogenic effects on coastal fish communities and underline the urgency of further reducing nutrient inputs and regulating fisheries in the Baltic Sea region.

On the parameterization of turbulent surface fluxes over heterogeneous sea ice surfaces

Turbulent surface fluxes of momentum and sensible and latent heat as well as surface temperature, air temperature, air humidity, and wind speed were measured by the German Falcon research aircraft over the marginal ice zone (MIZ) of the northern Baltic Sea and the Fram Strait. Applying the bulk formulas and the stability functions to the measurements, the roughness lengths for momentum z0, sensible heat zT, and latent heat zq were calculated. As mean values over a wide range of sea ice conditions, we obtain z0 = 5 � 10�4 m, zT = 1 � 10�8 m, and zq = 1 � 10�7 m. These correspond to the following mean values (± standard deviations) of neutral transfer coefficients reduced to 10 m height, CDN10 = (1.9 ± 0.8) � 10�3, CHN10 = (0.9 ± 0.3) � 10�3, and CEN10 = (1.0 ± 0.2) � 10�3. An average ratio of z0/zT � 104 was observed over the range of 10�6 m < z0 < 10�2 m and differs from previously published results over compact sea ice (10�1 < z0/zT < 103). Other observational results over heterogeneous sea ice do not exist. However, our z0/zT ratio approximately agrees with observations over heterogeneous land surfaces. Flux parameterizations based on commonly used roughness lengths ratios (z0 = zT = zq) overestimate the surface heat fluxes compared to our measurements by more than 100%.

Flugzeuggetragene in-situ Messungen zur Eis- und Flüssigphase troposphärischer Wolken

Die Mikrophysik in Wolken bestimmt deren Strahlungseigenschaften und beeinflusst somit auch den Strahlungshaushalt des Planeten Erde. Aus diesem Grund werden im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit die mikrophysikalischen Charakteristika von Cirrus-Wolken sowie von arktischen Grenzschicht-Wolken behandelt. Die Untersuchung dieser Wolken wurde mithilfe verschiedener Instrumente verwirklicht, welche Partikel in einem Durchmesserbereich von 250nm bis zu 6.4mm vermessen und an Forschungsflugzeugen montiert werden. Ein Instrumentenvergleich bestätigt, dass innerhalb der Bereiche in denen sich die Messungen dieser Instrumente überlappen, die auftretenden Diskrepanzen als sehr gering einzustufen sind. Das vorrangig verwendete Instrument trägt die Bezeichnung CCP (Cloud Combination Probe) und ist eine Kombination aus einem Instrument, das Wolkenpartikel anhand von vorwärts-gerichtetem Streulicht detektiert und einem weiteren, das zweidimensionale Schattenbilder einzelner Wolkenpartikel aufzeichnet. Die Untersuchung von Cirrus-Wolken erfolgt mittels Daten der AIRTOSS-ICE (AIRcraft TOwed Sensor Shuttle - Inhomogeneous Cirrus Experiment) Kampagne, welche im Jahr 2013 über der deutschen Nord- und Ostsee stattfand. Parameter wie Partikeldurchmesser, Partikelanzahlkonzentration, Partikelform, Eiswassergehalt, Wolkenhöhe und Wolkendicke der detektierten Cirrus-Wolken werden bestimmt und im Kontext des aktuellen Wissenstandes diskutiert. Des Weiteren wird eine beprobte Cirrus-Wolke im Detail analysiert, welche den typischen Entwicklungsprozess und die vertikale Struktur dieser Wolkengattung widerspiegelt. Arktische Grenzschicht-Wolken werden anhand von Daten untersucht, die während der VERDI (VERtical Distribution of Ice in Arctic Clouds) Kampagne im Jahr 2012 über der kanadischen Beaufortsee aufgezeichnet wurden. Diese Messkampagne fand im Frühling statt, um die Entwicklung von Eis-Wolken über Mischphasen-Wolken bis hin zu Flüssigwasser-Wolken zu beobachten. Unter bestimmten atmosphärischen Bedingungen tritt innerhalb von Mischphasen-Wolken der sogenannte Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen Prozess auf, bei dem Flüssigwassertropfen zugunsten von Eispartikeln verdampfen. Es wird bestätigt, dass dieser Prozess anhand von mikrophysikalischen Messungen, insbesondere den daraus resultierenden Größenverteilungen, nachweisbar ist. Darüber hinaus wird eine arktische Flüssigwasser-Wolke im Detail untersucht, welche im Inneren das Auftreten von monomodalen Tröpfchen-Größenverteilungen zeigt. Mit zunehmender Höhe wachsen die Tropfen an und die Maxima der Größenverteilungen verschieben sich hin zu größeren Durchmessern. Dahingegen findet im oberen Übergangsbereich dieser Flüssigwasser-Wolke, zwischen Wolke und freier Atmosphäre, ein Wechsel von monomodalen zu bimodalen Tröpfchen-Größenverteilungen statt. Diese weisen eine Mode 1 mit einem Tropfendurchmesser von 20μm und eine Mode 2 mit einem Tropfendurchmesser von 10μm auf. Das dieses Phänomen eventuell typisch für arktische Flüssigwasser-Wolken ist, zeigen an dem Datensatz durchgeführte Analysen. Mögliche Entstehungsprozesse der zweiten Mode können durch Kondensation von Wasserdampf auf eingetragenen Aerosolpartikeln, die aus einer Luftschicht oberhalb der Wolke stammen oder durch Wirbel, welche trockene Luftmassen in die Wolke induzieren und Verdampfungsprozesse von Wolkentröpfchen hervorrufen, erklärt werden. Unter Verwendung einer direkten numerischen Simulation wird gezeigt, dass die Einmischung von trockenen Luftmassen in den Übergangsbereich der Wolke am wahrscheinlichsten die Ausbildung von Mode 2 verursacht.

Molybdenum isotope fractionation in pelagic euxinia: Evidence from the modern Black and Baltic Seas

Here we present stable isotope data for vertical profiles of dissolved molybdenum of the modern euxinic water columns of the Black Sea and two deeps of the Baltic Sea. Dissolved molybdenum in all water samples is depleted in salinity-normalized concentration and enriched in the heavy isotope (δ98Mo values up to + 2.9‰) compared to previously published isotope data of sedimentary molybdenum from the same range of water depths. Furthermore, δ98Mo values of all water samples from the Black Sea and anoxic deeps of the Baltic Sea are heavier than open ocean water. The observed isotope fractionation between sediments and the anoxic water column of the Black Sea are in line with the model of thiomolybdates that scavenge to particles under reducing conditions. An extrapolation to a theoretical pure MoS42− solution indicates a fractionation constant between MoS42− and authigenic solid Mo of 0.5 ± 0.3‰. Measured waters with all thiomolybdates coexisting in various proportions show larger but non-linear fractionation. The best explanation for our field observations is Mo scavenging by the thiomolybdates, dominantly — but not exclusively — present in the form of MoS42−. The Mo isotopic compositions of samples from the sediments and anoxic water column of the Baltic Sea are in overall agreement with those of the Black Sea at intermediate depth and corresponding sulphide concentrations. The more dynamic changes of redox conditions in the Baltic deeps complicate the Black Sea-derived relationship between thiomolybdates and Mo isotopic composition. In particular, the occasional flushing/mixing, of the deep waters, affects the corresponding water column and sedimentary data. δ98Mo values of the upper oxic waters of both basins are higher than predicted by mixing models based on salinity variations. The results can be explained by non-conservative behaviour of Mo under suboxic to anoxic conditions in the shallow bottom parts of the basin, most pronounced on the NW shelf of the Black Sea.