Sex- and melanism-specific variations in the oxidative status of adult tawny owls in response to manipulated reproductive effort.

Oxidative stress, determined by the balance between the production of damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidant defences, is hypothesized to play an important role in shaping the cost of reproduction and life history trade-offs. To test this hypothesis, we manipulated reproductive effort in 94 breeding pairs of tawny owls (Strix aluco) to investigate the sex- and melanism-specific effects on markers of oxidative stress in red blood cells (RBCs). This colour polymorphic bird species shows sex-specific division of labour and melanism-specific history strategies. Brood sizes at hatching were experimentally enlarged or reduced to increase or decrease reproductive effort, respectively. We obtained an integrative measure of the oxidative balance by measuring ROS production by RBCs, intracellular antioxidant glutathione levels and membrane resistance to ROS. We found that light melanic males (the sex undertaking offspring food provisioning) produced more ROS than darker conspecifics, but only when rearing an enlarged brood. In both sexes, light melanic individuals had also a larger pool of intracellular antioxidant glutathione than darker owls under relaxed reproductive conditions (i.e. reduced brood), but not when investing substantial effort in current reproduction (enlarged brood). Finally, resistance to oxidative stress was differently affected by the brood size manipulation experiment in males and females independently of their plumage coloration. Altogether, our results support the hypothesis that reproductive effort can alter the oxidative balance in a sex- and colour-specific way. This further emphasizes the close link between melanin-based coloration and life history strategies.

Who's fault is it ? : An analysis of the press coverage of football betting scandals in France and the United Kingdom

Sport betting is a lucrative business for bookmakers, for the lucky (or wise) punters, but also for governments and for sport. While not new or even recent, the deviances linked to sport betting, primarily match-fixing, have gained increased media exposure in the past decade. This exploratory study is a qualitative content analysis of the press coverage of sport betting-related deviances in football in two countries (UK and France), using in each case two leading national publications over a period of five years. Data analysis indicates a mounting coverage of sport betting scandals, with teams, players and criminals increasingly framed as culprits, while authorities and federations primarily assume a positive role. As for the origin of sport betting deviances, French newspapers tend to blame the system (in an abstract way); British newspapers, in contrast, focus more on individual weaknesses, notably greed. This article contributed to the growing body of literature on the importance of these deviances and on the way they are perceived by sport organizations, legislators and the public at large.

Coming from outside the Academy. Values of 2.0 culture in higher education

This article reflects on how some values, interests, and particularities of 2.0 culture enter on higher and postgraduate education institutions. Through theidentification of the features of 2.0, this document visualizes some of the resistances, obstacles, possibilities, and opportunities detected in these institutions, many of them focusing on the core of the higher education and postgraduate institutions (i.e. strategic vision, methodology, role of teachers and students, relation between formal and informal learning, contents and assessment). Responsibility in the training and updating of current and future professionals places these institutions under the discussion and decision-making process related to the role that 2.0 tools should play. We wonder if it implies a crossroad which affects the whole set of attitudes and values on the role of training institutions in the context of the construction of socialized knowledge.

The Market Behavior of Emerging Stock Markets in Europe

This study investigates the over and underreaction effects in nine emerging stock markets of Europe. Especially, the possible behavioral aspects behind them are an area of interest. These aspects would link them strongly to behavioral finance. Second, our aim is to provide more evidence of the similar or dissimilar behavior in general among these countries. Third, the possibility to gain abnormal returns from these markets is also under investigation. Data from nine emerging stock market indexes in Europe is gathered from January 1, 1998 to January 1, 2008 to find answers to the stated questions. Studies for the over and underreaction effects are done using a variant of the event study methodology which in this case includes two different calculation methods for the expected returns. Studies are performed using 60 day time intervals. The results between the two different methods used are relatively similar concerning the over and underreaction effects. Another of the methods, however, suggests there to be behavioral aspects behind the effects interpreted. On the other hand, the another method does not support this suggestion. However, a conclusion can be made that the factors driving these countries' behavior are related to their geographical location and to the fact that they are emerging countries.

Effects of Cadmium and mercury on the upper part of skeletal muscle glycolysis in mice.

The effects of pre-incubation with mercury (Hg2+) and cadmium (Cd2+) on the activities of individual glycolytic enzymes, on the flux and on internal metabolite concentrations of the upper part of glycolysis were investigated in mouse muscle extracts. In the range of metal concentrations analysed we found that only hexokinase and phosphofructokinase, the enzymes that shared the control of the flux, were inhibited by Hg2+ and Cd2+. The concentrations of the internal metabolites glucose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate did not change significantly when Hg2+ and Cd2+ were added. A mathematical model was constructed to explore the mechanisms of inhibition of Hg2+ and Cd2+ on hexokinase and phosphofructokinase. Equations derived from detailed mechanistic models for each inhibition were fitted to the experimental data. In a concentration-dependent manner these equations describe the observed inhibition of enzyme activity. Under the conditions analysed, the integral model showed that the simultaneous inhibition of hexokinase and phosphofructokinase explains the observation that the concentrations of glucose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate did not change as the heavy metals decreased the glycolytic flux.

Chemical composition and antibacterial activities from the essential oils of myrtaceae species planted in Brazil

The essential oils of seven Myrtaceae species were investigated for its chemical composition and antibacterial activity. The volatile oils were characterized by a high content of monoterpenoids of which 1,8-cineole (88.0, 65.0 and 77.0% for Melaleuca hypericifolia, Callistemon viminalis and Callistemon citrinus respectively), terpinen-4-ol (47.0 and 49.8% for Melaleuca thymifolia and Callistemon polandii respectively) and α-pinene (54.5% for Kunzea ericoides) were the major components. The oil from M. linariifolia was characterized by a high concentration of methyleugenol (87.2%). The oil from Melaleuca thymifolia was the most active, exhibiting high antimicrobial activity against all tested bacteria.

Use of multivariate experimental designs for optimizing the reductive degradation of an azo dye in the presence of redox mediators

The optimization of the anaerobic degradation of the azo dye Remazol golden yellow RNL was performed according to multivariate experimental designs: a 2² full-factorial design and a central composite design (CCD). The CCD revealed that the best incubation conditions (90% color removal) for the degradation of the azo dye (50 mg L- 1) were achieved with 350 mg L- 1 of yeast extract and 45 mL of anaerobic supernatant (free cell extract) produced from the incubation of 650 mg L- 1 of anaerobic microorganisms and 250 mg L- 1 of glucose. A first-order kinetics model best fit the experimental data (k = 0.0837 h- 1, R² = 0.9263).

Defining the location factors of new manufacturing site in chemical industry

The objective of this thesis is to examine the factors that have an impact on the location decision of new manufacturing site and to create the relative order of importance of these factors by analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The decision making process especially related to the location selection and the measurement of the location factors are also examined. In theoretical part the character of decision making process and the relevant methods are introduced. Based on the previous studies of other researchers, the location factors are examined and the main research method, analytic hierarchy process, is also introduced. The empirical part of the study mainly follows the phases of decision making process and is emphasized on the main stages of analytic hierarchy process; building the hierarchy, defining the priorities and analyzing the results. The hierarchy is constructed from seven main criteria which all have several sub criteria. The evaluation of the hierarchy is implemented at the group decision making –laboratory and there can be seen significant differences between the importance of criteria. The final stage in the study is to create the appropriate measurement scales to the chosen criteria.

The intrinsic mechanisms of softwood fiber damage in brown stock fiber line unit operations Lappeenranta 2010

The effects of pulp processing on softwood fiber properties strongly influence the properties of wet and dry paper webs. Pulp strength delivery studies have provided observations that much of the strength potential of long fibered pulp is lost during brown stock fiber line operations where the pulp is merely washed and transferred to the subsequent processing stages. The objective of this work was to study the intrinsic mechanisms which maycause fiber damage in the different unit operations of modern softwood brown stock processing. The work was conducted by studying the effects of industrial machinery on pulp properties with some actions of unit operations simulated in laboratory scale devices under controlled conditions. An optical imaging system was created and used to study the orientation of fibers in the internal flows during pulp fluidization in mixers and the passage of fibers through the screen openings during screening. The qualitative changes in fibers were evaluated with existing and standardized techniques. The results showed that each process stage has its characteristic effects on fiber properties: Pulp washing and mat formation in displacement washers introduced fiber deformations especially if the fibers entering the stage were intact, but it did not decrease the pulp strength properties. However, storage chests and pulp transfer after displacement washers contributed to strength deterioration. Pulp screening proved to be quite gentle, having the potential of slightly evening out fiber deformations from very deformed pulps and vice versa inflicting a marginal increase in the deformation indices if the fibers were previously intact. Pulp mixing in fluidizing industrial mixers did not have detrimental effects on pulp strength and had the potential of slightly evening out the deformations, provided that the intensity of fluidization was high enough to allow fiber orientation with the flow and that the time of mixing was short. The chemical and mechanical actions of oxygen delignification had two distinct effects on pulp properties: chemical treatment clearly reduced pulp strength with and without mechanical treatment, and the mechanical actions of process machinery introduced more conformability to pulp fibers, but did not clearly contribute to a further decrease in pulp strength. The chemical composition of fibers entering the oxygen stage was also found to affect the susceptibility of fibers to damage during oxygen delignification. Fibers with the smallest content of xylan were found to be more prone to irreversibledeformations accompanied with a lower tensile strength of the pulp. Fibers poor in glucomannan exhibited a lower fiber strength while wet after oxygen delignification as compared to the reference pulp. Pulps with the smallest lignin content on the other hand exhibited improved strength properties as compared to the references.

The Changing Nature of Library Networks - Open Data or One Big Silo?

Anders Söderbäckin esitys Kirjastoverkkopäivillä 26.10.2011 Helsingissä.

Assessing the Environmental Value of Water Treatment Solutions in the Mining Industry

Environmental accountability has become a major source of competitive advantage for industrial companies, because customers consider it as relevant buying criterion. However, in order to leverage their environmental responsibility, industrial suppliers have to be able to demonstrate the environmental value of their products and services, which is also the aim of Kemira, a global water chemistry company considered in this study. The aim of this thesis is to develop a tool which Kemira can use to assess the environmental value of their solutions for the customer companies in mining industry. This study answers to questions on what kinds of methods to assess environmental impacts exist, and what kind of tool could be used to assess the environmental value of Kemira’s water treatment solutions. The environmental impacts of mining activities vary greatly between different mines. Generally the major impacts include the water related issues and wastes. Energy consumption is also a significant environmental aspect. Water related issues include water consumption and impacts in water quality. There are several methods to assess environmental impacts, for example life cycle assessment, eco-efficiency tools, footprint calculations and process simulation. In addition the corresponding financial value may be estimated utilizing monetary assessment methods. Some of the industrial companies considered in the analysis of industry best practices use environmental and sustainability assessments. Based on the theoretical research and conducted interviews, an Excel based tool utilizing reference data on previous customer cases and customer specific test results was considered to be most suitable to assess the environmental value of Kemira’s solutions. The tool can be used to demonstrate the functionality of Kemira’s solutions in customers’ processes, their impacts in other process parameters and their environmental and financial aspects. In the future, the tool may be applied to fit also Kemira’s other segments, not only mining industry.

The Dual Role of HIF Hydroxylase PHD3 in Cancer Cell Survival

Most advanced tumours face periods of reduced oxygen availability i.e. hypoxia. During these periods tumour cells undergo adaptive changes enabling their survival under adverse conditions. In cancer hypoxia-induced cellular changes cause tumour progression, hinder cancer treatment and are indicative of poor prognosis. Within cells the main regulator of hypoxic responses is the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF). HIF governs the expression of over a hundred hypoxia-inducible genes that regulate a number of cellular functions such as angiogenesis, glucose metabolism and cell migration. Therefore the activity of HIF must be tightly governed. HIF is regulated by a family of prolyl hydroxylase enzymes, PHDs, which mark HIF for destruction in normoxia. Under hypoxic conditions PHDs lose much of their enzymatic activity as they need molecular oxygen as a cofactor. Out of the three PHDs (PHD1, 2 and 3) PHD2 has been considered to be the main HIF-1 regulator in normoxic conditions. PHD3 on the other hand shows the most robust induction in response to oxygen deprivation and it has been implied as the main HIF-1 regulator under prolonged hypoxia. SQSTM1/p62 (p62) is an adaptor protein that functions through its binding motifs to bring together proteins in order to regulate signal transduction. In non-stressed situations p62 levels are kept low but its expression has been reported to be upregulated in many cancers. It has a definitive role as an autophagy receptor and as such it serves a key function in cancer cell survival decisions. In my thesis work I evaluated the significance of PHD3 in cancer cell and tumour biology. My results revealed that PHD3 has a dual role in cancer cell fate. First, I demonstrated that PHD3 forms subcellular protein aggregates in oxygenated carcinoma cells and that this aggregation promotes apoptosis induction in a subset of cancer cells. In these aggregates an adaptor protein SQSTM1/p62 interacts with PHD3 and in so doing regulates PHD3 expression. SQSTM1/p62 expression is needed to keep PHD3 levels low in normoxic conditions. Its levels rapidly decrease in response to hypoxia allowing PHD3 protein levels to be upregulated and the protein to be diffusely expressed throughout the cell. The interaction between PHD3 and SQSTM1/p62 limits the ability of PHD3 to function on its hydroxylation target protein HIF-1alpha. Second, the results indicate that when PHD3 is upregulated under hypoxia it protects cancer cells by allowing cell cycle to proceed from G1 to S-phase. My data demonstrates that PHD3 may either cause cell death or protect the cells depending on its expression pattern and the oxygen availability of tumours.