Seasonal variation in nitrification and nitrate-reduction pathways in coastal sediments in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is one of the most eutrophic marine areas in the world. The role of nitrogen as a eutrophicating nutrient in the Baltic Sea has remained controversial, due to lack of understanding of nitrogen cycling in the area. We investigated the seasonal variation in sediment nitrification, denitrification, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) at two coastal sites in the Gulf of Finland. In addition to the in situ rates, we assessed the potential for these processes in different seasons. The nitrification and nitrogen removal processes were maximal during the warm summer months, when the sediment organic content was highest. In colder seasons, the in situ rates of the nitrification and nitrate reduction processes decreased, but the potential for nitrification remained equal to or higher than that during the warm months. The denitrification and nitrification rates were usually higher in the accumulation basin, where the organic content of the sediment was higher, but the transportation area, despite lower denitrification rates and potential, typically had higher potential for nitrification than the accumulation basin. Anammox and DNRA were not significant nitrate sinks in any of the seasons sampled. The results also show that the denitrification rates in the coastal Gulf of Finland sediment have decreased, and that benthic denitrification might be a less important sink for fixed nitrogen than previously assumed.

The roles of nitrification and nitrate reduction pathways in nitrogen cycling of Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is one of the largest brackish water bodies in the world. Primary production in the Baltic Sea is limited by nitrogen (N) availability with the exception of river outlets and the northernmost phosphorus limited basin. The excess human induced N load from the drainage basin has caused severe eutrophication of the sea. The excess N loads can be mitigated by microbe mediated natural N removal processes that are found in the oxic-anoxic interfaces in sediments and water column redoxclines. Such interfaces allow the close coupling between the oxic nitrification process, and anoxic denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) processes that lead to the formation of molecular nitrogen gas. These processes are governed by various environmental parameters. The effects of these parameters on N processes were investigated in the northern Baltic Sea sediments. During summer months when the sediment organic content is at its highest, nitrification and denitrification reach their maximum rates. However, nitrification had no excess potential, which was probably because of high competition for molecular oxygen (O2) between heterotrophic and nitrification microbes. Subsequently, the limited nitrate (NO3-) availability inhibited denitrification. In fall, winter and spring, nitrification was limited by ammonium availability and denitrification limited by the availability of organic carbon and occasionally by NO3-. Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) was not an important N removal process in the northern Baltic Sea. Modeling studies suggest that when hypoxia expands in the Baltic Sea, N removal intensifies. However, the results of this study suggest the opposite because bottom water hypoxia (O2< 2 ml l-1) decreased the denitrification rates in sediments. Moreover, N was recycled by the dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) process instead of being removed from the water ecosystem. High N removal potentials were found in the anoxic water column in the deep basins of the Baltic Proper. However, the N removal in the water column appeared to be limited by low substrate availability, because the water at the depths at which the substrate producing nitrification process occurred, rarely mix with the water at the depths at which N removal processes were found. Overall, the natural N removal capacity of the northern Baltic Sea decreased compared to values measured in mid 1990s and early 2000. The reason for this appears to be increasing hypoxia.

Verkkojen punontaa vai Macintosheja? Kansalaisjärjestöjen täydentävä rooli Suomen julkisessa kehitysyhteistyössä maaseutusektorin osalta 1995-2009

Suomi on sitoutunut tavoitteeseen, jossa vuotuinen kehitysyhteistyöhön suuntautuva raha vastaa 0,7 prosenttia Suomen bruttokansantuotteesta. Vuoden 1994 jälkeen Suomen bilateraalisen avun puitteissa maaseutukehitykseen suunnatut myönnöt ovat pudonneet alle kymmeneen prosenttiin Suomen virallisesta kehitysavusta. Julkisesta kehitysyhteistyöstä vuonna 2009 kansalaisjärjestöille menevä osuus oli 12,8%. Suomen virallinen näkemys maaseutusektorin tärkeydestä vaihtelee, jos ei vuosittain, niin hallituksittain. Pyrin selvittämään kansalaisjärjestöjen ja valtion suhteen toimivuutta, eli ovatko kansalaisjärjestöt täydentävä voima Suomen julkisessa kehitysyhteistyössä. Näkökulmana on maaseutusektori, jota pidetään avaimena köyhyyden ja nälän poistamisessa. Onko julkisen kehitysyhteistyön maaseudulle suuntautuvan rahamäärän suhteellinen pienentyminen saanut kansalaisjärjestöissä aikaan ”täydentävän reaktion”. Suomen kehitysyhteistyön tärkein tavoite on köyhyyden poistaminen ja kestävän kehityksen edistäminen vuoden 2000 vuosituhattavoitteiden mukaisesti. Tutkimukseni primäärilähteitäni ovat kansalaisjärjestöjen vuosiraportit tai –kertomukset sekä hallituksen vuosittaiset kehitysyhteistyökertomukset sekä hallituksen kehityspoliittiset ohjelmat. Sekundaarilähteet ovat aiempaa tutkimusta ja aikalaiskirjoittelua. Näiden lisäksi haastattelin entistä kehitysyhteistyöministeriä Pekka Haavistoa sekä Kepan Helena Nevalaista. Aineistoa tutkittuani Kirkon Ulkomaanavun kohdalla maaseutusektorin osuus kehitysyhteistyöstä oli vuoteen 1999 asti aina yli 30% jonka jälkeen se on vaihdellut 15% ja 32% välillä, laskeutuen vuoden 2009 lukemiin eli 18%:iin. Karkeasti voin todeta Kirkon Ulkomaanavun maaseutusektorille menevän rahan suhteellisesti laskeneen koko tutkimusajanjaksoni ajan. Retoriikan kannalta KUA näkee itsensä täydentävänä, vastavoimana suhteessa valtioon. World Visionin voidaan sanoa pitäneen maaseutusektorille menevän rahamäärän suhteessa samana koko tutkimusajanjakson, ottaen huomioon organisaation huomattavan laajentumisen. Näin ollen kolmesta tutkimastani suomalaisesta kehitysyhteistyötä tekevästä valtion kumppanuusjärjestöstä ainoastaan Fida on kasvattanut maaseutusektorille suuntautuvaa rahamäärää suhteessa omaan varainkäyttöön. Hallituksen retoriikassa maatalous on noussut esille 2000-luvulla. Lehtomäen kaudella 2003 maatalous sai palstatilaa enemmän kuin aiemmin tutkimallani ajalla. Ennen Lehtomäkeä (2003-2007) ja Väyrystä (2007-2011) maaseutusektori ei ollut saanut erityismainintaa hallituksen kehitysyhteistyökertomuksissa. Hallituksen tematiikka on pääasiallisesti seurannut suurelta linjaltaan MDG1:tä, vaikkakaan vielä ennen 2000-luvun taitetta sitä ei oltu virallisesti kirjattu ohjelmiin. Ennen Lehtomäen MDG1-avausta kehitysyhteistyökertomusten osalta, köyhyyden lievittäminen/vähentäminen on ollut päätavoitteita listatessa aina ensimmäisenä tai toisena. Keskusta on tematiikassaan nostanut maaseudun lähemmäs keskiötä, mutta tutkimissani lukemissa sen sijoittuminen keskiöön ei juuri näy. Kansalaisjärjestöt eivät täydennä Suomen julkista kehitysyhteistyötä maaseutusektorin osalta. Toisaalta on selvää, että maaseudun rooli Suomen julkisen kehitysyhteistyön retoriikassa on kasvanut etenkin viime vuosina. Ei jäänyt epäselväksi, että kansalaisjärjestöt koetaan valtion kehitysyhteistyötä täydentävänä voimana, niin valtion julkaisuissa kuin kansalaisjärjestöpuolenkin julkaisuissa. Ristiriita on ilmeinen.

Laser damage threshold studies on urea L-malic acid: A nonlinear optical crystal

A detailed study of surface laser damage performed on a nonlinear optical crystal, urea L-malic acid, using 7 ns laser pulses at 10 Hz repetition rate from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at wavelengths of 532 and 1064 nm is reported. The single shot and multiple shot surface laser damage threshold values are determined to be 26.64±0.19 and 20.60±0.36 GW cm−2 at 1064 nm and 18.44±0.31 and 7.52±0.22 GW cm−2 at 532 nm laser radiation, respectively. The laser damage anisotropy is consistent with the Vickers mechanical hardness measurement performed along three crystallographic directions. The Knoop polar plot also reflects the damage morphology. Our investigation reveals a direct correlation between the laser damage profile and hardness anisotropy. Thermal breakdown of the crystal is identified as the possible mechanism of laser induced surface damage.

Bioenergy and climate change mitigation: an assessment

Bioenergy deployment offers significant potential for climate change mitigation, but also carries considerable risks. In this review, we bring together perspectives of various communities involved in the research and regulation of bioenergy deployment in the context of climate change mitigation: Land-use and energy experts, land-use and integrated assessment modelers, human geographers, ecosystem researchers, climate scientists and two different strands of life-cycle assessment experts. We summarize technological options, outline the state-of-the-art knowledge on various climate effects, provide an update on estimates of technical resource potential and comprehensively identify sustainability effects. Cellulosic feedstocks, increased end-use efficiency, improved land carbon-stock management and residue use, and, when fully developed, BECCS appear as the most promising options, depending on development costs, implementation, learning, and risk management. Combined heat and power, efficient biomass cookstoves and small-scale power generation for rural areas can help to promote energy access and sustainable development, along with reduced emissions. We estimate the sustainable technical potential as up to 100EJ: high agreement; 100-300EJ: medium agreement; above 300EJ: low agreement. Stabilization scenarios indicate that bioenergy may supply from 10 to 245EJyr(-1) to global primary energy supply by 2050. Models indicate that, if technological and governance preconditions are met, large-scale deployment (>200EJ), together with BECCS, could help to keep global warming below 2 degrees degrees of preindustrial levels; but such high deployment of land-intensive bioenergy feedstocks could also lead to detrimental climate effects, negatively impact ecosystems, biodiversity and livelihoods. The integration of bioenergy systems into agriculture and forest landscapes can improve land and water use efficiency and help address concerns about environmental impacts. We conclude that the high variability in pathways, uncertainties in technological development and ambiguity in political decision render forecasts on deployment levels and climate effects very difficult. However, uncertainty about projections should not preclude pursuing beneficial bioenergy options.

Modelling staphylococcal pneumonia in a human 3D lung tissue model system delineates toxin-mediated pathology

Staphylococcus aureus necrotizing pneumonia is recognized as a toxin-mediated disease, yet the tissue-destructive events remain elusive, partly as a result of lack of mechanistic studies in human lung tissue. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) tissue model composed of human lung epithelial cells and fibroblasts was used to delineate the role of specific staphylococcal exotoxins in tissue pathology associated with severe pneumonia. To this end, the models were exposed to the mixture of exotoxins produced by S. aureus strains isolated from patients with varying severity of lung infection, namely necrotizing pneumonia or lung empyema, or to purified toxins. The necrotizing pneumonia strains secreted high levels of alpha-toxin and Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL), and triggered high cytotoxicity, inflammation, necrosis and loss of E-cadherin from the lung epithelium. In contrast, the lung empyema strain produced moderate levels of PVL, but negligible amounts of alpha-toxin, and triggered limited tissue damage. alpha-toxin had a direct damaging effect on the epithelium, as verified using toxin-deficient mutants and pure alpha-toxin. Moreover, PVL contributed to pathology through the lysis of neutrophils. A combination of alpha-toxin and PVL resulted in the most severe epithelial injury. In addition, toxin-induced release of pro-inflammatory mediators from lung tissue models resulted in enhanced neutrophil migration. Using a collection of 31 strains from patients with staphylococcal pneumonia revealed that strains producing high levels of alpha-toxin and PVL were cytotoxic and associated with fatal outcome. Also, the strains that produced the highest toxin levels induced significantly greater epithelial disruption. Of importance, toxin-mediated lung epithelium destruction could be inhibited by polyspecific intravenous immunoglobulin containing antibodies against alpha-toxin and PVL. This study introduces a novel model system for study of staphylococcal pneumonia in a human setting. The results reveal that the combination and levels of alpha-toxin and PVL correlate with tissue pathology and clinical outcome associated with pneumonia.

De Amadís de Gaula (1508) a Belianís de Grecia (1547) : Jerónimo Fernández y la construcción de sus personajes, tradición y originalidad

Integran este número de la revista ponencias presentadas en Studia Hispanica Medievalia VIII: Actas de las IX Jornadas Internacionales de Literatura Española Medieval, 2008, y de Homenaje al Quinto Centenario de Amadis de Gaula

Prudentia Iuris, 2003, n° 57 (número completo)

Contenido: Editorial – Respuestas institucionales y políticas ante la macrocriminalidad: La naturaleza económica de la criminalidad organizada / Andrea Castaldo – Blanqueo de capitales : desde la represión del delito a la prevención / María José Meinke – Globalización y derecho penal / Luis Flávio Gomes – La nueva política criminal intimidatoria e inocuizadora : el caso de la seguridad ciudadana en Perú / Percy García Cavero – La respuesta al terrorismo político en Italia / Mauricio Landi – Réplica francesa al terrorismo y al crimen organizado / Serge Leteur – El debate sobre la constitucionalidad de las leyes 23.492 y 23.521 / Miguel M. Padilla – Derechos fundamentales y constitucionalismo penal / Carlos Alberto Mahiques – El estatuto de Roma y el principio de legalidad en el Derecho Penal internacional / Juan Manuel Gramajo – Actualizaciones en Derecho Penal: Acerca de la responsabilidad de la persona jurídica en el Derecho Italiano / Mauro Ronco – La Corte suprema y la morosidad del proceso penal / Francisco D’Albora – El secreto profesional médico / Fernando Mario Caunedo ; Manuel Gorostiaga – La Legislación Argentina ante los delitos complejos / Luis Enrique Velasco – In Memoriam -- Recensiones

Situación socio ambiental relacionada al acceso, manejo y uso del agua de la parte baja de la Subcuenca Río Malacatoya, Granada, Nicaragua

El estudio de tesis se realizó en la parte baja de la subcuenca río Malacatoya, Granada, Nicaragua. Considerando que es una zona de importancia macroeconómica para el país, ya que uno de los rubros que se cultivan es el arroz de exportación. El previo conocimiento de la existencia de una problemática con el acceso al agua fue por un trabajo voluntario en temas de soberanía y seguridad alimentaria que la tesista efectuó con una organización sin fines de lucro de hombres y mujeres desmovilizadas de guerra que fueron beneficiadas con parcelas de tierra en la subcuenca media de Tipitapa Malacatoya y que enfrentan la situación de acceso al agua para el riego de cultivos no tradicionales como plátano, papaya, pipianes y sandías. Se puntualizó que la zona de estudio en la parte baja de la subcuenca río Malacatoya. Ya que las acciones antropocéntricas que realizan los usuarios de la parte alta y media de la subcuenca afectan a los de la parte baja de esta. 8. El objetivo general fue el análisis de la situación socio ambiental relacionada al acceso, uso y manejo del recurso agua de la parte baja de la subcuenca río Malacatoya. Se aplicaron metodologías cualitativas de recolección de información a nivel comunitario e institucional. Las instituciones y organizaciones que han estado trabajando el tema del agua han realizado proyectos de mantenimiento de reserva natural en zonas de recarga de la subcuenca. También las inversiones se han orientado a la prevención de desastres naturales, pero muy poco a la atención sistemática y puesta en práctica de proyectos que fomenten el manejo y uso adecuado del recurso agua. 9. Los usuarios del agua argumentaron que sería conveniente que cuando se haga un proyecto referente al tema del agua debería ser planteada desde su línea de base de forma imparcial, en donde las situaciones de acceso, manejo y uso del agua sean mejoradas tanto a los grandes como a pequeños y medianos productores. Finalmente, las recomendaciones que se plantea a los usuarios del agua es complementar cada proceso con una mejor gestión y capacidad de negociación proveniente de los usuarios del agua como de los líderes comunitarios y el fomento de la gobernanza como herramienta principal en las acciones administrativas internas de las instituciones y con respecto a las demandas de los usuarios del recurso agua de la parte baja de la subcuenca río Malacatoya.

40 anos de Consultoria Legislativa : consultores legislativos e consultores de orçamento

Edição comemorativa dos 40 anos de consultoria e assessoramento institucional na Câmara dos Deputados. Reúne textos de ex-diretores e servidores que relatam os fatos mais significativos dessas quatro décadas de trabalho, dedicadas à construção do modelo de assessoramento que se mostrou capaz de atender às demandas crescentes que recaem sobre o Parlamento brasileiro desde a redemocratização e a vigência da nova Constituição.

Assistência tecnológica às micro e pequenas empresas

Estudo que trata da assistência tecnológica às micro e pequenas empresas e que pretende, a partir de análises e debates com a sociedade, definir medidas e estratégias políticas que venham assegurar apoio tecnológico a tão importante setor de nossa economia.