Ympäristökeskustelun elinkaari Pariisin ilmastokokouksen aikaisessa Twitter-keskustelussa

Tämän kandidaatintyön tavoittena on perehtyä ympäristökeskustelun elinkaarimalliin ja selvittää sen paikkansapitävyys Pariisin ilmastokokouksen aikaisessa Twitter-keskustelussa. Työssä analysoidaan myös keskustelun tunnelmia, ja selvitetään millainen yleinen mielipide Twitterissä vaikutti Pariisin kokouksen aikana. Menetelminä työssä käytetään laadullista tutkimusta ja sisällönanalyysiä. Ympäristökeskustelun elinkaari koostuu viidestä vaiheesta, joita ovat latenssi, synty, kasvu, kypsyys ja taantuma. Vaiheet eroavat toisistaan keskustelun intensiteetin ja keskustelijoiden taustan perusteella. Aineiston perusteella Twitter-keskustelusta erottuu selkeästi elinkaaren vaiheet niin intensiteetin, kuin keskustelijoiden taustojen puolesta. Kerätystä aineistosta erottuu erilaisia tunnelmia, jotka jaetaan seuraavasti: odottava, innokas, epäilevä ja neutraali. Suurin osa tviiteistä kuuluu neutraaliin ryhmään, mikä selittyy Twitterin luonteella ja elinkaaren vaikutuksella. Tunnelmat vaihtelevat keskustelun elinkaaren aikana siten, että alkuun keskustelu on neutraalia, sitten odottavaa ja innokasta, lopuksi epäilevää ja jälleen neutraalia. Työn tulokset kertovat, että elinkaarimallia voidaan soveltaa myös sosiaalisen median keskusteluun. Jatkotutkimuksissa voidaan keskittyä teemojen määrälliseen tutkimukseen.

Koko kansan meijeri – Liedon Vilkkimäen meijerin elinkaari ja paikallisyhteisön kokemukset

Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan lietolaisen Vilkkimäen meijerin elinkaarta ja paikallisen yhteisön suhdetta tutkimuskohteeseen. Meijerirakennus on valmistunut Hakulan kylään vuonna 1928. Rakennushankkeen takana oli Liedon osuusmeijeri -osuuskunta, joka ehti harjoittaa meijeritoimintaa vain kolmisen vuotta ennen ajautumistaan konkurssiin. Tämän jälkeen pankin muodostama Liedon meijeriosakeyhtiö vuokrasi tilat Valiolle, joka alkoi valmistaa Vilkkimäessä juustoa. Tutkimuksen piiriin kuuluu myös vuonna 1933 valmistunut Valion rakennuttama sikala. Meijeritoiminta päättyi lopullisesti vuonna 1939 talvisodan alkaessa jolloin puolestaan Liedon suojeluskunta teki vuokrasopimuksen Liedon meijeriosakeyhtiön kanssa. Rakennusta käytettiin viime sotien ajan suojeluskunnan varuste- ja ammusvarastona. Sotien jälkeen rakennusta on käytetty moneen eri tarkoitukseen. Vilkkimäessä on muun muassa valmistettu vihannessäilykkeitä ja harjoitettu linjaliikennettä. 1970-luvun alussa kiinteistön osti diplomi-insinööri, joka käytti tiloja erilaisten tuoteideoiden kehittelyyn. Rakennus oli hänen omistuksessaan vuoteen 2009 saakka. Tämän jälkeen kunnostuksen tarpeessa oleva rakennus siirtyi uusille omistajille, jotka aloittivat mittavan kunnostushankkeen. Rakennukseen on valmistunut hankkeen aikana liiketiloja ja vuokra-asuntoja. Rakennuksen ympärille muodostui 1920-1930-luvuilla oma pienyhteisö meijerin työntekijöistä ja paikallisista asukkaista, ja monelle paikalliselle Vilkkimäki oli merkityksellinen kohtaamispaikka. Yhteisöllisyyden kokemusta lisäsivät juhlasalissa pidetyt tilaisuudet, erityisesti iltamat. Sotien ajaksi rakennus tyhjeni asukkaista. Asunnot otettiin uudelleen käyttöön 1940-luvun loppupuolella ja rakennuksessa asuttiin 1970-luvun alkuun saakka. Rakennuksen tyhjentyessä asukkaista paikallisten siteet Vilkkimäkeen hiipuivat. Tutkimukseni merkittävin aineistokokonaisuus koostuu muistitiedosta eli itse tekemistäni haastatteluista. Aineistoon kuuluu myös lukuisia valokuvia. Lisäksi olen käyttänyt Kansallisarkistosta ja Valion arkistosta keräämääni aineistoa, kirjallisuutta sekä lehtiartikkeleitä. Aineiston avulla olen kartoittanut rakennuksen elinkaaren vaiheita ja hahmottanut millaisia merkityksiä rakennuksella on ollut paikalliselle yhteisölle. Haastatteluaineistosta olen nostanut esiin kolme eri teemaa; yhteisöllisyyden, työnteon ja sukupuolen merkityksen.

Thrombophilia and direct thrombin inhibitor lepirudin clinical and monitoring aspects

Thrombophilia (TF) predisposes both to venous and arterial thrombosis at a young age. TF may also impact the thrombosis or stenosis of hemodialysis (HD) vascular access in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). When involved in severe thrombosis TF may associate with inappropriate response to anticoagulation. Lepirudin, a potent direct thrombin inhibitor (DTI), indicated for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia-related thrombosis, could offer a treatment alternative in TF. Monitoring of narrow-ranged lepirudin demands new insights also in laboratory. The above issues constitute the targets in this thesis. We evaluated the prevalence of TF in patients with ESRD and its impact upon thrombosis- or stenosis-free survival of the vascular access. Altogether 237 ESRD patients were prospectively screened for TF and thrombogenic risk factors prior to HD access surgery in 2002-2004 (mean follow-up of 3.6 years). TF was evident in 43 (18%) of the ESRD patients, more often in males (23 vs. 9%, p=0.009). Known gene mutations of FV Leiden and FII G20210A occurred in 4%. Vascular access sufficiently matured in 226 (95%). The 1-year thrombosis- and stenosis-free access survival was 72%. Female gender (hazards ratio, HR, 2.5; 95% CI 1.6-3.9) and TF (HR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1-3.3) were independent risk factors for the shortened thrombosis- and stenosis-free survival. Additionally, TF or thrombogenic background was found in relatively young patients having severe thrombosis either in hepatic veins (Budd-Chiari syndrome, BCS, one patient) or inoperable critical limb ischemia (CLI, six patients). Lepirudin was evaluated in an off-label setting in the severe thrombosis after inefficacious traditional anticoagulation without other treatment options except severe invasive procedures, such as lower extremity amputation. Lepirudin treatments were repeatedly monitored clinically and with laboratory assessments (e.g. activated partial thromboplastin time, APTT). Our preliminary studies with lepirudin in thrombotic calamities appeared safe, and no bleeds occurred. An effective DTI lepirudin calmed thrombosis as all patients gradually recovered. Only one limb amputation was performed 3 years later during the follow-up (mean 4 years). Furthermore, we aimed to overcome the limitations of APTT and confounding effects of warfarin (INR of 1.5-3.9) and lupus anticoagulant (LA). Lepirudin responses were assessed in vitro by five specific laboratory methods. Ecarin chromogenic assay (ECA) or anti-Factor IIa (anti-FIIa) correlated precisely (r=0.99) with each other and with spiked lepirudin in all plasma pools: normal, warfarin, and LA-containing plasma. In contrast, in the presence of warfarin and LA both APTT and prothrombinase-induced clotting time (PiCT®) were limited by non-linear and imprecise dose responses. As a global coagulation test APTT is useful in parallel to the precise chromogenic methods ECA or Anti-FIIa in challenging clinical situations. Lepirudin treatment requires multidisciplinary approach to ensure appropriate patient selection, interpretation of laboratory monitoring, and treatment safety. TF seemed to be associated with complicated thrombotic events, in venous (BCS), arterial (CLI), and vascular access systems. TF screening should be aimed to patients with repeated access complications or prior unprovoked thromboembolic events. Lepirudin inhibits free and clot-bound thrombin which heparin fails to inhibit. Lepirudin seems to offer a potent and safe option for treatment of severe thrombosis. Multi-centered randomized trials are necessary to assess the possible management of complicated thrombotic events with DTIs like lepirudin and seek prevention options against access complications.

Local systems, global impacts : Using life cycle assessment to analyse the potential and constraints of industrial symbioses

Human activities extract and displace different substances and materials from the earth s crust, thus causing various environmental problems, such as climate change, acidification and eutrophication. As problems have become more complicated, more holistic measures that consider the origins and sources of pollutants have been called for. Industrial ecology is a field of science that forms a comprehensive framework for studying the interactions between the modern technological society and the environment. Industrial ecology considers humans and their technologies to be part of the natural environment, not separate from it. Industrial operations form natural systems that must also function as such within the constraints set by the biosphere. Industrial symbiosis (IS) is a central concept of industrial ecology. Industrial symbiosis studies look at the physical flows of materials and energy in local industrial systems. In an ideal IS, waste material and energy are exchanged by the actors of the system, thereby reducing the consumption of virgin material and energy inputs and the generation of waste and emissions. Companies are seen as part of the chains of suppliers and consumers that resemble those of natural ecosystems. The aim of this study was to analyse the environmental performance of an industrial symbiosis based on pulp and paper production, taking into account life cycle impacts as well. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool for quantitatively and systematically evaluating the environmental aspects of a product, technology or service throughout its whole life cycle. Moreover, the Natural Step Sustainability Principles formed a conceptual framework for assessing the environmental performance of the case study symbiosis (Paper I). The environmental performance of the case study symbiosis was compared to four counterfactual reference scenarios in which the actors of the symbiosis operated on their own. The research methods used were process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) (Papers II and III) and hybrid LCA, which combines both process and input-output LCA (Paper IV). The results showed that the environmental impacts caused by the extraction and processing of the materials and the energy used by the symbiosis were considerable. If only the direct emissions and resource use of the symbiosis had been considered, less than half of the total environmental impacts of the system would have been taken into account. When the results were compared with the counterfactual reference scenarios, the net environmental impacts of the symbiosis were smaller than those of the reference scenarios. The reduction in environmental impacts was mainly due to changes in the way energy was produced. However, the results are sensitive to the way the reference scenarios are defined. LCA is a useful tool for assessing the overall environmental performance of industrial symbioses. It is recommended that in addition to the direct effects, the upstream impacts should be taken into account as well when assessing the environmental performance of industrial symbioses. Industrial symbiosis should be seen as part of the process of improving the environmental performance of a system. In some cases, it may be more efficient, from an environmental point of view, to focus on supply chain management instead.  

Integrated climatic impacts of forestry and fibre-based packaging

The purpose of this study was to examine the integrated climatic impacts of forestry and the use fibre-based packaging materials. The responsible use of forest resources plays an integral role in mitigating climate change. Forests offer three generic mitigation strategies; conservation, sequestration and substitution. By conserving carbon reservoirs, increasing the carbon sequestration in the forest or substituting fossil fuel intensive materials and energy, it is possible to lower the amount of carbon in the atmosphere through the use of forest resources. The Finnish forest industry consumed some 78 million m3 of wood in 2009, while total of 2.4 million tons of different packaging materials were consumed that same year in Finland. Nearly half of the domestically consumed packaging materials were wood-based. Globally the world packaging material market is valued worth annually some €400 billion, of which the fibre-based packaging materials account for 40 %. The methodology and the theoretical framework of this study are based on a stand-level, steady-state analysis of forestry and wood yields. The forest stand data used for this study were obtained from Metla, and consisted of 14 forest stands located in Southern and Central Finland. The forest growth and wood yields were first optimized with the help of Stand Management Assistant software, and then simulated in Motti for forest carbon pools. The basic idea was to examine the climatic impacts of fibre-based packaging material production and consumption through different forest management and end-use scenarios. Economically optimal forest management practices were chosen as the baseline (1) for the study. In the alternative scenarios, the amount of fibre-based packaging material on the market decreased from the baseline. The reduced pulpwood demand (RPD) scenario (2) follows economically optimal management practices under reduced pulpwood price conditions, while the sawlog scenario (3) also changed the product mix from packaging to sawnwood products. The energy scenario (4) examines the impacts of pulpwood demand shift from packaging to energy use. The final scenario follows the silvicultural guidelines developed by the Forestry Development Centre Tapio (5). The baseline forest and forest product carbon pools and the avoided emissions from wood use were compared to those under alternative forest management regimes and end-use scenarios. The comparison of the climatic impacts between scenarios gave an insight into the sustainability of fibre-based packaging materials, and the impacts of decreased material supply and substitution. The results show that the use of wood for fibre-based packaging purposes is favorable, when considering climate change mitigation aspects of forestry and wood use. Fibre-based packaging materials efficiently displace fossil carbon emissions by substituting more energy intensive materials, and they delay biogenic carbon re-emissions to the atmosphere for several months up to years. The RPD and the sawlog scenarios both fared well in the scenario comparison. These scenarios produced relatively more sawnwood, which can displace high amounts of emissions and has high carbon storing potential due to the long lifecycle. The results indicate the possibility that win-win scenarios exist by shifting production from pulpwood to sawlogs; on some of the stands in the RPD and sawlog scenarios, both carbon pools and avoided emissions increased from the baseline simultaneously. On the opposite, the shift from packaging material to energy use caused the carbon pools and the avoided emissions to diminish from the baseline. Hence the use of virgin fibres for energy purposes, rather than forest industry feedstock biomass, should be critically judged if optional to each other. Managing the stands according to the silvicultural guidelines developed by the Forestry Development Centre Tapio provided the least climatic benefits, showing considerably lower carbon pools and avoided emissions. This seems interesting and worth noting, as the guidelines are the current basis for the forest management practices in Finland.