How Can the Eco‐efficiency of a Region be Measured and Monitored?

The concept of eco-efficiency is commonly referred to as a business link to sustainable development. In this article, ecoefficiency is examined at a regional level as an approach to promoting the competitiveness of economic activities in the Finnish Kymenlaakso region and mitigating their harmful impacts on the environment. The aim is to develop appropriate indicators for monitoring changes in the eco-efficiency of the region. A starting point is to produce indicators for the environmental and economic dimensions of regional development and use them for measuring regional eco-efficiency. The environmental impact indicators are based on a life-cycle assessment method, producing different types of environmental impact indicators: pressure indicators (e.g., emissions of CO₂), impact category indicators (e.g., CO₂ equivalents in the case of climate change), and a total impact indicator (aggregating different impact category indicator results into a single value). Environmental impact indicators based on direct material input, total material input, and total material requirement of the Kymenlaakso region are also assessed. The economic indicators used are the gross domestic product, the value added, and the output of the main economic sectors of Kymenlaakso. In the eco-efficiency assessment, the economic and environmental impact indicators are monitored in the same graph. In a few cases eco-efficiency ratios can also be calculated (the economic indicators are divided by the environmental indicators). Output (= value added + intermediate consumption) is used as an economic indicator related to the environmental impact indicators, which also cover the upstream processes of the region's activities. In the article, we also discuss the strengths and weaknesses of using the different environmental impact indicators.     

Stable-light producingEscherichia coli

Summary Stable light production inEscherichia coli is achieved by cloning the genes encoding bacterial luciferase fromVibrio harveyi. To gain advantage of sensitive detection of light we transferred the genes under the control of a regulatable promoter system and searched for growth and buffer conditions where bacteria emitted stable light. Based on our findings an automated biosensor system can be developed to monitor the effects of biologically active compounds against stable-light producing bacteria.     

Comparison of two lignin-degrading fungi:Phlebia radiata andPhanerochaete chrysosporium

Summary The ligninolytic enzymes ofPhlebia radiata were produced in static conditions earlier developed forPhanerochaete chrysosporium. The production pattern of lignin peroxidases resembled that ofP. chrysosporium. The extracellular proteins ofPhlebia radiata were separated by isoelectric focusing. Four proteins with acidic isoelectric points (4.15) were detected by peroxidase staining. The peroxidases ofP. radiata reacted with antibodies produced against a peroxidase ofPhanerochaete chrysosporium and vice versa. Thus the lignin peroxidases of the two fungi have major similarities despite slight differences in their isoelectric points and molecular weights. Veratryl alcohol was produced by both fungi and degraded to veratraldehyde, two lactones and a quinone by the ligninolytic cultures.     

Construction of a Stable α-Galactosidase-Producing Baker's Yeast Strain

Molasses is widely used as a substrate for commercial yeast production. The complete hydrolysis of raffinose, which is present in beet molasses, by Saccharomyces strains requires the secretion of α-galactosidase, in addition to the secretion of invertase. Raffinose is not completely utilized by commercially available yeast strains used for baking, which are Mel⁻. In this study we integrated the yeast MEL1 gene, which codes for α-galactosidase, into a commercial mel⁰ baker's yeast strain. The Mel⁺ phenotype of the new strain was stable. The MEL1 gene was expressed when the new Mel⁺ baker's yeast was grown in molasses medium under conditions similar to those used for baker's yeast production at commercial factories. The α-galactosidase produced by this novel baker's yeast strain hydrolyzed all the melibiose that normally accumulates in the growth medium. As a consequence, additional carbohydrate was available to the yeasts for growth. The new strain also produced considerably more α-galactosidase than did a wild-type Mel⁺ strain and may prove useful for commercial production of α-galactosidase.     

Fructose metabolism in Zymomonas mobilis

Summary In the metabolism of fructose by Zymomonas, the ethanol yield is decreased due to the formation of dihydroxyacetone, mannitol and glycerol. The reduction of fructose to mannitol by an NADPH-dependent mannitol dehydrogenase is apparently coupled to the oxidation of glucose-6-phosphate by glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, which exhibits higher activity with NADP than with NAD as cofactor. The relatively low cell yield on fructose can partly be explained by the loss of ATP in the formation of dihydroxyacetone and glycerol and partly by the toxic effect of dihydroxyacetone and acetaldehyde on the growth of the organism.     

Mate Sampling and Assessment Procedures in Female Pied Flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca)

Models of mate sampling strategies predict that choosiness should decrease throughout the breeding season due to increasing costs of delaying mating. Therefore, individuals who start searching mates relatively late, should spend less time on sampling, and sample fewer candidates compared to early individuals. We observed mate searching behavior of female pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) by radio-tracking in study areas with 6–12 unpaired males. Contrary to the prediction, the observed numbers of males sampled by the searching females increased with time, i.e. late arriving females visited more males than early arrivers. However, this seems to be due to more active sampling of males in short time by late-arriving females. The observed sampling pattern suggests some kind of comparison tactic, which seems, however, to be very variable among individual females. Mate-assessing females were characterized by a remarkably cryptic behavior, which may be 1) a way of gaining honest information about the male mating status or male/territory quality, or 2) a way of avoiding courtship costs.     

Wave-separation in complex systems. Application to brain-signals

A departure from single-system dynamics, that may arise in characterizing self-organized dynamics of complex systems, is dealt with by using the Karhunen-Loève expansion of the trajectory matrix to decompose an experimental signal in a sum of spectral features. For an electroencephalographic -signal, a separation of waves and extraction of additive sub-signals are achieved, each sub-signal covering a well-bounded and physiologically meaningful frequency range. From the subsignals, an attractor that vanishes on phase-randomizing the data is characterized, under conditions where none was found for the recorded signal.     

Ribosomal RNA genes in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.): Chromosomal organization and structure

The nuclear 18S, 5.8S and 25S rRNA genes exist as thousands of rDNA repeats in the Scots pine genome. The number and location of rDNA loci (nucleolus organizers, NORs) were studied by cytological methods, and a restriction map from the coding region of the Scots pine rDNA repeat was constructed using digoxigenin-labeled flax rDNA as a probe. Based on the maximum number of nucleoli and chromosomal secondary constrictions, Scots pine has at least eight NORs in its haploid genome. The size of the Scots pine rDNA repeat unit is approximately 27 kb, two- or threefold larger than the typical angiosperm rDNA unit, but similar in size to other characterized conifer rDNA repeats. The intergenic spacer region (IGS) of the rDNA repeat unit in Scots pine is longer than 20 kb, and the transcribed spacer regions surrounding the 5.8S gene (ITS1 and ITS2) span a region of 2.9 kb. Restriction analysis revealed that although the coding regions of rDNA repeats are homogeneous, heterogeneity exists in the intergenic spacer region between individuals, as well as among the rDNA repeats within individuals.     

Affinity immunosensor for milk progesterone: identification of critical parameters

The effects of several experimental parameters on the performance characteristics of a competitive-type immunochromatographic assay of milk progesterone were studied. Increasing the size of the colloidal gold particles used as a label increased both maximal signal obtained and sensitivity of the assay measured as slope of the progesterone standard curve. The concentration of the antibody used to prepare the detection zone was found to be a critical factor, in that low concentrations of antibody resulted in a poor sensitivity. The compatibilities of various buffer systems with the assay were studied. The assay worked well with buffers having a broad pH range of 4·5–8·5.     

Termination of early pregnancy by a single-dose 3.0 mg 15-methyl PGF2α methyl ester vaginal suppository

The abortifacient effect of a single-dose, long-acting vaginal suppository containing 3.0 mg of 15-methyl PGF_2α methyl ester was investigated in 104 early pregnancies. The pregnancy was terminated in 91 per cent of the cases. The abortion was uncomplicated in 79 patients, while 12 patients experienced prolonged bleeding.In 21 uncomplicated cases, Vabra® curettage done 4 weeks after therapy revealed necrotic residual tissue in 16 patients and nonspecific endometritis in 20 patients. Residual tissue was found in about 50 per cent of the patients curettaged after 1st menstruation, but no residua was found after 2nd menstruation.In patients with prolonged bleeding, substantial amounts of necrotic residual tissue was found in all patients curettaged 4 weeks after therapy. The decline of serum hCG and plasma progesterone levels was significantly slower in these patients as compared with uneventful abortions.