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Blennow, K., Persson, J., Gonçalves, L. M. S., Borys, A., Dutcǎ, I., Hynynen, J., Janeczko, E., Lyubenova, M., Merganič, J., Merganičová, K., Peltoniemi, M., Petr, M., Reboredo, F., Vacchiano, G., & Reyer, C. P. O. (2020). The role of beliefs, expectations and values in decision-making favoring climate change adaptation : Implications for communications with European forest professionals. Environmental Research Letters, 15(11), 1-10. [114061]. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abc2fa Beliefs, expectations and values are often assumed to drive decisions about climate change adaptation. We tested hypotheses based on this assumption using survey responses from 508 European forest professionals in ten countries. We used the survey results to identify communication needs and the decision strategies at play, and to develop guidelines on adequate communications about climate change adaptation. We observed polarization in the positive and negative values associated with climate change impacts accepted by survey respondents. We identified a mechanism creating the polarization that we call the 'blocked belief' effect. We found that polarized values did not correlate with decisions about climate change adaptation. Strong belief in the local impacts of climate change on the forest was, however, a prerequisite of decision-making favoring adaptation. Decision-making in favor of adaptation to climate change also correlated with net values of expected specific impacts on the forest and generally increased with the absolute value of these in the absence of 'tipping point' behavior. Tipping point behavior occurs when adaptation is not pursued in spite of the strongly negative or positive net value of expected climate change impacts. We observed negative and positive tipping point behavior, mainly in SW Europe and N-NE Europe, respectively. In addition we found that advice on effective adaptation may inhibit adaptation when the receiver is aware of effective adaptation measures unless it is balanced with information explaining how climate change leads to negative impacts. Forest professionals with weak expectations of impacts require communications on climate change and its impacts on forests before any advice on adaptation measures can be effective. We develop evidence-based guidelines on communications using a new methodology which includes Bayesian machine learning modeling of the equivalent of an expected utility function for the adaptation decision problem. publishersversion published

Beliefs, expectations and values are often assumed to drive decisions about climate change adaptation. We tested hypotheses based on this assumption using survey responses from 508 European forest professionals in ten countries. We used the survey results to identify communication needs and the decision strategies at play, and to develop guidelines on adequate communications about climate change adaptation. We observed polarization in the positive and negative values associated with climate change impacts accepted by survey respondents. We identified a mechanism creating the polarization that we call the 'blocked belief' effect. We found that polarized values did not correlate with decisions about climate change adaptation. Strong belief in the local impacts of climate change on the forest was, however, a prerequisite of decision-making favoring adaptation. Decision-making in favor of adaptation to climate change also correlated with net values of expected specific impacts on the forest and generally increased with the absolute value of these in the absence of 'tipping point' behavior. Tipping point behavior occurs when adaptation is not pursued in spite of the strongly negative or positive net value of expected climate change impacts. We observed negative and positive tipping point behavior, mainly in SW Europe and N-NE Europe, respectively. In addition we found that advice on effective adaptation may inhibit adaptation when the receiver is aware of effective adaptation measures unless it is balanced with information explaining how climate change leads to negative impacts. Forest professionals with weak expectations of impacts require communications on climate change and its impacts on forests before any advice on adaptation measures can be effective. We develop evidence-based guidelines on communications using a new methodology which includes Bayesian machine learning modeling of the equivalent of an expected utility function for the adaptation decision problem.

Leaf area index (LAI) is a key variable for many ecological models, but it is typically not available from basic forest inventories. In this study, we (1) construct a high-resolution LAI map using k nearest-neighbor (k-NN) imputation based on National Forest Inventory data and Landsat 5 TM images (Landsat-NFI LAI), and (2) examine a moderate-resolution LAI map produced based on reduced simple ratio derived from MODIS reflectances (MODIS-RSR LM). The maps cover all the forested areas in Finland. Country-level averages of Landsat-NFI and MODIS-RSR LAI were at same level, but several geographical and land-use related differences between them were detected. Difference was the largest in the lake district of Finland and in northern Finland, and it increased with decreasing share of forests and increasing share of deciduous trees. As MODIS-RSR LAI does not take into account the sub-pixel variation in land use, Landsat-NFI LAI was found to produce more reliable estimates.

Industry life-cycle theory is interested in changes in key industry variables, including entry and exit rates, firm numbers, price, performance and concentration, and in innovative activity as the industry ages. To date, industry life-cycle studies have concentrated on traditional manufacturing industries that produce utilitarian goods. The present study investigates the dynamics of the games industry which is a prime example of a non-manufacturing and non-utilitarian industry. As prior research on the games industry is scarce, the cultural industries literature is reviewed to shed light on the conformities and deviations that can be expected to be found between the propositions of the industry life-cycle theory and the empirical analysis on the games industry. The specificities of cultural industries are discussed in terms of economic characteristics, management challenges and industry dynamics. The empirical study comprises two analytical steps. The first one investigates the evolution of the games industry with standard industry life-cycle tools. In the second one a qualitative systems dynamics model on the micromechanisms of the game development sector is built to explain the observations made in the first step. The key finding of the study is that the dynamics of the games industry differ from the propositions of the industry life-cycle theory in two respects. Firstly, innovative activity has not levelled off in either hardware or software. Secondly, game development has remained an unconcentrated industry. The innovative activity is explained by the constant need for novelty common to all cultural industries and it manifests in the key role that the production of original ideas has in game development firms. The low level of concentration is explained by lesser economies of scale caused by increasing management challenges and the increasing risk of bankruptcy with increase in firm size. The study contributes (1) by applying the industry life-cycle theory to the cultural domain, (2) by combining the phenomena listed in the cultural industries literature and analysing their effect on industry dynamics, (3) by examining the evolution of the games industry in both hardware and software sectors and (4) by highlighting the micromechanisms that produce industry dynamics. The study also has implications for policy-making and management practice. These relate to different forms of public funding, education, outsourcing and the key role of original IP.

Glutaredoxins (Grx) are small thiol disulphide oxidoreductases with a conserved active site sequence -CXXC/S- and a glutathione (GSH) binding site. They catalyze the reduction of protein disulphides, preferring protein-GSH mixed disulphides as substrates. The accumulation of protein-GSH mixed disulphides has been observed during oxidative stress, where they may serve both a regulatory and an antioxidant function by protecting the enzymes from irreversible oxidation. Once oxidative stress has been removed the GSH-protein mixed disulphides are reduced by GSH or, more efficiently, by Grx. The present study showed for the first time that Grx1 and Grx2 can be detected in healthy human lung. Highly specific expression of Grx1 was observed in alveolar macrophages, but it could also be detected from sputum supernatant. Grx1 levels in alveolar macrophages were lower in selected inflammatory diseases than in control lung samples. Grx1 was also mainly negative in the fibrotic areas in usual interstitial pneumonia, an aggressive fibrotic lung disease. Overall, the present study suggests that Grx1 is a potential redox modulatory protein regulating the intracellular as well as extracellular homeostasis of glutathionylated proteins and GSH not only in healthy lung, but also in inflammatory and fibrotic lung diseases. In order to study the mechanism of action of glutaredoxins in vitro, a new real-time fluorescence-based method for measuring the deglutathionylation activity of glutaredoxins using a glutathionylated peptide as a substrate was developed. The first reaction intermediate in the deglutathionylation reaction was shown to be exclusively Grx-GSH mixed disulphide and this specificity was solely dependent on the unusual γ-linkage present in glutathione. The study also demonstrated the role of conserved residues in the proximity of proposed GSH binding site to the GSH binding specificity of E. coli Grx1. Opening the binding groove and removing charged residues enabled Grx to form more readily mixed disulfides with other molecules besides GSH. Different members of the PDI family showed considerably lower activity levels compared to glutaredoxins and, in contrast to the glutaredoxin-GSH mixed disulphide, the only intermediate in the PDI catalysed reaction was PDI-peptide mixed disulphide.

The aim of the study was to estimate the significance of oxidative/nitrosative damage and expression of antioxidant enzymes in renal cell carcinomas (RCC). For this we investigated immunohistochemically six antioxidant enzymes (AOEs) including MnSOD, ECSOD, thioredoxin, thioredoxin reductase, and gammaglutamyl cysteine synthetase heavy and light chain in 138 RCCs. As an indicator of oxidative/nitrosative damage, sections were stained with an antibody to nitrotyrosine. The extent of apoptosis was evaluated by TUNEL method and proliferation by immunohistochemistry to Ki67. Variable expression of all AOEs could be seen in RCC with expression of MnSOD being strongest. Nitrotyrosine was significantly associated with high grade tumors. MnSOD was associated with tumors of a lower stage. Cases showing ECSOD reactivity had higher and cases expressing thioredoxin lower apoptotic index than other tumors. No association with patient prognosis was observed. According to the results renal cell carcinomas show oxidative/nitrosative damage which, according to nitrotyrosine staining, was higher in high grade tumors. Of AOEs, MnSOD was more abundantly expressed in low stage tumors suggesting that its antioxidant function could play a main role to prevent development of oxidative damage leading to more aggressive tumors.

The main objective of the JYT-programme has been to provide the authorities with independent information and research results relevant for the safety of nuclear waste management. The main emphasis in this research programme has been devoted to the final disposal of spent fuel. The whole area of the research programme has been subdivided into following main topic areas: (1) bedrock structure and stability, rock investigation methods and characteristics and flow of ground water, (2) release of radionuclides from a repository and subsequent transport in the bedrock, (3) performance and safety assessment of repositories and other phases of nuclear waste management, (4) natural analogue studies, (5) waste management technology and costs and (6) socio political and other societal issues and environmental impact assessment.

Soil carbon models serving national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories need precise litter input estimates that typically originate from regionally-averaged and species-specific biomass turnover rates. We compared the foliar turnover rates estimated from long-term measurements by two methods: the needle-cohort based turnover rates (NT; 1064 Scots pine and Norway spruce stands), used in Finnish GHG inventory, and litterfall-biomass based turnover rates (LT; 40 Scots pine, Norway spruce, and silver and downy birch stands). For evergreens, regionally averaged NT values (+/- SD) (0.139 +/- 0.01, 0.1 +/- 0.009 for spruce south and north of 64 degrees N, and 0.278 +/- 0.016, 0.213 +/- 0.028 for pine, respectively) were greater than those used in the GHG inventory model in Finland (0.1, 0.05 for spruce in the south and north, and 0.245, 0.154 for pine, respectively). For deciduous forests, averaged LT values SD (0.784 +/- 0.162, 0.634 +/- 0.093 for birch in the south and north) were close to that (0.79) currently used for the whole of Finland.