NANOSOLUTIONS seeks to identify and elaborate the characteristics of engineered nanomaterials (ENM) that determine their biological hazard potential. It will help develop a safety classification model for ENM based on an understanding of their interactions with living organisms, benefiting industry and enabling innovation.The NANOSOLUTIONS project was created to develop a safety classification for engineered nanomaterials (ENM) based on an understanding of their interactions with living organisms at molecular, cellular and organism levels. The human body uses natural nanomaterials, such as proteins and other molecules, to control the body�s many systems and processes.

Team

Dario Greco, Harri Alenius, Riitta Lahesmaa, Roland Grafström, Kai Savolainen

This project focuses on how urban governments and social stakeholders in China’s cities engage with major environmental risks and how they tackle the long overdue transition towards cities becoming more green, liveable and sustainable. The research findings will be published in 2017 as: "China’s Emerging Green Urban Governance - Tackling environmental and sustainability challenges at the city level" Editors: Jørgen Delman, Yuan Ren, Outi Luova, Mattias Burell, Oscar Almén

Team

Jörgen Delman, Oscar Almén, Mattias Burell, Ren Yuan

The main focus of the project has been in Institutional Capacity Building in the area of Meteorological Network Design and Development, Hydrometeorological Data Management, Data Quality Control Procedures, Early Warning Systems and New Services Development.

Team

Vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) is an adhesion molecule and involved in leukocyte rolling, adhesion, and transmigration from the blood into sites of inflammation, which is important for the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. VAP-1 was found and identified in Turku by Prof. Sirpa Jalkanen. In this study, we planed to investigate the relationship soluble VAP-1(sVAP-1) in serum with cardiovascular factors based on Chinese population. This is an internation collaboration project. Finland provides technical supports and VAP-1 antibodies to China. Parters in China performed population study.

Team

Dawei Chen, Jianchang Wang, Sirpa Jalkanen, Anne Roivainen, Juhani Knuuti

As of the time 14:46, March 11, 2011, Tohoku, Japan was hit by a massive earthquake. The epicentre of the earthquake was located to be undersea off the coast of Japan, and the magnitude-level was 9.0. The first earthquake also triggered a series of subsequent big earthquakes. Altogether, these earthquakes caused huge trembling on the Japanese mainland, reaching magnitude-level 7 at Kurihara City in the Miyagi prefecture, and Level 6 across many places in Tohoku. Following these huge earthquakes, those areas facing to the Pacific Ocean over the entire Tohoku area and also a northern part of Kanto areas were hit by unpredictably huge Tsunami waves of up to 40 m height. While travelling up 10 km inland, these waves caused thousands of deaths and severe damage of private and public infrastructure.

Team

Tadashi Matsumoto

Exchange of knowhow, training and dissemination of good practices and solutions are central to building capacity in sustainable natural and agricultural resources management. CAFEIN aims to integrate new and innovative methods of skills development and training to build the agricultural science capacity, and support and advance agricultural education to ensure a safe, secure, nutritive and sustainable food supply under conditions of global climate change.

Team

Liisa Nurminen UEF, Salla Ruuska UEF, Heimo Mikkola UEF, Jannina Viljakainen UEF, Ardita Jahja-Hoxha Savonia UAS, Bermet Tazhibaeva Kyrgyz National Agrarian University

The overall objective of the proposed project is the strengthening of the National University of Laos, Faculty of Forestry’s educational performance and enabling it to provide good professionals for improved management and the sustainable use of Lao PDR’s forest resources. The project purpose is to support the Faculty of Forestry in terms of international collaboration, organization of joint teaching material production and education events, curriculum development, introduction of new teaching methods, and joint supervision of M.Sc. students research with the aim to provide good forestry professionals and academians for the forest sector of Lao PDR. The proposed project is mainly implemented by (a) organising an intensive training events in Laos for forestry academians and professionals (especially trainers) in the field of forest landscape rehabilitation; (b) promoting the participation of NUoL young staff in intensive training activities organised by VITRI and the Dept. of Forest Sciences in Helsinki; and (c) by strengthening the institutional capacity building in the form of curriculum development, teaching material preparation and new tools for e-learning and networking and new equipments.

Team

Eshetu Yirdaw, Professor Markku Kanninen, Adrian Monge Monge, Dipjoy Chakma

The primary aim of the project is climate change mitigation and reduced deforestation through the provision of low cost water purification technologies to the rural poor. At the same time, the project will sustainably scale up, through carbon finance, the production and dissemination of low-cost clean water treatment solutions to poor households in Cambodia and Lao PDR. The local supply chains of the two carbon projects by Hydrologic Social Enterprise and Terra Clear will be strengthened and the projects will be developed into Gold Standard projects for voluntary carbon markets (VCM). Targeted customers are rural households who currently have no or only a partial access to clean water. Ceramic water purifiers are able to provide a number of co benefits to end users (including the adaptive capacity of end users to climate change) and throughout the supply chain. The project aims to ensure these co-benefits are also realised. The scaling up and sustainable mass dissemination activities will be complemented by a research report prepared by Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC).

Team

FFRC-Jyrki Luukkanen, Kamilla Karhunmaa, Visa Tuominen, Outi Pitkänen Nexus- Jo Hazelwood Hydrologic- Rachel Pringle TerraClear- Nathan Cole

SUCCEED is a capacity building project which seeks to enhance and promote climate change, environmental and renewable energy education, research, and development. The overall objective of SUCCEED is that the partner countries are able to train and educate national experts capable of advocating national and international climate change policy and renewable energy promotion from the perspective of the least developed countries, especially with regards to: climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, climate finance, energy policy and renewable energy technology. Other objectives include improved skills of teaching staff to ensure successful implementation of climate change and renewable energy education in energy, and environmental degree programmes, improved research and pedagogical skills, improved facilities at ITC, NUOL, RUPP & YTU and promotion of networking and cooperation with national and international institutions and stakeholders.

Team

Jyrki Luukkanen, Mika Korkeakoski, Visa Tuominen