  We show that the effect of a high-temperature environment in current
transport through a normal metal-insulator-superconductor tunnel junction can
be described by an effective density of states (DOS) in the superconductor. In
the limit of a resistive low-ohmic environment, this DOS reduces into the
well-known Dynes form. Our theoretical result is supported by experiments in
engineered environments. We apply our findings to improve the performance of a
single-electron turnstile, a potential candidate for a metrological current
source.
