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The emergence of service and experience economy has been described as a response to the development of technology, influence of demanding consumers and the challenges of tightened competitive environment. Successful companies are characterized by the capability of providing unique, memorable and emotional customer experiences. Service design and customer experience management provide tools for combining technologies, customers and experiences into one total customer experience. The purpose of this study is to clarify the possibilities of utilizing mixed reality (MR) in the timber trade and forest management services of a forest industry company. More specifically, the research question is, what is the role of human interaction in service encounter, how the different elements of customer experience management influence the customer experience, customer learning, brand image and behavioral intentions, and are there differences in responses between different forest owner groups. The research method combines both qualitative and quantitative methods, commonly known as mixed research method. The research was conducted as a controlled experiment in which the form of tutoring was manipulated in two treatments: face-to-face tutoring and digital tutoring. The data was collected using quantitative questionnaire and qualitative interview. The results suggest that timber trade and forest management services organized in the virtual forest influence positively customer experience, brand image, willingness-to-recommend and willingness to participate in developing the service. Learning was perceived relatively low but the service was perceived useful for managing forest property. The most benefits were perceived by forest owners whose forests were small-sized or relatively close to their place of residence. No significant differences between face-to-face and digital tutoring were observed. However, overall, face-to-face tutoring had more positive impact on brand image while in digital tutoring learning and perceived benefits were strengthened. The role of the customer service personnel is especially heightened in providing support for those forest owners who rarely manage their forests.

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on selvittää suomalaisten kuluttajien mobiilisovellusten käyttöä päivittäistavarakaupassa tällä hetkellä ja sovellusten kehitysmahdollisuuksia tulevaisuudessa. Tarkoituksena on ymmärtää, millaiset mobiilisovellukset kuluttajat kokevat hyödyllisinä. Tutkimuksen viitekehys rakennetaan kartoittamalla nykyisiä monikanavamarkkinoita toimintaympäristönä ja kuvaamalla mobiilisovellusten roolia osana niitä. Teoria muodostaa kuvan mobiilisovellusten ainutlaatuisista ominaisuuksista, ominaisuuksien merkityksestä kuluttajalle, kuluttajan kanavavalintaan vaikuttavista tekijöistä ja päivittäistavaroiden valintaan liittyvistä erityispiirteistä. Viitekehys kuvaa kuluttajan tapaa muodostaa kanavan käyttöarvo peilaamalla sitä ostopäätösprosessin ja käyttökontekstin läpi. Teoriaosuudessa käydään läpi laajasti sekä monikanavaisen että mobiilin ostamisen tutkimusta, ja sitä käytetään avuksi kyselyn suunnitteluun. Tutkimusmenetelmänä käytetään survey-kyselytutkimusta. Aineisto kerättiin 3.1–10.2.2020 verkkokyselyllä, jota levitettiin sähköpostin sekä WhatsUp- ja Facebook-sovelluksen avulla. Kyselyyn saatiin 750 vastausta, joista lopulliseen aineistoon hyväksyttiin 626. Kvantitatiivisen aineiston analysoinnissa käytetään IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0 for Windows -ohjelmaa. Vastaajista noin puolet käyttää mobiilisovelluksia päivittäistavaraostosten apuna. Eniten niitä käyttävät perheelliset, taajamassa asuvat nuoret naiset. Sovelluksia käytettään etenkin kotona ennen ostoksia ja kaupassa ostosten aikana. Tuloksen tukevat näkemystä, että mobiilisovellusten käyttö on monipuolista, mutta sitä voidaan yhä monipuolistaa oikeanlaisilla palveluilla. Erilaisia palveluita kaivataan eri vaiheisiin ostopäätösprosessia. Tuloksissa korostuvat ostopäätösprosessin vaiheista, joihin kaivataan mobiilipalveluita, erityisesti etsintä, vaihtoehtojen vertailu ja ostos. Sovellusten käyttöominaisuuksista QR- ja viivakoodien lukua sekä kotiin tilaamista käytetään vähemmän kuin muita ominaisuuksia. Mobiilisovellusten erityisominaisuuksien tuomat mahdollisuudet tulee ottaa huomioon niitä suunniteltaessa. Ainutlaatuisia ominaisuuksia ovat esimerkiksi liikuteltavuus ja paikallistettavuus. Mobiilisovellus mahdollistaa reaaliaikaisen vuorovaikutuksen niin kaupassa kuin sen ulkopuolella. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan mobiilisovelluksia yksittäisen kanava-ajattelun sijaan kokonaisvaltaisena palveluna kuluttajalle. Tavoitteena on lisätä kuluttajan kokemaa käyttöarvoa. Kuluttajat haluavat mahdollisimman kohdennettuja palveluja, jotka mukautuisivat ostopäätösprosessin ja käyttökontekstin mukaan. Mobiilisovelluksesta tulee ikään kuin henkilökohtainen ostoavustaja.

Forests have acted as a substantial Carbon sink during the last decades. In Finland, forests currently sequester about half of the total anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In order to mitigate climate change, most recent policies, both on the European and the Finnish level, are focussing on increasing forest utilisation, and use forest biomass to substitute fossil resources for material or energy production purposes. However, as increasing harvests commonly reduce the growth potential of forests, their function as a carbon sink could be reduced. This reduction of the forest carbon sink might offset the reduction in emissions gained by substitution. The aim of this study is to analyse how different levels of forest utilisation, i.e. harvest levels, and climate change affect the carbon sink function of Finnish forests at a national level during the period of 2015–2100. In order to quantify these effects in detail, the semi-empirical, climate- and management-sensitive forest growth simulator FORMIT-M is employed to estimate carbon stocks and fluxes in living biomass. The carbon stocks and balances of soils are calculated by applying the Yasso15 soil model to litter input as modelled by FORMIT-M. The carbon balance of harvested wood products is estimated by applying species- and assortment-specific decay functions to harvested timber assortments derived from dimensions. Four harvest scenarios were applied, covering total annual harvest levels between 40 and 87 million m3 a-1, i.e. both reduced and increased levels compared to current levels. The simulations were run for three climate scenarios: current climate (1981-2010 means), and RCP2.6 and RCP8.5 scenarios, the latter two based on predictions of the general circulation model CanESM2. The general findings of the simulations largely confirm earlier research, indicating that higher harvest levels decrease the total C sink. This was true across all climate scenarios examined; in general, the total C sink function of forests was predicted to increase under climate change conditions, with higher C sinks under RCP8.5 than RCP2.6. Under climate change, the relative effect of increasing harvests is reduced, but management in the form of harvest levels remains a more influential factor than climate change. In addition, the reduction in C sink function per unit of additionally harvested C is larger at higher harvest levels, especially under current climate. In the highest harvest scenario, managed forests acted as C sources in the beginning of the modelling period, and the total Finnish forest areas remain net C sinks only due to net C sequestration in preservation areas during this period. The simulations of this study therefore suggest that, from a climate change mitigation perspective, a reduction of harvests is more beneficial than increasing harvests. This is true even when avoided greenhouse gas emissions by replacing fossil resources with forest biomass are considered in the form of a rough estimation of substitution effects. In general, both the absolute magnitude of the C sink and the differences between harvest scenarios are likely to be overestimated in this study, as neither the reduction in growth potential nor the potential reduction of C stocks due to natural disturbances were considered; in addition, potential limiting factors such as nutrient deficiency did not restrict the fertilisation effect of elevated atmospheric CO2 levels. The results include large uncertainties, both regarding the effect and extend of climate change and the potential accumulation of misrepresentations within the growth modelling; hence, the reliability can be expected to decrease during the modelling period. Future applications of the FORMIT-M simulator in Finland should consider the effects of natural disturbances as well as limitations to the substantially improving growing conditions due to climatic conditions and elevated atmospheric CO2 levels; in addition, an optimisation procedure for the distribution of harvests would be beneficial.

The spread of antibiotic resistance in bacteria is a global problem. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is the main mechanism implicated in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARG). This study is related to a doctoral thesis project that studies HGT in wastewater microbial community by conducting a microcosm experiment that uses Emulsion, Paired-Isolation and Concatenation PCR (epicPCR) to monitor the spread of ARGs between species. The aim of this study was to introduce synthetic epicPCR primer binding sites inside various ARGs and to test the function of the encoded proteins. The goal was to maintain sufficient protein function, i.e., antibiotic resistance despite the modifications, which allows the further use of modified ARGs in microcosm experiment. The ARGs selected for modifications were dfrB2, ermB, ermC, sul1 and sul2. Sequence-based prediction method was applied to find regions that tolerate insertions inside the proteins encoded by ARGs. The modified ARGs carried in plasmid pUC19 were introduced to Escherichia coli DH5α, which was used as the host in antibiotic susceptibility testing. Antimicrobial gradient method was used to test the antibiotic susceptibility of the strains and to verify the function of the proteins. Six ARGs modified in this study encoded for functional proteins that conferred antibiotic resistance while three modified ARGs did not. Two out of four proteins with insertions in predicted permissive stretches in the middle of a protein maintained their function. The six functional, antibiotic resistance conferring genes designed in this study can be used in further studies utilizing epicPCR. Based on the results of this study, sequence-based prediction method for finding permissive stretches seems useful, but it does not guarantee that the protein function is maintained.

The objective was to evaluate how different silage additives can manipulate the ensiling process and the profile of bacterial communities of grass silages under varying management conditions. Silages were made from mixed timothy (Phleum pratense) and meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) grass to laboratory scale silos using two compaction levels. The tightly compacted grass was also contaminated with soil and dairy cow faeces. Four additive treatments were used including control without additive (CONT), formic acid based additive (FA), homofermentative strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and salt based additive (SALT). Tight compaction resulted on average in lower pH and ethanol concentration in silages than loose compaction mostly caused by changes in CONT silages. Soil contamination clearly affected CONT and SALT silages by stimulating extensive fermentation and thus decreasing pH and amount of residual water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) compared to non-contaminated silages. In all conditions, FA restricted fermentation resulting in silages with high WSC and reduced total fermentation products concentration. Soil contamination improved aerobic stability of silages compared to non-contaminated ones because of higher acetic acid concentration in contaminated silages. Abundance of selected 16 bacteria in raw material was low, with Sphingomonas and Stenotrophomonas genera being the most abundant. After fermentation both Lactobacillaceae family and as part of it Lactobacillus genus were dominant with Sphingomonas genus in most of the silages. FA decreased the abundance of Lactobacillaceae family whereas LAB increased it. Soil contamination reduced the amount of other Lactobacillaceae family but boosted the growth of Lactobacillus genus. Lactobacillus presented negative correlations with Mycoplana, Devosia and Sphingomonas. Five bacteria were connected to desirable fermentation pattern and they all were part of same phylum Firmicute. All other selected bacteria had negative correlation with low pH and amount of lactic and total fermentation acids in silage. Use of additives improved fermentation quality of silages ensiled under different management conditions. Different types of additives resulted in varied bacterial profiles. Results confirmed the importance of tight compaction and good hygiene for stable fermentation. Strong correlations between bacterial communities and fermentation quality parameters provided clear insight of the role of the most abundant populations on the fermentation process of grass silage.

Heterobasidion annosum is a pathogenic fungus that causes extensive damage to many trees in temperate forests including Scots pine (Pinus Sylvestris). Various microbes have been studied for potential use as bio-control agents to inhibit or reduce the H. annosum infection of trees. This study examined the potential use of bacterial isolates, belonging to streptomyces genus, as a bio-control agent for Scots pine seedlings against H. annosum. Streptomyces species were isolated from surface of mycorrhizal fungi in the forest and they are known to have a mutualistic relationship with mycorrhizal fungi. The goal of this study was to understand the relationship between H. annosum and Streptomyces sp. A11. This was tested in in two settings, in presence of pine seedlings, growing in soil and in dual cultures. In the first setting, seedlings from different treatments were inoculated with Streptomyces sp. A11, H. annosum, co-inoculated with both species or grown in sterile conditions as control. After incubation period, growth and root development of seedlings were analysed. H. annosum grown in dual culture against Streptomyces sp. A11 was utilised for gene expression using quantitative real time PCR method. The results indicated that pine seedlings inoculated with both Streptomyces sp. A11 and H. annosum, had more severe infection compared to the seedlings infected with H. annosum alone. This implies that Streptomyces sp. A11 can interfere with pine’s defence response during interaction with H. annosum. Moreover, Streptomyces sp. A11 suppressed the growth of H. annosum in dual culture. The Suppression of H. annosum was potentially because of antifungal secondary metabolites that were produced by Streptomyces sp. A11. These secondary metabolites caused disruption in glucose metabolism and cell wall integrity of H. annosum. Future experiments should include mycorrhizal fungal species along with species tested in this study. Streptomyces sp. are known to respond differently in presence of specific species. The results for this study should be considered for studies of mycorrhizal associated streptomyces species and can be built upon for broader future investigations

Ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis regulates many basic cellular processes in plant development. Especially, in Arabidopsis thaliana over 1400 genes encode components of the ubiquitin/26S proteasome pathway. Approximately, 90% of the genes encode subunits of the E3 ubiquitin ligases, which confer substrate specificity. However, till now few E3 target proteins were known. Hence, identification and characterization of E3-substrate interaction is essential for understanding the role of ubiquitinylation in various plant developmental pathways. The main objectives of my Master’s thesis were derived from the Flower- specific Ubiquitin Proteasome System (FUPS) research project on the identification of proteins related to FUPS by the candidate and genomic approaches. The candidate approach involved molecular cloning of candidate ubiquitin E3 ligase gene RFI2 and its interaction substrates SLK1 and SLK2 (SLKs). The genomic approach includes genotypic and phenotypic characterization of the Salk T-DNA mutant lines corresponding to the selected FUPS E3 components. The cloning of candidate genes RFI2 and SLKs were done by Gateway cloning technology in order to generate overexpression and inducible expression gene constructs. For functional characterization of candidate proteins in vivo, these constructs were transformed into plants by floral dip Agrobacterium mediated transformation. The yeast two hybrid (Y2H) system was employed to study protein-protein interactions. Genotypic characterization of the selected T-DNA mutant lines was carried out by genetic screening through kanamycin selection. Molecular cloning of candidate genes RFI2 and SLKs into various expression vectors was accomplished. The RFI2 expression constructs were successfully transformed into Arabidopsis plants. The overexpression construct of SLK2 and the RFI2+SLK2 double construct were successfully transformed into root callus. However, the Y2H interaction assay was inconclusive about RFI2-SLK protein interaction, but RFI2 was shown to form homodimers. The transformed plants and the tagged protein constructs of RFI2 and SLK2 will be utilized for protein purification, biochemical assay and in vitro ubiquitination assay to study protein interaction, stability and modification. The genetic screening of T-DNA lines resulted in identification of 10 homozygous lines. In phenotypic analysis of these homozygous lines, early-stage growth and developmental phenotypes such as germination, juvenile leaf emergence, rosette size, colour and root growth were observed. The phenotypic analysis is crucial in identification of the informative phenotype changes in the E3 T-DNA mutant lines. This approach has been successfully employed in understanding of genetic and molecular basis for many biological traits in plants.

The characterization of flower-specific ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) components and identification of their functional molecular networks will help to elucidate the involvement of UPS in regulating flower development and/or flowering time and, therefore, reproductive success of the plant. UPS component COP1 ubiquitin E3 ligase is known to regulate flowering time. The earlier data suggests that COP1 could be involved in regulating cytokinin signaling possibly through Arabidopsis Response Regulator1 (ARR1) ubiquitination. ARR1 is a B-type cytokinin response regulator, and it has recently been shown to be an unstable protein. Furthermore, KMD, F-box protein in SCF E3 ligase complex, has been shown to interact with ARR1 as well. The aim of this study is the characterization of COP1 interaction with novel target proteins ARR1, ARR2, ARR10 and ARR12 that appear to be regulated in different ways. Moreover, KMD proteins were included within the study as a possible competitor of COP1 for interaction with ARR1. In order to perform interactome studies, yeast two-hybrid assay with a preceding molecular cloning of the genes of interest was used. The results can be used to unravel the role of ubiquitin mediated regulation of cytokinin pathway.

Campylobacteriosis, the most common bacterial food-borne disease worldwide, is mainly caused by Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli. Most studies have focused on the genetic diversity of C. jejuni, but little is known about C. coli. The aim of this work was to characterize C. coli from different sources, by evaluating the distribution and/or diversity of certain genetic markers. A total of 145 C. coli isolates from different sources (2 goose, 18 poultry, 35 human and 90 swine) were screened for fucP, ggt, cytC, sialyltransferases genes and CRISPRs. Additionally, the diversity of the LOS loci and of the CRISPRs, were assessed. A frequency of 90.34% was observed for fucP and CRISPRs among C. coli. Conversely, the frequency of GGT phenotype, and cytC, and cst-I genotype was 1.38%, while cst-V genotype was 0.69%. Only one isolate was positive for all markers except fucP; no source association was observed. LOS and CRISPRs exhibited a wide diversity. In conclusion, ggt, fucP, and cytC seem to be lineage related in C. coli, and not host associated. CRISPRs were too discriminatory to be of use in epidemiological investigations. Results suggest a high diversity of the LOS, and there may exist more classes than those previously described.

Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää, miten monialaiset maatalousyrittäjät ovat menestyneet suhteessa muihin maatalousyrittäjiin. Lisäksi tavoitteena oli tunnistaa, millaista yrittäjyysosaamista menestyneillä maatalousyrittäjillä on sekä havaita mahdolliset erot monialaisten ja muiden maatalousyrittäjien osaamisessa. Tutkimuksen teoreettisena viitekehyksenä hyödynnettiin Entrepreneurial Competence Frameworkia (EntreComp), jota on käytetty tähän mennessä vähän yrittäjyyden tutkimuksessa. Tavoitteena oli selvittää, voidaanko maatalousyrittäjien yrittäjyysosaamista hahmottaa EntreComp -viitekehyksen kautta. Tutkimuksen aineistona toimi Luonnonvarakeskuksen, Työtehoseuran sekä Pellervon taloustutkimuksen toteuttamassa Smart Farmers -hankkeessa vuonna 2021 tehty viljelijäkysely. Kyselyyn vastasi 1342 satunnaisotannalla Ruokaviraston maatilayrittäjärekisteristä poimittua viljelijää. Tutkimuksessa hyödynnettiin Smart Farmers -hankkeessa muodostettua menestyksen määritelmää. Tutkimusmenetelmänä käytettiin määrällistä tutkimusta, jossa aineistoa käsiteltiin määrällisillä analyysimenetelmillä tarkastelemalla jakaumia ja ristiintaulukoimalla muuttujia vertailtavien ryhmien suhteen. Lisäksi muuttujien välistä riippuvuutta selvitettiin tilastollisin testein. Sekä monialaisilla että muilla maatalousyrittäjillä vahvimpia yrittäjyysosaamisen osa-alueita olivat tuotanto-osaaminen, riskienhallinta ja itsensä johtaminen. Monialaiset hallitsivat muita maatalousyrittäjiä paremmin uuden teknologian, mitä selittää mahdollisesti se, että merkittävä osa kyselyyn vastanneista monialaisista yrittäjistä harjoitti maatalouden ohella koneurakointia ja monialaisilla maatalousyrittäjillä oli enemmän maatalousalan koulutusta. Monialaiset olivat myös menestyneempiä kuin muut maatalousyrittäjät, mutta parempaan menestykseen ei tässä tutkimuksessa löytynyt selkeää syytä. EntreComp- viitekehyksen soveltuvuutta maatalousyrittäjien yrittäjyysosaamisen mallintamiseen kokeiltiin tutkimalla menestyneiden maatalousyrittäjien osaamista. Tuloksista voidaan päätellä, että maatalousyrittäjillä on EntreCompissa esitettyjä kompetensseja. EntreComp vaikuttaisi siis sopivan myös maatalousyrittäjien tutkimukseen. Jatkotutkimusta monialaisten maatalousyrittäjien menestystekijöistä voisi tehdä EntreComp -viitekehystä hyödyntäen.