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The objective of the thesis was to investigate the effect of carbohydrates on solubility, emulsifying, gelling and water holding properties of proteins. Faba bean is a readily available pulse crop with high protein content similar to soy bean and there is a lot of potential for a novel, high protein fermented gel product to be made from a pulse crop like faba bean. This is mainly due to its remarkable nutritional properties, functional properties and low cost, the demand for faba bean protein ingredients will grow. The current study was an attempt to develop pulse protein based products – emulsion (milk-like) and emulsion gel (yogurt-like) from faba bean. It seeks to expand the field of application of faba bean protein based products. Faba bean was pretreated, dehulled and milled. The flour was made into suspensions and the starch in faba bean was subjected to amylolytic treatments (addition of alpha amylase and glucoamylase) to breakdown the starch into smaller particles. These treated suspensions were then homogenized to obtain emulsion. A protein based gel network was produced with the gelation of amylolytically treated faba bean proteins. The emulsion properties, specifically droplet size, stability and activity were tested by PAMAS Particle Counter System. Light microscopy was applied to reveal the microstructure of emulsion and emulsion gel. Emulsion gel texture properties were studied by texture analysis. The emulsions were relatively stable over a period of a month and had white ‘milk’ like appearance. The emulsion gels prepared (amylolytic treatment) had slightly higher water holding capacities than the control A (entire starch present) and control B (starch removed by filtration) emulsion gels. Texture analysis of the emulsion gels showed that more force was required by probe to penetrate the yogurt produced from amylolytically treated samples and less force was required to penetrate the yogurt produced from controls A and B. The yield of the emulsion gels were higher for the amylolytically treated samples. It can be concluded that amylolytic treatment has increased the water holding capacity and also resulted in stronger gel systems.

Cyanobacteria are aquatic and terrestrial organisms that have photosynthetic cababilities. Cyanobacteria are classified to five orders according to their morphology. These are Chroococcales, Pleurocapsales, Oscillatoriales, Nostocales and Stigonematales. Anabaena sp. 90 is a filamentous cyanobacterium in the order of Nostocales. A sample of this cyanobacterium was isolated from the lake Vesijärvi in 1986. Anabaena sp. 90 produces a variety of bioactive peptides such as microcystins, anabaenopeptins and anabaenopeptilides which are the most commonly studied of the peptides produced by the strain. Majority of the bioactive peptides are produced by non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS). The way these compounds affect cyanobacteria is currently unclear. Anabaenopeptilide deficient mutant (apd-) variety has been developed from the Anabaena sp 90 wild type (WT). The mutant is unable to produce anabaenopeptilides. The aim of my Master´s thesis was to study the changes in proteomes of WT and apd- strains by conducting a six day cultivation experiment. The purpose was to evaluate the possible differences in the amount of proteins that the different cultivation stocks were able to produce. The secondary purpose was to examine the transcription of anabaenopeptilide synthetase genes. Proteomic study was performed using a procedure called two dimensional differential gel electrophoresis (2D DIGE). The differences in the proteomes´ statistics were examined by using the Student´s t test. Transcription of anabaenopeptilide synthetase genes were studied using a reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The data collected from these studies concluded that there were differences in the proteomes of WT and apd- strains. In eighteen cases there were significant differences in the protein amounts between the strains. The single protein counts were often higher in the apd- than in the WT strain. Anabaenopeptilide synthetase genes were transcribed in both strains which suggests that the mutation in the apd- strain did not hinder the ability of the strain to produce anabaenopeptilide transcripts. The identification of significant proteins would yield more detailed knowledge of the metabolical functions of WT and apd- strains.

Air pollution has many negative effects, for example on human health. It is important to reduce these effects with different policy measures. However, reduction measures can affect which groups of people suffer from pollution. Market-based methods, such as emission trading, are often cost-effective but raise concerns about environmental justice. When air pollutants are reduced from the cheapest places, there is a risk that pollutants will be unevenly distributed among socioeconomic groups. It is important to study whether such environmental injustice exists in Finland. Finland is an interesting research subject because it differs from other countries where similar studies have been conducted, for example, due to population density and relatively small income differences. In this thesis, it is analysed how air pollutants are distributed in Finland based on socioeconomic factors and whether the levels of air pollutants have developed evenly among different income groups during the 2010s. The air pollutants that are in the scope of this thesis are carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. The air pollution data is produced by NASA and is mainly collected by satellites. The socioeconomic factors that are used in the study include household income, low-income households, households with children, one-parent households with children, and highly educated individuals. Socioeconomic data is obtained from Statistics Finland's Paavo database. To analyse the data, bivariate and multivariate ordinary least squares regressions are done for the variables. The main finding of this thesis is that air quality is somewhat unevenly distributed among different income groups in Finland. High-income households are more exposed to pollution than low-income households. High-income households are more exposed to pollution because there are higher pollution levels in urban areas where households have higher incomes. Additionally, highly educated individuals and one-parent households are exposed to more pollution than others. Air quality has developed differently for different pollutants during the 2010s. Not all air pollution concentrations have decreased in the 2010s. Air quality has improved, especially for carbon monoxide among low-income households, and for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide among high-income and highly educated individuals. This study contributes to the research on the distribution of air pollutants and can help the development of more effective air pollution policies.

The purpose of this master’s thesis is to evaluate the reliability of forest products forecast information produced by United Nations Economic Commission for Europe member States. The study also aims to answer which dimensions of data quality are the most important when producing these predictions This study is carried out as quantitative research and it focuses on the predictions made by the 27 member States, produced between 2002 and 2017. This research aims to find out what methods are used by different member States and which methods produce the most reliable results. This research also aims to find out if there are any differences in reliability when assessing different product flows (removals, production, exports or imports) of the various products analyzed. There were clear differences visible between different products in the results of this research. In some products, almost all member States had managed to produce reliable predictions, while for others majority of member States didn’t manage that. There were also differences between member States and some were clearly more reliable than others. The biggest factor affecting reliability was volume: for most parts, bigger volumes meant more reliable predictions. Production and removals were more reliable product flow than imports or exports. This is due to the nature of imports and exports, as they are more easily affected by outside impacts. Although all member States were able to be sorted into four groups based on how different product flows looked like, no clear patterns were visible when observing how different member States produce predictions. Almost all of the interviewed representatives of member States reported that they were using almost or exactly the same methods to produce predictions.

China's primary wood processing industry and wood consuming sectors have experienced rapid growth in recent years. Industries like sawnwood and plywood have developed very quickly. The purpose of this study is to: 1) provide an overview of the demand, supply, imports and exports of raw wood and primary wood products in the China market between 1993 and 2007, 2) present quantitative estimates of the relative importance of factors influencing the demand, supply and exports of Chinese plywood, 3) draw conclusions about China's potentials and challenges for foreign enterprises, including Finnish companies. The information, analyses and findings presented in this study can give a reference for wood processing companies, especially for sawnwood and plywood firms, and governmental agencies in China. In addition, the study provides a basis for further study and research. Even though much information has been published in China, academic research in the Chinese woodworking market is scarce, and especially, time-series data is missing and unreliable. This study tries to fill this gap. It is based on secondary data collected from various sources, including literatures, journals, magazines, consulting reports, industry analysis, news, and so on. The annual time-series data obtained for variables in models are mainly gathered from original official Chinese sources. The study increases the information and understanding on the Chinese wood products markets by using descriptive and explanatory methods to analyze the data for background information, markets and empirical modeling. By employing econometric models, based on the elasticity estimates, Chinese plywood demand seems to be income elastic but price inelastic, Chinese plywood supply would be highly elastic with raw material price but scale inelastic, and Chinese plywood exports appear to be highly income elastic.

India is a fast growing economy with a high rate of gross domestic product that has improved the local spending power and has turned the country into a potential player in the global economy. In terms of wood products, India has been a net importer and currently is one the largest consumers of hardwood sawnwood in the world. The demand for sawnwood is rapidly growing in India and due to this situation, the country is a potential destination for Finnish and foreign exporters able to reach this market. The research attempted to increase the understanding of the importance of the demand for sawnwood in India. Thus, the purposes of this study are to: 1) provide a general description about the market environment of sawnwood in India and its situation at global level; 2) model and estimate potential factors impacting the demand level for Indian imports of sawnwood; 3) draw general conclusions about key opportunities and challenges for Finnish and major foreign exporters of sawnwood in the Indian market. Despite there is valuable information published about India’s wood market, empirical research on the Indian sawnwood market is scarce and unreliable. Hence, based on descriptive and explanatory methods, this study gathered secondary data from official and international sources for background and statistical information. The purpose was to analyze the sawnwood market through empirical modelling. Thus, econometric time-series modeling, for the period of 1992-2013, was used to explain the demand for imports of sawnwood in the Indian market by testing the conventional demand model, for income and price variables, and ad hoc models, for several explanatory variables. In addition, Engle and Granger, MacKinnon and Johansen methods were used to test cointegration among variables. The results suggest that the demand for imports of sawnwood is positively related to consumer income and negatively to prices. In addition, it depends on other factors such as population density, unemployment and economic openness. However, based on the elasticity estimates, the Indian sawnwood demand seems to be income and price elastic. The knowledge obtained in this study provides a valuable tool for foreign wood-based industries searching for market prospects to export their products as well as for public authorities involved in formulating forest and economic policies. However, further modelling is left for future research in this area.

Stress response in plants is influenced by several external and internal factors and is executed in a modular way. Environmental stimuli or stress is sensed by cellular receptors and the signal is transduced inside cell via the phospho-activation of highly conserved intracellular signaling cascades like mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades. The signal then activates biosynthesis pathways of major stress response hormones like Salicylic acid (SA). In Arabidopsis about 90% SA is synthesized via isochorismate pathway and Isochorismate synthase 1 (ICS1) is a rate limiting enzyme in this pathway. In this study, goal was to select transgenic ICS1 (homozygous) candidate lines from parent ICS1-CFP by selective regeneration. Then, by molecular and physiological characterization of transgenic ICS1-CFP plants, the function of ICS1 phosphorylation, more specifically, impact of different photoperiods (Long day; LD and Short day; SD) and stress conditions on ICS1 activity would have resolved. However, there were no homozygous candidate line from any parent ICS1-CFP plants after several screening. Nevertheless, ozone treated stress sensitivity test was performed with heterozygous ICS1-CFP candidate plants (T2 generation). Ozone treated stress depends on stomata factor because ozone enters into plants through stomata. Therefore, stomata index analysis was performed with sid2 and WT (Col-0) phenotypes and grown in LD and SD conditions. Since, stomata number was different between LD and SD plants of both sid2 and WT phenotypes, a different method named Xanthine-Xanthine oxidase (X/XO) treatment was applied that induce oxidative stress regardless of stomata. Although, WT and sid2 had shown sensitivity to the treatment, the overall cell death percentage was very low. Lastly, our aim was to observe the impact of different photoperiods on the activation of two particular MAPKs i.e MPK3 and MPK6 under stress conditions. The phosphorylated (P-MPK3 and P-MPK6) are found abundantly in ozone treated plants as an early response. In this experiment, plants were grown in both LD and SD, stressed with both ozone and X/XO treatments, the activation of P-MPK3 and P-MPK6 was observed by protein level analysis (western blotting) in detailed time course. Although, the activation was visualized in both LD and SD plants, qualitatively the pattern was similar between day type samples and activation signal was very weak in both stress methods. In addition, anti-ICS1 antibody provided by Agrsera TM was tested for its efficiency to detect endogenous ICS1 protein in plants in two experimental set-up. Although the antibody could detect overexpressed ICS1-CFP protein in samples, it was not that efficient to detect endogenous ICS1 in any of the experiments.

Saccharomyces boulardii is a probiotic yeast related to Saccharomyces cerevisiae but with distinct genetic, taxonomic, and metabolic properties. S. cerevisiae has been used extensively in biotechnological applications. Currently, many strains are available, and multiple genetic tools have been developed, which allow the expression of several exogenous proteins of interest with applications in the fields of medicine, biofuels, the food industry, and scientific research, among others. Although S. boulardii has been widely studied due to its probiotic properties against several gastrointestinal tract disorders, very few studies addressed the use of this yeast as a vector for expression of foreign genes of interest with biotechnological applications. I studied the previously constructed S. boulardii SAC12, which secretes the anti-listerial bacteriocin leucocin C originating from Leuconostoc carnosum 4010. The objective was to study if the bacteriocin leucocin C producing S. boulardii could produce leucocin C in beer fermentation and if leucocin C containing beer can be used as marinade to control Listeria monocytogenes in raw chicken breast strips. The results showed that SAC12 has good ability to secrete LecC, and thus it was used to brew anti-listerial beer. According to results, beer could maintain its anti-listerial activity for 38 days. The anti-listerial effect of the beer stored for different times was analyzed through marinating chicken breast strips (spiked with L. monocytogenes) with the beer for overnight. Results indicated a positive impact of anti-listerial beer in reduction of the viable cells of L. monocytogenes by about 1.6 log from (2.2 ± 0.6) × 10⁷ CFU/g (beer from day 24), and 2.2 log from (1.8 ± 0.3) × 10⁵ CFU/g (beer from day 38). To sum up, the S. boulardii SAC12 efficiently secreted the bacteriocin leucocin C. Brewing beer with S. boulardii SAC12 resulted in beer containing leucocin C. Such beer showed anti-listerial effect when used as marinade for chicken breast strips.

The aim of this study is to analyze partner insights in a B2B growth model and come up with ways to implement these insights in the case company’s growth plans. This thesis is carried out through a case study at a company labelled as a high-growth start-up. Moreover, the author will aim to utilize these insights to improve the company’s customer segmenting, buyer personas and come up with the best approaches to sell the company’s product to potential customers. This qualitative research is carried out in the form of a case study at a high-tech scaleup. Interviews were conducted with different personnel in the HORECA and food industry. The data for the interviews was obtained through open-ended and conversational communication. Furthermore, supplementary data was collected from the case company’s CRM (customer relationship management) tool. The results provide interesting insights on the potential of using customer insight to improve a company’s customer segmenting and its buyer personas. The theory gathered during the thesis eased the process of improving the case company’s B2B buyer personas and provided meaningful insight in terms of the importance of conducting research about customers to understand how their business activities and operating industry work, as an essential requirement to create joint value between companies.

The LULUCF (land use, land use change, and forestry) sector has been a net emission source for the past few years, which underscores the pressing need for effective measures to mitigate emissions and combat deforestation. Among these measures, the introduction of a land use change fee stands out as a promising policy instrument. The land use change fee, by the polluter pays principle, would impose a cost on deforestation activities, thereby internalising the negative externalities associated with land use changes. The prior studies of the land use change fee have focused on the climate effects, acceptability and legal feasibility of the fee and concentrated more on deforestation due to agriculture. Furthermore, prior studies consistently highlight significant uncertainty surrounding the implications and estimates of the land use change fee. Consequently, there exists a significant gap in the literature regarding the assessment of deforestation arising from construction activities. Thus, this thesis aims to address this gap by conducting an empirical market analysis of the unbuilt and built single-family lot transactions in the presence of a land use change fee. Additionally, the thesis compares two options for designing the land use change fee: hectare-based and emission-based fees. Different levels of these fees are analysed to understand their effects on deforestation, emissions reduction, and economic consequences. The thesis relies on three primary datasets for its data analyses: CORINE land cover change 2006-2012 and 2012-2018, Forest use declarations (FUDs) 2004-2018, and the Purchase Price Registry 2000-2020. Initially, the Corine land cover change and Forest use declarations were integrated using QGIS to determine the land use changes from forestland to other land use categories across Finland, incorporated with the analysis of local detailed plan areas. Subsequently, the market analysis was conducted by integrating the Purchase Price Registry, with a specific focus on transactions intersecting with both FUDs and the combined FUD+Corine dataset. The combined data from the Purchase Price Registry were utilised for conducting the market-level analysis, differences-in-differences analysis, and lastly, an analysis on the land use change fees, all performed using Stata. The results imply that the implementation of a land use change fee demonstrates a notable decrease in deforestation, and a proportional relationship is observed wherein a larger fee level corresponds to a higher reduction in deforestation. Moreover, emissions exhibit a corresponding decline with the introduction of the land use change fee as deforestation decreases. To effectively address the negative climate impact of deforestation, it is recommended that the fee level align with the climate harm. A uniform fee across Finland may lead to regional disparities in construction, as the fee would incentivise abandoning construction in areas where land prices are low. The emission-based fee system would effectively guide reductions in emissions where it is most cost-effective, but administrative costs may become prohibitively high. The proposed land use change fee of 5,000 euros per hectare results in an 8.5 % decrease in deforestation, as indicated by the market analysis, considering all zoning areas and lot sizes. This reduction is significantly lower than the estimate provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which projected a 20 % decrease, excluding local detailed plan areas and areas smaller than 0.5 hectares. Furthermore, the exclusion of local detailed plan areas and areas smaller than 0.5 hectares from the scope of the fee is discouraged based on the results, as this omission would negatively impact urban forests and biodiversity, as it would encourage deforestation activities in these areas. Further research could for instance focus on considering soil emissions and future carbon sequestration, focus on the construction of renewable energy sites and study the deforestation due to construction and agriculture simultaneously.