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Hovawart is an old German working dog breed. Few hundred dogs are registered annually in Finland. Hovawarts can be seen in working trials as well as a family pet. In Hovawart breeding program (JTO) hypothyroidism is mentioned as a one of the most common hereditary diseases and is usually caused by lymphocytic thyroiditis. Lymphocytic thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease which destroys the thyroid gland. Hypothyroidism is treated medically by substituting natural hormone production with medical hormones. The aim of this study was to estimate the heritability of the hypothyroidism in Finnish Hovawart population. Research material was provided by Finnish Kennel Club and Finnish Hovawart Club. Dogs born between 1990 and 2010 were included in the study. The influence of gendre, birth year and month, size of the birth litter, breeders living area, colour and inbreeding were studied. Data was delimited in two different ways. Data 1 consisted 4953 dogs, where 107 were hypothyroid and 4846 were assumed to be healthy. In data 2, hypothyroid dogs were the same as in data 1 but only dogs used for breeding were considered as healthy (739 dogs). The χ2 test was used to evaluate the influence of individual factors. The influence of fixed effects and covariate were tested with a generalized linear model. Fixed effects were chosen by using the backward method and the applicable model was chosen by using e.g. Akaike’s information criterion, AIC. The animal model and the REML method was used in variance component analyses. Since hypothyroidism is a binary factor logit and probit models were used. For comparison, heritability was also estimated with a linear model. In data 1 colour and birth litter size were significant. In data 2 colour, birth litter size and gender were significant. Estimated heritability by logit model was 0.65 in data1 and 0.54 in data 2. When transformed to the underlying liability scale the corresponding values were 0.36 and 0.26, respectively. Heritabilities by probit model were 0.24 and 0.23 and by linear model 0.21 and 0.44 for data 1 and 2, respectively. Heritability of hypothyroidism is moderate and can be considered even as high, hence the prevalence of hypothyroidism can be decreased by breeding. However, it is not possible to exclude all hypothyroid dogs and their close relatives from breeding. Hypothyroidism can be diagnosed later when the dog has already been used for breeding. To decrease the prevalence of hypothyroidism there is a need for an appropriate tool to support breeders’ choices. Efficiency requires openness within breed and collecting and offering the data to public use.

Forest education plays a pivotal role in shaping forest policies and fostering a sustainable future. However, the disconnect between forest education and political discussions indicates a need for reform. Addressing climate change and biodiversity loss and their adverse effects requires a new cadre of professionals equipped with diverse perspectives. Yet, the forest sector grapples with a lack of diversity among its workforce, constraining its capacity to effectively meet these challenges. Diversity has been seen important also in knowledge production. Future international decision-making processes stand to benefit from integrating both western knowledge and traditional Indigenous knowledge, notably exemplified by the Indigenous Sámi community's intergenerational expertise. Diversifying the backgrounds of forest professionals not only enriches problem-solving capabilities but also fosters stakeholder collaboration. Moreover, diverse forest professionals serve as role models, inspiring the next generation. This study assesses the representation of Sámi students in forest education programmes, discern the factors influencing their enrollment decisions, and identify potential barriers hindering their participation. Understanding the demographics of applicants, their motivations, and the determinants of programme selection is imperative. Data collection involved theme interviews and questionnaires administered to selected institutions and Sámi students enrolled there. Data also covered alumni of forest education programmes, respectively. Participating students were required to identify as Sámi and have pursued or be pursuing forest-related studies at polytechnic universities or universities offering forest education programmes. Findings reveal that while there are no significant deterrents during the application process, initial hesitations among students emerged during the early stages of their studies due to curriculum emphasis primarily on resource utilization and forest management. Conversely, survey results underscore a deficiency in marketing insight among educators and a lack of inclusivity in promotional materials. Tailored marketing strategies and curriculum adjustments aligned with contemporary and prospective student needs could enhance programme attractiveness and inclusivity, fostering a more diverse student body and professionals later on.

As climate change is already affecting our planet, it is urgent to ensure adequate support to the most vulnerable communities, sectors, and ecosystems to adapt to the changing climate. The scale of the financial resources that are expected to flow into climate change adaptation is likely to lead to a stronger emphasis on measuring and verifying results as there is international consensus that climate change adaptation interventions should be results-based. However, currently, there is no scientific nor political consensus over what effective adaptation is and how it should best be measured. As a result of this, efforts are needed to improve both methodologies and guidance for assessing adaptation. Through a systematic review of projects funded by the Adaptation Fund, I categorize 30 adaptation projects. The act of cataloguing adaptation measures and further analysing their similarities and differences produces insights in two main areas: identifying how projects have been designed to address and assess adaptation effectiveness; and enhancing understanding on the role of trees and forests in adaptation initiatives. I analyse the ways these projects are planned to assess their effectiveness using three main research indicators: reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptive capacity; reducing exposure; and sharing of lessons-learned and increasing climate change adaptation science. This includes studying the defined expected project results, indicators and baselines stated in projects’ results frameworks. The project proposals are further studied to gain understanding on how trees and forests are used to address and assess adaptation. The projects are analysed to test whether projects that address climate change adaptation similarly have also similarities in assessing effective adaptation. In order to do that the projects are categorized into four categories based on their approach: 1. ecosystem-based adaptation projects; 2. engineered or sectoral adaptation projects; 3. community-based adaptation projects; and 4. small-scale funding modality projects. I focus on exploring the objectives, types, and limitations of adaptation metrics used in assessing adaptation but also provide recommendations. Since the first years of the Adaptation Fund the projects have developed in regard to assessing their expected results with a few exceptions to the general trend. The national and regional implementing entities were more often struggling to set proper results frameworks. Trees and forests had a more prominent role than would be assumed by the limited number of projects classified as forestry projects as 80% of the projects included trees and/or forests as part of activities, outputs, outcomes, or indicators. It can be concluded that the studied projects had differences in addressing and measuring of adaptation. Effective adaptation was mostly framed to contribute to reducing vulnerabilities that include measures to increase adaptive capacity. Significantly less expected outcomes and outputs were set to reduce exposure to climate change impacts. Interestingly successful adaptation was also framed as sharing of lessons-learned or communicating other findings to a wider audience, and also to measure channelling of funding, project management, or social inclusion aspects.One of the key findings is that how the project is to address adaptation also influences how effective adaptation is to be measured and verified leading to different typical strengths and challenges in assessing effectiveness.

Steviol glycosides are constituents of a natural sweetener E960. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in combination with UV or MS detection is the method of choice for the determination of steviol glycosides. The poor resolution between the two abundant steviol glycosides stevioside and rebaudioside A has been the main challenge in reported methods. The primary object of this study was to develop an HPLC-MS/MS-method for determination of the three most abundant steviol glycosides stevioside, rebaudioside A and rebaudioside C in foods. The purpose was also to validate the method for two different matrices, drinks and dairy products. The HPLC-MS/MS method allowed separation of six steviol glycosides. HILIC column showed great selectivity towards steviol glycosides, and a good resolution between stevioside and rebaudioside A was achieved. Sample preparation for drinks included SPE purification by C18 cartridge and for dairy products also fat removal and protein precipitation prior to SPE. In juice samples the HPLC-MS/MS method demonstrated good performance in terms of trueness, accuracy, repeatability, reproducibility and the LOQs for steviol glycosides were multifold smaller than the proposed use levels in foods. Conversely, trueness, accuracy, repeatability and reproducibility in yoghurt samples did not indicate good performance. The developed HPLC-MS/MS-method can be applied for routine monitoring of sweetener E960 in foods. The method was successfully validated for drinks, but not for dairy products. The sample preparation of dairy products needs still modification before validation can be accomplished.

Forest structural and compositional diversity is of great importance for forest biodiversity, functioning, and response to disturbances. The purpose of this research was to examine how human impact has affected the structural-compositional diversity of mature pine-dominated boreal forest in boreal Fennoscandia. For this a new approach was used, based on the classification of tree sizes by the diameter at breast height (dbh) and tree species, resulting in a new variable, the diametric-species, the variation of which describes the structural-compositional diversity of the forest. This variable was used to compare the structural-compositional diversity among three forest classes with different degree of human influence (near-natural, selectively logged and managed forest), using rarefaction as the main tool of analysis, complemented by analyses based on common diversity indices. For comparison, the rarefaction analysis was also done for the tree species classification. The results of the rarefaction analysis of the diametric-species showed that the near-natural forest was the most diverse and the managed forest the least diverse. The analysis solely on tree species showed no significant differences among the forest classes of different human impact. The Shannon diversity index showed no significant difference between the forest classes for the diametric-species and only tree species classifications, but the Simpson index found a slight difference between the selectively logged and managed forest classes for the diametric-species classification. Furthermore, the Sorensen index detected a difference among forest classes for diametric-species and failed to detect one for the tree species classification, which supports the rarefaction findings. We conclude that forest management has had a negative impact on forest compositional and structural diversity in mature Scots pine forests. The analysis also shows that the diametric-species classification can be a useful tool for forest diversity analysis and comparison

Honey is viscose nutrient solution which is produced by honey bees from the nectar of the plants or excretions of plant sucking insects. For food use honey is collected from beehives in honeycombs which are centrifuged and the separated solution is canned. Honey consists mainly of carbohydrates and water but there are also in small amounts numerous other compounds such as proteins, vitamins, organic acids and phenolic compounds. Most of the carbohydrates in honey are fructose and glucose but also a great number of di-, tri-, and oligosaccharides can be found in smaller amounts. Composition of honey and therefore the carbohydrate profile can vary greatly depending on the honeys botanical origin, soil, climate and other factors affecting the growing environment. The goal of this study was to develop a chromatographic method using high performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) to determine carbohydrate profiles for domestic unifloral and mixed honeys. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate the differences in determined carbohydrate profiles. Equipment used in this study consisted of chromatographic separations module, electrochemical detector and Dionex CarboPac PA1 column. Milli-Q water, 100 mM sodium hydroxide solution and 100 mM sodium hydroxide solution with 0,5 M sodium acetate buffer were used as eluents. 33 domestic unifloral and mixed honeys of 12 different botanical origins were used as samples. Approximately 0,5 g of samples were weighed in three replicates to 50 ml volumetric flasks which were filled with Milli-Q water. From these solutions 1:5 and 1:200 dilutions were made and they were filtered to HPLC vials through 0,45 µm PVDF-filter before analysis. Carbohydrates in samples were identified using a standard mixture with 16 carbohydrate standards. Carbohydrates were quantified from chromatograms using the height of detected peaks. Ten different carbohydrates could be separated from the honey samples for determination of carbohydrate profiles. Most of the samples contained fucitol, fucose, glucose, fructose, turanose, nigerose and maltose. Some samples contained also trehalose and rhamnose. Raffinose was quantitated from one honeydew sample. In addition melezitose/isomaltose, kojibiose/1-kestose and β-gentiobiose were detected in samples but quantitation of these carbohydrates could not be done because of poor resolution. Concentrations of the quantitated carbohydrates varied greatly even between honey samples of same botanical origin. PCA revealed that honeydew honeys differed clearly from other unifloral honeys according to their carbohydrate profiles. The PCA model explained circa 64 % of variance in the whole dataset. Differed honeydew samples were removed from second PCA model. In this model Himalayan Balsam, cloudberry and willowherb honeys could be separated as individual groups from the other unifloral honeys. This model explained circa 40 % of variance in the whole dataset. However in PCA most of the unifloral honeys formed a group where no clear differences could be assessed between samples of different botanical origin. Moreover some samples aroused a suspicion over their actual botanical origin. The developed method could be used to separate honeydew honey samples from blossom honey samples. The differences among other unifloral honey samples were not clear although some of the unifloral honeys showed some signs of unique carbohydrate profile. On the other hand the number of samples used in this study was quite small. Therefore strong conclusions about the differences among carbohydrate profiles of different unifloral honeys could not be made. For future research greater number of samples is required in order to verify the potential differences found in this study.

Nopeakasvuinen ja lyhytkuituinen hybridihaapa (Populus tremula L x P. tremuloides Michx) voi tulevaisuudessa osoittautua ekonomisesti merkittäväksi raaka-aineeksi materiaalitekniikan kehittyessä. Tautien sekä muiden mahdollisten viljelyä rajoittavien tekijöiden tarkka tutkiminen on haavan laajempaa käyttöä silmällä pitäen tärkeää. Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli selvittää 1) onko hybridihaapakloonien taudinkestävyydessä eroja Venturia tremulae -sienen aiheuttaman haavan mustaversotaudin suhteen, eli onko a) kloonien taudinkestävyydessä ja b) taudin aggressiivisuudessa eroja hybridihaapakloonien välillä, sekä 2) onko Neofabraea populi -sienen aiheuttaman kuoripoltteen aggressiivisuudessa eroja tutkittavien kloonien välillä. Aineisto on kerätty Metsäntutkimuslaitoksen Ruotsinkylän ja Suonenjoen koealoilta vuosina 2004 - 2006. Ruotsinkylässä tutkittiin yhteensä 12 kloonia, ja 1200 puuta, Suonenjoen koealalla oli 10 kloonia ja puita yhteensä 1000 kappaletta. Puista arvioitiin lehtilaikkujen peittävyys, infektoituneiden sivuversojen määrä sekä pääverson vaurioiden vakavuus. myös puiden kasvua seurattiin. Tulosten mukaan hybridihaapakloonit eroavat toisistaan mustaversotaudin kestävyyden osalta. Kun tautia esiintyi paljon, olivat erot merkittäviä. Ruotsinkylän aineiston mukaan kaksi kloonia olivat selkeästi muita kestävämpiä ja kasvuominaisuuksiltaan parempia. Suonenjoella tulokset olivat tasaisempia, mutta myös siellä kestävimmät kloonit kasvoivat parhaiten. Kuoripoltteen osalta puut jakautuvat kahteen ryhmään: niihin jotka pystyivät tarkastelujaksolla rajoittamaan sienen leviämistä ja niihin jotka eivät pystyneet. Kaikissa klooneissa oli taimia jotka pystyivät kontrolloimaan sienen leviämistä, mutta vain kahdessa kloonissa ei ollut yhtäkään taimea, joka olisi kärsinyt vakavista tuhoista. Tutkimuksen tuloksia voi käyttää hybridihaavan jalostukseen etsittäessä parasta viljelymateriaalia käytettäväksi Suomen oloihin. Kuoripoltteen osalta tutkimus antaa ainoastaan kuvan kloonien selviytymisen todennäköisyydestä infektion jälkeen, ja siksi kloonien kestävyyttä sienen taudinaiheuttamiskykyä kohtaan tulisi vielä tutkia.

The largest wetland drainage project in Michigan was initiated in 1912 near the town of Seney in the eastern Upper Peninsula. This project included the construction of a series of drainage ditches intended to prepare the land for agricultural use. The largest of these ditches was the 35 km-long Walsh Ditch. Much of the drained wetland affected by the Walsh Ditch is now managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of Seney National Wildlife Refuge (Seney NWR). Starting in 2002, a series of earthen ditch plugs were installed along the length of the ditch found within Seney NWR (and adjacent to the Seney Wilderness Area) in an attempt to restore the hydrology and ecological integrity to the affected wetlands and streams. The plugs North of C-3 Pool were completed in 2002. The ditch plugs South of C-3 Pool were completed in 2005. This study explores the effect of the ditch plugs on the hydrology and vegetation structure in the adjacent landscape north of C-3 Pool at multiple scales. Plot level measurements of hydrology and vegetation, combined with an analysis of landcover change over the entire study area, indicate that some areas are converting from artificial upland communities created by wetland drainage to more natural wetland community types. Mortality of upland tree species and colonization by typical wetland species are good indications that these sites will continue to develop into wetland ecosystems over time. However, some areas have shown no response to the hydrologic restoration. This is expected, as areas of the landscape were upland (referred to as “pine islands” in the literature) before Walsh Ditch and should remain so as natural hydrology is restored to the area. Landcover change analysis showed a decrease in open water of 90.82 ha, a decrease of upland area of 67.88 ha and an increase in wetland area of 151.88 ha. The areas of change were concentrated around stream channels and in the area just east of Walsh Ditch. With time, it is possible that areas further removed from the ditch will show a shift towards more natural hydrology and vegetation composition, but for the areas furthest removed from the ditch this may require active management.

The quantity and quality of buckwheat yield are highly dependent on insect mediated cross-pollination. While buckwheat flowers are visited by a diverse pollinator guild, honey bees are often considered to be their most important pollinators. This study describes the effect of pollination by honey bees and wild pollinators on buckwheat yield quantity and quality (1000 seed weight, harvest index and proportion of empty achenes). The composition of the pollinator guild was also monitored. The study was conducted in Southern Finland, 2017. Pollination cages with four pollination treatments were used to study insect pollination. The treatments were as follows: closed cage with honey bee colony, closed cage (excluding all pollinators), open cage and free pollination. The open cage and free pollination treatments were accessible to both honey bees and wild pollinators. The experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with four blocks. A honey bee colony was placed next to the research field to carry out free pollination. Pollinator composition was surveyed by transect walks, with special attention paid to the beginning of flowering, which is when the main yield is formed. The highest yields were obtained in the free pollination (822 kg/ha) and open cage (718 kg/ha) treatments. The yield of plants pollinated exclusively by honey bees was 427 kg/ha. The lowest yield was obtained from closed cages (37 kg/ha). The difference in yield was significant for all treatments except open cage and free pollination. The treatments did not affect the 1000 seed weight. The absence of insect pollination decreased the harvest index by approximately 92% and the proportion of filled seeds by approximately 30 percentage points. At the beginning of flowering, honey bees were the dominant pollinators. Insect pollination is essential for the quantity and quality of buckwheat yield. Pollination service by honey bees increases the yield, but is not solely sufficient. The highest yield was obtained when both honey bees and wild pollinators were present. This study focused on honey bees, but the role and efficiency of specific wild pollinators as pollinators of buckwheat should also be studied.

Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan museokuluttajien kokemuksia museovierailun aikana. Tutkimus rakentaa tulkintaa museokuluttajien kokemuksista analysoimalla niitä hetkiä, jolloin kuluttajat kohtaavat museon tarjoaman palveluympäristön. Museokokemuksen analyysiin sovelletaan palvelumuotoilun teoriaa ja lähestymistapoja, jossa kontaktipisteiden merkitys nähdään merkityksellisenä kokemuksen muodostumisessa. Tutkimus pyrkii myös kehittämään museopalveluita, jotta museokuluttajille voidaan tarjota muistettavampia kokemuksia. Tutkimuksen aineisto on kerätty etnografisin menetelmin havainnoimalla ja haastattelemalla museokuluttajia syyskuusta joulukuuhun 2013. Havainnointi suoritettiin Suomen kansallismuseon tiloissa haastattelujen ja juttutuokioiden lomassa. Haastatteluaineisto koostuu viidestä haastattelusta sekä 28 lyhyestä, keskustelumaisesta juttutuokiosta. Aineiston analyysissa on eritelty palvelukokemuksen syntymistä museotilassa sekä tyypitelty museokuluttajaryhmiä heidän kokemustensa perusteella. Tutkimuksen mukaan museokokemus muodostuu kolmesta osa-alueesta: museotunnelmasta, tarinoista ja oppimiskokemuksesta. Museotunnelma asettaa museovieraan tietynlaiseen rentoutuneeseen olotilaan. Rentoutunut olotila kumpuaa museon epäkaupallisesta ympäristössä, jossa toimitaan epäitsekkäästi toiset museovieraat huomioon ottaen. Museot toimivat myös tarinoiden välittäjinä itsestään toisille osapuolille, tarinat elävät aikaa ja voivat vaikuttaa vielä museovierailun jälkeenkin. Näyttelyistä etsitään lisäksi oppimiskokemuksia ja haastetta mielikuvitukselle. Museokävijät on tyypitelty tutkimuksessa kahteen tyyppiin: paljon ja harvoin museossa käyviin. Paljon museossa käyvät pystyvät nauttimaan museosta myös yksin ja heille museon tunnelma ja vaihtuvat näyttelyt ovat tärkeitä. Harvoin museossa käyvät hakevat helpompia elämyksiä osallistuttavista näyttelyistä ja heille on tyypillistä myös se, etteivät he saa kokemuksesta täyteläistä ilman sosiaalista kanssakäymistä. Kuluttajat hakevat yhä enemmän elämyksiä – myös museoista. Museon elämyksellisyyteen liittyy kaikkien aistien muodostama kokonaiskokemus. Moniaistisuuden lisäksi museokuluttajan osallistaminen näyttelyyn lisää näyttelyn elämyksellisyyttä.