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The incomplete global coverage of current emissions trading schemes has raised concerns about free-riding and carbon leakage. EU ETS, the first and currently the biggest carbon market, is at the fore of such fears. Carbon-based import tariffs have thereby been proposed to compensate domestic industries for the cost disadvantage against their rivals in non-regulating countries. This thesis uses an applied general equilibrium (AGE) model to assess the impacts of a hypothetical EU carbon tariff on the Finnish economy. The carbon content of imported goods is first estimated with an environmentally extended input-output analysis, and the tariff is levied according to the anticipated price of EU emission allowances. To examine the sensitivity of the results, five additional scenarios are then constructed by altering the key simulation parameters. The tariff is imposed on the most energy-intensive and trade-exposed industries in 2016 and simulated until 2030. The results suggest that carbon tariffs are detrimental to the Finnish economy. The negative outcome is determined by high material intensity and a growing dependence on imported materials throughout the industry sector. As a result, the tariff-induced increase in import prices adds up to a notable growth in total production costs. Moreover, the negative impact is most pronounced within the export-oriented heavy manufacturing sector that the tariff was designed to shelter in the first place. The few sectors that gain from the tariff were not directly subject to it, but utilize the secondary impacts as the economy adapts to the shock. The findings imply that due to the deeper integration of global value chains, the appeal of protective tariffs, even if environmentally motivated, can be harmfully over-simplistic.

Imbalance of intestinal microbiota is called dysbiosis. Signs of dysbiosis are altered abundance of different bacterial species and reduced diversity together with altered interactions between bacterial species and microbiota and the host. Dysbiosis of intestinal microbiota is connected to many intestinal diseases and today many studies are focused to find so called “next generation” probiotics to be used for the alleviation of dysbiosis instead of traditional antibiotic treatments. The study was made in the Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki. Aim of the study was to isolate spore-forming bacterial species for the treatment of intestinal inflammation and infections with bacterial therapy. For this purpose, feces from a healthy adult who had acted as a donor for fecal microbiota transplantation was used to isolate spore-forming commensal bacteria. The isolated bacteria were identified and their ability to adhere into intestinal epithelium and strengthen it was investigated. Also anti-inflammatory potential of these isolated bacterial strains was investigated. For isolating bacteria three different heat treatments and ethanol and methanol treatments were used as a pre-treatment step. Pre-treated samples were cultivated on YCFA-media and isolates were picked from plates at different growth points for further cultivation. Selected isolates were purified, their DNA was isolated and they were identified by partial 16S rRNA -gene sequencing. From these identified isolates four isolates were chosen for further investigation and their full length 16S rRNA -gene was sequenced. These isolates were studied also by using API and aerotolerance tests. Potential anti-inflammatory and adhesion properties of the isolates were investigated by attenuation, adhesion and TER-experiments. In the isolation, the effect of different pre-treatments on the recovery of isolates was clear and based on sequencing isolates that were spore-forming anaerobic bacteria were selected for further investigation. Three of the isolates were Clostridium butyricum and one Blautia wexlerae species. Anti- and pro-inflammatory properties of these isolates were very different depending on isolate and one of them was potentially anti-inflammatory. Isolates also adhered differentially and two of them possibly strengthened gut epithelial barrier so they are promising for further research and in the future investigation with these isolates continues. Experience and results with different cultivation methods can be used to for further development of cultivation for anaerobic intestinal bacteria.

Microbial cellulases, e.g. cellobiohydrolases, are able to degrade cellulose and lignocellulosic biomass to smaller glucose-containing monomers and oligomers. Cellulases are often multi-domain enzymes comprised of different protein domains (i.e. modules), which have different functions. The main two components, which often appear in cellulases, are the cellulose-binding module (CBM) and the catalytic domain. The CBMs bind to cellulose, bringing the catalytic domains close to their substrate and increasing the amount of enzymes on the substrate surface. The catalytic domain performs the cleavage of the substrate, e.g. in the case of cellobiohydrolases hydrolyses or “cuts” the crystalline cellulose chain into smaller soluble saccharides, mainly cellobiose. Unlike aerobic fungi, which utilize free extracellular enzymes to break down cellulose, anaerobic microbes often use a different kind of strategy. Their cellulases are organized and bound to the cell surface in a macromolecular protein complex, the cellulosome. The core of the cellulosome is formed of a scaffolding protein (the scaffoldin) consisting mainly of multiple consecutive cohesin domains, into which the catalytic subunits of enzymes attach via a dockerin domain. This creates a protein complex with multiple different catalytic domains and activities arranged in close proximity to each other. Dockerins and cohesins are known to bind each other with one of the strongest receptor-ligand -pair forces known to nature. Dockerin containing fusion proteins have also been successfully combined in vitro with proteins containing their natural counterparts, cohesins, to create functional multiprotein complexes. In this Master’s thesis work the goal was to 1) produce fusion proteins in which different CBMs were connected to dockerin domains, 2) combine these fusions with cohesin-catalytic domain fusion proteins to create stable CBM and catalytic domain containing enzyme complexes, 3) to characterize these enzyme complexes in respect of their thermostability and cellulose hydrolysis capacity and 4) to ultimately create a robust and fast domain shuffling method for multi-domain cellobiohydrolases (CBH) to facilitate their faster screening. The hypothesis of the experiments was that different CBMs fused with a dockerin domain and the cellobiohydrolase catalytic domain fused with a cohesin domain could be produced separately and then be combined to produce a functional two-domain enzyme with a dockerin-cohesin “linker” in between. In this way time and work could be saved because not every different CBM- catalytic domain -pair would have to be cloned and produced separately. Several CBM-dockerin fusion proteins (in which the CBM were of fungal or bacterial origin) were tested for expression in heterologous hosts, either in Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Escherichia coli. The purified proteins were combined with a fungal glycoside hydrolase family 7 (GH7) cellobiohydrolase-cohesin fusion protein produced in S. cerevisiae. The characterization of the catalytic domain-CBM -complexes formed through cohesin-dockerin interaction included thermostability measurements using circular dichroism and activity assays using soluble and insoluble cellulosic substrate. The results were compared to enzyme controls comprising of the same CBM and catalytic domain connected by a simple peptide linker. The results showed that the cohesin-dockerin –linked cellobiohydrolase complex performed in the cellulose hydrolysis studies in a similar manner as the directly linked enzyme controls at temperature of 50˚C and 60 ˚C. At temperatures of 70 ˚C the complex did not perform as well as the control enzymes, apparently due to the instability of the dockerin-cohesin interaction. The thermostability measurements of the enzymes, together with the previously published data supported the hydrolysis results and this hypothesis. The future work should be aimed at enhancing the thermostability of the cohesin-dockerin interaction as well as on verifying the results on different cellulase fusion complexes.

The textile industry is in a need of various solutions to address its sustainability and responsibility issues and goals the industry players have set. Sustainable textile material sourcing plays a remarkable role as a solution for such issues. In addition to sourcing cotton, polyester or other conventional textile materials, next generation textile fibres are a part solution for the industry. However, market diffusion of such innovative products is a complex process. Purpose of the study is to study the innovation commercialisation and innovation selling from the point of view of a start-up or an innovator company that develops such technologies for the market. The literature part of the study defines the key determinants for a successful innovation commercialisation, which are reflected to results of semi-structured interviews with innovators from the industry. By collecting views and perceptions by textile brand owners and consumers, the study forms a practical pathway for innovators to make their commercialisation process succeed, ultimately, in support to tackle the sustainability issues of the industry. Results of the study elaborate the importance of flowing exchange of information throughout the textile value chain. Information flow is based on the value propositions of the innovation, which function as core values of innovators’ team building and communication with the value chain and the consumers, to build grounds for innovation acceptance and market diffusion. Reciprocally, collecting feedback from both is crucial to adapt to expectations flexibly. Lack of consumer awareness and, therefore, currently slow implementation pace of next generation textile fibres by the brand owners limit the resources of innovators and slow down market diffusion. The study finds that the role of brand owners in shifting consumer perceptions of prevailing issues in the industry is centric. Generally, consumers find the sustainability topics the brand owners promote and state to be addressing, as the most concerning. Therefore, as the brands are sparsely involving or offering next generation textile fibres as solutions for the issues, consumers do not see them as sufficient solutions. The study concludes that commercialisation of next generation textile fibres requires better facilitated educative information flow from innovators with all stakeholders of the process to build consumer demand and to activate the value chain. The most evident measure for it would be the better utilisation of various key opinion leaders. Well facilitated information flow and early start of educative sharing of information are centric for the successful market diffusion.

This research focused on sustainable community forest management and policy implications for the biosphere reserve of Luki in the DR- Congo. The purpose of this research was to find out opportunities and options to develop sustainable community forest management at the biosphere reserve of Luki. The research was conducted in the biosphere reserve of Luki located in the southwest of DR- Congo. The human activities threat the biosphere reserve of Luki to be under significant pressure of unsustainable management. The research revealed a number of options and opportunities to establish sustainable community forest management and policies needed to sustain forest ecosystem in the biosphere of Luki. The research uses a qualitative research methods, both primary and secondary data were collected during field work in 2010 through interviews and other various participatory methods. The interviewee includes different local forestry authorities and local community. The results of the research showed that, sustainable community forest management cannot be established in an environment where no effective policy instruments or law enforcement being in place. The results show that, due to political conditions in DR- Congo, the government has not been able to put certain measure to resolve tenure rights. This has remained a difficult issue and challenge that the government has not been able to find an immediate solution. The research recommends the need to develop a sustainable community forest management at the biosphere reserve of Luki. The government needs to clarify the forest code by clearly stating what government wants to do with its vast forest resources, especially in regard to the forest dependent people. A policy framework should be put in place as soon as possible in order for forest institutions to be able to function. The management strategy should be an inclusive process in order to promote equity and multiple use of forest resource at local community level.

Forestry is a hazardous industry globally. Physical conditions, legal frameworks and cultural norms can vary from country to country leading to different approaches to site safety management. There are international, national and regional legislation and guidelines which outline normative approaches land managers can utilise to protect forestry machine operators and the public from accident or injury. In this study, the approaches the health and safety management in forestry operations are assessed in two countries within the European Union –Scotland (as part of the UK member state) and Finland. While both countries practice sustainable forest management, it is shown that this is carried out under different legal frameworks leading to differences in approach to site safety planning. Other factors are shown to have an effect including cultural factors and land ownership patterns.

Energiapuun käyttömäärät ovat kasvaneet viimeisen vuosikymmenen aikana huomattavasti. Energiapuun hankinta voidaan hoitaa ainespuun hakkuun kanssa samanaikaisesti integroituna hakkuuna tai erillishakkuuna, jossa hankittu puu menee vain energiakäyttöön. Energiakäyttöön menevästä puusta osa korjataan pieniläpimittaisena kokopuuna, jossa puuta ei erikseen karsita ennen sen haketusta. Kokopuun korjuumenetelmiä on useita, joista tässä tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan kokopuun paalausta sekä kokopuun hankintaa korjurilla. Kokopuupaalain on metsätraktorin alustalle kiinnitetty paalainyksikkö, joka sitoo paalainyksikköön syötetyt puut tiiviiksi paaleiksi. Paalainpohjaisen logistiikkaketjun tehokkuuden lisäys perustuu kasvaneeseen metsä- ja kaukokuljetuksen tuottavuuteen ja sen myötä alentuneisiin kustannuksiin. Korjuri pohjautuu myös metsätraktoriin ja huomattavimpana muutoksena tähän on korjuriin asennettu hakkuulaite. Korjurin logistiikkaketjun tehokkuuden lisäys perustuu ketjun metsätoiminnoissa tarvittavaan yksinkertaiseen yhden koneen korjuuketjuun. Korjuri tuottaa kokopuuta irtonaisena. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää kokopuupaalaimen ja korjurin toimintamallien eroja aikatutkimuksen avulla sekä vertailla koko logistiikkaketjujen kustannuksia toisiinsa. Tutkittu paalain oli Logman 811FC -alustakoneeseen pohjautuva Fixteri Oy:n valmistama Fixteri II -paalainyksikkö. Vertailukoneena oli Timberjack 810B -metsätraktoripohjainen korjuri. Molemmissa koneissa oli joukkokäsittelevä Nisula 280E+ -hakkuulaite. Paalien lähikuljetus hoidettiin Ponsse Wisent -metsätraktorilla. Koneiden tuottavuuksissa oli huomattavia eroja. Fixterin tuottavuus oli keskimäärin 33 % korjurin tuottavuutta alhaisempaa. Erityisesti Fixterin tuottavuuteen vaikutti sen paalainyksikön prosessoinnin aiheuttama odottamisaika, jolloin koneen kuljettaja ei voinut työskennellä normaalisti. Poistamalla kaiken odottamisen Fixterin tuottavuutta olisi mahdollista nostaa jopa 22 %. Metsäkuljetuksessa paaleja voitiin kuljettaa yhdessä lastissa 80–95 % irtonaista kokopuuta enemmän. Haketuksessa irtopuuaineksen usein vaatima tienvarsihaketus on noin kaksi kertaa terminaali- tai käyttöpaikkahaketusta kalliimpaa. Huolimatta paalien logistiikkaketjun tehokkuudesta ja hintaedusta, tässä tutkimuksessa saatujen tuottavuuksien perusteella ei paalauksen kilpailukyky ole vielä samalla tasolla korjurin kanssa. Mikäli Fixterin paalainyksikön odotusajat saadaan minimoitua, kasvaa Fixterin kilpailukyky huomattavasti. Myös laajemmat, useampia kohteita ja kuljettajia sisältävät vertailututkimukset voisivat tuottaa tarkempaa tietoa näiden menetelmien kustannuseroista. Tutkimuksessa pyrittiin selvittämään myös paalien kuivumista, mutta aikataulusta johtuen tästä ei saatu selviä tuloksia. Alustavat tulokset eivät kuitenkaan osoittaneet paaleille selvää etua kuivumisnopeudessa. Paalien kuivumista tulisikin selvittää tarkemmin pidemmällä aikavälillä.

The objective of this thesis was to compare the effects of thermal modification under saturated steam and flowing steam on the Scots Pine and the Silver Birch, respectively. One method used in this article complied with the basic principles of traditional ThermoWood process. Treatment temperatures were chosen to be 180℃ and 200℃which are widely used in this method. Super-heated steam and flow-through system were applied in this system. Another one followed the principles as Wood Treatment technology (WTT) developed in Denmark. For this treatment, lower temperatures of 125℃ and 145℃ were applied. The treatment was conducted in a closed system with saturated steam. According to my results, modification under 125℃ saturated steam was ineffective for both Scots Pine and Silver Birch. 200℃ flowing steam is most suitable for the Silver Birch modification. While for the Scots Pine, I would recommend 145℃ saturated steam modification, because under this condition, there is a moderate bending and impact strength reduction but effective anti-swelling efficiency (ASE) improvement. The effects of thermal modification are better on the Silver Birch than the Scots Pine. Modification equipment and chosen of modified specimens need to be considered carefully as they influence the wood properties a lot. In general, mass loss as an indicator value to compare different thermal modification methods is not directly recommended.

Hybrid wheat has been the focus of much research for its potential high yield, high protein content and better resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Nowadays, only CHA (Chemical Hybridizing Agent) method is used to induce male sterility at a commercial scale. However, this technique is hard to implement on a large production scale and other methods have been investigated for several years. CMS (Cytoplasmic Male Sterility) has been shown to be a promising way to develop hybrid wheat. However, one downside of the technique is the challenging breeding stage step and the associated conversion and restoration process. To fully express the potential gain in yield, the restoration of the cytoplasmic sterility must be complete for the F1 to be fully fertile. In this study, we investigated different methods to assess fertility restoration in nursery and compared the results with the trial notations. The collected data were also used to feed a genomic selection model to predict the behavior of untested hybrids. The results showed a high experimental error of the bagging method originated mostly from human manipulation. The visual scoring showed higher repeatability but was poorly correlated with trial score. A deeper study of the trial scoring revealed an interesting effect coming from the female and an expression of sterility for commercial lines and CHA hybrid checks. Good prediction accuracies were found for genomic selection on both methods, however deeper studies and cross prediction are needed. The multilocation trials remained the best option to score fertility restoration

The importance of the computer and information technology has increased significantly with the introduction of the Internet. The technologies should not be reduced to selling and purchasing functions but should also be used as research and business intelligence tool, as well as information source. This study compares the performances of the Finnish and German sawmilling & paper industry by evaluating their public communication. The forest sector has been traditionally important for the economy of both countries and they belong to the global players. In conjunction with the performance analysis, a neural network tool is compiled, optimized and tested. It combines a study related categorization application and the Kohonen’s self-organizing map (SOM). The objective of the automated categorization is to lower manual work and to evaluate text contents more accurately – by taking also the possible future use into account. The research includes two interlinked approaches: web page and performance analysis. The web page analysis compares the design and content of the forest industry companies’ Internet sites. In addition, it is used to select and define the relevant enterprises for the performance analysis. 14 Finnish and 10 German sawmills, as well as 5 Finnish and 12 German paper and paperboard producers fulfilled the research requirements (data collection 2013). The performance analysis is implemented by a content analysis and SOM Tool. The word count data of the content analysis is sorted with a customised classification frame based on the Global Reporting Initiative Guideline and evaluated with the SOM. The SOM algorithms reduce multidimensional, large and complex data to lower dimensional maps which visualizes the distribution of the companies’ performance categories. The results indicate that the business cultures of the selected companies are similar. A closer examination reveals that the clustering by sector is more emphasized that by country. The more detailed determination of the SOM divides the paper sector further by their origin. Most obvious are the differences between sawmill and Finnish paper industry. The sawmill sector highlights especially product, service and macro-environment related aspects. Small German sawmills emphasized further tradition and history The paper sector stressed social responsibility, corporate structure, external activities and environmental issues. Inside the paper sector, the Finnish companies point out corporate strategy, development, organizational profile categories and economical performances. The German paper sector highlights in particular environmental issues and public relation. The web page analysis and related studies evaluate the corresponding categories similarly to the present research and thus support the results of the SOM approach.