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Finland has set ambitious goals to reduce road transport emissions. One of these goals includes halving emissions from transport by 2030 compared to the 2005 levels. Another goal is the carbon-neutrality target of 2035, in which the transport sector plays an important role as well. Achieving these targets requires efficient instruments. A possible instrument which can be used to reduce transport emissions sufficiently is emission trading. The possibility of creating a national emission trading system for the transport sector to reach Finland’s targets regarding emissions is the focus of this thesis. Establishing an emission trading system would likely have effects on the fuel price. I present the theoretical background before modelling these effects. Understanding how the fuel market works and how emission trading would affect it is crucial before analysing the impacts by modelling. The role of the price elasticity of demand in determining the change in the fuel price is highlighted. The existing literature has studied the topic of emission trading for transport extensively and points out three important design elements: the inclusion of the transport sector, the allocation of permits, and the point of regulation. These elements are discussed using previous studies on the topic. Furthermore, many studies highlight the possible distributional effects an emission trading system could cause. Exploring the currently operational emission trading systems around the world gives real-life examples of the different design elements and how distributional effects could be corrected in practice. When modelling the effects of emission trading on the fuel price, the value for the price elasticity of demand can be estimated using meta-analysis. For the meta-analysis, I selected 28 previous studies. The weighted average for the short-term elasticity is found to be -0.1607. For the long-term elasticity, the value is found to be -0.448. Using Monte Carlo simulations and the values obtained from the meta-analysis, it is possible to calculate the average changes in the fuel price and in the emission permit price, and also illustrate the uncertainty arising from the fact that the actual price elasticity of demand is not known. For emission reductions of 0.6 megatonne, the total change in the fuel price by 2030 is calculated to be 0.34 euros per litre. This means that the emission permit price would be approximately 204 euros per tonne of CO2 in 2030. In addition, other possible instruments as well as other emission reduction target values are modelled in the analysis. Finally, I discuss the design elements in more detail. An upstream system with auctioning would be an efficient option for the design of an emission trading system. In addition, I discuss the interaction of emission trading with other instruments and the possible EU ETS for transport. Last, I present limitations and some topics for future research.

Obesity and insulin resistance (IR) are key factors lead to equine metabolic syndrome and laminitis. Diet may play an important role in eliciting obesity by affecting insulin dynamics. Insulin-pathway signaling and mTORC1 genes may contribute to incred IR. The first objective of this study was to find and validate internal control genes for quantitative PCR method for adipose tissues in Finnhorse mares. The second aim was to quantitate the expression of mTORC1 and insulin-pathway associated genes after pasture season in two different treatment groups of Finnhorse mares and compare gene expression differences between treatment groups. In addition, gene expression differences were compared between two different adipose tissues. Twenty-two mares were equally divided into eleven equal pairs, the two mares of each group were randomly grazed either on cultivated high-yielding pasture (CG) or on semi-natural grassland (NG) from the end of May to the beginning of September. Eight pairs of Finnhorse mares were selected for gene expression profiling. Subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) samples were collected from two groups of Finnhorse mares after pasture season. Gene expression of neck and tailhead SAT were determined with quantitative Real-Time PCR method (qPCR). The selected internal control genes were actin beta (ACTB), glucuronidase beta (GUSB) and mitochondrial ribosomal protein L39 (MRPL39). Candidate genes were mechanistic target of rapamycin (MTOR), sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 1 (SREBF1), sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 2 (SREBF2), TBC1 domain family member 7 (TBC1D7), leptin (LEP), glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4), tuberous sclerosis 1 (TSC1), tuberous sclerosis 2 (TSC2). There were no distinct gene expression differences between NG and CG groups in both neck and tailhead SAT. However, RBP4 had significantly (P=0.035) higher and GLUT4 had a trend (P=0.064) to higher mRNA expression in CG group in neck SAT. TSC1 had a trend (P=0.071) of higher expression in CG group in tailhead SAT. Gene expression differences were observed between tailhead and neck SAT. SREBF1 and GLUT4 had significantly (P=0.007 and P=0.026, respectively) higher expression levels in tailhead SAT compared to neck SAT. RBP4 had a trend (P=0.066) to higher expression in neck SAT compared to tailhead SAT. Minor differences in gene expression between NG and CG groups indicate that pasture-associated fat depositionmaynotconsiderably affect expressionof insulin-pathway and mTORC1 genes associated to obesity and IR in studied subcutaneous adipose tissues. These results also provide additional evidence to our hypothesis that fattening resulting on unrestricted grazing on cultivated high-yielding pasture does not increase the risk of metabolic diseases in Finnhorse mares when they have normal body condition at the beginning of the grazing season.

Fear of falling (FOF) and falling are urgent public health and economical challenges. Approxi-mately half of the elderly people experience FOF regardless of whether they had experienced fall or not. Increasing level of FOF can lead to self-induced restriction in mobility, physical func-tioning and activities of daily living (ADLs). Avoidance of activities weakens elderly's perfor-mance, well-being and increases the risk of falling. One-third of people over 65 years fall. For elderly 80 % of injuries are falls. Falls results in fractures, hospitalization, FOF, depression, loss of independence, premature residential care admission and even death in older persons. Number of falls has quadrupled over the past 25 years. Incidence of falling will increase in the future, as world population of people aged 65 and older is projected to increase to 997 million. Exercise is an essential method to maintain mobility, reduce FOF and prevent incidence of falling among community-dwelling elderly. “Strength in Old Age Programme” is a health enhancing exercise program (2005-2015) coordinated by the Age Institute. The project promotes independent living and quality of life (QOL) for elderly with weakened functional ability. A questionnaire was mailed to programmes’ participants consisting of questions about demographic and socio-economic status, health and well-being, physical activity habits and self-reported health improvements after participating the exercise group in April 2015. The aims of this study were 3-fold: first to identify biological, socio-economic, health and well-being, and behavioral factors affecting FOF and falling; second, to study perceived health improvements effect on FOF and falling; and last to investigate the complex association between FOF and falling. The key achievement was that “Strength in Old Age Programme” improved physical activity of elderly people involved in the study and affected biological, socio-economic and behavioral risk factors. This resulted in improvement in physical, functional, psychological and social domains reducing perceived FOF. Particularly good results in FOF reduction were seen in the participants who had higher age, were living alone and had lower socio-economic status. The incidence of falling was reduced through balance improvement in the exercise group. Similar yet smaller changes were observed in more vulnerable participants having poorer health and well-being related status. It would be important to influence the attitudes of elderly and motivate them proactively increase their physical activity to maintain balance, mobility, muscle strength, ADLs, health and well-being.

Herbs are valued for culinary and health purposes and their metabolism and chemical composition can be influenced with LED lighting. This Master’s Thesis aimed to study how different spectra (green, blue, and white light) affect the sensory properties of hydroponically grown dill (Anethum graveolens L.) and coriander (Coriandrum sativum). The hypothesis was that green light produces more soapy and musty flavours in coriander, whereas blue light produces more citrus and typical coriander-like flavours. For dill the hypothesis was that blue and green light treatments produce stronger flavours compared to white light. A generic descriptive analysis method was chosen, and trained panels created sensory profiles for three light treatment and one commercial coriander and dill samples. Intensities of smell, taste and flavour attributes were evaluated using a line scale (0 = not at all to 10 = extremely) in three replicates. Study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic in the sensory laboratory conditions (ISO 8589). One-way ANOVA showed that light treatments had only slight impact on the sensory profiles of coriander and dill. In coriander blue light produced significantly lower lemon odour intensity compared to green light treatment. In dill total odour intensity was significantly lower in blue light sample compared to white light and commercial samples. Otherwise, one-way ANOVA did not show significant differences between samples. However, principal component analysis (PCA) implied that samples differed. Two-way ANOVA results showed that neither panel worked uniformly and deviation among intensity scores was observed. Herb samples proved to be rather difficult to evaluate and more extensive training could have improved panel’s performance. In future consumer study could be performed to study if spectrum affects the hedonic response to these herbs.

Metabolic disorders are known to predispose dairy cows to periparturient diseases. Main components of metabolic disorder are insulin resistance and severe negative energy balance which are responsible for the reduced fertility in addition of increased risk of disease in dairy cows. The mobilization of adipose tissue in response to energy deficiency is associated with metabolic and endocrine changes during early lactation. Reduced insulin sensitivity in peripheral tissues could potentially change the relative rates of lipolysis and lipogenesis. This study focused on expression of lipogenesis and lipolysis associated genes around parturition. Samples and data sets for this study were obtained from the feeding experiments conducted from September 2010 to April 2011 in Viikki Experimental Farm at the University of Helsinki. Sixteen multiparous Ayrshire cows were divided into two groups based on energy level and fibre content of their feed: (1) grass silage group (control) and (2) silage-roughage mixture group (experiment). During experimental period average energy intake (MJ/day) in silage group was 35% higher than in silage-roughage mixture group. Subcutaneous adipose tissue samples were collected a week before, one day and a week after parturition from cows. Total RNA was extracted from tissue samples quality and quantity of total RNA was analysed using electrophoresis and spectrophotometer. Complementary DNA (cDNA) was prepared from the total RNA for quantitative PCR (qPCR). QPCR was conducted to quantitate expression of the following genes: adiponectin (ADIPOQ), leptin (LEP), peroksisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPAR-?), adiponectin receptor-1 (AR1), adiponectin receptor-2 (AR2), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL). Two genes, AR2 and LEP, were downregulated in group 1. Reduced expression of AR2 in group 1 may relate to an increased insulin resistance. The glucose metabolism was reduced further leading to reduced insulin sensitivity. Lower expression of LEP after parturition indicates usage of energy for milk production. The upregulation of SCD in group 1 before and after calving as well as after calving in group 2 may be a result of the uptake of fatty acids by the mammary tissues. The expression of ADIPOQ, AR1, LPL, PPAR, and HSL did not show any significant changes.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurological disease impacting over six million people in the world. In addition to the motor symptoms of the disease, the disorder is accompanied with gastrointestinal problems. These include delayed transit time, disturbances in the microbial composition of the gut, inflammation in the intestine, structural changes in the epithelial lining and increased intestinal permeability. Paracellular permeability is regulated by tight junctions (TJ) which are complexes formed by proteins such as claudins, occludin and zonula occludens proteins. Probiotics are live microorganisms which when administered have beneficial effects on the host. Probiotic bacteria can modulate intestinal permeability and the expression of TJ proteins. These microbes are also able to improve the gastrointestinal symptoms, such as constipation, in PD patients. As a part of a larger study, the aim was to examine whether the expression of TJ proteins is altered in the lactacystin-induced mouse model of PD and to investigate whether probiotic supplementation elicits changes in their expression. The study was conducted in eight- to nine-week-old C57Bl/6JRccHsd mice, to which PD symptoms had been induced by lactacystin injection to the substantia nigra. Starting at one to two weeks after the injection, four groups of mice were treated with one out of four specific probiotic strains (A, B, C and D) for two weeks. At the end of the experiment, jejunal and colonic samples were collected from the mice. These samples were analyzed using Western Blot to determine the expression of TJ proteins claudin-1, claudin-4 and occludin. Based on the WB results, the jejunal gene level expression of these proteins in one probiotic group (D) was compared to the untreated group with reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The expression of TJ proteins was not altered as a result of the lactacystin injection in jejunum or colon, suggesting that lactacystin model is not optimal for investigating PD-related alterations in TJ proteins. Supplementation with microbe D increased the jejunal expression of claudin-1 on both protein and gene level, whereas in the colonic protein expression there was no change. Clear effects were not detected on claudin-4 or occludin nor when treated with microbes A, B or C. Therefore, microbe D might influence intestinal TJ function and permeability through regulating the expression of claudin-1.

The feeding behavior of beef cattle is complex and varies depending on different factors such as the nutritive value of the feed, the individual and the environment. By optimizing and improving the feed efficiency, the economics of the production increases. Knowledge of feed intake and feeding behavior can be used to optimize the production and the health and well-being of the animals. The aim of this study was to determine how the cut of grass silage affects the feeding behaviour of bulls and thereby how to optimize the use of silage for animal growth. Simmental bulls got three different silage cuts. The first cut was taken on 25th June (ES1), the second cut on 11th August (ES2) and the third cut on 3rd October (ES3). The feeding was given as total mixed ration (TMR) ad libitum. Each TMR group had 15 bulls (TES1, TES2, TES3). Each TMR group had a diet based on grass silage (550 g/kg DM), the only difference being if the silage was of the first, second or third cut. That way the nutritive value differed among the TMR. Individual information about duration, when, and how much the bulls ate was recorded by the Growsafesystem. The average for the bulls in the feeding groups was calculated based on the individual data. This Master´s thesis researched feed intake, feeding frequency, time for head down, time for feed intake and feed intake rate during one month when the body weight of the bulls was on average 546 kg in the beginning and 607 kg at the end of the study. The dry matter for the three cuts was 201 g/kg for ES1, 298 g/kg for ES2 and 354 g/kg for ES3. D-value was 719, 685 and 739 g/kg DM, respectively. The bulls that ate ES3 had higher dry matter intake (12,1 kg DM/d) and eating rate (94,9 g DM/min) than the two other groups. The bulls that ate ES1 and ES2 had the same feed utilization, which was better than the feed utuilization of the bulls that were given ES3. Feeding frequency was about 15 times per day for all groups. The second cut had the lowest digestibility and the bulls eating the second cut had the longest feed intake time. The bulls that ate the third cut had the highest dry matter intake, but the lowest feed utilization. The study indicates that the D-value of the grass silage used in TMR has a clear impact on dry matter intake of the TMR and eating time and eating rate of the animal.

Tutkielma käsittelee tulevaisuuden ruokaa ja rakentaa käsitystä siitä, miten kuluttajat suhtautuvat tutkimuksessa käsiteltyihin uusiin raaka-aineisiin, ruokiin sekä ruokateknologiseen kehitykseen. Tutkielmassa analysoidaan kuluttajien suhtautumista geenimuunnettuun ruokaan, hyönteisten syöntiin ja mahdolliseen keinolihatuotantoon. Tämän lisäksi tarkastellaan sitä, minkälaisia pohdintoja ja mielikuvia haastateltavat liittävät tulevaisuuden ruokaan. Aihetta lähestytään sosiologisen ruokatutkimuksen perinteen kautta. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu 20-35 vuotiaille suomalaisille korkeakouluopiskelijoille tehdyistä viidestä teemahaastattelusta, jotka toteutettiin pari- ja pienryhmähaastatteluina. Haastatteluaineisto on analysoitu käyttämällä teemoittelua. Tutkimuksen mukaan kuluttajat suhtautuvat geenimuunnettuun ruokaan epäilevästi ja liittävät siihen terveyden, ruokateknologian ja epätietoisuuden teemoja. Pelko negatiivisista pitkäaikaisista terveysvaikutuksista on korostunut geenitekniikkaan liitettyjen epäilyjen lisäksi. Hyönteisten syöntiin suhtaudutaan myönteisesti ja hyönteisten uskotaan olevan tulevaisuudessa käytetty raaka-aine ja potentiaalinen lihankorvike. Kuluttajat eivät halua nähdä tai syödä hyönteisiä kokonaisina, mutta jauheena tai muun ruoan osana hyönteiset ovat hyväksyttäviä. Keinolihaa pidetään turhana innovaationa ja siihen liitetään epäilyjä ruokaturvallisuuden ja ruoan puhtauden osalta. Kuluttajat liittävät tulevaisuuden ruokaan pohdintoja luonnonmukaisuudesta ja keinotekoisuudesta sekä niihin liittyvistä vastakkainasetteluista. Myös liha- ja kasvispainotteisen ruokavalion vertailu sekä luottamuksen merkitys koetaan tärkeänä. Geenimuunnettuja ruokia ja keinolihaa pidetään keinotekoisina ruokina, kun taas hyönteiset nähdään selkeästi luonnonmukaisimpana vaihtoehtona. Lihan kulutuksen uskotaan vähenevän tulevaisuudessa ja kasvispainotteisten ruokavalioiden lisääntyvän. Luottamus nähdään tärkeänä tekijänä ruokasektorin jokaisella osa-alueella ja varsinkin uusien ruokien ja teknologioiden tapauksissa. Tutkimuksessa esitetään, että kuluttajat kokevat geenimuunnetun ruoan ja keinolihan teknologisina ja keinotekoisina tuotteina, joiden hyväksyttävyys osaksi omaa ruokavaliota tai yhteiskuntaa voidaan kyseenalaistaa. Hyönteiset taas nähdään luonnonmukaisena ja periaatteessa hyväksyttävänä raaka-aineena ja ruokana. Tutkimus nostaa esiin ruoan kesyyntymisen tärkeyden uusien raaka-aineiden ja ruokien kohdalla. Kyse on prosessiluonteisesta uusien ruokien kesyttämisestä, jotka on neuvoteltava osaksi omaa elämää ja yhteiskunnallista arvostusta. Kuluttajien tulee myös luottaa elintarvikealan toimijoihin, jotta uudet tuotteet voidaan hyväksyä markkinoille.

Wetlands are one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. They provide numerous different ecosystem services and their importance has been acknowledged internationally. However, the number and extent of wetlands has continued decreasing globally and the increasing population poses threats on more and more wetlands. The Life+ Urban Oases project (fin. Keidas-hanke), that has made this Masters Thesis possible, has pursued to bring wetlands into urban areas, where the ecosystem services, such as flood control, which they provide can be utilized to compensate for challenges brought about by changes in land use. Urban wetlands provide local population recreational and relaxing green oases. Urban wetlands also provide natural system stormwater management mitigating water quality and habitats. It is predicted that climate change will increase severity of weather extremes. Especially the probability of heavy rainstorms is expected to increase in Finland which will emphasize better stormwater management. The value of ecosystem services provided by stormwater wetlands has not been previously measured in Finland. Furthermore, beliefs of people on constructed or created wetlands in general has been studied very little. This study had two objectives: 1) To evaluate the value of the ecosystem services of constructed urban and agricultural wetlands within the Municipality of Vihti. This was carried out within the Lake Enäjärvi watershed. 2) To study what are the attitudes, perceptions and beliefs of the Vihti residents towards constructed wetlands. The study was conducted with the help of a questionnaire which was sent to 1000 Vihti residents. The valuation was conducted with the choice experiment method. There were four different attributes in total: 1. recreational possibilities, 2. number of plant and animal species, 3. the state of the Lake Enäjärvi and 4. informing. The used payment vehicle was annual stormwater fee for a household. Questionnaires of this study where sent in three different phases during the summer 2016. The survey received 277 responses during the five-week time it was open. The response rate of the survey was 27,7%. Responses were gathered by mail and on a web-based survey. Valuation results of this study were analyzed with the Multinomial Logit-model. All together two different models were made. The first one had only the valuated attributes in it whereas the second model also included different background information. For the valuation we could draw a conclusion that the respondents where willing to pay fairly big amounts for certain attributes. They were the most willing to pay for the improvement in the state of Lake Enäjärvi. The second most valuated attribute was the recreational possibilities followed by informing and the increase in the amount of plant and animal species. Of the valuated attributes, all of them, exept informing, were statistically significant at all times in the level of 1–5%. Background information had an impact on the willingness to pay to some extent. For example a person who had previously visited a constructed wetland was more eager than an average respondent to pay for developing constructed wetlands. The WTP also increased if the respondeds household had higher income and he/she was planning to live more than five years in Vihti. WTP decreased if the respondent was male and he/she lived in a detached house. Results from the questions measuring respondents’ attitudes, perceptions and beliefs reveals that most of the respondents’ attitudes towards constructed wetlands are positive and they believe that constructed wetlands create benefits to the surrounding areas. The most beneficial aspect which urban wetlands were felt to provide was the benefit of views of an augmented landscape. 72% of the respondents indicated willingness to participate in water environment conservation activities during the next five years. Finally, most of the respondents felt that the results of the Urban Oases project and it presence in Vihti were positive.