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Ilmasto- ja ympäristötavoitteiden saavuttamiseksi Suomi on mukana Euroopan Unionin Vihreä siirtymä -hankkeessa. Vihreä siirtymä on monitulkintainen termi, joka saa poliittisissa keskusteluissa useita merkityksiä. Tutkielman tavoitteena on selkeyttää sitä, mistä kaikesta poliittisissa keskusteluissa puhutaan vihreän siirtymän yhteydessä. Lisäksi tutkielmassa paneudutaan siihen, minkälaisia merkityksiä vihreälle siirtymälle annetaan ja mitä siihen kytkeytyvällä retoriikalla pyritään perustelemaan. Tutkielmaa taustoitetaan vihreän siirtymän ja oikeudenmukaisuusperiaatteen historiallisella katsauksella, ja erilaisilla vihreän siirtymän ja oikeudenmukaisen siirtymän määritelmillä. Teoreettisena viitekehyksenä hyödynnetään ympäristöpoliittista diskurssianalyysiä, ja sen jälkeen esitellään ympäristön ja talouden välisen suhteen diskurssien ominaisuuksia tarkemmin. Aineisto koostui vuoden 2022 eduskunnan lähetekeskusteluista helmikuulta kesäkuuhun. Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin 73 vihreää siirtymää käsittelevää puheenvuoroa, joita analysoitiin laadullisen sisällönanalyysin avulla. Puheenvuoroja suhteutettiin Dryzekin (1997) ympäristödiskursseihin ja niistä muodostettiin lopulta yhteensä kuusi aineiston omaa diskurssilinjaa. Tuloksista tunnistettiin, että vihreä siirtymä kontekstualisoitiin diskursseissa 1) muutoksen, 2) talouden, 3) uhan ja 4) mahdollisuuden kautta. Lisäksi vihreään siirtymään yhdistetyiksi teemoiksi nousivat oikeudenmukaisuus ja tulevaisuuden varmistaminen. Teemojen valossa vihreään siirtymään suhtauduttiin hyvin polarisoituneesti, joko kannattaen tai vastustaen sitä. Lisäksi diskursseihin sisältyi vahva talouden läsnäolo, joka välittyi ekologisen modernisaation periaatteen laajana hyväksymisenä ja uusliberalistisen retoriikan käyttönä. Vaikka vihreän siirtymän toimet ovat kestävyyssiirtymän mukaisia vaikuttaa kuitenkin siltä, että siirtymän vaikutukset kuvataan diskursseissa kestävyysmurroksen kaltaisina.

Viruses are a functional part of the water ecosystems microbial network. There is scientific evidence that viruses have impact to biotic communities, nutrient recycle and genetic diversity. Still there is a lack of studies concerning fresh water ecosystem viruses. In Finland, studies of fresh water viruses have not been published. Main objective of this thesis was to study, first time in Finland, abundance and variation of virus like particles (VLP) in boreal lake. The study was carried out on Lake Vesijärvi in Southern Finland. Purpose was also to study the abundance relations of VLP to bacterial abundance and algae biomass. Temporal changes of the variables were studied in 4 periods during growing season in 2007 and 2 periods during winter season in 2008. Spatial changes of variables were studied in littoral and pelagic zones in early summer 2007. Abundance of VLP was high in productive layer (11,9 ± 0,7 x 107 (ml-1)). Similar results have been observed from studies with other lakes in boreal zone. Highest abundance observed was in early summer period (14,9 ± 0,2 x 107 (ml-1)) and lowest at the end of the winter season period (5,5 ± 1,3 x 107 (ml-1)). High bacteria abundance and algae biomass with suitable physical and chemical conditions were the main reasons for high VLP abundance. In the growing season an average amount of chlorophyll –a was 8,6 μgl-1. In the winter season a very high amount of chlorophyll –a was observed (22,4 ± 1,2 μgl-1) indicating under ice algal bloom. Bacteria abundance was stable during the growing season (1,3 x 107 ml-1) corresponding to findings with earlier studies on Lake Vesijärvi. Virus / bacteria ratio (VBR) –level varied between 7,5 – 25,3 in the growing season and in the winter season between 1,6 - 9,3. Bacterial abundance growth explained 18,2 % of the growth of the VLP abundance (p=0,004, all periods included). In the growing season chlorophyll –a explained 17,4 % of the growth of the VLP abundance (p=0,013). In the winter season, connections between VLP and other biological variables were not found. As a conclusion, in the growing season algae cells (Inc. cyanobacteria) are dominant hosts for viruses. Dominant host probably varies between the seasons. Between littoral ja pelagic zones, differences of abundance of VLP, bacteria and algae biomass were not found. This was probably caused by windy conditions creating similar conditions between zones. There is a high abundance of viruses in productive layer in Lake Vesijärvi year-round. Viruses have direct and indirect interactions with algae and bacteria varying in different time scales. It is likely that viruses have interactions also with other functional groups of the lake microbial network. The results of this study confirmed, for the first time in Finland, the virus abundance, its variation and interactions with functional groups of microbial network. The role of viruses in biochemical cycles of fresh water ecosystems need to study more in Finland.

Pohjavesien pilaantuminen on merkittävä ympäristöongelma. Esimerkiksi jotkut haihtuvat orgaaniset yhdisteet (VOC), kuten metyyli-tert-butyylieetteri (MTBE) sekä trikloorietyleeni (TCE), ovat saastuttaneet laajojakin pohjavesialueita. Pohjavesien kunnostuksessa ongelmana on, että nykyisillä menetelmillä pohjavettä on vaikeaa ja kallista puhdistaa. Perinteisessä pump & treat –menetelmässä vesi pumpataan maan päälle puhdistettavaksi, ilman että vuosienkaan jälkeen pitoisuudet välttämättä laskevat merkittävästi. Air sparging on edullisempi ja nopeampi menetelmä, mutta menetelmän soveltuvuus on tapauskohtaista. Myös kemiallinen hapetus on kohdespesifinen ja siksi toimivuudeltaan epävarma menetelmä. Näin ollen uusille puhdistustekniikoille on todellista tarvetta. Yksi mahdollinen vaihtoehto voisi olla uusi vetyperoksidin kuplitus -menetelmä, joka perustuu vetyperoksidin (H2O2) hajoamisreaktioiden kykyyn mobilisoida ja haihduttaa pohjavedessä sijaitsevia VOC-aineita. Pohjavesikerrokseen korkeana pitoisuutena syötetty H2O2 leviää ja luonnostaan esiintyvä rauta katalysoi sen hajoamista. Hajoamisreaktioiden käynnistyessä vapautuvan kaasun oletetaan johtavan ilmastuksen ja strippauksen kaltaisiin vaikutuksiin, johtaen VOC-yhdisteiden haihtumiseen. Etuna ilmastukseen verrattuna olisi se, että vaikutussäde olisi nestettä lisäämällä mahdollista saada suuremmaksi kuin ilmaa syöttämällä. Vaikka käytetyt reagenssit ovat samoja kuin kemiallisessa hapetuksessa, toimintaperiaatteen takia menetelmän ei uskota olevan yhtä kohderiippuvainen. Tässä pro gradu –tutkielmassa selvitettiin vetyperoksidin kuplitus –menetelmän soveltuvuutta VOC-yhdisteiden poistamiseen pohjavedestä. Tutkielma koostui laboratorio-, lysimetri- ja kenttäkokeista. Laboratoriokokeissa selvitettiin menetelmän soveltuvuutta ominaisuuksiltaan erilaisille VOC-yhdisteille. Lisäksi selvitettiin, miten eri muuttujat (H2O2- ja rautakonsentraatio sekä kelaattilisäys) vaikuttavat H2O2:n hajoamisreaktioaikaan sekä MTBE:n poistumaan. Pilot-mittakaavan lysimetrikokeissa testattiin MTBE:n poistamista sekä pelkästä vesifaasista että hiekkamaasta. Kokeissa käytettiin bensiini- ja TCE-saastunutta vettä sekä keinotekoista MTBE-vettä, jonka pitoisuus oli 750 mg/l. Menetelmän toimivuutta täydessä mittakaavassa testattiin entisellä polttoaineiden jakeluasemalla yhdessä Nordic Envicon oy:n kanssa. Laboratoriokokeissa sekä pilot-kokeen vesikokeessa saavutettiin lähes 100 %:n puhdistumistulos. Pilot-vaiheen hiekkakokeessa MTBE:n poistuma oli noin 94 % ja toistetulla käsittelyllä lähes 97 %, mutta seisotuksen myötä pitoisuudet nousivat, jolloin poistuma jäi 85 ja 66 prosenttiin. Kenttäkokeessa vetyperoksidin havaittiin levinneen koko koealueelle, mutta epätasaisesti. Puhdistumista tapahtui alueella, jonne vetyperoksidia oli levinnyt eniten, ja jossa pitoisuuden oletettiin olleen riittävä tutkitun vaikutuksen aikaansaamiseksi. BTEX- ja bensiinijakeiden pitoisuudet laskivat muutamassa kuukaudessa jopa 88–97 %. Vaikka pitoisuuksien laskun kannalta kokeet olivat onnistuneita, ei vetyperoksidin kuplitus -menetelmää pystytty hypoteesien vastaisesti erottamaan kemiallisesta hapetuksesta. Sen sijaan hapettumista sekä haihtumista tapahtuu tulosten perusteella samanaikaisesti. Täyden mittakaavan sovellutuksia varten menetelmää onkin tarpeen vielä tutkia ja optimoida esimerkiksi massatasapainokokeiden avulla.

The primary characteristic of urbanisation is the addition of hard surfaces to catchments, which affects water and habitat quality in urban streams and alters natural hydrological processes by reducing infiltration, evapotranpiration and efficiently conveying storm runoff to streams, gathering a variety of urban polluants along the way. This is typical of the 'urban stream syndrome'. Catchment imperviousness (especially Effective Impervious Area or percent connectivity) can be used as one of the primary indicators of the severity of this phenomenon. This research was initiated through a collaboration between the City of Helsinki and the University of Helsinki to determine the baseline water quality of Hakuninmaanoja, a small urban stream in Helsinki, Finland, and the imperviousness of its catchment, where a pilot ecological housing development 'Kuninkaantammi' (KUNTA) will be built beginning in 2013. The purpose of the project is to assess the current characteristics of the catchment prior to the development in the headwaters of the stream. An automatic water quality monitoring station was built on the lower part of the stream approximately 200m upstream of its junction with Mätäjoki, the second largest river of Helsinki. Water Sensitive Urban Design can be used as part of a holistic stormwater treatment train to limit newly created imperviousness, and minimise the connectivity of the necessary remainder, allowing stormwater runoff to be reused, infiltrated and treated through soil media, or slowed down enough to attenuate the urban hydrograph. Some of these features such as raingardens, green roofs and detention ponds will be included in the KUNTA development for this purpose. A detailed calculation of catchment imperviousness was completed via field survey and land use categorization methods. Total Impervious Area (TIA) was determined to be 22%, Effective Impervious Area 15% and catchment wide runoff coefficient given by land use categorisation method to be 0.32. TIA is expected to increase to 30% following development of KUNTA, however EIA is not expected to increase in proportion with TIA due to planned Water Sensitive Urban Design features. Yearly runoff volumes based on each method of calculating imperviousness were estimated, as well as for the future following KUNTA development. Water quality in the stream currently is quite satisfactory in relation to other streams in Helsinki, however the urban stream syndrome is already evident with particular concern regarding temperature, sediment and peak flow fluctuations. Effective Impervious Area should be used in urban planning of new and existing developments rather than TIA because it will give much greater accuracy of runoff volumes and infiltration rates by taking into account unconnected impervious surfaces. Strengthening local solutions to reduce connectivity should be a municipal priority. Water quality monitoring will continue at the site until after KUNTA has been built, and further research should focus on determining the technical performance of stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) at the site.

In recent years, the role of economic models in guiding government policy has provoked discussion as human wellbeing and the state of the environment are threatened by multiple sustainability challenges, most notably by the ecological sustainability crisis. The mainstream economic approach has received criticism since it has not been able to solve these challenges and thus, several alternative approaches in pursuit for a just and sustainable future have gained popularity both nationally and internationally. In this thesis I focus on the wellbeing economy concept in the Finnish welfare state in the early 2020s. Wellbeing economy was introduced in Finland by the Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Wealth (SOSTE) in 2012 to highlight the interdependency of human wellbeing and economy. The concept has since been developed and realized by different actors of the society, but it is not yet that well-known among the public. To find out the potential role of this new economic approach in the transition towards sustainable welfare society, it is important to get a clear picture of how the concept is interpreted by its advocates. Therefore, in my case study, I examined the expert narratives of wellbeing economy. My main research question is: What does the concept of wellbeing economy mean in Finland in the early 2020s? This question is complemented by two sub-questions: 1) What are the shared contents and practices associated with wellbeing economy? and 2) What are the key differences between different conceptions of wellbeing economy? The underlying disagreements in theory and in practice of wellbeing economy might impact the integrity of the concept even if the concept formulation of wellbeing economy seems consistent. I conducted seven (7) semi-structured expert interviews from five (5) different organizations during the spring 2021. The interviews were thematically analysed with a focus on the memes of neoliberal narratives and the memes of alternative narratives as well as the conflicting memes in alternative narratives. In this study, a meme is defined as the structural component of a narrative. Finally, I identified similarities and differences in these building blocks of wellbeing economy narratives between different experts. I found that there were more shared memes than differences in the experts’ conceptions of wellbeing economy. Most of the interviewees mentioned memes of neoliberal narrative. All the interviewees mentioned the alternative narrative memes connected networks, sustainability, cooperation with others, and human dignity, prosperity, and wellbeing. Most of them also considered the Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity in crisis. However, the meme a new economic system created the greatest division in the interpretations of wellbeing economy. In conclusion, some interviewees supported the neoliberalism more clearly while others opposed this narrative, and the rest were not clearly for or against the growth-agenda. The ambiguity of the concept especially in terms of economic growth should be further discussed in addition to specifying, for instance, what is meant by sustainability and wellbeing in wellbeing economy. Further research is also needed to find out how the discussion about wellbeing economy concept will develop in Finland and internationally.

Tiivistelmä Referat – Abstract One of the major fundamental ecological questions is the composition of a species diet. The diet of a species is crucially linked to finding out its environmental requirements, and information about the possible changes in the diet is needed when studying the impact of environmental changes such as climate change on species. Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans), classified as endangered in Finland, is a species living in coniferous and mixed forests. More precise information about the dietary habits of the species is needed to support conservation. The aim of my thesis was to investigate the diet composition and diet diversity of adult flying squirrels using DNA barcoding of their excrement pellets, a technique that provides highly accurate information quickly and effectively. The main research questions were whether the diet varies between sexes and seasons, whether diet has an influence on body condition and breeding success of the females, and whether diet diversity is related to the amount of suitable forest habitat near the nests. We collected faecal samples from 51 different flying squirrel individuals from two different study areas near the cities of Vaasa and Pietarsaari in June of 2020. Another set of samples from 8 individuals was collected in November 2020 in Vaasa. The collected samples were sent to a laboratory in Turku, where the DNA barcoding was conducted. I then made further statistical analyses from the laboratory results using general linear models to test my study questions. Although the sample size was too small to obtain statistically significant results for all the research questions, my results indicated that the diet of the Siberian flying squirrel differs between males and females just like its other living habits. Male flying squirrels have more diverse diet than female flying squirrels which have more specific and narrow diet, as they also have smaller home ranges during the breeding season and are more linked to their nesting forest patch compared to males. The aspect that female flying squirrels are more specialists during breeding time is crucial for the species conservation planning. DNA barcoding studies with bigger sample sizes should be done to further investigate the relationship between diet diversity and individual’s body condition and to ascertain the statistical significance to the results of this study.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic autoimmune disease, with recurring inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Although the actual cause of the disease is still unknown, many molecular and underlying pathways have been discovered. Infliximab (IFX) is an effective and safe antibody medication that specifically targets the cytokine protein TNF-α. This medication is given to IBD patients who do not respond to other conventional drugs and who face the final step of surgery. However, around 30 % of IBD patients do not respond to this medication at all and another 50 % either lose the effect over time, or need to discontinue the medication due to severe side effects. Therefore, it would be important to find a biomarker that could predict the outcome of the medication. In this study, 73 IBD patients have given blood samples both before and three months after the start of IFX medication. From these blood samples the RNA was extracted and sequenced to get the transcriptome profiles. The aim of this study is to find novel biomarkers, that could be used as a predictive tool for the outcome of the medication. Seven significantly differentially expressed genes were found before IFX treatment initiation between responders and non-responders of the medication. Additionally, a clear effect from the IFX medication was seen in the transcriptome profiles.

Knowledge co-production has become increasingly popular and even ‘buzzed’ notion in sustainability sciences. It is being applied in various contexts and for myriad of purposes under different, even partially contradicting rationales, yet it is often expected to contribute better to the sustainable transformation of society than normal science. One of the uniting elements in different understandings and applications of ‘knowledge co-production’ is the involvement of the extra-scientific actors in the research process. This implies changes in the conventional roles and relationship between science and society, that raise new questions about the autonomy and accountability of science. This master’s thesis studies knowledge co-production in higher education context and, more specifically, in the case of the HELSUS Co-Creation lab 2019-2020, and critically explores the notion of co-production in sustainability sciences. The dynamics, relationship, and roles between the scientific and extra-scientific actors within the Co-Creation lab are the specific interest in this qualitative case study that is primarily based on 12 semi-structured interviews of the lab participants analyzed by qualitative content analysis. The study shows how the dynamics between the master’s level students and the partners from the private and public sectors had features that resembled to some extent commissioned research type of roles, task coordination and interdependencies, however, it also contained significant characteristics that distinguished it from pure commission type of dynamics, as the autonomy of the student was greater, the control of the partner over the knowledge production process was lesser and the accountability of the students to the partners was more indirect and softer. The similarities between the application of knowledge co-production in the HELSUS Co-Creation lab and the co-production by the logic of accountability are highlighted and critical questions concerning instrumental forms of co-production, logic of accountability, usefulness of knowledge and scientific autonomy are discussed. More critically reflective approaches towards co-production are called for.

Ecophysiology and ecology in plants are strongly affected by the conditions surrounding them. Adaptation aids plants to survive and to succeed in the prevailing conditions. Winter is a challenge to plants, particularly in northern latitudes and higher altitudes, because it exposes plants to cold and drought, for example. Plants survive from winter on species level with the help of genetic adaptations and as individuals also with the help of acclimation. Woodland strawberry (Fragaria vesca) has been observed to grow separate winter leaves. This allows it to continue photosynthesis in mild conditions during winter, thus improving its energy balance, and to start growing earlier than other species in the spring, which is beneficial in interspecific competition. Fragaria vesca is a species that has wide distribution in the northern hemisphere, and its genotypes are found from very different locations and conditions. However, adaptive traits such as producing a new set of leaves for winter can turn out to be a disadvantage if environmental conditions change rapidly. Climate change brings about changes that are difficult to predict, and these changes are advancing at a fast pace when compared to the developmental history of plants. The aim of this thesis was to study the effect of temperature on summer and winter leaf development, stolon formation and summer and winter leaf chlorophyll, flavonol and anthocyanin content in different Fragaria vesca genotypes. Leaf chlorophyll and secondary compound content give information about leaf development and stress reactions in plants. Plants are known to produce anthocyanins in order to protect the photosynthetic apparatus during chlorophyll recovery in leaf senescence. Anthocyanins are also produced as a response to low temperatures. Research increases knowledge of the ecophysiological and winter ecology-related processes in Fragaria vesca and in the commercially valuable Rosacea-family as well as provides information about the possible responses of these organisms to climate change. Material for the study consisted of twelve European Fragaria vesca genotypes, which had originally been collected from five countries: Norway, Finland, Germany, Italy and Spain. The genotypes had been collected from different latitudes, and they also expressed altitudinal differences. In this study, these genotypes were kept in two temperature treatments, warm (+16°C) and cold (+11°C/six weeks, after which +6°C/four weeks) at a greenhouse. Leaf development was studied by measuring summer and winter leaf middle leaflet width and length, and petiole length. Stolons from each plant individual were counted on a weekly basis and observations about stolon production in relation to the timing of summer leaf senescence and winter leaf development were made at the same time. Leaf chlorophyll and secondary compound content was measured with a Dualex-meter, which provided values for chlorophyll, flavonol and anthocyanin content. The underlying assumption was that cold temperature would induce winter leaf development and summer leaf senescence. The results show that there were differences in summer leaf size between genotypes. Winter leaves had differences between genotypes, but also within genotypes at different temperature treatments. Stolon count was lower and stolon production ceased slightly earlier in the cold treatment. Moreover, summer leaf chlorophyll content decreased in both treatments, but the summer leaves senesced earlier in the warm room. Summer leaf flavonol and anthocyanin values were generally higher in the cooler temperature treatment. Anthocyanins were also produced by winter leaves in the cooler temperature treatment. Based on the results, Fragaria vesca genotypes had differences related to their origin, but temperature also had an effect on winter leaf development, stolon production and the production of secondary compounds. The effect of cold temperature on the size of developing winter leaves was clear. In the cooler temperature treatment, the winter leaves were smaller than in the warmer treatment. The anthocyanin content of summer leaves was higher than in the winter leaves, and the summer leaf anthocyanin content was higher in the colder temperature treatment, where the stress related to the photosynthetic apparatus and low temperatures was combined. Nevertheless, lower temperature did not explain all the responses observed in the genotypes of the study, and thus it is likely that acclimation and winter leaf development in Fragaria vesca are affected by some other factor in addition to temperature, e.g. light regime. A possible continuation for this work would be to study the effect of light conditions or milder winters on winter leaf development in Fragaria vesca genotypes and on the physiology of the species.

Since mercury (Hg) may biomagnify in food webs and bioaccumulate in living things, it is considered a dangerous element globally. The two most toxic forms of mercury are methyl mercury (MgHg) and dimethyl mercury (DMgHg). The dietary Hg consumed by fish is mostly removed through the intestine, but some of the MeHg bioaccumulates and is delivered to various organs, such as the liver, kidney, muscle, or gonad. The perch (Perca fluviatilis), the national fish of Finland serves as both a popular food fish and a monitoring species for assessing the chemical health of lakes. Fish tissue exhibits seasonal variations in mercury levels, which are thought to be produced by growth dilution in the summer, which is related to rapid somatic growth during the growing season, and hunger in the winter, which condenses mercury in the muscle as well as during spawning since gonad development requires significant energy expenditure. There has been a considerable study on Hg concentration in fish but currently lack knowledge regarding potential seasonal variation in patterns of Hg content and bioaccumulation to understand the dynamics of Hg content and bioaccumulation. This study investigates (Q1): Does mercury content change in muscle, liver and gonad tissues of males and females of perch over the four seasons? (Q2): How does mercury bioaccumulation change seasonally in different organs between male and female perch? (Q3): How does the mercury content relationship among different organs (muscle, liver, and gonads) vary seasonally and between sexes? Materials were collected monthly from Lake Pääjärvi from April 2020 to March 2021, and categorized into four seasons: winter (January -March), spring (April-Jun), summer (July-September), and autumn (October-December). Each fish was taken of its length, weight, sex, and other tissues too. Total mercury (Hg) concentrations were determined in three organs (muscle, liver and gonad) in male and female perch separately. Using analysis of variance, the annual length-corrected THg content variation and simple linear regression analysis were used to examine the annual THg bioaccumulation variation and to test the relationships in Hg concentrations among three tissues separately in males and females. Seasonal THg levels in female perch significantly varied in muscle and gonads, not in the liver. Females had consistently higher THg in muscle and liver, while males had higher levels in gonads throughout the season. THg bioaccumulation peaked in spring and winter for both sexes in muscle, but lowest in autumn. Liver THg slope was highest in early summer for females and lowest in autumn. Gonads showed the highest slopes in summer for both sexes. The highest slopes between muscle and liver THg for females were in summer and for males in spring. Similar patterns were seen in both muscle-gonad and liver-gonad THg relationships. Female perch showed significant differences only in summer, while in males, the highest slopes were in autumn and lowest in summer. Long-term monitoring is crucial to understanding THg variation in fish.