The Physical Strenuousness of Work is Slightly Associated with an Upward Trend in the Body Mass Index

This paper explores the relationship between the physical strenuousness of work and the body mass index in Finland, using individual microdata over the period 1972-2002. The data contain self-reported information about the physical strenuousness of a respondent’s current occupation. Our estimates show that the changes in the physical strenuousness of work can explain around 8% at most of the definite increase in BMI observed over the period. The main reason for this appears to be that the quantitative magnitude of the effect of the physical strenuousness of work on BMI is rather moderate. Hence, according to the point estimates, BMI is only around 1.5% lower when one’s current occupation is physically very demanding and involves lifting and carrying heavy objects compared with sedentary job (reference group of the estimations), other things being equal. Accordingly, the changes in eating habits and the amount of physical activity during leisure time must be the most important contributors to the upward trend in BMI in industrialised countries, but not the changes in the labour market structure.

Regeneration ecology and woody species diversity in the remnant natural forest at Wondo Genet, Ethiopia – Potential for landscape restoration

Regeneration ecology, diversity of native woody species and its potential for landscape restoration was studied in the remnant natural forest at the College of Forestry and Natural Resources at Wondo Genet, Ethiopia. The type of forest is Afromontane rainforest , with many valuable tree species like Aningeria adolfi-friederici, and it is an important provider of ecological, social and economical services for the population that lives in this area. The study contains two parts, natural regeneration studies (at the natural forest) and interviews with farmers in the nearby village of the remnant patch. The objective of the first part was to investigate the floristic composition, densitiy and regeneration profiles of native woody species in the forest, paying special attention to woody species that are considered the most relevant (socio-economic). The second part provided information on woody species preferred by the farmers and on multiple uses of the adjacent natural forest, it also provided information and analysed perceptions on forest degradation. Systematic plot sampling was used in the forest inventory. Twenty square plots of 20 x 20 m were assessed, with 38 identified woody species (the total number of species was 45), representing 26 families. Of these species 61% were trees, 13% shrubs, 11% lianas and 16% species that could have both life forms. An analysis of natural regeneration of five important tree species in the natural forest showed that Aningeria adolfi-friederici had the best regeneration results. An analysis of population structure (as determined by height classes) of two commercially important woody species in the forest, Aningeria adolfi-friederici and Podocarpus falcatus, showed a marked difference: Aningeria had a typical “reversed J” frequency distribution, while Podocarpus showed very low values in all height classes. Multi dimensional scaling (MDS) was used to map the sample plots according to their similarity in species composition, using the Sørensen quantitative index, coupled with indicator species analysis .Three groups were identified with respective indicator species: Group 1 – Adhatoda schimperiana, Group 2 – Olea hochstetteri , Group 3 – Acacia senegal and Aningeria adolfi-friederici. Thirty questionnaire interviews were conducted with farmers in the village of Gotu Onoma that use the nearby remant forest patch. Their tree preferences were exotic species such as Eucalyptus globulus for construction and fuelwood and Grevillea robusta for shade and fertility. Considering forest land degradation farmers were aware of the problem and suggested that the governmental institutions address the problem by planting more Eucalyptus globulus. The natural forest seemed to have moderate levels of disturbance and it was still floristically diverse. However, the low rate of natural regeneration of Podocarpus falcatus suggested that this species is threatened and must be a priority in conservation actions. Plantations and agroforestry seem to be possible solutions for rehabilitation of the surrounding degraded lands, thereby decreasing the existent pressure in the remnant natural forest.

The connection between on-farm assessed welfare (A-index) and production parameters of the sows

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää tilalla määritetyn hyvinvoinnin yhteyttä emakoiden tuotantotuloksiin. Hyvinvointia arvioitiin suomalaisen hyvinvointi-indeksin, A-indeksi, avulla. Tuotantotuloksina käytettiin kahta erilaista tuotosaineistoa, jotka molemmat pohjautuivat kansalliseen tuotosseuranta aineistoon. Hyvinvointimääritykset tehtiin 30 porsastuotantosikalassa maaliskuun 2007 aikana. A-indeksi koostuu kuudesta kategoriasta ’liikkumismahdollisuudet’, ’alustan ominaisuudet’, ’sosiaaliset kontaktit’, ’valo, ilma ja melu’, ’ruokinta ja veden saanti’ sekä ’eläinten terveys ja hoidon taso’. Jokaisessa kategoriassa on 3-10 pääosin ympäristöperäistä muuttujaa, jotka vaihtelevat osastoittain. Maksimipistemäärä osastolle on 100. Hyvinvointimittaukset tehtiin porsitus-, tiineytys- ja joutilasosastoilla. Erillisten tiineytysosastojen pienen lukumäärän takia (n=7) tilakohtaiset tiineytys- ja joutilasosastopisteet yhdistettiin ja keskiarvoja käytettiin analyyseissä. Yhteyksiä tuotokseen tutkittiin kahden eri aineiston avulla 1) Tilaraportti aineisto (n=29) muodostuu muokkaamattomista tila- ja tuotostuloksista tilavierailua edeltävän vuoden ajalta, 2) POTSIaineisto (n=30) muodostuu POTSI-ohjelmalla (MTT) muokatusta tuotantoaineistosta, joka sisältää managementtiryhmän (tila, vuosi, vuodenaika) vaikutuksen ensikoiden ja emakoiden pahnuekohtaiseen tuotokseen. Yhteyksiä analysointiin korrelaatio- ja regressioanalyysien avulla. Vaikka osallistuminen tutkimukseen oli vapaaehtoista, molempien tuotantoaineistojen perusteella tutkimustilat edustavat keskituottoista suomalaista sikatilaa. A-indeksin kokonaispisteet vaihtelivat välillä 37,5–64,0 porsitusosastolla ja 39,5–83,5 joutilasosastolla. Tilaraporttiaineistoa käytettäessä paremmat pisteet porsitusosaston ’eläinten terveys ja hoidon taso’ -kategoriasta lyhensivät eläinten lisääntymissykliä, lisäsivät syntyvien pahnueiden ja porsaiden määrää sekä alensivat kuolleena syntyneiden lukumäärää. Regressiomallin mukaan ’eläinten terveys ja hoidon taso’ -kategoria selitti syntyvien porsaiden lukumäärän, porsimisvälin pituuden sekä keskiporsimiskerran vaihtelua. Paremmat pisteet joutilasosaston ’liikkumismahdollisuudet’ kategoriasta alensivat syntyneiden pahnueiden sekä syntyneiden että vieroitettujen porsaiden lukumäärää. Regressiomallin mukaan ensikkopahnueiden osuus ja ”liikkumismahdollisuudet” kategorian pisteet selittivät vieroitettujen porsaiden lukumäärän vaihtelua. POTSI-aineiston yhteydessä kuolleena syntyneiden porsaiden lukumäärän aleneminen oli ensikoilla yhteydessä parempiin porsitusosaston ’sosiaalisiin kontakteihin’ ja emakoilla puolestaan joutilasosaston parempiin ’eläinten terveys ja hoidon taso’ pisteisiin. Kahden eri tuotantoaineiston avulla saadut tulokset erosivat toisistaan. Seuraavissa tutkimuksissa onkin suositeltavampaa käyttää Tilaraporttiaineistoja, joissa tuotokset ilmoitetaan vuosikohtaisina. Tämän tutkimuksen perusteella hyvinvoinnilla ja tuotoksella on yhteyksiä, joilla on myös merkittävää taloudellista vaikutusta. Erityisesti hyvä eläinten hoito ja eläinten terveys lisäävät tuotettujen porsaiden määrää ja lyhentävät lisääntymiskiertoa. Erityishuomiota tulee kiinnittää vapaana olevien joutilaiden emakoiden sosiaaliseen stressiin ja rehunsaannin varmistamiseen kaikille yksilöille.

Design and testing of stand-specific bucking instructions for use on modern cut-to-length harvesters

This study addresses three important issues in tree bucking optimization in the context of cut-to-length harvesting. (1) Would the fit between the log demand and log output distributions be better if the price and/or demand matrices controlling the bucking decisions on modern cut-to-length harvesters were adjusted to the unique conditions of each individual stand? (2) In what ways can we generate stand and product specific price and demand matrices? (3) What alternatives do we have to measure the fit between the log demand and log output distributions, and what would be an ideal goodness-of-fit measure? Three iterative search systems were developed for seeking stand-specific price and demand matrix sets: (1) A fuzzy logic control system for calibrating the price matrix of one log product for one stand at a time (the stand-level one-product approach); (2) a genetic algorithm system for adjusting the price matrices of one log product in parallel for several stands (the forest-level one-product approach); and (3) a genetic algorithm system for dividing the overall demand matrix of each of the several log products into stand-specific sub-demands simultaneously for several stands and products (the forest-level multi-product approach). The stem material used for testing the performance of the stand-specific price and demand matrices against that of the reference matrices was comprised of 9 155 Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) sawlog stems gathered by harvesters from 15 mature spruce-dominated stands in southern Finland. The reference price and demand matrices were either direct copies or slightly modified versions of those used by two Finnish sawmilling companies. Two types of stand-specific bucking matrices were compiled for each log product. One was from the harvester-collected stem profiles and the other was from the pre-harvest inventory data. Four goodness-of-fit measures were analyzed for their appropriateness in determining the similarity between the log demand and log output distributions: (1) the apportionment degree (index), (2) the chi-square statistic, (3) Laspeyres quantity index, and (4) the price-weighted apportionment degree. The study confirmed that any improvement in the fit between the log demand and log output distributions can only be realized at the expense of log volumes produced. Stand-level pre-control of price matrices was found to be advantageous, provided the control is done with perfect stem data. Forest-level pre-control of price matrices resulted in no improvement in the cumulative apportionment degree. Cutting stands under the control of stand-specific demand matrices yielded a better total fit between the demand and output matrices at the forest level than was obtained by cutting each stand with non-stand-specific reference matrices. The theoretical and experimental analyses suggest that none of the three alternative goodness-of-fit measures clearly outperforms the traditional apportionment degree measure. Keywords: harvesting, tree bucking optimization, simulation, fuzzy control, genetic algorithms, goodness-of-fit

Enzymes with radical tendencies: the PFL family

The first glycyl radical in an enzyme was described 20 years ago and since then the family of glycyl radical enzymes (GREs) has expanded to include enzymes catalysing five chemically distinct reactions. The type enzymes of the family, anaerobic ribonucleotide reductase (RNRIII) and pyruvate formate lyase (PFL) had been studied long before it was known that they are GREs. Spectroscopic measurements on the radical and an observation that exposure to oxygen irreversibly inactivates the enzymes by cleavage of the protein proved that the radical is located on a particular glycine residue, close to the C-terminus of the protein. Both anaerobic RNRIII and PFL, are important for many anaerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria as RNRIII is responsible for the synthesis of DNA precursors and PFL catalyses a key metabolic reaction in glycolysis. The crystal structures of both were solved in 1999 and they revealed that, although the enzymes do not share significant sequence identity, they share a similar structure - the radical site and residues necessary for catalysis are buried inside a ten stranded $\ualpha $/$\ubeta $-barrel. GREs are synthesised in an inactive form and are post-translationally activated by an activating enzyme which uses S-adenosyl methionine and an iron-sulphur cluster to generate the radical. One of the goals of this thesis work was to crystallise the activating enzyme of PFL. This task is challenging as, like GREs, the activating component is inactivated by oxygen. The experiments were therefore carried out in an oxygen free atmosphere. This is the first report of a crystalline GRE activating enzyme. Recently several new GREs have been characterised, all sharing sequence similarity to PFL but not to RNRIII. Also, the genome sequencing projects have identified many PFL-like GREs of unknown function, usually annotated as PFLs. In the present thesis I describe the grouping of these PFL family enzymes based on the sequence similarity and analyse the conservation patterns when compared to the structure of E. coli PFL. Based on this information an activation route is proposed. I also report a crystal structure of one of the PFL-like enzymes with unknown function, PFL2 from Archaeoglobus fulgidus. As A. fulgidus is a hyperthermophilic organism, possible mechanisms stabilising the structure are discussed. The organisation of an active site of PFL2 suggests that the enzyme may be a dehydratase. Keywords: glycyl radical, enzyme, pyruvate formate lyase, x-ray crystallography, bioinformatics

European Union and the developing nations' external debt : EU-15's debt policy, 1960–2008

This Master's Thesis defines the debt policy of the current European Union Member States towards the developing nations. Since no official policy for debt exists in the EU, it is defined to include debt practices (loans and debt relief in development cooperation) and debt within the EU development policy framework. This study (1) describes how the issue of external debt appears in the development policy framework, (2) compares EU Member States' given loans and debt relief to grants for the developing nations (1960s to the 2000s), and (3) measures the current orientation in ODA of each EU Member State between grant aid and loan aid using the Grant-Loan Index (GLI). Theoretical aspects include reasons for selecting between loans (Bouchet 1987) and grants (Odedokun 2004, O'Brien and Williams 2007), policy context of the EU (Van Reisen 2007) and the meaning of external debt in the set-up between the North and the South. In terms of history, the events and impact of the colonial period (where loans have originated) are overviewed and compared in light of today's policies. Development assistance statistics are derived from the OECD DAC statistics portal and EU development policy framework documents from the EU portal. Methodologically, the structure of this study is from policy analysis (Barrien 1999, Hill 2008, Berndtson 2008), but it has been modified to fit the needs of studying a non-official policy. EU Member States are divided into three groups by Carbone (2007a), the Big-3, Northern and Southern donors, based on common development assistance characteristics. The Grant-Loan Index is used to compare Carbone's model, which measures quality of aid, to the GLI measuring the structure of aid. Results indicate that EU- 15 countries (active in debt practices) differ in terms of timing, stability and equality of debt practices in the long-term (1960s to the 2000s). In terms of current practices, (2000-2008), it is noted that there lies a disparity between the actual practices and the way in which external debt is represented in the development policy framework, although debt practices form a relevant portion of total ODA practices for many EU-15 Member States, the issue itself plays a minor role in development policy documents. Carbone’s group division applies well to the Grant – Loan Index’s results, indicating that countries with similar development policy behaviour have similarities in debt policy behaviour, with one exception: Greece. On the basis of this study, it is concluded that EU development policy framework content in terms of external debt and debt practices are not congruent. The understanding of this disparity between the policy outline and differences in long-term practices is relevant in both, reaching the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, and in the actual process of developing development aid.

Pricing Index Options with Stochastic Volatility

The objective of this paper is to investigate the pricing accuracy under stochastic volatility where the volatility follows a square root process. The theoretical prices are compared with market price data (the German DAX index options market) by using two different techniques of parameter estimation, the method of moments and implicit estimation by inversion. Standard Black & Scholes pricing is used as a benchmark. The results indicate that the stochastic volatility model with parameters estimated by inversion using the available prices on the preceding day, is the most accurate pricing method of the three in this study and can be considered satisfactory. However, as the same model with parameters estimated using a rolling window (the method of moments) proved to be inferior to the benchmark, the importance of stable and correct estimation of the parameters is evident.

Do Households Have Rational Expectations on Future Consumption? Evidence from the Finnish Consumer Survey

Ever since its initial introduction some fifty years ago, the rational expectations paradigm has dominated the way economic theory handles uncertainty. The main assertion made by John F. Muth (1961), seen by many as the father of the paradigm, is that expectations of rational economic agents should essentially be equal to the predictions of relevant economic theory, since rational agents should use information available to them in an optimal way. This assumption often has important consequences on the results and interpretations of the models where it is applied. Although the rational expectations assumption can be applied to virtually any economic theory, the focus in this thesis is on macroeconomic theories of consumption, especially the Rational Expectations–Permanent Income Hypothesis proposed by Robert E. Hall in 1978. The much-debated theory suggests that, assuming that agents have rational expectations on their future income, consumption decisions should follow a random walk, and the best forecast of future consumption level is the current consumption level. Then, changes in consumption are unforecastable. This thesis constructs an empirical test for the Rational Expectations–Permanent Income Hypothesis using Finnish Consumer Survey data as well as various Finnish macroeconomic data. The data sample covers the years 1995–2010. Consumer survey data may be interpreted to directly represent household expectations, which makes it an interesting tool for this particular test. The variable to be predicted is the growth of total household consumption expenditure. The main empirical result is that the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI), a balance figure computed from the most important consumer survey responses, does have statistically significant predictive power over the change in total consumption expenditure. The history of consumption expenditure growth itself, however, fails to predict its own future values. This indicates that the CCI contains some information that the history of consumption decisions does not, and that the consumption decisions are not optimal in the theoretical context. However, when conditioned on various macroeconomic variables, the CCI loses its predictive ability. This finding suggests that the index is merely a (partial) summary of macroeconomic information, and does not contain any significant private information on consumption intentions of households not directly deductible from the objective economic variables. In conclusion, the Rational Expectations–Permanent Income Hypothesis is strongly rejected by the empirical results in this thesis. This result is in accordance with most earlier studies conducted on the topic.