Keskeneräinen matrikkeli

Kirja-arvioDomokos, Péter (päätoim.): Finnugor életrajzi lexiko

Evaluation tool for wider economic effects of railway investments: Making computable general equilibrium model results accessible

Transport sector has a long tradition of using the principles of practical cost benefit analysis (CBA) in project appraisal that analyses the primary impacts of transport investments. The standard transport project assessment is necessary but not sufficient for the estimation of the wider economic impacts, which are in increasing demand among decision makers. Computable General Equilibrium models (CGE) have been proven to be powerful tools in the assessment of economic impacts of infrastructure investments. In this project, GEMPACK-based dynamic regional CGE-models (RegFinDyn and RegSweDyn) have been used in the assessment of rail investments in Finland and in Sweden. The models are fairly standard versions of the Australian TERM model, with some exceptions regarding labor market, migration, demography and agglomeration economies. The use of these models is, however, rather expensive and requires specific skills, software and knowledge. This project tackled these contradicting needs for a complex CGE-modelling and the desired easiness and flexibility of the analysis: A freely available spreadsheet tool was developed with a streamlined interface that uses a large number of previously made CGE-model simulations as basis for the assessment. The developed twin tools were named WebRailSwe and WebRailFin. The tools are made for a quantitative, first approximation of the wider economic impacts of large rail investments in the national areas of Sweden or Finland. The wider economic impacts calculated by this tool are supplementary to the results of a standard project assessment (CBA). The tools use generalised results of RegSweDyn and RegFinDyn CGE-modelling, which could be termed as ?model of a model? approach. CGE model results are used as observations to estimate regression equations where investment shock variables are used to explain the observed deviations from the base run. The four economic indicators calculated by the tools are real GDP, real household consumption, employment and population. It has been proven that it is possible to have an accessible tool that is relatively simple to use but gives results that are based on comprehensive CGE-modelling. This can be considered a promising start for a wider consideration of advanced modelling of economic impacts in the transport sector. However, the results of this project, WebRailSwe and WebRailFin, are only applicable to railway investments, and the results are calculated and presented on a spatial resolution that is rather coarse. Further work could be done to develop similar tools for road investments and other forms of transport improvements, and to increase the spatial resolution of the tools

Proof of Concept for Cell Culture-Based Coffee

The global coffee production is facing serious challenges including land use, climate change, and sustainability while demand is rising. Cellular agriculture is a promising alternative to produce plant-based commodities such as coffee, which are conventionally produced by farming. In this study, the complex process of drying and roasting was adapted for bioreactor-grown coffee cells to generate a coffee-like aroma and flavor. The brews resulting from different roasting regimes were characterized with chemical and sensory evaluation-based approaches and compared to conventional coffee. Roasting clearly influenced the aroma profile. In contrast to conventional coffee, the dominant odor and flavor attributes were burned sugar-like and smoky but less roasted. The intensities of bitterness and sourness were similar to those of conventional coffee. The present results demonstrate a proof of concept for a cellular agriculture approach as an alternative coffee production platform and guide future optimization work

Chemical Profiling and Bioactivity of Body Wall Lipids from Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis

The lipids from gonads and polyhydroxynaphthoquinone pigments from body walls of sea urchins are intensively studied. However, little is known about the body wall (BW) lipids. Ethanol extract (55 degrees C) contained about equal amounts of saturated (SaFA) and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) representing 60% of total fatty acids, with myristic, palmitic and eicosenoic acids as major SaFAs and MUFAs, respectively. Non-methylene-interrupted dienes (13%) were composed of eicosadienoic and docosadienoic acids. Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) included two main components, n6 arachidonic and n3 eicosapentaenoic acids, even with equal concentrations (15 mu g/mg) and a balanced n6/n3 PUFA ratio (0.86). The UPLC-ELSD analysis showed that a great majority of the lipids (80%) in the ethanolic extract were phosphatidylcholine (60 mu g/mg) and phosphatidylethanolamine (40 mu g/mg), while the proportion of neutral lipids remained lower than 20%. In addition, alkoxyglycerol derivativeschimyl, selachyl, and batyl alcoholswere quantified. We have assumed that the mechanism of action of body wall lipids in the present study is via the inhibition of MAPK p38, COX-1, and COX-2. Our findings open the prospective to utilize this lipid fraction as a source for the development of drugs with anti-inflammatory activity.Peer reviewe

Kuntien perusopetusjohtajat inkluusion rakentajina

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Kuntien perusopetusjohtajat inkluusion rakentajina

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Analysis of indole alkaloids from Rhazya stricta hairy roots by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

Rhazya stricta Decne. (Apocynaceae) contains a large number of terpenoid indole alkaloids (TIAs). This study focused on the composition of alkaloids obtained from transformed hairy root cultures of R. stricta employing ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). In the UPLC-MS analyses, a total of 20 TIAs were identified from crude extracts. Eburenine and vincanine were the main alkaloids followed by polar glucoalkaloids, strictosidine lactam and strictosidine. Secodine-type alkaloids, tetrahydrosecodinol, tetrahydro- and dihydrosecodine were detected too. The occurrence of tetrahydrosecodinol was confirmed for the first time for R. stricta. Furthermore, two isomers of yohimbine, serpentine and vallesiachotamine were identified. The study shows that a characteristic pattern of biosynthetically related TIAs can be monitored in Rhazya hairy root crude extract by this chromatographic method.Peer reviewe