Kalman Filtering in Online Paper Quality Assessment

Controlling the quality variables (such as basis weight, moisture etc.) is a vital part of making top quality paper or board. In this thesis, an advanced data assimilation tool is applied to the quality control system (QCS) of a paper or board machine. The functionality of the QCS is based on quality observations that are measured with a traversing scanner making a zigzag path. The basic idea is the following: The measured quality variable has to be separated into its machine direction (MD) and cross direction (CD) variations due to the fact that the QCS works separately in MD and CD. Traditionally this is done simply by assuming one scan of the zigzag path to be the CD profile and its mean value to be one point of the MD trend. In this thesis, a more advanced method is introduced. The fundamental idea is to use the signals’ frequency components to represent the variation in both CD and MD. To be able to get to the frequency domain, the Fourier transform is utilized. The frequency domain, that is, the Fourier components are then used as a state vector in a Kalman filter. The Kalman filter is a widely used data assimilation tool to combine noisy observations with a model. The observations here refer to the quality measurements and the model to the Fourier frequency components. By implementing the two dimensional Fourier transform into the Kalman filter, we get an advanced tool for the separation of CD and MD components in total variation or, to be more general, for data assimilation. A piece of a paper roll is analyzed and this tool is applied to model the dataset. As a result, it is clear that the Kalman filter algorithm is able to reconstruct the main features of the dataset from a zigzag path. Although the results are made with a very short sample of paper roll, it seems that this method has great potential to be used later on as a part of the quality control system.

Designing features for supporting social interactions in online communities

This Master's thesis studies the development of interaction and socialization in online communities. A large number of online communities fade away even before they really get started. In many occasions the reason is that the community does not give anything new, or even if they do, the delivery does not satisfy the users. In this thesis guidelines were developed to help to see important things, which might be forgotten when developing an online community. The thesis goes through the characteristic of an online community and human behaviour related to them and also compares behaviour in the Internet and real life. In addition, usability is an important part of the online communities and thus it is also covered in this thesis. As a result of this thesis an 8-step guideline was developed to ease the design of an online community. Guidelines were also applied to two real life cases which are described as one part of this work.

The Importance of Semantics: Visual World Studies on Drawing Inferences and Resolving Anaphors

The present thesis investigated the importance of semantics in generating inferences during discourse processing. Three aspects of semantics, gender stereotypes, implicit causality information and proto-role properties, were used to investigate whether semantics is activated elaboratively during discourse comprehension and what its relative importance is in backward inferencing compared to discourse/structural cues. Visual world eye-tracking studies revealed that semantics plays an important role in both backward and forward inferencing: Gender stereotypes and implicit causality information is activated elaboratively during online discourse comprehension. Moreover, gender stereotypes, implicit causality and proto-role properties of verbs are all used in backward inferencing. Importantly, the studies demonstrated that semantic cues are weighed against discourse/structural cues. When the structural cues consist of a combination of cues that have been independently shown to be important in backward inferencing, semantic effects may be masked, whereas when the structural cues consist of a combination of fewer prominent cues, semantics can have an earlier effect than structural factors in pronoun resolution. In addition, the type of inference matters, too: During anaphoric inferencing semantics has a prominent role, while discourse/structural salience attains more prominence during non-anaphoric inferencing. Finally, semantics exhibits a strong role in inviting new inferences to revise earlier made inferences even in the case the additional inference is not needed to establish coherence in discourse. The findings are generally in line with the Mental Model approaches. Two extended model versions are presented that incorporate the current findings into the earlier literature. These models allow both forward and backward inferencing to occur at any given moment during the course of processing; they also allow semantic and discourse/structural cues to contribute to both of these processes. However, while the Mental Model 1 does not assume interactions between semantic and discourse/structural factors in forward inferencing, the Mental Model 2 does assume such a link.

Evaluating Firm-Hosted Online Communities

This thesis centers to three firm-hosted online communities which operate in the field of software development. The communities were analyzed by using a particular design framework. This thesis investigates how companies can benefit from firm-hosted online communities and how well the design principles are present in analyzed communities. The framework also gives perspective and indicators which enables the possibility to analyze and compare communities with each other. This thesis also discuss how well a design framework designed for measuring social software fits to measuring online communities of software development.

Resources and capabilities approach to online strategy – Multiple-case study of Finnish magazines' online services

Most Finnish periodical magazines have a website, often an online service. The objective of this thesis is to understand the magazines’ resources and capabilities and match them with online strategies’ goals and objectives. The thesis’ theoretical part focuses on explaining and classifying resources, capabilities, goals and objectives, and applying everything into Finnish magazine publishing context. In the empirical part, there is a comparative case study of four magazines. The findings indicate that with cooperating, advertising and community hosting capabilities magazines may utilize their human, brand, content and customer base resources. The resources can be further addressed to reach profitability, customer-centricity and brand congruency goals.

The relationship between first-order capabilities and online innovations. A comparative case study on the publishing sector.

The objective of this thesis was to study the relationship between firstorder capabilities and online innovations. First-order capabilities can be divided into market and technology capabilities, and they play an important role in the production of innovations. The study was carried out in publishing industry, where many changes have taken place in the online environment during the last few years. In the empirical research, four companies were studied, two magazine publishers and two newspaper publishers. The analysis was done in two phases; first every case was analyzed alone and then the cases were compared in cross-case analysis. The most important finding was the positive impact of market capability to the production of online innovations. The study also increased understanding about the relationship between market and technology capabilities and online innovations in general.

Evaluating Web Content Management Systems Compatibility for Implementing Online Communities

The purpose of this study is to study whether a Web CMS can be used to implement and host an online community. The study is divided into two parts. The theoretical part contains the definition of Web CMS and clarifies the relation between an online community and a social software. The first part also defines the parameters, which must be taken account when choosing a Web CMS for hosting an online community. The practical part of the study contains analyses of three Web CMSs, Drupal, Liferay and Plone. All the three Web CMSs were analyzed using the technical and social parameters discovered in the theoretical part of the study. The primary objective is to investigate whether the selected Web CMS can be used to implement and host an online community. If hosting is possible, the secondary objective is to investigate whether the selected Web CMS have an effect to the online community.

Utilizing online demand generation in an engineering company

Työn tarkoituksena on selvittää miten sähköistä kysynnän herättämistä voidaan hyödyntää Mantsinen Group Ltd Oy:ssä siten, että sillä pystytään tukemaan myyntiä. Lisäksi sähköisen kysynnän herättämisen tehokkuutta tutkitaan, jotta saadaan selville onko se kannattavaa ja kuinka hyvin se sopii yritykselle. Kysynnän herättämisjärjestelmän käyttö on määritelty kirjallisuuteen perustuen ja sen jälkeen järjestelmän käyttö on aloitettu. Sähköisen kysynnän herättämisen tehokkuus mitataan kolmen kuukauden tarkastelujakson todellisella datalla. Sähköisen kysynnän herättämisen sopivuutta arvioidaan perustuen sen kustannustehokkuuteen ja tuloksiin. Työn tulokset osoittavat, että sähköinen kysynnän herättäminen on kannattavaa ja se sopii yritykselle. Sillä voidaan parhaiten tukea myyntiä järjestelmän tuottaessa laadukkaita myyntimahdollisuuksia tasaisena virtana myynnille. Myös aiemmin manuaalisesti tehtyjä työtehtäviä voidaan automatisoida ja näin vähentää myyjien työtaakkaa.

Immobilization of Burkholderia cepacia Lipase: Kinetic Resolution in Organic Solvents, Ionic Liquids and in Their Mixtures

Immobilization of Burkholderia cepacia Lipase: Kinetic Resolution in Organic Solvents, Ionic Liquids and in Their Mixtures Biocatalysis opens the door to green and sustainable processes in synthetic chemistry allowing the preparation of single enantiomers, since the enzymes are chiral and accordingly able to catalyze chemical reactions under mild conditions. Immobilization of enzymes enhances process robustness, often stabilizes and activates the enzyme, and enables reuse of the same enzyme preparation in multiple cycles. Although hundreds of variations of immobilization methods exist, there is no universal method to yield the highly active, selective and stable enzyme catalysts. Therefore, new methods need to be developed to obtain suitable catalysts for different substrates and reaction environments. Lipases are the most widely used enzymes in synthetic organic chemistry. The literature part together with the experimental part of this thesis discusses of the effects of immobilization methods mostly used to enhance lipase activity, stability and enantioselectivity. Moreover, the use of lipases in the kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols in organic solvents and in ionic liquids is discussed. The experimental work consists of the studies of immobilization of Burkholderia cepacia lipase (lipase PS) using three different methods: encapsulation in sol-gels, cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) and supported ionic liquids enzyme catalysts (SILEs). In addition, adsorption of lipase PS on celite was studied to compare the results obtained with sol-gels, CLEAs and SILEs. The effects of immobilization on enzyme activity, enantioselectivity and hydrolysis side reactions were studied in kinetic resolution of three secondary alcohols in organic solvents, in ionic liquids (ILs), and in their mixtures. Lipase PS sol-gels were shown to be active and stable catalysts in organic solvents and solvent:IL mixtures. CLEAs and SILEs were highly active and enantioselective in organic solvents. Sol-gels and SILEs were reusable in several cycles. Hydrolysis side reaction was suppressed in the presence of sol-gels and CLEAs.

Combining Near-Field and Far-Field Microscopy: A new method for nanoscale super-resolution imaging

Lähikenttä- ja kaukokenttämikroskopian yhdistäminen: Uusi korkearesoluutioinen menetelmä nanokuvantamiseen. Osteoporoosi on sairaus, jossa luun uudistumisprosessi ei ole enää tasapainossa. Uuden luun muodostuminen on hitaampaa johtuen osteoblastien laskeneesta aktiivisuudesta. Yksi keino estää osteoporoosin syntyä on estää osteoklastien sitoutuminen luun pinnalle, jolloin ne eivät aloita luun syömisprosessia. Tämän Pro gradu -tutkielman tarkoituksena on luoda uusi työkalu osteoklastien sitoutumisen tutkimiseen samanaikaisesti fluoresenssi- ja atomivoimamikroskoopilla. Tätä tarkoitusta varten yhdistettiin atomivoimamikroskooppi sekä STED mikroskooppi. Kirjallisuuskatsauksessa käydään läpi yksityiskohtaisesti molempien mikroskooppitekniikoiden teoriat. Kokeellisessa osiossa esitetään käytetyt metodit ja alustavat tulokset uudella systeemillä. Lisäksi keskustellaan lyhyesti kuvan analysoinnista ImageJohjelmalla. Konfokaalisen fluoresenssimikroskoopin ja atomivoimamikroskoopin yhdistelmä on keksitty jo aikaisemmin, mutta tavallisen konfokaalimikroskoopin erottelukyvyn raja on noin 200 nanometriä johtuen valon diffraktioluonteesta. Yksityiskohdat eivät erotu, jos ne ovat pienempiä kuin puolet käytettävästä aallonpituudesta. STED mikroskooppi mahdollistaa fluoresenssikuvien taltioimisen solunsisäisistä prosesseista 50 nanometrin lateraalisella erotuskyvyllä ja atomivoimamikroskooppi antaa topografista tietoa näytteestä nanometrien erotuskyvyllä. Biologisia näytteitä kuvannettaessa atomivoimamikroskoopin erotuskyky kuitenkin huononee ja yleensä saavutetaan 30-50 nanometrin erotuskyky. Kuvien kerrostaminen vaatii vertauspisteitä ja tätä varten käytettiin atomivoimamikroskoopin kärjen tunnistamista ja referenssipartikkeleita. Kuva-analysointi suoritettiin ImageJ-kuvankäsittelyohjelmalla. Tuloksista nähdään, että referenssipartikkelit ovat hyviä, mutta niiden sijoittaminen tarkasti tietylle kohdealueelle on hankalaa nanoskaalassa. Tästä johtuen kärjen havaitseminen fluoresenssikuvassa on parempi metodi. Atomivoimamikroskoopin kärki voidaan päällystää fluoresoivalla aineella, mutta tämä lisää kärjen aiheuttamaa konvoluutiota mittausdataan. Myös valon takaisinsirontaa kärjestä voidaan tutkia, jolloin konvoluutio ei lisäänny. Ensimmäisten kuvien kerrostamisessa käytettiin hyväksi fluoresoivalla aineella päällystettyä kärkeä ja lopputuloksessa oli vain 50 nanometrin yhteensopimattomuus fluoresenssi- ja topografiakuvan kanssa. STED mikroskoopin avulla nähdään leimattujen proteiinien tarkat sijainnit tiettynä ajankohtana elävän solun sisällä. Samaan aikaan pystytään kuvantamaan solun fyysisiä muotoja tai mitata adheesiovoimia atomivoimamikroskoopilla. Lisäksi voidaan käyttää funktinalisoitua kärkeä, jolla voidaan laukaista signalointitapahtumia solun ja soluväliaineen välillä. Sitoutuminen soluväliaineeseen voidaan rekisteröidä samoin kuin adheesiomediaattorien sijainnit sitoutumisalueella. Nämä dynaamiset havainnot tuottavat uutta informaatiota solun signaloinnista, kun osteoklasti kiinnittyy luun pintaan. Tämä teknologia tarjoaa uuden näkökulman monimutkaisiin signalointiprosesseihin nanoskaalassa ja tulee ratkaisemaan lukemattoman määrän biologisia ongelmia.

Haja-asutusalueiden pienjätevedenpuhdistamoiden online-monitoroinnin kehitysmahdollisuudet

The aim of this Bachelor's thesis was to investigate potentialities of online-monitoring the efficiency of small scale wastewater treatment systems. Evolving legislation currently sets minimum boundaries of relative decrease in levels of phosphorus, nitrogen and BOD in abovementioned applications, yet no monitoring requirements for such systems are determined. Inherently, no applicable monitoring system for these parameters exist. However, some measuring methods offer potentialities for estimating the reduction of these certain parameters in a wastewater stream treated in a small scale system. Such methods could be found for example among electronic noses, measuring of electronic conductivity or turbidity.

Influence of Link Structure on Search Engine Result Pages of Online Nursery Shops

The primary objective of this thesis is to assess how the backlink portfolio structure and off site Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) elements influence ranking of UK based online nursery shops. The growth of the internet use demanded significant effort from companies to optimize and increase their online presence in order to cope with the increasing online competition. The new e-Commerce technology - called Search Engine Optimisation - has been developed that helped increase website visibility of companies. The SEO process involves on site elements (i.e. changing the parameters of the company's website such as keywords, title tags and meta descriptions) and off site elements (link building and social media marketing activity). Link Building is based on several steps of marketing planning including keyword research and competitor analysis. The underlying goal of keyword research is to understand the targeted market through identifying relevant keyword queries that are used by targeted costumer group. In the analysis, three types (geographic, field and company’s strategy related) and seven sources of keywords has been identified and used as a base of analysis. Following the determination of the most popular keywords, allinanchor and allintitle search has been conducted and the first ten results of the searches have been collected to identify the companies with the most significant web presence among the nursery shops. Finally, Link Profiling has been performed where the essential goal was to understand to what extent other companies' link structure is different that the base company's backlinks. Significant difference has been found that distinguished the top three companies ranking in the allinanchor and allintitle search. The top three companies, „Mothercare”, „Mamas and Papas” and „Kiddicare” maintained significantly better metrics regarding domain and page authority on the main landing pages, the average number of outbound links for link portfolio metric and in number of backlinks. These companies also ranked among the highest in page authority distribution and followed external linking.