On the Reversed Brayton Cycle with High Speed Machinery

This work was carried out in the laboratory of Fluid Dynamics, at Lappeenranta University of Technology during the years 1991-1996. The research was a part of larger high speed technology development research. First, there was the idea of making high speed machinery applications with the Brayton cycle. There was a clear need to deepen theknowledge of the cycle itself and to make a new approach in the field of the research. Also, the removal of water from the humid air seemed very interesting. The goal of this work was to study methods of designing high speed machinery to the reversed Brayton cycle, from theoretical principles to practical applications. The reversed Brayton cycle can be employed as an air dryer, a heat pump or a refrigerating machine. In this research the use of humid air as a working fluid has an environmental advantage, as well. A new calculation method for the Braytoncycle is developed. In this method especially the expansion process in the turbine is important because of the condensation of the water vapour in the humid air. This physical phenomena can have significant effects on the level of performance of the application. Also, the influence of calculating the process with actual, achievable process equipment efficiencies is essential for the development of the future machinery. The above theoretical calculations are confirmed with two different laboratory prototypes. The high speed machinery concept allows one to build an application with only one rotating shaft including all the major parts: the high speed motor, the compressor and the turbine wheel. The use of oil free bearings and high rotational speed outlines give several advantages compared to conventional machineries: light weight, compact structure, safe operation andhigher efficiency at a large operational region. There are always problems whentheory is applied to practice. The calibrations of pressure, temperature and humidity probes were made with care but still measurable errors were not negligible. Several different separators were examined and in all cases the content of the separated water was not exact. Due to the compact sizes and structures of the prototypes, the process measurement was slightly difficult. The experimental results agree well with the theoretical calculations. These experiments prove the operation of the process and lay a ground for the further development. The results of this work give very promising possibilities for the design of new, commercially competitive applications that use high speed machinery and the reversed Brayton cycle.

Salivary gland cancer in Finland: Incidence, histological distribution, outcome and prognostic factors

Salivary gland cancer (SGC) is a rare cancer. The histological classification of SGC is complex and its biological behavior highly variable: it may vary from a low-grade tumor to a high-grade and often fatal malignancy. These circumstances make this cancer a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Older age and exposure to ionizing radiation are known risk factors. The mainstay of treatment is surgery combined with adjuvant radiation therapy, when appropriate. In addition to the histological type, the only well known prognostic factor is the TNM classification, which describes the tumor size and the amount of metastases. This study was performed using a full population-based nationwide cohort of SGC patients and tumors diagnosed in Finland in 1991-1996. The annual incidence of SGC in the entire population was, on average, 47.7 per year. By histological re-evaluation of 237 specimens the most frequent histological types were the adenoid cystic carcinoma (n=65; 27%), the mucoepidermoid carcinoma (n=45; 19%) and the acinic cell carcinoma (n=41; 17%). The highest 10-year disease-specific survival rate occurred among patients with acinic cell carcinoma (90%), followed by mucoepidermoid carcinoma (81%) and adenoid cystic carcinoma (60%). A high volume-corrected index (VCI) of Ki-67 correlated with worse survival of patients with SGC. Computer-assisted morphometric analyses of CD34-positive vessels indicated an unfavorable prognosis for patients with mucoepidermoid carcinoma and an association with poor survival among patients with acinic cell carcinoma. A high level of expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) showed a trend for a poorer prognosis in salivary duct carcinoma, and a high level of MMP-13 and a low level of MMP-1 had a trend for a poorer prognosis of patients with SGC. A low level of MMP-7 was associated with a poor prognosis of patients with acinic cell and mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

[Kurzrezensionen]

Kirjallisuusarvostelu

Osakkeiden hintojen muutokset reaalitalouden muutoksia ennakoivina tekijöinä Suomessa ja Saksassa 1991-2010 sekä Norjassa 1996-2010

Kandidaatintutkielman tarkoituksena oli tutkia voiko osakkeiden hintojen muutoksilla ennakoida reaalitalouden muutoksia, kun talouskasvun muutosta tarkastellaan bruttokansantuotteen ja teollisuus-tuotannon volyymin muutoksilla. Kohdemaita ovat Suomi, Saksa ja Norja. Tätä tutkitaan OLS-regression ja viivejakaumamallin avulla, joita ennen tutkitaan osakkeiden hintojen muutosten ja talouskasvun muutosten yhteisintegraatiota sekä kausaliteettisuhdetta. Tutkielman idea lähti siitä, kun kehittyviä maita mainostetaan tuottavina sijoituskohteina. Tarkoituksena on tutkia voiko osakkeiden hinnoilla ennakoida reaalitalouden muutoksia Suomessa, Saksassa ja Norjassa ja sen jälkeen vetää johtopäätöksiä voivatko sijoittajat todella odottaa suurempia tuottoja maissa, joissa odotetaan suurta talouskasvua. Tutkielman tulokset antavat viitteitä sille, että osakkeiden hintojen muutoksilla voi ennakoida jonkin verran talouskasvun muutoksia. Jotta voitaisiin vastata siihen ovatko kehittyvät maat tuottavimpia sijoituskohteita kuin muut maat tarvittaisiin lisätutkimusta asian saralla.

50 vuotta suomalaista kirjataidetta : juhlanäyttely 10.10.- 31.12.1996

Heli Therman

Salat ja valat : vapaamuurarit suomalaisessa yhteiskunnassa ja julkisuudessa 1756-1996

Resumé: "Hemligheterna och ederna" : frimurarna i det finska samhället och i offentligheten 1756-1996