The electricity distribution network in Saint-Petersburg area and benchmark between Saint-Petersburg and City of Stockholm related distribution companies' performance

The main objective of the Thesis is the description of the electricity distribution networks in Saint-Petersburg area and Stockholm as well. Main similarity and differences in the construction and technicalperformance are presented in the study. Present and future development and investment into the electricity distribution network of OJSC Lenenergo are viewed. The Thesis presents the overview of the power industry reform in Russia. The current state of the electricity distribution sector is described. The study views the participation of the foreign investor "Fortum Power and Heat Oy" inthe development and management of the OJSC Lenenergo. Benchmark comparison of the prices and tangible assets of the main electricity distribution companies in Saint-Petersburg and Stockholm areas is done.

Environmental Challenges in the Joint Border Area of Norway, Finland and Russia

This report examines the human impact on the subarctic environment of the joint border area of Norway, Finland and Russia. The aim is to present the current state and recent changes that have taken place in the region. The main threat to the environment is the Pechenganikel mining and metallurgical industrial combine in the towns of Nikel and Zapolyarny in the Kola Peninsula. Emissions from this complex include high levels of heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants and sulfur dioxide. Pollution, along with climate change, water level regulation and other anthropogenic effects, has affected the aquatic ecosystems in the joint border area. The main heavy metals in the area are copper and nickel, the highest concentrations of which are measured near the combine. Direct discharge of sewage into the river continues and airborne heavy metal particles are also deposited to areas farther away. Climate changeinduced increase in temperature and precipitation in the Kola Peninsula is evident. Water level regulation with seven hydropower plants in the Pasvik River have changed it into a series of lakes and lake-like reservoirs. This report discusses modelling, which was enabled to estimate the effect of climate change on Lake Inarijärvi and the Pasvik River hydrology, water level fluctuation and ecology and to follow the sulfur dioxide emissions emitted from the Pechenganikel. Effects of pollution on the nature and concentrations of the main pollutants were studied and climate change in the border area and its effects on the ecology were estimated. Also the effects of water level regulation on the ecological status of the aquatic ecosystems were addressed.

Water vapor tightness of packages: methods and optimizing

Työn tarkoituksena oli testata jo tutkimuskeskuksella käytössä ollutta ja tutkimuskeskukselle tässä työssä kehitettyä pakkauksen vesihöyrytiiveyteen liittyvää mittausmenetelmää. Saatuja tuloksia verrattiin keskenään sekä materiaalista mitattuihin arvoihin. Elintarvikepakkauksia tutkittiin myös kosteussensoreiden, säilyvyyskokeen sekä kuljetussimuloinnin avulla. Optimoinnilla tutkittiin pakkauksen muodon vaikutusta vesihöyrytiiveyteen. Pakkauksen vesihöyrynläpäisyn mittaamiseen kehitetty menetelmä toimi hyvin ja sen toistettavuus oli hyvä. Verrattaessa sitä jo olemassa olleeseen menetelmään tulokseksi saatiin, että uusi menetelmä oli nopeampi ja vaati vähemmän työaikaa, mutta molemmat menetelmät antoivat hyviä arvoja rinnakkaisille näytteille. Kosteussensoreilla voitiin tutkia tyhjän pakkauksen sisällä olevan kosteuden muutoksia säilytyksen aikana. Säilyvyystesti tehtiin muroilla ja parhaan vesihöyrysuojan antoivat pakkaukset joissa oli alumiinilaminaatti- tai metalloitu OPP kerros. Kuljetustestauksen ensimmäisessä testissä pakkauksiin pakattiin muroja ja toisessa testissä nuudeleita. Kuljetussimuloinnilla ei ollutvaikutusta pakkausten sisäpintojen eheyteen eikä siten pakkausten vesihöyrytiiveyteen. Optimoinnilla vertailtiin eri muotoisten pakkausten tilavuus/pinta-ala suhdetta ja vesihöyrytiiveyden riippuvuutta pinta-alasta. Optimaalisimmaksi pakkaukseksi saatiin pallo, jonka pinta-ala oli pienin ja materiaalin sallima vesihöyrynläpäisy suurin ja vesihöyrybarrierin määrä pienin.

Information sharing in R&D collaboration - Context-dependency and means of governance

Tiedon jakaminen ja kommunikointi ovat tärkeitä toimintoja verkostoituneiden yritysten välillä ja ne käsitetäänkin yhteistyösuhteen yhtenä menestystekijänä ja kulmakivenä. Tiedon jakamiseen liittyviä haasteita ovat mm. yrityksen liiketoiminnalle kriittisen tiedon vuotaminen ja liiketoiminnan vaatima tiedon reaaliaikaisuus ja riittävä määrä. Tuotekehitysyhteistyössä haasteellista on tiedon jäsentymättömyys ja sitä kautta lisääntyvä tiedon jakamisen tarve, minkä lisäksi jaettava tieto on usein monimutkaista ja yksityiskohtaista. Lisäksi tuotteiden elinkaaret lyhenevät, ja ulkoistaminen ja yhteistyö ovat yhä kasvavia trendejä liiketoiminnassa. Yhdessä nämä tekijät johtavat siihen, että tiedon jakaminen on haastavaa eritoten verkostoituneiden yritysten välillä. Tässä tutkimuksessa tiedon jakamisen haasteisiin pyrittiin vastaamaan ottamalla lähtökohdaksi tiedon jakamisen tilanneriippuvuuden ymmärtäminen. Työssä vastattiin kahteen pääkysymykseen: Mikä on tiedon jakamisen tilanneriippuvuus ja miten sitä voidaan hallita? Tilanneriippuvuudella tarkoitetaan työssä niitä tekijöitä, jotka vaikuttavat siihen, miten yritys jakaa tietoa tuotekehityskumppaneidensa kanssa. Tiedon jakamisella puolestaan tarkoitetaan yrityksestä toiselle siirrettävää tietoa, jota tarvitaan tuotekehitysprojektin aikana. Työn empiirinen aineisto on kerätty laadullisella tutkimusotteella case- eli tapaustutkimuksena yhdessä telekommunikaatioalan yrityksessä jasen eri liiketoimintayksiköissä. Tutkimusjoukko käsitti 19 tuotekehitys- ja toimittajanhallintatehtävissä toimivaa johtajaa tai päällikköä. Työ nojaa pääasiassa hankintojen johtamisen tutkimuskenttään ja tilanneriippuvuuden selvittämiseksi paneuduttiin erityisesti verkostojen tutkimukseen. Työssä kuvattiin tiedon jakaminen yhtenä verkoston toimintona ja yhteistyöhön liittyvättiedon jakamisen hyödyt, haasteet ja riskit identifioitiin. Tämän lisäksi työssä kehitettiin verkoston tutkimismalleja ja yhdistettiin eri tasoilla tapahtuvaa verkoston tutkimusta. Työssä esitettiin malli verkoston toimintojen tutkimiseksija todettiin, että verkostotutkimusta pitäisi tehdä verkosto, ketju, yrityssuhde- ja yritystasolla. Malliin on myös hyvä yhdistää tuote- ja tehtäväkohtaiset ominaispiirteet. Kirjallisuuskatsauksen perusteella huomattiin, että tiedon jakamista on aiemmin tarkasteltu lähinnä tuote- ja yrityssuhteiden tasolla. Väitöskirjassa esitettiin lisää merkittäviä tekijöitä, jotka vaikuttavat tiedon jakamiseen. Näitä olivat mm. tuotekehitystehtävän luonne, teknologia-alueen kypsyys ja toimittajan kyvykkyys. Tiedon jakamisen luonnetta tarkasteltaessa erotettiin operatiivinen, projektin hallintaan ja tuotekehitykseen liittyvä tieto sekä yleinen, toimittajan hallintaan liittyvä strateginen tieto. Tulosten mukaan erityisesti tuotekehityksen määrittelyvaihe ja tapaamiset kasvotusten korostuivat yhteistyössä. Empirian avulla tutkittiin myös niitä tekijöitä, joilla tiedon jakamista voidaan hallita tilanneriippuvuuteen perustuen, koska aiemmin tiedon jakamisen hallintakeinoja tai menestystekijöitä ei ole liitetty suoranaisesti eri olosuhteisiin. Nämä hallintakeinot jaettiin yhteistyötason- ja tuotekehitysprojektitason tekijöihin. Yksi työn keskeisistä tuloksista on se, että huolimatta tiedon jakamisen haasteista, monet niistä voidaan eliminoida tunnistamalla vallitsevat olosuhteet ja panostamalla tiedon jakamisen hallintakeinoihin. Työn manageriaalinen hyöty koskee erityisesti yrityksiä, jotka suunnittelevat ja tekevät tuotekehitysyhteistyötä yrityskumppaniensa kanssa. Työssä esitellään keinoja tämän haasteellisen tehtäväkentän hallintaan ja todetaan, että yritysten pitäisikin kiinnittää entistä enemmän huomiota tiedon jakamisen ja kommunikaation hallintaan jo tuotekehitysyhteistyötä suunniteltaessa.

A Large-Sized Multiwire Proportional Counter for Radiological Survey of Large Areas and Surfaces

Työn tavoitteena oli selvittää, miten eri parametrit vaikuttavat monilankaisen verrannollisuuslaskurin laskennallisiin ominaisuuksiin sekä voidaanko suurikokoista monilankaverrannollisuuslaskuria käyttää tehokkaasti suurien pintojen ? - ja ?- kontaminaation mittaamiseen. Ensin selvitettiin EU:n nykyistä clearing-käytäntöä sekä hahmoteltiin tulevia materiaalivirtoja, esiteltiin verrannollisuuslaskurin ja sen monilankamallin toimintaperiaate sekä käytettävien materiaalien ominaisuudet. Kootun teorian pohjalta selvitettiin tärkeimpien parametrien vaikutus ilmaisimen laskennallisiin ominaisuuksiin. Lopuksi suoritettiin rakenteilla olevan monilankaverrannollisuuslaskurin alustava testaus. Tulevien vuosien aikana eri puolilla maailmaa suljettavat erityyppiset ydinlaitokset luovat suuren tarpeen tehokkaiden kontaminaatiomittauslaitteistojen kehittämiselle. Tällä hetkellä mittaukset suoritetaan lähinnä noin 1 dm2 käsi-instrumentein, joten suurikokoinen, automatisoitu mittauslaitteisto sekä tehostaisi mittausprosessia suuresti sekä säästäisi runsaasti miestyötunteja. Jatkotoimenpiteiksi ehdotetaan laitteiston jatkotestausta, liikkeen ja nopeuden testausta sekä lopulta paikkaherkkyystoiminnon toteuttamisperiaatteen valintaa ja testausta.

State of Logistics and Operations Management in Finnish and Swedish Companies – Survey Research Findings

In this research we are examining what is the status of logistics and operations management in Finnish and Swedish companies. Empirical data is based on the web based questionnaire, which was completed in the end of 2007 and early 2008. Our examination consists of roughly 30 answers from largest manufacturing (highest representation in our sample), trade and logistics/distribution companies. Generally it could be argued that these companies operate in complex environment, where number of products, raw materials/components and suppliers is high. However, usually companies rely on small amount of suppliers per raw material/component (highest frequency is 2), and this was especially the case among Swedish companies, and among those companies, which favoured overseas sourcing. Sample consisted of companies which mostly are operating in an international environment, and are quite often multinationals. Our survey findings reveal that companies in general have taken logistics and information technology as part of their strategy process; utilization of performance measures as well as system implementations have followed the strategy decisions. In the transportation mode side we identify that road transports dominate all transport flow classes (inbound, internal and outbound), followed by sea and air. Surprisingly small amount of companies use railways, but in general we could argue that Swedish companies prefer this mode over Finnish counterparts. With respect of operations outsourcing, we found that more traditional areas of logistics outsourcing are driving factors in company's performance measurement priority. In contrary to previous research, our results indicate that the scope of outsourcing is not that wide in logistics/operations management area, and companies are not planning to outsource more in the near future. Some support is found for more international operations and increased outsourcing activity. From the increased time pressure of companies, we find evidence that local as well as overseas customers expect deliveries within days or weeks, but suppliers usually supply within weeks or months. So, basically this leads into considerable inventory holding. Interestingly local and overseas sourcing strategy does not have that great influence on lead time performance of these particular sourcing areas - local strategy is anyway considerably better in responding on market changes due to shorter supply lead times. In the end of our research work we have completed correlation analysis concerning items asked with Likert scale. Our analysis shows that seeing logistics more like a process rather than function, applying time based management, favouring partnerships and measuring logistics within different performance dimensions results on preferred features and performance found in logistics literature.

Assessment of Coastal Bird Populations and Habitats on the Finnish Coast of the Baltic Sea: Implications for Monitoring and Management

Coastal birds are an integral part of coastal ecosystems, which nowadays are subject to severe environmental pressures. Effective measures for the management and conservation of seabirds and their habitats call for insight into their population processes and the factors affecting their distribution and abundance. Central to national and international management and conservation measures is the availability of accurate data and information on bird populations, as well as on environmental trends and on measures taken to solve environmental problems. In this thesis I address different aspects of the occurrence, abundance, population trends and breeding success of waterbirds breeding on the Finnish coast of the Baltic Sea, and discuss the implications of the results for seabird monitoring, management and conservation. In addition, I assess the position and prospects of coastal bird monitoring data, in the processing and dissemination of biodiversity data and information in accordance with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and other national and international commitments. I show that important factors for seabird habitat selection are island area and elevation, water depth, shore openness, and the composition of island cover habitats. Habitat preferences are species-specific, with certain similarities within species groups. The occurrence of the colonial Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) is partly affected by different habitat characteristics than its abundance. Using long-term bird monitoring data, I show that eutrophication and winter severity have reduced the populations of several Finnish seabird species. A major demographic factor through which environmental changes influence bird populations is breeding success. Breeding success can function as a more rapid indicator of sublethal environmental impacts than population trends, particularly for long-lived and slowbreeding species, and should therefore be included in coastal bird monitoring schemes. Among my target species, local breeding success can be shown to affect the populations of the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), the Eider (Somateria mollissima) and the Goosander (Mergus merganser) after a time lag corresponding to their species-specific recruitment age. For some of the target species, the number of individuals in late summer can be used as an easier and more cost-effective indicator of breeding success than brood counts. My results highlight that the interpretation and application of habitat and population studies require solid background knowledge of the ecology of the target species. In addition, the special characteristics of coastal birds, their habitats, and coastal bird monitoring data have to be considered in the assessment of their distribution and population trends. According to the results, the relationships between the occurrence, abundance and population trends of coastal birds and environmental factors can be quantitatively assessed using multivariate modelling and model selection. Spatial data sets widely available in Finland can be utilised in the calculation of several variables that are relevant to the habitat selection of Finnish coastal species. Concerning some habitat characteristics field work is still required, due to a lack of remotely sensed data or the low resolution of readily available data in relation to the fine scale of the habitat patches in the archipelago. While long-term data sets exist for water quality and weather, the lack of data concerning for instance the food resources of birds hampers more detailed studies of environmental effects on bird populations. Intensive studies of coastal bird species in different archipelago areas should be encouraged. The provision and free delivery of high-quality coastal data concerning bird populations and their habitats would greatly increase the capability of ecological modelling, as well as the management and conservation of coastal environments and communities. International initiatives that promote open spatial data infrastructures and sharing are therefore highly regarded. To function effectively, international information networks, such as the biodiversity Clearing House Mechanism (CHM) under the CBD, need to be rooted at regional and local levels. Attention should also be paid to the processing of data for higher levels of the information hierarchy, so that data are synthesized and developed into high-quality knowledge applicable to management and conservation.

Biotransformation and endocrine disruptive effects of contaminants in ringed seals - implications for monitoring and risk assessment

Marine mammals are exposed to persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which may be biotransformed to metabolites some of which are highly toxic. Both POPs and their metabolites may lead to adverse health effects, which have been studied using various biomarkers. Changes in endocrine homeostasis have been suggested to be sensitive biomarkers for contaminant-related effects. The overall objective of this doctoral thesis was to investigate biotransformation capacity of POPs and their potential endocrine disruptive effects in two contrasting ringed seal populations from the low contaminated Svalbard area and from the highly contaminated Baltic Sea. Biotransformation capacity was studied by determining the relationships between congener-specific patterns and concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and their hydroxyl (OH)- and/or methylsulfonyl (MeSO₂)-metabolites, and catalytic activities of hepatic xenobiotic-metabolizing phase I and II enzymes. The results suggest that the biotransformation of PCBs, PBDEs and toxaphenes in ringed seals depends on the congener-specific halogen-substitution pattern. Biotransformation products detected in the seals included OH-PCBs, MeSO₂-PCBs and –DDE, pentachlorophenol, 4-OHheptachlorostyrene, and to a minor extent OH-PBDEs. The effects of life history state (moulting and fasting) on contaminant status and potential biomarkers for endocrine disruption, including hormone and vitamin homeostasis, were investigated in the low contaminated ringed seal population from Svalbard. Moulting/fasting status strongly affected thyroid, vitamin A and calcitriol homeostasis, body condition and concentrations of POPs and their OH-metabolites. In contrast, moulting/fasting status was not associated with variations in vitamin E levels. Endocrine disruptive effects on multiple endpoints were investigated in the two contrasting ringed seal populations. The results suggest that thyroid, vitamin A and calcitriol homeostasis may be affected by the exposure of contaminants and/or their metabolites in the Baltic ringed seals. Complex and non-linear relationships were observed between the contaminant levels and the endocrine variables. Positive relationships between circulating free and total thyroid hormone concentration ratios and OH-PCBs suggest that OH-PCBs may mediate the disruption of thyroid hormone transport in plasma. Species differences in thyroid and bone-related effects of contaminants were studied in ringed and grey seals from low contaminated references areas and from the highly contaminated Baltic Sea. The results indicate that these two species living at the same environment approximately at the same trophic level respond in a very different way to contaminant exposure. The results of this thesis suggest that the health status of the Baltic ringed seals has still improved during the last decade. PCB and DDE levels have decreased in these seals and the contaminant-related effects are different today than a decade ago. The health of the Baltic ringed seals is still suggested to be affected by the contaminant exposure. At the present level of the contaminant exposure the Baltic ringed seals seem to be at a zone where their body is able to compensate for the contaminant-mediated endocrine disruption. Based on the results of this thesis, several recommendations that could be applied on monitoring and assessing risk for contaminant effects are provided. Circulating OH-metabolites should be included in monitoring and risk assessment programs due to their high toxic potential. It should be noted that endogenous variables may have complex and highly variable responses to contaminant exposure including non-linear responses. These relationships may be further confounded by life history status. Therefore, it is highly recommended that when using variables related to endocrine homeostasis to investigate/monitor or assess the risk of contaminant effects in seals, the life history status of the animal should be carefully taken into consideration. This applies especially when using thyroid, vitamin A or calcitriolrelated parameters during moulting/fasting period. Extrapolations between species for assessing risk for contaminant effects in phocid seals should be avoided.

Inversion and assimilation methods with applications in geophysical remote sensing

Stratospheric ozone can be measured accurately using a limb scatter remote sensing technique at the UV-visible spectral region of solar light. The advantages of this technique includes a good vertical resolution and a good daytime coverage of the measurements. In addition to ozone, UV-visible limb scatter measurements contain information about NO2, NO3, OClO, BrO and aerosols. There are currently several satellite instruments continuously scanning the atmosphere and measuring the UVvisible region of the spectrum, e.g., the Optical Spectrograph and Infrared Imager System (OSIRIS) launched on the Odin satellite in February 2001, and the Scanning Imaging Absorption SpectroMeter for Atmospheric CartograpHY (SCIAMACHY) launched on Envisat in March 2002. Envisat also carries the Global Ozone Monitoring by Occultation of Stars (GOMOS) instrument, which also measures limb-scattered sunlight under bright limb occultation conditions. These conditions occur during daytime occultation measurements. The global coverage of the satellite measurements is far better than any other ozone measurement technique, but still the measurements are sparse in the spatial domain. Measurements are also repeated relatively rarely over a certain area, and the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere changes dynamically. Assimilation methods are therefore needed in order to combine the information of the measurements with the atmospheric model. In recent years, the focus of assimilation algorithm research has turned towards filtering methods. The traditional Extended Kalman filter (EKF) method takes into account not only the uncertainty of the measurements, but also the uncertainty of the evolution model of the system. However, the computational cost of full blown EKF increases rapidly as the number of the model parameters increases. Therefore the EKF method cannot be applied directly to the stratospheric ozone assimilation problem. The work in this thesis is devoted to the development of inversion methods for satellite instruments and the development of assimilation methods used with atmospheric models.

Long-term nutrient load management and lake restoration: Case of Säkylän Pyhäjärvi (SW Finland)

Eutrophication caused by anthropogenic nutrient pollution has become one of the most severe threats to water bodies. Nutrients enter water bodies from atmospheric precipitation, industrial and domestic wastewaters and surface runoff from agricultural and forest areas. As point pollution has been significantly reduced in developed countries in recent decades, agricultural non-point sources have been increasingly identified as the largest source of nutrient loading in water bodies. In this study, Lake Säkylän Pyhäjärvi and its catchment are studied as an example of a long-term, voluntary-based, co-operative model of lake and catchment management. Lake Pyhäjärvi is located in the centre of an intensive agricultural area in southwestern Finland. More than 20 professional fishermen operate in the lake area, and the lake is used as a drinking water source and for various recreational activities. Lake Pyhäjärvi is a good example of a large and shallow lake that suffers from eutrophication and is subject to measures to improve this undesired state under changing conditions. Climate change is one of the most important challenges faced by Lake Pyhäjärvi and other water bodies. The results show that climatic variation affects the amounts of runoff and nutrient loading and their timing during the year. The findings from the study area concerning warm winters and their influences on nutrient loading are in accordance with the IPCC scenarios of future climate change. In addition to nutrient reduction measures, the restoration of food chains (biomanipulation) is a key method in water quality management. The food-web structure in Lake Pyhäjärvi has, however, become disturbed due to mild winters, short ice cover and low fish catch. Ice cover that enables winter seining is extremely important to the water quality and ecosystem of Lake Pyhäjärvi, as the vendace stock is one of the key factors affecting the food web and the state of the lake. New methods for the reduction of nutrient loading and the treatment of runoff waters from agriculture, such as sand filters, were tested in field conditions. The results confirm that the filter technique is an applicable method for nutrient reduction, but further development is needed. The ability of sand filters to absorb nutrients can be improved with nutrient binding compounds, such as lime. Long-term hydrological, chemical and biological research and monitoring data on Lake Pyhäjärvi and its catchment provide a basis for water protection measures and improve our understanding of the complicated physical, chemical and biological interactions between the terrestrial and aquatic realms. In addition to measurements carried out in field conditions, Lake Pyhäjärvi and its catchment were studied using various modelling methods. In the calibration and validation of models, long-term and wide-ranging time series data proved to be valuable. Collaboration between researchers, modellers and local water managers further improves the reliability and usefulness of models. Lake Pyhäjärvi and its catchment can also be regarded as a good research laboratory from the point of view of the Baltic Sea. The main problem in both of them is eutrophication caused by excess nutrients, and nutrient loading has to be reduced – especially from agriculture. Mitigation measures are also similar in both cases.

The effects of maternal hyperglycemia on human umbilical vascular gene expression and neonatal rat lung development

Background: Maternal diabetes affects many fetal organ systems, including the vasculature and the lungs. The offspring of diabetic mothers have respiratory adaptation problems after birth. The mechanisms are multifactorial and the effects are prolonged during the postnatal period. An increasing incidence of diabetic pregnancies accentuates the importance of identifying the pathological mechanisms, which cause the metabolic and genetic changes that occur in offspring, born to diabetic mothers. Aims and methods: The aim of this thesis was to determine changes both in human umbilical cord exposed to maternal type 1 diabetes and in neonatal rat lungs after streptozotocin-induced maternal hyperglycemia, during pregnancy. Rat lungs were used as a model for the potential disease mechanisms. Gene expression alterations were determined in human umbilical cords at birth and in rat pup lungs at two week of age. During the first two postnatal weeks, rat lung development was studied morphologically and histologically. Further, the effect of postnatal hyperoxia on hyperglycemia-primed rat lungs was investigated at one week of age to mimic the clinical situation of supplemental oxygen treatment. Results: In the umbilical cord, maternal diabetes had a major negative effect on the expression of genes involved in blood vessel development. The genes regulating vascular tone were also affected. In neonatal rat lungs, intrauterine hyperglycemia had a prolonged effect on gene expression during late alveolarization. The most affected pathway was the upregulation of extracellular matrix proteins. Newborn rat lungs exposed to intrauterine hyperglycemia had thinner saccular walls without changes in airspace size, a smaller relative lung weight and lung total tissue area, and increased cellular apoptosis and proliferation compared to control lungs, possibly reflecting an aberrant maturational adaptation. At one and two weeks of age, cell proliferation and secondary crest formation were accelerated in hyperglycemia-exposed lungs. Postnatal hyperoxic exposure, alone caused arrested alveolarization with thin-walled and enlarged alveoli. In contrast, the dual exposure of intrauterine hyperglycemia and postnatal hyperoxia resulted in the phenotype of thick septa together with arrested alveolarization and decreased number of small pulmonary arteries. Conclusions: Maternal diabetic environment seems to alter the umbilical cord gene expression profile of the regulation of vascular development and function. Fetal hyperglycemia may additionally affect the genetic regulation of the postnatal lung development and may actually induce prolonged structural alterations in neonatal lungs together with a modifying effect on the deleterious pulmonary exposure of postnatal hyperoxia. This, combined with the novel human umbilical cord gene data could serve as stepping stones for future therapies to curb developmental aberrations.

Modified nano- and microcellulose based adsorption materials in water treatment

In recent decades, industrial activity growth and increasing water usage worldwide have led to the release of various pollutants, such as toxic heavy metals and nutrients, into the aquatic environment. Modified nanocellulose and microcellulose-based adsorption materials have the potential to remove these contaminants from aqueous solutions. The present research consisted of the preparation of five different nano/microcellulose-based adsorbents, their characterization, the study of adsorption kinetics and isotherms, the determination of adsorption mechanisms, and an evaluation of adsorbents’ regeneration properties. The same well known reactions and modification methods that were used for modifying conventional cellulose also worked for microfibrillated cellulose (MFC). The use of succinic anhydride modified mercerized nanocellulose, and aminosilane and hydroxyapatite modified nanostructured MFC for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions exhibited promising results. Aminosilane, epoxy and hydroxyapatite modified MFC could be used as a promising alternative for H2S removal from aqueous solutions. In addition, new knowledge about the adsorption properties of carbonated hydroxyapatite modified MFC as multifunctional adsorbent for the removal of both cations and anions ions from water was obtained. The maghemite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) modified MFC was found to be a highly promising adsorbent for the removal of As(V) from aqueous solutions due to its magnetic properties, high surface area, and high adsorption capacity . The maximum removal efficiencies of each adsorbent were studied in batch mode. The results of adsorption kinetics indicated very fast removal rates for all the studied pollutants. Modeling of adsorption isotherms and adsorption kinetics using various theoretical models provided information about the adsorbent’s surface properties and the adsorption mechanisms. This knowledge is important for instance, in designing water treatment units/plants. Furthermore, the correspondence between the theory behind the model and properties of the adsorbent as well as adsorption mechanisms were also discussed. On the whole, both the experimental results and theoretical considerations supported the potential applicability of the studied nano/microcellulose-based adsorbents in water treatment applications.

Pulsed electric field assisted sol-gel preparation of TiO2 particles and their photocatalytic properties

The objective of this thesis was to study the effect of pulsed electric field on the preparation of TiO2 nanoparticles via sol-gel method. The literature part deals with properties of different TiO2 crystal forms, principles of photocatalysis, sol-gel method and pulsed electric field processing. It was expected that the pulsed electric field would have an influence on crystallite size, specific surface area, polymorphism and photocatalytic activity of produced particles. TiO2 samples were prepared by using different frequencies and treatment times of pulsed electric field. The properties of produced TiO2 particles were examined X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and BET surface area analysis. The photocatalytic activities of produced TiO2 particles were determined by using them as photocatalysts for the degradation of formic acid under UVA-light. The photocatalytic activities of samples produced with sol-gel method were also compared with the commercial TiO2 powder Aeroxide® (Evonic Degussa GmbH). Pulsed electric field did not have an effect on the morphology of particles. Results from XRD and Raman analysis showed that all produced TiO2 samples were pure anatase. However, pulsed electric field did have an effect on crystallite size, specific surface area and photocatalytic activity of TiO2 particles. Generally, the crystallite sizes were smaller, specific surface areas larger and initial formic acid degradation rates higher for samples that were produced by applying the pulsed electric field. The higher photocatalytic activities were attributed to larger surface areas and smaller crystallite sizes. Though, with all of the TiO2 samples produced by the sol-gel method the initial formic acid degradation rates were significantly slower than with the commercial TiO2 powder.

Power and Performance Management Strategies on NoC-Based Multicore Platforms, Using DVFS, Adaptive Algorithm and Task Parallelism

This work presents synopsis of efficient strategies used in power managements for achieving the most economical power and energy consumption in multicore systems, FPGA and NoC Platforms. In this work, a practical approach was taken, in an effort to validate the significance of the proposed Adaptive Power Management Algorithm (APMA), proposed for system developed, for this thesis project. This system comprise arithmetic and logic unit, up and down counters, adder, state machine and multiplexer. The essence of carrying this project firstly, is to develop a system that will be used for this power management project. Secondly, to perform area and power synopsis of the system on these various scalable technology platforms, UMC 90nm nanotechnology 1.2v, UMC 90nm nanotechnology 1.32v and UMC 0.18 μmNanotechnology 1.80v, in order to examine the difference in area and power consumption of the system on the platforms. Thirdly, to explore various strategies that can be used to reducing system’s power consumption and to propose an adaptive power management algorithm that can be used to reduce the power consumption of the system. The strategies introduced in this work comprise Dynamic Voltage Frequency Scaling (DVFS) and task parallelism. After the system development, it was run on FPGA board, basically NoC Platforms and on these various technology platforms UMC 90nm nanotechnology1.2v, UMC 90nm nanotechnology 1.32v and UMC180 nm nanotechnology 1.80v, the system synthesis was successfully accomplished, the simulated result analysis shows that the system meets all functional requirements, the power consumption and the area utilization were recorded and analyzed in chapter 7 of this work. This work extensively reviewed various strategies for managing power consumption which were quantitative research works by many researchers and companies, it's a mixture of study analysis and experimented lab works, it condensed and presents the whole basic concepts of power management strategy from quality technical papers.