Biochemical treatment of brown grade rejects in recycling process

Ruskeisiin kierrätysmassoihin kuuluu kulutuksen kannalta tärkeimpänä laatuna OCC (old corrugated containers). OCC sisältää noin 70-100% aaltopahvia eli pääasiassa se koostuu valkaisemattomasta kemiallisesta massasta. OCC uusiomassan ensisijainen käyttökohde on aaltopahvin valmistus. OCC:n kierrätyskuituprosessissa syntyy merkittäviä määriä rejektiä. Rejektin määrä riippuu paljolti kierrätettävän materiaalin laadusta ja puhtaudesta, mutta myös tulevan massan käyttötarkoituksesta sekä prosessiolosuhteista. OCC-prosessissa rejektoituvan aineksen määrä voi nousta korkeaksi, mikäli kierrätettävä materiaali sisältää märkälujaliimoja tai muuten raskaasti liimattuja komponentteja sekä runsaasti kontaminantteja, kuten muoveja, teippejä ja metalleja. Keskimäärin OCC-rejekti sisältää 30-60% kiinteää ainesta, 30-90% (kuivapaino) kuituja, 5-70% (kuivapaino) muoveja ja 1-10% (kuivapaino) tuhkaa. Syntynyt rejekti voidaan polttaa energiaksi tai käyttää maantäyttöaineena. Harvinaisempia sovelluksia rejektin käsittelyssä ovat rejektin kuitujen talteenotto uudelleenprosessointia varten tai alkoholin ja levuliinihapon tuottamiseen. Rejektin asianmukaisella käsittelyllä voidaan vähentää kaatopaikkakustannuksia, sekä parantaa kierrätysprosessin tuottavuutta. Tämän työn tarkoituksena oli tutkia biokemiallisen käsittelyn mahdollisuudet OCC-rejektin hajotuksessa. Alustavissa laboratoriomittakaavan kokeissa etsittiin sopiva käsittelytapa, joka toteutettiin sitten pilot plant -mittakaavassa. Tulokset osoittavat, että biokemiallisen käsittelyn avulla rejekti voidaan hajottaa jolloin jätteenkäsittelykustannukset pienenevät ja kierrätyskuituprosessin taloudellisuus paranee.

Critical Success and Failure Factors of Knowledge Management Implementation in a Large Multinational Company

More and more companies are interested in implementing knowledge management. However, the majority of knowledge management initiatives will fail to have any significant impact. In this study, theories regarding knowledge management implementation and adoption are investigated further. The objective of this study is to deepen understanding regarding the critical factors that contribute to successful knowledge management adoption in large multinational companies. The study is formulated around the following four research questions: 1. What are the key success and failure factors in knowledge management implementation? 2. How can knowledge management adoption be improved at the individual, group and organizational levels of the company? 3. What are the critical factors that hinder knowledge management adoption in the case company? 4. How can the case company promote the adoption of knowledge management among company personnel? The methodology used in this study is a combination of a literature review and an explanatory, exploratory, qualitative single-case study. The literature review answers the first and second research questions. Based on the literature review, a framework is presented to illustrate the factors contributing to the success of knowledge management implementation. The framework also links together knowledge management implementation and adoption. The third research question is answered by revealing the relevant findings from 21 expert interviews and 2 online questionnaires with 42 respondents in total. By comparing and contrasting the results of the literature review with the findings of the empirical case study, the fourth research question is answered. The concrete outcomes of this study are a framework to elucidate the factors contributing to the success of knowledge management implementation, a case study highlighting the issues that hinder knowledge management adoption within the case company, and recommendations for the case company.

Sensitive Troponin Assays: Diagnostic and Prognostic Use in Cardiology

Cardiac troponins (cTns) are the recommended biochemical markers in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction (MI). They are very sensitive and tissue-specific but are limited by their delayed appearance in the circulation. Biochemical markers with more rapid release kinetics, e.g. myoglobin and especially heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP), have been used to enhance the early identification of MI. The implementation of cTns into clinical practice has shown that cardiomyocyte injury occurs in many other clinical conditions than MI. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of modern and highly sensitive cTnI assays on the early diagnosis of MI. In a patient cohort with suspected MI, such a sensitive cTnI assay enhanced the early diagnostic accuracy when compared to a less sensitive cTnI assay and to myoglobin. When compared to H-FABP during the early hours after symptom onset, the sensitive cTnI assay showed at least similar and, after 6 hours, superior diagnostic accuracy. A positive cTnI test result had superior prognostic value when compared to H-FABP, even among early presenters. The prognostic value of cTn in acute heart failure (AHF) was evaluated in 364 patients who participated in the FINN-AKVA study. The patients presented with AHF but no acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Up to half of the patients had elevated cTn levels which were associated with higher 6-month mortality. The magnitude of cTn elevation was directly proportional to mortality. Finally, the clinical spectrum of cTnI elevations was evaluated in 991 cTnI positive emergency department (ED) patients. 83% of the patients had MI and 17% had cTnI elevation due to other clinical conditions. The latter patient group was characterized by lower absolute cTnI levels and – importantly – higher in-hospital mortality when compared to the MI patients. In conclusion, the use of a highly sensitive cTnI assay enhances the early diagnostic accuracy and risk stratification in suspected MI patients. Cardiac troponin elevations are highly prevalent also in other acute clinical conditions and indicate an adverse outcome of these patients.

Biochemical Modification of Thermomechanical Pulp Fibers

The first objective of this study was to find out reliable laboratory methods to predict the effect of enzymes on specific energy consumption and fiber properties of TMP pulp. The second one was to find with interactive software called “Knowledge discovery in databases” enzymes or other additives that can be used in finding a solution to reduce energy consumption of TMP pulp. The chemical composition of wood and enzymes, which have activity on main wood components were presented in the literature part of the work. The results of previous research in energy reduction of TMP process with enzymes were also highlighted. The main principles of knowledge discovery have been included in literature part too. The experimental part of the work contains the methods description in which the standard size chip, crushed chip and fiberized spruce chip (fiberized pulp) were used. Different types of enzymatic treatment with different dosages and time were tested during the experiments and showed. Pectinase, endoglucanase and mixture of enzymes were used for evaluation of method reliability. The fines content and fiber length of pulp was measured and used as evidence of enzymes' effect. The refining method with “Bauer” laboratory disc refiner was evaluated as not highly reliable. It was not able to provide high repeatability of results, because of uncontrolled feeding capacity and refining consistency. The refining method with Valley refiner did not have a lot of variables and showed stable and repeatable results in energy saving. The results of experiments showed that efficient enzymes impregnation is probably the main target with enzymes application for energy saving. During the work the fiberized pulp showed high accessibility to enzymatic treatment and liquid penetration without special impregnating equipment. The reason was that fiberized pulp has larger wood surface area and thereby the contact area between the enzymatic solution and wood is also larger. Standard size chip and crushed chip treatment without special impregnator of enzymatic solution was evaluated as not efficient and did not show visible, repeatable results in energy consumption decrease. Thereby it was concluded that using of fiberized pulp and Valley refiner for measurements of enzymes' effectiveness in SEC decrease is more suitable than normal size chip and crushed chip with “Bauer” refiner. Endoglucanase with 5 kg/t dosage showed about 20% energy consumption decrease. Mixture of enzymes with 1.5 kg/t dosage showed about 15% decrease of energy consumption during the refining. Pectinase at different dosages and treatment times did not show significant effect on energy consumption. Results of knowledge discovery in databases showed the xylanase, cellulase and pectinase blend as most promising for energy reduction in TMP process. Surfactants were determined as effective additives for energy saving with enzymes.

The spindle assembly checkpoint as a drug target - Novel small-molecule inhibitors of Aurora kinases

Cell division (mitosis) is a fundamental process in the life cycle of a cell. Equal distribution of chromosomes between the daughter cells is essential for the viability and well-being of an organism: loss of fidelity of cell division is a contributing factor in human cancer and also gives rise to miscarriages and genetic birth defects. For maintaining the proper chromosome number, a cell must carefully monitor cell division in order to detect and correct mistakes before they are translated into chromosomal imbalance. For this purpose an evolutionarily conserved mechanism termed the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) has evolved. The SAC comprises a complex network of proteins that relay and amplify mitosis-regulating signals created by assemblages called kinetochores (KTs). Importantly, minor defects in SAC signaling can cause loss or gain of individual chromosomes (aneuploidy) which promotes tumorigenesis while complete failure of SAC results in cell death. The latter event has raised interest in discovery of low molecular weight (LMW) compounds targeting the SAC that could be developed into new anti-cancer therapeutics. In this study, we performed a cell-based, phenotypic high-throughput screen (HTS) to identify novel LMW compounds that inhibit SAC function and result in loss of cancer cell viability. Altogether, we screened 65 000 compounds and identified eight that forced the cells prematurely out of mitosis. The flavonoids fisetin and eupatorin, as well as the synthetic compounds termed SACi2 and SACi4, were characterized in more detail utilizing versatile cell-based and biochemical assays. To identify the molecular targets of these SAC-suppressing compounds, we investigated the conditions in which SAC activity became abrogated. Eupatorin, SACi2 and SACi4 preferentially abolished the tensionsensitive arm of the SAC, whereas fisetin lowered also the SAC activity evoked by lack of attachments between microtubules (MTs) and KTs. Consistent with the abrogation of SAC in response to low tension, our data indicate that all four compounds inhibited the activity of Aurora B kinase. This essential mitotic protein is required for correction of erratic MT-KT attachments, normal SAC signaling and execution of cytokinesis. Furthermore, eupatorin, SACi2 and SACi4 also inhibited Aurora A kinase that controls the centrosome maturation and separation and formation of the mitotic spindle apparatus. In line with the established profound mitotic roles of Aurora kinases, these small compounds perturbed SAC function, caused spindle abnormalities, such as multi- and monopolarity and fragmentation of centrosomes, and resulted in polyploidy due to defects in cytokinesis. Moreover, the compounds dramatically reduced viability of cancer cells. Taken together, using a cell-based HTS we were able to identify new LMW compounds targeting the SAC. We demonstrated for the first time a novel function for flavonoids as cellular inhibitors of Aurora kinases. Collectively, our data support the concept that loss of mitotic fidelity due to a non-functional SAC can reduce the viability of cancer cells, a phenomenon that may possess therapeutic value and fuel development of new anti-cancer drugs.

Microenterprise success and failure factors

The purpose of this study is to identify factors contributory to success or failure of a microenterprise. Microenterprise is an enterprise with less than10 employees. About 99 % of all Finnish enterprises fall in this category. Earlier studies do not provide a comprehensive view on microenterprise success and failure factors. The theoretical part discusses the definition of success and failure, previous research and results already established about the topic and categories of business environment. The empirical part is founded on quantitative survey results from 204 Finnish microenterprises. The questions of the survey were based on previous surveys, literature and intuition. Both success and failure factors were enquired. Summary of the results was made and the results were compared among successful and unsuccessful enterprises. In open-end questions, the most important factors mentioned to affect enterprise performance positively were "Employees", "Customers" and "Skills, knowledge, education and experience." The most important factors affecting enterprise performance negatively were "Economical situation", "Employees availability and attitudes" as well as "Political decisions and passed laws". In Likert-scale set of questions, the most significant factors from the point of view of enterprise performance were "Product and / or service good quality", "Good reputation of the company" and "Staff's strong skills". The least significant factors were "Effect of marketing and promotion", "Conflicts" and "Differences of points of views of different generations". By Likert-scale set of questions, it was also tested which operations the enterprises perform, and according to the results, successful enterprises found "Performing a market research", "Use of distribution channel in sales" and "Expanding to new markets" less important than unsuccessful enterprises. The tests proved that the age of the enterprise correlates with the level of success of the enterprise: The younger the enterprise, the more successful it is. In addition, the results show that if the enterprise is family based, the less successful it is. In addition, there was also slight correlation between success and the level of growth, indicating that higher the level of growth the more successful the enterprise is. From the business environment point of view, the key finding was that internal factors affect more on the success of an enterprise than external factors, and that external factors affect more on the failure of an enterprise than internal factors.

Translational models of coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction and heart failure. Development, validation and in vivo imaging studies using positron emission tomography

Coronary artery disease is an atherosclerotic disease, which leads to narrowing of coronary arteries, deteriorated myocardial blood flow and myocardial ischaemia. In acute myocardial infarction, a prolonged period of myocardial ischaemia leads to myocardial necrosis. Necrotic myocardium is replaced with scar tissue. Myocardial infarction results in various changes in cardiac structure and function over time that results in “adverse remodelling”. This remodelling may result in a progressive worsening of cardiac function and development of chronic heart failure. In this thesis, we developed and validated three different large animal models of coronary artery disease, myocardial ischaemia and infarction for translational studies. In the first study the coronary artery disease model had both induced diabetes and hypercholesterolemia. In the second study myocardial ischaemia and infarction were caused by a surgical method and in the third study by catheterisation. For model characterisation, we used non-invasive positron emission tomography (PET) methods for measurement of myocardial perfusion, oxidative metabolism and glucose utilisation. Additionally, cardiac function was measured by echocardiography and computed tomography. To study the metabolic changes that occur during atherosclerosis, a hypercholesterolemic and diabetic model was used with [18F] fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) PET-imaging technology. Coronary occlusion models were used to evaluate metabolic and structural changes in the heart and the cardioprotective effects of levosimendan during post-infarction cardiac remodelling. Large animal models were used in testing of novel radiopharmaceuticals for myocardial perfusion imaging. In the coronary artery disease model, we observed atherosclerotic lesions that were associated with focally increased [18F]FDG uptake. In heart failure models, chronic myocardial infarction led to the worsening of systolic function, cardiac remodelling and decreased efficiency of cardiac pumping function. Levosimendan therapy reduced post-infarction myocardial infarct size and improved cardiac function. The novel 68Ga-labeled radiopharmaceuticals tested in this study were not successful for the determination of myocardial blood flow. In conclusion, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia lead to the development of early phase atherosclerotic lesions. Coronary artery occlusion produced considerable myocardial ischaemia and later infarction following myocardial remodelling. The experimental models evaluated in these studies will enable further studies concerning disease mechanisms, new radiopharmaceuticals and interventions in coronary artery disease and heart failure.

Model of Big Data Failure: Review of Information System Failure

In the new age of information technology, big data has grown to be the prominent phenomena. As information technology evolves, organizations have begun to adopt big data and apply it as a tool throughout their decision-making processes. Research on big data has grown in the past years however mainly from a technical stance and there is a void in business related cases. This thesis fills the gap in the research by addressing big data challenges and failure cases. The Technology-Organization-Environment framework was applied to carry out a literature review on trends in Business Intelligence and Knowledge management information system failures. A review of extant literature was carried out using a collection of leading information system journals. Academic papers and articles on big data, Business Intelligence, Decision Support Systems, and Knowledge Management systems were studied from both failure and success aspects in order to build a model for big data failure. I continue and delineate the contribution of the Information System failure literature as it is the principal dynamics behind technology-organization-environment framework. The gathered literature was then categorised and a failure model was developed from the identified critical failure points. The failure constructs were further categorized, defined, and tabulated into a contextual diagram. The developed model and table were designed to act as comprehensive starting point and as general guidance for academics, CIOs or other system stakeholders to facilitate decision-making in big data adoption process by measuring the effect of technological, organizational, and environmental variables with perceived benefits, dissatisfaction and discontinued use.

Model of Big Data Failure: Review of Information System Failure

In the new age of information technology, big data has grown to be the prominent phenomena. As information technology evolves, organizations have begun to adopt big data and apply it as a tool throughout their decision-making processes. Research on big data has grown in the past years however mainly from a technical stance and there is a void in business related cases. This thesis fills the gap in the research by addressing big data challenges and failure cases. The Technology-Organization-Environment framework was applied to carry out a literature review on trends in Business Intelligence and Knowledge management information system failures. A review of extant literature was carried out using a collection of leading information system journals. Academic papers and articles on big data, Business Intelligence, Decision Support Systems, and Knowledge Management systems were studied from both failure and success aspects in order to build a model for big data failure. I continue and delineate the contribution of the Information System failure literature as it is the principal dynamics behind technology-organization-environment framework. The gathered literature was then categorised and a failure model was developed from the identified critical failure points. The failure constructs were further categorized, defined, and tabulated into a contextual diagram. The developed model and table were designed to act as comprehensive starting point and as general guidance for academics, CIOs or other system stakeholders to facilitate decision-making in big data adoption process by measuring the effect of technological, organizational, and environmental variables with perceived benefits, dissatisfaction and discontinued use.

Acquisition Failure: The case of a multinational enterprise from an emerging market failing in Indonesia.

The escalation in the number of mergers and acquisition transactions involving emerging market firms is a relatively recent phenomenon; as a consequence academic research in such topic is rather limited. The purpose of this research study was to discuss the possible reasons that led the acquisition failure of an emerging multinational firm and an Indonesian player. Extensive theoretical research was performed and it had been achieved, based on this, the finding of a framework that facilitated to understand the way in which the concepts of cultural distances and relate liabilities of foreignness in the process of acquisitions of foreign companies in emerging markets. The theoretical background collects literature related to acquisitions, models of cultural studies between nations and liabilities of foreignness. It has been generated a variety of frameworks that aid to understand the way that the institutional distance and cultural factors together with the concept of liabilities of foreignness can affect the process of market entry of an emerging multinational company to the extent that the best way to stop losing money is to abandon the project. The empirical research consisted of selective semi-structured interviews and an extensive research in available public data on the chosen study case of this research. There were several factors that were identified as the cause of the failure in the market entry of a Mexican multinational firm in Indonesia. The weakness shown by the local government authorities was used by the local community leaders who rioted because of discomfort. These groups were the ones who made the government submit to the extent that the agreements reached at the beginning of the deal were either canceled or modified in a way that favored always the local community. The contributions of this study fall into the knowledge field of emerging multinational firms and market entry process.