Bio- ja lääkintäoikeuden kehitysnäkymiä

Vuoden 2004 väittelijän palkinnon saajan puhe VII Oikeuskulttuurin päivässä 11.11.2005

Kuiva-, bio-, hyöty- ja ongelmajätteiden keskitetysti kilpailutettu kuljetusjärjestelmä Etelä-Karjalassa

Tutkimuksen tarkoituksena oli tuottaa tietoa kuiva-, bio-, hyöty- ja ongelmajätteiden keskitetysti kilpailutetun kuljetusjärjestelmän eduista ja haitoista Etelä-Karjalan Jätehuolto Oy:n alueella. Tutkimuksessa esitellään jätteenkuljetusjärjestelmien ominaisuudet ja niiden suunnittelu sekä jätehuoltoa ja jätteenkuljetuksia koskeva lainsäädäntö. Keskitetysti kilpailutettu jätteenkuljetusjärjestelmä mitoitettiin järjestelmän nykytilan kuvauksen sekä muualla Suomessa kilpailutuksesta saatujen kokemusten avulla. Järjestelmää arvioitiin vertaamalla kaluston tarvetta, kuormapainoja sekä kuljetuskustannuksia nykyiseen tilanteeseen. Lopuksi arvioitiin jatkokehitystarpeita ja tarvittavia toimenpiteitä, kun keskitettyyn kilpailuttamiseen siirrytään. Jätteenkuljetusten keskitetyllä kilpailuttamisella voidaan saavuttaa etuja nykyiseen kuntakohtaiseen jätteenkuljetukseen verrattuna. Edut syntyvät kun päällekkäiset ajot sekä siirtoajot vähenevät ja kuormakoot kasvavat. Kuljetukset voidaan hoitaa pienemmällä kalustomäärällä, jolloin myös kuljetuskustannukset laskevat.

Mantle- and crust-derived magmatism in the southern Fennoscandian Shield at c. 1.8 Ga; evidence from geochemistry, isotopes and geochronology

Geokemi och isotopsammansättningarna hos ca 1,8 Ga (miljarder år) gamla mafiska bergartsintrusioner studerades i två huvudområden: i) Transskandinaviska magmatiska bältet (TMB) i Bergslagen, Småland och Blekinge, södra Sverige, inklusive några prov från det ca 1,87 Ga gamla Hedesunda-komplexet i östra Bergslagen, samt ii) mindre, postkollisionala komplex i södra Finland och ryska Karelen. I det senare fallet var även tillhörande granitoider inkluderade i studierna. TMB-bergarterna skiljer sig avsevärt i utvecklingsgrad och omfattar sammansättningsmässigt bergarter från ultramafiter till kvartsdioriter. Dessa bergarters geokemi är kännetecknande för kontinentala öbågar. För sydligaste TMB och Hedesunda antyder geokemin en något mera oceanisk öbågekaraktär. Tillsammans med tidigare data antyder de av Rutanen analyserade Nd- och Sr-isotopförhållanden för TMB en ’milt utarmad’ mantelsammansättning. De mafiska bergarterna i södra Finland och ryska Karelen varierar från ultramafiska till monzodioritiska, men med avsevärt högre alkalihalter jämfört med TMB. Källan för all den studerade mafiska magmatismen kan beskrivas som en utarmad mantel som i varierande grad påverkats av fluider och smältor ur subducerande litosfärplattor. Geokemin antyder infiltrering och påverkning av H2O-dominerande fluider i övre manteln för TMB. Den mafiska ca 1,8 Ga gamla magmatismen österut avspeglar en ökande påverkan av sedimentderiverade karbonatfluider och smältor inom allt djupare mantelområden. Denna subduktionsrelaterade mantelanrikning skedde under den föregående öbågeutvecklingen i södra delarna av Finland och Sverige, samt ryska Karelen. Geokemin för en grupp granitoider, associerade med de ca 1,8 Ga gamla intrusionerna i södra Finland visar både vulkanisk öbåge och synkollisional granitoidkaraktär. Denna grupp har ett blandat magmatiskt och sedimentärt Svekofenniskt ursprung, vilket kan antas p.g.a. deras Nd- och Sr-isotopförhållanden. En annan grupp av granitoider ligger geokemiskt mellan vulkanisk öbåge- och intraplatt-granitoider, och har magmatiskt ursprung. Geokemin och isotoperna hos dessa intrusioner kan förklaras med hybridisering mellan de kraftigt anrikade, mantelderiverade magmorna, och granitmagmor från den äldre skorpan. Den ca 1,8 Ga gamla TMB-magmatismen i Sverige skedde vid sammanslutning av kontinentalrandbågar, med kontinuerlig subduktion mot öster i Bergslagen, och mot norr i de sydligare delarna. Samtidigt i öster intruderade de postkollisionala intrusionerna i skorpan omedelbart efter kollisionen med den Volgo-Sarmatiska kontinenten från sydost. Denna invecklade paleotektoniska konfiguration orsakade en tektonisk regim där litosfäriska mantelkällor levererade de starkt anrikade magmorna, vilkas uppstigning troligen möjliggjordes av djupgående postkollisionala skjuvzoner. Intrusionerna orsakade uppsmältning av den omgivande skorpan, vilket framkallade den associerade granitoidmagmatismen.

Economics of combined power plant and pyrolysis bio-oil production

There are reasons of necessity in bio-fuel use and bio-energy fast development. It includes the material about bio-energy technologies, applications and methods. There are basic thermodynamics and economic theories. The economic calculation presents the comparison between two combinations. There are boiler plant below 20 MW in combination with ablative pyrolysis plant for bio-oil production and CHP plant below 100 MW in combination with the RTP pyrolysis bio-oil production technology. It provides a material about wood chips and bio-oil characteristics and explains it nature, presents the situation around the bio-fuel market or bio-fuel trade. There is a description of pyrolysis technologies such as ablative and RTP. The liquid product of the pyrolysis processes is bio-oil. The bio-oil could be different even of the same production process, because of the raw material nature and characteristics. The calculation shows advantages and weaknesses of combinations and obtained a proof of suppositions. The next thing, proven by this work is the fact that to get more efficiency from energy project it is good possibility to built plants in combinations.

Gelatin as an additive in bio-based barrier films

The main objective of the present study was to verify the approach on starch-gelatin blending for the paperboard coating formulations with enhanced barrier and mechanical properties. Based on that, another objective was to find out, how the approach will function with wood-based polysaccharides (CMC, EHEC and HPC) by analyzing their barrier properties and convertibility. The last objective was to find out, if pigments can be used in the composition of polysaccharide-protein blends without causing any negative effect on stated properties. The whole process chain of the barrier coating development was studied in the research. The methodology applied included pilot-scale coating and converting trials for the evaluation of mechanical properties of obtained coatings, namely their exposure to cracking with the loss of barrier properties. The results obtained indicated that the combination of starch with gelatin, in fact, improves the grease barrier properties and flexibility of starch-based coatings, thereby confirming the offered approach. The similar results were obtained for CMC, exhibited elevated barrier properties and surface coverage, proving that the approach also functions with wood-based polysaccharides. The introduction of equal amounts of talc gave various effects at different gelatin dosages on barrier properties of wood-based polysaccharides. Mainly, the elevation of grease barrier properties was observed. The convertibility of talc-filled coatings was not sufficient.

Työvoiman ja koulutuksen tarvetutkimus 2009 : Yhteenveto bio- ja lääkealan työnantajahaastatteluista Asiantuntijaraadin SWOT-analyysi 2.3.2010

Varsinais-Suomen ELY-keskus teettää säännöllisesti maakunnan valikoiduille toimialoille työvoiman ja koulutuksen tarvetutkimuksia (TKTT). Tähän raporttiin on koottu bio- ja terveysalan TKTT-prosessin kaikki osiot: toimialan tilastotiedot, yrityshaastattelut syksyltä 2009, 2.3.2010 järjestetyn asiantuntijaraadin yhteenveto ja Delfoi-kierroksen tulokset. Varsinais-Suomi on kotimaassa lääketieteellisen bioalan kärkeä ja kansainvälistä huippua tietyillä tutkimusalueilla. Tässä työssä toimiala luokitellaan määritelmällä ”bioja terveysala”, johon kuuluvat lääkkeiden kehitys- ja valmistus, diagnostiikka, bioalan palvelut ja biomateriaalit. Toimialalla oli yrityksiä vuonna 2008 tehdyn kartoituksen perusteella noin 100, liikevaihdon ollessa yhteensä noin 522 miljoonaa €. Ala työllisti suoraan yli 2500 henkilöä, jonka lisäksi on huomioitava merkittävä alihankintaverkosto. Bio- ja terveysalan yrityskenttä jakautuu useisiin pienyrityksiin ja muutamiin suuryrityksiin, jotka työllistävät pääosan alan henkilöstöstä. Bioalan kehitystä koordinoi Turku Science Parkin BioTurku, joka on luonut vuonna 2009 uusimman strategian kasvuodotusten toteuttamiseksi. Viime vuosina Varsinais-Suomeen on syntynyt erityisesti biopalvelu- ja liiketoiminnankehitysyrityksiä. Alan koulutusta tarjotaan runsaasti, pääasiassa yliopistoissa ja ammattikorkeakoulussa. Aloituspaikkoja vuonna 2009 oli Turussa yhteensä 174. TKTT-haastattelut tehtiin yrityksissä loka-marraskuussa 2009: niissä haastateltiin 24 toimijaa, jotka työllistivät kaikkiaan 1849 henkilöä. Muutaman suuren yrityksen ansiosta määrä vastaa noin 70 % alan koko työvoimasta, mutta kattaa myös kaikki toimialamäärittelyssä esitetyt alaluokat Varsinais-Suomessa. Tutkimuskohteista pkyrityksiin lukeutui 80 %, mutta kokonaishenkilöstöstä 86 % työskenteli kolmen suurimman yrityksen palveluksessa. Yritysten näkymät vuonna 2009 olivat tilastollisesti optimistisia taloustilanteeseen nähden, ja lama on selvästikin taittumassa alalla. Vuoden kuluessa työllistävyyskehitys on kuitenkin vielä varovaista. Henkilöstön nettomäärä haastatelluissa yrityksissä lisääntyy syksyyn 2010 mennessä noin 11 henkilöllä. Suurin kasvu (20 %) on alle 10 henkeä työllistävissä mikroyrityksissä, ja työvoiman vähenemä koostuu pääasiassa suurempien yritysten eläkkeelle siirtyvistä työntekijöistä. Bio- ja terveysalalla on moninaisia tutkimukseen ja tuotantoon liittyviä toimenkuvia. Yleisimpiä ammattinimikkeitä haastatelluissa yrityksissä olivat kemisti, laborantti, insinööri ja tuotantotyöntekijä. Diagnostiikka-alan alihankintatöissä tarvitaan elektroniikka-asentajia. Henkilöstön ikärakenne painottuu 25-39-vuotiaisiin, joita on yli 40 % työvoimasta. Nuoria alle 24-vuotiaita työntekijöitä on erittäin vähän, mutta toisaalta vain 2 % työntekijöistä on eläköitymässä kahden vuoden kuluessa. Haastattelutulosten mukaan syksyllä 2009 noin puolessa yrityksistä elettiin nousukauden alkua, ja lamaan itsensä sijoitti viidennes. Syksyllä 2010 yrityksistä jo 95 % uskoo olevansa suhdannekäyrän positiivisella puolella, mutta kasvupotentiaalia on vielä huomattavasti. Haastatteluhetkellä työvoiman käyttöaste oli pääosin sopiva ja vain neljällä yrityksellä alhainen.

Bio-ethanol valorization towards C4s including 1-butanol over metal modified alumina and zeolite catalysts

Bio-ethanol has been used as a fuel additive in modern society aimed at reducing CO2-emissions and dependence on oil. However, ethanol is unsuitable as fuel supplement in higher proportions due to its physico-chemical properties. One option to counteract the negative effects is to upgrade ethanol in a continuous fixed bed reactor to more valuable C4 products such as 1-butanol providing chemical similarity with traditional gasoline components. Bio-ethanol based valorization products also have other end-uses than just fuel additives. E.g. 1-butanol and ethyl acetate are well characterised industrial solvents and platform chemicals providing greener alternatives. The modern approach is to apply heterogeneous catalysts in the investigated reactions. The research was concentrated on aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and zeolites that were used as catalysts and catalyst supports. The metals supported (Cu, Ni, Co) gave very different product profiles and, thus, a profound view of different catalyst preparation methods and characterisation techniques was necessary. Additionally, acidity and basicity of the catalyst surface have an important role in determining the product profile. It was observed that ordinary determination of acid strength was not enough to explain all the phenomena e.g. the reaction mechanism. One of the main findings of the thesis is based on the catalytically active site which originates from crystallite structure. As a consequence, the overall evaluation of different by-products and intermediates was carried out by combining the information. Further kinetic analysis was carried out on metal (Cu, Ni, Co) supported self-prepared alumina catalysts. The thesis gives information for further catalyst developments aimed to scale-up towards industrially feasible operations.

Bio- ja maakaasu liikennepolttoaineena Suomessa

Työssä tarkastellaan bio- ja maakaasun käyttöä Suomen tieliikenteen polttoaineena. Työn lähtökohtana on selvittää kaasukäyttöisten ajoneuvojen käytön kannattavuutta Suomessa ja niiden etuja muihin polttoaineisiin nähden. Tutkielmassa perehdytään erityisesti biokaasun käyttöön fossiilisten polttoaineiden korvaajana ja mitä vaatimuksia sen käytön lisääminen edellyttää. Työssä perehdytään kaasujen tuotantomenetelmiin, jakeluun, taloudelliseen kannattavuuteen, ympäristöystävällisyyteen ja tulevaisuuden näkymiin.

Geochemistry and water quality of Lake Qarun, Egypt

Water geochemistry is a very important tool for studying the water quality in a given area. Geology and climate are the major natural factors controlling the chemistry of most natural waters. Anthropogenic impacts are the secondary sources of contamination in natural waters. This study presents the first integrative approach to the geochemistry and water quality of surface waters and Lake Qarun in the Fayoum catchment, Egypt. Moreover, geochemical modeling of Lake Qarun was firstly presented. The Nile River is the main source of water to the Fayoum watershed. To investigate the quality and geochemistry of this water, water samples from irrigation canals, drains and Lake Qarun were collected during the period 2010‒2013 from the whole Fayoum drainage basin to address the major processes and factors governing the evolution of water chemistry in the investigation area. About 34 physicochemical quality parameters, including major ions, oxygen isotopes, trace elements, nutrients and microbiological parameters were investigated in the water samples. Multivariable statistical analysis was used to interpret the interrelationship between the different studied parameters. Geochemical modeling of Lake Qarun was carried out using Hardie and Eugster’s evolutionary model and a model simulated by PHREEQC software. The crystallization sequence during evaporation of Lake Qarun brine was also studied using a Jänecke phase diagram involving the system Na‒K‒Mg‒ Cl‒SO4‒H2O. The results show that the chemistry of surface water in the Fayoum catchment evolves from Ca- Mg-HCO3 at the head waters to Ca‒Mg‒Cl‒SO4 and eventually to Na‒Cl downstream and at Lake Qarun. The main processes behind the high levels of Na, SO4 and Cl in downstream waters and in Lake Qarun are dissolution of evaporites from Fayoum soils followed by evapoconcentration. This was confirmed by binary plots between the different ions, Piper plot, Gibb’s plot and δ18O results. The modeled data proved that Lake Qarun brine evolves from drainage waters via an evaporation‒crystallization process. Through the precipitation of calcite and gypsum, the solution should reach the final composition "Na–Mg–SO4–Cl". As simulated by PHREEQC, further evaporation of lake brine can drive halite to precipitate in the final stages of evaporation. Significantly, the crystallization sequence during evaporation of the lake brine at the concentration ponds of the Egyptian Salts and Minerals Company (EMISAL) reflected the findings from both Hardie and Eugster’s evolutionary model and the PHREEQC simulated model. After crystallization of halite at the EMISAL ponds, the crystallization sequence during evaporation of the residual brine (bittern) was investigated using a Jänecke phase diagram at 35 °C. This diagram was more useful than PHREEQC for predicting the evaporation path especially in the case of this highly concentrated brine (bittern). The predicted crystallization path using a Jänecke phase diagram at 35 °C showed that halite, hexahydrite, kainite and kieserite should appear during bittern evaporation. Yet the actual crystallized mineral salts were only halite and hexahydrite. The absence of kainite was due to its metastability while the absence of kieserite was due to opposed relative humidity. The presence of a specific MgSO4.nH2O phase in ancient evaporite deposits can be used as a paleoclimatic indicator. Evaluation of surface water quality for agricultural purposes shows that some irrigation waters and all drainage waters have high salinities and therefore cannot be used for irrigation. Waters from irrigation canals used as a drinking water supply show higher concentrations of Al and suffer from high levels of total coliform (TC), fecal coliform (FC) and fecal streptococcus (FS). These waters cannot be used for drinking or agricultural purposes without treatment, because of their high health risk. Therefore it is crucial that environmental protection agencies and the media increase public awareness of this issue, especially in rural areas.

Innovation Process and Organizational Adoption of Disruptive Innovation: Empirical Evidence from Finnish Bio-Economy Companies.

The thesis aims to build a coherent view and understanding of the innovation process and organizational technology adoption in Finnish bio-economy companies with a focus on innovations of a disruptive nature. Disruptive innovations are exceptional hence in order to create generalizations and a unified view of the subject the perspective is also on less radical innovations. Other interests of the thesis are how ideas are discovered and generated and how the nature of the innovation and size of the company affect the technology adoption and innovation process. The data was collected by interviewing six small and six large Finnish bio-economy companies. The results suggest companies regardless of size consider innovation as a core asset in the competitive markets. Organizations want to be considered innovators and early adopters yet these qualities are limited by certain, mainly resource-based factors. In addition the industry, scalability and Finland’s geographical location when seeking funding provide certain challenges. The innovation process may be considered relatively similar whether the idea or technology stems from an internal or external source suggesting the technology adoption process can in fact be linked to the innovation process theories. Thus the thesis introduces a new theoretical model which based on the results of the study and the theories of technology adoption and innovation process aims on characterizing how ideas and technology from both external and internal sources generate into innovations. The innovation process is in large bio-economy companies most often similar to or a modified version of the stage-gate model, while small companies generally have less structured processes. Nevertheless the more disruptive the innovation, the less it fits in the structured processes. This implies disruptive innovation cannot be put in a certain mould but it is rather processed case-by-case.

Bio and chemocatalysis for stereo and regioselective one-pot reaction applications

The development of cost efficient, selective and sustainable chemical processes for production of chiral building blocks is of great importance in synthetic and industrial organic chemistry. One way to reach these objectives is to carry out several reactions steps in one vessel at one time. Furthermore, when this kind of one-pot multi step reactions are catalyzed by heterogeneous chemo- and bio-catalysts, which can be separated from the reaction products by filtration, practical access to chiral small molecules for further utilization can be obtained. The initial reactions studied in this thesis are the two step dynamic kinetic resolution of rac-2-hydroxy-1-indanone and the regioselective hydrogenation of 1,2-indanedione. These reactions are then combined in a new heterogeneously catalyzed one-pot reaction sequence enabling simple recovery of the catalysts by filtration, facilitating simple reaction product isolation. Conclusively, the readily available 1,2-indanedione is by the presented one-pot sequence, utilizing heterogeneous enzyme and transition metal based catalysts, transferred with high regio- and stereoselectivity to a useful chiral vicinal hydroxyl ketone structure. Additional and complementary investigation of homogeneous half-sandwich ruthenium complexes for catalyzing the epimerization of chiral secondary alcohols of five natural products containing additional non-functionalized stereocenters was conducted. In principle, this kind of epimerization reactions of single stereocenters could be utilized for converting inexpensive starting materials, containing other stereogenic centers, into diastereomeric mixtures from which more valuable compounds can be isolated by traditional isolation techniques.

Blue and Uv-Emitting Upconversion Nanoparticles: Synthesis and (Bio) Analytical Applications.

Rare-earth based upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) have attracted much attention due to their unique luminescent properties. The ability to convert multiple photons of lower energy to ones with higher energy through an upconversion (UC) process offers a wide range of applications for UCNPs. The emission intensities and wavelengths of UCNPs are important performance characteristics, which determine the appropriate applications. However, insufficient intensities still limit the use of UCNPs; especially the efficient emission of blue and ultraviolet (UV) light via upconversion remains challenging, as these events require three or more near-infrared (NIR) photons. The aim of the study was to enhance the blue and UV upconversion emission intensities of Tm3+ doped NaYF4 nanoparticles and to demonstrate their utility in in vitro diagnostics. As the distance between the sensitizer and the activator significantly affect the energy transfer efficiency, different strategies were explored to change the local symmetry around the doped lanthanides. One important strategy is the intentional co-doping of active (participate in energy transfer) or passive (do not participate in energy transfer) impurities into the host matrix. The roles of doped passive impurities (K+ and Sc3+) in enhancing the blue and UV upconversions, as well as in influencing the intense UV upconversion emission through excess sensitization (active impurity) were studied. Additionally, the effects of both active and passive impurity doping on the morphological and optical performance of UCNPs were investigated. The applicability of UV emitting UCNPs as an internal light source for glucose sensing in a dry chemistry test strip was demonstrated. The measurements were in agreement with the traditional method based on reflectance measurements using an external UV light source. The use of UCNPs in the glucose test strip offers an alternative detection method with advantages such as control signals for minimizing errors and high penetration of the NIR excitation through the blood sample, which gives more freedom for designing the optical setup. In bioimaging, the excitation of the UCNPs in the transparent IR region of the tissue permits measurements, which are free of background fluorescence and have a high signal-to-background ratio. In addition, the narrow emission bandwidth of the UCNPs enables multiplexed detections. An array-in-well immunoassay was developed using two different UC emission colours. The differentiation between different viral infections and the classification of antibody responses were achieved based on both the position and colour of the signal. The study demonstrates the potential of spectral and spatial multiplexing in the imaging based array-in-well assays.