Release of soil phosphorus during runoff as affected by ionic strength and temperature

Selostus: Ympäristöolosuhteiden vaikutus maan fosforin liukenemiseen pintavalunnan aikana

Nitrogen and phosphorus losses in surface runoff and drainage water after application of slurry and mineral fertilizer to perennial grass ley

Selostus: Typen ja fosforin kulkeutuminen pinta- ja salaojavalunnassa lietelannalla ja NKP-lannoitteella lannoitetulta nurmelta

Long-term effects of maintaining ditch networks on runoff water quality

Tiivistelmä: Kunnostusojituksen pitkän ajan vaikutus valumaveden ominaisuuksiin

Test automation in Basic Acceptance Testing of S60 platform

Perushyväksymistestaus on oleellinen osa S60 alustan julkaisukandidaatin maturiteetin seurannassa. Perushyväksymistestausta tehdään myös ohjelmiston julkistamiskelpoisuuden varmistamiseksi. Testaustulokset halutaan aina mahdollisimman nopeasti. Lisäksi testaustiimin työmäärä on hiljalleen kasvanut, koska projekteja onenemmän ja korjauksia sisältäviä ja räätälöityjä settejä testataan enemmän. Tässä diplomityössä tutkitaan lyhentäisikö testisetin osan automatisointi testien ajoaikaa ja helpottaisiko se testaajien työtaakkaa. Tarkastelu toteutetaan automatisoimalla osa testisetistä ja kokemuksia esitellään tässä lopputyössä.

Introducing Basic Systematic Requirements Engineering Practices in Small Organizations with an Easy to Adopt Method

Requirements-relatedissues have been found the third most important risk factor in software projects and as the biggest reason for software project failures. This is not a surprise since; requirements engineering (RE) practices have been reported deficient inmore than 75% of all; enterprises. A problem analysis on small and low maturitysoftware organizations revealed two; central reasons for not starting process improvement efforts: lack of resources and uncertainty; about process improvementeffort paybacks.; In the constructive part of the study a basic RE method, BaRE, was developed to provide an; easy to adopt way to introduce basic systematic RE practices in small and low maturity; organizations. Based on diffusion of innovations literature, thirteen desirable characteristics; were identified for the solution and the method was implemented in five key components:; requirements document template, requirements development practices, requirements; management practices, tool support for requirements management, and training.; The empirical evaluation of the BaRE method was conducted in three industrial case studies. In; this evaluation, two companies established a completely new RE infrastructure following the; suggested practices while the third company conducted continued requirements document; template development based on the provided template and used it extensively in practice. The; real benefits of the adoption of the method were visible in the companies in four to six months; from the start of the evaluation project, and the two small companies in the project completed; their improvement efforts with an input equal to about one person month. The collected dataon; the case studies indicates that the companies implemented new practices with little adaptations; and little effort. Thus it can be concluded that the constructed BaRE method is indeed easy to; adopt and it can help introduce basic systematic RE practices in small organizations.

Characterizing Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC705 as a new probiotic combination: basic properties of JS and pilot in vivo assessment of the combination

Characterizing Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC705 as a new probiotic combination: basic properties of JS and pilot in vivo assessment of the combination Each candidate probiotic strain has to have the documentation for the proper identification with current molecular tools, for the biological properties, for the safety aspects and for the health benefits in human trials if the intention is to apply the strain as health promoting culture in the commercial applications. No generalization based on species properties of an existing probiotic are valid for any novel strain, as strain specific differences appear e.g. in the resistance to GI tract conditions and in health promoting benefits (Madsen, 2006). The strain evaluation based on individual strain specific probiotic characteristics is therefore the first key action for the selection of the new probiotic candidate. The ultimate goal in the selection of the probiotic strain is to provide adequate amounts of active, living cells for the application and to guarantee that the cells are physiologically strong enough to survive and be biologically active in the adverse environmental conditions in the product and in GI tract of the host. The in vivo intervention studies are expensive and time consuming; therefore it is not rational to test all the possible candidates in vivo. Thus, the proper in vitro studies are helping to eliminate strains which are unlikely to perform well in vivo. The aims of this study were to characterize the strains of Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC705, both used for decades as cheese starter cultures, for their technological and possible probiotic functionality applied in a combined culture. The in vitro studies of Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS focused on the monitoring of the viability rates during the acid and bile treatments and on the safety aspects such as antibiotic susceptibility and adhesion. The studies with the combination of the strains JS and LC705 administered in fruit juices monitored the survival of the strains JS and LC705 during the GI transit and their effect on gut wellbeing properties measured as relief of constipation. In addition, safety parameters such as side effects and some peripheral immune parameters were assessed. Separately, the combination of P. freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC705 was evaluated from the technological point of view as a bioprotective culture in fermented foods and wheat bread applications. In this study, the role ofP. freudenreichii ssp. shermanii JS as a candidate probiotic culture alone and in a combination with L. rhamnosus LC705 was demonstrated. Both strains were transiently recovered in high numbers in fecal samples of healthy adults during the consumption period. The good survival through the GI transit was proven for both strains with a recovery rate from 70 to 80% for the JS strain and from 40 to 60% for the LC705 strain from the daily dose of 10 log10 CFU. The good survival was shown from the consumption of fruit juices which do not provide similar matrix protection for the cells as milk based products. The strain JS did not pose

Harmonized performance measurement system for basic industry's service centers

The objective of this study is to create measurement system that is capable to measure performance in basic industry’s service centers. First it is examined what is performance and how it can be measured. The study also introduces commonly known measurement frameworks. After theory the study investigates how companies in the field of basic industry measure their operations in practise. The investigation is done examining three case examples and by analyzing survey results from basic industry companies. On the survey results focus is on what meters and measurement systems companies use. It is also viewed what measurement problems companies have faced. In the applied part of the study harmonized performance measurement system is created. The framework of the measurement system is introduced and measurement system for the target company is created. The target company felt that the harmonized performance measurement system has good potential and continues to develop it further.

Competence in intensive and critical care nursing - development of a basic assessment scale for graduating nursing students

Intensive and critical care nursing is a speciality in its own right and with its own nature within the nursing profession. This speciality poses its own demands for nursing competencies. Intensive and critical care nursing is focused on severely ill patients and their significant others. The patients are comprehensively cared for, constantly monitored and their vital functions are sustained artificially. The main goal is to win time to cure the cause of the patient’s situation or illness. The purpose of this empirical study was i) to describe and define competence and competence requirements in intensive and critical care nursing, ii) to develop a basic measurement scale for competence assessment in intensive and critical care nursing for graduating nursing students, and iii) to describe and evaluate graduating nursing students’ basic competence in intensive and critical care nursing by seeking the reference basis of self-evaluated basic competence in intensive and critical care nursing from ICU nurses. However, the main focus of this study was on the outcomes of nursing education in this nursing speciality. The study was carried out in different phases: basic exploration of competence (phase 1 and 2), instrumentation of competence (phase 3) and evaluation of competence (phase 4). Phase 1 (n=130) evaluated graduating nursing students’ basic biological and physiological knowledge and skills for working in intensive and critical care with Basic Knowledge Assessment Tool version 5 (BKAT-5, Toth 2012). Phase 2 focused on defining competence in intensive and critical care nursing with the help of literature review (n=45 empirical studies) as well as competence requirements in intensive and critical care nursing with the help of experts (n=45 experts) in a Delphi study. In phase 3 the scale Intensive and Critical Care Nursing Competence Scale (ICCN-CS) was developed and tested twice (pilot test 1: n=18 students and n=12 nurses; pilot test 2: n=56 students and n=54 nurses). Finally, in phase 4, graduating nursing students’ competence was evaluated with ICCN-CS and BKAT version 7 (Toth 2012). In order to develop a valid assessment scale of competence for graduating nursing students and to evaluate and establish the competence of graduating nursing students, empirical data were retrieved at the same time from both graduating nursing students (n=139) and ICU nurses (n=431). Competence can be divided into clinical and general professional competence. It can be defined as a specific knowledge base, skill base, attitude and value base and experience base of nursing and the personal base of an intensive and critical care nurse. Personal base was excluded in this self-evaluation based scale. The ICCN-CS-1 consists of 144 items (6 sum variables). Finally, it became evident that the experience base of competence is not a suitable sum variable in holistic intensive and critical care competence scale for graduating nursing students because of their minor experience in this special nursing area. ICCN-CS-1 is a reliable and tolerably valid scale for use among graduating nursing students and ICU nurses Among students, basic competence of intensive and critical care nursing was self-rated as good by 69%, as excellent by 25% and as moderate by 6%. However, graduating nursing students’ basic biological and physiological knowledge and skills for working in intensive and critical care were poor. The students rated their clinical and professional competence as good, and their knowledge base and skill base as moderate. They gave slightly higher ratings for their knowledge base than skill base. Differences in basic competence emerged between graduating nursing students and ICU nurses. The students’ self-ratings of both their basic competence and clinical and professional competence were significantly lower than the nurses’ ratings. The students’ self-ratings of their knowledge and skill base were also statistically significantly lower than nurses’ ratings. However, both groups reported the same attitude and value base, which was excellent. The strongest factor explaining students’ conception of their competence was their experience of autonomy in nursing. Conclusions: Competence in intensive and critical care nursing is a multidimensional concept. Basic competence in intensive and critical care nursing can be measured with self-evaluation based scale but alongside should be used an objective evaluation method. Graduating nursing students’ basic competence in intensive and critical care nursing is good but their knowledge and skill base are moderate. Especially the biological and physiological knowledge base is poor. Therefore in future in intensive and critical care nursing education should be focused on both strengthening students’ biological and physiological knowledge base and on strengthening their overall skill base. Practical implications are presented for nursing education, practice and administration. In future, research should focus on education methods and contents, mentoring of clinical practice and orientation programmes as well as further development of the scale.