Histone H1 expression varies during the Leishmania major life cycle.

The deduced amino acid sequence of Leishmania major sw3 cDNA reveals the presence of characteristic histone H1 amino acid motifs. However, the open reading frame is of an unusually small size for histone H1 (105 amino acids) because it lacks the coding potential for the central hydrophobic globular domain of linker histones present in other eukaryotes. Here, we provide biochemical evidence that the SW3 protein is indeed a L. major nuclear histone H1, and that it is differentially expressed during the life cycle of the parasite. Due to its high lysine content, the SW3 protein can be purified to a high degree from L. major nuclear lysates with 5% perchloric acid, a histone H1 preparative method. Using an anti-SW3 antibody, this protein is detected as a 17 kDa or as a 17/19 kDa doublet in the nuclear subfraction in different L. major strains. The nuclear localization of the SW3 protein is further supported by immunofluorescence studies. During in vitro promastigote growth, both the sw3 cytoplasmic mRNA and its protein progressively accumulate within parasites from early log phase to stationary phase. Within amastigotes, the high level of H1 expression is maintained but decreases when amastigotes differentiate into promastigotes. Together, these observations suggest that the different levels of this histone H1 protein could influence the varying degrees of chromatin condensation during the life-cycle of the parasite, and provide us with tools to study this mechanism.

Role of seipin in lipid droplet morphology and hepatitis C virus life cycle.

Infectious hepatitis C virus (HCV) particle assembly starts at the surface of lipid droplets, cytoplasmic organelles responsible for neutral fat storage. We analysed the relationship between HCV and seipin, a protein involved in lipid droplet maturation. Although seipin overexpression did not affect the total mean volume occupied by lipid droplets nor the total triglyceride and cholesterol ester levels per cell, it caused an increase in the mean diameter of lipid droplets by 60 %, while decreasing their total number per cell. The latter two effects combined resulted in a 34 % reduction of the total outer surface area of lipid droplets per cell, with a proportional decrease in infectious viral particle production, probably due to a defect in particle assembly. These results suggest that the available outer surface of lipid droplets is a critical factor for HCV release, independent of the neutral lipid content of the cell.

Data collection and criticality analysis for cost effective maintenance during the life cycle of a flue gas line

Työn tarkoituksena oli kerätä käyttövarmuustietoa savukaasulinjasta kahdelta suomalaiselta sellutehtaalta niiden käyttöönotosta aina tähän päivään asti. Käyttövarmuustieto koostuu luotettavuustiedoista sekä kunnossapitotiedoista. Kerätyn tiedon avulla on mahdollista kuvata tarkasti laitoksen käyttövarmuutta seuraavilla tunnusluvuilla: suunnittelemattomien häiriöiden lukumäärä ja korjausajat, laitteiden seisokkiaika, vikojen todennäköisyys ja korjaavan kunnossapidon kustannukset suhteessa savukaasulinjan korjaavan kunnossapidon kokonaiskustannuksiin. Käyttövarmuustiedon keräysmetodi on esitelty. Savukaasulinjan kriittisten laitteiden määrittelyyn käytetty metodi on yhdistelmä kyselytutkimuksesta ja muunnellusta vian vaikutus- ja kriittisyysanalyysistä. Laitteiden valitsemiskriteerit lopulliseen kriittisyysanalyysiin päätettiin käyttövarmuustietojen sekä kyselytutkimuksen perusteella. Kriittisten laitteiden määrittämisen tarkoitus on löytää savukaasulinjasta ne laitteet, joiden odottamaton vikaantuminen aiheuttaa vakavimmat seuraukset savukaasulinjan luotettavuuteen, tuotantoon, turvallisuuteen, päästöihin ja kustannuksiin. Tiedon avulla rajoitetut kunnossapidon resurssit voidaan suunnata oikein. Kriittisten laitteiden määrittämisen tuloksena todetaan, että kolme kriittisintä laitetta savukaasulinjassa ovat molemmille sellutehtaille yhteisesti: savukaasupuhaltimet, laahakuljettimet sekä ketjukuljettimet. Käyttövarmuustieto osoittaa, että laitteiden luotettavuus on tehdaskohtaista, mutta periaatteessa samat päälinjat voidaan nähdä suunnittelemattomien vikojen todennäköisyyttä esittävissä kuvissa. Kustannukset, jotka esitetään laitteen suunnittelemattomien kunnossapitokustannusten suhteena savukaasulinjan kokonaiskustannuksiin, noudattelevat hyvin pitkälle luotettavuuskäyrää, joka on laskettu laitteen seisokkiajan suhteena käyttötunteihin. Käyttövarmuustiedon keräys yhdistettynä kriittisten laitteiden määrittämiseen mahdollistavat ennakoivan kunnossapidon oikean kohdistamisen ja ajoittamisen laitteiston elinaikana siten, että luotettavuus- ja kustannustehokkuusvaatimukset saavutetaan.

Procurement, Quality and Productivity Enhancements and Manufacturing Strategy Formulation Applying Product Life Cycle Method

The objective of the thesis was to create a framework that can be used to define a manufacturing strategy taking advantage of the product life cycle method, which enables PQP enhancements. The starting point was to study synkron implementation of cost leadership and differentiation strategies in different stages of the life cycles. It was soon observed that Porter’s strategies were too generic for the complex and dynamic environment where customer needs deviate market and product specifically. Therefore, the strategy formulation process is based on the Terry Hill’s order-winner and qualifier concepts. The manufacturing strategy formulation is initiated with the definition of order-winning and qualifying criteria. From these criteria there can be shaped product specific proposals for action and production site specific key manufacturing tasks that they need to answer in order to meet customers and markets needs. As a future research it is suggested that the process of capturing order-winners and qualifiers should be developed so that the process would be simple and streamlined at Wallac Oy. In addition, defined strategy process should be integrated to the PerkinElmer’s SGS process. SGS (Strategic Goal Setting) is one of the PerkinElmer’s core management processes. Full Text: Null

Life cycle costs in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems with drive

Energy consumption and energy efficiency have become an issue. Energy consumption is rising all over the world and because of that, and the climate change, energy is becoming more and more expensive. Buildings are major consumers of energy, and inside the buildings the major consumers are heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. They usually run at constant speed without efficient control. In most cases HVAC equipment is also oversized. Traditionally heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems have been sized to meet conditions that rarely occur. The theory part in this thesis represents the basics of life cycle costs and calculations for the whole life cycle of a system. It also represents HVAC systems, equipment, systems controls and ways to save energy in these systems. The empirical part of this thesis represents life cycle cost calculations for HVAC systems. With these calculations it is possible to compute costs for the whole life cycle for the wanted variables. Life cycle costs make it possible to compare which variable causes most of the costs from the whole life point of view. Life cycle costs were studied through two real life cases which were focused on two different kinds of HVAC systems. In both of these cases the renovations were already made, so that the comparison between the old and the new, now existing system would be easier. The study indicates that energy can be saved in HVAC systems by using variable speed drive as a control method.

Managing induced tourism image : relational patterns and the life cycle

The tourism image is an element that conditions the competitiveness of tourism destinations by making them stand out in the minds of tourists. In this context, marketers of tourism destinations endeavour to create an induced image based on their identity and distinctive characteristics.A number of authors have also recognized the complexity of tourism destinations and the need for coordination and cooperation among all tourism agents, in order to supply a satisfactory tourist product and be competitive in the tourism market. Therefore, tourism agents at the destination need to develop and integrate strategic marketing plans.The aim of this paper is to determine how cities of similar cultures use their resources with the purpose of developing a distinctive induced tourism image to attract tourists and the extent of coordination and cooperation among the various tourism agents of a destination in the process of induced image creation.In order to accomplish these aims, a comparative analysis of the induced image of two cultural cities is presented, Girona (Spain) and Perpignan (France). The induced image is assessed through the content analysis of promotional brochures and the extent of cooperation with in-depth interviews of the main tourism agents of these destinations.Despite the similarities of both cities in terms of tourism resources, results show the use of different attributes to configure the induced image of each destination, as well as a different configuration of the network of tourism agents that participate in the process of induced image creation

Partner Criteria and Life Cycle Impacts: Case UPM

The study examines partner selection criteria and the life cycle impacts on them. The target is to define the relevant criteria that should be applied in case of a partnership. In this context partnership means strategic supplier relationship. It is also examined how these criteria change on the different stages of the product and business life cycle. The empirical part is a description of developing Criteria selection tool in the case company. The study is conducted as a qualitative research using constructive and action research methodologies. The Criteria selection tool is a MS Excel workbook, giving the relevant set of supplier criteria depending on the business case. The most essential criteria, the tool will suggest for partner suppliers, are related to strategic fit, development potential and collaborative aspects. On the early stages of the life cycles the criteria related to research and development and growth potential are significant. On the late stages of the life cycles cost reduction potential becomes very important.

Euroopan unionin kestävyyskriteerien soveltuvuus liikenteen biopolttoaineiden kasvihuonekaasuvaikutusten arviointiin

Euroopan unioni on niin sanotussa RES-direktiivissä asettanut tavoitteet uusiutuvan energian käytön lisäämiseksi 10 %:iin liikenteen energian kulutuksesta kaikissa jäsenmaissa vuoteen 2020 mennessä. Eräs näistä uusiutuvan energian muodoista on biopolttoaineet. Tässä työssä testataan RES-direktiivissä esitettyä laskentamenetelmää biopolttoaineiden tuotannon ja käytön kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen arviointiin. Esimerkkitapauksena on yhdyskuntien ja teollisuuden jätemateriaalia raaka-aineena käyttävän jäte-etanoliprosessin ja siihen yhdistetyn sähköä ja lämpöä tuottavan CHP-laitoksen päästölaskenta. Laskennan yhteydessä käy ilmi RES-direktiivin laskentamenetelmän tulkinnanvaraisuus. Laskentamenetelmän perusteella järjestelmäraja voidaan asettaa usealla eri tavalla, jolloin saadut päästövähennystulokset vaihtelevat huomattavasti eri tulkintavaihtoehtojen välillä. Jäte-etanolin tapauksessa tulokset ovat myös hyvin riippuvaisia jätemateriaalille määritellystä päästökertoimesta. Laskennan perusteella voidaankin sanoa, että RES-direktiivin laskentamenetelmällä saadut päästövähennystulokset biopolttoaineille ovat hyvin epävarmoja ja riippuvat sekä laskennan lähtöoletuksista että direktiivin tulkintatavasta. RES-direktiivin laskentamenetelmää voidaan myös pitää hyvin suppeana lähestymistapana biopolttoaineiden kasvihuonekaasuvaikutusten arviointiin. Tarkastelua tehdään suppealla järjestelmärajalla ja esimerkiksi biopolttoaineketjujen aiheuttamat epäsuorat ilmastovaikutukset jäävät huomioimatta. RES-direktiivin laskentamenetelmä perustuu perinteiseen staattiseen elinkaariarviointiin eli syytarkasteluun eikä sovellu arvioimaan muutosta. Ilmastomuutoksen hillinnän haastavuuden ja kiireellisyyden vuoksi biopolttoaineiden ilmastovaikutuksia tulisi kuitenkin arvioida myös laajemmin muutostarkasteluna, ja verrata biopolttoaineiden avulla saatuja päästövähennyksiä muilla keinoin saavutettuihin päästövähennyksiin. Näin voitaisiin paremmin arvioida sitä, mitkä keinot soveltuvat parhaiten nopeiden päästövähennysten saavuttamiseen.

Tarkkuuselektroniikkatuotteen elinkaariarviointi tuotesuunnittelun tueksi

Tämän diplomityön tarkoituksena oli tutkia tarkkuuselektroniikkatuotteen ympäristönäkökohtia elinkaariarvioinnin avulla. Työn osana tehtiin elinkaariarviointi (LCA) kahdelle tarkkuuselektroniikkatuotteelle. LCA:ssa keskityttiin elinkaaren kehdosta-asiakkaalle-vaiheisiin. Työn tavoitteena oli tuottaa määrällistä ja laadullista tietoa valittujen tuotteiden ympäristövaikutuksista. Selvitys tehtiin yrityksen tuotesuunnittelun tueksi. LCA:n inventaarioanalyysiin kerättiin prosessikohtaista tietoa selvityksen aikana. Myös kaupallista LCA-ohjelmaa ja sen tarjoamia tietopankkeja hyödynnettiin elinkaariarvioinnin toteuttamisessa. Teoriaosassa esitellään LCA-menetelmä. Lisäksi tarkastellaan elinkaariarviointiin liittyviä tuotekohtaisia ympäristökysymyksiä. Työssä eritellään myös yleisesti tarkkuuselektroniikkatuotteen eri osien elinkaareen vaiheita ja niihin liittyviä ympäristönäkökohtia. Kokeellisessa osassa kuvataan kahdelle tuotteelle tehtyä LCA-tapaustutkimusta. Elinkaariarvioinnin inventaariotiedon lähteet kuvataan. Inventaarioanalyysin ja vaikutusarvioinnin avulla tuodaan esille tuotteiden ympäristökuormaan merkittävimmin vaikuttavat prosessit ja elinkaaren vaiheet. Lisäksi tarkastellaan miten tapaustuotteiden ympäristökuormaa voitaisiin pienentää kahden esimerkin avulla. Lopuksi annetaan suosituksia jatkotoimenpiteistä tuotesuunnitteluun ja tiedonkeruuseen.

Hakkuutähteestä valmistetun pyrolyysiöljyn elinkaaren kasvihuonekaasupäästöt

Kasvihuonekaasupäästöjen vähentämiseksi ja uusiutuvan energian käytön lisäämiseksi EU:ssa on säädetty direktiivi uusiutuvan energian käytön edistämisestä(RES-direktiivi). Direktiivissä annetaan ohjeet biopolttoaineiden ja bionesteiden kasvihuonekaasuvaikutusten laskemiseen. Tämän työn tarkoituksena oli selvittää, täyttääkö hakkuutähteistä valmistettu pyrolyysiöljy RES-direktiivin asettamat määrälliset vaatimukset kasvihuonekaasujen päästövähennykselle silloin, kun pyrolyysiöljyllä korvataan raskasta polttoöljyä lämmöntuotannossa. Laskenta suorittiin direktiivin ohjeiden mukaan. Lisäksi työssä pohdittiin laskentamenetelmän soveltuvuutta pyrolyysiöljyn ilmastovaikutusten arviointiin yleisesti. Laskennassa huomioitiin raaka-aineen tuotannosta, jalostuksesta sekä kuljetuksesta ja jakelusta aiheutuvat kasvihuonekaasupäästöt. Päästöt laskettiin ensin oletusarvoilla, jonka jälkeen suoritettiin todennäköisyyspohjainen herkkyystarkastelu valituille parametreille. Herkkyystarkastelun tuloksista huomattiin, että päästövähennys riippuu pääasiassa kahdesta tekijästä: maaperän hiilitaseen muutoksesta aiheutuvista päästöistä ja pyrolyysiprosessin tarvitseman lämmön tuotantoon käytetyistä polttoaineista. Eniten tuloksiin vaikutti kuitenkin se, oletettiinko pyrolysaattori ja kattila tarkastelussa erillisiksi yksiköiksi (tapaus 1) vai kokonaisuudeksi (tapaus 2). Tulosten perusteella näyttää siltä, että pyrolyysiöljyn käyttö lämmöntuotannossa raskaan polttoöljyn sijasta johtaa päästövähennyksiin. Saatuja tuloksia ei kuitenkaan voida pitää ennusteina pyrolyysiöljyn todellisista ilmastovaikutuksista, koska elinkaariarviointiin liittyy monia epävarmuuksia. RES-direktiivin laskentaohjeet esimerkiksi järjestelmärajausten muodostamisesta ja päästöjen kohdentamisesta ovat epätarkat. Tästä syystä direktiiviä on mahdollista tulkita usealla eri tavalla, jolloin toisistaan poikkeavat tulokset voivat silti olla kaikki direktiivin mukaisesti laskettuja. Jotta liika tulkinnanvaraisuus ei aiheuttaisi ongelmia, olisi RES-direktiivin laskentaohjetta hyvä tarkentaa.

Customer relationship management through life cycle analysis, case professional service firm in B2B market

The objective of this master’s thesis was to study how customer relationships should be assessed and categorized in order to support customer relationship management (CRM) in the context of business-to-business (B2B) and professional services. This sophisticated and complex market is utilizing possibilities of CRM only rarely and even then the focus is often on technology. The theoretical part considered first CRM from the value chain point of view and then discussed the cyclical nature of relationships. The case study focused on B2B professional service firm. The data was collected from company databases and included the sample of 90 customers. The research was conducted in three phases first studying the age, then the service type of relationships and finally executing the cluster analysis. The data was analysed by statistical analysis program SAS Enterprise Guide. The results indicate that there are great differences between developments of customer relationships. While some relationships are dynamically growing and changing, most of customers are remaining constant. This implies expectations and requirements of customers are similarly divergent and relationships should be managed accordingly.

Assessing the Environmental Value of Water Treatment Solutions in the Mining Industry

Environmental accountability has become a major source of competitive advantage for industrial companies, because customers consider it as relevant buying criterion. However, in order to leverage their environmental responsibility, industrial suppliers have to be able to demonstrate the environmental value of their products and services, which is also the aim of Kemira, a global water chemistry company considered in this study. The aim of this thesis is to develop a tool which Kemira can use to assess the environmental value of their solutions for the customer companies in mining industry. This study answers to questions on what kinds of methods to assess environmental impacts exist, and what kind of tool could be used to assess the environmental value of Kemira’s water treatment solutions. The environmental impacts of mining activities vary greatly between different mines. Generally the major impacts include the water related issues and wastes. Energy consumption is also a significant environmental aspect. Water related issues include water consumption and impacts in water quality. There are several methods to assess environmental impacts, for example life cycle assessment, eco-efficiency tools, footprint calculations and process simulation. In addition the corresponding financial value may be estimated utilizing monetary assessment methods. Some of the industrial companies considered in the analysis of industry best practices use environmental and sustainability assessments. Based on the theoretical research and conducted interviews, an Excel based tool utilizing reference data on previous customer cases and customer specific test results was considered to be most suitable to assess the environmental value of Kemira’s solutions. The tool can be used to demonstrate the functionality of Kemira’s solutions in customers’ processes, their impacts in other process parameters and their environmental and financial aspects. In the future, the tool may be applied to fit also Kemira’s other segments, not only mining industry.

Integration in project business : mechanisms for integrating customers and the project network during the life-cycle of industrial projects

This thesis focuses on integration in project business, i.e. how projectbased companies organize their product and process structures when they deliver industrial solutions to their customers. The customers that invest in these solutions run their businesses in different geographical, political and economical environments, which should be acknowledged by the supplier when providing solutions comprising of larger and more complex scopes than previously supplied to these customers. This means that the suppliers are increasing their supply range by taking over some of the activities in the value chain that have traditionally been handled by the customer. In order to be able to provide the functioning solutions, including more engineering hours, technical equipment and a wider project network, a change is needed in the mindset in order to be able to carry out and take the required responsibility that these new approaches bring. For the supplier it is important to be able to integrate technical products, systems and services, but the supplier also needs to have the capabilities to integrate the cross-functional organizations and departments in the project network, the knowledge and information between and within these organizations and departments, along with inputs from the customer into the product and process structures during the lifecycle of the project under development. Hence, the main objective of this thesis is to explore the challenges of integration that industrial projects meet, and based on that, to suggest a concept of how to manage integration in project business by making use of integration mechanisms. Integration is considered the essential process for accomplishing an industrial project, whereas the accomplishment of the industrial project is considered to be the result of the integration. The thesis consists of an extended summary and four papers, that are based on three studies in which integration mechanisms for value creation in industrial project networks and the management of integration in project business have been explored. The research is based on an inductive approach where in particular the design, commissioning and operations functions of industrial projects have been studied, addressing entire project life-cycles. The studies have been conducted in the shipbuilding and power generation industries where the scopes of supply consist of stand-alone equipment, equipment and engineering, and turnkey solutions. These industrial solutions include demanding efforts in engineering and organization. Addressing the calls for more studies on the evolving value chains of integrated solutions, mechanisms for inter- and intra-organizational integration and subsequent value creation in project networks have been explored. The research results in thirteen integration mechanisms and a typology for integration is proposed. Managing integration consists of integrating the project network (the supplier and the sub-suppliers) and the customer (the customer’s business purpose, operations environment and the end-user) into the project by making use of integration mechanisms. The findings bring new insight into research on industrial project business by proposing integration of technology and engineering related elements with elements related to customer oriented business performance in contemporary project environments. Thirteen mechanisms for combining products and the processes needed to deliver projects are described and categorized according to the impact that they have on the management of knowledge and information. These mechanisms directly relate to the performance of the supplier, and consequently to the functioning of the solution that the project provides. This thesis offers ways to promote integration of knowledge and information during the lifecycle of industrial projects, enhancing the development towards innovative solutions in project business.

The holistic military capability life cycle model

Abstract - This paper reviews existing military capability models and the capability life cycle. It proposes a holistic capability life-cycle model (HCLCM) that combines capability systems with related capability models. ISO 15288 standard is used as a framework to construct the HCLCM. The HCLCM also shows how capability models and systems relate to each other throughout the capability life cycle. The main contribution of this paper is conceptual in nature. The model complements the existing, but still evolving, understanding of the military capability life cycle in a holistic and systemic way. The model also increases understanding and facilitates communication among various military capability stakeholders.

Creating an open-books implementation framework for a maintenance-related value-based life-cycle model

This study is a qualitative action research by its nature with elements of personal design in the form of a tangible model implementation framework construction. Utilized empirical data has been gathered via two questionnaires in relation to the arranged four workshop events with twelve individual participants. Five of them represented maintenance customers, three maintenance service providers and four equipment providers respectively. Further, there are two main research objectives in proportion to the two complementary focusing areas of this thesis. Firstly, the value-based life-cycle model, which first version has already been developed prior to this thesis, requires updating in order to increase its real-life applicability as an inter-firm decision-making tool in industrial maintenance. This first research objective is fulfilled by improving appearance, intelligibility and usability of the above-mentioned model. In addition, certain new features are also added. The workshop participants from the collaborating companies were reasonably pleased with made changes, although further attention will be required in future on the model’s intelligibility in particular as main results, charts and values were all reckoned as slightly hard to understand. Moreover, upgraded model’s appearance and added new features satisfied them the most. Secondly and more importantly, the premises of the model’s possible inter-firm implementation process need to be considered. This second research objective is delivered in two consecutive steps. At first, a bipartite open-books supported implementation framework is created and its different characteristics discussed in theory. Afterwards, the prerequisites and the pitfalls of increasing inter-organizational information transparency are studied in empirical context. One of the main findings was that the organizations are not yet prepared for network-wide information disclosure as dyadic collaboration was favored instead. However, they would be willing to share information bilaterally at least. Another major result was that the present state of companies’ cost accounting systems will definitely need implementation-wise enhancing in future since accurate and sufficiently detailed maintenance data is not available. Further, it will also be crucial to create supporting and mutually agreed network infrastructure. There are hardly any collaborative models, methods or tools currently in usage. Lastly, the essential questions about mutual trust and predominant purchasing strategies are cooperation-wise important. If inter-organizational activities are expanded, a more relational approach should be favored in this regard. Mutual trust was also recognized as a significant cooperation factor, but it is hard to measure in reality.