Development of support and drive systems for defiberization drum

Diplomityön tarkoituksena oli kuidutusrumpulaitteiston käytön- ja kannatuksen kehittä-minen. Työ rajattiin laajuutensa vuoksi koskemaan tuotesarjan viittä pienintä kokoa. Työn alkuosassa käsitellään kuidutuksen teoriaa ja siihen soveltuvia laitteistoja. Käytön suunnittelun kannalta olennaista käynnistystehon tarvetta on tarkasteltu lähtökohdaisesti fysiikan avulla. Perustietoja teorialle on haettu aiemmista tutkimuksista sekä kirjallisuu-desta. Tarkastelun tuloksena teoriaa on kehitty ja se on saatu vastaamaan todellisuutta aiempaa paremmin. Kannatuksen ja käytön toteuttamisvaihtoja etsittäessä on käytetty systemaattisen koneen-suunnittelun keinoja. Saatuja ideoita on arvioitu teknillis-taloudellisin perustein ja näistä on valittu parhaat vaihtoehdot jatkokehitykseen. Jatkokehitysvaiheessa ratkaisuvaihto-ehtoja on tarkasteltu komponenttitasolla ja näistä on tehty yksityiskohtaiset kustannus-laskelmat. Työn tuloksena on esitetty kannatuksen ja käytön toteutusvaihtoehto, jonka avulla voidaan saavuttaa merkittäviä kustannussäästöjä. Korkea, 30 prosentin kustannussäästö-tavoite saavutettiin.

Sellupesurin rakenteellinen kehittäminen

Tämä diplomityö on tehty Andritz Oy:lle Washers & Filters tuoteryhmään. Työ on osa pienten sellupesureiden tuotekehitysprojektia. Tavoitteena on vertailla olemassa olevaa tuotekehitysaineistoa ja tuoda esiin suunnitteluprosessi, jolla DD – sellupesurin osien rakenteita voidaan järjestelmällisesti kehittää. Diplomityössä tutkittuja osia ovat tiiviste–elementti, päätypalkki ja rumpu. Tiiviste–elementtejä vertailtiin olemassa olevan tuotekehitysaineiston osalta, sekä tutkittiin geneettisiin algoritmeihin pohjautuvan topologian optimoinnin soveltuvuutta tiiviste-elementin suunnitteluun. Päätypalkin ja rummun optimaaliset geometriat selvitettiin geneettisiä algoritmejä hyödyntävällä topologisella optimoinnilla. Optimaalisten topologioiden perusteella suunniteltiin valmistettavissa olevat rakenteet joiden ainevahvuudet määrättiin alustavasti vakion variointiin perustuvalla optimoinnilla. Tällä menettelyllä saatiin päätypalkista ja rummusta aikaiseksi aikaisempaa kevyemmät rakenteet. Topologian optimointi huomattiin soveltuvan rakenteisiin, joiden kuormitus- ja kiinnitystiedot ovat yksiselitteisesti määrätyt.

The Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Studies suggest that smoking may be a risk factor for the development of microvascular complications such as diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between smoking and DPN in persons with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A systematic review of the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane clinical trials databases was conducted for the period from January 1966 to November 2014 for cohort, cross-sectional and case-control studies that assessed the relationship between smoking and DPN. Separate meta-analyses for prospective cohort studies and case-control or cross-sectional studies were performed using random effects models. RESULTS: Thirty-eight studies (10 prospective cohort and 28 cross-sectional) were included. The prospective cohort studies included 5558 participants without DPN at baseline. During follow-up ranging from 2 to 10 years, 1550 cases of DPN occurred. The pooled unadjusted odds ratio (OR) of developing DPN associated with smoking was 1.26 (95% CI 0.86-1.85; I(2) = 74%; evidence grade: low strength). Stratified analyses of the prospective studies revealed that studies of higher quality and with better levels of adjustment and longer follow-up showed a significant positive association between smoking and DPN, with less heterogeneity. The cross-sectional studies included 27,594 participants. The pooled OR of DPN associated with smoking was 1.42 (95% CI 1.21-1.65; I(2) = 65%; evidence grade: low strength). There was no evidence of publication bias. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking may be associated with an increased risk of DPN in persons with diabetes. Further studies are needed to test whether this association is causal and whether smoking cessation reduces the risk of DPN in adults with diabetes.

Vähittäiskaupan tavarantoimittaja-arviointi -tapaustutkimus

Organisaatio tarvitsee työkaluja toimittajien suorituskyvyn mittaukseen ja kehittämiseen. Ilman systemaattista mittaamista ja arviointia ostajat eivät tiedä kuinka hyvin toimittajat suoriutuvat velvoitteistaan. Tutkielman tavoit-teena oli analysoida vähittäiskaupan tavarantoimittajien arviointiprosessia keskittyen päivittäistavarakaupan toimialaan ja tavarantoimittajiin sekä luoda toimittajien arviointiin pilottiraportti. Tutkielma on tehty päivittäistavarakaupan kohdeyrityksen toimeksiannosta. Tutkielman teoreettinen aineisto pohjautuu aikaisempaan kirjallisuuteen ja tutkimukseen. Tutkielman empiiriseen osaan aineistoa kerättiin kohdeyrityksen henkilöstön haastatteluilla sekä osallistuvan havainnoinnin avulla. Lisäksi tutkija perehtyi kohdeyrityksessä käytössä olevaan tietovarastointi-sovellukseen. Kirjallisen aineiston avulla rakennettu tutkimuksen teoreettinen osa perustuu aikaisempaan tutkimukseen. Empiirinen osa muodostuu neljästä teemahaastattelusta, jotka suoritettiin kohdeyrityksessä. Haastattelujen tarkoituksena oli rakentaa tutkijalle kuva kohdeyrityksen tavarantoimittaja-arvioinnin nykytilasta. Tutkielmassa havainnollistettiin yksinkertainen raportointimalli yhden tavararyhmän arviointiin ja arviointitiedon analysointiin. Raportointimallilla havainnollistetaan tavarantoimittaja-arviointidatan käyttöä toimittaja-arvioinnissa. Jatkossa on olennaista keskittyä systemaattisen raportoinnin edelleen kehittämiseen ja arviointitiedon hyväksikäyttöön neuvotteluissa toimittajan kanssa. Lisäksi toimittajien luokittelu tavararyhmien sisällä on tärkeää jotta arvioinnissa voidaan keskittyä kaikista tärkeimpiin toimittajiin.

Use of fine-needle aspirate calcitonin to detect medullary thyroid carcinoma: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The measurement of calcitonin in washout fluids of thyroid nodule aspirate (FNA-calcitonin) has been reported as accurate to detect medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). The results from these studies have been promising and the most updated version of ATA guidelines quoted for the first time that "FNA findings that are inconclusive or suggestive of MTC should have calcitonin measured in the FNA washout fluid." Here we aimed to systematically review published data on this topic to provide more robust estimates. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A comprehensive computer literature search of the medical databases was conducted by searching for the terms "calcitonin" AND "washout." The search was updated until April 2015. RESULTS: Twelve relevant studies, published between 2007 and 2014, were found. Overall, 413 thyroid nodules or neck lymph nodes underwent FNA-calcitonin, 95 were MTC lesions and 93 (97.9%) of these were correctly detected by this measurement regardless of their cytologic report. CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that the above ATA recommendation is well supported. Almost all MTC lesions are correctly detected by FNA-calcitonin and this technique should be used to avoid false negative or inconclusive results from cytology. The routine determination of serum calcitonin in patients undergoing FNA should improve the selection of patients at risk for MTC, guiding the use of FNA-calcitonin in the same FNA sample and providing useful information to the cytopathologist for the morphological assessment and the application of tailored ancillary tests.

Cerebral oximetry and return of spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIM: The prediction of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) during resuscitation of patients suffering of cardiac arrest (CA) is particularly challenging. Regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) monitoring through near-infrared spectrometry is feasible during CA and could provide guidance during resuscitation. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on the value of rSO2 in predicting ROSC both after in-hospital (IH) or out-of-hospital (OH) CA. Our search included MEDLINE (PubMed) and EMBASE, from inception until April 4th, 2015. We included studies reporting values of rSO2 at the beginning of and/or during resuscitation, according to the achievement of ROSC. RESULTS: A total of nine studies with 315 patients (119 achieving ROSC, 37.7%) were included in the meta-analysis. The majority of those patients had an OHCA (n=225, 71.5%; IHCA: n=90, 28.5%). There was a significant association between higher values of rSO2 and ROSC, both in the overall calculation (standardized mean difference, SMD -1.03; 95%CI -1.39,-0.67; p<0.001), and in the subgroups analyses (rSO2 at the beginning of resuscitation: SMD -0.79; 95%CI -1.29,-0.30; p=0.002; averaged rSO2 value during resuscitation: SMD -1.28; 95%CI -1.74,-0.83; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Higher initial and average regional cerebral oxygen saturation values are both associated with greater chances of achieving ROSC in patients suffering of CA. A note of caution should be made in interpreting these results due to the small number of patients and the heterogeneity in study design: larger studies are needed to clinically validate cut-offs for guiding cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Methodology used in studies reporting chronic kidney disease prevalence : a systematic literature review.

BACKGROUND: Many publications report the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the general population. Comparisons across studies are hampered as CKD prevalence estimations are influenced by study population characteristics and laboratory methods. METHODS: For this systematic review, two researchers independently searched PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE to identify all original research articles that were published between 1 January 2003 and 1 November 2014 reporting the prevalence of CKD in the European adult general population. Data on study methodology and reporting of CKD prevalence results were independently extracted by two researchers. RESULTS: We identified 82 eligible publications and included 48 publications of individual studies for the data extraction. There was considerable variation in population sample selection. The majority of studies did not report the sampling frame used, and the response ranged from 10 to 87%. With regard to the assessment of kidney function, 67% used a Jaffe assay, whereas 13% used the enzymatic assay for creatinine determination. Isotope dilution mass spectrometry calibration was used in 29%. The CKD-EPI (52%) and MDRD (75%) equations were most often used to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR). CKD was defined as estimated GFR (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) in 92% of studies. Urinary markers of CKD were assessed in 60% of the studies. CKD prevalence was reported by sex and age strata in 54 and 50% of the studies, respectively. In publications with a primary objective of reporting CKD prevalence, 39% reported a 95% confidence interval. CONCLUSIONS: The findings from this systematic review showed considerable variation in methods for sampling the general population and assessment of kidney function across studies reporting CKD prevalence. These results are utilized to provide recommendations to help optimize both the design and the reporting of future CKD prevalence studies, which will enhance comparability of study results.

User-Centered Design Gymkhana

The User-centered design (UCD) Gymkhana is a tool for human-computer interaction practitioners to demonstrate through a game the key user-centered design methods and how they interrelate in the design process.The target audiences are other organizational departments unfamiliar with UCD but whose work is related to the definition, cretaion, and update of a product service.

Case-Crossover Analysis of Air Pollution Health Effects: A Systematic Review of Methodology and Application

Case-crossover is one of the most used designs for analyzing the health-related effects of air pollution. Nevertheless, no one has reviewed its application and methodology in this context. Objective: We conducted a systematic review of case-crossover (CCO) designs used to study the relationship between air pollution and morbidity and mortality, from the standpoint of methodology and application.Data sources and extraction: A search was made of the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases.Reports were classified as methodologic or applied. From the latter, the following information was extracted: author, study location, year, type of population (general or patients), dependent variable(s), independent variable(s), type of CCO design, and whether effect modification was analyzed for variables at the individual level. Data synthesis: The review covered 105 reports that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Of these, 24 addressed methodological aspects, and the remainder involved the design’s application. In the methodological reports, the designs that yielded the best results in simulation were symmetric bidirectional CCO and time-stratified CCO. Furthermore, we observed an increase across time in the use of certain CCO designs, mainly symmetric bidirectional and time-stratified CCO. The dependent variables most frequently analyzed were those relating to hospital morbidity; the pollutants most often studied were those linked to particulate matter. Among the CCO-application reports, 13.6% studied effect modification for variables at the individual level.Conclusions: The use of CCO designs has undergone considerable growth; the most widely used designs were those that yielded better results in simulation studies: symmetric bidirectional and time-stratified CCO. However, the advantages of CCO as a method of analysis of variables at the individual level are put to little use

Traducción técnica del capítulo III del libro Advanced Data Warehouse design: from conventional to spatial and temporal applications

The proposal to work on this final project came after several discussions held with Dr. Elzbieta Malinowski Gadja, who in 2008 published the book entitled Advanced Data Warehouse Design: From Conventional to Spatial and Temporal Applications (Data-Centric Systems and Applications). The project was carried out under the technical supervision of Dr. Malinowski and the direct beneficiary was the University of Costa Rica (UCR) where Dr. Malinowski is a professor at the Department of Computer Science and Informatics. The purpose of this project was twofold: First, to translate chapter III of said book with the intention of generating educational material for the use of the UCR and, second, to venture in the field of technical translation related to data warehouse. For the first component, the goal was to generate a final product that would eventually serve as an educational tool for the post-graduate courses of the UCR. For the second component, this project allowed me to acquire new skills and put into practice techniques that have helped me not only to perfom better in my current job as an Assistant Translator of the Inter-American BAnk (IDB), but also to use them in similar projects. The process was lenggthy and required torough research and constant communication with the author. The investigation focused on the search of terms and definitions to prepare the glossary, which was the basis to start the translation project. The translation process itself was carried out by phases, so that comments and corrections by the author could be taken into account in subsequent stages. Later, based on the glossary and the translated text, illustrations had been created in the Visio software were translated. In addition to the technical revision by the author, professor Carme Mangiron was in charge of revising the non-technical text. The result was a high-quality document that is currently used as reference and study material by the Department of Computer Science and Informatics of Costa Rica.

Development of Collaborative Product Structure Management

The purpose of this thesis is to develop an environment or network that enables effective collaborative product structure management among stakeholders in each unit, throughout the entire product lifecycle and product data management. This thesis uses framework models as an approach to the problem. Framework model methods for development of collaborative product structure management are proposed in this study, there are three unique models depicted to support collaborative product structure management: organization model, process model and product model. In the organization model, the formation of product data management system (eDSTAT) key user network is specified. In the process model, development is based on the case company’s product development matrix. In the product model framework, product model management, product knowledge management and design knowledge management are defined as development tools and collaboration is based on web-based product structure management. Collaborative management is executed using all these approaches. A case study from an actual project at the case company is presented as an implementation; this is to verify the models’ applicability. A computer assisted design tool and the web-based product structure manager, have been used as tools of this collaboration with the support of the key user. The current PDM system, eDSTAT, is used as a piloting case for key user role. The result of this development is that the role of key user as a collaboration channel is defined and established. The key user is able to provide one on one support for the elevator projects. Also the management activities are improved through the application of process workflow by following criteria for each project milestone. The development shows effectiveness of product structure management in product lifecycle, improved production process by eliminating barriers (e.g. improvement of two-way communication) during design phase and production phase. The key user role is applicable on a global scale in the company.

IDEAS for Strategic Technology Management: Design of an electronically mediated scenario method

The age-old adage goes that nothing in this world lasts but change, and this generation has indeed seen changes that are unprecedented. Business managers do not have the luxury of going with the flow: they have to plan ahead, to think strategies that will meet the changing conditions, however stormy the weather seems to be. This demand raises the question of whether there is something a manager or planner can do to circumvent the eye of the storm in the future? Intuitively, one can either run on the risk of something happening without preparing, or one can try to prepare oneself. Preparing by planning for each eventuality and contingency would be impractical and prohibitively expensive, so one needs to develop foreknowledge, or foresight past the horizon of the present and the immediate future. The research mission in this study is to support strategic technology management by designing an effective and efficient scenario method to induce foresight to practicing managers. The design science framework guides this study in developing and evaluating the IDEAS method. The IDEAS method is an electronically mediated scenario method that is specifically designed to be an effective and accessible. The design is based on the state-of-the-art in scenario planning, and the product is a technology-based artifact to solve the foresight problem. This study demonstrates the utility, quality and efficacy of the artifact through a multi-method empirical evaluation study, first by experimental testing and secondly through two case studies. The construction of the artifact is rigorously documented as justification knowledge as well as the principles of form and function on the general level, and later through the description and evaluation of instantiations. This design contributes both to practice and foundation of the design. The IDEAS method contributes to the state-of-the-art in scenario planning by offering a light-weight and intuitive scenario method for resource constrained applications. Additionally, the study contributes to the foundations and methods of design by forging a clear design science framework which is followed rigorously. To summarize, the IDEAS method is offered for strategic technology management, with a confident belief that it will enable gaining foresight and aid the users to choose trajectories past the gales of creative destruction and off to a brighter future.

Integrating environmental aspects into product development process

Various regulations and customer requirements have made it necessary for Vacon Oyj to pay more attention to the environmental aspects in its processes. The main purpose of this master’s thesis project is to define how environmental aspects could be integrated into Vacon’s product development process. The aim is to find out the most important environmental aspects for the company to address, to examine how these could be taken into account during the development process and to map the critical factors that need consideration in order to ensure the successful integration of environmental aspects into the design process. Based on the customer requirements and evolving regulations the most important aspects for Vacon include minimizing the amount of harmful substances, improving the recyclability and energy efficiency of the product and moreover providing meaningful information related to these aspects. To tackle these issues, a new DfE process was developed, tasks in each phase were described and responsibilities were indicated. To ensure the success of the DfE process, management commitment, support of other processes and significant improvements in ways the information is managed are required. The developers should be provided with training and support. Environmental expertise and knowledge in-house should be developed and establishing meaningful environmental indicators is suggested.

Bayesian methods for estimation, optimization and experimental design

Mathematical models often contain parameters that need to be calibrated from measured data. The emergence of efficient Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods has made the Bayesian approach a standard tool in quantifying the uncertainty in the parameters. With MCMC, the parameter estimation problem can be solved in a fully statistical manner, and the whole distribution of the parameters can be explored, instead of obtaining point estimates and using, e.g., Gaussian approximations. In this thesis, MCMC methods are applied to parameter estimation problems in chemical reaction engineering, population ecology, and climate modeling. Motivated by the climate model experiments, the methods are developed further to make them more suitable for problems where the model is computationally intensive. After the parameters are estimated, one can start to use the model for various tasks. Two such tasks are studied in this thesis: optimal design of experiments, where the task is to design the next measurements so that the parameter uncertainty is minimized, and model-based optimization, where a model-based quantity, such as the product yield in a chemical reaction model, is optimized. In this thesis, novel ways to perform these tasks are developed, based on the output of MCMC parameter estimation. A separate topic is dynamical state estimation, where the task is to estimate the dynamically changing model state, instead of static parameters. For example, in numerical weather prediction, an estimate of the state of the atmosphere must constantly be updated based on the recently obtained measurements. In this thesis, a novel hybrid state estimation method is developed, which combines elements from deterministic and random sampling methods.

Network effects: Scale development and implications for new product performance

More and more innovations currently being commercialized exhibit network effects, in other words, the value of using the product increases as more and more people use the same or compatible products. Although this phenomenon has been the subject of much theoretical debate in economics, marketing researchers have been slow to respond to the growing importance of network effects in new product success. Despite an increase in interest in recent years, there is no comprehensive view on the phenomenon and, therefore, there is currently incomplete understanding of the dimensions it incorporates. Furthermore, there is wide dispersion in operationalization, in other words, the measurement of network effects, and currently available approaches have various shortcomings that limit their applicability, especially in marketing research. Consequently, little is known today about how these products fare on the marketplace and how they should be introduced in order to maximize their chances of success. Hence, the motivation for this study was driven by the need to increase our knowledge and understanding of the nature of network effects as a phenomenon, and of their role in the commercial success of new products. This thesis consists of two parts. The first part comprises a theoretical overview of the relevant literature, and presents the conclusions of the entire study. The second part comprises five complementary, empirical research publications. Quantitative research methods and two sets of quantitative data are utilized. The results of the study suggest that there is a need to update both the conceptualization and the operationalization of the phenomenon of network effects. Furthermore, there is a need for an augmented view on customers’ perceived value in the context of network effects, given that the nature of value composition has major implications for the viability of such products in the marketplace. The role of network effects in new product performance is not as straightforward as suggested in the existing theoretical literature. The overwhelming result of this study is that network effects do not directly influence product success, but rather enhance or suppress the influence of product introduction strategies. The major contribution of this study is in conceptualizing the phenomenon of network effects more comprehensively than has been attempted thus far. The study gives an augmented view of the nature of customer value in network markets, which helps in explaining why some products thrive on these markets whereas others never catch on. Second, the study discusses shortcomings in prior literature in the way it has operationalized network effects, suggesting that these limitations can be overcome in the research design. Third, the study provides some much-needed empirical evidence on how network effects, product introduction strategies, and new product performance are associated. In general terms, this thesis adds to our knowledge of how firms can successfully leverage network effects in product commercialization in order to improve market performance.