Cucurbiturilas

This review article describes the properties and the main applications of the glicol[n]urils. These compounds are cavitands made of n glycolurilic units arranged in circles, giving rise to extremely symmetric toroidal molecules. The cucurbit[n]urils create this way variable-sized hydrophobic cavities and the glycolurilic carbonyles delimit two portals on these cavities, slightly narrower than their internal radii. Their structure, physical and chemical properties favor the formation of inclusion compounds, and turn them into important building blocks for supramolecular chemistry and nanotechnology.

Alueellisen innovaatiojärjestelmän kehityspolku - case Kouvolan seutu

Tutkimus on esiselvitystyö, jonka tavoitteena oli selvittää miten luoda innovaatiojärjestelmä Kouvolan seudulle. Lisäksi tavoitteena oli selvittää alueen innovaatiojärjestelmän nykytila, tutkia miten toimijat saadaan sitoutumaan ja toimimaan kohti yhteistä päämäärää sekä kuvata prosessi kehitystyölle. Kouvolan seudulla on tapahtunut lähiaikoina runsaasti muutoksia, jotka vaikuttavat myös innovaatiotoimintaan. Kehitystä on tapahtunut, mutta kehitystä on kiihdytettävä, jotta alue on tulevaisuudessa elinvoimainen seutu asua ja yrittää. Suoritettujen kahdeksan asiantuntijahaastattelun pohjalta voidaan todeta, että Kouvolan seudulla ei nykyisellään ole innovaatiojärjestelmää. Kouvolan seudulla on innovaatiojärjestelmän osia, mutta toiminta on hajanaista ja toimijoilla ei ole selkeää kuvaa omasta roolistaan osana kokonaisuutta. Innovaatioiden syntyä ei voi jättää sattuman käsiin, vaan uusien innovaatioiden syntyminen vaatii yhteistyötä ja vuorovaikutusta eri yritysten ja organisaatioiden välillä. Innovaatiojärjestelmän luomiseen Kouvolan seudulle ei ole yhtä oikeaa ja helppoa tietä. Harmaakorven alueellinen kehitysalustamenetelmä tarjoaa selkeän prosessin kehitystyöhön, mutta onko Kouvolassa tarvittavia resursseja ja osaamista prosessin läpivientiin? Tulisiko lähteä liikkeelle pienistä asioista, yhteisesti määritellyistä käsitteistä, päämääristä ja rooleista. Yhtenä ratkaisuna on Kouvolan seudun innovaatio-ohjelman rakentaminen, jossa nämä määritellään. Ohjelman kehittämisessä on syytä olla mukana mahdollisimman laajalti innovaatiojärjestelmän toimijoita, mutta kehittämisprosessin on syytä olla kevyt. Jo ohjelmaa kehittäessä tarvitaan erilaisia pilot-projekteja ja foorumeita, joiden kautta Kouvolan seudun innovaatiojärjestelmää saadaan kehitettyä ja pikku hiljaa rakennettua luottamusta ja yhteistyötä. Tekemisen kautta tietoisuus toiminnasta ja sen eduista leviää, ja Kouvolan seudun saadaan luotua toimiva alueellinen innovaatiojärjestelmä.

Distributed ControlArchitecture of Power Electronics Building-Block-Based Frequency Converters

The increasing power demand and emerging applications drive the design of electrical power converters into modularization. Despite the wide use of modularized power stage structures, the control schemes that are used are often traditional, in other words, centralized. The flexibility and re-usability of these controllers are typically poor. With a dedicated distributed control scheme, the flexibility and re-usability of the system parts, building blocks, can be increased. Only a few distributed control schemes have been introduced for this purpose, but their breakthrough has not yet taken place. A demand for the further development offlexible control schemes for building-block-based applications clearly exists. The control topology, communication, synchronization, and functionality allocationaspects of building-block-based converters are studied in this doctoral thesis. A distributed control scheme that can be easily adapted to building-block-based power converter designs is developed. The example applications are a parallel and series connection of building blocks. The building block that is used in the implementations of both the applications is a commercial off-the-shelf two-level three-phase frequency converter with a custom-designed controller card. The major challenge with the parallel connection of power stages is the synchronization of the building blocks. The effect of synchronization accuracy on the system performance is studied. The functionality allocation and control scheme design are challenging in the seriesconnected multilevel converters, mainly because of the large number of modules. Various multilevel modulation schemes are analyzed with respect to the implementation, and this information is used to develop a flexible control scheme for modular multilevel inverters.

Cuticular and Suberin Polymers of Edible Plants. Analysis by Gas Chromatographic-Mass Spectrometric and Solid State Spectroscopic Methods

Cutin and suberin are structural and protective polymers of plant surfaces. The epidermal cells of the aerial parts of plants are covered with an extracellular cuticular layer, which consists of polyester cutin, highly resistant cutan, cuticular waxes and polysaccharides which link the layer to the epidermal cells. A similar protective layer is formed by a polyaromatic-polyaliphatic biopolymer suberin, which is present particularly in the cell walls of the phellem layer of periderm of the underground parts of plants (e.g. roots and tubers) and the bark of trees. In addition, suberization is also a major factor in wound healing and wound periderm formation regardless of the plants’ tissue. Knowledge of the composition and functions of cuticular and suberin polymers is important for understanding the physiological properties for the plants and for nutritional quality when these plants are consumed as foods. The aims of the practical work were to assess the chemical composition of cuticular polymers of several northern berries and seeds and suberin of two varieties of potatoes. Cutin and suberin were studied as isolated polymers and further after depolymerization as soluble monomers and solid residues. Chemical and enzymatic depolymerization techniques were compared and a new chemical depolymerization method was developed. Gas chromatographic analysis with mass spectrometric detection (GC-MS) was used to assess the monomer compositions. Polymer investigations were conducted with solid state carbon-13 cross polarization magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C CP-MAS NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and microscopic analysis. Furthermore, the development of suberin over one year of post-harvest storage was investigated and the cuticular layers from berries grown in the North and South of Finland were compared. The results show that the amounts of isolated cuticular layers and cutin monomers, as well as monomeric compositions vary greatly between the berries. The monomer composition of seeds was found to differ from the corresponding berry peel monomers. The berry cutin monomers were composed mostly of long-chain aliphatic ω-hydroxy acids, with various mid-chain functionalities (double-bonds, epoxy, hydroxy and keto groups). Substituted α,ω-diacids predominated over ω-hydroxy acids in potato suberin monomers and slight differences were found between the varieties. The newly-developed closed tube chemical method was found to be suitable for cutin and suberin analysis and preferred over the solvent-consuming and laborious reflux method. Enzymatic hydrolysis with cutinase was less effective than chemical methanolysis and showed specificity towards α,ω-diacid bonds. According to ₁₃C CP-MAS NMR and FTIR, the depolymerization residues contained significant amounts of aromatic structures, polysaccharides and possible cutan-type aliphatic moieties. Cultivation location seems to have effect on cuticular composition. The materials studied contained significant amounts of different types of biopolymers that could be utilized for several purposes with or without further processing. The importance of the so-called waste material from industrial processes of berries and potatoes as a source of either dietary fiber or specialty chemicals should be further investigated in detail. The evident impact of cuticular and suberin polymers, among other fiber components, on human health should be investigated in clinical trials. These by-product materials may be used as value-added fiber fractions in the food industry and as raw materials for specialty chemicals such as lubricants and emulsifiers, or as building blocks for novel polymers.

From pioneering mission to autonomous church : Lutheran mission cooperation and church building in Thailand 1976-1994

Det lutherska missionsarbetet i Thailand startade inte förrän år 1976 då norska lutherska missionärer anlände till landet. Ett par år senare inledde Finska Missionssällskapet samarbete med norrmännen och med tiden anslöt sig även tre asiatiska lutherska kyrkor till missionssamarbetet i Thailand. Från första början var målet för missionsarbetet att grunda en självständig luthersk kyrka i Thailand. Detta skedde år 1994, 18 år efter att arbetet i Thailand hade inletts. I avhandlingen granskas vilka arbetsmetoder och verksamhetsformer som användes och hur grundandet av en självständig nationell luthersk kyrka förbereddes och förverkligades. I avhandlingen synas även den lutherska missionen i Thailand i förhållande till samtida internationellt missionstänkande och strömningar inom den kristna världsmissionen. Slutligen sätts den lutherska missionen i Thailand in i en thailändsk kulturell och religiös kontext.

Knowledge Sharing between Generations in an Organisation - Retention of the Old or Building the New?

The study explores knowledge transfer between retiring employees and their successors in expert work. My aim is to ascertain whether there is knowledge development or building new knowledge related to this organisational knowledge transfer between generations; in other words, is the transfer of knowledge from experienced, retiring employees to their successors merely retention of the existing organisational knowledge by distributing it from one individual to another or does this transfer lead to building new and meaningful organisational knowledge. I call knowledge transfer between generations and the possibly related knowledge building in this study knowledge sharing between generations. The study examines the organisation and knowledge management from a knowledge-based and constructionist view. From this standpoint, I see knowledge transfer as an interactive process, and the exploration is based on how the people involved in this process understand and experience the phenomenon studied. The research method is organisational ethnography. I conducted the analysis of data using thematic analysis and the articulation method, which has not been used before in organisational knowledge studies. The primary empirical data consists of theme interviews with twelve employees involved in knowledge transfer in the organisation being studied and five follow-up theme interviews. Six of the interviewees are expert duty employees due to retire shortly, and six are their successors. All those participating in the follow-up interviews are successors of those soon to retire from their expert responsibilities. The organisation in the study is a medium-sized Finnish firm, which designs and manufactures electrical equipment and systems for the global market. The results of the study show that expert work-related knowledge transfer between generations can mean knowledge building which produces new, meaningful knowledge for the organisation. This knowledge is distributed in the organisation to all those that find it useful in increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of the whole organisation. The transfer and building of knowledge together create an act of knowledge sharing between generations where the building of knowledge presupposes transfer. Knowledge sharing proceeds between the expert and the novice through eight phases. During the phases of knowledge transfer the expert guides the novice to absorb the knowledge to be transferred. With the expert’s help the novice gradually comes to understand the knowledge and in the end he or she is capable of using it in his or her work. During the phases of knowledge building the expert helps the novice to further develop the knowledge being transferred so that it becomes new, useful knowledge for the organisation. After that the novice takes the built knowledge to use in his or her work. Based on the results of the study, knowledge sharing between generations takes place in interaction and ends when knowledge is taken to use. The results I obtained in the interviews by the articulation method show that knowledge sharing between generations is shaped by the novices’ conceptions of their own work goals, knowledge needs and duties. These are not only based on the official definition of the work, but also how the novices find their work or how they prioritise the given objectives and responsibilities. The study shows that the novices see their work primarily as maintenance or development. Those primarily involved in maintenance duties do not necessarily need knowledge defined as transferred between generations. Therefore, they do not necessarily transfer knowledge with their assigned experts, even though this can happen in favourable circumstances. They do not build knowledge because their view of their work goals and duties does not require the building of new knowledge. Those primarily involved in development duties, however, do need knowledge available from their assigned experts. Therefore, regardless of circumstances they transfer knowledge with their assigned experts and also build knowledge because their work goals and duties create a basis for building new knowledge. The literature on knowledge transfer between generations has focused on describing either the knowledge being transferred or the means by which it is transferred. Based on the results of this study, however, knowledge sharing between generations, that is, transfer and building is determined by how the novice considers his or her own knowledge needs and work practices. This is why studies on knowledge sharing between generations and its implementation should be based not only on the knowledge content and how it is shared, but also on the context of the work in which the novice interprets and shares knowledge. The existing literature has not considered the possibility that knowledge transfer between generations may mean building knowledge. The results of this study, however, show that this is possible. In knowledge building, the expert’s existing organisational knowledge is combined with the new knowledge that the novice brings to the organisation. In their interaction this combination of the expert’s “old” and the novice’s “new” knowledge becomes new, meaningful organisational knowledge. Previous studies show that knowledge development between the members of an organisation is the prerequisite for organisational renewal which in turn is essential for improved competitiveness. Against this background, knowledge building enables organisational renewal and thus enhances competitiveness. Hence, when knowledge transfer between generations is followed by knowledge building, the organisation kills two birds with one stone. In knowledge transfer the organisation retains the existing knowledge and thus maintains its competitiveness. In knowledge building the organisation developsnew knowledge and thus improves its competitiveness.

Undersökning, om Nyland och Tavastehus län, i anseende til dess, läge, vidd, climat, våhr-floder, sjöar och vatuleder, naturs förmåner och brister, näringar, folkrikhet, politie och cameral författningar. Tredje delen : ... under ... Adrian Gadds inseende, utgifven och försvarad för lagerkrantsen af Carl Bergman, nylenninge, kongl. stip. I Åbo Acad. öfre lärosal förr mid. den 22 Junii 1789.

Dedicated to: Carl Ulner, Adam Ulner, Carolus Bergman.

Energiantuotantovaihtoehtojen vertailu, Jousenpuiston uusi asuinalue

Tämän diplomityön tavoitteena oli vertailla paikallisia energiantuotantovaihtoehtoja eri-tyisesti lämmöntuotantoon painottuen. Tarkastelu sovitettiin uuden matalaenergiarakentamista vastaavan kerrostaloasuinalueen tarpeisiin. Näkökulmana olivat sekä taloudellisuus että hiilidioksidipäästöt. Yksityiskohtaisemman tarkastelun kohteena olivat maalämpö, alueellinen biolämpölaitos sekö alueellinen pien-CHP-laitos. Perusvaihtoehtona tutkittiin kaukolämpöä. Kaikkiin vaihtoehtoihin kuului myös kapasiteetiltaan rajoitettu jäähdytys. Tulosten mukaan kokonaistaloudellisin vaihtoehto oli maalämpö yhdistettynä kaukolämpöön. Tässä vaihtoehdossa peruslämpö tuotetaan maalämmöllä, mutta huippu-lämpöön sekä käyttöveden lämmitykseen käytetään kaukolämpöä. Ratkaisulla saadaan aikaan myös päästövähennyksiä kaukolämpöön verrattuna. Tulosten mukaan pienimmät päästöt olivat pien-CHP-biovoimalaitoksella. Toisaalta nykyisillä sähkön myyntihinnoilla pienimuotoinen yhdistetty sähkön ja lämmön tuotanto ei pysty kilpailemaan kustannusrakenteensa puolesta muiden tutkittujen vaihtoehtojen kanssa.

AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY AND IMPLEMENTS DESIGN PROCESS: GUIDELINES FOR SMALL AND MID-SIZED BUSINESSES

ABSTRACT This study aims at presenting the process of machine design and agricultural implements by means of a reference model, formulated with the purpose of explaining the development activities of new products, serving as a guideline to coach human resources and to assist in formalizing the process in small and medium-sized businesses (SMB), i.e. up to 500 employees. The methodology used included the process modeling, carried out from case studies in the SMB, and the study of reference models in literature. The modeling formalism used was based on the IDEF0 standard, which identifies the dimensions required for the model detailing: input information; activities; tasks; knowledge domains; mechanisms; controls and information produced. These dimensions were organized in spreadsheets and graphs. As a result, a reference model with 27 activities and 71 tasks was obtained, distributed over four phases of the design process. The evaluation of the model was carried out by the companies participating in the case studies and by experts, who concluded that the model explains the actions needed to develop new products in SMB.

Building object-oriented software with the D-Bus messaging system

Object-oriented programming is a widely adopted paradigm for desktop software development. This paradigm partitions software into separate entities, objects, which consist of data and related procedures used to modify and inspect it. The paradigm has evolved during the last few decades to emphasize decoupling between object implementations, via means such as explicit interface inheritance and event-based implicit invocation. Inter-process communication (IPC) technologies allow applications to interact with each other. This enables making software distributed across multiple processes, resulting in a modular architecture with benefits in resource sharing, robustness, code reuse and security. The support for object-oriented programming concepts varies between IPC systems. This thesis is focused on the D-Bus system, which has recently gained a lot of users, but is still scantily researched. D-Bus has support for asynchronous remote procedure calls with return values and a content-based publish/subscribe event delivery mechanism. In this thesis, several patterns for method invocation in D-Bus and similar systems are compared. The patterns that simulate synchronous local calls are shown to be dangerous. Later, we present a state-caching proxy construct, which avoids the complexity of properly asynchronous calls for object inspection. The proxy and certain supplementary constructs are presented conceptually as generic object-oriented design patterns. The e ect of these patterns on non-functional qualities of software, such as complexity, performance and power consumption, is reasoned about based on the properties of the D-Bus system. The use of the patterns reduces complexity, but maintains the other qualities at a good level. Finally, we present currently existing means of specifying D-Bus object interfaces for the purposes of code and documentation generation. The interface description language used by the Telepathy modular IM/VoIP framework is found to be an useful extension of the basic D-Bus introspection format.

Improving alumni administration by self-built information system : building IMMIT connected' to enhance alumni connection

Alumni are considered as precious resource of the institutions, thus improving alumni adminis-tration is critical. In information era, alumni administration is assisted by widespread information technology, such as social network sites. This paper aims to discover if a self-built information sys-tem would enhance alumni connection in the IMMIT context, and what kind of attributes would be helpful applying to the special context. The current online alumni services at other universities and at the IMMIT host university are analyzed, and then social media is introduced. After illustrating the social capital existing in IM-MIT, the type of the self-built information system is suggested, following an interpretation of the prototype. Two research models are utilized in this article: TAM and intentional social action model. The second model is adjusted with proposed parameters. Afterwards, a survey and an interview protocol are designed under the guidance of the models. The results are analyzed in several groups, and the proposed parameters are tested. A conclusion is drawn to indicate how to improve alumni‟s intention to use and how to achieve a better-accepted design.