Railcarrier in Intermodal Freight Transportation Network

The major objective of this thesis is to describe and analyse how a railcarrier is engaged in an intermodal freight transportation network through its role and position. Because of the fact that the role as a conceptualisation has a lot of parallels with the position, both these phenomena are evaluated theoretically and empirically. VR Cargo (a strategical business unitof the Finnish railway company VR Ltd.) was chosen to be the focal firm surrounded by the actors of the focal net. Because of the fact that networks are sets of relationships rather than sets of actors, it is essential to describe the dimensions of the relationships created through the time thus having a past, presentand future. The roles are created during long common history shared by the actors especially when IM networks are considered. The presence of roles is embeddedin the tasks, and the future is anchored to the expectations. Furthermore, in this study role refers to network dynamics, and to incremental and radical changes in the network, in a similar way as position refers to stability and to the influences of bonded structures. The main purpose of the first part of the study was to examine how the two distinctive views that have a dominant position in modern logistics ¿ the network view (particularly IMP-based network approach) and the managerial view (represented by Supply Chain Management) differ, especially when intermodalism is under consideration. In this study intermodalism was defined as a form of interorganisational behaviour characterized by the physical movement of unitized goods with Intermodal Transport Units, using more than one mode as performed by the net of operators. In this particular stage the study relies mainly on theoretical evaluation broadened by some discussions with the practitioners. This is essential, because the continuous dialogue between theory and practice is highly emphasized. Some managerial implications are discussed on the basis of the theoretical examination. A tentative model for empirical analysis in subsequent research is suggested. The empirical investigation, which relies on the interviews among the members in the focal net, shows that the major role of the focal company in the network is the common carrier. This role has some behavioural and functional characteristics, such as an executive's disclosure expressing strategic will attached with stable and predictable managerial and organisational behaviour. Most important is the notion that the focal company is neutral for all the other operators, and willing to enhance and strengthen the collaboration with all the members in the IM network. This also means that all the accounts are aimed at being equal in terms of customer satisfaction. Besides, the adjustments intensify the adopted role. However, the focal company is also obliged tosustain its role as it still has a government-erected right to maintain solely the railway operations on domestic tracks. In addition, the roles of a dominator, principal, partner, subcontractor, and integrator were present appearing either in a dyadic relationship or in net(work) context. In order to reveal differentroles, a dualistic interpretation of the concept of role/position was employed.

The transcriptional network activated by Cln3 cyclin at the G1-to-S transition of the yeast cell cycle

Background: The G1-to-S transition of the cell cycle in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae involves an extensive transcriptional program driven by transcription factors SBF (Swi4-Swi6) and MBF (Mbp1-Swi6). Activation of these factors ultimately depends on the G1 cyclin Cln3. Results: To determine the transcriptional targets of Cln3 and their dependence on SBF or MBF, we first have used DNA microarrays to interrogate gene expression upon Cln3 overexpression in synchronized cultures of strains lacking components of SBF and/or MBF. Secondly, we have integrated this expression dataset together with other heterogeneous data sources into a single probabilistic model based on Bayesian statistics. Our analysis has produced more than 200 transcription factor-target assignments, validated by ChIP assays and by functional enrichment. Our predictions show higher internal coherence and predictive power than previous classifications. Our results support a model whereby SBF and MBF may be differentially activated by Cln3. Conclusions: Integration of heterogeneous genome-wide datasets is key to building accurate transcriptional networks. By such integration, we provide here a reliable transcriptional network at the G1-to-S transition in the budding yeast cell cycle. Our results suggest that to improve the reliability of predictions we need to feed our models with more informative experimental data.

Biblio-MetReS: A bibliometric network reconstruction application and server

Background: Reconstruction of genes and/or protein networks from automated analysis of the literature is one of the current targets of text mining in biomedical research. Some user-friendly tools already perform this analysis on precompiled databases of abstracts of scientific papers. Other tools allow expert users to elaborate and analyze the full content of a corpus of scientific documents. However, to our knowledge, no user friendly tool that simultaneously analyzes the latest set of scientific documents available on line and reconstructs the set of genes referenced in those documents is available. Results: This article presents such a tool, Biblio-MetReS, and compares its functioning and results to those of other user-friendly applications (iHOP, STRING) that are widely used. Under similar conditions, Biblio-MetReS creates networks that are comparable to those of other user friendly tools. Furthermore, analysis of full text documents provides more complete reconstructions than those that result from using only the abstract of the document. Conclusions: Literature-based automated network reconstruction is still far from providing complete reconstructions of molecular networks. However, its value as an auxiliary tool is high and it will increase as standards for reporting biological entities and relationships become more widely accepted and enforced. Biblio- MetReS is an application that can be downloaded from http://metres.udl.cat/. It provides an easy to use environment for researchers to reconstruct their networks of interest from an always up to date set of scientific documents.

WCDMA HSPA performance counters for monitoring 3G-radio access network

The objective of this project was to gather all the counters which are used on HSPA performance monitoring. The main purpose was to create a compact packet of HSPA performance counters and radio network monitoring which Ericsson's employees can then use in their daily work. The study includes a short introduction to the architecture of the 3G-radio access network. The HSPA technology and HSPA performance are presented including a functional description of performance counters and KPIs, which are used for performance management and monitoring. The theory part of the study also covers an overview of performance management in OSS-RC. The final part of the study covers an overview of the performance management tools, in-troducing how the counters are represented in these interfaces. MOShell and OSS-RC are tools used in this study. Tools were selected because the MOShell is Ericsson's inter-nal management tool and OSS-RC is a tool designed for customers.

Scaffolding through the network: analysing the promotion of improved online scaffolds among university students

This article explores how to enrich scaffolding processes among university students using specific Computer Supported Collaborative Learning –CSCL- software. A longitudinal case study was designed, in which eighteen students participated in a twelve-month learning project. During this period the students followed an instructional process, using the CSCL software to support and improve the students’ interaction processes, in particular the processes of giving and receiving assistance. Our research analyzed the evolution of the quality of the students’ interaction processes and the students’ learning results. The effects of the students’ participation in the CSCL environment have been described in terms of their development of affective, cognitive and metacognitive learning processes. Our results showed that the specific activities that students performed while working with the CSCL system triggered specific learning processes, which had a positive incidence on their learning results.

Transfusion sanguine : en toute sécurité d'approvisionnement [Blood transfusion - safety of the inventory].

Over the years, transfusion medicine has been faced to many different problems, notably those related to transmission of pathogens. Major progresses have been accomplished in terms of security. However, nowadays, the discipline is confronted to the day-to-day variability and availability of blood products. More and more donors are excluded from blood donation due to various reasons, and the donor selection criteria have increased over the years, influencing the number of donors able to give blood. This paradox represents one of the constraints that transfusion medicine should resolve in the future. This paper presents some aspects either common or different between France and Switzerland.

An 8-Item Short Form of the Inventory of Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA) Among Young Swiss Men.

Emerging adulthood is a period of life transition, in which youths are no longer adolescents but have not yet reached full adulthood. Measuring emerging adulthood is crucial because of its association with psychopathology and risky behaviors such as substance use. Unfortunately, the only validated scale for such measurement has a long format (Inventory of Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood [IDEA]-31 items). This study aimed to test whether a shorter form yields satisfactory results without substantial loss of information among a sample of young Swiss men. Data from the longitudinal Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors were used (N = 5,049). IDEA, adulthood markers (e.g., parenthood or financial independence), and risk factors (i.e., substance use and mental health issues) were assessed. The results showed that an 8-item, short-form scale (IDEA-8) with four factors (experimentation, negativity, identity exploration, and feeling in between) returned satisfactory results, including good psychometric properties, high convergence with the initial scale, and strong empirical validity. This study was a step toward downsizing a measure of emerging adulthood. Indeed, this 8-item short form is a good alternative to the 31-item long form and could be more convenient for surveys with constraints on questionnaire length. Moreover, it should help health care practitioners in identifying at-risk populations to prevent and treat risky behaviors.

Task-induced deactivation from rest extends beyond the default mode brain network

Activity decreases, or deactivations, of midline and parietal cortical brain regions are routinely observed in human functional neuroimaging studies that compare periods of task-based cognitive performance with passive states, such as rest. It is now widely held that such task-induced deactivations index a highly organized"default-mode network" (DMN): a large-scale brain system whose discovery has had broad implications in the study of human brain function and behavior. In this work, we show that common task-induced deactivations from rest also occur outside of the DMN as a function of increased task demand. Fifty healthy adult subjects performed two distinct functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks that were designed to reliably map deactivations from a resting baseline. As primary findings, increases in task demand consistently modulated the regional anatomy of DMN deactivation. At high levels of task demand, robust deactivation was observed in non-DMN regions, most notably, the posterior insular cortex. Deactivation of this region was directly implicated in a performance-based analysis of experienced task difficulty. Together, these findings suggest that task-induced deactivations from rest are not limited to the DMN and extend to brain regions typically associated with integrative sensory and interoceptive processes.

Uses of cancer registries for public health and clinical research in Europe : results of the European Network of Cancer Registries survey among 161 population-based cancer registries during 2010-2012

AIM: To provide insight into cancer registration coverage, data access and use in Europe. This contributes to data and infrastructure harmonisation and will foster a more prominent role of cancer registries (CRs) within public health, clinical policy and cancer research, whether within or outside the European Research Area. METHODS: During 2010-12 an extensive survey of cancer registration practices and data use was conducted among 161 population-based CRs across Europe. Responding registries (66%) operated in 33 countries, including 23 with national coverage. RESULTS: Population-based oncological surveillance started during the 1940-50s in the northwest of Europe and from the 1970s to 1990s in other regions. The European Union (EU) protection regulations affected data access, especially in Germany and France, but less in the Netherlands or Belgium. Regular reports were produced by CRs on incidence rates (95%), survival (60%) and stage for selected tumours (80%). Evaluation of cancer control and quality of care remained modest except in a few dedicated CRs. Variables evaluated were support of clinical audits, monitoring adherence to clinical guidelines, improvement of cancer care and evaluation of mass cancer screening. Evaluation of diagnostic imaging tools was only occasional. CONCLUSION: Most population-based CRs are well equipped for strengthening cancer surveillance across Europe. Data quality and intensity of use depend on the role the cancer registry plays in the politico, oncomedical and public health setting within the country. Standard registration methodology could therefore not be translated to equivalent advances in cancer prevention and mass screening, quality of care, translational research of prognosis and survivorship across Europe. Further European collaboration remains essential to ensure access to data and comparability of the results.

Implementation of Signaling Gateway between Telephone Network and the Internet

Tässä diplomityössä perehdytään verkkoelementiltä, joka yhdistää H.323, MEGACO- ja ISUP-protokollia käyttävät tietoliikenneverkot toisiinsa, vaadittaviin ominaisuuksiin ja toiminnallisuuksiin. Tyypillisesti tällaista toiminnallisuutta tarvitaan IP- ja PSTN-verkkojen yhdistämisessä. Tarkastelu aloitetaan kuvaamalla PSTN-verkon signalointi ja rakenne, jatketaan kuvaamalla internet-protokollia käyttävä verkkoympäristö ja lopuksi perehdytään verkkoelementiltä vaadittaviin toiminnallisuuksiin, jotta PSTN ja MEGACO-pohjaiset verkot toimivat yhteen. Työn käytännöllisenä osuutena kuvataan osa viestisekvenssikaavioista, joita verkkoelementti toteuttaa puuttumatta kuitenkaan eri protokollien toimintaan viestien parametrien tasolla.

APOE status modulates the changes in network connectivity induced by brain stimulation in non-demented elders.

Behavioral consequences of a brain insult represent an interaction between the injury and the capacity of the rest of the brain to adapt to it. We provide experimental support for the notion that genetic factors play a critical role in such adaptation. We induced a controlled brain disruption using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and show that APOE status determines its impact on distributed brain networks as assessed by functional MRI (fMRI).Twenty non-demented elders exhibiting mild memory dysfunction underwent two fMRI studies during face-name encoding tasks (before and after rTMS). Baseline task performance was associated with activation of a network of brain regions in prefrontal, parietal, medial temporal and visual associative areas. APOE ε4 bearers exhibited this pattern in two separate independent components, whereas ε4-non carriers presented a single partially overlapping network. Following rTMS all subjects showed slight ameliorations in memory performance, regardless of APOE status. However, after rTMS APOE ε4-carriers showed significant changes in brain network activation, expressing strikingly similar spatial configuration as the one observed in the non-carrier group prior to stimulation. Similarly, activity in areas of the default-mode network (DMN) was found in a single component among the ε4-non bearers, whereas among carriers it appeared disaggregated in three distinct spatiotemporal components that changed to an integrated single component after rTMS. Our findings demonstrate that genetic background play a fundamental role in the brain responses to focal insults, conditioning expression of distinct brain networks to sustain similar cognitive performance.

On-Line Analytical Processing of Inventory Turnover

Operatiivisen tiedon tuottaminen loppukäyttäjille analyyttistä tarkastelua silmällä pitäen aiheuttaa ongelmia useille yrityksille. Diplomityö pyrkii ratkaisemaan ko. ongelman Teleste Oyj:ssä. Työ on jaettu kolmeen pääkappaleeseen. Kappale 2 selkiyttää On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP)- käsitteen. Kappale 3 esittelee muutamia OLAP-tuotteiden valmistajia ja heidän arkkitehtuurejaan sekä tyypillisten sovellusalueiden lisäksi huomioon otettavia asioita OLAP käyttöönoton yhteydessä. Kappale 4, tuo esille varsinaisen ratkaisun. Teknisellä arkkitehtuurilla on merkittävä asema ratkaisun rakenteen kannalta. Tässä on sovellettu Microsoft:n tietovarasto kehysrakennetta. Kappaleen 4 edetessä, tapahtumakäsittelytieto muutetaan informaatioksi ja edelleen loppukäyttäjien tiedoksi. Loppukäyttäjät varustetaan tehokkaalla ja tosiaikaisella analysointityökalulla moniulotteisessa ympäristössä. Vaikka kiertonopeus otetaan työssä sovellusesimerkiksi, työ ei pyri löytämään optimaalista tasoa Telesten varastoille. Siitä huolimatta eräitä parannusehdotuksia mainitaan.

Psychometric properties and dimensional structure of the Spanish version of the Coping Responses Inventory - Adult Form

One of the goals of psychological assessment focuses on the adaptation of its instruments to different populations. The objective of this study is to establish the psychometric properties and dimensional structure of the Spanish version of the Coping Responses Inventory- Adult Form (CRI-Adult, Moos, 1993). The following criteria were analyzed: a) descriptive statistics; b) internal consistency reliability (Cronbach"s alpha, and intercorrelations between scales); c) test-retest reliability (4-week interval); d) dimensionality of CRI-Adult (exploratory factor analysis); e) construct validity (confirmatory factor analysis); f) convergent criterion validity (correlations between CRI-Adult and Coping Strategies Indicator, CSI, Amirkhan, 1990), and g) predictive criterion validity (correlations between CRI-Adult, and SCL-90-R, Derogatis, 1983). The results, obtained with 800 adults from Barcelona and surrounding area (334 men and 466 women, aged between 18 to 76 years) indicate that the Spanish version of CRIAdult has satisfactory psychometric properties that allow using this test with guarantee.

Service Architecture in Mobile IP Telephony Network

Uudet palvelut ovat tarkeinta, mita asiakkaat odottavat uudelta teknologialta.Se on paaasiallinen syy siihen, etta asiakkaat ovat valmiita maksamaan uudesta teknologiasta ja kayttamaan sita. Sen vuoksi uuden verkon tuoma uusi palveluarkkitehtuuri on tarkea koko projektin onnistumiselle. Tama dokumentti keskittyy kolmannen sukupolven matkapuhelinverkkojen palveluarkkitehtuuriin, jonka viitemallista annetaan kuvaus. Verkon palvelut esitellaan ja kuvaillaan. Toteutukseen liittyvia asioita selostetaan. USA:n markkinoilla tarvittava WIN konsepti kuvataan ja sen toteutuksesta annetaan myos kuvaus. Lopussa kuvataan Pre-Paid tilaajien laskutustietojen kasittelya WIN konseptissa elvytystilanteessa.