Supplier Evaluation on the Standard Material and Component Markets in the Electronic Manufacturing Equipment Industry

Työn tavoitteena oli arvioida ja selvittää toimittajasuhteeseen vaikuttavia tekijöitä JOT Automation Group Oyj.n ja sen alihankkijoiden välisessä yhteistyössä ja muodostaa yrityksen kilpailukykyä parantava toimittaja-arviointiprosessi. Työssä keskityttiin tarkastelemaan yleisillä materiaali- ja komponenttimarkkinoilla toimivia toimittajia elektroniikkateollisuuden tuotantojärjestelmien valmistuksessa. Ensin tutustuttiin toimittajasuhdetta ja sen arviointia käsitelleeseen kirjallisuuteen. Teorian tueksi tehtiin haastatteluja ja kartoitettiin ensisijaisia tarpeita ja tavoitteita arviointiprosessille. Valmis prosessi testattiin käytännössä kahden eri case-esimerkin avulla. Prosessista muodostui kahteen eri työkaluun jakautunut kokonaisuus, joista auditointi arvioi toimittajan kyvykkyyttä vastatta sille asetettuihin vaatimuksiin. Toimittajan suorituskyvyn mittaaminen puolestaan testaa ja vertaa jatkuvasti toiminnan todellista tasoa auditoinnissa saatuihin tuloksiin. Työ sisältää selvityksen ja ohjeistuksen toimittaja-arviointiprosessin käytöstä. Prosessin käyttö alentaa toimittajaan kohdistuvaa materiaalien saatavuuteen ja hankintaan liittyviä riskejä. Esimerkeistä saadut kokemukset osoittivat, että prosessin avulla päästään pureutumaan tärkeisiin ydinalueisiin ja kehittämään niitä sekä toimittajalle, että ostajayritykselle edullisella tavalla. Toimittaja-arviointiprosessista kehittyy toimintatapa yrityksen ja sen toimittajan välisen suhteen ylläpitämiseksi.

Wavelet Filter Parameterization for Compression of Spectral Images

Vaatimus kuvatiedon tiivistämisestä on tullut entistä ilmeisemmäksi viimeisen kymmenen vuoden aikana kuvatietoon perustuvien sovellutusten myötä. Nykyisin kiinnitetään erityistä huomiota spektrikuviin, joiden tallettaminen ja siirto vaativat runsaasti levytilaa ja kaistaa. Aallokemuunnos on osoittautunut hyväksi ratkaisuksi häviöllisessä tiedontiivistämisessä. Sen toteutus alikaistakoodauksessa perustuu aallokesuodattimiin ja ongelmana on sopivan aallokesuodattimen valinta erilaisille tiivistettäville kuville. Tässä työssä esitetään katsaus tiivistysmenetelmiin, jotka perustuvat aallokemuunnokseen. Ortogonaalisten suodattimien määritys parametrisoimalla on työn painopisteenä. Työssä todetaan myös kahden erilaisen lähestymistavan samanlaisuus algebrallisten yhtälöiden avulla. Kokeellinen osa sisältää joukon testejä, joilla perustellaan parametrisoinnin tarvetta. Erilaisille kuville tarvitaan erilaisia suodattimia sekä erilaiset tiivistyskertoimet saavutetaan eri suodattimilla. Lopuksi toteutetaan spektrikuvien tiivistys aallokemuunnoksen avulla.

Mapping Bias Overestimates Reference Allele Frequencies at the HLA Genes in the 1000 Genomes Project Phase I Data.

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have become the standard for data generation in studies of population genomics, as the 1000 Genomes Project (1000G). However, these techniques are known to be problematic when applied to highly polymorphic genomic regions, such as the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes. Because accurate genotype calls and allele frequency estimations are crucial to population genomics analyses, it is important to assess the reliability of NGS data. Here, we evaluate the reliability of genotype calls and allele frequency estimates of the single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) reported by 1000G (phase I) at five HLA genes (HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1). We take advantage of the availability of HLA Sanger sequencing of 930 of the 1092 1000G samples and use this as a gold standard to benchmark the 1000G data. We document that 18.6% of SNP genotype calls in HLA genes are incorrect and that allele frequencies are estimated with an error greater than ±0.1 at approximately 25% of the SNPs in HLA genes. We found a bias toward overestimation of reference allele frequency for the 1000G data, indicating mapping bias is an important cause of error in frequency estimation in this dataset. We provide a list of sites that have poor allele frequency estimates and discuss the outcomes of including those sites in different kinds of analyses. Because the HLA region is the most polymorphic in the human genome, our results provide insights into the challenges of using of NGS data at other genomic regions of high diversity.

Méta-analyses d'essais randomisés sur données individuelles dans le traitement des cancers ORL non métastatiques : principes, résultats, perspectives [Individual patient data meta-analyses of randomized trials for the treatment of non-metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinomas: Principles, results and perspectives].

Meta-analyses are considered as an important pillar of evidence-based medicine. The aim of this review is to describe the main principles of a meta-analysis and to use examples of head and neck oncology to demonstrate their clinical impact and methodological interest. The major role of individual patient data is outlined, as well as the superiority of individual patient data over meta-analyses based on published summary data. The major clinical breakthrough of head and neck meta-analyses are summarized, regarding concomitant chemotherapy, altered fractionated chemotherapy, new regimens of induction chemotherapy or the use of radioprotectants. Recent methodological developments are described, including network meta-analyses, the validation of surrogate markers. Lastly, the future of meta-analyses is discussed in the context of personalized medicine.

Regional Data Transmission Network

The globalization and development of an information society promptly change shape of the modern world. Cities and especially megacities including Saint-Petersburg are in the center of occuring changes. As a result of these changes the economic activities connected to reception and processing of the information now play very important role in economy of megacities what allows to characterize them as "information". Despite of wide experience in decision of information questions Russia, and in particular Saint-Petersburg, lag behind in development of information systems from the advanced European countries. The given master's thesis is devoted to development of an information system (data transmission network) on the basis of wireless technology in territory of Saint-Petersburg region within the framework of FTOP "Electronic Russia" and RTOP "Electronic Saint-Petersburg" programs. Logically the master's thesis can be divided into 3 parts: 1. The problems, purposes, expected results, terms and implementation of the "Electronic Russia" program. 2. Discussion about wireless data transmission networks (description of technology, substantiation of choice, description of signal's transmission techniques and types of network topology). 3. Fulfillment of the network (organization of central network node, regional centers, access lines, description of used equipment, network's capabilities), financial provision of the project, possible network management models.

Lossless Compression Methods for Multispectral Images: Development and Comparisons

Main purpose of this thesis is to introduce a new lossless compression algorithm for multispectral images. Proposed algorithm is based on reducing the band ordering problem to the problem of finding a minimum spanning tree in a weighted directed graph, where set of the graph vertices corresponds to multispectral image bands and the arcs’ weights have been computed using a newly invented adaptive linear prediction model. The adaptive prediction model is an extended unification of 2–and 4–neighbour pixel context linear prediction schemes. The algorithm provides individual prediction of each image band using the optimal prediction scheme, defined by the adaptive prediction model and the optimal predicting band suggested by minimum spanning tree. Its efficiency has been compared with respect to the best lossless compression algorithms for multispectral images. Three recently invented algorithms have been considered. Numerical results produced by these algorithms allow concluding that adaptive prediction based algorithm is the best one for lossless compression of multispectral images. Real multispectral data captured from an airplane have been used for the testing.

Impact of model complexity on cross-temporal transferability in Maxent species distribution models: An assessment using paleobotanical data

Maximum entropy modeling (Maxent) is a widely used algorithm for predicting species distributions across space and time. Properly assessing the uncertainty in such predictions is non-trivial and requires validation with independent datasets. Notably, model complexity (number of model parameters) remains a major concern in relation to overfitting and, hence, transferability of Maxent models. An emerging approach is to validate the cross-temporal transferability of model predictions using paleoecological data. In this study, we assess the effect of model complexity on the performance of Maxent projections across time using two European plant species (Alnus giutinosa (L.) Gaertn. and Corylus avellana L) with an extensive late Quaternary fossil record in Spain as a study case. We fit 110 models with different levels of complexity under present time and tested model performance using AUC (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve) and AlCc (corrected Akaike Information Criterion) through the standard procedure of randomly partitioning current occurrence data. We then compared these results to an independent validation by projecting the models to mid-Holocene (6000 years before present) climatic conditions in Spain to assess their ability to predict fossil pollen presence-absence and abundance. We find that calibrating Maxent models with default settings result in the generation of overly complex models. While model performance increased with model complexity when predicting current distributions, it was higher with intermediate complexity when predicting mid-Holocene distributions. Hence, models of intermediate complexity resulted in the best trade-off to predict species distributions across time. Reliable temporal model transferability is especially relevant for forecasting species distributions under future climate change. Consequently, species-specific model tuning should be used to find the best modeling settings to control for complexity, notably with paleoecological data to independently validate model projections. For cross-temporal projections of species distributions for which paleoecological data is not available, models of intermediate complexity should be selected.

Age and adverse drug reactions from psychopharmacological treatment: data from the AMSP drug surveillance programme in Switzerland.

QUESTION UNDER STUDY: The frequency of severe adverse drug reactions (ADRs) from psychotropic drugs was investigated in hospitalised psychiatric patients in relation to their age. Specifically, the incidence of ADRs in patients up to 60 years was compared to that of patients older than 60 years. METHODS: Prescription rates of psychotropic drugs and reports of severe ADRs were collected in psychiatric hospitals in Switzerland between 2001 and 2010. The data stem from the drug surveillance programme AMSP. RESULTS: A total of 699 patients exhibited severe ADRs: 517 out of 28,282 patients up to 60 years (1.8%); 182 out of 11,446 elderly patients (1.6%, ns). Logistic regression analyses showed a significantly negative relationship between the incidence of ADRs and patients' age in general and in particular for weight gain, extrapyramidal motor system (EPMS) symptoms, increased liver enzymes and galactorrhoea. A significantly negative relationship was observed for age and the dosages of olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, valproic acid and lamotrigine. When comparing age groups, frequency of ADRs was lower in general for antipsychotic drugs and anticonvulsants, in particular for valproic acid in the elderly. Weight gain was found to be lower in the elderly for antipsychotic drugs, in particular for olanzapine. For the group of mood-stabilising anticonvulsants (carbamazepine, lamotrigine and valproic acid) the elderly exhibited a lower incidence of reported allergic skin reactions. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that for psychiatric inpatients the incidence of common severe ADRs (e.g., weight gain or EPMS symptoms) arising from psychotropic medication decreases with the age of patients.

Capturing diagnosis-timing in ICD-coded hospital data: recommendations from the WHO ICD-11 topic advisory group on quality and safety.

PURPOSE: To develop a consensus opinion regarding capturing diagnosis-timing in coded hospital data. METHODS: As part of the World Health Organization International Classification of Diseases-11th Revision initiative, the Quality and Safety Topic Advisory Group is charged with enhancing the capture of quality and patient safety information in morbidity data sets. One such feature is a diagnosis-timing flag. The Group has undertaken a narrative literature review, scanned national experiences focusing on countries currently using timing flags, and held a series of meetings to derive formal recommendations regarding diagnosis-timing reporting. RESULTS: The completeness of diagnosis-timing reporting continues to improve with experience and use; studies indicate that it enhances risk-adjustment and may have a substantial impact on hospital performance estimates, especially for conditions/procedures that involve acutely ill patients. However, studies suggest that its reliability varies, is better for surgical than medical patients (kappa in hip fracture patients of 0.7-1.0 versus kappa in pneumonia of 0.2-0.6) and is dependent on coder training and setting. It may allow simpler and more precise specification of quality indicators. CONCLUSIONS: As the evidence indicates that a diagnosis-timing flag improves the ability of routinely collected, coded hospital data to support outcomes research and the development of quality and safety indicators, the Group recommends that a classification of 'arising after admission' (yes/no), with permitted designations of 'unknown or clinically undetermined', will facilitate coding while providing flexibility when there is uncertainty. Clear coding standards and guidelines with ongoing coder education will be necessary to ensure reliability of the diagnosis-timing flag.

Subclinical Hypothyroidism and the Risk of Stroke Events and Fatal Stroke: An Individual Participant Data Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to determine the risk of stroke associated with subclinical hypothyroidism. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTION: Published prospective cohort studies were identified through a systematic search through November 2013 without restrictions in several databases. Unpublished studies were identified through the Thyroid Studies Collaboration. We collected individual participant data on thyroid function and stroke outcome. Euthyroidism was defined as TSH levels of 0.45-4.49 mIU/L, and subclinical hypothyroidism was defined as TSH levels of 4.5-19.9 mIU/L with normal T4 levels. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: We collected individual participant data on 47 573 adults (3451 subclinical hypothyroidism) from 17 cohorts and followed up from 1972-2014 (489 192 person-years). Age- and sex-adjusted pooled hazard ratios (HRs) for participants with subclinical hypothyroidism compared to euthyroidism were 1.05 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.91-1.21) for stroke events (combined fatal and nonfatal stroke) and 1.07 (95% CI, 0.80-1.42) for fatal stroke. Stratified by age, the HR for stroke events was 3.32 (95% CI, 1.25-8.80) for individuals aged 18-49 years. There was an increased risk of fatal stroke in the age groups 18-49 and 50-64 years, with a HR of 4.22 (95% CI, 1.08-16.55) and 2.86 (95% CI, 1.31-6.26), respectively (p trend 0.04). We found no increased risk for those 65-79 years old (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.86-1.18) or ≥ 80 years old (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 0.79-2.18). There was a pattern of increased risk of fatal stroke with higher TSH concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Although no overall effect of subclinical hypothyroidism on stroke could be demonstrated, an increased risk in subjects younger than 65 years and those with higher TSH concentrations was observed.

Traumatic injuries after mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation (LUCAS?2): a forensic autopsy study.

AIM: The aim of our study was to compare traumatic injuries observed after cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by means of standard (manual) or assisted (mechanical) chest compression by Lund University Cardiopulmonary Assist System, 2nd generation (LUCAS?2) device. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted including cases from 2011 to 2013, analysing consecutive autopsy reports in two groups of patients who underwent medicolegal autopsy after unsuccessful CPR. We focused on traumatic injuries from dermal to internal trauma, collecting data according to a standardised protocol. RESULTS: The study group was comprised of 26 cases, while 32 cases were included in the control group. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation performed by LUCAS?2 was longer than manual CPR performed in control cases (study group: mean duration 51.5 min; controls 29.4 min; p = 0.004). Anterior chest lesions (from bruises to abrasions) were described in 18/26 patients in the LUCAS?2 group and in 6/32 of the control group. A mean of 6.6 rib fractures per case was observed in the LUCAS?2 group, but this was only 3.1 in the control group (p = 0.007). Rib fractures were less frequently observed in younger patients. The frequency of sternal factures was similar in both groups. A few trauma injuries to internal organs (mainly cardiac, pulmonary and hepatic bruises), and some petechiae (study 46 %; control 41 %; p = 0.79) were recorded in both groups. CONCLUSION: LUCAS?2-CPR is associated with more rib fractures than standard CPR. Typical round concentric skin lesions were observed in cases of mechanical reanimation. No life-threatening injuries were reported. Petechiae were common findings.

Clinical determinants of early parasitological response to ACTs in African patients with uncomplicated falciparum malaria: a literature review and meta-analysis of individual patient data.

BACKGROUND: Artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum has emerged in the Greater Mekong sub-region and poses a major global public health threat. Slow parasite clearance is a key clinical manifestation of reduced susceptibility to artemisinin. This study was designed to establish the baseline values for clearance in patients from Sub-Saharan African countries with uncomplicated malaria treated with artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). METHODS: A literature review in PubMed was conducted in March 2013 to identify all prospective clinical trials (uncontrolled trials, controlled trials and randomized controlled trials), including ACTs conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa, between 1960 and 2012. Individual patient data from these studies were shared with the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN) and pooled using an a priori statistical analytical plan. Factors affecting early parasitological response were investigated using logistic regression with study sites fitted as a random effect. The risk of bias in included studies was evaluated based on study design, methodology and missing data. RESULTS: In total, 29,493 patients from 84 clinical trials were included in the analysis, treated with artemether-lumefantrine (n = 13,664), artesunate-amodiaquine (n = 11,337) and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (n = 4,492). The overall parasite clearance rate was rapid. The parasite positivity rate (PPR) decreased from 59.7 % (95 % CI: 54.5-64.9) on day 1 to 6.7 % (95 % CI: 4.8-8.7) on day 2 and 0.9 % (95 % CI: 0.5-1.2) on day 3. The 95th percentile of observed day 3 PPR was 5.3 %. Independent risk factors predictive of day 3 positivity were: high baseline parasitaemia (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.16 (95 % CI: 1.08-1.25); per 2-fold increase in parasite density, P <0.001); fever (>37.5 °C) (AOR = 1.50 (95 % CI: 1.06-2.13), P = 0.022); severe anaemia (AOR = 2.04 (95 % CI: 1.21-3.44), P = 0.008); areas of low/moderate transmission setting (AOR = 2.71 (95 % CI: 1.38-5.36), P = 0.004); and treatment with the loose formulation of artesunate-amodiaquine (AOR = 2.27 (95 % CI: 1.14-4.51), P = 0.020, compared to dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine). CONCLUSIONS: The three ACTs assessed in this analysis continue to achieve rapid early parasitological clearance across the sites assessed in Sub-Saharan Africa. A threshold of 5 % day 3 parasite positivity from a minimum sample size of 50 patients provides a more sensitive benchmark in Sub-Saharan Africa compared to the current recommended threshold of 10 % to trigger further investigation of artemisinin susceptibility.

A comparison of indices of glucose metabolism in five black populations: data from modeling the epidemiologic transition study (METS).

BACKGROUND: Globally, Africans and African Americans experience a disproportionate burden of type 2 diabetes, compared to other race and ethnic groups. The aim of the study was to examine the association of plasma glucose with indices of glucose metabolism in young adults of African origin from 5 different countries. METHODS: We identified participants from the Modeling the Epidemiologic Transition Study, an international study of weight change and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in five populations of African origin: USA (US), Jamaica, Ghana, South Africa, and Seychelles. For the current study, we included 667 participants (34.8 ± 6.3 years), with measures of plasma glucose, insulin, leptin, and adiponectin, as well as moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA, minutes/day [min/day]), daily sedentary time (min/day), anthropometrics, and body composition. RESULTS: Among the 282 men, body mass index (BMI) ranged from 22.1 to 29.6 kg/m(2) in men and from 25.8 to 34.8 kg/m(2) in 385 women. MVPA ranged from 26.2 to 47.1 min/day in men, and from 14.3 to 27.3 min/day in women and correlated with adiposity (BMI, waist size, and % body fat) only among US males after controlling for age. Plasma glucose ranged from 4.6 ± 0.8 mmol/L in the South African men to 5.8 mmol/L US men, while the overall prevalence for diabetes was very low, except in the US men and women (6.7 and 12 %, respectively). Using multivariate linear regression, glucose was associated with BMI, age, sex, smoking hypertension, daily sedentary time but not daily MVPA. CONCLUSION: Obesity, metabolic risk, and other potential determinants vary significantly between populations at differing stages of the epidemiologic transition, requiring tailored public health policies to address local population characteristics.

Identification and visualization of multidimensional antigen-specific T-cell populations in polychromatic cytometry data.

An important aspect of immune monitoring for vaccine development, clinical trials, and research is the detection, measurement, and comparison of antigen-specific T-cells from subject samples under different conditions. Antigen-specific T-cells compose a very small fraction of total T-cells. Developments in cytometry technology over the past five years have enabled the measurement of single-cells in a multivariate and high-throughput manner. This growth in both dimensionality and quantity of data continues to pose a challenge for effective identification and visualization of rare cell subsets, such as antigen-specific T-cells. Dimension reduction and feature extraction play pivotal role in both identifying and visualizing cell populations of interest in large, multi-dimensional cytometry datasets. However, the automated identification and visualization of rare, high-dimensional cell subsets remains challenging. Here we demonstrate how a systematic and integrated approach combining targeted feature extraction with dimension reduction can be used to identify and visualize biological differences in rare, antigen-specific cell populations. By using OpenCyto to perform semi-automated gating and features extraction of flow cytometry data, followed by dimensionality reduction with t-SNE we are able to identify polyfunctional subpopulations of antigen-specific T-cells and visualize treatment-specific differences between them.