Mobile Communications within the European Union: The Role of Location in the Evolution and Forecasting of the Diffusion Process

In the European Union, the importance of mobile communications was realized early on. The process of mobile communications becoming ubiquitous has taken time, as the innovation of mobile communications diffused into the society. The aim of this study is to find out how the evolution and spatial patterns of the diffusion of mobile communications within the European Union could be taken into account in forecasting the diffusion process. There is relatively lot of research of innovation diffusion on the individual (micro) andthe country (macro) level, if compared to the territorial level. Territorial orspatial diffusion refers either to the intra-country or inter-country diffusionof an innovation. In both settings, the dif- fusion of a technological innovation has gained scarce attention. This study adds knowledge of the diffusion between countries, focusing especially on the role of location in this process. The main findings of the study are the following: The penetration rates of the European Union member countries have become more even in the period of observation, from the year 1981 to 2000. The common digital GSM system seems to have hastened this process. As to the role of location in the diffusion process, neighboring countries have had similar diffusion processes. They can be grouped into three, the Nordic countries, the central and southern European countries, and the remote southern European countries. The neighborhood effect is also domi- nating in thegravity model which is used for modeling the adoption timing of the countries. The subsequent diffusion within a country, measured by the logistic model in Finland, is af- fected positively by its economic situation, and it seems to level off at some 92 %. Considering the launch of future mobile communications systemsusing a common standard should implicate an equal development between the countries. The launching time should be carefully selected as the diffusion is probably delayed in economic downturns. The location of a country, measured by distance, can be used in forecasting the adoption and diffusion. Fi- nally, the result of penetration rates becoming more even implies that in a relatively homoge- nous set of countries, such as the European Union member countries, the estimated final pene- tration of a single country can be used for approximating the penetration of the others. The estimated eventual penetration of Finland, some 92 %, should thus also be the eventual level for all the European Union countries and for the European Union as a whole.

Prediction of rabbit meat and bone weight using measurements and sample cuts

Regression equations predicting dissectable muscle weight in rabbits from external measurements were presented. Bone weight and weight of muscle groups were also carcass predicted. Predictive capacity of external measurements, retail cuts and muscle groups on total muscle, percent muscle, total bone and muscle to bone ratio were studied separately. Measurements on dissected retail cuts should be included in ordcr to obtain good equations for prediction of percent muscle in the carcass. Equations for predicting the muscle to bone ratio using external mcasurcments and data from the dissection of one hind leg were suggested. The equations had generally high coefficients of determination. The coefficient of determination for prediction of dissectable muscle was 0.91, and for percent muscle in the carcass 0.79.

Valuing equity-linked death benefits in jump diffusion models

The paper is motivated by the valuation problem of guaranteed minimum death benefits in various equity-linked products. At the time of death, a benefit payment is due. It may depend not only on the price of a stock or stock fund at that time, but also on prior prices. The problem is to calculate the expected discounted value of the benefit payment. Because the distribution of the time of death can be approximated by a combination of exponential distributions, it suffices to solve the problem for an exponentially distributed time of death. The stock price process is assumed to be the exponential of a Brownian motion plus an independent compound Poisson process whose upward and downward jumps are modeled by combinations (or mixtures) of exponential distributions. Results for exponential stopping of a Lévy process are used to derive a series of closed-form formulas for call, put, lookback, and barrier options, dynamic fund protection, and dynamic withdrawal benefit with guarantee. We also discuss how barrier options can be used to model lapses and surrenders.

Intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging in the liver: comparison of mono-, bi- and tri-exponential modelling at 3.0-T.

PURPOSE: To determine whether a mono-, bi- or tri-exponential model best fits the intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) signal of normal livers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The pilot and validation studies were conducted in 38 and 36 patients with normal livers, respectively. The DWI sequence was performed using single-shot echoplanar imaging with 11 (pilot study) and 16 (validation study) b values. In each study, data from all patients were used to model the IVIM signal of normal liver. Diffusion coefficients (Di ± standard deviations) and their fractions (fi ± standard deviations) were determined from each model. The models were compared using the extra sum-of-squares test and information criteria. RESULTS: The tri-exponential model provided a better fit than both the bi- and mono-exponential models. The tri-exponential IVIM model determined three diffusion compartments: a slow (D1 = 1.35 ± 0.03 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s; f1 = 72.7 ± 0.9 %), a fast (D2 = 26.50 ± 2.49 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s; f2 = 13.7 ± 0.6 %) and a very fast (D3 = 404.00 ± 43.7 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s; f3 = 13.5 ± 0.8 %) diffusion compartment [results from the validation study]. The very fast compartment contributed to the IVIM signal only for b values ≤15 s/mm(2) CONCLUSION: The tri-exponential model provided the best fit for IVIM signal decay in the liver over the 0-800 s/mm(2) range. In IVIM analysis of normal liver, a third very fast (pseudo)diffusion component might be relevant. KEY POINTS: ? For normal liver, tri-exponential IVIM model might be superior to bi-exponential ? A very fast compartment (D = 404.00 ± 43.7 × 10 (-3)  mm (2) /s; f = 13.5 ± 0.8 %) is determined from the tri-exponential model ? The compartment contributes to the IVIM signal only for b ≤ 15 s/mm (2.)

Unification of Emission Measurements in Paper and Pulp Mills

Tässä diplomityössä tavoitteena on selvittää käytännöt ja menetelmät, joilla UPM-Kymmenen sellu-, paperi- ja vaneritehtaat ympäri maailman mittaavat ja laskevat ilmapäästönsä. Tämä tehdään kyselylomakkeella, joka lähetetään tehtaiden ympäristöpäälliköille. Kaikki tärkeimmät seikat ilmapäästöihin liittyen, kuten vaaditut jatkuvatoimiset mittaukset, jaksottaiset mittaukset, raportointikäytäntö, kalibrointi jne. kysytään lomakkeessa. Kyselylomakkeessa painotetaan mittauskäytäntöä sellutehtaissa sekä energiantuotannossa. Saatujen tulosten perusteella annetaan ehdotuksia sekä ohjeita tulevaisuutta varten, jotta mittaustulosten kokoaminen helpottuisi ja vertailukelpoisuus paranisi. Työn kirjallisuusosuudessa selvitetään yleisimmät päästölähteet sekä päästökomponentit paperi –ja selluteollisuudessa. Näiden ei toivottujen yhdisteiden syntymekanismit sekä menetelmät niiden poistamiseksi savukaasuista on myös lyhyesti kuvailtu. Myös erilaiset analysointi- ja näytteenottomenetelmät on kerrottu. Erot tehtaiden ympäristöluvissa käydään läpi, jakaen tehtaat kolmeen maantieteelliseen ryhmään. Lupakäytäntöjen osalta Suomen osuutta on painotettu, sillä UPM-Kymmene on varsin Suomikeskeinen yhtiö tehtaiden lukumääriin ja sijainteihin katsottuna. Viranomaismääräykset sekä päästörajat muutamista tehtaista on esitetty havainnollistaakseen alueellisia eroja.

Diffusion-weighted MR imaging in musculoskeletal diseases: Current concepts.

MR imaging is currently regarded as a pivotal technique for the assessment of a variety of musculoskeletal conditions. Diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI) is a relatively recent sequence that provides information on the degree of cellularity of lesions. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value provides information on the movement of water molecules outside the cells. The literature contains many studies that have evaluated the role of DWI in musculoskeletal diseases. However, to date they yielded conflicting results on the use and the diagnostic capabilities of DWI in the area of musculoskeletal diseases. However, many of them have showed that DWI is a useful technique for the evaluation of the extent of the disease in a subset of musculoskeletal cancers. In terms of tissue characterization, DWI may be an adjunct to the more conventional MR imaging techniques but should be interpreted along with the signal of the lesion as observed on conventional sequences, especially in musculoskeletal cancers. Regarding the monitoring of response to therapy in cancer or inflammatory disease, the use of ADC value may represent a more reliable additional tool but must be compared to the initial ADC value of the lesions along with the knowledge of the actual therapy.

Correlation of the EPR properties of perchlorotriphenylmethyl radical and their efficiency as DNP polarizers

Water soluble perchlorinated trityl (PTM) radicals were found to be effective 95 GHz DNP (dynamic nuclear polarization) polarizers in ex situ (dissolution) 13C DNP (Gabellieri et al., Angew Chem., Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 3360). The degree of the nuclear polarization obtained was reported to be dependent on the position of the chlorine substituents on the trityl skeleton. In addition, on the basis of the DNP frequency sweeps it was suggested that the 13C NMR signal enhancement is mediated by the Cl nuclei. To understand the DNP mechanism of the PTM radicals we have explored the 95 GHz EPR characteristics of these radicals that are relevant to their performance as DNP polarizers. The EPR spectra of the radicals revealed axially symmetric g-tensors. A comparison of the spectra with the 13C DNP frequency sweeps showed that although the solid effect mechanism is operational the DNP frequency sweeps reveal some extra width suggesting that contributions from EPR forbidden transitions involving 35,37Cl nuclear flips are likely. This was substantiated experimentally by ELDOR (electron-electron double resonance) detected NMR measurements, which map the EPR forbidden transitions, and ELDOR experiments that follow the depolarization of the electron spin upon irradiation of the forbidden EPR transitions. DFT (density functional theory) calculations helped to assign the observed transitions and provided the relevant spin Hamiltonian parameters. These results show that the 35,37Cl hyperfine and nuclear quadrupolar interactions cause a considerable nuclear state mixing at 95 GHz thus facilitating the polarization of the Cl nuclei upon microwave irradiation. Overlap of Cl nuclear frequencies and the 13C Larmor frequency further facilitates the polarization of the 13C nuclei by spin diffusion. Calculation of the 13C DNP frequency sweep based on the Cl nuclear polarization showed that it does lead to an increase in the width of the spectra, improving the agreement with the experimental sweeps, thus supporting the existence of a new heteronuclear assisted DNP mechanism.

Effect of competitive situation and price on diffusion of mobile communications

Työn päätavoitteena oli selvittää hinnan ja kilpailutilanteen vaikutusta matkaviestinnän diffuusioon. Työn empiirinen osuus tarkasteli matkapuhelinliittymien hinnan vaikutusta liittymien diffuusioon sekä sitä, miten alan kilpailu on vaikuttanut matkaviestinnän hintatasoon. Työssä analysoitiin myös matkaviestinnän kilpailutilannetta Suomen markkinoilla. Tutkimuksen empiirinen aineisto kerättiin toissijaisista lähteistä, esimerkiksi EMC-tietokannasta. Tutkimus oli luonteeltaan kvantitatiivinen.Empiirisessä osassa käytetyt mallit oli muodostettu aikaisempien tutkimuksien perusteella. Regressioanalyysiä käytettiin arvioitaessa hinnan vaikutusta diffuusionopeuteen ja mahdollisten omaksujien määrään. Regressioanalyysissä sovellettiin ei-lineaarista mallia.Tutkimustulokset osoittivat, että tasaisesti laskevilla matkapuhelinliittymien sekä matkapuhelimien hinnoilla ei ole merkittävää vaikutusta matkaviestinnän diffuusioon. Myöskään kilpailutilanne ei ole vaikuttanut paljon matkaviestinnän yleiseen hintatasoon. Työn tulosten perusteella voitiin antaa myös muutamia toimenpide-ehdotuksia jatkotutkimuksia varten.