Utilização de energia elétrica em diferentes sistemas de aquecimento para leitões desmamados

A eficiência do uso de energia elétrica no aquecimento de leitões em fase de creche e maternidade pode ser viabilizada sem prejudicar o conforto térmico dos suínos. Neste trabalho, foram comparadas três tecnologias de aquecimento de leitões em fase de creche, quanto ao uso de energia elétrica e ao ambiente térmico. Estudaram-se três tratamentos: resistências elétricas suspensas (TR), piso aquecido (TP) e aquecimento por convecção (TA). Os critérios de comparação foram: consumo de energia elétrica (kWh), demanda máxima de potência (kW), consumo específico (kWh/kg de suíno vivo produzido), a quantidade de energia elétrica consumida (kWh) para o aumento de 1ºC em 1m³ de ar, a temperatura de bulbo seco (ºC) e o Índice de Temperatura e Umidade (ITU). O sistema de aquecimento por piso (TP) foi melhor sob o aspecto de uso de energia elétrica, e o sistema de aquecimento por resistências elétricas suspensas (TR) foi o que melhor atendeu às necessidades térmicas dos animais.

Índice fuzzy de conforto térmico para frangos de corte

A estimativa de conforto térmico na avicultura moderna é importante para que sistemas de climatização possam ser acionados no tempo correto, diminuindo perdas e aumentando rendimentos. Embora a literatura corrente apresente alguns índices de conforto térmico, que são aplicados para essa estimativa, estes são baseados apenas em condições do ambiente térmico e não consideram fatores importantes inerentes aos animais, tais como genética e capacidade de aclimatação, provendo, geralmente, uma estimativa inadequada do conforto térmico das aves. Este trabalho desenvolveu o Índice Fuzzy de Conforto Térmico (IFCT), com o intuito de estimar o conforto térmico de frangos de corte, considerando que o mecanismo usado pelas aves para perda de calor em ambientes fora da zona termoneutra é a vasodilatação periférica, que aumenta a temperatura superficial, e que pode ser usada como indicador do estado de conforto. O IFCT foi desenvolvido a partir de dois experimentos, que proporcionaram 108 cenários ambientais diferentes. Foram usadas imagens termográficas infravermelhas, para o registro dos dados de temperaturas superficiais das penas e da pele, e o grau de empenamento das aves. Para os mesmos cenários de ambiente térmico observados nos experimentos, foram comparados os resultados obtidos usando o IFCT e o Índice de Temperatura e Umidade (ITU). Os resultados validaram o IFCT para a estimativa do conforto térmico de frangos de corte, sendo específico na estimativa de condições de perigo térmico, usual em alojamentos em países de clima tropical. Essa característica é desejável em modelos que estimem o bem-estar térmico de frangos de corte, pois situações classificadas como perigo acarretam no dispêndio de recursos para evitar perdas produtivas.

Temperaturas superficiais de telhas e sua relação com o ambiente térmico

Este trabalho teve como objetivo a análise de temperaturas de telhas de barro, de fibrocimento com pintura branca na face superior e de aço zincado e sua relação com o ambiente térmico, quantificando também os Índices de Temperatura e Umidade (ITU), de Temperatura de Globo e Umidade (ITGU) e Carga Térmica de Radiação (CTR). As análises foram realizadas em modelos de edificações e na área não sombreada. Os resultados mostraram que as telhas cerâmicas e de fibrocimento apresentaram comportamentos térmicos semelhantes, sendo que a opção pela telha de fibrocimento de 5 mm, pintada de branca na sua face superior, é vantajosa economicamente. As telhas metálicas superaram os 53 °C na sua superfície e foram piores no conforto térmico comparado com as outras telhas. O ITGU foi superior na indicação do conforto térmico em relação ao ITU, principalmente no verão. Houve redução significativa da CTR pelas telhas em relação à área não sombreada.

Conduta terapêutica atual no adenocarcinoma da cárdia e da junção esofagogástrica

Adenocarcinomas of the cardia and gastroesophageal junction are peculiar entities with three different origins, which differ somewhat from other adenocarcinomas of the stomach in their clinical presentation and pathogenesis, and have a poorer prognosis. In this article the authors reviewed definitions, incidence and epidemiology, etiologic factors, genetic implications, clinical presentation, diagnosis, staging and treatment, with emphasis on the surgical approach, discussing the current management of these cancers. The prognostic factors related specifically to the cardia cancers are: esophageal invasion greater than 3cm, microscopic residual tumor and wall penetration (>T2). Preoperative workup should include computed tomography, and endoscopic ultrasonography and laparoscopy when available. Preoperative recognition of T3/ T4/N2 lesions should indicate inclusion in neo-adjuvant protocols whenever possible. The authors present the results of 46 resected cases of adenocarcinomas of the cardia and GE junction of the Instituto Nacional do Câncer- Brazil (1981-1995). Cure was intended in 29 and palliation in 17 patients. The most common type of resection was total gastrectomy with abdominal esophagectomy (28 cases). Morbidity (major and minor) occurred in 50% of the patients. The main causes were of respiratory origin and fistulas (19.6% each). Death occurred in 44% of the patients with fistula. Postoperative death until the 30th day occurred in 17.24% of the curative cases and in 23.52% of the palliative ones. The median survival time was 68.5 months for stage I, 25 months for stage II, 31 months for stage III and 12.5 months for stage IV diseases. The median survival time was 8 months for palliation and 28.5 months for cure. No long-term survival was obtained with the palliative group, whereas 25% survived five years of more in the curative group. The authors conclude that the surgical approach should be the one the surgeon feels more comfortable with. Complete removal of the disease proved by frozen section, splenectomy and D2 lymphadenectomy should be the standard therapy with curative intent.

Non-Markovian Dynamics and the Quantum-To-Classical Transition for Quantum Brownian Motion

In this Thesis I discuss the dynamics of the quantum Brownian motion model in harmonic potential. This paradigmatic model has an exact solution, making it possible to consider also analytically the non-Markovian dynamics. The issues covered in this Thesis are themed around decoherence. First, I consider decoherence as the mediator of quantum-to-classical transition. I examine five different definitions for nonclassicality of quantum states, and show how each definition gives qualitatively different times for the onset of classicality. In particular I have found that all characterizations of nonclassicality, apart from one based on the interference term in the Wigner function, result in a finite, rather than asymptotic, time for the emergence of classicality. Second, I examine the diverse effects which coupling to a non-Markovian, structured reservoir, has on our system. By comparing different types of Ohmic reservoirs, I derive some general conclusions on the role of the reservoir spectrum in both the short-time and the thermalization dynamics. Finally, I apply these results to two schemes for decoherence control. Both of the methods are based on the non-Markovian properties of the dynamics.

Cognitive Development of Very Low Birth Weight Children from Infancy to Pre-school Age

The survival of preterm born infants has increased but the prevalence of long-term morbidities has still remained high. Preterm born children are at an increased risk for various developmental impairments including both severe neurological deficits as well as deficits in cognitive development. According to the literature the developmental outcome perspective differs between countries, centers, and eras. Definitions of preterm infant vary between studies, and the follow-up has been carried out with diverse methods making the comparison less reliable. It is essential to offer parents upto-date information about the outcome of preterm infants born in the same area. A centralized follow-up of children at risk makes it possible to monitor the consequences of changes in the treatment practices of hospitals on developmental outcome. This thesis is part of a larger regional, prospective multidisciplinary follow-up project entitled “Development and Functioning of Very Low Birth Weight Infants from Infancy to School Age” (PIeniPAinoisten RIskilasten käyttäytyminen ja toimintakyky imeväisiästä kouluikään, PIPARI). The thesis consists of four original studies that present data of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants born between 2001 and 2006, who are followed up from the neonatal period until the age of five years. The main outcome measure was cognitive development and secondary outcomes were significant neurological deficits (cerebral palsy, CP, deafness, and blindness). In Study I, the early crying and fussing behavior of preterm infants was studied using parental diaries, and the relation of crying behavior and cognitive and motor development at the age of two years was assessed. In Study II, the developmental outcome (cognitive, CP, deafness, and blindness) at the age of two years was studied in relation to demographic, antenatal, neonatal, and brain imaging data. Development was studied in relationship to a full-term born control group born in the same hospital. In Study III, the stability of cognitive development was studied in VLBW and full-term groups by comparing the outcomes at the ages of two and five years. Finally, in Study IV the precursors of reading skills (phonological processing, rapid automatized naming, and letter knowledge) were assessed for VLBW and full-term children at the age of five years. Pre-reading skills were studied in relation to demographic, antenatal, neonatal, and brain imaging data. The main findings of the thesis were that VLBW infants who fussed or cried more in the infancy were not at greater risk for problems in their cognitive development. However, crying was associated with poorer motor development. The developmental outcome of the present population was better that has been reported earlier and this improvement covered also cognitive development. However, the difference to fullterm born peers was still significant. Major brain pathology and intestinal perforation were independent significant risk factors for adverse outcome, also when several individual risk factors were controlled for. Cognitive development at the age of two years was strongly related with development at the age of five years, stressing the importance of the early assessment, and the possibility for early interventions. Finally, VLBW children had poorer pre-reading skills compared with their full-term born peers, but the IQ was an important mediator even when children with mental retardation were excluded from the analysis. The findings suggest that counseling parents about the developmental perspectives of their preterm infant should be based on data covering the same birth hospital. Neonatal brain imaging data and neonatal morbidity are important predictors for developmental outcome. The findings of the present study stress the importance of both short-term (two years) and long-term (five years) follow-ups for the individual, and for improving the quality of care.

Automatisointiin ja monistettavuuteen perustuvan palvelumallin soveltaminen tietojärjestelmätoimituksissa

Ohjelmistotuotannon yleinen ongelma on se, että toimitusprojektien läpivientiajat pitkittyvät. Kilpailun kiristyessä ohjelmistoalalla on alettu kiinnittää erityistä huomiota projektien eri vaiheiden tehostamiseen. Process Vision Oy kehittää energiatietojärjestelmiä Suomen energia-alan yrityksille. Yrityksessä on kehitetty vuonna 2010 palvelumalli, jonka avulla pyritään nopeuttamaan toimitusprojektien eri vaiheita. Valtioneuvosto valmisteli vuonna 2009 tuntimittausasetuksen, joka määritti sääntöjä mittaustiedon hallintaan energia-alalla. Kyseisen asetuksen pohjalta Energiateollisuus julkaisi vuonna 2010 ohjeistuksen, joka selkeyttää asetuksen sisällön vaatimuksia jakeluverkonhaltijoille ja sähkön myyjille. Process Vision Oy on valmistellut ohjeistuksen pohjalta tuntimittauspaketin, joka sisältää ohjeistuksen mukaiset toiminnot GENERIS-järjestelmässä. Tässä diplomityössä määritellään Process Vision Oy:n palvelumallin mukaiset standardikomponentit tuntimittauspaketin toimitusprojekteja varten. Työn tavoitteena on kehittää mahdollisimman pitkälle tuotteistettu tuntimittauspaketin toimitus uusille ja vanhoille asiakkaille. Työn lopussa pohditaan miten hyvin palvelumalli soveltuu tuntimittauspaketin toimitusprojekteihin. Lisäksi työssä kartoitetaan yrityksessä käytössä olevien automatisointityökalujen kehitystarpeita. Työn tuloksena saatiin määriteltyä GENERIS-objektit ja konfiguraatiot, jotka toimitetaan tuntimittauspaketin mukana. Työn ohessa sisällytettiin yrityksen Suomen taseselvitysjärjestelmien asennusohjeeseen tuntimittauspaketin toiminnallisuuksien konfigurointi. Uusien vientimäärittelyjen avulla voidaan tuntimittauspaketin toiminnallisuudet toimittaa jatkossa tehokkaammin kuin aiemmin.

Ekoteolliset verkostot

Tämän kandidaatintyön tarkoituksena on tarkastella ekoteollisten verkostojen ja materialisaation vähentämisen käsitteet sekä ekoteollisten verkostojen rooli materialisaation vähentämisessä. Työ rakentuu viidestä osasta, joista ensimmäisessä kuvaillaan verkostoja yleisesti. Toisessa osassa esitellään systemaattinen kirjallisuuskatsaus. Kolmannessa osassa käsitellään ekoteolliset verkostot eri muodoissaan, ja neljännessä materialisaation vähentäminen. Viidennessä osassa esitellään ekoteollisten verkostojen rooli materialisaation vähentämisessä. Työssä käytetyn aineiston perusteella tehtiin johtopäätös, että ekoteollisilla verkostoilla on merkittävä rooli materialisaation vähentämisessä, mutta haasteiden voittaminen vaatii suuria ponnisteluja. Lisäksi tulevaisuudessa yritysten olisi pystyttävä hyödyntämään materialisaation vähentämistä entistä tehokkaammin.

Design and implementation of robot gripper interface

This thesis presents a design for an asynchronous interface to Robotiq adaptive gripper s-model. Designed interface is a communication layer that works on top of modbus layer. The design contains function definitions, finite state machine and exceptions. The design was not fully implemented but enough was so that it can be used. The implementation was done with c++ in linux environment. Additionally to the implementation a simple demo program was made to show the interface is used. Also grippers closing speed and force were measured. There is also a brief introduction into robotics and robot grasping.

Improving product profitability control in continuous IT-services

The target of the thesis is to improve product profitability control in continuous IT-services. Accurate product cost accounting and correctly allocated revenues are a necessity for good product profitability control. The focus of the study is on costs and revenues that are not traced directly to services. The thesis is focused on revenue allocations as revenue allocation methods have not been used in the case company before. In order to achieve the target revenue allocation methods, which improve the product profitability accounting and control, are presented. The research methods used in the thesis are literature review and empirical case study. The research approach is constructive. The theoretical part is composed of literature and articles that create a base for the empirical part. Internal interviews describe the current situation in the company and based on it development actions are planned. The part of the empirical case study is seen mostly in the limitations as the research is limited to concern only one department in the company. Problems in the revenue tracing are caused by customer specific services and lack of service definitions because of which the revenues are not traced correctly. Methods to allocate revenues are presented in the thesis and stand-alone revenue allocation method is the most suitable one because it is fair and it can be modified. Approximate product profitability analysis is done in the thesis and the results of it indicate that some services are profitable and some unprofitable.

An Overview of the Cleantech Sector - Evaluating Environmental Indicators

The purpose of the thesis is to give an overview of the cleantech sector and to give an answer how cleantech companies can evaluate the environmental sustainability of their business by utilizing various indicators and measures. The thesis is a literature study and it is based on a secondary data. Thesis presents the definitions to cleantech as well as its history and the main industries. Cleantech market overview in Finland and worldwide is also introduced. Furthermore, various indicators are presented in order to evaluate the environmental sustainability of companies' business. In the end, indicators used in cleantech sector are evaluated. As a result, the thesis presents the following methodologies that can be used in evaluating the environmental sustainability in the cleantech sector: Sustainability assessment framework, Environmental value analysis, COMPLIMENT - Environmental performance index for industries and Environmental assessment for cleaner production. More tools are still needed to evaluate environmental sustainability in the cleantech sector.

The purpose of consumer co-operation: implications for the management and governance of co-operatives

Extant research on consumer co-operation has acknowledged that the corporate purpose of consumer co-operatives deviates significantly from the purpose of investor-owned firms (IOFs – the dominant form in market economies and in theory development in the field of business economics) and also suggested that the management of consumer co-operatives differs from the management of IOFs. Despite this, there is a scarcity of research focusing on the management of consumer co-operatives in general and the ways this different purpose manifests in their management in particular. In other words, research on consumer cooperatives has only started to discover the importance of identifying the premises of these organizations and generating management and organization theories that take them into account. The overall objective of this study is to map out some of the implications that the purpose of consumer co-operation has for the management and governance of consumer co-operatives. To put it more precisely, by combining interview data gathered from Finnish consumer cooperatives (S Group, OP Bank Group and POP Bank) and extant literature, this study aims to generate or elaborate on definitions and outlines of the features that co-operative purpose poses for the strategic management, governance and managerial competence needed for consumer co-operatives. The study consists of two parts. The first part introduces the research topic, methods and publications, as well as discusses the overall outcomes. The second part consists of four publications that address the research questions from different viewpoints. The analyses of this study indicate that due to the purpose of consumer co-operation, the roles of locality and regionality become emphasized in their management. While locality and regionality are potential sources of competitive advantage for consumer co-operatives, geographic boundness sets significant boundary conditions for the strategic management of these organizations. Further, the purpose of consumer co-operation may pose several challenges to governance and set specific competence demands for the managers of these organizations. Associating the observations from various streams of research on management and governance with the purpose of consumer co-operation and examining these issues further, the thesis contributes to elaboration of theory in the field. While the thesis is by no means comprehensive (but instead reflects a co-operative research project in its early stages), it does shed light on some key ideas of management and governance and offers leads to theory and, thereby, will prove useful to elaborators, disseminators and appliers of knowledge on co-operation.

Evaluating the Maturity of Data Management Practices in a Major Energy Provider Company

Data is the most important asset of a company in the information age. Other assets, such as technology, facilities or products can be copied or reverse-engineered, employees can be brought over, but data remains unique to every company. As data management topics are slowly moving from unknown unknowns to known unknowns, tools to evaluate and manage data properly are developed and refined. Many projects are in progress today to develop various maturity models for evaluating information and data management practices. These maturity models come in many shapes and sizes: from short and concise ones meant for a quick assessment, to complex ones that call for an expert assessment by experienced consultants. In this paper several of them, made not only by external inter-organizational groups and authors, but also developed internally at a Major Energy Provider Company (MEPC) are juxtaposed and thoroughly analyzed. Apart from analyzing the available maturity models related to Data Management, this paper also selects the one with the most merit and describes and analyzes using it to perform a maturity assessment in MEPC. The utility of maturity models is two-fold: descriptive and prescriptive. Besides recording the current state of Data Management practices maturity by performing the assessments, this maturity model is also used to chart the way forward. Thus, after the current situation is presented, analysis and recommendations on how to improve it based on the definitions of higher levels of maturity are given. Generally, the main trend observed was the widening of the Data Management field to include more business and “soft” areas (as opposed to technical ones) and the change of focus towards business value of data, while assuming that the underlying IT systems for managing data are “ideal”, that is, left to the purely technical disciplines to design and maintain. This trend is not only present in Data Management but in other technological areas as well, where more and more attention is given to innovative use of technology, while acknowledging that the strategic importance of IT as such is diminishing.

Tietotyöntekijöiden osaamisen mittaaminen

Tietotyötä ja tietotyöntekijöitä on tutkittu jo monta vuosikymmentä, mutta siitä huolimatta nämä määritelmät ovat edelleen vailla tieteellisessä käytännössä vakiintunutta sisältöä. Voitaneen kuitenkin sanoa, että nykypäivän työstä yhä suurempi osuus on luokiteltavissa tietotyöksi. Tietotyöntekijöille puolestaan on keskeistä oman osaamisen myyminen työmarkkinoilla. Tästä huolimatta tietotyöntekijöiden osaaminen on tieteellisessä tutkimuksessa jäänyt melko vähäiselle huomiolle. Tässä tutkimuksessa tavoitteena on selvittää, millainen osaaminen on keskeistä kaikille tietotyöntekijöille. Tämän lisäksi tarkasteltiin myös sitä, miten näitä keskeisiä osaamisalueita voidaan mitata osaamiskartoituksen, inhimillisen pääoman tai henkilöstötilinpäätöksen avulla. Tutkimus suoritettiin laadullisena tutkimuksena ja hyödyntäen lähinnä grounded theory –menetelmää. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin tietotyöntekijöiden puolistrukturoidulla haastattelulla sekä rekrytoinnin ammattilaisille suunnatulla lomakekyselyllä, joka toteutettiin internetin välityksellä. Erityisen keskeisinä tietotyöntekijöille voidaan pitää yleisemmän tason osaamisia, kuten esimerkiksi sosiaalisia taitoja tai ongelmanratkaisukykyä. Huomattava merkitys on myös persoonaan liittyvillä ominaisuuksilla, motivaatiolla ja asenteella. Mittaamisen suhteen nämä ovat haastavia, sillä niiden toteaminen ei ole samalla tavalla yksinkertaista kuin ammattispesifin osaamisen havaitseminen. Nämä ominaisuudet ovat kuitenkin siinä määrin keskeisiä tietotyöntekijöiden työsuorituksille, että niitä ei tulisi sivuuttaa liian vaikeina.

The Finnish it industries in transition. Defining and Measuring the Finnish Software Product and IT Services Industries by Applying Theoretical Frameworks

The starting point of this study is that the prevailing way to consider the Finnish IT industries and industry information often results in a limited and even skewed picture of the sector. The purpose of the study is to contribute and increase knowledge and understanding of the status, structure and evolution of the Finnish IT industries as well as the Finnish IT vendor field and competition. The focus is on software product and IT services industries which form a crucial part of all ICT industries. This study examines the Finnish IT sector from production (supply) as well as market (demand) perspective. The study is based on empirical information from multiple sources. Three research questions were formulated for the study. The first concerns the status of the Finnish IT industries considered by applying theoretical frameworks. The second research question targets at the basis for the future evolution of the Finnish IT industries and, finally, the third at the ability of the available definitions and indicators to describe the Finnish IT industries and IT markets. Major structural changes like technological changes and related innovations, globalization and new business models are drivers of the evolution of the IT industries. The findings of this study emphasize the significant role of IT services in the Finnish IT sector and in connection to that the ability to combine IT service skills, competences and practices with high level software skills also in the future. According to the study the Finnish IT enterprises and their customers have become increasingly dependent on global ecosystems and platforms, applications and IT services provided by global vendors. As a result, more IT decisions are made outside Finland. In addition, IT companies are facing new competition from other than IT industries bringing into market new substitutes. To respond to the new competition, IT firms seek growth by expanding beyond their traditional markets.. The changing global division of labor accentuates the need for accurate information of the IT sector but, at the same time, also makes it increasingly challenging to acquire the information needed. One of the main contributions of this study is to provide frameworks for describing the Finnish IT sector and its evolution. These frameworks help combine empirical information from various sources and make it easier to concretize the structures, volumes, relationships and interaction of both, the production and market side of the Finnish IT industry. Some frameworks provide tools to analyze the vendor field, competition and the basis for the future evolution of the IT industries. The observations of the study support the argument that static industry definitions and related classifications do not serve the information needs in dynamic industries, such as the IT industries. One of the main messages of this study is to emphasize the importance of understanding the definitions and starting points of different information sources. Simultaneously, in the structure and evolution of Finnish IT industries the number of employees has become a more valid and reliable measure than the revenue based indicators.