Harmonization ofsignificant environmental aspects and their risk assessment in UPM paper and pulp mills

Työn tavoite onharmonisoida yhtenäiset rakenteet UPM:n paperi- ja sellutehtaiden merkittävilleympäristönäkökohdille sekä niiden ympäristöriskienhallintajärjestelmille. Näin saavutetaan yhteneväiset tavoitteet ja analysointikeinot yrityksen yksiköille. Harmonisointiprosessi on osa koko yrityksen ympäristöhallintajärjestelmän kehittämistä. Ja konsernin EMS -prosessi puolestaan konvergoi konsernin integroidun johtamisjärjestelmän kehitystä. Lisäksi työn tapaustutkimuksessa selvitettiin riskienhallintajärjestelmien integroitumispotentiaalia. Sen avulla saavutettaisiin paremmin suuren yrityksen synergia-etuja ja vuorovaikutteisuutta toimijoiden kesken, sekä parannettaisiin riskienhallintajärjestelmän mukautuvuutta ja käytettävyyttä. Työssä käsitellään kolmea esimerkkiä, joiden pohjalta tehdään esitys harmonisoiduille merkittäville ympäristönäkökohdille sekä riskienhallintajärjestelmien parametreille. Tutkimusongelmaa lähestytään haastattelujen, kirjallisuuden, yrityksen PWC:llä teettämän selvityksen sekä omien päätelmien avulla. Lisäksi työssä esitetään ympäristöhallintajärjestelmän tehokkuuden todentaminen ympäristösuorituskyvyn muuttujiin suhteutettuna. Pohjana jatkuvan kehityksen päämäärälle on organisaatio-oppiminen, niin yksittäisen työntekijän, tiimien kuin eri yksiköiden kesken. Se antaa sysäyksen aineettoman omaisuuden, kuten ympäristö-osaamisen, hyödyntämiseen parhaalla mahdollisella tavalla. Tärkeimpinä lopputuloksina työssä ovat ehdotukset harmonisoiduille merkittäville ympäristönäkökohdille sekä ympäristöriskienhallintajärjestelmän määritetyille komponenteille. Niitä ovat määritelmät ja skaalat riskien todennäköisyydelle, seurauksille sekä riskiluokille. Työn viimeisenä osana luodaan pohja tapaustutkimuksen avulla Rauman tehtaan jätevedenpuhdistamon kahden erilaisen riskienhallintajärjestelmän integroitumiselle.

Selection of bee species for environmental risk assessment of GM cotton in the Brazilian Cerrado

The objective of this work was to list potential candidate bee species for environmental risk assessment (ERA) of genetically modified (GM) cotton and to identify the most suited bee species for this task, according to their abundance and geographical distribution. Field inventories of bee on cotton flowers were performed in the states of Bahia and Mato Grosso, and in Distrito Federal, Brazil. During a 344 hour sampling, 3,470 bees from 74 species were recovered, at eight sites. Apis mellifera dominated the bee assemblages at all sites. Sampling at two sites that received no insecticide application was sufficient to identify the three most common and geographically widespread wild species: Paratrigona lineata, Melissoptila cnecomola, and Trigona spinipes, which could be useful indicators of pollination services in the ERA. Indirect ordination of common wild species revealed that insecticides reduced the number of native bee species and that interannual variation in bee assemblages may be low. Accumulation curves of rare bee species did not saturate, as expected in tropical and megadiverse regions. Species-based approaches are limited to analyze negative impacts of GM cotton on pollinator biological diversity. The accumulation rate of rare bee species, however, may be useful for evaluating possible negative effects of GM cotton on bee diversity.

Scenario method in anticipating future opportunities of e-business in the forest industry

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena on ennakoida liiketoimintaprosessien sähköistymisen kehittymistä käyttämällä skenaariomenetelmää, yhtä laajimmin käytetyistä tulevaisuuden tutkimisen menetelmistä. Tarkastelun kohteena ovat erityisesti tulevaisuuden e-business -ratkaisut metsäteollisuudessa. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään skenaariomenetelmän ominaisuuksia, skenaariosuunnittelun periaatteita sekä menetelmän sopivuutta teknologian ja toimialan muutosten tarkasteluun. Tutkimuksen teoriaosassa selvitetään teknologian muutoksen vaikutusta toimialojen kehitykseen. Todettiin, että teknologisella muutoksella on vahva vaikutus toimialojen muutoksiin, ja että jokainen toimiala seuraa tietynlaista kehitystrajektoria. Yritysten tulee olla tietoisia teknologisen muutoksen nopeudesta ja suunnasta, ja seurata toimialansa kehityksen sääntöjä. Metsäteollisuudessa muutosten radikaali luonne sekä ICT-teknologian nopea kehitys asettavat haasteita liiketoimintaprosessien sähköistämisen kentässä. Empiriaosuudessa luotiin kolme erilaista skenaariota e-busineksen tulevaisuudesta metsäteollisuudessa. Skenaariot perustuvat pääosin aiheen asiantuntijoiden tämän hetkisiin näkemyksiin, joita koottiin skenaariotyöpajassa. Skenaarioiden muodostamisessa yhdistettiin kvalitatiivisia ja kvantitatiivisia elementtejä. Muodostetut kolme skenaariota osoittavat, että e-busineksen vaikutukset tulevaisuudessa nähdään pääosin positiivisina, ja että yritysten tulee kehittyä aktiivisesti ja joustavasti pystyäkseen hyödyntämään sähköisiä ratkaisuja tehokkaasti liiketoiminnassaan.

Potential Accessibility of Web-based mathematical information resources

This paper presents a research concerning the conversion of non-accessible web pages containing mathematical formulae into accessible versions through an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool. The objective of this research is twofold. First, to establish criteria for evaluating the potential accessibility of mathematical web sites, i.e. the feasibility of converting non-accessible (non-MathML) math sites into accessible ones (Math-ML). Second, to propose a data model and a mechanism to publish evaluation results, making them available to the educational community who may use them as a quality measurement for selecting learning material.Results show that the conversion using OCR tools is not viable for math web pages mainly due to two reasons: many of these pages are designed to be interactive, making difficult, if not almost impossible, a correct conversion; formula (either images or text) have been written without taking into account standards of math writing, as a consequence OCR tools do not properly recognize math symbols and expressions. In spite of these results, we think the proposed methodology to create and publish evaluation reports may be rather useful in other accessibility assessment scenarios.

Local alignment refinement using structural assessment.

Homology modeling is the most commonly used technique to build a three-dimensional model for a protein sequence. It heavily relies on the quality of the sequence alignment between the protein to model and related proteins with a known three dimensional structure. Alignment quality can be assessed according to the physico-chemical properties of the three dimensional models it produces.In this work, we introduce fifteen predictors designed to evaluate the properties of the models obtained for various alignments. They consist of an energy value obtained from different force fields (CHARMM, ProsaII or ANOLEA) computed on residue selected around misaligned regions. These predictors were evaluated on ten challenging test cases. For each target, all possible ungapped alignments are generated and their corresponding models are computed and evaluated.The best predictor, retrieving the structural alignment for 9 out of 10 test cases, is based on the ANOLEA atomistic mean force potential and takes into account residues around misaligned secondary structure elements. The performance of the other predictors is significantly lower. This work shows that substantial improvement in local alignments can be obtained by careful assessment of the local structure of the resulting models.

Task Support in Scenario Process: Case LUT 2016

This thesis attempts to find whether scenario planning supports the organizational strategy as a method for addressing uncertainty. The main issues are why, what and how scenario planning fits in organizational strategy and how the process could be supported to make it more effective. The study follows the constructive approach. It starts with examination of competitive advantage and the way that an organization develops strategy and how it addresses the uncertainty in its operational environment. Based on the conducted literature review, scenario methods would seem to provide versatile platform for addressing future uncertainties. The construction is formed by examining the scenario methods and presenting suitable support methods, which results in forming of the theoretical proposition for supporter scenario process. The theoretical framework is tested in laboratory conditions, and the results from the test sessions are used a basis for scenario stories. The process of forming the scenarios and the results are illustrated and presented for scrutiny

An Assessment ofFatigue Strength of Load Carrying Welded Joints with Lack of Penetration

On yleisesti tiedossa, että väsyttävän kuormituksen alaisena olevat hitsatut rakenteet rikkoutuvat juuri hitsausliitoksista. Täyden tunkeuman hitsausliitoksia sisältävien rakenteiden asiantunteva suunnittelu janykyaikaiset valmistusmenetelmät ovat lähes eliminoineet väsymisvauriot hitsatuissa rakenteissa. Väsymislujuuden parantaminen tiukalla täyden tunkeuman vaatimuksella on kuitenkin epätaloudellinen ratkaisu. Täyden tunkeuman hitsausliitoksille asetettavien laatuvaatimuksien on määriteltävä selkeät tarkastusohjeet ja hylkäämisperusteet. Tämän diplomityön tarkoituksena oli tutkia geometristen muuttujien vaikutusta kuormaa kantavien hitsausliitosten väsymislujuuteen. Huomio kiinnitettiin pääasiassa suunnittelumuuttujiin, joilla on vaikutusta väsymisvaurioiden syntymiseen hitsauksen juuren puolella. Nykyiset määräykset ja standardit, jotka perustuvat kokeellisiin tuloksiin; antavat melko yleisiä ohjeita hitsausliitosten väsymismitoituksesta. Tämän vuoksi muodostettiin kokonaan uudet parametriset yhtälöt sallitun nimellisen jännityksen kynnysarvon vaihteluvälin, ¿¿th, laskemiseksi, jotta vältettäisiin hitsausliitosten juuren puoleiset väsymisvauriot. Lisäksi, jokaiselle liitostyypille laskettiin hitsin juuren puolen väsymisluokat (FAT), joita verrattiin olemassa olevilla mitoitusohjeilla saavutettuihin tuloksiin. Täydentäviksi referensseiksi suoritettiin useita kolmiulotteisia (3D) analyysejä. Julkaistuja kokeellisiin tuloksiin perustuvia tietoja käytettiin apuna hitsausliitosten väsymiskäyttäytymisen ymmärtämiseksi ja materiaalivakioiden määrittämiseksi. Kuormaa kantavien vajaatunkeumaisten hitsausliitosten väsymislujuus määritettiin käyttämällä elementtimenetelmää. Suurimman pääjännityksen kriteeriä hyödynnettiin murtumiskäyttäytymisen ennakoimiseksi. Valitulle hitsatulle materiaalille ja koeolosuhteille murtumiskäyttäytymistä mallinnettiin särön kasvunopeudella da/dN ja jännitysintensiteettikertoimen vaihteluvälillä, 'K. Paris:n yhtälön numeerinen integrointi suoritettiin FRANC2D/L tietokoneohjelmalla. Saatujen tulosten perusteella voidaan laskea FAT tutkittavassa tapauksessa. ¿¿th laskettiin alkusärön jännitysintensiteettikertoimen vaihteluvälin ja kynnysjännitysintensiteettikertoimen, 'Kth, perusteella. ¿Kth arvoa pienemmällä vaihteluvälillä särö ei kasva. Analyyseissäoletuksena oli hitsattu jälkikäsittelemätön liitos, jossa oli valmis alkusärö hitsin juuressa. Analyysien tulokset ovat hyödyllisiä suunnittelijoille, jotka tekevät päätöksiä koskien geometrisiä parametreja, joilla on vaikutusta hitsausliitosten väsymislujuuteen.

pH Sensitive surfactants from lysine: assessment of their cytotoxicity and environmental behavior

The toxicity and environmental behavior of new pH-sensitive surfactants from lysine are presented. Three different chemical structures are studied: surfactants with one amino acid and one alkyl chain, surfactants with two amino acids on the polar head and one alkyl chain, and gemini surfactants. The pH sensitivity of these compounds can be tuned by modifying their chemical structures. Cytotoxicity has been evaluated using erythrocytes and fibroblast cells. The toxic effects against these cells depend on the hydrophobicity of the molecules as well as their cationic charge density. The effect of hydrophobicity and cationic charge density on toxicity is different for each type of cells. For erythrocytes, the toxicity increases as hydrophobicity and charge density increases. Nevertheless, for fibroblasts cationic charge density affects cytotoxicity in the opposite way: the higher charge density, the lower the toxicity. The effect of the pH on hemolysis has been evaluated in detail. The aquatic toxicity was established using Daphnia magna. All surfactants yielded EC50 values considerably higher than that reported for cationic surfactants based on quaternary ammonium groups. Finally, their biodegradability was evaluated using the CO2 headspace test (ISO 14593). These lysine derivatives showed high levels of biodegradation under aerobic conditions and can be classified as"readily biodegradable compounds".

Assessment of the 10-year probability of osteoporotic hip fracture combining clinical risk factors and heel bone ultrasound: the EPISEM prospective cohort of 12,958 elderly women.

This study aimed to develop a hip screening tool that combines relevant clinical risk factors (CRFs) and quantitative ultrasound (QUS) at the heel to determine the 10-yr probability of hip fractures in elderly women. The EPISEM database, comprised of approximately 13,000 women 70 yr of age, was derived from two population-based white European cohorts in France and Switzerland. All women had baseline data on CRFs and a baseline measurement of the stiffness index (SI) derived from QUS at the heel. Women were followed prospectively to identify incident fractures. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine the CRFs that contributed significantly to hip fracture risk, and these were used to generate a CRF score. Gradients of risk (GR; RR/SD change) and areas under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) were calculated for the CRF score, SI, and a score combining both. The 10-yr probability of hip fracture was computed for the combined model. Three hundred seven hip fractures were observed over a mean follow-up of 3.2 yr. In addition to SI, significant CRFs for hip fracture were body mass index (BMI), history of fracture, an impaired chair test, history of a recent fall, current cigarette smoking, and diabetes mellitus. The average GR for hip fracture was 2.10 per SD with the combined SI + CRF score compared with a GR of 1.77 with SI alone and of 1.52 with the CRF score alone. Thus, the use of CRFs enhanced the predictive value of SI alone. For example, in a woman 80 yr of age, the presence of two to four CRFs increased the probability of hip fracture from 16.9% to 26.6% and from 52.6% to 70.5% for SI Z-scores of +2 and -3, respectively. The combined use of CRFs and QUS SI is a promising tool to assess hip fracture probability in elderly women, especially when access to DXA is limited.

International bioenergy trade- scenario study on international biomass market in 2020

The markets of biomass for energy are developing rapidly and becoming more international. A remarkable increase in the use of biomass for energy needs parallel and positive development in several areas, and there will be plenty of challenges to overcome. The main objective of the study was to clarify the alternative future scenarios for the international biomass market until the year 2020, and based on the scenario process, to identify underlying steps needed towards the vital working and sustainable biomass market for energy purposes. Two scenario processes were conducted for this study. The first was carried out with a group of Finnish experts and thesecond involved an international group. A heuristic, semi-structured approach, including the use of preliminary questionnaires as well as manual and computerised group support systems (GSS), was applied in the scenario processes.The scenario processes reinforced the picture of the future of international biomass and bioenergy markets as a complex and multi-layer subject. The scenarios estimated that the biomass market will develop and grow rapidly as well as diversify in the future. The results of the scenario process also opened up new discussion and provided new information and collective views of experts for the purposes of policy makers. An overall view resulting from this scenario analysis are the enormous opportunities relating to the utilisation of biomass as a resource for global energy use in the coming decades. The scenario analysis shows the key issues in the field: global economic growth including the growing need for energy, environmental forces in the global evolution, possibilities of technological development to solve global problems, capabilities of the international community to find solutions for global issues and the complex interdependencies of all these driving forces. The results of the scenario processes provide a starting point for further research analysing the technological and commercial aspects related the scenarios and foreseeing the scales and directions of biomass streams.

Life cycle analysis and life cyle impact assessment methodologies: a state of the art

Life cycle analysis (LCA) is a comprehensive method for assessing the environmental impact of a product or an activity over its entire life cycle. The purpose of conducting LCA studies varies from one application to another. Different applications use LCA for different purposes. In general, the main aim of using LCA is to reduce the environmental impact of products through guiding the decision making process towards more sustainable solutions. The most critical phase in an LCA study is the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) where the life cycle inventory (LCI) results of the considered substances related to the study of a certain system are transformed into understandable impact categories that represent the impact on the environment. In this research work, a general structure clarifying the steps that shall be followed ir order to conduct an LCA study effectively is presented. These steps are based on the ISO 14040 standard framework. In addition, a survey is done on the most widely used LCIA methodologies. Recommendations about possible developments and suggetions for further research work regarding the use of LCA and LCIA methodologies are discussed as well.

A modified structural stress method for fatigue assessment of welded structures

Fatigue life assessment of weldedstructures is commonly based on the nominal stress method, but more flexible and accurate methods have been introduced. In general, the assessment accuracy is improved as more localized information about the weld is incorporated. The structural hot spot stress method includes the influence of macro geometric effects and structural discontinuities on the design stress but excludes the local features of the weld. In this thesis, the limitations of the structural hot spot stress method are discussed and a modified structural stress method with improved accuracy is developed and verified for selected welded details. The fatigue life of structures in the as-welded state consists mainly of crack growth from pre-existing cracks or defects. Crack growth rate depends on crack geometry and the stress state on the crack face plane. This means that the stress level and shape of the stress distribution in the assumed crack path governs thetotal fatigue life. In many structural details the stress distribution is similar and adequate fatigue life estimates can be obtained just by adjusting the stress level based on a single stress value, i.e., the structural hot spot stress. There are, however, cases for which the structural stress approach is less appropriate because the stress distribution differs significantly from the more common cases. Plate edge attachments and plates on elastic foundations are some examples of structures with this type of stress distribution. The importance of fillet weld size and weld load variation on the stress distribution is another central topic in this thesis. Structural hot spot stress determination is generally based on a procedure that involves extrapolation of plate surface stresses. Other possibilities for determining the structural hot spot stress is to extrapolate stresses through the thickness at the weld toe or to use Dong's method which includes through-thickness extrapolation at some distance from the weld toe. Both of these latter methods are less sensitive to the FE mesh used. Structural stress based on surface extrapolation is sensitive to the extrapolation points selected and to the FE mesh used near these points. Rules for proper meshing, however, are well defined and not difficult to apply. To improve the accuracy of the traditional structural hot spot stress, a multi-linear stress distribution is introduced. The magnitude of the weld toe stress after linearization is dependent on the weld size, weld load and plate thickness. Simple equations have been derived by comparing assessment results based on the local linear stress distribution and LEFM based calculations. The proposed method is called the modified structural stress method (MSHS) since the structural hot spot stress (SHS) value is corrected using information on weld size andweld load. The correction procedure is verified using fatigue test results found in the literature. Also, a test case was conducted comparing the proposed method with other local fatigue assessment methods.

Applying the principles of life cycle assessment and costing in process modeling to examine profit-making capability

Static process simulation has traditionally been used to model complex processes for various purposes. However, the use of static processsimulators for the preparation of holistic examinations aiming at improving profit-making capability requires a lot of work because the production of results requires the assessment of the applicability of detailed data which may be irrelevant to the objective. The relevant data for the total assessment gets buried byirrelevant data. Furthermore, the models do not include an examination of the maintenance or risk management, and economic examination is often an extra property added to them which can be performed with a spreadsheet program. A process model applicable to holistic economic examinations has been developed in this work. The model is based on the life cycle profit philosophy developed by Hagberg and Henriksson in 1996. The construction of the model has utilized life cycle assessment and life cycle costing methodologies with a view to developing, above all, a model which would be applicable to the economic examinations of complete wholes and which would require the need for information focusing on aspects essential to the objectives. Life cycle assessment and costing differ from each other in terms of the modeling principles, but the features of bothmethodologies can be used in the development of economic process modeling. Methods applicable to the modeling of complex processes can be examined from the viewpoint of life cycle methodologies, because they involve the collection and management of large corpuses of information and the production of information for the needs of decision-makers as well. The results of the study shows that on the basis of the principles of life cycle modeling, a process model can be created which may be used to produce holistic efficiency examinations on the profit-making capability of the production line, with fewer resources thanwith traditional methods. The calculations of the model are based to the maximum extent on the information system of the factory, which means that the accuracyof the results can be improved by developing information systems so that they can provide the best information for this kind of examinations.

Assessment on nutrient levels in the aerial biomass of irrigated guava in São Francisco Valley, Brazil

In perennial crops, fertilizers are applied to restore the amount of nutrient removed from the plant by harvesting. Nevertheless, the immobilized nutrient inside the whole plant should be considered. Based on it, the nutrient concentrations in the guava leaf and fruit and the nutrient contents removed by fruits and post-harvest pruning were evaluated in an irrigated orchard, in Petrolina, State of Pernambuco, Brazil. The greatest contents removed by fruits were N and K among the macronutrients, while Fe, Zn and Mn presented higher levels among the micronutrients. More than 60% of the total content of N, P, K, Mg, Fe, and B removed by pruning were immobilized in the leaf and non-marketable fruit.

Can wild ungulate carcasses provide enough biomass to maintain avian scavenger populations? An empirical assessment using a bio-inspired computational model

Background: The reduction in the amount of food available for European avian scavengers as a consequence of restrictive public health policies is a concern for managers and conservationists. Since 2002, the application of several sanitary regulations has limited the availability of feeding resources provided by domestic carcasses, but theoretical studies assessing whether the availability of food resources provided by wild ungulates are enough to cover energetic requirements are lacking. Methodology/Findings: We assessed food provided by a wild ungulate population in two areas of NE Spain inhabited by three vulture species and developed a P System computational model to assess the effects of the carrion resources provided on their population dynamics. We compared the real population trend with to a hypothetical scenario in which only food provided by wild ungulates was available. Simulation testing of the model suggests that wild ungulates constitute an important food resource in the Pyrenees and the vulture population inhabiting this area could grow if only the food provided by wild ungulates would be available. On the contrary, in the Pre-Pyrenees there is insufficient food to cover the energy requirements of avian scavenger guilds, declining sharply if biomass from domestic animals would not be available. Conclusions/Significance: Our results suggest that public health legislation can modify scavenger population trends if a large number of domestic ungulate carcasses disappear from the mountains. In this case, food provided by wild ungulates could be not enough and supplementary feeding could be necessary if other alternative food resources are not available (i.e. the reintroduction of wild ungulates), preferably in European Mediterranean scenarios sharing similar and socio-economic conditions where there are low densities of wild ungulates. Managers should anticipate the conservation actions required by assessing food availability and the possible scenarios in order to make the most suitable decisions.