Robots and robotic systems for the electronics and telecommunication industry

Tämä diplomityö tutkii elektroniikka- ja telekommunikaatioteollisuutta sekä siihen läheisesti liittyviä robotteja ja robottijärjestelmiä. Tavoitteena on määrittää E&T-teollisuuden prosesseihin soveltuvien robottien testausmenetelmä. Tavoitteena on myös selvittää kahden ABB:n robotin soveltuvuutta E&T-teollisuuden tarpeisiin. Muutamia systemaattisia valmistusjärjestelmien suunnitteluun soveltuvia menetelmiä ja apuvälineitä on myös käsitelty. Alussa työ keskittyy elektroniikka- ja telekommunikaatioteollisuuden nykytilan tutkimiseen sekä siellä vallitsevien ja ennustettujen trendien kartoitukseen. Kohdat “Collaborative manufacturing” ja E&T-teollisuuden valmistusjärjestelmille asettamat vaatimukset käydään yksityiskohtaisesti läpi. Tutkimuksen pääkohteina ovat robotit, erityisesti ABB:n IRB 140 ja IRB 340 sekä robottien testausmenetelmän määrittäminen. Työssä käydään läpi IRB 340:llä suoritetut testit, jotka tehtiin sekä konenäköjärjestelmää apuna käyttäen että ilman. Myös TTKK:lla suoritetut robottitestit on käyty läpi. Robottien testituloksia on analysoitu ja vertailtu muihin robotteihin. Testausmenetelmät perustuvat ISO 9283 standardiin. Viimeinen osa työstä esittelee robottijärjestelmien systemaattiseen suunnitteluun soveltuvia menetelmiä ja apuvälineitä. Esillä ovat mm. Modular function deployment (MFD) ja The system design method (SDM).

Urinary pyridinoline cross-links as biomarkers of osteogenesis imperfecta.

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a group of genetic heterogeneous connective tissue disorders characterized by increased bone fragility and susceptibility to fractures. Laboratory diagnosis relies on time-consuming and cost-intensive biochemical and molecular genetics analyses. Therefore, it is desirable to identify and establish new diagnostic markers for OI that are reliable, cost-effective and easily accessible. In our study we have identified the ratio of the urinary pyridinoline cross-links lysyl-pyridinoline and hydroxylysyl-pyridinoline as a promising, time- and cost-effective biomarker for osteogenesis imperfecta, that could be used furthermore to investigate cases of suspected non-accidental injury in infants.

Sorcin links pancreatic β cell lipotoxicity to ER Ca2+ stores.

NlmCategory="UNASSIGNED">Preserving β cell function during the development of obesity and insulin resistance would limit the worldwide epidemic of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) calcium (Ca(2+)) depletion induced by saturated free fatty acids and cytokines causes β cell ER stress and apoptosis, but the molecular mechanisms behind these phenomena are still poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that palmitate-induced sorcin (SRI) down-regulation, and subsequent increases in glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic subunit-2 (G6PC2) levels contribute to lipotoxicity. SRI is a calcium sensor protein involved in maintaining ER Ca(2+) by inhibiting ryanodine receptor activity and playing a role in terminating Ca(2+)-induced Ca(2+) release. G6PC2, a GWAS gene associated with fasting blood glucose, is a negative regulator of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS). High fat feeding in mice and chronic exposure of human islets to palmitate decreases endogenous SRI expression while levels of G6PC2 mRNA increase. Sorcin null mice are glucose intolerant, with markedly impaired GSIS and increased expression of G6pc2. Under high fat diet, mice overexpressing SRI in the β cell display improved glucose tolerance, fasting blood glucose and GSIS, whereas G6PC2 levels are decreased and cytosolic and ER Ca(2+) are increased in transgenic islets. SRI may thus provide a target for intervention in T2DM.

Development of power flows around Baltic countries with new grid links

In the Thesis main focus is done on power flow development paths around the Baltic States as well as on market-based requirements for creation of the common Baltic electricity market. Current market regulations between the countries are presented; barriers for creating competitive common Baltic power market and for electricity trading with third countries are clarified; solutions are offered and corresponding road map is developed. Future power development paths around the Baltic States are analysed. For this purpose the 330 kV transmission grid of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is modelled in a power flow tool. Power flow calculations are carried out for winter and summer peak and off-peak load periods in 2020 with different combinations of interconnections. While carrying out power balance experiments several power flow patterns in the Baltic States are revealed. Conclusions are made about security of supply, grid congestion and transmission capacity availability for different scenarios.

Groupware and Workflow Tools - A Case study of SAP Business Workflow Supporting System Integration in a Global Telecommunication Company

Workflow management systems aim at the controlled execution of complex application processes in distributed and heterogeneous environments. These systems will shape the structure of information systems in business and non-business environments. E business and system integration is a fertile soil for WF and groupware tools. This thesis aims to study WF and groupware tools in order to gather in house knowledge of WF to better utilize WF solutions in future, and to focus on SAP Business Workflow in order to find a global solution for Application Link Enabling support for system integration. Piloting this solution in Nokia collects the experience of SAP R/3 WF tool for other development projects in future. The literary part of this study will guide to the world of business process automation providing a general description of the history, use and potentials of WF & groupware software. The empirical part of this study begins with the background of the case study describing the IT environment initiating the case by introducing SAP R/3 in Nokia, the communication technique in use and WF tool. Case study is focused in one solution with SAP Business Workflow. This study provides a concept to monitor communication between ERP systems and to increase the quality of system integration. Case study describes a way create support model for ALE/EDI interfaces. Support model includes monitoring organization and the workflow processes to solve the most common IDoc related errors.

Promoting Customer Loyalty Through a Telecommunication Specific CRM Framework

The objective of this thesis is to find new methods to promote customer loyalty in the telecommunication industry. The study was made on the appointment of Tecnotree Corporation, which operates in a telecommunication software business. This thesis comprises of a theoretical section, which includes the presentation of relevant theoretical background and of an empirical section, which is mostly based on interviews and professional opinions. One of the most important aspects of customer relationship management (CRM) is building customer loyalty. Telecommunication markets are becoming saturated in an increasing number of markets. Customer acquisition is no longer a way to grow; companies need to hold on to their existing customers. Companies are always looking for new ways to avoid churning customers. These new methods are searched from recent studies and they are discussed with marketing professionals from operators. Current CRM lacks the ability to extract data efficiently from databases. Social media’s utilization is also in its early stages. It contains a lot of possibilities, but also things that can be risky for companies. In order to obtain full advantage of the new methods companies are required to invest considerable amounts of time and money to develop new systems, but not all companies are ready for the change.

Searchig the links between "knowledge governance mechanisms", "the individual conditions of knowledge sharing", and "individual's knowledge sharing behaviour".

The objective of this study was to understand how organizational knowledge governance mechanisms affect individual motivation, opportunity, and the ability to share knowledge (MOA framework), and further, how individual knowledge-sharing conditions affect actual knowledge sharing behaviour. The study followed the knowledge governance approach and a micro-foundations perspective to develop a theoretical model and hypotheses, which could explain the casual relationships between knowledge governance mechanisms, individual knowledge sharing conditions, and individual knowledge sharing behaviour. The quantitative research strategy and multivariate data analysis techniques (SEM) were used in the hypotheses testing with a survey dataset of 256 employees from eleven military schools of Finnish Defence Forces (FDF). The results showed that “performance-based feedback and rewards” affects employee’s “intrinsic motivation towards knowledge sharing”, that “lateral coordination” affects employee’s “knowledge self-efficacy”, and that ”training and development” is positively related to “time availability” for knowledge sharing but affects negatively employee’s knowledge self-efficacy. Individual motivation and knowledge self-efficacy towards knowledge sharing affected knowledge sharing behaviour when work-related knowledge was shared 1) between employees in a department and 2) between employees in different departments, however these factors did not play a crucial role in subordinate–superior knowledge sharing. The findings suggest that individual motivation, opportunity, and the ability towards knowledge sharing affects individual knowledge sharing behaviour differently in different knowledge sharing situations. Furthermore, knowledge governance mechanisms can be used to manage individual-level knowledge sharing conditions and individual knowledge sharing behaviour but their affect also vary in different knowledge sharing situations.

TRP channels, omega-3 fatty acids, and oxidative stress in neurodegeneration: from the cell membrane to intracellular cross-links

The transient receptor potential channels family (TRP channels) is a relatively new group of cation channels that modulate a large range of physiological mechanisms. In the nervous system, the functions of TRP channels have been associated with thermosensation, pain transduction, neurotransmitter release, and redox signaling, among others. However, they have also been extensively correlated with the pathogenesis of several innate and acquired diseases. On the other hand, the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 fatty acids) have also been associated with several processes that seem to counterbalance or to contribute to the function of several TRPs. In this short review, we discuss some of the remarkable new findings in this field. We also review the possible roles played by n-3 fatty acids in cell signaling that can both control or be controlled by TRP channels in neurodegenerative processes, as well as both the direct and indirect actions of n-3 fatty acids on TRP channels.

Why budget accountability fails? The elusive links between parliaments and audit agencies in the oversight of the budget

ABSTRACTParliaments and audit agencies have critical and complementary roles in the oversight of the budget and the enforcement of government accountability. Yet, the nexus between parliaments and audit agencies is one of the weakest links in the accountability chain, generating an accountability gap in the budget process. This articles analyses the interactions between parliaments and audit agencies in the oversight of government finances during the latter stages of the budget process. Using proxies to evaluate the quality of those linkages, such as the follow-up to audit findings and the discharge of government, it shows important dysfunctions in the interactions between parliaments and audit agencies due to a combination of technical capacity constraints and political economy disincentives. It suggests that the effective functioning of the system of checks and balances in public budgeting critically hinges on the agility of the linkages between accountability institutions. As such, the failure of budget accountability is due to systemic dysfunctions in the systems of accountability, rather than the failure of an individual accountability institution acting in isolation. In addition, the effectiveness of the horizontal accountability architecture depends on the political economy incentives shaping the budget process, which are generated by the interactions between the choice of institutional design and budget rules, with the degree of political competition and electoral rules.

Cómo hacer un estudio de mercado : Artículos de interés, links y entidades de apoyo

Bogotá Emprende

Investigative links between cognitive function and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in elementary physical education

Research has noted both physical and psychosocial benefits when children participate in regular physical activity. Recent studies are indicating that there may also be academic benefits and that students may be more efficient learners with participation in physical activity. This study investigated the influence of acute moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on four cognitive functions: planning, attention, simultaneous processing, and successive processing. Three classes (59 students) were each tested twice using a balanced design (intervention, balance, and control groups). It was found that the intervention group had a large increase in planning abiHty (ES = 1.67) when compared to the balance (ES = .80) and control (ES = -.89) groups. On the three remaining cognitive functions, the intervention group showed effect sizes similar to that of the balance and control groups. These results indicate that improved planning after physical activity may playa role in improving student performance.

Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithms for the Single Allocation Hub Location Problem

Hub Location Problems play vital economic roles in transportation and telecommunication networks where goods or people must be efficiently transferred from an origin to a destination point whilst direct origin-destination links are impractical. This work investigates the single allocation hub location problem, and proposes a genetic algorithm (GA) approach for it. The effectiveness of using a single-objective criterion measure for the problem is first explored. Next, a multi-objective GA employing various fitness evaluation strategies such as Pareto ranking, sum of ranks, and weighted sum strategies is presented. The effectiveness of the multi-objective GA is shown by comparison with an Integer Programming strategy, the only other multi-objective approach found in the literature for this problem. Lastly, two new crossover operators are proposed and an empirical study is done using small to large problem instances of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) and Australian Post (AP) data sets.