Application of GA-PLS and GA-KPLS calculations for the prediction of the retention indices of essential oils

Genetic algorithm and partial least square (GA-PLS) and kernel PLS (GA-KPLS) techniques were used to investigate the correlation between retention indices (RI) and descriptors for 117 diverse compounds in essential oils from 5 Pimpinella species gathered from central Turkey which were obtained by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The square correlation coefficient leave-group-out cross validation (LGO-CV) (Q²) between experimental and predicted RI for training set by GA-PLS and GA-KPLS was 0.940 and 0.963, respectively. This indicates that GA-KPLS can be used as an alternative modeling tool for quantitative structure-retention relationship (QSRR) studies.

Controle da qualidade na determinação potenciométrica de sulfetos volatilizáveis por acidificação (SVA) utilizando adições de padrão

This paper presents a quality assurance and quality control protocol in order to ensure the reliability of analytical results for the determination of acid volatile sulfides in environmental samples by potentiometry. The monitoring of the ion selective sensor readings must be realized continually and particularly in this situation where the analyte is susceptible to transformation and volatilization. Potentiometry with the standard addition was presented as a rapid, accurate, precise, feasible as well as a low cost technique. Concentrations of the analyte in the range of 0.49 to 1.02 mg L-1 were tested with percentage recoveries varying from 89 to 113%.

Avaliação de furanocumarinas como inibidores da fotossíntese através de ensaios de fluorescência da clorofila a

The evaluations of Chorophyll a fluorescence emitted by superior plants carry structural information and photosynthetic apparatus function. Quantitative analysis apparatus of fluorescence kinetic were measured by energy flows (ABS), (TR), (ET) and (DI), known as phenomenological phenomena of OJIP test. Four furocoumarins were isolated from Ruta graveolens (Rutaceae), and chorophyll a (Chl a) fluorescence assays were performed with these compounds to evaluate the photosynthesis inhibition potential. This test was realized in spinach`s leaf discs and in Lolium perenne leaves. The results indicated the herbicide potential mainly for bergapten and chalepin.

Thermal modelling of semiconductor switches in three-level Neutral Point Clamped Medium Voltage DTC-inverter

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the thermal loading of medium voltage three-level NPC inverter’s semiconductor IGCT switches in different operation points. The objective is to reach both a fairly accurate off-line simulation program and also so simple a simulation model that its implementation into an embedded system could be reasonable in practice and a real time use should become feasible. Active loading limitation of the inverter can be realized with a thermal model which is practical in a real time use. Determining of the component heating has been divided into two parts; defining of component losses and establishing the structure of a thermal network. Basics of both parts are clarified. The simulation environment is Matlab-Simulink. Two different models are constructed – a more accurate one and a simplified one. Potential simplifications are clarified with the help of the first one. Simplifications are included in the latter model and the functionalities of both models are compared. When increasing the calculation time step a decreased number of considered components and time constants of the thermal network can be used in the simplified model. Heating of a switching component is dependent on its topological position and inverter’s operation point. The output frequency of the converter defines mainly which one of the switching components is – because of its losses and heating – the performance limiting component of the converter. Comparison of results given by different thermal models demonstrates that with larger time steps, describing of fast occurring switching losses becomes difficult. Generally articles and papers dealing with this subject are written for two-level inverters. Also inverters which apply direct torque control (DTC) are investigated rarely from the heating point of view. Hence, this thesis completes the former material.

Supply chain costs of a small board lot: sheet cutting and logistics

Succeeding in small board lot (0-20 tons) deliveries, is not always prosperous and failures as well as extra costs compared to standard costs arise. Failure deliveries from converting plants to customer locations tie a lot of unwanted and unexpected costs. Extra costs are handled as quality costs and more precise, internal failure costs. These costs revolve from unsuccessful truck payloads, redundant warehousing or unfavorable routing as examples. Quality costs are becoming more and more important factor in company’s financial decision making. Actual, realized truck payload correlates with the extra costs occurring, so filling the truck payload all get-out well is a key to lower the extra costs. Case company in this study is Corporation A, business segment Boards. Boards have outsourced half of their converting in order to gain better customer service via flexibility, lead time reductions and logistics efficiency improvements. Examination period of the study is first two quarters of year 2008 and deliveries examined are from converters to the customer locations. In Corporation A’s case, the total loss in failure deliveries is hundreds of thousands of Euros during the examination period. So, the logistics goal of getting the right product to the right place and right time for the least cost, does not completely realize.

Resultados científicos do cruzeiro do "Baependi" e do "Vega" à Ilha da Trindade: contribuição para o conhecimento da plataforma insular da Ilha da Trindade

The oceanographic work realized during 10 days in the surroundings of the eruptive island of Trindade, 20º30'36" lat. S - 29º19'26" long. W, had as principal aim the determination of the insular plateau, whose knowledge was very insufficient. Thus were established some oceanographic stations and sounding lines were realized by means of an echobathymeter whose responses were initially verified with mechanical soundings obtaneid by means of a Thomson sounder. The insular plateau is very narrow and exhibits a sudden fall between the 100 and 120 m. depth line at 740 m. - 2950 m. from the coast. Its greatest depth is of 108,30 m. and its mean inclination is of 8,12%. The plateau of the island of Trindade is separated from that of the neighbouring group of Martim Yaz by great depths. The bottoms are rocky near the coast, the blocks having been produced by the rupture of the magmatic mass of the island. Further away from the coast, the size of the rocks gradually diminishes up to the fine sand thickness. In the litoral zone there are abundant tufts of living Lithothamnion with a rich associated flora and fauna, which partly covers the rocks themselves. Further off at sea, the spheres of the dead alga with its commensals are cimented together by sedimentation. The spheres are further broken up and become an integrating part of the sand. The results of the physical and chemical analyses of the sand bottoms are shown in tables 2 and 3. The coast is either of abrupt rocky walls falling down to sea level, or of shores, made of pebbles or of sand. Anyhow, there are frequently Lithothamnion terraces slightly inclinated towards the bottom (chemical analysis table 1).

Resultados científicos do cruzeiro do Baependi e do Vega à Ilha da Trindade: oceanografia física - contribuição para o conhecimento das características físicas e químicas das águas

In May 1950 a trip was undertaken by the ships "Baependi" and "Vega" to the Trindade Island - 20º30'S and 29º20'W - Approximately 1200 km off the coast of Espirito Santo State. This scientific expedition was realized by the iniciative of the Minister J. A. Lins de Barros. In this expedition the supervisor of the oceanographic works was Prof. W. Besnard, the director of the São Paulo Oceanographic Institute. He brougth home 42 samples of water for study, collected upon the insular terrace of the island, referring to the 15 established stations - see table I - with depths varying between 0 m and 115 m. The physical and chemical properties of them are to be seen on table II. The results obtained were compared with those of the German Expedition to the South Atlantic, 1925/27 ("Meteor"), observed at the stations 157-158-159-163 of profile VI and 168-169-170 of profile VII. The mean results obtaneid by the boats "Baependi" and "Vega" are represented on table IV. We constructed vertical sections - I to VI - of each group of Stations, showing the slope of the insular shelves and, in a general manner, the distribution of salinity. We made also longitudinal section - E, M, I - involving the island and corresponding, respectively, to the groups of stations, the farthest, nearest and intermediary ones. As the number of samples received is reduced and consequently the data obtained are few, no conclusions could be deduced. We made only a commentary supposing that the predominating waters surrounding the island are the same as those coming from the mentioned stations on Profile VI, marked by the "Meteor". No indication authorizes the supposition that waters of the Brazil Current or those of Profile VII of the "Meteor" reach the Trindade Island. On the contrary, its waters must be warm and salted to which Albert Defant (Die Troposphaere, Wiss. Erg. D. Atl. Exp. "Meteor" Band VI, 1 Tel Lief. 3, Berlin, 1936) has referred, as the island is located very near to the limits of the perspective diagram of warm water circulation pointed out. (Kieler Meeresforschungen, Inst. Meereskunde, Universit. Kiel, Band VII, Heft 1, S 24, 1950).

Asiakkuuksien johtaminen tietointensiivisessä pk-yrityksessä: Case Severa Oyj

Asiakkuuksien johtaminen on tunnistettu laskentatoimen ja markkinoinnin kirjallisuudessa yhdeksi tärkeimmistä kilpailuedun lähteistä tulevaisuudessa. Teema korostuu tietointensiivisissä pk-yrityksissä. Tutkielman tarkoitus oli tämän pohjalta löytää keinoja tehostamaan asiakkuuksien johtamista caseyrityksessä. Teoriaosuudessa aihealuetta tarkasteltiin yleisenä ilmiönä aiemman kirjallisuuden pohjalta, empiirinen osio toteutettiin casetutkimuksena. Tutkimusaineisto kerättiin yrityksen tietojärjestelmistä, kyselylomaketutkimuksella ja osallistuvan havainnoinnin avulla. Tulosten perusteella caseyrityksen asiakasryhmien kannattavuudet eroavat toisistaan merkittävästi. Analyysien avulla resurssien käyttöä voidaan kohdistaa tarkemmin tulevaisuudessa. Asiakasinformaation integroimista ja ongelmatilanteiden hallintaa voidaan myös tehostaa. Parannuksia voidaan toteuttaa osin jo olemassa olevin keinoin, vastuu on viime kädessä yrityksen johdolla. Pääfokuksen tulisi kiinnittyä jatkossa asiakaskannattavuuksiin, sisäisiin prosesseihin ja tulevaisuuden asiakashankintaan.

Parallel-Operating Three-Phase Voltage Source Inverters – Circulating CurrentModeling, Analysis and Mitigation

The maximum realizable power throughput of power electronic converters may be limited or constrained by technical or economical considerations. One solution to this problemis to connect several power converter units in parallel. The parallel connection can be used to increase the current carrying capacity of the overall system beyond the ratings of individual power converter units. Thus, it is possible to use several lower-power converter units, produced in large quantities, as building blocks to construct high-power converters in a modular manner. High-power converters realized by using parallel connection are needed for example in multimegawatt wind power generation systems. Parallel connection of power converter units is also required in emerging applications such as photovoltaic and fuel cell power conversion. The parallel operation of power converter units is not, however, problem free. This is because parallel-operating units are subject to overcurrent stresses, which are caused by unequal load current sharing or currents that flow between the units. Commonly, the term ’circulatingcurrent’ is used to describe both the unequal load current sharing and the currents flowing between the units. Circulating currents, again, are caused by component tolerances and asynchronous operation of the parallel units. Parallel-operating units are also subject to stresses caused by unequal thermal stress distribution. Both of these problemscan, nevertheless, be handled with a proper circulating current control. To design an effective circulating current control system, we need information about circulating current dynamics. The dynamics of the circulating currents can be investigated by developing appropriate mathematical models. In this dissertation, circulating current models aredeveloped for two different types of parallel two-level three-phase inverter configurations. Themodels, which are developed for an arbitrary number of parallel units, provide a framework for analyzing circulating current generation mechanisms and developing circulating current control systems. In addition to developing circulating current models, modulation of parallel inverters is considered. It is illustrated that depending on the parallel inverter configuration and the modulation method applied, common-mode circulating currents may be excited as a consequence of the differential-mode circulating current control. To prevent the common-mode circulating currents that are caused by the modulation, a dual modulator method is introduced. The dual modulator basically consists of two independently operating modulators, the outputs of which eventually constitute the switching commands of the inverter. The two independently operating modulators are referred to as primary and secondary modulators. In its intended usage, the same voltage vector is fed to the primary modulators of each parallel unit, and the inputs of the secondary modulators are obtained from the circulating current controllers. To ensure that voltage commands obtained from the circulating current controllers are realizable, it must be guaranteed that the inverter is not driven into saturation by the primary modulator. The inverter saturation can be prevented by limiting the inputs of the primary and secondary modulators. Because of this, also a limitation algorithm is proposed. The operation of both the proposed dual modulator and the limitation algorithm is verified experimentally.

D-luokan audiovahvistimen pääteastetopologioiden vertailu kitaravahvistinsovelluksessa

Tässä työssä tutkitaan D-luokan audiovahvistimen pääteastetopologioiden eroja teknisen toiminnan, käytännön toteutuksen ja audiosignaalin laadun näkökulmista. Tutkimuksen perusteella valitaan yksi topologia kitaravahvistinsovellukseen, jossa modulointi on toteutettu Sigma-Delta-modulaattorilla. Pääteastetopologioiden tekninen toiminta selvitetään yksityiskohtaisesti virtojen kulkureittien avulla. Simulaatioilla tutkitaan suoja-ajan ja tulosignaalin variaatioiden vaikutusta lähtösignaalin kokonaisharmoniseen säröön (THD) ja selvitetään signaalin säröytymiseen vaikuttavien tekijöiden syitä D-luokan vahvistimen pääteasteessa.

Value co-creation in industrial buyer-seller partnerships - creating and exploiting interdependencies : an empirical case study

In summary the main findings of the study are that there seems to be is no universal definition of value in the context of industrial relationships, but a notion that it is context-, time-, and actor dependent. Value co-creation is a suitable concept in the context of buyerseller relationships. The evolution of a relationship from a transactional to a partnership is long and eventful - a process where the outcome is impossible to estimate in advance. The process is filled with differenttypes of events and also conflicts, which as a matter of fact can be seen as constructive forces in relationship development. The perceived value of a relationship is an antecedent to pursuing a high-involvement strategy; once a partnership exists, the value co-creation potential is realizable through exploiting interdependencies. Those interdependencies are the trigger for value co-creation potential. The value cocreation potential is realized though different processes of value co-creation either to achieve efficiency in exchange or effective use of resources. The logic of buyer-seller partnerships is to create and exploit interdependencies in order to create both efficiency and effective use of resources. (Summary of main findings p. 176)

Lentopetrolin hinnanmuutoksilta suojautuminen johdannaisilla Case Jetflite Oy

Tutkielman tavoitteena on selvittää, miten lentoyhtiöt, kuten case-yritys Jetflite Oy, voivat hyödyntää johdannaisinstrumentteja suojautuessaan polttoainekustannusten nousulta. Tutkielmassa kootaan tietoa eri lentoyhtiöiden riskienhallintastrategioista ja niiden implementoinnissa käytetyistä johdannaissopimustyypeistä. Tutkielmassa pyritään tuottamaan tietoa case-yrityksen johdolle riskienhallintastrategian luomista varten kartoittamalla toteutuneita polttoainekustannuksia Jetfliten ostolaskuista. Lentoyhtiöt voivat määritellä suojausstrategian, jonka mukaisesti määrättynä ajanjaksona haluttu osuus tulevista polttoainehankinnoista suojataan johdannaissopimuksin muun muassa futuureita, optioita ja swappeja käyttäen. Johdannaisia käytetään sekä lähitulevaisuuden polttoainehankintojen suojauksissa että pitkän aikavälin riskienhallintastrategioita toteutettaessa. Koska polttoainekustannukset ovat lentoyhtiöiden toiminnan kannattavuuden kannalta keskeinen kuluerä, on em. kustannusten nousulta suojautuminen lentoyhtiöille myös strateginen menestystekijä.

Finnish Critical Industries, Maritime Transport Vulnerabilities and societal Implications

Maritime transports are very essential for Finland as over 80% of the foreign trade in the country is seaborne and possibilities to carry out these transports by are limited. Any disruption in maritime transports has negative consequences to many sectors in the Finnish economy. Maritime transport thus represents critical infrastructure for Finland. This report focuses on the importance of maritime transports on security of supply in Finland and for the so called critical industries in particular. The report summarizes the results of the Work Package 2 of the research project STOCA – “Study of cargo flows in the Gulf of Finland in emergency situations”. The aim of the research was to analyze the cargo flows and infrastructure that are vital for maintaining security of supply in Finland, as well as the consequences of disruptions in the maritime traffic for the Finnish critical industries and for the Finnish society. In the report we give a presentation of the infrastructure and transport routes which are critical for maintaining security of supply in Finland. We discuss import dependency of the critical industries, and the importance of the Gulf of Finland ports for Finland. We assess vulnerabilities associated with the critical material flows of the critical industries, and possibilities for alternative routings in case either one or several of the ports in Finland would be closed. As a concrete example of a transport disruption we analyze the consequences of the Finnish stevedore strike at public ports (4.3.–19.3.2010). The strike stopped approximately 80% of the Finnish foreign trade. As a result of the strike Finnish companies could not export their products and/or import raw materials, components and spare parts, or other essential supplies. We carried out personal interviews with representatives of the companies in Finnish critical industries to find out about the problems caused by the strike, how companies carried out they transports and how they managed to continue their operations during the strike. Discussions with the representatives of the companies gave us very practical insights about companies’ preparedness towards transport disruptions in general. Companies in the modern world are very vulnerable to transport disruptions because companies regardless of industries have tried to improve their performance by optimizing their resources and e.g. by reducing their inventory levels. At the same time they have become more and more dependent on continuous transports. Most companies involved in foreign trade have global operations and global supply chains, so any disruption anywhere in the world can have an impact on the operations of the company causing considerable financial loss. The volcanic eruption in Iceland in April 2010 stopping air traffic in the whole Northern Europe and most recently the earth quake causing a tsunami in Japan in March 2011 are examples of severe disruptions causing considerable negative impacts to companies’ supply chains. Even though the Finnish stevedore strike was a minor disruption compared to the natural catastrophes mentioned above, it showed the companies’ vulnerability to transport disruptions very concretely. The Finnish stevedore strike gave a concrete learning experience of the importance of preventive planning for all Finnish companies: it made them re-think their practical preparedness towards transport risks and how they can continue with their daily operations despite the problems. Many companies realized they need to adapt their long-term countermeasures against transport disruptions. During the strike companies did various actions to secure their supply chains. The companies raised their inventory levels before the strike began, they re-scheduled or postponed their deliveries, shifted customer orders between production plants among their company’s production network or in the extreme case bought finished products from their competitor to fulfil their customers’ order. Our results also show that possibilities to prepare against transport disruptions differ between industries. The Finnish society as a whole is very dependent on imports of energy, various raw materials and other supplies needed by the different industries. For many of the Finnish companies in the export industries and e.g. in energy production maritime transport is the only transport mode the companies can use due to large volumes of materials transported or due to other characteristics of the goods. Therefore maritime transport cannot be replaced by any other transport mode. In addition, a significant amount of transports are concentrated in certain ports. From a security of supply perspective attention should be paid to finding ways to decrease import dependency and ensuring that companies in the critical industries can ensure the continuity of their operations.

Some advances in mathematical models for preference relations

Preference relations, and their modeling, have played a crucial role in both social sciences and applied mathematics. A special category of preference relations is represented by cardinal preference relations, which are nothing other than relations which can also take into account the degree of relation. Preference relations play a pivotal role in most of multi criteria decision making methods and in the operational research. This thesis aims at showing some recent advances in their methodology. Actually, there are a number of open issues in this field and the contributions presented in this thesis can be grouped accordingly. The first issue regards the estimation of a weight vector given a preference relation. A new and efficient algorithm for estimating the priority vector of a reciprocal relation, i.e. a special type of preference relation, is going to be presented. The same section contains the proof that twenty methods already proposed in literature lead to unsatisfactory results as they employ a conflicting constraint in their optimization model. The second area of interest concerns consistency evaluation and it is possibly the kernel of the thesis. This thesis contains the proofs that some indices are equivalent and that therefore, some seemingly different formulae, end up leading to the very same result. Moreover, some numerical simulations are presented. The section ends with some consideration of a new method for fairly evaluating consistency. The third matter regards incomplete relations and how to estimate missing comparisons. This section reports a numerical study of the methods already proposed in literature and analyzes their behavior in different situations. The fourth, and last, topic, proposes a way to deal with group decision making by means of connecting preference relations with social network analysis.

Teollisuuden palvelujen brändääminen

Työn tavoitteena on, että työn luettuaan lukija pystyy ymmärtämään palvelu- ja yritysbrändin suhteen ja kuinka se ilmenee teollisuuden palvelujen brändäämisessä. Lukijalle pyritään myös selventämään teollisuuden palveluihin liittyvää jaottelua ja termistöä. Työ koostuu kolmesta pääosasta, joista ensimmäisessä lukija johdatellaan teollisuuden palveluihin. Sen jälkeen käsitellään yleisesti brändäämistä ja edetään vähitellen tarkastelemaan tarkemmin juuri teollisuuden palvelujen brändäämistä sekä sen erityispiirteitä. Lopuksi tarkastellaan eri brändiarkkitehtuurien käyttöä yritysesimerkein, joiden avulla pyritään selvittämään, miten kirjallisuudessa mainitut näkökannat ja suositukset vastaavat yritysmaailman käytäntöjä. Tuloksena saatiin nostettua esille seikkoja, jotka erilaistavat teollisen palvelun brändäämisen teollisten tuotteiden-, kuluttajahyödykkeiden- ja kuluttajille suunnattujen palvelujen brändäämisestä. Olemassa olevaa, aiheeseen liittyvää kirjallisuutta tarkastelemalla voi huomata, että yleisen käsityksen mukaisesti teollisuuden palvelut tulisi brändätä yritysbrändin alle. Työssä pyritään tuomaan esille myös toista näkökantaa asiaa koskien ja selvittämään, missä tilanteissa teollisuuden palvelut olisi mahdollista brändätä omina tuotebrändeinään.