Varaosa-alan logistiset haasteet kehittyvässä ympäristössä

Tämä insinöörityö tehtiin autovaraosien tukkuliike Örum Oy Ab:lle tarkoituksena kartoittaa tavarantoimittajan ja asiakkaiden väliset tulevaisuuden haasteet. Tarkoituksena oli selvit-tää, miten Örum voisi huomioida erikoisteollisuuden tarpeita paremmin, sillä Örumilla on paljon pieniä yrityksiä asiakkainaan. Haluttiin myös tietää, miten tulisi menetellä muun muassa tavaran toimitusten, tuotevalikoiman ja asiakaspalvelun suhteen. Lisäksi tässä työssä on erillisessä osiossa pohdittu, mitä logistisia parannuskeinoja Euroopan unionilla on tarjottavana tulevaisuudessa ja miten ne vaikuttaisivat Örumin toimintatapaan. Selvitys päätettiin tehdä kyselylomakkeen avulla. Ensin selvitettiin, mitkä asiakkaat kuulu-vat tutkittavaan kohderyhmään ja selvitettiin yritysten yhteystiedot. Tämän jälkeen valittiin joukko kysymyksiä ja luotiin kysymyspohja Örumin internetsivuille. Kyselystä tiedotettiin lähettämällä yrityksille sähköpostiviesti jonka kautta oli linkki kyselyyn. Määräaikaan men-nessä 25 yritystä oli vastannut kyselyyn. Vastauksien tueksi tehtiin myöhemmin vielä viisi yrityskäyntiä. Työn tuloksena saatiin parempi kuva nykyisyyden ja tulevaisuuden haasteista toimitusket-jussa. Erikoisteollisuuden tarpeet tulivat selkeästi ilmi. Tuotteiden hinta, hyvä saatavuus ja hyvä laatu olivat asioita, jotka nähtiin suurimmiksi haasteiksi tavarantoimittajan kannalta. Havaittuja ongelmakohtia olivat informaation kulku, toimitusajat, kysynnän ennakointi sekä kohtuullinen hintataso.This final year project was assigned by an automotive spare parts and accessories im-porter, Örum Oy Ab. The purpose of this project was to survey the future challenges be-tween the supplier and the customers. The intention was to solve how Örum could pay attention to special industries in a more effective way as Örum has many small companies as customers. Also it was important to know, how to deal with the delivery of goods, prod-uct assortment and customer service. Additionally there is a separate section in the study that discusses what logistical improvements the European Union has to offer in the future and how they would effect Örum’s policy. The study was carried out by interviewing customers and using an inquiry form. First, it was studied who of the customers belong to the target group and what their addresses are. After that the questions were selected and an inquiry form was created and placed to Örum’s website. Customers were informed about the inquiry by sending them an e-mail which included a link to the inquiry form. Before the deadline 25 companies had replied to the inquiry. To support the answers five business visits were made. As a result of this study a better idea of the challenges in the supply chain today and in the future was obtained. The special needs of special industry became apparent. The pricing of products, good availability and good quality are issues which were seen as the biggest challenges for the parts supplier. On the basis of the study the biggest problems seemed to be forwarding of information, delivery times, forecasting demand and a reasonable level of pricing

Dynamic Investigative Practice at the International Criminal Court

The Direct Weight Optimization (DWO) approach is a nonparametric estimation approach that has appeared in recent years within the field of nonlinear system identification. In previous work, all function classes for which DWO has been studied have included only continuous functions. However, in many applications it would be desirable also to be able to handle discontinuous functions. Inspired by the bilateral filter method from image processing, such an extension of the DWO framework is proposed for the smoothing problem. Examples show that the properties of the new approach regarding the handling of discontinuities are similar to the bilateral filter, while at the same time DWO offers a greater flexibility with respect to different function classes handled

Transcriptome responses in polar cod (Boreogadus saida) liver slice culture exposed to benzo[a]pyrene and ethynylestradiol: insights into anti-estrogenic effects

Polar cod (Boreogadus saida) is a key species in the arctic marine ecosystem vulnerable to effects of pollution, particularly from petroleum related activities. To facilitate studying the effects of those pollutants, we adapted a precision-cut liver slice culture protocol for this species. Using this system on board a research vessel, we studied gene expression in liver slice after exposure to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), ethynylestradiol (EE2), and their mixtures, to map their molecular targets and examine possible anti-estrogenic effects of BaP. The exposure experiments were performed with BaP alone (0.1, 1, and 10 μM) or in combination with low concentrations of EE2 (5 nM) to mimic physiological estradiol levels in early vitellogenic female fish. Transcriptome analysis (RNA-seq) was performed after 72 h exposure in culture to map the genes and cellular pathways affected. The results provide a view of global transcriptome responses to BaP and EE2, which resulted in enrichment of many pathways such as the aryl hydrocarbon (Ahr) and estrogen receptor pathways. In the mixture exposure, BaP resulted in anti-estrogenic effects, shown by attenuation of EE2 activated transcription of many estrogen target genes. The results from this ex vivo experiment suggest that pollutants that activate the Ahr pathway such as the PAH compound BaP can result in anti-estrogenic effects that may lead to endocrine disruption in polar cod

Transcriptome responses in copepods Calanus finmarchicus, Calanus glacialis and Calanus hyperboreus exposed to phenanthrene and benzo[a]pyrene

Arctic and sub-arctic pelagic organisms can be exposed to effluents and spills from offshore petroleum-related activities and thus it is important to understand how they respond to crude oil related contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The copepod species Calanus finmarchicus, Calanus glacialis and Calanus hyperboreus represent key links in the arctic marine food web. We performed a transcriptome analysis of the three species exposed to phenanthrene (Phe) and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) representing low and high molecular weight PAHs, respectively. Differential expression of several genes involved in many cellular pathways was observed after 72 h exposure to Phe (0.1 μM) and BaP (0.1 μM). In C. finmarchicus and C. glacialis, the exposure resulted in up-regulation of genes encoding enzymes in xenobiotic biotransformation, particularly the phase II cytosolic sulfonation system that include 3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphosulfate synthase (PAPSS) and sulfotransferases (SULTs). The sulfonation pathway genes were more strongly induced by BaP than Phe in C. finmarchicus and C. glacialis but were not affected in C. hyperboreus. However, a larger number of genes and pathways were modulated in C. hyperboreus by the PAHs including genes encoding xenobiotic biotransformation and lipid metabolism enzymes, suggesting stronger responses in this species. The results suggest that the cytosolic sulfonation is a major phase II conjugation pathway for PAHs in C. finmarchicus and C. glacialis. Some of the biotransformation systems affected are known to be involved in metabolism of endogenous compounds such as ecdysteroids, which may suggest potential interference with physiological and developmental processes of the copepod species.publishedVersio

Aberrant signaling of immune cells in Sjögren's syndrome patient subgroups upon interferon stimulation

Background: Primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease, characterized by mononuclear cell infiltrates in the salivary and lacrimal glands, leading to glandular atrophy and dryness. Patient heterogeneity and lack of knowledge regarding its pathogenesis makes pSS a difficult disease to manage. Methods: An exploratory analysis using mass cytometry was conducted of MAPK/ERK and JAK/STAT signaling pathways in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from 16 female medication free pSS patients (8 anti-Sjögren’s syndrome-related antigen A negative/SSA- and 8 SSA+) and 8 female age-matched healthy donors after stimulation with interferons (IFNs). Results: We found significant differences in the frequencies of memory B cells, CD8+ T central and effector memory cells and terminally differentiated CD4+ T cells among the healthy donors and patient subgroups. In addition, we observed an upregulation of HLA-DR and CD38 in many cell subsets in the patients. Upon IFNα2b stimulation, slightly increased signaling through pSTAT1 Y701 was observed in most cell types in pSS patients compared to controls, while phosphorylation of STAT3 Y705 and STAT5 Y694 were slightly reduced. IFNγ stimulation resulted in significantly increased pSTAT1 Y701 induction in conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) and classical and non-classical monocytes in the patients. Most of the observed differences were more prominent in the SSA+ subgroup, indicating greater disease severity in them. Conclusions: Augmented activation status of certain cell types along with potentiated pSTAT1 Y701 signaling and reduced pSTAT3 Y705 and pSTAT5 Y694 induction may predispose pSS patients, especially the SSA+ subgroup, to upregulated expression of IFN-induced genes and production of autoantibodies. These patients may benefit from therapies targeting these pathways.publishedVersio

Tracing mixing in stars: new beryllium observations of the open clusters NGC 2516, Hyades, and M67

Determinations of beryllium abundance in stars, together with lithium, provide a key tool to investigate the so far poorly understood extra-mixing processes at work in stellar interiors. We measured Be in three open clusters,complementing existing Be surveys, and aiming at gathering a more complete empirical scenario of the evolution of Be as a function of stellar age and temperature. Specifically, we analyzed VLT/UVES spectra of members of NGC 2516, the Hyades, and M 67 to determine their Be and Li abundances. In the first two clusters we focused on stars cooler than 5400 K, while the M 67 sample includes stars warmer than 6150 K, as well as two subgiants and two blue stragglers. We also computed the evolution of Be for a 0.9 Mo star based on standard evolutionary models. We find different emprical behaviours for stars in different temperature bins and ages. Stars warmer than 6150 K show Be depletion and follow a Be vs. Li correlation while Be is undepleted in stars in the ~6150-5600 K range. NGC 2516 members cooler than 5400 K have not depleted any Be, but older Hyades of similar temperature do show some depletion. Be is severely depleted in the subgiants and blue stragglers. The results for warm stars are in agreement with previous studies, supporting the hypothesis that mixing in this temperature regime is driven by rotation. The same holds for the two subgiants that have evolved from the "Li gap". This mechanism is instead not the dominant one for solar-type stars. We show that Be depletion of cool Hyades cannot simply be explained by the effect of increasing depth of the convective zone. Finally, the different Be content of the two blue stragglers suggests that they have formed by two different processes (i.e., collisions vs. binary merging).Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic