Vectors and transmission dynamics for Setaria tundra (Filarioidea;

Background: Recent studies have revealed expansion by an array of Filarioid nematodes' into the northern boreal region of Finland. The vector-borne nematode, Setaria tundra, caused a serious disease outbreak in the Finnish reindeer population in 2003–05. The main aim of this study was to understand the outbreak dynamics and the rapid expansion of S. tundra in the sub arctic. We describe the vectors of S. tundra, and its development in vectors, for the first time. Finally we discuss the results in the context of the host-parasite ecology of S. tundra in Finland Results: Development of S. tundra to the infective stage occurs in mosquitoes, (genera Aedes and Anopheles). We consider Aedes spp. the most important vectors. The prevalence of S. tundra naturally infected mosquitoes from Finland varied from 0.5 to 2.5%. The rate of development in mosquitoes was temperature-dependent. Infective larvae were present approximately 14 days after a blood meal in mosquitoes maintained at room temperature (mean 21 C), but did not develop in mosquitoes maintained outside for 22 days at a mean temperature of 14.1 C. The third-stage (infective) larvae were elongated (mean length 1411 m (SD 207), and width 28 m (SD 2)). The anterior end was blunt, and bore two liplike structures, the posterior end slight tapering with a prominent terminal papilla. Infective larvae were distributed anteriorly in the insect's body, the highest abundance being 70 larvae in one mosquito. A questionnaire survey revealed that the peak activity of Culicidae in the reindeer herding areas of Finland was from the middle of June to the end of July and that warm summer weather was associated with reindeer flocking behaviour on mosquito-rich wetlands. Conclusion: In the present work, S. tundra vectors and larval development were identified and described for the first time. Aedes spp. mosquitoes likely serve as the most important and competent vectors for S. tundra in Finland. Warm summers apparently promote transmission and genesis of disease outbreaks by favouring the development of S. tundra in its mosquito vectors, by improving the development and longevity of mosquitoes, and finally by forcing the reindeer to flock on mosquito rich wetlands. Thus we predict that global climate change has the potential to promote the further emergence of Filarioid nematodes and the disease caused by them in subarctic regions

Vectors and transmission dynamics for Setaria tundra (Filarioidea; Onchocercidae), a parasite of reindeer in Finland

Background: Recent studies have revealed expansion by an array of Filarioid nematodes' into the northern boreal region of Finland. The vector-borne nematode, Setaria tundra, caused a serious disease outbreak in the Finnish reindeer population in 2003–05. The main aim of this study was to understand the outbreak dynamics and the rapid expansion of S. tundra in the sub arctic. We describe the vectors of S. tundra, and its development in vectors, for the first time. Finally we discuss the results in the context of the host-parasite ecology of S. tundra in Finland Results: Development of S. tundra to the infective stage occurs in mosquitoes, (genera Aedes and Anopheles). We consider Aedes spp. the most important vectors. The prevalence of S. tundra naturally infected mosquitoes from Finland varied from 0.5 to 2.5%. The rate of development in mosquitoes was temperature-dependent. Infective larvae were present approximately 14 days after a blood meal in mosquitoes maintained at room temperature (mean 21 C), but did not develop in mosquitoes maintained outside for 22 days at a mean temperature of 14.1 C. The third-stage (infective) larvae were elongated (mean length 1411 m (SD 207), and width 28 m (SD 2)). The anterior end was blunt, and bore two liplike structures, the posterior end slight tapering with a prominent terminal papilla. Infective larvae were distributed anteriorly in the insect's body, the highest abundance being 70 larvae in one mosquito. A questionnaire survey revealed that the peak activity of Culicidae in the reindeer herding areas of Finland was from the middle of June to the end of July and that warm summer weather was associated with reindeer flocking behaviour on mosquito-rich wetlands. Conclusion: In the present work, S. tundra vectors and larval development were identified and described for the first time. Aedes spp. mosquitoes likely serve as the most important and competent vectors for S. tundra in Finland. Warm summers apparently promote transmission and genesis of disease outbreaks by favouring the development of S. tundra in its mosquito vectors, by improving the development and longevity of mosquitoes, and finally by forcing the reindeer to flock on mosquito rich wetlands. Thus we predict that global climate change has the potential to promote the further emergence of Filarioid nematodes and the disease caused by them in subarctic regions

Framework for assessing and reversing ecosystem degradation – Report of the Finnish restoration prioritization working group on the options and costs of meeting the Aichi biodiversity target of restoring at least 15 percent of degraded ecosystems in Finland

This report is an abridged and revised English language edition of the original proposition of the Finnish restoration prioritization working group on the options and costs of restoring 15 percent of degraded ecosystems in Finland. We start with the key findings and the original propositions of the working group. Based on the experiences from Finland, we also provide a few new propositions for the international readership to help to plan and implement work towards meeting the global target of restoring 15 percent of the degraded ecosystems. In the beginning of the report, we describe the conceptual background of the work, i.e. that ecosystem degradation or improvement has a minimum of two components: the extent of area that has become degraded or restored and the magnitude of the degradation, or its counterpart improvement, at any given location. We then describe the procedure that we developed to systematically measure the magnitude of degradation from which the 15 percent can be calculated and the magnitude of improvement that different restoration measures can offer. The guiding principle adopted for the development of the procedure was to treat all ecosystems that are not in their natural state as degraded. However, it is worth emphasizing that the objective is not to reach the natural state of the ecosystems, but to reduce the degree of ecosystem degradation by restoration. With an example from herb-rich forests, we show how we prioritized restoration measures within an ecosystem. The prioritization was based on the effects of restoration measures on biodiversity and on the costs of the measures. We also considered the effect of restoration measures on some key ecosystem services. In addition to the restoration measures within each ecosystem, we also conducted prioritization among ecosystems. The prioritization among ecosystems is based on an analysis identifying the ecosystems where reasonable investments bring the greatest reduction in the degree of ecosystem degradation. The procedure thus enabled us to find the balanced and cost-effective restoration measure portfolios within each ecosystem type and to allocate resources effectively to those ecosystem types that provided highest benefits in terms of biodiversity and reduction of the degree of ecosystem degradation. To our knowledge, this report is the first to estimate the cost of meeting the 15 percent restoration target across all relevant terrestrial ecosystems in one country. Our work exemplifies that simultaneous prioritization among all major terrestrial ecosystems greatly reduces the overall cost of meeting the 15 percent restoration target. Indeed, if we focus on restoring 15 per cent of one ecosystem type at a time, which is the modus operandi in many parts of the world, the overall cost of meeting the 15 percent restoration target is more than twice compared to the prioritization approach we have adopted here. Rather than getting fixed on the 15 percent target, we also decided to provide additional options for decision makers. Thus, the report gives alternative answers to the question of which ecosystem restoration measures to take, at which scale and in which ecosystem types, in order to meet the overall target for ecosystem restoration in Finland

FT-IR-cPAS—New Photoacoustic Measurement Technique for Analysis of Hot Gases: A Case Study on VOCs

This article describes a new photoacoustic FT-IR system capable of operating at elevated temperatures. The key hardware component is an optical-readout cantilever microphone that can work up to 200 °C. All parts in contact with the sample gas were put into a heated oven, incl. the photoacoustic cell. The sensitivity of the built photoacoustic system was tested by measuring 18 different VOCs. At 100 ppm gas concentration, the univariate signal to noise ratios (1σ, measurement time 25.5 min, at highest peak, optical resolution 8 cm−1) of the spectra varied from minimally 19 for o-xylene up to 329 for butyl acetate. The sensitivity can be improved by multivariate analyses over broad wavelength ranges, which effectively co-adds the univariate sensitivities achievable at individual wavelengths. The multivariate limit of detection (3σ, 8.5 min, full useful wavelength range), i.e., the best possible inverse analytical sensitivity achievable at optimum calibration, was calculated using the SBC method and varied from 2.60 ppm for dichloromethane to 0.33 ppm for butyl acetate. Depending on the shape of the spectra, which often only contain a few sharp peaks, the multivariate analysis improved the analytical sensitivity by 2.2 to 9.2 times compared to the univariate case. Selectivity and multi component ability were tested by a SBC calibration including 5 VOCs and water. The average cross selectivities turned out to be less than 2% and the resulting inverse analytical sensitivities of the 5 interfering VOCs was increased by maximum factor of 2.2 compared to the single component sensitivities. Water subtraction using SBC gave the true analyte concentration with a variation coefficient of 3%, although the sample spectra (methyl ethyl ketone, 200 ppm) contained water from 1,400 to 100k ppm and for subtraction only one water spectra (10k ppm) was used. The developed device shows significant improvement to the current state-of-the-art measurement methods used in industrial VOC measurements

Tilitoimisto pk-yrityksen talousjohtamisen apuna – mahdollisuudet tulevaisuudessa

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli tutkia, kuinka pk-yrityksen talousjohtamista ja tilitoimistoraportointia voitaisiin yhdistää tulevaisuudessa niin, että kaikki tilitoimiston tuottama informaatio saataisiin osaksi pk-yrityksen johtamisprosessia. Koska pk-yritysten taloushallinto on yleensä ulkoistettu tilitoimistolle, on tiiviimpi yhteistyö luonnollinen kehityssuunta. Tutkimuksen avulla halutaan tarjota kehitysideoita sekä pk-yrityksen talousjohtamiseen että tilitoimiston raportointiin ja palvelutarjontaan. Opinnäytetyön tutkimuksessa käytettiin laadullista tutkimusotetta. Tutkimuksen teoreettisena pohjana toimivat talousjohtamisen ja talousviestinnän teoria. Osana tutkimusta toteutettiin neljä teemahaastattelua, kahdelle eri tilitoimistolle ja kahdelle eri suuruusluokan ja toimialan pk-yritykselle. Lisäksi työhön tuotiin osaksi erilaisia taloushallinnon ammattilaisten näkemyksiä alaa muokkaavista megatrendeistä. Tutkimuksessa selvisi, että usein tilitoimiston ja pk-yrityksen yhteistyömahdollisuuksia ei hyödynnetä, jolloin pelkkä tilitoimistoraportointi jää pintapuoliseksi. Kehityksen ja teknologian muovatessa tilitoimistoalaa tilitoimistojen tulee laajentaa rooliaan lakisääteisten tehtävien suorittajasta asiakasta palvelevaksi taloushallinnon asiantuntijaksi. Tulevaisuudessa tilitoimistojen tulisi tuoda konsultointi suuremmaksi ja näkyvämmäksi osaksi palvelutarjontaansa, jolloin pk-yrityksien olisi helpompi ottaa tilitoimisto osaksi talousjohtamistaan.The objective of this thesis was to research how accounting firm reporting and financial management of a small and medium-sized business (SMB) could be merged so that all of the accounting firm reporting could have a part in the financial management of an SMB. This, a more close-knit cooperation, would be a natural progression as accounting is usually outsourced to an accounting firm. With this study we wish to offer development ideas to both SMB financial management and accounting firm reporting and service selection. This thesis was conducted as a qualitative study. The theoretical basis of this thesis is based on theories on financial management and financial reporting. As part of the study, four interviews were conducted, two with local accounting firms, two with local SMBs of different size and industry. Additionally, the thesis includes views on the current megatrends shaping the accounting industry from various accounting professionals. The study shows that usually the more close-knit co-operative possibilities of accounting firm-customer-relationships are not utilized to their fullest potential. As the advancements in technology shape the accounting industry, the accounting firms should expand their role from a provider of law-mandated services to a financial expert focusing on customer service. In the future accounting firms should have financial consulting as a bigger and more visible part of their service selection, so that SMBs can have their accounting firms more easily as a part of their financial management

Niemen kampusalue uusiutuvien energiaratkaisujen demonstraatioalustana : aurinkoa ja myötätuulta oppimiseen

Lahden ammattikorkeakoulu on jo ottanut ensimmäisiä askeliaan Niemen alueen monitoimijakampuksen synnyttämisessä. Lahden ammattikorkeakoulu on päättänyt keskittää kaiken toiminnan Niemen kampusalueelle vuoteen 2018 mennessä. Tämän muutosprosessin vauhdittamiseksi ja monitoimijakampuksen luomiseksi on käynnistetty Future Campus Demonstrator: LAMK Oy monitoimijakampuksella -hanke (FCD-hanke). Sen tarkoituksena on monitoimijakampuksen toimintaedellytysten ja -rakenteiden kehittäminen sekä uudistuvan pedagogiikan luominen. Tämä opinnäytetyö on tehty Lahden Seudun Kehitys LADEC Oy:n toimeksiannosta. Työ kuuluu FCD-hankkeen toiseen teemakokonaisuuteen ja sen kolmanteen toimenpiteeseen: ”ympäristö ja energiatehokkaat kampusratkaisut, monitoimijakampus puhtaan teknologian demonstraatioalustana”. Opinnäytetyössä on pohdittu teoreettisesti, minkälaisia uusiutuvan energian oppimisympäristöjä ja demonstraatioalustoja Niemen kampuksella voidaan toteuttaa. Ratkaisuissa on keskitytty aurinkosähköön ja tuulivoimaan. Monet EU:n ja Suomen kansalliset strategiat ja ohjelmat asettavat vaatimuksia uusiutuvan energian tuotannon lisäämiselle ja kestävälle energiapolitiikalle. Useat korkeakoulut ja oppilaitokset ovat vastanneet näihin vaatimuksiin rakentamalla mittavia uusiutuvan energian ratkaisuja, jotka tukevat oppimista. Niemenkadulle voidaan jo nyt pienellä panostuksella saada aikaiseksi uusiutuvan energian oppimisympäristö, jonka pohjalta on mahdollista luoda erilaisia demonstraatioalustoja. Uusiutuvasta energiasta sekä kestävästä energiankäytöstä voidaan tehdä koko Niemen kampusalueen yhteinen asia ja se mahdollistaa uudenlaisen yhteistyön kampuksen toimijoiden kesken.The Lahti University of Applied Sciences has decided to focus all activities on the multi-stakeholder campus in Niemi by 2018. To accelerate this process, a project called the "Future Campus Demonstrator: LAMK Oy in multi-stakeholder campus" (FCD project) was launched. Its purpose is to develop operating conditions and structures in the campus area as well as to renew pedagogy. This thesis was commissioned by LADEC Oy. It is part of the second theme of the FCD project: environmental and energy-efficient solutions for the campus; multi-stakeholder campus as a demonstration platform for clean technology. The thesis is based on a theoretical approach. The aim was to introduce a few learning environments and demonstration platforms of renewable energy. Focus was on photovoltaic systems and wind power systems. Many of the EU and Finnish national strategies and programs set requirements for renewable energy production, efficiency and sustainable energy policy. A number of universities and colleges have responded to these demands by building large-scale renewable energy solutions that support education. The learning environment of renewable energy can be made with relatively small effort. At the same time the resulting new demonstration platforms promote cooperation between the various partners of the campus. Renewable energy and sustainable energy use could be a common theme for the Niemi campus

Toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän päivitys varaston näkökulmasta : case yritys X

Tässä opinnäytetyössä tarkasteltiin toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän päivitystä yritys X:ssä varaston näkökulmasta. Tavoitteena oli tutkia, minkälaisia muutoksia päivitys tuo varaston jokapäiväisiin toimintoihin, miten käyttöönoton jälkeen jokapäiväiset toiminnot tapahtuvat sekä millaisia käyttökelpoisia ratkaisuehdotuksia varastoihin voidaan luoda. Toimeksiantajana opinnäytetyölle toimi turkulainen elintarvikealan yritys, josta käytetään työssä nimeä yritys X. Lisäksi samaan konserniin kuuluu myös toinen työn kannalta oleellinen yritys, josta käytetään työssä nimeä yritys L. Käyttökelpoisten ratkaisuehdotuksien tueksi etsittiin toimivia varastonohjausmuotoja erilaisten varastojen tarpeisiin. Kehitysehdotuksissa hyödynnettiin omaa työkokemusta. Työssä esitetään kehitysehdotuksia jokaista varastoa kohden, jotka voivat tehostaa työskentelyä. Koska varastot ovat niin erilaisia, ovat myös ratkaisuehdotukset. Työn tulokset mukailevat uuden toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän käyttöönottoa hyödyntäen uuden järjestelmän tuomia mahdollisuuksia.This thesis was about upgrading an ERP system from the perspective of warehouse. The aim was to study the changes that the upgrade would bring to everyday operations in warehouse, examine how these everyday operations transpire after applying the update and come up with useful solutions to the warehouses. This thesis was commissioned by a food company in Turku which is being referred as yritys X. In addition, another company essential to the thesis, called company L, is included in the same group. To support my solutions, I researched functional forms of inventory management for the needs of different warehouses and also leaned on my experiences in working at warehouses. I found different kind of solutions for each warehouse and by putting the solutions into practice efficiency could improve. It’s noteworthy to realize that different kind of warehouses require different kind of solutions. The results adapt the ERP system upgrade while having a goal to capitalize the possibilities that the upgrade brings