Taloustieteellinen näkökulma ryhmäkanteen käyttöönottoon Suomessa

Siirretty Doriast

Thermo-mechanical variability of post-industrial and post-consumer recyclate PC-ABS

The aim of this work is to investigate the performance variability of post-industrial (PIR) and post-consumer recycled (PCR) polycarbonate acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (PC-ABS). In addition, necessary testing methodology for understanding polymer variation in recycled polymers are established. The thermal expansion behaviour of all tested material were found to be similar and FT-IR testing revealed no conclusive evidence of oxidative degradation. Both PIR and PCR exhibited similar levels of variation in mechanical properties compared with prime samples, with the exception of elongation at break and quasi-static impact behaviour. In these two tests, prime polymers showed lower variation and superior performance to both recycled polymers. The presence of defects and changes in molecular weight were determined to be leading causes of the reduced deformability. Our work contributes by identifying key areas where recycled PC-ABS show good potential as replacements for neat PC-ABS. Furthermore, the work demonstrates methods for material testing against performance criteria to pave way for effective replacement of neat PC-ABS with its recycled counterparts

Design principles and user inferfaces of Erkki Kurenniemi's electronic musical instruments of the 1960's and 1970's

Harvestworks,;AbstractThis paper presents a line of historic electronic musical instruments designed by Erkki Kurenniemi in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Kurenniemi’s instruments were influenced by digital logic and an experimental attitude towards user interface design. The paper presents an overview of Kurenniemi’s instruments and a detailed description of selected devices. Emphasis is put on user interface issues such as unconventional interactive real-time control and programming methods.This paper presents a line of historic electronic musical instruments designed by Erkki Kurenniemi in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Kurenniemi’s instruments were influenced by digital logic and an experimental attitude towards user interface design. The paper presents an overview of Kurenniemi’s instruments and a detailed description of selected devices. Emphasis is put on user interface issues such as unconventional interactive real-time control and programming methods.Peer reviewe

How communication affects prescription decisions in consultations for acute illness in children:a systematic review and meta-ethnography

BACKGROUND: Communication within primary care consultations for children with acute illness can be problematic for parents and clinicians, with potential misunderstandings contributing to over–prescription of antibiotics. This review aimed to synthesise the evidence in relation to communication and decision making in consultations for children with common acute illness. METHODS: A systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, SSCI, SIGLE, Dissertation Express and NHS economic evaluation databases was conducted. Studies of primary care settings in high income countries which made direct observations of consultations and reported qualitative data were included. Included studies were appraised using the process recommended by the Cochrane Qualitative Methods Group. Credibility was assessed as high for most studies but transferability was usually assessed low or unclear. Data were synthesised using a meta–ethnographic approach. RESULTS: Thirty–five papers and 2 theses reporting on 13 studies were included, 7 of these focussed on children with respiratory tract infections (RTI) and the remaining 6 included children with any presenting illness. Parent communication focussed on their concerns and information needs, whereas clinician communication focussed on diagnosis and treatment decisions. During information exchanges, parents often sought to justify the need for the consultation, while clinicians frequently used problem minimising language, resulting in parents and clinicians sometimes talking at cross–purposes. In the context of RTIs, a range of parent communication behaviours were interpreted by clinicians as indicating an expectation for antibiotics; however, most were ambiguous and could also be interpreted as raising concerns or requests for further information. The perceived expectation for antibiotics often changed clinician decision making into clinician–parent negotiation. CONCLUSIONS: Misunderstandings occurred due to parents and clinicians talking at cross purposes about the ‘seriousness’ of the illness and because parents’ expressions of concern or requests for additional information were sometimes perceived as a challenge to the clinicians’ diagnosis or treatment decision. This modifiable problem may be an important contribution to the unnecessary and unwanted prescribing of antibiotics. Primary care clinicians should be offered training to understand parent communication primarily as expressions of concern or attempts at understanding and always to check rather than infer parental expectations

Comparison between clinical significance of serum proinflammatory proteins (IL-6 and CRP) and classic tumor markers (CEA and CA 19-9) in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is a second most common cause of cancer-related death and represents an inflammation-driven malignancy. It has been suggested that interleukin 6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) play a potential role in the growth and progression of GC. The aim of the present study was to compare clinical significance of IL-6 and CRP with classic tumor markers—carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen (CA 19-9) in GC patients. The study included 92 patients with GC and 70 healthy subjects. The serum concentrations of IL-6, CEA and CA 19-9 were determined using immunoenzyme assays, whereas CRP using immunoturbidimetric method. We defined the diagnostic criteria and prognostic value for proteins tested. In GC patients, the serum concentrations of all the proteins tested were significantly higher than in healthy subjects. The IL-6, CEA and CA 19-9 levels correlated with nodal metastases, while CRP with tumor stage, gastric wall invasion, presence of nodal and distant metastases. Diagnostic sensitivity of IL-6 was higher (85%) than those of other markers (CRP 66%, CA 19-9 34%, CEA 22%) and increased in combined use with CRP or CEA (88%). The area under ROC curve for IL-6 was larger than those of CRP and classic tumor markers (CEA and CA 19-9). None of the proteins tested was independent prognostic factor for the survival of GC patients. Our findings indicate better usefulness of serum proinflammatory proteins—IL-6 and CRP than classic tumor markers—CEA and CA 19-9 in the diagnosis of GC

Peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and infants: NEonate and Children audiT of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe: A prospective European multicentre observational study

BACKGROUND: Little is known about current clinical practice concerning peri-operative red blood cell transfusion in neonates and small infants. Guidelines suggest transfusions based on haemoglobin thresholds ranging from 8.5 to 12 g dl-1, distinguishing between children from birth to day 7 (week 1), from day 8 to day 14 (week 2) or from day 15 (≥week 3) onwards. OBJECTIVE: To observe peri-operative red blood cell transfusion practice according to guidelines in relation to patient outcome. DESIGN: A multicentre observational study. SETTING: The NEonate-Children sTudy of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe (NECTARINE) trial recruited patients up to 60 weeks' postmenstrual age undergoing anaesthesia for surgical or diagnostic procedures from 165 centres in 31 European countries between March 2016 and January 2017. PATIENTS: The data included 5609 patients undergoing 6542 procedures. Inclusion criteria was a peri-operative red blood cell transfusion. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary endpoint was the haemoglobin level triggering a transfusion for neonates in week 1, week 2 and week 3. Secondary endpoints were transfusion volumes, 'delta haemoglobin' (preprocedure - transfusion-triggering) and 30-day and 90-day morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: Peri-operative red blood cell transfusions were recorded during 447 procedures (6.9%). The median haemoglobin levels triggering a transfusion were 9.6 [IQR 8.7 to 10.9] g dl-1 for neonates in week 1, 9.6 [7.7 to 10.4] g dl-1 in week 2 and 8.0 [7.3 to 9.0] g dl-1 in week 3. The median transfusion volume was 17.1 [11.1 to 26.4] ml kg-1 with a median delta haemoglobin of 1.8 [0.0 to 3.6] g dl-1. Thirty-day morbidity was 47.8% with an overall mortality of 11.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate lower transfusion-triggering haemoglobin thresholds in clinical practice than suggested by current guidelines. The high morbidity and mortality of this NECTARINE sub-cohort calls for investigative action and evidence-based guidelines addressing peri-operative red blood cell transfusions strategies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02350348

Hankinnan merkitys pk-yritykselle

Opinnäytetyössä ei ollut toimeksiantajaa, mutta siinä toimivat kontakteina kaksi pk-sektorin yritystä, jotka olivat Rakennusliike Olavi Järvinen Oy ja MR-Rauta Oy. Opin-näytetyön aiheena oli selvittää hankintatoimen merkitystä ja sen toimintatapoja pk-yrityksille mahdollisimman ajankohtaisesti ja käytännönläheisesti. Teoreettinen viitekehys koostuu hankinnasta, hankinnan työkaluista, hankintapro-sessin eri vaiheista, hankintastrategiasta, ulkoistamisesta ja toimittajayhteistyöstä. Teoriaosuudessa on pyritty esittämään asioita niin, että ne tukevat empiiristä osuutta mahdollisimman hyvin. Tutkimus on kvalitatiivinen tutkimus eli laadullinen tutkimus, joka on toteutettu haastattelemalla. Haastatteluja on suoritettu kontaktiyritysten edusta-jien kanssa, jotka ovat mukana yritysten hankintatoiminnassa. Opinnäytetyön tutkimusosuudessa käydään läpi molempien yritysten hankintatoimea käytännössä haastatteluvastausten avulla sekä vertaillaan, kuinka ne kohtaavat teorian kanssa. Vastaukset on jaettu eri aihealueisiin, jotka ovat hankinnat yrityksissä, hankinnan työkalut, hankintaprosessi, kehityskohdat hankintatoiminnassa, ulkoistaminen, hankintasopimukset ja toimittajayhteistyö. Yhteenvedossa ja päätelmissä vertaillaan kontaktiyritysten hankinatoimien eroja, pohditaan ratkaisuja mainittuihin kehityskohtiin ja käydään läpi pk-yritysten hankintatoimen tilannetta yleisesti tällä hetkellä.The objective of this thesis was to examine the importance of purchasing and it’s pro-cedures for small and medium-sized enterprises as practically and currently as possible. While this thesis was not commissioned by any particular company, two small and medium-sized enterprises, Rakennusliike Olavi Järvinen Oy and MR-Rauta Oy, served as contact enterprises. The theoretical part consists of purchasing, purchasing tools, purchasing process, purchasing strategy, outsourcing and supplier co-operation. The research in this the-sis is qualitative and it has been executed by interviewing. The interviews were performed with the representatives of the contact enterprises. This study discusses the responses to the interviews, including purchasing in practice in the contact enterprises and how well it compares with the book based theoretical background. The responses were divided under several different topics, which are purchasing in the contact enterprises, purchasing tools, tasks that need improvement, outsourcing, purchasing contracts and supplier co-operation. In the final summary and conclusions the differences in purchasing between the two contact enterprises are compared. Solutions to the tasks that needed improvement and the current state of purchasing are also discussed

Lithium-ion capacitors using carbide-derived carbon as the positive electrode – A comparison of cells with graphite and Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ as the negative electrode

The use of carbide-derived carbon (CDC) as the positive electrode material for lithium-ion capacitors (LICs) is investigated. CDC based LIC cells are studied utilizing two different negative electrode materials: graphite and lithium titanate Li4Ti5O12 (LTO). The graphite electrodes are prelithiated before assembling the LICs, and LTO containing cells are studied with and without prelithiation. The rate capability and cycle life stability during 1000 cycles are evaluated by galvanostatic cycling at current densities of 0.4–4 mA cm−2. The CDC shows a specific capacitance of 120 F g−1 in the organic lithium-containing electrolyte, and the LICs demonstrate a good stability over 1000 charge-discharge cycles. The choice of the negative electrode is found to have an effect on the utilization of the CDC positive electrode during cycling and on the specific energy of the device. The graphite/CDC cell delivers a maximum specific discharge energy of 90 Wh kg−1 based on the total mass of active material in the cell. Both the prelithiated and non-prelithiated LTO/CDC cells show a specific energy of around 30 Wh kg−1.</p

Lithium-ion capacitors using carbide-derived carbon as the positive electrode – A comparison of cells with graphite and Li4Ti5O12 as the negative electrode

The use of carbide-derived carbon (CDC) as the positive electrode material for lithium-ion capacitors (LICs) is investigated. CDC based LIC cells are studied utilizing two different negative electrode materials: graphite and lithium titanate Li4Ti5O12 (LTO). The graphite electrodes are prelithiated before assembling the LICs, and LTO containing cells are studied with and without prelithiation. The rate capability and cycle life stability during 1000 cycles are evaluated by galvanostatic cycling at current densities of 0.4–4 mA cm−2. The CDC shows a specific capacitance of 120 F g−1 in the organic lithium-containing electrolyte, and the LICs demonstrate a good stability over 1000 charge-discharge cycles. The choice of the negative electrode is found to have an effect on the utilization of the CDC positive electrode during cycling and on the specific energy of the device. The graphite/CDC cell delivers a maximum specific discharge energy of 90 Wh kg−1 based on the total mass of active material in the cell. Boththe prelithiated and non-prelithiated LTO/CDC cells show a specific energy of around 30 Wh kg−1.Peer reviewe

Feasibility of asteroid exploration using CubeSats—ASPECT case study

Operation of a small CubeSat in the deep-space microgravity environment brings additional challenging factors including the increased radiation environment, the significant contribution of non-gravitational forces to the satellite orbit, or the limited communication opportunities. These factors need to be taken into account in the form of modifications to the classic CubeSat architecture. Increased radiation resistance, the semi-autonomous satellite operation, navigation, and the active orbit correction are required. Such a modified CubeSat platform can potentially deliver a high performance to mass and cost ratios. The Asteroid Spectral Imaging Mission (ASPECT) is a three unit (3U) CubeSat mission built on these principles. It is part of the AIDA (Asteroid Impact & Deflection Assessment) project to the binary asteroid Didymos. ASPECT is equipped with a visible to near-infrared hyperspectral imager and will deliver both technological knowledge as well as scientific data about the origin and evolution of Solar System small bodies.Peer reviewe