VAASAN Oy:n Vantaan leipomon taikinantekoalueen nykytila-analyysi ja prosessin selkeyttäminen

Insinöörityö toteutettiin VAASAN Oy:n Vantaan leipomolle. Leipomolla on viimeisten vuosien aikana tapahtunut suuria muutoksia, sillä pääkaupunkiseudun tuotanto keskitettiin Vantaalle, sekä Espoon leipomo lakkautettiin. Suuret muutokset ovat nostaneet esille tarpeen tutkia tuotantoprosessin alkupään nykytilaa Vantaan leipomolla. Työn teoriaosuudessa tutustutaan Lean-ajattelumalliin sekä sen tärkeimpiin työkaluihin ja erilaisiin menetelmiin. Lean-toimintamallin avulla voidaan tehostaa kokonaisvaltaisesti prosesseja keskittymällä muun muassa tuotannon materiaalivirtoihin sekä layoutiin, joihin perehdytään myös teoriaosuudessa. Työn päätavoitteena oli kuvata taikinantekoalueen nykytila ja materiaalivirrat, sekä niiden pohjalta pyrittiin selkeyttämään aluetta Lean-menetelmän työkaluja apuna käyttäen. Nykytilaan tutustuttiin Vantaan leipomolla havaintoja tehden sekä haastattelemalla niin toimihenkilöitä kuin tuotannon työntekijöitäkin. Nykytilaan tutustuessa tutkittavassa prosessissa ilmeni useita parannusmahdollisuuksia, joihin on ehdotettu toteutettavissa olevia ratkaisuja. Kehitysehdotusten perimmäisenä tarkoituksena on minimoida työvaiheissa esiintyviä hukkia Lean-menetelmän mukaisesti, sekä parantaa materiaalivirtojen sujuvuutta. Kehittämisehdotusten pohjana käytettiin työhön sisältyvää teoriaosuutta. Tuotantoprosessiin tehdyillä muutoksilla pyritään entistä parempaan sujuvuuteen, sekä työntekijöiden työtehtävien helpottamiseen. Tuloksiksi tästä työstä saatiin nykytilakuvauksen lisäksi kehitysehdotuksia prosessiin liittyen. Kehitysehdotusten tarkoituksena on mahdollistaa tuotannon sujuvuuden parantaminen ja tuotannossa esiintyvien riskien pienentäminen. Ehdotuksista useilla pyritään helpottamaan ja nopeuttamaan myös työntekijöiden työtehtäviä, sekä pienentämään läpimenoaikoja.The thesis was executed for VAASAN Oy’s bakery in Vantaa. There have been major changes in the bakery in recent years. The production of the Helsinki metropolitan area was centralized to the Vantaa bakery and the bakery in Espoo was closed down. These major changes have brought the need to investigate the present state of the beginning of the manufacturing process in the Vantaa bakery. The theory section introduces the Lean paradigm, the most important tools of it as well as different kinds of methods that can be used. The Lean paradigm provides a tool to optimize processes holistically by concentrating on for example material flows and layout. Also these are introduced in the theory section. The objective was to describe both the present state of the area where the dough is made and the material flows. The aim was to clarity the area with the help of the tools of the Lean method. The present state was studied by observations in the Vantaa bakery and interviewing both officials and the employees of production. While studying with the present state, several drawbacks were found, to which feasible solutions are presented. The purpose of the improvement propositions is to minimize the spillages found in the production stages by the Lean method as well as improve the fluency of material flows. The theory section was used as a basis for the propositions. The objective of the proposed changes is to increase the outcome as well as facilitate the workload faced by employees. The conclusions of the thesis are both the description of the present state and improvement propositions for the process. The goals of the improvement propositions presented are to enable the increased fluency of production and to reduce the risks occurred in the production. Many of the propositions intend to ease and accelerate the assignments of employees and to shorten the lead times

Studies on Loading Salicylic Acid in Xerogel Films of Crosslinked Hyaluronic Acid.

During the last decades, salicylic acid (SA) and hyaluronic acid (HA) have been studiedfor a wide range of cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications. The current study investigated thedrug loading potential of SA in HA-based crosslinked hydrogel films using a post-loading (osmosis)method of the unmedicated xerogels from saturated aqueous solutions of salicylic acid over a rangeof pH values. The films were characterized with Fourier-transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR) andultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry in order to elucidate the drug loading profile and thefilms’ integrity during the loading process. Additional studies on their weight loss (%), gel fraction(%), thickness increase (%) and swelling (%) were performed. Overall, the studies showed significantfilm disintegration at highly acidic and basic solutions. No drug loading occurred at neutral andbasic pH, possibly due to the anionic repulsion between SA and HA, whereas at, pH 2.1, the drugloading was promising and could be detected via UV-Vis analysis of the medicated solutions, withthe SA concentration in the xerogel films at 28% w/w

Studies on Loading Salicylic Acid in Xerogel Films of Crosslinked Hyaluronic Acid.

During the last decades, salicylic acid (SA) and hyaluronic acid (HA) have been studiedfor a wide range of cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications. The current study investigated thedrug loading potential of SA in HA-based crosslinked hydrogel films using a post-loading (osmosis)method of the unmedicated xerogels from saturated aqueous solutions of salicylic acid over a rangeof pH values. The films were characterized with Fourier-transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR) andultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry in order to elucidate the drug loading profile and thefilms’ integrity during the loading process. Additional studies on their weight loss (%), gel fraction(%), thickness increase (%) and swelling (%) were performed. Overall, the studies showed significantfilm disintegration at highly acidic and basic solutions. No drug loading occurred at neutral andbasic pH, possibly due to the anionic repulsion between SA and HA, whereas at, pH 2.1, the drugloading was promising and could be detected via UV-Vis analysis of the medicated solutions, withthe SA concentration in the xerogel films at 28% w/w

The manuscript tradition of Procopius' Wars, Books V-VIII : reconstruction of family y in the light of a new extant manuscript (Athos, Lavra H-73)

This present thesis examines the manuscript tradition of the family y of Procopius' Wars Books VNIII, in the light of a hitherto unknown extant manuscript (Ath), Athos, Lavra codex H-73 (728). It comprises an introduction and four sections (1-4). The introduction gives information on the author and his works concentrating on his major historical work, the Wars. This is followed by Section 1 containing an analytical codicological and palaeological description of codex Ath. As the codex does not contain a colophon, a possible thirteenth/fourteenth century dating is based on palaeographical and codicological evidence. Section 2 examines the position of the codex in the stemma codicum, proposed by the latest editor of the text, Jacob Haury (1905-12). A collation of the text with the principal manuscripts (K and L) of the two families, z and y, shows that Ath belongs to the y family. A further collation of Ath with all other extant manuscripts of this family, illustrates the importance of Ath in the tradition of the text. Section 3 gives a description and updated information of all manuscripts of family y, before the relation is examined and the stemma codicum is reconstructed on the basis of a series of propositions. The thesis concludes with Section 4, which places the production of Ath and other manuscripts, containing Procopius' works and other early Byzantine historiographical texts, in the general context of the intellectual milieu of the Palaeologan period.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Bayesian nonparametric vector autoregressive models

Vector autoregressive (VAR) models are the main work-horse model for macroeconomic forecasting, and provide a framework for the analysis of complex dynamics that are present between macroeconomic variables. Whether a classical or a Bayesian approach is adopted, most VAR models are linear with Gaussian innovations. This can limit the model’s ability to explain the relationships in macroeconomic series. We propose a nonparametric VAR model that allows for nonlinearity in the conditional mean, heteroscedasticity in the conditional variance, and non-Gaussian innovations. Our approach differs to that of previous studies by modelling the stationary and transition densities using Bayesian nonparametric methods. Our Bayesian nonparametric VAR (BayesNP-VAR) model is applied to US and UK macroeconomic time series, and compared to other Bayesian VAR models. We show that BayesNP-VAR is a flexible model that is able to account for nonlinear relationships as well as heteroscedas- ticity in the data. In terms of short-run out-of-sample forecasts, we show that BayesNP-VAR predictively outperforms competing models

Flexible modeling of dependence in volatility processes

This paper proposes a novel stochastic volatility model that draws from the exist- ing literature on autoregressive stochastic volatility models, aggregation of autoregres- sive processes, and Bayesian nonparametric modelling to create a stochastic volatility model that can capture long range dependence. The volatility process is assumed to be the aggregate of autoregressive processes where the distribution of the autoregressive coefficients is modelled using a flexible Bayesian approach. The model provides insight into the dynamic properties of the volatility. An efficient algorithm is defined which uses recently proposed adaptive Monte Carlo methods. The proposed model is applied to the daily returns of stocks

Discussion of “Nonparametric Bayesian Inference in Applications”: Bayesian nonparametric methods in econometrics

The use of Bayesian nonparametrics models has increased rapidly over the last few decades driven by increasing computational power and the development of efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms. We review some applications of these models in economic applications including: volatility modelling (using both stochastic volatility models and GARCH-type models) with Dirichlet process mixture models, uses in portfolio allocation problems, long memory models with flexible forms of time-dependence, flexible extension of the dynamic Nelson-Siegel model for interest rate yields and multivariate time series models used in macroeconometrics

Building Bridges to Overcome Widening Gaps: Challenges in Addressing the Need for Professional Preparation of Infant-Toddler Practitioners in Higher Education

As the professional qualifications for those working with infants, toddlers, and their families continue to expand, institutes of higher education (IHEs) play an increasingly vital role in training the infant/toddler workforce. However, IHEs face numerous programming and pedagogical issues that make meeting the needs of these professionals difficult. These issues are further complicated by persistent challenges within early care and education. In this paper, we examine these issues in detail and discuss the Collaborative for Understanding the Pedagogy of Infant/toddler Development (CUPID), a cross-institution partnership working to enhance the quality of infant/toddler professional preparation in higher education

Real-time kinetic binding studies at attomolar concentrations in solution phase using a single-stage opto-biosensing platform based upon infrared surface plasmons

Here we present a new generic opto-bio-sensing platform combining immobilised aptamers on an infrared plasmonic sensing device generated by nano-structured thin film that demonstrates amongst the highest index spectral sensitivities of any optical fibre sensor yielding on average 3.4 × 104 nm/RIU in the aqueous index regime (with a figure of merit of 330) This offers a single stage, solution phase, atto-molar detection capability, whilst delivering real-time data for kinetic studies in water-based chemistry. The sensing platform is based upon optical fibre and has the potential to be multiplexed and used in remote sensing applications. As an example of the highly versatile capabilities of aptamer based detection using our platform, purified thrombin is detected down to 50 attomolar concentration using a volume of 1mm3 of solution without the use of any form of enhancement technique. Moreover, the device can detect nanomolar levels of thrombin in a flow cell, in the presence of 4.5% w/v albumin solution. These results are important, covering all concentrations in the human thrombin generation curve, including the problematic initial phase. Finally, selectivity is confirmed using complementary and non-complementary DNA sequences that yield performances similar to those obtained with thrombin

Time-varying sparsity in dynamic regression models

We propose a novel Bayesian method for dynamic regression models where both the values of the regression coefficients and the importance of the variables are allowed to change over time. The parsimony of the model is important for good forecasting performance and we develop a prior which allows the shrinkage of the regression co-efficients to suitably change over time. An efficient MCMC method for computation is described. The new method is then applied to two forecasting problems in econometrics: equity premium prediction and inflation forecasting. The results show that this method outperforms current competing Bayesian methods