Information Sharing in Improving Supply Chain Performance

This thesis studies the benefits of sharing information in supply chains. The information used is transaction and forecast data, which are collected by the sharing party’s ERP systems. The research method used was literature review and the results of the thesis, building upon several academic articles and studies, suggest that information improves supply chain performance and decreases its costs. The motivation for information sharing and supply chain management (SCM) come from the ever-complicating and global business environment. Focus on core competencies has led to lengthy sup-ply chains and dependency on multiple suppliers. Subcontractors account for most of a product’s value nowadays, increasing the need for good supplier relations. Information sharing is a cooperation method, which also helps reduce supply chain costs too. Based on an empirical study, using information sharing alone can provide supply chain costs savings of 3,3 to 9,7 per cent. The thesis also presents value adding applications of information sharing, which can help reduce costs and improve performance even more. These applications include vendor managed inventory (VMI) and continuous replenishment program (CRP). In return for the benefits, deeper cooperation and absolute trust is required from the parties

Vastuullinen johtaminen suomalaisessa kotihoidossa - Vaikutusten mallintaminen yhteiskunnan ja yrityksen tasolla

Finnish public home care providers will confront major challenges due to the aging of society. The change in the operational environment is predicted to be drastic. As a result, the workload in the home care services will increase, the availability of skillful work-force will decrease, and there are fewer people to support public services. Furthermore, the financial crisis in 2008 caused a sustainability gap in the Finnish government finance, which has led to a political decision to decrease the costs of healthcare. Therefore, the public home care providers will meet a challenge to serve more customers with less resources, which requires innovation of novel methods to maintain the service quality in public elderly care. System dynamics modeling was used to enhance the understanding of the operational environment of public home care providers, and to evaluate responsible management as a potential solution for the challenges. The modeling was guided by the case home care organizations’ primary interest in the governance part of responsible management, and their ultimate target to maintain customers’ quality of life. The structural analysis of the model discovered that the dynamics of the system mainly results from the interaction of three balancing and four self-reinforcing feedback loops. According to the structural analysis, the work pressure is an important variable in the system. The analysis proposes that home care providers should have adequate resources to avoid vicious cycles. If the system ended up in a vicious cycle, the elderly care system would produce poor quality and high costs. The simulation analysis evaluated the outcomes of three budget policies and two technology policies. The analysis revealed that the dynamic budget was the only budget policy that allowed adequate resources for the home care provider to manage the increased workload. Both static budget and constant resources policies were not able to prevent the system from drifting to a vicious cycle. The selected technology policy had a smaller impact on the functioning of the elderly care but affected the overall costs. The policy design suggested that the budget policy should take into account the changes of key indicators in the operational environment. This would allow a budget policy that ensures sufficient resources for the home care provider but prevents overspending due to a careless management. The trends of customers and their health are potential key indicators. The policy design also proposed that technological applications should be included in the home care operations to improve the cost efficiency. Another discovered method to improve the cost efficiency is to recruit sufficient number of employees to avoid the need for costly temporary workforce

Tiedetoimittajia tarvitaan nyt enemmän kuin koskaan

Tieteessä tapahtuu -lehdessä (5/2020) Salla-Maaria Laaksonen ja Petro Poutanen kirjoittivat tiedeviestinnän ja tieteen avoimuuden suhteesta. Yhteiskunnallisen vaikuttavuuden vaatimus on epäilemättä muuttanut melkoisesti akateemisen maailman suhtautumista mediaan ja yleisemminkin julkisuuteen. Sosiaalisen median muodostuminen aiempaa tärkeämmäksi ja perinteisten medioiden tiedesisällön muuttuminen yhä tiedotepainotteisemmaksi tuovat omat lisänsä tiedeviestintään ja siihen, miten sitä tulee tehdä nykyisin ja tulevaisuudessa

Uncertainty in forest net present value estimations

Peer reviewe

Predictors of osteoarthritis following operative treatment of medial tibial plateau fractures

Purpose: To determine factors influencing the development of posttraumatic osteoarthritis (OA) following medial tibial plateau fractures and to evaluate concomitant injuries associated with these fractures. Materials and methods: A chart review of patients with operatively treated medial tibial plateau fractures admitted to our Level I trauma centre from 2002 to 2008 was performed. Of 63 patients, 41 participated in a clinical and radiographic examination. The mean age was 47 years (range 16-78) and the mean follow-up time was 7.6 (range 4.7-11.7) years. All patients had preoperative computed tomography (CT) scans and postoperative radiographs. At the end of follow-up, standing radiographs, mechanical axis, and CT scans were evaluated. Results: Of the 41 patients, 24 had no or mild (Kellgren-Lawrence grade 0-2) OA and 17 had severe (grade 3-4) OA. Initial articular depression measured from preoperative CT scans was a significant predictor of OA (median 1.8 mm vs 4.5 mm, p = 0.009). Fracture line extension to the lateral plateau (p = 0.68) or fracture comminution (p = 0.21) had no effect on the development of posttraumatic OA, nor did articular depression at the end of follow-up (p = 0.68) measured from CT scans. Mechanical axis >4 degrees of varus and >= 2 mm articular depression or step-off were associated with worse WOMAC pain scores, but did not affect other functional outcome scores. Six patients (10%) had permanent peroneal nerve dysfunction. Ten patients (16%) required LCL reconstruction and nine (14%) ACL avulsions were treated at the time of fracture stabilisation. Conclusions: The amount of articular depression measured from preoperative CT scans seems to predict the development of posttraumatic OA, probably reflecting the severity of chondral injury at the time of fracture. Restoration of mechanical axis and articular congruence are important in achieving a good clinical outcome. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Pancreatic Cancer Organoids in the Field of Precision Medicine: A Review of Literature and Experience on Drug Sensitivity Testing with Multiple Readouts and Synergy Scoring

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a silent killer, often diagnosed late. However, it is also dishearteningly resistant to nearly all forms of treatment. New therapies are urgently needed, and with the advent of organoid culture for pancreatic cancer, an increasing number of innovative approaches are being tested. Organoids can be derived within a short enough time window to allow testing of several anticancer agents, which opens up the possibility for functional precision medicine for pancreatic cancer. At the same time, organoid model systems are being refined to better mimic the cancer, for example, by incorporation of components of the tumor microenvironment. We review some of the latest developments in pancreatic cancer organoid research and in novel treatment design. We also summarize our own current experiences with pancreatic cancer organoid drug sensitivity and resistance testing (DSRT) in 14 organoids from 11 PDAC patients. Our data show that it may be necessary to include a cell death read-out in ex vivo DSRT assays, as metabolic viability quantitation does not capture actual organoid killing. We also successfully adapted the organoid platform for drug combination synergy discovery. Lastly, live organoid culture 3D confocal microscopy can help identify individual surviving tumor cells escaping cell death even during harsh combination treatments. Taken together, the organoid technology allows the development of novel precision medicine approaches for PDAC, which paves the way for clinical trials and much needed new treatment options for pancreatic cancer patients

Pancreatic Cancer Organoids in the Field of Precision Medicine : A Review of Literature and Experience on Drug Sensitivity Testing with Multiple Readouts and Synergy Scoring

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a silent killer, often diagnosed late. However, it is also dishearteningly resistant to nearly all forms of treatment. New therapies are urgently needed, and with the advent of organoid culture for pancreatic cancer, an increasing number of innovative approaches are being tested. Organoids can be derived within a short enough time window to allow testing of several anticancer agents, which opens up the possibility for functional precision medicine for pancreatic cancer. At the same time, organoid model systems are being refined to better mimic the cancer, for example, by incorporation of components of the tumor microenvironment. We review some of the latest developments in pancreatic cancer organoid research and in novel treatment design. We also summarize our own current experiences with pancreatic cancer organoid drug sensitivity and resistance testing (DSRT) in 14 organoids from 11 PDAC patients. Our data show that it may be necessary to include a cell death read-out in ex vivo DSRT assays, as metabolic viability quantitation does not capture actual organoid killing. We also successfully adapted the organoid platform for drug combination synergy discovery. Lastly, live organoid culture 3D confocal microscopy can help identify individual surviving tumor cells escaping cell death even during harsh combination treatments. Taken together, the organoid technology allows the development of novel precision medicine approaches for PDAC, which paves the way for clinical trials and much needed new treatment options for pancreatic cancer patients

Vastuullinen toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän kehittäminen kotihoidossa

One of Finland’s strategic goals is to support the independent living of older people - and hence increase the amount of seniors living in their homes - thus decreasing the amount of institutionalization in elderly care. At the same time, the portion of elderly people that need care services increases in relation to the amount of working-aged people.  Under the pressure of answering to the increased demand for home care services, enterprise resource planning (ERP) is taken into use to optimize human resources in home care. The research into the implementation of ERP was conducted in Pirkkala Homecare Office. The research questions included 1) assessing means for streamlining the ERP system to serve the organization in the best possible manner, 2) mapping ERP optimization possibilities, and 3) creating general requirements for the design and implementation of ERP. The research data was collected by following the shifts of homecare nurses and by conducting team leader interviews, an optimization workshop and workshops with home care managers. The primary goal set for the ERP includes allocating human resources in a way that answers customer needs efficiently and responsibly. The recommendations provided in the project for the use of ERP include: Firm evaluation of time-critical visits; Allowing the optimization option “exceed working time”; Simultaneous optimization of as large group of customers and home care nurses as possible, and Acknowledging primary nursing as a quality factor. In the context of home care system, developers should ensure that ERP can be adapted for the individual needs of the customer organization and that an integration of the ERP system with other information systems is fully supported. In addition, the possibility for further development of the ERP and the system’s support for measuring home care operations should be acknowledged. Implementation of the ERP provides opportunities for home care organizations to further develop their operations; however, it does not guarantee the responsible development of home care operations. Home care management and development should therefore be based on the question of how the quality and responsible development of home care services could be secured under the growing demand for resource efficiency.Suomen tämän hetkinen strateginen tavoite on lisätä ikääntyneiden kotona asumista ja vähentää laitoshoidon määrää, mikä tarkoittaa lisääntyvää tarvetta kotihoidon palveluille. Samanaikaisesti hoito- ja hoivapalveluita tarvitsevien ikääntyvien määrä kasvaa suhteessa työikäisen väestön määrään ja kotihoidon asiakkaiksi ohjautuu yhä huonokuntoisempia ikäihmisiä. Kotihoidossa käytettävissä oleva työvoima tulee pystyä kohdentamaan tehokkaasti ja järkevästi asiakastarpeen mukaan, jotta laatua ja vaikuttavuutta voidaan ylläpitää. Toiminnanohjausjärjestelmistä on haettu ratkaisua henkilöstöresurssien optimointiin. Toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän käyttöönottoa arvioiva tutkimus toteutettiin Pirkkalan kunnan kotihoito-organisaatiossa. Projektin tavoitteena oli sujuvoittaa toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän käyttöönottoa kotihoidossa, pohtia toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän tarjoamien eri optimointivaihtoehtojen toimivuutta sekä saada toiminnanohjausjärjestelmä palvelemaan organisaatiota kokonaisuudessaan mahdollisimman hyvin. Tutkimuksen aineisto muodostui kotihoitajien työpäivien seurannasta, tiiminvetäjien haastattelusta, optimointityöpajasta ja esimiesten työpajoista. Tarkastellun kotihoito-organisaation toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän ensisijaisena tavoitteena on kohdentaa kotihoidon henkilöstöresurssit vastaamaan ikäihmisten tarpeita tehokkaasti, laadukkaasti ja vastuullisuustekijät huomioiden. Toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän käyttöä tukevat ja heti käyttöön otettavissa olevat suositukset ovat: Käyntien aikakriittisyyden tiukka arviointi sekä aikariittisten käyntien ajankohtien ja käynneille asetettujen aikavälien tarkistaminen; Työajan ylittyminen -vaihtoehdon salliminen optimoinnissa; Mahdollisimman suuren asiakas- ja hoitajajoukon yhtäaikainen optimointi ja Omahoitajuuden huomioiminen laadun tekijänä. Toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän tulisi olla järjestelmäkehittäjän toimesta räätälöitävissä yksilöllisten asiakastarpeiden mukaiseksi. Integroituvuus muiden järjestelmien kanssa on oleellinen tekijä tehokkaan ja toimivan kokonaisuuden saavuttamiseksi. Myös tarve joustavalle toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän jatkokehitykselle toimintaympäristön, osaamisen ja tavoitteiden muuttuessa tulisi huomioida. Näiden vaatimusten lisäksi toiminnan mittaaminen ainakin kustannusten, henkilöstön hyvinvoinnin ja palvelun laadun näkökulmista tulisi huomioida tietoon pohjautuvan toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän suunnittelussa. Toiminnanohjausjärjestelmän käyttöönotto on yksi keino kotihoidon toiminnan kehittämiselle, mutta se ei yksinään riitä turvaamaan kotihoidon vastuullista kehittämistä. Johtamisen perusajatuksena tulisikin olla, miten tarjottavien palveluiden laatu ja toiminnan eettisyys voidaan turvata kasvavien resurssipaineiden alla

Mlh1 deficiency in normal mouse colon mucosa associates with chromosomally unstable colon cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) genome is unstable and different types of instabilities, such as chromosomal instability (CIN) and microsatellite instability (MSI) are thought to reflect distinct cancer initiating mechanisms. Although 85% of sporadic CRC reveal CIN, 15% reveal mismatch repair (MMR) malfunction and MSI, the hallmarks of Lynch syndrome with inherited heterozygous germline mutations in MMR genes. Our study was designed to comprehensively follow genome-wide expression changes and their implications during colon tumorigenesis. We conducted a long-term feeding experiment in the mouse to address expression changes arising in histologically normal colonic mucosa as putative cancer preceding events, and the effect of inherited predisposition (Mlh1(+/-)) and Western-style diet (WD) on those. During the 21-month experiment, carcinomas developed mainly in WD-fed mice and were evenly distributed between genotypes. Unexpectedly, the heterozygote (B6.129-Mlh1tm1Rak) mice did not show MSI in their CRCs. Instead, both wildtype and heterozygote CRC mice showed a distinct mRNA expression profile and shortage of several chromosomal segregation gene-specific transcripts (Mlh1, Bub1, Mis18a, Tpx2, Rad9a, Pms2, Cenpe, Ncapd3, Odf2 and Dclre1b) in their colon mucosa, as well as an increased mitotic activity and abundant numbers of unbalanced/atypical mitoses in tumours. Our genome-wide expression profiling experiment demonstrates that cancer preceding changes are already seen in histologically normal colon mucosa and that decreased expressions of Mlh1 and other chromosomal segregation genes may form a field-defect in mucosa, which trigger MMR-proficient, chromosomally unstable CRC.Peer reviewe

Diversity of murtoos and murtoo-related subglacial landforms in the Finnish area of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet

Murtoos are recently discovered triangular-shaped subglacial landforms that form under warm-based ice and in association with significant subglacial meltwater flow. They appear in distinct fields and commonly occur in the area that was covered by the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet during glacial periods. Murtoos potentially represent a transition form from non-channelized to channelized subglacial drainage networks. In the present study, we analyse and classify murtoos and murtoo-related landforms in the Finnish area of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet based on their characteristics and appearance in LiDAR-based digital elevations models. Combined with morphometric analyses, the observations suggest that five types of murtoos and murtoo-related landforms are common and widespread in Finland: (i) triangle-type murtoos (TTMs), (ii) chevron-type murtoos (CTMs), (iii) lobate-type murtoos (LTMs), (iv) murtoo-related ridges and escarpments (MREs), and (v) other murtoo-related polymorphous landforms (PMRs) that look like small mounds and ridges. The morphometric characteristics of the different types are described here in detail, and it is shown that they are spatially and geomorphologically related. In addition, we provide examples of murtoos other than the TTMs to demonstrate that different murtoo types and murtoo-related landforms are composed of similar sediments and architectural characteristics. The diversity of murtoo landforms and the transition between distinct murtoo types indicate rapid and complicated variations in the configuration of subglacial hydrology at different spatial and temporal scales. This study emphasizes the essential role of subglacial meltwater in the shaping of glacial landscapes and the redistribution of large volumes of sediments during the deglaciation of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet