The unusual strategic HR aspects in professional football

The aim of this study is to analyse the unusual aspects of top level European professional football, and certain problematic practices that seem to be common place in this industry. Aspects that will be present on this study include the contractual, recruitment, compensation and well-being matters of the players and coaching staff. These aspects in context to football are quite unique due to the nature of the footballing labor market, and as such they need to be approached differently than how traditional business firms approach their HR management. Instances like the transfer market, a metaphorical place where the clubs can buy and sell their playing staff, is something that isn’t present at all on other industries. The transfer market seems to be perhaps the easiest and quickest way for a club to affect its on-pitch performance, and as such clubs that are better at recognizing value on this market can make huge revenues from finding undervalued talent in it. The study will also look into why the finances of most top level European clubs always seem to be failing, and what could be done about it. Plenty of real world examples from European football will be included to enhance the arguments made by the research literature

Kaasuavusteinen kuivarakeistusmenetelmä

The roller compaction is a dry granulation method which is commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry. The purpose of the roller compaction is to increase the particle size, narrow the particle size distribution and improve the powder flowability. In the roller compaction process, powder is fed between two press rolls. The relevant process parameters of the roller compaction (roll pressure, roll speed and feed screw speed) affect the formed briquette or ribbon density. The briquette is broken down and sieved by using a crusher. General problems of the roller compaction are incompressible fine powder and the low yield. AGS (Aerodynamic Granulating System) is a patented supplement for the roller compaction. Its operation is based on the air flow which sucks the fine particles out of the granule mix. The granules and the fine particles are collected into their own containers. When the system is fully optimized the fine particles can be recycled between the press rolls (a closed loop). In this case, it is possible to get close to 100 % batch yields. The experimental design of this study was a modified central composite design with three variables and two value levels which was used to find the optimal combinations of the process parameters. The purpose of this study was to compare the gas assisted and the conventional roller compaction methods. The physical properties of granules and tablets made of these granules were compared. The strengths and weaknesses in AGS process were also studied and development ideas for the future were planned. Microcrystalline cellulose was used in this study as a model excipient. The study showed that the granules made by the AGS require higher compression forces in tableting process than conventional granules. The reason for this could be the lower number of contact points between the particles, since the fine particles were removed from the granule mix. The low compression pressure, fairly fast roll speed and small sieve size created good quality granules. The flowability and compression properties of these granules were good as well as particle size distribution. In this study, any major differences were not observed between these two granulation methods.Telarakeistus on yleisesti farmasian teollisuudessa käytetty kuivarakeistusmenetelmä, jonka tarkoituksena on kasvattaa partikkelikokoa ja kaventaa partikkelikokojakaumaa, sekä lisätä jauheiden valumista. Menetelmässä jauhe syötetään kahden pyörivän telan väliin. Telarakeistuksessa tärkeät prosessiparametrit (puristuspaine, telanopeus ja syöttönopeus) vaikuttavat telojen välistä muodostuvan briketin eli nauhan tiheyteen. Briketti hajotetaan ja seulotaan käyttämällä valmistusprosessiin soveltuvaa murskainta. Yleiset ongelmat telarakeisprosessissa ovat puristumaton jauhe ja rakeiden heikko saanto. AGS (aerodynaaminen rakeistusjärjestelmä) on patentoitu lisäosa telarakeistusprosessiin. Sen toiminta perustuu ilmavirtaan, joka imee rakeistumattomat hienot partikkelit pois raeseoksesta. Rakeet ja hienot partikkelit kerätään omiin keräysastioihinsa. Täysin optimoidussa laitteistossa voidaan käyttää suljettua kiertoa, jolloin hienot partikkelit kierrätetään takaisin puristusteloille. Tällöin on mahdollista saada lähelle 100 % eräkohtaisia saantoja. Tutkimuksia varten tehtiin kolmen muuttujan ja kahden arvotason keskustapainotteinen koekaavio. Sen perusteella pyrittiin löytämään optimaalisia prosessiparametriyhdistelmiä tutkittavalle raaka-aineelle. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin mikrokiteistä selluloosaa. Työn tarkoituksena oli vertailla kaasuavusteisen ja tavanomaisen telarakeistuksen välisiä eroja rakeiden ja niistä valmistettujen tablettien osalta. Samalla tutkittiin, millaisia vahvuuksia ja heikkouksia on AGS:llä ja kuinka laitetta voitaisiin kehittää tulevaisuudessa. Tutkimuksissa havaittiin, että AGS-rakeet vaativat tablettien valmistuksessa suuremman puristusvoiman kuin tavanomaiset rakeet. Syynä voitiin pitää vähäisempää kontaktipisteiden määrää rakeiden välillä, koska hienot partikkelit poistettiin raeseoksesta. AGS:n osalta havaittiin, että alhainen telarakeistimen puristuspaine ja melko nopea telanopeus, sekä pieni seulakoko saivat aikaan laadukkaita rakeita. Niiden valuvuus, puristusominaisuudet ja partikkelikokojaukama olivat hyviä. Tutkimuksissa ei kuitenkaan saatu suuria eroja tutkittavien telarakeistusmenetelmien välille

"En mä oo samanlainen" : Maahanmuuttotaustaisten nuorten kokemuksia ulkopuolisuudesta

Peer reviewe

Patient-Reported Control of Asthma, Nasal Polyposis, and Middle-Ear Symptoms in NSAID-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease

Peer reviewe

Effect of management of sulfonylurea resistant Stellaria media on barley yield

Peer reviewe

Asthma as aetiology of bronchiectasis in Finland

Background: By definition bronchiectasis (BE) means destructed structure of normal bronchus as a consequence of frequent bacterial infections and inflammation. In many senses, BE is a neglected orphan disease. A recent pan-European registry study, EMBARC, has been set up in order to better understand its pathophysiology, better phenotype patients, and to individualize their management. Aim: To examine the aetiology and co-morbidity of BE in the capital area in Finland. Methods: Two hundred five patients with BE diagnosis and follow up visits between 2016 and 2017 in Helsinki University Hospital were invited to participate in the study. Baseline demographics, lung functions, imaging, microbiological, and therapeutic data, together with co-morbidities were entered into EMBARC database. Clinical characteristics, aetiologic factors, co-morbidities, and risk factors for extensive BE were explored. Results: To the study included 95 adult patients and seventy nine percent of the BE patients were women. The mean age was 69 years (SD +/- 13). Asthma was a comorbid condition in 68% of the patients but in 26% it was estimated to be the cause of BE. Asthma was aetiological factor for BE if it had been diagnosed earlier than BE. As 41% BE were idiopathic, in 11% the disorder was postinfectious and others were associated to rheumatic disease, Alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, IgG deficiency and Kartagener syndrome. The most common co-morbidities in addition to asthma were cardiovascular disease (30%), gastroesophageal reflux disease (26%), overweight (22%), diabetes (16%), inactive neoplasia (15%), and immunodeficiency (12%). Extensive BE was found in 68% of BE patients in whom four or more lobes were affected. Risk factors for extensive BE were asthma (OR 2.7), asthma as aetiology for BE (OR 4.3), and rhinosinusitis (OR 3.1). Conclusions: Asthma was associated to BE in 68% and it was estimated as aetiology in every fourth patient. However, retrospectively, it is difficult to exclude asthma as a background cause in patients with asthma-like symptoms and respiratory infections. We propose asthma as an aetiology factor for BE if it is diagnosed earlier than BE. Asthma and rhinosinusitis were predictive for extensive BE.Peer reviewe

Investigating the Feasibility of Multi-Scan Terrestrial Laser Scanning to Characterize Tree Communities in Southern Boreal Forests

Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) has proven to accurately represent individual trees, while the use of TLS for plot-level forest characterization has been studied less. We used 91 sample plots to assess the feasibility of TLS in estimating plot-level forest inventory attributes, namely the stem number (N), basal area (G), and volume (V) as well as the basal area weighed mean diameter (Dg) and height (Hg). The effect of the sample plot size was investigated by using different-sized sample plots with a fixed scan set-up to also observe possible differences in the quality of point clouds. The Gini coefficient was used to measure the variation in tree size distribution at the plot-level to investigate the relationship between stand heterogeneity and the performance of the TLS-based method. Higher performances in tree detection and forest attribute estimation were recorded for sample plots with a low degree of tree size variation. The TLS-based approach captured 95% of the variation in Hg and V, 85% of the variation in Dg and G, and 67% of the variation in N. By increasing the sample plot size, the tree detection rate was decreased, and the accuracy of the estimates, especially G and N, decreased. This study emphasizes the feasibility of TLS-based approaches in plot-level forest inventories in varying southern boreal forest conditions

Close-range hyperspectral spectroscopy reveals leaf water content dynamics

Water plays a crucial role in maintaining plant functionality and drives many ecophysiological processes. The distribution of water resources is in a continuous change due to global warming affecting the productivity of ecosystems around the globe, but there is a lack of non-destructive methods capable of continuous monitoring of plant and leaf water content that would help us in understanding the consequences of the redistribution of water. We studied the utilization of novel small hyperspectral sensors in the 1350-1650 nm and 2000-2450 nm spectral ranges in non-destructive estimation of leaf water content in laboratory and field conditions. We found that the sensors captured up to 96% of the variation in equivalent water thickness (EWT, g/m(2)) and up to 90% of the variation in relative water content (RWC). Further tests were done with an indoor plant (Dracaena marginate Lem.) by continuously measuring leaf spectra while drought conditions developed, which revealed detailed diurnal dynamics of leaf water content. The laboratory findings were supported by field measurements, where repeated leaf spectra measurements were in fair agreement (R-2 = 0.70) with RWC and showed similar diurnal dynamics. The estimation of leaf mass per area (LMA) using leaf spectra was investigated as a pathway to improved RWC estimation, but no significant improvement was found. We conclude that close-range hyper spectral spectroscopy can provide a novel tool for continuous measurement of leaf water content at the single leaf level and help us to better understand plant responses to varying environmental conditions.Peer reviewe

Kuvantamislöydöksenä koliitti

Vertaisarvioitu.Koliittiin viittaava paksusuolen seinämän turpeus tai poikkeava ulkonäkö vatsan tietokonetomografiassa (TT) on yleinen mutta epäspesifinen löydös. Sen taustalla voi olla useita eri syitä, esimerkiksi tulehduksellinen suolistosairaus, iskemia, infektiotauti, yleissairaus tai jokin suolistosyöpä. Löydös voi olla myös kliinisesti merkityksetön ja liittyä suolen normaaliin toimintaan. Jatkotutkimukset suhteutetaan kliiniseen tilanteeseen. Epäiltäessä infektiotautia otetaan ulosteen mikrobinäytteet. Usein syyn selvittäminen edellyttää kolonoskopiaa