Background Study for Operation Development : Case Kuljetus Eklöf Oy

The thesis was done for Kuljetus Eklöf Oy (and its daughter company, the Hungary based Transport Eklöf Kft), to find out whether an implemented quality management system would increase the competitiveness of the company. Further research was carried out in the field of human resources, focusing on motivation of workers and education of professional truck drivers, and how those research areas can be connected to provide quality work that meets customers’ requirements. During the research processes both quantitative and qualitative methods have been used. The research was based on literature review in the fields of total quality management and human resources; surveys carried out among main customers to find out their expectations towards the company and surveys for drivers of the company to see their opinion about quality and motivation. The author was a participant observer throughout the whole writing process. The results of the thesis include explanations on the requirements, advantages and disadvantages of implementing quality management system, leadership, motivation, employee performance, rewarding and development, labour turnover and driver shortage. After research process has been done suggestions were given for operation improvements to overcome problems a company might face in the competitive transportation business, from quality and human resources point of view

Rapid Increase in Serum Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Concentration during Hepatitis C Interferon-Free Treatment

Background & Aim: We performed lipid analyses at the early period of therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C who underwent interferon (IFN)-free direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment, and we attempted to identify the factors that contributed to a rapid increase in the patients\u27 serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentration. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the cases of 100 consecutive patients with HCV infection treated at the National Hospital Organization Nagasaki Medical Center: 24 patients underwent daclatasvir (DCV) and asunaprevir (ASV) combination therapy (DCV/ASV) for 24 weeks, and the other 76 patients underwent ledipasvir and sofosbuvir combination therapy (LDV/SOF) for 12 weeks. ΔLDL-C was defined as the changed in LDL-C level at 28 days from the start of therapy. To determine whether ΔLDL-C was associated with several kinds of factors including viral kinetics, we performed a stepwise multiple linear regression analysis. Results: The LDL-C levels in patients treated with LDV/SOF were markedly and significantly elevated (87.45 to 122.5 mg/dl; p<10-10) compared to those in the DCV/ASV-treated patients (80.15 to 87.8 mg/dl; p = 0.0056). The median levels of ΔLDL-C in the LDV/SOF and DCV/ASV groups were 33.2 and 13.1, respectively. LDV/SOF combination therapy as an IFN-free regimen (p<0.001) and ΔHCV core antigen (0-1 day drop) (p<0.044) were identified as independent factors that were closely related to the ΔLDL-C. Conclusions: A rapid increase in the serum LDL-C concentration during the IFN-free treatment of hepatitis C was associated with the type of HCV therapy and a decline of HCV core protein