Start-Up Entrepreneurs as Accelerators of Digital Platform Economy

The digital platform economy is gradually gaining popularity in many countries and industries. The platform economies have created a remarkable transformation in healthcare, banking, transportation, and energy industries around the world. The concept triggers a viral effect because many users are attracted to it. Consequently, a momentum for growth is created. Digital platform economies capture and transmit extensive data over the Internet, allowing individuals and firms to gain valuable knowledge and use it for development. Furthermore, they create a chance for the lead organizations to re-think their business strategies, structures, management, and models because firms in such economies must sustain an ecosystem of partners to remain competitive in the market. Most importantly, they can create value in two significant ways. First, they facilitate transactions between individuals and firms. Second, they allow innovation to take place, which further ensures that technology can be used to create complementary products. What is more, the entities behind such transactions and change can be located anywhere in the world, meaning that skills can be shared on the platform and that a nation can benefit from expertise from a range of sources. Notably, start-up companies and individuals have taken advantage of this concept to create profit and in the process contribute towards the growth and development of economies around the world. For example, the most successful platforms include Amazon, Alibaba, and Facebook. Specifically, they have ensured that consumers access their products efficiently from anywhere in the world and that the productivity levels of many sectors are enhanced. This thesis aims to study the phenomenon further by trough literature review and interviews of key persons from startups, venture capitalists, and larger enterprises. The study focuses on the role of the startups as accelerators of digital platform economy, their problems, and cooperation with larger companies

Apteekkivaakunan konservointi ja restaurointi

Opinnäytetyö käsittelee Tampereen museon kokoelmien suurikokoisen (1,5 m x 1,3 m) puusta veistetyn apteekkivaakunan konservointia ja restaurointia. Käytännöntyön tavoitteena oli konservoida ja restauroida vaakunan erittäin huonokuntoinen rakenne. Lisäksi kohteen pintakäsittelystä tehtiin pienimuotoinen materiaalitutkimus. Apteekkivaakuna esittää Venäjän keisarikunnan kaksipäistä kotkaa, jonka siivet ovat levitettynä. Kotkan siivissä on molemmin puolin neljä kappaletta Suomen Suurruhtinaskunnan aikaista läänivaakunaa. Vasemmassa jalassa on keisarin valtikka ja oikeassa jalassa on valtakunnanomena. Vaakuna on todennäköisesti valmistettu Suomen autonomian aikana vuosina 1809 - 1917. Apteekkivaakuna on todennäköisesti ollut sijoitettuna valtuutetun apteekin sisäänkäynnin yläpuolelle ulkotiloihin. Kohteelle tehtiin vauriokartoitus ja konservointisuunnitelma. Vauriokartoituksen perusteella todettiin, että puinen rakenne on niin huonokuntoinen, että sen vahvistaminen oli tehtävä ensimmäisenä. Puinen rakenne koostuu yhteen liimatuista lankuista, joihin on veistetty vaakunan muodot. Osat on kiinnitetty toisiinsa tappiliitoksin ja mahdollisesti liimalla sekä taustapuolella olevien metallitukien avulla. Vaakuna on altistunut historiansa aikana runsaalle kosteudelle, joka on aiheuttanut puun lahoamista. Aluksi vaakuna purettiin osiin, minkä jälkeen rakenteesta poistettiin kaikki lahonnut puumateriaali. Lahonnut materiaali täytyi poistaa, jotta koko rakennetta pystyttiin vahvistamaan. Poistetun puumateriaalin tilalle valittiin testien perusteella parhaimmaksi osoittautunut täyteaine. Täyteaineessa käytettiin hydroksipropyyliselluloosa pohjaista sideainetta Klucel G:tä, johon sekoitettiin fenolimikropalloja ja selluloosakuitua. Täydennettävät alueet vahvistettiin pinnalta Klucel G:llä, täytettiin osalla alueista ensin vaurioalueiden muotoon veistetyllä balsapuulla, jonka jälkeen jäljelle jäänyt alue täytettiin Klucel G-pohjaisella täyteaineella. Rakenteen vahvistamisen jälkeen vaakuna koottiin. Lopuksi vaakunan pinta puhdistettiin, välilakattiin ja retusoitiin

Sulfobutyl Ether b-Cyclodextrin (SBE-b-CD) in Eyedrops Improves the Tolerability of a Topically Applied Pilocarpine Prodrug in Rabbits

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/jop.1995.11.95The effects of a novel, modified β-cyclodextrin (SBE4-β-CD; a variably substituted sulfobutyl ether with an average degree of substitution of four) on eye irritation and miotic response of an ophthalmically applied pilocarpine prodrug, O,O'-dipropionyl-(1,4-xylylene) bispilocarpate, in albino rabbits were studied. Compared to the commercial pilocarpine eyedrop solution (163 mM, equivalent to 3.4% pilocarpine), 12 - 24 mM pilocarpine prodrug solutions (equivalent to 0.5 - 1.0% pilocarpine, respectively) decreased peak miotic intensity (Imax) and increased the time to reach peak (tmax), but did not significantly affect values for the area under the miosis versus time curves (AUC), i.e. 12 - 24 mM pilocarpine prodrug appeared to be equivalent to 163 mM pilocarpine. Ocularly applied 12 - 24 mM pilocarpine prodrug solutions, however, were more irritating than a commercial pilocarpine eyedrop solution. Coadministered SBE4-β-CD significantly decreased the eye irritation of the pilocarpine prodrug solutions. Coadministered SBE4-β-CD did not affect the miotic response of prodrug solution when the molar ratio of SBE4-β-CD to prodrug was low. However, increasing the molar ratio of SBE4-β-CD to prodrug decreased the Imax and AUC values. The results show that eye irritation of the pilocarpine prodrug is prevented by levels of SBE4-β-CD that do not affect the apparent ocular absorption of the prodrug

Energizing collaborative industry‑academia learning: a present case and future visions

In Industry-Academia Collaborations (IAC) both academic, scientific research results and industrial practitioner findings and experiences are produced. Both types of knowledge should be gathered, codified, and disseminated efficiently and effectively. This paper investigates a recent (2014-2017) large-scale IAC R&D&I program case (Need for Speed, N4S) from a learning perspective. It was one of the programs in the Finnish SHOK (Strategic Centres of Science, Technology, and Innovation) system. The theoretical bases are in innovation management, knowledge management, and higher education (university) pedagogy. In the future, IAC projects should be more and more commonplace since major innovations are hardly ever done in isolation, not even by the largest companies. Both intra-organizational and inter-organizational learning networks are increasingly critical success factors. Collaborative learning capabilities will thus be required more often from all the participating parties. Efficient and effective knowledge creation and sharing are underpinning future core competencies. In this paper, we present and evaluate a collaboratively created and publicly shared digital knowledge repository called "Treasure Chest" produced during our case program. The starting point was a jointly created Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), which defined the main research themes and listed motivating research questions to begin with-i.e., intended learning outcomes (ILO). During the 4-year program, our collaborative industry-academia (I-A) learning process produced a range of theoretical and empirical results, which were iteratively collected and packaged into the Treasure Chest repository. Outstandingly, it contained, in addition to traditional research documents, narratives of the industrial learning experiences and more than 100 actionable knowledge items. In conclusion, our vision of the future is that such transparently shared, ambitious, and versatile outcome goals with a continuous integrative collection of the results are keys to effective networked I-A collaboration and learning. In that way, the N4S largely avoided the general problem of often conflicting motives between industrial firms seeking answers and applied solutions to their immediate practical problems and academic researchers aiming at more generalizable knowledge creation and high-quality scientific publications.Peer reviewe

Continuous and collaborative technology transfer : Software engineering research with real-time industry impact

Context: Traditional technology transfer models rely on the assumption that innovations are created in academia, after which they are transferred to industry using a sequential flow of activities. This model is outdated in contemporary software engineering research that is done in close collaboration between academia and industry and in large consortia rather than on a one-on-one basis. In the new setup, research can be viewed as continuous co-experimentation, where industry and academia closely collaborate and iteratively and jointly discover problems and develop, test, and improve solutions. Objective: The objective of the paper is to answer the following research questions: How can high-quality, ambitious software engineering research in a collaborative setup be conducted quickly and on a large scale? How can real-time business feedback to continuously improve candidate solutions be gained? Method: The proposed model has been created, refined, and evaluated in two large, national Finnish software research programs. For this paper, we conducted thematic interviews with representatives of four companies who participated in these programs. Results: The fundamental change is in the mindset of the participants from technology push by academia to technology pull by companies, resulting in co-creation. Furthermore, continuous cooperation between participants enables solutions to evolve in rapid cycles and forms a scalable model of interaction between research institutes and companies. Conclusions: The multifaceted nature of software engineering research calls for numerous approaches. In particular, when working with human-related topics such as company culture and development methods, many discoveries result from seamless collaboration between companies and research institutes.Peer reviewe

Yhteiskuntaopin opetus ja poliittinen kiinnittyminen peruskoulun yläluokilla

Artikkelissa raportoitavan tutkimuksen kohteena on peruskoulun yhteiskuntaopin opetuksen yhteys nuorten poliittiseen kiinnittymiseen, joka jaetaan tutkimuksessa neljään ulottuvuuteen: poliittiseen kiinnostukseen, poliittiseen tietämykseen ja itsearvioon tietämyksestä, poliittiseen osallistumishalukkuuteen sekä politiikkaa koskeviin käsityksiin. Tutkimusaineistona on peruskoulun yläkouluikäisten nuorten vastaukset poliittista kiinnittymistä mittaavaan kyselyyn kahtena eri ajankohtana. Osallistujat olivat ensimmäisen mittauksen aikana kahdeksannella luokalla (n = 67) ja toisen mittauksen aikana yhdeksännellä luokalla (n = 63). Nuoret opiskelivat mittausten välillä lukuvuoden ajan yhteiskuntaoppia ensimmäistä kertaa koulu-urallaan. Tulosten mukaan nuorten poliittinen kiinnostus, tietämys ja itsearvio tietämyksestä olivat 9. luokalla tilastollisesti korkeampia kuin 8. luokalla. Osallistumishalukkuudessa ei havaittu eroja ikäryhmien välillä, ja politiikkaa koskevien käsitysten osalta eroja ilmeni yhden väitteen kohdalla. 8.-luokkalaiset pitivät kotia tärkeimpänä lähteenä oppia tietoja yhteiskunnallisten asioiden ymmärtämiseksi, kun taas 9.-luokkalaisille koulu oli keskeisin tietolähde yhteiskunnallisten asioiden oppimisessa. Tulosten mukaan koulu näyttäisi onnistuvan yhteiskunnallisen kasvatuksen tavoitteissaan vain osittain. Jatkossa olisi tärkeää kiinnittää huomiota siihen, miten koulussa voitaisiin tukea tiedollisten sisältöjen oppimisen lisäksi nuorten yhteiskunnallista osallistumista edistävien valmiuksien omaksumista.</p

Predictive Value of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) in Identifying Fatal Outcome and Deep Infections in Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia

Peer reviewe

Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Entacapone and Tolcapone after Acute and Repeated Administration: A Comparative Study in the Rat

ABSTRACT Two catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitors, entacapone and tolcapone, were compared in the rat to elucidate the actual differences between their pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics after single and repeated administration. Their inhibitory potencies were also compared in vitro. After intravenous administration (3 mg/kg), the elimination half-life (t 1/2␤ ) of entacapone (0.8 h) was clearly shorter than that of tolcapone (2.9 h). The striatum/serum ratio of tolcapone was 3-fold higher than that of entacapone. After a single oral dose (10 mg/kg), both entacapone and tolcapone produced an equal maximal degree of COMT inhibition in peripheral tissues, but tolcapone inhibited striatal COMT more effectively than did entacapone. After the 7-day treatment (10 mg/kg twice daily), COMT activity had recovered to a level of 67 to 101% of control within 8 h after the last dose of entacapone. In tolcapone-treated animals, there was still extensive COMT inhibition present in peripheral tissues, and the degree of inhibition was higher than that attained after a single dose. The pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling revealed that a plateau of COMT inhibition near the maximal attainable inhibition was reached already by plasma concentrations below 2000 ng/ml, both with entacapone and tolcapone. Entacapone and tolcapone inhibited equally rat liver COMT in vitro with K i values of 10.7 and 10.0 nM, respectively. In conclusion, tolcapone has a longer duration of action and a better brain penetration than entacapone. The results also suggest that peripheral COMT is inhibited continuously when tolcapone is dosed at 12-h intervals, but this was not seen with entacapone. The second-generation catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT, EC 2.1.1.6) inhibitors, entacapone and tolcapone, are indicated as adjuncts to standard levodopa-dopa decarboxylase inhibitor therapy in Parkinson&apos;s disease. They increase the bioavailability of levodopa by inhibiting its peripheral metabolism to an inactive metabolite, 3-O-methyldopa. COMT inhibitors improve the efficacy of the levodopa-dopa decarboxylase inhibitor therapy by prolonging the duration of action and the clinical benefit of levodopa Entacapone and tolcapone apparently behave differently both in experimental animals and humans. However, as a rule, entacapone and tolcapone have been studied only individually; their pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics have not been compared thoroughly after single and repeated dosing. Actually, very little is known about their pharmacodynamics in different tissues after repeated dosing. Furthermore, only the relationship between the plasma drug concentration and COMT activity in erythrocytes has been studied previously A few available studies on entacapone and tolcapone in rats suggest that entacapone is eliminated faster than tolcapone and its oral bioavailability is lower than that of tolcapone. After intravenous administration of 10 mg/kg tolcapone, the t 1/2 was 0.9 h and total clearance 470 ml ϫ h Ϫ1 ϫ kg Ϫ1 . The oral bioavailability was 48% for 20 mg/kg and 56% for 40 mg/kg The time course of COMT activity in different tissues has ABBREVIATIONS. COMT, catechol-O-methyltransferase; t 1/2␤ , elimination half-life (␤-phase); S-COMT; soluble catechol-O-methyltransferase; MB-COMT, membrane-bound catechol-O-methyltransferase; AUE, area under the effect-time curve; AUC, area under the plasma drug concentration-time curve; C 0 , initial plasma concentration; E 0 , baseline effect; E max , maximum attainable effect