<p>Over the last decades, industrial development has brought prosperity and wealth together with triggering unintended ecological degradation. Therefore, a modern society has increasingly demanded companies to take responsibilities for the effects of those business activities that have a negative impact on the environment. Among businesses this has increased the interest towards adopting proactive approaches and practices which aim to reduce these negative impacts. Therefore, the topic of proactive integration of environmental concerns into or-ganizational structure and day-to-day operations is highly relevant and deserves to be investigated.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to analyze why and how companies integrate environmental concerns in their business operations and organizational structure as well as to investigate the critical factors that enable such integration. In this thesis, the integrated deductive and inductive research approaches are applied and the qualitative study is selected in order to better understand the motivations, challenges and perceived benefits for companies when proactively integrating environmental concerns into their business operations and organizational framework. Moreover, the multiple cases study of three Swedish manufacturing companies, namely: Volvo Buses, Trelleborg and Kinnarps is selected as the research strategy. By conducting semi-structured in-depth interviews with the environmental managers, there has not been found a generic pattern as for the ways of incorporating environmental concerns into the operational activities and organizational structure. Nevertheless, the evidence of performing environmentally-conscious design and manufacturing (ECD&M) as well as implementing environmental management systems (EMSs) for achieving improvements in material utilization, hazardous waste and emissions reduction, efficient energy consumption and the use of different systems to prevent possible accidents and environmental emergencies have been identified in the studied manufacturing companies.</p><p>The thesis concludes with the essence of main reasons and benefits from adopting the environmental practices and eco-efficient strategies. Furthermore, the empirical results focus on the tools and methodologies supporting this proactive adoption. Thus, while Design for Environment (DFE) has gained much attention in theory, still only some elements of this methodology are being experienced by studied companies. In line with this, material selection process is recognized in all three organizations as a vital component in product design. As for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), although is the most reliable method for outlining the environmental performance of products still its use and implementation is disadvantaged by its complexity, comprehensive scope and time-intensive application. The empirical results also show that the focus on products, unlike manufacturing processes and manufacturing facili-ties, is still neglected to a certain degree. Furthermore, products are still not within the main focus of ISO 14001. Consequently, from an environmental point of view, EMS covering a wider scope would be preferable and a more useful tool when striving for a sustainable development. Finally, some critical factors for a successful integration of the environmental concerns in business practices are also identified.</p>

The use of the local likelihood method (Tibshirani and Hastie, 1987; Loader, 1996) in the presence of interval-censored or aggregated data leads to a natural consideration of an EM-type strategy, or rather a local EM algorithm. In the thesis, we consider local EM to analyze the point process data that are either interval-censored or aggregated into regional counts. We specifically formulate local EM algorithms for density, intensity and risk estimation and implement the algorithms using a piecewise constant function. We demonstrate that the use of the piecewise constant function at the E-step explicitly results in an iteration that involves an expectation, maximization and smoothing step, or an EMS algorithm considered in Silverman, Jones, Wilson and Nychka (1990). Consequently, we reveal a previously unknown connection between local EM and the EMS algorithm. From a theoretical perspective, local EM and the EMS algorithm complement each other. Although the statistical methodology literature often characterizes EMS methods as ad hoc, local likelihood suggests otherwise as the EMS algorithm arises naturally from a local likelihood consideration in the context of point processes. Moreover, the EMS algorithm not only serves as a convenient implementation of the local EM algorithm but also provides a set of theoretical tools to better understand the role of local EM. In particular, we present results that reinforce the suggestion that the pair of local EM and penalized likelihood are analogous to that of EM and likelihood. Applications include the analysis of bivariate interval-censored data as well as disease mapping for a rare disease, lupus, in the Greater Toronto Area.

The use of the local likelihood method (Tibshirani and Hastie, 1987; Loader, 1996) in the presence of interval-censored or aggregated data leads to a natural consideration of an EM-type strategy, or rather a local EM algorithm. In the thesis, we consider local EM to analyze the point process data that are either interval-censored or aggregated into regional counts. We specifically formulate local EM algorithms for density, intensity and risk estimation and implement the algorithms using a piecewise constant function. We demonstrate that the use of the piecewise constant function at the E-step explicitly results in an iteration that involves an expectation, maximization and smoothing step, or an EMS algorithm considered in Silverman, Jones, Wilson and Nychka (1990). Consequently, we reveal a previously unknown connection between local EM and the EMS algorithm. From a theoretical perspective, local EM and the EMS algorithm complement each other. Although the statistical methodology literature often characterizes EMS methods as ad hoc, local likelihood suggests otherwise as the EMS algorithm arises naturally from a local likelihood consideration in the context of point processes. Moreover, the EMS algorithm not only serves as a convenient implementation of the local EM algorithm but also provides a set of theoretical tools to better understand the role of local EM. In particular, we present results that reinforce the suggestion that the pair of local EM and penalized likelihood are analogous to that of EM and likelihood. Applications include the analysis of bivariate interval-censored data as well as disease mapping for a rare disease, lupus, in the Greater Toronto Area.

Early flowering is important for maize adaptation to short-season growing environments. Dwarfism, by preventing lodging, has the potential to increase grain yield. This thesis investigates three novel mutants of maize. The early flowering mutant (EarlyF) sheds pollen 1 to 5 days earlier than wild type plants. EarlyF, was shorter and developed fewer leaves than wild type plants, suggesting an earlier transition from vegetative to reproductive development. A candidate QTL for EarlyF maps to bin 7.03. The two allelic dwarf mutants, brachytic3-1 and brachytic3-2, have short internodes at maturity, resulting in severely reduced plant height. Despite being short, days to pollen shed and number of leaves were unchanged for both brachytic3-1 and brachytic3-2. brachytic3 maps to a ~ 7 Megabase region of bin 5.04. This thesis characterizes EarlyF, br3-1 and br3-2 and sets the stage for positionally cloning the mutations causing these mutants and has potential to contribute to maize improvement.

Oldenburg, Universiẗat, Diss., 2000. / Dateiformat: zip, Dateien im PDF-Format.

Actualmente, los países industrializados generan la mayoría de su electricidad en grandes instalaciones. Estas centrales explotan economías de escala en inversión y operación, pero se encuentran ubicadas a grandes distancias de los puntos de consumo y muchas de ellas causan gran impacto medioambiental. En este contexto aparece el concepto de Generación Distribuida (GD), basado en energía renovable. Estas tecnologías consisten en centrales de mediana y pequeña escala, conectadas directamente a los sistemas de distribución. Para explotar los beneficios de la GD, es necesario que exista una correcta coordinación de las unidades en una red local. De aquí nace la idea del Generador Virtual (GeVi), ente encargado de la coordinación operacional de distintas unidades de GD, optimizando su desempeño conjunto. El objetivo general del presente trabajo de título es proponer, desarrollar y evaluar un sistema de gestión de energía (Energy Management System o EMS) automatizado, para una aplicación real en la comunidad rural de Huatacondo, primera región de Tarapacá. Para ello, en base de un trabajo previo se desarrolla una herramienta computacional, integrando predictores de consumo, potencia eólica y potencia fotovoltaica con un optimizador lineal entero mixto. Tomando en cuenta la naturaleza estocástica de la velocidad del viento y del movimiento de las nubes, se hace imprescindible contar con una herramienta que sea capaz de reaccionar ante diferencias importantes entre las predicciones y la realidad, de manera de optimizar y dar una mayor confiabilidad al GeVi. Con el fin de lograr esto, se utiliza la metodología de ventana deslizante. La metodología propuesta se valida empíricamente a través de una simulación de tipo Monte Carlo, generándose 500 escenarios de la operación del EMS, tanto para el caso con y sin ventana deslizante. Como entradas relevantes de las pruebas se utilizan perfiles reales y predicciones de: consumo eléctrico, potencia solar y potencia eólica. Para realizar este trabajo, se analizan datos históricos de velocidad de viento, consumos y potencias fotovoltaicas en la microred de Huatacondo. Dado que al momento de realizar este trabajo la microrred no se encontraba en pleno funcionamiento, se simula la operación de ésta. Se trabaja con un horizonte de evaluación de 2 días y una tasa de refresco de 1 hora. Los resultados obtenidos corroboran los beneficios del uso de ventana deslizante. Se determina el ahorro o gasto adicional con respecto a no haber implementado la metodología de ventana deslizante. En un 98.8% de los casos se presenta reducción de costos. El promedio de ahorro fue de un 10.4% al utilizar ventana deslizante. Esta metodología requiere 23 veces más recursos computacionales que sin hacer uso de ella, tardando 31 segundos por ejecución en un computador personal para un total de 12 minutos con 19 segundos en promedio para el predespacho de un día. Como líneas de investigación futura se propone realizar un análisis de la operación real en Huatacondo y el predespacho dado por el EMS. Además, se puede analizar el impacto del desplazamiento de demanda que no fue considerada en este trabajo. Finalmente, se propone generalizar el EMS para permitir una fácil aplicación a otras microrredes de características distintas.

This thesis deals with the development of quotation system for Mikroelektronika company in the electronic manufactoring services business area. The first part analyzes the current state of the quotation system using the BPMN 2.0 standard. Requirements for system development are formulated based on identified shortcomings. The second part describes the proposed solution using use case diagrams, process diagrams and entity-relationship diagrams. The implementation of the proposed changes via Nette Framework tool is described in the third section. Developed solution provides all the necessary tools for a complete offer creation.

No description available.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is an institution and product of public health, health care, and public safety that is chopped and scattered across multiple jurisdictional deployment methodologies throughout Arizona. To fully-asses the EMS needs of the state, those jurisdictions are considered as a whole; for it is the whole that makes a system, and a system is what truly impacts patient outcomes. Evaluating the ""whole"" is the genesis and driver of the 2016 Arizona Statewide EMS Needs Assessment (ASENA). The primary objective of ASENA is to establish a current ""snap-shot"" of EMS in the state while simultaneously identifying needs and/or areas that can be targeted for further analysis and/or improvement as part of Population Health Management and Emergency Medical Services Integration under the AZ Flex Grant funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). In addition, the secondary objective of ASENA is to compare and contrast this current ""snap-shot"" with data obtained in a more narrow needs assessment conducted in 2001, allowing comparison of changes in Arizona's critical access EMS system over 15 years. To accomplish this, a 105-question needs assessment survey tool was developed and distributed to EMS agencies throughout the state. The fully-vetted survey tool collected information pertaining to sixteen core functional sections. Eighty-six agencies fully-completed the needs assessment survey tool, with respondents evenly distributed across the state's four EMS coordinating regions and representative of the various service-delivery methodologies. The combined service areas of the respondents cover over 85% of the state's population. Arizona's statewide EMS system is well organized and positioned to deliver advanced levels of prehospital care for the vast majority of its citizens and visitors, with some variation between urban and rural regions. Key needs identified relate to: patient care reporting between EMS providers, emergency departments and receiving hospitals; quality assurance activities; education and skills training programs; dispatch system capabilities; mass casualty and public health preparedness; equipment and supplies; and more robust use of data and analyses to inform continuous EMS system improvement.

C. elegans is a commonly used genetic model organism due to the ease of genetic screens, transgenesis, and microscopy. Here, I describe methods that improve transgenesis in C. elegans and the development of a genetic screen to identify genes involved in the piRNA pathway. Transgenesis is commonly used for most laboratories that utilize C. elegans and improvements are therefore likely to facilitate research across many research areas. In the first chapter, I characterized a pan-muscular promoter that drives fluorophore expression to help identify C. elegans transgenesis. This promoter is an improved co-injection marker as it drives bright fluorescence with low toxicity and high efficiency. In the second chapter, I study piRNAs which are a large class of non-coding RNA that play important roles in protecting the genome from transposable elements in most animals. The study of piRNAs has mostly focused on their function in the germline, but recent evidence suggests functions in somatic cells such as neurons. To identify genes involved in the piRNA pathway in C. elegans, I performed a chemical genetic screen. I identified one mutant with a somatic phenotype and six mutants with a germline phenotype. I have focused on the germline and sequenced two strains and identified candidate genes involved in the piRNA pathway. Future work will focus on validating and identifying the remaining mutants.