45 research outputs found
Microscopical Evaluation of Smears of the Leptomeninges to Predict Meningitis in Piglets
No full textSIMPLE SUMMARY: Meningitis (inflammation of the membranes covering the brain) is a common problem in 3- to 10-week-old piglets. It is often caused by bacteria that are called Streptococcus. Clinical signs such as problems with coordination of the limbs can be observed by the farmer, but it is also possible that piglets die suddenly, before clinical signs are detected. Therefore, examining dead piglets is often performed to establish a diagnosis. Unfortunately, meningitis is often difficult to recognise by the eye. To assist veterinarians in forming a quick diagnosis of meningitis and possible bacterial involvement, a microscopic evaluation of cells taken from the meninges was performed. This examination allowed the prediction of the likely presence of meningitis and the involvement of Streptococcus species in most of the cases. Microscopic findings were compared with bacteriological culture results, and based on this comparison, indications of meningitis and Streptococcal presence seemed correct in 89% and 100% of the cases, respectively. However, if only a few cells indicating meningitis were observed microscopically, no reliable prediction was possible. In conclusion, microscopic evaluation of cells from the meninges of piglets can help swine practitioners in establishing a tentative diagnosis of meningitis more quickly, which allows for better treatment, improves animal welfare, and reduces antimicrobial use. ABSTRACT: Meningitis, caused by bacterial infections such as Streptococcus spp., is a frequently observed cause of death in pigs. In order to implement effective treatment and avoid further losses, it is important to establish this diagnosis quickly. However, this is often difficult because macroscopic lesions may not be visible, and additional laboratory testing may take several days. The present study investigated whether microscopical examination of impression smears of the leptomeninges taken during necropsy can help in establishing a presumptive diagnosis of meningitis in pigs more quickly. In total, 54 pigs suffering from neurological signs and/or (acute) mortality were examined. They were 3 to 10 weeks old and originated from 16 farms. From each pig, bacterial culture was performed on one half of the brain using a swab from the leptomeninges. From the other half, paired cytological impression smears of the leptomeninges were stained with a commercial quick stain dye (Hemacolor(®)) and Gram stain and microscopically evaluated for the abundance of neutrophils and the presence of short-chain coccoid bacteria. Bacterial culture of the leptomeninges was positive in 36/54 cases, in 28 of which Streptococcus spp. were found. The numbers of smears with low, moderate, or high abundance of neutrophils were 19, 17, and 18, respectively. Short-chain coccoid bacteria were detected successfully in 12 pigs in the Gram-stained smear. The positive predictive value of smears with moderate or high abundance of neutrophils for bacterial presence and, therefore, likely meningitis was 89%, whereas the negative predictive value of smears with low abundance of neutrophils was 74%. The positive predictive value of smears with short chains of coccoid bacteria for diagnosis of Streptococcus spp. was 100%, whereas the negative predictive value was 62%. In conclusion, microscopical examination of impression smears of the leptomeninges of piglets with neurological signs and/or (acute) mortality is a feasible procedure that can help swine practitioners in establishing a tentative diagnosis of meningitis more quickly, especially if neutrophils are abundant, and short chains of coccoid bacteria are present
The clinical importance of white matter hyperintensities on brain magnetic resonance imaging: systematic review and meta-analysis.
No full textObjectives: To review the evidence for an association of white matter hyperintensities with risk of stroke, cognitive decline, dementia, and death.
Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Data sources: PubMed from 1966 to 23 November 2009.
Study selection: Prospective longitudinal studies that used magnetic resonance imaging and assessed the impact of white matter hyperintensities on risk of incident stroke, cognitive decline, dementia, and death, and, for the meta-analysis, studies that provided risk estimates for a categorical measure of white matter hyperintensities, assessing the impact of these lesions on risk of stroke, dementia, and death.
Data extraction: Population studied, duration of follow-up, method used to measure white matter hyperintensities, definition of the outcome, and measure of the association of white matter hyperintensities with the outcome.
Data synthesis: 46 longitudinal studies evaluated the association of white matter hyperintensities with risk of stroke (n=12), cognitive decline (n=19), dementia (n=17), and death (n=10). 22 studies could be included in a meta-analysis (nine of stroke, nine of dementia, eight of death). White matter hyperintensities were associated with an increased risk of stroke (hazard ratio 3.3, 95% confidence interval 2.6 to 4.4), dementia (1.9, 1.3 to 2.8), and death (2.0, 1.6 to 2.7). An association of white matter hyperintensities with a faster decline in global cognitive performance, executive function, and processing speed was also suggested.
Conclusion: White matter hyperintensities predict an increased risk of stroke, dementia, and death. Therefore white matter hyperintensities indicate an increased risk of cerebrovascular events when identified as part of diagnostic investigations, and support their use as an intermediate marker in a research setting. Their discovery should prompt detailed screening for risk factors of stroke and dementia
"1 Hour Predict" Software Development Analysis Based on DPD Estonia Ltd
No full textHetkel toimub ettevõttes DPD Eesti AS veoringide optimeerimine peamiselt kulleri isetegevuse tulemusena. DPD Eesti AS poolt on ära määratud kulleri piirkond, aga piirkonna siseselt optimeerib kuller teekonna ise. DPD Eesti AS transpordikorraldajad peavad jälgima ekspress kaupade õigeaegset tarnet ning vajadusel jälgima kulleri marsruudi läbimis loogikat ja efektiivsust. 1HP tarkvara DPD Eesti AS kullerite käsiterminalidele on vajalik selleks, et tõsta kliendirahulolu ja läbi veoringide optimeerimise hoida kokku transpordikulusid. Peale 1HP tarkvara rakendamist väheneb kullerite tööaeg, mis tõstab kullerite efektiivsust ehk kullerid suudavad sama kuluga teostada rohkem tarneid ja pealekorjeid. 1HP tarkvara vajalikkuse põhjendamiseks analüüsis autor kliendirahulolu uuringut ja nädalapõhist kvaliteedi raportit. Diplomitöös tõi autor välja peamised parendusettepanekud klientide poolt, mida võiks DPD Eesti AS muuta seoses pakkide kohale toomisega. Laialt levinuim probleem oli pakkide tarnete aeg 09:00-17:00. Klientidele ei sobinud sellise tarneaknaga ajad, sest kliendid soovivad täpsemat tarneaega. Teise probleemina tõid kliendid välja ebatäpsed tarnete sooritamise ajad. Isegi, kui kuller suutis kokku leppida kliendiga tarneaja, siis kuller siiski suutis jõuda adressaadini hiljem või varem lubatud tarneajast. Vähem esinenud probleemidena tõid kliendid välja asjaolu, et DPD Eesti AS kuller helistab liiga vara kliendile ja tarneaja kokkulepe jõuab neile läbi mitmete infoallikate. Eelmainitud probleemid suudab 1HP tarkvara likvideerida ning seeläbi tõsta klientide rahulolu. Eraisikute pakkide kohaletoimetamise kvaliteet oli kõikidel analüüsitavatel alltöövõtjatel alla eesmärgi tulemuse. Antud protsent peaks tõusma, kui DPD Eesti AS suudab rakendada vastava tagastussüsteemi koodi, millega kullerid saavad ära märgistada, et pakist keeldumine toimus läbi 1HP süsteemi. Geokodeerimine on üks 1HP tarkvara peamiseid murekohti. Ilma geokodeerimiseta ei suudaks süsteem veoringe efektiivselt optimeerida. Autor analüüsis geokodeerimise tulemusi ning tõi välja peamised probleemid, mis esinevad adressaatide aadressite sisestamisel. Lahenduse näol tõi autor välja ühtse andmete sisestamise andmebaasi, kus kliendid sisestaksid adressaadid vastavalt 56 etteantud juhiste järgi. Geokodeerimise tulemuste analüüsist saab järeldada, et 1HP tarkvara saab töötada DPD Eesti AS turul. Autor analüüsis ettevõttes DPD Eesti AS teostatud 1HP tarkvara testi tulemusi. Peamised indikaatorid, et tarkvara suudab optimeerida ja määrata õigeid tarneaknaid klientidele, olid ajaline täpsus ja süsteemi poolt optimeeritud marsruut. Süsteem suutis kulleri teekonda optimeerida 13% võrra lühemaks. Kuller ei sõitnud süsteemi poolt optimeeritud teekonda, vaid lähtus siiski enda optimeerimisest ning sõitis seega 23,3 kilomeetrit rohkem. Ajaline täpsus testil oli 99%, antud protsent näitab õigel ajal sooritatud tarneid. Põhjus, miks ajaline täpsus ei tulnud 100%, oli tingitud geokodeerimise veast. Lähtudes sellest, et hetkel on 1HP tarkvara kasutusel Hollandis, pidas autor vajalikuks analüüsida tarkvara toimimist Hollandis. Analüüsitava veoringi tulemustest selgus, et kuller oli hilinenud 45,5% kogu tarnetest. Hilinemiste põhjuseks oli Hollandi kulleri ligipääs liiga paljudele 1HP tarkvara võimalustele. Hollandi kullerid said ise muuta enda veoringide tarnete järjestust ja tarnete ajavahemikke. Antud tegevused tõid kaasa hilinemised, sest kullerid ise ei suuda tervet veoringi optimeerida ühe tunnise ajavahemikuga. Autor optimeeris ühte DPD Eesti AS veoringi lähtudes 1HP tarkvara meetoditest. Selleks kasutas autor rändkaupmehe ülesannet. Autor suutis optimeerida kilometraaži poolest analüüsitava veoringi 8,55% lühemaks ning ajaliselt oleks kuller võitnud 14 minutit. Autor muutis peatuste loogilist järjestust ning kasutas sihtkohtade läbimiseks erinevate teekatetega teid. Viimases peatükis analüüsis autor võimalikke probleeme ja nende lahendusi, peale 1HP tarkvara käivitumist. Lahenduste rakendamisega peab ettevõte hakkama tegelema võimalikult varakult, sest muidu ei anna projekt oodatavat tulemust. 1HP tarkvara toimimise eelduseks on eeltöö kulleritega ja klientidega.The topic of current thesis is – „1 Hour Predict“ Software Development Based on DPD Estonia Ltd. In the transportation field, the competition is very high, so companies try to give the best solution with minimal cost. The key factor for holding and winning the costumers is high level costumer service. DPD Estonia Ltd is making everything to satisfy customers needs. DPD Estonia Ltd has six services with six extra services that customers can buy and send their packages with the best solution for their customer. For higher level satisfaction in the field of business-to-customer DPD Estonia Ltd is going to install new software solution on to their couriers handterminal. The software is called „1 Hour Predict”. This software can calculate couriers route with one hour accuracy. The aim of the thesis is to find out, can this software working in DPD Estonia Ltd market and can the sofware increase customers satisfaction. This thesis can be used when DPD Estonia Ltd is going to launch the pilot verison of „1 Hour Predict”. In this thesis author will analyze „1 Hour Predict“ first test in DPD Estonia Ltd. The software is working in Netherland and so the author will analyze the software solution in Netherland and then author will optimize one DPD Estonia Ltd round trip with the use of The Travelling Salesmans Problem Method. Author describes the need for the software and brings out the main problems, why DPD Estonia Ltd has to install the software. Customers are not happy, that they receive their packages from 09:00 to 17:00. The second problem is that couriers are late. If the package delivery times are agreed, the couriers still manage to be late. The software sends a e-mail or text message to the customer, when the package will arrive. All problems, that are represented in the thesis, can be solved with „1 Hour Predict“ software. DPD Estonia Ltd sent a list of addresses to the software designer to see if the company can geocode the adresses. The test was successful and the result was, that the company can geocode Estonian addresses. So the software can work in the DPD Estonia Ltd market. 58 „1 Hour Predict” software test in DPD Estonia Ltd was successful. Program optimized the couriers route about 13%. The time-window accuracy was 99%, that was the main indicator, that had to be high as possible. That percentage shows how many customers where satisfied with DPD Estonia Ltd service that day. The reason why this indicator was not 100%, was the inaccuracy of geocoding. Because of geocoding the logical sequence of stops were inaccurate. Author optimized one DPD Estonia Ltd round trip with the use of Travelling Salesman Problem Method. Author optimized couriers route about 8,6%, it means, that if the courier had followed the route that author optimized, his daily win could have been 15,6 kilometers and he could have finished his work 14 minutes earlier. In the last chapter author brings out the main risks and problems, that can occur when „1 Hour Predict” pilot version is launched in DPD Estonia Ltd. For every problem author brings out solution. „1 Hour Predict” software solution can operate in the DPD Estonia market field, because the software is capable to geocode Estonian addresses. Because of its main fuction to optimize the couriers route with one hour time-window, the software can increase the customers satisfaction. The software is also capable to optimize the couriers route, because of that DPD Estonia Ltd can save up from the transportation cost
About the problems of marketing strategy formation in the OÜ Lihapagar
No full textOÜ Lihapagar on tegutsenud alates 2009. aasta suvest ning ettevõtte põhitegevuseks on lihatoodete tootmine ja turustamine. Ettevõtte esimene toodang läks välja 30. novembril 2009. aastal. 2011. aasta müüginäitajate põhjal jaguneb käive kolme tootegrupi vahel järgnevalt: 20% moodustab käibest suvised tooted, 10% talvised tooted ning 70% aastaringsed tooted.
Antud lõputöö eesmärgiks oli teha eeltööd Lihapagar OÜ võimaliku turundusstrateegia aluste kujundamiseks ja analüüsist tuvastatud probleemide põhjal teha ettevõttele parendusettepanekuid. Kuna ettevõtte tegevust mõjutavad mitmed tegurid, siis adekvaatse informatsiooni saamiseks tuli läbida mitmeid erinevaid keskkonna analüüse, mille tulemusena sai välja selgitada ettevõtte positsioon tegevusharus.
Käesolevas töös on kasutatud järgnevaid kuut keskkonna hindamismeetodit: PEST – analüüsi, Porteri viie konkurentsijõu mudelit, 4P mudelit, SWOT – analüüsi, ärikliendi uuringut ja konkurentsipositsiooni kaalutud hindamist.
Ettevõtte keskkonna analüüsist selgus, et Lihapagar OÜ-l on nii mõnigi probleem, millega tuleks tegeleda. Näiteks võiks ettevõte arendada oma tootekvaliteeti ning väljanägemist, muutes tooted rohkem atraktiivsemaks ja ligi kutsuvamaks. Lisaks tuleb ettevõttel tegeleda tootearendamisega, luues uusi tooteid ning mille tulemusena laieneb ka ettevõtte tootesortiment. Olulist rolli toodete juures määrab ka toote pakend, mis on hetkel suhteliselt tavaline. Tuleb muuta nii toodete pakendeid, kui toodet ise, muutes nad tarbijaskonnale atraktiivsemaks ja silmapaistvamaks.
Ettevõtte keskkonna analüüsist ilmnes ka kliendiprobleem. Hetkeseisuga on enamus äriklientidest kauplused. Ettevõttel oleks vaja saada uusi kliente, kellega pikaajalist koostööd teha. Suurepäraselt sobiks uuteks klientideks suuremad asutused nagu näiteks lasteaiad, koolid ja vanadekodud. Sellega oleks tagatud pikaajaline koostöö. Lisaks sellele tagaks uute klientide saamine mingil määral tõsta ka ettevõtte tuntust. Kui siiamaani on olnud OÜ Lihapagar tuntud vaid Lõuna-Eesti piirkonnas ja eriti Põlvamaal, siis uute klientide tekkimine
väljaspool Põlvamaad suurendaks ettevõtte üldist tuntust turul. Ettevõtte tuntust saab saavutada ka teiste vahenditega - näiteks tehes rohkem reklaami ja käies vabaõhuüritustel oma tooteid müümas. Kuna aga reklaam on suhteliselt kulukas, ning ettevõttel ei ole piisavalt vabu ressursse, siis on ettevõtte tuntuse tõstmiseks teine tegevus kõige tõhusam - reklaamida ja pakkuda oma tooteid väliüritustel. Selline tegevus annab võimaluse uute klientide tekkimisele.
Üheks olulisemaks probleemiks, mis analüüsiga tuvastati oli väga suur konkurents ettevõtte tooteturul. Kuna OÜ Lihapagar on suhteliselt uus ja väike ettevõte, ei ole organisatsioonil veel välja kujunenud oma kindlat positsiooni turul. Ettevõtte kõrval tegutseb palju tuntuid ja suuri konkurente, kes on suurema turuosa juba ära hõivanud, ning kellega konkureerimine on raske ning rohkelt ressursse nõudev. Lisaks tugevatele ja suurtele konkurentidele, on ka väiksemad konkurendid, kes ei ole veel antud tegevusharus nii tugevaks saanud. Sellest olenemata peab OÜ Lihapagar oma konkurentide hulka arvestama nii suuremaid, kui ka väiksemaid lihatööstuse ettevõtteid, kuna turundusstrateegia kujundamisel on vaja arvestada mõlemat tüüpi konkurentidega. Uute konkurentide sisenemisel antud tegevusharusse võib ettevõtte turuosa väheneda või hoopis kaduda. Sellest tulenevalt ei võigi OÜ Lihapagar juhid strateegilist tegevust hooletusse jätta, vaid tuleb pidevalt aktiivselt tegutseda firma heaolu nimel, et vältida olukorda, kus kaotatakse oma turuosa uutele tegevusharusse sisenevatele ettevõtetele. Lisaks sellele tuleb ettevõttel kinnistada oma konkurentsieelis, kas toote kvaliteedi, välimuse, teeninduse või omapära abil.
Autor viis läbi äriklientide uuringu, mille eesmärgiks oli välja selgitada klientide hinnangud ettevõtte toodetele, klienditeenindusele ning tarnele. Küsitluslehed saadeti laiali 35-le erinevale ärikliendile, kellelt tagasisidet saadi 17-lt. Küsitluse käigus selgus, et ärikliendid hindavad ettevõtte klienditeenindust ning tarnet väga kõrgelt, toodet aga suhteliselt keskpäraseks. Osade tootegruppide puhul olid põhjenduseks toodud välja samad probleemid, mis tekkisid ka keskkonna analüüsimisel, ehk siis toote kvaliteet, väljanägemine, pakend, tuntus, ka toote vähene reklaamimine ning tootearendus. Lisaks pakkusid ärikliendid omapoolseid ettepanekuid seoses toodetega. Näiteks anti soovitusi toote pakendi suuruse kohta. Üks vastanutest oli teinud ka ettepaneku teha kaupluse töötajatele toote tutvustusi.
Ettevõtte konkurentsipositsiooni hindamise tulemusena selgus, et OÜ Lihapagar on suhteliselt madalal positsioonil, võrreldes Eesti suuremate lihatööstuse ettevõtetega. Analüüsis võrreldi omavahel seitset erinevat näitajat, milleks olid: kvaliteeditase, hind, toodete valik, tuntus
turul, paindlikkus ning klientuuri geograafiline paiknemine. Selgus, et ka siin analüüsis enamus tekkinud probleemidest on juba eelnevalt üles kerkinud. Kõige probleemsemateks näitajateks OÜ Lihapagari jaoks antud hinnangu järgi olid: kvaliteeditase, tuntus turul ning klientide geograafiline jagunemine. Siinkohal selgus aga ka Lihapagar OÜ üks tugevaim omadus, milleks on paindlikkus.
Käesolevas lõputöös on saavutatud püstitatud põhieesmärk. On tehtud eeltöö Lihapagar OÜ võimaliku turundusstrateegia aluste kujundamiseks, ning lisaks sellele on pakutud ettevõttele parendusettepanekuid tulenevalt analüüsist tuvastatud probleemide põhjal.The thesis is based on company OÜ Lihapagar, which operates in Põlva. OÜ Lihapagar is an enterprise based on 100% Estonian capital. The company started its activities in year 2009 by manufacturing meat products.
Topic selection is based on the actual market situation nowadays and the company's interest to analyse its opportunities for development. There has no similar studies been carried out in the company like marketing strategy and customers satisfaction survey. Business clients’ feedback collection has been minimal. The company lacks a comprehensive overview of their market, competitors and marketing strategy.
The purpose of the author is to study the basic preconditions for developing the marketing strategy and to propose the actions for company´s activities improvement.
The following assessment methods for studying marketing environment of OÜ Lihapagar have been used:
PEST analysis model;
Porter's five competitive force analysis model;
4P model;
SWOT analysis;
business customers survey;
assessment of the competitive position.
One of the most important issues is high competition on the market of meat product in Estonia. OÜ Lihapagar is a relatively new and small enterprise, the organization has not developed its strong market position yet. However, the company operates alongside many well-known and major competitors who have already gained strong market position. Company has not established its product quality and appearance, which makes the products less attractive for the consumer. However, the business clients highly value the flexibility of the OÜ Lihapagar in delivery and overall quality of delivery. They also made some useful proposals for product development – especially in the packaging. Also the visibility of the company has to be strongly enhanced.
In the final thesis the main goal has been achieved, which was to provide groundwork for OÜ Lihapagar for possible market strategy and suggestions based on analysis results
Evaluation of the effectiveness of the use of N1-category subcontracting in the company Venipak Eesti OÜ
No full textAlates interneti leiutamisest on e-kaubanduse mahud kasvavas trendis ning aastal 2021 ulatus müüdud kaupade maht 5,2 triljoni dollarini ning 2026. aastaks prognoositakse ligi 56% mahu kasvu kuni 8,1 triljoni dollarini [1]. COVID-19 pandeemia ajal hüppeliselt kasvanud pakisaadetiste maht tõestas veelkord, et ostlemine liigub internetti ning klient jääb kodus või tööl oma ostu ootama. 2022. aastal Ukrainas puhkenud sõda avaldas küll negatiivset mõju rahvusvahelisele kullerturule Venemaal toodetud kaupade müügikeelu näol, kuid mõju ei olnud nii suur kui seda alguses kardeti ning kullerettevõtted suutsid säilitada töömahu, paraku ei toimunud märkimisväärset kasvu. Kasvav e-kaubandus ja kullerettevõtete vahel suurenev konkurents nõuab pakivedajatelt üha efektiivsemaid ja kulusäästlikumaid tarnevõimalusi, et pakkuda era- ja äriklientidele parimat võimalikku teenust ja klienditeeninduse kogemust.
Autor valis lõputöö teemaks Venipak Eesti OÜ N1 kategooria [2] transpordi efektiivsuse hindamise. Teema valik on seotud järjest kasvava hinnasurvega alltöövõtjate poolt, mis on ajendanud leidma transpordi korraldamiseks alternatiivseid lahendusi. Autor väidab, et praegune transpordikorraldus ei ole efektiivne ning on olemas paremaid viise transpordi korraldamiseks. Töö käigus võrdleb autor erinevaid tööjõu ja transpordi kasutamise võimalusi ning analüüsib nende positiivseid ja negatiivseid aspekte majanduslikul ja strateegilisel tasemel.
Lõputöö eesmärk on leida parim võimalik transpordi korraldus viimase miili kullerpakkide tarnimiseks. Selleks võrreldakse viit erinevat võimalust:
• Täielik alltöövõtt;
• Renditud kuller ja oma kaubik;
• Oma kuller ja oma kaubik;
• Oma kuller ja renditud kaubik;
• Kombineeritud lahendus tulenevalt läbisõidust.
Võrdluse tulemusena selgitas autor välja, et alltöövõtu kasutamine on hetkeolukorras igati põhjendatud, kuid koostöölepingu puudumisega kaasnev risk on suur. Kaasates emaettevõte oma kuller ja oma kaubik mudeli elluviimisesse on võimalik tõsta kullerteenuse kvaliteeti seejuures kulusid märkimisväärselt tõstmata. Oma tööjõu kasutamine on põhjendatud vaid linnaringidel, mille igakuine läbisõit on kuni 2000 km ning tööpäeva pikkus ei ületa normaalaega. Suurema läbisõiduga ringidel on kulud veovahendile kõrgemad ning ka tööpäeva pikkus pikem, mis tekitab juurde kulusid remondi- ja hoolduskulude ning ületunnitöötasude näol. Lahenduseks on osaliselt asendada alltöövõtt oma töötajatega ringidel, mis ei tekita ettevõttele rahalisi lisakulusid ning annab võimaluse koolitada välja professionaalne kaader, kellest hiljem vajadusel ka logistikud üles kasvatada.Since the invention of the Internet, e-commerce volumes have been on the rise, and in 2021, the volume of goods sold reached 5.2 trillion dollars, with an expected growth of nearly 56% by 2026 to 8.1 trillion dollars [1]. The surge in package shipments during the COVID-19 pandemic further demonstrated that shopping is moving online, with customers staying at home or work waiting for their purchases. Although the war in Ukraine in 2022 had a negative impact on the international courier market due to the ban on the sale of Russian-produced goods, the impact was not as significant as initially feared, and courier companies were able to maintain their workload, albeit with no significant growth. The growing e-commerce and increasing competition between courier companies require parcel carriers to provide ever more efficient and cost-effective delivery options to provide the best possible service and customer experience to both individual and business customers.
The author chose to evaluate the efficiency of Venipak Estonia OÜ's N1-category [2] transport for the thesis. The choice of topic is related to the increasing price pressure from subcontractors, which has prompted the search for alternative transportation solutions. The author argues that the current transportation management is not effective and that there are better ways to manage transportation. During the work, the author compares different options for using labor and transportation and analyzes their positive and negative aspects on an economic and strategic level.
The aim of the thesis is to find the best possible transportation arrangement for delivering courier packages for the last mile. To achieve this, the author compares five different options:
• Complete outsourcing;
• Rented courier and own van;
• Own courier and own van;
• Own courier and rented van;
• Combined solution based on mileage.
As a result of the comparison, the author found that using outsourcing is justifiable in the current situation, but the risk associated with the lack of a cooperation agreement is high. Involving the parent company in implementing the own courier and own van model can improve the quality of courier service without significantly increasing costs. The use of own labor is only justified in city circuits with a monthly mileage of up to 2000 km and a workday that does not exceed normal working hours. Higher mileage circuits have higher transportation costs and longer workdays, which create additional costs for repairs, maintenance, and overtime. The solution is to partially replace outsourcing with own employees on circuits that do not create additional financial costs for the company and provide an opportunity to train a professional team that can later be used to train logisticians if necessary
Two novel porcine teschovirus strains as the causative agents of encephalomyelitis in the Netherlands
No full textBackground: Porcine teschovirus (PTV) circulates among wild and domesticated pig populations without causing clinical disease, however neuroinvasive strains have caused high morbidity and mortality in the past. In recent years, several reports appeared with viral agents as a cause for neurologic signs in weanling and growing pigs among which PTV and new strains of PTV were described. Case presentation: On two unrelated pig farms in the Netherlands the weanling pig population showed a staggering gate, which developed progressively to paresis or paralysis of the hind legs with a morbidity up to 5%. After necropsy we diagnosed a non-suppurative encephalomyelitis on both farms, which was most consistent with a viral infection. PTV was detected within the central nervous system by qPCR. From both farms PTV full-length genomes were sequenced, which clustered closely with PTV-3 (98%) or PTV-11 (85%). Other common swine viruses were excluded by qPCR and sequencing of the virus. Conclusion: Our results show that new neuroinvasive PTV strains still emerge in pigs in the Netherlands. Further research is needed to investigate the impact of PTV and other viral agents causing encephalomyelitis within wild and domestic pig populations supported by the awareness of veterinarians.</p
Project Retrosight. Understanding the returns from cardiovascular and stroke research: Case Studies
No full textCopyright @ 2011 RAND Europe. All rights reserved. The full text article is available via the link below.This project explores the impacts arising from cardiovascular and stroke research funded 15-20 years ago and attempts to draw out aspects of the research, researcher or environment that are associated with high or low impact. The project is a case study-based review of 29 cardiovascular and stroke research grants, funded in Australia, Canada and UK between 1989 and 1993. The case studies focused on the individual grants but considered the development of the investigators and ideas involved in the research projects from initiation to the present day. Grants were selected through a stratified random selection approach that aimed to include both high- and low-impact grants. The key messages are as follows: 1) The cases reveal that a large and diverse range of impacts arose from the 29 grants studied. 2) There are variations between the impacts derived from basic biomedical and clinical research. 3) There is no correlation between knowledge production and wider impacts 4) The majority of economic impacts identified come from a minority of projects. 5) We identified factors that appear to be associated with high and low impact. This report presents the key observations of the study and an overview of the methods involved. It has been written for funders of biomedical and health research and health services, health researchers, and policy makers in those fields. It will also be of interest to those involved in research and impact evaluation.This study was initiated with internal funding from RAND Europe and HERG, with continuing funding from the UK National Institute for Health Research, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and the National Heart Foundation of Australia. The UK Stroke Association and the British Heart Foundation provided support in kind through access to their archives
Pentraxin-3 as a Marker of Advanced Atherosclerosis Results from the Bruneck, ARMY and ARFY Studies
No full textPubMed ID: 22319633This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
