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Emergency department (ED) crowding is a well-recognized threat to patient safety and it has been repeatedly associated with increased mortality. Accurate forecasts of future service demand could lead to better resource management and has the potential to improve treatment outcomes. This logic has motivated an increasing number of research articles but there has been little to no effort to move these findings from theory to practice. In this article, we present first results of a prospective crowding early warning software, that was integrated to hospital databases to create real-time predictions every hour over the course of 5 months in a Nordic combined ED using Holt-Winters' seasonal methods. We showed that the software could predict next hour crowding with a nominal AUC of 0.98 and 24 hour crowding with an AUC of 0.79 using simple statistical models. Moreover, we suggest that afternoon crowding can be predicted at 1 p.m. with an AUC of 0.84., Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures

Emergency department (ED) crowding is a significant threat to patient safety and it has been repeatedly associated with increased mortality. Forecasting future service demand has the potential patient outcomes. Despite active research on the subject, several gaps remain: 1) proposed forecasting models have become outdated due to quick influx of advanced machine learning models (ML), 2) amount of multivariable input data has been limited and 3) discrete performance metrics have been rarely reported. In this study, we document the performance of a set of advanced ML models in forecasting ED occupancy 24 hours ahead. We use electronic health record data from a large, combined ED with an extensive set of explanatory variables, including the availability of beds in catchment area hospitals, traffic data from local observation stations, weather variables, etc. We show that N-BEATS and LightGBM outpeform benchmarks with 11 % and 9 % respective improvements and that DeepAR predicts next day crowding with an AUC of 0.76 (95 % CI 0.69-0.84). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to document the superiority of LightGBM and N-BEATS over statistical benchmarks in the context of ED forecasting.

The Witwatersrand Supergroup in South Africa is not only the best-preserved sequence of Archean sedimentary rocks but also hosts the largest gold deposit on earth, yet discovered. The gold is situated in quartz-pebble conglomerates and is generally associated with a wide variety of minerals, including pyrite (FeS2), uraninite (UO2), pyrobitumen, base metal sulfides and phyllosilicates. Despite extensive research over the past 100 years, the origin of the gold is still debated with two models receiving most of the attention: the modified paleoplacer model and the hydrothermal models. The modified paleoplacer model assumes that detrital gold was transported into the host rock by fluvial processes, followed by a short-range mobilization (micrometer- to meter scale) by hydrothermal fluids that infiltrated the host rock. In the hydrothermal model, gold was introduced into the host rock by postdepositional hydrothermal fluids from an external source.To find new evidence for the origin of gold, we present new high-resolution 3-dimensional (3D) data based on the combination of X-ray computed micro tomography (micro-CT) and spectral X-ray computed micro tomography (Sp-CT). We combine both imaging techniques as micro-CT is an excellent tool for high resolution structural characterization and Sp-CT has the power to chemically identify a selection of minerals relevant in this study. Sp-CT is based on the analysis of X-ray absorption spectra, in particular specific K-edges, which assists in identification of chemical elements in a sample. Since most of the previous research of the Witwatersrand gold focus on 2-dimensional methods, the outcomes of this study will help to understand the 3D spatial and size distribution of the gold and provide morphological information about individual particles.This research has received funding from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). This body of the European Union receives support from the European U

We present a new approach to 3-dimensional chemical imaging based on X-ray computed micro tomography (CT), which enables the analysis of the internal elemental chemistry. The method uses a conventional laboratory-based CT scanner equipped with a semiconductor detector (CdTe). Based on the X-ray absorption spectra, elements in a sample can be distinguished by their specific K-edge energy. The capabilities and performance of this new approach are illustrated with different experiments, i.e. single pure element particle measurements, element differentiation in mixtures, and mineral differentiation in a natural rock sample. The results show that the method can distinguish elements with K-edges in the range of 20 to 160 keV, this corresponds to an element range from Ag to U. Furthermore, the spectral information allows a distinction between materials, which show little variation in contrast in the reconstructed CT image.

Copper is an important metal with many uses in today’s society. The demand for copper is increasing and to meet this demand it is necessary to provide profitable technologies for its production. However, in present-day markets, it is not enough to consider the economic factors alone in an investment, but environmental aspects also have to be taken into account. In this area, regarding copper production and its technologies, there still exists room for improvement. In particular, the smelting phase of the production process has been observed to be harmful to the environment. One way to study the environmental aspects of these production processes is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis tool. In this work, the environmental issues related to copper smelting as well as their relationship to technological differences were studied. A process model based LCA procedure was developed for Outotec to calculate and evaluate the environmental footprint of seven process models based on seven different copper smelting technologies. To do this, HSC Sim and openLCA software packages were utilized. In addition, a database was developed to be shared via a collaboration server for users in Outotec. In the future, the developed LCA procedure together with the above-mentioned software packages as well as databases can be used to conduct similar sustainability projects. Further, the information obtained from the projects can be used to develop the technologies to be more environmentally friendly. The results were calculated in two scenarios. In Scenario 1 only the smelter was taken into account. In Scenario 2 the pre-processing of raw materials and the impact of energy generation were also considered. Scenario 2 data was compared across different geographical locations, namely China, Chile, and Germany, with global averages as reference values. The functional unit used in all the LCA analysis was the production of one metric ton of copper in blister copper. The results showed clear dif, Kupari on tärkeä metalli nykypäivän yhteiskunnassa monien erilaisten käyttötarkoituksiensa vuoksi. Kuparin kysyntä kasvaa koko ajan, minkä vuoksi on tärkeää tarjota markkinoille taloudellista teknologiaa koskien kuparintuotantoa. Nykypäivänä taloudellisuus ei kuitenkaan ole ainoa tekijä teknologioiden vertailuissa, vaan ympäristövaikutuksilla on myös iso rooli. Kuparin tuotannolla ja sen teknologioilla on vielä parannettavaa tällä saralla. Erityisesti kuparinsulatuksen on havaittu olevan haitallinen ympäristölle. Yksi tapa tutkia kuparinsulatuksen ympäristöjalanjälkeä on käyttää niin sanottua elinkaariarviointi menetelmää (Life Cycle Assessment, LCA). Työssä tutkittiin kuparisulatukseen liittyviä ympäristöongelmia ja erityisesti sitä, miten ne vaihtelevat eri teknologioiden välillä. Prosessimalli-pohjainen elinkaariarviointi menettelytapa kehitettiin Outotecille, jotta seitsemän eri teknologiaan perustuvien prosessimallien ympäristöjalanjäljet pystyttiin laskemaan. Laskennassa käytettiin apuna HSC Sim- ja openLCA-ohjelmistoja. Osana menettelytavan kehitystä oli myös tietokannan kokoaminen liittyen malleihin, joka voidaan jakaa Outotecin sisäisille käyttäjille niin kutsutun yhteiskäyttöpalvelimen kautta. Tulevaisuudessa tarkoitus on käyttää tässä työssä kehitettyä elinkaariarviointi menettelytapaa, yllämainittuja ohjelmistoja sekä sisäistä tietokantaa samanlaisissa kestävän kehityksen projekteissa. Näiden lisäksi tietoa, jota koko työssä ja menettelytavan kehityksessä saatiin, voidaan käyttää teknologioiden kehittämiseksi enemmän ympäristöystävällisiksi. Työn tulokset laskettiin kahdessa eri skenaariossa. Skenaario 1 ottaa huomioon vain kuparisulaton. Skenaario 2 ottaa huomioon myös raaka-aineiden esikäsittelyn, kuten valmistuksen sekä energian tuotannon. Skenaario 2:ssa tutkittiin myös datan muuttumista sulaton sijainnin muuttuessa (Kiina, Chile, Saksa). Laskennassa hyödynnettiin lisäksi globaaleja keskiarvoja vertailukohteena sijainnista riippuvalle datalle. Elinka

The insurance role of corporate diversification

Tämä työ on tehty Outokumpu Research Oy:ssa Porissa. Kirjallisuusosassa käsitellään sulaelektrolyysin yleisreaktioita, etuja ja haittoja. Tehtyjen kirjallisuushakujen perusteella selvitettiin, miten sinkkisulfidin sulaelektrolyysiä on aikaisemmin tutkittu. Aikaisemmin käytetyt elektrolyytit, elektrolyyttien koostumukset ja käytetyt ajoparametrit tutkittiin. Kerättyjä tietoja sovellettiin tämän diplomityön kokeellisessa osassa. Kokeellinen osa suoritettiin Outokompu Research Oy:n pyrometallurgian laboratoriossa. Kokeellisessa osassa testattiin kahta sulaelektrolyyttivaihtoehtoa mm. mittaamalla virrantiheyksiä, tarvittavia kennojännitteitä ja virtahyötysuhteita. Koetulosten perusteella voidaan todeta, että sinkin sulaelektrolyysi sulfidisulassa on mahdollista. Ongelmana on kuitenkin sinkin haihtuminen. Parantamalla kennorakennetta voitaisiin päästä parempiin tuloksiin.