Pipeline for contraceptive development.

PubMed

Blithe, Diana L

2016-11-01

The high rates of unplanned pregnancy reflect an unmet need for effective contraceptive methods for women, especially for individuals with health risks such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other conditions that may contraindicate use of an estrogen-containing product. Improvements in safety, user convenience, acceptability, and availability of products remain important goals of the contraceptive development program. Another important goal is to minimize the impact of the products on the environment. Development of new methods for male contraception has the potential to address many of these issues of safety for women who have contraindications to effective contraceptive methods but want to protect against pregnancy. It would also address a huge unmet need for men who want to control their fertility. Products under development for men would not introduce ecotoxic hormones into the water system. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Aspects of fabrication aluminium matrix heterophase composites by suspension method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dolata, A. J.; Dyzia, M.

2012-05-01

Composites with an aluminium alloy matrix (AlMMC) exhibit several advantageous properties such as good strength, stiffness, low density, resistance and dimensional stability to elevated temperatures, good thermal expansion coefficient and particularly high resistance to friction wear. Therefore such composites are more and more used in modern engineering constructions. Composites reinforced with hard ceramic particles (Al2O3, SiC) are gradually being implemented into production in automotive or aircraft industries. Another application of AlMMC is in the electronics industry, where the dimensional stability and capacity to absorb and remove heat is used in radiators. However the main problems are still: a reduction of production costs, developing methods of composite material tests and final product quality assessment, standardisation, development of recycling and mechanical processing methods. AlMMC production technologies, based on liquid-phase methods, and the shaping of products by casting methods, belong to the cheapest production methods. Application of a suspension method for the production of composites with heterophase reinforcement may turn out to be a new material and technological solution. The article presents the material and technological aspects of the transfer procedures for the production of composite suspensions from laboratory scale to a semi-industrial scale.

Development of salt production technology using prism greenhouse method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guntur, G.; Jaziri, A. A.; Prihanto, A. A.; Arisandi, D. M.; Kurniawan, A.

2018-01-01

The main problem of salt production in Indonesia is low productivity and quality because the technology used commonly by Indonesian salt farmers is traditional method. This research aims to increase production of salt by using the prism greenhouse method. The prism greenhouse method is a salt production system with a combination of several salt production technologies, including geomembrane, threaded filter, and prism greenhouse technology. This research method used descriptive method. The results of this study were the productivity increased threefold, and the quality of salt produced also increased in terms of the content of NaCl from 85% to 95%. In addition, salt production with the prism greenhouse method has several advantages, such as faster harvest time, weather resistance, easy to use, and higher profit than traditional methods.

Systematic development of technical textiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beer, M.; Schrank, V.; Gloy, Y.-S.; Gries, T.

2016-07-01

Technical textiles are used in various fields of applications, ranging from small scale (e.g. medical applications) to large scale products (e.g. aerospace applications). The development of new products is often complex and time consuming, due to multiple interacting parameters. These interacting parameters are production process related and also a result of the textile structure and used material. A huge number of iteration steps are necessary to adjust the process parameter to finalize the new fabric structure. A design method is developed to support the systematic development of technical textiles and to reduce iteration steps. The design method is subdivided into six steps, starting from the identification of the requirements. The fabric characteristics vary depending on the field of application. If possible, benchmarks are tested. A suitable fabric production technology needs to be selected. The aim of the method is to support a development team within the technology selection without restricting the textile developer. After a suitable technology is selected, the transformation and correlation between input and output parameters follows. This generates the information for the production of the structure. Afterwards, the first prototype can be produced and tested. The resulting characteristics are compared with the initial product requirements.

[Performance evaluation of a fluorescamine-HPLC method for determination of histamine in fish and fish products].

PubMed

Kikuchi, Hiroyuki; Tsutsumi, Tomoaki; Matsuda, Rieko

2012-01-01

A method for the quantification of histamine in fish and fish products using tandem solid-phase extraction and fluorescence derivatization with fluorescamine was previously developed. In this study, we improved this analytical method to develop an official test method for quantification of histamine in fish and fish products, and performed a single laboratory study to validate it. Recovery tests of histamine from fillet (Thunnus obesus), and two fish products (fish sauce and salted and dried whole big-eye sardine) that were spiked at the level of 25 and 50 µg/g for T. obesus, and 50 and 100 µg/g for the two fish products, were carried out. The recoveries of histamine from the three samples tested were 88.8-99.6% with good repeatability (1.3-2.1%) and reproducibility (2.1-4.7%). Therefore, this method is acceptable for the quantification of histamine in fish and fish products. Moreover, surveillance of histamine content in food on the market was conducted using this method, and high levels of histamine were detected in some fish products.

Development and assessment of disinfectant efficacy test methods for regulatory purposes.

PubMed

Tomasino, Stephen F

2013-05-01

The United States Environmental Protection Agency regulates pesticidal products, including products with antimicrobial activity. Test guidelines have been established to inform manufacturers of which methodology is appropriate to support a specific efficacy claim. This paper highlights efforts designed to improve current methods and the development and assessment of new test methods. Published by Mosby, Inc.

Production of LDMNPV in the Wave® cell culture bioreactor

Treesearch

James M. Slavicek; J. Matt Gabler

2007-01-01

The development of bioreactor production methods for Gypchek would provide a means of production that can be scaled to a large capacity (production of 20,000 acre equivalents + per year), that is potentially at a lower cost than the current larval based production method, and would generate a product completely free of bacteria, fungi, and other viruses.

A Framework for the Development of Automatic DFA Method to Minimize the Number of Components and Assembly Reorientations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alfadhlani; Samadhi, T. M. A. Ari; Ma’ruf, Anas; Setiasyah Toha, Isa

2018-03-01

Assembly is a part of manufacturing processes that must be considered at the product design stage. Design for Assembly (DFA) is a method to evaluate product design in order to make it simpler, easier and quicker to assemble, so that assembly cost is reduced. This article discusses a framework for developing a computer-based DFA method. The method is expected to aid product designer to extract data, evaluate assembly process, and provide recommendation for the product design improvement. These three things are desirable to be performed without interactive process or user intervention, so product design evaluation process could be done automatically. Input for the proposed framework is a 3D solid engineering drawing. Product design evaluation is performed by: minimizing the number of components; generating assembly sequence alternatives; selecting the best assembly sequence based on the minimum number of assembly reorientations; and providing suggestion for design improvement.

Best Practices in Stability Indicating Method Development and Validation for Non-clinical Dose Formulations.

PubMed

Henry, Teresa R; Penn, Lara D; Conerty, Jason R; Wright, Francesca E; Gorman, Gregory; Pack, Brian W

2016-11-01

Non-clinical dose formulations (also known as pre-clinical or GLP formulations) play a key role in early drug development. These formulations are used to introduce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) into test organisms for both pharmacokinetic and toxicological studies. Since these studies are ultimately used to support dose and safety ranges in human studies, it is important to understand not only the concentration and PK/PD of the active ingredient but also to generate safety data for likely process impurities and degradation products of the active ingredient. As such, many in the industry have chosen to develop and validate methods which can accurately detect and quantify the active ingredient along with impurities and degradation products. Such methods often provide trendable results which are predictive of stability, thus leading to the name; stability indicating methods. This document provides an overview of best practices for those choosing to include development and validation of such methods as part of their non-clinical drug development program. This document is intended to support teams who are either new to stability indicating method development and validation or who are less familiar with the requirements of validation due to their position within the product development life cycle.

Development of the method of aggregation to determine the current storage area using computer vision and radiofrequency identification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Astafiev, A.; Orlov, A.; Privezencev, D.

2018-01-01

The article is devoted to the development of technology and software for the construction of positioning and control systems in industrial plants based on aggregation to determine the current storage area using computer vision and radiofrequency identification. It describes the developed of the project of hardware for industrial products positioning system in the territory of a plant on the basis of radio-frequency grid. It describes the development of the project of hardware for industrial products positioning system in the plant on the basis of computer vision methods. It describes the development of the method of aggregation to determine the current storage area using computer vision and radiofrequency identification. Experimental studies in laboratory and production conditions have been conducted and described in the article.

Enzymatic method for measuring starch gelatinization in dry products in situ

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

An enzymatic method based on hydrolysis of starch by amyloglucosidase and measurement of D-glucose released by glucose oxidase-peroxidase was developed to measure both gelatinized starch and hydrolyzable starch in situ of dried starchy products. Efforts focused on the development of sample handling ...

Systematic Product Development of Control and Diagnosis Functionalities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stetter, R.; Simundsson, A.

2017-01-01

In the scientific field of systematic product development a wide range of helpful methods, guidelines and tools were generated and published in recent years. Until now little special attention was given to design guidelines aiming at supporting product development engineers to design products that allow and support control or diagnosis functions. The general trend to ubiquitous computing and the first development steps towards cognitive systems as well as a general trend toward higher product safety, reliability and reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) in many engineering fields lead to a higher importance of control and diagnosis. In this paper a first attempt is made to formulate general valid guidelines how products can be developed in order to allow and to achieve effective and efficient control and diagnosis. The guidelines are elucidated on the example of an automated guided vehicle. One main concern of this paper is the integration of control and diagnosis functionalities into the development of complete systems which include mechanical, electrical and electronic subsystems. For the development of such systems the strategies, methods and tools of systematic product development have attracted significant attention during the last decades. Today, the functionality and safety of most products is to a large degree dependent on control and diagnosis functionalities. Still, there is comparatively little research concentrating on the integration of the development of these functionalities into the overall product development processes. The paper starts with a background describing Systematic Product Development. The second section deals with the product development of the sample product. The third part clarifies the notions monitoring, control and diagnosis. The following parts summarize some insights and formulate first hypotheses concerning control and diagnosis in Systematic Product Development.

Advances in identification and validation of protein targets of natural products without chemical modification.

PubMed

Chang, J; Kim, Y; Kwon, H J

2016-05-04

Covering: up to February 2016Identification of the target proteins of natural products is pivotal to understanding the mechanisms of action to develop natural products for use as molecular probes and potential therapeutic drugs. Affinity chromatography of immobilized natural products has been conventionally used to identify target proteins, and has yielded good results. However, this method has limitations, in that labeling or tagging for immobilization and affinity purification often result in reduced or altered activity of the natural product. New strategies have recently been developed and applied to identify the target proteins of natural products and synthetic small molecules without chemical modification of the natural product. These direct and indirect methods for target identification of label-free natural products include drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS), stability of proteins from rates of oxidation (SPROX), cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA), thermal proteome profiling (TPP), and bioinformatics-based analysis of connectivity. This review focuses on and reports case studies of the latest advances in target protein identification methods for label-free natural products. The integration of newly developed technologies will provide new insights and highlight the value of natural products for use as biological probes and new drug candidates.

77 FR 14814 - Tobacco Product Analysis; Scientific Workshop; Request for Comments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-13

... work to develop tobacco reference products that are not currently available for laboratory use. Discuss... methods used to analyze tobacco products. FDA will invite speakers to address scientific and technical matters relating to the testing of tobacco reference products and the analytical methods used to measure...

Application of Grey Relational Analysis to Decision-Making during Product Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hsiao, Shih-Wen; Lin, Hsin-Hung; Ko, Ya-Chuan

2017-01-01

A multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) approach was proposed in this study as a prediction method that differs from the conventional production and design methods for a product. When a client has different dimensional requirements, this approach can quickly provide a company with design decisions for each product. The production factors of a…

A methodology for evaluating the usability of audiovisual consumer electronic products.

PubMed

Kwahk, Jiyoung; Han, Sung H

2002-09-01

Usability evaluation is now considered an essential procedure in consumer product development. Many studies have been conducted to develop various techniques and methods of usability evaluation hoping to help the evaluators choose appropriate methods. However, planning and conducting usability evaluation requires considerations of a number of factors surrounding the evaluation process including the product, user, activity, and environmental characteristics. In this perspective, this study suggested a new methodology of usability evaluation through a simple, structured framework. The framework was outlined by three major components: the interface features of a product as design variables, the evaluation context consisting of user, product, activity, and environment as context variables, and the usability measures as dependent variables. Based on this framework, this study established methods to specify the product interface features, to define evaluation context, and to measure usability. The effectiveness of this methodology was demonstrated through case studies in which the usability of audiovisual products was evaluated by using the methods developed in this study. This study is expected to help the usability practitioners in consumer electronics industry in various ways. Most directly, it supports the evaluators' plan and conduct usability evaluation sessions in a systematic and structured manner. In addition, it can be applied to other categories of consumer products (such as appliances, automobiles, communication devices, etc.) with minor modifications as necessary.

Stability indicating methods for the analysis of cefprozil in the presence of its alkaline induced degradation product

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Attia, Khalid A. M.; Nassar, Mohammed W. I.; El-Zeiny, Mohamed B.; Serag, Ahmed

2016-04-01

Three simple, specific, accurate and precise spectrophotometric methods were developed for the determination of cefprozil (CZ) in the presence of its alkaline induced degradation product (DCZ). The first method was the bivariate method, while the two other multivariate methods were partial least squares (PLS) and spectral residual augmented classical least squares (SRACLS). The multivariate methods were applied with and without variable selection procedure (genetic algorithm GA). These methods were tested by analyzing laboratory prepared mixtures of the above drug with its alkaline induced degradation product and they were applied to its commercial pharmaceutical products.

An Engineering Method of Civil Jet Requirements Validation Based on Requirements Project Principle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yue; Gao, Dan; Mao, Xuming

2018-03-01

A method of requirements validation is developed and defined to meet the needs of civil jet requirements validation in product development. Based on requirements project principle, this method will not affect the conventional design elements, and can effectively connect the requirements with design. It realizes the modern civil jet development concept, which is “requirement is the origin, design is the basis”. So far, the method has been successfully applied in civil jet aircraft development in China. Taking takeoff field length as an example, the validation process and the validation method of the requirements are detailed introduced in the study, with the hope of providing the experiences to other civil jet product design.

Development of a research method to measure insoluble and soluble starch in sugarcane factory and refinery products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A rapid, quantitative research method using microwave-assisted probe ultrasonication was developed to facilitate the determination of total insoluble, and soluble starch in various sugar factory and refinery products. Several variables that affect starch solubilization were evaluated: 1) conductiv...

Development of an analytical method to measure insoluble and soluble starch in sugarcane and sweet sorghum products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A rapid, quantitative research method using microwave-assisted probe ultrasonication was developed to facilitate the determination of total insoluble, and soluble starch in various sugar crop products. Several variables that affect starch solubilization were evaluated, 1) conductive boiling time, 2...

Integrating data mining technique and AHP in market analysis to propose new product development in real estate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yunita; Galinium, M.; Lukas

2017-01-01

New product development in real estate industry is a challenging process since it is related to long term concept and high cost. A newly proposed product development should meet customer need and their preferences which appropriate with customer buying power and company value. This research use data mining for profiling customer transaction and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method for product selection in new product development. This research utilizes Weka as data mining open source software to profiling data customers. The analysis correlated product preferences and profiling demography such as city, age, gender and occupation. Demography profiles gives description buying power and product preferences. The products proposed are based on customer profiles and rank of the product by AHP method. The product with the highest score will be proposed as new product development. Case studies of this research are real estate projects in Serang, Makassar, and Balikpapan. Makassar and Balikpapan are the project that already gained success and Serang is new project which new products development will be proposed to launch. Based on profiling and product preference of customer in Balikpapan, Makassar, and prospectus of Serang markets, new products development that will be proposed are house type of 120/200 m2 with price around Rp1.300.000.000 and house type of 71/120 m2 with price around Rp800.000.000. The markets of Serang and Balikpapan have similarities in profiles as urban city so the new products development will adopt the succeed story of Balikpapan project.

From Discovery to Production: Biotechnology of Marine Fungi for the Production of New Antibiotics.

PubMed

Silber, Johanna; Kramer, Annemarie; Labes, Antje; Tasdemir, Deniz

2016-07-21

Filamentous fungi are well known for their capability of producing antibiotic natural products. Recent studies have demonstrated the potential of antimicrobials with vast chemodiversity from marine fungi. Development of such natural products into lead compounds requires sustainable supply. Marine biotechnology can significantly contribute to the production of new antibiotics at various levels of the process chain including discovery, production, downstream processing, and lead development. However, the number of biotechnological processes described for large-scale production from marine fungi is far from the sum of the newly-discovered natural antibiotics. Methods and technologies applied in marine fungal biotechnology largely derive from analogous terrestrial processes and rarely reflect the specific demands of the marine fungi. The current developments in metabolic engineering and marine microbiology are not yet transferred into processes, but offer numerous options for improvement of production processes and establishment of new process chains. This review summarises the current state in biotechnological production of marine fungal antibiotics and points out the enormous potential of biotechnology in all stages of the discovery-to-development pipeline. At the same time, the literature survey reveals that more biotechnology transfer and method developments are needed for a sustainable and innovative production of marine fungal antibiotics.

Techniques for extraction and isolation of natural products: a comprehensive review.

PubMed

Zhang, Qing-Wen; Lin, Li-Gen; Ye, Wen-Cai

2018-01-01

Natural medicines were the only option for the prevention and treatment of human diseases for thousands of years. Natural products are important sources for drug development. The amounts of bioactive natural products in natural medicines are always fairly low. Today, it is very crucial to develop effective and selective methods for the extraction and isolation of those bioactive natural products. This paper intends to provide a comprehensive view of a variety of methods used in the extraction and isolation of natural products. This paper also presents the advantage, disadvantage and practical examples of conventional and modern techniques involved in natural products research.

Review of the cultivation program within the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts

DOE PAGES

Lammers, Peter J.; Huesemann, Michael; Boeing, Wiebke; ...

2016-12-12

The cultivation efforts within the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB) were developed to provide four major goals for the consortium, which included biomass production for downstream experimentation, development of new assessment tools for cultivation, development of new cultivation reactor technologies, and development of methods for robust cultivation. The NAABB consortium testbeds produced over 1500 kg of biomass for downstream processing. The biomass production included a number of model production strains, but also took into production some of the more promising strains found through the prospecting efforts of the consortium. Cultivation efforts at large scale are intensive andmore » costly, therefore the consortium developed tools and models to assess the productivity of strains under various environmental conditions, at lab scale, and validated these against scaled outdoor production systems. Two new pond-based bioreactor designs were tested for their ability to minimize energy consumption while maintaining, and even exceeding, the productivity of algae cultivation compared to traditional systems. Also, molecular markers were developed for quality control and to facilitate detection of bacterial communities associated with cultivated algal species, including the Chlorella spp. pathogen, Vampirovibrio chlorellavorus, which was identified in at least two test site locations in Arizona and New Mexico. Finally, the consortium worked on understanding methods to utilize compromised municipal wastewater streams for cultivation. In conclusion, this review provides an overview of the cultivation methods and tools developed by the NAABB consortium to produce algae biomass, in robust low energy systems, for biofuel production.« less

Development of Impurity Profiling Methods Using Modern Analytical Techniques.

PubMed

Ramachandra, Bondigalla

2017-01-02

This review gives a brief introduction about the process- and product-related impurities and emphasizes on the development of novel analytical methods for their determination. It describes the application of modern analytical techniques, particularly the ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC), liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC). In addition to that, the application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was also discussed for the characterization of impurities and degradation products. The significance of the quality, efficacy and safety of drug substances/products, including the source of impurities, kinds of impurities, adverse effects by the presence of impurities, quality control of impurities, necessity for the development of impurity profiling methods, identification of impurities and regulatory aspects has been discussed. Other important aspects that have been discussed are forced degradation studies and the development of stability indicating assay methods.

Early assessment of medical technologies to inform product development and market access: a review of methods and applications.

PubMed

Ijzerman, Maarten J; Steuten, Lotte M G

2011-09-01

Worldwide, billions of dollars are invested in medical product development and there is an increasing pressure to maximize the revenues of these investments. That is, governments need to be informed about the benefits of spending public resources, companies need more information to manage their product development portfolios and even universities may need to direct their research programmes in order to maximize societal benefits. Assuming that all medical products need to be adopted by the heavily regulated healthcare market at one point in time, it is worthwhile to look at the logic behind healthcare decision making, specifically, decisions on the coverage of medical products and decisions on the use of these products under competing and uncertain conditions. With the growing tension between leveraging economic growth through R&D spending on the one hand and stricter control of healthcare budgets on the other, several attempts have been made to apply the health technology assessment (HTA) methodology to earlier stages of technology development and implementation. For instance, horizon scanning was introduced to systematically assess emerging technologies in order to inform health policy. Others have introduced iterative economic evaluation, e.g. economic evaluations in earlier stages of clinical research. However, most of these methods are primarily intended to support governments in making decisions regarding potentially expensive new medical products. They do not really inform biomedical product developers on the probability of return on investment, nor do they inform about the market needs and specific requirements of technologies in development. It is precisely this aspect that increasingly receives attention, i.e. is it possible to use HTA tools and methods to inform biomedical product development and to anticipate further development and market access. Several methods have been used in previous decades, but have never been compiled in a comprehensive review. The main objective of this article was to provide an overview of previous work and methods in the field of early HTA, and to put these approaches in perspective through a conceptual framework introduced in this paper. A particular goal of the review was to familiarize decision makers with available techniques that can be employed in early-stage decision making, and to identify opportunities for further methodological growth in this emerging field of HTA.

Development of Methods and Equipment for Sheet Stamping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Botashev, A. Yu; Bisilov, N. U.; Malsugenov, R. S.

2018-03-01

New methods of sheet stamping were developed: the gas forming with double-sided heating of a blank part and the gas molding with backpressure. In case of the first method the blank part is heated to the set temperature by means of a double-sided impact of combustion products of gas mixtures, after which, under the influence of gas pressure a stamping process is performed. In case of gas molding with backpressure, the blank part is heated to the set temperature by one-sided impact of the combustion products, while backpressure is created on the opposite side of the blank part by compressed air. In both methods the deformation takes place in the temperature range of warm or hot treatment due to the heating of a blank part. This allows one to form parts of complicated shape within one technological operation, which significantly reduces the cost of production. To implement these methods, original devices were designed and produced, which are new types of forging and stamping equipment. Using these devices, an experimental research on the stamping process was carried out and high-quality parts were obtained, which makes it possible to recommend the developed methods of stamping in the industrial production. Their application in small-scale production will allow one to reduce the cost price of stamped parts 2 or 3 times.

Measuring healthcare productivity - from unit to system level.

PubMed

Kämäräinen, Vesa Johannes; Peltokorpi, Antti; Torkki, Paulus; Tallbacka, Kaj

2016-04-18

Purpose - Healthcare productivity is a growing issue in most Western countries where healthcare expenditure is rapidly increasing. Therefore, accurate productivity metrics are essential to avoid sub-optimization within a healthcare system. The purpose of this paper is to focus on healthcare production system productivity measurement. Design/methodology/approach - Traditionally, healthcare productivity has been studied and measured independently at the unit, organization and system level. Suggesting that productivity measurement should be done in different levels, while simultaneously linking productivity measurement to incentives, this study presents the challenges of productivity measurement at the different levels. The study introduces different methods to measure productivity in healthcare. In addition, it provides background information on the methods used to measure productivity and the parameters used in these methods. A pilot investigation of productivity measurement is used to illustrate the challenges of measurement, to test the developed measures and to prove the practical information for managers. Findings - The study introduces different approaches and methods to measure productivity in healthcare. Practical implications - A pilot investigation of productivity measurement is used to illustrate the challenges of measurement, to test the developed measures and to prove the practical benefits for managers. Originality/value - The authors focus on the measurement of the whole healthcare production system and try to avoid sub-optimization. Additionally considering an individual patient approach, productivity measurement is examined at the unit level, the organizational level and the system level.

DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF A METHOD FOR MEASURING EXEMPT VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS AND CARBON DIOXIDE IN CONSUMER PRODUCTS

EPA Science Inventory

The report describes the development and validation of a method for measuring exempt volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbon dioxide in consumer products. (NOTE: Ground-level ozone can cause a variety of adverse health effects as well as agricultural and ecological damage. C...

Biomimicry in Product Design through Materials Selection and Computer Aided Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexandridis, G.; Tzetzis, D.; Kyratsis, P.

2016-11-01

The aim of this study is to demonstrate a 7-step methodology that describes the way nature can act as a source of inspiration for the design and the development of a product. Furthermore, it suggests special computerized tools and methods for the product optimization regarding its environmental impact i.e. material selection, production methods. For validation purposes, a garden chaise lounge that imitates the form of a scorpion was developed as a result for the case study and the presentation of the current methodology.

Prediction of cancer cell sensitivity to natural products based on genomic and chemical properties.

PubMed

Yue, Zhenyu; Zhang, Wenna; Lu, Yongming; Yang, Qiaoyue; Ding, Qiuying; Xia, Junfeng; Chen, Yan

2015-01-01

Natural products play a significant role in cancer chemotherapy. They are likely to provide many lead structures, which can be used as templates for the construction of novel drugs with enhanced antitumor activity. Traditional research approaches studied structure-activity relationship of natural products and obtained key structural properties, such as chemical bond or group, with the purpose of ascertaining their effect on a single cell line or a single tissue type. Here, for the first time, we develop a machine learning method to comprehensively predict natural products responses against a panel of cancer cell lines based on both the gene expression and the chemical properties of natural products. The results on two datasets, training set and independent test set, show that this proposed method yields significantly better prediction accuracy. In addition, we also demonstrate the predictive power of our proposed method by modeling the cancer cell sensitivity to two natural products, Curcumin and Resveratrol, which indicate that our method can effectively predict the response of cancer cell lines to these two natural products. Taken together, the method will facilitate the identification of natural products as cancer therapies and the development of precision medicine by linking the features of patient genomes to natural product sensitivity.

Development of a Thiolysis HPLC Method for the Analysis of Procyanidins in Cranberry Products.

PubMed

Gao, Chi; Cunningham, David G; Liu, Haiyan; Khoo, Christina; Gu, Liwei

2018-03-07

The objective of this study was to develop a thiolysis HPLC method to quantify total procyanidins, the ratio of A-type linkages, and A-type procyanidin equivalents in cranberry products. Cysteamine was utilized as a low-odor substitute of toluene-α-thiol for thiolysis depolymerization. A reaction temperature of 70 °C and reaction time of 20 min, in 0.3 M of HCl, were determined to be optimum depolymerization conditions. Thiolytic products of cranberry procyanidins were separated by RP-HPLC and identified using high-resolution mass spectrometry. Standards curves of good linearity were obtained on thiolyzed procyanidin dimer A2 and B2 external standards. The detection and quantification limits, recovery, and precision of this method were validated. The new method was applied to quantitate total procyanidins, average degree of polymerization, ratio of A-type linkages, and A-type procyanidin equivalents in cranberry products. Results showed that the method was suitable for quantitative and qualitative analysis of procyanidins in cranberry products.

A Study of Quantitative Measurements of Programmer Productivity for Fleet Material Support Office (FMSO).

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-12-01

paper examines the various measures discussed in the literature and used in selected corpora- tions which develop software. It presents several methods ...examines the various measures discassed in the literature and used in selected corporations which develop software. It presents several methods for...HOUR .... 40 D. SELECTED INDUSrRY METHODS FOR MEASURING PRODUCTIVITY 41 _ I1. 1IBM 41.. . . . . . . . ; 2. Amdahl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

MULTIPOLLUTANT METHODS - METHODS FOR OZONE AND OZONE PRECURSORS

EPA Science Inventory

This task involves the development and testing of methods for monitoring ozone and compounds associated with the atmospheric chemistry of ozone production both as precursors and reaction products. Although atmospheric gases are the primary interest, separation of gas and particl...

A simple way of evaluating the healthiness of ready-to-eat foods and developing healthy foods in the food industry.

PubMed

Outila, Terhi A; Simulainen, Helena; Laukkanen, Tuula H A; Maarit Kyyrö, A

2006-01-01

In this study we have developed a new way of evaluating the healthiness of ready-to-eat foods. In the developed method, ready-to-eat foods were classified into specific product categories, and the nutritional quality of classified foods was analysed using the national dietary recommendations and the national dietary survey as a basis for the dietary calculations. The method was tested with the products of 'Saarioinen', which is the leading brand in the Finnish ready-to-eat food market. Results indicate that this low-cost method can easily be used in the food industry as a tool in product development and marketing in order to develop healthy foods. The method could also be applied to the restaurant and catering trade, as well as to other public institutions serving food. By using this model, nutritional researchers and the food industry could work together to prevent nutrition-related health problems.

Evaluation of Electromagnetic Near-Field Measurement Technique as Non-Destructive Testing for Composite Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raad Hussein, Alaa; Badri Albarody, Thar M.; Megat Yusoff, Puteri Sri Melor Bt

2018-05-01

Nowadays there is no viable non-destructive method that could detect flaws in complex composite products. Such a method could provide unique tools to allow engineers to minimize time consumption and cost during the evaluation of various product parameters without disturbing production. The latest research and development on propagation waves introduce micro, radio and millimetre waves as new potential non-destructive test methods for evaluation of mechanical flaws and prediction of failure in a product during production. This paper focuses on recent developments, usage, classification of electromagnetic waves under the range of radio frequency, millimetre and micro-waves. In addition, this paper reviews the application of propagation wave and proposed a new health monitoring technique based on Doppler Effect for vibration measurement in complex composite structures. Doppler Effect is influenced by dynamic behaviour of the composite structures and both are effect by flaws occurred inside the structure. Composite manufacturers, especially Aerospace industry are demanding these methods comprehensively inspect and evaluate the damages and defects in their products.

Pipeline for Contraceptive Development

PubMed Central

Blithe, Diana L.

2016-01-01

The high rates of unplanned pregnancy reflect unmet need for effective contraceptive methods for women, especially for individuals with health risks such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and other conditions that may contraindicate use of an estrogen-containing product. Improvements in safety, user convenience, acceptability and availability of products remain important goals of the contraceptive development program. Another important goal is to minimize the impact of the products on the environment. Development of new methods for male contraception has the potential to address many of these issues with regard to safety for women who have contraindications to effective contraceptive methods but want to protect against pregnancy. It also will address a huge unmet need for men who want to control their fertility. Products under development for men would not introduce eco-toxic hormones in the waste water. Investment in contraceptive research to identify new products for women has been limited in the pharmaceutical industry relative to investment in drug development for other indications. Pharmaceutical R&D for male contraception was active in the 1990’s but was abandoned over a decade ago. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has supported a contraceptive development program since 1969. Through a variety of programs including research grants and contracts, NICHD has developed a pipeline of new targets/products for male and female contraception. A number of lead candidates are under evaluation in the NICHD Contraceptive Clinical Trials Network (CCTN) (1–3). PMID:27523300

Multidisciplinary design optimisation of a recurve bow based on applications of the autogenetic design theory and distributed computing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fritzsche, Matthias; Kittel, Konstantin; Blankenburg, Alexander; Vajna, Sándor

2012-08-01

The focus of this paper is to present a method of multidisciplinary design optimisation based on the autogenetic design theory (ADT) that provides methods, which are partially implemented in the optimisation software described here. The main thesis of the ADT is that biological evolution and the process of developing products are mainly similar, i.e. procedures from biological evolution can be transferred into product development. In order to fulfil requirements and boundary conditions of any kind (that may change at any time), both biological evolution and product development look for appropriate solution possibilities in a certain area, and try to optimise those that are actually promising by varying parameters and combinations of these solutions. As the time necessary for multidisciplinary design optimisations is a critical aspect in product development, ways to distribute the optimisation process with the effective use of unused calculating capacity, can reduce the optimisation time drastically. Finally, a practical example shows how ADT methods and distributed optimising are applied to improve a product.

Analytical methods for gelatin differentiation from bovine and porcine origins and food products.

PubMed

Nhari, Raja Mohd Hafidz Raja; Ismail, Amin; Che Man, Yaakob B

2012-01-01

Usage of gelatin in food products has been widely debated for several years, which is about the source of gelatin that has been used, religion, and health. As an impact, various analytical methods have been introduced and developed to differentiate gelatin whether it is made from porcine or bovine sources. The analytical methods comprise a diverse range of equipment and techniques including spectroscopy, chemical precipitation, chromatography, and immunochemical. Each technique can differentiate gelatins for certain extent with advantages and limitations. This review is focused on overview of the analytical methods available for differentiation of bovine and porcine gelatin and gelatin in food products so that new method development can be established. © 2011 Institute of Food Technologists®

User Experience Evaluation Methods in Product Development (UXEM'09)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roto, Virpi; Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila, Kaisa; Law, Effie; Vermeeren, Arnold

High quality user experience (UX) has become a central competitive factor of product development in mature consumer markets [1]. Although the term UX originated from industry and is a widely used term also in academia, the tools for managing UX in product development are still inadequate. A prerequisite for designing delightful UX in an industrial setting is to understand both the requirements tied to the pragmatic level of functionality and interaction and the requirements pertaining to the hedonic level of personal human needs, which motivate product use [2]. Understanding these requirements helps managers set UX targets for product development. The next phase in a good user-centered design process is to iteratively design and evaluate prototypes [3]. Evaluation is critical for systematically improving UX. In many approaches to UX, evaluation basically needs to be postponed until the product is fully or at least almost fully functional. However, in an industrial setting, it is very expensive to find the UX failures only at this phase of product development. Thus, product development managers and developers have a strong need to conduct UX evaluation as early as possible, well before all the parts affecting the holistic experience are available. Different types of products require evaluation on different granularity and maturity levels of a prototype. For example, due to its multi-user characteristic, a community service or an enterprise resource planning system requires a broader scope of UX evaluation than a microwave oven or a word processor that is meant for a single user at a time. Before systematic UX evaluation can be taken into practice, practical, lightweight UX evaluation methods suitable for different types of products and different phases of product readiness are needed. A considerable amount of UX research is still about the conceptual frameworks and models for user experience [4]. Besides, applying existing usability evaluation methods (UEMs) without adaptation to evaluate UX may lead to some scoping issues. Consequently, there is a strong need to put UX evaluation from research into practice.

A validated stability-indicating LC method for the separation of enantiomer and potential impurities of Linezolid using polar organic mode.

PubMed

Satyanarayana Raju, T; Vishweshwari Kutty, O; Ganesh, V; Yadagiri Swamy, P

2012-08-01

Although a number of methods are available for evaluating Linezolid and its possible impurities, a common method for separation if its potential impurities, degradants and enantiomer in a single method with good efficiency remain unavailable. With the objective of developing an advanced method with shorter runtimes, a simple, precise, accurate stability-indicating LC method was developed for the determination of purity of Linezolid drug substance and drug products in bulk samples and pharmaceutical dosage forms in the presence of its impurities and degradation products. This method is capable of separating all the related substances of Linezolid along with the chiral impurity. This method can also be used for the estimation of assay of Linezolid in drug substance as well as in drug product. The method was developed using Chiralpak IA (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) column. A mixture of acetonitrile, ethanol, n-butyl amine and trifluoro acetic acid in 96:4:0.10:0.16 (v/v/v/v) ratio was used as a mobile phase. The eluted compounds were monitored at 254 nm. Linezolid was subjected to the stress conditions of oxidative, acid, base, hydrolytic, thermal and photolytic degradation. The degradation products were well resolved from main peak and its impurities, proving the stability-indicating power of the method. The developed method was validated as per International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines with respect to specificity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, precision, linearity, accuracy, robustness and system suitability.

Providing a Science Base for the Evaluation of Tobacco Products

PubMed Central

Berman, Micah L.; Connolly, Greg; Cummings, K. Michael; Djordjevic, Mirjana V.; Hatsukami, Dorothy K.; Henningfield, Jack E.; Myers, Matthew; O'Connor, Richard J.; Parascandola, Mark; Rees, Vaughan; Rice, Jerry M.

2015-01-01

Objective Evidence-based tobacco regulation requires a comprehensive scientific framework to guide the evaluation of new tobacco products and health-related claims made by product manufacturers. Methods The Tobacco Product Assessment Consortium (TobPRAC) employed an iterative process involving consortia investigators, consultants, a workshop of independent scientists and public health experts, and written reviews in order to develop a conceptual framework for evaluating tobacco products. Results The consortium developed a four-phased framework for the scientific evaluation of tobacco products. The four phases addressed by the framework are: (1) pre-market evaluation, (2) pre-claims evaluation, (3) post-market activities, and (4) monitoring and re-evaluation. For each phase, the framework proposes the use of validated testing procedures that will evaluate potential harms at both the individual and population level. Conclusions While the validation of methods for evaluating tobacco products is an ongoing and necessary process, the proposed framework need not wait for fully validated methods to be used in guiding tobacco product regulation today. PMID:26665160

From Discovery to Production: Biotechnology of Marine Fungi for the Production of New Antibiotics

PubMed Central

Silber, Johanna; Kramer, Annemarie; Labes, Antje; Tasdemir, Deniz

2016-01-01

Filamentous fungi are well known for their capability of producing antibiotic natural products. Recent studies have demonstrated the potential of antimicrobials with vast chemodiversity from marine fungi. Development of such natural products into lead compounds requires sustainable supply. Marine biotechnology can significantly contribute to the production of new antibiotics at various levels of the process chain including discovery, production, downstream processing, and lead development. However, the number of biotechnological processes described for large-scale production from marine fungi is far from the sum of the newly-discovered natural antibiotics. Methods and technologies applied in marine fungal biotechnology largely derive from analogous terrestrial processes and rarely reflect the specific demands of the marine fungi. The current developments in metabolic engineering and marine microbiology are not yet transferred into processes, but offer numerous options for improvement of production processes and establishment of new process chains. This review summarises the current state in biotechnological production of marine fungal antibiotics and points out the enormous potential of biotechnology in all stages of the discovery-to-development pipeline. At the same time, the literature survey reveals that more biotechnology transfer and method developments are needed for a sustainable and innovative production of marine fungal antibiotics. PMID:27455283

DEVELOPMENT OF A NOVEL METHOD FOR ANALYSIS OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL CHANGES IN TRANSITIONAL EPITHELIUM FROM URINARY BLADDERS OF RATS EXPOSED TO DRINKING WATER DISINFECTION BY-PRODUCTS

EPA Science Inventory

Development of a Novel Method for Analysis of Transcriptional Changes in Transitional Epithelium from Urinary Bladders of Rats Exposed to Drinking Water Disinfection By- products.

Epidemiologic studies in human populations that drink chemically disinfected drinking wa...

A method for tailoring the information content of a software process model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perkins, Sharon; Arend, Mark B.

1990-01-01

The framework is defined for a general method for selecting a necessary and sufficient subset of a general software life cycle's information products, to support new software development process. Procedures for characterizing problem domains in general and mapping to a tailored set of life cycle processes and products is presented. An overview of the method is shown using the following steps: (1) During the problem concept definition phase, perform standardized interviews and dialogs between developer and user, and between user and customer; (2) Generate a quality needs profile of the software to be developed, based on information gathered in step 1; (3) Translate the quality needs profile into a profile of quality criteria that must be met by the software to satisfy the quality needs; (4) Map the quality criteria to set of accepted processes and products for achieving each criterion; (5) Select the information products which match or support the accepted processes and product of step 4; and (6) Select the design methodology which produces the information products selected in step 5.

A method for tailoring the information content of a software process model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perkins, Sharon; Arend, Mark B.

1990-01-01

The framework is defined for a general method for selecting a necessary and sufficient subset of a general software life cycle's information products, to support new software development process. Procedures for characterizing problem domains in general and mapping to a tailored set of life cycle processes and products is presented. An overview of the method is shown using the following steps: (1) During the problem concept definition phase, perform standardized interviews and dialogs between developer and user, and between user and customer; (2) Generate a quality needs profile of the software to be developed, based on information gathered in step 1; (3) Translate the quality needs profile into a profile of quality criteria that must be met by the software to satisfy the quality needs; (4) Map the quality criteria to a set of accepted processes and products for achieving each criterion; (5) select the information products which match or support the accepted processes and product of step 4; and (6) Select the design methodology which produces the information products selected in step 5.

Evaluation of real-time PCR detection methods for detecting rice products contaminated by rice genetically modified with a CpTI-KDEL-T-nos transgenic construct.

PubMed

Nakamura, Kosuke; Akiyama, Hiroshi; Kawano, Noriaki; Kobayashi, Tomoko; Yoshimatsu, Kayo; Mano, Junichi; Kitta, Kazumi; Ohmori, Kiyomi; Noguchi, Akio; Kondo, Kazunari; Teshima, Reiko

2013-12-01

Genetically modified (GM) rice (Oryza sativa) lines, such as insecticidal Kefeng and Kemingdao, have been developed and found unauthorised in processed rice products in many countries. Therefore, qualitative detection methods for the GM rice are required for the GM food regulation. A transgenic construct for expressing cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) trypsin inhibitor (CpTI) was detected in some imported processed rice products contaminated with Kemingdao. The 3' terminal sequence of the identified transgenic construct for expression of CpTI included an endoplasmic reticulum retention signal coding sequence (KDEL) and nopaline synthase terminator (T-nos). The sequence was identical to that in a report on Kefeng. A novel construct-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection method for detecting the junction region sequence between the CpTI-KDEL and T-nos was developed. The imported processed rice products were evaluated for the contamination of the GM rice using the developed construct-specific real-time PCR methods, and detection frequency was compared with five event-specific detection methods. The construct-specific detection methods detected the GM rice at higher frequency than the event-specific detection methods. Therefore, we propose that the construct-specific detection method is a beneficial tool for screening the contamination of GM rice lines, such as Kefeng, in processed rice products for the GM food regulation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Usability in product development practice; an exploratory case study comparing four markets.

PubMed

van Kuijk, Jasper; van Driel, Liesbeth; van Eijk, Daan

2015-03-01

This study explored how usability was dealt with in four product development organizations active in different sectors: high-end automotive, professional printers and copiers, office coffee makers and fast moving consumer goods. The primary differentiators of the selected cases were whether they were targeting businesses or consumers and the degree of product complexity. Interviews with 19 product development practitioners were conducted, focussing on three topics: 1) the product development process and the integration of user involvement, 2) multidisciplinary teamwork, and 3) organizational attitude towards usability. Based on the interviews, context descriptions of the companies were created and barriers and enablers for usability were identified. To verify the findings and to discuss remaining issues a feedback workshop was held in which the primary contact from each company participated. The results indicate that differences in product-market combination lead to differences in organizational attitude towards usability. The prioritization of usability in an organization seems to be influenced by the degree of product complexity (complex products are more prone to suffer from usability issues) and whether developers think that usability is a purchase consideration for their clients. The product-market combination a company targets also affects the methods for user-centred design that a company can apply and that are relevant. What methods for user-centred design are used also seems to be influenced by the attitude towards usability: if usability is considered more important, methods that require more resources can be applied. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Validated stability-indicating spectrophotometric methods for the determination of cefixime trihydrate in the presence of its acid and alkali degradation products.

PubMed

Mostafa, Nadia M; Abdel-Fattah, Laila; Weshahy, Soheir A; Hassan, Nagiba Y; Boltia, Shereen A

2015-01-01

Five simple, accurate, precise, and economical spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the determination of cefixime trihydrate (CFX) in the presence of its acid and alkali degradation products without prior separation. In the first method, second derivative (2D) and first derivative (1D) spectrophotometry was applied to the absorption spectra of CFX and its acid (2D) or alkali (1D) degradation products by measuring the amplitude at 289 and 308 nm, respectively. The second method was a first derivative (1DD) ratio spectrophotometric method where the peak amplitudes were measured at 311 nm in presence of the acid degradation product, and 273 and 306 nm in presence of its alkali degradation product. The third method was ratio subtraction spectrophotometry where the drug is determined at 286 nm in laboratory-prepared mixtures of CFX and its acid or alkali degradation product. The fourth method was based on dual wavelength analysis; two wavelengths were selected at which the absorbances of one component were the same, so wavelengths 209 and 252 nm were used to determine CFX in presence of its acid degradation product and 310 and 321 nm in presence of its alkali degradation product. The fifth method was bivariate spectrophotometric calibration based on four linear regression equations obtained at the wavelengths 231 and 290 nm, and 231 and 285 nm for the binary mixture of CFX with either its acid or alkali degradation product, respectively. The developed methods were successfully applied to the analysis of CFX in laboratory-prepared mixtures and pharmaceutical formulations with good recoveries, and their validation was carried out following the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. The results obtained were statistically compared with each other and showed no significant difference with respect to accuracy and precision.

Advancing Models and Data for Characterizing Exposures to Chemicals in Consumer Products

EPA Science Inventory

EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) is leading several efforts to develop data and methods for estimating population chemical exposures related to the use of consumer products. New curated chemical, ingredient, and product use information are being collected fro...

Methods Used to Support a Life Cycle of Complex Engineering Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakharova, Alexandra A.; Kolegova, Olga A.; Nekrasova, Maria E.; Eremenko, Andrey O.

2016-08-01

Management of companies involved in the design, development and operation of complex engineering products recognize the relevance of creating systems for product lifecycle management. A system of methods is proposed to support life cycles of complex engineering products, based on fuzzy set theory and hierarchical analysis. The system of methods serves to demonstrate the grounds for making strategic decisions in an environment of uncertainty, allows the use of expert knowledge, and provides interconnection of decisions at all phases of strategic management and all stages of a complex engineering product lifecycle.

Enhancement of astaxanthin production in Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous by efficient method for the complete deletion of genes.

PubMed

Yamamoto, Keisuke; Hara, Kiyotaka Y; Morita, Toshihiko; Nishimura, Akira; Sasaki, Daisuke; Ishii, Jun; Ogino, Chiaki; Kizaki, Noriyuki; Kondo, Akihiko

2016-09-13

Red yeast, Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous is the only yeast known to produce astaxanthin, an anti-oxidant isoprenoid (carotenoid) widely used in the aquaculture, food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The potential of this microorganism as a platform cell factory for isoprenoid production has been recognized because of high flux through its native terpene pathway. Recently, we developed a multiple gene expression system in X. dendrorhous and enhanced the mevalonate synthetic pathway to increase astaxanthin production. In contrast, the mevalonate synthetic pathway is suppressed by ergosterol through feedback inhibition. Therefore, releasing the mevalonate synthetic pathway from this inhibition through the deletion of genes involved in ergosterol synthesis is a promising strategy to improve isoprenoid production. An efficient method for deleting diploid genes in X. dendrorhous, however, has not yet been developed. Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous was cultivated under gradually increasing concentrations of antibiotics following the introduction of antibiotic resistant genes to be replaced with target genes. Using this method, double CYP61 genes encoding C-22 sterol desaturases relating to ergosterol biosynthesis were deleted sequentially. This double CYP61 deleted strain showed decreased ergosterol biosynthesis compared with the parental strain and single CYP61 disrupted strain. Additionally, this double deletion of CYP61 genes showed increased astaxanthin production compared with the parental strain and the single CYP61 knockout strain. Finally, astaxanthin production was enhanced by 1.4-fold compared with the parental strain, although astaxanthin production was not affected in the single CYP61 knockout strain. In this study, we developed a system to completely delete target diploid genes in X. dendrorhous. Using this method, we deleted diploid CYP61 genes involved in the synthesis of ergosterol that inhibits the pathway for mevalonate, which is a common substrate for isoprenoid biosynthesis. The resulting decrease in ergosterol biosynthesis increased astaxanthin production. The efficient method for deleting diploid genes developed in this study has the potential to improve industrial production of various isoprenoids in X. dendrorhous.

Modernization of AOAC Nutrient Methods by Stakeholder Panel on Infant Formula and Adult Nutritionals.

PubMed

Sullivan, Darryl

2016-01-01

Infant formula is one of the most highly regulated products in the world. To comply with global regulations and to ensure the products are manufactured within product specifications, accurate analytical testing is required. Most of the AOAC INTERNATIONAL legacy test methods for infant formula were developed and validated in the 1980s and 1990s. Although these methods performed very well for many years, infant formulas have been updated, and today's products contain many new and novel ingredients. There were a number of cases in which the legacy AOAC methods began to result in problems with the analysis of modern infant formulas, and the use of these methods caused some disputes with regulatory agencies. In 2010, AOAC reached an agreement with the International Formula Council, which has changed its name to the Infant Nutrition Council of America, regarding a project to modernize these AOAC infant-formula test methods. This agreement led to the development of Standard Method Performance Requirements (SMPRs(®)) for 28 nutrients. After SMPR approval, methods were collected, evaluated, validated, and approved through the AOAC Official Methods(SM) process. Forty-seven methods have been approved as AOAC First Action Methods, and eight have been approved as Final Action.

Risk Assessment at the Cosmetic Product Manufacturer by Expert Judgment Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vtorushina, A. N.; Larionova, E. V.; Mezenceva, I. L.; Nikonova, E. D.

2017-05-01

A case study was performed in a cosmetic product manufacturer. We have identified the main risk factors of occupational accidents and their causes. Risk of accidents is assessed by the expert judgment method. Event tree for the most probable accident is built and recommendations on improvement of occupational health and safety protection system at the cosmetic product manufacturer are developed. The results of this paper can be used to develop actions to improve the occupational safety and health system in the chemical industry.

Adaptation of the quality by design concept in early pharmaceutical development of an intranasal nanosized formulation.

PubMed

Pallagi, Edina; Ambrus, Rita; Szabó-Révész, Piroska; Csóka, Ildikó

2015-08-01

Regulatory science based pharmaceutical development and product manufacturing is highly recommended by the authorities nowadays. The aim of this study was to adapt regulatory science even in the nano-pharmaceutical early development. Authors applied the quality by design (QbD) concept in the early development phase of nano-systems, where the illustration material was meloxicam. The meloxicam nanoparticles produced by co-grinding method for nasal administration were studied according to the QbD policy and the QbD based risk assessment (RA) was performed. The steps were implemented according to the relevant regulatory guidelines (quality target product profile (QTPP) determination, selection of critical quality attributes (CQAs) and critical process parameters (CPPs)) and a special software (Lean QbD Software(®)) was used for the RA, which represents a novelty in this field. The RA was able to predict and identify theoretically the factors (e.g. sample composition, production method parameters, etc.) which have the highest impact on the desired meloxicam-product quality. The results of the practical research justified the theoretical prediction. This method can improve pharmaceutical nano-developments by achieving shorter development time, lower cost, saving human resource efforts and more effective target-orientation. It makes possible focusing the resources on the selected parameters and area during the practical product development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Example of product development by industry and research solidarity].

PubMed

Seki, Masayoshi

2014-01-01

When the industrial firms develop the product, the research result from research institutions is used or to reflect the ideas from users on the developed product would be significant in order to improve the product. To state the software product which developed jointly as an example to describe the adopted development technique and its result, and to consider the modality of the industry solidarity seen from the company side and joint development. The software development methods have the merit and demerit and necessary to choose the optimal development technique by the system which develops. We have been jointly developed the dose distribution browsing software. As the software development method, we adopted the prototype model. In order to display the dose distribution information, it is necessary to load four objects which are CT-Image, Structure Set, RT-Plan, and RT-Dose, are displayed in a composite manner. The prototype model which is the development technique was adopted by this joint development was optimal especially to develop the dose distribution browsing software. In a prototype model, since the detail design was created based on the program source code after the program was finally completed, there was merit on the period shortening of document written and consist in design and implementation. This software eventually opened to the public as an open source. Based on this developed prototype software, the release version of the dose distribution browsing software was developed. Developing this type of novelty software, it normally takes two to three years, but since the joint development was adopted, it shortens the development period to one year. Shortening the development period was able to hold down to the minimum development cost for a company and thus, this will be reflected to the product price. The specialists make requests on the product from user's point of view are important, but increase in specialists as professionals for product development will increase the expectations to develop a product to meet the users demand.

Manufacturing methods of a composite cell case for a Ni-Cd battery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauer, J. L.

1979-01-01

Basic manufacturing method refinements for using graphite epoxy material for a nickel cadmium battery cell case were performed to demonstrate production feasibility. The various facets of production scale-up, i.e., process and tooling development, together with material and process control, were integrated into a comprehensive manufacturing process that assures production reproducibility and product uniformity. Test results substantiate that a battery cell case produced from graphite epoxy pre-impregnated material, utilizing the internal pressure bag fabrication method, is feasible.

[Biosynthesis of adipic acid].

PubMed

Han, Li; Chen, Wujiu; Yuan, Fei; Zhang, Yuanyuan; Wang, Qinhong; Ma, Yanhe

2013-10-01

Adipic acid is a six-carbon dicarboxylic acid, mainly for the production of polymers such as nylon, chemical fiber and engineering plastics. Its annual demand is close to 3 million tons worldwide. Currently, the industrial production of adipic acid is based on the oxidation of aromatics from non-renewable petroleum resources by chemo-catalytic processes. It is heavily polluted and unsustainable, and the possible alternative method for adipic acid production should be developed. In the past years, with the development of synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, green and clean biotechnological methods for adipic acid production attracted more attention. In this study, the research advances of adipic acid and its precursor production are reviewed, followed by addressing the perspective of the possible new pathways for adipic acid production.

Design for Usability; practice-oriented research for user-centered product design.

PubMed

van Eijk, Daan; van Kuijk, Jasper; Hoolhorst, Frederik; Kim, Chajoong; Harkema, Christelle; Dorrestijn, Steven

2012-01-01

The Design for Usability project aims at improving the usability of electronic professional and consumer products by creating new methodology and methods for user-centred product development, which are feasible to apply in practice. The project was focused on 5 key areas: (i) design methodology, expanding the existing approach of scenario-based design to incorporate the interaction between product design, user characteristics, and user behaviour; (ii) company processes, barriers and enablers for usability in practice; (iii) user characteristics in relation to types of products and use-situations; (iv) usability decision-making; and (v) product impact on user behaviour. The project team developed methods and techniques in each of these areas to support the design of products with a high level of usability. This paper brings together and summarizes the findings.

Development and Validation of New Discriminative Dissolution Method for Carvedilol Tablets

PubMed Central

Raju, V.; Murthy, K. V. R.

2011-01-01

The objective of the present study was to develop and validate a discriminative dissolution method for evaluation of carvedilol tablets. Different conditions such as type of dissolution medium, volume of dissolution medium and rotation speed of paddle were evaluated. The best in vitro dissolution profile was obtained using Apparatus II (paddle), 50 rpm, 900 ml of pH 6.8 phosphate buffer as dissolution medium. The drug release was evaluated by high-performance liquid chromatographic method. The dissolution method was validated according to current ICH and FDA guidelines using parameters such as the specificity, accuracy, precision and stability were evaluated and obtained results were within the acceptable range. The comparison of the obtained dissolution profiles of three different products were investigated using ANOVA-based, model-dependent and model-independent methods, results showed that there is significant difference between the products. The dissolution test developed and validated was adequate for its higher discriminative capacity in differentiating the release characteristics of the products tested and could be applied for development and quality control of carvedilol tablets. PMID:22923865

A Method for User Centering Systematic Product Development Aimed at Industrial Design Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coelho, Denis A.

2010-01-01

Instead of limiting the introduction and stimulus for new concept creation to lists of specifications, industrial design students seem to prefer to be encouraged by ideas in context. A new method that specifically tackles human activity to foster the creation of user centered concepts of new products was developed and is presented in this article.…

Comparison and feasibility of North American methods for harvesting small trees and residues for energy

Treesearch

Bruce R. Hartsough; Bryce J. Stokes

1990-01-01

A database of North American harvesting systems was developed. Parameters for each system included site, material and product characteristics, equipment mix and production rate. Onto-truck and delivered costs per green tonne, and breakeven oil prices were developed using standard costing methods. Systems costs were compared over the ranges of piece size, volume per...

Ion chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry method development and investigation of lithium hexafluorophosphate-based organic electrolytes and their thermal decomposition products.

PubMed

Kraft, Vadim; Grützke, Martin; Weber, Waldemar; Winter, Martin; Nowak, Sascha

2014-08-08

A method based on the coupling of ion chromatography (IC) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) for the separation and determination of thermal decomposition products of LiPF6-based organic electrolytes is presented. The utilized electrolytes, LP30 and LP50, are commercially available and consist of 1mol/l LiPF6 dissolved in ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate and ethylene carbonate/ethyl methyl carbonate, respectively. For the separation method development three ion chromatographic columns with different capacity and stationary phase were used and compared. Besides the known hydrolysis products of lithium hexafluorophosphate, several new organophosphates were separated and identified with the developed IC-ESI-MS method during aging investigations of the electrolytes. The chemical structures were elucidated with IC-ESI-MS/MS. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Recent patents for detecting the species of origin in animal feedstuff, and raw and processed meat products.

PubMed

Rogberg-Muñoz, Andrés; Posik, Diego M; Rípoli, María V; Falomir Lockhart, Agustín H; Peral-García, Pilar; Giovambattista, Guillermo

2013-04-01

The value of the traceability and labeling of food is attributable to two main aspects: health safety and/or product or process certification. The identification of the species related to meat production is still a major concern for economic, religious and health reasons. Many approaches and technologies have been used for species identification in animal feedstuff and food. The early methods for meat products identification include physical, anatomical, histological and chemical. Since 1970, a variety of methods were developed, these include electrophoresis (i.e. isoelectrofocusing), chromatography (i.e. HPLC), immunological techniques (i.e. ELISA), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Mass Spectrometry and PCR (DNA and RNA based methods). The recent patents on species detection in animal feedstuffs, raw meat and meat processed products, listed in this work, are mainly based on monoclonal antibodies and PCR, especially RT-PCR. The new developments under research are looking for more sensible, specific, less time consuming and quantitatively detection methods, which can be used in highly processed or heated treated meat food.

Integrating artificial and human intelligence into tablet production process.

PubMed

Gams, Matjaž; Horvat, Matej; Ožek, Matej; Luštrek, Mitja; Gradišek, Anton

2014-12-01

We developed a new machine learning-based method in order to facilitate the manufacturing processes of pharmaceutical products, such as tablets, in accordance with the Process Analytical Technology (PAT) and Quality by Design (QbD) initiatives. Our approach combines the data, available from prior production runs, with machine learning algorithms that are assisted by a human operator with expert knowledge of the production process. The process parameters encompass those that relate to the attributes of the precursor raw materials and those that relate to the manufacturing process itself. During manufacturing, our method allows production operator to inspect the impacts of various settings of process parameters within their proven acceptable range with the purpose of choosing the most promising values in advance of the actual batch manufacture. The interaction between the human operator and the artificial intelligence system provides improved performance and quality. We successfully implemented the method on data provided by a pharmaceutical company for a particular product, a tablet, under development. We tested the accuracy of the method in comparison with some other machine learning approaches. The method is especially suitable for analyzing manufacturing processes characterized by a limited amount of data.

Intelligent methods for the process parameter determination of plastic injection molding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Huang; Zhang, Yun; Zhou, Xundao; Li, Dequn

2018-03-01

Injection molding is one of the most widely used material processing methods in producing plastic products with complex geometries and high precision. The determination of process parameters is important in obtaining qualified products and maintaining product quality. This article reviews the recent studies and developments of the intelligent methods applied in the process parameter determination of injection molding. These intelligent methods are classified into three categories: Case-based reasoning methods, expert system- based methods, and data fitting and optimization methods. A framework of process parameter determination is proposed after comprehensive discussions. Finally, the conclusions and future research topics are discussed.

Development of a nondestructive leak testing method utilizing the head space analyzer for ampoule products containing ethanol-based solutions.

PubMed

Sudo, Hirotaka; O'driscoll, Michael; Nishiwaki, Kenji; Kawamoto, Yuji; Gammell, Philip; Schramm, Gerhard; Wertli, Toni; Prinz, Heino; Mori, Atsuhide; Sako, Kazuhiro

2012-01-01

The application of a head space analyzer for oxygen concentration was examined to develop a novel ampoule leak test method. Studies using ampoules filled with ethanol-based solution and with nitrogen in the headspace demonstrated that the head space analysis (HSA) method showed sufficient sensitivity in detecting an ampoule crack. The proposed method is the use of HSA in conjunction with the pretreatment of an overpressurising process known as bombing to facilitate the oxygen flow through the crack in the ampoule. The method was examined in comparative studies with a conventional dye ingress method, and the results showed that the HSA method exhibits sensitivity superior to the dye method. The results indicate that the HSA method in combination with the bombing treatment provides potential application as a leak test for the detection of container defects not only for ampoule products with ethanol-based solutions, but also for testing lyophilized products in vials with nitrogen in the head space. The application of a head space analyzer for oxygen concentration was examined to develop a novel ampoule leak test method. The proposed method is the use of head space analysis (HSA) in conjunction with the pretreatment of an overpressurising process known as bombing to facilitate oxygen flow through the crack in the ampoule for use in routine production. The result of the comparative study with a conventional dye leak test method indicates that the HSA method in combination with the bombing treatment can be used as a leak test method, enabling detection of container defects.

The current state of Bayesian methods in medical product development: survey results and recommendations from the DIA Bayesian Scientific Working Group.

PubMed

Natanegara, Fanni; Neuenschwander, Beat; Seaman, John W; Kinnersley, Nelson; Heilmann, Cory R; Ohlssen, David; Rochester, George

2014-01-01

Bayesian applications in medical product development have recently gained popularity. Despite many advances in Bayesian methodology and computations, increase in application across the various areas of medical product development has been modest. The DIA Bayesian Scientific Working Group (BSWG), which includes representatives from industry, regulatory agencies, and academia, has adopted the vision to ensure Bayesian methods are well understood, accepted more broadly, and appropriately utilized to improve decision making and enhance patient outcomes. As Bayesian applications in medical product development are wide ranging, several sub-teams were formed to focus on various topics such as patient safety, non-inferiority, prior specification, comparative effectiveness, joint modeling, program-wide decision making, analytical tools, and education. The focus of this paper is on the recent effort of the BSWG Education sub-team to administer a Bayesian survey to statisticians across 17 organizations involved in medical product development. We summarize results of this survey, from which we provide recommendations on how to accelerate progress in Bayesian applications throughout medical product development. The survey results support findings from the literature and provide additional insight on regulatory acceptance of Bayesian methods and information on the need for a Bayesian infrastructure within an organization. The survey findings support the claim that only modest progress in areas of education and implementation has been made recently, despite substantial progress in Bayesian statistical research and software availability. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Analytical method for the determination of various arsenic species in rice, rice food products, apple juice, and other juices by ion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Ellingson, David; Zywicki, Richard; Sullivan, Darryl

2014-01-01

Recent studies have shown that there are detectable levels of arsenic (As) in rice, rice food products, and apple juice. This has created significant concern to the public, the food industry, and various regulatory bodies. Classic test methods typically measure total As and are unable to differentiate the various As species. Since different As species have greatly different toxicities, an analytical method was needed to separate and quantify the different inorganic and organic species of As. The inorganic species arsenite [As(+3)] and arsenate [As(+5)] are highly toxic. With this in mind, an ion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma (IC-ICP/MS) method was developed and validated for rice and rice food products that can separate and individually measure multiple inorganic and organic species of As. This allows for the evaluation of the safety or risk associated with any product analyzed. The IC-ICP/MS method was validated on rice and rice food products, and it has been used successfully on apple juice. This paper provides details of the validated method as well as some lessons learned during its development. Precision and accuracy data are presented for rice, rice food products, and apple juice.

Mechanical System Reliability and Cost Integration Using a Sequential Linear Approximation Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kowal, Michael T.

1997-01-01

The development of new products is dependent on product designs that incorporate high levels of reliability along with a design that meets predetermined levels of system cost. Additional constraints on the product include explicit and implicit performance requirements. Existing reliability and cost prediction methods result in no direct linkage between variables affecting these two dominant product attributes. A methodology to integrate reliability and cost estimates using a sequential linear approximation method is proposed. The sequential linear approximation method utilizes probability of failure sensitivities determined from probabilistic reliability methods as well a manufacturing cost sensitivities. The application of the sequential linear approximation method to a mechanical system is demonstrated.

Let's Scrum! Learning Digital Media Collaboratively

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Daniel G.; Brown, Joshua; Burke, Adam A.

2013-01-01

The changing landscape of digital media and software development has immense impact on society, not only through consumer use of the products, but also in the way these technologies are developed. Modern software and media-development companies are using collaborative methods to develop innovative and useful products. Technology and engineering…

Verification of specific selection SNPs between broiler and layer chicken in Chinese indigenous chicken breeds.

PubMed

Lan, D; Hu, Y D; Zhu, Q; Li, D Y; Liu, Y P

2015-07-28

The direction of production for indigenous chicken breeds is currently unknown and this knowledge, combined with the development of chicken genome-wide association studies, led us to investigate differences in specific loci between broiler and layer chicken using bioinformatic methods. In addition, we analyzed the distribution of these seven identified loci in four Chinese indigenous chicken breeds, Caoke chicken, Jiuyuan chicken, Sichuan mountain chicken, and Tibetan chicken, using DNA direct sequencing methods, and analyzed the data using bioinformatic methods. Based on the results, we suggest that Caoke chicken could be developed for meat production, while Jiuyuan chicken could be developed for egg production. As Sichuan mountain chicken and Tibetan chicken exhibited large polymorphisms, these breeds could be improved by changing their living environment.

Environmentally Responsible Microbiological Production of Energetic Ingredients

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-11-01

effort was to develop an environmentally benign and economical microbial process for nitro-energetics production . The specific targets of this method...microbial production of nitro-based EM. As the processes and compounds of choice, RDX/HMX (nitramine) generation was selected. Microorganisms capable of...Current synthetic methods for the production of RDX and HMX utilize hexamine as the precursor. Hexamine is an industrial chemical available on a large

In vitro methods for evaluating skin hydration under diapers and incontinence products.

PubMed

Tate, M L; Wright, A S

2017-11-01

Excessive skin hydration from wearing wet undergarments, such as infant diapers and adult incontinence products, has been historically problematic. Skin damage occurs from wetness (urine) and limited product breathability. Evaporative water loss has been measured on adult arms (armband method) or infant torsos (on-baby method), after wearing a saline-insulted diaper product. The current study developed a reliable in vitro method of evaluating diaper and incontinence products for improvements in skin dryness. A simulated skin substrate was applied to a heated mechanical arm or baby torso. A disposable diaper or incontinence product was wrapped around the arm or baby torso, and loaded with saline. Hydration of the simulated skin was measured by evaporimetry and compared with clinical data from adult armband evaluations. The heated mechanical arm and baby torso accurately distinguished products for skin dryness. Eight diaper products were evaluated and compared to human test results. The torso in vitro and mechanical arm evaluations demonstrated strong correlations to human epidermal water loss evaluations, with repeatable results. Additionally, the bench test has been used for adult incontinence products, and it proved to differentiate those products as well as infant products. A rapid and reliable means of evaluation has been developed, and it is predictive of human subject testing. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Systems, methods and apparatus for developing and maintaining evolving systems with software product lines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hinchey, Michael G. (Inventor); Rash, James L. (Inventor); Pena, Joaquin (Inventor)

2011-01-01

Systems, methods and apparatus are provided through which an evolutionary system is managed and viewed as a software product line. In some embodiments, the core architecture is a relatively unchanging part of the system, and each version of the system is viewed as a product from the product line. Each software product is generated from the core architecture with some agent-based additions. The result may be a multi-agent system software product line.

Major advances in testing of dairy products: milk component and dairy product attribute testing.

PubMed

Barbano, D M; Lynch, J M

2006-04-01

Milk component analysis is relatively unusual in the field of quantitative analytical chemistry because an analytical test result determines the allocation of very large amounts of money between buyers and sellers of milk. Therefore, there is high incentive to develop and refine these methods to achieve a level of analytical performance rarely demanded of most methods or laboratory staff working in analytical chemistry. In the last 25 yr, well-defined statistical methods to characterize and validate analytical method performance combined with significant improvements in both the chemical and instrumental methods have allowed achievement of improved analytical performance for payment testing. A shift from marketing commodity dairy products to the development, manufacture, and marketing of value added dairy foods for specific market segments has created a need for instrumental and sensory approaches and quantitative data to support product development and marketing. Bringing together sensory data from quantitative descriptive analysis and analytical data from gas chromatography olfactometry for identification of odor-active compounds in complex natural dairy foods has enabled the sensory scientist and analytical chemist to work together to improve the consistency and quality of dairy food flavors.

Quantification of maltol in Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) products by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector

PubMed Central

Jeong, Hyun Cheol; Hong, Hee-Do; Kim, Young-Chan; Rhee, Young Kyoung; Choi, Sang Yoon; Kim, Kyung-Tack; Kim, Sung Soo; Lee, Young-Chul; Cho, Chang-Won

2015-01-01

Background: Maltol, as a type of phenolic compounds, is produced by the browning reaction during the high-temperature treatment of ginseng. Thus, maltol can be used as a marker for the quality control of various ginseng products manufactured by high-temperature treatment including red ginseng. For the quantification of maltol in Korean ginseng products, an effective high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) method was developed. Materials and Methods: The HPLC-DAD method for maltol quantification coupled with a liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) method was developed and validated in terms of linearity, precision, and accuracy. An HPLC separation was performed on a C18 column. Results: The LLE methods and HPLC running conditions for maltol quantification were optimized. The calibration curve of the maltol exhibited good linearity (R2 = 1.00). The limit of detection value of maltol was 0.26 μg/mL, and the limit of quantification value was 0.79 μg/mL. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the data of the intra- and inter-day experiments were <1.27% and 0.61%, respectively. The results of the recovery test were 101.35–101.75% with an RSD value of 0.21–1.65%. The developed method was applied successfully to quantify the maltol in three ginseng products manufactured by different methods. Conclusion: The results of validation demonstrated that the proposed HPLC-DAD method was useful for the quantification of maltol in various ginseng products. PMID:26246746

Measuring Net Investment and Productivity in Timber Production

Treesearch

David N. Wear

1994-01-01

An index number approach is developed for measuring changes in inputs, outputs, and total factor productivity in a timber-producing sector. These methods are applied to timber production in the U.S. South for the period 1952 to 1985. Results suggest that development of the sector may be described by an adjustment phase between 1952 and 1962 and a growth phase between...

A Product Analysis Method and Its Staging to Develop Redesign Competences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hansen, Claus Thorp; Lenau, Torben Anker

2013-01-01

Most product development work in industrial practice is incremental, i.e., the company has had a product in production and on the market for some time, and now time has come to design an upgraded variant. This type of redesign project requires that the engineering designers have competences to carry through an analysis of the existing product…

A Feminine Care Clinical Research Program Transforms Women's Lives.

PubMed

Tzeghai, Ghebre E; Ajayi, Funmilayo O; Miller, Kenneth W; Imbescheid, Frank; Sobel, Jack D; Farage, Miranda A

2012-12-17

Feminine hygiene products and menstruation education have transformed the lives of women throughout the world. The P&G Feminine Care Clinical Innovation Research Program has played a key role by expanding scientific knowledge as well as developing technical insights and tools for the development of feminine hygiene products. The aim has been to meet the needs of women throughout their life stages, advancing their urogenital health beyond just menstruation, as well as helping to understand the role of sex hormones in various important health issues that women face. This review article highlights key contributions and research findings in female hygiene products, urogenital health research, and method development. The clinical research team focused on utilizing the results of clinical safety studies to advance the acceptance of feminine hygiene products world-wide. Key findings include that perception of skin sensitivity is not limited to the facial area, but is also relevant to the body and the genital area. Also, they shed light on the role of estrogen in autoimmune diseases as well as premenstrual syndrome. Efforts in the method development area focused on innovative tools that are reliable, predictive of clinical trial results and capable of measuring wear comfort, genital skin health, and the impact of product use on the consumer's quality of life. A novel method, behind-the-knee (BTK) test, developed to model irritation under normal wear conditions, was the first to account for both chemical and mechanical sources of irritation. The method has been accepted by the FDA as a substitute in clinical trials in some cases, and by American Society for Testing and Materials as a global standard test method. Additional proprietary methods were developed to enhance visual grading of irritation using cross-polarized light, to measure the amount of lotion transferred from sanitary pads, and to evaluate the skin mildness. Finally, the Farage Quality of Life tool was created to measure consumer's well-being. Based on the results of this extensive clinical research and the newly developed testing methods, the changing needs of women throughout their life stages are better met.

A Feminine Care Clinical Research Program Transforms Women’s Lives

PubMed Central

Tzeghai, Ghebre E.; Ajayi, Funmilayo O.; Miller, Kenneth W.; Imbescheid, Frank; Sobel, Jack D.; Farage, Miranda A.

2015-01-01

Feminine hygiene products and menstruation education have transformed the lives of women throughout the world. The P&G Feminine Care Clinical Innovation Research Program has played a key role by expanding scientific knowledge as well as developing technical insights and tools for the development of feminine hygiene products. The aim has been to meet the needs of women throughout their life stages, advancing their urogenital health beyond just menstruation, as well as helping to understand the role of sex hormones in various important health issues that women face. This review article highlights key contributions and research findings in female hygiene products, urogenital health research, and method development. The clinical research team focused on utilizing the results of clinical safety studies to advance the acceptance of feminine hygiene products world-wide. Key findings include that perception of skin sensitivity is not limited to the facial area, but is also relevant to the body and the genital area. Also, they shed light on the role of estrogen in autoimmune diseases as well as premenstrual syndrome. Efforts in the method development area focused on innovative tools that are reliable, predictive of clinical trial results and capable of measuring wear comfort, genital skin health, and the impact of product use on the consumer’s quality of life. A novel method, behind-the-knee (BTK) test, developed to model irritation under normal wear conditions, was the first to account for both chemical and mechanical sources of irritation. The method has been accepted by the FDA as a substitute in clinical trials in some cases, and by American Society for Testing and Materials as a global standard test method. Additional proprietary methods were developed to enhance visual grading of irritation using cross-polarized light, to measure the amount of lotion transferred from sanitary pads, and to evaluate the skin mildness. Finally, the Farage Quality of Life tool was created to measure consumer’s well-being. Based on the results of this extensive clinical research and the newly developed testing methods, the changing needs of women throughout their life stages are better met. PMID:25946910

Development of new generation of perovskite based noble metal/semiconductor photocatalysts for visible-light-driven hydrogen production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Peichuan

In recent decades, semiconductor photocatalysis has attracted a growing attention as a possible alternative to existing methods of hydrogen production, hydrocarbon conversion and organic compound oxidation. Many types of photocatalysts have been developed and tested for photocatalytic applications. However, most of them do not have notable activity in visible light region, which limits their practical applications. Development of photocatalysts, which can be activated by visible light provides a promising way forward to utilize both UV and visible portions of solar spectrum. In this thesis, two main methods to advance visible light driven photocatalysis, such as bandgap modification through doping and co-catalyst development, are investigated. The photocatalysts studied in this thesis included CdS and SrTiO3, which were extensively investigated and characterized. Rhodium doped strontium titanate was synthesized through different preparation methods. The synthesized samples have been investigated by various characterization techniques including XRD, TEM, STEM, XPS and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The effect of preparation conditions, such as doping concentration, calcination temperature and pH have been investigated and optimized. In addition, the photocatalytic activities for hydrogen production of the samples synthesized by different preparation methods were also studied. Among the preparation methods, polymerizable complex (PC) method was found to be the most effective synthesis method for SrTiO3: Rh. The samples prepared by PC method had higher photocatalytic activity as compared to that of samples synthesized by solid state reaction method and hydrothermal method. The reasons might be attributed to more effective doping and higher surface area. The results of this work suggest that PC method can also be applied to develop other perovskite materials for photocatalytic applications. Co-catalyst development for enhancement of photocatalytic hydrogen production is also described in this dissertation. Noble metal nanoparticles have been proved to be effective co-catalysts due to their unique physical and chemical properties. Au and Pt nanoparticles with different sizes were synthesized and deposited on CdS. Sub-nanometer Au and Pt were found to be promising co-catalysts for photocatalytic hydrogen production reaction. Specifically, sub-nm Au and sub-nm Pt nanoparticles were found to enhance the photocatalytic activity in hydrogen production of CdS by 35 and 15 times respectively. Other noble metal co-catalysts, such as Ru, Pd and Rh were also deposited on CdS and their photocatalytic activities were investigated. Additionally, a novel chamber for photocatalytic reactions was developed as a part of this dissertation. The reaction chamber has several unique features allowing different reactions and measurements. The reactor was proved to be suitable for future projects in photocatalysis such as photocatalytic CO2 conversion into hydrocarbons.

The challenges of including impacts on biodiversity in agricultural life cycle assessments.

PubMed

Gabel, Vanessa M; Meier, Matthias S; Köpke, Ulrich; Stolze, Matthias

2016-10-01

Agriculture is considered to be one of the main drivers for worldwide biodiversity loss but the impacts of agricultural production on biodiversity have not been extensively considered in Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). Recent realisation that biodiversity impact should be included in comprehensive LCAs has led to attempts to develop and implement methods for biodiversity impact assessment. In this review, twenty-two different biodiversity impact assessment methods have been analysed to identify their strengths and weaknesses in terms of their comprehensiveness in the evaluation of agricultural products. Different criteria, which had to meet the specific requirements of biodiversity research, life cycle assessment methodology, and the evaluation of agricultural products, were selected to investigate the identified methods. Very few of the methods were developed with the specific intention of being used for agricultural LCAs. Furthermore, none of the methods can be applied globally while at the same time being able to differentiate between various agricultural intensities. Global value chains and the increasing awareness of different biodiversity impacts of agricultural production systems demand the development of evaluation methods that are able to overcome these shortcomings. Despite the progress that has already been achieved, there are still unresolved difficulties which need further research and improvement. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stability-indicating UPLC method for determination of Valsartan and their degradation products in active pharmaceutical ingredient and pharmaceutical dosage forms.

PubMed

Krishnaiah, Ch; Reddy, A Raghupathi; Kumar, Ramesh; Mukkanti, K

2010-11-02

A simple, precise, accurate stability-indicating gradient reverse phase ultra-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-UPLC) method was developed for the quantitative determination of purity of Valsartan drug substance and drug products in bulk samples and pharmaceutical dosage forms in the presence of its impurities and degradation products. The method was developed using Waters Aquity BEH C18 (100 mm x 2.1 mm, 1.7 microm) column with mobile phase containing a gradient mixture of solvents A and B. The eluted compounds were monitored at 225 nm, the run time was within 9.5 min, which Valsartan and its seven impurities were well separated. Valsartan was subjected to the stress conditions of oxidative, acid, base, hydrolytic, thermal and photolytic degradation. Valsartan was found to degrade significantly in acid and oxidative stress conditions and stable in base, hydrolytic and photolytic degradation conditions. The degradation products were well resolved from main peak and its impurities, proving the stability-indicating power of the method. The developed method was validated as per international conference on harmonization (ICH) guidelines with respect to specificity, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, accuracy, precision and robustness. This method was also suitable for the assay determination of Valsartan in pharmaceutical dosage forms.

Advanced Productivity Analysis Methods for Air Traffic Control Operations.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1976-12-01

This report gives a description of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) productivity analysis methods developed, implemented, and refined by the Stanford Research Institute (SRI) under the sponsorship of FAA and TSC. Two models are included in the productiv...

Determination of coumarin, vanillin, and ethyl vanillin in vanilla extract products: liquid chromatography mass spectrometry method development and validation studies.

PubMed

de Jager, Lowri S; Perfetti, Gracia A; Diachenko, Gregory W

2007-03-23

A LC-MS method was developed for the determination of coumarin, vanillin, and ethyl vanillin in vanilla products. Samples were analyzed using LC-electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS in the positive ionization mode. Limits of detection for the method ranged from 0.051 to 0.073 microg mL(-1). Using the optimized method, 24 vanilla products were analyzed. All samples tested negative for coumarin. Concentrations ranged from 0.38 to 8.59 mg mL(-1) (x =3.73) for vanillin and 0.33 to 2.27 mg mL(-1) (x =1.03) for ethyl vanillin. The measured concentrations are compared to values calculated using UV monitoring and to results reported in a similar survey in 1988. Analytical results, method precision, and accuracy data are presented.

The extraction of bitumen from western oil sands. Annual report, July 1991--July 1992

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oblad, A.G.; Bunger, J.W.; Dahlstrom, D.A.

1992-08-01

The University of Utah tar sand research and development program is concerned with research and development on Utah is extensive oil sands deposits. The program has been intended to develop a scientific and technological base required for eventual commercial recovery of the heavy oils from oil sands and processing these oils to produce synthetic crude oil and other products such as asphalt. The overall program is based on mining the oil sand, processing the mined sand to recover the heavy oils and upgrading them to products. Multiple deposits are being investigated since it is believed that a large scale (approximatelymore » 20,000 bbl/day) plant would require the use of resources from more than one deposit. The tasks or projects in the program are organized according to the following classification: Recovery technologies which includes thermal recovery methods, water extraction methods, and solvent extraction methods; upgrading and processing technologies which covers hydrotreating, hydrocracking, and hydropyrolysis; solvent extraction; production of specialty products; and environmental aspects of the production and processing technologies. These tasks are covered in this report.« less

Development of Technology and Installation for Biohydrogen Production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pridvizhkin, S. V.; Vyguzova, M. A.; Bazhenov, O. V.

2017-11-01

The article discusses the method for hydrogen production and the device this method application. The relevance of the use of renewable fuels and the positive impact of renewable energy on the environment and the economy is also considered. The presented technology relates to a method for hydrogen production from organic materials subject to anaerobic fermentation, such as the components of solid municipal waste, sewage sludge and agricultural enterprises wastes, sewage waste. The aim of the research is to develop an effective eco-friendly technology for hydrogen producing within an industrial project To achieve the goal, the following issues have been addressed in the course of the study: - development of the process schemes for hydrogen producing from organic materials; - development of the technology for hydrogen producing; - optimization of a biogas plant with the aim of hydrogen producing at one of the fermentation stages; - approbation of the research results. The article is recommended for engineers and innovators working on the renewable energy development issues.

Uncertainty Analysis of Consequence Management (CM) Data Products.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hunt, Brian D.; Eckert-Gallup, Aubrey Celia; Cochran, Lainy Dromgoole

The goal of this project is to develop and execute methods for characterizing uncertainty in data products that are deve loped and distributed by the DOE Consequence Management (CM) Program. A global approach to this problem is necessary because multiple sources of error and uncertainty from across the CM skill sets contribute to the ultimate p roduction of CM data products. This report presents the methods used to develop a probabilistic framework to characterize this uncertainty and provides results for an uncertainty analysis for a study scenario analyzed using this framework.

Analytical Method to Evaluate Failure Potential During High-Risk Component Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tumer, Irem Y.; Stone, Robert B.; Clancy, Daniel (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Communicating failure mode information during design and manufacturing is a crucial task for failure prevention. Most processes use Failure Modes and Effects types of analyses, as well as prior knowledge and experience, to determine the potential modes of failures a product might encounter during its lifetime. When new products are being considered and designed, this knowledge and information is expanded upon to help designers extrapolate based on their similarity with existing products and the potential design tradeoffs. This paper makes use of similarities and tradeoffs that exist between different failure modes based on the functionality of each component/product. In this light, a function-failure method is developed to help the design of new products with solutions for functions that eliminate or reduce the potential of a failure mode. The method is applied to a simplified rotating machinery example in this paper, and is proposed as a means to account for helicopter failure modes during design and production, addressing stringent safety and performance requirements for NASA applications.

Development of a polymerase chain reaction-based assay for the detection of Alternaria fungal contamination in food products.

PubMed

Zur, G; Hallerman, E M; Sharf, R; Kashi, Y

1999-10-01

Alternaria sp. are important fungal contaminants of vegetable, fruit, and grain products, including Alternaria alternata, a contaminant of tomato products. To date, the Howard method, based on microscopic observation of fungal filaments, has been the standard examination for inspection of tomato products. We report development of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method for detection of Alternaria DNA. PCR primers were designed to anneal to the internal transcribed regions ITS1 and ITS2 of the 5.8S rRNA gene of Alternaria but not to other microbial or tomato DNA. We demonstrate use of the PCR assay to detect Alternaria DNA in experimentally infested and commercially obtained tomato sauce and tomato powder. Use of the PCR method offers a rapid and sensitive assay for the presence of Alternaria DNA in tomato products. The apparent breakdown of DNA in tomato sauce may limit the utility of the assay to freshly prepared products. The assay for tomato powder is not affected by storage time.

Development and validation of a stability indicating HPLC method for determination of lisinopril, lisinopril degradation product and parabens in the lisinopril extemporaneous formulation.

PubMed

Beasley, Christopher A; Shaw, Jessica; Zhao, Zack; Reed, Robert A

2005-03-09

The purpose of the research described herein was to develop and validate a stability-indicating HPLC method for lisinopril, lisinopril degradation product (DKP), methyl paraben and propyl paraben in a lisinopril extemporaneous formulation. The method developed in this report is selective for the components listed above, in the presence of the complex and chromatographically rich matrix presented by the Bicitra and Ora-Sweet SF formulation diluents. The method was also shown to have adequate sensitivity with a detection limit of 0.0075 microg/mL (0.03% of lisinopril method concentration). The validation elements investigated showed that the method has acceptable specificity, recovery, linearity, solution stability, and method precision. Acceptable robustness indicates that the assay method remains unaffected by small but deliberate variations, which are described in ICH Q2A and Q2B guidelines.

Marzipan: polymerase chain reaction-driven methods for authenticity control.

PubMed

Brüning, Philipp; Haase, Ilka; Matissek, Reinhard; Fischer, Markus

2011-11-23

According to German food guidelines, almonds are the only oilseed ingredient allowed for the production of marzipan. Persipan is a marzipan surrogate in which the almonds are replaced by apricot or peach kernels. Cross-contamination of marzipan products with persipan may occur if both products are produced using the same production line. Adulterations or dilutions, respectively, of marzipan with other plant-derived products, for example, lupine or pea, have also been found. Almond and apricot plants are closely related. Consequently, classical analytical methods for the identification/differentiation often fail or are not sensitive enough to quantify apricot concentrations below 1%. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods have been shown to enable the differentiation of closely related plant species in the past. These methods are characterized by high specificity and low detection limits. Isolation methods were developed and evaluated especially with respect to the matrix marzipan in terms of yield, purity, integrity, and amplificability of the isolated DNA. For the reliable detection of apricot, peach, pea, bean, lupine, soy, cashew, pistachio, and chickpea, qualitative standard and duplex PCR methods were developed and established. The applicability of these methods was tested by cross-reaction studies and analysis of spiked raw pastes. Contaminations at the level of 0.1% could be detected.

Pyranone natural products as inspirations for catalytic reaction discovery and development.

PubMed

McDonald, Benjamin R; Scheidt, Karl A

2015-04-21

Natural products continue to provide a wealth of opportunities in the areas of chemical and therapeutic development. These structures are effective measuring sticks for the current state of chemical synthesis as a field and constantly inspire new approaches and strategies. Tetrahydropryans and tetrahydropyran-4-ones are found in numerous bioactive marine natural products and medicinal compounds. Our interest in exploring the therapeutic potential of natural products containing these motifs provided the impetus to explore new methods to access highly functionalized, chiral pyran molecules in the most direct and rapid fashion possible. This goal led to exploration and development of a Lewis acid-mediated Prins reaction between a chiral β-hydroxy-dioxinone and aldehyde to produce a pyran-dioxinone fused product that can be processed in a single pot operation to the desired tetrahydropyran-4-ones in excellent yield and stereoselectivity. Although the Prins reaction is a commonly employed approach toward pyrans, this method uniquely provides a 3-carboxy-trisubstituted pyran and utilizes dioxinones in a manner that was underexplored at the time. The 3-carboxy substituent served as a key synthetic handhold when this method was applied to the synthesis of highly functionalized pyrans within the macrocyclic natural products neopeltolide, okilactiomycin, and exiguolide. When employed in challenging macrocyclizations, this tetrahydropyranone forming reaction proved highly stereoselective and robust. Another major thrust in our lab has been the synthesis of benzopyranone natural products, specifically flavonoids, because this broad and diverse family of compounds possesses an equally broad range of biological and medicinal applications. With the goal of developing a broad platform toward the synthesis of enantioenriched flavonoid analogs and natural products, a biomimetic, asymmetric catalytic approach toward the synthesis of 2-aryl benzopyranones was developed. A bifunctional hydrogen bonding/Brønstead base catalyst was ultimately found to enable this transformation in analogous manner to the biosynthesis via the enzyme chalcone isomerase. Employing thiourea catalysts derived from the pseudoenantiomeric quinine and quinidine, alkylidene β-ketoesters can be isomerized to 3-carboxy flavanones and decarboxylated in a single pot operation to stereodivergently provide highly enantioenriched flavanones in excellent yield. This method was applied to the synthesis of the abyssinone family of natural products, as well as the rotenoid, deguelin. An analogous method to isomerize chalcones was developed and applied to the synthesis of isosilybin A. In both of these related endeavors, the need for novel enabling methodologies toward the efficient creation of targeted molecular complexity drove the discovery, development and deployment of these stereoselective catalytic transformations.

Consumer preferences and willingness to pay for value-added chicken product attributes.

PubMed

Martínez Michel, Lorelei; Anders, Sven; Wismer, Wendy V

2011-10-01

A growing demand for convenient and ready-to-eat products has increased poultry processors' interest in developing consumer-oriented value-added chicken products. In this study, a conjoint analysis survey of 276 chicken consumers in Edmonton was conducted during the summer of 2009 to assess the importance of the chicken part, production method, processing method, storage method, the presence of added flavor, and cooking method on consumer preferences for different value-added chicken product attributes. Estimates of consumer willingness to pay (WTP) premium prices for different combinations of value-added chicken attributes were also determined. Participants'"ideal" chicken product was a refrigerated product made with free-range chicken breast, produced with no additives or preservatives and no added flavor, which could be oven heated or pan heated. Half of all participants on average were willing to pay 30% more for a value-added chicken product over the price of a conventional product. Overall, young consumers, individuals who shop at Farmers' Markets and those who prefer free-range or organic products were more likely to pay a premium for value-added chicken products. As expected, consumers' WTP was affected negatively by product price. Combined knowledge of consumer product attribute preferences and consumer WTP for value-added chicken products can help the poultry industry design innovative value-added chicken products. Practical Application:  An optimum combination of product attributes desired by consumers for the development of a new value-added chicken product, as well as the WTP for this product, have been identified in this study. This information is relevant to the poultry industry to enhance consumer satisfaction of future value-added chicken products and provide the tools for future profit growth. © 2011 Institute of Food Technologists®

Probabilistic framework for product design optimization and risk management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keski-Rahkonen, J. K.

2018-05-01

Probabilistic methods have gradually gained ground within engineering practices but currently it is still the industry standard to use deterministic safety margin approaches to dimensioning components and qualitative methods to manage product risks. These methods are suitable for baseline design work but quantitative risk management and product reliability optimization require more advanced predictive approaches. Ample research has been published on how to predict failure probabilities for mechanical components and furthermore to optimize reliability through life cycle cost analysis. This paper reviews the literature for existing methods and tries to harness their best features and simplify the process to be applicable in practical engineering work. Recommended process applies Monte Carlo method on top of load-resistance models to estimate failure probabilities. Furthermore, it adds on existing literature by introducing a practical framework to use probabilistic models in quantitative risk management and product life cycle costs optimization. The main focus is on mechanical failure modes due to the well-developed methods used to predict these types of failures. However, the same framework can be applied on any type of failure mode as long as predictive models can be developed.

The Development of Vocabulary in Spanish Children with Down Syndrome: Comprehension, Production, and Gestures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galeote, Miguel; Sebastian, Eugenia; Checa, Elena; Rey, Rocio; Soto, Pilar

2011-01-01

Background: Our main purpose was to compare the lexical development of Spanish children with Down syndrome (DS) and children with typical development (TD) to investigate the relationship between cognitive and vocabulary development in comprehension and oral and gestural production. Method: Participants were 186 children with DS and 186 children…

Identification and Structure Elucidation of Forced Degradation Products of the Novel Propionic acid Derivative Loxoprofen: Development of Stability-Indicating Chromatographic Methods Validated as per ICH Guidelines.

PubMed

Eissa, Maya S; Abd El-Sattar, Osama I

2017-04-01

Loxoprofen sodium (LOX) is a recently developed novel propionic acid derivative. Owing to its instability under both hydrolytic and oxidative conditions, the development of simple, rapid and sensitive methods for its determination in the presence of its possible forced degradation products becomes essential. Two simple chromatographic methods, high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), were developed associated with ultraviolet (UV) detection. In HPTLC-densitometric method, the separation of LOX from its degradation products was achieved using silica gel F254 plates and toluene:acetone:acetic acid (1.8:1.0:0.1, v/v/v) as the developing system followed by densitometric scanning at 220 nm. In the HPLC-UV method, the separation was performed using isocratic elution system with acetonitrile: 0.15% triethylamine (pH 2.2) (50:50, v/v) on C18 analytical column. The flow rate was optimized at 1.0 mL·min-1 and UV detection was achieved at 220 nm. Validation was performed in accordance with the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines and the method was perfectly applied for determination of LOX in its pharmaceutical preparation. The results obtained were statistically compared to those obtained after application of the official HPLC method, where no significant difference was found incompliance with precision and accuracy. Identification and characterization of the possible hydrolytic degradation product under alkaline conditions and that produced during oxidative degradation using hydrogen peroxide were structurally elucidated using infrared and mass spectrometry analyses. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Manufacturing methods of a composite cell case for a Ni-Cd battery

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauer, J. L.; Bogner, R. S.; Lowe, E. P.; Orlowski, E.

1979-01-01

Graphite epoxy material for a nickel cadmium battery cell case has been evaluated and determined to perform in the simulated environment of the battery. The basic manufacturing method requires refinement to demonstrate production feasibility. The various facets of production scale-up, i.e., process and tooling development together with material and process control, have been integrated into a comprehensive manufacturing process that assures production reproducibility and product uniformity. Test results substantiate that a battery cell case produced from graphite epoxy pre-impregnated material utilizing internal pressure bag fabrication method is feasible.

Development of a Consensus Standard for School Equipment: NSF/NSSEA 380

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Breitner, Ashlee

2011-01-01

For many years, the school supplies and equipment industry has investigated methods to ensure product safety and compliance across all its product categories. In early 2010, NSF International and the National School Supply and Equipment Association (NSSEA) came together to develop quality standards for products and equipment designed for use in…

Exploring barriers and opportunities in adopting crowdsourcing based new product development in manufacturing SMEs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Shengfeng; Van der Velde, David; Chatzakis, Emmanouil; McStea, Terry; Smith, Neil

2016-10-01

Crowdsourcing is an innovative business practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content or even funds by soliciting contributions from a large group of people (the `Crowd'). The potential benefits of utilizing crowdsourcing in product design are well-documented, but little research exists on what are the barriers and opportunities in adopting crowdsourcing in new product development (NPD) of manufacturing SMEs. In order to answer the above questions, a Proof of Market study is carried out on crowdsourcing-based product design under an Innovate UK funded Smart project, which aims at identifying the needs, challenges and future development opportunities associated with adopting crowdsourcing strategies for NPD. The research findings from this study are reported here and can be used to guide future development of crowdsourcing-based collaborative design methods and tools and provide some practical references for industry to adopt this new and emerging collaborative design method in their business.

Production of Oleoresin from southern pine trees.

Treesearch

T.A. Harrington

1969-01-01

Developments in techniques, methods, and equipment for producing oleoresin from the living pine are discussed. Particular emphasis is given to the need for mechanized production methods if this ancient industry is to survive the competition from other sources of rosin and turpentine.

Analytical technologies for influenza virus-like particle candidate vaccines: challenges and emerging approaches

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Influenza virus-like particle vaccines are one of the most promising ways to respond to the threat of future influenza pandemics. VLPs are composed of viral antigens but lack nucleic acids making them non-infectious which limit the risk of recombination with wild-type strains. By taking advantage of the advancements in cell culture technologies, the process from strain identification to manufacturing has the potential to be completed rapidly and easily at large scales. After closely reviewing the current research done on influenza VLPs, it is evident that the development of quantification methods has been consistently overlooked. VLP quantification at all stages of the production process has been left to rely on current influenza quantification methods (i.e. Hemagglutination assay (HA), Single Radial Immunodiffusion assay (SRID), NA enzymatic activity assays, Western blot, Electron Microscopy). These are analytical methods developed decades ago for influenza virions and final bulk influenza vaccines. Although these methods are time-consuming and cumbersome they have been sufficient for the characterization of final purified material. Nevertheless, these analytical methods are impractical for in-line process monitoring because VLP concentration in crude samples generally falls out of the range of detection for these methods. This consequently impedes the development of robust influenza-VLP production and purification processes. Thus, development of functional process analytical techniques, applicable at every stage during production, that are compatible with different production platforms is in great need to assess, optimize and exploit the full potential of novel manufacturing platforms. PMID:23642219

Vacuum decay container closure integrity leak test method development and validation for a lyophilized product-package system.

PubMed

Patel, Jayshree; Mulhall, Brian; Wolf, Heinz; Klohr, Steven; Guazzo, Dana Morton

2011-01-01

A leak test performed according to ASTM F2338-09 Standard Test Method for Nondestructive Detection of Leaks in Packages by Vacuum Decay Method was developed and validated for container-closure integrity verification of a lyophilized product in a parenteral vial package system. This nondestructive leak test method is intended for use in manufacturing as an in-process package integrity check, and for testing product stored on stability in lieu of sterility tests. Method development and optimization challenge studies incorporated artificially defective packages representing a range of glass vial wall and sealing surface defects, as well as various elastomeric stopper defects. Method validation required 3 days of random-order replicate testing of a test sample population of negative-control, no-defect packages and positive-control, with-defect packages. Positive-control packages were prepared using vials each with a single hole laser-drilled through the glass vial wall. Hole creation and hole size certification was performed by Lenox Laser. Validation study results successfully demonstrated the vacuum decay leak test method's ability to accurately and reliably detect those packages with laser-drilled holes greater than or equal to approximately 5 μm in nominal diameter. All development and validation studies were performed at Whitehouse Analytical Laboratories in Whitehouse, NJ, under the direction of consultant Dana Guazzo of RxPax, LLC, using a VeriPac 455 Micro Leak Test System by Packaging Technologies & Inspection (Tuckahoe, NY). Bristol Myers Squibb (New Brunswick, NJ) fully subsidized all work. A leak test performed according to ASTM F2338-09 Standard Test Method for Nondestructive Detection of Leaks in Packages by Vacuum Decay Method was developed and validated to detect defects in stoppered vial packages containing lyophilized product for injection. This nondestructive leak test method is intended for use in manufacturing as an in-process package integrity check, and for testing product stored on stability in lieu of sterility tests. Test method validation study results proved the method capable of detecting holes laser-drilled through the glass vial wall greater than or equal to 5 μm in nominal diameter. Total test time is less than 1 min per package. All method development and validation studies were performed at Whitehouse Analytical Laboratories in Whitehouse, NJ, under the direction of consultant Dana Guazzo of RxPax, LLC, using a VeriPac 455 Micro Leak Test System by Packaging Technologies & Inspection (Tuckahoe, NY). Bristol Myers Squibb (New Brunswick, NJ) fully subsidized all work.

On-Site Production of Cellulolytic Enzymes by the Sequential Cultivation Method.

PubMed

Farinas, Cristiane S; Florencio, Camila; Badino, Alberto C

2018-01-01

The conversion of renewable lignocellulosic biomass into fuels, chemicals, and high-value materials using the biochemical platform has been considered the most sustainable alternative for the implementation of future biorefineries. However, the high cost of the cellulolytic enzymatic cocktails used in the saccharification step significantly affects the economics of industrial large-scale conversion processes. The on-site production of enzymes, integrated to the biorefinery plant, is being considered as a potential strategy that could be used to reduce costs. In such approach, the microbial production of enzymes can be carried out using the same lignocellulosic biomass as feedstock for fungal development and biofuels production. Most of the microbial cultivation processes for the production of industrial enzymes have been developed using the conventional submerged fermentation. Recently, a sequential solid-state followed by submerged fermentation has been described as a potential alternative cultivation method for cellulolytic enzymes production. This chapter presents the detailed procedure of the sequential cultivation method, which could be employed for the on-site production of the cellulolytic enzymes required to convert lignocellulosic biomass into simple sugars.

Innovating Method of Existing Mechanical Product Based on TRIZ Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Cunyou; Shi, Dongyan; Wu, Han

Main way of product development is adaptive design and variant design based on existing product. In this paper, conceptual design frame and its flow model of innovating products is put forward through combining the methods of conceptual design and TRIZ theory. Process system model of innovating design that includes requirement analysis, total function analysis and decomposing, engineering problem analysis, finding solution of engineering problem and primarily design is constructed and this establishes the base for innovating design of existing product.

Critical review and appraisal of published clinical literature: useful skill in biotechnology product development.

PubMed

Foote, Maryann

2008-01-01

Critical review of published literature may be necessary during several stages of biotechnology product development. The reviewer should develop a standardized method for reviewing and comparing published papers on a given topic and should be aware of common errors found in published papers.

The Role of Research in Making Interactive Products Effective.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rossi, Robert J.

1986-01-01

Argues that research and development (R&D) methods should be utilized to develop new technologies for training and retailing and describes useful research tools--critical incident methodology, task analysis, performance recording. Discussion covers R&D applications to interactive systems development in the areas of product need, customer…

Form gene clustering method about pan-ethnic-group products based on emotional semantic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Dengkai; Ding, Jingjing; Gao, Minzhuo; Ma, Danping; Liu, Donghui

2016-09-01

The use of pan-ethnic-group products form knowledge primarily depends on a designer's subjective experience without user participation. The majority of studies primarily focus on the detection of the perceptual demands of consumers from the target product category. A pan-ethnic-group products form gene clustering method based on emotional semantic is constructed. Consumers' perceptual images of the pan-ethnic-group products are obtained by means of product form gene extraction and coding and computer aided product form clustering technology. A case of form gene clustering about the typical pan-ethnic-group products is investigated which indicates that the method is feasible. This paper opens up a new direction for the future development of product form design which improves the agility of product design process in the era of Industry 4.0.

Method Analysis of Microbial-Resistant Gypsum Products

EPA Science Inventory

Method Analysis of Microbial-Resistant Gypsum ProductsD.A. Betancourt1, T.R.Dean1, A. Evans2, and G.Byfield2 1. US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory; RTP, NC 277112. RTI International, RTP, NCSeveral...

The Development of Testing Methods for Characterizing Emissions and Sources of Exposures from Polyurethane Products

EPA Science Inventory

The relationship between onsite manufacture of spray polyurethane foam insulation (SPFI) and potential exposures is not well understood. Currently, no comprehensive standard test methods exist for characterizing and quantifying product emissions. Exposures to diisocyanate compoun...

Separation of aromatic carboxylic acids using quaternary ammonium salts on reversed-phase HPLC. 2. Application for the analysis of Loy Yang coal oxidation products

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kawamura, K.; Okuwaki, A.; Verheyen, T.V.

In order to develop separation processes and analytical methods for aromatic carboxylic acids for the coal oxidation products, the separation behavior of aromatic carboxylic acids on a reversed-phase HPLC using eluent containing quaternary ammonium salt was optimized using the solvent gradient method. This method was applied for the analysis of Loy Yang coal oxidation products. It was confirmed that the analytical data using this method were consistent with those determined using gas chromatography.

The order and priority of research and design method application within an assistive technology new product development process: a summative content analysis of 20 case studies.

PubMed

Torrens, George Edward

2018-01-01

Summative content analysis was used to define methods and heuristics from each case study. The review process was in two parts: (1) A literature review to identify conventional research methods and (2) a summative content analysis of published case studies, based on the identified methods and heuristics to suggest an order and priority of where and when were used. Over 200 research and design methods and design heuristics were identified. From the review of the 20 case studies 42 were identified as being applied. The majority of methods and heuristics were applied in phase two, market choice. There appeared a disparity between the limited numbers of methods frequently used, under 10 within the 20 case studies, when hundreds were available. Implications for Rehabilitation The communication highlights a number of issues that have implication for those involved in assistive technology new product development: •The study defined over 200 well-established research and design methods and design heuristics that are available for use by those who specify and design assistive technology products, which provide a comprehensive reference list for practitioners in the field; •The review within the study suggests only a limited number of research and design methods are regularly used by industrial design focused assistive technology new product developers; and, •Debate is required within the practitioners working in this field to reflect on how a wider range of potentially more effective methods and heuristics may be incorporated into daily working practice.

Productivity and cost estimators for conventional ground-based skidding on steep terrain using preplanned skid roads

Treesearch

Michael D. Erickson; Curt C. Hassler; Chris B. LeDoux

1991-01-01

Continuous time and motion study techniques were used to develop productivity and cost estimators for the skidding component of ground-based logging systems, operating on steep terrain using preplanned skid roads. Comparisons of productivity and costs were analyzed for an overland random access skidding method, verses a skidding method utilizing a network of preplanned...

Dye-sensitized photocatalyst for effective water splitting catalyst

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watanabe, Motonori

2017-12-01

Renewable hydrogen production is a sustainable method for the development of next-generation energy technologies. Utilising solar energy and photocatalysts to split water is an ideal method to produce hydrogen. In this review, the fundamental principles and recent progress of hydrogen production by artificial photosynthesis are reviewed, focusing on hydrogen production from photocatalytic water splitting using organic-inorganic composite-based photocatalysts.

Development of real-time PCR methods to quantify patulin-producing molds in food products.

PubMed

Rodríguez, Alicia; Luque, M Isabel; Andrade, María J; Rodríguez, Mar; Asensio, Miguel A; Córdoba, Juan J

2011-09-01

Patulin is a mycotoxin produced by different Penicillium and Aspergillus strains isolated from food products. To improve food safety, the presence of patulin-producing molds in foods should be quantified. In the present work, two real-time (RTi) PCR protocols based on SYBR Green and TaqMan were developed. Thirty four patulin producers and 28 non-producers strains belonging to different species usually reported in food products were used. The patulin production was tested by mycellar electrokinetic capillary electrophoresis (MECE) and high-pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). A primer pair F-idhtrb/R-idhtrb and the probe IDHprobe were designed from the isoepoxydon dehydrogenase (idh) gene, involved in patulin biosynthesis. The functionality of the developed method was demonstrated by the high linear relationship of the standard curves constructed with the idh gene copy number and Ct values for the different patulin producers tested. The ability to quantify patulin producers of the developed SYBR Green and TaqMan assays in artificially inoculated food samples was successful, with a minimum threshold of 10 conidia g(-1) per reaction. The developed methods quantified with high efficiency fungal load in foods. These RTi-PCR protocols, are proposed to be used to quantify patulin-producing molds in food products and to prevent patulin from entering the food chain. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation of direct solar-to-microwave energy conversion techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chatterton, N. E.; Mookherji, T. K.; Wunsch, P. K.

1978-01-01

Identification of alternative methods of producing microwave energy from solar radiation for purposes of directing power to the Earth from space is investigated. Specifically, methods of conversion of optical radiation into microwave radiation by the most direct means are investigated. Approaches based on demonstrated device functioning and basic phenomenologies are developed. There is no system concept developed, that is competitive with current baseline concepts. The most direct methods of conversion appear to require an initial step of production of coherent laser radiation. Other methods generally require production of electron streams for use in solid-state or cavity-oscillator systems. Further development is suggested to be worthwhile for suggested devices and on concepts utilizing a free-electron stream for the intraspace station power transport mechanism.

An investigation of low ergonomics risk awareness, among staffs at early product development phase in Malaysia automotive industries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aziz, Fazilah Abdul; Razali, Noraini; Najmiyah Jaafar, Nur

2016-02-01

Currently there are many automotive companies still unable to effectively prevent consequences of poor ergonomics in their manufacturing processes. This study purpose is to determine the surrounding factors that influence low ergonomics risk awareness among staffs at early product development phase in Malaysia automotive industry. In this study there are four variables, low ergonomic risk awareness, inappropriate method and tools, tight development schedule and lack of management support. The survey data were gathered from 245 respondents of local automotive companies in Malaysia. The data was analysed through multiple regression and moderated regression using the IBM SPSS software. Study results revealed that low ergonomic risk awareness has influenced by inappropriate method and tool, and tight development schedule. There were positive linear relationships between low ergonomic risk awareness and inappropriate method and tools, and tight development schedule. The more inappropriate method and tools applied; the lower their ergonomic risk awareness. The more tight development schedule is the lower ergonomic risk awareness. The relationship between low ergonomic risk awareness and inappropriate method and tools depends on staff's age, and education level. Furthermore the relationship between low ergonomic risk awareness and tight development schedule depends on staff's working experience and number of project involvement. The main contribution of this paper was identified the number of factors of low ergonomics risk awareness and offers better understanding on ergonomics among researchers and automotive manufacturer's employees during product development process.

Integrated process development-a robust, rapid method for inclusion body harvesting and processing at the microscale level.

PubMed

Walther, Cornelia; Kellner, Martin; Berkemeyer, Matthias; Brocard, Cécile; Dürauer, Astrid

2017-10-21

Escherichia coli stores large amounts of highly pure product within inclusion bodies (IBs). To take advantage of this beneficial feature, after cell disintegration, the first step to optimal product recovery is efficient IB preparation. This step is also important in evaluating upstream optimization and process development, due to the potential impact of bioprocessing conditions on product quality and on the nanoscale properties of IBs. Proper IB preparation is often neglected, due to laboratory-scale methods requiring large amounts of materials and labor. Miniaturization and parallelization can accelerate analyses of individual processing steps and provide a deeper understanding of up- and downstream processing interdependencies. Consequently, reproducible, predictive microscale methods are in demand. In the present study, we complemented a recently established high-throughput cell disruption method with a microscale method for preparing purified IBs. This preparation provided results comparable to laboratory-scale IB processing, regarding impurity depletion, and product loss. Furthermore, with this method, we performed a "design of experiments" study to demonstrate the influence of fermentation conditions on the performance of subsequent downstream steps and product quality. We showed that this approach provided a 300-fold reduction in material consumption for each fermentation condition and a 24-fold reduction in processing time for 24 samples.

Direct Capture Technologies for Genomics-Guided Discovery of Natural Products.

PubMed

Chan, Andrew N; Santa Maria, Kevin C; Li, Bo

2016-01-01

Microbes are important producers of natural products, which have played key roles in understanding biology and treating disease. However, the full potential of microbes to produce natural products has yet to be realized; the overwhelming majority of natural product gene clusters encoded in microbial genomes remain "cryptic", and have not been expressed or characterized. In contrast to the fast-growing number of genomic sequences and bioinformatic tools, methods to connect these genes to natural product molecules are still limited, creating a bottleneck in genome-mining efforts to discover novel natural products. Here we review developing technologies that leverage the power of homologous recombination to directly capture natural product gene clusters and express them in model hosts for isolation and structural characterization. Although direct capture is still in its early stages of development, it has been successfully utilized in several different classes of natural products. These early successes will be reviewed, and the methods will be compared and contrasted with existing traditional technologies. Lastly, we will discuss the opportunities for the development of direct capture in other organisms, and possibilities to integrate direct capture with emerging genome-editing techniques to accelerate future study of natural products.

Breakthrough: Better Fiber for Better Products

ScienceCinema

Griffith, George; Garnier, John

2018-01-08

Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory have developed a cost-effective method for the continuous production of alpha silicon carbide fiber. The exceptionally strong, lightweight fiber could enable significant performance improvements in many everyday products.

Modeling new production in upwelling centers - A case study of modeling new production from remotely sensed temperature and color

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dugdale, Richard C.; Wilkerson, Frances P.; Morel, Andre; Bricaud, Annick

1989-01-01

A method has been developed for estimating new production in upwelling systems from remotely sensed surface temperatures. A shift-up model predicts the rate of adaptation of nitrate uptake. The time base for the production cycle is obtained from a knowledge of surface heating rates and differences in temperature between the point of upwelling and each pixel. Nitrate concentrations are obtained from temperature-nitrate regression equations. The model was developed for the northwest Africa upwelling region, where shipboard measurements of new production were available. It can be employed in two modes, the first using only surface temperatures, and the second in which CZCS color data are incorporated. The major advance offered by this method is the capability to estimate new production on spatial and time scales inaccessible with shipboard approaches.

Discrete-event system simulation on small and medium enterprises productivity improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sulistio, J.; Hidayah, N. A.

2017-12-01

Small and medium industries in Indonesia is currently developing. The problem faced by SMEs is the difficulty of meeting growing demand coming into the company. Therefore, SME need an analysis and evaluation on its production process in order to meet all orders. The purpose of this research is to increase the productivity of SMEs production floor by applying discrete-event system simulation. This method preferred because it can solve complex problems die to the dynamic and stochastic nature of the system. To increase the credibility of the simulation, model validated by cooperating the average of two trials, two trials of variance and chi square test. Afterwards, Benferroni method applied to development several alternatives. The article concludes that, the productivity of SMEs production floor increased up to 50% by adding the capacity of dyeing and drying machines.

A validated stability indicating RP-HPLC method for estimation of Armodafinil in pharmaceutical dosage forms and characterization of its base hydrolytic product.

PubMed

Venkateswarlu, Kambham; Rangareddy, Ardhgeri; Narasimhaiah, Kanaka; Sharma, Hemraj; Bandi, Naga Mallikarjuna Raja

2017-01-01

The main objective of present study was to develop a RP-HPLC method for estimation of Armodafinil in pharmaceutical dosage forms and characterization of its base hydrolytic product. The method was developed for Armodafinil estimation and base hydrolytic products were characterized. The separation was carried out on C18 column by using mobile phase as mixture of water and methanol (45:55%v/v). Eluents were detected at 220nm at 1ml/min. Stress studies were performed with milder conditions followed by stronger conditions so as to get sufficient degradation around 20%. A total of five degradation products were detected and separated from analyte. The linearity of the proposed method was investigated in the range of 20-120µg/ml for Armodafinil. The detection limit and quantification limit was found to be 0.01183μg/ml and 0.035µg/ml respectively. The precision % RSD was found to be less than 2% and the recovery was between 98-102%. Armodafinil was found to be more sensitive to the base hydrolysis and yielded its carboxylic acid as degradant. The developed method was stability indicating assay, suitable to quantify Armodafinil in presence of possible degradants. The drug was sensitive to acid, base &photolytic stress and resistant to thermal &oxidation.

[Extraction method suitable for detection of unheated crustaceans including cephalothorax by ELISA].

PubMed

Shibahara, Yusuke; Yamada, Itta; Uesaka, Yoshihiko; Uneo, Noriko; Abe, Akihisa; Ohashi, Eiji; Shiomi, Kazuo

2009-08-01

When unheated whole samples of crustaceans (shrimp, prawn and crab) were analyzed with our ELISA kit (FA test EIA-Crustacean 'Nissui') using anti-tropomyosin antibodies, a remarkable reduction in reactivity was recognized. This reduction in activity was found to be due to the digestion of tropomyosin during the extraction process by proteases contained in cephalothorax. To avoid the digestion of tropomyosin by proteases, we developed an extraction method (heating method) suitable for the detection of tropomyosin in unheated crustaceans including cephalothorax. Experiments with unheated whole samples of various species of crustaceans confirmed that the heating method greatly improved the low reactivity in the standard method; the heating method gave extraction efficiencies of as high as 93-107%. Various processed crustaceans with cephalothorax, such as dry products (unheated or weakly heated products) and pickles in soy sauce (unheated products), that showed low reactivity with the standard method were confirmed to give superior results with the heating method. These results indicated that the developed heating method is suitable for detecting unheated crustaceans with cephalothorax by means of the ELISA kit.

Inoculum production and long-term conservation methods for cucurbits and tomato powdery mildews.

PubMed

Bardin, Marc; Suliman, Muna E; Sage-Palloix, Anne-Marie; Mohamed, Youssif F; Nicot, Philippe C

2007-06-01

The behaviour of cucurbit powdery mildews (Podosphaera xanthii and Golovinomyces cichoracearum) and tomato powdery mildew (Oidium neolycopersici) infesting detached cotyledons of Lagenaria leucantha cv. 'Minibottle' was studied in order to develop an easy culture method for pure inoculum production. High spore production was found with a combination of mannitol (0.1 m), sucrose (0.02 m) and agar (8 gl(-1)) in the cotyledon survival medium. Sporulation on cotyledons and viability of conidia were affected by the age of culture for the three species of powdery mildew tested. The age of cotyledons had also an impact of the spore production. This method was used to produce large amounts of inoculum for P. xanthii, G. cichoracearum and O. neolycopersici and enable the development of other species of powdery mildew like Leveillula taurica. Freezing conidia in liquid nitrogen enabled the long-term conservation of P. xanthii without any loss of virulence. The same method was unsuccessful with G. cichoracearum, and L. taurica and partly successful with O. neolycopersici.

Conventional and dense gas techniques for the production of liposomes: a review.

PubMed

Meure, Louise A; Foster, Neil R; Dehghani, Fariba

2008-01-01

The aim of this review paper is to compare the potential of various techniques developed for production of homogenous, stable liposomes. Traditional techniques, such as Bangham, detergent depletion, ether/ethanol injection, reverse-phase evaporation and emulsion methods, were compared with the recent advanced techniques developed for liposome formation. The major hurdles for scaling up the traditional methods are the consumption of large quantities of volatile organic solvent, the stability and homogeneity of the liposomal product, as well as the lengthy multiple steps involved. The new methods have been designed to alleviate the current issues for liposome formulation. Dense gas liposome techniques are still in their infancy, however they have remarkable advantages in reducing the use of organic solvents, providing fast, single-stage production and producing stable, uniform liposomes. Techniques such as the membrane contactor and heating methods are also promising as they eliminate the use of organic solvent, however high temperature is still required for processing.

Monitoring River Water Levels from Space: Quality Assessment of 20 Years of Satellite Altimetry Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bercher, Nicolas; Kosuth, Pascal

2013-09-01

This paper presents the results of 20 years of validation of altimetry data for the monitoring of river water levels using a standardized method. The method was initially developed by Cemagref (2006-2011, [5, 6, 3]), now Irste ´a, its implementation is now pursued at LEGOS.Our initial statement was: "what if someone1 wants to use satellite measurements of river water levels ?" The obvious question that comes to mind is "what the quality of the data ?". Moreover, there's also a need - a demand from data producers, to monitor products quality in a standardized fashion.We addressed such questions and have developped a method to assess the quality of, so called, "Alti-Hydro Products". The method was implemented for the following Alti-Hydro products (and automatically derived from a L2 product*) : AVISO* (Topex/Poseidon, Jason-2), CASH project (Topex/Poseidon), HydroWeb (Topex/Poseidon, ENVISAT), River & Lake Hydrology (ERS-2, ENVISAT) and PISTACH* (Jason-2).

Function combined method for design innovation of children's bike

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xiaoli; Qiu, Tingting; Chen, Huijuan

2013-03-01

As children mature, bike products for children in the market develop at the same time, and the conditions are frequently updated. Certain problems occur when using a bike, such as cycle overlapping, repeating function, and short life cycle, which go against the principles of energy conservation and the environmental protection intensive design concept. In this paper, a rational multi-function method of design through functional superposition, transformation, and technical implementation is proposed. An organic combination of frog-style scooter and children's tricycle is developed using the multi-function method. From the ergonomic perspective, the paper elaborates on the body size of children aged 5 to 12 and effectively extracts data for a multi-function children's bike, which can be used for gliding and riding. By inverting the body, parts can be interchanged between the handles and the pedals of the bike. Finally, the paper provides a detailed analysis of the components and structural design, body material, and processing technology of the bike. The study of Industrial Product Innovation Design provides an effective design method to solve the bicycle problems, extends the function problems, improves the product market situation, and enhances the energy saving feature while implementing intensive product development effectively at the same time.

Three methods for integration of environmental risk into the benefit-risk assessment of veterinary medicinal products.

PubMed

Chapman, Jennifer L; Porsch, Lucas; Vidaurre, Rodrigo; Backhaus, Thomas; Sinclair, Chris; Jones, Glyn; Boxall, Alistair B A

2017-12-15

Veterinary medicinal products (VMPs) require, as part of the European Union (EU) authorization process, consideration of both risks and benefits. Uses of VMPs have multiple risks (e.g., risks to the animal being treated, to the person administering the VMP) including risks to the environment. Environmental risks are not directly comparable to therapeutic benefits; there is no standardized approach to compare both environmental risks and therapeutic benefits. We have developed three methods for communicating and comparing therapeutic benefits and environmental risks for the benefit-risk assessment that supports the EU authorization process. Two of these methods support independent product evaluation (i.e., a summative classification and a visual scoring matrix classification); the other supports a comparative evaluation between alternative products (i.e., a comparative classification). The methods and the challenges to implementing a benefit-risk assessment including environmental risk are presented herein; how these concepts would work in current policy is discussed. Adaptability to scientific and policy development is considered. This work is an initial step in the development of a standardized methodology for integrated decision-making for VMPs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Microbial production of the drugs violacein and deoxyviolacein: analytical development and strain comparison.

PubMed

Rodrigues, André L; Göcke, Yvonne; Bolten, Christoph; Brock, Nelson L; Dickschat, Jeroen S; Wittmann, Christoph

2012-04-01

Violacein and deoxyviolacein display a broad range of interesting biological properties but their production is rarely distinguished due to the lack of suitable analytical methods. An HPLC method has been developed for the separation and quantification of violacein and deoxyviolacein and can determine the content of both molecules in microbial cultures. A comparison of different production microorganisms, including recombinant Escherichia coli and the natural producer Janthinobacterium lividum, revealed that the formation of violacein and deoxyviolacein is strain-specific but showed significant variation during growth although the ratio between the two compounds remained constant.

A hybrid method for provincial scale energy-related carbon emission allocation in China.

PubMed

Bai, Hongtao; Zhang, Yingxuan; Wang, Huizhi; Huang, Yanying; Xu, He

2014-01-01

Achievement of carbon emission reduction targets proposed by national governments relies on provincial/state allocations. In this study, a hybrid method for provincial energy-related carbon emissions allocation in China was developed to provide a good balance between production- and consumption-based approaches. In this method, provincial energy-related carbon emissions are decomposed into direct emissions of local activities other than thermal power generation and indirect emissions as a result of electricity consumption. Based on the carbon reduction efficiency principle, the responsibility for embodied emissions of provincial product transactions is assigned entirely to the production area. The responsibility for carbon generation during the production of thermal power is borne by the electricity consumption area, which ensures that different regions with resource endowments have rational development space. Empirical studies were conducted to examine the hybrid method and three indices, per capita GDP, resource endowment index and the proportion of energy-intensive industries, were screened to preliminarily interpret the differences among China's regional carbon emissions. Uncertainty analysis and a discussion of this method are also provided herein.

Determination of Protein Content by NIR Spectroscopy in Protein Powder Mix Products.

PubMed

Ingle, Prashant D; Christian, Roney; Purohit, Piyush; Zarraga, Veronica; Handley, Erica; Freel, Keith; Abdo, Saleem

2016-01-01

Protein is a principal component in commonly used dietary supplements and health food products. The analysis of these products, within the consumer package form, is of critical importance for the purpose of ensuring quality and supporting label claims. A rapid test method was developed using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy as a compliment to current protein determination by the Dumas combustion method. The NIR method was found to be a rapid, low-cost, and green (no use of chemicals and reagents) complimentary technique. The protein powder samples analyzed in this study were in the range of 22-90% protein. The samples were prepared as mixtures of soy protein, whey protein, and silicon dioxide ingredients, which are common in commercially sold protein powder drink-mix products in the market. A NIR regression model was developed with 17 samples within the constituent range and was validated with 20 independent samples of known protein levels (85-88%). The results show that the NIR method is capable of predicting the protein content with a bias of ±2% and a maximum bias of 3% between NIR and the external Dumas method.

Development of an Economical Method to Reduce the Extractable Latex Protein Levels in Finished Dipped Rubber Products

PubMed Central

Perera, Ambegoda Liyanage Harini Amalka

2017-01-01

Natural rubber latex (NRL) allergy is caused by the extractable latex proteins in dipped rubber products. It is a major concern for the consumers who are sensitive to the allergenic extractable proteins (EP) in products such as NRL gloves. Objective of this research was to develop an economical method to reduce the EP in finished dipped NRL products. In order to reduce the EP levels, two natural proteases, bromelain from pineapple and papain from papaya, were extracted and partially purified using (NH4)2SO4. According to the newly developed method, different glove samples were treated with a 5% solution of each partially purified enzyme, for 2 hours at 60°C. Residual amounts of in treated samples were quantified using the modified Lowry assay (ASTM D5712-10). Bromelain displayed a 54 (±11)% reduction of the EP from the dipped rubber products, whereas it was 58 (±8)% with papain. These results clearly indicate that the selected natural proteases, bromelain, and papain contribute significantly towards the reduction of the total EP in finished NRL products. Application of bromelain enzyme for the aforementioned purpose has not been reported up to date, whereas papain has been used to treat raw NRL towards reducing the EP. PMID:28706952

Product Development and its Comparative Analysis by SLA, SLS and FDM Rapid Prototyping Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choudhari, C. M.; Patil, V. D.

2016-09-01

To grab market and meeting deadlines has increased the scope of new methods in product design and development. Industries continuously strive to optimize the development cycles with high quality and cost efficient products to maintain market competitiveness. Thus the need of Rapid Prototyping Techniques (RPT) has started to play pivotal role in rapid product development cycle for complex product. Dimensional accuracy and surface finish are the corner stone of Rapid Prototyping (RP) especially if they are used for mould development. The paper deals with the development of part made with the help of Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), Stereo-lithography (SLA) and Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) processes to benchmark and investigate on various parameters like material shrinkage rate, dimensional accuracy, time, cost and surface finish. This helps to conclude which processes can be proved to be effective and efficient in mould development. In this research work the emphasis was also given to the design stage of a product development to obtain an optimum design solution for an existing product.

Development and beyond: Strategy for long-term maintenance of an online laser diffraction particle size method in a spray drying manufacturing process.

PubMed

Medendorp, Joseph; Bric, John; Connelly, Greg; Tolton, Kelly; Warman, Martin

2015-08-10

The purpose of this manuscript is to present the intended use and long-term maintenance strategy of an online laser diffraction particle size method used for process control in a spray drying process. A Malvern Insitec was used for online particle size measurements and a Malvern Mastersizer was used for offline particle size measurements. The two methods were developed in parallel with the Mastersizer serving as the reference method. Despite extensive method development across a range of particle sizes, the two instruments demonstrated different sensitivities to material and process changes over the product lifecycle. This paper will describe the procedure used to ensure consistent alignment of the two methods, thus allowing for continued use of online real-time laser diffraction as a surrogate for the offline system over the product lifecycle. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Product assurance policies and procedures for flight dynamics software development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perry, Sandra; Jordan, Leon; Decker, William; Page, Gerald; Mcgarry, Frank E.; Valett, Jon

1987-01-01

The product assurance policies and procedures necessary to support flight dynamics software development projects for Goddard Space Flight Center are presented. The quality assurance and configuration management methods and tools for each phase of the software development life cycles are described, from requirements analysis through acceptance testing; maintenance and operation are not addressed.

New approaches to the measurement of chlorophyll, related pigments and productivity in the sea

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Booth, C. R.; Keifer, D. A.

1989-01-01

In the 1984 SBIR Call for Proposals, NASA solicited new methods to measure primary production and chlorophyll in the ocean. Biospherical Instruments Inc. responded to this call with a proposal first to study a variety of approaches to this problem. A second phase of research was then funded to pursue instrumentation to measure the sunlight stimulated naturally occurring fluorescence of chlorophyll in marine phytoplankton. The monitoring of global productivity, global fisheries resources, application of above surface-to-underwater optical communications systems, submarine detection applications, correlation, and calibration of remote sensing systems are but some of the reasons for developing inexpensive sensors to measure chlorophyll and productivity. Normally, productivity measurements are manpower and cost intensive and, with the exception of a very few expensive multiship research experiments, provide no contemporaneous data. We feel that the patented, simple sensors that we have designed will provide a cost effective method for large scale, synoptic, optical measurements in the ocean. This document is the final project report for a NASA sponsored SBIR Phase 2 effort to develop new methods for the measurements of primary production in the ocean. This project has been successfully completed, a U.S. patent was issued covering the methodology and sensors, and the first production run of instrumentation developed under this contract has sold out and been delivered.

Electrochemical production of ozone and hydrogen peroxide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphy, Oliver J. (Inventor); Hitchens, G. Duncan (Inventor)

1999-01-01

Methods of using ozone have been developed which sterilize instruments and medical wastes, oxidize organics found in wastewater, clean laundry, break down contaminants in soil into a form more readily digested by microbes, kill microorganisms present in food products, and destroy toxins present in food products. The preferred methods for killing microorganisms and destroying toxins use pressurized, humidified, and concentrated ozone produced by an electrochemical cell.

Graphical tensor product reduction scheme for the Lie algebras so(5) = sp(2) , su(3) , and g(2)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vlasii, N. D.; von Rütte, F.; Wiese, U.-J.

2016-08-01

We develop in detail a graphical tensor product reduction scheme, first described by Antoine and Speiser, for the simple rank 2 Lie algebras so(5) = sp(2) , su(3) , and g(2) . This leads to an efficient practical method to reduce tensor products of irreducible representations into sums of such representations. For this purpose, the 2-dimensional weight diagram of a given representation is placed in a ;landscape; of irreducible representations. We provide both the landscapes and the weight diagrams for a large number of representations for the three simple rank 2 Lie algebras. We also apply the algebraic ;girdle; method, which is much less efficient for calculations by hand for moderately large representations. Computer code for reducing tensor products, based on the graphical method, has been developed as well and is available from the authors upon request.

DEVELOPMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL INDICES FOR GREEN CHEMICAL PRODUCTION AND USE

EPA Science Inventory

Chemical production, use and disposal cause adverse impacts on the environment. Consequently, much research has been conducted to develop methods for estimating the risk of chemicals and to screen them based on environmental impact. Risk assessment may be subdivide...

Flow chemistry syntheses of natural products.

PubMed

Pastre, Julio C; Browne, Duncan L; Ley, Steven V

2013-12-07

The development and application of continuous flow chemistry methods for synthesis is a rapidly growing area of research. In particular, natural products provide demanding challenges to this developing technology. This review highlights successes in the area with an emphasis on new opportunities and technological advances.

Tobacco and Nicotine Product Testing

PubMed Central

Biener, Lois; Leischow, Scott J.; Zeller, Mitch R.

2012-01-01

Introduction: Tobacco product testing is a critical component of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA), which grants the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products. The availability of methods and measures that can provide accurate data on the relative health risks across types of tobacco products, brands, and subbrands of tobacco products on the validity of any health claims associated with a product, and on how consumers perceive information on products toxicity or risks is crucial for making decisions on the product's potential impact on public health. These tools are also necessary for making assessments of the impact of new indications for medicinal products (other than cessation) but more importantly of tobacco products that may in the future be marketed as cessation tools. Objective: To identify research opportunities to develop empirically based and comprehensive methods and measures for testing tobacco and other nicotine-containing products so that the best science is available when decisions are made about products or policies. Methods: Literature was reviewed to address sections of the FSPTCA relevant to tobacco product evaluation; research questions were generated and then reviewed by a committee of research experts. Results: A research agenda was developed for tobacco product evaluation in the general areas of toxicity and health risks, abuse liability, consumer perception, and population effects. Conclusion: A cohesive, systematic, and comprehensive assessment of tobacco products is important and will require building consensus and addressing some crucial research questions. PMID:21460383

Development and validation of an HPLC-DAD method for simultaneous determination of cocaine, benzoic acid, benzoylecgonine and the main adulterants found in products based on cocaine.

PubMed

Floriani, Gisele; Gasparetto, João Cleverson; Pontarolo, Roberto; Gonçalves, Alan Guilherme

2014-02-01

Here, an HPLC-DAD method was developed and validated for simultaneous determination of cocaine, two cocaine degradation products (benzoylecgonine and benzoic acid), and the main adulterants found in products based on cocaine (caffeine, lidocaine, phenacetin, benzocaine and diltiazem). The new method was developed and validated using an XBridge C18 4.6mm×250mm, 5μm particle size column maintained at 60°C. The mobile phase consisted of a gradient of acetonitrile and ammonium formate 0.05M - pH 3.1, eluted at 1.0mL/min. The volume of injection was 10μL and the DAD detector was set at 274nm. Method validation assays demonstrated suitable sensitivity, selectivity, linearity, precision and accuracy. For selectivity assay, a MS detection system could be directly adapted to the method without the need of any change in the chromatographic conditions. The robustness study indicated that the flow rate, temperature and pH of the mobile phase are critical parameters and should not be changed considering the conditions herein determined. The new method was then successfully applied for determining cocaine, benzoylecgonine, benzoic acid, caffeine, lidocaine, phenacetin, benzocaine and diltiazem in 115 samples, seized in Brazil (2007-2012), which consisted of cocaine paste, cocaine base and salt cocaine samples. This study revealed cocaine contents that ranged from undetectable to 97.2%, with 97 samples presenting at least one of the degradation products or adulterants here evaluated. All of the studied degradation products and adulterants were observed among the seized samples, justifying the application of the method, which can be used as a screening and quantification tool in forensic analysis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Patent and product piracy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ignat, V.

2016-08-01

Advanced industrial countries are affected by technology theft. German industry annually loses more than 50 billion euros. The main causes are industrial espionage and fraudulent copying patents and industrial products. Many Asian countries are profiteering saving up to 65% of production costs. Most affected are small medium enterprises, who do not have sufficient economic power to assert themselves against some powerful countries. International organizations, such as Interpol and World Customs Organization - WCO - work together to combat international economic crime. Several methods of protection can be achieved by registering patents or specific technical methods for recognition of product originality. They have developed more suitable protection, like Hologram, magnetic stripe, barcode, CE marking, digital watermarks, DNA or Nano-technologies, security labels, radio frequency identification, micro color codes, matrix code, cryptographic encodings. The automotive industry has developed the method “Manufactures against Product Piracy”. A sticker on the package features original products and it uses a Data Matrix verifiable barcode. The code can be recorded with a smartphone camera. The smartphone is connected via Internet to a database, where the identification numbers of the original parts are stored.

Method of sterilization using ozone

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murphy, Oliver J. (Inventor); Hitchens, G. Duncan (Inventor)

2002-01-01

Methods of using ozone have been developed which sterilize instruments and medical wastes, oxidize, organics found in wastewater, clean laundry, break down contaminants in soil into a form more readily digested by microbes, kill microorganisms present in food products, and destroy toxins present in food products. The preferred methods for killing microorganism and destroying toxins use pressurized, humidified, and concentrated ozone produced by an electrochemical cell.

A modular modulation method for achieving increases in metabolite production.

PubMed

Acerenza, Luis; Monzon, Pablo; Ortega, Fernando

2015-01-01

Increasing the production of overproducing strains represents a great challenge. Here, we develop a modular modulation method to determine the key steps for genetic manipulation to increase metabolite production. The method consists of three steps: (i) modularization of the metabolic network into two modules connected by linking metabolites, (ii) change in the activity of the modules using auxiliary rates producing or consuming the linking metabolites in appropriate proportions and (iii) determination of the key modules and steps to increase production. The mathematical formulation of the method in matrix form shows that it may be applied to metabolic networks of any structure and size, with reactions showing any kind of rate laws. The results are valid for any type of conservation relationships in the metabolite concentrations or interactions between modules. The activity of the module may, in principle, be changed by any large factor. The method may be applied recursively or combined with other methods devised to perform fine searches in smaller regions. In practice, it is implemented by integrating to the producer strain heterologous reactions or synthetic pathways producing or consuming the linking metabolites. The new procedure may contribute to develop metabolic engineering into a more systematic practice. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Ultra-HPLC method for quality and adulterant assessment of steviol glycosides sweeteners - Stevia rebaudiana and stevia products.

PubMed

Wang, Yan-Hong; Avula, Bharathi; Tang, Wenzhao; Wang, Mei; Elsohly, Mahmoud A; Khan, Ikhlas A

2015-01-01

Stevia products are advertised as a zero-calorie sweetener. Glucose should not be an intrinsic component of this product, but it has been identified from some of stevia products in a preliminary study. An UHPLC-UV method was developed for the quantitative determination of glucose from stevia products. After stevia products reacted with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP), PMP derivatives were analysed and glucose was found in seven out of 35 products in the range 0.3-91.5% (w/w). Two products, SPR-12 and SPR-27, showed remarkable amounts of glucose at 61.6% and 91.5%, respectively. In addition, an UHPLC-UV-evaporative light-scattering detector (ELSD) method was developed for the quantitative determination of rebaudioside A, stevioside, rebaudioside D, dulcoside A and steviolbioside from Stevia rebaudiana and related products. In a 12 min run, five steviol glycosides were baseline-separated. ELSD and ultraviolet (UV) detections showed comparable results. The LC methods were validated for linearity, repeatability, accuracy, limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ). For steviol glycosides, the LODs and LOQs were found to be less than 10 and 30 μg ml(-1), respectively. The RSD for intra- and inter-day analyses was less than 2.5%, and the recovery was 90-94%. For PMP derivative of glucose, the LOD and LOQ were 0.01 and 0.05 μg ml(-1), respectively. Repeatability (RSD) was less than 2.6%; recovery was 98.6-101.7%. The methods are useful for the identification, quality assurance, and adulterant assessment of S. rebaudiana and steviol glycosides sweeteners (stevia products).

New irradiation facilities for development of production methods of medical radionuclides at cyclotrons at Forschungszentrum Jülich

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spellerberg, S.; Scholten, B.; Spahn, I.; Felden, O.; Gebel, R.; Qaim, S. M.; Bai, M.; Neumaier, B.

2017-05-01

An essential basis for research and development work on radiopharmaceuticals is the efficient production of radionuclides of high quality. In this process research-oriented studies aiming for elucidation of biochemical processes require novel products. The radionuclide development at INM-5 entails basic research, e.g. the determination of nuclear reaction data, as well as technical aspects of practical production, such as high-current targetry, chemical separation, formulation and quality control. In this work developments, adaptation and optimization of irradiation facilities at the BC 1710, JULIC as Injector of COSY and COSY itself are summarized, which shall allow the extension of radionuclide production possibilities, aiming at innovations in medical applications.

Designing a Score-Based Method for the Evaluation of the Nutritional Quality of the Gluten-Free Bakery Products and their Gluten-Containing Counterparts.

PubMed

Morreale, Federico; Angelino, Donato; Pellegrini, Nicoletta

2018-04-25

Gluten-free (GF) products are consumed both by individuals with celiac disease and by an increasing number of people with no specific medical needs. Although the technological quality of GF products has been recently improved, their nutritional quality is still scarcely addressed. Moreover, the few published studies report conflicting results, mostly because the information from product nutrition facts is the only considered factor. The aim of the present study was to develop a score-based method for the nutritional evaluation of 134 packaged Italian GF bakery products and to compare it with that of 162 matched gluten-containing (GC) food items. The score included the information from the nutrition facts and the presence/absence of some nutritionally relevant components in the ingredients list. Results indicated an overall low nutritional quality of the considered GF bakery products. Additionally, with the sole exception of GF bread substitutes, there was no difference in nutritional quality between GF and equivalent GC bakery products. Future research and development of GF bakery products may take advantage of this scoring method, as it may represent an easy approach to evaluate their nutritional quality. The present findings do not justify the consumption of packaged GF bakery products by people without any specific medical needs.

Collaboration of chemistry instructional games and group investigation (Gi) model to improve learning outcome in high school students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puspita, Ita; Sugiyarto, Kristian H.; Ikhsan, Jaslin

2017-05-01

The aims of this research are to: (1) develop chemistry instructional games on reaction rate matter; and (2) reveal the collaboration of chemistry instructional games and group investigation model to improvement learning outcome in high school student. This study is research and development (R&D). The procedure of developing product was adapted from Borg & Gall that modified into three principal steps: product planning, product developing, and product evaluating. The product planning step consist of field study, literature study, and manufacturing product. Product developing was developed product using Adobe Flash Professional CS 6 program. The last, product evaluating was performed by year XI of high school students, uses experimental methods nonequivalent control-group design by control class and experiment class. The results of this research show that: (1) a software of chemistry instructional games successfully developed using Adobe Flash Professional CS 6 and can be run on Android device; and (2) the test results of students showed that the collaboration of instructional games and group investigation model able to improvement learning outcome of hight school student.

On Organizing Quick Change-Over Mass Production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrushin, S. I.; Gubaidulina, R. H.; Gruby, S. V.; Nosirsoda, Sh C.

2016-04-01

The terms "type of production" and "coefficient of assigning operations" are analyzed. A new method of calculating the optimum production plan based on profit projections is suggested. We recommend using the cycle time values as initial data for designing and developing technology. On the basis of existing techniques used to convert productions we suggest a new approach to production change-over with the service life of manufacturing facilities equal to the time to product’s obsolescence. The factors to maximize profits using this change-over method are indicated, with maximum profits being a condition for the organization of quick change-change mass production.

Improved productivity through interactive communication

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marino, P. P.

1985-01-01

New methods and approaches are being tried and evaluated with the goal of increasing productivity and quality. The underlying concept in all of these approaches, methods or processes is that people require interactive communication to maximize the organization's strengths and minimize impediments to productivity improvement. This paper examines Bendix Field Engineering Corporation's organizational structure and experiences with employee involvement programs. The paper focuses on methods Bendix developed and implemented to open lines of communication throughout the organization. The Bendix approach to productivity and quality enhancement shows that interactive communication is critical to the successful implementation of any productivity improvement program. The paper concludes with an examination of the Bendix methodologies which can be adopted by any corporation in any industry.

Study of an Acid-Free Technique for the Preparation of Glycyrrhetinic Acid from Ammonium Glycyrrhizinate in Subcritical Water.

PubMed

Lekar, Anna V; Borisenko, Sergey N; Vetrova, Elena V; Filonova, Olga V; Maksimenko, Elena V; Borisenko, Nikolai I; Minkin, Vladimir I

2015-11-01

The aim of this work was to study an application of a previously developed expedient acid-free technique for the preparation of glycyrrhetinic acid from ammonium glycyrrhizinate that requires no use of acids and toxic organic solvents. Subcritical water that serves as a reactant and a solvent was used in order to obtain glycyrrhetinic acid in good yields starting from ammonium glycyrrhizinate. It has been shown that variation of only one parameter of the process (temperature) allows alteration to thecomposition of the hydrolysis products. A new method was used for the synthesis of glycyrrhetinic acid (glycyrrhizic acid aglycone) and its monoglycoside. HPLC combined with mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy were used to determine the quantitative and qualitative compositions of the obtained products. The method developed for the production of glycyrrhetinic acid in subcritical water is environmentally friendly and faster than conventional hydrolysis methods that use acids and-expensive and toxic organic solvents. The proposed technique has a potential for the future development of inexpensive and environmentally friendly technologies for production of new pharmaceutical plant-based substances.

Chapter 5: Quantifying greenhouse gas sources and sinks in animal production systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The purpose of this publication is to develop methods to quantify greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from U.S. agriculture and forestry. This chapter provides guidance for reporting GHG emissions from animal production systems. In particular, it focuses on methods for estimating emissions from beef cat...

ESTIMATION OF THE RATE OF VOC EMISSIONS FROM SOLVENT-BASED INDOOR COATING MATERIALS BASED ON PRODUCT FORMULATION

EPA Science Inventory

Two computational methods are proposed for estimation of the emission rate of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from solvent-based indoor coating materials based on the knowledge of product formulation. The first method utilizes two previously developed mass transfer models with ...

Monitoring the chemical production of citrus-derived bioactive 5-demethylnobiletin using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Zheng, Jinkai; Fang, Xiang; Cao, Yong; Xiao, Hang; He, Lili

2013-01-01

To develop an accurate and convenient method for monitoring the production of citrus-derived bioactive 5-demethylnobiletin from demethylation reaction of nobiletin, we compared surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) methods with a conventional HPLC method. Our results show that both the substrate-based and solution-based SERS methods correlated with HPLC method very well. The solution method produced lower root mean square error of calibration and higher correlation coefficient than the substrate method. The solution method utilized an ‘affinity chromatography’-like procedure to separate the reactant nobiletin from the product 5-demthylnobiletin based on their different binding affinity to the silver dendrites. The substrate method was found simpler and faster to collect the SERS ‘fingerprint’ spectra of the samples as no incubation between samples and silver was needed and only trace amount of samples were required. Our results demonstrated that the SERS methods were superior to HPLC method in conveniently and rapidly characterizing and quantifying 5-demethylnobiletin production. PMID:23885986

The algorithm of central axis in surface reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Bao Ping; Zhang, Zheng Mei; Cai Li, Ji; Sun, Da Ming; Cao, Hui Ying; Xing, Bao Liang

2017-09-01

Reverse engineering is an important technique means of product imitation and new product development. Its core technology -- surface reconstruction is the current research for scholars. In the various algorithms of surface reconstruction, using axis reconstruction is a kind of important method. For the various reconstruction, using medial axis algorithm was summarized, pointed out the problems existed in various methods, as well as the place needs to be improved. Also discussed the later surface reconstruction and development of axial direction.

Modeling design iteration in product design and development and its solution by a novel artificial bee colony algorithm.

PubMed

Chen, Tinggui; Xiao, Renbin

2014-01-01

Due to fierce market competition, how to improve product quality and reduce development cost determines the core competitiveness of enterprises. However, design iteration generally causes increases of product cost and delays of development time as well, so how to identify and model couplings among tasks in product design and development has become an important issue for enterprises to settle. In this paper, the shortcomings existing in WTM model are discussed and tearing approach as well as inner iteration method is used to complement the classic WTM model. In addition, the ABC algorithm is also introduced to find out the optimal decoupling schemes. In this paper, firstly, tearing approach and inner iteration method are analyzed for solving coupled sets. Secondly, a hybrid iteration model combining these two technologies is set up. Thirdly, a high-performance swarm intelligence algorithm, artificial bee colony, is adopted to realize problem-solving. Finally, an engineering design of a chemical processing system is given in order to verify its reasonability and effectiveness.

Acceptability of formulations and application methods for vaginal microbicides among drug-involved women: results of product trials in three cities.

PubMed

Hammett, T M; Mason, T H; Joanis, C L; Foster, S E; Harmon, P; Robles, R R; Finlinson, H A; Feudo, R; Vining-Bethea, S; Jeter, G; Mayer, K H; Doherty-Iddings, P; Seage, G R

2000-02-01

Female-controlled methods of HIV prevention, such as vaginal microbicides, are urgently needed, particularly among drug-involved women. Acceptability research is critical to product development. To assess the acceptability of forms and application methods for future microbicides. Eighty-four drug-involved women were introduced in groups to three lubricant products, asked to try each for 3 weeks, and scheduled for individual follow-up interviews. Participants and their partners felt positive about the products, and expressed willingness to use microbicides if they were shown to be effective against HIV. Women agreed on product characteristics that influenced their reactions (e.g. ease of insertion, degree of "messiness"), but often disagreed on whether their reactions to these characteristics were positive or negative. Development of acceptable and effective HIV-prevention products depends on understanding the interaction between characteristics of the products and the characteristics and perceptions of women. Levels of sexual risk and acceptability factors based on drug-use patterns, race and ethnicity, culture, age, and types and attitudes of male partners suggest that a "one size fits all" approach will not win broad acceptance among drug-involved women.

Comparison of DNA extraction methods for meat analysis.

PubMed

Yalçınkaya, Burhanettin; Yumbul, Eylem; Mozioğlu, Erkan; Akgoz, Muslum

2017-04-15

Preventing adulteration of meat and meat products with less desirable or objectionable meat species is important not only for economical, religious and health reasons, but also, it is important for fair trade practices, therefore, several methods for identification of meat and meat products have been developed. In the present study, ten different DNA extraction methods, including Tris-EDTA Method, a modified Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide (CTAB) Method, Alkaline Method, Urea Method, Salt Method, Guanidinium Isothiocyanate (GuSCN) Method, Wizard Method, Qiagen Method, Zymogen Method and Genespin Method were examined to determine their relative effectiveness for extracting DNA from meat samples. The results show that the salt method is easy to perform, inexpensive and environmentally friendly. Additionally, it has the highest yield among all the isolation methods tested. We suggest this method as an alternative method for DNA isolation from meat and meat products. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parametric study of modern airship productivity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ardema, M. D.; Flaig, K.

1980-01-01

A method for estimating the specific productivity of both hybrid and fully buoyant airships is developed. Various methods of estimating structural weight of deltoid hybrids are discussed and a derived weight estimating relationship is presented. Specific productivity is used as a figure of merit in a parametric study of fully buoyant ellipsoidal and deltoid hybrid semi-buoyant vehicles. The sensitivity of results as a function of assumptions is also determined. No airship configurations were found to have superior specific productivity to transport airplanes.

Machine Learning Methods for Production Cases Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mokrova, Nataliya V.; Mokrov, Alexander M.; Safonova, Alexandra V.; Vishnyakov, Igor V.

2018-03-01

Approach to analysis of events occurring during the production process were proposed. Described machine learning system is able to solve classification tasks related to production control and hazard identification at an early stage. Descriptors of the internal production network data were used for training and testing of applied models. k-Nearest Neighbors and Random forest methods were used to illustrate and analyze proposed solution. The quality of the developed classifiers was estimated using standard statistical metrics, such as precision, recall and accuracy.

RESEARCH TOWARDS DEVELOPING METHODS FOR SELECTED PHARMACEUTICAL AND PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS (PPCPS) ADAPTED FOR BIOSOLIDS

EPA Science Inventory

Development, standardization, and validation of analytical methods provides state-of-the-science

techniques to evaluate the presence, or absence, of select PPCPs in biosolids. This research

provides the approaches, methods, and tools to assess the exposures and redu...

Validation of laboratory-scale recycling test method of paper PSA label products

Treesearch

Carl Houtman; Karen Scallon; Richard Oldack

2008-01-01

Starting with test methods and a specification developed by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Environmentally Benign Pressure Sensitive Adhesive Postage Stamp Program, a laboratory-scale test method and a specification were developed and validated for pressure-sensitive adhesive labels, By comparing results from this new test method and pilot-scale tests, which have been...

An LCA researcher's wish list--data and emission models needed to improve LCA studies of animal production.

PubMed

Cederberg, C; Henriksson, M; Berglund, M

2013-06-01

The last decade has seen an increase in environmental systems analysis of livestock production, resulting in a significant number of studies with a holistic approach often based on life-cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. The growing public interest in global warming has added to this development; guidelines for carbon footprint (CF) accounting have been developed, including for greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting of animal products. Here we give an overview of methods for estimating GHG emissions, with emphasis on nitrous oxide, methane and carbon from land use change, presently used in LCA/CF studies of animal products. We discuss where methods and data availability for GHGs and nitrogen (N) compounds most urgently need to be improved in order to produce more accurate environmental assessments of livestock production. We conclude that the top priority is to improve models for N fluxes and emissions from soils and to implement soil carbon change models in LCA/CF studies of animal products. We also point at the need for more farm data and studies measuring emissions from soils, manure and livestock in developing countries.

76 FR 55397 - Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-07

...] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug... public. Name of Committee: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. General Function... Laboratory of Method Development, Division of Viral Products, Office of Vaccines Research and Review, Center...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

De Carlo, Francesco; Gürsoy, Doğa; Ching, Daniel J.

There is a widening gap between the fast advancement of computational methods for tomographic reconstruction and their successful implementation in production software at various synchrotron facilities. This is due in part to the lack of readily available instrument datasets and phantoms representative of real materials for validation and comparison of new numerical methods. Recent advancements in detector technology made sub-second and multi-energy tomographic data collection possible [1], but also increased the demand to develop new reconstruction methods able to handle in-situ [2] and dynamic systems [3] that can be quickly incorporated in beamline production software [4]. The X-ray Tomography Datamore » Bank, tomoBank, provides a repository of experimental and simulated datasets with the aim to foster collaboration among computational scientists, beamline scientists, and experimentalists and to accelerate the development and implementation of tomographic reconstruction methods for synchrotron facility production software by providing easy access to challenging dataset and their descriptors.« less

Preparation and characterization of two new forced degradation products of letrozole and development of a stability-indicating RP-LC method for its determination.

PubMed

Elkady, Ehab Farouk; Fouad, Marwa Ahmed

2015-11-01

Two new hydrolytic products of letrozole were identified and proved to be true degradation products obtained by alkaline and acidic degradation of the drug. The acid and amide forms of the nitrile groups of letrozole were prepared and identified by IR and mass spectroscopic techniques. Subsequently, a simple, precise and selective stability-indicating RPLC method was developed and validated for the determination of letrozole in the presence of its degradation products. Letrozole was subjected to alkali and acid hydrolysis, oxidation, thermal degradation and photo-degradation. The degradation products were well isolated from letrozole. The chromatographic method was achieved using gradient elution of the drug and its degradation products on a reversed phase Zorbax Eclipse C18 column (100mm x 4.6mm, 3.5 μm) using a mobile phase consisting of 0.01M KH₂PO₄and methanol at a flow rate of 1 mL min⁻¹. Quantitation was achieved with UV detection at 230 nm. Linearity, accuracy and precision were found to be acceptable over the concentration range of 0.01-80 μgmL⁻¹. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of letrozole in bulk, plasma and in its pharmaceutical preparation.

Development of a SARS Coronavirus Vaccine from Recombinant Spike Protein Plus Delta Inulin Adjuvant.

PubMed

McPherson, Clifton; Chubet, Richard; Holtz, Kathy; Honda-Okubo, Yoshikazu; Barnard, Dale; Cox, Manon; Petrovsky, Nikolai

2016-01-01

Given periodic outbreaks of fatal human infections caused by coronaviruses, development of an optimal coronavirus vaccine platform capable of rapid production is an ongoing priority. This chapter describes the use of an insect cell expression system for rapid production of a recombinant vaccine against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS). Detailed methods are presented for expression, purification, and release testing of SARS recombinant spike protein antigen, followed by adjuvant formulation and animal testing. The methods herein described for rapid development of a highly protective SARS vaccine are equally suited to rapid development of vaccines against other fatal human coronavirus infections, e.g., the MERS coronavirus.

Development of fish protein powder as an ingredient for food applications: a review.

PubMed

Shaviklo, Amir Reza

2015-02-01

The increasing awareness that dried fish protein can be applied for food fortification and production of value added/functional foods has encouraged the food industry to examine different methods for developing fish protein ingredient from different raw materials. Fish protein powder (FPP) is a dried and stable fish product, intended for human consumption, in which the protein is more concentrated than in the original fish flesh. Quality and acceptability of FPP depend on several factors. The fat content of the FPP is a critical issue because when it is oxidized a strong and often rancid flavour is produced. Protein content of FPP depends on the raw materials, amount of additives and moisture content, but it contains at least 65 % proteins. FPP is used in the food industry for developing re-structured and ready-to-eat food products. The FPP maintains its properties for 6 months at 5 °C but loses them rapidly at 30 °C. Deterioration of the FPP during storage is prevented by lowering the moisture content of the product and eliminating of oxygen from the package. The FPP can be applied as a functional ingredient for developing formulated ready-to-eat products. This article reviews methods for extracting fish proteins, drying methods, characteristics and applications of FPP and factors affecting FPP quality.

Chiral thiazoline and thiazole building blocks for the synthesis of peptide-derived natural products.

PubMed

Just-Baringo, Xavier; Albericio, Fernando; Alvarez, Mercedes

2014-01-01

Thiazoline and thiazole heterocycles are privileged motifs found in numerous peptide-derived natural products of biological interest. During the last decades, the synthesis of optically pure building blocks has been addressed by numerous groups, which have developed a plethora of strategies to that end. Efficient and reliable methodologies that are compatible with the intricate and capricious architectures of natural products are a must to further develop their science. Structure confirmation, structure-activity relationship studies and industrial production are fields of paramount importance that require these robust methodologies in order to successfully bring natural products into the clinic. Today's chemist toolbox is assorted with many powerful methods for chiral thiazoline and thiazole synthesis. Ranging from biomimetic approaches to stereoselective alkylations, one is likely to find a suitable method for their needs.

A Proposal of Product Development Collaboration Method Using User Support Information and its Experimental Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Mitsuru; Kataoka, Masatoshi; Koizumi, Hisao

As the market changes more rapidly and new products continue to get more complex and multifunctional, product development collaboration with competent partners and leading users is getting more important to come up with new products that are successful in the market in a timely manner. ECM (engineering chain management) and SCM (supply chain management) are supply-side approaches toward this collaboration. In this paper, we propose a demand-side approach toward product development collaboration with users based on the information gathered through user support interactions. The approach and methodology proposed here was applied to a real data set, and its effectiveness was verified.

Simple and efficient production of embryonic stem cell-embryo chimeras by coculture.

PubMed Central

Wood, S A; Pascoe, W S; Schmidt, C; Kemler, R; Evans, M J; Allen, N D

1993-01-01

A method for the production of embryonic stem (ES) cell-embryo chimeras was developed that involves the simple coculture of eight-cell embryos on a lawn of ES cells. After coculture, the embryos with ES cells attached are transferred to normal embryo culture medium and allowed to develop to the blastocyst stage before reimplantation into foster mothers. Although the ES cells initially attach to the outside of the embryos, they primarily colonize the inner cell mass and its derivatives. This method results in the efficient production of chimeras with high levels of chimerism including the germ line. As embryos are handled en masse and manipulative steps are minimal, this method should greatly reduce the time and effort required to produce chimeric mice. Images Fig. 1 Fig. 2 PMID:8506303

Chemical methods for peptide and protein production.

PubMed

Chandrudu, Saranya; Simerska, Pavla; Toth, Istvan

2013-04-12

Since the invention of solid phase synthetic methods by Merrifield in 1963, the number of research groups focusing on peptide synthesis has grown exponentially. However, the original step-by-step synthesis had limitations: the purity of the final product decreased with the number of coupling steps. After the development of Boc and Fmoc protecting groups, novel amino acid protecting groups and new techniques were introduced to provide high quality and quantity peptide products. Fragment condensation was a popular method for peptide production in the 1980s, but unfortunately the rate of racemization and reaction difficulties proved less than ideal. Kent and co-workers revolutionized peptide coupling by introducing the chemoselective reaction of unprotected peptides, called native chemical ligation. Subsequently, research has focused on the development of novel ligating techniques including the famous click reaction, ligation of peptide hydrazides, and the recently reported α-ketoacid-hydroxylamine ligations with 5-oxaproline. Several companies have been formed all over the world to prepare high quality Good Manufacturing Practice peptide products on a multi-kilogram scale. This review describes the advances in peptide chemistry including the variety of synthetic peptide methods currently available and the broad application of peptides in medicinal chemistry.

Current State of Agile User-Centered Design: A Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussain, Zahid; Slany, Wolfgang; Holzinger, Andreas

Agile software development methods are quite popular nowadays and are being adopted at an increasing rate in the industry every year. However, these methods are still lacking usability awareness in their development lifecycle, and the integration of usability/User-Centered Design (UCD) into agile methods is not adequately addressed. This paper presents the preliminary results of a recently conducted online survey regarding the current state of the integration of agile methods and usability/UCD. A world wide response of 92 practitioners was received. The results show that the majority of practitioners perceive that the integration of agile methods with usability/UCD has added value to their adopted processes and to their teams; has resulted in the improvement of usability and quality of the product developed; and has increased the satisfaction of the end-users of the product developed. The top most used HCI techniques are low-fidelity prototyping, conceptual designs, observational studies of users, usability expert evaluations, field studies, personas, rapid iterative testing, and laboratory usability testing.

Verification and Validation in a Rapid Software Development Process

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callahan, John R.; Easterbrook, Steve M.

1997-01-01

The high cost of software production is driving development organizations to adopt more automated design and analysis methods such as rapid prototyping, computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools, and high-level code generators. Even developers of safety-critical software system have adopted many of these new methods while striving to achieve high levels Of quality and reliability. While these new methods may enhance productivity and quality in many cases, we examine some of the risks involved in the use of new methods in safety-critical contexts. We examine a case study involving the use of a CASE tool that automatically generates code from high-level system designs. We show that while high-level testing on the system structure is highly desirable, significant risks exist in the automatically generated code and in re-validating releases of the generated code after subsequent design changes. We identify these risks and suggest process improvements that retain the advantages of rapid, automated development methods within the quality and reliability contexts of safety-critical projects.

Production of Landsat ETM+ reference imagery of burned areas within Southern African savannahs: comparison of methods and application to MODIS

Treesearch

A. M. S. Smith; N. A. Drake; M. J. Wooster; A. T. Hudak; Z. A. Holden; C. J. Gibbons

2007-01-01

Accurate production of regional burned area maps are necessary to reduce uncertainty in emission estimates from African savannah fires. Numerous methods have been developed that map burned and unburned surfaces. These methods are typically applied to coarse spatial resolution (1 km) data to produce regional estimates of the area burned, while higher spatial resolution...

Sustainability Assessment Model in Product Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turan, Faiz Mohd; Johan, Kartina; Nor, Nik Hisyamudin Muhd; Omar, Badrul

2017-08-01

Faster and more efficient development of innovative and sustainable products has become the focus for manufacturing companies in order to remain competitive in today’s technologically driven world. Design concept evaluation which is the end of conceptual design is one of the most critical decision points. It relates to the final success of product development, because poor criteria assessment in design concept evaluation can rarely compensated at the later stages. Furthermore, consumers, investors, shareholders and even competitors are basing their decisions on what to buy or invest in, from whom, and also on what company report, and sustainability is one of a critical component. In this research, a new methodology of sustainability assessment in product development for Malaysian industry has been developed using integration of green project management, new scale of “Weighting criteria” and Rough-Grey Analysis. This method will help design engineers to improve the effectiveness and objectivity of the sustainable design concept evaluation, enable them to make better-informed decisions before finalising their choice and consequently create value to the company or industry. The new framework is expected to provide an alternative to existing methods.

Manufacturing development of DC-10 advanced rudder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cominsky, A.

1979-01-01

The design, manufacture, and ground test activities during development of production methods for an advanced composite rudder for the DC-10 transport aircraft are described. The advanced composite aft rudder is satisfactory for airline service and a cost saving in a full production manufacturing mode is anticipated.

Automated Analysis of Child Phonetic Production Using Naturalistic Recordings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Dongxin; Richards, Jeffrey A.; Gilkerson, Jill

2014-01-01

Purpose: Conventional resource-intensive methods for child phonetic development studies are often impractical for sampling and analyzing child vocalizations in sufficient quantity. The purpose of this study was to provide new information on early language development by an automated analysis of child phonetic production using naturalistic…

Innovative methods of energy transfer.

PubMed

McBee, L E

1996-09-01

Energy is utilized in many forms for processing egg products and other foods. Energy in the form of heat has commonly been used to kill microorganisms and pasteurize eggs. Transfer of energy by convection and conduction is limited by the properties of the egg product. Energy transfer by radiation is being used to advantage in the development of innovative methods to kill or inactivate microorganisms. A review of the electromagnetic spectrum reveals underutilized forms of energy with unique properties. Specific frequencies and method of application are selected for their ability to focus energy toward the destruction of microorganisms and the production of safe food products for the public.

Analysis of quetiapine in human plasma using fluorescence spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mostafa, Islam M.; Omar, Mahmoud A.; Nagy, Dalia M.; Derayea, Sayed M.

2018-05-01

A simple and sensitive spectrofluorimetric method has been development for the assurance of quetiapine fumarate (QTF). The proposed method was utilized for measuring the fluorescence intensity of the yellow fluorescent product at 510 nm (λex 470 nm). The fluorescent product has resulted from the nucleophilic substitution reaction of QTF with 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazane (NBD-Cl) in Mcllvaine buffer (pH 7.0). The diverse variables influencing the development of the reaction product were deliberately changed and optimized. The linear concentration range of the proposed method was of 0.2-2.0 μg ml-1.The limits of detection and quantitation were 0.05 and 0.17 μg ml-1, respectively. The proposed method was applied for the assurance of QTF in its tablets without interference from basic excipients. In addition, the proposed method was used for in vitro analysis of the QTF in spiked human plasma, the percent mean recovery was (n = 3) 98.82 ± 1.484%.

Hybrid analysis (barcode-high resolution melting) for authentication of Thai herbal products, Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Wall.ex Nees.

PubMed

Osathanunkul, Maslin; Suwannapoom, Chatmongkon; Khamyong, Nuttaluck; Pintakum, Danupol; Lamphun, Santisuk Na; Triwitayakorn, Kanokporn; Osathanunkul, Kitisak; Madesis, Panagiotis

2016-01-01

Andrographis paniculata Nees is a medicinal plant with multiple pharmacological properties. It has been used over many centuries as a household remedy. A. paniculata products sold on the markets are in processed forms so it is difficult to authenticate. Therefore buying the herbal products poses a high-risk of acquiring counterfeited, substituted and/or adulterated products. Due to these issues, a reliable method to authenticate products is needed. High resolution melting analysis coupled with DNA barcoding (Bar-HRM) was applied to detect adulteration in commercial herbal products. The rbcL barcode was selected to use in primers design for HRM analysis to produce standard melting profile of A. paniculata species. DNA of the tested commercial products was isolated and their melting profiles were then generated and compared with the standard A. paniculata. The melting profiles of the rbcL amplicons of the three closely related herbal species (A. paniculata, Acanthus ebracteatus and Rhinacanthus nasutus) are clearly separated so that they can be distinguished by the developed method. The method was then used to authenticate commercial herbal products. HRM curves of all 10 samples tested are similar to A. paniculata which indicated that all tested products were contained the correct species as labeled. The method described in this study has been proved to be useful in aiding identification and/or authenticating A. paniculata. This Bar-HRM analysis has allowed us easily to determine the A. paniculata species in herbal products on the markets even they are in processed forms. We propose the use of DNA barcoding combined with High Resolution Melting analysis for authenticating of Andrographis paniculata products.The developed method can be used regardless of the type of the DNA template (fresh or dried tissue, leaf, and stem).rbcL region was chosen for the analysis and work well with our samplesWe can easily determine the A. paniculata species in herbal products tested. Abbreviations used: bp: Base pair, Tm: Melting temperature.

The Measurement of Protein in Powdered Milk Products and Infant Formulas: A Review and Recent Developments.

PubMed

Elgar, Dave; Evers, Jaap M; Holroyd, Stephen E; Johnson, Richard; Rowan, Angela

2016-01-01

Proteins are a key nutritional component of both powdered milk and infant formula types of product, and reliable methods for their determination are important for manufacturing and international trade. In this review, we distinguish between methods used for determining protein quality for nutrition purposes and those used for determining chemically defined protein. The former methods cover the ability of a dietary protein source to meet human nutritional requirements for the indispensable amino acids. The latter are chemical methods for the determination of total protein and can be divided into three broad types: total nitrogen determination, direct protein determination, and indirect protein determination. Current techniques and recent developments in each are reviewed.

Current trends in endotoxin detection and analysis of endotoxin-protein interactions.

PubMed

Dullah, Elvina Clarie; Ongkudon, Clarence M

2017-03-01

Endotoxin is a type of pyrogen that can be found in Gram-negative bacteria. Endotoxin can form a stable interaction with other biomolecules thus making its removal difficult especially during the production of biopharmaceutical drugs. The prevention of endotoxins from contaminating biopharmaceutical products is paramount as endotoxin contamination, even in small quantities, can result in fever, inflammation, sepsis, tissue damage and even lead to death. Highly sensitive and accurate detection of endotoxins are keys in the development of biopharmaceutical products derived from Gram-negative bacteria. It will facilitate the study of the intermolecular interaction of an endotoxin with other biomolecules, hence the selection of appropriate endotoxin removal strategies. Currently, most researchers rely on the conventional LAL-based endotoxin detection method. However, new methods have been and are being developed to overcome the problems associated with the LAL-based method. This review paper highlights the current research trends in endotoxin detection from conventional methods to newly developed biosensors. Additionally, it also provides an overview of the use of electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and docking programs in the endotoxin-protein analysis.

Development of Rapid Pipe Moulding Process for Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics by Direct Resistance Heating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Kazuto; Harada, Ryuki; Uemura, Toshiki; Katayama, Tsutao; Kuwahara, Hideyuki

To deal with environmental issues, the gasoline mileage of passenger cars can be improved by reduction of the car weight. The use of car components made of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) is increasing because of its superior mechanical properties and relatively low density. Many vehicle structural parts are pipe-shaped, such as suspension arms, torsion beams, door guard bars and impact beams. A reduction of the car weight is expected by using CFRP for these parts. Especially, when considering the recyclability and ease of production, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastics are a prime candidate. On the other hand, the moulding process of CFRTP pipes for mass production has not been well established yet. For this pipe moulding process an induction heating method has been investigated already, however, this method requires a complicated coil system. To reduce the production cost, another system without such complicated equipment is to be developed. In this study, the pipe moulding process of CFRTP using direct resistance heating was developed. This heating method heats up the mould by Joule heating using skin effect of high-frequency current. The direct resistance heating method is desirable from a cost perspective, because this method can heat the mould directly without using any coils. Formerly developed Non-woven Stitched Multi-axial Cloth (NSMC) was used as semi-product material. NSMC is very suitable for the lamination process due to the fact that non-crimp stitched carbon fiber of [0°/+45°/90°/-45°] and polyamide 6 non-woven fabric are stitched to one sheet, resulting in a short production cycle time. The use of the pipe moulding process with the direct resistance heating method in combination with the NSMC, has resulted in the successful moulding of a CFRTP pipe of 300 mm in length, 40 mm in diameter and 2 mm in thickness.

Development of melting temperature-based SYBR Green I polymerase chain reaction methods for multiplex genetically modified organism detection.

PubMed

Hernández, Marta; Rodríguez-Lázaro, David; Esteve, Teresa; Prat, Salomé; Pla, Maria

2003-12-15

Commercialization of several genetically modified crops has been approved worldwide to date. Uniplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods to identify these different insertion events have been developed, but their use in the analysis of all commercially available genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is becoming progressively insufficient. These methods require a large number of assays to detect all possible GMOs present in the sample and thereby the development of multiplex PCR systems using combined probes and primers targeted to sequences specific to various GMOs is needed for detection of this increasing number of GMOs. Here we report on the development of a multiplex real-time PCR suitable for multiple GMO identification, based on the intercalating dye SYBR Green I and the analysis of the melting curves of the amplified products. Using this method, different amplification products specific for Maximizer 176, Bt11, MON810, and GA21 maize and for GTS 40-3-2 soybean were obtained and identified by their specific Tm. We have combined amplification of these products in a number of multiplex reactions and show the suitability of the methods for identification of GMOs with a sensitivity of 0.1% in duplex reactions. The described methods offer an economic and simple alternative to real-time PCR systems based on sequence-specific probes (i.e., TaqMan chemistry). These methods can be used as selection tests and further optimized for uniplex GMO quantification.

Robust design of configurations and parameters of adaptable products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jian; Chen, Yongliang; Xue, Deyi; Gu, Peihua

2014-03-01

An adaptable product can satisfy different customer requirements by changing its configuration and parameter values during the operation stage. Design of adaptable products aims at reducing the environment impact through replacement of multiple different products with single adaptable ones. Due to the complex architecture, multiple functional requirements, and changes of product configurations and parameter values in operation, impact of uncertainties to the functional performance measures needs to be considered in design of adaptable products. In this paper, a robust design approach is introduced to identify the optimal design configuration and parameters of an adaptable product whose functional performance measures are the least sensitive to uncertainties. An adaptable product in this paper is modeled by both configurations and parameters. At the configuration level, methods to model different product configuration candidates in design and different product configuration states in operation to satisfy design requirements are introduced. At the parameter level, four types of product/operating parameters and relations among these parameters are discussed. A two-level optimization approach is developed to identify the optimal design configuration and its parameter values of the adaptable product. A case study is implemented to illustrate the effectiveness of the newly developed robust adaptable design method.

The Effects of Development Team Skill on Software Product Quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beaver, Justin M.; Schiavone, Guy A.

2006-01-01

This paper provides an analysis of the effect of the skill/experience of the software development team on the quality of the final software product. A method for the assessment of software development team skill and experience is proposed, and was derived from a workforce management tool currently in use by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Using data from 26 smallscale software development projects, the team skill measures are correlated to 5 software product quality metrics from the ISO/IEC 9126 Software Engineering Product Quality standard. in the analysis of the results, development team skill is found to be a significant factor in the adequacy of the design and implementation. In addition, the results imply that inexperienced software developers are tasked with responsibilities ill-suited to their skill level, and thus have a significant adverse effect on the quality of the software product. Keywords: software quality, development skill, software metrics

Development and application of a biorelevant dissolution method using USP apparatus 4 in early phase formulation development.

PubMed

Fang, Jiang B; Robertson, Vivian K; Rawat, Archana; Flick, Tawnya; Tang, Zhe J; Cauchon, Nina S; McElvain, James S

2010-10-04

Dissolution testing is frequently used to determine the rate and extent at which a drug is released from a dosage form, and it plays many important roles throughout drug product development. However, the traditional dissolution approach often emphasizes its application in quality control testing and usually strives to obtain 100% drug release. As a result, dissolution methods are not necessarily biorelevant and meaningful application of traditional dissolution methods in the early phases of drug product development can be very limited. This article will describe the development of a biorelevant in vitro dissolution method using USP apparatus 4, biorelevant media, and real-time online UV analysis. Several case studies in the areas of formulation selection, lot-to-lot variability, and food effect will be presented to demonstrate the application of this method in early phase formulation development. This biorelevant dissolution method using USP apparatus 4 provides a valuable tool to predict certain aspects of the in vivo drug release. It can be used to facilitate the formulation development/selection for pharmacokinetic (PK) and clinical studies. It may also potentially be used to minimize the number of PK studies, and to aid in the design of more efficient PK and clinical studies.

Development of a Pancake-Making Method for a Batter-Based Product

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cake and pancake are major batter-based products made with soft wheat flour. A standardized baking method for high-ratio cake has been widely used for evaluating the cake-baking performance of soft wheat flour. Chlorinated flour is used to make high-ratio cake, and the cake formula contains relative...

Development of an analytical method for the simultaneous analysis of MCPD esters and glycidyl esters in oil-based foodstuffs.

PubMed

Ermacora, Alessia; Hrnčiřík, Karel

2014-01-01

Substantial progress has been recently made in the development and optimisation of analytical methods for the quantification of 2-MCPD, 3-MCPD and glycidyl esters in oils and fats, and there are a few methods currently available that allow a reliable quantification of these contaminants in bulk oils and fats. On the other hand, no standard method for the analysis of foodstuffs has yet been established. The aim of this study was the development and validation of a new method for the simultaneous quantification of 2-MCPD, 3-MCPD and glycidyl esters in oil-based food products. The developed protocol includes a first step of liquid-liquid extraction and purification of the lipophilic substances of the sample, followed by the application of a previously developed procedure based on acid transesterification, for the indirect quantification of these contaminants in oils and fats. The method validation was carried out on food products (fat-based spreads, creams, margarine, mayonnaise) manufactured in-house, in order to control the manufacturing process and account for any food matrix-analyte interactions (the sample spiking was carried out on the single components used for the formulations rather than the final products). The method showed good accuracy (the recoveries ranged from 97% to 106% for bound 3-MCPD and 2-MCPD and from 88% to 115% for bound glycidol) and sensitivity (the LOD was 0.04 and 0.05 mg kg(-1) for bound MCPD and glycidol, respectively). Repeatability and reproducibility were satisfactory (RSD below 2% and 5%, respectively) for all analytes. The levels of salts and surface-active compounds in the formulation were found to have no impact on the accuracy and the other parameters of the method.

40 CFR 91.1002 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... business for product development, production method assessment, or market promotion purposes. Testing exemption means an exemption which may be granted under § 91.1104(b) for the purpose of research...

Advances in Behavioral Laboratory Methods that Inform Tobacco Regulatory Science: A TCORS Working Group Special Issue

PubMed Central

Wright, M. Jerry; Valentine, Gerald

2017-01-01

Objective The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA) created unprecented enabling conditions for establishing national regulatory policy that reduces the burden of public health and societal problems associated with tobacco product use. The Center for Tobacco Products (CTP), created by the FDA to implement the TCA, developed a first-of-its-kind FDA/National Institutes of Health (NIH) collaborative program to fund Tobacco Centers of Regulatory Science (TCORS). Methods To assist the TCORS with addressing research priorites, working groups (WGs) comprised of FDA-CTP liasions and TCORS investigators were formed. Under the direction of the Center for Evaluation and Coordination of Trainin and Research (CECTR), the TCORS WGs seek to develop tangible work products in their respective areas of focus. Results The focus of the behavioral pharmacology WG evolved from publishing a narrow paper on behavioral methods in electronic cigarette research to a collection of papers on advances in behavioral laboratory methods that may inform tobacco regulatory science. Conclusion This Special Issue contains articles that address all of the CTP research priorities and demonstrates how advances in behavioral laboratory methods made by TCORS investigators can inform FDA efforst to regulate tobacco products. PMID:29152546

Development of microwave assisted spectrophotometric method for the determination of glucose

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, Asif; Hussain, Zahid; Arain, Muhammad Balal; Shah, Nasrullah; Khan, Khalid Mohammad; Gulab, Hussain; Zada, Amir

2016-01-01

A spectrophotometric method was developed based on the microwave assisted synthesis of Maillard product. Various conditions of the reaction were optimized by varying the relative concentration of the reagents, operating temperature and volume of solutions used in the reaction in the microwave synthesizer. The absorbance of the microwave synthesized Maillard product was measured in the range of 360-740 nm using UV-Visible spectrophotometer. Based on the maximum absorbance, 370 nm was selected as the optimum wave length for further studies. The LOD and LOQ of glucose was found 3.08 μg mL- 1 and 9.33 μg mL- 1 with standard deviation of ± 0.05. The developed method was also applicable to urine sample.

Development of a method for efficient cost-effective screening of Aspergillus niger mutants having increased production of glucoamylase.

PubMed

Zhu, Xudong; Arman, Bessembayev; Chu, Ju; Wang, Yonghong; Zhuang, Yingping

2017-05-01

To develop an efficient cost-effective screening process to improve production of glucoamylase in Aspergillus niger. The cultivation of A. niger was achieved with well-dispersed morphology in 48-deep-well microtiter plates, which increased the throughput of the samples compared to traditional flask cultivation. There was a close negative correlation between glucoamylase and its pH of the fermentation broth. A novel high-throughput analysis method using Methyl Orange was developed. When compared to the conventional analysis method using 4-nitrophenyl α-D-glucopyranoside as substrate, a correlation coefficient of 0.96 by statistical analysis was obtained. Using this novel screening method, we acquired a strain with an activity of 2.2 × 10 3  U ml -1 , a 70% higher yield of glucoamylase than its parent strain.

Analytical method for tributyltin and triphenyltin contained in household products-preparing for the revision of authorized analytical method-.

PubMed

Nakashima, Harunobu; Tomiyama, Ken-Ichi; Kawakami, Tsuyoshi; Isama, Kazuo

2010-07-01

In preparing for the revision of the authorized analytical method for tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT), which are banned from using according to the "Act on the Control of Household Products Containing Harmful Substances", an examination was conducted on the detection method of these substances using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), after derivatizing them (ethyl-derivatizing method and hydrogen-derivatizing method). Ethyl-derivatized compounds had stability, which enabled the detection of TPT with a higher sensitivity. In addition, a preparation suitable for the following analytical objects was established: (1) textile products, (2) water-based products (such as water-based paint), (3) oil-based products (such as wax), and (4) adhesives. Addition-recovery experiments were conducted using the prescribed pretreatment method, when each surrogate substances (TBT-d27, TPT-d15) were added and the data were corrected, good recovery rates (94.5-118.6% in TBT, and 86.6-110.1% in TPT) were obtained. When TBT and TPT in 31 commercially available products were analyzed based on the developed analytical method, an adhesive showed 13.2 microg/g of TBT content, which exceeded the regulatory criterion (1 microg/g as tin). Next, when the same products with different manufacturing date were analyzed, TBT (10.2-10.8 microg/g), which exceeded the regulatory criterion, was detected in 4 products among 8 products, and simultaneously, a high concentration (over 1000 microg/g) of dibutyltin (DBT) was detected. It was suggested that TBT as an impurity of DBT remained, and the manufacturer chose the voluntary recall of the product. The new method is considered sufficiently applicable as a revised method for the conventionally authorized method.

Statistical Process Control Techniques for the Telecommunications Systems Manager

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-03-01

products that are out of 59 tolerance and bad designs. The third type of defect, mistakes, are remedied by Poka - Yoke methods that are 1 introduced later...based on total production costs plus quality costs. Once production is underway, interventions are determined by their impact on the QLF. F. POKA - YOKE ...Mistakes require process improvements called Poka Yoke or mistake proofing. Shiego Shingo developed Poka Yoke methods to incorporate 100% inspection at

Linear programming: an alternative approach for developing formulations for emergency food products.

PubMed

Sheibani, Ershad; Dabbagh Moghaddam, Arasb; Sharifan, Anousheh; Afshari, Zahra

2018-03-01

To minimize the mortality rates of individuals affected by disasters, providing high-quality food relief during the initial stages of an emergency is crucial. The goal of this study was to develop a formulation for a high-energy, nutrient-dense prototype using linear programming (LP) model as a novel method for developing formulations for food products. The model consisted of the objective function and the decision variables, which were the formulation costs and weights of the selected commodities, respectively. The LP constraints were the Institute of Medicine and the World Health Organization specifications of the content of nutrients in the product. Other constraints related to the product's sensory properties were also introduced to the model. Nonlinear constraints for energy ratios of nutrients were linearized to allow their use in the LP. Three focus group studies were conducted to evaluate the palatability and other aspects of the optimized formulation. New constraints were introduced to the LP model based on the focus group evaluations to improve the formulation. LP is an appropriate tool for designing formulations of food products to meet a set of nutritional requirements. This method is an excellent alternative to the traditional 'trial and error' method in designing formulations. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Development of a new analytical tool for assessing the mutagen 2-methyl-1,4-dinitro-pyrrole in meat products by LC-ESI-MS/MS.

PubMed

Molognoni, Luciano; Daguer, Heitor; de Sá Ploêncio, Leandro Antunes; Yotsuyanagi, Suzana Eri; da Silva Correa Lemos, Ana Lucia; Joussef, Antonio Carlos; De Dea Lindner, Juliano

2018-08-01

The use of sorbate and nitrite in meat processing may lead to the formation of 2-methyl-1,4-dinitro-pyrrole (DNMP), a mutagenic compound. This work was aimed at developing and validating an analytical method for the quantitation of DNMP by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Full validation was performed in accordance to Commission Decision 2002/657/EC and method applicability was checked in several samples of meat products. A simple procedure, with low temperature partitioning solid-liquid extraction, was developed. The nitrosation during the extraction was monitored by the N-nitroso-DL-pipecolic acid content. Chromatographic separation was achieved in 8 min with di-isopropyl-3-aminopropyl silane bound to hydroxylated silica as stationary phase. Samples of bacon and cooked sausage yielded the highest concentrations of DNMP (68 ± 3 and 50 ± 3 μg kg -1 , respectively). The developed method proved to be a reliable, selective, and sensitive tool for DNMP measurements in meat products. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of a pressurized liquid extraction-solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantitative determination of benzoxazolinones and their degradation products in agricultural soil.

PubMed

Villagrasa, M; Guillamón, M; Navarro, A; Eljarrat, E; Barceló, D

2008-02-01

A new analytical method for the quantitative determination of benzoxazolinones and their degradation products in agricultural soils based on the use of pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) followed by solid-phase extraction (SPE) and then instrumental determination using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS-MS) is described. Using this method, the characterization, separation and quantitative detection of a mixture of two benzoxazolinones, benzoxazolin-2-one (BOA) and 6-methoxybenzoxazolin-2-one (MBOA) and their degradation products, 2-aminophenol (APH), N-(2-hydroxyphenyl)malonamic acid (HMPMA), 2-amino-3-H-phenoxazin-3-one (APO), 9-methoxy-2-amino-3-H-phenoxazin-3-one (AMPO), 2-acetylamino-3-H-phenoxazin-3-one (AAPO) and 2-acetylamino-9-methoxy-2-amino-3-H-phenoxazin-3-one (AAMPO) was achieved. The complete LC-ESI-MS-MS precursor-product ion fragmentation pathways for the degradation products of benzoxazolinones are described for the first time. Quantitative analysis was done in the multiple reaction mode using two specific combinations of precursor-product ion transitions for each compound. The optimized method was quality assessed by the measure of parameter as recovery, linearity, sensitivity, repeatability and reproducibility. Recoveries of the analytes ranged from 53 to 123%. The developed method offered improvements to the sensitivity as compared with our previously LC-MS method, with detection limits down to 2.4-21 ng/g of dry weight. This achievement allows us to identify and quantify for the first time degradation products of benzoxazolinones in real agricultural soil samples. Analytes were found in the range of 20.6-149 ng/g dry weight.

Hybrid analysis (barcode-high resolution melting) for authentication of Thai herbal products, Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Wall.ex Nees

PubMed Central

Osathanunkul, Maslin; Suwannapoom, Chatmongkon; Khamyong, Nuttaluck; Pintakum, Danupol; Lamphun, Santisuk Na; Triwitayakorn, Kanokporn; Osathanunkul, Kitisak; Madesis, Panagiotis

2016-01-01

Background: Andrographis paniculata Nees is a medicinal plant with multiple pharmacological properties. It has been used over many centuries as a household remedy. A. paniculata products sold on the markets are in processed forms so it is difficult to authenticate. Therefore buying the herbal products poses a high-risk of acquiring counterfeited, substituted and/or adulterated products. Due to these issues, a reliable method to authenticate products is needed. Materials and Methods: High resolution melting analysis coupled with DNA barcoding (Bar-HRM) was applied to detect adulteration in commercial herbal products. The rbcL barcode was selected to use in primers design for HRM analysis to produce standard melting profile of A. paniculata species. DNA of the tested commercial products was isolated and their melting profiles were then generated and compared with the standard A. paniculata. Results: The melting profiles of the rbcL amplicons of the three closely related herbal species (A. paniculata, Acanthus ebracteatus and Rhinacanthus nasutus) are clearly separated so that they can be distinguished by the developed method. The method was then used to authenticate commercial herbal products. HRM curves of all 10 samples tested are similar to A. paniculata which indicated that all tested products were contained the correct species as labeled. Conclusion: The method described in this study has been proved to be useful in aiding identification and/or authenticating A. paniculata. This Bar-HRM analysis has allowed us easily to determine the A. paniculata species in herbal products on the markets even they are in processed forms. SUMMARY We propose the use of DNA barcoding combined with High Resolution Melting analysis for authenticating of Andrographis paniculata products.The developed method can be used regardless of the type of the DNA template (fresh or dried tissue, leaf, and stem).rbcL region was chosen for the analysis and work well with our samplesWe can easily determine the A. paniculata species in herbal products tested. Abbreviations used: bp: Base pair, Tm: Melting temperature PMID:27041863

A method for examining productivity of grammatical morphology in children with and without specific language impairment.

PubMed

Miller, Carol A; Deevy, Patricia

2003-10-01

Children with specific language impairment (SLI) show inconsistent use of grammatical morphology. Children who are developing language typically also show a period during which they produce grammatical morphemes inconsistently. Various theories claim that both young typically developing children and children with SLI achieve correct production through memorization of some inflected forms (M. Gopnik, 1997; M. Tomasello, 2000a, 2000b). Adapting a method introduced by C. Miller and L. Leonard (1998), the authors investigated the use of present tense third singular -s by 24 typically developing preschoolers and 36 preschoolers with SLI. Each group was divided into 2 mean length of utterance (MLU) levels. Group and individual data provided little evidence that memorization could explain the correct productions of the third singular morpheme for either children with SLI or typically developing children, and there was no difference between children with higher and lower MLUs.

The development of a new method to detect the adulteration of commercial aloe gel powders.

PubMed

Kim, K H; Lee, J G; Kim, D G; Kim, M K; Park, J H; Shin, Y G; Lee, S K; Jo, T H; Oh, S T

1998-10-01

Simple and accurate methods to detect the adulteration of commercial aloe gel powder were developed. Crude polysaccharide in aloe gel powder was isolated by precipitating with excess ethyl alcohol and total hexose in isolated polysaccharide was determined by Dubois assay. After hydrolysis of non-dialysable polysaccharides, resultant free sugar was determined by gas chromatography for sugar recognition and ash contents was considered simultaneously. In some products, the content of ash was very low while the content of total hexose was very high. And polysaccharides of these products revealed typical dextran pattern, therefore, these products could be identified that adulterated with commercial maltodextrin. The content of maltodextrin in adulterated product was determined by HPLC and TLC analysis which could be adopted as a part of a certification process.

A PBOM configuration and management method based on templates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Kai; Qiao, Lihong; Qie, Yifan

2018-03-01

The design of Process Bill of Materials (PBOM) holds a hinge position in the process of product development. The requirements of PBOM configuration design and management for complex products are analysed in this paper, which include the reuse technique of configuration procedure and urgent management need of huge quantity of product family PBOM data. Based on the analysis, the function framework of PBOM configuration and management has been established. Configuration templates and modules are defined in the framework to support the customization and the reuse of configuration process. The configuration process of a detection sensor PBOM is shown as an illustration case in the end. The rapid and agile PBOM configuration and management can be achieved utilizing template-based method, which has a vital significance to improve the development efficiency for complex products.

Control and Diagnosis in Integrated Product Development - Observations during the Development of an AGV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stetter, R.; Simundsson, A.

2015-11-01

This paper is concerned with the integration of control and diagnosis functionalities into the development of complete systems which include mechanical, electrical and electronic subsystems. For the development of such systems the strategies, methods and tools of integrated product development have attracted significant attention during the last decades. Today, it is generally observed that product development processes of complex systems can only be successful if the activities in the different domains are well connected and synchronised and if an ongoing communication is present - an ongoing communication spanning the technical domains and also including functions such as production planning, marketing/distribution, quality assurance, service and project planning. Obviously, numerous approaches to tackle this challenge are present in scientific literature and in industrial practice, as well. Today, the functionality and safety of most products is to a large degree dependent on control and diagnosis functionalities. Still, there is comparatively little research concentrating on the integration of the development of these functionalities into the overall product development processes. The main source of insight of the presented research is the product development process of an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) which is intended to be used on rough terrain. The paper starts with a background describing Integrated Product Development. The second section deals with the product development of the sample product. The third part summarizes some insights and formulates first hypotheses concerning control and diagnosis in Integrated Product Development.

Production method of carbamazepine/saccharin cocrystal particles by using two solution mixing based on the ternary phase diagram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kudo, Shoji; Takiyama, Hiroshi

2014-04-01

In the pharmaceutical field, improvement of drug solubility is required, and an interest in cocrystals is growing. Crystallization methods for industrial production of cocrystals have not been developed enough whereas many cocrystals have been prepared in order to find a new crystal form by screening in the laboratory. The objective of this study was the development of the crystallization method which is useful for the industrial production of cocrystal particles based on the phase diagram. A cocrystal of carbamazepine and saccharin was selected as a model substance. The ternary phase diagram of carbamazepine and saccharin in methanol at 303 K was measured. A cocrystallization method of mixing two kinds of different eutectic solutions was designed based on the ternary phase diagram. In order to adjust the cocrystallization conditions, the determination method of the driving force for cocrystal deposition such as supersaturation based on mass balance was proposed. The cocrystal particles were obtained under all the conditions of the five mixing ratios. From these experimental results, the relationship between the supersaturation and the induction time for nucleation was confirmed as well as conventional crystallization. In conclusion, the crystallization method for industrial production of cocrystal particles including the determination of the supersaturation was suggested.

Product Quality Improvement Using FMEA for Electric Parking Brake (EPB)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumitrescu, C. D.; Gruber, G. C.; Tişcă, I. A.

2016-08-01

One of the most frequently used methods to improve product quality is complex FMEA. (Failure Modes and Effects Analyses). In the literature various FMEA is known, depending on the mode and depending on the targets; we mention here some of these names: Failure Modes and Effects Analysis Process, or analysis Failure Mode and Effects Reported (FMECA). Whatever option is supported by the work team, the goal of the method is the same: optimize product design activities in research, design processes, implementation of manufacturing processes, optimization of mining product to beneficiaries. According to a market survey conducted on parts suppliers to vehicle manufacturers FMEA method is used in 75%. One purpose of the application is that after the research and product development is considered resolved, any errors which may be detected; another purpose of applying the method is initiating appropriate measures to avoid mistakes. Achieving these two goals leads to a high level distribution in applying, to avoid errors already in the design phase of the product, thereby avoiding the emergence and development of additional costs in later stages of product manufacturing. During application of FMEA method using standardized forms; with their help will establish the initial assemblies of product structure, in which all components will be viewed without error. The work is an application of the method FMEA quality components to optimize the structure of the electrical parking brake (Electric Parching Brake - E.P.B). This is a component attached to the roller system which ensures automotive replacement of conventional mechanical parking brake while ensuring its comfort, functionality, durability and saves space in the passenger compartment. The paper describes the levels at which they appealed in applying FMEA, working arrangements in the 4 distinct levels of analysis, and how to determine the number of risk (Risk Priority Number); the analysis of risk factors and established authors who have imposed measures to reduce / eliminate risk completely exploiting this complex product.

Micro-optical elements produced using an photo-embossing technique in photopolymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Neill, Feidhlim T.; Rowsome, Ita C.; Carr, Alun J.; Daniels, Stephen M.; Gleeson, Michael R.; Kelly, John V.; Close, Ciara; Lawrence, Justin R.; Sheridan, John T.

2005-09-01

Micro-optical devices are very important in current high-tech consumer items. The development of future products depends on both the evolution of fabrication techniques and on the development of new low cost mass production methods. Polymers offer ease of fabrication and low cost and are therefore excellent materials for the development of micro-optical devices. Polymer optical devices include passive optical elements, such as microlens arrays and waveguides, as well as active devices such as polymer based lasers. One of the most important areas of micro-optics is that of microlens design, manufacture and testing. The wide diversity of fabrication methods used for the production of these elements indicates their importance. One of these fabrication techniques is photo-embossing. The use of the photo-embossing technique and a photopolymer holographic recording material will be examined in this paper. A discussion of current attempts to model the fabrication process and a review of the experimental method will be given.

Aiding alternatives assessment with an uncertainty-tolerant hazard scoring method.

PubMed

Faludi, Jeremy; Hoang, Tina; Gorman, Patrick; Mulvihill, Martin

2016-11-01

This research developed a single-score system to simplify and clarify decision-making in chemical alternatives assessment, accounting for uncertainty. Today, assessing alternatives to hazardous constituent chemicals is a difficult task-rather than comparing alternatives by a single definitive score, many independent toxicological variables must be considered at once, and data gaps are rampant. Thus, most hazard assessments are only comprehensible to toxicologists, but business leaders and politicians need simple scores to make decisions. In addition, they must balance hazard against other considerations, such as product functionality, and they must be aware of the high degrees of uncertainty in chemical hazard data. This research proposes a transparent, reproducible method to translate eighteen hazard endpoints into a simple numeric score with quantified uncertainty, alongside a similar product functionality score, to aid decisions between alternative products. The scoring method uses Clean Production Action's GreenScreen as a guide, but with a different method of score aggregation. It provides finer differentiation between scores than GreenScreen's four-point scale, and it displays uncertainty quantitatively in the final score. Displaying uncertainty also illustrates which alternatives are early in product development versus well-defined commercial products. This paper tested the proposed assessment method through a case study in the building industry, assessing alternatives to spray polyurethane foam insulation containing methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI). The new hazard scoring method successfully identified trade-offs between different alternatives, showing finer resolution than GreenScreen Benchmarking. Sensitivity analysis showed that different weighting schemes in hazard scores had almost no effect on alternatives ranking, compared to uncertainty from data gaps. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Production optimization of sucker rod pumping wells producing viscous oil in Boscan field, Venezuela

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guirados, C.; Sandoval, J.; Rivas, O.

1995-12-31

Boscan field is located in the western coast of Maracaibo lake and is operated by Maraven S.A., affiliate of Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. It has 315 active wells, 252 of which are produced with sucker rod pumping. Other artificial lift methods currently applied in this field are hydraulic (piston) pumping (39 wells) and ESP (24 wells). This paper presents the results of the production optimization of two sucker rod pumping wells of Boscan field producing viscous oil. This optimization has been possible due to the development of a new production scheme and the application of system analysis in completion design.more » The new production scheme involves the utilization of a subsurface stuffing box assembly and a slotted housing, both designed and patented by Intevep S.A., affiliate of Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. The completion design method and software used in the optimization study were also developed by Intevep S.A. The new production scheme and design method proved to be effective in preventing the causes of the above mentioned problems, allowing the increase of oil production under better operating conditions.« less

Horizontal environmental assessment of building products in relation to the construction products directive (CPD).

PubMed

Schiopu, Nicoleta; Jayr, Emmanuel; Méhu, Jacques; Barna, Ligia; Moszkowicz, Pierre

2007-01-01

According to the European Construction Products Directive (89/106/EC), construction products must satisfy specified essential requirements (ER). To comply with ER 3, on hygiene, health and environment, the construction works must be designed and built in such a way that they will not be a threat to the hygiene and health of the occupants and neighbours, nor to the environment. Standardised test methods for the release of substances that are hazardous to health and environment need to be developed at the European level. A horizontal approach is considered the best route for such test development and consists of the development of a test method applicable for different products used in a certain scenario (across the fields of different Technical Committees). The work presented here regards the emission of pollutants towards soil and water and has been carried out on monolith products, based on three types of matrices: concrete, wood and metal (zinc). The aim of the work is to study the parameters (nature of leachant, temperature, liquid-to-solid ratio) that could influence the release behaviour of substances in water. The knowledge acquired from these tests will allow the identification of some parameters needed for the development of a horizontal test.

24 CFR 2004.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... INSPECTOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SUBPOENAS AND PRODUCTION IN RESPONSE TO... or other competent authority, for the production, disclosure, or release of records or for the... request, by whatever method, for the production of records and information or for testimony that has not...

Extraction kinetics and properties of proanthocyanidins from pomegranate peel

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

With an objective of developing a safe and efficient method to extract proanthocyanidins products from pomegranate peel for use in nutraceuticals or as food additives, the effects of extraction parameters on the production efficiency, product properties, and extraction kinetics were systematically s...

Engineering risk reduction in satellite programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dean, E. S., Jr.

1979-01-01

Methods developed in planning and executing system safety engineering programs for Lockheed satellite integration contracts are presented. These procedures establish the applicable safety design criteria, document design compliance and assess the residual risks where non-compliant design is proposed, and provide for hazard analysis of system level test, handling and launch preparations. Operations hazard analysis identifies product protection and product liability hazards prior to the preparation of operational procedures and provides safety requirements for inclusion in them. The method developed for documenting all residual hazards for the attention of program management assures an acceptable minimum level of risk prior to program deployment. The results are significant for persons responsible for managing or engineering the deployment and production of complex high cost equipment under current product liability law and cost/time constraints, have a responsibility to minimize the possibility of an accident, and should have documentation to provide a defense in a product liability suit.

New product development: A batik multifunctional chair

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Indrawati, Sri; Sukmaningsih, Nias

2017-11-01

The biggest challenge facing by Batik industry in ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) era is the greater number of fashion competitors both domestically and internationally. Based on that condition, the development of new product variants by considering product performance and price is needed. This research was conducted to develop batik products with a new target market. Products that being developed is batik multifunctional chair using integrated value engineering and analytic hierarchy process methods. This research has been done in several stages, ie. Information stage, creative stage, value analysis and product prototyping. The results of this research shows that the batik multifunctional chair product criteria are aesthetic (29%), multifunctional (34%) and ergonomic (37%). There are three new product design alternatives that successfully being developed. Based on value analysis, the product design alternatives that have the highest value is alternative design 2, the value is 2,37. The production cost for this design is Rp. 500.000,-. Alternative design 2 specification are using Mahoni wood, Batik parang rusak pattern with natural coloring process, can be used as table and fit with customer's body anthropometry. Then a batik multifunctional chair prototype is developed based on the best alternative design.

Development and in-line validation of a Process Analytical Technology to facilitate the scale up of coating processes.

PubMed

Wirges, M; Funke, A; Serno, P; Knop, K; Kleinebudde, P

2013-05-05

Incorporation of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) into the coating layer of film-coated tablets is a method mainly used to formulate fixed-dose combinations. Uniform and precise spray-coating of an API represents a substantial challenge, which could be overcome by applying Raman spectroscopy as process analytical tool. In pharmaceutical industry, Raman spectroscopy is still mainly used as a bench top laboratory analytical method and usually not implemented in the production process. Concerning the application in the production process, a lot of scientific approaches stop at the level of feasibility studies and do not manage the step to production scale and process applications. The present work puts the scale up of an active coating process into focus, which is a step of highest importance during the pharmaceutical development. Active coating experiments were performed at lab and production scale. Using partial least squares (PLS), a multivariate model was constructed by correlating in-line measured Raman spectral data with the coated amount of API. By transferring this model, being implemented for a lab scale process, to a production scale process, the robustness of this analytical method and thus its applicability as a Process Analytical Technology (PAT) tool for the correct endpoint determination in pharmaceutical manufacturing could be shown. Finally, this method was validated according to the European Medicine Agency (EMA) guideline with respect to the special requirements of the applied in-line model development strategy. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Hybrid Fuzzy Model for Lean Product Development Performance Measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osezua Aikhuele, Daniel; Mohd Turan, Faiz

2016-02-01

In the effort for manufacturing companies to meet up with the emerging consumer demands for mass customized products, many are turning to the application of lean in their product development process, and this is gradually moving from being a competitive advantage to a necessity. However, due to lack of clear understanding of the lean performance measurements, many of these companies are unable to implement and fully integrated the lean principle into their product development process. Extensive literature shows that only few studies have focus systematically on the lean product development performance (LPDP) evaluation. In order to fill this gap, the study therefore proposed a novel hybrid model based on Fuzzy Reasoning Approach (FRA), and the extension of Fuzzy-AHP and Fuzzy-TOPSIS methods for the assessment of the LPDP. Unlike the existing methods, the model considers the importance weight of each of the decision makers (Experts) since the performance criteria/attributes are required to be rated, and these experts have different level of expertise. The rating is done using a new fuzzy Likert rating scale (membership-scale) which is designed such that it can address problems resulting from information lost/distortion due to closed-form scaling and the ordinal nature of the existing Likert scale.

Zirconium determination by cooling curve analysis during the pyroprocessing of used nuclear fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westphal, B. R.; Price, J. C.; Bateman, K. J.; Marsden, K. C.

2015-02-01

An alternative method to sampling and chemical analyses has been developed to monitor the concentration of zirconium in real-time during the casting of uranium products from the pyroprocessing of used nuclear fuel. The method utilizes the solidification characteristics of the uranium products to determine zirconium levels based on standard cooling curve analyses and established binary phase diagram data. Numerous uranium products have been analyzed for their zirconium content and compared against measured zirconium data. From this data, the following equation was derived for the zirconium content of uranium products:

Green Toxicology: a strategy for sustainable chemical and material development.

PubMed

Crawford, Sarah E; Hartung, Thomas; Hollert, Henner; Mathes, Björn; van Ravenzwaay, Bennard; Steger-Hartmann, Thomas; Studer, Christoph; Krug, Harald F

2017-01-01

Green Toxicology refers to the application of predictive toxicology in the sustainable development and production of new less harmful materials and chemicals, subsequently reducing waste and exposure. Built upon the foundation of "Green Chemistry" and "Green Engineering", "Green Toxicology" aims to shape future manufacturing processes and safe synthesis of chemicals in terms of environmental and human health impacts. Being an integral part of Green Chemistry, the principles of Green Toxicology amplify the role of health-related aspects for the benefit of consumers and the environment, in addition to being economical for manufacturing companies. Due to the costly development and preparation of new materials and chemicals for market entry, it is no longer practical to ignore the safety and environmental status of new products during product development stages. However, this is only possible if toxicologists and chemists work together early on in the development of materials and chemicals to utilize safe design strategies and innovative in vitro and in silico tools. This paper discusses some of the most relevant aspects, advances and limitations of the emergence of Green Toxicology from the perspective of different industry and research groups. The integration of new testing methods and strategies in product development, testing and regulation stages are presented with examples of the application of in silico, omics and in vitro methods. Other tools for Green Toxicology, including the reduction of animal testing, alternative test methods, and read-across approaches are also discussed.

The Qualitative Measurement towards Emotional Feeling of Design for Product Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syaifoelida, Fevi; Megat Hamdan, M. A. M.; Murrad, M.; Aminuddin, Hazim

2018-04-01

To compete in today’s ever-growing technology market, a product needs to be well presentable to the customers. It is a challenge to design a product that is able to attract customer’s attention and to build their loyalty towards the product. A product needs to be designed with focus to give the maximum level of satisfaction to the end user which is the customer. That is the focus of this paper, to achieve customer’s satisfaction, by studying feelings and emotional value related to product designs using Kansei Engineering (KE) and to test how important that product element (level of satisfaction) by using Kano Method (KM). KE is a method of translating human emotions and feelings into product development. The method studies the human interaction and responses when a customer sees a product, then translates it into a new improved design. However, KE cannot stand on its own. It did not specify in which extends the feeling or emotions is important in a product. After we had the design appearance parameters from KE and existing design evaluation, it need to be classified which is more important than the other is. That is why Kano Method (KM) will also be used. Since this scope of study towards an emotional feeling of design (existing part/appearance) in Kano categories not in deep function of technical requirement, so KM will help to classify parts of product into categories, which part will give fully satisfaction while using it. It studies the more important attributes considered by the customers for improvement. The objective is to find out the design priority guide that can be used to maximize customer’s satisfaction. Therefore, in order to apply the qualitative measurement idea into the real situation, the headphone product is chosen (popular among students) as the product (the appearance of part, feeling when use it) domain for this study. As the results progressed, it was found out that the headband part of headphone is the most important part of the product. It needs to be durable and comfortably designed to give full satisfaction while using (Kano-functional). The research and development (R&D), and designing process of a product can be improved greatly to increase the customer’s satisfaction by capturing their emotional feeling in physiological design.

A quality-based cost model for new electronic systems and products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shina, Sammy G.; Saigal, Anil

1998-04-01

This article outlines a method for developing a quality-based cost model for the design of new electronic systems and products. The model incorporates a methodology for determining a cost-effective design margin allocation for electronic products and systems and its impact on manufacturing quality and cost. A spreadsheet-based cost estimating tool was developed to help implement this methodology in order for the system design engineers to quickly estimate the effect of design decisions and tradeoffs on the quality and cost of new products. The tool was developed with automatic spreadsheet connectivity to current process capability and with provisions to consider the impact of capital equipment and tooling purchases to reduce the product cost.

Measuring Individual Research Productivity: A Review and Development of the Integrated Research Productivity Index

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duffy, Ryan D.; Martin, Helena M.; Bryan, Nicole A.; Raque-Bogdan, Trisha L.

2008-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate methods of measuring individual research productivity for counseling psychologists. Using the 60 members of the "Journal of Counseling Psychology" editorial board, the authors computed a comparison of 6 popular indices of productivity, revealing considerable levels of positive skewness,…

Study on Early-Warning System of Cotton Production in Hebei Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Runqing; Ma, Teng

Cotton production plays an important role in Hebei. It straightly influences cotton farmers’ life, agricultural production and national economic development as well. In recent years, due to cotton production frequently fluctuating, two situations, “difficult selling cotton” and “difficult buying cotton” have alternately occurred, and brought disadvantages to producers, businesses and national finance. Therefore, it is very crucial to research the early warning of cotton production for solving the problem of cotton production’s frequent fluctuation and ensuring the cotton industry’s sustainable development. This paper founds a signal lamp model of early warning through employing time-difference correlation analysis method to select early-warning indicators and statistical analysis method associated with empirical analysis to determine early-warning limits. Finally, it not only obtained warning conditions of cotton production from 1993 to 2006 and forecast 2007’s condition, but also put forward corresponding countermeasures to prevent cotton production from fluctuating. Furthermore, an early-warning software of cotton production is completed through computer programming on the basis of the early warning model above.

Assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption in LCA.

PubMed

Pfister, Stephan; Koehler, Annette; Hellweg, Stefanie

2009-06-01

A method for assessing the environmental impacts of freshwater consumption was developed. This method considers damages to three areas of protection: human health, ecosystem quality, and resources. The method can be used within most existing life-cycle impact assessment (LCIA) methods. The relative importance of water consumption was analyzed by integrating the method into the Eco-indicator-99 LCIA method. The relative impact of water consumption in LCIA was analyzed with a case study on worldwide cotton production. The importance of regionalized characterization factors for water use was also examined in the case study. In arid regions, water consumption may dominate the aggregated life-cycle impacts of cotton-textile production. Therefore, the consideration of water consumption is crucial in life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies that include water-intensive products, such as agricultural goods. A regionalized assessment is necessary, since the impacts of water use vary greatly as a function of location. The presented method is useful for environmental decision-support in the production of water-intensive products as well as for environmentally responsible value-chain management.

[Development and validation of an analytical method to quantify residues of cleaning products able to inactivate prion].

PubMed

Briot, T; Robelet, A; Morin, N; Riou, J; Lelièvre, B; Lebelle-Dehaut, A-V

2016-07-01

In this study, a novel analytical method to quantify prion inactivating detergent in rinsing waters coming from the washer-disinfector of a hospital sterilization unit has been developed. The final aim was to obtain an easy and functional method in a routine hospital process which does not need the cleaning product manufacturer services. An ICP-MS method based on the potassium dosage of the washer-disinfector's rinsing waters was developed. Potassium hydroxide is present on the composition of the three prion inactivating detergent currently on the French market. The detergent used in this study was the Actanios LDI(®) (Anios laboratories). A Passing and Bablok regression compares concentrations measured with this developed method and with the HPLC-UV manufacturer method. According to results obtained, the developed method is easy to use in a routine hospital process. The Passing and Bablok regression showed that there is no statistical difference between the two analytical methods during the second rinsing step. Besides, both methods were linear on the third rinsing step, with a 1.5ppm difference between the concentrations measured for each method. This study shows that the ICP-MS method developed is nonspecific for the detergent, but specific for the potassium element which is present in all prion inactivating detergent currently on the French market. This method should be functional for all the prion inactivating detergent containing potassium, if the sensibility of the method is sufficient when the potassium concentration is very low in the prion inactivating detergent formulation. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Eco-Efficient Process Improvement at the Early Development Stage: Identifying Environmental and Economic Process Hotspots for Synergetic Improvement Potential.

PubMed

Piccinno, Fabiano; Hischier, Roland; Seeger, Stefan; Som, Claudia

2018-05-15

We present here a new eco-efficiency process-improvement method to highlight combined environmental and costs hotspots of the production process of new material at a very early development stage. Production-specific and scaled-up results for life cycle assessment (LCA) and production costs are combined in a new analysis to identify synergetic improvement potentials and trade-offs, setting goals for the eco-design of new processes. The identified hotspots and bottlenecks will help users to focus on the relevant steps for improvements from an eco-efficiency perspective and potentially reduce their associated environmental impacts and production costs. Our method is illustrated with a case study of nanocellulose. The results indicate that the production route should start with carrot pomace, use heat and solvent recovery, and deactivate the enzymes with bleach instead of heat. To further improve the process, the results show that focus should be laid on the carrier polymer, sodium alginate, and the production of the GripX coating. Overall, the method shows that the underlying LCA scale-up framework is valuable for purposes beyond conventional LCA studies and is applicable at a very early stage to provide researchers with a better understanding of their production process.

Use of species-specific PCR for the identification of 10 sea cucumber species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Jing; Zeng, Ling

2014-11-01

We developed a species-specific PCR method to identify species among dehydrated products of 10 sea cucumber species. Ten reverse species-specific primers designed from the 16S rRNA gene, in combination with one forward universal primer, generated PCR fragments of ca. 270 bp length for each species. The specificity of the PCR assay was tested with DNA of samples of 21 sea cucumber species. Amplification was observed in specific species only. The species-specific PCR method we developed was successfully applied to authenticate species of commercial products of dehydrated sea cucumber, and was proven to be a useful, rapid, and low-cost technique to identify the origin of the sea cucumber product.

Development and application of a validated stability-indicating high-performance liquid chromatographic method using photodiode array detection for simultaneous determination of granisetron, methylparaben, propylparaben, sodium benzoate, and their main degradation products in oral pharmaceutical preparations.

PubMed

Hewala, Ismail; El-Fatatry, Hamed; Emam, Ehab; Mabrouk, Mokhtar

2011-01-01

A simple, rapid, and sensitive RP-HPLC method using photodiode array detection was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of granisetron hydrochloride, 1-methyl-1H-indazole-3-carboxylic acid (the main degradation product of granisetron), sodium benzoate, methylparaben, propylparaben, and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (the main degradation product of parabens) in granisetron oral drops and solutions. The separation of the compounds was achieved within 8 min on a SymmetryShield RP18 column (100 x 4.6 mm id, 3.5 microm particle size) using the mobile phase acetonitrile--0.05 M KH2PO4 buffered to pH 3 using H3PO4 (3+7, v/v). The photodiode array detector was used to test the purity of the peaks, and the chromatograms were extracted at 240 nm. The method was validated, and validation acceptance criteria were met in all cases. The robust method was successfully applied to the determination of granisetron and preservatives, as well as their degradation products in different batches of granisetron oral drops and solutions. The method proved to be sensitive for determination down to 0.04% (w/w) of granisetron degradation product relative to granisetron and 0.03% (w/w) 4-hydroxybenzoic acid relative to total parabens.

The evaluation of the optimization design and application effect of same-well-injection-production technique’s injection-production circulatory system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guoxing, Zheng; Minghu, Jiang; Hongliang, Gong; Nannan, Zhang; Jianguang, Wei

2018-02-01

According to basic principles of combining series of strata and demands of same-well injection-production technique, the optimization designing method of same-well injection-production technique’s injection-production circulatory system is given. Based on oil-water two-phase model with condition of arbitrarily well network, a dynamic forecast method for the application of same-well injection-production reservoir is established with considering the demands and capacity of same-well injection-production technique, sample wells are selected to launch the forecast evaluation and analysis of same-well injection-production reservoir application’s effect. Results show: single-test-well composite water cut decreases by 4.7% and test-well-group composite water cut decreases by 1.56% under the condition of basically invariant ground water injection rate. The method provides theoretical support for the proof of same-well injection-production technique’s reservoir development improving effect and further tests.

Immunofluorescence detection of pea protein in meat products.

PubMed

Petrášová, Michaela; Pospiech, Matej; Tremlová, Bohuslava; Javůrková, Zdeňka

2016-08-01

In this study we developed an immunofluorescence method to detect pea protein in meat products. Pea protein has a high nutritional value but in sensitive individuals it may be responsible for causing allergic reactions. We produced model meat products with various additions of pea protein and flour; the detection limit (LOD) of the method for pea flour was 0.5% addition, and for pea protein it was 0.001% addition. The repeatabilities and reproducibilities for samples both positive and negative for pea protein were all 100%. In a blind test with model products and commercial samples, there was no statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) between the declared concentrations of pea protein and flour and the immunofluorescence method results. Sensitivity was 1.06 and specificity was 1.00. These results show that the immunofluorescence method is suitable for the detection of pea protein in meat products.

Role of In Vitro Release Methods in Liposomal Formulation Development: Challenges and Regulatory Perspective.

PubMed

Solomon, Deepak; Gupta, Nilesh; Mulla, Nihal S; Shukla, Snehal; Guerrero, Yadir A; Gupta, Vivek

2017-11-01

In the past few years, measurement of drug release from pharmaceutical dosage forms has been a focus of extensive research because the release profile obtained in vitro can give an indication of the drug's performance in vivo. Currently, there are no compendial in vitro release methods designed for liposomes owing to a range of experimental challenges, which has created a major hurdle for both development and regulatory acceptance of liposome-based drug products. In this paper, we review the current techniques that are most often used to assess in vitro drug release from liposomal products; these include the membrane diffusion techniques (dialysis, reverse dialysis, fractional dialysis, and microdialysis), the sample-and-separate approach, the in situ method, the continuous flow, and the modified United States Pharmacopeia methods (USP I and USP IV). We discuss the principles behind each of the methods and the criteria that assist in choosing the most appropriate method for studying drug release from a liposomal formulation. Also, we have included information concerning the current regulatory requirements for liposomal drug products in the United States and in Europe. In light of increasing costs of preclinical and clinical trials, applying a reliable in vitro release method could serve as a proxy to expensive in vivo bioavailability studies. Graphical Abstract Appropriate in-vitro drug release test from liposomal products is important to predict the in-vivo performance.

Expanded plug method for developing circumferential mechanical properties of tubular materials

DOEpatents

Hendrich, William Ray; McAfee, Wallace Jefferson; Luttrell, Claire Roberta

2006-11-28

A method for determining the circumferential properties of a tubular product, especially nuclear fuel cladding, utilizes compression of a polymeric plug within the tubular product to determine strain stress, yield stress and other properties. The process is especially useful in the determination of aging properties such as fuel rod embrittlement after long burn-down.

Simultaneous determination of the absolute configuration of twelve monosaccharide enantiomers from natural products in a single injection by UPLC-UV/MS method

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In natural product chemistry, it is often crucial to determine sugar composition as well as the absolute configuration of each monosaccharide in glycosides. An ultra-performance liquid chromatography method using both photodiode array (PDA) and mass spectrometry detectors (UPLC-UV/MS) was developed....

Quantitative separation of tetralin hydroperoxide from its decomposition products by high performance liquid chromatography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Worstell, J. H.; Daniel, S. R.

1981-01-01

A method for the separation and analysis of tetralin hydroperoxide and its decomposition products by high pressure liquid chromatography has been developed. Elution with a single, mixed solvent from a micron-Porasil column was employed. Constant response factors (internal standard method) over large concentration ranges and reproducible retention parameters are reported.

Electronic Nose Characterization of the Quality Parameters of Freeze-Dried Bacteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capuano, R.; Santonico, M.; Martinelli, E.; Paolesse, R.; Passot, S.; Fonseca, F.; Cenard, S.; Trelea, C.; Di Natale, C.

2011-09-01

Freeze-drying is the method of choice for preserving heat sensitive biological products such as microorganisms. The development of a fast analytical method for evaluating the properties of the dehydrated bacteria is then necessary for a proper utilization of the product in several food processes. In this paper, dried bacteria headspace is analyzed by a GC-MS and an electronic nose. Results indicate that headspace contains enough information to assess the products quality.

Vacuum and the electron tube industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redhead, P. A.

2005-07-01

The electron tube industry started with the patenting of the thermionic diode by John Ambrose Fleming in 1904. The vacuum technology used by the infant tube industry was copied from the existing incandescent lamp industry. The growing demands for electron tubes for the military in the first world war led to major improvements in pumps and processing methods. By the 1920s, mass production methods were developing to satisfy the demands for receiving tubes by the burgeoning radio industry. Further expansion in the 1930s and 1940s resulted in improvements in automatic equipment for pumping vacuum tubes leading to the massive production rates of electron tubes in the second world war and the following two decades. The demand for radar during the war resulted in the development of techniques for large-scale production of microwave tubes and CRTs, the latter technology being put to good use later in TV picture tube production. The commercial introduction of the transistor ended the massive demand for receiving tubes. This review concentrates on the vacuum technology developed for receiving tube production.

DEVELOPMENT OF METHOD 535 FOR THE DETERMINATION OF CHLOROACETANILIDE AND OTHER ACETAMIDE HERBICIDE DEGRADATES IN DRINKING WATER BY SOLID PHASE EXTRACTION AND LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY/TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY

EPA Science Inventory

EPA Method 535 has been developed in order to provide a method for the analysis of "Alachlor ESA and other acetanilide degradation products" which are listed on U.S. EPA's 1998 Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List. Method 535 uses solid phase extraction with a nonporous gr...

Labor Productivity Standards in Texas School Foodservice Operations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sherrin, A. Rachelle; Bednar, Carolyn; Kwon, Junehee

2009-01-01

Purpose: Purpose of this research was to investigate utilization of labor productivity standards and variables that affect productivity in Texas school foodservice operations. Methods: A questionnaire was developed, validated, and pilot tested, then mailed to 200 randomly selected Texas school foodservice directors. Descriptive statistics for…

ANALYTICAL METHOD DEVELOPMENT FOR ALACHLOR ESA AND OTHER ACETANILIDE HERBICIDE DEGRADATION PRODUCTS

EPA Science Inventory

In 1998, USEPA published a Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List (CCL) of 50 chemicals and 10 microorganisms. "Alachlor ESA and other acetanilide herbicide degradation products" is listed on the the 1998 CCL. Acetanilide degradation products are generally more water soluble...

Computational Methods Development at Ames

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kwak, Dochan; Smith, Charles A. (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

This viewgraph presentation outlines the development at Ames Research Center of advanced computational methods to provide appropriate fidelity computational analysis/design capabilities. Current thrusts of the Ames research include: 1) methods to enhance/accelerate viscous flow simulation procedures, and the development of hybrid/polyhedral-grid procedures for viscous flow; 2) the development of real time transonic flow simulation procedures for a production wind tunnel, and intelligent data management technology; and 3) the validation of methods and the flow physics study gives historical precedents to above research, and speculates on its future course.

Cultivation, photobioreactor design and harvesting of microalgae for biodiesel production: a critical review.

PubMed

Chen, Chun-Yen; Yeh, Kuei-Ling; Aisyah, Rifka; Lee, Duu-Jong; Chang, Jo-Shu

2011-01-01

Microalgae have the ability to mitigate CO(2) emission and produce oil with a high productivity, thereby having the potential for applications in producing the third-generation of biofuels. The key technologies for producing microalgal biofuels include identification of preferable culture conditions for high oil productivity, development of effective and economical microalgae cultivation systems, as well as separation and harvesting of microalgal biomass and oil. This review presents recent advances in microalgal cultivation, photobioreactor design, and harvesting technologies with a focus on microalgal oil (mainly triglycerides) production. The effects of different microalgal metabolisms (i.e., phototrophic, heterotrophic, mixotrophic, and photoheterotrophic growth), cultivation systems (emphasizing the effect of light sources), and biomass harvesting methods (chemical/physical methods) on microalgal biomass and oil production are compared and critically discussed. This review aims to provide useful information to help future development of efficient and commercially viable technology for microalgae-based biodiesel production. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fat grafting as a vehicle for the delivery of recombinant adenoassociated viral vectors to achieve gene modification of muscle flaps.

PubMed

Carruthers, Katherine H; During, Matthew J; Muravlev, Alexander; Wang, Chuansong; Kocak, Ergun

2013-06-01

The combination of gene therapy and plastic surgery may have the potential to improve the specificity that is needed to achieve clinically applicable treatment regimens. Our goal was to develop a method for gene modification that would yield sustainable production of gene products but would be less time consuming than existing protocols. An adenoassociated virus was used to deliver gene products to pectoralis muscle flaps. Gene modification was accomplished via either direct injection or novel fat grafting techniques. The production of gene product was observable by both in vivo imaging and immunohistochemical staining. Gene products were not detected in tissues that were not in contact with the fat grafts that were incubated with the viral vector, indicating that the transduction stayed local to the flap. Using novel recombinant adenoassociated virus vectors, we have developed a method for gene delivery that is highly efficient and applicable to muscle flaps.

[Examination related to revised test method for determination of formaldehyde, regulated by the law for the control of household products containing harmful substances].

PubMed

Ikarashi, Yoshiaki; Kaniwa, Masa-aki; Tsuchiya, Toshie

2003-01-01

In Japan, the amount of formaldehyde in textile products was regulated by the low for the control of household products containing harmful substances. Formaldehyde was determined by measuring the optical density of acetylacetone derivative of formaldehyde extracted from textiles. The household products low stated that the increase in the optical density of color development of the extract from the textile products for babies or infants within 24 months after birth should not be more than 0.05. Collaborative study decided the amount of formaldehyde equivalent to the increase in absorbance described above, and the amount was 16 ppm. There are some reports that formaldehyde causes an allergic reaction even at a very low concentration, so continuous regulation for formaldehyde in the textiles was desirable using this level of amount. We developed HPLC method for the determination of formaldehyde in textile products. Formaldehyde was determined by the direct injection of acetylacetone derivative of samples into the system equipped with ODS column and UV-VIS detector (detection wavelength 413 nm) using the mixture of acetonitrile and water as mobile phase. The linearity was obtained between a peak area or height and the concentrations of formaldehyde solution in the range of 0.0625-2 micrograms/ml. The regulation level was sufficiently detected by the present HPLC method. We recommended that the HPLC test was adopted as a reexamination method for the products may violate the regulation as well as a dimedone test.

Development of a gas chromatography method for the determination of isotretinoin and its degradation products in pharmaceuticals.

PubMed

Lima, Eliana Martins; Diniz, Danielle G Almeida; Antoniosi-Filho, Nelson R

2005-07-15

This paper describes the development of a gas chromatography (GC) method used for the assay of isotretinoin in its isolated form and in pharmaceutical formulations. Isotretinoin soft and hard gelatin capsules were prepared with various excipients. The performance of the proposed gas chromatography method was compared to that of traditional high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems for this substance, and the GC parameters were established based on several preliminary tests, including thermal analysis of isotretinoin. Results showed that gas chromatography-flame ionization detector (GC-FID) exhibited a separation efficiency superior to that of HPLC, particularly for separating isotretinoin degradation products. This method was proven to be effectively applicable to stability evaluation assays of isotretinoin and isotretinoin based pharmaceuticals.

Modeling Design Iteration in Product Design and Development and Its Solution by a Novel Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Due to fierce market competition, how to improve product quality and reduce development cost determines the core competitiveness of enterprises. However, design iteration generally causes increases of product cost and delays of development time as well, so how to identify and model couplings among tasks in product design and development has become an important issue for enterprises to settle. In this paper, the shortcomings existing in WTM model are discussed and tearing approach as well as inner iteration method is used to complement the classic WTM model. In addition, the ABC algorithm is also introduced to find out the optimal decoupling schemes. In this paper, firstly, tearing approach and inner iteration method are analyzed for solving coupled sets. Secondly, a hybrid iteration model combining these two technologies is set up. Thirdly, a high-performance swarm intelligence algorithm, artificial bee colony, is adopted to realize problem-solving. Finally, an engineering design of a chemical processing system is given in order to verify its reasonability and effectiveness. PMID:25431584

Pathogen reduction of blood components.

PubMed

Solheim, Bjarte G

2008-08-01

Thanks to many blood safety interventions introduced in developed countries the risk of transfusion transmitted infections has become exceedingly small in these countries. However, emerging pathogens still represent a serious challenge, as demonstrated by West Nile virus in the US and more recently by Chikungunya virus in the Indian Ocean. In addition bacterial contamination, particularly in platelets, and protozoa transmitted by blood components still represent sizeable risks in developed countries. In developing countries the risk of all transfusion transmitted infections is still high due to insufficient funding and organisation of the health service. Pathogen reduction of pooled plasma products has virtually eliminated the risk of transfusion transmitted infections, without compromising the quality of the products significantly. Pathogen reduction of blood components has been much more challenging. Solvent detergent treatment which has been so successfully applied for plasma products dissolves cell membranes, and can, therefore, only be applied for plasma and not for cellular blood components. Targeting of nucleic acids has been another method for pathogen inactivation of plasma and the only approach possible for cellular blood products. As documented in more than 15 year's track record, solvent detergent treatment of pooled plasma can yield high quality plasma. The increased risk for contamination by unknown viruses due to pooling is out weighed by elimination of TRALI, significant reduction in allergic reactions and standardisation of the product. Recently, a promising method for solvent detergent treatment of single donor plasma units has been published. Methylene blue light treatment of single donor plasma units has a similar long track record as pooled solvent detergent treated plasma; but the method is less well documented and affects coagulation factor activity more. Psoralen light treated plasma has only recently been introduced (CE marked in Europe, but not licensed by the FDA), while the method of Riboflavin light treatment of plasma still is under development. In addition to pathogen reduction the methods, however, result in some reduction of coagulation factor activity. For platelets only Psoralen and Riboflavin light treatment have been implemented. Both are CE marked products in Europe but only approved for clinical trials in the USA. The methods affect platelet activity, but result in clinically acceptable platelets with only slightly reduced CCI and increased demand for platelet transfusions. Pathogen reduction of red blood cells with FRALE (S-303) or INACTINE (PEN110) has so far resulted in the formation of antibodies against neo-epitopes on red blood cells. A promising method for Riboflavin treatment of red blood cells is under development. This manuscript reviews the current experience and discusses future trends.

Quantitative detection of pork in commercial meat products by TaqMan® real-time PCR assay targeting the mitochondrial D-loop region.

PubMed

Kim, Miju; Yoo, Insuk; Lee, Shin-Young; Hong, Yeun; Kim, Hae-Yeong

2016-11-01

The TaqMan® real-time PCR assay using the mitochondrial D-loop region was developed for the quantitative detection of pork in processed meat products. The newly designed primers and probe specifically amplified pork without any cross-reactivity with non-target animal species. The limit of detection of the real-time PCR assay was 0.1pg of heat-treated pork meat and 0.1% (w/w) pork meat in beef and chicken meat mixtures. The quantitative real-time PCR assay was applied to analyze the pork meat content in 22 commercial processed meat products including jerkies, press hams, sausages, hamburger patties and steaks, grilled short rib patties, and nuggets. The developed real-time PCR method was able to detect pork meat in various types of processed meat products that declared the use of pork meat on their label. All processed meat products that declared no use of pork meat showed a negative result in the assay. The method developed in this study showed sensitivity and specificity in the quantification of pork meat in commercial processed meat products. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A comprehensive approach to environmental and human factors into product/service design and development. A review from an ergoecological perspective.

PubMed

Saravia-Pinilla, Martha H; Daza-Beltrán, Carolina; García-Acosta, Gabriel

2016-11-01

This article presents the results of a documentary-exploratory review of design methods and concepts associated with human and environmental factors, based on a qualitative-quantitative analysis of coincidences with the fundamentals of ergoecology and in line with sustainable dynamics, with a view to putting the principles of ergoecology into practice in product/service design and development. 61.6% of 696 documents found represent work on conceptual developments, while the remaining 38.4% refer to design methods. Searches were refined using Nvivo-10 software, and 101 documents were obtained about theoretical aspects while 17 focused on the application of methods, and these formed the analysis universe. The results show how little concern there is for working comprehensively on human and environmental aspects, and a trend toward segmentation of human and environmental aspects in the field of product/service design and development can be seen, at both concept and application/methodology levels. It was concluded from the above that comprehensive, simultaneous work is needed on human and environmental aspects, clarity and conceptual unity, in order to achieve sustainability in practical matters and ensure that ergoecology-compatible design methods are applied. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a multivariate tool to reject background in a WZ diboson search for the CDF experiment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cremonesi, Matteo

In the frame of the strong on-going data analysis effort of the CDF collaboration at Fermilab, a method was developed by the candidate to improve the background rejection efficiency in the search for associated pair production of electroweak W, Z bosons. The performaces of the method for vetoing the tt background in a WZ/ZZ → fνqmore » $$\\bar{q}$$ diboson search are reported. The method was developed in the inclusive 2-jets sample and applied to the “tag-2 jets" region, the subsample defined by the request that the two jets carry beauty flavor. In this region the tt production is one of the largest backgrounds. The tt veto proceeds in two steps: first, a set of pre-selection cuts are applied in a candidate sample where up to two leptons are accepted in addition to a jet pair, and the ZZ component of the signal is thus preserved; next, a Neural Network is trained to indicate the probability that the event be top-pair production. To validate the the method as developed in the inclusive 2-jets sample, it is applied to veto region providing a significant rejection of this important background.« less

Methods of increasing the performance of radionuclide generators used in nuclear medicine: daughter nuclide build-up optimisation, elution-purification-concentration integration, and effective control of radionuclidic purity.

PubMed

Le, Van So; Do, Zoe Phuc-Hien; Le, Minh Khoi; Le, Vicki; Le, Natalie Nha-Truc

2014-06-10

Methods of increasing the performance of radionuclide generators used in nuclear medicine radiotherapy and SPECT/PET imaging were developed and detailed for 99Mo/99mTc and 68Ge/68Ga radionuclide generators as the cases. Optimisation methods of the daughter nuclide build-up versus stand-by time and/or specific activity using mean progress functions were developed for increasing the performance of radionuclide generators. As a result of this optimisation, the separation of the daughter nuclide from its parent one should be performed at a defined optimal time to avoid the deterioration in specific activity of the daughter nuclide and wasting stand-by time of the generator, while the daughter nuclide yield is maintained to a reasonably high extent. A new characteristic parameter of the formation-decay kinetics of parent/daughter nuclide system was found and effectively used in the practice of the generator production and utilisation. A method of "early elution schedule" was also developed for increasing the daughter nuclide production yield and specific radioactivity, thus saving the cost of the generator and improving the quality of the daughter radionuclide solution. These newly developed optimisation methods in combination with an integrated elution-purification-concentration system of radionuclide generators recently developed is the most suitable way to operate the generator effectively on the basis of economic use and improvement of purposely suitable quality and specific activity of the produced daughter radionuclides. All these features benefit the economic use of the generator, the improved quality of labelling/scan, and the lowered cost of nuclear medicine procedure. Besides, a new method of quality control protocol set-up for post-delivery test of radionuclidic purity has been developed based on the relationship between gamma ray spectrometric detection limit, required limit of impure radionuclide activity and its measurement certainty with respect to optimising decay/measurement time and product sample activity used for QC quality control. The optimisation ensures a certainty of measurement of the specific impure radionuclide and avoids wasting the useful amount of valuable purified/concentrated daughter nuclide product. This process is important for the spectrometric measurement of very low activity of impure radionuclide contamination in the radioisotope products of much higher activity used in medical imaging and targeted radiotherapy.

The Poisson distribution and beyond: methods for microfluidic droplet production and single cell encapsulation.

PubMed

Collins, David J; Neild, Adrian; deMello, Andrew; Liu, Ai-Qun; Ai, Ye

2015-09-07

There is a recognized and growing need for rapid and efficient cell assays, where the size of microfluidic devices lend themselves to the manipulation of cellular populations down to the single cell level. An exceptional way to analyze cells independently is to encapsulate them within aqueous droplets surrounded by an immiscible fluid, so that reagents and reaction products are contained within a controlled microenvironment. Most cell encapsulation work has focused on the development and use of passive methods, where droplets are produced continuously at high rates by pumping fluids from external pressure-driven reservoirs through defined microfluidic geometries. With limited exceptions, the number of cells encapsulated per droplet in these systems is dictated by Poisson statistics, reducing the proportion of droplets that contain the desired number of cells and thus the effective rate at which single cells can be encapsulated. Nevertheless, a number of recently developed actively-controlled droplet production methods present an alternative route to the production of droplets at similar rates and with the potential to improve the efficiency of single-cell encapsulation. In this critical review, we examine both passive and active methods for droplet production and explore how these can be used to deterministically and non-deterministically encapsulate cells.

Boosting Sensitivity in Liquid Chromatography–Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance–Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Product Ion Analysis of Monoterpene Indole Alkaloids

PubMed Central

Nakabayashi, Ryo; Tsugawa, Hiroshi; Kitajima, Mariko; Takayama, Hiromitsu; Saito, Kazuki

2015-01-01

In metabolomics, the analysis of product ions in tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is noteworthy to chemically assign structural information. However, the development of relevant analytical methods are less advanced. Here, we developed a method to boost sensitivity in liquid chromatography–Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance–tandem mass spectrometry analysis (MS/MS boost analysis). To verify the MS/MS boost analysis, both quercetin and uniformly labeled 13C quercetin were analyzed, revealing that the origin of the product ions is not the instrument, but the analyzed compounds resulting in sensitive product ions. Next, we applied this method to the analysis of monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIAs). The comparative analyses of MIAs having indole basic skeleton (ajmalicine, catharanthine, hirsuteine, and hirsutine) and oxindole skeleton (formosanine, isoformosanine, pteropodine, isopteropodine, rhynchophylline, isorhynchophylline, and mitraphylline) identified 86 and 73 common monoisotopic ions, respectively. The comparative analyses of the three pairs of stereoisomers showed more than 170 common monoisotopic ions in each pair. This method was also applied to the targeted analysis of MIAs in Catharanthus roseus and Uncaria rhynchophylla to profile indole and oxindole compounds using the product ions. This analysis is suitable for chemically assigning features of the metabolite groups, which contributes to targeted metabolome analysis. PMID:26734034

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF SNAP 10A THERMOELECTRIC CONVERTER ELEMENT PROCESS DEVELOPMENT VARIABLES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fitch, S.H.; Morris, J.W.

1962-12-15

Statistical analysis, primarily analysis of variance, was applied to evaluate several factors involved in the development of suitable fabrication and processing techniques for the production of lead telluride thermoelectric elements for the SNAP 10A energy conversion system. The analysis methods are described as to their application for determining the effects of various processing steps, estabIishing the value of individual operations, and evaluating the significance of test results. The elimination of unnecessary or detrimental processing steps was accomplished and the number of required tests was substantially reduced by application of these statistical methods to the SNAP 10A production development effort. (auth)

High-throughput screening for bioactive components from traditional Chinese medicine.

PubMed

Zhu, Yanhui; Zhang, Zhiyun; Zhang, Meng; Mais, Dale E; Wang, Ming-Wei

2010-12-01

Throughout the centuries, traditional Chinese medicine has been a rich resource in the development of new drugs. Modern drug discovery, which relies increasingly on automated high throughput screening and quick hit-to-lead development, however, is confronted with the challenges of the chemical complexity associated with natural products. New technologies for biological screening as well as library building are in great demand in order to meet the requirements. Here we review the developments in these techniques under the perspective of their applicability in natural product drug discovery. Methods in library building, component characterizing, biological evaluation, and other screening methods including NMR and X-ray diffraction are discussed.

Monte Carlo Simulations and Generation of the SPI Response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sturner, S. J.; Shrader, C. R.; Weidenspointner, G.; Teegarden, B. J.; Attie, D.; Diehl, R.; Ferguson, C.; Jean, P.; vonKienlin, A.

2003-01-01

In this paper we discuss the methods developed for the production of the INTEGRAL/SPI instrument response. The response files were produced using a suite of Monte Carlo simulation software developed at NASA/GSFC based on the GEANT-3 package available from CERN. The production of the INTEGRAL/SPI instrument response also required the development of a detailed computer mass model for SPI. We discuss our extensive investigations into methods to reduce both the computation time and storage requirements for the SPI response. We also discuss corrections to the simulated response based on our comparison of ground and inflight calibration data with MGEANT simulation.

Monte Carlo Simulations and Generation of the SPI Response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sturner, S. J.; Shrader, C. R.; Weidenspointner, G.; Teegarden, B. J.; Attie, D.; Cordier, B.; Diehl, R.; Ferguson, C.; Jean, P.; vonKienlin, A.

2003-01-01

In this paper we discuss the methods developed for the production of the INTEGRAL/SPI instrument response. The response files were produced using a suite of Monte Carlo simulation software developed at NASA/GSFC based on the GEANT-3 package available from CERN. The production of the INTEGRAL/SPI instrument response also required the development of a detailed computer mass model for SPI. We discuss ow extensive investigations into methods to reduce both the computation time and storage requirements for the SPI response. We also discuss corrections to the simulated response based on our comparison of ground and infiight Calibration data with MGEANT simulations.

Readily implementable techniques can cut annual CO2 emissions from the production of concrete by over 20%

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, Sabbie A.; Horvath, Arpad; Monteiro, Paulo J. M.

2016-07-01

Due to its prevalence in modern infrastructure, concrete is experiencing the most rapid increase in consumption among globally common structural materials; however, the production of concrete results in approximately 8.6% of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Many methods have been developed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of concrete. These methods range from the replacement of inefficient manufacturing equipment to alternative binders and the use of breakthrough technologies; nevertheless, many of these methods have barriers to implementation. In this research, we examine the extent to which the increased use of several currently implemented methods can reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in concrete material production without requiring new technologies, changes in production, or novel material use. This research shows that, through increased use of common supplementary cementitious materials, appropriate selection of proportions for cement replacement, and increased concrete design age, 24% of greenhouse gas emissions from global concrete production or 650 million tonnes (Mt) CO2-eq can be eliminated annually.

Recent developments on algal biochar production and characterization.

PubMed

Yu, Kai Ling; Lau, Beng Fye; Show, Pau Loke; Ong, Hwai Chyuan; Ling, Tau Chuan; Chen, Wei-Hsin; Ng, Eng Poh; Chang, Jo-Shu

2017-12-01

Algal biomass is known as a promising sustainable feedstock for the production of biofuels and other valuable products. However, since last decade, massive amount of interests have turned to converting algal biomass into biochar. Due to their high nutrient content and ion-exchange capacity, algal biochars can be used as soil amendment for agriculture purposes or adsorbents in wastewater treatment for the removal of organic or inorganic pollutants. This review describes the conventional (e.g., slow and microwave-assisted pyrolysis) and newly developed (e.g., hydrothermal carbonization and torrefaction) methods used for the synthesis of algae-based biochars. The characterization of algal biochar and a comparison between algal biochar with biochar produced from other feedstocks are also presented. This review aims to provide updated information on the development of algal biochar in terms of the production methods and the characterization of its physical and chemical properties to justify and to expand their potential applications. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monitoring product safety in the postmarketing environment.

PubMed

Sharrar, Robert G; Dieck, Gretchen S

2013-10-01

The safety profile of a medicinal product may change in the postmarketing environment. Safety issues not identified in clinical development may be seen and need to be evaluated. Methods of evaluating spontaneous adverse experience reports and identifying new safety risks include a review of individual reports, a review of a frequency distribution of a list of the adverse experiences, the development and analysis of a case series, and various ways of examining the database for signals of disproportionality, which may suggest a possible association. Regulatory agencies monitor product safety through a variety of mechanisms including signal detection of the adverse experience safety reports in databases and by requiring and monitoring risk management plans, periodic safety update reports and postauthorization safety studies. The United States Food and Drug Administration is working with public, academic and private entities to develop methods for using large electronic databases to actively monitor product safety. Important identified risks will have to be evaluated through observational studies and registries.

Large project experiences with object-oriented methods and reuse

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wessale, William; Reifer, Donald J.; Weller, David

1992-01-01

The SSVTF (Space Station Verification and Training Facility) project is completing the Preliminary Design Review of a large software development using object-oriented methods and systematic reuse. An incremental developmental lifecycle was tailored to provide early feedback and guidance on methods and products, with repeated attention to reuse. Object oriented methods were formally taught and supported by realistic examples. Reuse was readily accepted and planned by the developers. Schedule and budget issues were handled by agreements and work sharing arranged by the developers.

Comparison of 3 in vivo methods for assessment of alcohol-based hand rubs.

PubMed

Edmonds-Wilson, Sarah; Campbell, Esther; Fox, Kyle; Macinga, David

2015-05-01

Alcohol-based hand rubs (ABHRs) are the primary method of hand hygiene in health-care settings. ICPs increasingly are assessing ABHR product efficacy data as improved products and test methods are developed. As a result, ICPs need better tools and recommendations for how to assess and compare ABHRs. Two ABHRs (70% ethanol) were tested according to 3 in vivo methods approved by ASTM International: E1174, E2755, and E2784. Log10 reductions were measured after a single test product use and after 10 consecutive uses at an application volume of 2 mL. The test method used had a significant influence on ABHR efficacy; however, in this study the test product (gel or foam) did not significantly influence efficacy. In addition, for all test methods, log10 reductions obtained after a single application were not predictive of results after 10 applications. Choice of test method can significantly influence efficacy results. Therefore, when assessing antimicrobial efficacy data of hand hygiene products, ICPs should pay close attention to the test method used, and ensure that product comparisons are made head to head in the same study using the same test methodology. Copyright © 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[A reliability growth assessment method and its application in the development of equipment in space cabin].

PubMed

Chen, J D; Sun, H L

1999-04-01

Objective. To assess and predict reliability of an equipment dynamically by making full use of various test informations in the development of products. Method. A new reliability growth assessment method based on army material system analysis activity (AMSAA) model was developed. The method is composed of the AMSAA model and test data conversion technology. Result. The assessment and prediction results of a space-borne equipment conform to its expectations. Conclusion. It is suggested that this method should be further researched and popularized.

Research requirements to reduce civil helicopter life cycle cost

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blewitt, S. J.

1978-01-01

The problem of the high cost of helicopter development, production, operation, and maintenance is defined and the cost drivers are identified. Helicopter life cycle costs would decrease by about 17 percent if currently available technology were applied. With advanced technology, a reduction of about 30 percent in helicopter life cycle costs is projected. Technological and managerial deficiencies which contribute to high costs are examined, basic research and development projects which can reduce costs include methods for reduced fuel consumption; improved turbine engines; airframe and engine production methods; safety; rotor systems; and advanced transmission systems.

Production of Reliable Flight Crucial Software: Validation Methods Research for Fault Tolerant Avionics and Control Systems Sub-Working Group Meeting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dunham, J. R. (Editor); Knight, J. C. (Editor)

1982-01-01

The state of the art in the production of crucial software for flight control applications was addressed. The association between reliability metrics and software is considered. Thirteen software development projects are discussed. A short term need for research in the areas of tool development and software fault tolerance was indicated. For the long term, research in format verification or proof methods was recommended. Formal specification and software reliability modeling, were recommended as topics for both short and long term research.

TomoBank: a tomographic data repository for computational x-ray science

DOE PAGES

De Carlo, Francesco; Gürsoy, Doğa; Ching, Daniel J.; ...

2018-02-08

There is a widening gap between the fast advancement of computational methods for tomographic reconstruction and their successful implementation in production software at various synchrotron facilities. This is due in part to the lack of readily available instrument datasets and phantoms representative of real materials for validation and comparison of new numerical methods. Recent advancements in detector technology made sub-second and multi-energy tomographic data collection possible [1], but also increased the demand to develop new reconstruction methods able to handle in-situ [2] and dynamic systems [3] that can be quickly incorporated in beamline production software [4]. The X-ray Tomography Datamore » Bank, tomoBank, provides a repository of experimental and simulated datasets with the aim to foster collaboration among computational scientists, beamline scientists, and experimentalists and to accelerate the development and implementation of tomographic reconstruction methods for synchrotron facility production software by providing easy access to challenging dataset and their descriptors.« less

New calibration method for I-scan sensors to enable the precise measurement of pressures delivered by 'pressure garments'.

PubMed

Macintyre, Lisa

2011-11-01

Accurate measurement of the pressure delivered by medical compression products is highly desirable both in monitoring treatment and in developing new pressure inducing garments or products. There are several complications in measuring pressure at the garment/body interface and at present no ideal pressure measurement tool exists for this purpose. This paper summarises a thorough evaluation of the accuracy and reproducibility of measurements taken following both of Tekscan Inc.'s recommended calibration procedures for I-scan sensors; and presents an improved method for calibrating and using I-scan pressure sensors. The proposed calibration method enables accurate (±2.1 mmHg) measurement of pressures delivered by pressure garments to body parts with a circumference ≥30 cm. This method is too cumbersome for routine clinical use but is very useful, accurate and reproducible for product development or clinical evaluation purposes. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

A validated stability-indicating RP-HPLC method for levofloxacin in the presence of degradation products, its process related impurities and identification of oxidative degradant.

PubMed

Lalitha Devi, M; Chandrasekhar, K B

2009-12-05

The objective of current study was to develop a validated specific stability indicating reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method for the quantitative determination of levofloxacin as well as its related substances determination in bulk samples, pharmaceutical dosage forms in the presence of degradation products and its process related impurities. Forced degradation studies were performed on bulk sample of levofloxacin as per ICH prescribed stress conditions using acid, base, oxidative, water hydrolysis, thermal stress and photolytic degradation to show the stability indicating power of the method. Significant degradation was observed during oxidative stress and the degradation product formed was identified by LCMS/MS, slight degradation in acidic stress and no degradation was observed in other stress conditions. The chromatographic method was optimized using the samples generated from forced degradation studies and the impurity spiked solution. Good resolution between the peaks corresponds to process related impurities and degradation products from the analyte were achieved on ACE C18 column using the mobile phase consists a mixture of 0.5% (v/v) triethyl amine in sodium dihydrogen orthophosphate dihydrate (25 mM; pH 6.0) and methanol using a simple linear gradient. The detection was carried out at 294 nm. The limit of detection and the limit of quantitation for the levofloxacin and its process related impurities were established. The stressed test solutions were assayed against the qualified working standard of levofloxacin and the mass balance in each case was in between 99.4 and 99.8% indicating that the developed LC method was stability indicating. Validation of the developed LC method was carried out as per ICH requirements. The developed LC method was found to be suitable to check the quality of bulk samples of levofloxacin at the time of batch release and also during its stability studies (long term and accelerated stability).

Recent developments in drying of food products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valarmathi, T. N.; Sekar, S.; Purushothaman, M.; Sekar, S. D.; Rama Sharath Reddy, Maddela; Reddy, Kancham Reddy Naveen Kumar

2017-05-01

Drying is a dehydration process to preserve agricultural products for long period usage. The most common and cheapest method is open sun drying in which the products are simply laid on ground, road, mats, roof, etc. But the open sun drying has some disadvantages like dependent on good weather, contamination by dust, birds and animals consume a considerable quantity, slow drying rate and damages due to strong winds and rain. To overcome these difficulties solar dryers are developed with closed environment for drying agricultural products effectively. To obtain good quality food with reduced energy consumption, selection of appropriate drying process and proper input parameters is essential. In recent years several researchers across the world have developed new drying systems for improving the product quality, increasing the drying rate, decreasing the energy consumption, etc. Some of the new systems are fluidized bed, vibrated fluidized bed, desiccant, microwave, vacuum, freeze, infrared, intermittent, electro hydrodynamic and hybrid dryers. In this review the most recent progress in the field of drying of agricultural food products such as new methods, new products and modeling and optimization techniques has been presented. Challenges and future directions are also highlighted. The review will be useful for new researchers entering into this ever needed and ever growing field of engineering.

Rapid fingerprinting of spilled petroleum products using fluorescence spectroscopy coupled with parallel factor and principal component analysis.

PubMed

Mirnaghi, Fatemeh S; Soucy, Nicholas; Hollebone, Bruce P; Brown, Carl E

2018-05-19

The characterization of spilled petroleum products in an oil spill is necessary for identifying the spill source, selection of clean-up strategies, and evaluating potential environmental and ecological impacts. Existing standard methods for the chemical characterization of spilled oils are time-consuming due to the lengthy sample preparation for analysis. The main objective of this study is the development of a rapid screening method for the fingerprinting of spilled petroleum products using excitation/emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy, thereby delivering a preliminary evaluation of the petroleum products within hours after a spill. In addition, the developed model can be used for monitoring the changes of aromatic compositions of known spilled oils over time. This study involves establishing a fingerprinting model based on the composition of polycyclic and heterocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH and HAHs, respectively) of 130 petroleum products at different states of evaporative weathering. The screening model was developed using parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) of a large EEM dataset. The significant fluorescing components for each sample class were determined. After which, through principal component analysis (PCA), the variation of scores of their modeled factors was discriminated based on the different classes of petroleum products. This model was then validated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The rapid fingerprinting and the identification of unknown and new spilled oils occurs through matching the spilled product with the products of the developed model. Finally, it was shown that HAH compounds in asphaltene and resins contribute to ≥4-ring PAHs compounds in petroleum products. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Master standard data quantity food production code. Macro elements for synthesizing production labor time.

PubMed

Matthews, M E; Waldvogel, C F; Mahaffey, M J; Zemel, P C

1978-06-01

Preparation procedures of standardized quantity formulas were analyzed for similarities and differences in production activities, and three entrée classifications were developed, based on these activities. Two formulas from each classification were selected, preparation procedures were divided into elements of production, and the MSD Quantity Food Production Code was applied. Macro elements not included in the existing Code were simulated, coded, assigned associated Time Measurement Units, and added to the MSD Quantity Food Production Code. Repeated occurrence of similar elements within production methods indicated that macro elements could be synthesized for use within one or more entrée classifications. Basic elements were grouped, simulated, and macro elements were derived. Macro elements were applied in the simulated production of 100 portions of each entrée formula. Total production time for each formula and average production time for each entrée classification were calculated. Application of macro elements indicated that this method of predetermining production time was feasible and could be adapted by quantity foodservice managers as a decision technique used to evaluate menu mix, production personnel schedules, and allocation of equipment usage. These macro elements could serve as a basis for further development and refinement of other macro elements which could be applied to a variety of menu item formulas.

[Chemistry for sustainable construction: 20 years of progress].

PubMed

Leoni, R

2012-01-01

Sustainable development is based on three pillars, economic, social and environmental development. Sustainable products can be developed only by companies that grow on these pillars, but in building sustainability is often identified only with the reduction of dangerous synthetic substances. From this point of view, the efforts of the construction chemicals industry have focused on reducing emissions, dust and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), replacing, if technically possible, the most dangerous components, such as formaldehyde, phthalates, and chlorinated or aromatic solvents, and developing water-borne products with very low VOC emissions. Differences in the definition of VOC and in the methods of measurement of emissions, however, make it difficult to choose the safest product and grows in the construction industry the need to reference trusted standards and product certifications to guarantee users. At present, products labeled "bio", "eco" or "solvent free" do not necessarily mean safe products.

Novel ergonomic postural assessment method (NERPA) using product-process computer aided engineering for ergonomic workplace design.

PubMed

Sanchez-Lite, Alberto; Garcia, Manuel; Domingo, Rosario; Angel Sebastian, Miguel

2013-01-01

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) that result from poor ergonomic design are one of the occupational disorders of greatest concern in the industrial sector. A key advantage in the primary design phase is to focus on a method of assessment that detects and evaluates the potential risks experienced by the operative when faced with these types of physical injuries. The method of assessment will improve the process design identifying potential ergonomic improvements from various design alternatives or activities undertaken as part of the cycle of continuous improvement throughout the differing phases of the product life cycle. This paper presents a novel postural assessment method (NERPA) fit for product-process design, which was developed with the help of a digital human model together with a 3D CAD tool, which is widely used in the aeronautic and automotive industries. The power of 3D visualization and the possibility of studying the actual assembly sequence in a virtual environment can allow the functional performance of the parts to be addressed. Such tools can also provide us with an ergonomic workstation design, together with a competitive advantage in the assembly process. The method developed was used in the design of six production lines, studying 240 manual assembly operations and improving 21 of them. This study demonstrated the proposed method's usefulness and found statistically significant differences in the evaluations of the proposed method and the widely used Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method.

Evaluation of a proposed standardized analytical method for the determination of humic and fulvic acids in commercial products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A constraint to growth of the commercial humic products industry has been the lack of a widely accepted procedure for determining humic acid and fulvic acid concentrations of the products, which has raised regulatory issues. On behalf of the U.S.-based Humic Products Trade Association, we developed ...

PHOTOCHEMICAL PRODUCTION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN SPECIES BY CONSTITUENTS OF COLORED DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER AND COASTAL RIVER WATERS IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

EPA Science Inventory

Using a previously developed method to measure OH production, formation rates were obtained for several water systems. Employing an amino-nitroxide probe and DMSO, an action
spectrum for the product consistent with the production of OH by quinone moieties within humic material...

Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry study of forced degradation of azilsartan medoxomil potassium.

PubMed

Swain, Debasish; Patel, Prinesh N; Palaniappan, Ilayaraja; Sahu, Gayatri; Samanthula, Gananadhamu

2015-08-15

Azilsartan medoxomil potassium (AZM) is a new antihypertensive drug introduced in the year 2011. The presence of degradation products not only affects the quality, but also the safety aspects of the drug. Thus, it is essential to develop an efficient analytical method which could be useful to selectively separate and identify the degradation products of azilsartan medoxomil potassium. AZM was subjected to forced degradation under hydrolytic (acid, base and neutral), oxidative, photolytic and thermal stress conditions. Separation of the drug and degradation products was achieved by a liquid chromatography (LC) method using an Acquity UPLC(®) C18 CSH column with mobile phase consisting of 0.02% trifluoroacetic acid and acetonitrile using a gradient method. Identification and characterization of the degradation products was carried out using LC/electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-QTOFMS). A total of five degradation products (DP 1 to DP 5) were formed under various stress conditions and their structures were proposed with the help of tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) experiments and accurate mass data. A common degradation product (DP 4) was observed under all the degradation conditions. DP 1, DP 2 and DP 5 were observed under acid hydrolytic conditions whereas DP 3 was observed under alkaline conditions. AZM was found to degrade under hydrolytic, oxidative and photolytic stress conditions. The structures of all the degradation products were proposed. The degradation pathway for the formation of degradation products was also hypothesized. A selective method was developed to quantify the drug in the presence of degradation products which is useful to monitor the quality of AZM. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Development and Single-Laboratory Validation of a Method for the Determination of Steroid Residues in Fish and Fish Products.

PubMed

Watson, Lynn; Potter, Ross; Murphy, Cory; Gibbs, Ryan

2015-01-01

Due to potential use in aquacultured fish products, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has identified residue testing for steroids as a priority. These compounds are used in aquaculture primarily to direct sexual differentiation with both androgens and estrogens applied depending on the desired outcome. Published research is lacking with respect to steroid residue testing in fish; however, recent studies in other matrixes provided transferable cleanup techniques. A simple, rapid, and sensitive method was developed and validated for use in monitoring aquacultured fish products for the presence of methyltestosterone, nandrolone, epi-nandrolone, boldenone, and epi-boldenone residues. The developed method consists of solvent extraction followed by cleanup using hexane and dual cartridge SPE with analysis by ultra-HPLC-MS/MS. The method is capable of detecting and confirming steroid residue levels ranging from 0.05 to 25 ng/g in salmon and tilapia, depending on the analyte. Recoveries ranged from 88 to 130% for the analytes. Instrument repeatability was less than 13% for all compounds, while intermediate precision ranged from 5 to 25% RSD. HorRat values were within acceptable ranges.

High-resolution assessment of land use impacts on biodiversity in life cycle assessment using species habitat suitability models.

PubMed

de Baan, Laura; Curran, Michael; Rondinini, Carlo; Visconti, Piero; Hellweg, Stefanie; Koellner, Thomas

2015-02-17

Agricultural land use is a main driver of global biodiversity loss. The assessment of land use impacts in decision-support tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA) requires spatially explicit models, but existing approaches are either not spatially differentiated or modeled at very coarse scales (e.g., biomes or ecoregions). In this paper, we develop a high-resolution (900 m) assessment method for land use impacts on biodiversity based on habitat suitability models (HSM) of mammal species. This method considers potential land use effects on individual species, and impacts are weighted by the species' conservation status and global rarity. We illustrate the method using a case study of crop production in East Africa, but the underlying HSMs developed by the Global Mammals Assessment are available globally. We calculate impacts of three major export crops and compare the results to two previously developed methods (focusing on local and regional impacts, respectively) to assess the relevance of the methodological innovations proposed in this paper. The results highlight hotspots of product-related biodiversity impacts that help characterize the links among agricultural production, consumption, and biodiversity loss.

New Synthetic Methods for Hypericum Natural Products

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jeon, Insik

Organic chemistry has served as a solid foundation for interdisciplinary research areas, such as molecular biology and medicinal chemistry. An understanding of the biological activities and structural elucidations of natural products can lead to the development of clinically valuable therapeutic options. The advancements of modern synthetic methodologies allow for more elaborate and concise natural product syntheses. The theme of this study centers on the synthesis of natural products with particularly challenging structures and interesting biological activities. The synthetic expertise developed here will be applicable to analog syntheses and to other research problems.

Development of a rapid and sensitive HPLC method for the identification and quantification of cavoxin and cavoxone in Phoma cava culture filtrates.

PubMed

Masi, Marco; Moeini, Seyed Arash; Boari, Angela; Cimmino, Alessio; Vurro, Maurizio; Evidente, Antonio

2018-07-01

Cavoxin is a tetrasubstituted phytotoxic chalcone and cavoxone is the corresponding chroman-4-one, both produced in vitro by Phoma cava, a fungus isolated from chestnut. Cavoxin showed biofungicide potential against fungal species responsible for food moulding. Therefore, cavoxin has potential to be incorporated into biopolymer to generate 'intelligent food packaging'. To reach this objective, large-scale production of cavoxin by P. cava fermentation needs to be optimized. A rapid and efficient method for cavoxin analysis, as well as of cavoxone, in the fungal culture filtrates and the corresponding organic extracts is the first experimental step. Thus, a HPLC method was developed and applied to quantify cavoxin and cavoxone production in two different fungal culture conditions. The analysis proved that cavoxin production in stirred culture filtrates is significantly higher than in static ones.

Determination of pesticides in coconut (Cocos nucifera Linn.) water and pulp using modified QuEChERS and LC-MS/MS.

PubMed

Ferreira, Jordana Alves; Ferreira, Joana Maria Santos; Talamini, Viviane; Facco, Janice de Fátima; Rizzetti, Tiele Medianeira; Prestes, Osmar Damian; Adaime, Martha Bohrer; Zanella, Renato; Bottoli, Carla Beatriz Grespan

2016-12-15

The use of pesticides is directly linked to improvements in productivity and to the preservation of coconut palms. However pesticide analysis is necessary to determine whether pesticide residues in the food products containing coconut are within the maximum residue limits (MRLs), ensuring the quality of these products. This work aimed to develop a method for multiresidue determination of ten pesticides in coconut water and pulp using QuEChERS and LC-MS/MS. The method was effective in terms of selectivity, linearity, matrix effect, accuracy and precision, providing LOD of 3μgkg(-1), LOQ of 10μgkg(-1) and recoveries between 70 and 120% with RSD lower than 20%. The developed method was applied to 36 samples in which residues of carbendazim, carbofuran, cyproconazole and thiabendazole were found below the LOQ in coconut water and pulp. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multiple products monitoring as a robust approach for peptide quantification.

PubMed

Baek, Je-Hyun; Kim, Hokeun; Shin, Byunghee; Yu, Myeong-Hee

2009-07-01

Quantification of target peptides and proteins is crucial for biomarker discovery. Approaches such as selected reaction monitoring (SRM) and multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) rely on liquid chromatography and mass spectrometric analysis of defined peptide product ions. These methods are not very widespread because the determination of quantifiable product ion using either SRM or MRM is a very time-consuming process. We developed a novel approach for quantifying target peptides without such an arduous process of ion selection. This method is based on monitoring multiple product ions (multiple products monitoring: MpM) from full-range MS2 spectra of a target precursor. The MpM method uses a scoring system that considers both the absolute intensities of product ions and the similarities between the query MS2 spectrum and the reference MS2 spectrum of the target peptide. Compared with conventional approaches, MpM greatly improves sensitivity and selectivity of peptide quantification using an ion-trap mass spectrometer.

Low-Cost Rapid Usability Testing: Its Application in Both Product Development and System Implementation.

PubMed

Kushniruk, Andre; Borycki, Elizabeth

2017-01-01

In recent years there has been considerable discussion around the need for certification and regulation of healthcare information technology (IT). In particular, the usability of the products being developed needs to be evaluated. This has included the application of standards designed to ensure the process of system development is user-centered and takes usability into consideration while a product is being developed. In addition to this, in healthcare, organizations in the United States and Europe have also addressed the need and requirement for product certification. However, despite these efforts there are continued reports of unusable and unsafe implementations. In this paper we discuss the need to not only include (and require) usability testing in the one-time development process of health IT products (such as EHRs), but we also argue for the need to additionally develop specific usability standards and requirements for usability testing during the implementation of vendor products (i.e. post product development) in healthcare settings. It is further argued that health IT products that may have been certified regarding their development process will still require application of usability testing in the process of implementing them in real hospital settings in order to ensure usability and safety. This is needed in order to ensure that the final result of both product development and implementation processes take into account and apply the latest usability principles and methods.

Advances in metabolic pathway and strain engineering paving the way for sustainable production of chemical building blocks.

PubMed

Chen, Yun; Nielsen, Jens

2013-12-01

Bio-based production of chemical building blocks from renewable resources is an attractive alternative to petroleum-based platform chemicals. Metabolic pathway and strain engineering is the key element in constructing robust microbial chemical factories within the constraints of cost effective production. Here we discuss how the development of computational algorithms, novel modules and methods, omics-based techniques combined with modeling refinement are enabling reduction in development time and thus advance the field of industrial biotechnology. We further discuss how recent technological developments contribute to the development of novel cell factories for the production of the building block chemicals: adipic acid, succinic acid and 3-hydroxypropionic acid. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of Process Analytical Technology (PAT) methods for controlled release pellet coating.

PubMed

Avalle, P; Pollitt, M J; Bradley, K; Cooper, B; Pearce, G; Djemai, A; Fitzpatrick, S

2014-07-01

This work focused on the control of the manufacturing process for a controlled release (CR) pellet product, within a Quality by Design (QbD) framework. The manufacturing process was Wurster coating: firstly layering active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) onto sugar pellet cores and secondly a controlled release (CR) coating. For each of these two steps, development of a Process Analytical Technology (PAT) method is discussed and also a novel application of automated microscopy as the reference method. Ultimately, PAT methods should link to product performance and the two key Critical Quality Attributes (CQAs) for this CR product are assay and release rate, linked to the API and CR coating steps respectively. In this work, the link between near infra-red (NIR) spectra and those attributes was explored by chemometrics over the course of the coating process in a pilot scale industrial environment. Correlations were built between the NIR spectra and coating weight (for API amount), CR coating thickness and dissolution performance. These correlations allow the coating process to be monitored at-line and so better control of the product performance in line with QbD requirements. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The comparison of antimicrobial packaging properties with different applications incorporation method of active material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anwar, R. W.; Sugiarto; Warsiki, E.

2018-03-01

Contamination after the processing of products during storage, distribution and marketing is one of the main causes of food safety issues. Handling of food products after processing can be done during the packaging process. Antimicrobial (AM) active packaging is one of the concept of packaging product development by utilize the interaction between the product and the packaging environment that can delay the bacterial damage by killing or reducing bacterial growth. The active system is formed by incorporating an antimicrobial agent against a packaging matrix that will function as a carrier. Many incorporation methods have been developed in this packaging-making concept which were direct mixing, polishing, and encapsulation. The aims of this research were to examine the different of the AM packaging performances including its stability and effectiveness of its function that would be produced by three different methods. The stability of the packaging function was analyzed by looking at the diffusivity of the active ingredient to the matrix using SEM. The effectiveness was analyzed by the ability of the packaging to prevent the growing of the microbial. The results showed that different incorporation methods resulted on different characteristics of the AM packaging.

[Prediction of the side-cut product yield of atmospheric/vacuum distillation unit by NIR crude oil rapid assay].

PubMed

Wang, Yan-Bin; Hu, Yu-Zhong; Li, Wen-Le; Zhang, Wei-Song; Zhou, Feng; Luo, Zhi

2014-10-01

In the present paper, based on the fast evaluation technique of near infrared, a method to predict the yield of atmos- pheric and vacuum line was developed, combined with H/CAMS software. Firstly, the near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy method for rapidly determining the true boiling point of crude oil was developed. With commercially available crude oil spectroscopy da- tabase and experiments test from Guangxi Petrochemical Company, calibration model was established and a topological method was used as the calibration. The model can be employed to predict the true boiling point of crude oil. Secondly, the true boiling point based on NIR rapid assay was converted to the side-cut product yield of atmospheric/vacuum distillation unit by H/CAMS software. The predicted yield and the actual yield of distillation product for naphtha, diesel, wax and residual oil were compared in a 7-month period. The result showed that the NIR rapid crude assay can predict the side-cut product yield accurately. The near infrared analytic method for predicting yield has the advantages of fast analysis, reliable results, and being easy to online operate, and it can provide elementary data for refinery planning optimization and crude oil blending.

Rapid method for controlling the correct labeling of products containing common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) and main substitute species (Eledone cirrhosa and Dosidicus gigas) by fast real-time PCR.

PubMed

Espiñeira, Montserrat; Vieites, Juan M

2012-12-15

The TaqMan real-time PCR has the highest potential for automation, therefore representing the currently most suitable method for screening, allowing the detection of fraudulent or unintentional mislabeling of species. This work describes the development of a real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) system for the detection and identification of common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) and main substitute species (Eledone cirrhosa and Dosidicus gigas). This technique is notable for the combination of simplicity, speed, sensitivity and specificity in an homogeneous assay. The method can be applied to all kinds of products; fresh, frozen and processed, including those undergoing intensive processes of transformation. This methodology was validated to check how the degree of food processing affects the method and the detection of each species. Moreover, it was applied to 34 commercial samples to evaluate the labeling of products made from them. The methodology herein developed is useful to check the fulfillment of labeling regulations for seafood products and to verify traceability in commercial trade and for fisheries control. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Applying Human-Centered Design Methods to Scientific Communication Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burkett, E. R.; Jayanty, N. K.; DeGroot, R. M.

2016-12-01

Knowing your users is a critical part of developing anything to be used or experienced by a human being. User interviews, journey maps, and personas are all techniques commonly employed in human-centered design practices because they have proven effective for informing the design of products and services that meet the needs of users. Many non-designers are unaware of the usefulness of personas and journey maps. Scientists who are interested in developing more effective products and communication can adopt and employ user-centered design approaches to better reach intended audiences. Journey mapping is a qualitative data-collection method that captures the story of a user's experience over time as related to the situation or product that requires development or improvement. Journey maps help define user expectations, where they are coming from, what they want to achieve, what questions they have, their challenges, and the gaps and opportunities that can be addressed by designing for them. A persona is a tool used to describe the goals and behavioral patterns of a subset of potential users or customers. The persona is a qualitative data model that takes the form of a character profile, built upon data about the behaviors and needs of multiple users. Gathering data directly from users avoids the risk of basing models on assumptions, which are often limited by misconceptions or gaps in understanding. Journey maps and user interviews together provide the data necessary to build the composite character that is the persona. Because a persona models the behaviors and needs of the target audience, it can then be used to make informed product design decisions. We share the methods and advantages of developing and using personas and journey maps to create more effective science communication products.

Unravel lipid accumulation mechanism in oleaginous yeast through single cell systems biology study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xie, Xiaoliang; Ding, Shiyou

Searching for alternative and clean energy is one of the most important tasks today. Our research aimed at finding the best living condition for certain types of oleaginous yeasts for efficient lipid production. We found that R. glutinis yeast cells has great variability in lipid production among cells while Y. lipolytica cells has similar oil production ability. We found some individual cells shows much higher level of oil production. In order to further study these cases, we employed a label-free chemical sensitive microscopy method call stimulated Raman scattering (SRS). With SRS, we could measure the lipid content in each cell.more » We combined SRS microscopy with microfluidic device so that we can isolate cells with high fat content. We also developed SRS imaging technique that has higher imaging speed, which is highly desirable for high throughput cell screening and sorting. Since these cells has similar genome, it must be the transcriptome caused their difference in oil production. We developed a single cell transcriptome sequencing method to study which genes are responsible for elevated oil production. These methods that are developed for this project can easily be applied for many other areas of research. For example, the single transcriptome can be used to study the transcriptomes of other cell types. The high-speed SRS microscopy techniques can be used to speed up chemical imaging for lablefree histology or imaging distribution of chemicals in tissues of live mice or in humans. The developed microfluidic platform can be used to sort other type of cells, e.g., white blood cells for diagnosis of cancer or other blood diseases.« less

Productivity and cost of marking activities for single-tree selection and thinning treatments in Arkansas

Treesearch

Tymur Sydor; Richard A. Kluender; Rodney L. Busby; Matthew Pelkki

2004-01-01

An activity algorithm was developed for standard marking methods for natural pine stands in Arkansas. For the two types of marking methods examined, thinning (selection from below) and single-tree selection (selection from above), cycle time and cost models were developed. Basal area (BA) removed was the major influencing factor in both models. Marking method was...

Comparison of three methods for gastrointestinal nematode diagnosis determination in grazing dairy cattle in relation to milk production.

PubMed

Mejía, M E; Perri, A F; Licoff, N; Miglierina, M M; Cseh, S; Ornstein, A M; Becu-Villalobos, D; Lacau-Mengido, I M

2011-12-29

Development of resistance to anthelmintic drugs has motivated the search for diagnostic methods to identify animals for targeted selective treatments. We compared three methods for the diagnosis of nematode infection in relation to milk production in a fully grazing dairy herd of 150 cows in the humid Pampa (Argentina). Animals had feces, blood and milk sampled during the first postpartum month for EPG, pepsinogen and anti-Ostertagia antibody determination, respectively. With the results obtained two groups of cows, divided in high and low parasite burden, were conformed for each method, and milk production was then compared between groups. When cows were separated by the EPG method (EPG=0 (N=106) vs. EPG>0 (N=44)) a difference of nearly 800 l of milk per cow per lactation was found (P<0.05). On the other hand, milk production between groups separated by Pepsinogen (mUtyr ≤ 1000 vs. mUtyr > 1000) or by anti-Ostertagia (ODR ≤ 0.5 vs. ODR > 0.5) results did not differ. Interestingly, proportion of cows in each group differed between methods (P<0.0001), and the anti-Ostertagia method yielded significantly more cows in the high index group compared to results using the EPG or Pepsinogen method. No correlations were found between parasite indexes determined by the different methods. High parasite burden estimation found may be ascribed to the production system, fully grazing all year round, and to the sampling time, at the beginning of lactation with cows in negative energy balance and depressed immunity. The fact that the cows were born and reared outside, on pasture with continuous nematode larvae exposure, may also account for the results obtained. In conclusion, EPG counting during the first postpartum month may be a useful tool for the diagnosis of production impairment induced by high nematode burden in adult grazing dairy cows. The anthelmintic treatment of only the EPG-positive recently calved cows would improve milk production, while reducing selective pressure on nematode population for the development of resistance. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Work productivity loss from depression: evidence from an employer survey.

PubMed

Rost, Kathryn M; Meng, Hongdao; Xu, Stanley

2014-12-18

National working groups identify the need for return on investment research conducted from the purchaser perspective; however, the field has not developed standardized methods for measuring the basic components of return on investment, including costing out the value of work productivity loss due to illness. Recent literature is divided on whether the most commonly used method underestimates or overestimates this loss. The goal of this manuscript is to characterize between and within variation in the cost of work productivity loss from illness estimated by the most commonly used method and its two refinements. One senior health benefit specialist from each of 325 companies employing 100+ workers completed a cross-sectional survey describing their company size, industry and policies/practices regarding work loss which allowed the research team to derive the variables needed to estimate work productivity loss from illness using three methods. Compensation estimates were derived by multiplying lost work hours from presenteeism and absenteeism by wage/fringe. Disruption correction adjusted this estimate to account for co-worker disruption, while friction correction accounted for labor substitution. The analysis compared bootstrapped means and medians between and within these three methods. The average company realized an annual $617 (SD = $75) per capita loss from depression by compensation methods and a $649 (SD = $78) loss by disruption correction, compared to a $316 (SD = $58) loss by friction correction (p < .0001). Agreement across estimates was 0.92 (95% CI 0.90, 0.93). Although the methods identify similar companies with high costs from lost productivity, friction correction reduces the size of compensation estimates of productivity loss by one half. In analyzing the potential consequences of method selection for the dissemination of interventions to employers, intervention developers are encouraged to include friction methods in their estimate of the economic value of interventions designed to improve absenteeism and presenteeism. Business leaders in industries where labor substitution is common are encouraged to seek friction corrected estimates of return on investment. Health policy analysts are encouraged to target the dissemination of productivity enhancing interventions to employers with high losses rather than all employers. NCT01013220.

Volatile organic compounds in pesticide formulations: Methods to estimate ozone formation potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeinali, Mazyar; McConnell, Laura L.; Hapeman, Cathleen J.; Nguyen, Anh; Schmidt, Walter F.; Howard, Cody J.

2011-05-01

The environmental fate and toxicity of active ingredients in pesticide formulations has been investigated for many decades, but relatively little research has been conducted on the fate of pesticide co-formulants or inerts. Some co-formulants are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and can contribute to ground-level ozone pollution. Effective product assessment methods are required to reduce emissions of the most reactive VOCs. Six emulsifiable concentrate pesticide products were characterized for percent VOC by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). TGA estimates exceeded GC-MS by 10-50% in all but one product, indicating that for some products a fraction of active ingredient is released during TGA or that VOC contribution was underestimated by GC-MS. VOC profiles were examined using TGA-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) evolved gas analysis and were compared to GC-MS results. The TGA-FTIR method worked best for products with the simplest and most volatile formulations, but could be developed into an effective product screening tool. An ozone formation potential ( OFP) for each product was calculated using the chemical composition from GC-MS and published maximum incremental reactivity ( MIR) values. OFP values ranged from 0.1 to 3.1 g ozone g -1 product. A 24-h VOC emission simulation was developed for each product assuming a constant emission rate calculated from an equation relating maximum flux rate to vapor pressure. Results indicate 100% VOC loss for some products within a few hours, while other products containing less volatile components will remain in the field for several days after application. An alternate method to calculate a product OFP was investigated utilizing the fraction of the total mass of each chemical emitted at the end of the 24-h simulation. The ideal assessment approach will include: 1) unambiguous chemical composition information; 2) flexible simulation models to estimate emissions under different management practices; and 3) accurate reactivity predictions.

An introduction to planar chromatography and its application to natural products isolation.

PubMed

Gibbons, Simon

2012-01-01

Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is an easy, inexpensive, rapid, and the most widely used method for the analysis and isolation of small organic natural and synthetic products. It also has use in the biological evaluation of organic compounds, particularly in the areas of antimicrobial and antioxidant metabolites and for the evaluation of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors which have utility in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The ease and inexpensiveness of use of this technique, coupled with the ability to rapidly develop separation and bioassay protocols will ensure that TLC will be used for some considerable time alongside conventional instrumental methods. This chapter deals with the basic principles of TLC and describes methods for the analysis and isolation of natural products. Examples of methods for isolation of several classes of natural product are detailed and protocols for TLC bioassays are given.

Volatile organic compound emissions from engineered wood products

Treesearch

Steve Zylkowski; Charles Frihart

2017-01-01

Thirteen bonded engineered wood products representing those commonly used in building construction were evaluated for volatile organic chemicals using methods developed for interior bonded wood products. Although formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were emitted from all samples, they were not the dominant volatiles, which greatly depended on wood species and bonding...

A Guide to Flammable Products and Ignition Sources for Elementary Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC.

This guide is intended as a resource manual and activity sourcebook for elementary school teachers, librarians, administrators, curriculum planners, and teacher educators for teaching proper methods for selecting, using, maintaining, and disposing of flammable products and ignition sources. Basic product safety messages are developed for matches,…

Quantifying Faculty Productivity in Japan: Development and Application of the Achievement-Motivated Key Performance Indicator. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.8.16

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aida, Misako; Watanabe, Satoshi P.

2016-01-01

Universities throughout the world are trending toward more performance based methods to capture their strengths, weaknesses and productivity. Hiroshima University has developed an integrated objective measure for quantifying multifaceted faculty activities, namely the "Achievement-Motivated Key Performance Indicator" (A-KPI), in order to…

Turbulence production near walls: The role of flow structures with spanwise asymmetry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alfredsson, P. Henrik; Johansson, Arne V.; Kim, John

1988-01-01

Space-time evolution of near wall flow structures is described by conditional sampling methods, in which conditional averages are formed at various stages of development of shear layer structures. The development of spanwise asymmetry of the structures was found to be important in the creation of the structures and for the process of turbulence production.

Mathematical modeling and Monte Carlo simulation of thermal inactivation of non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum spores during continuous microwave-assisted pasteurization

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The objective of this study is to develop a mathematical method to simulate the internal temperature history of products processed in a prototype microwave-assisted pasteurization system (MAPS) developed by Washington State University. Two products (10 oz. beef meatball trays and 16 oz. salmon fill...

Preformulation Studies of a Liposomal Formulation Containing Sirolimus for the Treatment of Dry Eye Disease

PubMed Central

Linares-Alba, Mónica Anayántzin; Gómez-Guajardo, Magda Berenice; Fonzar, Joice Furtado; Brooks, Dennis E.; García-Sánchez, Gustavo Adolfo

2016-01-01

Abstract Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop and characterize a liposomal product containing sirolimus to be administered subconjunctivally for the treatment of nonresponsive keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS) or dry eye. Methods: Formulations were prepared using an ethanol injection method and an adaptation of the heating method in pursuance of the most suitable methodology for future industrial production. Liposomes were loaded with either a high dose of 1 mg/mL of sirolimus or a less toxic dose of 0.4 mg/mL. The effects of critical process and formulation parameters were investigated. Liposomes were characterized in terms of size, zeta potential, polydispersity, differential scanning calorimetry, morphology, entrapment efficiency, phospholipid content, thermal stability, and sterility. The formulation was evaluated clinically in dogs with spontaneous KCS. Results: Sterile liposomal dispersions with sizes ranging from 140 to 211 nm, were successfully obtained. High entrapment efficiency of 93%–98% was achieved. The heating method allowed an easier production of liposomes with high entrapment efficiency, to significantly shorten production time and the elimination of the use of alcohol. The poor stability of the obtained liposomes in aqueous dispersion made the inclusion of a lyophilization step necessary to the manufacturing process. In vivo testing of the liposomal sirolimus formulations in the spontaneous KCS dog model have produced promising results, particularly with a sirolimus dose of 1 mg/mL, indicating the need for further development and study of proposed formulations in the treatment of canine KCS. Clinical improvement in tear production in dogs with spontaneous KCS treated with the 1 mg/mL dose product was observed. Conclusions: The heating method allowed easier production of high entrapment efficiency liposomes to significantly shorten production time and the elimination of the use of alcohol. Tear production was increased in dogs administered with the formulation. PMID:26469946

Development of a validated liquid chromatographic method for quantification of sorafenib tosylate in the presence of stress-induced degradation products and in biological matrix employing analytical quality by design approach.

PubMed

Sharma, Teenu; Khurana, Rajneet Kaur; Jain, Atul; Katare, O P; Singh, Bhupinder

2018-05-01

The current research work envisages an analytical quality by design-enabled development of a simple, rapid, sensitive, specific, robust and cost-effective stability-indicating reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for determining stress-induced forced-degradation products of sorafenib tosylate (SFN). An Ishikawa fishbone diagram was constructed to embark upon analytical target profile and critical analytical attributes, i.e. peak area, theoretical plates, retention time and peak tailing. Factor screening using Taguchi orthogonal arrays and quality risk assessment studies carried out using failure mode effect analysis aided the selection of critical method parameters, i.e. mobile phase ratio and flow rate potentially affecting the chosen critical analytical attributes. Systematic optimization using response surface methodology of the chosen critical method parameters was carried out employing a two-factor-three-level-13-run, face-centered cubic design. A method operable design region was earmarked providing optimum method performance using numerical and graphical optimization. The optimum method employed a mobile phase composition consisting of acetonitrile and water (containing orthophosphoric acid, pH 4.1) at 65:35 v/v at a flow rate of 0.8 mL/min with UV detection at 265 nm using a C 18 column. Response surface methodology validation studies confirmed good efficiency and sensitivity of the developed method for analysis of SFN in mobile phase as well as in human plasma matrix. The forced degradation studies were conducted under different recommended stress conditions as per ICH Q1A (R2). Mass spectroscopy studies showed that SFN degrades in strongly acidic, alkaline and oxidative hydrolytic conditions at elevated temperature, while the drug was per se found to be photostable. Oxidative hydrolysis using 30% H 2 O 2 showed maximum degradation with products at retention times of 3.35, 3.65, 4.20 and 5.67 min. The absence of any significant change in the retention time of SFN and degradation products, formed under different stress conditions, ratified selectivity and specificity of the systematically developed method. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Determination of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber in psyllium-containing cereal products.

PubMed

Lee, S C; Rodriguez, F; Storey, M; Farmakalidis, E; Prosky, L

1995-01-01

A method for soluble and insoluble dietary fiber determinations was developed for psyllium-containing food products, which are highly viscous in aqueous solutions. The assay is based on a modification of the AOAC soluble and insoluble dietary fiber method (991.43), which was recommended for nutrition labeling in the final U.S. food labeling regulations. We found that method 991.43 and other existing dietary fiber methods could not be applied to psyllium food products, which exhibit high viscosity in aqueous solutions, because highly viscous solutions could not be filtered easily. In this study, we modified AOAC method 991.43 to accommodate the filtration process of viscous sample solutions. Sonication followed by high-speed centrifugation was used before filtration. The principles of the method are similar to those for AOAC method 991.43, including the use of the same 3 enzymes (heat-stable alpha-amylase, protease, and amyloglucosidase) as well as similar enzyme incubation conditions. The modification using sonication and high-speed centrifugation did not alter the method performance for analytically normal products such as wheat bran, oat bran, and soy fiber. Yet, the modification allowed the separation of soluble dietary fiber fractions from insoluble fractions for psyllium products with satisfactory precision. This method for psyllium dietary fiber determinations may be applied to other food products that exhibit high viscosity in aqueous solutions.

Automated Production of Movies on a Cluster of Computers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nail, Jasper; Le, Duong; Nail, William L.; Nail, William

2008-01-01

A method of accelerating and facilitating production of video and film motion-picture products, and software and generic designs of computer hardware to implement the method, are undergoing development. The method provides for automation of most of the tedious and repetitive tasks involved in editing and otherwise processing raw digitized imagery into final motion-picture products. The method was conceived to satisfy requirements, in industrial and scientific testing, for rapid processing of multiple streams of simultaneously captured raw video imagery into documentation in the form of edited video imagery and video derived data products for technical review and analysis. In the production of such video technical documentation, unlike in production of motion-picture products for entertainment, (1) it is often necessary to produce multiple video derived data products, (2) there are usually no second chances to repeat acquisition of raw imagery, (3) it is often desired to produce final products within minutes rather than hours, days, or months, and (4) consistency and quality, rather than aesthetics, are the primary criteria for judging the products. In the present method, the workflow has both serial and parallel aspects: processing can begin before all the raw imagery has been acquired, each video stream can be subjected to different stages of processing simultaneously on different computers that may be grouped into one or more cluster(s), and the final product may consist of multiple video streams. Results of processing on different computers are shared, so that workers can collaborate effectively.

Quantitative analysis of ginger components in commercial products using liquid chromatography with electrochemical array detection

PubMed Central

Shao, Xi; Lv, Lishuang; Parks, Tiffany; Wu, Hou; Ho, Chi-Tang; Sang, Shengmin

2010-01-01

For the first time, a sensitive reversed-phase HPLC electrochemical array method has been developed for the quantitative analysis of eight major ginger components ([6]-, [8]-, and [10]-gingerol, [6]-, [8]-, and [10]-shogaol, [6]-paradol, and [1]-dehydrogingerdione) in eleven ginger-containing commercial products. This method was valid with unrivaled sensitivity as low as 7.3 – 20.2 pg of limit of detection and a range of 14.5 to 40.4 pg of limit of quantification. Using this method, we quantified the levels of eight ginger components in eleven different commercial products. Our results found that both levels and ratios among the eight compounds vary greatly in commercial products. PMID:21090746

Novel duplex vapor electrochemical method for silicon solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kapur, V.; Sancier, K. M.; Sanjurjo, A.; Leach, S.; Westphal, S.; Bartlett, R.; Nanis, L.

1978-01-01

Progress in the development of low-cost solar arrays is reported. Topics covered include: (1) development of a simplified feed system for the Na used in the Na-SiF4 reactor; (2) production of high purity silicon through the reduction of sodium fluosilicate with sodium metal; (3) the leaching process for recovering silicon from the reaction products of the SiF4-Na reaction; and (4) silicon separation by the melting of the reaction product.

Predicting Software Suitability Using a Bayesian Belief Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Beaver, Justin M.; Schiavone, Guy A.; Berrios, Joseph S.

2005-01-01

The ability to reliably predict the end quality of software under development presents a significant advantage for a development team. It provides an opportunity to address high risk components earlier in the development life cycle, when their impact is minimized. This research proposes a model that captures the evolution of the quality of a software product, and provides reliable forecasts of the end quality of the software being developed in terms of product suitability. Development team skill, software process maturity, and software problem complexity are hypothesized as driving factors of software product quality. The cause-effect relationships between these factors and the elements of software suitability are modeled using Bayesian Belief Networks, a machine learning method. This research presents a Bayesian Network for software quality, and the techniques used to quantify the factors that influence and represent software quality. The developed model is found to be effective in predicting the end product quality of small-scale software development efforts.

Future Food Production System Development Pulling From Space Biology Crop Growth Testing in Veggie

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massa, Gioia; Romeyn, Matt; Fritsche, Ralph

2017-01-01

Preliminary crop testing using Veggie indicates the environmental conditions provided by the ISS are generally suitable for food crop production. When plant samples were returned to Earth for analysis, their levels of nutrients were comparable to Earth-grown ground controls. Veggie-grown produce food safety microbiology analysis indicated that space-grown crops are safe to consume. Produce sanitizing wipes were used on-orbit to further reduce risk of foodborne illness. Validation growth tests indicated abiotic challenges of insufficient or excess fluid delivery, potentially reduced air flow leading to excess water, elevated CO2 leading to physiological responses, and microorganisms that became opportunistic pathogens. As NASA works to develop future space food production, several areas of research to define these systems pull from the Veggie technology validation tests. Research into effective, reusable water delivery and water recovery methods for future food production systems arises from abiotic challenges observed. Additionally, impacts of elevated CO2 and refinement of fertilizer and light recipes for crops needs to be assessed. Biotic pulls include methods or technologies to effectively sanitize produce with few consumables and low inputs; work to understand the phytomicrobiome and potentially use it to protect crops or enhance growth; selection of crops with high harvest index and desirable flavors for supplemental nutrition; crops that provide psychosocial benefits, and custom space crop development. Planning for future food production in a deep space gateway or a deep space transit vehicle requires methods of handling and storing seeds, and ensuring space seeds are free of contaminants and long-lived. Space food production systems may require mechanization and autonomous operation, with preliminary testing initiated to identify operations and capabilities that are candidates for automation. Food production design is also pulling from Veggie logistics lessons, as we learn about growing at different scales and move toward developing systems that require less launch mass. Veggie will be used as a test bed for novel food production technologies. Veggie is a relatively simple precursor food production system but the knowledge gained from space biology validation tests in Veggie will have far reaching repercussions on future exploration food production. This work is supported by NASA.

Future Food Production System Development Pulling from Space Biology Crop Growth Testing in Veggie

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massa, G. D.; Romeyn, M. W.; Fritsche, R. F.

2017-01-01

Preliminary crop testing using Veggie indicates the environmental conditions provided by the ISS are generally suitable for food crop production. When plant samples were returned to Earth for analysis, their levels of nutrients were comparable to Earth-grown ground controls. Veggie-grown produce food safety microbiology analysis indicated that space-grown crops are safe to consume. Produce sanitizing wipes were used on-orbit to further reduce risk of foodborne illness. Validation growth tests indicated abiotic challenges of insufficient or excess fluid delivery, potentially reduced air flow leading to excess water, elevated CO2 leading to physiological responses, and microorganisms that became opportunistic pathogens. As NASA works to develop future space food production, several areas of research to define these systems pull from the Veggie technology validation tests. Research into effective, reusable water delivery and water recovery methods for future food production systems arises from abiotic challenges observed. Additionally, impacts of elevated CO2 and refinement of fertilizer and light recipes for crops needs to be assessed. Biotic pulls include methods or technologies to effectively sanitize produce with few consumables and low inputs; work to understand the phytomicrobiome and potentially use it to protect crops or enhance growth; selection of crops with high harvest index and desirable flavors for supplemental nutrition; crops that provide psychosocial benefits, and custom space crop development. Planning for future food production in a deep space gateway or a deep space transit vehicle requires methods of handling and storing seeds, and ensuring space seeds are free of contaminants and long-lived. Space food production systems may require mechanization and autonomous operation, with preliminary testing initiated to identify operations and capabilities that are candidates for automation. Food production design is also pulling from Veggie logistics lessons, as we learn about growing at different scales and move toward developing systems that require less launch mass. Veggie will be used as a test bed for novel food production technologies. Veggie is a relatively simple precursor food production system but the knowledge gained from space biology validation tests in Veggie will have far reaching repercussions on future exploration food production.

Leveraging object-oriented development at Ames

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wenneson, Greg; Connell, John

1994-01-01

This paper presents lessons learned by the Software Engineering Process Group (SEPG) from results of supporting two projects at NASA Ames using an Object Oriented Rapid Prototyping (OORP) approach supported by a full featured visual development environment. Supplemental lessons learned from a large project in progress and a requirements definition are also incorporated. The paper demonstrates how productivity gains can be made by leveraging the developer with a rich development environment, correct and early requirements definition using rapid prototyping, and earlier and better effort estimation and software sizing through object-oriented methods and metrics. Although the individual elements of OO methods, RP approach and OO metrics had been used on other separate projects, the reported projects were the first integrated usage supported by a rich development environment. Overall the approach used was twice as productive (measured by hours per OO Unit) as a C++ development.

Stability-indicating spectrophotometric methods for determination of the anticoagulant drug apixaban in the presence of its hydrolytic degradation product

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tantawy, Mahmoud A.; El-Ragehy, Nariman A.; Hassan, Nagiba Y.; Abdelkawy, Mohamed

2016-04-01

Apixaban (a novel anticoagulant agent) was subjected to a stress stability study including acid, alkali, oxidative, photolytic, and thermal degradation. The drug was found to be only liable to acidic and alkaline hydrolysis. The degradation product was then isolated and identified by IR and GC-mass spectrometry. Four spectrophotometric methods, namely; first derivative (D1), derivative ratio (DR), ratio difference (RD) and mean centering of ratio spectra (MCR), have been suggested for the determination of apixaban in presence of its hydrolytic degradation product. The proposed methods do not require any preliminary separation step. The accuracy, precision and linearity ranges of the proposed methods were determined, and the methods were validated as per ICH guidelines and the specificity was assessed by analyzing synthetic mixtures containing different percentages of the degradation product with the drug. The developed methods were successfully applied for the determination of apixaban in bulk powder and its tablet dosage form.

Stability-indicating spectrophotometric methods for determination of the anticoagulant drug apixaban in the presence of its hydrolytic degradation product.

PubMed

Tantawy, Mahmoud A; El-Ragehy, Nariman A; Hassan, Nagiba Y; Abdelkawy, Mohamed

2016-04-15

Apixaban (a novel anticoagulant agent) was subjected to a stress stability study including acid, alkali, oxidative, photolytic, and thermal degradation. The drug was found to be only liable to acidic and alkaline hydrolysis. The degradation product was then isolated and identified by IR and GC-mass spectrometry. Four spectrophotometric methods, namely; first derivative (D(1)), derivative ratio (DR), ratio difference (RD) and mean centering of ratio spectra (MCR), have been suggested for the determination of apixaban in presence of its hydrolytic degradation product. The proposed methods do not require any preliminary separation step. The accuracy, precision and linearity ranges of the proposed methods were determined, and the methods were validated as per ICH guidelines and the specificity was assessed by analyzing synthetic mixtures containing different percentages of the degradation product with the drug. The developed methods were successfully applied for the determination of apixaban in bulk powder and its tablet dosage form. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of a Solid Phase Extraction Method for Agricultural Pesticides in Large-Volume Water Samples

EPA Science Inventory

An analytical method using solid phase extraction (SPE) and analysis by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was developed for the trace determination of a variety of agricultural pesticides and selected transformation products in large-volume high-elevation lake water sa...

Recent Efforts to Improve the Near Real Time Forest Disturbance Monitoring Capabilities of the ForWarn System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spruce, Joseph; Hargrove, William; Gasser, Gerald

2013-01-01

This presentation discusses the development of anew method for computing NDVI temporal composites from near real time eMODIS data This research is being conducted to improve forest change products used in the ForWarn system for monitoring regional forest disturbances in the United States. ForWarn provides nation-wide NDVI-based forest disturbance detection products that are refreshed every 8 days. Current eMODIS and historical MOD13 24 day NDVI data are used to compute the disturbance detection products. The eMODIS 24 day NDVI data re-aggregated from 7 day NDVI products. The 24 day eMODIS NDVIs are generally cloud free, but do not necessarily use the freshest quality data. To shorten the disturbance detection time, a method has been developed that performs adaptive length/maximum value compositing of eMODIS NDVI, along with cloud and shadow "noise" mitigation. Tests indicate that this method can reduce detection rates by 8-16 days for known recent disturbance events, depending on the cloud frequencies and disturbance type. The noise mitigation in these tests, though imperfect, helped to improve quality of the resulting NDVI and forest change products.

Developing an experimental case in aluminium foils 1100 to determine the maximum angle of formability in a piece by Dieless-SPIF process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabriel, Paramo; Adrian, Benitez

2014-07-01

Incremental sheet forming by the method of single point incremental forming Dieless-SPIF, is a widely studied process, experimented and developed in countries with high manufacturing technologies, with friendly costs when the productive configuration in a productivity system is based in small production batches. United states, United kingdom and France lead this type of studies and cases, developing various proof with experimental geometries, different from the national environment such as Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru where this process where discretely studied. Previously mentioned, it pretends develop an experimental case of a particular geometry, identifying the maximum formability angle of material permissible for the forming of a piece in one pass, the analysis of forming limit curve (FLC), with the objective to emphasizes in this innovative method based in CAD-CAM technologies, compare with other analogous process of deformation sheet metal like embossing, take correct decisions about the viability and applicability of this process (Dieless) in a particular industrial piece, which responses to the necessities of productive configurations mentioned and be highly taken like a manufacturing alternative to the other conventional process of forming sheet metal like embossing, for systems with slow batches production.

User input in iterative design for prevention product development: leveraging interdisciplinary methods to optimize effectiveness.

PubMed

Guthrie, Kate M; Rosen, Rochelle K; Vargas, Sara E; Guillen, Melissa; Steger, Arielle L; Getz, Melissa L; Smith, Kelley A; Ramirez, Jaime J; Kojic, Erna M

2017-10-01

The development of HIV-preventive topical vaginal microbicides has been challenged by a lack of sufficient adherence in later stage clinical trials to confidently evaluate effectiveness. This dilemma has highlighted the need to integrate translational research earlier in the drug development process, essentially applying behavioral science to facilitate the advances of basic science with respect to the uptake and use of biomedical prevention technologies. In the last several years, there has been an increasing recognition that the user experience, specifically the sensory experience, as well as the role of meaning-making elicited by those sensations, may play a more substantive role than previously thought. Importantly, the role of the user-their sensory perceptions, their judgements of those experiences, and their willingness to use a product-is critical in product uptake and consistent use post-marketing, ultimately realizing gains in global public health. Specifically, a successful prevention product requires an efficacious drug, an efficient drug delivery system, and an effective user. We present an integrated iterative drug development and user experience evaluation method to illustrate how user-centered formulation design can be iterated from the early stages of preclinical development to leverage the user experience. Integrating the user and their product experiences into the formulation design process may help optimize both the efficiency of drug delivery and the effectiveness of the user.

Bioproduction of food additives hexanal and hexanoic acid in a microreactor.

PubMed

Šalić, Anita; Pindrić, Katarina; Zelić, Bruno

2013-12-01

Hexanal and hexanoic acid have number of applications in food and cosmetic industry because of their organoleptic characteristics. Problems like low yields, formation of unwanted by-products, and large quantities of waste in their traditional production processes are the reasons for developing new production methods. Biotransformation in a microreactor, as an alternative to classical synthesis processes, is being investigated. Because conditions in microreactors can be precisely controlled, the quality of the product and its purity can also be improved. Biocatalytic oxidation of hexanol to hexanal and hexanoic acid using suspended and immobilized permeabilized whole baker's yeast cells and suspended and immobilized purified alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) was investigated in this study. Three different methods for covalent immobilization of biocatalyst were analyzed, and the best method for biocatalyst attachment on microchannel wall was used in the production of hexanal and hexanoic acid.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Drs. Mark E. Zapp; Todd French; Lewis Brown

The Mississippi Consortium for the Utilization of Biomass was formed via funding from the US Department of Energy's EPSCoR Program, which is administered by the Office of Basic Science. Funding was approved in July of 1999 and received by participating Mississippi institutions by 2000. The project was funded via two 3-year phases of operation (the second phase was awarded based on the high merits observed from the first 3-year phase), with funding ending in 2007. The mission of the Consortium was to promote the utilization of biomass, both cultured and waste derived, for the production of commodity and specialty chemicals.more » These scientific efforts, although generally basic in nature, are key to the development of future industries within the Southeastern United States. In this proposal, the majority of the efforts performed under the DOE EPSCoR funding were focused primarily toward the production of ethanol from lignocellulosic feedstocks and biogas from waste products. However, some of the individual projects within this program investigated the production of other products from biomass feeds (i.e. acetic acid and biogas) along with materials to facilitate the more efficient production of chemicals from biomass. Mississippi is a leading state in terms of raw biomass production. Its top industries are timber, poultry production, and row crop agriculture. However, for all of its vast amounts of biomass produced on an annual basis, only a small percentage of the biomass is actually industrially produced into products, with the bulk of the biomass being wasted. This situation is actually quite representative of many Southeastern US states. The research and development efforts performed attempted to further develop promising chemical production techniques that use Mississippi biomass feedstocks. The three processes that were the primary areas of interest for ethanol production were syngas fermentation, acid hydrolysis followed by hydrolyzate fermentation, and enzymatic conversion. All three of these processes are of particular interest to states in the Southeastern US since the agricultural products produced in this region are highly variable in terms of actual crop, production quantity, and the ability of land areas to support a particular type of crop. This greatly differs from the Midwestern US where most of this region's agricultural land supports one to two primary crops, such as corn and soybean. Therefore, developing processes which are relatively flexible in terms of biomass feedstock is key to the southeastern region of the US if this area is going to be a 'player' in the developing biomass to chemicals arena. With regard to the fermentation of syngas, research was directed toward developing improved biocatalysts through organism discovery and optimization, improving ethanol/acetic acid separations, evaluating potential bacterial contaminants, and assessing the use of innovative fermentors that are better suited for supporting syngas fermentation. Acid hydrolysis research was directed toward improved conversion yields and rates, acid recovery using membranes, optimization of fermenting organisms, and hydrolyzate characterization with changing feedstocks. Additionally, a series of development efforts addressed novel separation techniques for the separation of key chemicals from fermentation activities. Biogas related research focused on key factors hindering the widespread use of digester technologies in non-traditional industries. The digestion of acetic acids and other fermentation wastewaters was studied and methods used to optimize the process were undertaken. Additionally, novel laboratory methods were designed along with improved methods of digester operation. A search for better performing digester consortia was initiated coupled with improved methods to initiate their activity within digester environments. The third activity of the consortium generally studied the production of 'other' chemicals from waste biomass materials found in Mississippi. The two primary examples of this activity are production of chemical feedstocks from lignin and the production of high valued lipids from wastewater treatment sludges. Lignin conversion research, done in collaboration with DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), studied ligninases derived from bacteria found within the gut of wood degrading insects, such as termites and the Betsey beetle. This research attempted to use these enzymes to reduce lignin down to aromatic chemicals capable of chemical conversation for production of value-added chemicals. The biodiesel efforts attempted to development economically viable methods for the separation of lipids from wastewater bacteria (which make up the bulk of sewage sludge) which were then converted to biodisel.« less

Multivariate analysis in the pharmaceutical industry: enabling process understanding and improvement in the PAT and QbD era.

PubMed

Ferreira, Ana P; Tobyn, Mike

2015-01-01

In the pharmaceutical industry, chemometrics is rapidly establishing itself as a tool that can be used at every step of product development and beyond: from early development to commercialization. This set of multivariate analysis methods allows the extraction of information contained in large, complex data sets thus contributing to increase product and process understanding which is at the core of the Food and Drug Administration's Process Analytical Tools (PAT) Guidance for Industry and the International Conference on Harmonisation's Pharmaceutical Development guideline (Q8). This review is aimed at providing pharmaceutical industry professionals an introduction to multivariate analysis and how it is being adopted and implemented by companies in the transition from "quality-by-testing" to "quality-by-design". It starts with an introduction to multivariate analysis and the two methods most commonly used: principal component analysis and partial least squares regression, their advantages, common pitfalls and requirements for their effective use. That is followed with an overview of the diverse areas of application of multivariate analysis in the pharmaceutical industry: from the development of real-time analytical methods to definition of the design space and control strategy, from formulation optimization during development to the application of quality-by-design principles to improve manufacture of existing commercial products.

A validated stability-indicating UPLC method for desloratadine and its impurities in pharmaceutical dosage forms.

PubMed

Rao, Dantu Durga; Satyanarayana, N V; Malleswara Reddy, A; Sait, Shakil S; Chakole, Dinesh; Mukkanti, K

2010-02-05

A novel stability-indicating gradient reverse phase ultra-performance liquid chromatographic (RP-UPLC) method was developed for the determination of purity of desloratadine in presence of its impurities and forced degradation products. The method was developed using Waters Aquity BEH C18 column with mobile phase containing a gradient mixture of solvents A and B. The eluted compounds were monitored at 280nm. The run time was 8min within which desloratadine and its five impurities were well separated. Desloratadine was subjected to the stress conditions of oxidative, acid, base, hydrolytic, thermal and photolytic degradation. Desloratadine was found to degrade significantly in oxidative and thermal stress conditions and stable in acid, base, hydrolytic and photolytic degradation conditions. The degradation products were well resolved from main peak and its impurities, thus proved the stability-indicating power of the method. The developed method was validated as per ICH guidelines with respect to specificity, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, accuracy, precision and robustness. This method was also suitable for the assay determination of desloratadine in pharmaceutical dosage forms.

A 100-Year Review: Yogurt and other cultured dairy products.

PubMed

Aryana, Kayanush J; Olson, Douglas W

2017-12-01

The history of the last 100 years of the science and technology of yogurt, sour cream, cultured butter, cultured buttermilk, kefir, and acidophilus milk has been one of continuous development and improvement. Yogurt leads the cultured dairy product category in terms of volume of production in the United States and recent research activity. Legal definitions of yogurt, sour cream and acidified sour cream, and cultured milk, including cultured buttermilk, are presented in the United States Code of Federal Regulations and summarized here. A tremendous amount of research has been done on traditional and novel ingredients, starter cultures and probiotics, mix processing, packaging, chemical aspects, physical and sensory properties, microstructure, specialized products, composition, quality and safety of yogurt and various manufacturing methods, addition of flavorings, viscosity measurements, and probiotic use for sour cream. Over time, there have arisen alternative manufacturing methods, flavor problems, addition of flavorings, and use of probiotics for cultured buttermilk. Many health benefits are provided by yogurt and other cultured dairy products. One hundred years of testing and development have led to wider uses of cultured dairy products and new processing methods for enhanced shelf life and safety. Future research directions will likely include investigating the effects of probiotic dairy products on gut microbiota and overall health. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of RP-HPLC, Stability Indicating Method for Degradation Products of Linagliptin in Presence of Metformin HCl by Applying 2 Level Factorial Design; and Identification of Impurity-VII, VIII and IX and Synthesis of Impurity-VII.

PubMed

Jadhav, Sushant B; Reddy, P Sunil; Narayanan, Kalyanaraman L; Bhosale, Popatrao N

2017-06-27

The novel reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), stability indicating method was developed for determination of linagliptin (LGP) and its related substances in linagliptin and metformin HCl (MET HCl) tablets by implementing design of experiment to understand the critical method parameters and their relation with critical method attributes; to ensure robustness of the method. The separation of nine specified impurities was achieved with a Zorbax SB-Aq 250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm column, using gradient elution and a detector wavelength of 225 nm, and validated in accordance with International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines and found to be accurate, precise, reproducible, robust, and specific . The drug was found to be degrading extensively in heat, humidity, basic, and oxidation conditions and was forming degradation products during stability studies. After slight modification in the buffer and the column, the same method was used for liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and ultra-performance liquid chromatography -time-of-flight/mass spectrometry UPLC-TOF/MS analysis, to identify m/z and fragmentation of maximum unspecified degradation products i.e., Impurity-VII ( 7 ), Impurity-VIII ( 8 ), and Impurity-IX ( 9 ) formed during stability studies. Based on the results, a degradation pathway for the drug has been proposed and synthesis of Impurity-VII ( 7 ) is also discussed to ensure an in-depth understanding of LGP and its related degradation products and optimum performance during the lifetime of the product.

Development of a 3-step straight-through purification strategy combining membrane adsorbers and resins.

PubMed

Hughson, Michael D; Cruz, Thayana A; Carvalho, Rimenys J; Castilho, Leda R

2017-07-01

The pressures to efficiently produce complex biopharmaceuticals at reduced costs are driving the development of novel techniques, such as in downstream processing with straight-through processing (STP). This method involves directly and sequentially purifying a particular target with minimal holding steps. This work developed and compared six different 3-step STP strategies, combining membrane adsorbers, monoliths, and resins, to purify a large, complex, and labile glycoprotein from Chinese hamster ovary cell culture supernatant. The best performing pathway was cation exchange chromatography to hydrophobic interaction chromatography to affinity chromatography with an overall product recovery of up to 88% across the process and significant clearance of DNA and protein impurities. This work establishes a platform and considerations for the development of STP of biopharmaceutical products and highlights its suitability for integration with single-use technologies and continuous production methods. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:931-940, 2017. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Evaluation of thin-layer chromatography methods for quality control of commercial products containing Aesculus hippocastanum, Turnera diffusa, Matricaria recutita, Passiflora incarnata, and Tilia occidentalis.

PubMed

Ramírez-Durón, Rosalba; Ceniceros-Almaguer, Lucía; Salazar-Aranda, Ricardo; Salazar-Cavazos, Ma de la Luz; Waksman de Torres, Noemi

2007-01-01

In Mexico, plant-derived products with health claims are sold as herbal dietary supplements, and there are no rules for their legal quality control. Aesculus hippocastanum, Turnera diffusa, Matricaria recutita, Passiflora incarnata, and Tilia occidentalis are some of the major commercial products obtained from plants used in this region. In this paper, we describe the effectiveness of thin-layer chromatography methods to provide for the quality control of several commercial products containing these plants. Standardized extracts were used. Of the 49 commercial products analyzed, only 32.65% matched the chromatographic characteristic of standardized extracts. A significant number of commercial products did not match their label, indicating a problem resulting from the lack of regulation for these products. The proposed methods are simple, sensitive, and specific and can be used for routine quality control of raw herbals and formulations of the tested plants. The results obtained show the need to develop simple and reliable analytical methods that can be performed in any laboratory for the purpose of quality control of dietary supplements or commercial herbal products sold in Mexico.

Perfection Of Methods Of Mathematical Analysis For Increasing The Completeness Of Subsoil Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fokina, Mariya

2017-11-01

The economy of Russia is based around the mineral-raw material complex to the highest degree. The mining industry is a prioritized and important area. Given the high competitiveness of businesses in this sector, increasing the efficiency of completed work and manufactured products will become a central issue. Improvement of planning and management in this sector should be based on multivariant study and the optimization of planning decisions, the appraisal of their immediate and long-term results, taking the dynamic of economic development into account. All of this requires the use of economic mathematic models and methodsApplying an economic-mathematic model to determine optimal ore mine production capacity, we receive a figure of 4,712,000 tons. The production capacity of the Uchalinsky ore mine is 1560 thousand tons, and the Uzelginsky ore mine - 3650 thousand. Conducting a corresponding analysis of the production of OAO "Uchalinsky Gok", an optimal production plan was received: the optimal production of copper - 77961,4 rubles; the optimal production of zinc - 17975.66 rubles. The residual production volume of the two main ore mines of OAO "UGOK" is 160 million tons of ore.

Toward exascale production of recombinant adeno-associated virus for gene transfer applications.

PubMed

Cecchini, S; Negrete, A; Kotin, R M

2008-06-01

To gain acceptance as a medical treatment, adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors require a scalable and economical production method. Recent developments indicate that recombinant AAV (rAAV) production in insect cells is compatible with current good manufacturing practice production on an industrial scale. This platform can fully support development of rAAV therapeutics from tissue culture to small animal models, to large animal models, to toxicology studies, to Phase I clinical trials and beyond. Efforts to characterize, optimize and develop insect cell-based rAAV production have culminated in successful bioreactor-scale production of rAAV, with total yields potentially capable of approaching the exa-(10(18)) scale. These advances in large-scale AAV production will allow us to address specific catastrophic, intractable human diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy, for which large amounts of recombinant vector are essential for successful outcome.

Reference materials for cellular therapeutics.

PubMed

Bravery, Christopher A; French, Anna

2014-09-01

The development of cellular therapeutics (CTP) takes place over many years, and, where successful, the developer will anticipate the product to be in clinical use for decades. Successful demonstration of manufacturing and quality consistency is dependent on the use of complex analytical methods; thus, the risk of process and method drift over time is high. The use of reference materials (RM) is an established scientific principle and as such also a regulatory requirement. The various uses of RM in the context of CTP manufacturing and quality are discussed, along with why they are needed for living cell products and the analytical methods applied to them. Relatively few consensus RM exist that are suitable for even common methods used by CTP developers, such as flow cytometry. Others have also identified this need and made proposals; however, great care will be needed to ensure any consensus RM that result are fit for purpose. Such consensus RM probably will need to be applied to specific standardized methods, and the idea that a single RM can have wide applicability is challenged. Written standards, including standardized methods, together with appropriate measurement RM are probably the most appropriate way to define specific starting cell types. The characteristics of a specific CTP will to some degree deviate from those of the starting cells; consequently, a product RM remains the best solution where feasible. Each CTP developer must consider how and what types of RM should be used to ensure the reliability of their own analytical measurements. Copyright © 2014 International Society for Cellular Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Graphene enterprise: mapping innovation and business development in a strategic emerging technology.

PubMed

Shapira, Philip; Gök, Abdullah; Salehi, Fatemeh

This paper explores enterprise development and commercialization in the field of graphene. Firm characteristics and relationships, value chain positioning, and factors associated with product entry are examined for a set of 65 graphene-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises located in 16 different countries. As well as secondary sources and bibliometric methods to profile developments in graphene, we use computerized data mining and analytical techniques, including cluster and regression modeling, to identify patterns from publicly available online information on enterprise web sites. We identify groups of graphene small and medium-sized enterprises differentiated by how they are involved with graphene, the materials they target, whether they make equipment, and their orientation toward science and intellectual property. In general, access to finance and the firms' location are significant factors that are associated with graphene product introductions. We also find that patents and scientific publications are not statistically significant predictors of product development in our sample of graphene enterprises. We further identify a cohort of graphene-oriented firms that are signaling plans to develop intermediate graphene products that should have higher value in the marketplace. Our findings suggest that policy needs to ensure attention to the introduction and scale-up of downstream intermediate and final graphene products and associated financial, intermediary, and market identification support. The paper demonstrates novel data methods that can be combined with existing information for real-time intelligence to understand and map enterprise development and commercialization in a rapidly emerging and growing new technology.

Emerging Use of Early Health Technology Assessment in Medical Product Development: A Scoping Review of the Literature.

PubMed

IJzerman, Maarten J; Koffijberg, Hendrik; Fenwick, Elisabeth; Krahn, Murray

2017-07-01

Early health technology assessment is increasingly being used to support health economic evidence development during early stages of clinical research. Such early models can be used to inform research and development about the design and management of new medical technologies to mitigate the risks, perceived by industry and the public sector, associated with market access and reimbursement. Over the past 25 years it has been suggested that health economic evaluation in the early stages may benefit the development and diffusion of medical products. Early health technology assessment has been suggested in the context of iterative economic evaluation alongside phase I and II clinical research to inform clinical trial design, market access, and pricing. In addition, performing early health technology assessment was also proposed at an even earlier stage for managing technology portfolios. This scoping review suggests a generally accepted definition of early health technology assessment to be "all methods used to inform industry and other stakeholders about the potential value of new medical products in development, including methods to quantify and manage uncertainty". The present review also aimed to identify recent published empirical studies employing an early-stage assessment of a medical product. With most included studies carried out to support a market launch, the dominant methodology was early health economic modeling. Further methodological development is required, in particular, by combining systems engineering and health economics to manage uncertainty in medical product portfolios.

Graphene enterprise: mapping innovation and business development in a strategic emerging technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shapira, Philip; Gök, Abdullah; Salehi, Fatemeh

2016-09-01

This paper explores enterprise development and commercialization in the field of graphene. Firm characteristics and relationships, value chain positioning, and factors associated with product entry are examined for a set of 65 graphene-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises located in 16 different countries. As well as secondary sources and bibliometric methods to profile developments in graphene, we use computerized data mining and analytical techniques, including cluster and regression modeling, to identify patterns from publicly available online information on enterprise web sites. We identify groups of graphene small and medium-sized enterprises differentiated by how they are involved with graphene, the materials they target, whether they make equipment, and their orientation toward science and intellectual property. In general, access to finance and the firms' location are significant factors that are associated with graphene product introductions. We also find that patents and scientific publications are not statistically significant predictors of product development in our sample of graphene enterprises. We further identify a cohort of graphene-oriented firms that are signaling plans to develop intermediate graphene products that should have higher value in the marketplace. Our findings suggest that policy needs to ensure attention to the introduction and scale-up of downstream intermediate and final graphene products and associated financial, intermediary, and market identification support. The paper demonstrates novel data methods that can be combined with existing information for real-time intelligence to understand and map enterprise development and commercialization in a rapidly emerging and growing new technology.

New Trends in Pesticide Residue Analysis in Cereals, Nutraceuticals, Baby Foods, and Related Processed Consumer Products.

PubMed

Raina-Fulton, Renata

2015-01-01

Pesticide residue methods have been developed for a wide variety of food products including cereal-based foods, nutraceuticals and related plant products, and baby foods. These cereal, fruit, vegetable, and plant-based products provide the basis for many processed consumer products. For cereal and nutraceuticals, which are dry sample products, a modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method has been used with additional steps to allow wetting of the dry sample matrix and subsequent cleanup using dispersive or cartridge format SPE to reduce matrix effects. More processed foods may have lower pesticide concentrations but higher co-extracts that can lead to signal suppression or enhancement with MS detection. For complex matrixes, GC/MS/MS or LC/electrospray ionization (positive or negative ion)-MS/MS is more frequently used. The extraction and cleanup methods vary with different sample types particularly for cereal-based products, and these different approaches are discussed in this review. General instrument considerations are also discussed.

Identification of specific bovine blood biomarkers with a non-targeted approach using HPLC ESI tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Lecrenier, M C; Marbaix, H; Dieu, M; Veys, P; Saegerman, C; Raes, M; Baeten, V

2016-12-15

Animal by-products are valuable protein sources in animal nutrition. Among them are blood products and blood meal, which are used as high-quality material for their beneficial effects on growth and health. Within the framework of the feed ban relaxation, the development of complementary methods in order to refine the identification of processed animal proteins remains challenging. The aim of this study was to identify specific biomarkers that would allow the detection of bovine blood products and processed animal proteins using tandem mass spectrometry. Seventeen biomarkers were identified: nine peptides for bovine plasma powder; seven peptides for bovine haemoglobin powder, including six peptides for bovine blood meal; and one peptide for porcine blood. They were not detected in several commercial compound feed or feed materials, such as blood by-products of other animal origins, milk-derived products and fish meal. These biomarkers could be used for developing a species-specific and blood-specific detection method. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Agile manufacturing: The factory of the future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loibl, Joseph M.; Bossieux, Terry A.

1994-01-01

The factory of the future will require an operating methodology which effectively utilizes all of the elements of product design, manufacturing and delivery. The process must respond rapidly to changes in product demand, product mix, design changes or changes in the raw materials. To achieve agility in a manufacturing operation, the design and development of the manufacturing processes must focus on customer satisfaction. Achieving greatest results requires that the manufacturing process be considered from product concept through sales. This provides the best opportunity to build a quality product for the customer at a reasonable rate. The primary elements of a manufacturing system include people, equipment, materials, methods and the environment. The most significant and most agile element in any process is the human resource. Only with a highly trained, knowledgeable work force can the proper methods be applied to efficiently process materials with machinery which is predictable, reliable and flexible. This paper discusses the affect of each element on the development of agile manufacturing systems.

Technological demands of meat processing-An Asian perspective.

PubMed

Zhang, Wangang; Naveena, B Maheswarappa; Jo, Cheorun; Sakata, Ryoichi; Zhou, Guanghong; Banerjee, Rituparna; Nishiumi, Tadayuki

2017-10-01

A rapid increase in the economy, population, industrialization, and urbanization of Asian countries has driven the fast development of their meat industries over recent decades. This consistent increase in meat production and consumption in Asia has been the major cause for the development of the global meat industry. Meat production methods and consumption are very diverse across different regions and countries in Asia, and thus, it is impossible to cover the technological demands of all Asian countries in this review. Here, we have mainly highlighted the differences in meat production methods and consumption in Asia during recent decades and the meat technology demands of three east Asian countries, namely China, Korea, and Japan, and one south Asian country, India. A brief introduction of the meat industry, in particular the production and consumption trend in these countries, is provided in this article. The technology demands for fresh and processed meat products are then reviewed. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Development of an in-house fast real-time PCR method for detection of fish allergen in foods and comparison with a commercial kit.

PubMed

Herrero, Beatriz; Vieites, Juan M; Espiñeira, Montserrat

2014-05-15

Food allergy is recognised as an important human health problem. Fish represent one of the most important causes of food hypersensitivity reaction. Small amounts of the allergen can cause severe reactions in sensitive individuals, so correct labelling is essential to ensure the protection of consumers. The objective of the present work was to develop a reliable, sensitive and specific real-time PCR method for the detection of fish and traces of fish in all kind of products included those that have undergone aggressive treatments such as high temperature or pressure. This methodology was validated simulating products likely to contain this allergen and spiking them with fish cooking water. In addition, a comparison between the performance of in-house methodology and a commercial kit, both of them based on real-time PCR, was carried out. This work is relevant because it is the first, rapid real-time PCR method developed to date for the detection of fish in processed food products. The results obtained confirm the present assay is a useful tool in detecting fish and, therefore, minimising exposure and reducing incidences of allergic reaction to fish in contaminated products. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dry powder inhalers: An overview of the in vitro dissolution methodologies and their correlation with the biopharmaceutical aspects of the drug products.

PubMed

Velaga, Sitaram P; Djuris, Jelena; Cvijic, Sandra; Rozou, Stavroula; Russo, Paola; Colombo, Gaia; Rossi, Alessandra

2018-02-15

In vitro dissolution testing is routinely used in the development of pharmaceutical products. Whilst the dissolution testing methods are well established and standardized for oral dosage forms, i.e. tablets and capsules, there are no pharmacopoeia methods or regulatory requirements for testing the dissolution of orally inhaled powders. Despite this, a wide variety of dissolution testing methods for orally inhaled powders has been developed and their bio-relevance has been evaluated. This review provides an overview of the in vitro dissolution methodologies for dry inhalation products, with particular emphasis on dry powder inhalers, where the dissolution behavior of the respirable particles can have a role on duration and absorption of the drug. Dissolution mechanisms of respirable particles as well as kinetic models have been presented. A more recent biorelevant dissolution set-ups and media for studying inhalation biopharmaceutics were also reviewed. In addition, factors affecting interplay between dissolution and absorption of deposited particles in the context of biopharmaceutical considerations of inhalation products were examined. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Analysis and countermeasure for quality risk in process of traditional Chinese medicine preparations].

PubMed

Yang, Ming; Yang, Yuan-Zhen; Wang, Ya-Qi; Wu, Zhen-Feng; Wang, Xue-Cheng; Luo, Jing

2017-03-01

Product quality relies on not only testing methods,but also the design and development, production control and product manufacturing all aspects of logistics management. Quality comes from the process control level.Therefore, it is very important to accurately identify the factors that may induce quality risk in the production process and quality control measures correspondingly.This article systematically analyzes the source of the quality risk of all aspects of the production process in traditional Chinese medicine preparation. Discussing ways and methods of quality risk identification of traditional Chinese medicine preparation and providing references for perfecting the whole process quality management of traditional Chinese medicine preparation. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Prototype design based on NX subdivision modeling application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhan, Xianghui; Li, Xiaoda

2018-04-01

Prototype design is an important part of the product design, through a quick and easy way to draw a three-dimensional product prototype. Combined with the actual production, the prototype could be modified several times, resulting in a highly efficient and reasonable design before the formal design. Subdivision modeling is a common method of modeling product prototypes. Through Subdivision modeling, people can in a short time with a simple operation to get the product prototype of the three-dimensional model. This paper discusses the operation method of Subdivision modeling for geometry. Take a vacuum cleaner as an example, the NX Subdivision modeling functions are applied. Finally, the development of Subdivision modeling is forecasted.

Magnetic bead purification of labeled DNA fragments forhigh-throughput capillary electrophoresis sequencing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elkin, Christopher; Kapur, Hitesh; Smith, Troy

2001-09-15

We have developed an automated purification method for terminator sequencing products based on a magnetic bead technology. This 384-well protocol generates labeled DNA fragments that are essentially free of contaminates for less than $0.005 per reaction. In comparison to laborious ethanol precipitation protocols, this method increases the phred20 read length by forty bases with various DNA templates such as PCR fragments, Plasmids, Cosmids and RCA products. Our method eliminates centrifugation and is compatible with both the MegaBACE 1000 and ABIPrism 3700 capillary instruments. As of September 2001, this method has produced over 1.6 million samples with 93 percent averaging 620more » phred20 bases as part of Joint Genome Institutes Production Process.« less

Case for real-time systems development - Quo vadis?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erb, Dona M.

1991-01-01

The paper focuses on the distinctive issues of computer-aided software engineering (CASE) products for the development of real-time systems. CASE technologies and associated standardization efforts are evolving from sets of conflicting interests. The majority of case products are intended for use in the development of management information systems. CASE products to support the development of large, complex real-time systems must provide additional capabilities. Generic concerns include the quality of the implementation of the required method for the phase of the system's development and whether the vendor is stable and committed to evolving the products in parallel with nonproprietary standards. The CASE market is undergoing considerable consolidation. The paper describes the major forces, cooperating entities, and remaining uncertainties that need to be weighed in near-term CASE procurements to limit risk of loss of investment in project time, trianing, and money.

Preparation of biodiesel with the help of ultrasonic and hydrodynamic cavitation.

PubMed

Ji, Jianbing; Wang, Jianli; Li, Yongchao; Yu, Yunliang; Xu, Zhichao

2006-12-22

An alkali-catalyzed biodiesel production method with power ultrasonic (19.7 kHz) has been developed that allows a short reaction time and high yield because of emulsification and cavitation of the liquid-liquid immiscible system. Orthogonality experiments were employed to evaluate the effects of synthesis parameters. Furthermore, hydrodynamic cavitation was used for biodiesel production in comparison to ultrasonic method. Both methods were proved to be efficient, and time and energy saving for the preparation of biodiesel by transesterification of soybean oil.

Quality data collection and management technology of aerospace complex product assembly process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weng, Gang; Liu, Jianhua; He, Yongxi; Zhuang, Cunbo

2017-04-01

Aiming at solving problems of difficult management and poor traceability for discrete assembly process quality data, a data collection and management method is proposed which take the assembly process and BOM as the core. Data collection method base on workflow technology, data model base on BOM and quality traceability of assembly process is included in the method. Finally, assembly process quality data management system is developed and effective control and management of quality information for complex product assembly process is realized.

An error analysis of least-squares finite element method of velocity-pressure-vorticity formulation for Stokes problem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, Ching L.; Jiang, Bo-Nan

1990-01-01

A theoretical proof of the optimal rate of convergence for the least-squares method is developed for the Stokes problem based on the velocity-pressure-vorticity formula. The 2D Stokes problem is analyzed to define the product space and its inner product, and the a priori estimates are derived to give the finite-element approximation. The least-squares method is found to converge at the optimal rate for equal-order interpolation.

Completion of the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 1992–2001 Land Cover Change Retrofit product

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fry, J.A.; Coan, Michael; Homer, Collin G.; Meyer, Debra K.; Wickham, J.D.

2009-01-01

The Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium has supported the development of two national digital land cover products: the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) 1992 and National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001. Substantial differences in imagery, legends, and methods between these two land cover products must be overcome in order to support direct comparison. The NLCD 1992-2001 Land Cover Change Retrofit product was developed to provide more accurate and useful land cover change data than would be possible by direct comparison of NLCD 1992 and NLCD 2001. For the change analysis method to be both national in scale and timely, implementation required production across many Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) path/rows simultaneously. To meet these requirements, a hybrid change analysis process was developed to incorporate both post-classification comparison and specialized ratio differencing change analysis techniques. At a resolution of 30 meters, the completed NLCD 1992-2001 Land Cover Change Retrofit product contains unchanged pixels from the NLCD 2001 land cover dataset that have been cross-walked to a modified Anderson Level I class code, and changed pixels labeled with a 'from-to' class code. Analysis of the results for the conterminous United States indicated that about 3 percent of the land cover dataset changed between 1992 and 2001.

Joint optimization of regional water-power systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pereira-Cardenal, Silvio J.; Mo, Birger; Gjelsvik, Anders; Riegels, Niels D.; Arnbjerg-Nielsen, Karsten; Bauer-Gottwein, Peter

2016-06-01

Energy and water resources systems are tightly coupled; energy is needed to deliver water and water is needed to extract or produce energy. Growing pressure on these resources has raised concerns about their long-term management and highlights the need to develop integrated solutions. A method for joint optimization of water and electric power systems was developed in order to identify methodologies to assess the broader interactions between water and energy systems. The proposed method is to include water users and power producers into an economic optimization problem that minimizes the cost of power production and maximizes the benefits of water allocation, subject to constraints from the power and hydrological systems. The method was tested on the Iberian Peninsula using simplified models of the seven major river basins and the power market. The optimization problem was successfully solved using stochastic dual dynamic programming. The results showed that current water allocation to hydropower producers in basins with high irrigation productivity, and to irrigation users in basins with high hydropower productivity was sub-optimal. Optimal allocation was achieved by managing reservoirs in very distinct ways, according to the local inflow, storage capacity, hydropower productivity, and irrigation demand and productivity. This highlights the importance of appropriately representing the water users' spatial distribution and marginal benefits and costs when allocating water resources optimally. The method can handle further spatial disaggregation and can be extended to include other aspects of the water-energy nexus.

Advances in NMR Spectroscopy for Lipid Oxidation Assessment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Although there are many analytical methods developed for the assessment of lipid oxidation, different analytical methods often give different, sometimes even contradictory, results. The reason for this inconsistency is that although there are many different kinds of oxidation products, most methods ...

Development of advanced test methods for the improvement of production standards for ceramic powders used in solid oxide fuel cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ward, Brian

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are energy conversion devices that use ceramic powders as a precursor material for their electrodes. Presently, powder manufacturers are encountering complications producing consistent precursor powders. Through various thermal, chemical and physical tests, such as DSC and XRD, a preliminary production standard will be developed.

Evaluation of the Cross-Cultural Traits Influence on the Behavior of Russian and Chinese Students on the Higher Education Products Market

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romanova, Irina M.; Noskova, Elena V.; Trotsenko, Anastasiya N.

2016-01-01

Development of academic mobility of students from different countries requires evaluating the influence of their cultural traits on the behavior on the educational products market. The subject of present study is the development of methodic approach towards evaluating the cross-cultural traits influence on students' behavior on the higher…

The Growth of Tense Productivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rispoli, Matthew; Hadley, Pamela A.; Holt, Janet K.

2009-01-01

Purpose: This study tests empirical predictions of a maturational model for the growth of tense in children younger than 36 months using a type-based productivity measure. Method: Caregiver-child language samples were collected from 20 typically developing children every 3 months from 21 to 33 months of age. Growth in the productivity of tense…

User-driven product data manager system design

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-03-01

With the infusion of information technologies into product development and production processes, effective management of product data is becoming essential to modern production enterprises. When an enterprise-wide Product Data Manager (PDM) is implemented, PDM designers must satisfy the requirements of individual users with different job functions and requirements, as well as the requirements of the enterprise as a whole. Concern must also be shown for the interrelationships between information, methods for retrieving archival information and integration of the PDM into the product development process. This paper describes a user-driven approach applied to PDM design for an agile manufacturing pilot projectmore » at Sandia National Laboratories that has been successful in achieving a much faster design-to-production process for a precision electro mechanical surety device.« less

Culture-independent discovery of natural products from soil metagenomes.

PubMed

Katz, Micah; Hover, Bradley M; Brady, Sean F

2016-03-01

Bacterial natural products have proven to be invaluable starting points in the development of many currently used therapeutic agents. Unfortunately, traditional culture-based methods for natural product discovery have been deemphasized by pharmaceutical companies due in large part to high rediscovery rates. Culture-independent, or "metagenomic," methods, which rely on the heterologous expression of DNA extracted directly from environmental samples (eDNA), have the potential to provide access to metabolites encoded by a large fraction of the earth's microbial biosynthetic diversity. As soil is both ubiquitous and rich in bacterial diversity, it is an appealing starting point for culture-independent natural product discovery efforts. This review provides an overview of the history of soil metagenome-driven natural product discovery studies and elaborates on the recent development of new tools for sequence-based, high-throughput profiling of environmental samples used in discovering novel natural product biosynthetic gene clusters. We conclude with several examples of these new tools being employed to facilitate the recovery of novel secondary metabolite encoding gene clusters from soil metagenomes and the subsequent heterologous expression of these clusters to produce bioactive small molecules.

Concerted Earth Observation and Prediction of Water and Energy Cycles in the Third Pole Environment (CEOP-TPE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Bob; Ma, Yaoming; Menenti, Massimo; Wen, Jun; Sobrino, Jose; He, Yanbo; Li, Zhao-Liang; Tang, Bohui; Sneeuw, Nico; Zhong, Lei; Zeng, Yijian; van der Veld, Rogier; Chen, Xuelong; Zheng, Donghai; Huang, Ying; Lv, Shaoning; Wang, Lichun

2016-08-01

The achievements made in Dragon III in 2014-2016 are listed below:1. Maintaining the Tibetan Plateau Soil Moisture and Soil Temperature Observatory (Tibet-Obs) [1-3] and developing a method and data product by blending SM product over Tibetan Plateau and evaluating other available SM products [4].2. Developing a new algorithm for representing the effective soil temperature in microwave radiometry [5-7].3. Developing data sets to study the regional and plateau scale land-atmosphere interactions in TPE [8-11].4. Identifying and developing improved land surface processes [12-15].5. Developing a method for the quantification of water cycle components based on earth observation data and a comparison to reanalysis data [16-17].6. Investigating and revealing the mechanism of surface and tropospheric heatings on the Tibetan plateau [18].7. Proposing a validation framework for the generationof climate data records [19].8. Graduating seven young scientists with their doctorates during the last two years of Dragon III programme.9. Making the datasets and algorithms accessible to the scientific community.

Integrating health economics modeling in the product development cycle of medical devices: a Bayesian approach.

PubMed

Vallejo-Torres, Laura; Steuten, Lotte M G; Buxton, Martin J; Girling, Alan J; Lilford, Richard J; Young, Terry

2008-01-01

Medical device companies are under growing pressure to provide health-economic evaluations of their products. Cost-effectiveness analyses are commonly undertaken as a one-off exercise at the late stage of development of new technologies; however, the benefits of an iterative use of economic evaluation during the development process of new products have been acknowledged in the literature. Furthermore, the use of Bayesian methods within health technology assessment has been shown to be of particular value in the dynamic framework of technology appraisal when new information becomes available in the life cycle of technologies. In this study, we set out a methodology to adapt these methods for their application to directly support investment decisions in a commercial setting from early stages of the development of new medical devices. Starting with relatively simple analysis from the very early development phase and proceeding to greater depth of analysis at later stages, a Bayesian approach facilitates the incorporation of all available evidence and would help companies to make better informed choices at each decision point.

The development of small-scale mechanization means positioning algorithm using radio frequency identification technology in industrial plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Astafiev, A.; Orlov, A.; Privezencev, D.

2018-01-01

The article is devoted to the development of technology and software for the construction of positioning and control systems for small mechanization in industrial plants based on radio frequency identification methods, which will be the basis for creating highly efficient intelligent systems for controlling the product movement in industrial enterprises. The main standards that are applied in the field of product movement control automation and radio frequency identification are considered. The article reviews modern publications and automation systems for the control of product movement developed by domestic and foreign manufacturers. It describes the developed algorithm for positioning of small-scale mechanization means in an industrial enterprise. Experimental studies in laboratory and production conditions have been conducted and described in the article.

Method for phosphorothioate antisense DNA sequencing by capillary electrophoresis with UV detection.

PubMed

Froim, D; Hopkins, C E; Belenky, A; Cohen, A S

1997-11-01

The progress of antisense DNA therapy demands development of reliable and convenient methods for sequencing short single-stranded oligonucleotides. A method of phosphorothioate antisense DNA sequencing analysis using UV detection coupled to capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been developed based on a modified chain termination sequencing method. The proposed method reduces the sequencing cost since it uses affordable CE-UV instrumentation and requires no labeling with minimal sample processing before analysis. Cycle sequencing with ThermoSequenase generates quantities of sequencing products that are readily detectable by UV. Discrimination of undesired components from sequencing products in the reaction mixture, previously accomplished by fluorescent or radioactive labeling, is now achieved by bringing concentrations of undesired components below the UV detection range which yields a 'clean', well defined sequence. UV detection coupled with CE offers additional conveniences for sequencing since it can be accomplished with commercially available CE-UV equipment and is readily amenable to automation.

Method for phosphorothioate antisense DNA sequencing by capillary electrophoresis with UV detection.

PubMed Central

Froim, D; Hopkins, C E; Belenky, A; Cohen, A S

1997-01-01

The progress of antisense DNA therapy demands development of reliable and convenient methods for sequencing short single-stranded oligonucleotides. A method of phosphorothioate antisense DNA sequencing analysis using UV detection coupled to capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been developed based on a modified chain termination sequencing method. The proposed method reduces the sequencing cost since it uses affordable CE-UV instrumentation and requires no labeling with minimal sample processing before analysis. Cycle sequencing with ThermoSequenase generates quantities of sequencing products that are readily detectable by UV. Discrimination of undesired components from sequencing products in the reaction mixture, previously accomplished by fluorescent or radioactive labeling, is now achieved by bringing concentrations of undesired components below the UV detection range which yields a 'clean', well defined sequence. UV detection coupled with CE offers additional conveniences for sequencing since it can be accomplished with commercially available CE-UV equipment and is readily amenable to automation. PMID:9336449

Bacteriophages in dairy products: pros and cons.

PubMed

Mc Grath, Stephen; Fitzgerald, Gerald F; van Sinderen, Douwe

2007-04-01

Since the time bacteriophages were first identified as a major cause of fermentation failure in the dairy industry, researchers have been struggling to develop strategies to exclude them from the dairy environment. Over 70 years of research has led to huge improvements in the consistency and quality of fermented dairy products, while also facilitating an appreciation of the beneficial properties of bacteriophages with respect to dairy product development. With specific reference to Lactococcus lactis and cheese production, this review outlines some recently reported novel methods aimed at limiting the bacteriophage infection as well as highlighting some beneficial aspects of bacteriophage activity.

Focus control enhancement and on-product focus response analysis methodology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Young Ki; Chen, Yen-Jen; Hao, Xueli; Samudrala, Pavan; Gomez, Juan-Manuel; Mahoney, Mark O.; Kamalizadeh, Ferhad; Hanson, Justin K.; Lee, Shawn; Tian, Ye

2016-03-01

With decreasing CDOF (Critical Depth Of Focus) for 20/14nm technology and beyond, focus errors are becoming increasingly critical for on-product performance. Current on product focus control techniques in high volume manufacturing are limited; It is difficult to define measurable focus error and optimize focus response on product with existing methods due to lack of credible focus measurement methodologies. Next to developments in imaging and focus control capability of scanners and general tool stability maintenance, on-product focus control improvements are also required to meet on-product imaging specifications. In this paper, we discuss focus monitoring, wafer (edge) fingerprint correction and on-product focus budget analysis through diffraction based focus (DBF) measurement methodology. Several examples will be presented showing better focus response and control on product wafers. Also, a method will be discussed for a focus interlock automation system on product for a high volume manufacturing (HVM) environment.

Biosynthetic Potential-Based Strain Prioritization for Natural Product Discovery: A Showcase for Diterpenoid-Producing Actinomycetes

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Natural products remain the best sources of drugs and drug leads and serve as outstanding small-molecule probes to dissect fundamental biological processes. A great challenge for the natural product community is to discover novel natural products efficiently and cost effectively. Here we report the development of a practical method to survey biosynthetic potential in microorganisms, thereby identifying the most promising strains and prioritizing them for natural product discovery. Central to our approach is the innovative preparation, by a two-tiered PCR method, of a pool of pathway-specific probes, thereby allowing the survey of all variants of the biosynthetic machineries for the targeted class of natural products. The utility of the method was demonstrated by surveying 100 strains, randomly selected from our actinomycete collection, for their biosynthetic potential of four classes of natural products, aromatic polyketides, reduced polyketides, nonribosomal peptides, and diterpenoids, identifying 16 talented strains. One of the talented strains, Streptomyces griseus CB00830, was finally chosen to showcase the discovery of the targeted classes of natural products, resulting in the isolation of three diterpenoids, six nonribosomal peptides and related metabolites, and three polyketides. Variations of this method should be applicable to the discovery of other classes of natural products. PMID:24484381

Relating safety, productivity and company type for motor-manual logging operations in the Italian Alps.

PubMed

Montorselli, Niccolò Brachetti; Lombardini, Carolina; Magagnotti, Natascia; Marchi, Enrico; Neri, Francesco; Picchi, Gianni; Spinelli, Raffaele

2010-11-01

The study compared the performance of four different logging crews with respect to productivity, organization and safety. To this purpose, the authors developed a data collection method capable of providing a quantitative analysis of risk-taking behavior. Four crews were tested under the same working conditions, representative of close-to-nature alpine forestry. Motor-manual working methods were applied, since these methods are still prevalent in the specific study area, despite the growing popularity of mechanical processors. Crews from public companies showed a significantly lower frequency of risk-taking behavior. The best safety performance was offered by the only (public) crew that had been administered formal safety training. The study seems to deny the common prejudice that safety practice is inversely proportional to productivity. Instead, productivity is increased by introducing more efficient working methods and equipment. The quantitative analysis of risk-taking behavior developed in this study can be applied to a number of industrial fields besides forestry. Characterizing risk-taking behavior for a given case may eventually lead to the development of custom-made training programmes, which may address problem areas while avoiding that the message is weakened by the inclusion of redundant information. In the specific case of logging crews in the central Alps, the study suggests that current training courses may be weak on ergonomics, and advocates a staged training programme, focusing first on accident reduction and then expanding to the prevention of chronic illness. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantitative Technique for Comparing Simulant Materials through Figures of Merit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rickman, Doug; Hoelzer, Hans; Fourroux, Kathy; Owens, Charles; McLemore, Carole; Fikes, John

2007-01-01

The 1989 workshop report entitled Workshop on Production and Uses of Simulated Lunar Materials and the Lunar Regolith Simulant Materials: Recommendations for Standardization, Production, and Usage, NASA Technical Publication both identified and reinforced a need for a set of standards and requirements for the production and usage of the Lunar simulant materials. As NASA prepares to return to the Moon, and set out to Mars, a set of early requirements have been developed for simulant materials and the initial methods to produce and measure those simulants have been defined. Addressed in the requirements document are: 1) a method for evaluating the quality of any simulant of a regolith, 2) the minimum characteristics for simulants of Lunar regolith, and 3) a method to produce simulants needed for NASA's Exploration mission. As an extension of the requirements document a method to evaluate new and current simulants has been rigorously defined through the mathematics of Figures of Merit (FoM). Requirements and techniques have been developed that allow the simulant provider to compare their product to a standard reference material through Figures of Merit. Standard reference material may be physical material such as the Apollo core samples or material properties predicted for any landing site. The simulant provider is not restricted to providing a single "high fidelity" simulant, which may be costly to produce. The provider can now develop "lower fidelity" simulants for engineering applications such as drilling and mobility applications.

Method Development and Application to Determine Potential Plant Uptake of Antibiotics and Other Drugs in Irrigated Crop Production Systems

EPA Science Inventory

Recent studies have shown the detection of pharmaceuticals in surface waters across the United States. The objective of this study was to develop methods, and apply them, to evaluate the potential for food chain transfer when pharmaceutical containing wastewaters are used for cr...

Utility of Hantzsch reaction for development of highly sensitive spectrofluorimetric method for determination of alfuzosin and terazosin in bulk, dosage forms and human plasma.

PubMed

Hammad, Mohamed A; Omar, Mahmoud A; Salman, Baher I

2017-09-01

A highly sensitive, cheap, simple and accurate spectrofluorimetric method has been developed and validated for the determination of alfuzosin hydrochloride and terazosin hydrochloride in their pharmaceutical dosage forms and in human plasma. The developed method is based on the reaction of the primary amine moiety in the studied drugs with acetylacetone and formaldehyde according to the Hantzsch reaction, producing yellow fluorescent products that can be measured spectrofluorimetrically at 480 nm after excitation at 415 nm. Different experimental parameters affecting the development and stability of the reaction products were carefully studied and optimized. The fluorescence-concentration plots of alfuzosin and terazosin were rectilinear over a concentration range of 70-900 ng ml -1 , with quantitation limits 27.1 and 32.2 ng ml -1 for alfuzosin and terazosin, respectively. The proposed method was validated according to ICH guidelines and successfully applied to the analysis of the investigated drugs in dosage forms, content uniformity test and spiked human plasma with high accuracy. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Software life cycle methodologies and environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fridge, Ernest

1991-01-01

Products of this project will significantly improve the quality and productivity of Space Station Freedom Program software processes by: improving software reliability and safety; and broadening the range of problems that can be solved with computational solutions. Projects brings in Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) technology for: Environments such as Engineering Script Language/Parts Composition System (ESL/PCS) application generator, Intelligent User Interface for cost avoidance in setting up operational computer runs, Framework programmable platform for defining process and software development work flow control, Process for bringing CASE technology into an organization's culture, and CLIPS/CLIPS Ada language for developing expert systems; and methodologies such as Method for developing fault tolerant, distributed systems and a method for developing systems for common sense reasoning and for solving expert systems problems when only approximate truths are known.

How can we improve crop genotypes to increase stress resilience and productivity in a future climate? A new crop screening method based on productivity and resistance to abiotic stress

PubMed Central

Thiry, Arnauld A.; Chavez Dulanto, Perla N.; Reynolds, Matthew P.; Davies, William J.

2016-01-01

The need to accelerate the selection of crop genotypes that are both resistant to and productive under abiotic stress is enhanced by global warming and the increase in demand for food by a growing world population. In this paper, we propose a new method for evaluation of wheat genotypes in terms of their resilience to stress and their production capacity. The method quantifies the components of a new index related to yield under abiotic stress based on previously developed stress indices, namely the stress susceptibility index, the stress tolerance index, the mean production index, the geometric mean production index, and the tolerance index, which were created originally to evaluate drought adaptation. The method, based on a scoring scale, offers simple and easy visualization and identification of resilient, productive and/or contrasting genotypes according to grain yield. This new selection method could help breeders and researchers by defining clear and strong criteria to identify genotypes with high resilience and high productivity and provide a clear visualization of contrasts in terms of grain yield production under stress. It is also expected that this methodology will reduce the time required for first selection and the number of first-selected genotypes for further evaluation by breeders and provide a basis for appropriate comparisons of genotypes that would help reveal the biology behind high stress productivity of crops. PMID:27677299

Rapid analysis of charge variants of monoclonal antibodies using non-linear salt gradient in cation-exchange high performance liquid chromatography.

PubMed

Joshi, Varsha; Kumar, Vijesh; Rathore, Anurag S

2015-08-07

A method is proposed for rapid development of a short, analytical cation exchange high performance liquid chromatography method for analysis of charge heterogeneity in monoclonal antibody products. The parameters investigated and optimized include pH, shape of elution gradient and length of the column. It is found that the most important parameter for development of a shorter method is the choice of the shape of elution gradient. In this paper, we propose a step by step approach to develop a non-linear sigmoidal shape gradient for analysis of charge heterogeneity for two different monoclonal antibody products. The use of this gradient not only decreases the run time of the method to 4min against the conventional method that takes more than 40min but also the resolution is retained. Superiority of the phosphate gradient over sodium chloride gradient for elution of mAbs is also observed. The method has been successfully evaluated for specificity, sensitivity, linearity, limit of detection, and limit of quantification. Application of this method as a potential at-line process analytical technology tool has been suggested. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Standard cost systems lead to efficiency and profitability.

PubMed

Bennett, J P

1985-09-01

Today's healthcare managers are finding that business methods such as product line planning, productivity monitoring, and advance cost measurement are necessary to operate an efficient and profitable organization. But to use these methods, managers need information about costs. Specifically, they need costs standards to determine how efficiently and profitably their institutions are operating. To develop a standard cost system, managers must be aware of the kinds of standards used, the motivational effect of standards on employee productivity, the steps necessary for effective implementation and maintenance, and the advantages and disadvantages of a standard cost system.

Qualification of a Quantitative Method for Monitoring Aspartate Isomerization of a Monoclonal Antibody by Focused Peptide Mapping.

PubMed

Cao, Mingyan; Mo, Wenjun David; Shannon, Anthony; Wei, Ziping; Washabaugh, Michael; Cash, Patricia

Aspartate (Asp) isomerization is a common post-translational modification of recombinant therapeutic proteins that can occur during manufacturing, storage, or administration. Asp isomerization in the complementarity-determining regions of a monoclonal antibody may affect the target binding and thus a sufficiently robust quality control method for routine monitoring is desirable. In this work, we utilized a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS)-based approach to identify the Asp isomerization in the complementarity-determining regions of a therapeutic monoclonal antibody. To quantitate the site-specific Asp isomerization of the monoclonal antibody, a UV detection-based quantitation assay utilizing the same LC platform was developed. The assay was qualified and implemented for routine monitoring of this product-specific modification. Compared with existing methods, this analytical paradigm is applicable to identify Asp isomerization (or other modifications) and subsequently develop a rapid, sufficiently robust quality control method for routine site-specific monitoring and quantitation to ensure product quality. This approach first identifies and locates a product-related impurity (a critical quality attribute) caused by isomerization, deamidation, oxidation, or other post-translational modifications, and then utilizes synthetic peptides and MS to assist the development of a LC-UV-based chromatographic method that separates and quantifies the product-related impurities by UV peaks. The established LC-UV method has acceptable peak specificity, precision, linearity, and accuracy; it can be validated and used in a good manufacturing practice environment for lot release and stability testing. Aspartate isomerization is a common post-translational modification of recombinant proteins during manufacture process and storage. Isomerization in the complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of a monoclonal antibody A (mAb-A) has been detected and has been shown to have impact on the binding affinity to the antigen. In this work, we utilized a mass spectrometry-based peptide mapping approach to detect and quantitate the Asp isomerization in the CDRs of mAb-A. To routinely monitor the CDR isomerization of mAb-A, a focused peptide mapping method utilizing reversed phase chromatographic separation and UV detection has been developed and qualified. This approach is generally applicable to monitor isomerization and other post-translational modifications of proteins in a specific and high-throughput mode to ensure product quality. © PDA, Inc. 2016.

Stability-Indicating TLC-Densitometric and HPLC Methods for the Simultaneous Determination of Piracetam and Vincamine in the Presence of Their Degradation Products.

PubMed

Ahmed, Amal B; Abdelrahman, Maha M; Abdelwahab, Nada S; Salama, Fathy M

2016-11-01

Newly established TLC-densitometric and RP-HPLC methods were developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of Piracetam (PIR) and Vincamine (VINC) in their pharmaceutical formulation and in the presence of PIR and VINC degradation products, PD and VD, respectively. The proposed TLC-densitometric method is based on the separation and quantitation of the studied components using a developing system that consists of chloroform-methanol-glacial acetic acid-triethylamine (8 + 2 + 0.1 + 0.1, v/v/v/v) on TLC silica gel 60 F254 plates, followed by densitometric scanning at 230 nm. On the other hand, the developed RP-HPLC method is based on the separation of the studied components using an isocratic elution of 0.05 M KH2PO4 (containing 0.1% triethylamine adjusted to pH 3 with orthophosphoric acid)-methanol (95 + 5, v/v) on a C8 column at a flow rate of 1 mL/min with diode-array detection at 230 nm. The developed methods were validated according to International Conference on Harmonization guidelines and demonstrated good accuracy and precision. Moreover, the developed TLC-densitometric and RP-HPLC methods are suitable as stability-indicating assay methods for the simultaneous determination of PD and VD either in bulk powder or pharmaceutical formulation. The results were statistically compared with those obtained by the reported RP-HPLC method using t- and F-tests.

Implementation of system dynamic simulation method to optimize profit in supply chain network of vegetable product

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tama, I. P.; Akbar, Z.; Eunike, A.

2018-04-01

Vegetables are categorized as a perishable product, which is a product with short lifespan thus requires proper handling and planning to reduce losses caused by the short lifespan. In order to reduce the losses, coordination among the players in the supply chain is required. On the other hand, the decision in the supply chain of vegetables and other farming products in the traditional market of developing country is independent among the players. This research is conducted by using System Dynamic Simulation method to develop model and scenario by coordinating the supply quantity amongst players in the supply chain. The scenarios are developed based on newsboy inventory model. This study aims to compare scenarios combining tiers involved in coordination program. The result shows that coordination in supply chain increases total supply chain profit, although there will always be players who experienced decrements in profit. The scenario of coordination among the farmer, the distributor, and the wholesaler resulted in the highest increase in total supply chain profit compared to other coordination scenarios, with an increased value of 10.49%.

Economically Viable Components from Jerusalem Artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) in a Biorefinery Concept

PubMed Central

Johansson, Eva; Prade, Thomas; Angelidaki, Irini; Svensson, Sven-Erik; Newson, William R.; Gunnarsson, Ingólfur Bragi; Persson Hovmalm, Helena

2015-01-01

Biorefinery applications are receiving growing interest due to climatic and waste disposal issues and lack of petroleum resources. Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) is suitable for biorefinery applications due to high biomass production and limited cultivation requirements. This paper focuses on the potential of Jerusalem artichoke as a biorefinery crop and the most viable products in such a case. The carbohydrates in the tubers were found to have potential for production of platform chemicals, e.g., succinic acid. However, economic analysis showed that production of platform chemicals as a single product was too expensive to be competitive with petrochemically produced sugars. Therefore, production of several products from the same crop is a must. Additional products are protein based ones from tubers and leaves and biogas from residues, although both are of low value and amount. High bioactive activity was found in the young leaves of the crop, and the sesquiterpene lactones are of specific interest, as other compounds from this group have shown inhibitory effects on several human diseases. Thus, future focus should be on understanding the usefulness of small molecules, to develop methods for their extraction and purification and to further develop sustainable and viable methods for the production of platform chemicals. PMID:25913379

Embryo Sexing and Sex Chromosomal Chimerism Analysis by Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification in Cattle and Water Buffaloes

PubMed Central

HIRAYAMA, Hiroki; KAGEYAMA, Soichi; MORIYASU, Satoru; SAWAI, Ken; MINAMIHASHI, Akira

2013-01-01

Abstract In domestic animals of the family Bovidae, sex preselection of offspring has been demanded for convenience of milk/beef production and animal breeding. Development of the nonsurgical embryo transfer technique and sexing methods of preimplantation embryos made it possible. Sexing based on detection of Y chromosome-specific DNA sequences is considered the most reliable method to date. PCR enables amplification of a target sequence from a small number of blastomeres. However, it requires technical skill and is time consuming. Furthermore, PCR has the risk of false positives because of DNA contamination during handling of the PCR products in duplicate PCR procedures and/or electrophoresis. Therefore, for embryo sexing to become widely used in the cattle embryo transfer industry, a simple, rapid and precise sexing method needs to be developed. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a novel DNA amplification method, and the reaction is carried out under isothermal conditions (range, 60 to 65 C) using DNA polymerase with strand displacement activity. When the target DNA is amplified by LAMP, a white precipitate derived from magnesium pyrophosphate (a by-product of the LAMP reaction) is observed. It is noteworthy that LAMP does not need special reagents or electrophoresis to detect the amplified DNA. This review describes the development and application of an embryo sexing method using LAMP in cattle and water buffaloes. PMID:23965599

Requirements and Techniques for Developing and Measuring Simulant Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rickman, Doug; Owens, Charles; Howard, Rick

2006-01-01

The 1989 workshop report entitled Workshop on Production and Uses of Simulated Lunar Materials and the Lunar Regolith Simulant Materials: Recommendations for Standardization, Production, and Usage, NASA Technical Publication identify and reinforced a need for a set of standards and requirements for the production and usage of the lunar simulant materials. As NASA need prepares to return to the moon, a set of requirements have been developed for simulant materials and methods to produce and measure those simulants have been defined. Addressed in the requirements document are: 1) a method for evaluating the quality of any simulant of a regolith, 2) the minimum Characteristics for simulants of lunar regolith, and 3) a method to produce lunar regolith simulants needed for NASA's exploration mission. A method to evaluate new and current simulants has also been rigorously defined through the mathematics of Figures of Merit (FoM), a concept new to simulant development. A single FoM is conceptually an algorithm defining a single characteristic of a simulant and provides a clear comparison of that characteristic for both the simulant and a reference material. Included as an intrinsic part of the algorithm is a minimum acceptable performance for the characteristic of interest. The algorithms for the FoM for Standard Lunar Regolith Simulants are also explicitly keyed to a recommended method to make lunar simulants.

Comprehensive validation scheme for in situ fiber optics dissolution method for pharmaceutical drug product testing.

PubMed

Mirza, Tahseen; Liu, Qian Julie; Vivilecchia, Richard; Joshi, Yatindra

2009-03-01

There has been a growing interest during the past decade in the use of fiber optics dissolution testing. Use of this novel technology is mainly confined to research and development laboratories. It has not yet emerged as a tool for end product release testing despite its ability to generate in situ results and efficiency improvement. One potential reason may be the lack of clear validation guidelines that can be applied for the assessment of suitability of fiber optics. This article describes a comprehensive validation scheme and development of a reliable, robust, reproducible and cost-effective dissolution test using fiber optics technology. The test was successfully applied for characterizing the dissolution behavior of a 40-mg immediate-release tablet dosage form that is under development at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, East Hanover, New Jersey. The method was validated for the following parameters: linearity, precision, accuracy, specificity, and robustness. In particular, robustness was evaluated in terms of probe sampling depth and probe orientation. The in situ fiber optic method was found to be comparable to the existing manual sampling dissolution method. Finally, the fiber optic dissolution test was successfully performed by different operators on different days, to further enhance the validity of the method. The results demonstrate that the fiber optics technology can be successfully validated for end product dissolution/release testing. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association

Handshake with the Dragon: Engaging China in the Biological Weapons Convention

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-06-01

modest pharmaceutical or fermentation industry could easily and cheaply produce BTW. Mass-production methods for growing bacterial cultures that are...widely used in the commercial production of yogurt , yeast, and beer are the same used to make pathogens and toxins.45 These technical developments have...Production Although biological agents can be grown in ordinary laboratory flasks, efficient production requires specialized fermenters . Until

Development of a bar code-based exposure assessment method to evaluate occupational exposure to disinfectants and cleaning products: a pilot study.

PubMed

Quinot, Catherine; Amsellem-Dubourget, Sylvie; Temam, Sofia; Sevin, Etienne; Barreto, Christine; Tackin, Arzu; Félicité, Jérémy; Lyon-Caen, Sarah; Siroux, Valérie; Girard, Raphaële; Descatha, Alexis; Le Moual, Nicole; Dumas, Orianne

2018-05-14

Healthcare workers are highly exposed to various types of disinfectants and cleaning products. Assessment of exposure to these products remains a challenge. We aimed to investigate the feasibility of a method, based on a smartphone application and bar codes, to improve occupational exposure assessment among hospital/cleaning workers in epidemiological studies. A database of disinfectants and cleaning products used in French hospitals, including their names, bar codes and composition, was developed using several sources: ProdHyBase (a database of disinfectants managed by hospital hygiene experts), and specific regulatory agencies and industrial websites. A smartphone application has been created to scan bar codes of products and fill a short questionnaire. The application was tested in a French hospital. The ease of use and the ability to record information through this new approach were estimated. The method was tested in a French hospital (7 units, 14 participants). Through the application, 126 records (one record referred to one product entered by one participant/unit) were registered, majority of which were liquids (55.5%) or sprays (23.8%); 20.6% were used to clean surfaces and 15.9% to clean toilets. Workers used mostly products with alcohol and quaternary ammonium compounds (>90% with weekly use), followed by hypochlorite bleach and hydrogen peroxide (28.6%). For most records, information was available on the name (93.7%) and bar code (77.0%). Information on product compounds was available for all products and recorded in the database. This innovative and easy-to-use method could help to improve the assessment of occupational exposure to disinfectants/cleaning products in epidemiological studies. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Geospatial Method for Computing Supplemental Multi-Decadal U.S. Coastal Land-Use and Land-Cover Classification Products, Using Landsat Data and C-CAP Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spruce, J. P.; Smoot, James; Ellis, Jean; Hilbert, Kent; Swann, Roberta

2012-01-01

This paper discusses the development and implementation of a geospatial data processing method and multi-decadal Landsat time series for computing general coastal U.S. land-use and land-cover (LULC) classifications and change products consisting of seven classes (water, barren, upland herbaceous, non-woody wetland, woody upland, woody wetland, and urban). Use of this approach extends the observational period of the NOAA-generated Coastal Change and Analysis Program (C-CAP) products by almost two decades, assuming the availability of one cloud free Landsat scene from any season for each targeted year. The Mobile Bay region in Alabama was used as a study area to develop, demonstrate, and validate the method that was applied to derive LULC products for nine dates at approximate five year intervals across a 34-year time span, using single dates of data for each classification in which forests were either leaf-on, leaf-off, or mixed senescent conditions. Classifications were computed and refined using decision rules in conjunction with unsupervised classification of Landsat data and C-CAP value-added products. Each classification's overall accuracy was assessed by comparing stratified random locations to available reference data, including higher spatial resolution satellite and aerial imagery, field survey data, and raw Landsat RGBs. Overall classification accuracies ranged from 83 to 91% with overall Kappa statistics ranging from 0.78 to 0.89. The accuracies are comparable to those from similar, generalized LULC products derived from C-CAP data. The Landsat MSS-based LULC product accuracies are similar to those from Landsat TM or ETM+ data. Accurate classifications were computed for all nine dates, yielding effective results regardless of season. This classification method yielded products that were used to compute LULC change products via additive GIS overlay techniques.

Bulk scale production of carbon nanofibers in an economical way

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajarao, Ravindra; Bhat, Badekai Ramachandra

2012-12-01

An economical route for the scalable production of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) on a sodium chloride support has been developed. CNFs have been synthesized by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method by using metal formate as catalyst precursors at 680°C. Products were characterized by SEM, TEM, Raman spectroscopy and XRD method. By thermal analysis, the purity of the as grown products and purified products were determined. This method avoids calcination and reduction process which was employed in commercial catalysts such as metal oxide or nitrate. The problems such as detrimental effect, environmental and even cost have been overcome by using sodium chloride as support. The yield of CNFs up to 7800 wt.% relative to the nickel catalyst has been achieved in the growth time of 15 min. The advantage of this synthesis technique is the simplicity and use of easily available low cost precursors.

Improving Pharmaceutical Protein Production in Oryza sativa

PubMed Central

Kuo, Yu-Chieh; Tan, Chia-Chun; Ku, Jung-Ting; Hsu, Wei-Cho; Su, Sung-Chieh; Lu, Chung-An; Huang, Li-Fen

2013-01-01

Application of plant expression systems in the production of recombinant proteins has several advantages, such as low maintenance cost, absence of human pathogens, and possession of complex post-translational glycosylation capabilities. Plants have been successfully used to produce recombinant cytokines, vaccines, antibodies, and other proteins, and rice (Oryza sativa) is a potential plant used as recombinant protein expression system. After successful transformation, transgenic rice cells can be either regenerated into whole plants or grown as cell cultures that can be upscaled into bioreactors. This review summarizes recent advances in the production of different recombinant protein produced in rice and describes their production methods as well as methods to improve protein yield and quality. Glycosylation and its impact in plant development and protein production are discussed, and several methods of improving yield and quality that have not been incorporated in rice expression systems are also proposed. Finally, different bioreactor options are explored and their advantages are analyzed. PMID:23615467

Innovation processes in technologies for the processing of refractory mineral raw materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chanturiya, V. A.

2008-12-01

Analysis of the grade of mineral resources of Russia and other countries shows that end products that are competitive in terms of both technological and environmental criteria in the world market can only be obtained by the development and implementation of progressive technologies based on the up-to-date achievements of fundamental sciences. The essence of modern innovation processes in technologies developed in Russia for the complex and comprehensive processing of refractory raw materials with a complex composition is ascertained. These processes include (i) radiometric methods of concentration of valuable components, (ii) high-energy methods of disintegration of highly dispersed mineral components, and (iii) electrochemical methods of water conditioning to obtain target products for solving specific technological problems.

DNA methods: critical review of innovative approaches.

PubMed

Kok, Esther J; Aarts, Henk J M; Van Hoef, A M Angeline; Kuiper, Harry A

2002-01-01

The presence of ingredients derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food products in the market place is subject to a number of European regulations that stipulate which product consisting of or containing GMO-derived ingredients should be labeled as such. In order to maintain these labeling requirements, a variety of different GMO detection methods have been developed to screen for either the presence of DNA or protein derived from (approved) GM varieties. Recent incidents where unapproved GM varieties entered the European market show that more powerful GMO detection and identification methods will be needed to maintain European labeling requirements in an adequate, efficient, and cost-effective way. This report discusses the current state-of-the-art as well as future developments in GMO detection.

Development and application of a validated stability-indicating HPLC method for simultaneous determination of granisetron hydrochloride, benzyl alcohol and their main degradation products in parenteral dosage forms.

PubMed

Hewala, Ismail; El-Fatatre, Hamed; Emam, Ehab; Mubrouk, Mokhtar

2010-06-30

A simple, rapid and sensitive reversed phase high performance liquid chromatographic method using photodiode array detection was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of granisetron hydrochloride, benzyl alcohol, 1-methyl-1H-indazole-3-carboxylic acid (the main degradation product of granisetron) and benzaldehyde (the main degradation product of benzyl alcohol) in granisetron injections. The separation was achieved on Hypersil BDS C8 (250 mm x 4.6 mm i.d., 5 microm particle diameter) column using a mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile:0.05 M KH(2)PO(4):triethylamine (22:100:0.15) adjusted to pH 4.8. The column was maintained at 25 degrees C and 20 microL of solutions was injected. Photodiode array detector was used to test the peak purity and the chromatograms were extracted at 210 nm. Naphazoline hydrochloride was used as internal standard. The method was validated with respect to specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, limit of quantitation and limit of detection. The validation acceptance criteria were met in all cases. Identification of the pure peaks was carried out using library match programmer and wavelengths of derivative optima of the spectrograms of the peaks. The method was successfully applied to the determination of the investigated drugs and their degradation products in different batches of granisetron injections. The method was proved to be sensitive for the determination down to 0.03 and 0.01% of granisetron degradation product and benzaldehyde, respectively, which are far below the compendia limits for testing these degradation products in their corresponding intact drugs. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Research progress on the effect of microwave sterilization on agricultural products quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Xiang-hao; Yang, Yu-xia; Duan, Zhen-hua

2018-02-01

Different sterilization methods have different effects on the quality of agricultural products, microwave sterilization inhibited or eliminated microorganism by the use of microwave thermal effects and non-thermal. In this paper, the effects of microwave sterilization on the quality of fruits and vegetables, dairy, meat, grain, aquatic products and other agricultural products were introduced, and the possible development trends of microwave sterilization in agricultural products processing application were put forward.

Development of the Basis for an Analytical Protocol for Feeds and Products of Bio-oil Hydrotreatment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oasmaa, Anja; Kuoppala, Eeva; Elliott, Douglas C.

2012-04-02

Methods for easily following the main changes in the composition, stability, and acidity of bio-oil in hydrotreatment are presented. The correlation to more conventional methods is provided. Depending on the final use the upgrading requirement is different. This will create challenges also for the analytical protocol. Polar pyrolysis liquids and their products can be divided into five main groups with solvent fractionation the change in which is easy to follow. This method has over ten years been successfully used for comparison of fast pyrolysis bio-oil quality, and the changes during handling, and storage, provides the basis of the analytical protocolmore » presented in this paper. The method has most recently been used also for characterisation of bio-oil hydrotreatment products. Discussion on the use of gas chromatographic and spectroscopic methods is provided. In addition, fuel oil analyses suitable for fast pyrolysis bio-oils and hydrotreatment products are discussed.« less

Improvement of Saccharomyces yeast strains used in brewing, wine making and baking.

PubMed

Donalies, Ute E B; Nguyen, Huyen T T; Stahl, Ulf; Nevoigt, Elke

2008-01-01

Yeast was the first microorganism domesticated by mankind. Indeed, the production of bread and alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine dates from antiquity, even though the fact that the origin of alcoholic fermentation is a microorganism was not known until the nineteenth century. The use of starter cultures in yeast industries became a common practice after methods for the isolation of pure yeast strains were developed. Moreover, effort has been undertaken to improve these strains, first by classical genetic methods and later by genetic engineering. In general, yeast strain development has aimed at improving the velocity and efficiency of the respective production process and the quality of the final products. This review highlights the achievements in genetic engineering of Saccharomyces yeast strains applied in food and beverage industry.

Enantioselective ProPhenol-catalyzed addition of 1,3-diynes to aldehydes to generate synthetically versatile building blocks and diyne natural products.

PubMed

Trost, Barry M; Chan, Vincent S; Yamamoto, Daisuke

2010-04-14

A highly enantioselective method for the catalytic addition of terminal 1,3-diynes to aldehydes was developed using our dinuclear zinc ProPhenol (1) system. Furthermore, triphenylphosphine oxide was found to interact synergistically with the catalyst to substantially enhance the chiral recognition. The generality of this catalytic transformation was demonstrated with aryl, alpha,beta-unsaturated and saturated aldehydes, of which the latter were previously limited in alkynyl zinc additions. The chiral diynol products are also versatile building blocks that can be readily elaborated; this was illustrated through highly selective trans-hydrosilylations, which enabled the synthesis of a beta-hydroxyketone and enyne. Additionally, the development of this method allowed for the rapid total syntheses of several biologically important diynol-containing natural products.

Integrating health economics into the product development cycle: a case study of absorbable pins for treating hallux valgus.

PubMed

Vallejo-Torres, Laura; Steuten, Lotte; Parkinson, Bonny; Girling, Alan J; Buxton, Martin J

2011-01-01

The probability of reimbursement is a key factor in determining whether to proceed with or abandon a product during its development. The purpose of this article is to illustrate how the methods of iterative Bayesian economic evaluation proposed in the literature can be incorporated into the development process of new medical devices, adapting them to face the relative scarcity of data and time that characterizes the process. A 3-stage economic evaluation was applied: an early phase in which simple methods allow for a quick prioritization of competing products; a mid-stage in which developers synthesize the data into a decision model, identify the parameters for which more information is most valuable, and explore uncertainty; and a late stage, in which all relevant information is synthesized. A retrospective analysis was conducted of the case study of absorbable pins, compared with metallic fixation, in osteotomy to treat hallux valgus. The results from the early analysis suggest absorbable pins to be cost-effective under the beliefs and assumptions applied. The outputs from the models at the mid-stage analyses show the device to be cost-effective with a high probability. Late-stage analysis synthesizes evidence from a randomized controlled trial and informative priors, which are based on previous evidence. It also suggests that absorbable pins are the most cost-effective strategy, although the uncertainty in the model output increased considerably. This example illustrates how the method proposed allows decisions in the product development cycle to be based on the best knowledge that is available at each stage.

Comperative investigations of non chemical weed management methods in Hungary.

PubMed

Pali, Orsolya; Reisinger, Peter; Pomsar, Peter

2007-01-01

Organic farming has an increasing tendency in Hungary because of growing consumers' demands according to organic products not only in inland but also in the countries of the European Union. Developments of weed control methods in organically cropped field plants have become conspicuous next to developing chemical weed management methods of convencionally cropped cultural plants. The aim of our investigations was to make comperative investigations of non chemical weed control methods in wide rowed plants.

An extension of the Coconut Cream Agar method to screen Penicillium citrinum isolates for citrinin production.

PubMed

Mohamed, S; Flint, S; Palmer, J; Fletcher, G C; Pitt, J I

2013-09-01

A simple and rapid screening method was developed for the detection of citrinin in fungal cultures using Coconut Cream Agar (CCA) described previously for detecting aflatoxin and ochratoxin A. Fifteen isolates of Penicillium citrinum were inoculated onto CCA and incubated at 25 and 30°C for 10 days. All isolates produced a distinct yellow green fluorescence on CCA when the reverse side of the agar plates were viewed under long wavelength UV light. Detection was optimal at 25°C after four to 5 days of incubation. Isolates positive by the CCA method also tested positive for citrinin production by the TLC agar plug method after growth on CCA, Czapek yeast extract agar and yeast extract sucrose agar. Control cultures were negative by both methods, indicating that the CCA Petri dish method was suitable for screening cultures for citrinin production. © 2013 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

SMART empirical approaches for predicting field performance of PV modules from results of reliability tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hardikar, Kedar Y.; Liu, Bill J. J.; Bheemreddy, Venkata

2016-09-01

Gaining an understanding of degradation mechanisms and their characterization are critical in developing relevant accelerated tests to ensure PV module performance warranty over a typical lifetime of 25 years. As newer technologies are adapted for PV, including new PV cell technologies, new packaging materials, and newer product designs, the availability of field data over extended periods of time for product performance assessment cannot be expected within the typical timeframe for business decisions. In this work, to enable product design decisions and product performance assessment for PV modules utilizing newer technologies, Simulation and Mechanism based Accelerated Reliability Testing (SMART) methodology and empirical approaches to predict field performance from accelerated test results are presented. The method is demonstrated for field life assessment of flexible PV modules based on degradation mechanisms observed in two accelerated tests, namely, Damp Heat and Thermal Cycling. The method is based on design of accelerated testing scheme with the intent to develop relevant acceleration factor models. The acceleration factor model is validated by extensive reliability testing under different conditions going beyond the established certification standards. Once the acceleration factor model is validated for the test matrix a modeling scheme is developed to predict field performance from results of accelerated testing for particular failure modes of interest. Further refinement of the model can continue as more field data becomes available. While the demonstration of the method in this work is for thin film flexible PV modules, the framework and methodology can be adapted to other PV products.

Methods to Detect Nitric Oxide and its Metabolites in Biological Samples

PubMed Central

Bryan, Nathan S.; Grisham, Matthew B.

2007-01-01

Nitric oxide (NO) methodology is a complex and often confusing science and the focus of many debates and discussion concerning NO biochemistry. NO is involved in many physiological processes including regulation of blood pressure, immune response and neural communication. Therefore its accurate detection and quantification is critical to understanding health and disease. Due to the extremely short physiological half life of this gaseous free radical, alternative strategies for the detection of reaction products of NO biochemistry have been developed. The quantification of NO metabolites in biological samples provides valuable information with regards to in vivo NO production, bioavailability and metabolism. Simply sampling a single compartment such as blood or plasma may not always provide an accurate assessment of whole body NO status, particularly in tissues. Therefore, extrapolation of plasma or blood NO status to specific tissues of interest is no longer a valid approach. As a result, methods continue to be developed and validated which allow the detection and quantification of NO and NO-related products/metabolites in multiple compartments of experimental animals in vivo. The methods described in this review is not an exhaustive or comprehensive discussion of all methods available for the detection of NO but rather a description of the most commonly used and practical methods which allow accurate and sensitive quantification of NO products/metabolites in multiple biological matrices under normal physiological conditions. PMID:17664129

(125)I-Tetrazines and Inverse-Electron-Demand Diels-Alder Chemistry: A Convenient Radioiodination Strategy for Biomolecule Labeling, Screening, and Biodistribution Studies.

PubMed

Albu, Silvia A; Al-Karmi, Salma A; Vito, Alyssa; Dzandzi, James P K; Zlitni, Aimen; Beckford-Vera, Denis; Blacker, Megan; Janzen, Nancy; Patel, Ramesh M; Capretta, Alfredo; Valliant, John F

2016-01-20

A convenient method to prepare radioiodinated tetrazines was developed, such that a bioorthogonal inverse electron demand Diels-Alder reaction can be used to label biomolecules with iodine-125 for in vitro screening and in vivo biodistribution studies. The tetrazine was prepared by employing a high-yielding oxidative halo destannylation reaction that concomitantly oxidized the dihydrotetrazine precursor. The product reacts quickly and efficiently with trans-cyclooctene derivatives. Utility was demonstrated through antibody and hormone labeling experiments and by evaluating products using standard analytical methods, in vitro assays, and quantitative biodistribution studies where the latter was performed in direct comparison to Bolton-Hunter and direct iodination methods. The approach described provides a convenient and advantageous alternative to conventional protein iodination methods that can expedite preclinical development and evaluation of biotherapeutics.

A bioanalytical HPLC method for coumestrol quantification in skin permeation tests followed by UPLC-QTOF/HDMS stability-indicating method for identification of degradation products.

PubMed

Bianchi, Sara E; Teixeira, Helder F; Kaiser, Samuel; Ortega, George G; Schneider, Paulo Henrique; Bassani, Valquiria L

2016-05-01

Coumestrol is present in several species of the Fabaceae family widely distributed in plants. The estrogenic and antioxidant activities of this molecule show its potential as skin anti-aging agent. These characteristics reveal the interest in developing analytical methodology for permeation studies, as well as to know the stability of coumestrol identifying the major degradation products. Thus, the present study was designed, first, to develop and validate a versatile liquid chromatography (HPLC) method to quantify coumestrol in a hydrogel formulation in different porcine skin layers (stratum corneum, epidermis, and dermis) in permeation tests. In the stability-indicating test coumestrol samples were exposed to stress conditions: temperature, UVC light, oxidative, acid and alkaline media. The degradation products, as well as the constituents extracted from the hydrogel, adhesive tape or skin were not eluted in the retention time of the coumestrol. Hence, the HPLC method showed to be versatile, specific, accurate, precise and robust showing excellent performance for quantifying coumestrol in complex matrices involving skin permeation studies. Coumestrol recovery from porcine ear skin was found to be in the range of 97.07-107.28 μg/mL; the intra-day precision (repeatability) and intermediate precision (inter-day precision), respectively lower than 4.71% and 2.09%. The analysis using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight high definition mass spectrometry detector (UPLC-QTOF/HDMS) suggest the MS fragmentation patterns and the chemical structure of the main degradation products. These results represent new and relevant findings for the development of coumestrol pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of production-phase environmental impact metrics derived at the farm- and national-scale for United States agricultural commodities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costello, Christine; Xue, Xiaobo; Howarth, Robert W.

2015-11-01

Agricultural production is critical for human survival and simultaneously contributes to ecosystem degradation. There is a need for transparent, rapid methods for evaluating the environmental impacts of agricultural production at the system-level in order to develop sustainable food supplies. We have developed a method for estimating the greenhouse gas (GHG), land use and reactive nitrogen inputs associated with the agricultural production phase of major crop and livestock commodities produced in the United States (US). Materials flow analysis (MFA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques were applied to national inventory datasets. The net anthropogenic nitrogen inputs (NANI) toolbox served as the primary accounting tool for LCA and MFA. NANI was updated to create links between nitrogen fertilizer and nitrogen fixation associated with feed crops and animal food commodities. Results for the functional units kilogram (kg) of product and kg of protein for 2002 data fall within ranges of published LCA results from farm-scale studies across most metrics. Exceptions include eutrophication potential for milk and GHGs for chicken and eggs, these exceptions arise due to differing methods and boundary assumptions; suggestions for increasing agreement are identified. Land use for livestock commodities are generally higher than reported by other LCA studies due to the inclusion of all land identified as pasture or grazing land in the US in this study and given that most of the estimates from other LCAs were completed in Europe where land is less abundant. The method provides a view of the entire US agricultural system and could be applied to any year using publically available data. Additionally, utilizing a top-down approach reduces data collection and processing time making it possible to develop environmental inventory metrics rapidly for system-level decision-making.

Antisnake venom production crisis--who told us it was uneconomic and unsustainable?

PubMed

Simpson, Ian D; Jacobsen, Ingrid M

2009-01-01

The world of antisnake venom production is currently a gloomy place to visit. It is described as being in crisis, characterized by shortages, producers leaving the market, high prices, and unsustainability. It has been reduced to a pauper-like status, doomed to relying on charitable handouts for resolution. The worrying aspect of this is that little work has been done to establish the true economics and return on antisnake venom if provided by private companies. Fortunately, it is amenable to economic analysis, and in this manner, a rational approach to further development and distribution can be obtained. This article proposes a model antisnake venom (ASV) production unit and shows the likely economics and return based on the production of various volumes of ASV. It estimates the costs for the key components of the unit, which are production equipment and staffing. A profit and loss account and balance sheet are constructed for the unit, and the effects of ASV volume and neutralizing titres are demonstrated. It is our contention that ASV production can be sustained at affordable prices in the developing world. We recommend that any solution to the ASV shortage must take into account the most cost efficient method(s) of production.

Bioplastic production from cellulose of oil palm empty fruit bunch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isroi; Cifriadi, A.; Panji, T.; Wibowo, Nendyo A.; Syamsu, K.

2017-05-01

Empty fruit bunch is available abundantly in Indonesia as side product of CPO production. EFB production in Indonesia reached 28.65 million tons in 2015. EFB consist of 36.67% cellulose, 13.50% hemicellulose and 31.16% lignin. By calculation, potential cellulose from EFB is 11.50 million tons. Cellulose could be utilized as source for bioplastic production. This research aims to develop bioplastic production based on cellulose from EFB and to increase added value of EFB. Cellulose fiber has no plastic properties. Molecular modification of cellulose, composite with plasticizer and compatibilizer is a key success for utilization of cellulose for bioplastic. Main steps of bioplastic production from EFB are: 1) isolation and purification of cellulose, 2) cellulose modification and 3) synthesis of bioplastic. Cellulose was isolated by sodium hydroxide methods and bleached using sodium hypochlorite. Purity of obtained cellulose was 97%. Cellulose yield could reach 30% depend on cellulose content of EFB. Cellulose side chain was oxidized to reduce hydroxyl group and increase the carboxyl group. Bioplastic synthesis used glycerol as plasticizer and cassava starch as matrix. This research was successfully producing bioplastic sheet by casting method. In future prospects, bioplastic from EFB cellulose can be developed as plastic bag and food packaging.

Arrowheaded enhanced multivariance products representation for matrices (AEMPRM): Specifically focusing on infinite matrices and converting arrowheadedness to tridiagonality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özdemir, Gizem; Demiralp, Metin

2015-12-01

In this work, Enhanced Multivariance Products Representation (EMPR) approach which is a Demiralp-and-his- group extension to the Sobol's High Dimensional Model Representation (HDMR) has been used as the basic tool. Their discrete form have also been developed and used in practice by Demiralp and his group in addition to some other authors for the decomposition of the arrays like vectors, matrices, or multiway arrays. This work specifically focuses on the decomposition of infinite matrices involving denumerable infinitely many rows and columns. To this end the target matrix is first decomposed to the sum of certain outer products and then each outer product is treated by Tridiagonal Matrix Enhanced Multivariance Products Representation (TMEMPR) which has been developed by Demiralp and his group. The result is a three-matrix- factor-product whose kernel (the middle factor) is an arrowheaded matrix while the pre and post factors are invertable matrices decomposed of the support vectors of TMEMPR. This new method is called as Arrowheaded Enhanced Multivariance Products Representation for Matrices. The general purpose is approximation of denumerably infinite matrices with the new method.

A review of spatial downscaling of satellite remotely sensed soil moisture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Jian; Loew, Alexander; Merlin, Olivier; Verhoest, Niko E. C.

2017-06-01

Satellite remote sensing technology has been widely used to estimate surface soil moisture. Numerous efforts have been devoted to develop global soil moisture products. However, these global soil moisture products, normally retrieved from microwave remote sensing data, are typically not suitable for regional hydrological and agricultural applications such as irrigation management and flood predictions, due to their coarse spatial resolution. Therefore, various downscaling methods have been proposed to improve the coarse resolution soil moisture products. The purpose of this paper is to review existing methods for downscaling satellite remotely sensed soil moisture. These methods are assessed and compared in terms of their advantages and limitations. This review also provides the accuracy level of these methods based on published validation studies. In the final part, problems and future trends associated with these methods are analyzed.

Three ingredients for Improved global aftershock forecasts: Tectonic region, time-dependent catalog incompleteness, and inter-sequence variability

USGS Publications Warehouse

Page, Morgan T.; Van Der Elst, Nicholas; Hardebeck, Jeanne L.; Felzer, Karen; Michael, Andrew J.

2016-01-01

Following a large earthquake, seismic hazard can be orders of magnitude higher than the long‐term average as a result of aftershock triggering. Because of this heightened hazard, emergency managers and the public demand rapid, authoritative, and reliable aftershock forecasts. In the past, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) aftershock forecasts following large global earthquakes have been released on an ad hoc basis with inconsistent methods, and in some cases aftershock parameters adapted from California. To remedy this, the USGS is currently developing an automated aftershock product based on the Reasenberg and Jones (1989) method that will generate more accurate forecasts. To better capture spatial variations in aftershock productivity and decay, we estimate regional aftershock parameters for sequences within the García et al. (2012) tectonic regions. We find that regional variations for mean aftershock productivity reach almost a factor of 10. We also develop a method to account for the time‐dependent magnitude of completeness following large events in the catalog. In addition to estimating average sequence parameters within regions, we develop an inverse method to estimate the intersequence parameter variability. This allows for a more complete quantification of the forecast uncertainties and Bayesian updating of the forecast as sequence‐specific information becomes available.

Calculating the Mean Amplitude of Glycemic Excursions from Continuous Glucose Data Using an Open-Code Programmable Algorithm Based on the Integer Nonlinear Method.

PubMed

Yu, Xuefei; Lin, Liangzhuo; Shen, Jie; Chen, Zhi; Jian, Jun; Li, Bin; Xin, Sherman Xuegang

2018-01-01

The mean amplitude of glycemic excursions (MAGE) is an essential index for glycemic variability assessment, which is treated as a key reference for blood glucose controlling at clinic. However, the traditional "ruler and pencil" manual method for the calculation of MAGE is time-consuming and prone to error due to the huge data size, making the development of robust computer-aided program an urgent requirement. Although several software products are available instead of manual calculation, poor agreement among them is reported. Therefore, more studies are required in this field. In this paper, we developed a mathematical algorithm based on integer nonlinear programming. Following the proposed mathematical method, an open-code computer program named MAGECAA v1.0 was developed and validated. The results of the statistical analysis indicated that the developed program was robust compared to the manual method. The agreement among the developed program and currently available popular software is satisfied, indicating that the worry about the disagreement among different software products is not necessary. The open-code programmable algorithm is an extra resource for those peers who are interested in the related study on methodology in the future.

A systematic approach to identify therapeutic effects of natural products based on human metabolite information.

PubMed

Noh, Kyungrin; Yoo, Sunyong; Lee, Doheon

2018-06-13

Natural products have been widely investigated in the drug development field. Their traditional use cases as medicinal agents and their resemblance of our endogenous compounds show the possibility of new drug development. Many researchers have focused on identifying therapeutic effects of natural products, yet the resemblance of natural products and human metabolites has been rarely touched. We propose a novel method which predicts therapeutic effects of natural products based on their similarity with human metabolites. In this study, we compare the structure, target and phenotype similarities between natural products and human metabolites to capture molecular and phenotypic properties of both compounds. With the generated similarity features, we train support vector machine model to identify similar natural product and human metabolite pairs. The known functions of human metabolites are then mapped to the paired natural products to predict their therapeutic effects. With our selected three feature sets, structure, target and phenotype similarities, our trained model successfully paired similar natural products and human metabolites. When applied to the natural product derived drugs, we could successfully identify their indications with high specificity and sensitivity. We further validated the found therapeutic effects of natural products with the literature evidence. These results suggest that our model can match natural products to similar human metabolites and provide possible therapeutic effects of natural products. By utilizing the similar human metabolite information, we expect to find new indications of natural products which could not be covered by previous in silico methods.

A strategic planning methodology for aircraft redesign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Romli, Fairuz Izzuddin

Due to a progressive market shift to a customer-driven environment, the influence of engineering changes on the product's market success is becoming more prominent. This situation affects many long lead-time product industries including aircraft manufacturing. Derivative development has been the key strategy for many aircraft manufacturers to survive the competitive market and this trend is expected to continue in the future. Within this environment of design adaptation and variation, the main market advantages are often gained by the fastest aircraft manufacturers to develop and produce their range of market offerings without any costly mistakes. This realization creates an emphasis on the efficiency of the redesign process, particularly on the handling of engineering changes. However, most activities involved in the redesign process are supported either inefficiently or not at all by the current design methods and tools, primarily because they have been mostly developed to improve original product development. In view of this, the main goal of this research is to propose an aircraft redesign methodology that will act as a decision-making aid for aircraft designers in the change implementation planning of derivative developments. The proposed method, known as Strategic Planning of Engineering Changes (SPEC), combines the key elements of the product redesign planning and change management processes. Its application is aimed at reducing the redesign risks of derivative aircraft development, improving the detection of possible change effects propagation, increasing the efficiency of the change implementation planning and also reducing the costs and the time delays due to the redesign process. To address these challenges, four research areas have been identified: baseline assessment, change propagation prediction, change impact analysis and change implementation planning. Based on the established requirements for the redesign planning process, several methods and tools that are identified within these research areas have been abstracted and adapted into the proposed SPEC method to meet the research goals. The proposed SPEC method is shown to be promising in improving the overall efficiency of the derivative aircraft planning process through two notional aircraft system redesign case studies that are presented in this study.

Using a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to determine product usability: A proposed theoretical framework.

PubMed

Zhou, Ronggang; Chan, Alan H S

2017-01-01

In order to compare existing usability data to ideal goals or to that for other products, usability practitioners have tried to develop a framework for deriving an integrated metric. However, most current usability methods with this aim rely heavily on human judgment about the various attributes of a product, but often fail to take into account of the inherent uncertainties in these judgments in the evaluation process. This paper presents a universal method of usability evaluation by combining the analytic hierarchical process (AHP) and the fuzzy evaluation method. By integrating multiple sources of uncertain information during product usability evaluation, the method proposed here aims to derive an index that is structured hierarchically in terms of the three usability components of effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction of a product. With consideration of the theoretical basis of fuzzy evaluation, a two-layer comprehensive evaluation index was first constructed. After the membership functions were determined by an expert panel, the evaluation appraisals were computed by using the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation technique model to characterize fuzzy human judgments. Then with the use of AHP, the weights of usability components were elicited from these experts. Compared to traditional usability evaluation methods, the major strength of the fuzzy method is that it captures the fuzziness and uncertainties in human judgments and provides an integrated framework that combines the vague judgments from multiple stages of a product evaluation process.

Development and implementation of a quality assurance program for a hormonal contraceptive implant.

PubMed

Owen, Derek H; Jenkins, David; Cancel, Aida; Carter, Eli; Dorflinger, Laneta; Spieler, Jeff; Steiner, Markus J

2013-04-01

The importance of the distribution of safe, effective and cost-effective pharmaceutical products in resource-constrained countries is the subject of increasing attention. FHI 360 has developed a program aimed at evaluating the quality of a contraceptive implant manufactured in China, while the product is being registered in an increasing number of countries and distributed by international procurement agencies. The program consists of (1) independent product testing; (2) ongoing evaluation of the manufacturing facility through audits and inspections; and (3) post-marketing surveillance. This article focuses on the laboratory testing of the product. The various test methods were chosen from the following test method compendia, the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), British Pharmacopeia (BP), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), or lot release tests mandated by Chinese regulatory requirements. Each manufactured lot is independently tested prior to its distribution to countries supported by this program. In addition, a more detailed annual testing program includes evaluation of the active ingredient (levonorgestrel), the final product and the packaging material. Over the first 4 years of this 5-year project, all tested lots met the established quality criteria. The quality assurance program developed for this contraceptive implant has helped ensure that a safe product was being introduced into developing country family planning programs. This program provides a template for establishing quality assurance programs for other cost-effective pharmaceutical products that have not yet received stringent regulatory approval and are being distributed in resource-poor settings. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessment of higher order structure comparability in therapeutic proteins using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

PubMed

Amezcua, Carlos A; Szabo, Christina M

2013-06-01

In this work, we applied nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to rapidly assess higher order structure (HOS) comparability in protein samples. Using a variation of the NMR fingerprinting approach described by Panjwani et al. [2010. J Pharm Sci 99(8):3334-3342], three nonglycosylated proteins spanning a molecular weight range of 6.5-67 kDa were analyzed. A simple statistical method termed easy comparability of HOS by NMR (ECHOS-NMR) was developed. In this method, HOS similarity between two samples is measured via the correlation coefficient derived from linear regression analysis of binned NMR spectra. Applications of this method include HOS comparability assessment during new product development, manufacturing process changes, supplier changes, next-generation products, and the development of biosimilars to name just a few. We foresee ECHOS-NMR becoming a routine technique applied to comparability exercises used to complement data from other analytical techniques. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Pungency Quantitation of Hot Pepper Sauces Using HPLC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Betts, Thomas A.

1999-02-01

A class of compounds known as capsaicinoids are responsible for the "heat" of hot peppers. To determine the pungency of a particular pepper or pepper product, one may quantify the capsaicinoids and relate those concentrations to the perceived heat. The format of the laboratory described here allows students to collectively develop an HPLC method for the quantitation of the two predominant capsaicinoids (capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin) in hot-pepper products. Each small group of students investigated one of the following aspects of the method: detector wavelength, mobile-phase composition, extraction of capsaicinoids, calibration, and quantitation. The format of the lab forced students to communicate and cooperate to develop this method. The resulting HPLC method involves extraction with acetonitrile followed by solid-phase extraction clean-up, an isocratic 80:20 methanol-water mobile phase, a 4.6 mm by 25 cm C-18 column, and UV absorbance detection at 284 nm. The method developed by the students was then applied to the quantitation of capsaicinoids in a variety of hot pepper sauces. Editor's Note on Hazards in our April 2000 issue addresses the above.

Efficient sparse matrix-matrix multiplication for computing periodic responses by shooting method on Intel Xeon Phi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoykov, S.; Atanassov, E.; Margenov, S.

2016-10-01

Many of the scientific applications involve sparse or dense matrix operations, such as solving linear systems, matrix-matrix products, eigensolvers, etc. In what concerns structural nonlinear dynamics, the computations of periodic responses and the determination of stability of the solution are of primary interest. Shooting method iswidely used for obtaining periodic responses of nonlinear systems. The method involves simultaneously operations with sparse and dense matrices. One of the computationally expensive operations in the method is multiplication of sparse by dense matrices. In the current work, a new algorithm for sparse matrix by dense matrix products is presented. The algorithm takes into account the structure of the sparse matrix, which is obtained by space discretization of the nonlinear Mindlin's plate equation of motion by the finite element method. The algorithm is developed to use the vector engine of Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors. It is compared with the standard sparse matrix by dense matrix algorithm and the one developed by Intel MKL and it is shown that by considering the properties of the sparse matrix better algorithms can be developed.

Chemistry and quality of Hibiscus (Hibiscus sabdariffa) for developing the natural-product industry in Senegal.

PubMed

Juliani, H R; Welch, C R; Wu, Q; Diouf, B; Malainy, D; Simon, J E

2009-03-01

The objectives of this study were to assess and improve the quality of the hibiscus calyces from Senegal over 2 production seasons (2004 to 2005), to develop and adapt new procedures for the determination of hibiscus anthocyanins and analysis of the 2 major ones, delphinidin-3-sambubioside and cyanidin-3-sambubioside. The foreign matter, total ashes, and acid insoluble ashes showed that the calyces harvested in 2005 were produced following hygienic practices, while the color assessment of the calyces and analysis of hibiscus active principles also showed higher amounts of anthocyanins in 2005. A protocol to measure anthocyanins by pH-differential UV-Vis spectrophotometry was adapted to measure the hibiscus anthocyanins from a water extract. The spectrophotometric method for quantitation of total anthocyanins showed a close correlation (r(2)= 0.82) when compared with the HPLC method, suggesting the use of the colorimetric method in quality control programs as an affordable alternative method to assess anthocyanin content in hibiscus. New and raised standards for the cleanliness and active principle content in hibiscus are also proposed. This study demonstrated that the implementation of a quality control program and the application of agricultural good practices in the production and processing of hibiscus calyces can lead to higher quality natural plant products.

Improved Methods to Produce Tissue-Engineered Skin Substitutes Suitable for the Permanent Closure of Full-Thickness Skin Injuries

PubMed Central

Larouche, Danielle; Cantin-Warren, Laurence; Desgagné, Maxime; Guignard, Rina; Martel, Israël; Ayoub, Akram; Lavoie, Amélie; Gauvin, Robert; Auger, François A.; Moulin, Véronique J.; Germain, Lucie

2016-01-01

Abstract There is a clinical need for skin substitutes to replace full-thickness skin loss. Our group has developed a bilayered skin substitute produced from the patient's own fibroblasts and keratinocytes referred to as Self-Assembled Skin Substitute (SASS). After cell isolation and expansion, the current time required to produce SASS is 45 days. We aimed to optimize the manufacturing process to standardize the production of SASS and to reduce production time. The new approach consisted in seeding keratinocytes on a fibroblast-derived tissue sheet before its detachment from the culture plate. Four days following keratinocyte seeding, the resulting tissue was stacked on two fibroblast-derived tissue sheets and cultured at the air–liquid interface for 10 days. The resulting total production time was 31 days. An alternative method adapted to more contractile fibroblasts was also developed. It consisted in adding a peripheral frame before seeding fibroblasts in the culture plate. SASSs produced by both new methods shared similar histology, contractile behavior in vitro and in vivo evolution after grafting onto mice when compared with SASSs produced by the 45-day standard method. In conclusion, the new approach for the production of high-quality human skin substitutes should allow an earlier autologous grafting for the treatment of severely burned patients. PMID:27872793

Optics for coherent X-ray applications.

PubMed

Yabashi, Makina; Tono, Kensuke; Mimura, Hidekazu; Matsuyama, Satoshi; Yamauchi, Kazuto; Tanaka, Takashi; Tanaka, Hitoshi; Tamasaku, Kenji; Ohashi, Haruhiko; Goto, Shunji; Ishikawa, Tetsuya

2014-09-01

Developments of X-ray optics for full utilization of diffraction-limited storage rings (DLSRs) are presented. The expected performance of DLSRs is introduced using the design parameters of SPring-8 II. To develop optical elements applicable to manipulation of coherent X-rays, advanced technologies on precise processing and metrology were invented. With propagation-based coherent X-rays at the 1 km beamline of SPring-8, a beryllium window fabricated with the physical-vapour-deposition method was found to have ideal speckle-free properties. The elastic emission machining method was utilized for developing reflective mirrors without distortion of the wavefronts. The method was further applied to production of diffraction-limited focusing mirrors generating the smallest spot size in the sub-10 nm regime. To enable production of ultra-intense nanobeams at DLSRs, a low-vibration cooling system for a high-heat-load monochromator and advanced diagnostic systems to characterize X-ray beam properties precisely were developed. Finally, new experimental schemes for combinative nano-analysis and spectroscopy realised with novel X-ray optics are discussed.

The development and standardization of testing methods for genetically modified organisms and their derived products.

PubMed

Zhang, Dabing; Guo, Jinchao

2011-07-01

As the worldwide commercialization of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) increases and consumers concern the safety of GMOs, many countries and regions are issuing labeling regulations on GMOs and their products. Analytical methods and their standardization for GM ingredients in foods and feed are essential for the implementation of labeling regulations. To date, the GMO testing methods are mainly based on the inserted DNA sequences and newly produced proteins in GMOs. This paper presents an overview of GMO testing methods as well as their standardization. © 2011 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Methods and Techniques. Student Involvement in the Production of Teaching Aids.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernau, C.

1984-01-01

Indicates that teaching materials used in industrialized countries are not appropriate and often cannot be adapted for the use in developing countries. Having students help with production of teaching aids increases their motivation for using them. (JOW)

Development of the Internet-Based Customer-Oriented Ordering System Framework for Complicated Mechanical Product

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ong, Mingwei; Watanuki, Keiichi

Recently, as consumers gradually prefer buying products that reflect their own personality, there exist some consumers who wish to involve in the product design process. Parallel with the popularization of e-business, many manufacturers have utilized the Internet to promote their products, and some have even built websites that enable consumers to select their desirable product specifications. Nevertheless, this method has not been applied on complicated mechanical product due to the facts that complicated mechanical product has a large number of specifications that inter-relate among one another. In such a case, ordinary consumers who are lacking of design knowledge, are not capable of determining these specifications. In this paper, a prototype framework called Internet-based consumer-oriented product ordering system has been developed in which it enables ordinary consumers to have large freedom in determining complicated mechanical product specifications, and meanwhile ensures that the manufacturing of the determined product is feasible.

A stability indicating HPLC method for determination of mebeverine in the presence of its degradation products and kinetic study of its degradation in oxidative condition

PubMed Central

Souri, E.; Aghdami, A. Negahban; Adib, N.

2014-01-01

An HPLC method for determination of mebeverine hydrochloride (MH) in the presence of its degradation products was developed. The degradation of MH was studied under hydrolysis, oxidative and photolysis stress conditions. Under alkaline, acidic and oxidative conditions, degradation of MH was observed. The separation was performed using a Symmetry C18 column and a mixture of 50 mM KH2PO4, acetonitrile and tetrahydrfuran (THF) (63:35:2; v/v/v) as the mobile phase. No interference peaks from degradation products in acidic, alkaline and oxidative conditions were observed. The linearity, accuracy and precision of the method were studied. The method was linear over the range of 1-100 μg/ml MH (r2>0.999) and the CV values for intra-day and inter-day variations were in the range of 1.0-1.8%. The limit of quantification (LOQ) and the limit of detection (LOD) of the method were 1.0 and 0.2 μg/ml, respectively. Determination of MH in pharmaceutical dosage forms was performed using the developed method. Furthermore the kinetics of the degradation of MH in the presence of hydrogen peroxide was investigated. The proposed method could be a suitable method for routine quality control studies of mebeverine dosage forms. PMID:25657790

A stability indicating HPLC method for determination of mebeverine in the presence of its degradation products and kinetic study of its degradation in oxidative condition.

PubMed

Souri, E; Aghdami, A Negahban; Adib, N

2014-01-01

An HPLC method for determination of mebeverine hydrochloride (MH) in the presence of its degradation products was developed. The degradation of MH was studied under hydrolysis, oxidative and photolysis stress conditions. Under alkaline, acidic and oxidative conditions, degradation of MH was observed. The separation was performed using a Symmetry C18 column and a mixture of 50 mM KH2PO4, acetonitrile and tetrahydrfuran (THF) (63:35:2; v/v/v) as the mobile phase. No interference peaks from degradation products in acidic, alkaline and oxidative conditions were observed. The linearity, accuracy and precision of the method were studied. The method was linear over the range of 1-100 μg/ml MH (r(2)>0.999) and the CV values for intra-day and inter-day variations were in the range of 1.0-1.8%. The limit of quantification (LOQ) and the limit of detection (LOD) of the method were 1.0 and 0.2 μg/ml, respectively. Determination of MH in pharmaceutical dosage forms was performed using the developed method. Furthermore the kinetics of the degradation of MH in the presence of hydrogen peroxide was investigated. The proposed method could be a suitable method for routine quality control studies of mebeverine dosage forms.

Case history of Yakin Field: its development and sand control

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sawolo, N.; Krueger, R.F.; Maly, G.P.

1982-01-01

This study deals with the development of the Yakin Field in E. Kalimantan, Indonesia, with emphasis on the sand control methods used. Implementation of an effective sand control program insured the successful development of this field. Gravel packed wells had substantially lower production decline rates than the initial completions without gravel packs. Control of sand production also has been demonstrated by the lack of sand problems during the 4-1/2 yr since the sand control program was initiated. During this time there have been no failures of submersible pumps that were associated with sand production. The successful sand control program wasmore » achieved by a well coordinated and cooperative effort of drilling, reservoir engineering, production research, and service company personnel.« less

The use and interpretation of in vitro data in regulatory toxicology: cosmetics, toiletries and household products.

PubMed

Indans, Ian

2002-02-28

There is currently a drive to eliminate animal testing for cosmetics, toiletries and household products; indeed, the European Union Cosmetics Directive aims to prohibit the use of experimental animals for the testing of finished cosmetic products after 2002. At present, national prohibitions are in place in the UK, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, for the testing of finished cosmetic products and cosmetic ingredients. In the USA animal testing for certain types of finished products is mandatory. Against this background, the currently available regulatory in vitro tests comprise methods for eye irritation, skin corrosivity, genotoxicity, dermal penetration and photoirritation. The draft updates to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development guidelines for eye and skin irritation advocate the use of in vitro or ex vivo methods prior to the commencement of animal studies. At present, testing for these endpoints cannot be completed in vitro, but potentially corrosive substances and products can be classified without the need for animal studies. Regulatory genotoxicity testing can be completed using only in vitro methods, provided that a clear negative outcome is obtained for each test. Data from dermal penetration studies may be used to refine risk assessments. Current developments in areas such as skin sensitisation and skin irritation promise that in the reasonably near future such information may be generated without the use of animals.

Ultraviolet Light Surface Treatment as an Environmentally Benign Process for Production, Maintenance and Repair of Military Composite Structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drzal, Lawrence T.

2002-02-01

The principal objective of this work is to develop a low-cost, high-speed, environmentally benign, dry surface treatment method for production, and repair of military composite structures using ultraviolet (UV) light in ambient air. The potential advantage of this method is that it would eliminate volatile organic wastes (VOCs), reduce or eliminate the use of solutions and detergents, and provide a robust surface that would enhance or eliminate the use of solutions and detergents, and provide a robust surface that would enhance the wetting and spreading of paints, coatings and adhesives on polymeric and inorganic surfaces treated by this method. A manufacturing base for UV production equipment is in place although not for this application. There is a need for development of an environmentally friendly, cost effective as well as a robust surface treatment method that can clean a surface as well as create a beneficial chemistry for painting and produce optimum adhesive bonding of polymers, polymer composites and metal surfaces. With this in mind, three main technical objectives were sought in the work. The first objective was to determine the usefulness of UV and UV/O(3) to surface treatments to clean and chemically modify the surface of typical PMCs used in DOD systems. The second objective was to determine the effectiveness of this surface preparation for production and/or repair of adhesively bonded, painted and/or coated polymer matrix composite structures. Finally, a determination of the environmental and performance benefits of this method as a new environmentally benign processing method for the production and/or re air of adhesively SERDP, SERDP collection, robust surface, polymeric surface, inorganic surface, volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions.

Design and Development of the Terrain Information Extraction System

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-09-04

system successfully demonstrated relief measurement and orthophoto production, automated feature extraction has remained "the major problem of today’s...the hierarchical relaxation correlation method developed by Helava Associates, Inc. and digital orthophoto production. To achieve this high accuracy...image memory transfer rates will be achieved by using data blocks or "image tiles ." Further, an image fringe loading module will be implemented which

Detection of malondialdehyde in processed meat products without interference from the ingredients.

PubMed

Jung, Samooel; Nam, Ki Chang; Jo, Cheorun

2016-10-15

Our aim was to develop a method for accurate quantification of malondialdehyde (MDA) in meat products. MDA content of uncured ground pork (Control); ground pork cured with sodium nitrite (Nitrite); and ground pork cured with sodium nitrite, sodium chloride, sodium pyrophosphate, maltodextrin, and a sausage seasoning (Mix) was measured by the 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) assay with MDA extraction by trichloroacetic acid (method A) and two high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods: i) HPLC separation of the MDA-dinitrophenyl hydrazine adduct (method B) and ii) HPLC separation of MDA (method C) after MDA extraction with acetonitrile. Methods A and B could not quantify MDA accurately in groups Nitrite and Mix. Nevertheless, MDA in groups Control, Nitrite, and Mix was accurately quantified by method C with good recovery. Therefore, direct MDA quantification by HPLC after MDA extraction with acetonitrile (method C) is useful for accurate measurement of MDA content in processed meat products. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Regulatory Science in Practice (Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency).

PubMed

Hojo, Taisuke

2017-01-01

Review, safety, and relief services of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency are primarily focused on scientifically evaluating pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and cellular and tissue-based products referring to their quality, efficacy, and safety, which requires a variety of scientific knowledge and methods. Pharmaceutical regulation should be established based on the most advanced scientific expertise at all times. In order to evaluate products that use cutting-edge technology such as induced pluripotent stem cells and information and communication technology adequately, since fiscal year 2012 the Science Committee has been established as a platform to exchange opinions among members from top-ranking domestic and international academia and to enhance personnel exchanges through the Initiative to Facilitate Development of Innovative Drugs. In addition, the Regulatory Science Center will be established in 2018 to increase the integrity of our services for product reviews and safety measures. In particular, requiring electronic data submissions for clinical trial applications followed by an advanced approach to analysis should not only enhance the quality of reviews of individual products but should also support the development of pharmaceuticals and medical devices by providing pharmaceutical affairs consultations on research and development strategies with various guidelines based on new insights resulting from product-bridging data analysis. Moreover, a database including electronic health records with comprehensive medical information collected mainly from 10 cooperating medical institutions will be developed with the aim of developing safety measures in a more timely manner using methods of pharmacoepidemiological analysis.

Validated stability-indicating spectrophotometric methods for the determination of Silodosin in the presence of its degradation products.

PubMed

Boltia, Shereen A; Abdelkawy, Mohammed; Mohammed, Taghreed A; Mostafa, Nahla N

2018-09-05

Five simple, rapid, accurate, and precise spectrophotometric methods are developed for the determination of Silodosin (SLD) in the presence of its acid induced and oxidative induced degradation products. Method A is based on dual wavelength (DW) method; two wavelengths are selected at which the absorbance of the oxidative induced degradation product is the same, so wavelengths 352 and 377 nm are used to determine SLD in the presence of its oxidative induced degradation product. Method B depends on induced dual wavelength theory (IDW), which is based on selecting two wavelengths on the zero-order spectrum of SLD where the difference in absorbance between them for the spectrum of acid induced degradation products is not equal to zero so through multiplying by the equality factor, the absorption difference is made to be zero for the acid induced degradation product while it is still significant for SLD. Method C is first derivative ( 1 D) spectrophotometry of SLD and its degradation products. Peak amplitudes are measured at 317 and 357 nm. Method D is ratio difference spectrophotometry (RD) where the drug is determined by the difference in amplitude between two selected wavelengths, at 350 and 277 nm for the ratio spectrum of SLD and its acid induced degradation products while for the ratio spectrum of SLD and its oxidative induced degradation products the difference in amplitude is measured at 345 and 292 nm. Method E depends on measuring peak amplitudes of the first derivative of the ratio ( 1 DD) where peak amplitudes are measured at 330 nm in the presence of the acid induced degradation product and measured by peak to peak technique at 326 and 369 nm in the presence of the oxidative induced degradation product. The proposed methods are validated according to ICH recommendations. The calibration curves for all the proposed methods are linear over a concentration range of 5-70 μg/mL. The selectivity of the proposed methods was tested using different laboratory prepared mixtures of SLD with either its acid induced or oxidative induced degradation products showing specificity of SLD with accepted recovery values. The proposed methods have been successfully applied to the analysis of SLD in pharmaceutical dosage forms without interference from additives. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Environmentally evaluated HPLC-ELSD method to monitor enzymatic synthesis of a non-ionic surfactant.

PubMed

Gaber, Yasser; Akerman, Cecilia Orellana; Hatti-Kaul, Rajni

2014-01-01

N-Lauroyl-N-methylglucamide is a biodegradable surfactant derived from renewable resources. In an earlier study, we presented an enzymatic solvent-free method for synthesis of this compound. In the present report, the HPLC method developed to follow the reaction between lauric acid/methyl laurate and N-methyl glucamine (MEG) and its environmental assessment are described. Use of ultraviolet (UV) absorption or refractive index (RI) detectors did not allow the detection of N-methyl glucamine (MEG). With Evaporative light scattering detector ELSD, it was possible to apply a gradient elution, and detect MEG with a limit of detection, LOD = 0.12 μg. A good separation of the peaks: MEG, lauric acid, product (amide) and by-product (amide-ester) was achieved with the gradient program with a run time of 40 min. The setting of ELSD detector was optimized using methyl laurate as the analyte. LC-MS/MS was used to confirm the amide and amide-ester peaks. We evaluated the greenness of the developed method using the freely available software HPLC-Environmental Assessment Tool (HPLC-EAT) and the method got a scoring of 73 HPLC-EAT units, implying that the analytical procedure was more environmentally benign compared to some other methods reported in literature whose HPLC-EAT values scored up to 182. Use of ELSD detector allowed the detection and quantification of the substrates and the reaction products of enzymatic synthesis of the surfactant, N-lauroyl-N-methylglucamide. The developed HPLC method has acceptable environmental profile based on HPLC-EAT evaluation.

Environmentally evaluated HPLC-ELSD method to monitor enzymatic synthesis of a non-ionic surfactant

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background N-Lauroyl-N-methylglucamide is a biodegradable surfactant derived from renewable resources. In an earlier study, we presented an enzymatic solvent-free method for synthesis of this compound. In the present report, the HPLC method developed to follow the reaction between lauric acid/methyl laurate and N-methyl glucamine (MEG) and its environmental assessment are described. Results Use of ultraviolet (UV) absorption or refractive index (RI) detectors did not allow the detection of N-methyl glucamine (MEG). With Evaporative light scattering detector ELSD, it was possible to apply a gradient elution, and detect MEG with a limit of detection, LOD = 0.12 μg. A good separation of the peaks: MEG, lauric acid, product (amide) and by-product (amide-ester) was achieved with the gradient program with a run time of 40 min. The setting of ELSD detector was optimized using methyl laurate as the analyte. LC-MS/MS was used to confirm the amide and amide-ester peaks. We evaluated the greenness of the developed method using the freely available software HPLC-Environmental Assessment Tool (HPLC-EAT) and the method got a scoring of 73 HPLC-EAT units, implying that the analytical procedure was more environmentally benign compared to some other methods reported in literature whose HPLC-EAT values scored up to 182. Conclusion Use of ELSD detector allowed the detection and quantification of the substrates and the reaction products of enzymatic synthesis of the surfactant, N-lauroyl-N-methylglucamide. The developed HPLC method has acceptable environmental profile based on HPLC-EAT evaluation. PMID:24914404

Harvested wood products : basis for future methodological development

Treesearch

Kenneth E. Skog

2003-01-01

The IPCC Guidelines (IPCC 1997) provide an outline of how harvested wood could be treated in national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories. This section shows the relation of that outline to the approaches and estimation methods to be presented in this Appendix. Wood and paper products are referred to as harvested wood products (HWP). It does not include carbon in...

Conventional and Innovative Processing of Milk for Yogurt Manufacture; Development of Texture and Flavor: A Review.

PubMed

Sfakianakis, Panagiotis; Tzia, Constatnina

2014-03-11

Milk and yogurt are important elements of the human diet, due to their high nutritional value and their appealing sensory properties. During milk processing (homogenization, pasteurization) and further yogurt manufacture (fermentation) physicochemical changes occur that affect the flavor and texture of these products while the development of standardized processes contributes to the development of desirable textural and flavor characteristics. The processes that take place during milk processing and yogurt manufacture with conventional industrial methods, as well as with innovative methods currently proposed (ultra-high pressure, ultrasound, microfluidization, pulsed electric fields), and their effect on the texture and flavor of the final conventional or probiotic/prebiotic products will be presented in this review.

Compositions and methods for xylem-specific expression in plant cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Han, Kyung-Hwan; Ko, Jae-Heung

The invention provides promoter sequences that regulate specific expression of operably linked sequences in developing xylem cells and/or in developing xylem tissue. The developing xylem-specific sequences are exemplified by the DX5, DX8, DX11, and DX15 promoters, portions thereof, and homologs thereof. The invention further provides expression vectors, cells, tissues and plants that contain the invention's sequences. The compositions of the invention and methods of using them are useful in, for example, improving the quantity (biomass) and/or the quality (wood density, lignin content, sugar content etc.) of expressed biomass feedstock products that may be used for bioenergy, biorefinary, and generating woodmore » products such as pulp, paper, and solid wood.« less

Fundamentals and applications of solar energy. Part 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faraq, I. H.; Melsheimer, S. S.

Applications of techniques of chemical engineering to the development of materials, production methods, and performance optimization and evaluation of solar energy systems are discussed. Solar thermal storage systems using phase change materials, liquid phase Diels-Alder reactions, aquifers, and hydrocarbon oil were examined. Solar electric systems were explored in terms of a chlorophyll solar cell, the nonequilibrium electric field effects developed at photoelectrode/electrolyte interfaces, and designs for commercial scale processing of solar cells using continuous thin-film coating production methods. Solar coal gasification processes were considered, along with multilayer absorber coatings for solar concentrator receivers, solar thermal industrial applications, the kinetics of anaerobic digestion of crop residues to produce methane, and a procedure for developing a computer simulation of a solar cooling system.

Simultaneous Separation of Actinium and Radium Isotopes from a Proton Irradiated Thorium Matrix

DOE PAGES

Mastren, Tara; Radchenko, Valery; Owens, Allison; ...

2017-08-15

A new method has been developed for the isolation of 223,224,225Ra, in high yield and purity, from a proton irradiated 232Th matrix. We report an all-aqueous process using multiple solid-supported adsorption steps including a citrate chelation method developed to remove >99.9% of the barium contaminants by activity from the final radium product. Moreover, we developed a procedure involving the use of three columns in succession, and the separation of 223,224,225Ra from the thorium matrix was obtained with an overall recovery yield of 91 ± 3%, average radiochemical purity of 99.9%, and production yields that correspond to physical yields based onmore » previously measured excitation functions.« less

Conventional and Innovative Processing of Milk for Yogurt Manufacture; Development of Texture and Flavor: A Review

PubMed Central

Sfakianakis, Panagiotis; Tzia, Constatnina

2014-01-01

Milk and yogurt are important elements of the human diet, due to their high nutritional value and their appealing sensory properties. During milk processing (homogenization, pasteurization) and further yogurt manufacture (fermentation) physicochemical changes occur that affect the flavor and texture of these products while the development of standardized processes contributes to the development of desirable textural and flavor characteristics. The processes that take place during milk processing and yogurt manufacture with conventional industrial methods, as well as with innovative methods currently proposed (ultra-high pressure, ultrasound, microfluidization, pulsed electric fields), and their effect on the texture and flavor of the final conventional or probiotic/prebiotic products will be presented in this review. PMID:28234312

Sprocket- Chain Simulation: Modelling and Simulation of a Multi Physics problem by sequentially coupling MotionSolve and nanoFluidX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayanthi, Aditya; Coker, Christopher

2016-11-01

In the last decade, CFD simulations have transitioned from the stage where they are used to validate the final designs to the main stream development of products driven by the simulation. However, there are still niche areas of applications liking oiling simulations, where the traditional CFD simulation times are probative to use them in product development and have to rely on experimental methods, which are expensive. In this paper a unique example of Sprocket-Chain simulation will be presented using nanoFluidx a commercial SPH code developed by FluiDyna GmbH and Altair Engineering. The grid less nature of the of SPH method has inherent advantages in the areas of application with complex geometry which pose severe challenge to classical finite volume CFD methods due to complex moving geometries, moving meshes and high resolution requirements leading to long simulation times. The simulations times using nanoFluidx can be reduced from weeks to days allowing the flexibility to run more simulation and can be in used in main stream product development. The example problem under consideration is a classical Multiphysics problem and a sequentially coupled solution of Motion Solve and nanoFluidX will be presented. This abstract is replacing DFD16-2016-000045.

Tensor-product preconditioners for higher-order space-time discontinuous Galerkin methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diosady, Laslo T.; Murman, Scott M.

2017-02-01

A space-time discontinuous-Galerkin spectral-element discretization is presented for direct numerical simulation of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. An efficient solution technique based on a matrix-free Newton-Krylov method is developed in order to overcome the stiffness associated with high solution order. The use of tensor-product basis functions is key to maintaining efficiency at high-order. Efficient preconditioning methods are presented which can take advantage of the tensor-product formulation. A diagonalized Alternating-Direction-Implicit (ADI) scheme is extended to the space-time discontinuous Galerkin discretization. A new preconditioner for the compressible Euler/Navier-Stokes equations based on the fast-diagonalization method is also presented. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of these preconditioners for the direct numerical simulation of subsonic turbulent flows.

Tensor-Product Preconditioners for Higher-Order Space-Time Discontinuous Galerkin Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diosady, Laslo T.; Murman, Scott M.

2016-01-01

space-time discontinuous-Galerkin spectral-element discretization is presented for direct numerical simulation of the compressible Navier-Stokes equat ions. An efficient solution technique based on a matrix-free Newton-Krylov method is developed in order to overcome the stiffness associated with high solution order. The use of tensor-product basis functions is key to maintaining efficiency at high order. Efficient preconditioning methods are presented which can take advantage of the tensor-product formulation. A diagonalized Alternating-Direction-Implicit (ADI) scheme is extended to the space-time discontinuous Galerkin discretization. A new preconditioner for the compressible Euler/Navier-Stokes equations based on the fast-diagonalization method is also presented. Numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of these preconditioners for the direct numerical simulation of subsonic turbulent flows.

Green toxicology.

PubMed

Maertens, Alexandra; Anastas, Nicholas; Spencer, Pamela J; Stephens, Martin; Goldberg, Alan; Hartung, Thomas

2014-01-01

Historically, early identification and characterization of adverse effects of industrial chemicals was difficult because conventional toxicological test methods did not meet R&D needs for rapid, relatively inexpensive methods amenable to small amounts of test material. The pharmaceutical industry now front-loads toxicity testing, using in silico, in vitro, and less demanding animal tests at earlier stages of product development to identify and anticipate undesirable toxicological effects and optimize product development. The Green Chemistry movement embraces similar ideas for development of less toxic products, safer processes, and less waste and exposure. Further, the concept of benign design suggests ways to consider possible toxicities before the actual synthesis and to apply some structure/activity rules (SAR) and in silico methods. This requires not only scientific development but also a change in corporate culture in which synthetic chemists work with toxicologists. An emerging discipline called Green Toxicology (Anastas, 2012) provides a framework for integrating the principles of toxicology into the enterprise of designing safer chemicals, thereby minimizing potential toxicity as early in production as possible. Green Toxicology`s novel utility lies in driving innovation by moving safety considerations to the earliest stage in a chemical`s lifecycle, i.e., to molecular design. In principle, this field is no different than other subdisciplines of toxicology that endeavor to focus on a specific area - for example, clinical, environmental or forensic toxicology. We use the same principles and tools to evaluate an existing substance or to design a new one. The unique emphasis is in using 21st century toxicology tools as a preventative strategy to "design out" undesired human health and environmental effects, thereby increasing the likelihood of launching a successful, sustainable product. Starting with the formation of a steering group and a series of workshops, the Green Toxicology concept is currently spreading internationally and is being refined via an iterative process.

Catalyst and process development for synthesis gas conversion to isobutylene. Final report, September 1, 1990--January 31, 1994

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anthony, R.G.; Akgerman, A.

1994-05-06

Previous work on isosynthesis (conversion of synthesis gas to isobutane and isobutylene) was performed at very low conversions or extreme process conditions. The objectives of this research were (1) determine the optimum process conditions for isosynthesis; (2) determine the optimum catalyst preparation method and catalyst composition/properties for isosynthesis; (3) determine the kinetics for the best catalyst; (4) develop reactor models for trickle bed, slurry, and fixed bed reactors; and (5) simulate the performance of fixed bed trickle flow reactors, slurry flow reactors, and fixed bed gas phase reactors for isosynthesis. More improvement in catalyst activity and selectivity is needed beforemore » isosynthesis can become a commercially feasible (stand-alone) process. Catalysts prepared by the precipitation method show the most promise for future development as compared with those prepared hydrothermally, by calcining zirconyl nitrate, or by a modified sol-gel method. For current catalysts the high temperatures (>673 K) required for activity also cause the production of methane (because of thermodynamics). A catalyst with higher activity at lower temperatures would magnify the unique selectivity of zirconia for isobutylene. Perhaps with a more active catalyst and acidification, oxygenate production could be limited at lower temperatures. Pressures above 50 atm cause an undesirable shift in product distribution toward heavier hydrocarbons. A model was developed that can predict carbon monoxide conversion an product distribution. The rate equation for carbon monoxide conversion contains only a rate constant and an adsorption equilibrium constant. The product distribution was predicted using a simple ratio of the rate of CO conversion. This report is divided into Introduction, Experimental, and Results and Discussion sections.« less

Novel Ergonomic Postural Assessment Method (NERPA) Using Product-Process Computer Aided Engineering for Ergonomic Workplace Design

PubMed Central

Sanchez-Lite, Alberto; Garcia, Manuel; Domingo, Rosario; Angel Sebastian, Miguel

2013-01-01

Background Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) that result from poor ergonomic design are one of the occupational disorders of greatest concern in the industrial sector. A key advantage in the primary design phase is to focus on a method of assessment that detects and evaluates the potential risks experienced by the operative when faced with these types of physical injuries. The method of assessment will improve the process design identifying potential ergonomic improvements from various design alternatives or activities undertaken as part of the cycle of continuous improvement throughout the differing phases of the product life cycle. Methodology/Principal Findings This paper presents a novel postural assessment method (NERPA) fit for product-process design, which was developed with the help of a digital human model together with a 3D CAD tool, which is widely used in the aeronautic and automotive industries. The power of 3D visualization and the possibility of studying the actual assembly sequence in a virtual environment can allow the functional performance of the parts to be addressed. Such tools can also provide us with an ergonomic workstation design, together with a competitive advantage in the assembly process. Conclusions The method developed was used in the design of six production lines, studying 240 manual assembly operations and improving 21 of them. This study demonstrated the proposed method’s usefulness and found statistically significant differences in the evaluations of the proposed method and the widely used Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method. PMID:23977340

Extension of biomass estimates to pre-assessment periods using density dependent surplus production approach.

PubMed

Horbowy, Jan; Tomczak, Maciej T

2017-01-01

Biomass reconstructions to pre-assessment periods for commercially important and exploitable fish species are important tools for understanding long-term processes and fluctuation on stock and ecosystem level. For some stocks only fisheries statistics and fishery dependent data are available, for periods before surveys were conducted. The methods for the backward extension of the analytical assessment of biomass for years for which only total catch volumes are available were developed and tested in this paper. Two of the approaches developed apply the concept of the surplus production rate (SPR), which is shown to be stock density dependent if stock dynamics is governed by classical stock-production models. The other approach used a modified form of the Schaefer production model that allows for backward biomass estimation. The performance of the methods was tested on the Arctic cod and North Sea herring stocks, for which analytical biomass estimates extend back to the late 1940s. Next, the methods were applied to extend biomass estimates of the North-east Atlantic mackerel from the 1970s (analytical biomass estimates available) to the 1950s, for which only total catch volumes were available. For comparison with other methods which employs a constant SPR estimated as an average of the observed values, was also applied. The analyses showed that the performance of the methods is stock and data specific; the methods that work well for one stock may fail for the others. The constant SPR method is not recommended in those cases when the SPR is relatively high and the catch volumes in the reconstructed period are low.

Extension of biomass estimates to pre-assessment periods using density dependent surplus production approach

PubMed Central

Horbowy, Jan

2017-01-01

Biomass reconstructions to pre-assessment periods for commercially important and exploitable fish species are important tools for understanding long-term processes and fluctuation on stock and ecosystem level. For some stocks only fisheries statistics and fishery dependent data are available, for periods before surveys were conducted. The methods for the backward extension of the analytical assessment of biomass for years for which only total catch volumes are available were developed and tested in this paper. Two of the approaches developed apply the concept of the surplus production rate (SPR), which is shown to be stock density dependent if stock dynamics is governed by classical stock-production models. The other approach used a modified form of the Schaefer production model that allows for backward biomass estimation. The performance of the methods was tested on the Arctic cod and North Sea herring stocks, for which analytical biomass estimates extend back to the late 1940s. Next, the methods were applied to extend biomass estimates of the North-east Atlantic mackerel from the 1970s (analytical biomass estimates available) to the 1950s, for which only total catch volumes were available. For comparison with other methods which employs a constant SPR estimated as an average of the observed values, was also applied. The analyses showed that the performance of the methods is stock and data specific; the methods that work well for one stock may fail for the others. The constant SPR method is not recommended in those cases when the SPR is relatively high and the catch volumes in the reconstructed period are low. PMID:29131850

Advanced Computational Methods for Monte Carlo Calculations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, Forrest B.

This course is intended for graduate students who already have a basic understanding of Monte Carlo methods. It focuses on advanced topics that may be needed for thesis research, for developing new state-of-the-art methods, or for working with modern production Monte Carlo codes.

Development of Infrared Radiation Heating Method for Sustainable Tomato Peeling

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Although lye peeling is the widely industrialized method for producing high quality peeled fruit and vegetable products, the peeling method has resulted in negative impacts by significantly exerting both environmental and economic pressure on the tomato processing industry due to its associated sali...

Derivatization of organophosphorus nerve agent degradation products for gas chromatography with ICPMS and TOF-MS detection.

PubMed

Richardson, Douglas D; Caruso, Joseph A

2007-06-01

Separation and detection of seven V-type (venomous) and G-type (German) organophosphorus nerve agent degradation products by gas chromatography with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (GC-ICPMS) is described. The nonvolatile alkyl phosphonic acid degradation products of interest included ethyl methylphosphonic acid (EMPA, VX acid), isopropyl methylphosphonic acid (IMPA, GB acid), ethyl hydrogen dimethylamidophosphate sodium salt (EDPA, GA acid), isobutyl hydrogen methylphosphonate (IBMPA, RVX acid), as well as pinacolyl methylphosphonic acid (PMPA), methylphosphonic acid (MPA), and cyclohexyl methylphosphonic acid (CMPA, GF acid). N-(tert-Butyldimethylsilyl)-N-methyltrifluroacetamide with 1% TBDMSCl was utilized to form the volatile TBDMS derivatives of the nerve agent degradation products for separation by GC. Exact mass confirmation of the formation of six of the TBDMS derivatives was obtained by GC-time of flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS). The method developed here allowed for the separation and detection of all seven TBDMS derivatives as well as phosphate in less than ten minutes. Detection limits for the developed method were less than 5 pg with retention times and peak area precisions of less than 0.01 and 6%, respectively. This method was successfully applied to river water and soil matrices. To date this is the first work describing the analysis of chemical warfare agent (CWA) degradation products by GC-ICPMS.

Development and Validation of an RP-HPLC Method for the Determination of Vinpocetine and Folic Acid in the Presence of a Vinpocetine Alkaline Degradation Product in Bulk and in Capsule Form.

PubMed

Elkady, Ehab F; Tammam, Marwa H; Mohamed, Ayman A

2017-05-01

An alkaline-forced degradation hydrolytic product of vinpocetine was prepared and characterized by 1H-NMR, FTIR spectroscopy, and MS. Subsequently, a simple, selective, and validated reversed-phase HPLC method was developed for the simultaneous estimation of vinpocetine and folic acid in the presence of a vinpocetine alkaline degradation product. Chromatographic separation was achieved using an isocratic mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-0.02 M KH2PO4 [containing 0.2% (v/v) triethylamine and adjusted to pH 6 with orthophosphoric acid; (80 + 20, v/v)] at a flow rate of 0.9 mL/min at ambient temperature on a Eurospher II C18 (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) column, with UV detection at 280 nm for folic acid and 230 nm for vinpocetine and its alkaline hydrolytic product. Linearity, accuracy, and precision were found to be acceptable over a concentration range of 12.5-200 μg/mL for vinpocetine and 1-16 μg/mL for folic acid. The proposed method was successfully applied for the determination of both drugs and a vinpocetine hydrolysis product in a laboratory-prepared mixture and in a capsule containing both drugs.

Cloud Property Retrieval Products for Graciosa Island, Azores

DOE Data Explorer

Dong, Xiquan

2014-05-05

The motivation for developing this product was to use the Dong et al. 1998 method to retrieve cloud microphysical properties, such as cloud droplet effective radius, cloud droplets number concentration, and optical thickness. These retrieved properties have been used to validate the satellite retrieval, and evaluate the climate simulations and reanalyses. We had been using this method to retrieve cloud microphysical properties over ARM SGP and NSA sites. We also modified the method for the AMF at Shouxian, China and some IOPs, e.g. ARM IOP at SGP in March, 2000. The ARSCL data from ARM data archive over the SGP and NSA have been used to determine the cloud boundary and cloud phase. For these ARM permanent sites, the ARSCL data was developed based on MMCR measurements, however, there were no data available at the Azores field campaign. We followed the steps to generate this derived product and also include the MPLCMASK cloud retrievals to determine the most accurate cloud boundaries, including the thin cirrus clouds that WACR may under-detect. We use these as input to retrieve the cloud microphysical properties. Due to the different temporal resolutions of the derived cloud boundary heights product and the cloud properties product, we submit them as two separate netcdf files.

Biocatalytic site- and enantioselective oxidative dearomatization of phenols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker Dockrey, Summer A.; Lukowski, April L.; Becker, Marc R.; Narayan, Alison R. H.

2018-02-01

The biocatalytic transformations used by chemists are often restricted to simple functional-group interconversions. In contrast, nature has developed complexity-generating biocatalytic reactions within natural product pathways. These sophisticated catalysts are rarely employed by chemists, because the substrate scope, selectivity and robustness of these catalysts are unknown. Our strategy to bridge the gap between the biosynthesis and synthetic chemistry communities leverages the diversity of catalysts available within natural product pathways. Here we show that, starting from a suite of biosynthetic enzymes, catalysts with complementary substrate scope as well as selectivity can be identified. This strategy has been applied to the oxidative dearomatization of phenols, a chemical transformation that rapidly builds molecular complexity from simple starting materials and cannot be accomplished with high selectivity using existing catalytic methods. Using enzymes from biosynthetic pathways, we have successfully developed a method to produce ortho-quinol products with controlled site- and stereoselectivity. Furthermore, we have capitalized on the scalability and robustness of this method in gram-scale reactions as well as multi-enzyme and chemoenzymatic cascades.

Design and Analysis of Offshore Macroalgae Biorefineries.

PubMed

Golberg, Alexander; Liberzon, Alexander; Vitkin, Edward; Yakhini, Zohar

2018-03-15

Displacing fossil fuels and their derivatives with renewables, and increasing sustainable food production are among the major challenges facing the world in the coming decades. A possible, sustainable direction for addressing this challenge is the production of biomass and the conversion of this biomass to the required products through a complex system coined biorefinery. Terrestrial biomass and microalgae are possible sources; however, concerns over net energy balance, potable water use, environmental hazards, and uncertainty in the processing technologies raise questions regarding their actual potential to meet the anticipated food, feed, and energy challenges in a sustainable way. Alternative sustainable sources for biorefineries are macroalgae grown and processed offshore. However, implementation of the offshore biorefineries requires detailed analysis of their technological, economic, and environmental performance. In this chapter, the basic principles of marine biorefineries design are shown. The methods to integrate thermodynamic efficiency, investment, and environmental aspects are discussed. The performance improvement by development of new cultivation methods that fit macroalgae physiology and development of new fermentation methods that address macroalgae unique chemical composition is shown.

Development and Validation of a Stability-Indicating Assay of Etofenamate by RP-HPLC and Characterization of Degradation Products

PubMed Central

Peraman, Ramalingam; Nayakanti, Devanna; Dugga, Hari Hara Theja; Kodikonda, Sudhakara

2013-01-01

A validated stability-indicating RP-HPLC method for etofenamate (ETF) was developed by separating its degradation products on a C18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm 5 μm) Qualisil BDS column using a phosphate buffer (pH-adjusted to 6.0 with orthophosphoric acid) and methanol in the ratio of 20:80 % v/v as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The column effluents were monitored by a photodiode array detector set at 286 nm. The method was validated in terms of specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, detection limit, quantification limit, and robustness. Forced degradation of etofenamate was carried out under acidic, basic, thermal, photo, and peroxide conditions and the major degradation products of acidic and basic degradation were isolated and characterized by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and mass spectral studies. The mass balance of the method varied between 92–99%. PMID:24482770

L-Methionine Production.

PubMed

Shim, Jihyun; Shin, Yonguk; Lee, Imsang; Kim, So Young

L-Methionine has been used in various industrial applications such as the production of feed and food additives and has been used as a raw material for medical supplies and drugs. It functions not only as an essential amino acid but also as a physiological effector, for example, by inhibiting fat accumulation and enhancing immune response. Producing methionine from fermentation is beneficial in that microorganisms can produce L-methionine selectively using eco-sustainable processes. Nevertheless, the fermentative method has not been used on an industrial scale because it is not competitive economically compared with chemical synthesis methods. Presented are efforts to develop suitable strains, engineered enzymes, and alternative process of producing L-methionine that overcomes problems of conventional fermentation methods. One of the alternative processes is a two-step process in which the L-methionine precursor is produced by fermentation and then converted to L-methionine by enzymes. Directed efforts toward strain development and enhanced enzyme engineering will advance industrial production of L-methionine based on fermentation.

[Improvement of 2-mercaptoimidazoline analysis in rubber products containing chlorine].

PubMed

Kaneko, Reiko; Haneishi, Nahoko; Kawamura, Yoko

2012-01-01

An improved analysis method for 2-mercaptoimidazoline in rubber products containing chlorine was developed. 2-Mercaptoimidazoline (20 µg/mL) is detected by means of TLC with two developing solvents in the official method. But, this method is not quantitative. Instead, we employed HPLC using water-methanol (9 : 1) as the mobile phase. This procedure decreased interfering peaks, and the quantitation limit was 2 µg/mL of standard solution. 2-Mercaptoimidazoline was confirmed by GC-MS (5 µg/mL) and LC/MS (1 µg/mL) in the scan mode. For preparation of test solution, a soaking extraction method, in which 20 mL of methanol was added to the sample and allowed to stand overnight at about 40°C, was used. This gave similar values to the Soxhlet extraction method (official method) and was more convenient. The results indicate that our procedure is suitable for analysis of 2-mercaptoimidazoline. When 2-mercaptoimidazoline is detected, it is confirmed by either GC/MS or LC/MS.

Mass extraction container closure integrity physical testing method development for parenteral container closure systems.

PubMed

Yoon, Seung-Yil; Sagi, Hemi; Goldhammer, Craig; Li, Lei

2012-01-01

Container closure integrity (CCI) is a critical factor to ensure that product sterility is maintained over its entire shelf life. Assuring the CCI during container closure (C/C) system qualification, routine manufacturing and stability is important. FDA guidance also encourages industry to develop a CCI physical testing method in lieu of sterility testing in a stability program. A mass extraction system has been developed to check CCI for a variety of container closure systems such as vials, syringes, and cartridges. Various types of defects (e.g., glass micropipette, laser drill, wire) were created and used to demonstrate a detection limit. Leakage, detected as mass flow in this study, changes as a function of defect length and diameter. Therefore, the morphology of defects has been examined in detail with fluid theories. This study demonstrated that a mass extraction system was able to distinguish between intact samples and samples with 2 μm defects reliably when the defect was exposed to air, water, placebo, or drug product (3 mg/mL concentration) solution. Also, it has been verified that the method was robust, and capable of determining the acceptance limit using 3σ for syringes and 6σ for vials. Sterile products must maintain their sterility over their entire shelf life. Container closure systems such as those found in syringes and vials provide a seal between rubber and glass containers. This seal must be ensured to maintain product sterility. A mass extraction system has been developed to check container closure integrity for a variety of container closure systems such as vials, syringes, and cartridges. In order to demonstrate the method's capability, various types of defects (e.g., glass micropipette, laser drill, wire) were created in syringes and vials and were tested. This study demonstrated that a mass extraction system was able to distinguish between intact samples and samples with 2 μm defects reliably when the defect was exposed to air, water, placebo, or drug product (3 mg/mL concentration) solution. Also, it was verified that the method showed consistent results, and was able to determine the acceptance limit using 3σ for syringes and 6σ for vials.

Ratio manipulating spectrophotometry versus chemometry as stability indicating methods for cefquinome sulfate determination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yehia, Ali M.; Arafa, Reham M.; Abbas, Samah S.; Amer, Sawsan M.

2016-01-01

Spectral resolution of cefquinome sulfate (CFQ) in the presence of its degradation products was studied. Three selective, accurate and rapid spectrophotometric methods were performed for the determination of CFQ in the presence of either its hydrolytic, oxidative or photo-degradation products. The proposed ratio difference, derivative ratio and mean centering are ratio manipulating spectrophotometric methods that were satisfactorily applied for selective determination of CFQ within linear range of 5.0-40.0 μg mL- 1. Concentration Residuals Augmented Classical Least Squares was applied and evaluated for the determination of the cited drug in the presence of its all degradation products. Traditional Partial Least Squares regression was also applied and benchmarked against the proposed advanced multivariate calibration. Experimentally designed 25 synthetic mixtures of three factors at five levels were used to calibrate and validate the multivariate models. Advanced chemometrics succeeded in quantitative and qualitative analyses of CFQ along with its hydrolytic, oxidative and photo-degradation products. The proposed methods were applied successfully for different pharmaceutical formulations analyses. These developed methods were simple and cost-effective compared with the manufacturer's RP-HPLC method.

A Review of Microwave-Assisted Reactions for Biodiesel Production

PubMed Central

Nomanbhay, Saifuddin; Ong, Mei Yin

2017-01-01

The conversion of biomass into chemicals and biofuels is an active research area as trends move to replace fossil fuels with renewable resources due to society’s increased concern towards sustainability. In this context, microwave processing has emerged as a tool in organic synthesis and plays an important role in developing a more sustainable world. Integration of processing methods with microwave irradiation has resulted in a great reduction in the time required for many processes, while the reaction efficiencies have been increased markedly. Microwave processing produces a higher yield with a cleaner profile in comparison to other methods. The microwave processing is reported to be a better heating method than the conventional methods due to its unique thermal and non-thermal effects. This paper provides an insight into the theoretical aspects of microwave irradiation practices and highlights the importance of microwave processing. The potential of the microwave technology to accomplish superior outcomes over the conventional methods in biodiesel production is presented. A green process for biodiesel production using a non-catalytic method is still new and very costly because of the supercritical condition requirement. Hence, non-catalytic biodiesel conversion under ambient pressure using microwave technology must be developed, as the energy utilization for microwave-based biodiesel synthesis is reported to be lower and cost-effective. PMID:28952536

A Review of Microwave-Assisted Reactions for Biodiesel Production.

PubMed

Nomanbhay, Saifuddin; Ong, Mei Yin

2017-06-15

The conversion of biomass into chemicals and biofuels is an active research area as trends move to replace fossil fuels with renewable resources due to society's increased concern towards sustainability. In this context, microwave processing has emerged as a tool in organic synthesis and plays an important role in developing a more sustainable world. Integration of processing methods with microwave irradiation has resulted in a great reduction in the time required for many processes, while the reaction efficiencies have been increased markedly. Microwave processing produces a higher yield with a cleaner profile in comparison to other methods. The microwave processing is reported to be a better heating method than the conventional methods due to its unique thermal and non-thermal effects. This paper provides an insight into the theoretical aspects of microwave irradiation practices and highlights the importance of microwave processing. The potential of the microwave technology to accomplish superior outcomes over the conventional methods in biodiesel production is presented. A green process for biodiesel production using a non-catalytic method is still new and very costly because of the supercritical condition requirement. Hence, non-catalytic biodiesel conversion under ambient pressure using microwave technology must be developed, as the energy utilization for microwave-based biodiesel synthesis is reported to be lower and cost-effective.

Hydrogen Infrastructure Testing and Research Facility | Hydrogen and Fuel

Science.gov Websites

stations, enabling NREL to validate current industry standards and methods for hydrogen fueling as well as the HITRF to: Develop, quantify performance of, and improve renewable hydrogen production methods

Using a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to determine product usability: A proposed theoretical framework

PubMed Central

Zhou, Ronggang; Chan, Alan H. S.

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: In order to compare existing usability data to ideal goals or to that for other products, usability practitioners have tried to develop a framework for deriving an integrated metric. However, most current usability methods with this aim rely heavily on human judgment about the various attributes of a product, but often fail to take into account of the inherent uncertainties in these judgments in the evaluation process. OBJECTIVE: This paper presents a universal method of usability evaluation by combining the analytic hierarchical process (AHP) and the fuzzy evaluation method. By integrating multiple sources of uncertain information during product usability evaluation, the method proposed here aims to derive an index that is structured hierarchically in terms of the three usability components of effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction of a product. METHODS: With consideration of the theoretical basis of fuzzy evaluation, a two-layer comprehensive evaluation index was first constructed. After the membership functions were determined by an expert panel, the evaluation appraisals were computed by using the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation technique model to characterize fuzzy human judgments. Then with the use of AHP, the weights of usability components were elicited from these experts. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Compared to traditional usability evaluation methods, the major strength of the fuzzy method is that it captures the fuzziness and uncertainties in human judgments and provides an integrated framework that combines the vague judgments from multiple stages of a product evaluation process. PMID:28035943

Simultaneous determination and identity confirmation of thiodicarb and its degradation product methomyl in animal-derived foodstuffs using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection and tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Rahman, Md Musfiqur; Abd El-Aty, A M; Kim, Sung-Woo; Lee, Young-Jun; Na, Tae-Woong; Park, Joon-Seong; Shin, Ho-Chul; Shim, Jae-Han

2017-01-01

A high-performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection method was developed for the simultaneous determination of thiodicarb and its degradation product methomyl in animal-derived food products, including chicken muscle, beef, pork, table eggs, and milk. Thiodicarb is known to degrade during analysis; therefore, a thorough investigation was carried out, revealing that thiodicarb degrades to methomyl immediately after spiking into a matrix of animal-derived food products. Consequently, thiodicarb was determined as the sum of the parent compound and methomyl. Samples were extracted with acetonitrile and sodium salts, and purified using solid-phase extraction (SPE). The limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) were 0.0013 and 0.004mg/kg, respectively, for both analytes in various matrices. Seven-point external calibration curves were obtained, and they showed excellent linearity with determination coefficients (R 2 )≥0.999 for all tested matrices. The method was validated at three fortification levels (LOQ, LOQ×2, and LOQ×10) in triplicate with average recoveries ranging from 84.24 to 112.8% (for methomyl) and relative standard deviations (RSDs)≤6.5% in all matrices. The converted recoveries of thiodicarb in various matrices ranged from 74.80 to 107.80% with RSDs≤4.5%. The identities of both compounds in standard solutions and for recovery were confirmed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The developed method was further validated by accurate reproduction at another laboratory. Finally, the method was applied to market samples collected from different areas (and, in the case of milk, different brands), and none of the samples tested positive for thiodicarb or methomyl. In conclusion, the developed method can be successfully applied for a single-run analysis of thiodicarb and methomyl in livestock products. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

78 FR 70308 - Prospective Grant of Exclusive License: Development of Chitosan/IL-12 Conjugate as...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-25

... Exclusive License: Development of Chitosan/ IL-12 Conjugate as Immunotherapeutic Products for Human Cancers... entitled ``Compositions And Methods For Chitosan Enhanced Immune Response'' [HHS Ref. No. E-311-2006/1-PCT... And Methods For Chitosan Enhanced Immune Response'' [HHS Ref. No. E-311-2006/1-EP-02]; and 4. U.S...

Greening a Chemistry Teaching Methods Course at the School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karpudewan, Mageswary; Hj Ismail, Zurida; Mohamed, Norita

2011-01-01

Green chemistry is the design, development and implementation of chemical products and processes to reduce or eliminate the use of sub-stances hazardous to human health and the environment. This article reports on the integration of green chemistry and sustainable development concepts (SDCs) into an existing teaching methods course for chemistry…

Constructing Model of Relationship among Behaviors and Injuries to Products Based on Large Scale Text Data on Injuries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nomori, Koji; Kitamura, Koji; Motomura, Yoichi; Nishida, Yoshifumi; Yamanaka, Tatsuhiro; Komatsubara, Akinori

In Japan, childhood injury prevention is urgent issue. Safety measures through creating knowledge of injury data are essential for preventing childhood injuries. Especially the injury prevention approach by product modification is very important. The risk assessment is one of the most fundamental methods to design safety products. The conventional risk assessment has been carried out subjectively because product makers have poor data on injuries. This paper deals with evidence-based risk assessment, in which artificial intelligence technologies are strongly needed. This paper describes a new method of foreseeing usage of products, which is the first step of the evidence-based risk assessment, and presents a retrieval system of injury data. The system enables a product designer to foresee how children use a product and which types of injuries occur due to the product in daily environment. The developed system consists of large scale injury data, text mining technology and probabilistic modeling technology. Large scale text data on childhood injuries was collected from medical institutions by an injury surveillance system. Types of behaviors to a product were derived from the injury text data using text mining technology. The relationship among products, types of behaviors, types of injuries and characteristics of children was modeled by Bayesian Network. The fundamental functions of the developed system and examples of new findings obtained by the system are reported in this paper.

Development of spectrofluorimetric method for determination of certain aminoglycoside drugs in dosage forms and human plasma through condensation with ninhydrin and phenyl acetaldehyde.

PubMed

Omar, Mahmoud A; Hammad, Mohamed A; Nagy, Dalia M; Aly, Alshymaa A

2015-02-05

A simple and sensitive spectrofluorimetric method has been developed and validated for determination of amikacin sulfate, neomycin sulfate and tobramycin in pure forms, pharmaceutical formulations and human plasma. The method was based on condensation reaction of cited drugs with ninhydrin and phenylacetaldehyde in buffered medium (pH 6) resulting in formation of fluorescent products which exhibit excitation and emission maxima at 395 and 470nm, respectively. The different experimental parameters affecting the development and stability of the reaction products were carefully studied and optimized. The calibration plots were constructed with good correlation coefficients (0.9993 for tobramycin and 0.9996 for both neomycin and amikacin). The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of cited drugs in dosage forms with high accuracy (98.33-101.7)±(0.80-1.26)%. The results show an excellent agreement with the reference method, indicating no significant difference in accuracy and precision. Due to its high sensitivity, the proposed method was applied successfully for determination of amikacin in real human plasma. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

40 CFR 90.902 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... sale by itself or in a vehicle employed from year to year in the ordinary course of business for product development, production method assessment, and market promotion purposes. Testing exemption means an exemption granted under § 90.1004(b) for the purpose of research, investigations, studies...

Development of a new lattice physics code robin for PWR application

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, S.; Chen, G.

2013-07-01

This paper presents a description of methodologies and preliminary verification results of a new lattice physics code ROBIN, being developed for PWR application at Shanghai NuStar Nuclear Power Technology Co., Ltd. The methods used in ROBIN to fulfill various tasks of lattice physics analysis are an integration of historical methods and new methods that came into being very recently. Not only these methods like equivalence theory for resonance treatment and method of characteristics for neutron transport calculation are adopted, as they are applied in many of today's production-level LWR lattice codes, but also very useful new methods like the enhancedmore » neutron current method for Dancoff correction in large and complicated geometry and the log linear rate constant power depletion method for Gd-bearing fuel are implemented in the code. A small sample of verification results are provided to illustrate the type of accuracy achievable using ROBIN. It is demonstrated that ROBIN is capable of satisfying most of the needs for PWR lattice analysis and has the potential to become a production quality code in the future. (authors)« less

Use of artificial intelligence in the production of high quality minced meat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapovsky, B. R.; Pchelkina, V. A.; Plyasheshnik, P. I.; Dydykin, A. S.; Lazarev, A. A.

2017-09-01

A design for an automatic line for minced meat production according to new production technology based on an innovative meat milling method is proposed. This method allows the necessary degree of raw material comminution at the stage of raw material preparation to be obtained, which leads to production intensification due to the traditional meat mass comminution equipment being unnecessary. To ensure consistent quality of the product obtained, the use of on-line automatic control of the technological process for minced meat production is envisaged. This system has been developed using artificial intelligence methods and technologies. The system is trainable during the operation process, adapts to changes in processed raw material characteristics and to external impacts that affect the system operation, and manufactures meat shavings with minimal dispersion of the typical particle size. The control system includes equipment for express analysis of the chemical composition of the minced meat and its temperature after comminution. In this case, the minced meat production process can be controlled strictly as a function of time, which excludes subjective factors for assessing the degree of finished product readiness. This will allow finished meat products with consistent, targeted high quality to be produced.

Manufacturing of curd products of increased biological value for the elderly from dried components.

PubMed

Zabodalova, Ludmila A; Belozerova, Maria S; Evstigneeva, Tatiana N

2018-01-01

In recent years, the number of elderly people has increased, and the diseases that arise in old age are associated, amongst other factors, with malnutrition. In the elderly, the need for primary nutrients and energy changes, so the development of food products intended for this particular group of people is becom- ing increasingly important. The purpose of this research is to work out the composition of and technology for producing low-fat curd products from raw milk and vegetable components. The developed products can be used for their gerodietetic properties, because nutritional and energy needs in the elderly were taken into account when designing the product. The curd product was manufactured from skimmed dried milk (SDM), soy isolate protein (SIP) and spelt grain. Optimal conditions for the recombination of SIP were determined. The influence of mass fraction of SIP on the properties of the clot and the end product was studied. The degree of dispersion of the grain component was determined, from the organoleptic evaluation of samples of the mixture, and the optimum method of addition was chosen. The method of adding cooked spelt into the clot after pressing was chosen. Harrington’s generalized desirability function was used for the calculation of the optimum mass frac- tion of the grain component in the end product. The formulation and technology for a curd product based on dry ingredients were determined. The amino acid composition and content of essential components in the developed product were determined, and the biological and nutritional value were calculated. The use of dry ingredients for the production of a curd product makes it possible to manufac- ture the product in the absence of raw milk. The formulation of the product is designed taking into account the needs of the body in old age. The incorporation of spelt increases the biological value of the curd product to 81.5%.

Surveillance methods for identifying, characterizing, and monitoring tobacco products: potential reduced exposure products as an example

PubMed Central

O’Connor, Richard J.; Cummings, K. Michael; Rees, Vaughan W.; Connolly, Gregory N.; Norton, Kaila J.; Sweanor, David; Parascandola, Mark; Hatsukami, Dorothy K.; Shields, Peter G.

2015-01-01

Tobacco products are widely sold and marketed, yet integrated data systems for identifying, tracking, and characterizing products are lacking. Tobacco manufacturers recently have developed potential reduction exposure products (PREPs) with implied or explicit health claims. Currently, a systematic approach for identifying, defining, and evaluating PREPs sold at the local, state or national levels in the US has not been developed. Identifying, characterizing, and monitoring new tobacco products could be greatly enhanced with a responsive surveillance system. This paper critically reviews available surveillance data sources for identifying and tracking tobacco products, including PREPs, evaluating strengths and weaknesses of potential data sources in light of their reliability and validity. Absent regulations mandating disclosure of product-specific information, it is likely that public health officials will need to rely on a variety of imperfect data sources to help identify, characterize, and monitor tobacco products, including PREPs. PMID:19959680

Automated three-component synthesis of a library of γ-lactams

PubMed Central

Fenster, Erik; Hill, David; Reiser, Oliver

2012-01-01

Summary A three-component method for the synthesis of γ-lactams from commercially available maleimides, aldehydes, and amines was adapted to parallel library synthesis. Improvements to the chemistry over previous efforts include the optimization of the method to a one-pot process, the management of by-products and excess reagents, the development of an automated parallel sequence, and the adaption of the method to permit the preparation of enantiomerically enriched products. These efforts culminated in the preparation of a library of 169 γ-lactams. PMID:23209515

Analysis of polonium-210 in food products and bioassay samples by isotope-dilution alpha spectrometry.

PubMed

Lin, Zhichao; Wu, Zhongyu

2009-05-01

A rapid and reliable radiochemical method coupled with a simple and compact plating apparatus was developed, validated, and applied for the analysis of (210)Po in variety of food products and bioassay samples. The method performance characteristics, including accuracy, precision, robustness, and specificity, were evaluated along with a detailed measurement uncertainty analysis. With high Po recovery, improved energy resolution, and effective removal of interfering elements by chromatographic extraction, the overall method accuracy was determined to be better than 5% with measurement precision of 10%, at 95% confidence level.

Method for improving product yields in an anionic metalloporphyrin-based artificial photosynthesis system

DOEpatents

Shelnutt, J.A.

1984-11-29

A method is disclosed improving product yields in an anionic metalloporphyrin-based artificial photosynthesis system for hydrogen generation. The method comprises forming an aqueous solution comprising an electron donor, methylviologen, and certain metalloporphyrins and metallochlorins, and irradiating said aqueous solution with light in the presence of a catalyst. In the photosynthesis process, solar energy is collected and stored in the form of a hydrogen. Ligands attached above and below the metalloporphyrin and metallochlorin plane are capable of sterically blocking photochemically inactive electrostatically bound ..pi..-..pi.. complexes which can develop.

Determination of acrylamide in coffee and coffee products by GC-MS using an improved SPE clean-up.

PubMed

Soares, C; Cunha, S; Fernandes, J

2006-12-01

An improved gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method to determine acrylamide (AA) in coffee and coffee products was developed. The method was based on two main purification steps: the first with ethanol and Carrez solutions in order to precipitate polysaccharides and proteins, respectively; and the second with a layered solid-phase extraction (SPE) column which proved to be efficient in the elimination of the main chromatographic interferences. The method is applicable to a wide range of coffee products. Twenty-six samples of different coffee products were analysed. The levels of AA were in the range 11.4-36.2 microg l-1 for 'espresso coffee' and 200.8-229.4 microg l-1 for coffee blends with cereals. The results indicate that the presence of cereals significantly increased the levels of AA.

Rapid detection and identification of N-acetyl-L-cysteine thioethers using constant neutral loss and theoretical multiple reaction monitoring combined with enhanced product-ion scans on a linear ion trap mass spectrometer.

PubMed

Scholz, Karoline; Dekant, Wolfgang; Völkel, Wolfgang; Pähler, Axel

2005-12-01

A sensitive and specific liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) method based on the combination of constant neutral loss scans (CNL) with product ion scans was developed on a linear ion trap. The method is applicable for the detection and identification of analytes with identical chemical substructures (such as conjugates of xenobiotics formed in biological systems) which give common CNLs. A specific CNL was observed for thioethers of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (mercapturic acids, MA) by LC-MS/MS. MS and HPLC parameters were optimized with 16 MAs available as reference compounds. All of these provided a CNL of 129 Da in the negative-ion mode. To assess sensitivity, a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode with 251 theoretical transitions using the CNL of 129 Da combined with a product ion scan (IDA thMRM) was compared with CNL combined with a product ion scan (IDA CNL). An information-dependent acquisition (IDA) uses a survey scan such as MRM (multiple reaction monitoring) to generate "informations" and starting a second acquisition experiment such as a product ion scan using these "informations." Th-MRM means calculated transitions and not transitions generated from an available standard in the tuning mode. The product ion spectra provide additional information on the chemical structure of the unknown analytes. All MA standards were spiked in low concentrations to rat urines and were detected with both methods with LODs ranging from 60 pmol/mL to 1.63 nmol/mL with IDA thMRM. The expected product ion spectra were observed in urine. Application of this screening method to biological samples indicated the presence of a number of MAs in urine of unexposed rats, and resulted in the identification of 1,4-dihydroxynonene mercapturic acid as one of these MAs by negative and positive product ion spectra. These results show that the developed methods have a high potential to serve as both a prescreen to detect unknown MAs and to identify these analytes in complex matrix.

Identification of a Multicomponent Traditional Herbal Medicine by HPLC-MS and Electron and Light Microscopy.

PubMed

Liu, Ju-Han; Cheng, Yung-Yi; Hsieh, Chen-Hsi; Tsai, Tung-Hu

2017-12-15

Commercial pharmaceutical herbal products have enabled people to take traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in a convenient and accessible form. However, the quantity and quality should be additionally inspected. To address the issue, a combination of chemical and physical inspection methods were developed to evaluate the amount of an herbal formula, Xiang-Sha-Liu-Jun-Zi-Tang (XSLJZT), in clinical TCM practice. A high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) method with electrospray ionization was developed to measure the herbal biomarkers of guanosine, atractylenolide III, glycyrrhizic acid, dehydrocostus lactone, hesperidin, and oleanolic acid from XSLJZT. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) photographs and light microscopy photographs with Congo red and iodine-KI staining were used to identify the cellulose fibers and starch content. Furthermore, solubility analysis, swelling power test, and crude fiber analysis were contributed to measure the starch additive in pharmaceutical products. The results demonstrated large variations in the chemical components of different pharmaceutical brands. The SEM photographs revealed that the starch was oval, smooth, and granular, and that the raw herbal powder appears stripy, stretched, and filiform. The stained light microscopy photographs of all of the pharmaceutical products showed added starch and raw herbal powder as extenders. The developed chemical and physical methods provide a standard operating procedure for the quantity control of the herbal pharmaceutical products of XSLJZT.

A Computational Method for Determining the Equilibrium Composition and Product Temperature in a LH2/LOX Combustor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sozen, Mehmet

2003-01-01

In what follows, the model used for combustion of liquid hydrogen (LH2) with liquid oxygen (LOX) using chemical equilibrium assumption, and the novel computational method developed for determining the equilibrium composition and temperature of the combustion products by application of the first and second laws of thermodynamics will be described. The modular FORTRAN code developed as a subroutine that can be incorporated into any flow network code with little effort has been successfully implemented in GFSSP as the preliminary runs indicate. The code provides capability of modeling the heat transfer rate to the coolants for parametric analysis in system design.

Assignment of absolute stereostructures through quantum mechanics electronic and vibrational circular dichroism calculations.

PubMed

Dai, Peng; Jiang, Nan; Tan, Ren-Xiang

2016-01-01

Elucidation of absolute configuration of chiral molecules including structurally complex natural products remains a challenging problem in organic chemistry. A reliable method for assigning the absolute stereostructure is to combine the experimental circular dichroism (CD) techniques such as electronic and vibrational CD (ECD and VCD), with quantum mechanics (QM) ECD and VCD calculations. The traditional QM methods as well as their continuing developments make them more applicable with accuracy. Taking some chiral natural products with diverse conformations as examples, this review describes the basic concepts and new developments of QM approaches for ECD and VCD calculations in solution and solid states.

An overview of the environmental applicability of vermicompost: from wastewater treatment to the development of sensitive analytical methods.

PubMed

Pereira, Madson de Godoi; Neta, Lourdes Cardoso de Souza; Fontes, Maurício Paulo Ferreira; Souza, Adriana Nascimento; Matos, Thaionara Carvalho; Sachdev, Raquel de Lima; dos Santos, Arnaud Victor; da Guarda Souza, Marluce Oliveira; de Andrade, Marta Valéria Almeida Santana; Paulo, Gabriela Marinho Maciel; Ribeiro, Joselito Nardy; Ribeiro, Araceli Verónica Flores Nardy

2014-01-01

The use of vermicompost (humified material) for treating wastewaters, remediating polluted soils, improving agricultural productivity, protecting crop production, and developing sensitive analytical methods is reviewed here, covering the past 17 years. The main advantages of vermicompost, considering all applications covered in this paper, comprise (i) easy acquisition, (ii) low costs, (iii) structural, chemical, and biological characteristics responsible for exceptional adsorptive capacities as well as pollutant degradation, and (iv) the promotion of biocontrol. Specifically, for wastewater decontamination, a considerable number of works have verified the adsorption of toxic metals, but the application of vermicompost is still scarce for the retention of organic compounds. Problems related to the final disposal of enriched vermicompost (after treatment steps) are often found, in spite of some successful destinations such as organic fertilizer. For decontaminating soils, the use of vermicompost is quite scarce, mainly for inorganic pollutants. In agricultural productivity and biocontrol, vermicompost imparts remarkable benefits regarding soil aggregation, plant nutrition, and the development of beneficial microorganisms against phytopathogens. Finally, the use of vermicompost in sensitive analytical methods for quantifying toxic metals is the newest application of this adsorbent.

An Overview of the Environmental Applicability of Vermicompost: From Wastewater Treatment to the Development of Sensitive Analytical Methods

PubMed Central

Pereira, Madson de Godoi; Cardoso de Souza Neta, Lourdes; Fontes, Maurício Paulo Ferreira; Souza, Adriana Nascimento; Carvalho Matos, Thaionara; de Lima Sachdev, Raquel; dos Santos, Arnaud Victor; Oliveira da Guarda Souza, Marluce; de Andrade, Marta Valéria Almeida Santana; Marinho Maciel Paulo, Gabriela; Ribeiro, Joselito Nardy; Verónica Flores Nardy Ribeiro, Araceli

2014-01-01

The use of vermicompost (humified material) for treating wastewaters, remediating polluted soils, improving agricultural productivity, protecting crop production, and developing sensitive analytical methods is reviewed here, covering the past 17 years. The main advantages of vermicompost, considering all applications covered in this paper, comprise (i) easy acquisition, (ii) low costs, (iii) structural, chemical, and biological characteristics responsible for exceptional adsorptive capacities as well as pollutant degradation, and (iv) the promotion of biocontrol. Specifically, for wastewater decontamination, a considerable number of works have verified the adsorption of toxic metals, but the application of vermicompost is still scarce for the retention of organic compounds. Problems related to the final disposal of enriched vermicompost (after treatment steps) are often found, in spite of some successful destinations such as organic fertilizer. For decontaminating soils, the use of vermicompost is quite scarce, mainly for inorganic pollutants. In agricultural productivity and biocontrol, vermicompost imparts remarkable benefits regarding soil aggregation, plant nutrition, and the development of beneficial microorganisms against phytopathogens. Finally, the use of vermicompost in sensitive analytical methods for quantifying toxic metals is the newest application of this adsorbent. PMID:24578668

UTChem - A Program for Ab Initio Quantum Chemistry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yanai, Takeshi; Nakano, Haruyuki; Nakajima, Takahito

2003-06-18

UTChem is a quantum chemistry software developed by Hirao's group at the University of Tokyo. UTChem is a research product of our work to develop new and better theoretical methods in quantum chemistry.

A New Platform for Profiling Degradation-Related Impurities Via Exploiting the Opportunities Offered by Ion-Selective Electrodes: Determination of Both Diatrizoate Sodium and Its Cytotoxic Degradation Product.

PubMed

Riad, Safaa M; Abd El-Rahman, Mohamed K; Fawaz, Esraa M; Shehata, Mostafa A

2018-05-01

Although the ultimate goal of administering active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is to save countless lives, the presence of impurities and/or degradation products in APIs or formulations may cause harmful physiological effects. Today, impurity profiling (i.e., the identity as well as the quantity of impurity in a pharmaceutical) is receiving critical attention from regulatory authorities. Despite the predominant use of spectroscopic and chromatographic methods over electrochemical methods for impurity profiling of APIs, this work investigates the opportunities offered by electroanalytical methods, particularly, ion-selective electrodes (ISEs), for profiling degradation-related impurities (DRIs) compared with conventional spectroscopic and chromatographic methods. For a meaningful comparison, diatrizoate sodium (DTA) was chosen as the anionic X-ray contrast agent based on its susceptibility to deacetylation into its cytotoxic and mutagenic degradation product, 3,5-diamino-2,4,6 triiodobenzoic acid (DTB). This cationic diamino compound can be also detected as an impurity in the final product because it is used as a synthetic precursor for the synthesis of DTA. In this study, four novel sensitive and selective sensors for the determination of both DTA and its cytotoxic degradation products are presented. Sensors I and II were developed for the determination of the anionic drug, DTA, and sensors III and IV were developed for the determination of the cationic cytotoxic impurity. The use of these novel sensors not only provides a stability-indicating method for the selective determination of DTA in the presence of its degradation product, but also permits DRI profiling. Moreover, a great advantage of these proposed ISE systems is their higher sensitivity for the quantification of DTB relative to other spectroscopic and chromatographic methods, so it can measure trace amounts of DTB impurities in DTA bulk powder and pharmaceutical formulation without a need for preliminary separation.

The analysis of market knowledge competence effect and research & development (R&D) toward the policy making of new product development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purwanggono, Bambang; Sesuko, Agung; Budiawan, Wiwik

2017-11-01

The increasing mobility of people without adequate provision of mass transportation infrastructures makes people choose private transportation like motorcycles. Such circumstances lead the motorcycle manufacturers in Indonesia competing to develop their products to meet the needs of customers. In addition, the new regulation of Central Bank of Indonesia dealing with the credit advances has raised the intense competition of motorcycles industries in Indonesia. One of the ways to win the competition is by developing new and improved products. In developing and improving the products, companies need to consider resource utilization. In this research, researcher utilizes the resources that exist both inside and outside the enterprise such as customer demands, intensity of competition, perception of the importance of market knowledge, importance of market competence, and internal R&D as well as external R&D is expected to develop new products that are superior. The study involved 150 employees as respondents. The method used in the study is Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with AMOS 20.0 statistical software. The result shows that the demands of the customers and the intensity of competition lead to a positive effect on market knowledge competence, while the perception of the market knowledge importance does not influence the development of new products, and market knowledge competence, internal R&D and external R&D have positive effect on the development of new products.

Switching industrial production processes from complex to defined media: method development and case study using the example of Penicillium chrysogenum.

PubMed

Posch, Andreas E; Spadiut, Oliver; Herwig, Christoph

2012-06-22

Filamentous fungi are versatile cell factories and widely used for the production of antibiotics, organic acids, enzymes and other industrially relevant compounds at large scale. As a fact, industrial production processes employing filamentous fungi are commonly based on complex raw materials. However, considerable lot-to-lot variability of complex media ingredients not only demands for exhaustive incoming components inspection and quality control, but unavoidably affects process stability and performance. Thus, switching bioprocesses from complex to defined media is highly desirable. This study presents a strategy for strain characterization of filamentous fungi on partly complex media using redundant mass balancing techniques. Applying the suggested method, interdependencies between specific biomass and side-product formation rates, production of fructooligosaccharides, specific complex media component uptake rates and fungal strains were revealed. A 2-fold increase of the overall penicillin space time yield and a 3-fold increase in the maximum specific penicillin formation rate were reached in defined media compared to complex media. The newly developed methodology enabled fast characterization of two different industrial Penicillium chrysogenum candidate strains on complex media based on specific complex media component uptake kinetics and identification of the most promising strain for switching the process from complex to defined conditions. Characterization at different complex/defined media ratios using only a limited number of analytical methods allowed maximizing the overall industrial objectives of increasing both, method throughput and the generation of scientific process understanding.

Switching industrial production processes from complex to defined media: method development and case study using the example of Penicillium chrysogenum

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Filamentous fungi are versatile cell factories and widely used for the production of antibiotics, organic acids, enzymes and other industrially relevant compounds at large scale. As a fact, industrial production processes employing filamentous fungi are commonly based on complex raw materials. However, considerable lot-to-lot variability of complex media ingredients not only demands for exhaustive incoming components inspection and quality control, but unavoidably affects process stability and performance. Thus, switching bioprocesses from complex to defined media is highly desirable. Results This study presents a strategy for strain characterization of filamentous fungi on partly complex media using redundant mass balancing techniques. Applying the suggested method, interdependencies between specific biomass and side-product formation rates, production of fructooligosaccharides, specific complex media component uptake rates and fungal strains were revealed. A 2-fold increase of the overall penicillin space time yield and a 3-fold increase in the maximum specific penicillin formation rate were reached in defined media compared to complex media. Conclusions The newly developed methodology enabled fast characterization of two different industrial Penicillium chrysogenum candidate strains on complex media based on specific complex media component uptake kinetics and identification of the most promising strain for switching the process from complex to defined conditions. Characterization at different complex/defined media ratios using only a limited number of analytical methods allowed maximizing the overall industrial objectives of increasing both, method throughput and the generation of scientific process understanding. PMID:22727013