Factorial study of rain garden design for nitrogen removal

EPA Science Inventory

Abstract Nitrate (〖NO〗_3^--N ) removal studies in bioretention systems showed great variability in removal rates and in some cases 〖NO〗_3^--N was exported. A 3-way factorial design (2 x 2 x 4) was devised for eight outdoor un-vegetated rain gardens to evaluate the effects of ...

Rank-based permutation approaches for non-parametric factorial designs.

PubMed

Umlauft, Maria; Konietschke, Frank; Pauly, Markus

2017-11-01

Inference methods for null hypotheses formulated in terms of distribution functions in general non-parametric factorial designs are studied. The methods can be applied to continuous, ordinal or even ordered categorical data in a unified way, and are based only on ranks. In this set-up Wald-type statistics and ANOVA-type statistics are the current state of the art. The first method is asymptotically exact but a rather liberal statistical testing procedure for small to moderate sample size, while the latter is only an approximation which does not possess the correct asymptotic α level under the null. To bridge these gaps, a novel permutation approach is proposed which can be seen as a flexible generalization of the Kruskal-Wallis test to all kinds of factorial designs with independent observations. It is proven that the permutation principle is asymptotically correct while keeping its finite exactness property when data are exchangeable. The results of extensive simulation studies foster these theoretical findings. A real data set exemplifies its applicability. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Factorial analysis of trihalomethanes formation in drinking water.

PubMed

Chowdhury, Shakhawat; Champagne, Pascale; McLellan, P James

2010-06-01

Disinfection of drinking water reduces pathogenic infection, but may pose risks to human health through the formation of disinfection byproducts. The effects of different factors on the formation of trihalomethanes were investigated using a statistically designed experimental program, and a predictive model for trihalomethanes formation was developed. Synthetic water samples with different factor levels were produced, and trihalomethanes concentrations were measured. A replicated fractional factorial design with center points was performed, and significant factors were identified through statistical analysis. A second-order trihalomethanes formation model was developed from 92 experiments, and the statistical adequacy was assessed through appropriate diagnostics. This model was validated using additional data from the Drinking Water Surveillance Program database and was applied to the Smiths Falls water supply system in Ontario, Canada. The model predictions were correlated strongly to the measured trihalomethanes, with correlations of 0.95 and 0.91, respectively. The resulting model can assist in analyzing risk-cost tradeoffs in the design and operation of water supply systems.

Factorial Design Approach in Proportioning Prestressed Self-Compacting Concrete

PubMed Central

Long, Wu-Jian; Khayat, Kamal Henri; Lemieux, Guillaume; Xing, Feng; Wang, Wei-Lun

2015-01-01

In order to model the effect of mixture parameters and material properties on the hardened properties of, prestressed self-compacting concrete (SCC), and also to investigate the extensions of the statistical models, a factorial design was employed to identify the relative significance of these primary parameters and their interactions in terms of the mechanical and visco-elastic properties of SCC. In addition to the 16 fractional factorial mixtures evaluated in the modeled region of −1 to +1, eight axial mixtures were prepared at extreme values of −2 and +2 with the other variables maintained at the central points. Four replicate central mixtures were also evaluated. The effects of five mixture parameters, including binder type, binder content, dosage of viscosity-modifying admixture (VMA), water-cementitious material ratio (w/cm), and sand-to-total aggregate ratio (S/A) on compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, as well as autogenous and drying shrinkage are discussed. The applications of the models to better understand trade-offs between mixture parameters and carry out comparisons among various responses are also highlighted. A logical design approach would be to use the existing model to predict the optimal design, and then run selected tests to quantify the influence of the new binder on the model. PMID:28787990

Factorial Design Approach in Proportioning Prestressed Self-Compacting Concrete.

PubMed

Long, Wu-Jian; Khayat, Kamal Henri; Lemieux, Guillaume; Xing, Feng; Wang, Wei-Lun

2015-03-13

In order to model the effect of mixture parameters and material properties on the hardened properties of, prestressed self-compacting concrete (SCC), and also to investigate the extensions of the statistical models, a factorial design was employed to identify the relative significance of these primary parameters and their interactions in terms of the mechanical and visco-elastic properties of SCC. In addition to the 16 fractional factorial mixtures evaluated in the modeled region of -1 to +1, eight axial mixtures were prepared at extreme values of -2 and +2 with the other variables maintained at the central points. Four replicate central mixtures were also evaluated. The effects of five mixture parameters, including binder type, binder content, dosage of viscosity-modifying admixture (VMA), water-cementitious material ratio (w/cm), and sand-to-total aggregate ratio (S/A) on compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, as well as autogenous and drying shrinkage are discussed. The applications of the models to better understand trade-offs between mixture parameters and carry out comparisons among various responses are also highlighted. A logical design approach would be to use the existing model to predict the optimal design, and then run selected tests to quantify the influence of the new binder on the model.

Using Blocked Fractional Factorial Designs to Construct Discrete Choice Experiments for Health Care Studies

PubMed Central

Jaynes, Jessica; Wong, Weng Kee; Xu, Hongquan

2016-01-01

Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) are increasingly used for studying and quantifying subjects preferences in a wide variety of health care applications. They provide a rich source of data to assess real-life decision making processes, which involve trade-offs between desirable characteristics pertaining to health and health care, and identification of key attributes affecting health care. The choice of the design for a DCE is critical because it determines which attributes’ effects and their interactions are identifiable. We apply blocked fractional factorial designs to construct DCEs and address some identification issues by utilizing the known structure of blocked fractional factorial designs. Our design techniques can be applied to several situations including DCEs where attributes have different number of levels. We demonstrate our design methodology using two health care studies to evaluate (1) asthma patients’ preferences for symptom-based outcome measures, and (2) patient preference for breast screening services. PMID:26823156

Neutrino factory

DOE PAGES

Bogomilov, M.; Matev, R.; Tsenov, R.; ...

2014-12-08

The properties of the neutrino provide a unique window on physics beyond that described by the standard model. The study of subleading effects in neutrino oscillations, and the race to discover CP-invariance violation in the lepton sector, has begun with the recent discovery that theta(13) > 0. The measured value of theta(13) is large, emphasizing the need for a facility at which the systematic uncertainties can be reduced to the percent level. The neutrino factory, in which intense neutrino beams are produced from the decay of muons, has been shown to outperform all realistic alternatives and to be capable ofmore » making measurements of the requisite precision. Its unique discovery potential arises from the fact that only at the neutrino factory is it practical to produce high-energy electron (anti) neutrino beams of the required intensity. This paper presents the conceptual design of the neutrino factory accelerator facility developed by the European Commission Framework Programme 7 EURO nu. Design Study consortium. EURO nu coordinated the European contributions to the International Design Study for the Neutrino Factory (the IDS-NF) collaboration. The EURO nu baseline accelerator facility will provide 10(21) muon decays per year from 12.6 GeV stored muon beams serving a single neutrino detector situated at a source-detector distance of between 1 500 km and 2 500 km. A suite of near detectors will allow definitive neutrino-scattering experiments to be performed.« less

Teaching fractional factorial experiments via course delegate designed experiments.

PubMed

Coleman, S; Antony, J

1999-01-01

Industrial experiments are fundamental in enhancing the understanding and knowledge of a process and product behavior. Designed industrial experiments assist people in understanding, investigating, and improving their processes. The purpose of a designed experiment is to understand which factors might influence the process output and then to determine those factor settings that optimize the process output. Teaching "design of experiments" using textbook examples does not fully shed light on how to identify and formulate the problem, identify factors, and determine the performance of the physical experiment. Presented here is an example of how to teach fractional factorial experiments in a course on designed experiments. Also presented is a practical, hands-on experiment that has been found to be extremely successful in instilling confidence and motivation in course delegates. The experiment provides a great stimulus to the delegates for the application of experimental design in their own work environment.

The Factorial Survey: Design Selection and its Impact on Reliability and Internal Validity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dülmer, Hermann

2016-01-01

The factorial survey is an experimental design consisting of varying situations (vignettes) that have to be judged by respondents. For more complex research questions, it quickly becomes impossible for an individual respondent to judge all vignettes. To overcome this problem, random designs are recommended most of the time, whereas quota designs…

Manufacturing data analytics using a virtual factory representation.

PubMed

Jain, Sanjay; Shao, Guodong; Shin, Seung-Jun

2017-01-01

Large manufacturers have been using simulation to support decision-making for design and production. However, with the advancement of technologies and the emergence of big data, simulation can be utilised to perform and support data analytics for associated performance gains. This requires not only significant model development expertise, but also huge data collection and analysis efforts. This paper presents an approach within the frameworks of Design Science Research Methodology and prototyping to address the challenge of increasing the use of modelling, simulation and data analytics in manufacturing via reduction of the development effort. The use of manufacturing simulation models is presented as data analytics applications themselves and for supporting other data analytics applications by serving as data generators and as a tool for validation. The virtual factory concept is presented as the vehicle for manufacturing modelling and simulation. Virtual factory goes beyond traditional simulation models of factories to include multi-resolution modelling capabilities and thus allowing analysis at varying levels of detail. A path is proposed for implementation of the virtual factory concept that builds on developments in technologies and standards. A virtual machine prototype is provided as a demonstration of the use of a virtual representation for manufacturing data analytics.

Fractional Factorial Design to Investigate Stromal Cell Regulation of Macrophage Plasticity

PubMed Central

Barminko, Jeffrey A.; Nativ, Nir I.; Schloss, Rene; Yarmush, Martin L.

2018-01-01

Understanding the regulatory networks which control specific macrophage phenotypes is essential in identifying novel targets to correct macrophage mediated clinical disorders, often accompanied by inflammatory events. Since mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been shown to play key roles in regulating immune functions predominantly via a large number of secreted products, we used a fractional factorial approach to streamline experimental evaluation of MSC mediated inflammatory macrophage regulation. Our macrophage reprogramming metrics, human bone marrow MSC attenuation of macrophage pro-inflammatory M1 TNFα secretion and simultaneous enhanced expression of the M2 macrophage marker, CD206, were used as analysis endpoints. Objective evaluation of a panel of MSC secreted mediators indicated that PGE2 alone was sufficient in facilitating macrophage reprogramming, while IL4 only provided partial reprogramming. Inhibiting stromal cell PGE2 secretion with Indomethacin, reversed the macrophage reprogramming effect. PGE2 reprogramming was mediated through the EP4 receptor and indirectly through the CREB signaling pathway as GSK3 specific inhibitors induced M1 macrophages to express CD206. This reprogramming pathway functioned independently from the M1 suppression pathway, as neither CREB nor GSK3 inhibition reversed PGE2 TNF-α secretion attenuation. In conclusion, fractional factorial experimental design identified stromal derived PGE2 as the factor most important in facilitating macrophage reprogramming, albeit via two unique pathways. PMID:24891120

Optimization of permeability for quality improvement by using factorial design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Said, Rahaini Mohd; Miswan, Nor Hamizah; Juan, Ng Shu; Hussin, Nor Hafizah; Ahmad, Aminah; Kamal, Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad

2017-05-01

Sand castings are used worldwide by the manufacturing process in Metal Casting Industry, whereby the green sand are the commonly used sand mould type in the industry of sand casting. The defects on the surface of casting product is one of the problems in the industry of sand casting. The problems that relates to the defect composition of green sand are such as blowholes, pinholes shrinkage and porosity. Our objective is to optimize the best composition of green sand in order to minimize the occurrence of defects. Sand specimen of difference parameters (Bentonite, Green Sand, Cold dust and water) were design and prepared to undergo permeability test. The 24 factorial design experiment with four factors at difference composition were runs, and the total of 16 runs experiment were conducted. The developed models based on the experimental design necessary models were obtained. The model with a high coefficient of determination (R2=0.9841) and model for predicted and actual fitted well with the experimental data. Using the Analysis of Design Expert software, we identified that bentonite and water are the main interaction effect in the experiments. The optimal settings for green sand composition are 100g silica sand, 21g bentonite, 6.5 g water and 6g coal dust. This composition gives an effect of permeability number 598.3GP.

Construction of social value or utility-based health indices: the usefulness of factorial experimental design plans.

PubMed

Cadman, D; Goldsmith, C

1986-01-01

Global indices, which aggregate multiple health or function attributes into a single summary indicator, are useful measures in health research. Two key issues must be addressed in the initial stages of index construction from the universe of possible health and function attributes, which ones should be included in a new index? and how simple can the statistical model be to combine attributes into a single numeric index value? Factorial experimental designs were used in the initial stages of developing a function index for evaluating a program for the care of young handicapped children. Beginning with eight attributes judged important to the goals of the program by clinicians, social preference values for different function states were obtained from 32 parents of handicapped children and 32 members of the community. Using category rating methods each rater scored 16 written multi-attribute case descriptions which contained information about a child's status for all eight attributes. Either a good or poor level of each function attribute and age 3 or 5 years were described in each case. Thus, 2(8) = 256 different cases were rated. Two factorial design plans were selected and used to allocate case descriptions to raters. Analysis of variance determined that seven of the eight clinician selected attributes were required in a social value based index for handicapped children. Most importantly, the subsequent steps of index construction could be greatly simplified by the finding that a simple additive statistical model without complex attribute interaction terms was adequate for the index. We conclude that factorial experimental designs are an efficient, feasible and powerful tool for the initial stages of constructing a multi-attribute health index.

Optimization of thiamethoxam adsorption parameters using multi-walled carbon nanotubes by means of fractional factorial design.

PubMed

Panić, Sanja; Rakić, Dušan; Guzsvány, Valéria; Kiss, Erne; Boskovic, Goran; Kónya, Zoltán; Kukovecz, Ákos

2015-12-01

The aim of this work was to evaluate significant factors affecting the thiamethoxam adsorption efficiency using oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as adsorbents. Five factors (initial solution concentration of thiamethoxam in water, temperature, solution pH, MWCNTs weight and contact time) were investigated using 2V(5-1) fractional factorial design. The obtained linear model was statistically tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the analysis of residuals was used to investigate the model validity. It was observed that the factors and their second-order interactions affecting the thiamethoxam removal can be divided into three groups: very important, moderately important and insignificant ones. The initial solution concentration was found to be the most influencing parameter on thiamethoxam adsorption from water. Optimization of the factors levels was carried out by minimizing those parameters which are usually critical in real life: the temperature (energy), contact time (money) and weight of MWCNTs (potential health hazard), in order to maximize the adsorbed amount of the pollutant. The results of maximal adsorbed thiamethoxam amount in both real and optimized experiments indicate that among minimized parameters the adsorption time is one that makes the largest difference. The results of this study indicate that fractional factorial design is very useful tool for screening the higher number of parameters and reducing the number of adsorption experiments. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimization of minoxidil microemulsions using fractional factorial design approach.

PubMed

Jaipakdee, Napaphak; Limpongsa, Ekapol; Pongjanyakul, Thaned

2016-01-01

The objective of this study was to apply fractional factorial and multi-response optimization designs using desirability function approach for developing topical microemulsions. Minoxidil (MX) was used as a model drug. Limonene was used as an oil phase. Based on solubility, Tween 20 and caprylocaproyl polyoxyl-8 glycerides were selected as surfactants, propylene glycol and ethanol were selected as co-solvent in aqueous phase. Experiments were performed according to a two-level fractional factorial design to evaluate the effects of independent variables: Tween 20 concentration in surfactant system (X1), surfactant concentration (X2), ethanol concentration in co-solvent system (X3), limonene concentration (X4) on MX solubility (Y1), permeation flux (Y2), lag time (Y3), deposition (Y4) of MX microemulsions. It was found that Y1 increased with increasing X3 and decreasing X2, X4; whereas Y2 increased with decreasing X1, X2 and increasing X3. While Y3 was not affected by these variables, Y4 increased with decreasing X1, X2. Three regression equations were obtained and calculated for predicted values of responses Y1, Y2 and Y4. The predicted values matched experimental values reasonably well with high determination coefficient. By using optimal desirability function, optimized microemulsion demonstrating the highest MX solubility, permeation flux and skin deposition was confirmed as low level of X1, X2 and X4 but high level of X3.

Factorial correspondence analysis of fear-related behaviour traits in Japanese quail.

PubMed

Mignon-Grasteau, S; Roussot, O; Delaby, C; Faure, J M.; Mills, A; Leterrier, C; Guéméné, D; Constantin, P; Mills, M; Lepape, G; Beaumont, C

2003-02-28

Factorial correspondence analysis was performed on 341 quails from a F2 cross between two lines divergently selected on the duration of tonic immobility over 29 generations. Several fear- or stress-related traits were recorded, i.e. tonic immobility duration, number of inductions needed to induce tonic immobility, open-field behaviour (time spent walking, latency before first movement and number of defecations), asymmetry of tibia lengths and corticosterone concentration after restraint stress. Variables were categorised in classes and analysed by factorial correspondence analysis. The first axis was mostly described by open-field behaviour, and the second by tonic immobility traits (duration of tonic immobility and number of inductions), which showed that these behaviours were almost independent. No relationship was found between axes of the factorial correspondence analysis and corticosterone concentration or asymmetry of tibia lengths, showing that these variables reflected other characteristics of stress susceptibility than those described by tonic immobility and open-field behaviour. These results show that reaction to stress of quails is a multidimensional trait and cannot be summarised by one trait.

A Sino-Finnish Initiative for Experimental Teaching Practices Using the Design Factory Pedagogical Platform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Björklund, Tua A.; Nordström, Katrina M.; Clavert, Maria

2013-01-01

The paper presents a Sino-Finnish teaching initiative, including the design and experiences of a series of pedagogical workshops implemented at the Aalto-Tongji Design Factory (DF), Shanghai, China, and the experimentation plans collected from the 54 attending professors and teachers. The workshops aimed to encourage trying out interdisciplinary…

Factorial design studies of antiretroviral drug-loaded stealth liposomal injectable: PEGylation, lyophilization and pharmacokinetic studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sudhakar, Beeravelli; Krishna, Mylangam Chaitanya; Murthy, Kolapalli Venkata Ramana

2016-01-01

The aim of the present study was to formulate and evaluate the ritonavir-loaded stealth liposomes by using 32 factorial design and intended to delivered by parenteral delivery. Liposomes were prepared by ethanol injection method using 32 factorial designs and characterized for various physicochemical parameters such as drug content, size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency and in vitro drug release. The optimization process was carried out using desirability and overlay plots. The selected formulation was subjected to PEGylation using 10 % PEG-10000 solution. Stealth liposomes were characterized for the above-mentioned parameters along with surface morphology, Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer, differential scanning calorimeter, stability and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies in rats. Stealth liposomes showed better result compared to conventional liposomes due to effect of PEG-10000. The in vivo studies revealed that stealth liposomes showed better residence time compared to conventional liposomes and pure drug solution. The conventional liposomes and pure drug showed dose-dependent pharmacokinetics, whereas stealth liposomes showed long circulation half-life compared to conventional liposomes and pure ritonavir solution. The results of statistical analysis showed significance difference as the p value is (<0.05) by one-way ANOVA. The result of the present study revealed that stealth liposomes are promising tool in antiretroviral therapy.

Midlands Teaching Factory, LTD.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Midlands Technical Coll., Columbia, SC.

In 1987, Midlands Technical College (MTC), in Columbia, South Carolina, initiated a Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) project, the Midlands Teaching Factory, LTD, which integrated various college departments with the goal of manufacturing a high quality, saleable product. The faculty developed a teaching factory model which was designed to…

Development and Validation of HPLC-DAD and UHPLC-DAD Methods for the Simultaneous Determination of Guanylhydrazone Derivatives Employing a Factorial Design.

PubMed

Azevedo de Brito, Wanessa; Gomes Dantas, Monique; Andrade Nogueira, Fernando Henrique; Ferreira da Silva-Júnior, Edeildo; Xavier de Araújo-Júnior, João; Aquino, Thiago Mendonça de; Adélia Nogueira Ribeiro, Êurica; da Silva Solon, Lilian Grace; Soares Aragão, Cícero Flávio; Barreto Gomes, Ana Paula

2017-08-30

Guanylhydrazones are molecules with great pharmacological potential in various therapeutic areas, including antitumoral activity. Factorial design is an excellent tool in the optimization of a chromatographic method, because it is possible quickly change factors such as temperature, mobile phase composition, mobile phase pH, column length, among others to establish the optimal conditions of analysis. The aim of the present work was to develop and validate a HPLC and UHPLC methods for the simultaneous determination of guanylhydrazones with anticancer activity employing experimental design. Precise, exact, linear and robust HPLC and UHPLC methods were developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of the guanylhydrazones LQM10, LQM14, and LQM17. The UHPLC method was more economic, with a four times less solvent consumption, and 20 times less injection volume, what allowed better column performance. Comparing the empirical approach employed in the HPLC method development to the DoE approach employed in the UHPLC method development, we can conclude that the factorial design made the method development faster, more practical and rational. This resulted in methods that can be employed in the analysis, evaluation and quality control of these new synthetic guanylhydrazones.

Ergonomic analysis jobs in recovered factories.

PubMed

Cuenca, Gabriela; Zotta, Gastón

2012-01-01

With the advent of the deep economic crisis in Argentina on 2001, the recovery of companies through to the creation of the Cooperatives Working Self-Management or Factories Recovered by its workers was constituted as one of the ways in which the salaried disobeyed the increasing unemployment. When the companies turn into recovered factories they tend to leave of side practices that have been seen like imposed by the previous organization and not understanding them as a primary condition for the execution of his tasks. Safety and ergonomics are two disciplines that are no longer considered relevant to the daily work. Therefore this investigation aims to revalue, undergo semantic to give back to a place in every organization analyzed. This research developed a self-diagnostic tool for working conditions, and the environment, present in the recovered factories.

Analysis of replication factories in human cells by super-resolution light microscopy

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

Background DNA replication in human cells is performed in discrete sub-nuclear locations known as replication foci or factories. These factories form in the nucleus during S phase and are sites of DNA synthesis and high local concentrations of enzymes required for chromatin replication. Why these structures are required, and how they are organised internally has yet to be identified. It has been difficult to analyse the structure of these factories as they are small in size and thus below the resolution limit of the standard confocal microscope. We have used stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, which improves on the resolving power of the confocal microscope, to probe the structure of these factories at sub-diffraction limit resolution. Results Using immunofluorescent imaging of PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) and RPA (replication protein A) we show that factories are smaller in size (approximately 150 nm diameter), and greater in number (up to 1400 in an early S- phase nucleus), than is determined by confocal imaging. The replication inhibitor hydroxyurea caused an approximately 40% reduction in number and a 30% increase in diameter of replication factories, changes that were not clearly identified by standard confocal imaging. Conclusions These measurements for replication factory size now approach the dimensions suggested by electron microscopy. This agreement between these two methods, that use very different sample preparation and imaging conditions, suggests that we have arrived at a true measurement for the size of these structures. The number of individual factories present in a single nucleus that we measure using this system is greater than has been previously reported. This analysis therefore suggests that each replication factory contains fewer active replication forks than previously envisaged. PMID:20015367

Examining robustness of model selection with half-normal and LASSO plots for unreplicated factorial designs

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

Jang, Dae -Heung; Anderson-Cook, Christine Michaela

When there are constraints on resources, an unreplicated factorial or fractional factorial design can allow efficient exploration of numerous factor and interaction effects. A half-normal plot is a common graphical tool used to compare the relative magnitude of effects and to identify important effects from these experiments when no estimate of error from the experiment is available. An alternative is to use a least absolute shrinkage and selection operation plot to examine the pattern of model selection terms from an experiment. We examine how both the half-normal and least absolute shrinkage and selection operation plots are impacted by the absencemore » of individual observations or an outlier, and the robustness of conclusions obtained from these 2 techniques for identifying important effects from factorial experiments. As a result, the methods are illustrated with 2 examples from the literature.« less

Examining robustness of model selection with half-normal and LASSO plots for unreplicated factorial designs

DOE PAGES

Jang, Dae -Heung; Anderson-Cook, Christine Michaela

2017-04-12

When there are constraints on resources, an unreplicated factorial or fractional factorial design can allow efficient exploration of numerous factor and interaction effects. A half-normal plot is a common graphical tool used to compare the relative magnitude of effects and to identify important effects from these experiments when no estimate of error from the experiment is available. An alternative is to use a least absolute shrinkage and selection operation plot to examine the pattern of model selection terms from an experiment. We examine how both the half-normal and least absolute shrinkage and selection operation plots are impacted by the absencemore » of individual observations or an outlier, and the robustness of conclusions obtained from these 2 techniques for identifying important effects from factorial experiments. As a result, the methods are illustrated with 2 examples from the literature.« less

Using factorial experimental design to evaluate the separation of plastics by froth flotation.

PubMed

Salerno, Davide; Jordão, Helga; La Marca, Floriana; Carvalho, M Teresa

2018-03-01

This paper proposes the use of factorial experimental design as a standard experimental method in the application of froth flotation to plastic separation instead of the commonly used OVAT method (manipulation of one variable at a time). Furthermore, as is common practice in minerals flotation, the parameters of the kinetic model were used as process responses rather than the recovery of plastics in the separation products. To explain and illustrate the proposed methodology, a set of 32 experimental tests was performed using mixtures of two polymers with approximately the same density, PVC and PS (with mineral charges), with particle size ranging from 2 to 4 mm. The manipulated variables were frother concentration, air flow rate and pH. A three-level full factorial design was conducted. The models establishing the relationships between the manipulated variables and their interactions with the responses (first order kinetic model parameters) were built. The Corrected Akaike Information Criterion was used to select the best fit model and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to identify the statistically significant terms of the model. It was shown that froth flotation can be used to efficiently separate PVC from PS with mineral charges by reducing the floatability of PVC, which largely depends on the action of pH. Within the tested interval, this is the factor that most affects the flotation rate constants. The results obtained show that the pure error may be of the same magnitude as the sum of squares of the errors, suggesting that there is significant variability within the same experimental conditions. Thus, special care is needed when evaluating and generalizing the process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Clustering Words to Match Conditions: An Algorithm for Stimuli Selection in Factorial Designs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guasch, Marc; Haro, Juan; Boada, Roger

2017-01-01

With the increasing refinement of language processing models and the new discoveries about which variables can modulate these processes, stimuli selection for experiments with a factorial design is becoming a tough task. Selecting sets of words that differ in one variable, while matching these same words into dozens of other confounding variables…

Application of two-level factorial design to investigate the effect of process parameters on the sonocrystallization of sulfathiazole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuo, Peng-Hsuan; Zhang, Bo-Cong; Su, Chie-Shaan; Liu, Jun-Jen; Sheu, Ming-Thau

2017-08-01

In this study, cooling sonocrystallization was used to recrystallize an active pharmaceutical ingredient, sulfathiazole, using methanol as the solvent. The effects of three operating parameters-sonication intensity, sonication duration, and solution concentration-on the recrystallization were investigated by using a 2k factorial design. The solid-state properties of sulfathiazole, including the mean particle size, crystal habit, and polymorphic form, were analyzed. Analysis of variance showed that the effect of the sonication intensity, cross-interaction effect of sonication intensity/sonication duration, and cross-interaction effect of sonication intensity/solution concentration on the recrystallization were significant. The results obtained using the 2k factorial design indicated that a combination of high sonication intensity and long sonication duration is not favorable for sonocrystallization, especially at a high solution concentration. A comparison of the solid-state properties of the original and the recrystallized sulfathiazole revealed that the crystal habit of the recrystallized sulfathiazole was more regular and that its mean particle size could be reduced to approximately 10 μm. Furthermore, the analytical results obtained using the PXRD, DSC, and FTIR spectroscopy indicated that the polymorphic purity of sulfathiazole improved from the original Form III/IV mixture to Form III after sonocrystallization.

Using Bayesian variable selection to analyze regular resolution IV two-level fractional factorial designs

DOE PAGES

Chipman, Hugh A.; Hamada, Michael S.

2016-06-02

Regular two-level fractional factorial designs have complete aliasing in which the associated columns of multiple effects are identical. Here, we show how Bayesian variable selection can be used to analyze experiments that use such designs. In addition to sparsity and hierarchy, Bayesian variable selection naturally incorporates heredity . This prior information is used to identify the most likely combinations of active terms. We also demonstrate the method on simulated and real experiments.

Using Bayesian variable selection to analyze regular resolution IV two-level fractional factorial designs

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

Chipman, Hugh A.; Hamada, Michael S.

Regular two-level fractional factorial designs have complete aliasing in which the associated columns of multiple effects are identical. Here, we show how Bayesian variable selection can be used to analyze experiments that use such designs. In addition to sparsity and hierarchy, Bayesian variable selection naturally incorporates heredity . This prior information is used to identify the most likely combinations of active terms. We also demonstrate the method on simulated and real experiments.

Advanced Envelope Research for Factory Built Housing, Phase 3. Design Development and Prototyping

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

Levy, E.; Kessler, B.; Mullens, M.

2014-01-01

The Advanced Envelope Research effort will provide factory homebuilders with high performance, cost-effective alternative envelope designs. In the near term, these technologies will play a central role in meeting stringent energy code requirements. For manufactured homes, the thermal requirements, last updated by statute in 1994, will move up to the more rigorous IECC 2012 levels in 2013, the requirements of which are consistent with site built and modular housing. This places added urgency on identifying envelope technologies that the industry can implement in the short timeframe. The primary goal of this research is to develop wall designs that meet themore » thermal requirements based on 2012 IECC standards. Given the affordable nature of manufactured homes, impact on first cost is a major consideration in developing the new envelope technologies. This work is part of a four-phase, multi-year effort. Phase 1 identified seven envelope technologies and provided a preliminary assessment of three selected methods for building high performance wall systems. Phase 2 focused on the development of viable product designs, manufacturing strategies, addressing code and structural issues, and cost analysis of the three selected options. An industry advisory committee helped critique and select the most viable solution to move further in the research -- stud walls with continuous exterior insulation. Phase 3, the subject of the current report, focused on the design development of the selected wall concept and explored variations on the use of exterior foam insulation. The scope also included material selection, manufacturing and cost analysis, and prototyping and testing.« less

Advanced Envelope Research for Factory Built Housing, Phase 3 -- Design Development and Prototyping

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

Levy, E.; Kessler, B.; Mullens, M.

2014-01-01

The Advanced Envelope Research effort will provide factory homebuilders with high performance, cost-effective alternative envelope designs. In the near term, these technologies will play a central role in meeting stringent energy code requirements. For manufactured homes, the thermal requirements, last updated by statute in 1994, will move up to the more rigorous IECC 2012 levels in 2013, the requirements of which are consistent with site built and modular housing. This places added urgency on identifying envelope technologies that the industry can implement in the short timeframe. The primary goal of this research is to develop wall designs that meet themore » thermal requirements based on 2012 IECC standards. Given the affordable nature of manufactured homes, impact on first cost is a major consideration in developing the new envelope technologies. This work is part of a four-phase, multi-year effort. Phase 1 identified seven envelope technologies and provided a preliminary assessment of three selected methods for building high performance wall systems. Phase 2 focused on the development of viable product designs, manufacturing strategies, addressing code and structural issues, and cost analysis of the three selected options. An industry advisory committee helped critique and select the most viable solution to move further in the research -- stud walls with continuous exterior insulation. Phase 3, the subject of the current report, focused on the design development of the selected wall concept and explored variations on the use of exterior foam insulation. The scope also included material selection, manufacturing and cost analysis, and prototyping and testing.« less

Factorial Experiments: Efficient Tools for Evaluation of Intervention Components

PubMed Central

Collins, Linda M.; Dziak, John J.; Kugler, Kari C.; Trail, Jessica B.

2014-01-01

Background An understanding of the individual and combined effects of a set of intervention components is important for moving the science of preventive medicine interventions forward. This understanding can often be achieved in an efficient and economical way via a factorial experiment, in which two or more independent variables are manipulated. The factorial experiment is a complement to the randomized controlled trial (RCT); the two designs address different research questions. Purpose This article offers an introduction to factorial experiments aimed at investigators trained primarily in the RCT. Method The factorial experiment is compared and contrasted with other experimental designs used commonly in intervention science to highlight where each is most efficient and appropriate. Results Several points are made: factorial experiments make very efficient use of experimental subjects when the data are properly analyzed; a factorial experiment can have excellent statistical power even if it has relatively few subjects per experimental condition; and when conducting research to select components for inclusion in a multicomponent intervention, interactions should be studied rather than avoided. Conclusions Investigators in preventive medicine and related areas should begin considering factorial experiments alongside other approaches. Experimental designs should be chosen from a resource management perspective, which states that the best experimental design is the one that provides the greatest scientific benefit without exceeding available resources. PMID:25092122

Factorial experiments: efficient tools for evaluation of intervention components.

PubMed

Collins, Linda M; Dziak, John J; Kugler, Kari C; Trail, Jessica B

2014-10-01

An understanding of the individual and combined effects of a set of intervention components is important for moving the science of preventive medicine interventions forward. This understanding can often be achieved in an efficient and economical way via a factorial experiment, in which two or more independent variables are manipulated. The factorial experiment is a complement to the RCT; the two designs address different research questions. To offer an introduction to factorial experiments aimed at investigators trained primarily in the RCT. The factorial experiment is compared and contrasted with other experimental designs used commonly in intervention science to highlight where each is most efficient and appropriate. Several points are made: factorial experiments make very efficient use of experimental subjects when the data are properly analyzed; a factorial experiment can have excellent statistical power even if it has relatively few subjects per experimental condition; and when conducting research to select components for inclusion in a multicomponent intervention, interactions should be studied rather than avoided. Investigators in preventive medicine and related areas should begin considering factorial experiments alongside other approaches. Experimental designs should be chosen from a resource management perspective, which states that the best experimental design is the one that provides the greatest scientific benefit without exceeding available resources. Copyright © 2014 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Formulation of topical bioadhesive gel of aceclofenac using 3-level factorial design.

PubMed

Singh, Sanjay; Parhi, Rabinarayan; Garg, Anuj

2011-01-01

The objective of this work was to develop bioadhesive topical gel of Aceclofenac with the help of response-surface approach. Experiments were performed according to a 3-level factorial design to evaluate the effects of two independent variables [amount of Poloxamer 407 (PL-407 = X1) and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose K100 M (HPMC = X2)] on the bioadhesive character of gel, rheological property of gel (consistency index), and in-vitro drug release. The best model was selected to fit the data. Mathematical equation was generated by Design Expert® software for the model which assists in determining the effect of independent variables. Response surface plots were also generated by the software for analyzing effect of the independent variables on the response. Quadratic model was found to be the best for all the responses. Both independent variable (X1 and X2) were found to have synergistic effect on bioadhesion (Y1) but the effect of HPMC was more pronounced than PL-407. Consistency index was enhanced by increasing the level of both independent variables. An antagonistic effect of both independent variables was found on cumulative percentage release of drug in 2 (Y3) and 8 h (Y4). Both independent variables approximately equally contributed the antagonistic effect on Y3 whereas antagonistic effect of HPMC was more pronounced than PL-407. The effect of formulation variables on the product characteristics can be easily predicted and precisely interpreted by using a 3-level factorial experimental design and generated quadratic mathematical equations.

An algorithm for generating all possible 2(p-q) fractional factorial designs and its use in scientific experimentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sidik, S. M.

1973-01-01

An algorithm and computer program are presented for generating all the distinct 2(p-q) fractional factorial designs. Some applications of this algorithm to the construction of tables of designs and of designs for nonstandard situations and its use in Bayesian design are discussed. An appendix includes a discussion of an actual experiment whose design was facilitated by the algorithm.

Kinetic models in industrial biotechnology - Improving cell factory performance.

PubMed

Almquist, Joachim; Cvijovic, Marija; Hatzimanikatis, Vassily; Nielsen, Jens; Jirstrand, Mats

2014-07-01

An increasing number of industrial bioprocesses capitalize on living cells by using them as cell factories that convert sugars into chemicals. These processes range from the production of bulk chemicals in yeasts and bacteria to the synthesis of therapeutic proteins in mammalian cell lines. One of the tools in the continuous search for improved performance of such production systems is the development and application of mathematical models. To be of value for industrial biotechnology, mathematical models should be able to assist in the rational design of cell factory properties or in the production processes in which they are utilized. Kinetic models are particularly suitable towards this end because they are capable of representing the complex biochemistry of cells in a more complete way compared to most other types of models. They can, at least in principle, be used to in detail understand, predict, and evaluate the effects of adding, removing, or modifying molecular components of a cell factory and for supporting the design of the bioreactor or fermentation process. However, several challenges still remain before kinetic modeling will reach the degree of maturity required for routine application in industry. Here we review the current status of kinetic cell factory modeling. Emphasis is on modeling methodology concepts, including model network structure, kinetic rate expressions, parameter estimation, optimization methods, identifiability analysis, model reduction, and model validation, but several applications of kinetic models for the improvement of cell factories are also discussed. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Multivariate study of parameters in the determination of pesticide residues in apple by headspace solid phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography-mass spectrometry using experimental factorial design.

PubMed

Abdulra'uf, Lukman Bola; Tan, Guan Huat

2013-12-15

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a solvent-less sample preparation method which combines sample preparation, isolation, concentration and enrichment into one step. In this study, multivariate strategy was used to determine the significance of the factors affecting the solid phase microextraction of pesticide residues (fenobucarb, diazinon, chlorothalonil and chlorpyrifos) using a randomised factorial design. The interactions and effects of temperature, time and salt addition on the efficiency of the extraction of the pesticide residues were evaluated using 2(3) factorial designs. The analytes were extracted with 100 μm PDMS fibres according to the factorial design matrix and desorbed into a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry detector. The developed method was applied for the analysis of apple samples and the limits of detection were between 0.01 and 0.2 μg kg(-)(1), which were lower than the MRLs for apples. The relative standard deviations (RSD) were between 0.1% and 13.37% with average recovery of 80-105%. The linearity ranges from 0.5-50 μg kg(-)(1) with correlation coefficient greater than 0.99. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Novel Solid Lipid Nanocarrier Of Glibenclamide: A Factorial Design Approach With Response Surface Methodology.

PubMed

Pandey, Sonia; Patel, Payal; Gupta, Arti

2018-05-21

In the present investigation a factorial design approach attempt was applied to develop the solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) of Glibenclamide (GLB) a poorly water-soluble drug (BCS -II) used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Prime objectives of this experiment are to optimize the SLN formulation of Glibenclamide and improve the therapeutic effectiveness of the developed formulation. Glibenclamide loaded SLNs (GLB-SLN) were fabricated by High speed homogenization technique. A 32-factorial design approach has been employed to assess the influence of two independent variables, namely amount of Poloxamer 188 and Glyceryl Monostearate on entrapment efficiency (% EE) (Y1), Particle Size (nm) (Y2), % drug release at 8hr Q8 (Y3) and 24 hr Q24 (Y4) of prepared SLNs. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis revealed the compatibility of the drug into lipid matrix with surfactant, while Transmission electron and Scanning electron microscopy studies indicated the size and shape of SLN. The entrapment efficiency, particle size, Q8 and Q24 of the optimized SLNs were 88.93%, 125 nm, 31.12±0.951% and 86.07±1.291% respectively. Optimized GLB-SLN formula was derived from an overlay plot. Three dimensional response surface plots and regression equations confirmed the corresponding influence of selected independent variables on measured responses. In vivo testing of the GLB-SLN in diabetic albino rats demonstrated significant antidiabetic effect of GLB-SLN. The hypoglycemic effect obtained by GLB-SLN remained significantly higher than that given by drug alone and marketed formulation, further confirming the higher therapeutic effectiveness of the GLB-SLN formulation. Our findings suggested the feasibility of investigated system for oral administration of Glibenclamide. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Robust tests for multivariate factorial designs under heteroscedasticity.

PubMed

Vallejo, Guillermo; Ato, Manuel

2012-06-01

The question of how to analyze several multivariate normal mean vectors when normality and covariance homogeneity assumptions are violated is considered in this article. For the two-way MANOVA layout, we address this problem adapting results presented by Brunner, Dette, and Munk (BDM; 1997) and Vallejo and Ato (modified Brown-Forsythe [MBF]; 2006) in the context of univariate factorial and split-plot designs and a multivariate version of the linear model (MLM) to accommodate heterogeneous data. Furthermore, we compare these procedures with the Welch-James (WJ) approximate degrees of freedom multivariate statistics based on ordinary least squares via Monte Carlo simulation. Our numerical studies show that of the methods evaluated, only the modified versions of the BDM and MBF procedures were robust to violations of underlying assumptions. The MLM approach was only occasionally liberal, and then by only a small amount, whereas the WJ procedure was often liberal if the interactive effects were involved in the design, particularly when the number of dependent variables increased and total sample size was small. On the other hand, it was also found that the MLM procedure was uniformly more powerful than its most direct competitors. The overall success rate was 22.4% for the BDM, 36.3% for the MBF, and 45.0% for the MLM.

Formulation optimization of gentamicin loaded Eudragit RS100 microspheres using factorial design study.

PubMed

Singh, Deependra; Saraf, Swarnlata; Dixit, Vinod Kumar; Saraf, Shailendra

2008-04-01

Gentamicin-Eudragit RS100 microspheres were prepared by modified double emulsion method. A 3(2) full factorial experiment was designed to study the effects of the composition of outer aqueous phase in terms of amount of glycerol (viscosity effect) and sodium chloride (osmotic pressure gradient effect) on the entrapment efficiency and % yield and microsphere size. The results of analysis of variance test for responses measured indicated that the test is significant (p>0.05). The contribution of sodium chloride concentration was found to be higher on entrapment efficiency and % yield, whereas glycerol produced significant effect on the mean diameter of microspheres. Microspheres demonstrated spherical particles in the size range of 33.24-60.43 microm. In vitro release profile of optimized formulation demonstrated sustained release for 24 h following Higuchi kinetics. Finally, drug bioactivity was found to remain intact after microencapsulation. Response surface graphs are presented to examine the effects of independent variables on the responses studied. Thus, by formulation design important parameters affecting formulation characteristics of gentamicin loaded Eudragit RS100 microspheres can be identified for controlled delivery with desirable characters in terms of maximum entrapment and yield.

Investigation of the impact of trace elements on anaerobic volatile fatty acid degradation using a fractional factorial experimental design.

PubMed

Jiang, Ying; Zhang, Yue; Banks, Charles; Heaven, Sonia; Longhurst, Philip

2017-11-15

The requirement of trace elements (TE) in anaerobic digestion process is widely documented. However, little is understood regarding the specific requirement of elements and their critical concentrations under different operating conditions such as substrate characterisation and temperature. In this study, a flask batch trial using fractional factorial design is conducted to investigate volatile fatty acids (VFA) anaerobic degradation rate under the influence of the individual and combined effect of six TEs (Co, Ni, Mo, Se, Fe and W). The experiment inoculated with food waste digestate, spiked with sodium acetate and sodium propionate both to 10 g/l. This is followed by the addition of a selection of the six elements in accordance with a 2 6-2 fractional factorial principle. The experiment is conducted in duplicate and the degradation of VFA is regularly monitored. Factorial effect analysis on the experimental results reveals that within these experimental conditions, Se has a key role in promoting the degradation rates of both acetic and propionic acids; Mo and Co are found to have a modest effect on increasing propionic acid degradation rate. It is also revealed that Ni shows some inhibitory effects on VFA degradation, possibly due to its toxicity. Additionally, regression coefficients for the main and second order effects are calculated to establish regression models for VFA degradation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Skateboard Factory: Curriculum by Design--Oasis Skateboard Factory Q&A with Craig Morrison

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearson, George

2012-01-01

Since its opening three years ago, Oasis Skateboard Factory (OSF), founded by teacher Craig Morrison, has attracted considerable media exposure and received a Ken Spencer Award from the CEA for its innovative program. OSF is one of three programs offered by Oasis Alternative Secondary School, one of 22 alternative secondary schools of the Toronto…

Designing optimal cell factories: integer programming couples elementary mode analysis with regulation

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Elementary mode (EM) analysis is ideally suited for metabolic engineering as it allows for an unbiased decomposition of metabolic networks in biologically meaningful pathways. Recently, constrained minimal cut sets (cMCS) have been introduced to derive optimal design strategies for strain improvement by using the full potential of EM analysis. However, this approach does not allow for the inclusion of regulatory information. Results Here we present an alternative, novel and simple method for the prediction of cMCS, which allows to account for boolean transcriptional regulation. We use binary linear programming and show that the design of a regulated, optimal metabolic network of minimal functionality can be formulated as a standard optimization problem, where EM and regulation show up as constraints. We validated our tool by optimizing ethanol production in E. coli. Our study showed that up to 70% of the predicted cMCS contained non-enzymatic, non-annotated reactions, which are difficult to engineer. These cMCS are automatically excluded by our approach utilizing simple weight functions. Finally, due to efficient preprocessing, the binary program remains computationally feasible. Conclusions We used integer programming to predict efficient deletion strategies to metabolically engineer a production organism. Our formulation utilizes the full potential of cMCS but adds additional flexibility to the design process. In particular our method allows to integrate regulatory information into the metabolic design process and explicitly favors experimentally feasible deletions. Our method remains manageable even if millions or potentially billions of EM enter the analysis. We demonstrated that our approach is able to correctly predict the most efficient designs for ethanol production in E. coli. PMID:22898474

Study of Montmorillonite Clay for the Removal of Copper (II) by Adsorption: Full Factorial Design Approach and Cascade Forward Neural Network

PubMed Central

Turan, Nurdan Gamze; Ozgonenel, Okan

2013-01-01

An intensive study has been made of the removal efficiency of Cu(II) from industrial leachate by biosorption of montmorillonite. A 24 factorial design and cascade forward neural network (CFNN) were used to display the significant levels of the analyzed factors on the removal efficiency. The obtained model based on 24 factorial design was statistically tested using the well-known methods. The statistical analysis proves that the main effects of analyzed parameters were significant by an obtained linear model within a 95% confidence interval. The proposed CFNN model requires less experimental data and minimum calculations. Moreover, it is found to be cost-effective due to inherent advantages of its network structure. Optimization of the levels of the analyzed factors was achieved by minimizing adsorbent dosage and contact time, which were costly, and maximizing Cu(II) removal efficiency. The suggested optimum conditions are initial pH at 6, adsorbent dosage at 10 mg/L, and contact time at 10 min using raw montmorillonite with the Cu(II) removal of 80.7%. At the optimum values, removal efficiency was increased to 88.91% if the modified montmorillonite was used. PMID:24453833

Generalized Factorial Moments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bialas, A.

2004-02-01

It is shown that the method of eliminating the statistical fluctuations from event-by-event analysis proposed recently by Fu and Liu can be rewritten in a compact form involving the generalized factorial moments.

A Classroom of Polymer Factories.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Mary E.; Van Natta, Sandra

1998-01-01

Provides an activity in which students create small classroom factories and investigate several aspects of production including design, engineering, quality control, waste management, packaging, shipment, and communication. (DDR)

DKIST enclosure modeling and verification during factory assembly and testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larrakoetxea, Ibon; McBride, William; Marshall, Heather K.; Murga, Gaizka

2014-08-01

The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST, formerly the Advanced Technology Solar Telescope, ATST) is unique as, apart from protecting the telescope and its instrumentation from the weather, it holds the entrance aperture stop and is required to position it with millimeter-level accuracy. The compliance of the Enclosure design with the requirements, as of Final Design Review in January 2012, was supported by mathematical models and other analyses which included structural and mechanical analyses (FEA), control models, ventilation analysis (CFD), thermal models, reliability analysis, etc. During the Enclosure Factory Assembly and Testing the compliance with the requirements has been verified using the real hardware and the models created during the design phase have been revisited. The tests performed during shutter mechanism subsystem (crawler test stand) functional and endurance testing (completed summer 2013) and two comprehensive system-level factory acceptance testing campaigns (FAT#1 in December 2013 and FAT#2 in March 2014) included functional and performance tests on all mechanisms, off-normal mode tests, mechanism wobble tests, creation of the Enclosure pointing map, control system tests, and vibration tests. The comparison of the assumptions used during the design phase with the properties measured during the test campaign provides an interesting reference for future projects.

On the use of metabolic control analysis in the optimization of cyanobacterial biosolar cell factories.

PubMed

Angermayr, S Andreas; Hellingwerf, Klaas J

2013-09-26

Oxygenic photosynthesis will have a key role in a sustainable future. It is therefore significant that this process can be engineered in organisms such as cyanobacteria to construct cell factories that catalyze the (sun)light-driven conversion of CO2 and water into products like ethanol, butanol, or other biofuels or lactic acid, a bioplastic precursor, and oxygen as a byproduct. It is of key importance to optimize such cell factories to maximal efficiency. This holds for their light-harvesting capabilities under, for example, circadian illumination in large-scale photobioreactors. However, this also holds for the "dark" reactions of photosynthesis, that is, the conversion of CO2, NADPH, and ATP into a product. Here, we present an analysis, based on metabolic control theory, to estimate the optimal capacity for product formation with which such cyanobacterial cell factories have to be equipped. Engineered l-lactic acid producing Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 strains are used to identify the relation between production rate and enzymatic capacity. The analysis shows that the engineered cell factories for l-lactic acid are fully limited by the metabolic capacity of the product-forming pathway. We attribute this to the fact that currently available promoter systems in cyanobacteria lack the genetic capacity to a provide sufficient expression in single-gene doses.

A factorial design experiment as a pilot study for noninvasive genetic sampling.

PubMed

Renan, Sharon; Speyer, Edith; Shahar, Naama; Gueta, Tomer; Templeton, Alan R; Bar-David, Shirli

2012-11-01

Noninvasive genetic sampling has increasingly been used in ecological and conservation studies during the last decade. A major part of the noninvasive genetic literature is dedicated to the search for optimal protocols, by comparing different methods of collection, preservation and extraction of DNA from noninvasive materials. However, the lack of quantitative comparisons among these studies and the possibility that different methods are optimal for different systems make it difficult to decide which protocol to use. Moreover, most studies that have compared different methods focused on a single factor - collection, preservation or extraction - while there could be interactions between these factors. We designed a factorial experiment, as a pilot study, aimed at exploring the effect of several collection, preservation and extraction methods, and the interactions between them, on the quality and amplification success of DNA obtained from Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus) faeces in Israel. The amplification success rates of one mitochondrial DNA and four microsatellite markers differed substantially as a function of collection, preservation and extraction methods and their interactions. The most efficient combination for our system integrated the use of swabs as a collection method with preservation at -20 °C and with the Qiagen DNA Stool Kit with modifications as the DNA extraction method. The significant interaction found between the collection, preservation methods and the extraction methods reinforces the importance of conducting a factorial design experiment, rather than examining each factor separately, as a pilot study before initiating a full-scale noninvasive research project. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

New generation electron-positron factories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zobov, Mikhail

2011-09-01

In 2010 we celebrate 50 years since commissioning of the first particle storage ring ADA in Frascati (Italy) that also became the first electron-positron collider in 1964. After that date the particle colliders have increased their intensity, luminosity and energy by several orders of magnitude. Namely, because of the high stored beam currents and high rate of useful physics events (luminosity) the modern electron-positron colliders are called "factories". However, the fundamental physics has required luminosities by 1-2 orders of magnitudes higher with respect to those presently achieved. This task can be accomplished by designing a new generation of factories exploiting the potential of a new collision scheme based on the Crab Waist (CW) collision concept recently proposed and successfully tested at Frascati. In this paper we discuss the performance and limitations of the present generation electron-positron factories and give a brief overview of new ideas and collision schemes proposed for further collider luminosity increase. In more detail we describe the CW collision concept and the results of the crab waist collision tests in DAϕNE, the Italian ϕ-factory. Finally, we briefly describe most advanced projects of the next generation factories based on the CW concept: SuperB in Italy, SuperKEKB in Japan and SuperC-Tau in Russia.

Optimization of LDL targeted nanostructured lipid carriers of 5-FU by a full factorial design.

PubMed

Andalib, Sare; Varshosaz, Jaleh; Hassanzadeh, Farshid; Sadeghi, Hojjat

2012-01-01

Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) are a mixture of solid and liquid lipids or oils as colloidal carrier systems that lead to an imperfect matrix structure with high ability for loading water soluble drugs. The aim of this study was to find the best proportion of liquid and solid lipids of different types for optimization of the production of LDL targeted NLCs used in carrying 5-Fu by the emulsification-solvent evaporation method. The influence of the lipid type, cholesterol or cholesteryl stearate for targeting LDL receptors, oil type (oleic acid or octanol), lipid and oil% on particle size, surface charge, drug loading efficiency, and drug released percent from the NLCs were studied by a full factorial design. The NLCs prepared by 54.5% cholesterol and 25% of oleic acid, showed optimum results with particle size of 105.8 nm, relatively high zeta potential of -25 mV, drug loading efficiency of 38% and release efficiency of about 40%. Scanning electron microscopy of nanoparticles confirmed the results of dynamic light scattering method used in measuring the particle size of NLCs. The optimization method by a full factorial statistical design is a useful optimization method for production of nanostructured lipid carriers.

The Old Factory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roman, Harry T.

2007-01-01

Technology education is not just about things, systems, and processes. It can also be about history, people, technological change, and impacts on society. In this design challenge, one uses technology education principles and ideas to convert an old factory into a museum and learning center. The challenge with this historical resource is to think…

The Positive Emotions after Acute Coronary Events behavioral health intervention: Design, rationale, and preliminary feasibility of a factorial design study.

PubMed

Huffman, Jeffery C; Albanese, Ariana M; Campbell, Kirsti A; Celano, Christopher M; Millstein, Rachel A; Mastromauro, Carol A; Healy, Brian C; Chung, Wei-Jean; Januzzi, James L; Collins, Linda M; Park, Elyse R

2017-04-01

Positive psychological constructs, such as optimism, are associated with greater participation in cardiac health behaviors and improved cardiac outcomes. Positive psychology interventions, which target psychological well-being, may represent a promising approach to improving health behaviors in high-risk cardiac patients. However, no study has assessed whether a positive psychology intervention can promote physical activity following an acute coronary syndrome. In this article we will describe the methods of a novel factorial design study to aid the development of a positive psychology-based intervention for acute coronary syndrome patients and aim to provide preliminary feasibility data on study implementation. The Positive Emotions after Acute Coronary Events III study is an optimization study (planned N = 128), subsumed within a larger multiphase optimization strategy iterative treatment development project. The goal of Positive Emotions after Acute Coronary Events III is to identify the ideal components of a positive psychology-based intervention to improve post-acute coronary syndrome physical activity. Using a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design, Positive Emotions after Acute Coronary Events III aims to: (1) evaluate the relative merits of using positive psychology exercises alone or combined with motivational interviewing, (2) assess whether weekly or daily positive psychology exercise completion is optimal, and (3) determine the utility of booster sessions. The study's primary outcome measure is moderate-to-vigorous physical activity at 16 weeks, measured via accelerometer. Secondary outcome measures include psychological, functional, and adherence-related behavioral outcomes, along with metrics of feasibility and acceptability. For the primary study outcome, we will use a mixed-effects model with a random intercept (to account for repeated measures) to assess the main effects of each component (inclusion of motivational interviewing in the exercises

The Japanese Positron Factory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okada, S.; Sunaga, H.; Kaneko, H.; Takizawa, H.; Kawasuso, A.; Yotsumoto, K.; Tanaka, R.

1999-06-01

The Positron Factory has been planned at Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI). The factory is expected to produce linac-based monoenergetic positron beams having world-highest intensities of more than 1010e+/sec, which will be applied for R&D of materials science, biotechnology and basic physics & chemistry. In this article, results of the design studies are demonstrated for the following essential components of the facilities: 1) Conceptual design of a high-power electron linac with 100 MeV in beam energy and 100 kW in averaged beam power, 2) Performance tests of the RF window in the high-power klystron and of the electron beam window, 3) Development of a self-driven rotating electron-to-positron converter and the performance tests, 4) Proposal of multi-channel beam generation system for monoenergetic positrons, with a series of moderator assemblies based on a newly developed Monte Carlo simulation and the demonstrative experiment, 5) Proposal of highly efficient moderator structures, 6) Conceptual design of a local shield to suppress the surrounding radiation and activation levels.

Identification of Analytical Factors Affecting Complex Proteomics Profiles Acquired in a Factorial Design Study with Analysis of Variance: Simultaneous Component Analysis.

PubMed

Mitra, Vikram; Govorukhina, Natalia; Zwanenburg, Gooitzen; Hoefsloot, Huub; Westra, Inge; Smilde, Age; Reijmers, Theo; van der Zee, Ate G J; Suits, Frank; Bischoff, Rainer; Horvatovich, Péter

2016-04-19

Complex shotgun proteomics peptide profiles obtained in quantitative differential protein expression studies, such as in biomarker discovery, may be affected by multiple experimental factors. These preanalytical factors may affect the measured protein abundances which in turn influence the outcome of the associated statistical analysis and validation. It is therefore important to determine which factors influence the abundance of peptides in a complex proteomics experiment and to identify those peptides that are most influenced by these factors. In the current study we analyzed depleted human serum samples to evaluate experimental factors that may influence the resulting peptide profile such as the residence time in the autosampler at 4 °C, stopping or not stopping the trypsin digestion with acid, the type of blood collection tube, different hemolysis levels, differences in clotting times, the number of freeze-thaw cycles, and different trypsin/protein ratios. To this end we used a two-level fractional factorial design of resolution IV (2(IV)(7-3)). The design required analysis of 16 samples in which the main effects were not confounded by two-factor interactions. Data preprocessing using the Threshold Avoiding Proteomics Pipeline (Suits, F.; Hoekman, B.; Rosenling, T.; Bischoff, R.; Horvatovich, P. Anal. Chem. 2011, 83, 7786-7794, ref 1) produced a data-matrix containing quantitative information on 2,559 peaks. The intensity of the peaks was log-transformed, and peaks having intensities of a low t-test significance (p-value > 0.05) and a low absolute fold ratio (<2) between the two levels of each factor were removed. The remaining peaks were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA)-simultaneous component analysis (ASCA). Permutation tests were used to identify which of the preanalytical factors influenced the abundance of the measured peptides most significantly. The most important preanalytical factors affecting peptide intensity were (1) the hemolysis level

Factorial microarray analysis of zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha: Dreissenidae, Bivalvia) adhesion

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background The zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) has been well known for its expertise in attaching to substances under the water. Studies in past decades on this underwater adhesion focused on the adhesive protein isolated from the byssogenesis apparatus of the zebra mussel. However, the mechanism of the initiation, maintenance, and determination of the attachment process remains largely unknown. Results In this study, we used a zebra mussel cDNA microarray previously developed in our lab and a factorial analysis to identify the genes that were involved in response to the changes of four factors: temperature (Factor A), current velocity (Factor B), dissolved oxygen (Factor C), and byssogenesis status (Factor D). Twenty probes in the microarray were found to be modified by one of the factors. The transcription products of four selected genes, DPFP-BG20_A01, EGP-BG97/192_B06, EGP-BG13_G05, and NH-BG17_C09 were unique to the zebra mussel foot based on the results of quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). The expression profiles of these four genes under the attachment and non-attachment were also confirmed by qRT-PCR and the result is accordant to that from microarray assay. The in situ hybridization with the RNA probes of two identified genes DPFP-BG20_A01 and EGP-BG97/192_B06 indicated that both of them were expressed by a type of exocrine gland cell located in the middle part of the zebra mussel foot. Conclusions The results of this study suggested that the changes of D. polymorpha byssogenesis status and the environmental factors can dramatically affect the expression profiles of the genes unique to the foot. It turns out that the factorial design and analysis of the microarray experiment is a reliable method to identify the influence of multiple factors on the expression profiles of the probesets in the microarray; therein it provides a powerful tool to reveal the mechanism of zebra mussel underwater attachment. PMID:20509938

Engineering microbial cell factories for the production of plant natural products: from design principles to industrial-scale production.

PubMed

Liu, Xiaonan; Ding, Wentao; Jiang, Huifeng

2017-07-19

Plant natural products (PNPs) are widely used as pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, seasonings, pigments, etc., with a huge commercial value on the global market. However, most of these PNPs are still being extracted from plants. A resource-conserving and environment-friendly synthesis route for PNPs that utilizes microbial cell factories has attracted increasing attention since the 1940s. However, at the present only a handful of PNPs are being produced by microbial cell factories at an industrial scale, and there are still many challenges in their large-scale application. One of the challenges is that most biosynthetic pathways of PNPs are still unknown, which largely limits the number of candidate PNPs for heterologous microbial production. Another challenge is that the metabolic fluxes toward the target products in microbial hosts are often hindered by poor precursor supply, low catalytic activity of enzymes and obstructed product transport. Consequently, despite intensive studies on the metabolic engineering of microbial hosts, the fermentation costs of most heterologously produced PNPs are still too high for industrial-scale production. In this paper, we review several aspects of PNP production in microbial cell factories, including important design principles and recent progress in pathway mining and metabolic engineering. In addition, implemented cases of industrial-scale production of PNPs in microbial cell factories are also highlighted.

An approach to optimize sample preparation for MALDI imaging MS of FFPE sections using fractional factorial design of experiments.

PubMed

Oetjen, Janina; Lachmund, Delf; Palmer, Andrew; Alexandrov, Theodore; Becker, Michael; Boskamp, Tobias; Maass, Peter

2016-09-01

A standardized workflow for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI imaging MS) is a prerequisite for the routine use of this promising technology in clinical applications. We present an approach to develop standard operating procedures for MALDI imaging MS sample preparation of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections based on a novel quantitative measure of dataset quality. To cover many parts of the complex workflow and simultaneously test several parameters, experiments were planned according to a fractional factorial design of experiments (DoE). The effect of ten different experiment parameters was investigated in two distinct DoE sets, each consisting of eight experiments. FFPE rat brain sections were used as standard material because of low biological variance. The mean peak intensity and a recently proposed spatial complexity measure were calculated for a list of 26 predefined peptides obtained by in silico digestion of five different proteins and served as quality criteria. A five-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied on the final scores to retrieve a ranking of experiment parameters with increasing impact on data variance. Graphical abstract MALDI imaging experiments were planned according to fractional factorial design of experiments for the parameters under study. Selected peptide images were evaluated by the chosen quality metric (structure and intensity for a given peak list), and the calculated values were used as an input for the ANOVA. The parameters with the highest impact on the quality were deduced and SOPs recommended.

Quantum computation with realistic magic-state factories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Gorman, Joe; Campbell, Earl T.

2017-03-01

Leading approaches to fault-tolerant quantum computation dedicate a significant portion of the hardware to computational factories that churn out high-fidelity ancillas called magic states. Consequently, efficient and realistic factory design is of paramount importance. Here we present the most detailed resource assessment to date of magic-state factories within a surface code quantum computer, along the way introducing a number of techniques. We show that the block codes of Bravyi and Haah [Phys. Rev. A 86, 052329 (2012), 10.1103/PhysRevA.86.052329] have been systematically undervalued; we track correlated errors both numerically and analytically, providing fidelity estimates without appeal to the union bound. We also introduce a subsystem code realization of these protocols with constant time and low ancilla cost. Additionally, we confirm that magic-state factories have space-time costs that scale as a constant factor of surface code costs. We find that the magic-state factory required for postclassical factoring can be as small as 6.3 million data qubits, ignoring ancilla qubits, assuming 10-4 error gates and the availability of long-range interactions.

Multivariate factorial analysis to design a robust batch leaching test to assess the volcanic ash geochemical hazard.

PubMed

Ruggieri, Flavia; Gil, Raúl A; Fernandez-Turiel, Jose-Luis; Saavedra, Julio; Gimeno, Domingo; Lobo, Agustin; Martinez, Luis D; Rodriguez-Gonzalez, Alejandro

2012-04-30

A method to obtain robust information on short term leaching behaviour of volcanic ashes has been developed independently on the sample age. A mixed factorial design (MFD) was employed as a multivariate strategy for the evaluation of the effects of selected control factors and their interactions (amount of sample (A), contact time (B), and liquid to solid ratio or L/S (C)) on the leaching process of selected metals (Na, K, Mg, Ca, Si, Al, V, Mn, Fe, and Co) and anions (Cl(-) and SO(4)(2-)). Box plots of the data acquired were used to evaluate the reproducibility achieved at different experimental conditions. Both the amount of sample (A) and leaching time (B) had a significant effect on the element stripping whereas the L/S ratio influenced only few elements. The lowest dispersion values have been observed when 1.0 g was leached with an L/S ratio equal to 10, shaking during 4 h. The entire method is completed within few hours, and it is simple, feasible and reliable in laboratory conditions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Analysis of Completely Randomized Factorial Experiments When Observations Are Lost at Random.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hummel, Thomas J.

An investigation was conducted of the characteristics of two estimation procedures and corresponding test statistics used in the analysis of completely randomized factorial experiments when observations are lost at random. For one estimator, contrast coefficients for cell means did not involve the cell frequencies. For the other, contrast…

Nanostructured lipid carriers as a potential vehicle for Carvedilol delivery: Application of factorial design approach.

PubMed

Patil, Ganesh B; Patil, Nandkishor D; Deshmukh, Prashant K; Patil, Pravin O; Bari, Sanjay B

2016-01-01

Present invention relates to design of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) to augment oral bioavailability of Carvedilol (CAR). In this attempt, formulations of CAR-NLCs were prepared with glyceryl-monostearate (GMS) as a lipid, poloxamer 188 as a surfactant and tween 80 as a co-surfactant using high pressure homogenizer by 2(3) factorial design approach. Formed CAR-NLCs were assessed for various performance parameters. Accelerated stability studies demonstrated negligible change in particle size and entrapment efficiency, after storage at specified time up to 3 months. The promising findings in this investigation suggest the practicability of these systems for enhancement of bioavailability of drugs like CAR.

Design and analysis of mixed cropping experiments for indigenous Pacific Islands

Treesearch

Mareko P. Tofinga

1993-01-01

Mixed cropping (including agroforestry) often gives yield advan-tages as opposed to monocropping. Many criteria have been used to assess yield advantage in crop mixtures. Some of these are presented. In addition, the relative merits of replacement, additive and bivariate factorial designs are discussed. The concepts of analysis of mixed cropping are applied to an...

Assessment of Tooth Wear Among Glass Factory Workers: WHO 2013 Oral Health Survey

PubMed Central

Bhat, Nagesh; Asawa, Kailash; Tak, Mridula; Bapat, Salil; Gupta, Vivek Vardhan

2015-01-01

Background Glass factory workers are often exposed to the hazardous environment that leads to deleterious oral health and subsequently, general health. We planned to determine the effects of the particulates present in the milieu on the tooth wear among workers. Aim To assess tooth wear among glass factory workers in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Settings and Design A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 936 glass workers in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India from January-June 2014. Materials and Methods A survey proforma was designed for tooth wear evaluation with the help of WHO Oral Health Assessment form 2013 (for adults). Information regarding oral health practices, adverse habits and dietary habits, demographic details was gathered and clinical parameters were recorded. Statistical Analysis The Chi–square test, t–test, One-way Analysis of Variance and a Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis. Results The most prevalent form of erosion was enamel erosion (589, 62.93%) with few subjects of deeper dentinal erosion and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.001). Dental erosion was found to be higher among males compared to females. Years of experience and educational status were identified as best predictors for dental erosion. Conclusion It was concluded that there was considerable evidence of dental erosion found among the factory workers. Due to ignorance on social, cultural and health aspects, professional approach with regular dental care services for detection of early symptoms and planning of preventive strategies is warranted. PMID:26436050

Design optimization of condenser microphone: a design of experiment perspective.

PubMed

Tan, Chee Wee; Miao, Jianmin

2009-06-01

A well-designed condenser microphone backplate is very important in the attainment of good frequency response characteristics--high sensitivity and wide bandwidth with flat response--and low mechanical-thermal noise. To study the design optimization of the backplate, a 2(6) factorial design with a single replicate, which consists of six backplate parameters and four responses, has been undertaken on a comprehensive condenser microphone model developed by Zuckerwar. Through the elimination of insignificant parameters via normal probability plots of the effect estimates, the projection of an unreplicated factorial design into a replicated one can be performed to carry out an analysis of variance on the factorial design. The air gap and slot have significant effects on the sensitivity, mechanical-thermal noise, and bandwidth while the slot/hole location interaction has major influence over the latter two responses. An organized and systematic approach of designing the backplate is summarized.

Integrating PCLIPS into ULowell's Lincoln Logs: Factory of the future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcgee, Brenda J.; Miller, Mark D.; Krolak, Patrick; Barr, Stanley J.

1990-01-01

We are attempting to show how independent but cooperating expert systems, executing within a parallel production system (PCLIPS), can operate and control a completely automated, fault tolerant prototype of a factory of the future (The Lincoln Logs Factory of the Future). The factory consists of a CAD system for designing the Lincoln Log Houses, two workcells, and a materials handling system. A workcell consists of two robots, part feeders, and a frame mounted vision system.

A factorial design to identify process parameters affecting whole mechanically disrupted rat pancreata in a perfusion bioreactor.

PubMed

Sharp, Jamie; Spitters, Tim Wgm; Vermette, Patrick

2018-03-01

Few studies report whole pancreatic tissue culture, as it is a difficult task using traditional culture methods. Here, a factorial design was used to investigate the singular and combinational effects of flow, dissolved oxygen concentration (D.O.) and pulsation on whole mechanically disrupted rat pancreata in a perfusion bioreactor. Whole rat pancreata were cultured for 72 h under defined bioreactor process conditions. Secreted insulin was measured and histological (haematoxylin and eosin (H&E)) as well as immunofluorescent insulin staining were performed and quantified. The combination of flow and D.O. had the most significant effect on secreted insulin at 5 h and 24 h. The D.O. had the biggest effect on tissue histological quality, and pulsation had the biggest effect on the number of insulin-positive structures. Based on the factorial design analysis, bioreactor conditions using high flow, low D.O., and pulsation were selected to further study glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Here, mechanically disrupted rat pancreata were cultured for 24 h under these bioreactor conditions and were then challenged with high glucose concentration for 6 h and high glucose + IBMX (an insulin secretagogue) for a further 6 h. These cultures secreted insulin in response to high glucose concentration in the first 6 h, however stimulated-insulin secretion was markedly weaker in response to high glucose concentration + IBMX thereafter. After this bioreactor culture period, higher tissue metabolic activity was found compared to that of non-bioreacted static controls. More insulin- and glucagon-positive structures, and extensive intact endothelial structures were observed compared to non-bioreacted static cultures. H&E staining revealed more intact tissue compared to static cultures. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:432-444, 2018. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

B factory plans at Cornell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berkelman, Karl

1989-12-01

Recent upgrade project at the Cornell Electron Storage Ring is discussed. Modification was made to make B mesons factory design possible. The CLEO detector has been rebuilt with a new superconducting magnet and a high resolution electromagnetic calorimeter made of cesium iodide scintillators.(AIP)

Design of experiment (DOE) study of biodegradable magnesium alloy synthesized by mechanical alloying using fractional factorial design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salleh, Emee Marina; Ramakrishnan, Sivakumar; Hussain, Zuhailawati

2014-06-01

The biodegradable nature of magnesium (Mg) makes it a most highlighted and attractive to be used as implant materials. However, rapid corrosion rate of Mg alloys especially in electrolytic aqueous environment limits its performance. In this study, Mg alloy was mechanically milled by incorporating manganese (Mn) as alloying element. An attempt was made to study both effect of mechanical alloying and subsequent consolidation processes on the bulk properties of Mg-Mn alloys. 2k-2 factorial design was employed to determine the significant factors in producing Mg alloy which has properties closes to that of human bones. The design considered six factors (i.e. milling time, milling speed, weight percentage of Mn, compaction pressure, sintering temperature and sintering time). Density and hardness were chosen as the responses for assessing the most significant parameters that affected the bulk properties of Mg-Mn alloys. The experimental variables were evaluated using ANOVA and regression model. The main parameter investigated was compaction pressure.

The simulation of air recirculation and fire/explosion phenomena within a semiconductor factory.

PubMed

I, Yet-Pole; Chiu, Yi-Long; Wu, Shi-Jen

2009-04-30

The semiconductor industry is the collection of capital-intensive firms that employ a variety of hazardous chemicals and engage in the design and fabrication of semiconductor devices. Owing to its processing characteristics, the fully confined structure of the fabrication area (fab) and the vertical airflow ventilation design restrict the applications of traditional consequence analysis techniques that are commonly used in other industries. The adverse situation also limits the advancement of a fire/explosion prevention design for the industry. In this research, a realistic model of a semiconductor factory with a fab, sub-fabrication area, supply air plenum, and return air plenum structures was constructed and the computational fluid dynamics algorithm was employed to simulate the possible fire/explosion range and its severity. The semiconductor factory has fan module units with high efficiency particulate air filters that can keep the airflow uniform within the cleanroom. This condition was modeled by 25 fans, three layers of porous ceiling, and one layer of porous floor. The obtained results predicted very well the real airflow pattern in the semiconductor factory. Different released gases, leak locations, and leak rates were applied to investigate their influence on the hazard range and severity. Common mitigation measures such as a water spray system and a pressure relief panel were also provided to study their potential effectiveness to relieve thermal radiation and overpressure hazards within a fab. The semiconductor industry can use this simulation procedure as a reference on how to implement a consequence analysis for a flammable gas release accident within an air recirculation cleanroom.

The Use of a Fractional Factorial Design to Determine the Factors That Impact 1,3-Propanediol Production from Glycerol by Halanaerobium hydrogeniformans.

PubMed

Kalia, Shivani; Trager, Jordan; Sitton, Oliver C; Mormile, Melanie R

2016-08-20

In recent years, biodiesel, a substitute for fossil fuels, has led to the excessive production of crude glycerol. The resulting crude glycerol can possess a high concentration of salts and an alkaline pH. Moreover, current crude glycerol purification methods are expensive, rendering this former commodity a waste product. However, Halanaerobium hydrogeniformans, a haloalkaliphilic bacterium, possesses the metabolic capability to convert glycerol into 1,3-propanediol, a valuable commodity compound, without the need for salt dilution or adjusting pH when grown on this waste. Experiments were performed with different combinations of 24 medium components to determine their impact on the production of 1,3-propanediol by using a fractional factorial design. Tested medium components were selected based on data from the organism's genome. Analysis of HPLC data revealed enhanced production of 1,3-propanediol with additional glycerol, pH, vitamin B12, ammonium ions, sodium sulfide, cysteine, iron, and cobalt. However, other selected components; nitrate ions, phosphate ions, sulfate ions, sodium:potassium ratio, chloride, calcium, magnesium, silicon, manganese, zinc, borate, nickel, molybdenum, tungstate, copper and aluminum, did not enhance 1,3-propanediol production. The use of a fractional factorial design enabled the quick and efficient assessment of the impact of 24 different medium components on 1,3-propanediol production from glycerol from a haloalkaliphilic bacterium.

Testing Nelder-Mead based repulsion algorithms for multiple roots of nonlinear systems via a two-level factorial design of experiments.

PubMed

Ramadas, Gisela C V; Rocha, Ana Maria A C; Fernandes, Edite M G P

2015-01-01

This paper addresses the challenging task of computing multiple roots of a system of nonlinear equations. A repulsion algorithm that invokes the Nelder-Mead (N-M) local search method and uses a penalty-type merit function based on the error function, known as 'erf', is presented. In the N-M algorithm context, different strategies are proposed to enhance the quality of the solutions and improve the overall efficiency. The main goal of this paper is to use a two-level factorial design of experiments to analyze the statistical significance of the observed differences in selected performance criteria produced when testing different strategies in the N-M based repulsion algorithm. The main goal of this paper is to use a two-level factorial design of experiments to analyze the statistical significance of the observed differences in selected performance criteria produced when testing different strategies in the N-M based repulsion algorithm.

A quality by design approach to optimization of emulsions for electrospinning using factorial and D-optimal designs.

PubMed

Badawi, Mariam A; El-Khordagui, Labiba K

2014-07-16

Emulsion electrospinning is a multifactorial process used to generate nanofibers loaded with hydrophilic drugs or macromolecules for diverse biomedical applications. Emulsion electrospinnability is greatly impacted by the emulsion pharmaceutical attributes. The aim of this study was to apply a quality by design (QbD) approach based on design of experiments as a risk-based proactive approach to achieve predictable critical quality attributes (CQAs) in w/o emulsions for electrospinning. Polycaprolactone (PCL)-thickened w/o emulsions containing doxycycline HCl were formulated using a Span 60/sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) emulsifier blend. The identified emulsion CQAs (stability, viscosity and conductivity) were linked with electrospinnability using a 3(3) factorial design to optimize emulsion composition for phase stability and a D-optimal design to optimize stable emulsions for viscosity and conductivity after shifting the design space. The three independent variables, emulsifier blend composition, organic:aqueous phase ratio and polymer concentration, had a significant effect (p<0.05) on emulsion CQAs, the emulsifier blend composition exerting prominent main and interaction effects. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of emulsion-electrospun NFs and desirability functions allowed modeling of emulsion CQAs to predict electrospinnable formulations. A QbD approach successfully built quality in electrospinnable emulsions, allowing development of hydrophilic drug-loaded nanofibers with desired morphological characteristics. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factorial analysis of diesel engine performance using different types of biofuels.

PubMed

Tashtoush, Ghassan M; Al-Widyan, Mohamad I; Albatayneh, Aiman M

2007-09-01

In this study, several bio-source-fuels like fresh and waste vegetable oil and waste animal fat were tested at different injector pressures (120, 140, 190, 210 bar) in a direct-injection, naturally aspirated, single-cylinder diesel engine with a design injection pressure of 190 bar. Using 2k factorial analysis, the effect of injection pressure (Pi) and fuel type on three engine parameters, namely, combustion efficiency (etac), mass fuel consumption (mf), and engine speed (N) was examined. It was found that Pi and fuel type significantly affected both etac and mf while they had a slight effect on engine speed. Moreover, with diesel and biodiesels, the etac increased to a maximum at 190 bar but declined at the higher Pi value. In contrast, higher Pi had a favorable effect on etac over the whole Pi range with all the other more viscous fuels tested. In addition, the mass fuel consumption consistently decreased with an increase in Pi for all the fuels including the baseline diesel fuel, with which the engine consistently attained higher etac and higher rpm compared to all the other fuels tested.

Tamarind seed gum-hydrolyzed polymethacrylamide-g-gellan beads for extended release of diclofenac sodium using 32 full factorial design.

PubMed

Nandi, Gouranga; Nandi, Amit Kumar; Khan, Najim Sarif; Pal, Souvik; Dey, Sibasish

2018-07-15

Development of tamarind seed gum (TSG)-hydrolyzed polymethacrylamide-g-gellan (h-Pmaa-g-GG) composite beads for extended release of diclofenac sodium using 3 2 full factorial design is the main purpose of this study. The ratio of h-Pmaa-g-GG and TSG and concentration of cross-linker CaCl 2 were taken as independent factors with three different levels of each. Effects of polymer ratio and CaCl 2 on drug entrapment efficiency (DEE), drug release, bead size and swelling were investigated. Responses such as DEE and different drug release parameters were statistically analyzed by 3 2 full factorial design using Design-Expert software and finally the formulation factors were optimized to obtain USP-reference release profile. Drug release rate was found to decrease with decrease in the ratio of h-Pmaa-g-GG:TSG and increase in the concentration of Ca 2+ ions in cross-linking medium. The optimized formulation showed DEE of 93.25% and an extended drug release profile over a period of 10h with f 2 =80.13. Kinetic modeling unveiled case-I-Fickian diffusion based drug release mechanism. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

NR/EPDM elastomeric rubber blend miscibility evaluation by two-level fractional factorial design of experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razak, Jeefferie Abd; Ahmad, Sahrim Haji; Ratnam, Chantara Thevy; Mahamood, Mazlin Aida; Yaakub, Juliana; Mohamad, Noraiham

2014-09-01

Fractional 25 two-level factorial design of experiment (DOE) was applied to systematically prepare the NR/EPDM blend using Haake internal mixer set-up. The process model of rubber blend preparation that correlates the relationships between the mixer process input parameters and the output response of blend compatibility was developed. Model analysis of variance (ANOVA) and model fitting through curve evaluation finalized the R2 of 99.60% with proposed parametric combination of A = 30/70 NR/EPDM blend ratio; B = 70°C mixing temperature; C = 70 rpm of rotor speed; D = 5 minutes of mixing period and E = 1.30 phr EPDM-g-MAH compatibilizer addition, with overall 0.966 desirability. Model validation with small deviation at +2.09% confirmed the repeatability of the mixing strategy with valid maximum tensile strength output representing the blend miscibility. Theoretical calculation of NR/EPDM blend compatibility is also included and compared. In short, this study provides a brief insight on the utilization of DOE for experimental simplification and parameter inter-correlation studies, especially when dealing with multiple variables during elastomeric rubber blend preparation.

Optimization of antibacterial activity by Gold-Thread (Coptidis Rhizoma Franch) against Streptococcus mutans using evolutionary operation-factorial design technique.

PubMed

Choi, Ung-Kyu; Kim, Mi-Hyang; Lee, Nan-Hee

2007-11-01

This study was conducted to find the optimum extraction condition of Gold-Thread for antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans using The evolutionary operation-factorial design technique. Higher antibacterial activity was achieved in a higher extraction temperature (R2 = -0.79) and in a longer extraction time (R2 = -0.71). Antibacterial activity was not affected by differentiation of the ethanol concentration in the extraction solvent (R2 = -0.12). The maximum antibacterial activity of clove against S. mutans determined by the EVOP-factorial technique was obtained at 80 degrees C extraction temperature, 26 h extraction time, and 50% ethanol concentration. The population of S. mutans decreased from 6.110 logCFU/ml in the initial set to 4.125 logCFU/ml in the third set.

Interactions between cadmium and decabrominated diphenyl ether on blood cells count in rats-Multiple factorial regression analysis.

PubMed

Curcic, Marijana; Buha, Aleksandra; Stankovic, Sanja; Milovanovic, Vesna; Bulat, Zorica; Đukić-Ćosić, Danijela; Antonijević, Evica; Vučinić, Slavica; Matović, Vesna; Antonijevic, Biljana

2017-02-01

The objective of this study was to assess toxicity of Cd and BDE-209 mixture on haematological parameters in subacutely exposed rats and to determine the presence and type of interactions between these two chemicals using multiple factorial regression analysis. Furthermore, for the assessment of interaction type, an isobologram based methodology was applied and compared with multiple factorial regression analysis. Chemicals were given by oral gavage to the male Wistar rats weighing 200-240g for 28days. Animals were divided in 16 groups (8/group): control vehiculum group, three groups of rats were treated with 2.5, 7.5 or 15mg Cd/kg/day. These doses were chosen on the bases of literature data and reflect relatively high Cd environmental exposure, three groups of rats were treated with 1000, 2000 or 4000mg BDE-209/kg/bw/day, doses proved to induce toxic effects in rats. Furthermore, nine groups of animals were treated with different mixtures of Cd and BDE-209 containing doses of Cd and BDE-209 stated above. Blood samples were taken at the end of experiment and red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets counts were determined. For interaction assessment multiple factorial regression analysis and fitted isobologram approach were used. In this study, we focused on multiple factorial regression analysis as a method for interaction assessment. We also investigated the interactions between Cd and BDE-209 by the derived model for the description of the obtained fitted isobologram curves. Current study indicated that co-exposure to Cd and BDE-209 can result in significant decrease in RBC count, increase in WBC count and decrease in PLT count, when compared with controls. Multiple factorial regression analysis used for the assessment of interactions type between Cd and BDE-209 indicated synergism for the effect on RBC count and no interactions i.e. additivity for the effects on WBC and PLT counts. On the other hand, isobologram based approach showed slight antagonism

Nonmedical influences on medical decision making: an experimental technique using videotapes, factorial design, and survey sampling.

PubMed Central

Feldman, H A; McKinlay, J B; Potter, D A; Freund, K M; Burns, R B; Moskowitz, M A; Kasten, L E

1997-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To study nonmedical influences on the doctor-patient interaction. A technique using simulated patients and "real" doctors is described. DATA SOURCES: A random sample of physicians, stratified on such characteristics as demographics, specialty, or experience, and selected from commercial and professional listings. STUDY DESIGN: A medical appointment is depicted on videotape by professional actors. The patient's presenting complaint (e.g., chest pain) allows a range of valid interpretation. Several alternative versions are taped, featuring the same script with patient-actors of different age, sex, race, or other characteristics. Fractional factorial design is used to select a balanced subset of patient characteristics, reducing costs without biasing the outcome. DATA COLLECTION: Each physician is shown one version of the videotape appointment and is asked to describe how he or she would diagnose or treat such a patient. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Two studies using this technique have been completed to date, one involving chest pain and dyspnea and the other involving breast cancer. The factorial design provided sufficient power, despite limited sample size, to demonstrate with statistical significance various influences of the experimental and stratification variables, including the patient's gender and age and the physician's experience. Persistent recruitment produced a high response rate, minimizing selection bias and enhancing validity. CONCLUSION: These techniques permit us to determine, with a degree of control unattainable in observational studies, whether medical decisions as described by actual physicians and drawn from a demographic or professional group of interest, are influenced by a prescribed set of nonmedical factors. PMID:9240285

The 9-item Bergen Burnout Inventory: factorial validity across organizations and measurements of longitudinal data.

PubMed

Feldt, Taru; Rantanen, Johanna; Hyvönen, Katriina; Mäkikangas, Anne; Huhtala, Mari; Pihlajasaari, Pia; Kinnunen, Ulla

2014-01-01

The present study tested the factorial validity of the 9-item Bergen Burnout Inventory (BBI-9). The BBI-9 is comprised of three core dimensions: (1) exhaustion at work; (2) cynicism toward the meaning of work; and (3) sense of inadequacy at work. The study further investigated whether the three-factor structure of the BBI-9 remains the same across different organizations (group invariance) and measurement time points (time invariance). The factorial group invariance was tested using a cross-sectional design with data pertaining to managers (n=742), and employees working in a bank (n=162), an engineering office (n=236), a public sector organization divided into three service areas: administration (n=102), education and culture (n=581), and social affairs and health (n=1,505). Factorial time invariance was tested using longitudinal data pertaining to managers, with three measurements over a four-year follow-up period. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the three-factor structure of the BBI-9 was invariant across cross-sectional samples. The factorial invariance was also supported across measurement times. To conclude, the factorial structure of the BBI-9 was found to remain the same regardless of the sample properties and measurement times.

Multilevel Factorial Experiments for Developing Behavioral Interventions: Power, Sample Size, and Resource Considerations†

PubMed Central

Dziak, John J.; Nahum-Shani, Inbal; Collins, Linda M.

2012-01-01

Factorial experimental designs have many potential advantages for behavioral scientists. For example, such designs may be useful in building more potent interventions, by helping investigators to screen several candidate intervention components simultaneously and decide which are likely to offer greater benefit before evaluating the intervention as a whole. However, sample size and power considerations may challenge investigators attempting to apply such designs, especially when the population of interest is multilevel (e.g., when students are nested within schools, or employees within organizations). In this article we examine the feasibility of factorial experimental designs with multiple factors in a multilevel, clustered setting (i.e., of multilevel multifactor experiments). We conduct Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate how design elements such as the number of clusters, the number of lower-level units, and the intraclass correlation affect power. Our results suggest that multilevel, multifactor experiments are feasible for factor-screening purposes, because of the economical properties of complete and fractional factorial experimental designs. We also discuss resources for sample size planning and power estimation for multilevel factorial experiments. These results are discussed from a resource management perspective, in which the goal is to choose a design that maximizes the scientific benefit using the resources available for an investigation. PMID:22309956

Multilevel factorial experiments for developing behavioral interventions: power, sample size, and resource considerations.

PubMed

Dziak, John J; Nahum-Shani, Inbal; Collins, Linda M

2012-06-01

Factorial experimental designs have many potential advantages for behavioral scientists. For example, such designs may be useful in building more potent interventions by helping investigators to screen several candidate intervention components simultaneously and to decide which are likely to offer greater benefit before evaluating the intervention as a whole. However, sample size and power considerations may challenge investigators attempting to apply such designs, especially when the population of interest is multilevel (e.g., when students are nested within schools, or when employees are nested within organizations). In this article, we examine the feasibility of factorial experimental designs with multiple factors in a multilevel, clustered setting (i.e., of multilevel, multifactor experiments). We conduct Monte Carlo simulations to demonstrate how design elements-such as the number of clusters, the number of lower-level units, and the intraclass correlation-affect power. Our results suggest that multilevel, multifactor experiments are feasible for factor-screening purposes because of the economical properties of complete and fractional factorial experimental designs. We also discuss resources for sample size planning and power estimation for multilevel factorial experiments. These results are discussed from a resource management perspective, in which the goal is to choose a design that maximizes the scientific benefit using the resources available for an investigation. (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved

Gearing up to the factory of the future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godfrey, D. E.

1985-01-01

The features of factories and manufacturing techniques and tools of the near future are discussed. The spur to incorporate new technologies on the factory floor will originate in management, who must guide the interfacing of computer-enhanced equipment with traditional manpower, materials and machines. Electronic control with responsiveness and flexibility will be the key concept in an integrated approach to processing materials. Microprocessor controlled laser and fluid cutters add accuracy to cutting operations. Unattended operation will become feasible when automated inspection is added to a work station through developments in robot vision. Optimum shop management will be achieved through AI programming of parts manufacturing, optimized work flows, and cost accounting. The automation enhancements will allow designers to affect directly parts being produced on the factory floor.

A Data Envelopment Analysis Model for Selecting Material Handling System Designs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Fuh-Hwa Franklin; Kuo, Wan-Ting

The material handling system under design is an unmanned job shop with an automated guided vehicle that transport loads within the processing machines. The engineering task is to select the design alternatives that are the combinations of the four design factors: the ratio of production time to transportation time, mean job arrival rate to the system, input/output buffer capacities at each processing machine, and the vehicle control strategies. Each of the design alternatives is simulated to collect the upper and lower bounds of the five performance indices. We develop a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model to assess the 180 designs with imprecise data of the five indices. The three-ways factorial experiment analysis for the assessment results indicates the buffer capacity and the interaction of job arrival rate and buffer capacity affect the performance significantly.

Statistical optimization of the growth factors for Chaetoceros neogracile using fractional factorial design and central composite design.

PubMed

Jeong, Sung-Eun; Park, Jae-Kweon; Kim, Jeong-Dong; Chang, In-Jeong; Hong, Seong-Joo; Kang, Sung-Ho; Lee, Choul-Gyun

2008-12-01

Statistical experimental designs; involving (i) a fractional factorial design (FFD) and (ii) a central composite design (CCD) were applied to optimize the culture medium constituents for production of a unique antifreeze protein by the Antartic microalgae Chaetoceros neogracile. The results of the FFD suggested that NaCl, KCl, MgCl2, and Na2SiO3 were significant variables that highly influenced the growth rate and biomass production. The optimum culture medium for the production of an antifreeze protein from C. neogracile was found to be Kalleampersandrsquor;s artificial seawater, pH of 7.0ampersandplusmn;0.5, consisting of 28.566 g/l of NaCl, 3.887 g/l of MgCl2, 1.787 g/l of MgSO4, 1.308 g/l of CaSO4, 0.832 g/l of K2SO4, 0.124 g/l of CaCO3, 0.103 g/l of KBr, 0.0288 g/l of SrSO4, and 0.0282 g/l of H3BO3. The antifreeze activity significantly increased after cells were treated with cold shock (at -5oC) for 14 h. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating an antifreeze-like protein of C. neogracile.

Application of multi-factorial design of experiments to successfully optimize immunoassays for robust measurements of therapeutic proteins.

PubMed

Ray, Chad A; Patel, Vimal; Shih, Judy; Macaraeg, Chris; Wu, Yuling; Thway, Theingi; Ma, Mark; Lee, Jean W; Desilva, Binodh

2009-02-20

Developing a process that generates robust immunoassays that can be used to support studies with tight timelines is a common challenge for bioanalytical laboratories. Design of experiments (DOEs) is a tool that has been used by many industries for the purpose of optimizing processes. The approach is capable of identifying critical factors and their interactions with a minimal number of experiments. The challenge for implementing this tool in the bioanalytical laboratory is to develop a user-friendly approach that scientists can understand and apply. We have successfully addressed these challenges by eliminating the screening design, introducing automation, and applying a simple mathematical approach for the output parameter. A modified central composite design (CCD) was applied to three ligand binding assays. The intra-plate factors selected were coating, detection antibody concentration, and streptavidin-HRP concentrations. The inter-plate factors included incubation times for each step. The objective was to maximize the logS/B (S/B) of the low standard to the blank. The maximum desirable conditions were determined using JMP 7.0. To verify the validity of the predictions, the logS/B prediction was compared against the observed logS/B during pre-study validation experiments. The three assays were optimized using the multi-factorial DOE. The total error for all three methods was less than 20% which indicated method robustness. DOE identified interactions in one of the methods. The model predictions for logS/B were within 25% of the observed pre-study validation values for all methods tested. The comparison between the CCD and hybrid screening design yielded comparable parameter estimates. The user-friendly design enables effective application of multi-factorial DOE to optimize ligand binding assays for therapeutic proteins. The approach allows for identification of interactions between factors, consistency in optimal parameter determination, and reduced method

A systems-level approach for metabolic engineering of yeast cell factories.

PubMed

Kim, Il-Kwon; Roldão, António; Siewers, Verena; Nielsen, Jens

2012-03-01

The generation of novel yeast cell factories for production of high-value industrial biotechnological products relies on three metabolic engineering principles: design, construction, and analysis. In the last two decades, strong efforts have been put on developing faster and more efficient strategies and/or technologies for each one of these principles. For design and construction, three major strategies are described in this review: (1) rational metabolic engineering; (2) inverse metabolic engineering; and (3) evolutionary strategies. Independent of the selected strategy, the process of designing yeast strains involves five decision points: (1) choice of product, (2) choice of chassis, (3) identification of target genes, (4) regulating the expression level of target genes, and (5) network balancing of the target genes. At the construction level, several molecular biology tools have been developed through the concept of synthetic biology and applied for the generation of novel, engineered yeast strains. For comprehensive and quantitative analysis of constructed strains, systems biology tools are commonly used and using a multi-omics approach. Key information about the biological system can be revealed, for example, identification of genetic regulatory mechanisms and competitive pathways, thereby assisting the in silico design of metabolic engineering strategies for improving strain performance. Examples on how systems and synthetic biology brought yeast metabolic engineering closer to industrial biotechnology are described in this review, and these examples should demonstrate the potential of a systems-level approach for fast and efficient generation of yeast cell factories. © 2011 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Factorial Design Approach to Analyse the Effect of Coarse Recycled Concrete Aggregates on the Properties of Hot Mix Asphalt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanty, Kiranbala; Mukharjee, Bibhuti Bhusan; Das, Sudhanshu Shekhar

2018-06-01

The present study investigates the effect of replacement of coarse fraction of natural aggregates by recycled concrete aggregates on the properties of hot mix asphalt (HMA) using general factorial design approach. For this two factors i.e. recycled coarse aggregates percentage [RCA (%)] and bitumen content percentage [BC (%)] are considered. Tests have been carried out on the HMA type bituminous concrete, prepared with varying RCA (%) and BC (%). Analysis of variance has been performed on the experimental data to determine the effect of the chosen factors on various parameters such as stability, flow, air void, void mineral aggregate, void filled with bitumen and bulk density. The study depicts that RCA (%) and BC (%) have significant effect on the selected responses as p value is less than the chosen significance level. In addition to above, the outcomes of the statistical analysis indicate that interaction between factors have significant effects on void mineral aggregate and bulk density of bituminous concrete.

A Factorial Design Approach to Analyse the Effect of Coarse Recycled Concrete Aggregates on the Properties of Hot Mix Asphalt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanty, Kiranbala; Mukharjee, Bibhuti Bhusan; Das, Sudhanshu Shekhar

2018-02-01

The present study investigates the effect of replacement of coarse fraction of natural aggregates by recycled concrete aggregates on the properties of hot mix asphalt (HMA) using general factorial design approach. For this two factors i.e. recycled coarse aggregates percentage [RCA (%)] and bitumen content percentage [BC (%)] are considered. Tests have been carried out on the HMA type bituminous concrete, prepared with varying RCA (%) and BC (%). Analysis of variance has been performed on the experimental data to determine the effect of the chosen factors on various parameters such as stability, flow, air void, void mineral aggregate, void filled with bitumen and bulk density. The study depicts that RCA (%) and BC (%) have significant effect on the selected responses as p value is less than the chosen significance level. In addition to above, the outcomes of the statistical analysis indicate that interaction between factors have significant effects on void mineral aggregate and bulk density of bituminous concrete.

The 9-item Bergen Burnout Inventory: Factorial Validity Across Organizations and Measurements of Longitudinal Data

PubMed Central

Feldt, Taru; RANTANEN, Johanna; HYVÖNEN, Katriina; MÄKIKANGAS, Anne; HUHTALA, Mari; PIHLAJASAARI, Pia; KINNUNEN, Ulla

2013-01-01

The present study tested the factorial validity of the 9-item Bergen Burnout Inventory (BBI-9)1). The BBI-9 is comprised of three core dimensions: (1) exhaustion at work; (2) cynicism toward the meaning of work; and (3) sense of inadequacy at work. The study further investigated whether the three-factor structure of the BBI-9 remains the same across different organizations (group invariance) and measurement time points (time invariance). The factorial group invariance was tested using a cross-sectional design with data pertaining to managers (n=742), and employees working in a bank (n=162), an engineering office (n=236), a public sector organization divided into three service areas: administration (n=102), education and culture (n=581), and social affairs and health (n=1,505). Factorial time invariance was tested using longitudinal data pertaining to managers, with three measurements over a four-year follow-up period. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the three-factor structure of the BBI-9 was invariant across cross-sectional samples. The factorial invariance was also supported across measurement times. To conclude, the factorial structure of the BBI-9 was found to remain the same regardless of the sample properties and measurement times. PMID:24366535

Factorial design application in photocatalytic wastewater degradation from TNT industry-red water.

PubMed

Guz, Ricardo; de Moura, Cristiane; da Cunha, Mário Antônio Alves; Rodrigues, Marcio Barreto

2017-03-01

In trinitrotoluene (TNT) purification process, realized in industries, there are two washes carried out at the end of the procedure. The first is performed with vaporized water, from which the first effluent, called yellow water, is originated. Then, a second wash is performed using sodium sulfite, generating the red water effluent. The objective of this work was to get the best conditions for photocatalytic degradation of the second effluent, red water, in order to reduce toxicity and adjust legal parameters according to regulatory agencies for dumping these effluents into waterways. It has used a statistical evaluation for factor interaction (pH, concentration) that affects heterogeneous photocatalysis with titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ). Thus, the treatment applied in the factorial experimental design consisted of using a volume equal to 500 mL of the effluent to 0.1 % by batch treatment, which has changed TiO 2  pH and concentration, according to the design, with 20 min time for evaluation, where it was used as response to the reduction of UV-Vis absorption. According to the design responses, it has obtained optimum values for the parameters evaluated: pH = 6.5 and concentration of 100 mg/L of TiO 2 were shown to be efficient when applied to red water effluent, obtaining approximately 91 % of discoloration.

Photosynthesis energy factory: analysis, synthesis, and demonstration. Final report

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

Not Available

This quantitative assessment of the potential of a combined dry-land Energy Plantation, wood-fired power plant, and algae wastewater treatment system demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of recycling certain by-products and effluents from one subsystem to another. Designed to produce algae up to the limit of the amount of carbon in municipal wastewater, the algae pond provides a positive cash credit, resulting mainly from the wastewater treatment credit, which may be used to reduce the cost of the Photosynthesis Energy Factory (PEF)-generated electricity. The algae pond also produces fertilizer, which reduces the cost of the biomass produced on the Energy Plantation, and somemore » gas. The cost of electricity was as low as 35 mills per kilowatt-hour for a typical municipally-owned PEF consisting of a 65-MWe power plant, a 144-acre algae pond, and a 33,000-acre Energy Plantation. Using only conventional or near-term technology, the most cost-effective algae pond for a PEF is the carbon-limited secondary treatment system. This system does not recycle CO/sub 2/ from the flue gas. Analysis of the Energy Plantation subsystem at 15 sites revealed that plantations of 24,000 to 36,000 acres produce biomass at the lowest cost per ton. The following sites are recommended for more detailed evaluation as potential demonstration sites: Pensacola, Florida; Jamestown, New York; Knoxville, Tennessee; Martinsville, Virginia, and Greenwood, South Carolina. A major possible extension of the PEF concept is to include the possibility for irrigation.« less

Radiative Penguin Decays at the B Factories

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

Koneke, Karsten; /MIT, LNS

2007-11-16

In this article, I review the most recent results in radiative penguin decays from the B factories Belle and BABAR. Most notably, I will talk about the recent new observations in the decays B {yields} ({rho}/{omega}) {gamma}, a new analysis technique in b {yields} s{gamma}, and first measurements of radiative penguin decays in the B{sup 0}{sub s} meson system. Finally, I will summarize the current status and future prospects of radiative penguin B physics at the B factories.

Influence of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose on drug release pattern of a gastroretentive floating drug delivery system using a 3(2) full factorial design.

PubMed

Swain, Kalpana; Pattnaik, Satyanarayan; Mallick, Subrata; Chowdary, Korla Appana

2009-01-01

In the present investigation, controlled release gastroretentive floating drug delivery system of theophylline was developed employing response surface methodology. A 3(2) randomized full factorial design was developed to study the effect of formulation variables like various viscosity grades and contents of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and their interactions on response variables. The floating lag time for all nine experimental trial batches were less than 2 min and floatation time of more than 12 h. Theophylline release from the polymeric matrix system followed non-Fickian anomalous transport. Multiple regression analysis revealed that both viscosity and content of HPMC had statistically significant influence on all dependent variables but the effect of these variables found to be nonlinear above certain threshold values.

Factory daughters, the family, and nuptiality in Java.

PubMed

Wolf, D L

1990-01-01

The commercialization of agriculture, increasing landlessness, and an expanding labor class in rural areas of Java are all the result of industrialization. This work discusses the effect of female employment on marriage patterns of women working in rural factories. The central point is that employment has not only increased the financial autonomy of these women, but also increased the level of control they have over the choice of marriage partners. The data set used for analysis consisted of the observations of all factory workers and all non-factory females age 15-24 located in an agricultural village. The observations were make over a 15 month period between 1981-83. A follow up visit was made in 1986 and the following conclusions were then made: 1) the village study gave detailed data, but the data set was not large enough, thus a follow up study that encompasses more people is called for; 2) young rural female factory workers are more likely to chose their marriage partners than those engaged in traditional village labor. Of those that married and worked in factories, their fertility rate was significantly lower, compared to non-factory workers. Factory workers also had different family structures, because they spent less time living in extended families because of a larger income for the couple. This study indicates that increased economic control results in increased life decision control. This changed the daughter's economic relationship with her family and gives her more control in marriage decisions.

Screening Experiments and the Use of Fractional Factorial Designs in Behavioral Intervention Research

PubMed Central

Nair, Vijay; Strecher, Victor; Fagerlin, Angela; Ubel, Peter; Resnicow, Kenneth; Murphy, Susan; Little, Roderick; Chakraborty, Bibhas; Zhang, Aijun

2008-01-01

Health behavior intervention studies have focused primarily on comparing new programs and existing programs via randomized controlled trials. However, numbers of possible components (factors) are increasing dramatically as a result of developments in science and technology (e.g., Web-based surveys). These changes dictate the need for alternative methods that can screen and quickly identify a large set of potentially important treatment components. We have developed and implemented a multiphase experimentation strategy for accomplishing this goal. We describe the screening phase of this strategy and the use of fractional factorial designs (FFDs) in studying several components economically. We then use 2 ongoing behavioral intervention projects to illustrate the usefulness of FFDs. FFDs should be supplemented with follow-up experiments in the refining phase so any critical assumptions about interactions can be verified. PMID:18556602

Pion Production for Neutrino Factory-challenges

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

Breton, Florian; Le Couedic, Clement; Soler, F. J. P.

2011-10-06

One of the key issues in the design of a Neutrino Factory target station is the determination of the optimum kinetic energy of the proton beam due to the large uncertainties in simulations of protons impinging on nuclear targets. In this paper we have developed a procedure to correct GEANT4 simulations for the HARP data, and we have determined the yield of muons expected at the front-end of a Neutrino Factory as a function of target material (Be, C, Al, Ta and Pb) and energy (3-12 GeV).The maximum muon yield is found between 5 and 8 GeV for high Zmore » targets and 3 GeV for low Z targets.« less

Making Connections: After the Factories Revisited.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosenfeld, Stuart A.; Bergman, Edward M.

This analysis of employment patterns in the American South extends a 1985 report, "After the Factories: Changing Employment Patterns in the Rural South," which was based on the years between 1977-1982. The 1985 report included Texas, but this analysis includes only the 12 Southern Growth Policies Board (SGPB) member states. This new…

Sample size requirements for separating out the effects of combination treatments: randomised controlled trials of combination therapy vs. standard treatment compared to factorial designs for patients with tuberculous meningitis.

PubMed

Wolbers, Marcel; Heemskerk, Dorothee; Chau, Tran Thi Hong; Yen, Nguyen Thi Bich; Caws, Maxine; Farrar, Jeremy; Day, Jeremy

2011-02-02

In certain diseases clinical experts may judge that the intervention with the best prospects is the addition of two treatments to the standard of care. This can either be tested with a simple randomized trial of combination versus standard treatment or with a 2 x 2 factorial design. We compared the two approaches using the design of a new trial in tuberculous meningitis as an example. In that trial the combination of 2 drugs added to standard treatment is assumed to reduce the hazard of death by 30% and the sample size of the combination trial to achieve 80% power is 750 patients. We calculated the power of corresponding factorial designs with one- to sixteen-fold the sample size of the combination trial depending on the contribution of each individual drug to the combination treatment effect and the strength of an interaction between the two. In the absence of an interaction, an eight-fold increase in sample size for the factorial design as compared to the combination trial is required to get 80% power to jointly detect effects of both drugs if the contribution of the less potent treatment to the total effect is at least 35%. An eight-fold sample size increase also provides a power of 76% to detect a qualitative interaction at the one-sided 10% significance level if the individual effects of both drugs are equal. Factorial designs with a lower sample size have a high chance to be underpowered, to show significance of only one drug even if both are equally effective, and to miss important interactions. Pragmatic combination trials of multiple interventions versus standard therapy are valuable in diseases with a limited patient pool if all interventions test the same treatment concept, it is considered likely that either both or none of the individual interventions are effective, and only moderate drug interactions are suspected. An adequately powered 2 x 2 factorial design to detect effects of individual drugs would require at least 8-fold the sample size of the

Front End for a neutrino factory or muon collider

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neuffer, D.; Snopok, P.; Alexahin, Y.

2017-11-01

A neutrino factory or muon collider requires the capture and cooling of a large number of muons. Scenarios for capture, bunching, phase-energy rotation and initial cooling of μ 's produced from a proton source target have been developed, initially for neutrino factory scenarios. They require a drift section from the target, a bunching section and a varphi -δ E rotation section leading into the cooling channel. Important concerns are rf limitations within the focusing magnetic fields and large losses in the transport. The currently preferred cooling channel design is an "HFOFO Snake" configuration that cools both μ+ and μ- transversely and longitudinally. The status of the design is presented and variations are discussed.

Design and Construction of a High-speed Network Connecting All the Protein Crystallography Beamlines at the Photon Factory

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

Matsugaki, Naohiro; Yamada, Yusuke; Igarashi, Noriyuki

2007-01-19

A private network, physically separated from the facility network, was designed and constructed which covered all the four protein crystallography beamlines at the Photon Factory (PF) and Structural Biology Research Center (SBRC). Connecting all the beamlines in the same network allows for simple authentication and a common working environment for a user who uses multiple beamlines. Giga-bit Ethernet wire-speed was achieved for the communication among the beamlines and SBRC buildings.

Design and validation of a German version of the GSRS-IBS - an analysis of its psychometric quality and factorial structure.

PubMed

Schäfer, Sarah K; Weidner, Kathrin Julia; Hoppner, Jorge; Becker, Nicolas; Friedrich, Dana; Stokes, Caroline S; Lammert, Frank; Köllner, Volker

2017-12-04

Currently, a suitable questionnaire in German language is not available to monitor the progression and evaluate the severity of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Therefore, this study aimed to translate the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (GSRS-IBS) into German and to evaluate its psychometric qualities and factorial structure. This study is based on a total sample of 372 participants [62.6% female, mean age = 41 years (SD = 17 years)]. 17.5% of the participants had a diagnosis of IBS, 19.9% were receiving treatment for chronic inflammatory bowel disease, 12.1% of the participants were recruited from a psychosomatic clinic, and 50.5% belonged to a control group. All participants completed the German version of GSRS-IBS (called Reizdarm-Fragebogen, RDF), as well as the Gießen Subjective Complaints List (GBB-24) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale - German version (HADS-D). The internal consistency of the RDF total scale was at least satisfactory in all subsamples (Cronbach's Alpha between .77 and .92), and for all subscales (Cronbach's Alpha between .79 and .91). The item difficulties (between .25 and .73) and the item-total correlations (between .48 and .83) were equally satisfactory. Principal axis analysis revealed a four-factorial structure of the RDF items, which mainly resembled the structure of the English original. Convergent validity was established based on substantial and significant correlations with the stomach-complaint scale of the GBB-24 (r = .71; p < .01) and the anxiety (r = .42; p < .01) and depression scales (r = .43; p < .01) of the HADS-D. The German version of the GSRS-IBS RDF proves to be an effective, reliable, and valid questionnaire for the assessment of symptom severity in IBS, which can be used in clinical practice as well as in clinical studies.

The Idea Factory: An Interactive Intergroup Exercise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rosh, Lisa; Leach, Evan

2011-01-01

This article outlines the Idea Factory exercise, an interactive exercise designed to help participants examine group, individual, and organizational factors that affect intergroup conflict. Specific emphasis is placed on exploring the relationship between intra- and intergroup dynamics and identifying managerial practices that foster effective…

Guidelines for the design and statistical analysis of experiments in papers submitted to ATLA.

PubMed

Festing, M F

2001-01-01

In vitro experiments need to be well designed and correctly analysed if they are to achieve their full potential to replace the use of animals in research. An "experiment" is a procedure for collecting scientific data in order to answer a hypothesis, or to provide material for generating new hypotheses, and differs from a survey because the scientist has control over the treatments that can be applied. Most experiments can be classified into one of a few formal designs, the most common being completely randomised, and randomised block designs. These are quite common with in vitro experiments, which are often replicated in time. Some experiments involve a single independent (treatment) variable, while other "factorial" designs simultaneously vary two or more independent variables, such as drug treatment and cell line. Factorial designs often provide additional information at little extra cost. Experiments need to be carefully planned to avoid bias, be powerful yet simple, provide for a valid statistical analysis and, in some cases, have a wide range of applicability. Virtually all experiments need some sort of statistical analysis in order to take account of biological variation among the experimental subjects. Parametric methods using the t test or analysis of variance are usually more powerful than non-parametric methods, provided the underlying assumptions of normality of the residuals and equal variances are approximately valid. The statistical analyses of data from a completely randomised design, and from a randomised-block design are demonstrated in Appendices 1 and 2, and methods of determining sample size are discussed in Appendix 3. Appendix 4 gives a checklist for authors submitting papers to ATLA.

A factory concept for processing and manufacturing with lunar material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Driggers, G. W.

1977-01-01

A conceptual design for an orbital factory sized to process 1.5 million metric tons per year of raw lunar fines into 0.3 million metric tons of manufacturing materials is presented. A conservative approach involving application of present earth-based technology leads to a design devoid of new inventions. Earth based counterparts to the factory machinery were used to generate subsystem masses and lumped parameters for volume and mass estimates. The results are considered to be conservative since technologies more advanced than those assumed are presently available in many areas. Some attributes of potential space processing technologies applied to material refinement and component manufacture are discussed.

Novel Starch-PVA Polymer for Microparticle Preparation and Optimization Using Factorial Design Study

PubMed Central

Chattopadhyay, Helen; De, Amit Kumar; Datta, Sriparna

2015-01-01

The aim of our present work was to optimize the ratio of a very novel polymer, starch-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), for controlled delivery of Ornidazole. Polymer-coated drug microparticles were prepared by emulsion method. Microscopic study, scanning electron microscopic study, and atomic force microscopic study revealed that the microparticles were within 10 micrometers of size with smooth spherical shape. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed absence of drug polymer interaction. A statistical 32 full factorial design was used to study the effect of different concentration of starch and PVA on the drug release profile. The three-dimensional plots gave us an idea about the contribution of each factor on the release kinetics. Hence this novel polymer of starch and polyvinyl alcohol can be utilized for control release of the drug from a targeted delivery device. PMID:27347511

Effect of process variables on the sulfate reduction process in bioreactors treating metal-containing wastewaters: factorial design and response surface analyses.

PubMed

Villa-Gomez, D K; Pakshirajan, K; Maestro, R; Mushi, S; Lens, P N L

2015-07-01

The individual and combined effect of the pH, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and SO4 (2-) concentration, metal to sulfide (M/S(2-)) ratio and hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the biological sulfate reduction (SR) process was evaluated in an inverse fluidized bed reactor by factorial design analysis (FDA) and response surface analysis (RSA). The regression-based model of the FDA described the experimental results well and revealed that the most significant variable affecting the process was the pH. The combined effect of the pH and HRT was barely observable, while the pH and COD concentration positive effect (up to 7 and 3 gCOD/L, respectively) enhanced the SR process. Contrary, the individual COD concentration effect only enhanced the COD removal efficiency, suggesting changes in the microbial pathway. The RSA showed that the M/S(2-) ratio determined whether the inhibition mechanism to the SR process was due to the presence of free metals or precipitated metal sulfides.

Lattice Commissioning Stretgy Simulation for the B Factory

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

Lee, M.; Whittum, D.; Yan, Y.

2011-08-26

To prepare for the PEP-II turn on, we have studied one commissioning strategy with simulated lattice errors. Features such as difference and absolute orbit analysis and correction are discussed. To prepare for the commissioning of the PEP-II injection line and high energy ring (HER), we have developed a system for on-line orbit analysis by merging two existing codes: LEGO and RESOLVE. With the LEGO-RESOLVE system, we can study the problem of finding quadrupole alignment and beam position (BPM) offset errors with simulated data. We have increased the speed and versatility of the orbit analysis process by using a command filemore » written in a script language designed specifically for RESOLVE. In addition, we have interfaced the LEGO-RESOLVE system to the control system of the B-Factory. In this paper, we describe online analysis features of the LEGO-RESOLVE system and present examples of practical applications.« less

Operating a production pilot factory serving several scientific domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sfiligoi, I.; Würthwein, F.; Andrews, W.; Dost, J. M.; MacNeill, I.; McCrea, A.; Sheripon, E.; Murphy, C. W.

2011-12-01

Pilot infrastructures are becoming prominent players in the Grid environment. One of the major advantages is represented by the reduced effort required by the user communities (also known as Virtual Organizations or VOs) due to the outsourcing of the Grid interfacing services, i.e. the pilot factory, to Grid experts. One such pilot factory, based on the glideinWMS pilot infrastructure, is being operated by the Open Science Grid at University of California San Diego (UCSD). This pilot factory is serving multiple VOs from several scientific domains. Currently the three major clients are the analysis operations of the HEP experiment CMS, the community VO HCC, which serves mostly math, biology and computer science users, and the structural biology VO NEBioGrid. The UCSD glidein factory allows the served VOs to use Grid resources distributed over 150 sites in North and South America, in Europe, and in Asia. This paper presents the steps taken to create a production quality pilot factory, together with the challenges encountered along the road.

Front End for a neutrino factory or muon collider

DOE PAGES

Neuffer, David; Snopok, Pavel; Alexahin, Yuri

2017-11-30

A neutrino factory or muon collider requires the capture and cooling of a large number of muons. Scenarios for capture, bunching, phase-energy rotation and initial cooling of μ’s produced from a proton source target have been developed, initially for neutrino factory scenarios. They require a drift section from the target, a bunching section and a Φ-δE rotation section leading into the cooling channel. Important concerns are rf limitations within the focusing magnetic fields and large losses in the transport. The currently preferred cooling channel design is an “HFOFO Snake” configuration that cools both μ + and μ - transversely andmore » longitudinally. Finally, the status of the design is presented and variations are discussed.« less

The preparation and evaluation of sustained release suppositories containing ketoprofen and Eudragit RL 100 by using factorial design.

PubMed

Ozgüney, I; Ozcan, I; Ertan, G; Güneri, T

2007-01-01

The preparation of ketoprofen (KP) sustained release (SR) suppositories was designed according to the 3(2) x 2(1) factorial design as three different KP:Eudragit RL 100 ratios (1:0.5, 1:1, 1:2), three particle sizes of prepared granules (250-500, 500-710, and 710-1000 microm) and two different PEG 400:PEG 6000 ratios (40:60, 50:50). The conventional KP suppositories were also prepared by using Witepsol H 15, Massa Estarinum B, Cremao and the mixture of PEG 400:PEG 6000. The dissolution studies of suppositories prepared were carried out according to the USP XXIII basket method in the phosphate buffer (pH = 7.2) at 50 rpm, and it was shown that the dissolution time was sustained up to 8 hours. According to the results of the factorial design, the most important independent variable on t50 and t80 was drug:polymer ratios. The log of partition coefficient of KP was determined as 1.46, showing the high affinity to the oily phase. n exponent and kinetic studies were conducted to explain diffusion mechanism, and it is understood that if the inert KP:Eudragit RL 100 ratio is increased in the particles, the Fickian difusion dominates and the best kinetic turns to Higuchi from the Hixson-Crowell. There is neither crystalline form of KP nor degradation product in the suppositories detected with the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies. In addition to these studies, antiinflammatory activity of SR suppositories also determined that it was significantly extended according to the conventional suppositories.

Optimization of a chondrogenic medium through the use of factorial design of experiments.

PubMed

Enochson, Lars; Brittberg, Mats; Lindahl, Anders

2012-12-01

The standard culture system for in vitro cartilage research is based on cells in a three-dimensional micromass culture and a defined medium containing the chondrogenic key growth factor, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1. The aim of this study was to optimize the medium for chondrocyte micromass culture. Human chondrocytes were cultured in different media formulations, designed with a factorial design of experiments (DoE) approach and based on the standard medium for redifferentiation. The significant factors for the redifferentiation of the chondrocytes were determined and optimized in a two-step process through the use of response surface methodology. TGF-β1, dexamethasone, and glucose were significant factors for differentiating the chondrocytes. Compared to the standard medium, TGF-β1 was increased 30%, dexamethasone reduced 50%, and glucose increased 22%. The potency of the optimized medium was validated in a comparative study against the standard medium. The optimized medium resulted in micromass cultures with increased expression of genes important for the articular chondrocyte phenotype and in cultures with increased glycosaminoglycan/DNA content. Optimizing the standard medium with the efficient DoE method, a new medium that gave better redifferentiation for articular chondrocytes was determined.

Assessment of Tooth Wear Among Glass Factory Workers: WHO 2013 Oral Health Survey.

PubMed

Chaturvedi, Pulkit; Bhat, Nagesh; Asawa, Kailash; Tak, Mridula; Bapat, Salil; Gupta, Vivek Vardhan

2015-08-01

Glass factory workers are often exposed to the hazardous environment that leads to deleterious oral health and subsequently, general health. We planned to determine the effects of the particulates present in the milieu on the tooth wear among workers. To assess tooth wear among glass factory workers in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 936 glass workers in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India from January-June 2014. A survey proforma was designed for tooth wear evaluation with the help of WHO Oral Health Assessment form 2013 (for adults). Information regarding oral health practices, adverse habits and dietary habits, demographic details was gathered and clinical parameters were recorded. The Chi-square test, t-test, One-way Analysis of Variance and a Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis. The most prevalent form of erosion was enamel erosion (589, 62.93%) with few subjects of deeper dentinal erosion and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.001). Dental erosion was found to be higher among males compared to females. Years of experience and educational status were identified as best predictors for dental erosion. It was concluded that there was considerable evidence of dental erosion found among the factory workers. Due to ignorance on social, cultural and health aspects, professional approach with regular dental care services for detection of early symptoms and planning of preventive strategies is warranted.

Gastroretentive Ranitidine Hydrochloride Tablets with Combined Floating and Bioadhesive Properties: Factorial Design Analysis, In Vitro Evaluation and In Vivo Abdominal X-Ray Imaging.

PubMed

Abduljabbar, Hana N; Badr-Eldin, Shaimaa M; Aldawsari, Hibah M

2015-01-01

Ranitidine HCl is an H2-antagonist that suffers from low oral bioavailability of 50%. The site-specific absorption from the upper part of the small intestine and the colonic metabolism of the drug could partially contribute to its reduced bioavailability. To surmount these drawbacks, this work aimed at the formulation of Ranitidine HCl gastroretentive floating-biaodhesive tablets. A 3(2) factorial design was applied to assess the effects of matrix former (HPMC K100M): drug ratio, and the release retardant (Carbopol 971) amount on the characteristics of the tablets prepared using direct compression technique. The prepared tablets were thoroughly evaluated for physical properties, floating, swelling, bioadhesive and in vitro release behaviors. Statistical analysis of the results revealed significant effects for both formulation variables on the swelling index, maximum detachment force and cumulative percent drug released after 6 hours. In addition, the matrix- former: drug ratio showed a statistically significant effect on the floating lag time. Kinetic analysis of the release data indicated Higuchi diffusion kinetics and anomalous transport mechanism for all formulations. Scanning electron micrographs of the selected tablet formulation; F8, revealed intact surface without any perforations or channels in the dry state, while polymer expansion (relaxation) with some perforated areas were observed on the surface of the tablets after 12 hours dissolution in 0.1 N HCl. Furthermore, in vivo abdominal x-ray imaging showed good floating behavior of the selected formulation; F8, for up to 6 hours with appropriate bioadhesive property. In conclusion, the selected ranitidine HCl floating-bioadhesive tablets could be regarded as a promising gastroretentive drug delivery system that could deliver the drug at a controlled rate.

Sequence Factorial and Its Applications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asiru, Muniru A.

2012-01-01

In this note, we introduce sequence factorial and use this to study generalized M-bonomial coefficients. For the sequence of natural numbers, the twin concepts of sequence factorial and generalized M-bonomial coefficients, respectively, extend the corresponding concepts of factorial of an integer and binomial coefficients. Some latent properties…

Sample size requirements for separating out the effects of combination treatments: Randomised controlled trials of combination therapy vs. standard treatment compared to factorial designs for patients with tuberculous meningitis

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background In certain diseases clinical experts may judge that the intervention with the best prospects is the addition of two treatments to the standard of care. This can either be tested with a simple randomized trial of combination versus standard treatment or with a 2 × 2 factorial design. Methods We compared the two approaches using the design of a new trial in tuberculous meningitis as an example. In that trial the combination of 2 drugs added to standard treatment is assumed to reduce the hazard of death by 30% and the sample size of the combination trial to achieve 80% power is 750 patients. We calculated the power of corresponding factorial designs with one- to sixteen-fold the sample size of the combination trial depending on the contribution of each individual drug to the combination treatment effect and the strength of an interaction between the two. Results In the absence of an interaction, an eight-fold increase in sample size for the factorial design as compared to the combination trial is required to get 80% power to jointly detect effects of both drugs if the contribution of the less potent treatment to the total effect is at least 35%. An eight-fold sample size increase also provides a power of 76% to detect a qualitative interaction at the one-sided 10% significance level if the individual effects of both drugs are equal. Factorial designs with a lower sample size have a high chance to be underpowered, to show significance of only one drug even if both are equally effective, and to miss important interactions. Conclusions Pragmatic combination trials of multiple interventions versus standard therapy are valuable in diseases with a limited patient pool if all interventions test the same treatment concept, it is considered likely that either both or none of the individual interventions are effective, and only moderate drug interactions are suspected. An adequately powered 2 × 2 factorial design to detect effects of individual drugs would require

Design, engineering, and construction of photosynthetic microbial cell factories for renewable solar fuel production.

PubMed

Lindblad, Peter; Lindberg, Pia; Oliveira, Paulo; Stensjö, Karin; Heidorn, Thorsten

2012-01-01

There is an urgent need to develop sustainable solutions to convert solar energy into energy carriers used in the society. In addition to solar cells generating electricity, there are several options to generate solar fuels. This paper outlines and discusses the design and engineering of photosynthetic microbial systems for the generation of renewable solar fuels, with a focus on cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are prokaryotic microorganisms with the same type of photosynthesis as higher plants. Native and engineered cyanobacteria have been used by us and others as model systems to examine, demonstrate, and develop photobiological H(2) production. More recently, the production of carbon-containing solar fuels like ethanol, butanol, and isoprene have been demonstrated. We are using a synthetic biology approach to develop efficient photosynthetic microbial cell factories for direct generation of biofuels from solar energy. Present progress and advances in the design, engineering, and construction of such cyanobacterial cells for the generation of a portfolio of solar fuels, e.g., hydrogen, alcohols, and isoprene, are presented and discussed. Possibilities and challenges when introducing and using synthetic biology are highlighted.

Plant Factory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikeda, Hideo

Recently, much attention is paid on the plant factory, as it enable to grow plants stably under extraordinary climate condition such as high and/or low air temperature and less rain. Lots of questions such as decreasing investing cost, realizing stable plant production and developing new growing technique should be solved for making popular this growing system. However, I think that we can introduce a highly developed Japanese industrial now-how to plant factory system and can produce a business chance to the world market.

Analysis of Work Design in Rubber Processing Plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahyuni, Dini; Nasution, Harmein; Budiman, Irwan; Wijaya, Khairini

2018-02-01

The work design illustrates how structured jobs, tasks, and roles are defined and modified and their impact on individuals, groups, and organizations. If the work is not designed well, the company must pay greater costs for workers' health, longer production processes or even penalties for not being able to meet the delivery schedule. This is visible to the condition in a rubber processing factory in North Sumatra. Work design aspects such as layouts, machinery and equipment, worker's physical working environment, work methods, and organizational policies have not been well-organized. Coagulum grinding machines into sheets are often damaged, resulting in 4 times the delay of product delivery in 2016, the presence of complaints of heat exposure submitted by workers, and workstation that has not been properly arranged is an indication of the need for work design. The research data will be collected through field observation, and distribution of questionnaires related aspects of work design. The result of the analysis depends on the respondent's answer from the distributed questionnaire regarding the 6 aspects studied.

Process design for microbial plastic factories: metabolic engineering of polyhydroxyalkanoates.

PubMed

Aldor, Ilana S; Keasling, Jay D

2003-10-01

Implementing several metabolic engineering strategies, either individually or in combination, it is possible to construct microbial plastic factories to produce a variety of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolymers with desirable structures and material properties. Approaches include external substrate manipulation, inhibitor addition, recombinant gene expression, host cell genome manipulation and, most recently, protein engineering of PHA biosynthetic enzymes. In addition, mathematical models and molecular methods can be used to elucidate metabolically engineered systems and to identify targets for performance improvement.

Informing the Uninformed: Optimizing the Consent Message Using a Fractional Factorial Design

PubMed Central

Tait, Alan R.; Voepel-Lewis, Terri; Nair, Vijayan N.; Narisetty, Naveen N.; Fagerlin, Angela

2013-01-01

Objective Research information should be presented in a manner that promotes understanding. However, many parents and research subjects have difficulty understanding and making informed decisions. This study was designed to examine the effect of different communication strategies on parental understanding of research information. Participants 640 parents of children scheduled for elective surgery Design Observational study using a fractional factorial design Setting Large tertiary care children's hospital Interventions Parents were randomized to receive information about a hypothetical pain trial presented in one of 16 consent documents containing different combinations of 5 selected communication strategies (i.e., length, readability, processability [formatting], graphical display, and supplemental verbal disclosure). Main outcome measures Parents were interviewed to determine their understanding of the study elements (e.g., protocol, alternatives etc.) and their gist (main point) and verbatim (actual) understanding of the risks and benefits. Results Main effects for understanding were found for processability, readability, message length, use of graphics, and verbal discussion. Consent documents with high processability, 8th grade reading level, and graphics resulted in significantly greater gist and verbatim understanding compared with forms without these attributes (mean difference, 95% CI = 0.57, 0.26–0.88, correct responses out of 7 and 0.54, 0.20–0.88 correct responses out of 4 for gist and verbatim, respectively). Conclusions Results identified several communication strategy combinations that improved parents' understanding of research information. Adoption of these active strategies by investigators, clinicians, IRBs, and study sponsors represents a simple, practical, and inexpensive means to optimize the consent message and enhance parental, participant, and patient understanding. PMID:23700028

A distribution-free multi-factorial profiler for harvesting information from high-density screenings.

PubMed

Besseris, George J

2013-01-01

Data screening is an indispensable phase in initiating the scientific discovery process. Fractional factorial designs offer quick and economical options for engineering highly-dense structured datasets. Maximum information content is harvested when a selected fractional factorial scheme is driven to saturation while data gathering is suppressed to no replication. A novel multi-factorial profiler is presented that allows screening of saturated-unreplicated designs by decomposing the examined response to its constituent contributions. Partial effects are sliced off systematically from the investigated response to form individual contrasts using simple robust measures. By isolating each time the disturbance attributed solely to a single controlling factor, the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney rank stochastics are employed to assign significance. We demonstrate that the proposed profiler possesses its own self-checking mechanism for detecting a potential influence due to fluctuations attributed to the remaining unexplainable error. Main benefits of the method are: 1) easy to grasp, 2) well-explained test-power properties, 3) distribution-free, 4) sparsity-free, 5) calibration-free, 6) simulation-free, 7) easy to implement, and 8) expanded usability to any type and size of multi-factorial screening designs. The method is elucidated with a benchmarked profiling effort for a water filtration process.

A Distribution-Free Multi-Factorial Profiler for Harvesting Information from High-Density Screenings

PubMed Central

Besseris, George J.

2013-01-01

Data screening is an indispensable phase in initiating the scientific discovery process. Fractional factorial designs offer quick and economical options for engineering highly-dense structured datasets. Maximum information content is harvested when a selected fractional factorial scheme is driven to saturation while data gathering is suppressed to no replication. A novel multi-factorial profiler is presented that allows screening of saturated-unreplicated designs by decomposing the examined response to its constituent contributions. Partial effects are sliced off systematically from the investigated response to form individual contrasts using simple robust measures. By isolating each time the disturbance attributed solely to a single controlling factor, the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney rank stochastics are employed to assign significance. We demonstrate that the proposed profiler possesses its own self-checking mechanism for detecting a potential influence due to fluctuations attributed to the remaining unexplainable error. Main benefits of the method are: 1) easy to grasp, 2) well-explained test-power properties, 3) distribution-free, 4) sparsity-free, 5) calibration-free, 6) simulation-free, 7) easy to implement, and 8) expanded usability to any type and size of multi-factorial screening designs. The method is elucidated with a benchmarked profiling effort for a water filtration process. PMID:24009744

A sequential factorial analysis approach to characterize the effects of uncertainties for supporting air quality management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, S.; Huang, G. H.; Veawab, A.

2013-03-01

This study proposes a sequential factorial analysis (SFA) approach for supporting regional air quality management under uncertainty. SFA is capable not only of examining the interactive effects of input parameters, but also of analyzing the effects of constraints. When there are too many factors involved in practical applications, SFA has the advantage of conducting a sequence of factorial analyses for characterizing the effects of factors in a systematic manner. The factor-screening strategy employed in SFA is effective in greatly reducing the computational effort. The proposed SFA approach is applied to a regional air quality management problem for demonstrating its applicability. The results indicate that the effects of factors are evaluated quantitatively, which can help decision makers identify the key factors that have significant influence on system performance and explore the valuable information that may be veiled beneath their interrelationships.

Metabolic modelling in the development of cell factories by synthetic biology

PubMed Central

Jouhten, Paula

2012-01-01

Cell factories are commonly microbial organisms utilized for bioconversion of renewable resources to bulk or high value chemicals. Introduction of novel production pathways in chassis strains is the core of the development of cell factories by synthetic biology. Synthetic biology aims to create novel biological functions and systems not found in nature by combining biology with engineering. The workflow of the development of novel cell factories with synthetic biology is ideally linear which will be attainable with the quantitative engineering approach, high-quality predictive models, and libraries of well-characterized parts. Different types of metabolic models, mathematical representations of metabolism and its components, enzymes and metabolites, are useful in particular phases of the synthetic biology workflow. In this minireview, the role of metabolic modelling in synthetic biology will be discussed with a review of current status of compatible methods and models for the in silico design and quantitative evaluation of a cell factory. PMID:24688669

Particle identification at an asymmetric B Factory

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

Coyle, P.; Eigen, G.; Hitlin, D.

1991-09-01

Particle identification systems are an important component of any detector at a high-luminosity, asymmetric B Factory. In particular, excellent hadron identification is required to probe CP violation in B{sup 0} decays to CP eigenstates. The particle identification systems discussed below also provide help in separating leptons from hadrons at low momenta. We begin this chapter with a discussion of the physics motivation for providing particle identification, the inherent limitations due to interactions and decays in flight, and the requirements for hermiticity and angular coverage. A special feature of an asymmetric B Factory is the resulting asymmetry in the momentum distributionmore » as a function of polar angle; this will also be quantified and discussed. In the next section the three primary candidates, time-of-flight (TOF), energy loss (dE/dx), and Cerenkov counters, both ring-imaging and threshold, will be briefly described and evaluated. Following this, one of the candidates, a long-drift Cerenkov ring-imaging device, is described in detail to provide a reference design. Design considerations for a fast RICH are then described. A detailed discussion of aerogel threshold counter designs and associated R D conclude the chapter. 56 refs., 64 figs., 13 tabs.« less

Replicating systems concepts: Self-replicating lunar factory and demonstration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

Automation of lunar mining and manufacturing facility maintenance and repair is addressed. Designing the factory as an automated, multiproduct, remotely controlled, reprogrammable Lunar Manufacturing Facility capable of constructing duplicates of itself which would themselves be capable of further replication is proposed.

In-Factory Learning - Qualification For The Factory Of The Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quint, Fabian; Mura, Katharina; Gorecky, Dominic

2015-07-01

The Industry 4.0 vision anticipates that internet technologies will find their way into future factories replacing traditional components by dynamic and intelligent cyber-physical systems (CPS) that combine the physical objects with their digital representation. Reducing the gap between the real and digital world makes the factory environment more flexible, more adaptive, but also more complex for the human workers. Future workers require interdisciplinary competencies from engineering, information technology, and computer science in order to understand and manage the diverse interrelations between physical objects and their digital counterpart. This paper proposes a mixed-reality based learning environment, which combines physical objects and visualisation of digital content via Augmented Reality. It uses reality-based interaction in order to make the dynamic interrelations between real and digital factory visible and tangible. We argue that our learning system does not work as a stand-alone solution, but should fit into existing academic and advanced training curricula.

Ammonia-nitrogen and Phosphate Reduction by Bio-Filter using Factorial Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kasmuri, Norhafezah; Ashikin Mat Damin, Nur; Omar, Megawati

2018-02-01

Untreated landfill leachate is known to have endangered the environment. As such new treatment must be sought to ensure its cost-effective and sustainable treatment. Thus this paper reports the effectiveness of bio-filter to remove pollutants. In this research, the reduction of nutrients concentration was evaluated in two conditions: using bio-filter and without bio-filter. Synthetic wastewater was used in the batch culture. It was conducted within 21 days in the initial mediums of 100 mg/L ammonia-nitrogen. The nitrification medium consisted of 100 mg/L of ammonia-nitrogen while the nitrite assay had none. The petri dish experiment was also conducted to observe the existence of any colony. The results showed 22% of ammonia- nitrogen reduction and 33% phosphate in the nitrification medium with the bio-filter. The outcome showed that the bio-filter was capable to reduce the concentration of pollutants by retaining the slow growing bacteria (AOB and NOB) on the plastic carrier surface. The factorial design was applied to study the effect of the initial ammonia-nitrogen concentration and duration on nitrite-nitrogen removal. Finally, a regression equation was produced to predict the rate of nitrite-nitrogen removal without conducting extended experiments and to reduce the number of trials experiment.

Effect of Temperature, Precursor Type and Dripping Time on the Crystallite Size of Nano ZnO Obtained by One-Pot Synthesis: 2 k Full Factorial Design Analysis.

PubMed

Machado, Morgana de Medeiros; Savi, Bruna Martinello; Perucchi, Mariana Borges; Benedetti, Alessandro; Oliveira, Luis Felipe Silva; Bernardin, Adriano Michael

2018-06-01

The aim of this work was to determine the effect of temperature, precursor and dripping time on the crystallite size of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by controlled precipitation according a 2k full factorial design. ZnCl2, Zn(NO3)2 and NaOH were used as precursors. After synthesis, the nano crystalline powder was characterized by XRD (Cu Kα), UV-Vis, and HR-TEM. The nano ZnO particles presented a crystallite size between 210 and 260 Å (HR-TEM and XRD). The results show that the crystallite size depends on the type of precursor and temperature of synthesis, but not on the dripping time.

Formulation of wax oxybenzone microparticles using a factorial approach.

PubMed

Gomaa, Y A; Darwish, I A; Boraei, N A; El-Khordagui, L K

2010-01-01

Oxybenzone wax microparticles (MPs) were prepared by the hydrophobic congealable disperse phase method. The formulation of oxybenzone-loaded MPs was optimized using a 2⁴ experimental design. Factorial analysis indicated that the main MP characteristics were influenced by initial drug loading, emulsification speed, emulsifier concentration and hydrophilic-lipophilic balance. MPs were spherical with 50.5–88.1 μm size range, 17.8–38.9 drug content in mg/100 mg MPs and 33.1–87.2% oxybenzone release in 1 h. A wide range of sunscreen delivery systems suitable for different formulation purposes were generated which may contribute to the advanced formulation of sunscreen products with improved performance.

Translational Research in South Africa: Evaluating Implementation Quality Using a Factorial Design

PubMed Central

Smith, Edward A.; Collins, Linda M.; Graham, John W.; Lai, Mary; Wegner, Lisa; Vergnani, Tania; Matthews, Catherine; Jacobs, Joachim

2012-01-01

Background HealthWise South Africa: Life Skills for Adolescents (HW) is an evidence-based substance use and sexual risk prevention program that emphasizes the positive use of leisure time. Since 2000, this program has evolved from pilot testing through an efficacy trial involving over 7,000 youth in the Cape Town area. Beginning in 2011, through 2015, we are undertaking a new study that expands HW to all schools in the Metro South Education District. Objective This paper describes a research study designed in partnership with our South African collaborators that examines three factors hypothesized to affect the quality and fidelity of HW implementation: enhanced teacher training; teacher support, structure and supervision; and enhanced school environment. Methods Teachers and students from 56 schools in the Cape Town area will participate in this study. Teacher observations are the primary means of collecting data on factors affecting implementation quality. These factors address the practical concerns of teachers and schools related to likelihood of use and cost-effectiveness, and are hypothesized to be “active ingredients” related to high-quality program implementation in real-world settings. An innovative factorial experimental design was chosen to enable estimation of the individual effect of each of the three factors. Results Because this paper describes the conceptualization of our study, results are not yet available. Conclusions The results of this study may have both substantive and methodological implications for advancing Type 2 translational research. PMID:22707870

Muon Accelerator Program (MAP) | Neutrino Factory | Research Goals

Science.gov Websites

; Committees Research Goals Research & Development Design & Simulation Technology Development Systems Demonstrations Activities MASS Muon Cooling MuCool Test Area MICE Experiment MERIT Muon Collider Research Goals Why Muons at the Energy Frontier? How does it work? Graphics Animation Neutrino Factory Research Goals

The Operator Guide: An Ambient Persuasive Interface in the Factory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meschtscherjakov, Alexander; Reitberger, Wolfgang; Pöhr, Florian; Tscheligi, Manfred

In this paper we introduce the context of a semiconductor factory as a promising area for the application of innovative interaction approaches. In order to increase efficiency ambient persuasive interfaces, which influence the operators' behaviour to perform in an optimized way, could constitute a potential strategy. We present insights gained from qualitative studies conducted in a specific semiconductor factory and provide a description of typical work processes and already deployed interfaces in this context. These findings informed the design of a prototype of an ambient persuasive interface within this realm - the "Operator Guide". Its overall aim is to improve work efficiency, while still maintaining a minimal error rate. We provide a detailed description of the Operator Guide along with an outlook of the next steps within a user-centered design approach.

A systematic approach to designing statistically powerful heteroscedastic 2 × 2 factorial studies while minimizing financial costs.

PubMed

Jan, Show-Li; Shieh, Gwowen

2016-08-31

The 2 × 2 factorial design is widely used for assessing the existence of interaction and the extent of generalizability of two factors where each factor had only two levels. Accordingly, research problems associated with the main effects and interaction effects can be analyzed with the selected linear contrasts. To correct for the potential heterogeneity of variance structure, the Welch-Satterthwaite test is commonly used as an alternative to the t test for detecting the substantive significance of a linear combination of mean effects. This study concerns the optimal allocation of group sizes for the Welch-Satterthwaite test in order to minimize the total cost while maintaining adequate power. The existing method suggests that the optimal ratio of sample sizes is proportional to the ratio of the population standard deviations divided by the square root of the ratio of the unit sampling costs. Instead, a systematic approach using optimization technique and screening search is presented to find the optimal solution. Numerical assessments revealed that the current allocation scheme generally does not give the optimal solution. Alternatively, the suggested approaches to power and sample size calculations give accurate and superior results under various treatment and cost configurations. The proposed approach improves upon the current method in both its methodological soundness and overall performance. Supplementary algorithms are also developed to aid the usefulness and implementation of the recommended technique in planning 2 × 2 factorial designs.

A Factorial Analysis Study on Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Fiber Pressed Oil Palm Frond for Bioethanol Production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashim, F. S.; Yussof, H. W.; Zahari, M. A. K. M.; Illias, R. M.; Rahman, R. A.

2016-03-01

Different technologies have been developed to for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to suitable fermentation substrates for bioethanol production. The enzymatic conversion of cellulose seems to be the most promising technology as it is highly specific and does not produce substantial amounts of unwanted byproducts. The effects of agitation speed, enzyme loading, temperature, pH and reaction time on the conversion of glucose from fiber pressed oil palm frond (FPOPF) for bioethanol production were screened by statistical analysis using response surface methodology (RSM). A half fraction two-level factorial analysis with five factors was selected for the experimental design to determine the best enzymatic conditions that produce maximum amount of glucose. FPOPF was pre-treated with alkaline prior to enzymatic hydrolysis. The enzymatic hydrolysis was performed using a commercial enzyme Cellic CTec2. From this study, the highest yield of glucose concentration was 9.736 g/L at 72 hours reaction time at 35 °C, pH 5.6, and 1.5% (w/v) of enzyme loading. The model obtained was significant with p-value <0.0001. It is suggested that this model had a maximum point which is likely to be the optimum point and possible for the optimization process.

Sequence Factorial of "g"-Gonal Numbers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asiru, Muniru A.

2013-01-01

The gamma function, which has the property to interpolate the factorial whenever the argument is an integer, is a special case (the case "g"?=?2) of the general term of the sequence factorial of "g"-gonal numbers. In relation to this special case, a formula for calculating the general term of the sequence factorial of any…

Optimization of the Neutrino Factory, revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agarwalla, Sanjib K.; Huber, Patrick; Tang, Jian; Winter, Walter

2011-01-01

We perform the baseline and energy optimization of the Neutrino Factory including the latest simulation results on the magnetized iron detector (MIND). We also consider the impact of τ decays, generated by νμ → ντ or ν e → ντ appearance, on the mass hierarchy, CP violation, and θ 13 discovery reaches, which we find to be negligible for the considered detector. For the baseline-energy optimization for small sin2 2 θ 13, we qualitatively recover the results with earlier simulations of the MIND detector. We find optimal baselines of about 2500km to 5000km for the CP violation measurement, where now values of E μ as low as about 12 GeV may be possible. However, for large sin2 2 θ 13, we demonstrate that the lower threshold and the backgrounds reconstructed at lower energies allow in fact for muon energies as low as 5 GeV at considerably shorter baselines, such as FNAL-Homestake. This implies that with the latest MIND analysis, low-and high-energy versions of the Neutrino Factory are just two different versions of the same experiment optimized for different parts of the parameter space. Apart from a green-field study of the updated detector performance, we discuss specific implementations for the two-baseline Neutrino Factory, where the considered detector sites are taken to be currently discussed underground laboratories. We find that reasonable setups can be found for the Neutrino Factory source in Asia, Europe, and North America, and that a triangular-shaped storage ring is possible in all cases based on geometrical arguments only.

Child Protection Decision Making: A Factorial Analysis Using Case Vignettes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stokes, Jacqueline; Schmidt, Glen

2012-01-01

This study explored decision making by child protection social workers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. A factorial survey method was used in which case vignettes were constructed by randomly assigning a number of key characteristics associated with decision making in child protection. Child protection social workers (n = 118) assessed…

The Role of Synthetic Biology in the Design of Microbial Cell Factories for Biofuel Production

PubMed Central

Colin, Verónica Leticia; Rodríguez, Analía; Cristóbal, Héctor Antonio

2011-01-01

Insecurity in the supply of fossil fuels, volatile fuel prices, and major concerns regarding climate change have sparked renewed interest in the production of fuels from renewable resources. Because of this, the use of biodiesel has grown dramatically during the last few years and is expected to increase even further in the future. Biodiesel production through the use of microbial systems has marked a turning point in the field of biofuels since it is emerging as an attractive alternative to conventional technology. Recent progress in synthetic biology has accelerated the ability to analyze, construct, and/or redesign microbial metabolic pathways with unprecedented precision, in order to permit biofuel production that is amenable to industrial applications. The review presented here focuses specifically on the role of synthetic biology in the design of microbial cell factories for efficient production of biodiesel. PMID:22028591

A Profile-Based Framework for Factorial Similarity and the Congruence Coefficient.

PubMed

Hartley, Anselma G; Furr, R Michael

2017-01-01

We present a novel profile-based framework for understanding factorial similarity in the context of exploratory factor analysis in general, and for understanding the congruence coefficient (a commonly used index of factor similarity) specifically. First, we introduce the profile-based framework articulating factorial similarity in terms of 3 intuitive components: general saturation similarity, differential saturation similarity, and configural similarity. We then articulate the congruence coefficient in terms of these components, along with 2 additional profile-based components, and we explain how these components resolve ambiguities that can be-and are-found when using the congruence coefficient. Finally, we present secondary analyses revealing that profile-based components of factorial are indeed linked to experts' actual evaluations of factorial similarity. Overall, the profile-based approach we present offers new insights into the ways in which researchers can examine factor similarity and holds the potential to enhance researchers' ability to understand the congruence coefficient.

An Analysis of Fixed Wing Tactical Airlifter Characteristics Using an Intra-Theater Airlift Computer Model

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

an Experimental Design ...... 31 Selection of Variables .................... ... 34 Defining Measures of Effectiveness ....... 37 Specification of...Required Number of Replications 44 Modification of Scenario Files ......... ... 46 Analysis of the Main Effects of a Two Level Factorial Design ...48 Analysis of the Interaction Effects of a *Two Level Factorial Design .. ............. ... 49 Yate’s Algorithm ......... ................ 50

Factorial design applied to the optimization of lipid composition of topical antiherpetic nanoemulsions containing isoflavone genistein

PubMed Central

Argenta, Débora Fretes; de Mattos, Cristiane Bastos; Misturini, Fabíola Dallarosa; Koester, Leticia Scherer; Bassani, Valquiria Linck; Simões, Cláudia Maria Oliveira; Teixeira, Helder Ferreira

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to optimize topical nanoemulsions containing genistein, by means of a 23 full factorial design based on physicochemical properties and skin retention. The experimental arrangement was constructed using oil type (isopropyl myristate or castor oil), phospholipid type (distearoylphosphatidylcholine [DSPC] or dioleylphosphaditylcholine [DOPC]), and ionic cosurfactant type (oleic acid or oleylamine) as independent variables. The analysis of variance showed effect of third order for particle size, polydispersity index, and skin retention of genistein. Nanoemulsions composed of isopropyl myristate/DOPC/oleylamine showed the smallest diameter and highest genistein amount in porcine ear skin whereas the formulation composed of isopropyl myristate/DSPC/oleylamine exhibited the lowest polydispersity index. Thus, these two formulations were selected for further studies. The formulations presented positive ζ potential values (>25 mV) and genistein content close to 100% (at 1 mg/mL). The incorporation of genistein in nanoemulsions significantly increased the retention of this isoflavone in epidermis and dermis, especially when the formulation composed by isopropyl myristate/DOPC/oleylamine was used. These results were supported by confocal images. Such formulations exhibited antiherpetic activity in vitro against herpes simplex virus 1 (strain KOS) and herpes simplex virus 22 (strain 333). Taken together, the results show that the genistein-loaded nanoemulsions developed in this study are promising options in herpes treatment. PMID:25336951

The Efficiency of Split Panel Designs in an Analysis of Variance Model

PubMed Central

Wang, Wei-Guo; Liu, Hai-Jun

2016-01-01

We consider split panel design efficiency in analysis of variance models, that is, the determination of the cross-sections series optimal proportion in all samples, to minimize parametric best linear unbiased estimators of linear combination variances. An orthogonal matrix is constructed to obtain manageable expression of variances. On this basis, we derive a theorem for analyzing split panel design efficiency irrespective of interest and budget parameters. Additionally, relative estimator efficiency based on the split panel to an estimator based on a pure panel or a pure cross-section is present. The analysis shows that the gains from split panel can be quite substantial. We further consider the efficiency of split panel design, given a budget, and transform it to a constrained nonlinear integer programming. Specifically, an efficient algorithm is designed to solve the constrained nonlinear integer programming. Moreover, we combine one at time designs and factorial designs to illustrate the algorithm’s efficiency with an empirical example concerning monthly consumer expenditure on food in 1985, in the Netherlands, and the efficient ranges of the algorithm parameters are given to ensure a good solution. PMID:27163447

[Prevalence and influence factors of hypertension among mechanic factory workers].

PubMed

Pang, Li-Juan; Chen, Li-Zhang; Fu, Ben-Yan

2005-06-01

To determine the status and influence factors of hypertension on mechanic factory workers and to provide reference for further hypertension prevention and control. A cross-sectional study on 1205 workers (exposed to different noise levels) in Hunan was carried out by using questionaire and measuring the blood pressure of the workers and the noise exposure level in the workplace. The prevalence and the influence factors of hypertension among mechanic factory workers were analysed. The hypertension prevalence was 12.1%. Logistic regression analysis showed the body weight index (BMI), age, and history of hypertension in parents and accumulative noise dose levels influenced the hypertension prevalence. Controlling the body weight, reducing alcohol consumption, decreasing the sound pressure level in workshops and advocating healthy diet may reduce the prevalence rate of hypertension among mechanic factory workers.

Sample Size Requirements and Study Duration for Testing Main Effects and Interactions in Completely Randomized Factorial Designs When Time to Event is the Outcome

PubMed Central

Moser, Barry Kurt; Halabi, Susan

2013-01-01

In this paper we develop the methodology for designing clinical trials with any factorial arrangement when the primary outcome is time to event. We provide a matrix formulation for calculating the sample size and study duration necessary to test any effect with a pre-specified type I error rate and power. Assuming that a time to event follows an exponential distribution, we describe the relationships between the effect size, the power, and the sample size. We present examples for illustration purposes. We provide a simulation study to verify the numerical calculations of the expected number of events and the duration of the trial. The change in the power produced by a reduced number of observations or by accruing no patients to certain factorial combinations is also described. PMID:25530661

Experimental design methods for bioengineering applications.

PubMed

Keskin Gündoğdu, Tuğba; Deniz, İrem; Çalışkan, Gülizar; Şahin, Erdem Sefa; Azbar, Nuri

2016-01-01

Experimental design is a form of process analysis in which certain factors are selected to obtain the desired responses of interest. It may also be used for the determination of the effects of various independent factors on a dependent factor. The bioengineering discipline includes many different areas of scientific interest, and each study area is affected and governed by many different factors. Briefly analyzing the important factors and selecting an experimental design for optimization are very effective tools for the design of any bioprocess under question. This review summarizes experimental design methods that can be used to investigate various factors relating to bioengineering processes. The experimental methods generally used in bioengineering are as follows: full factorial design, fractional factorial design, Plackett-Burman design, Taguchi design, Box-Behnken design and central composite design. These design methods are briefly introduced, and then the application of these design methods to study different bioengineering processes is analyzed.

Information security of Smart Factories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iureva, R. A.; Andreev, Y. S.; Iuvshin, A. M.; Timko, A. S.

2018-05-01

In several years, technologies and systems based on the Internet of things (IoT) will be widely used in all smart factories. When processing a huge array of unstructured data, their filtration and adequate interpretation are a priority for enterprises. In this context, the correct representation of information in a user-friendly form acquires special importance, for which the market today presents advanced analytical platforms designed to collect, store and analyze data on technological processes and events in real time. The main idea of the paper is the statement of the information security problem in IoT and integrity of processed information.

Skills for the 21st Century Supervisor: What Factory Personnel Think.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hotek, Douglas R.

2002-01-01

Discusses supervisory skills that factory personnel believe are important for leading and improving employee performance in complex manufacturing environments. Highlights include a historical perspective; manufacturing technologies; results of Pareto analysis, comparative analysis, and analysis of variance; and a Taxonomy of Supervisory Skills.…

The Use of Factorial Forecasting to Predict Public Response

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weiss, David J.

2012-01-01

Policies that call for members of the public to change their behavior fail if people don't change; predictions of whether the requisite changes will take place are needed prior to implementation. I propose to solve the prediction problem with Factorial Forecasting, a version of functional measurement methodology that employs group designs. Aspects…

Promoting contraceptive use among unmarried female migrants in one factory in Shanghai: a pilot workplace intervention.

PubMed

Qian, Xu; Smith, Helen; Huang, Wenyuan; Zhang, Jie; Huang, Ying; Garner, Paul

2007-05-31

In urban China, more single women are becoming pregnant and resorting to induced abortion, despite the wide availability of temporary methods of contraception. We developed and piloted a workplace-based intervention to promote contraceptive use in unmarried female migrants working in privately owned factories. Quasi-experimental design. In consultation with clients, we developed a workplace based intervention to promote contraception use in unmarried female migrants in a privately owned factory. We then implemented this in one factory, using a controlled before-and-after design. The intervention included lectures, bespoke information leaflets, and support to the factory doctors in providing a contraceptive service. 598 women participated: most were under 25, migrants to the city, with high school education. Twenty percent were lost when staff were made redundant, and implementation was logistically complicated. All women attended the initial lecture, and just over half the second lecture. Most reported reading the educational material provided (73%), but very few women reported using the free family planning services offered at the factory clinic (5%) or the Family Planning Institute (3%). At baseline, 90% (N = 539) stated that contraceptives were required if having sex before marriage; of those reporting sex in the last three months, the majority reporting using contraceptives (78%, 62/79) but condom use was low (44%, 35/79). Qualitative data showed that the reading material seemed to be popular and young women expressed a need for more specific reproductive health information, particularly on HIV/AIDS. Women wanted services with some privacy and anonymity, and views on the factory service were mixed. Implementing a complex intervention with a hard to reach population through a factory in China, using a quasi-experimental design, is not easy. Further research should focus on the specific needs and service preferences of this population and these should be

A Survey of the Medical Needs of a Group of Small Factories*

PubMed Central

Lee, W. R.

1962-01-01

The present interest in medical services for small factories is matched by the limited objective information which is available on the demand for and needs of such services. As a teaching project, a survey was made of factories with between 30 and 200 employees on an estate in the North West where there was no organized medical service. Unfortunately, time allowed only 22 factories to be visited. The findings, therefore, are regarded as indicative rather than conclusive, but this does not detract from their interest. Factories were visited by two or three postgraduate students who completed a questionnaire designed to standardize their findings. The questionnaire is included as an appendix to this paper. Regarding the demand for medical services, four of the 22 factories were subsidiaries of larger organizations and had part-time medical advice, 14 expressed no interest even if this would have involved no financial commitment, and the remaining four were interested for differing reasons. The needs of the factories in this context were found to be, first, advice and perhaps better supervision of non-mechanical hazards and, secondly, supervision of the first aid arrangements. From the ambulance journey records of the local authority there appeared to be no great demand for local casualty facilities. To meet these needs it is suggested that the functions of the appointed factory doctor might be modified to include wider supervision of non-mechanical hazards and supervision of first aid arrangements. It is also suggested that the National Health Service should form the basis for dealing with those cases requiring more than first aid. PMID:14463582

Rapid prototyping 3D virtual world interfaces within a virtual factory environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosta, Charles Paul; Krolak, Patrick D.

1993-01-01

On-going work into user requirements analysis using CLIPS (NASA/JSC) expert systems as an intelligent event simulator has led to research into three-dimensional (3D) interfaces. Previous work involved CLIPS and two-dimensional (2D) models. Integral to this work was the development of the University of Massachusetts Lowell parallel version of CLIPS, called PCLIPS. This allowed us to create both a Software Bus and a group problem-solving environment for expert systems development. By shifting the PCLIPS paradigm to use the VEOS messaging protocol we have merged VEOS (HlTL/Seattle) and CLIPS into a distributed virtual worlds prototyping environment (VCLIPS). VCLIPS uses the VEOS protocol layer to allow multiple experts to cooperate on a single problem. We have begun to look at the control of a virtual factory. In the virtual factory there are actors and objects as found in our Lincoln Logs Factory of the Future project. In this artificial reality architecture there are three VCLIPS entities in action. One entity is responsible for display and user events in the 3D virtual world. Another is responsible for either simulating the virtual factory or communicating with the real factory. The third is a user interface expert. The interface expert maps user input levels, within the current prototype, to control information for the factory. The interface to the virtual factory is based on a camera paradigm. The graphics subsystem generates camera views of the factory on standard X-Window displays. The camera allows for view control and object control. Control or the factory is accomplished by the user reaching into the camera views to perform object interactions. All communication between the separate CLIPS expert systems is done through VEOS.

Factorial analysis of the trihalomethane formation in the reaction of colloidal, hydrophobic, and transphilic fractions of DOM with free chlorine.

PubMed

Platikanov, Stefan; Tauler, Roma; Rodrigues, Pedro M S M; Antunes, Maria Cristina G; Pereira, Dilson; Esteves da Silva, Joaquim C G

2010-09-01

This study focuses on the factors that affect trihalomethane (THMs) formation when dissolved organic matter (DOM) fractions (colloidal, hydrophobic, and transphilic fractions) in aqueous solutions were disinfected with chlorine. DOM fractions were isolated and fractionated from filtered lake water and were characterized by elemental analysis. The investigation involved a screening Placket-Burman factorial analysis design of five factors (DOM concentration, chlorine dose, temperature, pH, and bromide concentration) and a Box-Behnken design for a detailed assessment of the three most important factor effects (DOM concentration, chlorine dose, and temperature). The results showed that colloidal fraction has a relatively low contribution to THM formation; transphilic fraction was responsible for about 50% of the chloroform generation, and the hydrophobic fraction was the most important to the brominated THM formation. When colloidal and hydrophobic fraction solutions were disinfected, the most significant factors were the following: higher DOM fraction concentration led to higher THM concentration, an increase of pH corresponded to higher concentration levels of chloroform and reduced bromoform, higher levels of chlorine dose and temperature produced a rise in the total THM formation, especially of the chlorinated THMs; higher bromide concentration generates higher concentrations of brominated THMs. Moreover, linear models were implemented and response surface plots were obtained for the four THM concentrations and their total sum in the disinfection solution as a function of the DOM concentration, chlorine dose, and temperature. Overall, results indicated that THM formation models were very complex due to individual factor effects and significant interactions among the factors. In order to reduce the concentration of THMs in drinking water, DOM concentrations must be reduced in the water prior to the disinfection. Fractionation of DOM, together with an elemental

Baby factories taint surrogacy in Nigeria.

PubMed

Makinde, Olusesan Ayodeji; Makinde, Olufunmbi Olukemi; Olaleye, Olalekan; Brown, Brandon; Odimegwu, Clifford O

2016-01-01

The practice of reproductive medicine in Nigeria is facing new challenges with the proliferation of 'baby factories'. Baby factories are buildings, hospitals or orphanages that have been converted into places for young girls and women to give birth to children for sale on the black market, often to infertile couples, or into trafficking rings. This practice illegally provides outcomes (children) similar to surrogacy. While surrogacy has not been well accepted in this environment, the proliferation of baby factories further threatens its acceptance. The involvement of medical and allied health workers in the operation of baby factories raises ethical concerns. The lack of a properly defined legal framework and code of practice for surrogacy makes it difficult to prosecute baby factory owners, especially when they are health workers claiming to be providing services to clients. In this environment, surrogacy and other assisted reproductive techniques urgently require regulation in order to define when ethico-legal lines have been crossed in providing surrogacy or surrogacy-like services. Copyright © 2015 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Bayesian-based multilevel factorial analysis method for analyzing parameter uncertainty of hydrological model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Y. R.; Li, Y. P.; Huang, G. H.; Zhang, J. L.; Fan, Y. R.

2017-10-01

In this study, a Bayesian-based multilevel factorial analysis (BMFA) method is developed to assess parameter uncertainties and their effects on hydrological model responses. In BMFA, Differential Evolution Adaptive Metropolis (DREAM) algorithm is employed to approximate the posterior distributions of model parameters with Bayesian inference; factorial analysis (FA) technique is used for measuring the specific variations of hydrological responses in terms of posterior distributions to investigate the individual and interactive effects of parameters on model outputs. BMFA is then applied to a case study of the Jinghe River watershed in the Loess Plateau of China to display its validity and applicability. The uncertainties of four sensitive parameters, including soil conservation service runoff curve number to moisture condition II (CN2), soil hydraulic conductivity (SOL_K), plant available water capacity (SOL_AWC), and soil depth (SOL_Z), are investigated. Results reveal that (i) CN2 has positive effect on peak flow, implying that the concentrated rainfall during rainy season can cause infiltration-excess surface flow, which is an considerable contributor to peak flow in this watershed; (ii) SOL_K has positive effect on average flow, implying that the widely distributed cambisols can lead to medium percolation capacity; (iii) the interaction between SOL_AWC and SOL_Z has noticeable effect on the peak flow and their effects are dependent upon each other, which discloses that soil depth can significant influence the processes of plant uptake of soil water in this watershed. Based on the above findings, the significant parameters and the relationship among uncertain parameters can be specified, such that hydrological model's capability for simulating/predicting water resources of the Jinghe River watershed can be improved.

Economic evaluation of factorial randomised controlled trials: challenges, methods and recommendations

PubMed Central

Gray, Alastair

2017-01-01

Increasing numbers of economic evaluations are conducted alongside randomised controlled trials. Such studies include factorial trials, which randomise patients to different levels of two or more factors and can therefore evaluate the effect of multiple treatments alone and in combination. Factorial trials can provide increased statistical power or assess interactions between treatments, but raise additional challenges for trial‐based economic evaluations: interactions may occur more commonly for costs and quality‐adjusted life‐years (QALYs) than for clinical endpoints; economic endpoints raise challenges for transformation and regression analysis; and both factors must be considered simultaneously to assess which treatment combination represents best value for money. This article aims to examine issues associated with factorial trials that include assessment of costs and/or cost‐effectiveness, describe the methods that can be used to analyse such studies and make recommendations for health economists, statisticians and trialists. A hypothetical worked example is used to illustrate the challenges and demonstrate ways in which economic evaluations of factorial trials may be conducted, and how these methods affect the results and conclusions. Ignoring interactions introduces bias that could result in adopting a treatment that does not make best use of healthcare resources, while considering all interactions avoids bias but reduces statistical power. We also introduce the concept of the opportunity cost of ignoring interactions as a measure of the bias introduced by not taking account of all interactions. We conclude by offering recommendations for planning, analysing and reporting economic evaluations based on factorial trials, taking increased analysis costs into account. © 2017 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. PMID:28470760

A multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from Norwegian salmon-processing factories and from listeriosis patients.

PubMed

Lunestad, B T; Truong, T T T; Lindstedt, B-A

2013-10-01

The objective of this study was to characterize Listeria monocytogenes isolated from farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and the processing environment in three different Norwegian factories, and compare these to clinical isolates by multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA). The 65 L. monocytogenes isolates obtained gave 15 distinct MLVA profiles. There was great heterogeneity in the distribution of MLVA profiles in factories and within each factory. Nine of the 15 MLVA profiles found in the fish-associated isolates were found to match human profiles. The MLVA profile 07-07-09-10-06 was the most common strain in Norwegian listeriosis patients. L. monocytogenes with this profile has previously been associated with at least two known listeriosis outbreaks in Norway, neither determined to be due to fish consumption. However, since this profile was also found in fish and in the processing environment, fish should be considered as a possible food vehicle during sporadic cases and outbreaks of listeriosis.

In Silico Constraint-Based Strain Optimization Methods: the Quest for Optimal Cell Factories

PubMed Central

Maia, Paulo; Rocha, Miguel

2015-01-01

SUMMARY Shifting from chemical to biotechnological processes is one of the cornerstones of 21st century industry. The production of a great range of chemicals via biotechnological means is a key challenge on the way toward a bio-based economy. However, this shift is occurring at a pace slower than initially expected. The development of efficient cell factories that allow for competitive production yields is of paramount importance for this leap to happen. Constraint-based models of metabolism, together with in silico strain design algorithms, promise to reveal insights into the best genetic design strategies, a step further toward achieving that goal. In this work, a thorough analysis of the main in silico constraint-based strain design strategies and algorithms is presented, their application in real-world case studies is analyzed, and a path for the future is discussed. PMID:26609052

Slime Factory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fowler, Marilyn L.

1992-01-01

Describes a classroom activity using slime, a colloid: it behaves like both a solid and liquid. Explains how slime can be produced from guar gum. An activity where students work in teams and become a slime factory is presented. (PR)

Biomass analysis at palm oil factory as an electric power plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusniati; Parinduri, Luthfi; Krianto Sulaiman, Oris

2018-04-01

Biomassa found in palm oil mill industryis a by-product such as palm shell, fiber, empty fruit bunches and pome. The material can be used as an alternative fuel for fossil fuel. On PTPN IVpalm oil millDolokSinumbah with a capacity of 30 tons tbs/hour of palm fruit fiber and palm shells has been utilized as boiler fuel to produce steam to supplyboilers power plant. With this utilization, the use of generators that using fossil fuel can be reduced, this would provide added value for the company. From the analysis, the fiber and shell materials were sufficient to supply 18 tons/hoursteam for the boiler. Shell material even excess as much as 441,5 tons per month. By utilizing the 2 types of biomass that is available alone, the electricity needs of the factory of 734 Kwh can be met. While other materials such as empty bunches and pome can be utilized to increase the added value and profitability for the palm oil mill.

Men's Preferences for Physical Activity Interventions: An Exploratory Study Using a Factorial Survey Design Created With R Software.

PubMed

Chatfield, Sheryl L; Gamble, Abigail; Hallam, Jeffrey S

2018-03-01

Effective exercise interventions are needed to improve quality of life and decrease the impact of chronic disease. Researchers suggest males have been underrepresented in exercise intervention studies, resulting in less understanding of their exercise practices. Findings from preference survey methods suggest reasonable association between preference and behavior. The purpose of the research described in this article was to use factorial survey, a preference method, to identify the characteristics of exercise interventions most likely to appeal to male participants, so preferences might be incorporated into future intervention research. The research was guided by the framework of Bandura's social cognitive theory, such that variations in individual, environmental, and behavioral factors were incorporated into vignettes. Participants included 53 adult male nonadministrative staff and contract employees at a public university in the Southeastern United States, who each scored 8 vignettes resulting in 423 observations. Multilevel models were used to assess the influence of the factors. Participants scored vignettes that included exercising with a single partner, playing basketball, and exercising in the evening higher than vignettes with other options. Qualitative analysis of an open response item identified additional alternatives in group size, participant desire for coaching support, and interest in programs that incorporate a range of activity alternatives. Findings from this research were consistent with elements of social cognitive theory as applied to health promotion. Factorial surveys potentially provide a resource effective means of identifying participants' preferences for use when planning interventions. The addition of a single qualitative item helped clarify and expand findings from statistical analysis.

Supernova Dust Factory in M74

NASA Image and Video Library

2006-06-09

Astronomers using NASA Spitzer Space Telescope have spotted a dust factory 30 million light-years away in the spiral galaxy M74. The factory is located at the scene of a massive star explosive death, or supernova.

Polymeric nanoparticles loaded with the 3,5,3'-triiodothyroacetic acid (Triac), a thyroid hormone: factorial design, characterization, and release kinetics.

PubMed

Dos Santos, Karen C; da Silva, Maria Fatima Gf; Pereira-Filho, Edenir R; Fernandes, Joao B; Polikarpov, Igor; Forim, Moacir R

2012-01-01

This present investigation deals with the development and optimization of polymeric nanoparticle systems loaded with 3,5,3'-triiodothyroacetic acid (Triac). A 2(11-6) fractional factorial design and another 2(2) factorial design were used to study the contrasts on particle size distribution, morphology, surface charge, drug content, entrapment efficiency, and in vitro drug release profiles. The independent variables were the concentration of Triac, type and quantity of both polymer and oil, quantity of Span™ 60 and Tween® 80, volume of solvent and water, and velocity of both magnetic stirring and the transfer of the organic phase into the aqueous solution. The results of optimized formulations showed a narrow size distribution with a polydispersity index lower than 0.200. The particle sizes were on average 159.6 nm and 285.6 nm for nanospheres and nanocapsules, respectively. The zeta potential was higher than 20 mV (in module) and the entrapment efficiency was nearly 100%. A high-performance liquid chromatography method was developed, validated, and efficiently applied to Triac quantification in colloidal suspension. The main independent variables were the type and quantity of the polymer and oil. In vitro drug release profile depicted several features to sustain Triac release. Different formulations showed various release rates indicating an interaction between Triac and other formulation compounds such as polymer and/or oil quantity. Two different models were identified (biexponential and monoexponential) that allowed the control of both the release rate and Triac concentration. Thus, the prepared nanoparticles described here may be of clinical importance in delivering Triac for thyroid treatment.

Optimization and influence of parameter affecting the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete containing recycled concrete aggregate: using full factorial design approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krishnan, Thulasirajan; Purushothaman, Revathi

2017-07-01

There are several parameters that influence the properties of geopolymer concrete, which contains recycled concrete aggregate as the coarse aggregate. In the present study, the vital parameters affecting the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete containing recycled concrete aggregate are analyzedby varying four parameters with two levels using full factorial design in statistical software Minitab® 17. The objective of the present work is to gain an idea on the optimization, main parameter effects, their interactions and the predicted response of the model generated using factorial design. The parameters such as molarity of sodium hydroxide (8M and 12M), curing time (6hrs and 24 hrs), curing temperature (60°C and 90°C) and percentage of recycled concrete aggregate (0% and 100%) are considered. The results show that the curing time, molarity of sodium hydroxide and curing temperature were the orderly significant parameters and the percentage of Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) was statistically insignificant in the production of geopolymer concrete. Thus, it may be noticeable that the RCA content had negligible effect on the compressive strength of geopolymer concrete. The expected responses from the generated model showed a satisfactory and rational agreement to the experimental data with the R2 value of 97.70%. Thus, geopolymer concrete comprising recycled concrete aggregate can solve the major social and environmental concerns such as the depletion of the naturally available aggregate sources and disposal of construction and demolition waste into the landfill.

Recent progress in neutrino factory and muon collider research within the Muon Collaboration

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

M. M. Alsharoa; Charles M. Ankenbrandt; Muzaffer Atac

2003-08-01

We describe the status of our effort to realize a first neutrino factory and the progress made in understanding the problems associated with the collection and cooling of muons towards that end. We summarize the physics that can be done with neutrino factories as well as with intense cold beams of muons. The physics potential of muon colliders is reviewed, both as Higgs Factories and compact high energy lepton colliders. The status and timescale of our research and development effort is reviewed as well as the latest designs in cooling channels including the promise of ring coolers in achieving longitudinalmore » and transverse cooling simultaneously. We detail the efforts being made to mount an international cooling experiment to demonstrate the ionization cooling of muons.« less

Mobile Monitoring and Embedded Control System for Factory Environment

PubMed Central

Lian, Kuang-Yow; Hsiao, Sung-Jung; Sung, Wen-Tsai

2013-01-01

This paper proposes a real-time method to carry out the monitoring of factory zone temperatures, humidity and air quality using smart phones. At the same time, the system detects possible flames, and analyzes and monitors electrical load. The monitoring also includes detecting the vibrations of operating machinery in the factory area. The research proposes using ZigBee and Wi-Fi protocol intelligent monitoring system integration within the entire plant framework. The sensors on the factory site deliver messages and real-time sensing data to an integrated embedded systems via the ZigBee protocol. The integrated embedded system is built by the open-source 32-bit ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) core Arduino Due module, where the network control codes are built in for the ARM chipset integrated controller. The intelligent integrated controller is able to instantly provide numerical analysis results according to the received data from the ZigBee sensors. The Android APP and web-based platform are used to show measurement results. The built-up system will transfer these results to a specified cloud device using the TCP/IP protocol. Finally, the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) approach is used to analyze the power loads in the factory zones. Moreover, Near Field Communication (NFC) technology is used to carry out the actual electricity load experiments using smart phones. PMID:24351642

Mobile monitoring and embedded control system for factory environment.

PubMed

Lian, Kuang-Yow; Hsiao, Sung-Jung; Sung, Wen-Tsai

2013-12-17

This paper proposes a real-time method to carry out the monitoring of factory zone temperatures, humidity and air quality using smart phones. At the same time, the system detects possible flames, and analyzes and monitors electrical load. The monitoring also includes detecting the vibrations of operating machinery in the factory area. The research proposes using ZigBee and Wi-Fi protocol intelligent monitoring system integration within the entire plant framework. The sensors on the factory site deliver messages and real-time sensing data to an integrated embedded systems via the ZigBee protocol. The integrated embedded system is built by the open-source 32-bit ARM (Advanced RISC Machine) core Arduino Due module, where the network control codes are built in for the ARM chipset integrated controller. The intelligent integrated controller is able to instantly provide numerical analysis results according to the received data from the ZigBee sensors. The Android APP and web-based platform are used to show measurement results. The built-up system will transfer these results to a specified cloud device using the TCP/IP protocol. Finally, the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) approach is used to analyze the power loads in the factory zones. Moreover, Near Field Communication (NFC) technology is used to carry out the actual electricity load experiments using smart phones.

Factorials of real negative and imaginary numbers - A new perspective.

PubMed

Thukral, Ashwani K

2014-01-01

Presently, factorials of real negative numbers and imaginary numbers, except for zero and negative integers are interpolated using the Euler's gamma function. In the present paper, the concept of factorials has been generalised as applicable to real and imaginary numbers, and multifactorials. New functions based on Euler's factorial function have been proposed for the factorials of real negative and imaginary numbers. As per the present concept, the factorials of real negative numbers, are complex numbers. The factorials of real negative integers have their imaginary part equal to zero, thus are real numbers. Similarly, the factorials of imaginary numbers are complex numbers. The moduli of the complex factorials of real negative numbers, and imaginary numbers are equal to their respective real positive number factorials. Fractional factorials and multifactorials have been defined in a new perspective. The proposed concept has also been extended to Euler's gamma function for real negative numbers and imaginary numbers, and beta function.

Production of highly efficient activated carbons from industrial wastes for the removal of pharmaceuticals from water-A full factorial design.

PubMed

Jaria, Guilaine; Silva, Carla Patrícia; Oliveira, João A B P; Santos, Sérgio M; Gil, María Victoria; Otero, Marta; Calisto, Vânia; Esteves, Valdemar I

2018-02-26

The wide occurrence of pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments urges the development of cost-effective solutions for their removal from water. In a circular economy context, primary paper mill sludge (PS) was used to produce activated carbon (AC) aiming the adsorptive removal of these contaminants. The use of low-cost precursors for the preparation of ACs capable of competing with commercial ACs continues to be a challenge. A full factorial design of four factors (pyrolysis temperature, residence time, precursor/activating agent ratio, and type of activating agent) at two levels was applied to the production of AC using PS as precursor. The responses analysed were the yield of production, percentage of adsorption for three pharmaceuticals (sulfamethoxazole, carbamazepine, and paroxetine), specific surface area (S BET ), and total organic carbon (TOC). Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate influencing factors in the responses and to determine the most favourable production conditions. Four ACs presented very good responses, namely on the adsorption of the pharmaceuticals under study (average adsorption percentage around 78%, which is above that of commercial AC), and S BET between 1389 and 1627 m 2  g -1 . A desirability analysis pointed out 800 °C for 60 min and a precursor/KOH ratio of 1:1 (w/w) as the optimal production conditions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factor Structure, Factorial Invariance, and Validity of the Multidimensional Shame-Related Response Inventory-21 (MSRI-21)

PubMed Central

Garcia, Antonio F.; Acosta, Melina; Pirani, Saifa; Edwards, Daniel; Osman, Augustine

2017-01-01

We describe 2 studies designed to evaluate scores on the Multidimensional Shame-related Response Inventory-21 (MSRI-21), a recently developed instrument that measures affective and behavioral responses to shame. The inventory assesses shame-related responses in 3 categories: negative self-evaluation, fear of social consequences, and maladaptive behavior tendency. For Study 1, (N = 743) undergraduates completed the MSRI-21. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the validity of the MSRI-21 3-factor structure. Latent variable modeling of coefficient-α provided strong evidence for the internal consistency of scores on each scale. In Study 2, (N = 540) undergraduates completed the instrument along with 5 concurrent measures chosen for clinical significance. Achievement of factorial invariance supported the use of MSRI-21 scale scores to make valid mean comparisons across gender. In addition, MSRI-21 scale scores were associated as expected with scores on measures of self-harm, suicide, and other risk factors. Taken together, results of 2 studies support the internal consistency reliability, factorial validity, factorial invariance, and convergent validity of scores on the MSRI-21. Further work is needed to assess the temporal stability of the MSRI-21 scale scores, invariance across clinical status and other groupings, item-level measurement properties, and viability in highly symptomatic samples. PMID:28182490

A Randomized Longitudinal Factorial Design to Assess Malaria Vector Control and Disease Management Interventions in Rural Tanzania

PubMed Central

Kramer, Randall A.; Mboera, Leonard E. G.; Senkoro, Kesheni; Lesser, Adriane; Shayo, Elizabeth H.; Paul, Christopher J.; Miranda, Marie Lynn

2014-01-01

The optimization of malaria control strategies is complicated by constraints posed by local health systems, infrastructure, limited resources, and the complex interactions between infection, disease, and treatment. The purpose of this paper is to describe the protocol of a randomized factorial study designed to address this research gap. This project will evaluate two malaria control interventions in Mvomero District, Tanzania: (1) a disease management strategy involving early detection and treatment by community health workers using rapid diagnostic technology; and (2) vector control through community-supported larviciding. Six study villages were assigned to each of four groups (control, early detection and treatment, larviciding, and early detection and treatment plus larviciding). The primary endpoint of interest was change in malaria infection prevalence across the intervention groups measured during annual longitudinal cross-sectional surveys. Recurring entomological surveying, household surveying, and focus group discussions will provide additional valuable insights. At baseline, 962 households across all 24 villages participated in a household survey; 2,884 members from 720 of these households participated in subsequent malariometric surveying. The study design will allow us to estimate the effect sizes of different intervention mixtures. Careful documentation of our study protocol may also serve other researchers designing field-based intervention trials. PMID:24840349

A randomized longitudinal factorial design to assess malaria vector control and disease management interventions in rural Tanzania.

PubMed

Kramer, Randall A; Mboera, Leonard E G; Senkoro, Kesheni; Lesser, Adriane; Shayo, Elizabeth H; Paul, Christopher J; Miranda, Marie Lynn

2014-05-16

The optimization of malaria control strategies is complicated by constraints posed by local health systems, infrastructure, limited resources, and the complex interactions between infection, disease, and treatment. The purpose of this paper is to describe the protocol of a randomized factorial study designed to address this research gap. This project will evaluate two malaria control interventions in Mvomero District, Tanzania: (1) a disease management strategy involving early detection and treatment by community health workers using rapid diagnostic technology; and (2) vector control through community-supported larviciding. Six study villages were assigned to each of four groups (control, early detection and treatment, larviciding, and early detection and treatment plus larviciding). The primary endpoint of interest was change in malaria infection prevalence across the intervention groups measured during annual longitudinal cross-sectional surveys. Recurring entomological surveying, household surveying, and focus group discussions will provide additional valuable insights. At baseline, 962 households across all 24 villages participated in a household survey; 2,884 members from 720 of these households participated in subsequent malariometric surveying. The study design will allow us to estimate the effect sizes of different intervention mixtures. Careful documentation of our study protocol may also serve other researchers designing field-based intervention trials.

Symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders among ammunition factory workers in Turkey.

PubMed

Pinar, Tevfik; Cakmak, Z Aytul; Saygun, Meral; Akdur, Recep; Ulu, Nuriye; Keles, Isik; Saylam, Hamdi Saim

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of symptoms of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and to determine the risk factors among ammunition factory workers in Turkey. This cross-sectional study was performed on 955 ammunition factory workers. Potential risk factors were investigated with a questionnaire and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. During the previous year, 39.3% of ammunition workers experienced symptoms of work-related MSDs. Logistic regression analysis showed smoking (odds ratio [OR] = 1.372), chronic diseases (OR = 1.795), body mass index (BMI; overweight) (OR = 1.631), working year (OR = 1.509), cold temperature (OR = 1.838), and work load (OR = 2.210) were significant independent risk factors for the development of symptoms of MSDs. It was found that both work-related conditions and personal and environmental factors are important for the development of occupational MSDs.

Sb2Te3 and Its Superlattices: Optimization by Statistical Design.

PubMed

Behera, Jitendra K; Zhou, Xilin; Ranjan, Alok; Simpson, Robert E

2018-05-02

The objective of this work is to demonstrate the usefulness of fractional factorial design for optimizing the crystal quality of chalcogenide van der Waals (vdW) crystals. We statistically analyze the growth parameters of highly c axis oriented Sb 2 Te 3 crystals and Sb 2 Te 3 -GeTe phase change vdW heterostructured superlattices. The statistical significance of the growth parameters of temperature, pressure, power, buffer materials, and buffer layer thickness was found by fractional factorial design and response surface analysis. Temperature, pressure, power, and their second-order interactions are the major factors that significantly influence the quality of the crystals. Additionally, using tungsten rather than molybdenum as a buffer layer significantly enhances the crystal quality. Fractional factorial design minimizes the number of experiments that are necessary to find the optimal growth conditions, resulting in an order of magnitude improvement in the crystal quality. We highlight that statistical design of experiment methods, which is more commonly used in product design, should be considered more broadly by those designing and optimizing materials.

Factorial experimental design for the culture of human embryonic stem cells as aggregates in stirred suspension bioreactors reveals the potential for interaction effects between bioprocess parameters.

PubMed

Hunt, Megan M; Meng, Guoliang; Rancourt, Derrick E; Gates, Ian D; Kallos, Michael S

2014-01-01

Traditional optimization of culture parameters for the large-scale culture of human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) as aggregates is carried out in a stepwise manner whereby the effect of varying each culture parameter is investigated individually. However, as evidenced by the wide range of published protocols and culture performance indicators (growth rates, pluripotency marker expression, etc.), there is a lack of systematic investigation into the true effect of varying culture parameters especially with respect to potential interactions between culture variables. Here we describe the design and execution of a two-parameter, three-level (3(2)) factorial experiment resulting in nine conditions that were run in duplicate 125-mL stirred suspension bioreactors. The two parameters investigated here were inoculation density and agitation rate, which are easily controlled, but currently, poorly characterized. Cell readouts analyzed included fold expansion, maximum density, and exponential growth rate. Our results reveal that the choice of best case culture parameters was dependent on which cell property was chosen as the primary output variable. Subsequent statistical analyses via two-way analysis of variance indicated significant interaction effects between inoculation density and agitation rate specifically in the case of exponential growth rates. Results indicate that stepwise optimization has the potential to miss out on the true optimal case. In addition, choosing an optimum condition for a culture output of interest from the factorial design yielded similar results when repeated with the same cell line indicating reproducibility. We finally validated that human ESCs remain pluripotent in suspension culture as aggregates under our optimal conditions and maintain their differentiation capabilities as well as a stable karyotype and strong expression levels of specific human ESC markers over several passages in suspension bioreactors.

Resolution V fractional factorial design for screening of factors affecting weakly basic drugs liposomal systems.

PubMed

Nageeb El-Helaly, Sara; Habib, Basant A; Abd El-Rahman, Mohamed K

2018-07-01

This study aims to investigate factors affecting weakly basic drugs liposomal systems. Resolution V fractional factorial design (2 V 5-1 ) is used as an example of screening designs that would better be used as a wise step before proceeding with detailed factors effects or optimization studies. Five factors probable to affect liposomal systems of weakly basic drugs were investigated using Amisulpride as a model drug. Factors studied were; A: Preparation technique B: Phosphatidyl choline (PhC) amount (mg) C: Cholesterol: PhC molar ratio, D: Hydration volume (ml) and E: Sonication type. Levels investigated were; Ammonium sulphate-pH gradient technique or Transmembrane zinc chelation-pH gradient technique, 200 or 400 mg, 0 or 0.5, 10 or 20 ml and bath or probe sonication for A, B, C, D and E respectively. Responses measured were Particle size (PS) (nm), Zeta potential (ZP) (mV) and Entrapment efficiency percent (EE%). Ion selective electrode was used as a novel method for measuring unentrapped drug concentration and calculating entrapment efficiency without the need for liposomal separation. Factors mainly affecting the studied responses were Cholesterol: PhC ratio and hydration volume for PS, preparation technique for ZP and preparation technique and hydration volume for EE%. The applied 2 V 5-1 design enabled the use of only 16 trial combinations for screening the influence of five factors on weakly basic drugs liposomal systems. This clarifies the value of the use of screening experiments before extensive investigation of certain factors in detailed optimization studies. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Detection of occupational hazards in a large shipbuilding factory].

PubMed

Du, Weijia; Wang, Zhi; Zhang, Hai; Zhou, Liping; Huang, Minzhi; Liu, Yimin

2014-03-01

To provide evidence for the prevention and treatment of occupational diseases by the analysis of existing major occupational hazards and health conditions of workers in a large shipbuilding factory. Field investigation of occupational conditions was conducted to examine the existence of occupational hazards from 2009 to 2012 in a large shipbuilding factory, and then the results of physical examination among its workers were analyzed. Other than the metal dust (total dust), the levels of other dusts and manganese dioxide were beyond the national standard to various degrees, and through a sampling point detection, it was found that the levels of manganese dioxide exceeded the standard by 42.8%. The maximum time-weighted average concentration in individuals was 27.927 mg/m(3), much higher than the national standard limit. For harmful gas detection in individuals, xylene was 38.4%above the standard level (the highest concentration reached 1447.7 mg/m(3)); moreover, both toluene and ethylbenzene exceeded the national standard at different levels. Among the noise-exposed workers, 71%worked in the environment where the daily noise was above the limit of the national standard (85 dB). Physical examinations in 2010 and 2012 showed that the abnormal rate of audiometry in workers was higher than 15%. Dust (total dust), manganese dioxide, benzene, and noise are the main occupational hazards among the workers in the large shipbuilding factory, and strict protection and control for these hazards should be implemented for the workers in the factory.

Analysis of the Effects of Five Factors Relevant to In Vitro Chondrogenesis of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Using Factorial Design and High Throughput mRNA-Profiling

PubMed Central

Jakobsen, Rune B.; Østrup, Esben; Zhang, Xiaolan; Mikkelsen, Tarjei S.; Brinchmann, Jan E.

2014-01-01

The in vitro process of chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells for tissue engineering has been shown to require three-dimensional culture along with the addition of differentiation factors to the culture medium. In general, this leads to a phenotype lacking some of the cardinal features of native articular chondrocytes and their extracellular matrix. The factors used vary, but regularly include members of the transforming growth factor β superfamily and dexamethasone, sometimes in conjunction with fibroblast growth factor 2 and insulin-like growth factor 1, however the use of soluble factors to induce chondrogenesis has largely been studied on a single factor basis. In the present study we combined a factorial quality-by-design experiment with high-throughput mRNA profiling of a customized chondrogenesis related gene set as a tool to study in vitro chondrogenesis of human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells in alginate. 48 different conditions of transforming growth factor β 1, 2 and 3, bone morphogenetic protein 2, 4 and 6, dexamethasone, insulin-like growth factor 1, fibroblast growth factor 2 and cell seeding density were included in the experiment. The analysis revealed that the best of the tested differentiation cocktails included transforming growth factor β 1 and dexamethasone. Dexamethasone acted in synergy with transforming growth factor β 1 by increasing many chondrogenic markers while directly downregulating expression of the pro-osteogenic gene osteocalcin. However, all factors beneficial to the expression of desirable hyaline cartilage markers also induced undesirable molecules, indicating that perfect chondrogenic differentiation is not achievable with the current differentiation protocols. PMID:24816923

Spray drying of budesonide, formoterol fumarate and their composites-II. Statistical factorial design and in vitro deposition properties.

PubMed

Tajber, L; Corrigan, O I; Healy, A M

2009-02-09

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of changing spray drying parameters on the production of a budesonide/formoterol fumarate 100:6 (w/w) composite. The systems were spray dried as solutions from 95% ethanol/5% water (v/v) using a Büchi 191-Mini Spray Dryer. A 2(5-1) factorial design study was undertaken to assess the consequence of altering spray drying processing variables on particle characteristics. The processing parameters that were studied were inlet temperature, spray drier airflow rate, pump rate, aspirator setting and feed concentration. Each batch of the resulting powder was characterised in terms of thermal and micromeritic properties as well as an in vitro deposition by twin impinger analysis. Overall, the parameter that had the greatest influence on each response investigated was production yield - airflow (higher airflow giving greater yields), median particle size - airflow (higher airflow giving smaller particle sizes) and Carr's compressibility index - feed concentration (lower feed concentration giving smaller Carr's indices). A six- to seven-fold difference in respirable fraction can be observed by changing the spray drying process parameters. The co-spray dried composite system which displayed best in vitro deposition characteristics, showed a 2.6-fold increase in respirable fraction in the twin impinger experiments and better dose uniformity compared with the physical mix of micronised powders.

A reference architecture for the component factory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Basili, Victor R.; Caldiera, Gianluigi; Cantone, Giovanni

1992-01-01

Software reuse can be achieved through an organization that focuses on utilization of life cycle products from previous developments. The component factory is both an example of the more general concepts of experience and domain factory and an organizational unit worth being considered independently. The critical features of such an organization are flexibility and continuous improvement. In order to achieve these features we can represent the architecture of the factory at different levels of abstraction and define a reference architecture from which specific architectures can be derived by instantiation. A reference architecture is an implementation and organization independent representation of the component factory and its environment. The paper outlines this reference architecture, discusses the instantiation process, and presents some examples of specific architectures by comparing them in the framework of the reference model.

Acoustic scale modelling of factories, part II: 1-50 Cale model investigations of factory sound fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hodgson, M. R.; Orlowski, R. J.

1987-03-01

In this second part of a report on factory scale modelling use of a 1:50 scale variable model as a research tool is described. Details of the model are presented. The results of measurements of reverberation time and sound propagation, made in various model configurations, are used to investigate the main factors influencing factory sound fields, and the applicability of the Sabine theory to factories. The parameters investigated are the enclosure geometry (aspect ratio, volume and roof pitch), surface absorption and fittings (density, size, surface area, vertical distribution and specific types). Despite certain limitations and uncertainties resulting, for example, from surprising results associated with surface absorption, models are shown to be effective research tools. The inapplicability of the Sabine theory is confirmed and elucidated.

Industrial systems biology and its impact on synthetic biology of yeast cell factories.

PubMed

Fletcher, Eugene; Krivoruchko, Anastasia; Nielsen, Jens

2016-06-01

Engineering industrial cell factories to effectively yield a desired product while dealing with industrially relevant stresses is usually the most challenging step in the development of industrial production of chemicals using microbial fermentation processes. Using synthetic biology tools, microbial cell factories such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be engineered to express synthetic pathways for the production of fuels, biopharmaceuticals, fragrances, and food flavors. However, directing fluxes through these synthetic pathways towards the desired product can be demanding due to complex regulation or poor gene expression. Systems biology, which applies computational tools and mathematical modeling to understand complex biological networks, can be used to guide synthetic biology design. Here, we present our perspective on how systems biology can impact synthetic biology towards the goal of developing improved yeast cell factories. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 1164-1170. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Development of innovative oil-core self-organized nanovesicles prepared with chitosan and lecithin using a 2(3) full-factorial design.

PubMed

Haas, Sandra Elisa; de Andrade, Cristiane; Sansone, Pedro Ernesto da Silva; Guterres, Silvia; Dalla Costa, Teresa

2014-11-01

The aim of this study was to develop innovative nanosystems with isopropyl myristate as the oil core of self-assembly nanovesicles constituted of chitosan and lecithin using a 2(3) factorial design. The factors analyzed were chitosan (X1, levels 4 and 8  mg/ml), oil (X2, levels 10 and 20  mg/ml) and lecithin (X3, levels 4 and 8 mg/ml). The responses evaluated were diameter, zeta potential, pH, viscosity, and backscattering analysis. The bioavailability was evaluated after oral administration of clozapine free and nanoencapsulated in rats. The diameter ranged from 0.348 to 1.5 µm for F2 (X1, 4; X2, 10; X3, 8 mg/ml) and F7 (X1, 8; X2, 20; X3, 4  mg/ml), respectively. Laser diffractometry analysis revealed only one diameter population for all batches. Zeta potential was positive, being influenced by X1 and X2/X3 association. Viscosity values were dependent on the X1 and X2 concentrations used. A structure proposed for the nanosystem consists of chitosan forming the hydrophilic shell layer that protects the core comprised of lecithin and the hydrophobic groups of oil. The AUC0-∞ was almost 3 times higher with the clozapine nanoencapsuted in relation to free drug. It was developed a new nanosystem which is able of improving the absorption of drugs.

A Methodology for the Assessment of Experiential Learning Lean: The Lean Experience Factory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

De Zan, Giovanni; De Toni, Alberto Felice; Fornasier, Andrea; Battistella, Cinzia

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology to assess the experiential learning processes of learning lean in an innovative learning environment: the lean model factories. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review on learning and lean management literatures was carried out to design the methodology. Then, a case study…

Application of factorial designs to study factors involved in the determination of aldehydes present in beer by on-fiber derivatization in combination with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Carrillo, Génesis; Bravo, Adriana; Zufall, Carsten

2011-05-11

With the aim of studying the factors involved in on-fiber derivatization of Strecker aldehydes, furfural, and (E)-2-nonenal with O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine in beer, factorial designs were applied. The effect of the temperature, time, and NaCl addition on the analytes' derivatization/extraction efficiency was studied through a factorial 2(3) randomized-block design; all of the factors and their interactions were significant at the 95% confidence level for most of the analytes. The effect of temperature and its interactions separated the analytes in two groups. However, a single sampling condition was selected that optimized response for most aldehydes. The resulting method, combining on-fiber derivatization with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, was validated. Limits of detections were between 0.015 and 1.60 μg/L, and relative standard deviations were between 1.1 and 12.2%. The efficacy of the internal standardization method was confirmed by recovery percentage (73-117%). The method was applied to the determination of aldehydes in fresh beer and after storage at 28 °C.

The Physics of the B Factories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bevan, A. J.; Golob, B.; Mannel, Th.; Prell, S.; Yabsley, B. D.; Aihara, H.; Anulli, F.; Arnaud, N.; Aushev, T.; Beneke, M.; Beringer, J.; Bianchi, F.; Bigi, I. I.; Bona, M.; Brambilla, N.; Brodzicka, J.; Chang, P.; Charles, M. J.; Cheng, C. H.; Cheng, H.-Y.; Chistov, R.; Colangelo, P.; Coleman, J. P.; Drutskoy, A.; Druzhinin, V. P.; Eidelman, S.; Eigen, G.; Eisner, A. M.; Faccini, R.; Flood, K. T.; Gambino, P.; Gaz, A.; Gradl, W.; Hayashii, H.; Higuchi, T.; Hulsbergen, W. D.; Hurth, T.; Iijima, T.; Itoh, R.; Jackson, P. D.; Kass, R.; Kolomensky, Yu. G.; Kou, E.; Križan, P.; Kronfeld, A.; Kumano, S.; Kwon, Y. J.; Latham, T. E.; Leith, D. W. G. S.; Lüth, V.; Martinez-Vidal, F.; Meadows, B. T.; Mussa, R.; Nakao, M.; Nishida, S.; Ocariz, J.; Olsen, S. L.; Pakhlov, P.; Pakhlova, G.; Palano, A.; Pich, A.; Playfer, S.; Poluektov, A.; Porter, F. C.; Robertson, S. H.; Roney, J. M.; Roodman, A.; Sakai, Y.; Schwanda, C.; Schwartz, A. J.; Seidl, R.; Sekula, S. J.; Steinhauser, M.; Sumisawa, K.; Swanson, E. S.; Tackmann, F.; Trabelsi, K.; Uehara, S.; Uno, S.; van de Water, R.; Vasseur, G.; Verkerke, W.; Waldi, R.; Wang, M. Z.; Wilson, F. F.; Zupan, J.; Zupanc, A.; Adachi, I.; Albert, J.; Banerjee, Sw.; Bellis, M.; Ben-Haim, E.; Biassoni, P.; Cahn, R. N.; Cartaro, C.; Chauveau, J.; Chen, C.; Chiang, C. C.; Cowan, R.; Dalseno, J.; Davier, M.; Davies, C.; Dingfelder, J. C.; Echenard, B.; Epifanov, D.; Fulsom, B. G.; Gabareen, A. M.; Gary, J. W.; Godang, R.; Graham, M. T.; Hafner, A.; Hamilton, B.; Hartmann, T.; Hayasaka, K.; Hearty, C.; Iwasaki, Y.; Khodjamirian, A.; Kusaka, A.; Kuzmin, A.; Lafferty, G. D.; Lazzaro, A.; Li, J.; Lindemann, D.; Long, O.; Lusiani, A.; Marchiori, G.; Martinelli, M.; Miyabayashi, K.; Mizuk, R.; Mohanty, G. B.; Muller, D. R.; Nakazawa, H.; Ongmongkolkul, P.; Pacetti, S.; Palombo, F.; Pedlar, T. K.; Piilonen, L. E.; Pilloni, A.; Poireau, V.; Prothmann, K.; Pulliam, T.; Rama, M.; Ratcliff, B. N.; Roudeau, P.; Schrenk, S.; Schroeder, T.; Schubert, K. R.; Shen, C. P.; Shwartz, B.; Soffer, A.; Solodov, E. P.; Somov, A.; Starič, M.; Stracka, S.; Telnov, A. V.; Todyshev, K. Yu.; Tsuboyama, T.; Uglov, T.; Vinokurova, A.; Walsh, J. J.; Watanabe, Y.; Won, E.; Wormser, G.; Wright, D. H.; Ye, S.; Zhang, C. C.; Abachi, S.; Abashian, A.; Abe, K.; Abe, N.; Abe, R.; Abe, T.; Abrams, G. S.; Adam, I.; Adamczyk, K.; Adametz, A.; Adye, T.; Agarwal, A.; Ahmed, H.; Ahmed, M.; Ahmed, S.; Ahn, B. S.; Ahn, H. S.; Aitchison, I. J. R.; Akai, K.; Akar, S.; Akatsu, M.; Akemoto, M.; Akhmetshin, R.; Akre, R.; Alam, M. S.; Albert, J. N.; Aleksan, R.; Alexander, J. P.; Alimonti, G.; Allen, M. T.; Allison, J.; Allmendinger, T.; Alsmiller, J. R. G.; Altenburg, D.; Alwyn, K. E.; An, Q.; Anderson, J.; Andreassen, R.; Andreotti, D.; Andreotti, M.; Andress, J. C.; Angelini, C.; Anipko, D.; Anjomshoaa, A.; Anthony, P. L.; Antillon, E. A.; Antonioli, E.; Aoki, K.; Arguin, J. F.; Arinstein, K.; Arisaka, K.; Asai, K.; Asai, M.; Asano, Y.; Asgeirsson, D. J.; Asner, D. M.; Aso, T.; Aspinwall, M. L.; Aston, D.; Atmacan, H.; Aubert, B.; Aulchenko, V.; Ayad, R.; Azemoon, T.; Aziz, T.; Azzolini, V.; Azzopardi, D. E.; Baak, M. A.; Back, J. J.; Bagnasco, S.; Bahinipati, S.; Bailey, D. S.; Bailey, S.; Bailly, P.; van Bakel, N.; Bakich, A. M.; Bala, A.; Balagura, V.; Baldini-Ferroli, R.; Ban, Y.; Banas, E.; Band, H. R.; Banerjee, S.; Baracchini, E.; Barate, R.; Barberio, E.; Barbero, M.; Bard, D. J.; Barillari, T.; Barlow, N. R.; Barlow, R. J.; Barrett, M.; Bartel, W.; Bartelt, J.; Bartoldus, R.; Batignani, G.; Battaglia, M.; Bauer, J. M.; Bay, A.; Beaulieu, M.; Bechtle, P.; Beck, T. W.; Becker, J.; Becla, J.; Bedny, I.; Behari, S.; Behera, P. K.; Behn, E.; Behr, L.; Beigbeder, C.; Beiline, D.; Bell, R.; Bellini, F.; Bellodi, G.; Belous, K.; Benayoun, M.; Benelli, G.; Benitez, J. F.; Benkebil, M.; Berger, N.; Bernabeu, J.; Bernard, D.; Bernet, R.; Bernlochner, F. U.; Berryhill, J. W.; Bertsche, K.; Besson, P.; Best, D. S.; Bettarini, S.; Bettoni, D.; Bhardwaj, V.; Bhimji, W.; Bhuyan, B.; Biagini, M. E.; Biasini, M.; van Bibber, K.; Biesiada, J.; Bingham, I.; Bionta, R. M.; Bischofberger, M.; Bitenc, U.; Bizjak, I.; Blanc, F.; Blaylock, G.; Blinov, V. E.; Bloom, E.; Bloom, P. C.; Blount, N. L.; Blouw, J.; Bly, M.; Blyth, S.; Boeheim, C. T.; Bomben, M.; Bondar, A.; Bondioli, M.; Bonneaud, G. R.; Bonvicini, G.; Booke, M.; Booth, J.; Borean, C.; Borgland, A. W.; Borsato, E.; Bosi, F.; Bosisio, L.; Botov, A. A.; Bougher, J.; Bouldin, K.; Bourgeois, P.; Boutigny, D.; Bowerman, D. A.; Boyarski, A. M.; Boyce, R. F.; Boyd, J. T.; Bozek, A.; Bozzi, C.; Bračko, M.; Brandenburg, G.; Brandt, T.; Brau, B.; Brau, J.; Breon, A. B.; Breton, D.; Brew, C.; Briand, H.; Bright-Thomas, P. G.; Brigljević, V.; Britton, D. I.; Brochard, F.; Broomer, B.; Brose, J.; Browder, T. E.; Brown, C. L.; Brown, C. M.; Brown, D. N.; Browne, M.; Bruinsma, M.; Brunet, S.; Bucci, F.; Buchanan, C.; Buchmueller, O. L.; Bünger, C.; Bugg, W.; Bukin, A. D.; Bula, R.; Bulten, H.; Burchat, P. R.; Burgess, W.; Burke, J. P.; Button-Shafer, J.; Buzykaev, A. R.; Buzzo, A.; Cai, Y.; Calabrese, R.; Calcaterra, A.; Calderini, G.; Camanzi, B.; Campagna, E.; Campagnari, C.; Capra, R.; Carassiti, V.; Carpinelli, M.; Carroll, M.; Casarosa, G.; Casey, B. C. K.; Cason, N. M.; Castelli, G.; Cavallo, N.; Cavoto, G.; Cecchi, A.; Cenci, R.; Cerizza, G.; Cervelli, A.; Ceseracciu, A.; Chai, X.; Chaisanguanthum, K. S.; Chang, M. C.; Chang, Y. H.; Chang, Y. W.; Chao, D. S.; Chao, M.; Chao, Y.; Charles, E.; Chavez, C. A.; Cheaib, R.; Chekelian, V.; Chen, A.; Chen, E.; Chen, G. P.; Chen, H. F.; Chen, J.-H.; Chen, J. C.; Chen, K. F.; Chen, P.; Chen, S.; Chen, W. T.; Chen, X.; Chen, X. R.; Chen, Y. Q.; Cheng, B.; Cheon, B. G.; Chevalier, N.; Chia, Y. M.; Chidzik, S.; Chilikin, K.; Chistiakova, M. V.; Cizeron, R.; Cho, I. S.; Cho, K.; Chobanova, V.; Choi, H. H. F.; Choi, K. S.; Choi, S. K.; Choi, Y.; Choi, Y. K.; Christ, S.; Chu, P. H.; Chun, S.; Chuvikov, A.; Cibinetto, G.; Cinabro, D.; Clark, A. R.; Clark, P. J.; Clarke, C. K.; Claus, R.; Claxton, B.; Clifton, Z. C.; Cochran, J.; Cohen-Tanugi, J.; Cohn, H.; Colberg, T.; Cole, S.; Colecchia, F.; Condurache, C.; Contri, R.; Convert, P.; Convery, M. R.; Cooke, P.; Copty, N.; Cormack, C. M.; Dal Corso, F.; Corwin, L. A.; Cossutti, F.; Cote, D.; Cotta Ramusino, A.; Cottingham, W. N.; Couderc, F.; Coupal, D. P.; Covarelli, R.; Cowan, G.; Craddock, W. W.; Crane, G.; Crawley, H. B.; Cremaldi, L.; Crescente, A.; Cristinziani, M.; Crnkovic, J.; Crosetti, G.; Cuhadar-Donszelmann, T.; Cunha, A.; Curry, S.; D'Orazio, A.; Dû, S.; Dahlinger, G.; Dahmes, B.; Dallapiccola, C.; Danielson, N.; Danilov, M.; Das, A.; Dash, M.; Dasu, S.; Datta, M.; Daudo, F.; Dauncey, P. D.; David, P.; Davis, C. L.; Day, C. 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P.; Padoan, C.; Paick, K.; Palka, H.; Pan, B.; Pan, Y.; Panduro Vazquez, W.; Panetta, J.; Panova, A. I.; Panvini, R. S.; Panzenböck, E.; Paoloni, E.; Paolucci, P.; Pappagallo, M.; Paramesvaran, S.; Park, C. S.; Park, C. W.; Park, H.; Park, H. K.; Park, K. S.; Park, W.; Parry, R. J.; Parslow, N.; Passaggio, S.; Pastore, F. C.; Patel, P. M.; Patrignani, C.; Patteri, P.; Pavel, T.; Pavlovich, J.; Payne, D. J.; Peak, L. S.; Peimer, D. R.; Pelizaeus, M.; Pellegrini, R.; Pelliccioni, M.; Peng, C. C.; Peng, J. C.; Peng, K. C.; Peng, T.; Penichot, Y.; Pennazzi, S.; Pennington, M. R.; Penny, R. C.; Penzkofer, A.; Perazzo, A.; Perez, A.; Perl, M.; Pernicka, M.; Perroud, J.-P.; Peruzzi, I. M.; Pestotnik, R.; Peters, K.; Peters, M.; Petersen, B. A.; Petersen, T. C.; Petigura, E.; Petrak, S.; Petrella, A.; Petrič, M.; Petzold, A.; Pia, M. 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R.; Schietinger, T.; Schilling, C. J.; Schindler, R. H.; Schmid, S.; Schmitz, R. E.; Schmuecker, H.; Schneider, O.; Schnell, G.; Schönmeier, P.; Schofield, K. C.; Schott, G.; Schröder, H.; Schram, M.; Schubert, J.; Schümann, J.; Schultz, J.; Schumm, B. A.; Schune, M. H.; Schwanke, U.; Schwarz, H.; Schwiening, J.; Schwierz, R.; Schwitters, R. F.; Sciacca, C.; Sciolla, G.; Scott, I. J.; Seeman, J.; Seiden, A.; Seitz, R.; Seki, T.; Sekiya, A. I.; Semenov, S.; Semmler, D.; Sen, S.; Senyo, K.; Seon, O.; Serbo, V. V.; Serednyakov, S. I.; Serfass, B.; Serra, M.; Serrano, J.; Settai, Y.; Seuster, R.; Sevior, M. E.; Shakhova, K. V.; Shang, L.; Shapkin, M.; Sharma, V.; Shebalin, V.; Shelkov, V. G.; Shen, B. C.; Shen, D. Z.; Shen, Y. T.; Sherwood, D. J.; Shibata, T.; Shibata, T. A.; Shibuya, H.; Shidara, T.; Shimada, K.; Shimoyama, M.; Shinomiya, S.; Shiu, J. G.; Shorthouse, H. W.; Shpilinskaya, L. I.; Sibidanov, A.; Sicard, E.; Sidorov, A.; Sidorov, V.; Siegle, V.; Sigamani, M.; Simani, M. C.; Simard, M.; Simi, G.; Simon, F.; Simonetto, F.; Sinev, N. B.; Singh, H.; Singh, J. B.; Sinha, R.; Sitt, S.; Skovpen, Yu. I.; Sloane, R. J.; Smerkol, P.; Smith, A. J. S.; Smith, D.; Smith, D. S.; Smith, J. G.; Smol, A.; Snoek, H. L.; Snyder, A.; So, R. Y.; Sobie, R. J.; Soderstrom, E.; Soha, A.; Sohn, Y. S.; Sokoloff, M. D.; Sokolov, A.; Solagna, P.; Solovieva, E.; Soni, N.; Sonnek, P.; Sordini, V.; Spaan, B.; Spanier, S. M.; Spencer, E.; Speziali, V.; Spitznagel, M.; Spradlin, P.; Staengle, H.; Stamen, R.; Stanek, M.; Stanič, S.; Stark, J.; Steder, M.; Steininger, H.; Steinke, M.; Stelzer, J.; Stevanato, E.; Stocchi, A.; Stock, R.; Stoeck, H.; Stoker, D. P.; Stroili, R.; Strom, D.; Strother, P.; Strube, J.; Stugu, B.; Stypula, J.; Su, D.; Suda, R.; Sugahara, R.; Sugi, A.; Sugimura, T.; Sugiyama, A.; Suitoh, S.; Sullivan, M. K.; Sumihama, M.; Sumiyoshi, T.; Summers, D. J.; Sun, L.; Sun, S.; Sundermann, J. E.; Sung, H. F.; Susaki, Y.; Sutcliffe, P.; Suzuki, A.; Suzuki, J.; Suzuki, J. I.; Suzuki, K.; Suzuki, S.; Suzuki, S. Y.; Swain, J. E.; Swain, S. K.; T'Jampens, S.; Tabata, M.; Tackmann, K.; Tajima, H.; Tajima, O.; Takahashi, K.; Takahashi, S.; Takahashi, T.; Takasaki, F.; Takayama, T.; Takita, M.; Tamai, K.; Tamponi, U.; Tamura, N.; Tan, N.; Tan, P.; Tanabe, K.; Tanabe, T.; Tanaka, H. A.; Tanaka, J.; Tanaka, M.; Tanaka, S.; Tanaka, Y.; Tanida, K.; Taniguchi, N.; Taras, P.; Tasneem, N.; Tatishvili, G.; Tatomi, T.; Tawada, M.; Taylor, F.; Taylor, G. N.; Taylor, G. P.; Telnov, V. I.; Teodorescu, L.; Ter-Antonyan, R.; Teramoto, Y.; Teytelman, D.; Thérin, G.; Thiebaux, Ch.; Thiessen, D.; Thomas, E. W.; Thompson, J. M.; Thorne, F.; Tian, X. C.; Tibbetts, M.; Tikhomirov, I.; Tinslay, J. S.; Tiozzo, G.; Tisserand, V.; Tocut, V.; Toki, W. H.; Tomassini, E. W.; Tomoto, M.; Tomura, T.; Torassa, E.; Torrence, E.; Tosi, S.; Touramanis, C.; Toussaint, J. C.; Tovey, S. N.; Trapani, P. P.; Treadwell, E.; Triggiani, G.; Trincaz-Duvoid, S.; Trischuk, W.; Troost, D.; Trunov, A.; Tsai, K. L.; Tsai, Y. T.; Tsujita, Y.; Tsukada, K.; Tsukamoto, T.; Tuggle, J. M.; Tumanov, A.; Tung, Y. W.; Turnbull, L.; Turner, J.; Turri, M.; Uchida, K.; Uchida, M.; Uchida, Y.; Ueki, M.; Ueno, K.; Ujiie, N.; Ulmer, K. A.; Unno, Y.; Urquijo, P.; Ushiroda, Y.; Usov, Y.; Usseglio, M.; Usuki, Y.; Uwer, U.; Va'vra, J.; Vahsen, S. E.; Vaitsas, G.; Valassi, A.; Vallazza, E.; Vallereau, A.; Vanhoefer, P.; van Hoek, W. C.; Van Hulse, C.; van Winkle, D.; Varner, G.; Varnes, E. W.; Varvell, K. E.; Vasileiadis, G.; Velikzhanin, Y. S.; Verderi, M.; Versillé, S.; Vervink, K.; Viaud, B.; Vidal, P. B.; Villa, S.; Villanueva-Perez, P.; Vinograd, E. L.; Vitale, L.; Vitug, G. M.; Voß, C.; Voci, C.; Voena, C.; Volk, A.; von Wimmersperg-Toeller, J. H.; Vorobyev, V.; Vossen, A.; Vuagnin, G.; Vuosalo, C. O.; Wacker, K.; Wagner, A. P.; Wagner, D. L.; Wagner, G.; Wagner, M. N.; Wagner, S. R.; Wagoner, D. E.; Walker, D.; Walkowiak, W.; Wallom, D.; Wang, C. C.; Wang, C. H.; Wang, J.; Wang, J. G.; Wang, K.; Wang, L.; Wang, L. L.; Wang, P.; Wang, T. J.; Wang, W. F.; Wang, X. L.; Wang, Y. F.; Wappler, F. R.; Watanabe, M.; Watson, A. T.; Watson, J. E.; Watson, N. K.; Watt, M.; Weatherall, J. H.; Weaver, M.; Weber, T.; Wedd, R.; Wei, J. T.; Weidemann, A. W.; Weinstein, A. J. R.; Wenzel, W. A.; West, C. A.; West, C. G.; West, T. J.; White, E.; White, R. M.; Wicht, J.; Widhalm, L.; Wiechczynski, J.; Wienands, U.; Wilden, L.; Wilder, M.; Williams, D. C.; Williams, G.; Williams, J. C.; Williams, K. M.; Williams, M. I.; Willocq, S. Y.; Wilson, J. R.; Wilson, M. G.; Wilson, R. J.; Winklmeier, F.; Winstrom, L. O.; Winter, M. A.; Wisniewski, W. J.; Wittgen, M.; Wittlin, J.; Wittmer, W.; Wixted, R.; Woch, A.; Wogsland, B. J.; Won, E.; Wong, Q. K.; Wray, B. C.; Wren, A. C.; Wright, D. M.; Wu, C. H.; Wu, J.; Wu, S. L.; Wulsin, H. W.; Xella, S. M.; Xie, Q. L.; Xie, Y.; Xu, Z. Z.; Yéche, Ch.; Yamada, Y.; Yamaga, M.; Yamaguchi, A.; Yamaguchi, H.; Yamaki, T.; Yamamoto, H.; Yamamoto, N.; Yamamoto, R. K.; Yamamoto, S.; Yamanaka, T.; Yamaoka, H.; Yamaoka, J.; Yamaoka, Y.; Yamashita, Y.; Yamauchi, M.; Yan, D. S.; Yan, Y.; Yanai, H.; Yanaka, S.; Yang, H.; Yang, R.; Yang, S.; Yarritu, A. K.; Yashchenko, S.; Yashima, J.; Yasin, Z.; Yasu, Y.; Ye, S. W.; Yeh, P.; Yi, J. I.; Yi, K.; Yi, M.; Yin, Z. W.; Ying, J.; Yocky, G.; Yokoyama, K.; Yokoyama, M.; Yokoyama, T.; Yoshida, K.; Yoshida, M.; Yoshimura, Y.; Young, C. C.; Yu, C. X.; Yu, Z.; Yuan, C. Z.; Yuan, Y.; Yumiceva, F. X.; Yusa, Y.; Yushkov, A. N.; Yuta, H.; Zacek, V.; Zain, S. B.; Zallo, A.; Zambito, S.; Zander, D.; Zang, S. L.; Zanin, D.; Zaslavsky, B. G.; Zeng, Q. L.; Zghiche, A.; Zhang, B.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, L. M.; Zhang, S. Q.; Zhang, Z. P.; Zhao, H. W.; Zhao, M.; Zhao, Z. G.; Zheng, Y.; Zheng, Y. H.; Zheng, Z. P.; Zhilich, V.; Zhou, P.; Zhu, R. Y.; Zhu, Y. S.; Zhu, Z. M.; Zhulanov, V.; Ziegler, T.; Ziegler, V.; Zioulas, G.; Zisman, M.; Zito, M.; Zürcher, D.; Zwahlen, N.; Zyukova, O.; Živko, T.; Žontar, D.

2014-11-01

This work is on the Physics of the B Factories. Part A of this book contains a brief description of the SLAC and KEK B Factories as well as their detectors, BaBar and Belle, and data taking related issues. Part B discusses tools and methods used by the experiments in order to obtain results. The results themselves can be found in Part C. Please note that version 3 on the archive is the auxiliary version of the Physics of the B Factories book. This uses the notation alpha, beta, gamma for the angles of the Unitarity Triangle. The nominal version uses the notation phi_1, phi_2 and phi_3. Please cite this work as Eur. Phys. J. C74 (2014) 3026.

A Market-Based Approach to Multi-factory Scheduling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vytelingum, Perukrishnen; Rogers, Alex; MacBeth, Douglas K.; Dutta, Partha; Stranjak, Armin; Jennings, Nicholas R.

In this paper, we report on the design of a novel market-based approach for decentralised scheduling across multiple factories. Specifically, because of the limitations of scheduling in a centralised manner - which requires a center to have complete and perfect information for optimality and the truthful revelation of potentially commercially private preferences to that center - we advocate an informationally decentralised approach that is both agile and dynamic. In particular, this work adopts a market-based approach for decentralised scheduling by considering the different stakeholders representing different factories as self-interested, profit-motivated economic agents that trade resources for the scheduling of jobs. The overall schedule of these jobs is then an emergent behaviour of the strategic interaction of these trading agents bidding for resources in a market based on limited information and their own preferences. Using a simple (zero-intelligence) bidding strategy, we empirically demonstrate that our market-based approach achieves a lower bound efficiency of 84%. This represents a trade-off between a reasonable level of efficiency (compared to a centralised approach) and the desirable benefits of a decentralised solution.

Smart factory in the context of 4th industrial revolution: challenges and opportunities for Romania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pîrvu, B. C.; Zamfirescu, C. B.

2017-08-01

Manufacturing companies, independent of operation sector and size, must be able to produce lot size one products, just-in-time at a competitive cost. Coping with this high adaptability and short reaction times proves to be very challenging. New approaches must be taken into consideration for designing modular, intelligent and cooperative production systems which are easy to integrate with the entire factory. The coined term for this network of intelligent interacting artefacts system is cyber-physical systems (CPS). CPS is often used in the context of Industry 4.0 - or what many consider the forth industrial revolution. The paper presents an overview of key technological and social requirements to map the Smart Factory vision into reality. Finally, global and Romanian specific challenges hindering the vision of a true Smart Factory to become reality are presented.

Testing for Factorial Invariance in the Context of Construct Validation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dimitrov, Dimiter M.

2010-01-01

This article describes the logic and procedures behind testing for factorial invariance across groups in the context of construct validation. The procedures include testing for configural, measurement, and structural invariance in the framework of multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The "forward" (sequential constraint imposition)…

1. VIEW TO SOUTHEAST (NORTHWEST CORNER OF EDIBLE FATS FACTORY) ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

1. VIEW TO SOUTHEAST (NORTHWEST CORNER OF EDIBLE FATS FACTORY) - Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, & Edible Fats Factory, Edible Fats Factory, 2801 Southwest Fifteenth Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, OK

3. VIEW TO SOUTHWEST (NORTHEAST CORNER OF EDIBLE FATS FACTORY) ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

3. VIEW TO SOUTHWEST (NORTHEAST CORNER OF EDIBLE FATS FACTORY) - Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, & Edible Fats Factory, Edible Fats Factory, 2801 Southwest Fifteenth Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, OK

Physiological responses of lichens to factorial fumigations with nitric acid and ozone

Treesearch

J. Riddell; P.E. Padgett; T. Nash

2012-01-01

This paper addresses the effects of gaseous nitric acid (HNO3) and ozone (O3), two important air pollutants, on six lichen species with different morphological, ecological, and biological characteristics. The treatment chambers were set up in a factorial design consisting of control chambers, chambers fumigated with HNO

The Physics of the B Factories

DOE PAGES

Bevan, A. J.; Golob, B.; Mannel, Th.; ...

2014-11-19

This work is on the Physics of the B Factories. Part A of this book contains a brief description of the SLAC and KEK B Factories as well as their detectors, BaBar and Belle, and data taking related issues. Part B discusses tools and methods used by the experiments in order to obtain results. The results themselves can be found in Part C.

Improvement of Storage Medium for Cultured Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells Using Factorial Design.

PubMed

Pasovic, L; Utheim, T P; Reppe, S; Khan, A Z; Jackson, C J; Thiede, B; Berg, J P; Messelt, E B; Eidet, J R

2018-04-09

Storage of human retinal pigment epithelium (hRPE) can contribute to the advancement of cell-based RPE replacement therapies. The present study aimed to improve the quality of stored hRPE cultures by identifying storage medium additives that, alone or in combination, contribute to enhancing cell viability while preserving morphology and phenotype. hRPE cells were cultured in the presence of the silk protein sericin until pigmentation. Cells were then stored for 10 days in storage medium plus sericin and either one of 46 different additives. Individual effects of each additive on cell viability were assessed using epifluorescence microscopy. Factorial design identified promising additive combinations by extrapolating their individual effects. Supplementing the storage medium with sericin combined with adenosine, L-ascorbic acid and allopurinol resulted in the highest cell viability (98.6 ± 0.5%) after storage for three days, as measured by epifluorescence microscopy. Flow cytometry validated the findings. Proteomics identified 61 upregulated and 65 downregulated proteins in this storage group compared to the unstored control. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrated the presence of melanosomes after storage in the optimized medium. We conclude that the combination of adenosine, L-ascorbic acid, allopurinol and sericin in minimal essential medium preserves RPE pigmentation while maintaining cell viability during storage.

4. SOUTHEAST CORNER OF EDIBLE FATS FACTORY (CONNECTING BUILDING ON ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

4. SOUTHEAST CORNER OF EDIBLE FATS FACTORY (CONNECTING BUILDING ON THE LEFT) - Wilson's Oil House, Lard Refinery, & Edible Fats Factory, Edible Fats Factory, 2801 Southwest Fifteenth Street, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, OK

Exposure to movie smoking, antismoking ads and smoking intensity: an experimental study with a factorial design.

PubMed

Harakeh, Zeena; Engels, Rutger C M E; Vohs, Kathleen; van Baaren, Rick B; Sargent, James

2010-06-01

This study examines whether smoking portrayal in movies or antismoking advertisements affect smoking intensity among young adults. We conducted an experimental study in which 84 smokers were randomly assigned using a two (no-smoking versus smoking portrayal in the movie) by three (two prosocial ads, two antismoking ads or one of each) factorial design. Participants viewed a 60-minute movie with two commercial breaks and afterwards completed a questionnaire. Smoking during the session was allowed and observed. Exposure to the movie with smoking had no effect on smoking intensity. Those who viewed two antismoking ads had significantly lower smoking intensity compared with those who viewed two prosocial ads. There was no interaction between movie smoking and antismoking ads. Baseline CO (carbon monoxide) level had the largest effect on smoking intensity. These findings provide further evidence to support antismoking ads placed with movies because of their possible effect on young adult smoking behaviour. However, caution is warranted, because nicotine dependence appears to be the primary predictor of smoking intensity among young adult smokers in this study.

Exposure to movie smoking, antismoking ads and smoking intensity: an experimental study with a factorial design

PubMed Central

Harakeh, Zeena; Engels, Rutger C M E; Vohs, Kathleen; van Baaren, Rick B; Sargent, James

2013-01-01

Background This study examines whether smoking portrayal in movies or antismoking advertisements affect smoking intensity among young adults. Methods We conducted an experimental study in which 84 smokers were randomly assigned using a two (no-smoking versus smoking portrayal in the movie) by three (two prosocial ads, two antismoking ads or one of each) factorial design. Participants viewed a 60-minute movie with two commercial breaks and afterwards completed a questionnaire. Smoking during the session was allowed and observed. Results Exposure to the movie with smoking had no effect on smoking intensity. Those who viewed two antismoking ads had significantly lower smoking intensity compared with those who viewed two prosocial ads. There was no interaction between movie smoking and antismoking ads. Baseline CO (carbon monoxide) level had the largest effect on smoking intensity. Conclusion These findings provide further evidence to support antismoking ads placed with movies because of their possible effect on young adult smoking behaviour. However, caution is warranted, because nicotine dependence appears to be the primary predictor of smoking intensity among young adult smokers in this study. PMID:20008155

Pediatric Diabetic Ketoacidosis, Fluid Therapy and Cerebral Injury: The Design of a Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Glaser, Nicole S.; Ghetti, Simona; Casper, T. Charles; Dean, J. Michael; Kuppermann, Nathan

2013-01-01

Treatment protocols for pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) vary considerably among centers in the United States and worldwide. The optimal protocol for intravenous fluid administration is an area of particular controversy, mainly in regard to possible associations between rates of intravenous fluid infusion and the development of cerebral edema, the most common and most feared complication of DKA in children. Theoretical concerns about associations between osmotic fluid shifts and cerebral edema have prompted recommendations for conservative fluid infusion during DKA. However, recent data suggest that cerebral hypoperfusion may play a role in cerebral injury associated with DKA. Currently there are no existing data from prospective clinical trials to determine the optimal fluid treatment protocol for pediatric DKA. The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network FLUID (Fluid Therapies Under Investigation in DKA) Study is the first prospective randomized trial to evaluate fluid regimens for pediatric DKA. This 13-center nationwide factorial-design study will evaluate the effects of rehydration rate and fluid sodium content on neurological status during DKA treatment, the frequency of clinically-overt CE, and long-term neurocognitive outcomes following DKA. PMID:23490311

Generalized Subset Designs in Analytical Chemistry.

PubMed

Surowiec, Izabella; Vikström, Ludvig; Hector, Gustaf; Johansson, Erik; Vikström, Conny; Trygg, Johan

2017-06-20

Design of experiments (DOE) is an established methodology in research, development, manufacturing, and production for screening, optimization, and robustness testing. Two-level fractional factorial designs remain the preferred approach due to high information content while keeping the number of experiments low. These types of designs, however, have never been extended to a generalized multilevel reduced design type that would be capable to include both qualitative and quantitative factors. In this Article we describe a novel generalized fractional factorial design. In addition, it also provides complementary and balanced subdesigns analogous to a fold-over in two-level reduced factorial designs. We demonstrate how this design type can be applied with good results in three different applications in analytical chemistry including (a) multivariate calibration using microwave resonance spectroscopy for the determination of water in tablets, (b) stability study in drug product development, and (c) representative sample selection in clinical studies. This demonstrates the potential of generalized fractional factorial designs to be applied in many other areas of analytical chemistry where representative, balanced, and complementary subsets are required, especially when a combination of quantitative and qualitative factors at multiple levels exists.

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.

Factorial validity of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (age band 2).

PubMed

Wagner, Matthias Oliver; Kastner, Julia; Petermann, Franz; Bös, Klaus

2011-01-01

The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (M-ABC-2) is one of the most commonly used tests for the diagnosis of specific developmental disorders of motor function (F82). The M-ABC-2 comprises eight subtests per age band (AB) that are assigned to three dimensions: manual dexterity, aiming and catching, and balance. However, while previous exploratory findings suggested the correctness of the assumption of factorial validity, there is no empirical evidence that the M-ABC-2 subtests allow for a valid reproduction of the postulated factorial structure. The purpose of this study was to empirically confirm the factorial validity of the M-ABC-2. The German normative sample of AB2 (7-10 years; N=323) was used as the study sample for the empirical analyses. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to verify the factorial validity of the M-ABC-2 (AB2). The incremental fit indices (χ2=28.675; df=17; Bollen-Stine p value=0.318; RMSEA=0.046 [0.011-0.075]; SRMR=0.038; CFI=0.960) provided evidence for the factorial validity of the M-ABC-2 (AB2). However, because of a lack of empirical verification for convergent and discriminant validity, there is still no evidence that F82 can be diagnosed using M-ABC-2 (AB2). Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On KEK B-Factory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugawara, H.

2009-07-01

There are two principles which the management of a research institute like KEK must respect when dealing with such big project as B-Factory. One is the scientific merit of the project and the other is the organizational consideration which includes financial, human, technical and historical elements. Ideally, the two principles are to be fully taken into account. But, in many cases, one or the other is only partially fulfilled due to unavoidable circumstances. The lack of flexibility to respond to all possible situations is more dangerous and may lead to a disaster as in the case of SSC. I will describe the process which lead to the successful construction, operation and physics presentations of KEK B-Factory following faithfully the official records.

Engineering the smart factory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrison, Robert; Vera, Daniel; Ahmad, Bilal

2016-10-01

The fourth industrial revolution promises to create what has been called the smart factory. The vision is that within such modular structured smart factories, cyber-physical systems monitor physical processes, create a virtual copy of the physical world and make decentralised decisions. This paper provides a view of this initiative from an automation systems perspective. In this context it considers how future automation systems might be effectively configured and supported through their lifecycles and how integration, application modelling, visualisation and reuse of such systems might be best achieved. The paper briefly describes limitations in current engineering methods, and new emerging approaches including the cyber physical systems (CPS) engineering tools being developed by the automation systems group (ASG) at Warwick Manufacturing Group, University of Warwick, UK.

Asymptotic Normality Through Factorial Cumulants and Partition Identities

PubMed Central

Bobecka, Konstancja; Hitczenko, Paweł; López-Blázquez, Fernando; Rempała, Grzegorz; Wesołowski, Jacek

2013-01-01

In the paper we develop an approach to asymptotic normality through factorial cumulants. Factorial cumulants arise in the same manner from factorial moments as do (ordinary) cumulants from (ordinary) moments. Another tool we exploit is a new identity for ‘moments’ of partitions of numbers. The general limiting result is then used to (re-)derive asymptotic normality for several models including classical discrete distributions, occupancy problems in some generalized allocation schemes and two models related to negative multinomial distribution. PMID:24591773

Defect Analysis Of Quality Palm Kernel Meal Using Statistical Quality Control In Kernels Factory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sembiring, M. T.; Marbun, N. J.

2018-04-01

The production quality has an important impact retain the totality of characteristics of a product or service to pay attention to its capabilities to meet the needs that have been established. Quality criteria Palm Kernel Meal (PKM) set Factory kernel is as follows: oil content: max 8.50%, water content: max 12,00% and impurity content: max 4.00% While the average quality of the oil content of 8.94%, the water content of 5.51%, and 8.45% impurity content. To identify the defective product quality PKM produced, then used a method of analysis using Statistical Quality Control (SQC). PKM Plant Quality Kernel shows the oil content was 0.44% excess of a predetermined maximum value, and 4.50% impurity content. With excessive PKM content of oil and dirt cause disability content of production for oil, amounted to 854.6078 kg PKM and 8643.193 kg impurity content of PKM. Analysis of the results of cause and effect diagram and SQC, the factors that lead to poor quality of PKM is Ampere second press oil expeller and hours second press oil expeller.

Improvement of biomass production and glucoamylase activity by Candida famata using factorial design.

PubMed

Mosbah, Habib; Aissa, Imen; Hassad, Nahla; Farh, Dhaker; Bakhrouf, Amina; Achour, Sami

2016-07-01

To improve biomass production and glucoamylase activity (GA) by Candida famata, culture conditions were optimized. A 2(3) full factorial design (FFD) with a response surface model was used to evaluate the effects and interactions of pH (X1 ), time of cultivation (X2 ), and starch concentration (X3 ) on the biomass production and enzyme activity. A total of 16 experiments were conducted toward the construction of an empiric model and a first-order equation. It was found that all factors (X1 , X2 , and X3 ) and their interactions were significant at a certain confidence level (P < 0.05). Using this methodology, the optimum values of the three tested parameters were obtained as follows: pH 6; time of cultivation 24 H and starch concentration 7 g/L, respectively. Our results showed that the starch concentration (X3) has significantly influenced both dependent variables, biomass production and GA of C. famata. Under this optimized medium, the experimental biomass production and GA obtained were 1.8 ± 0.54 g/L and 0.078 ± 0.012 µmol/L/Min, about 1.5- and 1.8-fold, respectively, higher than those in basal medium. The (R(2) ) coefficients obtained were 0.997 and 0.990, indicating an adequate degree of reliability in the model. Approximately 99% of validity of the predicted value was achieved. © 2015 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

A simple model for factory distribution: Historical effect in an industry city

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uehara, Takashi; Sato, Kazunori; Morita, Satoru; Maeda, Yasunobu; Yoshimura, Jin; Tainaka, Kei-ichi

2016-02-01

The construction and discontinuance processes of factories are complicated problems in sociology. We focus on the spatial and temporal changes of factories at Hamamatsu city in Japan. Real data indicate that the clumping degree of factories decreases as the density of factory increases. To represent the spatial and temporal changes of factories, we apply "contact process" which is one of cellular automata. This model roughly explains the dynamics of factory distribution. We also find "historical effect" in spatial distribution. Namely, the recent factories have been dispersed due to the past distribution during the period of economic bubble. This effect may be related to heavy shock in Japanese stock market.

Measurement of Employability Skills on Teaching Factory Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Subekti, S.; Ana, A.

2018-02-01

Vocational High Schools as one of the educational institutions that has the responsibility in preparing skilled labors has a challenge to improve the quality of human resources as a candidate for skilled labors, to compete and survive in a changing climate of work. BPS noted an increase in the number of non-worker population (BAK) in 2015-2017 on vocational graduates as many as 564,272 people. The ability to adapt and maintain jobs in a variety of conditions is called employability skills. This study purpose to measure the development of employability skills of communication skills, problem-solving skills and teamwork skills on the implementation of teaching factory learning in SMK Negeri 1 Cibadak, THPH Skills Program on bakery competency. This research uses mixed method, with concurrent triangulation mix methods research design. Data collection techniques used interviews and questionnaires. The result shows that there are increasing students’ employability skills in communication skills, problem solving skills, and teamwork skills in teaching factory learning. Principles of learning that apply learning by doing student centering and learning arrangements such as situations and conditions in the workplace have an impact on improving student employability skills.

The Game Factory: Using Cooperative Games to Promote Pro-Social Behaviour among Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Street, Helen; Hoppe, David; Kingsbury, David; Ma, Tony

2004-01-01

This study examines the use of a cooperative physical games program "The Game Factory" on social behaviour among children. Children are required to work together towards positive collective outcomes. A pretest-intervention-posttest design is used. Parents and teachers assessed 90 Australian primary school children in two experimental…

Factorial structure and psychometric properties of a brief version of the Reminiscence Functions Scale with Chinese older adults.

PubMed

Lou, Vivian W Q; Choy, Jacky C P

2014-05-01

The current study aims to examine the factorial structure and psychometric properties of a brief version of the Reminiscence Functions Scale (RFS), a 14-item assessment tool of reminiscence functions, with Chinese older adults. The scale, covering four reminiscence functions (boredom reduction, bitterness revival, problem solving, and identity) was translated from English into Chinese and administered to older adults (N=675). Confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to examine its factorial structure, and its psychometric properties and criterion validity were examined. Confirmatory factor analysis supports a second-order model comprising one second-order factor and four first-order factors of RFS. The Cronbach's alpha of the subscales ranged from 0.75 to 0.90. The brief RFS contains a second-order factorial structure. Its psychometric properties support it as a sound instrument for measuring reminiscence functions among Chinese older adults.

Architecture and biogenesis of plus-strand RNA virus replication factories

PubMed Central

Paul, David; Bartenschlager, Ralf

2013-01-01

Plus-strand RNA virus replication occurs in tight association with cytoplasmic host cell membranes. Both, viral and cellular factors cooperatively generate distinct organelle-like structures, designated viral replication factories. This compartmentalization allows coordination of the different steps of the viral replication cycle, highly efficient genome replication and protection of the viral RNA from cellular defense mechanisms. Electron tomography studies conducted during the last couple of years revealed the three dimensional structure of numerous plus-strand RNA virus replication compartments and highlight morphological analogies between different virus families. Based on the morphology of virus-induced membrane rearrangements, we propose two separate subclasses: the invaginated vesicle/spherule type and the double membrane vesicle type. This review discusses common themes and distinct differences in the architecture of plus-strand RNA virus-induced membrane alterations and summarizes recent progress that has been made in understanding the complex interplay between viral and co-opted cellular factors in biogenesis and maintenance of plus-strand RNA virus replication factories. PMID:24175228

The Clone Factory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stoddard, Beryl

2005-01-01

Have humans been cloned? Is it possible? Immediate interest is sparked when students are asked these questions. In response to their curiosity, the clone factory activity was developed to help them understand the process of cloning. In this activity, students reenact the cloning process, in a very simplified simulation. After completing the…

Role of post-field raw data processing: a multi-site and full factorial uncertainty analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabbatini, Simone; Fratini, Gerardo; Arriga, Nicola; Papale, Dario

2013-04-01

Uncertainties in the Eddy Covariance flux measurements are a fundamental issue not yet completely solved. The complexity of the method, involving many, not standardized processing steps is one among the source of such uncertainty. The goal of our work is to quantify uncertainties deriving from post-field raw data processing, needed to calculate fluxes from collected turbulence measurements. The methodology we propose is a full-factorial design, performed using as factors a number of selected processing steps. We applied this approach to 15 European flux stations representative of different ecosystems (forests, croplands and grasslands), climates (Mediterranean, Nordic, arid and humid) and instrumental setups (e.g. open vs. closed path systems). Then we processed one year of raw data from each of the selected stations so as to cover all possible combinations of the available options (levels) relative to all the critical processing steps, i.e: angle of attack correction; coordinate rotation; trend removal; time lag compensation; low- and high- frequency spectral correction; correction for air density fluctuations; and length of the flux averaging interval. The software we used is EddyPro™. At last we calculated the cumulative NEE (response) for each process, and performed an analysis of variance of the factorial design. In addition to the global uncertainty, from this statistical approach we obtain information about the factors that most contribute to the uncertainties, and also the most relevant two-level interactions between factors. Here we present partial results from the first sites analysed. For the beech forest of Sorø, Denmark (Gill R2 anemometer and closed path GA, tube length = 50 m) the factor that most contributes to the variance in 2007 (40.4 %) is the trend removal, with an uncertainty of 7.5%. It is followed by the angle of attack (16.1 % of the total variability, uncertainty 3.5 %) and the interaction between trend removal and time lag compensation

Analysis of Mannitol, as Tracer of Bacterial Infections in Cane and Beet Sugar Factories

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Mannitol, formed mainly by Leuconostoc mesenteroides bacteria, is a sensitive marker of sugarcane and sugarbeet deterioration that can predict multiple processing problems. The delivery of consignments of deteriorated sugarcane or sugar beets to factories can detrimentally affect multiple process u...

Analysis of Mannitol, as Tracer of Bacterial Infections in Cane and Beet Sugar Factories

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Mannitol, formed mainly by Leuconostoc mesenteroides bacteria, is a sensitive marker of sugarcane and sugarbeet deterioration that can predict multiple processing problems. The delivery of consignments of deteriorated sugarcane or sugar beets to factories can detrimentally affect multiple process un...

Testing Factorial Invariance in Multilevel Data: A Monte Carlo Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Eun Sook; Kwok, Oi-man; Yoon, Myeongsun

2012-01-01

Testing factorial invariance has recently gained more attention in different social science disciplines. Nevertheless, when examining factorial invariance, it is generally assumed that the observations are independent of each other, which might not be always true. In this study, we examined the impact of testing factorial invariance in multilevel…

Determinants of Chronic Respiratory Symptoms among Pharmaceutical Factory Workers

PubMed Central

Enquselassie, Fikre; Tefera, Yifokire; Gizaw, Muluken; Wakuma, Samson; Woldemariam, Messay

2018-01-01

Background Chronic respiratory symptoms including chronic cough, chronic phlegm, wheezing, shortness of breath, and chest pain are manifestations of respiratory problems which are mainly evolved as a result of occupational exposures. This study aims to assess determinants of chronic respiratory symptoms among pharmaceutical factory workers. Methods A case control study was carried out among 453 pharmaceutical factory workers with 151 cases and 302 controls. Data was collected using pretested and structured questionnaire. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariate analysis. Result Previous history of chronic respiratory diseases (AOR = 3.36, 95% CI = 1.85–6.12), family history of chronic respiratory diseases (AOR = 2.55, 95% CI = 1.51–4.32), previous dusty working environment (AOR = 2.26, 95% CI = 1.07–4.78), ever smoking (AOR = 3.66, 95% CI = 1.05–12.72), and service years (AOR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.16–2.99) showed statistically significant association with chronic respiratory symptoms. Conclusion Previous history of respiratory diseases, family history of chronic respiratory diseases, previous dusty working environment, smoking, and service years were determinants of chronic respiratory symptoms. Public health endeavors to prevent the burden of chronic respiratory symptoms among pharmaceutical factory workers should target the reduction of adverse workplace exposures and discouragement of smoking. PMID:29666655

The Shirts on Our Backs: Teleological Perspectives on Factory Safety in Bangladesh

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dhooge, Lucien J.

2016-01-01

This case study addresses the issue of factory safety in the garment industry through an examination of two recent catastrophic failures in Bangladesh. The case study was designed for students in Business Ethics in the MBA curriculum at the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The case study has also been adapted…

Synergistic Effect of Hydrotrope and Surfactant on Solubility and Dissolution of Atorvastatin Calcium: Screening Factorial Design Followed by Ratio Optimization

PubMed Central

Patel, V. F.; Sarai, J.

2014-01-01

The present study was aimed at investigating the effect of hydrotrope and surfactant on poor solubility of atorvastatin calcium. Excipients screening followed by factorial design was performed to study effect of excipients and manufacturing methods on solubility of drug. Three independent factors (carrier, surfactant and manufacturing method) were evaluated at two levels using solubility as a dependant variable. Solid-state characterisation was performed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Optimised complex were incorporated into orally disintegrating micro tablets and in vitro dissolution test was performed. Nicotinamide, Plasdone and sodium dodecyl sulphate were emerged as promising excipients from excipient screening. General regression analysis revealed only the type of carrier has significantly enhanced (P<0.05) the solubility of drug while other factors were found to be nonsignificant. Ratio optimisation trial revealed that drug to nicotinamide ratio is more critical in enhancing the solubility of drug (40 fold increases in solubility compared to pure drug) in comparison to drug-surfactant ratio; however the presence of surfactant deemed essential. Significantly higher rate and extent of dissolution was observed from solid dispersion complex and tablets compared to dissolution of pure drug (P<0.05). Study revealed hydrotrope and surfactant have synergistic effect on solubility and dissolution of atorvastatin calcium and this can be explored further. PMID:25593381

The Virtual Factory Teaching System (VFTS): Project Review and Results.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kazlauskas, E. J.; Boyd, E. F., III; Dessouky, M. M.

This paper presents a review of the Virtual Factory Teaching (VFTS) project, a Web-based, multimedia collaborative learning network. The system allows students, working alone or in teams, to build factories, forecast demand for products, plan production, establish release rules for new work into the factory, and set scheduling rules for…

Cloud-based robot remote control system for smart factory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Zhiming; Li, Lianzhong; Xu, Yang; Zhai, Jingmei

2015-12-01

With the development of internet technologies and the wide application of robots, there is a prospect (trend/tendency) of integration between network and robots. A cloud-based robot remote control system over networks for smart factory is proposed, which enables remote users to control robots and then realize intelligent production. To achieve it, a three-layer system architecture is designed including user layer, service layer and physical layer. Remote control applications running on the cloud server is developed on Microsoft Azure. Moreover, DIV+ CSS technologies are used to design human-machine interface to lower maintenance cost and improve development efficiency. Finally, an experiment is implemented to verify the feasibility of the program.

Hazarding health: experiences of body, work, and risk among factory women in Malaysia.

PubMed

Root, Robin

2009-10-01

In the 1970s, Malaysia launched an export-oriented development strategy as a means of financing the nation's modernization. The success of the strategy hinged significantly on intensive recruitment of women for factory employment. I draw on descriptive qualitative research, including interviews (51), surveys (106), and ethnography in Malaysia to investigate factory women's experiences of work and work-related health risks. Discourse analysis surfaced a latent consciousness of bodily changes in relation to work. A grounded theory analysis showed a compromised access to occupational risk knowledge that may bear negatively on women's well-being and the role women's new labor identities played in mediating the meanings of work and risks. Given the predominance of women workers in low-end manufacturing globally, I aimed to contribute to theoretical and applied understandings of gender, globalization, and health.

Behavioral lifestyle and mental health status of Japanese factory workers.

PubMed

Ezoe, S; Morimoto, K

1994-01-01

Lifestyle factors, sometimes associated with physical health and mortality, have also been known to be associated with mental health status. This study seeks to correlate behavioral lifestyles with major components of mental health among Japanese factory workers. We administered the 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and a questionnaire concerning eight personal health practices to 2,132 male and 668 female factory workers at a camera-manufacturing company in Japan. There were strong negative relationships of a higher total number of favorable lifestyles as indicated by the Health Practice Index (HPI) to psychological distress and its components: somatic symptoms, anxiety-insomnia, and social dysfunction. After controlling for the effects of confounding factors that included age, marital status, and somatic condition, multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that five of the eight health factors among male workers--mental stress, nutritional balance, eating breakfast regularly, physical exercise, and working hours--were significantly related to the grade of psychological distress or its three components. Among female workers, five health practices, i.e., mental stress, physical exercise, sleeping hours, working hours, and cigarette smoking, were significantly associated with the grade of psychological distress or its three components. Good health practices might be individually and as a whole associated with better mental health status in factory workers.

Factorial-based response-surface modeling with confidence intervals for optimizing thermal-optical transmission analysis of atmospheric black carbon.

PubMed

Conny, J M; Norris, G A; Gould, T R

2009-03-09

Thermal-optical transmission (TOT) analysis measures black carbon (BC) in atmospheric aerosol on a fibrous filter. The method pyrolyzes organic carbon (OC) and employs laser light absorption to distinguish BC from the pyrolyzed OC; however, the instrument does not necessarily separate the two physically. In addition, a comprehensive temperature protocol for the analysis based on the Beer-Lambert Law remains elusive. Here, empirical response-surface modeling was used to show how the temperature protocol in TOT analysis can be modified to distinguish pyrolyzed OC from BC based on the Beer-Lambert Law. We determined the apparent specific absorption cross sections for pyrolyzed OC (sigma(Char)) and BC (sigma(BC)), which accounted for individual absorption enhancement effects within the filter. Response-surface models of these cross sections were derived from a three-factor central-composite factorial experimental design: temperature and duration of the high-temperature step in the helium phase, and the heating increase in the helium-oxygen phase. The response surface for sigma(BC), which varied with instrument conditions, revealed a ridge indicating the correct conditions for OC pyrolysis in helium. The intersection of the sigma(BC) and sigma(Char) surfaces indicated the conditions where the cross sections were equivalent, satisfying an important assumption upon which the method relies. 95% confidence interval surfaces defined a confidence region for a range of pyrolysis conditions. Analyses of wintertime samples from Seattle, WA revealed a temperature between 830 degrees C and 850 degrees C as most suitable for the helium high-temperature step lasting 150s. However, a temperature as low as 750 degrees C could not be rejected statistically.

The Learning Factory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alef, Edward R.; Berg, Daniel

This book looks at the administration of an academic institution as a learning factory which needs to be run like a business, competing with other businesses offering the same service. The book begins with a discussion of the concepts of the continuing education learning market, the playing fields and rules of the games, as well as the idea of…

27 CFR 40.47 - Other businesses within factory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 2 2012-04-01 2011-04-01 true Other businesses within... AND TUBES, AND PROCESSED TOBACCO Administrative Provisions § 40.47 Other businesses within factory. (a) General. The appropriate TTB officer may authorize such other businesses within the factory of a...

27 CFR 40.47 - Other businesses within factory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 2 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false Other businesses within... AND TUBES, AND PROCESSED TOBACCO Administrative Provisions § 40.47 Other businesses within factory. (a) General. The appropriate TTB officer may authorize such other businesses within the factory of a...

Removing lead from metallic mixture of waste printed circuit boards by vacuum distillation: factorial design and removal mechanism.

PubMed

Li, Xingang; Gao, Yujie; Ding, Hui

2013-10-01

The lead removal from the metallic mixture of waste printed circuit boards by vacuum distillation was optimized using experimental design, and a mathematical model was established to elucidate the removal mechanism. The variables studied in lead evaporation consisted of the chamber pressure, heating temperature, heating time, particle size and initial mass. The low-level chamber pressure was fixed at 0.1 Pa as the operation pressure. The application of two-level factorial design generated a first-order polynomial that agreed well with the data for evaporation efficiency of lead. The heating temperature and heating time exhibited significant effects on the efficiency, which was validated by means of the copper-lead mixture experiments. The optimized operating conditions within the region studied were the chamber pressure of 0.1 Pa, heating temperature of 1023 K and heating time of 120 min. After the conditions were employed to remove lead from the metallic mixture of waste printed circuit boards, the efficiency was 99.97%. The mechanism of the effects was elucidated by mathematical modeling that deals with evaporation, mass transfer and condensation, and can be applied to a wider range of metal removal by vacuum distillation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimating the monetary value of willingness to pay for E-book reader's attributes using partially confounded factorial conjoint choice experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yong, Chin-Khian

2013-09-01

A partially confounded factorial conjoint choice experiments design was used to examine the monetary value of the willingness to pay for E-book Reader's attributes. Conjoint analysis is an efficient, cost-effective, and most widely used quantitative method in marketing research to understand consumer preferences and value trade-off. Value can be interpreted by customer or consumer as the received of multiple benefits from a price that was paid. The monetary value of willingness to pay for battery life, internal memory, external memory, screen size, text to Speech, touch screen, and converting handwriting to digital text of E-book reader were estimated in this study. Due to the significant interaction effect of the attributes with the price, the monetary values for the seven attributes were found to be different at different values of odds of purchasing versus not purchasing. The significant interactions effects were one of the main contribution of the partially confounded factorial conjoint choice experiment.

Pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis, fluid therapy, and cerebral injury: the design of a factorial randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Glaser, Nicole S; Ghetti, Simona; Casper, T Charles; Dean, J Michael; Kuppermann, Nathan

2013-09-01

Treatment protocols for pediatric diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) vary considerably among centers in the USA and worldwide. The optimal protocol for intravenous (IV) fluid administration is an area of particular controversy, mainly in regard to possible associations between rates of IV fluid infusion and the development of cerebral edema (CE), the most common and the most feared complication of DKA in children. Theoretical concerns about associations between osmotic fluid shifts and CE have prompted recommendations for conservative fluid infusion during DKA. However, recent data suggest that cerebral hypoperfusion may play a role in cerebral injury associated with DKA. Currently, there are no existing data from prospective clinical trials to determine the optimal fluid treatment protocol for pediatric DKA. The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network FLUID (FLuid therapies Under Investigation in DKA) study is the first prospective randomized trial to evaluate fluid regimens for pediatric DKA. This 13-center nationwide factorial design study will evaluate the effects of rehydration rate and fluid sodium content on neurological status during DKA treatment, the frequency of clinically overt CE and long-term neurocognitive outcomes following DKA. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Toward precision smoking cessation treatment I: Moderator results from a factorial experiment.

PubMed

Piper, Megan E; Schlam, Tanya R; Cook, Jessica W; Smith, Stevens S; Bolt, Daniel M; Loh, Wei-Yin; Mermelstein, Robin; Collins, Linda M; Fiore, Michael C; Baker, Timothy B

2017-02-01

The development of tobacco use treatments that are effective for all smokers is critical to improving clinical and public health. The Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) uses highly efficient factorial experiments to evaluate multiple intervention components for possible inclusion in an optimized tobacco use treatment. Factorial experiments permit analyses of the influence of patient characteristics on main and interaction effects of multiple, relatively discrete, intervention components. This study examined whether person-factor and smoking characteristics moderated the main or interactive effects of intervention components on 26-week self-reported abstinence rates. This fractional factorial experiment evaluated six smoking cessation intervention components among primary care patients (N=637): Prequit Nicotine Patch vs. None, Prequit Nicotine Gum vs. None, Preparation Counseling vs. None, Intensive Cessation In-Person Counseling vs. Minimal, Intensive Cessation Telephone Counseling vs. Minimal, and 16 vs. 8 Weeks of Combination Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT; nicotine patch+nicotine gum). Both psychiatric history and smoking heaviness moderated intervention component effects. In comparison with participants with no self-reported history of a psychiatric disorder, those with a positive history showed better response to 16- vs. 8-weeks of combination NRT, but a poorer response to counseling interventions. Also, in contrast to light smokers, heavier smokers showed a poorer response to counseling interventions. Heavy smokers and those with psychiatric histories demonstrated a differential response to intervention components. This research illustrates the use of factorial designs to examine the interactions between person characteristics and relatively discrete intervention components. Future research is needed to replicate these findings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cameo: A Python Library for Computer Aided Metabolic Engineering and Optimization of Cell Factories.

PubMed

Cardoso, João G R; Jensen, Kristian; Lieven, Christian; Lærke Hansen, Anne Sofie; Galkina, Svetlana; Beber, Moritz; Özdemir, Emre; Herrgård, Markus J; Redestig, Henning; Sonnenschein, Nikolaus

2018-04-20

Computational systems biology methods enable rational design of cell factories on a genome-scale and thus accelerate the engineering of cells for the production of valuable chemicals and proteins. Unfortunately, the majority of these methods' implementations are either not published, rely on proprietary software, or do not provide documented interfaces, which has precluded their mainstream adoption in the field. In this work we present cameo, a platform-independent software that enables in silico design of cell factories and targets both experienced modelers as well as users new to the field. It is written in Python and implements state-of-the-art methods for enumerating and prioritizing knockout, knock-in, overexpression, and down-regulation strategies and combinations thereof. Cameo is an open source software project and is freely available under the Apache License 2.0. A dedicated Web site including documentation, examples, and installation instructions can be found at http://cameo.bio . Users can also give cameo a try at http://try.cameo.bio .

Unique Study Designs in Nephrology: N-of-1 Trials and Other Designs.

PubMed

Samuel, Joyce P; Bell, Cynthia S

2016-11-01

Alternatives to the traditional parallel-group trial design may be required to answer clinical questions in special populations, rare conditions, or with limited resources. N-of-1 trials are a unique trial design which can inform personalized evidence-based decisions for the patient when data from traditional clinical trials are lacking or not generalizable. A concise overview of factorial design, cluster randomization, adaptive designs, crossover studies, and n-of-1 trials will be provided along with pertinent examples in nephrology. The indication for analysis strategies such as equivalence and noninferiority trials will be discussed, as well as analytic pitfalls. Copyright © 2016 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Walking Interventions Through Texting (WalkIT) Trial: Rationale, Design, and Protocol for a Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial of Adaptive Interventions for Overweight and Obese, Inactive Adults.

PubMed

Hurley, Jane C; Hollingshead, Kevin E; Todd, Michael; Jarrett, Catherine L; Tucker, Wesley J; Angadi, Siddhartha S; Adams, Marc A

2015-09-11

Walking is a widely accepted and frequently targeted health promotion approach to increase physical activity (PA). Interventions to increase PA have produced only small improvements. Stronger and more potent behavioral intervention components are needed to increase time spent in PA, improve cardiometabolic risk markers, and optimize health. Our aim is to present the rationale and methods from the WalkIT Trial, a 4-month factorial randomized controlled trial (RCT) in inactive, overweight/obese adults. The main purpose of the study was to evaluate whether intensive adaptive components result in greater improvements to adults' PA compared to the static intervention components. Participants enrolled in a 2x2 factorial RCT and were assigned to one of four semi-automated, text message-based walking interventions. Experimental components included adaptive versus static steps/day goals, and immediate versus delayed reinforcement. Principles of percentile shaping and behavioral economics were used to operationalize experimental components. A Fitbit Zip measured the main outcome: participants' daily physical activity (steps and cadence) over the 4-month duration of the study. Secondary outcomes included self-reported PA, psychosocial outcomes, aerobic fitness, and cardiorespiratory risk factors assessed pre/post in a laboratory setting. Participants were recruited through email listservs and websites affiliated with the university campus, community businesses and local government, social groups, and social media advertising. This study has completed data collection as of December 2014, but data cleaning and preliminary analyses are still in progress. We expect to complete analysis of the main outcomes in late 2015 to early 2016. The Walking Interventions through Texting (WalkIT) Trial will further the understanding of theory-based intervention components to increase the PA of men and women who are healthy, insufficiently active and are overweight or obese. WalkIT is one of

Influence of the Formulation Parameters on the Particle Size and Encapsulation Efficiency of Resveratrol in PLA and PLA-PEG Blend Nanoparticles: A Factorial Design.

PubMed

Lindner, Gabriela da Rocha; Dalmolin, Luciana Facco; Khalil, Najeh Maissar; Mainardes, Rubiana Mara

2015-12-01

Polymeric nanoparticles are colloidal systems that promote protection and modification of physicochemical characteristics of a drug and that also ensure controlled and extended drug release. This paper reports a 2(3) factorial design study to optimize poly(lactide) (PLA) and poly(lactide)-polyethylene glycol (PLA-PEG) blend nanoparticles containing resveratrol (RVT) for prolonged release. The independent variables analyzed were solvent composition, surfactant concentration and ratio of aqueous to organic phase (two levels each factor). Mean particle size and RVT encapsulation efficiency were set as the dependent variables. The selected optimized parameters were set as organic phase comprised of a mixture of dichloromethane and ethyl acetate, 1% of surfactant polyvinyl alcohol and a 3:1 ratio of aqueous to organic phase, for both PLA and PLA-PEG blend nanoparticles. This formulation originated nanoparticles with size of 228 ± 10 nm and 185 ± 70 nm and RVT encapsulation efficiency of 82 ± 10% and 76 ± 7% for PLA and PLA-PEG blend nanoparticles, respectively. The in vitro release study showed a biphasic pattern with prolonged RVT release and PEG did not influence the RVT release. The in vitro release data were in favor of Higuchi-diffusion kinetics for both nanoformulations and the Kossmeyer-Peppas coefficient indicated that anomalous transport was the main release mechanism of RVT. PLA and PLA-PEG blend nanoparticles produced with single emulsion-solvent evaporation technology were found to be a promising approach for the incorporation of RVT and promoted its controlled release. The factorial design is a tool of great value in choosing formulations with optimized parameters.

Structural and functional analysis of virus factories purified from Rabbit vesivirus-infected Vero cells.

PubMed

Casais, Rosa; Molleda, Lorenzo González; Machín, Angeles; del Barrio, Gloria; Manso, Alberto García; Dalton, Kevin P; Coto, Ana; Alonso, José Manuel Martín; Prieto, Miguel; Parra, Francisco

2008-10-01

Rabbit vesivirus infection induces membrane modifications and accumulation of vesicular structures in the cytoplasm of infected Vero cells. Crude RaV replication complexes (RCs) have been purified and their structural and functional properties have been characterized. We show that calnexin, an ER-resident protein, RaV non-structural proteins 2AB-, 2C-, 3A-, 3B- and 3CD-like as well as viral RNAs co-localize within membranous structures which are able to replicate the endogenous RNA templates. The purified virus factories protected their viral RNA contents from microccocal nuclease degradation and were inaccessible to exogenously added synthetic transcripts. In addition, we have shown that RCs can be used to investigate uridylylation of native endogenous VPg. In contrast to the observation that the virus factories were inaccessible to RNAs, RCs were accessible to added recombinant VPg which was subsequently nucleotidylylated. Nevertheless no elongation of an RNA chain attached to native or recombinant VPg could be demonstrated.

A workplace intervention program and the increase in HIV knowledge, perceived accessibility and use of condoms among young factory workers in Thailand.

PubMed

Chamratrithirong, Aphichat; Ford, Kathleen; Punpuing, Sureeporn; Prasartkul, Pramote

2017-12-01

Vulnerability to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection among factory workers is a global problem. This study investigated the effectiveness of an intervention to increase AIDS knowledge, perceived accessibility to condoms and condom use among young factory workers in Thailand. The intervention was a workplace program designed to engage the private sector in HIV prevention. A cross-sectional survey conducted in 2008 to measure program outcomes in factories in Thailand was used in this study. The workplace intervention included the development of policies for management of HIV-positive employees, training sessions for managers and workers, and distribution of educational materials and condoms. A multi-level analysis was used to investigate the effect of HIV/AIDS prevention program components at the workplace on HIV/AIDS knowledge, perceived accessibility to condoms and condom use with regular sexual partners among 699 young factory workers (aged 18-24 years), controlling for their individual socio-demographic characteristics. Interventions related to the management and services component including workplace AIDS policy formulation, condom services programs and behavioral change campaigns were found to be significantly related to increased AIDS knowledge, perceived accessibility to condoms and condom use with regular partners. The effect of the HIV/AIDS training for managers, peer leaders and workers was positive but not statistically significant. With some revision of program components, scaling up of workplace interventions and the engagement of the private sector in HIV prevention should be seriously considered.

Occupational hazards and safety measures amongst the paint factory workers in lagos, Nigeria.

PubMed

Awodele, Olufunsho; Popoola, Temidayo D; Ogbudu, Bawo S; Akinyede, Akin; Coker, Herbert A B; Akintonwa, Alade

2014-06-01

The manufacture of paint involves a variety of processes that present with medical hazards. Safety initiatives are hence introduced to limit hazard exposures and promote workplace safety. This aim of this study is to assess the use of available control measures/initiatives in selected paint factories in Lagos West Senatorial District, Nigeria. A total of 400 randomly selected paint factory workers were involved in the study. A well-structured World Health Organization standard questionnaire was designed and distributed to the workers to elicit information on awareness to occupational hazards, use of personal protective devices, and commonly experienced adverse symptoms. Urine samples were obtained from 50 workers randomly selected from these 400 participants, and the concentrations of the heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic, and chromium) were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results show that 72.5% of the respondents are aware of the hazards associated with their jobs; 30% have had formal training on hazards and safety measures; 40% do not use personal protective devices, and 90% of the respondents reported symptoms relating to hazard exposure. There was a statistically significant (p < 0.05) increase in the mean heavy metal concentrations in the urine samples obtained from paint factory workers as compared with nonfactory workers. The need to develop effective frameworks that will initiate the integration and ensure implementation of safety regulations in paint factories is evident. Where these exist, there is a need to promote adherence to these practice guidelines.

Efficiency in Complexity: Composition and Dynamic Nature of Mimivirus Replication Factories

PubMed Central

Milrot, Elad; Mutsafi, Yael; Ben-Dor, Shifra; Levin, Yishai; Savidor, Alon; Kartvelishvily, Elena

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT The recent discovery of multiple giant double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) viruses blurred the consensual distinction between viruses and cells due to their size, as well as to their structural and genetic complexity. A dramatic feature revealed by these viruses as well as by many positive-strand RNA viruses is their ability to rapidly form elaborate intracellular organelles, termed “viral factories,” where viral progeny are continuously generated. Here we report the first isolation of viral factories at progressive postinfection time points. The isolated factories were subjected to mass spectrometry-based proteomics, bioinformatics, and imaging analyses. These analyses revealed that numerous viral proteins are present in the factories but not in mature virions, thus implying that multiple and diverse proteins are required to promote the efficiency of viral factories as “production lines” of viral progeny. Moreover, our results highlight the dynamic and highly complex nature of viral factories, provide new and general insights into viral infection, and substantiate the intriguing notion that viral factories may represent the living state of viruses. IMPORTANCE Large dsDNA viruses such as vaccinia virus and the giant mimivirus, as well as many positive-strand RNA viruses, generate elaborate cytoplasmic organelles in which the multiple and diverse transactions required for viral replication and assembly occur. These organelles, which were termed “viral factories,” are attracting much interest due to the increasing realization that the rapid and continuous production of viral progeny is a direct outcome of the elaborate structure and composition of the factories, which act as efficient production lines. To get new insights into the nature and function of viral factories, we devised a method that allows, for the first time, the isolation of these organelles. Analyses of the isolated factories generated at different times postinfection by mass spectrometry

Mathematical models of cell factories: moving towards the core of industrial biotechnology.

PubMed

Cvijovic, Marija; Bordel, Sergio; Nielsen, Jens

2011-09-01

Industrial biotechnology involves the utilization of cell factories for the production of fuels and chemicals. Traditionally, the development of highly productive microbial strains has relied on random mutagenesis and screening. The development of predictive mathematical models provides a new paradigm for the rational design of cell factories. Instead of selecting among a set of strains resulting from random mutagenesis, mathematical models allow the researchers to predict in silico the outcomes of different genetic manipulations and engineer new strains by performing gene deletions or additions leading to a higher productivity of the desired chemicals. In this review we aim to summarize the main modelling approaches of biological processes and illustrate the particular applications that they have found in the field of industrial microbiology. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Engineering Robustness of Microbial Cell Factories.

PubMed

Gong, Zhiwei; Nielsen, Jens; Zhou, Yongjin J

2017-10-01

Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology offer great prospects in developing microbial cell factories capable of converting renewable feedstocks into fuels, chemicals, food ingredients, and pharmaceuticals. However, prohibitively low production rate and mass concentration remain the major hurdles in industrial processes even though the biosynthetic pathways are comprehensively optimized. These limitations are caused by a variety of factors unamenable for host cell survival, such as harsh industrial conditions, fermentation inhibitors from biomass hydrolysates, and toxic compounds including metabolic intermediates and valuable target products. Therefore, engineered microbes with robust phenotypes is essential for achieving higher yield and productivity. In this review, the recent advances in engineering robustness and tolerance of cell factories is described to cope with these issues and briefly introduce novel strategies with great potential to enhance the robustness of cell factories, including metabolic pathway balancing, transporter engineering, and adaptive laboratory evolution. This review also highlights the integration of advanced systems and synthetic biology principles toward engineering the harmony of overall cell function, more than the specific pathways or enzymes. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Study on effects of E-glass fiber hybrid composites enhanced with multi-walled carbon nanotubes under tensile load using full factorial design of experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Musthak, Md.; Madhavi, M.; Ahsanullah, F. M.

2017-08-01

Carbon nanotubes (CNT's) are attracting scientific and industrial interest by virtue of their outstanding characteristics. The present research problem deals with the fabrication and characterization of E-glass fiber composites enhanced by carbon nanotubes. In the present study, three factors with two levels are considered. Hence, the design is called 23 full factorial design of experiment. The process parameters considered for the present problem are weight of multi-walled carbon nanotubes, process to disperse nano-particles in resin, and orientation of woven fabric. In addition, their levels considered for the experiment are higher level (+1) and lower level (-1). Fabrication of E-glass fiber composites was carried out according to design, and the specimens were prepared with respect to the ASTM standards D3039-76 and tensile testing was performed. The results show that the nano-particulated composite plate can be manufactured by considering lower level nano-particles stirred with probe sonicator and plied-up with hybrid orientation.

Using Job Analytic Perceptions to Predict Stressor Levels among Factory Supervisors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Love, Kevin G.; And Others

Job stress is recognized as a primary roadblock to achieving job satisfaction. In order to investigate the linkage between important job characteristics and stressor levels, 378 factory supervisors (aged 45-54; 89 percent male; 93 percent white with an average of 21 years with the company) completed a two-part job analysis questionnaire. In the…

Custom fractional factorial designs to develop atorvastatin self-nanoemulsifying and nanosuspension delivery systems--enhancement of oral bioavailability.

PubMed

Hashem, Fahima M; Al-Sawahli, Majid M; Nasr, Mohamed; Ahmed, Osama A A

2015-01-01

Poor water solubility of a drug is a major challenge in drug delivery research and a main cause for limited bioavailability and pharmacokinetic parameters. This work aims to utilize custom fractional factorial design to assess the development of self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) and solid nanosuspensions (NS) in order to enhance the oral delivery of atorvastatin (ATR). According to the design, 14 experimental runs of ATR SNEDDS were formulated utilizing the highly ATR solubilizing SNEDDS components: oleic acid, Tween 80, and propylene glycol. In addition, 12 runs of NS were formulated by the antisolvent precipitation-ultrasonication method. Optimized formulations of SNEDDS and solid NS, deduced from the design, were characterized. Optimized SNEDDS formula exhibited mean globule size of 73.5 nm, zeta potential magnitude of -24.1 mV, and 13.5 μs/cm of electrical conductivity. Optimized solid NS formula exhibited mean particle size of 260.3 nm, 7.4 mV of zeta potential, and 93.2% of yield percentage. Transmission electron microscopy showed SNEDDS droplets formula as discrete spheres. The solid NS morphology showed flaky nanoparticles with irregular shapes using scanning electron microscopy. The release behavior of the optimized SNEDDS formula showed 56.78% of cumulative ATR release after 10 minutes. Solid NS formula showed lower rate of release in the first 30 minutes. Bioavailability estimation in Wistar albino rats revealed an augmentation in ATR bioavailability, relative to ATR suspension and the commercial tablets, from optimized ATR SNEDDS and NS formulations by 193.81% and 155.31%, respectively. The findings of this work showed that the optimized nanocarriers enhance the oral delivery and pharmacokinetic profile of ATR.

Myc Dynamically and Preferentially Relocates to a Transcription Factory Occupied by Igh

PubMed Central

Osborne, Cameron S; Chakalova, Lyubomira; Mitchell, Jennifer A; Horton, Alice; Wood, Andrew L; Bolland, Daniel J; Corcoran, Anne E; Fraser, Peter

2007-01-01

Transcription in mammalian nuclei is highly compartmentalized in RNA polymerase II-enriched nuclear foci known as transcription factories. Genes in cis and trans can share the same factory, suggesting that genes migrate to preassembled transcription sites. We used fluorescent in situ hybridization to investigate the dynamics of gene association with transcription factories during immediate early (IE) gene induction in mouse B lymphocytes. Here, we show that induction involves rapid gene relocation to transcription factories. Importantly, we find that the Myc proto-oncogene on Chromosome 15 is preferentially recruited to the same transcription factory as the highly transcribed Igh gene located on Chromosome 12. Myc and Igh are the most frequent translocation partners in plasmacytoma and Burkitt lymphoma. Our results show that transcriptional activation of IE genes involves rapid relocation to preassembled transcription factories. Furthermore, the data imply a direct link between the nonrandom interchromosomal organization of transcribed genes at transcription factories and the incidence of specific chromosomal translocations. PMID:17622196

Factory overload testing of a large power transformer

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

Douglas, D.H.; Lawrence, C.O.; Templeton, J.B.

1985-09-01

A factory overload test of up to 150% of the nameplate rating was run on a 224 MVA autotransformer. The results of this test were of great value and were used in identifying transformer overload limitations, in evaluating loading guide oil and winding equations, exponents and time constants, and in helping to perfect a factory overload test procedure.

Hazardous factories: Nigerian evidence.

PubMed

Oloyede, Olajide

2005-06-01

The past 15 years have seen an increasing governmental and corporate concern for the environment worldwide. For governments, information about the environmental performance of the industrial sector is required to inform macro-level decisions about environmental targets such as those required to meet UN directives. However, in many African, Asian, and Latin American countries, researching and reporting company environmental performance is limited. This article serves as a contribution to filling the gap by presenting evidence of physical and chemical risk in Nigerian factories. One hundred and three factories with a total of 5,021 workers were studied. One hundred and twenty physical and chemical hazards were identified and the result shows a high number of workers exposed to such hazards. The study also reveals that workers' awareness level of chemical hazards was high. Yet the danger was perceived in behavioral terms, especially by manufacturing firms, which tend to see environmental investment in an increasingly global economy as detrimental to profitability.

Evaluating treatment of obstructive sleep apnea comorbid with insomnia disorder using an incomplete factorial design

PubMed Central

Crawford, Megan R.; Turner, Arlener D.; Wyatt, James K.; Fogg, Louis F.; Ong, Jason C.

2016-01-01

Chronic insomnia disorder is a prevalent condition and a significant proportion of these individuals also have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). These two sleep disorders have distinct pathophysiology and are managed with different treatment approaches. High comorbidity rates have been a catalyst for emerging studies examining multidisciplinary treatment for OSA comorbid with insomnia disorder. In this article, we describe a randomized clinical trial of Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for insomnia (CBT-I) and Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) for OSA. Participants are randomized to receive one of three treatment combinations. Individuals randomized to treatment Arm A receive sequential treatment beginning with CBT-I followed by PAP, in treatment Arm B CBT-I and PAP are administered concurrently. These treatment arms are compared to a control condition, treatment Arm C, where individuals receive PAP alone. Adopting an incomplete factorial study design will allow us to evaluate the efficacy of multidisciplinary treatment (Arms A & B) versus standard treatment alone (Arm C). In addition, the random allocation of individuals to the two different combined treatment sequences (Arm A and Arm B) will allow us to understand the benefits of the sequential administration of CBT-I and PAP relative to concurrent treatment of PAP and CBT-I. These findings will provide evidence of the clinical benefits of treating insomnia disorder in the context of OSA. PMID:26733360

[Heavy metals distribution characteristics and risk assessment of water below an electroplating factory].

PubMed

Hang, Xiao-Shuai; Wang, Huo-Yan; Zhou, Jian-Min

2008-10-01

Surface water and shallow groundwater within the flow of an electroplating factory was analyzed in order to study the resulting impact. The analysis method of ICP-AES was used to analyze content of zinc, manganese, chromium, copper and nickel in surface water and groundwater samples. The results indicate acidic pollutants of zinc, manganese, chromium, copper and nickel were discharged from the factory with concentrations of 1.34, 3.77, 28.1, 6.40 and 9.37 mg x L(-1), respectively; and pH was 2.32. They all exceeded permissible levels according to Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard except zinc. Factory discharge is responsible for the longitudinal distribution characteristics of heavy metals in the stream water downstream from the factory. Heavy metals variations in the well water do not suggest they were affected by heavy metals in the stream, indicating that the migration rates of heavy metals in soils were relatively low. Risk assessment shows surface water quality significantly deteriorated. Nickel and manganese in the stream water exceeded the standard levels seriously, and chromium and copper in some samples were also above Grade III standard levels according to Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water. Moreover, all studied heavy metals in 14 groundwater samples measured within drinking water standard, except manganese in 4 groundwater samples, which were Grade IV according to Quality Standard for Ground water.

Congruences for central factorial numbers modulo powers of prime.

PubMed

Wang, Haiqing; Liu, Guodong

2016-01-01

Central factorial numbers are more closely related to the Stirling numbers than the other well-known special numbers, and they play a major role in a variety of branches of mathematics. In the present paper we prove some interesting congruences for central factorial numbers.

Theoretical Development, Factorial Validity, and Reliability of the Online Graduate Mentoring Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crawford, Linda M.; Randolph, Justus J.; Yob, Iris M.

2014-01-01

In this study, we sought to confirm the theoretical framework underlying an Online Graduate Mentoring Scale by establishing the scale's factorial validity and reliability. Analysis of data received from doctoral students and alumni/ae of the College of Education of one large, online, accredited university reduced the initial theoretical…

Total fume and metal concentrations during welding in selected factories in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

PubMed

Balkhyour, Mansour Ahmed; Goknil, Mohammad Khalid

2010-07-01

Welding is a major industrial process used for joining metals. Occupational exposure to welding fumes is a serious occupational health problem all over the world. The degree of risk to welder's health from fumes depends on composition, concentration, and the length of exposure. The aim of this study was to investigate workers' welding fume exposure levels in some industries in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In each factory, the air in the breathing zone within 0.5 m from welders was sampled during 8-hour shifts. Total particulates, manganese, copper, and molybdenum concentrations of welding fumes were determined. Mean values of eight-hour average particulate concentrations measured during welding at the welders breathing zone were 6.3 mg/m(3) (Factory 1), 5.3 mg/m(3) (Factory 2), 11.3 mg/m(3) (Factory 3), 6.8 mg/m(3) (Factory 4), 4.7 mg/m(3) (Factory 5), and 3.0 mg/m(3) (Factory 6). Mean values of airborne manganese, copper, and molybdenum levels measured during welding were in the range of 0.010 mg/m(3)-0.477 mg/m(3), 0.001 mg/m(3)-0.080 mg/m(3) and 0.001 mg/m(3)-0.058 mg/m(3) respectively. Mean values of calculated equivalent exposure values were: 1.50 (Factory 1), 1.56 (Factory 2), 5.14 (Factory 3), 2.21 (Factory 4), 2.89 (Factory 5), and 1.20 (Factory 6). The welders in factories 1, 2, 3, and 4 were exposed to welding fume concentration above the SASO limit value, which may increase the risk of respiratory health problems.

Enhancing EPA Content in an Arctic Diatom: A Factorial Design Study to Evaluate Interactive Effects of Growth Factors.

PubMed

Steinrücken, Pia; Mjøs, Svein A; Prestegard, Siv K; Erga, Svein R

2018-01-01

Microalgae with a high content of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are of great demand for microalgae-based technologies. An Arctic strain of the diatom Attheya septentrionalis was shown in previous experiments to increase its EPA content from 3.0 to 4.6% of dry weight (DW) in the nutrient-replete exponential phase and nutrient-depleted stationary phase, respectively. In the present study, a factorial-design experiment was used, to investigate this effect in more detail and in combination with varying salinities and irradiances. A mathematical model revealed that both growth phase and salinity, alone and in combination, influenced the EPA content significantly. Maximum EPA values of 7.1% DW were obtained at a salinity of 22 and after 5 days in stationary phase, and might be related to a decreased silica content, an accumulation of storage lipids containing EPA, or both. However, growth rates were lower for low salinity (0.54 and 0.57 d -1 ) than high salinity (0.77 and 0.98 d -1 ) cultures.

Treatment of municipal landfill leachate by catalytic wet air oxidation: Assessment of the role of operating parameters by factorial design

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

Anglada, Angela; Urtiaga, Ane; Ortiz, Inmaculada

2011-08-15

Highlights: > Landfill leachates can be treated effectively by catalytic wet oxidation. > Addition of H{sub 2}O{sub 2} in the presence of transition metals promotes degradation. > Factorial design evaluates the statistically significant operating conditions. > H{sub 2}O{sub 2}, reaction time and temperature are critical in determining performance. - Abstract: The wet air oxidation (WAO) of municipal landfill leachate catalyzed by cupric ions and promoted by hydrogen peroxide was investigated. The effect of operating conditions such as WAO treatment time (15-30 min), temperature (160-200 deg. C), Cu{sup 2+} concentration (250-750 mg L{sup -1}) and H{sub 2}O{sub 2} concentration (0-1500 mgmore » L{sup -1}) on chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal was investigated by factorial design considering a two-stage, sequential process comprising the heating-up of the reactor and the actual WAO. The leachate, at an initial COD of 4920 mg L{sup -1}, was acidified to pH 3 leading to 31% COD decrease presumably due to the coagulation/precipitation of colloidal and other organic matter. During the 45 min long heating-up period of the WAO reactor under an inert atmosphere, COD removal values up to 35% (based on the initial COD value) were recorded as a result of the catalytic decomposition of H{sub 2}O{sub 2} to reactive hydroxyl radicals. WAO at 2.5 MPa oxygen partial pressure advanced treatment further; for example, 22 min of oxidation at 200 deg. C, 250 mg L{sup -1} Cu{sup 2+} and 0-1500 mg L{sup -1} H{sub 2}O{sub 2} resulted in an overall (i.e. including acidification and heating-up) COD reduction of 78%. Amongst the operating variables in question, temperature had the strongest influence on both the heating-up and WAO stages, while H{sub 2}O{sub 2} concentration strongly affected the former and reaction time the latter. Nonetheless, the effects of temperature and H{sub 2}O{sub 2} concentration were found to depend on the concentration levels of catalyst as suggested by the

Incense and joss stick making in small household factories, Thailand.

PubMed

Siripanich, S; Siriwong, W; Keawrueang, P; Borjan, M; Robson, M

2014-07-01

Incense and joss stick are generally used in the world. Most products were made in small household factories. There are many environmental and occupational hazards in these factories. To evaluate the workplace environmental and occupational hazards in small household incense and joss stick factories in Roi-Et, Thailand. Nine small household factories in rural areas of Roi-Et, Thailand, were studied. Dust concentration and small aerosol particles were counted through real time exposure monitoring. The inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) was used for quantitative measurement of heavy metal residue in incense products. Several heavy metals were found in dissolved dye and joss sticks. Those included barium, manganese, and lead. Rolling and shaking processes produced the highest concentration of dust and aerosols. Only 3.9% of female workers used personal protection equipment. Dust and chemicals were major threats in small household incense and joss stick factories in Thailand. Increasing awareness towards using personal protection equipment and emphasis on elimination of environmental workplace hazards should be considered to help the workers of this industry.

The Democritos Movement Screening Tool for Preschool Children (DEMOST-PRE©): development and factorial validity.

PubMed

Kambas, Antonis; Venetsanou, Fotini

2014-07-01

The aim of this study was (a) to develop an assessment tool (the Democritos Movement Screening Tool for Preschool Children - DEMOST-PRE), designed to provide preschool educators, clinicians and researchers with information about assessment and screening of the motor proficiency of children aged 4-6 years, as well as the development and control of movement programmes and (b) to assess its factorial validity. First, tool's content and face validity were established and its final structure was determined. Then, the DEMOST-PRE was administered to 435 children (197 girls) aged 48-71 months (M=60.48 months, SD=6.98). The factor analysis conducted revealed two distinct components. Present evidence combined with the DEMOST-PRE administrative traits make it promising for preschool aged children's assessment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

BPM Breakdown Potential in the PEP-II B-factory Storage Ring Collider

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

Weathersby, Stephen; Novokhatski, Alexander; /SLAC

2010-02-10

High current B-Factory BPM designs incorporate a button type electrode which introduces a small gap between the button and the beam chamber. For achievable currents and bunch lengths, simulations indicate that electric potentials can be induced in this gap which are comparable to the breakdown voltage. This study characterizes beam induced voltages in the existing PEP-II storage ring collider BPM as a function of bunch length and beam current.

Toroidal magnetized iron neutrino detector for a neutrino factory

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

Bross, A.; Wands, R.; Bayes, R.

2013-08-01

A neutrino factory has unparalleled physics reach for the discovery and measurement of CP violation in the neutrino sector. A far detector for a neutrino factory must have good charge identification with excellent background rejection and a large mass. An elegant solution is to construct a magnetized iron neutrino detector (MIND) along the lines of MINOS, where iron plates provide a toroidal magnetic field and scintillator planes provide 3D space points. In this report, the current status of a simulation of a toroidal MIND for a neutrino factory is discussed in light of the recent measurements of largemore » $$\\theta_{13}$$. The response and performance using the 10 GeV neutrino factory configuration are presented. It is shown that this setup has equivalent $$\\delta_{CP}$$ reach to a MIND with a dipole field and is sensitive to the discovery of CP violation over 85% of the values of $$\\delta_{CP}$$.« less

Arcnet(R) On-Fiber -- A Viable Factory Automation Alternative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karlin, Geof; Tucker, Carol S.

1987-01-01

Manufacturers need to improve their operating methods and increase their productivity so they can compete successfully in the marketplace. This goal can be achieved through factory automation, and the key to this automation is successful data base management and factory integration. However, large scale factory automation and integration requires effective communications, and this has given rise to an interest in various Local Area Networks or LANs. In a completely integrated and automated factory, the entire organization must have access to the data base, and all departments and functions must be able to communicate with each other. Traditionally, these departments and functions use incompatible equipment, and the ability to make such equipment communicate presents numerous problems. ARCNET, a token-passing LAN which has a significant presence in the office environment today, coupled with fiber optic cable, the cable of the future, provide an effective, low-cost solution to a number of these problems.

Factorial Structure of Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale among Crack-Cocaine Drug Users.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Jichuan; Siegal, Harvey A.; Falck, Russell S.; Carlson, Robert G.

2001-01-01

Used nine different confirmatory factor analysis models to test the factorial structure of Rosenberg's (M. Rosenberg, 1965) self-esteem scale with a sample of 430 crack-cocaine users. Results partly support earlier research to show a single global self-esteem factor underlying responses to the Rosenberg scale, method effects associated with item…

Factorial validation of the Attitudes toward Women Scale for Adolescents (AWSA) in assessing sexual behaviour patterns in Bolivian and Ecuadorian adolescents

PubMed Central

Jaruseviciene, Lina; De Meyer, Sara; Decat, Peter; Zaborskis, Apolinaras; Degomme, Olivier; Rojas, Mildrett; Hagens, Salazar Arnold; Auquilla, Nancy; Vega, Bernardo; Gorter, Anna C.; Orozco, Miguel; Lazarus, Jeffrey V.

2014-01-01

Background Adolescents’ health is greatly influenced by social determinants, including gender norms. Although research has shown that there is an association between gender attitudes and adolescents’ sexual behaviour, few studies have assessed this relationship carefully. The Attitudes toward Women Scale for Adolescents (AWSA) is widely used to assess gender attitudes among adolescents; however, to our knowledge it has not been applied in Latin America. Objective To apply AWSA in Latin America for the first time, to perform a factorial validation of this scale and to assess the relationship of gender attitudes and sexual behaviour in Bolivian and Ecuadorian adolescents. Design This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2011 among 14–18 year olds in 20 high schools in Cochabamba (Bolivia) and six in Cuenca (Ecuador) as a part of a larger project. Schools were purposively selected. A Spanish version of the 12-item AWSA was employed for this study. The assessed aspects of adolescent sexual behaviour were: reported sexual intercourse, reported positive experience during last sexual intercourse and reported current use of contraception. The psychometric properties of AWSA were investigated, and both explanatory and confirmatory factorial analyses were performed. Results The number of questionnaires included in the analysis was 3,518 in Bolivia and 2,401 in Ecuador. A factorial analysis of AWSA resulted in three factors: power dimension (PD), equality dimension (ED) and behavioural dimension (BD). ED showed the highest correlates with adolescent sexual behaviour. Higher scores of this dimension were associated with a more positive experience of sexual relationships, a higher current use of modern contraception and greater sexual activity among girls. Conclusions This study revealed a three-factorial structure of AWSA and demonstrated that by employing factors, the sensitivity of AWSA increases as compared to using the scale as a whole to assess sexual behaviour

Assessment of parameter uncertainty in hydrological model using a Markov-Chain-Monte-Carlo-based multilevel-factorial-analysis method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Junlong; Li, Yongping; Huang, Guohe; Chen, Xi; Bao, Anming

2016-07-01

Without a realistic assessment of parameter uncertainty, decision makers may encounter difficulties in accurately describing hydrologic processes and assessing relationships between model parameters and watershed characteristics. In this study, a Markov-Chain-Monte-Carlo-based multilevel-factorial-analysis (MCMC-MFA) method is developed, which can not only generate samples of parameters from a well constructed Markov chain and assess parameter uncertainties with straightforward Bayesian inference, but also investigate the individual and interactive effects of multiple parameters on model output through measuring the specific variations of hydrological responses. A case study is conducted for addressing parameter uncertainties in the Kaidu watershed of northwest China. Effects of multiple parameters and their interactions are quantitatively investigated using the MCMC-MFA with a three-level factorial experiment (totally 81 runs). A variance-based sensitivity analysis method is used to validate the results of parameters' effects. Results disclose that (i) soil conservation service runoff curve number for moisture condition II (CN2) and fraction of snow volume corresponding to 50% snow cover (SNO50COV) are the most significant factors to hydrological responses, implying that infiltration-excess overland flow and snow water equivalent represent important water input to the hydrological system of the Kaidu watershed; (ii) saturate hydraulic conductivity (SOL_K) and soil evaporation compensation factor (ESCO) have obvious effects on hydrological responses; this implies that the processes of percolation and evaporation would impact hydrological process in this watershed; (iii) the interactions of ESCO and SNO50COV as well as CN2 and SNO50COV have an obvious effect, implying that snow cover can impact the generation of runoff on land surface and the extraction of soil evaporative demand in lower soil layers. These findings can help enhance the hydrological model

1. GENERAL VIEW OF COMPLEX, SHOWING FACTORY BUILDING IN LEFT ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

1. GENERAL VIEW OF COMPLEX, SHOWING FACTORY BUILDING IN LEFT FOREGROUND, GRINDING PLATFORM AT REAR OF FACTORY, AND STABLE AREA AND OVERSEER'S HOUSE TO RIGHT - Caneel Bay Plantation, General Views, Cruz Bay, St. John, VI

The Walking Interventions Through Texting (WalkIT) Trial: Rationale, Design, and Protocol for a Factorial Randomized Controlled Trial of Adaptive Interventions for Overweight and Obese, Inactive Adults

PubMed Central

Hurley, Jane C; Hollingshead, Kevin E; Todd, Michael; Jarrett, Catherine L; Tucker, Wesley J; Angadi, Siddhartha S

2015-01-01

Background Walking is a widely accepted and frequently targeted health promotion approach to increase physical activity (PA). Interventions to increase PA have produced only small improvements. Stronger and more potent behavioral intervention components are needed to increase time spent in PA, improve cardiometabolic risk markers, and optimize health. Objective Our aim is to present the rationale and methods from the WalkIT Trial, a 4-month factorial randomized controlled trial (RCT) in inactive, overweight/obese adults. The main purpose of the study was to evaluate whether intensive adaptive components result in greater improvements to adults’ PA compared to the static intervention components. Methods Participants enrolled in a 2x2 factorial RCT and were assigned to one of four semi-automated, text message–based walking interventions. Experimental components included adaptive versus static steps/day goals, and immediate versus delayed reinforcement. Principles of percentile shaping and behavioral economics were used to operationalize experimental components. A Fitbit Zip measured the main outcome: participants’ daily physical activity (steps and cadence) over the 4-month duration of the study. Secondary outcomes included self-reported PA, psychosocial outcomes, aerobic fitness, and cardiorespiratory risk factors assessed pre/post in a laboratory setting. Participants were recruited through email listservs and websites affiliated with the university campus, community businesses and local government, social groups, and social media advertising. Results This study has completed data collection as of December 2014, but data cleaning and preliminary analyses are still in progress. We expect to complete analysis of the main outcomes in late 2015 to early 2016. Conclusions The Walking Interventions through Texting (WalkIT) Trial will further the understanding of theory-based intervention components to increase the PA of men and women who are healthy, insufficiently

Microbially induced and microbially catalysed precipitation: two different carbonate factories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meister, Patrick

2016-04-01

The landmark paper by Schlager (2003) has revealed three types of benthic carbonate production referred to as "carbonate factories", operative at different locations at different times in Earth history. The tropical or T-factory comprises the classical platforms and fringing reefs and is dominated by carbonate precipitation by autotrophic calcifying metazoans ("biotically controlled" precipitation). The cool or C-factory is also biotically controlled but via heterotrophic, calcifying metazoans in cold and deep waters at the continental margins. A further type is the mud-mound or M-factory, where carbonate precipitation is supported by microorganisms but not controlled by a specific enzymatic pathway ("biotically induced" precipitation). How exactly the microbes influence precipitation is still poorly understood. Based on recent experimental and field studies, the microbial influence on modern mud mound and microbialite growth includes two fundamentally different processes: (1) Metabolic activity of microbes may increase the saturation state with respect to a particular mineral phase, thereby indirectly driving the precipitation of the mineral phase: microbially induced precipitation. (2) In a situation, where a solution is already supersaturated but precipitation of the mineral is inhibited by a kinetic barrier, microbes may act as a catalyser, i.e. they lower the kinetic barrier: microbially catalysed precipitation. Such a catalytic effect can occur e.g. via secreted polymeric substances or specific chemical groups on the cell surface, at which the minerals nucleate or which facilitate mechanistically the bonding of new ions to the mineral surface. Based on these latest developments in microbialite formation, I propose to extend the scheme of benthic carbonate factories of Schlager et al. (2003) by introducing an additional branch distinguishing microbially induced from microbially catalysed precipitation. Although both mechanisms could be operative in a M-factory

Undergraduate students' initial conceptions of factorials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lockwood, Elise; Erickson, Sarah

2017-05-01

Counting problems offer rich opportunities for students to engage in mathematical thinking, but they can be difficult for students to solve. In this paper, we present a study that examines student thinking about one concept within counting, factorials, which are a key aspect of many combinatorial ideas. In an effort to better understand students' conceptions of factorials, we conducted interviews with 20 undergraduate students. We present a key distinction between computational versus combinatorial conceptions, and we explore three aspects of data that shed light on students' conceptions (their initial characterizations, their definitions of 0!, and their responses to Likert-response questions). We present implications this may have for mathematics educators both within and separate from combinatorics.

Investigation of cadmium pollution in the spruce saplings near the metal production factory.

PubMed

Hashemi, Seyed Armin; Farajpour, Ghasem

2016-02-01

Toxic metals such as lead and cadmium are among the pollutants that are created by the metal production factories and disseminated in the nature. In order to study the quantity of cadmium pollution in the environment of the metal production factories, 50 saplings of the spruce species at the peripheries of the metal production factories were examined and the samples of the leaves, roots, and stems of saplings planted around the factory and the soil of the environment of the factory were studied to investigate pollution with cadmium. They were compared to the soil and saplings of the spruce trees planted outside the factory as observer region. The results showed that the quantity of pollution in the leaves, stems, and roots of the trees planted inside the factory environment were estimated at 1.1, 1.5, and 2.5 mg/kg, respectively, and this indicated a significant difference with the observer region (p < 0.05). The quantity of cadmium in the soil of the peripheries of the metal production factory was estimated at 6.8 mg/kg in the depth of 0-10 cm beneath the level of the soil. The length of roots in the saplings planted around the factory of metal production stood at 11 and 14.5 cm in the observer region which had a significant difference with the observer region (p < 0.05). The quantity of soil resources and spruce species' pollution with cadmium in the region has been influenced by the production processes in the factory. © The Author(s) 2013.

Factory-Calibrated Continuous Glucose Sensors: The Science Behind the Technology.

PubMed

Hoss, Udo; Budiman, Erwin Satrya

2017-05-01

The use of commercially available continuous glucose monitors for diabetes management requires sensor calibrations, which until recently are exclusively performed by the patient. A new development is the implementation of factory calibration for subcutaneous glucose sensors, which eliminates the need for user calibrations and the associated blood glucose tests. Factory calibration means that the calibration process is part of the sensor manufacturing process and performed under controlled laboratory conditions. The ability to move from a user calibration to factory calibration is based on several technical requirements related to sensor stability and the robustness of the sensor manufacturing process. The main advantages of factory calibration over the conventional user calibration are: (a) more convenience for the user, since no more fingersticks are required for calibration and (b) elimination of use errors related to the execution of the calibration process, which can lead to sensor inaccuracies. The FreeStyle Libre ™ and FreeStyle Libre Pro ™ flash continuous glucose monitoring systems are the first commercially available sensor systems using factory-calibrated sensors. For these sensor systems, no user calibrations are required throughout the sensor wear duration.

Factory-Calibrated Continuous Glucose Sensors: The Science Behind the Technology

PubMed Central

Budiman, Erwin Satrya

2017-01-01

Abstract The use of commercially available continuous glucose monitors for diabetes management requires sensor calibrations, which until recently are exclusively performed by the patient. A new development is the implementation of factory calibration for subcutaneous glucose sensors, which eliminates the need for user calibrations and the associated blood glucose tests. Factory calibration means that the calibration process is part of the sensor manufacturing process and performed under controlled laboratory conditions. The ability to move from a user calibration to factory calibration is based on several technical requirements related to sensor stability and the robustness of the sensor manufacturing process. The main advantages of factory calibration over the conventional user calibration are: (a) more convenience for the user, since no more fingersticks are required for calibration and (b) elimination of use errors related to the execution of the calibration process, which can lead to sensor inaccuracies. The FreeStyle Libre™ and FreeStyle Libre Pro™ flash continuous glucose monitoring systems are the first commercially available sensor systems using factory-calibrated sensors. For these sensor systems, no user calibrations are required throughout the sensor wear duration. PMID:28541139

Students Tackle Academics in Practical Context at Skateboard Factory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearson, George

2012-01-01

High school student Nick Robertson came to Oasis Skateboard Factory (OSF) from a suburban Toronto district. He was surfing the web when he spotted a reference to Oasis Skateboard Factory, an alternative program in the Toronto District School Board. He says his first reaction was "Skateboards in school? It didn't seem possible." He…

Factorial and Item-Level Invariance of a Principal Perspectives Survey: German and U.S. Principals.

PubMed

Wang, Chuang; Hancock, Dawson R; Muller, Ulrich

This study examined the factorial and item-level invariance of a survey of principals' job satisfaction and perspectives about reasons and barriers to becoming a principal with a sample of US principals and another sample of German principals. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and differential item functioning (DIF) analysis were employed at the test and item level, respectively. A single group CFA was conducted first, and the model was found to fit the data collected. The factorial invariance between the German and the US principals was tested through three steps: (a) configural invariance; (b) measurement invariance; and (c) structural invariance. The results suggest that the survey is a viable measure of principals' job satisfaction and perspectives about reasons and barriers to becoming a principal because principals from two different cultures shared a similar pattern on all three constructs. The DIF analysis further revealed that 22 out of the 28 items functioned similarly between German and US principals.

Impact of Indoor Physical Environment on Learning Efficiency in Different Types of Tasks: A 3 × 4 × 3 Full Factorial Design Analysis.

PubMed

Xiong, Lilin; Huang, Xiao; Li, Jie; Mao, Peng; Wang, Xiang; Wang, Rubing; Tang, Meng

2018-06-13

Indoor physical environments appear to influence learning efficiency nowadays. For improvement in learning efficiency, environmental scenarios need to be designed when occupants engage in different learning tasks. However, how learning efficiency is affected by indoor physical environment based on task types are still not well understood. The present study aims to explore the impacts of three physical environmental factors (i.e., temperature, noise, and illuminance) on learning efficiency according to different types of tasks, including perception, memory, problem-solving, and attention-oriented tasks. A 3 × 4 × 3 full factorial design experiment was employed in a university classroom with 10 subjects recruited. Environmental scenarios were generated based on different levels of temperature (17 °C, 22 °C, and 27 °C), noise (40 dB(A), 50 dB(A), 60 dB(A), and 70 dB(A)) and illuminance (60 lx, 300 lx, and 2200 lx). Accuracy rate (AC), reaction time (RT), and the final performance indicator (PI) were used to quantify learning efficiency. The results showed ambient temperature, noise, and illuminance exerted significant main effect on learning efficiency based on four task types. Significant concurrent effects of the three factors on final learning efficiency was found in all tasks except problem-solving-oriented task. The optimal environmental scenarios for top learning efficiency were further identified under different environmental interactions. The highest learning efficiency came in thermoneutral, relatively quiet, and bright conditions in perception-oriented task. Subjects performed best under warm, relatively quiet, and moderately light exposure when recalling images in the memory-oriented task. Learning efficiency peaked to maxima in thermoneutral, fairly quiet, and moderately light environment in problem-solving process while in cool, fairly quiet and bright environment with regard to attention-oriented task. The study provides guidance

1. FACTORY BUILDING VIEWED FROM THE EAST, CURING AND STORAGE ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

1. FACTORY BUILDING VIEWED FROM THE EAST, CURING AND STORAGE WING TO THE LEFT, BOILING HOUSE IN THE CENTER, GRINDING PLATFORM TO THE FAR RIGHT, ST. THOMAS ISLAND VISIBLE IN BACKGROUND - Caneel Bay Plantation, Sugar Factory, Cruz Bay, St. John, VI

CIM at GE's factory of the future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waldman, H.

Functional features of a highly automated aircraft component batch processing factory are described. The system has processing, working, and methodology components. A rotating parts operation installed 20 yr ago features a high density of numerically controlled machines, and is connected to a hierarchical network of data communications and apparatus for moving the rotating parts and tools of engines. Designs produced at one location in the country are sent by telephone link to other sites for development of manufacturing plans, tooling, numerical control programs, and process instructions for the rotating parts. Direct numerical control is implemented at the work stations, which have instructions stored on tape for back-up in case the host computer goes down. Each machine is automatically monitored at 48 points and notice of failure can originate from any point in the system.

Analytical Enantio-Separation of Linagliptin in Linagliptin and Metformin HCl Dosage Forms by Applying Two-Level Factorial Design.

PubMed

Jadhav, Sushant B; Mane, Rahul M; Narayanan, Kalyanraman L; Bhosale, Popatrao N

2016-10-17

A novel, stability indicating, reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed to determine the S -isomer of linagliptin (LGP) in linagliptin and metformin hydrochloride (MET HCl) tablets (LGP-MET HCl) by implementing design of experiment (DoE), i.e., two-level, full factorial design (2³ + 3 centre points = 11 experiments) to understand the critical method parameters (CMP) and its relation with the critical method attribute (CMA), and to ensure robustness of the method. The separation of the S -isomer, LGP and MET HCl in the presence of their impurities was achieved on Chiralpak ® IA-3 ( Amylose tris (3, 5-dimethylphenylcarbamate ), immobilized on 3 µm silica gel) stationary phase (250 × 4.6 mm, 3 µm) using isocratic elution and detector wavelength at 225 nm with a flow rate of 0.5 mL·min -1 , an injection volume of 10 µL with a sample cooler (5 °C) and column oven temperature of 25 °C. Ethanol:Methanol:Monoethanolamine (EtOH:MeOH:MEA) in the ratio of 60:40:0.2 v / v / v was used as a mobile phase. The developed method was validated in accordance with international council for harmonisation (ICH) guidelines and was applied for the estimation of the S -isomer of LGP in LGP-MET HCl tablets. The same method also can be extended for the estimation of the S -isomer in LGP dosage forms.

Synchrotron radiation beamline to study radioactive materials at the Photon Factory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konishi, Hiroyuki; Yokoya, Akinari; Shiwaku, Hideaki; Motohashi, Haruhiko; Makita, Tomoko; Kashihara, Yasuharu; Hashimoto, Shinya; Harami, Taikan; Sasaki, Teikichi A.; Maeta, Hiroshi; Ohno, Hideo; Maezawa, Hideki; Asaoka, Seiji; Kanaya, Noriichi; Ito, Kenji; Usami, Noriko; Kobayashi, Katsumi

1996-02-01

Design and construction of a new beamline have been described. The beamline is housed in a specially designed area controlled for radioactive materials at the Photon Factory (PF) in the National Laboratory for High Energy Physics (KEK). The beamline system consists of a front-end and two branchlines. One of the branchlines is used for X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and radiation biology in the energy range of 1.8-6 keV and the other for X-ray diffractometry and XAFS studies as well as radiation biology in the range of 4-20 keV. The former was particularly equipped for the protection against accidental scattering of radioactive materials both inside and outside of the vacuum system.

Development of muon ring coolers, neutrino factories and supersymmetric Higgs factory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cline, David B.

2003-08-01

Over the past few years or so a key new development is the invention of ring coolers for muon cooling. In particular, these rings demonstrate robust cooling of the longitudinal phase space. We discuss the quadrupole or UCLA ring cooler and the prospects to make this a final cooler to reduce the transceiver emittance to the value required for a mu+mu- collider. This will lead to a Higgs factory for the A0/H0 in supersymmetry models.

Development of Muon Ring Coolers, Neutrino Factories and Supersymmetric Higgs Factory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cline, David B.

2002-12-01

Over the past few years or so a key new development is the invention of Ring Coolers for muon cooling. In particular these rings demonstrate robust cooling of the longitudinal phase space. We discuss the Quadrupole or UCLA Ring Cooler and the prospects to make this a final cooler to reduce the tranceiver emittance to the value required for a μ+ μ- collider. This will lead to a Higgs Factory for the A0/H0 in supersymmetry models.

Baby Factories in Nigeria: Starting the Discussion Toward a National Prevention Policy.

PubMed

Makinde, Olusesan Ayodeji; Olaleye, Olalekan; Makinde, Olufunmbi Olukemi; Huntley, Svetlana S; Brown, Brandon

2017-01-01

Baby factories and baby harvesting are relatively new terms that involve breeding, trafficking, and abuse of infants and their biological mothers. Since it was first described in a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization report in Nigeria in 2006, several more baby factories have been discovered over the years. Infertile women are noted to be major patrons of these baby factories due to the stigmatization of childless couples in Southern Nigeria and issues around cultural acceptability of surrogacy and adoption. These practices have contributed to the growth in the industry which results in physical, psychological, and sexual violence to the victims. Tackling baby factories will involve a multifaceted approach that includes advocacy and enacting of legislation barring baby factories and infant trafficking and harsh consequences for their patrons. Also, programs to educate young girls on preventing unwanted pregnancies are needed. Methods of improving awareness and acceptability of adoption and surrogacy and reducing the administrative and legal bottlenecks associated with these options for infertile couples should be explored to diminish the importance of baby factories. © The Author(s) 2015.

Compatible validated spectrofluorimetric and spectrophotometric methods for determination of vildagliptin and saxagliptin by factorial design experiments.

PubMed

Abdel-Aziz, Omar; Ayad, Miriam F; Tadros, Mariam M

2015-04-05

Simple, selective and reproducible spectrofluorimetric and spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the determination of vildagliptin and saxagliptin in bulk and their pharmaceutical dosage forms. The first proposed spectrofluorimetric method is based on the dansylation reaction of the amino group of vildagliptin with dansyl chloride to form a highly fluorescent product. The formed product was measured spectrofluorimetrically at 455 nm after excitation at 345 nm. Beer's law was obeyed in a concentration range of 100-600 μg ml(-1). The second proposed spectrophotometric method is based on the charge transfer complex of saxagliptin with tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone (p-chloranil). The formed charge transfer complex was measured spectrophotometrically at 530 nm. Beer's law was obeyed in a concentration range of 100-850 μg ml(-1). The third proposed spectrophotometric method is based on the condensation reaction of the primary amino group of saxagliptin with formaldehyde and acetyl acetone to form a yellow colored product known as Hantzsch reaction, measured at 342.5 nm. Beer's law was obeyed in a concentration range of 50-300 μg ml(-1). All the variables were studied to optimize the reactions' conditions using factorial design. The developed methods were validated and proved to be specific and accurate for quality control of vildagliptin and saxagliptin in their pharmaceutical dosage forms. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Compatible validated spectrofluorimetric and spectrophotometric methods for determination of vildagliptin and saxagliptin by factorial design experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdel-Aziz, Omar; Ayad, Miriam F.; Tadros, Mariam M.

2015-04-01

Simple, selective and reproducible spectrofluorimetric and spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the determination of vildagliptin and saxagliptin in bulk and their pharmaceutical dosage forms. The first proposed spectrofluorimetric method is based on the dansylation reaction of the amino group of vildagliptin with dansyl chloride to form a highly fluorescent product. The formed product was measured spectrofluorimetrically at 455 nm after excitation at 345 nm. Beer's law was obeyed in a concentration range of 100-600 μg ml-1. The second proposed spectrophotometric method is based on the charge transfer complex of saxagliptin with tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone (p-chloranil). The formed charge transfer complex was measured spectrophotometrically at 530 nm. Beer's law was obeyed in a concentration range of 100-850 μg ml-1. The third proposed spectrophotometric method is based on the condensation reaction of the primary amino group of saxagliptin with formaldehyde and acetyl acetone to form a yellow colored product known as Hantzsch reaction, measured at 342.5 nm. Beer's law was obeyed in a concentration range of 50-300 μg ml-1. All the variables were studied to optimize the reactions' conditions using factorial design. The developed methods were validated and proved to be specific and accurate for quality control of vildagliptin and saxagliptin in their pharmaceutical dosage forms.

Background species effect on aqueous arsenic removal by nano zero-valent iron using fractional factorial design.

PubMed

Tanboonchuy, Visanu; Grisdanurak, Nurak; Liao, Chih-Hsiang

2012-02-29

This study describes the removal of arsenic species in groundwater by nano zero-valent iron process, including As(III) and As(V). Since the background species may inhibit or promote arsenic removal. The influence of several common ions such as phosphate (PO4(3-)), bicarbonate (HCO3-)), sulfate (SO4(2-)), calcium (Ca2+), chloride (Cl-), and humic acid (HA) were selected to evaluate their effects on arsenic removal. In particular, a 2(6-2) fractional factorial design (FFD) was employed to identify major or interacting factors, which affect arsenic removal in a significant way. As a result of FFD evaluation, PO4(3-) and HA play the role of inhibiting arsenic removal, while Ca2+ was observed to play the promoting one. As for HCO3- and Cl-, the former one inhibits As(III) removal, whereas the later one enhances its removal; on the other hand, As(V) removal was affected only slightly in the presence of HCO3- or Cl-. Hence, it was suggested that the arsenic removal by the nanoiron process can be improved through pretreatment of PO4(3-) and HA. In addition, for the groundwater with high hardness, the nanoiron process can be an advantageous option because of enhancing characteristics of Ca2+. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Factorial Structure of the New Ecological Paradigm Scale in Two French Samples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fleury-Bahi, Ghozlane; Marcouyeux, Aurore; Renard, Elise; Roussiau, Nicolas

2015-01-01

The principal objective of this research is to test the factorial structure of the New Ecological Paradigm scale on a population of men and women residing in France. The tested model is a second-order factorial model. This factorial structure is evaluated on two separate samples to test the stability of the solution (a first sample of 253…

Microbial Consortia Engineering for Cellular Factories: in vitro to in silico systems

PubMed Central

Bernstein, Hans C; Carlson, Ross P

2012-01-01

This mini-review discusses the current state of experimental and computational microbial consortia engineering with a focus on cellular factories. A discussion of promising ecological theories central to community resource usage is presented to facilitate interpretation of consortial designs. Recent case studies exemplifying different resource usage motifs and consortial assembly templates are presented. The review also highlights in silico approaches to design and to analyze consortia with an emphasis on stoichiometric modeling methods. The discipline of microbial consortia engineering possesses a widely accepted potential to generate highly novel and effective bio-catalysts for applications from biofuels to specialty chemicals to enhanced mineral recovery. PMID:24688677

Comparison of accelerator physics issues for symmetric and asymmetric B-factory rings

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

Tigner, M.

1990-10-10

A systematic comparison of accelerator physics issues from the beam-beam interaction to single particle stability including ring and IR layout, synchrotron radiation and lost particle backgrounds, and single and multi-bunch instabilities is given. While some practical handicap probably accrues to the asymmetric design because of its extra constraints, the differences in the two approaches tend to be obscured by larger issues such as how to achieve the enormous increases in luminosity demanded of a b-factory.

Technology Solutions Case Study: Stud Walls with Continuous Exterior Insulation for Factory Built Housing

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

None

The Advanced Envelope Research effort will provide factory homebuilders with high performance, cost-effective alternative envelope designs. In the near term, these technologies will play a central role in meeting stringent energy code requirements. For manufactured homes, the thermal requirements, last updated by statute in 1994, will move up to the more rigorous IECC 2012 levels in 2013, the requirements of which are consistent with site built and modular housing. This places added urgency on identifying envelope technologies that the industry can implement in the short timeframe. The primary goal of this research is to develop wall designs that meet themore » thermal requirements based on 2012 IECC standards. Given the affordable nature of manufactured homes, impact on first cost is a major consideration in developing the new envelope technologies. This work is part of a four-phase, multi-year effort. Phase 1 identified seven envelope technologies and provided a preliminary assessment of three selected methods for building high performance wall systems. Phase 2 focused on the development of viable product designs, manufacturing strategies, addressing code and structural issues, and cost analysis of the three selected options. An industry advisory committee helped critique and select the most viable solution to move further in the research — stud walls with continuous exterior insulation. Phase 3, the subject of the current report, focused on the design development of the selected wall concept and explored variations on the use of exterior foam insulation. The scope also included material selection, manufacturing and cost analysis, and prototyping and testing.« less

Tributes beyond Words: Art Educators' Use of Textiles to Memorialize the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mercurio, Mia Lynn; Randall, Régine

2016-01-01

Through the study of The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, pre-service art teachers learn the about interdisciplinary design and the importance of using discipline-specific literacy strategies alongside the materials and methods of their craft. The creativity and enthusiasm with which these preservice teachers approached the work convinced us that…

Approaching the socialist factory and its workforce: considerations from fieldwork in (former) Yugoslavia

PubMed Central

Archer, Rory; Musić, Goran

2017-01-01

Abstract The socialist factory, as the ‘incubator’ of the new socialist (wo)man, is a productive entry point for the study of socialist modernization and its contradictions. By outlining some theoretical and methodological insights gathered through field-research in factories in former Yugoslavia, we seek to connect the state of labour history in the Balkans to recent breakthroughs made by labour historians of other socialist countries. The first part of this article sketches some of the specificities of the Yugoslav self-managed factory and its heterogeneous workforce. It presents the ambiguous relationship between workers and the factory and demonstrates the variety of life trajectories for workers in Yugoslav state-socialism (from model communists to alienated workers). The second part engages with the available sources for conducting research inside and outside the factory advocating an approach which combines factory and local archives, print media and oral history. PMID:28190894

Approaching the socialist factory and its workforce: considerations from fieldwork in (former) Yugoslavia.

PubMed

Archer, Rory; Musić, Goran

2017-01-01

The socialist factory, as the 'incubator' of the new socialist (wo)man, is a productive entry point for the study of socialist modernization and its contradictions. By outlining some theoretical and methodological insights gathered through field-research in factories in former Yugoslavia, we seek to connect the state of labour history in the Balkans to recent breakthroughs made by labour historians of other socialist countries. The first part of this article sketches some of the specificities of the Yugoslav self-managed factory and its heterogeneous workforce. It presents the ambiguous relationship between workers and the factory and demonstrates the variety of life trajectories for workers in Yugoslav state-socialism (from model communists to alienated workers). The second part engages with the available sources for conducting research inside and outside the factory advocating an approach which combines factory and local archives, print media and oral history.

Study on light and thermal energy of illumination device for plant factory design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, A.; Moriuchi, K.; Ueda, Y.; Kinoshita, S.

2018-01-01

To investigate the effect of illumination devices on the yield of crops cultivated in a plant factory, it is necessary to measure the actual cultivation environmental factors related to the plant growth and understand the distribution ratio of light and thermal energy to the electrical energy injected into the illumination device. Based on cultivation results, we found that light intensity greatly affected the growth of plant weight. Regarding the selection of illumination device, its spectral components also affected the morphological change. Lighting experiments using a high frequency (Hf) fluorescent lamp and a light emitting diode (LED) bulb were performed. A certain difference was found in the distribution ratio of light energy to electrical energy between Hf and LED. It was showed that by placing the safety equipment or internal circuits outside the cultivated site, the air conditioning load could be reduced.

Job strain among rubber-glove-factory workers in central Thailand.

PubMed

Sein, Muang Muang; Howteerakul, Nopporn; Suwannapong, Nawarat; Jirachewee, Jirachai

2010-01-01

Job strain has become a major concern because of its potential impacts on worker well-being and performance. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the prevalence of, and examine factors associated with, job strain among workers in a rubber-glove factory, in a central province of Thailand. A total of 200 workers aged 18-55 yr, who had worked at the factory for at least 6 months, completed the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) (Thai Version). Two of 5 scales in the JCQ were used to measure job strain, i.e.; job control and psychological job demand. The prevalence of job strain was 27.5%. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated two variables significantly associated with job strain: low supervisor social support (adjusted OR=3.08; 95%CI: 1.38-6.91) and high job insecurity (adjusted OR=2.25; 95%CI: 1.04-4.88). Effective training for supervisors, to create good relationships among workers and supervisors, and ensuring steady and secure jobs for good employees, are necessary.

"Mixing" as an ethnoetiology of HIV/AIDS in Malaysia's multinational factories.

PubMed

Root, Robin

2006-09-01

Minah Karan, the stigmatizing label appended to Malay factory women in the 1980s, signaled a dangerous female sexuality that risked spreading beyond the factory gates and infecting Malaysia's idea(l)s of its traditional kampung culture. This article narrates how Minah Karan, as the former antihero of development, was reconstituted in the 1990s, with the government's labeling of factories as "high-risk settings" for HIV/AIDS. This is an ethnoetiology based not on any evidential epidemiological data but on the racial and gendered "mixing" that transpires behind factory walls: a fear that the "mixing of the sexes" means ipso facto "sexual mixing" among the races. The article demonstrates how importation of the high-risk label articulates at the local level the new and contested linkages, economic, religious, and scientific, constitutive of globalization. The pragmatic nature and imperatives of this high-risk process are discerned in factory women's accounts of how they negotiate the interactional imperatives of factory work, because transnational structures of productivity violate the social boundaries that have long connoted political stability, moral integrity, ethnic community, and individual safety. The article concludes by questioning whether ethnoetiologies, especially when they concern sexual networks, become social etiologies, because this would locate ethnoetiologies as central to conventional public health praxis rather than as ethnographic exotica in the margins.

Neutrino Factory Plans at CERN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riche, J. A.

2002-10-01

The considerable interest raised by the discovery of neutrino oscillations and recent progress in studies of muon colliders has triggered interest in considering a neutrino factory at CERN. This paper explains the reference scenario, indicates the other possible choices and mentions the R&D that are foreseen.

A research factory for polymer microdevices: muFac

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anthony, Brian W.; Hardt, David E.; Hale, Melinda; Zarrouati, Nadege

2010-02-01

As part of our research on the manufacturing science of micron scale polymer-based devices, an automated production cell has been developed to explore its use in a volume manufacturing environment. This "micro-factory" allows the testing of models and hardware that have resulted from research on material characterization and simulation, tooling and equipment design and control, and process control and metrology. More importantly it has allowed us to identify the problems that exist between and within unit-processes. This paper details our efforts to produce basic micro-fluidic products in high volume at acceptable production rates and quality levels. The device chosen for our first product is a simple binary micromixer with 40×50 micron channel cross section manufactured by embossing of PMMA. The processes in the cell include laser cutting and drilling, hot embossing, thermal bonding and high-speed inspection of the components. Our goal is to create a "lights-out" factory that can make long production runs (e.g. an 8 hour shift) at high rates (Takt time of less than 3 minutes) with consistent quality. This contrasts with device foundries where prototypes in limited quantities but with high variety are the goal. Accordingly, rate and yield are dominant factors in this work, along with the need for precise material handling strategies. Production data will be presented to include process run charts, sampled functional testing of the products and measures of the overall system throughput.

Rapid Prototyping of Microbial Cell Factories via Genome-scale Engineering

PubMed Central

Si, Tong; Xiao, Han; Zhao, Huimin

2014-01-01

Advances in reading, writing and editing genetic materials have greatly expanded our ability to reprogram biological systems at the resolution of a single nucleotide and on the scale of a whole genome. Such capacity has greatly accelerated the cycles of design, build and test to engineer microbes for efficient synthesis of fuels, chemicals and drugs. In this review, we summarize the emerging technologies that have been applied, or are potentially useful for genome-scale engineering in microbial systems. We will focus on the development of high-throughput methodologies, which may accelerate the prototyping of microbial cell factories. PMID:25450192

The Modified Reasons for Smoking Scale: factorial structure, validity and reliability in pregnant smokers.

PubMed

De Wilde, Katrien Sophie; Tency, Inge; Boudrez, Hedwig; Temmerman, Marleen; Maes, Lea; Clays, Els

2016-06-01

Smoking during pregnancy can cause several maternal and neonatal health risks, yet a considerable number of pregnant women continue to smoke. The objectives of this study were to test the factorial structure, validity and reliability of the Dutch version of the Modified Reasons for Smoking Scale (MRSS) in a sample of smoking pregnant women and to understand reasons for continued smoking during pregnancy. A longitudinal design was performed. Data of 97 pregnant smokers were collected during prenatal consultation. Structural equation modelling was performed to assess the construct validity of the MRSS: an exploratory factor analysis was conducted, followed by a confirmatory factor analysis.Test-retest reliability (<16 weeks and 32-34 weeks pregnancy) and internal consistency were assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient and the Cronbach's alpha, respectively. To verify concurrent validity, Mann-Whitney U-tests were performed examining associations between the MRSS subscales and nicotine dependence, daily consumption, depressive symptoms and intention to quit. We found a factorial structure for the MRSS of 11 items within five subscales in order of importance: tension reduction, addiction, pleasure, habit and social function. Results for internal consistency and test-retest reliability were good to acceptable. There were significant associations of nicotine dependence with tension reduction and addiction and of daily consumption with addiction and habit. Validity and reliability of the MRSS were shown in a sample of pregnant smokers. Tension reduction was the most important reason for continued smoking, followed by pleasure and addiction. Although the score for nicotine dependence was low, addiction was an important reason for continued smoking during pregnancy; therefore, nicotine replacement therapy could be considered. Half of the respondents experienced depressive symptoms. Hence, it is important to identify those women who need more specialized care

Factorial validity of the Job Expectations Questionnaire in a sample of Mexican workers.

PubMed

Villa-George, Fabiola Itzel; Moreno-Jiménez, Bernardo; Rodríguez-Muñoz, Alfredo; Villalpando Uribe, Jessica

2011-11-01

The aim of this study was to examine the factorial validity of the Job Expectations Questionnaire (Cuestionario de Expectativas Laborales CEL) in a sample of Mexican workers. Following a cross validation approach, two samples were used in the study. The first sample consisted of 380 professionals who mainly performed administrative work in the Health Services in Puebla-Mexico. The second sample comprised 400 health professionals from the Hospital de la Mujer in Puebla-Mexico. Exploratory factor analysis yielded a three-factor solution, accounting for 51.8% of the variance. The results of confirmatory factorial analysis indicate that the three-factor model provided the best fit with the data (CFI = .96, GFI = .95, NNFI = .95, RMSEA = .04), maintaining the structure with 12 items. The reliability of the questionnaire and the diverse subscales showed high internal consistency. Significant correlations were found between job expectations and autonomy, vigor, dedication, and absorption, providing evidence of its construct validity. The evaluation of the psychometric qualities confirms this questionnaire as a valid and specific instrument to measure job expectations.

Aft segment dome-to-stiffener factory joint insulation void elimination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jensen, S. K.

1991-01-01

Since the detection of voids in the internal insulation of the dome-to-stiffener factory joint of the 15B aft segment, all aft segment dome-to-stiffener factory joints were x-rated and all were found to contain voids. Using a full-scale process simulation article (PSA), the objective was to demonstrate that the proposed changes in the insulation layup and vacuum bagging processes will greatly reduce or eliminate voids without adversely affecting the configuration of performance of the insulation which serves as a primary seal over the factory joint. The PSA-8 aft segment was insulated and cured using standard production processes.

Effect of factory effluents on physiological and biochemical contents of Gossypium hirsutum l.

PubMed

Muthusamy, A; Jayabalan, N

2001-10-01

The effect of sago and sugar factory effluents was studied on Gossypium hirsutum L. var. MCU 5 and MCU 11. Plants were irrigated with 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of effluents of both factories. At lower concentration (25%) of sugar factory effluents had stimulatory effect on all biochemical contents observed. Moreover, all concentration of sago factory effluents were found to have inhibitory effect on all biochemical contents except proline content which increased with increasing concentration of both the effluents. Plants growing on adjacent to sago and sugar factories or they irrigated with such type of polluted water, may accumulate the heavy metals found in both the effluents, at higher levels in plant products and if consumed may have similar effect on living organisms.

37. NORTH TO BINS ALONG NORTH WALL OF FACTORY BUILDING ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

37. NORTH TO BINS ALONG NORTH WALL OF FACTORY BUILDING WHICH REMAIN FILLED WITH NEW OLD STOCK AND USED PARTS FOR ELI WINDMILLS. THE ROPE AT THE LOWER FOREGROUND WAS USED IN ERECTING WINDMILLS AND TOWERS FOR CUSTOMERS. - Kregel Windmill Company Factory, 1416 Central Avenue, Nebraska City, Otoe County, NE

Design of a Communication Scheme in a Modern Factory in Accordance with the Standard of Industry 4.0

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halenár, Igor; Juhásová, Bohuslava; Juhás, Martin

2016-12-01

This article first describes the current state of the problem in the area of communication in modern factories. Next in the article is given a summary of the requirements that must be implemented for the possibility of establishing a compatible and safe communication system. In the final part of the article is given a proposal of communication model suitable for the implementation.

Nanoemulsions containing a synthetic chalcone as an alternative for treating cutaneous leshmaniasis: optimization using a full factorial design.

PubMed

de Mattos, Cristiane Bastos; Argenta, Débora Fretes; Melchiades, Gabriela de Lima; Cordeiro, Marlon Norberto Sechini; Tonini, Maiko Luis; Moraes, Milene Hoehr; Weber, Tanara Beatriz; Roman, Silvane Souza; Nunes, Ricardo José; Teixeira, Helder Ferreira; Steindel, Mário; Koester, Letícia Scherer

2015-01-01

Nanoemulsions are drug delivery systems that may increase the penetration of lipophilic compounds through the skin, enhancing their topical effect. Chalcones are compounds of low water solubility that have been described as promising molecules for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). In this context, the aim of this work was to optimize the development of a nanoemulsion containing a synthetic chalcone for CL treatment using a 2(2) full factorial design. The formulations were prepared by spontaneous emulsification and the experimental design studied the influence of two independent variables (type of surfactant - soybean lecithin or sorbitan monooleate and type of co-surfactants - polysorbate 20 or polysorbate 80) on the physicochemical characteristics of the nanoemulsions, as well as on the skin permeation/retention of the synthetic chalcone in porcine skin. In order to evaluate the stability of the systems, the antileishmanial assay was performed against Leishmania amazonensis 24 hours and 60 days after the preparation of the nanoemulsions. The formulation composed of soybean lecithin and polysorbate 20 presented suitable physicochemical characteristics (droplet size 171.9 nm; polydispersity index 0.14; zeta potential -39.43 mV; pH 5.16; and viscosity 2.00 cP), drug content (91.09%) and the highest retention in dermis (3.03 µg·g(-1)) - the main response of interest - confirmed by confocal microscopy. This formulation also presented better stability of leishmanicidal activity in vitro against L. amazonensis amastigote forms (half maximal inhibitory concentration value 0.32±0.05 µM), which confirmed the potential of the nanoemulsion soybean lecithin and polysorbate 20 for CL treatment.

Epidemiology of Skin Disease in an Automobile Factory*

PubMed Central

Newhouse, Muriel L.

1964-01-01

A survey was made of a random sample of workers from the machine shops, assembly lines, and stock and store departments of an automobile factory. Among the 1,223 men seen, representing 97% of the sample, the prevalence of non-infective skin diseases was 14·5%. Skin diseases were classified into four groups: `dermatitis' and `folliculitis' of occupational origin, endogenous `eczemas', and miscellaneous skin diseases. Slightly more than half of all the skin diseases seen were considered to be occupational in origin. In this population the prevalence of skin disease was more than four times that based on patients attending the factory medical department. An unsuspected cause of allergic dermatitis was found on the assembly lines, where the incidence of dermatitis was significantly higher than among the non-production workers. The prevalence of folliculitis was significantly higher among production than non-production workers. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of `eczema' or the miscellaneous skin diseases in the various occupational groups. Among European workers fair men were more prone to skin disease than darker men. In another factory, a West Indian and Asiatic group of workers had a significantly lower prevalence of skin diseases than a group of Europeans doing similar work. Folliculitis was more prevalent among the younger workers and those recently employed in the factory; there was no obvious association between age and length of service and the occurrence of other types of skin disease. PMID:14249898

Visible light assisted photoelectrocatalytic degradation of sugarcane factory wastewater by sprayed CZTS thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hunge, Y. M.; Mahadik, M. A.; Patil, V. L.; Pawar, A. R.; Gadakh, S. R.; Moholkar, A. V.; Patil, P. S.; Bhosale, C. H.

2017-12-01

Highly crystalline Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films have been deposited onto glass and FTO coated glass substrates by simple chemical spray-pyrolysis technique. It is an important material for solar energy conversion through the both photovoltaics and photocatalysis. The effect of substrate temperatures on the physico-chemical properties of the CZTS films is studied. The XRD study shows the formation of single phase CZTS with kesterite structure. FE-SEM analysis reveals nano flakes architecture with pin-hole and crake free surface with more adherent. The film deposited at optimized substrate temperature exhibits optical band gap energy of 1.90 eV, which lies in the visible region of the solar spectrum and useful for photocatalysis application. The photoelectrocatalytic activities of the large surface area (10 × 10 cm2) deposited CZTS thin film photocatalysts were evaluated for the degradation of sugarcane factory wastewater under visible light irradiation. The results show that the CZTS thin film photocatalyst exhibited about 90% degradation of sugar cane factory wastewater. The mineralization of sugarcane factory wastewater is studied by measuring chemical oxygen demand (COD) values.

Multi-reader ROC studies with split-plot designs: a comparison of statistical methods.

PubMed

Obuchowski, Nancy A; Gallas, Brandon D; Hillis, Stephen L

2012-12-01

Multireader imaging trials often use a factorial design, in which study patients undergo testing with all imaging modalities and readers interpret the results of all tests for all patients. A drawback of this design is the large number of interpretations required of each reader. Split-plot designs have been proposed as an alternative, in which one or a subset of readers interprets all images of a sample of patients, while other readers interpret the images of other samples of patients. In this paper, the authors compare three methods of analysis for the split-plot design. Three statistical methods are presented: the Obuchowski-Rockette method modified for the split-plot design, a newly proposed marginal-mean analysis-of-variance approach, and an extension of the three-sample U-statistic method. A simulation study using the Roe-Metz model was performed to compare the type I error rate, power, and confidence interval coverage of the three test statistics. The type I error rates for all three methods are close to the nominal level but tend to be slightly conservative. The statistical power is nearly identical for the three methods. The coverage of 95% confidence intervals falls close to the nominal coverage for small and large sample sizes. The split-plot multireader, multicase study design can be statistically efficient compared to the factorial design, reducing the number of interpretations required per reader. Three methods of analysis, shown to have nominal type I error rates, similar power, and nominal confidence interval coverage, are available for this study design. Copyright © 2012 AUR. All rights reserved.

Assessing the applicability of the Taguchi design method to an interrill erosion study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, F. B.; Wang, Z. L.; Yang, M. Y.

2015-02-01

Full-factorial experimental designs have been used in soil erosion studies, but are time, cost and labor intensive, and sometimes they are impossible to conduct due to the increasing number of factors and their levels to consider. The Taguchi design is a simple, economical and efficient statistical tool that only uses a portion of the total possible factorial combinations to obtain the results of a study. Soil erosion studies that use the Taguchi design are scarce and no comparisons with full-factorial designs have been made. In this paper, a series of simulated rainfall experiments using a full-factorial design of five slope lengths (0.4, 0.8, 1.2, 1.6, and 2 m), five slope gradients (18%, 27%, 36%, 48%, and 58%), and five rainfall intensities (48, 62.4, 102, 149, and 170 mm h-1) were conducted. Validation of the applicability of a Taguchi design to interrill erosion experiments was achieved by extracting data from the full dataset according to a theoretical Taguchi design. The statistical parameters for the mean quasi-steady state erosion and runoff rates of each test, the optimum conditions for producing maximum erosion and runoff, and the main effect and percentage contribution of each factor obtained from the full-factorial and Taguchi designs were compared. Both designs generated almost identical results. Using the experimental data from the Taguchi design, it was possible to accurately predict the erosion and runoff rates under the conditions that had been excluded from the Taguchi design. All of the results obtained from analyzing the experimental data for both designs indicated that the Taguchi design could be applied to interrill erosion studies and could replace full-factorial designs. This would save time, labor and costs by generally reducing the number of tests to be conducted. Further work should test the applicability of the Taguchi design to a wider range of conditions.

[The professional responsibility of the factory physician].

PubMed

Tavani, M

1987-01-01

The author briefly reviews the present trends in jurisprudence concerning the professional liability of the physician in penal and civil law and, in the light of the much discussed decree issued by the Court of Cassation (Court of Appeal) (Decree No. 2799/86 - Labour Section), discusses the juridical position of the factory doctor, the juridical relationship between the doctor and the workforce, his contractual obligations, his rôle and his duties. The aspects that are more specifically appropriate to assessment of the professional liability of the factory doctor are described, commenting on the various criteria that may justify, in matters other than industrial accidents, recognition of the existence of an occupational disease.

From gene to structure: The protein factory of the NBICS Centre of Kurchatov Institute

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

Boyko, K. M.; Lipkin, A. V.; Popov, V. O., E-mail: vpopov@inbi.ras.ru

2013-05-15

The Protein Factory was established at the Centre for Nano, Bio, Info, Cognitive, and Social Sciences and Technologies (NBICS Centre) of the National Research Centre 'Kurchatov Institute' in 2010. The Protein Factory, together with the Centre for Synchrotron Radiation and Nanotechnology, promote research on structural biology. This paper presents the technology platforms developed at the Protein Factory and the facilities available for researchers. The main projects currently being performed at the Protein Factory are briefly described.

Factorial Structure of the French Version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale among the Elderly

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gana, Kamel; Alaphilippe, Daniel; Bailly, Nathalie

2005-01-01

Ten different confirmatory factor analysis models, including ones with correlated traits correlated methods, correlated traits correlated uniqueness, and correlated traits uncorrelated methods, were proposed to examine the factorial structure of the French version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965). In line with previous studies…

Exposing the dark sector with future Z factories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jia; Wang, Lian-Tao; Wang, Xiao-Ping; Xue, Wei

2018-05-01

We investigate the prospects of searching dark sector models via exotic Z -boson decay at future e+e- colliders with Giga Z and Tera Z options. Four general categories of dark sector models, Higgs portal dark matter, vector-portal dark matter, inelastic dark matter, and axionlike particles, are considered. Focusing on channels motivated by the dark sector models, we carry out a model-independent study of the sensitivities of Z factories in probing exotic decays. The limits on branching ratios of the exotic Z decay are typically O (10-6- 10-8.5) for the Giga Z and O (10-7.5- 10-11) for the Tera Z , and they are compared with the projection for the high luminosity LHC. We demonstrate that future Z factories can provide its unique and leading sensitivity and highlight the complementarity with other experiments, including the indirect and direct dark matter search limits and the existing collider limits. Future Z factories will play a leading role in uncovering the hidden sector of the Universe in the future.

Uncertainties in Eddy Covariance fluxes due to post-field data processing: a multi-site, full factorial analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sabbatini, S.; Fratini, G.; Arriga, N.; Papale, D.

2012-04-01

Eddy Covariance (EC) is the only technologically available direct method to measure carbon and energy fluxes between ecosystems and atmosphere. However, uncertainties related to this method have not been exhaustively assessed yet, including those deriving from post-field data processing. The latter arise because there is no exact processing sequence established for any given situation, and the sequence itself is long and complex, with many processing steps and options available. However, the consistency and inter-comparability of flux estimates may be largely affected by the adoption of different processing sequences. The goal of our work is to quantify the uncertainty introduced in each processing step by the fact that different options are available, and to study how the overall uncertainty propagates throughout the processing sequence. We propose an easy-to-use methodology to assign a confidence level to the calculated fluxes of energy and mass, based on the adopted processing sequence, and on available information such as the EC system type (e.g. open vs. closed path), the climate and the ecosystem type. The proposed methodology synthesizes the results of a massive full-factorial experiment. We use one year of raw data from 15 European flux stations and process them so as to cover all possible combinations of the available options across a selection of the most relevant processing steps. The 15 sites have been selected to be representative of different ecosystems (forests, croplands and grasslands), climates (mediterranean, nordic, arid and humid) and instrumental setup (e.g. open vs. closed path). The software used for this analysis is EddyPro™ 3.0 (www.licor.com/eddypro). The critical processing steps, selected on the basis of the different options commonly used in the FLUXNET community, are: angle of attack correction; coordinate rotation; trend removal; time lag compensation; low- and high- frequency spectral correction; correction for air density

Combustion of liquid paint wastes in fluidized bed boiler as element of waste management system in the paint factory

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

Soko, W.A.; Biaecka, B.

1998-12-31

In this paper the solution to waste problems in the paint industry is presented by describing their combustion in a fluidized bed boiler as a part of the waste management system in the paint factory. Based on the Cleaner Production idea and concept of integration of design process with a future exploitation of equipment, some modifications of the waste management scheme in the factory are discussed to reduce the quantity of toxic wastes. To verify this concept combustion tests of paint production wastes and cocombustion of paint wastes with coal in an adopted industrial boiler were done. Results of thesemore » tests are presented in the paper.« less

Rapid prototyping of microbial cell factories via genome-scale engineering.

PubMed

Si, Tong; Xiao, Han; Zhao, Huimin

2015-11-15

Advances in reading, writing and editing genetic materials have greatly expanded our ability to reprogram biological systems at the resolution of a single nucleotide and on the scale of a whole genome. Such capacity has greatly accelerated the cycles of design, build and test to engineer microbes for efficient synthesis of fuels, chemicals and drugs. In this review, we summarize the emerging technologies that have been applied, or are potentially useful for genome-scale engineering in microbial systems. We will focus on the development of high-throughput methodologies, which may accelerate the prototyping of microbial cell factories. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Compact scanning transmission x-ray microscope at the photon factory

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

Takeichi, Yasuo, E-mail: yasuo.takeichi@kek.jp; Inami, Nobuhito; Ono, Kanta

We report the design and performance of a compact scanning transmission X-ray microscope developed at the Photon Factory. Piezo-driven linear stages are used as coarse stages of the microscope to realize excellent compactness, mobility, and vibrational and thermal stability. An X-ray beam with an intensity of ∼10{sup 7} photons/s was focused to a diameter of ∼40 nm at the sample. At the soft X-ray undulator beamline used with the microscope, a wide range of photon energies (250–1600 eV) is available. The microscope has been used to research energy materials and in environmental sciences.

An Automated and Continuous Plant Weight Measurement System for Plant Factory

PubMed Central

Chen, Wei-Tai; Yeh, Yu-Hui F.; Liu, Ting-Yu; Lin, Ta-Te

2016-01-01

In plant factories, plants are usually cultivated in nutrient solution under a controllable environment. Plant quality and growth are closely monitored and precisely controlled. For plant growth evaluation, plant weight is an important and commonly used indicator. Traditional plant weight measurements are destructive and laborious. In order to measure and record the plant weight during plant growth, an automated measurement system was designed and developed herein. The weight measurement system comprises a weight measurement device and an imaging system. The weight measurement device consists of a top disk, a bottom disk, a plant holder and a load cell. The load cell with a resolution of 0.1 g converts the plant weight on the plant holder disk to an analog electrical signal for a precise measurement. The top disk and bottom disk are designed to be durable for different plant sizes, so plant weight can be measured continuously throughout the whole growth period, without hindering plant growth. The results show that plant weights measured by the weight measurement device are highly correlated with the weights estimated by the stereo-vision imaging system; hence, plant weight can be measured by either method. The weight growth of selected vegetables growing in the National Taiwan University plant factory were monitored and measured using our automated plant growth weight measurement system. The experimental results demonstrate the functionality, stability and durability of this system. The information gathered by this weight system can be valuable and beneficial for hydroponic plants monitoring research and agricultural research applications. PMID:27066040

An Automated and Continuous Plant Weight Measurement System for Plant Factory.

PubMed

Chen, Wei-Tai; Yeh, Yu-Hui F; Liu, Ting-Yu; Lin, Ta-Te

2016-01-01

In plant factories, plants are usually cultivated in nutrient solution under a controllable environment. Plant quality and growth are closely monitored and precisely controlled. For plant growth evaluation, plant weight is an important and commonly used indicator. Traditional plant weight measurements are destructive and laborious. In order to measure and record the plant weight during plant growth, an automated measurement system was designed and developed herein. The weight measurement system comprises a weight measurement device and an imaging system. The weight measurement device consists of a top disk, a bottom disk, a plant holder and a load cell. The load cell with a resolution of 0.1 g converts the plant weight on the plant holder disk to an analog electrical signal for a precise measurement. The top disk and bottom disk are designed to be durable for different plant sizes, so plant weight can be measured continuously throughout the whole growth period, without hindering plant growth. The results show that plant weights measured by the weight measurement device are highly correlated with the weights estimated by the stereo-vision imaging system; hence, plant weight can be measured by either method. The weight growth of selected vegetables growing in the National Taiwan University plant factory were monitored and measured using our automated plant growth weight measurement system. The experimental results demonstrate the functionality, stability and durability of this system. The information gathered by this weight system can be valuable and beneficial for hydroponic plants monitoring research and agricultural research applications.

Virtual Factory Framework for Supporting Production Planning and Control.

PubMed

Kibira, Deogratias; Shao, Guodong

2017-01-01

Developing optimal production plans for smart manufacturing systems is challenging because shop floor events change dynamically. A virtual factory incorporating engineering tools, simulation, and optimization generates and communicates performance data to guide wise decision making for different control levels. This paper describes such a platform specifically for production planning. We also discuss verification and validation of the constituent models. A case study of a machine shop is used to demonstrate data generation for production planning in a virtual factory.

Algorithm for designing smart factory Industry 4.0

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurjanov, A. V.; Zakoldaev, D. A.; Shukalov, A. V.; Zharinov, I. O.

2018-03-01

The designing task of production division of the Industry 4.0 item designing company is being studied. The authors proposed an algorithm, which is based on the modified V L Volkovich method. This algorithm allows generating options how to arrange the production with robotized technological equipment functioning in the automatic mode. The optimization solution of the multi-criteria task for some additive criteria is the base of the algorithm.

Putting Automated Visual Inspection Systems To Work On The Factory Floor: What's Missing?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Waltz, Frederick M.; Snyder, Michael A.; Batchelor, Bruce G.

1990-02-01

Machine vision systems and other automated visual inspection (AVI) systems have been proving their usefulness in factories for more than a decade. In spite of this, the number of installed systems is far below the number that could profitably be employed. In the opinion of the authors, the primary reason for this is the high cost of customizing vision systems to meet applications requirements. A three-part approach to this problem has proven to be useful: 1. A multi-phase paradigm for customer interaction, system specification, system development, and system installation; 2. A powerful and easy-to-use system development environment, including a a flexible laboratory lighting setup, plus software-based tools to assist in the design of image acquisition systems, b. an image processing environment with a very large repertoire of image processing and feature extraction operations and an easy-to-use command interpreter having macro capabilities, and c. an image analysis environment with high-level constructs, a flexible and powerful syntax, and a "seamless" interface to the image processing level; and 3. A moderately-priced high-speed "target" system fully compatible with the development environment, so that algorithms developed thereon can be transferred directly to the factory environment without further development costs or reprogramming. Items 1 and 2 are covered in other papers1,23,4,5 and are touched on here only briefly. Item 3 is the main subject of this paper. Our major motivation in presenting this paper is to offer suggestions to vendors developing commercial boards and systems, in hopes that the special needs of industrial inspection can be met.

Continuous glucose monitoring in subcutaneous tissue using factory-calibrated sensors: a pilot study.

PubMed

Hoss, Udo; Jeddi, Iman; Schulz, Mark; Budiman, Erwin; Bhogal, Claire; McGarraugh, Geoffrey

2010-08-01

Commercial continuous subcutaneous glucose monitors require in vivo calibration using capillary blood glucose tests. Feasibility of factory calibration, i.e., sensor batch characterization in vitro with no further need for in vivo calibration, requires a predictable and stable in vivo sensor sensitivity and limited inter- and intra-subject variation of the ratio of interstitial to blood glucose concentration. Twelve volunteers wore two FreeStyle Navigator (Abbott Diabetes Care, Alameda, CA) continuous glucose monitoring systems for 5 days in parallel for two consecutive sensor wears (four sensors per subject, 48 sensors total). Sensors from a prototype sensor lot with a low variability in glucose sensitivity were used for the study. Median sensor sensitivity values based on capillary blood glucose were calculated per sensor and compared for inter- and intra-subject variation. Mean absolute relative difference (MARD) calculation and error grid analysis were performed using a single calibration factor for all sensors to simulate factory calibration and compared to standard fingerstick calibration. Sensor sensitivity variation in vitro was 4.6%, which increased to 8.3% in vivo (P < 0.0001). Analysis of variance revealed no significant inter-subject differences in sensor sensitivity (P = 0.134). Applying a single universal calibration factor retrospectively to all sensors resulted in a MARD of 10.4% and 88.1% of values in Clarke Error Grid Zone A, compared to a MARD of 10.9% and 86% of values in Error Grid Zone A for fingerstick calibration. Factory calibration of sensors for continuous subcutaneous glucose monitoring is feasible with similar accuracy to standard fingerstick calibration. Additional data are required to confirm this result in subjects with diabetes.

Industrial Technology Modernization Program. Project 32. Factory Vision. Phase 2

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-04-01

instructions for the PWA’s, generating the numerical control (NC) program instructions for factory assembly equipment, controlling the process... generating the numerical control (NC) program instructions for factory assembly equipment, controlling the production process instructions and NC... Assembly Operations the "Create Production Process Program" will automatically generate a sequence of graphics pages (in paper mode), or graphics screens

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and their association with cancer mortality among workers in one automobile foundry factory.

PubMed

Wang, Lihua; Weng, Shaofan; Wen, Sheng; Shi, Tingming; Sun, Gangtao; Zeng, Yuyu; Qi, Cheng; Chen, Weihong

2013-01-15

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) have been reported as possible carcinogenic hazards to humans. However, epidemiological studies on their carcinogenic roles are limited. The current study was designed to determine the concentrations and characteristics of PCDD/Fs and evaluate their association with cancer mortality in exposed workers in one automobile foundry factory. PCDD/F levels in factory and surrounding environment were analyzed through air and settling dust sampling. The cancer mortalities among workers in this foundry factory were calculated using data from a cohort study. The results showed that the PCDD/F concentrations of air in workplace ranged 0.36-2.25 pg World Health Organization-Toxic Equivalent (WHO-TEQ) Nm(-3) (average 1.01 pg WHO-TEQ Nm(-3)), which were 1.16-7.26 times higher than those outside the factory. The PCDD/F concentrations of settling dust in the workplace ranged 3.34-18.64 pg WHO-TEQ g(-1) (average 8.25 pg WHO-TEQ g(-1)), which were lower than those just outside the factory (average 16.13 pg WHO-TEQ g(-1)). Furthermore, a cohort study of workers in this factory with average follow-up of 24.52 years showed that cancer was the leading cause of death, with significant elevated mortality (standardized mortality ratio (SMR)=1.70, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.35-2.13) among workers, when compared with Chinese national mortality. The cancer mortality among front-line workers was increased significantly (adjusted relative risk (RR)=1.73, 95% CI: 1.14-2.60), particularly among melting and casting workers, when compared with that among assistant workers. Our results indicated that there was a dose-response relationship between PCDD/F exposure and cancer mortality among foundry workers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhanced diesel fuel fraction from waste high-density polyethylene and heavy gas oil pyrolysis using factorial design methodology.

PubMed

Joppert, Ney; da Silva, Alexsandro Araujo; da Costa Marques, Mônica Regina

2015-02-01

Factorial Design Methodology (FDM) was developed to enhance diesel fuel fraction (C9-C23) from waste high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and Heavy Gas Oil (HGO) through co-pyrolysis. FDM was used for optimization of the following reaction parameters: temperature, catalyst and HDPE amounts. The HGO amount was constant (2.00 g) in all experiments. The model optimum conditions were determined to be temperature of 550 °C, HDPE = 0.20 g and no FCC catalyst. Under such conditions, 94% of pyrolytic oil was recovered, of which diesel fuel fraction was 93% (87% diesel fuel fraction yield), no residue was produced and 6% of noncondensable gaseous/volatile fraction was obtained. Seeking to reduce the cost due to high process temperatures, the impact of using higher catalyst content (25%) with a lower temperature (500 °C) was investigated. Under these conditions, 88% of pyrolytic oil was recovered (diesel fuel fraction yield was also 87%) as well as 12% of the noncondensable gaseous/volatile fraction. No waste was produced in these conditions, being an environmentally friendly approach for recycling the waste plastic. This paper demonstrated the usefulness of using FDM to predict and to optimize diesel fuel fraction yield with a great reduction in the number of experiments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Factorial versus Typological Models: A Comparison of Methods for Personality Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

von Davier, Matthias; Naemi, Bobby; Roberts, Richard D.

2012-01-01

This article describes an exploration of the distinction between typological and factorial latent variables in the domain of personality theory. Traditionally, many personality variables have been considered to be factorial in nature, even though there are examples of typological constructs dating back to Hippocrates. Recently, some…

Sexual behavior and perceived risk of HIV/AIDS among young migrant factory workers in Nepal.

PubMed

Puri, M; Cleland, J

2006-03-01

To analyze the sexual behavior, perceived risk of contracting STIs and HIV/AIDS, and protective behaviors of migrant workers aged 14-19 years in carpet and garment factories in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. A common assumption in Nepal is that young migrant workers experience an increase in vulnerability. Moving away from the social controls of family and community, they become exposed to a mixed-gender environment and therefore might initiate sex earlier or have more casual encounters than might otherwise be the case. The analysis is based on a representative sample survey of 1050 factory workers. Information was also obtained from 23 in-depth case histories. Both bivarite and multivariate techniques were applied to identify the factors associated with involvement in risky sexual behavior. Despite religious and cultural restrictions, one in five boys and one in eight unmarried girls reported experience of sexual intercourse. Early sexual experimentation, multiple partners, and low and irregular use of condoms are not uncommon. Instances of sexual exploitation by factory owners or managers were documented but were rare. Most nonregular sex partners were described as friends from the same factory or community. Despite high-risk behavior, relatively few young people considered themselves to be at risk of getting STIs or HIV/AIDS. Information on the possible consequences of unsafe sex is inadequate. Programs aimed at promotion of safer sex practices and life skill training that facilitates communication and utilization of sexual health services should target vulnerable migrant young people.

Tracing the contamination origin of coliform bacteria in two small food-processing factories.

PubMed

Tominaga, Tatsuya; Sekine, Masahiro; Oyaizu, Hiroshi

2008-09-01

The objective of this study was to trace contamination sources of coliform bacteria by comparing the types of coliforms between food samples and the processing environments in two small food-processing factories (factories A and B). Fermentation tests of five sugars enabled the successful classification of 16 representative type strains into eight distinct groups. The grouping procedure was then applied to comparison of the coliform flora between food products and various locations in their processing environments. The consistency between each food and the tested locations was evaluated using the Jaccard index. The air conditioner and refrigeration room floor in factory A showed an index of 1.00, while the shaping machine in factory B showed an index of 0.98, indicating that these locations could be contamination sources. The validity of our results was confirmed by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, which showed 100% matched profiles between the air conditioner and the food in factory A, and highly matched profiles between the machine and the food in factory B. This method for comparing the coliform flora between food and environments has the potential to be a reliable tracing tool for various food industries.

Sparse and incomplete factorial matrices to screen membrane protein 2D crystallization

PubMed Central

Lasala, R.; Coudray, N.; Abdine, A.; Zhang, Z.; Lopez-Redondo, M.; Kirshenbaum, R.; Alexopoulos, J.; Zolnai, Z.; Stokes, D.L.; Ubarretxena-Belandia, I.

2014-01-01

Electron crystallography is well suited for studying the structure of membrane proteins in their native lipid bilayer environment. This technique relies on electron cryomicroscopy of two-dimensional (2D) crystals, grown generally by reconstitution of purified membrane proteins into proteoliposomes under conditions favoring the formation of well-ordered lattices. Growing these crystals presents one of the major hurdles in the application of this technique. To identify conditions favoring crystallization a wide range of factors that can lead to a vast matrix of possible reagent combinations must be screened. However, in 2D crystallization these factors have traditionally been surveyed in a relatively limited fashion. To address this problem we carried out a detailed analysis of published 2D crystallization conditions for 12 β-barrel and 138 α-helical membrane proteins. From this analysis we identified the most successful conditions and applied them in the design of new sparse and incomplete factorial matrices to screen membrane protein 2D crystallization. Using these matrices we have run 19 crystallization screens for 16 different membrane proteins totaling over 1,300 individual crystallization conditions. Six membrane proteins have yielded diffracting 2D crystals suitable for structure determination, indicating that these new matrices show promise to accelerate the success rate of membrane protein 2D crystallization. PMID:25478971

Indoor air pollution evaluation with emphasize on HDI and biological assessment of HDA in the polyurethane factories.

PubMed

Mirmohammadi, Mirtaghi; Hakimi Ibrahim, M; Ahmad, Anees; Kadir, Mohd Omar Abdul; Mohammadyan, M; Mirashrafi, S B

2010-06-01

Today, many raw materials used in factories may have a dangerous effect on the physiological system of workers. One of them which is widely used in the polyurethane factories is diisocyanates. These compounds are widely used in surface coatings, polyurethane foams, adhesives, resins, elastomers, binders, and sealants. Exposure to diisocyanates causes irritation to the skin, mucous membranes, eyes, and respiratory tract. Hexamethylene diamine (HDA) is metabolite of hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). It is an excretory material by worker's urine who is exposed to HDI. Around 100 air samples were collected from five defined factories by midget impinger which contained dimethyl sulfoxide absorbent as a solvent and tryptamine as reagent. Samples were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with EC\\UV detector using NIOSH 5522 method of sampling. Also, 50 urine samples collected from workers were also analyzed using William's biological analysis method. The concentration of HDI into all air samples were more than 88 microg/m(3), and they have shown high concentration of pollutant in the workplaces in comparison with NIOSH standard, and all of the workers' urine were contaminated by HDA. The correlation and regression test were used to obtain statistical model for HDI and HDA, which is useful for the prediction of diisocyanates pollution situation in the polyurethane factories.

n-Hexane polyneuropathy in a ball-manufacturing factory

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

Huang, C.C.; Shih, T.S.; Cheng, S.Y.

Five overt and two occult cases of n-hexane polyneuropathy occurred in a ball-manufacturing factory in Taiwan. The severity of polyneuropathy was directly related to the index of n-hexane exposure that occurred during the processes of cement coating and nylon fiber winding in a poorly ventilated room. The n-hexane concentrations over eight hours of personal sampling of the air of the cement coating and nylon fiber winding areas were 109 ppm and 86 ppm, respectively. After installation of a new factory ventilation system, these seven patients recovered completely, and there were no new cases in the two-year follow-up.

Correlations and fluctuations: Generalized factorial moments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bialas, A.

2007-02-01

A systematic study of the relations between fluctuations of the extensive multiparticle variables and integrals of the inclusive multiparticle densities is presented. The generalized factorial moments are introduced and their physical meaning discussed. The effects of the additive conservation laws are analyzed.

Study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled factorial design trial to assess the effectiveness and feasibility of reactive focal mass drug administration and vector control to reduce malaria transmission in the low endemic setting of Namibia

PubMed Central

Medzihradsky, Oliver F; Kleinschmidt, Immo; Mumbengegwi, Davis; Roberts, Kathryn W; McCreesh, Patrick; Dufour, Mi-Suk Kang; Uusiku, Petrina; Katokele, Stark; Bennett, Adam; Smith, Jennifer; Sturrock, Hugh; Prach, Lisa M; Ntuku, Henry; Tambo, Munyaradzi; Didier, Bradley; Greenhouse, Bryan; Gani, Zaahira; Aerts, Ann; Gosling, Roly; Hsiang, Michelle S

2018-01-01

Introduction To interrupt malaria transmission, strategies must target the parasite reservoir in both humans and mosquitos. Testing of community members linked to an index case, termed reactive case detection (RACD), is commonly implemented in low transmission areas, though its impact may be limited by the sensitivity of current diagnostics. Indoor residual spraying (IRS) before malaria season is a cornerstone of vector control efforts. Despite their implementation in Namibia, a country approaching elimination, these methods have been met with recent plateaus in transmission reduction. This study evaluates the effectiveness and feasibility of two new targeted strategies, reactive focal mass drug administration (rfMDA) and reactive focal vector control (RAVC) in Namibia. Methods and analysis This is an open-label cluster randomised controlled trial with 2×2 factorial design. The interventions include: rfMDA (presumptive treatment with artemether-lumefantrine (AL)) versus RACD (rapid diagnostic testing and treatment using AL) and RAVC (IRS with Acellic 300CS) versus no RAVC. Factorial design also enables comparison of the combined rfMDA+RAVC intervention to RACD. Participants living in 56 enumeration areas will be randomised to one of four arms: rfMDA, rfMDA+RAVC, RACD or RACD+RAVC. These interventions, triggered by index cases detected at health facilities, will be targeted to individuals residing within 500 m of an index. The primary outcome is cumulative incidence of locally acquired malaria detected at health facilities over 1 year. Secondary outcomes include seroprevalence, infection prevalence, intervention coverage, safety, acceptability, adherence, cost and cost-effectiveness. Ethics and dissemination Findings will be reported on clinicaltrials.gov, in peer-reviewed publications and through stakeholder meetings with MoHSS and community leaders in Namibia. Trial registration number NCT02610400; Pre-results. PMID:29374672

Virtual patients design and its effect on clinical reasoning and student experience: a protocol for a randomised factorial multi-centre study.

PubMed

Bateman, James; Allen, Maggie E; Kidd, Jane; Parsons, Nick; Davies, David

2012-08-01

Virtual Patients (VPs) are web-based representations of realistic clinical cases. They are proposed as being an optimal method for teaching clinical reasoning skills. International standards exist which define precisely what constitutes a VP. There are multiple design possibilities for VPs, however there is little formal evidence to support individual design features. The purpose of this trial is to explore the effect of two different potentially important design features on clinical reasoning skills and the student experience. These are the branching case pathways (present or absent) and structured clinical reasoning feedback (present or absent). This is a multi-centre randomised 2 x 2 factorial design study evaluating two independent variables of VP design, branching (present or absent), and structured clinical reasoning feedback (present or absent).The study will be carried out in medical student volunteers in one year group from three university medical schools in the United Kingdom, Warwick, Keele and Birmingham. There are four core musculoskeletal topics. Each case can be designed in four different ways, equating to 16 VPs required for the research. Students will be randomised to four groups, completing the four VP topics in the same order, but with each group exposed to a different VP design sequentially. All students will be exposed to the four designs. Primary outcomes are performance for each case design in a standardized fifteen item clinical reasoning assessment, integrated into each VP, which is identical for each topic. Additionally a 15-item self-reported evaluation is completed for each VP, based on a widely used EViP tool. Student patterns of use of the VPs will be recorded.In one centre, formative clinical and examination performance will be recorded, along with a self reported pre and post-intervention reasoning score, the DTI. Our power calculations indicate a sample size of 112 is required for both primary outcomes. This trial will provide

An examination of the factorial and convergent validity of four measures of conspiracist ideation, with recommendations for researchers.

PubMed

Swami, Viren; Barron, David; Weis, Laura; Voracek, Martin; Stieger, Stefan; Furnham, Adrian

2017-01-01

A number scales have been developed to measure conspiracist ideation, but little attention has been paid to the factorial validity of these scales. We reassessed the psychometric properties of four widely-used scales, namely the Belief in Conspiracy Theories Inventory (BCTI), the Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire (CMQ), the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (GCBS), and the One-Item Conspiracy Measure (OICM). Eight-hundred-and-three U.S. adults completed all measures, along with measures of endorsement of 9/11 and anti-vaccination conspiracy theories. Through both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, we found that only the BCTI had acceptable factorial validity. We failed to confirm the factor structures of the CMQ and the GBCS, suggesting these measures had poor factorial validity. Indices of convergent validity were acceptable for the BCTI, but weaker for the other measures. Based on these findings, we provide suggestions for the future refinement in the measurement of conspiracist ideation.

Actual curriculum development practices instrument: Testing for factorial validity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foi, Liew Yon; Bakar, Kamariah Abu; Hamzah, Mohd Sahandri Gani; Alwi, Nor Hayati

2014-09-01

The Actual Curriculum Development Practices Instrument (ACDP-I) was developed and the factorial validity of the ACDP-I was tested (n = 107) using exploratory factor analysis procedures in the earlier work of [1]. Despite the ACDP-I appears to be content and construct valid instrument with very high internal reliability qualities for using in Malaysia, the accumulated evidences are still needed to provide a sound scientific basis for the proposed score interpretations. Therefore, the present study addresses this concern by utilising the confirmatory factor analysis to further confirm the theoretical structure of the variable Actual Curriculum Development Practices (ACDP) and enrich the psychometrical properties of ACDP-I. Results of this study have practical implication to both researchers and educators whose concerns focus on teachers' classroom practices and the instrument development and validation process.

Sensitivity analysis and nonlinearity assessment of steam cracking furnace process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosli, M. N.; Sudibyo, Aziz, N.

2017-11-01

In this paper, sensitivity analysis and nonlinearity assessment of cracking furnace process are presented. For the sensitivity analysis, the fractional factorial design method is employed as a method to analyze the effect of input parameters, which consist of four manipulated variables and two disturbance variables, to the output variables and to identify the interaction between each parameter. The result of the factorial design method is used as a screening method to reduce the number of parameters, and subsequently, reducing the complexity of the model. It shows that out of six input parameters, four parameters are significant. After the screening is completed, step test is performed on the significant input parameters to assess the degree of nonlinearity of the system. The result shows that the system is highly nonlinear with respect to changes in an air-to-fuel ratio (AFR) and feed composition.

Nanoemulsions containing a synthetic chalcone as an alternative for treating cutaneous leshmaniasis: optimization using a full factorial design

PubMed Central

de Mattos, Cristiane Bastos; Argenta, Débora Fretes; Melchiades, Gabriela de Lima; Sechini Cordeiro, Marlon Norberto; Tonini, Maiko Luis; Moraes, Milene Hoehr; Weber, Tanara Beatriz; Roman, Silvane Souza; Nunes, Ricardo José; Teixeira, Helder Ferreira; Steindel, Mário; Koester, Letícia Scherer

2015-01-01

Nanoemulsions are drug delivery systems that may increase the penetration of lipophilic compounds through the skin, enhancing their topical effect. Chalcones are compounds of low water solubility that have been described as promising molecules for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). In this context, the aim of this work was to optimize the development of a nanoemulsion containing a synthetic chalcone for CL treatment using a 22 full factorial design. The formulations were prepared by spontaneous emulsification and the experimental design studied the influence of two independent variables (type of surfactant – soybean lecithin or sorbitan monooleate and type of co-surfactants – polysorbate 20 or polysorbate 80) on the physicochemical characteristics of the nanoemulsions, as well as on the skin permeation/retention of the synthetic chalcone in porcine skin. In order to evaluate the stability of the systems, the antileishmanial assay was performed against Leishmania amazonensis 24 hours and 60 days after the preparation of the nanoemulsions. The formulation composed of soybean lecithin and polysorbate 20 presented suitable physicochemical characteristics (droplet size 171.9 nm; polydispersity index 0.14; zeta potential −39.43 mV; pH 5.16; and viscosity 2.00 cP), drug content (91.09%) and the highest retention in dermis (3.03 µg·g−1) – the main response of interest – confirmed by confocal microscopy. This formulation also presented better stability of leishmanicidal activity in vitro against L. amazonensis amastigote forms (half maximal inhibitory concentration value 0.32±0.05 µM), which confirmed the potential of the nanoemulsion soybean lecithin and polysorbate 20 for CL treatment. PMID:26366075

Study of the effect of temperature, irradiance and salinity on growth and yessotoxin production by the dinoflagellate Protoceratium reticulatum in culture by using a kinetic and factorial approach.

PubMed

Paz, Beatriz; Vázquez, José A; Riobó, Pilar; Franco, José M

2006-10-01

A complete first order orthogonal plan was used to optimize the growth and the production of yessotoxin (YTX) by the dinoflagellate Protoceratium reticulatum in culture by controlling salinity, temperature and irradiance. Initially, an approach to the kinetic data of cellular density and YTX production for each one of the experimental design conditions was performed. The P. reticulatum growth and YTX production were fitted to logistical equations and to a first-order kinetic model, respectively. The parameters obtained from this adjustment were used as dependent variables for the formulation of the empirical equations of the factorial design tested. The results showed that in practically all the cases for both, P. reticulatum growth and YTX production, irradiance is the primary independent variable and has a positive effect in the range 50-90 micromol photons m(-2) s(-1). Additionally, in certain specific cases, temperature reveals significant positive effects when maintained between 15 and 23 degrees C and salinity in the range of 20-34 displays negative effects. Despite the narrow ranges used in the work, results showed the suitability of factorial analysis to evaluate the optimal conditions for growth and yessotoxin production by the dinoflagellate P. reticulatum.

Technology and Participation in Japanese Factories: The Consequences for Morale and Productivity.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hull, Frank; Azumi, Koya

1988-01-01

By fully using their human resources, Japanese factories mass produce goods of low cost and high quality. Participation in Japanese factories occurs in a more hierarchical framework than advocated in the Western model of worker democracy. (JOW)

The Factorial Validity of The Maslach Burnout Inventory--General Survey in Representative Samples of Eight Different Occupational Groups

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Langballe, Ellen Melbye; Falkum, Erik; Innstrand, Siw Tone; Aasland, Olaf Gjerlow

2006-01-01

The Maslach Burnout Inventory--General Survey (MBI-GS) is designed to measure the three subdimensions (exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy) of burnout in a wide range of occupations. This article examines the factorial validity of the MBI-GS across eight different occupational groups in Norway: lawyers, physicians, nurses, teachers,…

Impact of HIV/AIDS on labor productivity in Akaki fiber products factory, Ethiopia.

PubMed

Omer, Endashaw M; Mariam, Damen Haile

2008-04-01

HIV/AIDS has become a full-blown development crisis affecting all sectors of the economy in most developing countries. Its social and economic consequences are felt widely not only in health but in education, industry, agriculture as well as transport. The study attempted to estimate the changes in worker's output and attendance associated with advancing HIV infection, and direct costs incurred by a fiber products factory due to illness and death related to HIV/AIDS. The study is a retrospective cohort with accounting method of cost estimation. The study subjects were factory workers enrolled in a cohort study of HIV incidence and progression in Akaki, Ethiopia since February 1997. The mean incentive earnings were not significantly different between HIV positives and negatives at baseline (in 1997). However, in the following years (1998, 1999 and 2000) the incentive earnings of HIV positives were significantly lower than the incentive earnings of HIV negatives. Trend analysis showed that advancing HIV infection, as measured by drop in CD4 count and increasing viral load, is associated with reduction in productivity and increased sick leave days. The study has shown that there is a direct negative impact of HIV infection on the productivity of factory workers and recommends institution of ART centers and programs in work places to mitigate the socio economic impact of the pandemic.

High concentrations of heavy metals in PM from ceramic factories of Southern Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sánchez de la Campa, Ana M.; de la Rosa, Jesús D.; González-Castanedo, Yolanda; Fernández-Camacho, Rocío; Alastuey, Andrés; Querol, Xavier; Pio, Casimiro

2010-06-01

In this study, physicochemical characterization of Atmospheric Particulate Matter (PM) was performed in an urban-industrial site background (Bailén, Southern Spain), highly influenced by the impact of emission plumes from ceramic factories. This area is considered one of the towns with the highest PM 10 levels and average SO 2 concentration in Spain. A three stages methodology was used: 1) real-time measurements of levels of PM 10 and gaseous pollutants, and sampling of PM; 2) chemical characterization using ICP-MS, ICP-OES, CI and TOT, and source apportionment analysis (receptor modelling) of PM; and 3) chemical characterization of emission plumes derived from representative factories. High ambient air concentrations were found for most major components and trace elements compared with other industrialized towns in Spain. V and Ni are considered fingerprints of PM derived from the emissions of brick factories in this area, and were shown to be of particular interest. This highlights the high V and Ni concentrations in PM 10 (122 ngV/m 3 and 23.4 ngNi/m 3), with Ni exceeding the 2013 annual target value for the European Directive 2004/107/EC (20 ng/m 3). The methodology of this work can be used by Government departments responsible for Environment and Epidemiology in planning control strategies for improving air quality.

Childhood leukaemia and ordnance factories in west Cumbria during the Second World War.

PubMed

Kinlen, L

2006-07-03

Much evidence has accumulated that childhood leukaemia (CL) is a rare response to a common, but unidentified, infection and in particular that situations involving the unusual mixing of urban and rural groups (approximating to, respectively, groups infected with, and susceptible to, the relevant microorganism) can produce localised epidemics with consequent increases of the infrequent leukaemic complication. During the Second World War, explosives production factories were built and operated at Drigg and Sellafield, and a shell filling factory at Bootle, in west Cumbria, England, requiring substantial numbers of construction workers to be brought into this remote and isolated area. Following the design of an earlier study of CL near large (post-war) rural construction sites, mortality from this disease was investigated with the help of the Office of National Statistics, in the area around these Cumbrian factories where local workers largely lived, during the construction period and with particular reference to the overlapping construction and operational phase when the mixing of local and migrant workers would have been greatest. An excess of leukaemia deaths at ages 1-14 was found during the construction period (observed 3; observed/expected (O/E) 2.2, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.6, 6.0), which was more marked and statistically significant during the overlap with operations (O 3; O/E 4.5, 95% CI: 1.1, 12.2), especially at ages 1-4 (O 2; O/E 7.1, CI: 1.2, 23.6). A previous investigation did not detect this excess because it considered only a small part of west Cumbria that omitted the communities where most of the workforce lived, having incorrectly attributed the post-war expansion of the village of Seascale (situated between Drigg and Sellafield) to the wartime ordnance factories. The present findings are consistent with the results of the earlier study of rural construction projects and with the general evidence that marked rural-urban population mixing

Childhood leukaemia and ordnance factories in west Cumbria during the Second World War

PubMed Central

Kinlen, L

2006-01-01

Much evidence has accumulated that childhood leukaemia (CL) is a rare response to a common, but unidentified, infection and in particular that situations involving the unusual mixing of urban and rural groups (approximating to, respectively, groups infected with, and susceptible to, the relevant microorganism) can produce localised epidemics with consequent increases of the infrequent leukaemic complication. During the Second World War, explosives production factories were built and operated at Drigg and Sellafield, and a shell filling factory at Bootle, in west Cumbria, England, requiring substantial numbers of construction workers to be brought into this remote and isolated area. Following the design of an earlier study of CL near large (post-war) rural construction sites, mortality from this disease was investigated with the help of the Office of National Statistics, in the area around these Cumbrian factories where local workers largely lived, during the construction period and with particular reference to the overlapping construction and operational phase when the mixing of local and migrant workers would have been greatest. An excess of leukaemia deaths at ages 1–14 was found during the construction period (observed 3; observed/expected (O/E) 2.2, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.6, 6.0), which was more marked and statistically significant during the overlap with operations (O 3; O/E 4.5, 95% CI: 1.1, 12.2), especially at ages 1–4 (O 2; O/E 7.1, CI: 1.2, 23.6). A previous investigation did not detect this excess because it considered only a small part of west Cumbria that omitted the communities where most of the workforce lived, having incorrectly attributed the post-war expansion of the village of Seascale (situated between Drigg and Sellafield) to the wartime ordnance factories. The present findings are consistent with the results of the earlier study of rural construction projects and with the general evidence that marked rural–urban population

Burnout Factories: The Challenge of Retaining Great Teachers in Charter Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fusco, Mark

2017-01-01

In its well-intentioned effort to create alternatives to public school dropout factories, the charter school sector has created teacher burnout factories. But it does not have to be this way. Charter schools can continue to maintain high standards while creating a more sustainable work environment for teachers. This article examines the teacher…

Actinobacteria consortium as an efficient biotechnological tool for mixed polluted soil reclamation: Experimental factorial design for bioremediation process optimization.

PubMed

Aparicio, Juan Daniel; Raimondo, Enzo Emanuel; Gil, Raúl Andrés; Benimeli, Claudia Susana; Polti, Marta Alejandra

2018-01-15

The objective of the present work was to establish optimal biological and physicochemical parameters in order to remove simultaneously lindane and Cr(VI) at high and/or low pollutants concentrations from the soil by an actinobacteria consortium formed by Streptomyces sp. M7, MC1, A5, and Amycolatopsis tucumanensis AB0. Also, the final aim was to treat real soils contaminated with Cr(VI) and/or lindane from the Northwest of Argentina employing the optimal biological and physicochemical conditions. In this sense, after determining the optimal inoculum concentration (2gkg -1 ), an experimental design model with four factors (temperature, moisture, initial concentration of Cr(VI) and lindane) was employed for predicting the system behavior during bioremediation process. According to response optimizer, the optimal moisture level was 30% for all bioremediation processes. However, the optimal temperature was different for each situation: for low initial concentrations of both pollutants, the optimal temperature was 25°C; for low initial concentrations of Cr(VI) and high initial concentrations of lindane, the optimal temperature was 30°C; and for high initial concentrations of Cr(VI), the optimal temperature was 35°C. In order to confirm the model adequacy and the validity of the optimization procedure, experiments were performed in six real contaminated soils samples. The defined actinobacteria consortium reduced the contaminants concentrations in five of the six samples, by working at laboratory scale and employing the optimal conditions obtained through the factorial design. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development and optimization of enteric coated mucoadhesive microspheres of duloxetine hydrochloride using 32 full factorial design

PubMed Central

Setia, Anupama; Kansal, Sahil; Goyal, Naveen

2013-01-01

Background: Microspheres constitute an important part of oral drug delivery system by virtue of their small size and efficient carrier capacity. However, the success of these microspheres is limited due to their short residence time at the site of absorption. Objective: The objective of the present study was to formulate and systematically evaluate in vitro performance of enteric coated mucoadhesive microspheres of duloxetine hydrochloride (DLX), an acid labile drug. Materials and Methods: DLX microspheres were prepared by simple emulsification phase separation technique using chitosan as carrier and glutaraldehyde as a cross-linking agent. Microspheres prepared were coated with eudragit L-100 using an oil-in-oil solvent evaporation method. Eudragit L-100was used as enteric coating polymer with the aim to release the drug in small intestine The microspheres prepared were characterized by particle size, entrapment efficiency, swelling index (SI), mucoadhesion time, in vitro drug release and surface morphology. A 32 full factorial design was employed to study the effect of independent variables polymer-to-drug ratio (X1) and stirring speed (X2) on dependent variables, particle size, entrapment efficiency, SI, in vitro mucoadhesion and drug release up to 24 h (t24). Results: Microspheres formed were discrete, spherical and free flowing. The microspheres exhibited good mucoadhesive property and also showed high percentage entrapment efficiency. The microspheres were able to sustain the drug release up to 24 h. Conclusion: Thus, the prepared enteric coated mucoadhesive microspheres may prove to be a potential controlled release formulation of DLX for oral administration. PMID:24167786

A plant factory for moth pheromone production

PubMed Central

Ding, Bao-Jian; Hofvander, Per; Wang, Hong-Lei; Durrett, Timothy P.; Stymne, Sten; Löfstedt, Christer

2014-01-01

Moths depend on pheromone communication for mate finding and synthetic pheromones are used for monitoring or disruption of pheromone communication in pest insects. Here we produce moth sex pheromone, using Nicotiana benthamiana as a plant factory, by transient expression of up to four genes coding for consecutive biosynthetic steps. We specifically produce multicomponent sex pheromones for two species. The fatty alcohol fractions from the genetically modified plants are acetylated to mimic the respective sex pheromones of the small ermine moths Yponomeuta evonymella and Y. padella. These mixtures are very efficient and specific for trapping of male moths, matching the activity of conventionally produced pheromones. Our long-term vision is to design tailor-made production of any moth pheromone component in genetically modified plants. Such semisynthetic preparation of sex pheromones is a novel and cost-effective way of producing moderate to large quantities of pheromones with high purity and a minimum of hazardous waste. PMID:24569486

Optimizing the vacuum plasma spray deposition of metal, ceramic, and cermet coatings using designed experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kingswell, R.; Scott, K. T.; Wassell, L. L.

1993-06-01

The vacuum plasma spray (VPS) deposition of metal, ceramic, and cermet coatings has been investigated using designed statistical experiments. Processing conditions that were considered likely to have a significant influence on the melting characteristics of the precursor powders and hence deposition efficiency were incorporated into full and fractional factorial experimental designs. The processing of an alumina powder was very sensitive to variations in the deposition conditions, particularly the injection velocity of the powder into the plasma flame, the plasma gas composition, and the power supplied to the gun. Using a combination of full and fractional factorial experimental designs, it was possible to rapidly identify the important spraying variables and adjust these to produce a deposition efficiency approaching 80 percent. The deposition of a nickel-base alloy metal powder was less sensitive to processing conditions. Generally, however, a high degree of particle melting was achieved for a wide range of spray conditions. Preliminary experiments performed using a tungsten carbide/cobalt cermet powder indicated that spray efficiency was not sensitive to deposition conditions. However, microstructural analysis revealed considerable variations in the degree of tungsten carbide dissolution. The structure and properties of the optimized coatings produced in the factorial experiments are also discussed.

Feasibility Study for an Asymmetric B Factory Based on PEP

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

Chattapadhyay, A.; Hitlin, D.; Porter, F.

This report addresses the feasibility of designing and constructing an asymmetric B-factory based on the PEP storage ring at SLAC that can ultimately reach a luminosity of 1 X 10{sup 34} cm{sup -2}s{sup -1}. Such a facility, operating at the {gamma}(4S) resonance, could be used to study mixing, rate decays, and CP violation in the B{bar B} system, and could also study tau and charm physics. The essential accelerator physics, engineering, and technology issues that must be addressed to successfully build this exciting and challenging facility are identified, and possible solutions, or R and D that will reasonable lead tomore » such solutions, are described.« less

An examination of the factorial and convergent validity of four measures of conspiracist ideation, with recommendations for researchers

PubMed Central

Swami, Viren; Barron, David; Weis, Laura; Voracek, Martin; Stieger, Stefan; Furnham, Adrian

2017-01-01

A number scales have been developed to measure conspiracist ideation, but little attention has been paid to the factorial validity of these scales. We reassessed the psychometric properties of four widely-used scales, namely the Belief in Conspiracy Theories Inventory (BCTI), the Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire (CMQ), the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (GCBS), and the One-Item Conspiracy Measure (OICM). Eight-hundred-and-three U.S. adults completed all measures, along with measures of endorsement of 9/11 and anti-vaccination conspiracy theories. Through both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, we found that only the BCTI had acceptable factorial validity. We failed to confirm the factor structures of the CMQ and the GBCS, suggesting these measures had poor factorial validity. Indices of convergent validity were acceptable for the BCTI, but weaker for the other measures. Based on these findings, we provide suggestions for the future refinement in the measurement of conspiracist ideation. PMID:28231266

Experimental Design For Photoresist Characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luckock, Larry

1987-04-01

In processing a semiconductor product (from discrete devices up to the most complex products produced) we find more photolithographic steps in wafer fabrication than any other kind of process step. Thus, the success of a semiconductor manufacturer hinges on the optimization of their photolithographic processes. Yet, we find few companies that have taken the time to properly characterize this critical operation; they are sitting in the "passenger's seat", waiting to see what will come out, hoping that the yields will improve someday. There is no "black magic" involved in setting up a process at its optimum conditions (i.e. minimum sensitivity to all variables at the same time). This paper gives an example of a real world situation for optimizing a photolithographic process by the use of a properly designed experiment, followed by adequate multidimensional analysis of the data. Basic SPC practices like plotting control charts will not, by themselves, improve yields; the control charts are, however, among the necessary tools used in the determination of the process capability and in the formulation of the problems to be addressed. The example we shall consider is the twofold objective of shifting the process average, while tightening the variance, of polysilicon line widths. This goal was identified from a Pareto analysis of yield-limiting mechanisms, plus inspection of the control charts. A key issue in a characterization of this type of process is the number of interactions between variables; this example rules out two-level full factorial and three-level fractional factorial designs (which cannot detect all of the interactions). We arrive at an experiment with five factors at five levels each. A full factorial design for five factors at three levels would require 3125 wafers. Instead, we will use a design that allows us to run this experiment with only 25 wafers, for a significant reduction in time, materials and manufacturing interruption in order to complete the

Advances and prospects of Bacillus subtilis cellular factories: From rational design to industrial applications.

PubMed

Gu, Yang; Xu, Xianhao; Wu, Yaokang; Niu, Tengfei; Liu, Yanfeng; Li, Jianghua; Du, Guocheng; Liu, Long

2018-05-15

Bacillus subtilis is the most characterized gram-positive bacterium that has significant attributes, such as growing well on cheap carbon sources, possessing clear inherited backgrounds, having mature genetic manipulation methods, and exhibiting robustness in large-scale fermentations. Till date, B. subtilis has been identified as attractive hosts for the production of recombinant proteins and chemicals. By applying various systems and synthetic biology tools, the productivity features of B. subtilis can be thoroughly analyzed and further optimized via metabolic engineering. In the present review, we discussed why B. subtilis is the primary organisms used for metabolic engineering and industrial applications. Additionally, we summarized the recent advances in systems and synthetic biology, engineering strategies for improving cellular performances, and metabolic engineering applications of B. subtilis. In particular, we proposed emerging opportunities and essential strategies to enable the successful development of B. subtilis as microbial cell factories. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Development and optimization of enteric coated mucoadhesive microspheres of duloxetine hydrochloride using 3(2) full factorial design.

PubMed

Setia, Anupama; Kansal, Sahil; Goyal, Naveen

2013-07-01

Microspheres constitute an important part of oral drug delivery system by virtue of their small size and efficient carrier capacity. However, the success of these microspheres is limited due to their short residence time at the site of absorption. The objective of the present study was to formulate and systematically evaluate in vitro performance of enteric coated mucoadhesive microspheres of duloxetine hydrochloride (DLX), an acid labile drug. DLX microspheres were prepared by simple emulsification phase separation technique using chitosan as carrier and glutaraldehyde as a cross-linking agent. Microspheres prepared were coated with eudragit L-100 using an oil-in-oil solvent evaporation method. Eudragit L-100was used as enteric coating polymer with the aim to release the drug in small intestine The microspheres prepared were characterized by particle size, entrapment efficiency, swelling index (SI), mucoadhesion time, in vitro drug release and surface morphology. A 3(2) full factorial design was employed to study the effect of independent variables polymer-to-drug ratio (X1) and stirring speed (X2) on dependent variables, particle size, entrapment efficiency, SI, in vitro mucoadhesion and drug release up to 24 h (t24). Microspheres formed were discrete, spherical and free flowing. The microspheres exhibited good mucoadhesive property and also showed high percentage entrapment efficiency. The microspheres were able to sustain the drug release up to 24 h. Thus, the prepared enteric coated mucoadhesive microspheres may prove to be a potential controlled release formulation of DLX for oral administration.

Establishing a Mathematical Equations and Improving the Production of L-tert-Leucine by Uniform Design and Regression Analysis.

PubMed

Jiang, Wei; Xu, Chao-Zhen; Jiang, Si-Zhi; Zhang, Tang-Duo; Wang, Shi-Zhen; Fang, Bai-Shan

2017-04-01

L-tert-Leucine (L-Tle) and its derivatives are extensively used as crucial building blocks for chiral auxiliaries, pharmaceutically active ingredients, and ligands. Combining with formate dehydrogenase (FDH) for regenerating the expensive coenzyme NADH, leucine dehydrogenase (LeuDH) is continually used for synthesizing L-Tle from α-keto acid. A multilevel factorial experimental design was executed for research of this system. In this work, an efficient optimization method for improving the productivity of L-Tle was developed. And the mathematical model between different fermentation conditions and L-Tle yield was also determined in the form of the equation by using uniform design and regression analysis. The multivariate regression equation was conveniently implemented in water, with a space time yield of 505.9 g L -1  day -1 and an enantiomeric excess value of >99 %. These results demonstrated that this method might become an ideal protocol for industrial production of chiral compounds and unnatural amino acids such as chiral drug intermediates.

Systems biology of yeast: enabling technology for development of cell factories for production of advanced biofuels.

PubMed

de Jong, Bouke; Siewers, Verena; Nielsen, Jens

2012-08-01

Transportation fuels will gradually shift from oil based fuels towards alternative fuel resources like biofuels. Current bioethanol and biodiesel can, however, not cover the increasing demand for biofuels and there is therefore a need for advanced biofuels with superior fuel properties. Novel cell factories will provide a production platform for advanced biofuels. However, deep cellular understanding is required for improvement of current biofuel cell factories. Fast screening and analysis (-omics) methods and metabolome-wide mathematical models are promising techniques. An integrated systems approach of these techniques drives diversity and quantity of several new biofuel compounds. This review will cover the recent technological developments that support improvement of the advanced biofuels 1-butanol, biodiesels and jetfuels. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimization of the Ion Source-Mass Spectrometry Parameters in Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Pharmaceuticals Analysis by a Design of Experiments Approach.

PubMed

Paíga, Paula; Silva, Luís M S; Delerue-Matos, Cristina

2016-10-01

The flow rates of drying and nebulizing gas, heat block and desolvation line temperatures and interface voltage are potential electrospray ionization parameters as they may enhance sensitivity of the mass spectrometer. The conditions that give higher sensitivity of 13 pharmaceuticals were explored. First, Plackett-Burman design was implemented to screen significant factors, and it was concluded that interface voltage and nebulizing gas flow were the only factors that influence the intensity signal for all pharmaceuticals. This fractionated factorial design was projected to set a full 2(2) factorial design with center points. The lack-of-fit test proved to be significant. Then, a central composite face-centered design was conducted. Finally, a stepwise multiple linear regression and subsequently an optimization problem solving were carried out. Two main drug clusters were found concerning the signal intensities of all runs of the augmented factorial design. p-Aminophenol, salicylic acid, and nimesulide constitute one cluster as a result of showing much higher sensitivity than the remaining drugs. The other cluster is more homogeneous with some sub-clusters comprising one pharmaceutical and its respective metabolite. It was observed that instrumental signal increased when both significant factors increased with maximum signal occurring when both codified factors are set at level +1. It was also found that, for most of the pharmaceuticals, interface voltage influences the intensity of the instrument more than the nebulizing gas flowrate. The only exceptions refer to nimesulide where the relative importance of the factors is reversed and still salicylic acid where both factors equally influence the instrumental signal. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.

Optimization of the Ion Source-Mass Spectrometry Parameters in Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory and Analgesic Pharmaceuticals Analysis by a Design of Experiments Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paíga, Paula; Silva, Luís M. S.; Delerue-Matos, Cristina

2016-10-01

The flow rates of drying and nebulizing gas, heat block and desolvation line temperatures and interface voltage are potential electrospray ionization parameters as they may enhance sensitivity of the mass spectrometer. The conditions that give higher sensitivity of 13 pharmaceuticals were explored. First, Plackett-Burman design was implemented to screen significant factors, and it was concluded that interface voltage and nebulizing gas flow were the only factors that influence the intensity signal for all pharmaceuticals. This fractionated factorial design was projected to set a full 22 factorial design with center points. The lack-of-fit test proved to be significant. Then, a central composite face-centered design was conducted. Finally, a stepwise multiple linear regression and subsequently an optimization problem solving were carried out. Two main drug clusters were found concerning the signal intensities of all runs of the augmented factorial design. p-Aminophenol, salicylic acid, and nimesulide constitute one cluster as a result of showing much higher sensitivity than the remaining drugs. The other cluster is more homogeneous with some sub-clusters comprising one pharmaceutical and its respective metabolite. It was observed that instrumental signal increased when both significant factors increased with maximum signal occurring when both codified factors are set at level +1. It was also found that, for most of the pharmaceuticals, interface voltage influences the intensity of the instrument more than the nebulizing gas flowrate. The only exceptions refer to nimesulide where the relative importance of the factors is reversed and still salicylic acid where both factors equally influence the instrumental signal.

de novo computational enzyme design.

PubMed

Zanghellini, Alexandre

2014-10-01

Recent advances in systems and synthetic biology as well as metabolic engineering are poised to transform industrial biotechnology by allowing us to design cell factories for the sustainable production of valuable fuels and chemicals. To deliver on their promises, such cell factories, as much as their brick-and-mortar counterparts, will require appropriate catalysts, especially for classes of reactions that are not known to be catalyzed by enzymes in natural organisms. A recently developed methodology, de novo computational enzyme design can be used to create enzymes catalyzing novel reactions. Here we review the different classes of chemical reactions for which active protein catalysts have been designed as well as the results of detailed biochemical and structural characterization studies. We also discuss how combining de novo computational enzyme design with more traditional protein engineering techniques can alleviate the shortcomings of state-of-the-art computational design techniques and create novel enzymes with catalytic proficiencies on par with natural enzymes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ultrasound-enhanced bioscouring of greige cotton: regression analysis of process factors

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Process factors of enzyme concentration, time, power and frequency were investigated for ultrasound-enhanced bioscouring of greige cotton. A fractional factorial experimental design and subsequent regression analysis of the process factors were employed to determine the significance of each factor a...

Autocrine and/or paracrine insulin-like growth factor-I activity in skeletal muscle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, Gregory R.

2002-01-01

Similar to bone, skeletal muscle responds and adapts to changes in loading state via mechanisms that appear to be intrinsic to the muscle. One of the mechanisms modulating skeletal muscle adaptation it thought to involve the autocrine and/or paracrine production of insulinlike growth factor-I. This brief review outlines components of the insulinlike growth factor-I system as it relates to skeletal muscle and provides the rationale for the theory that insulinlike growth factor-I is involved with muscle adaptation.

Metals distribution in soils around the cement factory in southern Jordan.

PubMed

Al-Khashman, Omar A; Shawabkeh, Reyad A

2006-04-01

Thirty one soil samples were collected from south Jordan around the cement factory in Qadissiya area. The samples were obtained at two depths, 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm and were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometery for Pb, Zn, Cd, Fe, Cu and Cr. Physicochemical factors believed to affect their mobility of metals in soil of the study area were examined such as; pH, TOM, CaCO3, CEC and conductivity. The relatively high concentrations of lead, zinc and cadmium in the soil samples of the investigated area were related to anthropogenic sources such as cement industry, agriculture activities and traffic emissions. It was found that the lead, zinc and cadmium have the highest level in area close to the cement factory, while the concentration of chromium was low. This study indicate that all of the metals are concentrated on the surface soil, and decreased in the lower part of the soil, this due to reflects their mobility and physical properties of soil and its alkaline pH values. The use of factor analysis showed that anthropogenic activities seem to be the responsible source of pollution for metals in urban soils.

Knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about HIV infection and AIDS among healthy factory workers and their wives, Kinshasa, Zaire.

PubMed

Irwin, K; Bertrand, J; Mibandumba, N; Mbuyi, K; Muremeri, C; Mukoka, M; Munkolenkole, K; Nzilambi, N; Bosenge, N; Ryder, R

1991-01-01

As a first step in designing an AIDS prevention program at a large factory in Kinshasa, Zaire, we collected information on attitudes towards human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) from factory foremen and their wives. Trained moderators conducted twelve focus group discussions (from November through December 1987) that addressed knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about HIV infection and AIDS. In general, participants were familiar with HIV infection and AIDS and considered these conditions leading health problems in Kinshasa. Although participants had a fairly accurate understanding of the causes of HIV infection, modes of transmission and preventive measures, many myths and misconceptions existed. Many participants did not believe that condom use would consistently prevent infection through sexual intercourse. Participants strongly favored the counseling of seropositive persons but showed less consensus about whether the spouse of a seropositive person should be notified of the partner's test result. Participants predicted that couples in which one member is seropositive and the other is not would experience marital discord and friction with family, neighbors and co-workers. These findings were applied to the development of a counseling and educational program for seropositive factory employees and their spouses.

Fractional Factorial Design Study on the Performance of GAC-Enhanced Electrocoagulation Process Involved in Color Removal from Dye Solutions.

PubMed

Secula, Marius Sebastian; Cretescu, Igor; Cagnon, Benoit; Manea, Liliana Rozemarie; Stan, Corneliu Sergiu; Breaban, Iuliana Gabriela

2013-07-10

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of main factors and interactions on the color removal performance from dye solutions using the electrocoagulation process enhanced by adsorption on Granular Activated Carbon (GAC). In this study, a mathematical approach was conducted using a two-level fractional factorial design ( FFD ) for a given dye solution. Three textile dyes: Acid Blue 74, Basic Red 1, and Reactive Black 5 were used. Experimental factors used and their respective levels were: current density (2.73 or 27.32 A/m²), initial pH of aqueous dye solution (3 or 9), electrocoagulation time (20 or 180 min), GAC dose (0.1 or 0.5 g/L), support electrolyte (2 or 50 mM), initial dye concentration (0.05 or 0.25 g/L) and current type (Direct Current- DC or Alternative Pulsed Current- APC ). GAC-enhanced electrocoagulation performance was analyzed statistically in terms of removal efficiency, electrical energy, and electrode material consumptions, using modeling polynomial equations. The statistical significance of GAC dose level on the performance of GAC enhanced electrocoagulation and the experimental conditions that favor the process operation of electrocoagulation in APC regime were determined. The local optimal experimental conditions were established using a multi-objective desirability function method.

Fractional Factorial Design Study on the Performance of GAC-Enhanced Electrocoagulation Process Involved in Color Removal from Dye Solutions

PubMed Central

Secula, Marius Sebastian; Cretescu, Igor; Cagnon, Benoit; Manea, Liliana Rozemarie; Stan, Corneliu Sergiu; Breaban, Iuliana Gabriela

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of main factors and interactions on the color removal performance from dye solutions using the electrocoagulation process enhanced by adsorption on Granular Activated Carbon (GAC). In this study, a mathematical approach was conducted using a two-level fractional factorial design (FFD) for a given dye solution. Three textile dyes: Acid Blue 74, Basic Red 1, and Reactive Black 5 were used. Experimental factors used and their respective levels were: current density (2.73 or 27.32 A/m2), initial pH of aqueous dye solution (3 or 9), electrocoagulation time (20 or 180 min), GAC dose (0.1 or 0.5 g/L), support electrolyte (2 or 50 mM), initial dye concentration (0.05 or 0.25 g/L) and current type (Direct Current—DC or Alternative Pulsed Current—APC). GAC-enhanced electrocoagulation performance was analyzed statistically in terms of removal efficiency, electrical energy, and electrode material consumptions, using modeling polynomial equations. The statistical significance of GAC dose level on the performance of GAC enhanced electrocoagulation and the experimental conditions that favor the process operation of electrocoagulation in APC regime were determined. The local optimal experimental conditions were established using a multi-objective desirability function method. PMID:28811405

Hardwood log grades and lumber grade yields for factory lumber logs

Treesearch

Leland F. Hanks; Glenn L. Gammon; Robert L. Brisbin; Everette D. Rast

1980-01-01

The USDA Forest Service Standard Grades for Hardwood Factory Lumber Logs are described, and lumber grade yields for 16 species and 2 species groups are presented by log grade and log diameter. The grades enable foresters, log buyers, and log sellers to select and grade those log suitable for conversion into standard factory grade lumber. By using the apropriate lumber...

Molecular pathways: transcription factories and chromosomal translocations.

PubMed

Osborne, Cameron S

2014-01-15

The mammalian nucleus is a highly complex structure that carries out a diverse range of functions such as DNA replication, cell division, RNA processing, and nuclear export/import. Many of these activities occur at discrete subcompartments that intersect with specific regions of the genome. Over the past few decades, evidence has accumulated to suggest that RNA transcription also occurs in specialized sites, called transcription factories, that may influence how the genome is organized. There may be certain efficiency benefits to cluster transcriptional activity in this way. However, the clustering of genes at transcription factories may have consequences for genome stability, and increase the susceptibility to recurrent chromosomal translocations that lead to cancer. The relationships between genome organization, transcription, and chromosomal translocation formation will have important implications in understanding the causes of therapy-related cancers. ©2013 AACR.

Factorial Composition of Counsellor Effectiveness Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oluseyi, Adeyemo Emily; Oreoluwa, Shaba Veronica

2014-01-01

The study developed a set of items that could measure counsellor effectiveness. It reduced the initial set of variables related to counsellor effectiveness to such number of variables that are generally perceived as indicative of counsellor effectiveness and determined the factorial composition of the scale. in order to identify the major factors…

Accelerator structure and beam transport system for the KEK photon factory injector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Isamu

1980-11-01

The injector is a 2.5 GeV electron linac which serves multiple purposes, being not only the injector for the various storage rings of the Photon Factory but also for the next planned project, the TRISTAN RING, and also as an intense electron or γ-ray source for research on phenomena in widely diverse scientific fields. The accelerator structure and beam transport system for the linac were designed with the greatest care in order to avoid beam blow-up difficulties, and also to be as suitable as possible to enable the economical mass production of the accelerator guides and focusing magnets.

Solenoid Fringe Field Effects for the Neutrino Factory Linac - MAD-X Investigation

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

M. Aslaninejad,C. Bontoiu,J. Pasternak,J. Pozimski,Alex Bogacz

2010-05-01

International Design Study for the Neutrino Factory (IDS-NF) assumes the first stage of muon acceleration (up to 900 MeV) to be implemented with a solenoid based Linac. The Linac consists of three styles of cryo-modules, containing focusing solenoids and varying number of SRF cavities for acceleration. Fringe fields of the solenoids and the focusing effects in the SRF cavities have significant impact on the transverse beam dynamics. Using an analytical formula, the effects of fringe fields are studied in MAD-X. The resulting betatron functions are compared with the results of beam dynamics simulations using OptiM code.

A survey of airborne and skin exposures to chemicals in footwear and equipment factories in Thailand.

PubMed

Todd, Lori A; Mottus, Kathleen; Mihlan, Gary J

2008-03-01

This research reports on a pilot industrial hygiene study that was performed at four footwear factories and two equipment factories in Thailand. Workers in these factories were exposed through inhalation and dermal contact to a large number of organic vapors from solvents and cements that were hand applied. In addition, these workers were exposed to highly toxic isocyanates primarily through the dermal route. A total of 286 personal air samples were obtained at the four footwear factories using organic vapor monitors; individual job tasks were monitored using a real-time MIRAN Spectrometer. A total of 64 surface, tool, or hand samples were monitored for isocyanates using surface contamination detectors. Real-time measurements were also obtained for organic vapors in two equipment factories. From 8% to 21% of the workers sampled in each footwear factory were overexposed to mixtures of chemicals from solvents and cements. Up to 100% of the workers performing specific job tasks were overexposed to mixtures of chemicals. From 39% to 69% of the surface samples were positive for unreacted isocyanates. Many of the real-time measurements obtained in the equipment factories exceeded occupational exposure limits. Personal protective equipment and engineering controls were inadequate in all of the factories.

Linking structural biology with genome research: Beamlines for the Berlin ``Protein Structure Factory'' initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Illing, Gerd; Saenger, Wolfram; Heinemann, Udo

2000-06-01

The Protein Structure Factory will be established to characterize proteins encoded by human genes or cDNAs, which will be selected by criteria of potential structural novelty or medical or biotechnological usefulness. It represents an integrative approach to structure analysis combining bioinformatics techniques, automated gene expression and purification of gene products, generation of a biophysical fingerprint of the proteins and the determination of their three-dimensional structures either by NMR spectroscopy or by X-ray diffraction. The use of synchrotron radiation will be crucial to the Protein Structure Factory: high brilliance and tunable wavelengths are prerequisites for fast data collection, the use of small crystals and multiwavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) phasing. With the opening of BESSY II, direct access to a third-generation XUV storage ring source with excellent conditions is available nearby. An insertion device with two MAD beamlines and one constant energy station will be set up until 2001.

76 FR 77175 - New York Fun Factory Fireworks Display, Western Long Island Sound; Mamaroneck, NY

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-12

...-AA00 New York Fun Factory Fireworks Display, Western Long Island Sound; Mamaroneck, NY AGENCY: Coast... in support of the New York Fun Factory Fireworks display. This action is necessary to provide for the... the Coast Guard to define regulatory safety zones. On May 10, 2012 New York Fun Factory Events is...

Environmental factors affecting antipyrine metabolism in London factory and office workers.

PubMed Central

Fraser, H S; Mucklow, J C; Bulpitt, C J; Kahn, C; Mould, G; Dollery, C T

1979-01-01

1 Measurements of antipyrine clearance in saliva have been made in 128 London factory and office workers. 2 Mean antipyrine clearance in 56 Asian immigrants was 40% slower than in 72 White subjects. 3 Although dietary differences existed between the two groups, analysis of their effect independently of race was impossible since all but one of the vegetarians were Asian and the non-vegetarians were nearly all White. 4 In the White subjects, use of the oral contraceptive reduced clearance by 38% in women, while cigarette smoking increase clearance by 38% in men. PMID:427001

Multi-Reader ROC studies with Split-Plot Designs: A Comparison of Statistical Methods

PubMed Central

Obuchowski, Nancy A.; Gallas, Brandon D.; Hillis, Stephen L.

2012-01-01

Rationale and Objectives Multi-reader imaging trials often use a factorial design, where study patients undergo testing with all imaging modalities and readers interpret the results of all tests for all patients. A drawback of the design is the large number of interpretations required of each reader. Split-plot designs have been proposed as an alternative, in which one or a subset of readers interprets all images of a sample of patients, while other readers interpret the images of other samples of patients. In this paper we compare three methods of analysis for the split-plot design. Materials and Methods Three statistical methods are presented: Obuchowski-Rockette method modified for the split-plot design, a newly proposed marginal-mean ANOVA approach, and an extension of the three-sample U-statistic method. A simulation study using the Roe-Metz model was performed to compare the type I error rate, power and confidence interval coverage of the three test statistics. Results The type I error rates for all three methods are close to the nominal level but tend to be slightly conservative. The statistical power is nearly identical for the three methods. The coverage of 95% CIs fall close to the nominal coverage for small and large sample sizes. Conclusions The split-plot MRMC study design can be statistically efficient compared with the factorial design, reducing the number of interpretations required per reader. Three methods of analysis, shown to have nominal type I error rate, similar power, and nominal CI coverage, are available for this study design. PMID:23122570

R&D Toward a Neutrino Factory and Muon Collider

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

Zisman, Michael S

2011-03-20

Significant progress has been made in recent years in R&D towards a neutrino factory and muon collider. The U.S. Muon Accelerator Program (MAP) has been formed recently to expedite the R&D efforts. This paper will review the U.S. MAP R&D programs for a neutrino factory and muon collider. Muon ionization cooling research is the key element of the program. The first muon ionization cooling demonstration experiment, MICE (Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment), is under construction now at RAL (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory) in the UK. The current status of MICE will be described.

Environmental sampling of lead near a battery reprocessing factory

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

Leung, H.W.

1988-09-01

Exposed workers in lead smelting plants and lead storage battery factories have reported illnesses related to inhalation of lead oxide fumes. The residential community of La Gloria, a town of about 15,000 people located approximately 13 km southwest of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico was an area where residents were concerned about possible health effects and environmental contamination from lead due to the proximity of battery factory that used lead oxide in the battery grid separation procedure. This study was undertaken to investigate the lead levels in the soil, plant and water collected in various areas around this battery reprocessing plant.

Occupational exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) in a plastic injection molding factory in Malaysia.

PubMed

Kouidhi, Wided; Thannimalay, Letchumi; Soon, Chen Sau; Ali Mohd, Mustafa

2017-07-14

The purpose of this study has been to assess ambient bisphenol A (BPA) levels in workplaces and urine levels of workers and to establish a BPA database for different populations in Malaysia. Urine samples were collected from plastic factory workers and from control subjects after their shift. Air samples were collected using gas analyzers from 5 sampling positions in the injection molding unit work area and from ambient air. The level of BPA in airborne and urine samples was quantified by the gas chromatography mass spectrometry - selected ion monitoring (GCMS-SIM) analysis. Bisphenol A was detected in the median range of 8-28.3 ng/m³ and 2.4-3.59 ng/m³ for the 5 sampling points in the plastic molding factory and in the ambient air respectively. The median urinary BPA concentration was significantly higher in the workers (3.81 ng/ml) than in control subjects (0.73 ng/ml). The urinary BPA concentration was significantly associated with airborne BPA levels (ρ = 0.55, p < 0.01). Our findings provide the first evidence that workers in a molding factory in Malaysia are occupationally exposed to BPA. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2017;30(5):743-750. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Undergraduate Students' Initial Conceptions of Factorials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lockwood, Elise; Erickson, Sarah

2017-01-01

Counting problems offer rich opportunities for students to engage in mathematical thinking, but they can be difficult for students to solve. In this paper, we present a study that examines student thinking about one concept within counting, factorials, which are a key aspect of many combinatorial ideas. In an effort to better understand students'…

An Epiphany in a Toilet Factory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cobb, Catlin

2009-01-01

In this article, the author shares her experiences of the universality of art making and artistic experience of being a dancer and teaching artist. She describes her performance at Kohler, a worldwide leader in plumbing products in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where she had an epiphany dancing in a toilet factory--a sudden, intuitive moment of…

9. NORTHEAST FROM SOUTH ENTRANCE ACROSS RECEIVING AREA OF FACTORY ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

9. NORTHEAST FROM SOUTH ENTRANCE ACROSS RECEIVING AREA OF FACTORY PAST THE GLASS-ENCLOSED OFFICE TOWARD SHOP AREA. BESIDE THE VERTICAL POST ROOF SUPPORT IN THE LEFT FOREGROUND IS A SCALE AND DRAFTING TABLE. BESIDE THE OFFICE WALL ON THE RIGHT IS A SMALL SHOP REPAIR BENCH, WHILE ABOVE THE OFFICE WINDOWS ARE BOXES OF COMPANY MANUSCRIPT BUSINESS RECORDS. THE WELDED METAL PIPE RACK IS A MODERN INTRUSION. - Kregel Windmill Company Factory, 1416 Central Avenue, Nebraska City, Otoe County, NE

Does open-air exposure to volatile organic compounds near a plastic recycling factory cause health effects?

PubMed

Yorifuji, Takashi; Noguchi, Miyuki; Tsuda, Toshihide; Suzuki, Etsuji; Takao, Soshi; Kashima, Saori; Yanagisawa, Yukio

2012-01-01

After a plastic reprocessing factory began to operate in August 2004, the residents around the factory in Neyagawa, Osaka, Japan, began to complain of symptoms. Therefore, we conducted an exposure assessment and a population-based epidemiological study in 2006. To assess exposure, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and total VOCs were measured at two locations in the vicinity of the factory. In the population-based study, a total of 3,950 residents were targeted. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information about subjects' mucocutaneous or respiratory symptoms. Using logistic regression models, we compared the prevalence of symptoms in July 2006 by employing the farthest area from the factory as a reference, and prevalence odds ratios (PORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. The concentration of total VOCs was higher in the vicinity of the factory. The prevalence of mucocutaneous and respiratory symptoms was the highest among the residents in the closest area to the factory. Some symptoms were significantly increased among the residents within 500 m of the factory compared with residents of an area 2800 m from the factory: e.g., sore throat (POR=3.2, 95% CI: 1.3-8.0), eye itch (POR=3.0, 95% CI: 1.5-6.0), eye discharge (POR=6.0, 95% CI: 2.3-15.9), eczema (POR=3.0, 95% CI: 1.1-7.9) and sputum (POR=2.4, 95% CI: 1.1-5.1). Despite of the limitations of this study, these results imply a possible association of open-air VOCs with mucocutaneous and respiratory symptoms. Because this kind of plasticre cycling factory only recently came into operation, more attention should be paid to the operation of plastic recycling factories in the environment.

Conceptuation, formulation and evaluation of sustained release floating tablets of captopril compression coated with gastric dispersible hydrochlorothiazide using 23 factorial design

PubMed Central

Sirisha, Pathuri Lakshmi; Babu, Govada Kishore; Babu, Puttagunta Srinivasa

2014-01-01

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is regarded as the gold standard for hypertensive therapy in non-dipping hypertension patients. A novel compression coated formulation of captopril and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) was developed in order to improve the efficacy of antihypertensive therapy considering the half-life of both drugs. The synergistic action using combination therapy can be effectively achieved by sustained release captopril (t1/2= 2.5 h) and fast releasing HCTZ (average t1/2= 9.5 h). The sustained release floating tablets of captopril were prepared by using 23 factorial design by employing three polymers i.e., ethyl cellulose (EC), carbopol and xanthan gum at two levels. The formulations (CF1-CF8) were optimized using analysis of variance for two response variables, buoyancy and T50%. Among the three polymers employed, the coefficients and P values for the response variable buoyancy and T50% using EC were found to be 3.824, 0.028 and 0.0196, 0.046 respectively. From the coefficients and P values for the two response variables, formulation CF2 was optimized, which contains EC polymer alone at a high level. The CF2 formulation was further compression coated with optimized gastric dispersible HCTZ layer (HF9). The compression coated tablet was further evaluated using drug release kinetics. The Q value of HCTZ layer is achieved within 20 min following first order release whereas the Q value of captopril was obtained at 6.5 h following Higuchi model, from which it is proved that rapid release HCTZ and slow release of captopril is achieved. The mechanism of drug release was analyzed using Peppas equation, which showed an n >0.90 confirming case II transportation mechanism for drug release. PMID:25006552

Poor but Not Powerless: Women Workers in Production Chain Factories in China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ma, Lang; Jacobs, Francine

2010-01-01

The present study demonstrates the processes by which 12 young women working in four production chain factories in China shape their own lives--their developmental trajectories--during the period following their entry into factory work. One-on-one, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted in August, 2005, as part of an evaluation…

Quality of Life Among Thai Workers in Textile Dyeing Factories

PubMed Central

Kittipichai, Wirin; Arsa, Rattanaporn; Jirapongsuwan, Ann; Singhakant, Chatchawal

2015-01-01

The purpose of a cross-sectional study was to investigate factors influencing the quality of life among Thai workers in textile dyeing factories. Samples included 205 Thai workers from five textile dyeing factories located in the suburban area of Bangkok in Thailand. Data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire. Scales of the questionnaire had reliability coefficients ranging from 0.70–0.91. The results revealed that the overall quality of life among workers was most likely between good and moderate levels, and the percentage-mean score was 74.77. The seven factors associated with the overall quality of life were co-worker relationships, safety at work in the dimension of accident prevention, job characteristics, supervisory relationships, welfares, marital status, and physical environment. Furthermore, co-worker relationships, accident prevention, and marital status were three considerable predictors accounted for 23% of the variance in the overall quality of life among workers in textile dyeing factories. PMID:25948458

Dermatitis in a rubber tyre factory.

PubMed

Zina, A M; Bedello, P G; Cane, D; Bundino, S; Benedetto, A

1987-07-01

An outbreak of occupational dermatitis in a rubber tyre factory is reported. An unusual clinical picture was recognized. Patch tests revealed a high sensitization rate to the MBT derivative used: 2-(2'-4'dinitrophenylthio)benzothiazole. Since tests with MBT mix and dinitrophenol were negative; sensitization to a contaminant was suspected. DNCB was traced as the substance responsible.

21. SOUTH THROUGH FACTORY FROM NEAR NORTHEAST CORNER TOWARD SOUTH ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

21. SOUTH THROUGH FACTORY FROM NEAR NORTHEAST CORNER TOWARD SOUTH FRONT OF BUILDING. VISIBLE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT ARE CIRCA 1865 METAL-TURNING LATHE; CIRCA 1875 POWER SHEAR, PUNCH, AND RIVETING MACHINE (WITH FLOORING RAISED TO SHOW OPERATOR'S 'PIT'); LINE SHAFT WITH PULLEYS AND BELTS FOR OPERATING MACHINERY; PERMANENT WOODEN LADDER TO SKYLIGHT AREA (LOCATION OF CIRCA 1920 ELECTRIC MOTOR WHICH POWERED LINE SHAFT); AND BUFFALO FORGE CO. HAND SHEAR FOR ANGLE STEEL. - Kregel Windmill Company Factory, 1416 Central Avenue, Nebraska City, Otoe County, NE

Neutrino Factory Targets and the MICE Beam

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

Walaron, Kenneth Andrew

2007-01-01

The future of particle physics in the next 30 years must include detailed study of neutrinos. The first proof of physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics is evident in results from recent neutrino experiments which imply that neutrinos have mass and flavour mixing. The Neutrino Factory is the leading contender to measure precisely the neutrino mixing parameters to probe beyond the Standard Model physics. Significantly, one must look to measure the mixing angle θ 13 and investigate the possibility of leptonic CP violation. If found this may provide a key insight into the origins of the matter/anti- mattermore » asymmetry seen in the universe, through the mechanism of leptogenesis. The Neutrino Factory will be a large international multi-billion dollar experiment combining novel new accelerator and long-baseline detector technology. Arguably the most important and costly features of this facility are the proton driver and cooling channel. This thesis will present simulation work focused on determining the optimal proton driver energy to maximise pion production and also simulation of the transport of this pion °ux through some candidate transport lattices. Bench-marking of pion cross- sections calculated by MARS and GEANT4 codes to measured data from the HARP experiment is also presented. The cooling channel aims to reduce the phase-space volume of the decayed muon beam to a level that can be e±ciently injected into the accelerator system. The Muon Ionisation Cooling Experiment (MICE) hosted by the Rutherford Appleton laboratory, UK is a proof-of-principle experiment aimed at measuring ionisation cooling. The experiment will run parasitically to the ISIS accelerator and will produce muons from pion decay. The MICE beamline provides muon beams of variable emittance and momentum to the MICE experiment to enable measurement of cooling over a wide range of beam conditions. Simulation work in the design of this beamline is presented in this thesis as are

Factorial structure of the 'ToM Storybooks': A test evaluating multiple components of Theory of Mind.

PubMed

Bulgarelli, Daniela; Testa, Silvia; Molina, Paola

2015-06-01

This study examined the factorial structure of the Theory of Mind (ToM) Storybooks, a comprehensive 93-item instrument tapping the five components in Wellman's model of ToM (emotion recognition, understanding of desire and beliefs, ability to distinguish between physical and mental entities, and awareness of the link between perception and knowledge). A sample of 681 three- to eight-year-old Italian children was divided into three age groups to assess whether factorial structure varied across different age ranges. Partial credit model analysis was applied to the data, leading to the empirical identification of 23 composite variables aggregating the ToM Storybooks items. Confirmatory factor analysis was then conducted on the composite variables, providing support for the theoretical model. There were partial differences in the specific composite variables making up the dimensions for each of the three age groups. A single test evaluating distinct dimensions of ToM is a valuable resource for clinical practice which may be used to define differential profiles for specific populations. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

Tracing Staphylococcus aureus in small and medium-sized food-processing factories on the basis of molecular sub-species typing.

PubMed

Koreňová, Janka; Rešková, Zuzana; Véghová, Adriana; Kuchta, Tomáš

2015-01-01

Contamination by Staphylococcus aureus of the production environment of three small or medium-sized food-processing factories in Slovakia was investigated on the basis of sub-species molecular identification by multiple locus variable number of tandem repeats analysis (MLVA). On the basis of MLVA profiling, bacterial isolates were assigned to 31 groups. Data from repeated samplings over a period of 3 years facilitated to draw spatial and temporal maps of the contamination routes for individual factories, as well as identification of potential persistent strains. Information obtained by MLVA typing allowed to identify sources and routes of contamination and, subsequently, will allow to optimize the technical and sanitation measures to ensure hygiene.

Jean Piaget: Images of a life and his factory.

PubMed

Burman, Jeremy Trevelyan

2012-08-01

In this article, I use a new book about Jean Piaget to introduce a new historical method: examining "psychological factories." I also discuss some of the ways that "Great Men" are presented in the literature, as well as opportunities for new projects if one approaches the history of the discipline differently and examines the conditions that made that greatness possible. To that end, the article includes many details about Piaget that have never before been discussed in English. Attention is drawn, in particular, to Piaget's collaborators: the hundreds of workers at his factory in Geneva, many of whom were women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Green lumber grade yields from factory grade logs of three oak species

Treesearch

Daniel A. Yaussy

1986-01-01

Multivariate regression models were developed to predict green board foot yields for the seven common factory lumber grades processed from white, black, and chestnut oak factory grade logs. These models use the standard log measurements of grade, scaling diameter, log length, and proportion of scaling defect. Any combination of lumber grades (such as 1 Common and...

Shape design sensitivity analysis and optimal design of structural systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Choi, Kyung K.

1987-01-01

The material derivative concept of continuum mechanics and an adjoint variable method of design sensitivity analysis are used to relate variations in structural shape to measures of structural performance. A domain method of shape design sensitivity analysis is used to best utilize the basic character of the finite element method that gives accurate information not on the boundary but in the domain. Implementation of shape design sensitivty analysis using finite element computer codes is discussed. Recent numerical results are used to demonstrate the accuracy obtainable using the method. Result of design sensitivity analysis is used to carry out design optimization of a built-up structure.

Comparison between Thermal Desorption Tubes and Stainless Steel Canisters Used for Measuring Volatile Organic Compounds in Petrochemical Factories

PubMed Central

Chang, Cheng-Ping; Lin, Tser-Cheng; Lin, Yu-Wen; Hua, Yi-Chun; Chu, Wei-Ming; Lin, Tzu-Yu; Lin, Yi-Wen; Wu, Jyun-De

2016-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare thermal desorption tubes and stainless steel canisters for measuring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from petrochemical factories. Methods: Twelve petrochemical factories in the Mailiao Industrial Complex were recruited for conducting the measurements of VOCs. Thermal desorption tubes and 6-l specially prepared stainless steel canisters were used to simultaneously perform active sampling of environmental air samples. The sampling time of the environmental air samples was set up on 6h close to a full work shift of the workers. A total of 94 pairwise air samples were collected by using the thermal adsorption tubes and stainless steel canisters in these 12 factories in the petrochemical industrial complex. To maximize the number of comparative data points, all the measurements from all the factories in different sampling times were lumped together to perform a linear regression analysis for each selected VOC. Pearson product–moment correlation coefficient was used to examine the correlation between the pairwise measurements of these two sampling methods. A paired t-test was also performed to examine whether the difference in the concentrations of each selected VOC measured by the two methods was statistically significant. Results: The correlation coefficients of seven compounds, including acetone, n-hexane, benzene, toluene, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,3-butadiene, and styrene were >0.80 indicating the two sampling methods for these VOCs’ measurements had high consistency. The paired t-tests for the measurements of n-hexane, benzene, m/p-xylene, o-xylene, 1,2-dichloroethane, and 1,3-butadiene showed statistically significant difference (P-value < 0.05). This indicated that the two sampling methods had various degrees of systematic errors. Looking at the results of six chemicals and these systematic errors probably resulted from the differences of the detection limits in the two sampling methods for these VOCs

Comparison between Thermal Desorption Tubes and Stainless Steel Canisters Used for Measuring Volatile Organic Compounds in Petrochemical Factories.

PubMed

Chang, Cheng-Ping; Lin, Tser-Cheng; Lin, Yu-Wen; Hua, Yi-Chun; Chu, Wei-Ming; Lin, Tzu-Yu; Lin, Yi-Wen; Wu, Jyun-De

2016-04-01

The purpose of this study was to compare thermal desorption tubes and stainless steel canisters for measuring volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from petrochemical factories. Twelve petrochemical factories in the Mailiao Industrial Complex were recruited for conducting the measurements of VOCs. Thermal desorption tubes and 6-l specially prepared stainless steel canisters were used to simultaneously perform active sampling of environmental air samples. The sampling time of the environmental air samples was set up on 6 h close to a full work shift of the workers. A total of 94 pairwise air samples were collected by using the thermal adsorption tubes and stainless steel canisters in these 12 factories in the petrochemical industrial complex. To maximize the number of comparative data points, all the measurements from all the factories in different sampling times were lumped together to perform a linear regression analysis for each selected VOC. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was used to examine the correlation between the pairwise measurements of these two sampling methods. A paired t-test was also performed to examine whether the difference in the concentrations of each selected VOC measured by the two methods was statistically significant. The correlation coefficients of seven compounds, including acetone, n-hexane, benzene, toluene, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,3-butadiene, and styrene were >0.80 indicating the two sampling methods for these VOCs' measurements had high consistency. The paired t-tests for the measurements of n-hexane, benzene, m/p-xylene, o-xylene, 1,2-dichloroethane, and 1,3-butadiene showed statistically significant difference (P-value < 0.05). This indicated that the two sampling methods had various degrees of systematic errors. Looking at the results of six chemicals and these systematic errors probably resulted from the differences of the detection limits in the two sampling methods for these VOCs. The comparison between the

Engineering tolerance to industrially relevant stress factors in yeast cell factories.

PubMed

Deparis, Quinten; Claes, Arne; Foulquié-Moreno, Maria R; Thevelein, Johan M

2017-06-01

The main focus in development of yeast cell factories has generally been on establishing optimal activity of heterologous pathways and further metabolic engineering of the host strain to maximize product yield and titer. Adequate stress tolerance of the host strain has turned out to be another major challenge for obtaining economically viable performance in industrial production. Although general robustness is a universal requirement for industrial microorganisms, production of novel compounds using artificial metabolic pathways presents additional challenges. Many of the bio-based compounds desirable for production by cell factories are highly toxic to the host cells in the titers required for economic viability. Artificial metabolic pathways also turn out to be much more sensitive to stress factors than endogenous pathways, likely because regulation of the latter has been optimized in evolution in myriads of environmental conditions. We discuss different environmental and metabolic stress factors with high relevance for industrial utilization of yeast cell factories and the experimental approaches used to engineer higher stress tolerance. Improving stress tolerance in a predictable manner in yeast cell factories should facilitate their widespread utilization in the bio-based economy and extend the range of products successfully produced in large scale in a sustainable and economically profitable way. © FEMS 2017.

Engineering tolerance to industrially relevant stress factors in yeast cell factories

PubMed Central

Deparis, Quinten; Claes, Arne; Foulquié-Moreno, Maria R.

2017-01-01

Abstract The main focus in development of yeast cell factories has generally been on establishing optimal activity of heterologous pathways and further metabolic engineering of the host strain to maximize product yield and titer. Adequate stress tolerance of the host strain has turned out to be another major challenge for obtaining economically viable performance in industrial production. Although general robustness is a universal requirement for industrial microorganisms, production of novel compounds using artificial metabolic pathways presents additional challenges. Many of the bio-based compounds desirable for production by cell factories are highly toxic to the host cells in the titers required for economic viability. Artificial metabolic pathways also turn out to be much more sensitive to stress factors than endogenous pathways, likely because regulation of the latter has been optimized in evolution in myriads of environmental conditions. We discuss different environmental and metabolic stress factors with high relevance for industrial utilization of yeast cell factories and the experimental approaches used to engineer higher stress tolerance. Improving stress tolerance in a predictable manner in yeast cell factories should facilitate their widespread utilization in the bio-based economy and extend the range of products successfully produced in large scale in a sustainable and economically profitable way. PMID:28586408

Organization of project works in Industry 4.0 digital item designing companies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurjanov, A. V.; Zakoldaev, D. A.; Shukalov, A. V.; Zharinov, I. O.

2018-05-01

The task of the project works organization in the Industry 4.0 item designing digital factories is being studied. There is a scheme of the item designing component life cycle. There is also a scheme how to develop and confirm the quality of the item designing component documentation using the mathematical modelling. There is a description of the self-organization principles for the cyber and physical technological equipment in the Industry 4.0 «smart factory» company during the manufacturing process.

The footwear factory's assembly sector: opposing organizational structure and quality from the ergonomic work analysis.

PubMed

Silva, Kláudia M M N; Coelho, Bernardo G P; Junior, Josemir V S; Faria, Luiz F M; Dutra, Ludmila; Alvarenga, Marília; Roggini, Renan; Echternach, Eliza Helena de Oliveira

2012-01-01

Data from 2006 indicated that Brazilian footwear leather industry was composed of approximately 9,488 formally registered establishments, considering the leather industry, footwear and leather goods. It was responsible for 211,582 people employed. However, in spite of having many employees, this kind of organization found several problems when analyzed from the ergonomics view. With this premise, then, in order to identify bottlenecks and other engineering problems that could cause discomfort and motivation lack among workers, leading directly to the loss of the product quality, the assembly sector of women's shoes factory was characterized.

Dental caries experience in high risk soft drinks factory workers of South India: a comparative study.

PubMed

Kumar, Sandeep; Acharya, Shashidhar; Vasthare, Ramprasad; Singh, Siddharth Kumar; Gupta, Anjali; Debnath, Nitai

2014-01-01

The consumption of soft-drinks has been associated with dental caries development. The aim was to evaluate dental caries experience amongst the workers working in soft-drink industries located in South India and compare it with other factory workers. To evaluate the validity of specific caries index (SCI), which is newer index for caries diagnosis. This was a cross-sectional study carried out among 420 workers (210 in soft-drinks factory and 210 in other factories), in the age group of 20-45 years of Udupi district, Karnataka, India. Index used for clinical examination was decayed, missing, filled surfaces (DMFS) index and SCI. The mean and standard deviation (SD) of decayed surface (5.8 ± 1.8), missing surface (4.3 ± 2) and filled surface (1.94 ± 1.95) and total DMFS score (12.11 ± 3.8) in soft-drinks factory workers were found to be significantly higher than the other factory workers. The total SCI score (mean and SD) was found to be significantly higher in soft-drinks factory workers (5.83 ± 1.80) compared with other factory workers (4.56 ± 1.45). There was a high correlation obtained between SCI score and DMFS score. The regression equation given by DMFS = 1.178 + 1.866 (SCI scores). The caries experience was higher in workers working in soft-drinks factory and this study also showed that specific caries index can be used as a valid index for assessing dental caries experience.

Selection of higher order regression models in the analysis of multi-factorial transcription data.

PubMed

Prazeres da Costa, Olivia; Hoffman, Arthur; Rey, Johannes W; Mansmann, Ulrich; Buch, Thorsten; Tresch, Achim

2014-01-01

Many studies examine gene expression data that has been obtained under the influence of multiple factors, such as genetic background, environmental conditions, or exposure to diseases. The interplay of multiple factors may lead to effect modification and confounding. Higher order linear regression models can account for these effects. We present a new methodology for linear model selection and apply it to microarray data of bone marrow-derived macrophages. This experiment investigates the influence of three variable factors: the genetic background of the mice from which the macrophages were obtained, Yersinia enterocolitica infection (two strains, and a mock control), and treatment/non-treatment with interferon-γ. We set up four different linear regression models in a hierarchical order. We introduce the eruption plot as a new practical tool for model selection complementary to global testing. It visually compares the size and significance of effect estimates between two nested models. Using this methodology we were able to select the most appropriate model by keeping only relevant factors showing additional explanatory power. Application to experimental data allowed us to qualify the interaction of factors as either neutral (no interaction), alleviating (co-occurring effects are weaker than expected from the single effects), or aggravating (stronger than expected). We find a biologically meaningful gene cluster of putative C2TA target genes that appear to be co-regulated with MHC class II genes. We introduced the eruption plot as a tool for visual model comparison to identify relevant higher order interactions in the analysis of expression data obtained under the influence of multiple factors. We conclude that model selection in higher order linear regression models should generally be performed for the analysis of multi-factorial microarray data.

Design sensitivity analysis using EAL. Part 1: Conventional design parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dopker, B.; Choi, Kyung K.; Lee, J.

1986-01-01

A numerical implementation of design sensitivity analysis of builtup structures is presented, using the versatility and convenience of an existing finite element structural analysis code and its database management system. The finite element code used in the implemenatation presented is the Engineering Analysis Language (EAL), which is based on a hybrid method of analysis. It was shown that design sensitivity computations can be carried out using the database management system of EAL, without writing a separate program and a separate database. Conventional (sizing) design parameters such as cross-sectional area of beams or thickness of plates and plane elastic solid components are considered. Compliance, displacement, and stress functionals are considered as performance criteria. The method presented is being extended to implement shape design sensitivity analysis using a domain method and a design component method.

Factorial invariance of pediatric patient self-reported fatigue across age and gender: a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis approach utilizing the PedsQL™ Multidimensional Fatigue Scale.

PubMed

Varni, James W; Beaujean, A Alexander; Limbers, Christine A

2013-11-01

In order to compare multidimensional fatigue research findings across age and gender subpopulations, it is important to demonstrate measurement invariance, that is, that the items from an instrument have equivalent meaning across the groups studied. This study examined the factorial invariance of the 18-item PedsQL™ Multidimensional Fatigue Scale items across age and gender and tested a bifactor model. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MG-CFA) was performed specifying a three-factor model across three age groups (5-7, 8-12, and 13-18 years) and gender. MG-CFA models were proposed in order to compare the factor structure, metric, scalar, and error variance across age groups and gender. The analyses were based on 837 children and adolescents recruited from general pediatric clinics, subspecialty clinics, and hospitals in which children were being seen for well-child checks, mild acute illness, or chronic illness care. A bifactor model of the items with one general factor influencing all the items and three domain-specific factors representing the General, Sleep/Rest, and Cognitive Fatigue domains fit the data better than oblique factor models. Based on the multiple measures of model fit, configural, metric, and scalar invariance were found for almost all items across the age and gender groups, as was invariance in the factor covariances. The PedsQL™ Multidimensional Fatigue Scale demonstrated strict factorial invariance for child and adolescent self-report across gender and strong factorial invariance across age subpopulations. The findings support an equivalent three-factor structure across the age and gender groups studied. Based on these data, it can be concluded that pediatric patients across the groups interpreted the items in a similar manner regardless of their age or gender, supporting the multidimensional factor structure interpretation of the PedsQL™ Multidimensional Fatigue Scale.

Vitamin A deficiency among adolescent female garment factory workers in Bangladesh.

PubMed

Ahmed, F; Hasan, N; Kabir, Y

1997-10-01

To investigate the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency among adolescent female factory workers in Bangladesh, and examine the association between various factors and vitamin A status. A cross-sectional study. Garment factories in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Three hundred and eighty eight adolescent girls aged 12-19 y from ten garment factories were selected randomly for the present study. Information on socio-economic conditions and usual pattern of dietary intake were obtained by interview. Anthropometric data and blood samples were collected following the interview. By NCHS reference standard, 15.5% of the participants were thin (< 90% Wt/Ht) and about 7% overweight (> 120% Wt/Ht). In about 56%, serum vitamin A level was below the adequate level of 1.05 mumol/l, with 14% having vitamin A deficiency (< 0.70 mumol/l). Forty four per cent of the participants were found to be anaemic (haemoglobin < 120 g/l). Food frequency data on vitamin A rich foods revealed that a large percentage of the participants do not take eggs (41%), milk (64%), liver (85%) and sweet pumpkin (85%); while about 40% of the girls take dark green leafy vegetables (DGLV) and 17% take small fish at least four servings a week. The girls who consumed four or more servings per week of DGLV had significantly higher serum vitamin A level than the girls who took three servings or less. There was a significant positive association between the level of serum vitamin A and frequency of intake of DGLV (r = 0.12; P = 0.023). When age, level of education, percapita income, haemoglobin concentration, serum protein concentration, menstruation at the time of blood collection, prevalence of current morbidity, frequency of intake of egg, milk, small fish, DGLV, liver and sweet pumpkin were accounted for by multiple regression analysis, a strong relationship was found for serum vitamin A concentration with age, menstruation, haemoglobin level and frequency of intake of DGLV. For every unit change in the frequency of

Integrated analysis of numerical weather prediction and computational fluid dynamics for estimating cross-ventilation effects on inhaled air quality inside a factory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murga, Alicia; Sano, Yusuke; Kawamoto, Yoichi; Ito, Kazuhide

2017-10-01

Mechanical and passive ventilation strategies directly impact indoor air quality. Passive ventilation has recently become widespread owing to its ability to reduce energy demand in buildings, such as the case of natural or cross ventilation. To understand the effect of natural ventilation on indoor environmental quality, outdoor-indoor flow paths need to be analyzed as functions of urban atmospheric conditions, topology of the built environment, and indoor conditions. Wind-driven natural ventilation (e.g., cross ventilation) can be calculated through the wind pressure coefficient distributions of outdoor wall surfaces and openings of a building, allowing the study of indoor air parameters and airborne contaminant concentrations. Variations in outside parameters will directly impact indoor air quality and residents' health. Numerical modeling can contribute to comprehend these various parameters because it allows full control of boundary conditions and sampling points. In this study, numerical weather prediction modeling was used to calculate wind profiles/distributions at the atmospheric scale, and computational fluid dynamics was used to model detailed urban and indoor flows, which were then integrated into a dynamic downscaling analysis to predict specific urban wind parameters from the atmospheric to built-environment scale. Wind velocity and contaminant concentration distributions inside a factory building were analyzed to assess the quality of the human working environment by using a computer simulated person. The impact of cross ventilation flows and its variations on local average contaminant concentration around a factory worker, and inhaled contaminant dose, were then discussed.

Gynecologic pain related to occupational stress among female factory workers in Tianjin, China

PubMed Central

Sznajder, Kristin K; Harlow, Siobán D; Burgard, Sarah A; Wang, Yanrang; Han, Cheng; Liu, Jing

2014-01-01

Background: Dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, and non-cyclic pelvic pain are health concerns for factory workers in China and may be increased by occupational stress. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence and demographic and occupational factors associated with three types of gynecologic pain among female factory workers in Tianjin. Methods: The study included 651 female workers from three factories in Tianjin, China. Logistic regression models were estimated to determine associations between occupational stress and gynecologic pain. Results: Occupational stress including high job strain, exhaustion, and stress related to working conditions was a risk factor for gynecologic pain. High job strain and poor job security were associated with an increased risk for dysmenorrhea. Compulsory overtime and exhaustion were associated with increased non-cyclic pelvic pain. Working overtime and exhaustion were associated with increased dyspareunia. Conclusions: As China’s population of female factory workers grows, research on the reproductive health of this population is essential. PMID:24804338

Production of fatty acid-derived oleochemicals and biofuels by synthetic yeast cell factories

PubMed Central

Zhou, Yongjin J.; Buijs, Nicolaas A.; Zhu, Zhiwei; Qin, Jiufu; Siewers, Verena; Nielsen, Jens

2016-01-01

Sustainable production of oleochemicals requires establishment of cell factory platform strains. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an attractive cell factory as new strains can be rapidly implemented into existing infrastructures such as bioethanol production plants. Here we show high-level production of free fatty acids (FFAs) in a yeast cell factory, and the production of alkanes and fatty alcohols from its descendants. The engineered strain produces up to 10.4 g l−1 of FFAs, which is the highest reported titre to date. Furthermore, through screening of specific pathway enzymes, endogenous alcohol dehydrogenases and aldehyde reductases, we reconstruct efficient pathways for conversion of fatty acids to alkanes (0.8 mg l−1) and fatty alcohols (1.5 g l−1), to our knowledge the highest titres reported in S. cerevisiae. This should facilitate the construction of yeast cell factories for production of fatty acids derived products and even aldehyde-derived chemicals of high value. PMID:27222209

Factorial structure of recklessness: to what extent are older drivers different?

PubMed

Monterde i Bort, Hector

2004-01-01

This study tests whether the original factorial structure of a recklessness questionnaire can be maintained for the current Spanish population of older drivers. Our recent interest in dedicating special attention to senior citizen mobility (Monterde, 2001), is due to the impending increase of the aging population in Western countries; this has led us to reinitiate the psychometric study of the construct validity, revising and including older drivers in the psychometric aspects of those evaluation instruments that will then be used in the Spanish psycho-medical check of drivers and in research. Factorial analysis was used to determine validity. There was an appearance of a different psychological pattern in elderly drivers, specifically, a psychological anxiety trait related to the task of driving. Furthermore, interesting data were found about the attitude of this sector toward the "traffic society" and toward some of the measures included in Spanish legislation that affect especially older drivers (such as the psycho-medical check). IMPACT ON INDUSTRY, RESEARCH AND PRACTICE: These results suggest the possible existence of some kind of "compensation phenomenon," which could have influence over the scores obtained and their interpretation. Consequently, the evaluation instruments should be tested and, if necessary, adapted or specifically created for use with this age group.

Ethylenediamine grafted to graphene oxide@Fe3O4 for chromium(VI) decontamination: Performance, modelling, and fractional factorial design

PubMed Central

Xu, Jiawen; Wu, Cuiyu; Deng, Jianbin; Liao, Wenwei; Ling, Yuxiang; Yang, Yuanxiu; Zhao, Yina; Zhao, Yunlin; Hu, Xi; Wang, Hui; Liu, Yunguo

2017-01-01

A method for grafting ethylenediamine to a magnetic graphene oxide composite (EDA-GO@Fe3O4) was developed for Cr(VI) decontamination. The physicochemical properties of EDA-GO@Fe3O4 were characterized using HRTEM, EDS, FT-IR, TG-DSC, and XPS. The effects of pH, sorbent dose, foreign anions, time, Cr(VI) concentration, and temperature on decontamination process were studied. The solution pH can largely affect the decontamination process. The pseudo-second-order model is suitable for being applied to fit the adsorption processes of Cr(VI) with GO@Fe3O4 and EDA-GO@Fe3O4. The intra-particle diffusion is not the rate-controlling step. Isotherm experimental data can be described using the Freundlich model. The effects of multiple factors on the Cr(VI) decontamination was investigated by a 25−1 fractional factorial design (FFD). The adsorption process can significantly be affected by the main effects of A (pH), B (Cr(VI) concentration), and E (Adsorbent dose). The combined factors of AB (pH × Cr(VI) concentration), AE (pH × Adsorbent dose), and BC (Cr(VI) concentration × Temperature) had larger effects than other factors on Cr(VI) removal. These results indicated that EDA-GO@Fe3O4 is a potential and suitable candidate for treatment of heavy metal wastewater. PMID:29084287

Synthesis and factorial design applied to a novel chitosan/sodium polyphosphate nanoparticles via ionotropic gelation as an RGD delivery system.

PubMed

Kiilll, Charlene Priscila; Barud, Hernane da Silva; Santagneli, Sílvia Helena; Ribeiro, Sidney José Lima; Silva, Amélia M; Tercjak, Agnieszka; Gutierrez, Junkal; Pironi, Andressa Maria; Gremião, Maria Palmira Daflon

2017-02-10

Chitosan nanoparticles have been extensively studied for both drug and protein/peptide delivery. The aim of this study was to develop an optimized chitosan nanoparticle, by ionotropic gelation method, using 3 2 full factorial design with a novel polyanion, sodium polyphosphate, well known under the trade name Graham salt. The effects of these parameters on the particle size, zeta potential, and morphology and association efficiency were investigated. The optimized nanoparticles showed an estimated size of 166.20±1.95nm, a zeta potential of 38.7±1.2mV and an efficacy of association of 97.0±2.4%. The Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) revealed spherical nanoparticles with uniform size. Molecular interactions among the components of the nanoparticles and peptide were evaluated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectra (FTIR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The obtained results indicated that, the developed nanoparticles demonstrated high biocompatible, revealing no or low toxicity in the human cancer cell line (Caco-2). In conclusion, this work provides parameters that contribute to production of chitosan nanoparticles and sodium polyphosphate with desirable size, biocompatible and enabling successful use for protein/peptides delivery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30: factorial models to Brazilian cancer patients

PubMed Central

Campos, Juliana Alvares Duarte Bonini; Spexoto, Maria Cláudia Bernardes; da Silva, Wanderson Roberto; Serrano, Sergio Vicente; Marôco, João

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT Objective To evaluate the psychometric properties of the seven theoretical models proposed in the literature for European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30), when applied to a sample of Brazilian cancer patients. Methods Content and construct validity (factorial, convergent, discriminant) were estimated. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed. Convergent validity was analyzed using the average variance extracted. Discriminant validity was analyzed using correlational analysis. Internal consistency and composite reliability were used to assess the reliability of instrument. Results A total of 1,020 cancer patients participated. The mean age was 53.3±13.0 years, and 62% were female. All models showed adequate factorial validity for the study sample. Convergent and discriminant validities and the reliability were compromised in all of the models for all of the single items referring to symptoms, as well as for the “physical function” and “cognitive function” factors. Conclusion All theoretical models assessed in this study presented adequate factorial validity when applied to Brazilian cancer patients. The choice of the best model for use in research and/or clinical protocols should be centered on the purpose and underlying theory of each model. PMID:29694609

This Furniture Program Has Its Own Factory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bliss, Robert E.

1975-01-01

Catawba Valley Technical Institute, located in Hickory, North Carolina where 45 percent of the population is employed by the furniture industry, presently offers two associate degree and two vocational diploma programs. A campus furniture factory, close institute and industry cooperation, and extensive in-plant training have contributed to the…

Training Workers for the Factory of the Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clancy, J. Anthony

1989-01-01

In the factory of the future, emphasis on quality and increased productivity creates a competitive advantage. People and computers work together in all major activities. Training is a major factor in creating that competitive advantage. (JOW)

The Learning and Study Strategies Inventory-High School Version: Issues of Factorial Invariance Across Gender and Ethnicity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevens, Tara; Tallent-Runnels, Mary K.

2004-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the latent structure of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory-High School (LASSI-HS) through confirmatory factor analysis and factorial invariance models. A simple modification of the three-factor structure was considered. Using a larger sample, cross-validation was completed and the equality of…

Bulgar Factories (Trading Posts) in the Kama River Area as a Factor of Adjustment to Feudalism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krylasova, Natalia B.; Belavin, Andrei M.; Podosenova, Yulia A.

2016-01-01

At the start of the 2nd ML AD a number of trading posts, or factories, emerged in the Cis-Ural region with participation of Bulgar handicraftsmen and merchants. They were townships populated by various ethnic groups. Several centuries later similar factories were set up by natives of the Cis-Ural region in Western Siberia. These factories have…

Design oriented structural analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giles, Gary L.

1994-01-01

Desirable characteristics and benefits of design oriented analysis methods are described and illustrated by presenting a synoptic description of the development and uses of the Equivalent Laminated Plate Solution (ELAPS) computer code. ELAPS is a design oriented structural analysis method which is intended for use in the early design of aircraft wing structures. Model preparation is minimized by using a few large plate segments to model the wing box structure. Computational efficiency is achieved by using a limited number of global displacement functions that encompass all segments over the wing planform. Coupling with other codes is facilitated since the output quantities such as deflections and stresses are calculated as continuous functions over the plate segments. Various aspects of the ELAPS development are discussed including the analytical formulation, verification of results by comparison with finite element analysis results, coupling with other codes, and calculation of sensitivity derivatives. The effectiveness of ELAPS for multidisciplinary design application is illustrated by describing its use in design studies of high speed civil transport wing structures.

Effects of dairy factory, milk casein content and titratable acidity on coagulation properties in Trentingrana dairy industry.

PubMed

Penasa, Mauro; Toffanin, Valentina; Cologna, Nicola; Cassandro, Martino; De Marchi, Massimo

2016-05-01

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of environmental factors, milk casein content and titratable acidity on milk coagulation properties (MCP) of samples routinely collected in the Trento province (northeast Italy) under field conditions. Rennet coagulation time (RCT, min), curd-firming time (k20, min) and curd firmness (a30, mm) were determined by Formagraph on 14 971 samples from 635 herds associated to 17 dairy factories. Besides MCP, fat, protein, and casein percentages, titratable acidity (TA), and somatic cell and bacterial counts were available. A standardised index of milk aptitude to coagulate (IAC) was derived using information of RCT and a30. An analysis of variance was conducted on MCP and IAC using a fixed effects linear model. Approximately 3% of milk samples did not form a curd within the testing time (30 min) and k20 was missing for 26% of milks. The percentage of samples without information on k20 largely differed among dairy factories (1·7-20·9%). Significant differences were estimated between the best and the worst dairy factory for RCT (-2 min), k20 (-1·2 min), a30 (+3·4 mm) and IAC (+2·6 points). Milk casein content and TA were important factors in explaining the variation of MCP and IAC, supporting the central role of these two traits on technological properties. The Trento province is heterogeneous in terms of dairy systems and this could explain the differences among dairy factories.

Educating the handicraft factory workers about tobacco cessation and to assess its effectiveness by motivational interviewing: An Intervention study.

PubMed

Mahajan, Rajeev; Solanki, Jitender; Kurdekar, Raghvendra S; Gupta, Sarika; Modh, Ashish; Yadav, OmPrakash

2017-05-01

Tobacco use is considered to be global pandemic. The study was done to assess the effectiveness of smoking cessation intervention among workers by motivational interviewing among handicraft factories, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. An interventional study was carried out among 400 handicraft factory workers on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criterion. Twenty one handicraft factories were taken into consideration. Training, Standardization and Calibration of Examiners was carried out in the public health department. The structured pre-tested proforma and Fagerstrom questionnaire was used to record the data. Four sessions of intervention were given to workers. Follow ups were carried out after 1 month, 3month and 6month. Paired t-test was used to compare Fagerstrom/smoking analysis mean scores among study and control groups before and after intervention. showed that in study group, a percentage change of +1.2%, seen in high dependence category and -1.5 in very high dependence and after 6 months the change was+14.2%, 18.7%, -19.2% in Very low dependence, Low dependence, Medium dependence, -11.8% was seen in high dependence category and -1.8 in very high dependence. When comparison was done among Fagerstrom/smoking analysis mean scores among study subjects before and after intervention. It was found that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of Fagerstrom/smoking analysis between baseline - 3 months, 3 months to 6 months and 6 months to 9 months among study group as compared to control group. Tobacco addiction produces neurological and behavioural change, optima; approach involving behavioural change and pharmacotherapy are needed.

Novel non-ionic surfactant proniosomes for transdermal delivery of lacidipine: optimization using 2(3) factorial design and in vivo evaluation in rabbits.

PubMed

Soliman, Sara M; Abdelmalak, Nevine S; El-Gazayerly, Omaima N; Abdelaziz, Nabaweya

2016-06-01

Proniosomes offer a versatile vesicle drug delivery concept with potential for delivery of drugs via transdermal route. To develop proniosomal gel using cremophor RH 40 as non-ionic surfactant containing the antihypertensive drug lacidipine for transdermal delivery so as to avoid its extensive first pass metabolism and to improve its permeation through the skin. Proniosomes containing 1% lacidipine were prepared by the coacervation phase separation method, characterized, and optimized using a 2(3) full factorial design to define the optimum conditions to produce proniosomes with high entrapment efficiency, minimal vesicle size, and high-percentage release efficiency. The amount of cholesterol (X1), the amount of soya lecithin (X2), and the amount of cremophor RH 40 (X3) were selected as three independent variables. The system F4 was found to fulfill the maximum requisite of an optimum system because it had minimum vesicle size, maximum EE, maximum release efficiency, and maximum desirability. The optimized system (F4) was then converted to proniosomal gel using carbopol 940 (1% w/w). In vitro permeation through excised rabbit skin study revealed higher flux (6.48 ± 0.45) for lacidipine from the optimized proniosomal gel when compared with the corresponding emulgel (3.04 ± 0.13) mg/cm(2)/h. The optimized formulation was evaluated for its bioavailability compared with commercial product. Statistical analysis revealed significant increase in AUC (0 - α) 464.17 ± 113.15 ng h/ml compared with 209.02 ± 47.35 ng h/ml for commercial tablet. Skin irritancy and histopathological investigation of rat skin revealed its safety. Cremophor RH 40 proniosomal gel could be considered as very promising nanocarriers for transdermal delivery of lacidipine.

Peak expiratory flow rate of children working in lock factories.

PubMed

Singhal, S; Singhal, A; Singh, P N; Agarwal, D K; Gulati, R

2006-01-01

Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) of 106 children working in different units of lock factory was measured and compared with age and sex matched control group of same socio-economic status children. All the children worked for about ten hours per day. It was observed that there was a significant decrease in PEFR of children working in the different units of lock factories i.e. Hand press, Polishing, Lock fitting, Lock packing units as compared to control group (P>0.001). The reduction percentage of PEFR was maximum in children working in polishing unit (25.48%).

Discrimination of Swiss cheese from 5 different factories by high impact volatile organic compound profiles determined by odor activity value using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry and odor threshold.

PubMed

Taylor, Kaitlyn; Wick, Cheryl; Castada, Hardy; Kent, Kyle; Harper, W James

2013-10-01

Swiss cheese contains more than 200 volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry has been utilized for the analysis of volatile compounds in food products; however, it is not sensitive enough to measure VOCs directly in the headspace of a food at low concentrations. Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) provides a basis for determining the concentrations of VOCs in the head space of the sample in real time at low concentration levels of parts per billion/trillion by volume. Of the Swiss cheese VOCs, relatively few have a major impact on flavor quality. VOCs with odor activity values (OAVs) (concentration/odor threshold) greater than one are considered high-impact flavor compounds. The objective of this study was to utilize SIFT-MS concentrations in conjunction with odor threshold values to determine OAVs thereby identifying high-impact VOCs to use for differentiating Swiss cheese from five factories and identify the factory variability. Seventeen high-impact VOCs were identified for Swiss cheese based on an OAV greater than one in at least 1 of the 5 Swiss cheese factories. Of these, 2,3-butanedione was the only compound with significantly different OAVs in all factories; however, cheese from any pair of factories had multiple statistically different compounds based on OAV. Principal component analysis using soft independent modeling of class analogy statistical differentiation plots, with all of the OAVs, showed differentiation between the 5 factories. Overall, Swiss cheese from different factories was determined to have different OAV profiles utilizing SIFT-MS to determine OAVs of high impact compounds. © 2013 Institute of Food Technologists®

Occupational Health Risks Among Trichloroethylene-Exposed Workers in a Clock Manufacturing Factory

PubMed Central

Singthong, Siriporn; Pakkong, Pannee; Choosang, Kantima; Wongsanit, Sarinya

2015-01-01

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is an important volatile organic compound once widely used in industry throughout the world. Occupational exposure to TCE can cause a number of health hazards such as allergic reactions and genetic damage. The purpose of this study was to evaluate occupational exposure to TCE, by analysis of the air in the breathing zone and of urine from workers employed in a clock manufacturing factory. A subjective symptom survey was conducted by using a self-administered questionnaire to evaluate the health hazards. Micronucleus (MN) frequency, based on the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay (CBMN) in peripheral blood lymphocytes, (PBLs) was used as a biomarker for chromosome damage. A total of 244 participants, including 171 workers occupationally exposed to TCE and 73 non-exposed control employees, working mainly in office jobs in the same factory, were enrolled in this study. Analyses of airborne TCE concentrations in the workplace, and of urinary trichloroacetic acid (TCA) of the workers and controls, were performed by Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detector (GC-ECD) using the modified headspace technique. The average concentration of TCE in the workplace breathing zone was 27.83 ± 6.02 ppm. The average level of urinary TCA of the exposed workers and controls was 14.84 ± 1.62, 2.95 ± 0.28 mg/L. The frequency of MN/1000BN was 7.029 ± 0.39, significantly higher than for those in the control group (3.57 ± 0.31, p = 0.001). According to multiple linear regression analysis, the results indicated that urinary TCA levels correlated with the increased MN in exposed workers (r = 0.285, p < 0.001). The prevalence rate of subjective symptoms in the exposed group was 9.61-11.76 times higher than the rate of the non-exposed group (p < 0.001). It was found that skin (29.6%) and respiratory symptoms (21.1%) were the most frequent among the exposed workers. In conclusion, these results indicate that increased micronucleus frequency is associated with

Occupational health risks among trichloroethylene-exposed workers in a clock manufacturing factory.

PubMed

Singthong, Siriporn; Pakkong, Pannee; Choosang, Kantima; Wongsanit, Sarinya

2014-08-22

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is an important volatile organic compound once widely used in industry throughout the world. Occupational exposure to TCE can cause a number of health hazards such as allergic reactions and genetic damage. The purpose of this study was to evaluate occupational exposure to TCE, by analysis of the air in the breathing zone and of urine from workers employed in a clock manufacturing factory. A subjective symptom survey was conducted by using a self-administered questionnaire to evaluate the health hazards. Micronucleus (MN) frequency, based on the cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay (CBMN) in peripheral blood lymphocytes, (PBLs) was used as a biomarker for chromosome damage. A total of 244 participants, including 171 workers occupationally exposed to TCE and 73 non-exposed control employees, working mainly in office jobs in the same factory, were enrolled in this study. Analyses of airborne TCE concentrations in the workplace, and of urinary trichloroacetic acid (TCA) of the workers and controls, were performed by Gas Chromatography-Electron Capture Detector (GC-ECD) using the modified headspace technique. The average concentration of TCE in the workplace breathing zone was 27.83 ± 6.02 ppm. The average level of urinary TCA of the exposed workers and controls was 14.84 ± 1.62, 2.95 ± 0.28 mg/L. The frequency of MN/1000BN was 7.029 ± 0.39, significantly higher than for those in the control group (3.57 ± 0.31, p = 0.001). According to multiple linear regression analysis, the results indicated that urinary TCA levels correlated with the increased MN in exposed workers (r = 0.285, p < 0.001). The prevalence rate of subjective symptoms in the exposed group was 9.61-11.76 times higher than the rate of the non-exposed group (p < 0.001). It was found that skin (29.6%) and respiratory symptoms (21.1%) were the most frequent among the exposed workers. In conclusion, these results indicate that increased micronucleus frequency is associated with

An intelligent factory-wide optimal operation system for continuous production process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Jinliang; Chai, Tianyou; Wang, Hongfeng; Wang, Junwei; Zheng, Xiuping

2016-03-01

In this study, a novel intelligent factory-wide operation system for a continuous production process is designed to optimise the entire production process, which consists of multiple units; furthermore, this system is developed using process operational data to avoid the complexity of mathematical modelling of the continuous production process. The data-driven approach aims to specify the structure of the optimal operation system; in particular, the operational data of the process are used to formulate each part of the system. In this context, the domain knowledge of process engineers is utilised, and a closed-loop dynamic optimisation strategy, which combines feedback, performance prediction, feed-forward, and dynamic tuning schemes into a framework, is employed. The effectiveness of the proposed system has been verified using industrial experimental results.

Proceedings of the Conference on the Design of Experiments in Army Research Development and Testing (28th) Held at Monterey, California on 20-22 October 1982

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-06-01

program specifically designed to solve IME equations. The IME measure is a useful index because it translates system performance characteristics of...8.0 SUMMARY The purpose of this study was to design the field evaluation of a camou- flage system in such a manner that the camoufleur could...analysis of complex factorial designs and their associated systems of confounding ((44), [46)) and to the introduction of incomplete block designs . My

Asymmetric flow field flow fractionation with light scattering detection - an orthogonal sensitivity analysis.

PubMed

Galyean, Anne A; Filliben, James J; Holbrook, R David; Vreeland, Wyatt N; Weinberg, Howard S

2016-11-18

Asymmetric flow field flow fractionation (AF 4 ) has several instrumental factors that may have a direct effect on separation performance. A sensitivity analysis was applied to ascertain the relative importance of AF 4 primary instrument factor settings for the separation of a complex environmental sample. The analysis evaluated the impact of instrumental factors namely, cross flow, ramp time, focus flow, injection volume, and run buffer concentration on the multi-angle light scattering measurement of natural organic matter (NOM) molar mass (MM). A 2 (5-1) orthogonal fractional factorial design was used to minimize analysis time while preserving the accuracy and robustness in the determination of the main effects and interactions between any two instrumental factors. By assuming that separations resulting in smaller MM measurements would be more accurate, the analysis produced a ranked list of effects estimates for factors and interactions of factors based on their relative importance in minimizing the MM. The most important and statistically significant AF 4 instrumental factors were buffer concentration and cross flow. The least important was ramp time. A parallel 2 (5-2) orthogonal fractional factorial design was also employed on five environmental factors for synthetic natural water samples containing silver nanoparticles (NPs), namely: NP concentration, NP size, NOM concentration, specific conductance, and pH. None of the water quality characteristic effects or interactions were found to be significant in minimizing the measured MM; however, the interaction between NP concentration and NP size was an important effect when considering NOM recovery. This work presents a structured approach for the rigorous assessment of AF 4 instrument factors and optimal settings for the separation of complex samples utilizing efficient orthogonal factional factorial design and appropriate graphical analysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Survey of Nitrate Ion Concentrations in Vegetables Cultivated in Plant Factories: Comparison with Open-Culture Vegetables.

PubMed

Oka, Yuka; Hirayama, Izumi; Yoshikawa, Mitsuhide; Yokoyama, Tomoko; Iida, Kenji; Iwakoshi, Katsushi; Suzuki, Ayana; Yanagihara, Midori; Segawa, Yukino; Kukimoto, Sonomi; Hamada, Humika; Matsuzawa, Satomi; Tabata, Setsuko; Sasamoto, Takeo

2017-01-01

A survey of nitrate-ion concentrations in plant-factory-cultured leafy vegetables was conducted. 344 samples of twenty-one varieties of raw leafy vegetables were examined using HPLC. The nitrate-ion concentrations in plant-factory-cultured leafy vegetables were found to be LOD-6,800 mg/kg. Furthermore, the average concentration values varied among different leafy vegetables. The average values for plant-factory-cultured leafy vegetables were higher than those of open-cultured leafy vegetables reported in previous studies, such as the values listed in the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan- 2015 - (Seventh revised edition). For some plant-factory-cultured leafy vegetables, such as salad spinach, the average values were above the maximum permissible levels of nitrate concentration in EC No 1258/2011; however, even when these plant-factory-cultured vegetables were routinely eaten, the intake of nitrate ions in humans did not exceed the ADI.

Control of workers’ exposure to xylene in a pesticide production factory

PubMed Central

Mohammadyan, M; Baharfar, Y

2015-01-01

Background: Acute and chronic exposure to xylene can result in a range of negative health effects. However, xylene is widely used and emitted in the air of workplaces. Objectives: To evaluate xylene vapor concentrations to guide the design and evaluation of a local exhaust ventilation (LEV) system to reduce exposure in a pesticide production factory. Method: A real time volatile organic compound (VOC) monitor was used to determine the workers’ time-weighted average (TWA) exposure. A LEV system was designed, and then, workers’ exposure to xylene vapor was evaluated. Results: We found that worker’s exposure to xylene (4.7±5.5 ppm) was lower than the standards recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and the Occupational safety and health administration (OSHA). Despite the low TWA exposures, the short-term exposures for some workers were higher than STEL levels. Three canopy hoods were designed and installed with capture velocities of 0.508 m second−1 and duct velocity of 10.16 m second−1. Conclusion: We found that an exhaust ventilation system had a significantly reduced occupational exposure to xylene vapor. PMID:25487643

Sexual Dimorphism and Aging in the Human Hyppocampus: Identification, Validation, and Impact of Differentially Expressed Genes by Factorial Microarray and Network Analysis.

PubMed

Guebel, Daniel V; Torres, Néstor V

2016-01-01

Motivation: In the brain of elderly-healthy individuals, the effects of sexual dimorphism and those due to normal aging appear overlapped. Discrimination of these two dimensions would powerfully contribute to a better understanding of the etiology of some neurodegenerative diseases, such as "sporadic" Alzheimer. Methods: Following a system biology approach, top-down and bottom-up strategies were combined. First, public transcriptome data corresponding to the transition from adulthood to the aging stage in normal, human hippocampus were analyzed through an optimized microarray post-processing (Q-GDEMAR method) together with a proper experimental design (full factorial analysis). Second, the identified genes were placed in context by building compatible networks. The subsequent ontology analyses carried out on these networks clarify the main functionalities involved. Results: Noticeably we could identify large sets of genes according to three groups: those that exclusively depend on the sex, those that exclusively depend on the age, and those that depend on the particular combinations of sex and age (interaction). The genes identified were validated against three independent sources (a proteomic study of aging, a senescence database, and a mitochondrial genetic database). We arrived to several new inferences about the biological functions compromised during aging in two ways: by taking into account the sex-independent effects of aging, and considering the interaction between age and sex where pertinent. In particular, we discuss the impact of our findings on the functions of mitochondria, autophagy, mitophagia, and microRNAs. Conclusions: The evidence obtained herein supports the occurrence of significant neurobiological differences in the hippocampus, not only between adult and elderly individuals, but between old-healthy women and old-healthy men. Hence, to obtain realistic results in further analysis of the transition from the normal aging to incipient Alzheimer

Sexual Dimorphism and Aging in the Human Hyppocampus: Identification, Validation, and Impact of Differentially Expressed Genes by Factorial Microarray and Network Analysis

PubMed Central

Guebel, Daniel V.; Torres, Néstor V.

2016-01-01

Motivation: In the brain of elderly-healthy individuals, the effects of sexual dimorphism and those due to normal aging appear overlapped. Discrimination of these two dimensions would powerfully contribute to a better understanding of the etiology of some neurodegenerative diseases, such as “sporadic” Alzheimer. Methods: Following a system biology approach, top-down and bottom-up strategies were combined. First, public transcriptome data corresponding to the transition from adulthood to the aging stage in normal, human hippocampus were analyzed through an optimized microarray post-processing (Q-GDEMAR method) together with a proper experimental design (full factorial analysis). Second, the identified genes were placed in context by building compatible networks. The subsequent ontology analyses carried out on these networks clarify the main functionalities involved. Results: Noticeably we could identify large sets of genes according to three groups: those that exclusively depend on the sex, those that exclusively depend on the age, and those that depend on the particular combinations of sex and age (interaction). The genes identified were validated against three independent sources (a proteomic study of aging, a senescence database, and a mitochondrial genetic database). We arrived to several new inferences about the biological functions compromised during aging in two ways: by taking into account the sex-independent effects of aging, and considering the interaction between age and sex where pertinent. In particular, we discuss the impact of our findings on the functions of mitochondria, autophagy, mitophagia, and microRNAs. Conclusions: The evidence obtained herein supports the occurrence of significant neurobiological differences in the hippocampus, not only between adult and elderly individuals, but between old-healthy women and old-healthy men. Hence, to obtain realistic results in further analysis of the transition from the normal aging to incipient

Construction of Escherichia Coli Cell Factories for Production of Organic Acids and Alcohols.

PubMed

Liu, Pingping; Zhu, Xinna; Tan, Zaigao; Zhang, Xueli; Ma, Yanhe

2016-01-01

Production of bulk chemicals from renewable biomass has been proved to be sustainable and environmentally friendly. Escherichia coli is the most commonly used host strain for constructing cell factories for production of bulk chemicals since it has clear physiological and genetic characteristics, grows fast in minimal salts medium, uses a wide range of substrates, and can be genetically modified easily. With the development of metabolic engineering, systems biology, and synthetic biology, a technology platform has been established to construct E. coli cell factories for bulk chemicals production. In this chapter, we will introduce this technology platform, as well as E. coli cell factories successfully constructed for production of organic acids and alcohols.

Systems metabolic engineering: the creation of microbial cell factories by rational metabolic design and evolution.

PubMed

Furusawa, Chikara; Horinouchi, Takaaki; Hirasawa, Takashi; Shimizu, Hiroshi

2013-01-01

It is widely acknowledged that in order to establish sustainable societies, production processes should shift from petrochemical-based processes to bioprocesses. Because bioconversion technologies, in which biomass resources are converted to valuable materials, are preferable to processes dependent on fossil resources, the former should be further developed. The following two approaches can be adopted to improve cellular properties and obtain high productivity and production yield of target products: (1) optimization of cellular metabolic pathways involved in various bioprocesses and (2) creation of stress-tolerant cells that can be active even under severe stress conditions in the bioprocesses. Recent progress in omics analyses has facilitated the analysis of microorganisms based on bioinformatics data for molecular breeding and bioprocess development. Systems metabolic engineering is a new area of study, and it has been defined as a methodology in which metabolic engineering and systems biology are integrated to upgrade the designability of industrially useful microorganisms. This chapter discusses multi-omics analyses and rational design methods for molecular breeding. The first is an example of the rational design of metabolic networks for target production by flux balance analysis using genome-scale metabolic models. Recent progress in the development of genome-scale metabolic models and the application of these models to the design of desirable metabolic networks is also described in this example. The second is an example of evolution engineering with omics analyses for the creation of stress-tolerant microorganisms. Long-term culture experiments to obtain the desired phenotypes and omics analyses to identify the phenotypic changes are described here.

Divergent response of the neritic carbonate factory to environmental changes during the Early Bajocian Event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bodin, Stephane; Hönig, Martin; Krencker, Francois-Nicolas; Danisch, Jan; Kabiri, Lahcen

2017-04-01

The Early Bajocian witnessed a global environmental perturbation, characterized by faunal and floral turnovers and a positive carbon isotope excursion. In Italy, this environmental perturbation coincided with an eutrophication event and a carbonate crisis, but this has so far not been adequately reported from other settings, leaving doubt about the extent and nature of these phenomena. Here, we are reporting on an extensive neritic carbonate factory demise that occurs in the upper Lower Bajocian of the Central High Atlas of Morocco, more precisely in the upper Propinquans - lower Humphriesianum Zones. This demise coincided with the acme of the global carbon isotope perturbation, recorded by a 3‰ positive carbon isotope excursion in the bulk organic matter of Morocco. Recovery of the neritic carbonate system occurs during the Early to Late Bajocian transition. The duration of the neritic carbonate factory demise was therefore in the order of 1 Myr. Furthermore, we observe that the Lower Bajocian of Morocco is relatively enriched in arenitic siliciclastic deposits, suggesting increased weathering and nutrient levels along the northwestern margin of Africa during the Early Bajocian. However, comparison with neighboring European basins highlights the non-uniqueness and different timing of the response of shallow-water carbonates to the Early Bajocian environmental perturbations, as some regions present no sign of carbonate factory crisis. Hence, we postulate that local factors were important in mediating the response of neritic carbonate factories to this global environmental perturbation. We notably highlight the role of large Early Bajocian sea-level fluctuation as a trigger for carbonate factory change and demise in Morocco. Indeed, in the Central High Atlas Basin, transgressive intervals are seeing the development of a mud-dominated carbonate factory whereas regressive intervals are associated with grain-dominated carbonate factory. We speculate that the

Designing a ticket to ride with the Cognitive Work Analysis Design Toolkit.

PubMed

Read, Gemma J M; Salmon, Paul M; Lenné, Michael G; Jenkins, Daniel P

2015-01-01

Cognitive work analysis has been applied in the design of numerous sociotechnical systems. The process used to translate analysis outputs into design concepts, however, is not always clear. Moreover, structured processes for translating the outputs of ergonomics methods into concrete designs are lacking. This paper introduces the Cognitive Work Analysis Design Toolkit (CWA-DT), a design approach which has been developed specifically to provide a structured means of incorporating cognitive work analysis outputs in design using design principles and values derived from sociotechnical systems theory. This paper outlines the CWA-DT and describes its application in a public transport ticketing design case study. Qualitative and quantitative evaluations of the process provide promising early evidence that the toolkit fulfils the evaluation criteria identified for its success, with opportunities for improvement also highlighted. The Cognitive Work Analysis Design Toolkit has been developed to provide ergonomics practitioners with a structured approach for translating the outputs of cognitive work analysis into design solutions. This paper demonstrates an application of the toolkit and provides evaluation findings.

Design sensitivity analysis and optimization tool (DSO) for sizing design applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, Kuang-Hua; Choi, Kyung K.; Perng, Jyh-Hwa

1992-01-01

The DSO tool, a structural design software system that provides the designer with a graphics-based menu-driven design environment to perform easy design optimization for general applications, is presented. Three design stages, preprocessing, design sensitivity analysis, and postprocessing, are implemented in the DSO to allow the designer to carry out the design process systematically. A framework, including data base, user interface, foundation class, and remote module, has been designed and implemented to facilitate software development for the DSO. A number of dedicated commercial software/packages have been integrated in the DSO to support the design procedures. Instead of parameterizing an FEM, design parameters are defined on a geometric model associated with physical quantities, and the continuum design sensitivity analysis theory is implemented to compute design sensitivity coefficients using postprocessing data from the analysis codes. A tracked vehicle road wheel is given as a sizing design application to demonstrate the DSO's easy and convenient design optimization process.

Outbreak of acute gastroenteritis caused by contamination of drinking water in a factory, the Basque Country.

PubMed

Altzibar, J M; Zigorraga, C; Rodriguez, R; Leturia, N; Garmendia, A; Rodriguez, A; Alkorta, M; Arriola, L

2015-03-01

On 18 September 2013, the Gipuzkoa Epidemiology Unit was notified of an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) among employees at a domestic appliance factory. The first signs of the outbreak had emerged at the end of June and at the time of the notification 30 workers were on sick leave for gastroenteritis. Some employees had had more than one episode and the main symptoms were diarrhoea and vomiting. An investigation began to identify the causative agent, assess exposure and determine the route of transmission. Data collected by a questionnaire identified 302 episodes of AGE among 238 people affected between June and September 2013. The source of water consumed was found to be a risk factor associated with the appearance of symptoms both in the crude and the adjusted analysis: odds ratio 1.8 (0.8-4.2) and 6.4 (4.2-9.8), respectively. Microbiological analysis of stool samples and of water confirmed the presence of norovirus and rotavirus. The environmental study detected a connection between an industrial use water system and drinking water at the factory. It was concluded that the outbreak was caused by mixed viral infections, due to contamination of drinking water.

Initial Multidisciplinary Design and Analysis Framework

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ozoroski, L. P.; Geiselhart, K. A.; Padula, S. L.; Li, W.; Olson, E. D.; Campbell, R. L.; Shields, E. W.; Berton, J. J.; Gray, J. S.; Jones, S. M.;

Unilateral pseudogynecomastia: an occupational hazard in manual metal-pressing factories?

PubMed

Spyropoulou, Georgia-Alexandra; Karamatsoukis, Stavros; Foroglou, Pericles

2011-04-01

Five cases of unilateral occupation-related pseudogynecomastia are presented. All the patients in these cases worked in the same metal-pressing factory. One patient with grade 4 unilateral gynecomastia in the right breast presented to the authors' outpatient department asking persistently for surgery. He also reported that all his male colleagues working in the same business (a total of 5) had different degrees of unilateral gynecomastia. Their line of work involved holding a long round rod under the axilla and then pressing the distal end of it firmly against a spinning metal plate. The patient underwent a superior pedicle breast reduction, with 1,800 ml of tissue removed from his right breast. Unfortunately, the patient experienced partial nipple loss. However, he was satisfied with the final result, and good symmetry was achieved. All five patients who worked in the same metal-pressing factory presented with unilateral gynecomastia and were examined in our department. Their average age was 51.4 years. All the patients had normal hormonal and biochemical status, and the results of screening for toxins and heavy metal exposure were negative. All the patients were heavy smokers. At examination, none of the patients had nipple discharge or retraction, skin changes, galactorrhea, or lymphadenopathy. Examination showed one patient with grade 4, three patients had grade 2, and one patient with grade 1 unilateral gynecomastia. The authors believe that gynecomastia may be considered an occupational risk in analogous metal-pressing factories because all the workers in this factory presented with some degree of unilateral gynecomastia. However, they emphasize that this may simply be an observational phenomenon without a true cause and effect relationship.

Determination of the clean-up efficiency of the solid-phase extraction of rosemary extracts: Application of full-factorial design in hyphenation with Gaussian peak fit function.

PubMed

Meischl, Florian; Kirchler, Christian Günter; Jäger, Michael Andreas; Huck, Christian Wolfgang; Rainer, Matthias

2018-02-01

We present a novel method for the quantitative determination of the clean-up efficiency to provide a calculated parameter for peak purity through iterative fitting in conjunction with design of experiments. Rosemary extracts were used and analyzed before and after solid-phase extraction using a self-fabricated mixed-mode sorbent based on poly(N-vinylimidazole/ethylene glycol dimethacrylate). Optimization was performed by variation of washing steps using a full three-level factorial design and response surface methodology. Separation efficiency of rosmarinic acid from interfering compounds was calculated using an iterative fit of Gaussian-like signals and quantifications were performed by the separate integration of the two interfering peak areas. Results and recoveries were analyzed using Design-Expert® software and revealed significant differences between the washing steps. Optimized parameters were considered and used for all further experiments. Furthermore, the solid-phase extraction procedure was tested and compared with commercial available sorbents. In contrast to generic protocols of the manufacturers, the optimized procedure showed excellent recoveries and clean-up rates for the polymer with ion exchange properties. Finally, rosemary extracts from different manufacturing areas and application types were studied to verify the developed method for its applicability. The cleaned-up extracts were analyzed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry for detailed compound evaluation to exclude any interference from coeluting molecules. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Simultaneous analysis and design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haftka, R. T.

1984-01-01

Optimization techniques are increasingly being used for performing nonlinear structural analysis. The development of element by element (EBE) preconditioned conjugate gradient (CG) techniques is expected to extend this trend to linear analysis. Under these circumstances the structural design problem can be viewed as a nested optimization problem. There are computational benefits to treating this nested problem as a large single optimization problem. The response variables (such as displacements) and the structural parameters are all treated as design variables in a unified formulation which performs simultaneously the design and analysis. Two examples are used for demonstration. A seventy-two bar truss is optimized subject to linear stress constraints and a wing box structure is optimized subject to nonlinear collapse constraints. Both examples show substantial computational savings with the unified approach as compared to the traditional nested approach.

Pulmonary functions in plastic factory workers: a preliminary study.

PubMed

Khaliq, Farah; Singh, Pawan; Chandra, Prakash; Gupta, Keshav; Vaney, Neelam

2011-01-01

Exposure to long term air pollution in the work environment may result in decreased lung functions and various other health problems. A significant occupational hazard to lung functions is experienced by plastic factory workers. The present study is planned to assess the pulmonary functions of workers in the plastic factory where recycling of pastic material was done. These workers were constantly exposed to fumes of various chemicals throughout the day. Thirty one workers of plastic factory were assessed for their pulmonary functions. Parameters were compared with 31 age and sex matched controls not exposed to the same environment. The pulmonary function tests were done using Sibelmed Datospir 120 B portable spirometer. A significant decrease in most of the flow rates (MEF 25%, MEF 50%, MEF 75% and FEF 25-75%) and most of the lung volumes and capacities (FVC, FEV1, VC, TV, ERV, MVV) were observed in the workers. Smoking and duration of exposure were not affecting the lung functions as the non smokers also showed a similar decrement in pulmonary functions. Similarly the workers working for less than 5 years also had decrement in pulmonary functions indicating that their lungs are being affected even if they have worked for one year. Exposure to the organic dust in the work environment should be controlled by adequate engineering measures, complemented by effective personal respiratory protection.

The use of factorial design to evaluate the oxidation of oils containing different types of omega-3 fatty acids.

PubMed

Agnes Dias Fabiano, Thamyris; Grassmann Roschel, Gabriela; Alves Castro, Inar

2018-05-01

Omega-3 fatty acids (n3 FA) promote beneficial effects on cardiovascular diseases, but they are highly susceptible to oxidation, which leads to the formation of potentially toxic secondary products. In this study, the antioxidant capacity of natural compounds (sinapic acid and rutin) was evaluated using an accelerated model to oxidize the oils. Five inducers (temperature, Fe 2+ , 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride, ascorbyl palmitate and the hydrophobic 2,2'-azobis-2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile (AMVN)) were combined in a factorial design to accelerate the oxidation of three oils (flaxseed, echium and fish) containing different sources of n3 FA. Lipid hydroperoxide (LOOH) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) concentrations estimated using the regression models did not differ from the observed values. AMVN + Fe 2+ increased TBARS in all samples. The values for the oxidative markers obtained 48 h after induction were similar to those obtained when the oils were heated at 60 ° C for 15 days. Of a number of volatile compounds formed from the oxidation of different n3 FA sources, (E,E)-2,4-heptadienal, (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, decanal, undecanal and (E)-2-undecenal were identified in all samples and could be used as more specific oxidative markers. Using the accelerated model, rutin improved the oxidative stability of fish oil, probably due to the presence of a catechol group in its chemical structure. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Brain-targeted intranasal zaleplon solid dispersion in hydrophilic carrier system; 23 full-factorial design and in vivo determination of GABA neurotransmitter.

PubMed

Abd-Elrasheed, Eman; Nageeb El-Helaly, Sara; El-Ashmoony, Manal M; Salah, Salwa

2018-05-01

Intranasal zaleplon solid dispersion was formulated to enhance the solubility, bioavailability and deliver an effective therapy. Zaleplon belongs to Class II drugs, and undergoes extensive first-pass metabolism after oral absorption exhibiting 30% bioavailability. A 2 3 full-factorial design was chosen for the investigation of solid dispersion formulations. The effects of different variables include drug to carrier ratio (1:1 and 1:2), carrier type (polyethylene glycol 4000 and poloxamer 407), and preparation method (solvent evaporation and freeze drying) on different dissolution parameters were studied. The dependent variables determined from the in vitro characterization and their constraints were set as follows: minimum mean dissolution time, maximum dissolution efficiency and maximum percentage release. Numerical optimization was performed according to the constraints set based on the utilization of desirability functions. Differential scanning calorimetry, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were performed. Ex vivo estimation of nasal cytotoxicity and assessment of the γ-aminobutyric acid level in plasma and brain 1 h after nasal SD administration in rabbits compared to the oral market product were conducted. The selected ZP-SD, with a desirability 0.9, composed of poloxamer 407 at drug to carrier ratio 1:2 successfully enhanced the bioavailability showing 44% increase in GABA concentration than the marketed tablets.

Factorial Design Based Multivariate Modeling and Optimization of Tunable Bioresponsive Arginine Grafted Poly(cystaminebis(acrylamide)-diaminohexane) Polymeric Matrix Based Nanocarriers.

PubMed

Yang, Rongbing; Nam, Kihoon; Kim, Sung Wan; Turkson, James; Zou, Ye; Zuo, Yi Y; Haware, Rahul V; Chougule, Mahavir B

2017-01-03

Desired characteristics of nanocarriers are crucial to explore its therapeutic potential. This investigation aimed to develop tunable bioresponsive newly synthesized unique arginine grafted poly(cystaminebis(acrylamide)-diaminohexane) [ABP] polymeric matrix based nanocarriers by using L9 Taguchi factorial design, desirability function, and multivariate method. The selected formulation and process parameters were ABP concentration, acetone concentration, the volume ratio of acetone to ABP solution, and drug concentration. The measured nanocarrier characteristics were particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, and percentage drug loading. Experimental validation of nanocarrier characteristics computed from initially developed predictive model showed nonsignificant differences (p > 0.05). The multivariate modeling based optimized cationic nanocarrier formulation of <100 nm loaded with hydrophilic acetaminophen was readapted for a hydrophobic etoposide loading without significant changes (p > 0.05) except for improved loading percentage. This is the first study focusing on ABP polymeric matrix based nanocarrier development. Nanocarrier particle size was stable in PBS 7.4 for 48 h. The increase of zeta potential at lower pH 6.4, compared to the physiological pH, showed possible endosomal escape capability. The glutathione triggered release at the physiological conditions indicated the competence of cytosolic targeting delivery of the loaded drug from bioresponsive nanocarriers. In conclusion, this unique systematic approach provides rational evaluation and prediction of a tunable bioresponsive ABP based matrix nanocarrier, which was built on selected limited number of smart experimentation.

A factorial assessment of the sensitivity of the BATS land-surface parameterization scheme. [BATS (Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme)

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

Henderson-Sellers, A.

Land-surface schemes developed for incorporation into global climate models include parameterizations that are not yet fully validated and depend upon the specification of a large (20-50) number of ecological and soil parameters, the values of which are not yet well known. There are two methods of investigating the sensitivity of a land-surface scheme to prescribed values: simple one-at-a-time changes or factorial experiments. Factorial experiments offer information about interactions between parameters and are thus a more powerful tool. Here the results of a suite of factorial experiments are reported. These are designed (i) to illustrate the usefulness of this methodology andmore » (ii) to identify factors important to the performance of complex land-surface schemes. The Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS) is used and its sensitivity is considered (a) to prescribed ecological and soil parameters and (b) to atmospheric forcing used in the off-line tests undertaken. Results indicate that the most important atmospheric forcings are mean monthly temperature and the interaction between mean monthly temperature and total monthly precipitation, although fractional cloudiness and other parameters are also important. The most important ecological parameters are vegetation roughness length, soil porosity, and a factor describing the sensitivity of the stomatal resistance of vegetation to the amount of photosynthetically active solar radiation and, to a lesser extent, soil and vegetation albedos. Two-factor interactions including vegetation roughness length are more important than many of the 23 specified single factors. The results of factorial sensitivity experiments such as these could form the basis for intercomparison of land-surface parameterization schemes and for field experiments and satellite-based observation programs aimed at improving evaluation of important parameters.« less

Cyber and physical equipment digital control system in Industry 4.0 item designing company

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurjanov, A. V.; Zakoldaev, D. A.; Shukalov, A. V.; Zharinov, I. O.

2018-05-01

The problem of organization of digital control of the item designing company equipped with cyber and physical systems is being studied. A scheme of cyber and physical systems and personnel interaction in the Industry 4.0 smart factory company is presented. A scheme of assembly units transportation in the Industry 4.0 smart factory company is provided. A scheme of digital control system in the Industry 4.0 smart factory company is given.

More ethical and more efficient clinical research: multiplex trial design.

PubMed

Keus, Frederik; van der Horst, Iwan C C; Nijsten, Maarten W

2014-08-14

Today's clinical research faces challenges such as a lack of clinical equipoise between treatment arms, reluctance in randomizing for multiple treatments simultaneously, inability to address interactions and increasingly restricted resources. Furthermore, many trials are biased by extensive exclusion criteria, relatively small sample size and less appropriate outcome measures. We propose a 'Multiplex' trial design that preserves clinical equipoise with a continuous and factorial trial design that will also result in more efficient use of resources. This multiplex design accommodates subtrials with appropriate choice of treatment arms within each subtrial. Clinical equipoise should increase consent rates while the factorial design is the best way to identify interactions. The multiplex design may evolve naturally from today's research limitations and challenges, while principal objections seem absent. However this new design poses important infrastructural, organisational and psychological challenges that need in depth consideration.

Interactive Image Analysis System Design,

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-12-01

This report describes a design for an interactive image analysis system (IIAS), which implements terrain data extraction techniques. The design... analysis system. Additionally, the system is fully capable of supporting many generic types of image analysis and data processing, and is modularly...employs commercially available, state of the art minicomputers and image display devices with proven software to achieve a cost effective, reliable image

Brutal and negligent? 19th century factory mothers and child care.

PubMed

Reynolds, Melanie

2011-10-01

This paper aims to highlight some working class women's childcare practices in northern industrial areas of Britain during the latter half of the 19th century. It aims to challenge the commonly held belief that 19th century northern working-class factory mothers were irresponsive and neglectful toward their infants, thereby fuelling the high northern infant mortality rate. It will do this by showing that factory mothers were responsible and responsive toward their infants despite being thwarted by the working patterns of industrialisation. It begins by outlining the arguments made by historians that northern working class women were neglectful toward their children. Then key areas such as the working patterns of waged factory mothers will be illustrated to show the agency and determination of 19th century working class women to provide their infants with good care. Reassessment of these historical childcare practices can provide a springboard by which today's health professionals can endeavour to maintain accurate and fair perspectives about the childcare practices of today's women of low socio-economic status.

[Analysis of washing efficiency and change in lead speciation in lead-contaminated soil of a battery factory].

PubMed

Ren, Bei; Huang, Jin-lou; Miao, Ming-sheng

2013-09-01

Lead-contaminated soil with different pollution load in a lead battery factory in the southwest of China was chosen as the research object, the lead content and speciation were analyzed, and different washing agents were screened. The lead washing efficiency and lead speciation were analyzed under different pH conditions, and the soil of different particle size was washed using different duration to determine the best washing time. The results showed that the soil of sites A and B in the factory was severely contaminated, the lead concentration reaching 15,703.22 mg x kg(-1) and 1747.78 mg x kg(-1), respectively, and the proportion of the active-state lead was relatively high, while the residue state accounted for only 17.32%, 11.64%, 14.6% and 10.2%. EDTA and hydrochloric acid showed the best extraction effect in the 5 washing agents tested, which included EDTA, hydrochloric acid, citric acid, rhamnolipid and SDS. Cleaning under acidic conditions could not only effectively extract the total amount of lead but also effectively reduce the environmental risk of active-state lead. pH 4-7 was suggested as the most appropriate condition. The cleaning effect of coarse sand and fine sand was good, while for washing powder clay, it is better to improve the process, with the optimal washing time determined as 240 min.

A community-initiated study of blood lead levels of Nicaraguan children living near a battery factory.

PubMed Central

Morales Bonilla, C; Mauss, E A

1998-01-01

OBJECTIVES: In response to requests by parents in Managua, Nicaragua, whose neighborhood borders a battery factory, 97 children were tested for blood lead, as were 30 children in a neighborhood without an obvious source of environmental lead. METHODS: Venous blood was examined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Educational workshops were conducted. RESULTS: Mean blood lead levels were 17.21 +/- 9.92 micrograms/dL in the index children and 7.40 +/- 5.37 micrograms/dL in the controls (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Children living near the battery factory are at increased risk of lead poisoning. The parents were able to petition the government to control the factory emissions and to improve appropriate health services. The factory is now closed. PMID:9842385

Carbonate factories: A conundrum in sedimentary geology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pomar, L.; Hallock, P.

2008-03-01

by the end-Permian extinctions, excess photosynthesis by phytoplankton and microbial assemblages in surface waters, induced by moderately high CO 2 and temperature during the Early Mesozoic, supported proliferation of non-tissular metazoans (e.g., sponges) and heterotrophic bacteria at the sea floor. Metabolic activity by those microbes, especially sulfate reduction, resulted in abundant biologically-induced geochemical carbonate precipitation on and within the sea floor. For example, with the opening of Tethyan seaways during the Triassic, massive sponge/microbe boundstones (the benthic automicrite factory) formed steep, massive and thick progradational slopes and, locally, mud-mounds. As tectonic processes created shallow epicontinental seas, photosynthesis drove lime-mud precipitation in the illuminated zone of the water column. The resulting neritic lime-mud component of the shallow-water carbonate factory became predominant during the Jurassic, paralleling the increase in atmospheric pCO 2, while the decreasing importance of the benthic automicrite factory parallels the diversification of calcifying metazoans, phytoplankton and zooplankton. With atmospheric pCO 2 declining through the Cretaceous, the potential habitats for neritic lime-mud precipitation declined. At the same time, peak oceanic Ca 2+ concentrations promoted biotically-controlled calcification by the skeletal factory. With changes produced by extinctions and turnovers at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, adaptations to decreasing Ca 2+ and pCO 2, coupled with increasing global temperature gradients (i.e., high-latitude and deep-water cooling), and strategies that efficiently linked photosynthesis and calcification, promoted successive changes of the dominant skeletal factory through the Cenozoic: larger benthic foraminifers (protist-protist symbiosis) during the Paleogene, red algae during the Miocene and modern coral reefs (metazoan-protist symbiosis) since Late Miocene.

Gender bias in nineteenth-century England: Evidence from factory children.