A mixture of variational canonical correlation analysis for nonlinear and quality-relevant process monitoring

Proper monitoring of quality-related variables in industrial processes is nowadays one of the main worldwide challenges with significant safety and efficiency implications.Variational Bayesian mixture of canonical correlation analysis (VBMCCA)-based process monitoring method was proposed in this paper to predict and diagnose these hard-to-measure quality-related variables simultaneously. Use of Student's t-distribution, rather than Gaussian distribution, in the VBMCCA model makes the proposed process monitoring scheme insensitive to disturbances, measurement noises, and model discrepancies. A sequential perturbation (SP) method together with derived parameter distribution of VBMCCA is employed to approach the uncertainty levels, which is able to provide a confidence interval around the predicted values and give additional control line, rather than just a certain absolute control limit, for process monitoring. The proposed process monitoring framework has been validated in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) simulated by benchmark simulation model with abrupt changes imposing on a sensor and a real WWTP with filamentous sludge bulking. The results show that the proposed methodology is capable of detecting sensor faults and process faults with satisfactory accuracy

Dosing the active ingredient in pharmaceutical powder mixtures using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)

Tese de mestrado, Engenharia Farmacêutica, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia, 2014O primeiro objectivo desta tese foi o desenvolvimento de um método de quantificação por espectroscopia de infravermelho próximo de modo a optimizar um processo de fabrico da OM Pharma numa fase crítica de produção: fase final da mistura. Em seguida avaliou-se a aplicabilidade do mesmo tipo de estratégia ao controlo (identificação, qualificação e quantificação) de outros pontos críticos do processo. A necessidade da implementação desta metodologia incide no facto de a este processo estar associado um volume de trabalho significativo de trabalho do Controlo de Qualidade. O modelo de quantificação desenvolvido permite a determinação do parâmetro de qualidade crítico do processo de fabrico do produto: a conformidade do teor em API na mistura; após a verificação da conformidade processo produtivo evolui para outra fase – produto final. A aplicação desta técnica desenvolvida permite, em rotina, a redução do tempo despendido em análise pelo Controlo de Qualidade. O modelo obtido foi validado de acordo com as Guidelines em vigor. Um segundo objectivo, foi o de generalizar a aprendizagem anterior e desenvolver uma biblioteca para diversas matérias-primas (princípios activos farmacêuticos) que permitisse a sua identificação e no futuro possivelmente a sua qualificação; esta necessidade surge devido à elevada quantidade de lotes de matériaprima recepcionada periodicamente na OM Pharma. A criação da biblioteca consiste no desenvolvimento de um método que permita identificar o princípio activo referido no modelo de quantificação, o que acarreta a construção de uma Biblioteca de Princípios Activos (API) obtida pela aquisição de espectros NIR de todos os API´s da OM Pharma. A biblioteca desenvolvida foi sujeita a validação interna e externa de acordo com os requisitos das Guidelines em vigor. Concluiu-se que a espectroscopia de infravermelho próximo é um método preciso e benéfico para a análise e controlo de qualidade no controlo da fase final de produção e na identificação de matérias-primas na Indústria Farmacêutica. Associada à utilização desta técnica, o aumento da produtividade através da redução do tempo de análise e, consequentemente, a redução dos custos operativos é sem dúvida um factor muito positivo.The first goal of this thesis was the development of a near infrared quantification method in order to optimize the mixing process in OM Pharma’s production phase, followed by the application of this method in controlling other critical processes such as identification, qualification and quantification. The fact that this process is associated with a significant part in Quality Control’s work volume justified the implementation of this methodology. The developed quantification PLS model allows the determination of a product manufacturing process critical quality parameter: the compliance of the API content; after checking this production phase conformity, the process evolves into another phase - final product. The application of this technique allows the reduction of the spent time on routine analysis. The model was validated according to the guidelines. A second goal consisted in developing a library allowing to identify several raw materials (pharmaceutical active ingredients) and in the future it’s possible qualification. This need arose due to the high amount of raw material batches periodically received in OM Pharma. The library development is based on a method developed for identification of the active principle in said quantization model which leads to the construction of a library of active ingredients (API) obtained by the acquisition of NIR spectrum. The developed library was subjected to internal and external validation according to the requirements of the Guidelines in effect. The near infrared spectroscopy method proved itself as an accurate and beneficial method for the analysis and quality control in controlling the final stages of production and raw materials identification in the pharmaceutical industry. Associated to the use of this technique, increased productivity by reducing the analysis time and, consequently, the reduction of operating costs is without a doubt very positive

Design of an E-learning system using semantic information and cloud computing technologies

Humanity is currently suffering from many difficult problems that threaten the life and survival of the human race. It is very easy for all mankind to be affected, directly or indirectly, by these problems. Education is a key solution for most of them. In our thesis we tried to make use of current technologies to enhance and ease the learning process. We have designed an e-learning system based on semantic information and cloud computing, in addition to many other technologies that contribute to improving the educational process and raising the level of students. The design was built after much research on useful technology, its types, and examples of actual systems that were previously discussed by other researchers. In addition to the proposed design, an algorithm was implemented to identify topics found in large textual educational resources. It was tested and proved to be efficient against other methods. The algorithm has the ability of extracting the main topics from textual learning resources, linking related resources and generating interactive dynamic knowledge graphs. This algorithm accurately and efficiently accomplishes those tasks even for bigger books. We used Wikipedia Miner, TextRank, and Gensim within our algorithm. Our algorithm‘s accuracy was evaluated against Gensim, largely improving its accuracy. Augmenting the system design with the implemented algorithm will produce many useful services for improving the learning process such as: identifying main topics of big textual learning resources automatically and connecting them to other well defined concepts from Wikipedia, enriching current learning resources with semantic information from external sources, providing student with browsable dynamic interactive knowledge graphs, and making use of learning groups to encourage students to share their learning experiences and feedback with other learners.Programa de Doctorado en Ingeniería Telemática por la Universidad Carlos III de MadridPresidente: Luis Sánchez Fernández.- Secretario: Luis de la Fuente Valentín.- Vocal: Norberto Fernández Garcí

Bioactivity evaluation of Streptomyces Pigments from Arauca and Guaviare rivers with potential in the cosmetic Industry

107 páginasPersonal care is one of the essential activities for human beings today. Cosmetics are mixtures of multiple ingredients, the purpose of which is to provide a benefit on the skin. This industry has a turnover of more than 429.8 million annually and a growing trend of 4.6%. This behavior has led to the inclusion of a new segment known as natural cosmetics, whose purpose is to promote the use of natural and more environmentally friendly ingredients. One of the most controversial ingredients in cosmetics is synthetic dyes and pigments. These compounds have been exposed in the scientific community with great concern for contributing to the generation of free radicals, their high content of heavy metals, and being precursors of hormonal disorders and other degenerative diseases. Consequently, the search for more eco-friendly and healthier pigment sources that are easy to handle and feasible in industrial production has been encouraged. One promising source of natural pigments is from microorganisms. The most representative genus of this type of secondary metabolite is Streptomyces. These actinomycetes are of great interest to the many biotechnological products currently marketed worldwide. This research aimed to evaluate the bioactivities (antimicrobial, antioxidant, cytotoxic, antiinflammatory, tyrosinase inhibition, and anti-acne activity) of Streptomyces strains from Colombian rivers that showed coloration in culture and antifungal activity in other studies. Additionally, identify which variables can be optimized in the bioproduction of the pigment, and how its bioactivity behaves, to validate whether this pigment can be considered as a possible raw material for the cosmetic industry.Maestría en Diseño y Gestión de ProcesosMagíster en Diseño y Gestión de Proceso

Identification of idh1 mutation-related gene signature of glioblastoma multiforme

Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a type of commonly occurred malignant astrocytoma with an extremely poor prognosis. GBMs display a remarkable genetic variability, and it is essential to study the genomic alterations and pathway dysregulations based on the different tumor entities. The gene IDH1 encodes cytosolic isocitrate dehydrogenase 1, which catalyzes the reactions of oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate to Alpha-ketoglutarate. Different types of mutation of IDH1 has been found in gliomas and GBMs, especially in secondary GBMs. Among the IDH1 mutations, R132H mutation is the most prominent one. IDH1 mutation in GBMs is correlated with a longer survival time, and no IDH1 mutations are reported in many other tumor types. Thus IDH1 is hypothesized as crucial in the pathogenesis of GBMs, and it is regarded as a potential drug target. The fundamental goal of this study is to identify a gene signature correlated with IDH1 mutation in GBMs. And related genes and biological pathways are also studied. Methods: Most of the work of data collection and analysis are achieved with R packages. The step-down maxT method is adopted to perform the multiple testing procedure in order to find differently expressed genes. The p-values of statistical tests are corrected by controlling FWER. The clustering result is explicated as heatmap, and clinical data is elucidated with boxplot and Kaplan Meier-plot. Analysis of GO and KEGG pathways are used to extract more information from the genes. And the results are visualized as graphs in Cytoscape. Results: A framework is created for identifying gene signatures as well as studying biological pathways. The expression data from 548 samples are collected, and 58 genes out of 12042 genes are identified as differently expressed. Finally a gene signature with 50 genes are proposed. Conclusion: Microarray technology and statistics methods are effective for the studying of alterations in gene expression and biological pathways. The gene signature proposed by this study can distinguish samples harboring IDH1 mutation from GBMs. And future researches are necessary to corroborate and extend the results

Computer Science and Technology Series : XV Argentine Congress of Computer Science. Selected papers

CACIC'09 was the fifteenth Congress in the CACIC series. It was organized by the School of Engineering of the National University of Jujuy. The Congress included 9 Workshops with 130 accepted papers, 1 main Conference, 4 invited tutorials, different meetings related with Computer Science Education (Professors, PhD students, Curricula) and an International School with 5 courses. CACIC 2009 was organized following the traditional Congress format, with 9 Workshops covering a diversity of dimensions of Computer Science Research. Each topic was supervised by a committee of three chairs of different Universities. The call for papers attracted a total of 267 submissions. An average of 2.7 review reports were collected for each paper, for a grand total of 720 review reports that involved about 300 different reviewers. A total of 130 full papers were accepted and 20 of them were selected for this book.Red de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI