Production process reengineering in a smaller timber industrial enterprise

Proučevano podjetje spada med manjša lesnopredelovalna podjetja z daljšo tradicijo. Kot druga podjetja v tej panogi se tudi to sooča z izzivi skrajševanja dobave izdelkov, izboljšanja stroškovne učinkovitosti ter reševanja problemov pri planiranju in spremljanju proizvodnje. Podali smo predlog prenove priprave proizvodnje in proizvodnega procesa ter njune informacijske podpore. Analizirali smo, kje natančneje v samem procesu prihaja do težav. Pri tem smo uporabili metodologije diagramov tokov podatkov, toka aktivnosti ter EPC (angl. Event-driven Process Chain). Na osnovi ugotovitev v analizi stanja smo podali predloge boljše izrabe obstoječih funkcionalnosti informacijskega sistema ter predlog prenove poslovnega procesa proizvodnje.The examined company can be categorized as a smaller timber company with a long tradition. Like other companies in the sector it has to deal with challenges like shortening supply periods for its products, optimizing cost efficiency and solving various issues in planning and monitoring the production process. A business process reengineering plan for the processes of production preparation and production itself was prepared, so as also a proper (better) information support for both processes mentioned. Using methodologies like data flow diagrams, flowcharts and EPC (Event-Driven Process Chain), the current situation in the process of IT support was analysed to identify the main problems and their causes. Based on the analysis findings, some actions for better utilization of existing system functionalities and also a new reengineered production business process were proposed

Analysis of berth 7 in the port of Koper with the fisibility study for the deepening of seabed

Since 1957 the Port of Koper has been constantly developing. Constant expansion and optimization of the existing infrastructure is essential due to the need for competitiveness. Because of the recent arrival of the new generation of post-panamax ships with deeper drafts,\ud there is now the necessity to deepen the bottom of the seabed from 12 m to 15 m. The deepening of the seabed near coastal structures has also negative impacts on costal structures, which need to be examined. This thesis presents different ways of 2D modeling of coastal structures. Especially carefully is discussed the new element in the FE program Plaxis called "Embedded pile row". When using classical linear finite element it happens that in virtual\ud crossing points of vertical and diagonal elements, internal forces are transferred between elements. This happens, because of the virtual unrealistic connection between them. In addition, the "Embedded pile row" element is very suitable for modeling piles. It allows determining the course of bearing capacity of the shaft and the bearing capacity of the toe of the pile. In the first part, the behavior of EPR element is compared to the results of static\ud loading tests, which took place in the Port of Koper. At the same time, is it also analyzed the effect of different parameters that must be determined using EPR elements. In the second part of the thesis, knowledge earned in the first part is used for modeling the deepening of the pier\ud 7A from 12 m to 15 m. Later the model with EPR elements is compared with basic line tipe element model

Risk analysis of the operation of deep foundation structures in the Port of Koper

The emphasis of the Master thesis is on the risk analysis of deep foundation. These structures are used in the areas of weak upper layer of soil. The risk analysis is a systematic approach of identifying and assessing the risk. In the design of building structures, safety factors are used to provide the required reliability. In general practice, there have been two methods established for structural design. The first method is a deterministic method developed at the beginning of the last century and it is a part of Eurocode standards. The other one is based on the fact that external loads as well as material properties are random variables. Using the probability approach, it is possible to estimate, the reliability of the whole structure or its elements. \ud \ud In the thesis I have analyzed the piles load-carrying capacity for the basin fill area of the quays 7A and 7B at the pier 1 situated at the Port of Koper. Using the Mathematica software, I have estimated the probability of the pile bearing capacity exceedance:\ud - normal distribution,\ud - Gumbel distribution,\ud - The combination of normal and Gumbel distributions.\ud The analytical calculations of the probability of failure were performed for the case at normal distribution. Most of investigated cases have indicated that the possibility of the construction failure is quite low.\ud \ud For all three types of distributions I have created various scenarios for individual probable events. The event tree analysis has produced an interesting and useful detail i.e. a collective risk value for all cases. \ud \ud \u

Preliminary Crystallographic Study of Streptomyces coelicolor Single-stranded DNA-binding Protein

Single-stranded DNA-binding proteins (SSBs) play a crucial role in DNA processing such as replication, repair and recombination in all organisms, from bacteria to human. Streptomyces coelicolor ssb gene was overexpressed in a heterologous host, Escherichia coli NM522. 15 mg of purified protein from 1 dm3 of culture was obtained in one-step procedure applying Ni2+ chelating chromatography. Among bacterial SSBs with the solved crystal structure, the S. coelicolor SSB displayed significant sequence similarity with those from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium smegmatis, slow growing bacteria with a high GC content. Moreover, conserved amino acid region that forms additional ß strand in mycobacterial SSBs was also found in S. coelicolor SSB. The full-length protein readily crystallises in space group I222 or I212121 with unit-cell parameters a = 100.8, b = 102.1, c = 164.2 Å. The asymmetric unit is expected to contain four monomers with solvent content of 52–55 %

The mechanism behind the selection of two different cleavage sites in NAG-NAM polymers.

Peptidoglycan is a giant molecule that forms the cell wall that surrounds bacterial cells. It is composed of alternating N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM) residues connected by β-(1,4)-glycosidic bonds and cross-linked with short polypeptide chains. Owing to the increasing antibiotic resistance against drugs targeting peptidoglycan synthesis, studies of enzymes involved in the degradation of peptidoglycan, such as N-acetylglucos-aminidases, may expose new, valuable drug targets. The scientific challenge addressed here is how lysozymes, muramidases which are likely to be the most studied enzymes ever, and bacterial N-acetylglucosaminidases discriminate between two glycosidic bonds that are different in sequence yet chemically equivalent in the same NAG-NAM polymers. In spite of more than fifty years of structural studies of lysozyme, it is still not known how the enzyme selects the bond to be cleaved. Using macromolecular crystallography, chemical synthesis and molecular modelling, this study explains how these two groups of enzymes based on an equivalent structural core exhibit a difference in selectivity. The crystal structures of Staphylococcus aureusN-acetylglucosaminidase autolysin E (AtlE) alone and in complex with fragments of peptidoglycan revealed that N-acetylglucosaminidases and muramidases approach the substrate at alternate glycosidic bond positions from opposite sides. The recognition pocket for NAM residues in the active site of N-acetylglucosaminidases may make them a suitable drug target