Analysis of solutions dedicated to non-conformity prevention

Research financed from the NCN research project no. UMO-2012/05 / B / HS4 / 04139.Purpose: The purpose of the work is to analyze the use of solutions aimed at preventing incompatibilities and assess the effectiveness of these solutions to minimize the risk associated with the quality of manufactured products. The analysis presented in the work is based on the Poka-Yoke error prevention concept used in the selected enterprise. The paper presents the state of the company before and after the introduction of Poka-Yoke method. Approach/Methodology/Design: The research methods used in the paper were the analysis of company data, analysis of literature states, as well as methods using the Poka-Yoke concept. The company was surveyed in 2017/2018 during the system implementation. Findings: The results on the control card for nonconforming units of type "p" were also presented, where the analysis showed that the introduction of the Poka-Yoke system to the company reduced the number of nonconformities by 6.69%. Practical Implications: Implementation of the Poka-Yoke system will allow enterprises to create conditions in which an error cannot happen, or will be immediately visible. The result of such an action may be distracting operators from repetitive operations, reducing the number of deficiencies and induce immediate action when a problem occurs. Originality/Value: Showing how the use of the Poka-Yoke system affects the prevention of inadvertent error in enterprises, by determining the differences between the state of the enterprise before and after the introduction of the Poka-Yoke system, there is an opportunity to improve the economy and contribute to the social and economic sphere.peer-reviewe

Supervisory control and data acquisition system as a means of safety at work formation in a manufacturing company

Purpose: The aim of the paper is to present an application of the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system (SCADA) in the shaping of occupational safety by raising workers’ awareness concerning importance of maintaining high personal safety standards in a manufacturing company. Approach/Methodology/Design: Shaping work safety covers all activities that increase employee awareness concerning compliance with safety regulations and work practices with particular respect to the rules of conduct in specific situations. This article presents the use of the SCADA system in shaping of the workplace safety. It also underlines its influence on raising employee awareness of the importance of complying with health and safety regulations. Findings: It can be stated that the safety days screen meets the company’s expectations. Moreover, it can be a valuable support in shaping workplace safety and raising employee awareness of safe work. The crucial thing is to carry out a detailed analysis and then choose such a solution that is adequate for the needs of a particular enterprise. Practical Implications: It is noted that the use of any solution that optimizes processes in the enterprise (including manufacturing processes) and the opportunities that IT tools provide, greatly contributes to the growth of safety. Providing safe working conditions by employers is usually closely linked to the organization's management strategy. Originality/Value: Currently we can observe the growing use of distributed control and visualization systems (SCADA systems) in the automation of industrial processes.peer-reviewe

Abiotic formation of O2 and O3 in high-CO2 terrestrial atmospheres

Previous research has indicated that high amounts of ozone (O3) and oxygen (O2) may be produced abiotically in atmospheres with high concentrations of CO2. The abiotic production of these two gases, which are also characteristic of photosynthetic life processes, could pose a potential "false-positive" for remote-sensing detection of life on planets around other stars.We show here that such false positives are unlikely on any planet that possesses abundant liquid water, as rainout of oxidized species onto a reduced planetary surface should ensure that atmospheric H2 concentrations remain relatively high, and that O2 and O3 remain low. Our aim is to determine the amount of O3 and O2 formed in a high CO2 atmosphere for a habitable planet without life. We use a photochemical model that considers hydrogen (H2) escape and a detailed hydrogen balance to calculate the O2 and O3 formed on planets with 0.2 of CO2 around the Sun, and 0.02, 0.2 and 2 bars of CO2 around a young Sun-like star with higher UV radiation. The concentrations obtained by the photochemical model were used as input in a radiative transfer model that calculated the spectra of the modeled planets. The O3 and O2 concentrations in the simulated planets are extremely small, and unlikely to produce a detectable signature in the spectra of those planets. We conclude that with a balanced hydrogen budget, and for planets with an active hydrological cycle, abiotic formation of O2 and O3 is unlikely to create a possible false positive for life detection in either the visible/near-infrared or mid-infrared wavelength regimes.Comment: 27 pages, 15 figures, Astronomy & Astrophysics accepte

Adhesion Deregulation in Acute Myeloid Leukaemia

Cell adhesion is a process through which cells interact with and attach to neighboring cells or matrix using specialized surface cell adhesion molecules (AMs). Adhesion plays an important role in normal haematopoiesis and in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). AML blasts express many of the AMs identified on normal haematopoietic precursors. Differential expression of AMs between normal haematopoietic cells and leukaemic blasts has been documented to a variable extent, likely reflecting the heterogeneity of the disease. AMs govern a variety of processes within the bone marrow (BM), such as migration, homing, and quiescence. AML blasts home to the BM, as the AM-mediated interaction with the niche protects them from chemotherapeutic agents. On the contrary, they detach from the niches and move from the BM into the peripheral blood to colonize other sites, i.e., the spleen and liver, possibly in a process that is reminiscent of epithelial-to-mesenchymal-transition in metastatic solid cancers. The expression of AMs has a prognostic impact and there are ongoing efforts to therapeutically target adhesion in the fight against leukaemia

Is Gliese 581d habitable? Some constraints from radiative-convective climate modeling

The recently discovered exoplanet Gl581d is extremely close to the outer edge of its system's habitable zone, which has led to much speculation on its possible climate. We have performed a range of simulations to assess whether, given simple combinations of chemically stable greenhouse gases, the planet could sustain liquid water on its surface. For best estimates of the surface gravity, surface albedo and cloud coverage, we find that less than 10 bars of CO2 is sufficient to maintain a global mean temperature above the melting point of water. Furthermore, even with the most conservative choices of these parameters, we calculate temperatures above the water melting point for CO2 partial pressures greater than about 40 bar. However, we note that as Gl581d is probably in a tidally resonant orbit, further simulations in 3D are required to test whether such atmospheric conditions are stable against the collapse of CO2 on the surface.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Cooperative folding of intrinsically disordered domains drives assembly of a strong elongated protein

Bacteria exploit surface proteins to adhere to other bacteria, surfaces and host cells. Such proteins need to project away from the bacterial surface and resist significant mechanical forces. SasG is a protein that forms extended fibrils on the surface of Staphylococcus aureus and promotes host adherence and biofilm formation. Here we show that although monomeric and lacking covalent cross-links, SasG maintains a highly extended conformation in solution. This extension is mediated through obligate folding cooperativity of the intrinsically disordered E domains that couple non-adjacent G5 domains thermodynamically, forming interfaces that are more stable than the domains themselves. Thus, counterintuitively, the elongation of the protein appears to be dependent on the inherent instability of its domains. The remarkable mechanical strength of SasG arises from tandemly arrayed 'clamp' motifs within the folded domains. Our findings reveal an elegant minimal solution for the assembly of monomeric mechano-resistant tethers of variable length

Synthesis of cyclic carbonates from diols and CO2 catalyzed by carbenes

The synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO2 is a well-established reaction, whereas the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from diols and CO2 is considerably more challenging, and few efficient catalysts are available. Here, we describe heterocyclic carbene catalysts, including one derived from a cheap and efficient thiazolium salt, for this latter reaction. The reaction proceeds at atmospheric pressure in the presence of an alkyl halide and Cs2CO3. Reaction mechanisms for the transformations involved are also proposed

Quantum Correlations in Systems of Indistinguishable Particles

We discuss quantum correlations in systems of indistinguishable particles in relation to entanglement in composite quantum systems consisting of well separated subsystems. Our studies are motivated by recent experiments and theoretical investigations on quantum dots and neutral atoms in microtraps as tools for quantum information processing. We present analogies between distinguishable particles, bosons and fermions in low-dimensional Hilbert spaces. We introduce the notion of Slater rank for pure states of pairs of fermions and bosons in analogy to the Schmidt rank for pairs of distinguishable particles. This concept is generalized to mixed states and provides a correlation measure for indistinguishable particles. Then we generalize these notions to pure fermionic and bosonic states in higher-dimensional Hilbert spaces and also to the multi-particle case. We review the results on quantum correlations in mixed fermionic states and discuss the concept of fermionic Slater witnesses. Then the theory of quantum correlations in mixed bosonic states and of bosonic Slater witnesses is formulated. In both cases we provide methods of constructing optimal Slater witnesses that detect the degree of quantum correlations in mixed fermionic and bosonic states.Comment: 46 pages, 4 eps figure

Nucleophosmin leukemogenic mutant activates Wnt signaling during zebrafish development

Nucleophosmin (NPM1) is a ubiquitous multifunctional phosphoprotein with both oncogenic and tumor suppressor functions. Mutations of the NPM1 gene are the most frequent genetic alterations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and result in the expression of a mutant protein with aberrant cytoplasmic localization, NPMc+. Although NPMc+ causes myeloproliferation and AML in animal models, its mechanism of action remains largely unknown. Here we report that NPMc+ activates canonical Wnt signaling during the early phases of zebrafish development and determines a Wnt-dependent increase in the number of progenitor cells during primitive hematopoiesis. Coherently, the canonical Wnt pathway is active in AML blasts bearing NPMc+ and depletion of the mutant protein in the patient derived OCI-AML3 cell line leads to a decrease in the levels of active \u3b2-catenin and of Wnt target genes. Our results reveal a novel function of NPMc+ and provide insight into the molecular pathogenesis of AML bearing NPM1 mutations