KPI development and obsolescence management in industrial maintenance

Since the industrialization of the mid-19th century, the role of maintenance has become increasingly important as time moved on. Proactive maintenance has gained a crucial role, even though a lot of organizations still view it as an expense and not an investment. This paper highlights the role of KPIs and obsolescence management in maintenance operations. The first step was to create a new KPI to assess the work done in maintenance, relating it to the work done in production. Although the ISO 15341:2007 maps out certain KPIs, the creation of a new one was necessary. The result was a two phases KPI, in which its values are matched to a decision matrix that gives a qualitative evaluation of the performed work. The second step was to create a decision-making tool to evaluate the obsolescence of electronic components and choose the mitigation approach. The IEC 62402:2007 shows some terminology and some conditions to check for obsolescence, but does not point out whether a proactive or a reactive approach should be used. Like the KPI developed, it is also composed of a two-phase process. The first phase helps to see which components are at a higher risk to become obsolescent, while the second phase evaluates the repercussions to mitigate its obsolescence. The values obtained are also connected to a decision matrix to decide whether the approach for its mitigation should be proactive or reactive. The novel KPI and obsolescence approach were successfully tested in practice in a dairy processing factory, showing perfectly fulfil the goals initially set.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An elastic model for the In-In correlations in In(x)Ga(1-x)As semiconductor alloys

Deviations from randomicity in In(x)Ga(1-x) As semiconductor alloys induced by elastic effects are investigated within the Keating potential. Our model is based on Monte Carlo simulations on large (4096 atoms) supercells, performed with two types of boundary conditions: Fully periodic boundary conditions represent the bulk, while periodic boundary conditions along the x and y directions and a free surface in the z direction simulate the epitaxial growth environment. We show that In-In correlations identified in the bulk tend to be enhanced in the epitaxially grown samples.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figure, published in Solid State Communication

Knockdown of LRP/LR Induces Apoptosis in breast and oesophageal cancer cells.

Cancer is a global burden due to high incidence and mortality rates and is ranked the second most diagnosed disease amongst non-communicable diseases in South Africa. A high expression level of the 37kDa/67kDa laminin receptor (LRP/LR) is one characteristic of cancer cells. This receptor is implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer cells by supporting tumor angiogenesis, metastasis and especially for this study, the evasion of apoptosis. In the current study, the role of LRP/LR on cellular viability of breast MCF-7, MDA-MB 231 and WHCO1 oesophageal cancer cells was investigated. Western blot analysis revealed that total LRP expression levels of MCF-7, MDA-MB 231 and WHCO1 were significantly downregulated by targeting LRP mRNA using siRNA-LAMR1. This knockdown of LRP/LR resulted in a significant decrease of viability in the breast and oesophageal cancer cells as determined by an MTT assay. Transfection of MDA-MB 231 cells with esiRNA-RPSA directed against a different region of the LRP mRNA had similar effects on LRP/LR expression and cell viability compared to siRNA-LAMR1, excluding an off-target effect of siRNALAMR1. This reduction in cellular viability is as a consequence of apoptosis induction as indicated by the exposure of the phosphatidylserine protein on the surface of breast MCF-7, MDA-MB 231 and oesophageal WHCO1 cancer cells, respectively, detected by an Annexin-V/FITC assay as well as nuclear morphological changes observed post-staining with Hoechst. These observations indicate that LRP/LR is crucial for the maintenance of cellular viability of breast and oesophageal cancer cells and recommend siRNA technology targeting LRP expression as a possible novel alternative technique for breast and oesophageal cancer treatment.This work was supported by the National Research Foundation, the Republic of South Africa, the Republic of South Africa.NCS201

Protein haze formation in wines revisited. The stabilising effect of organic acids

The effect on the wine protein haze potential of five organic acids commonly encountered in wines (L(+)- tartaric, L( )-malic, citric, succinic and gluconic acids) was assessed. All five acids, tested at 20 mM, reduced dramatically the haze potential of proteins, either in wine or dissolved in water, throughout the range of pH values typical of wines (i.e., from 2.8 through 3.8). Subtle differences among the acid effects did not correlate with the number of their carboxyl groups, but were attributed to electrostatic interactions that depend upon the acid pKa values, the protein pI values and the medium pH. These results invalidate or question the validity of all experiments on wine proteins involving wine model solutions containing organic acids. Overall, the results obtained in the present work clearly indicate that organic acids with a common occurrence in wines exhibit a stabilising effect upon the haze potential of the wine proteins

Ictiofauna De Riachos Das Cabeceiras Da Bacia Hidrográfica Do Alto Paranapanema

The Paraná River basin has about 600 fish species. In the Upper Paraná, 310 fish species were recorded, with 52 species were registered in the streams and headwaters of the Paranapanema River. The aim of this study was to characterize the stream fish communities in the Upper Paranapanema River basin. Samplings were conducted with electrofishing during the dry season in the year of 2014. The collection effort consisted of 30 streams stretches. As a result, 41 species of stream fish were recorded in the Upper Paranapanema River basin, distributed in 26 genera, 11 families and 7 orders. Thirty-nine percent of the species can be considered rare, 41% intermediate and 20% common. We captured approximately eight species by stream stretch and the estimated richness (Schao2) was 40 ± 6 species. Around 40% of the individuals had less than 50 mm in length. © 2016, Universidade Estadual de Campinas UNICAMP. All rights reserved.16

A Project Module of E-Commerce Planning

The development of a pedagogy that integrates scholastic knowledge and practical skills of e-commerce for business students is imperative. Students typically learn e-commerce planning through course projects. This note provides tips for designing and teaching an e-commerce planning project module for the e-commerce course

Pyrolyzed chitosan-based materials for CO2/CH4 separation

Chitosan is a biopolymer obtained by deacetylation of chitin extracted from sub-products of the food industry and it is rich in nitrogen content. Pyrolyzed chitosan– and chitosan-periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO)– based porous materials with different pore structures and chemical features are prepared using different dry methods and ensuing pyrolysis at 800 °C, for application in the CO2/CH4 adsorption/separation. The highest CO2 adsorption capacity (1.37 mol·kg−1 at 100 kPa; 1.9 mol·kg−1 at 500 kPa) and the best selectivity for CO2/CH4 separation (95 at 500 kPa) is obtained using 1.5% (m/v) of chitosan solution dried under supercritical CO2. This material combines a good CO2 adsorption capacity with one of the highest selectivities for CO2/CH4 separation of the literature, arising as a promising alternative adsorbent for natural gas or biogas upgrading at reduced cost. The presence of high nitrogen content together with pores of diameter around 2 nm leads to an increase of the CO2 adsorption capacity. In the case of chitosan-PMO-based materials, the activation step using both acid and crushing methods is crucial to increase the CO2 adsorbed amount. Here, the highest CO2 adsorption capacity and the highest selectivity are obtained by the chitosan-PMO crushed adsorbent and the chitosan-PMO material activated with sulfuric acid, respectively. These observations indicate the importance of the controlled attack of the material surface to enhance the diffusion of the target gases within the adsorbent, avoiding the adsorption of other species.publishe

The extended empirical process test for non-Gaussianity in the CMB, with an application to non-Gaussian inflationary models

In (Hansen et al. 2002) we presented a new approach for measuring non-Gaussianity of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) anisotropy pattern, based on the multivariate empirical distribution function of the spherical harmonics a_lm of a CMB map. The present paper builds upon the same ideas and proposes several improvements and extensions. More precisely, we exploit the additional information on the random phases of the a_lm to provide further tests based on the empirical distribution function. Also we take advantage of the effect of rotations in improving the power of our procedures. The suggested tests are implemented on physically motivated models of non-Gaussian fields; Monte-Carlo simulations suggest that this approach may be very promising in the analysis of non-Gaussianity generated by non-standard models of inflation. We address also some experimentally meaningful situations, such as the presence of instrumental noise and a galactic cut in the map.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Immobilization of Candida antarctica Lipase Type B by Adsorption on Activated Carbon

The immobilization of Candida antarctica lipase type B on activated carbon was studied. Adsorption conditions were investigated in order to improve enzyme activity and stability in organic media. Results showed that biocatalyst activity and recovered activity were improved with increasing concentrations of ammonium sulphate on the supernatant during enzyme adsorption. Hydrophobic interactions were the driving force of the immobilization process. Nevertheless, the specific and recovered activity of the immobilized enzyme is affected by pH of adsorption, and best results were obtained when lipase adsorption was conducted near the enzyme isoeletric point (pI 6.0). Operational stability of the immobilized enzyme was markedly improved when lipase loading was increased from 74.15 U g-1 to 112.34 U g-1. After the sixth cycle of butyl butyrate synthesis, it retained around 10 % of the initial activity. Derivatives prepared in this work were tested and compared to a commercial derivative and results showed that they were a suitable biocatalyst to be used in the synthesis of flavours, such as butyl butyrate

Electrolyte effects on the Amino acid solubility in water: solubilities of Glycine, l-Leucine, l-Phenylalanine, and l-Aspartic acid in salt solutions of (Na+, K+, NH4+)/(Cl–, NO3–)

The solubilities of glycine, L-leucine, L-phenylalanine, and L-aspartic acid in aqueous solutions of the salts composed by combining Na+, K+, and NH4 + cations and Cl− and NO3 − anions were measured up to 2.0 salt molality at 298.2 K by the analytical gravimetric method. Using these data along with a review of literature information, encompassing all amino acids for which solubility is available in the studied aqueous electrolyte solutions, allowed us to interpret the effect of the functional groups of amino acids on their solubility. The four amino acids studied here showed higher solubility in aqueous solutions of salts with the nitrate anion. Except for L-aspartic acid with a polar side chain, amino acids with apolar side chains presented the highest salting-in effect in aqueous salt solutions with NH4 +. The cations Na+ and K+ did not seem to establish relevant interactions with the amino acids and had little impact on their aqueous solubility.This work was developed within the scope of the project CIMO-Mountain Research Center, UIDB/00690/2020 and CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, UIDB/50011/2020 and UIDP/50011/2020, financed by national funds through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)/MCTES. Mehriban Aliyeva thanks FCT and European Social Fund (ESF) for her Ph.D. grant (SFRH/BD/139355/2018).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio