IMPROVEMENT OF OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY OF EQUIPMENT THROUGH TPM: A CASE STUDY

ABSTRACT The productivity improvement of workforce, under Indian conditions, is a far cry. Therefore, the left out area is that of equipment and that can be significantly improved through Total Productive Maintenance (TPM). The various researchers have established that TPM is an important tool to improve equipment efficiency and achieving the organizational goals. This approach is to contribute on quality as well cost fronts. TPM is essentially a tool of Lean manufacturing where in the waste need to be identified for elimination. The present study pertains to spot welding workstation which clearly reveals the inherent problems associated with the process function. The various types of wastes on this workstation are bad design of tooling, long changeover time, unplanned machine breakdowns, and machine conditions. Therefore, elimination of these wastes is necessary to improve the equipment operating efficiency (OEE). TPM methodology has been assessed on the spot welding workstation for improvement in present level of 61 % to 68% in first stage, 68% to 75% in second stage and up to or above 85% in the third stage

Search for stop and higgsino production using diphoton Higgs boson decays

Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top-quark (stop) and the Higgs boson (higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets. In 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, recorded in the CMS experiment, no evidence of a signal is found and lower limits at the 95% confidence level are set, excluding the stop mass below 360 to 410 GeV, depending on the higgsino mass

Severe early onset preeclampsia: short and long term clinical, psychosocial and biochemical aspects

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific disorder commonly defined as de novo hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks gestational age. It occurs in approximately 3-5% of pregnancies and it is still a major cause of both foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide1. As extensive research has not yet elucidated the aetiology of preeclampsia, there are no rational preventive or therapeutic interventions available. The only rational treatment is delivery, which benefits the mother but is not in the interest of the foetus, if remote from term. Early onset preeclampsia (<32 weeks’ gestational age) occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies. It is, however often associated with maternal morbidity as the risk of progression to severe maternal disease is inversely related with gestational age at onset2. Resulting prematurity is therefore the main cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in patients with severe preeclampsia3. Although the discussion is ongoing, perinatal survival is suggested to be increased in patients with preterm preeclampsia by expectant, non-interventional management. This temporising treatment option to lengthen pregnancy includes the use of antihypertensive medication to control hypertension, magnesium sulphate to prevent eclampsia and corticosteroids to enhance foetal lung maturity4. With optimal maternal haemodynamic status and reassuring foetal condition this results on average in an extension of 2 weeks. Prolongation of these pregnancies is a great challenge for clinicians to balance between potential maternal risks on one the eve hand and possible foetal benefits on the other. Clinical controversies regarding prolongation of preterm preeclamptic pregnancies still exist – also taking into account that preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the Netherlands5 - a debate which is even more pronounced in very preterm pregnancies with questionable foetal viability6-9. Do maternal risks of prolongation of these very early pregnancies outweigh the chances of neonatal survival? Counselling of women with very early onset preeclampsia not only comprises of knowledge of the outcome of those particular pregnancies, but also knowledge of outcomes of future pregnancies of these women is of major clinical importance. This thesis opens with a review of the literature on identifiable risk factors of preeclampsia

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Measurement of nuclear modification factors of gamma(1S)), gamma(2S), and gamma(3S) mesons in PbPb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

The cross sections for ϒ(1S), ϒ(2S), and ϒ(3S) production in lead-lead (PbPb) and proton-proton (pp) collisions at √sNN = 5.02 TeV have been measured using the CMS detector at the LHC. The nuclear modification factors, RAA, derived from the PbPb-to-pp ratio of yields for each state, are studied as functions of meson rapidity and transverse momentum, as well as PbPb collision centrality. The yields of all three states are found to be significantly suppressed, and compatible with a sequential ordering of the suppression, RAA(ϒ(1S)) > RAA(ϒ(2S)) > RAA(ϒ(3S)). The suppression of ϒ(1S) is larger than that seen at √sNN = 2.76 TeV, although the two are compatible within uncertainties. The upper limit on the RAA of ϒ(3S) integrated over pT, rapidity and centrality is 0.096 at 95% confidence level, which is the strongest suppression observed for a quarkonium state in heavy ion collisions to date. © 2019 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Funded by SCOAP3.Peer reviewe

Effect of food and rosuvastatin on plasma mevalonic acid levels in male rats

The present study determines the effect of food and rosuvastatin on plasma mevalonic acid (MVA) levels in rats. Single sample was taken under 12 h fasted and fed condition from 20 rats. Rats were divided into four groups (n=5). Rosuvastatin was dosed at 0, 3, 10, 30 mg/kg p.o prepared in 0.5% sodium carboxy methylcellulose (fasted condition). Sampling was carried out at predose, 0.25, 0.5, 1.5, 6, 16 and 24 h. Separated plasma samples were analysed by validated LC-MS/MS method. Data was processed using paired t test. WinNonlin software version 4.1 was used to calculate AUC0-24h. MVA levels were significantly lower (43%) under fasting conditions as compared to fed conditions (p < 0.001). No diurnal variation in MVA levels was observed in all dose groups. AUC0-24h of MVA decreased by 30 to 35 % in 10 and 30 mg/kg dose groups (fasted condition), as compared to the control group. Plasma MVA levels in rats were decreased under fasting and also following rosuvastatin administration (under fasting). Thus, estimation of plasma MVA levels can be used to explore mechanism of statins and compare their efficacy in animal models. The use of MVA as a biomarker, however, for statin therapy needs to be investigated in man. Keywords: rosuvastatin, plasma mevalonic acid, effect of food, animal models, LC-MS/MS Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Journal Vol. 24, 2006: 59-6

CYP2D6 phenotyping in North Indian subjects in Delhi

The recognition of the importance of inter-subject variation in drug metabolism has increased markedly over the past 20 years. Inter-subject variation may be genetically determined, environmentally induced, or most commonly, a combination of both, resulting in genetic polymorphism. The objective of the present study is to examine the CYP2D6 phenotypes in north Indian population. The study was carried out on seventy-five unrelated healthy north Indian subjects. They were phenotyped with respect to their ability to metabolize dextromethorphan to dextorphan. Oral dextromethorphan (30 mg) was administered to each subject. Urine was collected during 0 to 8 h period after dosing and was analyzed for dextromethorphan and dextorphan by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The log 10 (metabolic ratio), calculated as the ratio of dextromethorphan to dextorphan, was bimodally distributed. An antimode value of 0.3 was obtained by plotting a frequency histogram of the log metabolic ratios. The frequency of occurrence of poor metabolizers of dextromethorphan in north Indian subjects from Delhi was found to be 2.6%. Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Journal Vol. 24, 2006: 65-7

The Effects of Rosuvastatin on the Serum Cortisol, Serum Lipid, and Serum Mevalonic Acid Levels in the Healthy Indian Male Population

In this open-label, balanced, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel study, healthy male volunteers were randomly divided into two groups. Each group received either a single oral dose of rosuvastatin 20 mg or placebo. Estimations were done at predose on day 1 of dosing (baseline) and 24 h postdose after days 7 and 14. Serum cortisol and serum lipid levels were estimated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits and serum mevalonic acid (MVA) levels were measured using validated liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method. Rosuvastatin produced a statistically significant (P < 0.05) decrease in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides. However, the increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and decrease in cortisol and MVA were not statistically significant when compared to the placebo-treated group. The study showed that rosuvastatin at a dose of 20 mg/day for a period of 14 days was very potent as cholesterol-lowering agent, without any significant change in serum cortisol level in the healthy Indian male population

Proceedings of International Conference on Women Researchers in Electronics and Computing

This proceeding contains articles on the various research ideas of the academic community and practitioners presented at the international conference, “Women Researchers in Electronics and Computing” (WREC’2021). WREC'21 was organized in online mode by Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar (Punjab), INDIA during 22 – 24 April 2021. This conference was conceptualized with an objective to encourage and motivate women engineers and scientists to excel in science and technology and to be the role models for young girls to follow in their footsteps. With a view to inspire women engineers, pioneer and successful women achievers in the domains of VLSI design, wireless sensor networks, communication, image/ signal processing, machine learning, and emerging technologies were identified from across the globe and invited to present their work and address the participants in this women oriented conference. Conference Title: International Conference on Women Researchers in Electronics and ComputingConference Acronym: WREC'21Conference Date: 22–24 April 2021Conference Location: Online (Virtual Mode)Conference Organizers: Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, Punjab, INDI