A framework for industrial systems modeling and simulation

To successfully compete in a global market, manufacturing production systems are being forced to reduce time to market and to provide improved responsiveness to changes in market conditions. The organizations that comprise the business links in the production system must constantly make tradeoffs between time and cost in order to achieve a competitive but quick response to consumer demand. Due to the inherent uncertainty of consumer demand, these tradeoffs are, by definition, made with incomplete information and can incur significant financial and competitive risk to the organization. Partnerships between organizations are a mechanism for increasing the information in the decision making process by combining information from the two partners. Partnerships are inherently difficult to implement due to trust issues. A mechanism for investigating and validating the mutual benefit to partnering would be useful in designing and implementing partnerships. This paper describes the development of a software framework for industrial systems modeling and simulation. The framework provides a mechanism for investigating changes to industrial systems in a manner which minimizes the effort and computational power needed to develop focused simulations. The architecture and it`s component parts are described

Exendin-4 effects on islet volume and number in mouse pancreas

The aim of this study was to evaluate Exendin-4 (EX-4) effects on islet volume and number in the mouse pancreas. Thirty-two healthy adult male NMRI mice were randomly divided into control and experimental groups. EX-4 was injected intraperitoneally (i. p.) at doses of 0.25 (E1 group), 0.5 (E2 group), and 1 µg/kg (E3 group), twice a day for 7 consecutive days. One day after the final injection, the mice were sacrificed, and the pancreas from each animal dissected out, weighed, and fixed in 10% formalin for measurement of pancreas and islet volume, and determination of islet number by stereological assessments. There was a significant increase in the weight of pancreases in the E3 group. Islet and pancreas volumes in E1 and E2 groups were unchanged compared to the control group. The E3 group showed a significant increase in islet and pancreas volume (P < 0.05). There were no significant changes in the total number of islets in all three experimental groups. The results revealed that EX-4 increased pancreas and islet volume in non-diabetic mice. The increased total islet mass is probably caused by islet hypertrophy without the formation of additional islets

Images in Medicine - A Variant of Poland Syndrome

A 30-year-old man presented with aesthetic complaints of weakness on the right side along with maldevelopment of right hand since birth. The birth history was uneventful. There was no history of exposure to teratogenic drugs. Seven other siblings were normal. The parents did not have a similar defect

Images in Medicine - A Variant of Poland Syndrome

A 30-year-old man presented with aesthetic complaints of weakness on the right side along with maldevelopment of right hand since birth. The birth history was uneventful. There was no history of exposure to teratogenic drugs. Seven other siblings were normal. The parents did not have a similar defect

Organoleptic assessment of halitosis for dental professionals - general recommendations

An organoleptic assessment of an odor is defined as a method that can measure the strength of target odors and expresses the value in terms of a point or number with reference to a pre-defined organoleptic scale. Organoleptic assessments are performed using different scales and are used widely in industry (e.g. for measuring the effectiveness of anti-odor agents), in research (to discover relationships between bad breath and microbiology of the tongue, or the generation of particular volatile compounds), but it is also a prerequisite for the diagnosis of halitosis in individual patients required before directing appropriate treatment. An organoleptic assessment of halitosis patients may be carried out in specialized institutions but--based on the fact that in most cases the odor originates from oral structures--also by dental professionals including general dental practitioners (GDPs). Thus, this paper describes the scientific background for recommendations on how a GDP or dental hygienist or general practitioner with cases of bad breath should use organoleptic methods as a valid approach to assess malodor in patients, with a view to diagnosis and treatment, and subsequent treatment monitoring

Rapid antimicrobial resistance screening method for Bacteroides intermedius.

The purpose of the study was to validate a rapid resistance screening (RRS) method for antimicrobial susceptibility testing of a selected periodontopathic microorganism using the standard broth dilution method as a control. Twenty-five subgingival plaque samples from gingivitis or periodontitis sites were plated on Trypticase soy agar supplemented with 5% rabbit blood with antibiotic discs (RRS method) and without (control). The antibiotics tested were: Augmentin, clindamycin, erythromycin, metronidazole, penicillin G and tetracycline hydrochloride. Bacteroides intermedius isolated from both groups of plates were placed onto antibiotic supplemented Trypticase soy broth. The antibiotic susceptibilities of B. intermedius isolated from the plates with antibiotic discs and the standard broth method were compared. The results showed high sensitivity and predictability for the RRS method compared with the control. The percentage of agreement was: 100% for Augmentin 30 micrograms, clindamycin 2 micrograms and tetracycline 30 micrograms; 96% for erythromycin 15 micrograms, metronidazole 80 micrograms and penicillin 10 IU; 92% for penicillin 2 IU; 88% for erythromycin 2 micrograms and 84% for tetracycline 5 micrograms. The results of this study document the feasibility of the RRS method for testing antimicrobial resistance of whole samples if its efficacy can be demonstrated for other bacteria. This method may be a quick and useful test for the periodontal practitioner in determining the antibiotic susceptibility of periodontal plaque pathogens.link_to_subscribed_fulltex