Concept for Planning Sustainable Factories

In the current economic climate, for many businesses it is generally no longer sufficient to pursue exclusively economic interests. Instead, integrating ecological and social goals into the corporate targets is becoming ever more important. However, the holistic integration of these new goals is missing from current factory planning approaches. This article describes the conceptual framework for a planning methodology for sustainable factories. To this end, the description of the key areas for action is followed by a description of the principal components for the systematization of sustainability for factories and their stakeholders. Finally, a conceptual framework is presented which integrates the components formulated into an established factory planning procedure

Method for Assessing Potential in Distribution Logistics

In addition to the production, which is already frequently optimized, improving the distribution logistics also opens up tremendous potential for increasing an enterprise’s competitiveness. Here too though, numerous interactions need to be taken into account, enterprises thus need to be able to identify and weigh between different potentials for economically efficient optimizations. In order to be able to assess potentials, enterprises require a suitable method. This paper first briefly presents the need for this research before introducing the procedure that will be used to develop an appropriate method that not only considers interactions but is also quickly and easily implemented

Enhanced Economic Evaluation – Approach for a Holistic Evaluation of Factory Planning Variants

The building of a factory can be a strategic investment owing to its long service life. An evaluation that only focuses, for example, on payments for the building, the technical equipment of the factory, and the personnel for the enterprise is – considering the complexity of the system factory – not sufficient for this long-term view. The success of an investment is secured, among other things, by the attainment of nonmonetary goals, too, like transformability. Such aspects are not considered in traditional investment calculations like the net present value method. This paper closes this gap with the enhanced economic evaluation (EWR) for factory planning. The procedure and the first results of an application in a project are presented

Development of a Model for the Redesign of Plant Structures

In order to remain competitive in what is a turbulent environment; businesses must be able to react rapidly to change. The past response to volatile market conditions was to introduce an element of flexibility to production. Nowadays, what is often required is a redesign of factory structures in order to cope with the state of constant flux. The Institute of Production Systems and Logistics is currently developing a descriptive and causal model for the redesign of plant structures as part of an ongoing research project. This article presents the first research findings attained in devising this model

Materials flow control in hybrid make-to-stock/make-to-order manufacturing

Today’s company competiveness is favoured by product customisation and fast delivery. A strategy to meet this challenge is to manufacture standard items to stock for product customisation. This configures a hybrid environment of make-to-stock and make-to-order. To explore the advantages of this requires good understanding of production control. Thus, we study production under hybrid MTS-MTO, organising the system in two stages. The 1 st manufactures items to inventory, which are then customised in the 2 nd . We analyse how the percentage of tardy orders is affected by the inventory of items required to achieve a given fill rate. The impact of two mechanisms for releasing orders to both stages is also analysed. Results of a simulation study indicate that most of the reduction on the percentage of tardy orders is achieved by a moderate increase in the stock level of semi-finished products. Moreover the percentage of tardy orders decreases if suitable controlled release of orders is exerted.This study had the financial support of FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia of Portugal under the project PEst2015-2020: UID/CEC/ 00319/2013.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Matched-pair analysis of hematopoietic progenitor cell mobilization using G-CSF vs. cyclophosphamide, etoposide, and G-CSF: Enhanced CD34+ cell collections are not necessarily cost-effective

AbstractUsing matched-pair analysis, we compared two popular methods of stem cell mobilization in 24 advanced-stage breast cancer patients who underwent two consecutive mobilizing procedures as part of a tandem transplant protocol. For the first cycle, 10 microg/kg/day granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) was given and apheresis commenced on day 4 and continued for < or =5 days (median 3 days). One week after the first cycle of apheresis, 4000 mg/m2 cyclophosphamide, 400 mg/m2 etoposide, and 10 microg/kg G-CSF were administered for < or =16 days (cycle 2). Apheresis was initiated when the white blood cell (WBC) count exceeded 5000 cells/microL and continued for < or =5 days (median 3 days). Mean values of peripheral blood WBC (31,700+/-3200 vs. 30,700+/-3300/microL) were not significantly different between cycles 1 and 2. Mean number of mononuclear cells (MNC) collected per day was slightly greater with G-CSF mobilization than with the combination of chemotherapy and G-CSF (2.5+/-0.21x10(8) vs. 1.8+/-0.19x10(8) cells/kg). Mean daily CD34+ cell yield, however, was nearly six times higher (12.9+/-4.4 vs. 2.2+/-0.5x10(6)/kg; p = 0.01) with chemotherapy plus G-CSF. With G-CSF alone, 13% of aphereses reached the target dose of 5x10(6) CD34+ cells/kg in one collection vs. 57% with chemotherapy plus G-CSF. Transfusions of red blood cells or platelets were necessary in 18 of 24 patients in cycle 2. Three patients were hospitalized with fever for a median of 3 days after cycle 2. No patients received transfusions or required hospitalization during mobilization with G-CSF alone. Resource utilization (cost of drugs, aphereses, cryopreservation, transfusions, hospitalization) was calculated comparing the median number of collections to obtain a target CD34+ cell dose of 5x10(6) cells/kg: four using G-CSF vs. one using the combination in this data set. Resources for G-CSF mobilization cost $7326 vs.$8693 for the combination, even though more apheresis procedures were performed using G-CSF mobilization. The cost of chemotherapy administration, more doses of G-CSF, transfusions, and hospitalizations caused cyclophosphamide, etoposide, and G-CSF to be more expensive than G-CSF alone. A less toxic and less expensive treatment than cyclophosphamide, etoposide, and G-CSF is needed to be more cost-effective than G-CSF alone for peripheral blood progenitor cell mobilization.Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 1999;5(6):379-85

Flexible Aerodynamic Part Feeding Using High-Speed Image Processing

In modern assembly systems, manufacturers expect a high level of flexibility and efficiency. As an interface between internal logistics and the actual assembly, part feeding technology plays a decisive role in the manufacturing process. Therefore, in this work, we propose a new way of flexible part feeding based on image processing and the proven principle of aerodynamic feeding technology. With a high-speed camera, we analyze the workpiece’s movement during the orientation process and automatically adjust the system parameters to ensure reliable and efficient feeding. Based on three parameters of the workpiece’s trajectory, we develop an algorithm that can systematically find suitable parameter combinations for efficient and reliable feeding. With the proposed concept, retooling for new workpieces can be achieved quickly, using only few components for the parameter setting. At the same time, no hardware changes are required for retooling when handling new components

Экспериментальные исследования двухфазных течений в разгонных трубках струйных мельниц

Розроблено й виготовлена осесиметричну модель ежектора струминного млина для дослідження двофазних течій у розгінній трубці струминного млина. Схема даної моделі за-снована на класичній схемі ежектора. Відмінність від класичної схеми складається в наяв-ності каналу підведення додаткового потоку. Канал підведення має кільцеву форму й забез-печує подачу рівномірно розподіленого захисного потоку в розгінний канал через щілинний отвір. Проведено дослідження на осесимметричной моделі ежектора, що складалися із декі-лькох етапів, перший з яких полягав у вивченні характеру плину основного потоку в розгінній трубці млина, другий – у виявленні впливу додаткового потоку газу на основний потік, тре-тій – у виявленні впливу додаткового потоку газу, направленого до розгінної трубки під ку-том 30. Аналіз досліджень показав, що додатковий потік газу виконує захисну функцію й запо-бігає впливу основного потоку на стінки розгінного каналу. Знайдені переваги додаткового потоку газу ,підведеного під кутом, меншим 90. Виявлено необхідність досліджувати оптимальний кут підведення додаткового пото-ку газу.Разработана и изготовлена осесимметричная модель эжектора струйной мельницы для исследования двухфазных течений в разгонной трубке струйной мельницы. Схема данной модели основана на классической схеме эжектора. Отличие от классической схемы состо-ит в наличии канала подвода дополнительного потока. Канал подвода имеет кольцевую форму и обеспечивает подачу равномерно распределенного защитного потока в разгонный канал через щелевое отверстие. Проведены исследования на осесимметричной модели эжектора, состоящие из не-скольких этапов, первый из которых заключался в изучении характера течения основного потока в разгонной трубке мельницы, второй – в выявлении влияния дополнительного пер-пендикулярного потока газа на основной поток, третий – в выявлении влияния дополни-тельного потока газа, направленного в разгонную трубку под углом 30. Анализ исследований показал, что дополнительный поток газа выполняет защитную функцию и предотвращает влияние основного потока на стенки разгонного канала. Обна-ружены преимущества дополнительного потока газа, подведенного под углом, меньшим 90. Выявлена необходимость исследовать оптимальный угол подвода дополнительного потока газа.Axisymmetric model of the jet mill ejector are designed and manufactured for studing two-phase flows in jet mill accelerating tube. The scheme of this model is based on the classical scheme of the ejector. Unlike the classical scheme is the inlet channel of an additional flow presence. A channel for supplying has an annular shape and provides the protective uniformly distributed flow in acceler-ating channel through the slotted inlet. The researches on the axisymmetric ejector model are examined. They consisted of several stages, the first of which was to examine the main flow pattern in the mill accelerating tube, the sec-ond was to identify the additional gas flow impact on the main flow, the third – to identify the impact of the additional gas flow directed at an angle of 30 degrees into the accelerating tube. Analyses of studies have shown that the additional gas flow has a protecting function and pre-vents the main flow effect on the accelerating channel walls. The benefits of the additional gas flow fed at an angle of less than 90 degrees are discovered. The need of investigating the optimum angle of the additional gas flow feed is identified

Early response predicts subsequent response to olanzapine long-acting injection in a randomized, double-blind clinical trial of treatment for schizophrenia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In patients with schizophrenia, early non-response to oral antipsychotic therapy robustly predicts subsequent non-response to continued treatment with the same medication. This study assessed whether early response predicted later response when using a long-acting injection (LAI) antipsychotic.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were taken from an 8-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of olanzapine LAI in acutely ill patients with schizophrenia (n = 233). Early response was defined as ≥30% improvement from baseline to Week 4 in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS_0-6) Total score. Subsequent response was defined as ≥40% baseline-to-endpoint improvement in PANSS_0-6Total score. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and predictive accuracy were calculated. Clinical and functional outcomes were compared between Early Responders and Early Non-responders.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Early response/non-response to olanzapine LAI predicted later response/non-response with high sensitivity (85%), specificity (72%), PPV (78%), NPV (80%), and overall accuracy (79%). Compared to Early Non-responders, Early Responders had significantly greater improvement in PANSS_0-6Total scores at all time points and greater baseline-to-endpoint improvement in PANSS subscale scores, Quality of Life Scale scores, and Short Form-36 Health Survey scores (all p ≤ .01). Among Early Non-responders, 20% demonstrated response by Week 8. Patients who lacked early improvement (at Week 4) in Negative Symptoms and Disorganized Thoughts were more likely to continue being non-responders at Week 8.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Among acutely ill patients with schizophrenia, early response predicted subsequent response to olanzapine LAI. Early Responders experienced significantly better clinical and functional outcomes than Early Non-responders. Findings are consistent with previous research on oral antipsychotics.</p> <p>Clinical Trials Registry</p> <p>F1D-MC-HGJZ: Comparison of Intramuscular Olanzapine Depot With Placebo in the Treatment of Patients With Schizophrenia <url>http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00088478?term=olanzapine+depot&rank=3</url></p> <p>Registry identifier - <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00088478">NCT00088478</a></p