Uncertainties in the recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment: a literature review

A systematic literature search has been conducted at the intersection of e‐waste and uncertainty and the mai n uncertainties identified have been categorized. The main uncertainties identified were: Different recycling technolog ies; unknown environmental impacts; different product design and composition; unknown reverse logistics costs; vari able cost of recycling; rapidly changing nature of electrical and electronic equipment; unpredictability about return o f items concerning quantity, quality and timing; unknown destination flow of e‐waste; different value of scrap mater ials; competition between the manufacturer and the remanufacturer; no common legislation at the national and global level ; outdated political aspects; and complexity of regulation

The role of APQP in product development: Case studies on the assembler-suppliers relationship

O desenvolvimento de produto realizado entre montadora de veículos e fornecedor requer atenção especial na gestão do processo e na interação entre empresas. O artigo discute uma das metodologias mais utilizadas nessa indústria, o planejamento avançado da qualidade de novos produtos (APQP), identificando seus usos e as condições que potencialmente melhoram a gestão do processo de desenvolvimento do produto. Foi desenvolvido através de estudos de casos da indústria automotiva, quando foi identificado que atrasos por parte da montadora dificultam a gestão do processo. O fornecedor, ao trabalhar próximo da montadora, acompanha de perto informações que possibilitam administrar atrasos e prazos comprimidos, muitas vezes antecipando-se a formalizações da montadora. Isso tem custos adicionais e revela que o APQP se torna elemento da gestão dos prazos, mas não impede falhas internas na montadora ou na qualidadeProduct development process realized between car manufacturers and auto parts suppliers requires special attention regarding its management and interaction between the companies. This paper aims mainly at discussing one of the most used methodologies at this industry, the Advanced Planning for Quality Product (APQP), as well as identifying the key conditions to manage the product development process. It is based on in-depth case studies in the Automotive Industry. It was possible to identify several points of delay on the automaker side; however, suppliers are working collaboratively with assemblers, following closely information that enable them to manage fails, delays, and short commitments. This has extra costs, but reveals that APQP is mainly a tool for managing deadlines, and it cannot avoid internal fails in the car manufacturer or in product qualit

Inovação tecnológica e trajetória recente da política industrial

This essay-based text deals with the trajectories of industrial policies in Brazil, and points out the conditioning factors of the industrial and production structure; and then highlights the hindrances, challenges, and proposals. It seeks to characterize the industrial structure as internationalized contrariwise, asforeign companies dominate the main value chains; and they are established in the host country to make products already designed for the internal market, not to innovate or to compete in international markets. The institutional frameworkhampers State initiatives. It proposes some measures to cope with such issues, such as the creation of multi-institutional funds for the development of strategic projects, along with a unified “heavy-weight” management so as to escape from being pulverized by the functional structure of the State (ministries, institutions, agencies).O texto discute, no estilo de ensaio, a trajetória das políticas industriais no Brasil, apontando os condicionantes estruturais do tecido industrial e produtivo para então pontuar entraves, desafios e propostas. Busca caracterizar: a estrutura industrial como internacionalizada às avessas – as empresas estrangeiras dominam as cadeias produtivas relevantes e se estabeleceram para fabricar produtos já projetados para o mercado interno, não para inovar ou disputar mercados externos; e a estrutura institucional que amarra a iniciativa do Estado. Propõe algumas medidas para enfrentar as questões,como a criação de fundos multi-institucionais para o desenvolvimento de projetos estratégicos, com gestão “peso-pesado” unificada, para escapar da pulverização de cada estrutura funcional do Estado (ministérios, organismos,agências)

Radiation dose from multidetector CT studies in children: results from the first Italian nationwide survey

Background Multidetector CT (MDCT) scanners have con- tributed to the widespread use of CT in paediatric imaging. However, concerns are raised for the associated radiation exposure. Very few surveys on radiation exposure from MDCT studies in children are available. Objective The aim of this study was to outline the status of radiation exposure in children from MDCT practice in Italy. Materials and methods In this retrospective multicentre study we asked Italian radiology units with an MDCT scanner with at least 16 slices to provide dosimetric and acquisition param- eters of CT examinations in three age groups (1–5, 6–10, 11– 15 years) for studies of head, chest and abdomen. The dosi- metric results were reported in terms of third-quartile volu- metric CT dose index (CTDIvol) (mGy), size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) (mGy), dose length product (DLP) (mGy cm), and total DLP for multiphase studies. These results were compared with paediatric European and adult Italian published data. A multivariate analysis assessed the association of CTDIvol with patient characteristics and scanning modalities. Results We collected data from 993 MDCT examinations performed at 25 centres. For age groups 1–5 years, 6–10 years and 11–15 years, the CTDIvol, DLP and total DLP values were statistically significantly below the values observed in our analogous national survey in adults, although the difference decreased with increasing age. CTDIvol variability among centres was statistically significant (variance = 0.07; 95% confidence interval = 0.03–0.16; P < 0.001). Conclusions This study reviewed practice in Italian centres performing paediatric imaging with MDCT scanners. The variability of doses among centres suggests that the use of standardised CT protocols should be encourage

Análise da gestão da cadeia de valor da inovação em uma empresa do setor siderúrgico

A gestão da inovação é um processo estruturado que possibilita que uma organização perceba novas maneiras de criar valor e de antever demandas tecnológicas e mercadológicas. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho objetiva analisar como uma empresa do setor siderúrgico realiza a gestão da cadeia de valor da inovação, identificando quais são os fatores adotados para suportar a prática da inovação. Mais especificamente, busca fazer uma análise baseada em um modelo conceitual que representa a cadeia de valor da inovação. Também é diagnosticado se a empresa possui um processo estruturado de desenvolvimento de novos produtos como indutor da inovação e como esse processo se integra com as demais áreas (marketing, produção, engenharia do produto e P&D). Outros aspectos importantes abordados neste trabalho para demonstração das práticas organizacionais e gestão da cadeia de valor da inovação na empresa analisada são: se há um envolvimento da alta administração nesse processo; como as novas ideias se originam, são selecionadas e priorizadas; se o processo de inovação está alinhado com a estratégia da organização; se indicadores de desempenho são utilizados para a gestão da inovação; e se a organização desenvolve modelos de negócios a partir dos projetos de inovação desenvolvidos. A partir dos dados de campo, constata-se preliminarmente que na empresa analisada não existe uma metodologia estruturada para geração de novas ideias, bem como para a difusão dessas ideias em novos modelos de negócios. Assim, essas constatações devem ser aprofundadas em trabalhos futurosThis paper focuses on the analysis of how a company from the steel industry manages the innovation value chain, stressing the factors which are adopted to support this practice. More specifically, it intends to make a comparative analysis based on an innovation value chain proposal from the literature. In addition, the study examines whether the company has a structured PDP and how it integrates with other areas involved in this process. Other important aspects to understand the management practices of the innovation value chain are whether there is involvement of top management; how they originate, select and prioritize new ideas; whether the innovation process is aligned with the company’s strategy; how decisions are made; whether they use performance indicators for the management of innovation; and whether the organization advances business models from the innovation projects develope

An edge-driven 3D region growing approach for upper airways morphology and volume evaluation in patients with Pierre Robin sequence

In this paper, a semi-automatic approach for segmentation of the upper airways is proposed. The implemented approach uses an edge-driven 3D region-growing algorithm to segment ROIs and 3D volume-rendering technique to reconstruct the 3D model of the upper airways. This method can be used to integrate information inside a medical decision support system, making it possible to enhance medical evaluation. The effectiveness of the proposed segmentation approach was evaluated using Jaccard (92.1733%) and dice (94.6441%) similarity indices and specificity (96.8895%) and sensitivity (97.6682%) rates. The proposed method achieved an average computation time reduced by a 16x factor with respect to manual segmentation

Intraoperative ultrasound-assisted approach for endoscopic treatment of vesicoureteral reflux in children

Purpose Despite minimal invasiveness and high success rate, guidelines still prescribe voiding Cystourethrogram (VCUG) after endoscopic treatment for vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) in children. The aim of this paper was to analyze whether intraoperative ultrasound (IO-US) could improve surgical accuracy and perioperative counseling, thus potentially decreasing the need for postoperative VCUG. Methods We selected children treated for moderate to high grade VUR, renal scarring or repeated infections under antibiotic prophylaxis from January to December 2015. Endoscopic injection was combined with IO-US to detect optimal needle placement and to guide mound formation. IO-US findings were compared to surgeon opinion and postoperative VCUG, performed 3 months after surgery. All patients were followed-up for 1 year. Results A significant relationship was found between IO-US mound height (p = 0.003) or localization (p < 0.0005) and VCUG. Success of endoscopic treatment vs persistence of reflux groups had a mean mound height of 10.62 \uc2\ub1 1.36 mm and 8.39 \uc2\ub1 1.08 mm respectively (p < 0.0005). Height maintained a significant correlation with success in simple and multivariable regression analysis. ROC curve determined \ue2\u89\ua5 9.8 mm as predictor of reflux resolution (95% CI 0.825 to 0.998; p < 0.0001). Conclusions IO-US facilitates pediatric urologists to find an optimal location, to reach a volcano mound morphology and height, thus increasing intraoperative accuracy. IO-US also helps evaluating high-risk recurrence and guiding prognostic counseling. Type of study Treatment study. Level of evidence II

Adult exposures from MDCT including multiphase studies: first Italian nationwide survey.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the radiation dose in routine multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) examinations in Italian population. METHODS: This was a retrospective multicentre study included 5,668 patients from 65 radiology departments who had undergone common CT protocols: head, chest, abdomen, chest–abdomen–pelvis (CAP), spine and cardiac. Data included patient characteristics, CT parameters, volumetric CT dose index (CTDIvol) and dose length product (DLP) for each CT acquisition phase. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and a multi-regression analysis was used to outline the main factors affecting exposure. RESULTS: The 75th percentiles of CTDIvol (mGy) and DLP (mGy cm) for whole head were 69 mGy and 1,312 mGy cm, respectively; for chest, 15 mGy and 569 mGy cm; spine, 42 mGy and 888 mGy cm; cardiac, 7 mGy and 131 mGy cm for calcium score, and 61 mGy and 1,208 mGy cm for angiographic CT studies. High variability was present in the DLP of abdomen and CAP protocols, where multiphase examinations dominated (71 % and 73 % respectively): for abdomen, 18 mGy, with 555 and 920 mGy cm in abdomen and abdomen–pelvis acquisitions respectively; for CAP, 17 mGy, with 508, 850 and 1,200 mGy cm in abdomen, abdomen–pelvis and CAP acquisitions respectively. CONCLUSION: The results of this survey could help in the definition of updated diagnostic reference levels (DRL)