1,289 research outputs found
Production of organic seeds: Status, Challenges and Prospects
General article on the requirements of organic agriculture for seed production. Beside this the organic agricultural system has other demands for organic seed since it does not use chemical control measures and uses natural fertilizers instead of chemical fertilizers. Research can offer an important contribution in the production of seed without diseases
The effect of ceria co-doping on chemical stability and fracture toughness of Y-TZP
The fracture toughness and ageing resistance of yttria, ceria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals (Y, Ce-TZP) were evaluated as a function of grain size and ceria content. Very fine grained, fully dense materials could be produced by sinter forging at relatively low temperatures (1150–1200 °C). The ageing resistance in hot water (185 °C) of 2 mol% Y2O3-stabilized TZP is strongly enhanced by alloying with ceria. The ceria content necessary to avoid degradation completely, decreases with grain size. The toughness of fully dense Y, Ce-TZP is 7–9 MPa m1/2 for grain sizes down to 0.2 mgrm. No or very little transformation took place during fracturing and no clear variation with grain size was observed for the toughness at grain sizes up to 0.8 mgrm. Reversible transformation and crack deflection may explain the observed toughness values
Setting Parameters for Biological Models With ANIMO
ANIMO (Analysis of Networks with Interactive MOdeling) is a software for
modeling biological networks, such as e.g. signaling, metabolic or gene
networks. An ANIMO model is essentially the sum of a network topology and a
number of interaction parameters. The topology describes the interactions
between biological entities in form of a graph, while the parameters determine
the speed of occurrence of such interactions. When a mismatch is observed
between the behavior of an ANIMO model and experimental data, we want to update
the model so that it explains the new data. In general, the topology of a model
can be expanded with new (known or hypothetical) nodes, and enables it to match
experimental data. However, the unrestrained addition of new parts to a model
causes two problems: models can become too complex too fast, to the point of
being intractable, and too many parts marked as "hypothetical" or "not known"
make a model unrealistic. Even if changing the topology is normally the easier
task, these problems push us to try a better parameter fit as a first step, and
resort to modifying the model topology only as a last resource. In this paper
we show the support added in ANIMO to ease the task of expanding the knowledge
on biological networks, concentrating in particular on the parameter settings
The need for a supply of high quality organic vegetable seeds
Production of high quality organic vegetable seeds encounters several challenges. Research is performed to support seed companies in producing vigorous and healthy organic vegetable seeds. Examples are provided with respect to research on seed vigour, determining critical control points to avoid disease transmission to the seeds, seed treatments with natu-ral compounds, new seed sorting techniques and enhancement of the natural plant defence. It is noticed that the restrictions in EU regulation 2092/91 on organic production are at present blocking the use of promising natural and sustainable components for seed treatments
How to minimize job insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic:The Role of Proactive and Reactive Coping over Time
Design for availability : creating value for manufacturers and customers
This research introduces a newly developed continuous improvement methodology called Design for Availability that uses principles of Lean Sigma and Design for X to cost-effectively optimize the availability of capital goods, i.e. systems used in the production of other end-products or -services, throughout their entire lifetime. The absence of such a methodology in the literature is remarkable because many users of capital goods increasingly insist on high system availability levels against lower lifetime costs. Against this background this study develops an analytical framework that allows manufacturers to determine the current status of system availability and associated lifetime costs, and to identify opportunities to create additional value for both the manufacturer and its customers. The applicability of this Design for Availability framework is tested through a case study at a global manufacturer of capital goods in the food processing industry. The results show that applying the Design for Availability framework can provide substantial benefits for the manufacturer as well as its customers, as long as a number of critical key success factors are taken into account during implementation, such as organizational commitment to Design for Availability, good leadership and communication, and creating system availability and lifecycle awareness
How to minimize job insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic:The Role of Proactive and Reactive Coping over Time
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