Small and medium-sized industrial enterprises use electricity increasingly for both heating and production, as electricity offers easy adjustability and has little need for maintenance. In production processes, the advantages of electricity also include uniform quality, automation and cleanness

Strong performances by small and medium sized oil companies in Venezuela have contributed to the success of its oil industry. This paper considers the historical progress of the industry since its nationalisation twenty-one years ago, charting its attractiveness to investors and plans for expansion. Its very success has brought the Venezuelan oil industry into conflict with OPEC`s quota system, which it argues, needs to be charged. (UK)

Purpose - The purpose of this research is to understand what pricing, purchasing, product defect and late deliveries factors are associated with the decisions of small, medium and large size customers to enter into closer customer-supplier relationships with their suppliers. Dessign/methodology/approach - The study involves a survey of 372 professionals in the paper industry to investigate the linkage between pricing, purchasing efficiencies and reductions in product defects and later deliveries and relational exchanges across customers of different sizes and resources. Findings - The results indicate that the pricing, purchasing, product defect and late delivery factors associated with relational supply chain exchanges are different for small, medium and large size customers. Research lim...

This study, through a random national survey in the U.S., explored how corporate financial decision-makers perceive important workplace safety issues as a function of the size of the company for which they worked (medium- vs. large-size companies). Telephone surveys were conducted with 404 U.S. corporate financial decision-makers: 203 from medium-size companies and 201 from large companies. Results showed that the patterns of responding for participants from medium- and large-size companies were somewhat similar. The top-rated safety priorities in resource allocation reported by participants from both groups were overexertion, repetitive motion, and bodily reaction. They believed that there were direct and indirect costs associated with workplace injuries and for every dollar spent improving workplace safety, more than four dollars would be returned. They perceived the top benefits of an effective safety program to be predominately financial in nature - increased productivity and reduced costs - and the safety modification participants mentioned most often was to have more/better safety-focused training. However, more participants from large- than medium-size companies reported that "falling on the same level" was the major cause of workers' compensation loss, which is in line with industry loss data. Participants from large companies were more likely to see their safety programs as better than those of other companies in their industries, and those of medium-size companies were more likely to mention that there were no improvements needed for their companies. PMID:21094291

This thesis presents guidelines for how eco-design methods can be adapted to facilitate the introduction of ecologically responsible manufacturing in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Indian electronics industry. It also investigates the major opportunities and obstacles for eco-desig...

Although there are quite a few approaches to Coverage Directed test Generation aided by Machine Learning which have been applied successfully to small and medium size digital designs, it is not clear how they would scale on more elaborate industrial-level designs. This paper evaluates one of these t...

The objective of the study is to empirically verify impacts of intellectual capital to the anticipated future sales of small and medium-sized companies within biotechnology industry. Intellectual capital is divided into the following three categories: human, structural, and relational capital. Theor...

The economic prospects of PV power supply to appliances and small systems were investigated. The research project was aimed at improving the conditions for efficient development of appliances and small systems with photovoltaic power supply and autonomous systems not connected to the grid. Innovative products were developed and tested in cooperation with industrial organizations. The project is to help small and medium-sized organizations with a technological orientation and enhance technology transfer between science and industry.

Small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) have an important role in the Turkish economy because of the workforce involved. According to the size of the industrial facilities, there are different cost components related to the total production costs. Energy cost is usually a small portion of the total production cost, but the Turkish industrial sector comprises approximately 35% of Turkey's total energy consumption and 98.8% of the total number of enterprises in Turkey constitutes the SMEs. Because of the uncertainty of energy costs in the world, it is important to take preventive measures to reduce energy costs and increase efficiencies in industry and consequently in SMEs. In this paper, medium sized enterprises are taken into consideration essentially. Because of getting homogeneity, enterprises with the number of workers between 100 and 200 in the metallic goods industry have been considered in the survey. Energy management includes increasing the profitability by reduced operational costs, and it is also a potential for improving market share. Many different evaluation models have been published in the energy management literature. However, there have not been so many systematic approaches to compare the relative efficiency of the systems. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is a special linear programming model for deriving the comparative efficiency of multiple-input multiple-output decision making units (DMUs). An evaluation of energy efficiency in 20 medium sized companies has been conducted, and the results are discussed in this paper.

The author discusses the composition of pellets which can come from either the sawmill or furniture industries and lists estimated worldwide pellet production by country with Sweden topping the list at 1,356,00 tonnes in 2005 followed by Canada at 1,000,000 tonnes. A short list of producers taken from Bioenergy International is given together with brief comments about pellet distribution, the market - private consumer, medium sized district heating or industrial plant, and large condensing power plant - and the future of the industry. Agropellet production from such sources as straw, grains, seeds, and specific types of grass with pellet production on the farm is also discussed. (Author)

In an article in the preceding issue we discussed the design and construction of fermenters in which antibiotics are cultured. For industrial purposes these fermenters can range in size up to 500 m[cube]. They have to be sterilized, filled with sterile culture medium and the culture itself and supplied with oxygen continuously. In some cases they must be given additional feeds during the fermentation run. This article looks at some of the problems of supplying the culture medium and maintaining it at the optimum operating conditions.

In the light of global industrialization, much attention has been focused on occupational factors and their influence on the health and welfare of workers. This was a cross sectional study using stratified sampling technique based on industry sizes. The study sampled 24 industries, 6 were small scale industries and 9 each for medium and large scale industries. From the 24 industries, a total of 500 respondents for the questionnaire was taken. For occupational health and safety standards that industries have to comply with, there was low compliance among small-scale industries relative to the medium and large scale industries. Only one industry had an air cleaning device for cleaning contaminated air prior to emission into the external community. Among the 500 respondents, majority were female (88.8%), single (69.6%) and worked in the production or assembly-line station (87.4%). Sickness absenteeism was relative high among the workers in this study accounting for almost 54% among females and 48% among males. Many of the workers also reported of poor performance at work, boredom, tardiness and absenteeism. For association between work factors and personal factors, the following were found to be statistically significant at p=0.05. Boredom was associated with lack of skills training, lack of promotion, disincentives for sick leaves, poor relationship with boss and poor relationships with employers. On the other hand, poor performance was also associated with lack of skills training, lack of promotions, job insecurity, and poor relationship with employers. From the data generated, important issues that must be dealt with in work organizations include the quality of work life, and health and safety issues. Based on these findings, we can conclude that there are still issues on occupational health and safety (OHS) in the target site of export processing zones in the Philippines. There must be an active campaign for OHS in industries that are produce for the global market such as the target industries in this study.   

Although there are quite a few approaches to Coverage Directed test Generation aided by Machine Learning which have been applied successfully to small and medium size digital designs, it is not clear how they would scale on more elaborate industrial-level designs. This paper evaluates one of these techniques, called MicroGP, on a fully fledged industrial design. The results indicate relative success evidenced by a good level of code coverage achieved with reasonably compact tests when compared to traditional test generation approaches. However, there is scope for improvement especially with respect to the diversity of the tests evolved.

Since its establishment in 1990, San Diego State University’s Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) has served close to 400 small and medium-sized manufacturing plants in Southern California. SDSU/IAC’s efforts to transfer state-of-the-art technologies to industry have increased revenues, cultivated creativity, improved efficiencies, and benefited the environment. A substantial benefit from the program has been the ongoing training of engineering faculty and students. During this funding cycle, SDSU/IAC has trained 31 students, 7 of the graduate. A total of 92 assessments and 108 assessment days were completed, resulting in 638 assessment recommendations.

The biopharmaceutical industry is characterized by intense competition, high uncertainty, and strong dependence on scientific knowledge. We show that in order to succeed in this industry, firms need to be positioned along three strategic dimensions: the level of inter-firm R&D partnering, the level of diversification, and the size of the firm. Prior research has revealed that a firms membership in so-called `strategic groups' impacts strongly on its performance. This study analyzes strategic groups in the biopharmaceutical industry along the strategic dimensions listed. The performance of the groups differs significantly. The best performing groups are the ones that consist of large firms with a high level of in-house diversification across therapeutic areas and the medium-sized firms that...

To study the aerodynamics of the flame space and optimize the size and geometry of the combustion area of direct heating furnaces the authors took the most common industrial types of furnaces with a rectangular section tank in which the ports were arranged in the side walls and with a counter movement of the main gas flow relative to the glass. A hydraulic model, using water, was constructed. The design of the model made it possible to vary a variety of size and configuration parameters. The data obtained can be used for developing high-efficiency direct-heating natural gas and mazut furnaces with medium to high productivity.

Purpose - The aim of the present study is to test the main differences between private small/medium-sized family businesses and non-family businesses with regard to management variables such as: strategy, strategic planning, manager's training and professionalism and financial techniques implementation. Design/methodology/approach - In this empirical research, we use a sample of 639 small and medium-sized industrial firms, distributed in 456 family and 183 non-family firms, with the intention of determining whether family SMEs possess specific structural characteristics distinct from non-family ones. The data collection technique used was a questionnaire obtained from a postal survey, and addressed to the manager of the company. Findings - Results show that managers of family firms use som...

This paper presents a study that examines the use of human resource management (HRM) practices and factors influencing the adoption of HRM practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using a multiple-case study method, HRM in SMEs was explored by comparing 12 small and medium-sized and 12 large semiconductor design firms. The findings show that there is considerable homogeneity across the firms in relation to their use of human resources (HR) practices providing support for the insights based on the new institutionalism. The factors leading to the homogeneity HRM are discussed. It is argued that theory-based empirical research on HRM in SMEs within the same industry enable us move towards a systematic understanding and explanation of HRM in SMEs.

Energy-use patterns in many of California's fastest-growing industries are not typical of the existing mix of industries in the US. Many California firms operate small- and medium-sized facilities housed in buildings used simultaneously or interchangeably over time for commercial (office, retail, warehouse) and industrial activities. In these industrial subsectors, the energy required for building services (providing occupant comfort and necessities like lighting, HVAC, office equipment, computers, etc.) may be at least as important as the more familiar process energy requirements -- especially for electricity and on-peak demand. Electricity for building services is sometimes priced as if it were base loaded like process uses; in reality this load varies significantly according to occupancy schedules and cooling and heating loads, much as in any commercial building. Using informal field surveys, simulation studies, and detailed analyses of existing data (including utility commercial/industrial audit files), we studied the energy use of this industrial subsector through a multi-step procedure: (1) characterizing non-process building energy and power use in California industries, (2) identifying conservation and load-shaping opportunities in industrial building services, and (3) investigating industrial buildings and system design methodologies. In an earlier report, we addressed these issues by performing an extensive survey of the existing publicly available data, characterizing and comparing the building energy use in this sector. In this report, we address the above objectives by examining and analyzing energy use in two industrial case-study facilities in California. Based on the information for the case studies, we discuss the design consideration for these industrial buildings, characterize their energy use, and review their conservation and load-shaping potentials. In addition, we identify and discuss some research ideas for further investigation.

...332-510] Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: U.S. and EU Export Activities, and Barriers and Opportunities Experienced...332-509, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: U.S. and EU Export Activities, and Barriers and Opportunities...

According to recent studies, the 20% European improvement in energy efficiency will not be achieved with current trends, even with the adoption of present policies to reduce primary energy use. This is due to the existence of several barriers that hinder the adoption of the energy-efficient technologies and practices. A relevant contribution to improved energy efficiency could come from the industrial sector, due to its relevance on total energy use. This study therefore addresses barriers within the European foundry industry, a major industrial energy user and a strategic player for the European economy. The research investigates the barriers to energy efficiency at 65 foundries, several of them small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), highlighting the critical problems and difficulties...

This project consisted primarily of conducting energy efficiency, productivity improvement, and waste reduction assessments of small- and medium-sized industrial facilities. These assessments were carried out by groups of engineering students, mostly from Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering and Industrial Engineering, led by faculty members at Arizona State University. The assessed industries were generally energy-intensive manufacturers located throughout Arizona, as well as some facilities in the Las Vegas, Nevada area. During the first four years of the project period, on average our recommended annual savings per plant were $224,717, of which $71,135 were energy savings. Of these recommended savings, on average $49,659 were implemented, of which $31,679 were implemented annual energy savings. These implemented savings greatly exceeded our budgeted cost to DOE, which was approximately $8,000/assessment. In addition, a number of undergraduate and graduate students were employed and trained at the IAC, and have gone on to graduate studies and engineering careers.

Apparatus measures concentration of chemical species in fluid medium (e.g., gaseous industrial process stream). Directs laser beam through medium, and measures intensity of beam after passage through medium. Relative amount of beam power absorbed in medium indicative of concentration of chemical species; laser wavelength chosen to be one at which species of interest absorbs.

The Marion installation has demonstrated that a fluidized-bed has good application to medium-sized industries. Operational problems experienced are to be expected in any new design, and solutions can probably be found. Four significant advantages over a conventional coal-fired unit seem to be the lower capital cost of the packaged design, an increased boiler efficiency, low NO/sub x/ emissions, and a low SO/sub 2/ emission factor. Central Soya is currently investigating fluidized-bed units for replacement of large, gas/oil-fired boilers at another location.

Nanotechnologies are reshaping the boundaries between industries, combining two aspects of innovation?both enhancing competences based on cumulative knowledge and experience and destroying competences by forcing the renewal of the firm?s knowledge base. To analyze how worldwide R&D leaders adapt to this new technology, we conduct an econometric analysis of about 3,000 subsidiaries of the largest R&D spenders. We find that large groups are creating medium size subsidiary companies to explore nanotechnologies. Knowledge circulates mostly amongst subsidiaries within the same group and scientific clusters do not affect their involvement in nanotechnologies. Nanotechnologies remain marginal within these subsidiaries? knowledge bases and are distributed within corporate groups, stimulating recom...

The proceedings begin with an introduction by Richard Allison. Papers on organic uses of bark are concerned with the future of the horticultural bark industry, accelerated composting of hardwood bark for use as a growing medium, use of hardwood bark in strip mine reclamation, and physical properties and sizing of bark for horticultural uses. Papers on fuel uses of bark discuss use of wood chips to supplement lignite as boiler fuel, gasification of mill residues with a downdraft gasifier, economics of burning wood, pelletized wood and bark residues for residential fuel, and utilization and disposal of wood ash. (Refs. 41).

Open PHACTS is a public-private partnership between academia, publishers, small and medium sized enterprises and pharmaceutical companies. The goal of the project is to deliver and sustain an 'open pharmacological space' using and enhancing state-of-the-art semantic web standards and technologies. It is focused on practical and robust applications to solve specific questions in drug discovery research. OPS is intended to facilitate improvements in drug discovery in academia and industry and to support open innovation and in-house non-public drug discovery research. This paper lays out the challenges and how the Open PHACTS project is hoping to address these challenges technically and socially.

We test whether the amount and/or quality of financial statement information affects the financial structure of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Belgian SMEs are used, because there are important differences in disclosure and audit requirements among them. Consistent with the traditional view that asymmetric or incomplete information restricts access to external funds, our results indicate that both the amount and quality of financial statement information are positively related to SME leverage. In addition, we find that leverage is positively related to asset structure, growth (prospects) and median industry leverage, and negatively related to firm age and profitability.

Aggregation/coagulation/flocculation processes are ubiquitous in modern industry from fields as diverse as waste water treatment, the food industry, algae biofuel production, and materials processing where control of the size and morphology of aggregates is paramount to the application of interest. Population balance models have historically been used with success in predicting aggregation kinetics and size distributions for these processes. However, even the most robust population balance schemes can lack an exact description of the underlying physical processes governing attractive or adhesive particulate matter suspended in a background medium, including finite aggregate strength and yield stress, restructuring length and time scales, and response to hydrodynamic forces. In order to elucidate these phenomena, We develop and use a JKR type model for simulating adhesive particulate matter in a background medium varying from dilute gas to liquid. We evaluate the time and length scales for restructuring/fragmentation that result from this model as a function of aggregate size and fractal dimension. We additionally introduce a method for pairwise thermostatting of the adhesive potential and discuss the applicability of this model to various adhesive systems.

Road deposited sediments (RDS) are a valuable environmental medium for characterizing contaminant levels in urban areas; and their associated potentially toxic elements (PTEs) can directly impact both human and aquatic health. In this study, RDS were collected from 15 co-located industrial and residential roads throughout Singapore to determine the effect of land use on contaminant levels. A second pilot study was designed to quantify the efficiency of road sweeping in removing different RDS grain size fractions from industrial and residential roads. The fine fraction (Pb, Sb, Sc, Si, and Zn). Industrial RDS had statistically higher concentrations of Co, Cr, Fe, and Ni than residential RDS. Potentially toxic elements Cu, Pb, Sb, and Zn were enriched >10-fold at all locations compared to upper continental crust values. Concentrations of Cu, Pb and Zn exceeded aquatic sediment probable effect concentration levels, suggesting they could generate a toxic response in bottom-dwelling aquatic organisms. Traffic was equally heavy at both industrial and residential sites, but large trucks and machinery comprised a larger proportion of the traffic in the industrial areas. Traffic was not significantly correlated with the PTE (i.e., Cu, Pb, Sb and Zn) concentrations. Plausible anthropogenic contaminant sources include vehicles (e.g., brake and tire wear, vehicle emissions) and several industrial activities including metal works, oil processing, and waste incineration. Street sweeping was effective in removal of large organic debris and inorganic RDS, but it was ineffective in removing the geochemically important fraction, i.e., <125 ?m. PMID:22410188

We study the structure of inter-industry relationships using networks of money flows between industries in 20 national economies. We find these networks vary around a typical structure characterized by a Weibull link weight distribution, exponential industry size distribution, and a common community structure. The community structure is hierarchical, with the top level of the hierarchy comprising five industry communities: food industries, chemical industries, manufacturing industries, service industries, and extraction industries.

;Contents: Stationary engines and industrial process combustion systems--(Application of advanced combustion modifications to industrial process equipment--process heater subscale tests, Pollutant emissions from 'dirty' low and medium - Btu gases, Some aspects of afterburner perf...

This study investigates the dispersions of 1 wt.% C.I. pigment violet 23 particles in propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (PGMEA) using a supercritical fluid-assisted dispersion process (SFAD). The favorable formulation of dispersants is a blend of 40% AJISPER PB821 and 10% FC-4430 in a PGMEA medium. The SFAD processes holding at the supercritical state are good for improving dispersion. Under favorable conditions, 328.2K and 20MPa, the mean size of pigment dispersoid with blended dispersants in PGMEA is as small as 175nm that meets the required range of 100-200nm in industrial applications. The TGA analyses indicate the adsorbed amount of blended dispersants (40% PB821 and 10% 4430) on the surface of pigment particles in the PGMEA medium is about 1.77mg/m^2. Thus, the transmittances...

Restaurant patrons, particularly in upscale locations, increasingly prefer entres developed from portions cut from fillets larger than those currently sold by the US catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, industry. A production study evaluated the feasibility of producing the necessary size (1.6 kg) of catfish. Twelve 0.1-ha earthen ponds were stocked with 0.363-kg channel catfish at 2500 (low); 5000 (medium); or 7500 (high) fish/ha, with four replicates. Mean individual weight at harvest exceeded the mean target weight (1.6 kg) at the two lower densities, and the minimum target weight (1.36 kg) at the highest density. Percentages of fish (by weight) that did not meet the minimum weight required were: 1, 5, and 18%, in the low, medium, and high density treatments, respectively. Yields were signific...

The demand for mechanization and automation in the agricultural field is a response to the demand for high quality products and sophisticated production techniques in countries with high labor costs. Taiwan started its ten-year mechanization program in 1960 through the introduction of power tillers. Additional measures such as the introduction of field and post-harvest rice drying mechanization, agricultural automation, and precision agriculture were promoted during the past thirty years. Over this period, Taiwan has become a highly mechanized country in rice production. The local small and medium-sized farm machinery industrial sector is characterized by low volume sales of a great variety of farm machinery. Although government policies help to fulfill domestic demand for farm machinery, the local agricultural machinery industry is at a disadvantage as it faces global competition in the new millennium.   

Wet scrubbers are very commonly used industrial equipments in removing particles from hot flue gases based on particle wetting mechanisms. Spray towers are simple and economical, hence used in small and medium scale industries for scrubbing particulate and gaseous pollutants. Even though the primary mechanisms of scrubbing of particulate are known, the exact mechanism is not understood yet. Prediction of particulate efficiency is very important for the selection of pollution control equipment. Hence verification of the overall efficiency achieved by any spray scrubbing system based on theoretical models is essential. In this paper an attempt has been made to theoretically predict the efficiency for a spray tower using single twin-fluid air-assist atomizer scrubbing wide size range (1-5mm) ...

Though its contribution to the global Greenhouse gases emission is relatively small, Egypt has signed and ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN FCCC) and has been playing an active role in the international efforts to deal with such environmental challenges. Energy efficiency has been one of the main strategies that Egypt has adopted to improve environmental quality and enhance economic competitiveness. This paper highlights three initiatives currently underway to improve energy efficiency of the Egyptian industry. The first is a project that has been recently completed by OECP to assess potential GHG mitigation options available in Egypt`s oil refineries. The second initiative is an assessment of GHG mitigation potential in the Small and Medium size Enterprises (SME) in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. The third one focuses on identifying demand side management options in some industrial electricity consumers in the same city.

This report describes a pilot study to develop, initiate the implementation, and document a process to identify computational technology capabilities resident within Argonne National Laboratory to small and medium-sized businesses in the State of Michigan. It is a derivative of a program entitled Technology Applications Development Process for the State of Michigan'' undertaken by the Industrial Technology Institute and MERRA under funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The overall objective of the latter program is to develop procedures which can facilitate the discovery and commercialization of new technologies for the benefit of small and medium-size manufacturing firms. Federal laboratories such as Argonne, along with universities, have been identified by the Industrial Technology Institute as key sources of technology which can be profitably commercialized by the target firms. The scope of this study limited the investigation of technology areas for technology transfer to that of computational science and engineering featuring high performance computing. This area was chosen as the broad technological capability within Argonne to investigate for technology transfer to Michigan firms for several reasons. First, and most importantly, as a multidisciplinary laboratory, Argonne has the full range of scientific and engineering skills needed to utilize leading-edge computing capabilities in many areas of manufacturing.

Abstract Aims: To investigate the effect of molasses concentration, initial pH of molasses medium, and inoculum's size to maximize ethanol and minimize methanol, fusel alcohols, acetic acid and aldehydes in the fermentation mash in industrial fermentors. Methods and Results: Initial studies to optimize temperature, nitrogen source, phosphorous source, sulfur supplement and minerals were performed. The essential nutrients were urea (2 kg in 60 m3), 05 l each of commercial phosphoric acid and sulfuric acid (for pH control) added at the inoculum preparation stage only. Yields of ethanol, methanol, fusel alcohols, total acids and aldehydes per 100-l fermentation broth were monitored. Molasses at 29degreeBrix (degree of dissolved sugars in water), initial pH 45, inoculum size 30% (v/v) and anae...

...RTCA Special Committee 225, Rechargeable Lithium Batteries and Battery Systems, Small and Medium Size AGENCY: Federal...RTCA Special Committee 225, Rechargeable Lithium Batteries and Battery Systems, Small and Medium...

...RTCA Special Committee 225, Rechargeable Lithium Battery and Battery Systems--Small and Medium Size AGENCY: Federal...of RTCA Special Committee 225, Rechargeable Lithium Battery and Battery Systems--Small and Medium...

...RTCA Special Committee 225, Rechargeable Lithium Battery and Battery Systems--Small and Medium Size AGENCY: Federal...of RTCA Special Committee 225, Rechargeable Lithium Battery and Battery Systems--Small and Medium...

Abstract in portuguese O presente estudo teve como objetivo estimar o teor de colágeno em salsichas mediante a quantificação da hidroxiprolina. Amostras de salsichas produzidas por indústrias de pequeno, médio e grande porte, classificadas em função do mercado atendido, foram analisadas quanto ao seu conteúdo em hidroxiprolina, por técnica colorimétrica. O teor de colágeno foi significativamente diferente, baseado na quantidade de hidroxiprolina presente nas amostras de salsicha. As (more) amostras que apresentaram o menor teor de colágeno foram as da indústria de médio porte (0,45%), seguida daquelas da indústria de grande porte (0,64%). As salsichas da indústria de pequeno porte apresentaram o maior teor de colágeno (0,89%). Esses resultados mostram que esse teste pode ser utilizado para classificação qualitativa de salsichas, em função dos teores de colágeno. Abstract in english The purpose of this work was to estimate the collagen content of frankfurters by hydroxyproline quantification. Frankfurters were produced at small, medium and large plants, according to the target market (local, regional and national). Determination of hydroxyproline was made by colorimetric method. The results showed that the frankfurters had different standards in the manufacturing, since the collagen content was statistically different. Samples from the medium size in (more) dustry presented the lowest collagen content (0.45%), followed by samples from the large size plant (0.64%). Frankfurters from the small size industry had the highest collagen content (0.89%). These data showed that this analytical procedure can be used for quality classification of frankfurter based on collagen content.

Various studies in different countries have shown that significant energy-efficiency improvement opportunities exist in the industrial sector, many of which are cost-effective. These energy-efficiency options include both cross-cutting as well as sector-specific measures. However, industrial plants are not always aware of energy-efficiency improvement potentials. Conducting an energy audit is one of the first steps in identifying these potentials. Even so, many plants do not have the capacity to conduct an effective energy audit. In some countries, government policies and programs aim to assist industry to improve competitiveness through increased energy efficiency. However, usually only limited technical and financial resources for improving energy efficiency are available, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Information on energy auditing and practices should, therefore, be prepared and disseminated to industrial plants. This guidebook provides guidelines for energy auditors regarding the key elements for preparing for an energy audit, conducting an inventory and measuring energy use, analyzing energy bills, benchmarking, analyzing energy use patterns, identifying energy-efficiency opportunities, conducting cost-benefit analysis, preparing energy audit reports, and undertaking post-audit activities. The purpose of this guidebook is to assist energy auditors and engineers in the plant to conduct a well-structured and effective energy audit.

Saskatchewan has considerable light and medium crude oil reserves located in the south of the province. This study is designed to analyze Saskatchewan`s light and medium oil industry, with an examination of past, present, and possible future trends. The purpose of the study is to identify the limiting factors, both upstream and downstream, to the development of light and medium crude oil resources in the province. The study report provides background information on the industry, examines the upstream oil industry in Saskatchewan, analyzes markets for Saskatchewan light and medium crude, describes the logistics of shipping oil from producing areas to the market, explores the economics of light and medium oil production in the province, and discusses issues of relevance affecting the industry.

A semiautomated microdilution susceptibility test is described. The effect of certain parameters such as inoculum size, growth media, incubation conditions, and inoculum dispensing systems was studied. Both medium type and inoculum size caused significant variations in the minimum inhibitory concent...

Three NU-LHT (NASA/USGS-Lunar Highlands Type) regolith simulants have been produced to date: NU-LHT-1M, -ID, and -2M. A fourth simulant is currently in production: NU-LHT-3C. The "M" (medium) designation indicates a simulant with a grain size of fraction approximates that of the lunar regolith. We also added synthetic agglutinate in amounts approximate for low-medium regolith maturity. A pure glass fraction was also added to simulate other types of lunar glasses present in the regolith. In addition, the 3C simulant will include synthetic impact melt breccia clasts for the >1 cm particles. The bulk raw materials used to create these simulants include clinopyroxene-norite, anorthosite, hartzburgite and noritic mill waste from the Stillwater Mine, Nye, MT, and olivine from the Twin Sisters dunite, WA. Added trace minerals include beach sand ilmenite, chromite, synthetic p-tricaicium phosphate (whitiockite), gem grade fluor-apatite, and pyrite. The agglutinate, glasses, and synthetic breccia were designed and prepared at an industrial plasma melting facility in Boulder, CO, using Stillwater mill waste feedstock for the melt. These simulants do not include nanophase-feO. The M and C simulant grain size distribution (down to 0.4 microns) approximates that of Apollo 16 regolith and the regolith in general.

Background: In most countries throughout the world the construction industry continues to account for a disturbingly high proportion of fatal and nonfatal injuries. Research has shown that large enterprises seem to be most actively working for a safe working environment when compared to small and medium-sized enterprises. Also, statistics from Canada, Italy and South Korea suggest that the risk of injury among construction workers decreases with enterprise size, that is the smaller the enterprise the greater the risk of injury. This trend, however, is neither confirmed by the official statistics from Eurostat valid for EU-15 + Norway nor by a separate Danish study - although these findings might have missed a trend due to severe underreporting. In addition, none of the above mentioned studies controlled for the occupational distribution within the enterprises. A part of the declining injury rates observed in Canada, Italy and South Korea therefore might be explained by an increasing proportionof white-collar employees in large enterprises. Objective: To investigate the relation between enterprise size and injury rates in the Danish construction industry. Methods/Design: All male construction workers in Denmark aged 20-59 years will be followed yearly through national registers from 1999 to 2006 for first hospital treated injury (ICD-10: S00-T98) and linked to data about employment status, occupation and enterprise size. Enterprise size-classes are based on the Danish business pattern where micro (less than 5 employees), small (5-9 employees) and medium-sized (10-19 employees) enterprises will be compared to large enterprises (at least 20 employees). The analyses will be controlled for age (five-year age groups), calendar year (as categorical variable) and occupation. A multi-level Poisson regression will be used where the enterprises will be treated as the subjects while observations within the enterprises will be treated as correlated repeated measurements. Discussion: Thisfollow-up study uses register data that include all people in the target population. Sampling bias and response bias are thereby eliminated. A disadvantage of the study is that only injuries requiring hospital treatment are covered.

In this study, the size distribution of airborne particles and related heavy metals Co, Cd, Sn, Cu, Ni, Cr, Pb and V in two urban areas in Istanbul: Yenibosna and Goztepe, were examined. The different inhalable particles were collected by using a cascade impactor in eight size fractions (9 ?m) for six months at each station. Samples were collected on glass fiber filters and filters were extracted and analyzed using ICP-MS. Log-normal distributions showed that the particles collected at the Yenibosna site have a smaller size compared to the Goztepe samples and the size distribution of PM was represented the best by the tri-modal. The average total particle concentrations and standard deviations were obtained as 67.7 ± 17.0 ?g m(-3) and 82.1 ± 21.2 ?g m(-3), at the Yenibosna and Göztepe sites, respectively. The higher metal rate in fine and medium coarse PM showed that the anthropogenic sources were the most significant pollutant source. Principal component analysis identified five components for PM namely traffic, road dust, coal and fuel oil combustion, and industrial. PMID:22454094

Nanoparticles of iron-cobalt have attracted great interest in recent years because of their unique physical and chemical properties because of their industrial importance in preparing magnetic recording materials, pigments, catalysts, etc. With an objective to develop magnetic materials with high saturation magnetization Fe-Co nanosysytems were synthesized by method of chemical reduction reaction of salts aqua-solutions by hydrazine hydrate in alkaline medium. The synthesized powders were characterized by XRD, SEM, EDX and SQUID-magnetometry techniques. The steady-state grain size of 5-20 nm was calculated using XRD line broadening and SEM. The maximum saturation magnetization of 207 and 215 A·m2/kg was achieved at 300 and 5 K, respectively.

Summary Reusing heat through process integration in heat exchanger networks has long been a key measure for increasing energy efficiency in energy-intensive industries. Thermal pinch analysis is commonly used for a systematic matching of process streams and thus planning of optimal process integration in large chemical plants. The possible savings increase with the amount of heat and the number of integrated process streams. Therefore co- siting of several companies in a symbiotic network opens new opportunities for process integration even in small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), but also introduces new challenges. Thermal pinch analysis is extended here to account for piping distances and fluctuations and limited availability of energy flows by adding additional costs for the piping ...

This is an initiative by the Federal Minister for Education, Science, Research and Technology to help inventors and to support better protection of industrial property rights. This necessitates a catalogue of measures ranging from a change in the attitude of university scientists to incentives offered to medium-sized enterprises for making first contact with the field of patents. All measures combined will serve, directly or indirectly, to improve the innovative power of our country and make us fit for the next millenium. (orig.) [Deutsch] Das Bundesministerium fuer Bildung, Wissenschaft, Forschung und Technologie ergreift die Initiative, um Erfinder zu foerdern und die Nutzung des gewerblichen Rechtsschutzes zu breiterer Anwendung zu bringen. Notwendig ist ein Buendel von Massnahmen, das von der Bewusstseinsaenderung in der Hochschulforschung bis zum Anreiz mittelstaendischer Unternehmen fuer den ersten Kontakt mit dem Patentwesen reicht. Gemeinsames Ziel aller Massnahmen ist es, direkt oder indirekt die Innovationskraft unserers Landes zu staerken und uns dadurch fit zu machen fuer das neue Jahrhundert. (orig.)

Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell Technology Research Association (PAFC-TRA) and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) have been conducting a joint project on development of a 5000kW urban energy center type PAFC power plant (pressurized) and a 1000kW on-site PAFC power plant (non-pressurized). The objective of the technical development of 1000kW on-site PAFC power plant is to realize a medium size power plant with an overall efficiency of over 70% and an electrical efficiency of over 36%, that could be installed in a large building as a cogeneration system. The components and system integration development work and the plant design were performed in 1991 and 1992. Manufacturing of the plant and installation at the test site were completed in 1994. PAC test was carried out in 1994, and generation test was started in January 1995. Demonstration test is scheduled for 1995 and 1996.

FIRAC is a medium-sized computer code designed to predict fire-induced flows, temperatures, and material transport within the ventilating systems and other airflow pathways in nuclear-related facilities. The code is designed to analyze the behavior of interconnected networks of rooms and typical ventilation system components. This code is one in a family of computer codes that is designed to provide improved methods of safety analysis for the nuclear industry. The structure of this code closely follows that of the previously developed TVENT and EVENT codes. Because a lumped-parameter formulation is used, this code is particularly suitable for calculating the effects of fires in the far field (that is, in regions removed from the fire compartment), where the fire may be represented parametrically. However, a fire compartment model to simulate conditions in the enclosure is included. This model provides transport source terms to the ventilation system that can affect its operation and in turn affect the fire.

Moringa oleifera (MO) is a multipurpose, medium- or small-sized tree, from regions of north-west India and indigenous to many parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. Its pods have been employed as an inexpensive and effective sorbent for the removal of organics, and coagulant for water treatment. It is a non-toxic natural organic polymer. The main objective of this work was to use the MO seeds as a natural adsorbent for the treatment of dairy industry wastewater (DIW). The effects of agitation time, pH, MO biomass dose, and DIW concentration were evaluated. Removal efficiencies of up to 98%, for both color and turbidity, were reached using 0.2?g MO and 0.2?L of 1.0?g/L sorbate solution (DIW). The obtained results showed that MO seed keeps its adsorption power under a pH range between 5 a...

This paper presents the application of a comprehensive approach to the design of small scale sustainable distributed generation systems with special focus on energy recovery from paper production process sludge. The methodology integrates a detailed fluid-dynamic analysis tool with preliminary experimental analysis on a laboratory scale to guide the design of a prototype bubbling fluidized bed gasifier in the 85kW power range fitting with small and medium size paper production industries. Preliminary tests show stable operation even for this rather small power scale, and deviation from chemical equilibrium concentration in agreement with literature available data. Energy content in the sludge may be recovered along with a significant reduction of residual volume and mass. The concept may t...

Innovation plays a major role in improving the performance of all aspects of the resource industry from resource management, exploration, extraction and manufacturing. Collaboration with suppliers, customers, competitors, governments and universities is crucial and has often provided opportunities to small and medium-sized businesses since resource companies often buy innovative technologies rather than developing them with in-house research and development. It was emphasized that government has a major role in generating and using innovation to protect, control and manage the supply of natural resources for future generations. It was suggested that this can be accomplished through the creation of supportive policy measures. Currently there are gaps in government support and barriers to building innovation practices. The main challenges are the lack of finance, shortage of skilled workers, low risk inclination and the need to develop value-added products. 1 fig.

A numerical optimisation method, previously applied to a large industrial cogeneration plant, has been adapted for a small-scale unit that must be driven by the heat demand of a medium-size building located in the north of Portugal. The unit is based on a micro-gas turbine and includes an internal pre-heater (typical of these types of small-scale units) and a water heater. The mathematical model yields a non-linear objective function, subject to physical constraints of system operation, and defined as the maximisation of the annual worth of the CHP system. Seven decision variables were selected for the optimization algorithm, including performance of internal gas turbine components and the electrical and thermal powers. The latter is linked to the estimated thermal load of the building via...

Calculations of the spectral transmittance of the atmospheric aerosol, using Mie theory, for wavelengths between 0 and 40 {mu}m is presented. The chemical composition of the aerosol particles has been modelled in order to correspond to the atmospheric conditions of medium and large coastal or near coastal cities with important industrial and other anthropogenic emission sources. Individual size distributions and optical properties for each aerosol constituent have been considered. Based on the detailed aerosol model, and using parameterization techniques, analytical broadband aerosol transmission functions for the absorption and total attenuation are obtained. The accuracy of the proposed expressions are verified with various tests, using data from the National Observatory of Athens (NOA). The proposed broadband aerosol transmission functions can be incorporated directly into solar radiation models to predict accurately the beam, diffuse and global solar radiation at a given place. (Author)

The open innovation literature has primarily been concentrating on open innovation (OI) in large companies. Hence it is very unclear whether these findings can be generalized to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper begins filling in this knowledge gap. In doing so, we focus explicitly on understanding network characteristics and the unfolding of OI in SMEs. Case studies were used and empirical data was mainly generated through semi-structured interviews. Cases selected for study were companies in the Danish food industry with less than 499 employees. In this paper we report our findings for four cases. Our study shows that companies with a relatively open innovation process have both strong and weak ties with external partners. Companies with a relatively more closed innovation process have on the other hand only few weak ties and no strong ties with external partners.

Abstract BACKGROUND: Six different wine yeast strains (G1, X4, X5, P29, QA23, Uvaferm BC) were co-immobilized in a natural, spontaneous way with Penicillium chrysogenum under special conditions without the need for an external support or chemical binder and provided six different -yeast biocapsules-. The purpose was to characterize and evaluate the biocapsules obtained in terms of yeast cell viability, ethanol production and reusability to assess their suitability for ethanol production and the development of industrially competitive alternative wine and beer production methods. RESULTS: Biocapsule size was found to decrease and quantity to increase with increasing shaking rate during the immobilization process. The fermentations were realized in YPD medium containing 18% (w/v) glucose wit...

Workload control (WLC) is a production planning and control (PPC) concept designed for complex manufacturing environments, with particular relevance to make-to-order (MTO) companies and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Despite receiving much attention in the literature, few successful implementations have been reported. Moreover, a lack of awareness regarding WLC in industry affects the support it receives from employees within a company and, if implemented, it is sometimes misused or neglected. This article presents a new interactive WLC training and implementation tool developed within a WLC decision support system (DSS) which uses simulation to generate the incoming order stream at the customer enquiry and job entry stages and to mirror the throughput time variability on the s...

Electric propulsion is now a sucessfull method for primary propulsion of deep space long duration missions and for geosyncronous satellite attitude control. Closed Drift Plasma Thruster, so called Hall Thruster or SPT (stationary plasma thruster) were primarily conceived in USSR (the ancient Soviet Union) and now it is been developed by space agencies, space research institutes and industries in several countries such as France, USA, Israel, Russian Federation and Brazil. In this work, we show plasma characteristics and performance of a Hall Thruster designed with an innovative concept which uses an array of permanent magnets, instead of an eletromagnet, to produce a radial magnetic field inside its cylindrical plasma drift channel. Within this new concept, we expect to develop a Hall Thruster within power consuption that will scale up to small and medium size satellites. A plasma density and temperature space profiles inside and outside the thruster channel will be shown. Space plasma potential, ion temperat...

Sermet Ltd is Finland's leading developer, manufacturer, and supplier of medium- size, 1 to 120 MW, boiler plants firing biomass, oil or gas to supply heat and steam. Since 1975 the company has delivered more than 1,000 boiler plants for district heating and industry in Finland, other parts of Europe, America and Asia. Full deliveries include the prefabricated boiler plant with fuel storage and buildings installed at the customer's site on a turnkey basis. In converting biomass to energy, Sermet's basic innovation, the Sermet BioGrate, is a rotating grate technology for burning very wet biomass, i.e. sawmill waste, cost-effectively and in an environmentally friendly way.

Purpose - This study aims to explore knowledge management (KM) practice in the "back office" of two English football clubs. Design/methodology/approach - The paper takes the form of a comparative case study of two medium-sized businesses using multi-method data including unstructured interviews, structured questionnaires and document analysis. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and basic descriptive statistics. Findings - A review of the theoretical contexts highlights key challenges for the industry including the pressure of high wage salaries on the business model, minimising organizational memory loss given the high turnover of football managers, and the development of relationship marketing given the emergence of a variety of fans with different levels of loyalty. The empirical...

The example of successful realization of developments of Institute for Metal Physics of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in the field of nanotechnology is organization and successful, during 14 years, functioning of production of modern precision amorphous and nanocrystalline magnetic cores in the frames of the small research-and-production enterprise MELTA Ltd. The most important, from the practical standpoint, high heat-time stability of initial magnetic permeability of cores is provided by using new methods of final treatment of cores, minimization of their package influence on characteristics of the process using liquid impregnation heat-resistant materials and new polymeric coatings. The most effective fields of industrial use of MELTA® magnetic cores are ground leakage current sensors, current measuring transformers (converters), power medium frequency, broadband and pulse small-size transformers, filter chokes, reactors, storage transformers and ferroprobes.

Waste molding and core sands from the foundry industry are successfully being used around the world in geotechnical and soil-related applications. Although waste foundry sands (WFSs) are generally not hazardous in nature, relevant data is currently not available in Argentina. This study aimed to quantify metals in waste molding and core sands from foundries using a variety of metal-binder combinations. Metal concentrations in WFSs were compared to those in virgin silica sands (VSSs), surface soils and soil guidance levels. A total analysis for Ag, Al, Ba, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Te, Tl, V, and Zn was conducted on 96 WFSs and 14 VSSs collected from 17 small and medium-sized foundries. The majority of WFSs analyzed, regardless of metal cast and binder type, contained ...

In todays global economy, manufacturing industries require to connect disparate applications seamlessly. They require not only to exchange data and transactions, but present a single business process image to their employees in the office, headquarters, and on the plant floor. Also, it is imperative that small and medium size manufacturing companies deploy manufacturing execution systems applications in conjunction with modern enterprise resource programs for cycle time reduction and better quality. This paper presents the experiences and reflections on a project that created a tool set to assist the above be accomplished not only in a shorter cycle time, with a better predictable quality, and with an object oriented framework, but also a tool set that allows the manufacturer to still use legacy applications. This framework has the capability of plug-and- play so that future migrations and re-engineering of processes are more productive.

Summary Processing of mineral raw materials, many production processes in the chemical industry, the manufacturing of plastic pellets, but also the production and preservation of foodstuffs and animal feed often require the process step drying. If the basic materials are bulk solids, drying in a fluidised bed is a common and economic way. As a function of the grain size a statical or a vibrating fluidised bed can be used. Typically, the drying medium is air which flows through the material layer. By means of convective heat transfer the fluid in the moist material evaporates and the vapour attains with the exhaust air to the ambience. The air stream, which also contains the dust from the fluidised bed, will be cleaned in a bag filter. In the case the material to be dried is explosive, igni...

Behavior models have provided an accident proneness concept based on life change unit (LCU) factors. This paper describes the development of a Korean Life Change Unit (KLCU) model for workers and managers in fatal accident areas, as well as an evaluation of its application. Results suggest that death of parents is the highest stress-giving factor for employees of small and medium sized industries a rational finding the viewpoint of Korean culture. The next stress-giving factors were shown to be the death of a spouse or loved ones, followed by the death of close family members, the death of close friends, changes of family members' health, unemployment, and jail terms. It turned out that these factors have a serious effect on industrial accidents and work-related diseases. The death of parents and close friends are ranked higher in the KLCU model than that of Western society. Crucial information for industrial accident prevention in real fields will be provided and the provided information will be useful for safety management programs related to accident prevention.   

Abstract in english The eggshell is an important structure for two reasons. Firstly it forms an embryonic chamber for the developing chick, providing mechanical protection and a controlled gas exchange medium. Secondly it is a container for the market egg, providing protection of the contents and a unique package for a valuable food. The superficial structure of the shell has been known for over 100 years. The shell consists of 97% calcium carbonate, and this is provided to the hen in the di (more) et. However, the chemical must be broken down in the digestive system and then re-synthesized in the shell gland to form the shell. This results in a turnover of blood Ca of ~ 100 times each 24 hours. Provision of calcium to layers has been researched at length, but the key work, conducted at Cornell University in the 1960's, showed the necessity for sources with large particle size, for example, oyster shells. Subsequent research has defined guidelines that, if correctly followed, will yield reliable and optimum eggshell quality. Breakage or cracking of eggshells in market channels is a serious concern. Cracks result from a combination of shell strength and integrity, and the extent of the "insult" received by the egg during handling. Measurement of shell strength, and assessment of "insults" is important to the poultry industry. Most recent research has identified the ultra-structure of the shell, with resulting opportunities for industrial remedies, and possible new selection criteria, to ensure maximum shell quality throughout the egg industry.

Eddy current testing (ECT) technique is widely used in industrial fields such as iron and steel industry. Dedicated simulation tools provide a great assistance for the optimisation of ECT processes. CEA and the Vallourec Research Center have collaborated in order to develop a simulation tool of ECT of tubes. The volume integral method has been chosen for the resolution of Maxwell equations in a stratified medium, in order to get accurate results with a computation time short enough to carry out optimisation or inversion procedures. A fast model has been developed for the simulation of ECT of non magnetic tubes using specific external probes. New flaw geometries have been modelled: holes and notches with flat bottom. Validations of the developments, which have been integrated to the CIVA platform, have been carried out using experimental data recorded in laboratory conditions and in. industrial conditions, successively. The integral equations derived are solved using the Galerkin variant of the method of moments with pulse functions as projection functions. In order to overcome some memory limitations, other projection functions have been considered. A new discretization scheme based on non-uniform B-Splines of degree 1 or 2 has been implemented, which constitutes an original contribution to the existing literature. The decrease of the mesh size needed to get a given accuracy on the result may lead to the simulation of more complex ECT configurations. (author)

The paper presents the birth and evolution of the cogeneration-based district heating (DH) system in a medium size city in Romania (Targoviste). The evolution of the industrialization degree was the main factor which controlled the population growth and led to a continuous reconfiguration of the DH system. The DH system assisted by cogeneration emerged as a solution in a certain phase of the demographic development of the city. The political and social changes occurring in Romania after 1990 have had important negative consequences on the DH systems in small towns. In Targoviste the DH system survived but in 2001 the solution based on cogeneration became economically inefficient, due to the low technical quality of the existing equipment and the low gas prices, to the procedure of setting the DH tariffs and the service cost at consumer's level and to some bureaucratic problems. Energy policy measures taken at national and local levels in 2003 and 2005 led to the re-establishment of the cogeneration-based district heating in 2005. However, a different technical solution has been adopted. Details about the present (2009) cogeneration-based DH system in Targoviste are presented together with several technical and economical indicators. The main conclusion is that by a proper amendment of the technical solutions, cogeneration could be a viable solution for DH even in case of abrupt social and demographic changes, such as those occurring in Romania after 1990. - Research Highlights: {yields}Birth and evolution of the cogeneration-based district heating system in a medium size city. {yields}The industrialization degree is the main factor which controlled the reconfiguration of the district heating system. {yields}Each stage of the evolution of district heating system has been a technological leap. {yields}Cogeneration is a solution for district heating even in case of abrupt social changes.

From an exotic niche market, line-concentrating collectors for solar medium-temperature heat have become an interesting option for industrial and private customers. An end to new developments is not in sight.

An industrial chromatographic {sup 99}Mo-{sup 99m}Tc generator has been developed with the aid of chromatographic alumina to obtain {sup 99m}Tc in a non-aqueous medium. This generator system takes advantage of tributyl phosphate to extract {sup 99m}Tc selectively with appreciable yield and in high radiochemical and radionuclidic purity. This facile, versatile and efficient approach provides {sup 99m}Tc at industrial sites in a medium soluble in hydrocarbon solvents, for radiotracer applications. (orig.)

The nitrogen-fixing activity of root nodules was examined with reference to the nodule size in peanut. Root nodules of field-grown peanut were collected at flowering through harvesting stages and classified into five groups of size using a circle template. Then acetylene reduction activity was measured to evaluate nitrogen-fixing activity for respective size groups. In addition, the diameter of the cross-section of each root nodule and rhizobium-infected areas on the cross-section were measured. The results showed that the nitrogen-fixing activity of root nodules is closely related with their size. In the root nodules in the medium size group (1.5-2.0 mm in diameter), nitrogen-fixing activity per unit fresh weight of nodule was highest at the flowering stage and rapidly decreased thereafter. The nitrogen-fixing activity of root nodules larger than 2.0 mm in diameter did not vary significantly with their size. Colors of rhizobium-infected zones varied with their size: white in small nodules; red in medium-sized nodules; and greenish in larger nodules, which suggests that the concentration of leghemoglobin is highest in the medium-sized nodules. Nitrogen-fixing activities of the medium-sized nodules might determine the amount of nitrogen fixation in the whole root system during pod-filling because medium-sized nodules had high activity and were large in number. Classification of root-nodule size based on the circle template is a simple, rapid, and useful method to evaluate nitrogen-fixing activity of root nodules.   

During the period of this study, digital media comprised an increasingly pervasive but still emergent medium in society. Most formal academic, industrial and governmental research into the emergence of digital media industries and innovations focused on technological and software artefacts, to the n...

The optics manufacturing industry is undertaking a significant modernization, as computer-numeric-controlled (CNC) equipment is joining or replacing open-loop equipment and hand lapping/polishing on the shop floor. Several prototype CNC lens grinding platforms employing ring tools are undergoing development and demonstration at the Center for Optics Manufacturing in Rochester, NY, and several machine tool companies have CNC product lines aimed at the optics industry. Benefits to using CNC ring tool grinding equipment include: essentially unlimited flexibility in selecting radii of curvature without special radiused tooling, the potential for CIM linkages to CAD workstations, and the cultural shift from craftsmen with undocumented procedures to CNC machine operators employing computerized routines for process control. In recent years, these developments, have inspired a number of US optics companies to invest in CNC equipment and participate in process development activities involving bound diamond tooling. This modernization process,extends beyond large optics companies that have historically embraced advanced equipment, to also include smaller optical shops where a shift to CNC equipment requires a significant company commitment. This paper addresses our efforts to optimize fine grinding wheels to support the new generation of CNC equipment. We begin with a discussion of how fine grinding fits into the optical production process, and then describe an initiative for improving the linkage between optics industry and the grinding wheel industry. For the purposes of this paper, we define fine wheels to have diamond sizes below 20 micrometers, which includes wheels used for what is sometimes called medium grinding (e.g. 10-20 micrometers diamond) and for fine grinding (e.g. 2-4 micrometers diamond).

In this book, the author informs the reader about the imminent risk of petroleum resources depletion. Because no unique energy source can replace petroleum, the only medium term solution remains the energy conservation, in particular with the diminution of transportation needs in the industry. In this situation, important political and economical decisions have to be implemented to re-localize the industrial activities in particular in the domain of agriculture and food industry. (J.S.)

Wood pellet manufacturing in the Intermountain West is a recently founded and rapidly expanding energy industry for small-scale producers. Within a three-year period, the total number of manufacturers in the region has increased from seven to twelve (Folk et al., 1988). Small-scale industry development is evolving because a supply of raw materials from small and some medium-sized primary and secondary wood processors that has been largely unused. For the residue producer considering pellet fuel manufacturing, the wastewood generated from primary products often carries a cost associated with residue disposal when methods at-e stockpiling, landfilling or incinerating. Regional processors use these methods for a variety of reasons, including the relatively small amounts of residue produced, residue form, mixed residue types, high transportation costs and lack of a local market, convenience and absence of regulation. Direct costs associated with residue disposal include the expenses required to own and operate residue handling equipment, costs for operating and maintaining a combustor and tipping fees charged to accept wood waste at public landfills. Economic and social costs related to environmental concerns may also be incurred to include local air and water quality degradation from open-air combustion and leachate movement into streams and drinking water.

The Forest Energy Project of Central Finland (1994 - 1996) was one of the leading regional demonstration projects in Finland for testing and studying of the complete energy wood delivery chains and energy wood utilisation. The target of this provincial project was to collect and demonstrate the most promising energy wood procurement technologies and methods for utilisation of energy producers, forest industry and small and medium sized industries co- operating with forest owners, contractors and forest organisations. The project was a large development and technology transfer venture concentrated primarily on practical needs. Total delivery chains were formed of the best machine and method alternatives, and they were also demonstrated. The project offered hence a wide test field for regional and national techno / economical wood fuel development. The Forest Energy Project of Central Finland was a demonstration project supervised by the Regional Council of Central Finland. The project was a part of the national Bioenergy Research Programme. VTT Energy and the Forestry Board of Central Finland were responsible for the practical development work. A large number of provincial partners interested in wood fuels took part in the project. The project were carried out during the years 1994 - 1996. The total costs were 4.4 million FIM. The aim is to create a practical model for the entire system, by which enables the economically profitable increment of the utilisation of chip fuels in Central Finland by 100 GWh/1996 and 500 GWh/a (about 250 000 m{sup 3}) to the end of the decade. (orig.)

During the past few years, remarkable affords have been made for the realization of microscale sensors, actuators and microelectromechanical system. Due to advances in solid state and micromachining technologies, significant advances in designing, fabricating and testing of microminiaturized devices have been achieved at laboratory level. However, the technical and economical realization of microelectromechanical systems is considerably impeded by the lack of satisfying device technology for their industrial production. A production concept for the industrial production of hybrid microelectromechanical systems was developed and investigated. The concept is based on the resources and requirements of medium-sized enterprises and is characterized by its flexibility. Microsystem fabrication is separated into microfabrication steps performed in-house and technological steps performed by external technology providers. The modularity of the concept allows for a gradual increase in the degree of automation and the in-house production depth, depending on market capacity and financial resources. To demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, the design and realization of a microfabrication process center, which includes tasks like transport and handling, processing, cleaning, testing and storing are discussed. Special attention is given to the supply and feeding of microparts, to the necessary magazines, trays and transport systems, to the implementation of homogeneous mechanical, environmental and information interfaces, to the employment of advanced control, scheduling, and lot tracking concepts, and to the application of highly modular and cost-efficient clean production concepts.

The processing of scrap and scrap cars starts with size reduction by a hammermill, or shredder. After the liberation the magnetic fraction is removed. The remaining nonmagnetic fraction mixed with other materials is screened and each fraction is processed separately. The increased use of plastic has a negative effect on the recovery of metals and waste production. At Huron Valley, Belleville Michigan, USA, the non-ferrous fraction from 5 million obsolete cars per year, containing 200,000 tons of non-ferrous metal, is processed. Aluminium is recovered with a heavy medium separation process and concentrated with eddy current separators. The remaining heavy non-ferrous fraction is concentrated by a new combination of eddy current separation and image processing. After this separation process the zinc fraction is melted and refined and the copper, brass, stainless steel and other high-quality concentrates are sold to the secondary industries. The recycling of car scrap has become an important source of metals and materials for the secondary materials processing industry.

The Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) at San Francisco State University (SFSU) has served the cause of energy efficiency as a whole, and in particular for small and medium-sized manufacturing facilities in northern and central California, within a approximately 150 miles (radial) of San Francisco since 1992. In the current reporting period (September 1, 2002 through November 31, 2006) we have had major accomplishments, which include but are not limited to: - Performing a total of 94 energy efficiency and waste minimization audit days of 87 industrial plants - Recommending and analysis of 809 energy efficiency measures - Training 22 energy engineers, most of whom have joined energy services companies in California. - Disseminating energy efficiency information among local manufacturers - Acting as an information source for energy efficiency for local manufacturers and utilizes - Cooperating with local utilities and California Energy Commission in their energy efficiency projects - Performing various assignments by DOE such as dissemination of information on SEN initiative, conducting workshops on energy efficiency issues, contacting large energy user plants - Establishing a course on “Energy: Resources, Alternatives and Conservation” as a general education course at SFSU - Bringing energy issues to the attention of students in classrooms

In recent years, a great development has been made in China`s activated carbon industry. Not only the output is increased, but also more and more researchers have conducted studies on the activated carbon. In China`s universities, majors are divided in great details and some majors concerning to the activated carbon are also set up. In this paper, the present condition of China`s activated carbon industry was introduced. Now, there are about more than 200 factories producing the activated carbon in China. Many of those factories are medium and small-sized enterprises of which the output per year is less than 1000 ton. The total output per year is about 100,000 ton. Both the chemicals activating method and the gas activating method are used in the production of the activated carbon. The output of wooden activated carbon and the activated carbon powder is little higher. However, concerning to the recent increasing rate of producing the activated carbon, the rate of the shaped activated carbon made by coals is higher. The trade of the activated carbon is performed both in export and import. The import are some special kinds of the activated carbon in a little amount and the export is mainly related to the activated carbon of wooden powder used in decoloration sugar liquor. 6 refs., 1 fig., 10 tabs.

Studies using NaX-supported palladium catalysts with mean sizes of Pd particles ranging from 2.0 to 10.5nm reveal that the turnover frequency for benzyl alcohol oxidation exhibits a maximum at a medium Pd size of 2.8nm, whereas the turnover frequency for the oxidation of geraniol or 2-octanol is almost independent of the size of Pd.

The bulletin reports the findings of a survey of all primary wood-using mills in Michigan in 1992 and details the industry`s size and composition, its use of roundwood, and its generation and disposition of wood residues. Such detailed information is necessary for intelligent planning and decisionmaking in wood procurement, forest resource management, forest industry development, and forest research.

In this paper a comprehensive definition of the food industry is arrived at and an attempt is made to identify the main sectors and resources which would comprise the food industry according to that definition. Furthermore, an attempt is made to measure the size and growth rate of the industry in va...

This paper considers the phenomenon of the increasing female marriage immigrants to rural areas and small and medium size towns in South Korea and Japan. The focus of our comparative analysis is to find the common patterns of international inflow migration in the two East Asian countries. Both countries have similar economic, social and cultural backgrounds; for instance, the widening income gap between rural areas and urban areas, and the decreasing fertility rate as a result of the accelerated economic development process in both countries are supposed to be the main causes of international marriage migration. In the second section, the current status of international marriage migration in South Korea and Japan is described. Female immigration to Japan from Asian countries began to appear in mid 1980s, while in South Korea marriage migrants became apparent in the mid 1990s. The regional patterns of marriage migrants in each country show a similar tendency to marry men from rural areas and small and medium size towns. However cross-border marriage is becoming more common in all areas of Japan than before. In section three, we will present some common features of international marriage migration between South Korea and Japan. The origins of the female migrants, the features of the receiving rural communities, the role of the match making industry and the decision making process of migrants are examined in order. In the final section, we discuss the possibility of whether or not the international marriage can transform the rural communities of South Korea and Japan, and present future research tasks.   

Oil gravity survey in China began in 1945, then rather flourished in 1950s. By the end of 1950's, the petroleum industry had 36 gravity survey crews; however, at the beginning of 1960s, the gravity survey crews began to decrease with years. By the mid 1970's, the crew number stopped dropping and started increasing because gravity survey scored quite good geological effect in exploring buried hills and because gravity survey must be done urgently in many medium-sized and small-sized basins. The practice shows that gravity survey is a quite good exploration method for researching into areal geological structure because of its merits; low cost, fast operation and nice effect. Furthermore, gravity survey also brings good result in researching into the local geological structure, particularly the buried hills. The following future prospects are discussed: Areal exploration of new basins; New comprehensive study of old basins using not only new and old gravimetric data but also other geophysical and drilling data; Mountainous-district gravity survey in combination with seismic exploration, and the improvement of both its accuracy and its effect; High-accuracy gravity survey which mainly focuses its attention on buried hill; Scientific researches on borehole gravity survey-aerogravity survey and the new data processing technique.

The Dutch energy utility 'Energie Delfland' is giving its clients access to the client information system. Consumers can submit information requests about their consumption not only by telephone, but also direct on the Internet. This medium is also available to medium and small-sized businesses and to greenhouse gardeners, and to special bulk consumers as from September this year (2000)

Appearance of cellulose microfibrils in the medium of a suspension of cells of Acetobacter xylinum in buffered glucose solution was preceded by a stage during which the cellulose in the medium was amorphous within the available resolution. The size of the vertical axis of the microfibrils of the ba...

The Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) acquired 370 high-resolution images ( and the Planetary Data System . This atlas completes the series of the atlases of the Saturnian medium-sized satellites Mimas, Encela...

STC's tests and refinement resulted in a line of low-temperature refrigeration ... proposal for negotiation with Quantum Devices Inc. of Barneveld, Wisconsin, the ... The entire light source and cooling system is only the size of a medium suitcase.

...c) Monitoring after installation of corrosion control. Any large system which installs optimal corrosion control treatment pursuant to § 141...medium-size system which installs optimal corrosion control treatment shall conduct...

The significance of conical intersections in photophysics, photochemistry, and photodissociation of polyatomic molecules in gas phase has been demonstrated by numerous experimental and theoretical studies. Optimization of conical intersections of small- and medium-size molecules in gas phase has cur...

...the southern hickorynut mussel. Legal Requirements...accumulating information on mussel species of concern...hickorynut is a medium-sized mussel growing to 55 millimeters...inches) in length. The shell is moderately thick...sometimes with dark green rays. The interior...

Nanospherical MCM-41 silica has been hydrothermally synthesized for the first time in the sodium hydroxide medium with low surfactant concentration. The average size of the nanosphere is about 105 nm.   

Aim: To analyse local tumour control, radiation related complications, visual acuity, enucleation rate, and survival after brachytherapy of small to medium sized choroidal melanoma (CM) with a high dose rate (HDR) strontium-90 (Sr-90) applicator.

SABIRS is an acronym for Sandia Abbreviated Bibliographic Information Retrieval System. This document is both a reference for users and system documentation which would permit a simple installation in a small or medium sized library on virtually any computer system.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funded a project with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Energy (NJDEPE) to assist in conducting waste minimization assessments at thirty small- to medium-sized businesses in the state ...

Potential differences in the toxicological properties of nanosized and non-nanosized particles have been notably pointed out for titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) particles, which are currently widely produced and used in many industrial areas. Nanoparticles of the iron oxides magnetite (Fe(3)O(4)) and hematite (Fe(2)O(3)) also have many industrial applications but their toxicological properties are less documented than those of TiO(2). In the present study, the in vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of commercially available nanosized and microsized anatase TiO(2), rutile TiO(2), Fe(3)O(4), and Fe(2)O(3) particles were compared in Syrian hamster embryo (SHE) cells. Samples were characterized for chemical composition, primary particle size, crystal phase, shape, and specific surface area. In acellular assays, TiO(2) and iron oxide particles were able to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS). At the same mass dose, all nanoparticles produced higher levels of ROS than their microsized counterparts. Measurement of particle size in the SHE culture medium showed that primary nanoparticles and microparticles are present in the form of micrometric agglomerates of highly poly-dispersed size. Uptake of primary particles and agglomerates by SHE exposed for 24 h was observed for all samples. TiO(2) samples were found to be more cytotoxic than iron oxide samples. Concerning primary size effects, anatase TiO(2), rutile TiO(2), and Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles induced higher cytotoxicity than their microsized counterparts after 72 h of exposure. Over this treatment time, anatase TiO(2) and Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles also produced more intracellular ROS compared to the microsized particles. However, similar levels of DNA damage were observed in the comet assay after 24 h of exposure to anatase nanoparticles and microparticles. Rutile microparticles were found to induce more DNA damage than the nanosized particles. However, no significant increase in DNA damage was detected from nanosized and microsized iron oxides. None of the samples tested showed significant induction of micronuclei formation after 24 h of exposure. In agreement with previous size-comparison studies, we suggest that in vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity induced by metal oxide nanoparticles are not always higher than those induced by their bulk counterparts. PMID:22449629

After the laser was demonstrated in 1960, 15 years were required to develop a practical method for extending laser emission into the UV: the Excimer laser. This historical review will describe the challenges with the new medium and provide an insight into the technological achievements. In the transition from Science to Industry it will be shown how start-ups successfully commercialized laboratory prototypes. The pioneers in this rapidly expanding field will be identified and the influence of government-funded research as well as the role of venture capital will be discussed. In scientific applications, the fields of photochemistry and material research were particularly stimulated by the advent of a reliable UV light source. Numerous industrial applications and worldwide research in novel applications were fueled In the early and mid 80's by progress in excimer laser performance and technology. The discovery of ablative photocomposition of polymer materials by Srinivasan at IBM opened the door to a multitude of important excimer applications. Micromachining with extreme precision with an excimer laser enabled the success of the inkjet printer business. Biological materials such as the human cornea can also be ``machined'' at 193nm, as proposed in 1983 by Trokel and Srinivasan. This provided the foundation of a new medical technology and an industry relying on the excimer laser to perform refractive surgery to correct vision Today, by far the largest use of the excimer laser is in photolithography to manufacture semiconductor chips, an application discovered by Jain at IBM in the early 80's. Moore's law of shrinking the size of the structure to multiply the number of transistors on a chip could not have held true for so long without the deep UV excimer laser as a light source. The presentation will conclude with comments on the most recent applications and latest market trends.

Objectives This paper presents the framework and protocol design for a construction industry risk management toolbox. The construction industry needs a comprehensive, systematic approach to assess and control occupational risks. These risks span several professional health and safety disciplines, emphasized by multiple international occupational research agenda projects including: falls, electrocution, noise, silica, welding fumes, and musculoskeletal disorders. Yet, the International Social Security Association says, "whereas progress has been made in safety and health, the construction industry is still a high risk sector." Methods Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) employ about 80% of the world's construction workers. In recent years a strategy for qualitative occupational risk management, known as Control Banding (CB) has gained international attention as a simplified approach for reducing work-related risks. CB groups hazards into stratified risk 'bands', identifying commensurate controls to reduce the level of risk and promote worker health and safety. We review these qualitative solutions-based approaches and identify strengths and weaknesses toward designing a simplified CB 'toolbox' approach for use by SMEs in construction trades. Results This toolbox design proposal includes international input on multidisciplinary approaches for performing a qualitative risk assessment determining a risk 'band' for a given project. Risk bands are used to identify the appropriate level of training to oversee construction work, leading to commensurate and appropriate control methods to perform the work safely. Conclusion The Construction Toolbox presents a review-generated format to harness multiple solutions-based national programs and publications for controlling construction-related risks with simplified approaches across the occupational safety, health and hygiene professions. PMID:21060435

Nanoparticle contamination is a major problem in many industries. In the semiconductor industry, as the device (integrated circuit) size shrinks with each technological node (DRAM half-pitch), the feature size that has to be fabricated shrinks. Consequently, the minimum tolerable particle defect size also reduces to sub-100 nm level. In order to attain the stringent small size features, Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography (EUVL) technique is being explored in the semiconductor industry. As the EUVL masks are reflective and pellicle free, the cleaning techniques employed to remove the native particle defects must be more effective for the removal of the sub-100 nm particles without any substrate damage. The effectiveness of Laser Induced Plasma (LIP) technique, considered as a next generation cleaning method, for removal of 30 nm PSL particles from silicon substrate was previously demonstrated by our group. In the current study, the removal of 100 nm PSL particles from photomask and 300 nm PSL particles from 500 nm patterns was investigated. It was observed that the patterns were damaged which could be attributed to the radiation heating of the plasma, and this necessitated pressure amplification techniques to amplify the transient pressure and minimize the risk of damage. As a potential solution, shocktubes were designed and transient pressure measurements were carried out in air medium. Also, plasma was generated in water, in order to take advantage of the density of the medium, to generate stronger shocks and consequently higher pressure. The performance of the shocktubes was characterized based on their pressure amplification factor. The shocktubes resulted in a pressure amplification factor of 11 in air. The particle removal experiments with shocktubes on 150 nm patterns were performed and no damage to the patterns was observed. However, there were particle adders due to the ablation of the shocktube material. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations were initiated and the objective was two fold, to understand (i) nanoparticle-shockwave and (ii) nanoparticle-substrate, interactions. To study the effect of nano-scale particle size on and their interaction with the LIP shockwaves, Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) simulations were performed. Two potential nanoparticle removal mechanisms, namely rolling resistance moment and the rocking frequency criterion were identified. Large scale Atomic/Molecular Massively Parallel Simulator (LAMMPS) simulations were initiated to understand the nanoparticle-substrate adhesion at atomic levels. The rolling resistance moment calculated from the slope of force-displacement curves obtained when the particle was pushed in the lateral direction was in good agreement with the rolling resistance moment calculated using the two-dimensional adhesion theory. In the case of an irregular particle, rolling is initiated and this resulted in the liftoff of the particle from the substrate, as most of the particle lost contact with the substrate during rolling. The experimental results demonstrating successful local area (spot) cleaning of the native particles from the EUVL mask, using the Laser Shock Cleaning tool were presented.

A potential application of inulinase in the food industry is the production of fructoligosaccharides (FOS) by the transfructosilation of sucrose. The FOSs present many interesting functional properties besides their ability to increase the shelf-life and flavor of many products. The use of an industrial medium represents a good alternative to producing inulinase at low cost, since the activity may improve, or at least remain the same, as that obtained using a synthetic medium. This work was an optimization study of the inulinase production by Kluyveromyces marxianus NRRL Y-7571 using industrial pre-treated culture medium in a bioreactor employing a sequential strategy of experimental design. Initially, a Plackett?Burman (Screening Design) design was used, where the studied variables were m...

A comprehensive suite of geotechnical laboratory tests was undertaken on samples of recycled crushed glass produced in Victoria, Australia. Three types of recycled glass sources were tested being coarse, medium and fine sized glass. Laboratory testing results indicated that medium and fine sized recycled glass sources exhibit geotechnical behavior similar to natural aggregates. Coarse recycled glass was however found to be unsuitable for geotechnical engineering applications. Shear strength tests indicate that the fine and medium glass encompass shear strength parameters similar to that of natural sand and gravel mixtures comprising of angular particles. Environmental assessment tests indicated that the material meets the requirements of environmental protection authorities for fill materi...

Luminescence memory foils are a new medium for radiography without films. They are known by the name of image plates or digital memory foils. The suitability of such systems for industrial radiography is examined. (orig.) [Deutsch] Lumineszenzspeicherfolien sind ein neues Medium zur filmlosen Radiographie. Sie sind unter dem Namen Image Plates oder digitale Speicherfolien bekannt. Untersucht wird die Eignung derartiger Systeme fuer die industrielle Radiographie. (orig.)

Objective: To assess what portion size labeling "format" is most promising in helping consumers selecting appropriate soft drink sizes, and whether labeling impact depends on the size portfolio. Methods: An experimental study was conducted in fast-food restaurants in which 2 labeling formats (ie, reference portion size and small/medium/large labels) were compared to a control condition, and 2 size ranges were assessed. The main outcome variable was participants' intended soft drink size choice. Stimulus material was presented through photographs. Results: There was a statistical trend for reference portion size labeling increasing the likelihood to choose small sizes (n = 158, odds ratio = 2.55, P = 0.06, confidence interval: 0.84-7.70). Conclusions and Implications: Reference portion size labeling is potentially most promising in reducing large portion size preferences. More research assessing the effectiveness of reference portion size labeling (combined with pricing strategies) on actual choices and consumption behavior in a realistic setting is recommended. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Induction heating is extensively used in metallurgical industries for heating and fusion of metals. With the advances in power semiconductor devices, high frequency static converters and digital electronics, the induction heating equipment are becoming popular in industry. In this paper, design and control of medium frequency core less induction furnace is presented. The basic design considerations are given. The current - and voltage-fed medium frequency control to match the varying load impedance are presented. The coil design, the inverter design, the control system design and the cooling system design are given. (author). 18 figs

Total energy inputs in machinery and other farm equipment are assessed. Included are fixed energy costs of crop production on small, medium, and large canal-irrigated farms. The operational energy costs of growing a ha of wheat crop on farms of different sizes have also been computed. The total fixed energy inputs per cropped ha on a small farm are about 4.5 million kcal; about 1.9 million kcal are required on medium-sized farms and 1.2 million kcal on large farms. The total energy costs for using farm equipment for 1 ha of wheat crop are 4.8, 2.2, and 2.4 million kcal on small, medium, and large farms, respectively. Medium-sized farms are now the most energy-efficient; by replacing bullocks by tractors and relate equipment, large farms will become most efficient.

Today's industrial sensor networks require strong reliability and guarantees on messages delivery. These needs are even more important in real time applications like control/command, such as robotic wireless communications where strong temporal constraints are critical. For these reasons, classical random-based Medium Access Control (MAC) protocols present a non-null frame collision probability. In this paper we present an original full deterministic MAC-layer for industrial wireless network and its performance evaluation thanks to the development of a material prototype.

In this paper, the spatial changes of suburbanization is analyzed in Shanghai by selecting industrial and residential data layers upon the land-use data of Shanghai in 1979, 1988, 2000 which interpreted from remote sensing data. First, industrial and residential land-use data in different time were overlaid in ArcGIS to reflect changes of spatial distribution. Second, the distribution of industrial and residential land-use was mapped for different time by concentric analysis sector of ARCGIS so as to measure the rate and nature of industrial and residential land-use changes from 1979 to 2000 in Shanghai. Third, the expansion strength of industrial and residential land-use in Shanghai was measured by ArcGIS grid analysis to classify the expanding rate of industrial and residential land-use into six grades: very fast expansion, fast expansion, medium-fast expansion, slow expansion, none expansion and reverse expansion.

The release of prolactin (PRL), a freshwater osmoregulatory hormone in teleost fish, rises in vitro within 5 min after extracellular osmolality falls. An increase in cell size precedes this rise. Cell size and PRL release also increase, albeit more slowly, after the partial replacement of medium N...

The present paper investigates the number of bank relationships of small and medium-sized enterprises in Switzerland using survey data from 1996 and 2002. We differentiate between overall bank relationships and lending relationships and disaggregate the loan market with respect to firm sizes, indust...

"Modeling global impact effects on middle-sized icy bodies: applications to Saturn's .... Kerr, R.A. "Planetary science - Cassini catches mysterious hot spot on icy-cold .... "Cassini observes the active south pole of Enceladus"; Science; 2006; ...... "Uniform parameterized theory of convection in medium sized icy satellites of ...

The conformational behavior of a polymer in a critical binary solvent confined in a porous medium is studied. The size of the polymer in bulk, which is mainly governed by the correlation length of the solvent density fluctuations, depends on the proximity to the critical point of the binary mixture. We find that in contrast to the bulk behavior, the conformational properties of the polymer in a porous medium depends strongly on the pore size. The latter controls the correlation length of the solvent density fluctuations and thus determines the polymer size.

Bacterial cellulose has been used in the food industry for applications such as low-calorie desserts, salads, and fabricated foods. It has also been used in the paper manufacturing industry to enhance paper strength, the electronics industry in acoustic diaphragms for audio speakers, the pharmaceutical industry as filtration membranes, and in the medical field as wound dressing and artificial skin material. In this study, different types of plastic composite support (PCS) were implemented separately within a fermentation medium in order to enhance bacterial cellulose (BC) production by Acetobacter xylinum. The optimal composition of nutritious compounds in PCS was chosen based on the amount of BC produced. The selected PCS was implemented within a bioreactor to examine the effects on BC production in a batch fermentation. The produced BC was analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Among thirteen types of PCS, the type SFYR+ was selected as solid support for BC production by A. xylinum in a batch biofilm reactor due to its high nitrogen content, moderate nitrogen leaching rate, and sufficient biomass attached on PCS. The PCS biofilm reactor yielded BC production (7.05 g/L) that was 2.5-fold greater than the control (2.82 g/L). The XRD results indicated that the PCS-grown BC exhibited higher crystallinity (93%) and similar crystal size (5.2 nm) to the control. FESEM results showed the attachment of A. xylinum on PCS, producing an interweaving BC product. TGA results demonstrated that PCS-grown BC had about 95% water retention ability, which was lower than BC produced within suspended-cell reactor. PCS-grown BC also exhibited higher Tmax compared to the control. Finally, DMA results showed that BC from the PCS biofilm reactor increased its mechanical property values, i.e., stress at break and Young's modulus when compared to the control BC. The results clearly demonstrated that implementation of PCS within agitated fermentation enhanced BC production and improved its mechanical properties and thermal stability. PMID:19630969

The thermal-economic feasibility was studied of a medium-size central cogenerated energy facility designed to serve five varied industries. Generation options included one dual-fuel diesel and one gas turbine, both with waste heat boilers, and five fired boilers. Fuels included natural gas, and for the fired-boiler cases, also low-sulphur coal and municipal refuse. The fired-boiler cogeneration systems employed back-pressure steam turbines. For coal and refuse, the option of steam only without cogeneration was also assessed. The refuse-fired cases utilized modular incinerators. The options provided for a wide range of steam and electrical capacities. Deficient steam was assumed generated independently in existing equipment. Excess electrical power over that which could be displaced was assumed sold to Commonwealth Edison Company under PURPA (Public Utility Regulator Policies Act). The facility was assumed operated by a mutually owned corporation formed by the cogenerated power users. The economic analysis was predicted on currently applicable energy-investment tax credits and accelerated depreciation for a January 1985 startup date. Based on 100% equity financing, the results indicated that the best alternative was the modular-incinerator cogeneration system.

A state-of-the-art review is provided on ultraviolet (UV) irradiation technology and its potential for the treatment and disinfection of water and wastewaters at the municipal, industrial and commercial scale. From a review of the literature, consultation with UV equipment manufacturers, and health and environmental authorities, it is apparent that UV irradiation using current technology can be an effective and practical method for the disinfection of water and wastewater at the municipal scale. For small to medium size water treatment plants, UV can be a cost effective alternative, on a site selective basis, to chemical disinfection. The disadvantage of the lack of disinfectant residual with UV treatment can be overcome by marginal secondary chemical treatment. For wastewaters, UV disinfection is a cost-effective alternative to chlorination and would be applicable to most municipal secondary wastewater treatment plant effluents. The lack of a residual toxic disinfection and no know production of toxic or carcinogenic by-products are clear advantages in this application. Many wastewater treatment plant effluent disinfection systems using UV are now in operation or are being retrofitted in Canada and the USA. Extension of UV for disinfection of primary treatment effluents and combined sewer overflows, and the use of UV in combination with ozone or hydrogen peroxide for oxidation of toxic organic pollutants in water and wastewater, are also seen as promising areas for development. 100 refs., 13 figs., 11 tabs.

Experience to date with on-farm anaerobic digestion in the UK has been poor. For a number of reasons, many of these plants have not performed to expectations. The technology has been very much environmentally driven, often requiring integration with other farm activities. The resource is generally considered too widely dispersed for most individual farms to economically exploit. There are opportunities for improving the economics through co-operative ventures at medium- to large-scale centralised anaerobic digestion facilities. These would be highly tuned, generally thermophilic CHP systems; typical installations would lie in the size-range 0.1-1.0 MW{sub e}. These facilities would be fed primarily with farm wastes together with non-toxic, industrial, organic wastes from food processing/preparation activities. A pasteurisation stage is required to ensure a more complete pathogen kill. The liquid digestate fertiliser would be returned to the land when the timing for application was right, thereby ensuring its nutrients were better utilised. Digestate fibre would be processed and marketed as a peat substitute or soil conditioner. Although useful experience is available from Denmark, where centralised anaerobic digestion facilities are well established, there are likely to be problems implementing such schemes in the UK. The strategy outlined recommends a two-phase approach. Phase 1 is aimed at gathering sufficient information with which to form an opinion about the viability of centralised anaerobic digestion in the UK. Proceeding to project implementation in Phase 2 is dependent on the findings of Phase 1. (Author)

Medical imaging has learnt itself well into modern medicine and revolutionized medical industry in the last 30 years. Stemming from the discovery of X-ray by Nobel laureate Wilhelm Roentgen, radiology was born, leading to the creation of large quantities of digital images as opposed to film-based medium. While this rich supply of images provides immeasurable information that would otherwise not be possible to obtain, medical images pose great challenges in archiving them safe from corrupted, lost and misuse, retrievable from databases of huge sizes with varying forms of metadata, and reusable when new tools for data mining and new media for data storing become available. This paper provides a summative account on the creation of medical imaging tomography, the development of image archiving systems and the innovation from the existing acquired image data pools. The focus of this paper is on content-based image retrieval (CBIR), in particular, for 3D images, which is exemplified by our developed online e-learning system, MIRAGE, home to a repository of medical images with variety of domains and different dimensions. In terms of novelties, the facilities of CBIR for 3D images coupled with image annotation in a fully automatic fashion have been developed and implemented in the system, resonating with future versatile, flexible and sustainable medical image databases that can reap new innovations. PMID:21915232

This document presents the stakes of the environmental management in French companies and the role played by the French agency of environment and energy mastery (ADEME) in adapting the French environmental plan, developed by the public authorities, to the small and medium-size companies and industries. The risks of environmental impact are numerous and linked with a bad mastery of the consumption of raw materials, energy and water and with a bad control of waste effluents (impact on ecosystems and on public health). In order to facilitate the application of the environmental plan, the international standard organization (ISO) has developed the series of ISO 14000 standards. This work was carried out by the technical committee 207 which has developed a common approach for the environmental management of processes and products. This paper focusses on the ISO 14001 standard, on its philosophy and on its accreditation procedure, and on the application of the European eco-audit regulation for the promotion of the continuous improvement of the environmental performances of companies. The Ademe has developed the 'company environment plan' (PEE) in order to define, grade and quantify the objectives of an environmental policy at the scale of companies. Different types of environmental indicators can be defined to characterize the environmental impact of the activities of companies and reported in an 'environmental report' in order to precise the financial effort made by companies to respect the regulations or to evaluate the possible financial consequences of the non-respect of the environmental regulations. (J.S.)

It is widely recognized that the developing world is the next area for major energy demand growth, including demand for new and advanced nuclear energy systems. With limited existing industrial and grid infrastructures, there will be an important need for future nuclear energy systems that can provide small or moderate increments of electric power (10-700 MWe) on small or immature grids in developing nations. Most recently, the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) has identified, as one of its key objectives, the development and demonstration of concepts for small and medium sized reactors (SMRs) that can be globally deployed while assuring a high level of proliferation resistance. Lead-cooled systems offer several key advantages in meeting these goals. The small lead-cooled fast reactor concept known as the Small Secure Transportable Autonomous Reactor (SSTAR) reactor has been under ongoing development under the U.S. Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems Initiative. It a system designed to provide energy security to developing nations while incorporating features to achieve nonproliferation aims, anticipating GNEP objectives. This paper presents the motivation for development of internationally deployable nuclear energy systems as well as a summary of one such system, SSTAR, which is the U.S. Generation IV Lead-cooled Fast Reactor system.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hydraulic performance of a full-scale on-site vertical-flow biofilter, consisting of a mixture of peat and carbon-containing ash, and a 500 m(3) equalization pond prior to the filter-system. The treatment plant was constructed to clean up leachate from an industrial mono-landfill that contained shredder residues of end-of-life vehicles and white goods. With the limited storage capacity of the equalization pond, peak loading rates exceeded up to five to six times the designed daily hydraulic load limit of the biofilter system. Such relatively short overloading events did not negatively affect the purification efficiency. To provide the designed annual irrigation rate on the biofilter of 97 m(3) day(- 1) (or 133 mm day(-1)), with large seasonal variations in precipitation, a relatively large pond would be needed. Calculations showed that a storage volume of about 23 000 m(3) would be sufficient for annual leachate volumes up to about 35 000 m(3). A combination of sprinkler and drip irrigation with straw insulation of the latter made it possible to run the plant continuously even when the ambient air temperature was below zero for more than a month at a time. The grain size distribution of the biofilter medium was noticeably changed after 4 years of usage due to the loading of suspended solids from the leachate and decomposition of the peat, causing reduced hydraulic conductivity. PMID:19423574

The detection of ultrasound in photoacoustic tomography (PAT) usually relies on ultrasonic transducers in contact with the biological tissue through a coupling medium. This is a major drawback for important potential applications such as surgery. Here we report the use of a remote optical method, derived from industrial laser-ultrasonics, to detect ultrasound in tissues. This approach enables non-contact PAT (NCPAT) without exceeding laser exposure safety limits. The sensitivity of the method is based on the use of suitably shaped detection laser pulses and a confocal Fabry-Perot interferometer in differential configuration. Reliable image reconstruction is obtained by measuring remotely the surface profile of the tissue with an optical coherence tomography system. The proposed method also allows non-contact ultrasound imaging (US) by applying a second reconstruction algorithm to the data acquired for NCPAT. Endogenous and exogenous inclusions exhibiting optical and acoustic contrasts were detected ex vivo in chicken breast and calf brain specimens. Inclusions down to 0.3 mm in size were detected at depths exceeding 1 cm. The method could expand the scope of photoacoustic and US to in-vivo biomedical applications where contact is impractical. PMID:22734747

The region of Africa has been experiencing a fast growing urbanization. This paper is therefore being prepared to provide a simplified approach to be used by city planners, environmental planners, local municipal managers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and local African Community Action Groups, to use in assessing the waste impact of this immense urbanization within their communities and jurisdiction. The prescription for the African urban communities for the years ahead is that the inhabitants of urban communities and villages have to undertake the simplest evaluation and assessment to safeguard its environmental protection. A simplified approach to such schemes in assessing and evaluating ecological and human health impacts associated with environmental pollution in Africa is presented in this document. This approach utilizes historical information and visible indicators of pollution in lieu of conducting an extensive and detailed risk assessment studies. The primary sources of hazardous waste, increasingly so as economies grow, are: small to medium-sized industries and commercial enterprises; households; large manufacturing sectors such as mining, chemical, textiles, rubber, plastics, petroleum, food processing, paper, printing and construction; and agricultural activities.

The project had 3 main objectives: 1) To develop a prototype of a LED-based luminaire that can replace the existing glasshouse horticultural lighting. The project have developed a working prototype and experimentally replaced the traditional HPS luminaires in a controlled growing area. The project succeeded in producing plants of comparable quality. However, the project shows that the prototype can be improved by: x) being further integrated into the existing horticultural production technology (eg climate computers and purchase of electricity) x) adapting configuration of luminaires specifically to each plant variety x) adapting different cooling technologies to match specific customer needs x) In some cases being combined with heat input to optimize the overall economy. 2) To achieve an effective electricity savings of 50-80% - equivalent to a value of approx. DKK 5 million for a medium sized nursery. The verified electricity savings was 40%. In test setups and in well defined and controllable production areas the prototypes achieved electricity savings of > 50%. It is expected that a new generation of LEDs (Q3 2010) will allow for greater power savings. 3) To continue prototype development and initiate commercialization of the project through the company Fionia Lighting A/S. The shareholders of the company have allocated capital to the company to allow us to address the main challenges in commercializing the technology. It is expected that the company will enter a strategic alliance with a major industrial player in the beginning of 2011. (Author)

Aims:? To evaluate and compare the sensitivity of Exo-PG production and kinetic parameters of Aspergillus flavipes FP-500 to oxygen transfer condition in shake flasks and bioreactor. Methods and results:? Aspergillus flavipes FP-500 was grown on pectin as carbon source in shake flasks and bioreactor at different oxygen transfer conditions. The volumetric coefficient of oxygen transfer (k(L) a) was modified by changing both, the flask size/medium volume ratio and the agitation speed. Higher biomass concentration, Exo-PG activity, maximum specific growth rate and yield coefficient were obtained in bioreactor at higher k(L) a value. A strong correlation was found between biomass, Exo-PG activity and growth-associated product coefficient to k(L) a in bioreactor but does not in shake flasks. The mathematical model provided a good description of growth, pectin consumption and Exo-PG production in submerged batch cultures carried out in bioreactor. Conclusions:? Biomass concentration, Exo-PG activity and their kinetics of Aspergillus flavipes FP-500 were strongly influenced by oxygen transfer condition and cultivation system. Significance and impact of study:? The production of enzymes by fungal fermentation is strictly aerobic and understanding the influence of oxygen transfer condition on the production kinetic is of vital importance in order to design, optimize and translate bioprocesses to industrial scale. © 2012 The Authors Letters in Applied Microbiology © 2012 The Society for Applied Microbiology. PMID:22978622

Cyclosporin A (CyA) produced by Tolypocladium inflatum is a promising drug owing to its immunosuppressive and antifungal activities. From an industrial point of view, the necessity to obtain a suitable and economic medium for higher production of CyA was the aim of this work. The present study evaluated the effect of different fermentation parameters in solid state fermentation, such as selection of solid substrate, hydrolysis of substrates, initial moisture content, supplementation of salts, additional carbon, and nitrogen sources, as well as the inoculum age and size, on production of CyA by Tolypocladium inflatum MTCC 557. The fermentation was carried out at 25+/-2 degrees for 9 days. A combination of hydrolyzed wheat bran flour and coconut oil cake (1:1) at 70% initial moisture content supported a maximum production of 3,872+/-156 mg CyA/kg substrate as compared with 792+/-33 mg/kg substrate before optimization. Furthermore, supplementation of salts, glycerol (1%w/w), and ammonium sulfate (1%w/w) increased the production of CyA to 5,454+75 mg/kg substrate. Inoculation of 5 g of solid substrate with 6 ml of 72-h-old seed culture resulted in a maximum production of 6,480+95 mg CyA/kg substrate. PMID:19494693

Continuous and easily operated glycerolysis was studied in different lipase-packed columns to evaluate the most potential process set-ups for industrial monoacylglycerol (MAG) production. Practical design-related issues such as enzyme-filling degree, required reaction time, mass transfer investigations, and capacity and stability of the enzyme were evaluated. A commercially available immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B was used to catalyze the glycerolysis reaction between glycerol and sunflower oil dissolved in a binary tert-butanol:tert-pentanol medium. Considering easy handling of the enzyme and measured expansion when wetted with a reaction mixture, a filling degree of 52 vol % dry enzymes particles per column volume seemed appropriate. Twenty minutes was required to reach equilibrium conditions with a MAG content of 50-55 wt %. Only insignificant indications of mass transfer limitations were observed. Hence, the commercial lipase seemed adequate to use in its available particle size distribution ranging from 300 to 900 mu m. A column length-to-diameter ratio of less than 25 did not interfere with the transfer of the fluid mixture through the column. Under the tested conditions, the enzyme could be active for approximately 92 days before enzyme renewal was needed. This corresponds to a very high enzyme capacity with approximately 2000 L pure MAG produced per kg enzyme.

This report on energy conservation in the milking parlour was assembled to define the opportunities for conservation in dairy operations, as well as some of the design factors that must be considered. One of the primary areas for conservation in the dairy farm industry is that of cooling the milk for storage and heating the water used for washing and sanitizing. The standard form of on-farm milk storage is in bulk tanks and requires the use of small to medium-sized refrigeration equipment to first remove the sensible heat that is present at milking and then maintain the milk at a safe temperature until pickup. The use of the tank's refrigeration system as a heating system can reduce, by up to 70%, a milking parlour's electrical power consumption. Simple heat exchangers can also save a considerable amount of energy at a lower capital cost. Although the milk cooling, water heating heat pump costs more, the higher return on the investment can justify the higher expenditure in most installations. For those unwilling to commit themselves to this type of investment the heat exchanger offers a simple, low maintenance, economical means of conserving energy and cooling the milk faster. 5 figs., 3 tabs.

Aspergillus oryzae is a filamentous fungus used as a starter microorganism in the process of manufacturing various kinds of traditional fermented food. It is also used as a producer of enzymes for both food processing and pharmaceuticals, such as proteases and taka-amylase. In order to clarify the function of this microorganism in fermentation industries and utilize the new function of A. oryzae, it was subject to genomic analysis. During the analysis, the telomere of A. oryzae exhibited a novel repeated sequence distinct from other fungi. Genomic analysis also revealed that the genome of A. oryzae consists of eight chromosomes containing 12,074 genes and is larger in size than Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus fumigatus. A. oryzae contains sequences specific for A. oryzae for genes involved in primary and secondary metabolism, when compared with A. nidulans and A. fumigatus. Among them, the function of one of the peptidase-like gene products was investigated with a post-genomic approach, and determined as an aminopeptidase specific for acidic amino acids (aspartate and glutamate) which was first identified in filamentous fungi. It also demonstrated that the addition of cobalt ion to the growth medium greatly improved the specific activity. Using the same approach, some of the novel aminopeptidases and carboxypeptidases of A. oryzae were identified and characterized.   

Turkey has rich mineral resources and new deposits are continuously being developed, some by exploration by foreign mining companies. As the outputs of some raw materials are too low due to the deposits or reserves (e.g. in the case of caking coal and steel processors) the missing raw materials have to be imported. In addition to the large state mining undertakings such as Etibank (ore mines and processing plants), TKI Turkish Coal Undertaking (open-cast and deep lignite mines and coal preparation plants), TTK Turkish Collieries (bituminous coal mines and preparation plants in Zonguldak, the only bituminous coal district in the country) and the semi-state KBI Black Sea Copper Mines (open cast copper mines, processing and smelting plants) there are many small and medium-sized mining companies. One of the major problems of the Turkish mining industry is inadequate investment, which is attributable to the high inflation rate. This in turn entails a low degree of mechanisation and thus labour-intensive processes and high production costs. (orig.).

Chemical sensors have wide applications in medicine, environmental monitoring, industrial applications, and others because of their versatility, ruggedness, sensitivity, selectivity, and economy. Electrochemical sensors are constructed by using a conducting medium, in this case graphite, and applying a constant potential while measuring changes in the current. Polymers are used for electrochemical sensors to exclude interferents from the electrode surface, to preconcentrate the analyte near the electrode, and in some cases to provide a matrix for the immobilization of analytes, such as enzymes. These functions of the polymer can serve to improve the detection limit of the sensor. This project involves the evaluation of a new polymer for electrode modification. The poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(acrylic acid) (PVA/PAA) polymer was originally developed as an ion exchanger for use in space batteries. It has also been used in wastewater cleanup because it will concentrate heavy metals in the presence of calcium ion. This polymer is also optically clear, so it can potentially be used for an optical sensor. We are interested in investigating the ion exchange properties of the PVA/PAA polymer, as well as the ability of this polymer to preconcentrate and exclude analytes on the basis of size, charge, and hydrophilic/hydrophobic interactions.

The role of the purchasing function is changing. Recent research shows that purchasing continues to move from a simple money-saving activity, towards being regarded as strategic in line with manufacturing and sales activities. However, a pre-study including purchasing managers from nine large and medium sized European industrial manufacturers shows that purchasing strategies a still dominated by a cost-focused perspective. Relationship value drivers in these strategies are cost-focused implying a lack of attention towards obtaining possible relationship benefits. To investigate if this is actually the case in practice, two case studies with different supplier settings have been conducted: One case with supplier relationships in an operational setting and one case with collaborative development of new products. The study indicates that despite the focus on cost reductions in formal purchasing strategies, employees interacting in supplier relationships act from a more varied set of priorities moving from core offering value drivers towards customer operations value drivers the more development is part of the relationship.

This thesis has investigated a number of methods for optimizing energy and spectrum performance for 4G commercial radio access applications. The research interest is narrowed down to distributed base station architectures and in particular the remote radio module. Designing energy efficient radio access radio networks becomes a necessity not only due to the high operation and maintenance cost but also because of the major trend of providing ecofriendly solutions across the industry. The benefits of incorporating remote radio modules in next-generation mobile networks were investigated and a comparison with conventional base station architectures was realized. This analysis demonstrated that efficient hardware, intelligent software and self-organized subsystems can result in decreasing substantially power wastes. The advantages of optical fiber as transport medium for relaying baseband modulated signals to remote antenna sites were enlisted and the concept of Fiber To The Antenna (FTTA) was introduced. In terms of efficient hardware, the system requirements of the remote radio module have been analyzed thoroughly and a proposed architecture has been described in detail. In addition, digital signal processing techniques were developed for improving energy and spectrum performance. In particular a novel, lightweight crest factor reduction algorithm has been simulated, implemented in hardware and tested using the radio test platform provided by Radiocomp ApS. Finally, an adaptive polynomial digital predistortion block is proposed based on cartesian to polar conversion. It has been designed and implemented on a low-cost FPGA, overcoming the challenges imposed by the logical size and timing constraints.

In this work we develop, implement and analyze a high-order spectrally accurate algorithm for computation of the echo area, and monostatic and bistatic radar cross-section (RCS) of a three dimensional perfectly conducting obstacle through simulation of the time-harmonic electromagnetic waves scattered by the conductor. Our scheme is based on a modified boundary integral formulation (of the Maxwell equations) that is tolerant to basis functions that are not tangential on the conductor surface. We test our algorithm with extensive computational experiments using a variety of three dimensional perfect conductors described in spherical coordinates, including benchmark radar targets such as the metallic NASA almond and ogive. The monostatic RCS measurements for non-convex conductors require hundreds of incident waves (boundary conditions). We demonstrate that the monostatic RCS of small (to medium) sized conductors can be computed using over one thousand incident waves within a few minutes (to a few hours) of CPU time. We compare our results with those obtained using method of moments based industrial standard three dimensional electromagnetic codes CARLOS, CICERO, FE-IE, FERM, and FISC. Finally, we prove the spectrally accurate convergence of our algorithm for computing the surface current, far-field, and RCS values of a class of conductors described globally in spherical coordinates.

The processing of solids, such as crystals, is strongly influenced by the surface properties of the material. In recent years the pharmaceutical industry has shown great interest in identifying, or chemically speciating, the molecular components of crystal faces. Formerly, characterization of the molecular identity of crystal faces was restricted to the study of large single crystals. This would have been primarily for structure determination as part of the drug registration process. Diamond Light Source in Oxfordshire is a new synchrotron facility in the UK, having 18 operational beamlines with 4 more in the construction phase. Beamlines at this medium energy light source enable the study of micron-sized objects in great detail. It is well known that x-ray microtomography (XMT) can be used to investigate the external morphology of a crystal whereas x-ray diffraction (XRD) is used to study the molecular orientation, structure and packing within the crystal. The objective of this research is to assess the feasibility of, and thereby develop a new methodology for, characterizing the molecular identity of a particular face of a crystalline particle at a scale of scrutiny of 20-50 µm by combining these two powerful techniques. This work demonstrates the application of XMT and XRD to investigate respectively the shape and crystalline phase/orientation of relevant test crystals. This research has applications in the pharmaceutical industry in that when the exact molecular nature of a particular face is known, the important physico-pharmaceutical properties stemming from that can be better understood. Some initial data are presented and discussed.

Purpose: This study aims to explore knowledge management (KM) practice in the "back office" of two English football clubs. Design/methodology/approach: The paper takes the form of a comparative case study of two medium-sized businesses using multi-method data including unstructured interviews, structured questionnaires and document analysis. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and basic descriptive statistics. Findings: A review of the theoretical contexts highlights key challenges for the industry including the pressure of high wage salaries on the business model, minimising organizational memory loss given the high turnover of football managers, and the development of relationship marketing given the emergence of a variety of fans with different levels of loyalty. The empirical inquiry reveals evidence of KM in both football clubs although this is mostly informal, ad hoc and implicit. One club adopts a personalisation and the other a codification KM strategy. For both clubs, the football success takes precedence over business success. Emergent findings show that there is scope to improve explicit and formal knowledge management strategies within both football clubs, and that the "back office" could benefit from innovative and efficient ways of working given the pressures it faces. Research limitations/implications: This is a qualitative case study that aims to explore and describe KM within the two clubs. Because of this results are not generalisable to the industry as a whole; however findings are insightful and can inform further substantive research. Originality/value: Given the current issues that challenge football clubs, KM can offer a new lens from which to begin to address old problems and can inform and enrich existing organizational strategy in real and practical ways. This study contributes valuable insight as an exploratory study within a little researched context. (Contains 3 tables and 3 figures.)

The heavily urbanized and industrialized Baltimore Harbor/Patapsco River/Back River system is one of the most highly contaminated regions of the Chesapeake Bay. In June 1996, surficial sediments were collected at 80 sites throughout the subestuarine system, including historically undersampled creek sand embayments. The samples were analyzed for a suite of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) consisting of 32 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 113 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners. Total PAH and total PCB concentrations ranged from 90 to 46,200 and 8 to 2,150 ng/g dry weight, respectively. There was enormous spatial variability in the concentrations of HOCs, which was not well correlated to grain size or organic carbon content, suggesting nonequilibrium partitioning and/or proximity to sources as important factors explaining the observed spatial variability. High concentrations of both classes of HOCs were localized around major urban stormwater runoff discharges. Elevated PAH concentrations were also centered around the Sparrow`s Point Industrial Complex, most likely a result of the pyrolysis of coal during the production of steel. All but 1 of the 80 sites exceeded the effects range-low (ERL) for total PCBs and, of those sites, 40% exceeded the effects range-medium (ERM), suggesting toxicity to marine benthic organisms would frequently occur. Using principal component analysis, differences in PAH signatures were discerned. Higher molecular weight PAHs were enriched in signatures from sediments close to suspected sources (i.e., urban stormwater runoff and steel production complexes) compared to those patterns observed at sites further from outfalls or runoff. Due to varying solubilities and affinities for organic matter of the individual PAHs, partitioning of the heavier weight PAHs may enrich settling particles with high molecular weight PAHs. Lower molecular weight PAHs, having lower affinity for particles, may travel from the source to a greater extent.

Alcoholic fermentation (AF) conducted by Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been exploited for millennia in three important human food processes: beer and wine production and bread leavening. Most of the efforts to understand and improve AF have been made separately for each process, with strains that are supposedly well adapted. In this work, we propose a first comparison of yeast AFs in three synthetic media mimicking the dough/wort/grape must found in baking, brewing, and wine making. The fermentative behaviors of nine food-processing strains were evaluated in these media, at the cellular, populational, and biotechnological levels. A large variation in the measured traits was observed, with medium effects usually being greater than the strain effects. The results suggest that human selection targeted the ability to complete fermentation for wine strains and trehalose content for beer strains. Apart from these features, the food origin of the strains did not significantly affect AF, suggesting that an improvement program for a specific food processing industry could exploit the variability of strains used in other industries. Glucose utilization was analyzed, revealing plastic but also genetic variation in fermentation products and indicating that artificial selection could be used to modify the production of glycerol, acetate, etc. The major result was that the overall maximum CO2 production rate (Vmax) was not related to the maximum CO2 production rate per cell. Instead, a highly significant correlation between Vmax and the maximum population size was observed in all three media, indicating that human selection targeted the efficiency of cellular reproduction rather than metabolic efficiency. This result opens the way to new strategies for yeast improvement.

Habitation Engineering, and two cross cutting elements,. Systems Integration ... aerospace industry contracts, university grants, Small. Business .... Atmosphere, water and food systems understandably require .... In some cases comparison tests are ... adsorbents, sizing of trace contaminant control beds and for optimization ...

An integrated process for controlled one-step production of nanostructured particulate thin films is presented, combining gas-phase nanoparticle synthesis, aerodynamic particle manipulation, size selection and deposition. Such films find industrial application for instance in fuel cells, supercapaci...

High-quality silicon crystals provide the basis of many industrial technological advances, including computers and telecommunication devices. The increasing size and extremely high quality requirements of silicon wafers have made furnace design and crystal manufacturing a very challenging task. Nume...

This report analyzes the material properties and system parameters relevant to the pneumatic conveying of municipal solid waste and its processed fractions. Comparisons are made with the conveying of conventional industrial feedstocks, and a rationale for sizing and specification...

This study report provides European management consulting firms’ assessment of trends and currently prevailing business models in the industry. It depicts the different threats and opportunities that consulting firms with different business models, consulting foci, sizes, leverage ratios, internatio...

Feb 27, 2009 ... Identify alternative packing options that eliminate or minimize waste generation ... The act, process, industry, art, or style of packing. Material .... Gallon-sized resealable metallized (hermetic) plastic bags weigh about 0.1 lbm ...

A novel solid atomization technology has been developed with a high-velocity gas jet stream containing solid salt particles as the atomization medium. Metal and alloy powders with a finer particle size, a narrower size distribution and a higher cooling rate than those of the conventional gas atomization technology have been produced by this technology. The affecting factors of the particle size of as-prepared metallic powders have been analyzed, especially the influence of State of NaCl particles.

Initially examines the economic characteristics of, and current and future trends in, the Australian export coal industry. Goes on to examine the implications of the issues raised on raising capital. The Australian export industry has been rejuvenated by a combination of cost rationalisation and price increases. Strong export demand is expected over the near to medium term. The author expects a continued move towards larger producers due to take-overs and corporate consolidations and a move from surface to underground mining. Those financing the industry need to consider factors such as cash margins, physical advantages of a project and the risk during a project`s lifetime. 5 figs.

Total is the first French industrial group, its main figures are: - a turnover of 104,7 milliard euros in 2003 (+2%), - 7728 million euros in gross investment (-11%), - more than 110.000 employees working in 130 countries, 45% of them working in France. Total has launched a policy of support toward small- and medium-scale enterprises in order to make its know-how accessible and available. This policy follows 4 axis: 1) a support for exportation, 2) financial help for new projects, 3) industrial lodging of new enterprises, and 4) the industrial renewal of unemployment-stricken regions. (A.C.)

samples detected any of the contaminants on the target list. ... as well as to quality control in such wide fields as food processing and industrial environmental monitoring ... medium, in this case carbon black. A .... by cross-talk which was not by ...

In the last years, static power converters have become widely used in various applications. They can be found in domestic applications, railways, urban and ship transport, and even in several industrial systems. Some of these applications require a high or medium voltage power supply that is easily ...

The development of a regional natural gas market in southern Latin America based on a common pipeline network is a clear possibility in the medium term. This paper is, therefore, important to summarize precisely the present status and outlook for the natural gas industry in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay.

The effect of various nitrogenous substances on the bioconversion of whole bagasse, a lignocellulosic waste material from the sugar industry, using four fungal cultures was studied under submerged cultivation. It was concluded that, using these organisms, the biomass yield may be improved by using urea as a nitrogen source in Norkran's medium at 25 to 21 C/N ratio.

Zeolites have potential to increase efficiency of medium-temperature drying in the food industry. This work concerns the comparison between conventional dryers and dryers using air dehumidified by zeolite. Steady-state mass and energy balances have been used and the work concerns drying temperatures...

This report describes the past steps of dismantling the research reactor FRJ-1 (MERLIN) and, moreover, provides an outlook on future dismantling with the ultimate aim of a ''green field site''. MERLIN is an abbreviation for MEDIUM ENERGY RESEARCH LIGHT WATER MODERATED INDUSTRIAL NUCLEAR REACTOR.

According to the rapidly changing environment small and medium enterprises constantly need to adapt their strategies and activities. The transition from the industrial economy to knowledge-based economy results in the increasing of the volume of the available information. Therefore knowledge marke...

This paper considers the reactive power compensation and the active power and energy loss reduction of large radial power networks in the Serbian mine and smelting industry. It gives an efficient optimization procedure for positioning and sizing capacitors in large industrial systems integrated with a simple network analysis method. (Author).

Sutton (1998) offers us a simple way to model firm size distributions across differentiated products industries. We analyse the implications of this approach for company markups using a structural model for a specific industry. We incorporate the complexities of multi-product (brand) companies opera...

Industrial production processes involving both lot-sizing and cutting stock problems are common in many industrial settings. However, they are usually treated in a separate way, which could lead to costly production plans. In this paper, a coupled mathematical model is formulated and a heuristic method based on Lagrangian relaxation is proposed. Computational results prove its effectiveness.

Microbially enhanced calcite precipitation on concrete or mortar has become an important area of research regarding construction materials. This study examined the effect of calcite precipitation induced by Sporosarcina pasteurii (Bp M-3) on parameters affecting the durability of concrete or mortar. An inexpensive industrial waste, corn steep liquor (CSL), from starch industry was used as nutrient source for the growth of bacteria and calcite production, and the results obtained with CSL were compared with those of the standard commercial medium. Bacterial deposition of a layer of calcite on the surface of the specimens resulted in substantial decrease of water uptake, permeability, and chloride penetration compared with control specimens without bacteria. The results obtained with CSL medium were comparable to those obtained with standard medium, indicating the economization of the biocalcification process. The results suggest that calcifying bacteria play an important role in enhancing the durability of concrete structures. PMID:21104104

The scattering of a stochastic electromagnetic plane-wave pulse on a deterministic spherical medium is investigated. An analytical formula for the degree of polarization (DOP) of the scattered field in the far zone is derived. Letting pulse duration T(0) ? ?, our formula can be applied to study the scattering of a stationary stochastic electromagnetic light wave. Numerical results show that the DOP of the far zone field is closely determined by the size of the spherical medium when the incident field is a stochastic electromagnetic plane-wave pulse. This is much different from the case when the incident field is a stationary stochastic electromagnetic light wave, where the DOP of the far zone field is independent of the size of the medium. One may obtain the information of the spherical medium by measuring the scattering-induced changes in the DOP of a stochastic electromagnetic plane-wave pulse. PMID:22673439

Savannah River Site (SRS) has the nation's only plutonium and tritium production reactors. All three reactors have been idle for more than a year so that a variety of modifications can be made. Modifications are being carried out to enhance safety and technical systems. A 1987 decision was made to develop an inspection capability which would allow volumetric inspection of the SRS reactor tanks for the purpose of life extension. The scope of this inspection was defined to address the heat affected zones (HAZ's) of the tanks' weldments for the presence of service induced flaws, i.e., intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC). In order to be consistent with the existing practices and technology of the nuclear industry a state-of-the-art ultrasonic (UT) examination was chosen as the primary examination medium. Both ultrasonic and eddy current testing were selected as complementary methods for this application, since both can be configured to acquire test data remotely, and the test data can be digitized and stored for post-test analysis. Since intergranular stress corrosion cracking was believed to be the service-induced flaw most likely to occur adjacent to SRS's type 304 stainless steel reactor tank welds, the Savannah River Site's nondestructive testing specialists were faced with a unique challenge. Up to this point the major concentration of effort in the commercial nuclear world has been to apply ultrasonic testing techniques which were developed to detect and size IGSCC on the inside surface of piping with the search unit scanning on the outside surface of the pipe. Proven methods for detection and depth sizing IGSCC which initiated on the near surface (the surface in which the ultrasonic wave enters the metal) had not been established.

The use of medium-speed roller mills for pulverizing coal is described. Some of the problems encountered in the operation of these mills are discussed. Formulas are proposed for determining the grinding output of these mills in actual operation and also for determining optimal and economical ventilation in order to attain such productivity. It was found that the operating period of medium-speed mills increases with size. Thus, large mills are more profitable than small ones.

We calculate the radiation spectrum off a qoverline{q} pair of a fixed opening angle {?_{{qoverline{q}}}} traversing a medium of length L. Multiple interactions with the medium are handled in the harmonic oscillator approximation, valid for soft gluon emissions. We discuss the time-scales relevant to the decoherence of correlated partons traversing the medium and demonstrate how this relates to the hard scale that govern medium-induced radiation. For large angle radiation, the hard scale is given by {Q_{hard}}=max ( {r_{bot}^{-1 },{Q_s}} ) , where {r_{bot }}={?_{{qoverline{q}}}}L is the probed transverse size and Q s is the maximal transverse momentum accumulated by the emitted gluon in the medium. These situations define in turn two distinct regimes, which we call "dipole" and "decoherence" regimes, respectively, which are discussed in detail. A feature common to both cases is that coherence of the radiation is restored at large transverse momenta, k ? > Q hard.

The development of modern materials science has led to a growing need to understand the phenomena determining the properties of materials on an atomistic level. As the behavior of atoms and electrons is governed by the laws of quantum mechanics, accurate and efficient techniques for solving the basic quantum-mechanical equations for very complex many-atom, many-electron systems are required. The development of density-functional theory (DFT) represents a decisive step forwards in our efforts to develop tools for ab initio atomistic simulations of complex materials, preparing the way towards computational materials design. The development of these ab initio simulation methods, whose aim is to model processes in materials by solving the coupled Newtonian equations of motion of the atoms and the Schrödinger equation for the electrons from first principles without any other input than the atomic numbers of the constituents, is part of fundamental research. Hence, for a long time the development and application of DFT methods has been a domain of academic research. Only during the past decade, based on the development of increasingly sophisticated codes and better computer performance, has the impact of DFT-based simulation methods has spread from academia to industry. New opportunities are opening for innovative materials research across physics, chemistry, surface science and nanotechnology extending even to earth sciences and molecular biology. In 1998 we organized, at the Vienna University of Technology, a first workshop entitled 'Electronic Structure Calculations for Industry and Basic Sciences' (short title 'Theory meets Industry') to celebrate the start of the European Science Foundation (ESF) research program 'Electronic Structure Calculations for Elucidating the Complex Atomistic Behavior of Solids and Surfaces', known as the ?k-network. At this workshop, researchers from academia presented recent results in the development of ab initio simulation methods and their application to key areas of condensed matter physics. Researchers from industry mainly focused on challenges arising from applied industrial research; contributions describing successful applications of DFT techniques to industrial problems were more scarce. Progress during the last decade has been very fast. The ESF research program has been renewed under the much bolder title 'Towards Computational Materials Design' and is now approaching the end of this second funding period. Due to the development of accurate, efficient and stable software packages for ab initio simulations, DFT-based techniques are now routinely used in many industrial laboratories worldwide. It was therefore considered timely to organize a second 'Theory meets Industry' workshop. The meeting took place between 12-14 June 2007 at the Erwin-Schrödinger-Institute (ESI) for Mathematical Physics in Vienna (Austria). It was sponsored by the Universität Wien through the VASP (Vienna Ab-initio Simulation Program) project, the Center for Computational Materials Science Vienna, the Erwin-Schrödinger-Institute and the ESF Program 'Towards Computational Materials Design'. The program of the workshop was decided by an international advisory board consisting of Ryoji Asahi (Toyota Central Research and Development Laboratory), Risto Nieminen (Helsinki University of Technology), Herve Toulhoat (Institut Français du Pétrole), Erich Wimmer (Materials Design Inc.), Chris Wolverton (Ford Motor Co. and Northwestern University) and Jürgen Hafner (Universität Wien). The 35 invited talks presented at the meeting were divided equally between researchers from academia and from industry. The contributions from academia concentrated on a wide range of new developments in DFT and post-DFT simulations (with contributions from the developers of leading software packages for ab initio simulations), as well as on applications in front-line materials research. In contrast to the first workshop nine years ago, all industrial speakers presented results of extensive ab initio studies in key areas of modern technology, concentrating on catalysis and chemical processing, information technologies, automotive engineering and energy. The proceedings assemble full papers summarizing 23 of the invited talks, abstracts of the remaining invited talks and abstracts of all the poster contributions. It is complemented by a conference summary written by Erich Wimmer. Erich is certainly excellently qualified for this task, because for many years he has played the role of mediator between academia and industry. I shall not anticipate his summary here, but I think that it is fair to say that tremendous progress has been made since the first workshop. Ab initio DFT simulations are now a well established tool for industrial research and, due to the availability of cheap high-performance server clusters, their use is no longer the reserve of large corporate laboratories equipped with supercomputers, but are also accessible to medium-sized enterprises. The basic methodology is still developed by the leading academic research groups. These groups urgently need support from funding agencies and/or industry not only for the basic code development, but also to bring their research codes up to industrial standards of programming, stability, user-friendliness and documentation. The fundamental challenge to theory, however, remains the same: more accurate total energies, application to larger and even more complex systems, and access to new materials properties. Responding to these challenges will require substantial effort at various levels. Achieving greatly improved accuracy of calculated total energies demands an improved description of electronic exchange and correlation. Possible routes (hybrid functionals for solids, dynamical mean field theory (DMFT), many-body perturbation theory (GW), quantum Monte-Carlo) have been presented at this meeting. Access to larger systems could be realized either by codes achieving O (N)-scaling or by adopting a strategy of multi-scale simulations. At least two different O (N)-codes have been discussed at the workshop. But even if these approaches allow ab initio calculations to be performed for ten times as many atoms as before, in terms of linear dimensions, the accessible systems size increases only by a factor of two. Therefore, multi-scale simulations strategies remain a very important issue. Access to new materials properties requires adding new routines to the basic codes. Again, this meeting has highlighted important new developments: evolutionary crystal structure predictions, transport properties of semiconductors and insulators, and calculations of free-energy reaction barriers to name only a few. The task of providing a full 'tool-box' of routines for fast and efficient calculation of many different materials properties evidently exceeds the capacity of a single group of developers. Here, collaboration is necessary between the developers of the basic DFT codes and the expert users of these codes pushing the application of the methodology to new frontiers. Again, it will be important to bring the newly developed routines into a stable, well documented form and to make them accessible to a wide range of users, both in academia and industry. Supporting these efforts is also a challenge to industry. The academic research needs industry's support in many ways. Industry has to make governmental and funding agencies aware of the vital role of our research for future technological development—and a very persuasive way to do that is to invest directly into leading academic groups. As the workshop organizer and editor of the proceedings, I would like to thank all contributors (especially those who accepted the burden of writing a full paper), the members of the Advisory Board for helping to organize such a good program, and the Institute of Physics for their help in the preparation of the proceedings.

Regulators and other industry associations have recognised the importance of considering the industry setting when determining social and environmental (SE) policy and reporting requirements. However, social and environmental impacts vary greatly from industry to industry.The generalised nature of many SE disclosure instruments is a limitation on the accuracy of the results of empirical studies which only focus on annual report disclosure and size. This paper attempts to address this limitation by developing an industry-specific reporting framework to examine SE performance, based on an empirical analysis of the issues that apply within the chosen industry. Also, it assesses corporate SE reporting against intra-industry issues, as well as more universal reporting requirements, the latter d...

The multiple passage of a random noise emission peak through a cavity containing an amplifying dispersive medium is investigated theoretically. It is shown that the dependence of the duration of the intensity peaks of noise radiation on the amplification bandwidth of the active medium has a minimum whose magnitude and position on the frequency scale depend on the refractive index and gain coefficient of the active medium, the size of the cavity and dispersing elements, the level of initial losses, and the rate of gain coefficient increase. With garnet-type media, the pulse duration can be reduced to 3-10 ps. 6 references.

In the present investigation, cyclodextrin complexation process was explored for development of tablet formulation of WHO approved fixed dose combination of lopinavir and ritonavir with reduced tablet size, shorter disintegration time and higher bio-availability in comparison to reference product. In preliminary studies, we found that lopinavir solubility and dissolution rate is poor into the dissolution medium recommended by FDA, whereas ritonavir solubilized fairly into dissolution medium with adequate dissolution rate. Solid-state cyclodextrin complexation technology was used for enhancement of dissolution rate of lopinavir into dissolution medium. Various cyclodextrins were screened by comparison on basis of enhancement of dissolution rate of lopinavir (LPV) and the order was found as ...

High water stress due to economic growth and climate change (ex. global warming) will be falling into 2 billion people to 4 billion people in the future. Agricultural water use accounting for about 70% of global water consumption might continue to increase due to production of foods and biofuels occurred by population growth in the future. In particular, water demand, food and biofuel production have an inextricable link. It is very important to evaluate these relationship for sustainable water use from past to the future. In this study, we focused on the objective to assess the impact of water withdrawal from various sources (stream flow, medium-sized reservoirs and nonrenewable nonlocal blue water) in the 20th century by considering irrigation area and climate change. Irrigation water withdrawal is the most important water use sector accounting for about 90% of total water withdrawal. First, we make the global spatial database of equipped irrigation area change and medium-sized reservoirs capacity. Then, water withdrawal from each sources for 50 years from 1950 to 2000 were simulated in global-scale at a resolution of 1.0 degree x 1.0 degree using an integrated global water resources model (hereafter, the H08 model). The H08 model can simulate both natural or anthropogenic water flow and anthropogenic water withdrawals. For comparison with our results, distribution of agricultural, industrial and domestic water withdrawals from 1950 to 2000 were estimated by distributing the country-based withdrawal data from AQUASTAT with irrigation area, urban population and total population, respectively. Groundwater withdrawal was then estimated by distributing the country-based withdrawal data based on statistical data from WRI, IGRAC and AQUASTAT with the total water withdrawal. As a result, agricultural water withdrawal change from nonrenewable nonlocal blue water during the past 50 years agreed well with the observed groundwater abstraction based on statistical data. In addition, many of the well-known hot spots of groundwater depletion (northeast Pakistan, northeast China, the Ogallala Aquifer, Iran and southeast Spain) appeared in spatial distribution of the change. In conclusion, this study was successful in simulations of global water withdrawals change from nonrenewable nonlocal blue water during the past 50 years using by the H08 model consisting of physical based hydrology. If irrigation areas continue to increasing, groundwater depletion might become more serious.

Summary Background Medium-sized to giant congenital melanocytic naevi (CMN) are difficult to treat, especially if the lesions appear on the face or extremities where treated areas are visible and cosmesis is important. Objectives In infants, nests of pigmented naevus reside more superficially and the skin is more transparent than in adults, so we treated medium-sized to giant CMN with early serial Q-switched ruby laser therapy from infancy. Patients and methods We treated nine patients with medium-sized to giant CMN on the face or upper limbs from 1 month of age with early serial Q-switched ruby laser therapy. The laser power was initially 5 J cm-2 and increased in 05 J cm-2 steps to a maximum of 10 J cm-2. There were three treatment sites on the forehead, one on the temple, one on the che...

The diet composition and feeding strategy of the Argentine hake Merluccius hubbsi in the San Matas Gulf were analysed in order to use this information for the sustainable management of the fishery. Merluccius hubbsi behaved as an opportunistic predator. Small M. hubbsi consumed planktonic crustaceans, whereas medium and large fish ate numerous prey taxa with low frequency of occurrence and variable specific abundance. Intra- and intercohort cannibalism were detected in all size groups and were particularly significant in large M. hubbsi. Medium-sized M. hubbsi consumed small conspecifics and large-sized M. hubbsi consumed both small and medium M. hubbsi. These results indicate that the removal of large M. hubbsi by fishing may increase the risk of overfishing by two combined effects: a dir...

Medium-size specimens (<2 m in length), consisting of two glass-fibre beams bonded together by an adhesive layer were tested in four point bending to determine their load carrying capacity. Specimens having different thickness were tested. Except for onespecimen, the cracking occurred as cracking along the adhesive layer; initially cracking occurred along the adhesive/laminate interface, but after some crack extension the cracking took place inside the laminate (for one specimen the later part of thecracking occurred unstably along the adhesive/ laminate interface). Crack bridging by fibres was observed. The measured applied moment at steady-state crack growth was compared with predictions based on independent mixed mode fracture resistancemeasurements made on small laboratory specimens. The predicted and measured strength values of the medium-size specimens were found to be in good agreement with each other. Thus, the scaling from small specimens to medium-size specimens was successfullyachieved.

Rensch's rule claims that sexual size dimorphism (SSD) increases with body size when males are larger but decreases with body size when males are smaller. Chinese wood frog Rana chensinensis is a medium-sized species with female-biased size dimorphism. Using data on body size and age in 27 populations covering the full known size range of the species, we tested the consistency of allometric relationships between the sexes with Rensch's rule and evaluated the hypothesis that SSD is largely a function of age differences between the sexes. The results showed that level of female-biased SSD increased with increasing mean size, supporting the inverse of Rensch's rule. Moreover, most of the variation in SSD can be explained in terms of differences in age between the sexes in populations.

In an ultraviolet Free Electron Laser (UV FEL), the electron beam size can be approximately the same as the optical mode size. The performance of a UV FEL is studied including the effect of emittance, betatron focusing, and external focusing of the electron beam on the transverse optical mode. The results are applied to the Industrial Laser Consortium`s UV FEL.

The U.S. mining industry operates approximately 80 semi-autogenesis grinding mills (SAG) throughout the United States. Depending on the mill size the SAG mills draws between 2 MW and 17 MW. The product from the SAG mill is further reduced in size using pe...

Predicting wheat quality is an important goal of the grain industry. Laser diffraction sizing (LDS) was used to measure particle size distributions of wheat flour and isolated starch to determine if the method could be used as a component for predicting end-use quality. Five hard red winter and fi...