The Effect of Run Time on the Inter-Unit Uniformity of Aqueous Film Coating Applied to Glass Beads in a Hi-Coater

Coating experiments were conducted to assess the inter-unit uniformity using individual weight gains of glass beads. Applying more aqueous film coating and prolonging the film-coating process by diluting the coating suspension did improve the coating variability among glass beads. It appears that run time is an important underlying factor which affecting the inter-unit coating uniformity.     

Statistical modeling of device mismatch for analog MOS integratedcircuits

A generalized parameter-level statistical model, called statistical MOS (SMOS), capable of generating statistically significant model decks from intra- and inter-die parameter statistics is described. Calculated model decks preserve the inherent correlations between model parameters while accounting for the dependence of parameter variance on device separation distance and device area. Using a Monte Carlo approach to parameter sampling, circuit output means and standard deviations can be simulated. Incorporated in a CAD environment, these modeling algorithms will provide the analog circuit designer with a method to determine the effect of both circuit layout and device sizing on circuit output variance. Test chips have been fabricated from two different fabrication processes to extract statistical information required by the model. Experimental and simulation results for two analog subcircuits are compared to verify the statistical modeling algorithms     

The analysis of solvation in ionic liquids and organic solvents using the Abraham linear free energy relationship

The contentions made in an earlier paper [J Chem Technol Biotechnol 80 : 133–137 (2005)] that the coefficients of the Abraham solvation equation do not provide meaningful information on the molecular properties of ionic liquid solvents is refuted. The objections noted in the earlier paper disappear when the solvation equation model is correctly applied to the experimental data. It is further shown that the coefficients of the Abraham solvation equations can be used to characterize ionic liquids and can be used to select solvents for the solubility of gaseous solutes. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Assessing the relative priority of projects

Where there are a large number of projects competing for a limited pool of resources, projects have to be assigned priorities to determine which should proceed and which should be curtailed. The traditional economic procedures for assessing the relative priority of projects are reviewed, and alternative methods of ranking projects are suggested, with particular emphasis on methods that are inexpensive and easy to use.     

Smart help for operator performance

Our emphasis in this paper has been on the knowledge-based and cognitive issues pertinent for improved interactions between workers and manufacturing computer systems. We believe that these techniques are as necessary and applicable to manufacturing as to any other vocation, especially as the difference in collar color of shop people becomes less noticeable in their increasing role as knowledge workers.     

A systematic transition to flexible manufacturing

The transition from basic automation to flexible manufacturing is an expensive and tedious procedure. It requires meticulous planning and almost clairvoyant forecasting to insure that the initial flexibility obtained is sufficient to allow growth and expansion in the future. This paper will suggest a systematic and methodological approach to achieve optimal flexibility and describe the present results of its application to an ongoing system transformation.

Conclusions based on existing levels of completion are presented along with identification of critical and non critical flexibility requirements. The considerations and steps taken are summarized in a procedural format which may then be applied to a wide variety of system transformations.     

Using rainbow net simulation to measure fault tolerance in a multiprocessor

The Rainbow net simulation technique is applied to modelling the impact of system load and fault handling on the availability of a fault-tolerant multiprocessor architecture. Rainbow nets are described along with the motivation for creating this modelling technique. A Rainbow net fault-handling model is created for the fault-tolerant multiprocessor architecture and the topology is shown to remain constant in size, independent of the number of processor, memory and I/O elements configured in the system. Simulation is performed with a varying load in terms of the number of active jobs the system must support. Results are given showing how the fault-tolerant capability varies with load. Two new metrics for evaluating fault tolerance are introduced; namely full fault-tolerability and partial fault-tolerability. They are based on simple observations in the model.     

Intelligent structuring and exploration of digital music collections

In this paper we present a general approach to the automatic content-based organization and visualization of large digital music collections. The general methodology consists in extracting musically and perceptually relevant patterns (‘features’) from the given audio recordings (e.g., mp3 files), using topology-preserving data projection methods to map the entire music collection onto two-dimensional visualization planes (possibly in a hierarchical fashion), and using a new display metaphor (the ‘Islands of Music’) to display the inherent structure of the music collection to the user. It is shown how arbitrary meta-data can be integrated into the visualization process, and how similarity according to different viewpoints can be defined and exploited. The basic methodology is briefly described, three prototype systems are presented, and a general discussion of the practical application possibilities of such technologies is offered.     

Targets and methods for the detection of processed animal proteins in animal feedstuffs

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or ‘mad cow disease’, is one of several transmissable spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) known to affect certain mammals and is spread through the ingestion of infected animal tissue. It is believed that the inadvertent contamination of meat and bone meal (MBM) with infected animal tissue and the subsequent use of this material as a feed supplement contributed to the spread of the disease in cattle. As a result, the use of processed animal proteins (PAPs) in animal feeds is regulated in many parts of the world. Although feed testing is the only definitive means to certify compliance, regulatory compliance often relies solely on paper certification. Recently, rapid methods have become available that can be used by regulators to determine compliance during routine inspections. We describe a rapid, immunochromatographic strip test that can detect 0.1% MBM in animal feed. The test takes 15 min to perform and large numbers of samples can be screened for PAPs simultaneously.