Comparison of OR and AI methods in discrete manufacturing using fuzzy logic

Since 1950s the techniques of Operations Research (OR) and Optimization have been utilized to increase the efficiency of the production systems. With the widespread use of computers, it has even become easier to deal with industrial problems. However the complexity of the problems still reveals the difficulty in providing solutions. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) seems to attract the attention of the researcher to overcome to the difficulties. This has already been realized with several successful applications. In this study, the use of AI and OR techniques is compared using fuzzy logic. The progress of manufacturing systems, characteristics of production processes, system managements and system behavior are taken into account. The study is focussed on only discrete manufacturing.     

Modulation of Specific Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptors Augments a Repair Mediating Schwann Cell Phenotype

Transdifferentiation of Schwann cells is essential for functional peripheral nerve regeneration after injury. By activating a repair program, Schwann cells promote functional axonal regeneration and remyelination. However, chronic denervation, aging, metabolic diseases, or chronic inflammatory processes reduce the transdifferentiation capacity and thus diminish peripheral nerve repair. It was recently described that the sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor (S1PR) agonist Fingolimod enhances the Schwann cell repair phenotype by activation of dedifferentiation markers and concomitant release of trophic factors resulting in enhanced neurite growth. Since Fingolimod targets four out of five S1PRs (S1P1, S1P3-5) possibly leading to non-specific adverse effects, identification of the main receptor(s) responsible for the observed phenotypic changes is mandatory for future specific treatment approaches. Our experiments revealed that S1P3 dominates and that along with S1P1 acts as the responsible receptor for Schwann cell transdifferentiation as revealed by the combinatory application of specific agonists and antagonists. Targeting both receptors reduced the expression of myelin-associated genes, increased PDGF-BB representing enhanced trophic factor expression likely to result from c-Jun induction. Furthermore, we demonstrated that S1P4 and S1P5 play only a minor role in the adaptation of the repair phenotype. In conclusion, modulation of S1P1 and S1P3 could be effective to enhance the Schwann cell repair phenotype and thus stimulate proper nerve repair.     

Anticonvulsant activity of furanocoumarins and the essential oil obtained from the fruits of Heracleum crenatifolium

The anticonvulsant activity of furanocoumarins, coumarin mixture and the essential oil obtained from the fruits of Heracleum crenatifolium was examined against maximal electroshock (MES)-induced seizures in mice. Bergapten showed significant anticonvulsant activity. The furanocoumarins isolated from the fruits of the plant were identified using thin-layer chromatography, melting points and spectroscopic methods (IR, MS, ¹H NMR) as isobergapten (1), pimpinellin (2), bergapten (3), isopimpinellin (4), sphondin (5) and byak-angelicol (6). The essential oil content of the fruits were found as 5.5%. Twenty-two compounds representing 99.3% of the essential oil obtained from the fruits of H. crenatifolium were determined and the major components were identified as octanol and octyl acetate (3.1% and 88.4% respectively) by GC and GC–MS.     

Utilization of Whey and Grape Must for Citric Acid Production by Two Yarrowia lipolytica Strains

In this study, utilization of whey and grape must were investigated for citric acid production using Yarrowia lipolytica NBRC 1658 and a domestic strain Y. lipolytica 57. In addition to its use as a sole nutrient source, whey was also fortified with glucose or fructose as well as other nutrients. The best results for citric acid production were obtained in the medium containing whey supplemented with fructose. Maximum citric acid concentrations in this medium were 49.23 and 32.65 g/L for the domestic and NBRC 1658 strains, respectively. In grape must, maximum citric acid concentrations obtained using domestic and NBRC 1658 strains were 32.09 and 10.39 g/L, respectively. Both of the natural nutrient sources were found to be promising for utilization in citric acid production process. A domestic Turkish yeast strain was confirmed to be superior for citric acid production for the first time. This can be targeted for enhancing citric acid production efficiencies from locally available substrates such as whey or grape must.     

Influence of weak organic acids and salts on the denaturation characteristics of intramuscular connective tissue. A differential scanning calorimetry study

Intramuscular connective tissue obtained from Longissimus dorsi muscle of a 4-year-old beef carcass was treated with NaCl solutions of 2, 4, and 6% (w/v), and CaCl₂ solutions of 50, 100, and 150 mM, and citric and lactic acid solutions of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5% for three different marinating periods (24, 46, and 72 h). Changes in denaturation characteristics were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry and it was found that the denaturation onset temperature (T_o) and the denaturation peak temperature (T_p) increased as the NaCl concentration increased but decreased as the CaCl₂ concentration increased, irrespective of marinating time. Lactic and citric acid decreased T_o to about 39°C, from over 60°C breaking the structure of fibrils.     

Influence of graphene doping rate in PVA organic thin film on the performance of Al/p-Si structure

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - To determine which of graphene (Gr) doping ratio (pure, 3–5%) into PVA is better or not, Gr-based PVA organic thin film were grown...     

Comparison of a new algorithm with the supervised classifications

In this study, a new classification algorithm in which only the selected pixels have been attempted to be classified (selected pixels classification: SPC) has been introduced and compared with the well known supervised classification methods such as maximum likelihood, minimum distance, nearest neighbour and condensed nearest neighbour. To examine the algorithm, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data have been used to classify the crop cover in the selected region. It is clearly demonstrated that the SPC method has the higher accuracy with comparable CPU times.     

Multisecret-sharing schemes and bounded distance decoding of linear codes

Error-correcting codes are used to correct errors when messages are transmitted through a noisy communication channel. Bounded distance decoding (i.e. decoding up to the error-correcting capacity) is a method of correcting errors that guarantees unique decoding. Secret sharing is a cryptographic protocol that allows a secret known from a person called the dealer to be distributed to n participants. No single participant knows the secret but some special subsets of participants called coalitions can. In this paper, we present a multisecret-sharing scheme based on an error-correcting code where secret reconstruction is made by using bounded distance decoding of the code. This scheme is ideal in the sense that the size of each secret equals the size of any share. Its security improves on that of multisecret-sharing schemes.     

Effects of pretreatment and various operating parameters on permeate flux and quality during ultrafiltration of apple juice

The central composite design with a quadratic model was used to investigate the effect of temperature (20–40 °C) and transmembrane pressure (TMP) (100–300 kPa) as well as pretreatment with gelatin and bentonite (0:0–300:1500 mg L^?1) on permeate flux and fouling resistance during ultrafiltration of apple juice. The changes in some physicochemical properties were also investigated. Pretreatment of apple juice with gelatin and bentonite and an increase in the temperature and TMP significantly improved the permeate flux. In general, physicochemical properties of apple juice other than polyphenolics were not affected by the applied parameters. Using 150 mg L^?1 of gelatin and 750 mg L^?1 of bentonite for fining significantly reduced the total phenolic content and so did the fouling resistance. Fouling resistance also decreased with increasing temperature, and increasing pressure increased the fouling resistance.