Volume contents

Volume Contents

Volume contents     

Improving R&D processes by an ISO 9001-based Quality Management System

This paper presents practical experience in planning, implementing, and adopting a Quality Management System (QMS) for embedded systems development at VTT Electronics. The main objective for the development of the QMS was to make it practical for real-life embedded systems research and development (R&D) projects. We have applied the ISO 9001 standard and ISO 9000–3 guidelines in building the quality system. From our personnel's point of view, the most important parts of the system have been document skeletons and plan templates that were made accessible to everyone. One of the major quality improvement resulting from the use of the QMS has been the enhanced predictability of R&D projects. This makes it possible for the organization to concentrate on essential matters. From our clients' point of view, we have clearly improved the quality of our R&D services in terms of the customer satisfaction index. Based on QMS auditing activities, we have been able to evaluate and tune our R&D procedures in a systematic manner. We have decided to use Total Quality Management and Quality Award frameworks in the further development of the QMS. Customer service and human resources management are examples of important areas for further quality improvement.     

Development of hyperbetalipoproteinemia in pigs fed atherogenic diet

Hormel miniature pigs were studied over a period of 24 weeks to observe the changes in serum lipoprotein pattern, cholesteryl ester, free cholesterol, and triglyceride in the atherogenic-fed pigs. These pigs were compared to age-related control animals in our breeding herd. Pigs fed the atherogenic diet (20% tallow, 3% cholesterol, and a bile supplement) exhibited a heterogeneous response but showed mean increases in cholesteryl ester (571 mg/dl) and free cholesterol (226 mg/dl), a slight increase in triglyceride (58 mg/dl), and a severe hyperbetalipoproteinemia. Three animals with the highest cholesteryl ester (all above 600 mg/dl) had resolvable beta components in their 1.006 g/ml very low density lipoprotein fraction (type III), as well as huge increases in the Sf 12-20 low density lipoprotein fraction. The other four animals had substantial increases in Sf 0-20, and the three highest had much of their low density lipoprotein in the Sf 12-20, or "remnant" fraction. The test pigs all showed gross lesions in the aorta with an increase in cholesteryl ester and free cholesterol in the tissue as compared with control animals.     

Screening for novel essential genes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae involved in protein secretion

We describe here a screening procedure devised for searching new genes involved in protein secretion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The screening procedure takes advantage of yeast strains constructed within the EUROFAN project, in which the promoters of the novel essential genes were replaced by the doxycycline-regulated tetO(7)-CYC1 promoter. This promoter is active in normal growth medium but results in downregulation of the gene in the presence of doxycycline. The yeast cells were grown in the presence or absence of doxycycline, and both the growth and secretion of the heat shock protein, Hsp150p, into the culture medium were determined. In seven strains there was a specific effect on protein secretion. In a strain in which the RPN5 gene was downregulated, the level of secreted Hsp150p was increased compared to the control culture. When RER2 was downregulated, cells secreted Hsp150p that was not of the mature size. In five strains, secretion was more severely reduced than cell growth. One of these downregulated genes, YGL098w, was recently reported to encode an ER-located t-SNARE, USE1. Four of the genes detected, NOG2, NOP15, RRP40 and SDA1, encode proteins involved in ribosome assembly, suggesting a possible new signalling pathway between ribosome biogenesis and production of secreted proteins. The results obtained here indicate that the present screen could be successfully used in larger scale to identify novel secretion-related genes.     

Visualization of a pharmaceutical unit operation: wet granulation

Recent developments in the field of process engineering and manufacturing sciences enable a new level of process understanding. However, extracting this understanding from increasing amounts of information is challenging. The aim of this study was to create a process vector from a model process describing all relevant information and, by that means, create a tool for combining and visualizing this information. Physical (impeller torque and temperature) and chemical (near-infrared spectroscopy) information from a small-scale high-shear granulation was used in the process vector. The vectors created were visualized by two different methods: principal component analysis (PCA) and the self-organizing map (SOM). None of the individual measurement techniques were able to describe the state of the process alone, although they provided important information about the process. By combining the data and visualizing it, an overview could be achieved. The SOM approach had two advantages over the PCA: it presented the results in terms of the original variables and enabled the analysis of nonlinear responses. However, both visualization methods could be used to describe the progress of the process and to increase the level of process understanding.     

Height, weight and menarche in Swedish urban school children in relation to socio-economic and regional factors

During the period 1964-1973, a defined sample of 740 Swedish urban school children (360 girls and 380 boys) from 40 different urban areas all over the country were followed longitudinally. Height and weight were measured twice a year and age at menarche was recorded. Mean ages at peak height velocity (PHV) and peak weight velocity (PWV) were 11-91 years (SD 0-95) and 12-50 years (SD 1-08) for girls with average values of 8-30 cm/year (SD 1-32) and 7-37 kg/year (SD 1-94). Mean age at menarche was 13-05 years (SD 1-03). PHV and PWV in boys occurred on average at 14-09 years (SD 1-11) and 14-30 years (SD 1-11) with magnitudes of 9-84 cm/year (SD 1-40) and 9-07 kg/year (SD 2-04). No significant differences between socio-economic strata defined by father's occupation and family income were found either for height and weight or for ages at PHV, PWV and menarche. Girls but not boys in the lowest social group (III) had more weight for height during puberty than had girls in social groups I and II. Between the three main geographical regions of Sweden some differences were found. Boys in the South were at the ages of 17 and 18 on average heavier than boys from the rest of the country. Boys and girls in the South had PHV, PWV and menarche half a year later than children in Middle Sweden. In analysis of variance for age at PHV significant interaction terms were found for regions times urbanization. In the South and North age at PHV was earlier the higher the urbanization level, but in Middle Sweden the reverse occurred.     

Irradiation testing of design models for the GCFR fuel pressure equalization (vent) system

The major consideration in the design of the pressure equalization system for the gas-cooled fast breeder reactor is the release and venting of gaseous and volatile fission products. Single vented rods have been irradiated in the thermal flux of the Oak Ridge Research Reactor (ORR) at GCFR operating conditions of 12–15 kW/ft and 565–685°C cladding outside temperature to determine the fission product release and to verify the design concept. Results obtained to date from measurements of fission gas release and transport have been compared with predictions based on design assumptions to verify analytical models and have established a degree of conservatism of design assumptions.The release of radioactive gases from the fuel matrix was measured directly at 12 kW/ft in an operating fuel rod and was found to be significantly less than the design assumption of 100% instantaneous release and less than predictions using the diffusion model with Findlay's coefficients. Although solid state diffusion was found to be the dominant process delaying the venting of fission gases in the experimental irradiation, fission gas interdiffusion in helium will be the dominant venting transport process for the reactor design. Delay of fission gases by adsorption on charcoal was verified at trap operating temperatures for burn-ups up to 54 000 MWd/t. Volatile fission products (cesium and iodine) did not migrate beyond the fuel-blanket interface. The feasibility of the vented-fuel-rod design concept has been established.     

Ligand distributions in agarose particles as determined by confocal Raman spectroscopy and confocal scanning laser microscopy

Confocal Raman spectroscopy and confocal scanning laser microscopy have been used to analyze ligand distributions within individual chromatographic adsorbent particles. Three different types of particles have been investigated. The first type was synthesized to have a uniform distribution of allyl groups, whereas the two others were designed to have a surface layer of sulphopropyl groups and cores containing allyl groups and dextran, respectively. With confocal Raman spectroscopy it was possible to follow the distribution of both the surface layer and the interior. The distribution of sulphopropyl groups was evaluated with both confocal scanning laser microscopy and confocal Raman spectroscopy, whereas the distributions of allyl groups and dextran were evaluated only with the latter method. The results from the confocal measurements showed the expected result with a uniform distribution of allyl groups in the first type of particle and surface layers of sulphopropyl groups and cores with dextran or allyl groups for the two others.