A quality and cost approach for welding process selection

The aim of this work was to propose, apply and evaluate a methodical approach to select welding processes in a productive environment based on market requirements of Quality and Costs. A case study was used. The welds were carried out in laboratory, simulating the joint conditions of a manufacturer and using several welding processes: SMAW, GTAW, pulsed GTAW, GMAW with CO2 and Ar based shielding gases and pulsed GMAW. For Quality analysis geometrical aspects of the beads were considered and for Cost analysis, welding parameters and consumable prices. Quantitative indices were proposed and evaluated. After that, evaluation of both Quality and Costs was done, showing to be possible to select the most suitable welding process to a specific application, taking into account the market conditions of a company.

Defect analysis of semiconductor thin films for photovoltaic applications using photo-luminescence and photo-conductivity

The present thesis can be divided into three areas:1) the fabrication of a low temperature photo-luminescence and photoconductivity measuring unit 2) photo-luminescence in the chalcopyrite CulnSez and CulnS2 system for defect and composition analysis and 3) photo-luminescence and photo-conductivity of In:JS3. This thesis shows that photo-luminescence is one of most essential semiconductor characterization tool for a scientific group working on photovoltaics. Tools which can be robust, non-destructive, requiring minimal sample preparation for analysis and most informative of the device applications are sought after by industries and this thesis is towards establishing photo-luminescence as "THE" tool for semiconductor characterization. The possible application of photo-luminescence as a tool for compositional and quality analysis of semiconductor thin films has been worked upon by this thesis. Photo-conductivity complement photo-luminescence and together they provide all the information required for the fabrication of an opto-electronic device.

Effect of citrus sudden death on yield and quality of sweet orange cultivars in Brazil

Citrus sudden death (CSD) has greatly affected sweet orange cultivars grafted on Rangpur lime in São Paulo and Minas Gerais States, Brazil. To characterize and quantify CSD damage, fruit yield and quality were assessed in each combination of sweet orange cultivar (Hamlin, Pera, Natal, and Valencia), age class (3 to 5, 6 to 10, and 11 to 15 years old), and CSD severity class (0 = no symptom, 1 = initial symptoms, and 2 = severe symptoms). For each combination, 10 trees were harvested and 20 fruit were taken for quality analysis. Damage was characterized by reduc_ tion of: (i) total weight of fruit/tree (36 and 67% for severity class 1 and 2, respectively), (ii) number of fruit/tree (27 and 55%), (iii) fruit size (13 and 25% in diameter and height [stem to styler distance]), (iv) fruit weight (32 and 56%), (v) total soluble solids (TSS)/fruit (18 and 42%), and increase of (vi) Brix (14 and 34%), (vii) acidity (16 and 41%), and (viii) TSS/90-1b. box (21 and 33%). There was no alteration on Brix/acidity ratio and percentage of juice on fruit of affected trees. Sweet orange cultivars did not differ in percentage of reduction or increase of all yield and quality variables, with the exception of Pera, which expressed increases of Brix and acidity. For more severe affected trees, the youngest plants showed a higher reduction in fruit number/tree, whereas plants 6 to 10 years old showed a higher increase in fruit acidity and TSS/box. However, no differences in percentage of reduction or increase for other variables were observed among different age classes. The damage to the above probably was associated with reduced water absorption capacity of CSD-affected trees.

Extended depth from focus reconstruction using NIH ImageJ plugins: Quality and resolution of elevation maps

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Quality in anthurium andraeanum after postharvest BAP treatment

To ensure the ongoing quality of anthurium inflorescence it is necessary to use postharvest treatments aimed at extending the vase life and delaying senescence. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the effect of postharvest spray application of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) in anthurium quality and sugar levels. Two experiments were done, one where inflorescences were sprayed 0, 100 and 200 mg L-1 of BAP and kept under 23±1°C and relative humidity of 65±5% for evaluations, and in the second experiment BAP concentrations were reduced to 0, 50 and 100 mg L-1 and inflorescences were cold stored for 2 days at 13±1°C and then transferred to the same evaluation conditions from the first experiment. Quality assessments were performed according to Paull (1982) for spathe loss of gloss and blueing and spadix necrosis along with stem weighting for fresh weight (FW) variation every two days. In the first experiment FW loss was significantly lower from the 14th until 26th day after harvest. Anthurium sprayed with 100 and 200 mg L-1 showed significantly less fresh weight loss when compared to control stems and in the second experiment 50 and 100 mg L-1 did not reduce fresh weight loss. Means of scores from quality analysis, blueing and loss of gloss of spathes and spadix necrosis, were significantly lower in BAP sprayed anthurium (100 and 200 mg L-1) than in control flowers and by lowering BAP spray concentration and cold storing stems for two days this positive effect was only observed for spadix necrosis and not observed for spathe parameters.

Intraoral distalizer effects with conventional and skeletal Anchorage: a meta-analysis

Introduction: The aims of this meta-analysis were to quantify and to compare the amounts of distalization and anchorage loss of conventional and skeletal anchorage methods in the correction of Class II malocclusion with intraoral distalizers. Methods: The literature was searched through 5 electronic databases, and inclusion criteria were applied. Articles that presented pretreatment and posttreatment cephalometric values were preferred. Quality assessments of the studies were performed. The averages and standard deviations of molar and premolar effects were extracted from the studies to perform a meta-analysis. Results: After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 40 studies were included in the systematic review. After the quality analysis, 2 articles were classified as high quality, 27 as medium quality, and 11 as low quality. For the meta-analysis, 6 studies were included, and they showed average molar distalization amounts of 3.34 mm with conventional anchorage and 5.10 mm with skeletal anchorage. The meta-analysis of premolar movement showed estimates of combined effects of 2.30 mm (mesialization) in studies with conventional anchorage and 4.01 mm (distalization) in studies with skeletal anchorage. Conclusions: There was scientific evidence that both anchorage systems are effective for distalization; however, with skeletal anchorage, there was no anchorage loss when direct anchorage was used.

Quality of experience in skype video calls

Skype is one of the well-known applications that has guided the evolution of real-time video streaming and has become one of the most used software in everyday life. It provides VoIP audio/video calls as well as messaging chat and file transfer. Many versions are available covering all the principal operating systems like Windows, Macintosh and Linux but also mobile systems. Voice quality decreed Skype success since its birth in 2003 and peer-to-peer architecture has allowed worldwide diffusion. After video call introduction in 2006 Skype became a complete solution to communicate between two or more people. As a primarily video conferencing application, Skype assumes certain characteristics of the delivered video to optimize its perceived quality. However in the last years, and with the recent release of SkypeKit1, many new Skype video-enabled devices came out especially in the mobile world. This forced a change to the traditional recording, streaming and receiving settings allowing for a wide range of network and content dynamics. Video calls are not anymore based on static ‘chatting’ but mobile devices have opened new possibilities and can be used in several scenarios. For instance, lecture streaming or one-to-one mobile video conferences exhibit more dynamics as both caller and callee might be on move. Most of these cases are different from “head&shoulder” only content. Therefore, Skype needs to optimize its video streaming engine to cover more video types. Heterogeneous connections require different behaviors and solutions and Skype must face with this variety to maintain a certain quality independently from connection used. Part of the present work will be focused on analyzing Skype behavior depending on video content. Since Skype protocol is proprietary most of the studies so far have tried to characterize its traffic and to reverse engineer its protocol. However, questions related to the behavior of Skype, especially on quality as perceived by users, remain unanswered. We will study Skype video codecs capabilities and video quality assessment. Another motivation of our work is the design of a mechanism that estimates the perceived cost of network conditions on Skype video delivery. To this extent we will try to assess in an objective way the impact of network impairments on the perceived quality of a Skype video call. Traditional video streaming schemes lack the necessary flexibility and adaptivity that Skype tries to achieve at the edge of a network. Our contribution will lye on a testbed and consequent objective video quality analysis that we will carry out on input videos. We will stream raw video files with Skype via an impaired channel and then we will record it at the receiver side to analyze with objective quality of experience metrics.

Advanced predictive quality control strategy involving different facilities

There are many industries that use highly technological solutions to improve quality in all of their products. The steel industry is one example. Several automatic surface-inspection systems are used in the steel industry to identify various types of defects and to help operators decide whether to accept, reroute, or downgrade the material, subject to the assessment process. This paper focuses on promoting a strategy that considers all defects in an integrated fashion. It does this by managing the uncertainty about the exact position of a defect due to different process conditions by means of Gaussian additive influence functions. The relevance of the approach is in making possible consistency and reliability between surface inspection systems. The results obtained are an increase in confidence in the automatic inspection system and an ability to introduce improved prediction and advanced routing models. The prediction is provided to technical operators to help them in their decision-making process. It shows the increase in improvement gained by reducing the 40 % of coils that are downgraded at the hot strip mill because of specific defects. In addition, this technology facilitates an increase of 50 % in the accuracy of the estimate of defect survival after the cleaning facility in comparison to the former approach. The proposed technology is implemented by means of software-based, multi-agent solutions. It makes possible the independent treatment of information, presentation, quality analysis, and other relevant functions.

Monitoring treatment of vocal fold paralysis by biomechanical analysis of voice

A case study of vocal fold paralysis treatment is described with the help of the voice quality analysis application BioMet®Phon. The case corresponds to a description of a 40 - year old female patient who was diagnosed of vocal fold paralysis following a cardio - pulmonar intervention which required intubation for 8 days and posterior tracheotomy for 15 days. The patient presented breathy and asthenic phon ation, and dysphagia. Six main examinations were conducted during a full year period that the treatment lasted consisting in periodic reviews including video - endostroboscopy, voice analysis and breathing function monitoring. The phoniatrician treatment inc luded 20 sessions of vocal rehabilitation, followed by an intracordal infiltration with Radiesse 8 months after the rehabilitation treatment started followed by 6 sessions of rehabilitation more. The videondoscopy and the voicing quality analysis refer a s ubstantial improvement in the vocal function with recovery in all the measures estimated (jitter, shimmer, mucosal wave contents, glottal closure, harmonic contents and biomechanical function analysis). The paper refers the procedure followed and the results obtained by comparing the longitudinal progression of the treatment, illustrating the utility of voice quality analysis tools in speech therapy.

Analysis of adsorption of gases and vapors on nonporous graphitized thermal carbon black

In this paper we analyzed the adsorption of a large number of gases and vapors on graphitized thermal carbon black. The Henry constant was used to determine the adsorbate-adsorbent interaction energy, which is found to be a modest decreasing function of temperature. Analysis of the complete adsorption isotherm over a wider range of pressure yields information on the monolayer coverage concentration and the adsorbate-adsorbate interaction energy. Among the various equations tested, the Hill-de Boer equation accounting for BET-postulated multilayer formation describes well the adsorption isotherms of all adsorbates. On average, the adsorbate-adsorbate interaction energy in the adsorbed phase is less than that in the bulk phase, suggesting that the distance between adsorbed molecules in the first layer of the adsorbed phase is slightly less than the equilibrium distance between two adsorbate molecules in the bulk phase. This suggests that the first layer is in a compressed state, which is due to the attraction of the adsorbent surface. The monolayer concentration as determined from the fitting of the Hill-de Boer equation with experimental data is slightly larger than the values calculated from the molecular projection area, suggesting that molecules can be oriented such that a larger number of molecules can be accommodated on the carbon black surface. This further supports the shorter distance between adsorbate molecules in the adsorbed phase.

Auditoria energética e da QAI no âmbito do SCE de um edifício de serviços

Este trabalho foi realizado no âmbito da disciplina de Dissertação/Estágio do ramo de Optimização Energética na Indústria Química, do Mestrado em Engenharia Química do Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto e foi desenvolvido na empresa GreenWatt. O principal objectivo é efectuar uma auditoria energética e uma auditoria QAI a uma clínica de fisiatria de forma a preparar as ferramentas necessárias para a Certificação Energética e da QAI no enquadramento do Sistema de Certificação Energética. Na auditoria QAI foram analisados parâmetros físicos - temperatura, humidade relativa e partículas respiráveis PM10, parâmetros químicos - CO2, CO, O3, COVs, HCOH e o radão, e ainda parâmetros microbiológicos - bactérias, fungos e legionella. Na auditoria energética foi feita a caracterização dos vectores de energia utilizados no edifício, nomeadamente, gás natural e electricidade. Para esta caracterização efectuou-se um levantamento de toda a informação disponível relativa aos combustíveis utilizados, iluminação instalada, outros equipamentos consumidores de energia e perfis de utilização. Com recurso a analisadores de energia foram ainda medidos os consumos eléctricos do edifício. Com suporte nos dados provenientes da auditoria energética e das facturas anuais efectuou-se a validação da simulação dinâmica do edifício. Esta simulação é a base do cálculo do IEEnominal do edifício. Os resultados da auditoria QAI, permitiram verificar que existem valores nãoregulamentares em relação aos compostos orgânicos voláteis, fungos e bactérias. Da auditoria energética concluiu-se que o principal consumo de energia é o gás natural utilizado pelas caldeiras existentes. Este valor representa cerca de 81% do consumo total de energia, reproduzindo os mesmos resultados obtidos pela desagregação das facturas energéticas. No que respeita à electricidade concluiu-se que as bombas de água e os equipamentos eléctricos são os maiores consumidores deste vector, com, respectivamente, 53% e 23% do consumo total de energia eléctrica. Após a realização da simulação dinâmica, com base nos levantamentos realizados no edifício e na auditoria energética efectuada, obteve-se uma fotografia do edifício no que respeita ao seu desempenho energético, e calculou-se um IEEnominal de 40,54 kgep/m2.ano o que qualifica o edifício com uma Classe Energética E. O valor de CO2 emitido por este edifício em termos nominais, anualmente, é de 76,39 toneladas.

Utilização de bioensaios e marcadores moleculares para detecção da resistência de coleópteros de produtos armazenados a inseticidas

The qualitative and quantitative losses caused by stored product insects are of great concern, and since there is only a few active ingredients available for their control it is very important to have a frequent insect resistance monitoring. The objective of this research is to evaluate combination of bioassays and molecular marker techniques to detect insecticide resistance in stored product beetles. The Coleoptera species used for the tests were Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Curculionidae), Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Bostrichidae) and Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) (Silvanidae). For the bioassays it was used the impregnated filter paper technique, applying 1 mL of deltamethrin (K-Obiol 25 CE TM) using four concentrations and five replicates, including a control with solvent only. Ten adults of each species were liberated separately on each dish. The mortality was evaluated after 24 h and resistance determined by probit analysis. The samples used for the PCR-RAPD were either in vivo or preserved in 70% ethanol, kept in -18°C freezer. After extraction, quantification and DNA quality analysis, the 25 µL samples had the DNA amplified and tested with six primers. The bioassays showed a crescent mortality proportional to insecticide concentration. The resistance factor for R. dominica, S. zeamais and S. oryzae were: 2,2; 3,2 and 9,2, respectively, compared to the susceptible populations of each species. The PCR-RAPD analysis revealed bands which indicate inter and intraspecific variability in the populations, but it was not possible to correlate them to resistance. The association of bioassay and PCR-RAPD represents a precise and valuable tool for resistance management of stored product insects, but more populations and primers should be tested.

Hakevirrasta otettavan näytteen luotettavuus ja näytteenottimen kehittäminen

Työn tavoitteena oli saada tietoa yleisesti partikkelivirtauksessa tapahtuvasta näytteenotosta ja näytteenottomenetelmistä. Työssä tutkittiin UPM-Kymmenen Kaukaan tehtaan nykyisen ostohakkeen automaattisen näytteenottimen toimintaa sekä sen ottamien näytteiden luotettavuutta kokeellisesti ja tilastollisesti. Lopuksi tutkimuksessa ideoitiin uusi näytteenottimen konstruktio. Uuden konstruktion suunnittelun lähtökohtana oli, että näytteenottimen konstruktiolla tulisi voida ottaa toistuvasti ja turvallisesti luotettavia hakenäytteitä aiheuttamatta muulle vastaanottoaseman toiminnalle häiriöitä Tutkimusta varten tehtiin eri haketoimittajien kanssa koenäytteenottoja. Hakenäytteet otettiin kolmessa eri haketoimituksen vaiheessa niiden keskinäistä vertailua varten. Hakenäytteistä määritettiin kuiva-ainepitoisuus ja laatuanalyysin tekoa varten palakokojakauma koeseulonnoilla. Palakokojakauma-analyysistä saatuja jakaumapainoprosenttiosuuksien ja niistä laskettujen laatuarvojen pohjalta tutkittiin automaattisen näytteenottimen ottaman näytteen luotettavuutta ja näytteenottimen toimintaa. Konstruointityössä noudatettiin pääpiirteittäin ohjeistoa VDI 2221. Uuden näytteenottimen suunnittelutyön tavoitteet määriteltiin tutkimuksessa tehtyjen päätelmien ja kokeiden pohjalta. Uudelle näytteenottimen konstruktiolle etsittiin toteutuskelpoisia ratkaisuja jo olemassa olevista laitteistoista ja uusista ideoista. Uudet konstruktiovaihtoehdot suunniteltiin noudattamaan näytteenottoteoriaa ja sijoituspaikan asettamia vaatimuksia.

Síntese e controle de qualidade da ureia enriquecida em 13C para diagnóstico da Helicobacterpylori (HP)

The aim of the study was to synthesize the urea (13CO(NH2)2), with 99% 13C atoms, and to perform a quality analysis for the diagnosis (breath test) of Helicobacter pylori. Furthermore, the process was submitted to economic analysis. The reaction was performed in a stainless steel reactor, lined with polytetrafluoroethylene, under low pressure and temperature. The synthesis method was shown to be appropriate (2.35 g; 81.9% yield), evidenced by physico-chemical and microbiological results, according to Brazilian legislation. The production and diagnosis costs were competitive compared with national and international market values, rendering this a valuable tool in clinical medicine.

Hydrogeology,Stratigraphy and evolution of the Palaeo-Lagoon (kole land basin ) in the central Kerala coast, India

The present investigation on " Hydrology, stratigraphy, and evolution of the palaeo-lagoon (Koleland basin)in the Central Kerala coast, India" is an integrated approach based on hydrogeological,geophysical,hydrochemical and stratigraphic aspects.A strong scientific data base of the study area is generated using interpretation of well observation and water quality analysis. The salient findings of the present study are given to provide a holistic picture on the hydrogeology (including groundwater resource and its quality),stratigraphy and evolution of the palaeo-lagoon