A case study of modelling preventive maintenance of a production plant using subjective data

In this paper we describe a subjective data based case study carried out at a company manufacturing copper products, which parallels a previously published objective data based study at the same plant. The purpose of this study is twofold. The first is to model the implementation of Planned Preventive Maintenance (PM) to an Extrusion Press using the delay time concept. The second is to test a method for estimation of model parameters from subjective data in the context of delay time modelling. The parameter values of the underlying fault arrival process and the delay time distribution were, unlike in a parallel objective study, initially estimated from subjective data obtained through a questionnaire survey. Since bias was present in the initial subjective estimate, a method of removing it was developed to improve the model fit. On the basis of the data analysis and delay time modelling, improved PM policy and procedures were proposed to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of PM.     

The Role of Epigenetic Functionalization of Implants and Biomaterials in Osseointegration and Bone Regeneration—A Review

The contribution of epigenetic mechanisms as a potential treatment model has been observed in cancer and autoimmune/inflammatory diseases. This review aims to put forward the epigenetic mechanisms as a promising strategy in implant surface functionalization and modification of biomaterials, to promote better osseointegration and bone regeneration, and could be applicable for alveolar bone regeneration and osseointegration in the future. Materials and Methods: Electronic and manual searches of the literature in PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE were conducted, using a specific search strategy limited to publications in the last 5 years to identify preclinical studies in order to address the following focused questions: (i) Which, if any, are the epigenetic mechanisms used to functionalize implant surfaces to achieve better osseointegration? (ii) Which, if any, are the epigenetic mechanisms used to functionalize biomaterials to achieve better bone regeneration? Results: Findings from several studies have emphasized the role of miRNAs in functionalizing implants surfaces and biomaterials to promote osseointegration and bone regeneration, respectively. However, there are scarce data on the role of DNA methylation and histone modifications for these specific applications, despite being commonly applied in cancer research. Conclusions: Studies over the past few years have demonstrated that biomaterials are immunomodulatory rather than inert materials. In this context, epigenetics can act as next generation of advanced treatment tools for future regenerative techniques. Yet, there is a need to evaluate the efficacy/cost effectiveness of these techniques in comparison to current standards of care.     

Preparation and characterization of double metal-silica sorbent for gas filtration

This paper presents the preparation of a porous (Mg, Ca) silicate structure, which could be employed as sorbent filter media. The sorbents have been prepared using sodium silicate precipitated with various ratios of magnesium and calcium salts. The sorbents obtained were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and nitrogen physisorption isotherm. Further, the applicability and performance of the sorbent impregnate with potassium hydroxide for removal of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) has been demonstrated. From the isotherms, specific surface area, pore diameter and volume of pores were estimated. Results show that the chemical composition and textural properties of the resultant sorbents were highly dependent on Mg/Ca molar ratio. It was found that sorbents made with 68 mol% Mg and 32 mol% Ca (PSS-MgCa-68/32); and 75 mol% Mg and 25 mol% Ca (PSS-MgCa-75/25) exhibited even higher specific surface area and pore volume than the sorbents containing a single metal. The Mg/Ca-silica sorbents obtained contains interconnected bimodal porosity with large portions being mesopores of varied sizes. The pore size distribution (PSD) results further indicate that PSS-MgCa-68/32 sorbent exhibits wide PSD of interconnected pores in the size range of 1 to 32 nm while PSS-MgCa-50/50 and PSS-MgCa-75/25 exhibits narrow PSD of 1 to 5 nm. Using SO₂ as model contaminate gas, it was shown that the dynamic adsorption performance of the PSS-MgCa-sorbents impregnated with 8 wt% KOH exhibits SO₂ uptake, with impregnated PSS-MgCa-68/32 showing better performance. This shows that the materials prepared can be used as adsorbent for gas filtration.     

Supramolecular Hierarchy among Halogen‐Bond Donors

Through a combination of structural chemistry, vibrational spectroscopy, and theory, we have systematically examined the relative structure‐directing importance of a series of ditopic halogen‐bond (XB) donors. The molecular electrostatic potential surfaces of six XB donors were evaluated, which allowed for a charge‐based ranking. Each molecule was then co‐crystallized with 21 XB acceptors and the results have made it possible to map out the supramolecular landscape describing the competition between I/Br–ethynyl donors, perfluorinated I/Br donors, and I/Br–phenyl based donors. The results offer practical guidelines for synthetic crystal engineering driven by robust and directional halogen bonds.     

AFM surface force measurements conducted with silica in CnTACl solutions: Effect of chain length on hydrophobic force

Surface forces were measured using an AFM with silica surfaces immersed in C_nTACl (n = 12–18) solutions in the absence of added salt. The results showed long-range attractive forces that cannot be explained by the DLVO theory. The long-range attractions increased with increasing surfactant concentration, reaching a maximum at the point of charge neutralization (p.c.n.) and then decreased. The long-range forces decayed exponentially, with the decay lengths increasing from 3 to 32 nm as the chain length of the surfactants increased from C-12 to C-18. The measured forces can be fitted to the charged-patch model of Miklavic et al. [S.J. Miklavic, D.Y.C. Chan, L.R. White, T.W. Healy, J. Phys. Chem. 98 (1994) 9022–9032] by assuming patch sizes that are much larger than the values reported in the literature.

It was found that the decay length decreases linearly with the effective concentration of the CH₂/CH₃ groups of the C_nTACl homologues raised to the power of −1/2, which is in line with the Eriksson et al.'s hydrophobic force model derived using a mean-field approach. It appears, therefore, that the long-range attractions observed in the present work are hydrophobic forces originating from changes in water structure across the thin surfactant solution film between the silica surfaces. It is conceivable that hydrocarbon chains in solution disrupt the surface-induced water structure and cause a decrease in hydrophobic force. This observation may also provide an explanation for the very long-range forces observed with silylated, LB-deposited, and thiol-coated surfaces.     

Modelling the Quality of Automatic Quality Checks

The paper addresses the problem of assessing the accuracy and utility of automatic quality tests used in high-speed production. A method is proposed for estimating the probabilities that the production process produces a product which is defective, that non-defective product will pass the test, and that a defective product fails the test. Data for printed circuit manufacture are used to demonstrate the method. Models of the effectiveness of various product testing procedures are investigated, the expected net profit is calculated and the probability of dispatching a defective product to a customer assessed.     

Stark-selected beam of ground-state OCS molecules characterized by revivals of impulsive alignment

We make use of an inhomogeneous electrostatic dipole field to impart a quantum-state-dependent deflection to a pulsed beam of OCS molecules, and show that those molecules residing in the absolute ground state, X(1)Σ(+), |00(0)0>, J = 0, can be separated out by selecting the most deflected part of the molecular beam. Past the deflector, we irradiate the molecular beam by a linearly polarized pulsed nonresonant laser beam that impulsively aligns the OCS molecules. Their alignment, monitored via velocity-map imaging, is measured as a function of time, and the time dependence of the alignment is used to determine the quantum state composition of the beam. We find significant enhancements of the alignment ( = 0.84) and of state purity (>92%) for a state-selected, deflected beam compared with an undeflected beam.     

Halogen bonding or close packing? Examining the structural landscape in a series of Cu(II)-acac complexes

A series of four bifunctional ligands based on β-diketonate moieties bearing methyl (2), chloro (3), bromo (4) and iodo (5) substituents and their corresponding Cu(II) complexes have been synthesized and crystallographically characterized in order to explore the possibility of using halogen bonds for the directed assembly of predictable architectures in coordination chemistry. The four ligands have characteristic O-H···O intramolecular hydrogen bonds and the structure of ligand 2 is close packed whereas, ligands 3, 4 and 5 contain extended 1-D architectures based on C=O···X halogen bonds. In each case, the halogen-bond donor seeks out the most powerful halogen-bond acceptor (based on electrostatic considerations). In the corresponding Cu(II) complexes the coordination chemistry remains a constant throughout the series, the four-coordinate metal ion sits in a slightly distorted square-planar arrangement, and there are no unexpected appearances of coordinated or non-coordinated solvent molecules. Furthermore, the most powerful halogen-bond acceptors have been almost depleted of charge as a result of metal chelation and none of the potential halogen-bond interactions are capable of competing with the head-to-head close packing that is observed in the methyl, chloro, and bromo, substituted Cu(II) complexes. The enhanced polarizability of the iodine atom, produces a more electropositive surface which means that this structure cannot accommodate a linear head-to-head arrangement due to electrostatic repulsion, and thus [Cu(5)(2)] adopts a unique close-packed structure very different from the other three iso-structural complexes, [Cu(2)(2)]-[Cu(4)(2)].