A Simulation Approach to Cost Estimation in the Project Contracting Industry

In the project contracting industry (particularly in Third World and developing economies) one of the basic requirements for a company to produce a bid is an accurate estimate of the overall costs. A typical contract will involve several hundred quotes from different suppliers, and some of the figures will be inherently more risky than others.This paper looks at the effect of component price uncertainties on the overall cost of a project and develops a company-based simulation model to evaluate this. The basic data is derived from the individual expertise existing within the company, and this is statistically tested for consistency.The application of the simulation model is demonstrated, and it is also used to test some simple hypotheses about the existing modus operandi.     

Optical waveguide sensors in analytical chemistry: today’s instrumentation, applications and trends for future development

Current concepts for chemical and biochemical sensing based on detection with optical waveguides are reviewed. The goals are to provide a framework for classifying such sensors and to assist a designer in selecting the most suitable detection techniques and waveguide arrangements. Sensor designs are categorized on the basis of the five parameters that completely describe a light wave: its amplitude, wavelength, phase, polarization state and time-dependent waveform. In the fabrication of a successful sensor, the physical or chemical property of the determined species and the particular light wave parameter to detect it should be selected with care since they jointly dictate the sensitivity, stability, selectivity and accuracy of the eventual measurement. The principle of operation, the nature or the detected optical signal, instrumental requirements for practical applications, and associated problems are analyzed for each category of sensors. Two sorts of sensors are considered: those based on direct spectroscopic detection of the analyte, and those in which the analyte is determined indirectly through use of an analyte-sensitive reagent. Key areas of recent study, useful practical applications, and trends in future development of optical waveguide chemical and biochemical sensors are considered.     

Validated ion-exclusion chromatographic method for citrate and acetate in medical fluids

In this paper we describe the development and validation of a solid-phase extraction procedure, followed by ion-exclusion chromatographic determination of citrate and acetate in medical fluids. The medical fluids contained trace levels of non-polar compounds, which were not of interest for the purposes of assay requirements, but due to their strong affinity towards the ion-exclusion chromatography column necessitated a 180-min long runtime to elute. The developed SPE procedure, based on trapping the hydrophobic compounds, on a reversed-phase material, while allowing analytes of interest elute off unretained, shortened the runtime to 35 min. The procedure is simple since it has only two steps, conditioning of the SPE cartridge with acetonitrile and treating the sample. The SPE procedure followed by ion-exclusion chromatographic determination was successfully validated per the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines in terms of specificity, accuracy as recovery versus untreated sample, precision, range, linearity of response, ruggedness, stability of treated samples, and robustness. The validation data showed that the method is specific, accurate, precise, rugged, and robust. The validated method has been routinely used in the manufacturing environment.     

Properties of Monocarboxy Cellulose Containing Sorbed Fe(III), Al(III), and Cr(III) Cations

Sorption of Fe(III), Al(III), and Cr(III) on monocarboxy cellulose at various pH, concentrations of metal chloride or sulfate in solution, and time was studied. The effect of type and amount of the cation sorbed on the physicomechanical properties, swelling, and stability in phosphate buffer of monocarboxy cellulose fibers was considered.     

Ecdysteroids of a culture of tissues and cells ofAjuga turkestanica

The possibility has been studied of obtaining ecdysteroids — ecdysterone and turkesterone — with the aid of a culture of the tissues and cells of the plantAjuga turkestanica. Conditions have been selected under which the yield of ecdysteroids in the culture of tissues and cells is comparable with amounts of the same substances in the organs of the whole plant.Institute of the Chemistry of Plant Substances, Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR, Tashkent. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 51–52, January–February, 1990.     

The reaction of thiocaprylic acid with methyl thiocyanate

Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 2154–2155, September, 1989.     

Formation of a complex with the anionic quinoid structure in the interaction of 3-(3',5'-di-tert-hutyl-4'-hydroxybenzylidene)- pentanedione-2, 4 with copper(II) acetate

Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 1, pp. 184–185, January, 1994.     

Evaluation of ion chromatography for determination of selected ions in geothermal well water

Ion chromatography is evaluated as a technique for the separation and determination of selected anions (fluoride, chloride, bromide, and sulfate) and cations (lithium. sodium, potassium and ammonium) in geothermal well water samples. The results achieved are compared with those obtained by other methods of analysis in a round-robin test.