3,334 research outputs found
Methodology and theory evaluation of overall equipment effectiveness based on market
No full textPurpose - Continuous manufacturing systems used within the steel industry involve different machines and processes that are arranged in a sequence of operations in order to manufacture the products. The steel industry is generally a capital-intensive industry and, because of high capital investment, the utilisation of equipment as effectively as possible is of high priority. This paper seeks to illustrate a new method, overall equipment effectiveness market-based (OEE-MB) for the precise calculation of equipment effectiveness for full process cycle in order to respond to the steel market. Design/methodology/approach - A refinement of the existing concept of OEE is developed based on a new scheme for loss analysis within market time. The paper illustrates the concept with a case study based on compact strip manufacturing processes within the steel industry. Findings - While the results for OEE by ignoring a considerable amount of possible hidden losses might be satisfying, the OEE-MB report shows potential room for improvement. It reflects changes in both the internal and external market for the steel industry, and therefore provides a tool not only for monitoring but also for managing improvement. Practical implications - OEE-MB is an applicable method for the precise calculation of equipment effectiveness that provides a sound perspective on improvement of steel plants by taking into consideration all losses within market time for meeting both internal and external demands. Originality/value - OEE-MB monitors production and measures the equipment effectiveness for full process cycle in order to meet the market. It makes communication more efficient and easier within the steel industry and may be used as a benchmark to achieve world-class standard
Safer pregnancies for all in rural India
No full textA mother's access to antenatal care, between conception and birth, is crucial to a healthy birth. In parts of India, many women are not using antenatal services despite government and NGO efforts to improve services. Extending the role of nurses and midwives, and providing more care within communities are key to increasing access to care and limiting pressure on local services.Researchers from ‘Opportunities and Choices’ programme at the University of Southampton, UK, drew on data on 11,369 women of reproductive age from the Indian states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in the 1998-99 Indian National Family Health Survey. The researchers examined the factors associated with the use of antenatal care facilities in rural areas, and with access to specific components of antenatal care. They also looked for differences in the pattern of use between health clinics and home visits. The study uses data on antenatal check-ups for women during their last pregnancy. The variables included were: education level, socio-economic status, demographic characteristics, including age and parity, and level of exposure to the media, such as regular television viewing. The researchers considered the following components of antenatal care: urine testing, taking of blood pressure, blood testing, abdomen examination, internal examination, tetanus vaccination and being given iron and folic acid supplements.Research findings include:Overall, 3 out of every 5 women (62.8 percent) did not receive any antenatal check-up during their last pregnancy. Among those women who did attend a clinic, the average number of visits was two. In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar more women were seen by a doctor than by a nurse or midwife. Overall 55 percent of women attending antenatal check-ups were seen by a doctor. The most commonly received services were tetanus vaccination and iron and folic acid supplements. Women visited at home by health workers received fewer services. Women who married at an older age and watched television each week were more likely to use antenatal services, whereas the association between a woman’s religion or caste and access to services varied between states. In all states, women and their husbands who had a higher standard of living and education levels were more likely to visit a health clinic and receive a more specific type of care Women from poor and uneducated backgrounds with at least one child were least likely to receive antenatal care. To overcome the socio-economic and cultural barriers that prevent women in rural India accessing antenatal services, policy-makers should:take into account the diverse social conditions between states and between communities within each state consider whether the uptake of services for second and subsequent pregnancies may be due to a reduced perception of need, or practical difficulties associated with caring for young children plan health policies that take into account that decisions to access antenatal care are based on an individual's or a community's perception of need, and the cost and quality of different health care providers provide further training and supervision for health workers to ensure all the components of antenatal care are provided increase the role of nurses and midwives so that specialised clinical staff can treat those with complications expand the provision of iron or folic acid supplements in communities to reduce dependence on the health service for these simple interventions. Contributor(s): Saseendran Pallikadavath, Mary Foss, R. William StonesSource(s): ‘Antenatal care: provision and inequality in rural north India’, Social Science and Medicine 59: 1147-1158, by S. Pallikadavath, M. Foss and R.W. Stones, 2004 More information.'Obstetric care in central India', Southampton: University of Southampton Press, A. Ranjan and R.W. Stones (eds.), 2004 'A framework for the evaluation of quality of care in maternity services', Southampton: University of Southampton Press, L.A. Hulton, Z. Matthews and R.W. Stones (eds.), 2004Funded by: UK Department for International Development id21 Research Highlight: 16 February 2005Further Information:R William Stones Level F (815) Princess Anne Hospital SouthamptonSO16 5YAUKTel: +44 (0) 23 8079 6033Fax: +44 (0) 23 8078 6933Email: [email protected]
Extraordinary-polarised light does not always yield the highest reflectivity in self-pumped BaTiO<sub>3</sub>
No full textFor certain input geometries it is possible to double the phase-conjugate reflectivity of the self-pumped (cat) phase conjugator in BaTiO3, by the inclusion of an ordinary-polarized component in the input beam. It is also shown that it is possible to control the power in the phase-conjugate output with an overall gain. The observed enhancement is attributed to erasure of competing parasitic gratings by the ordinary-polarized component
What remains of monetarism?
No full textIn October 1979 the Federal Reserve, in an attempt to curb double-digit inflation, announced that it would place more weight on monetary aggregates in policy deliberations. This policy shift helped reduce inflation but sent the economy into a recession. Three years later the Fed abandoned monetary targets and returned to targeting the federal funds rate. ; Monetary growth targets currently play no official role in the setting of U.S. monetary policy. Is such disregard justified by the data any more today than it was twenty years ago? This article provides a historical perspective on the development and apparent failure of monetarism as a policy guide. ; The author also explores whether the basic monetarist propositions still hold true for a sample of fifteen countries. The analysis suggests that it is premature to dismiss monetary aggregates as uninformative. The data from the economies studied indicate that, in general, nominal income growth and inflation are positively related to money growth. While these results do not support short-term manipulation of the monetary aggregates to deliver precise control over movements in income and prices, they also do not reject the notion that changes in money growth have important long-term effects on the economy. What the results suggest, therefore, is that failure to acknowledge this empirical fact could lead to undesirable policy consequences.Monetary policy ; Monetary theory
The komatiite nickel sulfide association at Scotia; a petrochemical investigation of the ore environment
No full textThe Scotia nickel deposit is typical of the volcanic peridotite-associated type of Archean sulfide deposit. It occurs at the basal contact of a massive dunitic unit which is itself the basal unit of a thick extrusive komatiitic sequence. The ore zone is marked by a thickening of the overall ultramafic sequence and is located in a depression at the footwall contact. Sulfide textures in the massive ore indicate that it has been strongly deformed, which is in marked contrast to the overlying matrix ore and komatiitic sequence. Textural and mineralogical preservation of olivine in the ultramafic sequence shows that the sequence is made up of a series of thin flow units with gravity or flow-differentiated olivine-rich zones. Between these flows are thicker flows, characterized by massive olivine harrisites, commonly with ocelli structures. Throughout the sequence there are spinifex-textured olivine zones and well-preserved ultramafic volcanic breccias.Major element data indicate that the primary komatiitic magma had 30 wt percent MgO (anhydrous) and this gave rise to all the flow types. Microprobe data on relic brown olivines show that the spinilex-textured olivines are strongly zoned (Fo (sub 75-93) ) while the harrisitic olivines are remarkably constant at about Fo 92 . Olivine chemistry within the ore zone reflects the position of the olivine with respect to the massive sulfides and also subsolidus reequilibration. A particular feature of the ore zone is the occurrence of colorless olivine which appears to be degraded after brown igneous olivine. The colorless olivine has abnormally low Ni concentrations associated with Fo- and Mn-rich cores. Rims to these grains are Mn depleted, Ni enriched, and more fayalitic than the cores.Various possible models are discussed for the origin of the orebody and it is proposed that the sulfide was erupted as a dispersed liquid phase within an intratelluric mush of olivine and komatiitic liquid. The sulfides are thought to fill topographic lows or rifts on the sea floor in which the supernatant komatiite liquid is decanted off as the trough fills with later erupted olivine grains. Within the ore-bearing ultramafic unit there is little evidence for in situ olivine crystallization
The spatial concept of spas development of W. Pencakowska and Tourism Area Life Cycle of R.W. Butler – similarities and differences of both evolutionary models
No full textPraca omawia dwie koncepcje ewolucji obszaru turystycznego, które przybliżają mechanizm rozwoju funkcji turystycznej i uzdrowiskowej. Pierwsza to koncepcja W. Pencakowskiej, natomiast druga to model ewolucji obszaru turystycznego TALC R.W. Butlera. Obie prace przybliżają wyjaśnienie mechanizmu rozwoju przestrzenno-społecznego obszarów turystycznych. W artykule przedstawiono podobieństwa i różnice obu koncepcji.Article discusses two evolutionary concepts of tourism area development, which broaden knowledge about the development mechanism of tourism destinations and spas. One of them is the concept of W. Pencakowska, while the second is a model of Tourism Area Life Cycle (TALC) of R.W. Butler. Both concepts allow the explain the mechanism spatial and social development of the tourist areas. The author points out the similarities and differences of both concepts
FAIR Models
No full textGreen Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Water Resource
UV laser induced surface microstructures in congruent lithium niobate single crystals
No full textUltra violet illumination of the -z face of lithium niobate single crystals, under specific conditions, results in an organized arrangement of submicron etch-resistant features that reflect the illuminating intensity distribution. Consequently, spatially resolved illumination can produce periodic structures with submicron periodicity. Furthermore, a size self-adjustment of the submicron etch resistant features was observed which is related to characteristic lengths (e.g. grating period) of the overall structure. The effect occurs for a narrow range of illuminating intensities and is attributed to a photo-induced electrostatic charge distribution which modifies the electrochemical interaction of the acid with the surface. The size and periodicity of the structures which can be achieved with this method are suitable for the fabrication of 2D photonic crystal structures in this electro-optically tunable material
The neuropsychology of variant Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease.
No full textWe report the neuropsychological profile associated with variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (vCJD). A retrospective study was carried out of data from neuropsychological reports prepared on 24 patients with vCJD. While there was some variability in neuropsychological profiles, the overall pattern was one of a combined cortical and subcortical dementia, with impaired performance being particularly prominent on tests of memory, executive function, speed of attention, and visuoperceptual reasoning. Across 16 cases where Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised intelligence quotient (IQ) scores were available, this profile was in part reflected by an invariably low performance IQ (<90 in all patients). All patients who received tests of verbal fluency, digit-symbol substitution and faces recognition memory showed deficits on these tests. Basic vocabulary, digit span and verbal reasoning skills were relatively preserved in most patients. In four cases who underwent more detailed cognitive testing, additional observations were made of relatively intact long-term autobiographical memory and faces perception. Cognitive impairment may represent one of the earliest features of vCJD and it is possible that, at least in some cases, neuropsychological deficits precede the onset of psychiatric or neurological symptoms. Our findings may help in the early detection and management of patients with vCJD
Carbon: Phosphorus stoichiometry and food chain production
No full textIncident light was manipulated in large plankton towers containing algae, microbes, and herbivores. Paradoxically, food chain production was lower with greater light energy input. This apparent paradox is resolved by recognizing stoichiometric constraints to food chain production. At high light, elevated algal biomass was achieved mainly by increases in cellular carbon. Consumers have a high phosphorus demand for growth, and thus a large excess of carbon inhibited, rather than stimulated, their growth. These experiments may help us predict the consequences of anthropogenic perturbations in nutrients, carbon, and solar energy. They also may help us to understand the wide range of consumer biomass and production at a given level of primary productivity in ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]Peer reviewedfinal article publishedcarbonzooplanktontrophiclevelphytoplanktonphosphorusnutrient limitationenergybacteri
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