scholarly journals Pain and Excitement of Taking Technology to the Market

2004 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 57-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Sunder
Keyword(s):  
Structural Changes ◽  
High Technology ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Free Enterprise ◽  
Test Quality ◽  
Strength Performance ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
System Solution ◽  
Manufactured Products

With economic liberalization, the Indian industry has finally emerged from the shell of the license raj. It now sees investment in R&D as a means to survive and succeed in the long run. It has acquired an appetite for quality control and productivity in order to be competitive. To evaluate quality, manufactured products are tested for strength, performance, and durability in order to meet customer demands and, often, safety legislation. As a developer and manufacturer of technology used in testing, Bangalore Integrated System Solution (BiSS) has first-hand experience of the rapid changes in the market environment and what they mean for high technology manufactured products. As an entrepreneur who set up BiSS, the author experienced the challenges and tribulations of attempting to meet exacting requirements of test quality and performance, matching global standards. If the BiSS experience is any indication, the time and environment are right for scientists and technologists to consider the option of entrepreneurship. The institutional support for taking technology to the market is woefully wanting. Even so, potential rewards justify the risk of personal initiative to build entrepreneurial linkages with industry in seeking orders to develop and supply the technology-intensive hardware and software solutions. As manufacturing moves to India, the demand for local technology is on the rise as global players see the importance of local support to their endeavour. This opens a continuous stream of opportunity for local innovators. It carries the potential for future support in product development thereby adding value at the intellectual level. Finally, global players may see reason in seeking Indian technology to meet their requirements back home as well as for their projects in third countries. Today, cost drives decisions to move manufacturing to India. The same rationale can move development to India and, eventually, to outsource technology itself. For a country of India's size, strength, and stature, this is one more path to technological excellence tending to global leadership. For the scientist-entrepreneur, this is a unique opportunity to subject new concepts and technology to trial by fire at the hands of demanding customers in the industry. For the numerous national laboratories, such entrepreneurs can serve as useful partners in taking available technology to the market while at the same time providing direction to future marketable research and development. Thus, this paper concludes with the following observations: Globalization of the economy and the movement of manufacturing into India provide endless opportunity for entrepreneurship driven by high technology. Though the economy has seen significant structural changes over the past decade, obstacles still remain in the path of free enterprise. Government policy needs to be fine tuned in order to create a level playing field for the ‘small-scale innovator.’ Financial backing for innovative entrepreneurship is woefully inadequate in our country, perhaps, because the system carries an inherent skepticism about local capability. Similar doubts persist in large corporates that are unwilling to risk local procurement of high technology products. Scientists and technologists attempting to take their technology to the market are likely to experience professional enrichment by way of putting their concepts and assumptions to the acid test of a competitive and demanding marketplace.

Structural changes in uterine tissues after uterine artery embolization in patients with leiomyoma complicated by uterine bleeding

GYNECOLOGY ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-82
Author(s):  
G P Titova ◽  
M M Damirov ◽  
L S Kokov ◽  
O N Oleynikova ◽  
G E Belozerov
Keyword(s):  
Uterine Artery Embolization ◽  
Uterine Artery ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
Uterine Bleeding ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Artery Embolization ◽  
Vessel Occlusion ◽  
Uterine Arteries ◽  
Uterine Tumors

Uterine leiomyoma (UL) is often complicated by the development of uterine bleeding. In urgent gynecology for the implementation of endovascular hemostasis, uterine artery embolization (UAE) is used. Performing UAE allows to stop and/or significantly reduce the intensity of bleeding and prepare a patient for surgical intervention. At the same time, the morphological changes that occur in uterine tissues in operated UL patients after performing the UAE are not studied. The aim was to study the peculiarities of pathomorphological changes in uterine tumors and tissues in operated UL patients complicated by uterine bleeding after performing UAE. Material and methods. The results of morphological changes appearing in tumors and tissues of the uterus in 39 operated UL patients, who were used for stopping uterine bleeding, were analyzed. Results. After applying different types of embolizing agents in macroscopic study of the uterus, signs of ischemia of its tissues were revealed, and the most pronounced disorders were detected in the UL nodes. Morphologically it was established that UAE microemboli resulted in vessel occlusion with increasing thrombosis in their distal sections. UAE was not accompanied by occlusal occlusion of the arteries and resulted in small-scale necrosis of the tumor with complete regeneration of the endometrium. Conclusions. The results of the morphological study showed that after the UAE was performed, the myomatous nodes underwent dystrophic, necrobiotic and necrotic changes. Depending on the nature of occlusion of the uterine arteries, various variants of necrosis (scale and completeness of the process) developed in the tumor tissue, which was aseptic in nature.

A Critical Review of the Biological Processes in the Chemical Absorption-biological Reduction Integrated System for NO Removal

2021 ◽  
Vol 07 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Li
Keyword(s):  
Catalytic Reduction ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Reduction Process ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Chemical Absorption ◽  
Biological Reduction ◽  
Biological Reaction

: Exploring low-cost, green and safe technologies to provide an alternative to the conventional selective catalytic reduction process is key to the control of NOx emitted from small-scale boilers and other industrial processes. To meet the demand, the chemical absorption-biological reduction integrated system has been developing recently. chemical absorption-biological reduction integrated system applies Fe(II)EDTA for NO absorption and iron-reducing and denitrifying bacteria for absorbent regeneration. Many studies have focused on the enhancements of mass transfer and biological reaction, among which the biological processes were the rate-limiting steps. This review summarizes the current researches on the biological processes in the CABR system, which focuses on the mechanism and enhancement of biochemical reactions, and provides the possible directions of future research.

scholarly journals The Ocean’s Elevator: Evolution of the Air-Seawater Interface During a Small-Scale Algal Bloom

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mickey Rogers ◽  
Jennifer Neal ◽  
Ankur Saha ◽  
Abdullah Algarni ◽  
Thomas Hill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Algal Blooms ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Organic Molecules ◽  
Algal Bloom ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Surface Imaging ◽  
Brewster Angle Microscopy ◽  
Surface Active ◽  
Marine Algal ◽  
Late Stages

We explore in situ the surface properties of marine algal blooms of diatom monocultures by utilizing surface techniques of Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) imaging, vibrational sum frequency generation spectroscopy (SFG), and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS). Over the course of the bloom, the marine algae produce surface-active biogenic molecules that temporally partition to the topmost interfacial layers and are selectively probed through surface imaging and spectroscopic measurements. BAM images show morphological structural changes and heterogeneity in the interfacial films with increasing density of surface-active biogenic molecules. Film thickness calculations quantified the average surface thickness over time. The image results reveal an ~5 nm thick surface region in the late stages of the bloom which correlates to typical sea surface nanolayer thicknesses. Our surface-specific SFG spectroscopy results show significant diminishing in the intensity of the dangling OH bond of surface water molecules consistent with organic molecules partitioning and replacing water at the air-seawater interface as the algal bloom progresses. Interestingly, we observe a new broad peak appear between 3500 cm<sup>-1</sup> to 3600 cm<sup>-1</sup> in the late stages of the bloom that is attributed to weak hydrogen bonding interactions of water to the surface-active biogenic matter. IRRAS confirms the presence of organic molecules at the surface as we observe increasing intensity of vibrational alkyl modes and the appearance of a proteinaceous amide band. Our work shows the often overlooked but vast potential of tracking changes in the interfacial regime of small-scale laboratory marine algal blooms. By coupling surface imaging and vibrational spectroscopies to complex, time-evolving, marine-relevant systems, we provide additional insight into unraveling the temporal complexity of sea spray aerosol compositions.

scholarly journals A Self-Organizing Fuzzy Logic Classifier for Benchmarking Robot-Aided Blasting of Ship Hulls

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 3215 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Viraj J. Muthugala ◽  
Anh Vu Le ◽  
Eduardo Sanchez Cruz ◽  
Mohan Rajesh Elara ◽  
Prabakaran Veerajagadheswar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuzzy Logic ◽  
Robotic System ◽  
Ship Hull ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Ship Hulls ◽  
System Solution ◽  
Maintenance Work ◽  
Dry Dock ◽  
Self Organizing

Regular dry dock maintenance work on ship hulls is essential for maintaining the efficiency and sustainability of the shipping industry. Hydro blasting is one of the major processes of dry dock maintenance work, where human labor is extensively used. The conventional methods of maintenance work suffer from many shortcomings, and hence robotized solutions have been developed. This paper proposes a novel robotic system that can synthesize a benchmarking map for a previously blasted ship hull. A Self-Organizing Fuzzy logic (SOF) classifier has been developed to benchmark the blasting quality of a ship hull similar to blasting quality categorization done by human experts. Hornbill, a multipurpose inspection and maintenance robot intended for hydro blasting, benchmarking, and painting, has been developed by integrating the proposed SOF classifier. Moreover, an integrated system solution has been developed to improve dry dock maintenance of ship hulls. The proposed SOF classifier can achieve a mean accuracy of 0.9942 with an execution time of 8.42 µs. Realtime experimenting with the proposed robotic system has been conducted on a ship hull. This experiment confirms the ability of the proposed robotic system in synthesizing a benchmarking map that reveals the benchmarking quality of different areas of a previously blasted ship hull. This sort of a benchmarking map would be useful for ensuring the blasting quality as well as performing efficient spot wise reblasting before the painting. Therefore, the proposed robotic system could be utilized for improving the efficiency and quality of hydro blasting work on the ship hull maintenance industry.

Wet Tree Semi-Submersible With SCRs for 4,000 ft Water Depth in the Gulf of Mexico

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingyun Cheng ◽  
Peimin Cao ◽  
Sherry Xiang
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Water Depth ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Fatigue Performance ◽  
Strength Performance ◽  
Field Development ◽  
Vessel Motion ◽  
Optimum Solution ◽  
Mitigation Methods

This paper presents a design of a deep draft wet tree semi-submersible with steel catenary risers (SCRs) for 4,000 ft water depth in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The integrated system of hull, mooring, and SCRs is discussed. The design challenges of SCRs are highlighted and results of SCR strength and fatigue performance are presented. A comparison study on strength performance of various types of risers under the GoM environment criteria is performed. The assessment of extreme strength responses from various riser and hull configurations provide guidelines for the best hull selection. Sour service requirement creates challenges in the fatigue design of the production riser system at such water depth. Integrated mooring and riser design provides an optimum solution. It’s found that the majority of riser fatigue damage at touch down zone is generated by wave loading & resultant vessel motion and vortex induced vessel motion (VIM). Several fatigue mitigation methods are suggested to improve the riser fatigue performance, such as planned vessel repositioning. The conclusion of this study is that deep draft wet tree semi-submersible with SCRs can be a cost effective solution for field development at 4,000 ft water depth in the Gulf of Mexico.

scholarly journals Post-rendezvous radar properties of comet 67P/CG from the Rosetta Mission: understanding future Earth-based radar observations and the dynamical evolution of comets

2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (2) ◽  
pp. 1667-1683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Essam Heggy ◽  
Elizabeth M Palmer ◽  
Alain Hérique ◽  
Wlodek Kofman ◽  
M Ramy El-Maarry
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Dynamical Evolution ◽  
Textural Properties ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Cometary Nucleus ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Bodies ◽  
Radar Observations ◽  
Comet 67P

ABSTRACT Radar observations provide crucial insights into the formation and dynamical evolution of comets. This ability is constrained by our knowledge of the dielectric and textural properties of these small-bodies. Using several observations by Rosetta as well as results from the Earth-based Arecibo radio telescope, we provide an updated and comprehensive dielectric and roughness description of Comet 67P/CG, which can provide new constraints on the radar properties of other nuclei. Furthermore, contrary to previous assumptions of cometary surfaces being dielectrically homogeneous and smooth, we find that cometary surfaces are dielectrically heterogeneous ( εr′≈1.6–3.2), and are rough at X- and S-band frequencies, which are widely used in characterization of small-bodies. We also investigate the lack of signal broadening in CONSERT observations through the comet head. Our results suggest that primordial building blocks in the subsurface are either absent, smaller than the radar wavelength, or have a weak dielectric contrast (Δ εr′). To constrain this ambiguity, we use optical albedo measurements by the OSIRIS camera of the freshly exposed subsurface after the Aswan cliff collapse. We find that the hypothetical subsurface blocks should have |Δ εr′|≳0.15, setting an upper limit of ∼ 1 m on the size of 67P/CG's primordial building blocks if they exist. Our analysis is consistent with a purely thermal origin for the ∼ 3 m surface bumps on pit walls and cliff-faces, hypothesized to be high-centred polygons formed from fracturing of the sintered shallow ice-bearing subsurface due to seasonal thermal expansion and contraction. Potential changes in 67P/CG's radar reflectivity at these at X- and S-bands can be associated with large-scale structural changes of the nucleus rather than small-scale textural ones. Monitoring changes in 67P/CG's radar properties during repeated close-approaches via Earth-based observations can constrain the dynamical evolution of its cometary nucleus.

scholarly journals Development and the Yucatec Maya in Quintana Roo: some successes and failures

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. N. Anderson ◽  
Barbara Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Multinational Firms ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Free Markets ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Pest Outbreaks ◽  
Agricultural Resilience

Maya agriculture is currently outperforming alternatives across the Yucatán Peninsula, while changing to incorporate new ideas that fit with its basic commitment to shifting agriculture based on maize as the staple and over 100 minor crops. Considerable research over the last 60 years has shown the reasons for agricultural resilience, which include thorough understanding of the Yucatán environment and use of a range of resources and techniques that allow fine-tuning in particular situations while remaining flexible overall. Development efforts have usually failed in this environment, which has shallow and fragile soils and suffers from frequent droughts, typhoons, and pest outbreaks. The predictor of development success is usually supply and demand: where there is a market, the Maya will work to develop supply capability; where there is no market, traditional subsistence methods are better than the introductions. Government or international help is, however, needed to help develop markets and to provide expert knowledge of how to mobilize for them and connect to them. When this has been done, some important successes have followed. A current problem is the international subsidy economy. Neoliberalism in the Maya context involves a reduction of government help to local and small-scale enterprises while large-scale multinational firms are given enormous direct and indirect subsidies by their home governments and by commodity-producing nations. The resulting unfair competition is a block on development. Actual free markets—in the sense of local grassroots enterprise being given something like a level playing field—could be an improvement.Key words: Maya; neoliberalism; Indigenous agricultural knowledge; access to markets

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