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Enzymes derived from microbial sources have gained increasing popularity in industrial applications over the past decades. Despite the high production cost, alkaline proteases have wide applications in industries such as tanneries, food production, and detergents. In recent years, there has been a shift towards utilizing natural carbon sources for cultivating microorganisms and extracting proteases in order to reduce production costs. This study aimed to investigate the biochemical and kinetic properties of protease enzymes obtained from Aspergillus niger cultivated in a paper waste medium and compare with the enzyme produced in a basal medium. Glucose is a more favorable carbon source compared to cellulose, so paper waste was pretreated with cellulose-degrading bacteria to convert cellulose into smaller carbohydrates. After the growth of A. niger in basal and combinational media, the enzymatic properties were compared between the extracted enzymes by using casein as substrate. The results demonstrated that A. niger could produce protease enzymes in the paper waste medium similar to the basal medium with more than 5-fold cost saving. The specific activity of the enzymes isolated from the basal and paper waste media was calculated to be 184.95 ± 10.56 U ml−1 and 169.88 ± 11.05 U ml−1, respectively. Carbon sources did not affect the optimum pH and temperature of the protease enzyme, which were found to be 8 and 37 °C, respectively. This study provides valuable insights into the production of alkaline protease from A. niger using a combinational medium (paper waste pretreated by cellulose-degrading bacteria), offering a cost-effective approach for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

γ-Valerolactone (GVL) is a promising biomass-based platform compound that can be used for the removal of hemicellulose in pulp. In this study, a paper-grade pulp was treated using GVL to generate dissolving pulp for viscose production. The GVL concentration, treatment temperature, and reaction time had significant effect on the hemicellulose dissolution. The dissolving pulp with a-cellulose content of 92.3% and hemicellulose content of 5.45% was achieved with 60% GVL at 120 °C for 2 h. The Fock reactivity and intrinsic viscosity of the obtained dissolving pulp were 54.6% and 595 mL/g, which is comparable with the commercial product. In addition, GVL spent liquor was also recycled and reused to upgrade paper-grade pulp. By using purified recycled GVL to treat original pulp, the Fock reactivity of pulp was improved, and the cellulose content of asprepared upgraded pulp increased to 92.1%, which was close to the cellulose content of dissolving pulp obtained from fresh GVL solution, while the intrinsic viscosity decreased significantly to 598 mL/g. Therefore, the efficient reuse of GVL not only ensured the high quality of dissolving pulp, but it also saved production costs and reduced environmental pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a global environmental problem, plastic pollution has attracted worldwide attention. Plastic wastes not only disrupt ecosystems and biodiversity, but they also threaten human life and health. Countries around the world have enacted regulations in recent years to limit the use of plastics. Paper products have been proposed as promising substitutes for plastics, which undoubtedly brings unprecedented opportunities to the pulp and paper industry. However, paper products have some deficiencies in replacing certain plastic products. Research and development to improve paper properties and reduce production costs is needed to meet such challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State-of-the-art manufacturing of tissue paper by Through Air Drying provides excellent product performance, although at a high production cost and energy use. In this work, a laboratory scale vacuum suction box was used to mimic the initial dewatering and the Through Air Drying molding, together with a pilot-scale trial. The purpose was to investigate both how the laboratory scale corresponds to pilot scale testing and investigate how fabric design, basis weight, beating, and fibers affect dewatering and sheet caliper. This study reevaluates dewatering mechanisms during molding, challenging the previous hypothesis of pure air displacement dewatering. Results show a parallel mechanism of compression dewatering and air displacement. The influence of rush transfer is examined, impacting the sheets' visual appearance, thickness, and solids content. Correlations between molding box solids content and headbox freeness emphasize significance of fibers and beating levels. Pilot results confirm the link between former solids and molding box solids. Pilot trials validate the laboratory results, facilitating comprehensive simulation of full-scale manufacturing. This research reveals dewatering mechanisms, highlights operational parameters, and enables effective Through Air Drying process design and refinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is an indicator used in the management and continuous improvement of production systems, and is useful in identifying losses, thus reducing production costs. By analyzing the results of this indicator, the operation manager must make decisions to eliminate or reduce losses in the process. This study investigated the application of the OEE indicator in one production line in the pulp and paper industry. The implementation of OEE was performed in stages with a detailed analysis of the indicators that compose the OEE (quality, performance, and availability) to identify possible improvements. Thus, actions were implemented to improve the OEE quality index. This study provided important information that enabled the operation manager to diagnose and minimize the occurrence of failures and losses, which is often hidden and unknown to those involved in the production system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In papermaking, pre-flocculation of fillers such as ground calcium carbonate (GCC) improves the tensile strength of paper sheets. However, the pre-flocculated fillers mostly suffer from the instability of the floc shape such as the decrease in floc diameter with time elapse after preparation and no improvement of bulk and stiffness. The addition of calcium compounds such as calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide to the preflocculated GCC, and injection with carbon dioxide caused pre-flocculated GCC flocs to be covered with newly formed calcium carbonate. This product, called post hybrid calcium carbonate (pHCC), was found to be more stable in size and gave better sheet strength than the pre-flocculated ones. Furthermore, pHCC gave remarkably higher bulk and stiffness than the pre-flocculated flocs did without impairing smoothness that was essential in printing paper. The proper use of pHCC in papermaking could allow the production of high loaded paper with more than 10% higher filler contents, which could reduce paper production cost and save drying energy. The proportion of the newly formed calcium carbonate in pHCC, turbulence intensity at preparation stage, and the effect of storage time were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of the customization concept, small-batch and multi-variety production will become one of the major production modes, especially for fast-moving consumer goods. However, this production mode has two issues: high production cost and the long manufacturing period. To address these issues, this study proposes a multi-objective optimization model for the flexible flow-shop to optimize the production scheduling, which would maximize the production efficiency by minimizing the production cost and makespan. The model is designed based on hybrid algorithms, which combine a fast non-dominated genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) and a variable neighborhood search algorithm (VNS). In this model, NSGA-II is the major algorithm to calculate the optimal solutions. VNS is to improve the quality of the solution obtained by NSGA-II. The model is verified by an example of a real-world typical FFS, a tissue papermaking mill. The results show that the scheduling model can reduce production costs by 4.2% and makespan by 6.8% compared with manual scheduling. The hybrid VNS-NSGA-II model also shows better performance than NSGA-II, both in production cost and makespan. Hybrid algorithms are a good solution for multi-objective optimization issues in flexible flow-shop production scheduling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Producao Online is the property of Associacao Brasileira de Engenharia de Producao and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Fruit nursery paper is a protective technical paper that is used in agriculture to improve the percentage of the fruit that meets quality standards and the fruit's exterior qualities, such as the smooth surface finish and fruit color. In this work, a more efficient and environmentally friendly method, i.e., the printing method, was proposed in order to minimize environmental pollution, reduce the loss of carbon black, and lower the high production cost caused by the traditional method of directly adding carbon black. The effects of printing pressure and inking amount on the properties of the fruit nursery paper were investigated. The durability and safety of the fruit nursery paper produced by the printing method were also studied. The optimal inking amount and printing pressure under laboratory conditions were 1 mL and 350 N, respectively. The amount of ink transferred to the paper surface increased with increasing printing pressure, which led to better opacity but slightly decreased porosity and softness. A more important finding was that the fruit nursery paper produced by the printing method had excellent durability, and the properties can satisfy the requirements of the end use and safety standards of 94/62/EC stipulated by the Europeon Parliament and Councile directive. Based on these low-cost, environmentally friendly characteristics, the development of this new fruit nursery paper could be beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase of filler content in paper is an effective way to reduce production costs and to promote the market competitiveness of paper mills. A shift from natural fillers to synthetic fillers has enabled improvements in the critical properties of paper. Meanwhile, innovations from single particles of filler to filler composites has made it possible to increase the filler content of paper. Among various filler innovations, the design of fiber/filler composites has aroused general attention from industry and academic researchers. However, concerns related to the cost and recyclability of composite fillers remain to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The handmade paper industry utilizes quantum of dyes for making bright colored handmade paper used for wedding cards, fancy and decorative paper, etc. A study has been conducted on adsorption of direct black dye (used extensively in handmade paper industry to make black colored handmade paper) on fly ash obtained from thermal power plant of Yamuna Nagar. The effluent has been characterized for pH, suspended solids, total solids and chemical oxygen demand. The batch and column studies have been conducted on the adsorption of direct black dye solution of different concentrations on fly ash at varying pH, dosage of fly ash, temperature, contact time, particle size fractions of fly ash and initial concentration of dye solution. In batch studies, it was observed that the experimental data fit well with Langmuir adsorption isotherm in comparison to Freundlich and Temkin isotherms. The maximum adsorption capacity of 76.33 mg/g was achieved at 318 K in batch studies. The column experimental data fitted well to Yoon–Nelson model and Thomas model in comparison to Bohart–Adams model. The maximum adsorption capacity of 45.54 mg/g in column study was obtained for 2.4 cm bed height, 150 ppm inlet concentration and 1.6 mL/min flow rate of dye solution. The calculations of thermodynamic parameters indicate that the adsorption of black dye on fly ash is spontaneous and endothermic in nature and follows first order kinetics with rate constant of 0.201 min −1 . It has been found that fly ash is a potential low cost adsorbent to treat effluent of handmade paper industry. The exhausted fly ash can be further reused as filler in paper making and hence can offer a viable closed loop solution in curbing pollution from this predominantly small sector industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emphasis of the current study was on the calcination of lime sludge, performed at different temperatures from 650°C to 750°C, which consumes less energy as compared to the industrial process of calcination. Different proportions of calcined lime sludge and raw lime sludge were used with cement to form cementitious binders. M25 grade concrete was prepared with the application of the prepared binders and tested for strength properties at 7 and 28 days of curing. The binder consisted of 10% substitution of cement with as-received lime sludge and 30% substitution with calcined lime sludge and produced a compressive strength of concrete approximately similar to the control concrete. Reactive lime and metakaolinite performed an active role after the calcination of lime sludge at 650°C, which worked as pozzolana. This effect is also confirmed with isothermal calorimetry of the prepared binder. The prepared binder was sustainable with approximately 20% less production cost and 55% less emission of greenhouse gases as compared to ordinary portland cement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on quality signal development typically focuses on signals with production costs; less is known about signals that lack production costs (conventional signals). Here, I test the condition dependence and heritability of the facial patterns that function as a conventional signal of quality in Polistes dominulus wasps. Two aspects of facial patterns are compared: (1) amount of black pigment (no signal value) and (2) disruption in the black pigment's distribution (quality signal). When colonies received the same diet, they produced offspring with similar facial patterns and both traits were heritable. However, experimental diet manipulation substantially influenced quality signal development. Wasps fed unlimited caterpillars developed more disrupted facial patterns than wasps fed a restricted diet. Further, signal heritability was obscured following the diet treatment. In contrast, the nonsignaling trait was not influenced by the diet treatment and remained heritable. Overall, the quality signal in P. dominulus is condition dependent and heritable, but its heritability may be obscured by environmental variance. The nonsignaling aspect of wasp facial patterns is not condition dependent and is more consistently heritable across environments. Therefore, the information a signal conveys may be influenced by its developmental properties rather than its honesty-ensuring cost or the pigments that constitute it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using mathematical programming with activity-based costing (ABC) and based on the theory of constraints (TOC), this study proposed a green production model for the traditional paper industry to achieve the purpose of energy saving and carbon emission reduction. The mathematical programming model presented in this paper considers (1) revenue of main products and byproducts, (2) unit-level, batch-level, and product-level activity costs in ABC, (3) labor cost with overtime available, (4) machine cost with capacity expansion, (5) saved electric power and steam costs by using the coal as the main fuel in conjunction with Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). This model also considers the constraint of the quantity of carbon equivalent of various gases that are allowed to be emitted from the mill paper-making process to conform to the environmental protection policy. A numerical example is used to demonstrate how to apply the model presented in this paper. In addition, sensitivity analysis on the key parameters of the model are used to provide further insights for this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important production programming problem arises in paper industries coupling multiple machine scheduling with cutting stocks. Concerning machine scheduling: how can the production of the quantity of large rolls of paper of different types be determined. These rolls are cut to meet demand of items. Scheduling that minimizes setups and production costs may produce rolls which may increase waste in the cutting process. On the other hand, the best number of rolls in the point of view of minimizing waste may lead to high setup costs. In this paper, coupled modeling and heuristic methods are proposed. Computational experiments are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a research which investigates the bioconversion of paper sludge (PS) into bioethanol by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) using a PS based cellulase from Acremonium cellulolyticus and thermotolerant Saccharomyces cerevisiae TJ14. It is stated that using cellulase of PS origin minimized biofuel production costs, as the culture broth containing cellulase can be used directly. Results showed that ethanol concentration increased with increasing PS organic material (PSOM) concentration, up to 150 g/l. An increase in cellulase concentration or the yeast inoculum did not result in significant improvement in ethanol yield.

As a facilitator of smart upgrading, digital twin (DT) is emerging as a driving force in prognostics and health management (PHM). Faults can lead to degradation or malfunction of industrial assets. Accordingly, DT-driven PHM studies are conducted to improve reliability and reduce maintenance costs of industrial assets. However, there is a lack of systematic research to analyze and summarize current DT-driven PHM applications and methodologies for industrial assets. Therefore, this paper first analyzes the application of DT in PHM from the application field, aspect, and hierarchy at application layer. The paper next deepens into the core and mechanism of DT in PHM at theory layer. Then enabling technologies and tools for DT modeling and DT system are investigated and summarized at implementation layer. Finally, observations and future research suggestions are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A wideband Rayleigh fading channel is considered with causal channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter and no receiver CSI. A simple orthogonal code with energy detection rule at the receiver (similar to pulse position modulation in IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory, vol. 46, no. 4, Apr. 2000 and IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory, vol. 52 no. 5, May 2006) is shown to achieve the capacity of this channel in the wideband limit. This strategy transmits energy only when the channel gain exceeds a threshold, hence only needs causal transmitter CSI. In the wideband limit, this capacity without any receiver CSI is the same as the capacity with full receiver CSI, which is proportional to the logarithm of the bandwidth. Similar threshold-based pulse position modulation is shown to achieve the capacity per unit cost of the dirty-tape channel (dirty paper channel with causal transmitter CSI and no receiver CSI), which equals its capacity per unit cost with full receiver CSI. Then, a general discrete channel with i.i.d. states is considered. Each input has an associated cost and a zero cost input “0” exists. The channel state is assumed to be known at the transmitter in a causal manner. Capacity per unit cost is found for this channel and a simple orthogonal code is shown to achieve this capacity. Later, a novel orthogonal coding scheme is proposed for the case of causal transmitter CSI and a condition for equivalence of capacity per unit cost for causal and noncausal transmitter CSI is derived. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This work investigates bioethanol production from wastepaper via acid and enzymatic hydrolysis, intending to attain the highest possible yield, including an evaluation of energy consumption of the production processes and costs involved. A mathematical model was designed using MATLAB software, in which pre-calculated chronological stages have been specified with the parameters that significantly affect the bioethanol yield, including type and number of consumables, reaction temperature and residence time. The independent variables have been decided based on recommended values found in the literature and are provided as suggestions. A user is also given the choice to input the values manually. Mass and energy balance are carried out for each process stage of bioethanol production to calculate the energy consumption of the chemical reactions. The model also calculates the bioethanol yield per 100 g of lignocellulosic biomass and the related costs. A comparison between enzymatic and acid hydrolysis bioethanol is presented by a line chart on the software interface, helping the understanding of the effects of the independent variable parameters. As a result, the optimal conditions to produce the highest bioethanol yield and therefore increase the efficiency of a process are obtained. The model is expected to aid in reducing laboratory-based experiments, saving time, human errors, costly microorganisms, and other consumables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of high-yield pulp in China has increased significantly in recent years. The well-known advantages of this type of pulp include low production cost, high opacity, and good paper formation. In the context of state-of-the-art technologies, China's high-yield pulping, which is dominated by the PRC-APMP (preconditioning refiner chemical treatment-alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping) process, has a much higher energy input but a significantly lower wood consumption in comparison with the kraft pulping process. If the saved wood in the forest or plantation is considered as an increment of carbon storage, then the carbon dioxide emission from the production of high-yield pulp can be regarded as much lower than that of kraft pulp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we aim to demonstrate that sustainability will be a must-have in the coming years. We will explore methods of reusing textile waste and reducing it. Sustainability starts with a global shift in perception, where designers need to change how they view clothes and their functionality. Beyond beauty, we are talking about finite resources, massive consumption, and a significant amount of waste. When we reuse, worn materials can be transformed into new products, reducing the need to consume natural resources for their production. By reusing waste from production or extracting pieces from other used items, we can preserve materials that hold sentimental value for us and utilize waste that would otherwise increase production costs through energy consumption. It is essential to change our habits related to how we "consume" clothes and to start thinking about the impact we have on the environment. It is important to realize that we can have a significant impact on the environment through the choices we make about the clothes we buy and how we manage them after we stop using them. It is our responsibility to change the way we consume and to act to protect the environment for future generations. This paper provides practical information on the process of textile waste recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Photoreversible color switching systems have been integrated by reducing agent of triethanolamine, catalyst of β-FeOOH nanorods. • With high switching rate, high reversibility (>10 cycle), the new system could be broad use in rewritable paper. • The rewritable paper is highly applicable as self-erasing rewritable media for printing. • The rewritable paper can be applied for a data encoding and reading strategy. Nowadays, photo reversible color switching systems (PCSS) are always limited by some requirements, such as good stability, low toxicity, fast light response, long cycling performance and low production cost, therefore, it is a huge challenge to develop such a system that integrates beneficial features. Herein, a new type of PCSS have been demonstrated, which integrated reducing agent of triethanolamine (TEOA), catalyst of β-FeOOH nanorods and the redox driven color conversion characteristics of redox dyes. The system has the advantages of high switching rate, high reversibility (>10 cycles), wavelength selective response, safety and less light damage, which can be widely used in rewritable paper. As-prepared rewritable paper has high contrast, high resolution, suitable printing time and good reversibility, which is in line with the environmental protection concept of green printing. Rewritable paper is a kind of self-erasable rewritable medium which is highly suitable for printing. Environmental protection film has the advantages of low cost, convenient preparation and recycling. It is expected to replace the traditional writing, printing paper, existing systems and make a big step forward to practical application. Even more surprising, it also can be applied for a data encoding and reading strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the oligopsonistic structure of the raw materials especially the pulpwood and paper industry markets of the U.S. Such markets create cost curves with configurations that differ in important ways from the usual U-shaped pattern. A model incorporating the characteristics of both resource bases in these industries is essential to an understanding of what otherwise would seem to be irrational behavior. Their behavior may be irrational in terms of short-run and long-run models of the firm. However, there is less consistency than there appears to be at first glance. Moreover, most of the inconsistency is due to the inadequacy of current accounting practice to take cognizance of the difference in marginal costs in the different input markets. The oligopsonistic buyers are aware that any increase in price for a raw material like pulpwood is partially transferred to stumpage and land values and that these prices are sticky in subsequent periods of lower demand. Higher pulpwood prices increase not only the value of land containing marketable pulpwood but the rural wage expected in pulpwood cutting and other related occupations.

Research on collaborative manufacturing process modelling and simulation is of great significance in improving production efficiency and product quality, reducing costs, promoting collaborative work, and supporting decision-making. However, current studies have not offered the optimal costs of node enterprises participating in collaborative manufacturing, and ignored the impact of demand uncertainty of suppliers, manufacturers and customers on costs and economic benefits. Therefore, this paper aimed to study the collaborative manufacturing process modelling and simulation of production cost and economic benefit accounting analysis. First, this paper summarized three cost types, conducted cost accounting for the collaborative manufacturing process, and analysed its economic benefits. Second, based on the basic timed automata (TA) model, this paper used a timed input/output automata with port labels (Lp-TIOA) for modelling test cases of the simulation system. Finally, the experimental results verified the effectiveness of the constructed simulation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For many processes in the pulp and paper industry there exist no reliable analytical models, but qualitative linguistic expert knowledge and data from on-line and laboratory measurements. Knowledge about the wood chip refiner in fibre board production is used to formulate the if-parts of Takagi–Sugeno fuzzy rules. Laboratory and on-line data are then used to fit the then-parts of these rules. The rule-based model serves as a soft sensor that enables the operators to manually control and optimise this process. An optimisation module based on sequential quadratic programming and/or simulated annealing automates this process. All modules are integrated in the commercial Siemens tool WinCC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The problem of high grain production costs, which is not conducive to sustainable agricultural development and food security, is highlighted in the context of China's "large country and small household farmers". Reducing the grain production costs through factor allocation and organizational drive has become particularly important. Based on 768-grain peasant households in China, this paper uses OLS regression and robust regression to examine the effects of agricultural factor inputs and cooperatives on grain production costs. It analyzes the synergistic and substitution effects between farmers' factor inputs and cooperatives in grain production. It was found that: (1) in farmers' grain production, reductions in the grain production costs can be realized by expanding the area under cultivation, improving the use of agricultural machinery, and increasing technological inputs; (2) a reduction in the grain production costs can also be realized through cooperatives driving farmers into grain production; (3) cooperatives can provide farmers with various types of agricultural production services in grain production and cooperative-driven substitution effects between the agricultural factor inputs of farm households. The findings of this paper contribute to the enrichment of research in the field of agricultural production and are important for enhancing agricultural sustainability and reducing grain production costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The out-of-control action plan (OCAP) is crucial in the wafer probing process of semiconductor manufacturing as it systematically addresses and corrects deviations, ensuring the high quality and reliability of semiconductor devices. However, the traditional OCAP involves many redundant and complicated processes after failures occur on production lines, which can delay production and escalate costs. To overcome the traditional OCAP's limitations, this paper proposes a novel OCAP aimed at enhancing the wafer probing process in semiconductor manufacturing. The proposed OCAP integrates proactive measures such as preventive maintenance and advanced monitoring technologies, which are tested and verified through a comprehensive experimental setup. Implementing the novel OCAP in a case company's production line reduced machine downtime by over 24 h per week and increased wafer production by about 23 wafers per week. Additionally, probe test yield improved by an average of 1.1%, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method. This paper not only explores the implementation of the novel OCAP but also compares it with the traditional OCAP, highlighting significant improvements in efficiency and production output. The results underscore the potential of advanced OCAP to enhance manufacturing processes by reducing dependency on human judgment, thus lowering the likelihood of errors and improving overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using optimal assembly relationships, companies can enhance product quality without significantly increasing production costs. However, predicting Assembly Geometric Errors presents a challenging real-world problem in the manufacturing domain. To address this challenge, this paper introduces a highly efficient Transformer-based neural network model known as Predicting Assembly Geometric Errors based on Transformer (PAGEformer). This model accurately captures long-range assembly relationships and predicts final assembly errors. The proposed model incorporates two unique features: firstly, an enhanced self-attention mechanism to more effectively handle long-range dependencies, and secondly, the generation of positional information regarding gaps and fillings to better capture assembly relationships. This paper collected actual assembly data for folding rudder blades for unmanned aerial vehicles and established a Mechanical Assembly Relationship Dataset (MARD) for a comparative study. To further illustrate PAGEformer performance, we conducted extensive testing on a large-scale dataset and performed ablation experiments. The experimental results demonstrated a 15.3% improvement in PAGEformer accuracy compared to ARIMA on the MARD. On the ETH, Weather, and ECL open datasets, PAGEformer accuracy increased by 15.17%, 17.17%, and 9.5%, respectively, compared to the mainstream neural network models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the analysis of the profitability threshold of bell pepper cultivation in the solar system in conventional farming and organic farming with proposed for the crop year 2022/2023. Thus, by using a system of indicators (specific indicators, result indicators and profitability indicators, production costs, capitalization prices and the degree of profitability per product unit can be estimated. Economic profitability is evaluated in terms of the use of production framework technologies in the production process and the rational use of raw materials, human and financial resources with the aim of obtaining low-cost and high-quality products. Agribusiness actions will always be based on crop profitability. The findings of the undertaken study can favourably influence farmers, giving them the opportunity to adjust their existing farm resources and capacities to achieve higher yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussions of relatedness in the strategy literature concentrate on linkages among business units in terms of key business functions such as marketing and production. While much is known about relatedness from the standpoint of corporate diversification, evidence about the relationship between relatedness and performance at the business unit level has been notably lacking. To further our understanding of the benefits and costs of relatedness, this study examined the perspectives of business unit managers to assess: (1) how the relationship between the two primary types of relatedness--production and marketing--are emphasized at the business unit level, and (2) how these types of relatedness affect business unit performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Colloquium Agrariae is the property of Asociacao Prudentina de Educacao e Cultura (APEC) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Value stream mapping is one of the basic tools used in the processes improvement or design – in accordance with the Lean concept. This paper presents a model of designing production processes and introducing new products to the market based on the analysis of the value streams flow in the production process. Particular attention was paid to the importance of input data necessary to plan a properly functioning production process, which results in a high-value product (from the customer's point of view). In the paper also the list of all the most important tools supporting all stages of designing new production processes or improving existing processes has been presented. Also the advantages of big pictures analysis using was highlighted. In this case value stream mapping and big picture analysis were oriented on quality in the product development process and contribute to: creating value (based on customer requirements) while maintaining timely deliveries and constant costs (Value Stream Mapping), sustainable use of tangible and intangible resources (removing waste at the design stage). However, from the company point of view, and particular in the cost level, the product can gain value because a lower input is required for its production. After improvement, the process lead time has been shortened in an area where value was not added, but the consequence of implementing the change is an increase in the production volume while maintaining the process transition time – therefore, unit costs of production will change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computer-aided design (CAD) models can now be directly converted into products and structures. One technique to realize such approach is through Additive Manufacturing (AM). AM is relatively new manufacturing technology in which products are manufactured by layering various materials like rubber, metal, ceramic, composites, and polymers. However, the use of this technology requires consideration of its associated cost to ensure its competitiveness. In this paper, a simplified mathematical cost model is suggested. The model considers the main components of costs. The model formula utilizes expenses related to the pre-processing, main processing, and the post-processing operations. To validate the model, it is tested to estimate the cost of medical implants manufacturing using AM technique. In many cases, medical implants require unique or dedicated design for each patient. Hence cost estimation will help to assess and estimate the required financial resources for such operations. A case study is provided in this paper to estimate the manufacturing cost of a finger's phalanges bone, with metal implant using AM technique. The developed model may be described as Activity Based Costing (ABC). The model is introduced to estimate the cost of parts produced using AM technique. Although the model is developed to suit custom implant manufacturing using AM technique, its use may also be adapted to suit the manufacturing of many other parts and products. The developed model is aiming to achieve several tasks namely assigning cost drivers to each activity, estimating the cost of individual actions, allocating overhead expenses, calculating the overall production cost, and establishing an acceptable selling price. It assists companies in computing the cost of custom implants for customers, enhancing the accuracy of production cost estimates, and ultimately boosting profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the selection of a permanent magnet synchronous machine design that could be implemented in a small wind turbine designed by the GUST student organization together with researchers working at the Technical University of Lodz. Based on measurements of the characteristics of available machines, eight initial designs of machines with different rotor designs were proposed. The size of the stator, the number of pairs of poles, and the dimensions of the magnets were used as initial parameters of the designed machines. The analysis was carried out about the K-index, the so-called index of benefits. The idea was to make the selected design as efficient as possible while keeping production costs and manufacturing time low. This paper describes how to select the best design of a permanent magnet synchronous generator intended to work with a small wind turbine. All generator parameters were selected keeping in mind the competition requirements, as the designed generator will be used in the author's wind turbine. Based on the determined characteristics of the generator variants and the value of the K-index, a generator with a latent magnet rotor was selected as the best solution. The aforementioned K-index is a proprietary concept developed for the selection of the most suitable generator design. This paper did not use optimization methods; the analysis was only supported by the K-index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New insights into intractable industrial challenges can be revealed by framing them in terms of natural science. One intractable industrial challenge is that creative production can be much more financially expensive and time consuming than standardized production. Creative products include a wide range of goods that have one or more original characteristics. The scaling up of creative production is hindered by high financial production costs and long production durations. In this paper, creative production is framed in terms of interactions between entropy and complexity during progressions from emergent pragmatics to action semantics. An analysis of interactions between entropy and complexity is provided that relates established practice in creative production to organizational survival in changing environments. The analysis in this paper is related to assembly theory, which is a recent theoretical development in natural science that addresses how open-ended generation of complex physical objects can emerge from selection in biology. Parallels between assembly practice in industrial production and assembly theory in natural science are explained through constructs that are common to both, such as assembly index. Overall, analyses reported in the paper reveal that interactions between entropy and complexity underlie intractable challenges in creative production, from the production of individual products to the survival of companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of a case study which was undertaken to understand the sources and costs of process variation at a manufacturing facility of a major paper producer. Sources of process variation that were thought to be cost drivers by managers (based on interviews) were empirically evaluated using an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) model. This study finds that a) crews, b) shifts, c) product grades, d) rest interval between shifts, e) grade changes, f) machine downtime, g) changes in shift, and h) various interaction effects all are significant sources of variation in product quality. From these variables, this study develops a heuristic to improve the manufacturing process with regard to product quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Today's production facilities must be efficient in both manufacturing and maintenance. Efficiency enables the company to maintain the required output while reducing production effort or costs. With the increasing interest in process automation and the Internet of things since Industry 4.0 was introduced, such shop floors are growing in complexity. Every component of the production needs to be continuously monitored, which is the basis for predictive maintenance (PdM). To predict when maintenance is needed, the components' conditions are monitored with the help of a condition monitoring (CM) system. However, this task is difficult for human employees, as the monitoring and analysis is very demanding. To overcome this, machine learning (ML) can be applied to ensure more efficient production. Methods: This paper aims to investigate the application of ML techniques for CM and PdM in the manufacturing sector. For this reason, a systematic mapping study (SMS) is conducted in order to structure and classify the current state of research and identify potential gaps for future investigation. Relevant literature was considered between January 2011 and May 2021. Results: Based on the guidelines for SMSs and previously defined research questions, existing publications are examined and a systematic overview of the current state of the research domain is provided. Conclusions: Techniques such as reinforcement learning and transfer learning are underrepresented, but increasingly attracting more attention. The findings of this study suggest that the most promising results belong to the applications of hybrid ML methods, where a set of methods are combined to build a more powerful model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article includes abstracts on articles related to the financial services industry, including "Firm Performance and Mechanisms to Control Agency Problems between Managers and Shareholders," "Dynamic Equilibrium and Volatility in Financial Asset Markets," and "Liquidation Costs and Capital Structure."

With the concept of industrial automation gradually being put forward, the four-axis robotic arm is gradually being applied in industrial production environments due to its advantages such as a stable structure, easy maintenance, and expandability. However, it is difficult to diversify and improve the traditional four-axis robotic arm system due to the high software and hardware coupling and the single system design, which results in high production costs. At the same time, its low intelligence and high-power consumption limit its wide application. The paper proposes an embedded design of a four-axis manipulator system based on vision guidance. Based on the robot kinematics theory and geometric principles, the dynamics simulation of the manipulator model is carried out. Through the forward and reverse analysis of the manipulator model and the trajectory planning of the manipulator, the YOLOV7 target detection algorithm is introduced and deployed on the embedded device, which greatly reduces the manufacturing cost of the manipulator while meeting the control and power consumption requirements. It has been verified by experiments that the robot arm in this paper can achieve an end accuracy of 0.05 mm under the condition of a load of 1 kg using the ISO 9283 international standard, and the recognition algorithm adopted can achieve a recognition accuracy of 95.2% at a frame rate of 29. The overall power consumption is also lower than that of traditional robotic arms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the operating benefits of the distribution network (DN) and reduce the energy consumption costs of small-micro industrial parks (SMIPs), a two-layer optimal electricity trading method for DN with SMIPs is proposed. First, based on the Stackelberg game, a multi-objective two-layer optimal trading model for DN and SMIP is established. In the upper layer, the DN agent is regarded as the leader, and a trading model is established with the goal of maximizing the profits of agents. In the lower layer, an energy optimization model is proposed for the SMIP operators, which are regarded as the followers, with the goal of minimizing the operating costs. According to the buying and selling electricity prices at the upper and lower layers, a dynamic pricing strategy is formulated. The Karush-Kuhn-Tucker condition (KKT) is introduced to transform the two-layer model into a single-layer model, and based on linear transformations, the model is further converted into a mixed-integer linear programming model. The transformations aim to address the non-linear issues arising from multivariable coupling between the upper and lower-layer trading models. The simulation results show that the trading strategy proposed in this paper can effectively increase the profit of DNs while reducing the operating costs of SMIPs and can provide a reference for decision-making in the electricity market (EM) with the participation of SMIP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]