Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is of great importance for the pharmaceutical industry as a simple, quick, and low cost analytical method. Considerable effort has been made over the past decades to combine the simplicity of TLC with the selectivity and sensitivity of mass spectrometry (MS) detection. In the pharmaceutical industry sensitivity is an especially important factor, since the allowed impurity level of most drugs is under 0.1%.The aim of the present thesis was to develop methods for the direct examination of pharmaceutical compounds from TLC plates by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI TOF MS). The study was started by comparing several approaches for the application of the matrix for direct TLC-MALDI including a newly developed electrospray matrix deposition method. This new method was found to be superior to the other techniques studied. It produced a stable signal, minimised analyte spreading, and hence allowed the scanning of a TLC plate to obtain chromatographic as well as mass spectral data. The plotted mass chromatograms assisted in spot location, and allowed the calculation of Rf-values. These showed good agreement with the Rf -values determined by UV detection. The decrease in mass resolution and mass accuracy commonly observed in TLC-MALDI TOF MS due to the uneven nature of the silica gel layer was corrected by internal recalibration on selected matrix ions during the scanning of the TLC plate. To enhance the signals recorded directly from a TLC plate the use of an extraction solvent prior the matrix application was explored. Further improvements in sensitivity were obtained by modifying a robotic x-y-z axis motion system to act as an electrospray deposition device and by use of special Si 60 F[254] HPTLC-MALDI targets. Using both approaches sensitivities in the high fmol range were obtained. To minimise matrix interference, which can suppress analyte signals, the application of suspensions of particles of different materials and sizes (Co-UFP, TiN, TiO[2], graphite and silicon) onto eluted TLC plates were investigated. The structural analysis of pharmaceutical compounds was achieved by post-source decay - matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation (PSD-MALDI) mass spectrometry performed directly on the separated spots. TLC-MALDI MS is not only applicable to the qualitative analysis of pharmaceutical compounds. The generation of quantitative data by using a structural analogue as an internal standard is also described. Different approaches to the incorporation of the internal standard into the TLC plate were tested. The most successful approach was to develop the TLC plate in the mobile phase to which the internal standard was added. Good accuracy, precision, linearity and sensitivity was obtained using this approach.

Bandwidth limitation of conventional electrical demultiplexer restricts the data capacity of long-haul optical time division multiplexing (OTDM) systems. It is desirable to demultiplex the OTDM signal in optical domain, thereby lifting the bandwidth limitation of the electrical demultiplexer. The general principle of all-optical time division demultiplexing is to effect asymmetric changes to the optical properties of the target and non-target channels. The different optical properties of the target and non-target channels facilitate the separation of the target channel(s) from the aggregate OTDM signal. The change of optical properties of the OTDM signal can be achieved by exploiting various types of nonlinear optics effects, such as cross-phase modulation and four-wave mixing. Although the technical viability of all-optical demultiplexing has been successfully demonstrated in laboratories, there is still a lack of understanding regarding the noise and crosstalk characteristics of all-optical demultiplexers. This PhD study attempts to investigate noise and crosstalk performance of two types of all-optical time division demultiplexers, namely nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM) and terahertz optical asymmetric demultiplexer (TOAD). In order to evaluate the noise and crosstalk performance of NOLM and TOAD demultiplexers, mathematical models are developed to simulate the transmission window for demultiplexing the target channel. The shape of the transmission window is dependent on the device parameters of the demultiplexers. Varying input parameters of the mathematical models can simulate the effects of changing device parameters on the transmission window. Nevertheless, it is onerous to calculate transmission windows for infinite combinations of device parameters. To simplify the noise and crosstalk analysis, device parameters of NOLM and TOAD demultiplexers are optimised for maximising the peak of the transmission windows. Noise and crosstalk models are also developed forNOLM and TOAD demultiplexers. The optimised device parameters of NOLM and TOAD demultiplexers are fed into the noise and crosstalk models for analysis. Simulation results show that a tradeoff between noise and crosstalk exists for the two types of demultiplexers. Device parameters can be optimised to minimise either noise or crosstalk, but not both. Finally, the noise and crosstalk models are connected to a receiver model, where the bit-error-rate (BER) performance of OTDM systems is evaluated. The BER performances of the NOLM and TOAD demultiplexing are compared using the optimised device parameters. It is found that TOAD has a slightly better BER performance compared with NOLM for lower baseband bit rate (i.e. a larger number of OTDM channels for an aggregate bit rate).

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnologico / Made available in DSpace on 2012-10-16T06:28:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0Bitstream added on 2013-07-16T17:20:36Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 94763.pdf: 5302338 bytes, checksum: 6492c249d1bb6b2994a394f718dae0f5 (MD5) / Cada vez mais as empresas estão se direcionando no sentido de mudança do processo produtivo como forma de sobreviver e acompanhar o mercado consumidor extremamente exigente. O mercado mundial está mais dinâmico e competitivo. Como resposta às exigências de qualidade, variedade e baixos custos, as empresas estão buscando a excelência de manufatura em cima de novos conceitos produtivos, historicamente chamados "Filosofia de produção Just-In-Time". Este trabalho tem por objetivo discutir e ordenar os conhecimentos atualmente existentes sobre a Filosofia de produção Just-In-Time. São ressaltados os princípios de atuação, os objetivos procurados, as ferramentas disponíveis e as medidas de desempenho que, no conjunto, caracterizam esta filosofia de produção.

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro Tecnológico. / Made available in DSpace on 2012-10-17T11:57:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0Bitstream added on 2014-09-25T16:49:54Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 172574.pdf: 2702381 bytes, checksum: 2000cabb6369be8a522248199366ed39 (MD5) / Durante muitos anos o Brasil manteve o mercado fechado e não houve uma preocupação de investir na empresa visando a melhoria de seus produtos e processos de forma a aumentar a satisfação dos clientes, entretanto a abertura do mercado trouxe muitas mudanças no ambiente das empresas. As empresas vem presenciando nestes últimos anos um aumento crescente no grau de exigências do mercado consumidor e também no nível de competitividade dos comércios interno e externo. Devido a estes fatores, as empresas para sobreviverem devem melhorar o seu desempenho global, oferecendo melhores produtos e serviços aos seus clientes. A logística representa um papel fundamental para atingir estes objetivos. Considerando sua relação com a estratégia da empresa apresentamos a Logística através de uma visão sistêmica, de forma a permitir o entendimento do sistema como um todo, permitindo que as empresas sejam capazes de estruturar sistemas logísticos que as possibilitem alcançar altos níveis de competitividade.

This dissertation is a postcolonial analysis of four films: The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980), Dances with Wolves (1990), The Last Samurai (2003), and Avatar (2009). While previous scholarship has identified the Eurocentric worldview of early 20th-century ethnographic film, no book-length work has analyzed the time consciousness of turn-of-the-21st century films that feature portrayals of the colonial encounter. By harmonizing film theory with postcolonial theory, this dissertation explores how contemporary films reiterate colonial models of time in ways which validate colonial aggression. This dissertation concludes that the aesthetics of contemporary popular cinema collude with colonial models of time in such a way as to privilege whiteness vis-à-vis constructions of a primitive other. Contemporary primitivism works through the legacy of classical Hollywood style, nostalgia for the western film, the omnipotence of the white male gaze, and a reverence for technology.

No description available.

Orientador: Vinicius Amaral Armentano / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Eletrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-22T21:05:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Guimaraes_LuciaFilomenadeAlmeida_D.pdf: 6025825 bytes, checksum: 0cad394cd2c4d3042aece408ca602972 (MD5) Previous issue date: 1997 / Resumo: : O sistema Kanban de produção é um sistema do tipo ?puxar? para controle de chão de fábrica. Ele é motivado pelo conceito de produção Just-in-Time e tem como objetivo programar a produção, reduzindo ao mínimo os níveis de estoque. Neste trabalho considera-se um ambiente de produção com estrutura de montagem multi-estágio e restrições de capacidade dos itens componentes e do item final. Um modelo estocástico de otimização com recurso que incorpora as incertezas da demanda do item final e capacidade de produção é proposto. Demanda não atendida é permitida no estágio final do modelo. Um método do tipo Branch and Cut é desenvolvido para obter soluções ótimas. Soluções sub-ótimas são obtidas através de um método heurístico e de busca tabu. Testes computacionais são apresentado / Abstract: The kanban production system is a pull-type system for shop floor control. It is based on the concept of Just-in-Time production and has the porpuse of scheduling production, reducing inventory levels to a minimum. In this work, a multi-stage assembly-structure production setting with capacity constraints for the component items and the final item is considered. A stochastic optimization model with recourse that takes into account uncertainties of demand of the final item and production capacity is proposed. Backlog is allowed in the final stage. A Branch and Cut method is developed in order to obtain optimal solutions. Sub-optimal solutions are obtained by a heuristic method and by tabu search. Computational test are reported. / Doutorado / Doutor em Engenharia Elétrica

M.Ing. / This report covers literature studies of Logistics, Warehousing (as one of the important components in the logistics chain) as well as Just-in-time (JIT) principles (as an important focus recently in logistics operations). The spareparts distribution function of a South African motorcar manufacturing business is then investigated and positioned within the logistics chain and warehousing concept, using the information from the literature study. The implementation of Just-in-time (JIT) principles with regards to specific components of the logistics chain is then investigated in the form of case studies. While most literature only discuss the implementation of JIT principles in a manufacturing environment, this report highlights the fact that substantial benefits can also be obtained by implementing JIT principles in a non-manufacturing environment. This investigation highlights specific benefits as well as negative points which support the literature and which could be used to guide future implementors of JIT principles.

Abstract Human motor performance and motor skills are essential aspects of various daily activities, and their importance is especially great in traffic, sports and unexpected situations. There is evidence that physically active subjects have better performance in some motor tasks (e.g. reaction time) than less active ones, and a few longitudinal intervention studies have shown that training improves certain aspects of motor performance, but there are also contradictory results. Despite the difficulty of improving motor performance, many physiotherapy programs and treatments are expected to do precisely that. However, the previous literature contains little information on these issues. The aim of the present doctoral project was to examine human motor performance (reaction time, speed of movement, tapping speed and coordination) and the effects of some of the most commonly used physiotherapy treatments on it in normal healthy volunteers. In addition, the reliability of the motor performance measurements performed with the HPM/BEP system is presented. Study I was a cross-sectional study of the population of Oulu, where 200 healthy randomly selected subjects (100 men and 100 women aged 21–70 years) were stratified by gender and by ten-year age group into ten groups. The test battery consisted of six motor performance tests for both hands and feet. The studies II, III and V were non-controlled intervention studies, and study IV was a cross-over intervention study. The participants in the studies were healthy, voluntary staff members (n = 14–30) of the Oulu University Hospital, and the interventions between the measurements consisted of strapping of the ankle and wrist joints (study II), hot and cold pack treatments of the hand (study III), one-hour hand strength training session (study IV) and a ten -week hand strength training program (study V). The results showed that motor performance was poorer in the older age groups in both genders. The average speed of movement and tapping speed values were higher for men than for women, but there were no gender differences in the coordination tests or the hand reaction time tests. All values (except the hand reaction times) were better for the dominant than the nondominant side. The strapping of the ankle and wrist joints decreased some aspects of the motor performance and muscle strength of these joints in healthy subjects. The hot pack treatment of healthy subjects caused only minor changes in the motor performance of the treated area, while the cold pack treatment decreased almost all of the measured aspects, and these changes were especially notable in fine motor movements. A one-hour hand strength training session decreased acutely muscle strength and EMG activity, but muscle fatigue had no effects on the motor performance functions of the hand. It seems that the feeling of incompetence to perform speed and accurate movements with fatigued muscles is mainly a subjective feeling, and that the real effect of muscle fatigue on motor performance is less than generally expected. A ten-week hand strength training period increased muscle strength and EMG activity in the trained muscles. There was also a suggestion that even non-task-specific training may improve some aspects of the motor performance of the hand, and an increase in the activation of motor units during muscle contraction may improve motor performance in some motor tasks. In addition, the results indicated that the HPM / BEP system is a potentially useful tool for studying motor performance, and the reliability of the system is acceptable.

M.Phil. / The central research problem of this study asks whether principle-based time management can increase quality of life? The second question, which arises, is what the underlying principles of quality of life creating time management would be? These principles were identified by looking at some of the most common time management problems. The principles are being proactive, living according to values, setting goals, acquiring self-knowledge and being motivated by importance rather than urgency. Quality of life can be defined as living, loving, learning and leaving a legacy. Principles are objective, universal, fundamental, primary truths that cannot be reduced to something more basic. Time management can be characterised as the process by which time is applied effectively to gain a return on the investment thereof in the form enhanced quality of life. Eight approaches to time management found in literature were fathomed to discover what their contribution to time management, strengths and weaknesses were. It could clearly be seen that utilising any of these methods in isolation would certainly lead to an ultimate decline in quality of life. Thus, a higher level approach to time management had to be found. Two higher level approaches to time management are found in the literature. A new approach to principle-based time management called the Journey approach was synthesised by interweaving current approaches to time management, with quality of life producing principles from a Personal and Professional Leadership perspective. The Journey metaphor was used to arrive at the following steps for a principle-based approach to time management: 1) Set life goals. 2) Gain self-knowledge. 3) Align your perception of reality with universal principles. 4) Set medium term gaols. 5) Make action plans. 6) Act according to the plan. Finally some guidelines for a course on principle-based time management are given.