Common Language Of Communication Research Articles

BioPro designer: an advanced computing environment for modeling and design of integrated biochemical processes

The scale-up and commercialization of biological products is a difficult task that requires collaboration of scientists and engineers from various disciplines. Computer-aided process synthesis and analysis tools can facilitate this task by introducing a common language of communication among the various research and development groups and by providing a total systems approach. BioPro Designer is such a software design tool that runs on personal computers and features an interactive and user friendly interface. This paper presents the architecture and the important features of BioPro Designer.

Report on bioelectrochemistry IV

The fourth advanced course in Bioelectrochemistry, “Nerve-Muscle Function: Bioelectrochemistry, Mechanisms, Energetics and Control”, took place at the Majorana Centre in Erice, Italy, 20 October-l November 1991. The scope of the meeting was international in terms of both sponsorship and participation. Sponsors included the Bioelectrochemical Society, NATO, International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB), the World Federation of Scientists and various Italian Government Agencies (including the Italian National Research Council). One-third of the 60 participants were from Italy, but the majority of the participants came from 18 other nations. The full title of the course indicates the main aspects of the subject that were covered in the lectures and the discussions. Since the course was part of the International School of Biophysics there was an emphasis on the biophysical point of view while integrating the biology with the electrochemistry. For example, early in the course G. Milazzo (Rome) asked the lecturers to use a quantitative approach with accepted standards and proper units, since this is absolutely essential for developing an effective common language for communication across disciplines. M. Blank (New York) urged participants not to forget that ion channels are proteins and that their properties as polyelectrolytes contribute to the specific biological properties. Also, the existence of families of channels with very similar structures but different selectivities suggests that the specificities arise from slight variations of a general scheme. These perspectives on nerve-muscle function were evident during the lectures and discussions, and in this way the school presented a unique treatment of the subject. The first major focus of the meeting was the calcium ion. A survey of calcium ion homeostasis in muscle and nerve was presented by E. Rios (Chicago) and T. Pozzan (Padua), starting from the coordination chemistry and chelation properties in aqueous media and applying these principles to calcium ions in cytoplasm and various organelles. Following these lectures there was a treatment of ion fluxes

Biopro Designer™: An Advanced Design Tool for Rapid Synthesis, Analysis and Evaluation of Integrated Biochemical Processes

The scale-up and commercialization of biological products is a difficult task that requires collaboration of scientists and engineers from various disciplines. Computer-aided process synthesis and process analysis tools can facilitate this task by introducing a common language of communication among the various research and development groups and by providing a total systems approach. BioPro Designer is such a software design tool that runs on the Apple Macintosh computer and features an interactive and user friendly interface. This paper presents the architecture and the important features of BioPro Designer.

The Accountant—Overhead Burden or Service?

Both engineers and accountants working in industry are experts in measurement. The engineer expresses his quantitative data in physical units; the accountant evaluates quantitative measurements into financial terms. Planning the future and controlling the present are two principal functions of management. Accounting provides the common language of communication between the different levels of management planning and controlling all activities of the business. Cash flow, accounting for inflation, investment timing are important areas for the exercise of accountants' specialized training and outlook. The lecturer then outlines an actual comprehensive accounting information system operating in a large and successful engineering company. This illustrates his conclusion that while the engineer is the customer of the accountant providing information, they are partners in optimizing its use in running a business.

The Accountant—Overhead Burden or Service?

Both engineers and accountants working in industry are experts in measurement. The engineer expresses his quantitative data in physical units; the accountant evaluates quantitative measurements into financial terms. Planning the future and controlling the present are two principal functions of management. Accounting provides the common language of communication between the different levels of management planning and controlling all activities of the business. Cash flow, accounting for inflation, investment timing are important areas for the exercise of accountants' specialized training and outlook. The lecturer then outlines an actual comprehensive accounting information system operating in a large and successful engineering company. This illustrates his conclusion that while the engineer is the customer of the accountant providing information, they are partners in optimizing its use in running a business.