Challenge For Industry Research Articles

Opportunities for Microphysiological Systems in Toxicity Testing of New Drug Modalities.

New drug modalities offer life-saving benefits for patients through access to previously undruggable targets. Yet these modalities pose a challenge for the pharmaceutical industry, as side effects are complex, unpredictable, and often uniquely human. With animal studies having limited predictive value due to translatability challenges, the pharmaceutical industry seeks out new approach methodologies. Microphysiological systems (MPS) offer important features that enable complex toxicological processes to be modeled in vitro such as (a) an adjustable complexity of cellular components, including immune components; (b) a modifiable tissue architecture; (c) integration and monitoring of dynamic mechanisms; and (d) a multiorgan connection. Here we review MPS studies in the context of four clinical adverse events triggered by new drug modalities: peripheral neuropathy, thrombocytopenia, immune-mediated hepatotoxicity, and cytokine release syndrome. We conclude that while the use of MPS for testing new drug modality-induced toxicities is still in its infancy, we see strong potential going forward.

Packaging, perception, and acceptability: a comprehensive exploration of extrinsic attributes and consumer behaviours in novel food product systems

SummaryIn today's global markets, the constant arrival of new products represents a challenge for the food industry to offer distinct choices to consumers, primarily due to the parallel sensory attributes and pricing structures of the available food options. Innovators must employ methodologies beyond traditional sensory analysis to ensure the product's success. Researchers must, therefore, explore the entire product experience to understand its influence on consumer behaviours. Food choices are multifaceted, influenced by various factors, including individual physiological and psychological characteristics and intrinsic and extrinsic product attributes. As a result, consumers' decisions are shaped by the multisensory information derived from products they encounter in supermarkets. This review aims to comprehensively examine the factors influencing consumer food choices, from initial product encounters to consumption. The review explores the impact of repetitive tasting on the consumer's attitudes and intentions towards novel products. Additionally, the review investigates which extrinsic attributes capture consumer attention in supermarket settings. It also delves into the effects of extrinsic product attributes on both explicit and implicit emotions and expectations raised about the sensory properties of the product and, ultimately, their purchasing behaviours.

Principles for Incorporating Recycled Materials into Airport Pavement Construction for More Sustainable Airport Pavements

Current international waste policy promotes the reduction and re-use of waste materials, and in some cases, specifically calls for the use of recycled materials in pavements. Consequently, there is a need to understand the performance of recycled materials in airport pavements, as well as the overall sustainability benefit. This paper reviews several recycled materials and their applications to asphalt concrete, cement concrete, and bound and unbound granular materials in the context of airport pavements. Additionally, it reviews sustainability quantification methods, as well as implementation challenges for using recycled materials in airport pavements. For comparing pavements with and without recycled materials, a triple bottom line approach is appropriate. The triple bottom line approach should use life cycle cost assessment and life cycle assessment for the financial and environmental impacts, respectively, as best-practice, with frameworks and guidelines already established. For social impacts, it is recommended to quantify the reduction in virgin material use which relates to intergenerational equity by ensuring access to materials by future generations. Because there are still implementation challenges for the airport pavement industry, principles are developed that aim to promote uptake of recycled materials. These principles include sorting and processing, minimising haulage distances, and ensuring performance of pavement layers through performance testing and performance-related specifications.

A Conceptual Framework for Optimizing Performance in Sustainable Supply Chain Management and Digital Transformation towards Industry 5.0

The economic growth of developed or emerging countries through globalization has prompted them to increase their supply chain performance. A large number of concepts, tools, and methodologies have been proposed in support of this performance improvement. They are mainly based on the use of classical optimization or enterprise modeling methods. However, environmental and social issues, not to mention digital transformation, are often ignored or not sufficiently integrated. Indeed, the world geopolitical situation, the increase in oil prices, and the commitment to protect our earth require the integration of sustainability aspects and Industry 4.0 concepts like digital twin and artificial intelligence in transforming the supply chain. This paper focuses on defining a conceptual framework to support sustainable supply chain management and digital transformation. It aims to exploit the sustainability and digital maturity of companies to transform their supply chains and enhance their performance to meet the challenges of Industry 5.0. Several practices related to sustainability, as well as two use cases on optimization and digital twin, are presented to illustrate this framework. Finally, based on the previous practices and use cases, an adapted framework for the supply chain manager to support the transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0 has been developed, as well as a performance dashboard.

Coating of oxidized banana starch and olive oil for the preservation of cherry tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Cerasiforme)

Postharvest conservation of fresh fruits and vegetables is a constant challenge in the food industry. Biodegradable coatings represent an innovative and sustainable solution to extend their shelf life. In this context, this research evaluated the influence of a coating based on oxidized banana starch (Musa paradisiaca L. group AAA, cv. Cavendish) and olive oil on the conservation of cherry tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Cerasiforme) during their storage at ambient conditions. Coating-forming emulsions were prepared using starch (4% m v-1) with a high degree of oxidation, glycerol, Tween 80, and olive oil. The products were dip coated. The starch extraction yield was 27.26% by the wet milling method. The contents of lipids, crude fiber, proteins, carbohydrates, and ashes tended to decrease in oxidized starches with increasing reaction time, the opposite behavior for humidity (P≤0.05). Solubility and oil absorption capacity increased in oxidized starches, while water absorption and swelling power decreased (P≤0.05). The best combination for the formulation of oxidized starch coatings was 3% (m v-1) of glycerol and 0.3% (m v-1) of oil. This coating reduced weight losses and delayed the ripening process. The results suggested that the use of coatings based on oxidized banana starch and olive oil is an effective strategy for maintaining the quality and freshness of the fruits during a longer storage period.

Influence of pH value on erosive wear of 3D-printed polylactic acid for multiphase flow

Abstract Slurry erosion presents a critical challenge in hydrocarbon and cement processing industries, as well as in abrasive water jet cutting systems, leading to diminished operational efficiency and elevated maintenance costs. This study investigates the erosive wear behavior of Poly-Lactic Acid (PLA) fabricated with varying infill microtextures—zigzag, concentric, and grid—under diverse pH conditions (2.73, 7.75, and 10.15) using garnet particles as the erodent. The results demonstrate that optimal operational conditions for PLA are achieved with a grid microtexture, a pH of 7.75, and a 325 μm erodent size. Conversely, the most severe wear occurs under a pH of 10.15, a 600 μm erodent size, and a zigzag microtexture. The grid microtexture is the most effective in minimizing erosion, while the zigzag pattern shows a 16.68% increase in wear when compared to the grid microtexture. Additionally, a shift from a slightly basic to a highly acidic environment increases wear by 1%, whereas a transition to a highly basic environment leads to a 32.6% increase in erosion within the grid microtexture. The study highlights the significant contributions of infill microtexture (64%), erodent size (23.7%), and pH value (11%) to the overall erosion rate.

Building Information Modeling Adoption, Implementation, and Challenges in the Ethiopian Construction Industry

Building Information Modeling Adoption, Implementation, and Challenges in the Ethiopian Construction Industry

INVESTIGATING THE KEY LIMITATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS INFLUENCING THE COMPETITIVE SUCCESS OF SOUTH AFRICA’S ORANGER EXPORTERS.

The objective of identifying constraining factors is to reveal that the key obstacles affecting the competitiveness of South Africa's domestic orange industry include issues such as the "quality of unskilled labor," "trust in the honesty of politicians," "electricity suppliers," "health," "South Africa’s land reform policy," "South Africa’s BEE policy," and "crime." Additionally, challenges related to the lack of quality infrastructure, bilateral agreements with trading countries, and poor performance of ports relative to their global counterparts have been identified. The constraining factors were ranked, with the top issues aligning closely with the industry's current challenges. In contrast, enhancing factors play a crucial role in boosting industry competitiveness in both domestic and international markets. The key elements contributing positively include the availability of unskilled labor, local input suppliers, scientific research institutions, technological quality, the cost of unskilled labor, soil conditions, and the sustainability of local input suppliers. Attention to maintaining and improving these factors is crucial for the sustained competitiveness of the South African orange sector.

Defect prediction and performance optimization of A413 vertical centrifugal castings through FEA-based simulation

This study benefits from advanced simulation based on finite element analysis, where finite element analysis possesses robust numerical algorithms to confront critical industrial challenges, including prediction and optimization techniques. The primary goal is to predict the location and quantity of shrinkage porosity and air entrainment, and to mitigate them by optimizing key casting process factors while considering the geometric effects. Virtual experiments designed through the Taguchi method, with three parameters (aspect ratio, pouring temperature, and mold rotation speed) at five levels each, were conducted using the finite element analysis software ProCAST. Post-experimentation, comprehensive data analyses, including signal-to-noise ratio and response surface methods, were employed to determine optimal conditions. Additionally, a sophisticated regression model was developed to clarify the complex relationship between key parameters and defect aspects. Optimal conditions to reduce shrinkage porosity were identified within parameter ranges of (50–75) rpm, (750–800) °C, and (1.75–2) aspect ratio. Similarly, optimal parameters to reduce air entrainment were identified as 150 rpm, 800 °C, and (1) aspect ratio.

AI Revolutionizes Construction Management “Building Smarter, Safer, and Efficiently Addressing Industry Challenges”

AI Revolutionizes Construction Management “Building Smarter, Safer, and Efficiently Addressing Industry Challenges”

Technology Focus: Field Development (September 2024)

As the industry progresses, the need for further collaboration is imperative on all fronts. Academic expertise, operational experience, and knowledge gathered through trial-and-error analysis must be meshed in order to achieve the optimizations that are increasingly needed with the depletions we experience in various fields globally. The challenges that we face as an industry will require development of new technologies, whether workflows or other innovative solutions, that we never thought possible because of the need for supporting infrastructure to address them. The challenges also require more closely coupled connections between stakeholders—the innovators in academia and industry and the doers who close the gap of technology deployment. Deployment requires taking the ideas and tried and tested opportunities to fruition, where the knowledge is shared and highlighted for our community at large. The three papers synopsized in this feature include a discussion of augmented depletion development, a technique in which openhole wells are drilled within the fractured network of a pad; an approach to well-path generation that relies on the collection of experienced-based constraints from each discipline to generate possible alternatives to the well path; and a multidisciplinary approach used to develop a presalt field offshore Brazil. The hope is that the technical articles in this feature can demonstrate to the reader the scope of collaboration and the effect of technical knowledge sharing that our industry currently enjoys—and requires. I hope they drive more questions and provoke further and deeper understanding of the content to the benefit of all. More importantly, I hope they highlight the complexity that is involved in addressing the industry challenges in field development and project management.

The Skills Shortage is One of The Biggest Industry Challenges But There is Hope

UK engineering and manufacturing continues to be impacted by the shortage of skills that is creating challenges across the industry. We spoke to some key figures from across industry to garner their views about the challenges faced, solutions and what is being done to help address the growing issue

Understanding Corruption in the South African Construction Industry

Corruption persists in the construction industry, impeding service delivery. This study aimed to understand corruption among practitioners within the South African (SA) construction industry. The study included practitioners in the construction industry (private and public sector) operating across seven associations in Johannesburg, SA. Participants were recruited using a snowball sampling method. Participants completed an open-ended, semi-structured interview (12 questions), conducted face-to-face and took 45 to 60 minutes. There were a total of 11 participants. Respondents felt collusion exists due to poor ethics and that poor ethics among built environment stakeholders result in unethical behaviour. There was consensus that corruption affects the economic growth of SA and that small, micro, and medium enterprises are vulnerable when the economy performs poorly. Participants agreed that corruption could result in delayed or no completion of projects, affect quality standards and that incompetent contractors result in poor performance. Participants felt that corrupt practices result in government departments paying contractors late. On the other hand, whistleblowing rarely occurs due to its risky nature. There was agreement that unethical practices affect securing contracts during procurement and that the manipulation of procurement processes results from a lack of transparency. Corruption is a challenge in the SA construction industry and needs to be eliminated. Key Words: construction research; corruption; South Africa; construction industry

Unsupervised selective labeling for semi-supervised industrial defect detection

In industrial detection scenarios, achieving high accuracy typically relies on extensive labeled datasets, which are costly and time-consuming. This has motivated a shift towards semi-supervised learning (SSL), which leverages labeled and unlabeled data to improve learning efficiency and reduce annotation costs. This work proposes the unsupervised spectral clustering labeling (USCL) method to optimize SSL for industrial challenges like defect variability, rarity, and complex distributions. Integral to USCL, we employ the multi-task fusion self-supervised learning (MTSL) method to extract robust feature representations through multiple self-supervised tasks. Additionally, we introduce the Enhanced Spectral Clustering (ESC) method and a dynamic selecting function (DSF). ESC effectively integrates both local and global similarity matrices, improving clustering accuracy. The DSF maximally selects the most valuable instances for labeling, significantly enhancing the representativeness and diversity of the labeled data. USCL consistently improves various SSL methods compared to traditional instance selection methods. For example, it boosts Efficient Teacher by 5%, 6.6%, and 7.8% in mean Average Precision(mAP) on the Automotive Sealing Rings Defect Dataset, the Metallic Surface Defect Dataset, and the Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) Defect Dataset with 10% labeled data. Our work sets a new benchmark for SSL in industrial settings.

Antibacterial blue light is a promising tool for inactivating Escherichia coli in the food sector due to its low risk of cross-stress tolerance

BackgroundEscherichia coli is an integral part of the colonic microflora, though its pathogenic intestinal strains can contaminate animal and plant products and cause significant challenges in the food industry. Thermal processing is one of the most common methods used to preserve food. Nevertheless, non-thermal antibacterial methods, such as antibacterial blue light (aBL), are attracting more interest due to the growing demand for minimally processed products. Thus, the current study was aimed at assessment whether the risk of co-selection for these two food processing approaches exist.ResultsThe development of E. coli tolerance to both selective factors was observed after repeated exposure to sublethal doses of heat and aBL, and the observed adaptations were confirmed to be phenotypically stable. The results demonstrated that populations with increased tolerance to aBL also exhibited increased tolerance to temperature, while the sensitivity of temperature-tolerant populations to aBL did not change. We also identified 11 genes that could be involved in cross-stress tolerance. Neither adaptation changed the antibiotic sensitivity of the tolerant strains. Finally, short- and long-term pre-incubation at elevated temperatures significantly increased the tolerance of E. coli BW25113 to aBL.ConclusionsThe results obtained clearly demonstrate that aBL may serve as a complementary approach in food industry lacking resistance development and exerting no impact on microbial drug susceptibility. Nevertheless, the phenomenon of cross-tolerance should be considered an issue when designing food processing including sequential use of aBL and high temperature.Graphical

Reducing Loss Production Opportunity (LPO) at PT Pertamina EP Donggi Matindok field

Pertamina EP Donggi Matindok Field (PEP DMF) in Regional 4 significantly contributes to production and profit, accounting for 1.95% of total SHU production and 2.46% of net profit by the third quarter of 2023. However, PEP DMF faces challenges with Loss Production Opportunity (LPO), which denotes the gap between potential and actual production, impacting both production performance and revenue. The research aims to tackle the increase in Loss Productivity Opportunity (PPO) by identifying the main problems, analyzing contributing factors, determining root causes, and developing strategies to mitigate LPO, particularly focusing on the 2023 increase. Through a structured approach, the study provides a comprehensive analysis of the issues leading to increased LPO and offers practical business solutions, contributing valuable insights that can be applied to similar industrial challenges. The root causes were pinpointed using the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Pareto Diagram methods, identifying primary issues as unreliable IGBT components, the absence of certified engineers, and discontinued spare parts for the VSD Booster Compressor. The recommended solution, determined through Kepner-Tregoe Decision Analysis, is to replace a new brand that has domestic engineers and its spare parts are still being produced.

Optimise Energy Consumption of Wireless Sensor Networks by using modified Ant Colony Optimization

Routing represents a pivotal concern in the context of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) owing to its divergence from traditional network routing paradigms. The inherent dynamism of the WSN environment, coupled with the scarcity of available resources, engenders considerable challenges for industry and academia alike in devising efficient routing strategies. Addressing these challenges, a viable recourse is applying heuristic search methodologies to ascertain the best path in WSNs. Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is a well-established heuristic algorithm that has demonstrated notable advancements in routing contexts. This paper presents an altered routing protocol that is based on ant colony optimization. In this protocol, we incorporate the inverse of the distance between nodes and their neighbours in the probability equations of ACO, along with considering pheromone levels and residual energy. These formulation modifications facilitate the selection of the most suitable candidate for the subsequent hop, effectively minimising the average energy consumption across all nodes in each iteration. Furthermore, in this protocol, we iteratively fine-tune ACO's parameter values based on the outcomes of several experimental trials. The experimental analysis is conducted through a diverse set of network topologies, and the results are compared against well-established ACO algorithms and routing protocols. The efficacy of the proposed protocol is assessed based on various performance metrics, encompassing throughput, energy consumption, network lifetime, energy consumption, the extent of data transferred over the network, and the length of paths traversed by packets. These metrics collectively provide a comprehensive evaluation of the performance attainments of the routing protocols.

Numerical and experimental investigation on debonding detection in honeycomb sandwich using air-coupled local defect resonance and coda wave analysis

Non-contact ultrasonic testing of debonding in honeycomb sandwich structure has been a major challenge in industry. In this study, the air-coupled local defect resonance (LDR) technique with coda wave analysis is proposed for nondestructive testing (NDT) of debonding in honeycomb sandwich structure. Numerical simulations have been conducted to visualize the LDR behavior of debonding in honeycomb sandwich structure by air-coupled excitations, and a decorrelation analysis method is proposed for determining the interval of coda wave from received signals. Results indicate that the start moment of coda wave should be determined as the time corresponding to decorrelation coefficient exceed to 0.2 and the duration is 2.5 ms. Air-coupled LDR scanning experiments were conducted on the honeycomb sandwich specimens with different deboning. Experimental results indicate that the proposed technique is effective for NDT of the debonding in honeycomb sandwich structures. The research provides an efficiency non-contact ultrasonic NDT method for honeycomb sandwich structure.

Risk Factors for Food Insecurity among Early Childhood Education Providers: Time for a Solution.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated challenges in the child care industry, leading to closures and financial strain. Early care and education (ECE) providers faced reduced income, increased debt, and material hardships such as food insecurity. Using survey data collected through the Child Care Resource Center (CCRC), this study examines the association between food insecurity risk, sociodemographic factors, and pandemic-related service changes among ECE providers in California. The results showed that income, race, and increased food costs were significantly associated with a higher risk of food insecurity among ECE providers. Compared to incomes greater than USD 60,000, those earning USD 40,000-USD 49,999 and USD 50,000-USD 59,999 had higher odds of food insecurity (OR: 1.94, 95% CI: 0.683-1.86; OR: 2.12, 95% CI: 0.623-1.81, respectively). Black (OR: 1.89, 95% CI: 1.21-2.94) and multi-racial respondents (OR: 1.71, 95% CI: 1.1-2.65) had higher odds of food insecurity than white respondents. Lastly, respondents experiencing increased food costs had greater odds of food insecurity (OR: 4.52, 95% CI: 2.74-7.45). These findings suggest the need for policies and interventions aimed at increasing food access among vulnerable ECE providers. Such interventions will better protect them from financial shocks and the risk of food insecurity, and will support their crucial role in healthy child growth and development.

Impact of swine influenza A virus on porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus infection in alveolar macrophages.

Porcine respiratory disease complex represents a major challenge for the swine industry, with swine influenza A virus (swIAV) and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) being major contributors. Epidemiological studies have confirmed the co-circulation of these viruses in pig herds, making swIAV-PRRSV co-infections expected. A couple of in vivo co-infection studies have reported replication interferences between these two viruses. Herein, using a reductionist in vitro model, we investigated the potential mechanisms of these in vivo interferences. We first examined the impact of swIAV on porcine alveolar macrophages (AMs) and its effects on AMs co-infection by PRRSV. This was done either in monoculture or in co-culture with respiratory tracheal epithelial cells to represent the complexity of the interactions between the viruses and their respective target cells (epithelial cells for swIAV and AMs for PRRSV). AMs were obtained either from conventional or specific pathogen-free (SPF) pigs. SwIAV replication was abortive in AMs, inducing cell death at high multiplicity of infections. In AMs from three out of four conventional animals, swIAV showed no impact on PRRSV replication. However, inhibition of PRRSV multiplication was observed in AMs from one animal, accompanied by an early increase in the expression of interferon (IFN)-I and IFN-stimulated genes. In AMs from six SPF pigs, swIAV inhibited PRRSV replication in all animals, with an early induction of antiviral genes. Co-culture experiments involving tracheal epithelial cells and AMs from either SPF or conventional pigs all showed swIAV-induced inhibition of PRRSV replication, together with early induction of antiviral genes. These findings highlight the complex interactions between swIAV and PRRSV in porcine AMs, and would suggest a role of host factors, such as sanitary status, in modulating viral propagation. Our co-culture experiments demonstrated that swIAV inhibits PRRSV replication more effectively in the presence of respiratory tracheal epithelial cells, suggesting a synergistic antiviral response between AMs and epithelial cells, consistent with in vivo experiments.