Traditional Production Process Research Articles

From News Receiver to News Produser—The New Relationship between Journalists and Audience in Web 2.0

The development of Web 2.0 culture has made social media important instruments for transforming the traditional one-way news production and reception process into a mode of collaborative and interactive journalism. This paper aims to investigating the effects of social media on the relationship between journalists and “produsers”—a hybrid combining the roles of producer and user adopted by news audiences in the Web 2.0 age. Based on a heuristic model of audience inclusion in journalism, this paper conducted a web survey of Taiwan’s journalists and analyzed the interactive relationship that they had with their audience through various types of social media. The findings suggest that electronic media journalists and journalists with Facebook accounts that are open to the public are more inclined to interact with audience. Male journalists interact more with audience than female journalists. In addition, journalists who identify with public participation in the news and subsequently integrate audience outputs into their products and work routines, and those whose media use emphasizes audience involvement exhibit higher levels of audience interaction through their Facebook accounts. Finally, the results reveal that the accessibility of journalists’ Facebook accounts to audience members is the most powerful variable in the journalists’ interactions with audience.

Development of Innovative Strategies for the Korean Manufacturing Industry by Use of the Connected Smart Factory (CSF)

A smart factory refers to a hyper-connected network-based integrated manufacturing system. It acquires all information on manufacturing facilities in real time through the Internet, autonomously changes a manufacturing method, replaces raw materials and ultimately implements an optimized dynamic production system. The realization of top three integrations (integration of production system, integration of product life cycle, integration of inter-company value chain) is a key factor for the success of a hyper-connected smart factory. First, the capability of vertical integration represents the ability to realize the vertical integration of a production system (sensor-control-MES-ERP) and customized production and respond to traditional static production processes. Second, the capability of integrating product life cycle means the optimization of tailored production through complete information exchange after the enterprise integration of product life cycle. Lastly, horizontal integration refers to the capability of providing products and services on time through close inter-company collaboration after integrating inter-company value chain and information network. From this standpoint, this study proposes the success factors which are critical for the successful introduction of hyper-connected smart factory.

Degradation Kinetics and Mechanism of a β-Lactam Antibiotic Intermediate, 6-Aminopenicillanic Acid, in a New Integrated Production Process

In an effort to promote sustainability and to reduce manufacturing costs, the traditional production process for 6-aminopenicillanic acid (6-APA) has been modified to include less processing units. The objectives of this study are to investigate the degradation kinetics of 6-APA, to propose a reasonable degradation mechanism, and to optimize the manufacturing conditions within this new process. A series of degradation kinetic studies were conducted in the presence of impurities, as well as at various chemical and physical conditions. The concentrations of 6-APA were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. An Arrhenius-type kinetic model was established to give a more accurate prediction on the degradation rates of 6-APA. A hydrolysis degradation mechanism is shown to be the major pathway for 6-APA. The degradation mechanisms and the kinetic models for 6-APA in the new system enable the design of a good manufacturing process with optimized parameters.

Acid-Catalyzed Hydrolysis of Lignocellulosic Biomass in Ionic Liquids for Ethanol Production: Opportunities & Challenges

Lignocellulosic biomass (LB) is potentially a relatively inexpensive and abundant feedstock for ethanol production. One of the most challenging steps during the lignocellulosic ethanol production is to convert the carbohydrates in LB to the fermentable reducing sugars (FRS) in an economically viable and environmentally friendly way. The acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of LB in ionic liquids (ILs) has provided a promising technical tool to improve upon the traditional FRS production process. Compared to the conventional FRS production process from LB via the acid or enzymatic hydrolysis method, it has many advantages, such as a simplified process, mild reaction conditions, low acid consumption, and low equipment investment. However, there are still some technical challenges that need to be solved regarding its use at an industrial scale, for example, improving its reaction selectivity, developing effective methods to separate the FRS and ILs, and alleviating the negative effect of the remaining ILs in FRS on subsequent ethanol fermentation. This editorial will give a brief discussion about opportunities and challenges of the acid catalyzed hydrolysis of LB in ILs for ethanol production.

Implementing a Social Knowledge Creation Environment

“Social knowledge creation,” an emergent area of research interest for digital humanists, promotes experimental critical interventions into more traditional knowledge production processes. The Electronic Textual Cultures Lab at the University of Victoria with Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance (University of Toronto Scarborough) have iteratively prototyped a Web-based platform for social knowledge creation called Iter Community. This article discusses the platform’s implementation as a critical intervention in scholarly production and publication, specifically how it provides new opportunities for research and serves as a model to allow for greater involvement of scholars and the public in knowledge creation.

Task-driven manufacturing cloud service proactive discovery and optimal configuration method

Cloud manufacturing (CMfg) is emerging as a promising manufacturing paradigm, which can realize and provide distributed and heterogeneous manufacturing resources as services for all phases of the product lifecycle. A task-driven manufacturing cloud service (MCS) proactive discovery and optimal configuration method is presented in this paper to realize full-scale sharing, on-demand use, and collaborative configuration of manufacturing resources in CMfg. In this research, two kinds of resources, including manufacturing machine and manufacturing cell (MC), are viewed as a breakthrough point of the investigation of multi-granularity resource configuration process. During resource modeling, advanced information and sensor technologies are adopted to construct the information models of resources, which consist of static attributes, real-time manufacturing data, and evaluation information. It makes the traditional production process more transparent, traceable, and on-line controllable. By applying the service proactive discovery mechanism, service providers rapidly respond to task requirements on the basis of real-time status and submit requests to perform tasks proactively. Hence, the responsiveness and initiative of service providers are highly enhanced. Consequently, the efficient discovery of potential services can be achieved. In service configuration process, a scientific evaluation system is established to perform the comprehensive assessment of services. Then, through the evaluation method based on grey relational analysis (GRA), the service optimal configuration is implemented. Finally, the effectiveness of proposed models and methods is validated by a case study.

Stability of Minimum Essential Medium functionality despite L-glutamine decomposition.

L-Glutamine (L-Gln) instability in liquid media is a well-known fact. Also, negative effect of ammonia, one of the L-Gln degradation products, on viability of many cell cultures and on replication of different viruses has been described. However, negative effects of ammonia have been reported in doses excessively exceeding those that could be generated in regularly used liquid culture media due to spontaneous L-Gln breakdown (below 2mM). Traditional virus vaccine production processes have been established and registered involving L-Gln containing media use. Eventual culture media replacement in the regular production process belongs to the major regulative changes that require substantial financial expenses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of storage of Minimum Essential Media with Hanks salts on their relevant biological functions during virus vaccine production process in relation to L-Gln decrease. Our results show a cell type dependent effect of spontaneous L-Gln degradation during medium storage. They also suggest that for cell cultures used in measles, mumps, and rubella virus production the media retain their functionality in respect to cell viability or virus growth over a certain time window despite L-Gln degradation.

Multiplatform strategy on Italian Public Service Broadcasting: The role of Rainet and its relationship with traditional professional profiles

Abstract New technologies have greatly affected, among other things, the television industry and its organizational structure, which has become increasingly competitive. To keep up, Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) has needed to cope with this changing scenario in order to maintain their market relevance and their ‘social’ legitimacy. In that respect a multiplatform strategy has been one of the main responses. RAI, for instance, has developed its own multiplatform portfolio, thanks both to the Rainet subsidiary and many other professionals. The former has managed to develop the technical platform for multiplatform delivery, whereas the latter showed a proactive attitude and experimented autonomously content production on the Internet. The interaction between traditional production processes and new ones for different platforms (especially for Internet) is investigated in the article; we consider in particular the impact that RAI’s multiplatform strategy has had on the working practices of two different editorial staffs. Our case studies are the political talk show Annozero/Yearzero (2006–2011) and the long-running soap opera Un posto al sole/A Place in the Sun (1996–).

Quality control in liquid-liquid extraction of Reduning injection using near-infrared spectroscopy technology

Quantitative models were established to analyze the content of chlorogenic acid and soluble solid content in the liquid-liquid extraction of Reduning injection by near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. Seven batches of extraction solution from the liquid-liquid extraction of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos and Artemisiae Annuae Herba were collected and NIR off-line spectra were acquired. The content of chlorogenic acid and soluble solid content were determined by the reference methods. The partial least square (PLS) and artificial neural networks (ANN) were used to build models to predict the content of chlorogenic acid and soluble solid content in the unknown samples. For PLS models, the R2 of calibration set were 0.9872, 0.9812, RMSEC were 0.1533, 0.7943, the R2 of prediction set were 0.9837, 0.9733, RMSEP were 0.2464, 1.2594, RSEP were 3.25%, 3.31%, for chlorogenic acid and soluble solid content, respectively. For ANN models, the R2 of calibration set were 0.9903, 0.9882, RMSEC were 0.0974, 0.4543, the R2 of prediction set were 0.9868, 0.9699, RMSEP were 0.1920, 0.9427, RSEP were 2.61%, 2.75%, for chlorogenic acid and soluble solid content, respectively. Both the RSEP values of chlorogenic acid and soluble solid content were lower than 6%, which can satisfy the quality control standard in the traditional Chinese medicine production process. The RSEP values of ANN models were lower than PLS models, which indicated the ANN models had better predictive performance for chlorogenic acid and soluble solid content. The established method can rapidly measure the content of chlorogenic acid and soluble solid content. The method is simple, accurate anc reliable, thus can be used for quality control of the liquid-liquid extraction of Reduning injection.

Development of Traditional Salt Production Process for Improving Product Quantity and Quality in Jepara District, Central Java, Indonesia

It is ironic that Indonesia as the second largest country having ocean is currently importing salt with a value of more than 1 trillion IDR (∼90,000 USD) each year. Therefore efforts to increase salt production are strongly needed. This paper demonstrates part of the efforts to increase both quantity and quality of salt product from traditional salt production process in Kedung sub-district, Jepara district, Central Java, Indonesia. Traditional salt production process was modified by blocking the permeation of sea water into the soil in crystallization pond with placing a black HDPE tarpaulin. The modification was also performed by adjusting the concentration of sea water in evaporation pond to the level of 21-23oBe followed by fractional crystallization. In addition, filtration of suspended solid using multi-media filter was installed before the crystallization pond. The modification increased the quantity of salt product from 70,000kg/year/ha to 117,500kg/year/ha. The purity of salt product (as NaCl) was increased from 90% to 98.4%.

Bioproduction of chitooligosaccharides: present and perspectives.

Chitin and chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) have been traditionally obtained by chemical digestion with strong acids. In light of the difficulties associated with these traditional production processes, environmentally compatible and reproducible production alternatives are desirable. Unlike chemical digestion, biodegradation of chitin and chitosan by enzymes or microorganisms does not require the use of toxic chemicals or excessive amounts of wastewater. Enzyme preparations with chitinase, chitosanase, and lysozymeare primarily used to hydrolyze chitin and chitosan. Commercial preparations of cellulase, protease, lipase, and pepsin provide another opportunity for oligosaccharide production. In addition to their hydrolytic activities, the transglycosylation activity of chitinolytic enzymes might be exploited for the synthesis of desired chitin oligomers and their derivatives. Chitin deacetylase is also potentially useful for the preparation of oligosaccharides. Recently, direct production of oligosaccharides from chitin and crab shells by a combination of mechanochemical grinding and enzymatic hydrolysis has been reported. Together with these, other emerging technologies such as direct degradation of chitin from crustacean shells and microbial cell walls, enzymatic synthesis of COS from small building blocks, and protein engineering technology for chitin-related enzymes have been discussed as the most significant challenge for industrial application.

Characteristic and formation mechanism of matt surface of double-rolled copper foil

Copper foils for flexible printed circuit boards were prepared by double rolling, and the matt surface of double-rolled copper foil was characterized by atomic force microscope, scanning electron microscope, 3D optical interferometer, optical microscope and surface profiler. The morphology characteristics of matt surface were studied, and the formation mechanism of matt surface was discussed. The results showed that the matt surface of the double-rolled copper foil presented rough and relatively homogeneous morphology, and the morphologies of upper and lower matt surfaces were practically coincident. As the copper strips just entered into the deforming zone, the roughening of laminated surface occurred, but the roughness was relatively small. When the copper strips passed through the neutral plane, the roughness of the laminated surface increased significantly. In the backward slip zone, the initial micro-dimples between the two laminated surfaces were connected in the rolling direction, which led to the formation of larger and airtight dimples; when the copper strips moved toward the neutral plane and entered into the forward slip zone, the pressure of fluid in the airtight dimples increased rapidly, which enhanced the depths of the dimples; meanwhile, the depression corrugations with certain depth and larger width were formed on the laminated surface because of the dimple connection in the width direction. The copper foils with thickness of 36–54μm were fabricated by double rolling, and the Rz value of their matt surfaces was 1.0–1.3μm, which meet the requirements for directly using as adhesive surface of resin substrate, and therefore multiple roughening treatments during the traditional production process of flexible printed circuit board might be omitted. The formation mechanism of the matt surface of double-rolled copper foil proposed on the basis of the metal flow and deformation mechanics theory could explain the representative characteristics of the length direction of corrugations on matt surface being perpendicular to the rolling direction, several corrugations within a grain on the matt surface and the coincident morphologies of the upper and lower matt surfaces.

Behavior of Fermentable Sugars in the Traditional Production Process of Cassava Bioethanol

The aim of study is to evaluate the ferment ability of cassava must in the ethanol production process from cassava in Congo. Three traditional methods of ethyl fermentation were tested: spontaneous fermentation, fermentation with yeast inoculation and fermentation led with yeasting and sugaring. Consumption of fermentable sugars was further in the case of directed fermentation with yeast inoculation (3° Brix residual extract from 48 h) compared to spontaneous fermentation without yeast inoculation (3.8° Brixresidual extract from 120 heures). Total sugars have been consumed only partially (66.7% of limit attenuation), while reducing sugars have been almost completely (about 91%). The addition of yeast in the cassava wort have led to a lower assessment of dextrins (2.7% glucose equivalent) compared to spontaneous fermentation (3.6%). It have also assured a better overall ethanol productivity (PTE = 0.83 g ethanol/L.h) than sugaring proceeding (PTE = 0.61 g/L.h) and without yeast additional (PTE = 0.32 g/L.h). Among the fermentable sugars developed in the cassava mash there are reducing sugars, such as glucose and maltose. Non-fermentable sugars represent a significant slice of stock of soluble carbohydrate (on average 3.24% dextrose equivalent) of the must in the three cases of fermentation tested.

The Study of Steel Industry Ecological Symbiosis Network Construction and Operation Mechanism

Based on the theory of industrial ecology,compared to traditional steel industry production process and analyzing steel production material flow、energy flow and technology flow,we build the steel industry ecological symbiosis network. Regarding the steel symbiosis network as a complex system,we systematically analyze its operation mechanism. Analyzing the symbiosis network from its forming condition,we build the steel industry symbiosis network dynamic mechanism model and analyze the dynamic factors,so as to provide scientific guidance and decision making for the construction of ecological symbiosis network.

Brazilian design for sustainability: in search of a local approach

Small and medium enterprises are fundamental to economic growth and job generation, especially in developing countries. These companies are crucial for the improvement of social conditions and technological development in poorer regions of the Americas, Asia and Africa. However, local conditions are usually very specific and demand a singular approach for sustainability. This paper presents some results of a research aimed at investigating methodologies and tools to support the application of Design for Sustainability principles adapted to the real conditions of Brazilian small and medium enterprises. These enterprises are mainly based on traditional products and technologies. The results of this research were achieved through identifying elements for development of a sustainable approach, with a focus on design of products in Brazil and other developing countries. The methodology considered variables specifically linked to the local situation. The primary focus was on small companies working in traditional production processes (or craftsmanship) in Minas Gerais State, in southeast Brazil. Four main sustainability aspects were considered: environmental, economic, social and cultural. As a conclusion, three cases of intervention focused on sustainable improvement are presented and discussed.

The Research of New Rings Process of Casting-Rolling Continuously Forming

The traditional production process of large seamless rings brought the serious waste of material and energy. 42 CrMo alloy steel was taken as material of the rings. The research of Casting-Rolling Continuously Forming process was Smelting Casting→ Ring blank→ Concurrent heating and heat holding →Hot rolling forming. The work reported here concentrates on resolving the energy consumption, consumables, low production efficiency of ring production, provided some reference for the rings production.

Quantifying greenhouse gases from the production, transportation and utilization of charcoal in developing countries: a case study of Kampala, Uganda

This study aims to quantify greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the production, transportation and utilization of charcoal and to assess the possibilities of decreasing greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the charcoal industry in general in Uganda. It also aims to assess the emission intensity of the Ugandan “charcoal production” sector compared to that of some other major charcoal producing nations. This work was done in accordance with ISO 14040 methodology for life-cycle assessment (LCA), using GABi 4.0—a software for life-cycle assessment. A cradle-to-grave study was conducted, excluding emissions arising from machinery use during biomass cultivation and harvesting. The distance from charcoal production locations to Kampala was estimated using ArcGIS 10.0 software and a GPS tool. Emission data from a modern charcoal production process (PYREG methane-free charcoal production equipment), which complies with the German air quality standards (TA-Luft), was compared with emissions from a traditional charcoal production process. Four coupled scenarios were modelled to account for differences in the quantity of greenhouse gases emitted from the “traditional charcoal production phase”, “improved charcoal production phase (biomass feedstock sourced sustainably and unsustainably)”, “transportation phase” and “utilization phase”. Data for this study was obtained via literature review and onsite measurements. The results showed that greenhouse gases emitted due to charcoal supply and use of traditional production technique in Kampala was 1,554,699 tCO2eq, with the transportation phase accounting for approximately 0.15 % of total greenhouse gases emitted. The utilization phase (charcoal cookstoves) emitted 723,985 tCO2eq (46.6 %), while the charcoal production phase emitted 828,316 tCO2eq (53.3 %). Changing the charcoal production technology from a traditional method to an improved production method (PYREG charcoal process) resulted in greenhouse gases reductions for the city of 230,747 tCO2eq; however, by using sustainably sourced biomass, this resulted in reductions of 801,817 tCO2eq. This study showcased and quantified possible GHG emission reduction scenarios for the charcoal industry in Uganda. The result of 3 tCO2eq emitted per tonne of charcoal produced, using earth mound method, can be applied to other countries in Eastern Africa where similar charcoal production methods are used; this will allow for somewhat better regional estimates of the inventory of greenhouse gas emissions from the production of charcoal. The results of this study also suggests that the primary use of charcoal for cooking will lead to increases in GHG emissions and increases in deforestation on the long term, if legal frameworks are not made to ensure that biomass used for charcoal production is obtained via sustainable sources or if alternative cheap energy-generating technologies for cooking are not developed and deployed to the masses.

Experimental Research on Ion Exchange Technique to Extract Inositol from Defatted Rice Bran

In order to solve the problem of the long production cycle and low yield of traditional inositol production process, we made several researches based on the traditional process. We experimented on the following methods to obtain a high yield qualified products: microwave-assisted phytin extraction, ion-exchange resin phytic acid absorption, elution of weak alkaline into phytate, atmospheric pressure enzymatic hydrolysis of phytate, ion exchange resin filtration, bleaching, further concentration, crystallization and refinement of hydrolysate.

Opportunities for small‐scale biorefinery for production of sugar and ethanol in the Netherlands

AbstractDevelopments such as the Common Agricultural Policy reform, growth of the bio‐based economy, increasing energy prices, increasing sustainability demands, and expected growth of global sugar demand change the environment in which the sugar producing industry operates. In order to remain competitive and profit from this, the traditional large‐scale sugar producing industry can adapt. The aim of this study was to address sustainability and energy issues of the traditional sugar production process and to provide opportunities for improving the process and value chain. The methodological approach included evaluating function and resource usage of the unit operations. More sustainable alternative unit operations and processes were identified and studied. The results indicate that the current sugar production and by‐product valorization focuses on centralized processing and has been individually optimized per sector and industry based on relatively inexpensive transportation and energy without a focus as such on the bio‐based economy. For incorporation of the opportunities, a process for targeting new bio‐based markets and supplementing large‐scale sugar production was designed. It was found that small‐scale biorefineries as an alternative and/or supplementation of the traditional large‐scale process have the ability to increase the overall sustainability of sugarbeet processing, for example reduce energy usage and carbon footprint, by reducing transportation movements. Moreover, it provides opportunities for leaving out certain unit operations and using less capital‐intensive technologies. With a holistic approach throughout the value chain, the introduction of small‐scale biorefineries can help meet the challenges of the sugar producing industry, while simultaneously benefitting people, planet, and profit.

Product strategies for growth in niche food firms

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of growth processes of speciality food firms and how these processes influence the producers' perception of quality demands of the products. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach was chosen covering four specialty food companies in Norway. This explorative study was conducted from the producer's perspective. Findings – Results show that, as part of growth processes, firms invest in different activities to strengthen the quality of their products to achieve distinctiveness in more competitive markets. The most important quality that contributes to distinctiveness and increased value seems to be traditional handicraft production processes. In some cases, expensive and time-consuming processes are invested in developing qualities that are not transformed into higher value in the market. Research limitations/implications – The number of cases is too small for statistical analysis, but this explorative case study may provide a basis for a survey of a larger sample of firms. Practical implications – The study indicates a need for companies to gain more knowledge about consumers' preferences and behaviour, and to develop product qualities and market communication accordingly. Originality/value – Research is scarce on obstacles to growth in specialty food firms. This study contributes important knowledge to enhance further development of the industry.