An improved effective cost review process for value engineering.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Joo DS
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4235576 | biostudies-other | 2014
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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Project description:BackgroundEnzymatic corn wet milling (E-milling) is a process derived from conventional wet milling for the recovery and purification of starch and co-products using proteases to eliminate the need for sulfites and decrease the steeping time. In 2006, the total starch production in USA by conventional wet milling equaled 23 billion kilograms, including modified starches and starches used for sweeteners and ethanol production 1. Process engineering and cost models for an E-milling process have been developed for a processing plant with a capacity of 2.54 million kg of corn per day (100,000 bu/day). These models are based on the previously published models for a traditional wet milling plant with the same capacity. The E-milling process includes grain cleaning, pretreatment, enzymatic treatment, germ separation and recovery, fiber separation and recovery, gluten separation and recovery and starch separation. Information for the development of the conventional models was obtained from a variety of technical sources including commercial wet milling companies, industry experts and equipment suppliers. Additional information for the present models was obtained from our own experience with the development of the E-milling process and trials in the laboratory and at the pilot plant scale. The models were developed using process and cost simulation software (SuperPro Designer) and include processing information such as composition and flow rates of the various process streams, descriptions of the various unit operations and detailed breakdowns of the operating and capital cost of the facility.ResultsBased on the information from the model, we can estimate the cost of production per kilogram of starch using the input prices for corn, enzyme and other wet milling co-products. The work presented here describes the E-milling process and compares the process, the operation and costs with the conventional process.ConclusionThe E-milling process was found to be cost competitive with the conventional process during periods of high corn feedstock costs since the enzymatic process enhances the yields of the products in a corn wet milling process. This model is available upon request from the authors for educational, research and non-commercial uses.
| S-EPMC2633287 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundWe have investigated the main genetic causes for non-syndromic hearing impairment (NSHI) in the hearing impairment individuals from the North-Eastern Romania and proposed a cost-effective diagnosis protocol.MethodsMLPA followed by Sanger Sequencing were used for all 291 patients included in this study.ResultsMLPA revealed abnormal results in 141 cases (48.45%): 57 (40.5%) were c.35delG homozygous, 26 (18.44%) were c.35delG heterozygous, 14 (9.93%) were compound heterozygous and 16 (11.35%) had other types of variants. The entire coding region of GJB2 was sequenced and out of 150 patients with normal results at MLPA, 29.33% had abnormal results: variants in heterozygous state: c.71G>A (28%), c.457G>A (20%), c.269T>C (12%), c.109G>A (12%), c.100A>T (12%), c.551G>C (8%). Out of 26 patients with c.35delG in heterozygous state, 38.46% were in fact compound heterozygous.ConclusionsWe identified two variants: c.109G>A and c.100A>T that have not been reported in any study from Romania. MLPA is an inexpensive, rapid and reliable technique that could be a cost-effective diagnosis method, useful for patients with hearing impairment. It can be adaptable for the mutation spectrum in every population and followed by Sanger sequencing can provide a genetic diagnosis for patients with different degrees of hearing impairment.
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Project description:Advances in single-cell genomics enable commensurate improvements in methods for uncovering lineage relations among individual cells. Current sequencing based methods for cell lineage analysis depend on low resolution bulk analysis or rely on extensive single cell sequencing which is not scalable and could be biased by functional dependencies. Here we show an integrated biochemical-computational platform for generic single-cell lineage analysis that is retrospective, cost-effective and scalable. It consists of a biochemical-computational pipeline that inputs individual cells, produces targeted single-cell sequencing data and uses it to generate a lineage tree of the input cells. We validated the platform by applying it to cells sampled from an ex vivo grown tree and analyzed its feasibility landscape by computer simulations. We conclude that the platform may serve as a generic tool for lineage analysis and thus pave the way towards large-scale human cell lineage discovery.
2016-04-18 | E-MTAB-4553 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) is considered the gold standard for measuring cardiac function. Further, in a single CMR exam, information about cardiac structure, tissue composition, and blood flow could be obtained. Nevertheless, CMR is underutilized due to long scanning times, the need for multiple breath-holds, use of a contrast agent, and relatively high cost. In this work, we propose a rapid, comprehensive, contrast-free CMR exam that does not require repeated breath-holds, based on recent developments in imaging sequences. Time-consuming conventional sequences have been replaced by advanced sequences in the proposed CMR exam. Specifically, conventional 2D cine and phase-contrast (PC) sequences have been replaced by optimized 3D-cine and 4D-flow sequences, respectively. Furthermore, conventional myocardial tagging has been replaced by fast strain-encoding (SENC) imaging. Finally, T1 and T2 mapping sequences are included in the proposed exam, which allows for myocardial tissue characterization. The proposed rapid exam has been tested in vivo. The proposed exam reduced the scan time from >1 hour with conventional sequences to <20 minutes. Corresponding cardiovascular measurements from the proposed rapid CMR exam showed good agreement with those from conventional sequences and showed that they can differentiate between healthy volunteers and patients. Compared to 2D cine imaging that requires 12-16 separate breath-holds, the implemented 3D-cine sequence allows for whole heart coverage in 1-2 breath-holds. The 4D-flow sequence allows for whole-chest coverage in less than 10 minutes. Finally, SENC imaging reduces scan time to only one slice per heartbeat. In conclusion, the proposed rapid, contrast-free, and comprehensive cardiovascular exam does not require repeated breath-holds or to be supervised by a cardiac imager. These improvements make it tolerable by patients and would help improve cost effectiveness of CMR and increase its adoption in clinical practice.
| S-EPMC8147553 | biostudies-literature
Project description:3D-bioprinting for tissue regeneration relies on, among other things, hydrogels with favorable rheological properties. These include shear thinning for cell-friendly extrusion, post-printing structural stability as well as physiologically relevant elastic moduli needed for optimal cell attachment, proliferation, differentiation and tissue maturation. This work introduces a cost-efficient gelatin-methylcellulose based hydrogel whose rheological properties can be independently optimized for optimal printability and tissue engineering. Hydrogel viscosities were designed to present three different temperature regimes: low viscosity for eased cell suspension and printing with minimal shear stress, form fidelity directly after printing and long term structural stability during incubation. Enzymatically crosslinked hydrogel scaffolds with stiffnesses ranging from 5 to 50 kPa were produced, enabling the hydrogel to biomimic cell environments for different types of tissues. The bioink showed high intrinsic cytocompatibility and tissues fabricated by embedding and bioprinting NIH 3T3 fibroblasts showed satisfactory viability. This novel hydrogel uses robust and inexpensive technology, which can be adjusted for implementation in tissue regeneration, e.g., in myocardial or neural tissue engineering.
| S-EPMC9844313 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Base editors (BEs) are a recent generation of genome editing tools that couple a cytidine or adenosine deaminase activity to a catalytically impaired Cas9 moiety (nCas9) to enable specific base conversions at the targeted genomic loci. Given their strong application potential, BEs are under active developments toward greater levels of efficiency and safety. Here, a previously overlooked nCas9-centric strategy is explored for enhancement of BE. Based on a cytosine BE (CBE), 20 point mutations associated with nCas9-target interaction are tested. Subsequently, from the initial positive X-to-arginine hits, combinatorial modifications are applied to establish further enhanced CBE variants (1.1-1.3). Parallel nCas9 modifications in other versions of CBEs including A3A-Y130F-BE4max, YEE-BE4max, CGBE, and split-AncBE4max, as well as in the context of two adenine BEs (ABE), likewise enhance their respective activities. The same strategy also substantially improves the efficiencies of high-fidelity nCas9/BEs. Further evidence confirms that the stabilization of nCas9-substrate interactions underlies the enhanced BE activities. In support of their translational potential, the engineered CBE and ABE variants respectively enable 82% and 25% higher rates of editing than the controls in primary human T-cells. This study thus demonstrates a highly adaptable strategy for enhancing BE, and for optimizing other forms of Cas9-derived tools.
| S-EPMC11336945 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Long-length, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) wires capable of carrying high critical current, Ic, are required for a wide range of applications. Here, we report extremely high performance HTS wires based on 5 ?m thick SmBa2Cu3O7--? (SmBCO) single layer films on textured metallic templates. SmBCO layer wires over 20 meters long were deposited by a cost-effective, scalable co-evaporation process using a batch-type drum in a dual chamber. All deposition parameters influencing the composition, phase, and texture of the films were optimized via a unique combinatorial method that is broadly applicable for co-evaporation of other promising complex materials containing several cations. Thick SmBCO layers deposited under optimized conditions exhibit excellent cube-on-cube epitaxy. Such excellent structural epitaxy over the entire thickness results in exceptionally high Ic performance, with average Ic over 1,000 A/cm-width for the entire 22 meter long wire and maximum Ic over 1,500 A/cm-width for a short 12 cm long tape. The Ic values reported in this work are the highest values ever reported from any lengths of cuprate-based HTS wire or conductor.
| S-EPMC3994444 | biostudies-literature
Project description:A process for manufacturing the recombinant Ranibizumab has been developed with overall productivity of 0.72±0.02 mg/ml. Initially this study was attempted to find critical medium components based on literature. Among all the additives, glutamine, proline, arginine and ethanol showed increase in protein production compared to control. There was approximately 2 fold increase in Ranibizumab production in all the four additives analyzed using RP HPLC. Addition of glutamine, arginine and proline amino acids resulted in enhanced protein production however, the pH of the medium changed variably (pH 3.5-6.0). Since economic considerations decides the longevity of the process, as it plays a major role when large-scale operations are considered. Therefore, after economical potential analysis ethanol was finalized as the medium additive. Later, its effect was checked on cell size (control 1.82 µm and optimized 2µm), cellular physiology (no cell swelling or shrinkage was observed, cell width and length came out almost same in both the cases) and cellular viability (was found even better in optimized). Later, RNAseq was also performed to find out the underlying mechanism. Based on the literature as well as transcriptomic analysis and RT-qPCR validation, changes in membrane properties and DNA synthesis resulting in gene amplification that may have enhanced the synthesis of inducible proteins in case of optimized medium. The transcriptome studies always generates a huge dataset that can act as valuable resource for future studies to perform host cell engineering with the aim of improving heterologous protein expression.
2023-01-09 | GSE143359 | GEO
Project description:BACKGROUND:The majority of serious thromboembolic events occurring in assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are in women with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). OBJECTIVES:The purpose of this study was to present a thorough review and cost analysis regarding the use of venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in OHSS to inform clinical management. DATA SOURCES:Databases used were Pubmed and Embase, in addition to checking reference lists of retrieved articles (inception to November 2017). METHODS:The systematic search strategy identified 365 titles and abstracts. Articles included in the qualitative synthesis had identified venous thrombosis incidence rates or ratios. A separate search for the cost model was conducted recognizing all associated complications of VTE. The decision tree was modeled to best fit the patient population and a sensitivity analysis was performed over a range of variables. RESULTS:The cost of VTE event per OHSS patient not on prophylaxis was €5940 (range €3405 to €38,727), versus €4134 (€2705 to €23,192) per event per patient on prophylaxis, amounting to a saving of (€19 to €23,192) per VTE per patient. Sensitivity analysis found VTE prophyaxis to be cost effective if the incidence of VTE in the OHSS population was greater than 2.79%. Prophylactic therapy was cost effective through 16 weeks of treatment. LIMITATIONS:OHSS is infrequent and hence, the incidence of VTE in patients with OHSS is low; therefore, the data used to inform the incidence of VTE in OHSS in the model carry some uncertainty. Further, low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) has side effects therefore individualization of care must be considered. CONCLUSIONS:With the increasing incidence of infertility and requirement for ART, thromboembolism in OHSS poses a major health threat for patients. VTE prophylaxis using enoxaparin was cost effective in patients with severe OHSS over a wide range of costs and incidences. Prophylaxis was also cost effective through the completion of the first trimester of pregnancy.
| S-EPMC5973799 | biostudies-literature
Project description:DNA microarrays are two-dimensional arrangements of specific probes deposited on a substrate that have been widely used in gene expression analysis by measuring mRNA accumulation. The use of this type of microarrays involves the synthesis of cDNA, which has to be double stranded (ds) if the microarray probes are of the positive strand. We have used a custom-synthesized non-commercial NimbleGen microarray from melon to evaluate an alternative method of ds cDNA synthesis, which differs substantially in its economical cost relative to a widely recommended method. The results suggested that both methods produce cDNA representative of the melon transcriptome to a similar extent, indicating that the alternative technique provides a cheaper method of ds cDNA synthesis for microarray gene expression assays. Recently, we have analyzed the transcriptome of melon in response to WMV infection. Cotyledons of two genotypes of melon were virus inoculated and transcriptomic responses to the infection were analyzed by comparing infected and mock inoculated samples at 1, 3, and 7 days post-inoculation (dpi). Three biological replicates were performed for each sample. Double stranded cDNA was obtained with the Double stranded cDNA synthesis kit (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA, USA), based on the nick translation approach (Mol. Cell. Biol (1982) 2:161-170; Gene (1983) 25:263-269). Raw and processed microarray data are freely available from GEO database under the accession number GSE30111. By using this set of microarray hybridizations as a reference, RNA corresponding to infected cotyledons replicate 3 at 1 dpi (A1) and replicate 1 at 3 dpi (A2) (GEO accession numbers GSM745566 and GSM745567) were used to perform cDNA synthesis by the alternative method (samples B1 and B2, respectively), based on the SMART approach (BioTechniques (2001) 30:892-897), and microarray data were compared.
2012-03-07 | E-GEOD-30693 | biostudies-arrayexpress