The objective of this study was to optimize continuous acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation using a two stage chemostat system integrated with liquid-liquid extraction of solvents produced in the first stage. This minimized end product inhibition by butanol and subsequently enhanced glucose utilization and solvent production in continuous cultures of Clostridium acetobutylicum B 5313. Dur...

We address a novel integrated maintenance and production scheduling problem in a multi-machine and multi-period production system, considering maintenance as a long-term decision. Deterioration of machines over time decreases production capacity. Since maintenance activities improve machine conditions, increasing production capacity, but also take time that cannot be used for production, the ch...

Two-stage chemical deposition (TSCD) technique is used to produce ZnO, Mn2O3 and NiO films on soda-lime glass (SL-G) from an aqueous solution of zinc, manganese and nickel complex, respectively. The TSCD method enables the deposition of metal oxide thin films with a thickness which can be controlled during the preparation procedure. The ZnO, Mn2O3 and NiO thin films were polycrystalline films w...

measuring the performance of a production system has been an important task in management for purposes of control, planning, etc. lord kelvin said :“when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind.” hence, manageme...

different manufacturing enterprises use regularly scheduling algorithms in order to help meeting demands over time and reducing operational costs. nowadays, for a better useofresources and manufacturingin accordance withcustomer needs and given the level ofcompetitionbetweencompanies, employing asuitablescheduling programhasa double importance. conventional productionmethods are constantly subs...

The evolution of reproductive barriers is of central importance for speciation. Here, we investigated three components of postzygotic isolation-embryo mortality, hybrid inviability, and hybrid sterility-in a group of food-deceptive Mediterranean orchids from the genera Anacamptis, Neotinea, and Orchis. In these orchids, pollinator-mediated isolation is weak, which suggests that postpollination ...