SEMI-AUTOMATIC

A variety of methods have been developed by mathematicians and computer scientists to address this task, which has become known as data mining (see Chapter 9, Section 9.8). Fayyad defined and described the term data mining as the nontrivial extraction of impHcit, previously unknown and potentially useful information from data, or the search for relationships and global patterns that exist in databases [16]. In order to extract information from huge quantities of data and to gain knowledge from this information, the analysis and exploration have to be performed by automatic or semi-automatic methods. Methods applicable for data analysis are presented in Chapter 9. 

The Semi-Automatic processes include processes such as cold pressing, hot pressing, compression moulding of SMC and DMC, resin injection. 

Process or heating plant may have controls ranging from manual operation with some processes supervised by interlocks to semi-automatic and fully automatic operation. Deciding factors will include temperature of operation, frequency of ignition, degree of operator supervision, and rating of the plant. For example, boiler plant, both steam and water, will invariably have automatic control whereas tunnel kilns operated continuously at high temperature are unlikely to require it. 

Semi-automatic Welding welding in which some of the variables are automatically controlled, but manual guidance is necessary. 

There are several manufacturers of counting equipment and most manufacturers will be able to supply manual, semi-automatic or completely automatic counting equipment. 

The on-line measurement of reducing capacity can be performed with either a single or a series of electrochemical detectors, and linear correlations have been demonstrated between total antioxidative activities determined by the electrochemical detection and those determined by DPPH- reduction or by the ORAC assay (Guo et al, 1997 Peyrat-Maillard et al, 2000). The reducing capacity must also be quantified by post-column reactions, either with DPPH- or by the reduction of phosphomolybdenum complexes followed by UV-VIS-detection (Bandoniene and Murkovic, 2002 Cardenosa et al, 2002). A combination of HPLC and semi-automatic ORAC analysis has also been described (Caldwell, 2001). 

The character and the degree of automation in chemical control may have been covered in the above treatment of semi-automatic or completely automatic, and of discontinuous or continuous analysis, but something more should be said about the means by which automation proper has been performed in recent times. Whereas in the past automated analysis involved the use of merely, mechanical robots, to-day s automation is preferably based on computerization in a way which can best be explained with a few specific examples. Adjustment knobs have been increasingly replaced with push-buttons that activate an enclosed fully dedicated microcomputer or microprocessor in line with the measuring instrument the term microcomputer is applicable if, apart from the microprocessor as the central processing unit (CPU), it contains additional, albeit limited, memory (e.g., 4K), control logics and input and output lines, by means of which it can act as satellite of a larger computer system (e.g., in laboratory computerization) if not enclosed, the microcomputer is called on-line. 

These machines may be either semi-automatic or fully automatic. Semi-automatic machines such as the Type 8 machines (e.g., Capsugel s Cap 8... 

G Reier, R Cohn, S Rock, F. Wagenblast. Evaluation of factors affecting the encapsulation of powders in hard gelatin capsules I. Semi-automatic capsule machines. J Pharm Sci 57 660-666, 1968. 

Both the inverse Monte Carlo and iterative Boltzmann inversion methods are semi-automatic since the radial distribution function needs to be re-evaluated at... 

The shape is usually either a sphere (Brinell, and Rockwell B or C) a square pyramid with apex angle = 135° (Vickers) a trigonal pyramid (Berkovich) or an elongated four-sided pyramid (Knoop). (See Figure 1.2). For quality control in manufacturing operations, semi-automatic Rockwell machines, and their various indenters, are also useful. 

In commercial use are a wide variety of machines which transfer fixed volumes of compound to clamped moulds, by the operation of a ram in a cylinder fed with pre-heated slugs. These machines are capable of high speed semi-automatic cycling and are a great advance over the use of loose transfer moulds in conventional presses. The components which are produced are to a large degree flash-free, it only being necessary, in the majority of cases, to remove the injection feed and runner system. 

Jagner [28] has also described a semi-automatic titration for high-precision determination of chlorine in seawater, where it has been used for the potentiometric determination of total halides (silver electrode) and alkalinity (glass electrode), and for the photometric titration of total alkaline-earth metals. Several titrations can be effected simultaneously. 

Anfalt and Jagner [57] measured total fluoride ion concentration by means of a single-crystal fluoride selective electrode (Orion, model 94-09). Samples of seawater were adjusted to pH 6.6 with hydrochloric acid and were titrated with 0.01 M sodium fluoride with use of the semi-automatic titrator described by Jagner [28]. Equations for the graphical or computer treatment of the results are given. Calibration of the electrode for single-point potentiometric measurements at different seawater salinities is discussed. 

HPTLC is a very fast and convenient assay to separate samples components and is often used in Organic Chemistry and in Synthetic approach. Unknown substances, after different display assay, were generally scraped off from the TLC/HPTLC plate, diluted into a tube and transferred into the MS system for structural elucidation and characterization. Now, a TLC-MS interface was developed by CAMAG, which can semi-automatically extract zones of interest and on-line direct them into any brand of a HPLC-MS system. The TLC-MS interface is connected by two fittings to any HPLC instrument coupled with mass spectrometer, without other system configuration adjustments or mass spectrometer modifications. By this way, the unknown substances can be directly extracted from a TLC/HPTLC plate, eluted and resolved by HPLC system and sensitive and selective mass spectrometric signals are obtained within a minute per substance zone [33],... 

Electron crystallography of textured samples can benefit from the introduction of automatic or semi-automatic pattern indexing methods for the reconstruction of the three-dimensional reciprocal lattice from two-dimensional data and fitting procedures to model the observed diffraction pattern. Such automatic procedures had not been developed previously, but it is the purpose of this study to develop them now. All these features can contribute to extending the limits of traditional applications such as identification procedures, structure determination etc. 

The results obtained in the present work show that the developed methods can be applied successfully to oblique texture electron diffraction patterns. The program TexPat has been designed to produce accurate lattice parameters and intensities. Indexing oblique texture electron diffraction patterns from structures with S5mrmetry lower than orthorhombic remains quite difficult task due to the geometrical properties of texture patterns. This difficulty is overcome by the introduction of semi-automatic algorithms for the indexing. 

Roszik J, Szollosi J, Vereb G (2008) AccPbFRET an ImageJ plugin for semi-automatic, fully corrected analysis of acceptor photobleaching FRET images. BMC Bioinformatics 9 346... 

Fig. 7.52 Manual, semi-automatic and automatic control units for dispensing admixtures (courtesy Euclid Chemicals, USA).

These systems (Fig. 7.56) can operate either electrically or pneumatically and they contain the necessary volumetric devices, the controls of which are either semi-automatic, interlocked or automatic, or a combination of these. With this type of equipment the level of admixture is allowed to rise in the sight-glass by the operation of a switeh or valves until a correct level is... 

Fig. 7.56 A portable semi-automatic dispenser (courtesy Eucid Chemicals, USA).

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