System-Related Discovery Tools

Hazard and operability (HAZOP) studies can help systematically investigate each element of an operational system or process. HAZOP studies can help discover ways in which important parameters can deviate from intended designs or configurations. Deviations can create hazards 

FMECA processes can discover and document issues in the following areas (1) design and development, (2) manufacturing, (3) complex processes, (4) safety and hazard control, and (5) environment-related concerns. Human harm remains the top consequence of failure (Table 4.13). 

Fault-tree analysis (FTA) focuses on the identification of multiple point failures by using a deductive top-down method to analyze effects of initiating faults and events occurring in complex systems. FTA works very well, showing how complex systems can overcome single or 

Category l-Catastrophic—A failure that may cause injury or death 

Category ll-Critical—A failure which may cause severe injury, major property damage, or major system damage that will result in major downtime or production loss 

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The last two decades have witnessed great strides in the contribution of catalysis to the advancement of petrochemistry and related fields. New catalytic systems and catalysts added much to the discovery and improvement of catalytic processes as a result of a better understanding of catalytic reactions and the availability of new analytical tools. 

In addition to various plasma lipids and lipoprotein species, other markers of cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis are now considered as potent screening tools to predict these diseases. These markers are mostly related to the discoveries that a low-level chronic inflammation and related disorders of the immune system are as much, and probably more, of a clinical predictor of cardiovascular pathology than dietary fat and associated lipoproteins (165). 

White Carbon offers a software platform named Pathways that targets the development of workflows for discovery procedures in the laboratory (not to be confused with the more recent application of the term to biochemical pathways in the systems biology sense). A user of the software develops and refines a model that captures a best practice and may then deploy that model for the benefit of a wider discovery community. The software also provides a basis for the use of lab equipment to automate appropriate tasks within the workflow. The procedures that the software models generally relate to laboratory activities, but may also include interaction with other software tools or data repositories. 

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