Abstract: A system for ashing carbon includes a vertically oriented burner column having a first end and an opposing end with an interior chamber therebetween. The burner column has an aperture at the first end and a suction port proximal to the second end, the aperture and the suction port in communication with the interior chamber. The system also comprises a porous media screen located in the interior chamber and positioned between the first end and the second end of the burner column. The media screen is adapted to hold ignited carbon containing a precious metal therein. The system also contains a pump that is coupled to the suction port. The pump is configured to apply a negative pressure to the interior chamber of the burner column to draw air into the interior chamber via the aperture. The drawn air passes through the ignited carbon at a desired flow rate to achieve a temperature of the carbon suitable for ashing the carbon.

Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed that include a user interface that enables a user to request a pre-defined report. The user may specify either or both of an electronic mail delivery address for the report and an interval at which the report is to be updated. Such systems and methods enable a particular report to be produced and formatted only once, and then provided to multiple users, thereby eliminating the production and formatting of redundant reports.

Abstract: A method and system for testing newly installed or recently upgraded software is presented. All software installation activities are tracked and logged. New and upgrade software is isolated, either physically or logically, and tested using diagnostic software. If the new/upgrade isolated software passes the testing by the diagnostic software, then it is allowed to operate in the presence of other previously installed software. If an error occurs during an execution of the new/upgrade software, either while isolated or in the presence of previously loaded software, a log of other concurrently running software is reviewed to determine a likely software incompatibility with the new/upgrade software.