MINIMIZING GLOVEBOX GLOVE BREACHES, PART IV: CONTROL CHARTS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cournoyer, Michael E.; Lee, Michelle B.; Schreiber, Stephen B.

2007-01-01

At the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Plutonium Facility, plutonium. isotopes and other actinides are handled in a glovebox environment. The spread of radiological contamination, and excursions of contaminants into the worker's breathing zone, are minimized and/or prevented through the use of glovebox technology. Evaluating the glovebox configuration, the glovebo gloves are the most vulnerable part of this engineering control. Recognizing this vulnerability, the Glovebox Glove Integrity Program (GGIP) was developed to minimize and/or prevent unplanned openings in the glovebox environment, i.e., glove failures and breaches. In addition, LANL implement the 'Lean Six Sigma (LSS)' program that incorporates the practices of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma technologies and tools to effectively improve administrative and engineering controls and work processes. One tool used in LSS is the use of control charts, which is an effective way to characterize data collected from unplanned openings in the glovebox environment. The benefit management receives from using this tool is two-fold. First, control charts signal the absence or presence of systematic variations that result in process instability, in relation to glovebox glove breaches and failures. Second, these graphical representations of process variation detennine whether an improved process is under control. Further, control charts are used to identify statistically significant variations (trends) that can be used in decision making to improve processes. This paper discusses performance indicators assessed by the use control charts, provides examples of control charts, and shows how managers use the results to make decisions. This effort contributes to LANL Continuous Improvement Program by improving the efficiency, cost effectiveness, and formality of glovebox operations.

Printing quality control automation

Science.gov (United States)

Trapeznikova, O. V.

2018-04-01

One of the most important problems in the concept of standardizing the process of offset printing is the control the quality rating of printing and its automation. To solve the problem, a software has been developed taking into account the specifics of printing system components and the behavior in printing process. In order to characterize the distribution of ink layer on the printed substrate the so-called deviation of the ink layer thickness on the sheet from nominal surface is suggested. The geometric data construction the surface projections of the color gamut bodies allows to visualize the color reproduction gamut of printing systems in brightness ranges and specific color sectors, that provides a qualitative comparison of the system by the reproduction of individual colors in a varying ranges of brightness.

Desktop publishing and validation of custom near visual acuity charts.

Science.gov (United States)

Marran, Lynn; Liu, Lei; Lau, George

2008-11-01

Customized visual acuity (VA) assessment is an important part of basic and clinical vision research. Desktop computer based distance VA measurements have been utilized, and shown to be accurate and reliable, but computer based near VA measurements have not been attempted, mainly due to the limited spatial resolution of computer monitors. In this paper, we demonstrate how to use desktop publishing to create printed custom near VA charts. We created a set of six near VA charts in a logarithmic progression, 20/20 through 20/63, with multiple lines of the same acuity level, different letter arrangements in each line and a random noise background. This design allowed repeated measures of subjective accommodative amplitude without the potential artifact of familiarity of the optotypes. The background maintained a constant and spatial frequency rich peripheral stimulus for accommodation across the six different acuity levels. The paper describes in detail how pixel-wise accurate black and white bitmaps of Sloan optotypes were used to create the printed custom VA charts. At all acuity levels, the physical sizes of the printed custom optotypes deviated no more than 0.034 log units from that of the standard, satisfying the 0.05 log unit ISO criterion we used to demonstrate physical equivalence. Also, at all acuity levels, log unit differences in the mean target distance for which reliable recognition of letters first occurred for the printed custom optotypes compared to the standard were found to be below 0.05, satisfying the 0.05 log unit ISO criterion we used to demonstrate functional equivalence. It is possible to use desktop publishing to create custom near VA charts that are physically and functionally equivalent to standard VA charts produced by a commercial printing process.

Memory-type control charts in statistical process control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Abbas, N.

2012-01-01

Control chart is the most important statistical tool to manage the business processes. It is a graph of measurements on a quality characteristic of the process on the vertical axis plotted against time on the horizontal axis. The graph is completed with control limits that cause variation mark. Once

A computer-controlled conformal radiotherapy system. IV: Electronic chart

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fraass, Benedick A.; McShan, Daniel L.; Matrone, Gwynne M.; Weaver, Tamar A.; Lewis, James D.; Kessler, Marc L.

1995-01-01

Purpose: The design and implementation of a system for electronically tracking relevant plan, prescription, and treatment data for computer-controlled conformal radiation therapy is described. Methods and Materials: The electronic charting system is implemented on a computer cluster coupled by high-speed networks to computer-controlled therapy machines. A methodical approach to the specification and design of an integrated solution has been used in developing the system. The electronic chart system is designed to allow identification and access of patient-specific data including treatment-planning data, treatment prescription information, and charting of doses. An in-house developed database system is used to provide an integrated approach to the database requirements of the design. A hierarchy of databases is used for both centralization and distribution of the treatment data for specific treatment machines. Results: The basic electronic database system has been implemented and has been in use since July 1993. The system has been used to download and manage treatment data on all patients treated on our first fully computer-controlled treatment machine. To date, electronic dose charting functions have not been fully implemented clinically, requiring the continued use of paper charting for dose tracking. Conclusions: The routine clinical application of complex computer-controlled conformal treatment procedures requires the management of large quantities of information for describing and tracking treatments. An integrated and comprehensive approach to this problem has led to a full electronic chart for conformal radiation therapy treatments

HOTELLING'S T2 CONTROL CHARTS BASED ON ROBUST ESTIMATORS

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SERGIO YÁÑEZ

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Under the presence of multivariate outliers, in a Phase I analysis of historical set of data, the T 2 control chart based on the usual sample mean vector and sample variance covariance matrix performs poorly. Several alternative estimators have been proposed. Among them, estimators based on the minimum volume ellipsoid (MVE and the minimum covariance determinant (MCD are powerful in detecting a reasonable number of outliers. In this paper we propose a T 2 control chart using the biweight S estimators for the location and dispersion parameters when monitoring multivariate individual observations. Simulation studies show that this method outperforms the T 2 control chart based on MVE estimators for a small number of observations.

An Exponentially Weighted Moving Average Control Chart for Bernoulli Data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Spliid, Henrik

2010-01-01

of the transformation is given and its limit for small values of p is derived. Control of high yield processes is discussed and the chart is shown to perform very well in comparison with both the most common alternative EWMA chart and the CUSUM chart. The construction and the use of the proposed EWMA chart......We consider a production process in which units are produced in a sequential manner. The units can, for example, be manufactured items or services, provided to clients. Each unit produced can be a failure with probability p or a success (non-failure) with probability (1-p). A novel exponentially...... weighted moving average (EWMA) control chart intended for surveillance of the probability of failure, p, is described. The chart is based on counting the number of non-failures produced between failures in combination with a variance-stabilizing transformation. The distribution function...

Quality Control Charts in Large-Scale Assessment Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Schafer, William D.; Coverdale, Bradley J.; Luxenberg, Harlan; Jin, Ying

2011-01-01

There are relatively few examples of quantitative approaches to quality control in educational assessment and accountability contexts. Among the several techniques that are used in other fields, Shewart charts have been found in a few instances to be applicable in educational settings. This paper describes Shewart charts and gives examples of how…

Statistical Control Charts: Performances of Short Term Stock Trading in Croatia

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Dumičić Ksenija

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Background: The stock exchange, as a regulated financial market, in modern economies reflects their economic development level. The stock market indicates the mood of investors in the development of a country and is an important ingredient for growth. Objectives: This paper aims to introduce an additional statistical tool used to support the decision-making process in stock trading, and it investigate the usage of statistical process control (SPC methods into the stock trading process. Methods/Approach: The individual (I, exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA and cumulative sum (CUSUM control charts were used for gaining trade signals. The open and the average prices of CROBEX10 index stocks on the Zagreb Stock Exchange were used in the analysis. The statistical control charts capabilities for stock trading in the short-run were analysed. Results: The statistical control chart analysis pointed out too many signals to buy or sell stocks. Most of them are considered as false alarms. So, the statistical control charts showed to be not so much useful in stock trading or in a portfolio analysis. Conclusions: The presence of non-normality and autocorellation has great impact on statistical control charts performances. It is assumed that if these two problems are solved, the use of statistical control charts in a portfolio analysis could be greatly improved.

A COMPARISON OF SOME ROBUST BIVARIATE CONTROL CHARTS FOR INDIVIDUAL OBSERVATIONS

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Moustafa Omar Ahmed Abu - Shawiesh

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper proposed and considered some bivariate control charts to monitor individual observations from a statistical process control. Usual control charts which use mean and variance-covariance estimators are sensitive to outliers. We consider the following robust alternatives to the classical Hoteling's T2: T2MedMAD, T2MCD, T2MVE a simulation study has been conducted to compare the performance of these control charts. Two real life data are analyzed to illustrate the application of these robust alternatives.

Dynamic probability control limits for risk-adjusted CUSUM charts based on multiresponses.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiang; Loda, Justin B; Woodall, William H

2017-07-20

For a patient who has survived a surgery, there could be several levels of recovery. Thus, it is reasonable to consider more than two outcomes when monitoring surgical outcome quality. The risk-adjusted cumulative sum (CUSUM) chart based on multiresponses has been developed for monitoring a surgical process with three or more outcomes. However, there is a significant effect of varying risk distributions on the in-control performance of the chart when constant control limits are applied. To overcome this disadvantage, we apply the dynamic probability control limits to the risk-adjusted CUSUM charts for multiresponses. The simulation results demonstrate that the in-control performance of the charts with dynamic probability control limits can be controlled for different patient populations because these limits are determined for each specific sequence of patients. Thus, the use of dynamic probability control limits for risk-adjusted CUSUM charts based on multiresponses allows each chart to be designed for the corresponding patient sequence of a surgeon or a hospital and therefore does not require estimating or monitoring the patients' risk distribution. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

On the Mathematics behind the CUSUM Control Charts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Henrik

1998-01-01

This paper describes the mathematics behind CUSUM control charts. An introduction to CUSUM charts is found in (Madsen 1998).CUSUM charts are well suited for checking a measuring system in operation for any departure from some target or specified values. In general they can be used for:- detecting...... a drift (or shift in the level) of the measuring system, and- detecting a change of the precision of the measuring system.In both cases the CUSUM procedure contains methods for estimating the shift such that maintenance (e.g. recalibration) can take place.The CUSUM procedure is described in ISO/CD 7871...

Control charts for health care monitoring under intermittent out-of-control behavior

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Albers, Willem/Wim

Health care monitoring typically concerns attribute data with very low failure rates. Efficient control charts then signal if the waiting time till r (e.g. r≤5) failures is too small. An interesting alternative is the MAX-chart, which signals if all the associated r waiting times for a single

Control charts for health care monitoring under intermittent out-of-control behavior

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Albers, Willem/Wim

2011-01-01

Health care monitoring typically concerns attribute data with very low failure rates. Efficient control charts then signal if the waiting time till r (e.g. r≤5) failures is too small. An interesting alternative is the MAX-chart, which signals if all the associated r waiting times for a single

Monitoring a PVC batch process with multivariate statistical process control charts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tates, A. A.; Louwerse, D. J.; Smilde, A. K.; Koot, G. L. M.; Berndt, H.

1999-01-01

Multivariate statistical process control charts (MSPC charts) are developed for the industrial batch production process of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). With these MSPC charts different types of abnormal batch behavior were detected on-line. With batch contribution plots, the probable causes of these

Application of Special Cause Control Charts to Green Sand Process

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Perzyk M.

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Statistical Process Control (SPC based on the well known Shewhart control charts, is widely used in contemporary manufacturing industry, including many foundries. However, the classic SPC methods require that the measured quantities, e.g. process or product parameters, are not auto-correlated, i.e. their current values do not depend on the preceding ones. For the processes which do not obey this assumption the Special Cause Control (SCC charts were proposed, utilizing the residual data obtained from the time-series analysis. In the present paper the results of application of SCC charts to a green sand processing system are presented. The tests, made on real industrial data collected in a big iron foundry, were aimed at the comparison of occurrences of out-of-control signals detected in the original data with those appeared in the residual data. It was found that application of the SCC charts reduces numbers of the signals in almost all cases It is concluded that it can be helpful in avoiding false signals, i.e. resulting from predictable factors.

A robust standard deviation control chart

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schoonhoven, M.; Does, R.J.M.M.

2012-01-01

This article studies the robustness of Phase I estimators for the standard deviation control chart. A Phase I estimator should be efficient in the absence of contaminations and resistant to disturbances. Most of the robust estimators proposed in the literature are robust against either diffuse

Application of machine learning and expert systems to Statistical Process Control (SPC) chart interpretation

Science.gov (United States)

Shewhart, Mark

1991-01-01

Statistical Process Control (SPC) charts are one of several tools used in quality control. Other tools include flow charts, histograms, cause and effect diagrams, check sheets, Pareto diagrams, graphs, and scatter diagrams. A control chart is simply a graph which indicates process variation over time. The purpose of drawing a control chart is to detect any changes in the process signalled by abnormal points or patterns on the graph. The Artificial Intelligence Support Center (AISC) of the Acquisition Logistics Division has developed a hybrid machine learning expert system prototype which automates the process of constructing and interpreting control charts.

ROBUSTIFICATION OF MULTIVARIATE CONTROL CHART √|S| IN CONTROL PHASE I

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Edwin Dugarte-Peña

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This article, chart robustification based on the square root of the sample generalized variance √|S|, is studied to control the variability of a bivariate normal process in stage 1 of Phase I control, built with observations for rational subgroups, and using the robust estimators, MVE, MCD and estimator S. These charts, are being compared with the usual chart, based on unbiased sample estimator, S, of the covariance matrix, ∑_0, in the presence of outliers from perturbation schemes such as, ∑_0 inflation contamination, and contamination affecting only the correlation. We use as performance measure, the mean squared error in estimating ∑_0, and absolute bias in the estimate, used √(|∑_0 | , about the unbiased estimators for each one of the parameters respectively    built with the rational subgroups that remain after the purification process undertaken in Phase 1 and are consider as the data group that represent the stage of the stable variation process.

Modified Exponential Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) Control Chart on Autocorrelation Data

Science.gov (United States)

Herdiani, Erna Tri; Fandrilla, Geysa; Sunusi, Nurtiti

2018-03-01

In general, observations of the statistical process control are assumed to be mutually independence. However, this assumption is often violated in practice. Consequently, statistical process controls were developed for interrelated processes, including Shewhart, Cumulative Sum (CUSUM), and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control charts in the data that were autocorrelation. One researcher stated that this chart is not suitable if the same control limits are used in the case of independent variables. For this reason, it is necessary to apply the time series model in building the control chart. A classical control chart for independent variables is usually applied to residual processes. This procedure is permitted provided that residuals are independent. In 1978, Shewhart modification for the autoregressive process was introduced by using the distance between the sample mean and the target value compared to the standard deviation of the autocorrelation process. In this paper we will examine the mean of EWMA for autocorrelation process derived from Montgomery and Patel. Performance to be investigated was investigated by examining Average Run Length (ARL) based on the Markov Chain Method.

Results of a multicentre randomised controlled trial of statistical process control charts and structured diagnostic tools to reduce ward-acquired meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: the CHART Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Curran, E; Harper, P; Loveday, H; Gilmour, H; Jones, S; Benneyan, J; Hood, J; Pratt, R

2008-10-01

Statistical process control (SPC) charts have previously been advocated for infection control quality improvement. To determine their effectiveness, a multicentre randomised controlled trial was undertaken to explore whether monthly SPC feedback from infection control nurses (ICNs) to healthcare workers of ward-acquired meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (WA-MRSA) colonisation or infection rates would produce any reductions in incidence. Seventy-five wards in 24 hospitals in the UK were randomised into three arms: (1) wards receiving SPC chart feedback; (2) wards receiving SPC chart feedback in conjunction with structured diagnostic tools; and (3) control wards receiving neither type of feedback. Twenty-five months of pre-intervention WA-MRSA data were compared with 24 months of post-intervention data. Statistically significant and sustained decreases in WA-MRSA rates were identified in all three arms (Pcontrol wards, but with no significant difference between the control and intervention arms (P=0.23). There were significantly more post-intervention 'out-of-control' episodes (P=0.021) in the control arm (averages of 0.60, 0.28, and 0.28 for Control, SPC and SPC+Tools wards, respectively). Participants identified SPC charts as an effective communication tool and valuable for disseminating WA-MRSA data.

Multivariate control charts based on net analyte signal (NAS) and Raman spectroscopy for quality control of carbamazepine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rocha, Werickson Fortunato de Carvalho [Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas - UNICAMP, P.O. Box 6154, 13083-970 Campinas, SP (Brazil); National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality, Inmetro, Dimci/Dquim - Directorate of Metrology, Science and Industry/Division of Chemical Metrology, Av. Nossa Senhora das Gracas 50, Building 6, 25250-020, Xerem, Duque de Caxias, RJ (Brazil); Poppi, Ronei Jesus, E-mail: ronei@iqm.unicamp.br [Institute of Chemistry, University of Campinas - UNICAMP, P.O. Box 6154, 13083-970 Campinas, SP (Brazil); National Institute of Science and Technology (INCT) for Bioanalytics, 13083-970 Campinas, SP (Brazil)

2011-10-31

Raman spectroscopy and control charts based on the net analyte signal (NAS) were applied to polymorphic characterization of carbamazepine. Carbamazepine presents four polymorphic forms: I-IV (dihydrate). X-ray powder diffraction was used as a reference technique. The control charts were built generating three charts: the NAS chart that corresponds to the analyte of interest (form III in this case), the interference chart that corresponds to the contribution of other compounds in the sample and the residual chart that corresponds to nonsystematic variations. For each chart, statistical limits were developed using samples within the quality specifications. It was possible to identify the different polymorphic forms of carbamazepine present in pharmaceutical formulations. Thus, an alternative method for the quality monitoring of the carbamazepine polymorphic forms after the crystallization process is presented.

Multivariate control charts based on net analyte signal (NAS) and Raman spectroscopy for quality control of carbamazepine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rocha, Werickson Fortunato de Carvalho; Poppi, Ronei Jesus

2011-01-01

Raman spectroscopy and control charts based on the net analyte signal (NAS) were applied to polymorphic characterization of carbamazepine. Carbamazepine presents four polymorphic forms: I-IV (dihydrate). X-ray powder diffraction was used as a reference technique. The control charts were built generating three charts: the NAS chart that corresponds to the analyte of interest (form III in this case), the interference chart that corresponds to the contribution of other compounds in the sample and the residual chart that corresponds to nonsystematic variations. For each chart, statistical limits were developed using samples within the quality specifications. It was possible to identify the different polymorphic forms of carbamazepine present in pharmaceutical formulations. Thus, an alternative method for the quality monitoring of the carbamazepine polymorphic forms after the crystallization process is presented.

An ex ante control chart for project monitoring using earned duration management observations

Science.gov (United States)

Mortaji, Seyed Taha Hossein; Noori, Siamak; Noorossana, Rassoul; Bagherpour, Morteza

2017-12-01

In the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in developing project control systems. The primary purpose of such systems is to indicate whether the actual performance is consistent with the baseline and to produce a signal in the case of non-compliance. Recently, researchers have shown an increased interest in monitoring project's performance indicators, by plotting them on the Shewhart-type control charts over time. However, these control charts are fundamentally designed for processes and ignore project-specific dynamics, which can lead to weak results and misleading interpretations. By paying close attention to the project baseline schedule and using statistical foundations, this paper proposes a new ex ante control chart which discriminates between acceptable (as-planned) and non-acceptable (not-as-planned) variations of the project's schedule performance. Such control chart enables project managers to set more realistic thresholds leading to a better decision making for taking corrective and/or preventive actions. For the sake of clarity, an illustrative example has been presented to show how the ex ante control chart is constructed in practice. Furthermore, an experimental investigation has been set up to analyze the performance of the proposed control chart. As expected, the results confirm that, when a project starts to deflect significantly from the project's baseline schedule, the ex ante control chart shows a respectable ability to detect and report right signals while avoiding false alarms.

Control Charts for Processes with an Inherent Between-Sample Variation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva Jarošová

2018-06-01

Full Text Available A number of processes to which statistical control is applied are subject to various effects that cause random changes in the mean value. The removal of these fluctuations is either technologically impossible or economically disadvantageous under current conditions. The frequent occurrence of signals in the Shewhart chart due to these fluctuations is then undesirable and therefore the conventional control limits need to be extended. Several approaches to the design of the control charts with extended limits are presented in the paper and applied on the data from a real production process. The methods assume samples of size greater than 1. The performance of the charts is examined using the operating characteristic and average run length. The study reveals that in many cases, reducing the risk of false alarms is insufficient.

Design and analysis of control charts for standard deviation with estimated parameters

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schoonhoven, M.; Riaz, M.; Does, R.J.M.M.

2011-01-01

This paper concerns the design and analysis of the standard deviation control chart with estimated limits. We consider an extensive range of statistics to estimate the in-control standard deviation (Phase I) and design the control chart for real-time process monitoring (Phase II) by determining the

An Assessment of Statistical Process Control-Based Approaches for Charting Student Evaluation Scores

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Xin; Wardell, Don; Verma, Rohit

2006-01-01

We compare three control charts for monitoring data from student evaluations of teaching (SET) with the goal of improving student satisfaction with teaching performance. The two charts that we propose are a modified "p" chart and a z-score chart. We show that these charts overcome some of the shortcomings of the more traditional charts…

The use of control charts by laypeople and hospital decision-makers for guiding decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidtke, K A; Watson, D G; Vlaev, I

2017-07-01

Graphs presenting healthcare data are increasingly available to support laypeople and hospital staff's decision making. When making these decisions, hospital staff should consider the role of chance-that is, random variation. Given random variation, decision-makers must distinguish signals (sometimes called special-cause data) from noise (common-cause data). Unfortunately, many graphs do not facilitate the statistical reasoning necessary to make such distinctions. Control charts are a less commonly used type of graph that support statistical thinking by including reference lines that separate data more likely to be signals from those more likely to be noise. The current work demonstrates for whom (laypeople and hospital staff) and when (treatment and investigative decisions) control charts strengthen data-driven decision making. We present two experiments that compare people's use of control and non-control charts to make decisions between hospitals (funnel charts vs. league tables) and to monitor changes across time (run charts with control lines vs. run charts without control lines). As expected, participants more accurately identified the outlying data using a control chart than using a non-control chart, but their ability to then apply that information to more complicated questions (e.g., where should I go for treatment?, and should I investigate?) was limited. The discussion highlights some common concerns about using control charts in hospital settings.

Control Chart on Semi Analytical Weighting

Science.gov (United States)

Miranda, G. S.; Oliveira, C. C.; Silva, T. B. S. C.; Stellato, T. B.; Monteiro, L. R.; Marques, J. R.; Faustino, M. G.; Soares, S. M. V.; Ulrich, J. C.; Pires, M. A. F.; Cotrim, M. E. B.

2018-03-01

Semi-analytical balance verification intends to assess the balance performance using graphs that illustrate measurement dispersion, trough time, and to demonstrate measurements were performed in a reliable manner. This study presents internal quality control of a semi-analytical balance (GEHAKA BG400) using control charts. From 2013 to 2016, 2 weight standards were monitored before any balance operation. This work intended to evaluate if any significant difference or bias were presented on weighting procedure over time, to check the generated data reliability. This work also exemplifies how control intervals are established.

Toward a New Brewing Control Chart for the 21st Century.

Science.gov (United States)

Melrose, John; Roman-Corrochano, Borja; Montoya-Guerra, Marcela; Bakalis, Serafim

2018-04-23

This paper describes new results from a base model of brewing from a bed of packed coffee grains. The model solves for the diffusion of soluble species out of a distribution of particles into the flow through the bed pore space. It requires a limited set of input parameters. It gives a simple picture of the basic physics of coffee brewing and sets out a set of reduced variables for this process. The importance of bed extraction efficiency is elucidated. A coffee brewing control chart has been widely used to describe the region of ideal coffee brewing for some 50 years. A new chart is needed, however, one that connects actual brewing conditions (weight, flow rate, brew time, grind, etc.) to the yield and strength of brews. The paper shows a new approach to brewing control charts, including brew time and bed extraction efficiency as control parameters. Using the base model, an example chart will be given for a particular grind ratio of coarse to fine particles, and an "espresso regime" will be picked out. From such a chart yield, volume and strength of a brew can be read off at will.

Robust control charts in industrial production of olive oil

Science.gov (United States)

Grilo, Luís M.; Mateus, Dina M. R.; Alves, Ana C.; Grilo, Helena L.

2014-10-01

Acidity is one of the most important variables in the quality analysis and characterization of olive oil. During the industrial production we use individuals and moving range charts to monitor this variable, which is not always normal distributed. After a brief exploratory data analysis, where we use the bootstrap method, we construct control charts, before and after a Box-Cox transformation, and compare their robustness and performance.

The application of mean control chart in managing industrial processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Papić-Blagojević Nataša

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Along with the advent of mass production comes the problem of monitoring and maintaining the quality of the product, which stressed the need for the application of selected statistical and mathematical methods in the control process. The main objective of applying the methods of statistical control is continuous quality improvement through permanent monitoring of the process in order to discover the causes of errors. Shewart charts are the most popular method of statistical process control, which performs separation of controlled and uncontrolled variations along with detection of increased variations. This paper presents the example of Shewart mean control chart with application in managing industrial process.

APPLICATION OF U-CHART AND C-CHART IN TECHNOLOGICAL PROCESS OF PRIMARY WOOD PROCESSING

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Damjan Stanojević

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Control charts are statistical methods of quality control. Basically it is a graph where the abscissa represents the order of control, and the ordinate is marked with parameter values, which are controled by samples over a certain size. Using charts determine varying quality and also related the stability and capacity of the production process in relation to the established control limits. Dr. Schuchardt, which can be regarded as the creator of control charts, says that their mission: to maintain the production process in a state of control, to lead the production process into a state of control, to show that the state of control has been achieved. According to Dr. Schuchardt „for a phenomenon is said to be controlled if based on current data we can predict, at least within certain limits, how the phenomenon will change in the future. Here, under certain prediction within limits means that we can determine, at least approximately, the probability that the phenomenon is found within the given limits“. Control charts for attribute quality characteristics are: p- control chart, m- control chart, u- control chart, c- control chart.

The Effect of Autocorrelation on the Hotelling T-2 Control Chart

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vanhatalo, Erik; Kulahci, Murat

2015-01-01

One of the basic assumptions for traditional univariate and multivariate control charts is that the data are independent in time. For the latter, in many cases, the data are serially dependent (autocorrelated) and cross-correlated because of, for example, frequent sampling and process dynamics......- correlation structures for different magnitudes of shifts in the process mean is not fully explored in the literature. In this article, the performance of the Hotelling T-2 control chart for different shift sizes and various autocorrelation and cross- correlation structures are compared based on the average...... and using the raw data with adjusted control limits calculated through Monte Carlo simulations; and (iii) constructing the control chart for the residuals from a multivariate time series model fitted to the raw data. To limit the complexity, we use a first-order vector autoregressive process and focus...

Bivariate copulas on the exponentially weighted moving average control chart

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Sasigarn Kuvattana

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes four types of copulas on the Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA control chart when observations are from an exponential distribution using a Monte Carlo simulation approach. The performance of the control chart is based on the Average Run Length (ARL which is compared for each copula. Copula functions for specifying dependence between random variables are used and measured by Kendall’s tau. The results show that the Normal copula can be used for almost all shifts.

Control charts for identifying systematic errors using control sera to detect antibody to Salmonella in an indirect ELISA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bak, H.; Barfod, Kristen

2008-01-01

This study evaluated the preparation of Shewhart's control charts using the concept of rational subgroups for monitoring the Salmonella antibody ELISA used for surveillance of Danish pig herds. Control charts were prepared for a buffer control sample, a negative serum sample and a positive serum...

Application of capability indices and control charts in the analytical method control strategy.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliva, Alexis; Llabres Martinez, Matías

2017-08-01

In this study, we assessed the usefulness of control charts in combination with the process capability indices, C pm and C pk , in the control strategy of an analytical method. The traditional X-chart and moving range chart were used to monitor the analytical method over a 2-year period. The results confirmed that the analytical method is in-control and stable. Different criteria were used to establish the specifications limits (i.e. analyst requirements) for fixed method performance (i.e. method requirements). If the specification limits and control limits are equal in breadth, the method can be considered "capable" (C pm  = 1), but it does not satisfy the minimum method capability requirements proposed by Pearn and Shu (2003). Similar results were obtained using the C pk index. The method capability was also assessed as a function of method performance for fixed analyst requirements. The results indicate that the method does not meet the requirements of the analytical target approach. A real-example data of a SEC with light-scattering detection method was used as a model whereas previously published data were used to illustrate the applicability of the proposed approach. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Fault detection in electric power systems based on control charts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kisić Emilija

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes the control system of the combustion process and protection from explosions in the boiler furnace of thermal power plant using the techniques of control charts. The data from old and newly introduced system for measuring under-pressure differences in boiler furnace at unit B2, TE Nikola Tesla (TENT Obrenovac, were analyzed. The signal of undepressure difference is used for boiler protection function in thermal power plant TENT B. The results that confirm the advantages of the newly introduced system of measurements are presented. A detailed discussion about the benefits and the shortcomings of the control charts application in industrial processes are given in the paper.

Scalable, full-colour and controllable chromotropic plasmonic printing

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Jiancai; Zhou, Zhang-Kai; Wei, Zhiqiang; Su, Rongbin; Lai, Juan; Li, Juntao; Li, Chao; Zhang, Tengwei; Wang, Xue-Hua

2015-01-01

Plasmonic colour printing has drawn wide attention as a promising candidate for the next-generation colour-printing technology. However, an efficient approach to realize full colour and scalable fabrication is still lacking, which prevents plasmonic colour printing from practical applications. Here we present a scalable and full-colour plasmonic printing approach by combining conjugate twin-phase modulation with a plasmonic broadband absorber. More importantly, our approach also demonstrates controllable chromotropic capability, that is, the ability of reversible colour transformations. This chromotropic capability affords enormous potentials in building functionalized prints for anticounterfeiting, special label, and high-density data encryption storage. With such excellent performances in functional colour applications, this colour-printing approach could pave the way for plasmonic colour printing in real-world commercial utilization. PMID:26567803

The use of principal components and univariate charts to control multivariate processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcela A. G. Machado

2008-04-01

Full Text Available In this article, we evaluate the performance of the T² chart based on the principal components (PC X chart and the simultaneous univariate control charts based on the original variables (SU charts or based on the principal components (SUPC charts. The main reason to consider the PC chart lies on the dimensionality reduction. However, depending on the disturbance and on the way the original variables are related, the chart is very slow in signaling, except when all variables are negatively correlated and the principal component is wisely selected. Comparing the SU , the SUPC and the T² charts we conclude that the SU X charts (SUPC charts have a better overall performance when the variables are positively (negatively correlated. We also develop the expression to obtain the power of two S² charts designed for monitoring the covariance matrix. These joint S² charts are, in the majority of the cases, more efficient than the generalized variance chart.Neste artigo, avaliamos o desempenho do gráfico de T² baseado em componentes principais (gráfico PC e dos gráficos de controle simultâneos univariados baseados nas variáveis originais (gráfico SU X ou baseados em componentes principais (gráfico SUPC. A principal razão para o uso do gráfico PC é a redução de dimensionalidade. Entretanto, dependendo da perturbação e da correlação entre as variáveis originais, o gráfico é lento em sinalizar, exceto quando todas as variáveis são negativamente correlacionadas e a componente principal é adequadamente escolhida. Comparando os gráficos SU X, SUPC e T² concluímos que o gráfico SU X (gráfico SUPC tem um melhor desempenho global quando as variáveis são positivamente (negativamente correlacionadas. Desenvolvemos também uma expressão para obter o poder de detecção de dois gráficos de S² projetados para controlar a matriz de covariâncias. Os gráficos conjuntos de S² são, na maioria dos casos, mais eficientes que o gr

The construction of control chart for PM10 functional data

Science.gov (United States)

Shaadan, Norshahida; Jemain, Abdul Aziz; Deni, Sayang Mohd

2014-06-01

In this paper, a statistical procedure to construct a control chart for monitoring air quality (PM10) using functional data is proposed. A set of daily indices that represent the daily PM10 curves were obtained using Functional Principal Component Analysis (FPCA). By means of an iterative charting procedure, a reference data set that represented a stable PM10 process was obtained. The data were then used as a reference for monitoring future data. The application of the procedure was conducted using seven-year (2004-2010) period of recorded data from the Klang air quality monitoring station located in the Klang Valley region of Peninsular Malaysia. The study showed that the control chart provided a useful visualization tool for monitoring air quality and was capable in detecting abnormality in the process system. As in the case of Klang station, the results showed that with reference to 2004-2008, the air quality (PM10) in 2010 was better than that in 2009.

Crude versus case-mix-adjusted control charts for safety monitoring in thyroid surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Duclos, Antoine; Voirin, Nicolas; Touzet, Sandrine; Soardo, Pietro; Schott, Anne-Marie; Colin, Cyrille; Peix, Jean-Louis; Lifante, Jean-Christophe

2010-12-01

Patient-safety monitoring based on health-outcome indicators can lead to misinterpretation of changes in case mix. This study aimed to compare the detection of indicator variations between crude and case-mix-adjusted control charts using data from thyroid surgeries. The study population included each patient who underwent thyroid surgery in a teaching hospital from January 2006 to May 2008. Patient safety was monitored according to two indicators, which are immediately recognisable postoperative complications: recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and hypocalcaemia. Each indicator was plotted monthly on a p-control chart using exact limits. The weighted κ statistic was calculated to measure the agreement between crude and case-mix-adjusted control charts. We evaluated the outcomes of 1405 thyroidectomies. The overall proportions of immediate recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy and hypocalcaemia were 7.4% and 20.5%, respectively. The proportion of agreement in the detection of indicator variations between the crude and case-mix-adjusted p-charts was 95% (95% CI 85% to 99%). The strength of the agreement was κ = 0.76 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.98). The single special cause of variation that occurred was only detected by the case-mix-adjusted p-chart. There was good agreement in the detection of indicator variations between crude and case-mix-adjusted p-charts. The joint use of crude and adjusted charts seems to be a reasonable approach to increase the accuracy of interpretation of variations in outcome indicators.

Image registration assessment in radiotherapy image guidance based on control chart monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Wenyao; Breen, Stephen L

2018-04-01

Image guidance with cone beam computed tomography in radiotherapy can guarantee the precision and accuracy of patient positioning prior to treatment delivery. During the image guidance process, operators need to take great effort to evaluate the image guidance quality before correcting a patient's position. This work proposes an image registration assessment method based on control chart monitoring to reduce the effort taken by the operator. According to the control chart plotted by daily registration scores of each patient, the proposed method can quickly detect both alignment errors and image quality inconsistency. Therefore, the proposed method can provide a clear guideline for the operators to identify unacceptable image quality and unacceptable image registration with minimal effort. Experimental results demonstrate that by using control charts from a clinical database of 10 patients undergoing prostate radiotherapy, the proposed method can quickly identify out-of-control signals and find special cause of out-of-control registration events.

MEASUREMENT ERROR EFFECT ON THE POWER OF CONTROL CHART FOR ZERO-TRUNCATED POISSON DISTRIBUTION

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Ashit Chakraborty

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Measurement error is the difference between the true value and the measured value of a quantity that exists in practice and may considerably affect the performance of control charts in some cases. Measurement error variability has uncertainty which can be from several sources. In this paper, we have studied the effect of these sources of variability on the power characteristics of control chart and obtained the values of average run length (ARL for zero-truncated Poisson distribution (ZTPD. Expression of the power of control chart for variable sample size under standardized normal variate for ZTPD is also derived.

The unsuitability of HTML-based colour charts for estimating animal colours--a comment on Berggren and Merilä (2004).

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Martin; Cuthill, Innes C

2005-08-30

A variety of techniques are used to study the colours of animal signals, including the use of visual matching to colour charts. This paper aims to highlight why they are generally an unsatisfactory tool for the measurement and classification of animal colours and why colour codes based on HTML (really RGB) standards, as advocated in a recent paper, are particularly inappropriate. There are many theoretical arguments against the use of colour charts, not least that human colour vision differs markedly from that of most other animals. However, the focus of this paper is the concern that, even when applied to humans, there is no simple 1:1 mapping from an RGB colour space to the perceived colours in a chart (the results are both printer- and illumination-dependent). We support our criticisms with data from colour matching experiments with humans, involving self-made, printed colour charts. Colour matching experiments with printed charts involving 11 subjects showed that the choices made by individuals were significantly different between charts that had exactly the same RGB values, but were produced from different printers. Furthermore, individual matches tended to vary under different lighting conditions. Spectrophotometry of the colour charts showed that the reflectance spectra of the charts varied greatly between printers and that equal steps in RGB space were often far from equal in terms of reflectance on the printed charts. In addition to outlining theoretical criticisms of the use of colour charts, our empirical results show that: individuals vary in their perception of colours, that different printers produce strikingly different results when reproducing what should be the same chart, and that the characteristics of the light irradiating the surface do affect colour perception. Therefore, we urge great caution in the use of colour charts to study animal colour signals. They should be used only as a last resort and in full knowledge of their limitations, with

Using Statistical Process Control to Drive Improvement in Neonatal Care: A Practical Introduction to Control Charts.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Munish; Kaplan, Heather C

2017-09-01

Quality improvement (QI) is based on measuring performance over time, and variation in data measured over time must be understood to guide change and make optimal improvements. Common cause variation is natural variation owing to factors inherent to any process; special cause variation is unnatural variation owing to external factors. Statistical process control methods, and particularly control charts, are robust tools for understanding data over time and identifying common and special cause variation. This review provides a practical introduction to the use of control charts in health care QI, with a focus on neonatology. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

REAL TIME QUALITY CONTROL OF THE HEATSET OFFSET PRINTING PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Răzvan-George RĂCHERU

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Offset lithography is one of the most common ways of creating printed materials. Compared to other printing methods, offset printing is best suited for economically producing large volumes of high quality prints in a manner that requires little maintenance. Because of the high speed and the high volume of the printing press, we have to rely on automation for press control and not just to the printer’s eye. When printing an image that has more than one color, it is necessary to print each color separately and ensure each color overlaps the others precisely. If this is not done, the finished image will look fuzzy, blurred or "out of register". To help line the colors up correctly, a system of registration is necessary. Therefore, the use of an automated real time quality control system will result in a more consistent color for the customer and less waste for the printer.

The unsuitability of html-based colour charts for estimating animal colours – a comment on Berggren and Merilä (2004

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cuthill Innes C

2005-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background A variety of techniques are used to study the colours of animal signals, including the use of visual matching to colour charts. This paper aims to highlight why they are generally an unsatisfactory tool for the measurement and classification of animal colours and why colour codes based on HTML (really RGB standards, as advocated in a recent paper, are particularly inappropriate. There are many theoretical arguments against the use of colour charts, not least that human colour vision differs markedly from that of most other animals. However, the focus of this paper is the concern that, even when applied to humans, there is no simple 1:1 mapping from an RGB colour space to the perceived colours in a chart (the results are both printer- and illumination-dependent. We support our criticisms with data from colour matching experiments with humans, involving self-made, printed colour charts. Results Colour matching experiments with printed charts involving 11 subjects showed that the choices made by individuals were significantly different between charts that had exactly the same RGB values, but were produced from different printers. Furthermore, individual matches tended to vary under different lighting conditions. Spectrophotometry of the colour charts showed that the reflectance spectra of the charts varied greatly between printers and that equal steps in RGB space were often far from equal in terms of reflectance on the printed charts. Conclusion In addition to outlining theoretical criticisms of the use of colour charts, our empirical results show that: individuals vary in their perception of colours, that different printers produce strikingly different results when reproducing what should be the same chart, and that the characteristics of the light irradiating the surface do affect colour perception. Therefore, we urge great caution in the use of colour charts to study animal colour signals. They should be used only as a last

New fuzzy EWMA control charts for monitoring phase II fuzzy profiles

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Ghazale Moghadam

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In many quality control applications, the quality of a process or product is explained by the relationship between response variable and one or more explanatory variables, called a profile. In this paper, a new fuzzy EWMA control chart for phase II fuzzy profile monitoring is proposed. To this end, we extend EWMA control charts to its equivalent Fuzzy type and then implement fuzzy ranking methods to determine whether the process fuzzy profile is under or out of control. The proposed method is capable of identifying small changes in process under condition of process profile explaining parameters vagueness, roughness and uncertainty. Determining the source of changes, this method provides us with the possibility of recognizing the causes of process transition from stable mode, removing these causes and restoring the process stable mode.

Impact of Scribes on Physician Satisfaction, Patient Satisfaction, and Charting Efficiency: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Gidwani, Risha; Nguyen, Cathina; Kofoed, Alexis; Carragee, Catherine; Rydel, Tracy; Nelligan, Ian; Sattler, Amelia; Mahoney, Megan; Lin, Steven

2017-09-01

Scribes are increasingly being used in clinical practice despite a lack of high-quality evidence regarding their effects. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of medical scribes on physician satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and charting efficiency. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in which physicians in an academic family medicine clinic were randomized to 1 week with a scribe then 1 week without a scribe for the course of 1 year. Scribes drafted all relevant documentation, which was reviewed by the physician before attestation and signing. In encounters without a scribe, the physician performed all charting duties. Our outcomes were physician satisfaction, measured by a 5-item instrument that included physicians' perceptions of chart quality and chart accuracy; patient satisfaction, measured by a 6-item instrument; and charting efficiency, measured by time to chart close. Scribes improved all aspects of physician satisfaction, including overall satisfaction with clinic (OR = 10.75), having enough face time with patients (OR = 3.71), time spent charting (OR = 86.09), chart quality (OR = 7.25), and chart accuracy (OR = 4.61) (all P values patient satisfaction. Scribes increased the proportion of charts that were closed within 48 hours (OR =1.18, P =.028). To our knowledge, we have conducted the first randomized controlled trial of scribes. We found that scribes produced significant improvements in overall physician satisfaction, satisfaction with chart quality and accuracy, and charting efficiency without detracting from patient satisfaction. Scribes appear to be a promising strategy to improve health care efficiency and reduce physician burnout. © 2017 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.

A 3D-Printed Oxygen Control Insert for a 24-Well Plate.

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Martin D Brennan

Full Text Available 3D printing has emerged as a method for directly printing complete microfluidic devices, although printing materials have been limited to oxygen-impermeable materials. We demonstrate the addition of gas permeable PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane membranes to 3D-printed microfluidic devices as a means to enable oxygen control cell culture studies. The incorporation of a 3D-printed device and gas-permeable membranes was demonstrated on a 24-well oxygen control device for standard multiwell plates. The direct printing allows integrated distribution channels and device geometries not possible with traditional planar lithography. With this device, four different oxygen conditions were able to be controlled, and six wells were maintained under each oxygen condition. We demonstrate enhanced transcription of the gene VEGFA (vascular endothelial growth factor A with decreasing oxygen levels in human lung adenocarcinoma cells. This is the first 3D-printed device incorporating gas permeable membranes to facilitate oxygen control in cell culture.

Serial correlation of quality control data--on the use of proper control charts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Winkel, P; Zhang, Nevin

2004-01-01

Biochemical quality control (QC) data have been reported to be autocorrelated. Serial correlation may increase the rate of false alarms if the traditional exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control chart to monitoring the process mean is used. False alarms are the focus of this paper, w......, where an alarm is defined as the occurrence of a QC value outside the three standard deviation control limits....

Serial correlation of quality control data--on the use of proper control charts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Winkel, P; Zhang, Nevin

2004-01-01

Biochemical quality control (QC) data have been reported to be autocorrelated. Serial correlation may increase the rate of false alarms if the traditional exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) control chart to monitoring the process mean is used. False alarms are the focus of this paper......, where an alarm is defined as the occurrence of a QC value outside the three standard deviation control limits....

Using a statistical process control chart during the quality assessment of cancer registry data.

Science.gov (United States)

Myles, Zachary M; German, Robert R; Wilson, Reda J; Wu, Manxia

2011-01-01

Statistical process control (SPC) charts may be used to detect acute variations in the data while simultaneously evaluating unforeseen aberrations that may warrant further investigation by the data user. Using cancer stage data captured by the Summary Stage 2000 (SS2000) variable, we sought to present a brief report highlighting the utility of the SPC chart during the quality assessment of cancer registry data. Using a county-level caseload for the diagnosis period of 2001-2004 (n=25,648), we found the overall variation of the SS2000 variable to be in control during diagnosis years of 2001 and 2002, exceeded the lower control limit (LCL) in 2003, and exceeded the upper control limit (UCL) in 2004; in situ/localized stages were in control throughout the diagnosis period, regional stage exceeded UCL in 2004, and distant stage exceeded the LCL in 2001 and the UCL in 2004. Our application of the SPC chart with cancer registry data illustrates that the SPC chart may serve as a readily available and timely tool for identifying areas of concern during the data collection and quality assessment of central cancer registry data.

A new chart for weight control in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

OpenAIRE

Griffiths, R D; Edwards, R H

1988-01-01

Weight control is desirable in the muscle wasting conditions. A new chart is presented to allow the prediction of an ideal weight, free of excess fat, specifically for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Application of classical versus bayesian statistical control charts to on-line radiological monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeVol, T.A.; Gohres, A.A.; Williams, C.L.

2009-01-01

False positive and false negative incidence rates of radiological monitoring data from classical and Bayesian statistical process control chart techniques are compared. The on-line monitoring for illicit radioactive material with no false positives or false negatives is the goal of homeland security monitoring, but is unrealistic. However, statistical fluctuations in the detector signal, short detection times, large source to detector distances, and shielding effects make distinguishing between a radiation source and natural background particularly difficult. Experimental time series data were collected using a 1' x 1' LaCl 3 (Ce) based scintillation detector (Scionix, Orlando, FL) under various simulated conditions. Experimental parameters include radionuclide (gamma-ray) energy, activity, density thickness (source to detector distance and shielding), time, and temperature. All statistical algorithms were developed using MATLAB TM . The Shewhart (3-σ) control chart and the cumulative sum (CUSUM) control chart are the classical procedures adopted, while the Bayesian technique is the Shiryayev-Roberts (S-R) control chart. The Shiryayev-Roberts method was the best method for controlling the number of false positive detects, followed by the CUSUM method. However, The Shiryayev-Roberts method, used without modification, resulted in one of the highest false negative incidence rates independent of the signal strength. Modification of The Shiryayev-Roberts statistical analysis method reduced the number of false negatives, but resulted in an increase in the false positive incidence rate. (author)

Data-Driven Based Asynchronous Motor Control for Printing Servo Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Bian, Min; Guo, Qingyun

Modern digital printing equipment aims to the environmental-friendly industry with high dynamic performances and control precision and low vibration and abrasion. High performance motion control system of printing servo systems was required. Control system of asynchronous motor based on data acquisition was proposed. Iterative learning control (ILC) algorithm was studied. PID control was widely used in the motion control. However, it was sensitive to the disturbances and model parameters variation. The ILC applied the history error data and present control signals to approximate the control signal directly in order to fully track the expect trajectory without the system models and structures. The motor control algorithm based on the ILC and PID was constructed and simulation results were given. The results show that data-driven control method is effective dealing with bounded disturbances for the motion control of printing servo systems.

Quality Control of the Print with the Application of Statistical Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Simonenko, K. V.; Bulatova, G. S.; Antropova, L. B.; Varepo, L. G.

2018-04-01

The basis for standardizing the process of offset printing is the control of print quality indicators. The solution of this problem has various approaches, among which the most important are statistical methods. Practical implementation of them for managing the quality of the printing process is very relevant and is reflected in this paper. The possibility of using the method of constructing a Control Card to identify the reasons for the deviation of the optical density for a triad of inks in offset printing is shown.

Fault detection and diagnosis using statistical control charts and artificial neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leger, R.P.; Garland, W.J.; Poehlman, W.F.S.

1995-01-01

In order to operate a successful plant or process, continuous improvement must be made in the areas of safety, quality and reliability. Central to this continuous improvement is the early or proactive detection and correct diagnosis of process faults. This research examines the feasibility of using Cumulative Summation (CUSUM) Control Charts and artificial neural networks together for fault detection and diagnosis (FDD). The proposed FDD strategy was tested on a model of the heat transport system of a CANDU nuclear reactor. The results of the investigation indicate that a FDD system using CUSUM Control Charts and a Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural network is not only feasible but also of promising potential. The control charts and neural network are linked together by using a characteristic fault signature pattern for each fault which is to be detected and diagnosed. When tested, the system was able to eliminate all false alarms at steady state, promptly detect 6 fault conditions and correctly diagnose 5 out of the 6 faults. The diagnosis for the sixth fault was inconclusive. (author). 9 refs., 6 tabs., 7 figs

The Uniform Chart of Accounts and Its Use in Management Control.

Science.gov (United States)

1982-10-01

accounting reports [Ref. 10: p.45]. Horngren [Ref. 5: p. 162] notes that a common complaint of *, managers is that they are unfairly charged with costs ...aids of amsst 0W somir IM WOR M oo Owp U CA Hospital Management Control Uniform Chart of Accounts Performance Measurement Hospital Cost Accounting ...Output Measurement HCU 30. he.T ACT fCamnnus m .. s ado It 09000*Min d IdWOReeO 661 eammeei ~Full implementation of thc Uniform Chart of Accounts (UCA

Statistical Design of an Adaptive Synthetic X- Control Chart with Run Rule on Service and Management Operation

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Shucheng Yu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available An improved synthetic X- control chart based on hybrid adaptive scheme and run rule scheme is introduced to enhance the statistical performance of traditional synthetic X- control chart on service and management operation. The proposed scientific hybrid adaptive schemes consider both variable sampling interval and variable sample size scheme. The properties of the proposed chart are obtained using Markov chain approach. An extensive set of numerical results is presented to test the effectiveness of the proposed model in detecting small and moderate shifts in the process mean. The results show that the proposed chart is quicker than the standard synthetic X- chart and CUSUM chart in detecting small and moderate shifts in the process of service and management operation.

Evaluation of extreme temperature events in northern Spain based on process control charts

Science.gov (United States)

Villeta, M.; Valencia, J. L.; Saá, A.; Tarquis, A. M.

2018-02-01

Extreme climate events have recently attracted the attention of a growing number of researchers because these events impose a large cost on agriculture and associated insurance planning. This study focuses on extreme temperature events and proposes a new method for their evaluation based on statistical process control tools, which are unusual in climate studies. A series of minimum and maximum daily temperatures for 12 geographical areas of a Spanish region between 1931 and 2009 were evaluated by applying statistical process control charts to statistically test whether evidence existed for an increase or a decrease of extreme temperature events. Specification limits were determined for each geographical area and used to define four types of extreme anomalies: lower and upper extremes for the minimum and maximum anomalies. A new binomial Markov extended process that considers the autocorrelation between extreme temperature events was generated for each geographical area and extreme anomaly type to establish the attribute control charts for the annual fraction of extreme days and to monitor the occurrence of annual extreme days. This method was used to assess the significance of changes and trends of extreme temperature events in the analysed region. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of an attribute control chart for evaluating extreme temperature events. For example, the evaluation of extreme maximum temperature events using the proposed statistical process control charts was consistent with the evidence of an increase in maximum temperatures during the last decades of the last century.

Visual presentations of efficacy data in direct-to-consumer prescription drug print and television advertisements: A randomized study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Helen W; O'Donoghue, Amie C; Aikin, Kathryn J; Chowdhury, Dhuly; Moultrie, Rebecca R; Rupert, Douglas J

2016-05-01

To determine whether visual aids help people recall quantitative efficacy information in direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertisements, and if so, which types of visual aids are most helpful. Individuals diagnosed with high cholesterol (n=2504) were randomized to view a fictional DTC print or television advertisement with no visual aid or one of four visual aids (pie chart, bar chart, table, or pictograph) depicting drug efficacy. We measured drug efficacy and risk recall, drug perceptions and attitudes, and behavioral intentions. For print advertisements, a bar chart or table, compared with no visual aid, elicited more accurate drug efficacy recall. The bar chart was better at this than the pictograph and the table was better than the pie chart. For television advertisements, any visual aid, compared with no visual aid, elicited more accurate drug efficacy recall. The bar chart was better at this than the pictograph or the table. Visual aids depicting quantitative efficacy information in DTC print and television advertisements increased drug efficacy recall, which may help people make informed decisions about prescription drugs. Adding visual aids to DTC advertising may increase the public's knowledge of how well prescription drugs work. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Neonatal Diagnostics: Towards Dynamic Growth Charts of Neuro-motor control

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Elizabeth B Torres

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Current rise of neurodevelopmental disorders, poses a critical need to detect risk early in order to rapidly intervene. One of the tools Pediatricians use to track development is the standard Growth Chart. The Growth Charts are somewhat limited in predicting possible neurodevelopmental issues. They rely on linear models and assumptions of normality for physical growth data —obscuring key statistical information about possible neurodevelopmental risk in growth data that actually has accelerated, non-linear rates-of-change and variability encompassing skewed distributions. Here we use new analytics to profile growth data from 36 newborn babies that were tracked longitudinally for 5 months. By switching to incremental (velocity-based growth charts and combining these dynamic changes with underlying fluctuations in motor performance—as they transition from spontaneous random noise to a systematic signal— we demonstrate a method to detect very early stunting in the development of voluntary neuro-motor control and to flag risk of neurodevelopmental derail.

Flowcharting with D-charts

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, D.

1985-01-01

A D-Chart is a style of flowchart using control symbols highly appropriate to modern structured programming languages. The intent of a D-Chart is to provide a clear and concise one-for-one mapping of control symbols to high-level language constructs for purposes of design and documentation. The notation lends itself to both high-level and code-level algorithmic description. The various issues that may arise when representing, in D-Chart style, algorithms expressed in the more popular high-level languages are addressed. In particular, the peculiarities of mapping control constructs for Ada, PASCAL, FORTRAN 77, C, PL/I, Jovial J73, HAL/S, and Algol are discussed.

Economic Statistical Design of Variable Sampling Interval X¯$\\overline X $ Control Chart Based on Surrogate Variable Using Genetic Algorithms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee Tae-Hoon

2016-12-01

Full Text Available In many cases, a X¯$\\overline X $ control chart based on a performance variable is used in industrial fields. Typically, the control chart monitors the measurements of a performance variable itself. However, if the performance variable is too costly or impossible to measure, and a less expensive surrogate variable is available, the process may be more efficiently controlled using surrogate variables. In this paper, we present a model for the economic statistical design of a VSI (Variable Sampling Interval X¯$\\overline X $ control chart using a surrogate variable that is linearly correlated with the performance variable. We derive the total average profit model from an economic viewpoint and apply the model to a Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR nuclear fuel measurement system and derive the optimal result using genetic algorithms. Compared with the control chart based on a performance variable, the proposed model gives a larger expected net income per unit of time in the long-run if the correlation between the performance variable and the surrogate variable is relatively high. The proposed model was confined to the sample mean control chart under the assumption that a single assignable cause occurs according to the Poisson process. However, the model may also be extended to other types of control charts using a single or multiple assignable cause assumptions such as VSS (Variable Sample Size X¯$\\overline X $ control chart, EWMA, CUSUM charts and so on.

INIS: Terminology charts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1970-08-01

This document is one in a series of publications known as the INIS Reference Series. It is to be used in conjunction with the INIS indexing manual and the INIS thesaurus for the preparation of input to the INIS database. The thesaurus and terminology charts in their first edition (Rev.0) were produced as the result of an agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). Except for minor changes the terminology and the interrelationships between terms are those of the December 1969 edition of the Euratom Thesaurus. The purpose of the terminology harts is to display the descriptors of the thesaurus in the context of their hierarchical and other semantic relationships. Hierarchically related terms are grouped in clusters, each representing one of the principal concepts of a subject field. The descriptors are grouped around or under the broadest term of the clusters which is printed in upper case. The hierarchical relationships within the clusters are shown by the arrangement of the terms in smaller boxes within the larger boxes circumscribing the clusters. The clusters are connected by lines of various thickness, representing the other (mostly non-hierarchical) relationships. These connections are the equivalent to 'see also' and 'related term' cross-references. The thickness of the lines represents the strength of the semantic relations, or, in the practice of a retrieval system the probability that one term replacing a connected term in a query, will still yield pertinent references. The figures accompanying the descriptors represent their frequency of assignment to the first 987,000 documents stored in the Euratom system (May 1970). They are presented in order to show the relative importance of the descriptors within the subject field. The asterisks (*) accompanying descriptors in the charts refer to descriptors, for which a scope note can be found in the INIS: Thesaurus at the time the charts went

INIS: Terminology charts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1970-08-01

This document is one in a series of publications known as the INIS Reference Series. It is to be used in conjunction with the INIS indexing manual and the INIS thesaurus for the preparation of input to the INIS database. The thesaurus and terminology charts in their first edition (Rev.0) were produced as the result of an agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). Except for minor changes the terminology and the interrelationships between terms are those of the December 1969 edition of the Euratom Thesaurus. The purpose of the terminology harts is to display the descriptors of the thesaurus in the context of their hierarchical and other semantic relationships. Hierarchically related terms are grouped in clusters, each representing one of the principal concepts of a subject field. The descriptors are grouped around or under the broadest term of the clusters which is printed in upper case. The hierarchical relationships within the clusters are shown by the arrangement of the terms in smaller boxes within the larger boxes circumscribing the clusters. The clusters are connected by lines of various thickness, representing the other (mostly non-hierarchical) relationships. These connections are the equivalent to 'see also' and 'related term' cross-references. The thickness of the lines represents the strength of the semantic relations, or, in the practice of a retrieval system the probability that one term replacing a connected term in a query, will still yield pertinent references. The figures accompanying the descriptors represent their frequency of assignment to the first 987,000 documents stored in the Euratom system (May 1970). They are presented in order to show the relative importance of the descriptors within the subject field. The asterisks (*) accompanying descriptors in the charts refer to descriptors, for which a scope note can be found in the INIS: Thesaurus at the time the charts went

DASHBOARDS AND CONTROL CHARTS. EXPERIENCES IN IMPROVING SAFETY AT HANFORD WASHINGTON

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

PREVETTE, S.S.

2006-01-01

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the integration of safety methodology, quality tools, leadership, and teamwork at Hanford and their significant positive impact on safe performance of work. Dashboards, Leading Indicators, Control charts, Pareto Charts, Dr. W. Edward Deming's Red Bead Experiment, and Dr. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge have been the principal tools and theory of an integrated management system. Coupled with involved leadership and teamwork, they have led to significant improvements in worker safety and protection, and environmental restoration at one of the nation's largest nuclear cleanup sites

Control Charts in Healthcare Quality Improvement A Systematic Review on Adherence to Methodological Criteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koetsier, A.; van der Veer, S. N.; Jager, K. J.; Peek, N.; de Keizer, N. F.

2012-01-01

Objectives: Use of Shewhart control charts in quality improvement (QI) initiatives is increasing. These charts are typically used in one or more phases of the Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycle to monitor summaries of process and outcome data, abstracted from clinical information systems, over time. We

Office of Coast Survey's Collection of Print on Demand Charts (POD)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NOAA, National Ocean Service, Office of Coast Survey is responsible to build and maintain a suite of more than 1000 nautical charts that are used by commercial and...

Operational management of results in INAA utilizing a versatile system of control charts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bode, P.; van Dijk, C.P.

1997-01-01

At the laboratory for INAA in Delft, the final approval of the analysis' report partly depends on the quality of the results of simultaneously processed reference materials (RM's). An extensive databank exists holding the information on RM type and analysis conditions. This information can be converted into control charts. The control charts can display (1) an element concentration in one RM as a function of moment of analysis, (2) an element concentrations in one RM as a function of the concentration of an interfering element, (3) an element concentration in all RM's, and (4) the normalized concentrations of all elements in one RM. The inspection of the various charts facilitates the decision on, e.g., the need for renewed standardization, the fitness-for-use of a RM, any analyst-dependent results, rigidity of the spectrum analysis software etc. (author)

Colour print workflow and methods for multilayering of colour and decorative inks using UV inkjet for fine art printing

Science.gov (United States)

Parraman, Carinna

2012-01-01

In order to increase density of colour and improve ink coverage when printing onto a range of non standard substrates, this paper will present research into multi-layering of colour and the appearance of colour at 'n' levels of ink coverage. Returning to our original investigation of artist's requirements when making inkjet prints, these observations are based on empirical approaches that address the need to present physical data that is more useful and meaningful to the designer. The study has used multi-pass printed colour charts to measure colour and to provide users with an understanding at a soft-preview level to demonstrate the appearance of printed colour on different substrates. Test results relating to the appearance of print on different surfaces, and a series of case studies will be presented using recent research into the capabilities of UV printing technology, which has widened the opportunities for the designer to print onto non-standard materials. It will also present a study into layering of greys and gloss in order to improve the appearance of printed images onto metal.

ICAO Aeronautical chart production: aerodrome obstruction charts from small–format aerial digital imagery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Padro Molina

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Aeronautical charts and aerodrome obstruction charts, provide information about obstacles around the airport, so pilots and air traffic controllers can comply with the procedures and limitations of its utilization. Safety in aviation demands updated and precise aeronautical charts production, adopting the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO. In this paper the methodology employed to generate obstruction charts for five airports in Mexico, using aerial digital imagery obtained with small–format cameras, is described. Through two aerial surveys on each airport, from 10 000 and 5 000 feet above ground level, two orthomosaics were generated covering the airport influence area, the runway, and the obstacle limitation surfaces: approach/Take–off climb, transitional, inner horizontal, and conical. Using stereopair photointerpretation most of the obstacles were identified, and by means of the orthomosaics; aerodrome charts, and aerodrome obstruction charts types A, B and C, were generated. Using satellite geodetic receivers, 18 points were surveyed on each runway in order to obtain its dimensions, and to establish ground control points for mosaics generation. Throughout detailed field work, height and location of the obstacles were verified, and finally, after several reviewing processes by aeronautical authorities, generation of ICAO charts was concluded when all airport maps were integrated in a Geographical Information System.

Creating Learning Environment Connecting Engineering Design and 3D Printing

Science.gov (United States)

Pikkarainen, Ari; Salminen, Antti; Piili, Heidi

Engineering education in modern days require continuous development in didactics, pedagogics and used practical methods. 3D printing provides excellent opportunity to connect different engineering areas into practice and produce learning by doing applications. The 3D-printing technology used in this study is FDM (Fused deposition modeling). FDM is the most used 3D-printing technology by commercial numbers at the moment and the qualities of the technology makes it popular especially in academic environments. For achieving the best result possible, students will incorporate the principles of DFAM (Design for additive manufacturing) into their engineering design studies together with 3D printing. This paper presents a plan for creating learning environment for mechanical engineering students combining the aspects of engineering design, 3D-CAD learning and AM (additive manufacturing). As a result, process charts for carrying out the 3D printing process from technological point of view and design process for AM from engineering design point of view were created. These charts are used in engineering design education. The learning environment is developed to work also as a platform for Bachelor theses, work-training environment for students, prototyping service centre for cooperation partners and source of information for mechanical engineering education in Lapland University of Applied Sciences.

Colorimetry as Quality Control Tool for Individual Inkjet-Printed Pediatric Formulations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wickström, Henrika; Nyman, Johan O; Indola, Mathias

2017-01-01

with specific needs, such as children and the elderly, and patients facing multimorbidity. Printing of pharmaceuticals as technique generates new demands on the quality control procedures. For example, rapid quality control is needed as the printing can be done on demand and at the point of care. This study...... evaluated the potential use of a handheld colorimetry device for quality control of printed doses of vitamin Bs on edible rice and sugar substrates. The structural features of the substrates with and without ink were also compared. A multicomponent ink formulation with vitamin B1, B2, B3, and B6......*) was observed on the substrates. Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry was used as a reference method for the colorimetry measurements plotted against the number of printed layers. It was concluded that colorimetry could be used as a quality control tool for detection of different doses. However, optimization...

Colorimetry as Quality Control Tool for Individual Inkjet-Printed Pediatric Formulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Wickström, Henrika; Nyman, Johan O; Indola, Mathias; Sundelin, Heidi; Kronberg, Leif; Preis, Maren; Rantanen, Jukka; Sandler, Niklas

2017-02-01

Printing technologies were recently introduced to the pharmaceutical field for manufacturing of drug delivery systems. Printing allows on demand manufacturing of flexible pharmaceutical doses in a personalized manner, which is critical for a successful and safe treatment of patient populations with specific needs, such as children and the elderly, and patients facing multimorbidity. Printing of pharmaceuticals as technique generates new demands on the quality control procedures. For example, rapid quality control is needed as the printing can be done on demand and at the point of care. This study evaluated the potential use of a handheld colorimetry device for quality control of printed doses of vitamin Bs on edible rice and sugar substrates. The structural features of the substrates with and without ink were also compared. A multicomponent ink formulation with vitamin B 1 , B 2 , B 3 , and B 6 was developed. Doses (4 cm 2 ) were prepared by applying 1-10 layers of yellow ink onto the white substrates using thermal inkjet technology. The colorimetric method was seen to be viable in detecting doses up to the 5th and 6th printed layers until color saturation of the yellow color parameter (b*) was observed on the substrates. Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry was used as a reference method for the colorimetry measurements plotted against the number of printed layers. It was concluded that colorimetry could be used as a quality control tool for detection of different doses. However, optimization of the color addition needs to be done to avoid color saturation within the planned dose interval.

Design and application of process control charting methodologies to gamma irradiation practices

Science.gov (United States)

Saylor, M. C.; Connaghan, J. P.; Yeadon, S. C.; Herring, C. M.; Jordan, T. M.

2002-12-01

The relationship between the contract irradiation facility and the customer has historically been based upon a "PASS/FAIL" approach with little or no quality metrics used to gage the control of the irradiation process. Application of process control charts, designed in coordination with mathematical simulation of routine radiation processing, can provide a basis for understanding irradiation events. By using tools that simulate the physical rules associated with the irradiation process, end-users can explore process-related boundaries and the effects of process changes. Consequently, the relationship between contractor and customer can evolve based on the derived knowledge. The resulting level of mutual understanding of the irradiation process and its resultant control benefits both the customer and contract operation, and provides necessary assurances to regulators. In this article we examine the complementary nature of theoretical (point kernel) and experimental (dosimetric) process evaluation, and the resulting by-product of improved understanding, communication and control generated through the implementation of effective process control charting strategies.

DE based economic control chart design and application for a typical petrochemical process

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Zhi LI; Feng QIAN; Wenli DU; Weimin ZHONG

2017-01-01

Petrochemical industry plays an important role in the development of the national economy.Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) is one of the most important intermediate raw materials in the petrochemical and chemical fiber industries.PTA production has two parts:p-xylene (PX) oxidation process and crude terephthalic acid (CTA) hydropurification process.The CTA hydropurification process is used to reduce impurities,such as 4-carboxybenzaldehyde,which is produced by a side reaction in the PX oxidation process and is harmful to the polyester industry.From the safety and economic viewpoints,monitoring this process is necessary.Four main faults of this process are analyzed in this study.The common process monitoring methods always use T2 and SPE statistic as control limits.However,the traditional methods do not fully consider the economic viewpoint.In this study,a new economic control chart design method based on the differential evolution (DE) algorithm is developed.The DE algorithm transforms the economic control chart design problem to an optimization problem and is an excellent solution to such problem.Case studies of the main faults of the hydropurification process indicate that the proposed method can achieve minimum profit loss.This method is useful in economic control chart design and can provide guidance for the petrochemical industry.

Research on torsional vibration modelling and control of printing cylinder based on particle swarm optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Y. M.; Xu, W. C.; Wu, S. Q.; Chai, C. W.; Liu, X.; Wang, S. H.

2018-03-01

The torsional oscillation is the dominant vibration form for the impression cylinder of printing machine (printing cylinder for short), directly restricting the printing speed up and reducing the quality of the prints. In order to reduce torsional vibration, the active control method for the printing cylinder is obtained. Taking the excitation force and moment from the cylinder gap and gripper teeth open & closing cam mechanism as variable parameters, authors establish the dynamic mathematical model of torsional vibration for the printing cylinder. The torsional active control method is based on Particle Swarm Optimization(PSO) algorithm to optimize input parameters for the serve motor. Furthermore, the input torque of the printing cylinder is optimized, and then compared with the numerical simulation results. The conclusions are that torsional vibration active control based on PSO is an availability method to the torsional vibration of printing cylinder.

Ultra-Wideband Printed Slot Radiators with Controllable Frequency Characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. L. Chernyshev

2015-01-01

Full Text Available We have studied the possibility of creating ultra-wideband (UWB antennas with controlled frequency response of matching based on the printed slot antenna Vivaldi by introducing controlled resonators directly into the structure of the radiator. In the area of irregular slotline there are printed switched resonators with variable capacitance (varactor model, which allow tuning the frequency characteristics for each state of switching cavities, providing bandpass and band-barrage properties of the antenna. The investigation of reconfigurable printed resonators in the system of reconfigurable resonators of a bandpass filter is conducted. The paper considers filter to provide restructuring in the band (3-9 GHz. Electrodynamic simulation of the device was carried out in the time domain using a finite integration method. A bandstop reconfigurable filter is also investigated. The filter located on the substrate opposite the slit is based on tunable L-shaped resonator that has one end connected to the short-circuitor through the board metallization; the other end remains open and is brought into the region of interaction with the slotline. Such filter provides an effective narrow-band suppression and can be easily tuned to the desired frequency channel. The combination of these two types of filters allows you to create a controlled print Vivaldi slot antenna with combined properties. The paper investigates parameters of the scattering and radiation pattern of the antenna in different modes.

Quality control chart for crushed granite concrete

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ewa E. DESMOND

2016-07-01

Full Text Available A chart for assessing in-situ grade (strength of concrete, has been developed in this study. Four grades of concrete after the Nigerian General Specification for Roads and bridges (NGSRB-C20, C25, C30 and C35, is studied at different water-cement ratios for medium and high slump range. The concrete mixes are made from crushed granite rock as coarse aggregate with river sand as fine aggregate. Compression test on specimens are conducted at curing age of 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 56 days. Results on concrete workability from slump values, and water-cement ratios revealed that specimens with lower water-cement ratio were less workable but had higher strength, compared to mixes with higher water cement ratio. A simple algorithm using nonlinear regression analysis performed on each experimental data set produced Strength-Age (S-A curves which were used to establish a quality control chart. The accuracy of these curves were evaluated by computing average absolute error (AAS, the error of estimate (EoE and the average absolute error of estimate (Abs EoE for each concrete mix. These were done based on the actual average experimental strengths to measure how close the predicted values are to the experimental data set. The absolute average error of estimate (Abs. EoE recorded was less than ±10% tolerance zone for concrete works.

p-charts in the quality control of the grading process in the high education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Savić Mirko

2006-01-01

Full Text Available European countries are making efforts to change their educational system These changes include implementation of the ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System and are based on the Bologna Declaration. Adoption of ECTS will necessitate new quality standards in higher education especially in grading procedures. With only small modifications, the control charts(such as p-charts used in production and distribution applications can be applied to educational purposes.

The use of quality control performance charts to analyze cesarean delivery rates nationally.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Turner, Michael J

2012-02-01

OBJECTIVE: To examine the use of quality control performance charts to analyze cesarean rates nationally. METHODS: Information on cesarean rates was obtained for all 19 Irish maternity hospitals receiving state funding in 2009. All women who underwent cesarean delivery of a live or stillborn infant weighing 500 g or more between January 1 and December 31 were included. Deliveries were classified as elective or emergency. Individual hospitals were not identified in the analysis. RESULTS: The mean rates per hospital of elective and emergency cesarean were 12.9+\\/-2.6% (n=9337) and 13.8+\\/-3.0% (n=9989), respectively-giving an overall mean rate of 26.7+\\/-4.2% (n=19326) per hospital. Cesarean rates were normally distributed. Using a quality control performance chart with a cutoff 2 standard deviations from the mean, 1 hospital was above the normal range for both total and elective cesareans, indicating that its pre-labor obstetric practices warrant clinical review. Another hospital had a mean emergency cesarean rate above the normal range, indicating that its labor ward practices warrant review. CONCLUSION: Quality control performance charts can be used to analyze cesarean rates nationally and, thus, to identify hospitals at which obstetric practices should be reviewed.

Statistical Process Control Charts for Measuring and Monitoring Temporal Consistency of Ratings

Science.gov (United States)

Omar, M. Hafidz

2010-01-01

Methods of statistical process control were briefly investigated in the field of educational measurement as early as 1999. However, only the use of a cumulative sum chart was explored. In this article other methods of statistical quality control are introduced and explored. In particular, methods in the form of Shewhart mean and standard deviation…

Online devices and measuring systems for the automatic control of newspaper printing

Science.gov (United States)

Marszalec, Elzbieta A.; Heikkila, Ismo; Juhola, Helene; Lehtonen, Tapio

1999-09-01

The paper reviews the state-of-the-art color measuring systems used for the control of newspaper printing. The printing process requirements are specified and different off-line and on-line color quality control systems, commercially available and under development, are evaluated. Recent market trends in newspaper printing are discussed based on the survey. The study was made on information derived from: conference proceedings (TAGA, IARIGAI, SPIE and IS&T), journals (American Printer, Applied Optics), discussions with experts (GMI, QTI, HONEYWELL, TOBIAS, GretagMacbeth), IFRA Expo'98/Quality Measuring Technologies, commercial brochures, and the Internet. On the background of this review, three different measuring principles, currently, under investigation at VTT Information Technology, are described and their applicability to newspaper printing is evaluated.

Algorithms of control parameters selection for automation of FDM 3D printing process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kogut Paweł

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents algorithms of control parameters selection of the Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM technology in case of an open printing solutions environment and 3DGence ONE printer. The following parameters were distinguished: model mesh density, material flow speed, cooling performance, retraction and printing speeds. These parameters are independent in principle printing system, but in fact to a certain degree that results from the selected printing equipment features. This is the first step for automation of the 3D printing process in FDM technology.

A fuzzy development for attribute control chart with Monte Carlo simulation method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Hadi Madadi

2017-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the case study of fuzzy statistical process control which has been simulated for variable and discontinuous production within a particular time frame in a key manufacturing work-shop. In order to reduce waste production and increase productivity, dimensional inspection from raw product is categorized into three groups: product of type A, product of type B, and discard. In first part, the appearance characteristics of product is defined as fuzzy membership function as the input of the system in order to allocate the output obtained from fuzzy inference of product to one of the three quality levels. Afterwards, each quality level is assigned to its own group by means of Monte Carlo simulation techniques. In the second part, with fuzzy development of a multinomial p chart, the production process is illustrated as a control chart within the particular period of time.

Intraclass reliability for assessing how well Taiwan constrained hospital-provided medical services using statistical process control chart techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Chien, Tsair-Wei; Chou, Ming-Ting; Wang, Wen-Chung; Tsai, Li-Shu; Lin, Weir-Sen

2012-05-15

Few studies discuss the indicators used to assess the effect on cost containment in healthcare across hospitals in a single-payer national healthcare system with constrained medical resources. We present the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) to assess how well Taiwan constrained hospital-provided medical services in such a system. A custom Excel-VBA routine to record the distances of standard deviations (SDs) from the central line (the mean over the previous 12 months) of a control chart was used to construct and scale annual medical expenditures sequentially from 2000 to 2009 for 421 hospitals in Taiwan to generate the ICC. The ICC was then used to evaluate Taiwan's year-based convergent power to remain unchanged in hospital-provided constrained medical services. A bubble chart of SDs for a specific month was generated to present the effects of using control charts in a national healthcare system. ICCs were generated for Taiwan's year-based convergent power to constrain its medical services from 2000 to 2009. All hospital groups showed a gradually well-controlled supply of services that decreased from 0.772 to 0.415. The bubble chart identified outlier hospitals that required investigation of possible excessive reimbursements in a specific time period. We recommend using the ICC to annually assess a nation's year-based convergent power to constrain medical services across hospitals. Using sequential control charts to regularly monitor hospital reimbursements is required to achieve financial control in a single-payer nationwide healthcare system.

Print advertisements for Alzheimer's disease drugs: informational and transformational features.

Science.gov (United States)

Gooblar, Jonathan; Carpenter, Brian D

2013-06-01

We examined print advertisements for Alzheimer's disease drugs published in journals and magazines between January 2008 and February 2012, using an informational versus transformational theoretical framework to identify objective and persuasive features. In 29 unique advertisements, we used qualitative methods to code and interpret identifying information, charts, benefit and side effect language, and persuasive appeals embedded in graphics and narratives. Most elements contained a mixture of informational and transformational features. Charts were used infrequently, but when they did appear the accompanying text often exaggerated the data. Benefit statements covered an array of symptoms, drug properties, and caregiver issues. Side effect statements often used positive persuasive appeals. Graphics and narrative features emphasized positive emotions and outcomes. We found subtle and sophisticated attempts both to educate and to persuade readers. It is important for consumers and prescribing physicians to read print advertisements critically so that they can make informed treatment choices.

Controlling the digital transfer process

Science.gov (United States)

Brunner, Felix

1997-02-01

The accuracy of today's color management systems fails to satisfy the requirements of the graphic arts market. A first explanation for this is that color calibration charts on which these systems rely, because of print technical reasons, are subject to color deviations and inconsistencies. A second reason is that colorimetry describes the human visual perception of color differences and has no direct relation to the rendering technology itself of a proofing or printing device. The author explains that only firm process control of the many parameters in offset printing by means of a system as for example EUROSTANDARD System Brunner, can lead to accurate and consistent calibration of scanner, display, proof and print. The same principles hold for the quality management of digital presses.

Silver inkjet printing with control of surface energy and substrate temperature

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, S-H; Shin, K-Y; Hwang, J Y; Kang, K T; Kang, H S

2008-01-01

The characteristics of silver inkjet printing were intensively investigated with control of surface energy and substrate temperature. A fluorocarbon (FC) film was spincoated on a silicon (Si) substrate to obtain a hydrophobic surface, and an ultraviolet (UV)/ozone (O 3 ) treatment was performed to control the surface wettability of the FC film surface. To characterize the surface changes, we performed measurements of the static and dynamic contact angles and calculated the surface energy by Wu's harmonic mean model. The surface energy of the FC film increased with the UV/O 3 treatment time, while the contact angles decreased. In silver inkjet printing, the hydrophobic FC film could reduce the diameter of the printed droplets. Merging of deposited droplets was observed when the substrate was kept at room temperature. Substrate heating was effective in preventing the merging phenomenon among the deposited droplets, and in reducing the width of printed lines. The merging phenomenon of deposited droplets was also prevented by increasing the UV/O 3 treatment time. Continuous silver lines in the width range of 48.04–139.21 µm were successfully achieved by inkjet printing on the UV/O 3 -treated hydrophobic FC films at substrate temperatures below 90 °C

Statistical process control charts for attribute data involving very large sample sizes: a review of problems and solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammed, Mohammed A; Panesar, Jagdeep S; Laney, David B; Wilson, Richard

2013-04-01

The use of statistical process control (SPC) charts in healthcare is increasing. The primary purpose of SPC is to distinguish between common-cause variation which is attributable to the underlying process, and special-cause variation which is extrinsic to the underlying process. This is important because improvement under common-cause variation requires action on the process, whereas special-cause variation merits an investigation to first find the cause. Nonetheless, when dealing with attribute or count data (eg, number of emergency admissions) involving very large sample sizes, traditional SPC charts often produce tight control limits with most of the data points appearing outside the control limits. This can give a false impression of common and special-cause variation, and potentially misguide the user into taking the wrong actions. Given the growing availability of large datasets from routinely collected databases in healthcare, there is a need to present a review of this problem (which arises because traditional attribute charts only consider within-subgroup variation) and its solutions (which consider within and between-subgroup variation), which involve the use of the well-established measurements chart and the more recently developed attribute charts based on Laney's innovative approach. We close by making some suggestions for practice.

The effects of parameter estimation on minimizing the in-control average sample size for the double sampling X bar chart

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael B.C. Khoo

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The double sampling (DS X bar chart, one of the most widely-used charting methods, is superior for detecting small and moderate shifts in the process mean. In a right skewed run length distribution, the median run length (MRL provides a more credible representation of the central tendency than the average run length (ARL, as the mean is greater than the median. In this paper, therefore, MRL is used as the performance criterion instead of the traditional ARL. Generally, the performance of the DS X bar chart is investigated under the assumption of known process parameters. In practice, these parameters are usually estimated from an in-control reference Phase-I dataset. Since the performance of the DS X bar chart is significantly affected by estimation errors, we study the effects of parameter estimation on the MRL-based DS X bar chart when the in-control average sample size is minimised. This study reveals that more than 80 samples are required for the MRL-based DS X bar chart with estimated parameters to perform more favourably than the corresponding chart with known parameters.

Guideline implementation in clinical practice: Use of statistical process control charts as visual feedback devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fahad A Al-Hussein

2009-01-01

Conclusions: A process of audits in the context of statistical process control is necessary for any improvement in the implementation of guidelines in primary care. Statistical process control charts are an effective means of visual feedback to the care providers.

A study on the enhancement of the reliability in gravure offset roll printing with blanket swelling control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Ga Eul; Woo, Kyoohee; Kang, Dongwoo; Jang, Yunseok; Lee, Taik-Min; Kwon, Sin; Choi, Young-Man; Lee, Moon G

2016-01-01

In roll-offset printing (patterning) technology with a PDMS blanket as a transfer medium, one of the major reliability issues is the occurrence of swelling, which involves absorption of the ink solvent in the printing blanket with repeated printing. This study developed a method to resolve blanket swelling in gravure offset roll printing and performed experiments for performance verification. The physical phenomena of mass and heat transfer were applied to fabricate a device based on convection drying. The proposed device managed to effectively control blanket swelling through drying by blowing air and additional temperature control. The experiments verified that printing quality (in particular the variation of the width of printed patterns) was maintained over 500 continuous printing. (paper)

49 CFR 236.718 - Chart, dog.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Chart, dog. 236.718 Section 236.718 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Definitions § 236.718 Chart, dog. A...

Print Advertisements for Alzheimer’s Disease Drugs: Informational and Transformational Features

Science.gov (United States)

Gooblar, Jonathan; Carpenter, Brian D.

2014-01-01

Purpose We examined print advertisements for Alzheimer’s disease drugs published in journals and magazines between January 2008 and February 2012, using an informational versus transformational theoretical framework to identify objective and persuasive features. Methods In 29 unique advertisements, we used qualitative methods to code and interpret identifying information, charts, benefit and side effect language, and persuasive appeals embedded in graphics and narratives. Results Most elements contained a mixture of informational and transformational features. Charts were used infrequently, but when they did appear the accompanying text often exaggerated the data. Benefit statements covered an array of symptoms, drug properties, and caregiver issues. Side effect statements often used positive persuasive appeals. Graphics and narrative features emphasized positive emotions and outcomes. Implications We found subtle and sophisticated attempts both to educate and to persuade readers. It is important for consumers and prescribing physicians to read print advertisements critically so that they can make informed treatment choices. PMID:23687184

15 CFR 738.3 - Commerce Country Chart structure.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Commerce Country Chart structure. 738.3 Section 738.3 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade... COMMERCE CONTROL LIST OVERVIEW AND THE COUNTRY CHART § 738.3 Commerce Country Chart structure. (a) Scope...

Statistical control chart and neural network classification for improving human fall detection

KAUST Repository

Harrou, Fouzi; Zerrouki, Nabil; Sun, Ying; Houacine, Amrane

2017-01-01

This paper proposes a statistical approach to detect and classify human falls based on both visual data from camera and accelerometric data captured by accelerometer. Specifically, we first use a Shewhart control chart to detect the presence of potential falls by using accelerometric data. Unfortunately, this chart cannot distinguish real falls from fall-like actions, such as lying down. To bypass this difficulty, a neural network classifier is then applied only on the detected cases through visual data. To assess the performance of the proposed method, experiments are conducted on the publicly available fall detection databases: the University of Rzeszow's fall detection (URFD) dataset. Results demonstrate that the detection phase play a key role in reducing the number of sequences used as input into the neural network classifier for classification, significantly reducing computational burden and achieving better accuracy.

Statistical control chart and neural network classification for improving human fall detection

KAUST Repository

Harrou, Fouzi

2017-01-05

This paper proposes a statistical approach to detect and classify human falls based on both visual data from camera and accelerometric data captured by accelerometer. Specifically, we first use a Shewhart control chart to detect the presence of potential falls by using accelerometric data. Unfortunately, this chart cannot distinguish real falls from fall-like actions, such as lying down. To bypass this difficulty, a neural network classifier is then applied only on the detected cases through visual data. To assess the performance of the proposed method, experiments are conducted on the publicly available fall detection databases: the University of Rzeszow\\'s fall detection (URFD) dataset. Results demonstrate that the detection phase play a key role in reducing the number of sequences used as input into the neural network classifier for classification, significantly reducing computational burden and achieving better accuracy.

Control charts technique - a tool to data analysis for chemical experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yadav, M.B.; Venugopal, V.

1999-01-01

A procedure using control charts technique has been developed to analyse data of a chemical experiment which was conducted to assign a value to uranium content in Rb 2 U(SO 4 ) 3 . A value of (34.164 ± 0.031)% has been assigned against (34.167 ± 0.042)% already assigned by analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique. These values do not differ significantly. Merits and demerits of the two techniques have been discussed. (author)

Printing Insecurity? The Security Implications of 3D-Printing of Weapons.

Science.gov (United States)

Walther, Gerald

2015-12-01

In 2013, the first gun printed out of plastic by a 3D-printer was successfully fired in the U.S. This event caused a major media hype about the dangers of being able to print a gun. Law enforcement agencies worldwide were concerned about this development and the potentially huge security implications of these functional plastic guns. As a result, politicians called for a ban of these weapons and a control of 3D-printing technology. This paper reviews the security implications of 3D-printing technology and 3D guns. It argues that current arms control and transfer policies are adequate to cover 3D-printed guns as well. However, while this analysis may hold up currently, progress in printing technology needs to be monitored to deal with future dangers pre-emptively.

A tool for protected area management: multivariate control charts 'cope' with rare variable communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Stringell, Thomas B; Bamber, Roger N; Burton, Mark; Lindenbaum, Charles; Skates, Lucie R; Sanderson, William G

2013-06-01

Performance assessment, impact detection, and the assessment of regulatory compliance are common scientific problems for the management of protected areas. Some habitats in protected areas, however, are rare and/or variable and are not often selected for study by ecologists because they preclude comparison with controls and high community variability makes meaningful change detection difficult. Shallow coastal saline lagoons are habitats that experience comparatively high levels of stress due to high physical variability. Lagoons are rare, declining habitats found in coastal regions throughout Europe (and elsewhere) where they are identified as one of the habitats most in need of protected area management. The infauna in the sediments of 25 lagoons were sampled. Temporal and spatial variation in three of these [protected] lagoons was investigated further over 5 years. In a multivariate analysis of community structure similarities were found between some lagoons, but in other cases communities were unique or specific to only two sites. The protected lagoons with these unique/specific communities showed significant temporal and spatial variation, yet none of the changes observed were attributed to human impacts and were interpreted as inherent variability. Multivariate control charts can operate without experimental controls and were used to assess community changes within the context of 'normal' lagoon variability. The aim of control chart analysis is to characterize background variability in a parameter and identify when a new observation deviates more than expected. In only 1 year was variability more than expected and corresponded with the coldest December in over 100 years. Multivariate control charts are likely to have wide application in the management of protected areas and other natural systems where variability and/or rarity preclude conventional analytical and experimental approaches but where assessments of condition, impact or regulatory compliance are

Irish Culinary Manuscripts and Printed Books:a Discussion

OpenAIRE

Mac Con Iomaire, Máirtín; Cashman, Dorothy

2011-01-01

This paper provides a discussion of Irish Culinary Manuscripts and Printed Cookbooks. It covers Gaelic hospitality and aristocratic hospitality, setting the background for the Anglo-Irish households from which many manuscripts emerge. It charts the growing sources of information on Irish culinary history. It outlines Barbara Wheaton's framework for reading historic cookbooks and discusses the growing manuscript cookbook collection in the National Library of Ireland.

Severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery: a statistical process control chart to report seven years of continuous quality improvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Dupont, Corinne; Occelli, Pauline; Deneux-Tharaux, Catherine; Touzet, Sandrine; Duclos, Antoine; Bouvier-Colle, Marie-Hélène; Rudigoz, René-Charles; Huissoud, Cyril

2014-07-01

Severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery: a statistical process control chart to report seven years of continuous quality improvement To use statistical process control charts to describe trends in the prevalence of severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery. This assessment was performed 7 years after we initiated a continuous quality improvement programme that began with regular criteria-based audits Observational descriptive study, in a French maternity unit in the Rhône-Alpes region. Quarterly clinical audit meetings to analyse all cases of severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery and provide feedback on quality of care with statistical process control tools. The primary outcomes were the prevalence of severe PPH after vaginal delivery and its quarterly monitoring with a control chart. The secondary outcomes included the global quality of care for women with severe postpartum haemorrhage, including the performance rate of each recommended procedure. Differences in these variables between 2005 and 2012 were tested. From 2005 to 2012, the prevalence of severe postpartum haemorrhage declined significantly, from 1.2% to 0.6% of vaginal deliveries (pcontrol limits, that is, been out of statistical control. The proportion of cases that were managed consistently with the guidelines increased for all of their main components. Implementation of continuous quality improvement efforts began seven years ago and used, among other tools, statistical process control charts. During this period, the prevalence of severe postpartum haemorrhage after vaginal delivery has been reduced by 50%. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Weather resistance of inkjet prints on plastic substrates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rozália Szentgyörgyvölgyi

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The development of wide format inkjet printers made the technology available for large area commercials. Outdoor advertising uses a wide range of substrate including paperboard, vinyl, canvas, mesh; the material of the substrate itself has to endure the physical and chemical effects of local weather. Weather elements (humidity, wind, solar irradiation degrade printed products inevitably; plastic products have better resistance against them, than paper based substrates. Service life of the printed product for outdoor application is a key parameter from the customer’s point of view. There are two ways to estimate expected lifetime: on site outdoor testing or laboratory testing. In both cases weathering parameters can be monitored, however laboratory testing devices may produce the desired environmental effects and thus accelerate the aging process. Our research objective was to evaluate the effects of artificial weathering on prints produced by inkjet technology on plastic substrates. We used a large format CMYK inkjet printer (Mutoh Rockhopper II, with Epson DX 4 print heads to print our test chart on two similar substrates (PVC coated tarpaulins with grammages 400 g/m2 and 440 g/m2. Specimen were aged in an Atlas Suntest XLS+ material tester device for equal time intervals. We measured and calculated the gradual changes of the optical properties (optical density, tone value, colour shifts of the test prints.

The rheological behavior of disperse systems for 3D print-ing in constrcution: the problem of control and possibility of «nano» tools application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Slavcheva Galina Stanislavovna

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The paper considers the problem of creating a wider class of building materials used for 3D printing. From the point of view of classical rheology of disperse systems, the application of 3D printing technology in construction has been analyzed. Theoretical analysis of the models of rheological behavior is performed according to state of their structure and the dynamic of the 3D printing processes such as mixing, pumping, extrusion, multilayer casting and structural built-up in the printing layers. The main factors and criteria for the stability of heterogeneous disperse systems in dynamic and static 3D printing processes have been identified. The general scientific concept for optimization of admixtures for 3D printable materials has been developed in terms of viscosity, consistency, and parameters of flocculation and structural built-up. The technological tools to control rheological behavior of visco-plastic admixtures are identified in all stages of 3D printing. The relevant considerations include the concentration, size, morphology, chemical and mineralogical composition, the physical and chemical activity of the solid phase’s surface, and the ionic composition, viscosity, and density of the liquid phase. It is shown that the practical engineering solutions to control the rheology, structure formation, properties of 3D printing admixtures and materials must be based on traditional factors as well as with the use of «nano» tools. According to the nanotechnological principle «bottom-up», a set of «nano» tools is proposed to control such admixture properties as extrudability, formability, and buildability. In conclusion the scientific and technical tasks to be researched have been formulated.

Topography printing to locally control wettability.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Zijian; Azzaroni, Omar; Zhou, Feng; Huck, Wilhelm T S

2006-06-21

This paper reports a new patterning method, which utilizes NaOH to facilitate the irreversible binding between the PDMS stamp and substrates and subsequent cohesive mechanical failure to transfer the PDMS patterns. Our method shows high substrate tolerance and can be used to "print" various PDMS geometries on a wide range of surfaces, including Si100, glass, gold, polymers, and patterned SU8 photoresist. Using this technique, we are able to locally change the wettability of substrate surfaces by printing well-defined PDMS architectures on the patterned SU8 photoresist. It is possible to generate differential wetting and dewetting properties in microchannels and in the PDMS printed area, respectively.

Case-mix and the use of control charts in monitoring mortality rates after coronary artery bypass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed Mohammed A

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There is debate about the role of crude mortality rates and case-mix adjusted mortality rates in monitoring the outcomes of treatment. In the context of quality improvement a key purpose of monitoring is to identify special cause variation as this type of variation should be investigated to identify possible causes. This paper investigates agreement between the identification of special cause variation in risk adjusted and observed hospital specific mortality rates after coronary artery bypass grafting in New York hospitals. Methods Coronary artery bypass grafting mortality rates between 1994 and 2003 were obtained from the New York State Department of Health's cardiovascular reports for 41 hospitals. Cross-sectional control charts of crude (observed and risk adjusted mortality rates were produced for each year. Special cause variation was defined as a data point beyond the 99.9% probability limits: hospitals showing special cause variation were identified for each year. Longitudinal control charts of crude (observed and risk adjusted mortality rates were produced for each hospital with data for all ten years (n = 27. Special cause variation was defined as a data point beyond 99.9% probability limits, two out of three consecutive data points beyond 95% probability limits (two standard deviations from the mean or a run of five consecutive points on one side of the mean. Years showing special cause variation in mortality were identified for each hospital. Cohen's Kappa was calculated for agreement between special causes identified in crude and risk-adjusted control charts. Results In cross sectional analysis the Cohen's Kappa was 0.54 (95% confidence interval: 0.28 to 0.78, indicating moderate agreement between the crude and risk-adjusted control charts with sensitivity 0.4 (95% confidence interval 0.17–0.69 and specificity 0.98 (95% confidence interval: 0.95–0.99. In longitudinal analysis, the Cohen's Kappa was 0.61 (95

Scalable, full-colour and controllable chromotropic plasmonic printing

OpenAIRE

Xue, Jiancai; Zhou, Zhang-Kai; Wei, Zhiqiang; Su, Rongbin; Lai, Juan; Li, Juntao; Li, Chao; Zhang, Tengwei; Wang, Xue-Hua

2015-01-01

Plasmonic colour printing has drawn wide attention as a promising candidate for the next-generation colour-printing technology. However, an efficient approach to realize full colour and scalable fabrication is still lacking, which prevents plasmonic colour printing from practical applications. Here we present a scalable and full-colour plasmonic printing approach by combining conjugate twin-phase modulation with a plasmonic broadband absorber. More importantly, our approach also demonstrates ...

Microstructural control over soluble pentacene deposited by capillary pen printing for organic electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Wi Hyoung; Min, Honggi; Park, Namwoo; Lee, Junghwi; Seo, Eunsuk; Kang, Boseok; Cho, Kilwon; Lee, Hwa Sung

2013-08-28

Research into printing techniques has received special attention for the commercialization of cost-efficient organic electronics. Here, we have developed a capillary pen printing technique to realize a large-area pattern array of organic transistors and systematically investigated self-organization behavior of printed soluble organic semiconductor ink. The capillary pen-printed deposits of organic semiconductor, 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS_PEN), was well-optimized in terms of morphological and microstructural properties by using ink with mixed solvents of chlorobenzene (CB) and 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB). Especially, a 1:1 solvent ratio results in the best transistor performances. This result is attributed to the unique evaporation characteristics of the TIPS_PEN deposits where fast evaporation of CB induces a morphological evolution at the initial printed position, and the remaining DCB with slow evaporation rate offers a favorable crystal evolution at the pinned position. Finally, a large-area transistor array was facilely fabricated by drawing organic electrodes and active layers with a versatile capillary pen. Our approach provides an efficient printing technique for fabricating large-area arrays of organic electronics and further suggests a methodology to enhance their performances by microstructural control of the printed organic semiconducting deposits.

A comparison of lip prints between Aryans-Dravidians and Mongols

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prathibha Prasad

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Context: Lip prints are very useful in forensic investigation and personal identification. Like finger prints, even lip prints can be instrumental in identifying a person positively. Aims: Indians are closer to Mongoloids than to Caucasoids or Negroids as indicated by the phylogenetic tree. Most of the studies on lip prints are done in their own population. We have compared lip prints of Manipuris with other Indians (Aryans and Dravidians who are both close to Mongoloid race and are genetically similar. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 students 50 males and 50 females were selected of whom 30 males and 30 females were of Aryan and Dravidian features and 20 males and 20 females showed the Mongol features. Study materials used were Red colored lipstick, Lip brush, Cellophane tape, White chart paper and Magnifying lens. The lip prints were analyzed by dividing them into eight compartments. Results: Analysis of lip prints showed that the most common and the least common pattern in both males and females (Aryans-Dravidians and Mongols were the same, but the compartment wise distribution of the lip patterns was different. Conclusion: In the present study, it is established that there is no similarity of lip prints from one individual to another individual and between males and females. Regarding the comparison with Mongols, more studies with a larger sample size is necessary.

Guideline implementation in clinical practice: use of statistical process control charts as visual feedback devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Hussein, Fahad A

2009-01-01

To use statistical control charts in a series of audits to improve the acceptance and consistant use of guidelines, and reduce the variations in prescription processing in primary health care. A series of audits were done at the main satellite of King Saud Housing Family and Community Medicine Center, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, where three general practitioners and six pharmacists provide outpatient care to about 3000 residents. Audits were carried out every fortnight to calculate the proportion of prescriptions that did not conform to the given guidelines of prescribing and dispensing. Simple random samples of thirty were chosen from a sampling frame of all prescriptions given in the two previous weeks. Thirty six audits were carried out from September 2004 to February 2006. P-charts were constructed around a parametric specification of non-conformities not exceeding 25%. Of the 1081 prescriptions, the most frequent non-conformity was failure to write generic names (35.5%), followed by the failure to record patient's weight (16.4%), pharmacist's name (14.3%), duration of therapy (9.1%), and the use of inappropriate abbreviations (6.0%). Initially, 100% of prescriptions did not conform to the guidelines, but within a period of three months, this came down to 40%. A process of audits in the context of statistical process control is necessary for any improvement in the implementation of guidelines in primary care. Statistical process control charts are an effective means of visual feedback to the care providers.

Using Statistical Process Control Charts to Study Stuttering Frequency Variability during a Single Day

Science.gov (United States)

Karimi, Hamid; O'Brian, Sue; Onslow, Mark; Jones, Mark; Menzies, Ross; Packman, Ann

2013-01-01

Purpose: Stuttering varies between and within speaking situations. In this study, the authors used statistical process control charts with 10 case studies to investigate variability of stuttering frequency. Method: Participants were 10 adults who stutter. The authors counted the percentage of syllables stuttered (%SS) for segments of their speech…

Controllable synthesis and sintering of silver nanoparticles for inkjet-printed flexible electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Zhiliang; Zhu, Weiyue

2015-01-01

An effective and facile strategy was developed to successfully synthesize nearly uniform silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with particle size of <10 nm, and demonstrated to achieve the sintering of AgNPs at room temperature for inkjet-printed flexible electronics. In such system, a series of different chain-length alkylamines were exploited as capped molecules to controllable synthesis of uniform AgNPs with the mean nanoparticle size in rang of 8.6 ± 0.9, 8.9 ± 1.2 and 9.2 ± 1.6 nm, and these ultra-small nanoparticles were very favorable to attain an excellent printing fluency. Based on the as-synthesized AgNPs, a sequence of flexible electrocircuits was successfully fabricated by ink-jet printing technique. After the dipped treatment, the printed AgNPs were achieved to spontaneous coalescence and aggregation at room temperature induced by preferential dissolution of capped molecules on AgNPs surfaces into methanol solution. These aggregated AgNPs demonstrated superior controllability, excellent stability and low resistivity in the range of 31.6–26.5 μΩ cm, and would have enormous potential in the application to be tailored for assembly of optoelectronics devices. - Highlights: • Silver nanoparticles with particle size of <10 nm was controllably synthesized. • The sintering of silver nanoparticles was conducted at room temperature. • The resistivity was reached as low as 26.5 μΩ cm for flexible electronics

Microfluidics: A New Layer of Control for Extrusion-Based 3D Printing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ludovic Serex

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Advances in 3D printing have enabled the use of this technology in a growing number of fields, and have started to spark the interest of biologists. Having the particularity of being cell friendly and allowing multimaterial deposition, extrusion-based 3D printing has been shown to be the method of choice for bioprinting. However as biologically relevant constructs often need to be of high resolution and high complexity, new methods are needed, to provide an improved level of control on the deposited biomaterials. In this paper, we demonstrate how microfluidics can be used to add functions to extrusion 3D printers, which widens their field of application. Micromixers can be added to print heads to perform the last-second mixing of multiple components just before resin dispensing, which can be used for the deposition of new polymeric or composite materials, as well as for bioprinting new materials with tailored properties. The integration of micro-concentrators in the print heads allows a significant increase in cell concentration in bioprinting. The addition of rapid microfluidic switching as well as resolution increase through flow focusing are also demonstrated. Those elementary implementations of microfluidic functions for 3D printing pave the way for more complex applications enabling new prospects in 3D printing.

Application of Calibration Curve, Accuracy and Precision Chart as Internal Quality Control at COD Testing in Wastewater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Uray Lusiana

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Quality assurance is one of the technical requirements that include in the quality management system based on SNI ISO/IEC 17025 : 2008. Quality assurance is all the process that planned and systematic activity that applied in analysis, so can give the confidence to the customer or data user. Quality assurance that is applied for COD testing in wastewater are calibration curve, accuracy and precision control chart. The purpose of calibration curve, accuracy and precision control chart applied was to control the data of COD testing so that guaranty the validity to report and to keep the consistence of testing result as statistic all the time. Calibration curve of COD testing have a coefficient correlation 0,99987. Accuracy control chart have limited line BTA = 104,95%, BPA = 102,97%, BIA = 100,98%, BTB = 93,03%, BPB = 95,02% and BIB = 97,0%. Accuracy data can be accepted if that data present between line of BPA and BPB (± 2 SD, data is warned if that data present between line BTA-BPA or BTB-BPB (± 2 SD and ± 3 SD, and data is outlier if that data present out of line BTA and BTB (± 3 SD. The precision data can accepted if that the RPD value is not more than 10 % of COD testing result.

Demerit control chart as a decision support tool in quality control of ductile cast-iron casting process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sika Robert

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In many industrial areas the product quality can be unequivocally assigned to classes such as: “good”, “bad” or “to repair”. In case of casting processes, the product is approved to sales considering customer’s requirements. Except for common characteristics, such as structure, compactness and mechanical properties, physical state of the product is also important. This state is assessed by checking occurrence of specific kind of defects. They are often conditionally accepted by a customer if they do not have any influence on functionality of the product (e.g. negative adhesive and cohesive phenomena, fatigue strength, thermal shocks. Authors’ experience shows that current registering of the most frequently occurring defects and comparing them to customers’ requirements can be very useful and help a quality engineer to control the casting process. They suggest using the Demerit Control Chart (DCC, according to authors’ own methodology, in aspect of information about the castings accepted conditionally by a customer (DCC-recognition. DCC-recognition can be used to assess this quality by monitoring the value of just one aggregated measure for all kinds of defects instead of using a single attribute control chart for each of them. The test version of this tool considering severity of defects proved to be useful in one of the European foundries.

A 3D Printed Linear Pneumatic Actuator for Position, Force and Impedance Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeremy Krause

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Although 3D printing has the potential to provide greater customization and to reduce the costs of creating actuators for industrial applications, the 3D printing of actuators is still a relatively new concept. We have developed a pneumatic actuator with 3D-printed parts and placed sensors for position and force control. So far, 3D printing has been used to create pneumatic actuators of the bellows type, thus having a limited travel distance, utilizing low pressures for actuation and being capable of only limited force production and response rates. In contrast, our actuator is linear with a large travel distance and operating at a relatively higher pressure, thus providing great forces and response rates, and this the main novelty of the work. We demonstrate solutions to key challenges that arise during the design and fabrication of 3D-printed linear actuators. These include: (1 the strategic use of metallic parts in high stress areas (i.e., the piston rod; (2 post-processing of the inner surface of the cylinder for smooth finish; (3 piston head design and seal placement for strong and leak-proof action; and (4 sensor choice and placement for position and force control. A permanent magnet placed in the piston head is detected using Hall effect sensors placed along the length of the cylinder to measure the position, and pressure sensors placed at the supply ports were used for force measurement. We demonstrate the actuator performing position, force and impedance control. Our work has the potential to open new avenues for creating less expensive, customizable and capable actuators for industrial and other applications.

Control of Evaporation Behavior of an Inkjet-Printed Dielectric Layer Using a Mixed-Solvent System

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Hak Soon; Kang, Byung Ju; Oh, Je Hoon

2016-01-01

In this study, the evaporation behavior and the resulting morphology of inkjet-printed dielectric layers were controlled using a mixed-solvent system to fabricate uniform poly-4-vinylphenol (PVP) dielectric layers without any pinholes. The mixed-solvent system consisted of two different organic solvents: 1-hexanol and ethanol. The effects of inkjet-printing variables such as overlap condition, substrate temperature, and different printing sequences (continuous and interlacing printing methods) on the inkjet-printed dielectric layer were also investigated. Increasing volume fraction of ethanol (VFE) is likely to reduce the evaporation rate gradient and the drying time of the inkjet-printed dielectric layer; this diminishes the coffee stain effect and thereby improves the uniformity of the inkjet-printed dielectric layer. However, the coffee stain effect becomes more severe with an increase in the substrate temperature due to the enhanced outward convective flow. The overlap condition has little effect on the evaporation behavior of the printed dielectric layer. In addition, the interlacing printing method results in either a stronger coffee stain effect or wavy structures of the dielectric layers depending on the VFE of the PVP solution. All-inkjet-printed capacitors without electrical short circuiting can be successfully fabricated using the optimized PVP solution (VFE = 0.6); this indicates that the mixed-solvent system is expected to play an important role in the fabrication of high-quality inkjet-printed dielectric layers in various printed electronics applications.

Application of a binomial cusum control chart to monitor one drinking water indicator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elisa Henning

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to analyze the use of a binomial cumulative sum chart (CUSUM to monitor the presence of total coliforms, biological indicators of quality of water supplies in water treatment processes. The sample series were monthly taken from a water treatment plant and were analyzed from 2007 to 2009. The statistical treatment of the data was performed using GNU R, and routines were created for the approximation of the upper limit of the binomial CUSUM chart. Furthermore, a comparative study was conducted to investigate whether there is a significant difference in sensitivity between the use of CUSUM and the traditional Shewhart chart, the most commonly used chart in process monitoring. The results obtained demonstrate that this study was essential for making the right choice in selecting a chart for the statistical analysis of this process.

Laser printing of nanoparticle toner enables digital control of micropatterned carbon nanotube growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Polsen, Erik S; Stevens, Adam G; Hart, A John

2013-05-01

Commercialization of materials utilizing patterned carbon nanotube (CNT) forests, such as hierarchical composite structures, dry adhesives, and contact probe arrays, will require catalyst patterning techniques that do not rely on cleanroom photolithography. We demonstrate the large scale patterning of CNT growth catalyst via adaptation of a laser-based electrostatic printing process that uses magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) toner. The MICR toner contains iron oxide nanoparticles that serve as the catalyst for CNT growth, which are printed onto a flexible polymer (polyimide) and then transferred to a rigid substrate (silicon or alumina) under heat and mechanical pressure. Then, the substrate is processed for CNT growth under an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD) recipe. This process enables digital control of patterned CNT growth via the laser intensity, which controls the CNT density; and via the grayscale level, which controls the pixelation of the image into arrays of micropillars. Moreover, virtually any pattern can be designed using standard software (e.g., MS Word, AutoCAD, etc.) and printed on demand. Using a standard office printer, we realize isolated CNT microstructures as small as 140 μm and isolated catalyst ″pixels″ as small as 70 μm (one grayscale dot) and determine that individual toner microparticles result in features of approximately 5-10 μm . We demonstrate that grayscale CNT patterns can function as dry adhesives and that large-area catalyst patterns can be printed directly onto metal foils or transferred to ceramic plates. Laser printing therefore shows promise to enable high-speed micropatterning of nanoparticle-containing thin films under ambient conditions, possibly for a wide variety of nanostructures by engineering of toners containing nanoparticles of desired composition, size, and shape.

Negative Binomial charts for monitoring high-quality processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Albers, Willem/Wim

Good control charts for high quality processes are often based on the number of successes between failures. Geometric charts are simplest in this respect, but slow in recognizing moderately increased failure rates p. Improvement can be achieved by waiting until r > 1 failures have occurred, i.e. by

FusionCharts Beginner's Guide The Official Guide for FusionCharts Suite

CERN Document Server

Nadhani, Sanket; Bhattacharya, Shamasis

2012-01-01

The book is written as a practical, step-by-step guide to using FusionCharts Suite. The book not only teaches you the fundamentals and implementation of FusionCharts Suite, but also makes you the data visualization guru among your friends and colleagues by teaching how to select the right chart type and usability tips. Filled with examples, code samples and practical tips in a no-nonsense way, the book is a breeze to read.This book is both for beginners and advanced web developers who need to create interactive charts for their web applications. No previous knowledge of FusionCharts Suite is a

Printing Insecurity? The Security Implications of 3D-Printing of Weapons

OpenAIRE

Walther, Gerald

2014-01-01

In 2013, the first gun printed out of plastic by a 3D-printer was successfully fired in the US. This event caused a major media hype about the dangers of being able to print a gun. Law enforcement agencies worldwide were concerned about this development and the potentially huge security implications of these functional plastic guns. As a result, politicians called for a ban of these weapons and a control of 3D-printing technology. This paper reviews the security implications of 3D-printing te...

Research on precise control of 3D print nozzle temperature in PEEK material

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhichao; Wang, Gong; Huo, Yu; Zhao, Wei

2017-10-01

3D printing technology has shown more and more applicability in medication, designing and other fields for its low cost and high timeliness. PEEK (poly-ether-ether-ketone), as a typical high-performance special engineering plastic, become one of the most excellent materials to be used in 3D printing technology because of its excellent mechanical property, good lubricity, chemical resistance, and other properties. But the nozzle of 3D printer for PEEK has also a series of very high requirements. In this paper, we mainly use the nozzle temperature control as the research object, combining with the advantages and disadvantages of PID control and fuzzy control. Finally realize a kind of fuzzy PID controller to solve the problem of the inertia of the temperature system and the seriousness of the temperature control hysteresis in the temperature control of the nozzle, and to meet the requirements of the accuracy of the nozzle temperature control and rapid reaction.

Four-dimensional Printing of Liquid Crystal Elastomers.

Science.gov (United States)

Ambulo, Cedric P; Burroughs, Julia J; Boothby, Jennifer M; Kim, Hyun; Shankar, M Ravi; Ware, Taylor H

2017-10-25

Three-dimensional structures capable of reversible changes in shape, i.e., four-dimensional-printed structures, may enable new generations of soft robotics, implantable medical devices, and consumer products. Here, thermally responsive liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) are direct-write printed into 3D structures with a controlled molecular order. Molecular order is locally programmed by controlling the print path used to build the 3D object, and this order controls the stimulus response. Each aligned LCE filament undergoes 40% reversible contraction along the print direction on heating. By printing objects with controlled geometry and stimulus response, magnified shape transformations, for example, volumetric contractions or rapid, repetitive snap-through transitions, are realized.

Application of CUSUM charts to detect lameness in a milking robot

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pastell, Matti; Madsen, Henrik

2008-01-01

shown that the weight distribution between limbs changes when cow get lame. In this paper we suggest CUSUM charts to automatically detect lameness based on the measurements. CUSUM charts are statistical based control charts and are well suited for checking a measuring system in operation for any...

System Behaviour Charts Inform an Understanding of Biodiversity Recovery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon A. Black

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Practitioners working with species and ecosystem recovery typically deal with the complexity of, on one hand, lack of data or data uncertainties and, on the other hand, demand for critical decision-making and intervention. The control chart methods of commercial and industrial and environmental monitoring can complement an ecological understanding of wildlife systems including those situations which incorporate human activities and land use. Systems Behaviour Charts are based upon well-established control chart methods to provide conservation managers with an approach to using existing data and enable insight to aid timely planning of conservation interventions and also complement and stimulate research into wider scientific and ecological questions. When the approach is applied to existing data sets in well-known wildlife conservation cases, the subsequent Systems Behaviour Charts and associated analytical criteria demonstrate insights which would be helpful in averting problems associated with each case example.

Identifying representative symbology for low visibility operations/surface movement guidance and control system (LVO/SMGCS) paper charts

Science.gov (United States)

2015-05-04

The Volpe Center developed a questionnaire to examine the representativeness of symbol shapes and the usefulness of information depicted on Low Visibility Operations/Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (LVO/SMGCS) paper charts. One-hundred f...

Controlled Positioning of Cells in Biomaterials-Approaches Towards 3D Tissue Printing.

Science.gov (United States)

Wüst, Silke; Müller, Ralph; Hofmann, Sandra

2011-08-04

Current tissue engineering techniques have various drawbacks: they often incorporate uncontrolled and imprecise scaffold geometries, whereas the current conventional cell seeding techniques result mostly in random cell placement rather than uniform cell distribution. For the successful reconstruction of deficient tissue, new material engineering approaches have to be considered to overcome current limitations. An emerging method to produce complex biological products including cells or extracellular matrices in a controlled manner is a process called bioprinting or biofabrication, which effectively uses principles of rapid prototyping combined with cell-loaded biomaterials, typically hydrogels. 3D tissue printing is an approach to manufacture functional tissue layer-by-layer that could be transplanted in vivo after production. This method is especially advantageous for stem cells since a controlled environment can be created to influence cell growth and differentiation. Using printed tissue for biotechnological and pharmacological needs like in vitro drug-testing may lead to a revolution in the pharmaceutical industry since animal models could be partially replaced by biofabricated tissues mimicking human physiology and pathology. This would not only be a major advancement concerning rising ethical issues but would also have a measureable impact on economical aspects in this industry of today, where animal studies are very labor-intensive and therefore costly. In this review, current controlled material and cell positioning techniques are introduced highlighting approaches towards 3D tissue printing.

Controlled Positioning of Cells in Biomaterials—Approaches Towards 3D Tissue Printing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Hofmann

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Current tissue engineering techniques have various drawbacks: they often incorporate uncontrolled and imprecise scaffold geometries, whereas the current conventional cell seeding techniques result mostly in random cell placement rather than uniform cell distribution. For the successful reconstruction of deficient tissue, new material engineering approaches have to be considered to overcome current limitations. An emerging method to produce complex biological products including cells or extracellular matrices in a controlled manner is a process called bioprinting or biofabrication, which effectively uses principles of rapid prototyping combined with cell-loaded biomaterials, typically hydrogels. 3D tissue printing is an approach to manufacture functional tissue layer-by-layer that could be transplanted in vivo after production. This method is especially advantageous for stem cells since a controlled environment can be created to influence cell growth and differentiation. Using printed tissue for biotechnological and pharmacological needs like in vitro drug-testing may lead to a revolution in the pharmaceutical industry since animal models could be partially replaced by biofabricated tissues mimicking human physiology and pathology. This would not only be a major advancement concerning rising ethical issues but would also have a measureable impact on economical aspects in this industry of today, where animal studies are very labor-intensive and therefore costly. In this review, current controlled material and cell positioning techniques are introduced highlighting approaches towards 3D tissue printing.

North Atlantic IFR Route Planning Chart GEO-TIFF - Aeronautical Information Services Digital Products

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Transportation — North Atlantic Route Chart is designed for FAA Controllers to monitor transatlantic flights, this 5-color chart shows oceanic control areas, coastal navigation aids,...

North Atlantic IFR Route Planning Chart PDF File - Aeronautical Information Services Digital Products

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Transportation — North Atlantic Route Chart is designed for FAA Controllers to monitor transatlantic flights, this 5-color chart shows oceanic control areas, coastal navigation aids,...

Building information for systematic improvement of the prevention of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers with statistical process control charts and regression.

Science.gov (United States)

Padula, William V; Mishra, Manish K; Weaver, Christopher D; Yilmaz, Taygan; Splaine, Mark E

2012-06-01

To demonstrate complementary results of regression and statistical process control (SPC) chart analyses for hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (HAPUs), and identify possible links between changes and opportunities for improvement between hospital microsystems and macrosystems. Ordinary least squares and panel data regression of retrospective hospital billing data, and SPC charts of prospective patient records for a US tertiary-care facility (2004-2007). A prospective cohort of hospital inpatients at risk for HAPUs was the study population. There were 337 HAPU incidences hospital wide among 43 844 inpatients. A probit regression model predicted the correlation of age, gender and length of stay on HAPU incidence (pseudo R(2)=0.096). Panel data analysis determined that for each additional day in the hospital, there was a 0.28% increase in the likelihood of HAPU incidence. A p-chart of HAPU incidence showed a mean incidence rate of 1.17% remaining in statistical control. A t-chart showed the average time between events for the last 25 HAPUs was 13.25 days. There was one 57-day period between two incidences during the observation period. A p-chart addressing Braden scale assessments showed that 40.5% of all patients were risk stratified for HAPUs upon admission. SPC charts complement standard regression analysis. SPC amplifies patient outcomes at the microsystem level and is useful for guiding quality improvement. Macrosystems should monitor effective quality improvement initiatives in microsystems and aid the spread of successful initiatives to other microsystems, followed by system-wide analysis with regression. Although HAPU incidence in this study is below the national mean, there is still room to improve HAPU incidence in this hospital setting since 0% incidence is theoretically achievable. Further assessment of pressure ulcer incidence could illustrate improvement in the quality of care and prevent HAPUs.

Printing nanotube/nanowire for flexible microsystems

Science.gov (United States)

Tortorich, Ryan P.; Choi, Jin-Woo

2014-04-01

Printing has become an emerging manufacturing technology for mechanics, electronics, and consumer products. Additionally, both nanotubes and nanowires have recently been used as materials for sensors and electrodes due to their unique electrical and mechanical properties. Printed electrodes and conductive traces particularly offer versatility of fabricating low-cost, disposable, and flexible electrical devices and microsystems. While various printing methods such as screen printing have been conventional methods for printing conductive traces and electrodes, inkjet printing has recently attracted great attention due to its unique advantages including no template requirement, rapid printing at low cost, on-demand printing capability, and precise control of the printed material. Computer generated conductive traces or electrode patterns can simply be printed on a thin film substrate with proper conductive ink consisting of nanotubes or nanowires. However, in order to develop nanotube or nanowire ink, there are a few challenges that need to be addressed. The most difficult obstacle to overcome is that of nanotube/nanowire dispersion within a solution. Other challenges include adjusting surface tension and controlling viscosity of the ink as well as treating the surface of the printing substrate. In an attempt to pave the way for nanomaterial inkjet printing, we present a method for preparing carbon nanotube ink as well as its printing technique. A fully printed electrochemical sensor using inkjet-printed carbon nanotube electrodes is also demonstrated as an example of the possibilities for this technology.

Development of Markup Language for Medical Record Charting: A Charting Language.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Won-Mo; Chae, Younbyoung; Jang, Bo-Hyoung

2015-01-01

Nowadays a lot of trials for collecting electronic medical records (EMRs) exist. However, structuring data format for EMR is an especially labour-intensive task for practitioners. Here we propose a new mark-up language for medical record charting (called Charting Language), which borrows useful properties from programming languages. Thus, with Charting Language, the text data described in dynamic situation can be easily used to extract information.

Wide frequency independently controlled dual-band inkjet-printed antenna

KAUST Repository

AbuTarboush, Hattan F.

2014-01-08

A low-cost inkjet-printed multiband monopole antenna is presented. The unique advantage of the proposed antenna is the freedom to adjust and set the dual-band of the antenna independently over a wide range (148.83%). To demonstrate the independent control feature, the 2.4 and 3.4 GHz bands for the wireless local area network (WLAN) and worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) applications are selected as an example. The measured impedance bandwidths for the 2.4 and 3.4 GHz are 15.2 and 23.7%, respectively. These dual-bands have the ability to be controlled independently between 1.1 and 7.5 GHz without affecting the other band. In addition, the proposed antenna can be assigned for different mobile and wireless applications such as GPS, PCS, GSM 1800, 1900, UMTS, and up to 5-GHz WLAN and WiMAX applications. The mechanism of independent control of each radiator through dimensional variation is discussed in detail. The antenna has a compact size of 10 × 37.3 × 0.44 mm3, leaving enough space for the driving electronics on the paper substrate. The measured results from the prototype are in good agreement with the simulated results. Owing to inkjet printing on an ordinary paper, the design is extremely light weight and highly suitable for low cost and large volume manufacturing. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2013.

Improving the performance of univariate control charts for abnormal detection and classification

Science.gov (United States)

Yiakopoulos, Christos; Koutsoudaki, Maria; Gryllias, Konstantinos; Antoniadis, Ioannis

2017-03-01

Bearing failures in rotating machinery can cause machine breakdown and economical loss, if no effective actions are taken on time. Therefore, it is of prime importance to detect accurately the presence of faults, especially at their early stage, to prevent sequent damage and reduce costly downtime. The machinery fault diagnosis follows a roadmap of data acquisition, feature extraction and diagnostic decision making, in which mechanical vibration fault feature extraction is the foundation and the key to obtain an accurate diagnostic result. A challenge in this area is the selection of the most sensitive features for various types of fault, especially when the characteristics of failures are difficult to be extracted. Thus, a plethora of complex data-driven fault diagnosis methods are fed by prominent features, which are extracted and reduced through traditional or modern algorithms. Since most of the available datasets are captured during normal operating conditions, the last decade a number of novelty detection methods, able to work when only normal data are available, have been developed. In this study, a hybrid method combining univariate control charts and a feature extraction scheme is introduced focusing towards an abnormal change detection and classification, under the assumption that measurements under normal operating conditions of the machinery are available. The feature extraction method integrates the morphological operators and the Morlet wavelets. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is validated on two different experimental cases with bearing faults, demonstrating that the proposed approach can improve the fault detection and classification performance of conventional control charts.

APLICACIÓN DE LA PERCEPTRÓN EN EL GRÁFICO DE CONTROL DE MEDICIONES INDIVIDUALES // IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PERCEPTRON IN THE CONTROL CHART FOR INDIVIDUAL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Antonio Vázquez-López

2012-06-01

Full Text Available In this article the Perceptron artificial neural network is applied as a classifier system of out of control points, in the field of contrlol chart for individual measurements. The use of geometric properties of the Perceptron as a training method is introduced, replacing in consequence to the known training methods. Some experiments with numerical databases contaminated with altered data in global average was performed, and the ability of the detection of \\out of control points" of the control chart with the implementation of the Perceptron trained by geometry was compared. The results reveal greater capacity in the Perceptron. This approach can be generalized to other types of control charts and patterns of natural and special variation, not considered in this research. // RESUMEN: En este artículo se aplica la red neuronal artificial Perceptrón como sistema clasificador de puntos fuera de control en el ámbito de la carta de control de mediciones individuales. Se introduce el uso de las propiedades geométricas de la Perceptrón como método de entrenamiento para sustituir, en consecuencia, a los métodos de entrenamiento conocidos. Se experimentó con bases de datos numéricas contaminadas con datos alterados en su media global y se comparó la capacidad de la detección de puntos fuera de control de la carta de control con la aplicación de la Perceptrón entrenada por geometría. Los resultados revelan mayor capacidad en la Perceptrón en diferentes porcentajes de contaminación. Esta propuesta puede ser generalizada a otros tipos de gráficos de control y a patrones de variación especial y natural no considerados en esta investigación.

3D printing X-Ray Quality Control Phantoms. A Low Contrast Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Kapetanakis, I.; Fountos, G.; Michail, C.; Valais, I.; Kalyvas, N.

2017-11-01

Current 3D printing technology products may be usable in various biomedical applications. Such an application is the creation of X-ray quality control phantoms. In this work a self-assembled 3D printer (geeetech i3) was used for the design of a simple low contrast phantom. The printing material was Polylactic Acid (PLA) (100% printing density). Low contrast scheme was achieved by creating air-holes with different diameters and thicknesses, ranging from 1mm to 9mm. The phantom was irradiated at a Philips Diagnost 93 fluoroscopic installation at 40kV-70kV with the semi-automatic mode. The images were recorded with an Agfa cr30-x CR system and assessed with ImageJ software. The best contrast value observed was approximately 33%. In low contrast detectability check it was found that the 1mm diameter hole was always visible, for thickness larger or equal to 4mm. A reason for not being able to distinguish 1mm in smaller thicknesses might be the presence of printing patterns on the final image, which increased the structure noise. In conclusion the construction of a contrast resolution phantom with a 3D printer is feasible. The quality of the final product depends upon the printer accuracy and the material characteristics.

Surface Prognostic Charts

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Surface Prognostic Charts are historical surface prognostic (forecast) charts created by the United States Weather Bureau. They include fronts, isobars, cloud, and...

3D Printing A Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Zulkifl Hasan

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Solid free fabrication SFF are produced to enhance the printing instrument utilizing distinctive strategies like Piezo spout control multi-spout injet printers or STL arrange utilizing cutting information. The procedure is utilized to diminish the cost and enhance the speed of printing. A few techniques take long at last because of extra process like dry the printing. This study will concentrate on SFFS utilizing UV gum for 3D printing.

Continuous hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy (chart) in localized cancer of the esophagus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Powell, Melanie E.B.; Hoskin, Peter J.; Saunders, Michele I.; Foy, Christopher J.W.; Dische, Stanley

1997-01-01

Purpose: To assess the efficacy and toxicity of continuous hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy (CHART) in locoregional control compared with a historical group of patients treated with conventionally fractionated radical radiotherapy. Methods and Materials: Between 1985 and 1994, 54 patients with localized esophageal cancer were treated with CHART. Twenty-eight patients received CHART alone (54 Gy in 36 fractions over 12 consecutive days) and 15 were given intravenous mitomycin C and cisplatin on days 10 and 13, respectively. Eleven patients received 40.5 Gy in 27 fractions over 9 days, followed by a single high-dose-rate intraluminal brachytherapy insertion of 15 Gy at 1 cm. Results: Acute toxicity was well tolerated and dysphagia was improved in 35 patients (65%), with 28 (52%) eating a normal diet by week 12. This compares with an improvement in dysphagia score in 72% of the conventionally treated group. The median duration of relief of dysphagia was 7.8 months (range 0-41.4) in the CHART group compared with 5.5 months (range 0-48) in the controls. Strictures developed in 29 patients (61%) and 18 were confirmed on biopsy to be due to recurrent disease. Median survival was 12 months (range 0.5-112) in the CHART group and 15 months (range 3.6-56) in the control patients. Conclusion: CHART is well tolerated and achieves a high rate of local control. Palliation in the short overall treatment time of esophageal cancer is an advantage in these patients whose median survival is only 12 months

Monitoring Poisson observations using combined applications of Shewhart and EWMA charts

Science.gov (United States)

Abujiya, Mu'azu Ramat

2017-11-01

The Shewhart and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) charts for nonconformities are the most widely used procedures of choice for monitoring Poisson observations in modern industries. Individually, the Shewhart EWMA charts are only sensitive to large and small shifts, respectively. To enhance the detection abilities of the two schemes in monitoring all kinds of shifts in Poisson count data, this study examines the performance of combined applications of the Shewhart, and EWMA Poisson control charts. Furthermore, the study proposes modifications based on well-structured statistical data collection technique, ranked set sampling (RSS), to detect shifts in the mean of a Poisson process more quickly. The relative performance of the proposed Shewhart-EWMA Poisson location charts is evaluated in terms of the average run length (ARL), standard deviation of the run length (SDRL), median run length (MRL), average ratio ARL (ARARL), average extra quadratic loss (AEQL) and performance comparison index (PCI). Consequently, all the new Poisson control charts based on RSS method are generally more superior than most of the existing schemes for monitoring Poisson processes. The use of these combined Shewhart-EWMA Poisson charts is illustrated with an example to demonstrate the practical implementation of the design procedure.

Detecting SYN flood attacks via statistical monitoring charts: A comparative study

KAUST Repository

Bouyeddou, Benamar

2017-12-14

Accurate detection of cyber-attacks plays a central role in safeguarding computer networks and information systems. This paper addresses the problem of detecting SYN flood attacks, which are the most popular Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. Here, we compare the detection capacity of three commonly monitoring charts namely, a Shewhart chart, a Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) control chart and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) chart, in detecting SYN flood attacks. The comparison study is conducted using the publicly available benchmark datasets: the 1999 DARPA Intrusion Detection Evaluation Datasets.

Computing exact bundle compliance control charts via probability generating functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Binchao; Matis, Timothy; Benneyan, James

2016-06-01

Compliance to evidenced-base practices, individually and in 'bundles', remains an important focus of healthcare quality improvement for many clinical conditions. The exact probability distribution of composite bundle compliance measures used to develop corresponding control charts and other statistical tests is based on a fairly large convolution whose direct calculation can be computationally prohibitive. Various series expansions and other approximation approaches have been proposed, each with computational and accuracy tradeoffs, especially in the tails. This same probability distribution also arises in other important healthcare applications, such as for risk-adjusted outcomes and bed demand prediction, with the same computational difficulties. As an alternative, we use probability generating functions to rapidly obtain exact results and illustrate the improved accuracy and detection over other methods. Numerical testing across a wide range of applications demonstrates the computational efficiency and accuracy of this approach.

Using Statistical Process Control Charts to Identify the Steroids Era in Major League Baseball: An Educational Exercise

Science.gov (United States)

Hill, Stephen E.; Schvaneveldt, Shane J.

2011-01-01

This article presents an educational exercise in which statistical process control charts are constructed and used to identify the Steroids Era in American professional baseball. During this period (roughly 1993 until the present), numerous baseball players were alleged or proven to have used banned, performance-enhancing drugs. Also observed…

Poisson INAR(1)过程的质量控制%Quality control chart for poisson INAR(1) process

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

睢立伟; 宋向东

2017-01-01

为解决在实际生产中,过程数据并不总能满足彼此独立的假设前提,从而使得一些控制图不再适用于具有相关性的过程的问题,以免在监控过程中出现大量的虚假警报.论文采用取整法研究一阶自回归泊松计数过程模型,首先将一阶自回归模型与泊松计数过程结合起来,然后对原有的模型就行修正,在新模型的基础上重新构造了c控制图和残差控制图的控制限,以使得这两种控制图能够适应新的模型.研究结果表明:两种控制图都只是在一定的情况下使用,研究结论对于研究具有相关性的统计过程有着重要的推进作用.%To solve the problem that in actual production,the process data is not always satisfied with the assumption of independence,which makes some control charts no longer suitable for the process of correlation,so as to avoid a large number of false alarm.This paper studied the poisson INAR(1) process with rounding method.Firstly,the AR(1) process was combined with the poisson counting process,and the original model was corrected.Based on the new model,the control limits of c-chart and residual chart were constructed,in order to adapt the new model.The results of the study indicate the application of the two control charts.The research results have important promoting effect on the study of statistical process.

Tactile acuity charts: a reliable measure of spatial acuity.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruns, Patrick; Camargo, Carlos J; Campanella, Humberto; Esteve, Jaume; Dinse, Hubert R; Röder, Brigitte

2014-01-01

For assessing tactile spatial resolution it has recently been recommended to use tactile acuity charts which follow the design principles of the Snellen letter charts for visual acuity and involve active touch. However, it is currently unknown whether acuity thresholds obtained with this newly developed psychophysical procedure are in accordance with established measures of tactile acuity that involve passive contact with fixed duration and control of contact force. Here we directly compared tactile acuity thresholds obtained with the acuity charts to traditional two-point and grating orientation thresholds in a group of young healthy adults. For this purpose, two types of charts, using either Braille-like dot patterns or embossed Landolt rings with different orientations, were adapted from previous studies. Measurements with the two types of charts were equivalent, but generally more reliable with the dot pattern chart. A comparison with the two-point and grating orientation task data showed that the test-retest reliability of the acuity chart measurements after one week was superior to that of the passive methods. Individual thresholds obtained with the acuity charts agreed reasonably with the grating orientation threshold, but less so with the two-point threshold that yielded relatively distinct acuity estimates compared to the other methods. This potentially considerable amount of mismatch between different measures of tactile acuity suggests that tactile spatial resolution is a complex entity that should ideally be measured with different methods in parallel. The simple test procedure and high reliability of the acuity charts makes them a promising complement and alternative to the traditional two-point and grating orientation thresholds.

Development and clinical application of a color pediatric visual acuity chart

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shu-Guo Yin

2014-12-01

Full Text Available AIM: To introduce a new color pediatric visual acuity chart and its clinical application.METHODS:The color pediatric visual acuity chart was designed based on principle of visual angle. The optotype on the color chart had graphics. The progression rate of optotype size between 2 lines was 10(101/2 and 1.2589. A regular geometric progression of optotype sizes and distribution was employed to arrange 8 lines with 11 optotype on the color chart. The testing distance was 3m. The visual acuity score could be recorded as logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution notation or decimal notation. The reliability of naked distant measurements with this new chart was tested in one eye of 100 children(4 ～6 years oldtaking the Chinese national standard logarithm visual acuity chart standard. RESULTS: The color pediatric visual acuity chart and logarithmic chart controls, visual acuity test results that in the two groups had no significant difference(t=1.2671, P>0.05. Two sets of vision data existed positive correlation(r=0.924, PCONCLUSION:Children are easier to accept used new color pediatric visual acuity chart to inspect vision. New chart is reliability and apply to children's vision screening.

Automatic exposure control systems designed to maintain constant image noise: effects on computed tomography dose and noise relative to clinically accepted technique charts.

Science.gov (United States)

Favazza, Christopher P; Yu, Lifeng; Leng, Shuai; Kofler, James M; McCollough, Cynthia H

2015-01-01

To compare computed tomography dose and noise arising from use of an automatic exposure control (AEC) system designed to maintain constant image noise as patient size varies with clinically accepted technique charts and AEC systems designed to vary image noise. A model was developed to describe tube current modulation as a function of patient thickness. Relative dose and noise values were calculated as patient width varied for AEC settings designed to yield constant or variable noise levels and were compared to empirically derived values used by our clinical practice. Phantom experiments were performed in which tube current was measured as a function of thickness using a constant-noise-based AEC system and the results were compared with clinical technique charts. For 12-, 20-, 28-, 44-, and 50-cm patient widths, the requirement of constant noise across patient size yielded relative doses of 5%, 14%, 38%, 260%, and 549% and relative noises of 435%, 267%, 163%, 61%, and 42%, respectively, as compared with our clinically used technique chart settings at each respective width. Experimental measurements showed that a constant noise-based AEC system yielded 175% relative noise for a 30-cm phantom and 206% relative dose for a 40-cm phantom compared with our clinical technique chart. Automatic exposure control systems that prescribe constant noise as patient size varies can yield excessive noise in small patients and excessive dose in obese patients compared with clinically accepted technique charts. Use of noise-level technique charts and tube current limits can mitigate these effects.

Microtransfer printing of metal ink patterns onto plastic substrates utilizing an adhesion-controlled polymeric donor layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Ji-Sub; Choi, Jun-Chan; Park, Min-Kyu; Bae, Jeong Min; Bae, Jin-Hyuk; Kim, Hak-Rin

2016-01-01

We propose a method for transfer-printed electrode patterns onto flexible/plastic substrates, specifically intended for metal ink that requires a high sintering temperature. Typically, metal-ink-based electrodes cannot be picked up for microtransfer printing because the adhesion between the electrodes and the donor substrate greatly increases after the sintering process due to the binding materials. We introduced a polymeric donor layer between the printed electrodes and the donor substrate and effectively reduced the adhesion between the Ag pattern and the polymeric donor layer by controlling the interfacial contact area. After completing a wet-etching process for the polymeric donor layer, we obtained Ag patterns supported on the fine polymeric anchor structures; the Ag patterns could be picked up onto the stamp surface even after the sintering process by utilizing the viscoelastic properties of the elastomeric stamp with a pick-up velocity control. The proposed method enables highly conductive metal-ink-based electrode patterns to be applied on thermally weak plastic substrates via an all-solution process. Metal electrodes transferred onto a film showed superior electrical and mechanical stability under the bending stress test required for use in printed flexible electronics. (paper)

Inkjet printed electronics using copper nanoparticle ink

OpenAIRE

Kang, Jin Sung; Kim, Hak Sung; Ryu, Jongeun; Thomas Hahn, H.; Jang, Seonhee; Joung, Jae Woo

2010-01-01

Inkjet printing of electrode using copper nanoparticle ink is presented. Electrode was printed on a flexible glass epoxy composite substrate using drop on demand piezoelectric dispenser and was sintered at 200 °C of low temperature in N2 gas condition. The printed electrodes were made with various widths and thickness. In order to control the thickness of the printed electrode, number of printing was varied. Resistivity of printed electrode was calculated from the cross-sectional area measure...

Flexible Design and Operation of a Smart Charging Microgrid (Briefing Charts)

Science.gov (United States)

2014-04-08

release; distribution unlimited 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES Briefing Charts for SAE World Congress 2014 14. ABSTRACT A microgrid is a controllable ...UNCLASSIFIED Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release Flexible Design and Operation of a Smart Charging Microgrid Annette G... control number. 1. REPORT DATE 08 APR 2014 2. REPORT TYPE Briefing Charts 3. DATES COVERED 08-01-2014 to 09-03-2014 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE

Spectral Imaging of Portolan Charts

Science.gov (United States)

France, Fenella G.; Wilson, Meghan A.; Ghez, Anita

2018-05-01

Spectral imaging of Portolan Charts, early nautical charts, provided extensive new information about their construction and creation. The origins of the portolan chart style have been a continual source of perplexity to numerous generations of cartographic historians. The spectral imaging system utilized incorporates a 50 megapixel mono-chrome camera with light emitting diode (LED) illumination panels that cover the range from 365 nm to 1050 nm to capture visible and non-visible information. There is little known about how portolan charts evolved, and what influenced their creation. These early nautical charts began as working navigational tools of medieval mariners, initially made in the 1300s in Italy, Portugal and Spain; however the origin and development of the portolan chart remained shrouded in mystery. Questions about these early navigational charts included whether colorants were commensurate with the time period and geographical location, and if different, did that give insight into trade routes, or possible later additions to the charts? For example; spectral data showed the red pigment on both the 1320 portolan chart and the 1565 Galapagos Islands matched vermillion, an opaque red pigment used since antiquity. The construction of these charts was also of great interest. Spectral imaging with a range of illumination modes revealed the presence of a "hidden circle" often referred to in relation to their construction. This paper will present in-depth analysis of how spectral imaging of the Portolans revealed similarities and differences, new hidden information and shed new light on construction and composition.

Iterative feedback bio-printing-derived cell-laden hydrogel scaffolds with optimal geometrical fidelity and cellular controllability.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ling; Xu, Ming-En; Luo, Li; Zhou, Yongyong; Si, Peijian

2018-02-12

For three-dimensional bio-printed cell-laden hydrogel tissue constructs, the well-designed internal porous geometry is tailored to obtain the desired structural and cellular properties. However, significant differences often exist between the designed and as-printed scaffolds because of the inherent characteristics of hydrogels and cells. In this study, an iterative feedback bio-printing (IFBP) approach based on optical coherence tomography (OCT) for the fabrication of cell-laden hydrogel scaffolds with optimal geometrical fidelity and cellular controllability was proposed. A custom-made swept-source OCT (SS-OCT) system was applied to characterize the printed scaffolds quantitatively. Based on the obtained empirical linear formula from the first experimental feedback loop, we defined the most appropriate design constraints and optimized the printing process to improve the geometrical fidelity. The effectiveness of IFBP was verified from the second run using gelatin/alginate hydrogel scaffolds laden with C3A cells. The mismatch of the morphological parameters greatly decreased from 40% to within 7%, which significantly optimized the cell viability, proliferation, and morphology, as well as the representative expression of hepatocyte markers, including CYP3A4 and albumin, of the printed cell-laden hydrogel scaffolds. The demonstrated protocol paves the way for the mass fabrication of cell-laden hydrogel scaffolds, engineered tissues, and scaled-up applications of the 3D bio-printing technique.

Tactile acuity charts: a reliable measure of spatial acuity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick Bruns

Full Text Available For assessing tactile spatial resolution it has recently been recommended to use tactile acuity charts which follow the design principles of the Snellen letter charts for visual acuity and involve active touch. However, it is currently unknown whether acuity thresholds obtained with this newly developed psychophysical procedure are in accordance with established measures of tactile acuity that involve passive contact with fixed duration and control of contact force. Here we directly compared tactile acuity thresholds obtained with the acuity charts to traditional two-point and grating orientation thresholds in a group of young healthy adults. For this purpose, two types of charts, using either Braille-like dot patterns or embossed Landolt rings with different orientations, were adapted from previous studies. Measurements with the two types of charts were equivalent, but generally more reliable with the dot pattern chart. A comparison with the two-point and grating orientation task data showed that the test-retest reliability of the acuity chart measurements after one week was superior to that of the passive methods. Individual thresholds obtained with the acuity charts agreed reasonably with the grating orientation threshold, but less so with the two-point threshold that yielded relatively distinct acuity estimates compared to the other methods. This potentially considerable amount of mismatch between different measures of tactile acuity suggests that tactile spatial resolution is a complex entity that should ideally be measured with different methods in parallel. The simple test procedure and high reliability of the acuity charts makes them a promising complement and alternative to the traditional two-point and grating orientation thresholds.

Cartographic Rules and Differences in Nautical Data Visualization on Paper and Electronic Nautical Charts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tea Duplančić Leder

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to present cartographic rules for the production of paper and electronic navigational charts and main differences in compilation, visualisation and representation of nautical information. Major differences between paper nautical charts and ENC are visualisation of nautical data: colour mixing, resolution of represented nautical objects, human control of display representation and fonts and signatures and chart content are described. It is concluded that electronic navigational charts have many advantages and few shortcomings to paper navigational charts.

A Vector Printing Method for High-Speed Electrohydrodynamic (EHD Jet Printing Based on Encoder Position Sensors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thanh Huy Phung

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Electrohyrodynamic (EHD jet printing has been widely used in the field of direct micro-nano patterning applications, due to its high resolution printing capability. So far, vector line printing using a single nozzle has been widely used for most EHD printing applications. However, the application has been limited to low-speed printing, to avoid non-uniform line width near the end points where line printing starts and ends. At end points of line vector printing, the deposited drop amount is likely to be significantly large compared to the rest of the printed lines, due to unavoidable acceleration and deceleration. In this study, we proposed a method to solve the printing quality problems by producing droplets at an equally spaced distance, irrespective of the printing speed. For this purpose, an encoder processing unit (EPU was developed, so that the jetting trigger could be generated according to user-defined spacing by using encoder position signals, which are used for the positioning control of the two linear stages.

Use of 3D printed models in medical education: A randomized control trial comparing 3D prints versus cadaveric materials for learning external cardiac anatomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Kah Heng Alexander; Loo, Zhou Yaw; Goldie, Stephen J; Adams, Justin W; McMenamin, Paul G

2016-05-06

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an emerging technology capable of readily producing accurate anatomical models, however, evidence for the use of 3D prints in medical education remains limited. A study was performed to assess their effectiveness against cadaveric materials for learning external cardiac anatomy. A double blind randomized controlled trial was undertaken on undergraduate medical students without prior formal cardiac anatomy teaching. Following a pre-test examining baseline external cardiac anatomy knowledge, participants were randomly assigned to three groups who underwent self-directed learning sessions using either cadaveric materials, 3D prints, or a combination of cadaveric materials/3D prints (combined materials). Participants were then subjected to a post-test written by a third party. Fifty-two participants completed the trial; 18 using cadaveric materials, 16 using 3D models, and 18 using combined materials. Age and time since completion of high school were equally distributed between groups. Pre-test scores were not significantly different (P = 0.231), however, post-test scores were significantly higher for 3D prints group compared to the cadaveric materials or combined materials groups (mean of 60.83% vs. 44.81% and 44.62%, P = 0.010, adjusted P = 0.012). A significant improvement in test scores was detected for the 3D prints group (P = 0.003) but not for the other two groups. The finding of this pilot study suggests that use of 3D prints do not disadvantage students relative to cadaveric materials; maximally, results suggest that 3D may confer certain benefits to anatomy learning and supports their use and ongoing evaluation as supplements to cadaver-based curriculums. Anat Sci Educ 9: 213-221. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

Fractional smith chart theory

KAUST Repository

Shamim, Atif

2011-03-01

For the first time, a generalized Smith chart is introduced here to represent fractional order circuit elements. It is shown that the standard Smith chart is a special case of the generalized fractional order Smith chart. With illustrations drawn for both the conventional integer based lumped elements and the fractional elements, a graphical technique supported by the analytical method is presented to plot impedances on the fractional Smith chart. The concept is then applied towards impedance matching networks, where the fractional approach proves to be much more versatile and results in a single element matching network for a complex load as compared to the two elements in the conventional approach. © 2010 IEEE.

Active origami by 4D printing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ge, Qi; Qi, H Jerry; Dunn, Martin L; Dunn, Conner K

2014-01-01

Recent advances in three dimensional (3D) printing technology that allow multiple materials to be printed within each layer enable the creation of materials and components with precisely controlled heterogeneous microstructures. In addition, active materials, such as shape memory polymers, can be printed to create an active microstructure within a solid. These active materials can subsequently be activated in a controlled manner to change the shape or configuration of the solid in response to an environmental stimulus. This has been termed 4D printing, with the 4th dimension being the time-dependent shape change after the printing. In this paper, we advance the 4D printing concept to the design and fabrication of active origami, where a flat sheet automatically folds into a complicated 3D component. Here we print active composites with shape memory polymer fibers precisely printed in an elastomeric matrix and use them as intelligent active hinges to enable origami folding patterns. We develop a theoretical model to provide guidance in selecting design parameters such as fiber dimensions, hinge length, and programming strains and temperature. Using the model, we design and fabricate several active origami components that assemble from flat polymer sheets, including a box, a pyramid, and two origami airplanes. In addition, we directly print a 3D box with active composite hinges and program it to assume a temporary flat shape that subsequently recovers to the 3D box shape on demand. (paper)

Active origami by 4D printing

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Qi; Dunn, Conner K.; Qi, H. Jerry; Dunn, Martin L.

2014-09-01

Recent advances in three dimensional (3D) printing technology that allow multiple materials to be printed within each layer enable the creation of materials and components with precisely controlled heterogeneous microstructures. In addition, active materials, such as shape memory polymers, can be printed to create an active microstructure within a solid. These active materials can subsequently be activated in a controlled manner to change the shape or configuration of the solid in response to an environmental stimulus. This has been termed 4D printing, with the 4th dimension being the time-dependent shape change after the printing. In this paper, we advance the 4D printing concept to the design and fabrication of active origami, where a flat sheet automatically folds into a complicated 3D component. Here we print active composites with shape memory polymer fibers precisely printed in an elastomeric matrix and use them as intelligent active hinges to enable origami folding patterns. We develop a theoretical model to provide guidance in selecting design parameters such as fiber dimensions, hinge length, and programming strains and temperature. Using the model, we design and fabricate several active origami components that assemble from flat polymer sheets, including a box, a pyramid, and two origami airplanes. In addition, we directly print a 3D box with active composite hinges and program it to assume a temporary flat shape that subsequently recovers to the 3D box shape on demand.

Controllable Impregnation Via Inkjet Printing for the Fabrication of Solid Oxide Cell Air Electrodes

KAUST Repository

Da'as, E. H.

2013-10-07

The impregnation method has been considered as one of the most successful techniques for the fabrication of highly efficient electrodes for solid oxide fuel and electrolysis cells (SOCs) at the lab scale. However, because the impregnation is usually performed manually, its irreproducibility remains a major problem that can be solved by using controllable techniques, such as inkjet printing. In this paper, lanthanum strontium manganite (LSM)/yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) air electrodes were prepared by infiltrating YSZ porous bodies with LSM precursor solution using inkjet printing, followed by annealing at 800°C for 2 hours. XRD analysis confirmed the formation of the LSM phase, which was in the form of nanoparticles with size in the 50-70 nm range on the YSZ walls, as revealed by FEG-SEM observations. The effect of printing parameters on the distribution of the impregnated phase was investigated and discussed.

Controllable Impregnation Via Inkjet Printing for the Fabrication of Solid Oxide Cell Air Electrodes

KAUST Repository

Da'as, E. H.; Irvine, J. T. S.; Traversa, Enrico; Boulfrad, S.

2013-01-01

The impregnation method has been considered as one of the most successful techniques for the fabrication of highly efficient electrodes for solid oxide fuel and electrolysis cells (SOCs) at the lab scale. However, because the impregnation is usually performed manually, its irreproducibility remains a major problem that can be solved by using controllable techniques, such as inkjet printing. In this paper, lanthanum strontium manganite (LSM)/yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) air electrodes were prepared by infiltrating YSZ porous bodies with LSM precursor solution using inkjet printing, followed by annealing at 800°C for 2 hours. XRD analysis confirmed the formation of the LSM phase, which was in the form of nanoparticles with size in the 50-70 nm range on the YSZ walls, as revealed by FEG-SEM observations. The effect of printing parameters on the distribution of the impregnated phase was investigated and discussed.

Grey Balance Colorimetry of the Automatically Guided Printing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igor Zjakic

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Apart from visual control, it is possible to controll the ink on a print by means of auxilliary instruments - densitometer, colorimeter and spectral photometer.One of the problems in offset printing reproduction is the inconstancy of theink flow and ink consumption during the run printing. This problem appears because of the change of ink viscosity, the change of ink temperature, the change of fountain solution quantity in ink, the change of printing speed etc.This article shows the measurements of the chromatic values performed by spectral photometer on the control - signal strip from the very beginning of the run printing till 20000th print. Gray balance (CMY by means of CIE L*a*b* system has been investigated. Densitometric values of the solid area, the growth of the screen values and doubling-shear have been determined. The results of the spectrophotometric measurements of gray balance and the densitometric measurements of the solid tint have been analyzed.

Application of Hotelling’s T2 charts in monitoring quality parameters in a drinking water supply system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Costa, Mafalda T.; Carolino, Elisabete; Oliveira, Teresa A.

2015-01-01

In water supply systems with distribution networkthe most critical aspects of control and Monitoring of water quality, which generates crises system, are the effects of cross-contamination originated by the network typology. The classics of control of quality systems through the application of Shewhart charts are generally difficult to manage in real time due to the high number of charts that must be completed and evaluated. As an alternative to the traditional control systems with Shewhart charts, this study aimed to apply a simplified methodology of a monitoring plan quality parameters in a drinking water distribution, by applying Hotelling’s T 2 charts and supplemented with Shewhart charts with Bonferroni limits system, whenever instabilities with processes were detected

3D printing technologies for electrochemical energy storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Feng; Wei, Min; Viswanathan, Vilayanur V.; Swart, Benjamin; Shao, Yuyan; Wu, Gang; Zhou, Chi

2017-10-01

Fabrication of electrodes and electrolytes play an important role in promoting the performance of electrochemical energy storage (EES) devices such as batteries and supercapacitors. Traditional fabrication techniques have limited capability in controlling the geometry and architecture of the electrode and solid-state electrolytes, which would otherwise compromise the performance. 3D printing, a disruptive manufacturing technology, has emerged as an innovative approach to fabricating EES devices from nanoscale to macroscale and from nanowatt to megawatt, providing great opportunities to accurately control device geometry (e.g., dimension, porosity, morphology) and structure with enhanced specific energy and power densities. Moreover, the additive manufacturing nature of 3D printing provides excellent controllability of the electrode thickness with much simplified process in a cost effective manner. With the unique spatial and temporal material manipulation capability, 3D printing can integrate multiple nanomaterials in the same print, and multi-functional EES devices (including functional gradient devices) can be fabricated. Herein, we review recent advances in 3D printing of EES devices. We focused on two major 3D printing technologies including direct writing and inkjet printing. The direct material deposition characteristics of these two processes enable them to print on a variety of flat substrates, even a conformal one, well suiting them to applications such as wearable devices and on-chip integrations. Other potential 3D printing techniques such as freeze nano-printing, stereolithography, fused deposition modeling, binder jetting, laminated object manufacturing, and metal 3D printing are also introduced. The advantages and limitations of each 3D printing technology are extensively discussed. More importantly, we provide a perspective on how to integrate the emerging 3D printing with existing technologies to create structures over multiple length scale from

WWW chart of the nuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Xiaolong; Zhou Chunmei; Zhuang Youxiang; Zhao Zhixiang; Golashvili, T.V.; Chechev, V.P.

2000-01-01

WWW chart of the nuclides was established on the basis of the latest evaluations of nuclear structure and decay data. By viewing WWW chart of the nuclides, one can retrieve the fundamental data of nuclide such as atomic mass, abundance, spin and parity; the decay mode, branching ratio, half-life and Q-value of radioactive nuclide, energy and intensity of strong γ-ray, etc. The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of WWW chart of the nuclides is: http://myhome.py.gd.cn/chart/index,asp

A case study of printing industry plant layout for effective production

Science.gov (United States)

Viswajit, T.; Teja, T. Ravi; Deepthi, Y. P.

2017-07-01

This paper presents the overall picture of the processes happening in printing industry. This research is aimed to improve the plant layout of existing plant. The travel time was reduced by relocating machinery. Relocation is based on systematic layout planning (SLP). The complete process of raw material entering the industry to dispatching of finished product is shown in 3-D Flow diagram. The process happening in each floor explained in detail using Flow Process chart. Travel time is reduced by 25% after modifying existing plant layout.

Printing Has a Future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hans Georg Wenke

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Printing will also be done in the future. Printed items meet basic needs and are deeply anchored in people’s habits. Being able to handle and collect printed matter is highly attractive. And paper is now more alive than ever. It is therefore too shortsighted to disclaim the importance of one of the still large economic sectors just because of a few looming-recession instigated market shifts.The exciting aspect of drupa 2004 is: printing will be reinvented, so to speak. Much more printing will be done in the future than at present. On the one hand, people are concentrating on process optimization and automation to ensure this. Measuring and testing, process control and optimization, and linking up "office software" with printing technology will be very central topics at drupa 2004. Electronics and print are not rivals; a symbiosis exists. And printing is high-tech: hardly any other multifaceted sector which has been so successful for centuries is as computerized as the printing industry.A series of "new chapters" in the variety of printing possibilities will be opened at drupa. Talk will be generated by further technical developments, often the connection between paper/cardboard and electronics, the link between the office world and graphics industry, text databases and their link-up to graphic page production tools, and "on the fly" dynamic printing over networks.All of this and more belongs to future potentialities, which are so substantial overall, the outlook is by no means black for the "black art". Like its predecessors, drupa 2004 is also a product trade fair. However, more than ever before in its history, it is also an "information village". The exhibits are useful, because they occasionally make what this means visible.

The Fuzzy u-Chart for Sustainable Manufacturing in the Vietnam Textile Dyeing Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim-Phung Truong

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The inevitability of measurement errors and/or humans of subjectivity in data collection processes make accumulated data imprecise, and are thus called fuzzy data. To adapt to this fuzzy domain in a manufacturing process, a traditional u control chart for monitoring the average number of nonconformities per unit is required to extend. In this paper, we first generalize the u chart, named fuzzy u-chart, whose control limits are built on the basis of resolution identity, which is a well-known fuzzy set theory. Then, an approach to fuzzy-logic reasoning, incorporating the decision-maker’s varying levels of optimism towards the online process, is proposed to categorize the manufacturing conditions. In addition, we further develop a condition-based classification mechanism, where the process conditions can be discriminated into intermittent states between in-control and out-of-control. As anomalous conditions are monitored to some extent, this condition-based classification mechanism can provide the critical information to deliberate the cost of process intervention with respect to the gain of quality improvement. Finally, the proposed fuzzy u-chart is implemented in the Vietnam textile dyeing industry to replace its conventional u-chart. The results demonstrate that the industry can effectively evade unnecessary adjustments to its current processes; thus, the industry can substantially reduce its operational cost and potential loss.

The Hill Chart Calculation for Pelton Runner Models using the HydroHillChart - Pelton Module Software

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adelina Bostan

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The Pelton turbines industrial design is based on the hill chart characteristics obtained by measuring the models. Primary data measurements used to obtain the hill chart can be processed graphically, by hand or by using graphic programs respectively CAD programs; the HydroHillChart - Pelton module software is a specialized tool in achieving the hill chart, using interpolation cubic spline functions. Thereby, based on measurements of several models of Pelton turbines, a computerized library, used to design industrial Pelton turbines can be created. The paper presents the universal characteristics calculated by using the HydroHillChart - Pelton module software for a series of Pelton runners.

Application of Hotelling’s T{sup 2} charts in monitoring quality parameters in a drinking water supply system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Mafalda T., E-mail: mafaldatcosta@gmail.com [UAberta, Portugal and Ministry of Economy, Portuguese Government (Canada); Carolino, Elisabete, E-mail: lizcarolino@gmail.com [ESTeSL-IPL, Research Group Environment and Health of ESTeSL-IPL (Portugal); Oliveira, Teresa A., E-mail: teresa.oliveira@uab.pt [DCeT - Universidade Aberta, and Center of Statistics and Applications of University of Lisbon (Portugal)

2015-03-10

In water supply systems with distribution networkthe most critical aspects of control and Monitoring of water quality, which generates crises system, are the effects of cross-contamination originated by the network typology. The classics of control of quality systems through the application of Shewhart charts are generally difficult to manage in real time due to the high number of charts that must be completed and evaluated. As an alternative to the traditional control systems with Shewhart charts, this study aimed to apply a simplified methodology of a monitoring plan quality parameters in a drinking water distribution, by applying Hotelling’s T{sup 2} charts and supplemented with Shewhart charts with Bonferroni limits system, whenever instabilities with processes were detected.

Age and Sex Differences in Controlled Force Exertion Measured by a Computing Bar Chart Target-Pursuit System

Science.gov (United States)

Nagasawa, Yoshinori; Demura, Shinichi

2009-01-01

This study aimed to examine the age and sex differences in controlled force exertion measured by the bar chart display in 207 males (age 42.1 [plus or minus] 19.8 years) and 249 females (age 41.7 [plus or minus] 19.1 years) aged 15 to 86 years. The subjects matched their submaximal grip strength to changing demand values, which appeared as a…

Performance of risk-adjusted control charts to monitor in-hospital mortality of intensive care unit patients: A simulation study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koetsier, Antonie; de Keizer, Nicolette F.; de Jonge, Evert; Cook, David A.; Peek, Niels

2012-01-01

Objectives: Increases in case-mix adjusted mortality may be indications of decreasing quality of care. Risk-adjusted control charts can be used for in-hospital mortality monitoring in intensive care units by issuing a warning signal when there are more deaths than expected. The aim of this study was

SMART AERONAUTICAL CHART MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DESIGN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. E. Pakdil

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Civil aviation is developing rapidly, and the number of domestic and international operations is increasing exponentially every year than the previous one. Airline companies with increased air traffic and the number of passengers increase the demand of new aircrafts. An aircraft needs not only fuel but also pilot and aeronautical information (charts, digital navigation information, flight plan, and etc. to perform flight operation. One of the most important components in aeronautical information is the terminal chart. Authorized institution in every state is responsible to publish their terminal charts for certain periods. Although these charts are produced in accordance with ICAO’s Annex 4 and Annex 15, cartographic representation and page layout differs in each state’s publication. This situation makes difficult to read them by pilots. In this paper, standard instrument departure (SID charts are analysed to produce by use of cutting-edge and competitive technologies instead of classical computer-aided drawing and vector based graphic applications that are currently used by main chart producers. The goal is to design efficient and commercial chart management system that is able to produce aeronautical charts with same cartographic representation for all states.

Dental x-ray validation study: comparison of information from patient interviews and dental charts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preston-Martin, S.; Bernstein, L.; Maldonado, A.A.; Henderson, B.E.; White, S.C.

1985-01-01

Information was collected from dentists of a subset of participants in a case-control interview study conducted in Los Angeles County, California, in August 1980-August 1981 to evaluate the relationship of dental x-rays to tumors of the parotid gland. Complete dental charts were available from 142 dentists of 84 cases and from 130 dentists of 79 control. Analysis of data from these interview chart comparisons indicates that recall appears to be unbiased since the measures of agreement between interview and dental chart data are similar for cases and controls. The authors further conclude that interview data alone may be used for case-control comparisons of dental x-ray exposure and would, because of unbiased misclassification, tend to underestimate the relative risks. 12 references, 3 tables

3D Printed Multimaterial Microfluidic Valve.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven J Keating

Full Text Available We present a novel 3D printed multimaterial microfluidic proportional valve. The microfluidic valve is a fundamental primitive that enables the development of programmable, automated devices for controlling fluids in a precise manner. We discuss valve characterization results, as well as exploratory design variations in channel width, membrane thickness, and membrane stiffness. Compared to previous single material 3D printed valves that are stiff, these printed valves constrain fluidic deformation spatially, through combinations of stiff and flexible materials, to enable intricate geometries in an actuated, functionally graded device. Research presented marks a shift towards 3D printing multi-property programmable fluidic devices in a single step, in which integrated multimaterial valves can be used to control complex fluidic reactions for a variety of applications, including DNA assembly and analysis, continuous sampling and sensing, and soft robotics.

Packaging Printing Today

OpenAIRE

Stanislav Bolanča; Igor Majnarić; Kristijan Golubović

2015-01-01

Printing packaging covers today about 50% of all the printing products. Among the printing products there are printing on labels, printing on flexible packaging, printing on folding boxes, printing on the boxes of corrugated board, printing on glass packaging, synthetic and metal ones. The mentioned packaging are printed in flexo printing technique, offset printing technique, intaglio halftone process, silk – screen printing, ink ball printing, digital printing and hybrid printing process. T...

Application control chart concepts of designing a pre-alarm system in the nuclear power plant control room

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hwang, S.-L.; Lin, J.-T.; Liang, G.-F.; Yau, Y.-J.; Yenn, T.-C.; Hsu, C.-C.

2008-01-01

This study applied the concepts of the Shewhart control chart to design a pre-alarm system for the nuclear power plant control room. As a support in detecting faults, the pre-alarm system reminded the operators of a change in the system state in its early stages. Two pre-alarm types were designed to compare with the original system, and all participants were requested to monitor each simulated system under both normal and abnormal states. The tasks for the participants included shutting down the reactor, searching for procedures, monitoring system parameters and executing secondary tasks. In each trial, the task performance, mental workload and situation awareness (SA) of the participants were measured. Results indicated that participants had lower mental workload, but equal SA, when monitoring the system with either type of pre-alarm designs, and lower alarm frequency and higher secondary task performance were obtained with the pre-alarm design. Therefore, the pre-alarm system effectively assisted the operators in monitoring tasks

Print Quality of Ink Jet Printed PVC Foils

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nemanja Kašiković

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Digital printing technique is used for a wide variety of substrates, one of which are PVC foils. Samples used in this research were printed by digital ink jet printing technique using Mimaki JV22 printing machine and J-Eco Subly Nano inks. As printing substrates, two different types of materials were used (ORACAL 640 - Print Vinyl and LG Hausys LP2712. A test card consisting of fields of CMYK colours was created and printed, varying the number of ink layers applied. Samples were exposed to light after the printing process. Spectrophotometric measurements were conducted before and after the light treatment. Based on spectrophotometricaly obtained data, colour differences ΔE2000 were calculated. Results showed that increasing number of layers, as well as the right choice of substrates, can improve the behaviour of printed product during exploitation.

PACS 2000: quality control using the task allocation chart

Science.gov (United States)

Norton, Gary S.; Romlein, John R.; Lyche, David K.; Richardson, Ronald R., Jr.

2000-05-01

Medical imaging's technological evolution in the next century will continue to include Picture Archive and Communication Systems (PACS) and teleradiology. It is difficult to predict radiology's future in the new millennium with both computed radiography and direct digital capture competing as the primary image acquisition methods for routine radiography. Changes in Computed Axial Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) continue to amaze the healthcare community. No matter how the acquisition, display, and archive functions change, Quality Control (QC) of the radiographic imaging chain will remain an important step in the imaging process. The Task Allocation Chart (TAC) is a tool that can be used in a medical facility's QC process to indicate the testing responsibilities of the image stakeholders and the medical informatics department. The TAC shows a grid of equipment to be serviced, tasks to be performed, and the organization assigned to perform each task. Additionally, skills, tasks, time, and references for each task can be provided. QC of the PACS must be stressed as a primary element of a PACS' implementation. The TAC can be used to clarify responsibilities during warranty and paid maintenance periods. Establishing a TAC a part of a PACS implementation has a positive affect on patient care and clinical acceptance.

Flaw evaluation charts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korosec, D.; Vojvodic Tuma, J.

1999-01-01

The structural integrity of the primary components in pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant is very important in the respect of safe and efficient operation. These components have to be subjected to periodic controls. In the light of fracture mechanics concept, the acceptance criteria for defects (flaws) are developed. Flaw evaluation procedure is necessary, to evaluate the defects regarding their acceptability for further operation. The objective of the flaw evaluation charts is to provide a series of simple graphs as decision maps. that immediate decision may be taken regarding the acceptability of a detected defects, on the basis of ASME Code XI criteria.(author)

International chart of the nuclides. 2001

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golashvili, T.V.; Kupriyanov, V.M.; Lbov, A.A.

2002-01-01

The International Chart of Nuclides - 2001 has been developed taking into account the data obtained in 1998-2001. Unlike widespread nuclide charts the present Chart of Nuclides contains EVALUATED values of the main characteristics. These values are supplied with the standard deviations. (author)

NNDC Chart of Nuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sonzogni, A.

2008-01-01

The National Nuclear Data Center has recently developed an interactive chart of nuclides, http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/chart/, that provides nuclear structure and decay data. Since its implementation, it has proven to be one of the most popular web products. The information presented is derived from the ENSDF and Nuclear Wallet Card databases. Experimentally known nuclides are represented by a cell in chart with the number of neutrons on the horizontal axis and the number of protons on the vertical axis. The color of the cell is used to indicate the ground state half-life or the ground state predominant decay mode. (author)

Packaging Printing Today

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stanislav Bolanča

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Printing packaging covers today about 50% of all the printing products. Among the printing products there are printing on labels, printing on flexible packaging, printing on folding boxes, printing on the boxes of corrugated board, printing on glass packaging, synthetic and metal ones. The mentioned packaging are printed in flexo printing technique, offset printing technique, intaglio halftone process, silk – screen printing, ink ball printing, digital printing and hybrid printing process. The possibilities of particular printing techniques for optimal production of the determined packaging were studied in the paper. The problem was viewed from the technological and economical aspect. The possible printing quality and the time necessary for the printing realization were taken as key parameters. An important segment of the production and the way of life is alocation value and it had also found its place in this paper. The events in the field of packaging printing in the whole world were analyzed. The trends of technique developments and the printing technology for packaging printing in near future were also discussed.

Clinical 3D printing: A protected health information (PHI) and compliance perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Feldman, Henry; Kamali, Parisa; Lin, Samuel J; Halamka, John D

2018-07-01

Advanced manufacturing techniques such as 3-dimensional (3D) printing, while mature in other industries, are starting to become more commonplace in clinical care. Clinicians are producing physical objects based on patient clinical data for use in planning care and educating patients, all of which should be managed like any other healthcare system data, except it exists in the "real" world. There are currently no provisions in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) either in its original 1996 form or in more recent updates that address the nature of physical representations of clinical data. We submit that if we define the source data as protected health information (PHI), then the objects 3D printed from that data need to be treated as both (PHI), and if used clinically, part of the clinical record, and propose some basic guidelines for quality and privacy like all documentation until regulatory frameworks can catch up to this technology. Many of the mechanisms designed in the paper and film chart era will work well with 3D printed patient data. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enabling personalized implant and controllable biosystem development through 3D printing.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagarajan, Neerajha; Dupret-Bories, Agnes; Karabulut, Erdem; Zorlutuna, Pinar; Vrana, Nihal Engin

The impact of additive manufacturing in our lives has been increasing constantly. One of the frontiers in this change is the medical devices. 3D printing technologies not only enable the personalization of implantable devices with respect to patient-specific anatomy, pathology and biomechanical properties but they also provide new opportunities in related areas such as surgical education, minimally invasive diagnosis, medical research and disease models. In this review, we cover the recent clinical applications of 3D printing with a particular focus on implantable devices. The current technical bottlenecks in 3D printing in view of the needs in clinical applications are explained and recent advances to overcome these challenges are presented. 3D printing with cells (bioprinting); an exciting subfield of 3D printing, is covered in the context of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine and current developments in bioinks are discussed. Also emerging applications of bioprinting beyond health, such as biorobotics and soft robotics, are introduced. As the technical challenges related to printing rate, precision and cost are steadily being solved, it can be envisioned that 3D printers will become common on-site instruments in medical practice with the possibility of custom-made, on-demand implants and, eventually, tissue engineered organs with active parts developed with biorobotics techniques. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Application of T2 Control Charts and Hidden Markov Models in Condition-Based Maintenance at Thermoelectric Power Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilija Kisić

2015-01-01

Full Text Available An innovative approach to condition-based maintenance of coal grinding subsystems at thermoelectric power plants is proposed in the paper. Coal mill grinding tables become worn over time and need to be replaced through time-based maintenance, after a certain number of service hours. At times such replacement is necessary earlier or later than prescribed, depending on the quality of the coal and of the grinding table itself. Considerable financial losses are incurred when the entire coal grinding subsystem is shut down and the grinding table found to not actually require replacement. The only way to determine whether replacement is necessary is to shut down and open the entire subsystem for visual inspection. The proposed algorithm supports condition-based maintenance and involves the application of T2 control charts to distinct acoustic signal parameters in the frequency domain and the construction of Hidden Markov Models whose observations are coded samples from the control charts. In the present research, the acoustic signals were collected by coal mill monitoring at the thermoelectric power plant “Kostolac” in Serbia. The proposed approach provides information about the current condition of the grinding table.

de Sitter relativity in static charts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cotaescu, Ion I. [West University of Timisoara, Timisoara (Romania)

2018-02-15

The relative geodesic motion in static (and spherically symmetric) local charts on the (1 + 3)-dimensional de Sitter spacetimes is studied in terms of conserved quantities. The Lorentzian isometries are derived, relating the coordinates of the local chart of a fixed observer with the coordinates of a mobile chart considered as the rest frame of a massive particle freely moving on a timelike geodesic. The time dilation and Lorentz contraction are discussed pointing out some notable features of the de Sitter relativity in static charts. (orig.)

Improved binomial charts for high-quality processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Albers, Willem/Wim

For processes concerning attribute data with (very) small failure rate p, often negative binomial control charts are used. The decision whether to stop or continue is made each time r failures have occurred, for some r≥1. Finding the optimal r for detecting a given increase of p first requires

Digital Printing Quality Detection and Analysis Technology Based on CCD

Science.gov (United States)

He, Ming; Zheng, Liping

2017-12-01

With the help of CCD digital printing quality detection and analysis technology, it can carry out rapid evaluation and objective detection of printing quality, and can play a certain control effect on printing quality. It can be said CDD digital printing quality testing and analysis of the rational application of technology, its digital printing and printing materials for a variety of printing equipments to improve the quality of a very positive role. In this paper, we do an in-depth study and discussion based on the CCD digital print quality testing and analysis technology.

A randomised multicentre trial of CHART versus conventional radiotherapy in head and neck cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dische, Stanley; Saunders, Michele; Barrett, Ann; Harvey, Angela; Gibson, Della; Parmar, Mahesh

1997-01-01

Background and purpose: Continuous, hyperfractionated, accelerated radiotherapy (CHART) has shown promise of improved tumour control and reduced late morbidity in pilot studies and has now been tested in a multicentre randomised controlled clinical trial. Material and methods: Patients with squamous cell cancer in the main sites within the head and neck region with the general exception of early T1 N0 tumours were entered into the study by 11 centres. There was a 3:2 randomisation to either CHART, where a dose of 54 Gy was given in 36 fractions over 12 days, or to conventional therapy where 66 Gy was given in 33 fractions over 6.5 weeks. A total of 918 patients were included over a 5 year period from March 1990. Results: Acute Morbidity: Acute radiation mucositis was more severe with CHART, occurred earlier but settled sooner and was in nearly all cases healed by 8 weeks in both arms. Skin reactions were less severe and settled more quickly in the CHART treated patients. Tumour control and survival: Life table analyses of loco-regional control, primary tumour control, nodal control, disease-free interval, freedom from metastasis and survival showed no evidence of differences between the two arms. In exploratory subgroup analyses there was evidence of a greater response to CHART in younger patients (P = 0.041) and poorly differentiated tumours appeared to fare better with conventional radiotherapy (P = 0.030). In the larynx there was evidence of a trend towards increasing benefit with more advanced T stage (P = 0.002). Late treatment related morbidity: Osteoradionecrosis occurred in 0.4% of patients after CHART and 1.4% of patients after conventional radiotherapy. The incidence of chondritis or cartilage necrosis was similar in both arms. Life table analysis showed evidence of reduced severity in a number of late morbidities in favour of CHART. These were most striking for skin telangiectasia, superficial and deep ulceration of the mucosa and laryngeal oedema

Software tool for physics chart checks.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, H Harold; Wu, Yu; Yang, Deshan; Mutic, Sasa

2014-01-01

Physics chart check has long been a central quality assurance (QC) measure in radiation oncology. The purpose of this work is to describe a software tool that aims to accomplish simplification, standardization, automation, and forced functions in the process. Nationally recognized guidelines, including American College of Radiology and American Society for Radiation Oncology guidelines and technical standards, and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Task Group reports were identified, studied, and summarized. Meanwhile, the reported events related to physics chart check service were analyzed using an event reporting and learning system. A number of shortfalls in the chart check process were identified. To address these problems, a software tool was designed and developed under Microsoft. Net in C# to hardwire as many components as possible at each stage of the process. The software consists of the following 4 independent modules: (1) chart check management; (2) pretreatment and during treatment chart check assistant; (3) posttreatment chart check assistant; and (4) quarterly peer-review management. The users were a large group of physicists in the author's radiation oncology clinic. During over 1 year of use the tool has proven very helpful in chart checking management, communication, documentation, and maintaining consistency. The software tool presented in this work aims to assist physicists at each stage of the physics chart check process. The software tool is potentially useful for any radiation oncology clinics that are either in the process of pursuing or maintaining the American College of Radiology accreditation.

Percentiles of the run-length distribution of the Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) median chart

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, K. L.; Chong, Z. L.; Khoo, M. B. C.; Teoh, W. L.; Teh, S. Y.

2017-09-01

Quality control is crucial in a wide variety of fields, as it can help to satisfy customers’ needs and requirements by enhancing and improving the products and services to a superior quality level. The EWMA median chart was proposed as a useful alternative to the EWMA \\bar{X} chart because the median-type chart is robust against contamination, outliers or small deviation from the normality assumption compared to the traditional \\bar{X}-type chart. To provide a complete understanding of the run-length distribution, the percentiles of the run-length distribution should be investigated rather than depending solely on the average run length (ARL) performance measure. This is because interpretation depending on the ARL alone can be misleading, as the process mean shifts change according to the skewness and shape of the run-length distribution, varying from almost symmetric when the magnitude of the mean shift is large, to highly right-skewed when the process is in-control (IC) or slightly out-of-control (OOC). Before computing the percentiles of the run-length distribution, optimal parameters of the EWMA median chart will be obtained by minimizing the OOC ARL, while retaining the IC ARL at a desired value.

Inkjet-Printed Lithium-Sulfur Microcathodes for All-Printed, Integrated Nanomanufacturing.

Science.gov (United States)

Milroy, Craig A; Jang, Seonpil; Fujimori, Toshihiko; Dodabalapur, Ananth; Manthiram, Arumugam

2017-03-01

Improved thin-film microbatteries are needed to provide appropriate energy-storage options to power the multitude of devices that will bring the proposed "Internet of Things" network to fruition (e.g., active radio-frequency identification tags and microcontrollers for wearable and implantable devices). Although impressive efforts have been made to improve the energy density of 3D microbatteries, they have all used low energy-density lithium-ion chemistries, which present a fundamental barrier to miniaturization. In addition, they require complicated microfabrication processes that hinder cost-competitiveness. Here, inkjet-printed lithium-sulfur (Li-S) cathodes for integrated nanomanufacturing are reported. Single-wall carbon nanotubes infused with electronically conductive straight-chain sulfur (S@SWNT) are adopted as an integrated current-collector/active-material composite, and inkjet printing as a top-down approach to achieve thin-film shape control over printed electrode dimensions is used. The novel Li-S cathodes may be directly printed on traditional microelectronic semicoductor substrates (e.g., SiO 2 ) or on flexible aluminum foil. Profilometry indicates that these microelectrodes are less than 10 µm thick, while cyclic voltammetry analyses show that the S@SWNT possesses pseudocapacitive characteristics and corroborates a previous study suggesting the S@SWNT discharge via a purely solid-state mechanism. The printed electrodes produce ≈800 mAh g -1 S initially and ≈700 mAh g -1 after 100 charge/discharge cycles at C/2 rate. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Structural Color Patterns by Electrohydrodynamic Jet Printed Photonic Crystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Haibo; Zhu, Cun; Tian, Lei; Liu, Cihui; Fu, Guangbin; Shang, Luoran; Gu, Zhongze

2017-04-05

In this work, we demonstrate the fabrication of photonic crystal patterns with controllable morphologies and structural colors utilizing electrohydrodynamic jet (E-jet) printing with colloidal crystal inks. The final shape of photonic crystal units is controlled by the applied voltage signal and wettability of the substrate. Optical properties of the structural color patterns are tuned by the self-assembly of the silica nanoparticle building blocks. Using this direct printing technique, it is feasible to print customized functional patterns composed of photonic crystal dots or photonic crystal lines according to relevant printing mode and predesigned tracks. This is the first report for E-jet printing with colloidal crystal inks. Our results exhibit promising applications in displays, biosensors, and other functional devices.

Weighing Rain Gauge Recording Charts

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Weighing rain gauge charts record the amount of precipitation that falls at a given location. The vast majority of the Weighing Rain Gauge Recording Charts...

Multimaterial magnetically assisted 3D printing of composite materials

Science.gov (United States)

Kokkinis, Dimitri; Schaffner, Manuel; Studart, André R.

2015-10-01

3D printing has become commonplace for the manufacturing of objects with unusual geometries. Recent developments that enabled printing of multiple materials indicate that the technology can potentially offer a much wider design space beyond unusual shaping. Here we show that a new dimension in this design space can be exploited through the control of the orientation of anisotropic particles used as building blocks during a direct ink-writing process. Particle orientation control is demonstrated by applying low magnetic fields on deposited inks pre-loaded with magnetized stiff platelets. Multimaterial dispensers and a two-component mixing unit provide additional control over the local composition of the printed material. The five-dimensional design space covered by the proposed multimaterial magnetically assisted 3D printing platform (MM-3D printing) opens the way towards the manufacturing of functional heterogeneous materials with exquisite microstructural features thus far only accessible by biological materials grown in nature.

NOAA Raster Navigational Charts (RNC)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NOAA, National Ocean Service, Office of Coast Survey, Marine Chart Division is responsible to build and maintain a suite of more than 1000 nautical charts that are...

Construction and validation of a Tamil logMAR chart.

Science.gov (United States)

Varadharajan, Srinivasa; Srinivasan, Krithica; Kumaresan, Brindha

2009-09-01

To design, construct and validate a new Tamil logMAR visual acuity chart based on current recommendations. Ten Tamil letters of equal legibility were identified experimentally and were used in the chart. Two charts, one internally illuminated and one externally illuminated, were constructed for testing at 4 m distance. The repeatability of the two charts was tested. For validation, the two charts were compared with a standard English logMAR chart (ETDRS). When compared to the ETDRS chart, a difference of 0.06 +/- 0.07 and 0.07 +/- 0.07 logMAR was found for the internally and externally illuminated charts respectively. Limits of agreement between the internally illuminated Tamil logMAR chart and ETDRS chart were found to be (-0.08, 0.19), and (-0.07, 0.20) for the externally illuminated chart. The test - retest results showed a difference of 0.02 +/- 0.04 and 0.02 +/- 0.06 logMAR for the internally and externally illuminated charts respectively. Limits of agreement for repeated measurements for the internally illuminated Tamil logMAR chart were found to be (-0.06, 0.10), and (-0.10, 0.14) for the externally illuminated chart. The newly constructed Tamil logMAR charts have good repeatability. The difference in visual acuity scores between the newly constructed Tamil logMAR chart and the standard English logMAR chart was within acceptable limits. This new chart can be used for measuring visual acuity in the literate Tamil population.

Chart Series

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) offers several different Chart Series with data on beneficiary health status, spending, operations, and quality...

3D Printing the Complete CubeSat

Science.gov (United States)

Kief, Craig

2015-01-01

The 3D Printing the Complete CubeSat project is designed to advance the state-of-the-art in 3D printing for CubeSat applications. Printing in 3D has the potential to increase reliability, reduce design iteration time and provide greater design flexibility in the areas of radiation mitigation, communications, propulsion, and wiring, among others. This project is investigating the possibility of including propulsion systems into the design of printed CubeSat components. One such concept, an embedded micro pulsed plasma thruster (mPPT), could provide auxiliary reaction control propulsion for a spacecraft as a means to desaturate momentum wheels.

Independent Pre-Transplant Recipient Cancer Risk Factors after Kidney Transplantation and the Utility of G-Chart Analysis for Clinical Process Control.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harald Schrem

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to identify independent pre-transplant cancer risk factors after kidney transplantation and to assess the utility of G-chart analysis for clinical process control. This may contribute to the improvement of cancer surveillance processes in individual transplant centers.1655 patients after kidney transplantation at our institution with a total of 9,425 person-years of follow-up were compared retrospectively to the general German population using site-specific standardized-incidence-ratios (SIRs of observed malignancies. Risk-adjusted multivariable Cox regression was used to identify independent pre-transplant cancer risk factors. G-chart analysis was applied to determine relevant differences in the frequency of cancer occurrences.Cancer incidence rates were almost three times higher as compared to the matched general population (SIR = 2.75; 95%-CI: 2.33-3.21. Significantly increased SIRs were observed for renal cell carcinoma (SIR = 22.46, post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (SIR = 8.36, prostate cancer (SIR = 2.22, bladder cancer (SIR = 3.24, thyroid cancer (SIR = 10.13 and melanoma (SIR = 3.08. Independent pre-transplant risk factors for cancer-free survival were age 62.6 years (p = 0.001, HR: 1.29, polycystic kidney disease other than autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD (p = 0.001, HR: 0.68, high body mass index in kg/m2 (p<0.001, HR: 1.04, ADPKD (p = 0.008, HR: 1.26 and diabetic nephropathy (p = 0.004, HR = 1.51. G-chart analysis identified relevant changes in the detection rates of cancer during aftercare with no significant relation to identified risk factors for cancer-free survival (p<0.05.Risk-adapted cancer surveillance combined with prospective G-chart analysis likely improves cancer surveillance schemes by adapting processes to identified risk factors and by using G-chart alarm signals to trigger Kaizen events and audits for root-cause analysis of relevant detection rate changes

Is a Three-Dimensional Printing Model Better Than a Traditional Cardiac Model for Medical Education? A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhongmin; Liu, Yuhao; Luo, Hongxing; Gao, Chuanyu; Zhang, Jing; Dai, Yuya

2017-11-01

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a newly-emerged technology converting a series of two-dimensional images to a touchable 3D model, but no studies have investigated whether or not a 3D printing model is better than a traditional cardiac model for medical education. A 3D printing cardiac model was generated using multi-slice computed tomography datasets. Thirty-four medical students were randomized to either the 3D Printing Group taught with the aid of a 3D printing cardiac model or the Traditional Model Group with a commonly used plastic cardiac model. Questionnaires with 10 medical questions and 3 evaluative questions were filled in by the students. A 3D printing cardiac model was successfully generated. Students in the 3D Printing Group were slightly quicker to answer all questions when compared with the Traditional Model Group (224.53 ± 44.13 s vs. 238.71 ± 68.46 s, p = 0.09), but the total score was not significantly different (6.24 ± 1.30 vs. 7.18 ± 1.70, p = 0.12). Neither the students'satisfaction (p = 0.48) nor their understanding of cardiac structures (p = 0.24) was significantly different between two groups. More students in the 3D Printing Group believed that they had understood at least 90% of teaching content (6 vs. 1). Both groups had 12 (70.6%) students who preferred a 3D printing model for medical education. A 3D printing model was not significantly superior to a traditional model in teaching cardiac diseases in our pilot randomized controlled study, yet more studies may be conducted to validate the real effect of 3D printing on medical education.

Radar Chart

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Radar Chart collection is an archived product of summarized radar data. The geographic coverage is the 48 contiguous states of the United States. These hourly...

Seasonal ARMA-based SPC charts for anomaly detection: Application to emergency department systems

KAUST Repository

Kadri, Farid; Harrou, Fouzi; Chaabane, Sondè s; Sun, Ying; Tahon, Christian

2015-01-01

Monitoring complex production systems is primordial to ensure management, reliability and safety as well as maintaining the desired product quality. Early detection of emergent abnormal behaviour in monitored systems allows pre-emptive action to prevent more serious consequences, to improve system operations and to reduce manufacturing and/or service costs. This study reports the design of a new methodology for the detection of abnormal situations based on the integration of time-series analysis models and statistical process control (SPC) tools for the joint development of a monitoring system to help supervising of the behaviour of emergency department services (EDs). The monitoring system developed is able to provide early alerts in the event of abnormal situations. The seasonal autoregressive moving average (SARMA)-based exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) anomaly detection scheme proposed was successfully applied to the practical data collected from the database of the paediatric emergency department (PED) at Lille regional hospital centre, France. The method developed utilizes SARMA as a modelling framework and EWMA for anomaly detection. The EWMA control chart is applied to the uncorrelated residuals obtained from the SARMA model. The detection results of the EWMA chart are compared with two other commonly applied residual-based tests: a Shewhart individuals chart and a Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) control chart.

Seasonal ARMA-based SPC charts for anomaly detection: Application to emergency department systems

KAUST Repository

Kadri, Farid

2015-10-22

Monitoring complex production systems is primordial to ensure management, reliability and safety as well as maintaining the desired product quality. Early detection of emergent abnormal behaviour in monitored systems allows pre-emptive action to prevent more serious consequences, to improve system operations and to reduce manufacturing and/or service costs. This study reports the design of a new methodology for the detection of abnormal situations based on the integration of time-series analysis models and statistical process control (SPC) tools for the joint development of a monitoring system to help supervising of the behaviour of emergency department services (EDs). The monitoring system developed is able to provide early alerts in the event of abnormal situations. The seasonal autoregressive moving average (SARMA)-based exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) anomaly detection scheme proposed was successfully applied to the practical data collected from the database of the paediatric emergency department (PED) at Lille regional hospital centre, France. The method developed utilizes SARMA as a modelling framework and EWMA for anomaly detection. The EWMA control chart is applied to the uncorrelated residuals obtained from the SARMA model. The detection results of the EWMA chart are compared with two other commonly applied residual-based tests: a Shewhart individuals chart and a Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) control chart.

JDATAVIEWER – JAVA-Based Charting Library

CERN Document Server

Kruk, G

2009-01-01

The JDataViewer is a Java-based charting library developed at CERN, with powerful, extensible and easy to use function editing capabilities. Function edition is heavily used in Control System applications, but poorly supported in products available on the market. The JDataViewer enables adding, removing and modifying function points graphically (using a mouse) or by editing a table of values. Custom edition strategies are supported: developer can specify an algorithm that reacts to the modification of a given point in the function by automatically adapting all other points. The library provides all typical 2D plotting types (scatter, polyline, area, bar, HiLo, contour), as well as data point annotations and data indicators. It also supports common interactors to zoom and move the visible view, or to select and highlight function segments. A clear API is provided to configure and customize all chart elements (colors, fonts, data ranges ...) programmatically, and to integrate non-standard rendering types, inter...

Research and realization of ten-print data quality control techniques for imperial scale automated fingerprint identification system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qian Wang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available As the first individualization-information processing equipment put into practical service worldwide, Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS has always been regarded as the first choice in individualization of criminal suspects or those who died in mass disasters. By integrating data within the existing regional large-scale AFIS database, many countries are constructing an ultra large state-of-the-art AFIS (or Imperial Scale AFIS system. Therefore, it is very important to develop a series of ten-print data quality controlling process for this system of this type, which would insure a substantial matching efficiency, as the pouring data come into this imperial scale being. As the image quality of ten-print data is closely relevant to AFIS matching proficiency, a lot of police departments have allocated huge amount of human and financial resources over this issue by carrying out manual verification works for years. Unfortunately, quality control method above is always proved to be inadequate because it is an astronomical task involved, in which it has always been problematic and less affiant for potential errors. Hence, we will implement quality control in the above procedure with supplementary-acquisition effect caused by the delay of feedback instructions sent from the human verification teams. In this article, a series of fingerprint image quality supervising techniques has been put forward, which makes it possible for computer programs to supervise the ten-print image quality in real-time and more accurate manner as substitute for traditional manual verifications. Besides its prominent advantages in the human and financial expenditures, it has also been proved to obviously improve the image quality of the AFIS ten-print database, which leads up to a dramatic improvement in the AFIS-matching accuracy as well.

Italian cardiovascular mortality charts of the CUORE project: are they comparable with the SCORE charts?

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Donfrancesco, Chiara

2010-08-01

The aim of this study was to build risk charts for the assessment of cardiovascular mortality of the CUORE project, an Italian longitudinal study, and to compare them with the systematic coronary risk evaluation (SCORE) project charts for low risk European countries.

3D Printing device adaptable to Computer Numerical Control (CNC)

OpenAIRE

GARDAN , Julien; Danesi , F.; Roucoules , Lionel; Schneider , A.

2014-01-01

This article presents the development of a 3D printing device for the additive manufacturing adapted to a CNC machining. The application involves the integration of a specific printing head. Additive manufacturing technology is most commonly used for modeling, prototyping, tooling through an exclusive machine or 3D printer. A global review and analysis of technologies show the additive manufacturing presents little independent solutions [6][9]. The problem studied especially the additive manu...

Growth charts of human development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Buuren, Stef

2014-01-01

This article reviews and compares two types of growth charts for tracking human development over age. Both charts assume the existence of a continuous latent variable, but relate to the observed data in different ways. The D-score diagram summarizes developmental indicators into a single aggregate

The Conjugate Acid-Base Chart.

Science.gov (United States)

Treptow, Richard S.

1986-01-01

Discusses the difficulties that beginning chemistry students have in understanding acid-base chemistry. Describes the use of conjugate acid-base charts in helping students visualize the conjugate relationship. Addresses chart construction, metal ions, buffers and pH titrations, and the organic functional groups and nonaqueous solvents. (TW)

Influence of cell printing on biological characters of chondrocytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Qu, Miao; Gao, Xiaoyan; Hou, Yikang; Shen, Congcong; Xu, Yourong; Zhu, Ming; Wang, Hengjian; Xu, Haisong; Chai, Gang; Zhang, Yan

2015-01-01

To establish a two-dimensional biological printing technique of chondrocytes and compare the difference of related biological characters between printed chondrocytes and unprinted cells so as to control the cell transfer process and keep cell viability after printing. Primary chondrocytes were obtained from human mature and fetal cartilage tissues and then were regularly sub-cultured to harvest cells at passage 2 (P2), which were adjusted to the single cell suspension at a density of 1×10(6)/mL. The experiment was divided into 2 groups: experimental group P2 chondrocytes were transferred by rapid prototype biological printer (driving voltage value 50 V, interval in x-axis 300 μm, interval in y-axis 1500 μm). Afterwards Live/Dead viability Kit and flow cytometry were respectively adopted to detect cell viability; CCK-8 Kit was adopted to detect cell proliferation viability; immunocytochemistry, immunofluorescence and RT-PCR was employed to identify related markers of chondrocytes; control group steps were the same as the printing group except that cell suspension received no printing. Fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry analyses showed that there was no significant difference between experimental group and control group in terms of cell viability. After 7-day in vitro culture, control group exhibited higher O.D values than experimental group from 2nd day to 7th day but there was no distinct difference between these two groups (P>0.05). Inverted microscope observation demonstrated that the morphology of these two groups had no significant difference either. Similarly, Immunocytochemistry, immunofluorescence and RT-PCR assays also showed that there was no significant difference in the protein and gene expression of type II collagen and aggrecan between these two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion Cell printing has no distinctly negative effect on cell vitality, proliferation and phenotype of chondrocytes. Biological printing technique may provide a novel approach

Inkjet-Printed Biofunctional Thermo-Plasmonic Interfaces for Patterned Neuromodulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Hongki; Lee, Gu-Haeng; Jung, Hyunjun; Lee, Jee Woong; Nam, Yoonkey

2018-02-27

Localized heat generation by the thermo-plasmonic effect of metal nanoparticles has great potential in biomedical engineering research. Precise patterning of the nanoparticles using inkjet printing can enable the application of the thermo-plasmonic effect in a well-controlled way (shape and intensity). However, a universally applicable inkjet printing process that allows good control in patterning and assembly of nanoparticles with good biocompatibility is missing. Here we developed inkjet-printing-based biofunctional thermo-plasmonic interfaces that can modulate biological activities. We found that inkjet printing of plasmonic nanoparticles on a polyelectrolyte layer-by-layer substrate coating enables high-quality, biocompatible thermo-plasmonic interfaces across various substrates (rigid/flexible, hydrophobic/hydrophilic) by induced contact line pinning and electrostatically assisted nanoparticle assembly. We experimentally confirmed that the generated heat from the inkjet-printed thermo-plasmonic patterns can be applied in micrometer resolution over a large area. Lastly, we demonstrated that the patterned thermo-plasmonic effect from the inkjet-printed gold nanorods can selectively modulate neuronal network activities. This inkjet printing process therefore can be a universal method for biofunctional thermo-plasmonic interfaces in various bioengineering applications.

Digital Textile Printing

OpenAIRE

Moltchanova, Julia

2011-01-01

Rapidly evolving technology of digital printing opens new opportunities on many markets. One of them is the printed fabric market where printing companies as well as clients benefit from new printing methods. This thesis focuses on the digital textile printing technology and its implementation for fabric-on-demand printing service in Finland. The purpose of this project was to study the technology behind digital textile printing, areas of application of this technology, the requirements ...

Indirect X-ray Detectors Based on Inkjet-Printed Photodetectors with a Screen-Printed Scintillator Layer.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Juliana; Correia, Vitor; Sowade, Enrico; Etxebarria, Ikerne; Rodriguez, Raul D; Mitra, Kalyan Y; Baumann, Reinhard R; Lanceros-Mendez, Senentxu

2018-04-18

Organic photodetectors (PDs) based on printing technologies will allow to expand the current field of PD applications toward large-area and flexible applications in areas such as medical imaging, security, and quality control, among others. Inkjet printing is a powerful digital tool for the deposition of smart and functional materials on various substrates, allowing the development of electronic devices such as PDs on various substrates. In this work, inkjet-printed PD arrays, based on the organic thin-film transistor architecture, have been developed and applied for the indirect detection of X-ray radiation using a scintillator ink as an X-ray absorber. The >90% increase of the photocurrent of the PDs under X-ray radiation, from about 53 nA without the scintillator film to about 102 nA with the scintillator located on top of the PD, proves the suitability of the developed printed device for X-ray detection applications.

3D Printing of Carbon Nanotubes-Based Microsupercapacitors.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Wei; Zhou, Han; Li, Ben Q; Ding, Shujiang

2017-02-08

A novel 3D printing procedure is presented for fabricating carbon-nanotubes (CNTs)-based microsupercapacitors. The 3D printer uses a CNTs ink slurry with a moderate solid content and prints a stream of continuous droplets. Appropriate control of a heated base is applied to facilitate the solvent removal and adhesion between printed layers and to improve the structure integrity without structure delamination or distortion upon drying. The 3D-printed electrodes for microsupercapacitors are characterized by SEM, laser scanning confocal microscope, and step profiler. Effect of process parameters on 3D printing is also studied. The final solid-state microsupercapacitors are assembled with the printed multilayer CNTs structures and poly(vinyl alcohol)-H 3 PO 4 gel as the interdigitated microelectrodes and electrolyte. The electrochemical performance of 3D printed microsupercapacitors is also tested, showing a significant areal capacitance and excellent cycle stability.

High-resolution direct 3D printed PLGA scaffolds: print and shrink

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chia, Helena N; Wu, Benjamin M

2015-01-01

Direct three-dimensional printing (3DP) produces the final part composed of the powder and binder used in fabrication. An advantage of direct 3DP is control over both the microarchitecture and macroarchitecture. Prints which use porogen incorporated in the powder result in high pore interconnectivity, uniform porosity, and defined pore size after leaching. The main limitations of direct 3DP for synthetic polymers are the use of organic solvents which can dissolve polymers used in most printheads and limited resolution due to unavoidable spreading of the binder droplet after contact with the powder. This study describes a materials processing strategy to eliminate the use of organic solvent during the printing process and to improve 3DP resolution by shrinking with a non-solvent plasticizer. Briefly, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) powder was prepared by emulsion solvent evaporation to form polymer microparticles. The printing powder was composed of polymer microparticles dry mixed with sucrose particles. After printing with a water-based liquid binder, the polymer microparticles were fused together to form a network by solvent vapor in an enclosed vessel. The sucrose is removed by leaching and the resulting scaffold is placed in a solution of methanol. The methanol acts as a non-solvent plasticizer and allows for polymer chain rearrangement and efficient packing of polymer chains. The resulting volumetric shrinkage is ∼80% at 90% methanol. A complex shape (honey-comb) was designed, printed, and shrunken to demonstrate isotropic shrinking with the ability to reach a final resolution of ∼400 μm. The effect of type of alcohol (i.e. methanol or ethanol), concentration of alcohol, and temperature on volumetric shrinking was studied. This study presents a novel materials processing strategy to overcome the main limitations of direct 3DP to produce high resolution PLGA scaffolds. (paper)

High-resolution direct 3D printed PLGA scaffolds: print and shrink.

Science.gov (United States)

Chia, Helena N; Wu, Benjamin M

2014-12-17

Direct three-dimensional printing (3DP) produces the final part composed of the powder and binder used in fabrication. An advantage of direct 3DP is control over both the microarchitecture and macroarchitecture. Prints which use porogen incorporated in the powder result in high pore interconnectivity, uniform porosity, and defined pore size after leaching. The main limitations of direct 3DP for synthetic polymers are the use of organic solvents which can dissolve polymers used in most printheads and limited resolution due to unavoidable spreading of the binder droplet after contact with the powder. This study describes a materials processing strategy to eliminate the use of organic solvent during the printing process and to improve 3DP resolution by shrinking with a non-solvent plasticizer. Briefly, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) powder was prepared by emulsion solvent evaporation to form polymer microparticles. The printing powder was composed of polymer microparticles dry mixed with sucrose particles. After printing with a water-based liquid binder, the polymer microparticles were fused together to form a network by solvent vapor in an enclosed vessel. The sucrose is removed by leaching and the resulting scaffold is placed in a solution of methanol. The methanol acts as a non-solvent plasticizer and allows for polymer chain rearrangement and efficient packing of polymer chains. The resulting volumetric shrinkage is ∼80% at 90% methanol. A complex shape (honey-comb) was designed, printed, and shrunken to demonstrate isotropic shrinking with the ability to reach a final resolution of ∼400 μm. The effect of type of alcohol (i.e. methanol or ethanol), concentration of alcohol, and temperature on volumetric shrinking was studied. This study presents a novel materials processing strategy to overcome the main limitations of direct 3DP to produce high resolution PLGA scaffolds.

Improved binomial charts for monitoring high-quality processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Albers, Willem/Wim

2009-01-01

For processes concerning attribute data with (very) small failure rate p, often negative binomial control charts are used. The decision whether to stop or continue is made each time r failures have occurred, for some r≥1. Finding the optimal r for detecting a given increase of p first requires

A laser printing based approach for printed electronics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, T.; Hu, M.; Guo, Q.; Zhang, W.; Yang, J., E-mail: jyang@eng.uwo.ca [Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Western University, London N6A 3K7 (Canada); Liu, Y.; Lau, W. [Chengdu Green Energy and Green Manufacturing Technology R& D Center, 355 Tengfei Road, 620107 Chengdu (China); Wang, X. [Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Western University, London N6A 3K7 (Canada); Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China)

2016-03-07

Here we report a study of printing of electronics using an office use laser printer. The proposed method eliminates those critical disadvantages of solvent-based printing techniques by taking the advantages of electroless deposition and laser printing. The synthesized toner acts as a catalyst for the electroless copper deposition as well as an adhesion-promoting buffer layer between the substrate and deposited copper. The easy metallization of printed patterns and strong metal-substrate adhesion make it an especially effective method for massive production of flexible printed circuits. The proposed process is a high throughput, low cost, efficient, and environmentally benign method for flexible electronics manufacturing.

A laser printing based approach for printed electronics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, T.; Hu, M.; Guo, Q.; Zhang, W.; Yang, J.; Liu, Y.; Lau, W.; Wang, X.

2016-01-01

Here we report a study of printing of electronics using an office use laser printer. The proposed method eliminates those critical disadvantages of solvent-based printing techniques by taking the advantages of electroless deposition and laser printing. The synthesized toner acts as a catalyst for the electroless copper deposition as well as an adhesion-promoting buffer layer between the substrate and deposited copper. The easy metallization of printed patterns and strong metal-substrate adhesion make it an especially effective method for massive production of flexible printed circuits. The proposed process is a high throughput, low cost, efficient, and environmentally benign method for flexible electronics manufacturing.

3D printed e-tongue

Science.gov (United States)

Gaál, Gabriel; da Silva, Tatiana A.; Gaál, Vladimir; Hensel, Rafael C.; Amaral, Lucas R.; Rodrigues, Varlei; Riul, Antonio

2018-05-01

Nowadays, one of the biggest issues addressed to electronic sensor fabrication is the build-up of efficient electrodes as an alternative way to the expensive, complex and multistage processes required by traditional techniques. Printed electronics arises as an interesting alternative to fulfill this task due to the simplicity and speed to stamp electrodes on various surfaces. Within this context, the Fused Deposition Modeling 3D printing is an emerging, cost-effective and alternative technology to fabricate complex structures that potentiates several fields with more creative ideas and new materials for a rapid prototyping of devices. We show here the fabrication of interdigitated electrodes using a standard home-made CoreXY 3D printer using transparent and graphene-based PLA filaments. Macro 3D printed electrodes were easily assembled within 6 minutes with outstanding reproducibility. The electrodes were also functionalized with different nanostructured thin films via dip-coating Layer-by-Layer technique to develop a 3D printed e-tongue setup. As a proof of concept, the printed e-tongue was applied to soil analysis. A control soil sample was enriched with several macro-nutrients to the plants (N, P, K, S, Mg and Ca) and the discrimination was done by electrical impedance spectroscopy of water solution of the soil samples. The data was analyzed by Principal Component Analysis and the 3D printed sensor distinguished clearly all enriched samples despite the complexity of the soil chemical composition. The 3D printed e-tongue successfully used in soil analysis encourages further investments in developing new sensory tools for precision agriculture and other fields exploiting the simplicity and flexibility offered by the 3D printing techniques.

Desktop 3D printing of controlled release pharmaceutical bilayer tablets.

Science.gov (United States)

Khaled, Shaban A; Burley, Jonathan C; Alexander, Morgan R; Roberts, Clive J

2014-01-30

Three dimensional (3D) printing was used as a novel medicine formulation technique for production of viable tablets capable of satisfying regulatory tests and matching the release of standard commercial tablets. Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC 2208) (Methocel™ K100M Premium) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) (Carbopol(®) 974P NF) were used as a hydrophilic matrix for a sustained release (SR) layer. Hypromellose(®) (HPMC 2910) was used as a binder while microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) (Pharmacel(®) 102) and sodium starch glycolate (SSG) (Primojel(®)) were used as disintegrants for an immediate release (IR) layer. Commercial guaifenesin bi-layer tablets (GBT) were used as a model drug (Mucinex(®)) for this study. There was a favourable comparison of release of the active guaifenesin from the printed hydrophilic matrix compared with the commercially available GBT. The printed formulations were also evaluated for physical and mechanical properties such as weight variation, friability, hardness and thickness as a comparison to the commercial tablet and were within acceptable range as defined by the international standards stated in the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP). All formulations (standard tablets and 3D printed tablets) showed Korsmeyer-Peppas n values between 0.27 and 0.44 which indicates Fickian diffusion drug release through a hydrated HPMC gel layer. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sticker charts: a method for improving adherence to treatment of chronic diseases in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Luersen, Kara; Davis, Scott A; Kaplan, Sebastian G; Abel, Troy D; Winchester, Woodrow W; Feldman, Steven R

2012-01-01

Poor adherence is a common problem and may be an underlying cause of poor clinical outcomes. In pediatric populations, positive reinforcement techniques such as sticker charts may increase motivation to adhere to treatment regimens. To review the use of sticker charts to improve adherence in children with chronic disease, Medline and PsycINFO searches were conducted using the key words "positive reinforcement OR behavior therapy" and "adherence OR patient compliance" and "child." Randomized controlled retrospective cohort or single-subject-design studies were selected. Studies reporting adherence to the medical treatment of chronic disease in children using positive reinforcement techniques were included in the analysis. The systematic search was supplemented by identifying additional studies identified through the reference lists and authors of the initial articles found. Positive reinforcement techniques such as sticker charts increase adherence to medical treatment regimens. In several studies, this effect was maintained for months after the initial intervention. Better adherence correlated with better clinical outcomes in some, but not all, studies. Few studies examining the use of sticker charts were identified. Although single-subject-design studies are useful in establishing the effect of a behavioral intervention, larger randomized controlled trials would help determine the precise efficacy of sticker chart interventions. Adherence to medical treatments in children can be increased using sticker charts or other positive reinforcement techniques. This may be an effective means to encourage children with atopic dermatitis to apply their medications and improve clinical outcomes. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Air Emissions Sources, Charts and Maps

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Air Emissions provides (1) interactive charts supporting national, state, or county charts, (2) county maps of criteria air pollutant emissions for a state, and (3)...

Exact run length distribution of the double sampling x-bar chart with estimated process parameters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teoh, W. L.

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Since the run length distribution is generally highly skewed, a significant concern about focusing too much on the average run length (ARL criterion is that we may miss some crucial information about a control chart’s performance. Thus it is important to investigate the entire run length distribution of a control chart for an in-depth understanding before implementing the chart in process monitoring. In this paper, the percentiles of the run length distribution for the double sampling (DS X chart with estimated process parameters are computed. Knowledge of the percentiles of the run length distribution provides a more comprehensive understanding of the expected behaviour of the run length. This additional information includes the early false alarm, the skewness of the run length distribution, and the median run length (MRL. A comparison of the run length distribution between the optimal ARL-based and MRL-based DS X chart with estimated process parameters is presented in this paper. Examples of applications are given to aid practitioners to select the best design scheme of the DS X chart with estimated process parameters, based on their specific purpose.

3D printing applications for transdermal drug delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Economidou, Sophia N; Lamprou, Dimitrios A; Douroumis, Dennis

2018-06-15

The role of two and three-dimensional printing as a fabrication technology for sophisticated transdermal drug delivery systems is explored in literature. 3D printing encompasses a family of distinct technologies that employ a virtual model to produce a physical object through numerically controlled apparatuses. The applicability of several printing technologies has been researched for the direct or indirect printing of microneedle arrays or for the modification of their surface through drug-containing coatings. The findings of the respective studies are presented. The range of printable materials that are currently used or potentially can be employed for 3D printing of transdermal drug delivery (TDD) systems is also reviewed. Moreover, the expected impact and challenges of the adoption of 3D printing as a manufacturing technique for transdermal drug delivery systems, are assessed. Finally, this paper outlines the current regulatory framework associated with 3D printed transdermal drug delivery systems. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Google Charts Testing | CRDI - Centre de recherches pour le ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Google Charts Testing. The following item is a demo of Google GeoChart. Please note that geo chart can only recognize country name or city name rather than location or address (that is google my map's expertise). Additionally, Geo chart does support title and legend. To render geo chart properly, please get a ...

Three-Dimensional Printing of Drug-Eluting Implants

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Water, Jorrit Jeroen; Bohr, Adam; Bøtker, Johan Peter

2015-01-01

The aim of the present work was to investigate the potential of three-dimensional (3D) printing as a manufacturing method for products intended for personalized treatments by exploring the production of novel polylactide-based feedstock materials for 3D printing purposes. Nitrofurantoin (NF......) and hydroxyapatite (HA) were successfully mixed and extruded with up to 30% drug load with and without addition of 5% HA in polylactide strands, which were subsequently 3D-printed into model disc geometries (10 × 2 mm). X-ray powder diffraction analysis showed that NF maintained its anhydrate solid form during...... of custom-made, drug-loaded feedstock materials for 3D printing of pharmaceutical products for controlled release....

NOAA Seamless Raster Navigational Charts (RNC)

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Seamless Raster Chart Server provides a seamless collarless mosaic of the NOAA Raster Navigational Charts (RNC). The RNC are a collection of approximately...

Paperless chart recording helps cut costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Collier, K.; Sullivan, M.E.

1997-01-01

Turbine generator data acquisition systems using personal computers have been installed at the Limerick BWR power plant to replace paper-based chart recorders. This plant is already one of the lowest cost nuclear power plants in the US and this innovation will boost operating efficiency still further. The Limerick control room now has wall-mounted touch screen video displays which provide operators with real-time, electronically achieved information and improving information flow, with a consolidated, consistent user interface. (UK)

The virtual library in action: Collaborative international control of high-energy physics pre-print

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kreitz, P.A.; Addis, L.; Galic, H.; Johnson, T.

1996-02-01

This paper will discuss how control of the grey literature in high-energy physics pre-prints developed through a collaborative effort of librarians and physicists. It will highlight the critical steps in the development process and describe one model of a rapidly evolving virtual library for high-energy physics information. In conclusion, this paper will extend this physics model to other areas of grey literature management

An economically designed, integrated quality and maintenance model using an adaptive Shewhart chart

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panagiotidou, Sofia; Nenes, George

2009-01-01

This paper proposes a model for the economic design of a variable-parameter (Vp) Shewhart control chart used to monitor the mean in a process, where, apart from quality shifts, failures may also occur. Quality shifts result in poorer quality outcome, higher operational cost and higher failure rate. Thus, removal of such quality shifts, besides improving the quality of the outcome and reducing the quality cost, is also a preventive maintenance (PM) action since it reduces the probability of a failure and improves the equipment reliability. The proposed model allows the determination of the scheme parameters that minimize the total expected quality and maintenance cost of the procedure. The monitoring mechanism of the process employs an adaptive Vp-Shewhart control chart. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed model, its optimal expected cost is compared against the optimum cost of a fixed-parameter (Fp) chart

Application of Temperature-Controlled Thermal Atomization for Printing Electronics in Space

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Chih-Hao; Thompson, Furman V.

2017-01-01

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a technology that builds three dimensional objects by adding material layer-upon-layer throughout the fabrication process. The Electrical, Electronic and Electromechanical (EEE) parts packaging group at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is investigating how various AM and 3D printing processes can be adapted to the microgravity environment of space to enable on demand manufacturing of electronics. The current state-of-the art processes for accomplishing the task of printing electronics through non-contact, direct-write means rely heavily on the process of atomization of liquid inks into fine aerosols to be delivered ultimately to a machine's print head and through its nozzle. As a result of cumulative International Space Station (ISS) research into the behaviors of fluids in zero-gravity, our experience leads us to conclude that the direct adaptation of conventional atomization processes will likely fall short and alternative approaches will need to be explored. In this report, we investigate the development of an alternative approach to atomizing electronic materials by way of thermal atomization, to be used in place of conventional aerosol generation and delivery processes for printing electronics in space.

High-resolution patterning of graphene by screen printing with a silicon stencil for highly flexible printed electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Hyun, Woo Jin; Secor, Ethan B; Hersam, Mark C; Frisbie, C Daniel; Francis, Lorraine F

2015-01-07

High-resolution screen printing of pristine graphene is introduced for the rapid fabrication of conductive lines on flexible substrates. Well-defined silicon stencils and viscosity-controlled inks facilitate the preparation of high-quality graphene patterns as narrow as 40 μm. This strategy provides an efficient method to produce highly flexible graphene electrodes for printed electronics. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The best printing methods to print satellite images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G.A. Yousif

2011-12-01

In this paper different printing systems were used to print an image of SPOT-4 satellite, caver part of Sharm Elshekh area, Sinai, Egypt, on the same type of paper as much as possible, especially in the photography. This step is followed by measuring the experimental data, and analyzed colors to determine the best printing systems for satellite image printing data. The laser system is the more printing system where produce a wider range of color and highest densities of ink and access much color detail. Followed by the offset system which it recorded the best dot gain. Moreover, the study shows that it can use the advantages of each method according to the satellite image color and quantity to be produced.

prepare_taxa_charts.py: A Python program to automate generation of publication ready taxonomic pie chart images from QIIME.

Science.gov (United States)

Lakhujani, Vijay; Badapanda, Chandan

2017-06-01

QIIME (Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology) is one of the most popular open-source bioinformatics suite for performing metagenome, 16S rRNA amplicon and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) data analysis. Although, it is very comprehensive and powerful tool, it lacks a method to provide publication ready taxonomic pie charts. The script plot_taxa_summary . py bundled with QIIME generate a html file and a folder containing taxonomic pie chart and legend as separate images. The images have randomly generated alphanumeric names. Therefore, it is difficult to associate the pie chart with the legend and the corresponding sample identifier. Even if the option to have the legend within the html file is selected while executing plot_taxa_summary . py , it is very tedious to crop a complete image (having both the pie chart and the legend) due to unequal image sizes. It requires a lot of time to manually prepare the pie charts for multiple samples for publication purpose. Moreover, there are chances of error while identifying the pie chart and legend pair due to random alphanumeric names of the images. To bypass all these bottlenecks and make this process efficient, we have developed a python based program, prepare_taxa_charts . py , to automate the renaming, cropping and merging of taxonomic pie chart and corresponding legend image into a single, good quality publication ready image. This program not only augments the functionality of plot_taxa_summary . py but is also very fast in terms of CPU time and user friendly.

Cumulative sum control charts for monitoring geometrically inflated Poisson processes: An application to infectious disease counts data.

Science.gov (United States)

Rakitzis, Athanasios C; Castagliola, Philippe; Maravelakis, Petros E

2018-02-01

In this work, we study upper-sided cumulative sum control charts that are suitable for monitoring geometrically inflated Poisson processes. We assume that a process is properly described by a two-parameter extension of the zero-inflated Poisson distribution, which can be used for modeling count data with an excessive number of zero and non-zero values. Two different upper-sided cumulative sum-type schemes are considered, both suitable for the detection of increasing shifts in the average of the process. Aspects of their statistical design are discussed and their performance is compared under various out-of-control situations. Changes in both parameters of the process are considered. Finally, the monitoring of the monthly cases of poliomyelitis in the USA is given as an illustrative example.

Costs of conventional radical radiotherapy versus continuous hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy (CHART) in the treatment of patients with head and neck cancer or carcinoma of the bronchus. Medical Research Council CHART Steering Committee.

Science.gov (United States)

Coyle, D; Drummond, M F

1997-01-01

The objective of this study was to compare the costs of treatment with continuous hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy (CHART) and those of conventional radiotherapy for patients with (1) head and neck cancer and (2) carcinoma of the bronchus. The study was conducted concurrently with two multicentre randomized controlled trials. Data were collected on the use of hospital and community service resources and patients' travel for treatment. Data on resource use up to 3 months after entry to the study were available for 526 head and neck patients (314 receiving CHART and 212 conventional therapy) and 284 bronchus patients (175 CHART and 109 conventional therapy). For patients with head and neck cancer, CHART cost Pounds 1092 (P hostel facilities. The results of this cost analysis will help to facilitate a decision about whether the benefits of CHART, as determined by the clinical trials, are worth the additional costs of hospital-based resource use. The collection of detailed patient-specific resource-use data from a number of centres allows the determination of ways for reducing the cost differential between therapies and making CHART a more cost effective treatment alternative.

Chart Audit and Chart Stimulated Recall as Methods of Needs Assessment in Continuing Professional Health Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Affleck, Louise; Jennett, Penny

1998-01-01

Chart audit (assessment of patient medical records) is a cost-effective continuing-education needs-assessment method. Chart stimulated recall, in which physicians' memory of particular cases is stimulated by records, potentially increases content validity and exploration of clinical reasoning as well as the context of clinical decisions. (SK)

Qualities of dental chart recording and coding.

Science.gov (United States)

Chantravekin, Yosananda; Tasananutree, Munchulika; Santaphongse, Supitcha; Aittiwarapoj, Anchisa

2013-01-01

Chart recording and coding are the important processes in the healthcare informatics system, but there were only a few reports in the dentistry field. The objectives of this study are to study the qualities of dental chart recording and coding, as well as the achievement of lecture/workshop on this topic. The study was performed by auditing the patient's charts at the TU Dental Student Clinic from July 2011-August 2012. The chart recording mean scores ranged from 51.0-55.7%, whereas the errors in the coding process were presented in the coder part more than the doctor part. The lecture/workshop could improve the scores only in some topics.

An intelligent vehicular traffic signal control system with state flow chart design and fpga prototyping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solangi, U.S.; Memon, T.D.; Noonari, A.S.; Ansari, O.A.

2017-01-01

The problem of vehicular traffic congestion is a persistent constraint in the socio-economic development of Pakistan. This paper presents design and implementation of an intelligent traffic controller based on FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) to provide an efficient traffic management by optimizing functioning of traffic lights which will result in minimizing traffic congestion at intersections. The existent Traffic Signal system in Pakistan is fixed-time based and offers only Open Loop method for Traffic Control. The Intelligent Traffic Controller presented here uses feedback sensors to read the Traffic density present at a four way intersection to provide an efficient alternative for better supervisory Control of Traffic flow. The traffic density based control logic has been developed in a State Flow Chart for improved visualization of State Machine based operation, and implemented as a Subsystem in Simulink and transferred into VHDL (Hardware Description Language) code using HDL Coder for reducing development time and time to market, which are essential to capitalize Embedded Systems Market. The VHDL code is synthesized with Altera QUARTUS, simulated timing waveform is obtained to verify correctness of the algorithm for different Traffic Scenarios. For implementation purpose estimations were obtained for Cyclone-III and Stratix-III. (author)

An Intelligent Vehicular Traffic Signal Control System with State Flow Chart Design and FPGA Prototyping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

UMAIR SAEEDSOLANGI

2017-04-01

Full Text Available The problem of vehicular traffic congestion is a persistent constraint in the socio-economic development of Pakistan. This paper presents design and implementation of an intelligent traffic controller based on FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array to provide an efficient traffic management by optimizing functioning of traffic lights which will result in minimizing traffic congestion at intersections. The existent Traffic Signal system in Pakistan is fixed-time based and offers only Open Loop method for Traffic Control. The Intelligent Traffic Controller presented here uses feedback sensors to read the Traffic density present at a four way intersection to provide an efficient alternative for better supervisory Control of Traffic flow. The traffic density based control logic has been developed in a State Flow Chart for improved visualization of State Machine based operation, and implemented as a Subsystem in Simulink and transferred into VHDL (Hardware Description Language code using HDL Coder for reducing development time and time to market, which are essential to capitalize Embedded Systems Market. The VHDL code is synthesized with Altera QUARTUS, simulated timing waveform is obtained to verify correctness of the algorithm for different Traffic Scenarios. For implementation purpose estimations were obtained for Cyclone-III and Stratix-III.

Exposure assessment of workers in printed electronics workplace.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ji Hyun; Sohn, Eun Kyung; Ahn, Jin Soo; Ahn, Kangho; Kim, Keun Soo; Lee, Jong Hwan; Lee, Taik Min; Yu, Il Je

2013-07-01

Printed electronics uses converging technologies, such as printing, fine mechanics, nanotechnology, electronics and other new technologies. Consequently, printed electronics raises additional health and safety concerns to those experienced in the traditional printing industry. This study investigated two printed electronics workplaces based on a walk-through survey and personal and area sampling. All the printed electronics operations were conducted in a cleanroom. No indication of exposure to excess silver nanoparticles or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was found. While the organic solvents were lower than current occupational exposure limits, there was a lack of engineering controls, such as local exhaust ventilation, correct enclosure and duct connections. There was also an insufficient quantity of personal protective equipment, and some organic solvents not described in the safety data sheets (SDSs) were detected in the air samples. Plus, the cleaning work, a major emissions operation, was not conducted within a hood, and the cleaning waste was not properly disposed of. Therefore, the present exposure assessment results from two printed electronics workplaces suggest that the printed electronics industry needs to take note of the occupational safety and health risks and hazards already established by the traditional printing industry, along with new risks and hazards originating from converging technologies such as nanotechnology.

The making of Andersen’s liquefaction chart

OpenAIRE

Sabaliauskas, Tomas; Ibsen, Lars Bo

2017-01-01

Andersen’s chart (Andersen & Berre, 1999) is a graphical method of observing cyclic soil response. It allows observing soil response to various stress amplitudes that can lead to liquefaction, excess plastic deformation stabilizing soil response.The process of obtaining the original chart has been improved. Algorithm based approximation is introduced. Pore pressure dependent ultimate bearing capacity normalization factor is introduced to normalize the chart.

Control of droplet morphology for inkjet-printed TIPS-pentacene transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Myung Won; Ryu, Gi Seong; Lee, Young Uk; Pearson, Christopher; Petty, Michael C.; Song, Chung Kun

2012-01-01

We report on methods to control the morphology of droplets of 6,13-bis(triisopropyl-silylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-PEN), which are then used in the fabrication of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). The grain size and distribution of the TIPS-PEN were found to depend on the temperature of the droplets during drying. The performance of the OTFTs could be improved by heating the substrate and also by changing the relative positions of the inkjet-printed droplets. In our experiments, the optimum substrate temperature was 46 °C in air. Transistors with the TIPS-PEN grain boundaries parallel to the current flow between the source and drain electrodes exhibited charge carrier mobilities of 0.44 ± 0.08 cm2/V s.

Comparison of reading speed with 3 different log-scaled reading charts.

Science.gov (United States)

Buari, Noor Halilah; Chen, Ai-Hong; Musa, Nuraini

2014-01-01

A reading chart that resembles real reading conditions is important to evaluate the quality of life in terms of reading performance. The purpose of this study was to compare the reading speed of UiTM Malay related words (UiTM-Mrw) reading chart with MNread Acuity Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart. Fifty subjects with normal sight were randomly recruited through randomized sampling in this study (mean age=22.98±1.65 years). Subjects were asked to read three different near charts aloud and as quickly as possible at random sequence. The charts were the UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart, MNread Acuity Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart, respectively. The time taken to read each chart was recorded and any errors while reading were noted. Reading performance was quantified in terms of reading speed as words per minute (wpm). The mean reading speed for UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart, MNread Acuity Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart was 200±30wpm, 196±28wpm and 194±31wpm, respectively. Comparison of reading speed between UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart and MNread Acuity Chart showed no significant difference (t=-0.73, p=0.72). The same happened with the reading speed between UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart (t=-0.97, p=0.55). Bland and Altman plot showed good agreement between reading speed of UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart with MNread Acuity Chart with the Colenbrander Reading Chart. UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart in Malay language is highly comparable with standardized charts and can be used for evaluating reading speed. Copyright © 2013 Spanish General Council of Optometry. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Digital printing

Science.gov (United States)

Sobotka, Werner K.

1997-02-01

Digital printing is described as a tool to replace conventional printing machines completely. Still this goal was not reached until now with any of the digital printing technologies to be described in the paper. Productivity and costs are still the main parameters and are not really solved until now. Quality in digital printing is no problem anymore. Definition of digital printing is to transfer digital datas directly on the paper surface. This step can be carried out directly or with the use of an intermediate image carrier. Keywords in digital printing are: computer- to-press; erasable image carrier; image carrier with memory. Digital printing is also the logical development of the new digital area as it is pointed out in Nicholas Negropotes book 'Being Digital' and also the answer to networking and Internet technologies. Creating images text and color in one country and publishing the datas in another country or continent is the main advantage. Printing on demand another big advantage and last but not least personalization the last big advantage. Costs and being able to coop with this new world of prepress technology is the biggest disadvantage. Therefore the very optimistic growth rates for the next few years are really nonexistent. The development of complete new markets is too slow and the replacing of old markets is too small.

HydroHillChart – Francis module. Software used to Calculate the Hill Chart of the Francis Hydraulic Turbines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dorian Nedelcu

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the Hydro Hill Chart - Francis module application, used to calculate the hill chart of the Pelton, Francis and Kaplan hydraulic turbine models, by processing the data measured on the stand. After describing the interface and menu, the input data is graphically presented and the universal characteristic for measuring scenarios ao=const. and n11=const is calculated. Finally, the two calculated hill charts are compared through a graphical superimposition of the isolines.

Recent trends in print portals and Web2Print applications

Science.gov (United States)

Tuijn, Chris

2009-01-01

For quite some time now, the printing business has been under heavy pressure because of overcapacity, dropping prices and the delocalization of the production to low income countries. To survive in this competitive world, printers have to invest in tools that, on one hand, reduce the production costs and, on the other hand, create additional value for their customers (print buyers). The creation of customer portals on top of prepress production systems allowing print buyers to upload their content, approve the uploaded pages based on soft proofs (rendered by the underlying production system) and further follow-up the generation of the printed material, has been illustrative in this respect. These developments resulted in both automation for the printer and added value for the print buyer. Many traditional customer portals assume that the printed products have been identified before they are presented to the print buyer in the portal environment. The products are, in this case, typically entered by the printing organization in a so-called MISi system after the official purchase order has been received from the print buyer. Afterwards, the MIS system then submits the product to the customer portal. Some portals, however, also support the initiation of printed products by the print buyer directly. This workflow creates additional flexibility but also makes things much more complex. We here have to distinguish between special products that are defined ad-hoc by the print buyer and standardized products that are typically selected out of catalogs. Special products are most of the time defined once and the level of detail required in terms of production parameters is quite high. Systems that support such products typically have a built-in estimation module, or, at least, a direct connection to an MIS system that calculates the prices and adds a specific mark-up to calculate a quote. Often, the markup is added by an account manager on a customer by customer basis; in this

Hybrid 3D printing and electrodeposition approach for controllable 3D alginate hydrogel formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Shang, Wanfeng; Liu, Yanting; Wan, Wenfeng; Hu, Chengzhi; Liu, Zeyang; Wong, Chin To; Fukuda, Toshio; Shen, Yajing

2017-06-07

Calcium alginate hydrogels are widely used as biocompatible materials in a substantial number of biomedical applications. This paper reports on a hybrid 3D printing and electrodeposition approach for forming 3D calcium alginate hydrogels in a controllable manner. Firstly, a specific 3D hydrogel printing system is developed by integrating a customized ejection syringe with a conventional 3D printer. Then, a mixed solution of sodium alginate and CaCO 3 nanoparticles is filled into the syringe and can be continuously ejected out of the syringe nozzle onto a conductive substrate. When applying a DC voltage (∼5 V) between the substrate (anode) and the nozzle (cathode), the Ca 2+ released from the CaCO 3 particles can crosslink the alginate to form calcium alginate hydrogel on the substrate. To elucidate the gel formation mechanism and better control the gel growth, we can further establish and verify a gel growth model by considering several key parameters, i.e., applied voltage and deposition time. The experimental results indicate that the alginate hydrogel of various 3D structures can be formed by controlling the movement of the 3D printer. A cell viability test is conducted and shows that the encapsulated cells in the gel can maintain a high survival rate (∼99% right after gel formation). This research establishes a reliable method for the controllable formation of 3D calcium alginate hydrogel, exhibiting great potential for use in basic biology and applied biomedical engineering.

Computer Security: Printing confidentially

CERN Document Server

Stefan Lueders, Computer Security Team

2015-01-01

Have you ever hesitated to print a confidential document using CERN printers? Or perhaps you have rushed quickly to the printer after hitting the “print” button in order to avoid someone else getting hold of and reading your document? These times are over now with the new printing infrastructure!   Indeed, many of us regularly print out confidential documents like our salary slips, MARS forms, tendering documents and drafts of preliminary papers. The upcoming CERN data protection policy will require all of us to respect the confidentiality of such documents and, as the word “confidential” implies, access to “confidential” or sensitive documents will be tightly controlled. What can we do about the public printers located in many buildings, floors and shared spaces - accessible not only to CERN staff and users but also to visitors and guests? Some printers are located in the vicinity of restaurants, cafeterias or close to paths taken b...

Transmission Line Adapted Analytical Power Charts Solution

Science.gov (United States)

Sakala, Japhet D.; Daka, James S. J.; Setlhaolo, Ditiro; Malichi, Alec Pulu

2017-08-01

The performance of a transmission line has been assessed over the years using power charts. These are graphical representations, drawn to scale, of the equations that describe the performance of transmission lines. Various quantities that describe the performance, such as sending end voltage, sending end power and compensation to give zero voltage regulation, may be deduced from the power charts. Usually required values are read off and then converted using the appropriate scales and known relationships. In this paper, the authors revisit this area of circle diagrams for transmission line performance. The work presented here formulates the mathematical model that analyses the transmission line performance from the power charts relationships and then uses them to calculate the transmission line performance. In this proposed approach, it is not necessary to draw the power charts for the solution. However the power charts may be drawn for the visual presentation. The method is based on applying derived equations and is simple to use since it does not require rigorous derivations.

Chart of the nuclides - Strasbourg 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antony, M.S.

1991-01-01

Data were compiled for a nuclide chart over the last two years. The compilation is complete to the end of September 1990. The chart includes about 30000 data. Decay modes are represented by colours. Announcement capabilities and prices are given. (G.P.) 3 refs

Obtaining the Andersen's chart, triangulation algorithm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sabaliauskas, Tomas; Ibsen, Lars Bo

Andersen’s chart (Andersen & Berre, 1999) is a graphical method of observing cyclic soil response. It allows observing soil response to various stress amplitudes that can lead to liquefaction, excess plastic deformation or stabilizing soil response. The process of obtaining the original chart has...

Controllable helical deformations on printed anisotropic composite soft actuators

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Dong; Li, Ling; Serjouei, Ahmad; Dong, Longteng; Weeger, Oliver; Gu, Guoying; Ge, Qi

2018-04-01

Helical shapes are ubiquitous in both nature and engineering. However, the development of soft actuators and robots that mimic helical motions has been hindered primarily due to the lack of efficient modeling approaches that take into account the material anisotropy and the directional change of the external loading point. In this work, we present a theoretical framework for modeling controllable helical deformations of cable-driven, anisotropic, soft composite actuators. The framework is based on the minimum potential energy method, and its model predictions are validated by experiments, where the microarchitectures of the soft composite actuators can be precisely defined by 3D printing. We use the developed framework to investigate the effects of material and geometric parameters on helical deformations. The results show that material stiffness, volume fraction, layer thickness, and fiber orientation can be used to control the helical deformation of a soft actuator. In particular, we found that a critical fiber orientation angle exists at which the twist of the actuator changes the direction. Thus, this work can be of great importance for the design and fabrication of soft actuators with tailored deformation behavior.

Internet printing

Science.gov (United States)

Rahgozar, M. Armon; Hastings, Tom; McCue, Daniel L.

1997-04-01

The Internet is rapidly changing the traditional means of creation, distribution and retrieval of information. Today, information publishers leverage the capabilities provided by Internet technologies to rapidly communicate information to a much wider audience in unique customized ways. As a result, the volume of published content has been astronomically increasing. This, in addition to the ease of distribution afforded by the Internet has resulted in more and more documents being printed. This paper introduces several axes along which Internet printing may be examined and addresses some of the technological challenges that lay ahead. Some of these axes include: (1) submission--the use of the Internet protocols for selecting printers and submitting documents for print, (2) administration--the management and monitoring of printing engines and other print resources via Web pages, and (3) formats--printing document formats whose spectrum now includes HTML documents with simple text, layout-enhanced documents with Style Sheets, documents that contain audio, graphics and other active objects as well as the existing desktop and PDL formats. The format axis of the Internet Printing becomes even more exciting when one considers that the Web documents are inherently compound and the traversal into the various pieces may uncover various formats. The paper also examines some imaging specific issues that are paramount to Internet Printing. These include formats and structures for representing raster documents and images, compression, fonts rendering and color spaces.

U.S. Pacific Command > Organization > Organization Chart

Science.gov (United States)

Responsibility USPACOM Previous Commanders Organization Organization Chart Media News Flickr Photos Video Directory Media Inquiries Home : Organization : Organization Chart About DoD DoD Careers Join the Military

Smart Book Charts

Science.gov (United States)

Chinnapongse, Ronald L.

2015-01-01

Smart book charts for TPSM: Heatshield for Extreme Entry Environment Technology (HEEET), Conformal Ablative TPS (CA-TPS), 3D Woven Multifunctional Ablative TPS (3D MAT), and Adaptable, Deployable, Entry and Placement Technology (ADEPT).

Three-dimensional printing enhances preparation for repair of double outlet right ventricular surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Liyun; Zhou, Sijie; Fan, Taibing; Li, Bin; Liang, Weijie; Dong, Haoju

2018-01-01

To assess the clinical value of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology for treatment strategies for complex double outlet right ventricle (DORV). Twenty-five patients with complex double outlet right ventricle were enrolled in this study. The patients were divided into two groups: 3D printing group (eight patients) and a non-3-D printing control group (17 patients). The cardiac images of patients in the 3D printing group were transformed to Digital Imaging and Communications and were segmented and reconstructed to create a heart model. No cardiac models were created in the control group. A Pearson coefficient analysis was used to assess the correlation between measurements of 3D printed models and computed tomography angiography (CTA) data. Pre-operative assessment and planning were performed with 3D printed models, and then operative time and recovery time were compared between the two groups. There was good correlation (r = 0.977) between 3D printed models and CTA data. Patients in the 3D printing group had shorter aortic cross-clamp time (102.88 vs 127.76 min, P = 0.094) and cardiopulmonary bypass time (151.63 vs 184.24 min; P = 0.152) than patients in the control group. Patients with 3D printed models had significantly lower mechanical ventilation time (56.43 vs 96.76 h, P = 0.040) and significantly shorter intensive care unit time (99.04 vs 166.94 h, P = 0.008) than patients in the control group. 3D printed models can accurately demonstrate anatomic structures and are useful for pre-operative treatment strategies in DORV. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Chart of the nuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshizawa, Y.; Horiguchi, T.; Yamada, M.

1980-01-01

In this chart, four colors are use to classify nuclides according to their half-lives. The different symbols are also to show the decay modes and their percentage in each nuclide. Four tables are provided on the back of the chart. Table 1 is the ordinary periodic Table. Table 2 provides fundamental constants used for nuclear physics. Tables 3 lists the physical constants (mean density, ionization potential, melting point, and boiling point) of all elements. Table 4 provides the gamma-ray intensity standards. Half-lives, energy, relative intensity, and intensity per decay are list for 33 nuclides. (J.P.N.)

Digital Inkjet Textile Printing

OpenAIRE

Wang, Meichun

2017-01-01

Digital inkjet textile printing is an emerging technology developed with the rise of the digital world. It offers a possibility to print high-resolution images with unlimited color selection on fabrics. Digital inkjet printing brings a revolutionary chance for the textile printing industry. The history of textile printing shows the law how new technology replaces the traditional way of printing. This indicates the future of digital inkjet textile printing is relatively positive. Differen...

Simple roll coater with variable coating and temperature control for printed polymer solar cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dam, Henrik Friis; Krebs, Frederik C

2012-01-01

of solution, enabling roll coating testing of new polymers where only small amounts are often available. We demonstrate the formation of >50 solar cells (each with an active area of 1 cm2) with printed metal back electrodes using as little as 0.1 mL of active layer solution. This approach outperforms spin...... coating with respect to temperature control, ink usage, speed and is directly compatible with industrial processing and upscaling....

47 CFR 73.333 - Engineering charts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Engineering charts. 73.333 Section 73.333 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES FM Broadcast Stations § 73.333 Engineering charts. This section consists of the following Figures 1, 1a, 2, and...

[Characterization of News on Suicide in the Printed Press in Colombia].

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, Luis Fernando; Sánchez, Ricardo

2013-01-01

Suicide is a major public health problem. It is believed that the media plays an important role in the onset of suicidal behavior. Certain sub-groups of the population (for instance, young people or those suffering from depression) can be especially vulnerable to engage in imitative suicidal behaviors. To characterize news reports on suicide published in the printed press in Bogotá. To identify strategies, models or structures used in the print media (newspapers) to report suicide cases. To establish whether the way of reporting suicide cases is appropriate according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). A detailed search was performed to find news on suicide or suicide attempts published in three Colombian newspapers -2 of them with national circulation (El Espectador and El Tiempo), and one with local circulation (El Espacio)-, during the period between August 2009 and August 2011. Compliance with WHO recommendations by the 3 newspapers was compared using Fisher tests; the frequency of news release was assessed using statistical control charts, and headlines were evaluated by lexicometric analysis. During the study period, a total of 135 items of news relating to cases occurring in Colombia were found. Although there were differences between the newspapers, none of them fully met the WHO recommendations. There was no clear trend in the way of presenting the news. Three styles were found in the presentation of news (suggestive, sensationalist, and revealing impact on survivors), which could be associated with each of the 3 newspapers evaluated. Copyright © 2013 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Two-dimensional phase fraction charts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morral, J.E.

1984-01-01

A phase fraction chart is a graphical representation of the amount of each phase present in a system as a function of temperature, composition or other variable. Examples are phase fraction versus temperature charts used to characterize specific alloys and as a teaching tool in elementary texts, and Schaeffler diagrams used to predict the amount of ferrite in stainless steel welds. Isothermal-transformation diagrams (TTT diagrams) are examples that give phase (or microconstituent) amount versus temperature and time. The purpose of this communication is to discuss the properties of two-dimensional phase fraction charts in more general terms than have been reported before. It is shown that they can represent multi-component, multiphase equilibria in a way which is easier to read and which contains more information than the isotherms and isopleths of multi-component phase diagrams

Barograms / Barograph Charts

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Barograms are weekly rectangular charts recording barometric pressure at a given station. The barograph is an instrument that makes a continuous pen and ink trace of...

Assessing Suppression in Amblyopic Children With a Dichoptic Eye Chart.

Science.gov (United States)

Birch, Eileen E; Morale, Sarah E; Jost, Reed M; De La Cruz, Angie; Kelly, Krista R; Wang, Yi-Zhong; Bex, Peter J

2016-10-01

Suppression has a key role in the etiology of amblyopia, and contrast-balanced binocular treatment can overcome suppression and improve visual acuity. Quantitative assessment of suppression could have a role in managing amblyopia. We describe a novel eye chart to assess suppression in children. We enrolled 100 children (7-12 years; 63 amblyopic, 25 nonamblyopic with strabismus or anisometropia, 12 controls) in the primary cohort and 22 children (3-6 years; 13 amblyopic, 9 nonamblyopic) in a secondary cohort. Letters were presented on a dichoptic display (5 letters per line). Children wore polarized glasses so that each eye saw a different letter chart. At each position, the identity of the letter and its contrast on each eye's chart differed. Children read 8 lines of letters for each of 3 letter sizes. The contrast balance ratio was the ratio at which 50% of letters seen by the amblyopic eye were reported. Amblyopic children had significantly higher contrast balance ratios for all letter sizes compared to nonamblyopic children and controls, requiring 4.6 to 5.6 times more contrast in the amblyopic eye compared to the fellow eye (P amblyopia treatment was correlated with change in contrast balance ratio (r ranged from 0.43-0.62 for the 3 letter sizes). Severity of suppression can be monitored as part of a routine clinical exam in the management of amblyopia in children.

PERBANDINGAN MEDIA POWER POINT DENGAN FLIP CHART DALAM MENINGKATKAN PENGETAHUANKESEHATAN GIGI DAN MULUT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oki Nurhidayat

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui apakah ada perbedaan peningkatan pengetahuan kesehatan gigi dan mulut antara menggunakan media power point dan flip chart. Jenis penelitian ini adalah penelitian ekperimen semu, menggunakan metode desain pretes-postes dengan kelompok kontrol. Populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah siswa SD Negeri Sukorejo 02 dan 03 Gunungpati Semarang Tahun 2011 yang berjumlah 84 siswa. Sampel berjumlah 70 siswa. Instrumen yang digunakan adalah kuesioner. Berdasarkan hasil uji t berpasangan diketahui bahwa terdapat perbedaan yang bermakna antara nilai pretest dan postest pada masing-masing kelompok yaitu kelompok ekperimen (p=0,001 dan kontrol (p=0,001, sedangkan berdasarkan uji t tidak berpasangan diperoleh hasil nilai p=0,006, yang artinya terdapat perbedaan peningkatan pengetahuan kesehatan gigi dan mulut pada siswa sekolah dasar yang signifikan antara post test kelompok I (media power point dan kelompok kontrol (flip chart. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini adalah ada perbedaan peningkatan pengetahuan kesehatan gigi dan mulut antara menggunakan media power point dan flip chart. Purpose of this research is determine whether there is difference improving dental and oral health knowledge between media use power point and flip chart. This type of research is to study quasi ekperiment, using the method of pretest postes control group design. The population in this study were students of SDN Sukorejo 02 and SDN Sukorejo 03 District Gunungpati Semarang in 2011, amounting to 84 students. The Sample is 70 students. Instrument used was a questionnaire. Based on the results of paired t test is known that there were significant differences between pretest and postest value in each group of experimental group (p = 0.001 and controls (p = 0.001, whereas the unpaired t test based on the results obtained p-value = 0.006, which means that there are differences in the increase of knowledge of oral health in primary school students

Printed photodetectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pace, Giuseppina; Grimoldi, Andrea; Sampietro, Marco; Natali, Dario; Caironi, Mario

2015-01-01

Photodetectors convert light pulses into electrical signals and are fundamental building blocks for any opto-electronic system adopting light as a probe or information carrier. They have widespread technological applications, from telecommunications to sensors in industrial, medical and civil environments. Further opportunities are plastic short-range communications systems, interactive large-area surfaces and light-weight, flexible, digital imagers. These applications would greatly benefit from the cost-effective fabrication processes enabled by printing technology. While organic semiconductors are the most investigated materials for printed photodetectors, and are the main focus of the present review, there are notable examples of other inorganic or hybrid printable semiconductors for opto-electronic systems, such as quantum-dots and nanowires. Here we propose an overview on printed photodetectors, including three-terminal phototransistors. We first give a brief account of the working mechanism of these light sensitive devices, and then we review the recent progress achieved with scalable printing techniques such as screen-printing, inkjet and other non-contact technologies in the development of all-printed or hybrid systems. (paper)

Printed photodetectors

Science.gov (United States)

Pace, Giuseppina; Grimoldi, Andrea; Sampietro, Marco; Natali, Dario; Caironi, Mario

2015-10-01

Photodetectors convert light pulses into electrical signals and are fundamental building blocks for any opto-electronic system adopting light as a probe or information carrier. They have widespread technological applications, from telecommunications to sensors in industrial, medical and civil environments. Further opportunities are plastic short-range communications systems, interactive large-area surfaces and light-weight, flexible, digital imagers. These applications would greatly benefit from the cost-effective fabrication processes enabled by printing technology. While organic semiconductors are the most investigated materials for printed photodetectors, and are the main focus of the present review, there are notable examples of other inorganic or hybrid printable semiconductors for opto-electronic systems, such as quantum-dots and nanowires. Here we propose an overview on printed photodetectors, including three-terminal phototransistors. We first give a brief account of the working mechanism of these light sensitive devices, and then we review the recent progress achieved with scalable printing techniques such as screen-printing, inkjet and other non-contact technologies in the development of all-printed or hybrid systems.

Preparation of exposures charts for X-ray tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zoofan, B.

1988-01-01

An exposure chart is a fundamental graph which provides guidance of the exposure conditions in relation to the thickness for a given specimen. It must be prepared specially for the X-ray unit and the type of the film to be used. Although exposure charts are available for each particular X-ray tube from its manufacturer, individual radiographic laboratory should be able to prepare its own exposure charts in a precise manner. Here a typical procedure to prepare such a chart is provided in a practical way with some necessary recommendations

3D printing PLGA: a quantitative examination of the effects of polymer composition and printing parameters on print resolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Ting; Holzberg, Timothy R; Lim, Casey G; Gao, Feng; Gargava, Ankit; Trachtenberg, Jordan E; Mikos, Antonios G; Fisher, John P

2017-04-12

In the past few decades, 3D printing has played a significant role in fabricating scaffolds with consistent, complex structure that meet patient-specific needs in future clinical applications. Although many studies have contributed to this emerging field of additive manufacturing, which includes material development and computer-aided scaffold design, current quantitative analyses do not correlate material properties, printing parameters, and printing outcomes to a great extent. A model that correlates these properties has tremendous potential to standardize 3D printing for tissue engineering and biomaterial science. In this study, we printed poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) utilizing a direct melt extrusion technique without additional ingredients. We investigated PLGA with various lactic acid:glycolic acid (LA:GA) molecular weight ratios and end caps to demonstrate the dependence of the extrusion process on the polymer composition. Micro-computed tomography was then used to evaluate printed scaffolds containing different LA:GA ratios, composed of different fiber patterns, and processed under different printing conditions. We built a statistical model to reveal the correlation and predominant factors that determine printing precision. Our model showed a strong linear relationship between the actual and predicted precision under different combinations of printing conditions and material compositions. This quantitative examination establishes a significant foreground to 3D print biomaterials following a systematic fabrication procedure. Additionally, our proposed statistical models can be applied to couple specific biomaterials and 3D printing applications for patient implants with particular requirements.

3D printing PLGA: a quantitative examination of the effects of polymer composition and printing parameters on print resolution

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Ting; Holzberg, Timothy R; Lim, Casey G; Gao, Feng; Gargava, Ankit; Trachtenberg, Jordan E; Mikos, Antonios G; Fisher, John P

2018-01-01

In the past few decades, 3D printing has played a significant role in fabricating scaffolds with consistent, complex structure that meet patient-specific needs in future clinical applications. Although many studies have contributed to this emerging field of additive manufacturing, which includes material development and computer-aided scaffold design, current quantitative analyses do not correlate material properties, printing parameters, and printing outcomes to a great extent. A model that correlates these properties has tremendous potential to standardize 3D printing for tissue engineering and biomaterial science. In this study, we printed poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) utilizing a direct melt extrusion technique without additional ingredients. We investigated PLGA with various lactic acid: glycolic acid (LA:GA) molecular weight ratios and end caps to demonstrate the dependence of the extrusion process on the polymer composition. Micro-computed tomography was then used to evaluate printed scaffolds containing different LA:GA ratios, composed of different fiber patterns, and processed under different printing conditions. We built a statistical model to reveal the correlation and predominant factors that determine printing precision. Our model showed a strong linear relationship between the actual and predicted precision under different combinations of printing conditions and material compositions. This quantitative examination establishes a significant foreground to 3D print biomaterials following a systematic fabrication procedure. Additionally, our proposed statistical models can be applied to couple specific biomaterials and 3D printing applications for patient implants with particular requirements. PMID:28244880

Multi-shape active composites by 3D printing of digital shape memory polymers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jiangtao; Yuan, Chao; Ding, Zhen; Isakov, Michael; Mao, Yiqi; Wang, Tiejun; Dunn, Martin L; Qi, H Jerry

2016-04-13

Recent research using 3D printing to create active structures has added an exciting new dimension to 3D printing technology. After being printed, these active, often composite, materials can change their shape over time; this has been termed as 4D printing. In this paper, we demonstrate the design and manufacture of active composites that can take multiple shapes, depending on the environmental temperature. This is achieved by 3D printing layered composite structures with multiple families of shape memory polymer (SMP) fibers - digital SMPs - with different glass transition temperatures (Tg) to control the transformation of the structure. After a simple single-step thermomechanical programming process, the fiber families can be sequentially activated to bend when the temperature is increased. By tuning the volume fraction of the fibers, bending deformation can be controlled. We develop a theoretical model to predict the deformation behavior for better understanding the phenomena and aiding the design. We also design and print several flat 2D structures that can be programmed to fold and open themselves when subjected to heat. With the advantages of an easy fabrication process and the controllable multi-shape memory effect, the printed SMP composites have a great potential in 4D printing applications.

Multi-shape active composites by 3D printing of digital shape memory polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Jiangtao; Yuan, Chao; Ding, Zhen; Isakov, Michael; Mao, Yiqi; Wang, Tiejun; Dunn, Martin L.; Qi, H. Jerry

2016-04-01

Recent research using 3D printing to create active structures has added an exciting new dimension to 3D printing technology. After being printed, these active, often composite, materials can change their shape over time; this has been termed as 4D printing. In this paper, we demonstrate the design and manufacture of active composites that can take multiple shapes, depending on the environmental temperature. This is achieved by 3D printing layered composite structures with multiple families of shape memory polymer (SMP) fibers - digital SMPs - with different glass transition temperatures (Tg) to control the transformation of the structure. After a simple single-step thermomechanical programming process, the fiber families can be sequentially activated to bend when the temperature is increased. By tuning the volume fraction of the fibers, bending deformation can be controlled. We develop a theoretical model to predict the deformation behavior for better understanding the phenomena and aiding the design. We also design and print several flat 2D structures that can be programmed to fold and open themselves when subjected to heat. With the advantages of an easy fabrication process and the controllable multi-shape memory effect, the printed SMP composites have a great potential in 4D printing applications.

Electrohydrodynamic printing of silver nanowires for flexible and stretchable electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Zheng; Han, Yiwei; Huang, Qijin; Dong, Jingyan; Zhu, Yong

2018-04-19

A silver nanowire (AgNW) based conductor is a promising component for flexible and stretchable electronics. A wide range of flexible/stretchable devices using AgNW conductors has been demonstrated recently. High-resolution, high-throughput printing of AgNWs remains a critical challenge. Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing has been developed as a promising technique to print different materials on a variety of substrates with high resolution. Here, AgNW ink was developed for EHD printing. The printed features can be controlled by several parameters including AgNW concentration, ink viscosity, printing speed, stand-off distance, etc. With this method, AgNW patterns can be printed on a range of substrates, e.g. paper, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), glass, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), etc. First, AgNW samples on PDMS were characterized under bending and stretching. Then AgNW heaters and electrocardiogram (ECG) electrodes were fabricated to demonstrate the potential of this printing technique for AgNW-based flexible and stretchable devices.

A PIP chart for nuclear plant safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Tatsujiro; Yamaoka, Taiji

1992-01-01

While it is known that social and political aspects of nuclear safety issues are important, little study has been done on identifying the breadth of stakeholders whose policies have important influences over nuclear plant safety in a comprehensive way. The objectives of this study are to develop a chart that visually identifies important stakeholders and their policies and illustrates these influences in a hierarchical representation so that the relationship between stakeholders and nuclear safety will be better understood. This study is based on a series of extensive interviews with major stakeholders, such as nuclear plant managers, corporate planning vice presidents, state regulators, news media, and public interest groups, and focuses on one US nuclear power plant. Based on the interview results, the authors developed a conceptual policy influence paths (PIP) chart. The PIP chart illustrates the hierarchy of influence among stakeholders. The PIP chart is also useful in identifying possible stakeholders who can be easily overlooked without the PIP chart. In addition, it shows that influence flow is circular rather than linear in one direction

EL device pad-printed on a curved surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Taik-Min; Hur, Shin; Kim, Jae-Hyun; Choi, Hyun-Cheol

2010-01-01

This paper is unique in that the electroluminescence (EL) display device is fabricated on a curved surface using the pad-printing method. The precision of the pad-printing process is explored to verify whether it can be used for micro patterning. The minimum pattern size and pattern distortion, which is caused by use of the pad, were tested and simulated. The minimal pattern was found to be 35 µm wide and 2.4 µm thick. Pattern distortion when pad-printing on a flat surface, caused by the deformation of the silicon pad, was less than 5 µm. Numerical analysis shows how to estimate pattern distortion when pad-printing on a curved surface. The proposed EL display device consists of five layers, namely a bottom electrode, dielectric layer, phosphor, transparent electrode and a bus electrode. The ink of each layer was reformulated with solvents and the pad-printing conditions were controlled. A PEN film was used first in order to realize the pad-printing process condition of each layer. Finally, the EL display device was printed onto a dish with a radius of curvature of 80 mm. The luminance was 180 cd m −2

Freeform inkjet printing of cellular structures with bifurcations.

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, Kyle; Xu, Changxue; Chai, Wenxuan; Zhang, Zhengyi; Fu, Jianzhong; Huang, Yong

2015-05-01

Organ printing offers a great potential for the freeform layer-by-layer fabrication of three-dimensional (3D) living organs using cellular spheroids or bioinks as building blocks. Vascularization is often identified as a main technological barrier for building 3D organs. As such, the fabrication of 3D biological vascular trees is of great importance for the overall feasibility of the envisioned organ printing approach. In this study, vascular-like cellular structures are fabricated using a liquid support-based inkjet printing approach, which utilizes a calcium chloride solution as both a cross-linking agent and support material. This solution enables the freeform printing of spanning and overhang features by providing a buoyant force. A heuristic approach is implemented to compensate for the axially-varying deformation of horizontal tubular structures to achieve a uniform diameter along their axial directions. Vascular-like structures with both horizontal and vertical bifurcations have been successfully printed from sodium alginate only as well as mouse fibroblast-based alginate bioinks. The post-printing fibroblast cell viability of printed cellular tubes was found to be above 90% even after a 24 h incubation, considering the control effect. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Improving the printing quality of an inkjet printhead using MIMO model predictive control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ezzeldin Mahdy Abdelmonem, M.; Weiland, S.; Bosch, van den P.P.J.

2011-01-01

Drop-on-Demand inkjet printing is considered one of the most promising printing technologies that offers several advantages including high speed, quiet operation and compatibility with a variety of substrates. That makes it an important manufacturing technology serving a wide variety of markets.

Recent development in 3D food printing.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Fan; Zhang, Min; Bhandari, Bhesh

2017-09-22

Robots and software have been significantly improving our daily lives by rendering us much convenience. And 3D printing is a typical example, for it is going to usher in a new era of localized manufacturing that is actually based on digital fabrication by layer-by-layer deposition in three-dimensional space. In terms of food industry, the revolution that three-dimensional printing technologies is bringing to food manufacturing is convenience of low-cost customized fabrication and even precise nutrition control. This paper is aimed to give a brief introduction of recent development of food printing and material property of food ingredients that can be used to design the 3D food matrix and investigate the relationship between process parameters and resulting printed food properties in order to establish a food manufacturing process with this new food production approach.

Stocking chart for upland central hardwoods

Science.gov (United States)

Martin E. Dale; Donald E. Hilt

1989-01-01

The upland hardwoods stocking chart, introduced by Gingrich in 1967, has become one of the forest manager's most useful tools. The chart allows you to determine the condition of the present stand in relation to a stocking standard. The stocking of a stand is extremely helpful in prescribing various silvicultural treatments such as intermediate thinnings,...

Printing technologies for biomolecule and cell-based applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Ihalainen, Petri; Määttänen, Anni; Sandler, Niklas

2015-10-30

Biomolecules, such as enzymes, proteins and other biomacromolecules (polynucleotides, polypeptides, polysaccharides and DNA) that are immobilized on solid surfaces are relevant to many areas of science and technology. These functionalized surfaces have applications in biosensors, chromatography, diagnostic immunoassays, cell culturing, DNA microarrays and other analytical techniques. Printing technologies offer opportunities in this context. The main interests in printing biomolecules are in immobilizing them on surfaces for sensors and catalysts or for controlled delivery of protein-based drugs. Recently, there have been significant developments in the use of inkjet printing for dispensing of proteins, biomacromolecules and cells. This review discusses the use of roll-to-roll and inkjet printing technologies in manufacturing of biomolecule and cell-based applications. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Sliding three-phase contact line of printed droplets for single-crystal arrays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuang, Minxuan; Wu, Lei; Li, Yifan; Gao, Meng; Zhang, Xingye; Jiang, Lei; Song, Yanlin

2016-01-01

Controlling the behaviours of printed droplets is an essential requirement for inkjet printing of delicate three-dimensional (3D) structures or high-resolution patterns. In this work, molecular deposition and crystallization are regulated by manipulating the three-phase contact line (TCL) behaviour of the printed droplets. The results show that oriented single-crystal arrays are fabricated based on the continuously sliding TCL. Owing to the sliding of the TCL on the substrate, the outward capillary flow within the evaporating droplet is suppressed and the molecules are brought to the centre of the droplet, resulting in the formation of a single crystal. This work provides a facile strategy for controlling the structures of printed units by manipulating the TCL of printed droplets, which is significant for realizing high-resolution patterns and delicate 3D structures. (paper)

Square chart of nuclides with the best coordinates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yuying

2001-01-01

It analyzes upper limiting feature of even Z=60-82 in different charts of nuclides. It has illustrated that the break line of upper limiting Z=60-82 in the chart of nucleus with proton number Z and neutron number N, parameters Z and H (=N-Z), two new parameters S(=2Z-N) and H, and parameters K (=S-H) and H, in proper order, it shows that the break line trends from the left lower to the right upper, the line alternates with horizontal and vertical, and the line trends from the right lower to the left upper. Here it finds that the square chart of nuclides places the middle among these charts. It shows that nuclei distribution is concentrated, so are scope of whole region of nuclides in the different charts of nuclides

Color Charts, Esthetics, and Subjective Randomness

Science.gov (United States)

Sanderson, Yasmine B.

2012-01-01

Color charts, or grids of evenly spaced multicolored dots or squares, appear in the work of modern artists and designers. Often the artist/designer distributes the many colors in a way that could be described as "random," that is, without an obvious pattern. We conduct a statistical analysis of 125 "random-looking" art and design color charts and…

Standard practice for preparing sulfur prints for macrostructural evaluation

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2008-01-01

1.1 This practice provides information required to prepare sulfur prints (also referred to as Baumann Prints) of most ferrous alloys to reveal the distribution of sulfide inclusions. 1.2 The sulfur print reveals the distribution of sulfides in steels with bulk sulfur contents between about 0.010 and 0.40 weight percent. 1.3 Certain steels contain complex sulfides that do not respond to the test solutions, for example, steels containing titanium sulfides or chromium sulfides. 1.4 The sulfur print test is a qualitative test. The density of the print image should not be used to assess the sulfur content of a steel. Under carefully controlled conditions, it is possible to compare print image intensities if the images are formed only by manganese sulfides. 1.5 The sulfur print image will reveal details of the solidification pattern or metal flow from hot or cold working on appropriately chosen and prepared test specimens. 1.6 This practice does not address acceptance criteria based on the use of the method. ...

3D-printing of lightweight cellular composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Compton, Brett G; Lewis, Jennifer A

2014-09-10

A new epoxy-based ink is reported, which enables 3D printing of lightweight cellular composites with controlled alignment of multiscale, high-aspectratio fiber reinforcement to create hierarchical structures inspired by balsa wood. Young's modulus values up to 10 times higher than existing commercially available 3D-printed polymers are attainable, while comparable strength values are maintained. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Applications of Open Source GMAW-Based Metal 3-D Printing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuenyong Nilsiam

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The metal 3-D printing market is currently dominated by high-end applications, which make it inaccessible for small and medium enterprises, fab labs, and individual makers who are interested in the ability to prototype and additively manufacture final products in metal. Recent progress led to low-cost open-source metal 3-D printers using a gas metal arc welding (GMAW-based print head. This reduced the cost of metal 3-D printers into the range of desktop prosumer polymer 3-D printers. Consequent research established good material properties of metal 3-D printed parts with readily-available weld filler wire, reusable substrates, thermal and stress properties, toolpath planning, bead-width control, mechanical properties, and support for overhangs. These previous works showed that GMAW-based metal 3-D printing has a good adhesion between layers and is not porous inside the printed parts, but they did not proceed far enough to demonstrate applications. In this study, the utility of the GMAW approach to 3-D printing is investigated using a low-cost open-source metal 3-D printer and a converted Computer Numerical Control router machine to make useful parts over a range of applications including: fixing an existing part by adding a 3-D metal feature, creating a product using the substrate as part of the component, 3-D printing in high resolution of useful objects, near net objects, and making an integrated product using a combination of steel and polymer 3-D printing. The results show that GMAW-based 3-D printing is capable of distributed manufacturing of useful products for a wide variety of applications for sustainable development.

Effect of layer thickness and printing orientation on mechanical properties and dimensional accuracy of 3D printed porous samples for bone tissue engineering.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arghavan Farzadi

Full Text Available Powder-based inkjet 3D printing method is one of the most attractive solid free form techniques. It involves a sequential layering process through which 3D porous scaffolds can be directly produced from computer-generated models. 3D printed products' quality are controlled by the optimal build parameters. In this study, Calcium Sulfate based powders were used for porous scaffolds fabrication. The printed scaffolds of 0.8 mm pore size, with different layer thickness and printing orientation, were subjected to the depowdering step. The effects of four layer thicknesses and printing orientations, (parallel to X, Y and Z, on the physical and mechanical properties of printed scaffolds were investigated. It was observed that the compressive strength, toughness and Young's modulus of samples with 0.1125 and 0.125 mm layer thickness were more than others. Furthermore, the results of SEM and μCT analyses showed that samples with 0.1125 mm layer thickness printed in X direction have more dimensional accuracy and significantly close to CAD software based designs with predefined pore size, porosity and pore interconnectivity.

A new Snellen's visual acuity chart with 'Indian' numerals.

OpenAIRE

Al-Salem, M

1987-01-01

'Indian' numerals, which are popular among the Arab population, were used to devise a new Snellen's visual acuity chart. The new chart has the advantages of a reading chart. It keeps the patient's interest, does not miss alexic patients, and is quicker to perform. It is also devoid of the many disadvantages of a kinetic response chart (the capital E letter or Landolt's broken rings), especially that of the limited option of test objects.

Karlsruhe nuclide chart - new 9. edition 2015

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soti, Zsolt [European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Institute for Transuranium Elements (ITU), Postfach 2340, DE-76125 Karlsruhe, (Germany); Magill, Joseph; Pfennig, Gerda; Derher, Raymond [Nucleonica GmbH, c/o European Commission, Postfach 2340, DE-76125 Karlsruhe, (Germany)

2015-07-01

Following the success of the 8. Edition of the Karlsruhe Nuclide Chart 2012, a new edition is planned for 2015. Since the 2012 edition, more than 100 nuclides have been discovered and about 1400 nuclides have been updated. In summary, the new 9. edition contains decay and radiation data on approximately 3230 ground state nuclides and 740 isomers from 118 chemical elements. The accompanying booklet provides a detailed explanation of the nuclide box structure used in the Chart. An expanded section contains many additional nuclide decay schemes to aid the user to interpret the highly condensed information in the nuclide boxes. The booklet contains - in addition to the latest values of the physical constants and physical properties - a periodic table of the elements, tables of new and updated nuclides, and a difference chart showing the main changes in the Chart graphically. (authors)

Karlsruhe nuclide chart - new 9. edition 2015

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soti, Zsolt; Magill, Joseph; Pfennig, Gerda; Derher, Raymond

2015-01-01

Following the success of the 8. Edition of the Karlsruhe Nuclide Chart 2012, a new edition is planned for 2015. Since the 2012 edition, more than 100 nuclides have been discovered and about 1400 nuclides have been updated. In summary, the new 9. edition contains decay and radiation data on approximately 3230 ground state nuclides and 740 isomers from 118 chemical elements. The accompanying booklet provides a detailed explanation of the nuclide box structure used in the Chart. An expanded section contains many additional nuclide decay schemes to aid the user to interpret the highly condensed information in the nuclide boxes. The booklet contains - in addition to the latest values of the physical constants and physical properties - a periodic table of the elements, tables of new and updated nuclides, and a difference chart showing the main changes in the Chart graphically. (authors)

A wearable tracking device inkjet-printed on textile

KAUST Repository

Krykpayev, Bauyrzhan

2017-05-20

Despite the abundance of localization applications, the tracking devices have never been truly realized in E-textiles. Standard printed circuit board (PCB)-based devices are obtrusive and rigid and hence not suitable for textile based implementations. An attractive option would be direct printing of circuit layout on the textile itself, negating the use of rigid PCB materials. However, high surface roughness and porosity of textiles prevents efficient and reliable printing of electronics on textile. In this work, by printing an interface layer on the textile first, a complete localization circuit integrated with an antenna has been inkjet-printed on the textile for the first time. Printed conductive traces were optimized in terms of conductivity and resolution by controlling the number of over-printed layers. The tracking device determines the wearer\\'s position using WiFi and this information can be displayed on any internet-enabled device, such as smart phone. The device is compact (55mm×45mm) and lightweight (22g with 500mAh battery) for people to comfortably wear it and can be easily concealed in case discretion is required. The device operates at 2.4GHz communicated up to a distance of 55m, with localization accuracy of up to 8m.

Future enhancements to 3D printing and real time production

Science.gov (United States)

Landa, Joseph; Jenkins, Jeffery; Wu, Jerry; Szu, Harold

2014-05-01

The cost and scope of additive printing machines range from several hundred to hundreds of thousands of dollars. For the extra money, one can get improvements in build size, selection of material properties, resolution, and consistency. However, temperature control during build and fusing predicts outcome and protects the IP by large high cost machines. Support material options determine geometries that can be accomplished which drives cost and complexity of printing heads. Historically, 3D printers have been used for design and prototyping efforts. Recent advances and cost reduction sparked new interest in developing printed products and consumables such as NASA who is printing food, printing consumer parts (e.g. cell phone cases, novelty toys), making tools and fixtures in manufacturing, and recursively print a self-similar printer (c.f. makerbot). There is a near term promise of the capability to print on demand products at the home or office... directly from the printer to use.

Two-photon polymerization for 3D printing light-controlled microrobots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bunea, Ada-Ioana; Engay, Einstom; Separa, Stephen Daedalus

of the light for different types of optical trapping and manipulation experiments has been thoroughly explored. However, most optical trapping experiments make use of simple microbeads, which have limited functionality. An important step forward in the field of Light Robotics is the use of 3D printed.......g. DNA transfection in plant cells or to burst open bacteria cells. By incorporating different features into the microrobot design we are working towards developing a series of microrobotic “surgeons” that would represent a valuable toolbox for surgical precision at the microscale. Combining the full 3D...... design freedom of 2PP with the full volume control freedom facilitated by the use of 3D real-time light shaping represents a significant step towards the development of a new generation of microrobotic tools that have the potential to revolutionize biomedical research at the smallest scales....

Coupling 3D printing with hot-melt extrusion to produce controlled-release tablets.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jiaxiang; Feng, Xin; Patil, Hemlata; Tiwari, Roshan V; Repka, Michael A

2017-03-15

The main objective of this work was to explore the potential of coupling fused deposition modeling in three-dimensional (3D) printing with hot-melt extrusion (HME) technology to facilitate additive manufacturing, in order to fabricate tablets with enhanced extended release properties. Acetaminophen was used as the model drug and different grades and ratios of polymers were used to formulate tablets. Three-point bending and hardness tests were performed to determine the mechanical properties of the filaments and tablets. 3D-printed tablets, directly compressed mill-extruded tablets, and tablets prepared from a physical mixture were evaluated for drug release rates using a USP-II dissolution apparatus. The surface and cross-sectional morphology of the 3D-printed tablets were assessed by scanning electron microscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis were used to characterize the crystal states and thermal properties of materials, respectively. The 3D-printed tablets had smooth surfaces and tight structures; therefore, they showed better extended drug release rates than the directly compressed tablets did. Further, this study clearly demonstrated the feasibility of coupling HME with 3D printing technology, which allows for the formulation of drug delivery systems using different grades and ratios of pharmaceutical polymers. In addition, formulations can be made based on the personal needs of patients. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inaccurate Dental Charting in an Audit of 1128 General Dental Practice Records.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Nathan L; Jephcote, Victoria E L

2017-03-01

Fourteen dentists at different practices in the UK assessed the dental charts of 1128 patients who were new to the dentist but not new to the practice; 44% of the dental charts were found to be inaccurate. Inaccuracy of the individual practice-based charts ranged between 16% for the best performing practices to 83% for the worst: 5% of dental charts had too many teeth charted and 5% had too few teeth charted; 13% of charts had missed amalgam restorations and 18% had missed tooth-coloured restorations; 5% of charts had amalgam restorations recorded but with the surfaces incorrect (eg an MO restoration charted but a DO restoration actually present); 9% of charts had tooth-coloured restoration surfaces incorrectly recorded. For 7.5% of charts, amalgams were charted but not actually present. Other inaccuracies were also noted. The authors reinforce the requirements of the GDC, the advice of defence organizations, and the forensic importance of accurate dental charts. Clinical relevance: Dental charting forms part of the patient’s dental records, and the GDC requires dentists to maintain complete and accurate dental records.

Roll-offset printed transparent conducting electrode for organic solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Inyoung; Kwak, Sun-Woo; Ju, Yeonkyeong; Park, Gun-Young; Lee, Taik-Min; Jang, Yunseok; Choi, Young-Man; Kang, Dongwoo

2015-01-01

Transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) were developed through the roll-offset printing of Ag grid mesh patterns for the application of all-solution processed organic solar cells (OSCs). Due to the remarkable printability of roll-offset printing, the printed TCEs did not show the step coverage problem of subsequent thin layers, which was a chronic problem in other printing techniques. The control of ink cohesion was verified as a critical factor for the high printing quality, which was optimized by adding a polyurethane diol of 2 wt.%. The tensile strength of optimized Ag ink was 322 mN, which led to the clear patterning of Ag nanoparticles. The printed TCEs with different mesh densities of the Ag grid were designed to have a similar property of indium tin oxide (ITO). The measured sheet resistance was 13 Ω/□, and optical transmittance was 86%, including the glass substrate, which was found to be independent of wavelength in the visible spectrum, in contrast with the optical transmittance of ITO. To evaluate the TCE performance as bottom electrodes, all-solution processed OSCs were fabricated on top of the TCEs. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the OSCs increased with the increments of the mesh density due to the distinctive increase of the short circuit current density (J sc ), notwithstanding the similar transmittance and sheet resistance of the TCEs. In comparison with ITO, a higher PCE of OSCs was obtained because the printed TCEs with a high mesh density were able to facilitate effective current collection, leading to a significant increase of J sc . - Highlights: • Roll-offset printing provided a remarkable printability of Ag nano-ink. • Control of ink cohesion played a critical role on the patterning of Ag nano-ink. • Printed Ag mesh was used as a transparent conducting electrode. • Transparency and sheet resistance of printed Ag mesh can be designed simply. • Printed Ag mesh was effective for the current collection of organic solar

Roll-offset printed transparent conducting electrode for organic solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Inyoung, E-mail: ikim@kimm.re.kr; Kwak, Sun-Woo; Ju, Yeonkyeong; Park, Gun-Young; Lee, Taik-Min; Jang, Yunseok; Choi, Young-Man; Kang, Dongwoo

2015-04-01

Transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) were developed through the roll-offset printing of Ag grid mesh patterns for the application of all-solution processed organic solar cells (OSCs). Due to the remarkable printability of roll-offset printing, the printed TCEs did not show the step coverage problem of subsequent thin layers, which was a chronic problem in other printing techniques. The control of ink cohesion was verified as a critical factor for the high printing quality, which was optimized by adding a polyurethane diol of 2 wt.%. The tensile strength of optimized Ag ink was 322 mN, which led to the clear patterning of Ag nanoparticles. The printed TCEs with different mesh densities of the Ag grid were designed to have a similar property of indium tin oxide (ITO). The measured sheet resistance was 13 Ω/□, and optical transmittance was 86%, including the glass substrate, which was found to be independent of wavelength in the visible spectrum, in contrast with the optical transmittance of ITO. To evaluate the TCE performance as bottom electrodes, all-solution processed OSCs were fabricated on top of the TCEs. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the OSCs increased with the increments of the mesh density due to the distinctive increase of the short circuit current density (J{sub sc}), notwithstanding the similar transmittance and sheet resistance of the TCEs. In comparison with ITO, a higher PCE of OSCs was obtained because the printed TCEs with a high mesh density were able to facilitate effective current collection, leading to a significant increase of J{sub sc}. - Highlights: • Roll-offset printing provided a remarkable printability of Ag nano-ink. • Control of ink cohesion played a critical role on the patterning of Ag nano-ink. • Printed Ag mesh was used as a transparent conducting electrode. • Transparency and sheet resistance of printed Ag mesh can be designed simply. • Printed Ag mesh was effective for the current collection of organic

A multi-scale controlled tissue engineering scaffold prepared by 3D printing and NFES technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feifei Yan

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The current focus in the field of life science is the use of tissue engineering scaffolds to repair human organs, which has shown great potential in clinical applications. Extracellular matrix morphology and the performance and internal structure of natural organs are required to meet certain requirements. Therefore, integrating multiple processes can effectively overcome the limitations of the individual processes and can take into account the needs of scaffolds for the material, structure, mechanical properties and many other aspects. This study combined the biological 3D printing technology and the near-field electro-spinning (NFES process to prepare a multi-scale controlled tissue engineering scaffold. While using 3D printing technology to directly prepare the macro-scaffold, the compositing NFES process to build tissue micro-morphology ultimately formed a tissue engineering scaffold which has the specific extracellular matrix structure. This scaffold not only takes into account the material, structure, performance and many other requirements, but also focuses on resolving the controllability problems in macro- and micro-forming which further aim to induce cell directed differentiation, reproduction and, ultimately, the formation of target tissue organs. It has in-depth immeasurable significance to build ideal scaffolds and further promote the application of tissue engineering.

National Forecast Charts

Science.gov (United States)

code. Press enter or select the go button to submit request Local forecast by "City, St" or Prediction Center on Twitter NCEP Quarterly Newsletter WPC Home Analyses and Forecasts National Forecast to all federal, state, and local government web resources and services. National Forecast Charts

Interpolating Spline Curve-Based Perceptual Encryption for 3D Printing Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giao N. Pham

2018-02-01

Full Text Available With the development of 3D printing technology, 3D printing has recently been applied to many areas of life including healthcare and the automotive industry. Due to the benefit of 3D printing, 3D printing models are often attacked by hackers and distributed without agreement from the original providers. Furthermore, certain special models and anti-weapon models in 3D printing must be protected against unauthorized users. Therefore, in order to prevent attacks and illegal copying and to ensure that all access is authorized, 3D printing models should be encrypted before being transmitted and stored. A novel perceptual encryption algorithm for 3D printing models for secure storage and transmission is presented in this paper. A facet of 3D printing model is extracted to interpolate a spline curve of degree 2 in three-dimensional space that is determined by three control points, the curvature coefficients of degree 2, and an interpolating vector. Three control points, the curvature coefficients, and interpolating vector of the spline curve of degree 2 are encrypted by a secret key. The encrypted features of the spline curve are then used to obtain the encrypted 3D printing model by inverse interpolation and geometric distortion. The results of experiments and evaluations prove that the entire 3D triangle model is altered and deformed after the perceptual encryption process. The proposed algorithm is responsive to the various formats of 3D printing models. The results of the perceptual encryption process is superior to those of previous methods. The proposed algorithm also provides a better method and more security than previous methods.

3D printed porous ceramic scaffolds for bone tissue engineering: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Yu; Xun, Sun; Haoye, Meng; Baichuan, Sun; Peng, Chen; Xuejian, Liu; Kaihong, Zhang; Xuan, Yang; Jiang, Peng; Shibi, Lu

2017-08-22

This study summarizes the recent research status and development of three-dimensional (3D)-printed porous ceramic scaffolds in bone tissue engineering. Recent literature on 3D-printed porous ceramic scaffolds was reviewed. Compared with traditional processing and manufacturing technologies, 3D-printed porous ceramic scaffolds have obvious advantages, such as enhancement of the controllability of the structure or improvement of the production efficiency. More sophisticated scaffolds were fabricated by 3D printing technology. 3D printed bioceramics have broad application prospects in bone tissue engineering. Through understanding the advantages and limitations of different 3D-printing approaches, new classes of bone graft substitutes can be developed.

HydroHillChart – Pelton module. Software used to Calculate the Hill Chart of the Pelton Hydraulic Turbines

OpenAIRE

Dorian Nedelcu; Adelina Bostan; Florin Peris-Bendu

2015-01-01

The paper presents the HydroHillChart - Pelton module application, used to calculate the hill chart of the Pelton hydraulic turbine models, by processing the data measured on the stand. In addition, the tools offered by the application such as: interface, menu, input data, numerical and graphical results, etc. are described.

Screening efficacy of a simplified logMAR chart

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naganathan Muthuramalingam

2016-04-01

Aim: This study evaluates the efficacy of a simplified logMAR chart, designed for VA testing over the conventional Snellen chart, in a school-based vision-screening programme. Methods: We designed a simplified logMAR chart by employing the principles of the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS chart in terms of logarithmic letter size progression, inter-letter spacing, and inter-line spacing. Once the simplified logMAR chart was validated by students in the Elite school vision-screening programme, we set out to test the chart in 88 primary and middle schools in the Tiruporur block of Kancheepuram district in Tamil Nadu. One school teacher in each school was trained to screen a cross-sectional population of 10 354 primary and secondary school children (girls: 5488; boys: 4866 for VA deficits using a new, simplified logMAR algorithm. An experienced paediatric optometrist was recruited to validate the screening methods and technique used by the teachers to collect the data. Results: The optometrist screened a subset of 1300 school children from the total sample. The optometrist provided the professional insights needed to validate the clinical efficacy of the simplified logMAR algorithm and verified the reliability of the data collected by the teachers. The mean age of children sampled for validation was 8.6 years (range: 9–14 years. The sensitivity and the specificity of the simplified logMAR chart when compared to the standard logMAR chart were found to be 95% and 98%, respectively. Kappa value was 0.97. Sensitivity of the teachers’ screening was 66.63% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 52.73–77.02 and the specificity was 98.33% (95% CI: 97.49–98.95. Testing of VA was done under substandard illumination levels in 87% of the population. A total of 10 354 children were screened, 425 of whom were found to have some form of visual and/or ocular defect that was identified by the teacher or optometrist. Conclusion: The simplified logMAR testing algorithm

Controlling Shear Stress in 3D Bioprinting is a Key Factor to Balance Printing Resolution and Stem Cell Integrity.

Science.gov (United States)

Blaeser, Andreas; Duarte Campos, Daniela Filipa; Puster, Uta; Richtering, Walter; Stevens, Molly M; Fischer, Horst

2016-02-04

A microvalve-based bioprinting system for the manufacturing of high-resolution, multimaterial 3D-structures is reported. Applying a straightforward fluid-dynamics model, the shear stress at the nozzle site can precisely be controlled. Using this system, a broad study on how cell viability and proliferation potential are affected by different levels of shear stress is conducted. Complex, multimaterial 3D structures are printed with high resolution. This work pioneers the investigation of shear stress-induced cell damage in 3D bioprinting and might help to comprehend and improve the outcome of cell-printing studies in the future. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Printing technologies in fabrication of drug delivery systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolakovic, Ruzica; Viitala, Tapani; Ihalainen, Petri; Genina, Natalja; Peltonen, Jouko; Sandler, Niklas

2013-12-01

There has been increased activity in the field recently regarding the development and research on various printing techniques in fabrication of dosage forms and drug delivery systems. These technologies may offer benefits and flexibility in manufacturing, potentially paving the way for personalized dosing and tailor-made dosage forms. In this review, the most recent observations and advancements in fabrication of drug delivery systems by utilizing printing technologies are summarized. A general overview of 2D printing techniques is presented including a review of the most recent literature where printing techniques are used in fabrication of drug delivery systems. The future perspectives and possible impacts on formulation strategies, flexible dosing and personalized medication of using printing techniques for fabrication of drug delivery systems are discussed. It is evident that there is an urgent need to meet the challenges of rapidly growing trend of personalization of medicines through development of flexible drug-manufacturing approaches. In this context, various printing technologies, such as inkjet and flexography, can play an important role. Challenges on different levels exist and include: i) technological development of printers and production lines; ii) printable formulations and carrier substrates; iii) quality control and characterization; and iv) regulatory perspectives.

Advances in digital printing and quality considerations of digitally printed images

Science.gov (United States)

Waes, Walter C.

1997-02-01

The traditional 'graphic arts' market has changed very rapidly. It has been only ten years now since Aldus introduced its 'PageMaker' software for text and layout. The platform used was Apple-Mac, which became also the standard for many other graphic applications. The so-called high-end workstations disappeared. This was the start for what later was called: the desk top publishing revolution. At the same time, image scanning became also user-friendly and heavy duty scanners were reduced to desktop-size. Color- reproduction became a commodity product. Since then, the pre-press industry has been going through a technical nightmare, trying to keep up with the digital explosion. One after another, tasks and crafts of pre-press were being transformed by digital technologies. New technologies in this field came almost too fast for many people to adapt. The next digital revolution will be for the commercial printers. All the reasons are explained later in this document. There is now a definite need for a different business-strategy and a new positioning in the electronic media-world. Niches have to be located for new graphic arts- applications. Electronic services to-and-from originators' and executors environments became a requirement. Data can now flow on-line between the printer and the originator of the job. It is no longer the pre-press shop who is controlling this. In many cases, electronic data goes between the print-buyer or agency and the printer. High power communication-systems with accepted standard color- management are transforming the printer, and more particularly, the pre-press shop fatally. The new digital printing market, now in the beginning of its expected full expansion, has to do with growing requests coming from agencies and other print-buyers for: (1) short-run printing; (2) print-on-demand approximately in-time; (3) personalization or other forms of customization; (4) quick turnaround.

The making of Andersen’s liquefaction chart

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sabaliauskas, Tomas; Ibsen, Lars Bo

Andersen’s chart (Andersen & Berre, 1999) is a graphical method of observing cyclic soil response. It allows observing soil response to various stress amplitudes that can lead to liquefaction, excess plastic deformation stabilizing soil response.The process of obtaining the original chart has been...

47 CFR 73.699 - TV engineering charts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false TV engineering charts. 73.699 Section 73.699 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES Television Broadcast Stations § 73.699 TV engineering charts. This section consists of the following Figures...

Gráfico de controle de regressão aplicado na monitoração de processos Regression control chart applied in process monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciane Flores Jacobi

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo empregar o gráfico de controle de regressão, como ferramenta de controle estatístico, para monitorar processos produtivos, onde uma variável de estado, que seja de interesse, possa ser expressa como função de uma variável de controle. Existem vários estudos sobre o controle de variáveis em processos produtivos, mas, na maioria das vezes, são em relação ao controle de cada variável, separadamente, não podendo ser utilizados para um estudo comparativo. Esta pesquisa, portanto, apresenta uma técnica eficiente no controle simultâneo de variáveis correlacionadas.The main purpose of this research is to apply the regression control chart as tool of statistical control to monitor productive processes, where a state variable that is of interest can be expressed as function of a control variable. Several studies exist to control variables in productive processes, but most of time they are separately in relation to the control of each variable, and however not could be used for a comparative study. This research, therefore, it presents an efficient technique to control simultaneous by correlated variables.

Chart of nuclides relating to neutron activation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okada, Minoru

1981-09-01

This chart is for frequent use in the prediction of the product species of neutron activation. The first edition of the chart has been made in 1976 after the repeated trial preparation. It has the following good points. (1) Any letter in chart is as large as one can read easily. [This condition has been obtained by the selection of items to be shown in chart. They are the name (the symbol of element, mass number, and half-life) of nuclide or of isomer, and the type of decay.]. (2) Decay product has been shown indirectly for branchings with two-step decay via short-lived daughter in an excited state. [This matter has been realized by use of the new mode of indication.] (3) Nuclides shown in chart are (a) naturally occurring nuclides and (b) nuclides formed from naturally occurring nuclides through one of the following reactions: (n, γ), (n, n'), (n, p), (n, α), (n, 2n), (n, pn), (n, 3n), (n, αn), (n, t), (n, 3 He), (n, 2p), and (n, γ)(n, γ). In the revision of the first edition, some modes of indication have become a little simpler, and the isomers of shorter half-lives (0.1 - 1 μs) have been added. (author)

Independent Pre-Transplant Recipient Cancer Risk Factors after Kidney Transplantation and the Utility of G-Chart Analysis for Clinical Process Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Schrem, Harald; Schneider, Valentin; Kurok, Marlene; Goldis, Alon; Dreier, Maren; Kaltenborn, Alexander; Gwinner, Wilfried; Barthold, Marc; Liebeneiner, Jan; Winny, Markus; Klempnauer, Jürgen; Kleine, Moritz

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to identify independent pre-transplant cancer risk factors after kidney transplantation and to assess the utility of G-chart analysis for clinical process control. This may contribute to the improvement of cancer surveillance processes in individual transplant centers. 1655 patients after kidney transplantation at our institution with a total of 9,425 person-years of follow-up were compared retrospectively to the general German population using site-specific standardized-incidence-ratios (SIRs) of observed malignancies. Risk-adjusted multivariable Cox regression was used to identify independent pre-transplant cancer risk factors. G-chart analysis was applied to determine relevant differences in the frequency of cancer occurrences. Cancer incidence rates were almost three times higher as compared to the matched general population (SIR = 2.75; 95%-CI: 2.33-3.21). Significantly increased SIRs were observed for renal cell carcinoma (SIR = 22.46), post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (SIR = 8.36), prostate cancer (SIR = 2.22), bladder cancer (SIR = 3.24), thyroid cancer (SIR = 10.13) and melanoma (SIR = 3.08). Independent pre-transplant risk factors for cancer-free survival were age 62.6 years (p = 0.001, HR: 1.29), polycystic kidney disease other than autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) (p = 0.001, HR: 0.68), high body mass index in kg/m2 (pKaizen events and audits for root-cause analysis of relevant detection rate changes. Further, comparative G-chart analysis would enable benchmarking of cancer surveillance processes between centers.

Nuclear industry chart

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1975-01-01

As part of a survey on Switzerland a pull-out organisation chart is presented of the nuclear industry showing Swiss government bodies and industrial concerns. Their interests, connections with each other and their associations with international and other national organizations and firms are indicated. (U.K.)

Congestive Heart Failure Cardiopoietic Regenerative Therapy (CHART-1) trial design.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartunek, Jozef; Davison, Beth; Sherman, Warren; Povsic, Thomas; Henry, Timothy D; Gersh, Bernard; Metra, Marco; Filippatos, Gerasimos; Hajjar, Roger; Behfar, Atta; Homsy, Christian; Cotter, Gad; Wijns, William; Tendera, Michal; Terzic, Andre

2016-02-01

Cardiopoiesis is a conditioning programme that aims to upgrade the cardioregenerative aptitude of patient-derived stem cells through lineage specification. Cardiopoietic stem cells tested initially for feasibility and safety exhibited signs of clinical benefit in patients with ischaemic heart failure (HF) warranting definitive evaluation. Accordingly, CHART-1 is designed as a large randomized, sham-controlled multicentre study aimed to validate cardiopoietic stem cell therapy. Patients (n = 240) with chronic HF secondary to ischaemic heart disease, reduced LVEF (Heart Failure Questionnaire score, 6 min walk test, LV end-systolic volume, and LVEF at 9 months. The secondary efficacy endpoint is the time to cardiovascular death or worsening HF at 12 months. Safety endpoints include mortality, readmissions, aborted sudden deaths, and serious adverse events at 12 and 24 months. The CHART-1 clinical trial is powered to examine the therapeutic impact of lineage-directed stem cells as a strategy to achieve cardiac regeneration in HF populations. On completion, CHART-1 will offer a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of cardiopoietic stem cells in the treatment of chronic ischaemic HF. NCT01768702. © 2015 The Authors European Journal of Heart Failure © 2015 European Society of Cardiology.

Run charts revisited: a simulation study of run chart rules for detection of non-random variation in health care processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Anhøj, Jacob; Olesen, Anne Vingaard

2014-01-01

A run chart is a line graph of a measure plotted over time with the median as a horizontal line. The main purpose of the run chart is to identify process improvement or degradation, which may be detected by statistical tests for non-random patterns in the data sequence. We studied the sensitivity to shifts and linear drifts in simulated processes using the shift, crossings and trend rules for detecting non-random variation in run charts. The shift and crossings rules are effective in detecting shifts and drifts in process centre over time while keeping the false signal rate constant around 5% and independent of the number of data points in the chart. The trend rule is virtually useless for detection of linear drift over time, the purpose it was intended for.

3D-printed upper limb prostheses: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Ten Kate, Jelle; Smit, Gerwin; Breedveld, Paul

2017-04-01

This paper aims to provide an overview with quantitative information of existing 3D-printed upper limb prostheses. We will identify the benefits and drawbacks of 3D-printed devices to enable improvement of current devices based on the demands of prostheses users. A review was performed using Scopus, Web of Science and websites related to 3D-printing. Quantitative information on the mechanical and kinematic specifications and 3D-printing technology used was extracted from the papers and websites. The overview (58 devices) provides the general specifications, the mechanical and kinematic specifications of the devices and information regarding the 3D-printing technology used for hands. The overview shows prostheses for all different upper limb amputation levels with different types of control and a maximum material cost of $500. A large range of various prostheses have been 3D-printed, of which the majority are used by children. Evidence with respect to the user acceptance, functionality and durability of the 3D-printed hands is lacking. Contrary to what is often claimed, 3D-printing is not necessarily cheap, e.g., injection moulding can be cheaper. Conversely, 3D-printing provides a promising possibility for individualization, e.g., personalized socket, colour, shape and size, without the need for adjusting the production machine. Implications for rehabilitation Upper limb deficiency is a condition in which a part of the upper limb is missing as a result of a congenital limb deficiency of as a result of an amputation. A prosthetic hand can restore some of the functions of a missing limb and help the user in performing activities of daily living. Using 3D-printing technology is one of the solutions to manufacture hand prostheses. This overview provides information about the general, mechanical and kinematic specifications of all the devices and it provides the information about the 3D-printing technology used to print the hands.

Inkjet-Printed Organic Transistors Based on Organic Semiconductor/Insulating Polymer Blends.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Yoon-Jung; Park, Yeong Don; Lee, Wi Hyoung

2016-08-02

Recent advances in inkjet-printed organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on organic semiconductor/insulating polymer blends are reviewed in this article. Organic semiconductor/insulating polymer blends are attractive ink candidates for enhancing the jetting properties, inducing uniform film morphologies, and/or controlling crystallization behaviors of organic semiconductors. Representative studies using soluble acene/insulating polymer blends as an inkjet-printed active layer in OFETs are introduced with special attention paid to the phase separation characteristics of such blended films. In addition, inkjet-printed semiconducting/insulating polymer blends for fabricating high performance printed OFETs are reviewed.

HydroHillChart – Pelton module. Software used to Calculate the Hill Chart of the Pelton Hydraulic Turbines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dorian Nedelcu

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the HydroHillChart - Pelton module application, used to calculate the hill chart of the Pelton hydraulic turbine models, by processing the data measured on the stand. In addition, the tools offered by the application such as: interface, menu, input data, numerical and graphical results, etc. are described.

FPGA-based multisensor real-time machine vision for banknote printing

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Rui; Türke, Thomas; Schaede, Johannes; Willeke, Harald; Lohweg, Volker

2009-02-01

Automatic sheet inspection in banknote production has been used as a standard quality control tool for more than a decade. As more and more print techniques and new security features are established, total quality in bank note printing must be guaranteed. This aspect has a direct impact on the research and development for bank note inspection systems in general in the sense of technological sustainability. It is accepted, that print defects are generated not only by printing parameter changes, but also by mechanical machine parameter changes, which will change unnoticed in production. Therefore, a new concept for a multi-sensory adaptive learning and classification model based on Fuzzy-Pattern- Classifiers for data inspection and machine conditioning is proposed. A general aim is to improve the known inspection techniques and propose an inspection methodology that can ensure a comprehensive quality control of the printed substrates processed by printing presses, especially printing presses which are designed to process substrates used in the course of the production of banknotes, security documents and others. Therefore, the research and development work in this area necessitates a change in concept for banknote inspection in general. In this paper a new generation of FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) based real time inspection technology is presented, which allows not only colour inspection on banknote sheets, but has also the implementation flexibility for various inspection algorithms for security features, such as window threads, embedded threads, OVDs, watermarks, screen printing etc., and multi-sensory data processing. A variety of algorithms is described in the paper, which are designed for and implemented on FPGAs. The focus is based on algorithmic approaches.

46 CFR 232.3 - Chart of accounts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... stated in any revision to generally accepted accounting principles, the meaning of the latter shall... UNIFORM FINANCIAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS § 232.3 Chart of accounts. (a) Purpose of accounts. A contractor shall use this chart of accounts as a guide for preparing the financial statements and for other...

33 CFR 164.33 - Charts and publications.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

...) PORTS AND WATERWAYS SAFETY NAVIGATION SAFETY REGULATIONS § 164.33 Charts and publications. (a) Each vessel must have the following: (1) Marine charts of the area to be transited, published by the National... tables published by private entities using data provided by the National Ocean Service. (ii) Tidal...

21 CFR 886.1150 - Visual acuity chart.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Visual acuity chart. 886.1150 Section 886.1150 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES OPHTHALMIC DEVICES Diagnostic Devices § 886.1150 Visual acuity chart. (a) Identification...

3D Printing of Ball Grid Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Sinha, Shayandev; Hines, Daniel; Dasgupta, Abhijit; Das, Siddhartha

Ball grid arrays (BGA) are interconnects between an integrated circuit (IC) and a printed circuit board (PCB), that are used for surface mounting electronic components. Typically, lead free alloys are used to make solder balls which, after a reflow process, establish a mechanical and electrical connection between the IC and the PCB. High temperature processing is required for most of these alloys leading to thermal shock causing damage to ICs. For producing flexible circuits on a polymer substrate, there is a requirement for low temperature processing capabilities (around 150 C) and for reducing strain from mechanical stresses. Additive manufacturing techniques can provide an alternative methodology for fabricating BGAs as a direct replacement for standard solder bumped BGAs. We have developed aerosol jet (AJ) printing methods to fabricate a polymer bumped BGA. As a demonstration of the process developed, a daisy chain test chip was polymer bumped using an AJ printed ultra violet (UV) curable polymer ink that was then coated with an AJ printed silver nanoparticle laden ink as a conducting layer printed over the polymer bump. The structure for the balls were achieved by printing the polymer ink using a specific toolpath coupled with in-situ UV curing of the polymer which provided good control over the shape, resulting in well-formed spherical bumps on the order of 200 um wide by 200 um tall for this initial demonstration. A detailed discussion of the AJ printing method and results from accelerated life-time testing will be presented

3D printed graphene-based electrodes with high electrochemical performance

Science.gov (United States)

Vernardou, D.; Vasilopoulos, K. C.; Kenanakis, G.

2017-10-01

Three-dimensional (3D) printed graphene pyramids were fabricated through a dual-extrusion FDM-type 3D printer using a commercially available PLA-based conductive graphene. Compared with flat printed graphene, a substantial enhancement in the electrochemical performance was clearly observed for the case of 3D printed graphene pyramids with 5.0 mm height. Additionally, the charge transfer of Li+ across the graphene pyramids/electrolyte interface was easier enhancing its performance presenting a specific discharge capacity of 265 mAh g-1 with retention of 93% after 1000 cycles. The importance of thickness control towards the printing of an electrode with good stability and effective electrochemical behavior is highlighted.

Print Finishing: From Manual to Automated Print Finishing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gareth Ward

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Meeting the demand for faster turnrounds and shorter print runs goes beyond making the printing press easier to set up and change. There is little point in producing plates and then sheets from a press if the post press area does not change to keep abreast of developments in prepress and the print room. The greatest impact is going to come from JDF, the end to end production data format which is finding wide spread acceptance in print areas. To date finishing equipment manufacturers are not as well represented within the CIP4 organisation as prepress and press vendors, but the major manufacturers are members. All are working to the goal of complete connectivity.The idea of JDF is that if the format of a print product like a magazine is known during the creation phases, the information can be used to preset machinery that is going to be used to produce it, so avoiding input errors and saving manufacturing time.A second aspect to JDF is that information about performance and progress is gathered and can be retrieved from a central point or made available to a customer. Production scheduling and costing becomes more accurate and customer relationships are deepened. However JDF to its fullest extent is not yet in use in connecting the finishing area to the rest of the printing plant. Around the world different companies are testing the idea of JDF to connect saddle stitchers, guillotines and binders with frantic work underway to be able to show results soon.

A low volume 3D-printed temperature-controllable cuvette for UV visible spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Pisaruka, Jelena; Dymond, Marcus K

2016-10-01

We report the fabrication of a 3D-printed water-heated cuvette that fits into a standard UV visible spectrophotometer. Full 3D-printable designs are provided and 3D-printing conditions have been optimised to provide options to print the cuvette in either acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or polylactic acid polymers, extending the range of solvents that are compatible with the design. We demonstrate the efficacy of the cuvette by determining the critical micelle concentration of sodium dodecyl sulphate at 40 °C, the molar extinction coefficients of cobalt nitrate and dsDNA and by reproducing the thermochromic UV visible spectrum of a mixture of cobalt chloride, water and propan-2-ol. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

3D printing of bacteria into functional complex materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaffner, Manuel; Rühs, Patrick A; Coulter, Fergal; Kilcher, Samuel; Studart, André R

2017-12-01

Despite recent advances to control the spatial composition and dynamic functionalities of bacteria embedded in materials, bacterial localization into complex three-dimensional (3D) geometries remains a major challenge. We demonstrate a 3D printing approach to create bacteria-derived functional materials by combining the natural diverse metabolism of bacteria with the shape design freedom of additive manufacturing. To achieve this, we embedded bacteria in a biocompatible and functionalized 3D printing ink and printed two types of "living materials" capable of degrading pollutants and of producing medically relevant bacterial cellulose. With this versatile bacteria-printing platform, complex materials displaying spatially specific compositions, geometry, and properties not accessed by standard technologies can be assembled from bottom up for new biotechnological and biomedical applications.

[Growth charts: Impact on the prevalence of nutritional disorders].

Science.gov (United States)

Polo Martín, P; Abellan, J J; Nájar Godoy, M I; Álvarez de Laviada Mulero, T

2015-05-01

The references used to assess child growth in Spain are the graphs of the Orbegozo Foundation and the charts of the World Health Organization (WHO). The objective of this study is to analyze the differences between the two charts for weight, height and body mass index, and assess their relevance to identify growth or nutritional problems. The values of the extreme percentiles of height, weight and body mass index for each sex from 0 to 10 years in both charts are compared. For each value Absolute differences and Z scores are calculated for each value. To evaluate the impact on the prevalence of the various nutritional or growth disorders the location of the value of the respective percentiles of in each of the charts were assessed. Significant differences were observed between the 3th percentile of height and weight, 97th of weight, and 85th and 97th of body mass index. Marked differences were observed for the extreme values of body mass index. During the first years, the Orbegozo charts overestimate the prevalence of malnutrition (between 2% and 19% depending on age and sex) compared to the WHO charts. In subsequent ages Orbegozo underestimates WHO between 0.7% and 2.89%. Orbegozo underestimates the prevalence of overweight (between 2.5% and 14.8%) compared to the WHO charts. The 97th percentile of Body mass index in the Orbegozo charts corresponds in most cases with WHO percentiles above 99.99%. The two charts analyzed have significant differences from a clinical and the public health point of view, in the estimation of overweight/obesity and malnutrition. Copyright © 2014 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Adherence to the Australian National Inpatient Medication Chart: the efficacy of a uniform national drug chart on improving prescription error.

Science.gov (United States)

Atik, Alp

2013-10-01

In 2006, the National Inpatient Medication Chart (NIMC) was introduced as a uniform medication chart in Australian public hospitals with the aim of reducing prescription error. The rate of regular medication prescription error in the NIMC was assessed. Data was collected using the NIMC Audit Tool and analyzed with respect to causes of error per medication prescription and per medication chart. The following prescription requirements were assessed: date, generic drug name, route of administration, dose, frequency, administration time, indication, signature, name and contact details. A total of 1877 medication prescriptions were reviewed. 1653 prescriptions (88.07%) had no contact number, 1630 (86.84%) did not have an indication, 1230 and 675 (35.96%) used a drug's trade name. Within 261 medication charts, all had at least one entry, which did not include an indication, 258 (98.85%) had at least one entry, which did not have a contact number and 200 (76.63%) had at least one entry, which used a trade name. The introduction of a uniform national medication chart is a positive step, but more needs to be done to address the root causes of prescription error. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A high speed electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing method for line printing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phung, Thanh Huy; Kim, Seora; Kwon, Kye-Si

2017-01-01

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing has drawn attention due to its capability to produce smaller dots and patterns with finer lines when compared to those obtained from using conventional inkjet printing. Previous studies have suggested that drop-on-demand EHD-patterning applications should be limited to very slow printing cases with speeds far less than 10 mm s −1 due to the small dot size and limited jetting frequency. In this study, a new EHD printing method is proposed to significantly increase the line-patterning printing speed by modifying the ink and thereby changing the relic shape. The proposed method has the additional advantage of reducing the line-pattern width. The results of the experiment show that the pattern width could be reduced from 20 µ m to 4 µ m by increasing the printing speed from 10 mm s −1 to 50 mm s −1 , respectively. (paper)

Charts for weight loss to detect hypernatremic dehydration and prevent formula supplementing.

Science.gov (United States)

van Dommelen, Paula; Boer, Suzanne; Unal, Sevim; van Wouwe, Jacobus P

2014-06-01

Most breast-fed newborns get the milk they need. However, very rarely milk intake is insufficient mostly as a result of poor breastfeeding techniques. Dramatic weight loss and hypernatremic dehydration may occur. Our aim was to construct charts for weight loss. A case-control study was performed. Charts with standard deviation score (SDS) lines for weight loss in the first month were constructed for 2,359 healthy breast-fed term newborns and 271 cases with breastfeeding-associated hypernatremic dehydration with serum sodium level > 149 mEq/L. Day 0 was defined as the day of birth. Many cases with (or who will develop) hypernatremic dehydration (84%; +1 SDS line) fell below the -1 SDS line at day 3, the -2 SDS line at day 4, and the -2.5 SDS line at day 5 in the chart of the healthy breast-fed newborns. Weight loss of cases with permanent residual symptoms was far below the -2.5 SDS. Already at an early age, weight loss differs between healthy breast-fed newborns and those with hypernatremic dehydration. Charts for weight loss are, therefore, useful tools to detect early, or prevent newborns from developing, breastfeeding-associated hypernatremic dehydration, and also to prevent unnecessary formula supplementing. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

32 CFR 728.93 - Chart of adjuncts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Chart of adjuncts. 728.93 Section 728.93 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY PERSONNEL MEDICAL AND DENTAL CARE FOR ELIGIBLE PERSONS AT NAVY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT FACILITIES Adjuncts to Medical Care § 728.93 Chart of...

Improvement of WWW chart of the nuclides interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okamoto, Tsutomu; Minato, Futoshi; Iwamoto, Osamu; Koura, Hiroyuki

2016-03-01

The booklet 'chart of the nuclides' is issued every 4 years since 1976 from Nuclear Data Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency. The chart of the nuclides for WWW (World Wide Web) was developed in 1999 in order to be available from the Internet browser. The Internet connection speeds, browser functions and JavaScript libraries has, however, progressed at present compared with the Internet technology in those days. In connection with the release of the 2014 edition of the chart of the nuclides, the interface of the WWW chart of the nuclides has been improved by introducing new Internet technologies aiming at enhancing convenience on accessibilities via browsers. We introduced a scrolling screen that would make capabilities of easy screen movement on a map with the addition of the drag scrolling function. Considering smart phone access, the light-weight edition which introduced automatic switch was prepared. The new system results in reduction in access time and usefulness in mobile environment. The method of making figures of the chart was reconsidered due to addition of new decay schemes to the 2014 edition. SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) was adopted so as to make figures easily. It is concluded that the accessibilities of WWW chart of the nuclides are substantially improved from the previous version by introducing the new technologies. (author)

Engraving Print Classification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoelck, Daniel; Barbe, Joaquim

2008-01-01

A print is a mark, or drawing, made in or upon a plate, stone, woodblock or other material which is cover with ink and then is press usually into a paper reproducing the image on the paper. Engraving prints usually are image composed of a group of binary lines, specially those are made with relief and intaglio techniques. Varying the number and the orientation of lines, the drawing of the engraving print is conformed. For this reason we propose an application based on image processing methods to classify engraving prints

Dental Charting. Learning Activities, Unit Tests, Progress Chart, and Work Sheet.

Science.gov (United States)

Texas Univ., Austin. Center for Occupational Curriculum Development.

These materials are part of a series dealing with skills and information needed by students in dental assisting. The individualized student materials are suitable for classroom, laboratory, or cooperative training programs. These student materials, designed to be used with the Dental Charting Student Manual, consist of learning activities, unit…

Weldability charts for constructional steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ion, J C; Ashby, M F

2012-01-01

The weldability of materials is still a poorly understood concept; a quantitative assessment remains elusive. The variables associated with welding are reduced here into two groups - processing parameters and material properties - from which two characteristic indices are defined and used as the basis of weldability charts. For the case of constructional steels, a carbon equivalent characterises both heat affected zone hardenability and the maximum hardness developed after solid state phase transformations. The welding process is characterised by its energy input. A mathematical model is used to establish relationships between the indices, which are displayed on charts as contours of microstructure and hardness.

CDC Child Growth Charts

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — CDC child growth charts consist of a series of percentile curves that illustrate the distribution of selected body measurements in U.S. children. Pediatric growth...

Iron Oxide Nanoparticle-Based Magnetic Ink Development for Fully Printed Tunable Radio-Frequency Devices

KAUST Repository

Vaseem, Mohammad

2018-01-30

The field of printed electronics is still in its infancy and most of the reported work is based on commercially available nanoparticle-based metallic inks. Although fully printed devices that employ dielectric/semiconductor inks have recently been reported, there is a dearth of functional inks that can demonstrate controllable devices. The lack of availability of functional inks is a barrier to the widespread use of fully printed devices. For radio-frequency electronics, magnetic materials have many uses in reconfigurable components but rely on expensive and rigid ferrite materials. A suitable magnetic ink can facilitate the realization of fully printed, magnetically controlled, tunable devices. This report presents the development of an iron oxide nanoparticle-based magnetic ink. First, a tunable inductor is fully printed using iron oxide nanoparticle-based magnetic ink. Furthermore, iron oxide nanoparticles are functionalized with oleic acid to make them compatible with a UV-curable SU8 solution. Functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles are successfully embedded in the SU8 matrix to make a magnetic substrate. The as-fabricated substrate is characterized for its magnetostatic and microwave properties. A frequency tunable printed patch antenna is demonstrated using the magnetic and in-house silver-organo-complex inks. This is a step toward low-cost, fully printed, controllable electronic components.

Using patients' charts to assess medical trainees in the workplace: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Wassia, Heidi; Al-Wassia, Rolina; Shihata, Shadi; Park, Yoon Soo; Tekian, Ara

2015-04-01

The objective of this review is to summarize and critically appraise existing evidence on the use of chart stimulated recall (CSR) and case-based discussion (CBD) as an assessment tool for medical trainees. Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC), Web of Science, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for original articles on the use of CSR or CBD as an assessment method for trainees in all medical specialties. Four qualitative and three observational non-comparative studies were eligible for this review. The number of patient-chart encounters needed to achieve sufficient reliability varied across studies. None of the included studies evaluated the content validity of the tool. Both trainees and assessors expressed high level of satisfaction with the tool; however, inadequate training, different interpretation of the scoring scales and skills needed to give feedback were addressed as limitations for conducting the assessment. There is still no compelling evidence for the use of patient's chart to evaluate medical trainees in the workplace. A body of evidence that is valid, reliable, and documents the educational effect in support of the use of patients' charts to assess medical trainees is needed.

Visualizing a Procedure with Nassi-Schneiderman Charts.

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Edmond H.

1990-01-01

Argues that Nassi-Schneiderman (NS) charts, when used to diagram human procedures, can eliminate prose ambiguities. Asserts that these devices provide most of the advantages of decision tables and trees. Suggests using NS charts in testing the logic and completeness of traditional procedures, or even in place of many traditional publications. (SG)

Correlations between M-CHARTS and PHP findings and subjective perception of metamorphopsia in patients with macular diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Arimura, Eiko; Matsumoto, Chota; Nomoto, Hiroki; Hashimoto, Shigeki; Takada, Sonoko; Okuyama, Sachiko; Shimomura, Yoshikazu

2011-01-05

To assess the correlations between a patient's subjective perception of metamorphopsia and the clinical measurements of metamorphopsia by M-CHARTS and PreView PHP (PHP). The authors designed a 10-item questionnaire focusing on the symptoms of metamorphopsia and verified its validity with a Rasch analysis. M-CHARTS measured the minimum visual angle of a dotted line needed to detect metamorphopsia, and PHP used the hyperacuity function for detection. Subjects were 39 patients with idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM), 22 patients with idiopathic macular hole (M-hole), 19 patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and 51 healthy controls. Rasch analysis suggested the elimination of one question. The nine-item questionnaire score significantly correlated to the M-CHARTS score in ERM (r = 0.59; P = 0.0004) but not in M-hole and to the PHP result in AMD (r = -0.29; P = 0.04) but not in ERM. Eighty percent of ERM patients with greater horizontal M-CHARTS score subjectively perceived horizontal metamorphopsia more often. M-CHARTS showed better sensitivities than PHP in both ERM (89% vs. 42%) and AMD (74% vs. 68%) and better specificity (100% vs. 71%) in healthy controls. Rasch analysis indicated that the present form of the questionnaire is better suited for moderate to severe cases of metamorphopsia than for mild cases. The questionnaire appears to be a valid assessment of patient subjective perception of metamorphopsia and can be used to supplement the clinical measurements of metamorphopsia by M-CHARTS and PHP in patients with macular diseases.

3D-printed microfluidic chips with patterned, cell-laden hydrogel constructs.

Science.gov (United States)

Knowlton, Stephanie; Yu, Chu Hsiang; Ersoy, Fulya; Emadi, Sharareh; Khademhosseini, Ali; Tasoglu, Savas

2016-06-20

Three-dimensional (3D) printing offers potential to fabricate high-throughput and low-cost fabrication of microfluidic devices as a promising alternative to traditional techniques which enables efficient design iterations in the development stage. In this study, we demonstrate a single-step fabrication of a 3D transparent microfluidic chip using two alternative techniques: a stereolithography-based desktop 3D printer and a two-step fabrication using an industrial 3D printer based on polyjet technology. This method, compared to conventional fabrication using relatively expensive materials and labor-intensive processes, presents a low-cost, rapid prototyping technique to print functional 3D microfluidic chips. We enhance the capabilities of 3D-printed microfluidic devices by coupling 3D cell encapsulation and spatial patterning within photocrosslinkable gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA). The platform presented here serves as a 3D culture environment for long-term cell culture and growth. Furthermore, we have demonstrated the ability to print complex 3D microfluidic channels to create predictable and controllable fluid flow regimes. Here, we demonstrate the novel use of 3D-printed microfluidic chips as controllable 3D cell culture environments, advancing the applicability of 3D printing to engineering physiological systems for future applications in bioengineering.

Laser-Printed Organic Thin-Film Transistors

KAUST Repository

Diemer, Peter J.

2017-09-20

Solution deposition of organic optoelectronic materials enables fast roll-to-roll manufacturing of photonic and electronic devices on any type of substrate and at low cost. But controlling the film microstructure when it crystallizes from solution can be challenging. This represents a major limitation of this technology, since the microstructure, in turn, governs the charge transport properties of the material. Further, the solvents typically used are hazardous, which precludes their incorporation in large-scale manufacturing processes. Here, the first ever organic thin-film transistor fabricated with an electrophotographic laser printing process using a standard office laser printer is reported. This completely solvent-free additive manufacturing method allows for simultaneous deposition, purification, and patterning of the organic semiconductor layer. Laser-printed transistors using triisopropylsilylethynyl pentacene as the semiconductor layer are realized on flexible substrates and characterized, making this a successful first demonstration of the potential of laser printing of organic semiconductors.

Comparison of customised growth charts v. standard population

African Journals Online (AJOL)

pregnant diabetic population using population-based growth charts and customised growth charts. Methods. ... Of the patients, 44 had type 1, 66 type 2 and 173 gestational diabetes. The growth of .... with diabetic ketoacidosis, of whom one.

Inkjet-Printed Organic Transistors Based on Organic Semiconductor/Insulating Polymer Blends

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Yoon-Jung; Park, Yeong Don; Lee, Wi Hyoung

2016-01-01

Recent advances in inkjet-printed organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on organic semiconductor/insulating polymer blends are reviewed in this article. Organic semiconductor/insulating polymer blends are attractive ink candidates for enhancing the jetting properties, inducing uniform film morphologies, and/or controlling crystallization behaviors of organic semiconductors. Representative studies using soluble acene/insulating polymer blends as an inkjet-printed active layer in OFETs are introduced with special attention paid to the phase separation characteristics of such blended films. In addition, inkjet-printed semiconducting/insulating polymer blends for fabricating high performance printed OFETs are reviewed. PMID:28773772

Adult rat retinal ganglion cells and glia can be printed by piezoelectric inkjet printing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lorber, Barbara; Martin, Keith R; Hsiao, Wen-Kai; Hutchings, Ian M

2014-01-01

We have investigated whether inkjet printing technology can be extended to print cells of the adult rat central nervous system (CNS), retinal ganglion cells (RGC) and glia, and the effects on survival and growth of these cells in culture, which is an important step in the development of tissue grafts for regenerative medicine, and may aid in the cure of blindness. We observed that RGC and glia can be successfully printed using a piezoelectric printer. Whilst inkjet printing reduced the cell population due to sedimentation within the printing system, imaging of the printhead nozzle, which is the area where the cells experience the greatest shear stress and rate, confirmed that there was no evidence of destruction or even significant distortion of the cells during jet ejection and drop formation. Importantly, the viability of the cells was not affected by the printing process. When we cultured the same number of printed and non-printed RGC/glial cells, there was no significant difference in cell survival and RGC neurite outgrowth. In addition, use of a glial substrate significantly increased RGC neurite outgrowth, and this effect was retained when the cells had been printed. In conclusion, printing of RGC and glia using a piezoelectric printhead does not adversely affect viability and survival/growth of the cells in culture. Importantly, printed glial cells retain their growth-promoting properties when used as a substrate, opening new avenues for printed CNS grafts in regenerative medicine. (paper)

The fluid transport in inkjet-printed liquid rivulets

Science.gov (United States)

Singler, Timothy; Liu, Liang; Sun, Xiaoze; Pei, Yunheng; Microfluidic; Interfacial Transport Lab Team

2017-11-01

Inkjet printing holds significant potential for the controlled deposition of solution-processed functional materials spanning applications from microelectronics to biomedical sciences. Although theoretical and experimental investigations addressing the stability criteria of the inkjet-printed liquid rivulets have been discussed in the literature, the associated transport phenomena have received little attention. This study focuses on the experimental investigation of printed rivulets, stable with respect to Rayleigh-Plateau, but exhibiting bulge instability. The morphological evolution and the depth-resolved flow field of the rivulets were assessed via high-speed imaging in conjunction with micro-PIV. We discuss in detail effects of repetitive wave motion induced by periodic drop impact at the leading edge and the associated pulsatile flow, as well as the persistent nonuniform mass distribution in the ridge region of the rivulet. The results provide an experimental foundation for more detailed theoretical modelling of printed rivulet flows.

Finding charts for southern IRAS galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sutherland, W.J.; Maddox, S.J.; Saunders, W.

1991-01-01

Using the APM Galaxy Survey, we have generated a collection of finding charts for 4614 sources with non-stellar colours in the IRAS Faint Source Catalogue south of δ= -17.5 o . Over 90 per cent of the sources are reliably identified with an optical object, and we provide 1-arcsec positions and B J magnitudes for these. We will provide paper copies of the charts on request, at a small charge to cover photocopying costs. (author)

The European chart of territorial planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

In this chapter the European chart of territorial planning is included. This European chart contains next chapters: Introduction; The mission of the territorial planning; The basic aims; Realization of aims of the territorial planning; The confirmation of the European co-operation. In the Appendix the Specific aims: (1) The village territory; (2) The urban territory; (3) The boundary territory; (4) The mountain territory; (5) The structurally weak territory; (6) The decaying territory; (7) The coastal territories and islands

Inkjet printing of single-crystal films.

Science.gov (United States)

Minemawari, Hiromi; Yamada, Toshikazu; Matsui, Hiroyuki; Tsutsumi, Jun'ya; Haas, Simon; Chiba, Ryosuke; Kumai, Reiji; Hasegawa, Tatsuo

2011-07-13

The use of single crystals has been fundamental to the development of semiconductor microelectronics and solid-state science. Whether based on inorganic or organic materials, the devices that show the highest performance rely on single-crystal interfaces, with their nearly perfect translational symmetry and exceptionally high chemical purity. Attention has recently been focused on developing simple ways of producing electronic devices by means of printing technologies. 'Printed electronics' is being explored for the manufacture of large-area and flexible electronic devices by the patterned application of functional inks containing soluble or dispersed semiconducting materials. However, because of the strong self-organizing tendency of the deposited materials, the production of semiconducting thin films of high crystallinity (indispensable for realizing high carrier mobility) may be incompatible with conventional printing processes. Here we develop a method that combines the technique of antisolvent crystallization with inkjet printing to produce organic semiconducting thin films of high crystallinity. Specifically, we show that mixing fine droplets of an antisolvent and a solution of an active semiconducting component within a confined area on an amorphous substrate can trigger the controlled formation of exceptionally uniform single-crystal or polycrystalline thin films that grow at the liquid-air interfaces. Using this approach, we have printed single crystals of the organic semiconductor 2,7-dioctyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (C(8)-BTBT) (ref. 15), yielding thin-film transistors with average carrier mobilities as high as 16.4 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). This printing technique constitutes a major step towards the use of high-performance single-crystal semiconductor devices for large-area and flexible electronics applications.

Accuracy of Implants Placed with Surgical Guides: Thermoplastic Versus 3D Printed.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Caitlyn K; Sahl, Erik F; Kim, Yoon Jeong; Rice, Dwight D

This study was conducted to evaluate the accuracy of implants placed using two different guided implant surgery materials: thermoplastic versus three-dimensionally (3D) printed. A cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scan previously obtained and selected for single-tooth implant replacement was converted into a Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) file. All models were planned and exported for printing using BlueSkyBio Plan Software with the DICOM files. A total of 20 3D-printed mandibular quadrant jaws replicating the CBCT were printed by Right Choice Milling, as was the control model to accept the control implant. Previously, 10 thermoplastic and 10 3D-printed surgical guides had been made by the same lab technician at Right Choice Milling. One Nobel Biocare implant with a trilobe connection was placed per guide and replica jaw model pair. Implants were placed using the thermoplastic and 3D-printed surgical guides, representing the two test groups, following the Nobel Biocare guided surgical protocol. A total of 21 CBCT scans were then taken, one for the control implant and one for each test implant. The CBCT volume was converted to a DICOM file and transferred to Invivo5 software version 5.4 (Anatomage). The DICOM file of each test implant was superimposed over the DICOM file of the control. The deviation of the head of the implant, the deviation of the apex of the implant, and the angle of deviation were evaluated from measurements on the superimposition of the control and test implants. Mann-Whitney U test was used to test the null hypotheses at α = .05 and a confidence interval of 95%. Descriptive statistics were used for the average ± standard deviation. The implants placed with the thermoplastic surgical guides showed an average of 3.40 degrees of angular deviation compared to 2.36 degrees for implants placed with the 3D-printed surgical guides (P = .143). The implants placed with the thermoplastic surgical guides showed an average of 1

Advances in Home Photo Printing

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Qian Lin; Brian Atkins; Huitao Luo

2004-01-01

With digital camera adoptions going main stream, consumers capture a record number of photos.Currently, the majority of the digital photos are printed at home. One of the key enablers of this transformation is the advancement of home photo printing technologies. In the past few years, inkjet printing technologies have continued to deliver smaller drop size, larger number of inks, and longer-lasting prints. In the mean time, advanced image processing automatically enhances captured digital photos while being printed. The combination of the above two forces has closed the gap between the home photo prints and AgX prints. It will give an overview of the home photo printing market and technology trends, and discuss major advancements in automatic image processing.

Printed Electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Korkut, Sibel (Inventor); Chiang, Katherine S. (Inventor); Crain, John M. (Inventor); Aksay, Ilhan A. (Inventor); Lettow, John S. (Inventor); Chen, Chuan-Hua (Inventor); Prud'Homme, Robert K. (Inventor)

2018-01-01

Printed electronic device comprising a substrate onto at least one surface of which has been applied a layer of an electrically conductive ink comprising functionalized graphene sheets and at least one binder. A method of preparing printed electronic devices is further disclosed.

Patient training in cancer pain management using integrated print and video materials: a multisite randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Syrjala, Karen L; Abrams, Janet R; Polissar, Nayak L; Hansberry, Jennifer; Robison, Jeanne; DuPen, Stuart; Stillman, Mark; Fredrickson, Marvin; Rivkin, Saul; Feldman, Eric; Gralow, Julie; Rieke, John W; Raish, Robert J; Lee, Douglas J; Cleeland, Charles S; DuPen, Anna

2008-03-01

Standard guidelines for cancer pain treatment routinely recommend training patients to reduce barriers to pain relief, use medications appropriately, and communicate their pain-related needs. Methods are needed to reduce professional time required while achieving sustained intervention effectiveness. In a multisite, randomized controlled trial, this study tested a pain training method versus a nutrition control. At six oncology clinics, physicians (N=22) and nurses (N=23) enrolled patients (N=93) who were over 18 years of age, with cancer diagnoses, pain, and a life expectancy of at least 6 months. Pain training and control interventions were matched for materials and method. Patients watched a video followed by about 20 min of manual-standardized training with an oncology nurse focused on reviewing the printed material and adapted to individual concerns of patients. A follow-up phone call after 72 h addressed individualized treatment content and pain communication. Assessments at baseline, one, three, and 6 months included barriers, the Brief Pain Inventory, opioid use, and physician and nurse ratings of their patients' pain. Trained versus control patients reported reduced barriers to pain relief (P6 on a 0-10 scale) at 1-month outcomes (P=.03). Physician and nurse ratings were closer to patients' ratings of pain for trained versus nutrition groups (P=.04 and print materials, with brief individualized training, effectively improved pain management over time for cancer patients of varying diagnostic and demographic groups.

Great Lakes Ice Charts

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Charts show ice extent and concentration three times weekly during the ice season, for all lakes except Ontario, from the 1973/74 ice season through the 2001/2002...

Developing and Applying Control Charts to Detect Change Water Chemistry Parameters Measured in the Athabasca River Near the Oil Sands: A Tool for Surveillance Monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Arciszewski, Tim J; Hazewinkel, Rod R; Munkittrick, Kelly R; Kilgour, Bruce W

2018-05-10

Control charting is a simple technique to identify change and is well-suited for use in water quality programs. Control charts accounting for co-variation associated with discharge and time were used to explore example and representative variables routinely measured in the Athabasca River near the oil sands area for indications of change, including 5 major ions (chloride, sodium, sulphate, calcium, magnesium), 5 total metals (aluminum, iron, thallium, molybdenum, vanadium) and total suspended solids (TSS). Regression equations developed from reference data (1988-2009) were used to predict observations and calculate residuals from later test observations (2010-2016). Evidence of change was sought in the deviation of residual errors from the test period compared to the patterns expected and defined from probability distributions of the reference residuals using the Odds Ratio. In most cases, the patterns in test residuals were not statistically different from those expected from the reference period, especially when data was examined annually. However, some differences were apparent and more differences were apparent as data accumulated and was analysed over time. In sum, the analyses suggest higher concentrations than predicted in most major ions, but the source of the changes is uncertain. In contrast, most metals were lower than expected and may be related to changing deposition patterns of materials or weathering of minerals during construction activities of the 2000's which influence the reference data used. The analyses also suggest alternative approaches may be necessary to understand change in some variables. Despite this, the results support the use of control charts to detect changes in water chemistry parameters and the value of the tool in surveillance phases of long-term and adaptive monitoring programs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

3D printing of surgical instruments for long-duration space missions.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Julielynn Y; Pfahnl, Andreas C

2014-07-01

The first off-Earth fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printer will explore thermoplastic manufacturing capabilities in microgravity. This study evaluated the feasibility of FDM 3D printing 10 acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) thermoplastic surgical instruments on Earth. Three-point bending tests compared stiffness and yield strength between FDM 3D printed and conventionally manufactured ABS thermoplastic. To evaluate the relative speed of using four printed instruments compared to conventional instruments, 13 surgeons completed simulated prepping, draping, incising, and suturing tasks. Each surgeon ranked the performance of six printed instruments using a 5-point Likert scale. At a thickness of 5.75 mm or more, the FDM printing process had a less than 10% detrimental effect on the tested yield strength and stiffness of horizontally printed ABS thermoplastic relative to conventional ABS thermoplastic. Significant weakness was observed when a bending load was applied transversely to a 3D printed layer. All timed tasks were successfully performed using a printed sponge stick, towel clamp, scalpel handle, and toothed forceps. There was no substantial difference in time to completion of simulated surgical tasks with control vs. 3D printed instruments. Of the surgeons, 100%, 92%, 85%, 77%, 77%, and 69% agreed that the printed smooth and tissue forceps, curved and straight hemostats, tissue and right angle clamps, respectively, would perform adequately. It is feasible to 3D print ABS thermoplastic surgical instruments on Earth. Loadbearing structures were designed to be thicker, when possible. Printing orientations were selected so that the printing layering direction of critical structures would not be transverse to bending loads.

Examination of Routine Use of Prenatal Weight Gain Charts as a Communication Tool for Providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguilera, Marijo; Sidebottom, Abbey C; McCool, Brigitte R

2017-10-01

Objectives In 2009 the IOM revised prenatal weight gain guidelines. The primary purpose of this pilot study was to assess if provider education and use of prenatal weight gain charts to track weight gain and counsel patients was associated with better patient and provider knowledge and communication about the guidelines. Methods A prospective non-randomized study conducted in four OB practices (two control, two intervention). Data sources included provider surveys (n = 16 intervention, 21 control), patient surveys (n = 332), and medical records. Intervention clinics received provider education on the IOM guidelines and used patient education materials and prenatal weight gain charts to track weight gain and as a counseling tool. Comparison clinics received no education and did not use the charts or patient education information. Results More patients at intervention clinics (92.3%) reported that a provider gave them advice about weight gain, compared to patients from comparison clinics (66.4%) (p gain (83.1 vs. 64.3%, p = 0.007). Intervention clinic patients were more likely to have knowledge of the guidelines indicated by 72.3% reporting a target weight gain amount within the guidelines versus 50.4% of comparison patients (p gain charts resulted in higher patient reported communication about weight gain from their provider, higher patient satisfaction with those discussions, and better knowledge of the appropriate target weight gain goals.

Chesapeake Highway Advisories Routing Traffic, Chart, Business Plan

Science.gov (United States)

1996-10-01

THE BUSINESS PLAN IS ORGANIZED INTO FOUR MAJOR SECTIONS. THE FIRST SECTION IS INTRODUCTORY IN NATURE AND PROVIDES BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON ITS AND THE CHART PROGRAM IN MARYLAND. IT INCLUDES THE CHART MISSION, GOALS AND OBJECTIVES, AS WELL AS OVERVIE...

Earned print media in advancing tobacco control in Himachal Pradesh, India: a descriptive study.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Renu; Shewade, Hemant Deepak; Gopalan, Balasubramaniam; Badrel, Ramesh Kumar; Rana, Jugdeep Singh

2017-01-01

The Union-Bloomberg Initiative tobacco control projects were implemented in Himachal Pradesh (a hilly state in North India) from 2007 to 2014. The project focused on the establishment of an administrative framework; increasing the capacity of stakeholders; enforcement of legislation; coalition and networking with multiple stakeholders; awareness generation with focus on earned media and monitoring and evaluation with policy-focussed research. This study aimed to systematically analyse all earned print news items related to the projects. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, quantitative content analysis of earned print news items was carried out using predetermined codes related to areas of tobacco control policies. We also carried out a cost description of the hypothetical value of this earned media. The area of the news item in cm 2 was multiplied by the average rate of space for the paid news item in that particular newspaper. There were 6348 news items: the numbers steadily increased with time. Focus on Monitoring tobacco use, Protecting people from tobacco smoke, Offering help to quit, Warning about dangers of tobacco, Enforcing a ban on tobacco advertising and promotion, Raising tax on tobacco products was seen in 24, 17, 9, 23, 22 and 3% of news items, respectively. Press releases were highest at 44% and report by correspondents at 24%. Further, 55, 23 and 21% news items focused on smoking, smokeless and both forms of tobacco use, respectively. Sixty-six per cent and 34% news items, respectively, were focused on youth and women. The news items had a hypothetical value of US$1503 628.3, which was three times more than the funds spent on all project activities. In the absence of funding for paid media, the project strategically used earned media to promote tobacco control policies in the state.

Use of 3D Printed Models in Medical Education: A Randomized Control Trial Comparing 3D Prints versus Cadaveric Materials for Learning External Cardiac Anatomy

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Kah Heng Alexander; Loo, Zhou Yaw; Goldie, Stephen J.; Adams, Justin W.; McMenamin, Paul G.

2016-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is an emerging technology capable of readily producing accurate anatomical models, however, evidence for the use of 3D prints in medical education remains limited. A study was performed to assess their effectiveness against cadaveric materials for learning external cardiac anatomy. A double blind randomized…

Possible Applications of 3D Printing Technology on Textile Substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Korger, M.; Bergschneider, J.; Lutz, M.; Mahltig, B.; Finsterbusch, K.; Rabe, M.

2016-07-01

3D printing is a rapidly emerging additive manufacturing technology which can offer cost efficiency and flexibility in product development and production. In textile production 3D printing can also serve as an add-on process to apply 3D structures on textiles. In this study the low-cost fused deposition modeling (FDM) technique was applied using different thermoplastic printing materials available on the market with focus on flexible filaments such as thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) or Soft PLA. Since a good adhesion and stability of the 3D printed structures on textiles are essential, separation force and abrasion resistance tests were conducted with different kinds of printed woven fabrics demonstrating that a sufficient adhesion can be achieved. The main influencing factor can be attributed to the topography of the textile surface affected by the weave, roughness and hairiness offering formlocking connections followed by the wettability of the textile surface by the molten polymer, which depends on the textile surface energy and can be specifically controlled by washing (desizing), finishing or plasma treatment of the textile before the print. These basic adhesion mechanisms can also be considered crucial for 3D printing on knitwear.

Pattern transformation of heat-shrinkable polymer by three-dimensional (3D) printing technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Quan; Yan, Dong; Zhang, Kai; Hu, Gengkai

2015-03-11

A significant challenge in conventional heat-shrinkable polymers is to produce controllable microstructures. Here we report that the polymer material fabricated by three-dimensional (3D) printing technique has a heat-shrinkable property, whose initial microstructure can undergo a spontaneous pattern transformation under heating. The underlying mechanism is revealed by evaluating internal strain of the printed polymer from its fabricating process. It is shown that a uniform internal strain is stored in the polymer during the printing process and can be released when heated above its glass transition temperature. Furthermore, the internal strain can be used to trigger the pattern transformation of the heat-shrinkable polymer in a controllable way. Our work provides insightful ideas to understand a novel mechanism on the heat-shrinkable effect of printed material, but also to present a simple approach to fabricate heat-shrinkable polymer with a controllable thermo-structural response.

Solvents interactions with thermochromic print

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirela Rožić

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In this study, the interactions between different solvents (benzene, acetone, cyclohexanone, various alcohols and water and thermochromic printing ink were investigated. Thermochromic printing ink was printed on metal surface. Components of thermochromic printing inks are polymeric microcapsules and classic yellow offset printing ink. Below its activation temperature, dye and developer within the microcapsules form a blue coloured complex. Therefore, thermochromic print is green. By heating above the activation temperature, blue colour of the complex turns into the leuco dye colourless state and the green colour of the prints turns into the yellow colour of the classic offset pigment. The results of the interaction with various solvents show that the thermochromic print is stable in all tested solvents except in ethanol, acetone and cyclohexanone. In ethanol, the green colour of the print becomes yellow. SEM analysis shows that microcapsules are dissolved. In acetone and cyclohexanone, the green colour of the print turns into blue, and the microcapsules become significantly more visible. Thus, the yellow pigment interacts with examined ketones. Based on the obtained interactions it can be concluded that the microcapsules have more polar nature than the classical pigment particles. Solvent-thermocromic print interactions were analysed using Hansen solubility parameters that rank the solvents based on their estimated interaction capabilities.

Use of risk-adjusted CUSUM charts to monitor 30-day mortality in Danish hospitals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rasmussen TB

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Thomas Bøjer Rasmussen, Sinna Pilgaard Ulrichsen, Mette Nørgaard Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark Background: Monitoring hospital outcomes and clinical processes as a measure of clinical performance is an integral part of modern health care. The risk-adjusted cumulative sum (CUSUM chart is a frequently used sequential analysis technique that can be implemented to monitor a wide range of different types of outcomes.Objective: The aim of this study was to describe how risk-adjusted CUSUM charts based on population-based nationwide medical registers were used to monitor 30-day mortality in Danish hospitals and to give an example on how alarms of increased hospital mortality from the charts can guide further in-depth analyses.Materials and methods: We used routinely collected administrative data from the Danish National Patient Registry and the Danish Civil Registration System to create risk-adjusted CUSUM charts. We monitored 30-day mortality after hospital admission with one of 77 selected diagnoses in 24 hospital units in Denmark in 2015. The charts were set to detect a 50% increase in 30-day mortality, and control limits were determined by simulations.Results: Among 1,085,576 hospital admissions, 441,352 admissions had one of the 77 selected diagnoses as their primary diagnosis and were included in the risk-adjusted CUSUM charts. The charts yielded a total of eight alarms of increased mortality. The median of the hospitals’ estimated average time to detect a 50% increase in 30-day mortality was 50 days (interquartile interval, 43;54. In the selected example of an alarm, descriptive analyses indicated performance problems with 30-day mortality following hip fracture surgery and diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.Conclusion: The presented implementation of risk-adjusted CUSUM charts can detect significant increases in 30-day mortality within 2 months, on average, in most

Inkjet printing of aligned single-walled carbon-nanotube thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Takagi, Yuki; Nobusa, Yuki; Gocho, Shota; Kudou, Hikaru; Yanagi, Kazuhiro; Kataura, Hiromichi; Takenobu, Taishi

2013-04-01

We report a method for the inkjet printing of aligned single-walled carbon-nanotube (SWCNT) films by combining inkjet technology with the strong wettability contrast between hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas based on the patterning of self-assembled monolayers. Both the drying process control using the strong wettability boundary and the coffee-stain effect strongly promote the aggregation of SWCNTs along the contact line of a SWCNT ink droplet, thereby demonstrating our achievement of inkjet-printed aligned SWCNT films. This method could open routes for developing high-performance and environmentally friendly SWCNT printed electronics.

15 CFR Supplement No. 1 to Part 738 - Commerce Country Chart

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... Marshall Islands X X X X X X X X X X Mauritania X X X X X X X X X X Mauritius X X X X X X X X X X Mexico X... Country Chart [Reason for control] Countries Chemical and biological weapons CB 1 CB 2 CB 3 Nuclear...

Quality control process improvement of flexible printed circuit board by FMEA

Science.gov (United States)

Krasaephol, Siwaporn; Chutima, Parames

2018-02-01

This research focuses on the quality control process improvement of Flexible Printed Circuit Board (FPCB), centred around model 7-Flex, by using Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) method to decrease proportion of defective finished goods that are found at the final inspection process. Due to a number of defective units that were found at the final inspection process, high scraps may be escaped to customers. The problem comes from poor quality control process which is not efficient enough to filter defective products from in-process because there is no In-Process Quality Control (IPQC) or sampling inspection in the process. Therefore, the quality control process has to be improved by setting inspection gates and IPCQs at critical processes in order to filter the defective products. The critical processes are analysed by the FMEA method. IPQC is used for detecting defective products and reducing chances of defective finished goods escaped to the customers. Reducing proportion of defective finished goods also decreases scrap cost because finished goods incur higher scrap cost than work in-process. Moreover, defective products that are found during process can reflect the abnormal processes; therefore, engineers and operators should timely solve the problems. Improved quality control was implemented for 7-Flex production lines from July 2017 to September 2017. The result shows decreasing of the average proportion of defective finished goods and the average of Customer Manufacturers Lot Reject Rate (%LRR of CMs) equal to 4.5% and 4.1% respectively. Furthermore, cost saving of this quality control process equals to 100K Baht.

47 CFR 73.599 - NCE-FM engineering charts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false NCE-FM engineering charts. 73.599 Section 73.599 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) BROADCAST RADIO SERVICES RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES Noncommercial Educational FM Broadcast Stations § 73.599 NCE-FM engineering charts. This...

Offset Printing Plate Quality Sensor on a Low-Cost Processor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Tirado

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is to develop a microprocessor-based sensor that measures the quality of the offset printing plate through the introduction of different image analysis applications. The main features of the presented system are the low cost, the low amount of power consumption, its modularity and easy integration with other industrial modules for printing plates, and its robustness against noise environments. For the sake of clarity, a viability analysis of previous software is presented through different strategies, based on dynamic histogram and Hough transform. This paper provides performance and scalability data compared with existing costly commercial devices. Furthermore, a general overview of quality control possibilities for printing plates is presented and could be useful to a system where such controls are regularly conducted.

Study on the quality of FRP fishing vessel based on improved Fishbone Chart

Science.gov (United States)

Sui, J. H.; Yu, Y. F.; Du, Q. F.; Jiang, D. W.

2018-01-01

The construction quality of FRP fishing vessels influences their production, use and industry development. In order to explore the factors that affect the construction quality of FRP fishing vessels, key factors affecting the construction quality of FRP fishing vessels are determined based on the quality problems of FRP fishing vessels constructed. The improved Fishbone Chart is used to analyze the eight factors of “human, machine, material, process, environment, inspection, design and information”. Taking the factors that affect the construction quality of FRP fishing vessels as the central target, the eight influencing factors were condensed into five aspects and a composite Fishbone Chart is drawn. The Fishbone Chart is used as the basic model, the influencing factors are sorted, screened and discriminated, and the system model convenient for construction site management and control is established. Finally, the causes of poor construction of FRP fishing vessels are analyzed and discussed, and relevant suggestions are put forward.

Second generation anthropomorphic physical phantom for mammography and DBT: Incorporating voxelized 3D printing and inkjet printing of iodinated lesion inserts

Science.gov (United States)

Sikaria, Dhiraj; Musinsky, Stephanie; Sturgeon, Gregory M.; Solomon, Justin; Diao, Andrew; Gehm, Michael E.; Samei, Ehsan; Glick, Stephen J.; Lo, Joseph Y.

2016-03-01

Physical phantoms are needed for the evaluation and optimization of new digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) systems. Previously, we developed an anthropomorphic phantom based on human subject breast CT data and fabricated using commercial 3D printing. We now present three key advancements: voxelized 3D printing, photopolymer material doping, and 2D inkjet printing of lesion inserts. First, we bypassed the printer's control software in order to print in voxelized form instead of conventional STL surfaces, thus improving resolution and allowing dithering to mix the two photopolymer materials into arbitrary proportions. We demonstrated ability to print details as small as 150μm, and dithering to combine VeroWhitePlus and TangoPlus in 10% increments. Second, to address the limited attenuation difference among commercial photopolymers, we evaluated a beta sample from Stratasys with increased TiO2 doping concentration up to 2.5%, which corresponded to 98% breast density. By spanning 36% to 98% breast density, this doubles our previous contrast. Third, using inkjet printers modified to print with iopamidol, we created 2D lesion patterns on paper that can be sandwiched into the phantom. Inkjet printing has advantages of being inexpensive and easy, and more contrast can be delivered through overprinting. Printing resolution was maintained at 210 μm horizontally and 330 μm vertically even after 10 overprints. Contrast increased linearly with overprinting at 0.7% per overprint. Together, these three new features provide the basis for creating a new anthropomorphic physical breast phantom with improved resolution and contrast, as well as the ability to insert 2D lesions for task-based assessment of performance.

Three-dimensional bio-printing.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Qi; Hao, Jie; Lu, YangJie; Wang, Liu; Wallace, Gordon G; Zhou, Qi

2015-05-01

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has been widely used in various manufacturing operations including automotive, defence and space industries. 3D printing has the advantages of personalization, flexibility and high resolution, and is therefore becoming increasingly visible in the high-tech fields. Three-dimensional bio-printing technology also holds promise for future use in medical applications. At present 3D bio-printing is mainly used for simulating and reconstructing some hard tissues or for preparing drug-delivery systems in the medical area. The fabrication of 3D structures with living cells and bioactive moieties spatially distributed throughout will be realisable. Fabrication of complex tissues and organs is still at the exploratory stage. This review summarize the development of 3D bio-printing and its potential in medical applications, as well as discussing the current challenges faced by 3D bio-printing.

The application of moving average control charts for evaluating magnetic field quality on an individual magnet basis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pollock, D.A.; Gunst, R.F.; Schucany, W.R.

1994-01-01

SSC Collider Dipole Magnet field quality specifications define limits of variation for the population mean (Systematic) and standard deviation (RMS deviation) of allowed and unallowed multipole coefficients generated by the full collection of dipole magnets throughout the Collider operating cycle. A fundamental Quality Control issue is how to determine the acceptability of individual magnets during production, in other words taken one at a time and compared to the population parameters. Provided that the normal distribution assumptions hold, the random variation of multipoles for individual magnets may be evaluated by comparing the measured results to ± 3 x RMS tolerance, centered on the design nominal. To evaluate the local and cumulative systematic variation of the magnets against the distribution tolerance, individual magnet results need to be combined with others that come before it. This paper demonstrates a Statistical Quality Control method (the Unweighted Moving Average control chart) to evaluate individual magnet performance and process stability against population tolerances. The DESY/HERA Dipole cold skew quadrupole measurements for magnets in production order are used to evaluate non-stationarity of the mean over time for the cumulative set of magnets, as well as for a moving sample

Printing at CERN

CERN Multimedia

Otto, R

2007-01-01

For many years CERN had a very sophisticated print server infrastructure which supported several different protocols (AppleTalk, IPX and TCP/IP) and many different printing standards. Today’s situation differs a lot: we have a much more homogenous network infrastructure, where TCP/IP is used everywhere and we have less printer models, which almost all work using current standards (i.e. they all provide PostScript drivers). This change gave us the possibility to review the printing architecture aiming at simplifying the infrastructure in order to achieve full automation of the service. The new infrastructure offers both: LPD service exposing print queues to Linux and Mac OS X computers and native printing for Windows based clients. The printer driver distribution is automatic and native on Windows and automated by custom mechanisms on Linux, where the appropriate Foomatic drivers are configured. Also the process of printer registration and queue creation is completely automated following the printer regis...

A database for reproducible manipulation research: CapriDB – Capture, Print, Innovate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florian T. Pokorny

2017-04-01

Full Text Available We present a novel approach and database which combines the inexpensive generation of 3D object models via monocular or RGB-D camera images with 3D printing and a state of the art object tracking algorithm. Unlike recent efforts towards the creation of 3D object databases for robotics, our approach does not require expensive and controlled 3D scanning setups and aims to enable anyone with a camera to scan, print and track complex objects for manipulation research. The proposed approach results in detailed textured mesh models whose 3D printed replicas provide close approximations of the originals. A key motivation for utilizing 3D printed objects is the ability to precisely control and vary object properties such as the size, material properties and mass distribution in the 3D printing process to obtain reproducible conditions for robotic manipulation research. We present CapriDB – an extensible database resulting from this approach containing initially 40 textured and 3D printable mesh models together with tracking features to facilitate the adoption of the proposed approach.

The development of IoT based BBT charting and monitoring using ThingSpeak

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Yazed, Muhammad Syukri Mohd; Mahmud, Farhanahani

2017-01-01

Family planning is necessary for individual and couples to manage their desired number of children or spacing timing of their births. Fertility can be planned by using Fertility Awareness Method (FAM) or others like medicine. FAM is a natural family planning method that based on body signs changes during each menstrual cycle in response to the hormones that cause ovulation. This method allows a woman to know their ovulation time using the ovulation chart by plotting body temperature at the exact time every day in the early morning. This method requires a device to measure basal body temperature (BBT) and a chart to plot the temperature every morning, which is a tedious way of charting. Therefore, through this research, a BBT monitoring system has been developed using Arduino Yun Mini and ThingSpeak as the Internet of Things (IoT) platform in order to create a medium of sharing information for fertility monitoring and consultation purposes; where the data management and control can be done conveniently through the internet with secured environment. While the basal body temperature measurement has been done using a fast response time 503 ET-3H NTC thermistor-type temperature sensor from Semitec Corporation and the BBT data are successfully charted and monitored through the ThingSpeak.

Tissue vascularization through 3D printing: Will technology bring us flow?

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Paulsen, S J; Miller, J S

2015-05-01

Though in vivo models provide the most physiologically relevant environment for studying tissue function, in vitro studies provide researchers with explicit control over experimental conditions and the potential to develop high throughput testing methods. In recent years, advancements in developmental biology research and imaging techniques have significantly improved our understanding of the processes involved in vascular development. However, the task of recreating the complex, multi-scale vasculature seen in in vivo systems remains elusive. 3D bioprinting offers a potential method to generate controlled vascular networks with hierarchical structure approaching that of in vivo networks. Bioprinting is an interdisciplinary field that relies on advances in 3D printing technology along with advances in imaging and computational modeling, which allow researchers to monitor cellular function and to better understand cellular environment within the printed tissue. As bioprinting technologies improve with regards to resolution, printing speed, available materials, and automation, 3D printing could be used to generate highly controlled vascularized tissues in a high throughput manner for use in regenerative medicine and the development of in vitro tissue models for research in developmental biology and vascular diseases. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Accuracy of nurse documentation of delirium symptoms in medical charts.

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Voyer, Philippe; Cole, Martin G; McCusker, Jane; St-Jacques, Sylvie; Laplante, Johanne

2008-04-01

The purpose of this study undertaken in an acute care hospital was to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of the documentation of nurse-reported delirium symptoms in medical charts. This is a descriptive study based on the clinical assessments of a study nurse and nursing notes in the medical charts of 226 delirious older patients newly admitted to an acute care hospital. The results of this prospective validation study indicated that documentation of delirium symptoms is poor. Disorientation, agitation and altered level of consciousness were the three symptoms yielding a higher level of sensitivity, but even so said symptoms were reported in less than a third of the medical charts. Univariate analysis suggested that higher comorbidity level, more severe symptoms of delirium and the use of physical restraints were associated with more valid documentation of delirium symptoms in medical charts. Lastly, this study corroborates results of previous studies, indicating that documentation of delirium symptoms in medical charts can be improved. Future study should target improving nurse documentation of delirium symptoms in medical charts.

Colour changes in prints during long-term dark storage of prints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parraman, Carinna

2010-01-01

The most significant impact on colour fading in prints is exposure to light and air. However what happens to coloured prints during long-term storage in boxes, drawers and on shelves? Measurements of samples, printed in July 2005, stored in a range of light and darkened storage conditions have shown some interesting initial results. As more emphasis is placed on the effects of light, the dark stability of inkjet prints is relatively overlooked when considering how to preserve or store coloured prints. This study and presentation builds on previous research [1] and has concentrated on the changes to colour during storage. With reference to ASTM F2035 - 00(2006) Standard Practice for Measuring the Dark Stability of Ink Jet Prints, the Standards outline points out that whilst natural aging is the most reliable method of assessing image stability, materials and inks any data that is produced quickly becomes redundant; therefore accelerated aging is more preferred. However, the fine art materials in this study are still very much in circulation. The leading fine art papers, and pigmented ink-sets used in these trials are still being used by artists. We can therefore demonstrate the characteristics of colour changes and the impact of ink on paper that utilises natural aging methods.

48 CFR 252.245-7000 - Government-furnished mapping, charting, and geodesy property.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... mapping, charting, and geodesy property. 252.245-7000 Section 252.245-7000 Federal Acquisition Regulations..., charting, and geodesy property. As prescribed in 245.107-70, use the following clause: Government-Furnished Mapping, Charting, and Geodesy Property (DEC 1991) (a) Definition—Mapping, charting, and geodesy (MC&G...

[RESEARCH PROGRESS OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL PRINTING POROUS SCAFFOLDS FOR BONE TISSUE ENGINEERING].

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Wu, Tianqi; Yang, Chunxi

2016-04-01

To summarize the research progress of several three-dimensional (3-D)-printing scaffold materials in bone tissue engineering. The recent domestic and international articles about 3-D printing scaffold materials were reviewed and summarized. Compared with conventional manufacturing methods, 3-D printing has distinctive advantages, such as enhancing the controllability of the structure and increasing the productivity. In addition to the traditional metal and ceramic scaffolds, 3-D printing scaffolds carrying seeding cells and tissue factors as well as scaffolds filling particular drugs for special need have been paid more and more attention. The development of 3-D printing porous scaffolds have revealed new perspectives in bone repairing. But it is still at the initial stage, more basic and clinical researches are still needed.

Development of disease-specific growth charts in Turner syndrome and Noonan syndrome

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Tsuyoshi Isojima

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Many congenital diseases are associated with growth failure, and patients with these diseases have specific growth patterns. As the growth patterns of affected individuals differ from those of normal populations, it is challenging to detect additional conditions that can influence growth using standard growth charts. Disease-specific growth charts are thus very useful tools and can be helpful for understanding the growth pattern and pathogenesis of congenital diseases. In addition, disease-specific growth charts allow doctors to detect deviations from the usual growth patterns for early diagnosis of an additional condition and can be used to evaluate the effects of growth-promoting treatment for patients. When developing these charts, factors that can affect the reliability of the charts should be considered. These factors include the definition of the disease with growth failure, selection bias in the measurements used to develop the charts, secular trends of the subjects, the numbers of subjects of varying ages and ethnicities, and the statistical method used to develop the charts. In this review, we summarize the development of disease-specific growth charts for Japanese individuals with Turner syndrome and Noonan syndrome and evaluate the efforts to collect unbiased measurements of subjects with these diseases. These charts were the only available disease-specific growth charts of Turner syndrome and Noonan syndrome for Asian populations and were developed using a Japanese population. Therefore, when these charts are adopted for Asian populations other than Japanese, different growth patterns should be considered.

Development of disease-specific growth charts in Turner syndrome and Noonan syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Isojima, Tsuyoshi; Yokoya, Susumu

2017-12-01

Many congenital diseases are associated with growth failure, and patients with these diseases have specific growth patterns. As the growth patterns of affected individuals differ from those of normal populations, it is challenging to detect additional conditions that can influence growth using standard growth charts. Disease-specific growth charts are thus very useful tools and can be helpful for understanding the growth pattern and pathogenesis of congenital diseases. In addition, disease-specific growth charts allow doctors to detect deviations from the usual growth patterns for early diagnosis of an additional condition and can be used to evaluate the effects of growth-promoting treatment for patients. When developing these charts, factors that can affect the reliability of the charts should be considered. These factors include the definition of the disease with growth failure, selection bias in the measurements used to develop the charts, secular trends of the subjects, the numbers of subjects of varying ages and ethnicities, and the statistical method used to develop the charts. In this review, we summarize the development of disease-specific growth charts for Japanese individuals with Turner syndrome and Noonan syndrome and evaluate the efforts to collect unbiased measurements of subjects with these diseases. These charts were the only available disease-specific growth charts of Turner syndrome and Noonan syndrome for Asian populations and were developed using a Japanese population. Therefore, when these charts are adopted for Asian populations other than Japanese, different growth patterns should be considered.

Interactive SIGHT: textual access to simple bar charts

Science.gov (United States)

Demir, Seniz; Oliver, David; Schwartz, Edward; Elzer, Stephanie; Carberry, Sandra; Mccoy, Kathleen F.; Chester, Daniel

2010-12-01

Information graphics, such as bar charts and line graphs, are an important component of many articles from popular media. The majority of such graphics have an intention (a high-level message) to communicate to the graph viewer. Since the intended message of a graphic is often not repeated in the accompanying text, graphics together with the textual segments contribute to the overall purpose of an article and cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, these visual displays are provided in a format which is not readily accessible to everyone. For example, individuals with sight impairments who use screen readers to listen to documents have limited access to the graphics. This article presents a new accessibility tool, the Interactive SIGHT (Summarizing Information GrapHics Textually) system, that is intended to enable visually impaired users to access the knowledge that one would gain from viewing information graphics found on the web. The current system, which is implemented as a browser extension that works on simple bar charts, can be invoked by a user via a keystroke combination while navigating the web. Once launched, Interactive SIGHT first provides a brief summary that conveys the underlying intention of a bar chart along with the chart's most significant and salient features, and then produces history-aware follow-up responses to provide further information about the chart upon request from the user. We present two user studies that were conducted with sighted and visually impaired users to determine how effective the initial summary and follow-up responses are in conveying the informational content of bar charts, and to evaluate how easy it is to use the system interface. The evaluation results are promising and indicate that the system responses are well-structured and enable visually impaired users to answer key questions about bar charts in an easy-to-use manner. Post-experimental interviews revealed that visually impaired participants were very satisfied with

Centro-Apical Self-Organization of Organic Semiconductors in a Line-Printed Organic Semiconductor: Polymer Blend for One-Step Printing Fabrication of Organic Field-Effect Transistors.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Su Jin; Kim, Yong-Jae; Yeo, So Young; Lee, Eunji; Lim, Ho Sun; Kim, Min; Song, Yong-Won; Cho, Jinhan; Lim, Jung Ah

2015-09-11

Here we report the first demonstration for centro-apical self-organization of organic semiconductors in a line-printed organic semiconductor: polymer blend. Key feature of this work is that organic semiconductor molecules were vertically segregated on top of the polymer phase and simultaneously crystallized at the center of the printed line pattern after solvent evaporation without an additive process. The thickness and width of the centro-apically segregated organic semiconductor crystalline stripe in the printed blend pattern were controlled by varying the relative content of the organic semiconductors, printing speed, and solution concentrations. The centro-apical self-organization of organic semiconductor molecules in a printed polymer blend may be attributed to the combination of an energetically favorable vertical phase-separation and hydrodynamic fluids inside the droplet during solvent evaporation. Finally, a centro-apically phase-separated bilayer structure of organic semiconductor: polymer blend was successfully demonstrated as a facile method to form the semiconductor and dielectric layer for OFETs in one- step.

3D Printing of Organs-On-Chips.

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Yi, Hee-Gyeong; Lee, Hyungseok; Cho, Dong-Woo

2017-01-25

Organ-on-a-chip engineering aims to create artificial living organs that mimic the complex and physiological responses of real organs, in order to test drugs by precisely manipulating the cells and their microenvironments. To achieve this, the artificial organs should to be microfabricated with an extracellular matrix (ECM) and various types of cells, and should recapitulate morphogenesis, cell differentiation, and functions according to the native organ. A promising strategy is 3D printing, which precisely controls the spatial distribution and layer-by-layer assembly of cells, ECMs, and other biomaterials. Owing to this unique advantage, integration of 3D printing into organ-on-a-chip engineering can facilitate the creation of micro-organs with heterogeneity, a desired 3D cellular arrangement, tissue-specific functions, or even cyclic movement within a microfluidic device. Moreover, fully 3D-printed organs-on-chips more easily incorporate other mechanical and electrical components with the chips, and can be commercialized via automated massive production. Herein, we discuss the recent advances and the potential of 3D cell-printing technology in engineering organs-on-chips, and provides the future perspectives of this technology to establish the highly reliable and useful drug-screening platforms.

Networked Print Production: Does JDF Provide a Perfect Workflow?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernd Zipper

2004-12-01

Full Text Available The "networked printing works" is a well-worn slogan used by many providers in the graphics industry and for the past number of years printing-works manufacturers have been working on the goal of achieving the "networked printing works". A turning point from the concept to real implementation can now be expected at drupa 2004: JDF (Job Definition Format and thus "networked production" will form the center of interest here. The first approaches towards a complete, networked workflow between prepress, print and postpress in production are already available - the products and solutions will now be presented publicly at drupa 2004. So, drupa 2004 will undoubtedly be the "JDF-drupa" - the drupa where machines learn to communicate with each other digitally - the drupa, where the dream of general system and job communication in the printing industry can be first realized. CIP3, which has since been renamed CIP4, is an international consortium of leading manufacturers from the printing and media industry who have taken on the task of integrating processes for prepress, print and postpress. The association, to which nearly all manufacturers in the graphics industry belong, has succeeded with CIP3 in developing a first international standard for the transmission of control data in the print workflow.Further development of the CIP4 standard now includes a more extensive "system language" called JDF, which will guarantee workflow communication beyond manufacturer boundaries. However, not only data for actual print production will be communicated with JDF (Job Definition Format: planning and calculation data for MIS (Management Information systems and calculation systems will also be prepared. The German printing specialist Hans-Georg Wenke defines JDF as follows: "JDF takes over data from MIS for machines, aggregates and their control desks, data exchange within office applications, and finally ensures that data can be incorporated in the technical workflow

Rayleigh Instability-Assisted Satellite Droplets Elimination in Inkjet Printing.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Qiang; Li, Huizeng; Li, Mingzhu; Li, Yanan; Chen, Shuoran; Bao, Bin; Song, Yanlin

2017-11-29

Elimination of satellite droplets in inkjet printing has long been desired for high-resolution and precision printing of functional materials and tissues. Generally, the strategy to suppress satellite droplets is to control ink properties, such as viscosity or surface tension, to assist ink filaments in retracting into one drop. However, this strategy brings new restrictions to the ink, such as ink viscosity, surface tension, and concentration. Here, we report an alternative strategy that the satellite droplets are eliminated by enhancing Rayleigh instability of filament at the break point to accelerate pinch-off of the droplet from the nozzle. A superhydrophobic and ultralow adhesive nozzle with cone morphology exhibits the capability to eliminate satellite droplets by cutting the ink filament at breakup point effectively. As a result, the nozzles with different sizes (10-80 μm) are able to print more inks (1 printing electronics and biotechnologies.

Biomimetic 4D printing

Science.gov (United States)

Sydney Gladman, A.; Matsumoto, Elisabetta A.; Nuzzo, Ralph G.; Mahadevan, L.; Lewis, Jennifer A.

2016-04-01

Shape-morphing systems can be found in many areas, including smart textiles, autonomous robotics, biomedical devices, drug delivery and tissue engineering. The natural analogues of such systems are exemplified by nastic plant motions, where a variety of organs such as tendrils, bracts, leaves and flowers respond to environmental stimuli (such as humidity, light or touch) by varying internal turgor, which leads to dynamic conformations governed by the tissue composition and microstructural anisotropy of cell walls. Inspired by these botanical systems, we printed composite hydrogel architectures that are encoded with localized, anisotropic swelling behaviour controlled by the alignment of cellulose fibrils along prescribed four-dimensional printing pathways. When combined with a minimal theoretical framework that allows us to solve the inverse problem of designing the alignment patterns for prescribed target shapes, we can programmably fabricate plant-inspired architectures that change shape on immersion in water, yielding complex three-dimensional morphologies.

Some Thoughts on Contemporary Graphic Print

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan Skiba

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The production requirements of original graphic works of art have changed since 1980. The development of digital printing using lightfast colors now rivals traditional techniques such as wood cut, screen print, lithography, etching etc. Today, with respect to artistic legitimacy, original graphics using traditional printing techniques compete with original graphics produced by digital printing techniques on the art market. What criteria distinguish traditional printing techniques from those of digital printing in the production and acquisition of original graphics? What consequences is the serious artist faced with when deciding to implement digital print production? How does digital print change original graphic acquisition decisions?

3D Printing: current use in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Tsung-Yen; Dedhia, Raj; Cervenka, Brian; Tollefson, Travis T

2017-08-01

To review the use of three-dimensional (3D) printing in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, with a focus on current uses in surgical training, surgical planning, clinical outcomes, and biomedical research. To evaluate the limitations and future implications of 3D printing in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. Studies reviewed demonstrated 3D printing applications in surgical planning including accurate anatomic biomodels, surgical cutting guides in reconstruction, and patient-specific implants fabrication. 3D printing technology also offers access to well tolerated, reproducible, and high-fidelity/patient-specific models for surgical training. Emerging research in 3D biomaterial printing have led to the development of biocompatible scaffolds with potential for tissue regeneration in reconstruction cases involving significant tissue absence or loss. Major limitations of utilizing 3D printing technology include time and cost, which may be offset by decreased operating times and collaboration between departments to diffuse in-house printing costs SUMMARY: The current state of the literature shows promising results, but has not yet been validated by large studies or randomized controlled trials. Ultimately, further research and advancements in 3D printing technology should be supported as there is potential to improve resident training, patient care, and surgical outcomes.