Development of a semi-active car suspension control system using magneto-rheological damper model

In this paper, the development of a semi- active suspension control of quarter car model using fuzzy-based controller has been done. The quarter car model to be used here can be described as a nonlinear two degrees of freedom system which is subject to excitation from different road profile. The semi-active control is designed as the fuzzy control inferred by using two single input rule fuzzy modules, and the road model is used as the control force is released by actuating an electromagnetic shaker. To implement semi-active suspension system experimentally, the MR damper is used here as the adjustable damper. The MR damper is a control device that consists of a hydraulic cylinder filled with magnetically polarizable particles suspended in a liquid. MR dampers dissipate vibration by absorbing energy. Magnetorheological (MR) fluids dampers are very effective to control vibration, which use MR fluids to produce controllable damping force and provide both the reliability of passive systems and the facility of active control systems with small power supply. Due to their mechanical simplicity, high dynamic range, low power requirements, large force capacity, and robustness, offer an attractive means of vibration protection. The objectives of this are modeling of semi-active suspension system, developing controller and understanding the characteristics of the MR damper to provide effective damping for the purpose of suspension isolation or suppression car model. In this work pid, fuzzy logic and fuzzy-hybrid controller are used to control semi-active car suspension system

Investigation on Dielectric Properties of Sludge Waste from Water Treatment Using Microwave Non-Destructive Testing (MNDT)

The demand for water cleanup rises in tandem with a country's requirements and development. Recovery of purified water containing nutrients and other beneficial materials is a critical opportunity that must be taken advantage of. A challenge that needs to be tackled is the necessity for large capacity and high-value management of sludge waste following the water treatment process. The pH level and microwave frequencies influence were used as a starting point for assessing the content of the sludge waste. Microwave non-destructive testing (MNDT) is a microwave measurement that can be used to determine the dielectric characteristics of materials without destroying or modifying the sample's content. The methodology employs a free-space measurement technique with a frequency range of 8 to 12 GHz (X-band). Through S-parameters acquired, a correlation analysis was done to analyze the effect of frequencies with the sludge waste. A comparative investigation with peat soil samples in establishing if the sludge has similar attributes to normal soil is used to ensure the accuracy of the sludge waste data. It can be determined that the sludge waste has a high signal correlation towards the frequency band 8 GHz to 12 GHz, which is compatible with the MNDT approach. All of the sludge samples had a pH range that is appropriate for agricultural use

Investigation on Dielectric Properties of Sludge Waste from Water Treatment Using Microwave Non-Destructive Testing (MNDT)

The demand for water cleanup rises in tandem with a country's requirements and development. Recovery of purified water containing nutrients and other beneficial materials is a critical opportunity that must be taken advantage of. A challenge that needs to be tackled is the necessity for large capacity and high-value management of sludge waste following the water treatment process. The pH level and microwave frequencies influence were used as a starting point for assessing the content of the sludge waste. Microwave non-destructive testing (MNDT) is a microwave measurement that can be used to determine the dielectric characteristics of materials without destroying or modifying the sample's content. The methodology employs a free-space measurement technique with a frequency range of 8 to 12 GHz (X-band). Through S-parameters acquired, a correlation analysis was done to analyze the effect of frequencies with the sludge waste. A comparative investigation with peat soil samples in establishing if the sludge has similar attributes to normal soil is used to ensure the accuracy of the sludge waste data. It can be determined that the sludge waste has a high signal correlation towards the frequency band 8 GHz to 12 GHz, which is compatible with the MNDT approach. All of the sludge samples had a pH range that is appropriate for agricultural use

Micro-doppler detection in forward scattering radar: theoretical analysis and experiment

Forward scatter radar (FSR) is actively studied in the field of radars, as it has many advantages such as robust to radar absorbing material and possibility in target recognition. In many radar systems, micro-Doppler signature is one of the most distinguished information used for target recognition. Yet, there is lacking in established work on investigating the feasibility of using FSR to detect and analyse micro-Doppler signature generated from micro-motions of moving targets. Hence, a theoretical and experimental investigation of using the FSR to detect micro-Doppler signatures is presented. The preliminary results for both theoretical and experiment investigations verified that the FSR system is capable to detect the micro-Doppler signature for a swinging pendulum attached to the moving trolley

Cold-adapted RTX lipase from antarctic Pseudomonas sp. strain AMS8: isolation, molecular modeling and heterologous expression

A new strain of psychrophilic bacteria (designated strain AMS8) from Antarctic soil was screened for extracellular lipolytic activity and further analyzed using molecular approach. Analysis of 16S rDNA showed that strain AMS8 was similar to Pseudomonas sp. A lipase gene named lipAMS8 was successfully isolated from strain AMS8, cloned, sequenced and overexpressed in Escherichia coli. Sequence analysis revealed that lipAMS8 consist of 1,431 bp nucleotides that encoded a polypeptide consisting of 476 amino acids. It lacked an N-terminal signal peptide and contained a glycine- and aspartate-rich nonapeptide sequence at the C-terminus, which are known to be the characteristics of repeats-in-toxin bacterial lipases. Furthermore, the substrate binding site of lipAMS8 was identified as S207, D 255 and H313, based on homology modeling and multiple sequence alignment. Crude lipase exhibited maximum activity at 20 C and retained almost 50 % of its activity at 10 C. The molecular weight of lipAMS8 was estimated to be 50 kDa via sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The optimal expression level was attained using the recombinant plasmid pET32b/BL21(DE3) expressed at 15 C for 8 h, induced by 0.1 mM isopropyl β-D thiogalactoside (IPTG) at E. coli growth optimal density of 0.5

Design of non destructive testing on composite material using parallel plate electrical capacitance tomography: a conceptual framework

In this paper, a conceptual framework for a non destructive testing to check defect on composite material using parallel plate electrical capacitance tomography is being proposed. At the early stage, the possibility of using this method is being simulated using Comsol Multiphysic software. The simulation process has shown promising results to make this concept works. When a dielectric material is placed between the parallel plates, the permittivity distribution can be observed. As the number of electrodes of the sensor are increased from 2 to 8 electrodes, the capacitance value increase from 2.0131e-11-2.3532e-14i F to 5.2474e-11-3.0756e-13i F. Furthermore, there are significant results when the size and the permittivity of the object are varies

Measuring routine childhood vaccination coverage in 204 countries and territories, 1980–2019 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020, Release 1

Background: Measuring routine childhood vaccination is crucial to inform global vaccine policies and programme implementation, and to track progress towards targets set by the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) and Immunization Agenda 2030. Robust estimates of routine vaccine coverage are needed to identify past successes and persistent vulnerabilities. Drawing from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020, Release 1, we did a systematic analysis of global, regional, and national vaccine coverage trends using a statistical framework, by vaccine and over time. Methods: For this analysis we collated 55 326 country-specific, cohort-specific, year-specific, vaccine-specific, and dose-specific observations of routine childhood vaccination coverage between 1980 and 2019. Using spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression, we produced location-specific and year-specific estimates of 11 routine childhood vaccine coverage indicators for 204 countries and territories from 1980 to 2019, adjusting for biases in country-reported data and reflecting reported stockouts and supply disruptions. We analysed global and regional trends in coverage and numbers of zero-dose children (defined as those who never received a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis [DTP] vaccine dose), progress towards GVAP targets, and the relationship between vaccine coverage and sociodemographic development. Findings: By 2019, global coverage of third-dose DTP (DTP3; 81·6% [95% uncertainty interval 80·4–82·7]) more than doubled from levels estimated in 1980 (39·9% [37·5–42·1]), as did global coverage of the first-dose measles-containing vaccine (MCV1; from 38·5% [35·4–41·3] in 1980 to 83·6% [82·3–84·8] in 2019). Third-dose polio vaccine (Pol3) coverage also increased, from 42·6% (41·4–44·1) in 1980 to 79·8% (78·4–81·1) in 2019, and global coverage of newer vaccines increased rapidly between 2000 and 2019. The global number of zero-dose children fell by nearly 75% between 1980 and 2019, from 56·8 million (52·6–60·9) to 14·5 million (13·4–15·9). However, over the past decade, global vaccine coverage broadly plateaued; 94 countries and territories recorded decreasing DTP3 coverage since 2010. Only 11 countries and territories were estimated to have reached the national GVAP target of at least 90% coverage for all assessed vaccines in 2019. Interpretation: After achieving large gains in childhood vaccine coverage worldwide, in much of the world this progress was stalled or reversed from 2010 to 2019. These findings underscore the importance of revisiting routine immunisation strategies and programmatic approaches, recentring service delivery around equity and underserved populations. Strengthening vaccine data and monitoring systems is crucial to these pursuits, now and through to 2030, to ensure that all children have access to, and can benefit from, lifesaving vaccines

Laparoscopy in management of appendicitis in high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency worldwide. Differences between high- and low-income settings in the availability of laparoscopic appendectomy, alternative management choices, and outcomes are poorly described. The aim was to identify variation in surgical management and outcomes of appendicitis within low-, middle-, and high-Human Development Index (HDI) countries worldwide. METHODS: This is a multicenter, international prospective cohort study. Consecutive sampling of patients undergoing emergency appendectomy over 6 months was conducted. Follow-up lasted 30 days. RESULTS: 4546 patients from 52 countries underwent appendectomy (2499 high-, 1540 middle-, and 507 low-HDI groups). Surgical site infection (SSI) rates were higher in low-HDI (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.33-4.99, p = 0.005) but not middle-HDI countries (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.76-2.52, p = 0.291), compared with high-HDI countries after adjustment. A laparoscopic approach was common in high-HDI countries (1693/2499, 67.7%), but infrequent in low-HDI (41/507, 8.1%) and middle-HDI (132/1540, 8.6%) groups. After accounting for case-mix, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.71, p < 0.001) and SSIs (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.14-0.33, p < 0.001). In propensity-score matched groups within low-/middle-HDI countries, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.23 95% CI 0.11-0.44) and SSI (OR 0.21 95% CI 0.09-0.45). CONCLUSION: A laparoscopic approach is associated with better outcomes and availability appears to differ by country HDI. Despite the profound clinical, operational, and financial barriers to its widespread introduction, laparoscopy could significantly improve outcomes for patients in low-resource environments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02179112

Global economic burden of unmet surgical need for appendicitis

Background: There is a substantial gap in provision of adequate surgical care in many low-and middle-income countries. This study aimed to identify the economic burden of unmet surgical need for the common condition of appendicitis. Methods: Data on the incidence of appendicitis from 170 countries and two different approaches were used to estimate numbers of patients who do not receive surgery: as a fixed proportion of the total unmet surgical need per country (approach 1); and based on country income status (approach 2). Indirect costs with current levels of access and local quality, and those if quality were at the standards of high-income countries, were estimated. A human capital approach was applied, focusing on the economic burden resulting from premature death and absenteeism. Results: Excess mortality was 4185 per 100 000 cases of appendicitis using approach 1 and 3448 per 100 000 using approach 2. The economic burden of continuing current levels of access and local quality was US $92 492 million using approach 1 and$73 141 million using approach 2. The economic burden of not providing surgical care to the standards of high-income countries was $95 004 million using approach 1 and$75 666 million using approach 2. The largest share of these costs resulted from premature death (97.7 per cent) and lack of access (97.0 per cent) in contrast to lack of quality. Conclusion: For a comparatively non-complex emergency condition such as appendicitis, increasing access to care should be prioritized. Although improving quality of care should not be neglected, increasing provision of care at current standards could reduce societal costs substantially