Current-Based Detection of Mechanical Unbalance in an Induction Machine Using Spectral Kurtosis with Reference

This article explores the design, on-line, of an electrical machine’s healthy reference by means of statistical tools. The definition of a healthy reference enables the computation of normalized fault indicators whose value is independent of the system’s characteristics. This is a great advantage when diagnosing a broad range of systems with different power, coupling, inertia, load, etc. In this paper, an original method called spectral kurtosis with reference is presented in order to designa system’s healthy reference. Its principle is first explained on asynthetic signal. This approach is then evaluated for mechanicalunbalance detection in an induction machine using the stator currents instantaneous frequency. The normalized behaviour ofthe proposed indicator is then confirmed for different operatingconditions and its robustness with respect to load variationsis demonstrated. Finally, the advantages of using a statisticalindicator based on a healthy reference compared to a raw faultsignature are discussed

Inhaled corticosteroids and the risk of pneumonia in people with asthma

Background In clinical trials, the use of inhaled corticosteroids is associated with an increased risk of pneumonia in people with COPD, but whether the same is true for people with asthma is not known. Methods With the use of primary care data from The Health Improvement Network, we identified people with asthma, and from this cohort, we identified patients with pneumonia or lower respiratory tract infection and age- and sex-matched control subjects. Conditional logistic regression was used to determine the association between the dose and type of inhaled corticosteroid and the risk of pneumonia or lower respiratory tract infection. Results A dose-response relationship was found between the strength of inhaled corticosteroid dose and risk of pneumonia or lower respiratory tract infection (P < .001 for trend) such that after adjusting for confounders, people receiving the highest strength of inhaled corticosteroid (≥ 1,000 μg) had a 2.04 (95% CI, 1.59-2.64) increased risk of pneumonia or lower respiratory tract infection compared with those with asthma who did not have a prescription for inhaled corticosteroids within the previous 90 days. Conclusions People with asthma receiving inhaled corticosteroids are at an increased risk of pneumonia or lower respiratory infection, with those receiving higher doses being at greater risk. Pneumonia should be considered as a possible side effect of inhaled corticosteroids, and the lowest possible dose of inhaled corticosteroids should be used in the management of asthma

Statistic-based method to monitor belt transmission looseness through motor phase currents

Belt–pulley systems are widely used in the industry due to their high efficiency and their low cost. However, only few works exist about the monitoring of their degradation. This paper details the impact of belt looseness on electrical measurements under steady and transient state in order to identify spectral signatures. This analysis enlightens the advantage of the transient state to detect belt looseness because it exacerbates belt slip. An innovative methodology is then proposed based on the application of a square-wave speed reference in order to monitor belt looseness. A statistical-based indicator is defined from the phase currents in order to automatically detect drifting of the indicator. A normalization process is also applied to increase the detection robustness. The proposed indicatoris evaluated on a 30-kW induction machine and a direct current machine coupled with two trapezoidal belts for three speed and four load conditions. It reaches very good results with almost 90% correct detections for 1% false alarms. These results are way better than those obtained with a classic spectral analysis during the steady state. Moreover, results demonstrate that higher load conditions are more accurate for the monitoring of belt looseness. Index Terms—Belt–pulley systems, fault diagnosis, induction motors (IMs), robustness, spectral analysis, statistical-based indicator, torque–speed segmentation

Admission of advanced lung cancer patients to intensive care unit: A retrospective study of 76 patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Criteria for admitting patients with incurable diseases to the medical intensive care unit (MICU) remain unclear and have ethical implications.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We retrospectively evaluated MICU outcomes and identified risk factors for MICU mortality in consecutive patients with advanced lung cancer admitted to two university-hospital MICUs in France between 1996 and 2006.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 76 included patients, 49 had non-small cell lung cancer (stage IIIB n = 20; stage IV n = 29). In 60 patients, MICU admission was directly related to the lung cancer (complication of cancer management, n = 30; cancer progression, n = 14; and lung-cancer-induced diseases, n = 17). Mechanical ventilation was required during the MICU stay in 57 patients. Thirty-six (47.4%) patients died in the MICU. Three factors were independently associated with MICU mortality: use of vasoactive agents (odds ratio [OR] 6.81 95% confidence interval [95%CI] [1.77-26.26], p = 0.005), mechanical ventilation (OR 6.61 95%CI [1.44-30.5], p = 0.015) and thrombocytopenia (OR 5.13; 95%CI [1.17-22.5], p = 0.030). In contrast, mortality was lower in patients admitted for a complication of cancer management (OR 0.206; 95%CI [0.058-0.738], p = 0.015). Of the 27 patients who returned home, four received specific lung cancer treatment after the MICU stay.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Patients with acute complications of treatment for advanced lung cancer may benefit from MCIU admission. Further studies are necessary to assess outcomes such as quality of life after MICU discharge.</p

Active tuberculosis, sequelae and COVID-19 co-infection: first cohort of 49 cases.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) pandemic has attracted interest because of its global rapid spread, clinical severity, high mortality rate, and capacity to overwhelm healthcare systems [1, 2]. SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurs mainly through droplets, although surface contamination contributes and debate continues on aerosol transmission [3\u20135]

Sex differences in post-acute neurological sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 and symptom resolution in adults after COVID-19 hospitalization: an international multicenter prospective observational study

Although it is known that coronavirus disease 2019 can present with a range of neurological manifestations and in-hospital complications, sparse data exist on whether these initial neurological symptoms of coronavirus disease 2019 are closely associated with post-acute neurological sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; PANSC) and whether female versus male sex impacts symptom resolution. In this international, multi-centre, prospective, observational study across 407 sites from 15 countries (30 January 2020 to 30 April 2022), we report the prevalence and risk factors of PANSC among hospitalized adults and investigate the differences between males and females on neurological symptom resolution over time. PANSC symptoms included altered consciousness/confusion, fatigue/malaise, anosmia, dysgeusia and muscle ache/joint pain, on which information was collected at index hospitalization and during follow-up assessments. The analysis considered a time to the resolution of individual and all neurological symptoms. The resulting times were modelled by Weibull regression, assuming mixed-case interval censoring, with sex and age included as covariates. The model results were summarized as cumulative probability functions and age-adjusted and sex-adjusted median times to resolution. We included 6862 hospitalized adults with coronavirus disease 2019, who had follow-up assessments. The median age of the participants was 57 years (39.2% females). Males and females had similar baseline characteristics, except that more males (versus females) were admitted to the intensive care unit (30.5 versus 20.3%) and received mechanical ventilation (17.2 versus 11.8%). Approximately 70% of patients had multiple neurological symptoms at the first follow-up (median = 102 days). Fatigue (49.9%) and myalgia/arthralgia (45.2%) were the most prevalent symptoms of PANSC at the initial follow-up. The reported prevalence in females was generally higher (versus males) for all symptoms. At 12 months, anosmia and dysgeusia were resolved in most patients, although fatigue, altered consciousness and myalgia remained unresolved in >10% of the cohort. Females had a longer time to the resolution (5.2 versus 3.4 months) of neurological symptoms at follow-up for those with more than one neurological symptom. In the multivariable analysis, males were associated with a shorter time to the resolution of symptoms (hazard ratio = 1.53; 95% confidence interval = 1.39–1.69). Intensive care unit admission was associated with a longer time to the resolution of symptoms (hazard ratio = 0.68; 95% confidence interval = 0.60–0.77). Post-discharge stroke was uncommon (0.3% in females and 0.5% in males). Despite the methodological challenges involved in the collection of survey data, this international multi-centre prospective cohort study demonstrated that PANSC following index hospitalization was high. Symptom prevalence was higher and took longer to resolve in females than in males. This supported the fact that while males were sicker during acute illness, females were disproportionately affected by PANSC

Non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary infections

Submitted by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2019-05-14T13:52:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ACC_Caravalho_IOC_2018.pdf: 454431 bytes, checksum: 86468a62313ad15880a6ccff685e3090 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Sandra Infurna ([email protected]) on 2019-05-14T14:00:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ACC_Caravalho_IOC_2018.pdf: 454431 bytes, checksum: 86468a62313ad15880a6ccff685e3090 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2019-05-14T14:00:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ACC_Caravalho_IOC_2018.pdf: 454431 bytes, checksum: 86468a62313ad15880a6ccff685e3090 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018University of Dundee. Hospital and Medical School. Scottish Centre for Respiratory Research. Dundee, United Kingdom.Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Rochester, MN, USA.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Inovações em Terapias, Ensino e Bioprodutos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Hospital Universitario de Monterrey. Centro de Investigación, Prevención y Tratamiento de Infecciones Respiratorias. Monterrey, Nuevo León UANL, Mexico.Centro Hospitalar Vila Nova de Gaia. Respiratory Department. Espinho, Portugal.Non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infections are increasingly rapidly worldwide. The reason for this phenomenon is unclear, but may include the ageing population, the increasing use of immunosuppressive drugs, the increasing prevalence of diseases that confer susceptibility to NTM, such as COPD and bronchiectasis, and growing testing for NTM. Awareness of the NTM related diseases is rising but is still suboptimal. Guidelines from the American Thoracic Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America have provided a framework for evaluating disease and evaluating care. Compliance with these guidelines is, however, very poor globally. NTM infections are amongst the most challenging cases that respiratory and infectious diseases physicians face. The challenges include intrinsic antibiotic resistance, complex drug regimens, poor tolerability and significant side effects associated with therapy and poor response rates. The decision to initiate treatment is therefore often difficult and requires careful evaluation of benefits and risks. Optimal management of NTM infections requires multidisciplinary care with close collaboration between physicians, microbiologists, physiotherapist/allied health professionals, primary care physicians and the patient. There remains a need for greater research into the epidemiology, clinical evaluation and treatment of NTM pulmonary disease. Randomised clinical trials are now being conducted which may provide useful data on the effectiveness of some new and existing therapies. In this review, we discuss the growing importance of NTM pulmonary disease and the opportunities for progress in clinical research for these conditions

Epidemiology and Clinical Features of Pulmonary Nontuberculous Mycobacteriosis in Nagasaki, Japan

Background and Objectives: Recent reports indicate that the incidence of nontuberculous mycobacterial-lung disease (NTM-LD) is increasing. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiology and clinical features of NTM-LD patients in Nagasaki prefecture, Japan to identify the negative prognostic factors for NTM-LD in Japan. Methods: The medical records of patients newly diagnosed with NTM-LD in eleven hospitals in Nagasaki prefecture between January 2001 and February 2010 were reviewed. Data regarding the annual population of each region and the incidence of all forms of tuberculosis were collected to assess geographic variations in NTM-LD incidence, isolates, and radiological features. Results: A total 975 patients were diagnosed with NTM-LD. The incidence increased over the study period and reached 11.0 and 10.1 per 100,000 population in 2008 and 2009, respectively. M. intracellulare was the most common pathogen in the southern region, and M. avium most common in other regions. The most common radiographic pattern was the nodular-bronchiectatic pattern. Age >60 years, body mass index <18.5 kg/m2, underlying lung disease, and cavitary pattern were the negative prognostic factors at the 1-year follow-up. Conclusions: The incidence of NTM-LD has been increasing in Nagasaki prefecture. The isolates and radiographic features of patients vary markedly by region