Evaluation of Bend-Twist Coupling in Shape Memory Alloy Integrated Fiber Rubber Composites

Advancements in textile technologies such as the integration of wire shaped Shape Memory Alloys (SMAs) on to the fabric with the help of Tailored-Fiber-Placement (TFP) method, and weft insertion of SMAs during manufacturing of textiles using knitting machines are helping to create composites capable of bending deformations without any external loads. These advancements laid the foundations for versatile applications especially in soft robotics. One such application is Interactive Fiber Rubber Composites (IFRC). The aim of this project is to evaluate the bend-twist coupling in the IFRC. The SMA reinforced composite is made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and has two layers of glass fibers stacked upon one another and joined with the help of TFP machine. This work focuses on the simulation of this approach in ANSYS with the Woodworth & Kaliske material model for SMA. The important feature of this model is that the shape memory effect can be achieved for different profiles of SMA, thus eliminating the necessity for a pre-stretch in contrast to the built-in model. The experimental values are evaluated from Multi-DIC technique, which is capable of determining deformations with respect to all directions. A comparative study with simulation and experimental results of the deformation and twisting angles is carried out. The derived conclusions will be helpful in obtaining and evaluating 3D spatial movements in IFRC structures with multiple joints in the future project

Hypothermia in a surgical intensive care unit

BACKGROUND: Inadvertent hypothermia is not uncommon in the immediate postoperative period and it is associated with impairment and abnormalities in various organs and systems that can lead to adverse outcomes. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence, the predictive factors and outcome of core hypothermia on admission to a surgical ICU. METHODS: All consecutive 185 adult patients who underwent scheduled or emergency noncardiac surgery admitted to a surgical ICU between April and July 2004 were admitted to the study. Tympanic membrane core temperature (Tc) was measured before surgery, on arrival at ICU and every two hours until 6 hours after admission. The following variables were also recorded: age, sex, body weight and height, ASA physical status, type of surgery, magnitude of surgical procedure, anesthesia technique, amount of intravenous fluids administered during anesthesia, use of temperature monitoring and warming techniques, duration of the anesthesia, ICU length of stay, hospital length of stay and SAPS II score. Patients were classified as either hypothermic (Tc ≤ 35°C) or normothermic (Tc> 35°C). Univariate analysis and multiple regression binary logistic with an odds ratio (OR) and its 95% Confidence Interval (95%CI) were used to compare the two groups of patients and assess the relationship between each clinical predictor and hypothermia. Outcome measured as ICU length of stay and mortality was also assessed. RESULTS: Prevalence of hypothermia on ICU admission was 57.8%. In univariate analysis temperature monitoring, use of warming techniques and higher previous body temperature were significant protective factors against core hypothermia. In this analysis independent predictors of hypothermia on admission to ICU were: magnitude of surgery, use of general anesthesia or combined epidural and general anesthesia, total intravenous crystalloids administrated and total packed erythrocytes administrated, anesthesia longer than 3 hours and SAPS II scores. In multiple logistic regression analysis significant predictors of hypothermia on admission to the ICU were magnitude of surgery (OR 3.9, 95% CI, 1.4–10.6, p = 0.008 for major surgery; OR 3.6, 95% CI, 1.5–9.0, p = 0.005 for medium surgery), intravenous administration of crystalloids (in litres) (OR 1.4, 95% CI, 1.1–1.7, p = 0.012) and SAPS score (OR 1.0, 95% CI 1.0–1.7, p = 0.014); higher previous temperature in ward was a significant protective factor (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.1–0.7, p = 0.003). Hypothermia was neither a risk factor for hospital mortality nor a predictive factor for staying longer in ICU. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of patient hypothermia on ICU arrival was high. Hypothermia at time of admission to the ICU was not an independent factor for mortality or for staying longer in ICU

A Data-Driven Approach for Incident Handling in DevOps

Background: Maintaining system reliability and customer satisfaction in a DevOps environment requires effective incident management. In the modern day, due to increasing system complexity, several incidents occur daily. Incident prioritization and resolution are essential to manage these incidents and lessen their impact on business continuity. Prioritization of incidents, estimation of recovery time objective (RTO), and resolution times are traditionally subjective processes that rely more on the DevOps team’s competence. However, as the volume of incidents rises, it becomes increasingly challenging to handle them effectively.  Objectives: This thesis aims to develop an approach that prioritizes incidents and estimates the corresponding resolution times and RTO values leveraging machine learning. The objective is to provide an effective solution to streamline DevOps activities. To verify the performance of our solution, an evaluation is later carried out by the users in a large organization (Ericsson).  Methods: The methodology used for this thesis is design science methodology. It starts with the problem identification phase, where a rapid literature review is done to lay the groundwork for the development of the solution. Cross-Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM) is carried out later in the development phase. In the evaluation phase, a static validation is carried out in a DevOps environment to collect user feedback on the tool’s usability and feasibility.  Results:  According to the results, the tool helps the DevOps team prioritize incidents and determine the resolution time and RTO. Based on the team’s feedback, 84% of participants agree that the tool is helpful, and 76% agree that the tool is easy to use and understand. The tool’s performance evaluation of the three metrics chosen for estimating the priority was accuracy 93%, Recall 78%, F1 score 87% on average for all four priority levels, and the BERT accuracy for estimating the resolution time range was 88%. Hence, we can expect the tool to help speed up the incident response’s efficiency and decrease the resolution time.  Conclusions: The tool’s validation and implementation indicate that it has the potential to increase the reliability of the system and the effectiveness of incident management in a DevOps setting. Prioritizing incidents and predicting resolution time ranges based on impact and urgency can enable the DevOps team to make well-informed decisions. Some of the future progression for the tool can be to investigate how to integrate it with other third-party DevOps tools and explore areas to provide guidelines to handle sensitive incident data. Another work could be to analyze the tool in a live project and obtain feedback.

A Data-Driven Approach for Incident Handling in DevOps

Background: Maintaining system reliability and customer satisfaction in a DevOps environment requires effective incident management. In the modern day, due to increasing system complexity, several incidents occur daily. Incident prioritization and resolution are essential to manage these incidents and lessen their impact on business continuity. Prioritization of incidents, estimation of recovery time objective (RTO), and resolution times are traditionally subjective processes that rely more on the DevOps team’s competence. However, as the volume of incidents rises, it becomes increasingly challenging to handle them effectively.  Objectives: This thesis aims to develop an approach that prioritizes incidents and estimates the corresponding resolution times and RTO values leveraging machine learning. The objective is to provide an effective solution to streamline DevOps activities. To verify the performance of our solution, an evaluation is later carried out by the users in a large organization (Ericsson).  Methods: The methodology used for this thesis is design science methodology. It starts with the problem identification phase, where a rapid literature review is done to lay the groundwork for the development of the solution. Cross-Industry Standard Process for Data Mining (CRISP-DM) is carried out later in the development phase. In the evaluation phase, a static validation is carried out in a DevOps environment to collect user feedback on the tool’s usability and feasibility.  Results:  According to the results, the tool helps the DevOps team prioritize incidents and determine the resolution time and RTO. Based on the team’s feedback, 84% of participants agree that the tool is helpful, and 76% agree that the tool is easy to use and understand. The tool’s performance evaluation of the three metrics chosen for estimating the priority was accuracy 93%, Recall 78%, F1 score 87% on average for all four priority levels, and the BERT accuracy for estimating the resolution time range was 88%. Hence, we can expect the tool to help speed up the incident response’s efficiency and decrease the resolution time.  Conclusions: The tool’s validation and implementation indicate that it has the potential to increase the reliability of the system and the effectiveness of incident management in a DevOps setting. Prioritizing incidents and predicting resolution time ranges based on impact and urgency can enable the DevOps team to make well-informed decisions. Some of the future progression for the tool can be to investigate how to integrate it with other third-party DevOps tools and explore areas to provide guidelines to handle sensitive incident data. Another work could be to analyze the tool in a live project and obtain feedback.