A statistical reliability analysis of the variability and upper percentiles of the wood strand thickness of oriented strand board

Oriented strand board (OSB) is an important structural engineered wood product used predominately in housing construction, with OSB revenue of around $14 billion in 2005. OSB is a product with a low environmental impact or carbon footprint. In this thesis, reliability and statistical tools are applied to gain insights of the strand thickness for OSB panels manufactured in the Eastern United States. The thesis, also, develops new techniques to more realistically estimate upper percentiles via induced left censoring. An OSB panel consists of thousands of resinated wood strands that are formed in mats of oriented strands and pressed with heat causing thermal-activated bonding. The variability of OSB strand thickness for six manufacturers is examined. Strand thickness variability has been documented in the literature as having a strong influence on mat formation quality and subsequently the strength properties of OSB wood panels.However, there is an absence in the literature of assessing strand thickness variability from OSB mills. The goals of the thesis are to quantify and characterize strand thickness, plus apply reliability techniques, such as Kaplan-Meier curves and left censoring, to better characterize the probability and percentiles of strand thickness. The thesis further explores graphically and statistically the thickness of the strands through histograms, probability plots, box plots, and so on. Using induced percentile left censoring for improved model fitting, bootstrapping methods are employed for better estimating the upper percentiles, which are of particular interest due to their importance in the manufacturing process. If the OSB strands are too thick, machines and presses can be damaged at great expense. A comparison of the upper percentiles for six OSB mills identifies mills at greater risk for equipment damage and financial loss.Left percentile censoring is explored and used in conjunction with bootstrapping to calculate confidence intervals for the upper percentiles. Appropriate parametric models are used for the bootstrapping and nonparametric bootstrapping methods are presented as a means of comparison. Better estimation of upper percentiles promotes continuous improvement of preventive maintenance and product quality. Continuous improvement has never been more important for manufacturers than it is now given the severely constrained housing markets and the economic recession of 2009

JME 4110 Lens Mount System

This document presents the design for a device to assist scientists at the Danforth Plant Science Center with gathering images of root systems. This report describes the rationale and the methodology behind the design decisions made based on customer needs gathered from an in-depth interview and consistent collaboration with the customer. Final changes we made once the prototype was made and the engineering analysis had been completed. Enclosed are all concept and final drawings of the project

Adaptive Water Resource Management for Taste and Odor Control for the Anderson Regional Joint Water System

2016 South Carolina Water Resources Conference South Carolina Water Resources at a Crossroads: Response, Readiness and Recover

Search for eccentric black hole coalescences during the third observing run of LIGO and Virgo

Despite the growing number of confident binary black hole coalescences observed through gravitational waves so far, the astrophysical origin of these binaries remains uncertain. Orbital eccentricity is one of the clearest tracers of binary formation channels. Identifying binary eccentricity, however, remains challenging due to the limited availability of gravitational waveforms that include effects of eccentricity. Here, we present observational results for a waveform-independent search sensitive to eccentric black hole coalescences, covering the third observing run (O3) of the LIGO and Virgo detectors. We identified no new high-significance candidates beyond those that were already identified with searches focusing on quasi-circular binaries. We determine the sensitivity of our search to high-mass (total mass M>70 M⊙) binaries covering eccentricities up to 0.3 at 15 Hz orbital frequency, and use this to compare model predictions to search results. Assuming all detections are indeed quasi-circular, for our fiducial population model, we place an upper limit for the merger rate density of high-mass binaries with eccentricities 0<e≤0.3 at 0.33 Gpc−3 yr−1 at 90\% confidence level

Reliability Analysis of the Variability and Upper Percentiles of the Wood Strand Thickness of

Oriented Strand Board. ” I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form an

Models and approaches describing metabolism, transport, and toxicity of drugs administered by the ocular route

The eye is responsible for the sense of vision. It has evolved into a complex organ with a series of anatomical barriers, which provide protection from physical and chemical injury. These barriers are essential in maintaining homeostasis and function of the eye. The physiology of the eye is also complex with dynamic flows and clearance mechanisms. A variety of novel in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo experimental models aimed at studying ocular drug metabolism and disposition have been reported in the literature. Several studies document the use of laboratory animals for the prediction of ocular pharmacokinetics in man. While no one system is perfect, many are useful in combination. This review focuses on the use of human-relevant and human-derived models which can be utilized in discovery and development to understand ocular disposition of new chemical entities. Benefits and caveats of each model are discussed. Furthermore, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) case studies are also summarized in a retrospective manner. Finally, a discussion on the novel technologies and a hypothesis driven ocular drug classification system, provide a holistic perspective on ADME properties of drugs administered by the ocular route.

Teclistamab: Mechanism of action, clinical, and translational science

Abstract Multiple myeloma (MM) remains incurable despite improvements in treatment options. B‐cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is predominantly expressed in B‐lineage cells and represents a promising new target for MM. Teclistamab (TECVAYLITM) is the first T‐cell redirecting bispecific antibody approved for patients with MM. Targeting both CD3 receptor complex on T cells and BCMA on myeloma cells, teclistamab leads to T‐cell activation and subsequent lysis of BCMA+ cells. The recommended dose of teclistamab is 1.5 mg/kg subcutaneous weekly after two step‐up doses of 0.06 and 0.3 mg/kg, which was selected after review of safety, efficacy, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic data. Exposure‐response analyses of efficacy and safety data were also used to confirm the teclistamab dose. Teclistamab resulted in a high rate of deep and durable responses (63% overall response, 45.5% complete response or better, with 22 months median duration of response) in patients with triple‐exposed relapsed/refractory MM. Common adverse reactions included cytokine release syndrome, hematologic abnormalities, and infections. Teclistamab is currently being investigated as monotherapy as well as combination therapy across different MM indications