Investigation of the effect of tool materials and process parameters on dry drilling of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

The performance of un-coated and TiAlN-coated carbide tools were investigated when dry drilling Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The investigation had been performed in order to find the best tool material performance when dry drilling Ti-6Al-4V. The effect of spindle speed and feed rate on thrust force, torque, dimensional tolerance, and surface roughness were reported. Response surface methodology (RSM) based on central composite design (CCD) is used to perform the investigation. In addition, RSM based on CCD integrated with desirability function is used to determine the optimum input conditions that produce the most desirable quality characteristics (minimum tolerance and surface roughness) with good productivity. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to detect the relative significance of the input factors on each response

Investigation of the performance of an automatic arterial oxygen controller

Premature infants often require respiratory support with a varying concentration of the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) to keep the arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) within the desired range to avoid both hypoxemia and hyperoxemia. Currently, manual adjustment of FiO2 is the common practice in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The automation of this adjustment is a topic of interest. The research team, at University of Missouri-Columbia (UMC), has developed a novel automatic arterial oxygen saturation controller. In this study, a systematic approach has been developed to investigate both non-clinical and clinical performance of this device. The non-clinical investigation of the performance was performed using a neonatal respiratory model (hardware-in-the-loop test). A factorial experimental design was utilized to generate challenging model responses of SpO2, which were addressed by the controllers. With this study, we demonstrate the stability and ability of the adaptive PI-controller to improve oxygen saturation control over manual control by increasing the proportion of time where SpO2 of the neonatal respiratory model was within the desired range and by minimizing the variability of the SpO2. In addition, the controller ability to significantly reduce the number of hypoxemic events of the neonatal respiratory model was reported. Results of this investigation show the competence of the controller estimation system for estimating neonatal respiratory model parameters while the adaptive PI-controller was in use. Also, the functionality of the controller with no mechanical or communication failure was validated non-clinically before heading forward to the clinical trial. The clinical investigation of the performance was performed by conducting a clinical trial at the NICU of the MU Women's and Children's Hospital. The crossover design was used for the clinical trial to allow within-subject comparison and to eliminate interpatient variability. Two human subjects, with two different target ranges of SpO2, were enrolled in the study. The adaptive automatic PI-controller shows clinical feasibility to improve the maintenance of SpO2 within the intended range. With this study, we demonstrate the potential of the automatic controller to minimize the variability of SpO2. In addition, the controller shows the ability to reduce the bradycardia and the hypoxemia. Moreover, the hardware and software of the controller show an ability to transition from manual to automatic mode, and vice versa with no pronounced “bump” or step variation in the control signal, and stability and performance were not adversely affected during the transitions.Includes bibliographical reference

A Stylistic Study into the Poem “The Lost Alternative” By the Poet: Nizar Abu Naser

This study was performed based on the poem “the Lost Alternative” by the poet Nizar Abu Naser. This poem is part of the divan “the Lost Alternative.” To conduct the study, the stylistic method was adopted. Thus, the title, as well as the stylistic levels such as the language, combinations, visualization, and rhythm were studied. That is, the role of different styles in enriching the text and its semantic and aesthetic aspects were investigated

Predicting Patterns of Customer Usage, with Niftecash

Report is the result of the working during 93rd European Study Group with Industry in Limerick

Predicting Patterns of Customer Usage, with Niftecash

Report is the result of the working during 93rd European Study Group with Industry in Limerick

Preparation of Cobalt Ferrite Nanocrystallites by Annealing of Alloyed Intermetallic Co-Fe and Study of Magnetic Behavior

In this work, cobalt ferrite nanocrystallites were synthesized by air annealing of milled Co-Fe compound. Effect of annealing temperature on phase formation of cobalt ferrite and structural and magnetic properties of the product was studied. Analysis of annealed sample in 450 oC showed that around 46 weight percent of the specimen was changed to Co2FeO4. This value increased to 95 and 90% for 800 oC and 900 oC annealed samples respectively. Reduction of saturation magnetization under annealing was related to transformation of Co-Fe to cobalt ferrite. Increasing the value of saturation magnetization in 900 oC annealed sample compared to 800 oC one was attributed to decreased surface to volume ratio and crystallite size. The main reason of occurrence of maximum coercivity in 800  oC annealed sample was its low crystallite size

Patient Satisfaction and Its Predictors in the General Hospitals of Southwest Saudi Arabia: A Cross-sectional Survey

Background: Patient satisfaction occupies a central position in measuring the quality of care as it provides information on the provider’s success, meeting the patient’s values and expectations. Hence, it is an essential tool for assessing health services outcomes. This study aimed to assess patients’ satisfaction level and factors influencing healthcare quality of general hospitals in the Jazan region, Saudi Arabia (SA).Methods: This observational cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of 423 patients selected through stratified random sampling from general hospitals of the Jazan region.Results: The overall satisfaction rate among the study participants was 80.9%. Satisfaction with food services was the highest (91.15%) followed by doctor services (81.0%), reception and entry procedures (80%), and nursing services (78.15%). The various aspects of satisfaction with doctors and nurses included the treatment prescribed by physicians, clarity in communication with patients, compassion and providing clear explanation of what they were doing. However, about 27.3% of the patients were dissatisfied with the length of waiting period before seeing a doctor. Binary logistic regression analysis suggested that uneducated patients and patients with secondary school education were more likely to have higher satisfaction level than university-educated patients (OR = 3.40, 95% C.I. [1.56–7.45], p = 0.002), (OR = 2.66, 95% C.I. [1.28–5.55], p = 0.009), and (OR = 2.29, 95% C.I. [1.40–3.73], p = 0.001), respectively.Conclusion: The health services satisfaction level was high in the Jazan population. However, some aspects of dissatisfaction were reported, such as the long waiting period before seeing a doctor. These aspects are recommended to be improved to ensure that the services provided by general hospitals are of high quality. Keywords: satisfaction; health services; general hospitals; Jaza