Profile control chart based on maximum entropy

Monitoring a process over time is so important in manufacturing processes to reduce the wastage of money and time. The purpose of this article is to monitor profile coefficients instead of a process mean. In this paper, two methods are proposed for monitoring the intercept and slope of the simple linear profile, simultaneously. The first one is linear regression, and another one is the maximum entropy principle. A simulation study is applied to compare the two methods in terms of the second type of error and average run length. Finally, two real examples are presented to demonstrate the ability of the proposed chart

Chapter 3 An introduction to OpenFOAM

Chapter 3 is an introduction to OpenFOAM, as the most popular CFD tool in effluent discharge modelling. A decade ago, OpenFOAM was only an academic tool for studying complex fluid mechanics problems. However, it has grown quickly in recent years and has found its way into industry as well (e.g., many consulting firms have invested in creating their own solvers for the particular problems they often solve). This book covers the fundamentals of OpenFOAM related to effluent discharge modeling: the choice of available solvers and differences between them, mesh generation options and methodology in OpenFOAM and postprocessing the numerical results

New statistical control limits using maximum copula entropy

Statistical quality control methods are noteworthy to produced standard production in manufacturing processes. In this regard, there are many classical manners to control the process. Many of them have a global assumption around distributions of the process data. They are supposed to be normal, which is clear that it is not always valid for all processes. Such control charts made some false decisions that waste funds. So, the main question while working with multivariate data set is how to find the multivariate distribution of the data set, which saves the original dependency between variables. Up to our knowledge, a copula function guarantees the dependence on the result function. But it is not enough when there is no other functional information about the statistical society, and we have just a data set. Therefore, we apply the maximum entropy concept to deal with this situation. In this paper, first of all, we find out the joint distribution of a data set, which is from a manufacturing process that needs to be control while running the production process. Then, we get an elliptical control limit via the maximum copula entropy. In the final step, we represent a practical example using the stated method. Average run lengths are calculated for some means and shifts to show the ability of the maximum copula entropy. In the end, two real data examples are presented

Numerical simulation of thermal buoyant wall jets

The main focus of this study is on the near field flow and mixing characteristics of the thermal wall jets. A numerical study of the buoyant wall jets discharged from submerged outfalls from cooling systems of power plants has hence been conducted. The effects of different RANS (Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes) turbulence models have been investigated. The standard k-ε, RNG k-ε, realizable k-ε and SST k-ω turbulence models have been applied in this study. A finite volume method with structured grid was used to simulate the flow and temperature fields. The results of temperature and velocity fields are compared to both existing experimental and numerical data. It is found that the realizable k-ε performs the best among the four investigated turbulence models. According to the results from different simulations, relationships and comparative graphs are presented which are helpful for a better understanding of buoyant wall jets.This publication was made possible by NPRP grant # 4-935-2-354 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation)

Case Report A Case of False-Positive Mycobacterium tuberculosis Caused by Mycobacterium celatum

Mycobacterium celatum is a nontuberculous mycobacterium shown to cause symptoms similar to pulmonary M. tuberculosis. Certain strains have been shown to cross-react with the probes used to detect M. tuberculosis, making this a diagnostic challenge. We present a 56-year-old gentleman who developed signs and symptoms of lung infection with computed tomography scan of the chest showing right lung apex cavitation. Serial sputum samples were positive for acid-fast bacilli and nucleic acid amplification testing identified M. tuberculosis ribosomal RNA, resulting in treatment initiation. Further testing with high performance liquid chromatography showed a pattern consistent with M. celatum. This case illustrates the potential for M. celatum to mimic M. tuberculosis in both its clinical history and laboratory testing due to the identical oligonucleotide sequence contained in both. An increasing number of case reports suggest that early reliable differentiation could reduce unnecessary treatment and public health intervention associated with misdiagnosed tuberculosis

Numerical Modeling of Thermal/Saline Discharges in Coastal Waters

Liquid waste discharged from industrial outfalls is categorized into two major classes based on their density. One type is the effluent that has a higher density than that of the ambient water body. In this case, the discharged effluent has a tendency to sink as a negatively buoyant jet. The second type is the effluent that has a lower density than that of the ambient water body and is hence defined as a (positively) buoyant jet that causes the effluent to rise. Negatively/Positively buoyant jets are found in various civil and environmental engineering projects: discharges of desalination plants, discharges of cooling water from nuclear power plants turbines, mixing chambers, etc. This thesis investigated the mixing and dispersion characteristics of such jets numerically. In this thesis, mixing behavior of these jets is studied using a finite volume model (OpenFOAM). Various turbulence models have been applied in the numerical model to assess the accuracy of turbulence models in predicting the effluent discharges in submerged outfalls. Four Linear Eddy Viscosity Models (LEVMs) are used in the positively buoyant wall jet model for discharging of heated waste including: standard k-ε, RNG k-ε, realizable k-ε and SST k-ω turbulence models. It was found that RNG k-ε, and realizable k-ε turbulence models performed better among the four models chosen. Then, in the next step, numerical simulations of 30˚ and 45˚ inclined dense turbulent jets in stationary ambient water have been conducted. These two angles are examined in this study due to lower terminal rise height for 30˚ and 45˚, which is very important for discharges of effluent in shallow waters compared to higher angles. Five Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models are applied to evaluate the accuracy of CFD predictions. These models include two LEVMs: RNG k-ε, and realizable k-ε; one Nonlinear Eddy Viscosity Model (NLEVM): Nonlinear k-ε; and two Reynolds Stress Models (RSMs): LRR and Launder-Gibson. It has been observed that the LRR turbulence model as well as the realizable k-ε model predict the flow more accurately among the various turbulence models studied herein

Emerging co-morbidities of obstructive sleep apnea:cognition, kidney disease, and cancer

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) causes daytime fatigue and sleepiness, and has an established relationship with cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Recent years have seen the emergence of an evidence base linking OSA with an increased risk of degenerative neurological disease and associated cognitive impairment, an accelerated rate of decline in kidney function with an increased risk of clinically significant chronic kidney disease (CKD), and with a significantly higher rate of cancer incidence and death. This review evaluates the evidence base linking OSA with these seemingly unrelated co-morbidities, and explores potential mechanistic links underpinning their development in patients with OSA, including intermittent hypoxia (IH), sleep fragmentation, sympathetic excitation, and immune dysregulation

Rhabdomyolysis and pancytopenia secondary to an unexpected interaction between ledipasvir/sofosbuvir, atorvastatin and colchicine

Case Presentation: A 65-year-old woman with hepatitis C-induced liver cirrhosis status-post liver transplantation, coronary artery disease and gout, presents with one week of progressive fatigue, weakness, and severe pain in her right leg and left shoulder. She was on atorvastatin for cardiac disease and had recently started Ledipasvir/Sofosbuvir for hepatitis C two months prior. She also reported sporadic colchicine use for gout and in the three weeks prior had been taking it daily. On exam, she had tenderness of her right thigh and left shoulder, but had no rashes, ecchymosis or bleeding. Joint examination was unremarkable. Labs were significant for creatine phosphokinase (CPK) 3146 IU/L (normal \u3c170), creatinine 1.25 mg/dl (\u3c1.16, at her baseline), urine myoglobulin of 19,700 ng/ml (\u3c45). Complete blood count revealed hemoglobin 8.3 g/dL, white blood cell count 1.6 K/uL and platelets 97 K/uL, which were all reduced from three weeks prior. The patient was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis and pancytopenia, admitted to the hospital, and treated with aggressive intravenous fluids. Upon admission, atorvastatin and colchicine were discontinued, while Ledipasvir/Sofosbuvir were continued. The patient clinically improved and the CPK and pancytopenia resolved within one week and one month, respectively. Discussion: Rhabdomyolysis is a common condition requiring hospitalization. The focus of treatment is hydration and discontinuation of any offending agents. Patients taking Ledipasvir/Sofosbuvir are increasingly encountered in hospitals as this treatment for hepatitis C becomes more widespread. Ledipasvir/Sofosbuvir have been reported to cause asymptomatic elevations in CPK and concurrent usage with rosuvastatin can lead to increased risk of statin-related myopathy. This did not appear to translate to other statins, except for a single case suggesting atorvastatin to also be a culprit. Ledipasvir inhibits P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and Breast Cancer Resistance Protein (BCRP), both of which are drug transporters. Inhibition of P-gp increases colchicine absorption, while inhibition of BCRP increases rosuvastatin, and theoretically atorvastatin absorption. Atorvastatin also acts as a P-gp inhibitor and colchicine has been shown to independently and in conjunction with statins, cause rhabdomyolysis and pancytopenia. Our case proposes that colchicine may have been the underlying trigger of rhabdomyolysis, suggested by the timing of drug initiation, concurrent pancytopenia and laboratory normalization following cessation of the offending medications. Conclusions: Patients on Ledipasvir/Sofosbuvir should be closely monitored while on combined atorvastatin and colchicine therapy due to the increased risk of rhabdomyolysis and pancytopenia, among other potential adverse effects of polypharmacy

Analyse de la variation des données floues (Application à la maîtrise de la qualité)

CLERMONT FD-BCIU Sci.et Tech. (630142101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Inertial capability index based on fuzzy data

Process performance can be analyzed by using process capability indices (PCIs), which are summary statistics to depict the process location and dispersion successfully. In some cases, quality characteristic and target are not precise numbers and they are expressed in fuzzy terms, so that the classical capability indices cannot be applied. In this paper we obtain a confidence interval for inertial capability index Cpi (defined by [Pillet, TQM Mag. 16, 202–209 (2004)]) based on fuzzy data and propose a membership function for it