Reducing the incidence of exposure to blood and body fluids

Methods: we used a Pareto chart to identify priority areas for our project based on magnitude of incidence of BBF exposures. A driver diagram was developed with four main primary drivers including risk awareness, attitudes and practice, staff experience, and leadership engagement. Interventions ramps and changes were implemented using multiple PDSA cycles addressing staff knowledge and awareness about BBF exposure prevention and management using surveys and learning brochures and assessment of staff compliance with safe practice. The project included the following measures (i) outcome measure: number of days between BBF exposure incidents; (ii) Process measures: BBF exposure risk awareness score, attitude and practice score, and proportion of staff compliant with BBF exposure safe practice; (iii) BBF reporting exposure score and proportion of staff satisfied with BBF exposure prevention and management policy. Ethical approval of the project was not required. Results: about 80% of BBF exposure incidents were due to needlestick injuries. Emergency unit, operating theatre, hemodialysis unit, laboratory unit, and utility services accounted for 80% of all BBF exposure incidents. Around 47% of the incidents occurred among nurses. Our project was associated with increase in attitude and safe practice score form 75% to 100%. The compliance with safe practice increased from 77% to 86%, and reporting of exposure increased from 75% to 100%. Staff satisfaction increased from 65% at baseline to 96%. Knowledge about prevention and management of BBF exposure (safe practice) increased from 60% to 92% in the hemodialysis unit. However, the median number of days between BBF exposures increased from 13 days at baseline to 18 days in May 2019. Conclusion: our quality improvement project has identified the priorities clinical areas accounting for the majority of BBF exposure incident. The initial phase of the project in hemodialysis unit was associated with significant increase in knowledge scores about prevention and management of BBF exposure, compliance with safe practice, and staff satisfaction. In addition, the project was associated with significant increase in reporting of BBF exposure, which explains why we were not able to increase the median number of days between BBF exposures to 50 days. We have started spreading our interventions and change ideas to other units in Al-Khor general Hospital. Quality improvement projects can reduce the incidence of BBF exposure having the priority areas identified and the relevant drivers are addressed appropriatel

Modélisation, estimation et contrôle pour la dynamique du véhicule

L'objectif du travail réalisé est de proposer un modèle analytique du véhicule permettant de faciliter le contrôle et le diagnostic. Cette proposition est basée sur trois parties complémentaires. Modélisation : Dans cette partie, nous proposons un modèle analytique représentant la dynamique du véhicule comportant des défauts. Afin d'évaluer le degré de représentativité de ce modèle, nous le validons avec le simulateur ve-DYNA. Nous développons également un simulateur, basé sur ce modèle, sous Matlab avec GUI. Estimation et stratégie d'aide au conducteur : Dans cette partie, nous construisons un observateur global pour le véhicule permettant d'observer les états et d'identifier les paramètres qui sont inconnus ou incertains. L'identification des paramètres est réalisée en utilisant des algorithmes traitant le système continu. Une nouvelle stratégie d'aide à la conduite est alors proposée en se basant sur les paramètres identifiés. Commande : Après avoir proposé et validé le modèle dynamique du véhicule, ainsi que l'observateur, nous nous intéressons à la commande du châssis. En effet, nous proposons dans cette partie, deux techniques de commande.AIX-MARSEILLE3-BU Sc.St Jérô (130552102) / SudocSudocFranceF

Sliding Mode Observers for the Estimation of Vehicle Parameters, Forces and States of the Center of Gravity

Abstract-In this paper, sliding mode (SM) observers are proposed to replace expensive sensors used for the measurement of tires forces, vehicle side slip angle and vehicle velocity. These estimations are done for two important purposes: The first is for the estimation of the forces and parameters needed for vehicle control, while the second is for the diagnosis preview based on the safety region for each parameter and state. For that purpose, the model of the vehicle is divided in two parts, in the first, the dynamical equations of the wheels are used to estimate their longitudinal forces and angular velocities. The estimations of the longitudinal forces are realized using a second order SM observer based on a super-twisting algorithm. In the second part, the estimated longitudinal forces are injected in the reduced state space equations representing the vehicle, which are the equations of side slip angle, yaw rate and the velocity of the vehicle. Estimations in this part are based on the principles of the classical SM observer. In this part the observability of the model is studied. The model takes as input the yaw rate and estimates the side slip angle and the velocity. Validation with the simulator VE-DYNA, at each step, pointed out the good performance and the robustness of the proposed observers

Sliding Mode Based Analysis and Identification of Vehicle Dynamics

Vehicles are complex mechanical systems with strong nonlinear characteristics and which can present some uncertainties due to their dynamic parameters such as masses, inertias, suspension springs, tires side slip coefficients, etc. A vehicle is composed of many parts, namely the unsprung mass, the sprung mass, the suspension which makes the link between these two masses and therefore ensures passenger comfort, and also the pneumatic which absorbs the energy coming from the road and ensures contact between the vehicle and the road. In addition to its complexity and the presence of many nonlinearities and uncertainties, the presence of some external perturbations, such as the wind and the road inputs with its own characteristics (radius of curvature, longitudinal and lateral slop, road profile and skid resistance) can cause risks not only to the vehicle but also to passengers and other road users. Many methods have been developed in order to understand the behavior of a vehicle, control it and assist the driver in order to avoid possible lane departures, rollover or jackknifing risks, to ensure a better passenger comfort by means of a suspension control and/or to estimate a safety speed and trajectory. The present book is an attempt to show how the sliding mode based observation, uncertainties identification and parameter estimation may be applied in the control of vehicle dynamics as well as for parameter and perturbations estimation

Hierarchical Approach for Driver Disturbance Rejection in an Electric Vehicle: The CRONE Approach

This study deals with the control chassis dynamics of a light electric vehicle. In the frame of Global Chassis Control, it proposes a hierarchical control approach focuses on compensating the chassis dynamics against driver disturbances. It is based on a supervisory structure consists of two main levels, a global controller for regulating chassis variables and a local controller to each suspension system. Both controllers are designed using a fractional-order robust controller, namely CRONE controller, to provide an optimized solution for the performance-robustness tradeoff. The main objective is to improve ride comfort for passengers while respecting road holding and handling criteria. In contrast to other studies, random road disturbances are considered to investigate the limits of the proposed approach. Analysis in frequency and time domain has been done to evaluate the performance and robustness of the designed controller. Simulation results based on a full nonlinear 14 degree of freedom vehicle model show that the proposed strategy can effectively improve the ride quality in the field of interest where a significant performance in driver disturbance rejection is reported

Observer-based Super Twisting Controller Robust to Wind Perturbation for Multirotor UAV

International audienceControl design for multi rotors UAV is an important challenge for engineers and scientists, due to the fact that the standard configurations are under-actuated, highly nonlinear, and unstable systems. In this paper, a wind force compensation strategy is proposed for a quadrotor. This strategy relies on a second order sliding mode controller based on the super twisting algorithm (STA) with an observer. Second order sliding mode technique ensures robustness to external disturbances and time varying, parametric and nonlinear uncertainties. Integration of an observer in the closed-loop system is needed for states reconstruction and the estimation of unknown external forces such as the wind effect. This estimation will allow a better monitoring of the system's status than passive robustness, providing the opportunity for recovery tactics such as an emergency landing when the external perturbations become too strong for the system. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is compared to an adaptative gain controller through simulation and validated in real experiments on a quadrotor

Modeling and Deployment of Model-Based Decentralized Embedded Diagnosis inside Vehicles: Application to Smart Distance Keeping Function

The deployment of a fault diagnosis strategy in the Smart Distance Keeping (SDK) system with a decentralized architecture is presented. The SDK system is an advanced Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system implemented in a Renault-Volvo Trucks vehicle to increase safety by overcoming some ACC limitations. One of the main differences between this new system and the classical ACC is the choice of the safe distance. This latter is the distance between the vehicle equipped with the ACC or the SDK system and the obstacle-in-front (which may be another vehicle). It is supposed fixed in the case of the ACC, while variable in the case of the SDK. The variation of this distance depends essentially on the relative velocity between the vehicle and the obstacle-in-front. The main goal of this work is to analyze measurements, issued from the SDK elements, in order to detect, to localize, and to identify some faults that may occur. Our main contribution is the proposition of a decentralized approach permitting to carry out an on-line diagnosis without computing the global model and to achieve most of the work locally avoiding huge extra diagnostic information traffic between components. After a detailed description of the SDK system, this paper explains the model-based decentralized solution and its application to the embedded diagnosis of the SDK system inside Renault-Volvo Truck with five control units connected via a CAN-bus using “Hardware in the Loop” (HIL) technique. We also discuss the constraints that must be fulfilled

Fault Diagnosis and Fault-Tolerant Control of an Octorotor UAV using motors speeds measurements

International audienc

University students' and staff attitudes toward the implementation of a "tobacco-free" policy: A view from Qatar

Objectives: Tobacco-free campus policies are needed to create environments conducive to prevention or quitting in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), where the use of various tobacco products is on the rise among university students. The objectives of this study were to assess overall support for a 100% tobacco-free campus policy and its predictors among different stakeholder groups at the largest national university in Qatar and to understand attitudes towards specific policy components. Study design: A cross-sectional online survey of faculty and students. Methods: We measured sociodemographic variables, tobacco use, and support for components of a 100% tobacco-free campus policy. A total score for support was calculated, and associations with selected predictors were assessed using multivariable linear regression. Results: 413 respondents participated in the survey. A majority of faculty/staff and students (76.6% and 75.5%, respectively) supported the implementation of a 100% tobacco-free campus policy, with a majority supporting extension of the policy beyond cigarettes. Support for other components of the policy varied. Among students, overall support was lower among males and tobacco users and higher among the married. Among faculty and staff, support was lower among Qatari nationals and tobacco users. Conclusion: In the context of a growing tobacco crisis in the EMR, implementing and understanding the impact of tobacco-free campus policies is essential. This paper underscores the importance of addressing diverse stakeholder attitudes and providing empirical evidence to guide policy implementation and evaluation.We acknowledge the support provided by the Institutional Research and Analytic Department at Qatar University in the sampling and data collection process. Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library. The study was reviewed and approved by the Qatar University Institutional Review Board (Research Ethics Approval No is QU-IRB 1620-E/21). This work was supported, in part, by the American Cancer Society Tobacco-Free Generation Campus Initiative Grant (ACS # 64331). GFA-J: conceptualization of the study, questionnaire design, proposal and IRB writer/ approval recipient of the larger project which this study is part of, sampling design and data collection, statistical analysis and manuscript drafting; MSH: conceptualization of the study, questionnaire design, sampling design, and statistical analysis; DAH: conceptualization of the study, questionnaire design, manuscript drafting, editing and critically revising the manuscript; MA-H: Drafting the manuscript; RK: Drafting the manuscript; NH: Statistical analysis, and drafting the manuscript; HFAR: grant writer/recipient; conceptualization; questionnaire design, manuscript drafting and critical review, submit to the journal and respond to reviewers. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.Scopu