Improving Sensitivity of the DEWMA Chart with Exact ARL Solution under the Trend AR(p) Model and Its Applications

The double exponentially weighted moving average (DEWMA) chart is a control chart that is a vital analytical tool for keeping track of the quality of a process, and the sensitivity of the control chart to the process is evaluated using the average run length (ARL). Herein, the aim of this study is to derive the explicit formula of the ARL on the DEWMA chart with the autoregressive with trend model and its residual, which is exponential white noise. This study shows that this proposed method was compared to the ARL derived using the numerical integral equation (NIE) approach, and the explicit ARL formula decreased the computing time. By changing exponential parameters that were relevant to evaluating in various circumstances, the sensitivity of AR(p) with the trend model with the DEWMA chart was investigated. These were compared with the EWMA and CUSUM charts in terms of the ARL, standard deviation run length (SDRL), and median run length (MRL). The results indicate that the DEWMA chart has the highest performance, and when it was small, the DEWMA chart had high sensitivity for detecting processes. Digital currencies are utilized to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method; the results are consistent with the simulated data. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-06-03 Full Text: PD

Relationship between changes in heart rate variability indices and blood glucose control in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the mostcommon health problems in the community.DM is associated with pathologicchanges in the cardiovascular system due to alterations inthe autonomic nervous system (ANS). Dysfunction of thecardiovascular ANS can lead to fatal arrhythmias and suddendeath. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationshipbetween changes in heart rate variability (HRV)indices and blood glucose control status in patients withtype 2 DM. Patients with type 2 DM who presented toour university Diabetes Clinic were eligible to be included.Fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2-hour postprandial bloodglucose test (2PPG), and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) weremeasured. According to the HbA1C the patients werecategorized as euglycemia (HbA1C <7%) and poorly controlledDM (HbA1C >7%). HRV indices were determinedby 24-hour Holter monitoring. There were 41 patientswith euglycemia and 39 patients whose blood glucosewas poorly controlled. pNN, SDANN, and SDNN indiceswere significantly higher in the euglycemia group thanin the group with poorly controlled glucose. There wassignificant and inverse correlation between pNN, SDANN,and SDNN with serum levels of HBA1C. However, no significantcorrelation was observed between FBS and 2PPGwith HRV indices. HRV indices were significantly lowerin diabetic patients with poorly controlled blood glucosewhen compared to diabetics with good control of bloodglucose. These findings reflect dysfunction of the ANS inpatents with poorly controlled blood glucose

Multi-objective genetic algorithms for solving portfolio optimization problems in the electricity market

a b s t r a c t The multi-objective portfolio optimization problem is not easy to solve because of (i) challenges from the complexity that arises due to conflicting objectives, (ii) high occurrence of non-dominance of solutions based on the dominance relation, and (iii) optimization solutions that often result in under-diversification. This paper experiments the use of multi-objective genetic algorithms (MOGAs), namely, the nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II), strength Pareto evolutionary algorithm II (SPEA-II) and newly proposed compressed objective genetic algorithm II (COGA-II) for solving the portfolio optimization problem for a power generation company (GenCo) faced with different trading choices. To avoid under-diversification, an additional objective to enhance the diversification benefit is proposed alongside with the three original objectives of the mean-variance-skewness (MVS) portfolio framework. The results show that MOGAs have made possible the inclusion of the fourth objective within the optimization framework that produces Pareto fronts that also cover those based on the traditional MVS framework, thereby offering better trade-off solutions while promoting investment diversification benefits for power generation companies

Occurrence and characterization of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in pig industries of northern Thailand

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) in pigs, farm workers, and the environment in northern Thailand, and to assess LA-MRSA isolate phenotypic characteristics. One hundred and four pig farms were randomly selected from the 21,152 in Chiang Mai and Lamphun provinces in 2012. Nasal and skin swab samples were collected from pigs and farm workers. Environmental swabs (pig stable floor, faucet, and feeder) were also collected. MRSA was identified by conventional bacterial culture technique, with results confirmed by multiplex PCR and multi locus sequence typing (MLST). Herd prevalence of MRSA was 9.61% (10 of 104 farms). Among pigs, workers, and farm environments, prevalence was 0.68% (two of 292 samples), 2.53% (seven of 276 samples), and 1.28% (four of 312 samples), respectively. Thirteen MRSA isolates (seven from workers, four from environmental samples, and two from pigs) were identified as Staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec IV sequences type 9. Antimicrobial sensitivity tests found 100% of the MRSA isolates resistant to clindamycin, oxytetracycline, and tetracycline, while 100% were susceptible to cloxacillin and vancomycin. All possessed a multidrug-resistant phenotype. This is the first evidence of an LA-MRSA interrelationship among pigs, workers, and the farm environment in Thailand

Mechanical Diaphragm Structure Design of a MEMS-Based Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor for Sensitivity and Linearity Enhancement

An improved design of the micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) piezoresistive pressure sensor with a combination of a petal edge, a beam, a peninsula, three cross beams and a center boss is proposed in this work for an operating range of low pressure in order to improve the sensor performance, i.e. the sensitivity and the linearity. The finite element method (FEM) is utilized to predict the stress and the deflection of the MEMS piezoresistive pressure sensor under the applied pressure of 1-5 kPa. The functional forms of the longitudinal stress, the transverse stress and the deflection are formulated by using the power law and then are used to optimize the geometry of the proposed design. The simulation results show that the proposed design is able to produce the high sensitivity up to 34 mV/kPa with the low nonlinearity of 0.11% full-scale span (FSS). The nonlinearity error is lowered by the proposed design of the peninsula, three cross beams and the center boss. The sensitivity is enhanced by increasing the petal edge width. The sensor performance of the proposed design is also compared to that of the previous design in the literature. The comparison reveals that the proposed design can perform better than the previous one

Development of core competencies for field veterinary epidemiology training programs

A workforce with the adequate field epidemiology knowledge, skills and abilities is the foundation of a strong and effective animal health system. Field epidemiology training is conducted in several countries to meet the increased global demand for such a workforce. However, core competencies for field veterinary epidemiology have not been identified and agreed upon globally, leading to the development of different training curricula. Having a set of agreed core competencies can harmonize field veterinary epidemiology training. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) initiated a collective, iterative, and participative process to achieve this and organized two expert consultative workshops in 2018 to develop core competencies for field veterinary epidemiology at the frontline and intermediate levels. Based on these expert discussions, 13 competencies were identified for the frontline and intermediate levels. These competencies were organized into three domains: epidemiological surveillance and studies; field investigation, preparedness and response; and One Health, communication, ethics and professionalism. These competencies can be used to facilitate the development of field epidemiology training curricula for veterinarians, adapted to country training needs, or customized for training other close disciplines. The competencies can also be useful for mentors and employers to monitor and evaluate the progress of their mentees, or to guide the selection process during the recruitment of new staff

Cleft palate repair and variations

Cleft palate affects almost every function of the face except vision. Today a child born with cleft palate with or without cleft lip should not be considered as unfortunate, because surgical repair of cleft palate has reached a highly satisfactory level. However for an average cleft surgeon palatoplasty remains an enigma. The surgery differs from centre to centre and surgeon to surgeon. However there is general agreement that palatoplasty (soft palate at least) should be performed between 6-12 months of age. Basically there are three groups of palatoplasty techniques. One is for hard palate repair, second for soft palate repair and the third based on the surgical schedule. Hard palate repair techniques are Veau-Wardill-Kilner V-Y, von Langenbeck, two-flap, Aleveolar extension palatoplasty, vomer flap, raw area free palatoplasty etc. The soft palate techniques are intravelar veloplasty, double opposing Z-plasty, radical muscle dissection, primary pharyngeal flap etc. And the protocol based techniques are Schweckendiek's, Malek's, whole in one, modified schedule with palatoplasty before lip repair etc. One should also know the effect of each technique on maxillofacial growth and speech. The ideal technique of palatoplasty is the one which gives perfect speech without affecting the maxillofacial growth and hearing. The techniques are still evolving because we are yet to design an ideal one. It is always good to know all the techniques and variations so that one can choose whichever gives the best result in one's hands. A large number of techniques are available in literature, and also every surgeon incorporates his own modification to make it a variation. However there are some basic techniques, which are described in details which are used in various centres. Some of the important variations are also described