Blockchain ready manufacturing supply chain using distributed ledger

The blockchain technology as a foundation for distributed ledgers offers an innovative platform for a new decentralized and transparent transaction mechanism in industries and businesses. The inherited characteristics of this technology enhance trust through transparency and traceability within any transaction of data, goods, and financial resources. Despite initial doubts about this technology, recently governments and large corporations have investigated to adopt and improve this technology in various domains of applications, from finance, social and legal industries to design, manufacturing and supply chain networks. In this article, the authors review the current status of this technology and some of its applications. The potential benefit of such technology in manufacturing supply chain is then discussed in this article and a vision for the future blockchain ready manufacturing supply chain is proposed. Manufacturing of cardboard boxes are used as an example to demonstrate how such technology can be used in a global supply chain network. Finally, the requirements and challenges to adopt this technology in the future manufacturing systems are discussed

Innovative mechanism to identify robot alignment in an automation system

Robotic applications are commonly used in industrial automation systems. Such systems are often comprised of a series of equipment, including robotic arms, conveyors, a workspace, and fixtures. While each piece of equipment may be calibrated with the highest precision, their alignment in relation to each other is an important issue in defining the accuracy of the system. Currently, a variety of complex automated and manual methods are used to align a robotic arm to a workspace. These methods often use either expensive equipment or are slow and skill-dependent. This paper presents a novel low-cost method for aligning an industrial robot to its workcell at 6 degrees of freedom (DoF). The solution is new, simple and easy to use and intended for the SMEs dealing with low volume, high complexity automated systems. The proposed method uses three dial indicators mounted to a robot end effector and a fixed measurement cube, positioned on a workcell. The robot is pre-programmed for a procedure around the cube. The changes on the dial indicators are used to calculate the misalignment between the robot and the workcell. Despite simplicity of the design, the solution is supported with complex real-time mathematical calculations and proven to identify and eliminate misalignment up to 3mm and 5 degrees to an accuracy of 0.003mm and 0.002 degrees: much higher than the precision required for a conventional industrial robot. In this article, the authors describe a proposed solution, validate the computation both theoretically and through a laboratory test rig and simulation

Comparison of analgesic effect of pregabalin-fentanyl and midazolam-fentanyl combinations on the severity of pain in the patients undergoing extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy: a double-blind clinical trial

Background and Objective: Kidney stone disease goes back to thousands of years ago. Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL) is currently the first line treatment for this disease. Different analgesics were already used to relieve pain in the patients but they still complain about their pain. Therefore, the effect of two combinations of pregabalin-fentanyl and midazolam-fentanyl was investigated in controlling pain in the patients undergoing ESWL in this study.Materials and Methods: This was double-blind clinical trial on 141 patients visiting Lithotripsy Unit in Peymaniyeh Hospital in Jahrom Town. The participants were selected using a simple sampling method. Inclusion criterion was 8mm < kidney stone < 20mm. Exclusion criteria were 20 kg/m2 < body mass index (BMI) < 30 kg/m2, a history of mental disorders, namely addiction to analgesics and opiates. Finally, the patients were randomly assigned to two groups. One microgram per kilogram fentanyl was administered intravenously and 300mg pregabalin was given orally to the patients ten minutes before surgery in the first group (pregabalin-fentanyl and n = 47). One microgram per kilogram fentanyl and one microgram per kilogram midazolam were injected intravenously to the patients ten minutes prior to operation in the second group (fentanyl-midazolam and n = 46). Then, standard shock wave lithotripsy was carried out in both groups. The severity of pain was measured every 20 minutes during the operation and two hours after the operation using the Visual Analog Scale for Pain (VAS Pain). The collected data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation and percent) and analytical statistical tests (Mann-Whitney and Chi-square) were used to analyze the data.Results: The mean age of participants was 43.80±13.71 in the first group (pregabalin + fentanyl) and 39.0±11.19 in the second group (midazolam + fentanyl). Chi-square test results were matched in both groups in terms of age, gender, number of shocks and size of the stone. The Mann-Whitney test results showed a significant difference between the first and second groups in terms of pain score from the first 20 minutes up to 2 hours after drug administration (p-value<0.05). The results also showed that the number of patients experiencing higher than average severity of pain in the second group was significantly less than the first group (pvalue< 0.05).Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the number of patients experiencing higher than average severity of pain in the group receiving midazolam-fentanyl combination was less than the group receiving pregabalin-fentanyl combination. Therefore, it can be deduced that fentanyl in combination with midazolam has a greater analgesic effect on pain relief in the patients undergoing ESWL.Keywords: pregabalin-fentanyl, midazolam-fentanyl, pain, extracorporeal shockwave lithotrips

One common polymorphism of cholesteryl ester transfer protein gene in Iranian subjects with and without primary hypertriglyceridemia

Primary hypertriglyceridemia is considered to be a major risk factor for pancreatitis, atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Cholesteryl ester transfer protein gene polymorphisms known to be associated with changes in lipid levels. This study was performed by using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphisms. Genotype distribution and allelic frequencies of polymorphism were determined and compared in primary hypertriglyceridemic and normotriglyceridemic subjects. The results showed that plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity was significantly higher in primary hypertriglyceridemia than in controls (p = 0.001). In this study all individuals with B2B2 genotype had lower plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity, higher high-density lipoprotein than B1B1 and B1B2 genotypes, whereas triglyceride was significantly decreased in this genotype. The genotype and allelic frequencies for this polymorphism differed significantly between primary hypertriglyceridemic patients and controls (p = 0.014 and p = 0.027, respectively). In both groups, CETP Taq 1B polymorphism (presence of B 2 allele) correlated significantly with HDL-C (r = 0.207 and 0.300 in control and patient groups, respectively) and CETP activity (r = -0.193 for controls and r = -0.132 for patients). Taq 1B polymorphism of cholesteryl ester transfer protein gene was associated with changes in lipids profile and plasma cholesteryl ester transfer protein activity in the selected population. © 2007 Asian Network for Scientific Information

Integration approach to virtual-driven discrete event simulation for manufacturing systems

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in 'International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing' on 11/06/2014, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/0951192X.2014.924159.Virtual engineering (VE) environment helps to verify process and resource design through visualisation. By using VE, the impacts of re-configurability and new-process additions in the machine stops can be viewed down to the component level. On the other hand, discrete event simulation (DES) typically forecasts the system behaviour over a period of time to predict future performance. During pre-build stages of machines, DES analysis comes with uncertainties, as most of the parameters in the model are based on the assumptions. Therefore, it was aimed to use the validated and verified data, for example ‘process time’ of a machine component available from the VE-emulated systems, in the DES model. Thus, a systematic algorithm was proposed to integrate the VE tool data, with the DES. This article presents the development of a package known as ‘virtual-driven discrete event simulation’ (VDSim), used to establish an integration between the VE and DES domains. The success of this integration depends upon the quality of information and the compatibility of data flow between these independent domains. VDSim integration will help productivity planners and schedulers to get the best possible options for resource selection at stages even when the resource is not physically present

Liver, spleen, pancreas and kidney involvement by human fascioliasis: imaging findings

BACKGROUND: Fasciola hepatica primarily involves the liver, however in some exceptional situations other organs have been reported to be involved. The ectopic involvement is either a result of Parasite migration or perhaps eosinophilic reaction. CASE PRESENTATION: Here we report a known case of multiple myeloma who was under treatment with prednisolone and melphalan. He was infected by Fasciola hepatica, which involved many organs and the lesions were mistaken with metastatic ones. DISCUSSION: Presented here is a very unusual case of the disease, likely the first case involving the pancreas, spleen, and kidney, as well as the liver

Metabolic alkalosis in children: Study of patients admitted to pediatrics center

Metabolic alkalosis is characterized by high HCO3- as it is seen in chronic respiratory acidosis, but PH differentiates the two disorders. There is no characteristic symptom or sign. Orthostatic hypotension may be encountered. Weakness and hyporeflexia occur if serum K+ is markerdly low. Tetany and neuromuscular irritability occur rarely. We report the results of retrospective data analysis of metabolic alkalosis in 15463 patients hospitalized Pediatric Medical Center in Tehran during years 1995-1997. We found 50 cases of metabolic alkalosis (rate of 0.32 percent. 64 precent male and 36 percent female). Most of them had growth failure (40% were bellow 3 percentile of height by age, 44% bellow 5 percentile of weight by height). More than 60 percent had hypokalemia, hypocloremia and hyponatremia. The most common cause of Metabolic alkalosis was cystic fibrosis and pyloric stenosis. Fifty percent of cystic fibrosis patients and Bartter cases had metabolic alkalosis. Metabolic alkalosis should be considered in every pediatric patient presented with projectile vomitting