PLC Implementation of Supervisory Control for a Dynamic Power Flow Controller using a Modular Approach

Dynamic Power Flow Controller (DPFC) provides steady-state and dynamic power flow control for power lines and is considered as a Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) controller. This paper deals with control of a standard DPFC using a Discrete Event System model. The Supervisory Control of DES has been used to implement Modular supervisors for the DPFC. Despite the fact that the SCT is well consolidated, with a large number of publications focusing on the theoretical aspects, the industrial application is unknown. It is mainly due to the complexity of the theory. The numbers of states and events to be controlled are very large even for the seemingly simple systems. In recent years, a model for modular approach to the Supervisory Control for performing the formal synthesis of Supervisors has been proposed. Programmable Logic Controllers are used for the physical implementation of the controllers. Some problems in physical realization of Supervisors in PLCs are dealt with

Chronic Osteomyelitis of Clavicle in a Neonate: Report of Morbid Complication of Adjoining MRSA Abscess

Osteomyelitis of clavicle is rare in neonates. Acute osteomyelitis of clavicle accounts for less than 3% of all osteomyelitis cases. It may occur due to contiguous spread, due to hematogenous spread, or secondary to subclavian catheterization. Chronic osteomyelitis may occur as a complication of residual adjoining abscess due to methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) sepsis. We report a newborn female with right shoulder abscess that developed chronic clavicular osteomyelitis in follow-up period after drainage. She required multiple drainage procedures and was later successfully managed with bone curettage and debridement. We report this case to highlight that a MRSA abscess may recur due to residual infection from a chronic osteomyelitis sinus. It may be misdiagnosed as hypergranulation tissue of nonhealing wound leading to inappropriate delay in treatment. High index of suspicion, aggressive initial management, and regular follow-up are imperative to prevent this morbid complication

Prevalence and Factors Associated with Occupational Musculoskeletal Disorders among the Nurses of a Tertiary Care Center of Nepal

Introduction: Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are injuries or pain in the human musculoskeletal system which could lead to temporary or permanent impairments. The nature of nursing jobs makes nurses vulnerable to MSDs. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and potential risk factors associated with MSDs among nurses. Methods: In between March to June 2021, a cross-sectional study was conducted among 165 nurses using self-administered questionnaires. A standardized Nordic Questionnaire was used to measure MSDs. Pearson’s chi-square test and binary logistic regression at a 5% level of significance were performed to identify factors associated with upper extremities and spinal musculoskeletal disorders (UMSD) and lower extremities musculoskeletal disorders (LMSD). Variables associated with UMSD and LMSD in bivariate analysis were subjected to multiple logistic regression.  Results: The prevalence of UMSD and LMSD experienced by nurses was 86.1% (95% CI: 79.4%-90.9%) and 66.1% (95% CI: 58.9%-74.3%), respectively. Among several factors, working in same position for long periods (AOR: 4.16, 95% CI: 1.2-13.4), not receiving training in injury prevention programs (AOR: 3.15, 95% CI: 1.0-9.2), not enough rest breaks during the day (AOR: 4.65, 95% CI: 1.3-15.9) and moderate to higher job stress (AOR: 3.62, 95% CI: 1.2-10.8) were found to be significantly associated with UMSD. Not having enough rest breaks during the day (AOR: 2.19, 95% CI: 1.0-4.7) was significantly associated with LMSD. Conclusion: Higher prevalence of MSDs among nurses is a serious concern that threatens individual health as well as the overall healthcare system. Sensitization and capacity enhancement programs on the issue could prevent MSDs among nurses

A systematic study on material properties of water retted Sterculia and Bauhinia fiber

Lignocellulose biomass forms an important component of traditional and next generation composite materials. To obtain desired properties, the biomass needs to be chemo‒mechanically processed at different levels. The raw lignocellulose fiber obtained from Sterculia villosa (Roxb.) and Bauhinia vahlii is traditionally believed to have high water stability; and therefore used in rural areas of South Asian regions to secure objects submerged under water. In this research, we systematically studied several material properties of raw Sterculia and Bauhinia fiber samples retted for 0, 20, 30 and 55 days (n=8). Water retting resulted in significant decrease in lignin and extractives content (p0.05). Interestingly, water retting resulted in increased thermal stability in both fiber types. These findings suggested that the fiber studied have excellent water stability. The observed trend in mechanical and thermal properties could have resulted from crystallinity change and/or nominal fiber damage as supported by XRD and SEM imaging data; respectively. These findings suggested that Sterculia and Bauhinia fiber biomass could be an important component of biodegradable composite materials which are intended for high wetting and/or humid conditions

A systematic study on material properties of water retted Sterculia and Bauhinia fiber

Lignocellulose biomass forms an important component of traditional and next generation composite materials. To obtain desired properties, the biomass needs to be chemo‒mechanically processed at different levels. The raw lignocellulose fiber obtained from Sterculia villosa (Roxb.) and Bauhinia vahlii is traditionally believed to have high water stability; and therefore used in rural areas of South Asian regions to secure objects submerged under water. In this research, we systematically studied several material properties of raw Sterculia and Bauhinia fiber samples retted for 0, 20, 30 and 55 days (n=8). Water retting resulted in significant decrease in lignin and extractives content (p0.05). Interestingly, water retting resulted in increased thermal stability in both fiber types. These findings suggested that the fiber studied have excellent water stability. The observed trend in mechanical and thermal properties could have resulted from crystallinity change and/or nominal fiber damage as supported by XRD and SEM imaging data; respectively. These findings suggested that Sterculia and Bauhinia fiber biomass could be an important component of biodegradable composite materials which are intended for high wetting and/or humid conditions

Production of food nanomaterials by specialized equipment

In the past decade, there has been a great interest in using nanotechnology by different industries, including food, pharmaceutical, and beauty. Nanotechnology provides many advantages to produce functional compounds which tend to be delivered for desired properties, such as protection from the environment or food matrix, controlled release, and increased bioavailability and bioaccessibility (Muhammad et al., 2019, Sedaghat Doost et al., 2019b, Sedaghat Doost et al., 2018c). There is a variety of methods to prepare food nanomaterials. Specialized equipment is frequently employed for the production of efficient nano-delivery systems, which is the focus of this chapter; the basic principle of conventional and recent techniques, as well as their advantages and disadvantages are described

The role of plant growth promoting bacteria on arsenic removal: a review of existing perspectives

Phytobial remediation is an innovative tool that uses plants and microbes to mitigate Arsenic (As) contamination of the environment. Recently, plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) that assists phytoremediation has been highly touted for both improving plant metal tolerance and promoting plant growth while achieving the goal of large-scale removal of As. This review focuses on the PGPB characteristics influencing plants and the mechanisms in which they function to overcome/lessen As-induced adversities. Several recent examples of mechanisms responsible for increasing the availability of As to plants and coping with As stresses facilitated by PGPB will be reviewed. Although drawbacks to phytoremediation have been reported, encouraging results have been developed with regular monitoring. Introducing PGPB-assisted phytoremediation of As in a field requires an assessment of the environmental effects of PGPB, especially with respect to the impacts on indigenous bacteria

Baseline heart rate as a predictor of post-spinal hypotension in patients undergoing a caesarean section: An observational study

>Background: Hypotension is a well-known side effect of spinal anaesthesia in obstetrics patients undergoing caesarean section. This is likely to affect both mother and fetal well-being. Systemic haemodynamics are modulated by autonomic nervous system (ANS). Evaluation of ANS may be helpful in predicting hypotension. The present study is designed to identify the subset of pregnant patients at higher risk of developing post-spinal hypotension based on baseline heart rate (HR) prior to administration of anaesthesia.Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study conducted on 100 patients aged 20–30 years, of American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) grade I or II, scheduled for elective caesarean section under spinal anaesthesia. Patients were divided into two groups based on their baseline HR. Incidence of hypotension and ephedrine requirement following spinal anaesthesia were noted.Results: Thirty nine patients out of 100 developed hypotension (39%), of whom 27 were in the group with HR >91 beats per minute (bpm) (50.9%) and 12 patients were in the group with HR 91 bpm than group with HR <90 bpm (mean 3.9 ± 0.45 vs 4.34 ± 0.45, P = 0.0148) and it was statistically significant.Conclusion: Pre-operative baseline HR may be used to predict risk of post-spinal hypotension in obstetric patients undergoing caesarean section

A Building Permit System for Smart Cities: A Cloud-based Framework

In this paper we propose a novel, cloud-based framework to support citizens and city officials in the building permit process. The proposed framework is efficient, user-friendly, and transparent with a quick turn-around time for homeowners. Compared to existing permit systems, the proposed smart city permit framework provides a pre-permitting decision workflow, and incorporates a data analytics and mining module that enables the continuous improvement of both the end user experience and the permitting and urban planning processes. This is enabled through a data mining-powered permit recommendation engine as well as a data analytics process that allow a gleaning of key insights for real estate development and city planning purposes, by analyzing how users interact with the system depending on their location, time, and type of request. The novelty of the proposed framework lies in the integration of a pre-permit processing front-end with permit processing and data analytics & mining modules, along with utilization of techniques for extracting knowledge from the data generated through the use of the system. The proposed framework is completely cloud-based, such that any city can deploy it with lower initial as well as maintenance costs. We also present a proof-of-concept use case, using real permit data from New York City