Using computer simulation in operating room management: impacts of information quality on process performance

High quality information has a significant impact on improving operation performance and patient satisfaction, as well as resolving patient disputes. Based on the analysis of the perioperative process, information quality is considered as an important contributory factor in improving patient throughput. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework to use computer simulations in modeling information flow of hospital process for operating room management (ORM). Additionally, we conduct simulation studies in different levels of the information quality for ORM. The results of our studies provide evidence that information quality can drive process performance in several phases of the ORM

The effect of tool fixturing quality on the design of condition monitoring systems for detecting tool conditions

Condition monitoring systems of machining processes are essential technology for improving productivity and automation. Tool wear monitoring of cutting tools is one of the important applications in this area. In this paper, the effect of collet fixturing quality on the design of condition monitoring systems to detect tool wear is discussed. The paper investigates the difference in the system's behaviour and the changes in the condition monitoring system when the cutting tool is not rigidly fastened to the collet. A group of sensors, namely acoustic emission, force, strain, vibration and sound, are used to design the condition monitoring system. Automated Sensor and Signal Processing Selection (ASPS) approach1 is implemented to address the effect of the tool holding device (collet) on the monitoring system and the most sensitive sensors and signal processing method to detect tool wear. The results prove that the change in the fixturing quality could have significant effect on the design of the condition monitoring system and the behaviour of the system

An innovative approach for energy generation from waves

Sustainable energy generation is becoming increasingly important due to the expected limitations in current energy resources and to reduce pollution. Wave energy generation has seen significant development in recent years. This paper describes an innovative system for generating energy from wave power. A complete description of the system is presented including the general concept, configurations, mechanical design, electrical system, simulation techniques and expected power output of the system. The results from the hydraulic linear wave simulator, using a real wave profiles captured at a location in the UK using an ultrasound system, it was seen that a ±0.8 m wave at 10 s time period, produced a conditioned power output of approximately 22 kW at optimum load conditions for the tested 3-phase 44 kW permanent magnet generator type STK500. The results indicate that this new technology could provide an efficient and low cost method of generating electricity from waves

Changes in lower limb muscle synchronisation during walking on high-heeled shoes

© 2018 Institution of Engineering and Technology.All right reserved. The goal of this research was to investigate the effect of wearing high-heeled shoes (HHS) on lower limb muscle synchronisation during walking, using beta band (15–30 Hz) coherence analysis. Fifteen females with no previous neuromuscular disorders volunteered in this study. Surface electromyography in frequency domain was studied from rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis (VM) and semitendinosus (ST) muscles during walking by subjects wearing HHS of three different heel heights (low – 4 cm, medium – 6 cm and high – 10 cm). Average coherence values were calculated for RF-VL, RF-VM and RF-ST muscles in beta band to analyse muscle pair synchronisation. In this study, significant increase in beta band coherence was found in all three muscle pairs during walking on HHS of different heel heights (p<0.05). Increased beta band coherence obtained from this study suggested that walking on HHS demands higher muscle pair synchronisation, to maintain stability around the knee joint

Knowledge of pelvic floor muscle exercise (Kegel Exercise) among women at Beserah Polyclinic and Jaya Gading Community Health Clinic

Kegel exercises can strengthen the muscles around the vagina and increase women’s ability to control and relax these muscles completely. Kegels are often encouraged along with counseling and sex therapy, as a helpful treatment for persistent problems with reaching orgasm. Stress incontinence may develop when urine is released during lifting, sneezing or exercising. Performing Kegel exercises can help many women to relieve these symptoms. Pregnant women will also benefit from Kegel exercises. The objective of this study is to assess the knowledge on Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercise (Kegel Exercise) among women and to identify its association between age, parity, gravidity, educational level, occupational, marital status, and medical problem with urinary incontinence among women in Kuantan. The total number of 200 respondents involved in this study. The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire, validated the Institutional Review Board of Advocate Healthcare, IRB. Patient ages ranged from 17 to 67 years, and parity ranged from 0 to ≥5. One hundred and twenty six of the 200 women (63%) had heard of Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercise. The independent t-test result showed there is significant in the mean age between ever heard and never heard about PFME group (p 0.05)

Cutting tool tracking and recognition based on infrared and visual imaging systems using principal component analysis (PCA) and discrete wavelet transform (DWT) combined with neural networks

The implementation of computerised condition monitoring systems for the detection cutting tools’ correct installation and fault diagnosis is of a high importance in modern manufacturing industries. The primary function of a condition monitoring system is to check the existence of the tool before starting any machining process and ensure its health during operation. The aim of this study is to assess the detection of the existence of the tool in the spindle and its health (i.e. normal or broken) using infrared and vision systems as a non-contact methodology. The application of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) combined with neural networks are investigated using both types of data in order to establish an effective and reliable novel software program for tool tracking and health recognition. Infrared and visual cameras are used to locate and track the cutting tool during the machining process using a suitable analysis and image processing algorithms. The capabilities of PCA and Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) combined with neural networks are investigated in recognising the tool’s condition by comparing the characteristics of the tool to those of known conditions in the training set. The experimental results have shown high performance when using the infrared data in comparison to visual images for the selected image and signal processing algorithms

Exploring Public Opinions Toward the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence Chatbot in Higher Education:An Insight from Topic Modelling and Sentiment Analysis

The Generative Artificial Intelligence chatbots (GAI chatbots) have emerged as promising tools in various domains, including higher education, so this study aims to investigate the role of Bard, a newly developed GAI chatbot, in higher education. English tweets were collected from Twitter's free streaming Application Programming Interface (API). The Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) algorithm was applied to extract latent topics from the tweets. User sentiments were extracted using the NRC Affect Intensity Lexicon and SentiStrength tools. This study explored the benefits, challenges, and future implications of integrating GAI chatbots in higher education. The findings shed light on the potential power of such tools, exemplified by Bard, in enhancing the learning process and providing support to students throughout their educational journe