A modern teaching environment for process automation

Emergence of the new technological trends such as Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA), Industrial Ethernet, cloud computing and the 5th wireless network (5G) enabled the implementation of Cyber-physical System (CPS) with flexible, configurable, scalable and interoperable business models. This provides new opportunities for the process automation systems. On the other hand, the constant urge of industries for cost and material efficient processes demands a new automation paradigm with the latest tools and technologies which should be taken into account while teaching future automation engineers. In this thesis, the modern teaching environment for process automation is designed, implemented and described. This work explains the connections, configurations and the test of three mini plants including the Multiple Heat Exchanger, the Three-tank system and the Mixing Tank. In addition, OPC UA communication between the server and its clients has been tested. The plants are a part of the state of the art of the architecture that provides the access of ABB 800xA to the cloud services via OPC UA over the 5G test wireless network. This new paradigm changes the old automation hierarchy and enables the cross layered communication in the old architecture. This modern teaching environment prepares the students for the future automation challenges with the latest tools and merges data analytics, cloud computing and wireless network studies with process automation. It also provides the unique chance of testing the future trends together in this unique process automation setup

The Global Equity Market Reactions of the Oil & Gas Midstream and Marine Shipping Industries to COVID-19: An Entropy Analysis

oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/152This article quantifies the information flow between major equities in the Oil & Gas Midstream and Marine Shipping industries, on the basis of the effective transfer entropy methodology. In addition, the article provides the first analysis of investor fear and market expectations in these sectors, according to the Rényi entropy approach. The period of study was extended over five years to fully capture the pre/post-COVID situations. The entropy results reveal a major change in the underlying information flow pattern among equities in the Oil & Gas Midstream and Marine Shipping sectors in the aftermath of COVID-19. According to the new (post-COVID) paradigm, the stocks in the Oil & Gas Midstream and Integrated Freight & Logistics industries have gained momentum in occupying six of the ten positions within the list of the most influential equities in the market, in terms of information transmission. The disorder and randomness have decreased for over 89% of the studied equities, after virus outbreak. For the equities detected with high information-transmission standing, the Rényi entropy results indicate that investors more likely showed a higher level of future expectations and a lower level of fear regarding frequent market events within the post-COVID timeline. Doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2021-02-04-07 Full Text: PD

Global, regional, and national cancer incidence, mortality, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-Adjusted life-years for 29 cancer groups, 1990 to 2017 : A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study

Importance: Cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are now widely recognized as a threat to global development. The latest United Nations high-level meeting on NCDs reaffirmed this observation and also highlighted the slow progress in meeting the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and the third Sustainable Development Goal. Lack of situational analyses, priority setting, and budgeting have been identified as major obstacles in achieving these goals. All of these have in common that they require information on the local cancer epidemiology. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is uniquely poised to provide these crucial data. Objective: To describe cancer burden for 29 cancer groups in 195 countries from 1990 through 2017 to provide data needed for cancer control planning. Evidence Review: We used the GBD study estimation methods to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-Adjusted life-years (DALYs). Results are presented at the national level as well as by Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income, educational attainment, and total fertility rate. We also analyzed the influence of the epidemiological vs the demographic transition on cancer incidence. Findings: In 2017, there were 24.5 million incident cancer cases worldwide (16.8 million without nonmelanoma skin cancer [NMSC]) and 9.6 million cancer deaths. The majority of cancer DALYs came from years of life lost (97%), and only 3% came from years lived with disability. The odds of developing cancer were the lowest in the low SDI quintile (1 in 7) and the highest in the high SDI quintile (1 in 2) for both sexes. In 2017, the most common incident cancers in men were NMSC (4.3 million incident cases); tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer (1.5 million incident cases); and prostate cancer (1.3 million incident cases). The most common causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for men were TBL cancer (1.3 million deaths and 28.4 million DALYs), liver cancer (572000 deaths and 15.2 million DALYs), and stomach cancer (542000 deaths and 12.2 million DALYs). For women in 2017, the most common incident cancers were NMSC (3.3 million incident cases), breast cancer (1.9 million incident cases), and colorectal cancer (819000 incident cases). The leading causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for women were breast cancer (601000 deaths and 17.4 million DALYs), TBL cancer (596000 deaths and 12.6 million DALYs), and colorectal cancer (414000 deaths and 8.3 million DALYs). Conclusions and Relevance: The national epidemiological profiles of cancer burden in the GBD study show large heterogeneities, which are a reflection of different exposures to risk factors, economic settings, lifestyles, and access to care and screening. The GBD study can be used by policy makers and other stakeholders to develop and improve national and local cancer control in order to achieve the global targets and improve equity in cancer care. © 2019 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Radial Artery Pseudoaneurysm at the Previous Site of Invasive Monitoring

This report presents a case of left radial artery pseudoaneurysm developing at the previous site of invasive monitoring. The patient had prosthetic mitral valve replacement one month earlier, and anti-coagulation therapy had started on the first post-operative day. The patient’s radial artery aneurysm with a 4-centimeter diameter was resected and the radial artery was ligated

Myxoma of the Superior Vena Cava Origin Presented as a Right Atrial Mass

Myxomas are the most common benign cardiac tumors. Myxomas are more common in the left heart chamber than the right side chamber. An extracardiac origin presenting as a right atrial mass is very rare. We present a case of myxoma originating in the superior vena cava (SVC) in a 24-year-old man, who underwent surgical resection. Preoperative two-dimensional echocardiography demonstrated a mass in the right atrium. Intraoperatively, the tumor was found to have originated from the SVC orifice. The tumor was excised from the SVC by opening the one-third proximal portion of the SVC. Pathological examination revealed a myxoma, and one-year follow-up showed no evidence of the recurrence of any tumors in the SVC

Hemi-Fontan or Bidirectional Cavopulmonary Shunt for Right Ventricular Failure after Mitral Valve Replacement and Acute Ascending Aortic Dissection: Report of Two Cases

Right ventricular failure due to right coronary artery disease, right ventricular hypertrophy, stunning, abnormal septal motion, myocardial infarction, or non-homogeneous distribution of cardioplegia is an uncommon but serious complication of open heart surgery. We report a patient with severe right ventricular hypertrophy secondary to severe mitral valve stenosis and another patient with detachment of the right coronary artery due to the dissection of the ascending aorta. The patients developed right ventricular failure, which persisted after surgery and rendered weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass unsuccessful. Through a hemi-Fontan, or bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt, and an intra-aortic balloon pump, the patients were successfully weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass. This shunt may be an alternative to a right ventricular assist device in some patients with right ventricular failure. The long-term outcome and the indication of bi-directional cavopulmonary shunt has not been confirmed, although it is believed to be effective for saving the life of patients with low cardiac output and acute right ventricular failure. In our cases, six months following the operation, there was some degree of recovery of the right ventricular function. In long-term follow-up, however, it would be interesting for the authors to know if the improved right ventricular function, with better antegrade pulsatile flow in the pulmonary artery, in any way interferes with the functioning of the bidirectional cavopulmonary shunt

Postoperative Outcomes in Patients with Chronic Renal Failure Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in Madani Heart Center: 2000-2010

Introduction: Renal failure predisposes patients to adverse outcome after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Renal dysfunction is a predictor of increased morbidity and mortality after CABG, whether it is dialysis-dependent or not. Methods: In a retrospective study from April 2000 to December 2010, seventy-six patients (60 male and 16 female with the mean age of 58.57±7.93 years) with different categories of chronic renal failure undergoing CABG in Shahid Madani Hospital, were studied. The cardiac disease leading to the operation was coronary artery disease (CAD) in all patients. Patients demographic, surgical and laboratory data were gathered from hospital records. Data were then analyzed. Results: Mean hospital stay was 10.16±7.16 days. The preoperative mortality rate was 10.5% (15% in non dialysis and 5.6% in dialysis dependant patients with no significant difference). Morbidity rate was 28.9% (respectively 30% and 27.8% in dialysis and non dialysis patients with no significant difference) including in-hospital myocardial infarction (MI) (10.5%), in-hospital stroke (2.6%), in-hospital bleeding (21.1%) and in-hospital infection, pneumonia, (5.3%). Mean creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels were significantly increased after surgery (p<0.001). Postoperative hemodialysis rate was 33.3%. Conclusion: Chronic renal failure whether dialysis-dependant or not increases in-hospital mortality and morbidity in patients undergoing CABG. For CRF patients not on dialysis with a creatinine 2.5 gm/dL, there is a strong likelihood of postoperative dialysis