Degree Of Irregularity Research Articles

Exploring the impact of extrinsic lactose fines, a USP modified sampling device and modified centrifuge tube on the delivered dose uniformity and drug detachment performance of a fluticasone propionate dry powder inhaler

The present study aimed to probe influences exerted by extrinsic lactose fines on drug detachment and delivered dose uniformity (DDU) of fluticasone propionate (FP) dry powder inhaler (DPI). Extrinsic lactose fines (0–35%) containing lactose pre-blends were formulated using a low shear 3D shaker mixer and systematically analyzed for various physicochemical properties. Moreover, formulated FP DPIs were assessed for drug detachment by force distribution concept and the DDU using two different sampling devices i.e. the Dosage Unit Sampling Apparatus (DUSA) and USP modified glass sampling device (modified DUSA) coupled with Aerolizer® device at 60 L/min. The physicochemical assessment of control and pre-blend lactose samples displayed significant differences in particle size, surface roughness, degree of surface irregularity and powder flow properties. The formulated FP DPIs displayed monolayer-type FP distribution across the lactose particles in laser Raman spectroscopy with acceptable content uniformity (~100%). Drug detachment study using a modified centrifuge tube showed significant differences in drug detachment profile. The FP DPI formulated using 20% of lactose fines showed the lowest drug detachment force (349.45 gf) as compared to the other lactose samples. Moreover, the FP DPI formulated using 20% of lactose fines demonstrated acceptable mean delivered dose (107.76 and 110.62 μg) with the lowest coefficient of variation using DUSA and modified DUSA, respectively. The present study is the first comprehensive summary of delivered dose uniformity using two different USP sampling devices. Accordingly, these observations may be of high significance for both intuitional and industrial formulators.

Lie sphere geometry in lattice cosmology

In this paper we propose to use Lie sphere geometry as a new tool to systematically construct time-symmetric initial data for a wide variety of generalised black-hole configurations in lattice cosmology. These configurations are iteratively constructed analytically and may have any degree of geometric irregularity. We show that for negligible amounts of dust these solutions are similar to the swiss-cheese models at the moment of maximal expansion. As Lie sphere geometry has so far not received much attention in cosmology, we will devote a large part of this paper to explain its geometric background in a language familiar to general relativists.

Study of operation of natural draft cooling tower, with its hydraulic load reduced

A survey has been held of a BG-2600 natural draft cooling tower of thermal power plants, in the reduced hydraulic load mode. The technical condition of the reinforced concrete tower, the skeleton frame, the irrigation device, the water distribution system and the air duct windows has been inspected. Defects of the cooling tower structural elements have been identified. These include: horizontal sagging of the irrigation device, considerable gaps between its blocks and their partial destruction, problems with nozzles and structures of air duct windows. The identified defects are attributed to the causes of irregular water and air flows. The degree of irregularity of irrigation density and air flow in the tower has been estimated. Over the cross-section of the tower, a significant standard deviation from the average value or irregularity of irrigation density (30%) and irregularity of air flow (23.5%) has been established. The temperature and cooling curves of the cooling tower have been plotted taking into account irregularities of irrigation density and air flow rate. Normal and defective sections of the cooling tower have been identified based on working characteristics. Standard characteristics of the BG-2600 cooling tower have been plotted based on a nomogram. A comparative analysis of the working and standard characteristics has been held. The degree of influence produced by irregularities in water and air flows on the cooling process has been established. It has been found that the established irregularities in water and air flows result in a decrease in the temperature difference on average by 2°C and a decrease of cooling capacity by 7.3 Mcal/m2∙hr with a hydraulic load of 8840 m3/h. The results indicate a significant impact produced by irregularities of flows on cooling effect. The tasks to eliminate irregularities in distribution of flows as well as to increase the tower cooling efficiency have been formulated.

An Automatic Mapping Method of Intelligent Recorder Configuration Datasets Based on Chinese Semantic Deep Learning

Mapping the Intelligent Electronic Devices (IEDs) output interface address description datasets to the intelligent recorder is the groundwork for the recorder to accurately collect IEDs' operation information. These datasets, which are also intelligent recorder configuration datasets, are included in the Substation Configuration Description (SCD) file of an intelligent substation. The mainstream mapping method is manually mapping these datasets based on output interface Chinese description texts. When the number of IEDs is extremely large, the manual operation often takes a huge amount of time, together with the higher labor cost. And since the Chinese description texts have a certain degree of irregularity, it also poses a problem for the automatic mapping of the datasets. Aiming at this problem, this paper proposes an automatic mapping method of IEDs configuration datasets based on a deep learning framework-Dynamic Convolutional Neural Network (DCNN). Firstly, it uses the word representation model Word2vec to vectorize words in Chinese description texts as well as their semantics relationships. Then word vectors will be imported in the DCNN, which, based on its multilayer abstract learning characteristics of typical sample features, can perform semantic law mining and automatic mapping. The configuration datasets of intelligent recorder will be automatically mapped based on the Chinese descriptions mapping result. The Practical example shows that the Chinese description texts classification method based on the Dynamic Convolutional Neural Network model has strong semantic analysis ability and high classification accuracy, which effectively improves the accuracy of automatic mapping of intelligent recorder configuration data.

Diagnostic Application of Fractal Dimension Analysis of Bone Invasion in Oral Malignancy—A Preliminary Retrospective Study

Introduction Fractal dimension (FD) analysis gives a numerical measure of the degree of boundary irregularity or surface roughness of an object and is based on quantitative analysis of features in an image. It quantifies the trabecular pattern of bone by analyzing the trabecular bone and bone marrow detecting the early changes in alveolar bone mineral content. The aim of this study is to assess the alveolar bone density by FD analysis in digital orthopantomograms (OPGs) showing bony erosion. Materials and Methods The OPGs of 10 patients from the archives of Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology were included in this retrospective study. The radiographs were selected based on set inclusion and exclusion criteria. FD analysis through box counting (using ImageJ software) was applied to the digital radiographs to establish a noninvasive evaluation of bone structure. The FD values obtained were recorded. Results The FD values were recorded and the data were analyzed. FD values showed statistical significance with p <0.05. Conclusion With the number of samples analyzed and the results obtained, it can be concluded that FD analysis is an innovative method which can be used for early diagnosis of bony invasion in oral cancer. It can serve as a guide to dental surgeons in identifying the extent of bony invasion and can help in determining the margins of surgical resection of oral malignancy. This will prove to be a useful tool in surgical planning of oral malignancy.

Conventional alveoloplasty versus piezoelectricalveoloplasty- A comparative clinical prospective study

Background Alveolar bone irregularities may be found after tooth extraction or post extraction after the site has completely healed. A rongeur bone file handpiece with bur or a mallet and osteotome are the conventionally used instruments for alveoloplasty based on the degree of bone irregularity. However if not used accurately they may cause harm. Piezoelectric bone surgery is an advanced tool based on ultrasonic microvibrations which is diligent at cutting the bone and cause minimal or no soft tissue injury. Objectives The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of piezoelectric device in performing alveoloplasty versus conventional methods.Methodology A clinical prospective study was carried out in 18 patients 10 female and 8 male the mean age was 53 years. 2 patients required alveoloplasty in all 4 quadrants a total of 40 alveoloplasties were performed in 18 patients 20using conventional methods Group A and other 20 using piezoelectric device Group B. Intra-operative time ease of operation pain healing of the tissues and post-operative complications were assessed and compared statistically. The data obtained was analysed statistically using chi square test and unpaired t test. Results The mean intra-operative time in group B was significantly less than group A. The ease of operation was significantly higher in group B plt0.05. Healing was better in group B compared to group A clinically but statistically insignificant. Visual analog scale was used to assess pain and was significant plt0.05 on all three post-operative visits 3rd 7th and 1-month post-op. Conclusion Piezoelectric device showed better results when used for performing alveoloplasty compared to the conventional methods in terms of reducing the intra-op time increasing the ease of operation significantly less pain and good healing of tissues.

Empirical wavelet transform and dual feed-forward neural network for classification of power quality disturbances

This paper proposes a novel approach for classification of single and combined power quality (PQ) disturbances. The EWT-based adaptive filtering technique is employed first to decompose the signal into its individual frequency components by estimation of frequencies. The frequency estimation in this paper is done using a divide-to-conquer principle-based FFT technique and followed by an adaptive filter design. Then, some unique potential features reflecting the characteristics of disturbances are extracted from the mono-frequency components as well as the signal. A single classifier used for the classification of combined disturbances, whose characteristics are alike, gives less classification accuracy. Therefore, the use of a dual FFNN is proposed for the classification of single and combined PQ disturbances to effectively reduce the misclassification and improve the accuracy. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is evaluated on a broad range of timevarying power signals with varying degree of irregularities, noise, and fundamental frequency deviation. The results obtained for both the simulated as well as the real disturbance signals elucidate the efficiency and robustness of the proposed approach for classification of the most frequent disturbances.

Empirical wavelet transform and dual feed-forward neural network for classification of power quality disturbances

This paper proposes a novel approach for classification of single and combined power quality (PQ) disturbances. The EWT-based adaptive filtering technique is employed first to decompose the signal into its individual frequency components by estimation of frequencies. The frequency estimation in this paper is done using a divide-to-conquer principle-based FFT technique and followed by an adaptive filter design. Then, some unique potential features reflecting the characteristics of disturbances are extracted from the mono-frequency components as well as the signal. A single classifier used for the classification of combined disturbances, whose characteristics are alike, gives less classification accuracy. Therefore, the use of a dual FFNN is proposed for the classification of single and combined PQ disturbances to effectively reduce the misclassification and improve the accuracy. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is evaluated on a broad range of timevarying power signals with varying degree of irregularities, noise, and fundamental frequency deviation. The results obtained for both the simulated as well as the real disturbance signals elucidate the efficiency and robustness of the proposed approach for classification of the most frequent disturbances.

CHOICE OF THE WORK OF MACHINE - TRACTOR AGGREGATES

The choice of the most profitable mode of operation of tractor engines always worries the operators of agricultural machinery. When completing machine-tractor aggregates (MTA), the question becomes how to choose a farm machine to a tractor in order to obtain higher productivity of the unit with less fuel consumption and ensure the reliable operation of the tractor engine. Research by many scientists has shown a lot of criteria or methods for determining the load level of tractor engines when performing fieldwork. They recommended the coefficient of permissible and possible overload of the engine, the displacement of the torque of the engine, the degree of irregularity of the traction resistance of the unit, the average engine power at the given time, the engine speed, nominal, idling speed and the minimum, the mean square deviation of the moments of resistance of the unit. Practically these indicators to determine for the optimal mode of operation of the MTA on various agricultural work is difficult for the mechanics. Modern tractors have powerful engines, with a large number of revolutions of the crankshaft. The owners of the technology are most concerned about the performance and cost-effectiveness of the ATS, so that each engine power in kW brings more benefits. Therefore, we recommend the minimum specific energy consumption as an optimization criterion (ATA operation mode selection), this is the minimum ratio of the tractor's nominal tractor power to the unit's performance, which depends on the width of the unit's capture and speed of its movement. The less this relationship, the more profitable and more economical it will be to use the work of the MTA. And the owner of the machinery will always know what kind of benefits he brings to each kilowatt tractor engine power.

Numerical investigations and experimental measurements on the structural dynamic behaviour of quasi-periodic meta-materials

Abstract The periodic structures have various applications in vibroacoustic engineering fields since they introduce frequency band effects due to the periodic discontinuities in the geometrical or material configurations: this can lead to increased performances. This paper is focused on the analysis of quasi-periodic structures: instead of using strictly repeated patterns, a certain degree of irregularity is introduced. Quasi-periodic lattices are defined as assemblies of two different elements in two directions. The assembly follows a Thue-Morse Morphism sequence which results in asymmetry in both directions. Numerical studies and experimental measurements on two-dimensional periodic and quasi-periodic lattices are thus performed. First validations are carried out by comparing the quasi-periodic lattice modelled by using finite element model with a prototype manufactured by laser machine. The wave characteristics in quasi-periodic lattice introduce elements of novelty for designing wider frequency stop bands in low frequency ranges.

Influence of corrosion on the bond behavior in CFRP-steel single lap joints

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the corrosion influence on the bond behavior of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strengthened steel joints. The corrosion was characterized by the mass loss ratio ξ, the average corrosion pit aspect ratio μ and the developed interfacial area ratio Sdr. Through the shear test of CFRP-steel single lap joints, the bond behavior was obtained and its relationships with corrosion parameters were established. Results show that the corroded specimens have a higher ultimate load and a general smaller effective bond length than uncorroded specimens. As the corrosion level increases, the failure mode near the loaded end changes from the steel-adhesive adhesion failure to the cohesive failure; the ultimate load and the interfacial fracture energy also increase. In addition, when the μ and the Sdr take the intermediate value, the ultimate load and the interfacial fracture energy reach the maximum, which indicates that only the proper degree of surface irregularity can maximize the bond behavior.

Research on Track Irregularity Based on K Nearest Neighbor Algorithm

Aiming at the safety and comfort of urban rail transit operation, a machine learning KNN algorithm is proposed to predict the degree of track irregularity. There are many fundamental factors that cause the track to be uneven, mainly reflected in the lateral irregularity of the track and the vertical irregularity. In this paper, the inertial navigation system is used to realize the acquisition of the orbital dynamic acceleration data, and the secondary displacement of the acceleration can obtain the relevant displacement information. The measurement of the gauge distance can be achieved by using a laser displacement sensor. By extracting the different displacement feature data of the same position at the same time and calculating the distance between the feature values, the purpose of predicting the degree of track damage can be achieved.

Numerical study of two-dimensional structure of detonation front in two-fuel mixtures

The numerical simulation of a two-dimensional multi-front structure of detonation waves (DWs) in two-fuel mixtures has been carried out. These studies are based on the proposed two-stage generalized model of chemical kinetics of detonation combustion of a two-fuel mixture: hydrogen and carbon monoxide (synthesis gas) with an oxidizer. This kinetics allowed performing for the first time a two-dimensional numerical calculation of the DW parameters and the irregular cellular front structure in this two-fuel mixture at various concentrations of hydrogen. Stoichiometric compositions with oxygen and air as oxidizing agents have been studied. The transverse sizes of detonation cells in the studied mixtures have been obtained. The decrease in the hydrogen concentration leads to a significant increase of the cell size and an increase of the degree of irregularity of DW multi-front structure.

On the Feasibility of Stereotactic Radiosurgery With 5.0 and 10.0 mm MLC Leaves as a Function of Target Size and Shape.

Introduction: This study explores the feasibility of SRS/SRT treatment with MLC leaves wider than 2.5 mm at isocenter by inter-comparing treatment plans produced with 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 mm leaves for various target sizes and shapes.Materials and methods: Forty previously treated patients were re-planned using 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 mm wide MLC leaves. For each patient, all three plans were evaluated and contrasted between them in terms of five metrics: target dose homogeneity, conformity index, organs at risk dose, dose fall off outside the target, and dose to normal tissues. A regularity index RI was introduced that quantified the degree of target shape irregularity. The effect of target size and shape irregularity on feasibility of 5.0 and 10.0 mm leaves was analyzed.Results: Consistent plan degradation was observed for 10.0 mm (sometimes for 5.0 mm) compared to 2.5 mm MLC in terms of the above five plan metrics, but this degradation was small to clinically insignificant. As an exception, when target (PTV) size was smaller than about 1 cm diameter, clinically significant differences were found between 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 mm MLC.Conclusion: 5.0 and 10.0 mm MLC can be used in SRS/SRT for targets (PTV) diameter larger than 1 cm. For smaller targets, 2.5 mm MLC is clinically superior, 5.0 is acceptable and 10.0 mm MLC is discouraged in terms of PTV dose conformity.

Bucket-based multigrid preconditioner for solving pressure Poisson equation using a particle method

The execution time for incompressible particle methods is dominated by solving large sparse linear systems. In this study, a novel simple bucket-based multigrid (BMG) preconditioner is presented to retrieve linear scaling. In the algorithm, the domain is decomposed into cubic boxes, to enable recursive aggregation of the closest neighboring particles. Under a moving particle semi-implicit (MPS) discretization scheme, parametric, verification, and performance studies were conducted for basic problems. From the parametric study, the BMG preconditioner was accompanied with a Krylov subspace accelerated multigrid cycle strategy and incorporated into a generalized conjugate residual method. Regardless of dimension and degree of particle distribution irregularity, the method significantly outperformed a conjugate gradient (CG), an incomplete Cholesky CG, and a conventional plain aggregation-based algebraic multigrid preconditioned solver. For a dam-break problem with 1.3 M and 2.3 M particles in 2D and 3D, the proposed method, as a linear solver for the MPS method, was 27 and 5.4 times faster than the CG method.

Fractal dimension of synthesized and natural color images in Lab space

Fractal dimension (FD) is a useful metric for the analysis of natural images that exhibit a high degree of complexity, randomness and irregularity in color and texture. Several approaches exist in the literature to measure FD of gray-scale images. The aim of this study is to introduce a FD estimation method for color images with color proximity in Lab space. The proposed method uses a xy-plane partitioning–shifting mechanism, where the divisors of image size are used as grid sizes. The proposed method simulates on synthesized color fractal Brownian motion (FBM) images, publicly available Brodatz database, Google color fractal images and noisy Brodatz database. The random midpoint displacement algorithm for the formation of gray-scale images is extended in this work to synthesize color FBM images. Noisy Brodatz database is obtained by adding salt-and-pepper noise with different noise densities to understand the behavior of FD. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed method is effective and efficient and outperforms the three state-of-the-art methods by observing the values of two proposed metrics, namely average error and average computed FD. A new mathematical expression for estimating FD of a color image is demonstrated, which relies on the number of edge pixels of individual color channel using multiple linear regression.

OPTIMIZATION OF THE TRANSFER FUNCTION OF A MECHANICAL TRANSMISSION WITH THE PURPOSE OF IMPROVING THE ACCURACY OF THE MACHINE UNIT

The reason for the periodic oscillations of the speed of links and kinematic pairs at steady state operation of the mechanism is the periodic nature of the change in the acting forces and the transfer function of the drive mechanism of the machine unit. Reducing the amplitude of the speed fluctuations of the link is usually achieved by increasing the reduced moment of inertia, which causes an increase in the inertia of the mechanism, installing an additional mass on the shaft of the link, which is called a flywheel. An increase in the reduced moment of inertia of the mechanism impairs its dynamic characteristics, leads to an increase in the acceleration time and a decrease in the productivity of the machine unit, which is not rational for a wide class of modern machines, especially high-speed and transport vehicles.If the nature of changes in external forces acting on the links of the mechanism is almost impossible to change, then when designing a machine unit, it is possible to ensure the optimal character of changes in its reduced moment of inertia, which causes a significant reduction in the change in speed of the selected link.The basis for calculating the optimal transfer function of the machine unit mechanism is the differential equation of motion of the link unit, for which the shaft of the executive body of the mechanism is adopted, which is connected to the transfer mechanism.The developed algorithm for determining the optimal value of the transfer function of a mechanical gear based on an extended mathematical model of a machine unit. The mathematical model of a machine unit uses the principles of mass and force reduction, which ensures a specific change in the transfer function and this one causes zero degree of irregularity of reduction link’s rotation of on the corresponding high-speed mode, which makes it possible to eliminate the use of flywheel masses.

Irregularity Molecular Descriptors of Hourglass, Jagged-Rectangle, and Triangular Benzenoid Systems

Determining the degree of irregularity of a certain molecular structure or a network has been a key source of interest for molecular topologists, but it is also important as it provides an insight into the key features used to guess properties of the structures. In this article, we are interested in formulating closed forms of irregularity measures of some popular benzenoid systems, such as hourglass H (m, n), jagged-rectangular J (m, n), and triangular benzenoid T (m, n) systems. We also compared our results graphically and concluded which benzenoid system among the above listed is more irregular than the others.

AGA Clinical Practice Update on the Utility of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection in T1b Esophageal Cancer: Expert Review

AGA Clinical Practice Update on the Utility of Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection in T1b Esophageal Cancer: Expert Review

Limited relevance and progression of histological alterations in the liver during thioguanine therapy in inflammatory bowel disease patients

Background: Thioguanine is associated with liver toxicity, especially nodular regenerative hyperplasia (NRH). We assessed if liver histology alters during long-term maintenance treatment with thioguanine in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).Methods: Liver specimens of thioguanine treated IBD patients with at least two liver biopsies were revised by two independent liver pathologists, blinded to clinical characteristics. Alterations in histopathological findings between first and sequential liver specimen were evaluated and associated clinical data, including laboratory parameters and abdominal imaging reports, were collected.Results: Twenty-five IBD patients underwent sequential liver biopsies prior to, at time of, or after cessation of thioguanine treatment. The median time between the first and second biopsy was 25 months (range: 14–54). Except for one normal liver specimen, any degree of irregularities including inflammation, steatosis, fibrosis and some vascular disturbances were observed in the biopsies. The rates of perisinusoidal fibrosis (91%), sinusoidal dilatation (68%) and nodularity (18%) were the same in the first and second liver biopsies. A trend towards statistical significance was observed for phlebosclerosis (36% of the first vs. 68% of the second biopsies, p = .092). Presence of histopathological liver abnormalities was not associated with clinical outcomes. Furthermore, two patients in this cohort had portal hypertension in presence of phlebosclerosis. In another two patients, nodularity of the liver resolved upon thioguanine withdrawal.Conclusion: Vascular abnormalities of the liver were commonly observed in thioguanine treated IBD patients, although these were not progressive and remained of limited clinical relevance over time.