Modular Kits Research Articles

A-302 Evaluation of real-time PCR assays for detection of sexually-transmitted infections

Abstract Background Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have serious negative consequences for reproductive health worldwide. They are associated with infertility, premature birth and neonatal infections. Five STI pathogens, namely Trichomonas vaginalis, Mycoplasma genitalium, Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma parvum, and Ureaplasma urealyticum were selected for the evaluation of three potential real-time PCR assays that can be adopted for diagnostic testing. Methods A total of 36 samples were included, consisting of genital swabs, urine, abscesses and samples provided by quality assurance programmes. DNA extraction was performed using an automated nucleic acid extraction system, abGenixTM. Commercial genomic controls and DNA extracts donated by external laboratories were used as well. The extracted nucleic acids were tested using three different assays, namely Seegene Anyplex II STI-5 Detection, Thermo Fisher Scientific customized STI Panel assay, and TIB MOLBIOL STI LightMix Modular kits, according to the manufacturers’ instructions. Results A total of 67% and 11% of the samples showed equivalent positive and negative results, respectively. However, 22% of the samples had non-concordant results. TIB MOLBIOL STI LightMix Modular kit was unable to differentiate between Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum in 9 samples. Genomic controls were tested, and Seegene Anyplex II STI-5 Detection was unable to detect lower concentrations of DNA for Trichomonas vaginalis, Mycoplasma genitalium and Mycoplasma hominis. All assays were able to detect lower concentrations of Ureaplasma parvum DNA, but detectable concentrations were higher for Ureaplasma urealyticum. Conclusions In conclusion, the performance of each assay differed according to pathogen. None of the assays offered equal performance for all pathogens. We have adopted Thermo Fisher Scientific customized STI Panel assay in our diagnostic testing due to its advantage of being user friendly and cost effective.

Culturally Relevant STEM (CReST): An Integrated Support Curriculum for High School Chemistry and World History

Convergence education, driven by compelling or complex socio-scientific problems, is an approach to bring cultural relevance into secondary STEM education. National trends show the need to increase the STEM workforce by leveraging educational research and innovative practices within the secondary level to increase student interest prior to graduating high school. We introduced CReST (Culturally Relevant STEM) in a US high school pilot study. Student participants included 276 Chemistry students and 19 World History I students. The study also engaged four (4) high school teachers in chemistry and social studies with the challenge of cultural heritage conservation through the lens of the (physicochemical) life cycle of mural paintings in Europe. Teachers were provided with (1) professional development; (2) a digital curriculum; and (3) modular kits for hands-on learning. The research focused qualitatively on the experiences from the teacher and students as well as quantitatively to assess whether there was an increase in student academic performance. We found a statistically significant gain with respect to Chemistry (4.0%) and World History (13.4%) content. Students and teachers responded with overwhelming positivity in individual and focus-group interviews. This amplifies the further need of convergent educational approaches in high school STEM education to enhance engagement and increase student learning.

Modular Design Using Sustainable Luminescent Materials in Energy-Saving Reflective Cat’s Eyes for Public Road Safety Planning

Recently, there has been a global movement toward environmental protection and energy conservation through the design and development of new products in accordance with sustainable utilisation. In this study, rare earth luminescent materials were used owing to their active light emission and reusability. Additionally, solar light-emitting diode lights and car-light reflection were utilised to increase the recognition and reliability of reflective cat eyes. Along with carbon reduction, this can save energy and enhance road safety. This study considered the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving and a literature review to analyse the issues in existing products. Then, expert interviews were conducted to screen projects and develop product design policies. Finally, the ratio of light-storage materials was experimentally determined and the prototypes implemented. This cat’s eye addresses the shortcomings identified in previous analyses of existing products. We applied energy storage environmental protection materials, together with material proportioning (which balanced warning efficiency against cost-effectiveness) to develop diversified modular kits; these were flexible in terms of quantity and easily assembled. This study achieved four key objectives: (1) reducing the research and development costs of the manufacturer; (2) offering buyers a diverse suite of products; (3) responding to a need to improve diverse road user safety; and (4) reducing government procurement costs for safety warning products. The results provide a reference for the creative modular design of energy-saving products for public road safety planning in various industries.

Game environment art with modular architecture

3D games routinely turn to modular architecture as an optimization technique for environment art and level design, although there is little documentation of how to implement it. As a result, many games struggle to apply it effectively, contributing to problems such as art fatigue and production delays. This investigation proposes a set of unified principles of modular architecture for 3D game environment art based on traditional architecture and game examples. It finds that the use of a uniform grid and standard measurements are key as well as extensive planning, and that assets organized as modular kits can be more cost-effective and facilitate flexible level design. It concludes with a series of steps per development phase of a game’s lifecycle aimed at game environment art, with emphasis on early planning and testing, and suggests that close collaboration between environment artists and level designers is key to develop effective modular assets.

SIMULATION-BASED PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS FOR FUTURE ROBUST MODULAR PRODUCT ARCHITECTURES

AbstractThe increased demand for customer-adapted product solutions shows an increasing trend of product variety, leading to an increased internal variety and therefore -costs. The concept of modularization provides apossible solution to this challenge by developing modular kits. Nevertheless, modularization methods to not lead to one individual modular kit, but to several alternatives. The decision of which alternative to implement can be crucial to the applying companys succes. During this decision-making both customer- and company perspectives need to be taken into account. This contribution is to present a simulation-based approach to support the decision making by using a model-based configuration system. Furthermore, as classical decision-making processes are based upon historical data, future aspects are usually not taken into account. In order to counteract this situation, this contribution intends to simulate as well future aspects impacting the modular product architecture. In this case, the simulation is used in order to evaluate the individual performances of a Design-for-Variety product architecture as opposed to a Design-for-Future-Robustness by applying this method to the example of customer-individual laser machines.

Современное состояние проблемы организации и проведения медицинской эвакуации пострадавших в чрезвычайных ситуациях

Relevance of the study. The increase in the number of natural and man-made emergencies (ChS), terrorist acts, social and armed conflicts leads to an increase in the number of victims and suffered, a shortage of medical personnel, medicines and equipment, and a delay in the provision of medical care in the conditions of failure of medical organizations (LMO). Each disaster is usually prolonged in nature, poses a danger to the social infrastructure and requires organized medical and evacuation measures. The relevance of the problem of improving the quality and efficiency of medical care and medical evacuation of victims in ChS is confirmed by the data of state reports "On the state of protection of the population and territories from natural and man-made emergencies..." for 2018-2019. The purpose of the study is to analyze the organization and conduct of medical evacuation of victims in ChS in modern conditions. Materials and methods of research. Based on the analysis of experience in organizing and conducting medical evacuation measures in emergencies, analysis of the results of scientific research on various aspects of medical evacuation of patients and victims of natural disasters, man-made accidents, terrorist acts and armed conflicts, materials on the use of digital technologies, and many years of own experience, an information search was conducted for ways to improve the medical evacuation system using technical means. Research results and their analysis. Based on the experience of eliminating the medical and sanitary consequences of known emergencies, it is shown that insufficient attention was paid to the organization and conduct of medical evacuation of victims, taking into account the principles of routing and creating a three–level system of medical care. Transfer from the hearth of emergencies to nearby hospitals, the lack of monitoring of victims, unproper routing, lack of medical air transport, weak medico-technical equipment of vehicles, lack of training and a number of other circumstances have led to a growing number of different complications and increased fatality rate among the victims in an emergency. It is concluded that the organization and conduct of medical evacuation of victims in emergencies require: high – quality application of information technologies that allow predicting routing and monitoring of victims, including using telemedicine systems; development and use of new modular kits and other medical equipment, primarily for sanitary aviation evacuation.

A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL CONFIGURATION ALGORITHM FOR MODULAR PRODUCT ARCHITECTURES

AbstractWith an increasing demand for product individualisation leading to increased product architecture complexity and -costs, modular kits are one common measure to cope with this issue. The management of such a modular kit as well as the methodical determination of a specific product variant is key to the manufacturer's success. As multiple influence factors need to be taken into account when configuring product variants, we propose a multi-dimensional geometric optimisation algorithm, allowing for prioritising varying customer demands and thereby determining the ideally balanced product variant.

Model-based systems engineering in modular design

Modular design allows to reduce costs based on scaling effects. However, due to strong alternating effects between the resulting modules and products, methods and tools are required that enable engineers to use specific views in which the respective information can be linked and retrieved according to the situation. Within the scope of this paper, the model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approach is used to model the complex real-world problem of vehicle modular kits. The aim is to investigate the potentials in this context, how modular kits and products can be efficiently modeled and finally how MBSE can support modular design. In order to investigate this in detail, two extensive studies are carried out in a company over a period of three years. The studies show that modular kits lead to an increased complexity of development. Across industries and companies, the demand for reference product models is shown, which facilitate the unification of inhomogeneous partial models and serve as a knowledge repository for the development of future product generations. On this basis, a framework is derived which enables the reuse of large proportions of the product models of previous product generations. This framework is evaluated on the basis of five case studies.

Coping with Complex Systems-of-Systems in the Context of PGE – Product Generation Engineering

One of the main challenges in product development processes nowadays is to consider the megatrend of individualisation and connectivity within products. Companies are increasingly forced to qualify their own products for integration into an existing system of other products – so called System-of-Systems. These products were initially developed independently of each other. Within this system, their own product acts as a sub-system, consisting of sub-systems itself. The main purpose of such interlinked but independent systems is to fulfil a function that cannot be provided by sub-systems on their own. As a consequence, companies have to consider requirements of complex Systems-of-Systems when developing new product generations. The product development process itself is therefore often subject to dynamic changes due to changing requirements and boundary conditions. On a different system level, similar characteristics and challenges can be found in the development of modular kits. In this context the concept of PGE – Product Generation Engineering has been proven to be supportive in addressing these challenges. With this work the authors analyse the challenges of products in a complex System-of-Systems environment considering the entire product lifecycle and evaluate the potential of PGE in handling these challenges. Therefore three case studies with an automotive supplier and a machine tool manufacturer have been conducted. Their aim is to outline how identified aspects of complex Systems-of-Systems are addressed in industrial practice with the support of PGE. It appears that different objectives of the systems involved, as well as being able to operate independently are the main challenges when coping with complex Systems-of-System. It is shown, that PGE is able to support the development process of complex System-of-Systems to a certain extend in a beneficial way.

The Efficacy of the MicroScan®Walkaway System in Reporting Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae in Patients with Bacteremia, South Africa

Background: The emergence of Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) is a major public health problem worldwide. As Carbapenemase-production has emerged, treatment of infections has become more difficult leading to high mortality. Real time detection of the presence of these enzymes by in vitro susceptibility testing of these organisms is urgently needed to provide effective treatment and appropriate implementation of infection and prevention control measures. Automated phenotypic systems are widely used in clinical microbiology laboratories for bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. However, critical evaluation is needed to determine the accuracy of these systems. Objective: Our study was set out to evaluate whether the MicroScan® Walkaway system is a reliable method for predicting CPE in patients with a Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infections. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of CRE isolates from July 2015 to July 2016 received as part of an active CRE surveillance programme. Bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing for Carbapenems were performed using the MALDI-ToF and MicroScan® Walkaway system, respectively. Genotypic testing was performed using the LightMix® modular Carbapenemase kits in a multiplex real-time PCR assay to confirm the presence of Carbapenemase genes. Results: During the study period, there were 219 CRE tested. Out of 219 CRE cases, Carbapenemase genes were detected in 173 (78.9%). The most prevalent gene was blaNDM (38.8%; n=85), followed by blaOXA-48 and variants (32.8%; n=72), blaVIM (6.9%; n=15) and blaGES (0.5%; n=1). The MicroScan® Walkaway system had the highest sensitivity with ertapenem (86.7%). Sensitivities for all other Carbapenems were similar, but below 65%. The positive predictive value for ertapenem was 78.9% and >80% for imipenem (86.2%), meropenem (81.3%) and doripenem (83.7%). Overall, testing for all Carbapenems had a sensitivity of 89%, positive predictive value of 79% and specificity of 10.9%, amongst them imipenem having the highest specificity at 60.9%. Conclusion: The MicroScan® Walkaway system is sensitive, but lacks specificity. However, it shows to be an efficient diagnostic adjunct to the LightMix® modular multiplex real-time PCR assay for predicting CPE in a patient with a CRE infection depending on the Carbapenem used.

Model Based Requirements Engineering for the Development of Modular Kits

The introduction of modular design increases complexity within product development and especially within Requirements Engineering. To handle this complexity, the approach of Model Based Systems Engineering is applied in this contribution. First, the origins of complexity in modular product development are introduced. Key challenges within Requirements Engineering are drawn up and then verified. A modeling method for requirements of modular kits is introduced and validated in the series development of hybrid drivetrain systems at a German automotive manufacturer. Increases in quality and a requirements reusability of over 80% were achieved. Thus, the capability of the modeling method is verified.

Experimental Research Regarding Static Rigidity in Transversal Direction of “Narrow“ Modules from Modular Fixtures Structure

In the paper a research methodology was developed and used to determine the rigidity in transversal direction of modular fixture structures. The paper presents experimental results regarding the total deformation of modular structure consisting of ”narrow” modules from modular kits. The research conducted showed the different evolution of deformation curves in the case of modular structure, with different shape and different sizes of modules, in the case of similar loads. The experimental results indicate displacements of the entire modular structure alongside the base plate and, also, tilting. The measured deviations of modules from fixture structure may cause "dimensional"/ position deviations (linear displacement of the measurement base) and deviations of shape and orientation-position (angular displacement of the measurement base) of the workpiece during severe machining conditions.

Flexible and automated workholding systems

Examines research work into the design and development of low‐to‐medium volume production systems. Outlines the aim to design a production unit capable of manufacturing a family of products, with a minimum amount of manual intervention. Investigates the use of flexible fixturing strategies using sensor‐based assembly techniques, and the concept of using modular fixture kits to locate and constrain the workpiece, including programmable conformable clamps. Looks at various assembly techniques and commercially available systems. Concludes that a number of novel assembly systems have been proposed and developed in the laboratory but that further research is needed to develop more advanced fixture design, task‐planning and analysis systems.