On-line Procedure Research Articles

Three-dimensional rotational angiography fused with multimodal imaging modalities for targeted endomyocardial injections in the ischaemic heart

Biological therapies for ischaemic heart disease require efficient, safe, and affordable intramyocardial delivery. Integration of multiple imaging modalities within the fluoroscopy framework can provide valuable information to guide these procedures. We compared an anatomo-electric method (LARCA) with a non-fluoroscopic electromechanical mapping system (NOGA(®)). LARCA integrates selective three-dimensional-rotational angiograms with biplane fluoroscopy. To identify the infarct region, we studied LARCA-fusion with pre-procedural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), dedicated CT, or (18)F-FDG-PET/CT. We induced myocardial infarction in 20 pigs by 90-min LAD occlusion. Six weeks later, we compared peri-infarct delivery accuracy of coloured fluospheres using sequential NOGA(®)- and LARCA-MRI-guided vs. LARCA-CT- and LARCA-(18)F-FDG-PET/CT-guided intramyocardial injections. MRI after 6 weeks revealed significant left ventricular (LV) functional impairment and remodelling (LVEF 31 ± 3%, LVEDV 178 ± 15 mL, infarct size 17 ± 2% LV mass). During NOGA(®)-procedures, three of five animals required DC-shock for major ventricular arrhythmias vs. one of ten during LARCA-procedures. Online procedure time was shorter for LARCA than NOGA(®) (77 ± 6 vs. 130 ± 3 min, P < 0.0001). Absolute distance of injection spots to the infarct border was similar for LARCA-MRI (4.8 ± 0.5 mm) and NOGA(®) (5.4 ± 0.5 mm). LARCA-CT-integration allowed closer approximation of the targeted border zone than LARCA-PET (4.0 ± 0.5 mm vs. 6.2 ± 0.6 mm, P < 0.05). Three-dimensional -rotational angiography fused with multimodal imaging offers a new, cost-effective, and safe strategy to guide intramyocardial injections. Endoventricular procedure times and arrhythmias compare favourably to NOGA(®), without compromising injection accuracy. LARCA-based fusion imaging is a promising enabling technology for cardiac biological therapies.

Improved Single Keyword Pattern Matching Algorithm for Intrusion Detection System

With the spreading of the internet and online procedures requesting a secure channel, it has become an inevitable requirement to provide the network security. It is very clear that firewalls are not enough to secure a network completely because the attacks committed from outside of the network are stopped whereas inside attacks are not. This is the situation where intrusions detection systems (IDSs) are in charge. IDSs are used in order to stop attacks, recover from them with the minimum loss or analyze the security problems. String matching algorithms are essential for IDS that filter packets and flows based on their payload. This work describes the concept of single keyword pattern matching algorithms. A new improved single keyword pattern matching algorithm is proposed. The new method reduces character comparisons, faster and more reliable in network security applications. The experimental results show that the new algorithm is highly efficient. Its search time is cut down significantly compared with other popular existing algorithms and its memory occupation stays at a low level. Moreover, conclusion on results is made and direction for future works is presented.

Efficient classification of multi-labeled text streams by clashing

We present a method for the classification of multi-labeled text documents explicitly designed for data stream applications that require to process a virtually infinite sequence of data using constant memory and constant processing time.Our method is composed of an online procedure used to efficiently map text into a low-dimensional feature space and a partition of this space into a set of regions for which the system extracts and keeps statistics used to predict multi-label text annotations. Documents are fed into the system as a sequence of words, mapped to a region of the partition, and annotated using the statistics computed from the labeled instances colliding in the same region. This approach is referred to as clashing.We illustrate the method in real-world text data, comparing the results with those obtained using other text classifiers. In addition, we provide an analysis about the effect of the representation space dimensionality on the predictive performance of the system. Our results show that the online embedding indeed approximates the geometry of the full corpus-wise TF and TF-IDF space. The model obtains competitive F measures with respect to the most accurate methods, using significantly fewer computational resources. In addition, the method achieves a higher macro-averaged F measure than methods with similar running time. Furthermore, the system is able to learn faster than the other methods from partially labeled streams.

The use of gold markers and electronic portal imaging for radiotherapy verification in prostate cancer patients: Sweden Ghana Medical Centre experience

The success of radiotherapy cancer treatment delivery depends on the accuracy of patient setup for each fraction. A significant problem arises from reproducing the same patient position and prostate location during treatment planning for every fraction of the treatment process. To analyze the daily movements of the prostate, gold markers are implanted in the prostate and portal images taken and manually matched with reference images to locate the prostate. Geometrical and fiducial markers are annotated onto a highly quality generated digitally reconstructed radiographs, that are compared with portal images acquired right before treatment dose delivery. A 0 and 270 degree treatment fields are used to calculate prostate shifts for all prostate cancer patients undergoing treatment at the Sweden Ghana Medical Centre, using an iViewGT portal imaging device. After aligning of the marker positions onto the reference images, the set-up deviations corrections are displayed and an on-line correction procedure applied. The measured migrations of the prostate markers are below the threshold of 3 mm for the main plans and 2 mm for the boost plans. With daily electronic portal imaging combined with gold markers, provides an objective method for verifying and correcting the position of the prostate immediately prior to radiation delivery. -------------------------------------------- Cite this article as: Acquah GF. The use of gold markers and electronic portal imaging for radiotherapy verification in prostate cancer patients: Sweden Ghana Medical Centre experience. Int J Cancer Ther Oncol 2014; 2 (1):020112. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14319/ijcto.0201.12

An Innovative Use of an Online Procedure Logbook to Improve Airway Training among Anesthesiology Residents

We performed a single-institution pilot study to determine the potential value of an electronic logbook of airway procedures performed during a one month airway rotation for anesthesiology residents. For two years, CA-3 residents taking an advanced airway management rotation entered all airway procedures in this electronic logbook. We expected this logbook to produce results of potential use to program directors by determining the numbers of specific procedures performed by each resident. All residents taking this rotation were required to enter specific data from each airway procedure into our on-line electronic logbook. Entered information was available in tabular form to the program director and each resident. Numbers of procedures with each technique were compared among residents and to a previously determined target number of procedures for several techniques. Sixty seven residents entered data for nine specific airway procedures over a 24 month pilot study duration. When compared to target numbers of procedures for specific techniques, we discovered most residents performed less than 2 standard deviations from the target number with flexible fiberoptic intubation (usually exceeding the target number) but greater than 3 standard deviations with surgical and percutaneous procedures (usually falling short of the target number). Analysis also determined that resident experience exhibited considerable variability as shown by the ranges of several techniques. Though there was a wide range of numbers for most techniques, most were within two standard deviations of the mean values of the technique. The authors conclude that this electronic logbook was easily administered at minimal cost and administrative effort. Future studies may confirm the logbook as a feasible intervention permitting anesthesiology training programs to in crease the breadth of data related to their resident airway education.

Gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric quantitation of busulfan in human plasma for therapeutic drug monitoring: A new on-line derivatization procedure for the conversion of busulfan to 1,4-diiodobutane

A simplified gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric (GC–MS) analytical method, involving a novel derivatization procedure was developed for monitoring busulfan (Bu) plasma concentrations in populations undergoing bone marrow transplantation. Plasma samples (500μL) containing Bu-d8 as internal standard were extracted with ethyl acetate (2mL) followed by centrifugation (1800rpm, 5min) and evaporation of the organic layer under nitrogen flow (50°C). The dry residue was reconstituted with 100μL iodine solution in acetonitrile (0.25%, w/v) and 3μL were injected into the GC–MS system at 250°C. Conversion of Bu to 1,4-diiodobutane was accomplished on-line without the need of an extra derivatization step. MS was operated at selected ion monitoring mode at m/z 183 and 191 corresponding to Bu and Bu-d8 derivatives. Total analysis time was 11.5min. Calibration curves were linear (mean r=0.9996) over a concentration range of 25–3651ng/mL using a (1/x)-weighted scheme. Limit of detection and lower limit of quantitation were 10.6 and 25ng/mL, respectively. Overall accuracy Er (%) was ranging from −5.10% to 10.5%. Within- and between-run RSD (%) were lower 4.51% and 2.15%, respectively. Overall recovery of Bu was equal to 69.3±4.56% (RSD (%)). The present method is sensitive and specific, requiring a simple sample preparation procedure and short analysis time, advantages crucial for therapeutic drug monitoring of Bu in clinical practice and application in pharmacokinetic studies.

Online selective kernel-based temporal difference learning.

In this paper, an online selective kernel-based temporal difference (OSKTD) learning algorithm is proposed to deal with large scale and/or continuous reinforcement learning problems. OSKTD includes two online procedures: online sparsification and parameter updating for the selective kernel-based value function. A new sparsification method (i.e., a kernel distance-based online sparsification method) is proposed based on selective ensemble learning, which is computationally less complex compared with other sparsification methods. With the proposed sparsification method, the sparsified dictionary of samples is constructed online by checking if a sample needs to be added to the sparsified dictionary. In addition, based on local validity, a selective kernel-based value function is proposed to select the best samples from the sample dictionary for the selective kernel-based value function approximator. The parameters of the selective kernel-based value function are iteratively updated by using the temporal difference (TD) learning algorithm combined with the gradient descent technique. The complexity of the online sparsification procedure in the OSKTD algorithm is O(n). In addition, two typical experiments (Maze and Mountain Car) are used to compare with both traditional and up-to-date O(n) algorithms (GTD, GTD2, and TDC using the kernel-based value function), and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm. In the Maze problem, OSKTD converges to an optimal policy and converges faster than both traditional and up-to-date algorithms. In the Mountain Car problem, OSKTD converges, requires less computation time compared with other sparsification methods, gets a better local optima than the traditional algorithms, and converges much faster than the up-to-date algorithms. In addition, OSKTD can reach a competitive ultimate optima compared with the up-to-date algorithms.

Design and manufacturing a torque measurement mechanism for the motors of ICaSbot robot and developing its applications

In this paper, online control of the ICaSbot cable-suspended robot is improved by using the online output of the loadcells. At first, the tension of the cables can be sensed, leading to the evaluation of the required motor torque and consequently resulting in a more accurate motor torque control. Second, the DLCC of the robot can be predefined, which help us not to violate the allowable load to satisfy the acceptable accuracy, and finally the small deflection of cable vibrations can be calculated which results in an even more accurate sensing of the actual position of the end-effector together with the data of the encoders to achieve better feedback and control of the end-effector. This paper presents online recording of the actual cable tension provided using proper data transferring system and the constructed electrical boards which filter the noises. Data acquisition card is used to transfer the data to a computer, and LabView is employed to record and control the robot in an online procedure. Finally, the efficiency of the designed mechanism and the proposed applications are verified by comparing the experimental tests conducted on the IUST cable robot (ICaSbot) with the simulation results using MATLAB software.

Preparation of SiO2/Nb2O5/ZnO mixed oxide by sol–gel method and its application for adsorption studies and on-line preconcentration of cobalt ions from aqueous medium

A new Nb2O5/ZnO mixed oxide dispersed in a silica matrix (i.e., SiO2/Nb2O5/ZnO) was synthesized via sol–gel method and used as an adsorbent of cobalt ions (Co2+). The material presented a high surface area (323m2g−1) and the maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 0.518mgg−1, determined from the non-linear Langmuir–Freundlich isotherm model. The material was used as a chelating agent free-solid phase extractor (CAF-SPE) in an on-line preconcentration procedure, based on the adsorption of Co2+ ions (16.0mL, pH 7.4) at a high flow rate (8.0mLmin−1) onto a mini-column packed with the adsorbent (200mg). The analyte was then eluted with 1.0molL−1 HCl and transported toward the FAAS detector. Linear calibration range was obtained from 0.96 up to 150.0μgL−1, with a limit of detection of 0.28μgL−1. The precision of method, estimated as relative standard deviation of ten replicate measurements of 30 and 150μgL−1 analyte solutions, was found to be 4.6% and 3.1%, respectively. The reliability of method was verified through the analysis of water and food samples and the accuracy was confirmed by using a certified reference material.

Losing weight online with POWeR: a randomised controlled trial of a web-based behavioural intervention in a community setting

BackgroundRecent reviews suggest web-based interventions are promising approaches for weight management but have identified difficulties with suboptimum usage. The published work suggests that offering some degree of human support to website users may boost usage and outcomes. The POWeR web-based intervention uses evidence-based techniques to develop long-term healthy habits. POWeR consists of weekly online sessions that emphasise weight monitoring, goal setting, and learning cognitive and behavioural weight management strategies. We disseminated POWeR in a community setting in the northeast of England. Our primary outcome was intervention usage, operationalised as completion of the core POWeR web-based sessions. MethodsParticipants were recruited from a community sample with targeted mailouts, advertisements in the local press, notices on organisational websites, and social media. Participants had to be over 18 years of age, have a body-mass index of over 23, and have access to the internet. Participants self-screened for eligibility and registered online. 786 adults were randomised at an individual level through an online procedure to (a) the POWeR website (n=264), (b) the POWeR website plus telephone coaching (n=247), or (c) a waiting list control group (n=275). Those in the telephone coaching arm were contacted at about 7 and 28 days after randomisation for short telephone coaching phone calls aimed at promoting continued usage of the website and adherence to eating and physical activity plans. Website usage was tracked automatically. Weight was also assessed by online self-report at baseline and during the 8-week study period. Researchers were not masked to allocation but were not in contact with participants during the trial. In-depth interviews were undertaken with 19 purposively sampled users to obtain an insight into their experiences of using POWeR with and without coaching. This trial is registered, ISRCTN98176068. FindingsOf the 511 participants allocated to the two intervention groups many participants completed only one (n=152, 29·7%) or two (n=74, 14·5%) POWeR sessions, but a substantial minority continued using POWeR for at least the first three core sessions (n=47, 17·8% of the web only group; n=64, 25·9% of the web plus coach group). In the primary outcome analysis, participants in the website plus coaching group were 1·61 times more likely to complete the three core sessions than was the website only group (χ2 [1, n=511] 4·93, p=0·026; odds ratio 1·61, 95% CI 1·06–2·47). An intention-to-treat analysis showed between-group differences in weight loss (F[2,782] 12·421, p<0·0001). Both intervention groups lost more weight than the waiting list control group (d 0·43, 95% CI 0·26–0·61 for coach compared with control; d 0·27, 0·09–0·44 for web only compared with control). Weight loss was slightly, but not significantly, greater in the coach group (d 0·17, 95% CI −0·01 to 0·34). Participants providing 8-week follow-up data reported mean losses of 2·86 and 3·17 kg in the web and coach groups, respectively. No adverse events were detected. 143 (58%) participants assigned to the website plus coach group refused phone calls or were uncontactable. However, users who did engage with coaching used the intervention more (t[55·186] −5·78, p<0·0001, d 0·94, 95% CI 0·61–1·28) and lost more weight than those who did not (t[50·459] 3·82, p<0·0001; d 0·62, 95% CI 0·30–0·95). Interview findings suggest the calls made users feel more supported and committed to the POWeR programme. InterpretationThis community rollout of POWeR attracted a diverse sample of users. The addition of telephone coaching to web-based weight management interventions may be acceptable, feasible, and effective, particularly for some types of users. Although some participants had minimum engagement with the intervention, the more committed users reported promising levels of weight loss over 8 weeks. FundingEPSRC grant funding (EP/I032673/1 “UBhave: ubiquitous and social computing for positive behaviour change”).

Method for Detection of Cs and Sr Isotopes Avoiding Interferences of Ba and Rb in Radioactive Samples using Ion Chromatography Coupled with ICP-MS

A simple and fast on-line chromatographic procedure has been developed for separation of 134Cs, 135Cs, 137Cs and 87Sr ions from interfering isotopes of 134Ba, 135Ba, 137Ba and 87Rb. This analytical method offers the possibility to measure the chromatograms of Rb, Cs, Sr and Ba isotopes using ICP-MS technique in isocratic conditions in one run. For the separation, the oxalic acid neutralized with ammonia could be used as the main component of the mobile phase. For specialized ion chromatography (IC) column IonPac CS5A and standard HPLC column Zorbax SCX300, an optimal concentration of oxalic acid has been fixed at 0.1 mol/L and eluent pH range has been fixed at 4.5-5.5. Under these conditions, the retention time of all four elements did not exceed 15 minutes. Our observations demonstrate that the sample injection volume can be increased up to 1 mL. The application of the method for the determination of 134Cs, 135Cs, 137Cs and some isotopes of Rb, Sr and Ba in sample from spent nuclear fuel storage has been demonstrated. Activity of 134Cs and 137Cs calculated from ICP-MS data is comparable to the gamma spectroscopy data.

The Usage of Online Collaboration Platforms by Parties: Strengthening the “Party on the Ground” or the “Party in Central Office”?

Facing linkage problems, parties in Germany have started to respond to a changing media environment by reforming their internal structures of opinion forming and decision making, inter alia reacting to the rise of the social web and the successes of the Pirate Party whose party organization is to a large extent “digitalized”. Whether and how established parties implement and adapt Internet tools, i.e., whether these could contribute to more participation of the “party on the ground” or whether they strengthen the “party in central office” is the focus of this article. The case study on the employment of an online platform for drafting a motion for the party convention of the German Social Democrats in December 2011 reveals that the “party in central office” controlled the online procedure as well as the processing of the results to a remarkable extent—thereby constraining the participatory potential of the tool. At the same time, the case study indicates a quality of online collaboration platforms that might limit the instrumentalization of these tools by the party elites in the long run and possibly re-empower the “party on the ground.”

Laser cleaning of engraved rolls coupled with spectroscopic control

Abstract The on-line control procedure of laser cleaning process based on optical emission spectroscopy is proposed in the article. The spectral indication of non-destructive laser cleaning of laser-engraved rolls enabling to keep a surface texture for the purposes of maximum effect of cleaning is revealed.

BLACK-BOX TOOL FOR NONLINEAR SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION BASED UPON FUZZY SYSTEM

This paper introduces a novel identifier scheme for identification of nonlinear systems with disturbances. The identification process is carried out in two steps: an offline procedure and an online procedure. The method comprises of an automatic structure generating phase using entropybased technique. The accuracy of the model is suitably controlled using the entropy measure. The parameter learning phase uses the backpropagation technique. To improve the accuracy and also for generalization of the model to handle different data sets, Differential Evolution technique is employed whereby the parameters of the model are suitably tuned using evolutionary technique. A semi serial-parallel model is introduced to improve the online identification process in the presence of noisy data. The proposed mechanism is utilized and compared against the classical Sugeno, adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) modeling and Laguerre Network-Based Fuzzy System for the identification of a nonlinear benchmark problem. In addition, the proposed technique is also used to model a rotary wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from real test input–output data. The modeling performance and generalization capability are seen to be superior with our method.

CFO Parallel Implementation on GPU for Adaptive Beam-forming Applications

The scientific community is still interested in heuristic techniques and optimization algorithms that could be applied in complex problems such as the antenna adaptive beam forming problem. This paper presents an empirical study of solving the problem of antenna adaptive beam forming using Central Force Optimization (CFO) algorithm. The algorithm implemented using Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) then applied on a graphics processing unit (GPU). CFO is well known alternatives for global optimization based on a nature-inspired Heuristic. Extensive experimentations were applied to compare their performance through a number of case studies. CFO has a higher computational complexity but it gives good results. The experimentations showed that the resulting beam-pattern optimized by the CFO required a large processing time which is not acceptable for an on line applications. Hence, the demand for a parallel solution that accelerates these computations is considered. Therefore, a parallel version of CFO is proposed and implemented using (CUDA) then applied on a (GPU). The comparison is presented to show how the parallel version of the CFO outperforms the sequential one, thus an online procedure is available for time-critical applications of the adaptive beamforming.

Overview on Online Arbitration and Procedures (Jordan as an Example)

It is noteworthy to indicate the online arbitration is the natural evolution of the arbitration rules in their traditional form; since the increase in commercial and civil transactions and the slowness of litigation procedures along with the desire to expedite them in the dispute parties and to save effort and expenses led to the increased demand on arbitration in general and on online arbitration in particular, to face the requirements of transaction evolution from the traditional form into the online form, the matter that led transactors in ecommerce to thinking about and working on finding mechanisms alternative to the traditional in dispute settlement through the use of mechanisms based on the same technology used in entering into electronic transactions, rending the settlement electronic as well, mainly based on the world communication network with no need for the dispute parties to be available at a single place, i.e. the development introduced in the commerce sector using electronic means has not been confined to the activation of this commerce and facilitate the dealings thereof, but it also has extended to the use of these civil vehicles in settling the disputes arising there form. Key words: Arbitration; Online arbitration; Ecommerce; Uncitral; Dispute settlement

Synthesis and Application of Nonlinear Observers for the Estimation of Tire Effective Radius and Rolling Resistance of an Automotive Vehicle

The rolling resistance and the effective radius of a vehicle's tires are two important characteristics that affect its dynamics, performance, and comfort. Because of their dependence on tire inflation pressure, online estimation of such parameters could be used to monitor tire pressures using an indirect approach. By considering rotational and longitudinal dynamics, the aim of this paper proposes to apply observers for this online estimation using measurements of the wheels' angular velocities and the engine torque. Because these signals are available on major vehicle controller area networks, the proposed solutions do not require additional sensors. These nonlinear observers are based, first, on a high-gain approach, and then on a high-order sliding-mode approach, allowing robustness and finite time convergence. The originality of the presented results consists in providing a joint estimation of both variables, i.e., wheel effective radius and rolling resistance force. The observers offer the very first solution for dynamical estimation of rolling resistance in standard driving conditions, but the rolling resistance is very difficult to estimate by an online procedure. Simulations and experimental results allow the discussion of the effect of tire pressure on these parameters and illustrate the applicability of the proposed approach.

Synthesis and adsorption studies of novel hybrid mesoporous copolymer functionalized with protoporphyrin for batch and on-line solid-phase extraction of Cd2+ ions

A hybrid copolymer [poly(ethylene glycol dimethacrylate-co-protoporphyrin)-silica], synthesized by free radical copolymerization and sol–gel process was evaluated as novel adsorbent for solid-phase extraction of Cd2+ ions. Characterization of hybrid polymer was performed by FTIR, SEM and surface area analyzes. Adsorption isotherms built at pH 8.9 were very well adjusted (R2=0.9982) to hybrid non-linear Langmuir–Freundlich model for two sites, indicating the existence of different affinity constants for binding sites, which was confirmed by Scatchard plot. The estimated maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 8.28mgg−1. The adsorption kinetics data also corroborated to the isotherm, where the Cd2+ ions adsorption followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic (R2=0.998). The on-line preconcentration procedure, optimized by means of factorial designs, was based on sample preconcentration (16mL) at pH 8.9 through 50.0mg of hybrid copolymer packed in mini-column at 8.0mLmin−1 flow rate. The on-line desorption of Cd2+ ions towards the FAAS detector was carried out in countercurrent at 5.0mLmin−1 flow rate using 0.8molL−1 HNO3. Using the on-line preconcentration procedure, the maximum adsorption capacity determined from breakthrough curve was found to be 2.25mgg−1. Analytical curve ranged from 0.0 up to 50.0μgL−1 (r=0.997), limit of detection of 0.27μgL−1, preconcentration factor of 38.4, sample throughput of 30h−1 and consumptive index of 0.41mL, were achieved. The preconcentration method, very tolerable to several foreign ions, was successfully applied to the Cd2+ ions determination in water samples and cigarette sample. The accuracy was checked from analysis of certified reference materials.

Monitoring of potential cytotoxic and inhibitory effects of titanium dioxide using on-line and non-invasive cell-based impedance spectroscopy

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) with different sizes and structures were probed for plausible cytotoxicity using electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS), a non-invasive and on-line procedure for continuous monitoring of cytotoxicity. For insect cells (Spodoptera frugiperda Sf9), the ECIS50 values, i.e., the concentration required to achieve 50% inhibition of the response, differed depending on the size and shape of the TiO2 nanostructure. The lowest ECIS50 value (158ppm) was observed for the needle shaped rutile TiO2 (10nm×40nm, 15.5nm nominal particle size), followed by 211ppm for P-25 (34.1nm, 80% anatase and 20% rutile), 302ppm for MTI5 (5.9nm, 99% anatase) and 417ppm for Hombitan LW-S bulk TiO2 (169.5nm, 99% anatase). Exposure of TiO2 NPs to UV light at 254nm or 365nm exhibited no significant effect on the ECIS50 value due to the aggregation of TiO2 NPs with diminishing photocatalytic activities. Chinese hamster lung fibroblast V79 cells, exhibited no significant cytotoxicity/inhibition up to 400ppm with P25, MTI5 and bulk TiO2. However, a noticeable inhibitory effect was observed (ECIS50 value of 251ppm) with rutile TiO2 as cell spreading on the electrode surface was prevented

A nonparametric on-line quality control procedure for vectorial observations

We consider an on-line nonparametric quality control procedure for multivariate observations. The goal of the procedure is to rapidly detect an out-of-control situation, that is, to detect a change in sampling distribution after a change point. Each successive observation creates a Voronoi cell indexed by the observation number. Suppose observation n+1 falls into the Voronoi cell with index i, where i is from 1 to n. Then observation n+1 has associated rank i. In the on-target situation these ranks are uniformly distributed but in the off-target situation these ranks tend to be large corresponding to the fact that the later off-target observations tend to clump together because later observations fall according to the off-target distribution. We use these ranks in a Cusum procedure. We found that we can approximately predict the on-target average run length (ARL) of our procedure and get reasonable off-target run lengths for any kind of structural break like a change of mean or a change of dispersion.