Quick Evaluation Research Articles

Use of Ophthalmic Sonography to Evaluate for Intraocular Foreign Body in Both Outpatient and Emergency Department/Urgent Care Patients

Intraocular foreign bodies (IOFB) present differently depending on the type of material (wood, glass, metal) for the IOFB, extent of the injury, and location of the injury. IOFB and the injury can cause a perforation or penetration of the globe which can require more extensive treatment including surgery. Proper evaluation of the IOFB and injury can help to determine extent of the injury, the prognosis of the vision, and health of the eye before and after treatment but may be difficult for the physician depending on the view of the posterior chamber being compromised by media or simply by patient sensitivity. The extent of the injury may also prevent proper evaluation due to swelling, lacerations on the lids, or pain. Proper ophthalmic sonography can provide a quick evaluation of the globe for any IOFB in both the outpatient setting as well as emergency department setting. Evaluation via sonography may allow the physician to accurately diagnose and properly treat the patient to help restore and prevent further loss of vision.

Anode-Oxidizing Critical Operating Conditions of Large Planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

In a solid oxide fuel cell power system, large planar cells are common central parts for electric generation. In practice, the operating conditions of a planar cell may have significant impact on the electrical efficiency and the lifespan of the cell, thus the operating and maintenance cost of the power system. Given varying electric load, the power system would dynamically adjust the operating conditions of each cell or cell module, so that the energy and heat balance in the system is maintained, the fuel consumption is minimized and the cells are protected from reactant starvation, local overheating etc. To realize this functionality, we seek a fundamental understanding of the quantitative connections among fuel cell properties, operating conditions and optimal electrical efficiency.We established a quasi-2D model for quick evaluation of fuel and oxidant concentration and current density along the flow direction. For fuel cells with very low charge transfer impedance i.e. 0.02 Ω*cm^2 operating with low fuel flow rates, the fuel concentration at the exit may reach an equilibrium where the local Nernstian potential across the cell equals the cell voltage. In such cases, the fuel utilization remains almost constant regardless of varying fuel flow rate, given a certain cell voltage. For fuel cells with local charge transfer impedance of 0.5 Ω*cm^2 operating with high fuel flow rates, such phenomenon was not observed because the fuel concentration at the exit depends strongly on the fuel flow rate. Given the fuel molar fraction at the fuel inlet, the electrical efficiency of a fuel cell has its maximum at certain cell voltage, which depends strongly on the charge transfer impedance of the fuel cell. At constant fuel flow rates, the optimal cell voltage increases with lowering charge transfer impedance. The optimal electrical efficiency appears lower with higher inlet fuel molar fraction. Given fixed and uniform fuel cell temperature, the air flow rate has little impact on the electrical efficiency for air-fuel stoichiometric ratios above 1.3.Besides the above findings, further studies are necessary on the effects of temperature distribution as well as porous electrode diffusion resistance. Figure 1

English

Angioplasty is considered superior to fibrinolytic therapy in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) if the patient receives it within the therapeutic window. It is unclear if such advantages are available for patients who need to travel from a community hospital to a facility where invasive care is available, since primary thrombolysis often re-establishes coronary artery blood flow in patients with ST elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI). At the most severe end of the range of acute coronary syndromes is ST - segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), which generally occurs when a fibrin-rich thrombus fully occludes an epicardial coronary artery. The diagnosis of STEMI is based on clinical features and persistent ST-segment elevation as evidenced by 12 - lead electrocardiography. Patients with STEMI should have a quick reperfusion treatment evaluation and a reperfusion strategy should be performed immediately following contact with the system. All patients with AMI who had chest pain within 12 hours were evaluated. The detailed history of chest pain, character, and radiation, had been taken in terms of duration from the beginning of chest pain in minutes. After 10 minutes, patients were given 10 mg of sublingual isosorbide dinitrate and repeated ECG. Patients were excluded if chest pain or ST elevation was resolved after 10 minutes of nitrate administration. In the analysis only those cases in which chest pain and ST shift were not resolved following sublingual nitrates. Serum CKMB estimates have been performed. All patients were treated with 1.5 million IU streptokinase in 100 ml of normal saline for more than 45 minutes. Clinical assessment for 2 hours every half hour was done to evaluate: 1. Chest pain reduction in a subjective scale percentage and to assess changes in the Killip class. 2. Continuous ECG monitoring of reperfusion rhythm occurrences. Patients are assessed at the end of 2 hours of follow-up for: a. Percentage reduction in subjective chest pain a. A 12 lead ECG to identify changes in the ST height c. Repeat CK-MB estimate. Patients with thrombolysis were classified into two classes on the basis of presence or absence of SCR at the end of two hours of initiation. Those with successful reperfusion were grouped into the SCR Group and into the SCR (negative) Group without successful reperfusion. Coronary prognostic index is a set of questionnaires which prognosticate the outcome in AMI. This review describes the role of Coronary Prognostic Index and thrombolysis in patients of STEMI. KEY WORDS ECG, AMI, STEMI, Angioplasty

Influence of Material and Effects of Tidal Turbine Blade: A Review

In the past few years, tidal turbines have been developed to exploit the kinetic energy of seawater currents to generate electrical energy. The blade is the greater essential part of the tidal mills. It is designed in line with hydrodynamic science so that you can seize the most power from marine currents and supposed to face up to the environment marine conditions for long intervals. The cloth choice of the tidal turbine blades in the sort of extreme surroundings performs a essential role inside the efficiency of the tidal turbine. This paper discusses vital factors that affect the overall performance and the sturdiness of the tidal modern turbine together with cavitation, biofouling and corrosion. This paper intends to offer a quick evaluation of the characteristics of available materials for tidal modern turbine blades. Apart from the traditional substances, new alternative materials undertaken are discussed.

Model development of Roof Thermal Transfer Value (RTTV) for green roof in tropical area: A case study in Singapore

Green roofs have been used widely in tropical countries due to their energy-saving and passive cooling effect. However, the model to calculate a thermal performance evaluation metric has yet to be established, which has hindered the inclusion of green roof in the envelope thermal performance standards in building regulations. This paper aims to develop a model to predict Roof Thermal Transfer Value (RTTV) of green roofs under a tropical climate. Firstly, the efficiency and accuracy of hygrothermal transfer model of green roof was validated against field data, and annual heat gain through four types of green roofs was simulated. Subsequently, the RTTV of four green roofs was calculated based on linear interpolation between RTTV of a common bare roof and corresponding annual heat gain, which ranged from 2.29 to 2.49 W/m2. Given the complexity and time-consuming of RTTV calculation by the hygrothermal transfer model, three types of regression models were developed based on the dataset of four significant design factors and corresponding values of RTTV. And it was found that multilayer perceptron (MLP) regression method had a better performance than multiple regression (MR) and random forest (RF) method. Finally, the equivalent thermal resistance of plant layer was calculated based on the RTTV model and other five simplified calculation methods, and the implicit reason that differences exist among them were discussed. The conclusions drawn in this paper can provide a methodology for a quick evaluation of thermal performance of green roof during the early stages of design.

Flow pattern and hydrodynamic parameters of pile breakwater under solitary wave using OpenFOAM

Pile breakwaters are widely used for coastal protection. To ensure the safety and hence serviceability of pile breakwaters under disastrous waves like tsunamis, an accurate estimation of wave actions exerted on them is necessary. This work investigates the hydrodynamic properties of solitary waves (resemble tsunami waves) interacting with a single-row pile breakwater using OpenFOAM. Large eddy simulation (LES) is utilized to deal with the turbulent flow, and the free-surface is reproduced by a scheme named THINC/QQ (tangent of hyperbola for interface capturing with quadratic surface representation and Gaussian quadrature). This numerical model is validated against published experimental data. Using the verified model, flow patterns near the piles are interpreted. A parametric study is then conducted on the influences of incident wave height, blockage ratio and pile diameter to the hydrodynamic parameters of pile breakwater, which include wave run-up, wave force and jet velocity. Finally, semi-empirical formulas are established for quick and reliable evaluation of these parameters. The research work can provide guideline for practical design of pile breakwater.

Rapid power outage estimation for typical electric power systems in Turkey

Electric power systems have critical importance in the sustainability of social life and economy. The past and recent earthquakes showed clearly that these systems have high vulnerability due to earthquakes. In this study, the typical electric power systems which are commonly preferred and located at five different sites in high seismic zone of Turkey, Marmara region, have been examined. In the first part of the study, the earthquake hazard for Marmara region has been accomplished. The earthquake hazard curves at five different sites for two different earthquake levels, and two different site conditions as soft and stiff site classes according to the Turkish Building Seismic Design Code 2018 have been obtained. The seismic vulnerability assessment of substation and distribution circuits for two different design states, namely anchored and unanchored, achieved by the fragility functions. The probability of power outage durations have been evaluated based on the restoration curves. It has been observed that the results obtained within the scope of the study are highly consistent with post-earthquake studies in the literature. The proposed methodology through the power outage graphics enable a quick preliminary evaluation of the power outage based on the current design status and location for any electric power systems in the Marmara region.

Evaluation of the Water Shielding Performance of a Capillary Barrier System through a Small-Scale Model Test

Capillary barrier (CB) systems consisting of a fine-grained soil layer placed over a coarse-grained soil layer can generally provide a water-shielding effect, increasing the slope stability of soil structures during rainfall. In order to improve the water-shielding performance of CB systems, laboratory model tests have been previously conducted under various conditions; notably, large-scale model tests are especially required. The inefficiency in increasing the production time of CB models until now explains their high cost. In this paper, we propose a laboratory small-scale CB (SSCB) model test for a quick and efficient evaluation of the function of a CB system. In this model test, differently from previous studies, a side drainage flow in the direction of the inclined sand layer was set as the no-flow condition; moreover, the laboratory SSCB model tests were performed by considering three rainfall intensities (i.e., 20, 50, and 100 mm/h) under the lateral no-flow condition. The results showed that the larger the rainfall intensity, the shorter the diversion length was of the CB system. To evaluate the effectiveness of the SSCB model test proposed in this study, the diversion length was estimated by an empirical equation under the lateral flow condition based on hydraulic conductivity functions and the soil water characteristic curves of sand and gravel and then compared to the results of the SSCB model tests. It was hence demonstrated that the water-shielding performance of the CB system can be efficiently evaluated through SSCB model tests under the lateral no-flow condition, rather than through large-scale model tests.

Transient pigging dynamics in gas pipelines: Models, experiments, and simulations

The bypass hole lowers the traditional pig velocity and brings significant uneven pig velocity which rises the pigging stuck risks. Aiming to give the quick evaluations of the uneven pig motion, this paper first proposed a transient steady-state analytical model to describe the trend and the fluctuation range of the uneven pig velocity, then developed the stoppage model to estimate the stoppage time as the result of inlet mass flow, friction force, and bypass character. The accuracy of the analytical model was verified by the consistency between the model calculated velocity, experimental data and the simulated velocity trend. And the stoppage model was verified by the simulated velocity trends. On considering the gas compressibility effect and the variation in friction profile, this paper studied the occurrence of pig stoppage and the extent of slippage with the designed abnormal friction section in simulation procedure. The variation in friction aggravates the slippage and stimulates the occurrence of stoppage. The positive friction deviation is largely responsible for the sudden deceleration and then stoppage. While, the gas compressibility is primarily responsible for the occasional stoppage after the pig acceleration-deceleration procedure when the pig travels into the lower friction region.

Smart fingertip sensor for food quality control: Fruit maturity assessment with a magnetic device

Automated technologies for quality inspection of fruits have attracted great interest in the food industry. The development of nondestructive mechanisms to assess the quality of individual fruit prior to sale may lead to an increase in overall product quality, value, and consequently, producer competitiveness. However, the existing methods have limitations. Herein, a texture sensor based on highly sensitive hair-like cilia receptors, to allow a quick quality evaluation of fruit is proposed. The texture sensor consists of up to 100 magnetized nanocomposite cilia attached to a chip with magnetoresistive sensors in a full Wheatstone bridge architecture. In this paper we demonstrate the use of ciliary sensors in scanning fruits (blueberries and strawberries) in different maturation stages. The contact of the cilia with the fruit skin provided qualitative information about its texture in terms of ripeness stage. Less mature fruits exhibited, on average, a highest peak voltage of 0.14 mV for blueberries and 0.12 mV for strawberries, while overripe fruits exhibited 0.58 mV and 0.56 mV, respectively. The results were confirmed by sensorial assessment of the fruit freshness, and therefore attesting the application potential of the sensing technology for fruit quality control.

Surface defect detection of cylindrical lithium-ion battery by multiscale image augmentation and classification

While deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have recently made large advances in AI, the need of large datasets for deep CNN learning is still a barrier to many industrial applications where only limited data samples can be offered for system developments due to confidential issues. We thus propose an approach of multi-scale image augmentation and classification for training deep CNNs from a small dataset for surface defect detection on cylindrical lithium-ion batteries. In the proposed Lithium-ion battery Surface Defect Detection (LSDD) system, an augmented dataset of multi-scale patch samples generated from a small number of lithium-ion battery images is used in the learning process of a two-stage classification scheme that aims to differentiate defect image patches of lithium-ion batteries in the first stage and to identify specific defect types in the second stage. The LSDD approach is an efficient prototyping method of defect detection from limited training images for quick system evaluation and deployment. The experiments show that, based on only 26 source images, the proposed LSDD (i) constructs two augmented multi-scale datasets of 19,309 and 6889 image patches for training and test, respectively, (ii) achieves 93.67% accuracy for discriminating defect image patches in the first stage, and (iii) reaches 90.78% mean precision rate and 93.89% mean recall rate for defect type identification in the second stage. Our two-stage classification scheme has higher defect detection sensitivity than an intuitive one-stage classification scheme by 0.69%, and outperforms the one-stage scheme in identifying specific defect types. For comparing with YOLOv3 detector, less defect misdetections are observed in our approach as well.

Nanoscopic quantification of sub-mitochondrial morphology, mitophagy and mitochondrial dynamics in living cells derived from patients with mitochondrial diseases

SLC25A46 mutations have been found to lead to mitochondrial hyper-fusion and reduced mitochondrial respiratory function, which results in optic atrophy, cerebellar atrophy, and other clinical symptoms of mitochondrial disease. However, it is generally believed that mitochondrial fusion is attributable to increased mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), which is inconsistent with the decreased OXPHOS of highly-fused mitochondria observed in previous studies. In this paper, we have used the live-cell nanoscope to observe and quantify the structure of mitochondrial cristae, and the behavior of mitochondria and lysosomes in patient-derived SLC25A46 mutant fibroblasts. The results show that the cristae have been markedly damaged in the mutant fibroblasts, but there is no corresponding increase in mitophagy. This study suggests that severely damaged mitochondrial cristae might be the predominant cause of reduced OXPHOS in SLC25A46 mutant fibroblasts. This study demonstrates the utility of nanoscope-based imaging for realizing the sub-mitochondrial morphology, mitophagy and mitochondrial dynamics in living cells, which may be particularly valuable for the quick evaluation of pathogenesis of mitochondrial morphological abnormalities.

A quick evaluation method for the lifetime of the fuel cell MEA with the particle filter algorithm

ABSTRACT The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has bright prospects in energy applications, but its durability and cost still affect its commercialization. In this work, a group of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) were tested to study the quick evaluating method for predicting their lifetimes. MEA1 was tested under the real constant load till the end of its lifetime and MEA2 was tested with a quick evaluating method. The data were treated with the particle filter algorithm to eliminate the influence of all kinds of errors, including the system error and random error. Based on this, the lifetime prediction model was developed. For a degradation rate of 10% of the initial working voltage, the lifetime of MEA1 was 6140 h; that of MEA2 was 3575 h if predicted with the test data directly, and 6776 h if the data was treated with the particle filter algorithm. The relative errors for both cases were about 41.8% and 10.3%, respectively, when compared with the lifetime of MEA1; indicating that the prediction accuracy was greatly improved. Furthermore, it was found that the voltage degradation rate was nonlinear when the whole lifetime of the MEA was considered, and the degradation rate increased significantly near the end period. In the quick evaluating method employed in most studies, the lifetime prediction model uses a linear degradation rate, which tends to cause errors; therefore, further research is needed.

The synthesis and nanostructure investigation of noble metal-based nanocomposite materials

The presented work follows the theme of applied chemistry toward nanomaterials and multiphase functional systems of practical importance. Structural studies of nanocomposite materials are important due to the correlation between physicochemical/structural properties and their application potential. In this work, we report the fabrication and structural characterization of nanocomposite materials constituting noble metal (plasmonic) nanoparticles (AgNP and AuNP) dispersed on selected types of nanostructured solid hosts (nonporous silica, microporous activated carbon, chitosan biopolymer, and ordered mesoporous silica). The ability to maintain a dispersed state of colloidal precursors throughout their deposition on solid hosts was assessed. The influence of the carrier role in the formation and stabilization of nanometallic phases was evaluated taking into account the physicochemical and textural properties of the support surfaces. The size and shape of nanoobjects, clustering effects, interfacial properties, and stability of the immobilized nanophase were implemented by analyzing relevant parameters of SAXS analysis. The dimensional characteristic of the scatterers was evaluated by volume-weighted particle size distribution Dv(R). The detailed overall shape and maximal particle dimension were described by the analysis of pair distance distribution functions (PDDFs). The radius of gyration (Rg) from PDDF and Guinier approximation was calculated for illustrating the dimension of scattered heterogeneities in the investigated solids. The asymptotic behavior of a scattering curve and Porod theory were applied for determining the diffusion and quality of the interfacial surfaces. The size and morphology of nanoparticles in colloidal precursor solutions have been defined as spherical and bimodal in size (~ 6 nm and 20 nm). It was observed that the spherical shape and dispersed state of nanoparticles were achieved for all systems after deposition. However, the morphology of their final form was conditioned by the solid matrices. The particle properties from SAXS were correlated with properties determined by TEM and low-temperature nitrogen sorption analysis. Obtained results suggest good compatibility and correctness of SAXS data reading of nanocomposite systems and can be successfully applied for quick, nondestructive, and effective evaluation of structural properties of complex systems.Graphical abstract

How Can Rotational Thromboelastometry as a Point-of-Care Method Be Useful for the Management of Secondary Thromboprophylaxis in High-Risk Pregnant Patients?

Thromboprophylaxis with low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) for patients with a history of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is suggested. Rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM®) represents an innovative point-of-care method enabling the complex and quick evaluation of hemostasis. However, there are only episodic cases of its use for hemostasis assessment and guidance of LMWH in pregnancy. Therefore, we provide the results of unique prospective and longitudinal monitoring of hemostasis in high-risk pregnant women, which we used for the individualized optimalization of secondary thromboprophylaxis. According to the shortening of clot formation time (CFT) in EXTEM (p = 0.0007 from the 26th gestational week vs. controls) and INTEM (p = 0.002 from the 35th gestational week), increase in alpha angle (AA) in EXTEM, INTEM, and HEPTEM, and the persistence of increase in maximum clot firmness (MCF) in EXTEM, INTEM, and HEPTEM (p < 0.001 from the 26th and 35th gestational week vs. controls for EXTEM and INTEM, p = 0.0012 from the 26th gestational week in HEPTEM), LMWH dose was modified. Even after the postpartum period, AA in EXTEM was steeper than in controls (p = 0.0007), indicating that hemostasis is not fully normalized after 6–8 weeks following delivery. Therefore, ROTEM may be a useful tool for the individual evaluation of the termination of anticoagulant thromboprophylaxis.

Sound quality DNA construction according to the scenario and operating condition of diesel engine

The sound quality (SQ) of a diesel engine varies with scenario and operating condition, therefore, the traditional evaluation method based on fixed operating points may not be able to reflect the SQ flexibly. Besides, it is difficult to effectively quantify the SQ performance due to the differences of application scenarios, which is not conducive to conduct targeted acoustic improvement. To address this issue, a quick SQ evaluation approach was proposed based on the DNA construction of scenario and operating condition. In this approach, the effectiveness and diversity of sampling were considered, and fifteen operating conditions of each engine (four in total) including frequently used ones and randomly selected ones were picked for jury tests. The revised grouped pair comparison (RGPC) was developed to improve the evaluation accuracy and efficiency for large scale samples. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) was introduced to calculate the weights of operating conditions for different application scenarios, and the weighted preference was employed as a comprehensive SQ index. As a result, the DNA of scenario-operating condition were extracted and examined, which can quickly and precisely sequence the SQ of diesel engines in different application scenarios.

CONCEPTUAL METHODS FOR SIMULATION OF RIVER FLOODPLAINS INUNDATION BASED ON THEIR GEOMETRIC PARAMETERS

Performing a physically based calculation of water flow dynamics over high resolution river floodplain elevation models, obtained by laser altimetry, leads to a significant increase in the computational load and the time spent on obtaining a forecast of inundation zones which appear as the result of high river floods. The article offers an overview of conceptual methods targeted on obtaining a quick evaluation of possible river floodplain inundation zones, their adequacy analysis and example of practical implementation. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Dendrimers: Potential Drug Carrier For Novel Drug Delivery System

Dendrimers are new effectiveness of polymeric substances. They are relatively branched, monodisperse macromolecules. Structural Advantages permit dendrimers to play a critical function inside the fields of nanotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medicinal chemistry. As a result in their precise behavior dendrimers are suitable for a wide variety of biomedical and commercial packages. The paper gives a quick evaluation of dendrimers’ physicochemical properties and their possible use in various regions of research, generation, and treatment.&#x0D;

Primary and secondary tools’ life evaluation for soft ground TBMs

Tool wear and tool life are very important issues for soft ground tunnel boring machines (TBMs) as they are directly related to the time and cost of tunneling. These issues may even become more important in planning costly interventions. In this regard, there are a few methods available to assess the tool life; however, the need for a thorough discussion and the development of new models is still highly demanded by the industry. This paper presents a summary of different methods for soft ground tool life, and tool wear evaluation. A comparative study is performed to indicate the predictability of available tool life evaluation methods based on the collected data from 23 soft ground TBM projects from around the world. Based on this database, new formulas are developed to evaluate tool life and tool wear for both primary and secondary cutting tools. The data analysis is conducted with single and multiple regression methods. The results show the equivalent quartz content and the standard penetration test are among the major influencing parameters for the evaluation of tool life of the primary cutting tools. In this regard, an estimation chart is generated for the quick evaluation of tool life for both earth pressure balance and slurry TBMs. The outcomes of this paper can be very useful in both the planning and construction stages of a TBM tunneling project where the intervention interval length and tool life/wear become critical decision-making factors for scheduling and cost evaluation and for reducing the risks of unwanted severe damage on the cutters.

Numerical analyses of liquid slosh by Finite volume and Lattice Boltzmann methods

Liquid slosh phenomenon has been widely observed in aerospace and aeronautic engineering. In this paper, Finite volume method (FVM) and Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) are proposed to perform the quick evaluation of liquid slosh behaviour under different container designs. The effectiveness of the numerical models is validated by the existing experimental data. The validated models are then used to study the fuel slosh behaviour with different baffle ring designs. By inserting the baffle to divide the liquid region into multiple sections, the slosh motion of the liquid is suppressed. At the same time, the effectiveness and time efficiency of LBM model have been demonstrated by a parallel comparison with the results from the FVM model. It is found that the computational time cost of LBM model is only around 7.0% of the time cost for FVM model without compromise of the numerical accuracy. This supports the future utilisation of LBM model in quick design evaluation of slosh-like problem.