Routine Inspection Research Articles

Effective well management using the J100 framework and methodology

AbstractWell rehabilitation and replacement are critical functions and activities where water utilities can benefit from rational decision‐support frameworks and tools that enable them to navigate the complex range of technical, managerial, financial, and public/environmental health considerations involved. Based on this industry viewpoint and need, a 15‐variable risk‐based prioritization framework and methodology patterned after the ANSI/AWWA J100 Risk and Resilience Management Standard was therefore developed and tested on a relatively large water system in California. The framework draws from a wide range of information sources and analytical approaches, including existing drinking water source assessments, public documents concerning the health of groundwater basins and aquifers, the results of recently conducted climate change studies, and water distribution modeling to balance the three principal dimensions of the J100 methodology (threat, vulnerability, and consequence). The new tool is expected to help optimize routine monitoring and inspections, as well as enhance the scheduling and implementation of rehabilitation and replacement activities through the deeper and more holistic understanding it provides around regional, site and facility, and water distribution operational and systems engineering factors.

Activity estimation of shielded gamma-ray source by measuring the single compton scattering count

During a routine inspection of radioactive sources or orphan source disposal, it is essential to effectively and rapidly estimate the activity of the radioactive source. However, this estimation may be difficult, especially when the source is shielded and the shield thickness is unknown. In this paper, a new method is developed to estimate the activity of radioactive sources under shields of unknown thickness based on the ratio of the full-energy peak count (FEPC) to the single Compton scattering count (SCSC). The proposed method is evaluated by experiments, and the results show that the proposed method can obtain a relative error of thickness of less than 7% and a relative error of source activity of less than 28%, which indicate that the method can be used to efficiently estimate the activity of radioactive sources under different shields.

C-AHP rating system for routine general inspection of long-span suspension bridges

Different from the condition rating system for bridges, the criticality and vulnerability rating system for long-span suspension bridges is used to determine the time intervals for routine general inspection of key structural components of the bridge. In consideration of uncertainties involved in the current rating system for long-span suspension bridges, this study presents a cloud-based analytic hierarchical process (C-AHP) rating system to determine inspection intervals. A three-level hierarchical structure is first introduced in terms of criticality and vulnerability, and the relative weights for the hierarchical structure are determined by AHP. The Gaussian cloud model is then introduced to the AHP rating system to form a C-AHP rating system for long-span suspension bridges. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed C-AHP rating system are calibrated by using the Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong as a case study. The case study results show that the proposed C-AHP rating system could take into consideration not only fuzziness but also randomness in the AHP rating system and provide stricter time intervals than the F-AHP rating system for routine general inspection of long-span suspension bridges.

AI Enabled IoRT Framework for Rodent Activity Monitoring in a False Ceiling Environment.

Routine rodent inspection is essential to curbing rat-borne diseases and infrastructure damages within the built environment. Rodents find false ceilings to be a perfect spot to seek shelter and construct their habitats. However, a manual false ceiling inspection for rodents is laborious and risky. This work presents an AI-enabled IoRT framework for rodent activity monitoring inside a false ceiling using an in-house developed robot called “Falcon”. The IoRT serves as a bridge between the users and the robots, through which seamless information sharing takes place. The shared images by the robots are inspected through a Faster RCNN ResNet 101 object detection algorithm, which is used to automatically detect the signs of rodent inside a false ceiling. The efficiency of the rodent activity detection algorithm was tested in a real-world false ceiling environment, and detection accuracy was evaluated with the standard performance metrics. The experimental results indicate that the algorithm detects rodent signs and 3D-printed rodents with a good confidence level.

Diagnostic investigation for the detection of mycobacteria in samples of fish feeds and tissue from sea bream and sea bass with severe granulomatous lesions

We report on a case of a sea bass and sea bream aquaculture farm in Greece, with many incidents of severe dermal and visceral granulomatous lesions detected during routine inspection and post-mortem examination. The investigation was conducted on samples of fish feeds and fish feed ingredients available commercially, and tissue samples collected from the affected population, and consisted of molecular analysis and histopathology. The former was performed using five PCR assays targeting the main mycobacterial pathogens. Histopathology examination relied on staining of tissue sections of various visceral organs with hematoxylin-eosin and Ziehl-Neelsen. Presence of mycobacteria was demonstrated in the fish feeds (100% and 46.2% positive for Mycobacterium spp. and Mycobacterium avium, respectively), in the fish feed ingredients (73.3% and 33.3% positive for Mycobacterium spp. and Mycobacterium avium, respectively) and the tissue sections (76.5% and 3.9% positive for Mycobacterium marinum and Mycobacterium avium, respectively) that were examined. Sequence analysis of the PCR products was confirmatory of the specificity of the amplification process, at a 98% minimum level of identification. Histopathology revealed in all cases evidence consistent with mycobacterial infection. The result of the analysis indicates that fish are exposed to different mycobacterial species; this probably accumulates in large numbers over the years in the organic sediment collected on the seabed of the aquaculture, causing severe infections.

Diagnosis method of turbine blade loosening

Abnormal vibration of low-pressure rotor occurred after low-pressure cylinder cutting transformation of 330MW steam turbine generator unit in a power plant. Through the analysis of vibration data, the vibration spectrum was mainly manifested as low-frequency component of 18Hz, which fluctuates with time cycle, and it was judged that it might be related to the loosening of low-pressure rotor blades. After 6 months of operation, routine inspection after cylinder cutting showed that there were three loose roots and worn top steam seals on the secondary last stage blades of low pressure rotor. After repairing the blades, the abnormal vibration problem of the low pressure rotor of the turbine generator set was successfully solved.

Material Corrosion of Tunnel Fire Protection Boards

This paper concerns the degradation of fire protection boards in the ceiling structure of the 4th tube of Elbtunnel in Hamburg, Germany. During the routine inspection an irregularity in the ceiling material was observed. Based on this inspection five cores were drilled out of the fire protection boards. These samples were examined and analyzed using visual, X-Ray Diffraction analysis (XRD), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images. From the inspection and the analysis of data it was possible to conclude the cause of the material corrosion of the autoclaved calcium silicate fire protection boards.

New Insights Into the Prevalence and Phylogenetic Diversity of Cysticercus Ovis Isolates in Sheep from Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.

IntroductionAlthough ovine cysticercosis is not a zoonotic problem, it results in substantial economic losses due to the condemnation of infected tissues or entire carcasses. This study aimed to record preliminary data on the prevalence, and phylogenetic diversity of Cysticercus ovis isolates from slaughtered sheep in the province of Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.Material and MethodsFrom January to September 2020, 6, 411 slaughtered sheep were examined for C. ovis by routine meat inspection. The amplification and sequence analysis of the COX1 gene for up to 35 specimens of C. ovis was performed using conventional PCR.ResultsThe overall prevalence rate was 1.3%, and the prevalence was significantly higher in older sheep (>1 year) than younger ones (<1 year) (P< 0.05). The cardiac muscle showed a higher tendency to carry C. ovis infection compared to other examined muscles. Sequence analysis of the COX1 gene revealed six haplotypes, and the level of pairwise nucleotide diversity between individual haplotypes was 1–2%. Five out of six of the Taenia ovis haplotypes recovered could have been recorded for the first time globally. Phylogenetic interpretation indicated that all the T. ovis haplotypes clustered in a single clade, and it also indicated an extremely close similarity to Iranian and New Zealand isolates.ConclusionsGlobally, this report adds new data on C. ovis genetic diversity, which provide an extremely useful molecular background with regard to future preventive as well as control strategies.

Overview on pathogenesis and histopathological observations of hyperostosis in two fish species; Scomberoides lysan (Forsskal, 1775) and Pomacanthus sextriatus (Cuvier, 1831) collected from El- Jubail province, Saudi Arabia

During years 2012 to 2018, two fish species, doublespotted queenfish (Scomberoides lysan) and sixbar angelfish (Pomacanthus sextriatus) were regularly examined during filleting processing in fish markets at Jubail province, Saudi Arabia. The routine fish inspection of the fillet- by products (fish skeletons) of these two species showed prominent and frequent hard circumscribed ossified masses attached to the spines. In Scomberoides lysan 60% of the examined fishes were affected and the hyperosteoid overgrowths were noticed in both haemal and neural spines. In Pomacanthus sextriatus 10% showed nearly the same lesion but it was mainly observed in the neural spines. In gross examination, the swelling appeared very hard, round and smooth; the cut section showed grayish- white, granular, greasy and hard central contents. In histopathological examination, the hard masses showed hyperosteoid bony tissue with variable degrees of ossification surrounded with peripheral fibrous tissue capsule containing dilated lymph and blood vessels and accompanied with edema. The underlying tissue was a thick layer of acellular calcified bony tissue while the central area of the swelling was honeycomb in its appearance with cavities filled with blood and adipocytes together with golden brown pigments, hemosiderin. Our study concluded that hyperostosis occurs at high prevalence rates in S. lysan and P. sextriatus with characteristic histopathological lesions.

Computational pathology reveals unique spatial patterns of immune response in H&E images from COVID-19 autopsies: preliminary findings.

Purpose: We used computerized image analysis and machine learning approaches to characterize spatial arrangement features of the immune response from digitized autopsied H&E tissue images of the lung in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Additionally, we applied our approach to tease out potential morphometric differences from autopsies of patients who succumbed to COVID-19 versus H1N1. Approach: H&E lung whole slide images from autopsy specimens of nine COVID-19 and two H1N1 patients were computationally interrogated. 606 image patches ( per patient) of were extracted from the 11 autopsied patient studies. A watershed-based segmentation approach in conjunction with a machine learning classifier was employed to identify two types of nuclei families: lymphocytes and non-lymphocytes (i.e., other nucleated cells such as pneumocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils). Based off the proximity of the individual nuclei, clusters for each nuclei family were constructed. For each of the resulting clusters, a series of quantitative measurements relating to architecture and density of nuclei clusters were calculated. A receiver operating characteristics-based feature selection method, violin plots, and the t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding algorithm were employed to study differences in immune patterns. Results: In COVID-19, the immune response consistently showed multiple small-size lymphocyte clusters, suggesting that lymphocyte response is rather modest, possibly due to lymphocytopenia. In H1N1, we found larger lymphocyte clusters that were proximal to large clusters of non-lymphocytes, a possible reflection of increased prevalence of macrophages and other immune cells. Conclusion: Our study shows the potential of computational pathology to uncover immune response features that may not be obvious by routine histopathology visual inspection.

Detection of the root lesion nematode Pratylenchus penetrans in potato tubers

AbstractThe root lesion nematode Pratylenchus penetrans parasitizes a wide range of economically important crops, including potato (Solanum tuberosum). Damage by P. penetrans impacts not only the potato yield but can also reduce the tuber quality. Detailed information on tuber infection by P. penetrans is scarce for most cultivars and molecular detection of nematodes from infected tubers is needed. The objective of this study was to assess tuber symptomatology due to P. penetrans infection in 10 potato cultivars and to provide an accurate molecular methodology for nematode detection using tuber peels. Sprouts of certified potato seed from cultivars Agata, Agria, Camel, Désirée, Dirosso, Kennebec, Laura, Picasso, Royata, and Stemster were planted in 2 L pots, and soil was inoculated with 4 P. penetrans/g of soil. Sixty days after inoculation, tubers were harvested, inspected for lesions, and the number of nematodes/g of potato peel assessed. Observations of tubers with symptoms showed the presence of P. penetrans in superficial layers of peels around the lenticels and injured necrotic tissue. Different nematode stages were detected in tubers of all inoculated cultivars, varying from 4 to 46 nematodes/g of potato peel. Species‐specific primers showed suitable sensitivity and reproducibility for the detection of P. penetrans in tuber potato peel samples. The molecular detection of P. penetrans directly from tuber peels can facilitate routine nematode inspections of potato seed tubers or cull potatoes for nematode detection, and prevent further dissemination of this species.

Implant-supported mandibular overdentures: a retrospective case series study in a daily dental practice

BackgroundEvaluation of dental implant treatment is mostly based on studies with well-controlled study groups treated within a university-based setting. There are no long-term observational practice-based studies known on implant-supported overdentures. The present retrospective study deals with implant survival, peri-implant hard and soft tissue health, surgical and prosthetic aftercare, and satisfaction of patients treated with an implant-supported mandibular overdenture in a daily dental practice.Materials and methodsWithin the years 2006 till 2015, 295 patients were treated with two, three, or four implants for mandibular overdenture treatment in a daily dental practice in Zaandam, The Netherlands. Outcome parameters were scored at a routine yearly inspection including implant loss, plaque index, gingival index, bleeding index, presence of calculus, probing depth, and satisfaction with implant-supported overdenture. Radiographic analysis was performed to assess peri-implant bone changes. Surgical and prosthetic aftercare was obtained from the medical record.ResultsA total of 133 patients were seen for an evaluation visit (mean follow-up 51.2 months). Cumulative implant survival rate in the 2-implant group, 3-implant group, and 4-implant group was 100%, 99.1%, and 97.8% respectively, with a mean peri-implant bone loss of 0.53 mm, 0.61 mm, and 0.40 mm. Patients’ satisfaction was high in all groups.ConclusionIt was demonstrated, within the limitations of this study, that patients, who were treated with an implant-supported mandibular overdenture in a daily dental practice, experienced a high cumulative implant survival rate and a good peri-implant health, and were very satisfied.Trial registrationNetherlands Trial Register, NL8867. Registered 15 September 2020—retrospectively registered.

Tuberculosis in bovine slaughtered in the semi-arid region of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Between November 2017 and August 2018, in order to determine the occurrence of tuberculosis in cattle slaughtered in the semi-arid region of Rio Grande do Norte, 11,610 bovine carcasses underwent a routine post-mortem inspection. One animal presented suggestive lesions and samples from lung, spleen and heart were submitted to microbiological culture in Stonebrink medium for 90 days and molecular analysis by nested-PCR. For histopathological examination and Ziehl Neelsen staining, the omentum was used. In the cultured samples, two of them (heart and spleen) showed growth, but were not confirmed as M. bovis by conventional PCR. At nested-PCR, the samples showed amplification for the TbD1 region. The presence of numerous granulomas was detected in the histopathological examination characterized by a necrotic center and areas of mineralization, as well as the presence of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) in the Ziehl-Neelsen stain. Microbiological culture can show false negative results, despite being considered a gold standard technique, although it takes time. Nested-PCR and histopathology show fast and effective results for the diagnosis of the disease. The presence of positive animals represents a public health risk in the studied region. Therefore, one of the essential systems applied to the control of bovine tuberculosis is the epidemiological surveillance of animals in slaughterhouses.

Monumental Inca remains and past seismic disasters: A relational database to support archaeoseismological investigations and cultural heritage preservation in the Andes

As recent dramatic and numerous examples demonstrate, earthquakes still constitute a significant threat to cultural heritage (Bam 2003; L’Aquila 2009; Haiti 2010; Nepal 2015). By damaging the historical legacy, telluric phenomena affect economic and touristic incomes and alter regional identities and collective psyche. In the Andes, as in other emerging regions across the globe, deficient seismic hazard assessments, constant lack of resources, and inadequate maintenance programs are additional challenges for cultural heritage management. As part of our archaeoseismological investigation in the Cusco area (Peru), we developed a relational database, which seeks to identify, record and inventory seismic damage in pre-Columbian architecture. This work presents the main characteristics of the structure and design of the RISC (“Risque sismique, Incas et Société à Cusco”) database and its contribution in supporting the fieldwork organization and facilitating the data acquisition. The collected architectonical evidence constitutes the first large archaeoseismological dataset in South America and will provide valuable complementary data in Peru to regional seismic hazard studies. We here aim to demonstrate that an ergonomic and user-friendly interface has a role to play in supervising and preserving the cultural heritage in active seismic areas. By converting ad-hoc surveys into routine inspections, RISC could become an effective low-tech monitoring system, providing relevant support for disaster risk reduction plans in archaeological sites conservation. We stress the necessity of adopting cost-effective and easy-to-implement tools for cultural heritage monitoring in emerging countries through this case study. Our database may represent a relevant methodological background and template for further initiatives in both fields of archaeoseismology and cultural heritage protection.

Cloud-based Approach for Prevention Maintenance Management Platform of Printing Press equipment

It is easy to understand that presentation maintenance can prolong the lifecycle of the equipment. Due to the lack of an efficient maintenance management platform for Printing Press equipment, we develop a cloud-based platform to record routine inspections, to notify management information, and to remind replacement with a monitoring analysis model. In that case, the producer of the printing press could master the data of prevention maintenance and provide better after-sales service. The platform consists of equipment data sensing analysis workflow, routine inspection, and equipment warning/failure detection. This enables effectively extending the service life of the equipment, reducing the maintenance costs of equipment, and providing on-demand access to computing resources. In the future, new artificial intelligence models could be added to provide smarter manufacturing solutions.

Damaged Hospital Mattresses and Bed Frames Are Common in Acute-Care Hospitals

Background: Hospital beds are now high-tech, reprocessable, medical devices. The surface of the mattress (cover) is manufactured using polyurethane-coated fabric to ensure moisture-vapor transmission to prevent pressure ulcers. In recent years, due to multidrug-resistant organisms, healthcare organizations have used increasingly harsh chemicals to clean these mattresses. None of these chemicals are approved for use on polyurethane-coated fabric. Previous research has shown that many mattresses in hospitals are damaged. The US Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ECRI, and manufacturers recommend routine mattress inspection and replacement of mattresses with any visible signs of stains, wear, or damage. Damaged mattresses have been linked to fluid leakage, resulting in patient exposure and outbreaks of healthcare-acquired infections. Methods: Four hospitals of a midwestern hospital system had all of their mattresses inspected for damage and staining to the mattress. After external examination, each mattress was opened, and the mattress core was evaluated for damage. The cover of each mattress was examined using the naked eye and then using an LED light to demonstrate smaller holes. Each bed frame was examined for evidence of rust, and the amount of rust was recorded. If available, the age of the mattress was determined based on a label on the mattress. Results: In total, 727 beds and mattresses were inspected. Of these mattresses, 523 (72%) were damaged. Also, 340 (47%) required replacement of the mattress cover, and 183 (25%) required replacement of the entire mattress (cover and core). For the 209 damaged mattresses (40%) with the date of manufacture label, 156 (75%) were &lt;4 years old. Damage to the mattress included 428 (59%) with holes in the cover: 113 (16%) were visible to the naked eye and 315 (43%) small holes only detected by using an LED light. Also 173 mattresses (24%) had stains on the exterior cover, 215 (30%) had stains on the interior of the top cover, and 192 (26%) had stains on the interior of the bottom cover. Bed-frame rust was identified on 175 (24%) beds, of which 65 (9%) had widespread rust. Conclusions: These findings confirm previous reports that damaged mattresses are common in hospitals and potentially place patients at risk. Most of these failed mattresses are &lt;4 years old, which is much less than the expected life of a mattress and bed deck.Funding: NoDisclosures: None

A CAPSNETS APPROACH TO PAVEMENT CRACK DETECTION USING MOBILE LASER SCANNNING POINT CLOUDS

Abstract. Routine pavement inspection is crucial to keep roads safe and reduce traffic accidents. However, traditional practices in pavement inspection are labour-intensive and time-consuming. Mobile laser scanning (MLS) has proven a rapid way for collecting a large number of highly dense point clouds covering roadway surfaces. Handling a huge amount of unstructured point clouds is still a very challenging task. In this paper, we propose an effective approach for pavement crack detection using MLS point clouds. Road surface points are first converted into intensity images to improve processing efficiency. Then, a Capsule Neural Network (CapsNet) is developed to classify the road points for pavement crack detection. Quantitative evaluation results showed that our method achieved the recall, precision, and F1-score of 95.3%, 81.1%, and 88.2% in the testing scene, respectively, which demonstrated the proposed CapsNet framework can accurately and robustly detect pavement cracks in complex urban road environments.

Analysis of Occupational Safety and Health in the Production Process Section Using the Failure Mode And Effect Analysis (FMEA) Method at PT Mitra Mandiri Perkasa

Based on the results of the analysis carried out, it was found that there were 29 work accidents in the turning wood production process for a period of 3 years, then after the classification was carried out based on the company's working environment conditions obtained 5 categories of work accidents. The results of the calculation of the risk prority number (RPN) show that the potential failure with the highest RPN level is that the hand is exposed to wood on the rip saw machine with an RPN value of 140. Proposed improvement is that machine operators must use PPE when doing work, provide a grace period when moving raw materials to rip saw machines to provide space for workers, routine inspections and always moving materials after being processed in the rip saw machines and giving danger signs in the production process area, improving standard operational procedures and periodic supervision in accordance with the applied K3 procedures.

Radiation Tolerant 3D Laser Scanner for Structural Inspections in Nuclear Reactor Vessels and Fuel Storage Pools

Accurate and timely assessment of displacements and/or structural damages in nuclear reactor vessels’ components is a key action in routine inspections for planning maintenance and repairs but also in emergency situations for mitigating consequences of nuclear incidents. Nevertheless, all these components are maintained underwater and reside in high-radiation fields thus imposing harsh operative conditions to inspection devices which must cope with effects such as Cerenkov radiation background, Total Ionizing Radiation (TID), and occlusions in the detectors’ field of view. To date, ultrasonic techniques and video cameras are in use for inspection of components’ integrity and with measurements of volumetric and surface crack opening displacements, respectively. The present work reports the realization of a radiation tolerant laser scanner and the results of tests in a nuclear research reactor vessel for acquisition of 3D models of critical components. The device, qualified for underwater operation and for withstanding up to 1 MGy of TID, is based on a 515 nm laser diode and a fast-scanning electro-optic unit. To evaluate performances in a significant but controlled environment, the device has been deployed in the vessel of a research reactor operated by ENEA in the Casaccia Research Centre in Rome (Italy). A 3D model of the fuel rods assembly through a cooling water column of 7 m has been acquired. The system includes proprietary postprocessing software that automatically recognizes components of interest and provides dimensional analysis. Possible application fields of the system stretch to dimensional analysis also in spent nuclear fuel storage pools.

KAMPUNG SEHAT TANGGAP DBD DI KELURAHAN GEDAWANG

Dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is still a problem of health in both urban and semi-urban areas. DHF disease has been a deadly disease since the year 2013. In the health profile of the city of Semarang 2017 Gedawang area is included in the red zone area with the high number of events DHF. Through the DHF Health Care Village program is expected to increase the knowledge and the role of society in realizing a healthy village DHF response. The method of implementing the program is done by providing counseling and simulation. At the end of this activity resulted in an increase in knowledge and community participation in the realization of a healthy village DHF response and when the evaluation is done already formed a report of the Free Numbers Mosquito Repellent each week pasted on the board in each neighbourhood, routine inspection of the Mosquito Repellent, lavender and lemongrass garden and signing of DHF response Village commitment