Zigzag Method Research Articles

PENGARUH TAMBAK SILVOFISHERY TERHADAP SIFAT FISIK TANAH MANGROVE SEBAGAI LAHAN KONSERVASI DAERAH MUARA SUNGAI BOGOWONTO KULON PROGO DAERAH ISTIMEWA YOGYAKARTA

The Bogowonto River estuary is a coastal area in the open water category because it faces the Indian Ocean directly, it has high wave energy, which will cause erosion and abrasion, and the presence of mangrove and pond ecosystems (silvofishery) can support the development of coastal areas as conservation land. So it is necessary to conduct research to examine the influence of soil physical properties on silvofishing and determine the types of mangroves in the Bogowonto River estuary area. The method used was a survey, where soil samples were tested at the Yogyakarta BPTP Laboratory and the Yogyakarta "Veteran" National Development University at a depth of 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm. Sampling was conducted in a zigzag method from the left (near the pond) and right sides of the river. The results of the research found that there are 2 types of mangroves, namely the Tan cang (Bruguiera sp.), which grows far from the coastline and close to fish pond areas (silvofishery), has a has a relatively stable pH, is dominated by clay texture, and has a low salinity level. White Mangrove (Avicennia sp.) grows near the coastline, with a dominant sandy loam texture, low-normal pH, and high salinity levels. Mangroves that grow along the southern river in the presence of silvofishery can help with the deposition process of mud that is transported along the river and maintain the sustainability of fish populations, and litter from mangroves tends to increase the organic matter content of the soil.

О деформировании решетчатой пластинки глаза

Several problems pertaining to deformation of the circular elastic isotropic plate of variable rigidity in the presence of elastic support on the edge were study. In the first problem Timoshenko model was considered. In the second problem the deformation of a multilayer plate with piecewise constant Lame coefficient along the thickness coordinate which are assumed to be constant within one layer was researched, the Zig-zag method is used for modeling. The basis for constructing a solution for both problems is the use of Lagrange’s variation principle of plates, numerical solution constructed using the Ritz method. During the research work the deflection and inflection points of the lamina cribrosa were compared for a healthy eye and for an eye with different stages of primary open-angle glaucoma for constant Lame coefficient as well as for their exponentially decreasing above. The problem of deflection of the lamina cribrosa when tacking into account the prelaminar layer was solved based on the Zig-zag method, the solution to this problem was also compared for a healthy eye and for an eye with various stages of primary open-angle glaucoma.

Impact of smoothing interpolations on the non-conventional machining of pockets

Smoothing curves have been used in computer aided design software for years. This is the reason why machinists very early wondered about the possibilities of creating toolpaths directly generated from this type of mathematical curves. In addition, in recent research work, we have shown that the non-uniform rational Bspline interpolation is the most favorable towards high-speed machining of complex shapes. As a result, we are thinking of simulating by this type of interpolation the pocket recess machining strategies proposed by a computer aided manufacturing software, currently developed in linear and circular interpolations only. In this article we propose a study of the influence of the parameters of Bspline curves on the hollowing out of pockets by smoothing initial cutting methods. To do this, we chose the smoothing of the zigzag method by Bspline and NURBS while varying the order and the discretization parameters to know the impact on the dynamics of the high-speed machining mechanism and on the non-conventional machining precision. This work has shown that parametric curves are favored for this type of machining provided that this tool is mastered.

Impact of laser scanning strategies on microstructure in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of nanoparticle-infused pre-alloyed water-atomized iron powder

This study investigates how two scan strategies impact the microstructural and tensile properties of nanoparticle-infused pre-alloyed water-atomized low-alloy iron powder (Fe-1.50Cu-1.75Ni-0.50Mo) during Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) under uniform volumetric energy density laser conditions. The two strategies were the rotation method (ROT), in which the laser scan vector was rotated by 67° for each layer (10°, 77°, 144°, 211°, …), and the zig-zag method (ZZ), in which the vector was rotated by 90° for each layer (45°, −45°, …). As a result, the relative density of the ROT specimens was measured to be 95.61 ± 1.01 %, while that of ZZ specimens was 99.76 ± 0.17 %. Furthermore, the surface roughness of ROT specimens was higher than that of ZZ specimens (24.05 μm vs. 10.30 μm). It was found that the scan strategy influences not only the bulk characteristics but also the microstructural changes of the specimens, due to variations in intrinsic heat treatment (IHT). In the ZZ specimens, the regular laser scanning direction resulted in a uniform microstructure across different heights. However, in the ROT specimens, the laser scanning direction varied from layer to layer, with fluctuating heat dissipation influencing the melt pool structure, recrystallized grain distribution, sub-grain cellular structure, and precipitation behavior to obtain lower density and higher surface roughness than those of ZZ samples. Therefore, the samples printed using the ZZ method are found to be advantageous for printing pre-alloyed WA iron powders with uniform microstructure and reliable tensile properties.

Multi-Robot Cooperative Multi-Area Coverage Based on Circular Coding Genetic Algorithm

This paper studies the cooperative multi-area coverage problem with obstacles, which requires a group of robots to cover an area while avoiding collisions. This problem is very common in scenarios such as garbage removal, mine clearance, and regional information collection. The currently proposed algorithms usually have the problem of high redundancy and weak scene scalability. This paper designs a cooperative area coverage algorithm for multiple robots. First, a set of rules is proposed to divide the area to be covered into several small areas. Then, a genetic algorithm based on circular coding is designed to allocate these divided areas to several robots. Finally, the coverage path of the robot is designed using the zigzag method, so that the robot can cover the area allocated to it. Through computational experiments, it has been verified that this algorithm has efficiency advantages over state-of-the-art algorithms in certain scenarios and has scalability for different scenarios.

Dynamic Reconfiguration Method of Photovoltaic Array Based on Improved HPSO Combined with Coefficient of Variation

In order to address the issue of power loss resulting from partial shadow and enhance the efficiency of photovoltaic power generation, the photovoltaic array reconfiguration technology is being increasingly utilized in photovoltaic power generation systems. This paper proposes a reconfiguration method based on improved hybrid particle swarm optimization (HPSO) for the photovoltaic array of TCT (total-cross-tied) structure. The motivation behind this method is to get the best reconfiguration scheme in a simple and efficient manner. The ultimate goal is to enhance the output power of the array, save energy, and improve its overall efficiency. The improved HPSO introduces the concept of hybridization in genetic algorithms and adopts a nonlinear decreasing weight method to balance the local search and global search ability of the algorithm and prevent it from falling into the local optimal solution. The objective function used is the variation coefficient of the row current without the weight factor. This approach saves time and balances the row current of the array by altering the electrical connection of the component. In the 4 × 3 array, the improved HPSO is compared with the Zig-Zag method. In the 9 × 9 array, the improved HPSO is compared with the CS (competence square) method and the improved SuDoKu method. The simulation results show that the power enhancement percentage of the improved HPSO is between 6.39% and 28.26%, and the power curve tends to single peak characteristics. The improved HPSO has a smaller mismatch loss and a higher fill factor in the five shadow modes, which can effectively improve the output power, and it is convenient to track the maximum power point later.

Best peer active learning strategies for problem solving using C programming

Abstract :Peer learning is a process where one or more students teach other students and provides support throughout the learning process. Active learning is a process of learning concepts through thinking, discussing, investigating, and creating. In order to improve the learning of students in the concept of "problem solving using C programming," peer and active learning approaches are implemented by forming groups. The general four methods for peer active learning, such as think-pair-share, the zig-zag method, the coding test, and mini project, are chosen as activities for the students. An unsupervised machine learning algorithm is used to create clusters of students based on pretest and posttest scores. With the help of the K-Means clustering technique, the increased change in student performance after peer active learning approaches is clearly visible. Keywords : Peer Learning, Active learning, K-Means Clustering.

STUDIES OF MANGO SUDDEN DEATH DISEASE IN THE VICINITY OF TANDO JAM

In this study we started the field survey activities from 17th of October 2022 towards the horticulture garden and other different grower’s field of the mango. We selected task of eighth different grower fields surrounding the Tando Jam, Such as F1Horticulture garden, F2 Malir farm, F3Gul Muhammad farm near village Gul Muhammad Thoro, F4.Nizamani farm near Tando Qaiser, F5 Talpur farm near Hussain Khan thoro, F6 Dero Imdad farm, F7 Haji Wassan farm near wassan, F8 Mir Atta Muhammad farm. The method of our survey was in zigzag method. The disease of mango sudden decline was observed almost in every filed. The disease incdisease percentage (%) was observed randomly of 10 plants from the eight (8) different field locations in the surrounding of Tando jam . The disease incidence percentage (%) was observed by using formula such as ” D1 % = ” n ” / ” N ” x 100 ” Where DI Disease incidence percent , n = Number of infected plants and N = Total number of plants observed 10 Sampling. The samples of sudden decline disease was collected in paper envelope and brought at our ARI mycology laboratory for isolation and identification of associated pathogens.

Triple Encryption of Images based on RC4, Zigzag, and Elliptic Curve Algorithms for Enhanced Security

The security of digital images is of paramount importance in today's digital world. Encryption is a technique used to secure digital images from unauthorized access. The encryption technique transforms the original image into a scrambled form, which is unreadable to anyone without the proper decryption key. Several encryption techniques have been proposed to secure digital images, including DES, AES, RSA, and ECC. These methods, however, are susceptible to side-channel and brute-force attacks. Hence, new encryption methods that offer more security are required. The new multi-encryption algorithm for secure digital image encryption is presented in this research. The suggested approach combines the RC4, Zigzag transformation, and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) algorithms to increase the security of picture encryption. Data is encrypted using the RC4 stream cipher, image data is scrambled using the Zigzag method, and the key used in the transformation is encrypted using the ECC technique. The proposed algorithm was tested using several standard metrics, and the results show that it outperforms existing encryption techniques in terms of security.

Total Biomass of Palm Oil in Agroforestry Systems Palm Oil (Elaeis Guineensis Jacq) With Gaharu (Aquilaria Malacensis Lamk.) and Palm Oil Monoculture System (Elaeis Guineensis Jacq.)

This study aimed to compare the total biomass of oil palm in oil palm and gaharu agroforestry systems with oil palm monoculture systems. This research was conducted in February 2020 - April 2020 on agroforestry land (1 ha) and monoculture land (1 ha) located in Bukit Kemuning, Kampar - Riau. The method used in this study is a survey method and systematic sampling and determination of sample plots using the zig-zag method. The results of this study indicate that the microclimate is the light intensity in the agroforestry system ranging from 2,672 lux - 10,928 lux and in the monoculture system 3,023 lux - 12,065 lux, the air temperature in the agroforestry system is 27.1oC - 29.8oC and in the monoculture system it ranges from 27, 0oC – 31.8oC and air humidity in agroforestry have a value of 73% - 88% and in monoculture systems, the value ranges from 70% - 80%. The total weight of oil palm plant biomass in the oil palm and gaharu agroforestry system was 4,502.49 kg with an average total biomass of 52.11 tonnes/ha. In the monoculture system, the total weight of biomass in the monoculture system is 4,402.01 kg with an average total biomass of 50.95 tonnes/ha. The results of the 5% level t-test showed that the total weight of oil palm plant biomass in the agroforestry system of oil palm and agarwood plants was not significantly different compared to the total biomass of oil palm plants in the monoculture system. The presence of gaharu plants in the oil palm agroforestry system does not affect the total oil palm biomass on the land.

Pengaruh Latihan Shooting dengan Metode Zig-zag dan Bola Diam Terhadap Akurasi Shooting

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of shooting practice using the zig-zag method and the fixed ball method on shooting accuracy. The method used is experimental research using a randomized control group pretest posttest design. The sample of this research was 33 club players at SMP Negeri 1 Moutong. 11 people practiced the zig-zag method and 11 people practiced the still ball method and 11 people in the control group with conventional training. The analysis technique used the dependent paired t-test. From the results of the different test, it can be seen that the tcount in the zig-zag method group is 3,490, the silent ball method group is 6,171, the control group is 1,936. The effect obtained from the value of p = 0.006 <0.05 in the zig-zag method group and p = 0.000 <0.05 in the stationary ball method group, which means that both training methods can improve shooting accuracy in soccer games. The conclusion of this study: there is a significant effect of shooting practice using the zig-zag and stationary ball methods on shooting accuracy. The fixed ball method group was better than the zig-zag method group and the conventional group in increasing shooting accuracy.

English

The impacts of post-plantation management practices (urea, farm yard manure, and combinations of urea and farmyard manure) on the growth and survival rates of selected indigenous and exotic tree species Cordia africana, Olea europaea, Grevillea robusta, and Cupressus lusitanica at Sutte micro-watershed, Morode kebele in Mirab Abaya district, South Ethiopia were investigated. Soil samples were collected from the experimental site by the zigzag method at 10 m intervals from a 40 m by 80 m plot of land and analysed in Arba Minch University for their physical and chemical properties. Results showed that the mean soil texture was 94.12% sand, 4.66% silt and 1.19% clay, pH (6.95), and total nitrogen and available phosphorous were low, with corresponding results of 0.04% and 2.1 mg/L, respectively. Similarly, soil organic matter, available potassium and cation exchange capacity (CEC) were 2.8%, 1.33 mg/L and 13.2 mg/L, respectively. On the other hand, micronutrients like copper and zinc were 1.18 and 3.2 mg/L, respectively. The concentration of iron was 1.95 mg/L which no longer hampered the growth of planted tree seedlings. The growth of height and root collar diameter (RCD) of planted tree seedlings was measured, and the survival rate was calculated for each tree species for twelve months. Tree seedlings that received the combination of urea and farmyard manure (FYM) showed the longest height, RCD and the highest survival rate in C. lusitanica compared to other three planted seedlings species. The lowest growth in height and survival rate was recorded in O. europaea. The major limiting factors of the study included experimental site due to the presence of sandy soil and the toxicity of copper and zinc. However, these limitations were avoided by testing the soil before planting tree seedlings on selected sites and preparing plantation pits during dry seasons 2 to 3 months before the plantation period. Key words: Farmyard manure, growth, Mirab Abaya, post plantation management, survival rate, tree species, urea.

Floristic divergence of weeds in rice fields under subtropical condition

Weed infestation pattern changes over time for continuous adaptation of similar weed control methods. So, a survey was conducted at Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University from July 2019 to June 2020 to identify the most dominant and abundant weed species as well as to indicate the probable problematic weed in boro and T. aman rice. Seven fields were randomly selected for each of the boro and T. aman rice. The surveys were performed according to quantitative survey technique by using 0.25m2 quadrate with 16 samples from each of the field following the zig-zag method. Sampling was done twice, while the rice plants were at the vegetative stage and at reproductive stage. Fifty one weed species under 23 families were recorded at experimental area of which 42 species (under 18 families) and 38 species (under 20 families) were observed in boro and T. aman, respectively. Poaceae topped the list with 10 species, while Cyperaceae ranked second with six species. The highest number of weed species (no. 42) was observed in boro rice compared to T. aman rice (no. 38). Besides, divergence in the weed composition was also high between both rice fields. Among the 11 abundant weed species, Eleocharis atropurpurea, Echinochloa crusgalli and Monochoria vaginalis were the most frequent and abundant weed species found in both boro rice and T. aman rice. Broadleaves had higher abundance value (246.26% in boro and 332.39% in T. aman) than grasses (188.76% in boro and 146.68% in T. aman) and sedges (164.98% in boro and 120.93% in T. aman). Moreover, the annuals were dominant over the perennials. Therefore, the present results having diversified weed species with different ranks and orders indicated that the weed management strategies should be taken regarding the infestation of dominant weed species of the respective crop.

Abejas de las orquídeas como bioindicadores del estado de conservación de un bosque

Bioindicators are organisms that determine the environmental impact of an ecosystem and euglossine are used for responding to environmental changes, they are easy to observe, and their taxonomy is well known. The study's objective was to evaluate a forest's environmental quality through orchid bees as bioindicators. In this investigation, collections were made at the undergrowth level by means of "Bottle Traps" and manual pools by zigzag method, in which entomological networks were used; the bees will be attracted by chemical attractants such as eucalyptus oil, the essence of eugenol and vanilla essence. We obtained a relatively high abundance with capture of 1024 individuals, and a richness of 38 species, the genus that dominated the study was the genus Euglossa with 89.5%, followed by the genus Eulaema with 9.6% and the genus Eufriesea with just 0.8 %, for the genus Exaerete that it is not possible to capture individuals, The completeness curve for the general sampling carried out allows us to observe representativeness of 99%. In conclusion, despite anthropic actions, the environmental quality in Cerro Llorón is quite stable because we found a very high abundance and species richness.

Skeleton Curve-Guided Five-Axis Sweep Scanning for Surface With Multiple Holes

Although surface with multiple holes (SMHs) is widely used in industrial components, the precise inspection of SMH is a knotty task due to the inefficiency of traditional surface inspection technology. Recently, a five-axis surface sweep scanning approach is emerging and shows great potential to boost the surface inspection efficiency by sensing surface in a continuous sweep scanning way. However, an efficient sweep scanning path should cater to the unique kinematic characteristics of the five-axis inspection system. In this article, we present an approach to automatically generate efficient five-axis sweep scanning paths for inspecting SMH. First, the skeleton of SMH is extracted along with the surface partitioned into several patches, based on which a guiding curve-based sweep scanning path can be defined for each surface patch. By modeling the skeleton of SMH as a directed Euler graph and finding a proper sequence to traverse the graph, a continuous five-axis sweep scanning path is then generated to sweep all patches without any transition among them. The nonsweeping time could be eliminated so that the sweep scanning efficiency is drastically improved in this way. Simulation and physical inspection experiments are conducted on two SMHs, showing that our method significantly outperforms existing approaches, such as the popular zigzag method and the method from the leading commercial software of RENISHAW. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Note to Practitioners</i> —This article aims to generate an efficient sweep scanning path of a five-axis coordinate measuring machine (CMM) for inspecting the SMHs of a precision component, such as an engine block or a gearbox cover. Although traditional five-axis CMM path generation methods can be applied to SMH inspection, most of them are designed for the point-by-point inspection mode, which intrinsically suffers from extremely low efficiency. Recently, an emerging five-axis surface sweep scanning technology shows great potential for boosting the efficiency of surface inspection by using a continuous surface sensing stylus mounted on a rapid rotary probe head. The realization of high-speed five-axis surface scanning depends on a proper sweep scanning path which takes advantage of the superior kinematic performance of the rotary probe head as much as possible and accordingly avoids assigning heavy workload to the three linear axes with weaker kinematic performance. However, up to date, only a handful of five-axis sweep scanning path planning methods are reported and mainly focus on the simple and compact surface. Therefore, existing methods are incompetent to generate a suitable sweep scanning path for high-speed inspection of SMH. For these reasons, we present a novel and practical approach to automatically generate a continuous five-axis sweep scanning path for complex SMH. The generated path exactly meets the unique kinematic requirements of high-speed five-axis inspection and eliminates all noninspection operations. In this way, the SMH inspection can be accomplished with high efficiency.

ANALISIS SIFAT KIMIA TANAH PADA LAHAN HORTIKULTURA DI DESA LADOGAHAR KABUPATEN SIKKA

Soil is one of the main components that affect agricultural productivity. Soil quality certainly needs to be considered as an effort to increase plant growth and production. One of the most influential components of soil quality is the chemical nature of the soil. Research on Analysis of Soil Chemical Content in Horticultural Farmers' Land in Ladogahar Village, Nita District, Sikka Regency has been carried out from October to December 2021. The purpose of this study was to determine the chemical content of the soil in Horticultural Farmers' Land in Ladogahar Village, Nita District, Sikka Regency. This research uses observation methods, literature studies, and laboratory tests. Composite soil sampling using the zigzag method. The results showed that the land had a low C-organic content (1.00-2.00%), a slightly acidic pH (5.6-65), a low phosphorus content (21-40), and a Potassium content in the soil. moderate range (21-40).

A Block Cipher Algorithm Based on Magic Square for Secure E-bank Systems

Nowadays the E-bank systems witnessed huge growth due to the huge developments in the internet and technologies. The transmitted information represents crucial information that is exposed to various kinds of attacks. This paper presents a new block cipher technique to provide security to the transmitted information between the customers and the e-bank systems. The proposed algorithm consists of 10 rounds, each round involves 5 operations. The operations involve Add round key, Sub bytes, Zigzag method, convert to vector, and Magic Square of order 11. The purpose of this algorithm is to make use of the complexity of the Magic Square algorithm, the speed of addition operation, the confusion provided by the zigzag, using these operations with Galois field 28 GF(28), and repeating these operations for several rounds to build fast high secure encryption algorithm. This algorithm is designed to provide fast with high complexity and security which is suitable to encrypt the data that is transmitted over the internet. Speed, complexity, and The National Institute of Standards and Technology Framework NIST suite tests were done. The complexity of the proposed algorithm is = ((256)32)r+1*((256)89)r+1 + (256)121. The proposed technique gives higher speed and security in the encryption and decryption phases, according to the results of the experiments. The degree of randomness has grown by 31.8 percent. Due to a decrease in the time of encrypting and decrypting, as well as the usage of the central processing unit (CPU), efficiency is improved. The encryption process throughput is enhanced by 13%, while the decryption process throughput is increased by 11.6 percent with the recommended approach.

Rate of Stripe Rust (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Puccinia striliformis&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;) at Ada’a, Lume and Gimbichu Districts of East Shewa Zone, Ethiopia

Stripe (Yellow) rust caused by<i> Puccinia striiformis </i>f.sp. <i>tritici (Pst) </i>is important wheat diseases causing serious damage on cultivated susceptible wheat variety. The wheat yellow rust assessment was conducted during main rainy season of 2018/19 at Ada’a, Lume and Gimbichu using zigzag method of diseases assessment. Disease data’s, agro-eological data and other important parameters were recorded. The disease was prevalent at all districts by diverse incidence and severity ranges. This implies that yellow rust is distributed wheat disease at all surveyed potential districts. The highest yellow rust prevalence 62.5% was recorded at Gimbichu district: conversely; the lowest prevalence percentage 31.25% was recorded at Ada’a district. The highest severity and incidence of yellow rust 60% and 100%, respectively was recorded at Ada’a district with susceptible reaction; while the lowest severity and incidence (30% and 5%) respectively was recorded at Lume districts with moderately susceptible reaction. Yellow rust is governed by many for the distributions and occurrence. Highest yellow rust incidence 100 S was recorded from field cultivated with bread wheat kakaba and Kubsa varieties at growth stage of Milk to matured stage. Local cultivar has shown lowest incidence and severity percentage with moderately susceptible responses than improved varieties.

Verification of phosphorus critical level for bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Kofole District of West Arsi Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

Verification of phosphorus critical level for bread wheat was conducted in Kofole District in 2019 cropping season with the objectives to verify phosphorus critical (Pc) level and determined during soil test crop response based phosphorus fertilizer calibration and to create awareness on soil test crop response based fertilizer recommendation. Composite soil samples at the depth of 0-20 cm in the zigzag method were collected from 10 farmers’ fields for Eutric Vertisols. Likewise, soil samples analyses were made to identify available P in the level of the required phosphorus in the select crop fields for the actual experiment. The treatments included (1) soil test based phosphorus calibration result; (2) farmers’ practice in the area which was assessed by the surrounding farmers’ and (3) no fertilizer application (control) and each treatment was planted on 10*10m experimental plot &amp; the design was randomized complete block design replicated over farmers. Bread wheat, Ogolcho variety, was used with seed rate of 150 kg ha-1and other cultural practices such as weed and rust management were used from which had been recommended for the area. The partial budget analysis showed that the highest net income (71630.48 ETB) was from the soil test based recommended and the lowest net benefit (44378.55 Birr ha-1) was obtained from control treatment with a marginal rate of return (653.38%) which is greater than the minimum rate of return (MRR) 100%. The result showed that the average grain yield of 4745 kg ha-1 was obtained from the application of soil test based phosphorus calibration (Pc and Pf) followed by blanket recommendation (3853 kg ha-1) and 2778 kg ha-1 for the control treatment. The recommended N rate, 69 kg N ha-1 with soil test based phosphorus critical level gave a 58.54% grain yield advantage over the control. In general, soil test and crop response based fertilizer recommendation for crops increases crop yields through the application of adequate nutrient rates for the identified soil nutrient deficiencies in specific locations.

Nontouch Infrared Skin Thermometry: An Underutilized Tool.

Wound care clinicians and patients can identify surface skin temperature differences with noncontact infrared skin thermometers.1 These inflammatory changes can be important for the early identification of neuropathic complications (eg, repetitive trauma and Charcot foot) and deep/surrounding wound infection. This technology can replace the subjective and often inaccurate assessment of skin temperature differences using the back of the clinician’s hand.2 Role in Preventing Foot Ulcers Persons with diabetes and a high-risk neuropathic foot can use infrared thermometry at six sites on the foot to monitor plantar temperature changes: the first, third, and fifth metatarsal head, as well as the two midsides of the foot and the heel. If a temperature differential of 4 °F or higher is detected at any site, patients should restrict ambulation to reduce repetitive trauma and in turn reduce the likelihood of new foot ulcers.3 Three randomized controlled studies4–6 demonstrated that infrared thermometry prevented most new neuropathic ulcers in this patient population compared with both standard care and an education session for daily foot examinations, rendering this technology one of the few with strong clinical evidence.1,4–6 Charcot Joint A Charcot joint occurs from neuropathy and trauma, leading to microfractures of the bone (Charcot neuroarthropathy). It can occur in any joint, but this discussion is limited to the foot as the most common site. Acute swelling, often with deformity of a neuropathic foot, may be a sign of Charcot neuroarthropathy. The patient usually does not have a foot ulcer or loss of skin integrity, and there may be acute pain in an otherwise painless foot (Figure 1).Figure 1: BILATERAL CHARCOT FEET© WoundPediaClinicians and patients can use the infrared thermometer to assess the aforementioned six sites on each foot. The increased temperature is often 8 °F to 15 °F warmer than the mirror image on the opposite foot.7 With an acute Charcot joint, patients should not apply any direct weight on the foot and use a wheelchair, contact cast, or removable cast walker. Given a loss of proprioception, crutches may be associated with falls. With patient self-monitoring, and as the temperature normalizes, weight bearing can gradually be increased with custom orthopedic shoes, including the introduction of a CROW (Charcot Restraint Orthotic Walker). Infection Infrared thermometry was introduced into the Toronto Regional Dermatology and Wound Clinic in 1996 to detect early infection signs to prevent destruction of cellular and/or tissue-based products. This use of infrared thermometry contributed to the creation of the NERDS and STONEES mnemonics,8–10 which use clinical signs to differentiate superficial (NERDS) from deep and surrounding infection (STONEES; Figure 2). In reviewing the individual factor analysis of each of the STONEES criteria, an increase in skin temperature of 3 °F or higher versus a mirror-image measurement of noninfected comparator skin is more than 8 times more likely to be associated with deep and surrounding infection9 (although two or more other STONEES criteria are also required for definitive diagnosis).Figure 2: CLINICAL CRITERIA FOR INFECTION© WoundPediaPOINTS TO CONSIDER Inexpensive, commercially available noncontact infrared thermometers are useful instruments for wound care practitioners.1 The Fahrenheit scale is preferable to the Celsius scale because it allows detection of smaller intervals of temperature differences making it easier to interpret at the bedside. These thermometers (cost $25–100) are just as effective as scientific grade thermometers (eg, Exergen, at a cost of $615.07).11,12 Smart et al13 have similarly validated mini-infrared thermometers that can be carried in a nurse’s pocket to be equivalent to the scientific standard. Infrared thermometers should have a continuous mode with a maximum temperature reading and convert to Fahrenheit from Centigrade.14 Using the validated whole-wound zigzag method (Figure 3)14 when the thermometer is in activated continuous mode, practitioners can determine a maximum temperature more quickly than measuring four distinct areas to obtain the highest reading around the margin of an ulcer. Maliyar et al15 validated nontouch infrared thermometry had a 3 °F increased or higher temperature compared to the mirror image on the opposite leg but cautioned that temperatures on the front and back of the same extremity may be misleading because of transfer of heat from an active infection. The industrial nontouch infrared thermometers can be held 8 to 12 inches from the skin/wound and give an accurate measurement compared with the scientific standard thermometer (eg, Exergen) that must be held within 1 to 2 cm of the skin surface.2,12 The closer distance is more likely to result in accidental bacterial contamination from the wound surface or exudate. Interrater reliability has been validated with similar infrared thermometer results between two independent observers.11 Although arterial disease with ischemic changes can lower skin temperature, there are no validated studies on the use of nontouch surface infrared thermometry for this indication. Figure 3: ZIGZAG TECHNIQUE© WoundPedia