Field evaluation of a novel colorimetric method - Double-site enzyme-linked lactate dehydrogenase immunodetection assay - To determine drug susceptibilities of Plasmodium falciparum clinical isolates from northwestern Thailand

A double-site enzyme-linked lactate dehydrogenase enzyme inummodetection assay was tested against field isolates of Plasmodium falciparum for assessing in vitro drug susceptibilities to a wide range of antimalarial drugs. Its sensitivity allowed the use of parasite densities as low as 200 parasites/mul of blood. Being a nonisotopic, colorimetric assay, it lies within the capabilities of a modest laboratory at the district level.

Evaluation of isopathic treatment of Salmonella enteritidis in poultry

Background. Salmonellosis is a common problem worldwide in commercially reared poultry. It is associated with human Salmonellosis. No fully satisfactory method of control is available.Method: Nosodes to an antibiotic-resistant strain of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis in D30 (30X) potency were prepared. One day old chicks (N = 180) were divided into four groups: two control and two different preparations of the nosode. Treatments were administered in drinking water for 10 days. The birds were challenged by a broth culture of the same Salmonella, by mouth, on day 17. Cloacal swabs were taken twice weekly for Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis.Results: Birds receiving active treatment were less likely to grow the strain of Salmonella from cloacal swabs compared to control.Conclusion: Isopathy is low cost and non-toxic. It may have a role to play in the widespread problem of Salmonella in poultry. Further research should be conducted.

Sampling Period Selection of Control Application Connected to FlexRay Bus

Flexray is a high speed communication protocol designed for distributive control in automotive control applications. Control performance not only depends on the control algorithm but also on the scheduling constraints in communication. A balance between the control performance and communication constraints must required for the choice of the sampling rates of the control loops in a node. In this paper, an optimum sampling period of control loops to minimize the cost function, satisfying the scheduling constraints is obtained. An algorithm to obtain the delay in service of each task in a node of the control loop in the hyper period has been also developed. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Critical evaluation of pulse-echo ultrasonic test method for the determination of setting and mechanical properties of acrylic bone cement: Influence of mixing technique

Currently there is no reliable objective method to quantify the setting properties of acrylic bone cements within an operating theatre environment. Ultrasonic technology can be used to determine the acoustic properties of the polymerising bone cement, which are linked to material properties and provide indications of the physical and chemical changes occurring within the cement. The focus of this study was the critical evaluation of pulse-echo ultrasonic test method in determining the setting and mechanical properties of three different acrylic bone cement when prepared under atmospheric and vacuum mixing conditions. Results indicated that the ultrasonic pulse-echo technique provided a highly reproducible and accurate method of monitoring the polymerisation reaction and indicating the principal setting parameters when compared to ISO 5833 standard, irrespective of the acrylic bone cement or mixing method used. However, applying the same test method to predict the final mechanical properties of acrylic bone cement did not prove a wholly accurate approach. Inhomogeneities within the cement microstructure and specimen geometry were found to have a significant influence on mechanical property predictions. Consideration of all the results suggests that the non-invasive and non-destructive pulse-echo ultrasonic test method is an effective and reliable method for following the full polymerisation reaction of acrylic bone cement in real-time and then determining the setting properties within a surgical theatre environment. However the application of similar technology for predicting the final mechanical properties of acrylic bone cement on a consistent basis may prove difficult.

Evaluation of Pain and Accuracy Diagnostic in Hospitalized Children

PURPOSE: Acute pain occurs in over 50% of hospitalized children. The accuracy of this diagnosis has been underexplored in the literature, as has the role of training to implement pain assessment. This study analyzed the accuracy of acute pain diagnoses after the implementation of a systematic evaluation of pain (study intervention). METHOD: The sample was divided into: pre- and postintervention. The Nursing Diagnosis Accuracy Scale, which scores accuracy as null, low, moderate, or high, was used. RESULTS: In the postimplementation, acute pain was diagnosed more often. However, accuracy only improved in the moderate category. CONCLUSION: Diagnosis of acute pain increased in the postimplementation period, but accuracy did not. IMPLICATIONS: The development of strategies for improvement of diagnostic accuracy is warranted.

Automatic tuning of PID controllers using model reference adaptive control techniques

This paper discusses the application of model reference adaptive control concepts to the automatic tuning of PID controllers. The effectiveness of the proposed method is shown through simulated applications. The gradient approach and simulated examples are provided.

Tuning of PID controllers for water networks—different approaches

Better operational control of water networks can help reduce leakage, maintain pressure, and control flow. Proportional integral derivative (PID) controllers, with proper fine-tuning, can help water utility operators achieve targets faster without creating undue transients. The authors compared three tuning methods, in different test situations, involving flow and level control to different reservoirs. Although target values were reached with all three tuning methods, the methods’ performances varied significantly. The lowest performer among the three was the method most widely used in the industry—standard tuning by the Ziegler-Nichols method. Achieving better results was offline tuning by genetic algorithms. Achieving the best control, though, was a fuzzy logic–based online tuning approach—the FZPID controller. The FZPID controller had fewer overshoots and took significantly less time to tune the gains for each problem. This new tuning approach for PID controllers can be applied to a variety of problems and can increase the performance of water networks of any size and structure

Automatic tuning of PID controllers using a neuro-genetic system

Neural networks and genetic algorithms have been in the past successfully applied, separately, to controller turning problems. In this paper we propose to combine its joint use, by exploiting the nonlinear mapping capabilites of neural networks to model objective functions, and to use them to supply their values to a genetic algorithm which performs on-line minimization.

Neural network assisted autotuning of industrial PID controllers

A recent servey (1) has reported that the majority of industrial loops are controlled by PID-type controllers and many of the PID controllers in operation are poorly tuned. poor PID tuning is due to the lack of a simple and practical tuning method for avarage users, and due to the tedious procedurs involved in the tuning and retuning of PID controllers.

Self-tuning minimum-variance control of nonlinear systems of the Hammerstein model

Self-tuning is applied to the control of nonlinear systems represented by the Hammerstein model wherein the nonlinearity is any odd-order polynomial. But control costing is not feasible in general. Initial relay control is employed to contain the deviations.

Algorithm-based continuous pulse duration tuning and performance control of a mode-locked laser diode.

A control algorithm is presented that addresses the stability issues inherent to the operation of monolithic mode-locked laser diodes. It enables a continuous pulse duration tuning without any onset of Q-switching instabilities. A demonstration of the algorithm performance is presented for two radically different laser diode geometries and continuous pulse duration tuning between 0.5 ps to 2.2 ps and 1.2 ps to 10.2 ps is achieved. With practical applications in mind, this algorithm also facilitates control over performance parameters such as output power and wavelength during pulse duration tuning. The developed algorithm enables the user to harness the operational flexibility from such a laser with 'push-button' simplicity.