Nonlinear PCA with Local Approach for Diesel Engine Fault Detection and Diagnosis

This brief examines the application of nonlinear statistical process control to the detection and diagnosis of faults in automotive engines. In this statistical framework, the computed score variables may have a complicated nonparametric distri- bution function, which hampers statistical inference, notably for fault detection and diagnosis. This brief shows that introducing the statistical local approach into nonlinear statistical process control produces statistics that follow a normal distribution, thereby enabling a simple statistical inference for fault detection. Further, for fault diagnosis, this brief introduces a compensation scheme that approximates the fault condition signature. Experimental results from a Volkswagen 1.9-L turbo-charged diesel engine are included.

Proposed wavelet-neurofuzzy combined system for power qualityviolations detection and diagnosis

A system for the identification of power quality violations is proposed. It is a two-stage system that employs the potentials of the wavelet transform and the adaptive neurofuzzy networks. For the first stage, the wavelet multiresolution signal analysis is exploited to denoise and then decompose the monitored signals of the power quality events to extract its detailed information. A new optimal feature-vector is suggested and adopted in learning the neurofuzzy classifier. Thus, the amount of needed training data is extensively reduced. A modified organisation map of the neurofuzzy classifier has significantly improved the diagnosis efficiency. Simulation results confirm the aptness and the capability of the proposed system in power quality violations detection and automatic diagnosis

The classification and diagnosis of erythrocytosis

An absolute erythrocytosis is present when the red cell mass is raised and the haematocrit is elevated above prescribed limits. Causes of an absolute erythrocytosis can be primary where there is an intrinsic problem in the bone marrow and secondary where there an event outside the bone marrow driving erythropoiesis. This can further be divided into congenital and acquired causes. There remain an unexplained group idiopathic erythrocytosis. Investigation commencing with thorough history taking and examination and then investigation depending on initial features is required. Clear simple criteria for polycythaemia vera are now defined. Those who do not fulfil these criteria require further investigation depending on the clinical scenario and initial results. The erythropoietin level provides some guidance as to the direction in which to proceed and the order and extent of investigation necessary in an individual patient. It should thus be possible to make an accurate diagnosis in the majority of patients.

Management and diagnosis of psychogenic cough, habit cough, and tic cough: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: Several pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic therapeutic options have been used to treat cough that is not associated with a pulmonary or extrapulmonary etiology.

METHODS: We conducted a systematic review to summarize the evidence supporting different cough management options in adults and children with psychogenic, tic, and habit cough. Medline, EMBASE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Scopus were searched from the earliest inception of each database to September 2013. Content experts were contacted, and we searched bibliographies of included studies to identify additional references.

RESULTS: A total of 18 uncontrolled studies were identified, enrolling 223 patients (46% male subjects, 96% children and adolescents). Psychogenic cough was the most common descriptive term used (90% of the studies). Most of the patients (95%) had no cough during sleep; barking or honking quality of cough was described in only eight studies. Hypnosis (three studies), suggestion therapy (four studies), and counseling and reassurance (seven studies) were the most commonly used interventions. Hypnosis was effective in resolving cough in 78% of the patients and improving it in another 5%. Suggestion therapy resolved cough successfully in 96% of the patients. The greatest majority of improvements noted with these forms of therapy occurred in the pediatric age group. The quality of evidence is low due to the lack of control groups, the retrospective nature of all the studies, heterogeneity of definitions and diagnostic criteria, and the high likelihood of reporting bias.

CONCLUSIONS: Only low-quality evidence exists to support a particular strategy to define and treat psychogenic, habit, and tic cough. Patient values, preferences, and availability of potential therapies should guide treatment choice.

Time misalignments in fault detection and diagnosis

El desalineamiento temporal es la incorrespondencia de dos señales debido a una distorsión en el eje temporal. La Detección y Diagnóstico de Fallas (Fault Detection and Diagnosis-FDD) permite la detección, el diagnóstico y la corrección de fallos en un proceso. La metodología usada en FDD está dividida en dos categorías: técnicas basadas en modelos y no basadas en modelos. Esta tesis doctoral trata sobre el estudio del efecto del desalineamiento temporal en FDD. Nuestra atención se enfoca en el análisis y el diseño de sistemas FDD en caso de problemas de comunicación de datos, como retardos y pérdidas. Se proponen dos técnicas para reducir estos problemas: una basada en programación dinámica y la otra en optimización. Los métodos propuestos han sido validados sobre diferentes sistemas dinámicos: control de posición de un motor de corriente continua, una planta de laboratorio y un problema de sistemas eléctricos conocido como hueco de tensión.

Establishing Standards for the Integrated Recommendation and Diagnosis System (DRIS) for Irrigated Bean Crops

This article addresses the establishment of integrated diagnostics and recommendation system (DRIS) standards for irrigated bean crops (Phaseolus vulgaris) and compares leaf concentrations and productivity in low- and high-productivity populations. The work was carried out in Santa Fe de Goias, Goias State, Brazil, in the agricultural years 1999/2000 and 2000/2001. For the nutritional diagnosis, leaf samples were collected, and leaf concentrations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), boron (B), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) were established in 100 commercial bean crops. A database was set up listing the leaf nutrient content and the respective productivities, subdivided into two subpopulations, high and low productivity, using a bean yield value of 3000 kg ha-1 to separate these subpopulations. Sufficiency values found in the high-productivity population matched only for the micronutrients B and Zn. The nutritional balance among the populations studied was coherent and was lower in the high-productivity population. The DRIS standards proposed for irrigated bean farming were efficient in evaluating the nutritional status of the crop areas studied. Calcium, Cu, and S were found to be the least available nutrients, indicating high response potential for the fertilizing using these nutrients.

Correlação entre parâmetros estimados pelos testes Colour Assessment and Diagnosis e Cambridge Colour Test na avaliação da discriminação de cores

Os testes Colour Assessment and Diagnosis (CAD) e Cambridge Colour Test (CCT) têm sido amplamente utilizados em pesquisas básicas e clínicas, devido à alta sensibilidade e especificidade de seus resultados. Estes testes utilizam diferentes paradigmas de estimulação para estimar os limiares de discriminação de cor. Pouco se sabe sobre a relação de cada paradigma na avaliação da discriminação de cor nesses testes. Sendo assim, este trabalho objetiva comparar os parâmetros de avaliação da discriminação de cor estimados pelos testes CAD e CCT em sujeitos tricromatas e com discromatopsia congênita. Foram avaliados 59 sujeitos tricromatas e 38 sujeitos discromatópsicos (16 protans, 22 deutans) com idade média de 26,32 ± 8,9 anos. Foram testados 66 sujeitos nos testes CAD e CCT, 29 sujeitos no teste CAD e 2 sujeitos no teste CCT. O fenótipo da visão de cores de todos os sujeitos foi determinado através de uma bateria de testes psicofísicos e a estimativa dos limiares de discriminação de cor foi avaliada pelos testes CAD e CCT. Os dados de limiares de discriminação de cor foram ajustados a funções de elipse. Os critérios analisados para cada sujeito foram: a área da elipse, o ângulo de rotação e tamanho dos vetores protan, deutan e tritan. Para cada um dos parâmetros foi realizada: estatística descritiva, análise da dispersão dos parâmetros entre os testes CAD e CCT e dos parâmetros em conjunto, razão entre os parâmetros, correlação dos parâmetros a três modelos matemáticos e análise de concordância. Os parâmetros de área e tamanho dos vetores deutan e tritan do subgrupo tricromata; área e tamanho do vetor tritan do subgrupo protan; e tamanho dos vetores protan e tritan do subgrupo deutan apresentaram equivalência entre os resultados de ambos os testes. Os parâmetros de área, ângulo de rotação e tamanho dos vetores protan e tritan apresentaram concordância de medidas entre os testes CAD e CCT. Fatores como as localizações distintas das coordenadas centrais dos testes CAD e CCT e a disposição espacial dos vetores no espaço de cor da CIE 1976 no teste CCT podem ter influenciado na determinação de limiares de discriminação cromática de ambos os testes. Apesar de utilizarem paradigmas distintos na configuração da estimulação, os testes CAD e CCT são equiparáveis.