A fuzzy logic controller for intestinal levodopa infusion in Parkinson’s disease

The aim of this work is to evaluate the fuzzy system for different types of patients for levodopa infusion in Parkinson Disease based on simulation experiments using the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic model. Fuzzy system is to control patient’s condition by adjusting the value of flow rate, and it must be effective on three types of patients, there are three different types of patients, including sensitive, typical and tolerant patient; the sensitive patients are very sensitive to drug dosage, but the tolerant patients are resistant to drug dose, so it is important for controller to deal with dose increment and decrement to adapt different types of patients, such as sensitive and tolerant patients. Using the fuzzy system, three different types of patients can get useful control for simulating medication treatment, and controller will get good effect for patients, when the initial flow rate of infusion is in the small range of the approximate optimal value for the current patient’ type.

Enhancing the distribution of Swedish tourism services on international markets : Possible export-ready criteria requisitioned by European tour operators

This paper identifies subjects which are relevant for Swedish suppliers of tourism services beforeapproaching foreign markets. Most suppliers are micro, small or medium sized companies anduse intermediaries, such as tour operators, for internationalization. The research considers theopinion of British and German tour operators, which require some criteria beforehand in orderto simplify both the initialization and the development of cooperation. Destination marketingorganizations (DMOs) are hereby the go-betweens since they not only represent small-scalesuppliers on international markets, but also initiate first encounters between suppliers and touroperators. Suppliers need to provide DMOs with accurate information in order to ensure thebest possible representation. After initializing collaboration, business relationships are sought todevelop in order to facilitate long-term cooperation. Proper preparation forms therefore the basefor strengthening the competitiveness of Swedish tourism prior approaching internationalmarkets. The enhancement of distributing Swedish tourism services on foreign markets appearedto be a profitable way to enable further growth, which is strongly limited on the domestic market.Increasing the export share therefore secures and further facilitates tourism’s valuablecontributions to the Swedish economy.

DC Motor Speed Control via Fuzzy / Pole Placement / PI Controller

This report presents a new way of control engineering. Dc motor speed controlled by three controllers PID, pole placement and Fuzzy controller and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of each controller for different conditions under loaded and unloaded scenarios using software Matlab. The brushless series wound Dc motor is very popular in industrial application and control systems because of the high torque density, high efficiency and small size. First suitable equations are developed for DC motor. PID controller is developed and tuned in order to get faster step response. The simulation results of PID controller provide very good results and the controller is further tuned in order to decrease its overshoot error which is common in PID controllers. Further it is purposed that in industrial environment these controllers are better than others controllers as PID controllers are easy to tuned and cheap. Pole placement controller is the best example of control engineering. An addition of integrator reduced the noise disturbances in pole placement controller and this makes it a good choice for industrial applications. The fuzzy controller is introduce with a DC chopper to make the DC motor speed control smooth and almost no steady state error is observed. Another advantage is achieved in fuzzy controller that the simulations of three different controllers are compared and concluded from the results that Fuzzy controller outperforms to PID controller in terms of steady state error and smooth step response. While Pole placement controller have no comparison in terms of controls because designer can change the step response according to nature of control systems, so this controller provide wide range of control over a system. Poles location change the step response in a sense that if poles are near to origin then step response of motor is fast. Finally a GUI of these three controllers are developed which allow the user to select any controller and change its parameters according to the situation.

A fuzzy rule-based decision support system for Duodopa treatment in Parkinson

A decision support system (DSS) was implemented based on a fuzzy logic inference system (FIS) to provide assistance in dose alteration of Duodopa infusion in patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease, using data from motor state assessments and dosage. Three-tier architecture with an object oriented approach was used. The DSS has a web enabled graphical user interface that presents alerts indicating non optimal dosage and states, new recommendations, namely typical advice with typical dose and statistical measurements. One data set was used for design and tuning of the FIS and another data set was used for evaluating performance compared with actual given dose. Overall goodness-of-fit for the new patients (design data) was 0.65 and for the ongoing patients (evaluation data) 0.98. User evaluation is now ongoing. The system could work as an assistant to clinical staff for Duodopa treatment in advanced Parkinson’s disease.

A user guide to simple monitoring and sustainable operation of PV-diesel hybrid systems : Handbook for system users and operators

This report contains a suggestion for a simple monitoring and evaluation guideline for PV-diesel hybrid systems. It offers system users a way to better understand if their system is operated in a way that will make it last for a long time. It also gives suggestions on how to act if there are signs of unfavourable use or failure. The application of the guide requires little technical equipment, but daily manual measurements. For the most part, it can be managed by pen and paper, by people with no earlier experience of power systems.The guide is structured and expressed in a way that targets PV-diesel hybrid system users with no, or limited, earlier experience of power engineering. It is less detailed in terms of motivations for certain choices and limitations, but rich in details concerning calculations, evaluation procedures and maintenance routines. A more scientific description of the guide can be found in a related journal article.

To achieve safe and respectful maternity care in tertiary level hospitals in Nepal, relatives are a valued addition to the provision of maternity care

Introduction: The White Ribbon Alliance for safe motherhood believes respectful maternity care is the universal right of every childbearing woman. Methods: NHRC in 2012 approved an inquiry of respectful care at facility-based childbirth. Individual-, focus group interviews and content analysis was used for gathering and analysis of data. Findings: The participating women and the SBAs shared similar views, and this was that together the SBAs and relatives ensured the women remained within the comfort and safety zone when giving birth in a tertiary level maternity unit. Conclusion: The SBAs strategy of having relatives provides basic care alongside the provision of medical care by the SBAs is a strategy that Nepal could use to improve the quality of its maternity care without any additional costs. Clinical implication: Prenatal classes might contribute to preparing relatives. Further Research: Further research could evaluate such a strategy in order to determine its effectiveness in reduction of morbidity and mortality.