Introdução: As infecções relacionadas à assistência à saúde (IRAS) estão entre as principais causas de morte e aumento de estados de morbidez em doentes hospitalizados. Os recém-nascidos são suscetíveis a infecção, pois seus mecanismos de defesa ainda não estão maduros e ocupam um ambiente em que antibióticos e procedimentos invasivos são freqüentes. As mãos são consideradas as principais vias de disseminação de IRAS e a eficaz higienização é a medida importante para evitar as infecções. A capacitação e educação permanente dos profissionais de saúde são ferramentas essenciais para a construção de resultados positivos e o ambiente simulada desponta como estratégia pedagógica. Objetivo: Avaliar a efetividade de uma intervenção educativa em cenário simulado no aumento da adesão à higiene das mãos pela equipe de enfermagem e na redução das IRAS em uma Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal (UTIN). Método: Estudo quase-experimental, com abordagem quantitativa, que incluiu todos os profissionais de enfermagem da UTIN de um hospital universitário terciário no interior paulista. A pesquisa foi aprovada por Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa e desenvolvida em três etapas, incluindo a avaliação da adesão à higienização das mãos conforme os cinco momentos recomendados pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), antes e após intervenção educativa em cenário simulado com casos clínicos contextualizados com a realidade do serviço. As taxas de IRAS foram computadas em uma série histórica de 35 meses, sendo apenas o último mês no pós intervenção. Os dados foram analisados pelo programa STATA, com uso de estatística descritiva. Resultados: Na etapa pré intervenção, os profissionais realizaram a higiene das mãos em 41,2% das vezes, valor que aumentou após a simulação para 59,7% de ações realizadas conforme indicação. A técnica executada para higiene das mãos aumentou de 76,6% para 85,2% de conformidade após intervenção. A higiene das unhas e extremidades ainda é a maior fragilidade dos participantes na execução da técnica. Todas as categorias profissionais tiveram aumento entre 17 a 19% na adesão à higienização das mãos, com significância estatística na comparação pré e pós intervenção: p<0,001 para enfermeiros e técnicos de enfermagem; p=0,005 para auxiliares de enfermagem. Na análise da higiene das mãos, em três dentre os cinco momentos recomendados pela OMS as médias de adesão aumentaram significativamente, sendo antes (p<0,001) e após (p=0,008) o contato com o RN e após o contato com superfícies (p<0,001). As médias de adesão antes do procedimento asséptico (de 57,6% para 72,7%) e após exposição a fluídos (de 77,3% para 95,5%) aumentaram, apesar de não haver significância estatística. A taxa de IRAS no mês subsequente a intervenção (8,5%) não decresceu em comparação ao mês anterior a intervenção (7,8%), sendo que tais taxas foram relativamente inferiores em 19 dos 35 meses de coleta. Conclusão: Confirma-se a hipótese primária que a taxa de adesão à higiene das mãos pela equipe de enfermagem aumentou após a intervenção educativa em cenário simulado, em comparação com a taxa antes da intervenção, todavia, rejeitase a hipótese secundária, pois a taxa de IRAS não reduziu no mês subseqüente a intervenção educativa, em comparação com a taxa no mês pré intervenção / Background:The infections acquired in healthcare environments not only increase morbidity in hospitalized patientsbut also causea great number of deaths. Newborns (NBs) are susceptible to infection due to their immature defense mechanisms allied to the high frequency of antibiotics prescription and invasive procedures. As hands are considered the key dissemination pathway of healthcare-associated infections (HAI), the effective hand hygiene compliance is the most important measure to prevent infections. Healthcare professionals training and permanent education, mainly those based on simulation strategies, are essential tools to achieveour main goal, that is healthcare associated infections control.Objective:To evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention, in a simulated scenario, in the increase of hand hygiene adherence by the nursing team and in the reduction of HAI in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).Method:Quasi-experimental study with a quantitative approach including all nursing professionals at the NICU of a tertiary university hospital in the countryside of the São PauloState. After the approval by the Ethics Research Committee, the study was developed in three phases, including the evaluation of hand hygiene adherence in a simulation setting according to the five moments recommended by WHO, before and after the educational intervention, based on local clinical cases. HAI rates have been computed in a historical series of the 35 months, being only last month in post-intervention. Data were analyzed using the software STATA, using descriptivestatistics.Results: In the pre-intervention phase, the professionalsperformedhand hygiene in 41,2% of times,which increased after simulation, with 59.7% of actions performed as indicated.In relation to the technique employed for hand hygiene, it moved from 76.6% to 85.2% of conformance after intervention. Thehygiene of nails and extremitiesis still the greatest fragility of the participants performing the technique. All professionals categories had between 17 to 19% of increasing the hand hygiene compliance, with statistical significance in the pre and post intervention comparison: p<0,001 for nurses and nursing technicians; p=0,005 for nursing assistant. The analysis of the hand hygiene in three out of the five moments recommended by WHO,showed that the average of adherence significantly increased, being before (p<0,001) and after (p=0,008) the contact with NBs and after the contact with surfaces (p<0,001). The averages of adherence before aseptic procedure (57,6% to 72,7%) and after exposure to fluids (77,3% to 95,5%) increased, however without statistical significance.The HAI rates in the following month of intervention (8,5%) did not drop compared to the month before the intervention (7,8%), and these rates were relatively lower in 19 out of the 35 months of data collect. Conclusion: The primary hypothesis was confirmed, as the adherence hand hygiene through the nursing team increased post educational intervention in simulated scenario, in comparison with the rates before the intervention. However, the secondary hypothesis was rejected, because the HAI rates did not reduced in the following month of educational intervention, in comparison with the rates in the pre-intervention month

Quad-rotor helicopters are agile aircraft which are lifted and propelled by four rotors. Unlike traditional helicopters, they do not require a tail-rotor to control yaw, but can use four smaller fixed-pitch rotors. However, without an intelligent control system it is very difficult for a human to successfully fly and manoeuvre such a vehicle. Thus, most of recent research has focused on small unmanned aerial vehicles, such that advanced embedded control systems could be developed to control these aircrafts. Vehicles of this nature are very useful when it comes to situations that require unmanned operations, for instance performing tasks in dangerous and/or inaccessible environments that could put human lives at risk. This research demonstrates a consistent way of developing a robust adaptive controller for quad-rotor helicopters, using fuzzy-neural networks; creating an intelligent system that is able to monitor and control the non-linear multi-variable flying states of the quad-rotor, enabling it to adapt to the changing environmental situations and learn from past missions. Firstly, an analytical dynamic model of the quad-rotor helicopter was developed and simulated using Matlab/Simulink software, where the behaviour of the quad-rotor helicopter was assessed due to voltage excitation. Secondly, a 3-D model with the same parameter values as that of the analytical dynamic model was developed using Solidworks software. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was then used to simulate and analyse the effects of the external disturbance on the control and performance of the quad-rotor helicopter. Verification and validation of the two models were carried out by comparing the simulation results with real flight experiment results. The need for more reliable and accurate simulation data led to the development of a neural network error compensation system, which was embedded in the simulation system to correct the minor discrepancies found between the simulation and experiment results. Data obtained from the simulations were then used to train a fuzzy-neural system, made up of a hierarchy of controllers to control the attitude and position of the quad-rotor helicopter. The success of the project was measured against the quad-rotor’s ability to adapt to wind speeds of different magnitudes and directions by re-arranging the speeds of the rotors to compensate for any disturbance. From the simulation results, the fuzzy-neural controller is sufficient to achieve attitude and position control of the quad-rotor helicopter in different weather conditions, paving way for future real time applications.

The South African economy, which is largely based on heavy industry such as minerals extraction and processing, is by nature very energy intensive. Based on the abundance of coal resources, electricity in South Africa remains amongst the cheapest in the world. Whilst the low electricity price has contributed towards a competitive position, it has also meant that our existing electricity supply is often taken for granted. The economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency have been well documented. Worldwide, nations are beginning to face up to the challenge of sustainable energy - in other words to alter the way that energy is utilised so that social, environmental and economic aims of sustainable development are supported. South Africa as a developing nation recognises the need for energy efficiency, as it is the most cost effective way of meeting the demands of sustainable development. South Africa, with its unique economic, environmental and social challenges, stands to benefit the most from implementing energy efficiency practices. The Energy Efficiency Strategy for South Africa takes its mandate from the South African White Paper on Energy Policy. It is the first consolidated governmental effort geared towards energy efficiency practices throughout South Africa. The strategy allows for the immediate implementation of low-cost and no-cost interventions, as well as those higher-cost measures with short payback periods. An initial target has been set for an across sector energy efficiency improvement of 12% by 2014. Thermal and energy system simulation is globally recognised as one of the most effective and powerful tools to improve overall energy efficiency. However, because of the usual extreme mathematical nature of most simulation algorithms, coupled with the historically academic environment in which most simulation software is developed, valid perceptions exist that system simulation is too time consuming and cumbersome. It is also commonly known that system simulation is only effective in the hands of highly skilled operators, which are specialists in their prospective fields. Through previous work done in the field, and the design of a dynamic thermal and energy system simulation scheme for cross industry applications, it was shown that system simulation has evolved to such an extent that these perceptions are not valid any more. The South African mining and commercial building industries are two of the major consumers of electricity within South Africa. By improving energy efficiency practices within the building and mining industry, large savings can be realised. An extensive investigation of the literature showed that no general suitable computer simulation software for cross industry mining and building thermal and energy system simulation could be found. Because the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) of buildings, closely relate to the ventilation and cooling systems of mines, valuable knowledge from this field was used to identify the requirements and specifications for the design of a new single cross industry dynamic integrated thermal and energy system simulation tool. VISUALQEC was designed and implemented to comply with the needs and requirements identified. A new explicit system component model and explicit system simulation engine, combined with a new improved simulation of mass flow through a system procedure, suggested a marked improvement on overall simulation stability, efficiency and speed. The commercial usability of the new simulation tool was verified for building applications by doing an extensive building energy savings audit. The new simulation tool was further verified by simulating the ventilation and cooling (VC) and underground pumping system of a typical South African gold mine. Initial results proved satisfactory but, more case studies to further verify the accuracy of the implemented cross industry thermal and energy system simulation tool are needed. Because of the stable nature of the new VISUALQEC simulation engine, the power of the simulation process can be further extended to the mathematical optimisation of various system variables. In conclusion, this study highlighted the need for new simulation procedures and system designs for the successful implementation and creation of a single dynamic thermal and energy system simulation tool for cross industry applications. South Africa should take full advantage of the power of thermal and energy system simulation towards creating a more energy efficient society. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The South African economy, which is largely based on heavy industry such as minerals extraction and processing, is by nature very energy intensive. Based on the abundance of coal resources, electricity in South Africa remains amongst the cheapest in the world. Whilst the low electricity price has contributed towards a competitive position, it has also meant that our existing electricity supply is often taken for granted. The economic and environmental benefits of energy efficiency have been well documented. Worldwide, nations are beginning to face up to the challenge of sustainable energy - in other words to alter the way that energy is utilised so that social, environmental and economic aims of sustainable development are supported. South Africa as a developing nation recognises the need for energy efficiency, as it is the most cost effective way of meeting the demands of sustainable development. South Africa, with its unique economic, environmental and social challenges, stands to benefit the most from implementing energy efficiency practices. The Energy Efficiency Strategy for South Africa takes its mandate from the South African White Paper on Energy Policy. It is the first consolidated governmental effort geared towards energy efficiency practices throughout South Africa. The strategy allows for the immediate implementation of low-cost and no-cost interventions, as well as those higher-cost measures with short payback periods. An initial target has been set for an across sector energy efficiency improvement of 12% by 2014. Thermal and energy system simulation is globally recognised as one of the most effective and powerful tools to improve overall energy efficiency. However, because of the usual extreme mathematical nature of most simulation algorithms, coupled with the historically academic environment in which most simulation software is developed, valid perceptions exist that system simulation is too time consuming and cumbersome. It is also commonly known that system simulation is only effective in the hands of highly skilled operators, which are specialists in their prospective fields. Through previous work done in the field, and the design of a dynamic thermal and energy system simulation scheme for cross industry applications, it was shown that system simulation has evolved to such an extent that these perceptions are not valid any more. The South African mining and commercial building industries are two of the major consumers of electricity within South Africa. By improving energy efficiency practices within the building and mining industry, large savings can be realised. An extensive investigation of the literature showed that no general suitable computer simulation software for cross industry mining and building thermal and energy system simulation could be found. Because the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) of buildings, closely relate to the ventilation and cooling systems of mines, valuable knowledge from this field was used to identify the requirements and specifications for the design of a new single cross industry dynamic integrated thermal and energy system simulation tool. VISUALQEC was designed and implemented to comply with the needs and requirements identified. A new explicit system component model and explicit system simulation engine, combined with a new improved simulation of mass flow through a system procedure, suggested a marked improvement on overall simulation stability, efficiency and speed. The commercial usability of the new simulation tool was verified for building applications by doing an extensive building energy savings audit. The new simulation tool was further verified by simulating the ventilation and cooling (VC) and underground pumping system of a typical South African gold mine. Initial results proved satisfactory but, more case studies to further verify the accuracy of the implemented cross industry thermal and energy system simulation tool are needed. Because of the stable nature of the new VISUALQEC simulation engine, the power of the simulation process can be further extended to the mathematical optimisation of various system variables. In conclusion, this study highlighted the need for new simulation procedures and system designs for the successful implementation and creation of a single dynamic thermal and energy system simulation tool for cross industry applications. South Africa should take full advantage of the power of thermal and energy system simulation towards creating a more energy efficient society. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

This thesis describes the process of rebuilding an experimental model of a single pendulum on a cart into the double pendulum on a cart. The control algorithm in MATLAB/Simulink environment for stabilization of the pendulum in the inverse position is designed. For this purpose, LQR state feedback control was implemented. Also method for swinging the pendulum into inverse position from stable state (swing-up) was designed. Feedforward method was utilised for swing-up control. In the thesis, functionality of these algorithms is shown.

Hlavným cieľom tejto práce je vytvorenie simulácií rôznych algoritmov riadenia asynchrónneho motora a vzájomné porovnanie ich vlastností. Zaoberá sa taktiež možnosťami konfigurácie náhradného zapojenia na T-článok, -článok a -článok. Obsahuje jednak teoretický rozbor, a taktiež aj simulácie jednotlivých spôsobov riadenia spolu s podrobným návodom na ich realizáciu. Celkovo budú vykonané 3 simulácie – simulácia vektorového riadenia s orientáciou na rotorový tok, vektorového riadenia s orientáciou na statorový tok a simulácia takzvaného prirodzeného riadenia. Ide o úplne nový typ riadenia, ktorého autorom je vedúci tejto diplomovej práce. Jeho simulácia bola vôbec prvým pokusom o funkčnú realizáciu tohto typu riadenia.

<p>The purpose of this research experiment was to explore and implement a cost-effective automation solution into a low volume production line for loading parts onto a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) for dimensional inspection. Quality control practices have historically been separated from production process by inspection routines being performed in a controlled lab. The system demonstrated the possibilities of an in-process automation of the quality control process that was feasible to be implemented for small and mid-sized manufacturing companies. The process involved an APSX horizontal injection mold machine dispensing parts onto the conveyor belt. The conveyor belt was controlled by a Phoenix Contact PLC and two line sensors that provided two stopping point for cooldown before inspection. A MyCobot 320-M5 robotic arm was used to select the part off the line and places it into a fixture on a Hexagon coordinate measuring machine (CMM).</p>