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Recently ABB AB/Metallurgy has developed a novel temperature measuring system in the mold copper plate for continuous casting, named OptiMold Monitor, with the purpose of dynamically monitoring mold conditions and to control the FC Mold.The OptiMold Monitor temperature signals can be further analyzed for the information of the shape of the meniscus of the molten steel together with fluid flow symmetry and speed. Also, it can be analyzed for extracting information about how the steel has started to solidify in the mold and to detect solidification deficiencies such as cracks or risks of shell break-outs. Algorithms and Matlab codes developed by ABB for the thermal data analysis has perceived good insight into the results. The OptiMold Monitor system is currently being tested in Tata Steel IJmuiden steelworks.Algorithms for local cold and hot spot detection have been suggested for robust performance and to address the issue of false alarms. And the nail bed tests for meniscus profile and speed have been analyzed. / ABB AB / Metallurgi har utvecklat ett nytt temperaturmätningssystem i gjutkopparplattan för kontinuerlig gjutning, benämnd OptiMold Monitor, med syfte att dynamiskt övervaka aktuell gjutningsstatus och för att styra FC Mold.Temperatursignalerna från OptiMold Monitor- kan analyseras vidare för ge informationen om formen av det smälta stålet tillsammans med fluidflödessymmetri och hastighet. Det kan också analyseras för att extrahera information om hur stålet har börjat stelna i formen och för att upptäcka stelningsdefekter som sprickor eller risker för utbrytning av skal. Algoritmer och Matlab-koder som utvecklats av ABB för termisk dataanalys har givit god inblick i resultaten. OptiMold Monitor-systemet testas för närvarande i stålverket Tata Steel IJmuiden. Algoritmer för lokal kylning och detektering av ”hot spots” har föreslagits för att ge robusta prestanda och att för att hantera risken för falska larm. Även resultat från nagelbäddstesterna för gjutprofil och hastighet har analyserats.

ITC/USA 2007 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Third Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 22-25, 2007 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Historically, aircraft power monitoring has required the use of multiple signal conditioning functions to measure various parameters including voltage, current, frequency and phase. This information was then post processed to determine the characteristics of the 3-phase power quality on the aircraft. Recent developments in embedded DSP processors within signalconditioning systems provide the instrumentation engineer with expanded capabilities for realtime on-board power quality monitoring. Advantages include reduced space and bandwidth requirements and minimal wiring intrusion. For each phase, output data may include peak positive and negative voltages and currents, peak-to-peak, average and RMS voltages and currents, phase power (real and apparent), phase power factor, phase period (frequency), phase shift measurement from phase 1 (the reference phase) to phase 2, and from phase 1 to phase 3. In addition, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is performed on each phase voltage to provide Total Harmonic Distortion measurements. This paper describes the methods employed in the implementation of these functions on a single signal-conditioning card in order to provide detailed information about the power quality of a three-phase aircraft power source.

Current research suggests schools face many barriers in effectively monitoring student's response to behavioral interventions in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the FastBridge - Direct Behavior Rating (FastBridge-DBR), a brief, novel progress monitoring measure, designed to assess student behavioral change in response to a classroom behavioral intervention. Twenty-four elementary teacher-student dyads implemented a daily progress report intervention to promote positive student behavior during pre-specified classroom activities. FastBridge-DBR data were then collected for three target behaviors (i.e., Academic Engagement, Disruptive Behavior, Withdrawal) and compared to Systematic Direct Observation (SDO) data. Five change metrics (i.e., absolute change, percent of change from baseline, improvement rate difference, Tau-U, effect size; Gresham, 2005) were used to examine sensitivity to change. The Usage Rating Profile - Assessment (URP-A) was used to evaluate teacher acceptability of FastBridge-DBR. FastBridge-DBR scores were highly correlated with SDO data, demonstrating evidence of concurrent validity. FastBridge-DBR change metrics were significantly correlated with SDO change metrics. Additionally, while teachers provided high acceptability ratings for FastBridge-DBR, there was a lack of association between teachers' ratings of acceptability and student behavioral change. Implications for practice, study limitations, and areas of future research are discussed.

This study investigated the delivery of electron arc treatment with a trapezoidal aperture. The aim of the investigation is to reduce the nonuniformity of the dose distribution, which is caused by the variation of the patient contour from superior to inferior. The characteristics of static electron beam were first investigated. Then a measurement-based algorithm was developed and implemented as a computer program called EarcMU to calculate the monitor units required for delivering the prescribed dose with a trapezoidal aperture. The central axis percentage depth dose was found to be independent of source-to-surface distance (SSD) and the width of the aperture. The inplane profiles of a trapezoidal aperture show that the dose decreases longitudinally from the wide to the narrow end of the trapezoidal aperture. The EarcMU program was verified using two cylindrical water phantoms. The measured dose and the dose calculated by the program agreed within 2.1% in the typical clinical conditions. A simple method was also proposed for determining the trapezoidal aperture for an individual patient. Under the same conditions, the trapezoidal apertures calculated by this method along with the open aperture were used to deliver treatments to several conical phantoms. Significant improvement in the uniformity of dose distribution was observed. On average, the flatness index of the longitudinal dose distribution from superior to inferior decreases dramatically from 8% for open aperture down to 0.58% for trapezoidal aperture. The results are clinically significant, indicating that delivering the electron arc treatment using a trapezoidal aperture can bring more uniform dose to the patient regardless of the change of patient contour from superior to inferior.

This thesis presents the design qualification and construction of the Beam Scintillator Counter (BSC) for the CMS Collaboration at CERN in 2007 - 2008. The BSC detector is designed to aid in the commissioning of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) during the first 2 years of operation and provide technical triggering for beam halo and minimum-bias events. Using plastic scintillator tiles mounted at both ends of CMS, it will detect minimum ionizing particles through the low-to-mid luminosity phases of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) commissioning. During these early phases, the BSC will provide probably the most interesting and widely used data of any of the CMS sub-detectors and will be employed in the track based alignment procedure of the central tracker and commissioning of the Forward Hadron Calorimeter.

Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate Core Stability Exercise (CSE) induced changes in trunk sagittal acceleration as a measure of performance in participants following an acute onset of non-specific low back pain (LBP). Methodology: A Lumbar Motion Monitor (LMM) was used to measure trunk sagittal acceleration. The LMM was demonstrated to be reliable [Intra-Class Correlation (ICC) for average sagittal acceleration (0.96, 95% CI 0.90-0.98) and peak sagittal acceleration (0.89, 95% CI 0.75-0.96) with a 95% limit of agreement for the repeated measure of between -100.64 and +59.84 Deg/s2 ]. Pain was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and disability was measured with the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ). Results: Differences in mean trunk sagittal acceleration between control and experimental groups at time points were assessed using a regression analysis (ratio of geometric means [95%CI]) and demonstrated to be not statistically significant (3 weeks (20%) 1.2 [0.9 to 1.6], p=0.2; 6 weeks (10%) 1.1 [0.8 to 1.5], p=0.7; 3 months (20%) 1.2 [0.8 to 1.9], p=0.9). Similarly, differences in mean pain score (3 weeks (30%) 1.3 [0.8-2.2], p= 0.3); 6 weeks (20%) 1.2 [0.7-2.0], p=0.6; 3 months (0%) 1.0 [0.5-1.9], p=1.0) and difference in mean disability score (6 weeks (0%) 1.0 [0.7-1.5], p= 1.0, 3 months (30%) 1.3 [0.8-1.9], p= 0.3) between groups were also not statistically significant. Conclusions: This work does not infer that CSE are definitively effective in reducing pain, improving subjective disability and improving trunk performance after an onset acute of non-specific LBP. However, there is a suggestion of clinical importance and a possible mechanism by which they may work. Further investigation into this mechanism may provide future effective management strategies for intervention of acute non-specific low back pain with optimistic cost implications for healthcare delivery in general and Physiotherapy in particular.

Background: Alarm interpretation and management are fundamental to managing critically ill patients. 1 There is little research as to the decision process nurses use to prioritize alarms or manage specific monitor parameters. Objective: The purpose of this study is to gain insight into the intricacy of the intensive care unit (ICU) nurses'critical decision process, using a human performance framework, when responding to monitor alarms. Method: Design: Descriptive design using semi-structured interview. Open-ended questions were developed based on the critical decision method (CDM) to explore ICU nurses' critical decision making process related to monitor alarms. Sixteen ICU nurses at a community hospital were interviewed to elicit perceptions and thought processes related to monitor alarms. Results: Responses to monitor alarms were affected by nursing experience, tones of the alarm, nurses' knowledge of the patient's condition as well as immediate visualization of patient to judge the urgency of an alarm. Both advanced beginner and expert nurses had similar initial response to monitor alarms; however, expert nurses added depth to their immediate assessment process by using previous experiences, intuition, and clinical expertise. Advanced beginner nurses frequently look to expert nurses for advice, guidance, and examples of clinical expertise. The majority of nurses had little or no formal training on the cardiac monitors used by that facility and all felt it would be beneficial in monitor alarm management. Conclusion: Understanding the decision-making process used by nurses can guide the development of policies and learning experiences that are crucial clinical support for alarm management.

Master of Science / Department of Animal Sciences and Industry / Teresa L. Slough / Teresa L. Slough / There is increasing interest in the use of point-of-care glucometers to monitor glucose concentrations in horses with metabolic disorders. The first study reported herein compared equine glucose concentrations obtained by a handheld glucometer using whole blood or plasma, a YSI 2300 bench top glucose analyzer using whole blood or plasma, and a SEVEN continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device that measured glucose in interstitial fluid to readings obtained by a standard laboratory glucose analyzer utilizing plasma. In addition, glucose concentrations obtained by the CGM were compared to those obtained by the handheld glucometer using whole blood or plasma. Post-prandial increases and decreases in glucose concentrations were detected utilizing all glucometers tested. When glucose measurements obtained with the CGM in interstitial fluid were compared to glucose measured using the handheld glucometer in plasma or whole blood, glucose measurements from plasma had better reproducibility. Although the CGM could be a useful instrument for collecting nearly continuous data for the researcher and clinician, there are technical difficulties related to the CGM that must first be overcome. The second study was designed to compare the effects of consuming a twice-daily meal of sweet feed (SF) to ad libitum access to a molasses-based block (BL) supplement on patterns of interstitial glucose concentrations in horses. A novelty effect of the BL was observed, in which horses consumed increased quantities in the first 12 h. Treatments had no effect on intake of forage in this study. The range and means of glucose values were similar between treatments, and significant glucose responses to treatments had lag times that were indirectly similar, even though molasses intake was greater for horses on BL. Variability between horses was noted in quantity of BL consumed as well as timing and magnitude of glucose responses. Based on the results of this experiment, there does not appear to be a clear advantage to either treatment, SF or BL, in attenuating post-prandial glucose increases or in minimizing glucose fluctuations in the horse.

This document describes the work for the master’s thesis in Electrical Engineering carried out at Electrolux Laundry Systems. In this project the computers that control the laundry system have been compared in order to verify the performance of the whole system. Three real environment systems are analysed and two of these systems have been set up in the laboratory in order to solve the problem considered. The results show that the tested devices perform better than the device PC1, which is not fulfilling the expectations in the real environment system. Some conclusions and future work are presented.