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The aim of this study is to propose a stepwise multiple comparison procedure for comparing the sizes of normal means. Our stepwise procedure is constructed by modifying Imada (2022)'s closed testing procedure based on ordered statistics. We give numerical results regarding the critical values and power of the test intended to compare our stepwise procedure with the stepwise procedures proposed by Imada (2022). Furthermore, we illustrate our procedure with an example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the existence of least energy solutions to the nonlinear scalar field equation: (1) $$\begin{equation} -\Delta u+\lambda u+V(x)u=Q(x)|u|^{p}u, \quad u\in H^{1}(\mathbb{R}^{N}), \end{equation}$$ − Δ u + λu + V (x) u = Q (x) | u | p u , u ∈ H 1 (R N) , Where $ V(x), Q(x)\in L^{\infty }(\mathbb {R}^{N}) $ V (x) , Q (x) ∈ L ∞ (R N) are real functions satisfying suitable assumptions. By considering the Nehari type constraint $ \mathcal {N}_{\lambda }:= $ N λ := $$\begin{align*} &\{u\in H^{1}(\mathbb{R}^{N})\setminus\{0\}:\int_{\mathbb{R}^{N}}(|\nabla u|^{2}+\lambda |u|^{2}+ V(x)|u|^{2})\,{\rm d}x\\ &\quad =\int_{\mathbb{R}^{N}}Q(x)|u|^{p+2}\,{\rm d}x\}, \end{align*} $$ { u ∈ H 1 (R N) ∖ { 0 } : ∫ R N (| ∇u | 2 + λ | u | 2 + V (x) | u | 2) d x = ∫ R N Q (x) | u | p + 2 d x } , it is shown that (1) exists at least a nontrivial least energy solutions if $ \lambda >\lambda _{*}:=-\inf \sigma (-\Delta +V) $ λ > λ ∗ := − inf σ (− Δ + V). In this argument, we point out $ \lambda _{*} $ λ ∗ is a critical value for the existence of least energy solutions restricted to $ \mathcal {N}_{\lambda } $ N λ . That is, there exists global least energy solutions in $ \mathcal {N}_{\lambda } $ N λ if $ \lambda >\lambda _{*} $ λ > λ ∗ , but not if $ \lambda λ < λ ∗ . Moreover, the asymptotic behavior of least energy solutions as $ \lambda \rightarrow +\infty $ λ → + ∞ is analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To analyze and summarize the types and distribution of critical laboratory values in hospitalized patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), exploring specific distributions and characteristics of critical values across various primary diagnoses. The study further investigates safe clinical management strategies for advanced stage NPC patients exhibiting critical values. Methods This retrospective cohort study included data from 110 instances of critical values from 78 NPC patients admitted to the Department of Otolaryngology at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital between January 2021 and December 2023. The frequency and occurrence of critical values were calculated and categorized into three groups based on discharge diagnoses: radiation induced osteonecrosis, recurrent malignant nasopharyngeal tumor, and epistaxis. Statistical analysis was conducted using Fisher's exact test in SPSS 22.0, with P<0.05 considered statistically significant. Results Among hospitalized NPC patients, critical values primarily consisted of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections (38.18%), electrolyte imbalances (29.09%), abnormal blood counts (17.27%), and coagulation dysfunctions (8.18%). Statistically significant differences were observed in the occurrence of multidrug resistant infections, electrolyte imbalances, and abnormal blood counts among patients with diagnoses of radiation induced osteonecrosis and recurrent malignant nasopharyngeal tumors. Notably, 16 patients experienced multiple critical values during a single hospitalization, and 7 patients encountered recurrent critical values across separate hospitalizations for the same parameters. Conclusion Critical values in hospitalized NPC patients include multidrug-resistant infections, electrolyte imbalances, blood count abnormalities, and coagulation dysfunctions, with significant distribution differences across primary diagnoses. Patients experiencing multiple simultaneous critical values likely have severe disease conditions necessitating immediate intervention. Patients with radiation induced osteonecrosis are at a higher risk for recurrent multidrug-resistant infections during repeated hospitalizations, particularly those with recurrent malignant NPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To investigate the effectiveness of the intervention with critical value management and push short messaging service (SMS), and to determine improvement in the referral rate of patients with positive hepatitis C antibody (anti-HCV). Methods: No intervention was done for patients with positive anti-HCV screening results from 1 January 2015 to 31 October 2021. Patients with positive anti-HCV results at our hospital from 1 November 2021 to 31 July 2022 were informed vide critical value management and push SMS. For inpatients, a competent physician was requested to liaise with the infectious disease physician for consultation, and patients seen in the OPD (outpatient department) were asked to visit the liver disease clinic. The Chi-square correlation test, one-sided two-ratio test and linear regression were used to test the relationship between intervention and referral rate. Results: A total of 638,308 cases were tested for anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) in our hospital and 5983 of them were positive. 51.8% of the referred patients were aged 18-59 years and 10.8% were aged ≥75 years. The result of Chi-square correlation test between intervention and referral was p = .0000, p < .05. One-sided two-ratio test was performed for statistics of pre-intervention referral rate (p1) and post-intervention referral rate (p2). Normal approximation and Fisher's exact test for the results obtained were 0.000, p < .05, and the alternative hypothesis p1 - p2 < 0 was accepted. The linear regression equation was referral = 0.1396 x intervention + 0.3743, and the result model p = 8.79e-09, p < .05. The model was significant, and the coefficient of intervention was 0.1396. Conclusions: The interventions of critical value management and push SMS were correlated with the referral rate of patients with positive anti-HCV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study introduces an advanced software platform and process for the quantitative national economic evaluation of high-speed maglev systems, overcoming limitations of traditional methods through parameter variation experiments and automated solution search. Utilising the adapted German standardised evaluation, this research demonstrates how integrated modelling, evaluation and optimisation software can deeply analyse the impact of various variables and parameters on economic outcomes. By employing an optimisation algorithm, the software not only determines critical evaluation parameters to ensure benefits exceed costs but also deduces optimised model variables. The macroeconomic benefit-cost ratio guides the optimal design concept, with the research finding a critical value for ensuring economic feasibility. The proposed solution achieves a 22% improvement in this ratio (1.106 vs. 0.909) compared to the existing Hefei-Wuhu route, highlighting its potential for large-scale maglev implementation. Future development directions include integration with micro-simulation systems, support for random behaviour, sensitivity analysis, data-driven machine learning and enhanced user interface design for broader applicability. The findings underscore the software’s capability to provide robust, data-driven insights for economic feasibility studies of high-speed maglev systems, presenting a significant step forward in infrastructure project evaluation.

This study aims to create a performance evaluation model for the food processing machinery industry. The goal is to help food processing plants improve both process quality and competitiveness. Additionally, component failures may disrupt the continuous operation of the food processing machine, potentially resulting in insufficient production and delays in delivery, which in turn leads to cost losses. For the sold food processing machinery, decreases in the average number of failures within a unit of time, the average repair response time when a failure occurs, and the average repair duration are three crucial factors in minimizing the total expected loss due to machine failures. Based on these three important factors, this study established the following evaluation indices: (1) the processing performance index, (2) the repair reporting performance index, and (3) the maintenance performance index. These indices serve as tools for assessing the performance of the three key operational aspects. This study employed a radar chart to construct the evaluation model, which can directly compare the critical values with the point estimates of three indices. Consequently, this approach can judge whether the operational performance has achieved the required level. This can maintain the simplicity and usability of point estimates while reducing the risk of misjudgment due to sampling errors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A web interface, named OTL, is developed to perform outlier analysis in exponential, Weibull, lognormal, and log-Laplace samples online over the Internet through Shiny and R. It is a tool to evaluate the exact or approximate distributions of block and consecutive test statistics for testing the presence of outliers that have been discussed over the years in the literature. As it allows for identifying outliers without using the classical extensive tables, OTL can be very useful to academics, policy-makers and executives to compare and understand the results of outlier testing procedures more efficiently in the case of lifetime data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There are significant differences in the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) critical values reported in different studies, most of which does not make recommendations for any specific clear detection systems. The International Council for Standardization in Hematology (ICSH) recommends that APTT critical values be established based on the reagent type, coagulation factor sensitivity and heparin response. The objective of this study was to establish APTT critical values by using different reagents and based on single coagulation factor deficiencies. Methods: The APTT values were determined in commercial endogenous coagulation factor-deficient plasma at concentrations of 1 IU/dL, 2 IU/dL, 5 IU/dL, 10 IU/dL, 20 IU/dL, and 30 IU/dL by using four assay systems. The retrospective collection of data from patients who lacked factor VIII (FVIII), FIX, or FXI alone was performed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of APTT for identifying patients with an endogenous coagulation factor activity < 5 IU/dL. Results: The APTT values in the plasma samples with the same concentrations of endogenous coagulation factors were significantly different among the four assay systems (P < 0.001). The suggested critical values of APTT were 40.0 s for Sysmex CS5100 (Actin FSL), 58.0 s for Sysmex CS5100 (Actin), 51.8 s for STA-R Evolution (STA-PTTA), and 64.8 s for ACL TOP 700 (HemosIL SynthasIL). On the basis of the ROC curve, the optimal threshold values for APTT (STA-PTTA) were 55.8 s in patients with a simple deficiency of FVIII (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 85.7%, area under the ROC curve (AUC) = 0.982), 54.3 s in patients with a simple deficiency of FIX (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 92.9%, AUC = 0.986), and 71.7 s in patients with a simple deficiency of FXI (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 94.1%, AUC = 0.992), which were closer (difference of 0.6–2.5 s) to the cutoff points for commercial plasma at equal factor levels. Conclusions: APTT critical values need to be established for different reagents based on the presence of a single coagulation factor deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We formulate and prove the archimedean period relations for Rankin–Selberg convolutions for ${\mathrm {GL}}(n)\times {\mathrm {GL}}(n-1)$. As a consequence, we prove the period relations for critical values of the Rankin–Selberg L-functions for ${\mathrm {GL}}(n)\times {\mathrm {GL}}(n-1)$ over arbitrary number fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: D-dimer is used as a clinical indicator to predict venous thromboembolism, and some hospitals have included it in the critical value project. We aimed to evaluate whether the setting of a D-dimer critical value is helpful in the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis in patients with bone trauma and to explore the rationality of setting a D-dimer critical value limit. Methods: The clinical data of 4,897 bone trauma patients, hospitalized from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, were retrospectively analyzed. Our hospital set the critical value limit for when the D-dimer value was greater than 15.0 mg/L, and Bayesian model was used to evaluate the relationship between deep vein thrombosis and the Ddimer limit. Results: During this period, 199 times the D-dimer detection value was greater than 15.0 mg/L, and the critical value was reported and accounted for 4.06%. The predicted probability of lower limb venous thrombosis in patients who triggered the critical value of D-dimer was 40.21%, and the actual incidence was 34.67%. There were 376 patients with lower limb venous thrombosis during hospitalization, and 81.38% of the D-dimer value did not reach the critical value limit. Conclusions: The role of D-dimer as a critical value item in predicting DVT in patients with orthopedic trauma is small. Whether to list D-dimer as a critical value item can be comprehensively considered according to the own situation of medical institutions and the recommendations of clinicians. The same can be applied for the setting of critical value boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drill-string vibrations occur frequently during drilling. Stick–slip vibration, a common form of vibration, reduces the rate of penetration and leads to bit wear and drill-string failure. The positive-displacement motor (PDM), as an important downhole dynamic drilling tool, is increasingly widely used in the field of oil and gas drilling, using hydraulic energy to output torque and speed. Field data have demonstrated that the combined drilling method of a PDM and polycrystalline diamond compact (PDC) bits can effectively alleviate stick–slip vibration; however, the effect is uneven and no research has yet been conducted on the mechanism by which PDM suppresses stick–slip vibration. In this study, the research status of tools for suppressing downhole vibrations is reviewed. A dynamic model of a multi-degree-of-freedom drill-string system with PDM is established, and the structural parameters in the model are calculated. The Runge–Kutta method is used to solve the model, and the influence of the PDM on stick–slip vibration is analyzed. Research has indicated that the output parameters of the PDM have a positive role in suppressing stick–slip vibrations, and that there is a critical value for eliminating these vibrations. The critical value is influenced by the drilling and output parameters of the PDM: the greater weight on the bit (WOB) will lead to a higher critical value; the greater the output parameter of the PDM, the lower the critical value. In addition, the output parameters of the PDM significantly change the correlation between the response parameters of the bit, which is the key to eliminate stick–slip vibration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is a crucial clinical practice that improves pharmacological effectiveness and prevent severe drug-related adverse events. Timely reporting and intervention of critical values during TDM are essential for patient safety. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the laboratory data to provide an overview of the incidence, distribution pattern and biochemical correlates of critical values during TDM. A total of 19,110 samples were tested for nine drug concentrations between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. Of these, 241 critical values were identified in 165 patients. The most common critical values were vancomycin trough (63.4%), followed by tacrolimus trough (16.9%) and digoxin (15.2%). The primary sources of drug critical values were the department of general intensive care unit (ICU), cardiology, and surgery ICU. At baseline or the time of critical value, significant differences were found between the vancomycin, digoxin, and tacrolimus groups in terms of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, N-terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP), and lymphocyte percentage, P

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is a crucial clinical practice that improves pharmacological effectiveness and prevent severe drug-related adverse events. Timely reporting and intervention of critical values during TDM are essential for patient safety. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the laboratory data to provide an overview of the incidence, distribution pattern and biochemical correlates of critical values during TDM. A total of 19,110 samples were tested for nine drug concentrations between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. Of these, 241 critical values were identified in 165 patients. The most common critical values were vancomycin trough (63.4%), followed by tacrolimus trough (16.9%) and digoxin (15.2%). The primary sources of drug critical values were the department of general intensive care unit (ICU), cardiology, and surgery ICU. At baseline or the time of critical value, significant differences were found between the vancomycin, digoxin, and tacrolimus groups in terms of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, N-terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide (NT-proBNP), and lymphocyte percentage, P < 0.05. Therefore, it is important to prioritize and closely monitor drug concentrations to reduce laboratory critical values during TDM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Historical application of phosphorus (P) fertilisers has enabled grazing agriculture in south-west Western Australia but has led to excessive soil P levels that pose a eutrophication risk. However, adoption of critical soil-test P values for pastures determined from the Better Fertiliser Decisions for Pastures (BFDP) meta-analysis of historical Australian trials has been poor because of perceived lack of relevance to the soils and contemporary pasture species in the region. Aims. We aimed to validate critical Colwell P values from the BFDP project for soils and contemporary pasture species of south-west Western Australia. Methods. Fifty P-rate response trials were performed with contemporary pasture species, and the results compared with BFDP. Key results. Trial results were consistent with BFDP and fell within 95% prediction intervals of response calibrations of Colwell P and relative yield pairs for different P buffering index (PBI) ranges. Soils with PBI <15 required lower critical Colwell P values. Responsiveness to P application was 8% (±4%), consistent with a 5% response expected for Colwell P levels supporting 95% relative yield. Application of nitrogen, potassium and sulfur significantly increased yield while increasing basal cover of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) and reducing that of clover (Trifolium spp.) in the sward. Response calibration coefficients and critical Colwell P values before and after addition of the trial data to BFDP showed a strong correlation (r2 >0.99), although critical values were slightly lower for lower soil PBI. Conclusions. Critical Colwell P values from BFDP are relevant and applicable to soils and contemporary pasture species of south-west Western Australia. Implications. Agronomic advice and application of P should be based on interpretation of Colwell P values, with P applied only when levels are below the critical value. Pasture composition should also be considered when interpreting Colwell P values. This approach minimises risks of P loss and improves economic outcomes for growers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The red beds that are widely distributed in hilly areas in eastern Sichuan Province are inevitable rock and soil masses in engineering construction. In order to obtain a larger building area, engineering slope cutting is quite common in red bed hilly areas. Engineering slope cutting destroys the inherent stability of a slope and causes geological disasters. In order to practice the concept of sustainable development and explore ways to develop and utilize land resources reasonably and reduce the possibility of geological disasters caused by engineering slope cutting, this paper took the slope cutting sites caused by rural housing construction in the red bed area of Wanyuan City as research objects. The internal and external factors affecting the stability of the cut slopes were summarized through a field investigation, and two typical slopes were selected for analysis. Sampling and indoor tests were conducted to obtain the geotechnical parameters. Geo Studio software (2018 R2) was employed to establish numerical models, simulate the stress and strain distributions, and compute stability coefficients under different slope cutting conditions at the same time. Based on field investigations and numerical simulations, the three main failure modes of shallow landslides caused by slope cutting were summarized, and the evolution process of slope landform accelerated by slope cutting activities was deduced. In an engineering application, the functional relationship between the cutting height and the stability coefficient was fitted. It was found that the critical cut height values of soil slope were 6.3 m, 6.2 m, 5.2 m, and 2.6 m at slope of 10°, 20°, 30° and 40°, respectively; the critical cut height values of rock–soil mixed slope were 9.3 m, 6.5 m, 5.9 m, and 2.2 m at slope of 10°, 20°, 30° and 40°, respectively. The research findings can be used to prevent and manage the hazards caused by slope cutting in this study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The permeability of sand is an important factor in determining the movement and occurrence of liquids and gases in sand. The current work studied the influence of soil particle size and gradation on permeability by testing the permeability of different sand samples that consist of defined sand particles in certain ratios. The results of a total of 640 sets of experiments were analyzed and compared with the corresponding theoretical calculations. We found that the sand can be divided into four groups based on particle size: high-permeability particles, medium-permeability particles, low-permeability particles and non-permeable particles; and the critical particle size of sand for permeability is 0.050 mm. Permeation will be lost when non-permeable particles account for >75% of the total in the mixture of high-permeability particles and non-permeable particles. Permeation will be very easily lost when medium- or low-permeability particles are mixed with non-permeable particles. The current findings are of importance for assessing the permeability of sand based on particle size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Critical value reporting is an essential aspect of laboratory medicine, ensuring prompt communication of life-threatening results to clinicians for immediate action. Existing guidelines emphasize the importance of timely notification, but protocols may vary. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the protocol for reporting critical results in the biochemistry laboratory of a tertiary care hospital and proposed alternative protocols for improvement. Materials and Methods: Data were collected over a 6-month period, including the total number of investigations, critical values detected, parameters analyzed, and clinical departments involved. Quality indicators such as turnaround time (TAT), unsuccessful reporting rates, and clinical actions taken were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel. Statistical Analysis: All statistical analyses were performed using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, United States). Data were presented as numbers and percentages. Results: Out of 390,000 investigations, 0.5% had critical values. Serum potassium (55.9%) had the highest frequency of critical values, followed by sodium, calcium, and glucose. The emergency department received the highest number of critical alerts. The success rate of critical result reporting within 1 hour was 86.8%, while unsuccessful reporting accounted for 10.7%. The causes of unsuccessful reporting included outpatient requests and delayed intimation due to patient transfers. Corrective action was taken in 91% of cases, with documentation primarily in nurse charts. Conclusion: Evaluation of the protocol for reporting critical results identified areas for improvement. Recommendations included revising the critical value list, reducing TAT through process optimization and automation, enhancing staff training and awareness, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and maintaining incident records. Implementing these changes can enhance compliance, reduce errors, and improve patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The concept of critical value is not evident in surgical pathology, and there is no established protocol for determining, reporting, and documenting these results. Materials and methods A questionnaire was designed regarding critical value in surgical pathology, and all pathologists and some clinicians from five laboratories were asked to participate through an invitation link. The most important items were selected, and all pathologists were instructed to follow a standard operating procedure to deal with critical results for a year. Results A total of 43 pathologists and 44 non-pathologists participated in the study. Some critical or unexpected items were selected. Most participants agreed that the optimal time to announce critical reports is within 24 h of establishing the final diagnosis, and a phone call was the most dependable communication option. In addition, the most qualified recipients were the attending physicians. Therefore, a written policy was implemented for a year. One hundred seventy-seven critical or unexpected cases (0.5%) were detected. Mucormycosis and cytomegalovirus (CMV) were the most frequent critical cases. Conclusion There are no set criteria for critical items or the reporting process in surgical pathology. It is possible to establish more uniform norms for reporting these cases by boosting pertinent research efforts and recruiting more pathologists and physicians. Additionally, it is advised that each medical facility compile its own unique critical or unexpected diagnosis list.

Ultra high voltage direct current (UHVDC) system is the key support of power grid, which has an important impact on the development of China’s power grid. Direct current (DC) transfer switch is an indispensable component for UHVDC system, and its research is conducive to the development of the UHV DC transmission system. DC transfer switch is composed of breaking circuit, oscillation circuit and energy absorbing circuit. The energy absorbing circuit of DC transfer switch can absorb lots of energy by using arresters when DC is turn off, it can avoid the failure of DC breaking due to arc reburning. In order to meet the requirement of absorbing a large amount of energy, the arresters in the energy absorbing circuit generally adopts a multi pillars parallel structure. When multiple columns are connected in parallel, the uniform distribution of energy between different arresters columns becomes a very important problem. If the energy distribution difference is large, the arresters will overheat, aging and even explode. Thus, it is necessary to study the current-sharing characteristics. In this paper, the simulation and experiment are carried out in combination with the actual converter station. On the premise of total discharge energy in station, it is concluded that: The greater the deviation of volt–ampere characteristic curve from standard curve, the greater the non-uniformity coefficient and the greater the energy absorbed by single pillar arrester. The maximum energy absorbed by single arrester is 8.77 MJ, the non-standard curve by single pillar arrester should deviate from the standard curve by no more than 4%.

During the last decades, several methods have been proposed for Kolmogorov−Smirnov one-sample test based on fuzzy random variables to describe the impression of classical random variables. However, such techniques do not discuss the modeling of imprecise observations and simulation of such data from the distribution of a fuzzy random variable. Moreover, such methods rely on a fuzzy cumulative distribution function with known parameters. In this paper, however, a modified Kolmogorov−Smirnov one-sample test is introduced based on a novel notion of fuzzy random variables which comes down to model fuzziness and randomness in the distribution of population in a frequently used family of probability distributions called location and scale distribution functions. A method of moment estimator was also utilized to estimate the location and scale parameters. Then, a notion of non-fuzzy Kolmogorov−Smirnov one-sample test was developed based on fuzzy hypotheses. Monte Carlo simulation was also employed to evaluate the critical value corresponding to a significance level and the performance of the test using power studies. Comparing the observed test statistics and the given fuzzy significance level, a classical procedure was finally used to accept or reject the null fuzzy hypothesis. Two numerical examples including a simulation study and an applied example were provided to clarify the discussions in this paper. The proposed method was also compared with some existing methods. The goodness-of-fit results demonstrated that the proposed Kolmogorov−Smirnov provides an efficient tool to handle statistical inference fuzzy observations.

We investigate the existence and nonexistence of nonnegative radial solutions to exterior problems of the form ΔHmu(q)+λψ(q)K(r(q))f(r2−Q(q),u(q))=0{\Delta }_{{{\mathbb{H}}}^{m}}u\left(q)+\lambda \psi \left(q)K\left(r\left(q))f\left({r}^{2-Q}\left(q),u\left(q))=0 in B1c{B}_{1}^{c}, under the Dirichlet boundary conditions u=0u=0 on ∂B1\partial {B}_{1} and limr(q)→∞u(q)=0{\mathrm{lim}}_{r\left(q)\to \infty }u\left(q)=0. Here, λ≥0\lambda \ge 0 is a parameter, ΔHm{\Delta }_{{{\mathbb{H}}}^{m}} is the Kohn Laplacian on the Heisenberg group Hm=R2m+1{{\mathbb{H}}}^{m}={{\mathbb{R}}}^{2m+1}, m>1m\gt 1, Q=2m+2Q=2m+2, B1{B}_{1} is the unit ball in Hm{{\mathbb{H}}}^{m}, B1c{B}_{1}^{c} is the complement of B1{B}_{1}, and ψ(q)=∣z∣2r2(q)\psi \left(q)=\frac{| z{| }^{2}}{{r}^{2}\left(q)}. Namely, under certain conditions on KK and ff, we show that there exists a critical parameter λ∗∈(0,∞]{\lambda }^{\ast }\in \left(0,\infty ] in the following sense. If 0≤λ

• The influence of ambient temperature and exercise intensity on the performance of cooling garment is addressed. • The optimum water inlet temperature under different conditions is determined. • Exercise intensity has a greater influence on the performance of the cooling garment. • The liquid cooling garment can effectively relieve the heat stress of the human body. Liquid cooling garment (LCG) is a thermal protection measure to relieve heat stress and improve human thermal comfort in a high-temperature environment. This study designs a liquid cooling garment based on thermoelectric cooling technology aiming at the disadvantages of traditional cooling garments such as heavy and poor effectiveness. The effects of ambient temperature and exercise intensity on the cooling effect of the liquid cooling garment are studied by a series of human body tests in a simulated high-temperature environment, so as to determine the optimal water inlet temperature of the liquid cooling garment. The experimental results show that there exists a "critical value" of water inlet temperature which can satisfy both thermal comfort and energy saving. Under the condition that the ambient temperature is 40 °C and the exercise intensity is walking, the "critical value" of the water inlet temperature of the cooling garment is about 22–24 °C, and the average cooling temperature difference is about 3.2–5.1 °C. The "critical value" of the water inlet temperature is all 22–24 °C under the condition that the exercise intensity is walking, and the ambient temperature is 38 °C, 40 °C, and 42 °C. The "critical value" of the water inlet temperature of the liquid cooling garment is 26–28°C, 22–24°C, 20–22°C under the condition that the ambient temperature is 40 °C and the exercise intensity is sitting, walking, and jogging. The stronger the exercise intensity, the lower the "critical value" of the water inlet temperature to achieve the same cooling effect. The results show that ambient temperature has less effect on the "critical value" than exercise intensity. The research results of this paper can provide the direction and basis for selecting the cooling performance of thermoelectric LCG in different conditions and guide the performance testing of liquid cooling garments in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation of incompatible items is a major problems for the logistic operators. Again today ceo-aware transportation is very much appreciated by the international bodies. In a transportation system, the realization of carbonemission can be incorporated as an important part of optimization. Now, the infrastructure of surface transportation is developed through the world including third world countries (like India, South-africa, Bangladesh, etc). In the present study, we incorporated the above problems and developed profit maximization of solid transportation problem with carbon emission under type-2 Fuzzy environment. So, a new concept to solve profit maximization transportation problem including sales revenue, purchase cost, transportation cost, procurement cost and carbon-emission cost has been proposed while transporting some goods from sources to destinations. In this model, two transportation schemes with carbon emission (WCE) and with out carbon-emission (WOCE) have been designed. We consider maximization of the total profit in these two models. In the model few parameters are treated as Gaussion fuzzy type-2 variable i.e. purchase cost, selling price, transportation and procurement cost. Critical Value (CV) based reduction help us to transform fuzzy type-2 to type-1 variable. To solve the problem in deterministic way we have to utilized Genetic Algorithm (GA). Finally, numerical results presented to establish the originality of the investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Critical values are commonly used in clinical laboratory tests to define health-related conditions of varying degrees. Knowing the values, people can quickly become aware of health risks, and the health professionals can take immediate actions and save lives. Methods In this paper, we propose a method that extends the concept of critical value to one of the most commonly used physiological signals in the clinical environment—Electrocardiogram (ECG). We first construct a mapping from common ECG diagnostic conclusions to critical values. After that, we build a 61-layer deep convolutional neural network named CardioV, which is characterized by an ordinal classifier. Results We conduct experiments on a large public ECG dataset, and demonstrate that CardioV achieves a mean absolute error of 0.4984 and a ROC-AUC score of 0.8735. In addition, we find that the model performs better for extreme critical values and the younger age group, while gender does not affect the performance. The ablation study confirms that the ordinal classification mechanism suits for estimating the critical values which contain ranking information. Moreover, model interpretation techniques help us discover that CardioV focuses on the characteristic ECG locations during the critical value estimation process. Conclusions As an ordinal classifier, CardioV performs well in estimating ECG critical values that can help people quickly identify different heart conditions. We obtain ROC-AUC scores above 0.8 for all four critical value categories, and find that the extreme values (0 (no risk) and 3 (high risk)) have better model performance than the other two (1 (low risk) and 2 (medium risk)). Results also show that gender does not affect the performance, and the older age group has worse performance than the younger age group. In addition, visualization techniques reveal that the model pays more attention to characteristic ECG locations.

Background: The concept of critical value is not evident in surgical pathology, and there is no established protocol for determining, reporting, and documenting these results. Materials and methods: A questionnaire was designed regarding critical value in surgical pathology, and all pathologists and some clinicians from five laboratories were asked to participate through an invitation link. The most important items were selected, and all pathologists were instructed to follow a standard operating procedure to deal with critical results for a year. Results: A total of 43 pathologists and 44 non-pathologists participated in the study. Some critical or unexpected items were selected. Most participants agreed that the optimal time to announce critical reports is within 24 h of establishing the final diagnosis, and a phone call was the most dependable communication option. In addition, the most qualified recipients were the attending physicians. Therefore, a written policy was implemented for a year. One hundred seventy-seven critical or unexpected cases (0.5%) were detected. Mucormycosis and cytomegalovirus (CMV) were the most frequent critical cases. Conclusion: There are no set criteria for critical items or the reporting process in surgical pathology. It is possible to establish more uniform norms for reporting these cases by boosting pertinent research efforts and recruiting more pathologists and physicians. Additionally, it is advised that each medical facility compile its own unique critical or unexpected diagnosis list. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the critical value of timed "up and go" test (TUGT) and analyze the risk factors of fall in Chongqing elderly. Methods A total of 1 200 elderly people were subjected by stratified random sampling from 3 hospitals, 3 communities and 3 nursing homes in Chongqing. Their demographic characteristics, educational level, underlying diseases, long-term medication history and fall history within 1 year were investigated. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the influencing factors of falls. TUGT was performed on all the subjects, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to determine the critical value of TUGT, and its efficacy in predicting falls was analyzed. Results The intra-group correlation coefficient of TUGT was highly correlated (ICC=0.961, 95%CI: 0.956~0.965), and the Cronbach α coefficient was 0.980. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the OR value and 95%CI of fall occurred at age ≥80, long-term medication history and TUGT time were 1.591 (1.079~2.344), 2.198 (1.522~3.173) and 1.725 (1.598~1.861), respectively (P < 0.05). ROC curve analysis indicated that the critical value of TUGT was 12.8 s, with an AUC of 0.819 (95%CI: 0.790~0.848), a sensitivity of 75.2%, and a specificity of 74.7%. Conclusion Age ≥80, long-term medication history and TUGT time > 12.8 s are independent risk factors for fall in Chongqing elderly population.

The article examines the experience of higher education institutions in the transition to distance learning, the widespread implementation of electronic science and special e-courses in the context of modernization of modern education. Based on the modified Xi square table and formula, the empirical value of the three-category questionnaire answers consisting of four options was calculated. The effectiveness of the study was tested on the basis of the dynamic changes in the attitude of students of the "Elective Course" to the culture of healthy living, specially organized in the field of physical culture education Turan wrestling and its teaching methods.

To understand the characteristics of coal low-temperature oxidation and its physical process in more detail, temperature-programmed experiments are used to study the evolution of key parameters of the low-temperature oxidation process of different coal sample sizes. The numerical simulation method is used to further explain the detailed characteristics of the multi-physical field evolution of the coal low-temperature oxidation process. The correctness of the numerical simulation was verified based on the experimental results. Based on the combination of experiment and numerical simulation, the characteristics of temperature, mass fractions of reactants and products, and fluid flow of the coal samples in the temperature-programmed experimental chamber were explored. The result shows that the numerical simulation can well characterize the low-temperature oxidation process of coal, and show the change characteristics of the time series of various physical fields in detail. According to the gas emission and oxygen consumption of coal oxidation process, low-temperature coal oxidation can be divided into two stages, with 70 ℃ as the critical value. With the development of low-temperature coal oxidation, the frontier of coal oxidation reaction is moving to the region of high oxygen volume fraction.

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Hypotheses testing is an effective technique for making a decision about the process capability. The adversity to test C p k based on determining the distribution of its natural estimator is very complex, even under the Normal distribution. Thus, the Monte Carlo simulation approach is an executable procedure for the hypotheses testing of C p k based on the natural estimator. The proposed approach is a testing technique to evaluate whether products quality meets the preset specification limits. This procedure implies a Monte Carlo statistical test, which is applicable to Normal processes. A case study in an automobile factory is presented to check out the products, and numerical computations are presented to show the effect of the Monte Carlo critical values for making a reliable decision on the hypotheses testing of C p k. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal is the property of Chinese Medical Equipment Journal Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: To optimize the critical value of test items using FOCUS-PDCA (find, organize, clarify, understand, select, plan, do, check and act), and to set the personalized critical value of the test for different departments. Methods: We searched for literature reporting on the critical value and FOCUS-PDCA published over recent 5 years in order to understand the significance and status quo of critical value and FOCUS-PDCA. We also collected and analyzed the critical value data of hospital tests performed in Sichuan province hospitals in 2019, which were later compared to data from 2020 to determine the FOCUSPDCA cycle. Results: The proportion of critical values in the whole hospital decreased from 3.5% before optimization to 2.5% to 3% after optimization. The critical values of ICU, hematology, nephrology, urology, and neonatal departments after optimization significantly decreased compared with those before optimization, while the critical values of cardiac surgery, emergency ICU, cardiology, and neurosurgery ICU showed no significant difference before and after optimization. Contrary, the critical values of the infection department after optimization significantly increased before optimization. Conclusions: FOCUS-PDCA can effectively optimize the critical value of test items, which is beneficial for rational utilization of medical resources.

Background: Critical values are commonly used in clinical laboratory tests to define health-related conditions of varying degrees. Knowing the values, people can quickly become aware of health risks, and the health professionals can take immediate actions and save lives.Methods: In this paper, we propose a method that extends the concept of critical value to one of the most commonly used physiological signals in the clinical environment-Electrocardiogram (ECG). We first construct a mapping from common ECG diagnostic conclusions to critical values. After that, we build a 61-layer deep convolutional neural network named CardioV, which is characterized by an ordinal classifier.Results: We conduct experiments on a large public ECG dataset, and demonstrate that CardioV achieves a mean absolute error of 0.4984 and a ROC-AUC score of 0.8735. In addition, we find that the model performs better for extreme critical values and the younger age group, while gender does not affect the performance. The ablation study confirms that the ordinal classification mechanism suits for estimating the critical values which contain ranking information. Moreover, model interpretation techniques help us discover that CardioV focuses on the characteristic ECG locations during the critical value estimation process.Conclusions: As an ordinal classifier, CardioV performs well in estimating ECG critical values that can help people quickly identify different heart conditions. We obtain ROC-AUC scores above 0.8 for all four critical value categories, and find that the extreme values (0 (no risk) and 3 (high risk)) have better model performance than the other two (1 (low risk) and 2 (medium risk)). Results also show that gender does not affect the performance, and the older age group has worse performance than the younger age group. In addition, visualization techniques reveal that the model pays more attention to characteristic ECG locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among different yardsticks of assessing a supplier's performance and comparing the same with other competing suppliers, quality is often considered as one of the most important criteria. The problem becomes even more complicated for multivariate processes having more than one correlated quality characteristics. Unfortunately, very few research work has been carried out in literature, to compare performances of two suppliers having multivariate processes with correlated quality characteristics and symmetric specification region. In the present article, a two‐phase hypothesis testing‐based supplier selection process using multivariate process capability indices (MPCIs) called CG(0,0)$C_G(0, 0)$ and CG(1,0)$C_G(1, 0)$ is proposed to address this issue. While CG(0,0)$C_G(0, 0)$ measures potential capability of a multivariate process, CG(1,0)$C_G(1, 0)$ measures its actual capability. The proposed method is easy to implement in practice and hence is suitable for practical applications. A real‐life example and a simulated example are discussed to supplement the theory developed in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exact null distributions of test statistics used for testing up to k (≥ 1) upper outliers in a two-parameter Laplace sample are investigated. Two types of test statistics, namely, the modified Murphy's test for k upper normal outliers and the general Dixon-type test statistic discussed by Childs, are considered. Utilizing the result of conditional independence of blocked ordered data established by Iliopoulos and Balakrishnan, together with the computational algorithm of Huffer and Lin for distributions of linear combinations of exponential variables, exact critical values of test statistics for testing discordancy of k upper outliers in two-parameter Laplace samples are obtained. For illustration, some examples with pertinent computational details are finally presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We show that in a metric space, any continuous function with compact sublevel sets and finite metric slope is uniquely determined by the slope and its critical values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the formation of delta shock waves and vacuum states of Riemann problem for isentropic Euler system with Chaplygin pressure by vanishing pressure limit method under the self-similar coordinate. The state equation is p = − ϵ 2 / ρ . There is no vacuum state initially. We proved that as ϵ → 0 , the self-similar solution can be divided into three cases which may contains a contact discontinuity, a vacuum state or a delta shock wave. Moreover, we proved that for Chaplygin gas, there exists a critical value ϵ 1 > 0 depending on the initial data, such that for any ϵ > ϵ 1 , there is no delta shock wave in the solution. For ϵ ∈ (0 , ϵ 1 ] and for suitable initial data, the solution contains a delta shock wave which can be expressed explicitly. As ϵ → 0 , the sequence of delta shock wave solutions converge to the delta shock wave solution of the transport equations with the same initial data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents sensitivity analysis of stress behaviour in the elements of bicycle frame having diamond structure with respect to design parameters. In order to achieve this goal stress on each element of the diamond frame have been derived in the form of analytical expression in terms of design parameters by imposing static equilibrium condition on 2D representation of the frame. Stresses on all the elements and reactionary forces on the frame are linear combination of two external loads on the frame with coefficients being trigonometric expressions. Stresses on all elements and reactionary forces have a common term which appear as denominator and is termed as Inter-element Interaction Common Factor (IICF). Analytical expressions for stresses on elements have the potential to provide insights into the set of values of design parameters for optimization of bicycle frame with respect to various criteria. Such insights, in addition to being valuable for designers using computer aided engineering softwares like ANSYS, are also helpful for comparative analysis among various design criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to describe patterns of intraoperative tissue interface pressure, identify the amount of time during which the pressure at four anatomical locations exceeded 32 mm Hg, and examine associations between patient‐ and surgery‐related variables and peak tissue interface pressure. We used a pressure mapping system to measure the intraoperative tissue interface pressure of 150 patients. We implemented linear mixed‐effects models to assess trends in the mean and peak tissue interface pressure. The percentage of time during which the interface pressure exceeded 32 mm Hg at the scapulae, interscapular area, and sacral area was 70%, 70%, and 90%, respectively. Body mass index, length of surgery, and intraoperative position were major predictors of increased pressure. Understanding patterns of tissue interface pressure of patients during surgery may help perioperative nurses develop strategies to attenuate pressure and protect skin integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we divide the region covering Shandong Province into inland and peninsula area. By using the surface meteorological observation and sounding data from the MICAPS, we have conducted a classification to the thunderstorm gale events occurred between April and September from 2009 to 2016 in Shandong Province primarily based on the 500 hPa synoptic systems. In addition, based on the mesoscale weather systems in the 850 hPa and at the surface, the different patterns of thunderstorm gale events are classified. Then the physical diagnose of each pattern of thunderstorm gale event is statistically analyzed by using the percentile method, and the critical values of these physical diagnoses are given. The results show that (1) based on the configuration of the 500 hPa weather influence systems, the thunderstorm gales in Shandong can be divided into pre-trough pattern, post-trough pattern and around subtropical high pattern. Additionally, according to the relation between the falling area of thunderstorm strong wind and the 850 hPa weather systems, they can also be divided into three types, i.e. shear line convergence, southerly airflow convergence and northerly airflow convergence. Furthermore, according to the position relationship between the weather system and the thunderstorm gale in the sea-level pressure field, the surface weather systems that generate thunderstorms high winds can be mainly divided six types. (2) The suitable physical diagnoses of thunderstorm gales between April and June in the inland area of Shandong are temperature difference (ΔT850-500) between 850 hPa and 500 hPa, velocity difference (ΔV500-850) between 500 hPa and 850 hPa, Storm Strength Index (SSI) and Wind Index (WI), while in the peninsula area of Shandong, the physical diagnoses SSI and WI, which can represent the comprehensive characteristics of atmospheric thermodynamics and dynamics, show a good indication to thunderstorm gales in this area. (3) The physical diagnoses Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE), K index, Lift Index (LI), pseudo-equivalent potential temperature difference (Δθse700-850) between 700 hPa and 850 hPa and severe weather threat index (SWEAT), representing atmospheric thermal instability, have good indicative signification to the thunderstorm gales between July and August in Shandong province. (4) Δθse700-850, SSI, SWEAT and ΔV500-850 have good indication to the thunderstorm gales occurred in the peninsula area of Shandong in September.