The effect of Q.Clear reconstruction on quantification and spatial resolution of 18F-FDG PET in simultaneous PET/MR

Background Q.Clear is a block sequential regularized expectation maximization penalized-likelihood reconstruction algorithm for Positron Emission Tomography (PET). It has shown high potential in improving image reconstruction quality and quantification accuracy in PET/CT system. However, the evaluation of Q.Clear in PET/MR system, especially for clinical applications, is still rare. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of Q.Clear on the 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/MR system and to determine the optimal penalization factor β for clinical use. Methods A PET National Electrical Manufacturers Association/ International Electrotechnical Commission (NEMA/IEC) phantom was scanned on GE SIGNA PET/MR, based on NEMA NU 2-2012 standard. Metrics including contrast recovery (CR), background variability (BV), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and spatial resolution were evaluated for phantom data. For clinical data, lesion SNR, signal to background ratio (SBR), noise level and visual scores were evaluated. PET images reconstructed from OSEM + TOF and Q.Clear were visually compared and statistically analyzed, where OSEM + TOF adopted point spread function as default procedure, and Q.Clear used different β values of 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 800, 1100 and 1400. Results For phantom data, as β value increased, CR and BV of all sizes of spheres decreased in general; images reconstructed from Q.Clear reached the peak SNR with β value of 400 and generally had better resolution than those from OSEM + TOF. For clinical data, compared with OSEM + TOF, Q.Clear with β value of 400 achieved 138% increment in median SNR (from 58.8 to 166.0), 59% increment in median SBR (from 4.2 to 6.8) and 38% decrement in median noise level (from 0.14 to 0.09). Based on visual assessment from two physicians, Q.Clear with β values ranging from 200 to 400 consistently achieved higher scores than OSEM + TOF, where β value of 400 was considered optimal. Conclusions The present study indicated that, on 18F-FDG PET/MR, Q.Clear reconstruction improved the image quality compared to OSEM + TOF. β value of 400 was optimal for Q.Clear reconstruction.

Analysis of XLPE cable parameters subject to thermo aging

Modern marine vessels use electrically driven rudders; cruise liners, gas carriers, tankers are equipped with Azipod systems manufactured by the Swedish-Swiss company ABB. Gondola-type propellers make it possible to break ice when the vessel is moving astern, therefore such vessels are used for work on the Northern Sea Route, in particular, when working on the Yamal LNG project. The 22MW Azipod propulsion system rotates 360° and enables difficult maneuvering without the assistance of tugs. When operating such propellers, powerful diesel generators are installed on the ship. For the transmission of electricity, ship cables are used, which are subject to increased requirements that meet the standard of the International Electrotechnical Commission. Modern marine vessels are equipped with XLPE or EPDM insulated cable lines; industrial production of these cables is carried out in the Russian Federation. In the course of the study, a method for auditing the state of insulation has been considered based on an assessment of the change in the tangent of the angle of dielectric losses in the process of thermal aging of the cable of the PvBPng(A)-HF brand. Measurements of the tangent of the dielectric losses' angle have been carried out with a Tangens-2000 insulation parameter meter.

Vehicle Management System Using RFID

The main purpose of this study was to provide a repository area for all registered vehicle in an organized and systematic filing, archiving and reports can be printed in real time. The system can prompt the users that the validity permit of radio frequency identification tag will be expired and need for renewal. Specifically, this paper sought to design and develop the Vehicle Management System Using RFID and evaluated its level of usability and performance as perceived by the target users. A total of 189 respondents participated in the study that was composed of five experts, three employees and 181 students, faculty and staff registered for School Year 2017-2018 using a standard questionnaire International Standard Organization/International Electrotechnical Commission 25010. Descriptive research was employed on this study based on the set objectives. Findings of the study, revealed that the functionality, the level of usability and its performance were interpreted as Very Good. These findings suggested that respondents were impressed in terms of easiest registration and monitoring of the registered vehicles that enters in and out of Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College, Main Campus.

Registrar Information System through SMS

The Registrar Information System through SMS is design and develop a computer-based system that is able to provide a real-time information through SMS to students regarding of their academic records. It has a two-way interactive text messaging functionality in a Registrar’s office of Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College Main Campus, Estancia, Iloilo. The architectural design used in this system is two-tier architecture. The developed system employed a descriptive and developmental research design. Respondents of the study were the 354 students enrolled officially in School Year 2016-2017 using a standard questionnaire International Standard Organization / International Electrotechnical Commission 25010. The Rapid Application Development Model was used in the Software Development Life Cycle. MySQL for the database, vb.net language and Windows operating system development environment. The usability of the feature of the developed system is Very Good in terms of delivering important academic information to every student. The performance of the developed system is fully functional when it comes to all the processes such as enrolling, encoding the grades, reliable and efficient to the students in sending/ receiving academic information provided to clienteles.

Record Management System with Document Control

The primary purpose of this study was to provide a new way of keeping and retrieving documents in a digital form available in the Records Office and a computerized leave management system modified for the employees of Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College Estancia, Iloilo. Specifically, this paper sought to design and develop the Record Management System with Document Control and evaluated its level of usability and performance as perceived by the target users. A total of 165 respondents of the said institution participated in the study which includes the five experts for School Year 2016-2017. The data were gathered through a survey questionnaire that primarily solicited feedbacks from respondents using the International Standard Organization/International Electrotechnical Commission 9126 Model. Descriptive research design was employed to describe the observations of the respondents based on the set objectives. The results revealed that the functionality of the system product, the level of usability as well as its performance were all interpreted as “Very Good”. This significant result implied that the respondents were impressed by the system features of the developed system in a convenient way.

Improved Calculation Method of Coupling Factors for Low-Frequency Wireless Power Transfer Systems

The concept of a coupling factor was introduced in International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 62311 and 62233 to provide a product safety assessment that considers the localized exposure when an electromagnetic field (EMF) source is close to the human body. To calculate the coupling factors between the human body and EMF source, a numerical calculation should be carried out to calculate the internal quantities of the human body models. However, at frequencies below 10 MHz, the computed current density or internal electric field has computational artifacts from segmentation or discretization errors. Specifically, coupling factors are calculated based on the maximum values, which may include computational artifacts due to abnormal peaks. In this study, we propose an improved calculation method to remove computational artifacts by applying the 99.99th percentile in calculating the coupling factors without underestimation. The performance of the proposed method is verified through a comparison based on various human body models with wireless power transfer (WPT) systems and compliance with the reference levels and basic restrictions. The results indicate that the proposed method can provide uniform coupling factors by reducing the computational errors by up to 65.3% compared to a conventional method.

Course Crediting and Academic Evaluation System of The College of Communication and Information Technology

The study aimed to develop a Course Crediting and Academic Evaluation System of the College of Communication and Information Technology (CCIT) in President Ramon Magsaysay State University – Iba Campus to offer an online system to ease the procedures of crediting and evaluation of the student academic records. Descriptive research design and descriptive statistics were utilized in this study. The dean, program chairpersons, and students of Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering are the respondents of the study. The findings revealed that the respondents evaluated the software quality of the system using the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC): 25010:2011 as excellent. The respondents evaluated as strongly recommended on the degree of recommendation of the acquisition and implementation of the system. The Course Crediting and Academic Evaluation System is recommended to implement to improve the present procedures. Training to the end-users is advised to be conducted to know how to use the system. The maintenance and continuous enhancement of the system to adapt to the changing trends in information technology.

Application of CFD to the Design of Manifolds Employed in the Thermodynamic Method to Obtain Efficiency in a Hydraulic Turbine

This study presents the design and implementation of different types of manifolds (sampling system) to measure water flow properties (velocity, pressure, and temperature) through the high- and low-pressure section of a Francis-type low head hydraulic turbine (LHT of 52 m) to calculate it is efficiency using the Thermodynamic Method (TM). The design of the proposed manifolds meets the criteria established in the “International Electrotechnical Commission—60041” Standard for the application of the TM in the turbine. The design of manifolds was coupled to the turbine and tested by the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) application, under the same experimental conditions that were carried out in a power plant, without the need for on-site measurements. CFD analyses were performed at different operating conditions of volumetric flow (between values of 89.67 m3/s and 35.68 m3/s) at the inlet of turbine. The mechanical power obtained and the efficiency calculated from the numerical simulations were compared with the experimental measurements by employing the Gibson Method (GM) on the same LTH. The design and testing of manifolds for high- and low-pressure sections in a low head turbine allows for the constant calculation of efficiency, avoiding breaks in the generation of electrical energy, as opposed to other methods, for example, the GM. However, the simulated (TM) and experimental (GM) efficiency curves are similar; therefore, it is proposed that the design of the manifolds is applied in different geometries of low-head turbines.

A Functional Safety Assessment Methodology for Explosion Protection with Application to a Variable Frequency Drive System

Modern explosion protection equipment, protected by traditional explosion protection technology (as defined by the international electrotechnical commission (IEC) publication IEC60079-ff series standards) and electrical/electronic/programmable electronic (E/E/PE) safety-related systems, is becoming ever more complex in coal mine development and petrochemical industry; thus, the possibility of failures in their operation is also growing. It is well-known that E/E/PE safety-related systems can be used to actively control dangerous sources, with real and expected levels of reliability, if they have been qualified according to the IEC61508-ff series standards. To uniformly evaluate the safety integrity level (SIL) of the explosion protection function of traditional explosion protection technology and E/E/PE safety-related system technology, this study analyzed the ability of these types of protection to remove the ignition risk residual, evaluating the failure rates of safety devices. The key objective of this paper is the presentation of a new equipment protection level (EPL) assessment method for explosion protection equipment based on a functional safety assessment. The method is applied to a variable frequency drive (VFD) system, and the results show that the EPL of the explosion protection equipment evaluated by this method is consistent with the EPL corresponding to the traditional explosion protection type of the IEC60079-ff series standard. Meanwhile, the flexible configuration of explosion protection safety devices and E/E/PE safety-related systems enables explosion protection equipment of different EPL levels to be designed.

ISSUES WITH APPROACHES FOR SIMULATING AGING OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CABLE MATERIALS

ABSTRACT Over the past 20 y, the International Electrotechnical Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency have published several Technical Documents describing recommended methods for carrying out accelerated radiation plus temperature aging of cable materials in nuclear power plants. These methods include the power law method, the time-dependent model, the dose to equivalent damage approach, and the simplified method approach. Because of the expected and observed changes in chemistry that occur as aging conditions transition radiation–temperature space, we highlight issues with the time-dependent and simplified method approaches by showing that they do not simulate the chemistry occurring under ambient conditions. The DED approach and a recent modification, the Matched Accelerated Conditions approach, can handle the changes in chemistry for many important cable materials and therefore offer more confident accelerated simulations. Problems with the power law method are then briefly described. Also discussed are the significant issues that occur when trying to simulate the aging of semicrystalline cable materials that show inverse-temperature effects. For these materials, degradation rates under radiation can increase as the aging temperature drops below ∼60 °C, in temperature regions where typical ambient aging conditions occur. A possible approach for dealing with such materials is suggested.