Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to J Antony.
Supernumerary kidney is the rarest of renal anomalies and complete duplication of the female urethra with a single bladder is even more unusual. A case of a supernumerary kidney associated with complete urethral duplication in a female patient with vaginal atresia is reported.
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OBJECTIVES: To describe the epidemiology and causes of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in Australian children, and the clinical features of the two most common causes of AFP, Guillain-Barré syndrome and transverse myelitis. METHODS: Monthly active surveillance for AFP was carried out through the Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit, with AFP defined as 'acute onset of flaccid paralysis in one or more limbs or of bulbar paralysis in any child less than 15 years of age'. RESULTS: Between March 1995 and December 1999, 143 cases of AFP were reported (approximately 0.8 per 100000 children < 15 years of age per annum). The age range was 2 months-14 years and 59% were boys. Out of these children, 137 (96%) were hospitalized and 47 required intensive care. No case of wild or vaccine-associated poliomyelitis was identified. The most common causes of AFP were Guillain-Barré syndrome in 67 (47%) and transverse myelitis in 27 (19%). Other diagnoses included acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, trauma, tick-bite paralysis and infantile botulism. CONCLUSION: The participation of paediatricians in AFP surveillance contributed to the accreditation of Australia (along with the other 36 countries of the western Pacific region) as 'polio free' by the World Health Organization in October 2000. The surveillance also provided data on the frequency of AFP and identified Guillain-Barré syndrome and transverse myelitis as the most common diagnoses. In this large national series, many other conditions that may present as non-polio AFP were identified.
Measurement systems are used widely in manufacturing organisations in order to make many important decisions. These decisions range from the acceptability of a given product against tolerance requirements to the level of statistical control of a process or its capability to consistently perform a given task. In most situations, however, little thought is given to the quality of the data generated by such measurement processes. By using potentially flawed data in making fundamental manufacturing decisions, organisations undermine the quality of the decision-making process itself. This paper reviews the approaches presently available from both a technical and a practical point of view, based on the priorities of process improvement practitioners. The conclusion of the paper is that the Evaluation of the Measurement Process proposed by Wheeler and Lyday offers the best balance of accuracy and utility.
In order to use Statistical Process Control (SPC) efficiently and effectively in today's modern industrial environment, it is essential to analyze and determine the extent of gauge variability. The variation that occurs on a control chart is essentially a combination of product and gauge variation. Studies of measurement or gauge variation are absolutely a waste of resources unless they can lead to a substantial reduction in process variability or to an improvement in process and product quality. The goal of gauge capability analysis is an understanding and quantification of the various sources of variability present in the measurement process. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the fundamental difference between Classical Gauge Capability Analysis (CGCA) and the use of a more powerful approach based on the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The author recommends that the latter approach is more useful and powerful in the presence of an interaction between the parts and the operators involved in the measurement process. An example is illustrated in the paper to demonstrate the two approaches.
A technique known as Statistical design of experiments is a powerful technique for process characterization, optimization, and modeling. It has been widely accepted in manufacturing industry for improving product performance and reliability, process capability, and yield. This article illustrates the application of statistical design of experiments based on the Taguchi approach in a certain company that manufactures electromagnetic clutch coils. The objective of the study was to improve the quality of the existing process and thereby achieve heightened customer satisfaction for the product. An eight-trial experiment was conducted with the aim of reducing the number of rejects from the process. The expected savings per month was estimated to be over $11,500. The results of the study have provided a greater stimulus for the wider application of statistical design of experiments in other core processes within the company.
To obtain high quality products at low cost and in a short time is an economical and technological challenge to today's engineering community. Design of Experiments based on the Taguchi approach is a powerful technique to attain this objective. In some processes, it is necessary to consider not only two factors but also the ratio of their levels 'as a factor.' This paper introduces a new look at the Taguchi method that makes it possible, by choosing the proper levels, to evaluate the ratio of two factors as a new factor in the same orthogonal array. An experiment to study four three-level factors was designed, and a case study is presented to illustrate the ratio of the two three-level factors as a new factor using the same L9 orthogonal array.