In this work we address the integration of Engineering Process Control (EPC) and Statistical Process Control (SPC) in complex multivariate scenarios with dynamics (autocorrelation). There are essentially two different integrative approaches: one in which an SPC supervision mechanism is used, without interfering, with an EPC controller active continuously all the time, and another in which the S...

Near-infrared (NIR) imaging has provided new insight into optical imaging of human tissue. The purpose of this study is to develop an NIR imaging system that could potentially be used to study cognitive function by measuring the optical parameters (μa and μs`) of the human prefrontal cortex. The desired system should be a remote sensing system that does not need direct contact with the subject....

Process-Oriented Basis Representation (POBREP) is an effective method of multivariate statistical process control that is seldom used in manufacturing. Rather than monitoring individual process variables, POBREP seeks to identify specific causes of production problems and map those into a basis matrix. These patterns can then be monitored with single-variable SPC techniques or traditional multi...

CONTENTS SUMMARY 1. WHAT IS ADVANCED CONTROL? 2. PROCESS MODELS 2.1. Mechanistic Models 2.2. Black Box Models 2.3. Qualitative Models 2.4. Statistical Models 3. MODEL BASED (MODERN) AUTOMATIC CONTROL 3.1. PID Control 3.2. Predictive Constrained Control 3.3. Multivariable Control 3.4. Robust Control and the Internal Model Principle 3.5. Globally Linearising Control 4. STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTR...

This article proposes an algorithm for deploying manpower to a statistical process control (SPC) system that monitors a multistage manufacturing system. The algorithm minimizes the expected total cost by optimizing the amount of allocated manpower in the SPC system (referred to as an M-SPC system), as well as the sample sizes, sampling intervals and control limits of the control charts. It also...

• Statistical process control (SPC) is a management philosophy that relies on straightforward statistical tools to identify and solve process problems. • By systematically identifying potential problems in process control, managers can proactively make corrections before quality outcomes suffer. • SPC methods are useful in helping managers to measure whether their processes and products conform...

INTRODUCTION Single-pill combination (SPC) therapy of two drugs is recommended by international guidelines, including the Chinese guidelines (2010), for the treatment of hypertension in high-risk patients who require marked blood pressure (BP) reductions. Real-world data on the efficacy and safety of valsartan/amlodipine (Val/Aml) SPC are scarce. The present study is the first observational stu...

BACKGROUND Poor adherence to recommended drug regimens is one of the fundamental issues behind suboptimal control rates of hypertension worldwide. Single-pill combinations (SPCs) improve patient adherence, decrease cost, and are increasingly prescribed in the Western societies. We conducted this study to elucidate the prescription patterns and the secular trends of SPCs in Taiwan. METHODS We ...

We describe solid-phase cloning (SPC) for high-throughput assembly of expression plasmids. Our method allows PCR products to be put directly into a liquid handler for capture and purification using paramagnetic streptavidin beads and conversion into constructs by subsequent cloning reactions. We present a robust automated protocol for restriction enzyme based SPC and its performance for the clo...