In this paper, the loading path was optimized in hot metal gas forming (HMGF) process for making AA6063 cylindrical stepped tubes. For purpose, response surface method (RSM) and finite element (FEM) were applied using Design-Expert ABAQUS softwares, respectively. The parameters of internal pressure, pressure rate, axial feeding, punch speed examined based on central-composite design three level...

BACKGROUND Previous reviews have focussed on the rationale for employing the stepped wedge design (SWD), the areas of research to which the design has been applied and the general characteristics of the design. However these did not focus on the statistical methods nor addressed the appropriateness of sample size methods used.This was a review of the literature of the statistical methodology us...

BACKGROUND/AIMS The stepped-wedge cluster randomised trial design has received substantial attention in recent years. Although various extensions to the original design have been proposed, no guidance is available on the design of stepped-wedge cluster randomised trials with interim analyses. In an individually randomised trial setting, group sequential methods can provide notable efficiency ga...

BACKGROUND In stepped care models patients typically start with a low-intensity evidence-based treatment. Progress is monitored systematically and those patients who do not respond adequately step up to a subsequent treatment of higher intensity. Despite the fact that many guidelines have endorsed this stepped care principle it is not clear if stepped care really delivers similar or better pati...

INTRODUCTION Stepped care strategies are potentially effective to organise integrated care but unknown is whether they function well in practice. This paper evaluates the implementation of a stepped care programme for depression in primary care and secondary care. THEORY AND METHODS We developed a stepped care algorithm for diagnostics and treatment of depression, supported by a liaison-consu...

BACKGROUND Screening for alcohol use disorders identifies a wide range of needs, varying from hazardous and harmful drinking to alcohol dependence. Stepped care offers a potentially resource-efficient way of meeting these needs, but requires evaluation in a randomised controlled trial. AIMS To evaluate the feasibility, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of opportunistic screening and a step...

Pure and fresh water is being scarce day by day. Although Bangladesh is a riverine country, pure drinking potable water is not a cheap commodity. Most of the people in the cities boil water to drink, and people of the villages take tube-well’s water directly, which might have high amount of heavy metal like arsenic. Solar still is a cheap and very useful renewable technology, which can be used ...

We describe a method to make even insulation layers for high-pressure laser-heated diamond-anvil cell samples using stepped anvils. The method works for both single-sided and double-sided laser heating using solid or fluid insulation. The stepped anvils are used as matched pairs or paired with a flat culet anvil to make gasket insulation layers and not actually used at high pressures; thus, the...

A bandpass filter is designed using two end-connected quarter-wavelength stepped impedance resonators. The quarter-wavelength stepped impedance resonators are implemented by a half-wavelength stepped impedance resonator with its middle shorting to ground. Hence, the modes that the λ/4 stepped impedance resonator supports are the (1+2n)/4 which also occur on the branches of a combline. An enhanc...