This work focuses on the dynamical behaviour and bifurcations of a vertically supported Jeffcott rotor system having a transverse crack and nonlinear stiffness characteristics at the primary, sub-harmonic, and super-harmonic resonance cases. The nonlinear restoring force due to the bearing-clearance, the crack breathing, the disc eccentricity, and the orientation angle between the crack and imbalance direction are considered in the system model. The equations governing the system motion are derived and solved analytically by applying the Multiple Scales Perturbation Technique (MSPT). The slow-flow modulating equations are obtained and the spinning speed response curve is plotted. The whirling orbit and amplitude spectrum are constructed in the three considered resonance cases. The acquired results provide a better understanding of the main reasons of the super- and sub-harmonic resonance excitations. In additions, we concluded that the suitable resonance case that can be used for early detections of the cracks in the rotating shafts is the sub-harmonic resonance case. Finally, the obtained results are confirmed numerically and compared with the work published in the literature

Testing motion planning algorithms for automated vehicles in realistic simulation environments accelerates their development compared to performing real-world test drives only. In this work, we combine the open-source microscopic traffic simulator SUMO with our software framework CommonRoad to test motion planning of automated vehicles. Since SUMO is not originally designed for simulating automated vehicles, we present an interface for exchanging the trajectories of vehicles controlled by a motion planner and the trajectories of other traffic participants between SUMO and CommonRoad. Furthermore, we ensure realistic dynamic behavior of other traffic participants by extending the lane changing model in SUMO to implement more realistic lateral dynamics. We demonstrate our SUMO interface with a highway scenario.

Background: Control of the quality of pharmaceutical and healthcare products in the market is mandatory to ensure the safety and efficacy of the delivered product to the final consumers. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is providing a continuous and comprehensive updated list for various healthcare issues including drug recalls. Methods: This study provides a multidimensional analysis using statistical process control (SPC) tools to evaluate the risk associated over a 3-year period (2016-2018). Results: The study showed a simple implementation of the combination of SPC tools, which demonstrated that the major contributors to recalls are microbiological quality issues, problems with product compositions, and packaging defects. Months that contributed by more than 60% of the total recalls were from May to August, November, and December. Conclusion: The general trend of drug recall rates is increasing yearly, which should be a warning signal for the regulatory agencies to take preventive measures to control and prevent excessive cases of recalls.

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A sporicidal agent formula based on a mixture of peroxyacetic acid and hydrogen peroxide was assessed for its efficacy on a representative sample of vinyl surface material. Vinyl is the construction material of wall and floor lining in pharmaceutical plants. The experimental manipulations; applied herein, simulated the actual biocidal agent preparation and were carried out using USP purified water, test temperature was 20-25°C, RH% was 40-60% and pH was 3.08 and 2.86 for 1% and 2% (v/v) respectively. Following the selection of the optimum method of antimicrobial activity neutralization, two disinfectant concentrations were examined for their sporicidal activity. The results of carrier test revealed that the disinfectant concentration (2%) (v/v) was significantly effective as a sporicidal agent after 5 and 10 min for Aspergillus brasiliensis and Bacillus subtilis subsp. spizizenii, respectively, while the concentration of 1% (v/v) did not achieve even one logarithmic reduction after 20 min. The agent was able to achieve more than 100 times reduction from the initial bioburden on the surfaces when used in the concentration of 2% (v/v) after 10 min of contact time. The ideal kinetics of microbial death usually follows 2 parts (by averaging the responses with time for the 3 replicates): initial slow rate of death followed by higher rate. The initial sigmoidal part was only observed with B. subtilis upon exposure to 2% (v/v) sporicidal agent. Elimination time for B. subtilis spores was 15 min which was about double the time required for eradication of A. brasiliensis.ª 2014 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf