Restoration of esthetics is an important factor to consider in the fabrication of a removable partial denture (RPD) . 1 Several types of polymers and metal alloys have been used in RPD construction. Frequently, RPD clasps made from the same alloy as the metal framework. The most common alloys used for clasps are cobalt-chromium (Co-Cr) alloy and gold and titanium alloys, although these may be u...

Adjustment factors play a crucial role in Taguchi’s approach to robust parameter design. However, the notion of adjustment factors is not well defined and ambiguities exist in the selection of those factors. In this article, we propose a criterion for selecting adjustment factors. This new criterion can be used to explain and extend Taguchi’s approach. The concept is illustrated using two examp...

This paper addresses the design of robust H2 filters for linear continuoustime systems subject to parameter uncertainty in the state-space model. The uncertain parameters are supposed to belong to a given convex bounded polyhedral domain. Two methods based on parameter-dependent Lyapunov functions are proposed for designing linear stationary asymptotically stable filters that assure asymptotic ...

Taguchi’s robust parameter design has been widely applied to a variety of quality engineering problems; however, it is unable to deal with dynamic multiresponse owing to the increasing complexity of the product or design process. This study incorporates desirability functions into a hybrid neural network/genetic algorithm approach to optimize the parameter design of dynamic multiresponses with ...

This article introduces a framework for including different uncertainties at the chemical plant design stage. Through an integrated robust optimization approach and problem formulation, equipment, operating, control, and quality costs are simultaneously taken into account, leading to system, parameter, and tolerance design. Rather than using single pointwise solutions in the decision space, ope...

Purpose We sought to determine whether information revealed from the reflectance, autofluorescence, and absorption properties of RPE cells situated posterior to reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) could provide insight into the origins and structure of RPD. Methods RPD were studied qualitatively by near-infrared fundus autofluorescence (NIR-AF), short-wavelength fundus autofluorescence (SW-AF), and ...

Synthetic biology has shown its potential and promising applications in the last decade. However, many synthetic gene networks cannot work properly and maintain their desired behaviors due to intrinsic parameter variations and extrinsic disturbances. In this study, the intrinsic parameter uncertainties and external disturbances are modeled in a non-linear stochastic gene network to mimic the re...

Sorafenib exerts modest antitumor activity in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and radiological progressive disease (rPD) does not always correspond to so-called clinical progressive disease (cPD). We evaluated 101 patients who initiated sorafenib treatment for HCC and assessed post-progression survival (PPS) using the Cox proportional hazards model. PPS was calculated fro...

OBJECTIVE To assess the postnatal outcome of fetuses with renal pelvis dilatation (RPD). METHODS A retrospective study was conducted to review 61 fetuses found to have RPD by ultrasound (US) carried out from January 2008 to January 2012 at the Security Forces Hospital in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Five ended with intra uterine fetal death or early neonatal death, and were excluded. Of t...