Alarms history

Gordon, R. 1993. The Alarming History of Medicine Amusing Anecdotes from Hippocrates to Heart Transplants. New York Saint Martin s. 

Interrogate alarm (bring up the appropriate display and check alarm history and association with ongoing maintenance and activities on site)... 

Alarm histories should be reviewed on a regular basis in order to reduce standing alarms and nuisance alarms. 

Because processes and process conditions change over time, it is necessary to review alarm system performance on a periodic basis. The review should be based on the alarm history and a number of key performance metrics. Some of the most important alarm metrics are the following (Jofriet, 2005) ... 

A review of an alarm history has identified that the bad actors include level, pressure, and temperature alarms that are associated with a liquid-phase, continuous, stirred-tank reactor. The chemical reactions are exothermic, and the CSTR is used at different times to make two products, A or B. The low-level and low-pressure alarm violations occur mainly during shutdown operations, whereas high temperature alarms for the jacket cooling water occur primarily when product B is produced. It is desirable to devise a strategy for reducing these bad actor alarms. 

The current world population stands at 5.3 billion and is growing rapidly (1), Demographers project that the world population will reach 6.1 billion by the turn of the century, approach 8.2 billion by 2025, and probably reach 15 billion by 2100 (2), Never before in history have humans, by their sheer numbers, so dominated the earth and its resources. What is equally alarming is the 1.8% annual population growth rate --a rate 1800-times greater than that during the first million years of human existence. At this growth rate about one quarter million people are added to the world population every day. 

Storage chambers should be validated with respect to their ability to maintain the desired conditions, and, if so equipped, the ability to sound an alarm if a mechanical or electrical failure causes the temperature to deviate from preestabilished limits. They should also be equipped with recording devices, which will provide a continuous and permanent history of their operation. Logbooks should be maintained and frequent readings or mercury-in-glass, National Institute of Science and Technology traceable thermometers recorded. 

The New York Times reports this is one of the deadliest periods for the American petrochemical industry s history "Alarm(ing) company executives, the 12 worst explosions killed 79 people, injured 833, and caused roughly 2 billion in damage". In the U.S.A. over 34,500 industrial chemical accidents were reported during the period of 1988-1992, nearly one every hour. Over 2,000 of these resulted in injuries, evacuations or fatalities. Some 40 percent occurred concentrated in just two percent of the counties of the U.S., primarily in California, Texas and Louisiana, home to most and some of the largest petroleum and chemical facilities in the U.S.A. 

Prevention of abrupt discontinuation of intrathecal baclofen requires careful attention to programming and monitoring of the infusion system, refill scheduling and procedures, and pump alarms. Advise patients and caregivers of the importance of keeping scheduled refill visits and educate them on the early symptoms of baclofen withdrawal. Give special attention to patients at apparent risk (eg, spinal cord injuries at T-6 or above, communication difficulties, history of withdrawal symptoms from oral or intrathecal baclofen). Consult the technical manual of the implantable infusion system for additional postimplant clinician and patient information (see Warnings). 

The major problem for control based on material states, however, is the quality control culture that requires that parts be accepted based on adherence to a preset cycle within specified limits. Because state-based inferential control systems could theoretically come up with a new cure cycle every time, this sort of specification cannot be used with such systems. Specifications instead have to be in terms of the process plan used for the cure. The satisfactory completion of a certain cure history without alarm states would be assumed to produce an acceptable part. Once the culture was able to accept that difference for autoclave curing, production costs at the U.S. air force s McClellan AFB Logistic Center were substantially reduced [32], This type of specification could also give material review boards a head start on investigations because they would know that a part did not meet specification as well as what sorts of flaws might result from the deviation. The experience at McClellan is that there are fewer parts to review. It is even conceivable that, with improvements to sensors, much of the current postcure nondestructive evaluation used to verily the quality of parts could be incorporated into the process, building quality in rather than inspecting it in after the fact. 

The civilization of Europe had known nothing like these novel drugs of Mexico, at least not in recorded history. Similar miraculous powers were attributed, in a way, to the Elements in the Mass and the Catholic Church in Mexico was quick to perceive this, to it, alarming parallel. But belief in the divinity of the Sacrament called for an act of faith, whereas the Mexican plants spoke for themselves. 

It has had its parallels in other ages, and it will be instructive for us to take a brief look at history. The early Christians were looked on with some alarm by that magnifi-... 

A 29-year-old woman with bulimia nervosa and a family history of anxiety was enrolled in a trial of naltrexone (100 mg/day). She had no history of opioid use. Within hours of her first dose she experienced alarm, anxiety, chest discomfort, shortness of breath, a fear of dying, sweating, nausea, and derealization. She was unable to remain at home or to go out alone. For 3 days she continued to take naltrexone, with an increasing frequency of panic attacks. On day 4 she was treated with alprazolam (0.5 mg) but relapsed after further naltrexone. Withdrawal of naltrexone led to complete remission of symptoms. 

This revelation prompted me to look further into the popular writings on this issue. I became alarmed at the antitechnology slant of much of the media coverage concerning food safety. As a result, I wrote an essay that was published in Newsweek. The comments I received convinced me that a book was needed to reinforce to the public that our food is healthier and safer than ever before in history. This article and the television program that prompted it occurred in early 1994. The headlines quoted above appeared in 1995 and some in 2000 Obviously the problem of misinformation is still present, and there is no indication that it will abate. Two books published in 2001, It Ain t Necessarily So by David Murray, Joel Schwartz and S. Robert Lichter as well as Damned Lies and Statistics by Joel Best, continue to illustrate that many of the problems presented in this book are relevant and must be addressed as we encounter new challenges. 

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