Virtual product development process for reducing noise, vibration, and harshness of vehicle based on substructuring and artificial neural network.

In this study, virtual product development method for reducing vibration and noise is proposed for designing at the concept development stage of a vehicle. To this end, the vibration characteristics of the system are predicted through the Lagrange-multiplier frequency-based substructuring technique. The concepts of contact, blocked and transmitted force, and force transmissibility were used for determining the improvement subsystem or combination of subsystems when using the modular platform. Moreover, after the subsystems to be improved were determined, Artificial Neural Network was used as a method of predicting vibration characteristics according to the change of design variables. To verify this, the prediction of the blocked force was performed by changing the young's modulus of the simplified substructure. Finally, the reduction in response was confirmed by applying the blocked force of the simplified subframe to the simplified structure, and a vehicle development process using a database at the concept setting stage is proposed.

Muscle Union Procedure in Patients with Paralytic Strabismus.

To present the surgical outcomes of a muscle union procedure in patients with paralytic strabismus, this retrospective study included 27 patients with paralytic strabismus who underwent a muscle union procedure. In this procedure, the two vertical rectus muscles are united with the paralytic horizontal muscle without splitting the muscles. Postoperative ocular deviations, complications, surgical success rates, and reoperation rates were obtained by examining the medical records of the patients. Seventeen patients had a sixth cranial nerve palsy, seven patients had a third cranial nerve palsy, and three patients had a medial rectus muscle palsy after endoscopic sinus surgery. The mean preoperative angle of horizontal deviation in the primary position was 56 ± 21 prism diopters. The mean follow-up period was 12 ± 9 months. The mean final postoperative ocular deviation was 8 ± 13 prism diopters. The success rate was 74%, and the reoperation rate was 0%. No significant complications, including anterior ischemia, occurred in any of the patients. One patient exhibited an increase in intraocular pressure in the immediate postoperative period, but this resolved spontaneously within 1 week. Our muscle union procedure was effective in patients with paralytic strabismus, especially in patients with a large angle of deviation. This muscle union procedure is potentially a suitable option for muscle transposition in patients with paralytic strabismus who have large-angle deviation or a significant residual angle after conventional surgery.