Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a major advancement in the digitization of manufacturing and production operations. Additive manufacturing uses three dimensional digital design, software and hardware equipment to precisely deposit layered materials for on-demand product manufacturing. The distinct advantages in enabling additive manufacturing includes cost efficiency, reduced time-to-market, flexibility and precise customization. However, several challenges such as trusted traceability, certification for quality compliance, and protecting intellectual property need to be addressed. Blockchain-based distributed ledgers provide tremendous advantages for product traceability and ensure trust among participating stakeholders. In this paper, we propose a blockchain-based solution for product traceability produced using additive manufacturing, guaranteeing secure and trusted traceability, accessibility, and immutability of transactions, and data provenance among supply chain stakeholders. Our proposed solution utilizes Ethereum smart contracts to govern and trace transactions initiated by participants involved in the manufacturing process. Decentralized storage of Inter-Planetary File Systems is used to store and share design files, IoT device records, and additional product specifications. We provide the system architecture, implementation, and detailed algorithms that demonstrate the working principles of our proposed solution for secure AM. Furthermore, we present detailed security and cost analysis of the solution highlighting its efficiency with respect to key security and performance requirements.
A minor insult to the pediatric airway can have a devastating result. Unfortunately, the signs and symptoms of obstruction might not be present immediately and take some time to develop. Therefore, physicians should have a higher index of suspicion for airway obstruction in children that present with a history of ingestion of scalding liquid. Signs and symptoms of infectious vs noninfectious epiglottis do overlap and the key to differentiate is by careful history and physical exam, especially in nonverbal children. A secondary bacterial infection might complicate thermal epiglottis and make the picture a bit confusing. Therefore, a coordinated approach through a multidisciplinary team is indicated from the start and these cases should be managed and referred to a higher center.
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