Some comments on Malakooti et al. ‘Integrated group technology,cell formation,process planning,and production planning with application to the emergency room’

In this technical note, we suggest an alternative to the cellular layout for the emergency room problem discussed in Malakooti et al. (Malakooti, B., Malakooti, N.R. and Yang, Z., Integrated group technology, cell formation, process planning, and production planning with application to the emergency room. Int. J. Prod. Res., 2004, 42(9), 1769–1786). The alternative layout—hybrid flowshop layout—belongs to a class of hybrid cellular layouts that can be designed using the integrated suite of algorithms available in the production flow analysis and simplification toolkit (PFAST) software (Irani, S.A., Zhang, H., Zhou, J., Huang, H., Tennati, K.U. and Subramanian, S., Production flow analysis and simplification toolkit (PFAST). Int. J. Prod. Res., 2000, 38(8), 1855–1874). These layouts are intermediate between the traditional layout extremes—process layout and cellular layout—for a high-variety low-volume (HVLV) manufacturing facility. Our results indicate that the hybrid flowshop layout is superior to the cellular layout since it eliminates/reduces the duplication of procedures1 ¹?A ‘procedure’ and a ‘patient’ in the emergency room layout problem are analogous to ‘machines (or work centres)’ and ‘parts (or products)’, respectively, in a typical manufacturing facility layout problem. , backtrack flows between non-adjacent procedures and by-pass flows between procedures.     

Syntactic user modelling with stochastic processes

An approach to user modelling with discrete stochastic processes is presented, which aims at the dynamic individualization of user interfaces on the syntactic layer. The state of the art of syntactic user modelling is surveyed. The mathematical background of simple Markov Chains and the 'classic' Hidden Markov Model is presented. Furthermore, dynamic Bayesian Networks are introduced, which generalize these Markovian Models. A case study of the simulation experiments uses a multimodal user interface for supervisory control of advanced manufacturing cells. A corresponding simulation model is created and exploited to generate interaction cases, which are the empirical basis for the evaluation. Six topologies of dynamic Bayesian Networks are evaluated for 100 interaction cases and 50 replications each: (1) Markov Chain of order 1, (2) Hidden Markov Model, (3) autoregressive Hidden Markov Model, (4) factorial Hidden Markov Model, (5) simple hierarchical Hidden Markov Model, and (6) tree structured Hidden Markov Model. The dependent variable is the prediction accuracy for a single prediction lead. In a first step, a one-way analysis of variance in conjunction with Tukey's post-hoc test demonstrated a significant superiority of the simple hierarchical Hidden Markov Model. In a second step, an additional two-way analysis of variance also indicated a significantly better prediction accuracy of the simple hierarchical Hidden Markov Model compared to the Hidden Markov Model, but the number of interaction cases also had a significant effect. Hence, the modeller has to take both factors--model topology and number of interaction cases--into account when designing syntactic user models with stochastic processes.     

Stakeholder Engagement in Early Stage Product-Service System Development for Healthcare Informatics

Abstract:

This article presents the findings from four case studies on stakeholder engagement in new healthcare information and communication technology (ICT) product-service system (PSS) development. The degree of connectivity between the new healthcare ICT PSS and its intended operating environment has emerged to be an important contextual factor that may impact decisions concerning stakeholder engagement in the early stage development process. The four propositions of stakeholder identification and engagement in the development process, put forward in this article, provide important directions for future work in exploring the implications of PSS characterization in early-stage new healthcare PSS development process.     

The economic burden of injury: Health care and productivity costs of injuries in the Netherlands

BackgroundDetailed information on health care costs and productivity costs for the whole spectrum of injuries is lacking. We measured the total costs of injuries by external-cause, injury groupings, age and sex.MethodInjury patients visiting an Emergency Department in the Netherlands were included. Health service use and work absenteeism were estimated with national database data and a prospective follow-up study. Health care costs (direct costs) and productivity costs (indirect costs) were determined using the incidence-based Dutch Cost of Injury Model.ResultsTotal costs of injuries were €3.5 billion annually (€210/capita and €4300/patient); €2.0 billion healthcare costs and €1.5 billion productivity costs. Home and leisure injury subcategory falls caused 41% of total costs. Traffic injury was prominent in the 15–54 age group, mainly due to bicycle injuries. Sports injuries, in special football/soccer injuries, resulted in high costs in the 15–24 age group. Although costs per patient were comparable between males and females, health care costs were higher in females, whereas males have more than twice as high productivity costs. Health care costs were highest for hip fractures (€20,000/patient). Extremity fractures had high costs due to high incidences and high productivity costs per patient.ConclusionOur detailed cost model identified known risk groups, such as elderly females with hip fractures resulting from falls, as well as less obvious important high risk groups, such as young children falling from furniture, young males who sustained football/soccer injuries and bicycle injuries among all ages. This information is essential to assess additional priority areas for prevention.     

DESIGN OPTIMIZATION FOR ROBUSTNESS USING QUADRATURE FACTORIAL MODELS

Abstract

This paper describes a robust optimization methodology for designs involving either complex simulations or actual experiments. The methodology adopts a new objective function that consists of the Expected Performance (EP) and the weighted Deviation Index (DI). The proposed Quadrature Factorial Model estimates the expected performance and the standard deviation of a design. This scheme greatly reduces the number of experiments and provides superior results for systems with significant interaction effects and nonlinear variations. The proposed methodology is applied to the design of helical gears with minimum transmission error. The robust optimum shows a significant reduction of the expected transmission error compared with previous studies, while maintaining the insensitivity to manufacturing errors and load variation.     

A COMPARISON OF TWO NaCl TEST SYSTEMS USED FOR MEASURING FILTER EFFICIENCY

ABSTRACT

The filter efficiency of materials to be used in respiratory protective devices is commonly measured by using a solid NaCl particle challenge and a flame ionization detector. The Moore's BS 4400 Bench Rig is an example of such equipment.

Recently, TSI, Inc. introduced their Model 8110. This system also produces a NaCl particle challenge. It uses a laser diode detector.

The filter efficiencies of two different filter materials were determined in a comparative study utilizing several Moore's and TSI systems. The results indicate that the two test systems are relatable and that the between-machine consistency of the Model 8110 is better than the Moore's system.     

Nonlinear quantum optical computing via measurement

Abstract

We show how the measurement induced model of quantum computation proposed by Raussendorf and Briegel (2001, Phys. Rev. Letts., 86, 5188) can be adapted to a nonlinear optical interaction. This optical implementation requires a Kerr nonlinearity, a single photon source, a single photon detector and fast feed forward. Although nondeterministic optical quantum information proposals such as that suggested by KLM (2001, Nature, 409, 46) do not require a Kerr nonlinearity they do require complex reconfigurable optical networks. The proposal in this paper has the benefit of a single static optical layout with fixed device parameters, where the algorithm is defined by the final measurement procedure.     

Road traffic fatalities in Arkhangelsk,Russia in 2005–2010: Reliability of police and healthcare data

Purpose

To estimate and compare reliability of traffic mortality data of the police and the healthcare sector in Arkhangelsk, Russia.

Methods

The study matched traffic mortality data of the police and the regional healthcare statistics centre for the period from 2005 to 2010. Individual investigations of unmatched cases were performed, and the underlying causes of the non-matches were established. The obtained distribution of non-matches by causes served as basis for estimating the true numbers of traffic fatalities in the two sources, in appliance with corresponding fatality definitions and registration rules. A data accuracy index (DAI) was calculated for each source by using an adapted version of the formula for calculating accuracy of a diagnostic test. This was used as a measure for data reliability. Time trends in annual DAIs were estimated for each source by χ²-test for linear trend.

Results

During the 6-year period, the police and the healthcare statistics centre registered 217 and 237 traffic fatalities in Arkhangelsk, respectively. Matching of data from the two sources resulted in 162 matched cases, 55 unmatched cases in the police data, and 75 unmatched cases in the healthcare data. More than a half (56%) of the non-matches were attributed to incompatibility of the definitions in the two data registration systems; 39% were attributed to failures in the healthcare data. Other non-matches were due to scarce identifying information (2%) or were not classifiable (2%). None of the non-matches were clearly attributable to failures in the police data. The 6-year DAI was 98% for the police data and 80% for the healthcare data. The DAI for the police data was stable over 2005–2010 (ranging from 96% to 100%). The DAI for the healthcare data increased from 66% in 2005 to 98% in 2010 (P_trend < 0.001).

Conclusion

The findings suggest that traffic mortality data of the police were more reliable, compared to the healthcare data. However, reliability of the healthcare data was improving during the study period.     

Behavioral Intrusion Prediction Model on Bayesian Network over Healthcare Infrastructure

Due to polymorphic nature of malware attack, a signature-based analysis is no longer sufficient to solve polymorphic and stealth nature of malware attacks. On the other hand, state-of-the-art methods like deep learning require labelled dataset as a target to train a supervised model. This is unlikely to be the case in production network as the dataset is unstructured and has no label. Hence an unsupervised learning is recommended. Behavioral study is one of the techniques to elicit traffic pattern. However, studies have shown that existing behavioral intrusion detection model had a few issues which had been parameterized into its common characteristics, namely lack of prior information (p (θ)), and reduced parameters (θ). Therefore, this study aims to utilize the previously built Feature Selection Model subsequently to design a Predictive Analytics Model based on Bayesian Network used to improve the analysis prediction. Feature Selection Model is used to learn significant label as a target and Bayesian Network is a sophisticated probabilistic approach to predict intrusion. Finally, the results are extended to evaluate detection, accuracy and false alarm rate of the model against the subject matter expert model, Support Vector Machine (SVM), k nearest neighbor (k-NN) using simulated and ground-truth dataset. The ground-truth dataset from the production traffic of one of the largest healthcare provider in Malaysia is used to promote realism on the real use case scenario. Results have shown that the proposed model consistently outperformed other models.     

On telescope performance evaluation

Abstract

We analyse the imaging performance of synthetic-aperture optical systems (diluted aperture and segmented aperture) using the modulation transfer function. We select a single figure-of-merit, the functional cut-off frequency, over the traditional cut-off frequency, as the most useful one for assessing the optical performance of an instrument for its imaging capacity. A simplified aperture layout is proposed with the performance equivalent to that of the Keck telescope, incorporating a smaller number of segments. The detailed analysis in the spatial frequency plane leads us to observe that the central ring of the hexagons in the Keck telescope does not contribute to its resolution.     

Structural and Magnetic Properties of Copper(II) Coordination Polymers Containing Fluoride-Based Anions and Ancillary Organic Ligands

The fluoride (F⁻) and bifluoride (HF₂⁻) anions have been little used in the self-assembly of molecular and polymeric magnets. We have recently synthesized several new compounds, namely CuF₂(3-OHpy)₄ (OHpy = hydroxypyridine) (1), Cu(SiF₆)(2,6-me₂pyz)₄ (me₂pyz = dimethylpyrazine) (2), CuF₂(H₂O)₂(pyz) (pyz = pyrazine) (3) and [Cu(HF₂)(pyz)₂]BF₄ (4). Compound 1 contains coordinate covalent and hydrogen bonding interactions that link the Cu(II) ions into 3D networks while 2 features square-pyramidal Cu(II) ions that are weakly bridged by SiF₆²⁻ anions into 1D chains. Preliminary structural data indicate that compound 3 contains 1D Cu-pyz-Cu chains while 4 contains two dimensional [Cu(pyz)₂]²⁺ layers, which held together via HF₂⁻ anions so as to form an unprecedented 3D network. The magnetic properties of each are briefly described herein.     

Lean-Thinking: Implementation and Measurement in Healthcare Settings

Abstract

Despite positive reports about lean approaches to spearhead quality and patient safety improvement efforts, it is still difficult to determine if healthcare employees have transformed into effective lean thinkers. Lean thinking refers to individuals who operate with thoughtful reflection on organizational issues, are committed to continuous improvement efforts, and demonstrate the willingness to lead change. The objective of this theory building research is to contribute a survey instrument and conceptual model to measure individual transformation to lean thinking. Our learnings from the case study suggest that healthcare a professional’s transition to lean thinking via a complex combination of awareness issues at both the unit and individual levels, and both levels should be considered when moving individuals toward readiness and through a personal transformation to lean thinking.     

Simulation Study: Improvement for Non-Urgent Patient Processes in the Emergency Department

Abstract

This case research was designed to determine if non-urgent patient processes could be improved using a fast-track process in the emergency department of a medical center. The existing fast-track process served 40% of overall walk-in patients at the emergency department. We proposed a series of potential enhancements to patient flow. The proposed smart-track process highlights three features: (1) balancing workload, (2) a flexible re-visit option, and (3) renovation of a portion of the fast-track area into a consulting area. Simulation study results revealed that the enhanced smart-track process has the potential to reduce the average wait time of patients by 73.2% while reducing the burnout of medical staff. This study provides an example of how simulation can be used by engineering managers to make improvements to operations in the healthcare industry.     

Hydrothermal syntheses, structures and magnetic properties of coordination frameworks of divalent transition metals

The hydrothermal syntheses, single-crystal X-ray structures and magnetic properties of [Co(C₄O₄)(H₂O)₂] (1), [Co₃(OH)₂(C₄O₄)₂] · 3H₂O (2) and [Fe(OH)₂(C₄O₄)] (3) are described. Pale yellow cubes of 1 and brown red crystals of 2 were obtained from the reaction of Co(OH)₂ and squaric acid at 200 °C. Brown needle of 3 were obtained similarly from Fe(SO₄) · 7H₂O, squaric acid and NaOH. 1 consists of a cubic sodalite arrangement with empty cavities where the Co atoms are connected by μ₄-squarate and two trans-water molecules each, while 2 and 3 contain metal-hydroxide double-chains of edge-sharing octahedral, brucite-type for 2 and goethite for 3, connected by μ₆-squarate. 2 contains water molecules in the channels which can be removed and re-inserted repeatedly without loss of crystallinity. All three compounds possess 3D frameworks made up of coordination and hydrogen bonds. 1 behaves as a paramagnet while 2 and 3 are antiferromagnets and 2 transforms to a ferromagnet reversibly upon dehydration and rehydration. The structures of two one-dimensional polymers employing 2,5-pyridinedicarboxylate, [Co₂(H₂O)₆(2,5-pydc)₂] · 2H₂O (4) and Cu(2,5-pydc)₂ (5), are also reported.     

Co-crystallization for enhanced dissolution rate of bicalutamide: preparation and evaluation of rapidly disintegrating tablets

Objectives: Enhance the dissolution rate of bicalutamide via co-crystallization with sucralose (sweetener), with the aim to develop rapidly disintegrating tablets with subsequent prompt dissolution.

Significance: Bicalutamide is antiandrogenic agent for the treatment of prostate cancer but has low and variable oral bioavailability, mainly attributed to poor dissolution. Co-crystallization with benign excipients is promising for dissolution enhancement with the additive serving dual functions. The benefit will become greater if dissolution enhancement is associated with the development of orodispersible tablets which is suitable for elderly patients who are the most vulnerable for prostate cancer.

Methods: Bicalutamide was dissolved in acetone in the presence of increasing molar ratios of sucralose. The solvent was evaporated while mixing to deposit crystals that were subjected to wet co-grinding until drying. The developed solids were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction in addition to monitoring bicalutamide dissolution.

Results: Instrumental analysis provided evidences for co-crystallization which was initiated at 1:1 molar ratio of bicalutamide to sucralose with complete co-crystallization at 1:4 molar ratio. The co-crystals provided faster bicalutamide dissolution compared with the unprocessed drug and that recrystalized from acetone in the absence of sucralose. The formulation containing bicalutamide with sucralose at 1:4 molar ratio was selected for tablet formulation into which superdisintegrants were included. The developed tablets exhibited flash disintegration with subsequent fast dissolution of bicalutamide.

Conclusions: The study introduced co-crystallization of bicalutamide with sucralose as an efficient tool to enhance the dissolution rate and to develop rapidly dissolving tablets for intraoral administration.     

In vitro and in vivo investigation of taste-masking effectiveness of Eudragit E PO as drug particle coating agent in orally disintegrating tablets

Abstract

Context: Considering that bitter taste of drugs incorporated in orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs) can be the main reason for avoiding drug therapy, it is of the utmost importance to achieve successful taste-masking. The evaluation of taste-masking effectiveness is still a major challenge.

Objective: The objective of this study was to mask bitter taste of the selected model drugs by drug particle coating with Eudragit^® E PO, as well as to evaluate taste-masking effectiveness of prepared ODTs using compendial dissolution testing, dissolution in the small-volume shake-flask assembly and trained human taste panel.

Materials and methods: Model drugs were coated in fluidized bed. Disintequik? ODT was used as a novel co-processed excipient for ODT preparation. Selected formulations were investigated in vitro and in vivo using techniques for taste-masking assessment.

Results and discussion: Significantly slower drug dissolution was observed from tablets with coated drug particles during the first 3?min of investigation. Results of in vivo taste-masking assessment demonstrated significant improvement in drug bitterness suppression in formulations with coated drug. Strong correlation between the results of drug dissolution in the small-volume shake-flask assembly and in vivo evaluation data was established (R?≥?0.970).

Conclusion: Drug particle coating with Eudragit^® E PO can be a suitable approach for bitter taste-masking. Strong correlation between in vivo and in vitro results implicate that small-volume dissolution method may be used as surrogate for human panel taste-masking assessment, in the case of physical taste-masking approach application.     

Optimal Confidential Mechanisms in Smart City Healthcare

Smart City Healthcare (SHC²) system is applied in monitoring the patient at home while it is also expected to react to their needs in a timely manner. The system also concedes the freedom of a patient. IoT is a part of this system and it helps in providing care to the patients. IoT-based healthcare devices are trustworthy since it almost certainly recognizes the potential intensifications at very early stage and alerts the patients and medical experts to such an extent that they are provided with immediate care. Existing methodologies exhibit few shortcomings in terms of computational complexity, cost and data security. Hence, the current research article examines SHC² security through Light Weight Cipher (LWC) with Optimal S-Box model in PRESENT cipher. This procedure aims at changing the sub bytes in which a single function is connected with several bytes’ information to upgrade the security level through Swam optimization. The key contribution of this research article is the development of a secure healthcare model for smart city using SHC² security via LWC and Optimal S-Box models. The study used a nonlinear layer and single 4-bit S box for round configuration after verifying SHC² information, constrained by Mutual Authentication (MA). The security challenges, in healthcare information systems, emphasize the need for a methodology that immovably concretes the establishments. The methodology should act practically, be an effective healthcare framework that depends on solidarity and adapts to the developing threats. Healthcare service providers integrated the IoT applications and medical services to offer individuals, a seamless technology-supported healthcare service. The proposed SHC² was implemented to demonstrate its security levels in terms of time and access policies. The model was tested under different parameters such as encryption time, decryption time, access time and response time in minimum range. Then, the level of the model and throughput were analyzed by maximum value i.e., 50 Mbps/sec and 95.56% for PRESENT-Authorization cipher to achieve smart city security. The proposed model achieved better results than the existing methodologies.     

An application of an expert system in layout compaction of VLSI design

Abstract

Recent research in knowledge‐based expert systems of VLSI design tools has concentrated on placement, routing, and cell generation. This paper presents an alternative application for artificial intelligence (AI) techniques on compaction design for a VLSI mask layout‐expert compactor. In order to overcome the shortcomings of iterative search through a large problem space within a working memory, and therefore, to speed‐up the runtime of compaction, a set of rule‐based region query operations and knowledge‐based techniques for the plane sweep method are proposed in this system. Experimental results have explored the possibility of using expert system technology (EST) to automate the compaction process by “reasoning” out the layout design and applying sophisticated expert rules to its knowledge base.     

A Computational Treatment of 35 IPR Isomers of C88

Abstract

The complete sets of 35 isolated-pentagon-rule (IPR) isomers of C₈₈ is described by the SAM1 (Semi-Ab-initio Model 1) quantum-chemical method. The separation energetics is also computed at the HF/STO-3G, HF/3-21G, and HF/4-31G levels. The SAM1 and HF/4-31G data mostly agree within a few kJ/mol. As the SAM1 energetics does not reproduce the recent NMR observations, entropy contributions are included, too, being based on the harmonic-oscillator and rigid-rotator model. Considerable temperature effects on the relative stabilities in the system are found. The ground-state structure of C₈₈ is a C ₃ isomer, however, with an increase of temperature a C ₂ structure becomes important. At still higher temperatures a near C ₂ species is dominant. The results can be viewed as a good agreement with the available observations, and they further expand the family of the IPR sets where the thermodynamic equilibrium treatment allows for a satisfactory support of observations.