A performance evaluation framework of public health distribution network for essential medicines: lessons from the select Indian states

The present work has been carried out to develop a performance evaluation framework of distribution network design in public health with specific reference to essential medicines based on six different types of public health distribution networks (PHDNs) prevalent across six Indian states. We evaluated the performance of PHDNs on the criteria of cost and service and also on the sub-criteria of cost and service by following the analytic hierarchy process. We utilized the pairwise comparison method in determining the relative importance of criteria and sub-criteria by seeking responses from several experts and subsequently evaluated the PHDNs on all sub-criteria in a 7-point Likert scale by seeking views from the same experts. Finally, we developed the “cost–service matrix,” in which cost and service have been depicted in the horizontal and vertical axes, respectively. We demonstrated the performance of six PHDNs in this matrix in terms of cost and service by plotting scores obtained by them on cost and service, respectively. The findings of the study provide rich insights to the policy planners of public health.     

FireFly: a cross-layer platform for real-time embedded wireless networks

We propose a cross-layer approach with tightly-coupled time synchronization for real-time support and predictable lifetime in battery-operated sensor networks. Our design spans a sensor hardware platform with hardware-based global time synchronization, a TDMA link layer protocol with collision-free multi-hop support and node scheduling algorithms for maximum concurrency and streaming. Our dual-radio sensor platform, FireFly, features an IEEE 802.15.4 transceiver and supports global time synchronization indoors by using an AM radio carrier-current method and an atomic clock receiver for outdoors. A TDMA-based link protocol, RT-Link, leverages the hardware for fixed and mobile nodes with a near-optimal and predictable node lifetime of over 2 years. It outperforms comparable sensor network link protocols such as B-MAC and S-MAC in terms of end-to-end latency and throughput and node lifetime across all duty cycle ratios. Operating over RT-Link is MAX, a scheduling framework which offers optimal transmission concurrency and bandwidth management for networks with regular structure. Through analysis and experiments we show that global time sync is a robust, economical and scalable alternative to in-band software-based techniques. To illustrate the capabilities and flexibility of our platform, we describe our experiences with two-way voice streaming over multiple hops. We have deployed a 42-node network with sub-100 μs synchronization accuracy in the NIOSH experimental coal mine for people-tracking and voice communication.

Continuous‐discrete filters for bearings‐only underwater target tracking problems

In this work, we develop a continuous‐discrete shifted Rayleigh filter (CD‐SRF) and a continuous‐discrete sparse‐grid Gauss‐Hermite filter (CD‐SGHF) for a real‐life passive underwater bearings‐only target tracking problem. The stochastic difference equation describing the process model is derived from its continuous equivalent using Ito‐Taylor expansion of order 1.5. The performance of the proposed filters is compared in terms of root mean square error (RMSE), track divergence and computational time. For a fair comparison, popular filters like the unscented Kalman filter (UKF), cubature Kalman filter (CKF) and Gauss–Hermite filter (GHF) are implemented. The effect of initial uncertainty, measurement noise covariance and sampling time on filtering accuracy is also studied. Finally, RMSEs of all the filters are evaluated in comparison with the Cramer–Rao lower bound (CRLB). From simulation results, it was observed that CD filters performed with higher accuracy than their discrete equivalents, with CD‐SRF proving to be the most accurate among all the filters.     

A three-axis SOI accelerometer sensing with both in-plane and vertical comb electrodes

A three-axis capacitive accelerometer based on silicon-on-insulator is designed and fabricated. In the accelerometer, totally eight groups of capacitors are compactly arranged around an octagonal proof mass. The four groups of capacitors along orthogonal direction with in-plane comb electrodes detect XY acceleration, while the other four groups of capacitors along diagonal direction with vertical comb electrodes detect Z acceleration. Measurements of in-plane and vertical motion by the respective in-plane and vertical comb electrodes enable direct detection for all the three axes with differential capacitive sensing scheme. For the fabricated accelerometer in the size of 4 × 4 mm², the capacitance sensitivities of in-plane and out-of-plane accelerometers are 145.3 and 9.1 fF/g, respectively.     

The physics of e-commerce supply chains

The Internet is rapidly improving our ability to support information flows across global supply chains. However, the business impact of these IT investments depends not just on the information flows supported by such systems, but also on other non-information related characteristics of the supply chain. It is the complex interplay among these characteristics that results in business performance, or lack thereof. In order to better understand the business impact of IT investments in the supply chain, we are motivated to examine the ‘physics’ of supply chain structures. By physics, we mean the performance patterns inherent in its informational and physical characteristics. Using the systems dynamics methodology, we model basic information and physical characteristics of supply chains and examine their impact on some common measures of performance. Experiments with the models suggest that, in addition to information delays, physical delays also have a major impact on the stability of supply chains, as well as on operating cost. Moreover, the tradeoff between chain stability and responsiveness appears to be nonlinear, suggesting that a small compromise in responsiveness may yield larger gains in stability. Multi-tier chains appear to be less ‘stiff’ in responding to demand fluctuations, implying that their information systems must be specifically designed to overcome this structural tendency. These results have managerial implications in terms of designing the information and physical structure of a supply chain as well as for its operation.     

The concert queueing game: to wait or to be late

We introduce the concert (or cafeteria) queueing problem: A finite but large number of customers arrive into a queueing system that starts service at a specified opening time. Each customer is free to choose her arrival time (before or after opening time), and is interested in early service completion with minimal wait. These goals are captured by a cost function which is additive and linear in the waiting time and service completion time, with coefficients that may be class dependent. We consider a fluid model of this system, which is motivated as the fluid-scale limit of the stochastic system. In the fluid setting, we explicitly identify the unique Nash-equilibrium arrival profile for each class of customers. Our structural results imply that, in equilibrium, the arrival rate is increasing up until the closing time where all customers are served. Furthermore, the waiting queue is maximal at the opening time, and monotonically decreases thereafter. In the simple single class setting, we show that the price of anarchy (PoA, the efficiency loss relative to the socially optimal solution) is exactly two, while in the multi-class setting we develop tight upper and lower bounds on the PoA. In addition, we consider several mechanisms that may be used to reduce the PoA. The proposed model may explain queueing phenomena in diverse settings that involve a pre-assigned opening time.     

Majorisations for the eigenvectors of graph-adjacency matrices

We develop majorisation results that characterise changes in eigenvector components of a graph's adjacency matrix when its topology is changed. Specifically, for general (weighted, directed) graphs, we characterise changes in dominant eigenvector components for single- and multi-row incrementations. We also show that topology changes can be tailored to set ratios between the components of the dominant eigenvector. For more limited graph classes (specifically, undirected, and reversibly-structured ones), majorisations for components of the subdominant and other eigenvectors upon graph modifications are also obtained.     

Providing secure execution environments with a last line of defense against Trojan circuit attacks

Integrated circuits (ICs) are often produced in foundries that lack effective security controls. In these foundries, sophisticated attackers are able to insert malicious Trojan circuits that are easily hidden in the large, complex circuitry that comprises modern ICs. These so-called Trojan circuits are capable of launching attacks directly in hardware, or, more deviously, can facilitate software attacks. Current defense against Trojan circuits consists of statistical detection techniques to find such circuits before product deployment. The fact that statistical detection can result in false negatives raises the obvious questions: can attacks be detected post-deployment, and is secure execution nonetheless possible using chips with undetected Trojan circuits? In this paper we present the Secure Heartbeat And Dual-Encryption (SHADE) architecture, a compiler–hardware solution for detecting and preventing a subset of Trojan circuit attacks in deployed systems. Two layers of hardware encryption are combined with a heartbeat of off-chip accesses to provide a secure execution environment using untrusted hardware. The SHADE system is designed to complement pre-deployment detection techniques and to add a final, last-chance layer of security.     

Comparing stationary standing with an intermittent walking posture during assembly operations

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate two different standing postures, intermittent walking (dynamic) and stationary, on 11 volunteers. While performing the activity in a stationary posture, volunteers worked barefoot for 25 minutes at a particular workstation, taking up to five passive breaks. The dynamic standing postural activity was similar in every respect with the exception of the nature of the breaks that were spent walking from one workstation to the other. Foot pressure was analyzed using a static evaluation variable (contact area) and a dynamic evaluation variable (area pressure change root mean square [aPcrms]). Foot center of pressure (COP) was analyzed using two of its features: excursion length (LEN) and root mean square velocity of excursions (VEL). In addition, a psychophysical study was used to distinguish the comfort levels of various muscles between the two postures. The quantifications of the four physiological variables revealed a lower comfort index (p < 0.05) in stationary standing compared to dynamic standing during assembling duties. This significant distinction was further corroborated by the results of the psychophysical test. Such a positive influence of the dynamic standing posture on standing comfort can be used to improve industrial productivity. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An atomic force microscope study of carbon onions and related nanoparticles

Carbon onions are found along with carbon nanotubes and other carbon nanoparticles in the cathodic deposit in the arc-vaporization of graphite. Atomic force microscopy has been used to characterize these particles on the basis of their sizes and shapes. Onion-like particles have three-dimensional, near spherical structure and are distinct from two-dimensional graphitic particles. The spherical shape and height to diameter ratios obtained using atomic force microscope, afford a distinction between onion-like structures and other carbon nanoparticles.