Energy Efficient Resource Allocation for Phantom Cellular Networks

KAUST Repository

Abdelhady, Amr

2016-04-01

Multi-tier heterogeneous networks have become an essential constituent for next generation cellular networks. Meanwhile, energy efficiency (EE) has been considered a critical design criterion along with the traditional spectral efficiency (SE) metric. In this context, we study power and spectrum allocation for the recently proposed two-tier network architecture known as phantom cellular networks. The optimization framework includes both EE and SE. First, we consider sparsely deployed cells experiencing negligible interference and assume perfect channel state information (CSI). For this setting, we propose an algorithm that finds the SE and EE resource allocation strategies. Then, we compare the performance of both design strategies versus number of users, and phantom cells share of the total available resource units (RUs). We aim to investigate the effect of some system parameters to achieve improved SE performance at a non-significant loss in EE performance, or vice versa. It is found that increasing phantom cells share of RUs decreases the SE performance loss due to EE optimization when compared with the optimized SE performance. Second, we consider the densely deployed phantom cellular networks and model the EE optimization problem having into consideration the inevitable interference and imperfect channel estimation. To this end, we propose three resource allocation strategies aiming at optimizing the EE performance metric of this network. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of changing some of the system parameters on the performance of the proposed strategies, such as phantom cells share of RUs, number of deployed phantom cells within a macro cell coverage, number of pilots and the maximum power available for transmission by the phantom cells BSs. It is found that increasing the number of pilots deteriorates the EE performance of the whole setup, while increasing maximum power available for phantom cells transmissions reduces the EE of the whole setup in a

Adaptive resource allocation for efficient patient scheduling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vermeulen, Ivan B.; Bohte, Sander M.; Elkhuizen, Sylvia G.; Lameris, Han; Bakker, Piet J. M.; La Poutré, Han

2009-01-01

Efficient scheduling of patient appointments on expensive resources is a complex and dynamic task. A resource is typically used by several patient groups. To service these groups, resource capacity is often allocated per group, explicitly or implicitly. Importantly, due to fluctuations in demand,

Processing speed training increases the efficiency of attentional resource allocation in young adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wesley K Burge

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Cognitive training has been shown to improve performance on a range of tasks. However, the mechanisms underlying these improvements are still unclear. Given the wide range of transfer effects, it is likely that these effects are due to a factor common to a wide range of tasks. One such factor is a participant’s efficiency in allocating limited cognitive resources. The impact of a cognitive training program, Processing Speed Training (PST, on the allocation of resources to a set of visual tasks was measured using pupillometry in 10 young adults as compared to a control group of a 10 young adults (n = 20. PST is a well-studied computerized training program that involves identifying simultaneously presented central and peripheral stimuli. As training progresses, the task becomes increasingly more difficult, by including peripheral distracting stimuli and decreasing the duration of stimulus presentation. Analysis of baseline data confirmed that pupil diameter reflected cognitive effort. After training, participants randomized to PST used fewer attentional resources to perform complex visual tasks as compared to the control group. These pupil diameter data indicated that PST appears to increase the efficiency of attentional resource allocation. Increases in cognitive efficiency have been hypothesized to underlie improvements following experience with action video games, and improved cognitive efficiency has been hypothesized to underlie the benefits of processing speed training in older adults. These data reveal that these training schemes may share a common underlying mechanism of increasing cognitive efficiency in younger adults.

Allocative and Technical Efficiency Analysis of Cassava Farming in Bitefa Village, East Miofamo District, Middle North Timor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Wahib Muhaimin

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Cassava is a food crop with great economic value since its cost is affordable and has been passed down to the generation.  People at Bitefa village are majority a farmer who depends their life on agriculture to meet the needs. Problems faced by farmers in farming cassava at Bitefa village are farming management that is not in accordance with the guidelines and the use of factors of production that is not suitable for the dose recommended. This suggests that the use of factors of production are not efficient. Research objectives are: (1 to analyze the factors that affect the production of cassava, (2 to analyze the level of allocative and technical efficiency, (3 to analyze factors that affect technical inefficiency. The efficient use of factors of production is expected to increase production and income for farmers of cassava. The result obtained using stochastic frontier production function analysis is that the influence of cassava farming real production is the production of land and seeds. Meanwhile, labor, cost factors and the use of manure have no effect on the real production of cassava. The technical efficiency level of cassava farming in the research area is the lowest by 0.80 of which amounted to 0.99. While the level of NPMxPx for land use allocative efficiency is 1 so that the allocation of land use in the area of research has not been efficient. NPMxPx for the use of seed allocation is 1 so that the use of seedlings is also not efficient. Nonformal education influence is real and marked positive effect against inefficiency. Formal education is marked negative but having a real effect against the inefficiency. Farmer's age is marked negative and not real, while the experience and the number of family members are marked positive but having no real effect on the production of cassava.

Energy-Efficient Resource Allocation for Phantom Cellular Networks with Imperfect CSI

KAUST Repository

Abdelhady, Amr Mohamed Abdelaziz

2017-03-28

Multi-tier heterogeneous networks have become an essential constituent for next generation cellular networks. Meanwhile, energy efficiency (EE) has been considered a critical design criterion along with the traditional spectral efficiency (SE) metric. In this context, we study power and spectrum allocation for a two-tier phantom cellular network, The optimization framework includes both EE and SE. We consider densely deployed phantom cellular networks and model the EE optimization problem taking into consideration the inevitable interference in this setup and imperfect channel estimation impairments. To this end, we propose three resource allocation strategies aiming at optimizing this network EE performance metric. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of changing some system parameters on the performance of these strategies, such as phantom cells resource units share, number of deployed phantom cells within a macro cell , number of pilots, and the phantom cells transmission power budget. It is found that increasing the number of pilots will deteriorate the EE performance of the whole setup, while increasing phantom cells transmission power budget will not affect the EE of the whole setup significantly. In addition, we observed that it is always useful to allocate most of the network resource units to the phantom cells tier.

Energy-Efficient Resource Allocation for Phantom Cellular Networks with Imperfect CSI

KAUST Repository

Abdelhady, Amr Mohamed Abdelaziz; Amin, Osama; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2017-01-01

Multi-tier heterogeneous networks have become an essential constituent for next generation cellular networks. Meanwhile, energy efficiency (EE) has been considered a critical design criterion along with the traditional spectral efficiency (SE) metric. In this context, we study power and spectrum allocation for a two-tier phantom cellular network, The optimization framework includes both EE and SE. We consider densely deployed phantom cellular networks and model the EE optimization problem taking into consideration the inevitable interference in this setup and imperfect channel estimation impairments. To this end, we propose three resource allocation strategies aiming at optimizing this network EE performance metric. Furthermore, we investigate the effect of changing some system parameters on the performance of these strategies, such as phantom cells resource units share, number of deployed phantom cells within a macro cell , number of pilots, and the phantom cells transmission power budget. It is found that increasing the number of pilots will deteriorate the EE performance of the whole setup, while increasing phantom cells transmission power budget will not affect the EE of the whole setup significantly. In addition, we observed that it is always useful to allocate most of the network resource units to the phantom cells tier.

Modeling efficient resource allocation patterns for arable crop ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

optimum plans. This should be complemented with strong financial support, farm advisory services and adequate supply of modern inputs at fairly competitive prices would enhance the prospects of the small holder farmers. Keywords: efficient, resource allocation, optimization, linear programming, gross margin ...

Research on Evaluation of resource allocation efficiency of transportation system based on DEA

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhehui; Du, Linan

2017-06-01

In this paper, we select the time series data onto 1985-2015 years, construct the land (shoreline) resources, capital and labor as inputs. The index system of the output is freight volume and passenger volume, we use Quantitative analysis based on DEA method evaluated the resource allocation efficiency of railway, highway, water transport and civil aviation in China. Research shows that the resource allocation efficiency of various modes of transport has obvious difference, and the impact on scale efficiency is more significant. The most important two ways to optimize the allocation of resources to improve the efficiency of the combination of various modes of transport is promoting the co-ordination of various modes of transport and constructing integrated transportation system.

Energy Efficient Resource Allocation for Cognitive Radios: A Generalized Sensing Analysis

KAUST Repository

Alabbasi, AbdulRahman; Rezki, Zouheir; Shihada, Basem

2014-01-01

In this paper, two resource allocation schemes for energy efficient cognitive radio systems are proposed. Our design considers resource allocation approaches that adopt spectrum sharing combined with soft-sensing information, adaptive sensing thresholds, and adaptive power to achieve an energy efficient system. An energy per good-bit metric is considered as an energy efficient objective function. A multi-carrier system, such as, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, is considered in the framework. The proposed resource allocation schemes, using different approaches, are designated as sub-optimal and optimal. The sub-optimal approach is attained by optimizing over a channel inversion power policy. The optimal approach utilizes the calculus of variation theory to optimize a problem of instantaneous objective function subject to average and instantaneous constraints with respect to functional optimization variables. In addition to the analytical results, selected numerical results are provided to quantify the impact of soft-sensing information and the optimal adaptive sensing threshold on the system performance.

Energy Efficient Resource Allocation for Cognitive Radios: A Generalized Sensing Analysis

KAUST Repository

Alabbasi, Abdulrahman

2014-12-31

In this paper, two resource allocation schemes for energy efficient cognitive radio systems are proposed. Our design considers resource allocation approaches that adopt spectrum sharing combined with soft-sensing information, adaptive sensing thresholds, and adaptive power to achieve an energy efficient system. An energy per good-bit metric is considered as an energy efficient objective function. A multi-carrier system, such as, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing, is considered in the framework. The proposed resource allocation schemes, using different approaches, are designated as sub-optimal and optimal. The sub-optimal approach is attained by optimizing over a channel inversion power policy. The optimal approach utilizes the calculus of variation theory to optimize a problem of instantaneous objective function subject to average and instantaneous constraints with respect to functional optimization variables. In addition to the analytical results, selected numerical results are provided to quantify the impact of soft-sensing information and the optimal adaptive sensing threshold on the system performance.

Energy Efficient Power Allocation for Cognitive MIMO Channels

KAUST Repository

Sboui, Lokman

2016-01-06

Two major issues are facing today s wireless communications evolution: -Spectrum scarcity: Need for more bandwidth. As a solution, the Cognitive Radio (CR) paradigm, where secondary users (unlicensed) share the spectrum with licensed users, was introduced. -Energy consumption and CO2 emission: The ICT produces 2% of global CO2 emission (equivalent to the aviation industry emission). The cellular networks produces 0.2%. As solution energy efficient systems should be designed rather than traditional spectral efficient systems. In this work, an energy efficient power allocation framework based on maximizing the average EE per parallel channel is presented.

The use of resource allocation approach for hospitals based on the initial efficiency by using data envelopment analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nahid Yazdian Hossein Abadi

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Recourse allocation is very important in today’s highly competitive environment to enhance the quality and reduce costs due to limited resources and unlimited needs of the society. The aim of this study was to implement resource allocation in order to improve the efficiency of hospital. Method: This is a mixed method study. The data used in this paper are secondary data related to the 30 large acute and general hospitals in the US. Bed, service mix, full-time equivalent (FTE, and operational expenses are input indicators in hospital, and adjusted admissions and outpatient visits are output indicators. Using goal programming (GP model and data envelopment analysis (DEA model with a common weights, we suggest three scenarios for resource allocation and budget allocation. “Resource allocation based on efficiency”, “budget allocation based on efficiency” and “two stage allocation of budget”. The first scenario was used for allocating the resources and the second and third ones for allocating budget to decision making units (DMUs. The data were analyzed by LINGO software. Results: Before the allocation, four hospitals were efficient and the efficiency of six hospitals was less than 50%, but after allocation, in the first case of the first scenario 14 hospitals, 11 hospitals in the second case of the first scenario, 24 hospitals in the second scenario and 17 hospitals in the third scenario were efficient, and it is an important point that after the allocation, efficiency of all hospitals increased. Conclusion: This study can be useful for hospital administrators; it can help them to allocate their resource and budget and increase the efficiency of their hospitals.

Optimal Energy-Efficient Sensing and Power Allocation in Cognitive Radio Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xia Wu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We consider a joint optimization of sensing parameter and power allocation for an energy-efficient cognitive radio network (CRN in which the primary user (PU is protected. The optimization problem to maximize the energy efficiency of CRN is formulated as a function of two variables, which are sensing time and transmit power, subject to the average interference power to the PU and the target detection probability. During the optimizing process, the quality of service parameter (the minimum rate acceptable to secondary users (SUs has also been taken into consideration. The optimal solutions are analyzed and an algorithm combined with fractional programming that maximizes the energy efficiency for CRN is presented. Numerical results show that the performance improvement is achieved by the joint optimization of sensing time and power allocation.

Efficient Metropolitan Resource Allocation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Arnott

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Over the past 30 years Calgary has doubled in size, from a population of 640,645 in 1985 to 1,230,915 in 2015. During that time the City has had five different mayors, hosted the Winter Olympics, and expanded the C-Train from 25 platforms to 45. Calgary’s Metropolitan Area has grown too, with Airdrie, Chestermere, Okotoks and Cochrane growing into full-fledged cities, ripe with inter-urban commuters.* And with changes to provincial legislation in the mid-’90s, rural Rocky View County and the Municipal District of Foothills are now real competitors for residential, commercial and industrial development that in the past would have been considered urban. In this metropolitan system, where people live, their household structure, and their place of work informs the services they need to conduct their daily lives, and directly impacts the spatial character of the City and the broader region. In sum, Metropolitan Calgary is increasingly complex. Calgary and the broader metropolitan area will continue to grow, even with the current economic slowdown. Frictions within Calgary, between the various municipalities in the metropolitan area, and the priorities of other local authorities (such as the School Boards and Alberta Health Services will continue to impact the agendas of local politicians and their ability to answer to the needs of their residents. How resources – whether it is hard infrastructure, affordable housing, classrooms, or hospital beds – are allocated over space and how these resources are funded, directly impacts these relationships. This technical paper provides my perspective as an urban economist on the efficient allocation of resources within a metropolitan system in general, with reference to Calgary where appropriate, and serves as a companion to the previously released “Reflections on Calgary’s Spatial Structure: An Urban Economists Critique of Municipal Planning in Calgary.” It is hoped that the concepts reviewed

Evaluation on equality and efficiency of health resources allocation and health services utilization in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Jian; Luo, Hongye

2017-07-14

China is faced with a daunting challenge to equality and efficiency in health resources allocation and health services utilization in the context of rapid economic growth. This study sought to evaluate the equality and efficiency of health resources allocation and health services utilization in China. Demographic, economic, and geographic area data was sourced from China Statistical Yearbook 2012-2016. Data related to health resources and health services was obtained from China Health Statistics Yearbook 2012-2016. Furthermore, we evaluated the equality of health resources allocation based on Gini coefficient. Concentration index was used to measure the equality in utilization of health services. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) was employed to assess the efficiency of health resources allocation. From 2011 to 2015, the Gini coefficients for health resources by population ranged between 0.0644 and 0.1879, while the Gini coefficients for the resources by geographic area ranged from 0.6136 to 0.6568. Meanwhile, the concentration index values for health services utilization ranged from -0.0392 to 0.2110. Moreover, in 2015, 10 provinces (32.26%) were relatively efficient in terms of health resources allocation, while 7 provinces (22.58%) and 14 provinces (45.16%) were weakly efficient and inefficient, respectively. There exist distinct regional disparities in the distribution of health resources in China, which are mainly reflected in the geographic distribution of health resources. Furthermore, the people living in the eastern developed areas are more likely to use outpatient care, while the people living in western underdeveloped areas are more likely to use inpatient care. Moreover, the efficiency of health resources allocation in 21 provinces (67.74%) of China was low and needs to be improved. Thus, the government should pay more attention to the equality based on geographic area, guide patients to choose medical treatment rationally, and optimize the resource

Efficient and equitable spatial allocation of renewable power plants at the country scale

Science.gov (United States)

Drechsler, Martin; Egerer, Jonas; Lange, Martin; Masurowski, Frank; Meyerhoff, Jürgen; Oehlmann, Malte

2017-09-01

Globally, the production of renewable energy is undergoing rapid growth. One of the most pressing issues is the appropriate allocation of renewable power plants, as the question of where to produce renewable electricity is highly controversial. Here we explore this issue through analysis of the efficient and equitable spatial allocation of wind turbines and photovoltaic power plants in Germany. We combine multiple methods, including legal analysis, economic and energy modelling, monetary valuation and numerical optimization. We find that minimum distances between renewable power plants and human settlements should be as small as is legally possible. Even small reductions in efficiency lead to large increases in equity. By considering electricity grid expansion costs, we find a more even allocation of power plants across the country than is the case when grid expansion costs are neglected.

Fairness-Aware and Energy Efficiency Resource Allocation in Multiuser OFDM Relaying System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guangjun Liang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A fairness-aware resource allocation scheme in a cooperative orthogonal frequency division multiple (OFDM network is proposed based on jointly optimizing the subcarrier pairing, power allocation, and channel-user assignment. Compared with traditional OFDM relaying networks, the source is permitted to retransfer the same data transmitted by it in the first time slot, further improving the system capacity performance. The problem which maximizes the energy efficiency (EE of the system with total power constraint and minimal spectral efficiency constraint is formulated into a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP problem which has an intractable complexity in general. The optimization model is simplified into a typical fractional programming problem which is testified to be quasiconcave. Thus we can adopt Dinkelbach method to deal with MINLP problem proposed to achieve the optimal solution. The simulation results show that the joint resource allocation method proposed can achieve an optimal EE performance under the minimum system service rate requirement with a good global convergence.

Adaptive Cross-Layer Distributed Energy-Efficient Resource Allocation Algorithms for Wireless Data Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Saturnino

2008-10-01

Full Text Available The issue of adaptive and distributed cross-layer resource allocation for energy efficiency in uplink code-division multiple-access (CDMA wireless data networks is addressed. The resource allocation problems are formulated as noncooperative games wherein each terminal seeks to maximize its own energy efficiency, namely, the number of reliably transmitted information symbols per unit of energy used for transmission. The focus of this paper is on the issue of adaptive and distributed implementation of policies arising from this approach, that is, it is assumed that only readily available measurements, such as the received data, are available at the receiver in order to play the considered games. Both single-cell and multicell networks are considered. Stochastic implementations of noncooperative games for power allocation, spreading code allocation, and choice of the uplink (linear receiver are thus proposed, and analytical results describing the convergence properties of selected stochastic algorithms are also given. Extensive simulation results show that, in many instances of practical interest, the proposed stochastic algorithms approach with satisfactory accuracy the performance of nonadaptive games, whose implementation requires much more prior information.

Energy Efficient Power Allocation in Multi-tier 5G Networks Using Enhanced Online Learning

KAUST Repository

Alqerm, Ismail

2017-07-25

The multi-tier heterogeneous structure of 5G with dense small cells deployment, relays, and device-to-device (D2D) communications operating in an underlay fashion is envisioned as a potential solution to satisfy the future demand for cellular services. However, efficient power allocation among dense secondary transmitters that maintains quality of service (QoS) for macro (primary) cell users and secondary cell users is a critical challenge for operating such radio. In this paper, we focus on the power allocation problem in the multi-tier 5G network structure using a non-cooperative methodology with energy efficiency consideration. Therefore, we propose a distributive intuition-based online learning scheme for power allocation in the downlink of the 5G systems, where each transmitter surmises other transmitters power allocation strategies without information exchange. The proposed learning model exploits a brief state representation to account for the problem of dimensionality in online learning and expedite the convergence. The convergence of the proposed scheme is proved and numerical results demonstrate its capability to achieve fast convergence with QoS guarantee and significant improvement in system energy efficiency.

Free allocation in the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS): identifying efficient mechanisms through to 2030

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jalard, Matthieu; Alberola, Emilie

2015-11-01

In a world with asymmetrical climate policies, the conclusions of the European Council of October 2014 agreed on continuing the allocation of free CO 2 emissions allowances beyond 2020 to industrial sectors in the EU ETS. This statement has been confirmed in the European Commission's proposal to revise EU ETS directive for phase IV disclosed in July 2015. The stated objective is to ensure that the most efficient industrial installations do not face undue carbon costs which would lead to carbon leakages. Furthermore, free allocations should not undermine the incentive to cut CO 2 emissions, lead to distortions or windfall profits and reduce the auctioning share of allowances. From 2013 to 2020, the allocation of free allowances has been defined according to harmonized European rules based on benchmarks (carbon intensity targets) and historical output adjusted to the free allocation cap by applying the Cross-Sectoral Correction Factor (CSCF). What would be the impact of pursuing the current mechanism through to 2030? Does the EU Commissions' proposal of 15 July respond to the Council's requirements? Which alternative mechanisms could do so? This study examines four scenarios and their potential consequences. - Scenario 1 continues the current free allocation mechanism until 2030. The volume of free allocations thus calculated would be higher than the available free allocation cap and would need to be reduced by a Cross-Sectoral Correction Factor (CSCF) of 66% in 2030. Carbon costs would thus increase for all installations, regardless their exposure to carbon leakages, reducing the protection of most exposed sectors, while widely allocating sectors with limited exposure. - Scenario 2 analyses the proposal to implement an allocation mechanism based on recent industrial output combined with appropriate updating of benchmarks. This allocation method is more effective in combating carbon leakage, as it gives clearer incentive to maintain domestic production

Novel Machine Learning-Based Techniques for Efficient Resource Allocation in Next Generation Wireless Networks

KAUST Repository

AlQuerm, Ismail A.

2018-02-21

There is a large demand for applications of high data rates in wireless networks. These networks are becoming more complex and challenging to manage due to the heterogeneity of users and applications specifically in sophisticated networks such as the upcoming 5G. Energy efficiency in the future 5G network is one of the essential problems that needs consideration due to the interference and heterogeneity of the network topology. Smart resource allocation, environmental adaptivity, user-awareness and energy efficiency are essential features in the future networks. It is important to support these features at different networks topologies with various applications. Cognitive radio has been found to be the paradigm that is able to satisfy the above requirements. It is a very interdisciplinary topic that incorporates flexible system architectures, machine learning, context awareness and cooperative networking. Mitola’s vision about cognitive radio intended to build context-sensitive smart radios that are able to adapt to the wireless environment conditions while maintaining quality of service support for different applications. Artificial intelligence techniques including heuristics algorithms and machine learning are the shining tools that are employed to serve the new vision of cognitive radio. In addition, these techniques show a potential to be utilized in an efficient resource allocation for the upcoming 5G networks’ structures such as heterogeneous multi-tier 5G networks and heterogeneous cloud radio access networks due to their capability to allocate resources according to real-time data analytics. In this thesis, we study cognitive radio from a system point of view focusing closely on architectures, artificial intelligence techniques that can enable intelligent radio resource allocation and efficient radio parameters reconfiguration. We propose a modular cognitive resource management architecture, which facilitates a development of flexible control for

Energy-Efficient Power Allocation for Fixed-Gain Amplify-and-Forward Relay Networks with Partial Channel State Information

KAUST Repository

Zafar, Ammar

2012-06-01

In this report, energy-efficient transmission and power allocation for fixed-gain amplify-and-forward relay networks with partial channel state information (CSI) are studied. In the energy-efficiency problem, the total power consumed is minimized while keeping the signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) above a certain threshold. In the dual problem of power allocation, the end-to-end SNR is maximized under individual and global power constraints. Closed-form expressions for the optimal source and relay powers and the Lagrangian multiplier are obtained. Numerical results show that the optimal power allocation with partial CSI provides comparable performance as optimal power allocation with full CSI at low SNR.

Energy-Efficient Power Allocation for Fixed-Gain Amplify-and-Forward Relay Networks with Partial Channel State Information

KAUST Repository

Zafar, Ammar

2012-09-16

In this letter, energy-efficient transmission and power allocation for fixed-gain amplify-and-forward relay networks with partial channel state information (CSI) are studied. In the energy-efficiency problem, the total power consumed is minimized while keeping the signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) above a certain threshold. In the dual problem of power allocation, the end-to-end SNR is maximized under individual and global power constraints. Closed-form expressions for the optimal source and relay powers and the Lagrangian multiplier are obtained. Numerical results show that the optimal power allocation with partial CSI provides comparable performance as optimal power allocation with full CSI at low SNR. © 2012 IEEE.

Transmission cost allocation for an efficient tariff action of electricity in a liberalised market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bassi, C.; Caldon, R.; Lorenzoni, A.

1999-01-01

The work is focused on the evaluation of the costs of an electricity transmission system operator and on their allocation among the users of the grid in liberalized market. After a recall of the goals of an efficient tariff for transmission, an original method for the cost allocation is proposed called ZI. Based on the marginal cost approach, this method could be the base for setting an efficient transmission tariff that at the same time covers costs and stimulates efficient behaviours. The performances of such an approach have been tested on a real 47 bus grid and ZI tariffs have been compared to the traditional postage stamp ones, highlighting the strong differences between them [it

Efficient Bandwidth Allocation for Integrated Services in Broadband Wireless ATM Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Hong; Dittmann, Lars; Gliese, Ulrik Bo

1999-01-01

An efficient bandwidth allocation scheme is proposed for supporting intergrated services in wireless ATM networks. These include CBR, VBR amd ABR types of traffic. The proposed scheme is based om A-PRMA for carrying ATM traffic in a dynamic TDMA type access system. It allows mobile users to adjust...

A Thrust Allocation Method for Efficient Dynamic Positioning of a Semisubmersible Drilling Rig Based on the Hybrid Optimization Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luman Zhao

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A thrust allocation method was proposed based on a hybrid optimization algorithm to efficiently and dynamically position a semisubmersible drilling rig. That is, the thrust allocation was optimized to produce the generalized forces and moment required while at the same time minimizing the total power consumption under the premise that forbidden zones should be taken into account. An optimization problem was mathematically formulated to provide the optimal thrust allocation by introducing the corresponding design variables, objective function, and constraints. A hybrid optimization algorithm consisting of a genetic algorithm and a sequential quadratic programming (SQP algorithm was selected and used to solve this problem. The proposed method was evaluated by applying it to a thrust allocation problem for a semisubmersible drilling rig. The results indicate that the proposed method can be used as part of a cost-effective strategy for thrust allocation of the rig.

Biomass Allocation Patterns Are Linked to Genotypic Differences in Whole-Plant Transpiration Efficiency in Sunflower

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciano Velázquez

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Increased transpiration efficiency (the ratio of biomass to water transpired, TE could lead to increased drought tolerance under some water deficit scenarios. Intrinsic (i.e., leaf-level TE is usually considered as the primary source of variation in whole-plant TE, but empirical data usually contradict this assumption. Sunflower has a significant variability in TE, but a better knowledge of the effect of leaf and plant-level traits could be helpful to obtain more efficient genotypes for water use. The objective of this study was, therefore, to assess if genotypic variation in whole-plant TE is better related to leaf- or plant-level traits. Three experiments were conducted, aimed at verifying the existence of variability in whole-plant TE and whole-plant and leaf-level traits, and to assess their correlation. Sunflower public inbred lines and a segregating population of recombinant inbred lines were grown under controlled conditions and subjected to well-watered and water-deficit treatments. Significant genotypic variation was found for TE and related traits. These differences in whole-plant transpiration efficiency, both between genotypes and between plants within each genotype, showed no association to leaf-level traits, but were significantly and negatively correlated to biomass allocation to leaves and to the ratio of leaf area to total biomass. These associations are likely of a physiological origin, and not only a consequence of genetic linkage in the studied population. These results suggest that genotypic variation for biomass allocation could be potentially exploited as a source for increased transpiration efficiency in sunflower breeding programmes. It is also suggested that phenotyping for TE in this species should not be restricted to leaf-level measurements, but also include measurements of plant-level traits, especially those related to biomass allocation between photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic organs.

Biomass Allocation Patterns Are Linked to Genotypic Differences in Whole-Plant Transpiration Efficiency in Sunflower.

Science.gov (United States)

Velázquez, Luciano; Alberdi, Ignacio; Paz, Cosme; Aguirrezábal, Luis; Pereyra Irujo, Gustavo

2017-01-01

Increased transpiration efficiency (the ratio of biomass to water transpired, TE) could lead to increased drought tolerance under some water deficit scenarios. Intrinsic (i.e., leaf-level) TE is usually considered as the primary source of variation in whole-plant TE, but empirical data usually contradict this assumption. Sunflower has a significant variability in TE, but a better knowledge of the effect of leaf and plant-level traits could be helpful to obtain more efficient genotypes for water use. The objective of this study was, therefore, to assess if genotypic variation in whole-plant TE is better related to leaf- or plant-level traits. Three experiments were conducted, aimed at verifying the existence of variability in whole-plant TE and whole-plant and leaf-level traits, and to assess their correlation. Sunflower public inbred lines and a segregating population of recombinant inbred lines were grown under controlled conditions and subjected to well-watered and water-deficit treatments. Significant genotypic variation was found for TE and related traits. These differences in whole-plant transpiration efficiency, both between genotypes and between plants within each genotype, showed no association to leaf-level traits, but were significantly and negatively correlated to biomass allocation to leaves and to the ratio of leaf area to total biomass. These associations are likely of a physiological origin, and not only a consequence of genetic linkage in the studied population. These results suggest that genotypic variation for biomass allocation could be potentially exploited as a source for increased transpiration efficiency in sunflower breeding programmes. It is also suggested that phenotyping for TE in this species should not be restricted to leaf-level measurements, but also include measurements of plant-level traits, especially those related to biomass allocation between photosynthetic and non-photosynthetic organs.

Labour productivity in Europe: allocative efficiency of labour or performance of firms?

OpenAIRE

A. Berthou.; C. Sandoz.

2014-01-01

This paper examines the impact of allocative efficiency of labour in firms and of individual firm performance on labour productivity at the sector level for several European countries. It uses data recently collected by the Competitiveness Research Network (CompNet).

Distributed Bees Algorithm Parameters Optimization for a Cost Efficient Target Allocation in Swarms of Robots

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Álvaro Gutiérrez

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Swarms of robots can use their sensing abilities to explore unknown environments and deploy on sites of interest. In this task, a large number of robots is more effective than a single unit because of their ability to quickly cover the area. However, the coordination of large teams of robots is not an easy problem, especially when the resources for the deployment are limited. In this paper, the Distributed Bees Algorithm (DBA, previously proposed by the authors, is optimized and applied to distributed target allocation in swarms of robots. Improved target allocation in terms of deployment cost efficiency is achieved through optimization of the DBA’s control parameters by means of a Genetic Algorithm. Experimental results show that with the optimized set of parameters, the deployment cost measured as the average distance traveled by the robots is reduced. The cost-efficient deployment is in some cases achieved at the expense of increased robots’ distribution error. Nevertheless, the proposed approach allows the swarm to adapt to the operating conditions when available resources are scarce.

Efficient resource allocation scheme for visible-light communication system

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Woo-Chan; Bae, Chi-Sung; Cho, Dong-Ho; Shin, Hong-Seok; Jung, D. K.; Oh, Y. J.

2009-01-01

A visible-light communication utilizing LED has many advantagies such as visibility of information, high SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio), low installation cost, usage of existing illuminators, and high security. Furthermore, exponentially increasing needs and quality of LED have helped the development of visible-light communication. The visibility is the most attractive property in visible-light communication system, but it is difficult to ensure visibility and transmission efficiency simultaneously during initial access because of the small amount of initial access process signals. In this paper, we propose an efficient resource allocation scheme at initial access for ensuring visibility with high resource utilization rate and low data transmission failure rate. The performance has been evaluated through the numerical analysis and simulation results.

Enhanced machine learning scheme for energy efficient resource allocation in 5G heterogeneous cloud radio access networks

KAUST Repository

Alqerm, Ismail

2018-02-15

Heterogeneous cloud radio access networks (H-CRAN) is a new trend of 5G that aims to leverage the heterogeneous and cloud radio access networks advantages. Low power remote radio heads (RRHs) are exploited to provide high data rates for users with high quality of service requirements (QoS), while high power macro base stations (BSs) are deployed for coverage maintenance and low QoS users support. However, the inter-tier interference between the macro BS and RRHs and energy efficiency are critical challenges that accompany resource allocation in H-CRAN. Therefore, we propose a centralized resource allocation scheme using online learning, which guarantees interference mitigation and maximizes energy efficiency while maintaining QoS requirements for all users. To foster the performance of such scheme with a model-free learning, we consider users\\' priority in resource blocks (RBs) allocation and compact state representation based learning methodology to enhance the learning process. Simulation results confirm that the proposed resource allocation solution can mitigate interference, increase energy and spectral efficiencies significantly, and maintain users\\' QoS requirements.

Energy-Efficient Power Allocation for Underlay Cognitive Radio Systems

KAUST Repository

Sboui, Lokman

2015-09-01

We present a power allocation framework for spectrum sharing Cognitive Radio (CR) systems based on maximizing the energy efficiency (EE). First, we show that the relation between the EE and the spectral efficiency (SE) is strictly increasing in contrast with the SE-EE trade-off discussed in the literature. We also solve a non-convex problem and explicitly derive the optimal power for the proposed average EE under either a peak or an average power constraint. We apply our results to the underlay CR systems where the power is limited by an additional interference constraint. When the instantaneous channel is not available, we provide a necessary and sufficient condition for the optimal power and present a simple sub-optimal power. In the numerical results, we show that the proposed EE corresponds to a higher SE at mid-range and high power regime compared to the classical EE. We also show that the sup-optimal solution is very close to the optimal solution. In addition, we deduce that the absence of instantaneous CSI affects the EE and the SE at high power regime compared to full CSI. In the CR context, we show that the interference threshold has a minimal effect on the EE compared to the SE.

Energy-Efficient Power Allocation for Underlay Cognitive Radio Systems

KAUST Repository

Sboui, Lokman; Rezki, Zouheir; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2015-01-01

We present a power allocation framework for spectrum sharing Cognitive Radio (CR) systems based on maximizing the energy efficiency (EE). First, we show that the relation between the EE and the spectral efficiency (SE) is strictly increasing in contrast with the SE-EE trade-off discussed in the literature. We also solve a non-convex problem and explicitly derive the optimal power for the proposed average EE under either a peak or an average power constraint. We apply our results to the underlay CR systems where the power is limited by an additional interference constraint. When the instantaneous channel is not available, we provide a necessary and sufficient condition for the optimal power and present a simple sub-optimal power. In the numerical results, we show that the proposed EE corresponds to a higher SE at mid-range and high power regime compared to the classical EE. We also show that the sup-optimal solution is very close to the optimal solution. In addition, we deduce that the absence of instantaneous CSI affects the EE and the SE at high power regime compared to full CSI. In the CR context, we show that the interference threshold has a minimal effect on the EE compared to the SE.

Energy-Efficient Optimal Power Allocation in Integrated Wireless Sensor and Cognitive Satellite Terrestrial Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Shengchao; Li, Guangxia; An, Kang; Gao, Bin; Zheng, Gan

2017-09-04

This paper proposes novel satellite-based wireless sensor networks (WSNs), which integrate the WSN with the cognitive satellite terrestrial network. Having the ability to provide seamless network access and alleviate the spectrum scarcity, cognitive satellite terrestrial networks are considered as a promising candidate for future wireless networks with emerging requirements of ubiquitous broadband applications and increasing demand for spectral resources. With the emerging environmental and energy cost concerns in communication systems, explicit concerns on energy efficient resource allocation in satellite networks have also recently received considerable attention. In this regard, this paper proposes energy-efficient optimal power allocation schemes in the cognitive satellite terrestrial networks for non-real-time and real-time applications, respectively, which maximize the energy efficiency (EE) of the cognitive satellite user while guaranteeing the interference at the primary terrestrial user below an acceptable level. Specifically, average interference power (AIP) constraint is employed to protect the communication quality of the primary terrestrial user while average transmit power (ATP) or peak transmit power (PTP) constraint is adopted to regulate the transmit power of the satellite user. Since the energy-efficient power allocation optimization problem belongs to the nonlinear concave fractional programming problem, we solve it by combining Dinkelbach's method with Lagrange duality method. Simulation results demonstrate that the fading severity of the terrestrial interference link is favorable to the satellite user who can achieve EE gain under the ATP constraint comparing to the PTP constraint.

Effect of optimum stratification on sampling with varying probabilities under proportional allocation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syed Ejaz Husain Rizvi

2007-10-01

Full Text Available The problem of optimum stratification on an auxiliary variable when the units from different strata are selected with probability proportional to the value of auxiliary variable (PPSWR was considered by Singh (1975 for univariate case. In this paper we have extended the same problem, for proportional allocation, when two variates are under study. A cum. 3 R3(x rule for obtaining approximately optimum strata boundaries has been provided. It has been shown theoretically as well as empirically that the use of stratification has inverse effect on the relative efficiency of PPSWR as compared to unstratified PPSWR method when proportional method of allocation is envisaged. Further comparison showed that with increase in number of strata the stratified simple random sampling is equally efficient as PPSWR.

Comparison of multinomial logistic regression and logistic regression: which is more efficient in allocating land use?

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Yingzhi; Deng, Xiangzheng; Li, Xing; Ma, Enjun

2014-12-01

Spatially explicit simulation of land use change is the basis for estimating the effects of land use and cover change on energy fluxes, ecology and the environment. At the pixel level, logistic regression is one of the most common approaches used in spatially explicit land use allocation models to determine the relationship between land use and its causal factors in driving land use change, and thereby to evaluate land use suitability. However, these models have a drawback in that they do not determine/allocate land use based on the direct relationship between land use change and its driving factors. Consequently, a multinomial logistic regression method was introduced to address this flaw, and thereby, judge the suitability of a type of land use in any given pixel in a case study area of the Jiangxi Province, China. A comparison of the two regression methods indicated that the proportion of correctly allocated pixels using multinomial logistic regression was 92.98%, which was 8.47% higher than that obtained using logistic regression. Paired t-test results also showed that pixels were more clearly distinguished by multinomial logistic regression than by logistic regression. In conclusion, multinomial logistic regression is a more efficient and accurate method for the spatial allocation of land use changes. The application of this method in future land use change studies may improve the accuracy of predicting the effects of land use and cover change on energy fluxes, ecology, and environment.

Efficient, fair, and strategy-proof (re)allocation under network constraints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Szwagrzak, Karol

2017-01-01

A resource available in different types is to be distributed or redistributed among agents differing in their ability to consume these types. Preferences over consumption levels are not observable but known to be single-peaked. We identify the only strategy-proof and efficient allocation rule...... to a new class of group strategy-proof rules. Our analysis provides a unified treatment of the applications in Bochet et al. (Theor Econ 7:395–423, 2012, J Econ Theory 148:535–562, 2013)....

Energy Efficient Multiresource Allocation of Virtual Machine Based on PSO in Cloud Data Center

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

An-ping Xiong

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Presently, massive energy consumption in cloud data center tends to be an escalating threat to the environment. To reduce energy consumption in cloud data center, an energy efficient virtual machine allocation algorithm is proposed in this paper based on a proposed energy efficient multiresource allocation model and the particle swarm optimization (PSO method. In this algorithm, the fitness function of PSO is defined as the total Euclidean distance to determine the optimal point between resource utilization and energy consumption. This algorithm can avoid falling into local optima which is common in traditional heuristic algorithms. Compared to traditional heuristic algorithms MBFD and MBFH, our algorithm shows significantly energy savings in cloud data center and also makes the utilization of system resources reasonable at the same time.

The net effect of alternative allocation ratios on recruitment time and trial cost.

Science.gov (United States)

Vozdolska, Ralitza; Sano, Mary; Aisen, Paul; Edland, Steven D

2009-04-01

Increasing the proportion of subjects allocated to the experimental treatment in controlled clinical trials is often advocated as a method of increasing recruitment rates and improving the performance of trials. The presumption is that the higher likelihood of randomization to the experimental treatment will be perceived by potential study enrollees as an added benefit of participation and will increase recruitment rates and speed the completion of trials. However, studies with alternative allocation ratios require a larger sample size to maintain statistical power, which may result in a net increase in time required to complete recruitment and a net increase in total trial cost. To describe the potential net effect of alternative allocation ratios on recruitment time and trial cost. Models of recruitment time and trial cost were developed and used to compare trials with 1:1 allocation to trials with alternative allocation ratios under a range of per subject costs, per day costs, and enrollment rates. In regard to time required to complete recruitment, alternative allocation ratios are net beneficial if the recruitment rate improves by more than about 4% for trials with a 1.5:1 allocation ratio and 12% for trials with a 2:1 allocation ratio. More substantial improvements in recruitment rate, 13 and 47% respectively for scenarios we considered, are required for alternative allocation to be net beneficial in terms of tangible monetary cost. The cost models were developed expressly for trials comparing proportions or means across treatment groups. Using alternative allocation ratio designs to improve recruitment may or may not be time and cost-effective. Using alternative allocation for this purpose should only be considered for trial contexts where there is both clear evidence that the alternative design does improve recruitment rates and the attained time or cost efficiency justifies the added study subject burden implied by a larger sample size.

Collective Decision Mechanisms and Efficient Stock Market Allocations: Existence of a Participation Equilibrium.

OpenAIRE

Forsythe, Robert; Suchanek, Gerry L

1984-01-01

The recent literature on economies with an incomplete set of markets has been devoted to the study of the efficiency properties of collective stockholder decision mechanisms for guiding the behavior of firms when the restrictive Ekern-Wilson spanning condition is not satisfied. The results have been essentially negative; a majority voting rule and controlling interest rules will not yield efficient equilibrium allocations in general. However, in a recent paper, Helpman and Razin (1978) sugges...

Medium Term Analysis of Technical and Allocative Efficiency in Romanian Farms Using FADN Dataset

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola GALLUZZO

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The Farm Accountancy Data Network is an annual survey proposed by the European Union in order to estimate the impact of the Common Agricultural Policy on farmers. Lots of scholars have investigated the technical, economical and allocative efficiency using a non parametric approach such as the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA in Romanian farms throughout the Farm Accountancy Data Network dataset pointing out poor levels of technical efficiency, which were lower than the average European value. The purpose of this study was to assess using DEA approach technical, economic and allocative efficiency in Romanian farms part of the FADN dataset over six year time from 2007 to 2012. Findings pointed out an increase of technical efficiency compared to previous studies, as a consequence of a significant turn over of a younger high skill and qualified farmers generation. Poor land capital, in terms of utilized agricultural areas, connected to an increase of new technologies, was the downside of Romanian farms and this implied that the National Rural Development Plan should  have taken into account financial subsides in order to implement agricultural areas scattered in Romanian rural space.

Cost-effectiveness analysis and efficient use of the pharmaceutical budget: the key role of clinical pharmacologists.

Science.gov (United States)

Edlin, Richard; Round, Jeff; Hulme, Claire; McCabe, Christopher

2010-09-01

The purpose of this paper is to provide information about cost-effectiveness analysis and the roles of clinical pharmacologists generally in providing efficient health care. The paper highlights the potential consequences of 'off-label prescribing' and 'indication creep' behaviour given slower growth (or potential cuts) in the NHS budget. This paper highlights the key roles of clinical pharmacologists in delivering an efficient health care system when resources are allocated using cost-effectiveness analyses. It describes what cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is and how incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) are used to identify efficient options. After outlining the theoretical framework within which using CEA can promote the efficient allocation of the health care budget, it considers the place of disinvestment within achieving efficient resource allocation. Clinical pharmacologists are argued to be critical to providing improved population health under CEA-based resource allocation processes because of their roles in implementation and disinvestment. Given that the challenges facing the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) are likely to increase, this paper sets out the stark choices facing clinical pharmacologists.

Energy-Efficient Power Allocation for Fixed-Gain Amplify-and-Forward Relay Networks with Partial Channel State Information

KAUST Repository

Zafar, Ammar; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Chen, Yunfei; Radaydeh, Redha M.

2012-01-01

In this letter, energy-efficient transmission and power allocation for fixed-gain amplify-and-forward relay networks with partial channel state information (CSI) are studied. In the energy-efficiency problem, the total power consumed is minimized

Coordinating energy allocation and process performance using an agent-based approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Umair, Aisha; Clausen, Anders; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard

2015-01-01

Energy efficient systems are receiving worldwide attention in response to the negative effects of global warming. Energy efficient systems are concerned with allocation of adequate resources in the energy domain to meet the energy demand in the process domain. In allocation, a balancing problem a...

Light energy partitioning, photosynthetic efficiency and biomass allocation in invasive Prunus serotina and native Quercus petraea in relation to light environment, competition and allelopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Robakowski, Piotr; Bielinis, Ernest; Sendall, Kerrie

2018-05-01

This study addressed whether competition under different light environments was reflected by changes in leaf absorbed light energy partitioning, photosynthetic efficiency, relative growth rate and biomass allocation in invasive and native competitors. Additionally, a potential allelopathic effect of mulching with invasive Prunus serotina leaves on native Quercus petraea growth and photosynthesis was tested. The effect of light environment on leaf absorbed light energy partitioning and photosynthetic characteristics was more pronounced than the effects of interspecific competition and allelopathy. The quantum yield of PSII of invasive P. serotina increased in the presence of a competitor, indicating a higher plasticity in energy partitioning for the invasive over the native Q. petraea, giving it a competitive advantage. The most striking difference between the two study species was the higher crown-level net CO 2 assimilation rates (A crown ) of P. serotina compared with Q. petraea. At the juvenile life stage, higher relative growth rate and higher biomass allocation to foliage allowed P. serotina to absorb and use light energy for photosynthesis more efficiently than Q. petraea. Species-specific strategies of growth, biomass allocation, light energy partitioning and photosynthetic efficiency varied with the light environment and gave an advantage to the invader over its native competitor in competition for light. However, higher biomass allocation to roots in Q. petraea allows for greater belowground competition for water and nutrients as compared to P. serotina. This niche differentiation may compensate for the lower aboveground competitiveness of the native species and explain its ability to co-occur with the invasive competitor in natural forest settings.

Efficient coding schemes with power allocation using space-time-frequency spreading

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Jiang Haining; Luo Hanwen; Tian Jifeng; Song Wentao; Liu Xingzhao

2006-01-01

An efficient space-time-frequency (STF) coding strategy for multi-input multi-output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) systems is presented for high bit rate data transmission over frequency selective fading channels. The proposed scheme is a new approach to space-time-frequency coded OFDM (COFDM) that combines OFDM with space-time coding, linear precoding and adaptive power allocation to provide higher quality of transmission in terms of the bit error rate performance and power efficiency. In addition to exploiting the maximum diversity gain in frequency, time and space, the proposed scheme enjoys high coding advantages and low-complexity decoding. The significant performance improvement of our design is confirmed by corroborating numerical simulations.

Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation with Effective Utilization of Polling Interval over WDM/TDM PON

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Cuiping; Gan, Chaoqin; Gao, Ziyue

2014-12-01

WDM/TDM (wavelength-division multiplexing/time-division multiplexing) PON (passive optical network) appears to be an attractive solution for the next generation optical access networks. Dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) plays a crucial role in efficiently and fairly allocating the bandwidth among all users in WDM/TDM PON. In this paper, two dynamic bandwidth allocation schemes (DBA1 and DBA2) are proposed to eliminate the idle time of polling cycles (i.e. polling interval), improve bandwidth utilization and make full use of bandwidth resources. The two DBA schemes adjust the time slot of sending request information and make fair scheduling among users to achieve the effective utilization of polling interval in WDM/TDM PON. The simulation and theoretical analyses verify that the proposed schemes outperform the conventional DBA scheme. We also make comparisons between the two schemes in terms of bandwidth utilization and average packet delay to further demonstrate the effectiveness of the scheme of DBA2.

Designing for multiple global user populations: increasing resource allocation efficiency for greater sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Nadadur, G; Parkinson, M B

2012-01-01

This paper proposes a method to identify opportunities for increasing the efficiency of raw material allocation decisions for products that are simultaneously targeted at multiple user populations around the world. The values of 24 body measures at certain key percentiles were used to estimate the best-fitting anthropometric distributions for female and male adults in nine national populations, which were selected to represent the diverse target markets multinational companies must design for. These distributions were then used to synthesize body measure data for combined populations with a 1:1 female:male ratio. An anthropometric range metric (ARM) was proposed for assessing the variation of these body measures across the populations. At any percentile, ARM values were calculated as the percentage difference between the highest and lowest anthropometric values across the considered user populations. Based on their magnitudes, plots of ARM values computed between the 1st and 99 th percentiles for each body measure were grouped into low, medium, and high categories. This classification of body measures was proposed as a means of selecting the most suitable strategies for designing raw material-efficient products. The findings in this study and the contributions of subsequent work along these lines are expected to help achieve greater efficiencies in resource allocation in global product development.

Energy-Efficient Power Allocation of Cognitive Radio Systems without CSI at the Transmitter

KAUST Repository

Sboui, Lokman

2015-01-07

Two major issues are facing today’s wireless communications evolution: -Spectrum scarcity: Need for more bandwidth. As a solution, the Cognitive Radio (CR) paradigm, where secondary users (unlicensed) share the spectrum with licensed users, was introduced. -Energy consumption and CO2 emission: The ICT produce 2% of global CO2 emission (equivalent to the aviation industry emission). The cellular networks produces 0.2%. As solution energy efficient systems should be designed rather than traditional spectral efficient systems. In this work, we aim to determine the optimal energy efficient power allocation of CR when the channel state information at the transmitter CSI-T is not available.

Energy-Efficient Power Allocation of Cognitive Radio Systems without CSI at the Transmitter

KAUST Repository

Sboui, Lokman; Rezki, Zouheir; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2015-01-01

Two major issues are facing today’s wireless communications evolution: -Spectrum scarcity: Need for more bandwidth. As a solution, the Cognitive Radio (CR) paradigm, where secondary users (unlicensed) share the spectrum with licensed users, was introduced. -Energy consumption and CO2 emission: The ICT produce 2% of global CO2 emission (equivalent to the aviation industry emission). The cellular networks produces 0.2%. As solution energy efficient systems should be designed rather than traditional spectral efficient systems. In this work, we aim to determine the optimal energy efficient power allocation of CR when the channel state information at the transmitter CSI-T is not available.

Forecasting the Allocative Efficiency of Carbon Emission Allowance Financial Assets in China at the Provincial Level in 2020

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shihong Zeng

2016-05-01

Full Text Available As the result of climate change and deteriorating global environmental quality, nations are under pressure to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases per unit of GDP. China has announced that it is aiming not only to reduce carbon emission per unit of GDP, but also to consume increased amounts of non-fossil energy. The carbon emission allowance is a new type of financial asset in each Chinese province and city that also affects individual firms. This paper attempts to examine the allocative efficiency of carbon emission reduction and non-fossil energy consumption by employing a zero sum gains data envelopment analysis (ZSG-DEA model, given the premise of fixed CO2 emissions as well as non-fossil energy consumption. In making its forecasts, the paper optimizes allocative efficiency in 2020 using 2010 economic and carbon emission data from 30 provinces and cities across China as its baseline. An efficient allocation scheme is achieved for all the provinces and cities using the ZSG-DEA model through five iterative calculations.

Research advances on thereasonable water resources allocation in irrigation district

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xuebin, Qi; Zhongdong, Huang; Dongmei, Qiao

2015-01-01

The rational allocation of water resources for irrigation is important to improve the efficiency in utilization of water resources and ensuring food security, but also effective control measures need to be in place for the sustainable utilization of water resources in an irrigation area. The prog......The rational allocation of water resources for irrigation is important to improve the efficiency in utilization of water resources and ensuring food security, but also effective control measures need to be in place for the sustainable utilization of water resources in an irrigation area...... mechanism of water resources is not perfect, the model for optimal water resources allocation is not practical, and the basic conditions for optimal allocation of water resources is relatively weak. In order to solve those problems in water resources allocation practice, six important as?pects must...... in irrigation districts, studying the water resources control technology in irrigation districts by hydrology ecological system, studying the technologies of real?time risk dispatching and intelligent management in irrigation districts, and finally studying the technology of cou?pling optimal allocation...

Cognitive radio networks dynamic resource allocation schemes

CERN Document Server

Wang, Shaowei

2014-01-01

This SpringerBrief presents a survey of dynamic resource allocation schemes in Cognitive Radio (CR) Systems, focusing on the spectral-efficiency and energy-efficiency in wireless networks. It also introduces a variety of dynamic resource allocation schemes for CR networks and provides a concise introduction of the landscape of CR technology. The author covers in detail the dynamic resource allocation problem for the motivations and challenges in CR systems. The Spectral- and Energy-Efficient resource allocation schemes are comprehensively investigated, including new insights into the trade-off

Effects of space allocations and energy levels on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in growing and finishing pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, X J; Yan, L; Kim, Y M; Kim, I H

2018-02-01

Two experiments were conducted to investigate effects of different space allocations and different dietary metabolizable energy (ME) levels on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in growing and finishing pigs. In experiment 1, a total of 84 growing pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] with an initial body weight (BW) of 27.10 ± 1.60 kg were used in a 5-week trial. Pigs were blocked based on initial BW into a 2 × 2 factorial design with the following factors: (i) 0.60 or 0.80 m 2 /pig space allocations; and (ii) 3,400 or 3,550 kcal/kg ME of diets. In experiment 2, a total of 84 finishing pigs with an initial BW of 67.43 ± 1.97 kg were used in a 10-week trial. Pigs were allotted based on initial BW into a 2 × 2 factorial design with the following factors: (i) 0.81 or 1.08 m 2 /pig space allocations; and (ii) 3,300 or 3,450 kcal/kg ME of diet. In experiment 1, high ME diet improved gain-to-feed ratio (G:F) in pigs with low space allocation but not in pigs in high space allocation (p space allocation but decreased ATTD of nitrogen in high space allocation (p space allocation but not in pigs with high space allocation (p space allocation but can improve feed efficiency in growing pigs and daily gain and feed efficiency early-finishing pigs. © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Energy-Efficient Power Allocation for UAV Cognitive Radio Systems

KAUST Repository

Sboui, Lokman

2018-02-12

We study the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) based cognitive system in an area covered by the primary network (PN). An UAV shares the spectrum of the PN and aims to maximize its energy efficiency (EE) by optimizing the transmit power. We focus on the case where the UAV simultaneously communicates with the ground receiver (G), under interference limitation, and with another relaying UAV (A), with a minimal required rate. We analytically develop the power allocation framework that maximizes the EE subject to power budget, interference, and minimal rate constraints. In the numerical results, we show that the minimal rate may cause a transmission outage at low power budget values. We also highlighted the existence of optimal altitudes given the UAV location with respect to the different other terminals.

Energy-Efficient Power Allocation for UAV Cognitive Radio Systems

KAUST Repository

Sboui, Lokman; Ghazzai, Hakim; Rezki, Zouheir; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2018-01-01

We study the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) based cognitive system in an area covered by the primary network (PN). An UAV shares the spectrum of the PN and aims to maximize its energy efficiency (EE) by optimizing the transmit power. We focus on the case where the UAV simultaneously communicates with the ground receiver (G), under interference limitation, and with another relaying UAV (A), with a minimal required rate. We analytically develop the power allocation framework that maximizes the EE subject to power budget, interference, and minimal rate constraints. In the numerical results, we show that the minimal rate may cause a transmission outage at low power budget values. We also highlighted the existence of optimal altitudes given the UAV location with respect to the different other terminals.

Investment incentives, corporate taxation, and efficiency in the allocation of capital

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boadway, R

1978-09-01

The author shows that, within the strict confines of the neoclassical theory of investment, investment allowances and tax credits on gross investment over and above regular depreciation are efficient investment incentives in the sense that they do not distort the allocation of capital over investments of differing durabilities. Initial allowances, tax credits on net investments, tax credits on gross investment which are set against depreciation, and interest subsidies all distort investment decisions in favor of longer-lived investments. Accelerated depreciation schemes are generally distortionary as well, with the nature of the distortion depending upon how the tax depreciation rate is defined.

Sustainability in health care by allocating resources effectively (SHARE) 4: exploring opportunities and methods for consumer engagement in resource allocation in a local healthcare setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Claire; Ko, Henry; Waller, Cara; Sloss, Pamela; Williams, Pamela

2017-05-05

This is the fourth in a series of papers reporting a program of Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) in a local healthcare setting. Healthcare decision-makers have sought to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services through removal or restriction of practices that are unsafe or of little benefit, often referred to as 'disinvestment'. A systematic, integrated, evidence-based program for disinvestment was being established within a large Australian health service network. Consumer engagement was acknowledged as integral to this process. This paper reports the process of developing a model to integrate consumer views and preferences into an organisation-wide approach to resource allocation. A literature search was conducted and interviews and workshops were undertaken with health service consumers and staff. Findings were drafted into a model for consumer engagement in resource allocation which was workshopped and refined. Although consumer engagement is increasingly becoming a requirement of publicly-funded health services and documented in standards and policies, participation in organisational decision-making is not widespread. Several consistent messages for consumer engagement in this context emerged from the literature and consumer responses. Opportunities, settings and activities for consumer engagement through communication, consultation and participation were identified within the resource allocation process. Sources of information regarding consumer values and perspectives in publications and locally-collected data, and methods to use them in health service decision-making, were identified. A model bringing these elements together was developed. The proposed model presents potential opportunities and activities for consumer engagement in the context of resource allocation.

Computationally Efficient Power Allocation Algorithm in Multicarrier-Based Cognitive Radio Networks: OFDM and FBMC Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaat Musbah

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Cognitive Radio (CR systems have been proposed to increase the spectrum utilization by opportunistically access the unused spectrum. Multicarrier communication systems are promising candidates for CR systems. Due to its high spectral efficiency, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC can be considered as an alternative to conventional orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM for transmission over the CR networks. This paper addresses the problem of resource allocation in multicarrier-based CR networks. The objective is to maximize the downlink capacity of the network under both total power and interference introduced to the primary users (PUs constraints. The optimal solution has high computational complexity which makes it unsuitable for practical applications and hence a low complexity suboptimal solution is proposed. The proposed algorithm utilizes the spectrum holes in PUs bands as well as active PU bands. The performance of the proposed algorithm is investigated for OFDM and FBMC based CR systems. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed resource allocation algorithm with low computational complexity achieves near optimal performance and proves the efficiency of using FBMC in CR context.

On energy efficient power allocation for power-constrained systems

KAUST Repository

Sboui, Lokman

2014-09-01

Recently, the energy efficiency (EE) has become an important factor when designing new wireless communication systems. Due to economic and environmental challenges, new trends and efforts are oriented toward “green” communication especially for energy-constrained applications such as wireless sensors network and cognitive radio. To this end, we analyze the power allocation scheme that maximizes the EE defined as rate over the total power including circuit power. We derive an explicit expression of the optimal power with instantaneous channel gain based on EE criterion. We show that the relation between the EE and the spectral efficiency (SE) when the optimal power is adopted is strictly increasing in contrast with the SE-EE trade-off discussed in the literature. We also solve a non-convex problem and compute explicitly the optimal power for ergodic EE under either a peak or an average power constraint. When the instantaneous channel is not available, we provide the optimal power equation and compute simple sub-optimal power. In the numerical results, we show that the sup-optimal solution is very close to the optimal solution. In addition, we show that the absence of the channel state information (CSI) only affects the EE and the SE performances at high power regime compared to the full CSI case.

Maximizing the impact of malaria funding through allocative efficiency: using the right interventions in the right locations.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Nick; Hussain, S Azfar; Martin-Hughes, Rowan; Fowkes, Freya J I; Kerr, Cliff C; Pearson, Ruth; Kedziora, David J; Killedar, Madhura; Stuart, Robyn M; Wilson, David P

2017-09-12

The high burden of malaria and limited funding means there is a necessity to maximize the allocative efficiency of malaria control programmes. Quantitative tools are urgently needed to guide budget allocation decisions. A geospatial epidemic model was coupled with costing data and an optimization algorithm to estimate the optimal allocation of budgeted and projected funds across all malaria intervention approaches. Interventions included long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs), indoor residual spraying (IRS), intermittent presumptive treatment during pregnancy (IPTp), seasonal mass chemoprevention in children (SMC), larval source management (LSM), mass drug administration (MDA), and behavioural change communication (BCC). The model was applied to six geopolitical regions of Nigeria in isolation and also the nation as a whole to minimize incidence and malaria-attributable mortality. Allocative efficiency gains could avert approximately 84,000 deaths or 15.7 million cases of malaria in Nigeria over 5 years. With an additional US$300 million available, approximately 134,000 deaths or 37.3 million cases of malaria could be prevented over 5 years. Priority funding should go to LLINs, IPTp and BCC programmes, and SMC should be expanded in seasonal areas. To minimize mortality, treatment expansion is critical and prioritized over some LLIN funding, while to minimize incidence, LLIN funding remained a priority. For areas with lower rainfall, LSM is prioritized over IRS but MDA is not recommended unless all other programmes are established. Substantial reductions in malaria morbidity and mortality can be made by optimal targeting of investments to the right malaria interventions in the right areas.

Efficient Allocation of Resources for Defense of Spatially Distributed Networks Using Agent-Based Simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kroshl, William M; Sarkani, Shahram; Mazzuchi, Thomas A

2015-09-01

This article presents ongoing research that focuses on efficient allocation of defense resources to minimize the damage inflicted on a spatially distributed physical network such as a pipeline, water system, or power distribution system from an attack by an active adversary, recognizing the fundamental difference between preparing for natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or even accidental systems failures and the problem of allocating resources to defend against an opponent who is aware of, and anticipating, the defender's efforts to mitigate the threat. Our approach is to utilize a combination of integer programming and agent-based modeling to allocate the defensive resources. We conceptualize the problem as a Stackelberg "leader follower" game where the defender first places his assets to defend key areas of the network, and the attacker then seeks to inflict the maximum damage possible within the constraints of resources and network structure. The criticality of arcs in the network is estimated by a deterministic network interdiction formulation, which then informs an evolutionary agent-based simulation. The evolutionary agent-based simulation is used to determine the allocation of resources for attackers and defenders that results in evolutionary stable strategies, where actions by either side alone cannot increase its share of victories. We demonstrate these techniques on an example network, comparing the evolutionary agent-based results to a more traditional, probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) approach. Our results show that the agent-based approach results in a greater percentage of defender victories than does the PRA-based approach. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

Endogeneously arising network allocation rules

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slikker, M.

2006-01-01

In this paper we study endogenously arising network allocation rules. We focus on three allocation rules: the Myerson value, the position value and the component-wise egalitarian solution. For any of these three rules we provide a characterization based on component efficiency and some balanced

Health resource allocation and productive efficiency of Chinese county hospitals: data from 1993 to 2005.

Science.gov (United States)

Gai, Ruoyan Y; Zhou, Chengchao C; Xu, Lingzhong Z; Zhu, Min; Wang, Xingzhou Z; Li, Shixue X; Zheng, Wengui G; Song, Peipei P; Yang, Xuelai L; Fang, Liyi Y; Zhen, Yancheng C; Tang, Wei

2010-10-01

This study aims to assess trends in the productive efficiency of China's county hospitals during the economic transition using data from 1993 to 2005. A data envelopment analysis (DEA) framework was used to calculate the efficiency score of county hospitals in all 31 provinces. A C²R model and a BC² model were devised to respectively calculate overall and scale efficiency and pure technical efficiency at the hospital's current scale. Models included four inputs (number of medical staff; number of beds; value of fixed capital; and hospital expenditures) and three outputs (outpatient and emergency visits, number of inpatients, and hospital revenue) in total. As the results, geographical disparities in health resource allocation and county hospital productivity were noted. From 1993 to 2005, the number of county hospitals increased and their inputs, e.g. fixed capital in particular, grew rapidly. However, the amount of both outpatient and inpatient services declined somewhat especially in the middle and the western regions. The overall efficiency at the national level decreased slightly. County hospitals in the eastern region tended to have better overall, scale, and technical efficiency in comparison to the middle and the western regions. In conclusion, county hospitals are inefficient due to their enlarged scale and the reduced amount of health care services they provide. This issue should be addressed especially in the middle and the western regions, where health resources are far more limited and yet wasted. The effects of ongoing health sector reform on the productivity of county hospitals must be monitored and evaluated.

Energy-efficient routing, modulation and spectrum allocation in elastic optical networks

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Yanxia; Gu, Rentao; Ji, Yuefeng

2017-07-01

With tremendous growth in bandwidth demand, energy consumption problem in elastic optical networks (EONs) becomes a hot topic with wide concern. The sliceable bandwidth-variable transponder in EON, which can transmit/receive multiple optical flows, was recently proposed to improve a transponder's flexibility and save energy. In this paper, energy-efficient routing, modulation and spectrum allocation (EE-RMSA) in EONs with sliceable bandwidth-variable transponder is studied. To decrease the energy consumption, we develop a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model with corresponding EE-RMSA algorithm for EONs. The MILP model jointly considers the modulation format and optical grooming in the process of routing and spectrum allocation with the objective of minimizing the energy consumption. With the help of genetic operators, the EE-RMSA algorithm iteratively optimizes the feasible routing path, modulation format and spectrum resources solutions by explore the whole search space. In order to save energy, the optical-layer grooming strategy is designed to transmit the lightpath requests. Finally, simulation results verify that the proposed scheme is able to reduce the energy consumption of the network while maintaining the blocking probability (BP) performance compare with the existing First-Fit-KSP algorithm, Iterative Flipping algorithm and EAMGSP algorithm especially in large network topology. Our results also demonstrate that the proposed EE-RMSA algorithm achieves almost the same performance as MILP on an 8-node network.

Research paper 2000-B-4: adjustments in the Dutch electricity producing sector in the context of the European directive 88/609/EEC: a case study on national implementation, environmental effectiveness, allocative efficiency, productive efficiency and administrative costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lulofs, K. [Twente Univ., Center for Clean Technology and Environmental Policy, Enschede (Netherlands)

2000-07-01

Within the context of the IMPOL project several fields of European environmental policy are studied on aspects as national implementation and environmental and efficiency outcomes. For the IMPOL project a case study was done on the transformation of the Dutch electricity sector in the context of the European Directive 88/609/EEC. The indicators used in this report for environmental effectiveness, allocative efficiency, productive efficiency and administrative costs were chosen in line with a coordinating document (Eames, 1999). The European Directive 88/609/EEC regulates Large Combustion Plants on their SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x} emissions. These emissions are relevant for air quality and for the acidification problem. In the empirical part of this report emphasis is laid on the power plants as a specific sub-group of the large combustion plants. The report starts in chapter 2 with a description of the Dutch policy on acidification and regulation that existed when 88/609/EEC was issued. This way it is clarified that the formal implementation of the European Directive was done in the Netherlands with very little effort. In section 2.4 some major information on the structure of the electricity production sector is given as well as some insights into developments. In section 2.5 details on a covenant to reduce emissions from power plants is given. The electricity sector and the government agreed upon this document as a binding agenda for change. In section 2.6 information on monitoring and enforcement is given. In chapter 3, the environmental outcomes are discussed. First the emissions of all large combustion plants are presented in time series. Within the IMPOL research-team the decision was taken to concentrate on the SO{sub 2} emissions of power plants. Therefore, secondly the SO{sub 2} emissions of the power plants and the individual power plants are presented. This opens the possibility for an analysis of the found decrease of SO{sub 2} emissions. In section 3.3 the

Research paper 2000-B-4: adjustments in the Dutch electricity producing sector in the context of the European directive 88/609/EEC: a case study on national implementation, environmental effectiveness, allocative efficiency, productive efficiency and administrative costs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lulofs, K.

2000-01-01

Within the context of the IMPOL project several fields of European environmental policy are studied on aspects as national implementation and environmental and efficiency outcomes. For the IMPOL project a case study was done on the transformation of the Dutch electricity sector in the context of the European Directive 88/609/EEC. The indicators used in this report for environmental effectiveness, allocative efficiency, productive efficiency and administrative costs were chosen in line with a coordinating document (Eames, 1999). The European Directive 88/609/EEC regulates Large Combustion Plants on their SO 2 and NO x emissions. These emissions are relevant for air quality and for the acidification problem. In the empirical part of this report emphasis is laid on the power plants as a specific sub-group of the large combustion plants. The report starts in chapter 2 with a description of the Dutch policy on acidification and regulation that existed when 88/609/EEC was issued. This way it is clarified that the formal implementation of the European Directive was done in the Netherlands with very little effort. In section 2.4 some major information on the structure of the electricity production sector is given as well as some insights into developments. In section 2.5 details on a covenant to reduce emissions from power plants is given. The electricity sector and the government agreed upon this document as a binding agenda for change. In section 2.6 information on monitoring and enforcement is given. In chapter 3, the environmental outcomes are discussed. First the emissions of all large combustion plants are presented in time series. Within the IMPOL research-team the decision was taken to concentrate on the SO 2 emissions of power plants. Therefore, secondly the SO 2 emissions of the power plants and the individual power plants are presented. This opens the possibility for an analysis of the found decrease of SO 2 emissions. In section 3.3 the likely causes and their

Pollution permits allocation and imperfect competition; Allocation de permis de pollution et concurrence imparfaite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schwartz, S.

2004-12-15

The aim of this thesis is to highlight the imperfections on the permits markets and to analyze their consequences on markets' efficiency. More precisely, we try to identify the implications of the initial allocation of permits when such imperfections are present. We try to draw some conclusions for the regulator concerning the different forms of the permits' allocation. After having described and compared these forms, we define in which circumstances the initial allocation matters in terms of efficiency. Then, we study different forms of imperfections. First, we take into account the information asymmetry between firms and the regulator and we define an optimal mechanism to sell pollution permits. Then, we analyze a market power on a differentiated pollution permits market. At last, we study the exclusionary manipulation of pollution permits market. (author)

Energy-efficient two-hop LTE resource allocation in high speed trains with moving relays

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.

2014-05-01

High-speed railway system equipped with moving relay stations placed on the middle of the ceiling of each train wagon is investigated. The users inside the train are served in two hops via the 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. The objective of this work is to maximize the number of served users by respecting a specific quality-of-service constraint while minimizing the total power consumption of the eNodeB and the moving relays. We propose an efficient algorithm based on the Hungarian method to find the optimal resource allocation over the LTE resource blocks in order to serve the maximum number of users with the minimum power consumption. Moreover, we derive a closed-form expression for the power allocation problem. Our simulation results illustrate the performance of the proposed scheme and compare it with various previously developed algorithms as well as with the direct transmission scenario. © 2014 IFIP.

Effective Bandwidth Allocation for WiMAX Mesh Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hung-Chin Jang

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to reduce the media access delay in a WiMAX mesh network. We observe that as the number of subscriber stations (SS in a neighborhood increases, the processes of transmission opportunity (TO competition and 3- way handshake are easy to fail. This may degrade transmission efficiency and increase packet transmission delay. Besides, the minislot allocation defined in the WiMAX mesh mode may cause many lower priority services reserve earlier minislots than that of higher priority services like rtPS. This may cause great negative impact on delay-sensitive traffic. In this paper, we design a QoS classifier to enqueue packets according to different QoS service classes, present a dynamic holdoff exponent mechanism to reduce control subframe delay, and propose a Neighborhood-Based Minislot Allocation (NBMA mechanism to reduce data subframe delay. Simulations show that the proposed methodology outperforms that of IEEE 802.16 and Baye's DynExp in delay, jitter and throughput.

Energy use in cropping systems: A regional long-term exploratory analysis of energy allocation and efficiency in the Inland Pampa (Argentina)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferraro, Diego Omar

2012-01-01

As agricultural system comprises natural processes that are ruled by thermodynamics, the energy utilization is well suited for assessing the sustainability in the management of natural resources. The goals of this paper are 1) to assess the energy use efficiency of the main crops during the 1992–2005 period in Inland Pampa (Argentina); 2) to evaluate the database structure in terms of energy allocation; 3) to assess the changes in technical efficiency using frontier analysis and 4) to identify the best explanatory variables for energy efficiency variability. Results showed an upward trend in productivity per unit area in the crops analyzed (excluding sunflower). Summer soybean and sunflower showed higher energy efficiency values by the end of time series. The main shift in the energy use pattern was the reduction of the energy allocated to tillage. The overall performance of the wheat and soybean crops in the study area appears to be closer to the energy usage pattern shown by the top 5% energy use efficiency crop fields. The exploratory analysis using classification and regression trees (CART) revealed that the energy allocation to tillage; and the crop specie were the attributes that mainly explained the energy efficiency changes. -- Highlights: ► Energy use efficiency (EUE) of main Pampean crops (Argentina) in the 1992–2005 period was analyzed. ► An upward trend in productivity per unit area was observed with the exception of sunflower crop. ► Summer soybean and sunflower showed higher energetic efficiencies by the end of the time series analyzed. ► Average wheat and soybean EUE were closer to the energy usage pattern of the top 5% EUE crop fields. ► Tillage energy and crop specie were the attributes that most strongly explain the EUE changes.

Price and welfare effects of emission quota allocation

OpenAIRE

Golombek, Rolf; Kittelsen, Sverre A.C.; Rosendahl, Knut Einar

2011-01-01

Abstracts with downloadable Discussion Papers in PDF are available on the Internet: http://www.ssb.no Abstract: We analyze how different ways of allocating emission quotas may influence the electricity market. Using a large-scale numerical model of the Western European energy market, we show that different allocation mechanisms can have very different effects on the electricity market, even if the total emission target is fixed. This is particularly the case if output-based alloca...

THE ALLOCATIVE EFFICIENCY OF LAND RENTAL MARKETS IN TRANSITION AGRICULTURE

OpenAIRE

Vranken, Liesbet; Mathijs, Erik

2001-01-01

This paper examines the functioning of the Hungarian land rental market. The allocative inefficiency of the land rental market is determined by calculating the marginal value productivity of land and using rental prices. Regional differences in allocative inefficiency are then correlated with demographic and socio-economic variables and with labor market-related factors.

Dynamic water allocation policies improve the global efficiency of storage systems

Science.gov (United States)

Niayifar, Amin; Perona, Paolo

2017-06-01

Water impoundment by dams strongly affects the river natural flow regime, its attributes and the related ecosystem biodiversity. Fostering the sustainability of water uses e.g., hydropower systems thus implies searching for innovative operational policies able to generate Dynamic Environmental Flows (DEF) that mimic natural flow variability. The objective of this study is to propose a Direct Policy Search (DPS) framework based on defining dynamic flow release rules to improve the global efficiency of storage systems. The water allocation policies proposed for dammed systems are an extension of previously developed flow redistribution rules for small hydropower plants by Razurel et al. (2016).The mathematical form of the Fermi-Dirac statistical distribution applied to lake equations for the stored water in the dam is used to formulate non-proportional redistribution rules that partition the flow for energy production and environmental use. While energy production is computed from technical data, riverine ecological benefits associated with DEF are computed by integrating the Weighted Usable Area (WUA) for fishes with Richter's hydrological indicators. Then, multiobjective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs) are applied to build ecological versus economic efficiency plot and locate its (Pareto) frontier. This study benchmarks two MOEAs (NSGA II and Borg MOEA) and compares their efficiency in terms of the quality of Pareto's frontier and computational cost. A detailed analysis of dam characteristics is performed to examine their impact on the global system efficiency and choice of the best redistribution rule. Finally, it is found that non-proportional flow releases can statistically improve the global efficiency, specifically the ecological one, of the hydropower system when compared to constant minimal flows.

A resource allocation model to support efficient air quality management in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U Govender

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Research into management interventions that create the required enabling environment for growth and development in South Africa are both timely and appropriate. In the research reported in this paper, the authors investigated the level of efficiency of the Air Quality Units within the three spheres of government viz. National, Provincial, and Local Departments of Environmental Management in South Africa, with the view to develop a resource allocation model. The inputs to the model were calculated from the actual man-hours spent on twelve selected activities relating to project management, knowledge management and change management. The outputs assessed were aligned to the requirements of the mandates of these Departments. Several models were explored using multiple regressions and stepwise techniques. The model that best explained the efficiency of the organisations from the input data was selected. Logistic regression analysis was identified as the most appropriate tool. This model is used to predict the required resources per Air Quality Unit in the different spheres of government in an attempt at supporting and empowering the air quality regime to achieve improved output efficiency.

Bounds in the location-allocation problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juel, Henrik

1981-01-01

Develops a family of stronger lower bounds on the objective function value of the location-allocation problem. Solution methods proposed to solve problems in location-allocation; Efforts to develop a more efficient bound solution procedure; Determination of the locations of the sources....

Intelligent Continuous Double Auction method For Service Allocation in Cloud Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nima Farajian

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Market-oriented approach is an effective method for resource management because of its regulation of supply and demand and is suitable for cloud environment where the computing resources, either software or hardware, are virtualized and allocated as services from providers to users. In this paper a continuous double auction method for efficient cloud service allocation is presented in which i enables consumers to order various resources (services for workflows and coallocation, ii consumers and providers make bid and request prices based on deadline and workload time and in addition providers can tradeoff between utilization time and price of bids, iii auctioneers can intelligently find optimum matching by sharing and merging resources which result more trades. Experimental results show that proposed method is efficient in terms of successful allocation rate and resource utilization.

Avoided cost estimation and post-reform funding allocation for California's energy efficiency programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baskette, C.; Horii, B.; Price, S.; Kollman, E.

2006-01-01

This paper summarizes the first comprehensive estimation of California's electricity avoided costs since the state reformed its electricity market. It describes avoided cost estimates that vary by time and location, thus facilitating targeted design, funding, and marketing of demand-side management (DSM) and energy efficiency (EE) programs that could not have occurred under the previous methodology of system average cost estimation. The approach, data, and results reflect two important market structure changes: (a) wholesale spot and forward markets now supply electricity commodities to load serving entities; and (b) the evolution of an emissions market that internalizes and prices some of the externalities of electricity generation. The paper also introduces the multiplier effect of a price reduction due to DSM/EE implementation on electricity bills of all consumers. It affirms that area- and time-specific avoided cost estimates can improve the allocation of the state's public funding for DSM/EE programs, a finding that could benefit other parts of North America (e.g. Ontario and New York), which have undergone electricity deregulation. (author)

Examining Police Strategic Resource Allocation in a Time of Austerity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Garth den Heyer

2014-03-01

Full Text Available The increasing importance of proactive policing has highlighted the need to ensure that the police utilise their resources both efficiently and effectively. Traditionally, police agencies have allocated resources in response to their operational demands or requirements, with the majority of resources being distributed in response to political demands and public calls for service. In recent years there has been a greater emphasis by police to deliver services proactively, and to direct resources to specific geographic areas of high crime or to specific crimes, and to apply intelligence led targeted policing initiatives. The changing operating environment to a public service ethos of accountability and ‘do more with less’ means that historical methods of allocating police officers may not meet an agency's strategic goals. This paper examines if an economic approach to allocating police strategic resources is an appropriate and equitable method in a time of austerity. This greater emphasis on proactive, rather than reactive policing, which also represents a shift from centralised control, underlines the need to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources.

Effective Loss Minimization and Allocation of Unbalanced Distribution Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manvir Kaur

2017-11-01

Full Text Available An efficient distribution network must be able to supply power with good voltage profile. The main objective of the proposed work is to allocate losses of the unbalanced distribution network by the firefly algorithm in regulated and deregulated environments before and after loss minimization. Reconfiguration is one of the methods for loss reduction of unbalanced distribution network. Further, optimal placement of distributed generation and capacitor in the reconfigured unbalanced distribution network can further reduce the loss. The results of reconfigured unbalanced distribution network in regulated environment have already been reported. In this paper reconfiguration of an unbalanced distribution network in a deregulated environment is also carried out using an established Fuzzy Firefly algorithm. Loss sensitivity factor of unbalanced distribution networks is used to get the appropriate location of distributed generation and capacitor to be placed in the unbalanced distribution network. Their ratings have been found out by using bacteria foraging optimization algorithm (BFOA. The suggested loss allocation method using Firefly algorithm is implemented at first on 13 node unbalanced distribution network to check the performance of the proposed loss allocation method when compared to other available method. Finally the proposed method has been implemented on 25 node unbalanced distribution network. Both of the implementations are carried out under MATLAB environment.

Energy Efficient Resource Allocation for Phantom Cellular Networks

KAUST Repository

Abdelhady, Amr Mohamed Abdelaziz

2016-01-01

experiencing negligible interference and assume perfect channel state information (CSI). For this setting, we propose an algorithm that finds the SE and EE resource allocation strategies. Then, we compare the performance of both design strategies versus number

Capital Allocation Effects of Financial Reporting Regulation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koenigsgruber, R.

2012-01-01

This paper analyses the effects of stricter financial reporting enforcement on capital allocation and reporting quality in a game-theoretic model and derives conclusions about optimal enforcement strictness. Analysis of the model shows that reporting quality strictly increases with tighter

Energy-efficient orthogonal frequency division multiplexing-based passive optical network based on adaptive sleep-mode control and dynamic bandwidth allocation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chongfu; Xiao, Nengwu; Chen, Chen; Yuan, Weicheng; Qiu, Kun

2016-02-01

We propose an energy-efficient orthogonal frequency division multiplexing-based passive optical network (OFDM-PON) using adaptive sleep-mode control and dynamic bandwidth allocation. In this scheme, a bidirectional-centralized algorithm named the receiver and transmitter accurate sleep control and dynamic bandwidth allocation (RTASC-DBA), which has an overall bandwidth scheduling policy, is employed to enhance the energy efficiency of the OFDM-PON. The RTASC-DBA algorithm is used in an optical line terminal (OLT) to control the sleep mode of an optical network unit (ONU) sleep and guarantee the quality of service of different services of the OFDM-PON. The obtained results show that, by using the proposed scheme, the average power consumption of the ONU is reduced by ˜40% when the normalized ONU load is less than 80%, compared with the average power consumption without using the proposed scheme.

Asymmetric learning by doing and dynamically efficient policy: implications for domestic and international emissions permit trading of allocating permits usefully

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Read, Peter

2000-01-01

Learning by doing leads to cost reductions as suppliers move down the 'experience curve'. This results in a beneficial supply side inter-temporal externality that, for dynamic efficiency, requires a higher incentive for abatement innovations than the penalty on emissions. This effect can be achieved by a dedicated emissions tax or by a proportionate abatement obligation or by allocating permits usefully. The latter arrangement is compatible with the effective cap on emissions that is secured by an emissions trading scheme. Each of the three possibilities results in a reduced loss of international competitivity in policy-committed regions, in less 'leakage, and in more technology transfer. Implications for trading in emissions permits and in project-related credits are discussed. (Author)

Resource allocation in networks via coalitional games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shams, F.

2016-01-01

The main goal of this dissertation is to manage resource allocation in network engineering problems and to introduce efficient cooperative algorithms to obtain high performance, ensuring fairness and stability. Specifically, this dissertation introduces new approaches for resource allocation in

Effects of fishing effort allocation scenarios on energy efficiency and profitability: an individual-based model applied to Danish fisheries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bastardie, Francois; Nielsen, J. Rasmus; Andersen, Bo Sølgaard

2010-01-01

to the harbour, and (C) allocating effort towards optimising the expected area-specific profit per trip. The model is informed by data from each Danish fishing vessel >15 m after coupling its high resolution spatial and temporal effort data (VMS) with data from logbook landing declarations, sales slips, vessel...... effort allocation has actually been sub-optimal because increased profits from decreased fuel consumption and larger landings could have been obtained by applying a different spatial effort allocation. Based on recent advances in VMS and logbooks data analyses, this paper contributes to improve...

Directed networks, allocation properties and hierarchy formation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slikker, M.; Gilles, R.P.; Norde, H.W.; Tijs, S.H.

2005-01-01

We investigate properties for allocation rules on directed communication networks and the formation of such networks under these payoff properties. We study allocation rules satisfying two appealing properties, Component Efficiency (CE) and the Hierarchical Payoff Property (HPP). We show that such

Efficient Intra-Household Allocations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Browning, Martin

demands must satisfy a symmetry and rank condition on the Slutsky matrix. We also present some further results on the effects on demands of variables that do nor modify preferences but that do affect how decisions are made. We apply our theory to a series of surveys of household expendityres from Canada......The neo-classical theory of demand applies to individuals yet in empirical work it is usually taken as valid for households with many members. This paper explores what the theory of individuals implies for households with many members. This paper explores what the theory of individuals implies...... for households which have more than one member. We make minimal assumptions about how the individual members of the household resolve conflicts. All we assume is that however decisions are made, outcomes are efficient. We refer to this as the collective setting. We show that in the collective setting household...

Storage Space Allocation of Inbound Container in Railway Container Terminal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Efficient storage strategy of railway container terminals is important in balancing resource utilization, reducing waiting time, and improving handling efficiency. In this paper, we consider the formulation and solution algorithm for storage space allocation problem of inbound containers in railway container terminal. The problem is formulated as two-stage optimization models, whose objectives are balancing the workload of inbound containers and reducing the overlapping amounts. An algorithm implement process based on rolling horizon approach is designed to solve the proposed models. Computational experiments on an actual railway container terminal show that the proposed approach is effective to solve space allocation problem of inbound container and is significant for the operation and organization of railway container terminals.

A Dynamic Pricing Reverse Auction-Based Resource Allocation Mechanism in Cloud Workflow Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuejun Li

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Market-oriented reverse auction is an efficient and cost-effective method for resource allocation in cloud workflow systems since it can dynamically allocate resources depending on the supply-demand relationship of the cloud market. However, during the auction the price of cloud resource is usually fixed, and the current resource allocation mechanisms cannot adapt to the changeable market properly which results in the low efficiency of resource utilization. To address such a problem, a dynamic pricing reverse auction-based resource allocation mechanism is proposed. During the auction, resource providers can change prices according to the trading situation so that our novel mechanism can increase the chances of making a deal and improve efficiency of resource utilization. In addition, resource providers can improve their competitiveness in the market by lowering prices, and thus users can obtain cheaper resources in shorter time which would decrease monetary cost and completion time for workflow execution. Experiments with different situations and problem sizes are conducted for dynamic pricing-based allocation mechanism (DPAM on resource utilization and the measurement of Time⁎Cost (TC. The results show that our DPAM can outperform its representative in resource utilization, monetary cost, and completion time and also obtain the optimal price reduction rates.

A new reliability allocation weight for reducing the occurrence of severe failure effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kyungmee O.; Yang, Yoonjung; Zuo, Ming J.

2013-01-01

A reliability allocation weight is used during the early design stage of a system to apportion the system reliability requirement to its individual subsystems. Since some failures have serious effects on public safety, cost and environmental issues especially in a mission critical system, the failure effect must be considered as one of the important factors in determining the allocation weight. Previously, the risk priority number or the criticality number was used to consider the failure effect in the allocation weight. In this paper, we identify the limitations of the previous approach and propose a new allocation weight based on the subsystem failure severity and its relative frequency. An example is given to illustrate that the proposed method is more effective than the previous method for reducing the occurrence of the unacceptable failure effects in a newly designed system

Allocation of authority in European health policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Adolph, Christopher; Greer, Scott L; Massard da Fonseca, Elize

2012-11-01

Although many study the effects of different allocations of health policy authority, few ask why countries assign responsibility over different policies as they do. We test two broad theories: fiscal federalism, which predicts rational governments will concentrate information-intensive operations at lower levels, and redistributive and regulatory functions at higher levels; and "politicized federalism", which suggests a combination of systematic and historically idiosyncratic political variables interfere with efficient allocation of authority. Drawing on the WHO Health in Transition country profiles, we present new data on the allocation of responsibility for key health care policy tasks (implementation, provision, finance, regulation, and framework legislation) and policy areas (primary, secondary and tertiary care, public health and pharmaceuticals) in the 27 EU member states and Switzerland. We use a Bayesian multinomial mixed logit model to analyze how different countries arrive at different allocations of authority over each task and area of health policy, and find the allocation of powers broadly follows fiscal federalism. Responsibility for pharmaceuticals, framework legislation, and most finance lodges at the highest levels of government, acute and primary care in the regions, and provision at the local and regional levels. Where allocation does not follow fiscal federalism, it appears to reflect ethnic divisions, the population of states and regions, the presence of mountainous terrain, and the timing of region creation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multimedia transmission in MC-CDMA using adaptive subcarrier power allocation and CFO compensation

Science.gov (United States)

Chitra, S.; Kumaratharan, N.

2018-02-01

Multicarrier code division multiple access (MC-CDMA) system is one of the most effective techniques in fourth-generation (4G) wireless technology, due to its high data rate, high spectral efficiency and resistance to multipath fading. However, MC-CDMA systems are greatly deteriorated by carrier frequency offset (CFO) which is due to Doppler shift and oscillator instabilities. It leads to loss of orthogonality among the subcarriers and causes intercarrier interference (ICI). Water filling algorithm (WFA) is an efficient resource allocation algorithm to solve the power utilisation problems among the subcarriers in time-dispersive channels. The conventional WFA fails to consider the effect of CFO. To perform subcarrier power allocation with reduced CFO and to improve the capacity of MC-CDMA system, residual CFO compensated adaptive subcarrier power allocation algorithm is proposed in this paper. The proposed technique allocates power only to subcarriers with high channel to noise power ratio. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated using random binary data and image as source inputs. Simulation results depict that the bit error rate performance and ICI reduction capability of the proposed modified WFA offered superior performance in both power allocation and image compression for high-quality multimedia transmission in the presence of CFO and imperfect channel state information conditions.

Fast SPT-Term Allocation and Efficient FPGA Implementation of FIR Filters for Software Defined Radio Applications

OpenAIRE

Bae, Choonghoon; Moteki, Takayuki; Kim, Minseok; Ichige, Koichi; Arai, Hiroyuki

2009-01-01

This paper presents a fast SPT-term allocation scheme and an efficient FPGA implementation of FIR filters for Software Defined Radio (SDR) applications. Direct conversion method based on RF direct sampling is nowadays widely used in SDR applications. Fast and accurate digital filters are required for RF direct sampling and processing in direct conversion, however such filters often require large digital circuit area. Signed-Power-of-Two (SPT) terms will be suitable for fast processing and eff...

Nash social welfare in multiagent resource allocation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ramezani, S.; Endriss, U.; David, E.; Gerding, E.; Sarne, D.; Shehory, O.

2010-01-01

We study different aspects of the multiagent resource allocation problem when the objective is to find an allocation that maximizes Nash social welfare, the product of the utilities of the individual agents. The Nash solution is an important welfare criterion that combines efficiency and fairness

A data envelope analysis to assess factors affecting technical and economic efficiency of individual broiler breeder hens.

Science.gov (United States)

Romero, L F; Zuidhof, M J; Jeffrey, S R; Naeima, A; Renema, R A; Robinson, F E

2010-08-01

This study evaluated the effect of feed allocation and energetic efficiency on technical and economic efficiency of broiler breeder hens using the data envelope analysis methodology and quantified the effect of variables affecting technical efficiency. A total of 288 Ross 708 pullets were placed in individual cages at 16 wk of age and assigned to 1 of 4 feed allocation groups. Three of them had feed allocated on a group basis with divergent BW targets: standard, high (standard x 1.1), and low (standard x 0.9). The fourth group had feed allocated on an individual bird basis following the standard BW target. Birds were classified in 3 energetic efficiency categories: low, average, and high, based on estimated maintenance requirements. Technical efficiency considered saleable chicks as output and cumulative ME intake and time as inputs. Economic efficiency of feed allocation treatments was analyzed under different cost scenarios. Birds with low feed allocation exhibited a lower technical efficiency (69.4%) than standard (72.1%), which reflected a reduced egg production rate. Feed allocation of the high treatment could have been reduced by 10% with the same chick production as the standard treatment. The low treatment exhibited reduced economic efficiency at greater capital costs, whereas high had reduced economic efficiency at greater feed costs. The average energetic efficiency hens had a lower technical efficiency in the low compared with the standard feed allocation. A 1% increment in estimated maintenance requirement changed technical efficiency by -0.23%, whereas a 1% increment in ME intake had a -0.47% effect. The negative relationship between technical efficiency and ME intake was counterbalanced by a positive correlation of ME intake and egg production. The negative relationship of technical efficiency and maintenance requirements was synergized by a negative correlation of hen maintenance and egg production. Economic efficiency methodologies are effective

Impacts of alternative allowance allocation methods under a cap-and-trade program in power sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Beibei; He Pan; Zhang Bing; Bi Jun

2012-01-01

Emission trading is considered to be a cost-effective environmental economic instrument for pollution control. However, the policy design of an emission trading program has a decisive impact on its performance. Allowance allocation is one of the most important policy design issues in emission trading, not only for equity but also for policy performance. In this research, an artificial market for sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emission trading was constructed by applying an agent-based model. The performance of the Jiangsu SO 2 emission trading market was examined under different allowance allocation methods and transaction costs. The results showed that the market efficiency of emission trading would be affected by the allocation methods when the transaction costs are positive. The auction allowance allocation method was more efficient and had the lowest total emission control costs than the other three allocation methods examined. However, the use of this method will require that power plants pay for all of their allowance, and doing so will increase the production costs of power plants. On the other hand, output-based allowance allocation is the second best method. - Highlights: ► The impact of allowance allocation methods is examined for a cap-and-trade program. ► The market efficiency would be distinct when the transaction costs are positive. ► The auction method would have lowest total emission control costs.

The most efficient critical vaccination coverage and its equivalence with maximizing the herd effect

NARCIS (Netherlands)

L.E. Duijzer (Evelot); W.L. van Jaarsveld (Willem); J. Wallinga (Jacco); R. Dekker (Rommert)

2016-01-01

textabstract‘Critical vaccination coverages’ are vaccination allocations that result in an effective reproduction ratio of one. In a population with interacting subpopulations there are many different critical vaccination coverages. To find the most efficient critical vaccination coverage, we define

Allocating time to future tasks: the effect of task segmentation on planning fallacy bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Forsyth, Darryl K; Burt, Christopher D B

2008-06-01

The scheduling component of the time management process was used as a "paradigm" to investigate the allocation of time to future tasks. In three experiments, we compared task time allocation for a single task with the summed time allocations given for each subtask that made up the single task. In all three, we found that allocated time for a single task was significantly smaller than the summed time allocated to the individual subtasks. We refer to this as the segmentation effect. In Experiment 3, we asked participants to give estimates by placing a mark on a time line, and found that giving time allocations in the form of rounded close approximations probably does not account for the segmentation effect. We discuss the results in relation to the basic processes used to allocate time to future tasks and the means by which planning fallacy bias might be reduced.

Bidding for surplus in network allocation problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slikker, M.

2007-01-01

In this paper we study non-cooperative foundations of network allocation rules. We focus on three allocation rules: the Myerson value, the position value and the component-wise egalitarian solution. For any of these three rules we provide a characterization based on component efficiency and some

Efficient Resource Allocation and Sectorization for Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR in LTE Femtocell Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. T. Kawser

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The Fractional Frequency Reuse (FFR is a resource allocation technique that can effectively mitigate inter-cell interference (ICI in LTE based HetNets and it is a promising solution. Various FFR schemes have been suggested to address the challenge of interference in femtocell systems. In this paper, we study the scopes of interference mitigation and capacity improvement. We propose a resource allocation scheme that gradually varies frequency resource share with distance from the eNodeB for both macrocells and femtocells in order to attain better utilization of the resources. This is performed effectively using three layers in the cell. The proposal also employs high number sectors in a cell, low interference and good frequency reuse. Monte-Carlo simulations are performed, which show that the proposed scheme achieves significantly better throughput compared to the existing FFR schemes.

Renewable portfolio standards and cost-effective energy-efficiency investment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahone, A.; Woo, C.K.; Williams, J.; Horowitz, I.

2009-01-01

Renewable portfolio standards (RPSs) and mandates to invest in cost-effective energy efficiency (EE) are increasingly popular policy tools to combat climate change and dependence on fossil fuels. These supply-side and demand-side policies, however, are often uncoordinated. Using California as a case in point, this paper demonstrates that states could improve resource allocation if these two policies were coordinated by incorporating renewable-energy procurement cost into the cost-effectiveness determination for EE investment. In particular, if renewable energy is relatively expensive when compared to conventional energy, increasing the RPS target raises the cost-effective level of EE investment

An efficient simulated annealing algorithm for the redundancy allocation problem with a choice of redundancy strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambari, Amirhossain; Najafi, Amir Abbas; Rahmati, Seyed Habib A.; Karimi, Aida

2013-01-01

The redundancy allocation problem (RAP) is an important reliability optimization problem. This paper studies a specific RAP in which redundancy strategies are chosen. To do so, the choice of the redundancy strategies among active and cold standby is considered as decision variables. The goal is to select the redundancy strategy, component, and redundancy level for each subsystem such that the system reliability is maximized. Since RAP is a NP-hard problem, we propose an efficient simulated annealing algorithm (SA) to solve it. In addition, to evaluating the performance of the proposed algorithm, it is compared with well-known algorithms in the literature for different test problems. The results of the performance analysis show a relatively satisfactory efficiency of the proposed SA algorithm

Energy-efficient relay selection and optimal power allocation for performance-constrained dual-hop variable-gain AF relaying

KAUST Repository

Zafar, Ammar

2013-12-01

This paper investigates the energy-efficiency enhancement of a variable-gain dual-hop amplify-and-forward (AF) relay network utilizing selective relaying. The objective is to minimize the total consumed power while keeping the end-to-end signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR) above a certain peak value and satisfying the peak power constraints at the source and relay nodes. To achieve this objective, an optimal relay selection and power allocation strategy is derived by solving the power minimization problem. Numerical results show that the derived optimal strategy enhances the energy-efficiency as compared to a benchmark scheme in which both the source and the selected relay transmit at peak power. © 2013 IEEE.

Research paper 2000-B-6: adjustments in the Dutch domestic waste incineration sector in the context of the European directive 89/429/EEC. A case study on national implementation, environmental effectiveness, allocative efficiency, productive efficiency and administrative costs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lulofs, K. [Twente Univ., Center for Clean Technology and Environmental Policy, Enschede (Netherlands)

2000-07-01

Within the context of the IMPOL project several fields of European environmental policy are studied on aspects as national implementation and environmental and efficiency outcomes. For the IMPOL project a case study was done on the transformation of the Dutch sector of domestic waste incineration in the context of the European Directive Directives 89/369/EEC and 89/429/ EEC. The case study was done and indicators for environmental effectiveness, allocative efficiency, productive efficiency and administrative costs were chosen in line with a document to coordinate the efforts in the four IMPOL countries. The European Directives 89/369/EEC and 89/429/ EEC regulate Plants for Domestic waste Incineration on the emissions of several pollutants. These emissions are relevant for air quality in general, acidification and the spreading of toxic substances. In the empirical part of this report emphasis is laid on 'existing' incineration plants, being permitted before 1990. In chapter 2 of this report the implementation of the directives 89/369/EEC and 89/429/EEC in the Netherlands is described. In section 2.1 already existing 'older' Dutch policy and regulation is presented. In paragraph 2.2 the integration of the European Directives into Dutch national law is described. In chapter 2.3 the efforts and outcomes on monitoring and enforcement are presented. Chapter 3 goes into the environmental effectiveness. Section 3.1 describes the abatement performance of the whole municipal waste incineration sector during the period of research. Section 3.2 goes into factors that explain the environmental outcomes. Within the IMPOL research-team the decision was taken to concentrate on a number of pollutants of existing waste incinerators. In section 3.3 the data for the existing incinerators are given. In chapter 4 the allocative efficiency of adjustments is elaborated. In section 4.1 the abatement patterns of existing municipal waste incineration plants are presented

Two-stage simplified swarm optimization for the redundancy allocation problem in a multi-state bridge system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lai, Chyh-Ming; Yeh, Wei-Chang

2016-01-01

The redundancy allocation problem involves configuring an optimal system structure with high reliability and low cost, either by alternating the elements with more reliable elements and/or by forming them redundantly. The multi-state bridge system is a special redundancy allocation problem and is commonly used in various engineering systems for load balancing and control. Traditional methods for redundancy allocation problem cannot solve multi-state bridge systems efficiently because it is impossible to transfer and reduce a multi-state bridge system to series and parallel combinations. Hence, a swarm-based approach called two-stage simplified swarm optimization is proposed in this work to effectively and efficiently solve the redundancy allocation problem in a multi-state bridge system. For validating the proposed method, two experiments are implemented. The computational results indicate the advantages of the proposed method in terms of solution quality and computational efficiency. - Highlights: • Propose two-stage SSO (SSO_T_S) to deal with RAP in multi-state bridge system. • Dynamic upper bound enhances the efficiency of searching near-optimal solution. • Vector-update stages reduces the problem dimensions. • Statistical results indicate SSO_T_S is robust both in solution quality and runtime.

Cost allocation. Combined heat and power production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sidzikauskas, V.

2002-01-01

The benefits of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) generation are discussed. The include improvement in energy intensity of 1% by 2010, 85-90% efficiency versus 40-50% of condensation power and others. Share of CHP electricity production in ERRA countries is presented.Solutions for a development CHP cost allocation are considered. Conclusion are presented for CHP production cost allocation. (R.P.)

Fairness-Aware Energy-Efficient Resource Allocation for AF Co-Operative OFDMA Networks

KAUST Repository

Bedeer, Ebrahim

2015-09-23

In this paper, we adopt an energy-efficiency (EE) metric, named worst-EE, that is suitable for EE fairness optimization in the uplink transmission of amplify-and-forward (AF) cooperative orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) networks. More specifically, we assign subcarriers and allocate powers for mobile and relay stations in order to maximize the worst-EE, i.e., to maximize the EE of the mobile station (MS) with the lowest EE value, subject to MSs transmit power, relay station (RS) transmit power, and MSs quality-of-service (QoS) constraints. The formulated primal max-min optimization problem is nonconvex fractional mixed integer nonlinear program, i.e., NP-hard to solve. We provide a novel optimization framework that studies the structure of the primal problem and prove that the dual min-max optimization problem attains the same optimal solution of the primal problem. Additionally, we propose a modified Dinkelbach algorithm, named dual Dinkelbach, to achieve the optimal solution of the dual problem in a polynomial time complexity. We further exploit the structure of the obtained optimal solution and develop a low complexity suboptimal heuristic. Numerical results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm to improve the network performance in terms of fairness between MSs, worst-EE, and average network transmission rate when compared to traditional schemes that maximize the EE of the whole network. Presented results also show that the suboptimal heuristic balances the achieved performance and the computational complexity.

Fairness-Aware Energy-Efficient Resource Allocation for AF Co-Operative OFDMA Networks

KAUST Repository

Bedeer, Ebrahim; Alorainy, Abdulaziz; Hossain, Md. Jahangir; Amin, Osama; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2015-01-01

In this paper, we adopt an energy-efficiency (EE) metric, named worst-EE, that is suitable for EE fairness optimization in the uplink transmission of amplify-and-forward (AF) cooperative orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) networks. More specifically, we assign subcarriers and allocate powers for mobile and relay stations in order to maximize the worst-EE, i.e., to maximize the EE of the mobile station (MS) with the lowest EE value, subject to MSs transmit power, relay station (RS) transmit power, and MSs quality-of-service (QoS) constraints. The formulated primal max-min optimization problem is nonconvex fractional mixed integer nonlinear program, i.e., NP-hard to solve. We provide a novel optimization framework that studies the structure of the primal problem and prove that the dual min-max optimization problem attains the same optimal solution of the primal problem. Additionally, we propose a modified Dinkelbach algorithm, named dual Dinkelbach, to achieve the optimal solution of the dual problem in a polynomial time complexity. We further exploit the structure of the obtained optimal solution and develop a low complexity suboptimal heuristic. Numerical results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm to improve the network performance in terms of fairness between MSs, worst-EE, and average network transmission rate when compared to traditional schemes that maximize the EE of the whole network. Presented results also show that the suboptimal heuristic balances the achieved performance and the computational complexity.

Optimal Register Allocation by Augmented Left-Edge Algorithm on Arbitrary Control-Flow Structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ruvald Pedersen, Mark; Madsen, Jan

2012-01-01

for allocation to be done using only quasi-local and local allocation - avoiding the complexity of true global allocation. As local allocation is much simpler than global allocation, this approach emphasizes efficiency and ease of implementation - at a cost of an increased number of register transfers compared...... to other allocators. Experiments show that runtime is linear for all practical purposes....

Railway Track Allocation: Models and Methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lusby, Richard Martin; Larsen, Jesper; Ehrgott, Matthias

2011-01-01

Efficiently coordinating the movement of trains on a railway network is a central part of the planning process for a railway company. This paper reviews models and methods that have been proposed in the literature to assist planners in finding train routes. Since the problem of routing trains......, and train routing problems, group them by railway network type, and discuss track allocation from a strategic, tactical, and operational level....... on a railway network entails allocating the track capacity of the network (or part thereof) over time in a conflict-free manner, all studies that model railway track allocation in some capacity are considered relevant. We hence survey work on the train timetabling, train dispatching, train platforming...

Energy-Efficient Power Allocation for Cognitive MIMO Channels

KAUST Repository

Sboui, Lokman; Rezki, Zouheir; Salem, Ahmed Sultan; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2017-01-01

achieves at least 95% of the optimal performance. In addition, we show that adopting more antennas is more energy efficient for a given power budget. Finally, we show that the interference threshold has a significant effect on both the EE and the spectral

An Empirical Study on the Driving Path of Optimizing the Resources Allocation of Foreign Trade Enterprises from the Perspective of Energy Supply-side Reform

Science.gov (United States)

You, Yu-cong; Yi, Lu-xia

2017-11-01

From the perspective of energy supply-side reform, this paper, by conducting an empirical study on foreign trade enterprises, conducts a research on the cross-role effect of optimizing the resources allocation and enhancing the energy efficiency. Methodologically, this paper creatively introduces the HILE's probabilistic structured property into Granger causality test analysis, forming an HILE-Granger (H-G) model, so as to empirically estimate both the short-term and long-term causal relationship effects between the energy efficiency and resources allocation. Conclusion is drawn that optimization of resources allocation is positively proportional with the energy efficiency enhancement. This paper is to provide a decision-making reference for the supply side reform strategy of foreign trade enterprises under the background of green energy economy.

Energy Efficiency - Spectral Efficiency Trade-off: A Multiobjective Optimization Approach

KAUST Repository

Amin, Osama

2015-04-23

In this paper, we consider the resource allocation problem for energy efficiency (EE) - spectral efficiency (SE) trade-off. Unlike traditional research that uses the EE as an objective function and imposes constraints either on the SE or achievable rate, we propound a multiobjective optimization approach that can flexibly switch between the EE and SE functions or change the priority level of each function using a trade-off parameter. Our dynamic approach is more tractable than the conventional approaches and more convenient to realistic communication applications and scenarios. We prove that the multiobjective optimization of the EE and SE is equivalent to a simple problem that maximizes the achievable rate/SE and minimizes the total power consumption. Then we apply the generalized framework of the resource allocation for the EE-SE trade-off to optimally allocate the subcarriers’ power for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with imperfect channel estimation. Finally, we use numerical results to discuss the choice of the trade-off parameter and study the effect of the estimation error, transmission power budget and channel-to-noise ratio on the multiobjective optimization.

Energy Efficiency - Spectral Efficiency Trade-off: A Multiobjective Optimization Approach

KAUST Repository

Amin, Osama; Bedeer, Ebrahim; Ahmed, Mohamed; Dobre, Octavia

2015-01-01

In this paper, we consider the resource allocation problem for energy efficiency (EE) - spectral efficiency (SE) trade-off. Unlike traditional research that uses the EE as an objective function and imposes constraints either on the SE or achievable rate, we propound a multiobjective optimization approach that can flexibly switch between the EE and SE functions or change the priority level of each function using a trade-off parameter. Our dynamic approach is more tractable than the conventional approaches and more convenient to realistic communication applications and scenarios. We prove that the multiobjective optimization of the EE and SE is equivalent to a simple problem that maximizes the achievable rate/SE and minimizes the total power consumption. Then we apply the generalized framework of the resource allocation for the EE-SE trade-off to optimally allocate the subcarriers’ power for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with imperfect channel estimation. Finally, we use numerical results to discuss the choice of the trade-off parameter and study the effect of the estimation error, transmission power budget and channel-to-noise ratio on the multiobjective optimization.

Efficient power allocation for fixed-gain amplify-and-forward relaying in rayleigh fading

KAUST Repository

Zafar, Ammar

2013-06-01

In this paper, we study power allocation strategies for a fixed-gain amplify-and-forward relay network employing multiple relays. We consider two optimization problems for the relay network: 1) optimal power allocation to maximize the end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and 2) minimizing the total consumed power while maintaining the end-to-end SNR over a threshold value. We assume that the relays have knowledge of only the channel statistics of all the links. We show that the SNR maximization problem is concave and the power minimization problem is convex. Hence, we solve the problems through convex programming. Numerical results show the benefit of allocating power optimally rather than uniformly. © 2013 IEEE.

A note on mate allocation for dominance handling in genomic selection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toro Miguel A

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Estimation of non-additive genetic effects in animal breeding is important because it increases the accuracy of breeding value prediction and the value of mate allocation procedures. With the advent of genomic selection these ideas should be revisited. The objective of this study was to quantify the efficiency of including dominance effects and practising mating allocation under a whole-genome evaluation scenario. Four strategies of selection, carried out during five generations, were compared by simulation techniques. In the first scenario (MS, individuals were selected based on their own phenotypic information. In the second (GSA, they were selected based on the prediction generated by the Bayes A method of whole-genome evaluation under an additive model. In the third (GSD, the model was expanded to include dominance effects. These three scenarios used random mating to construct future generations, whereas in the fourth one (GSD + MA, matings were optimized by simulated annealing. The advantage of GSD over GSA ranges from 9 to 14% of the expected response and, in addition, using mate allocation (GSD + MA provides an additional response ranging from 6% to 22%. However, mate selection can improve the expected genetic response over random mating only in the first generation of selection. Furthermore, the efficiency of genomic selection is eroded after a few generations of selection, thus, a continued collection of phenotypic data and re-evaluation will be required.

Effect of regionalization on the allocation of third-party peace operations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dagmar Zakopalová

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The paper “Effect of regionalization on the allocation of third-party peace operations” aims to discuss and then empirically test on large-N data what is the effect of the joint activity of the United Nations, regional organizations and ad hoc coalitions of states on the allocation of peace operations in the world. It is argued that after the end of the Cold War, all the actors have become much more active in organizing peace operations in intrastate armed conflicts, but it remains rather unclear to what extent they actually share the burden of peace operations at the macro level and especially whether the United Nations focuses on the regions that are rather overlooked by the other actors. The analysis shows that there are remarkable differences among various regions as regards the involvement of international actors and in fact, regional organizations as well as the ad hoc coalitions of states tend to follow similar patterns in allocation of peace operations as the United Nations.

The effect of environmental information on investment allocation decisions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rikhardsson, Pall M.; Holm, Claus

2008-01-01

This paper focuses on the use of environmental information in investment decision making. The research approach employed is based on an experiment where three groups of final year finance students were asked to allocate investment funds between two companies based on financial accounts...... information categories affect their decision making. Hence, this has implications for how the potential value of environmental information is to be assessed. Finally, experimental studies as a methodology seem to be better suited to indicate actual effects of different types of information on decision making...... and information material from these companies in which environmental information was included in varying degrees. The overall conclusion is that the qualitative environmental information affects short term allocation decisions, hence indicating a risk reduction potential of environmental information comparable...

U.S. Army Recruiter Allocation Model

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Brence, John

2004-01-01

.... Our methodology will build on both the new and old schools of recruiting by conducting stakeholder interviews that will lead us to a model that is an efficient starting point for the Recruiter Mission Allocation (RMA...

The Effect of Corruption on Government Expenditure Allocation in OECD Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ondřej Jajkowicz

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper empirically examines the effect of corruption on the allocation of government expenditures by function. Equations using pooled panel dataset for 21 OECD countries between 1998 and 2011 were tested, and the findings show that government expenditure on defense and general public services increase, while government expenditures on education, health, recreation, culture and religion decline with higher levels of corruption. This paper presents new results and new evidence on the link between corruption and allocation of government expenditures in OECD countries.

Human-Automation Allocations for Current Robotic Space Operations

Science.gov (United States)

Marquez, Jessica J.; Chang, Mai L.; Beard, Bettina L.; Kim, Yun Kyung; Karasinski, John A.

2018-01-01

Within the Human Research Program, one risk delineates the uncertainty surrounding crew working with automation and robotics in spaceflight. The Risk of Inadequate Design of Human and Automation/Robotic Integration (HARI) is concerned with the detrimental effects on crew performance due to ineffective user interfaces, system designs and/or functional task allocation, potentially compromising mission success and safety. Risk arises because we have limited experience with complex automation and robotics. One key gap within HARI, is the gap related to functional allocation. The gap states: We need to evaluate, develop, and validate methods and guidelines for identifying human-automation/robot task information needs, function allocation, and team composition for future long duration, long distance space missions. Allocations determine the human-system performance as it identifies the functions and performance levels required by the automation/robotic system, and in turn, what work the crew is expected to perform and the necessary human performance requirements. Allocations must take into account each of the human, automation, and robotic systems capabilities and limitations. Some functions may be intuitively assigned to the human versus the robot, but to optimize efficiency and effectiveness, purposeful role assignments will be required. The role of automation and robotics will significantly change in future exploration missions, particularly as crew becomes more autonomous from ground controllers. Thus, we must understand the suitability of existing function allocation methods within NASA as well as the existing allocations established by the few robotic systems that are operational in spaceflight. In order to evaluate future methods of robotic allocations, we must first benchmark the allocations and allocation methods that have been used. We will present 1) documentation of human-automation-robotic allocations in existing, operational spaceflight systems; and 2) To

Fund allocation using capacitated vehicle routing problem

Science.gov (United States)

Mamat, Nur Jumaadzan Zaleha; Jaaman, Saiful Hafizah; Ahmad, Rokiah Rozita; Darus, Maslina

2014-09-01

In investment fund allocation, it is unwise for an investor to distribute his fund into several assets simultaneously due to economic reasons. One solution is to allocate the fund into a particular asset at a time in a sequence that will either maximize returns or minimize risks depending on the investor's objective. The vehicle routing problem (VRP) provides an avenue to this issue. VRP answers the question on how to efficiently use the available fleet of vehicles to meet a given service demand, subjected to a set of operational requirements. This paper proposes an idea of using capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) to optimize investment fund allocation by employing data of selected stocks in the FTSE Bursa Malaysia. Results suggest that CRVP can be applied to solve the issue of investment fund allocation and increase the investor's profit.

State-of-the-art on Virtualization and Software Defined Networking for Efficient Resource Allocation on Multi-tenant 5G Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsirakis Christos

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Global data traffic explosion is expected to set stringent requirements for next generation networks in the next decades. Besides, very low latencies will have to be guaranteed for enabling new delay critical services. However, current Software Defined Networking (SDN solutions have limitations in terms of separating both data and control planes among tenants/operators, and the capability to adapt to new or changing requirements. Moreover, some virtualization schemes do not ensure isolation of resources and do not guarantee bandwidth across the entities. While some others fail to provide flexibility to the slices to customize the resource allocation across the users. Therefore, novel SDN and virtualization techniques should be implemented to realize the upcoming 5G network that will facilitate at least efficient resource allocation and multi-tenancy among the plethora of different requirements.

An Optimization Algorithm for Multipath Parallel Allocation for Service Resource in the Simulation Task Workflow

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiteng Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Service oriented modeling and simulation are hot issues in the field of modeling and simulation, and there is need to call service resources when simulation task workflow is running. How to optimize the service resource allocation to ensure that the task is complete effectively is an important issue in this area. In military modeling and simulation field, it is important to improve the probability of success and timeliness in simulation task workflow. Therefore, this paper proposes an optimization algorithm for multipath service resource parallel allocation, in which multipath service resource parallel allocation model is built and multiple chains coding scheme quantum optimization algorithm is used for optimization and solution. The multiple chains coding scheme quantum optimization algorithm is to extend parallel search space to improve search efficiency. Through the simulation experiment, this paper investigates the effect for the probability of success in simulation task workflow from different optimization algorithm, service allocation strategy, and path number, and the simulation result shows that the optimization algorithm for multipath service resource parallel allocation is an effective method to improve the probability of success and timeliness in simulation task workflow.

Identifying Memory Allocation Patterns in HEP Software

Science.gov (United States)

Kama, S.; Rauschmayr, N.

2017-10-01

HEP applications perform an excessive amount of allocations/deallocations within short time intervals which results in memory churn, poor locality and performance degradation. These issues are already known for a decade, but due to the complexity of software frameworks and billions of allocations for a single job, up until recently no efficient mechanism has been available to correlate these issues with source code lines. However, with the advent of the Big Data era, many tools and platforms are now available to do large scale memory profiling. This paper presents, a prototype program developed to track and identify each single (de-)allocation. The CERN IT Hadoop cluster is used to compute memory key metrics, like locality, variation, lifetime and density of allocations. The prototype further provides a web based visualization back-end that allows the user to explore the results generated on the Hadoop cluster. Plotting these metrics for every single allocation over time gives a new insight into application’s memory handling. For instance, it shows which algorithms cause which kind of memory allocation patterns, which function flow causes how many short-lived objects, what are the most commonly allocated sizes etc. The paper will give an insight into the prototype and will show profiling examples for the LHC reconstruction, digitization and simulation jobs.

Herbivory alters plant carbon assimilation, patterns of biomass allocation and nitrogen use efficiency

Science.gov (United States)

Peschiutta, María Laura; Scholz, Fabián Gustavo; Goldstein, Guillermo; Bucci, Sandra Janet

2018-01-01

Herbivory can trigger physiological processes resulting in leaf and whole plant functional changes. The effects of chronic infestation by an insect on leaf traits related to carbon and nitrogen economy in three Prunus avium cultivars were assessed. Leaves from non-infested trees (control) and damaged leaves from infested trees were selected. The insect larvae produce skeletonization of the leaves leaving relatively intact the vein network of the eaten leaves and the abaxial epidermal tissue. At the leaf level, nitrogen content per mass (Nmass) and per area (Narea), net photosynthesis per mass (Amass) and per area (Aarea), photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiency (PNUE), leaf mass per area (LMA) and total leaf phenols content were measured in the three cultivars. All cultivars responded to herbivory in a similar fashion. The Nmass, Amass, and PNUE decreased, while LMA and total content of phenols increased in partially damaged leaves. Increases in herbivore pressure resulted in lower leaf size and total leaf area per plant across cultivars. Despite this, stem cumulative growth tended to increase in infected plants suggesting a change in the patterns of biomass allocation and in resources sequestration elicited by herbivory. A larger N investment in defenses instead of photosynthetic structures may explain the lower PNUE and Amass observed in damaged leaves. Some physiological changes due to herbivory partially compensate for the cost of leaf removal buffering the carbon economy at the whole plant level.

EU ETS Allocation. Evaluation of present system and options beyond 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sijm, J.P.M. (ed.) [ECN Policy Studies, Petten (Netherlands); Berk, M.M.; Den Elzen, M.G.J.; Van den Wijngaart, R.A. [Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency NMP, Bilthoven (Netherlands)

2007-03-15

This study assesses various options for EU (European Union) burden sharing and EU ETS (Emissions Trading System) allocation beyond 2012, based on a sample of policy evaluation criteria and a review of the literature on (1) international and EU burden sharing of future GHG mitigation commitments, and (2) allocation of GHG emission allowances among countries, sectors and emitting installations. It shows that these options score differently with regard to a variety of individual evaluation criteria (such as environmental effectiveness, economic efficiency, social equity or political acceptability), while the overall performance of these options depends on both the selection, interpretation, weighing and adding of these criteria.

An Optimal Joint User Association and Power Allocation Algorithm for Secrecy Information Transmission in Heterogeneous Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rong Chai

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, heterogeneous radio access technologies have experienced rapid development and gradually achieved effective coordination and integration, resulting in heterogeneous networks (HetNets. In this paper, we consider the downlink secure transmission of HetNets where the information transmission from base stations (BSs to legitimate users is subject to the interception of eavesdroppers. In particular, we stress the problem of joint user association and power allocation of the BSs. To achieve data transmission in a secure and energy efficient manner, we introduce the concept of secrecy energy efficiency which is defined as the ratio of the secrecy transmission rate and power consumption of the BSs and formulate the problem of joint user association and power allocation as an optimization problem which maximizes the joint secrecy energy efficiency of all the BSs under the power constraint of the BSs and the minimum data rate constraint of user equipment (UE. By equivalently transforming the optimization problem into two subproblems, that is, power allocation subproblem and user association subproblem of the BSs, and applying iterative method and Kuhn-Munkres (K-M algorithm to solve the two subproblems, respectively, the optimal user association and power allocation strategies can be obtained. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms previously proposed algorithms.

Function allocation in distributed safeguards and security systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barlich, G.L.

1991-01-01

Computerized distributed systems are being used to collect and manage data for activities such as nuclear materials accounting, process control, laboratory coordination, and security. Poor choices made in allocating functions to individual processors can make a system unusable by burdening machines with excessive network retrievals and updates. During system design phases, data allocation algorithms based on operation frequencies, field sizes, security information, and reliability requirements can be applied in sensitivity studies to mathematically ensure processor efficiency. The Los Alamos Network Design System (NDS) implements such an allocation algorithm. The authors analyzed a large, existing distributed system to test the cost functions and to compare actual network problems with NDS results. Several common configurations were also designed and studied using the software. From these studies, some basic principles for allocating functions emerged. In this paper recommendations for function allocation in generic systems and related design options are discussed

Energy-efficient dynamic resource allocation with energy harvesting nodes

OpenAIRE

Rubio López, Javier

2012-01-01

The allocation of radio resources where nodes are battery constrained. [ANGLÈS] In wireless communications, there is a trend to deploy shorter-distance networks to cope with the high demanding necessities of bit-rate that current applications require. In such networks, the power needed for transmission is considerably low, due to proximity between base station and mobile terminals. As a consequence, complex baseband algorithms for signal processing and radio frequency circuitry require an ...

Power allocation strategies to minimize energy consumption in wireless body area networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Kailas, Aravind

2011-01-01

The wide scale deployment of wireless body area networks (WBANs) hinges on designing energy efficient communication protocols to support the reliable communication as well as to prolong the network lifetime. Cooperative communications, a relatively new idea in wireless communications, offers the benefits of multi-antenna systems, thereby improving the link reliability and boosting energy efficiency. In this short paper, the advantages of resorting to cooperative communications for WBANs in terms of minimized energy consumption are investigated. Adopting an energy model that encompasses energy consumptions in the transmitter and receiver circuits, and transmitting energy per bit, it is seen that cooperative transmission can improve energy efficiency of the wireless network. In particular, the problem of optimal power allocation is studied with the constraint of targeted outage probability. Two strategies of power allocation are considered: power allocation with and without posture state information. Using analysis and simulation-based results, two key points are demonstrated: (i) allocating power to the on-body sensors making use of the posture information can reduce the total energy consumption of the WBAN; and (ii) when the channel condition is good, it is better to recruit less relays for cooperation to enhance energy efficiency.

Emergency material allocation with time-varying supply-demand based on dynamic optimization method for river chemical spills.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jie; Guo, Liang; Jiang, Jiping; Jiang, Dexun; Wang, Peng

2018-04-13

Aiming to minimize the damage caused by river chemical spills, efficient emergency material allocation is critical for an actual emergency rescue decision-making in a quick response. In this study, an emergency material allocation framework based on time-varying supply-demand constraint is developed to allocate emergency material, minimize the emergency response time, and satisfy the dynamic emergency material requirements in post-accident phases dealing with river chemical spills. In this study, the theoretically critical emergency response time is firstly obtained for the emergency material allocation system to select a series of appropriate emergency material warehouses as potential supportive centers. Then, an enumeration method is applied to identify the practically critical emergency response time, the optimum emergency material allocation and replenishment scheme. Finally, the developed framework is applied to a computational experiment based on south-to-north water transfer project in China. The results illustrate that the proposed methodology is a simple and flexible tool for appropriately allocating emergency material to satisfy time-dynamic demands during emergency decision-making. Therefore, the decision-makers can identify an appropriate emergency material allocation scheme in a balance between time-effective and cost-effective objectives under the different emergency pollution conditions.

Applied cost allocation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bogetoft, Peter; Hougaard, Jens Leth; Smilgins, Aleksandrs

2016-01-01

This paper deals with empirical computation of Aumann–Shapley cost shares for joint production. We show that if one uses a mathematical programing approach with its non-parametric estimation of the cost function there may be observations in the data set for which we have multiple Aumann–Shapley p...... of assumptions concerning firm behavior. These assumptions enable us to connect inefficient with efficient production and thereby provide consistent ways of allocating the costs arising from inefficiency....

Downlink resource allocation for multichannel TDMA visible light communications

KAUST Repository

Abdelhady, Amr Mohamed Abdelaziz; Amin, Osama; Chaaban, Anas; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2017-01-01

Optical wireless communications (OWC) in general and resource allocation in OWC networks particularly have gained lots of attention recently. In this work, we consider the resource allocation problem of a visible light communication downlink transmission system based on time division multiple access with the objective of maximizing spectral efficiency (SE). As for the operational conditions, we impose constraints on the average optical intensity, the energy consumption and the quality-of-service. To solve the non-convex problem, we transform the objective function into a difference of concave functions by solving a second order differential inequality. Then, we propose a low-complexity algorithm to solve the resource allocation problem. Finally, we show by simulations the SE performance gains achieved by optimizing the power allocation over equal power allocation in the considered system. Numerical results show the SE gains achieved by using this solution.

Downlink resource allocation for multichannel TDMA visible light communications

KAUST Repository

Abdelhady, Amr Mohamed Abdelaziz

2017-05-12

Optical wireless communications (OWC) in general and resource allocation in OWC networks particularly have gained lots of attention recently. In this work, we consider the resource allocation problem of a visible light communication downlink transmission system based on time division multiple access with the objective of maximizing spectral efficiency (SE). As for the operational conditions, we impose constraints on the average optical intensity, the energy consumption and the quality-of-service. To solve the non-convex problem, we transform the objective function into a difference of concave functions by solving a second order differential inequality. Then, we propose a low-complexity algorithm to solve the resource allocation problem. Finally, we show by simulations the SE performance gains achieved by optimizing the power allocation over equal power allocation in the considered system. Numerical results show the SE gains achieved by using this solution.

Optimized Power Allocation and Relay Location Selection in Cooperative Relay Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianrong Bao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available An incremental selection hybrid decode-amplify forward (ISHDAF scheme for the two-hop single relay systems and a relay selection strategy based on the hybrid decode-amplify-and-forward (HDAF scheme for the multirelay systems are proposed along with an optimized power allocation for the Internet of Thing (IoT. Given total power as the constraint and outage probability as an objective function, the proposed scheme possesses good power efficiency better than the equal power allocation. By the ISHDAF scheme and HDAF relay selection strategy, an optimized power allocation for both the source and relay nodes is obtained, as well as an effective reduction of outage probability. In addition, the optimal relay location for maximizing the gain of the proposed algorithm is also investigated and designed. Simulation results show that, in both single relay and multirelay selection systems, some outage probability gains by the proposed scheme can be obtained. In the comparison of the optimized power allocation scheme with the equal power allocation one, nearly 0.1695 gains are obtained in the ISHDAF single relay network at a total power of 2 dB, and about 0.083 gains are obtained in the HDAF relay selection system with 2 relays at a total power of 2 dB.

A Bio-inspired Approach for Power and Performance Aware Resource Allocation in Clouds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kumar Rajesh

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In order to cope with increasing demand, cloud market players such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Gogrid, Flexiant, etc. have set up large sized data centers. Due to monotonically increasing size of data centers and heterogeneity of resources have made resource allocation a challenging task. A large percentage of total energy consumption of the data centers gets wasted because of under-utilization of resources. Thus, there is a need of resource allocation technique that improves the utilization of resources with effecting performance of services being delivered to end users. In this work, a bio-inspired resource allocation approach is proposed with the aim to improve utilization and hence the energy efficiency of the cloud infrastructure. The proposed approach makes use of Cuckoo search for power and performance aware allocation of resources to the services hired by the end users. The proposed approach is implemented in CloudSim. The simulation results have shown approximately 12% saving in energy consumption.

Allocation of Energy Consumption among Provinces in China: A Weighted ZSG-DEA Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siqin Xiong

2017-11-01

Full Text Available To realize the sustainable development of energy, the Chinese government has formulated a series of national goals of total energy control and energy structure optimization. Under the national constraints, how to efficiently allocate the constrained total amount of energy consumption to each province is a fundamental problem to be solved. Based on a data envelopment analysis (DEA model and a zero-sum game theory (ZSG, this paper constructs a weighted zero-sum game data envelopment analysis (ZSG-DEA model to allocate the energy consumption quota. Additionally, this paper compares the results with the current administrative targets, to examine the efficiency and feasibility of each allocation mechanism. Finally, this paper employs the proposed model to determine the optimal energy structure for each province in China. The results indicate that by 2020, the national goal of energy structure adjustment will be realized, and energy structure will be diversified in most regions, whereas the coal-dominated status in primary energy consumption will not change. Additionally, the weighted ZSG-DEA model focuses on allocation efficiency while the government considers more regional economic disparity. Therefore, this study suggests a mixture of the two allocation mechanisms in accordance with specific conditions.

Resource allocation in shared spectrum access communications for operators with diverse service requirements

Science.gov (United States)

Kibria, Mirza Golam; Villardi, Gabriel Porto; Ishizu, Kentaro; Kojima, Fumihide; Yano, Hiroyuki

2016-12-01

In this paper, we study inter-operator spectrum sharing and intra-operator resource allocation in shared spectrum access communication systems and propose efficient dynamic solutions to address both inter-operator and intra-operator resource allocation optimization problems. For inter-operator spectrum sharing, we present two competent approaches, namely the subcarrier gain-based sharing and fragmentation-based sharing, which carry out fair and flexible allocation of the available shareable spectrum among the operators subject to certain well-defined sharing rules, traffic demands, and channel propagation characteristics. The subcarrier gain-based spectrum sharing scheme has been found to be more efficient in terms of achieved throughput. However, the fragmentation-based sharing is more attractive in terms of computational complexity. For intra-operator resource allocation, we consider resource allocation problem with users' dissimilar service requirements, where the operator supports users with delay constraint and non-delay constraint service requirements, simultaneously. This optimization problem is a mixed-integer non-linear programming problem and non-convex, which is computationally very expensive, and the complexity grows exponentially with the number of integer variables. We propose less-complex and efficient suboptimal solution based on formulating exact linearization, linear approximation, and convexification techniques for the non-linear and/or non-convex objective functions and constraints. Extensive simulation performance analysis has been carried out that validates the efficiency of the proposed solution.

Characterizing contract-based multiagent resource allocation in networks.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Bo; Lesser, Victor

2010-06-01

We consider a multiagent resource allocation problem where individual users intend to route traffic by requesting the help of entities across a network, and a cost is incurred at each network node that depends on the amount of traffic to be routed. We propose to study contract-based network resource allocation. In our model, users and nodes in the network make contracts before nodes route traffic for the users. The problem is an interesting self-interested negotiation problem because it requires the complete assembly of a set of distinct resources, and there are multiple combinations of distinct resources that could satisfy the goal of negotiation. First, we characterize the network allocation problem and show that finding optimal allocations is NP-complete and is inapproximable. We take both Nash equilibrium and pairwise Nash equilibrium as the solution concepts to characterize the equilibrium allocations. We find that, for any resource allocation game, Nash equilibrium and pairwise Nash equilibrium always exist. In addition, socially optimal allocations are always supported by Nash equilibrium and pairwise Nash equilibrium. We introduce best-response dynamics in which each agent takes a myopic best-response strategy and interacts with each other to dynamically form contracts. We analyze the convergence of the dynamics in some special cases. We also experimentally study the convergence rate of the dynamics and how efficient the evolved allocation is as compared with the optimal allocation in a variety of environments.

Financial Resources Allocation of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Esmaeil Afiyan

2015-08-01

Full Text Available ​ Background and Objectives : According to complexity of resource allocation, issue about how to allocate health care resources in an accurate and fair manner has become the subject of discussions and decisions of related groups. Therefore, in this research we aim to study the methods of financial resource allocation of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in order to identify its strengths and weaknesses for its promotion. Material and Methods : This study is a descriptive, qualitative sectional research and all comments have been collected by focus group discussions with experts and managers involved in the allocation of financial resources of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. All factors affecting the process of allocation have been reviewd carefully. Results : Results suggested that except the health sector, none of the other sectors use the formulated  and scientific methods for allocating financial resources and despite the emphasize in the 4th development plan for operating funding, the final cost of the services, has no role in allocating financial resources. Conclusion : Regarding to judgmental and subjective method of financial resources allocation of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and lack of documented and formulated methods, there is an essential need for developing an appropriate and formulated model for scientific allocation of financial resources in order to improve the efficiency and fairness of the allocation.

An efficient approach to enhance capacity allocation over Bluetooth network

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Son, L.T.; Schiøler, Henrik; Madsen, Ole Brun

2002-01-01

quality of service requirements and topologically induced constraints in the Bluetooth network, such as node and link capacity limitations. The proposed scheme is decentralized and complies with frequent changes of topology as well as capacity limitations and flow requirements in the network. Simulation...... shows that the performance of Bluetooth network could be improved by applying the hybrid distributed iterative capacity allocation scheme....

On joint power allocation and multipath routing in femto-relay networks

OpenAIRE

Hoteit , Sahar; Duhamel , Pierre; Lasaulce , Samson

2016-01-01

International audience; —Transmit power allocation techniques are very important to manage interference in small-cell networks. While available power allocation algorithms in the literature rely on a predefined routing protocol, we propose in this paper a power-efficient two-step algorithm that allows power allocation and routing to be performed jointly in femto-relay networks. First, we propose an interference-based partitioning method to cluster the femto-relays, then we adopt an iterative ...

SOME NOTES ON COST ALLOCATION IN MULTICASTING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darko Skorin-Kapov

2012-12-01

Full Text Available We analyze the cost allocation strategies with the problef of broadcasting information from some source to a number of communication network users. A multicast routing chooses a minimum cost tree network that spans the source and all the receivers. The cost of such a network is distributed among its receivers who may be individuals or organizations with possibly conflicting interests. Providing network developers, users and owners with practical computable 'fair' cost allocation solution procedures is of great importance for network mamagement. Consequently, this multidisciplinary problem was extensively studied by Operational Researchers, Economists, Mathematicians and Computer Scientists. The fairness of various proposed solutions was even argued in US courts. This presentation overviews some previously published, as well as some recent results, in the development of algorithmic mechanisms to efficiently compute 'attractive' cost allocation solutions for multicast networks. Specifically, we will analyze cooperative game theory based cost allocation models that avoid cross subsidies and/or are distance and population monotonic. We will also present some related open cost allocation problems and the potential contribution that such models might make to this problem in the future.

Maternal effects and maternal selection arising from variation in allocation of free amino acid to eggs

Science.gov (United States)

Newcombe, Devi; Hunt, John; Mitchell, Christopher; Moore, Allen J

2015-01-01

Maternal provisioning can have profound effects on offspring phenotypes, or maternal effects, especially early in life. One ubiquitous form of provisioning is in the makeup of egg. However, only a few studies examine the role of specific egg constituents in maternal effects, especially as they relate to maternal selection (a standardized selection gradient reflecting the covariance between maternal traits and offspring fitness). Here, we report on the evolutionary consequences of differences in maternal acquisition and allocation of amino acids to eggs. We manipulated acquisition by varying maternal diet (milkweed or sunflower) in the large milkweed bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus. Variation in allocation was detected by examining two source populations with different evolutionary histories and life-history response to sunflower as food. We measured amino acids composition in eggs in this 2 × 2 design and found significant effects of source population and maternal diet on egg and nymph mass and of source population, maternal diet, and their interaction on amino acid composition of eggs. We measured significant linear and quadratic maternal selection on offspring mass associated with variation in amino acid allocation. Visualizing the performance surface along the major axes of nonlinear selection and plotting the mean amino acid profile of eggs from each treatment onto the surface revealed a saddle-shaped fitness surface. While maternal selection appears to have influenced how females allocate amino acids, this maternal effect did not evolve equally in the two populations. Furthermore, none of the population means coincided with peak performance. Thus, we found that the composition of free amino acids in eggs was due to variation in both acquisition and allocation, which had significant fitness effects and created selection. However, although there can be an evolutionary response to novel food resources, females may be constrained from reaching phenotypic optima with

Kazakhstan can achieve ambitious HIV targets despite expected donor withdrawal by combining improved ART procurement mechanisms with allocative and implementation efficiencies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew J Shattock

Full Text Available Despite a non-decreasing HIV epidemic, international donors are soon expected to withdraw funding from Kazakhstan. Here we analyze how allocative, implementation, and technical efficiencies could strengthen the national HIV response under assumptions of future budget levels.We used the Optima model to project future scenarios of the HIV epidemic in Kazakhstan that varied in future antiretroviral treatment unit costs and management expenditure-two areas identified for potential cost-reductions. We determined optimal allocations across HIV programs to satisfy either national targets or ambitious targets. For each scenario, we considered two cases of future HIV financing: the 2014 national budget maintained into the future and the 2014 budget without current international investment.Kazakhstan can achieve its national HIV targets with the current budget by (1 optimally re-allocating resources across programs and (2 either securing a 35% [30%-39%] reduction in antiretroviral treatment drug costs or reducing management costs by 44% [36%-58%] of 2014 levels. Alternatively, a combination of antiretroviral treatment and management cost-reductions could be sufficient. Furthermore, Kazakhstan can achieve ambitious targets of halving new infections and AIDS-related deaths by 2020 compared to 2014 levels by attaining a 67% reduction in antiretroviral treatment costs, a 19% [14%-27%] reduction in management costs, and allocating resources optimally.With Kazakhstan facing impending donor withdrawal, it is important for the HIV response to achieve more with available resources. This analysis can help to guide HIV response planners in directing available funding to achieve the greatest yield from investments. The key changes recommended were considered realistic by Kazakhstan country representatives.

Using benchmarking for the primary allocation of EU allowances. An application to the German power sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schleich, J.; Cremer, C.

2007-07-01

Basing allocation of allowances for existing installations under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme on specific emission values (benchmarks) rather than on historic emissions may have several advantages. Benchmarking may recognize early ac-tion, provide higher incentives for replacing old installations and result in fewer distortions in case of updating, facilitate EU-wide harmonization of allocation rules or allow for simplified and more efficient closure rules. Applying an optimization model for the German power sector, we analyze the distributional effects of vari-ous allocation regimes across and within different generation technologies. Re-sults illustrate that regimes with a single uniform benchmark for all fuels or with a single benchmark for coal- and lignite-fired plants imply substantial distributional effects. In particular, lignite- and old coal-fired plants would be made worse off. Under a regime with fuel-specific benchmarks for gas, coal, and lignite 50 % of the gas-fired plants and 4 % of the lignite and coal-fired plants would face an allow-ance deficit of at least 10 %, while primarily modern lignite-fired plants would benefit. Capping the surplus and shortage of allowances would further moderate the distributional effects, but may tarnish incentives for efficiency improvements and recognition of early action. (orig.)

Allocation of scarce resources during mass casualty events.

Science.gov (United States)

Timbie, Justin W; Ringel, Jeanne S; Fox, D Steven; Waxman, Daniel A; Pillemer, Francesca; Carey, Christine; Moore, Melinda; Karir, Veena; Johnson, Tiffani J; Iyer, Neema; Hu, Jianhui; Shanman, Roberta; Larkin, Jody Wozar; Timmer, Martha; Motala, Aneesa; Perry, Tanja R; Newberry, Sydne; Kellermann, Arthur L

2012-06-01

review (CER); we ultimately included 170 in the review. Twenty-seven studies focus on strategies for policymakers. Among this group were studies that examined various ways to distribute biological countermeasures more efficiently during a bioterror attack or influenza pandemic. They provided modest evidence that the way these systems are organized influences the speed of distribution. The review includes 119 studies that address strategies for providers. A number of these studies provided evidence suggesting that commonly used triage systems do not perform consistently in actual MCEs. The number of high-quality studies addressing other specific strategies was insufficient to support firm conclusions about their effectiveness. Only 10 studies included strategies that consider the public's perspective. However, these studies were consistent in their findings. In particular, the public believes that resource allocation guidelines should be simple and consistent across health care facilities but should allow facilities some flexibility to make allocation decisions based on the specific demand and supply situation. The public also believes that a successful allocation system should balance the goals of ensuring the functioning of society, saving the greatest number of people, protecting the most vulnerable people, reducing deaths and hospitalizations, and treating people fairly and equitably. The remaining 14 studies provided strategies for engaging providers in discussions about allocating and managing scarce medical resources. These studies did not identify one engagement approach as clearly superior; however, they consistently noted the importance of a broad, inclusive, and systematic engagement process. Scientific research to identify the most effective adaptive strategies to implement during MCEs is an emerging area. While it remains unclear which of the many options available to policymakers and providers will be most effective, ongoing efforts to develop a focused

Importance measures and resource allocation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guey, C.N.; Morgan, T.; Hughes, E.A.

1987-01-01

This paper discusses various importance measures and their practical relevance to allocating resources. The characteristics of importance measures are illustrated through simple examples. Important factors associated with effectively allocating resources to improve plant system performance or to prevent system degradation are discussed. It is concluded that importance measures are only indicative of and not equal to the risk significance of a component, system, or event. A decision framework is suggested to provide a comprehensive basis for resource allocation

Optimal allocation of resources for suppressing epidemic spreading on networks

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hanshuang; Li, Guofeng; Zhang, Haifeng; Hou, Zhonghuai

2017-07-01

Efficient allocation of limited medical resources is crucial for controlling epidemic spreading on networks. Based on the susceptible-infected-susceptible model, we solve the optimization problem of how best to allocate the limited resources so as to minimize prevalence, providing that the curing rate of each node is positively correlated to its medical resource. By quenched mean-field theory and heterogeneous mean-field (HMF) theory, we prove that an epidemic outbreak will be suppressed to the greatest extent if the curing rate of each node is directly proportional to its degree, under which the effective infection rate λ has a maximal threshold λcopt=1 / , where is the average degree of the underlying network. For a weak infection region (λ ≳λcopt ), we combine perturbation theory with the Lagrange multiplier method (LMM) to derive the analytical expression of optimal allocation of the curing rates and the corresponding minimized prevalence. For a general infection region (λ >λcopt ), the high-dimensional optimization problem is converted into numerically solving low-dimensional nonlinear equations by the HMF theory and LMM. Counterintuitively, in the strong infection region the low-degree nodes should be allocated more medical resources than the high-degree nodes to minimize prevalence. Finally, we use simulated annealing to validate the theoretical results.

A decision model to allocate protective safety barriers and mitigate domino effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janssens, Jochen; Talarico, Luca; Reniers, Genserik; Sörensen, Kenneth

2015-01-01

In this paper, we present a model to support decision-makers about where to locate safety barriers and mitigate the consequences of an accident triggering domino effects. Based on the features of an industrial area that may be affected by domino accidents, and knowing the characteristics of the safety barriers that can be installed to stall the fire propagation between installations, the decision model can help practitioners in their decision-making. The model can be effectively used to decide how to allocate a limited budget in terms of safety barriers. The goal is to maximize the time-to-failure of a chemical installation ensuring a worst case scenario approach. The model is mathematically stated and a flexible and effective solution approach, based on metaheuristics, is developed and tested on an illustrative case study representing a tank storage area of a chemical company. We show that a myopic optimization approach, which does not take into account knock-on effects possibly triggered by an accident, can lead to a distribution of safety barriers that are not effective in mitigating the consequences of a domino accident. Moreover, the optimal allocation of safety barriers, when domino effects are considered, may depend on the so-called cardinality of the domino effects. - Highlights: • A model to allocate safety barriers and mitigate domino effects is proposed. • The goal is to maximize the escalation time of the worst case scenario. • The model provides useful recommendations for decision makers. • A fast metaheuristic approach is proposed to solve such a complex problem. • Numerical simulations on a realistic case study are shown

CO_2 emissions and energy intensity reduction allocation over provincial industrial sectors in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Jie; Zhu, Qingyuan; Liang, Liang

2016-01-01

Highlights: • DEA is used to evaluate the energy and environmental efficiency of 30 provincial industrial sector in China. • A new DEA-based model is proposed to allocate the CO_2 emissions and energy intensity reduction targets. • The context-dependent DEA is used to characterize the production plans. - Abstract: High energy consumption by the industry of developing countries has led to the problems of increasing emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) (primarily CO_2) and worsening energy shortages. To address these problems, many mitigation measures have been utilized. One major measure is to mandate fixed reductions of GHG emission and energy consumption. Therefore, it is important for each developing country to disaggregate their national reduction targets into targets for various geographical parts of the country. In this paper, we propose a DEA-based approach to allocate China’s national CO_2 emissions and energy intensity reduction targets over Chinese provincial industrial sectors. We firstly evaluate the energy and environmental efficiency of Chinese industry considering energy consumption and GHG emissions. Then, considering the necessity of mitigating GHG emission and energy consumption, we develop a context-dependent DEA technique which can better characterize the changeable production with reductions of CO_2 emission and energy intensity, to help allocate the national reduction targets over provincial industrial sectors. Our empirical study of 30 Chinese regions for the period 2005–2010 shows that the industry of China had poor energy and environmental efficiency. Considering three major geographical areas, eastern China’s industrial sector had the highest efficiency scores while in this aspect central and western China were similar to each other at a lower level. Our study shows that the most effective allocation of the national reduction target requires most of the 30 regional industrial to reduce CO_2 emission and energy intensity, while a

Reducing LTE Uplink Transmission Energy by Allocating Resources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lauridsen, Mads; Jensen, Anders Riis; Mogensen, Preben

2011-01-01

The effect of physical resource block (PRB) allocation on an LTE modem's transmit power and total modem energy consumption is examined. In this paper the uplink resource blocks are scheduled in either a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) or Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) manner......, to determine if low transmission power & long transmission time or high transmission power & short transmission time is most energy efficient. It is important to minimize the LTE modem's energy consumption caused by uplink transmission because it affects phone battery time, and because researchers rarely focus...

Optimal allocation of conservation effort among subpopulations of a threatened species: how important is patch quality?

Science.gov (United States)

Chauvenet, Aliénor L M; Baxter, Peter W J; McDonald-Madden, Eve; Possingham, Hugh P

2010-04-01

Money is often a limiting factor in conservation, and attempting to conserve endangered species can be costly. Consequently, a framework for optimizing fiscally constrained conservation decisions for a single species is needed. In this paper we find the optimal budget allocation among isolated subpopulations of a threatened species to minimize local extinction probability. We solve the problem using stochastic dynamic programming, derive a useful and simple alternative guideline for allocating funds, and test its performance using forward simulation. The model considers subpopulations that persist in habitat patches of differing quality, which in our model is reflected in different relationships between money invested and extinction risk. We discover that, in most cases, subpopulations that are less efficient to manage should receive more money than those that are more efficient to manage, due to higher investment needed to reduce extinction risk. Our simple investment guideline performs almost as well as the exact optimal strategy. We illustrate our approach with a case study of the management of the Sumatran tiger, Panthera tigris sumatrae, in Kerinci Seblat National Park (KSNP), Indonesia. We find that different budgets should be allocated to the separate tiger subpopulations in KSNP. The subpopulation that is not at risk of extinction does not require any management investment. Based on the combination of risks of extinction and habitat quality, the optimal allocation for these particular tiger subpopulations is an unusual case: subpopulations that occur in higher-quality habitat (more efficient to manage) should receive more funds than the remaining subpopulation that is in lower-quality habitat. Because the yearly budget allocated to the KSNP for tiger conservation is small, to guarantee the persistence of all the subpopulations that are currently under threat we need to prioritize those that are easier to save. When allocating resources among subpopulations

Zinc allocation and re-allocation in rice

Science.gov (United States)

Stomph, Tjeerd Jan; Jiang, Wen; Van Der Putten, Peter E. L.; Struik, Paul C.

2014-01-01

Aims: Agronomy and breeding actively search for options to enhance cereal grain Zn density. Quantifying internal (re-)allocation of Zn as affected by soil and crop management or genotype is crucial. We present experiments supporting the development of a conceptual model of whole plant Zn allocation and re-allocation in rice. Methods: Two solution culture experiments using 70Zn applications at different times during crop development and an experiment on within-grain distribution of Zn are reported. In addition, results from two earlier published experiments are re-analyzed and re-interpreted. Results: A budget analysis showed that plant zinc accumulation during grain filling was larger than zinc allocation to the grains. Isotope data showed that zinc taken up during grain filling was only partly transported directly to the grains and partly allocated to the leaves. Zinc taken up during grain filling and allocated to the leaves replaced zinc re-allocated from leaves to grains. Within the grains, no major transport barrier was observed between vascular tissue and endosperm. At low tissue Zn concentrations, rice plants maintained concentrations of about 20 mg Zn kg−1 dry matter in leaf blades and reproductive tissues, but let Zn concentrations in stems, sheath, and roots drop below this level. When plant zinc concentrations increased, Zn levels in leaf blades and reproductive tissues only showed a moderate increase while Zn levels in stems, roots, and sheaths increased much more and in that order. Conclusions: In rice, the major barrier to enhanced zinc allocation towards grains is between stem and reproductive tissues. Enhancing root to shoot transfer will not contribute proportionally to grain zinc enhancement. PMID:24478788

Costs of task allocation with local feedback: Effects of colony size and extra workers in social insects and other multi-agent systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Radeva, Tsvetomira; Dornhaus, Anna; Lynch, Nancy; Nagpal, Radhika; Su, Hsin-Hao

2017-12-01

Adaptive collective systems are common in biology and beyond. Typically, such systems require a task allocation algorithm: a mechanism or rule-set by which individuals select particular roles. Here we study the performance of such task allocation mechanisms measured in terms of the time for individuals to allocate to tasks. We ask: (1) Is task allocation fundamentally difficult, and thus costly? (2) Does the performance of task allocation mechanisms depend on the number of individuals? And (3) what other parameters may affect their efficiency? We use techniques from distributed computing theory to develop a model of a social insect colony, where workers have to be allocated to a set of tasks; however, our model is generalizable to other systems. We show, first, that the ability of workers to quickly assess demand for work in tasks they are not currently engaged in crucially affects whether task allocation is quickly achieved or not. This indicates that in social insect tasks such as thermoregulation, where temperature may provide a global and near instantaneous stimulus to measure the need for cooling, for example, it should be easy to match the number of workers to the need for work. In other tasks, such as nest repair, it may be impossible for workers not directly at the work site to know that this task needs more workers. We argue that this affects whether task allocation mechanisms are under strong selection. Second, we show that colony size does not affect task allocation performance under our assumptions. This implies that when effects of colony size are found, they are not inherent in the process of task allocation itself, but due to processes not modeled here, such as higher variation in task demand for smaller colonies, benefits of specialized workers, or constant overhead costs. Third, we show that the ratio of the number of available workers to the workload crucially affects performance. Thus, workers in excess of those needed to complete all tasks

Costs of task allocation with local feedback: Effects of colony size and extra workers in social insects and other multi-agent systems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsvetomira Radeva

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Adaptive collective systems are common in biology and beyond. Typically, such systems require a task allocation algorithm: a mechanism or rule-set by which individuals select particular roles. Here we study the performance of such task allocation mechanisms measured in terms of the time for individuals to allocate to tasks. We ask: (1 Is task allocation fundamentally difficult, and thus costly? (2 Does the performance of task allocation mechanisms depend on the number of individuals? And (3 what other parameters may affect their efficiency? We use techniques from distributed computing theory to develop a model of a social insect colony, where workers have to be allocated to a set of tasks; however, our model is generalizable to other systems. We show, first, that the ability of workers to quickly assess demand for work in tasks they are not currently engaged in crucially affects whether task allocation is quickly achieved or not. This indicates that in social insect tasks such as thermoregulation, where temperature may provide a global and near instantaneous stimulus to measure the need for cooling, for example, it should be easy to match the number of workers to the need for work. In other tasks, such as nest repair, it may be impossible for workers not directly at the work site to know that this task needs more workers. We argue that this affects whether task allocation mechanisms are under strong selection. Second, we show that colony size does not affect task allocation performance under our assumptions. This implies that when effects of colony size are found, they are not inherent in the process of task allocation itself, but due to processes not modeled here, such as higher variation in task demand for smaller colonies, benefits of specialized workers, or constant overhead costs. Third, we show that the ratio of the number of available workers to the workload crucially affects performance. Thus, workers in excess of those needed to

Sophisticated Online Learning Scheme for Green Resource Allocation in 5G Heterogeneous Cloud Radio Access Networks

KAUST Repository

Alqerm, Ismail

2018-01-23

5G is the upcoming evolution for the current cellular networks that aims at satisfying the future demand for data services. Heterogeneous cloud radio access networks (H-CRANs) are envisioned as a new trend of 5G that exploits the advantages of heterogeneous and cloud radio access networks to enhance spectral and energy efficiency. Remote radio heads (RRHs) are small cells utilized to provide high data rates for users with high quality of service (QoS) requirements, while high power macro base station (BS) is deployed for coverage maintenance and low QoS users service. Inter-tier interference between macro BSs and RRHs and energy efficiency are critical challenges that accompany resource allocation in H-CRANs. Therefore, we propose an efficient resource allocation scheme using online learning, which mitigates interference and maximizes energy efficiency while maintaining QoS requirements for all users. The resource allocation includes resource blocks (RBs) and power. The proposed scheme is implemented using two approaches: centralized, where the resource allocation is processed at a controller integrated with the baseband processing unit and decentralized, where macro BSs cooperate to achieve optimal resource allocation strategy. To foster the performance of such sophisticated scheme with a model free learning, we consider users\\' priority in RB allocation and compact state representation learning methodology to improve the speed of convergence and account for the curse of dimensionality during the learning process. The proposed scheme including both approaches is implemented using software defined radios testbed. The obtained results and simulation results confirm that the proposed resource allocation solution in H-CRANs increases the energy efficiency significantly and maintains users\\' QoS.

Critical-path-first based allocation of real-time streaming applications on 2D mesh-type multi-cores.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ali, Hazem; Pinho, Luis Miguel; Akesson, K.B.

2013-01-01

Designing cost-efficient multi-core real-time systems requires efficient techniques to allocate applications to cores while satisfying their timing constraints. However, existing approaches typically allocate using a First-Fit algorithm, which does not consider the execution time and potential

Simulating long-term effectiveness and efficiency of management scenarios for an invasive grass

Science.gov (United States)

Jarnevich, Catherine S.; Holcombe, Tracy R.; Cullinane Thomas, Catherine; Frid, Leonardo; Olsson, Aaryn D.

2015-01-01

Resource managers are often faced with trade-offs in allocating limited resources to manage plant invasions. These decisions must often be made with uncertainty about the location of infestations, their rate of spread and effectiveness of management actions. Landscape level simulation tools such as state-and-transition simulation models (STSMs) can be used to evaluate the potential long term consequences of alternative management strategies and help identify those strategies that make efficient use of resources. We analyzed alternative management scenarios for African buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare syn. Cenchrus ciliaris) at Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona using a spatially explicit STSM implemented in the Tool for Exploratory Landscape Scenario Analyses (TELSA). Buffelgrass is an invasive grass that is spreading rapidly in the Sonoran Desert, affecting multiple habitats and jurisdictions. This invasion is creating a novel fire risk and transforming natural ecosystems. The model used in this application incorporates buffelgrass dispersal and establishment and management actions and effectiveness including inventory, treatment and post-treatment maintenance. We simulated 11 alternative scenarios developed in consultation with buffelgrass managers and other stakeholders. The scenarios vary according to the total budget allocated for management and the allocation of that budget between different kinds of management actions. Scenario results suggest that to achieve an actual reduction and stabilization of buffelgrass populations, management unconstrained by fiscal restrictions and across all jurisdictions and private lands is required; without broad and aggressive management, buffelgrass populations are expected to increase over time. However, results also suggest that large upfront investments can achieve control results that require relatively minimal spending in the future. Investing the necessary funds upfront to control the invasion results in the most

Simulating long-term effectiveness and efficiency of management scenarios for an invasive grass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine S. Jarnevich

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Resource managers are often faced with trade-offs in allocating limited resources to manage plant invasions. These decisions must often be made with uncertainty about the location of infestations, their rate of spread and effectiveness of management actions. Landscape level simulation tools such as state-and-transition simulation models (STSMs can be used to evaluate the potential long term consequences of alternative management strategies and help identify those strategies that make efficient use of resources. We analyzed alternative management scenarios for African buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare syn. Cenchrus ciliaris at Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona using a spatially explicit STSM implemented in the Tool for Exploratory Landscape Scenario Analyses (TELSA. Buffelgrass is an invasive grass that is spreading rapidly in the Sonoran Desert, affecting multiple habitats and jurisdictions. This invasion is creating a novel fire risk and transforming natural ecosystems. The model used in this application incorporates buffelgrass dispersal and establishment and management actions and effectiveness including inventory, treatment and post-treatment maintenance. We simulated 11 alternative scenarios developed in consultation with buffelgrass managers and other stakeholders. The scenarios vary according to the total budget allocated for management and the allocation of that budget between different kinds of management actions. Scenario results suggest that to achieve an actual reduction and stabilization of buffelgrass populations, management unconstrained by fiscal restrictions and across all jurisdictions and private lands is required; without broad and aggressive management, buffelgrass populations are expected to increase over time. However, results also suggest that large upfront investments can achieve control results that require relatively minimal spending in the future. Investing the necessary funds upfront to control the invasion

17 CFR 256.01-11 - Methods of allocation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... applicable and currently effective methods of allocation filed with the Commission. Both direct and allocated... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Methods of allocation. 256.01... HOLDING COMPANY ACT OF 1935 General Instructions § 256.01-11 Methods of allocation. Indirect costs and...

An integrated framework for transmission cost allocation retaining efficiency concepts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lima, J.W. Marangon [Escola Federal de Engenharia de Itajuba, MG (Brazil); Gorenstin, B G; Vieira Filho, X [Centro de Pesquisas de Energia Eletrica (CEPEL), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Chipp, H J; Alvarenga Filho, S [ELETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Hirota, M [Companhia Energetica de Sao Paulo (CESP), SP (Brazil); Pereira, M V.F. [Power System Research, Inc., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

1994-12-31

This paper describes a methodology for allocating transmission costs among utilities and wheeling agents. The proposed approach is based on the extension of marginal cost theory to take into account discrete component sizes and economy of scale, while retaining desirable economic properties such as revenue reconciliation and incentives for all participants to remain in the pool. The methodology is illustrated in case studies with the Brazilian system. (author) 21 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs.

Using contests to allocate pollution rights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacKenzie, Ian A.; Hanley, Nick; Kornienko, Tatiana

2009-01-01

In this paper we advocate a new initial allocation mechanism for a tradable pollution permit market. We outline a Permit Allocation Contest (PAC) that distributes permits to firms based on their rank relative to other firms. This ranking is achieved by ordering firms based on an observable 'external action' where the external action is an activity or characteristic of the firm that is independent of their choice of emissions in the tradable permit market. We argue that this mechanism has a number of benefits over auctioning and grandfathering. Using this mechanism efficiently distributes permits, allows for the attainment of a secondary policy objective and has the potential to be more politically appealing than existing alternatives.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF BUDGET ALLOCATION IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina Yu. Fedorova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the problem of budget allocation in the state order inRussia. Assesses the effectiveness of the financial mechanism of the public procurement business entities, purchasing activities are regulated by Federal Law №44-FZ and №223-FZ. The dynamics of financing the procurement process and reveal its features by using the most common methods of procurement through competitive bidding and without bidding. Identifies the causes of inefficient spending budget as a result of the non-competitive procurement methods by certain categories of business entities. 

On the efficiency of decentralized exchange with resale possibilities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Groes, Ebbe; Tranæs, Torben

1999-01-01

. If resale is possible and transaction costs are negligible, we would nevertheless expect an efficient allocation to result from decentralized exchange. This paper suggests that this depends on the nature of the commodity; while the allocation of a durable good will be efficient, the allocation...

Availability Allocation of Networked Systems Using Markov Model and Heuristics Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruiying Li

2014-01-01

Full Text Available It is a common practice to allocate the system availability goal to reliability and maintainability goals of components in the early design phase. However, the networked system availability is difficult to be allocated due to its complex topology and multiple down states. To solve these problems, a practical availability allocation method is proposed. Network reliability algebraic methods are used to derive the availability expression of the networked topology on the system level, and Markov model is introduced to determine that on the component level. A heuristic algorithm is proposed to obtain the reliability and maintainability allocation values of components. The principles applied in the AGREE reliability allocation method, proposed by the Advisory Group on Reliability of Electronic Equipment, and failure rate-based maintainability allocation method persist in our allocation method. A series system is used to verify the new algorithm, and the result shows that the allocation based on the heuristic algorithm is quite accurate compared to the traditional one. Moreover, our case study of a signaling system number 7 shows that the proposed allocation method is quite efficient for networked systems.

THE EFFECT OF OZONE ON BELOW-GROUND CARBON ALLOCATION IN WHEAT

Science.gov (United States)

Short term 14CO2 pulse and chase experiments were conducted in order to investigate the effect ozone on below-ground carbon allocation in spring wheat seedlings (Triticum aestivumL. ?ANZA'). Wheat seedlings were grown in a sand-hydroponic system and exposed to either high ozone ...

Resource Allocation of Agricultural Science and Technology R&D

OpenAIRE

Li, Xian-song; Bai, Li; Zhang, Li-ming

2011-01-01

The status quo of resource allocation of agricultural science and technology R&D (research and development)both at home and abroad，including the amount and function of agricultural science and technology research funds, human resources in the resources of agricultural science and technology R&D , the efficiency of resource allocation of agricultural science and technology R&D, the management system of agricultural scientific innovation and the operation status of scientific funds, is analyz...

A generalized fuzzy credibility-constrained linear fractional programming approach for optimal irrigation water allocation under uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chenglong; Guo, Ping

2017-10-01

The vague and fuzzy parametric information is a challenging issue in irrigation water management problems. In response to this problem, a generalized fuzzy credibility-constrained linear fractional programming (GFCCFP) model is developed for optimal irrigation water allocation under uncertainty. The model can be derived from integrating generalized fuzzy credibility-constrained programming (GFCCP) into a linear fractional programming (LFP) optimization framework. Therefore, it can solve ratio optimization problems associated with fuzzy parameters, and examine the variation of results under different credibility levels and weight coefficients of possibility and necessary. It has advantages in: (1) balancing the economic and resources objectives directly; (2) analyzing system efficiency; (3) generating more flexible decision solutions by giving different credibility levels and weight coefficients of possibility and (4) supporting in-depth analysis of the interrelationships among system efficiency, credibility level and weight coefficient. The model is applied to a case study of irrigation water allocation in the middle reaches of Heihe River Basin, northwest China. Therefore, optimal irrigation water allocation solutions from the GFCCFP model can be obtained. Moreover, factorial analysis on the two parameters (i.e. λ and γ) indicates that the weight coefficient is a main factor compared with credibility level for system efficiency. These results can be effective for support reasonable irrigation water resources management and agricultural production.

Public preferences for investments in renewable energy production and energy efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noblet, Caroline L.; Teisl, Mario F.; Evans, Keith; Anderson, Mark W.; McCoy, Shannon; Cervone, Edmund

2015-01-01

In this paper we investigate the choices citizens make when asked to express willingness to support a proposed energy policy and are then compelled to allocate the program funds to either renewable energy or energy efficiency. In a survey study based on a random sample of residents of the state of Maine, USA, we find that citizens have preferences for specific types of renewable energy but these preferences do not yield significantly different allocation of investment funds between renewable energy and energy efficiency. We find that preferences are generally consistent regardless of presentation of options (i.e. limited ordering effects). Our results also indicate that personal characteristics that are understudied in the energy literature, including promotion/prevention focus and social/fiscal leanings, influence both willingness to support energy policies and also their allocation of fund choices, but in different ways. This suggests the importance of including multiple options in energy policy proposals, and that targeted messages regarding the components of such policies is key for optimal communication. - Highlights: • Support for energy policies depends on the type of renewable energy included. • Citizens chose to allocate more funds to energy efficiency than renewable energies. • Promotion or prevention focus impacts support for policy and allocation decisions. • Social and fiscal leanings impact support and allocation, in different ways.

Bayesian Modelling, Monte Carlo Sampling and Capital Allocation of Insurance Risks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gareth W. Peters

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The main objective of this work is to develop a detailed step-by-step guide to the development and application of a new class of efficient Monte Carlo methods to solve practically important problems faced by insurers under the new solvency regulations. In particular, a novel Monte Carlo method to calculate capital allocations for a general insurance company is developed, with a focus on coherent capital allocation that is compliant with the Swiss Solvency Test. The data used is based on the balance sheet of a representative stylized company. For each line of business in that company, allocations are calculated for the one-year risk with dependencies based on correlations given by the Swiss Solvency Test. Two different approaches for dealing with parameter uncertainty are discussed and simulation algorithms based on (pseudo-marginal Sequential Monte Carlo algorithms are described and their efficiency is analysed.

Cognitive radio networks efficient resource allocation in cooperative sensing, cellular communications, high-speed vehicles, and smart grid

CERN Document Server

Jiang, Tao; Cao, Yang

2015-01-01

PrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorsIntroductionCognitive Radio-Based NetworksOpportunistic Spectrum Access NetworksCognitive Radio Networks with Cooperative SensingCognitive Radio Networks for Cellular CommunicationsCognitive Radio Networks for High-Speed VehiclesCognitive Radio Networks for a Smart GridContent and OrganizationTransmission Slot Allocation in an Opportunistic Spectrum Access NetworkSingle-User Single-Channel System ModelProbabilistic Slot Allocation SchemeOptimal Probabilistic Slot AllocationBaseline PerformanceExponential DistributionHyper-Erlang DistributionPerformance An

Competitive market-based allocation of consumer attention space

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S.M. Bohte (Sander); E.H. Gerding (Enrico); J.A. La Poutré (Han)

2001-01-01

textabstractThe amount of attention space available for recommending suppliers to consumers on e-commerce sites is typically limited. We present a competitive distributed recommendation mechanism based on adaptive software agents for efficiently allocating the 'consumer attention space', or banners.

Corruption and the Efficiency of Capital Investment in Developing Countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

O’Toole, Conor M.; Tarp, Finn

2014-01-01

This paper tests the effect of corruption on the efficiency of capital investment. Using firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys, covering 90 developing and transition economies, we consider whether the cost of informal bribe payments distorts the efficient allocation of capital...

Tracking Control Based on Control Allocation with an Innovative Control Effector Aircraft Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chaoyang Dong

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a control allocation method for the tracking control problem of a class of morphing aircraft with special actuators which are different from the conventional actuation surfaces. This design of actuators can bring about some potential advantages to the flight vehicles; however, due to the integral constraints, the desired control cannot be performed accurately; therefore, it leads to undesirable tracking errors, so influencing the performance of the system. Because the system could be control allocated, based on the designed cost function that describes the tracking errors, the cuckoo search algorithm (CSA is introduced to search for the optimum solution within the calculated actuator execution commands that are equivalent to the desired commands. Several improvement measures are proposed for boosting the efficiency of the CSA and ensuring reasonable solutions. Simulation results show that the proposed control allocation method is necessary and effective, and the improvement measures are helpful in obtaining the optimum solution.

Welfare financing : Grant allocation and efficiency

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Toolsema-Veldman, Linda; Allers, M.A.

2012-01-01

Welfare is often administered locally, but financed through grants from the central government. This raises the question how the central government can prevent local governments from spending more than necessary. Block grants are more efficient than matching grants, because the latter reduce the

Financial development and the allocation of external finance

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bena, J.; Ondko, Peter

2012-01-01

Roč. 19, č. 1 (2012), s. 1-25 ISSN 0927-5398 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC542 Institutional support: PRVOUK-P23 Keywords : financial development * external finance * allocative efficiency Subject RIV: AH - Economics Impact factor: 0.934, year: 2012

A dynamic allocation mechanism of delivering capacity in coupled networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Du, Wen-Bo; Zhou, Xing-Lian; Zhu, Yan-Bo; Zheng, Zheng

2015-01-01

Traffic process is ubiquitous in many critical infrastructures. In this paper, we introduce a mechanism to dynamically allocate the delivering capacity into the data-packet traffic model on the coupled Internet autonomous-system-level network of South Korea and Japan, and focus on its effect on the transport efficiency. In this mechanism, the total delivering capacity is constant and the lowest-load node will give one unit delivering capacity to the highest-load node at each time step. It is found that the delivering capacity of busy nodes and non-busy nodes can be well balanced and the effective betweenness of busy nodes with interconnections is significantly reduced. Consequently, the transport efficiency such as average traveling time and packet arrival rate is remarkably improved. Our work may shed some light on the traffic dynamics in coupled networks.

Computerized system of team make-up and work allocation in the Belgian Zolder mine

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rustanowicz, M.

1979-01-01

System of work allocation introduced in 1974 in the Zolder Coal Mine (NV Kempense Steenkolenmijnen) in Belgium is evaluated. The system is based on an IBM 370/158 computer. An information management system supervises the programing work. There are approximately 30 programs. Absenteeism in the Belgian coal mines is generally high at approximately 24% and some months as high as 40%. Therefore, introducing a computerized system of work allocation and team make-up was advantageous. Operation of the system is described on the levels of foreman, engineers and director of the mine. Advantages of the system are numerous. It enables optimization of team make-up and work allocation, shortens the time of allocation of work by a foreman, increases efficiency of foremen's work and provides the director with the means and information necessary for efficient decision making in improving the productivity of the mine. (5 refs.) (In Polish)

An intelligent allocation algorithm for parallel processing

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, Chester C.; Homaifar, Abdollah; Ananthram, Kishan G.

1988-01-01

The problem of allocating nodes of a program graph to processors in a parallel processing architecture is considered. The algorithm is based on critical path analysis, some allocation heuristics, and the execution granularity of nodes in a program graph. These factors, and the structure of interprocessor communication network, influence the allocation. To achieve realistic estimations of the executive durations of allocations, the algorithm considers the fact that nodes in a program graph have to communicate through varying numbers of tokens. Coarse and fine granularities have been implemented, with interprocessor token-communication duration, varying from zero up to values comparable to the execution durations of individual nodes. The effect on allocation of communication network structures is demonstrated by performing allocations for crossbar (non-blocking) and star (blocking) networks. The algorithm assumes the availability of as many processors as it needs for the optimal allocation of any program graph. Hence, the focus of allocation has been on varying token-communication durations rather than varying the number of processors. The algorithm always utilizes as many processors as necessary for the optimal allocation of any program graph, depending upon granularity and characteristics of the interprocessor communication network.

An Effective Scheduling-Based RFID Reader Collision Avoidance Model and Its Resource Allocation via Artificial Immune Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shanjin Wang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Radio frequency identification, that is, RFID, is one of important technologies in Internet of Things. Reader collision does impair the tag identification efficiency of an RFID system. Many developed methods, for example, the scheduling-based series, that are used to avoid RFID reader collision, have been developed. For scheduling-based methods, communication resources, that is, time slots, channels, and power, are optimally assigned to readers. In this case, reader collision avoidance is equivalent to an optimization problem related to resource allocation. However, the existing methods neglect the overlap between the interrogation regions of readers, which reduces the tag identification rate (TIR. To resolve this shortage, this paper attempts to build a reader-to-reader collision avoidance model considering the interrogation region overlaps (R2RCAM-IRO. In addition, an artificial immune network for resource allocation (RA-IRO-aiNet is designed to optimize the proposed model. For comparison, some comparative numerical simulations are arranged. The simulation results show that the proposed R2RCAM-IRO is an effective model where TIR is improved significantly. And especially in the application of reader-to-reader collision avoidance, the proposed RA-IRO-aiNet outperforms GA, opt-aiNet, and PSO in the total coverage area of readers.

Energy savings potential in China's industrial sector: From the perspectives of factor price distortion and allocative inefficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ouyang, Xiaoling; Sun, Chuanwang

2015-01-01

China's industrial energy consumption accounted for 70.82% of national and 14.12% of world energy usage in 2011. In the context of energy scarcity and environmental pollution, the industrial sector in China faces unsustainable growth problems. By adopting the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) framework, this paper analyzes the factor allocative efficiency of China's industrial sector, and estimates the energy savings potential from the perspective of allocative inefficiency. This paper focuses on three issues. The first is examining the factor allocative inefficiency of China's industrial sector. The second is measuring factor price distortion by the shadow price model. The third is estimating the energy savings potential in China's industrial sector during 2001–2009. Major conclusions are thus drawn. First, factor prices of capital, labor and energy are distorted in China due to government regulations. Moreover, energy price is relatively low compared to capital price, while is relatively high compared to labor price. Second, the industry-wide energy savings potential resulted from energy allocative inefficiency was about 9.71% during 2001–2009. The downward trend of energy savings potential implies the increasing energy allocative efficiency in China's industrial sector. Third, a transparent and reasonable pricing mechanism is conducive to improving energy allocative efficiency. - Highlights: • We measure energy savings potential resulted from allocative inefficiency in China's industrial sector. • Allocative inefficiency is explained based on the theoretical and empirical models. • Factor prices of capital, labor and energy are distorted because of government regulations. • Energy pricing reform is conducive to improving energy allocative efficiency

Studying the effect on system preference by varying coproduct allocation in creating life-cycle inventory.

Science.gov (United States)

Curran, Mary Ann

2007-10-15

How one models the input and output data for a life-cycle assessment (LCA) can greatly affect the results. Although much attention has been paid to allocation methodology by researchers in the field, specific guidance is still lacking: Earlier research focused on the effects of applying various allocation schemes to industrial processes when creating life-cycle inventories. To determine the impact of different allocation approaches upon product choice, this study evaluated the gas- and water-phase emissions during the production, distribution, and use of three hypothetical fuel systems (data that represent conventional gasoline and gasoline with 8.7 and 85% ethanol were used as the basis for modeling). This paper presents an explanation of the allocation issue and the results from testing various allocation schemes (weight, volume, market value, energy, and demand-based) when viewed across the entire system. Impact indicators for global warming, ozone depletion, and human health noncancer (water impact) were lower for the ethanol-containing fuels, while impact indicators for acidification, ecotoxicity, eutrophication, human health criteria, and photochemical smog were lower for conventional gasoline (impacts for the water-related human health cancer category showed mixed results). The relative ranking of conventional gasoline in relation to the ethanol-containing fuels was consistent in all instances, suggesting that, in this case study, the choice of allocation methodology had no impact on indicating which fuel has lower environmental impacts.

Financial development and the allocation of external finance

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Bena, J.; Ondko, Peter

2012-01-01

Roč. 19, č. 1 (2012), s. 1-25 ISSN 0927-5398 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC542 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z70850503 Keywords : financial development * external finance * allocative efficiency Subject RIV: AH - Economics Impact factor: 0.934, year: 2012

Impact of electricity prices and volumetric water allocation on energy and groundwater demand management: analysis from Western India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, M.D.

2005-01-01

In recent years, power tariff policy has been increasingly advocated as a mean to influence groundwater use and withdrawal decisions of farmers in view of the failure of existing direct and indirect regulations on groundwater withdrawal in India. Many researchers argue that pro rata electricity tariff, with built in positive marginal cost of pumping could bring about efficient use of the resource, though some argue that the levels of tariff in which demand becomes elastic to pricing are too high to be viable from political and socio-economic points of view. The paper presents a theoretical model to analyze farmers' response to changes in power tariff and water allocation regimes vis a vis energy and groundwater use. It validates the model by analyzing water productivity in groundwater irrigation under different electricity pricing structures and water allocation regimes. Water productivity was estimated using primary data of gross crop inputs, cost of all inputs, and volumetric water inputs. The analysis shows that unit pricing of electricity influences groundwater use efficiency and productivity positively. It also shows that the levels of pricing at which demand for electricity and groundwater becomes elastic to tariff are socio-economically viable. Further, water productivity impacts of pricing would be highest when water is volumetrically allocated with rationing. Therefore, an effective power tariff policy followed by enforcement of volumetric water allocation could address the issue of efficiency, sustainability and equity in groundwater use in India

A decision aid tool for equity issues analysis in emission permit allocations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaillancourt, K.; Waaub, J.P.

2004-01-01

The general intention of global climate agreements is to stabilize greenhouse gases (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere which contribute to climate change. Climate models indicate that the global average temperature will increase by about 1.4 to 5.8 degrees C by 2100 compared to the 1990 level. This study assumed the participation of all countries, including developing countries, to achieve a global GHG stabilization target. It examined international cooperation mechanisms such as permit trading to achieve global economic efficiency. The study proposed a decision aid tool that provides relevant information on various equitable permit allocation schemes. A dynamic multicriterion model was presented to share the global quantity of permits among 15 regions. Multiple definitions of equity were considered. A realistic simulation of the World-MARKAL energy model was conducted to demonstrate the potential application of the scheme in international negotiations. The goal was to propose a range of permit allocations for each country in order to restrict the number of possibilities and guide negotiations. A model of the global reduction scenario makes it possible to determine cost effective solutions and to calculate reduction costs. Equity issues related to permit allocations were also addressed along with permit allocations and net reduction costs for each region. 45 refs., 5 tabs., 2 figs., 1 appendix

Zinc allocation and re-allocation in rice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stomph, T.J.; Jiang, W.; Putten, van der P.E.L.; Struik, P.C.

2014-01-01

Aims: Agronomy and breeding actively search for options to enhance cereal grain Zn density. Quantifying internal (re-)allocation of Zn as affected by soil and crop management or genotype is crucial. We present experiments supporting the development of a conceptual model of whole plant Zn allocation

S4HARA: System for HIV/AIDS resource allocation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lasry, Arielle; Carter, Michael W; Zaric, Gregory S

2008-03-26

HIV/AIDS resource allocation decisions are influenced by political, social, ethical and other factors that are difficult to quantify. Consequently, quantitative models of HIV/AIDS resource allocation have had limited impact on actual spending decisions. We propose a decision-support System for HIV/AIDS Resource Allocation (S4HARA) that takes into consideration both principles of efficient resource allocation and the role of non-quantifiable influences on the decision-making process for resource allocation. S4HARA is a four-step spreadsheet-based model. The first step serves to identify the factors currently influencing HIV/AIDS allocation decisions. The second step consists of prioritizing HIV/AIDS interventions. The third step involves allocating the budget to the HIV/AIDS interventions using a rational approach. Decision-makers can select from several rational models of resource allocation depending on availability of data and level of complexity. The last step combines the results of the first and third steps to highlight the influencing factors that act as barriers or facilitators to the results suggested by the rational resource allocation approach. Actionable recommendations are then made to improve the allocation. We illustrate S4HARA in the context of a primary healthcare clinic in South Africa. The clinic offers six types of HIV/AIDS interventions and spends US$750,000 annually on these programs. Current allocation decisions are influenced by donors, NGOs and the government as well as by ethical and religious factors. Without additional funding, an optimal allocation of the total budget suggests that the portion allotted to condom distribution be increased from 1% to 15% and the portion allotted to prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections be increased from 43% to 71%, while allocation to other interventions should decrease. Condom uptake at the clinic should be increased by changing the condom distribution policy from a pull system to a push

Comprehensive reliability allocation method for CNC lathes based on cubic transformed functions of failure mode and effects analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Zhou; Zhu, Yunpeng; Ren, Hongrui; Zhang, Yimin

2015-03-01

Reliability allocation of computerized numerical controlled(CNC) lathes is very important in industry. Traditional allocation methods only focus on high-failure rate components rather than moderate failure rate components, which is not applicable in some conditions. Aiming at solving the problem of CNC lathes reliability allocating, a comprehensive reliability allocation method based on cubic transformed functions of failure modes and effects analysis(FMEA) is presented. Firstly, conventional reliability allocation methods are introduced. Then the limitations of direct combination of comprehensive allocation method with the exponential transformed FMEA method are investigated. Subsequently, a cubic transformed function is established in order to overcome these limitations. Properties of the new transformed functions are discussed by considering the failure severity and the failure occurrence. Designers can choose appropriate transform amplitudes according to their requirements. Finally, a CNC lathe and a spindle system are used as an example to verify the new allocation method. Seven criteria are considered to compare the results of the new method with traditional methods. The allocation results indicate that the new method is more flexible than traditional methods. By employing the new cubic transformed function, the method covers a wider range of problems in CNC reliability allocation without losing the advantages of traditional methods.

A meta-analysis of development aid allocation:  The effects of income level and population size

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paldam, Martin

The effect on aid allocation of the income level and population size in the recipient country is  analyzed. The data show that both variables have a significant and robust negative effect, but  they explain only a small part of the variation. The main thrust of the paper is a meta-analysis of the......The effect on aid allocation of the income level and population size in the recipient country is  analyzed. The data show that both variables have a significant and robust negative effect, but  they explain only a small part of the variation. The main thrust of the paper is a meta...

Experimental Analysis of a Heat Cost Allocation Method for Apartment Buildings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Saba

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The correct estimate of individual thermal energy consumptions, and consequently, a fair heat cost allocation among the residents of apartment buildings with centralized heating systems, represents an important driving force towards energy saving, energy efficiency and the reduction of pollutant emissions. Nowadays, in those contexts where direct heat meters cannot be used because of the layout of the hot water distribution system, electronic Heat Cost Allocators (HCAs have the highest market share for the assessment of individual thermal energy consumptions. The uncertainty associated with the parameterization of heat cost allocation devices and the installation effects arising in real applications can negatively affect the accuracy of these devices, as far as the estimation of the individual fractions of thermal energy consumption is concerned. This work deals with the experimental analysis of a novel heat cost allocation method for apartment buildings and its comparison with conventional HCAs. The method allows the indirect estimation of the thermal energy exchanged by water radiators without the need for surface temperature measurements, reducing some of the drawbacks associated with the on-site installation. The experimental analysis was carried out in a full-scale central heating system test facility available at the Italian National Metrology Institute (INRIM and characterized by SI-traceable direct heat meters installed on each water radiator.

Information efficiency in visual communication

Science.gov (United States)

Alter-Gartenberg, Rachel; Rahman, Zia-Ur

1993-01-01

This paper evaluates the quantization process in the context of the end-to-end performance of the visual-communication channel. Results show that the trade-off between data transmission and visual quality revolves around the information in the acquired signal, not around its energy. Improved information efficiency is gained by frequency dependent quantization that maintains the information capacity of the channel and reduces the entropy of the encoded signal. Restorations with energy bit-allocation lose both in sharpness and clarity relative to restorations with information bit-allocation. Thus, quantization with information bit-allocation is preferred for high information efficiency and visual quality in optimized visual communication.

Information efficiency in visual communication

Science.gov (United States)

Alter-Gartenberg, Rachel; Rahman, Zia-ur

1993-08-01

This paper evaluates the quantization process in the context of the end-to-end performance of the visual-communication channel. Results show that the trade-off between data transmission and visual quality revolves around the information in the acquired signal, not around its energy. Improved information efficiency is gained by frequency dependent quantization that maintains the information capacity of the channel and reduces the entropy of the encoded signal. Restorations with energy bit-allocation lose both in sharpness and clarity relative to restorations with information bit-allocation. Thus, quantization with information bit-allocation is preferred for high information efficiency and visual quality in optimized visual communication.

77 FR 29705 - Program for Allocation of Regulatory Responsibilities Pursuant to Rule 17d-2; Notice of Filing...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-18

.... Generally, under the plan, the SRO participant responsible for conducting options-related sales practice... sales practice matters that would otherwise be performed by multiple SROs. The plan promotes efficiency... Declaring Effective an Amendment to the Plan for the Allocation of Regulatory Responsibilities Among the...

Basin Economic Allocation Model (BEAM): An economic model of water use developed for the Aral Sea Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Riegels, Niels; Kromann, Mikkel; Karup Pedersen, Jesper; Lindgaard-Jørgensen, Palle; Sokolov, Vadim; Sorokin, Anatoly

2013-04-01

The water resources of the Aral Sea basin are under increasing pressure, particularly from the conflict over whether hydropower or irrigation water use should take priority. The purpose of the BEAM model is to explore the impact of changes to water allocation and investments in water management infrastructure on the overall welfare of the Aral Sea basin. The BEAM model estimates welfare changes associated with changes to how water is allocated between the five countries in the basin (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan; water use in Afghanistan is assumed to be fixed). Water is allocated according to economic optimization criteria; in other words, the BEAM model allocates water across time and space so that the economic welfare associated with water use is maximized. The model is programmed in GAMS. The model addresses the Aral Sea Basin as a whole - that is, the rivers Syr Darya, Amu Darya, Kashkadarya, and Zarafshan, as well as the Aral Sea. The model representation includes water resources, including 14 river sections, 6 terminal lakes, 28 reservoirs and 19 catchment runoff nodes, as well as land resources (i.e., irrigated croplands). The model covers 5 sectors: agriculture (crops: wheat, cotton, alfalfa, rice, fruit, vegetables and others), hydropower, nature, households and industry. The focus of the model is on welfare impacts associated with changes to water use in the agriculture and hydropower sectors. The model aims at addressing the following issues of relevance for economic management of water resources: • Physical efficiency (estimating how investments in irrigation efficiency affect economic welfare). • Economic efficiency (estimating how changes in how water is allocated affect welfare). • Equity (who will gain from changes in allocation of water from one sector to another and who will lose?). Stakeholders in the region have been involved in the development of the model, and about 10 national experts, including

Incentives for energy efficiency in the EU emission trading scheme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schleich, Joachim [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Systemtechnik und Innovationsforschung (ISI), Karlsruhe (Germany); Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (United States); Rogge, Karoline [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Systemtechnik und Innovationsforschung (ISI), Karlsruhe (Germany); ETH Zurich (Switzerland). Group for Sustainability and Technology; Betz, Regina [New South Wales Univ. (Australia). Centre for Energy and Environmental Markets

2008-07-01

This paper explores the incentives for energy efficiency induced by the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) for installations in the energy and industry sectors. Our analysis of the National Allocation Plans for 27 EU Member States for phase 2 of the EU ETS (2008-2012) suggests that the price and cost effects for improvements in carbon and energy efficiency in the energy and industry sectors will be stronger than in phase 1 (2005-2007), but only because the European Commission has substantially reduced the number of allowances to be allocated by the Member States. To the extent that companies from these sectors (notably power producers) pass through the extra costs for carbon, higher prices for allowances translate into stronger incentives for demand- side energy efficiency. With the cuts in allocation to energy and industry sectors these will be forced to greater reductions, thus the non-ET sectors like household, tertiary and transport will have to reduce less, which is more in line with the cost-efficient share of emission reductions. The findings also imply that domestic efficiency improvements in the energy and industry sectors may remain limited since companies can make substantial use of credits from the Kyoto mechanisms. The analysis of the rules for existing installations, new projects and closures suggests that incentives for energy efficiency are higher in phase 2 than in phase 1 because of the increased application of benchmarking to new and existing installations and because a lower share of allowances will be allocated for free. Nevertheless, there is still ample scope to further improve the EU ETS so that the full potential for energy efficiency can be realized. (orig.)

Matching Theory for Channel Allocation in Cognitive Radio Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Cao

2016-12-01

Full Text Available For a cognitive radio network (CRN in which a set of secondary users (SUs competes for a limited number of channels (spectrum resources belonging to primary users (PUs, the channel allocation is a challenge and dominates the throughput and congestion of the network. In this paper, the channel allocation problem is first formulated as the 0-1 integer programming optimization, with considering the overall utility both of primary system and secondary system. Inspired by matching theory, a many-to-one matching game is used to remodel the channel allocation problem, and the corresponding PU proposing deferred acceptance (PPDA algorithm is also proposed to yield a stable matching. We compare the performance and computation complexity between these two solutions. Numerical results demonstrate the efficiency and obtain the communication overhead of the proposed scheme.

Why does primary angioplasty not work in registries? Quantifying the susceptibility of real-world comparative effectiveness data to allocation bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Sen, Sayan; Davies, Justin E; Malik, Iqbal S; Foale, Rodney A; Mikhail, Ghada W; Hadjiloizou, Nearchos; Hughes, Alun; Mayet, Jamil; Francis, Darrel P

2012-11-01

Meta-analysis of registries (comparative effectiveness research) shows that primary angioplasty and fibrinolysis have equivalent real-world survival. Yet, randomized, controlled trials consistently find primary angioplasty superior. Can unequal allocation of higher-risk patients in registries have masked primary angioplasty benefit? First, we constructed a model to demonstrate the potential effect of allocation bias. We then analyzed published registries (55022 patients) for allocation of higher-risk patients (Killip class ≥1) to determine whether the choice of reperfusion therapy was affected by the risk level of the patient. Meta-regression was used to examine the relationship between differences in allocation of high-risk patient to primary angioplasty or fibrinolysis and mortality. Initial modeling suggested that registry outcomes are sensitive to allocation bias of high-risk patients. Across the registries, the therapy receiving excess high-risk patients had worse mortality. Unequal distribution of high-risk status accounted for most of the between-registry variance (adjusted R(2)(meta)=83.1%). Accounting for differential allocation of higher-risk patients, primary angioplasty gave 22% lower mortality (odds ratio, 0.78; 95% confidence interval, 0.64-0.97; P=0.029). We derive a formula, called the number needed to abolish, highlighting situations in which comparative effectiveness studies are particularly vulnerable to this bias. In ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, clinicians' preference for management of a few high-risk patients can shift mortality substantially. Comparative effectiveness research in any disease is vulnerable to this, especially diseases with an immediately identifiable high-risk subgroup that clinicians prefer to allocate to 1 therapy. For this reason, preliminary indications from registry-based comparative effectiveness research should be definitively tested by randomized, controlled trials.

Spectrum and power allocation in cognitive multi-beam satellite communications with flexible satellite payloads

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhihui; Wang, Haitao; Dong, Tao; Yin, Jie; Zhang, Tingting; Guo, Hui; Li, Dequan

2018-02-01

In this paper, the cognitive multi-beam satellite system, i.e., two satellite networks coexist through underlay spectrum sharing, is studied, and the power and spectrum allocation method is employed for interference control and throughput maximization. Specifically, the multi-beam satellite with flexible payload reuses the authorized spectrum of the primary satellite, adjusting its transmission band as well as power for each beam to limit its interference on the primary satellite below the prescribed threshold and maximize its own achievable rate. This power and spectrum allocation problem is formulated as a mixed nonconvex programming. For effective solving, we first introduce the concept of signal to leakage plus noise ratio (SLNR) to decouple multiple transmit power variables in the both objective and constraint, and then propose a heuristic algorithm to assign spectrum sub-bands. After that, a stepwise plus slice-wise algorithm is proposed to implement the discrete power allocation. Finally, simulation results show that adopting cognitive technology can improve spectrum efficiency of the satellite communication.

Yoga lessons for consciousness research: a paralimbic network balancing brain resource allocation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hans C Lou

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Consciousness has been proposed to play a key role in shaping flexible learning and as such is thought to confer an evolutionary advantage. Attention and awareness are the perhaps most important underlying processes, yet their precise relationship is presently unclear. Both of these processes must, however, serve the evolutionary imperatives of survival and procreation. They are thus intimately bound by reward and emotion to help to prioritize efficient brain resource allocation in order to predict and optimize behaviour. Here we show how this process is served by a paralimbic network consisting primarily of regions located on the midline of the human brain. Using many different techniques, experiments have demonstrated that this network is effective and specific for self-awareness and contributes to the sense of unity of consciousness by acting as a common neural path for a wide variety of conscious experiences. Interestingly, haemodynamic activity in the network decreases with focusing on external stimuli, which has led to the idea of a default mode network. This network is one of many networks that wax and vane as resources are allocated to accommodate the different cyclical needs of the organism primarily related the fundamental pleasures afforded by evolution: food, sex and conspecifics. Here we hypothesize, however, that the paralimbic network serves a crucial role in balancing and regulating brain resource allocation, and discuss how it can be thought of as a link between current theories of so-called default mode, resting state networks and global workspace. We show how major developmental disorders of self-awareness and self-control can arise from problems in the paralimbic network as demonstrated here by the example of Asperger syndrome. We conclude that attention, awareness and emotion are integrated by a paralimbic network that helps to efficiently allocate brain resources to optimize behaviour and help survival.

Optimal Computing Budget Allocation for Particle Swarm Optimization in Stochastic Optimization.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Si; Xu, Jie; Lee, Loo Hay; Chew, Ek Peng; Wong, Wai Peng; Chen, Chun-Hung

2017-04-01

Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is a popular metaheuristic for deterministic optimization. Originated in the interpretations of the movement of individuals in a bird flock or fish school, PSO introduces the concept of personal best and global best to simulate the pattern of searching for food by flocking and successfully translate the natural phenomena to the optimization of complex functions. Many real-life applications of PSO cope with stochastic problems. To solve a stochastic problem using PSO, a straightforward approach is to equally allocate computational effort among all particles and obtain the same number of samples of fitness values. This is not an efficient use of computational budget and leaves considerable room for improvement. This paper proposes a seamless integration of the concept of optimal computing budget allocation (OCBA) into PSO to improve the computational efficiency of PSO for stochastic optimization problems. We derive an asymptotically optimal allocation rule to intelligently determine the number of samples for all particles such that the PSO algorithm can efficiently select the personal best and global best when there is stochastic estimation noise in fitness values. We also propose an easy-to-implement sequential procedure. Numerical tests show that our new approach can obtain much better results using the same amount of computational effort.

An Ameliorative Whale Optimization Algorithm for Multi-Objective Optimal Allocation of Water Resources in Handan, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhihong Yan

2018-01-01

Full Text Available With the deepening discrepancy between water supply and demand caused by water shortages, alleviating water shortages by optimizing water resource allocation has received extensive attention. How to allocate water resources optimally, rapidly, and effectively has become a challenging problem. Thus, this study employs a meta-heuristic swarm-based algorithm, the whale optimization algorithm (WOA. To overcome drawbacks like relatively low convergence precision and convergence rates, when applying the WOA algorithm to complex optimization problems, logistic mapping is used to initialize swarm location, and inertia weighting is employed to improve the algorithm. The resulting ameliorative whale optimization algorithm (AWOA shows substantially enhanced convergence rates and precision than the WOA and particle swarm optimization algorithms, demonstrating relatively high reliability and applicability. A water resource allocation optimization model with optimal economic efficiency and least total water shortage volume is established for Handan, China, and solved by the AWOA. The allocation results better reflect actual water usage in Handan. In 2030, the p = 50% total water shortage is forecast as 404.34 × 106 m3 or 14.8%. The shortage is mainly in the primary agricultural sector. The allocation results provide a reference for regional water resources management.

Allocation decisions in network industries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bolle, Friedel [Europa-Universitaet Viadrina Frankfurt, Lehrstuhl Volkswirtschaftslehre, insbesondere Wirtschaftstheorie (Mikrooekonomie), Postfach 1786 15207 Frankfurt (Germany)

2008-01-15

In this paper, I want to propagate a new analytical tool: The usage of Menu Auctions for modelling complicated auctions, negotiations, rent seeking, etc. is advocated, because, contrary to 'normal' auctions and bargaining models, an arbitrary number of additional aspects can be taken into account. After concentrating on 'Truthful Equilibria' [Bernheim, B.D., Whinston, M.D., 1986. Menu auctions, resource allocation, and economic influence, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1-31.] a certain broad class of Menu Auctions show unique and efficient allocations. Under an additional concavity condition even the equilibrium bids are unique. Two examples are discussed: the privatisation of a state-owned industry and the buying of wholesale electricity (concluding contracts with a number of producers) by a utility. These examples also serve to trace the sources of 'non-concavities' which can prevent the uniqueness of bids and can provide the auctioneer with incentives to exclude bidders from the competition. (author)

Sustainable and efficient allocation of limited blue and green water resources

OpenAIRE

Schyns, Joseph Franciscus

2018-01-01

Freshwater stems from precipitation over land, which differentiates into a blue water flow (groundwater and surface water) and a green water flow (evaporation). Both flows are partially allocated to serve the economy, resulting in blue and green water footprints (WF). There are maximum sustainable levels to the blue and green WF, since rainfall is limited and part of the flows need to be reserved for aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity. Water scarcity, the degree to which the actual approach...

Optimization of Power Allocation for Multiusers in Multi-Spot-Beam Satellite Communication Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heng Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, multi-spot-beam satellite communication systems have played a key role in global seamless communication. However, satellite power resources are scarce and expensive, due to the limitations of satellite platform. Therefore, this paper proposes optimizing the power allocation of each user in order to improve the power utilization efficiency. Initially the capacity allocated to each user is calculated according to the satellite link budget equations, which can be achieved in the practical satellite communication systems. The problem of power allocation is then formulated as a convex optimization, taking account of a trade-off between the maximization of the total system capacity and the fairness of power allocation amongst the users. Finally, an iterative algorithm based on the duality theory is proposed to obtain the optimal solution to the optimization. Compared with the traditional uniform resource allocation or proportional resource allocation algorithms, the proposed optimal power allocation algorithm improves the fairness of power allocation amongst the users. Moreover, the computational complexity of the proposed algorithm is linear with both the numbers of the spot beams and users. As a result, the proposed power allocation algorithm is easy to be implemented in practice.

Effects of different irrigation regimes on fruit production, oil quality, water use efficiency and agronomic nitrogen use efficiency of pumpkin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Javad Hamzei

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Effect of different irrigation regimes and nitrogen fertilizer on percentage of grain fatty acids, yield, water and nitrogen use efficiency of pumpkin was studies as split plot based on complete randomized block design with three replications in growing season of 2013. Irrigation treatments (320, 420, 600 and 900 mm ha-1 were se as main plots and nitrogen fertilizer (0, 130, 260, 390 and 520 kg urea ha-1 were allocated in subplots. The effect of irrigation and nitrogen on all traits was significant. Also, interaction of irrigation × nitrogen had significant effect on all traits except WUE and NUE. The Highest values of linoleic fatty acid (33.99%, fruit yield (4.40 kg m-2, grain yield (1.53 kg m-2 and agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (32.27 kg fruit/kg urea were achieved at consumption of 600 mm water ha-1 and application of 390 kg urea ha-1. The highest water use efficiency for fruit and grain yield; 56.61 and 1.10 kg mm-1, were revealed at 600 mm irrigation water ha-1. Between nitrogen levels, maximum and minimum WUE for fruit and grain yield were achieved at 390 kg urea and non application of urea treatments, respectively. Also, maximum agronomic nitrogen efficiency belonged to 390 kg urea and minimum this trait with 33 reductions was revealed at 520 kg urea. Based on the results of this research and with considering of water and nitrogen use efficiency, irrigation of pumpkin plants with 600 mm water ha-1 and consumption of 390 kg urea ha-1 was identified as a suitable treatment.

How a new funding model will shift allocations from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Victoria Y; Glassman, Amanda; Silverman, Rachel L

2014-12-01

Policy makers deciding how to fund global health programs in low- and middle-income countries face important but difficult questions about how to allocate resources across countries. In this article we present a typology of three allocation methodologies to align allocations with priorities. We then apply our typology to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. We examined the Global Fund's historical HIV allocations and its predicted allocations under a new funding model that creates an explicit allocation methodology. We found that under the new funding model, substantial shifts in the Global Fund's portfolio are likely to result from concentrating resources in countries with more HIV cases and lower per capita incomes. For example, South Africa, which had 15.8 percent of global HIV cases in 2009, could see its Global Fund HIV funding more than triple, from historic levels that averaged 3.0 percent to 9.7 percent of total Global Fund allocations. The new funding model methodology is expected, but not guaranteed, to improve the efficiency of Global Fund allocations in comparison to historical practice. We conclude with recommendations for the Global Fund and other global health donors to further develop their allocation methodologies and processes to improve efficiency and transparency. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Allocation of Tutors and Study Centers in Distance Learning Using Geospatial Technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahid Nawaz Khan

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU is Pakistan’s largest distance learning institute, providing education to 1.4 million students. This is a fairly large setup across a country where students are highly geographically distributed. Currently, the system works using a manual approach, which is not efficient. Allocation of tutors and study centers to students plays a key role in creating a better learning environment for distance learning. Assigning tutors and study centers to distance learning students is a challenging task when there is a huge geographic spread. Using geospatial technologies in open and distance learning can fix allocation problems. This research analyzes real data from the twin cities Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The results show that geospatial technologies can be used for efficient and proper resource utilization and allocation, which in turn can save time and money. The overall idea fits into an improved distance learning framework and related analytics.

Energy-efficient power allocation of two-hop cooperative systems with imperfect channel estimation

KAUST Repository

Amin, Osama

2015-06-08

Recently, much attention has been paid to the green design of wireless communication systems using energy efficiency (EE) metrics that should capture all energy consumption sources to deliver the required data. In this paper, we formulate an accurate EE metric for cooperative two-hop systems that use the amplify-and-forward relaying scheme. Different from the existing research that assumes the availability of perfect channel state information (CSI) at the communication cooperative nodes, we assume a practical scenario, where training pilots are used to estimate the channels. The estimated CSI can be used to adapt the available resources of the proposed system in order to maximize the EE. Two estimation strategies are assumed namely disintegrated channel estimation, which assumes the availability of channel estimator at the relay, and cascaded channel estimation, where the relay is not equipped with channel estimator and only forwards the received pilot(s) in order to let the destination estimate the cooperative link. The channel estimation cost is reflected on the EE metric by including the estimation error in the signal-to-noise term and considering the energy consumption during the estimation phase. Based on the formulated EE metric, we propose an energy-aware power allocation algorithm to maximize the EE of the cooperative system with channel estimation. Furthermore, we study the impact of the estimation parameters on the optimized EE performance via simulation examples.

Regional allocation of CO2 emissions allowance over provinces in China by 2020

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Ke; Zhang, Xian; Wei, Yi-Ming; Yu, Shiwei

2013-01-01

The mitigation efforts of China are increasingly important for meeting global climate target since the rapid economic growth of China has led to an increasing share in the world's total CO 2 emissions. This paper sets out to explore the approach for realizing China's national mitigation targets submitted to the UNFCCC as part of the Copenhagen Accord; that is, to reduce the intensity of CO 2 emissions per unit of GDP by 40–45% by 2020, as well as reducing the energy intensity and increasing the share of non-fossil fuel consumption, through regional allocation of emission allowance over China's provinces. Since the realization of China's mitigation target essentially represents a total amount emission allowance allocation problem, an improved zero sum gains data envelopment analysis optimization model, which could deal with the constant total amount resources allocation, is proposed in this study. By utilizing this model and based on several scenarios of China's economic growth, CO 2 emissions, and energy consumption, a new efficient emission allowance allocation scheme on provincial level for China by 2020 is proposed. The allocation results indicate that different provinces have to shoulder different mitigation burdens in terms of emission intensity reduction, energy intensity reduction, and share of non-fossil fuels increase. - Highlights: ► We explore the approach to realize national CO 2 emissions reduction target of China by 2020. ► The CO 2 emissions allowance is allocated over China's 30 administrative regions. ► Several scenarios of China's regional economy, emission, energy consumption are given. ► The zero sum gains data envelopment analysis model is applied in emission allowance allocation. ► An efficient emission allowance allocation scheme on provincial level is proposed

S4HARA: System for HIV/AIDS resource allocation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carter Michael W

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background HIV/AIDS resource allocation decisions are influenced by political, social, ethical and other factors that are difficult to quantify. Consequently, quantitative models of HIV/AIDS resource allocation have had limited impact on actual spending decisions. We propose a decision-support System for HIV/AIDS Resource Allocation (S4HARA that takes into consideration both principles of efficient resource allocation and the role of non-quantifiable influences on the decision-making process for resource allocation. Methods S4HARA is a four-step spreadsheet-based model. The first step serves to identify the factors currently influencing HIV/AIDS allocation decisions. The second step consists of prioritizing HIV/AIDS interventions. The third step involves allocating the budget to the HIV/AIDS interventions using a rational approach. Decision-makers can select from several rational models of resource allocation depending on availability of data and level of complexity. The last step combines the results of the first and third steps to highlight the influencing factors that act as barriers or facilitators to the results suggested by the rational resource allocation approach. Actionable recommendations are then made to improve the allocation. We illustrate S4HARA in the context of a primary healthcare clinic in South Africa. Results The clinic offers six types of HIV/AIDS interventions and spends US$750,000 annually on these programs. Current allocation decisions are influenced by donors, NGOs and the government as well as by ethical and religious factors. Without additional funding, an optimal allocation of the total budget suggests that the portion allotted to condom distribution be increased from 1% to 15% and the portion allotted to prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections be increased from 43% to 71%, while allocation to other interventions should decrease. Conclusion Condom uptake at the clinic should be increased by

Hybrid Optimization-Based Approach for Multiple Intelligent Vehicles Requests Allocation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Hussein

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Self-driving cars are attracting significant attention during the last few years, which makes the technology advances jump fast and reach a point of having a number of automated vehicles on the roads. Therefore, the necessity of cooperative driving for these automated vehicles is exponentially increasing. One of the main issues in the cooperative driving world is the Multirobot Task Allocation (MRTA problem. This paper addresses the MRTA problem, specifically for the problem of vehicles and requests allocation. The objective is to introduce a hybrid optimization-based approach to solve the problem of multiple intelligent vehicles requests allocation as an instance of MRTA problem, to find not only a feasible solution, but also an optimized one as per the objective function. Several test scenarios were implemented in order to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed approach. These scenarios are based on well-known benchmarks; thus a comparative study is conducted between the obtained results and the suboptimal results. The analysis of the experimental results shows that the proposed approach was successful in handling various scenarios, especially with the increasing number of vehicles and requests, which displays the proposed approach efficiency and performance.

Planning Emergency Shelters for Urban Disaster Resilience: An Integrated Location-Allocation Modeling Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laijun Zhao

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In recent years, extreme natural hazards threaten cities more than ever due to contemporary society’s high vulnerability in cities. Hence, local governments need to implement risk mitigation and disaster operation management to enhance disaster resilience in cities. Transforming existing open spaces within cities into emergency shelters is an effective method of providing essential life support and an agent of recovery in the wake of disasters. Emergency shelters planning must identify suitable locations for shelters and reasonably allocate evacuees to those shelters. In this paper, we first consider both the buildings’ post-disaster condition and the human choice factor that affect evacuees’ decision, and propose a forecasting method to estimate the time-varying shelter demand. Then we formulate an integrated location-allocation model that is used sequentially: an emergency shelter location model to satisfy the time-varying shelter demand in a given urban area with a goal of minimizing the total setup cost of locating the shelters and an allocation model that allocates the evacuees to shelters with a goal of minimizing their total evacuation distance. We also develop an efficient algorithm to solve the model. Finally, we propose an emergency shelters planning based on a case study of Shanghai, China.

Transport Infrastructure Slot Allocation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koolstra, K.

2005-01-01

In this thesis, transport infrastructure slot allocation has been studied, focusing on selection slot allocation, i.e. on longer-term slot allocation decisions determining the traffic patterns served by infrastructure bottlenecks, rather than timetable-related slot allocation problems. The

Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis for US Army Recruiting Input Allocation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Brence, John

2004-01-01

.... Our methodology will build on both the new and old schools of recruiting by conducting stakeholder interviews that will lead us to a model that is an efficient starting point for the Recruiter Mission Allocation (RMA...

A trust-based sensor allocation algorithm in cooperative space search problems

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Dan; Chen, Genshe; Pham, Khanh; Blasch, Erik

2011-06-01

Sensor allocation is an important and challenging problem within the field of multi-agent systems. The sensor allocation problem involves deciding how to assign a number of targets or cells to a set of agents according to some allocation protocol. Generally, in order to make efficient allocations, we need to design mechanisms that consider both the task performers' costs for the service and the associated probability of success (POS). In our problem, the costs are the used sensor resource, and the POS is the target tracking performance. Usually, POS may be perceived differently by different agents because they typically have different standards or means of evaluating the performance of their counterparts (other sensors in the search and tracking problem). Given this, we turn to the notion of trust to capture such subjective perceptions. In our approach, we develop a trust model to construct a novel mechanism that motivates sensor agents to limit their greediness or selfishness. Then we model the sensor allocation optimization problem with trust-in-loop negotiation game and solve it using a sub-game perfect equilibrium. Numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate the trust-based sensor allocation algorithm in cooperative space situation awareness (SSA) search problems.

Effect of task complexity on intelligence and neural efficiency in children: an event-related potential study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qiong; Shi, Jiannong; Luo, Yuejia; Liu, Sainan; Yang, Jie; Shen, Mowei

2007-10-08

The present study investigates the effects of task complexity, intelligence and neural efficiency on children's performance on an Elementary Cognitive Task. Twenty-three children were divided into two groups on the basis of their Raven Progressive Matrix scores and were then asked to complete a choice reaction task with two test conditions. We recorded the electroencephalogram and calculated the peak latencies and amplitudes for anteriorly distributed P225, N380 and late positive component. Our results suggested shorter late positive component latencies in brighter children, possibly reflecting a higher processing speed in these individuals. Increased P225 amplitude and increased N380 amplitudes for brighter children may indicate a more efficient allocation of attention for brighter children. No moderating effect of task complexity on brain-intelligence relationship was found.

Effect of long-term drought on carbon allocation and nitrogen uptake of Pinus sylvestris seedlings

Science.gov (United States)

Pumpanen, Jukka; Aaltonen, Heidi; Lindén, Aki; Köster, Kajar; Biasi, Christina; Heinonsalo, Jussi

2015-04-01

Weather extremes such as drought events are expected to increase in the future as a result of climate change. The drought affects the allocation of carbon assimilated by plants e.g. by modifying the root to shoot ratio, amount of fine roots and the amount of mycorrhizal fungal hyphae. We studied the effect of long term drought on the allocation of carbon in a common garden experiment with 4-year-old Pinus sylvestris seedlings. Half of the seedlings were exposed to long-term drought by setting the soil water content close to wilting point for over two growing seasons whereas the other half was grown in soil close to field capacity. We conducted a pulse labelling with 13CO2 in the end of the study by injecting a known amount of 13C enriched CO2 to the seedlings and measuring the CO2 uptake and distribution of 13C to the biomass of the seedlings and to the root and rhizosphere respiration. In addition, we studied the effect of drought on the decomposition of needle litter and uptake of nitrogen by 15N labelled needles buried in the soil in litter bags. The litterbags were collected and harvested in the end of the experiment and the changes in microbial community in the litterbags were studied from the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) composition. We also determined the 15N isotope concentrations from the needles of the seedlings to study the effect of drought on the nitrogen uptake of the seedlings. Our results indicate that the drought had a significant effect both on the biomass allocation of the seedlings and on the microbial species composition. The amount of carbon allocated belowground was much higher in the seedlings exposed to drought compared to the control seedlings. The seedlings seemed to adapt their carbon allocation to long-term drought to sustain adequate needle biomass and water uptake. The seedlings also adapted their osmotic potential and photosynthesis capacity to sustain the long-term drought as was indicated by the measurements of osmotic potential

Environmental efficiency among corn ethanol plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sesmero, Juan P.; Perrin, Richard K.; Fulginiti, Lilyan E.

2012-01-01

Economic viability of the US corn ethanol industry depends on prices, technical and economic efficiency of plants and the extent of policy support. Public policy support is tied to the environmental efficiency of plants measured as their impact on emissions of greenhouse gases. This study evaluates the environmental efficiency of seven recently constructed ethanol plants in the North Central region of the US, using nonparametric data envelopment analysis (DEA). The minimum feasible level of GHG emissions per unit of ethanol is calculated for each plant and this level is decomposed into its technical and allocative sources. Results show that, on average, plants in our sample may be able to reduce GHG emissions by a maximum of 6% or by 2.94 Gg per quarter. Input and output allocations that maximize returns over operating costs (ROOC) are also found based on observed prices. The environmentally efficient allocation, the ROOC-maximizing allocation, and the observed allocation for each plant are combined to calculate economic (shadow) cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These shadow costs gauge the extent to which there is a trade off or a complementarity between environmental and economic targets. Results reveal that, at current activity levels, plants may have room for simultaneous improvement of environmental efficiency and economic profitability. -- Highlights: ► Environmental efficiency of ethanol plants in the North Central US is evaluated. ► Economic (shadow) cost of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is calculated. ► Feasible changes in the mix of inputs and byproducts can reduce GHG emissions. ► On average plants may be able to reduce GHG emissions by 2.94 Gg per quarter. ► GHG reductions may be achieved at a moderate or zero operating cost.

Effect of individual thinking styles on item selection during study time allocation.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Xiaoyu; Li, Weijian; Cao, Liren; Li, Ping; Shi, Meiling; Wang, Jingjing; Cao, Wei; Li, Xinyu

2018-04-01

The influence of individual differences on learners' study time allocation has been emphasised in recent studies; however, little is known about the role of individual thinking styles (analytical versus intuitive). In the present study, we explored the influence of individual thinking styles on learners' application of agenda-based and habitual processes when selecting the first item during a study-time allocation task. A 3-item cognitive reflection test (CRT) was used to determine individuals' degree of cognitive reliance on intuitive versus analytical cognitive processing. Significant correlations between CRT scores and the choices of first item selection were observed in both Experiment 1a (study time was 5 seconds per triplet) and Experiment 1b (study time was 20 seconds per triplet). Furthermore, analytical decision makers constructed a value-based agenda (prioritised high-reward items), whereas intuitive decision makers relied more upon habitual responding (selected items from the leftmost of the array). The findings of Experiment 1a were replicated in Experiment 2 notwithstanding ruling out the possible effects from individual intelligence and working memory capacity. Overall, the individual thinking style plays an important role on learners' study time allocation and the predictive ability of CRT is reliable in learners' item selection strategy. © 2016 International Union of Psychological Science.

Adaptive Allocation of Attention: Effects of Sex and Sociosexuality on Visual Attention to Attractive Opposite-Sex Faces.

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, Lesley A; Park, Justin H; Faulkner, Jason; Schaller, Mark; Neuberg, Steven L; Kenrick, Douglas T

2007-09-01

We tested the hypothesis that, compared with sociosexually restricted individuals, those with an unrestricted approach to mating would selectively allocate visual attention to attractive opposite-sex others. We also tested for sex differences in this effect. Seventy-four participants completed the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory, and performed a computer-based task that assessed the speed with which they detected changes in attractive and unattractive male and female faces. Differences in reaction times served as indicators of selective attention. Results revealed a Sex X Sociosexuality interaction: Compared with sociosexually restricted men, unrestricted men selectively allocated attention to attractive opposite-sex others; no such effect emerged among women. This finding was specific to opposite-sex targets and did not occur in attention to same-sex others. These results contribute to a growing literature on the adaptive allocation of attention in social environments.

Compact and resource efficient cities? Synergies and trade-offs in European cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fertner, Christian; Große, Juliane

2016-01-01

city. Compact cities and compact urban development are thought to decrease energy and resource demand per capita and increase efficiency. At the same time trade-offs and potential rebound effects of increased resource efficiency question certain achievements of a dense urban structure. This paper...... alternative travel modes. Also the allocation of efficiency gains due to compact urban development has to be taken into account in order to avoid direct and indirect rebound effects....

Optimal allocation of trend following strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Grebenkov, Denis S.; Serror, Jeremy

2015-09-01

We consider a portfolio allocation problem for trend following (TF) strategies on multiple correlated assets. Under simplifying assumptions of a Gaussian market and linear TF strategies, we derive analytical formulas for the mean and variance of the portfolio return. We construct then the optimal portfolio that maximizes risk-adjusted return by accounting for inter-asset correlations. The dynamic allocation problem for n assets is shown to be equivalent to the classical static allocation problem for n2 virtual assets that include lead-lag corrections in positions of TF strategies. The respective roles of asset auto-correlations and inter-asset correlations are investigated in depth for the two-asset case and a sector model. In contrast to the principle of diversification suggesting to treat uncorrelated assets, we show that inter-asset correlations allow one to estimate apparent trends more reliably and to adjust the TF positions more efficiently. If properly accounted for, inter-asset correlations are not deteriorative but beneficial for portfolio management that can open new profit opportunities for trend followers. These concepts are illustrated using daily returns of three highly correlated futures markets: the E-mini S&P 500, Euro Stoxx 50 index, and the US 10-year T-note futures.

Channel Estimation and Optimal Power Allocation for a Multiple-Antenna OFDM System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yao Kung

2002-01-01

Full Text Available We propose combining channel estimation and optimal power allocation approaches for a multiple-antenna orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM system in high-speed transmission applications. We develop a least-square channel estimation approach, derive the performance bound of the estimator, and investigate the optimal training sequences for initial channel acquisition. Based on the channel estimates, the optimal power allocation solution which maximizes the bandwidth efficiency is derived under power and quality of service (Qos (symbol error rate constraints. It is shown that combining channel tracking and adaptive power allocation can dramatically enhance the outage capacity of an OFDM multiple-antenna system when severing fading occurs.

Controlling collective dynamics in complex minority-game resource-allocation systems

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ji-Qiang; Huang, Zi-Gang; Dong, Jia-Qi; Huang, Liang; Lai, Ying-Cheng

2013-05-01

Resource allocation takes place in various kinds of real-world complex systems, such as traffic systems, social services institutions or organizations, or even ecosystems. The fundamental principle underlying complex resource-allocation dynamics is Boolean interactions associated with minority games, as resources are generally limited and agents tend to choose the least used resource based on available information. A common but harmful dynamical behavior in resource-allocation systems is herding, where there are time intervals during which a large majority of the agents compete for a few resources, leaving many other resources unused. Accompanying the herd behavior is thus strong fluctuations with time in the number of resources being used. In this paper, we articulate and establish that an intuitive control strategy, namely pinning control, is effective at harnessing the herding dynamics. In particular, by fixing the choices of resources for a few agents while leaving the majority of the agents free, herding can be eliminated completely. Our investigation is systematic in that we consider random and targeted pinning and a variety of network topologies, and we carry out a comprehensive analysis in the framework of mean-field theory to understand the working of control. The basic philosophy is then that, when a few agents waive their freedom to choose resources by receiving sufficient incentives, the majority of the agents benefit in that they will make fair, efficient, and effective use of the available resources. Our work represents a basic and general framework to address the fundamental issue of fluctuations in complex dynamical systems with significant applications to social, economical, and political systems.

Allowance Allocation and CO2 intensity of the EU15 and Norwegian refineries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsson, Kristina; Zetterberg, Lars; Aahman, Markus

2005-02-01

On 1 January 2005, the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) was launched. The launch has been preceded by an allocation process in each of the Member States. The main objective of this study was to analyse the allocation in relation to CO 2 efficiency for the mineral oil refining sector. A CO 2 intensity index for mineral oil refineries has been defined and calculated for the refineries within the EU15 and Norway. The IVL CO 2 intensity index is based both on the Solomon Energy Intensity Index (EII), an assumed fuel mix, and process-specific emissions. Due to uncertainties in input data, the determined values for the individual refineries are quite uncertain. However, the regional values can be used to identify trends. It was concluded that there are substantial differences in the CO 2 intensity between refineries within different regions/countries in the EU and these differences have not been considered in the allocation process. Only a few countries have mentioned energy efficiency or reduction potential due to CO 2 intensity of fuels used. Only one country (Denmark) has explicitly given a benchmark that will be used for allocation to new mineral oil refineries. The allocation has generally been based on historic emissions, which will result in refineries with historically higher emissions being allocated larger amounts than refineries with historically lower emissions. This might be favourable for refineries that recently have performed emission-reducing measures but might be less favourable for refineries that during a long time period have implemented emission-reducing measures

Effects of aspect on clonal reproduction and biomass allocation of layering modules of Nitraria tangutorum in nebkha dunes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qinghe Li

Full Text Available The formation of many nebkha dunes relies on the layering of clonal plants. The microenvironmental conditions of such phytogenic nebkha are heterogeneous depending on the aspect and slope. Exploring the effects of aspect on clonal reproduction and biomass allocation can be useful in understanding the ecological adaptation of species. We hypothesized that on the windward side layering propagation would be promoted, that biomass allocation to leaves and stems of ramets would increase, and that the effects of aspect would be greater in the layering with larger biomass. To test these hypotheses, we surveyed the depth of germination points of axillary buds, the rate of ramet sprouting, the density of adventitious root formation points, and the biomass of modules sprouting from layering located on the NE, SE, SW and NW, aspects of Nitraria tangutorum nebkhas. The windward side was located on the NW and SW aspects. The results indicated that conditions of the NW aspect were more conducive to clonal reproduction and had the highest rate of ramet sprouting and the highest density of adventitious formation points. For the modules sprouting from layering on the SW aspect, biomass allocation to leaves and stems was greatest with biomass allocation to adventitious roots being lowest. This result supported our hypothesis. Contrary to our hypothesis, the effects of aspect were greater in layering of smaller biomass. These results support the hypothesis that aspect does affect layering propagation capacity and biomass allocation in this species. Additionally, clonal reproduction and biomass allocation of modules sprouting from layering with smaller biomass was more affected by aspect. These results suggest that the clonal growth of N. tangutorum responses to the microenvironmental heterogeneity that results from aspect of the nebkha.

Effects of aspect on clonal reproduction and biomass allocation of layering modules of Nitraria tangutorum in nebkha dunes.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qinghe; Xu, Jun; Li, Huiqing; Wang, Saixiao; Yan, Xiu; Xin, Zhiming; Jiang, Zeping; Wang, Linlong; Jia, Zhiqing

2013-01-01

The formation of many nebkha dunes relies on the layering of clonal plants. The microenvironmental conditions of such phytogenic nebkha are heterogeneous depending on the aspect and slope. Exploring the effects of aspect on clonal reproduction and biomass allocation can be useful in understanding the ecological adaptation of species. We hypothesized that on the windward side layering propagation would be promoted, that biomass allocation to leaves and stems of ramets would increase, and that the effects of aspect would be greater in the layering with larger biomass. To test these hypotheses, we surveyed the depth of germination points of axillary buds, the rate of ramet sprouting, the density of adventitious root formation points, and the biomass of modules sprouting from layering located on the NE, SE, SW and NW, aspects of Nitraria tangutorum nebkhas. The windward side was located on the NW and SW aspects. The results indicated that conditions of the NW aspect were more conducive to clonal reproduction and had the highest rate of ramet sprouting and the highest density of adventitious formation points. For the modules sprouting from layering on the SW aspect, biomass allocation to leaves and stems was greatest with biomass allocation to adventitious roots being lowest. This result supported our hypothesis. Contrary to our hypothesis, the effects of aspect were greater in layering of smaller biomass. These results support the hypothesis that aspect does affect layering propagation capacity and biomass allocation in this species. Additionally, clonal reproduction and biomass allocation of modules sprouting from layering with smaller biomass was more affected by aspect. These results suggest that the clonal growth of N. tangutorum responses to the microenvironmental heterogeneity that results from aspect of the nebkha.

The fundamental optimal relations of the allocation, cost and effectiveness of the heat exchangers of a Carnot-like power plant

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aragon-Gonzalez, G; Canales-Palma, A; Leon-Galicia, A; Rivera-Camacho, J M [PDPA, UAM-Azcapotzalco, Av San Pablo 180, Col. Reynosa, Azcapotzalco, 02200 Mexico, DF (Mexico)], E-mail: gag@correo.azc.uam.mx

2009-10-23

A stationary Carnot-like power plant model, with three sources of irreversibilities (the finite rate of heat transfers, heat leak and internal dissipations of the working fluid), is analyzed by a criterion of partial optimization for five objective functions (power, efficiency, ecological function, efficient power and {omega}-dot criterion). A remarkable result is that if two constraints (design rules) are applied alternatively: constrained internal thermal conductance or fixed total area of the heat exchangers from hot and cold sides; the optimal allocation, cost and effectiveness of the heat exchangers are the same for all these objective functions independently of the transfer heat law used. Thus, it is enough to find these optimal relations for only one, maximum power, when all heat transfers are linear. In particular, for the Curzon-Albhorn-like model (without heat leak), the criterion for the so-called ecological function, including other variables (the internal isentropic temperature ratio), becomes total.

The fundamental optimal relations of the allocation, cost and effectiveness of the heat exchangers of a Carnot-like power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aragon-Gonzalez, G; Canales-Palma, A; Leon-Galicia, A; Rivera-Camacho, J M

2009-01-01

A stationary Carnot-like power plant model, with three sources of irreversibilities (the finite rate of heat transfers, heat leak and internal dissipations of the working fluid), is analyzed by a criterion of partial optimization for five objective functions (power, efficiency, ecological function, efficient power and Ω-dot criterion). A remarkable result is that if two constraints (design rules) are applied alternatively: constrained internal thermal conductance or fixed total area of the heat exchangers from hot and cold sides; the optimal allocation, cost and effectiveness of the heat exchangers are the same for all these objective functions independently of the transfer heat law used. Thus, it is enough to find these optimal relations for only one, maximum power, when all heat transfers are linear. In particular, for the Curzon-Albhorn-like model (without heat leak), the criterion for the so-called ecological function, including other variables (the internal isentropic temperature ratio), becomes total.

On the power and offset allocation for rate adaptation of spatial multiplexing in optical wireless MIMO channels

KAUST Repository

Park, Kihong

2013-04-01

In this paper, we consider resource allocation method in the visible light communication. It is challenging to achieve high data rate due to the limited bandwidth of the optical sources. In order to increase the spectral efficiency, we design a suitable multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system utilizing spatial multiplexing based on singular value decomposition and adaptive modulation. More specifically, after explaining why the conventional allocation method in radio frequency MIMO channels cannot be applied directly to the optical intensity channels, we theoretically derive a power allocation method for an arbitrary number of transmit and receive antennas for optical wireless MIMO systems. Based on three key constraints: the nonnegativity of the intensity-modulated signal, the aggregate optical power budget, and the bit error rate requirement, we propose a novel method to allocate the optical power, the offset value, and the modulation size. Based on some selected simulation results, we show that our proposed allocation method gives a better spectral efficiency at the expense of an increased computational complexity in comparison to a simple method that allocates the optical power equally among all the data streams. © 2013 IEEE.

On the power and offset allocation for rate adaptation of spatial multiplexing in optical wireless MIMO channels

KAUST Repository

Park, Kihong; Ko, Youngchai; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2013-01-01

In this paper, we consider resource allocation method in the visible light communication. It is challenging to achieve high data rate due to the limited bandwidth of the optical sources. In order to increase the spectral efficiency, we design a suitable multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system utilizing spatial multiplexing based on singular value decomposition and adaptive modulation. More specifically, after explaining why the conventional allocation method in radio frequency MIMO channels cannot be applied directly to the optical intensity channels, we theoretically derive a power allocation method for an arbitrary number of transmit and receive antennas for optical wireless MIMO systems. Based on three key constraints: the nonnegativity of the intensity-modulated signal, the aggregate optical power budget, and the bit error rate requirement, we propose a novel method to allocate the optical power, the offset value, and the modulation size. Based on some selected simulation results, we show that our proposed allocation method gives a better spectral efficiency at the expense of an increased computational complexity in comparison to a simple method that allocates the optical power equally among all the data streams. © 2013 IEEE.

Interactive Land-Use Optimization Using Laguerre Voronoi Diagram with Dynamic Generating Point Allocation

Science.gov (United States)

Chaidee, S.; Pakawanwong, P.; Suppakitpaisarn, V.; Teerasawat, P.

2017-09-01

In this work, we devise an efficient method for the land-use optimization problem based on Laguerre Voronoi diagram. Previous Voronoi diagram-based methods are more efficient and more suitable for interactive design than discrete optimization-based method, but, in many cases, their outputs do not satisfy area constraints. To cope with the problem, we propose a force-directed graph drawing algorithm, which automatically allocates generating points of Voronoi diagram to appropriate positions. Then, we construct a Laguerre Voronoi diagram based on these generating points, use linear programs to adjust each cell, and reconstruct the diagram based on the adjustment. We adopt the proposed method to the practical case study of Chiang Mai University's allocated land for a mixed-use complex. For this case study, compared to other Voronoi diagram-based method, we decrease the land allocation error by 62.557 %. Although our computation time is larger than the previous Voronoi-diagram-based method, it is still suitable for interactive design.

An alternative approach to indirect land use change: Allocating greenhouse gas effects among different uses of land

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seungdo; Dale, Bruce E.; Ong, Rebecca G.

2012-01-01

Indirect land use change (iLUC) is hypothesized to occur when increasing demand for land due to bioenergy production displaces food and feed production onto new lands, thereby potentially producing large greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) during the land conversion event. Thus far, the totality of the projected iLUC effect has been assigned to biofuel production. In fact, multiple drivers of land use change exist and the resulting GHG releases should, in fairness, be allocated among these drivers. It seems more useful and intellectually rigorous to allocate potential land use change effects among these many drivers. This paper focuses on how to allocate the environmental consequences of iLUC to the multiple drivers through a function-oriented approach, namely human nutritional requirements for calories and protein. “Food versus Biofuel” issues can then be more usefully addressed as “Nutrition versus Biofuel” issues. Human beings actually have many choices in how we provide ourselves with adequate diets, and these choices have very different GHG and land use consequences. Therefore, in this paper, GHG assigned to iLUC is allocated between ethanol and human dietary preferences via a human nutrition-based method. Applying allocation approaches to iLUC lowers the estimated GHG of iLUC by up to 73% compared to GHG estimates in the GTAP model. For example, global warming intensity (GWI) of ethanol measured as CO 2 equivalent becomes 58.2 g MJ −1 , while GWI of ethanol calculated using GREET is 68.9 g MJ −1 . -- Highlights: ► Biofuel production is one of many factors driving indirect land use change (iLUC). ► A proper allocation of the consequences of iLUC among these drivers is required. ► There are many choices in how we provide ourselves nutritionally adequate diets. ► Greenhouse gas emissions of iLUC are allocated via a human nutrition-based method.

Energy Efficient Power Allocation in Multi-tier 5G Networks Using Enhanced Online Learning

KAUST Repository

Alqerm, Ismail; Shihada, Basem

2017-01-01

of the 5G systems, where each transmitter surmises other transmitters power allocation strategies without information exchange. The proposed learning model exploits a brief state representation to account for the problem of dimensionality in online learning

Global trends and challenges in deceased donor kidney allocation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Diana A; Watson, Christopher J; Bradley, J Andrew; Johnson, Rachel J; Forsythe, John L; Oniscu, Gabriel C

2017-06-01

Worldwide, the number of patients able to benefit from kidney transplantation is greatly restricted by the severe shortage of deceased donor organs. Allocation of this scarce resource is increasingly challenging and complex. Striking an acceptable balance between efficient use of (utility) and fair access to (equity) the limited supply of donated kidneys raises controversial but important debates at ethical, medical, and social levels. There is no international consensus on the recipient and donor factors that should be considered in the kidney allocation process. There is a general trend toward a reduction in the influence of human leukocyte antigen mismatch and an increase in the importance of other factors shown to affect posttransplant outcomes, such as cold ischemia, duration of dialysis, donor and recipient age, and comorbidity. Increased consideration of equity has led to improved access to transplantation for disadvantaged patient groups. There has been an overall improvement in the transparency and accountability of allocation policies. Novel and contentious approaches in kidney allocation include the use of survival prediction scores as a criterion for accessing the waiting list and at the point of organ offering with matching of predicted graft and recipient survival. This review compares the diverse international approaches to deceased donor kidney allocation and their evolution over the last decade. Copyright © 2017 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing the effects of adaptation measures on optimal water resources allocation under varied water availability conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Dedi; Guo, Shenglian; Shao, Quanxi; Liu, Pan; Xiong, Lihua; Wang, Le; Hong, Xingjun; Xu, Yao; Wang, Zhaoli

2018-01-01

Human activities and climate change have altered the spatial and temporal distribution of water availability which is a principal prerequisite for allocation of different water resources. In order to quantify the impacts of climate change and human activities on water availability and optimal allocation of water resources, hydrological models and optimal water resource allocation models should be integrated. Given that increasing human water demand and varying water availability conditions necessitate adaptation measures, we propose a framework to assess the effects of these measures on optimal allocation of water resources. The proposed model and framework were applied to a case study of the middle and lower reaches of the Hanjiang River Basin in China. Two representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP4.5) were employed to project future climate, and the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) hydrological model was used to simulate the variability of flows under historical (1956-2011) and future (2012-2099) conditions. The water availability determined by simulating flow with the VIC hydrological model was used to establish the optimal water resources allocation model. The allocation results were derived under an extremely dry year (with an annual average water flow frequency of 95%), a very dry year (with an annual average water flow frequency of 90%), a dry year (with an annual average water flow frequency of 75%), and a normal year (with an annual average water flow frequency of 50%) during historical and future periods. The results show that the total available water resources in the study area and the inflow of the Danjiangkou Reservoir will increase in the future. However, the uneven distribution of water availability will cause water shortage problems, especially in the boundary areas. The effects of adaptation measures, including water saving, and dynamic control of flood limiting water levels (FLWLs) for reservoir operation, were

A Ten-Year Rule to guide the allocation of EU emission allowances

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahman, Markus; Burtraw, Dallas; Kruger, Joseph; Zetterberg, Lars

2007-01-01

Member States in the European Union (EU) are responsible for National Allocation Plans governing the initial distribution of emission allowances in the CO 2 Emission Trading System, including rules governing allocations to installations that close and to new entrants. The European Commission has provided guidelines to discourage the use of allocation methodologies that provide incentives affecting firms' compliance behavior, for example by rewarding one type of compliance investment over another. We find that the treatment of closures and new entrants by Member States is inconsistent with the general guidelines provided by the EU. We propose stronger EU guidance regarding closures and new entrants, a more precise compensation criterion on which to justify free allocations, and a Ten-Year Rule as a component of future EU policy that can guide a transition from current practice to an approach that places greater weight on efficiency

Efficient Intra-household Allocations and Distribution Factors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Browning, Martin; Bourguignon, François; Chiappori, Pierre-André

and general test of the Pareto efficiency hypothesis, which is consistent with all possible assumptions on the private or public nature of goods, all possible consumption externalities between household members, and all types of interdependent individual preferences and domestic production technology...

Optimal and Fair Resource Allocation for Multiuser Wireless Multimedia Transmissions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhangyu Guan

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an optimal and fair strategy for multiuser multimedia radio resource allocation (RRA based on coopetition, which suggests a judicious mixture of competition and cooperation. We formulate the co-opetition strategy as sum utility maximization at constraints from both Physical (PHY and Application (APP layers. We show that the maximization can be solved efficiently employing the well-defined Layering as Optimization Decomposition (LOD method. Moreover, the coopetition strategy is applied to power allocation among multiple video users, and evaluated through comparing with existing- competition based strategy. Numerical results indicate that, the co-opetition strategy adapts the best to the changes of network conditions, participating users, and so forth. It is also shown that the coopetition can lead to an improved number of satisfied users, and in the meanwhile provide more flexible tradeoff between system efficiency and fairness among users.

Resource allocation for transmit hybrid beamforming in decoupled millimeter wave multiuser-MIMO downlink

OpenAIRE

Ahmed, Irfan; Khammari, Hedi; Shahid, Adnan

2017-01-01

This paper presents a study on joint radio resource allocation and hybrid precoding in multicarrier massive multiple-input multiple-output communications for 5G cellular networks. In this paper, we present the resource allocation algorithm to maximize the proportional fairness (PF) spectral efficiency under the per subchannel power and the beamforming rank constraints. Two heuristic algorithms are designed. The proportional fairness hybrid beamforming algorithm provides the transmit precoder ...

Resource allocation and budgetary mechanisms for decentralized health systems: experiences from Balochistan, Pakistan.

OpenAIRE

Green, A.; Ali, B.; Naeem, A.; Ross, D.

2000-01-01

This paper identifies key political and technical issues involved in the development of an appropriate resource allocation and budgetary system for the public health sector, using experience gained in the Province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The resource allocation and budgetary system is a critical, yet often neglected, component of any decentralization policy. Current systems are often based on historical incrementalism that is neither efficient nor equitable. This article describes technical...

CO2 emissions accounting: Whether, how, and when different allocation methods should be used

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levihn, Fabian

2014-01-01

CO 2 abatement and the transition to sustainable energy systems are of great concern, calling for investments in both old and new technologies. There are many perspectives on how to account for these emissions, not least when it comes to how the roles of different alternative energy production options should be emphasized. Confusion and conflicting interests regarding the appropriate accounting methods for allocating CO 2 emissions interfere with effective energy policy and the efficient use of corporate and national resources. Possible investments in the Stockholm district heating network and how they interact with the electric power grid illustrate the influence of different accounting methods on alternative energy production options. The results indicate that, for several abatement options, performance in terms of reduced CO 2 emissions might be either improved or degraded depending on whether or how alternative electricity production is accounted for. The results provide guidelines for whether, how, and when different allocation methods are appropriate, guidelines relevant to academia, industrial leaders, and policymakers in multiple areas related to power production and consumption. - Highlights: • Involvement in the discussion of CO 2 emission allocation is needed from academia. • Abatement options for the district heating in Stockholm were analyzed in relation to power production and the EU ETS. • Implications of different allocation methods are discussed in relation to different analytical purposes and boundaries. • Conclusions are made on when the different allocation methods are appropriate

A cooperative approach to queue allocation of indivisible objects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hamers, H.J.M.; Klijn, F.; Slikker, M.; Velzen, van B.

2009-01-01

We consider the allocation of a finite number of indivisible objects to the same number of agents according to an exogenously given queue. We assume that the agents collaborate in order to achieve an efficient outcome for society. We allow for side-payments and provide a method for obtaining stable

Generation and exploration of aggregation abstractions for scheduling and resource allocation

Science.gov (United States)

Lowry, Michael R.; Linden, Theodore A.

1993-01-01

This paper presents research on the abstraction of computational theories for scheduling and resource allocation. The paper describes both theory and methods for the automated generation of aggregation abstractions and approximations in which detailed resource allocation constraints are replaced by constraints between aggregate demand and capacity. The interaction of aggregation abstraction generation with the more thoroughly investigated abstractions of weakening operator preconditions is briefly discussed. The purpose of generating abstract theories for aggregated demand and resources includes: answering queries about aggregate properties, such as gross feasibility; reducing computational costs by using the solution of aggregate problems to guide the solution of detailed problems; facilitating reformulating theories to approximate problems for which there are efficient problem-solving methods; and reducing computational costs of scheduling by providing more opportunities for variable and value-ordering heuristics to be effective. Experiments are being developed to characterize the properties of aggregations that make them cost effective. Both abstract and concrete theories are represented in a variant of first-order predicate calculus, which is a parameterized multi-sorted logic that facilitates specification of large problems. A particular problem is conceptually represented as a set of ground sentences that is consistent with a quantified theory.

Simultaneous allocation of distributed resources using improved teaching learning based optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanwar, Neeraj; Gupta, Nikhil; Niazi, K.R.; Swarnkar, Anil

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Simultaneous allocation of distributed energy resources in distribution networks. • Annual energy loss reduction is optimized using a multi-level load profile. • A new penalty factor approach is suggested to check node voltage deviations. • An improved TLBO is proposed by suggesting several modifications in standard TLBO. • An intelligent search is proposed to enhance the performance of solution technique. - Abstract: Active and reactive power flow in distribution networks can be effectively controlled by optimally placing distributed resources like shunt capacitors and distributed generators. This paper presents improved variant of Teaching Learning Based Optimization (TLBO) to efficiently and effectively deal with the problem of simultaneous allocation of these distributed resources in radial distribution networks while considering multi-level load scenario. Several algorithm specific modifications are suggested in the standard form of TLBO to cope against the intrinsic flaws of this technique. In addition, an intelligent search approach is proposed to restrict the problem search space without loss of diversity. This enhances the overall performance of the proposed method. The proposed method is investigated on IEEE 33-bus, 69-bus and 83-bus test distribution systems showing promising results

Effects of age and sex on developmental neural networks of visual-spatial attention allocation.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubia, Katya; Hyde, Zoe; Halari, Rozmin; Giampietro, Vincent; Smith, Anna

2010-06-01

Compared to our understanding of the functional maturation of brain networks underlying complex cognitive abilities, hardly anything is known of the neurofunctional development of simpler cognitive abilities such as visuo-spatial attention allocation. Furthermore, nothing is known on the effect of gender on the functional development of attention allocation. This study employed event related functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate effects of age, sex, and sex by age interactions on the brain activation of 63 males and females, between 13 to 38years, during a visual-spatial oddball task. Behaviourally, with increasing age, speed was traded for accuracy, indicative of a less impulsive performance style in older subjects. Increasing age was associated with progressively increased activation in typical areas of selective attention of lateral fronto-striatal and temporo-parietal brain regions. Sex difference analysis showed enhanced activation in right-hemispheric inferior frontal and superior temporal regions in females, and in left-hemispheric inferior temporo-parietal regions in males. Importantly, the age by sex interaction findings showed that these sex-dimorphic patterns of brain activation may be the result of underlying sex differences in the functional maturation of these brain regions, as females had sex-specific progressive age-correlations in the same right inferior fronto-striato-temporal areas, while male-specific age-correlations were in left medial temporal and parietal areas. The findings demonstrate progressive functional maturation of fronto-striato-parieto-temporal networks of the relatively simple function of attention allocation between early adolescence and mid-adulthood. They furthermore show that sex-dimorphic patterns of enhanced reliance on right inferior frontal, striatal and superior temporal regions in females and of left temporo-parietal regions in males during attention allocation may be the result of underlying sex

Water Market-scale Agricultural Planning: Promoting Competing Water Resource Use Efficiency Through Agro-Economics

Science.gov (United States)

Delorit, J. D.; Block, P. J.

2017-12-01

Where strong water rights law and corresponding markets exist as a coupled econo-legal mechanism, water rights holders are permitted to trade allocations to promote economic water resource use efficiency. In locations where hydrologic uncertainty drives the assignment of annual per-water right allocation values by water resource managers, collaborative water resource decision making by water rights holders, specifically those involved in agricultural production, can result in both resource and economic Pareto efficiency. Such is the case in semi-arid North Chile, where interactions between representative farmer groups, treated as competitive bilateral monopolies, and modeled at water market-scale, can provide both price and water right allocation distribution signals for unregulated, temporary water right leasing markets. For the range of feasible per-water right allocation values, a coupled agricultural-economic model is developed to describe the equilibrium distribution of water, the corresponding market price of water rights and the net surplus generated by collaboration between competing agricultural uses. Further, this research describes a per-water right inflection point for allocations where economic efficiency is not possible, and where price negotiation among competing agricultural uses is required. An investigation of the effects of water right supply and demand inequality at the market-scale is completed to characterize optimal market performance under existing water rights law. The broader insights of this research suggest that water rights holders engaged in agriculture can achieve economic benefits from forming crop-type cooperatives and by accurately assessing the economic value of allocation.

Optimization Model for cooperative water allocation and valuation in large river basins regarding environmental constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Pournazeri, S.

2011-12-01

A comprehensive optimization model named Cooperative Water Allocation Model (CWAM) is developed for equitable and efficient water allocation and valuation of Zab river basin in order to solve the draught problems of Orumieh Lake in North West of Iran. The model's methodology consists of three phases. The first represents an initial water rights allocation among competing users. The second comprises the water reallocation process for complete usage by consumers. The third phase performs an allocation of the net benefit of the stakeholders participating in a coalition by applying cooperative game theory. The environmental constraints are accounted for in the water allocation model by entering probable environmental damage in a target function, and inputting the minimum water requirement of users. The potential of underground water usage is evaluated in order to compensate for the variation in the amount of surface water. This is conducted by applying an integrated economic- hydrologic river basin model. A node-link river basin network is utilized in CWAM which consists of two major blocks. The first indicates the internal water rights allocation and the second is associated to water and net benefit reallocation. System control, loss in links by evaporation or seepage, modification of inflow into the node, loss in nodes and loss in outflow are considered in this model. Water valuation is calculated for environmental, industrial, municipal and agricultural usage by net benefit function. It can be seen that the water rights are allocated efficiently and incomes are distributed appropriately based on quality and quantity limitations.

A novel power and offset allocation method for spatial multiplexing MIMO Systems in optical wireless channels

KAUST Repository

Park, Kihong

2011-12-01

We consider optical wireless communication which can be utilized for illumination and communication by relying on lighting devices. Due to the limited bandwidth of optical sources, it is challenging to achieve high data rate in optical wireless systems. In order to obtain a multiplexing gain and high spectral efficiency, we design an optical multi-input multi-output (MIMO) system utilizing a singular value decomposition-based spatial multiplexing and adaptive modulation. We note that the conventional allocation method in radio frequency MIMO channels cannot be applied directly to the optical intensity channels. In this paper, we generalize the result of power allocation method in [1] for arbitrary number of transmit and receive antennas in optical wireless MIMO systems. Based on three constraints, namely, the nonnegativity, the aggregate optical power, and the bit error rate requirement, we propose a novel method to allocate the optical power, the offset value, and the modulation size for maximum sum rate. From some selected simulation results, we show that our proposed allocation method gives a better spectral efficiency than the method that allocates the optical power equally for each data stream. © 2011 IEEE.

Risk allocation in independent power supply contracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willrich, M.; Campbell, W.L.

1992-01-01

Congress has made significant progress in recent months toward amending the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA). The purposes of such amendment are to broaden power supply options for electric utilities and expand competition in whole-sale power generation markets. PUHCA reform is an integral part of President Bush's National Energy Strategy and has been included in legislation pending in both Houses of Congress. Congress will, hopefully, approve energy legislation that includes PUHCA reform before it adjourns this year. PUHCA reform has, however, stimulated heated debate within the power industry itself as well as among various consumer interest groups. One important issue in the public debate concerns risk allocation. If PUHCA is reformed, will risk be allocated efficiently and equitably between independent power producers and electric utility buyers? This article addresses that important question

Macroeconomic influences on optimal asset allocation

OpenAIRE

Flavin, Thomas; Wickens, M.R.

2003-01-01

We develop a tactical asset allocation strategy that incorporates the effects of macroeconomic variables. The joint distribution of financial asset returns and the macroeconomic variables is modelled using a VAR with a multivariate GARCH (M-GARCH) error structure. As a result, the portfolio frontier is time varying and subject to contagion from the macroeconomic variable. Optimal asset allocation requires that this be taken into account. We illustrate how to do this using three ri...

Multiuser Radio Resource Allocation for Multiservice Transmission in OFDMA-Based Cooperative Relay Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Xing

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract The problem of multiservice transmission in OFDMA-based cooperative relay networks is studied comprehensively. We propose a framework to adaptively allocate power, subcarriers, and data rate in OFDMA system to maximize spectral efficiency under the constraints of satisfying multiuser multiservices' QoS requirements. Specifically, first we concentrate on the single-user scenario which considers multiservice transmission in point-to-point cooperative relay network. Based on the analysis of single-user scenario, we extend the multiservice transmission to multiuser point-to-multipoint scenario. Next, based on the framework, we propose several suboptimal radio resource allocation algorithms for multiservice transmissions in OFDMA-based cooperative relay networks to further reduce the computational complexity. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithms yield much higher spectral efficiency and much lower outage probability, which are flexible and efficient for the OFDMA-based cooperative relay system.

Solving binary-state multi-objective reliability redundancy allocation series-parallel problem using efficient epsilon-constraint, multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm, and DEA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khalili-Damghani, Kaveh; Amiri, Maghsoud

2012-01-01

In this paper, a procedure based on efficient epsilon-constraint method and data envelopment analysis (DEA) is proposed for solving binary-state multi-objective reliability redundancy allocation series-parallel problem (MORAP). In first module, a set of qualified non-dominated solutions on Pareto front of binary-state MORAP is generated using an efficient epsilon-constraint method. In order to test the quality of generated non-dominated solutions in this module, a multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm is also proposed for MORAP. The performance of both procedures is compared using different metrics on well-known benchmark instance. The statistical analysis represents that not only the proposed efficient epsilon-constraint method outperform the multi-start partial bound enumeration algorithm but also it improves the founded upper bound of benchmark instance. Then, in second module, a DEA model is supplied to prune the generated non-dominated solutions of efficient epsilon-constraint method. This helps reduction of non-dominated solutions in a systematic manner and eases the decision making process for practical implementations. - Highlights: ► A procedure based on efficient epsilon-constraint method and DEA was proposed for solving MORAP. ► The performance of proposed procedure was compared with a multi-start PBEA. ► Methods were statistically compared using multi-objective metrics.

Motion-related resource allocation in dynamic wireless visual sensor network environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Katsenou, Angeliki V; Kondi, Lisimachos P; Parsopoulos, Konstantinos E

2014-01-01

This paper investigates quality-driven cross-layer optimization for resource allocation in direct sequence code division multiple access wireless visual sensor networks. We consider a single-hop network topology, where each sensor transmits directly to a centralized control unit (CCU) that manages the available network resources. Our aim is to enable the CCU to jointly allocate the transmission power and source-channel coding rates for each node, under four different quality-driven criteria that take into consideration the varying motion characteristics of each recorded video. For this purpose, we studied two approaches with a different tradeoff of quality and complexity. The first one allocates the resources individually for each sensor, whereas the second clusters them according to the recorded level of motion. In order to address the dynamic nature of the recorded scenery and re-allocate the resources whenever it is dictated by the changes in the amount of motion in the scenery, we propose a mechanism based on the particle swarm optimization algorithm, combined with two restarting schemes that either exploit the previously determined resource allocation or conduct a rough estimation of it. Experimental simulations demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approaches.

Dynamic pricing and automated resource allocation for complex information services reinforcement learning and combinatorial auctions

CERN Document Server

Schwind, Michael; Fandel, G

2007-01-01

Many firms provide their customers with online information products which require limited resources such as server capacity. This book develops allocation mechanisms that aim to ensure an efficient resource allocation in modern IT-services. Recent methods of artificial intelligence, such as neural networks and reinforcement learning, and nature-oriented optimization methods, such as genetic algorithms and simulated annealing, are advanced and applied to allocation processes in distributed IT-infrastructures, e.g. grid systems. The author presents two methods, both of which using the users??? w

Residency Allocation Database

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Veterans Affairs — The Residency Allocation Database is used to determine allocation of funds for residency programs offered by Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs). Information...

Cognitive Training Enhances Auditory Attention Efficiency in Older Adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer L. O’Brien

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Auditory cognitive training (ACT improves attention in older adults; however, the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms are still unknown. The present study examined the effects of ACT on the P3b event-related potential reflecting attention allocation (amplitude and speed of processing (latency during stimulus categorization and the P1-N1-P2 complex reflecting perceptual processing (amplitude and latency. Participants completed an auditory oddball task before and after 10 weeks of ACT (n = 9 or a no contact control period (n = 15. Parietal P3b amplitudes to oddball stimuli decreased at post-test in the trained group as compared to those in the control group, and frontal P3b amplitudes show a similar trend, potentially reflecting more efficient attentional allocation after ACT. No advantages for the ACT group were evident for auditory perceptual processing or speed of processing in this small sample. Our results provide preliminary evidence that ACT may enhance the efficiency of attention allocation, which may account for the positive impact of ACT on the everyday functioning of older adults.

Effect of social influence on effort-allocation for monetary rewards.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilman, Jodi M; Treadway, Michael T; Curran, Max T; Calderon, Vanessa; Evins, A Eden

2015-01-01

Though decades of research have shown that people are highly influenced by peers, few studies have directly assessed how the value of social conformity is weighed against other types of costs and benefits. Using an effort-based decision-making paradigm with a novel social influence manipulation, we measured how social influence affected individuals' decisions to allocate effort for monetary rewards during trials with either high or low probability of receiving a reward. We found that information about the effort-allocation of peers modulated participant choices, specifically during conditions of low probability of obtaining a reward. This suggests that peer influence affects effort-based choices to obtain rewards especially under conditions of risk. This study provides evidence that people value social conformity in addition to other costs and benefits when allocating effort, and suggests that neuroeconomic studies that assess trade-offs between effort and reward should consider social environment as a factor that can influence decision-making.

Effect of social influence on effort-allocation for monetary rewards.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jodi M Gilman

Full Text Available Though decades of research have shown that people are highly influenced by peers, few studies have directly assessed how the value of social conformity is weighed against other types of costs and benefits. Using an effort-based decision-making paradigm with a novel social influence manipulation, we measured how social influence affected individuals' decisions to allocate effort for monetary rewards during trials with either high or low probability of receiving a reward. We found that information about the effort-allocation of peers modulated participant choices, specifically during conditions of low probability of obtaining a reward. This suggests that peer influence affects effort-based choices to obtain rewards especially under conditions of risk. This study provides evidence that people value social conformity in addition to other costs and benefits when allocating effort, and suggests that neuroeconomic studies that assess trade-offs between effort and reward should consider social environment as a factor that can influence decision-making.

Output-based allocation and investment in clean technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosendahl, Knut Einar; Storroesten, Halvor Briseid

2011-07-01

Allocation of emission allowances may affect firms' incentives to invest in clean technologies. In this paper we show that so-called output-based allocation tends to stimulate such investments as long as individual firms do not assume the regulator to tighten the allocation rule as a consequence of their investments. The explanation is that output-based allocation creates an implicit subsidy to the firms' output, which increases production, leads to a higher price of allowances, and thus increases the incentives to invest in clean technologies. On the other hand, if the firms expect the regulator to tighten the allocation rule after observing their clean technology investment, the firms' incentives to invest are moderated. If strong, this last effect may outweigh the enhanced investment incentives induced by increased output and higher allowance price. (Author)

Energy resource allocation using multi-objective goal programming: the case of Lebanon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mezher, T.; Chedid, R.; Zahabi, W.

1998-01-01

The traditional energy-resources allocation problem is concerned with the allocation of limited resources among the end-uses such that the overall return is maximized. In the past, several techniques have been used to deal with such a problem. In this paper, the energy allocation process is looked at from two points of view: economy and environment. The economic objectives include costs, efficiency, energy conservation, and employment generation. The environmental objectives consider environmental friendliness factors. The objective functions are first quantified and then transformed into mathematical language to obtain a multi-objective allocation model based upon pre-emptive goal programming techniques. The proposed method allows decision-makers to encourage or discourage specific energy resources for the various household end-uses. The case of Lebanon is examined to illustrate the usefulness of the proposed technique. (Copyright (c) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. All rights reserved.)

Irrational time allocation in decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Oud, Bastiaan; Krajbich, Ian; Miller, Kevin; Cheong, Jin Hyun; Botvinick, Matthew; Fehr, Ernst

2016-01-13

Time is an extremely valuable resource but little is known about the efficiency of time allocation in decision-making. Empirical evidence suggests that in many ecologically relevant situations, decision difficulty and the relative reward from making a correct choice, compared to an incorrect one, are inversely linked, implying that it is optimal to use relatively less time for difficult choice problems. This applies, in particular, to value-based choices, in which the relative reward from choosing the higher valued item shrinks as the values of the other options get closer to the best option and are thus more difficult to discriminate. Here, we experimentally show that people behave sub-optimally in such contexts. They do not respond to incentives that favour the allocation of time to choice problems in which the relative reward for choosing the best option is high; instead they spend too much time on problems in which the reward difference between the options is low. We demonstrate this by showing that it is possible to improve subjects' time allocation with a simple intervention that cuts them off when their decisions take too long. Thus, we provide a novel form of evidence that organisms systematically spend their valuable time in an inefficient way, and simultaneously offer a potential solution to the problem. © 2016 The Author(s).

Allowance Allocation and CO{sub 2} intensity of the EU15 and Norwegian refineries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, Kristina; Zetterberg, Lars; Aahman, Markus

2005-02-01

On 1 January 2005, the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) was launched. The launch has been preceded by an allocation process in each of the Member States. The main objective of this study was to analyse the allocation in relation to CO{sub 2} efficiency for the mineral oil refining sector. A CO{sub 2} intensity index for mineral oil refineries has been defined and calculated for the refineries within the EU15 and Norway. The IVL CO{sub 2} intensity index is based both on the Solomon Energy Intensity Index (EII), an assumed fuel mix, and process-specific emissions. Due to uncertainties in input data, the determined values for the individual refineries are quite uncertain. However, the regional values can be used to identify trends. It was concluded that there are substantial differences in the CO{sub 2} intensity between refineries within different regions/countries in the EU and these differences have not been considered in the allocation process. Only a few countries have mentioned energy efficiency or reduction potential due to CO{sub 2} intensity of fuels used. Only one country (Denmark) has explicitly given a benchmark that will be used for allocation to new mineral oil refineries. The allocation has generally been based on historic emissions, which will result in refineries with historically higher emissions being allocated larger amounts than refineries with historically lower emissions. This might be favourable for refineries that recently have performed emission-reducing measures but might be less favourable for refineries that during a long time period have implemented emission-reducing measures.

Allocating the Fixed Resources and Setting Targets in Integer Data Envelopment Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kobra Gholami

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Data envelopment analysis (DEA is a non-parametric approach to evaluate a set of decision making units (DMUs consuming multiple inputs to produce multiple outputs. Formally, DEA use to estimate the efficiency score into the empirical efficient frontier. Also, DEA can be used to allocate resources and set targets for future forecast. The data are continuous in the standard DEA model whereas there are many problems in the real life that data must be integer such as number of employee, machinery, expert and so on. Thus in this paper we propose an approach to allocate fixed resources and set fixed targets with selective integer assumption that is based on an integer data envelopment analysis (IDEA approach for the first time. The major aim in this approach is preserving the efficiency score of DMUs. We use the concept of benchmarking to reach this aim. The numerical example gets to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method.

An analysis of stock market efficiency: Developed vs Islamic stock markets using MF-DFA

Science.gov (United States)

Rizvi, Syed Aun R.; Dewandaru, Ginanjar; Bacha, Obiyathulla I.; Masih, Mansur

An efficient market has been theoretically proven to be a key component for effective and efficient resource allocation in an economy. This paper incorporates econophysics with Efficient Market Hypothesis to undertake a comparative analysis of Islamic and developed countries’ markets by extending the understanding of their multifractal nature. By applying the Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MFDFA) we calculated the generalized Hurst exponents, multifractal scaling exponents and generalized multifractal dimensions for 22 broad market indices. The findings provide a deeper understanding of the markets in Islamic countries, where they have traces of highly efficient performance particularly in crisis periods. A key finding is the empirical evidence of the impact of the ‘stage of market development’ on the efficiency of the market. If Islamic countries aim to improve the efficiency of resource allocation, an important area to address is to focus, among others, on enhancing the stage of market development.

Modeling and Simulation of Downlink Subcarrier Allocation Schemes in LTE

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Popovska Avramova, Andrijana; Yan, Ying; Dittmann, Lars

2012-01-01

The efficient utilization of the air interface in the LTE standard is achieved through a combination of subcarrier allocation schemes, adaptive modulation and coding, and transmission power allotment. The scheduler in the base station has a major role in achieving the required QoS and the overall...

The Voucher System as an Alternative for Allocating Sports Grants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marek Pavlik

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Sport funding at the municipal level has a long tradition, especially in Europe. Youth involvement in sport is usually an important aspect of grant policies. There are questions regarding how to allocate public resources more efficiently and how to increase youth participation in sport. We analyse sport vouchers as a tool for increasing transparency and efficiency as well as the involvement of young people and their parents in sport policy at the local level.Vouchers typically transfer purchasing power directly to the target group. Using sport vouchers as a tool for allocating public resources is still quite rare. Some attempts with sport vouchers were made in Australia and the UK, and there are examples of sport vouchers in the Czech Republic.The aim of this paper is to discuss the advantages of vouchers as an alternative method of sport funding at the municipal level. We also formulate recommendations for implementing a voucher system.

Environment assessment: allocation of petroleum feedstock, Algonquin SNG Inc. , Freetown SNG Plant, Bristol County, MA. [Effects of 100, 78, 49% allocations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1980-01-01

The proposed administrative action to deny, grant or modify the Algonquin SNG, Inc. (Algonquin) petition for an adjusted allocation of naphtha feedstock may significantly affect the ehuman environment. The volume of feedstock requested is 4,425,571 barrels per year of naphtha to be used in Algonquin's Freetown, MA synthetic natural gas (SNG) plant. Environmental impacts of 100, 78, and 49% allocations were evaluated.

Cross-Layer Optimal Rate Allocation for Heterogeneous Wireless Multicast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amr Mohamed

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Heterogeneous multicast is an efficient communication scheme especially for multimedia applications running over multihop networks. The term heterogeneous refers to the phenomenon when multicast receivers in the same session require service at different rates commensurate with their capabilities. In this paper, we address the problem of resource allocation for a set of heterogeneous multicast sessions over multihop wireless networks. We propose an iterative algorithm that achieves the optimal rates for a set of heterogeneous multicast sessions such that the aggregate utility for all sessions is maximized. We present the formulation of the multicast resource allocation problem as a nonlinear optimization model and highlight the cross-layer framework that can solve this problem in a distributed ad hoc network environment with asynchronous computations. Our simulations show that the algorithm achieves optimal resource utilization, guarantees fairness among multicast sessions, provides flexibility in allocating rates over different parts of the multicast sessions, and adapts to changing conditions such as dynamic channel capacity and node mobility. Our results show that the proposed algorithm not only provides flexibility in allocating resources across multicast sessions, but also increases the aggregate system utility and improves the overall system throughput by almost 30% compared to homogeneous multicast.

Optimum fuel allocation in parallel steam generator systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bollettini, U.; Cangioli, E.; Cerri, G.; Rome Univ. 'La Sapienza'; Trento Univ.

1991-01-01

An optimization procedure was developed to allocate fuels into parallel steam generators. The procedure takes into account the level of performance deterioration connected with the loading history (fossil fuel allocation and maintenance) of each steam generator. The optimization objective function is the system hourly cost, overall steam demand being satisfied. Costs are due to fuel and electric power supply and to plant depreciation and maintenance as well. In order to easily updata the state of each steam generator, particular care was put in the general formulation of the steam production function by adopting a special efficiency-load curve description based on a deterioration scaling parameter. The influence of the characteristic time interval length on the optimum operation result is investigated. A special implementation of the method based on minimum cost paths is suggested

4G femtocells resource allocation and interference management

CERN Document Server

Zhang, Haijun; Wen, Xiangming

2014-01-01

This brief examines resource allocation and interference management for 4G femtocells. It introduces 4G femtocells in the context of 4G mobile networks and discusses related technical challenges in resource allocation and interference management. Topics include ant colony algorithm based downlink resource allocation, intelligent scheduling and power control, uplink and downlink for two-tier networks, quality of service (QoS) constraints and the cross-tier interference constraint. The authors present algorithms to alleviate common femtocell-related problems such as subchannel power allocation. The complexity of the proposed resource allocation algorithms is analyzed, and the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms is verified by simulations. This concise and practical book directly addresses common problems relating to femtocells and resource management. It serves as a useful tool for researchers in the field. Advanced-level students or professionals interested in femtocells and networks will also find the co...

The effect of temperate or tropical pasture grazing state and grain-based concentrate allocation on dairy cattle production and behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, C E F; Kaur, R; Millapan, L O; Golder, H M; Thomson, P C; Horadagoda, A; Islam, M R; Kerrisk, K L; Garcia, S C

2018-06-01

yield, in line with greater pasture intakes, compared with fresh-depleted and depleted-depleted pasture states. Dairy cattle offered fresh-fresh kikuyu grass had 8% more milk yield and 14% more milk protein yield than other pastures states, but there was no effect of pasture state on milk composition. Milk yield increased with GBC level for both pasture species (∼0.7-0.8 kg of milk/kg of DM GBC) as GBC level increased from 2.5 to 5.4 kg of DM/cow per day. There was a poor response (0.3 kg of milk/kg of DM GBC), and no response, when GBC levels increased from 5.4 to 8.1 kg of DM/cow per day for kikuyu grass and ryegrass, respectively, in line with pasture DMD. Time spent grazing, lying, and ruminating were not associated with kikuyu grass pasture state, GBC, or their interaction. Despite this, there was a linear increase in grazing time in the afternoon coinciding with a linear decrease in lying and rumination time for both kikuyu grass and ryegrass pasture. Together these findings reveal the effect of pasture state and GBC allocation on dairy cattle production and behavior. Tailoring GBC allocation to the state of pasture accessed by cattle appears unwarranted, but there is an opportunity to alter the timing of pasture access to increase herd-level milk production efficiency. Copyright © 2018 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

An Architecture of IoT Service Delegation and Resource Allocation Based on Collaboration between Fog and Cloud Computing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aymen Abdullah Alsaffar

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Despite the wide utilization of cloud computing (e.g., services, applications, and resources, some of the services, applications, and smart devices are not able to fully benefit from this attractive cloud computing paradigm due to the following issues: (1 smart devices might be lacking in their capacity (e.g., processing, memory, storage, battery, and resource allocation, (2 they might be lacking in their network resources, and (3 the high network latency to centralized server in cloud might not be efficient for delay-sensitive application, services, and resource allocations requests. Fog computing is promising paradigm that can extend cloud resources to edge of network, solving the abovementioned issue. As a result, in this work, we propose an architecture of IoT service delegation and resource allocation based on collaboration between fog and cloud computing. We provide new algorithm that is decision rules of linearized decision tree based on three conditions (services size, completion time, and VMs capacity for managing and delegating user request in order to balance workload. Moreover, we propose algorithm to allocate resources to meet service level agreement (SLA and quality of services (QoS as well as optimizing big data distribution in fog and cloud computing. Our simulation result shows that our proposed approach can efficiently balance workload, improve resource allocation efficiently, optimize big data distribution, and show better performance than other existing methods.

Supply chain collaboration: A Game-theoretic approach to profit allocation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ponte, B.; Fernández, I.; Rosillo, R.; Parreño, J.; García, N.

2016-07-01

Purpose: This paper aims to develop a theoretical framework for profit allocation, as a mechanism for aligning incentives, in collaborative supply chains. Design/methodology/approach: The issue of profit distribution is approached from a game-theoretic perspective. We use the nucleolus concept. The framework is illustrated through a numerical example based on the Beer Game scenario. Findings: The nucleolus offers a powerful perspective to tackle this problem, as it takes into consideration the bargaining power of the different echelons. We show that this framework outperforms classical alternatives. Research limitations/implications: The allocation of the overall supply chain profit is analyzed from a static perspective. Considering the dynamic nature of the problem would be an interesting next step. Practical implications: We provide evidence of drawbacks derived from classical solutions to the profit allocation problem. Real-world collaborative supply chains need of robust mechanisms like the one tackled in this work to align incentives from the various actors. Originality/value: Adopting an efficient collaborative solution is a major challenge for supply chains, since it is a wide and complex process that requires an appropriate scheme. Within this framework, profit allocation is essential.

Supply chain collaboration: A Game-theoretic approach to profit allocation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ponte, B.; Fernández, I.; Rosillo, R.; Parreño, J.; García, N.

2016-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to develop a theoretical framework for profit allocation, as a mechanism for aligning incentives, in collaborative supply chains. Design/methodology/approach: The issue of profit distribution is approached from a game-theoretic perspective. We use the nucleolus concept. The framework is illustrated through a numerical example based on the Beer Game scenario. Findings: The nucleolus offers a powerful perspective to tackle this problem, as it takes into consideration the bargaining power of the different echelons. We show that this framework outperforms classical alternatives. Research limitations/implications: The allocation of the overall supply chain profit is analyzed from a static perspective. Considering the dynamic nature of the problem would be an interesting next step. Practical implications: We provide evidence of drawbacks derived from classical solutions to the profit allocation problem. Real-world collaborative supply chains need of robust mechanisms like the one tackled in this work to align incentives from the various actors. Originality/value: Adopting an efficient collaborative solution is a major challenge for supply chains, since it is a wide and complex process that requires an appropriate scheme. Within this framework, profit allocation is essential.

Development of a cost efficient methodology to perform allocation of flammable and toxic gas detectors applying CFD tools

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Storch, Rafael Brod; Rocha, Gean Felipe Almeida [Det Norske Veritas (DNV), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Nalvarte, Gladys Augusta Zevallos [Det Norske Veritas (DNV), Novik (Norway)

2012-07-01

This paper is aimed to present a computational procedure for flammable and toxic gas detector allocation and quantification developed by DNV. The proposed methodology applies Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations as well as operational and safety characteristics of the analyzed region to assess the optimal number of toxic and flammable gas detectors and their optimal location. A probabilistic approach is also used when applying the DNV software ThorEXPRESSLite, following NORSOK Z013 Annex G and presented in HUSER et al. 2000 and HUSER et al. 2001, when the flammable gas detectors are assessed. A DNV developed program, DetLoc, is used to run in an iterative way the procedure described above leading to an automatic calculation of the gas detectors location and number. The main advantage of the methodology presented above is the independence of human interaction in the gas detector allocation leading to a more precise and free of human judgment allocation. Thus, a reproducible allocation is generated when comparing several different analyses and a global criteria appliance is guaranteed through different regions in the same project. A case study is presented applying the proposed methodology. (author)

Principal-subordinate hierarchical multi-objective programming model of initial water rights allocation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan Wu

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The principal-subordinate hierarchical multi-objective programming model of initial water rights allocation was developed based on the principle of coordinated and sustainable development of different regions and water sectors within a basin. With the precondition of strictly controlling maximum emissions rights, initial water rights were allocated between the first and the second levels of the hierarchy in order to promote fair and coordinated development across different regions of the basin and coordinated and efficient water use across different water sectors, realize the maximum comprehensive benefits to the basin, promote the unity of quantity and quality of initial water rights allocation, and eliminate water conflict across different regions and water sectors. According to interactive decision-making theory, a principal-subordinate hierarchical interactive iterative algorithm based on the satisfaction degree was developed and used to solve the initial water rights allocation model. A case study verified the validity of the model.

Surgical versus Non-surgical Management of Rotator Cuff Tears: Predictors of Treatment Allocation

OpenAIRE

Kweon, Christopher Y.; Gagnier, Joel Joseph; Robbins, Christopher; Bedi, Asheesh; Carpenter, James E.; Miller, Bruce S.

2014-01-01

Objectives: Rotator cuff tears are a common shoulder disorder resulting in significant disability to patients and strain on the health care system. While both surgical and non-surgical management are accepted treatment options, little data exist to guide the surgeon in treatment allocation. Defining variables to guide treatment allocation may be important for patient education and counseling, as well as to deliver the most efficient care plan at the time of presentation. The objective of this...

Developing Subdomain Allocation Algorithms Based on Spatial and Communicational Constraints to Accelerate Dust Storm Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Gui, Zhipeng; Yu, Manzhu; Yang, Chaowei; Jiang, Yunfeng; Chen, Songqing; Xia, Jizhe; Huang, Qunying; Liu, Kai; Li, Zhenlong; Hassan, Mohammed Anowarul; Jin, Baoxuan

2016-01-01

Dust storm has serious disastrous impacts on environment, human health, and assets. The developments and applications of dust storm models have contributed significantly to better understand and predict the distribution, intensity and structure of dust storms. However, dust storm simulation is a data and computing intensive process. To improve the computing performance, high performance computing has been widely adopted by dividing the entire study area into multiple subdomains and allocating each subdomain on different computing nodes in a parallel fashion. Inappropriate allocation may introduce imbalanced task loads and unnecessary communications among computing nodes. Therefore, allocation is a key factor that may impact the efficiency of parallel process. An allocation algorithm is expected to consider the computing cost and communication cost for each computing node to minimize total execution time and reduce overall communication cost for the entire simulation. This research introduces three algorithms to optimize the allocation by considering the spatial and communicational constraints: 1) an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) based algorithm from combinational optimization perspective; 2) a K-Means and Kernighan-Lin combined heuristic algorithm (K&K) integrating geometric and coordinate-free methods by merging local and global partitioning; 3) an automatic seeded region growing based geometric and local partitioning algorithm (ASRG). The performance and effectiveness of the three algorithms are compared based on different factors. Further, we adopt the K&K algorithm as the demonstrated algorithm for the experiment of dust model simulation with the non-hydrostatic mesoscale model (NMM-dust) and compared the performance with the MPI default sequential allocation. The results demonstrate that K&K method significantly improves the simulation performance with better subdomain allocation. This method can also be adopted for other relevant atmospheric and numerical

Stochastic Averaging for Constrained Optimization With Application to Online Resource Allocation

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Tianyi; Mokhtari, Aryan; Wang, Xin; Ribeiro, Alejandro; Giannakis, Georgios B.

2017-06-01

Existing approaches to resource allocation for nowadays stochastic networks are challenged to meet fast convergence and tolerable delay requirements. The present paper leverages online learning advances to facilitate stochastic resource allocation tasks. By recognizing the central role of Lagrange multipliers, the underlying constrained optimization problem is formulated as a machine learning task involving both training and operational modes, with the goal of learning the sought multipliers in a fast and efficient manner. To this end, an order-optimal offline learning approach is developed first for batch training, and it is then generalized to the online setting with a procedure termed learn-and-adapt. The novel resource allocation protocol permeates benefits of stochastic approximation and statistical learning to obtain low-complexity online updates with learning errors close to the statistical accuracy limits, while still preserving adaptation performance, which in the stochastic network optimization context guarantees queue stability. Analysis and simulated tests demonstrate that the proposed data-driven approach improves the delay and convergence performance of existing resource allocation schemes.

Balanced Bipartite Graph Based Register Allocation for Network Processors in Mobile and Wireless Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feilong Tang

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Mobile and wireless networks are the integrant infrastructure of mobile and pervasive computing that aims at providing transparent and preferred information and services for people anytime anywhere. In such environments, end-to-end network bandwidth is crucial to improve user's transparent experience when providing on-demand services such as mobile video playing. As a result, powerful computing power is required for networked nodes, especially for routers. General-purpose processors cannot meet such requirements due to their limited processing ability, and poor programmability and scalability. Intel's network processor IXP is specially designed for fast packet processing to achieve a broad bandwidth. IXP provides a large number of registers to reduce the number of memory accesses. Registers in an IXP are physically partitioned as two banks so that two source operands in an instruction have to come from the two banks respectively, which makes the IXP register allocation tricky and different from conventional ones. In this paper, we investigate an approach for efficiently generating balanced bipartite graph and register allocation algorithms for the dual-bank register allocation in IXPs. The paper presents a graph uniform 2-way partition algorithm (FPT, which provides an optimal solution to the graph partition, and a heuristic algorithm for generating balanced bipartite graph. Finally, we design a framework for IXP register allocation. Experimental results demonstrate the framework and the algorithms are efficient in register allocation for IXP network processors.

Dynamic Subcarrier Allocation for Real-Time Traffic over Multiuser OFDM Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li VictorOK

2009-01-01

Full Text Available A dynamic resource allocation algorithm to satisfy the packet delay requirements for real-time services, while maximizing the system capacity in multiuser orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM systems is introduced. Our proposed cross-layer algorithm, called Dynamic Subcarrier Allocation algorithm for Real-time Traffic (DSA-RT, consists of two interactive components. In the medium access control (MAC layer, the users' expected transmission rates in terms of the number of subcarriers per symbol and their corresponding transmission priorities are evaluated. With the above MAC-layer information and the detected subcarriers' channel gains, in the physical (PHY layer, a modified Kuhn-Munkres algorithm is developed to minimize the system power for a certain subcarrier allocation, then a PHY-layer resource allocation scheme is proposed to optimally allocate the subcarriers under the system signal-to-noise ratio (SNR and power constraints. In a system where the number of mobile users changes dynamically, our developed MAC-layer access control and removal schemes can guarantee the quality of service (QoS of the existing users in the system and fully utilize the bandwidth resource. The numerical results show that DSA-RT significantly improves the system performance in terms of the bandwidth efficiency and delay performance for real-time services.

Dynamic detection-rate-based bit allocation with genuine interval concealment for binary biometric representation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Meng-Hui; Teoh, Andrew Beng Jin; Toh, Kar-Ann

2013-06-01

Biometric discretization is a key component in biometric cryptographic key generation. It converts an extracted biometric feature vector into a binary string via typical steps such as segmentation of each feature element into a number of labeled intervals, mapping of each interval-captured feature element onto a binary space, and concatenation of the resulted binary output of all feature elements into a binary string. Currently, the detection rate optimized bit allocation (DROBA) scheme is one of the most effective biometric discretization schemes in terms of its capability to assign binary bits dynamically to user-specific features with respect to their discriminability. However, we learn that DROBA suffers from potential discriminative feature misdetection and underdiscretization in its bit allocation process. This paper highlights such drawbacks and improves upon DROBA based on a novel two-stage algorithm: 1) a dynamic search method to efficiently recapture such misdetected features and to optimize the bit allocation of underdiscretized features and 2) a genuine interval concealment technique to alleviate crucial information leakage resulted from the dynamic search. Improvements in classification accuracy on two popular face data sets vindicate the feasibility of our approach compared with DROBA.

Second best efficiency and the English auction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Michelucci, F.; Hernando-Veciana, Á.

2009-01-01

We characterize the incentive compatible allocation that maximizes the expected social surplus in a single-unit sale when the efficient allocation is not implementable. We then show that allowing for the possibility that the good remains unsold may increase the expected social surplus even when

Assessment and Decomposition of Total Factor Energy Efficiency: An Evidence Based on Energy Shadow Price in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peihao Lai

2016-04-01

Full Text Available By adopting an energy-input based directional distance function, we calculated the shadow price of four types of energy (i.e., coal, oil, gas and electricity among 30 areas in China from 1998 to 2012. Moreover, a macro-energy efficiency index in China was estimated and divided into intra-provincial technical efficiency, allocation efficiency of energy input structure and inter-provincial energy allocation efficiency. It shows that total energy efficiency has decreased in recent years, where intra-provincial energy technical efficiency drops markedly and extensive mode of energy consumption rises. However, energy structure and allocation improves slowly. Meanwhile, lacking an integrated energy market leads to the loss of energy efficiency. Further improvement of market allocation and structure adjustment play a pivotal role in the increase of energy efficiency.

Efficiently Inefficient Markets for Assets and Assets Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garleanu, Nicolae; Heje Pedersen, Lasse

We consider a model where investors can invest directly or search for an asset manager, information about assets is costly, and managers charge an endogenous fee. The efficiency of asset prices is linked to the efficiency of the asset management market: if investors can find managers more easily......, more money is allocated to active management, fees are lower, and asset prices are more efficient. Informed managers outperform after fees, uninformed managers underperform after fees, and the net performance of the average manager depends on the number of "noise allocators." Finally, we show why large...

Output-based allocations and revenue recycling. Implications for the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lennox, James A.; Nieuwkoop, Renger van

2010-01-01

The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) is more comprehensive in its coverage of emissions than schemes introduced or proposed to date in any other country in that it includes agricultural greenhouse gases, which account for half of New Zealand's total emissions. But, motivated by concerns for the international competitiveness of emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industrial and agricultural activities, current legislation provides for substantial ongoing free allocations to such activities, linked to their output. Here we use a computable general equilibrium model to analyse the impacts of output-based allocation, given the possibility of recycling net revenues to reduce prior distorting taxes. Unlike previous modelling studies of alternative NZ ETS designs, we allow for a more realistic modelling both of capital and labour supply. We find that, as suggested by theoretical results, interactions between the ETS and existing taxes are important. Given any level of output-based allocation, the negative macroeconomic impacts can be reduced by recycling net revenues as efficiently as possible. Less obviously, we find that there may be an optimal non-zero level of output-based allocation. This optimal level increases as the carbon price and/or factor supply elasticities increase, but decreases if revenues are recycled with greater efficiency. (author)

Output-based allocations and revenue recycling. Implications for the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lennox, James A. [Landcare Research NZ, Lincoln (New Zealand); Nieuwkoop, Renger van [Center for Energy Policy and Economy, Zuerich (Switzerland)

2010-12-15

The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) is more comprehensive in its coverage of emissions than schemes introduced or proposed to date in any other country in that it includes agricultural greenhouse gases, which account for half of New Zealand's total emissions. But, motivated by concerns for the international competitiveness of emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industrial and agricultural activities, current legislation provides for substantial ongoing free allocations to such activities, linked to their output. Here we use a computable general equilibrium model to analyse the impacts of output-based allocation, given the possibility of recycling net revenues to reduce prior distorting taxes. Unlike previous modelling studies of alternative NZ ETS designs, we allow for a more realistic modelling both of capital and labour supply. We find that, as suggested by theoretical results, interactions between the ETS and existing taxes are important. Given any level of output-based allocation, the negative macroeconomic impacts can be reduced by recycling net revenues as efficiently as possible. Less obviously, we find that there may be an optimal non-zero level of output-based allocation. This optimal level increases as the carbon price and/or factor supply elasticities increase, but decreases if revenues are recycled with greater efficiency. (author)

Proposal Allocation Ratio as a Moderator of Interpersonal Responsibility Effects on Hostile Decision-Making in the Ultimatum Game

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Xinyu; Xia, Ling-Xiang; Sun, Yanlin; Guo, Lei; Carpenter, Vanessa C.; Fang, Yuan; Chen, Yunli

2017-01-01

Interpersonal responsibility is an indigenous Chinese personality construct, which is regarded to have positive social functions. Two studies were designed to explore the relationship among interpersonal responsibility, proposal allocation ratio, and responders’ hostile decisions in an ultimatum game. Study 1 was a scenario study using a hypothetical ultimatum game with a valid sample of 551 high school students. Study 2 was an experimental study which recruited 54 undergraduate students to play the incentivized ultimatum game online. The results of the two studies showed a significantly negative correlation between interpersonal responsibility and responders’ rejection responses only when the proposal allocation ratio was 3:7. In addition, in Study 2, interpersonal responsibility had negative effects on responders’ rejection responses under the offer of 3:7, even after controlling for the Big Five personality traits. Taken together, proposal allocation ratio might moderate the effects of interpersonal responsibility on hostile decision-making in the ultimatum game. The social function of interpersonal responsibility might be beyond the Big Five. PMID:29184518

Proposal Allocation Ratio as a Moderator of Interpersonal Responsibility Effects on Hostile Decision-Making in the Ultimatum Game

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinyu Gong

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Interpersonal responsibility is an indigenous Chinese personality construct, which is regarded to have positive social functions. Two studies were designed to explore the relationship among interpersonal responsibility, proposal allocation ratio, and responders’ hostile decisions in an ultimatum game. Study 1 was a scenario study using a hypothetical ultimatum game with a valid sample of 551 high school students. Study 2 was an experimental study which recruited 54 undergraduate students to play the incentivized ultimatum game online. The results of the two studies showed a significantly negative correlation between interpersonal responsibility and responders’ rejection responses only when the proposal allocation ratio was 3:7. In addition, in Study 2, interpersonal responsibility had negative effects on responders’ rejection responses under the offer of 3:7, even after controlling for the Big Five personality traits. Taken together, proposal allocation ratio might moderate the effects of interpersonal responsibility on hostile decision-making in the ultimatum game. The social function of interpersonal responsibility might be beyond the Big Five.

The Ground Rules for Effective OBAs: Principles for Addressing Carbon-Pricing Competitiveness Concerns through the Use of Output-Based Allocations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah Dobson

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The federal government’s decision to impose a minimum national price on carbon emissions has the potential to make certain businesses in the country less competitive. Specifically, there are emissions-intensive and trade-exposed industries across Canada that compete against producers from other jurisdictions where governments do not put a price on carbon. For these industries, the obligation to pay a carbon price creates a competitive disadvantage. Specifically, these businesses will face higher costs and may encounter a loss of market share to international competitors from jurisdictions that lack the same emission-control measures. That not only hurts Canadian businesses, it could also negate any emissions reductions that carbon pricing in Canada achieves on a global scale. The federal government has opted to protect such emissions-intensive, tradeexposed businesses using subsidies called output-based allocations (OBAs. This is the same system that Alberta is introducing through its forthcoming Carbon Competiveness Regulation. It also shares certain similarities with cap-and-trade programs, such as those in Ontario and Quebec, which provide free allocations of emissions permits to certain firms. OBAs are a desirable complementary policy to a carbon price as they maintain the incentive for producers to invest in production methods and facilities that are less emissions intensive. So while producers are still, nevertheless, subsidized to offset the tax burden of the carbon price, they will, under an OBA system, see greater benefits the more they work to reduce their emissions intensity. Still, to function most effectively and most efficiently, an OBA policy should follow certain key principles. The most critical principle in the design of an OBA policy is ensuring that OBAs are allocated to facilities independent of their individual emission levels, and allocated equally (on a per unit basis to facilities producing the same product. One of the

A cross-layer resource allocation scheme for spatial multiplexing-based MIMO-OFDMA systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Al-Shatri Hussein

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract We investigate the resource allocation problem for the downlink of a multiple-input multiple-output orthogonal frequency division multiple access (MIMO-OFDMA system. The sum rate maximization itself cannot cope with fairness among users. Hence, we address this problem in the context of the utility-based resource allocation presented in earlier papers. This resource allocation method allows to enhance the efficiency and guarantee fairness among users by exploiting multiuser diversity, frequency diversity, as well as time diversity. In this paper, we treat the overall utility as the quality of service indicator and design utility functions with respect to the average transmission rate in order to simultaneously provide two services, real-time and best-effort. Since the optimal solutions are extremely computationally complex to obtain, we propose a suboptimal joint subchannel and power control algorithm that converges very fast and simplifies the MIMO resource allocation problem into a single-input single-output resource allocation problem. Simulation results indicate that using the proposed method achieves near-optimum solutions, and the available resources are distributed more fairly among users.

The Voucher System as an Alternative for Allocating Sports Grants

OpenAIRE

Marek Pavlik; Michiel S. de Vries

2014-01-01

Sport funding at the municipal level has a long tradition, especially in Europe. Youth involvement in sport is usually an important aspect of grant policies. There are questions regarding how to allocate public resources more efficiently and how to increase youth participation in sport. We analyse sport vouchers as a tool for increasing transparency and efficiency as well as the involvement of young people and their parents in sport policy at the local level.Vouchers typically transfer purcha...

Single Allocation Hub-and-spoke Networks Design Based on Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Pingle

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Capacitated single allocation hub-and-spoke networks can be abstracted as a mixed integer linear programming model equation with three variables. Introducing an improved ant colony algorithm, which has six local search operators. Meanwhile, introducing the "Solution Pair" concept to decompose and optimize the composition of the problem, the problem can become more specific and effectively meet the premise and advantages of using ant colony algorithm. Finally, location simulation experiment is made according to Australia Post data to demonstrate this algorithm has good efficiency and stability for solving this problem.

Energy Efficiency and Capacity Tradeoff in Cloud Radio Access Network of High-Speed Railways

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shichao Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available To meet the increasing demand of high-data-rate services of high-speed railway (HSR passengers, cloud radio access network (C-RAN is proposed. This paper investigates the tradeoff between energy efficiency (EE performance and capacity in C-RAN of HSR. Considering that the train location can be predicted, we propose a predictable path loss based time domain power allocation method (PPTPA to improve EE performance of HSR communication system. First, we consider that the communication system of HSR only bears the passenger information services (PISs. The energy-efficient power allocation problem with delay constraint is studied. The formulated problem is nonconvex. To deal with it, an equivalent convex problem is reformulated. Based on PPTPA, we propose an iterative algorithm to improve the EE performance. Second, we consider that the PISs and the train control services (TCSs are all bore. A capacity optimization problem with joint EE and services transmission delay constraints is formulated. Based on PPTPA, we propose a hybrid power allocation scheme to improve the capacity of the system. Finally, we analyze the effect of small-scale fading on EE performance. The effectiveness of the proposed power allocation algorithm is validated by HSR channel measurement trace based emulation results and extensive simulation results.

Cost allocation with limited information

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hougaard, Jens Leth; Tind, Jørgen

This article investigates progressive development of Aumann-Shapley cost allocation in a multilevel organizational or production structure. In particular, we study a linear parametric programming setup utilizing the Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition procedure. Typically cost allocation takes place after...... all activities have been performed, for example by finishing all outputs. Here the allocation is made progressively with suggestions for activities. I other words cost allocation is performed in parallel for example with a production planning process. This development does not require detailed...... information about some technical constraints in order to make the cost allocation....

Risk capital allocation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hougaard, Jens Leth; Smilgins, Aleksandrs

Risk capital allocation problems have been widely discussed in the academic literature. We consider a company with multiple subunits having individual portfolios. Hence, when portfolios of subunits are merged, a diversification benefit arises: the risk of the company as a whole is smaller than...... the sum of the risks of the individual sub-units. The question is how to allocate the risk capital of the company among the subunits in a fair way. In this paper we propose to use the Lorenz set as an allocation method. We show that the Lorenz set is operational and coherent. Moreover, we propose a set...... of new axioms related directly to the problem of risk capital allocation and show that the Lorenz set satisfies these new axioms in contrast to other well-known coherent methods. Finally, we discuss how to deal with non-uniqueness of the Lorenz set....

Resource allocation using ANN in LTE

Science.gov (United States)

Yigit, Tuncay; Ersoy, Mevlut

2017-07-01

LTE is the 4th generation wireless network technology, which provides flexible bandwidth, higher data speeds and lower delay. Difficulties may be experienced upon an increase in the number of users in LTE. The objective of this study is to ensure a faster solution to any such resource allocation problems which might arise upon an increase in the number of users. A fast and effective solution has been obtained by making use of Artificial Neural Network. As a result, fast working artificial intelligence methods may be used in resource allocation problems during operation.

Uncertain multiobjective redundancy allocation problem of repairable systems based on artificial bee colony algorithm

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Guo Jiansheng; Wang Zutong; Zheng Mingfa; Wang Ying

2014-01-01

Based on the uncertainty theory, this paper is devoted to the redundancy allocation problem in repairable parallel-series systems with uncertain factors, where the failure rate, repair rate and other relative coefficients involved are considered as uncertain variables. The availability of the system and the corresponding designing cost are considered as two optimization objectives. A crisp multiobjective optimization formulation is presented on the basis of uncertainty theory to solve this resultant problem. For solving this problem efficiently, a new multiobjective artificial bee colony algorithm is proposed to search the Pareto efficient set, which introduces rank value and crowding distance in the greedy selection strategy, applies fast non-dominated sort procedure in the exploitation search and inserts tournament selection in the onlooker bee phase. It shows that the proposed algorithm outperforms NSGA-II greatly and can solve multiobjective redundancy allocation problem efficiently. Finally, a numerical example is provided to illustrate this approach.

Online Job Allocation with Hard Allocation Ratio Requirement (Author’s Manuscript)

Science.gov (United States)

2016-04-14

server divided by its capacity. Specifically , let nj be the number of jobs that have already been allocated to server j. When job i arrives, it is...decisions solely based on current system state is needed. The problem of online job allocation has attracted much attention . Most current studies study...closed-form expressions for their performance. Specifically , we prove that, in order to allocate at least 1− 1θ of jobs , the two policies only need to

NASH BARGAINING BASED BANDWIDTH ALLOCATION IN COGNITIVE RADIO FOR DELAY CRITICAL APPLICATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kalyani Kulkarni

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In order to effectively regulate the existing resources, dynamic spectrum access in cognitive radio needs to adopt the effective resource allocation strategies. Multimedia applications require large bandwidth and have to meet the delay constraints while maintaining the data quality. Game theory is emerging as an effective analytical tool for the analysis of available resources and its allocation. This paper addresses resource allocation schemes employing bargaining game model for Multi-carrier CDMA based Cognitive Radio. Resource allocation scheme is designed for transmission of video over cognitive radio networks and aim to perform bandwidth allocation for different cognitive users. Utility function based on bargaining model is proposed. Primary user utility function includes the pricing factor and an upbeat factor that can be adjusted by observing the delay constraints of the video. Allocated bandwidth to the secondary user can be adjusted by changing the upbeat factor. Throughput in the proposed scheme is increased by 2% as compared to other reported pricing based resource allocation schemes. The edge PSNR of reconstructed video obtained as 32.6dB resulting to optimum decoding of the video at the receiver. The study also shows upbeat factor can be used to enhanced capacity of the network.

Allocation of energy resources for power generation in India: Business as usual and energy efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mallah, Subhash; Bansal, N.K.

2010-01-01

This paper deals with MARKAL allocations for various energy sources, in India, for Business As Usual (BAU) scenario and for the case of exploitation of energy saving potential in various sectors of economy. In the BAU scenario, the electrical energy requirement will raise up to 5000 bKwh units per year or 752 GW of installed capacity with major consumers being in the industry, domestic and service sectors. This demand can be met by a mix of coal, hydro, nuclear and wind technologies. Other reneawbles i.e. solar and biomass will start contributing from the year 2040 onwards. By full exploitation of energy saving potential, the annual electrical energy demand gets reduced to 3061 bKwh (or 458 GW), a reduction of 38.9%.The green house gas emissions reduce correspondingly. In this scenario, market allocations for coal, gas and large hydro become stagnant after the year 2015.

Liver allocation and distribution: time for a change.

Science.gov (United States)

Deshpande, Ranjit; Hirose, Ryutaro; Mulligan, David

2017-04-01

Liver allograft allocation has been a topic of hot debate for over a decade. New redistricting changes have been proposed by the Liver and Intestinal Transplant Committee to the existing United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) liver allocation policy. The basis of this new proposal is similar to the old one with an aim to distribute organs in a fair, efficient and equitable fashion. In this review, we plan to look in depth at the redistribution proposals thus far, their merits and how they may help patients who do not have adequate access to livers. Many authors have criticized the proposed changes to organ distribution to reduce geographic disparity in access to liver transplantation. Our focus in this article is to bring forth the most recent literature and proposed changes in the current distribution system. We will also mention two other possible methods that have been proposed to redesign distribution using concentric circles and neighborhoods. In this article, we also look at the economics of the redistricting proposal and its effects on transplant centers. The UNOS Liver and Intestinal Transplant Committee has recommended a proposal using the eight-district model with proximity circles and three additional Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) points with initial sharing MELD threshold of 25 as a starting point to reduce disparity in patient access to deceased donor livers for transplantation. This proposal has met with significant resistance because of concerns of cost, logistics and impact on existing transplant centers. Other methodologies have also been proposed that have the potential to significantly improve our current disparity of access to life-saving organs. Variation in the supply of donor organs vs. the demand or need for liver transplant by geography and the current defined areas of distribution drive this disparity. Cost benefits to the healthcare system in caring for patients with advanced stages of liver disease may outweigh increased

A note on resource allocation scheduling with group technology and learning effects on a single machine

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yuan-Yuan; Wang, Ji-Bo; Ji, Ping; He, Hongyu

2017-09-01

In this article, single-machine group scheduling with learning effects and convex resource allocation is studied. The goal is to find the optimal job schedule, the optimal group schedule, and resource allocations of jobs and groups. For the problem of minimizing the makespan subject to limited resource availability, it is proved that the problem can be solved in polynomial time under the condition that the setup times of groups are independent. For the general setup times of groups, a heuristic algorithm and a branch-and-bound algorithm are proposed, respectively. Computational experiments show that the performance of the heuristic algorithm is fairly accurate in obtaining near-optimal solutions.

Optimizing prescribed fire allocation for managing fire risk in central Catalonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Alcasena, Fermín J; Ager, Alan A; Salis, Michele; Day, Michelle A; Vega-Garcia, Cristina

2018-04-15

We used spatial optimization to allocate and prioritize prescribed fire treatments in the fire-prone Bages County, central Catalonia (northeastern Spain). The goal of this study was to identify suitable strategic locations on forest lands for fuel treatments in order to: 1) disrupt major fire movements, 2) reduce ember emissions, and 3) reduce the likelihood of large fires burning into residential communities. We first modeled fire spread, hazard and exposure metrics under historical extreme fire weather conditions, including node influence grid for surface fire pathways, crown fraction burned and fire transmission to residential structures. Then, we performed an optimization analysis on individual planning areas to identify production possibility frontiers for addressing fire exposure and explore alternative prescribed fire treatment configurations. The results revealed strong trade-offs among different fire exposure metrics, showed treatment mosaics that optimize the allocation of prescribed fire, and identified specific opportunities to achieve multiple objectives. Our methods can contribute to improving the efficiency of prescribed fire treatment investments and wildfire management programs aimed at creating fire resilient ecosystems, facilitating safe and efficient fire suppression, and safeguarding rural communities from catastrophic wildfires. The analysis framework can be used to optimally allocate prescribed fire in other fire-prone areas within the Mediterranean region and elsewhere. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Speaking truth to power: the effect of candid feedback on how individuals with power allocate resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Oc, Burak; Bashshur, Michael R; Moore, Celia

2015-03-01

Subordinates are often seen as impotent, able to react to but not affect how powerholders treat them. Instead, we conceptualize subordinate feedback as an important trigger of powerholders' behavioral self-regulation and explore subordinates' reciprocal influence on how powerholders allocate resources to them over time. In 2 experiments using a multiparty, multiround dictator game paradigm, we found that when subordinates provided candid feedback about whether they found prior allocations to be fair or unfair, powerholders regulated how self-interested their allocations were over time. However, when subordinates provided compliant feedback about powerholders' prior allocation decisions (offered consistently positive feedback, regardless of the powerholders' prior allocation), those powerholders made increasingly self-interested allocations over time. In addition, we showed that guilt partially mediates this relationship: powerholders feel more guilty after receiving negative feedback about an allocation, subsequently leading to a less self-interested allocation, whereas they feel less guilty after receiving positive feedback about an allocation, subsequently taking more for themselves. Our findings integrate the literature on upward feedback with theory about moral self-regulation to support the idea that subordinates are an important source of influence over those who hold power over them. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Competitive market-based allocation of consumer attention space

OpenAIRE

Bohte, Sander; Gerding, Enrico; La Poutré, Han

2001-01-01

textabstractThe amount of attention space available for recommending suppliers to consumers on e-commerce sites is typically limited. We present a competitive distributed recommendation mechanism based on adaptive software agents for efficiently allocating the 'consumer attention space', or banners. In the example of an electronic shopping mall, the task is delegated to the individual shops, each of which evaluates the information that is available about the consumer and his or her interests ...

Memory allocation and computations for Laplace’s equation of 3-D arbitrary boundary problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsay Tswn-Syau

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Computation iteration schemes and memory allocation technique for finite difference method were presented in this paper. The transformed form of a groundwater flow problem in the generalized curvilinear coordinates was taken to be the illustrating example and a 3-dimensional second order accurate 19-point scheme was presented. Traditional element-by-element methods (e.g. SOR are preferred since it is simple and memory efficient but time consuming in computation. For efficient memory allocation, an index method was presented to store the sparse non-symmetric matrix of the problem. For computations, conjugate-gradient-like methods were reported to be computationally efficient. Among them, using incomplete Choleski decomposition as preconditioner was reported to be good method for iteration convergence. In general, the developed index method in this paper has the following advantages: (1 adaptable to various governing and boundary conditions, (2 flexible for higher order approximation, (3 independence of problem dimension, (4 efficient for complex problems when global matrix is not symmetric, (5 convenience for general sparse matrices, (6 computationally efficient in the most time consuming procedure of matrix multiplication, and (7 applicable to any developed matrix solver.

Equity, tariffing, regulation: analysis of the cost allocation policies of an electric utility industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bezzina, J.

1998-01-01

In this work, an analysis in terms of equity of policies of tariffing regulation and cost allocation of a multi-products electric company (organized as a natural monopoly) is proposed. The goal is double. In a standard point of view, the first goal is to show that today's literature in the domains of public economy, industrial organization and regulation (traditionally based on efficiency considerations) is able to supply reading keys for the analysis of moral philosophy problems. In a positive point of view, the second goal is to demonstrate that the equity criterion is operational enough to judge tariffing management practices in a particular industrial environment and can be used as a regulatory instrument by an ethics-concerned authority. The document is organized in two parts. An ethical and economical analysis of the equity concepts between allocation efficiency, production efficiency and tariffing practices of companies is proposed first. A particular equity concept is considered which is ready to be implemented for the regulation of a public utility, and the ins and outs expected with an equity theory of tariffing practices are evoked. In a second part, an analysis of goal conflicts between the authority and the regulated company is made in a point of view of equity regulation and cost allocation. An improved equity criterion is defined first, from which a measure is built and becomes a tool for the regulatory authority. Then, its use by a regulatory authority fully informed or encountering information asymmetry problems are analyzed in order to show its stakes on the cost allocation and tariffing policies of the company. (J.S.)

Two-dimensional priority-based dynamic resource allocation algorithm for QoS in WDM/TDM PON networks

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yixin; Liu, Bo; Zhang, Lijia; Xin, Xiangjun; Zhang, Qi; Rao, Lan

2018-01-01

Wavelength division multiplexing/time division multiplexing (WDM/TDM) passive optical networks (PON) is being viewed as a promising solution for delivering multiple services and applications. The hybrid WDM / TDM PON uses the wavelength and bandwidth allocation strategy to control the distribution of the wavelength channels in the uplink direction, so that it can ensure the high bandwidth requirements of multiple Optical Network Units (ONUs) while improving the wavelength resource utilization. Through the investigation of the presented dynamic bandwidth allocation algorithms, these algorithms can't satisfy the requirements of different levels of service very well while adapting to the structural characteristics of mixed WDM / TDM PON system. This paper introduces a novel wavelength and bandwidth allocation algorithm to efficiently utilize the bandwidth and support QoS (Quality of Service) guarantees in WDM/TDM PON. Two priority based polling subcycles are introduced in order to increase system efficiency and improve system performance. The fixed priority polling subcycle and dynamic priority polling subcycle follow different principles to implement wavelength and bandwidth allocation according to the priority of different levels of service. A simulation was conducted to study the performance of the priority based polling in dynamic resource allocation algorithm in WDM/TDM PON. The results show that the performance of delay-sensitive services is greatly improved without degrading QoS guarantees for other services. Compared with the traditional dynamic bandwidth allocation algorithms, this algorithm can meet bandwidth needs of different priority traffic class, achieve low loss rate performance, and ensure real-time of high priority traffic class in terms of overall traffic on the network.

Two-Stage Multiobjective Optimization for Emergency Supplies Allocation Problem under Integrated Uncertainty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuejie Bai

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a new two-stage optimization method for emergency supplies allocation problem with multisupplier, multiaffected area, multirelief, and multivehicle. The triplet of supply, demand, and the availability of path is unknown prior to the extraordinary event and is descriptive with fuzzy random variable. Considering the fairness, timeliness, and economical efficiency, a multiobjective expected value model is built for facility location, vehicle routing, and supply allocation decisions. The goals of proposed model aim to minimize the proportion of demand nonsatisfied and response time of emergency reliefs and the total cost of the whole process. When the demand and the availability of path are discrete, the expected values in the objective functions are converted into their equivalent forms. When the supply amount is continuous, the equilibrium chance in the constraint is transformed to its equivalent one. To overcome the computational difficulty caused by multiple objectives, a goal programming model is formulated to obtain a compromise solution. Finally, an example is presented to illustrate the validity of the proposed model and the effectiveness of the solution method.

Output-based allocation as a form of protection for internationally competitive industries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haites, Erik

2003-12-01

Policies adopted by Annex B Parties to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are likely to increase costs for industries vulnerable to international competition in domestic or export markets. Domestic emissions trading, by enabling the aggregate emissions target to be met at least cost, helps to reduce the adverse impacts on these industries. An output-based allocation of allowances reduces the output decline due to imposition of the emissions trading program relative to a lump-sum (historic) allocation and so helps reduce the adverse impacts on these industries. The effectiveness of an output-based allocation in maintaining production must be assessed empirically because it depends on the characteristics of all of the firms covered by the trading program as well as other factors. Modeling results for a possible emissions trading program for Alberta confirm the expected impacts of an output-based allocation and indicate that the effectiveness varies across industries. While encouraging greater production, an output-based allocation lowers profits relative to a lump-sum allocation and leads to a different distribution of costs. Other policy options for reducing the output decline in industries vulnerable to international competition include lump-sum allocations or auctioned allowances combined with assistance programs for emission reduction actions or a requirement to meet 'world best' emission performance standard. These policy options should be compared with an output-based allocation in terms of effectiveness, total cost and other impacts, before a policy is adopted

Physician and Patient and Caregiver Health Attitudes and Their Effect on Medicare Resource Allocation for Patients With Advanced Cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Rocke, Daniel J; Beumer, Halton W; Taylor, Donald H; Thomas, Steven; Puscas, Liana; Lee, Walter T

2014-06-01

Physicians must participate in end-of-life discussions, but they understand poorly their patients' end-of-life values and preferences. A better understanding of these preferences and the effect of baseline attitudes will improve end-of-life discussions. To determine how baseline attitudes toward quality vs quantity of life affect end-of-life resource allocation. Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (OHNS) physicians were recruited to use a validated online tool to create a Medicare health plan for advanced cancer patients. During the exercise, participants allocated a limited pool of resources among 15 benefit categories. These data were compared with preliminary data from patients with cancer and their caregivers obtained from a separate study using the same tool. Attitudes toward quality vs quantity of life were assessed for both physicians and patients and caregivers. Participation in online assessment exercise. Medicare resource allocation. Of 9120 OHNS physicians e-mailed, 767 participated. Data collected from this group were compared with data collected from 146 patients and 114 caregivers. Compared with patients and caregivers, OHNS physician allocations differed significantly in all 15 benefit categories except home care. When stratified by answers to 3 questions about baseline attitudes toward quality vs quantity of life, there were 3 categories in which allocations of patients and caregivers differed significantly from the group with the opposite attitude for at least 2 questions: other medical care (question 1, P attitude question: cash (question 1, P = .02), drugs (question 2, P = .03), and home care (question 3, P = .048). Patients with cancer and their caregivers have different preferences from physicians. These preferences are, for these patients and their caregivers, affected by their baseline health attitudes, but physician preferences are not. Understanding the effect of baseline attitudes is important for effective end

Water balance analysis for efficient water allocation in agriculture. A case study: Balta Brailei, Romania

Science.gov (United States)

Chitu, Zenaida; Villani, Giulia; Tomei, Fausto; Minciuna, Marian; Aldea, Adrian; Dumitrescu, Alexandru; Trifu, Cristina; Neagu, Dumitru

2017-04-01

Balta Brailei is one of the largest agriculture area in the Danube floodplain, located in SE of Romania. An impressive irrigation system, that covered about 53.500 ha and transferred water from the Danube River, was carried out in the period 1960-1980. Even if the water resources for agriculture in this area cover in most of the cases the volumes required by irrigation water users, the irrigation infrastructure issues as the position of the pumping stations against the river levels hinder the use of the water during low flows periods. An efficient optimization of water allocation in agriculture could avoid periods with water deficit in the irrigation systems. Hydrological processes are essentials in describing the mass and energy exchanges in the atmosphere-plant-soil system. Furthermore, the hydrological regime in this area is very dynamic with many feedback mechanisms between the various parts of the surface and subsurface water regimes. Agricultural crops depend on capillary rise from the shallow groundwater table and irrigation. For an effective optimization of irrigation water in Balta Brailei, we propose to analyse the water balance taking into consideration the water movement into the root zone and the influence of the Danube river, irrigation channel system and the shallow aquifer by combining the soil water balance model CRITERIA and GMS hydrogeological model. CRITERIA model is used for simulating water movement into the soil, while GMS model is used for simulating the shallow groundwater level variation. The understanding of the complex feedbacks between atmosphere, crops and the various parts of the surface and subsurface water regimes in the Balta Brailei will bring more insights for predicting crop water need and water resources for irrigation and it will represent the basis for implementing Moses Platform in this specific area. Moses Platform is a GIS based system devoted to water procurement and management agencies to facilitate planning of

TASK ALLOCATION IN GEO-DISTRIBUTATED CYBER-PHYSICAL SYSTEMS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aggarwal, Rachel; Smidts, Carol

2017-03-01

This paper studies the task allocation algorithm for a distributed test facility (DTF), which aims to assemble geo-distributed cyber (software) and physical (hardware in the loop components into a prototype cyber-physical system (CPS). This allows low cost testing on an early conceptual prototype (ECP) of the ultimate CPS (UCPS) to be developed. The DTF provides an instrumentation interface for carrying out reliability experiments remotely such as fault propagation analysis and in-situ testing of hardware and software components in a simulated environment. Unfortunately, the geo-distribution introduces an overhead that is not inherent to the UCPS, i.e. a significant time delay in communication that threatens the stability of the ECP and is not an appropriate representation of the behavior of the UCPS. This can be mitigated by implementing a task allocation algorithm to find a suitable configuration and assign the software components to appropriate computational locations, dynamically. This would allow the ECP to operate more efficiently with less probability of being unstable due to the delays introduced by geo-distribution. The task allocation algorithm proposed in this work uses a Monte Carlo approach along with Dynamic Programming to identify the optimal network configuration to keep the time delays to a minimum.

Optimization of Joint Power and Bandwidth Allocation in Multi-Spot-Beam Satellite Communication Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heng Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Multi-spot-beam technique has been widely applied in modern satellite communication systems. However, the satellite power and bandwidth resources in a multi-spot-beam satellite communication system are scarce and expensive; it is urgent to utilize the resources efficiently. To this end, dynamically allocating the power and bandwidth is an available way. This paper initially formulates the problem of resource joint allocation as a convex optimization problem, taking into account a compromise between the maximum total system capacity and the fairness among the spot beams. A joint bandwidth and power allocation iterative algorithm based on duality theory is then proposed to obtain the optimal solution of this optimization problem. Compared with the existing separate bandwidth or power optimal allocation algorithms, it is shown that the joint allocation algorithm improves both the total system capacity and the fairness among spot beams. Moreover, it is easy to be implemented in practice, as the computational complexity of the proposed algorithm is linear with the number of spot beams.

Helper effects on breeder allocations to direct care.

Science.gov (United States)

Kushnick, Geoff

2012-01-01

Mothers receive childcare and productive assistance from allomaternal helpers in many societies. Although much effort has been aimed toward showing helper effects on maternal reproductive success, less has been directed toward highlighting the full range of potential effects on breeder behavior. I present a model of optimal maternal care with helpers, and tests of derived hypotheses with data collected among the Karo Batak-a group of Indonesian agriculturalists. To test the model's predictions I compared the effect of women receiving help from patrilateral versus matrilateral kin because those kin may provide help with different maternal responsibilities. The model predicts a decrease in maternal allocation to care that is substitutable with the helper contribution and the helper assists with that type of care; it predicts an increase in care that is nonsubstitutable with the helper contribution or substitutable care when the helper assists with other responsibilities. With the exception of one other, most models have failed to account for an increase. Analyses of time spent carrying children supported the model. With matrilateral helpers, women increased carrying; with patrilateral helpers, they decreased it. Time spent farmworking showed the opposite pattern, suggesting that matrilateral helpers effectively decrease costs, nudging optimal maternal care upward. Patterns of breastfeeding provided little support for the model. The results do, however, suggest potential proximate mechanisms by which helpers influence maternal reproductive success in cooperative breeding societies. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Resource Allocation for Downlink Multi-Cell OFDMA Cognitive Radio Network Using Hungarian Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Forouzan

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the problem of resource allocation for downlink part of an OFDM-based multi-cell cognitive radio network which consists of multiple secondary transmitters and receivers communicating simultaneously in the presence of multiple primary users. We present a new framework to maximize the total data throughput of secondary users by means of subchannel assignment, while ensuring interference leakage to PUs is below a threshold. In this framework, we first formulate the resource allocation problem as a nonlinear and non-convex optimization problem. Then we represent the problem as a maximum weighted matching in a bipartite graph and propose an iterative algorithm based on Hungarian method to solve it. The present contribution develops an efficient subchannel allocation algorithm that assigns subchannels to the secondary users without the perfect knowledge of fading channel gain between cognitive radio transmitter and primary receivers. The performance of the proposed subcarrier allocation algorithm is compared with a blind subchannel allocation as well as another scheme with the perfect knowledge of channel-state information. Simulation results reveal that a significant performance advantage can still be realized, even if the optimization at the secondary network is based on imperfect network information.

Efficient Allocation of Reserve Costs in RTO Markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kirsch, Laurence D.; Morey, Mathew J.

2006-10-15

RTOs' make-whole payments for generation commitment are needed partly because of flaws in the design of reserve markets. Markets might be made more efficient with greater locational differentiation in reserve prices and incorporation of make-whole payments into reserve prices. (author)

In-Band Interference Effects on UTRA LTE Uplink Resource Block Allocation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Priyanto, Basuki Endah; Sørensen, Troels Bundgaard; Jensen, Ole Kiel

2008-01-01

In this paper we investigate the impact of in-band interference on the uplink multiple access of UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access, long term evolution (UTRA LTE). In- band and out-of-band interference arise as a result of transmitter imperfections. Out-of- band, or adjacent channel, interference can......, and when the interfering signal is received at higher power spectral density (PSD). The effect of frequency offset and different PSD level from the UE interferers to a victim UE is studied. The impact on different UE resource block size allocation is also investigated. The results are obtained from an LTE...

Dealing with equality and benefit for water allocation in a lake watershed: A Gini-coefficient based stochastic optimization approach

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, C.; Qin, X. S.; Chen, Y.; Guo, H. C.

2018-06-01

A Gini-coefficient based stochastic optimization (GBSO) model was developed by integrating the hydrological model, water balance model, Gini coefficient and chance-constrained programming (CCP) into a general multi-objective optimization modeling framework for supporting water resources allocation at a watershed scale. The framework was advantageous in reflecting the conflicting equity and benefit objectives for water allocation, maintaining the water balance of watershed, and dealing with system uncertainties. GBSO was solved by the non-dominated sorting Genetic Algorithms-II (NSGA-II), after the parameter uncertainties of the hydrological model have been quantified into the probability distribution of runoff as the inputs of CCP model, and the chance constraints were converted to the corresponding deterministic versions. The proposed model was applied to identify the Pareto optimal water allocation schemes in the Lake Dianchi watershed, China. The optimal Pareto-front results reflected the tradeoff between system benefit (αSB) and Gini coefficient (αG) under different significance levels (i.e. q) and different drought scenarios, which reveals the conflicting nature of equity and efficiency in water allocation problems. A lower q generally implies a lower risk of violating the system constraints and a worse drought intensity scenario corresponds to less available water resources, both of which would lead to a decreased system benefit and a less equitable water allocation scheme. Thus, the proposed modeling framework could help obtain the Pareto optimal schemes under complexity and ensure that the proposed water allocation solutions are effective for coping with drought conditions, with a proper tradeoff between system benefit and water allocation equity.

Evaluation of health resource utilization efficiency in community health centers of Jiangsu Province, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Xinglong; Zhou, Lulin; Antwi, Henry Asante; Chen, Xi

2018-02-20

While the demand for health services keep escalating at the grass roots or rural areas of China, a substantial portion of healthcare resources remain stagnant in the more developed cities and this has entrenched health inequity in many parts of China. At its conception, China's Deepen Medical Reform started in 2012 was intended to flush out possible disparities and promote a more equitable and efficient distribution of healthcare resources. Nearly half a decade of this reform, there are uncertainties as to whether the attainment of the objectives of the reform is in sight. Using a hybrid of panel data analysis and an augmented data envelopment analysis (DEA), we model human resources, material, finance to determine their technical and scale efficiency to comprehensively evaluate the transverse and longitudinal allocation efficiency of community health resources in Jiangsu Province. We observed that the Deepen Medical Reform in China has led to an increase concern to ensure efficient allocation of community health resources by health policy makers in the province. This has led to greater efficiency in health resource allocation in Jiangsu in general but serious regional or municipal disparities still exist. Using the DEA model, we note that the output from the Community Health Centers does not commensurate with the substantial resources (human resources, materials, and financial) invested in them. We further observe that the case is worst in less-developed Northern parts of Jiangsu Province. The government of Jiangsu Province could improve the efficiency of health resource allocation by improving the community health service system, rationalizing the allocation of health personnel, optimizing the allocation of material resources, and enhancing the level of health of financial resource allocation.

Short-run allocation of emissions allowances and long-term goals for climate policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zetterberg, Lars; Wråke, Markus; Sterner, Thomas; Fischer, Carolyn; Burtraw, Dallas

We use economic analysis to evaluate grandfathering, auctioning, and benchmarking approaches for allocation of emissions allowances and then discuss practical experience from European and American schemes. In principle, auctions are superior from the viewpoints of efficiency, fairness, transparency,

Optimal treatment cost allocation methods in pollution control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Wenying; Fang Dong; Xue Dazhi

1999-01-01

Total emission control is an effective pollution control strategy. However, Chinese application of total emission control lacks reasonable and fair methods for optimal treatment cost allocation, a critical issue in total emission control. The author considers four approaches to allocate treatment costs. The first approach is to set up a multiple-objective planning model and to solve the model using the shortest distance ideal point method. The second approach is to define degree of satisfaction for cost allocation results for each polluter and to establish a method based on this concept. The third is to apply bargaining and arbitration theory to develop a model. The fourth is to establish a cooperative N-person game model which can be solved using the Shapley value method, the core method, the Cost Gap Allocation method or the Minimum Costs-Remaining Savings method. These approaches are compared using a practicable case study

Multidemand Multisource Order Quantity Allocation with Multiple Transportation Alternatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jun Gang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on a multidemand multisource order quantity allocation problem with multiple transportation alternatives. To solve this problem, a bilevel multiobjective programming model under a mixed uncertain environment is proposed. Two levels of decision makers are considered in the model. On the upper level, the purchaser aims to allocate order quantity to multiple suppliers for each demand node with the consideration of three objectives: total purchase cost minimization, total delay risk minimization, and total defect risk minimization. On the lower level, each supplier attempts to optimize the transportation alternatives with total transportation and penalty costs minimization as the objective. In contrast to prior studies, considering the information asymmetry in the bilevel decision, random and fuzzy random variables are used to model uncertain parameters of the construction company and the suppliers. To solve the bilevel model, a solution method based on Kuhn-Tucker conditions, sectional genetic algorithm, and fuzzy random simulation is proposed. Finally, the applicability of the proposed model and algorithm is evaluated through a practical case from a large scale construction project. The results show that the proposed model and algorithm are efficient in dealing with practical order quantity allocation problems.

Emissions allocation in transportation routes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leenders, B.P.J.; Velázquez Martínez, J.; Fransoo, J.C.

2017-01-01

This article studies the allocation of CO2 emissions to a specific shipment in routing transportation. The authors show that this problem differs from a cost allocation problem specifically because the concavity condition does not hold necessarily in the CO2 allocation problem. This implies that a

[Effects of N application on wheat powdery mildew occurrence, nitrogen accumulation and allocation in intercropping system].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jin Hui; Dong, Yan; Xiao, Jing Xiu; Zheng, Yi; Tang, Li

2017-12-01

The main objective of this field experiment was to study the effects of wheat and faba bean intercropping on occurrence of wheat powdery mildew, nitrogen content, accumulation and allocation of wheat plant at 4 nitrogen levels of N 0 (0 kg·hm -2 ), N 1 (112.5 kg·hm -2 ), N 2 (225 kg·hm -2 ), N 3 (337.5 kg·hm -2 ), and to explore the relationship between N content, accumulation, allocation and the occurrence of wheat powdery mildew. The results showed that both monocropped and intercropped wheat yields increased with nitrogen application, with the highest yields of monocropped and intercropped wheat being 4146 kg·hm -2 and 4679 kg·hm -2 at N 2 le-vel, respectively. The occurrence and development of wheat powdery mildew become more severe with the increase of N application and area under disease progression curve (AUDPC) were averagely increased by 39.6%-55.6%(calculated with disease incidence, DI) and 92.5%-217.0% (calculated with disease severity index, DSI) with N 1 , N 2 and N 3 treatments. The disease severity index was more affected by nitrogen regulation than by disease incidence. The nitrogen content and accumulation of wheat plant were significantly increased by 8.4%-51.6% and 19.7%-133.7% with nitrogen application, but there was no significant effect on N allocation ratio. Compared with monocropped wheat, yield of intercropped wheat was averagely increased by 12%, whereas, the AUDPC(DI) and AUDPC(DSI) of intercropped wheat were averagely decreased by 11.5% and 30.7%, respectively. The control effect of the disease severity index by intercropping was better than disease incidence. The nitrogen content, accumulation and nitrogen allocation ratio in intercropped wheat leaves were significantly decreased by 6.6%-12.5%, 1.4%-6.9% and 9.0%-15.5% respectively at the peak infection stage of powdery mildew. Overall findings showed that the maximum rate of nitrogen application for wheat should not exceed 225 kg·hm -2 when taking into account both disease

HIV/AIDS and time allocation in rural Malawi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simona Bignami-Van Assche

2011-05-01

Full Text Available AIDS morbidity and mortality are expected to have a large impact on households' labor supply in rural Malawi since they reduce the time that adults can spend on production for subsistence and on income generating activities. However, the data demands for estimating this impact are high, limiting the amount of empirical evidence. In this paper, we utilize a unique combination of quantitative and qualitative data, including biomarkers for HIV, collected by the Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project, to analyze the impact of AIDS-related morbidity and mortality on time allocation decisions for rural Malawians. We evaluate both the direct effect of HIV/AIDS on the time allocation of affected individuals as well as its indirect effect on the time allocation of surviving household members. We find that the latter is the most important effect of AIDS-related morbidity and mortality, especially on women's time. Specifically, AIDS induces diversification of income sources, with women reallocating their time from work-intensive (typically farming and heavy chores to cash-generating tasks (such as casual labor.

The Cost Effectiveness of the U.S. Export Enhancement Program Bonus Allocation Mechanism

OpenAIRE

Humei Wang; Richard J. Sexton

2004-01-01

The U.S. Export Enhancement Program is evaluated from the perspective of the cost effectiveness of its bonus allocation mechanism. The current mechanism resembles a discriminatory-price, common-value auction. However, auction theory suggests that a discriminatory auction may not be optimal in this setting for several reasons. This article evaluates the current format relative to an alternative, uniform-price auction. Estimation results reveal evidence of strategic bidder behavior under the cu...

Age, lighting treatment, feed allocation and feed form influence ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

During a broiler breeder trial with 3200 Cobb 500 hens, the effects of lighting treatment after 20 weeks' feed allocation and of feed form on the length of time taken to consume the daily allocation of feed were measured. Pullets were reared on 8-hour photoperiods to 20 weeks, then transferred to one of four lighting ...

Merchant interconnector projects by generators in the EU: Profitability and allocation of capacity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koten, Silvester van

2012-01-01

When building a cross-border transmission line (a so-called interconnector) as a for-profit (merchant) project, where the regulator has required that capacity allocation be done non-discriminatorily by explicit auction, the identity of the investor can affect the profitability of the interconnector project and, once operational, the resulting allocation of its capacity. Specifically, when the investor is a generator (hereafter the integrated generator) who also can use the interconnector to export its electricity to a distant location, then, once operational, the integrated generator will bid more aggressively in the allocation auctions to increase the auction revenue and thus its profits. As a result, the integrated generator is more likely to win the auction and the capacity is sold for a higher price. This lowers the allocative efficiency of the auction, but it increases the expected ex-ante profitability of the merchant interconnector project. Unaffiliated, independent generators, however, are less likely to win the auction and, in any case, pay a higher price, which dramatically lowers their revenues from exporting electricity over this interconnector. - Highlights: ► A merchant interconnector owned by an electricity generator needs special attention of regulators. ► Even when allocation of the capacity is done by auctions, the generator will make a large profit. ► The generator will also decrease the allocation of capacity to competitors by bidding aggressively.

Stochastic resource allocation in emergency departments with a multi-objective simulation optimization algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Yen-Yi; Wu, I-Chin; Chen, Tzu-Li

2017-03-01

The number of emergency cases or emergency room visits rapidly increases annually, thus leading to an imbalance in supply and demand and to the long-term overcrowding of hospital emergency departments (EDs). However, current solutions to increase medical resources and improve the handling of patient needs are either impractical or infeasible in the Taiwanese environment. Therefore, EDs must optimize resource allocation given limited medical resources to minimize the average length of stay of patients and medical resource waste costs. This study constructs a multi-objective mathematical model for medical resource allocation in EDs in accordance with emergency flow or procedure. The proposed mathematical model is complex and difficult to solve because its performance value is stochastic; furthermore, the model considers both objectives simultaneously. Thus, this study develops a multi-objective simulation optimization algorithm by integrating a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA II) with multi-objective computing budget allocation (MOCBA) to address the challenges of multi-objective medical resource allocation. NSGA II is used to investigate plausible solutions for medical resource allocation, and MOCBA identifies effective sets of feasible Pareto (non-dominated) medical resource allocation solutions in addition to effectively allocating simulation or computation budgets. The discrete event simulation model of ED flow is inspired by a Taiwan hospital case and is constructed to estimate the expected performance values of each medical allocation solution as obtained through NSGA II. Finally, computational experiments are performed to verify the effectiveness and performance of the integrated NSGA II and MOCBA method, as well as to derive non-dominated medical resource allocation solutions from the algorithms.

Peer-Allocated Instant Response (PAIR): Computional allocation of peer tutors in learning communities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Westera, Wim

2009-01-01

Westera, W. (2007). Peer-Allocated Instant Response (PAIR): Computational allocation of peer tutors in learning communities. Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, http://jasss.soc.surrey.ac.uk/10/2/5.html

Determinants of intra-household food allocation between adults in South Asia - a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris-Fry, Helen; Shrestha, Niva; Costello, Anthony; Saville, Naomi M

2017-06-21

Nutrition interventions, often delivered at the household level, could increase their efficiency by channelling resources towards pregnant or lactating women, instead of leaving resources to be disproportionately allocated to traditionally favoured men. However, understanding of how to design targeted nutrition programs is limited by a lack of understanding of the factors affecting the intra-household allocation of food. We systematically reviewed literature on the factors affecting the allocation of food to adults in South Asian households (in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) and developed a framework of food allocation determinants. Two reviewers independently searched and filtered results from PubMed, Web of Knowledge and Scopus databases by using pre-defined search terms and hand-searching the references from selected papers. Determinants were extracted, categorised into a framework, and narratively described. We used adapted Downs and Black and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklists to assess the quality of evidence. Out of 6928 retrieved studies we found 60 relevant results. Recent, high quality evidence was limited and mainly from Bangladesh, India and Nepal. There were no results from Iran, Afghanistan, Maldives, or Bhutan. At the intra-household level, food allocation was determined by relative differences in household members' income, bargaining power, food behaviours, social status, tastes and preferences, and interpersonal relationships. Household-level determinants included wealth, food security, occupation, land ownership, household size, religion / ethnicity / caste, education, and nutrition knowledge. In general, the highest inequity occurred in households experiencing severe or unexpected food insecurity, and also in better-off, high caste households, whereas poorer, low caste but not severely food insecure households were more equitable. Food allocation also varied

Resource Allocation for Outdoor Visible Light Communications with Energy Harvesting Capabilities

KAUST Repository

Abdelhady, Amr Mohamed Abdelaziz

2018-01-25

Visible light communication (VLC) is a promising technology that can support high data rate services for outdoor mass gathering night events while permitting energy harvesting. In this paper, a VLC system is considered where a transmitter sends data to multiple users with energy harvesting capabilities. This multi-user VLC scenario can be supported using time division multiple access (TDMA). The achievable rates using TDMA are expressed in terms of the allocated resources per user, represented by average optical intensity and time slots. This allocation is to be optimized in order to maximize the average spectral efficiency while meeting power and quality-of-service (QoS) constraints. Herein, QoS is defined as a worst-case guaranteed rate and a minimum harvested energy. To solve this optimization, the optimality conditions are first derived. Then, an efficient algorithm is developed based on the derived conditions, and its near-optimality is verified through several numerical evaluations. The obtained performance is also compared to lower-complexity algorithms, thus reflecting the performance-complexity trade-off of these algorithms.

Dynamic Memory De-allocation in Fortran 95/2003 Derived Type Calculus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damian W.I. Rouson

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract data types developed for computational science and engineering are frequently modeled after physical objects whose state variables must satisfy governing differential equations. Generalizing the associated algebraic and differential operators to operate on the abstract data types facilitates high-level program constructs that mimic standard mathematical notation. For non-trivial expressions, multiple object instantiations must occur to hold intermediate results during the expression's evaluation. When the dimension of each object's state space is not specified at compile-time, the programmer becomes responsible for dynamically allocating and de-allocating memory for each instantiation. With the advent of allocatable components in Fortran 2003 derived types, the potential exists for these intermediate results to occupy a substantial fraction of a program's footprint in memory. This issue becomes particularly acute at the highest levels of abstraction where coarse-grained data structures predominate. This paper proposes a set of rules for de-allocating memory that has been dynamically allocated for intermediate results in derived type calculus, while distinguishing that memory from more persistent objects. The new rules are applied to the design of a polymorphic time integrator for integrating evolution equations governing dynamical systems. Associated issues of efficiency and design robustness are discussed.

Tactical resource allocation and elective patient admission planning in care processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Hulshof, Peter J H; Boucherie, Richard J; Hans, Erwin W; Hurink, Johann L

2013-06-01

Tactical planning of resources in hospitals concerns elective patient admission planning and the intermediate term allocation of resource capacities. Its main objectives are to achieve equitable access for patients, to meet production targets/to serve the strategically agreed number of patients, and to use resources efficiently. This paper proposes a method to develop a tactical resource allocation and elective patient admission plan. These tactical plans allocate available resources to various care processes and determine the selection of patients to be served that are at a particular stage of their care process. Our method is developed in a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) framework and copes with multiple resources, multiple time periods and multiple patient groups with various uncertain treatment paths through the hospital, thereby integrating decision making for a chain of hospital resources. Computational results indicate that our method leads to a more equitable distribution of resources and provides control of patient access times, the number of patients served and the fraction of allocated resource capacity. Our approach is generic, as the base MILP and the solution approach allow for including various extensions to both the objective criteria and the constraints. Consequently, the proposed method is applicable in various settings of tactical hospital management.

Dynamically allocated virtual clustering management system

Science.gov (United States)

Marcus, Kelvin; Cannata, Jess

2013-05-01

The U.S Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has built a "Wireless Emulation Lab" to support research in wireless mobile networks. In our current experimentation environment, our researchers need the capability to run clusters of heterogeneous nodes to model emulated wireless tactical networks where each node could contain a different operating system, application set, and physical hardware. To complicate matters, most experiments require the researcher to have root privileges. Our previous solution of using a single shared cluster of statically deployed virtual machines did not sufficiently separate each user's experiment due to undesirable network crosstalk, thus only one experiment could be run at a time. In addition, the cluster did not make efficient use of our servers and physical networks. To address these concerns, we created the Dynamically Allocated Virtual Clustering management system (DAVC). This system leverages existing open-source software to create private clusters of nodes that are either virtual or physical machines. These clusters can be utilized for software development, experimentation, and integration with existing hardware and software. The system uses the Grid Engine job scheduler to efficiently allocate virtual machines to idle systems and networks. The system deploys stateless nodes via network booting. The system uses 802.1Q Virtual LANs (VLANs) to prevent experimentation crosstalk and to allow for complex, private networks eliminating the need to map each virtual machine to a specific switch port. The system monitors the health of the clusters and the underlying physical servers and it maintains cluster usage statistics for historical trends. Users can start private clusters of heterogeneous nodes with root privileges for the duration of the experiment. Users also control when to shutdown their clusters.

Net primary productivity, allocation pattern and carbon use efficiency in an apple orchard assessed by integrating eddy covariance, biometric and continuous soil chamber measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Zanotelli

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Carbon use efficiency (CUE, the ratio of net primary production (NPP over gross primary production (GPP, is a functional parameter that could possibly link the current increasingly accurate global GPP estimates with those of net ecosystem exchange, for which global predictors are still unavailable. Nevertheless, CUE estimates are actually available for only a few ecosystem types, while information regarding agro-ecosystems is scarce, in spite of the simplified spatial structure of these ecosystems that facilitates studies on allocation patterns and temporal growth dynamics. We combined three largely deployed methods, eddy covariance, soil respiration and biometric measurements, to assess monthly values of CUE, NPP and allocation patterns in different plant organs in an apple orchard during a complete year (2010. We applied a measurement protocol optimized for quantifying monthly values of carbon fluxes in this ecosystem type, which allows for a cross check between estimates obtained from different methods. We also attributed NPP components to standing biomass increments, detritus cycle feeding and lateral exports. We found that in the apple orchard, both net ecosystem production and gross primary production on a yearly basis, 380 ± 30 g C m−2 and 1263 ± 189 g C m−2 respectively, were of a magnitude comparable to those of natural forests growing in similar climate conditions. The largest differences with respect to forests are in the allocation pattern and in the fate of produced biomass. The carbon sequestered from the atmosphere was largely allocated to production of fruit: 49% of annual NPP was taken away from the ecosystem through apple production. Organic material (leaves, fine root litter, pruned wood and early fruit falls contributing to the detritus cycle was 46% of the NPP. Only 5% was attributable to standing biomass increment, while this NPP component is generally the largest in forests. The CUE, with an annual average of 0.71 �

Net primary productivity, allocation pattern and carbon use efficiency in an apple orchard assessed by integrating eddy-covariance, biometric and continuous soil chamber measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Zanotelli, D.; Montagnani, L.; Manca, G.; Tagliavini, M.

2012-10-01

Carbon use efficiency (CUE) is a functional parameter that could possibly link the current increasingly accurate global estimates of gross primary production with those of net ecosystem exchange, for which global predictors are still unavailable. Nevertheless, CUE estimates are actually available for only a few ecosystem types, while information regarding agro-ecosystems is scarce, in spite of the simplified spatial structure of these ecosystems that facilitates studies on allocation patterns and temporal growth dynamics. We combined three largely deployed methods, eddy covariance, soil respiration and biometric measurements, to assess monthly values of CUE, net primary production (NPP) and allocation patterns in different plant organs in an apple orchard during a complete year (2010). We applied a~measurement protocol optimized for quantifying monthly values of carbon fluxes in this ecosystem type, which allows for a cross-check between estimates obtained from different methods. We also attributed NPP components to standing biomass increments, detritus cycle feeding and lateral exports. We found that in the apple orchard both net ecosystem production and gross primary production on yearly basis, 380 ± 30 g C m-2 and 1263 ± 189 g C m-2 respectively, were of a magnitude comparable to those of natural forests growing in similar climate conditions. The largest differences with respect to forests are in the allocation pattern and in the fate of produced biomass. The carbon sequestered from the atmosphere was largely allocated to production of fruits: 49% of annual NPP was taken away from the ecosystem through apple production. Organic material (leaves, fine root litter, pruned wood and early fruit falls) contributing to the detritus cycle was 46% of the NPP. Only 5% was attributable to standing biomass increment, while this NPP component is generally the largest in forests. The CUE, with an annual average of 0.71 ± 0.09, was higher than the previously suggested

Net primary productivity, allocation pattern and carbon use efficiency in an apple orchard assessed by integrating eddy covariance, biometric and continuous soil chamber measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Zanotelli, D.; Montagnani, L.; Manca, G.; Tagliavini, M.

2013-05-01

Carbon use efficiency (CUE), the ratio of net primary production (NPP) over gross primary production (GPP), is a functional parameter that could possibly link the current increasingly accurate global GPP estimates with those of net ecosystem exchange, for which global predictors are still unavailable. Nevertheless, CUE estimates are actually available for only a few ecosystem types, while information regarding agro-ecosystems is scarce, in spite of the simplified spatial structure of these ecosystems that facilitates studies on allocation patterns and temporal growth dynamics. We combined three largely deployed methods, eddy covariance, soil respiration and biometric measurements, to assess monthly values of CUE, NPP and allocation patterns in different plant organs in an apple orchard during a complete year (2010). We applied a measurement protocol optimized for quantifying monthly values of carbon fluxes in this ecosystem type, which allows for a cross check between estimates obtained from different methods. We also attributed NPP components to standing biomass increments, detritus cycle feeding and lateral exports. We found that in the apple orchard, both net ecosystem production and gross primary production on a yearly basis, 380 ± 30 g C m-2 and 1263 ± 189 g C m-2 respectively, were of a magnitude comparable to those of natural forests growing in similar climate conditions. The largest differences with respect to forests are in the allocation pattern and in the fate of produced biomass. The carbon sequestered from the atmosphere was largely allocated to production of fruit: 49% of annual NPP was taken away from the ecosystem through apple production. Organic material (leaves, fine root litter, pruned wood and early fruit falls) contributing to the detritus cycle was 46% of the NPP. Only 5% was attributable to standing biomass increment, while this NPP component is generally the largest in forests. The CUE, with an annual average of 0.71 ± 0.12, was higher

Stereoscopic Visual Attention-Based Regional Bit Allocation Optimization for Multiview Video Coding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dai Qionghai

2010-01-01

Full Text Available We propose a Stereoscopic Visual Attention- (SVA- based regional bit allocation optimization for Multiview Video Coding (MVC by the exploiting visual redundancies from human perceptions. We propose a novel SVA model, where multiple perceptual stimuli including depth, motion, intensity, color, and orientation contrast are utilized, to simulate the visual attention mechanisms of human visual system with stereoscopic perception. Then, a semantic region-of-interest (ROI is extracted based on the saliency maps of SVA. Both objective and subjective evaluations of extracted ROIs indicated that the proposed SVA model based on ROI extraction scheme outperforms the schemes only using spatial or/and temporal visual attention clues. Finally, by using the extracted SVA-based ROIs, a regional bit allocation optimization scheme is presented to allocate more bits on SVA-based ROIs for high image quality and fewer bits on background regions for efficient compression purpose. Experimental results on MVC show that the proposed regional bit allocation algorithm can achieve over % bit-rate saving while maintaining the subjective image quality. Meanwhile, the image quality of ROIs is improved by  dB at the cost of insensitive image quality degradation of the background image.

A Goal Programming Optimization Model for The Allocation of Liquid Steel Production

Science.gov (United States)

Hapsari, S. N.; Rosyidi, C. N.

2018-03-01

This research was conducted in one of the largest steel companies in Indonesia which has several production units and produces a wide range of steel products. One of the important products in the company is billet steel. The company has four Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) which produces liquid steel which must be procesed further to be billet steel. The billet steel plant needs to make their production process more efficient to increase the productvity. The management has four goals to be achieved and hence the optimal allocation of the liquid steel production is needed to achieve those goals. In this paper, a goal programming optimization model is developed to determine optimal allocation of liquid steel production in each EAF, to satisfy demand in 3 periods and the company goals, namely maximizing the volume of production, minimizing the cost of raw materials, minimizing maintenance costs, maximizing sales revenues, and maximizing production capacity. From the results of optimization, only maximizing production capacity goal can not achieve the target. However, the model developed in this papare can optimally allocate liquid steel so the allocation of production does not exceed the maximum capacity of the machine work hours and maximum production capacity.

Cost allocation review : staff discussion paper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-09-01

This report addressed the need for updated cost allocation studies filed by local electricity distribution companies because they ensure that distribution rates for each customer class remain just and reasonable. According to the 2001 Electricity Distribution Rate Handbook, the Ontario Energy Board requires new cost allocation studies before implementing any future incentive regulation plans. A review of cost allocations allows the Board to consider the need for adjustments to the current share of distribution costs paid by different classes of ratepayers. This report included 14 sections to facilitate consultations with stakeholders on financial information requirements for cost allocation; directly assignable costs; functionalization; categorization; allocation methods; allocation of other costs; load data requirements; cost allocation implementation issues; addition of new rate class and rate design for scattered unmetered loads; addition of new rate class for larger users; rates to charge embedded distributors; treatment of the rate sub-classification identified as time-of-use; and, rate design implementation issues. 1 fig., 7 appendices

Game Theoretic Modeling of Water Resources Allocation Under Hydro-Climatic Uncertainty

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, C.; Lall, U.; Siegfried, T.

2005-12-01

Typical hydrologic and economic modeling approaches rely on assumptions of climate stationarity and economic conditions of ideal markets and rational decision-makers. In this study, we incorporate hydroclimatic variability with a game theoretic approach to simulate and evaluate common water allocation paradigms. Game Theory may be particularly appropriate for modeling water allocation decisions. First, a game theoretic approach allows economic analysis in situations where price theory doesn't apply, which is typically the case in water resources where markets are thin, players are few, and rules of exchange are highly constrained by legal or cultural traditions. Previous studies confirm that game theory is applicable to water resources decision problems, yet applications and modeling based on these principles is only rarely observed in the literature. Second, there are numerous existing theoretical and empirical studies of specific games and human behavior that may be applied in the development of predictive water allocation models. With this framework, one can evaluate alternative orderings and rules regarding the fraction of available water that one is allowed to appropriate. Specific attributes of the players involved in water resources management complicate the determination of solutions to game theory models. While an analytical approach will be useful for providing general insights, the variety of preference structures of individual players in a realistic water scenario will likely require a simulation approach. We propose a simulation approach incorporating the rationality, self-interest and equilibrium concepts of game theory with an agent-based modeling framework that allows the distinct properties of each player to be expressed and allows the performance of the system to manifest the integrative effect of these factors. Underlying this framework, we apply a realistic representation of spatio-temporal hydrologic variability and incorporate the impact of

The effect of concentrate allocation on traffic and milk production of pasture-based cows milked by an automatic milking system.

Science.gov (United States)

Lessire, F; Froidmont, E; Shortall, J; Hornick, J L; Dufrasne, I

2017-11-01

Increased economic, societal and environmental challenges facing agriculture are leading to a greater focus on effective way to combine grazing and automatic milking systems (AMS). One of the fundamental aspects of robotic milking is cows' traffic to the AMS. Numerous studies have identified feed provided, either as fresh grass or concentrate supplement, as the main incentive for cows to return to the robot. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of concentrate allocation on voluntary cow traffic from pasture to the robot during the grazing period, to highlight the interactions between grazed pasture and concentrate allocation in terms of substitution rate and the subsequent effect on average milk yield and composition. Thus, 29 grazing cows, milked by a mobile robot, were monitored for the grazing period (4 months). They were assigned to two groups: a low concentrate (LC) group (15 cows) and a high concentrate (HC) group (14 cows) receiving 2 and 4 kg concentrate/cow per day, respectively; two allocations per day of fresh pasture were provided at 0700 and 1600 h. The cows had to go through the AMS to receive the fresh pasture allocation. The effect of concentrate level on robot visitation was calculated by summing milkings, refusals and failed milkings/cow per day. The impact on average daily milk yield and composition was also determined. The interaction between lactation number and month was used as an indicator of pasture availability. Concentrate allocation increased significantly robot visitations in HC (3.60±0.07 visitations/cow per day in HC and 3.10±0.07 visitations/cow per day in LC; Pcow per day were similar in both groups (LC: 2.37±0.02/day and HC: 2.39±0.02/day; Ns). The average daily milk yield over the grazing period was enhanced in HC (22.39±0.22 kg/cow per day in HC and 21.33±0.22 kg/cow per day in LC; Pcows.

Telecommunications Circuit Allocation Programs - Kansas City Area

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Thomas, William

1994-01-01

The overall objective of the audit was to determine whether DoD circuit allocation programs identified and used the most effective configurations for leased long-haul, special-purpose telecommunications circuits...

Combining spatial modeling and choice experiments for the optimal spatial allocation of wind turbines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drechsler, Martin; Ohl, Cornelia; Meyerhoff, Juergen; Eichhorn, Marcus; Monsees, Jan

2011-01-01

Although wind power is currently the most efficient source of renewable energy, the installation of wind turbines (WT) in landscapes often leads to conflicts in the affected communities. We propose that such conflicts can be mitigated by a welfare-optimal spatial allocation of WT in the landscape so that a given energy target is reached at minimum social costs. The energy target is motivated by the fact that wind power production is associated with relatively low CO 2 emissions. Social costs comprise energy production costs as well as external costs caused by harmful impacts on humans and biodiversity. We present a modeling approach that combines spatially explicit ecological-economic modeling and choice experiments to determine the welfare-optimal spatial allocation of WT in West Saxony, Germany. The welfare-optimal sites balance production and external costs. Results indicate that in the welfare-optimal allocation the external costs represent about 14% of the total costs (production costs plus external costs). Optimizing wind power production without consideration of the external costs would lead to a very different allocation of WT that would marginally reduce the production costs but strongly increase the external costs and thus lead to substantial welfare losses. - Highlights: → We combine modeling and economic valuation to optimally allocate wind turbines. → Welfare-optimal allocation balances energy production costs and external costs. → External costs (impacts on the environment) can be substantial. → Ignoring external costs leads to suboptimal allocations and welfare losses.

Efficiency and separability in economies with a trade center

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Diamantaras, D.; Gilles, R.P.; Ruys, P.H.M.

1994-01-01

We discuss the endogenous selection of a costly allocation mechanism in a pure exchange economy. The allocation mechanism is modeled as an abstract trade center exhibiting setup costs, access costs and linear transaction costs. Exactly one trade center has to be selected. We define Pareto efficiency

Tradable permit allocations and sequential choice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

MacKenzie, Ian A. [Centre for Economic Research, ETH Zuerich, Zurichbergstrasse 18, 8092 Zuerich (Switzerland)

2011-01-15

This paper investigates initial allocation choices in an international tradable pollution permit market. For two sovereign governments, we compare allocation choices that are either simultaneously or sequentially announced. We show sequential allocation announcements result in higher (lower) aggregate emissions when announcements are strategic substitutes (complements). Whether allocation announcements are strategic substitutes or complements depends on the relationship between the follower's damage function and governments' abatement costs. When the marginal damage function is relatively steep (flat), allocation announcements are strategic substitutes (complements). For quadratic abatement costs and damages, sequential announcements provide a higher level of aggregate emissions. (author)

Adaptive allocation of attention : effects of sex and sociosexuality on visual attention to attractive opposite-sex faces

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Duncan, Lesley A.; Park, Justin H.; Faulkner, Jason; Schaller, Mark; Neuberg, Steven L.; Kenrick, Douglas T.

We tested the hypothesis that, compared with sociosexually restricted individuals, those with an unrestricted approach to mating would selectively allocate visual attention to attractive opposite-sex others. We also tested for sex differences in this effect. Seventy-four participants completed the

Optimal allocation of reviewers for peer feedback

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wind, David Kofoed; Jensen, Ulf Aslak; Jørgensen, Rasmus Malthe

2017-01-01

feedback to be effective students should give and receive useful feedback. A key challenge in peer feedback is allocating the feedback givers in a good way. It is important that reviewers are allocated to submissions such that the feedback distribution is fair - meaning that all students receive good......Peer feedback is the act of letting students give feedback to each other on submitted work. There are multiple reasons to use peer feedback, including students getting more feedback, time saving for teachers and increased learning by letting students reflect on work by others. In order for peer...... indicated the quality of the feedback. Using this model together with historical data we calculate the feedback-giving skill of each student and uses that as input to an allocation algorithm that assigns submissions to reviewers, in order to optimize the feedback quality for all students. We test...

Ecophysiological differences in tree carbon gain and water use for two fast growing loblolly pine ideotypes that differ in carbon allocation

Science.gov (United States)

Maier, C. A.; Johnsen, K. H.; Dougherty, P.; Albaugh, T.; Patterson, S.

2013-12-01

We examined the ecophysiological basis for differences in growth efficiency and water-use for two contrasting Pinus taeda (L.) ideotypes: a ';broad-crown' (BC) and a ';narrow crown' (NC) clone, which allocate more growth to leaves and wood, respectively. Tree growth, above and belowground biomass production, fine root turnover, light use efficiency (LUE), and transpiration on a ground (Et) and leaf (EL) basis were measured periodically over eight years. Silviculture treatments were a control consisting of shearing and bedding following local commercial operations and a mulch treatment where chipped logging residue (C/N≈700) was incorporated into the soil during bedding at a rate of 25 Mg ha-1. We hypothesized that: 1) the NC and BC clone would display similar aboveground productivity in the control treatment, but because of lower leaf area and thus lower nitrogen demand, the NC would display higher productivity than BC on the mulch treatment, 2) the NC would have higher LUE, and 3) the NC clone would have lower Et and EL. There were no treatment, clone, or interaction effects on stemwood production. At age eight, standing stem biomass was 80.7 and 86.0 Mg ha-1 (p=0.33), for the NC and BC, respectively. However, there were significant clone effects on carbon allocation. The BC had greater foliage (BC: 8.1, NC: 6.6 Mg ha-1, se=0.2, p=0.01) and branch (BC: 15.0, NC: 12.4 Mg ha-1, se=0.4, p2mm) (BC: 9.7, NC: 11.23 Mg ha-1, se=0.2, Parea to conducting sapwood area (AL/AS) (BC: 0.175 m2 cm-2, NC: 0.150 m2 cm-2) than the NC clone. Growth efficiency, defined as annual stem increment per unit leaf area was 5.36 and 4.70 Mg ha-1 yr-1 LAI-1 in the NC and BC, respectively (parea, which confers greater nutrient use efficiency. In addition, the NC had significantly greater belowground carbon allocation, which could have long-term implications for soil carbon sequestration.

Dynamic resource allocation using performance forecasting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moura, Paulo; Kon, Fabio; Voulgaris, Spyros; Van Steen, Maarten

2016-01-01

To benefit from the performance gains and cost savings enabled by elasticity in cloud IaaS environments, effective automated mechanisms for scaling are essential. This automation requires monitoring system status and defining criteria to trigger allocation and deallocation of resources. While these

Measuring the Socioeconomic and Environmental Effects of Energy Efficiency Investments for a More Sustainable Spanish Economy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Medina

2016-10-01

Full Text Available We present here an application of a multisector economic model to simulate the impact of investing in energy-efficiency-related sectors. Given the value chain of energy production shows several aspects to be improved, this paper intends to identify the economic sectors where investment should be allocated in order to reach the targeted energy efficiency levels in the overall economic system. We expect that an improvement in energy efficiency will bring a fall in electricity demand. Simulating these impacts will enable an assessment of the macroeconomic effects of such demand-side changes in Spain. For simulation purposes, we will use input–output methodology, based on data from a Spanish input–output table from the year 2012 that we have constructed. The scenario used for modeling has been obtained from the objectives proposed by the European Union for 2030, specifically the one promoting an increase to at least a 27% increase in energy efficiency compared with the business-as-usual scenario. This demand-side model enables us to measure the potential sector-by-sector growth of the Spanish economy and to calculate households’ expected savings in energy bills due to the implementation of energy efficiency measures. The impacts of employment and CO2 emissions are also quantified as a result of the investments aimed at improving energy efficiency.

Energy Efficient Design for Two-Way AF Relay Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong Li

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Conventional designs on two-way relay networks mainly focus on the spectral efficiency (SE rather than energy efficiency (EE. In this paper, we consider a system where two source nodes communicate with each other via an amplify-and-forward (AF relay node and study the power allocation schemes to maximize EE while ensuring a certain data rate. We propose an optimal energy-efficient power allocation algorithm based on iterative search technique. In addition, a closed-form suboptimal solution is derived with reduced complexity and negligible performance degradation. Numerical results show that the proposed schemes can achieve considerable EE improvement compared with conventional designs.

Efficiency gains, bounds, and risk in finance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sarisoy, Cisil

2015-01-01

This thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter analyzes efficiency gains in the estimation of expected returns based on asset pricing models and examines the economic implications of such gains in portfolio allocation exercises. The second chapter provides nonparametric efficiency bounds

A novel evaluation of heat-electricity cost allocation in cogenerations based on entropy change method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye, Xuemin; Li, Chunxi

2013-01-01

As one of the most significant measures to improve energy utilization efficiency and save energy, cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) has been widely applied and promoted with positive motivations in many countries. A rational cost allocation model should indicate the performance of cogenerations and balance the benefits between electricity generation and heat production. Based on the second law of thermodynamics, the present paper proposes an entropy change method for cost allocation by choosing exhaust steam entropy as a datum point, and the new model works in conjunction with entropy change and irreversibility during energy conversion processes. The allocation ratios of heat cost with the present and existing methods are compared for different types of cogenerations. Results show that the allocation ratios with the entropy change method are more rational and the cost allocation model can make up some limitations involved in other approaches. The future energy policies and innovational directions for cogenerations and heat consumers should be developed. - Highlights: • A rational model of cogeneration cost allocation is established. • Entropy change method integrates the relation of entropy change and exergy losses. • The unity of measuring energy quality and quantity is materialized. • The benefits between electricity generation and heat production are balanced

Simulating Water Allocation and Cropping Decisions in Yemen’s Abyan Delta Spate Irrigation System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Derek Jin-Uk Marchant

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Agriculture employs more Yemenis than any other sector and spate irrigation is the largest source of irrigation water. Spate irrigation however is growing increasingly difficult to sustain in many areas due to water scarcity and unclear sharing of water amongst users. In some areas of Yemen, there are no institutionalised water allocation rules which can lead to water related disputes. Here, we propose a proof-of-concept model to evaluate the impacts of different water allocation patterns to assist in devising allocation rules. The integrated model links simple wadi flow, diversion, and soil moisture-yield simulators to a crop decision model to evaluate impacts of different water allocation rules and their possible implications on local agriculture using preliminary literature data. The crop choice model is an agricultural production model of irrigation command areas where the timing, irrigated area and crop mix is decided each month based on current conditions and expected allocations. The model is applied to Yemen’s Abyan Delta, which has the potential to be the most agriculturally productive region in the country. The water allocation scenarios analysed include upstream priority, downstream priority, equal priority (equal sharing of water shortages, and a user-defined mixed priority that gives precedence to different locations based on the season. Once water is distributed according to one of these allocation patterns, the model determines the profit-maximising plant date and crop selection for 18 irrigated command areas. This aims to estimate the impacts different water allocation strategies could have on livelihoods. Initial results show an equal priority allocation is the most equitable and efficient, with 8% more net benefits than an upstream scenario, 10% more net benefits than a downstream scenario, and 25% more net benefits than a mixed priority.

An extensible agent architecture for a competitive market-based allocation of consumer attention space

NARCIS (Netherlands)

P.J. 't Hoen (Pieter Jan); S.M. Bohte (Sander); E.H. Gerding (Enrico); J.A. La Poutré (Han)

2002-01-01

textabstractA competitive distributed recommendation mechanism is introduced based on adaptive software agents for efficiently allocating the ``customer attention space'', or banners. In the example of an electronic shopping mall, the task of correctly profiling and analyzing the customers is

Resource allocation on computational grids using a utility model and the knapsack problem

CERN Document Server

Van der ster, Daniel C; Parra-Hernandez, Rafael; Sobie, Randall J

2009-01-01

This work introduces a utility model (UM) for resource allocation on computational grids and formulates the allocation problem as a variant of the 0–1 multichoice multidimensional knapsack problem. The notion of task-option utility is introduced, and it is used to effect allocation policies. We present a variety of allocation policies, which are expressed as functions of metrics that are both intrinsic and external to the task and resources. An external user-defined credit-value metric is shown to allow users to intervene in the allocation of urgent or low priority tasks. The strategies are evaluated in simulation against random workloads as well as those drawn from real systems. We measure the sensitivity of the UM-derived schedules to variations in the allocation policies and their corresponding utility functions. The UM allocation strategy is shown to optimally allocate resources congruent with the chosen policies.

Two mire species respond differently to enhanced ultraviolet-B radiation: effects on biomass allocation and root exudation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rinnan, Riikka Tiivi Mariisa; Gehrke, Carola; Michelsen, Anders

2006-01-01

•  Increased ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation arising from stratospheric ozone depletion may influence soil microbial communities via effects on plant carbon allocation and root exudation. •  Eriophorum angustifolium and Narthecium ossifragum plants, grown in peatland mesocosms consisting of Sphagnum...

The effect of water availability on stand-level productivity, transpiration, water use efficiency and radiation use efficiency of field-grown willow clones

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linderson, Maj-Lena; Iritz, Zinaida; Lindroth, Anders

2007-01-01

The effect of water availability on stand-level productivity, transpiration, water use efficiency (WUE) and radiation use efficiency (RUE) is evaluated for different willow clones at stand level. The measurements were made during the growing season 2000 in a 3-year-old plantation in Scania, southernmost Sweden. Six willow clones were included in the study: L78183, SW Rapp, SW Jorunn, SW Jorr, SW Tora and SW Loden. All clones were exposed to two water treatments: rain-fed, non-irrigated treatment and reduced water availability by reduced soil water recharge. Field measurements of stem sap-flow and biometry are up-scaled to stand transpiration and stand dry substance production and used to assess WUE. RUE is estimated from the ratio between the stand dry substance production and the accumulated absorbed photosynthetic active radiation over the growing season. The total stand transpiration rate for the 5 months lies between 100 and 325 mm, which is fairly low compared to the Penman-Monteith transpiration for willow, reaching 400-450 mm for the same period. Mean WUE of all clones and treatments is 5.3 g/kg, which is high compared to earlier studies, while average RUE is 0.31 g/mol, which is slightly low compared to other results. Generally, all clones, except for Jorunn, seem to be better off concerning biomass production, WUE and RUE than the reference clone. Jorr, Jorunn and Loden also seem to be able to cope with the reduced water availability with increase in the water use efficiency. Tora performs significantly better than the other clones concerning both growth and efficiency in light and water use, but the effect of the dry treatment on stem growth shows sensitivity to water availability. The reduced stem growth could be due to a change in allocation patterns

IPO Allocations: Discriminatory or Discretionary?

OpenAIRE

William Wilhelm; Alexander Ljungqvist

2001-01-01

We estimate the structural links between IPO allocations, pre-market information production, and initial underpricing returns, within the context of theories of bookbuilding. Using a sample of both US and international IPOs we find evidence of the following: ? IPO allocation policies favour institutional investors, both in the US and worldwide. ? Increasing institutional allocations results in offer prices that deviate more from the indicative price range established prior to bankers’ efforts...

Intelligent tactical asset allocation support system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hiemstra, Y.

1995-01-01

This paper presents an advanced support system for Tactical Asset Allocation. Asset allocation explains over 90% of portfolio performance (Brinson, Hood and Beebower, 1988). Tactical asset allocation adjusts a strategic portfolio on the basis of short term market outlooks. The system includes

Mean-downside risk versus mean-variance efficient asset class allocations in relation to the investment horizon

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruiter, de A.J.C.; Brouwer, F.

1996-01-01

In this paper we examine the difference between a Mean-Downside Risk (MDR) based asset allocation decision and a Mean-Variance (MV) based decision. Using a vector autoregressive specification, future return series, trom 1 month up to 10 years, of several US stock and bond asset classes have been

How should INGOs allocate resources?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scott Wisor

2012-02-01

Full Text Available International Non-governmental Organizations (INGOs face difficult choices when choosing to allocate resources. Given that the resources made available to INGOs fall far short of what is needed to reduce massive human rights deficits, any chosen scheme of resource allocation requires failing to reach other individuals in great need. Facing these moral opportunity costs, what moral reasons should guide INGO resource allocation? Two reasons that clearly matter, and are recognized by philosophers and development practitioners, are the consequences (or benefit or harm reduction of any given resource allocation and the need (or priority of individual beneficiaries. If accepted, these reasons should lead INGOs to allocate resources to a limited number of countries where the most prioritarian weighted harm reduction will be achieved. I make three critiques against this view. First, on grounds the consequentialist accepts, I argue that INGOs ought to maintain a reasonably wide distribution of resources. Second, I argue that even if one is a consequentialist, consequentialism ought not act as an action guiding principle for INGOs. Third, I argue that additional moral reasons should influence decision making about INGO resource allocation. Namely, INGO decision making should attend to relational reasons, desert, respect for agency, concern for equity, and the importance of expressing a view of moral wrongs.

A resource allocation model to support efficient air quality ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Efficient implementation of policies and strategies require that ... †Graduate School of Business Leadership, University of South Africa, P.O. Box 392, Pretoria, 0003, .... and source, emissions, air quality and meteorological data reporting.

26 CFR 1.1446-2 - Determining a partnership's effectively connected taxable income allocable to foreign partners...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... section 754 (see § 1.743-1(j)). The character of effectively connected partnership items (capital versus... of a partner's basis in the partnership, see section 704(d)) or any capital loss carrybacks or... A's allocable share of partnership ECTI, the amount of the long-term capital loss that may be taken...

Cost-allocation principles for pipeline capacity and usage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salant, D.J.; Watkins, G.C.

1996-01-01

The issue of cost sharing among multiple users of transmission facilities, such as pipelines, was discussed. The various ways in which a fair and reasonable pipeline cost-allocation scheme can be implemented were examined. It was suggested that no method exists for allocating costs that will achieve all major policy goals. The advantages and disadvantages of a system of uniform rates, such as postage stamp tolls, was discussed in the context of a natural gas pipeline system. A postage stamp system is one in which all users pay the same amount per unit of capacity, regardless of transport distances. This rate structure, while sometimes appropriate, is inefficient if total costs are distance-sensitive or if there is a significant variation in the sources of demand. Two commonly accepted minimal principles that a cost allocation should satisfy include: (1) the stand-alone cost test, and (2) the incremental cost test. This means that no one should pay costs in excess of their stand-alone costs and no one should pay less than their incremental costs. Postage stamp tolls were found to fail the minimal set of commonly applied principles. More optimal ways in which to allocate pipeline network costs among users were presented. The nucleolus is a unique cost allocation that is consistent, symmetric and homogeneous. The nucleolus is calculated by splitting the costs equally among users of a common facility. Another effective cost allocation system is the Shapley value which can be derived from a set of axioms which differ slightly from those that identify the nucleolus. 2 refs., 1 tab

Cost-allocation principles for pipeline capacity and usage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salant, D.J.; Watkins, G.C. [Law and Economics Consulting Group, Emeryville, CA (United States)

1996-12-31

The issue of cost sharing among multiple users of transmission facilities, such as pipelines, was discussed. The various ways in which a fair and reasonable pipeline cost-allocation scheme can be implemented were examined. It was suggested that no method exists for allocating costs that will achieve all major policy goals. The advantages and disadvantages of a system of uniform rates, such as postage stamp tolls, was discussed in the context of a natural gas pipeline system. A postage stamp system is one in which all users pay the same amount per unit of capacity, regardless of transport distances. This rate structure, while sometimes appropriate, is inefficient if total costs are distance-sensitive or if there is a significant variation in the sources of demand. Two commonly accepted minimal principles that a cost allocation should satisfy include: (1) the stand-alone cost test, and (2) the incremental cost test. This means that no one should pay costs in excess of their stand-alone costs and no one should pay less than their incremental costs. Postage stamp tolls were found to fail the minimal set of commonly applied principles. More optimal ways in which to allocate pipeline network costs among users were presented. The nucleolus is a unique cost allocation that is consistent, symmetric and homogeneous. The nucleolus is calculated by splitting the costs equally among users of a common facility. Another effective cost allocation system is the Shapley value which can be derived from a set of axioms which differ slightly from those that identify the nucleolus. 2 refs., 1 tab.

Modeling Budget Optimum Allocation of Khorasan Razavi Province Agriculture Sector

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Mohammad Fahimifard

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Stock shortage is one of the development impasses in developing countries and trough it the agriculture sector has faced with the most limitation. The share of Iran’s agricultural sector from total investments after the Islamic revolution (1979 has been just 5.5 percent. This fact causes low efficiency in Iran’s agriculture sector. For instance per each 1 cubic meter of water in Iran’s agriculture sector, less that 1 kilogram dry food produced and each Iranian farmer achieves less annual income and has less mechanization in comparison with similar countries in Iran’s 1404 perspective document. Therefore, it is clear that increasing investment in agriculture sector, optimize the budget allocation for this sector is mandatory however has not been adequately and scientifically revised until now. Thus, in this research optimum budget allocation of Iran- Khorasan Razavi province agriculture sector was modeled. Materials and Methods: In order to model the optimum budget allocation of Khorasan Razavi province’s agriculture sector at first optimum budget allocation between agriculture programs was modeled with compounding three indexes: 1. Analyzing the priorities of Khorasan Razavi province’s agriculture sector experts with the application of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP, 2. The average share of agriculture sector programs from 4th country’s development program for Khorasan Razavi province’s agriculture sector, and 3.The average share of agriculture sector programs from 5th country’s development program for Khorasan Razavi province’s agriculture sector. Then, using Delphi technique potential indexes of each program was determined. After that, determined potential indexes were weighted using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP and finally, using numerical taxonomy model to optimize allocation of the program’s budget between cities based on two scenarios. Required data, also was gathered from the budget and planning

Biomass Resource Allocation among Competing End Uses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Newes, E.; Bush, B.; Inman, D.; Lin, Y.; Mai, T.; Martinez, A.; Mulcahy, D.; Short, W.; Simpkins, T.; Uriarte, C.; Peck, C.

2012-05-01

The Biomass Scenario Model (BSM) is a system dynamics model developed by the U.S. Department of Energy as a tool to better understand the interaction of complex policies and their potential effects on the biofuels industry in the United States. However, it does not currently have the capability to account for allocation of biomass resources among the various end uses, which limits its utilization in analysis of policies that target biomass uses outside the biofuels industry. This report provides a more holistic understanding of the dynamics surrounding the allocation of biomass among uses that include traditional use, wood pellet exports, bio-based products and bioproducts, biopower, and biofuels by (1) highlighting the methods used in existing models' treatments of competition for biomass resources; (2) identifying coverage and gaps in industry data regarding the competing end uses; and (3) exploring options for developing models of biomass allocation that could be integrated with the BSM to actively exchange and incorporate relevant information.

Application of case mix index in the allocation of nursing human resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Binru; Chen, Xi; Li, Qiuping

2018-02-23

To investigate the feasibility of the case mix index and compare the allocation of nursing human resources between two departments of a hospital with different case mix indexes in China. The case mix index is used to assess the resource allocation of all cases in two departments of a hospital. Its values can determine the resource allocation required to diagnose and treat the patients. Clinical data were obtained from 23 different departments in 2015 and analysed retrospectively from October to November, 2016. Factors influencing the allocation of registered nurses were identified, and balanced quantities of patients with different case mix indexes were chosen from two departments. Spearman correlation analysis was performed. The per capita nursing workload was significant (r = .669, p = .000). The length of hospital stay, quantity of nurses, and department case mix index were correlated with the nursing workload (t = 4.211, p = .000; t = 2.962, p = .008; t = 2.266, p = .035). Education levels (Z = -1.391, p = .164) and the professional titles (Z = -1.832, p = .067) of the nurses were not statistically significant, whereas the registered nurse level differed between two departments (Z = -2.125, p = .034). The case management index provides references for the efficient allocation of registered nurses in clinical practice. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

An efficient algorithm for nucleolus and prekernel computation in some classes of TU-games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Faigle, U.; Kern, Walter; Kuipers, J.

1998-01-01

We consider classes of TU-games. We show that we can efficiently compute an allocation in the intersection of the prekernel and the least core of the game if we can efficiently compute the minimum excess for any given allocation. In the case where the prekernel of the game contains exactly one core

A Compromise Programming Model for Highway Maintenance Resources Allocation Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Xiong

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper formulates a bilevel compromise programming model for allocating resources between pavement and bridge deck maintenances. The first level of the model aims to solve the resource allocation problems for pavement management and bridge deck maintenance, without considering resource sharing between them. At the second level, the model uses the results from the first step as an input and generates the final solution to the resource-sharing problem. To solve the model, the paper applies genetic algorithms to search for the optimal solution. We use a combination of two digits to represent different maintenance types. Results of numerical examples show that the conditions of both pavements and bridge decks are improved significantly by applying compromise programming, rather than conventional methods. Resources are also utilized more efficiently when the proposed method is applied.

A Dynamic Programming-Based Sustainable Inventory-Allocation Planning Problem with Carbon Emissions and Defective Item Disposal under a Fuzzy Random Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kai Kang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available There is a growing concern that business enterprises focus primarily on their economic activities and ignore the impact of these activities on the environment and the society. This paper investigates a novel sustainable inventory-allocation planning model with carbon emissions and defective item disposal over multiple periods under a fuzzy random environment. In this paper, a carbon credit price and a carbon cap are proposed to demonstrate the effect of carbon emissions’ costs on the inventory-allocation network costs. The percentage of poor quality products from manufacturers that need to be rejected is assumed to be fuzzy random. Because of the complexity of the model, dynamic programming-based particle swarm optimization with multiple social learning structures, a DP-based GLNPSO, and a fuzzy random simulation are proposed to solve the model. A case is then given to demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed model and the DP-based GLNPSO algorithm. The results found that total costs across the inventory-allocation network varied with changes in the carbon cap and that carbon emissions’ reductions could be utilized to gain greater profits.

WEAK EFFICIENCY AND LINEAR REGRESSION OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN MARKETS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davtyan Azat

2013-07-01

Those findings can be used for deeper investigation of market efficiency by highlighting convergence processes of CEE countries with EU old member states. Also effective capital allocation channels, institutional foundations of markets and strengthening of corporate governance should be highlighted. Finally, the outcomes of my paper will be useful for researchers in the field of finance.

Measuring energy efficiency in economics: Shadow value approach

Science.gov (United States)

Khademvatani, Asgar

For decades, academic scholars and policy makers have commonly applied a simple average measure, energy intensity, for studying energy efficiency. In contrast, we introduce a distinctive marginal measure called energy shadow value (SV) for modeling energy efficiency drawn on economic theory. This thesis demonstrates energy SV advantages, conceptually and empirically, over the average measure recognizing marginal technical energy efficiency and unveiling allocative energy efficiency (energy SV to energy price). Using a dual profit function, the study illustrates how treating energy as quasi-fixed factor called quasi-fixed approach offers modeling advantages and is appropriate in developing an explicit model for energy efficiency. We address fallacies and misleading results using average measure and demonstrate energy SV advantage in inter- and intra-country energy efficiency comparison. Energy efficiency dynamics and determination of efficient allocation of energy use are shown through factors impacting energy SV: capital, technology, and environmental obligations. To validate the energy SV, we applied a dual restricted cost model using KLEM dataset for the 35 US sectors stretching from 1958 to 2000 and selected a sample of the four sectors. Following the empirical results, predicted wedges between energy price and the SV growth indicate a misallocation of energy use in stone, clay and glass (SCG) and communications (Com) sectors with more evidence in the SCG compared to the Com sector, showing overshoot in energy use relative to optimal paths and cost increases from sub-optimal energy use. The results show that energy productivity is a measure of technical efficiency and is void of information on the economic efficiency of energy use. Decomposing energy SV reveals that energy, capital and technology played key roles in energy SV increases helping to consider and analyze policy implications of energy efficiency improvement. Applying the marginal measure, we also

Asset Allocation of Mutual Fund Investors

OpenAIRE

Dengpan Luo

2003-01-01

This paper studies mutual fund investors' asset allocation decisions using monthly flow data of U.S mutual fund industry from 1984 to 1998. We find that mutual fund investors change their asset allocations between stocks and bonds in reaction to business conditions tracked by changes in expected stock market returns. They tend to allocate less into stock funds during the trough of a business cycle when expected stock market returns are higher and to allocate more into stock funds during the p...

SSC accelerator availability allocation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, K.T.; Franciscovich, J.

1991-03-01

Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) operational availability is an area of major concern, judged by the Central Design Group to present such risk that use of modern engineering tools would be essential to program success. Experience has shown that as accelerator beam availability falls below about 80%, efficiency of physics experiments degrades rapidly due to inability to maintain adequate coincident accelerator and detector operation. For this reason, the SSC availability goal has been set at 80%, even though the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory accelerator, with a fraction of the SSC's complexity, has only recently approached that level. This paper describes the allocation of the top-level goal to part-level reliability and maintainability requirements, and it gives the results of parameter sensitivity studies designed to help identify the best approach to achieve the needed system availability within funding and schedule constraints. 1 ref., 12 figs., 4 tabs

40 CFR 60.4142 - Hg allowance allocations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Hg allowance allocations. 60.4142... Coal-Fired Electric Steam Generating Units Hg Allowance Allocations § 60.4142 Hg allowance allocations. (a)(1) The baseline heat input (in MMBtu) used with respect to Hg allowance allocations under...

A cooperative online learning scheme for resource allocation in 5G systems

KAUST Repository

Alqerm, Ismail; Shihada, Basem

2016-01-01

The demand on mobile Internet related services has increased the need for higher bandwidth in cellular networks. The 5G technology is envisioned as a solution to satisfy this demand as it provides high data rates and scalable bandwidth. The multi-tier heterogeneous structure of 5G with dense base station deployment, relays, and device-to-device (D2D) communications intends to serve users with different QoS requirements. However, the multi-tier structure causes severe interference among the multi-tier users which further complicates the resource allocation problem. In this paper, we propose a cooperative scheme to tackle the interference problem, including both cross-tier interference that affects macro users from other tiers and co-tier interference, which is among users belong to the same tier. The scheme employs an online learning algorithm for efficient spectrum allocation with power and modulation adaptation capability. Our evaluation results show that our online scheme outperforms others and achieves significant improvements in throughput, spectral efficiency, fairness, and outage ratio. © 2016 IEEE.

A cooperative online learning scheme for resource allocation in 5G systems

KAUST Repository

Alqerm, Ismail

2016-07-26

The demand on mobile Internet related services has increased the need for higher bandwidth in cellular networks. The 5G technology is envisioned as a solution to satisfy this demand as it provides high data rates and scalable bandwidth. The multi-tier heterogeneous structure of 5G with dense base station deployment, relays, and device-to-device (D2D) communications intends to serve users with different QoS requirements. However, the multi-tier structure causes severe interference among the multi-tier users which further complicates the resource allocation problem. In this paper, we propose a cooperative scheme to tackle the interference problem, including both cross-tier interference that affects macro users from other tiers and co-tier interference, which is among users belong to the same tier. The scheme employs an online learning algorithm for efficient spectrum allocation with power and modulation adaptation capability. Our evaluation results show that our online scheme outperforms others and achieves significant improvements in throughput, spectral efficiency, fairness, and outage ratio. © 2016 IEEE.

Efficiently Inefficient Markets for Assets and Asset Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garleanu, Nicolae; Pedersen, Lasse Heje

We consider a model where investors can invest directly or search for an asset manager, information about assets is costly, and managers charge an endogenous fee. The efficiency of asset prices is linked to the efficiency of the asset management market: if investors can find managers more easily......, more money is allocated to active management, fees are lower, and asset prices are more efficient. Informed managers outperform after fees, uninformed managers underperform after fees, and the net performance of the average manager depends on the number of "noise allocators." Small investors should...... be passive, but large and sophisticated investors benefit from searching for informed active managers since their search cost is low relative to capital. Hence, managers with larger and more sophisticated investors are expected to outperform....

18 CFR 367.28 - Methods of allocation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 18 Conservation of Power and Water Resources 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Methods of allocation... Instructions § 367.28 Methods of allocation. Indirect costs and compensation for use of capital must be... allocation. Both direct and allocated indirect costs on projects must be assigned among those companies in...

Optimal allocation of resources in systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Derman, C.; Lieberman, G.J.; Ross, S.M.

1975-01-01

In the design of a new system, or the maintenance of an old system, allocation of resources is of prime consideration. In allocating resources it is often beneficial to develop a solution that yields an optimal value of the system measure of desirability. In the context of the problems considered in this paper the resources to be allocated are components already produced (assembly problems) and money (allocation in the construction or repair of systems). The measure of desirability for system assembly will usually be maximizing the expected number of systems that perform satisfactorily and the measure in the allocation context will be maximizing the system reliability. Results are presented for these two types of general problems in both a sequential (when appropriate) and non-sequential context

Effect of microbial enzyme allocation strategies on stoichiometry of soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition

Science.gov (United States)

Wutzler, Thomas

2014-05-01

We explored different strategies of soil microbial community to invest resources into extracellular enzymes by conceptual modelling. Similar to the EEZY model by Moorhead et al. (2012), microbial community can invest into two separate pools of enzymes that depolymerize two different SOM pools. We show that with assuming that a fixed fraction of substrate uptake is allocated to enzymes, the microbial dynamics decouples from decomposition dynamics. We propose an alternative formulation where investment into enzymes is proportional to microbial biomass. Next, we show that the strategy of optimizing stoichiometry of decomposition flux according to microbial biomass stoichiometry yield less microbial growth than the strategy of optimizing revenue of the currently limiting element. However, both strategies result in better usage of the resources, i.e. less C overflow or N mineralization, than the strategy of equal allocation to both enzymes. Further, we discuss effects of those strategies on decomposition of SOM and priming at different time scales and discuss several abstractions from the detailed model dynamics for usage in larger scale models.

Robust Power Allocation for Multi-Carrier Amplify-and-Forward Relaying Systems

KAUST Repository

Rao, Anlei

2012-09-08

It has been shown that adaptive power allocation can provide a substantial performance gain in wireless communication systems when perfect channel state information (CSI) is available at the transmitter. However when only imperfect CSI is available, the performance may degrade significantly, and as such robust power allocation schemes have been developed to minimize the effects of this degradation. In this paper, we investigate power allocation strategies for multicarrier systems, in which each subcarrier employs single amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying scheme. Optimal power allocation schemes are proposed by maximizing the approximated channel capacity under aggregate power constraint (APC) and separate power constraint (SPC). By comparison with the uniform power allocation scheme and the best channel power allocation scheme, we confirm that both the APC and SPC schemes achieve a performance gain over benchmark schemes. In addition, the impact of channel uncertainty is also considered in this paper by modeling the uncertainty regions as bounded sets, and results show that the uncertainty can degrade the worst-case performance significantly.

Attribute framing affects the perceived fairness of health care allocation principles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eyal Gamliel

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Health care resource allocation is a central moral issue in health policy, and opinions about it have been studied extensively. Allocation situations have typically been described and presented in a positive manner (i.e., who should receive medical aid. On the other hand, the negative valence allocation situation (i.e., who should not receive medical aid has been relatively neglected. This paper demonstrates how positive versus negative framing of the exact same health care resource allocation situation can affect the perceived fairness of allocation principles. Participants usually perceived non-egalitarian principles (i.e., need, equity and tenure to be fairer in positively framed situations (i.e., to deliver health care resources to certain patients than negatively framed situation (i.e., not to deliver health care resources to other patients. However, framing did not affect the perceived fairness of the equality principle (i.e., a random draw. The paper offers a theoretical explanation for the effect of framing on the perceived fairness of heath care resource allocation and discusses implications for both researchers and policy makers.

Resource allocation decision modeling for a Louisiana Public Benefit Fund program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaiser, Mark J.; Pulsipher, Allan G.

2003-01-01

A simulation model is developed to value energy efficiency improvement programs in Louisiana proposed to be delivered through a Public Benefits Fund. A uniform 1 mill/kW h non-bypassable surcharge on the electric rates of all electricity users is proposed to be distributed for low-income bill assistance, low-income weatherization, and energy efficiency programs across the residential and commercial sector of Louisiana. The economic and environmental impact of the energy improvement programs is coupled to a stochastic linear program to specify the resource allocation subject to policy and system constraints. The model is illustrated through a realistic policy scenario. (Author)

Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) 10: operationalising disinvestment in a conceptual framework for resource allocation.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Claire; Green, Sally; Elshaug, Adam G

2017-09-08

This is the tenth in a series of papers reporting a program of Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) in a local healthcare setting. After more than a decade of research, there is little published evidence of active and successful disinvestment. The paucity of frameworks, methods and tools is reported to be a factor in the lack of success. However there are clear and consistent messages in the literature that can be used to inform development of a framework for operationalising disinvestment. This paper, along with the conceptual review of disinvestment in Paper 9 of this series, aims to integrate the findings of the SHARE Program with the existing disinvestment literature to address the lack of information regarding systematic organisation-wide approaches to disinvestment at the local health service level. A framework for disinvestment in a local healthcare setting is proposed. Definitions for essential terms and key concepts underpinning the framework have been made explicit to address the lack of consistent terminology. Given the negative connotations of the word 'disinvestment' and the problems inherent in considering disinvestment in isolation, the basis for the proposed framework is 'resource allocation' to address the spectrum of decision-making from investment to disinvestment. The focus is positive: optimising healthcare, improving health outcomes, using resources effectively. The framework is based on three components: a program for decision-making, projects to implement decisions and evaluate outcomes, and research to understand and improve the program and project activities. The program consists of principles for decision-making and settings that provide opportunities to introduce systematic prompts and triggers to initiate disinvestment. The projects follow the steps in the disinvestment process. Potential methods and tools are presented, however the framework does not stipulate project design or conduct; allowing

Allocating multiple units

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tranæs, Torben; Krishna, Kala

2002-01-01

This paper studies the allocation and rent distribution in multi-unit, combinatorial-bid auctions under complete information. We focus on the natural multi-unit analogue of the first-price auction, where buyers bid total payments, pay their bids, and where the seller allocates goods to maximize his...... auction, which is the multi unit analogue of a second-price auction. Furthermore, we characterize these equilibria when valuations take a number of different forms: diminishing marginal valuations, increasing average valuations, and marginal valuations with single turning points...

On energy efficient power allocation for power-constrained systems

KAUST Repository

Sboui, Lokman; Rezki, Zouheir; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2014-01-01

of the optimal power with instantaneous channel gain based on EE criterion. We show that the relation between the EE and the spectral efficiency (SE) when the optimal power is adopted is strictly increasing in contrast with the SE-EE trade-off discussed

ESG Allocations

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Housing and Urban Development — This report displays the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), formerly Emergency Shelter Grants, allocation by jurisdiction. The website allows users to look at...

Ethical models in bioethics: theory and application in organ allocation policies.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrini, C

2010-12-01

Policies for allocating organs to people awaiting a transplant constitute a major ethical challenge. First and foremost, they demand balance between the principles of beneficence and justice, but many other ethically relevant principles are also involved: autonomy, responsibility, equity, efficiency, utility, therapeutic outcome, medical urgency, and so forth. Various organ allocation models can be developed based on the hierarchical importance assigned to a given principle over the others, but none of the principles should be completely disregarded. An ethically acceptable organ allocation policy must therefore be in conformity, to a certain extent, with the requirements of all the principles. Many models for organ allocation can be derived. The utilitarian model aims to maximize benefits, which can be of various types on a social or individual level, such as the number of lives saved, prognosis, and so forth. The prioritarian model favours the neediest or those who suffer most. The egalitarian model privileges equity and justice, suggesting that all people should have an equal opportunity (casual allocation) or priority should be given to those who have been waiting longer. The personalist model focuses on each individual patient, attempting to mesh together all the various aspects affecting the person: therapeutic needs (urgency), fairness, clinical outcomes, respect for persons. In the individualistic model the main element is free choice and the system of opting-in is privileged. Contrary to the individualistic model, the communitarian model identities in the community the fundamental elements for the legitimacy of choices: therefore, the system of opting-out is privileged. This article does not aim at suggesting practical solutions. Rather, it furnishes to decision makers an overview on the possible ethical approach to this matter.

Automation trust and attention allocation in multitasking workspace.

Science.gov (United States)

Karpinsky, Nicole D; Chancey, Eric T; Palmer, Dakota B; Yamani, Yusuke

2018-07-01

Previous research suggests that operators with high workload can distrust and then poorly monitor automation, which has been generally inferred from automation dependence behaviors. To test automation monitoring more directly, the current study measured operators' visual attention allocation, workload, and trust toward imperfect automation in a dynamic multitasking environment. Participants concurrently performed a manual tracking task with two levels of difficulty and a system monitoring task assisted by an unreliable signaling system. Eye movement data indicate that operators allocate less visual attention to monitor automation when the tracking task is more difficult. Participants reported reduced levels of trust toward the signaling system when the tracking task demanded more focused visual attention. Analyses revealed that trust mediated the relationship between the load of the tracking task and attention allocation in Experiment 1, an effect that was not replicated in Experiment 2. Results imply a complex process underlying task load, visual attention allocation, and automation trust during multitasking. Automation designers should consider operators' task load in multitasking workspaces to avoid reduced automation monitoring and distrust toward imperfect signaling systems. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The allocation of resources for animal health.

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, K S

2017-04-01

Economics is too important to be left to the experts. This paper is therefore mainly for animal health policy-makers who are not economists but want a better appreciation of how economics can contribute to resource allocation decisions. First, the methodology of economic analysis is outlined with the objective of dispelling criticisms of its simplifying assumption of rationality. Then, unusual in economics but more familiar to biological and veterinary scientists, the technical aspects of transforming resources into products are discussed. Economics' unique contribution is to establish criteria enabling society to obtain maximum value from the production and distribution of goods and services (products) from scarce resources. Animal disease reduces the efficiency of this process. Value is intangible, but people reveal how much they value (i.e. feel a want or need for) products by what they actually consume, in quality and quantity. Animal products, and so implicitly animals themselves, are an example. The strength of people's preferences is reflected both in the prices they pay for market goods and services, and by their political votes where markets do not exist. Importantly, there is a difference between financial value (what the consumer pays for a good or service) and economic value (the maximum amount of money they would be prepared to pay for it). Allocating resources for animal health creates both costs and benefits, financial and economic. Moreover, costs and benefits are both private and social because of externalities, a major consideration in infectious diseases. Where production decisions with animal health implications are made exclusively for private benefit, government has a role in providing incentives for animal sectors to act in ways that result in socially efficient outcomes.

Plant reproductive allocation predicts herbivore dynamics across spatial and temporal scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Tom E X; Tyre, Andrew J; Louda, Svata M

2006-11-01

Life-history theory suggests that iteroparous plants should be flexible in their allocation of resources toward growth and reproduction. Such plasticity could have consequences for herbivores that prefer or specialize on vegetative versus reproductive structures. To test this prediction, we studied the response of the cactus bug (Narnia pallidicornis) to meristem allocation by tree cholla cactus (Opuntia imbricata). We evaluated the explanatory power of demographic models that incorporated variation in cactus relative reproductive effort (RRE; the proportion of meristems allocated toward reproduction). Field data provided strong support for a single model that defined herbivore fecundity as a time-varying, increasing function of host RRE. High-RRE plants were predicted to support larger insect populations, and this effect was strongest late in the season. Independent field data provided strong support for these qualitative predictions and suggested that plant allocation effects extend across temporal and spatial scales. Specifically, late-season insect abundance was positively associated with interannual changes in cactus RRE over 3 years. Spatial variation in insect abundance was correlated with variation in RRE among five cactus populations across New Mexico. We conclude that plant allocation can be a critical component of resource quality for insect herbivores and, thus, an important mechanism underlying variation in herbivore abundance across time and space.

Who should do what in environmental management? Twelve principles for allocating responsibilities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mostert, E.

2015-01-01

In environmental management there is often discussion on the allocation of responsibilities. Such discussions can continue for a long time and can form an obstacle for effective action. In this article twelve normative principles for the allocation of responsibilities are identified, coming from

Dynamic Task Allocation in Multi-Hop Multimedia Wireless Sensor Networks with Low Mobility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klaus Moessner

2013-10-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a task allocation-oriented framework to enable efficient in-network processing and cost-effective multi-hop resource sharing for dynamic multi-hop multimedia wireless sensor networks with low node mobility, e.g., pedestrian speeds. The proposed system incorporates a fast task reallocation algorithm to quickly recover from possible network service disruptions, such as node or link failures. An evolutional self-learning mechanism based on a genetic algorithm continuously adapts the system parameters in order to meet the desired application delay requirements, while also achieving a sufficiently long network lifetime. Since the algorithm runtime incurs considerable time delay while updating task assignments, we introduce an adaptive window size to limit the delay periods and ensure an up-to-date solution based on node mobility patterns and device processing capabilities. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that yields multi-objective task allocation in a mobile multi-hop wireless environment under dynamic conditions. Simulations are performed in various settings, and the results show considerable performance improvement in extending network lifetime compared to heuristic mechanisms. Furthermore, the proposed framework provides noticeable reduction in the frequency of missing application deadlines.

Systematic review of strategies to manage and allocate scarce resources during mass casualty events.

Science.gov (United States)

Timbie, Justin W; Ringel, Jeanne S; Fox, D Steven; Pillemer, Francesca; Waxman, Daniel A; Moore, Melinda; Hansen, Cynthia K; Knebel, Ann R; Ricciardi, Richard; Kellermann, Arthur L

2013-06-01

Efficient management and allocation of scarce medical resources can improve outcomes for victims of mass casualty events. However, the effectiveness of specific strategies has never been systematically reviewed. We analyze published evidence on strategies to optimize the management and allocation of scarce resources across a wide range of mass casualty event contexts and study designs. Our literature search included MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Global Health, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, from 1990 through late 2011. We also searched the gray literature, using the New York Academy of Medicine's Grey Literature Report and key Web sites. We included both English- and foreign-language articles. We included studies that evaluated strategies used in actual mass casualty events or tested through drills, exercises, or computer simulations. We excluded studies that lacked a comparison group or did not report quantitative outcomes. Data extraction, quality assessment, and strength of evidence ratings were conducted by a single researcher and reviewed by a second; discrepancies were reconciled by the 2 reviewers. Because of heterogeneity in outcome measures, we qualitatively synthesized findings within categories of strategies. From 5,716 potentially relevant citations, 74 studies met inclusion criteria. Strategies included reducing demand for health care services (18 studies), optimizing use of existing resources (50), augmenting existing resources (5), implementing crisis standards of care (5), and multiple categories (4). The evidence was sufficient to form conclusions on 2 strategies, although the strength of evidence was rated as low. First, as a strategy to reduce demand for health care services, points of dispensing can be used to efficiently distribute biological countermeasures after a bioterrorism attack or influenza pandemic, and their organization influences speed of

Impact of interspecific competition and drought on the allocation of new assimilates in trees.

Science.gov (United States)

Hommel, R; Siegwolf, R; Zavadlav, S; Arend, M; Schaub, M; Galiano, L; Haeni, M; Kayler, Z E; Gessler, A

2016-09-01

In trees, the interplay between reduced carbon assimilation and the inability to transport carbohydrates to the sites of demand under drought might be one of the mechanisms leading to carbon starvation. However, we largely lack knowledge on how drought effects on new assimilate allocation differ between species with different drought sensitivities and how these effects are modified by interspecific competition. We assessed the fate of (13) C labelled assimilates in above- and belowground plant organs and in root/rhizosphere respired CO2 in saplings of drought-tolerant Norway maple (Acer platanoides) and drought-sensitive European beech (Fagus sylvatica) exposed to moderate drought, either in mono- or mixed culture. While drought reduced stomatal conductance and photosynthesis rates in both species, both maintained assimilate transport belowground. Beech even allocated more new assimilate to the roots under moderate drought compared to non-limited water supply conditions, and this pattern was even more pronounced under interspecific competition. Even though maple was a superior competitor compared to beech under non-limited soil water conditions, as indicated by the changes in above- and belowground biomass of both species in the interspecific competition treatments, we can state that beech was still able to efficiently allocate new assimilate belowground under combined drought and interspecific competition. This might be seen as a strategy to maintain root osmotic potential and to prioritise root functioning. Our results thus show that beech tolerates moderate drought stress plus competition without losing its ability to supply belowground tissues. It remains to be explored in future work if this strategy is also valid during long-term drought exposure. © 2016 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

Mother's time allocation, child care and child cognitive development

OpenAIRE

BRILLI, Ylenia

2015-01-01

This paper analyzes the effects of maternal employment and non-parental child care on child cognitive development, taking into account the mother's time allocation between leisure and child-care time. I estimate a behavioral model, in which maternal labor supply, non-parental child care, goods expenditure and time allocation decisions are considered to be endogenous choices of the mother. The child cognitive development depends on maternal and non-parental child care and on the goods bought f...

Nitrogen nutrition of Canna indica: Effects of ammonium versus nitrate on growth, biomass allocation, photosynthesis, nitrate reductase activity and N uptake rates

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Konnerup, Dennis; Brix, Hans

2010-01-01

The effects of inorganic nitrogen (N) source (NH4+, NO3- or both) on growth, biomass allocation, photosynthesis, N uptake rate, nitrate reductase activity and mineral composition of Canna indica were studied in hydroponic culture. The relative growth rates (0.05-0.06 g g-1 d-1), biomass allocation...

[Need-based resource allocation--experiences with the RAWP formula in Great Britain].

Science.gov (United States)

Brand, H; Menke, R

1997-07-01

The RAWP formula used for resource allocation in Great Britain between 1976 and 1991 is a morbidity-oriented instrument of controlling, which has so far received only little attention in Germany. The development of this model was supported by the intention to intervene in the regional pattern of hospital supply by means of resource allocation and to refine it according to the guiding principles of equity and efficiency. The basic elements-regional population, average bed use, ICD chapter-specific SMRs-are discussed and the various modifications outlined. The RAWP formula's potentials of controlling resulted in a progressive reduction of the apparent disparities between regions in hospital supply, and knee was considered to be a "qualified success". The future development in the sense of an internal market addressed.

Multiresource allocation and scheduling for periodic soft real-time applications

Science.gov (United States)

Gopalan, Kartik; Chiueh, Tzi-cker

2001-12-01

Real-time applications that utilize multiple system resources, such as CPU, disks, and network links, require coordinated scheduling of these resources in order to meet their end-to-end performance requirements. Most state-of-the-art operating systems support independent resource allocation and deadline-driven scheduling but lack coordination among multiple heterogeneous resources. This paper describes the design and implementation of an Integrated Real-time Resource Scheduler (IRS) that performs coordinated allocation and scheduling of multiple heterogeneous resources on the same machine for periodic soft real-time application. The principal feature of IRS is a heuristic multi-resource allocation algorithm that reserves multiple resources for real-time applications in a manner that can maximize the number of applications admitted into the system in the long run. At run-time, a global scheduler dispatches the tasks of the soft real-time application to individual resource schedulers according to the precedence constraints between tasks. The individual resource schedulers, which could be any deadline based schedulers, can make scheduling decisions locally and yet collectively satisfy a real-time application's performance requirements. The tightness of overall timing guarantees is ultimately determined by the properties of individual resource schedulers. However, IRS maximizes overall system resource utilization efficiency by coordinating deadline assignment across multiple tasks in a soft real-time application.

Resource allocation in public health practice: a national survey of local public health officials.

Science.gov (United States)

Baum, Nancy M; DesRoches, Catherine; Campbell, Eric G; Goold, Susan Dorr

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to gain an empirical understanding of the types of allocation decisions local health officials (LHOs) make and the factors that influence those allocation decisions. We conducted a national survey of LHOs in the United States in 2008 to 2009. The sample was stratified by the size of the population served by the department. We merged our data with data from the 2008 National Association of County and City Health Officials Profile survey. Descriptive statistics were generated using weighted data. Our final sample size was 608 respondents, with an average of 10 years experience. The LHOs reported little shifting of resources among population groups but greater capacity to redirect staffing time. Less than half of LHOs reported using economic analyses or conducting needs assessments when setting priorities. Having sole provider status in a community strongly influenced LHOs' allocation decisions. In addition, the effectiveness of activities, previous budget allocations, and input from boards of health were influential factors in allocation decisions. Public expectations were moderately to very influential, but direct public input had a low impact on allocation decisions. Survey findings provide a clearer understanding of how LHOs fulfill their obligations as stewards of public health resources and ensure effective activities and access to needed services. It may be useful to assess the value of more structured allocation methods (eg, decision frameworks) in the allocation process. Expanding opportunities for public engagement in priority setting may also be valuable for difficult allocation decisions.

The Impact of Balanced Skills, Working Time Allocation and Peer Effects on the Entrepreneurial Intentions of Scientists

OpenAIRE

Petra Moog; Arndt Werner; Stefan Houweling; Uschi Backes-Gellner

2012-01-01

To date, little is known about the effects of the composition of skills on academic entrepreneurship. Therefore, in this paper, following Lazear’s (2005) jack-of-all-trades approach, we study how his or her composition of skills affects a scientist’s intention of becoming an entrepreneur. Extending Lazear, we examine how the effect of balanced entrepreneurial skills is moderated by a balanced working time allocations and peer effects. Using unique data collected from 480 life sciences researc...

Innovative Approach for Developing Spacecraft Interior Acoustic Requirement Allocation

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, S. Reynold; Dandaroy, Indranil; Allen, Christopher S.

2016-01-01

The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is an American spacecraft for carrying four astronauts during deep space missions. This paper describes an innovative application of Power Injection Method (PIM) for allocating Orion cabin continuous noise Sound Pressure Level (SPL) limits to the sound power level (PWL) limits of major noise sources in the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) during all mission phases. PIM is simulated using both Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) and Hybrid Statistical Energy Analysis-Finite Element (SEA-FE) models of the Orion MPCV to obtain the transfer matrix from the PWL of the noise sources to the acoustic energies of the receivers, i.e., the cavities associated with the cabin habitable volume. The goal of the allocation strategy is to control the total energy of cabin habitable volume for maintaining the required SPL limits. Simulations are used to demonstrate that applying the allocated PWLs to the noise sources in the models indeed reproduces the SPL limits in the habitable volume. The effects of Noise Control Treatment (NCT) on allocated noise source PWLs are investigated. The measurement of source PWLs of involved fan and pump development units are also discussed as it is related to some case-specific details of the allocation strategy discussed here.

Size-dependent sex allocation in Aconitum gymnandrum (Ranunculaceae): physiological basis and effects of maternal family and environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Z-G; Meng, J-L; Fan, B-L; Du, G-Z

2008-11-01

Theory predicts size-dependent sex allocation (SDS): flowers on plants with a high-resource status should have larger investment in females than plants with a low-resource status. Through a pot experiment with Aconitum gymnandrum (Ranunculaceae) in the field, we examined the relationship between sex allocation of individual flowers and plant size for different maternal families under different environmental conditions. We also determined the physiological base of variations in plant size. Our results support the prediction of SDS, and show that female-biased allocation with plant size is consistent under different environmental conditions. Negative correlations within families showed a plastic response of sex allocation to plant size. Negative genetic correlations between sex allocation and plant size at the family level indicate a genetic cause of the SDS pattern, although genetic correlation was influenced by environmental factors. Hence, the size-dependency of sex allocation in this species had both plastic and genetic causes. Furthermore, genotypes that grew large also had higher assimilation ability, thus showing a physiological basis for SDS.

On efficiency of fire simulation realization: parallelization with greater number of computational meshes

Science.gov (United States)

Valasek, Lukas; Glasa, Jan

2017-12-01

Current fire simulation systems are capable to utilize advantages of high-performance computer (HPC) platforms available and to model fires efficiently in parallel. In this paper, efficiency of a corridor fire simulation on a HPC computer cluster is discussed. The parallel MPI version of Fire Dynamics Simulator is used for testing efficiency of selected strategies of allocation of computational resources of the cluster using a greater number of computational cores. Simulation results indicate that if the number of cores used is not equal to a multiple of the total number of cluster node cores there are allocation strategies which provide more efficient calculations.

Near-optimal power allocation with PSO algorithm for MIMO cognitive networks using multiple AF two-way relays

KAUST Repository

Alsharoa, Ahmad M.

2014-06-01

In this paper, the problem of power allocation for a multiple-input multiple-output two-way system is investigated in underlay Cognitive Radio (CR) set-up. In the CR underlay mode, secondary users are allowed to exploit the spectrum allocated to primary users in an opportunistic manner by respecting a tolerated temperature limit. The secondary networks employ an amplify-and-forward two-way relaying technique in order to maximize the sum rate under power budget and interference constraints. In this context, we formulate an optimization problem that is solved in two steps. First, we derive a closed-form expression of the optimal power allocated to terminals. Then, we employ a strong optimization tool based on particle swarm optimization algorithm to find the power allocated to secondary relays. Simulation results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed solution and analyze the impact of some system parameters on the achieved performance. © 2014 IEEE.

Habitat allocation to maximize biodiversity: a technical description of the HAMBO model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groeneveld, R.A.; Rudrum, D.P.

2008-01-01

To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of spatial allocations of nature conservation, it is necessary that a benchmark allocation can be known that achieves the maximum ecological value at given costs. This calls for an optimisation model that takes into consideration the main ecological considerations,

A resource allocation model to support efficient air quality ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Research into management interventions that create the required enabling environment for growth and development in South Africa are both timely and appropriate. In the research reported in this paper, the authors investigated the level of efficiency of the Air Quality Units within the three spheres of government viz.

The dynamics of farm land allocation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arnberg, Søren; Hansen, Lars Gårn

This study develops a dynamic multi-output model of farmers’ crop allocation decisions that allows estimation of both short-run and long-run adjustments to a wide array of economic incentives. The method can be used to inform decision-makers about a number of issues including agricultural policy...... reform and environmental regulation. The model allows estimation of dynamic effects relating to price expectations adjustment, investment lags and crop rotation constraints. Estimation is based on micro-panel data from Danish farmers that includes acreage, output and variable input utilisation...... at the crop level. Results indicate that there are substantial differences between the shortrun and long-run land allocation behaviour of Danish farmers and that there are substantial differences in the time lags associated with different crops. Since similar farming conditions are found in northern Europe...

A probabilistic approach for optimal sensor allocation in structural health monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Azarbayejani, M; Reda Taha, M M; El-Osery, A I; Choi, K K

2008-01-01

Recent advances in sensor technology promote using large sensor networks to efficiently and economically monitor, identify and quantify damage in structures. In structural health monitoring (SHM) systems, the effectiveness and reliability of the sensor network are crucial to determine the optimal number and locations of sensors in SHM systems. Here, we suggest a probabilistic approach for identifying the optimal number and locations of sensors for SHM. We demonstrate a methodology to establish the probability distribution function that identifies the optimal sensor locations such that damage detection is enhanced. The approach is based on using the weights of a neural network trained from simulations using a priori knowledge about damage locations and damage severities to generate a normalized probability distribution function for optimal sensor allocation. We also demonstrate that the optimal sensor network can be related to the highest probability of detection (POD). The redundancy of the proposed sensor network is examined using a 'leave one sensor out' analysis. A prestressed concrete bridge is selected as a case study to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the proposed approach can provide a robust design for sensor networks that are more efficient than a uniform distribution of sensors on a structure

Do plants modulate biomass allocation in response to petroleum pollution?

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, Ming; Yang, Qiang; Jiang, Li-Fen; Fang, Chang-Ming; Chen, Jia-Kuan; Li, Bo

2010-01-01

Biomass allocation is an important plant trait that responds plastically to environmental heterogeneities. However, the effects on this trait of pollutants owing to human activities remain largely unknown. In this study, we investigated the response of biomass allocation of Phragmites australis to petroleum pollution by a 13CO2 pulse-labelling technique. Our data show that plant biomass significantly decreased under petroleum pollution, but the root–shoot ratio for both plant biomass and 13C increased with increasing petroleum concentration, suggesting that plants could increase biomass allocation to roots in petroleum-polluted soil. Furthermore, assimilated 13C was found to be significantly higher in soil, microbial biomass and soil respiration after soils were polluted by petroleum. These results suggested that the carbon released from roots is rapidly turned over by soil microbes under petroleum pollution. This study found that plants can modulate biomass allocation in response to petroleum pollution. PMID:20484231

A Channel Allocation Mechanism for Cellular Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chi-Hua Chen

2017-04-01

Full Text Available In cellular networks, call blocking causes lower customer satisfaction and economic loss. Therefore, the channel allocation for call block avoidance is an important issue. This study proposes a mechanism that considers the real-time traffic information (e.g., traffic flow and vehicle speed and the user behavior (e.g., call inter-arrival time and call holding time to analyze the adaptable number of communication calls in the specific cell for channel allocation. In experiments about call block probabilities (CBP, this study simulated two cases that are the situations of the whole day and traffic accident. The simulation results show that all CBPs in the scenario of whole day are less than 21.5% by using the proposed mechanism, which is better than using the static channel allocation (SCA mechanism. Moreover, all CBPs in the scenario of traffic accidents are less than 16.5% by using the proposed mechanism, which is better than using the SCA mechanism. Therefore, the proposed mechanism can decrease the number of CBPs effectively.