Modeling data revisions : Measurement error and dynamics of "true" values

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jacobs, Jan P. A. M.; van Norden, Simon

Policy makers must base their decisions on preliminary and partially revised data of varying reliability. Realistic modeling of data revisions is required to guide decision makers in their assessment of current and future conditions. This paper provides a new framework with which to model data

Design and simulations of a spectral efficient optical code division multiple access scheme using alternated energy differentiation and single-user soft-decision demodulation

Science.gov (United States)

A. Garba, Aminata

2017-01-01

This paper presents a new approach to optical Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network transmission scheme using alternated amplitude sequences and energy differentiation at the transmitters to allow concurrent and secure transmission of several signals. The proposed system uses error control encoding and soft-decision demodulation to reduce the multi-user interference at the receivers. The design of the proposed alternated amplitude sequences, the OCDMA energy modulators and the soft decision, single-user demodulators are also presented. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme allows achieving spectral efficiencies higher than several reported results for optical CDMA and much higher than the Gaussian CDMA capacity limit.

Construction of a knowledge classification scheme for sharing and usage of knowledge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Jae Bok; Oh, Jeong Hoon; Lee, Ji Ho; Ko, Young Chul

2003-12-01

To efficiently share knowledge among our members on the basis of knowledge management system, first of all, we need to systematically design the knowledge classification scheme that we can classify these knowledge well. The objective of this project is to construct the most suitable knowledge classification scheme that all of us can share them in Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute(KAERI). To construct the knowledge classification scheme all over the our organization, we established a few principles to design it and examined related many classification schemes. And we carried out 3 steps to complete the best desirable KAERI's knowledge classification scheme, that is, 1) the step to design a draft of the knowledge classification scheme, 2) the step to revise a draft of the knowledge classification scheme, 3) the step to verify the revised scheme and to decide its scheme. The scheme completed as a results of this project is consisted of total 218 items, that is, sections of 8 items, classes of 43 items and sub-classes of 167 items. We expect that the knowledge classification scheme designed as the results of this project can be played an important role as the frame to share knowledge among our members when we introduce knowledge management system in our organization. In addition, we expect that methods to design its scheme as well as this scheme itself can be applied when design a knowledge classification scheme at the other R and D institutes and enterprises

Study on the improvement of the convective differencing scheme for the high-accuracy and stable resolution of the numerical solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, J. K.; Choi, Y. D.

1992-01-01

QUICKER scheme has several attractive properties. However, under highly convective conditions, it produces overshoots and possibly some oscillations on each side of steps in the dependent variable when the flow is convected at an angle oblique to the grid line. Fortunately, it is possible to modify the QUICKER scheme using non-linear and linear functional relationship. Details of the development of polynomial upwinding scheme are given in this paper, where it is seen that this non-linear scheme has also third order accuracy. This polynomial upwinding scheme is used as the basis for the SHARPER and SMARTER schemes. Another revised scheme was developed by partial modification of QUICKER scheme using CDS and UPWIND schemes (QUICKUP). These revised schemes are tested at the well known bench mark flows, Two-Dimensional Pure Convection Flows in Oblique-Step, Lid Driven Cavity Flows and Buoyancy Driven Cavity Flows. For remain absolutely monotonic without overshoot and oscillation. QUICKUP scheme is more accurate than any other scheme in their relative accuracy. In high Reynolds number Lid Driven Catity Flow, SMARTER and SHARPER schemes retain lower computational cost than QUICKER and QUICKUP schemes, but computed velocity values in the revised schemes produced less predicted values than QUICKER scheme which is strongly effected by overshoot and undershoot values. Also, in Buoyancy Driven Cavity Flow, SMARTER, SHARPER and QUICKUP schemes give acceptable results. (Author)

Future perspectives toward the early definition of a multivariate decision-support scheme employed in clinical decision making for senior citizens.

Science.gov (United States)

Frantzidis, Christos A; Gilou, Sotiria; Billis, Antonis; Karagianni, Maria; Bratsas, Charalampos D; Bamidis, Panagiotis

2016-03-01

Recent neuroscientific studies focused on the identification of pathological neurophysiological patterns (emotions, geriatric depression, memory impairment and sleep disturbances) through computerised clinical decision-support systems. Almost all these research attempts employed either resting-state condition (e.g. eyes-closed) or event-related potentials extracted during a cognitive task known to be affected by the disease under consideration. This Letter reviews existing data mining techniques and aims to enhance their robustness by proposing a holistic decision framework dealing with comorbidities and early symptoms' identification, while it could be applied in realistic occasions. Multivariate features are elicited and fused in order to be compared with average activities characteristic of each neuropathology group. A proposed model of the specific cognitive function which may be based on previous findings (a priori information) and/or validated by current experimental data should be then formed. So, the proposed scheme facilitates the early identification and prevention of neurodegenerative phenomena. Neurophysiological semantic annotation is hypothesised to enhance the importance of the proposed framework in facilitating the personalised healthcare of the information society and medical informatics research community.

Navigators’ Behavior in Traffic Separation Schemes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zbigniew Pietrzykowski

2015-03-01

Full Text Available One of the areas of decision support in the navigational ship conduct process is a Traffic Separation Scheme. TSSs are established in areas with high traffic density, often near the shore and in port approaches. The main purpose of these schemes is to improve maritime safety by channeling vessel traffic into streams. Traffic regulations as well as ships behavior in real conditions in chosen TSSs have been analyzed in order to develop decision support algorithms.

A Regional Decision Support Scheme for Pest Risk Analysis in Southeast Asia.

Science.gov (United States)

Soliman, T; MacLeod, A; Mumford, J D; Nghiem, T P L; Tan, H T W; Papworth, S K; Corlett, R T; Carrasco, L R

2016-05-01

A key justification to support plant health regulations is the ability of quarantine services to conduct pest risk analyses (PRA). Despite the supranational nature of biological invasions and the close proximity and connectivity of Southeast Asian countries, PRAs are conducted at the national level. Furthermore, some countries have limited experience in the development of PRAs, which may result in inadequate phytosanitary responses that put their plant resources at risk to pests vectored via international trade. We review existing decision support schemes for PRAs and, following international standards for phytosanitary measures, propose new methods that adapt existing practices to suit the unique characteristics of Southeast Asia. Using a formal written expert elicitation survey, a panel of regional scientific experts was asked to identify and rate unique traits of Southeast Asia with respect to PRA. Subsequently, an expert elicitation workshop with plant protection officials was conducted to verify the potential applicability of the developed methods. Rich biodiversity, shortage of trained personnel, social vulnerability, tropical climate, agriculture-dependent economies, high rates of land-use change, and difficulties in implementing risk management options were identified as challenging Southeast Asian traits. The developed methods emphasize local Southeast Asian conditions and could help support authorities responsible for carrying out PRAs within the region. These methods could also facilitate the creation of other PRA schemes in low- and middle-income tropical countries. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

Waste Transfer Leaks Control Decision Record

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

RYAN, G.W.

2000-01-01

Control decision meetings for Waste Transfer Leaks were held on April 24,25,26, and 27, 2000. The agenda for the control decision meetings is included in Appendix A, and attendee lists are included in Appendix B. The purpose of the control decision meetings was to review and revise previously selected controls for the prevention or mitigation of waste transfer leak accidents. Re-evaluation of the controls is warranted due to revisions in the hazard and accident analysis for these Tank Farm events. In particular, calculated radiological consequences are significantly reduced from those currently reported in the Final Safety Analysis Report (FSAR). Revised hazard and accident analysis and a revised control recommendation will be reflected in an Authorization Basis Amendment to be submitted at the Department of Energy, Office of River Protection's (ORP's) request by June 30, 2000 to satisfy ORP Performance Incentive (PI) 2.1.1, Revision 1, ''Authorization Basis Management Process Efficiency Improvement''. The scope of the control decision meetings was to address all waste transfer leak-related hazardous conditions identified in the Tank Farm hazard analysis database, excluding those associated with the use of the Replacement Cross-Site Transfer System (RCSTS) slurry line and sluicing of Tank 241-C-106, which is addressed in FSAR Addendum 1. The scope of this control decision process does include future waste feed delivery waste transfer operations

Low-latency optical parallel adder based on a binary decision diagram with wavelength division multiplexing scheme

Science.gov (United States)

Shinya, A.; Ishihara, T.; Inoue, K.; Nozaki, K.; Kita, S.; Notomi, M.

2018-02-01

We propose an optical parallel adder based on a binary decision diagram that can calculate simply by propagating light through electrically controlled optical pass gates. The CARRY and CARRY operations are multiplexed in one circuit by a wavelength division multiplexing scheme to reduce the number of optical elements, and only a single gate constitutes the critical path for one digit calculation. The processing time reaches picoseconds per digit when we use a 100-μm-long optical path gates, which is ten times faster than a CMOS circuit.

A Digital Signature Scheme Based on MST3 Cryptosystems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haibo Hong

2014-01-01

Full Text Available As special types of factorization of finite groups, logarithmic signature and cover have been used as the main components of cryptographic keys for secret key cryptosystems such as PGM and public key cryptosystems like MST1, MST2, and MST3. Recently, Svaba et. al proposed a revised MST3 encryption scheme with greater security. Meanwhile, they put forward an idea of constructing signature schemes on the basis of logarithmic signatures and random covers. In this paper, we firstly design a secure digital signature scheme based on logarithmic signatures and random covers. In order to complete the task, we devise a new encryption scheme based on MST3 cryptosystems.

Planning of renewables schemes: Deliberative and fair decision-making on landscape issues instead of reproachful accusations of non-cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wolsink, Maarten

2007-01-01

The main issues related to successful implementation policies concern the socio-economic institutions that are conditional to planning in the energy policy domain, but also in the domain of spatial planning. Successful investments and the siting of renewable power plants eventually determine the success rate of national efforts in establishing renewable capacity. Central planning usually has several objectives and these often have a detrimental effect on the goal of renewable energy application. Current problems related to implementation decisions concerning wind power schemes are an example to those who will be faced by other renewable power plants, notably biomass. Regarding community acceptance of wind power schemes, the visual evaluation of the impact of wind power on the values of the landscape is by far the most dominant factor in explaining opposition or support. Type of landscape fully overshadows other attitudinal attributes, as well as other visual and scenic factors such as the design of wind turbines and wind farms, and the number and the size of turbines. Planning regimes and decision-making practices that really enhance the implementation processes of renewable energy require 'strong' ecological modernization. This means institutional changes that create involvement and trust of actors at the actual implementation level. Local opposition cannot be explained by the egotistical motives of local residents. When the inclination to behave according to (supposed) backyard motives is investigated, the scale to measure this phenomenon appears to indicate commitment to equity issues and fairness of decision-making. Hence, for wind power, local involvement to represent the local values of site-specific landscapes is crucial. For other renewables the source-specific features are different, but conflicts can be expected as well because the fairness of implementation decisions will be equally significant

Revised Cretaceous and Tertiary stratigraphic nomenclature in the Colville Basin, Northern Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Mull, Charles G.; Houseknecht, David W.; Bird, Kenneth J.

2003-01-01

A revised stratigraphic nomenclature is proposed for Cretaceous and Tertiary geologic units of the central and western North Slope of Alaska. This revised nomenclature is a simplified and broadly applicable scheme suitable for a suite of digital geologic quadrangle maps being prepared jointly by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and Division of Oil and Gas. This revised nomenclature scheme is a simplification of a complex stratigraphic terminology that developed piecemeal during five decades of geologic investigations of the North Slope. It is based on helicopter-supported geologic field investigations incorporating information from high-resolution aerial photography, satellite imagery, paleontology, reflection seismic records, and sequence stratigraphic concepts. This revised nomenclature proposes the abandonment of the Colville Group; demotion of the Nanushuk Group to formation status; abandonment of six formations (Kukpowruk, Tuktu, Grandstand, Corwin, Chandler, and Ninuluk); revision of four formations (Sagavanirktok, Prince Creek, Schrader Bluff, and Seabee); elevation of the Tuluvak Tongue of the Prince Creek Formation to formation status; revision of two members (Franklin Bluffs Member and Sagwon Member of the Sagavanirktok Formation); abandonment of eight members or tongues (Kogosukruk, Rogers Creek, Barrow Trail, Sentinel Hill, Ayiyak, Shale Wall, Niakogon, and Killik); and definition of one new member (White Hills Member of the Sagavanirktok Formation).

Managing uncertainty - a qualitative study of surgeons' decision-making for one-stage and two-stage revision surgery for prosthetic hip joint infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Andrew J; Blom, Ashley W; Whitehouse, Michael R; Gooberman-Hill, Rachael

2017-04-12

Approximately 88,000 primary hip replacements are performed in England and Wales each year. Around 1% go on to develop deep prosthetic joint infection. Between one-stage and two-stage revision arthroplasty best treatment options remain unclear. Our aims were to characterise consultant orthopaedic surgeons' decisions about performing either one-stage or two-stage revision surgery for patients with deep prosthetic infection (PJI) after hip arthroplasty, and to identify whether a randomised trial comparing one-stage with two-stage revision would be feasible. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 consultant surgeons who perform revision surgery for PJI after hip arthroplasty at 5 high-volume National Health Service (NHS) orthopaedic departments in England and Wales. Surgeons were interviewed before the development of a multicentre randomised controlled trial. Data were analysed using a thematic approach. There is no single standardised surgical intervention for the treatment of PJI. Surgeons balance multiple factors when choosing a surgical strategy which include multiple patient-related factors, their own knowledge and expertise, available infrastructure and the infecting organism. Surgeons questioned whether it was appropriate that the two-stage revision remained the best treatment, and some surgeons' willingness to consider more one-stage revisions had increased over recent years and were influenced by growing evidence showing equivalence between surgical techniques, and local observations of successful one-stage revisions. Custom-made articulating spacers was a practice that enabled uncertainty to be managed in the absence of definitive evidence about the superiority of one surgical technique over the other. Surgeons highlighted the need for research evidence to inform practice and thought that a randomised trial to compare treatments was needed. Most surgeons thought that patients who they treated would be eligible for trial participation in instances

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff practice and procedure digest. Commission, Appeal Board and Licensing Board decisions, July 1972-September 1985. Digest No. 4, Revision No. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-04-01

This Revision 1 of the fourth edition of the NRC Staff Practice and Procedure Digest contains a digest of a number of Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board, and Atomic Safety and Licensing Board decisions issued during the period from July 1, 1972 to September 30, 1985 interpreting the NRC's Rules of Practice in 10 CFR Part 2. This Revision 1 replaces earlier editions and supplements and includes appropriate changes reflecting the admendments to the Rules of Practice effective through September 20, 1985

An ex-ante economic evaluation of the Maternal and Child Health Voucher Scheme as a decision-making tool in Myanmar

Science.gov (United States)

Kingkaew, Pritaporn; Werayingyong, Pitsaphun; Aye, San San; Tin, Nilar; Singh, Alaka; Myint, Phone; Teerawattananon, Yot

2016-01-01

Reducing child and maternal mortality in order to meet the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5 remains a major challenge in Myanmar. Inadequate care during pregnancy and labour plays an important role in the maternal mortality rate in Myanmar. A Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Voucher Scheme comprising a subsidization for pregnant women to receive four antenatal care (ANC), delivery and postnatal care (PNC) free-of-charge was planned to help women overcome financial barriers in addition to raising awareness of ANC and delivery with skilled birth attendants (SBA), which can reduce the rate of maternal and neonatal death. This study is part of an ex-ante evaluation of a feasibility study of the MCH Voucher Scheme. A cost-utility analysis was conducted using a decision tree model to assess the cost per disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted from the MCH Voucher Scheme compared with the current situation. Most input parameters were obtained from Myanmar context. From the base-case analysis, where the financial burden on households was fully subsidized, the MCH Voucher Scheme increased utilization for ANC from 73% up to 93% and for delivery from SBAs from 51% up to and 71%, respectively; hence, it is considered to be very cost-effective with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 381 027 kyats per DALY averted (2010, price year). From the probabilistic sensitivity analysis, the MCH Voucher Scheme had a 52% chance of being a cost-effective option at 1 GDP per capita threshold compared to the current situation. Given that the Voucher Scheme is currently being implemented in one township in Myanmar as a result of this study, ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this scheme is warranted. PMID:26412858

An ex-ante economic evaluation of the Maternal and Child Health Voucher Scheme as a decision-making tool in Myanmar.

Science.gov (United States)

Kingkaew, Pritaporn; Werayingyong, Pitsaphun; Aye, San San; Tin, Nilar; Singh, Alaka; Myint, Phone; Teerawattananon, Yot

2016-05-01

Reducing child and maternal mortality in order to meet the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4 and 5 remains a major challenge in Myanmar. Inadequate care during pregnancy and labour plays an important role in the maternal mortality rate in Myanmar. A Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Voucher Scheme comprising a subsidization for pregnant women to receive four antenatal care (ANC), delivery and postnatal care (PNC) free-of-charge was planned to help women overcome financial barriers in addition to raising awareness of ANC and delivery with skilled birth attendants (SBA), which can reduce the rate of maternal and neonatal death. This study is part of an ex-ante evaluation of a feasibility study of the MCH Voucher Scheme. A cost-utility analysis was conducted using a decision tree model to assess the cost per disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) averted from the MCH Voucher Scheme compared with the current situation. Most input parameters were obtained from Myanmar context. From the base-case analysis, where the financial burden on households was fully subsidized, the MCH Voucher Scheme increased utilization for ANC from 73% up to 93% and for delivery from SBAs from 51% up to and 71%, respectively; hence, it is considered to be very cost-effective with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of 381 027 kyats per DALY averted (2010, price year). From the probabilistic sensitivity analysis, the MCH Voucher Scheme had a 52% chance of being a cost-effective option at 1 GDP per capita threshold compared to the current situation. Given that the Voucher Scheme is currently being implemented in one township in Myanmar as a result of this study, ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of this scheme is warranted. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Optimal Face-Iris Multimodal Fusion Scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Omid Sharifi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Multimodal biometric systems are considered a way to minimize the limitations raised by single traits. This paper proposes new schemes based on score level, feature level and decision level fusion to efficiently fuse face and iris modalities. Log-Gabor transformation is applied as the feature extraction method on face and iris modalities. At each level of fusion, different schemes are proposed to improve the recognition performance and, finally, a combination of schemes at different fusion levels constructs an optimized and robust scheme. In this study, CASIA Iris Distance database is used to examine the robustness of all unimodal and multimodal schemes. In addition, Backtracking Search Algorithm (BSA, a novel population-based iterative evolutionary algorithm, is applied to improve the recognition accuracy of schemes by reducing the number of features and selecting the optimized weights for feature level and score level fusion, respectively. Experimental results on verification rates demonstrate a significant improvement of proposed fusion schemes over unimodal and multimodal fusion methods.

Field Triage Decision Scheme: The National Trauma Triage Protocol

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

In this podcast, Dr. Richard C. Hunt, Director of CDC's Division of Injury Response, provides an overview on the development process and scientific basis for the revised field triage guidelines published in the MMWR Recommendations and Report: Guidelines for Field Triage of Injured Patients, Recommendations of the National Expert Panel on Field Triage.

Importance Sampling Based Decision Trees for Security Assessment and the Corresponding Preventive Control Schemes: the Danish Case Study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Liu, Leo; Rather, Zakir Hussain; Chen, Zhe

2013-01-01

Decision Trees (DT) based security assessment helps Power System Operators (PSO) by providing them with the most significant system attributes and guiding them in implementing the corresponding emergency control actions to prevent system insecurity and blackouts. DT is obtained offline from time...... and adopts a methodology of importance sampling to maximize the information contained in the database so as to increase the accuracy of DT. Further, this paper also studies the effectiveness of DT by implementing its corresponding preventive control schemes. These approaches are tested on the detailed model...

Sound classification of dwellings – A diversity of national schemes in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Birgit

2011-01-01

Sound classification schemes for dwellings exist in ten countries in Europe, typically prepared and published as national standards. The schemes define quality classes intended to reflect different levels of acoustical comfort. The main criteria concern airborne and impact sound insulation between...... dwellings, facade sound insulation and installation noise. This paper presents the sound classification schemes in Europe and compares the class criteria for sound insulation between dwellings. The schemes have been implemented and revised gradually since the early 1990s. However, due to lack...... constructions fulfilling different classes. The current variety of descriptors and classes also causes trade barriers. Thus, there is a need to harmonize characteristics of the schemes, and a European COST Action TU0901 "Integrating and Harmonizing Sound Insulation Aspects in Sustainable Urban Housing...

RADTRAN II: revised computer code to analyze transportation of radioactive material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, J.M.; Daniel, S.L.

1982-10-01

A revised and updated version of the RADTRAN computer code is presented. This code has the capability to predict the radiological impacts associated with specific schemes of radioactive material shipments and mode specific transport variables

[APPLICATION OF COMPUTER-ASSISTED TECHNOLOGY IN ANALYSIS OF REVISION REASON OF UNICOMPARTMENTAL KNEE ARTHROPLASTY].

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Di; Li, Yanlin; Wang, Guoliang; Gao, Huanyu; Yu, Yang

2016-01-01

To conclude the revision reason of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) using computer-assisted technology so as to provide reference for reducing the revision incidence and improving the level of surgical technique and rehabilitation. The relevant literature on analyzing revision reason of UKA using computer-assisted technology in recent years was extensively reviewed. The revision reasons by computer-assisted technology are fracture of the medial tibial plateau, progressive osteoarthritis of reserved compartment, dislocation of mobile bearing, prosthesis loosening, polyethylene wear, and unexplained persistent pain. Computer-assisted technology can be used to analyze the revision reason of UKA and guide the best operating method and rehabilitation scheme by simulating the operative process and knee joint activities.

Revised Severe Accident Research Program plan, FY 1990--1992

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-08-01

For the past 10 years, since the Three Mile Island accident, the NRC has sponsored an active research program on light-water-reactor severe accidents as part of a multi-faceted approach to reactor safety. This report describes the revised Severe Accident Research Program (SARP) and how the revisions are designed to provide confirmatory information and technical support to the NRC staff in implementing the staff's Integration Plan for Closure of Severe Accident Issues as described in SECY-88-147. The revised SARP addresses both the near-term research directed at providing a technical basis upon which decisions on important containment performance issues can be made and the long-term research needed to confirm and refine our understanding of severe accidents. In developing this plan, the staff recognized that the overall goal is to reduce the uncertainties in the source term sufficiently to enable the staff to make regulatory decisions on severe accident issues. However, the staff also recognized that for some issues it may not be practical to attempt to further reduce uncertainties, and some regulatory decisions or conclusions will have to be made with full awareness of existing uncertainties. 2 figs., 1 tab

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Staff Practice and Procedure Digest. Commission, Appeal Board and Licensing Board decisions, July 1972-December 1985. Digest No. 4, Revision No. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-08-01

This Revision 2 of the fourth edition of the NRC Staff Practice and Procedure Digest contains a digest of a number of Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board, and Atomic Safety and Licensing Board decisions issued during the period July 1, 1972 to December 31, 1985, interpreting the NRC's Rules of Practice in 10 CFR Part 2. This Revision 2 replaces in part earlier editions and supplements and includes appropriate changes reflecting the amendment to the Rules of Practice effective December 31, 1985. Topics covered include prehearing and posthearing matters, herings, appeals, and general matters

Formal and informal decision making on water management at the village level: A case study from the Office du Niger irrigation scheme (Mali)

Science.gov (United States)

Vandersypen, Klaartje; Keita, Abdoulaye C. T.; Coulibaly, Y.; Raes, D.; Jamin, J.-Y.

2007-06-01

Water Users Associations (WUAs) are all too often considered a panacea for improving water management in irrigation schemes. Where grassroots movements are absent, they are usually imposed on farmers by national governments, NGOs, and international donors, without fully considering existing forms of organization. This also happened in the Office du Niger irrigation scheme in Mali, where after a partial irrigation management transfer, WUAs were created to fill the resulting power vacuum. This paper demonstrates that, despite active efforts to organize farmers in WUAs, informal patterns of decision making remain dominant. Given the shortcomings of these informal patterns, WUAs could provide a much-needed platform for institutionalizing collective action, on the condition that farmers accept them. Therefore WUAs should adopt some crucial characteristics of informal patterns of decision making while avoiding their weaknesses. First, making use of the existing authority of village leadership and the central management can improve the credibility of WUAs. Second, allowing flexibility in procedures and rules can make them more appropriate for dealing with collective action problems that are typically temporary and specific. Last, formalizing the current pattern of conflict management and sanctioning might enhance its sphere of action and tackle the current absence of firm engagement with respect to some informal management decisions. In addition, WUAs should represent and be accountable to all farmers, including those residing outside the village community.

Revisions to Conventional Clock Domain Crossing Methodologies in Triple Modular Redundant Circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Berg, Melanie D.; LaBel, Kenneth A.

2018-01-01

We present updates to the conventional methodology of triple modular redundancy (TMR) insertion as it pertains to clock domain crossings (CDCs). Three types of TMR schemes and their suggested corresponding CDC revisions are discussed.

Malaysian qualification and certification scheme for NDT personnel: achievements and steps toward harmonization in accordance with ISO 9712

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abd Nassir Ibrahim

2001-01-01

Development of skilled manpower in the field of NDT is one the most important component that must be given priority in order to ensure the sustainability of the technology in any country. In this respect ISO 9712 provides a guideline on the implementation of HRD program in the field of NDT that involved training, qualification and certification processes. ISO 9712 was developed with the hope that it provided a guideline for the establishment of qualification and certification scheme acceptable to the whole NDT community throughout the world. With this guideline, the process of qualification and certification of NDT personnel of different countries throughout the world will be harmonized. In Malaysia, such a scheme was established in 1985 with the National Vocational Training Council was appointed as the Certification Body. Although the scheme was developed based on ISO 97121 some local requirement were included which made the scheme somewhat deviated from the ISO practices. Twenty years after it was first implemented, the scheme was revised and amended to ensure that requirements of ISO 9712 are complied. The new scheme was revised and approved in April 2000 and was implemented for the first time in November radiography level 1 examination. (Author)

Mitarbeiteranreizsysteme und Innovationserfolg (Employee suggestion schemes and innovation success)

OpenAIRE

Czarnitzki, Dirk; Kraft, Kornelius

2008-01-01

"We discuss the determinants of a successful implementation of an employee suggestion scheme and other measures to stimulate innovation success. Subsequently the effects of the employee suggestion schemes are investigated empirically. We analyse the realisation of cost reductions and alternatively sales expansion due to quality improvements. It turns out that employee suggestion schemes have a positive effect on cost efficiency and sales growth. Delegation of decision authority reduces produc...

Scheme of thinking quantum systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yukalov, V I; Sornette, D

2009-01-01

A general approach describing quantum decision procedures is developed. The approach can be applied to quantum information processing, quantum computing, creation of artificial quantum intelligence, as well as to analyzing decision processes of human decision makers. Our basic point is to consider an active quantum system possessing its own strategic state. Processing information by such a system is analogous to the cognitive processes associated to decision making by humans. The algebra of probability operators, associated with the possible options available to the decision maker, plays the role of the algebra of observables in quantum theory of measurements. A scheme is advanced for a practical realization of decision procedures by thinking quantum systems. Such thinking quantum systems can be realized by using spin lattices, systems of magnetic molecules, cold atoms trapped in optical lattices, ensembles of quantum dots, or multilevel atomic systems interacting with electromagnetic field

EU law revisions and legislative drift

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borghetto, Enrico; Mäder, Lars Kai

2014-01-01

in force in their original form for several years while others are revised soon after their enactment. What factors account for this variation? We empirically analyze the proposition that in the presence of ‘legislative drift,’ i.e. the intertemporal variation of decision-makers’ preferences, major...

Cognitive balanced model: a conceptual scheme of diagnostic decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucchiari, Claudio; Pravettoni, Gabriella

2012-02-01

Diagnostic reasoning is a critical aspect of clinical performance, having a high impact on quality and safety of care. Although diagnosis is fundamental in medicine, we still have a poor understanding of the factors that determine its course. According to traditional understanding, all information used in diagnostic reasoning is objective and logically driven. However, these conditions are not always met. Although we would be less likely to make an inaccurate diagnosis when following rational decision making, as described by normative models, the real diagnostic process works in a different way. Recent work has described the major cognitive biases in medicine as well as a number of strategies for reducing them, collectively called debiasing techniques. However, advances have encountered obstacles in achieving implementation into clinical practice. While traditional understanding of clinical reasoning has failed to consider contextual factors, most debiasing techniques seem to fail in raising sound and safer medical praxis. Technological solutions, being data driven, are fundamental in increasing care safety, but they need to consider human factors. Thus, balanced models, cognitive driven and technology based, are needed in day-to-day applications to actually improve the diagnostic process. The purpose of this article, then, is to provide insight into cognitive influences that have resulted in wrong, delayed or missed diagnosis. Using a cognitive approach, we describe the basis of medical error, with particular emphasis on diagnostic error. We then propose a conceptual scheme of the diagnostic process by the use of fuzzy cognitive maps. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Individual questions of financial control and revision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

В. М. Глібко

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Problem setting. In modern conditions at investigation and gathering of proofs in criminal proceedings according to item 93 CPC of Ukraine collecting of proofs which is carried out by the criminal proceedings parties, victim is important, the representative of the legal person, in which relation carries out manufacture, including a way истребования and receptions from public authorities, local governments, the enterprises, establishments and organisations, official and physical persons of things, documents, data, conclusions of experts, conclusions of revisions and certificates of checks. Recent research and publications analisis. In scientific sources questions of carrying out of revisions S. B.Zhivko, V.V.Akimov, G.Demjanchuk, J.Buzdugan is considered. Paper objective. Article purpose is studying and definition of a place of revision among forms of inspection of the state control and use of results of revision in criminal proceedings. Paper main body. Off-schedule exit revision that is revision which is not provided in plans of work of body of the state financial control is considered and is spent at presence at least one of the circumstances listed in item 11 of the Law of Ukraine «About main principles of realisation of the state financial control in Ukraine». If revision is carried out on request of investigating bodies it is spent on the basis of the petition of the inspector and accepted by the results of consideration of this petition of the decision of the investigatory judge. The primary goal of revision on request of investigating bodies or on the basis of court definition is reception of proofs on business. Therefore the revision certificate admits the written proof as on the basis of its conclusion of the inspector, the public prosecutor receives the information on a perfect crime, abusing, and also on the persons who have committed a crime, on the period of commission of crime and an amount of damage. In criminal

An interim UK response to revised risk estimates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beaver, P.F.; Bines, W.P.

1992-01-01

This paper describes the legal framework in place when the revised risk estimates were announced by the International Commission for Radiological Protection (ICRP) in 1987 and how an addition to that framework enabled the revised risk estimates to be taken into account when making decisions about radiation protection practice both at plant and individual worker level. It is suggested that this a may be an early example of the use of a constraint applied generically. (author)

Teaching Critical Questions about Argumentation through the Revising Process: Effects of Strategy Instruction on College Students' Argumentative Essays

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Yi; Ferretti, Ralph P.

2013-01-01

The effects of self-regulated strategy development revising instruction for college students that targeted the use of argumentation schemes and critical questions were assessed in three conditions. In the first condition, students were taught to revise their essays by asking and answering critical questions about the "argument from consequences"…

Field Triage Decision Scheme: The National Trauma Triage Protocol

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2009-01-22

In this podcast, Dr. Richard C. Hunt, Director of CDC's Division of Injury Response, provides an overview on the development process and scientific basis for the revised field triage guidelines published in the MMWR Recommendations and Report: Guidelines for Field Triage of Injured Patients, Recommendations of the National Expert Panel on Field Triage.  Created: 1/22/2009 by National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Division of Injury Response (DIR).   Date Released: 1/22/2009.

The Revised SEND Code of Practice 0-25: Effective Practice in Engaging Children and Young People in Decision-Making about Interventions for Social, Emotional and Mental Health Needs

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Emma-Kate

2015-01-01

A key principle upon which the Revised Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice 0-25 (2015) is based is children's involvement in decision-making that affects them, and a significant change is the removal of the term "behaviour" and an emphasis on social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. To ensure that…

The Situation-Specific Theory of Heart Failure Self-Care: Revised and Updated.

Science.gov (United States)

Riegel, Barbara; Dickson, Victoria Vaughan; Faulkner, Kenneth M

2016-01-01

Since the situation-specific theory of heart failure (HF) self-care was published in 2008, we have learned much about how and why patients with HF take care of themselves. This knowledge was used to revise and update the theory. The purpose of this article was to describe the revised, updated situation-specific theory of HF self-care. Three major revisions were made to the existing theory: (1) a new theoretical concept reflecting the process of symptom perception was added; (2) each self-care process now involves both autonomous and consultative elements; and (3) a closer link between the self-care processes and the naturalistic decision-making process is described. In the revised theory, HF self-care is defined as a naturalistic decision-making process with person, problem, and environmental factors that influence the everyday decisions made by patients and the self-care actions taken. The first self-care process, maintenance, captures those behaviors typically referred to as treatment adherence. The second self-care process, symptom perception, involves body listening, monitoring signs, as well as recognition, interpretation, and labeling of symptoms. The third self-care process, management, is the response to symptoms when they occur. A total of 5 assumptions and 8 testable propositions are specified in this revised theory. Prior research illustrates that all 3 self-care processes (ie, maintenance, symptom perception, and management) are integral to self-care. Further research is greatly needed to identify how best to help patients become experts in HF self-care.

Deciding to adopt revised and new psychological and neuropsychological tests: an inter-organizational position paper.

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, Shane S; Sweet, Jerry J; Bianchini, Kevin J; Johnson-Greene, Doug; Dean, Pamela M; Schoenberg, Mike R

2018-04-01

Neuropsychological tests undergo periodic revision intended to improve psychometric properties, normative data, relevance of stimuli, and ease of administration. In addition, new tests are developed to evaluate psychological and neuropsychological constructs, often purporting to improve evaluation effectiveness. However, there is limited professional guidance to neuropsychologists concerning the decision to adopt a revised version of a test and/or replace an older test with a new test purporting to measure the same or overlapping constructs. This paper describes ethical and professional issues related to the selection and use of older versus newer psychological and neuropsychological tests, with the goal of promoting appropriate test selection and evidence-based decision making. Ethical and professional issues were reviewed and considered. The availability of a newer version of a test does not necessarily render obsolete prior versions of the test for purposes that are empirically supported, nor should continued empirically supported use of a prior version of a test be considered unethical practice. Until a revised or new test has published evidence of improved ability to help clinicians to make diagnostic determinations, facilitate treatment, and/or assess change over time, the choice to delay adoption of revised or new tests may be viewed as reasonable and appropriate. Recommendations are offered to facilitate decisions about the adoption of revised and new tests. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of individual neuropsychologists to determine which tests best meet their patients' needs, and to be able to support their decisions with empirical evidence and sound clinical judgment.

Knowledge, decision making, and uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fox, J.

1986-01-01

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems depend heavily upon the ability to make decisions. Decisions require knowledge, yet there is no knowledge-based theory of decision making. To the extent that AI uses a theory of decision-making it adopts components of the traditional statistical view in which choices are made by maximizing some function of the probabilities of decision options. A knowledge-based scheme for reasoning about uncertainty is proposed, which extends the traditional framework but is compatible with it

An Adaptive Handover Prediction Scheme for Seamless Mobility Based Wireless Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Safa Sadiq

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We propose an adaptive handover prediction (AHP scheme for seamless mobility based wireless networks. That is, the AHP scheme incorporates fuzzy logic with AP prediction process in order to lend cognitive capability to handover decision making. Selection metrics, including received signal strength, mobile node relative direction towards the access points in the vicinity, and access point load, are collected and considered inputs of the fuzzy decision making system in order to select the best preferable AP around WLANs. The obtained handover decision which is based on the calculated quality cost using fuzzy inference system is also based on adaptable coefficients instead of fixed coefficients. In other words, the mean and the standard deviation of the normalized network prediction metrics of fuzzy inference system, which are collected from available WLANs are obtained adaptively. Accordingly, they are applied as statistical information to adjust or adapt the coefficients of membership functions. In addition, we propose an adjustable weight vector concept for input metrics in order to cope with the continuous, unpredictable variation in their membership degrees. Furthermore, handover decisions are performed in each MN independently after knowing RSS, direction toward APs, and AP load. Finally, performance evaluation of the proposed scheme shows its superiority compared with representatives of the prediction approaches.

MIMO transmit scheme based on morphological perceptron with competitive learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Valente, Raul Ambrozio; Abrão, Taufik

2016-08-01

This paper proposes a new multi-input multi-output (MIMO) transmit scheme aided by artificial neural network (ANN). The morphological perceptron with competitive learning (MP/CL) concept is deployed as a decision rule in the MIMO detection stage. The proposed MIMO transmission scheme is able to achieve double spectral efficiency; hence, in each time-slot the receiver decodes two symbols at a time instead one as Alamouti scheme. Other advantage of the proposed transmit scheme with MP/CL-aided detector is its polynomial complexity according to modulation order, while it becomes linear when the data stream length is greater than modulation order. The performance of the proposed scheme is compared to the traditional MIMO schemes, namely Alamouti scheme and maximum-likelihood MIMO (ML-MIMO) detector. Also, the proposed scheme is evaluated in a scenario with variable channel information along the frame. Numerical results have shown that the diversity gain under space-time coding Alamouti scheme is partially lost, which slightly reduces the bit-error rate (BER) performance of the proposed MP/CL-NN MIMO scheme. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mixed Waste Management Facility, revised FY94 Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Streit, R.

1994-01-01

This revision of the FY94 Plan incorporates changes to work during FY94 in response to the DOE request in the DOE KD-1 decision letter of June 28,1994. This letter provided guidance of both scope and budget profile in response to the Conceptual Design Report (CDR) issued by the MWMF Project in April, 1994. This work plan only addresses work for the remainder of FY94. A revised plan for the complete project is in development and will be issued separately. Since February, 1994, the MWMF Project has been operating on DOE guidance directing that work on the CDR be completed, that only other essential work be continued to maintain the project, and that costs be maintained at approximately the January, 1994 spending levels until a KD-1 decision was made. This has formed the basis for monthly reports through June, 1994. The baseline contained in this report will become the basis for reports during the remainder of FY94

Interactive system for decision-making in power engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabrzhinskij, I.; Skurovets, V.

1988-01-01

Classification of factors, affecting decision-making in the process of power engineering management is given. General formulation of the problem and main stages of decision-making are considered. Principle scheme of heuristic procedure of decision-making is suggested

Coordination Scheme for Restructuring Business Operation of the Single Period Newsvendor Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiuh-Cheng Chyu

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a coordination scheme for a single period newsvendor problem when both supplier and retailer of the supply chain agree to change the business operation from a market decision power sharing system (Model 1 to a unique decision maker system (Model 2. The supplier is assumed to be a risk-averse decision maker and he will undertake the product quality risk in both models. Model 1 is game theoretic, where the supplier controls the wholesale price, but the retailer controls the order quantity and market price. The bargaining process ends when the supplier has found a wholesale price that maximizes the value of his sales revenue minus the product quality cost. Model 2 is a centralized system where the supplier possesses all decision powers of the market. In general, Model 2 will generate higher total revenue than Model 1. The aim of this research is to propose a satisfying compromise based on consignment policy to resolve the revenue-sharing conflict in Model 2 due to the additional revenue. An example is provided to illustrate the two models and the proposed coordination scheme, along with managerial insights on the models’ benefits. The impacts of several parameters on the scheme are also presented and discussed.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF FREE PRIMARY EDUCATION SCHEME ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

Education scheme in Western Region and marked a radical departure from the hitherto ... academic symposia, lectures, debates, reputable journals and standard .... Enrolment in Primary Schools in the Western Region by Sex, 1953 – 1960. Year Boys .... “Possibly no single decision of the decade prior to independence had.

A vertical handoff scheme based on adaptive period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Yang

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a periodic adaptive vertical handoff scheme.In the phase of handoff initiation,the mobile terminal will adjust the interfaces activating interval to scan the potential new wireless signals according to the Received Signals Strength.In the phase of handoff decision,multiple attribute judgment method are adopted to judge the comprehensive perfomance of each network.The simulation shows that the proposed scheme can discover new wireless networks access the network that has the best comprehensive performance saving consumed power.

A case study of optimization in the decision process: Siting groundwater monitoring wells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardwell, H.; Huff, D.; Douthitt, J.; Sale, M.

1993-12-01

Optimization is one of the tools available to assist decision makers in balancing multiple objectives and concerns. In a case study of the siting decision for groundwater monitoring wells, we look at the influence of the optimization models on the decisions made by the responsible groundwater specialist. This paper presents a multi-objective integer programming model for determining the location of monitoring wells associated with a groundwater pump-and-treat remediation. After presenting the initial optimization results, we analyze the actual decision and revise the model to incorporate elements of the problem that were later identified as important in the decision-making process. The results of a revised model are compared to the actual siting plans, the recommendations from the initial optimization runs, and the initial monitoring network proposed by the decision maker

Optimization of sequential decisions by least squares Monte Carlo method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nishijima, Kazuyoshi; Anders, Annett

change adaptation measures, and evacuation of people and assets in the face of an emerging natural hazard event. Focusing on the last example, an efficient solution scheme is proposed by Anders and Nishijima (2011). The proposed solution scheme takes basis in the least squares Monte Carlo method, which...... is proposed by Longstaff and Schwartz (2001) for pricing of American options. The present paper formulates the decision problem in a more general manner and explains how the solution scheme proposed by Anders and Nishijima (2011) is implemented for the optimization of the formulated decision problem...

The Performance-based Funding Scheme of Universities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juha KETTUNEN

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to analyse the effectiveness of the performance-based funding scheme of the Finnish universities that was adopted at the beginning of 2013. The political decision-makers expect that the funding scheme will create incentives for the universities to improve performance, but these funding schemes have largely failed in many other countries, primarily because public funding is only a small share of the total funding of universities. This study is interesting because Finnish universities have no tuition fees, unlike in many other countries, and the state allocates funding based on the objectives achieved. The empirical evidence of the graduation rates indicates that graduation rates increased when a new scheme was adopted, especially among male students, who have more room for improvement than female students. The new performance-based funding scheme allocates the funding according to the output-based indicators and limits the scope of strategic planning and the autonomy of the university. The performance-based funding scheme is transformed to the strategy map of the balanced scorecard. The new funding scheme steers universities in many respects but leaves the research and teaching skills to the discretion of the universities. The new scheme has also diminished the importance of the performance agreements between the university and the Ministry. The scheme increases the incentives for universities to improve the processes and structures in order to attain as much public funding as possible. It is optimal for the central administration of the university to allocate resources to faculties and other organisational units following the criteria of the performance-based funding scheme. The new funding scheme has made the universities compete with each other, because the total funding to the universities is allocated to each university according to the funding scheme. There is a tendency that the funding schemes are occasionally

Framing of Uncertainty in Scientific Publications: Towards Recommendations for Decision Support

Science.gov (United States)

Guillaume, J. H. A.; Helgeson, C.; Elsawah, S.; Jakeman, A. J.; Kummu, M.

2016-12-01

Uncertainty is recognised as an essential issue in environmental decision making and decision support. As modellers, we notably use a variety of tools and techniques within an analysis, for example related to uncertainty quantification and model validation. We also address uncertainty by how we present results. For example, experienced modellers are careful to distinguish robust conclusions from those that need further work, and the precision of quantitative results is tailored to their accuracy. In doing so, the modeller frames how uncertainty should be interpreted by their audience. This is an area which extends beyond modelling to fields such as philosophy of science, semantics, discourse analysis, intercultural communication and rhetoric. We propose that framing of uncertainty deserves greater attention in the context of decision support, and that there are opportunities in this area for fundamental research, synthesis and knowledge transfer, development of teaching curricula, and significant advances in managing uncertainty in decision making. This presentation reports preliminary results of a study of framing practices. Specifically, we analyse the framing of uncertainty that is visible in the abstracts from a corpus of scientific articles. We do this through textual analysis of the content and structure of those abstracts. Each finding that appears in an abstract is classified according to the uncertainty framing approach used, using a classification scheme that was iteratively revised based on reflection and comparison amongst three coders. This analysis indicates how frequently the different framing approaches are used, and provides initial insights into relationships between frames, how the frames relate to interpretation of uncertainty, and how rhetorical devices are used by modellers to communicate uncertainty in their work. We propose initial hypotheses for how the resulting insights might influence decision support, and help advance decision making to

Factors affecting sustainability of rural water schemes in Swaziland

Science.gov (United States)

Peter, Graciana; Nkambule, Sizwe E.

The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to reduce the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by the year 2015 has been met as of 2010, but huge disparities exist. Some regions, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa are lagging behind it is also in this region where up to 30% of the rural schemes are not functional at any given time. There is need for more studies on factors affecting sustainability and necessary measures which when implemented will improve the sustainability of rural water schemes. The main objective of this study was to assess the main factors affecting the sustainability of rural water schemes in Swaziland using a Multi-Criteria Analysis Approach. The main factors considered were: financial, social, technical, environmental and institutional. The study was done in Lubombo region. Fifteen functional water schemes in 11 communities were studied. Data was collected using questionnaires, checklist and focused group discussion guide. A total of 174 heads of households were interviewed. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data and to calculate sustainability scores for water schemes. SPSS was also used to classify sustainability scores according to sustainability categories: sustainable, partially sustainable and non-sustainable. The averages of the ratings for the different sub-factors studied and the results on the sustainability scores for the sustainable, partially sustainable and non-sustainable schemes were then computed and compared to establish the main factors influencing sustainability of the water schemes. The results indicated technical and social factors as most critical while financial and institutional, although important, played a lesser role. Factors which contributed to the sustainability of water schemes were: functionality; design flow; water fetching time; ability to meet additional demand; use by population; equity; participation in decision making on operation and

Modeling and Simulation of Handover Scheme in Integrated EPON-WiMAX Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yan, Ying; Dittmann, Lars

2011-01-01

In this paper, we tackle the seamless handover problem in integrated optical wireless networks. Our model applies for the convergence network of EPON and WiMAX and a mobilityaware signaling protocol is proposed. The proposed handover scheme, Integrated Mobility Management Scheme (IMMS), is assisted...... by enhancing the traditional MPCP signaling protocol, which cooperatively collects mobility information from the front-end wireless network and makes centralized bandwidth allocation decisions in the backhaul optical network. The integrated network architecture and the joint handover scheme are simulated using...... OPNET modeler. Results show validation of the protocol, i.e., integrated handover scheme gains better network performances....

Revision of deposition and weathering parameters for the ingestion dose module (ECOSYS) of the ARGOS and RODOS decision support systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersson, Kasper Grann; Nielsen, Sven Poul; Thørring, Håvard

2011-01-01

The ECOSYS model is the ingestion dose model integrated in the ARGOS and RODOS decision support systems for nuclear emergency management. The parameters used in this model have however not been updated in recent years, where the level of knowledge on various environmental processes has increased...... considerably. A Nordic work group has carried out a series of evaluations of the general validity of current ECOSYS default parameters. This paper specifically discusses the parameter revisions required with respect to the modelling of deposition and natural weathering of contaminants on agricultural crops......, to enable the trustworthy prognostic modelling that is essential to ensure justification and optimisation of countermeasure strategies. New modelling approaches are outlined, since it was found that current ECOSYS approaches for deposition and natural weathering could lead to large prognostic errors....

Radioactive Waste Management System: Draft Project Decision Schedule. Revision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1985-07-01

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-425) requires that the Secretary of Energy prepare, in cooperation with affected Federal agencies, a Project Decision Schedule that portrays the optimum way to attain the operation of geologic repositories. The Draft Project Decision Schedule portrays the major milestones of the Radioactive Waste Management System. It also depicts the set of activities for which Federal agencies have responsibility and the deadlines for taking the required action that are associated with the activities. The NWPA also requires that Federal agencies having determined that they: (1) cannot comply with a deadline for taking a required action; or (2) fail to comply with a deadline contained in the Project Decision Schedule; submit a comprehensive report to the Secretary of Energy and Congress to explain their failure or expected failure. The Secretary, in turn, is required to submit to Congress a response to the agency's report. 7 figs., 13 tabs

Pricing and reimbursement frameworks in Central Eastern Europe: a decision tool to support choices.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolasa, Katarzyna; Kalo, Zoltan; Hornby, Edward

2015-02-01

Given limited financial resources in the Central Eastern European (CEE) region, challenges in obtaining access to innovative medical technologies are formidable. The objective of this research was to develop a decision tree that supports decision makers and drug manufacturers from CEE region in their search for optimal innovative pricing and reimbursement scheme (IPRSs). A systematic literature review was performed to search for published IPRSs, and then ten experts from the CEE region were interviewed to ascertain their opinions on these schemes. In total, 33 articles representing 46 unique IPRSs were analyzed. Based on our literature review and subsequent expert input, key decision nodes and branches of the decision tree were developed. The results indicate that outcome-based schemes are better suited to deal with uncertainties surrounding cost effectiveness, while non-outcome-based schemes are more appropriate for pricing and budget impact challenges.

New Product Development in Traditional Industries: Decision-Making Revised

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jon Mikel Zabala-Iturriagagoitia

2012-02-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates whether decisions considered as common in new product development literature are also valid in a region characterized by traditional industries. The research is grounded on innovative companies in the Valencian Region (Spain. Using the statistical tool of factor analysis, we test if the groups of decisions identified by the literature can be confirmed in our empirical sample. Therewith, we aim to link the theoretical and empirical fields in the context of new product development and product innovation management.

78 FR 17632 - Caribou-Targhee National Forest; Idaho and Wyoming; Amendment to the Targhee Revised Forest Plan...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-22

...; Amendment to the Targhee Revised Forest Plan--Canada Lynx Habitat AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION... Forest proposes to amend the Targhee Revised Forest Plan (1997) to include a map identifying specific... Administrative Review Process: The decision on this proposed plan amendment will be subject to the objection...

ITS Multi-path Communications Access Decision Scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miroslav Svitek

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS require widely spread and guarantied quality communications services. Method of ITS decomposition to set of subsystems and quantification of communications subsystems parameters is introduced. Due to typical complexity of the IST solution and mobility as the typical system elements property idea of communications systems with multipath multivendor structures is adopted. Resolution of seamless switching within a set of available wireless access solutions is presented. CALM based system or specifically designed and configured L3/L2 switching can be relevant solution for multi-path access communication system. These systems meet requirements of the seamless secure communications functionality within even extensive cluster of moving objects. Competent decision processes based on precisely quantified system requirements and each performance indicator tolerance range must be implemented to keep service up and running with no influence of continuously changing conditions in time and served space. Method of different paths service quality evaluation and selection of the best possible active communications access path is introduced. Proposed approach is based on Kalman filtering, which separates reasonable part of noise and also allows prediction of the individual parameters near future behavior. Presented classification algorithm applied on filtered measured data combined with deterministic parameters is trained using training data, i.e. combination of parameters vectors line and relevant decisions. Quality of classification is dependent on the size and quality of the training sets. This method is studied within projects e-Ident, DOTEK and SRATVU which are elaborating results of project CAMNA.

Questions and answers based on revised 10 CFR Part 20

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borges, T.; Stafford, R.S.; Lu, P.Y.; Carter, D.

1994-05-01

NUREG/CR-6204 is a collection of questions and answers that were originally issued in seven sets and which pertain to revised 10 CFR Part 20. The questions came from both outside and within the NRC. The answers were compiled and provided by NRC staff within the offices of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Nuclear Regulatory Research, the Office of State Programs, and the five regional offices. Although all of the questions and answers have been reviewed by attorneys in the NRC Office of the General Counsel, they do not constitute official legal interpretations relevant to revised 10 CFR Part 20. The questions and answers do, however, reflect NRC staff decisions and technical options on aspects of the revised 10 CFR Part 20 regulatory requirements. This NUREG is being made available to encourage communication among the public, industry, and NRC staff concerning the major revisions of the NRC's standards for protection against radiation

Decision support system in an international-voice-services business company

Science.gov (United States)

Hadianti, R.; Uttunggadewa, S.; Syamsuddin, M.; Soewono, E.

2017-01-01

We consider a problem facing by an international telecommunication services company in maximizing its profit. From voice services by controlling cost and business partnership. The competitiveness in this industry is very high, so that any efficiency from controlling cost and business partnership can help the company to survive in the very high competitiveness situation. The company trades voice traffic with a large number of business partners. There are four trading schemes that can be chosen by this company, namely, flat rate, class tiering, volume commitment, and revenue capped. Each scheme has a specific characteristic on the rate and volume deal, where the last three schemes are regarded as strategic schemes to be offered to business partner to ensure incoming traffic volume for both parties. This company and each business partner need to choose an optimal agreement in a certain period of time that can maximize the company’s profit. In this agreement, both parties agree to use a certain trading scheme, rate and rate/volume/revenue deal. A decision support system is then needed in order to give a comprehensive information to the sales officers to deal with the business partners. This paper discusses the mathematical model of the optimal decision for incoming traffic volume control, which is a part of the analysis needed to build the decision support system. The mathematical model is built by first performing data analysis to see how elastic the incoming traffic volume is. As the level of elasticity is obtained, we then derive a mathematical modelling that can simulate the impact of any decision on trading to the revenue of the company. The optimal decision can be obtained from these simulations results. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method we implement our decision model to the historical data. A software tool incorporating our methodology is currently in construction.

Performance comparison of binary modulation schemes for visible light communication

KAUST Repository

Park, Kihong

2015-09-11

In this paper, we investigate the power spectral density of several binary modulation schemes including variable on-off keying, variable pulse position modulation, and pulse dual slope modulation which were previously proposed for visible light communication with dimming control. We also propose a novel slope-based modulation called differential chip slope modulation (DCSM) and develop a chip-based hard-decision receiver to demodulate the resulting signal, detect the chip sequence, and decode the input bit sequence. We show that the DCSM scheme can exploit spectrum density more efficiently than the reference schemes while providing an error rate performance comparable to them. © 2015 IEEE.

A difficult balancing act: policy actors' perspectives on using economic evaluation to inform health-care coverage decisions under the Universal Health Insurance Coverage scheme in Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Teerawattananon, Yot; Russell, Steve

2008-03-01

In Thailand, policymakers have come under increasing pressure to use economic evaluation to inform health-care resource allocation decisions, especially after the introduction of the Universal Health Insurance Coverage (UC) scheme. This article presents qualitative findings from research that assessed a range of policymakers' perspectives on the acceptability of using economic evaluation for the development of health-care benefit packages in Thailand. The policy analysis examined their opinions about existing decision-making processes for including health interventions in the UC benefit package, their understanding of health economic evaluation, and their attitudes, acceptance, and values relating to the use of the method. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 36 policy actors who play a major role or have some input into health resource allocation decisions within the Thai health-care system. These included 14 senior policymakers at the national level, 5 hospital directors, 10 health professionals, and 7 academics. Policy actors thought that economic evaluation information was relevant for decision-making because of the increasing need for rationing and more transparent criteria for making UC coverage decisions. Nevertheless, they raised several difficulties with using economic evaluation that would pose barriers to its introduction, including distrust in the method, conflicting philosophical positions and priorities compared to that of "health maximization," organizational allegiances, existing decision-making procedures that would be hard to change, and concerns about political pressure and acceptability.

PN Sequence Preestimator Scheme for DS-SS Signal Acquisition Using Block Sequence Estimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sang Kyu Park

2005-03-01

Full Text Available An m-sequence (PN sequence preestimator scheme for direct-sequence spread spectrum (DS-SS signal acquisition by using block sequence estimation (BSE is proposed and analyzed. The proposed scheme consists of an estimator and a verifier which work according to the PN sequence chip clock, and provides not only the enhanced chip estimates with a threshold decision logic and one-chip error correction among the first m received chips, but also the reliability check of the estimates with additional decision logic. The probabilities of the estimator and verifier operations are calculated. With these results, the detection, the false alarm, and the missing probabilities of the proposed scheme are derived. In addition, using a signal flow graph, the average acquisition time is calculated. The proposed scheme can be used as a preestimator and easily implemented by changing the internal signal path of a generally used digital matched filter (DMF correlator or any other correlator that has a lot of sampling data memories for sampled PN sequence. The numerical results show rapid acquisition performance in a relatively good CNR.

Repeated causal decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Hagmayer, York; Meder, Björn

2013-01-01

Many of our decisions refer to actions that have a causal impact on the external environment. Such actions may not only allow for the mere learning of expected values or utilities but also for acquiring knowledge about the causal structure of our world. We used a repeated decision-making paradigm to examine what kind of knowledge people acquire in such situations and how they use their knowledge to adapt to changes in the decision context. Our studies show that decision makers' behavior is strongly contingent on their causal beliefs and that people exploit their causal knowledge to assess the consequences of changes in the decision problem. A high consistency between hypotheses about causal structure, causally expected values, and actual choices was observed. The experiments show that (a) existing causal hypotheses guide the interpretation of decision feedback, (b) consequences of decisions are used to revise existing causal beliefs, and (c) decision makers use the experienced feedback to induce a causal model of the choice situation even when they have no initial causal hypotheses, which (d) enables them to adapt their choices to changes of the decision problem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

48 CFR 819.705 - Appeal of Contracting Officer decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... the Senior Procurement Executive (SPE) within 5 working days. The SPE shall have 15 working days to... decision. The contracting officer has 5 working days to reply to the challenge by either revising the... filed within 5 working days of receipt of the contracting officer's decision. The HCA has 5 working days...

Epistemic risks: challenges in assessment and decision making

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kozine, Igor

. There are calls to revisions ranging from the definition of risk and stretching to the use of risk analysis results in decision making. The talk will centre in answering the following questions: Why conventional approach to risk analysis is challenged? What are alternatives? How to operationalise the inclusion...... of epistemic uncertainty in risk analysis? How to make decisions based on risk analysis results?...

Additive operator-difference schemes splitting schemes

CERN Document Server

Vabishchevich, Petr N

2013-01-01

Applied mathematical modeling isconcerned with solving unsteady problems. This bookshows how toconstruct additive difference schemes to solve approximately unsteady multi-dimensional problems for PDEs. Two classes of schemes are highlighted: methods of splitting with respect to spatial variables (alternating direction methods) and schemes of splitting into physical processes. Also regionally additive schemes (domain decomposition methods)and unconditionally stable additive schemes of multi-component splitting are considered for evolutionary equations of first and second order as well as for sy

Analytical evaluation of computer-based decision aids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kisner, R.A.

1985-01-01

This paper introduces a method for evaluating decision aids for nuclear power plant operators. The method involves a two-stage process of classification and analytical evaluation of display form and content. The classification scheme relates each specific aid to one or more general decision-making tasks. Evaluation then proceeds using a normative top-down design process based on the classification scheme by determining or deducing how various design issues associated with this process were resolved by the designer. The result is an assessment of the ''understandability'' of the aid as well as identification of the training and display features necessary to ensure understandability. 7 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

Formal Dismissal Procedures Under Illinois Teacher Tenure Laws. Revised Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, Newell N.; And Others

This handbook, an updated and revised version of the 1975 original, contains the new statutory requirements, state board of education rules, and court decisions pertaining to teacher dismissal in Illinois. This handbook is designed to acquaint Illinois school administrators and school board members with the legal procedures necessary in dismissal…

Satisfaction rates with the current Special Type Consultation (STC) reimbursement scheme among General Practitioners – A Mixed Methods Study.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Kiely, A

2017-03-01

The Special Type Consultation (STC) scheme is a fee-for-service reimbursement scheme for General Practitioners (GPs) in Ireland. Introduced in 1989, the scheme includes specified patient services involving the application of a learned skill, e.g. suturing. This study aims to establish the extent to which GPs believe this scheme is appropriate for current General Practice. This is an embedded mixed-methods study combining quantitative data on GPs working experience of and qualitative data on GPs attitudes towards the scheme. Data were collected by means of an anonymous postal questionnaire. The response rate was 60.4% (n=159.) Twenty-nine percent (n=46) disagreed and 65% (n=104) strongly disagreed that the current list of special items is satisfactory. Two overriding themes were identified: economics and advancement of the STC process. This study demonstrates an overwhelming consensus among GPs that the current STC scheme is outdated and in urgent need of revision to reflect modern General Practice.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Human Factors Program Plan. Revision 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-04-01

This document is the Second Annual Revision to the NRC Human Factors Program Plan. The first edition was published in August 1983. Revision 1 was published in July of 1984. Purpose of the NRC Human Factors Program is to ensure that proper consideration is given to human factors in the design and operation of nuclear power plants. This document describes the plans of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to address high priority human factors concerns of importance to reactor safety in FY 1986 and FY 1987. Revision 2 of the plan incorporates recent Commission decisions and policies bearing on the human factors aspects of reactor safety regulation. With a few exceptions, the principal changes from prior editions reflect a shift from developing new requirements to staff evaluation of industry progress in resolving human factors issues. The plan addresses seven major program elements: (1) Training, (2) Licensing Examinations, (3) Procedures, (4) Man-Machine Interface, (5) Staffing and Qualifications, (6) Management and Organization, and (7) Human Performance

Constructing an Urban Population Model for Medical Insurance Scheme Using Microsimulation Techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linping Xiong

2012-01-01

Full Text Available China launched a pilot project of medical insurance reform in 79 cities in 2007 to cover urban nonworking residents. An urban population model was created in this paper for China’s medical insurance scheme using microsimulation model techniques. The model made it clear for the policy makers the population distributions of different groups of people, the potential urban residents entering the medical insurance scheme. The income trends of units of individuals and families were also obtained. These factors are essential in making the challenging policy decisions when considering to balance the long-term financial sustainability of the medical insurance scheme.

Fuzzy inference game approach to uncertainty in business decisions and market competitions.

Science.gov (United States)

Oderanti, Festus Oluseyi

2013-01-01

The increasing challenges and complexity of business environments are making business decisions and operations more difficult for entrepreneurs to predict the outcomes of these processes. Therefore, we developed a decision support scheme that could be used and adapted to various business decision processes. These involve decisions that are made under uncertain situations such as business competition in the market or wage negotiation within a firm. The scheme uses game strategies and fuzzy inference concepts to effectively grasp the variables in these uncertain situations. The games are played between human and fuzzy players. The accuracy of the fuzzy rule base and the game strategies help to mitigate the adverse effects that a business may suffer from these uncertain factors. We also introduced learning which enables the fuzzy player to adapt over time. We tested this scheme in different scenarios and discover that it could be an invaluable tool in the hand of entrepreneurs that are operating under uncertain and competitive business environments.

Reliability-oriented multi-objective optimal decision-making approach for uncertainty-based watershed load reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong, Feifei; Liu, Yong; Su, Han; Zou, Rui; Guo, Huaicheng

2015-01-01

Water quality management and load reduction are subject to inherent uncertainties in watershed systems and competing decision objectives. Therefore, optimal decision-making modeling in watershed load reduction is suffering due to the following challenges: (a) it is difficult to obtain absolutely “optimal” solutions, and (b) decision schemes may be vulnerable to failure. The probability that solutions are feasible under uncertainties is defined as reliability. A reliability-oriented multi-objective (ROMO) decision-making approach was proposed in this study for optimal decision making with stochastic parameters and multiple decision reliability objectives. Lake Dianchi, one of the three most eutrophic lakes in China, was examined as a case study for optimal watershed nutrient load reduction to restore lake water quality. This study aimed to maximize reliability levels from considerations of cost and load reductions. The Pareto solutions of the ROMO optimization model were generated with the multi-objective evolutionary algorithm, demonstrating schemes representing different biases towards reliability. The Pareto fronts of six maximum allowable emission (MAE) scenarios were obtained, which indicated that decisions may be unreliable under unpractical load reduction requirements. A decision scheme identification process was conducted using the back propagation neural network (BPNN) method to provide a shortcut for identifying schemes at specific reliability levels for decision makers. The model results indicated that the ROMO approach can offer decision makers great insights into reliability tradeoffs and can thus help them to avoid ineffective decisions. - Highlights: • Reliability-oriented multi-objective (ROMO) optimal decision approach was proposed. • The approach can avoid specifying reliability levels prior to optimization modeling. • Multiple reliability objectives can be systematically balanced using Pareto fronts. • Neural network model was used to

Reliability-oriented multi-objective optimal decision-making approach for uncertainty-based watershed load reduction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dong, Feifei [College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences (MOE), Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Liu, Yong, E-mail: yongliu@pku.edu.cn [College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences (MOE), Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Institute of Water Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Su, Han [College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences (MOE), Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China); Zou, Rui [Tetra Tech, Inc., 10306 Eaton Place, Ste 340, Fairfax, VA 22030 (United States); Yunnan Key Laboratory of Pollution Process and Management of Plateau Lake-Watershed, Kunming 650034 (China); Guo, Huaicheng [College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences (MOE), Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

2015-05-15

Water quality management and load reduction are subject to inherent uncertainties in watershed systems and competing decision objectives. Therefore, optimal decision-making modeling in watershed load reduction is suffering due to the following challenges: (a) it is difficult to obtain absolutely “optimal” solutions, and (b) decision schemes may be vulnerable to failure. The probability that solutions are feasible under uncertainties is defined as reliability. A reliability-oriented multi-objective (ROMO) decision-making approach was proposed in this study for optimal decision making with stochastic parameters and multiple decision reliability objectives. Lake Dianchi, one of the three most eutrophic lakes in China, was examined as a case study for optimal watershed nutrient load reduction to restore lake water quality. This study aimed to maximize reliability levels from considerations of cost and load reductions. The Pareto solutions of the ROMO optimization model were generated with the multi-objective evolutionary algorithm, demonstrating schemes representing different biases towards reliability. The Pareto fronts of six maximum allowable emission (MAE) scenarios were obtained, which indicated that decisions may be unreliable under unpractical load reduction requirements. A decision scheme identification process was conducted using the back propagation neural network (BPNN) method to provide a shortcut for identifying schemes at specific reliability levels for decision makers. The model results indicated that the ROMO approach can offer decision makers great insights into reliability tradeoffs and can thus help them to avoid ineffective decisions. - Highlights: • Reliability-oriented multi-objective (ROMO) optimal decision approach was proposed. • The approach can avoid specifying reliability levels prior to optimization modeling. • Multiple reliability objectives can be systematically balanced using Pareto fronts. • Neural network model was used to

21 CFR 60.46 - Administrative decision.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... RESTORATION Due Diligence Hearings § 60.46 Administrative decision. Within 30 days after the completion of the due diligence hearing, the Commissioner will affirm or revise the determination made under § 60.34(a) and will publish the due diligence redetermination in the Federal Register, notify PTO of the...

Standard compliant channel selection scheme for TV white space networks

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Masonta, MT

2014-08-01

Full Text Available CHANNEL DECISION SCHEME The proposed channel selection model is performed based on the flowchart shown in Fig. 1. We assume that the TVWS- BS is authorised and registered with the national GSDB. The model starts when the TVWS-BS queries the GSDB after...-BS will query the GSDB after a predefined period of time until at least more than one channel is available to allow the channel allocation process to start. Fig. 1: Proposed channel selection scheme flowchart A. White Space Channel Attributes Collection Based...

Impending revision of the euratom treaty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fahl, G.

1979-01-01

The decision by the European Court of Justice in the matter of the EEC's participation in international negotiations on safety problems of the nuclear fuel cycle is of basic importance, beyond the case to which it referred, in the interpretation of the respective provisions of the Euratom Treaty in the nuclear fuel sector. The reasoning of the European Court of Justice, which constitutes a reinforcement and advancement of the responsibilities and rights of the EEC, has made France ask for a revision of the Treaty. (orig.) [de

Revision Arthroscopic Repair Versus Latarjet Procedure in Patients With Recurrent Instability After Initial Repair Attempt: A Cost-Effectiveness Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Makhni, Eric C; Lamba, Nayan; Swart, Eric; Steinhaus, Michael E; Ahmad, Christopher S; Romeo, Anthony A; Verma, Nikhil N

2016-09-01

To compare the cost-effectiveness of arthroscopic revision instability repair and Latarjet procedure in treating patients with recurrent instability after initial arthroscopic instability repair. An expected-value decision analysis of revision arthroscopic instability repair compared with Latarjet procedure for recurrent instability followed by failed repair attempt was modeled. Inputs regarding procedure cost, clinical outcomes, and health utilities were derived from the literature. Compared with revision arthroscopic repair, Latarjet was less expensive ($13,672 v $15,287) with improved clinical outcomes (43.78 v 36.76 quality-adjusted life-years). Both arthroscopic repair and Latarjet were cost-effective compared with nonoperative treatment (incremental cost-effectiveness ratios of 3,082 and 1,141, respectively). Results from sensitivity analyses indicate that under scenarios of high rates of stability postoperatively, along with improved clinical outcome scores, revision arthroscopic repair becomes increasingly cost-effective. Latarjet procedure for failed instability repair is a cost-effective treatment option, with lower costs and improved clinical outcomes compared with revision arthroscopic instability repair. However, surgeons must still incorporate clinical judgment into treatment algorithm formation. Level IV, expected value decision analysis. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Regulatory changes to renewable energy support schemes: An international investment law perspective

OpenAIRE

Paleckaite, Gintare

2014-01-01

Thesist analyzes how regulatory changes related to renewable energy investment support schemes can be perceived under international investment law standards and how possible decisions of international investment law tribunals could impact investment in this sector. This research is based on case studies of two states: Spain and the Czech Republic and claims against them. These cases will assist in analyzing the effects of the amendment/revocation of renewable energy support schemes. Answers t...

The Political Economy of International Emission Trading Scheme Choice: Empirical Evidence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boom, J.T.; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

2000-01-01

The Kyoto Protocol allows emissions trading. It does however not specify how this is to take place and the discussion on the design of an emissions trading scheme is ongoing. In this paper, we give some empirical evidence on the preference of industry and environmental organizations for internati...... for international emissions trading scheme. Since they may have an influence on decision makers, their opinion is important. Our conclusion is that both industry and environmental organizations prefer credit trading, although for widely different reasons....

Cost Implications of Primary Versus Revision Surgery in Adult Spinal Deformity.

Science.gov (United States)

Qureshi, Rabia; Puvanesarajah, Varun; Jain, Amit; Kebaish, Khaled; Shimer, Adam; Shen, Francis; Hassanzadeh, Hamid

2017-08-01

Adult spinal deformity (ASD) is an important problem to consider in the elderly. Although studies have examined the complications of ASD surgery and have compared functional and radiographic results of primary surgery versus revision, no studies have compared the costs of primary procedures with revisions. We assessed the in-hospital costs of these 2 surgery types in patients with ASD. The PearlDiver Database, a database of Medicare records, was used in this study. Mutually exclusive groups of patients undergoing primary or revision surgery were identified. Patients in each group were queried for age, sex, and comorbidities. Thirty-day readmission rates, 30-day and 90-day complication rates, and postoperative costs of care were assessed with multivariate analysis. For analyses, significance was set at P average reimbursement of the primary surgery cohort was $57,078 ± $30,767. Reimbursement of revision surgery cohort was $52,999 ± $27,658. The adjusted difference in average costs between the 2 groups is $4773 ± $1069 (P day and 90-day adjusted difference in cost of care when sustaining any of the major medical complications in primary surgery versus revision surgery was insignificant. Patients undergoing primary and revision corrective procedures for ASD have similar readmission rates, lengths of stays, and complication rates. Our data showed a higher cost of primary surgery compared with revision surgery, although costs of sustaining postoperative complications were similar. This finding supports the decision to perform revision procedures in patients with ASD when indicated because neither outcomes nor costs are a hindrance to correction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

On the Performance of Counter-Based Broadcast Scheme for Mobile ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Despite its simplicity, it can result in high redundant retransmission, contention and collision, a phenomenon collectively referred to as the broadcast storm problem. Counter-based broadcast scheme has been proposed to mitigate this inherent problem and it relies on counter threshold value for rebroadcast decision. Thus ...

Constructing food choice decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Sobal, Jeffery; Bisogni, Carole A

2009-12-01

Food choice decisions are frequent, multifaceted, situational, dynamic, and complex and lead to food behaviors where people acquire, prepare, serve, give away, store, eat, and clean up. Many disciplines and fields examine decision making. Several classes of theories are applicable to food decision making, including social behavior, social facts, and social definition perspectives. Each offers some insights but also makes limiting assumptions that prevent fully explaining food choice decisions. We used constructionist social definition perspectives to inductively develop a food choice process model that organizes a broad scope of factors and dynamics involved in food behaviors. This food choice process model includes (1) life course events and experiences that establish a food choice trajectory through transitions, turning points, timing, and contexts; (2) influences on food choices that include cultural ideals, personal factors, resources, social factors, and present contexts; and (3) a personal system that develops food choice values, negotiates and balances values, classifies foods and situations, and forms/revises food choice strategies, scripts, and routines. The parts of the model dynamically interact to make food choice decisions leading to food behaviors. No single theory can fully explain decision making in food behavior. Multiple perspectives are needed, including constructionist thinking.

Revising Translations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Kirsten Wølch; Schjoldager, Anne

2011-01-01

The paper explains the theoretical background and findings of an empirical study of revision policies, using Denmark as a case in point. After an overview of important definitions, types and parameters, the paper explains the methods and data gathered from a questionnaire survey and an interview...... survey. Results clearly show that most translation companies regard both unilingual and comparative revisions as essential components of professional quality assurance. Data indicate that revision is rarely fully comparative, as the preferred procedure seems to be a unilingual revision followed by a more...... or less comparative rereading. Though questionnaire data seem to indicate that translation companies use linguistic correctness and presentation as the only revision parameters, interview data reveal that textual and communicative aspects are also considered. Generally speaking, revision is not carried...

A revised ground-motion and intensity interpolation scheme for shakemap

Science.gov (United States)

Worden, C.B.; Wald, D.J.; Allen, T.I.; Lin, K.; Garcia, D.; Cua, G.

2010-01-01

We describe a weighted-average approach for incorporating various types of data (observed peak ground motions and intensities and estimates from groundmotion prediction equations) into the ShakeMap ground motion and intensity mapping framework. This approach represents a fundamental revision of our existing ShakeMap methodology. In addition, the increased availability of near-real-time macroseismic intensity data, the development of newrelationships between intensity and peak ground motions, and new relationships to directly predict intensity from earthquake source information have facilitated the inclusion of intensity measurements directly into ShakeMap computations. Our approach allows for the combination of (1) direct observations (ground-motion measurements or reported intensities), (2) observations converted from intensity to ground motion (or vice versa), and (3) estimated ground motions and intensities from prediction equations or numerical models. Critically, each of the aforementioned data types must include an estimate of its uncertainties, including those caused by scaling the influence of observations to surrounding grid points and those associated with estimates given an unknown fault geometry. The ShakeMap ground-motion and intensity estimates are an uncertainty-weighted combination of these various data and estimates. A natural by-product of this interpolation process is an estimate of total uncertainty at each point on the map, which can be vital for comprehensive inventory loss calculations. We perform a number of tests to validate this new methodology and find that it produces a substantial improvement in the accuracy of ground-motion predictions over empirical prediction equations alone.

Comparative Study on Feature Selection and Fusion Schemes for Emotion Recognition from Speech

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Santiago Planet

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The automatic analysis of speech to detect affective states may improve the way users interact with electronic devices. However, the analysis only at the acoustic level could be not enough to determine the emotion of a user in a realistic scenario. In this paper we analyzed the spontaneous speech recordings of the FAU Aibo Corpus at the acoustic and linguistic levels to extract two sets of features. The acoustic set was reduced by a greedy procedure selecting the most relevant features to optimize the learning stage. We compared two versions of this greedy selection algorithm by performing the search of the relevant features forwards and backwards. We experimented with three classification approaches: Naïve-Bayes, a support vector machine and a logistic model tree, and two fusion schemes: decision-level fusion, merging the hard-decisions of the acoustic and linguistic classifiers by means of a decision tree; and feature-level fusion, concatenating both sets of features before the learning stage. Despite the low performance achieved by the linguistic data, a dramatic improvement was achieved after its combination with the acoustic information, improving the results achieved by this second modality on its own. The results achieved by the classifiers using the parameters merged at feature level outperformed the classification results of the decision-level fusion scheme, despite the simplicity of the scheme. Moreover, the extremely reduced set of acoustic features obtained by the greedy forward search selection algorithm improved the results provided by the full set.

Economic analysis of two-stage septic revision after total hip arthroplasty: What are the relevant costs for the hospital's orthopedic department?

Science.gov (United States)

Kasch, R; Assmann, G; Merk, S; Barz, T; Melloh, M; Hofer, A; Merk, H; Flessa, S

2016-03-01

The number of septic total hip arthroplasty (THA) revisions is increasing continuously, placing a growing financial burden on hospitals. Orthopedic departments performing septic THA revisions have no basis for decision making regarding resource allocation as the costs of this procedure for the departments are unknown. It is widely assumed that septic THA procedures can only be performed at a loss for the department. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether this assumption is true by performing a detailed analysis of the costs and revenues for two-stage septic THA revision. Patients who underwent revision THA for septic loosening in two sessions from January 2009 through March 2012 were included in this retrospective, consecutive cost study from the orthopedic department's point of view. We analyzed variable and case-fixed costs for septic revision THA with special regard to implantation and explantation stay. By using marginal costing approach we neglected hospital-fixed costs. Outcome measures include reimbursement and daily contribution margins. The average direct costs (reimbursement) incurred for septic two-stage revision THA was €10,828 (€24,201). The difference in cost and contribution margins per day was significant (p cost for septic revision THA performed in two sessions. Disregarding hospital-fixed costs the included variable and case fixed-costs were covered by revenues. This study provides cost data, which will be guidance for health care decision makers.

Training Revising Based Traversability Analysis of Complex Terrains for Mobile Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Song

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Traversability analysis is one of the core issues in the autonomous navigation for mobile robots to identify the accessible area by the information of sensors on mobile robots. This paper proposed a model to analyze the traversability of complex terrains based on rough sets and training revising. The model described the traversability for mobile robots by traversability cost. Through the experiment, the paper gets the conclusion that traversability analysis model based on rough sets and training revising can be used where terrain features are rich and complex, can effectively handle the unstructured environment, and can provide reliable and effective decision rules in the autonomous navigation for mobile robots.

Decentralising Zimbabwe’s water management: The case of Guyu-Chelesa irrigation scheme

Science.gov (United States)

Tambudzai, Rashirayi; Everisto, Mapedza; Gideon, Zhou

Smallholder irrigation schemes are largely supply driven such that they exclude the beneficiaries on the management decisions and the choice of the irrigation schemes that would best suit their local needs. It is against this background that the decentralisation framework and the Dublin Principles on Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) emphasise the need for a participatory approach to water management. The Zimbabwean government has gone a step further in decentralising the management of irrigation schemes, that is promoting farmer managed irrigation schemes so as to ensure effective management of scarce community based land and water resources. The study set to investigate the way in which the Guyu-Chelesa irrigation scheme is managed with specific emphasis on the role of the Irrigation Management Committee (IMC), the level of accountability and the powers devolved to the IMC. Merrey’s 2008 critique of IWRM also informs this study which views irrigation as going beyond infrastructure by looking at how institutions and decision making processes play out at various levels including at the irrigation scheme level. The study was positioned on the hypothesis that ‘decentralised or autonomous irrigation management enhances the sustainability and effectiveness of irrigation schemes’. To validate or falsify the stated hypothesis, data was gathered using desk research in the form of reviewing articles, documents from within the scheme and field research in the form of questionnaire surveys, key informant interviews and field observation. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used to analyse data quantitatively, whilst content analysis was utilised to analyse qualitative data whereby data was analysed thematically. Comparative analysis was carried out as Guyu-Chelesa irrigation scheme was compared with other smallholder irrigation scheme’s experiences within Zimbabwe and the Sub Saharan African region at large. The findings were that whilst the

Revision total hip arthoplasty: factors associated with re-revision surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Khatod, Monti; Cafri, Guy; Inacio, Maria C S; Schepps, Alan L; Paxton, Elizabeth W; Bini, Stefano A

2015-03-04

The survivorship of implants after revision total hip arthroplasty and risk factors associated with re-revision are not well defined. We evaluated the re-revision rate with use of the institutional total joint replacement registry. The purpose of this study was to determine patient, implant, and surgeon factors associated with re-revision total hip arthroplasty. A retrospective cohort study was conducted. The total joint replacement registry was used to identify patients who had undergone revision total hip arthroplasty for aseptic reasons from April 1, 2001, to December 31, 2010. The end point of interest was re-revision total hip arthroplasty. Risk factors evaluated for re-revision total hip arthroplasty included: patient risk factors (age, sex, body mass index, race, and general health status), implant risk factors (fixation type, bearing surface, femoral head size, and component replacement), and surgeon risk factors (volume and experience). A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was used. Six hundred and twenty-nine revision total hip arthroplasties with sixty-three (10%) re-revisions were evaluated. The mean cohort age (and standard deviation) was 57.0 ± 12.4 years, the mean body mass index (and standard deviation) was 29.5 ± 6.1 kg/m(2), and most of the patients were women (64.5%) and white (81.9%) and had an American Society of Anesthesiologists score of associated with the risk of re-revision. For every ten-year increase in patient age, the hazard ratio for re-revision decreases by a factor of 0.72 (95% confidence interval, 0.58 to 0.90). For every five revision surgical procedures performed by a surgeon, the risk of revision decreases by a factor of 0.93 (95% confidence interval, 0.86 to 0.99). At the time of revision, a new or retained cemented femoral implant or all-cemented hip implant increases the risk of revision by a factor of 3.19 (95% confidence interval, 1.22 to 8.38) relative to a retained or new uncemented hip implant. A ceramic on a

Risk informed decision making - a pre-study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simola, K.; Pulkkinen, U.

2004-04-01

Examples of risk-informed decisions are establishing maintenance programmes, optimising inspection policies and justifying plant modifications, and revising technical specifications. Applications in daily situations can be such as accepting or rejecting exemptions from technical specifications. The aim of this pre-study was to identify the status of risk-informed decision making at Swedish and Finnish nuclear power plants and nuclear safety authorities. Responses to a questionnaire were obtained either by interviews or by e-mail from two Swedish and two Finnish NPPs, SKI and STUK. The development of a risk-informed decision procedure based on decision analytic ideas is worth recommending. A clear documentation format is a part of such procedure. In order to serve as a basis for final decision, the documentation should include clearly defined decision criteria, qualification of PSA model for the issue under analysis, description of most important uncertainties and assumptions. (au)

A secure and robust password-based remote user authentication scheme using smart cards for the integrated EPR information system.

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Ashok Kumar

2015-03-01

An integrated EPR (Electronic Patient Record) information system of all the patients provides the medical institutions and the academia with most of the patients' information in details for them to make corrective decisions and clinical decisions in order to maintain and analyze patients' health. In such system, the illegal access must be restricted and the information from theft during transmission over the insecure Internet must be prevented. Lee et al. proposed an efficient password-based remote user authentication scheme using smart card for the integrated EPR information system. Their scheme is very efficient due to usage of one-way hash function and bitwise exclusive-or (XOR) operations. However, in this paper, we show that though their scheme is very efficient, their scheme has three security weaknesses such as (1) it has design flaws in password change phase, (2) it fails to protect privileged insider attack and (3) it lacks the formal security verification. We also find that another recently proposed Wen's scheme has the same security drawbacks as in Lee at al.'s scheme. In order to remedy these security weaknesses found in Lee et al.'s scheme and Wen's scheme, we propose a secure and efficient password-based remote user authentication scheme using smart cards for the integrated EPR information system. We show that our scheme is also efficient as compared to Lee et al.'s scheme and Wen's scheme as our scheme only uses one-way hash function and bitwise exclusive-or (XOR) operations. Through the security analysis, we show that our scheme is secure against possible known attacks. Furthermore, we simulate our scheme for the formal security verification using the widely-accepted AVISPA (Automated Validation of Internet Security Protocols and Applications) tool and show that our scheme is secure against passive and active attacks.

Interactive Cost Configuration Over Decision Diagrams

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Henrik Reif; Hadzic, Tarik; Pisinger, David

2010-01-01

interaction online. In particular,binary decision diagrams (BDDs) have been successfully used as a compilation target for product and service configuration. In this paper we discuss how to extend BDD-based configuration to scenarios involving cost functions which express user preferences. We first show...... that an efficient, robust and easy to implement extension is possible if the cost function is additive, and feasible solutions are represented using multi-valued decision diagrams (MDDs). We also discuss the effect on MDD size if the cost function is non-additive or if it is encoded explicitly into MDD. We...... then discuss interactive configuration in the presence of multiple cost functions. We prove that even in its simplest form, multiple-cost configuration is NP-hard in the input MDD. However, for solving two-cost configuration we develop a pseudo-polynomial scheme and a fully polynomial approximation scheme...

On the security of two remote user authentication schemes for telecare medical information systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kee-Won; Lee, Jae-Dong

2014-05-01

The telecare medical information systems (TMISs) support convenient and rapid health-care services. A secure and efficient authentication scheme for TMIS provides safeguarding patients' electronic patient records (EPRs) and helps health care workers and medical personnel to rapidly making correct clinical decisions. Recently, Kumari et al. proposed a password based user authentication scheme using smart cards for TMIS, and claimed that the proposed scheme could resist various malicious attacks. However, we point out that their scheme is still vulnerable to lost smart card and cannot provide forward secrecy. Subsequently, Das and Goswami proposed a secure and efficient uniqueness-and-anonymity-preserving remote user authentication scheme for connected health care. They simulated their scheme for the formal security verification using the widely-accepted automated validation of Internet security protocols and applications (AVISPA) tool to ensure that their scheme is secure against passive and active attacks. However, we show that their scheme is still vulnerable to smart card loss attacks and cannot provide forward secrecy property. The proposed cryptanalysis discourages any use of the two schemes under investigation in practice and reveals some subtleties and challenges in designing this type of schemes.

Stakeholders apply the GRADE evidence-to-decision framework to facilitate coverage decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Dahm, Philipp; Oxman, Andrew D; Djulbegovic, Benjamin; Guyatt, Gordon H; Murad, M Hassan; Amato, Laura; Parmelli, Elena; Davoli, Marina; Morgan, Rebecca L; Mustafa, Reem A; Sultan, Shahnaz; Falck-Ytter, Yngve; Akl, Elie A; Schünemann, Holger J

2017-06-01

Coverage decisions are complex and require the consideration of many factors. A well-defined, transparent process could improve decision-making and facilitate decision-maker accountability. We surveyed key US-based stakeholders regarding their current approaches for coverage decisions. Then, we held a workshop to test an evidence-to-decision (EtD) framework for coverage based on the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria. A total of 42 individuals (including 19 US stakeholders as well as international health policymakers and GRADE working group members) attended the workshop. Of the 19 stakeholders, 14 (74%) completed the survey before the workshop. Almost all of their organizations (13 of 14; 93%) used systematic reviews for coverage decision-making; few (2 of 14; 14%) developed their own evidence synthesis; a majority (9 of 14; 64%) rated the certainty of evidence (using various systems); almost all (13 of 14; 93%) denied formal consideration of resource use; and half (7 of 14; 50%) reported explicit criteria for decision-making. At the workshop, stakeholders successfully applied the EtD framework to four case studies and provided narrative feedback, which centered on contextual factors affecting coverage decisions in the United States, the need for reliable data on subgroups of patients, and the challenge of decision-making without formal consideration of resource use. Stakeholders successfully applied the EtD framework to four case studies and highlighted contextual factors affecting coverage decisions and affirmed its value. Their input informed the further development of a revised EtD framework, now publicly available (http://gradepro.org/). Published by Elsevier Inc.

Prediction-based association control scheme in dense femtocell networks

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Ngoc-Thai; Huynh, Thong; Hwang, Won-Joo; You, Ilsun; Choo, Kim-Kwang Raymond

2017-01-01

The deployment of large number of femtocell base stations allows us to extend the coverage and efficiently utilize resources in a low cost manner. However, the small cell size of femtocell networks can result in frequent handovers to the mobile user, and consequently throughput degradation. Thus, in this paper, we propose predictive association control schemes to improve the system’s effective throughput. Our design focuses on reducing handover frequency without impacting on throughput. The proposed schemes determine handover decisions that contribute most to the network throughput and are proper for distributed implementations. The simulation results show significant gains compared with existing methods in terms of handover frequency and network throughput perspective. PMID:28328992

Decision making and information flows in precision agriculture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fountas, S.; Wulfsohn, Dvora-Laiô; Blackmore, B.S.

A participative methology was developed in which farm managers decomposed their process of decision making in Precision Agriculture (PA) into brief secision statesments along with associated information requirements. The methodology was first developed on a university research farm in Denmark...... and further revised during testing on a number of research and commercial farms in Indiana, USA. Twenty-one decision analysis factors were idebfied to characterise a farm manager's decision-making process. Then a general data flow diagram (DFD) was constructed that describes the information flows "from data...... to decision". Illustrative examples of the model in the form of DFDs are presented for a strategic and an operational decision. The model was validated for a range of decisions related to operations by three university farm managers and by five commercial farmers practicing PA for cereal, corn and soybean...

Sensor data security level estimation scheme for wireless sensor networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Alex; Filho, Raimir Holanda

2015-01-19

Due to their increasing dissemination, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have become the target of more and more sophisticated attacks, even capable of circumventing both attack detection and prevention mechanisms. This may cause WSN users, who totally trust these security mechanisms, to think that a sensor reading is secure, even when an adversary has corrupted it. For that reason, a scheme capable of estimating the security level (SL) that these mechanisms provide to sensor data is needed, so that users can be aware of the actual security state of this data and can make better decisions on its use. However, existing security estimation schemes proposed for WSNs fully ignore detection mechanisms and analyze solely the security provided by prevention mechanisms. In this context, this work presents the sensor data security estimator (SDSE), a new comprehensive security estimation scheme for WSNs. SDSE is designed for estimating the sensor data security level based on security metrics that analyze both attack prevention and detection mechanisms. In order to validate our proposed scheme, we have carried out extensive simulations that show the high accuracy of SDSE estimates.

A logic scheme for regulating safe operation of research reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahmad, E E [Reactor Department, Nuclear Research Center, Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt); Effat, A; Rahman, F A [Operational Saety Dept, National Center of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Control Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo (Egypt)

1997-12-31

This investigation presents a logic scheme for regulating the safe operation of research reactor in accordance with the new revision of SS-35 and revised by the 10 CFR. It emphasizes the regulatory inspection and enforcement (RI end E) during the reactor operation phase. IT is developed to provide information, guidance and recommendations to be taken when constructing the RI and E program that could be applied to the operational phase of the egyptian Research Reactors. In the operational phase, the regulatory inspection (RI) means an examination, observation, measurement, or test undertaken or on behalf of the nuclear regulatory body (NRB) during operation to verify that the nuclear materials, components, systems and structures as well operational activities, processes, procedures and personnel competence and performance are in accordance with the requirements established or the provisions approved by NRB or specified in the operational license or contained in regulations. Regulatory inspection includes both routine and non-routine ones. Any of them may be announced or unannounced. The problems identified by the RI must be resolved by the proper RE actions. The RE actions include investigative and corrective RE actions. These RI and E procedures for regulating safe operation of research reactors are presented as flow charts and then developed as a computer logic scheme. The software program is very efficient, very friendly, very simple and is interactive in nature such that the program asks the user certain questions about essential steps that guide the (RI and E) for research reactors, and user responds. The program proceeds based on this response until all the necessary steps for (RI and E) are accomplished. 5 figs.

On the Convergence of Iterative Receiver Algorithms Utilizing Hard Decisions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jürgen F. Rößler

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The convergence of receivers performing iterative hard decision interference cancellation (IHDIC is analyzed in a general framework for ASK, PSK, and QAM constellations. We first give an overview of IHDIC algorithms known from the literature applied to linear modulation and DS-CDMA-based transmission systems and show the relation to Hopfield neural network theory. It is proven analytically that IHDIC with serial update scheme always converges to a stable state in the estimated values in course of iterations and that IHDIC with parallel update scheme converges to cycles of length 2. Additionally, we visualize the convergence behavior with the aid of convergence charts. Doing so, we give insight into possible errors occurring in IHDIC which turn out to be caused by locked error situations. The derived results can directly be applied to those iterative soft decision interference cancellation (ISDIC receivers whose soft decision functions approach hard decision functions in course of the iterations.

Differential on-on keying: A robust non-coherent digital modulation scheme

KAUST Repository

Kaddoum, Georges

2015-05-01

A robust digital modulation scheme, called differential on-on keying (DOOK), is presented in this paper which outperforms the conventional on-off keying (OOK). In this scheme, a sinusoidal signal is transmitted during the first half of the bit duration while a replica or an inverted version of the sinusoidal signal is transmitted during the second half for logic one or logic zero, respectively. Non-coherent receiver correlates the two halves of the received signal over half bit duration to construct a decision variable. Bit error performance is analyzed over AWGN and Rayleigh fading channels and compared to the conventional OOK.

Differential on-on keying: A robust non-coherent digital modulation scheme

KAUST Repository

Kaddoum, Georges; Ahmed, Mohammed F. A.; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.

2015-01-01

A robust digital modulation scheme, called differential on-on keying (DOOK), is presented in this paper which outperforms the conventional on-off keying (OOK). In this scheme, a sinusoidal signal is transmitted during the first half of the bit duration while a replica or an inverted version of the sinusoidal signal is transmitted during the second half for logic one or logic zero, respectively. Non-coherent receiver correlates the two halves of the received signal over half bit duration to construct a decision variable. Bit error performance is analyzed over AWGN and Rayleigh fading channels and compared to the conventional OOK.

Cambridge community Optometry Glaucoma Scheme.

Science.gov (United States)

Keenan, Jonathan; Shahid, Humma; Bourne, Rupert R; White, Andrew J; Martin, Keith R

2015-04-01

With a higher life expectancy, there is an increased demand for hospital glaucoma services in the United Kingdom. The Cambridge community Optometry Glaucoma Scheme (COGS) was initiated in 2010, where new referrals for suspected glaucoma are evaluated by community optometrists with a special interest in glaucoma, with virtual electronic review and validation by a consultant ophthalmologist with special interest in glaucoma. 1733 patients were evaluated by this scheme between 2010 and 2013. Clinical assessment is performed by the optometrist at a remote site. Goldmann applanation tonometry, pachymetry, monoscopic colour optic disc photographs and automated Humphrey visual field testing are performed. A clinical decision is made as to whether a patient has glaucoma or is a suspect, and referred on or discharged as a false positive referral. The clinical findings, optic disc photographs and visual field test results are transmitted electronically for virtual review by a consultant ophthalmologist. The number of false positive referrals from initial referral into the scheme. Of the patients, 46.6% were discharged at assessment and a further 5.7% were discharged following virtual review. Of the patients initially discharged, 2.8% were recalled following virtual review. Following assessment at the hospital, a further 10.5% were discharged after a single visit. The COGS community-based glaucoma screening programme is a safe and effective way of evaluating glaucoma referrals in the community and reducing false-positive referrals for glaucoma into the hospital system. © 2014 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.

Revision Total Hip Arthoplasty: Factors Associated with Re-Revision Surgery

OpenAIRE

Khatod, M; Cafri, G; Inacio, MCS; Schepps, AL; Paxton, EW; Bini, SA

2015-01-01

The survivorship of implants after revision total hip arthroplasty and risk factors associated with re-revision are not well defined. We evaluated the re-revision rate with use of the institutional total joint replacement registry. The purpose of this study was to determine patient, implant, and surgeon factors associated with re-revision total hip arthroplasty.A retrospective cohort study was conducted. The total joint replacement registry was used to identify patients who had undergone revi...

On Converting Secret Sharing Scheme to Visual Secret Sharing Scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Daoshun

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Traditional Secret Sharing (SS schemes reconstruct secret exactly the same as the original one but involve complex computation. Visual Secret Sharing (VSS schemes decode the secret without computation, but each share is m times as big as the original and the quality of the reconstructed secret image is reduced. Probabilistic visual secret sharing (Prob.VSS schemes for a binary image use only one subpixel to share the secret image; however the probability of white pixels in a white area is higher than that in a black area in the reconstructed secret image. SS schemes, VSS schemes, and Prob. VSS schemes have various construction methods and advantages. This paper first presents an approach to convert (transform a -SS scheme to a -VSS scheme for greyscale images. The generation of the shadow images (shares is based on Boolean XOR operation. The secret image can be reconstructed directly by performing Boolean OR operation, as in most conventional VSS schemes. Its pixel expansion is significantly smaller than that of VSS schemes. The quality of the reconstructed images, measured by average contrast, is the same as VSS schemes. Then a novel matrix-concatenation approach is used to extend the greyscale -SS scheme to a more general case of greyscale -VSS scheme.

Emulation-based comparative study of centralized and distributed control schemes for optical networks

Science.gov (United States)

Xin, Chunsheng; Ye, Yinghua; Dixit, Sudhir; Qiao, Chunming

2001-07-01

Recently there are considerable amount of research about the automatic control and provisioning in all optical networks. One of the critical issues is how to provide effective lightpath provisioning to improve network performance, such as blocking probability and decision time. Depending on the network topology, configuration, and administration policy, a distributed or centralized control scheme can be employed to manage the routing and signaling. In a distributed control scheme, each node exchanges information with other nodes, but performs routing and signaling independently from other nodes. On the other hand, in a centralized scheme, each node communicates with a central controller and the controller performs routing and signaling on behalf of all other nodes. Intuitively, the centralized scheme can obtain a lower blocking probability since the controller has the complete resource availability information. We have studied the two schemes through emulations, determined the signaling and processing overheads and quantified the conditions that favor one approach over the other.

Development of an estuarine assessment scheme for the management of a highly urbanised catchment/estuary system, Sydney estuary, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Birch, G F; Gunns, T J; Chapman, D; Harrison, D

2016-05-01

As coastal populations increase, considerable pressures are exerted on estuarine environments. Recently, there has been a trend towards the development and use of estuarine assessment schemes as a decision support tool in the management of these environments. These schemes offer a method by which complex environmental data is converted into a readily understandable and communicable format for informed decision making and effective distribution of limited management resources. Reliability and effectiveness of these schemes are often limited due to a complex assessment framework, poor data management and use of ineffective environmental indicators. The current scheme aims to improve reliability in the reporting of estuarine condition by including a concise assessment framework, employing high-value indicators and, in a unique approach, employing fuzzy logic in indicator evaluation. Using Sydney estuary as a case study, each of the 15 sub-catchment/sub-estuary systems were assessed using the current scheme. Results identified that poor sediment quality was a significant issue in Blackwattle/Rozelle Bay, Iron Cove and Hen and Chicken Bay while poor water quality was of particular concern in Duck River, Homebush Bay and the Parramatta River. Overall results of the assessment scheme were used to prioritise the management of each sub-catchment/sub-estuary assessed with Blackwattle/Rozelle Bay, Homebush Bay, Iron Cove and Duck River considered to be in need of a high priority management response. A report card format, using letter grades, was employed to convey the results of the assessment in a readily understood manner to estuarine managers and members of the public. Letter grades also provide benchmarking and performance monitoring ability, allowing estuarine managers to set improvement targets and assesses the effectiveness of management strategies. The current assessment scheme provides an effective, integrated and consistent assessment of estuarine health and

78 FR 38912 - Notice of Request for Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-28

... immediate production and marketing decisions and as a guide to the amount of product in the supply channel... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Agricultural Marketing Service [Document No. AMS-FV-13-0022] Notice of Request for Revision of a Currently Approved Information Collection AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service...

The effects of HIV/AIDS on medical schemes in South Africa | Da ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... not necessarily representative of the medical-scheme population. The intention is therefore to develop a methodology for producing indicative results to inform management decisions. The opportunity to lower costs related to HIV/AIDS through proactive risk management is investigated. South African Actuarial Journal Vol.

A Novel WLAN Roaming Decision and Selection Scheme for Mobile Data Offloading

OpenAIRE

Nguyen, Nam; Arifuzzaman, Mohammad; Sato, Takuro

2015-01-01

The existing IEEE and 3GPP standards have laid the foundation for integrating cellular and WiFi network to deliver a seamless experience for the end-users when roaming across multiple access networks. However, in recent studies, the issue of making roaming decision and intelligently selecting the most preferable Point of Service to optimize network resource and improve end user’s experience has not been considered properly. In this paper, we propose a novel cellular and WiFi roaming decision ...

ESCAP mobile training scheme.

Science.gov (United States)

Yasas, F M

1977-01-01

In response to a United Nations resolution, the Mobile Training Scheme (MTS) was set up to provide training to the trainers of national cadres engaged in frontline and supervisory tasks in social welfare and rural development. The training is innovative in its being based on an analysis of field realities. The MTS team consisted of a leader, an expert on teaching methods and materials, and an expert on action research and evaluation. The country's trainers from different departments were sent to villages to work for a short period and to report their problems in fulfilling their roles. From these grass roots experiences, they made an analysis of the job, determining what knowledge, attitude and skills it required. Analysis of daily incidents and problems were used to produce indigenous teaching materials drawn from actual field practice. How to consider the problems encountered through government structures for policy making and decisions was also learned. Tasks of the students were to identify the skills needed for role performance by job analysis, daily diaries and project histories; to analyze the particular community by village profiles; to produce indigenous teaching materials; and to practice the role skills by actual role performance. The MTS scheme was tried in Nepal in 1974-75; 3 training programs trained 25 trainers and 51 frontline workers; indigenous teaching materials were created; technical papers written; and consultations were provided. In Afghanistan the scheme was used in 1975-76; 45 participants completed the training; seminars were held; and an ongoing Council was created. It is hoped that the training program will be expanded to other countries.

Revised

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johannsen, Vivian Kvist; Nord-Larsen, Thomas; Riis-Nielsen, Torben

This report is a revised analysis of the Danish data on CO2 emissions from forest, afforestation and deforestation for the period 1990 - 2008 and a prognosis for the period until 2020. Revision have included measurements from 2009 in the estimations. The report is funded by the Ministry of Climate...

Classification of childhood epilepsies in a tertiary pediatric neurology clinic using a customized classification scheme from the international league against epilepsy 2010 report.

Science.gov (United States)

Khoo, Teik-Beng

2013-01-01

In its 2010 report, the International League Against Epilepsy Commission on Classification and Terminology had made a number of changes to the organization, terminology, and classification of seizures and epilepsies. This study aims to test the usefulness of this revised classification scheme on children with epilepsies aged between 0 and 18 years old. Of 527 patients, 75.1% only had 1 type of seizure and the commonest was focal seizure (61.9%). A specific electroclinical syndrome diagnosis could be made in 27.5%. Only 2.1% had a distinctive constellation. In this cohort, 46.9% had an underlying structural, metabolic, or genetic etiology. Among the important causes were pre-/perinatal insults, malformation of cortical development, intracranial infections, and neurocutaneous syndromes. However, 23.5% of the patients in our cohort were classified as having "epilepsies of unknown cause." The revised classification scheme is generally useful for pediatric patients. To make it more inclusive and clinically meaningful, some local customizations are required.

Analysis of a decision model in the context of equilibrium pricing and order book pricing

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, D. C.; Schmitt, T. A.; Schäfer, R.; Guhr, T.; Wolf, D. E.

2014-12-01

An agent-based model for financial markets has to incorporate two aspects: decision making and price formation. We introduce a simple decision model and consider its implications in two different pricing schemes. First, we study its parameter dependence within a supply-demand balance setting. We find realistic behavior in a wide parameter range. Second, we embed our decision model in an order book setting. Here, we observe interesting features which are not present in the equilibrium pricing scheme. In particular, we find a nontrivial behavior of the order book volumes which reminds of a trend switching phenomenon. Thus, the decision making model alone does not realistically represent the trading and the stylized facts. The order book mechanism is crucial.

Assessment of decisions in the context of life attitudes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Klamut Ryszard

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Presented article attempts to show sense of life perspective as a determinant of decision making. It is assumed that the sense of life perspective described as life attitudes is significant in assessment of decision problem defined in the predecision phase of the decision making process. The predicted dependence was analysed in three categories of decision: self-development, financial and voting. The research was conducted on two groups of 186 and 86 participants. Two methods were used in the research: the Life Attitude Profile -Revised (LAP-R and the Decision Assessment Questionnaire. In statistical analysis, the canonical correlation analysis was used. The scores show that the life attitudes (especially: Purpose, Coherence, Life Control and Existential Vacuum are correlated with the assessment factor (especially: Cognitive Analysis and Affective Assessment of each tested category of decision. However, the most significant relationship is found in the self-development decision.

Procedural Justice for ‘Weaker Parties’ in Cross-Border Litigation under the EU Regulatory Scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vesna Lazić

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This article discusses how procedural justice for consumers, employees and insurance policy holders or other beneficiaries under insurance contracts has been ensured in the legal instruments of the EU legislator. The analysis focuses on the Brussels Jurisdiction Regulation, both under the current regulatory scheme and in its recently revised version. Thereby, the rules on jurisdiction, the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, as well as instruments that unify certain rules of civil procedure have been analysed. Within the context of the rules on jurisdiction, the relevance of the EU legislation for the validity and enforceability of jurisdictional clauses against weaker parties is addressed. Thereby express provisions in EU legislation, as well as relevant case law of the CJEU, have been the subject of the analysis. The changes introduced by the revised Regulation are discussed in great detail.

A framework to support decision making in the selection of sustainable drainage system design alternatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Mingming; Sweetapple, Chris; Fu, Guangtao; Farmani, Raziyeh; Butler, David

2017-10-01

This paper presents a new framework for decision making in sustainable drainage system (SuDS) scheme design. It integrates resilience, hydraulic performance, pollution control, rainwater usage, energy analysis, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and costs, and has 12 indicators. The multi-criteria analysis methods of entropy weight and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) were selected to support SuDS scheme selection. The effectiveness of the framework is demonstrated with a SuDS case in China. Indicators used include flood volume, flood duration, a hydraulic performance indicator, cost and resilience. Resilience is an important design consideration, and it supports scheme selection in the case study. The proposed framework will help a decision maker to choose an appropriate design scheme for implementation without subjectivity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sensor Data Security Level Estimation Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos, Alex; Filho, Raimir Holanda

2015-01-01

Due to their increasing dissemination, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have become the target of more and more sophisticated attacks, even capable of circumventing both attack detection and prevention mechanisms. This may cause WSN users, who totally trust these security mechanisms, to think that a sensor reading is secure, even when an adversary has corrupted it. For that reason, a scheme capable of estimating the security level (SL) that these mechanisms provide to sensor data is needed, so that users can be aware of the actual security state of this data and can make better decisions on its use. However, existing security estimation schemes proposed for WSNs fully ignore detection mechanisms and analyze solely the security provided by prevention mechanisms. In this context, this work presents the sensor data security estimator (SDSE), a new comprehensive security estimation scheme for WSNs. SDSE is designed for estimating the sensor data security level based on security metrics that analyze both attack prevention and detection mechanisms. In order to validate our proposed scheme, we have carried out extensive simulations that show the high accuracy of SDSE estimates. PMID:25608215

Sensor Data Security Level Estimation Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Ramos

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Due to their increasing dissemination, wireless sensor networks (WSNs have become the target of more and more sophisticated attacks, even capable of circumventing both attack detection and prevention mechanisms. This may cause WSN users, who totally trust these security mechanisms, to think that a sensor reading is secure, even when an adversary has corrupted it. For that reason, a scheme capable of estimating the security level (SL that these mechanisms provide to sensor data is needed, so that users can be aware of the actual security state of this data and can make better decisions on its use. However, existing security estimation schemes proposed for WSNs fully ignore detection mechanisms and analyze solely the security provided by prevention mechanisms. In this context, this work presents the sensor data security estimator (SDSE, a new comprehensive security estimation scheme for WSNs. SDSE is designed for estimating the sensor data security level based on security metrics that analyze both attack prevention and detection mechanisms. In order to validate our proposed scheme, we have carried out extensive simulations that show the high accuracy of SDSE estimates.

77 FR 56909 - Notice of Comment Period Extension for the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report/Supplemental...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-09-14

... for the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report/Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement... Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Fresno to Bakersfield Section of the California... this decision to be responsive to stakeholder requests and to encourage comprehensive public...

Revision of the European trading scheme. Business views

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-06-01

Created in 1992, Entreprises pour l'Environnement (EpE) is an association of large companies which have gathered to progress together in integrating environment in the strategy and daily management. Its members are companies from various sectors from industry and services, including energy intensive industries, energy producers, financial service providers, among others. EpE serves as a think tank for its members, whose experience is brought as the main feed for thoughts. Climate change has been one of the major topics for many years, and EpE has been the first circle where market-based solutions have been discussed in France. In 2002, EpE initiated the creation of AERES (www.aeres-asso.org), a group of industrial companies who made voluntary reduction commitments on the six greenhouse gases of the Kyoto protocol and have been since measuring, verifying and publishing how they stick to this commitment. In addition, many of the EpE members are directly active on the ETS carbon market, whether as financial actors or compliance users, power producer or energy-intensive industrial international groups, and the association has dedicated significant work to the analysis of the first years of operation of this market as well as discussion on future commitments and/or processes / approaches This document results from this work. It encompasses notes on: - predictability for regulators and clear visibility to industry's investments; - auctioning process; - the need for a market authority on the European carbon market; - allocation mechanisms. The document provides a summary of this material. In many instances it presents a choice that can only be made by political decision. Its purpose is to express views on such political choices stakes and consequences. These notes are based on the experience from the first period, as well as discussions among EpE members for future approaches. This contribution should be viewed as a contribution to the European dialogue on this

A risk-based focused decision-management approach for justifying characterization of Hanford tank waste. June 1996, Revision 1; April 1997, Revision 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Colson, S.D.; Gephart, R.E.; Hunter, V.L.; Janata, J.; Morgan, L.G.

1997-12-31

This report describes a disciplined, risk-based decision-making approach for determining characterization needs and resolving safety issues during the storage and remediation of radioactive waste stored in Hanford tanks. The strategy recommended uses interactive problem evaluation and decision analysis methods commonly used in industry to solve problems under conditions of uncertainty (i.e., lack of perfect knowledge). It acknowledges that problem resolution comes through both the application of high-quality science and human decisions based upon preferences and sometimes hard-to-compare choices. It recognizes that to firmly resolve a safety problem, the controlling waste characteristics and chemical phenomena must be measurable or estimated to an acceptable level of confidence tailored to the decision being made.

A risk-based focused decision-management approach for justifying characterization of Hanford tank waste. June 1996, Revision 1; April 1997, Revision 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colson, S.D.; Gephart, R.E.; Hunter, V.L.; Janata, J.; Morgan, L.G.

1997-01-01

This report describes a disciplined, risk-based decision-making approach for determining characterization needs and resolving safety issues during the storage and remediation of radioactive waste stored in Hanford tanks. The strategy recommended uses interactive problem evaluation and decision analysis methods commonly used in industry to solve problems under conditions of uncertainty (i.e., lack of perfect knowledge). It acknowledges that problem resolution comes through both the application of high-quality science and human decisions based upon preferences and sometimes hard-to-compare choices. It recognizes that to firmly resolve a safety problem, the controlling waste characteristics and chemical phenomena must be measurable or estimated to an acceptable level of confidence tailored to the decision being made

Decision Management : The Dowsing Rod of Change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

dr. Martijn Zoet; Koen Smit

2015-01-01

In this article, a classification scheme is presented which can be used to categorize the possible modifications with regard to information systems that execute decisions. Concerning these modifications, a distinction is made between the effort of the modification for the internal organization and

Unwanted pregnancy: The outer boundary of "treatment injury" in the New Zealand accident compensation scheme.

Science.gov (United States)

Tobin, Rosemary

2015-09-01

The New Zealand accident compensation scheme has undergone many changes over the years and these changes are reflected in the way unwanted pregnancy claims have been dealt with under the regime. The New Zealand Supreme Court has now confirmed that pregnancy as a result of medical misadventure can be classified as a personal injury under the scheme with the result that the woman patient is entitled to the benefits of the scheme and may not pursue a common law claim against the medical practitioner. This article analyses two recent decisions in the context of consideration of the changing fortunes of the unwanted pregnancy claims.

Evaluation and determination of soil remediation schemes using a modified AHP model and its application in a contaminated coking plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xingang; Li, Jia; Sui, Hong; He, Lin; Cao, Xingtao; Li, Yonghong

2018-07-05

Soil remediation has been considered as one of the most difficult pollution treatment tasks due to its high complexity in contaminants, geological conditions, usage, urgency, etc. The diversity in remediation technologies further makes quick selection of suitable remediation schemes much tougher even the site investigation has been done. Herein, a sustainable decision support hierarchical model has been developed to select, evaluate and determine preferred soil remediation schemes comprehensively based on modified analytic hierarchy process (MAHP). This MAHP method combines competence model and the Grubbs criteria with the conventional AHP. It not only considers the competence differences among experts in group decision, but also adjusts the big deviation caused by different experts' preference through sample analysis. This conversion allows the final remediation decision more reasonable. In this model, different evaluation criteria, including economic effect, environmental effect and technological effect, are employed to evaluate the integrated performance of remediation schemes followed by a strict computation using above MAHP. To confirm the feasibility of this developed model, it has been tested by a benzene workshop contaminated site in Beijing coking plant. Beyond soil remediation, this MAHP model would also be applied in other fields referring to multi-criteria group decision making. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

What Goes Into a Decision? How Nursing Faculty Decide Which Best Practices to Use for Classroom Testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Killingsworth, Erin; Kimble, Laura P; Sudia, Tanya

2015-01-01

To explore the decision-making process of BSN faculty when determining which best practices to use for classroom testing. A descriptive, correlational study was conducted with a national sample (N = 127) of full-time BSN faculty. Participants completed a web-based survey incorporating instruments that measured beliefs about evaluation, decision-making, and best practices for item analysis and constructing and revising classroom tests. Study participants represented 31 states and were primarily middle-aged white women. In multiple linear regression analyses, faculty beliefs, contextual factors for decision-making, and decision-making processes accounted for statistically significant amounts of the variance in item analysis and test construction and revision. Strong faculty beliefs that rules were important when evaluating students was a significant predictor of increased use of best practices. Results support that understanding faculty beliefs around classroom testing is important in promoting the use of best practices.

Interference Cancellation Schemes for Single-Carrier Block Transmission with Insufficient Cyclic Prefix

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hayashi Kazunori

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract This paper proposes intersymbol interference (ISI and interblock interference (IBI cancellation schemes at the transmitter and the receiver for the single-carrier block transmission with insufficient cyclic prefix (CP. The proposed scheme at the transmitter can exterminate the interferences by only setting some signals in the transmitted signal block to be the same as those of the previous transmitted signal block. On the other hand, the proposed schemes at the receiver can cancel the interferences without any change in the transmitted signals compared to the conventional method. The IBI components are reduced by using previously detected data signals, while for the ISI cancellation, we firstly change the defective channel matrix into a circulant matrix by using the tentative decisions, which are obtained by our newly derived frequency domain equalization (FDE, and then the conventional FDE is performed to compensate the ISI. Moreover, we propose a pilot signal configuration, which enables us to estimate a channel impulse response whose order is greater than the guard interval (GI. Computer simulations show that the proposed interference cancellation schemes can significantly improve bit error rate (BER performance, and the validity of the proposed channel estimation scheme is also demonstrated.

A canonical theory of dynamic decision-making

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John eFox

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Decision-making behaviour is studied in many very different fields, from medicine and economics to psychology and neuroscience, with major contributions from mathematics and statistics, computer science, AI and other technical disciplines. However the conceptualisation of what decision-making is and methods for studying it vary greatly and this has resulted in fragmentation of the field. A theory that can accommodate various perspectives may facilitate interdisciplinary working. We present such a theory in which decision-making is articulated as a set of canonical functions that are sufficiently general to accommodate diverse viewpoints, yet sufficiently precise that they can be instantiated in different ways for specific theoretical or practical purposes. The canons cover the whole decision cycle, from the framing of a decision based on the goals, beliefs, and background knowledge of the decision maker to the formulation of decision options, establishing preferences over them, and making commitments. Commitments can lead to the initiation of new decisions and any step in the cycle can incorporate reasoning about previous decisions and the rationales for them, and lead to revising or abandoning existing commitments. The theory situates decision making with respect to other high-level cognitive capabilities like problem-solving, planning and collaborative decision-making. The canonical approach is assessed in three domains: cognitive and neuro-psychology, artificial intelligence, and decision engineering.

A Canonical Theory of Dynamic Decision-Making

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, John; Cooper, Richard P.; Glasspool, David W.

2012-01-01

Decision-making behavior is studied in many very different fields, from medicine and economics to psychology and neuroscience, with major contributions from mathematics and statistics, computer science, AI, and other technical disciplines. However the conceptualization of what decision-making is and methods for studying it vary greatly and this has resulted in fragmentation of the field. A theory that can accommodate various perspectives may facilitate interdisciplinary working. We present such a theory in which decision-making is articulated as a set of canonical functions that are sufficiently general to accommodate diverse viewpoints, yet sufficiently precise that they can be instantiated in different ways for specific theoretical or practical purposes. The canons cover the whole decision cycle, from the framing of a decision based on the goals, beliefs, and background knowledge of the decision-maker to the formulation of decision options, establishing preferences over them, and making commitments. Commitments can lead to the initiation of new decisions and any step in the cycle can incorporate reasoning about previous decisions and the rationales for them, and lead to revising or abandoning existing commitments. The theory situates decision-making with respect to other high-level cognitive capabilities like problem solving, planning, and collaborative decision-making. The canonical approach is assessed in three domains: cognitive and neuropsychology, artificial intelligence, and decision engineering. PMID:23565100

River crossings: decision making scheme for the execution of protection work; Cruces de rios: esquema de toma de decisiones para la ejecucion de obras de proteccion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Fernando C.; Carnicero, Martin [TGN - Transportadora de Gas del Norte S.A. (Argentina)

2003-07-01

TGN operates a natural gas transportation network of 7.700 kilometers of length that comprises most of Argentina and part of Chile, intercepting a considerable amount of rivers that travel in different geographic environments. In order to protect the integrity at river crossings, the Company implemented a program that includes monitoring, maintenance, assessment, characterization, design and construction of erosion control works in rivers. This document is focused in the method of assessment and characterization of problems related to river crossings and in its technical background. The final objective is to define a decision making scheme, useful to select the scope of work needed to assure pipeline protection and to obtain maximum benefits from the associated investments. (author)

The effects of emotion on pilot decision-making: A neuroergonomic approach to aviation safety

OpenAIRE

Causse, Mickaël; Dehais, Frédéric; Péran, Patrice; Sabatini, Umberto; Pastor, Josette

2013-01-01

International audience; Emotion or stress can jeopardize decision-making relevance and cognitive functioning. In this paper we examine plan continuation error (PCE), an erroneous behavior defined as a "failure to revise a flight plan despite emerging evidence that suggests it is no longer safe" (Orasanu, Ames, Martin, & Davison, 2001). Our hypothesis is that negative emotional consequences attached to the go-around decision provoke a temporary impairment of the decision-making process and fav...

Klebsiella pneumoniae lipopolysaccharide O typing: revision of prototype strains and O-group distribution among clinical isolates from different sources and countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, D S; Mestre, F; Alberti, S

1999-01-01

of the currently recognized O types. The method was validated by studying the prototype strains that have defined the O groups by the classical tube agglutinatination O-typing method. Based on these results, we confirmed the O types of 60 of 64 typeable strains, and we propose a revised O-antigenic scheme...

The governance challenge for implementing effective market-based climate policies: A case study of The New South Wales Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Passey, Robert; MacGill, Iain; Outhred, Hugh

2008-01-01

The New South Wales (NSW) Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme (GGAS) in Australia is a baseline and credit emissions trading scheme with the stated aim of reducing the per-capita greenhouse emissions associated with electricity consumption in the state of NSW. Here we provide a detailed assessment of the GGAS design and operation, with a particular emphasis on its effectiveness in delivering physical emissions reductions that would not have occurred in its absence. We find that a number of design features mean a significant proportion of the tradeable 'abatement' certificates are unlikely to correspond to the claimed emissions reductions. While some of these adverse design choices might be corrected, others would seem inherent to the underlying scheme design. Our analysis highlights the major governance challenges with emissions trading approaches and hence the importance of good policy implementation processes including the need for separation of powers through a scheme development process that involves design, assessment and revision. These GGAS lessons would seem relevant for governance with all emissions trading schemes, and has particular implications for cap and trade schemes that incorporate baseline and credit offset schemes, as well as to the 'White Certificate' schemes increasingly being seen as a means of fostering enhanced end-use energy efficiency

Assigned experts with competitive goals withhold information in group decision making

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Toma, C.; Vasiljevic, D.; Oberlé, D.; Butera, F.

2013-01-01

Expertise assignment has been proposed to improve unshared information pooling in group decision making. The current research revises this view by hypothesizing that expertise assignment is beneficial when group members have cooperative goals, but is detrimental when group members have competitive

Development of a patient decision aid for prevention of myocardial infarction in type 2 diabetes - rationale, design and pilot testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lenz, Matthias; Kasper, Jürgen; Mühlhauser, Ingrid

2009-10-19

Development and testing of a decision aid about prevention of myocardial infarction for persons with type 2 diabetes. Development and testing were guided by the UK Medical Research Council's guidance for the development and evaluation of complex interventions. This comprised a systematic literature review, a focus group of 9 potential providers, modelling a prototype, interviews to qualitatively explore understanding and additional information needs, and revision of the decision aid. The decision aid includes evidence-based information, a tool for individual risk-assessment, worksheets, and an action plan. Five diabetes educators and 15 patients underwent two 60-minutes face-to-face interviews, firstly browsing the decision aid for the first time and then after using it. Both groups differed in their ratings. Overall, the decision aid was rated to present essential information in a complex but understandable and unbiased manner. Difficulties involved understanding of terminology and risk interpretation. "Social status as a risk factor" was the most challenged content by educators but considered as highly important by patients. The risk assessment tool was used inadequately. 5 patients allocated themselves into false risk categories. After revision of the tool, all 12 patients who were recruited for reassessment used the tool correctly. The decision aid was evaluated with diabetes educators and patients. Qualitative data analysis revealed aspects for revision. The decision aid is planned to be part of a shared decision making programme, comprising a strategy for patient counselling and educational modules addressed to providers. Quantitative evaluation is required to assess its effectiveness.

A secure and efficient password-based user authentication scheme using smart cards for the integrated EPR information system.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Tian-Fu; Chang, I-Pin; Lin, Tsung-Hung; Wang, Ching-Cheng

2013-06-01

The integrated EPR information system supports convenient and rapid e-medicine services. A secure and efficient authentication scheme for the integrated EPR information system provides safeguarding patients' electronic patient records (EPRs) and helps health care workers and medical personnel to rapidly making correct clinical decisions. Recently, Wu et al. proposed an efficient password-based user authentication scheme using smart cards for the integrated EPR information system, and claimed that the proposed scheme could resist various malicious attacks. However, their scheme is still vulnerable to lost smart card and stolen verifier attacks. This investigation discusses these weaknesses and proposes a secure and efficient authentication scheme for the integrated EPR information system as alternative. Compared with related approaches, the proposed scheme not only retains a lower computational cost and does not require verifier tables for storing users' secrets, but also solves the security problems in previous schemes and withstands possible attacks.

A 'YES' to the partial revision of the law on atomic energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1979-01-01

The Swiss Atomic Energy Law, dated 23 December 1959, has been reviewed by a National Council and it was agreed on 6 October 1978 that it should be partially revised, with a full revision to be made by the end of 1983. Station construction authorisations previously made for Muehleberg, Beznau I, II, Goesgen and Leibstadt are to be followed in a simplified fashion for Kaiseraugst, Groben and Verbois. Safety precautions, however, must be shown to be met, and this includes storage facilities for spent fuel. Final decision on a new station must be approved by democratic means. The final paragraph of the article states that the economics of nuclear power appear to be favourable and that there is no other apparently acceptable alternative. (G.C.)

75 FR 21221 - Plan Revision for Kaibab National Forest; Coconino, Yavapai, and Mojave Counties; AZ

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-23

..., including the identification of management indicator species (MIS). It may also make new special area... identification of the types of decisions that will not be made within the revised forest plan. The authorization... characteristics such as spacing tree groups and tree density; and disturbance patterns such as frequency, severity...

Information needs for water resources decision-making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sellers, J.

1993-01-01

Water and related resources planning and decision-making have developed to the state of multiple objective and/or multiple criteria analysis using complicated systems analysis. The objective of this paper is to indicate the major components of information needed to facilitate the planning process for resource utilization, and to provide desirable outputs from management schemes. The process could best be described as the proper development of Management Information Systems (MIS) or Decision Support Systems (DDS). Data and information systems are never completed and must be continually updated and modified. The exact composition of any system depends also upon the general type of decision techniques being used. A brief outline of the decision process is given with the remainder of the paper dealing with the types of information needed to support the decision system. (author). 34 refs

Pay-what-you-want pricing schemes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kahsay, Goytom Abraha; Samahita, Margaret

2015-01-01

Pay-What-You-Want (PWYW) pricing schemes are becoming increasingly popular. We develop a model incorporating self-image into the buyer’s utility function and introduce heterogeneity in consumption utility and image-sensitivity, generating different purchase decisions and optimal prices across...... individuals. When a good’s fixed price is lower than a threshold fair value, PWYW can lead to a lower utility. This may result in a lower purchase rate and higher average price, accounting for previously unexplained field experimental evidence. An increase in the threshold value decreases the buyer’s utility...... and may further lower the purchase rate, resulting in a further increase in purchase price....

A real options approach to analyse wind energy investments under different support schemes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kitzing, Lena; Juul, Nina; Drud, Michael Stolbjerg Leni

2016-01-01

are combined into a single stochastic process, which allows for analytical (closed-form) solutions. The approach is well suited for quantitative policy analysis, such as the comparison of different support schemes. A case study for offshore wind in the Baltic Sea quantifies differences in investment incentives...... under feed-in tariffs, feed-in premiums and tradable green certificates. Investors can under certificate schemes require up to 3% higher profit margins than under tariffs due to higher variance in profits. Feed-in tariffs may lead to 15% smaller project sizes. This trade-off between faster deployment...... on investment incentives also depends on correlations between the underlying stochastic factors. The results may help investors to make informed investment decisions and policy makers to strategically design renewable support and develop tailor-made incentive schemes....

Determination of Optimal Opening Scheme for Electromagnetic Loop Networks Based on Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Li

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Studying optimization and decision for opening electromagnetic loop networks plays an important role in planning and operation of power grids. First, the basic principle of fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP is introduced, and then an improved FAHP-based scheme evaluation method is proposed for decoupling electromagnetic loop networks based on a set of indicators reflecting the performance of the candidate schemes. The proposed method combines the advantages of analytic hierarchy process (AHP and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation. On the one hand, AHP effectively combines qualitative and quantitative analysis to ensure the rationality of the evaluation model; on the other hand, the judgment matrix and qualitative indicators are expressed with trapezoidal fuzzy numbers to make decision-making more realistic. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by the application results on the real power system of Liaoning province of China.

Decision Making Under Objective Risk Conditions-a Review of Cognitive and Emotional Correlates, Strategies, Feedback Processing, and External Influences.

Science.gov (United States)

Schiebener, Johannes; Brand, Matthias

2015-06-01

While making decisions under objective risk conditions, the probabilities of the consequences of the available options are either provided or calculable. Brand et al. (Neural Networks 19:1266-1276, 2006) introduced a model describing the neuro-cognitive processes involved in such decisions. In this model, executive functions associated with activity in the fronto-striatal loop are important for developing and applying decision-making strategies, and for verifying, adapting, or revising strategies according to feedback. Emotional rewards and punishments learned from such feedback accompany these processes. In this literature review, we found support for the role of executive functions, but also found evidence for the importance of further cognitive abilities in decision making. Moreover, in addition to reflective processing (driven by cognition), decisions can be guided by impulsive processing (driven by anticipation of emotional reward and punishment). Reflective and impulsive processing may interact during decision making, affecting the evaluation of available options, as both processes are affected by feedback. Decision-making processes are furthermore modulated by individual attributes (e.g., age), and external influences (e.g., stressors). Accordingly, we suggest a revised model of decision making under objective risk conditions.

Secure Dynamic access control scheme of PHR in cloud computing.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Tzer-Shyong; Liu, Chia-Hui; Chen, Tzer-Long; Chen, Chin-Sheng; Bau, Jian-Guo; Lin, Tzu-Ching

2012-12-01

scheme in Cloud computing environments is proven flexible and secure and could effectively correspond to real-time appending and deleting user access authorization and appending and revising PHR records.

Multiobjective hyper heuristic scheme for system design and optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Rafique, Amer Farhan

2012-11-01

As system design is becoming more and more multifaceted, integrated, and complex, the traditional single objective optimization trends of optimal design are becoming less and less efficient and effective. Single objective optimization methods present a unique optimal solution whereas multiobjective methods present pareto front. The foremost intent is to predict a reasonable distributed pareto-optimal solution set independent of the problem instance through multiobjective scheme. Other objective of application of intended approach is to improve the worthiness of outputs of the complex engineering system design process at the conceptual design phase. The process is automated in order to provide the system designer with the leverage of the possibility of studying and analyzing a large multiple of possible solutions in a short time. This article presents Multiobjective Hyper Heuristic Optimization Scheme based on low level meta-heuristics developed for the application in engineering system design. Herein, we present a stochastic function to manage meta-heuristics (low-level) to augment surety of global optimum solution. Generic Algorithm, Simulated Annealing and Swarm Intelligence are used as low-level meta-heuristics in this study. Performance of the proposed scheme is investigated through a comprehensive empirical analysis yielding acceptable results. One of the primary motives for performing multiobjective optimization is that the current engineering systems require simultaneous optimization of conflicting and multiple. Random decision making makes the implementation of this scheme attractive and easy. Injecting feasible solutions significantly alters the search direction and also adds diversity of population resulting in accomplishment of pre-defined goals set in the proposed scheme.

A Multi-layer Dynamic Model for Coordination Based Group Decision Making in Water Resource Allocation and Scheduling

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Wei; Zhang, Xingnan; Li, Chenming; Wang, Jianying

Management of group decision-making is an important issue in water source management development. In order to overcome the defects in lacking of effective communication and cooperation in the existing decision-making models, this paper proposes a multi-layer dynamic model for coordination in water resource allocation and scheduling based group decision making. By introducing the scheme-recognized cooperative satisfaction index and scheme-adjusted rationality index, the proposed model can solve the problem of poor convergence of multi-round decision-making process in water resource allocation and scheduling. Furthermore, the problem about coordination of limited resources-based group decision-making process can be solved based on the effectiveness of distance-based group of conflict resolution. The simulation results show that the proposed model has better convergence than the existing models.

Rural health prepayment schemes in China: towards a more active role for government.

Science.gov (United States)

Bloom, G; Shenglan, T

1999-04-01

A large majority of China's rural population were members of health prepayment schemes in the 1970's. Most of these schemes collapsed during the transition to a market economy. Some localities subsequently reestablished schemes. In early 1997 a new government policy identified health prepayment as a major potential source of rural health finance. This paper draws on the experience of existing schemes to explore how government can support implementation of this policy. The decision to support the establishment of health prepayment schemes is part of the government's effort to establish new sources of finance for social services. It believes that individuals are more likely to accept voluntary contributions to a prepayment scheme than tax increases. The voluntary nature of the contributions limits the possibilities for risk-sharing and redistribution between rich and poor. This underlines the need for the government to fund a substantial share of health expenditure out of general revenues, particularly in poor localities. The paper notes that many successful prepayment schemes depend on close supervision by local political leaders. It argues that the national programme will have to translate these measures into a regulatory system which defines the responsibilities of scheme management bodies and local governments. A number of prepayment schemes have collapsed because members did not feel they got value for money. Local health bureaux will have to cooperate with prepayment schemes to ensure that health facilities provide good quality services at a reasonable cost. Users' representatives can also monitor performance. The paper concludes that government needs to clarify the relationship between health prepayment schemes and other actors in rural localities in order to increase the chance that schemes will become a major source rural health finance.

Bridge over troubled waters: A Synthesis Session to connect scientific and decision making sectors

Science.gov (United States)

Lack of access to relevant scientific data has limited decision makers from incorporating scientific information into their management and policy schemes. Yet, there is increasing interest among decision makers and scientists to integrate coastal and marine science into the polic...

Decisions reduce sensitivity to subsequent information.

Science.gov (United States)

Bronfman, Zohar Z; Brezis, Noam; Moran, Rani; Tsetsos, Konstantinos; Donner, Tobias; Usher, Marius

2015-07-07

Behavioural studies over half a century indicate that making categorical choices alters beliefs about the state of the world. People seem biased to confirm previous choices, and to suppress contradicting information. These choice-dependent biases imply a fundamental bound of human rationality. However, it remains unclear whether these effects extend to lower level decisions, and only little is known about the computational mechanisms underlying them. Building on the framework of sequential-sampling models of decision-making, we developed novel psychophysical protocols that enable us to dissect quantitatively how choices affect the way decision-makers accumulate additional noisy evidence. We find robust choice-induced biases in the accumulation of abstract numerical (experiment 1) and low-level perceptual (experiment 2) evidence. These biases deteriorate estimations of the mean value of the numerical sequence (experiment 1) and reduce the likelihood to revise decisions (experiment 2). Computational modelling reveals that choices trigger a reduction of sensitivity to subsequent evidence via multiplicative gain modulation, rather than shifting the decision variable towards the chosen alternative in an additive fashion. Our results thus show that categorical choices alter the evidence accumulation mechanism itself, rather than just its outcome, rendering the decision-maker less sensitive to new information. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Sound classification of dwellings in the Nordic countries – Differences and similarities between the five national schemes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Birgit

2012-01-01

having several similarities. In 2012, status is that number and denotations of classes for dwellings are identical in the Nordic countries, but the structures of the standards and several details are quite different. Also the issues dealt with are different. Examples of differences are sound insulation...... for classification of such buildings. This paper presents and compares the main class criteria for sound insulation of dwellings and summarizes differences and similarities in criteria and in structures of standards. Classification schemes for dwellings also exist in several other countries in Europe......In all five Nordic countries, sound classification schemes for dwellings have been published in national standards being implemented and revised gradually since the late 1990s. The national classification criteria for dwellings originate from a common Nordic INSTA-B proposal from the 1990s, thus...

Joint support schemes for renewable generation and barriers for implementation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klinge Jacobsen, Henrik; Hansen, Lise-Lotte Pade; Schröder, Sascha Thorsten

2012-01-01

expansion with lower prices that will affect existing conventional producers. Supporting that development will be opposed by producers whereas consumers will support such a strategy. However, the investment will be influenced by decisions of producers and the option of securing connection to other markets...... the 2020 RES targets. The countries might also find themselves competing for investment in a market with limited capital available. In both cases, the cost-efficiency of the renewable support policies will be reduced from a coordinated solution. We suggest possible policy solutions for joint support......EU has opened for using joint support schemes as support for promoting renewable energy to meet the 2020 targets. Countries are supporting renewable investment by many different types of support schemes and with different levels of support. The potential coordination benefits with more efficient...

Optimal Retrofit Scheme for Highway Network under Seismic Hazards

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yongxi Huang

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Many older highway bridges in the United States (US are inadequate for seismic loads and could be severely damaged or collapsed in a relatively small earthquake. According to the most recent American Society of Civil Engineers’ infrastructure report card, one-third of the bridges in the US are rated as structurally deficient and many of these structurally deficient bridges are located in seismic zones. To improve this situation, at-risk bridges must be identified and evaluated and effective retrofitting programs should be in place to reduce their seismic vulnerabilities. In this study, a new retrofit strategy decision scheme for highway bridges under seismic hazards is developed and seamlessly integrate the scenario-based seismic analysis of bridges and the traffic network into the proposed optimization modeling framework. A full spectrum of bridge retrofit strategies is considered based on explicit structural assessment for each seismic damage state. As an empirical case study, the proposed retrofit strategy decision scheme is utilized to evaluate the bridge network in one of the active seismic zones in the US, Charleston, South Carolina. The developed modeling framework, on average, will help increase network throughput traffic capacity by 45% with a cost increase of only $15million for the Mw 5.5 event and increase the capacity fourfold with a cost of only $32m for the Mw 7.0 event.

Affiliation of the beneficiaries of a deferred pension to the CERN Health Insurance Scheme

CERN Multimedia

2003-01-01

Subsequent to the modifications to the Rules and Regulations of the Pension Fund allowing members of the personnel having five years of affiliation to the Fund to opt for a deferred retirement pension, the Organization wishes to recall the rules relating to the affiliation of those beneficiaries to the CERN Health Insurance Scheme (CHIS). In accordance with Articles III 2.02 and VIII 4.02 of the CHIS Rules, beneficiaries of a deferred retirement pension can only be Members of the CHIS as CERN pensioners if they applied to remain Members of the Scheme upon termination of their compulsory membership as a member of the personnel and if their membership has been uninterrupted up to the moment they become CERN pensioners. The applicable contribution for this intermediate period is indicated in Articles III 5.03 and X 1.02 of the CHIS Rules. The amount is revised annually, and is set at 936 CHF/ month for 2003. Human Resources Division Tel. 73635

Quantifying the morphodynamics of river restoration schemes using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Richard; Byrne, Patrick; Gilles, Eric; Hart, John; Hoey, Trevor; Maniatis, George; Moir, Hamish; Reid, Helen; Ves, Nikolas

2017-04-01

River restoration schemes are particularly sensitive to morphological adjustment during the first set of high-flow events that they are subjected to. Quantifying elevation change associated with morphological adjustment can contribute to improved adaptive decision making to ensure river restoration scheme objectives are achieved. To date the relatively high cost, technical demands and challenging logistics associated with acquiring repeat, high-resolution topographic surveys has resulted in a significant barrier to monitoring the three-dimensional morphodynamics of river restoration schemes. The availability of low-cost, consumer grade Unmanned Aerial Vehicles that are capable of acquiring imagery for processing using Structure-from-Motion Multi-View Stereo (SfM MVS) photogrammetry has the potential to transform the survey the morphodynamics of river restoration schemes. Application guidance does, however, need to be developed to fully exploit the advances of UAV technology and SfM MVS processing techniques. In particular, there is a need to quantify the effect of the number and spatial distribution of ground targets on vertical error. This is particularly significant because vertical errors propagate when mapping morphological change, and thus determine the evidence that is available for decision making. This presentation presents results from a study that investigated how the number and spatial distribution of targets influenced vertical error, and then used the findings to determine survey protocols for a monitoring campaign that has quantified morphological change across a number of restoration schemes. At the Swindale river restoration scheme, Cumbria, England, 31 targets were distributed across a 700 m long reach and the centre of each target was surveyed using RTK-GPS. Using the targets as General Control Points (GCPs) or checkpoints, they were divided into three different spatial patterns (centre, edge and random) and used for processing images acquired

Completing the third person's perspective on patients' involvement in medical decision-making: approaching the full picture.

Science.gov (United States)

Kasper, Jürgen; Hoffmann, Frauke; Heesen, Christoph; Köpke, Sascha; Geiger, Friedemann

2012-01-01

Shared decision making is based on the idea of cooperation and partnership between patients and doctors. In this concept both parties may initiate and perform specific decision-making steps. However, the common observation-based instruments focus solely on doctors' behaviour. Content and quality of information provided to involve patients in medical decisions are hardly considered in evaluation of SDM. This study investigates the advantages of a revised observer inventory taking into account these aspects. Based on the OPTION scale, a more comprehensive observation-based inventory was developed, additionally considering both the patient-sided indicators for patient involvement and the criteria of evidence-based patient information. The inventory comprises three scales (doctor, patient, doctor-patient dyad) and 15 indicators each. Rater training and re-analyses of 76 consultations previously analysed using the OPTION scale were conducted. Convergent validities were calculated between the observer-based scales and the patients' ratings on the Shared Decision Making Questionnaire, the Decisional Conflict Scale and the Control Preference Scale. Interrater reliabilities of the revised scales were high (r=.87 to .74) and even higher when only the dyadic perspective was coded (.86). The revised inventory provided additional information on the involvement taking place. No substantive correlations were found between observation-based and patients' subjective judgments. The observers' perspective on patient involvement needs to consider patient activities. Inconsistencies of patients' and observers' judgements concerning patient participation need further investigation. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Reaching a Consensus: Terminology and Concepts Used in Coordination and Decision-Making Research

OpenAIRE

Pyritz, Lennart W.; King, Andrew J.; Sueur, C?dric; Fichtel, Claudia

2011-01-01

Research on coordination and decision-making in humans and nonhuman primates has increased considerably throughout the last decade. However, terminology has been used inconsistently, hampering the broader integration of results from different studies. In this short article, we provide a glossary containing the central terms of coordination and decision-making research. The glossary is based on previous definitions that have been critically revised and annotated by the participants of the symp...

Revising the Model of Eclipsing Binary Stars for the Kepler Era

Science.gov (United States)

Prsa, Andrej

2010-01-01

The French-led mission CoRoT (Baglin et al. 2007) and NASA's Kepler mission (Borucki et al. 2007) have achieved unprecedented photometric accuracy, enabling us to glean stellar variability on scales that have yet to be understood. To employ the full power of eclipsing binary models requires substantial revision of the currently available codes such as WD (Wilson & Devinney 1971) or PHOEBE (Prsa & Zwitter 2005). One of the most important aspects of theoretical light curve computation is stellar surface discretization. Until now, surface elements were determined by equidistant partitioning along co-latitude and longitude; this scheme is inefficient and produces numerical artifacts when stellar distortion is significant (i.e. semi-detached and overcontact systems). In its place we propose a method that relies on equidistant partitioning along equipotentials. This way surface elements cover the stars most uniformly. We further propose two alternatives for the starting vertex of discretization: the stellar pole and the back radius. The partitioning method with both alternatives is explained in detail and differences from the original scheme are discussed.

Revising and editing for translators

CERN Document Server

Mossop, Brian

2014-01-01

Revising and Editing for Translators provides guidance and learning materials for translation students learning to edit texts written by others, and professional translators wishing to improve their self-revision ability or learning to revise the work of others. Editing is understood as making corrections and improvements to texts, with particular attention to tailoring them to the given readership. Revising is this same task applied to draft translations. The linguistic work of editors and revisers is related to the professional situations in which they work. Mossop offers in-depth coverage of a wide range of topics, including copyediting, style editing, structural editing, checking for consistency, revising procedures and principles, and translation quality assessment. This third edition provides extended coverage of computer aids for revisers, and of the different degrees of revision suited to different texts. The inclusion of suggested activities and exercises, numerous real-world examples, a proposed gra...

Research on comprehensive decision-making of PV power station connecting system

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Erxiong; Xin, Chaoshan; Ma, Botao; Cheng, Kai

2018-04-01

In allusion to the incomplete indexes system and not making decision on the subjectivity and objectivity of PV power station connecting system, based on the combination of improved Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) as well as grey correlation degree analysis (GCDA) is comprehensively proposed to select the appropriate system connecting scheme of PV power station. Firstly, indexes of PV power station connecting system are divided the recursion order hierarchy and calculated subjective weight by the improved AHP. Then, CRITIC is adopted to determine the objective weight of each index through the comparison intensity and conflict between indexes. The last the improved GCDA is applied to screen the optimal scheme, so as to, from the subjective and objective angle, select the connecting system. Comprehensive decision of Xinjiang PV power station is conducted and reasonable analysis results are attained. The research results might provide scientific basis for investment decision.

Total hip arthroplasty revision due to infection: a cost analysis approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Klouche, S; Sariali, E; Mamoudy, P

2010-04-01

. The rate of transfer to a rehabilitation hospital (ORH) was 55% for primary THA, 77% in non infected revision cases and 65% in revisions due to infection. Moreover, 30% of these infected THA were prescribed HH. Non-infected THA revisions cost 1.4 times more than primary THA. THA revisions due to infection cost 3.6 times more than primary THA. The economic impact of THA infections is considerable. The extra costs are mainly due to an extended hospital stay and to longer rehabilitation consuming significant substantial human and material resources. The cost of treating infected THA is high. Treatment strategies should therefore be optimised to increase the success rate and minimise total costs. Level IV. Economic and decision analyses, retrospective study 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Frontal sinus revision rate after nasal polyposis surgery including frontal recess clearance and middle turbinectomy: A long-term analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Benkhatar, Hakim; Khettab, Idir; Sultanik, Philippe; Laccourreye, Ollivier; Bonfils, Pierre

2018-08-01

To determine the frontal sinus revision rate after nasal polyposis (NP) surgery including frontal recess clearance (FRC) and middle turbinectomy (MT), to search for predictive factors and to analyse surgical management. Longitudinal analysis of 153 patients who consecutively underwent bilateral sphenoethmoidectomy with FRC and MT for NP with a minimum follow-up of 7 years. Decision of revision surgery was made in case of medically refractory chronic frontal sinusitis or frontal mucocele. Univariate and multivariate analysis incorporating clinical and radiological variables were performed. The frontal sinus revision rate was 6.5% (10/153). The mean time between the initial procedure and revision surgery was 3 years, 10 months. Osteitis around the frontal sinus outflow tract (FSOT) was associated with a higher risk of frontal sinus revision surgery (p=0.01). Asthma and aspirin intolerance did not increase the risk, as well as frontal sinus ostium diameter or residual frontoethmoid cells. Among revised patients, 60% required multiple procedures and 70% required frontal sinus ostium enlargement. Our long-term study reports that NP surgery including FRC and MT is associated with a low frontal sinus revision rate (6.5%). Patients developing osteitis around the FSOT have a higher risk of frontal sinus revision surgery. As mucosal damage can lead to osteitis, FSOT mucosa should be preserved during initial NP surgery. However, as multiple procedures are common among NP patients requiring frontal sinus revision, frontal sinus ostium enlargement should be considered during first revision in the hope of reducing the need of further revisions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Multimetric Approach for Handoff Decision in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Kustiawan, I.; Purnama, W.

2018-02-01

Seamless mobility and service continuity anywhere at any time are an important issue in the wireless Internet. This research proposes a scheme to make handoff decisions effectively in heterogeneous wireless networks using a fuzzy system. Our design lies in an inference engine which takes RSS (received signal strength), data rate, network latency, and user preference as strategic determinants. The logic of our engine is realized on a UE (user equipment) side in faster reaction to network dynamics while roaming across different radio access technologies. The fuzzy system handles four metrics jointly to deduce a moderate decision about when to initiate handoff. The performance of our design is evaluated by simulating move-out mobility scenarios. Simulation results show that our scheme outperforms other approaches in terms of reducing unnecessary handoff.

Exact analysis of Packet Reversed Packet Combining Scheme and Modified Packet Combining Scheme; and a combined scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhunia, C.T.

2007-07-01

Packet combining scheme is a well defined simple error correction scheme for the detection and correction of errors at the receiver. Although it permits a higher throughput when compared to other basic ARQ protocols, packet combining (PC) scheme fails to correct errors when errors occur in the same bit locations of copies. In a previous work, a scheme known as Packet Reversed Packet Combining (PRPC) Scheme that will correct errors which occur at the same bit location of erroneous copies, was studied however PRPC does not handle a situation where a packet has more than 1 error bit. The Modified Packet Combining (MPC) Scheme that can correct double or higher bit errors was studied elsewhere. Both PRPC and MPC schemes are believed to offer higher throughput in previous studies, however neither adequate investigation nor exact analysis was done to substantiate this claim of higher throughput. In this work, an exact analysis of both PRPC and MPC is carried out and the results reported. A combined protocol (PRPC and MPC) is proposed and the analysis shows that it is capable of offering even higher throughput and better error correction capability at high bit error rate (BER) and larger packet size. (author)

Reversible decisions: The grass isn't merely greener on the other side; it's also very brown over here

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bullens, L.; van Harreveld, F.; Förster, J.; van der Pligt, J.

2013-01-01

People generally say they prefer to have the opportunity to revise decisions at a later point in time. Research has shown, however, that reversible decision-making leads to lower as opposed to higher levels of post-choice satisfaction (Gilbert & Ebert, 2002). In three studies we aimed to gain

77 FR 68732 - Notice of Intent To Request Revision and Extension of a Currently Approved Information Collection

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-16

... Surveys Program. Revision to burden hours will be needed due to changes in the size of the target... Program obtains basic agricultural statistics for fresh market and processing vegetables in major... programs and by growers, processors, and marketers in making production and marketing decisions. The fresh...

Different Moves, Similar Outcomes: A Comparison of Chinese and Swedish Preschool Teacher Education Programmes and the Revisions

Science.gov (United States)

Vong, Keang-ieng Peggy; Hu, Bi Ying; Xia, Yan-ping

2015-01-01

A Chinese and a Swedish preschool teacher education programme were examined in search for commonalities and differences of the curriculum decision-making considerations involved in the respective programme revision process. Findings include: (1) the two programmes have shifted orientations and become similar, yet there was no fundamental…

CONTEXT-CAPTURE MULTI-VALUED DECISION FUSION WITH FAULT TOLERANT CAPABILITY FOR WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS

OpenAIRE

Jun Wu; Shigeru Shimamoto

2011-01-01

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are usually utilized to perform decision fusion of event detection. Current decision fusion schemes are based on binary valued decision and do not consider bursty contextcapture. However, bursty context and multi-valued data are important characteristics of WSNs. One on hand, the local decisions from sensors usually have bursty and contextual characteristics. Fusion center must capture the bursty context information from the sensors. On the other hand, in pract...

Loosening After Acetabular Revision

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Beckmann, Nicholas A.; Weiss, Stefan; Klotz, Matthias C.M.

2014-01-01

The best method of revision acetabular arthroplasty remains unclear. Consequently, we reviewed the literature on the treatment of revision acetabular arthroplasty using revision rings (1541 cases; mean follow-up (FU) 5.7 years) and Trabecular Metal, or TM, implants (1959 cases; mean FU 3.7 years...

Introduction of new technologies and decision making processes: a framework to adapt a Local Health Technology Decision Support Program for other local settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Poulin, Paule; Austen, Lea; Scott, Catherine M; Poulin, Michelle; Gall, Nadine; Seidel, Judy; Lafrenière, René

2013-01-01

Introducing new health technologies, including medical devices, into a local setting in a safe, effective, and transparent manner is a complex process, involving many disciplines and players within an organization. Decision making should be systematic, consistent, and transparent. It should involve translating and integrating scientific evidence, such as health technology assessment (HTA) reports, with context-sensitive evidence to develop recommendations on whether and under what conditions a new technology will be introduced. However, the development of a program to support such decision making can require considerable time and resources. An alternative is to adapt a preexisting program to the new setting. We describe a framework for adapting the Local HTA Decision Support Program, originally developed by the Department of Surgery and Surgical Services (Calgary, AB, Canada), for use by other departments. The framework consists of six steps: 1) development of a program review and adaptation manual, 2) education and readiness assessment of interested departments, 3) evaluation of the program by individual departments, 4) joint evaluation via retreats, 5) synthesis of feedback and program revision, and 6) evaluation of the adaptation process. Nine departments revised the Local HTA Decision Support Program and expressed strong satisfaction with the adaptation process. Key elements for success were identified. Adaptation of a preexisting program may reduce duplication of effort, save resources, raise the health care providers' awareness of HTA, and foster constructive stakeholder engagement, which enhances the legitimacy of evidence-informed recommendations for introducing new health technologies. We encourage others to use this framework for program adaptation and to report their experiences.

Opportunities within the Revised EU Common Agricultural Policy to Address the Decline of Farmland Birds: An Irish Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daire Ó hUallacháin

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The loss of global biological diversity continues despite on-going conservation efforts. Agriculture is the major terrestrial land use in Europe and any conservation efforts to protect biological diversity must address sustainable use of these food production systems. Using Ireland, within the European Union policy framework, as an example, the declines in farmland birds are discussed. The opportunities afforded to farmland bird conservation as a result of the recent reform to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP are outlined. The potential for revised and refined CAP, specifically agri-environment schemes, to deliver benefits for biodiversity and for farmland bird species within Irish agricultural ecosystems is explored. Despite all the efforts to date and the significant resources invested in implementing agri-environment measures and schemes, few attempts have been made to collect monitoring and surveillance data with which to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of schemes, and measures that are designed to assist in the recovery of farmland biodiversity, including bird species, in Ireland.

Rationality, Theory Acceptance and Decision Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Nicolas Kaufmann

1998-06-01

Full Text Available Following Kuhn's main thesis according to which theory revision and acceptance is always paradigm relative, I propose to outline some possible consequences of such a view. First, asking the question in what sense Bayesian decision theory could serve as the appropriate (normative theory of rationality examined from the point of view of the epistemology of theory acceptance, I argue that Bayesianism leads to a narrow conception of theory acceptance. Second, regarding the different types of theory revision, i.e. expansion, contraction, replacement and residuals shifts, I extract from Kuhn's view a series of indications showing that theory replacement cannot be rationalized within the framework of Bayesian decision theory, not even within a more sophisticated version of that model. Third, and finally, I will point to the need for a more comprehensive model of rationality than the Bayesian expected utility maximization model, the need for a model which could better deal with the different aspects of theory replacement. I will show that Kuhn's distinction between normal and revolutionary science gives us several hints for a more adequate theory of rationality in science. I will also show that Kuhn is not in a position to fully articulate his main ideas and that he well be confronted with a serious problem concerning collective choice of a paradigm.

Speeding up Monte Carlo molecular simulation by a non-conservative early rejection scheme

KAUST Repository

Kadoura, Ahmad Salim

2015-04-23

Monte Carlo (MC) molecular simulation describes fluid systems with rich information, and it is capable of predicting many fluid properties of engineering interest. In general, it is more accurate and representative than equations of state. On the other hand, it requires much more computational effort and simulation time. For that purpose, several techniques have been developed in order to speed up MC molecular simulations while preserving their precision. In particular, early rejection schemes are capable of reducing computational cost by reaching the rejection decision for the undesired MC trials at an earlier stage in comparison to the conventional scheme. In a recent work, we have introduced a ‘conservative’ early rejection scheme as a method to accelerate MC simulations while producing exactly the same results as the conventional algorithm. In this paper, we introduce a ‘non-conservative’ early rejection scheme, which is much faster than the conservative scheme, yet it preserves the precision of the method. The proposed scheme is tested for systems of structureless Lennard-Jones particles in both canonical and NVT-Gibbs ensembles. Numerical experiments were conducted at several thermodynamic conditions for different number of particles. Results show that at certain thermodynamic conditions, the non-conservative method is capable of doubling the speed of the MC molecular simulations in both canonical and NVT-Gibbs ensembles. © 2015 Taylor & Francis

Clustering alternatives and learning preferences based on decision attitudes and weighted overlap dominance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Franco de los Ríos, Camilo; Hougaard, Jens Leth; Nielsen, Kurt

2017-01-01

conflict of decision making. This paper revises multi-criteria modeling of imprecise data, inferring outranking and indifference binary relations and classifying alternatives according to their similarity or dependency. After the initial assessment on the set of alternatives, preference orders are built...

Dispositional optimism, self-framing and medical decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Xu; Huang, Chunlei; Li, Xuesong; Zhao, Xin; Peng, Jiaxi

2015-03-01

Self-framing is an important but underinvestigated area in risk communication and behavioural decision-making, especially in medical settings. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship among dispositional optimism, self-frame and decision-making. Participants (N = 500) responded to the Life Orientation Test-Revised and self-framing test of medical decision-making problem. The participants whose scores were higher than the middle value were regarded as highly optimistic individuals. The rest were regarded as low optimistic individuals. The results showed that compared to the high dispositional optimism group, participants from the low dispositional optimism group showed a greater tendency to use negative vocabulary to construct their self-frame, and tended to choose the radiation therapy with high treatment survival rate, but low 5-year survival rate. Based on the current findings, it can be concluded that self-framing effect still exists in medical situation and individual differences in dispositional optimism can influence the processing of information in a framed decision task, as well as risky decision-making. © 2014 International Union of Psychological Science.

Utilisation of a peer assisted learning scheme in an undergraduate diagnostic radiography module

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meertens, R.

2016-01-01

Background: Peer to peer support programmes involve students supporting each other in either an educational, social and/or pastoral way. This is now common place in higher education institutes and has been proven to decrease student attrition and improve grades. Aim: To evaluate a peer assisted learning scheme (PALS) within the University of Exeter undergraduate programme, where final year (stage 3) students held extra-curricular teaching sessions in an on-campus X-ray room throughout the academic term to support a first year (stage 1) module introducing basic projectional radiographic examinations, radiation safety, patient care and radiographic equipment. PALS sessions were unstructured and as such could involve roleplaying radiographic examinations, revisiting lecture material and/or discussing hospital placement or pastoral issues. Methods: Brookfield's four lenses of critical reflection were used. 16 of 63 stage 1 students and 9 of 29 stage 3 students were electronically surveyed upon completion of the PALS sessions. Relevant colleagues and educational specialists were also informally interviewed. These were put in context with autobiographical reflections and the existing literature base on PALS. Results: All agreed that the sessions provided a good environment for stage 1 students to improve their practical skills, revise lecture content, and gain confidence for upcoming clinical placements. Stage 3 students gained experience teaching students, an essential role of a graduate radiographer's job. Improvements around recruiting stage 3 peer leaders, sustainability, timetabling and session structure were explored. Conclusion: The PALS proved to be a successful initiative within the undergraduate programme and will be continued into the future. - Highlights: • Peer Assisted Learning Schemes are an established part of higher education. • Peer Assisted Learning Schemes can reduce student attrition and improve grades. • Peer Assisted Learning

Computer-supported collaborative decision-making

CERN Document Server

Filip, Florin Gheorghe; Ciurea, Cristian

2017-01-01

This is a book about how management and control decisions are made by persons who collaborate and possibly use the support of an information system. The decision is the result of human conscious activities aiming at choosing a course of action for attaining a certain objective (or a set of objectives). The act of collaboration implies that several entities who work together and share responsibilities to jointly plan, implement and evaluate a program of activities to achieve the common goals. The book is intended to present a balanced view of the domain to include both well-established concepts and a selection of new results in the domains of methods and key technologies. It is meant to answer several questions, such as: a) “How are evolving the business models towards the ever more collaborative schemes?”; b) “What is the role of the decision-maker in the new context?” c) “What are the basic attributes and trends in the domain of decision-supporting information systems?”; d) “Which are the basic...

The Impact of Depression on Social Economic Decision Making [correction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Harlé, K.M.; Allen, J.J.B.; Sanfey, A.G.

2010-01-01

Reports an error in "The impact of depression on social economic decision making" by Katia M. Harlé, John J. B. Allen and Alan G. Sanfey (Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 2010[May], Vol 119[2], 440-446). In the article, the last revision received date printed on the final page of the article was

Irrigation Water Value at Small-scale Schemes: Evidence from the North West Province, South Africa

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Speelman, S.; Farolfi, S.; Perret, S.; Haese, D' L.; Haese, D' M.

2008-01-01

Insight into the value of water is essential to support policy decision making about investments in the water sector, efficient allocation of water and water pricing. However, information on irrigation water values at small-scale schemes is scarce and in general little attention is paid to the

Finite Boltzmann schemes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sman, van der R.G.M.

2006-01-01

In the special case of relaxation parameter = 1 lattice Boltzmann schemes for (convection) diffusion and fluid flow are equivalent to finite difference/volume (FD) schemes, and are thus coined finite Boltzmann (FB) schemes. We show that the equivalence is inherent to the homology of the

Intersubjective decision-making for computer-aided forging technology design

Science.gov (United States)

Kanyukov, S. I.; Konovalov, A. V.; Muizemnek, O. Yu.

2017-12-01

We propose a concept of intersubjective decision-making for problems of open-die forging technology design. The intersubjective decisions are chosen from a set of feasible decisions using the fundamentals of the decision-making theory in fuzzy environment according to the Bellman-Zadeh scheme. We consider the formalization of subjective goals and the choice of membership functions for the decisions depending on subjective goals. We study the arrangement of these functions into an intersubjective membership function. The function is constructed for a resulting decision, which is chosen from a set of feasible decisions. The choice of the final intersubjective decision is discussed. All the issues are exemplified by a specific technological problem. The considered concept of solving technological problems under conditions of fuzzy goals allows one to choose the most efficient decisions from a set of feasible ones. These decisions correspond to the stated goals. The concept allows one to reduce human participation in automated design. This concept can be used to develop algorithms and design programs for forging numerous types of forged parts.

Web-Based Group Decision Support System: an Economic Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ion ISTUDOR

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Decision Support Systems (DSS form a specific class of computerized information systems that support business and managerial decision-making activities. Making the right decision in business primarily depends on the quality of data. It also depends on the ability to analyze the data with a view to identifying trends that can suggest solutions and strategies. A “cooperative” decision support system means the data are collected, analyzed and then provided to a human agent who can help the system to revise or refine the data. It means that both a human component and computer component work together to come up with the best solution. This paper describes the usage of a software product (Vanguard System to a specific economic application (evaluating the financial risk assuming that the rate of the economic profitability can be under the value of the interest rate.

Death Penalty Decisions: Instruction Comprehension, Attitudes, and Decision Mediators.

Science.gov (United States)

Patry, Marc W; Penrod, Steven D

2013-01-01

A primary goal of this research was to empirically evaluate a set of assumptions, advanced in the Supreme Court's ruling in Buchanan v. Angelone (1998), about jury comprehension of death penalty instructions. Further, this research examined the use of evidence in capital punishment decision making by exploring underlying mediating factors upon which death penalty decisions may be based. Manipulated variables included the type of instructions and several variations of evidence. Study 1 was a paper and pencil study of 245 undergraduate mock jurors. The experimental design was an incomplete 4×2×2×2×2 factorial model resulting in 56 possible conditions. Manipulations included four different types of instructions, presence of a list of case-specific mitigators to accompany the instructions, and three variations in the case facts: age of the defendant, bad prior record, and defendant history of emotional abuse. Study 2 was a fully-crossed 2×2×2×2×2 experiment with four deliberating mock juries per cell. Manipulations included jury instructions (original or revised), presence of a list of case-specific mitigators, defendant history of emotional abuse, bad prior record, and heinousness of the crime. The sample of 735 jury-eligible participants included 130 individuals who identified themselves as students. Participants watched one of 32 stimulus videotapes based on a replication of a capital sentencing hearing. The present findings support previous research showing low comprehension of capital penalty instructions. Further, we found that higher instruction comprehension was associated with higher likelihood of issuing life sentence decisions. The importance of instruction comprehension is emphasized in a social cognitive model of jury decision making at the sentencing phase of capital cases.

Key Management Schemes for Peer-to-Peer Multimedia Streaming Overlay Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Naranjo, J. A. M.; López-Ramos, J. A.; Casado, L. G.

Key distribution for multimedia live streaming peer-to-peer overlay networks is a field still in its childhood stage. A scheme designed for networks of this kind must seek security and efficiency while keeping in mind the following restrictions: limited bandwidth, continuous playing, great audience size and clients churn. This paper introduces two novel schemes that allow a trade-off between security and efficiency by allowing to dynamically vary the number of levels used in the key hierarchy. These changes are motivated by great variations in audience size, and initiated by decision of the Key Server. Additionally, a comparative study of both is presented, focusing on security and audience size. Results show that larger key hierarchies can supply bigger audiences, but offer less security against statistical attacks. The opposite happens for shorter key hierarchies.

The anatomy of choice: dopamine and decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Friston, Karl; Schwartenbeck, Philipp; FitzGerald, Thomas; Moutoussis, Michael; Behrens, Timothy; Dolan, Raymond J

2014-11-05

This paper considers goal-directed decision-making in terms of embodied or active inference. We associate bounded rationality with approximate Bayesian inference that optimizes a free energy bound on model evidence. Several constructs such as expected utility, exploration or novelty bonuses, softmax choice rules and optimism bias emerge as natural consequences of free energy minimization. Previous accounts of active inference have focused on predictive coding. In this paper, we consider variational Bayes as a scheme that the brain might use for approximate Bayesian inference. This scheme provides formal constraints on the computational anatomy of inference and action, which appear to be remarkably consistent with neuroanatomy. Active inference contextualizes optimal decision theory within embodied inference, where goals become prior beliefs. For example, expected utility theory emerges as a special case of free energy minimization, where the sensitivity or inverse temperature (associated with softmax functions and quantal response equilibria) has a unique and Bayes-optimal solution. Crucially, this sensitivity corresponds to the precision of beliefs about behaviour. The changes in precision during variational updates are remarkably reminiscent of empirical dopaminergic responses-and they may provide a new perspective on the role of dopamine in assimilating reward prediction errors to optimize decision-making.

A Cost-Based Adaptive Handover Hysteresis Scheme to Minimize the Handover Failure Rate in 3GPP LTE System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gil Gye-Tae

2010-01-01

Full Text Available We deal with a cost-based adaptive handover hysteresis scheme for the horizontal handover decision strategies, as one of the self-optimization techniques that can minimize the handover failure rate (HFR in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP long-term evolution (LTE system based on the network-controlled hard handover. Especially, for real-time operation, we propose an adaptive hysteresis scheme with a simplified cost function considering some dominant factors closely related to HFR performance such as the load difference between the target and serving cells, the velocity of user equipment (UE, and the service type. With the proposed scheme, a proper hysteresis value based on the dominant factors is easily obtained, so that the handover parameter optimization for minimizing the HFR can be effectively achieved. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme can support better HFR performance than the conventional schemes.

Guidelines for sea dumping packages of radioactive waste. Revised version.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1979-04-01

The purpose of these Guidelines is to establish general requirements and provide practical information for the design and manufacture of packages for sea dumping of radioactive waste, in accordance with the terms of the OECD Council Decision establishing a Multilateral Consultation and Surveillance Mechanism for Sea Dumping of Radioactive Waste. These Guidelines are in compliance with the IAEA Revised Definition and Recommendations of 1978, for applying the London Dumping Convention to radioactive waste, and are intended for application under the responsibility of the appropriate national authorities of countries participating in the NEA Mechanism

20 CFR 410.672 - Reopening initial, revised or reconsidered determinations of the Administration and decisions of...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... Representation of Parties § 410.672 Reopening initial, revised or reconsidered determinations of the... entitlement of a party was established, is later found to be alive; or (4) The death of the individual on whose account a party's claim was denied for lack of proof of death is established— (i) By reason of an...

Teacher's Guide in Population Education for Social Studies, Grades I-VI. Elementary Level. (Revised for Muslim Filipinos).

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Education and Culture, Manila (Philippines).

Revised to be in accordance with the customs, traditions, beliefs, and practices of the Muslim Filipinos, these elementary-level social studies units will help Filipino children understand world population problems and develop the necessary skills, attitudes, and values that will lead them to make rational decisions about population matters,…

The Effects of Financial Incentives on Retirement Decisions:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søgaard, Jakob Egholt; Anton Schultz, Esben; Schaarup, Jonas Zielke

2013-01-01

We exploit a temporary tax rebate introduced in Denmark in 2008 to estimate the effect of financial incentives on retirement decisions. The scheme offered individuals in a limited number of cohorts a tax rebate of up to 100,000 DKK (approximately $20,000) if they stayed on the labor market until...

Revising Lecture Notes: How Revision, Pauses, and Partners Affect Note Taking and Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Linlin; Kiewra, Kenneth A.; Samuelson, Lydia

2016-01-01

Note taking has been categorized as a two-stage process: the recording of notes and the review of notes. We contend that note taking might best involve a three-stage process where the missing stage is revision. This study investigated the benefits of revising lecture notes and addressed two questions: First, is revision more effective than…

Probabilistic Amplitude Shaping With Hard Decision Decoding and Staircase Codes

Science.gov (United States)

Sheikh, Alireza; Amat, Alexandre Graell i.; Liva, Gianluigi; Steiner, Fabian

2018-05-01

We consider probabilistic amplitude shaping (PAS) as a means of increasing the spectral efficiency of fiber-optic communication systems. In contrast to previous works in the literature, we consider probabilistic shaping with hard decision decoding (HDD). In particular, we apply the PAS recently introduced by B\\"ocherer \\emph{et al.} to a coded modulation (CM) scheme with bit-wise HDD that uses a staircase code as the forward error correction code. We show that the CM scheme with PAS and staircase codes yields significant gains in spectral efficiency with respect to the baseline scheme using a staircase code and a standard constellation with uniformly distributed signal points. Using a single staircase code, the proposed scheme achieves performance within $0.57$--$1.44$ dB of the corresponding achievable information rate for a wide range of spectral efficiencies.

AppBuilder for DSSTools; an application development environment for developing decision support systems in Prolog

Science.gov (United States)

Geneho Kim; Donald Nute; H. Michael Rauscher; David L. Loftis

2000-01-01

A programming environment for developing complex decision support systems (DSSs) should support rapid prototyping and modular design, feature a flexible knowledge representation scheme and sound inference mechanisms, provide project management, and be domain independent. We have previously developed DSSTools (Decision Support System Tools), a reusable, domain-...

Decision-Making Under Risk: Integrating Perspectives From Biology, Economics, and Psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Mishra, Sandeep

2014-08-01

Decision-making under risk has been variably characterized and examined in many different disciplines. However, interdisciplinary integration has not been forthcoming. Classic theories of decision-making have not been amply revised in light of greater empirical data on actual patterns of decision-making behavior. Furthermore, the meta-theoretical framework of evolution by natural selection has been largely ignored in theories of decision-making under risk in the human behavioral sciences. In this review, I critically examine four of the most influential theories of decision-making from economics, psychology, and biology: expected utility theory, prospect theory, risk-sensitivity theory, and heuristic approaches. I focus especially on risk-sensitivity theory, which offers a framework for understanding decision-making under risk that explicitly involves evolutionary considerations. I also review robust empirical evidence for individual differences and environmental/situational factors that predict actual risky decision-making that any general theory must account for. Finally, I offer steps toward integrating various theoretical perspectives and empirical findings on risky decision-making. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

What is on your mind? Using the perceptual cycle model and critical decision method to understand the decision-making process in the cockpit.

Science.gov (United States)

Plant, Katherine L; Stanton, Neville A

2013-01-01

Aeronautical decision-making is complex as there is not always a clear coupling between the decision made and decision outcome. As such, there is a call for process-orientated decision research in order to understand why a decision made sense at the time it was made. Schema theory explains how we interact with the world using stored mental representations and forms an integral part of the perceptual cycle model (PCM); proposed here as a way to understand the decision-making process. This paper qualitatively analyses data from the critical decision method (CDM) based on the principles of the PCM. It is demonstrated that the approach can be used to understand a decision-making process and highlights how influential schemata can be at informing decision-making. The reliability of this approach is established, the general applicability is discussed and directions for future work are considered. This paper introduces the PCM, and the associated schema theory, as a framework to structure and explain data collected from the CDM. The reliability of both the method and coding scheme is addressed.

On the current needs in European decision support tools for contaminated areas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersson, Kasper Grann

2013-01-01

As part of the ongoing European project NERIS-TP, a revision has been made of some parameters influencing dose estimates in the European emergency management decision support systems RODOS and ARGOS. On the basis of survey data, the estimates of the time fractions typically spent indoors and outd...

Revision 2 of the NPP Krsko Decommissioning Program Is Stalled

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levanat, I.; Lokner, V.; Rapic, A.; Zeleznik, N.; Kralj, M.

2012-01-01

Revision 2 of the joint Slovenian-Croatian Program of NPP Krsko Decommissioning and SF andLILW Disposal was scheduled to be finished and formally approved by the end of 2009, in accordance with the bilateral Agreement on the NPP. Slightly behind the schedule, the Project team completed the entire document during spring of 2010, and in June 2010 drafted a proposal for a peer review of the Program by a dedicated IAEA expert mission. This procedure was agreed upon at the last session (May 2010) of the Intergovernmental Commission for implementation of the Agreement, when the Commission was acquainted with the five scenarios of the Revision 2 and with the estimates of their costs/financing. It was expected that the peer review would be performed soon, and that formal adoption of the Revision 2 would follow. Although in this process of approval some decisions remained to be made by the stakeholders, the Project team did select and recommend one scenario to be used for costing purposes, in order to ensure that most necessary corrections in Program financing would be timely adopted. However, the planned IAEA review was cancelled by the Advisory board, the body nominated by the Commission ''to supervise the activities and resolve the issues raised by the Project team''. By this cancellation, the process of Program revision was effectively stalled, because the Advisory board could not clearly define further course of action: differing views between the Slovenian and the Croatian part of the Advisory board appeared, in particular regarding the set of Program scenarios and regarding the appropriateness of the Revision 2 document for the IAEA review; nonetheless, the Advisory board sent to the Project team a compilation of requests to modify Revision 2 document. The Project team determined that some minor requests were easy to fulfill, but other modifications could only be carried out after changes in the boundary conditions (approved by the Commission), or changes in national

BWR normal water chemistry guidelines: 1986 revision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-09-01

Boiling water reactors (BWRs) have experienced stress corrosion cracking in the reactor cooling system piping resulting in adverse impacts on plant availability and personnel radiation exposure. The BWR Owners Group and EPRI have sponsored a major research and development program to provide remedies for this stress corrosion cracking problem. This work shows that the likelihood of cracking depends on the plant's water chemistry performance (environment) as well as on material condition and stress level. Plant experience and other research demonstrate that water quality also affects fuel performance and radiation field buildup in BWRs. This report,''BWR Normal Water Chemistry Guidelines: 1986 Revision,'' presents suggested generic water chemistry specifications, justifies the proposed water chemistry limits, suggests responses to out-of-specification water chemistry, discusses available chemical analysis methods as well as data management and surveillance schemes, and details the management philosophy required to successfully implement a water chemistry control program. An appendix contains recommendations for water quality of auxiliary systems. 73 refs., 20 figs., 9 tabs

Fundamentals of the fuzzy logic-based generalized theory of decisions

CERN Document Server

Aliev, Rafik Aziz

2013-01-01

Every day decision making and decision making in complex human-centric systems are characterized by imperfect decision-relevant information. Main drawback of the existing decision theories is namely incapability to deal with imperfect information and modeling vague preferences. Actually, a paradigm of non-numerical probabilities in decision making has a long history and arose also in Keynes’s analysis of uncertainty. There is a need for further generalization – a move to decision theories with perception-based imperfect information described in NL. The languages of new decision models for human-centric systems should be not languages based on binary logic but human-centric computational schemes able to operate on NL-described information. Development of new theories is now possible due to an increased computational power of information processing systems which allows for computations with imperfect information, particularly, imprecise and partially true information, which are much more complex than comput...

Acetabular Cup Revision.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Young-Ho

2017-09-01

The use of acetabular cup revision arthroplasty is on the rise as demands for total hip arthroplasty, improved life expectancies, and the need for individual activity increase. For an acetabular cup revision to be successful, the cup should gain stable fixation within the remaining supportive bone of the acetabulum. Since the patient's remaining supportive acetabular bone stock plays an important role in the success of revision, accurate classification of the degree of acetabular bone defect is necessary. The Paprosky classification system is most commonly used when determining the location and degree of acetabular bone loss. Common treatment options include: acetabular liner exchange, high hip center, oblong cup, trabecular metal cup with augment, bipolar cup, bulk structural graft, cemented cup, uncemented cup including jumbo cup, acetabular reinforcement device (cage), trabecular metal cup cage. The optimal treatment option is dependent upon the degree of the discontinuity, the amount of available bone stock and the likelihood of achieving stable fixation upon supportive host bone. To achieve successful acetabular cup revision, accurate evaluation of bone defect preoperatively and intraoperatively, proper choice of method of acetabular revision according to the evaluation of acetabular bone deficiency, proper technique to get primary stability of implant such as precise grafting technique, and stable fixation of implant are mandatory.

IMPLEMENTATION OF OPEN-SOURCE WEB MAPPING TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT MONITORING OF GOVERNMENTAL SCHEMES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. R. Pulsani

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Several schemes are undertaken by the government to uplift social and economic condition of people. The monitoring of these schemes is done through information technology where involvement of Geographic Information System (GIS is lacking. To demonstrate the benefits of thematic mapping as a tool for assisting the officials in making decisions, a web mapping application for three government programs such as Mother and Child Tracking system (MCTS, Telangana State Housing Corporation Limited (TSHCL and Ground Water Quality Mapping (GWQM has been built. Indeed the three applications depicted the distribution of various parameters thematically and helped in identifying the areas with higher and weaker distributions. Based on the three applications, the study tends to find similarities of many government schemes reflecting the nature of thematic mapping and hence deduces to implement this kind of approach for other schemes as well. These applications have been developed using SharpMap Csharp library which is a free and open source mapping library for developing geospatial applications. The study highlights upon the cost benefits of SharpMap and brings out the advantage of this library over proprietary vendors and further discusses its advantages over other open source libraries as well.

Predictors of unsuccessful outcome in cemented femoral revisions using bone impaction grafting; Cox regression analysis of 208 cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Te Stroet, Martijn A J; Rijnen, Wim H C; Gardeniers, Jean W M; Schreurs, B Willem; Hannink, Gerjon

2016-09-29

Despite improvements in the technique of femoral impaction bone grafting, reconstruction failures still can occur. Therefore, the aim of our study was to determine risk factors for the endpoint re-revision for any reason. We used prospectively collected demographic, clinical and surgical data of all 202 patients who underwent 208 femoral revisions using the X-change Femoral Revision System (Stryker-Howmedica), fresh-frozen morcellised allograft and a cemented polished Exeter stem in our department from 1991 to 2007. Univariable and multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed to identify potential factors associated with re-revision. The mean follow-up was 10.6 (5-21) years. The cumulative re-revision rate was 6.3% (13/208). After univariable selection, sex, age, body mass index (BMI), American Association of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification, type of removed femoral component, and mesh used for reconstruction were included in multivariable regression analysis.In the multivariable analysis, BMI was the only factor that was significantly associated with the risk of re-revision after bone impaction grafting (BMI ≥30 vs. BMI <30, HR = 6.54 [95% CI 1.89-22.65]; p = 0.003). BMI was the only factor associated with the risk of re-revision for any reason. Besides BMI also other factors, such as Endoklinik score and the type of removed femoral component, can provide guidance in the process of preclinical decision making. With the knowledge obtained from this study, preoperative patient selection, informed consent, and treatment protocols can be better adjusted to the individual patient who needs to undergo a femoral revision with impaction bone grafting.

An approach toward a combined scheme for the petrographic classification of fly ash: Revision and clarification

Science.gov (United States)

Hower, J.C.; Suarez-Ruiz, I.; Mastalerz, Maria

2005-01-01

Hower and Mastalerz's classification scheme for fly ash is modified to make more widely acceptable. First, proper consideration is given to the potential role of anthracite in the development of isotropic and anisotropic chars. Second, the role of low-reflectance inertinite in producing vesicular chars is noted. It is shown that noncoal chars in the fuel can potentially produce chars that have the potential to stretch the limits of the classification. With care, it is possible to classify certain biomass chars as being distinct from coal-derived chars.

Failure of aseptic revision total knee arthroplasties.

Science.gov (United States)

Leta, Tesfaye H; Lygre, Stein Håkon L; Skredderstuen, Arne; Hallan, Geir; Furnes, Ove

2015-02-01

In Norway, the proportion of revision knee arthroplasties increased from 6.9% in 1994 to 8.5% in 2011. However, there is limited information on the epidemiology and causes of subsequent failure of revision knee arthroplasty. We therefore studied survival rate and determined the modes of failure of aseptic revision total knee arthroplasties. This study was based on 1,016 aseptic revision total knee arthroplasties reported to the Norwegian Arthroplasty Register between 1994 and 2011. Revisions done for infections were not included. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were used to assess the survival rate and the relative risk of re-revision with all causes of re-revision as endpoint. 145 knees failed after revision total knee arthroplasty. Deep infection was the most frequent cause of re-revision (28%), followed by instability (26%), loose tibial component (17%), and pain (10%). The cumulative survival rate for revision total knee arthroplasties was 85% at 5 years, 78% at 10 years, and 71% at 15 years. Revision total knee arthroplasties with exchange of the femoral or tibial component exclusively had a higher risk of re-revision (RR = 1.7) than those with exchange of the whole prosthesis. The risk of re-revision was higher for men (RR = 2.0) and for patients aged less than 60 years (RR = 1.6). In terms of implant survival, revision of the whole implant was better than revision of 1 component only. Young age and male sex were risk factors for re-revision. Deep infection was the most frequent cause of failure of revision of aseptic total knee arthroplasties.

Optimization of the scheme for natural ecology planning of urban rivers based on ANP (analytic network process) model.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yichuan; Wang, Jiangping

2015-07-01

Rivers serve as a highly valued component in ecosystem and urban infrastructures. River planning should follow basic principles of maintaining or reconstructing the natural landscape and ecological functions of rivers. Optimization of planning scheme is a prerequisite for successful construction of urban rivers. Therefore, relevant studies on optimization of scheme for natural ecology planning of rivers is crucial. In the present study, four planning schemes for Zhaodingpal River in Xinxiang City, Henan Province were included as the objects for optimization. Fourteen factors that influenced the natural ecology planning of urban rivers were selected from five aspects so as to establish the ANP model. The data processing was done using Super Decisions software. The results showed that important degree of scheme 3 was highest. A scientific, reasonable and accurate evaluation of schemes could be made by ANP method on natural ecology planning of urban rivers. This method could be used to provide references for sustainable development and construction of urban rivers. ANP method is also suitable for optimization of schemes for urban green space planning and design.

Decision-making in real estate development : application of game theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Clumac, B.; Blokhuis, E.G.J.; Han, Q.

2011-01-01

Decision making in real estate development projects has generally undergone a number of important changes over the last decades. This transition represented a shift from governmentally dominated top-down spatial planning to bottom-up, public-private engagement schemes in real estate development (Tam

A lossless multichannel bio-signal compression based on low-complexity joint coding scheme for portable medical devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Dong-Sun; Kwon, Jin-San

2014-09-18

Research on real-time health systems have received great attention during recent years and the needs of high-quality personal multichannel medical signal compression for personal medical product applications are increasing. The international MPEG-4 audio lossless coding (ALS) standard supports a joint channel-coding scheme for improving compression performance of multichannel signals and it is very efficient compression method for multi-channel biosignals. However, the computational complexity of such a multichannel coding scheme is significantly greater than that of other lossless audio encoders. In this paper, we present a multichannel hardware encoder based on a low-complexity joint-coding technique and shared multiplier scheme for portable devices. A joint-coding decision method and a reference channel selection scheme are modified for a low-complexity joint coder. The proposed joint coding decision method determines the optimized joint-coding operation based on the relationship between the cross correlation of residual signals and the compression ratio. The reference channel selection is designed to select a channel for the entropy coding of the joint coding. The hardware encoder operates at a 40 MHz clock frequency and supports two-channel parallel encoding for the multichannel monitoring system. Experimental results show that the compression ratio increases by 0.06%, whereas the computational complexity decreases by 20.72% compared to the MPEG-4 ALS reference software encoder. In addition, the compression ratio increases by about 11.92%, compared to the single channel based bio-signal lossless data compressor.

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff practice and procedure digest: Commission, Appeal Board and Licensing Board decisions, July 1972--December 1987

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-11-01

This Revision 10 of the fourth edition of the NRC Staff Practice and Procedure Digest contains a digest of a number of Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board, and Atomic Safety and licensing Board decisions issued during the period from July 1, 1972 to December 31, 1987 interpreting the NRC's Rules of Practice in 10 CFR Part 2. This Revision 10 replaces in part earlier editions and supplements and includes appropriate changes reflecting the amendments to the Rules of Practice effective through December 31, 1987. The Digest is roughly structured in accordance with the chronological sequence of the nuclear facility licensing process as set forth in Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 2. Those decisions which did not fit into that structure are dealt with in a section on ''general matters.'' Where appropriate, particular decisions are indexed under more than one heading. Some topical headings contain no decision citations or discussion

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff practice and procedure digest: Commission, Appeal Board and Licensing Board decisions, July 1972--September 1987

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-07-01

This Revision 9 of the fourth edition of the NRC Staff Practice and Procedure Digest contains a digest of a number of Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board, and Atomic Safety and Licensing Board decisions issued during the period from July 1, 1972 to September 30, 1987 interpreting the NRC's Rules of Practice in 10 CFR Part 2. This Revision 9 replaces in part earlier editions and supplements and includes appropriate changes reflecting the amendments to the Rules of Practice effective through September 30, 1987. The Digest is roughly structured in accordance with the chronological sequence of the nuclear facility licensing process as set forth in Appendix A to 10 CFR Part 2. Those decisions which did not fit into that structure are dealt with in a section on ''general matters.'' Where appropriate, particular decisions are indexed under more than one heading. Some topical headings contain no decisions citations or discussion. It is anticipated that future updates to the Digest will utilize these headings

75 FR 16833 - Preliminary Revised 5-Year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2007-2012

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-02

... sensitivity analysis is expanded, it is important to remember that the Secretary's decisions are not based on... study will summarize what information is available, where knowledge gaps exist, and what research is... commenters to focus on the expanded relative environmental sensitivity analysis and the Secretary's revisions...

Evolution of local citizen participation schemes in the German wind market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enzenberger, N.; Fichtner, W.; Rentz, O.

2003-01-01

Local citizen participation schemes like the German 'Buergerwindparks' (citizen wind farm) have been an important vehicle to develop the wind energy business to its present state of market maturity. This article discusses ownership as an integrated part of the economic project design for renewable energy projects. Different forms of local citizen participation are differentiated and strategic aspects related to the entrepreneurial decision of involving local citizens are highlighted. Then, the focus will be on a description of different role models for local citizen-financed wind energy projects. The paper also explains the evolution of two new role models: the merger of existing project companies to larger citizen-owned project portfolio companies and the role of closed-end wind funds as a new equity provision approach. Finally, the role of local citizen participation schemes in different market phases is discussed. (author)

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff practice and procedure digest: Commission, Appeal Board and Licensing Board decisions, July 1972--December 1989

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-06-01

This Revision 6 of the fifth edition of the NRC Staff Practice and Procedure Digest contains a digest of a number of Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board, and Atomic Safety and Licensing Board decisions issued during the period from July 1, 1972 to December 31, 1989 interpreting the NRC's Rules of Practice in 10 CFR Part 2. This Revision 6 replaces in part earlier editions and revisions and includes appropriate changes reflecting the amendments to the Rules of Practice effective through December 31, 1989

Teacher's Guide in Population Education for Social Studies, First Year-Fourth Year. Secondary Level. (Revised for Muslim Filipinos).

Science.gov (United States)

Department of Education and Culture, Manila (Philippines).

Revised to be in accordance with the customs, traditions, beliefs, and practices of the Muslim Filipinos, these social studies units will help secondary-level Filipino students understand world population problems and develop the necessary skills, attitudes, and values that will lead them to make rational decisions about population matters,…

Adaptive protection scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Sitharthan

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This paper aims at modelling an electronically coupled distributed energy resource with an adaptive protection scheme. The electronically coupled distributed energy resource is a microgrid framework formed by coupling the renewable energy source electronically. Further, the proposed adaptive protection scheme provides a suitable protection to the microgrid for various fault conditions irrespective of the operating mode of the microgrid: namely, grid connected mode and islanded mode. The outstanding aspect of the developed adaptive protection scheme is that it monitors the microgrid and instantly updates relay fault current according to the variations that occur in the system. The proposed adaptive protection scheme also employs auto reclosures, through which the proposed adaptive protection scheme recovers faster from the fault and thereby increases the consistency of the microgrid. The effectiveness of the proposed adaptive protection is studied through the time domain simulations carried out in the PSCAD⧹EMTDC software environment.

Comparative study of numerical schemes of TVD3, UNO3-ACM and optimized compact scheme

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Duck-Joo; Hwang, Chang-Jeon; Ko, Duck-Kon; Kim, Jae-Wook

1995-01-01

Three different schemes are employed to solve the benchmark problem. The first one is a conventional TVD-MUSCL (Monotone Upwind Schemes for Conservation Laws) scheme. The second scheme is a UNO3-ACM (Uniformly Non-Oscillatory Artificial Compression Method) scheme. The third scheme is an optimized compact finite difference scheme modified by us: the 4th order Runge Kutta time stepping, the 4th order pentadiagonal compact spatial discretization with the maximum resolution characteristics. The problems of category 1 are solved by using the second (UNO3-ACM) and third (Optimized Compact) schemes. The problems of category 2 are solved by using the first (TVD3) and second (UNO3-ACM) schemes. The problem of category 5 is solved by using the first (TVD3) scheme. It can be concluded from the present calculations that the Optimized Compact scheme and the UN03-ACM show good resolutions for category 1 and category 2 respectively.

Resource utilization in surgery after the revision of surgical fee schedule in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakata, Yoshinori; Yoshimura, Tatsuya; Watanabe, Yuichi; Otake, Hiroshi; Oiso, Giichiro; Sawa, Tomohiro

2015-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the current surgical reimbursement system in Japan reflects resource utilization after the revision of fee schedule in 2014. The authors collected data from all the surgical procedures performed at Teikyo University Hospital from April 1 through September 30, 2014. The authors defined the decision-making unit as a surgeon with the highest academic rank in the surgery. Inputs were defined as the number of medical doctors who assisted surgery, and the time of operation from skin incision to closure. An output was defined as the surgical fee. The authors calculated surgeons' efficiency scores using data envelopment analysis. The efficiency scores of each surgical specialty were significantly different (p=0.000). This result demonstrates that the Japanese surgical reimbursement scales still fail to reflect resource utilization despite the revision of surgical fee schedule.

Revision of the ICIDH: mental health aspects. WHO/MNH Disability Working Group.

Science.gov (United States)

Ustün, T B; Cooper, J E; van Duuren-Kristen, S; Kennedy, C; Hendershot, G; Sartorius, N

1995-01-01

This article reviews the key issues arising in the revision of the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities, and Handicaps (ICIDH) from a mental health perspective, and describes the work of the Disability Working Group of the WHO's Division of Mental Health. The ICIDH, which describes the consequences of disorders at three levels as impairments, disabilities, and handicaps, is generally applicable and useful for mental health purposes. While some impairments are mainly a consequence of 'mental' disorders (e.g. cognitive impairment), there should be no differences between mental and physical disorders in the classification scheme, to avoid a dichotomy between mind and body. There is also a need to improve the ways in which interference with the performance of social roles is described, since this is often the most obvious consequence of mental disorders. This article presents the potentials of the ICIDH in the field of mental health, and gives recommendations for the development of the revision process of the ICIDH. To stimulate the process of producing a 'common language' in the ICIDH related to mental health issues, former and potential users of the ICIDH are invited to give comments and suggestions.

Getting on the same page: Communication, patient involvement and shared understanding of "decisions" in oncology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leppin, Aaron L.; Kunneman, Marleen; Hathaway, Julie; Fernandez, Cara; Montori, Victor M.; Tilburt, Jon C.

2018-01-01

BackgroundPatients and clinicians do not often agree on whether a decision has been made about cancer care. This could be explained by factors related to communication quality and/or the type of decision being made. MethodsWe used a self-developed coding scheme to code a random sample of 128

Algorithms for optimal dyadic decision trees

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hush, Don [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Porter, Reid [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2009-01-01

A new algorithm for constructing optimal dyadic decision trees was recently introduced, analyzed, and shown to be very effective for low dimensional data sets. This paper enhances and extends this algorithm by: introducing an adaptive grid search for the regularization parameter that guarantees optimal solutions for all relevant trees sizes, revising the core tree-building algorithm so that its run time is substantially smaller for most regularization parameter values on the grid, and incorporating new data structures and data pre-processing steps that provide significant run time enhancement in practice.

"No one says 'No' to money" - a mixed methods approach for evaluating conditional cash transfer schemes to improve girl children's status in Haryana, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Krishnan, Anand; Amarchand, Ritvik; Byass, Peter; Pandav, Chandrakant; Ng, Nawi

2014-01-31

Haryana was the first state in India to launch a conditional cash transfer (CCT) scheme in 1994. Initially it targeted all disadvantaged girls but was revised in 2005 to restrict it to second girl children of all groups. The benefit which accrued at girl attaining 18 years and subject to conditionalities of being fully immunized, studying till class 10 and remaining unmarried, was increased from about US$ 500 to US$ 2000. Using a mixed methods approach, we evaluated the implementation and possible impact of these two schemes. A survey was conducted among 200 randomly selected respondents of Ballabgarh Block in Haryana to assess their perceptions of girl children and related schemes. A cohort of births during this period was assembled from population database of 28 villages in this block and changes in sex ratio at birth and in immunization coverage at one year of age among boys and girls was measured. Education levels and mean age at marriage of daughters were compared with daughters-in-law from outside Haryana. In-depth interviews were conducted among district level implementers of these schemes to assess their perceptions of programs' implementation and impact. These were analyzed using a thematic approach. The perceptions of girls as a liability and poor (9% to 15%) awareness of the schemes was noted. The cohort analysis showed that while there has been an improvement in the indicators studied, these were similar to those seen among the control groups. Qualitative analysis identified a "conspiracy of silence" - an underplaying of the pervasiveness of the problem coupled with a passive implementation of the program and a clash between political culture of giving subsidies and a bureaucratic approach that imposed many conditionalities and documentary needs for availing of benefits. The apparent lack of impact on the societal mindset calls for a revision in the current approach of addressing a social issue by a purely conditional cash transfer program.

DWPF waste form compliance plan (Draft Revision)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plodinec, M.J.; Marra, S.L.

1991-01-01

The Department of Energy currently has over 100 million liters of high-level radioactive waste in storage at the Savannah River Site (SRS). In the late 1970's, the Department of Energy recognized that there were significant safety and cost advantages associated with immobilizing the high-level waste in a stable solid form. Several alternative waste forms were evaluated in terms of product quality and reliability of fabrication. This evaluation led to a decision to build the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) at SRS to convert the easily dispersed liquid waste to borosilicate glass. In accordance with the NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) process, an Environmental Impact Statement was prepared for the facility, as well as an Environmental Assessment of the alternative waste forms, and issuance of a Record of Decision (in December, 1982) on the waste form. The Department of Energy, recognizing that start-up of the DWPF would considerably precede licensing of a repository, instituted a Waste Acceptance Process to ensure that these canistered waste forms would be acceptable for eventual disposal at a federal repository. This report is a revision of the DWPF compliance plan

The revised Canadian Guidelines for the Economic Evaluation of Pharmaceuticals.

Science.gov (United States)

Glennie, J L; Torrance, G W; Baladi, J F; Berka, C; Hubbard, E; Menon, D; Otten, N; Rivière, M

1999-05-01

The first edition of the Guidelines for Economic Evaluation of Pharmaceuticals: Canada was published in November 1994. At that time, the Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment (CCOHTA) was assigned the task of maintaining and regularly updating the Canadian Guidelines. Since their introduction, a great deal of experience has been gained with the practical application of the guidelines. Their role has also evolved over time, from being a framework for pharmacoeconomic research to the point where a wide variety of decision-makers use economic evaluations based on the principles set out in the guidelines as a means of facilitating their formulary decisions. In addition, methodologies in certain areas (and the body of related research literature in general) have developed considerably over time. Given these changes in the science and the experience gained, CCOHTA convened a multi-disciplinary committee to address the need for revisions to the guidelines. The underlying principles of the review process were to keep the guidance nature of the document, to focus on the needs of 'doers' (so as to meet the information needs of 'users') and to provide information and advice in areas of controversy, with sound direction in areas of general agreement. The purpose of this review is three-fold: (i) to outline the process which lead to the revision of the Canadian Guidelines; (ii) to describe the major changes made to the second edition of this document; and (iii) to consider the 'next steps' as they relate to the impact of such guidelines and the measurement of outcomes related to economic assessments of pharmaceuticals in general.

Development of a decision aid for children faced with the decision to undergo dental treatment with sedation or general anaesthesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Hulin, Joe; Baker, Sarah R; Marshman, Zoe; Albadri, Sondos; Rodd, Helen D

2017-09-01

Decision aids are tools used to help individuals faced with difficult healthcare decisions. They help patients further understand the treatment options available and encourage the sharing of information between patients and clinicians. To develop a decision aid for young patients faced with the decision to undergo dental treatment with inhalation sedation, intravenous sedation, or general anaesthesia (GA). Qualitative interviews with dental patients (aged 10-16 years), and their parents/guardians were used to inform the content of a draft decision aid. Following further revisions, a pilot evaluation of the decision aid was conducted. Patients referred for dental treatment with sedation or GA were recruited from a UK dental hospital. Patients (n = 15) and parents/guardians (n = 13) assigned to the intervention group received the decision aid and routine clinical counselling, whereas patients (n = 17) and parents/guardians (n = 13) in the control group only received routine clinical counselling. Participants completed measures of knowledge, decisional conflict, and dental anxiety. Knowledge scores were significantly higher for participants who received the decision aid when compared to standard care. There were no other significant differences between groups. A decision aid was successfully developed, and initial findings suggest such tools could be beneficial to dental sedation or GA patients and their parents/guardians. Further research is required on the use of such tools in primary care settings, with particular attention to the impact of the decision aid on attendance and completion rates of treatment. © 2016 BSPD, IAPD and John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Decision analysis and rational countermeasures in radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinkko, K.

1991-09-01

During the past few years several international organizations (ICRP, IAEA, OECD/NEA), in revising their radiation protection principles, have emphasized the importance of the rationalization and planning of intervention after a nuclear accident. An accident itself and the introduction of protective action entails risks to the people affected, monetary costs and social disruption. Thus protective actions, often including objectives which are difficult to control simultaneously, cannot be undertaken without careful contemplation and consideration of the essential consequences of decisions. Often during an accident there is not enough time for careful consideration. Decision analysis is an analyzing and thought guiding method for the definition of objectives and comparison of options. It is an appropriate methodology assisting in rendering explicit and apparent all factors involved and evaluating their relative importance. The planning of intervention with the help of decision analysis is portion of the preparation for accident situations. In this report one of the techniques of decision analysis, multi-attribute utility analysis, is presented, as concerns its application in planning protective actions in the event of radiation accidents. (orig.)

Bibliocable. Revised Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Cable Television Information Center, Washington, DC.

This selective, annotated bibliography is a revision of the original published in 1972 (ED 071 402). Some 104 books, articles, and reports included here deal with access, applications, franchising, regulation, technology, and other aspects of cable television. The listings are of two types in each category. First are revisions of the original…

THE FEATURES OF THE PROCESS OF MANAGERIAL DECISION-MAKING IN THE ENTERPRISE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. V. Romanovskaya

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The article discusses issues related to the development and acceptance of administrative decisions in the enterprise. The large number of publications in the field of research of the process of managerial decision-making demonstrates its relevance for effective management of the enterprise. The article presents the author's approach to the disclosure of the nature and concepts of the term «management decision», a substantive analysis of the main elements of the theoretical aspect of managerial decision-making. The increased competition associated with market liberalization and globalization of world economy, requires from senior management of an effective control system. The authors revised classification criteria and allocated them accordingly the kinds of management decisions; identifies the main stages of development and adoption of management decisions. The article is devoted to finding new ways of making decisions to improve the efficiency of enterprise management. It is noted that for optimal decision making, it is required to calculate the impact of its implementation on the value of the enterprise as a whole or the size of its economic effect.

New Proposal of Setal Homology in Schizomida and Revision of Surazomus (Hubbardiidae) from Ecuador.

Science.gov (United States)

Manzanilla, Osvaldo Villarreal; de Miranda, Gustavo Silva; Giupponi, Alessandro Ponce de Leão

2016-01-01

The homology of three somatic systems in Schizomida is studied yielding the following results: (1) proposal of homology and chaetotaxy of abdominal setae in Surazomus; (2) revision of the cheliceral chaetotaxy in Schizomida, with suggestion of new homology scheme between Hubbardiidae and Protoschizomidae, description of a new group of setae in Hubbardiinae (G7), and division of setae group 5 in two subgroups, G5A and G5B; (3) proposal of segmental homology between trimerous and tetramerous female flagellum in Hubbardiinae with association of segment III of tri-segmented species to segments III + IV of tetra-segmented species. Considerations about the dorsal microsetae on the male flagellum are made. The genus Surazomus in Ecuador is revised. The sympatric species Surazomus palenque sp. nov. and S. kitu sp. nov. (Ecuador, Pichincha) are described and illustrated. The female of S. cuenca (Rowland and Reddell, 1979) is described, with two new distributional records for the species. Surazomus cumbalensis (Kraus, 1957) is recorded for the first time from Ecuador (Pichincha).

Are Bundled Payments a Viable Reimbursement Model for Revision Total Joint Arthroplasty?

Science.gov (United States)

Courtney, P Maxwell; Ashley, Blair S; Hume, Eric L; Kamath, Atul F

2016-12-01

-of-care CMS costs between the two groups (mean USD 38,107 [SD, USD 18,328] versus mean USD 37,851 [SD, USD 17,208]; p = 0.984). There was no difference, with the numbers available, in the total episode-of-care CMS costs between revision hip arthroplasties and revision knee arthroplasties (mean USD 38,627 [SD, USD 18,607] versus mean USD 37,414 [SD, USD 16,884]; p = 0.904). Disposition to rehabilitation (odds ratio [OR], 5.49; 95% CI, 1.97-15.15; p = 0.001), length of stay 4 days or greater (OR, 3.66; 95% CI, 1.60-8.38; p = 0.002), and readmission within 90 days (OR, 6.99; 95% CI, 2.58-18.91; p payments have the potential to be a viable reimbursement model for revision TJA. Owing to the unpredictable nature of the surgical procedures, inherent high risks of complications, and varying degrees of surgical complexity, future studies are needed to determine whether bundling patients having revision TJA will result in improved care and decreased costs. Level IV, economic and decision analysis.

Value based pricing, research and development, and patient access schemes. Will the United Kingdom get it right or wrong?

Science.gov (United States)

Towse, Adrian

2010-09-01

The National Health Service (NHS) should reward innovation it values. This will enable the NHS and the United Kingdom (UK) economy to benefit and impact positively on the Research and Development (R&D) decision making of companies. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) currently seeks to do this on behalf of the NHS. Yet the Office of Fair Trading proposals for Value Based Pricing add price setting powers--initially for the Department of Health (DH) and then for NICE. This introduces an additional substantial uncertainty that will impact on R&D and, conditional on R&D proceeding, on launch (or not) in the UK. Instead of adding to uncertainty the institutional arrangements for assessing value should seek to be predictable and science based, building on NICE's current arrangements. The real challenge is to increase understanding of the underlying cost-effectiveness of the technology itself by collecting evidence alongside use. The 2009 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme sought to help do this with Flexible Pricing (FP) and Patient Access Schemes (PASs). The PASs to date have increased access to medicines, but no schemes proposed to date have yet helped to tackle outcomes uncertainty. The 2010 Innovation Pass can also be seen as a form of 'coverage with evidence development.' The NHS is understandably concerned about the costs of running such evidence collection schemes. Enabling the NHS to deliver on such schemes will impact favourably on R&D decisions. Increasing the uncertainty in the UK NHS market through government price setting will reduce incentives for R&D and for early UK launch.

Improving the Reliability of Decision-Support Systems for Nuclear Emergency Management by Leveraging Software Design Diversity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tudor B. Ionescu

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces a novel method of continuous verification of simulation software used in decision-support systems for nuclear emergency management (DSNE. The proposed approach builds on methods from the field of software reliability engineering, such as N-Version Programming, Recovery Blocks, and Consensus Recovery Blocks. We introduce a new acceptance test for dispersion simulation results and a new voting scheme based on taxonomies of simulation results rather than individual simulation results. The acceptance test and the voter are used in a new scheme, which extends the Consensus Recovery Block method by a database of result taxonomies to support machine-learning. This enables the system to learn how to distinguish correct from incorrect results, with respect to the implemented numerical schemes. Considering that decision-support systems for nuclear emergency management are used in a safety-critical application context, the methods introduced in this paper help improve the reliability of the system and the trustworthiness of the simulation results used by emergency managers in the decision making process. The effectiveness of the approach has been assessed using the atmospheric dispersion forecasts of two test versions of the widely used RODOS DSNE system.

Comparative Analysis of Direct Hospital Care Costs between Aseptic and Two-Stage Septic Knee Revision

Science.gov (United States)

Kasch, Richard; Merk, Sebastian; Assmann, Grit; Lahm, Andreas; Napp, Matthias; Merk, Harry; Flessa, Steffen

2017-01-01

general staff. The septic implantation part was on average $3,142.87 more expensive than septic explantations (p costs of aseptic and septic revision TKA from the hospital-department’s perspective which is the basis for long-term orientated decision making. In the future, our cost analysis has to be interpreted in relation to reimbursement estimates. This is important to check whether revision TKA lead to a financial loss for the operating department. PMID:28107366

Introduction of new technologies and decision making processes: a framework to adapt a Local Health Technology Decision Support Program for other local settings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Poulin P

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Paule Poulin,1 Lea Austen,1 Catherine M Scott,2 Michelle Poulin,1 Nadine Gall,2 Judy Seidel,3 René Lafrenière1 1Department of Surgery, 2Knowledge Management, 3Public Health Innovation and Decision Support, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, AB, Canada Purpose: Introducing new health technologies, including medical devices, into a local setting in a safe, effective, and transparent manner is a complex process, involving many disciplines and players within an organization. Decision making should be systematic, consistent, and transparent. It should involve translating and integrating scientific evidence, such as health technology assessment (HTA reports, with context-sensitive evidence to develop recommendations on whether and under what conditions a new technology will be introduced. However, the development of a program to support such decision making can require considerable time and resources. An alternative is to adapt a preexisting program to the new setting. Materials and methods: We describe a framework for adapting the Local HTA Decision Support Program, originally developed by the Department of Surgery and Surgical Services (Calgary, AB, Canada, for use by other departments. The framework consists of six steps: 1 development of a program review and adaptation manual, 2 education and readiness assessment of interested departments, 3 evaluation of the program by individual departments, 4 joint evaluation via retreats, 5 synthesis of feedback and program revision, and 6 evaluation of the adaptation process. Results: Nine departments revised the Local HTA Decision Support Program and expressed strong satisfaction with the adaptation process. Key elements for success were identified. Conclusion: Adaptation of a preexisting program may reduce duplication of effort, save resources, raise the health care providers' awareness of HTA, and foster constructive stakeholder engagement, which enhances the legitimacy of evidence

Kaplan-Meier Survival Analysis Overestimates the Risk of Revision Arthroplasty: A Meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lacny, Sarah; Wilson, Todd; Clement, Fiona; Roberts, Derek J; Faris, Peter D; Ghali, William A; Marshall, Deborah A

2015-11-01

Although Kaplan-Meier survival analysis is commonly used to estimate the cumulative incidence of revision after joint arthroplasty, it theoretically overestimates the risk of revision in the presence of competing risks (such as death). Because the magnitude of overestimation is not well documented, the potential associated impact on clinical and policy decision-making remains unknown. We performed a meta-analysis to answer the following questions: (1) To what extent does the Kaplan-Meier method overestimate the cumulative incidence of revision after joint replacement compared with alternative competing-risks methods? (2) Is the extent of overestimation influenced by followup time or rate of competing risks? We searched Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS Previews, and Web of Science (1946, 1980, 1980, and 1899, respectively, to October 26, 2013) and included article bibliographies for studies comparing estimated cumulative incidence of revision after hip or knee arthroplasty obtained using both Kaplan-Meier and competing-risks methods. We excluded conference abstracts, unpublished studies, or studies using simulated data sets. Two reviewers independently extracted data and evaluated the quality of reporting of the included studies. Among 1160 abstracts identified, six studies were included in our meta-analysis. The principal reason for the steep attrition (1160 to six) was that the initial search was for studies in any clinical area that compared the cumulative incidence estimated using the Kaplan-Meier versus competing-risks methods for any event (not just the cumulative incidence of hip or knee revision); we did this to minimize the likelihood of missing any relevant studies. We calculated risk ratios (RRs) comparing the cumulative incidence estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method with the competing-risks method for each study and used DerSimonian and Laird random effects models to pool these RRs. Heterogeneity was explored using stratified meta-analyses and

Decision influences and aftermath: parents, stillbirth and autopsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Horey, Dell; Flenady, Vicki; Conway, Liz; McLeod, Emma; Yee Khong, Teck

2014-08-01

Stillbirth, among the most distressing experiences an adult may face, is also a time when parents must decide whether an autopsy or other post-mortem examinations will be performed on their infant. Autopsies can reveal information that might help explain stillbirth, yet little is known about how people make this difficult decision. This study examines the influences on decisions about autopsy after stillbirth among Australian parents. The study involved secondary analysis of transcripts of three focus groups using qualitative content analysis. Seventeen parents of 14 stillborn babies participated in consultations around the revision of a perinatal mortality audit guideline. Parents shared the decision making. Four decision drivers were identified: parents' preparedness or readiness to make decisions; parental responsibility; concern for possible consequences of an autopsy and the role of health professionals. Each decision driver involved reasons both for and against autopsy. Two decision aftermath were also present: some parents who agreed to an autopsy were dissatisfied with the way the autopsy results were given to them and some parents who did not have an autopsy for their infant expressed some form of regret or uncertainty about the choice they made. To make decisions about autopsy after stillbirth, parents need factual information about autopsy procedures, recognition that there might be fear of blame, an environment of trust, and health services and professionals prepared and skilled for difficult conversations. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Guidance document for revision of DOE Order 5820.2A, Radioactive Waste Technical Support Program. Revision 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kudera, D.E.; McMurtrey, C.D.; Meagher, B.G.

1993-04-01

This document provides guidance for the revision of DOE Order 5820.2A, ``Radioactive Waste Management.`` Technical Working Groups have been established and are responsible for writing the revised order. The Technical Working Groups will use this document as a reference for polices and procedures that have been established for the revision process. The overall intent of this guidance is to outline how the order will be revised and how the revision process will be managed. In addition, this document outlines technical issues considered for inclusion by a Department of Energy Steering Committee.

An Optimization Scheme for Water Pump Control in Smart Fish Farm with Efficient Energy Consumption

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Israr Ullah

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Healthy fish production requires intensive care and ensuring stable and healthy production environment inside the farm tank is a challenging task. An Internet of Things (IoT based automated system is highly desirable that can continuously monitor the fish tanks with optimal resources utilization. Significant cost reduction can be achieved if farm equipment and water pumps are operated only when required using optimization schemes. In this paper, we present a general system design for smart fish farms. We have developed an optimization scheme for water pump control to maintain desired water level in fish tank with efficient energy consumption through appropriate selection of pumping flow rate and tank filling level. Proposed optimization scheme attempts to achieve a trade-off between pumping duration and flow rate through selection of optimized water level. Kalman filter algorithm is applied to remove error in sensor readings. We observed through simulation results that optimization scheme achieve significant reduction in energy consumption as compared to the two alternate schemes, i.e., pumping with maximum and minimum flow rates. Proposed system can help in collecting the data about the farm for long-term analysis and better decision making in future for efficient resource utilization and overall profit maximization.

Modifications to the Rules of the CERN Health Insurance Scheme

CERN Multimedia

HR Department

2010-01-01

On the proposal of the CHIS Board, and following examination by the Standing Concertation Committee on 29 April 2010, the Director-General has approved the new Rules of the CERN Health Insurance Scheme, which will come into effect on 1 June 2010. The Rules will shortly be available on the CHIS web site. As the Rules had not been revised since 2003, it had become necessary to make certain changes in order to bring them into line with other texts (such as the Staff Rules and Regulations and Administrative Circulars) and to clarify some practices. The new Rules do not introduce any new benefits or remove any existing ones. The following changes will affect all insured members:   Description of change Articles in the new Rules Time limit for claiming reimbursement The time period is measured from the invoice date (instead of the date of treatment). ...

Verifier-based three-party authentication schemes using extended chaotic maps for data exchange in telecare medicine information systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Tian-Fu

2014-12-01

Telecare medicine information systems provide a communicating platform for accessing remote medical resources through public networks, and help health care workers and medical personnel to rapidly making correct clinical decisions and treatments. An authentication scheme for data exchange in telecare medicine information systems enables legal users in hospitals and medical institutes to establish a secure channel and exchange electronic medical records or electronic health records securely and efficiently. This investigation develops an efficient and secure verified-based three-party authentication scheme by using extended chaotic maps for data exchange in telecare medicine information systems. The proposed scheme does not require server's public keys and avoids time-consuming modular exponential computations and scalar multiplications on elliptic curve used in previous related approaches. Additionally, the proposed scheme is proven secure in the random oracle model, and realizes the lower bounds of messages and rounds in communications. Compared to related verified-based approaches, the proposed scheme not only possesses higher security, but also has lower computational cost and fewer transmissions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Colour schemes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van Leeuwen, Theo

2013-01-01

This chapter presents a framework for analysing colour schemes based on a parametric approach that includes not only hue, value and saturation, but also purity, transparency, luminosity, luminescence, lustre, modulation and differentiation.......This chapter presents a framework for analysing colour schemes based on a parametric approach that includes not only hue, value and saturation, but also purity, transparency, luminosity, luminescence, lustre, modulation and differentiation....

Equilibrium Design Based on Design Thinking Solving: An Integrated Multicriteria Decision-Making Methodology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi-Xiong Feng

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A multicriteria decision-making model was proposed in order to acquire the optimum one among different product design schemes. VIKOR method was introduced to compute the ranking value of each scheme. A multiobjective optimization model for criteria weight was established. In this model, projection pursuit method was employed to identify a criteria weight set which could keep classification information of original schemes to the greatest extent, while PROMETHEE II was adopted to keep sorting information. Dominance based multiobjective simulated annealing algorithm (D-MOSA was introduced to solve the optimization model. Finally, an example was taken to demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of this model.

Concentrating solar power plant investment and operation decisions under different price and support mechanisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kost, Christoph; Flath, Christoph M.; Möst, Dominik

2013-01-01

The dispatch opportunities provided by storage-enhanced Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants have direct implications on the investment decisions as not only nameplate capacity but also the storage capacity and the solar multiple play a crucial role for the viability of the plant investment. By integrating additional technical aspects and operation strategies, this paper extends the optimization model proposed by Madaeni et al., How Thermal Energy Storage Enhances the Economic Viability of Concentrating Solar Power. Using a mixed integer maximization approach the paper yields both the optimal layout decision and the operation of CSP plants. Subsequently, the economic value of CSP storage is analyzed via energy modeling of a Spanish plant location under the respective wholesale market prices as well as the local feed-in tariff. The analysis shows that investment incentives for CSP plants with storage need to appropriately account for the interdependency between the price incentives and the plant operating strategy. As the resulting revenue characteristics influence the optimal size of solar field and storage differing operating strategies also give rise to differing optimal plant layouts. Most noteworthy, the current Spanish support scheme offers only limited incentives for larger thermal storage capacity. - Highlights: • Dispatch opportunities of CSP have direct implications on both investment and operational decisions. • Valuation approach with a single mixed integer maximization problem. • Profitability of CSP plants under the premium feed-in tariff in Spain was assessed. • Layout decision and storage size are influenced by remuneration scheme. • Discuss alternative remuneration schemes for “dispatchable” RE technologies

Decision support tools for policy and planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacyk, P.; Schultz, D.; Spangenberg, L.

1995-01-01

A decision support system (DSS) is being developed at the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The DSS will be used to evaluate alternatives for improving LANL's existing central radioactive waste water treatment plant and to evaluate new site-wide liquid waste treatment schemes that are required in order to handle the diverse waste streams produced at LANL. The decision support system consists of interacting modules that perform the following tasks: rigorous process simulation, configuration management, performance analysis, cost analysis, risk analysis, environmental impact assessment, transportation modeling, and local, state, and federal regulation compliance checking. Uncertainty handling techniques are used with these modules and also with a decision synthesis module which combines results from the modules listed above. We believe the DSS being developed can be applied to almost any other industrial water treatment facility with little modification because in most situations the waste streams are less complex, fewer regulations apply, and the political environment is simpler. The techniques being developed are also generally applicable to policy and planning decision support systems in the chemical process industry

Locally adaptive decision in detection of clustered microcalcifications in mammograms

Science.gov (United States)

Sainz de Cea, María V.; Nishikawa, Robert M.; Yang, Yongyi

2018-02-01

In computer-aided detection or diagnosis of clustered microcalcifications (MCs) in mammograms, the performance often suffers from not only the presence of false positives (FPs) among the detected individual MCs but also large variability in detection accuracy among different cases. To address this issue, we investigate a locally adaptive decision scheme in MC detection by exploiting the noise characteristics in a lesion area. Instead of developing a new MC detector, we propose a decision scheme on how to best decide whether a detected object is an MC or not in the detector output. We formulate the individual MCs as statistical outliers compared to the many noisy detections in a lesion area so as to account for the local image characteristics. To identify the MCs, we first consider a parametric method for outlier detection, the Mahalanobis distance detector, which is based on a multi-dimensional Gaussian distribution on the noisy detections. We also consider a non-parametric method which is based on a stochastic neighbor graph model of the detected objects. We demonstrated the proposed decision approach with two existing MC detectors on a set of 188 full-field digital mammograms (95 cases). The results, evaluated using free response operating characteristic (FROC) analysis, showed a significant improvement in detection accuracy by the proposed outlier decision approach over traditional thresholding (the partial area under the FROC curve increased from 3.95 to 4.25, p-value  FPs at a given sensitivity level. The proposed adaptive decision approach could not only reduce the number of FPs in detected MCs but also improve case-to-case consistency in detection.

MDCT quantification is the dominant parameter in decision-making regarding chest tube drainage for stable patients with traumatic pneumothorax.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Wenli; Lee, June-Goo; Fikry, Karim; Yoshida, Hiroyuki; Novelline, Robert; de Moya, Marc

2012-07-01

It is commonly believed that the size of a pneumothorax is an important determinant of treatment decision, in particular regarding whether chest tube drainage (CTD) is required. However, the volumetric quantification of pneumothoraces has not routinely been performed in clinics. In this paper, we introduced an automated computer-aided volumetry (CAV) scheme for quantification of volume of pneumothoraces in chest multi-detect CT (MDCT) images. Moreover, we investigated the impact of accurate volume of pneumothoraces in the improvement of the performance in decision-making regarding CTD in the management of traumatic pneumothoraces. For this purpose, an occurrence frequency map was calculated for quantitative analysis of the importance of each clinical parameter in the decision-making regarding CTD by a computer simulation of decision-making using a genetic algorithm (GA) and a support vector machine (SVM). A total of 14 clinical parameters, including volume of pneumothorax calculated by our CAV scheme, was collected as parameters available for decision-making. The results showed that volume was the dominant parameter in decision-making regarding CTD, with an occurrence frequency value of 1.00. The results also indicated that the inclusion of volume provided the best performance that was statistically significant compared to the other tests in which volume was excluded from the clinical parameters. This study provides the scientific evidence for the application of CAV scheme in MDCT volumetric quantification of pneumothoraces in the management of clinically stable chest trauma patients with traumatic pneumothorax. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

LevelScheme: A level scheme drawing and scientific figure preparation system for Mathematica

Science.gov (United States)

Caprio, M. A.

2005-09-01

LevelScheme is a scientific figure preparation system for Mathematica. The main emphasis is upon the construction of level schemes, or level energy diagrams, as used in nuclear, atomic, molecular, and hadronic physics. LevelScheme also provides a general infrastructure for the preparation of publication-quality figures, including support for multipanel and inset plotting, customizable tick mark generation, and various drawing and labeling tasks. Coupled with Mathematica's plotting functions and powerful programming language, LevelScheme provides a flexible system for the creation of figures combining diagrams, mathematical plots, and data plots. Program summaryTitle of program:LevelScheme Catalogue identifier:ADVZ Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University of Belfast, N. Ireland Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/ADVZ Operating systems:Any which supports Mathematica; tested under Microsoft Windows XP, Macintosh OS X, and Linux Programming language used:Mathematica 4 Number of bytes in distributed program, including test and documentation:3 051 807 Distribution format:tar.gz Nature of problem:Creation of level scheme diagrams. Creation of publication-quality multipart figures incorporating diagrams and plots. Method of solution:A set of Mathematica packages has been developed, providing a library of level scheme drawing objects, tools for figure construction and labeling, and control code for producing the graphics.

Social capital and active membership in the Ghana National Health Insurance Scheme - a mixed method study.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenenga, Christine J; Nketiah-Amponsah, Edward; Ogink, Alice; Arhinful, Daniel K; Poortinga, Wouter; Hutter, Inge

2015-11-02

People's decision to enroll in a health insurance scheme is determined by socio-cultural and socio-economic factors. On request of the National health Insurance Authority (NHIA) in Ghana, our study explores the influence of social relationships on people's perceptions, behavior and decision making to enroll in the National Health Insurance Scheme. This social scheme, initiated in 2003, aims to realize accessible quality healthcare services for the entire population of Ghana. We look at relationships of trust and reciprocity between individuals in the communities (so called horizontal social capital) and between individuals and formal health institutions (called vertical social capital) in order to determine whether these two forms of social capital inhibit or facilitate enrolment of clients in the scheme. Results can support the NHIA in exploiting social capital to reach their objective and strengthen their policy and practice. We conducted 20 individual- and seven key-informant interviews, 22 focus group discussions, two stakeholder meetings and a household survey, using a random sample of 1903 households from the catchment area of 64 primary healthcare facilities. The study took place in Greater Accra Region and Western Regions in Ghana between June 2011 and March 2012. While social developments and increased heterogeneity seem to reduce community solidarity in Ghana, social networks remain common in Ghana and are valued for their multiple benefits (i.e. reciprocal trust and support, information sharing, motivation, risk sharing). Trusting relations with healthcare and insurance providers are, according healthcare clients, based on providers' clear communication, attitude, devotion, encouragement and reliability of services. Active membership of the NHIS is positive associated with community trust, trust in healthcare providers and trust in the NHIS (p-values are .009, .000 and .000 respectively). Social capital can motivate clients to enroll in health insurance

48 CFR 15.307 - Proposal revisions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... AND CONTRACT TYPES CONTRACTING BY NEGOTIATION Source Selection 15.307 Proposal revisions. (a) If an... allow proposal revisions to clarify and document understandings reached during negotiations. At the... submit a final proposal revision. The contracting officer is required to establish a common cut-off date...

The social security scheme in Thailand: what lessons can be drawn?

Science.gov (United States)

Tangcharoensathien, V; Supachutikul, A; Lertiendumrong, J

1999-04-01

The Social Security Scheme was launched in 1990, covering formal sector private employees for non-work related sickness, maternity and invalidity including cash benefits and funeral grants. The scheme is financed by tripartite contributions from government, employers and employees, each of 1.5% of payroll (total of 4.5%). The scheme decided to pay health care providers, whether public or private, on a flat rate capitation basis to cover both ambulatory and inpatient care. Registration of the insured with a contractor hospital was a necessary consequence of the chosen capitation payment system. The aim of this paper is to review the operation of the scheme, and to explore the implications of capitation payment and registration for utilisation levels and provider behaviour. A key weakness of the scheme's design is suggested to be the initial decision to give employers not employees the responsibility for choosing the registered hospitals. This was done for administrative reasons, but it contributed to low levels of use of the contractor hospitals. In addition, low levels of use were also probably the result of the potential for cream skimming, cost shifting from inpatient to ambulatory care and under-provision of patient care, though since monitoring mechanisms by the Social Security Office were weak, these effects are difficult to detect conclusively. Mechanisms to improve utilisation levels were gradually introduced, such as employee choice of registered hospitals and the formation of sub-contractor networks to improve access to care. A beneficial effect of the capitation payment system was that the Social Security Fund generated substantial reserves and expenditures on sickness benefits were well stabilised. The paper ends by recommending that future policy amendments should be guided by research and empirical findings and that tougher monitoring and enforcement of quality of care standards are required.

Behavioral preference in sequential decision-making and its association with anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Dandan; Gu, Ruolei

2018-06-01

In daily life, people often make consecutive decisions before the ultimate goal is reached (i.e., sequential decision-making). However, this kind of decision-making has been largely overlooked in the literature. The current study investigated whether behavioral preference would change during sequential decisions, and the neural processes underlying the potential changes. For this purpose, we revised the classic balloon analogue risk task and recorded the electroencephalograph (EEG) signals associated with each step of decision-making. Independent component analysis performed on EEG data revealed that four EEG components elicited by periodic feedback in the current step predicted participants' decisions (gamble vs. no gamble) in the next step. In order of time sequence, these components were: bilateral occipital alpha rhythm, bilateral frontal theta rhythm, middle frontal theta rhythm, and bilateral sensorimotor mu rhythm. According to the information flows between these EEG oscillations, we proposed a brain model that describes the temporal dynamics of sequential decision-making. Finally, we found that the tendency to gamble (as well as the power intensity of bilateral frontal theta rhythms) was sensitive to the individual level of trait anxiety in certain steps, which may help understand the role of emotion in decision-making. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Packet reversed packet combining scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhunia, C.T.

2006-07-01

The packet combining scheme is a well defined simple error correction scheme with erroneous copies at the receiver. It offers higher throughput combined with ARQ protocols in networks than that of basic ARQ protocols. But packet combining scheme fails to correct errors when the errors occur in the same bit locations of two erroneous copies. In the present work, we propose a scheme that will correct error if the errors occur at the same bit location of the erroneous copies. The proposed scheme when combined with ARQ protocol will offer higher throughput. (author)

Management of metal-on-metal hip implant patients: Who, when and how to revise?

Science.gov (United States)

Berber, Reshid; Skinner, John A; Hart, Alister J

2016-05-18

The debate on how best to manage patients with metal-on-metal (MOM) hip implants continues. With over 1 million patients affected worldwide, the impact is far reaching. The majority of the aggressive failures of MOM hip implants have been dealt with by revision hip surgery, leaving patients with a much more indolent pattern of failure of devices that have been in situ for more than 10 years. The longer-term outcome for such patients remains unknown, and much debate exists on how best to manage these patients. Regulatory guidance is available but remains open to interpretation due to the lack of current evidence and long-term studies. Metal ion thresholds for concern have been suggested at 7 ppb for hip resurfacing arthroplasty and below this level for large diameter total hip arthroplasties. Soft tissue changes including pseudotumours and muscle atrophy have been shown to progress, but this is not consistent. New advanced imaging techniques are helping to diagnose complications with metal hips and the reasons for failure, however these are not widely available. This has led to some centres to tackle difficult cases through multidisciplinary collaboration, for both surgical management decisions and also follow-up decisions. We summarise current evidence and consider who is at risk, when revision should be undertaken and how patients should be managed.

7 CFR 3015.115 - Budget revisions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Budget revisions. 3015.115 Section 3015.115..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE UNIFORM FEDERAL ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS Programmatic Changes and Budget Revisions § 3015.115 Budget revisions. (a) Nonconstruction projects. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of...

A study on scar revision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashutosh Talwar

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Scars are psychologically distressing for the patients and have an impact on the quality of life and self esteem of the patients. Scar revision is an aesthetic skill which is mastered by plastic surgeons and encroached now by dermatosurgeons. Scars on the face are aesthetically unacceptable and various techniques have been improvised for making a scar aesthetically acceptable. Various types of techniques are used for scar revision like W plasty, Z plasty and VY plasty. Aims: To see the efficacy of various scar revision techniques including Z plasty, VY plasty and W plasty in 30 patients with disfiguring scars. Methods: We selected twenty patients of disfiguring scars for the study. The scars from various causes including trauma and burns were included in our study. Various techniques of scar revision include Z plasty, W plasty and VY plasty were performed according to the type and site of scar. Results: Male: female was 1.5: 1. The scar revision surgery yielded excellent results with minimal complications including haematoma formation, secondary infection and delayed healing seen in 5% patients each. Regarding the efficacy of scar revision, excellent improvement was seen in 60% patients, moderate improvement was seen in 30% patients and mild improvement was seen in 10% patients. Conclusions: Dermatologists can employ a number of surgical scar revision techniques. While some are better suited to treat specific types of scars, they can be used in combination with each other or with adjunctive therapies to achieve optimal results.

Improving ingestion dose modelling for the ARGOS and RODOS decision support systems: A Nordic Initiative

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersson, Kasper Grann; Nielsen, Sven Poul; Thørring, Håvard

2011-01-01

A Nordic work group under the NKS-B activity PARDNOR has revised the input parameters in the ECOSYS model that is incorporated for ingestion dose modelling in the ARGOS and RODOS decision support systems. The new parameterisation takes into account recent measurement data, and targets the model f...

Model-Based Fault Diagnosis Techniques Design Schemes, Algorithms and Tools

CERN Document Server

Ding, Steven X

2013-01-01

Guaranteeing a high system performance over a wide operating range is an important issue surrounding the design of automatic control systems with successively increasing complexity. As a key technology in the search for a solution, advanced fault detection and identification (FDI) is receiving considerable attention. This book introduces basic model-based FDI schemes, advanced analysis and design algorithms, and mathematical and control-theoretic tools. This second edition of Model-Based Fault Diagnosis Techniques contains: ·         new material on fault isolation and identification, and fault detection in feedback control loops; ·         extended and revised treatment of systematic threshold determination for systems with both deterministic unknown inputs and stochastic noises; addition of the continuously-stirred tank heater as a representative process-industrial benchmark; and ·         enhanced discussion of residual evaluation in stochastic processes. Model-based Fault Diagno...

Costs and economic consequences of a help-at-home scheme for older people in England.

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, Annette; Knapp, Martin; Wistow, Gerald; Perkins, Margaret; King, Derek; Iemmi, Valentina

2017-03-01

Solutions to support older people to live independently and reduce the cost of an ageing population are high on the political agenda of most developed countries. Help-at-home schemes offer a mix of community support with the aim to address a range of well-being needs. However, not much is currently known about the costs, outcomes and economic consequences of such schemes. Understanding their impact on individuals' well-being and the economic consequences for local and central government can contribute to decisions about sustainable long-term care financing. This article presents results from a mixed-methods study of a voluntary sector-provided help-at-home scheme in England for people of 55 years and older. The study followed a participatory approach, which involved staff and volunteers. Data were collected during 2012 and 2013. Social care-related quality of life was measured with the Adult Social Care Outcomes Toolkit for 24 service users (59% response rate) when they started using the scheme and 4-6 months later. A customised questionnaire that captured resource use and well-being information was sent to 1064 service users (63% response rate). The same tool was used in assessment with service users who started using the scheme between November 2012 and April 2013 (100% response rate). Costs of the scheme were established from local budget and activity data. The scheme was likely to achieve a mean net benefit of £1568 per person from a local government and National Health Service (NHS) perspective and £3766 from the perspective of the individual. An expenditure of £2851 per person accrued to central government for the additional redistribution of benefit payments to older people. This article highlights the potential contribution of voluntary sector-run help-at-home schemes to an affordable welfare system for ageing societies. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Determinants of enrollment of informal sector workers in cooperative based health scheme in Bangladesh

Science.gov (United States)

Sarker, Abdur Razzaque; Sultana, Marufa; Mahumud, Rashidul Alam; Ahmed, Sayem; Islam, Ziaul; Morton, Alec; Khan, Jahangir A. M.

2017-01-01

Background Providing access to affordable health care for the informal sector remains a considerable challenge for low income countries striving to make progress towards universal health coverage. The objective of the study is to identify the factors shaping the decision to enroll in a cooperative based health scheme for informal workers in Bangladesh and also help to identify the features of informal workers without health schemes and their likelihood of being insured. Methods Data were derived from a cross-sectional in-house survey within the catchment area of a cooperative based health scheme in Bangladesh during April–June 2014, covering a total of 784 households (458 members and 326 non-members). Multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with cooperative based health scheme and explanatory variables. Findings This study found that a number of factors were significant determinants of health scheme participation including sex of household head, household composition, occupational category as well as involvement social financial safety net programs. Conclusion Findings from this study can be suggestive for policy-makers interested in scaling up health insurance for informal workers in Bangladesh. Shared funding from this large informal sector can generate new resources for healthcare, which is in line with the healthcare financing strategy of Bangladesh as well as the recommendation of the World Health Organization for developing social health insurance as part of the path to Universal Health Coverage. PMID:28750052

Determinants of enrollment of informal sector workers in cooperative based health scheme in Bangladesh.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdur Razzaque Sarker

Full Text Available Providing access to affordable health care for the informal sector remains a considerable challenge for low income countries striving to make progress towards universal health coverage. The objective of the study is to identify the factors shaping the decision to enroll in a cooperative based health scheme for informal workers in Bangladesh and also help to identify the features of informal workers without health schemes and their likelihood of being insured.Data were derived from a cross-sectional in-house survey within the catchment area of a cooperative based health scheme in Bangladesh during April-June 2014, covering a total of 784 households (458 members and 326 non-members. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with cooperative based health scheme and explanatory variables.This study found that a number of factors were significant determinants of health scheme participation including sex of household head, household composition, occupational category as well as involvement social financial safety net programs.Findings from this study can be suggestive for policy-makers interested in scaling up health insurance for informal workers in Bangladesh. Shared funding from this large informal sector can generate new resources for healthcare, which is in line with the healthcare financing strategy of Bangladesh as well as the recommendation of the World Health Organization for developing social health insurance as part of the path to Universal Health Coverage.

Development of a majority vote decision module for a self-diagnostic monitoring system for an air-operated valve system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Woo Shin [Dept. of Information and Communication Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Chai, Jang Bom [Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, In Taek [Dept. of Information and Communication Engineering, Myongji University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2015-08-15

A self-diagnostic monitoring system is a system that has the ability to measure various physical quantities such as temperature, pressure, or acceleration from sensors scattered over a mechanical system such as a power plant, in order to monitor its various states, and to make a decision about its health status. We have developed a self-diagnostic monitoring system for an air-operated valve system to be used in a nuclear power plant. In this study, we have tried to improve the self-diagnostic monitoring system to increase its reliability. We have implemented three different machine learning algorithms, i.e., logistic regression, an artificial neural network, and a support vector machine. After each algorithm performs the decision process independently, the decision-making module collects these individual decisions and makes a final decision using a majority vote scheme. With this, we performed some simulations and presented some of its results. The contribution of this study is that, by employing more robust and stable algorithms, each of the algorithms performs the recognition task more accurately. Moreover, by integrating these results and employing the majority vote scheme, we can make a definite decision, which makes the self-diagnostic monitoring system more reliable.

Development of a majority vote decision module for a self-diagnostic monitoring system for an air-operated valve system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Woo Shin; Chai, Jang Bom; Kim, In Taek

2015-01-01

A self-diagnostic monitoring system is a system that has the ability to measure various physical quantities such as temperature, pressure, or acceleration from sensors scattered over a mechanical system such as a power plant, in order to monitor its various states, and to make a decision about its health status. We have developed a self-diagnostic monitoring system for an air-operated valve system to be used in a nuclear power plant. In this study, we have tried to improve the self-diagnostic monitoring system to increase its reliability. We have implemented three different machine learning algorithms, i.e., logistic regression, an artificial neural network, and a support vector machine. After each algorithm performs the decision process independently, the decision-making module collects these individual decisions and makes a final decision using a majority vote scheme. With this, we performed some simulations and presented some of its results. The contribution of this study is that, by employing more robust and stable algorithms, each of the algorithms performs the recognition task more accurately. Moreover, by integrating these results and employing the majority vote scheme, we can make a definite decision, which makes the self-diagnostic monitoring system more reliable

A full quantum network scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma Hai-Qiang; Wei Ke-Jin; Yang Jian-Hui; Li Rui-Xue; Zhu Wu

2014-01-01

We present a full quantum network scheme using a modified BB84 protocol. Unlike other quantum network schemes, it allows quantum keys to be distributed between two arbitrary users with the help of an intermediary detecting user. Moreover, it has good expansibility and prevents all potential attacks using loopholes in a detector, so it is more practical to apply. Because the fiber birefringence effects are automatically compensated, the scheme is distinctly stable in principle and in experiment. The simple components for every user make our scheme easier for many applications. The experimental results demonstrate the stability and feasibility of this scheme. (general)

Evidence-informed decision making for nutrition: African experiences and way forward.

Science.gov (United States)

Aryeetey, Richmond; Holdsworth, Michelle; Taljaard, Christine; Hounkpatin, Waliou Amoussa; Colecraft, Esi; Lachat, Carl; Nago, Eunice; Hailu, Tesfaye; Kolsteren, Patrick; Verstraeten, Roos

2017-11-01

Although substantial amount of nutrition research is conducted in Africa, the research agenda is mainly donor-driven. There is a clear need for a revised research agenda in Africa which is both driven by and responding to local priorities. The present paper summarises proceedings of a symposium on how evidence can guide decision makers towards context-appropriate priorities and decisions in nutrition. The paper focuses on lessons learnt from case studies by the Evidence Informed Decision Making in Nutrition and Health Network implemented between 2015 and 2016 in Benin, Ghana and South Africa. Activities within these countries were organised around problem-oriented evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM), capacity strengthening and leadership and horizontal collaboration. Using a combination of desk-reviews, stakeholder influence-mapping, semi-structured interviews and convening platforms, these country-level studies demonstrated strong interest for partnership between researchers and decision makers, and use of research evidence for prioritisation and decision making in nutrition. Identified capacity gaps were addressed through training workshops on EIDM, systematic reviews, cost-benefit evaluations and evidence contextualisation. Investing in knowledge partnerships and development of capacity and leadership are key to drive appropriate use of evidence in nutrition policy and programming in Africa.

Expert opinion on risks to the long-term viability of residential recycled water schemes: An Australian study.

Science.gov (United States)

West, Camilla; Kenway, Steven; Hassall, Maureen; Yuan, Zhiguo

2017-09-01

The water sector needs to make efficient and prudent investment decisions by carefully considering the long-term viability of water infrastructure projects. To support the assessment and planning of residential recycled water schemes in Australia, we have sought to clarify scheme objectives and to further define the array of critical risks that can impact the long-term viability of schemes. Building on historical information, we conducted a national survey which elicited responses from 88 Australian expert practitioners, of which 64% have over 10 years of industry experience and 42% have experience with more than five residential recycled water schemes. On the basis of expert opinion, residential recycled water schemes are considered to be highly relevant for diversifying and improving water supply security, reducing wastewater effluent discharge and pollutant load to waterways and contributing to sustainable urban development. At present however, the inability to demonstrate an incontestable business case is posing a significant risk to the long-term viability of residential recycled water schemes. Political, regulatory, organisational and financial factors were also rated as critical risks, in addition to community risk perception and fall in demand. The survey results shed further light on the regulatory environment of residential recycled water schemes, with regulatory participants rating the level and impact of risk factors higher than other survey participants in most cases. The research outcomes provide a comprehensive understanding of the critical risks to the long-term viability of residential recycled water schemes, thereby enabling the specification of targeted risk management measures at the assessment and planning stage of a scheme. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Transmission usage cost allocation schemes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abou El Ela, A.A.; El-Sehiemy, R.A.

2009-01-01

This paper presents different suggested transmission usage cost allocation (TCA) schemes to the system individuals. Different independent system operator (ISO) visions are presented using the proportional rata and flow-based TCA methods. There are two proposed flow-based TCA schemes (FTCA). The first FTCA scheme generalizes the equivalent bilateral exchanges (EBE) concepts for lossy networks through two-stage procedure. The second FTCA scheme is based on the modified sensitivity factors (MSF). These factors are developed from the actual measurements of power flows in transmission lines and the power injections at different buses. The proposed schemes exhibit desirable apportioning properties and are easy to implement and understand. Case studies for different loading conditions are carried out to show the capability of the proposed schemes for solving the TCA problem. (author)

Pay-what-you-want pricing schemes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kahsay, Goytom Abraha; Samahita, Margaret

this threshold, however, PWYW can lead to a lower utility. This may result in a lower purchase rate and higher average price, in line with previously unexplained evidence from field experiments. Moreover, an increase in the threshold value decreases the buyer's utility and may further lower the purchase rate......Pay-What-You-Want (PWYW) pricing schemes are becoming increasingly popular in a wide range of industries. We develop a model incorporating self-image into the buyer's utility function and introduce heterogeneity in consumption utility and image-sensitivity, which generates different purchase...... decisions and optimal prices across individuals. When a good is sold at a fixed price higher than a threshold value, a price that the individual thinks is fair, the adoption of PWYW increases his utility and hence results in a weakly higher purchase rate. When a good is sold at a fixed price lower than...

CERN Health Insurance Scheme - changes on 1 January 2011

CERN Multimedia

HR Department

2011-01-01

Changes decided by the Council on 16 December 2010 Following the five-yearly review of financial and social conditions, which included the CERN Health Insurance Scheme (CHIS), the CERN Council has taken certain decisions which affect both active and retired staff. In order to restore the financial equilibrium of the CHIS, the level of contributions will increase progressively over the next five years. In 2011, the contributions of both active and retired members increase from 4.02% to 4.27%. The amounts of the fixed premiums for voluntary insured members (e.g. users and associates) as well as the supplementary contributions for spouses with an income from a professional activity increase accordingly. The amounts of the daily allowance for Long-Term Care have been increased by 20% as of 1 January 2011. The CHIS Rules have been amended according to the above decisions. They entered into force on 1 January 2011 and are available on the CHIS site. Tel. 74125 Members of the personnel shall be deemed to ...

Effect of Health Literacy on Decision-Making Preferences among Medically Underserved Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Joann; Goodman, Melody S; Politi, Mary; Blanchard, Melvin; Kaphingst, Kimberly A

2016-05-01

Participation in the decision-making process and health literacy may both affect health outcomes; data on how these factors are related among diverse groups are limited. This study examined the relationship between health literacy and decision-making preferences in a medically underserved population. We analyzed a sample of 576 primary care patients. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the independent association of health literacy (measured by the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine-Revised) and patients' decision-making preferences (physician directed or patient involved), controlling for age, race/ethnicity, and gender. We tested whether having a regular doctor modified this association. Adequate health literacy (odds ratio [OR] = 1.7;P= 0.009) was significantly associated with preferring patient-involved decision making, controlling for age, race/ethnicity, and gender. Having a regular doctor did not modify this relationship. Males were significantly less likely to prefer patient-involved decision making (OR = 0.65;P= 0.024). Findings suggest health literacy affects decision-making preferences in medically underserved patients. More research is needed on how factors, such as patient knowledge or confidence, may influence decision-making preferences, particularly for those with limited health literacy. © The Author(s) 2016.

Matroids and quantum-secret-sharing schemes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sarvepalli, Pradeep; Raussendorf, Robert

2010-01-01

A secret-sharing scheme is a cryptographic protocol to distribute a secret state in an encoded form among a group of players such that only authorized subsets of the players can reconstruct the secret. Classically, efficient secret-sharing schemes have been shown to be induced by matroids. Furthermore, access structures of such schemes can be characterized by an excluded minor relation. No such relations are known for quantum secret-sharing schemes. In this paper we take the first steps toward a matroidal characterization of quantum-secret-sharing schemes. In addition to providing a new perspective on quantum-secret-sharing schemes, this characterization has important benefits. While previous work has shown how to construct quantum-secret-sharing schemes for general access structures, these schemes are not claimed to be efficient. In this context the present results prove to be useful; they enable us to construct efficient quantum-secret-sharing schemes for many general access structures. More precisely, we show that an identically self-dual matroid that is representable over a finite field induces a pure-state quantum-secret-sharing scheme with information rate 1.

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Staff practice and procedure digest: Commission, Appeal Board and Licensing Board Decisions, July 1972--December 1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-10-01

This Revision 2 of the fifth edition of the NRC Staff Practice and Procedure Digest contains a digest of a number of Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board, and Atomic Safety and Licensing Board decisions issued during the period from July 1, 1972 to December 31, 1988, interpreting the NRC's Rules of Practice in 10 CFR Part 2. This Revision 2 replaces in part earlier editions and revisions and includes appropriate changes reflecting the amendments to the Rules of Practice Effective through December 31, 1988. The Practice and Procedure Digest was originally prepared by attorneys in the NRC's Office of the Executive Legal Director (now, Office of the General Counsel) as an internal research tool. Because of its proven usefulness to those attorneys, it was decided that it might also prove useful to members of the public. Accordingly, the decision was made to publish the Digest and subsequent editions thereof. This edition of the Digest was prepared by attorneys from Aspen Systems Corporation pursuant to Contract number 18-89-346

Refining a brief decision aid in stable CAD: cognitive interviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly-Blake, Karen; Clark, Stacie; Dontje, Katherine; Olomu, Adesuwa; Henry, Rebecca C; Rovner, David R; Rothert, Marilyn L; Holmes-Rovner, Margaret

2014-02-13

We describe the results of cognitive interviews to refine the "Making Choices©" Decision Aid (DA) for shared decision-making (SDM) about stress testing in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). We conducted a systematic development process to design a DA consistent with International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS) focused on Alpha testing criteria. Cognitive interviews were conducted with ten stable CAD patients using the "think aloud" interview technique to assess the clarity, usefulness, and design of each page of the DA. Participants identified three main messages: 1) patients have multiple options based on stress tests and they should be discussed with a physician, 2) take care of yourself, 3) the stress test is the gold standard for determining the severity of your heart disease. Revisions corrected the inaccurate assumption of item number three. Cognitive interviews proved critical for engaging patients in the development process and highlighted the necessity of clear message development and use of design principles that make decision materials easy to read and easy to use. Cognitive interviews appear to contribute critical information from the patient perspective to the overall systematic development process for designing decision aids.

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt complications needing shunt revision in children: A review of 5 years of experience with 48 revisions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajendra K Ghritlaharey

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The aim of this study was to review the management of ventriculoperitoneal (VP shunt complications in children. Patients and Methods: During the last 5 years (January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2010, 236 VP shunt operations were performed in children under 12 years of age; of these, 40 (16.94% developed shunt complications and those who underwent VP shunt revisions were studied. Results: This prospective study included 40 (28 boys and 12 girls children and required 48 shunt revisions. Complications following VP shunts that required shunt revisions were peritoneal catheter/peritoneal end malfunction (18, shunt/shunt tract infections (7, extrusion of peritoneal catheter through anus (5, ventricular catheter malfunction (4, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF leak from abdominal wound (4, shunt system failure (2, ventricular end/shunt displacement (2, CSF pseudocysts peritoneal cavity (2, extrusion of peritoneal catheter from neck, chest, abdominal scar and through umbilicus, one each. Four-fifth of these shunt complications occurred within 6 months of previous surgery. Surgical procedures done during shunt revisions in order of frequency were revision of peritoneal part of shunt (27, 56.25%, revision of entire shunt system (6, 12.5%, extra ventricular drainage and delayed re-shunt (5, 10.41%, shunt removal and delayed re-shunt (5, 10.41%, opposite side shunting (2, 4.16%, cysts excision and revision of peritoneal catheter (2, 4.16% and revision of ventricular catheter (1, 2.08%. The mortalities following VP shunt operations were 44 (18.64% and following shunt revisions were 4 (10%. Conclusions: VP shunt done for hydrocephalus in children is not only prone for complications and need for revision surgery but also associated with considerable mortality.

“No one says ‘No’ to money” – a mixed methods approach for evaluating conditional cash transfer schemes to improve girl children’s status in Haryana, India

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Introduction Haryana was the first state in India to launch a conditional cash transfer (CCT) scheme in 1994. Initially it targeted all disadvantaged girls but was revised in 2005 to restrict it to second girl children of all groups. The benefit which accrued at girl attaining 18 years and subject to conditionalities of being fully immunized, studying till class 10 and remaining unmarried, was increased from about US$ 500 to US$ 2000. Using a mixed methods approach, we evaluated the implementation and possible impact of these two schemes. Methods A survey was conducted among 200 randomly selected respondents of Ballabgarh Block in Haryana to assess their perceptions of girl children and related schemes. A cohort of births during this period was assembled from population database of 28 villages in this block and changes in sex ratio at birth and in immunization coverage at one year of age among boys and girls was measured. Education levels and mean age at marriage of daughters were compared with daughters-in-law from outside Haryana. In-depth interviews were conducted among district level implementers of these schemes to assess their perceptions of programs’ implementation and impact. These were analyzed using a thematic approach. Results The perceptions of girls as a liability and poor (9% to 15%) awareness of the schemes was noted. The cohort analysis showed that while there has been an improvement in the indicators studied, these were similar to those seen among the control groups. Qualitative analysis identified a “conspiracy of silence” - an underplaying of the pervasiveness of the problem coupled with a passive implementation of the program and a clash between political culture of giving subsidies and a bureaucratic approach that imposed many conditionalities and documentary needs for availing of benefits. Conclusion The apparent lack of impact on the societal mindset calls for a revision in the current approach of addressing a social issue by a purely

Cochlear implant revision surgeries in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Amaral, Maria Stella Arantes do; Reis, Ana Cláudia Mirândola B; Massuda, Eduardo T; Hyppolito, Miguel Angelo

2018-02-16

The surgery during which the cochlear implant internal device is implanted is not entirely free of risks and may produce problems that will require revision surgeries. To verify the indications for cochlear implantation revision surgery for the cochlear implant internal device, its effectiveness and its correlation with certain variables related to language and hearing. A retrospective study of patients under 18 years submitted to cochlear implant Surgery from 2004 to 2015 in a public hospital in Brazil. Data collected were: age at the time of implantation, gender, etiology of the hearing loss, audiological and oral language characteristics of each patient before and after Cochlear Implant surgery and any need for surgical revision and the reason for it. Two hundred and sixty-five surgeries were performed in 236 patients. Eight patients received a bilateral cochlear implant and 10 patients required revision surgery. Thirty-two surgeries were necessary for these 10 children (1 bilateral cochlear implant), of which 21 were revision surgeries. In 2 children, cochlear implant removal was necessary, without reimplantation, one with cochlear malformation due to incomplete partition type I and another due to trauma. With respect to the cause for revision surgery, of the 8 children who were successfully reimplanted, four had cochlear calcification following meningitis, one followed trauma, one exhibited a facial nerve malformation, one experienced a failure of the cochlear implant internal device and one revision surgery was necessary because the electrode was twisted. The incidence of the cochlear implant revision surgery was 4.23%. The period following the revision surgeries revealed an improvement in the subject's hearing and language performance, indicating that these surgeries are valid in most cases. Copyright © 2018 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Understanding the effect of an emissions trading scheme on electricity generator investment and retirement behaviour: the proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lambie, N.R. [Australian National University, Canberra, ACT (Australia). Crawford School of Economics & Government

2010-04-15

The objective of a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading scheme (ETS) is to reduce emissions by transitioning the economy away from the production and consumption of goods and services that are GHG intensive. A GHG ETS has been a public policy issue in Australia for over a decade. The latest policy initiative on an ETS is the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). A substantial share of Australia's total GHG reduction under the CPRS is expected to come from the electricity generation sector. This paper surveys the literature on investment behaviour under an ETS. It specifically focuses on the relationship between the design of an ETS and a generator's decisions to invest in low emissions plant and retire high emissions plant. The proposed CPRS provides the context for presenting key findings along with the implications for the electricity generation sector's transition to lower emissions plant. The literature shows that design features such as the method of allocating permits, the stringency of the emissions cap along with permit price uncertainty, provisions for banking, borrowing and internationally trading permits, and the credibility of emissions caps and policy uncertainty may all significantly impact on the investment and retirement behaviour of generators.

[The relationship between career decision-making self efficacy and anxiety].

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Chen; Cai, Yun; Liu, Jia; Shan, Dan; Zhou, Xia

2012-03-01

The purpose of the paper is to examine the relationship among Career Decision-Making Self Efficacy, existential anxiety and anxiety in the sample of college students during the professional choice. Data on The Revised Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy-Shot Form, Existential Anxiety Scale (EAS), SCL-90 and self-identity status were collected and analyzed on a sample of 500 college students. 201 rural students' career decision making self-efficacy scores were as follows: self-appraisal (12.58 ± 3.48), occupational information (12.07 ± 3.05), goal selection (12.48 ± 3.51), planning (12.17 ± 3.10), problem solving (9.75 ± 2.38), all scores were lower than urban students, the difference was statistically significant (P guilt anxiety (13.72 ± 2.38), alienation and loneliness anxiety (16.82 ± 2.51), all scores are higher than urban students, the difference was statistically significant (P decision making self-efficacy. There is a significant positive correlation between anxiety and existential anxiety. There exists a significant negative correlation among factors of student and career decision making self-efficacy and anxiety. Meaningless and emptiness anxiety on career decision making self-efficacy are significant predictors. There is negative correlation among existential anxiety, occupational information and anxiety during the professional choice.

Usability evaluation and adaptation of the e-health Personal Patient Profile-Prostate decision aid for Spanish-speaking Latino men.

Science.gov (United States)

Berry, Donna L; Halpenny, Barbara; Bosco, Jaclyn L F; Bruyere, John; Sanda, Martin G

2015-07-24

The Personal Patient Profile-Prostate (P3P), a web-based decision aid, was demonstrated to reduce decisional conflict in English-speaking men with localized prostate cancer early after initial diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to explore and enhance usability and cultural appropriateness of a Spanish P3P by Latino men with a diagnosis of prostate cancer. P3P was translated to Spanish and back-translated by three native Spanish-speaking translators working independently. Spanish-speaking Latino men with a diagnosis of localized prostate cancer, who had made treatment decisions in the past 24 months, were recruited from two urban clinical care sites. Individual cognitive interviews were conducted by two bilingual research assistants as each participant used the Spanish P3P. Notes of user behavior, feedback, and answers to direct questions about comprehension, usability and perceived usefulness were analyzed and categorized. Seven participants with a range of education levels identified 25 unique usability issues in navigation, content comprehension and completeness, sociocultural appropriateness, and methodology. Revisions were prioritized to refine the usability and cultural and linguistic appropriateness of the decision aid. Usability issues were discovered that are potential barriers to effective decision support. Successful use of decision aids requires adaptation and testing beyond translation. Our findings led to revisions further refining the usability and linguistic and cultural appropriateness of Spanish P3P.

Barriers to Co-Contribution in Superannuation: a Comparative Assessment of the Financial Benefits of Scheme Participation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aaron Bruhn

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Voluntary superannuation contributions provide a means for individuals to top-up their savings in a tax advantaged environment. In order to encourage voluntary contributions the government instituted the cocontribution scheme in 2003. Under the existing scheme, within a given financial year the government contributes up to a maximum of $500 when an individual on a low income makes a voluntary contribution of up to $1,000. Despite the apparent financial attractiveness of the scheme, participation among eligible persons is low. Reasons may include competing expenditure needs leading to a lack of sufficient funds for contribution, lack of trust in the system given regular changes to superannuation policy, and behavioural reasons including a short-term rather than long-term focus, procrastination from uncertainty and fear of regret, and loss aversion. In this paper we investigate another possible reason for low participation, namely poor financial opportunity cost. While an immediate 50% investment return may appear to be a ‘no-brainer’, for eligible individuals or families with mortgages, scheme participation may in fact not be optimal. We investigate the relative benefit of scheme participation versus reducing a mortgage, and conclude that while participation is sensible for those with short remaining mortgage terms, for those with longer mortgage terms the decision to participate may not be preferred unless one assumes generous long-term superannuation investment returns, or unless scheme participation is intended year on year for long durations.

Closeness Degree-Based Hesitant Trapezoidal Fuzzy Multicriteria Decision Making Method for Evaluating Green Suppliers with Qualitative Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaolu Zhang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to develop a new closeness degree-based hesitant trapezoidal fuzzy (HTrF multicriteria decision making (MCDM approach for identifying the most appropriate green suppliers in food supply chain involving uncertain qualitative evaluation information. The uniqueness of the proposed HTrF MCDM method is the consideration of uncertain qualitative information represented by flexible linguistic expressions based on HTrF values and the construction of compromise solution with the revised closeness degree. The revised closeness degree can make sure that the most appropriate solution has the shortest distance from the HTrF positive ideal solution and the farthest distance from the HTrF negative ideal solution, simultaneously. This proposed HTrF MCDM technique not only offers a simple and efficient decision support tool to aid the food firms for identifying the optimal suppliers in food supply chain but also can enable the managers of food firms to better understand the complete evaluation and decision processes. In addition, this study provides a novel defuzzification technique to manage the HTrF weights values of main-criteria and subcriteria, respectively.

24 CFR 968.225 - Budget revisions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 4 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Budget revisions. 968.225 Section... Fewer Than 250 Units) § 968.225 Budget revisions. (a) A PHA shall not incur any modernization cost in excess of the total HUD-approved CIAP budget. A PHA shall submit a budget revision, in a form prescribed...

Scheme Program Documentation Tools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørmark, Kurt

2004-01-01

are separate and intended for different documentation purposes they are related to each other in several ways. Both tools are based on XML languages for tool setup and for documentation authoring. In addition, both tools rely on the LAML framework which---in a systematic way---makes an XML language available...... as named functions in Scheme. Finally, the Scheme Elucidator is able to integrate SchemeDoc resources as part of an internal documentation resource....

Case-book of all decisions taken by the Regie du gaz naturel from April 1, 1995 - March 31, 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Precourt, L.; L'Heureux, L.

1996-01-01

All decisions taken by the Regie du gaz naturel du Quebec during the period of April 1, 1995 to March 31, 1996 were presented. The case-book includes all legal decisions concerning the supply, transmission and storage of natural gas delivered or intended for delivery by pipeline distribution in the Province of Quebec. The text of the Act, amendments and revisions to the Act, and summaries of Board decisions are provided in French and English. Also included are a number of indexes for ease of reference and a glossary of relevant terms

A Memory Efficient Network Encryption Scheme

Science.gov (United States)

El-Fotouh, Mohamed Abo; Diepold, Klaus

In this paper, we studied the two widely used encryption schemes in network applications. Shortcomings have been found in both schemes, as these schemes consume either more memory to gain high throughput or low memory with low throughput. The need has aroused for a scheme that has low memory requirements and in the same time possesses high speed, as the number of the internet users increases each day. We used the SSM model [1], to construct an encryption scheme based on the AES. The proposed scheme possesses high throughput together with low memory requirements.

Probabilistic Decision Based Block Partitioning for Future Video Coding

KAUST Repository

Wang, Zhao

2017-11-29

In the latest Joint Video Exploration Team development, the quadtree plus binary tree (QTBT) block partitioning structure has been proposed for future video coding. Compared to the traditional quadtree structure of High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard, QTBT provides more flexible patterns for splitting the blocks, which results in dramatically increased combinations of block partitions and high computational complexity. In view of this, a confidence interval based early termination (CIET) scheme is proposed for QTBT to identify the unnecessary partition modes in the sense of rate-distortion (RD) optimization. In particular, a RD model is established to predict the RD cost of each partition pattern without the full encoding process. Subsequently, the mode decision problem is casted into a probabilistic framework to select the final partition based on the confidence interval decision strategy. Experimental results show that the proposed CIET algorithm can speed up QTBT block partitioning structure by reducing 54.7% encoding time with only 1.12% increase in terms of bit rate. Moreover, the proposed scheme performs consistently well for the high resolution sequences, of which the video coding efficiency is crucial in real applications.

Modified Aggressive Packet Combining Scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhunia, C.T.

2010-06-01

In this letter, a few schemes are presented to improve the performance of aggressive packet combining scheme (APC). To combat error in computer/data communication networks, ARQ (Automatic Repeat Request) techniques are used. Several modifications to improve the performance of ARQ are suggested by recent research and are found in literature. The important modifications are majority packet combining scheme (MjPC proposed by Wicker), packet combining scheme (PC proposed by Chakraborty), modified packet combining scheme (MPC proposed by Bhunia), and packet reversed packet combining (PRPC proposed by Bhunia) scheme. These modifications are appropriate for improving throughput of conventional ARQ protocols. Leung proposed an idea of APC for error control in wireless networks with the basic objective of error control in uplink wireless data network. We suggest a few modifications of APC to improve its performance in terms of higher throughput, lower delay and higher error correction capability. (author)

The Australian Managed Entry Scheme: Are We Getting it Right?

Science.gov (United States)

Tuffaha, Haitham W; Scuffham, Paul A

2018-05-01

In 2010, the Australian Government introduced the managed entry scheme (MES) to improve patient access to subsidised drugs on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and enhance the quality of evidence provided to decision makers. The aim of this paper was to critically review the Australian MES experience. We performed a comprehensive review of publicly available Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee online documents from January 2010 to July 2017. Relevant information on each MES agreement was systematically extracted, including its rationale, the conditions that guided its implementation and its policy outcomes. We identified 11 drugs where an MES was considered. Most of the identified drugs (75%) were antineoplastic agents and the main uncertainty was the overall survival benefit. More than half of the MES proposals were made by sponsors and most of the schemes were considered after previous rejected/deferred submissions for reimbursement. An MES was not established in 8 of 11 drugs (73%) despite the high evidence uncertainty. Nevertheless, six of these eight drugs were listed after the sponsors reduced their prices. Three MESs were established and implemented by Deeds of Agreement. The three cases were concluded and the required data were submitted within the agreed time frames. The need for feasibility and value of an MES should be carefully considered by stakeholders before embarking on such an agreement. It is essential to engage major stakeholders, including patient representatives, in this process. The conditions governing MESs should be clear, transparent and balanced to address the expectations of various stakeholders.

FIR: An Effective Scheme for Extracting Useful Metadata from Social Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Long-Sheng; Lin, Zue-Cheng; Chang, Jing-Rong

2015-11-01

Recently, the use of social media for health information exchange is expanding among patients, physicians, and other health care professionals. In medical areas, social media allows non-experts to access, interpret, and generate medical information for their own care and the care of others. Researchers paid much attention on social media in medical educations, patient-pharmacist communications, adverse drug reactions detection, impacts of social media on medicine and healthcare, and so on. However, relatively few papers discuss how to extract useful knowledge from a huge amount of textual comments in social media effectively. Therefore, this study aims to propose a Fuzzy adaptive resonance theory network based Information Retrieval (FIR) scheme by combining Fuzzy adaptive resonance theory (ART) network, Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI), and association rules (AR) discovery to extract knowledge from social media. In our FIR scheme, Fuzzy ART network firstly has been employed to segment comments. Next, for each customer segment, we use LSI technique to retrieve important keywords. Then, in order to make the extracted keywords understandable, association rules mining is presented to organize these extracted keywords to build metadata. These extracted useful voices of customers will be transformed into design needs by using Quality Function Deployment (QFD) for further decision making. Unlike conventional information retrieval techniques which acquire too many keywords to get key points, our FIR scheme can extract understandable metadata from social media.

A new water treatment scheme for thermal development : the SIBE process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pedenaud, P.; Dang, F. [Total, Paris (France)

2008-10-15

The production of extra heavy oil or bitumen through thermal methods such as steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) involves the generation and injection into the reservoir of large quantities of steam which is recirculated with the produced bitumen. It is expected that maximizing the recycling of the produced water into steam will be mandatory, because of the need to minimize fresh water consumption and the possibility of increasingly stringent environmental regulations. The SAGD water treatment scheme is complex. It depends on the water characteristics, the steam generator type selected, and the decision to completely eliminate waste water disposal or use other waste handling and disposal methods. Other challenges such as the high silica content in the produced water, are encountered with SAGD water treatment. This paper presented an overview of the current water treatment process options for SAGD, as well as a new patented process called silica inhibition and blowdown evaporation (SIBE). The paper also presented an estimate of the economic benefit of the new SIBE process relative to conventional process schemes. Treatment objectives and water characteristics and the steps involved in conventional water treatment were first outlined. It was concluded that the silica and hardness removal scheme combined with the boiler blowdown evaporator were less economical because of higher investment cost due to the evaporation unit. 1 ref., 3 tabs., 4 figs.

Methodology for optimization of process integration schemes in a biorefinery under uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marta Abreu de las Villas (Cuba))" data-affiliation=" (Departamento de Ingeniería Química. Facultad de Química y Farmacia. Universidad Central Marta Abreu de las Villas (Cuba))" >González-Cortés, Meilyn; Marta Abreu de las Villas (Cuba))" data-affiliation=" (Departamento de Ingeniería Química. Facultad de Química y Farmacia. Universidad Central Marta Abreu de las Villas (Cuba))" >Martínez-Martínez, Yenisleidys; Marta Abreu de las Villas (Cuba))" data-affiliation=" (Departamento de Ingeniería Química. Facultad de Química y Farmacia. Universidad Central Marta Abreu de las Villas (Cuba))" >Albernas-Carvajal, Yailet; Marta Abreu de las Villas (Cuba))" data-affiliation=" (Departamento de Ingeniería Química. Facultad de Química y Farmacia. Universidad Central Marta Abreu de las Villas (Cuba))" >Pedraza-Garciga, Julio; Marta Abreu de las Villas (Cuba))" data-affiliation=" (Departamento de Ingeniería Química. Facultad de Química y Farmacia. Universidad Central Marta Abreu de las Villas (Cuba))" >Morales-Zamora, Marlen

2017-01-01

The uncertainty has a great impact in the investment decisions, operability of the plants and in the feasibility of integration opportunities in the chemical processes. This paper, presents the steps to consider the optimization of process investment in the processes integration under conditions of uncertainty. It is shown the potentialities of the biomass cane of sugar for the integration with several plants in a biorefinery scheme for the obtaining chemical products, thermal and electric energy. Among the factories with potentialities for this integration are the pulp and paper and sugar factories and other derivative processes. Theses factories have common resources and also have a variety of products that can be exchange between them so certain products generated in a one of them can be raw matter in another plant. The methodology developed guide to obtaining of feasible investment projects under uncertainty. As objective function was considered the maximization of net profitable value in different scenarios that are generated from the integration scheme. (author)

Bonus schemes and trading activity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pikulina, E.S.; Renneboog, L.D.R.; ter Horst, J.R.; Tobler, P.N.

2014-01-01

Little is known about how different bonus schemes affect traders' propensity to trade and which bonus schemes improve traders' performance. We study the effects of linear versus threshold bonus schemes on traders' behavior. Traders buy and sell shares in an experimental stock market on the basis of

Sustainable transport project evaluation and decision support: indicators and planning criteria for sustainable development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Salling, Kim Bang; Pryn, Marie Ridley

2015-01-01

is adopted. The SUSTAIN-DSS model rests upon multi-criteria decision analysis and planning workshops in order to combine the use of qualitative and quantitative assessments. This article stresses the necessity of revising current planning paradigms such as cost-benefit analysis (CBA) but also to make clear......This article will expose the necessity for a sustainable planning and decision support framework for transport infrastructure assessment. This will be operationalized through a set of planning criteria and scenario alternatives, which is assessed in the SUSTAIN decision support system (SUSTAIN......-DSS) model. A part of the decision support framework will be tested in a case study in Denmark, concerning the problem of congestion on the current bridge crossing Roskilde Fjord in the city of Frederikssund. This article suggests including in a combination both reference class forecasting and quantitative...

Revision of Booster to Storage Ring Transport Line Design and Injection Scheme for Top-Up Operation at NSRRC

CERN Document Server

Wang, Min-Huey; Chen, Jenny; Chen June Rong; Hsu, Kuo-Tung; Kuo, Chin-Cheng; Luo, Gwo-Huei

2005-01-01

In order to help the operation of constant current, the optics of booster to storage ring transport line (BTS) design is reinvestigated. The initial twiss parameters are derived by measurement. The optics of the transport line is readjusted according to the measured initial beam parameters. The design of pulse width of the injection kicker is also changed from 1.2μsecond to 2.0μsecond. The injection scheme is reviewed and the effects of the kicker error on both injected beam and stored beam are investigated and shown in this report.

Revised National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel Pressure Injury Staging System: Revised Pressure Injury Staging System.

Science.gov (United States)

Edsberg, Laura E; Black, Joyce M; Goldberg, Margaret; McNichol, Laurie; Moore, Lynn; Sieggreen, Mary

Our understanding of pressure injury etiology and development has grown in recent years through research, clinical expertise, and global interdisciplinary expert collaboration. Therefore, the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP) has revised the definition and stages of pressure injury. The revision was undertaken to incorporate the current understanding of the etiology of pressure injuries, as well as to clarify the anatomical features present or absent in each stage of injury. An NPUAP-appointed Task Force reviewed the literature and created drafts of definitions, which were then reviewed by stakeholders and the public, including clinicians, educators, and researchers around the world. Using a consensus-building methodology, these revised definitions were the focus of a multidisciplinary consensus conference held in April 2016. As a result of stakeholder and public input, along with the consensus conference, important changes were made and incorporated into the new staging definitions. The revised staging system uses the term injury instead of ulcer and denotes stages using Arabic numerals rather than Roman numerals. The revised definition of a pressure injury now describes the injuries as usually occurring over a bony prominence or under a medical or other device. The revised definition of a Stage 2 pressure injury seeks to clarify the difference between moisture-associated skin damage and injury caused by pressure and/or shear. The term suspected has been removed from the Deep Tissue Pressure Injury diagnostic label. Each definition now describes the extent of tissue loss present and the anatomical features that may or may not be present in the stage of injury. These important revisions reflect the methodical and collaborative approach used to examine the available evidence and incorporate current interdisciplinary clinical expertise into better defining the important phenomenon of pressure injury etiology and development.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme and Investments in the power sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sapienza, M.D.; Stefanoni, S.

2007-07-01

How environmental regulation affects electricity players' investment decisions? Should policy makers look beyond for alternative mechanisms - such as energy efficiency, capture and storage of carbon dioxide, and incentives for renewables - to fulfill the environmental objectives set by Kyoto Protocol? This paper suggests - through a Real Option approach - how the efficacy of the EU Emission Trading Scheme on technological innovation, emissions reduction and energy price dynamics, is strongly affected by the 'hysteresis' emerging from the capital budgeting process of main utilities. As a matter of fact, long-term substitutions between coal-fired units and Combined Cycle Gas Turbine plants production only take place under quite restrictive conditions. (auth)

Microcomputers and the Improvement of Revision Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Balajthy, Ernest; And Others

1987-01-01

Discusses use of word processing software as an effective tool in writing and revision instruction, and describes the role of the teacher. Examples of exercises that encourage revision and of software designed to teach effective revision skills are reviewed. (MBR)

Analysis of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive and the EIA decision in Turkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilgin, Ayla

2015-01-01

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive first entered into force in the United States in 1969, and began to be implemented in many other countries by 1990. The first Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive in Turkey was published on February 7, 1993, under the Environmental Law No. 2872. The EIA Directive was revised seven times on June 23, 1997, June 6, 2002, December 16, 2003, July 17, 2008, October 3, 2013, and November 25, 2014. Several amendments were made during this process. The first EIA Directive dated 1993 was narrow in scope and its procedure was long, while the amendments in 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2014 widened the scope of the EIA, and shortened the EIA assessment procedures. In this study, the amendments to the Turkish EIA Directive were analysed, and their effect on the number of EIA decisions made was addressed. It was concluded that the uncertainties in EIA procedures were removed, procedures were shortened, and as a result, the number of EIA decisions increased thanks to the revisions made in line with harmonisation with European Union (EU) acquis. - Highlights: • Demonstrates the Environmental Impact Assessment practices in Turkey. • Demonstrates the application of the EIA in Turkey by sector. • Demonstrates the amendments of the EIA by-laws in Turkey. • Demonstrates the changes in EIA practices and EIA decisions

Analysis of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive and the EIA decision in Turkey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bilgin, Ayla

2015-07-15

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive first entered into force in the United States in 1969, and began to be implemented in many other countries by 1990. The first Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive in Turkey was published on February 7, 1993, under the Environmental Law No. 2872. The EIA Directive was revised seven times on June 23, 1997, June 6, 2002, December 16, 2003, July 17, 2008, October 3, 2013, and November 25, 2014. Several amendments were made during this process. The first EIA Directive dated 1993 was narrow in scope and its procedure was long, while the amendments in 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2014 widened the scope of the EIA, and shortened the EIA assessment procedures. In this study, the amendments to the Turkish EIA Directive were analysed, and their effect on the number of EIA decisions made was addressed. It was concluded that the uncertainties in EIA procedures were removed, procedures were shortened, and as a result, the number of EIA decisions increased thanks to the revisions made in line with harmonisation with European Union (EU) acquis. - Highlights: • Demonstrates the Environmental Impact Assessment practices in Turkey. • Demonstrates the application of the EIA in Turkey by sector. • Demonstrates the amendments of the EIA by-laws in Turkey. • Demonstrates the changes in EIA practices and EIA decisions.

Outcome, revision rate and indication for revision following resurfacing hemiarthroplasty for osteoarthritis of the shoulder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, J V; Polk, A; Sorensen, A K

2014-01-01

In this study, we evaluated patient-reported outcomes, the rate of revision and the indications for revision following resurfacing hemiarthroplasty of the shoulder in patients with osteoarthritis. All patients with osteoarthritis who underwent primary resurfacing hemiarthroplasty and reported...... to the Danish Shoulder Arthroplasty Registry (DSR), between January 2006 and December 2010 were included. There were 772 patients (837 arthroplasties) in the study. The Western Ontario Osteoarthritis of the Shoulder (WOOS) index was used to evaluate patient-reported outcome 12 months (10 to 14) post......-operatively. The rates of revision were calculated from the revisions reported to the DSR up to December 2011 and by checking deaths with the Danish National Register of Persons. A complete questionnaire was returned by 688 patients (82.2%). The mean WOOS was 67 (0 to 100). A total of 63 hemiarthroplasties (7...

Expedited technology demonstration project (Revised mixed waste management facility project) Project baseline revision 4.0 and FY98 plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adamson, M. G.

1997-01-01

The re-baseline of the Expedited Technology Demonstration Project (Revised Mixed Waste Facility Project) is designated as Project Baseline Revision 4.0. The last approved baseline was identified as Project Baseline Revision 3.0 and was issued in October 1996. Project Baseline Revision 4.0 does not depart from the formal DOE guidance followed by, and contained in, Revision 3.0. This revised baseline document describes the MSO and Final Forms testing activities that will occur during FY98, the final year of the ETD Project. The cost estimate for work during FY98 continues to be $2.OM as published in Revision 3.0. However, the funds will be all CENRTC rather than the OPEX/CENTRC split previously anticipated. LLNL has waived overhead charges on ETD Project CENRTC funds since the beginning of project activities. By requesting the $2.OM as all CENTRC a more aggressive approach to staffing and testing can be taken. Due to a cost under- run condition during FY97 procurements were made and work was accomplished, with the knowledge of DOE, in the Feed Preparation and Final Forms areas that were not in the scope of Revision 3.0. Feed preparation activities for FY98 have been expanded to include the drum opening station/enclosure previously deleted

Reasons for decision in the matter of Trans Mountain Pipeline Inc. (formerly Terasen Pipelines (Trans Mountain) Inc.) : tariffs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

In 2006 and 2007 Terasen Pipelines (Trans Mountain) Inc. (now Trans Mountain Pipeline Inc.) submitted a series of applications to the National Energy Board for revisions to the Trans Mountain Tariffs. They were filed in response to apportionment concerns on the Trans Mountain pipeline. Four of the applications involved pronounced and contentious changes to the capacity allocation procedures on the pipeline system. For ease of reference, the Board amalgamated its 4 decisions on these applications into a single document. A map of the Trans Mountain pipeline system as a whole was presented along with a detailed map indicating the delivery locations served by the system in the lower mainland of British Columbia and the state of Washington. The issues considered by the Board in each of these decisions included capacity allocation for Westridge Dock; capacity allocations to export destinations; common carriage requirements; and the need for creating a new barge subcategory. Relevant sections of the National Energy Board Act referred to in the decisions were highlighted. This document also listed the Trans Mountain Tariffs that have introduced notable revisions to the capacity allocation procedures on the system since September 2003. 16 refs., 2 figs., 3 appendices

Circumcision revision in male children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammed A. Al-Ghazo

2006-08-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To determine indications for circumcision revision and to identify the specialty of the person who performed unsatisfactory primary circumcision. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors reviewed medical records of 52 cases that underwent circumcision revision over a 6-year period (1998 to 2004. Sleeve surgical technique was used for revision in patients with redundant foreskin or concealed penis, penoplasty for partial or complete degloving of the penis and meatotomy for external meatal stenosis. The mean age of children was 32 months (range 6 months to 9 years. RESULTS: Most of unsatisfactory primary circumcisions (86.7% were performed by laymen. All patients who underwent circumcision revision had good to excellent cosmetic results. CONCLUSION: Primary circumcision performed by laymen carry a high complication rate and serious complications may occur. A period of training and direct supervision by physicians is required before allowing laymen to perform circumcision independently.

The economic impact of revision otologic surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Nadimi, Sahar; Leonetti, John P; Pontikis, George

2016-03-01

Revision otologic surgery places a significant economic burden on patients and the healthcare system. We conducted a retrospective chart analysis to estimate the economic impact of revision canal-wall-down (CWD) mastoidectomy. We reviewed the medical records of all 189 adults who had undergone CWD mastoidectomy performed by the senior author between June 2006 and August 2011 at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill. Institutional charges and collections for all patients were extrapolated to estimate the overall healthcare cost of revision surgery in Illinois and at the national level. Of the 189 CWD mastoidectomies, 89 were primary and 100 were revision procedures. The total charge for the revision cases was $2,783,700, and the net reimbursement (collections) was $846,289 (30.4%). Using Illinois Hospital Association data, we estimated that reimbursement for 387 revision CWD mastoidectomies that had been performed in fiscal year 2011 was nearly $3.3 million. By extrapolating our data to the national level, we estimated that 9,214 patients underwent revision CWD mastoidectomy in the United States during 2011, which cost the national healthcare system roughly $76 million, not including lost wages and productivity. Known causes of failed CWD mastoidectomies that often result in revision surgery include an inadequate meatoplasty, a facial ridge that is too high, residual diseased air cells, and recurrent cholesteatoma. A better understanding of these factors can reduce the need for revision surgery, which could have a positive impact on the economic strain related to this procedure at the local, state, and national levels.

Supported Decision-Making for People with Cognitive Impairments: An Australian Perspective?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Terry Carney

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Honouring the requirement of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to introduce supported decision-making poses many challenges. Not least of those challenges is in writing laws and devising policies which facilitate access to formal and informal supports for large numbers of citizens requiring assistance with day-to-day issues such as dealing with welfare agencies, managing income security payments, or making health care decisions. Old measures such as representative payee schemes or “nominee” arrangements are not compatible with the CRPD. However, as comparatively routine social security or other government services become increasingly complex to navigate, and as self-managed or personalised budgets better recognise self-agency, any “off the shelf” measures become more difficult to craft and difficult to resource. This paper focuses on recent endeavours of the Australian Law Reform Commission and other local and overseas law reform and policy initiatives to tackle challenges posed both for ordinary citizens and those covered by special programs (such as Australia’s National Disability Insurance Scheme and “disability trusts” in Australia and Canada.

Modeling Phosphorous Losses from Seasonal Manure Application Schemes

Science.gov (United States)

Menzies, E.; Walter, M. T.

2015-12-01

Excess nutrient loading, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, to surface waters is a common and significant problem throughout the United States. While pollution remediation efforts are continuously improving, the most effective treatment remains to limit the source. Appropriate timing of fertilizer application to reduce nutrient losses is currently a hotly debated topic in the Northeastern United States; winter spreading of manure is under special scrutiny. We plan to evaluate the loss of phosphorous to surface waters from agricultural systems under varying seasonal fertilization schemes in an effort to determine the impacts of fertilizers applied throughout the year. The Cayuga Lake basin, located in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, is a watershed dominated by agriculture where a wide array of land management strategies can be found. The evaluation will be conducted on the Fall Creek Watershed, a large sub basin in the Cayuga Lake Watershed. The Fall Creek Watershed covers approximately 33,000 ha in central New York State with approximately 50% of this land being used for agriculture. We plan to use the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to model a number of seasonal fertilization regimes such as summer only spreading and year round spreading (including winter applications), as well as others. We will use the model to quantify the phosphorous load to surface waters from these different fertilization schemes and determine the impacts of manure applied at different times throughout the year. More detailed knowledge about how seasonal fertilization schemes impact phosphorous losses will provide more information to stakeholders concerning the impacts of agriculture on surface water quality. Our results will help farmers and extensionists make more informed decisions about appropriate timing of manure application for reduced phosphorous losses and surface water degradation as well as aid law makers in improving policy surrounding manure application.

CSR schemes in agribusiness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pötz, Katharina Anna; Haas, Rainer; Balzarova, Michaela

2013-01-01

of schemes that can be categorized on focus areas, scales, mechanisms, origins, types and commitment levels. Research limitations/implications – The findings contribute to conceptual and empirical research on existing models to compare and analyse CSR standards. Sampling technique and depth of analysis limit......Purpose – The rise of CSR followed a demand for CSR standards and guidelines. In a sector already characterized by a large number of standards, the authors seek to ask what CSR schemes apply to agribusiness, and how they can be systematically compared and analysed. Design....../methodology/approach – Following a deductive-inductive approach the authors develop a model to compare and analyse CSR schemes based on existing studies and on coding qualitative data on 216 CSR schemes. Findings – The authors confirm that CSR standards and guidelines have entered agribusiness and identify a complex landscape...

A framework for modeling adaptive forest management and decision making under climate change

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yousefpour, Rasoul; Temperli, Christian; Jacobsen, Jette Bredahl

2017-01-01

optimal for a certain climate change scenario. We describe four stylized types of decision-making processes that differ in how they (1) take into account uncertainty and new information on the state and development of the climate and (2) evaluate alternative management decisions: the “no......-change,” the “reactive,” the “trend-adaptive,” and the “forward-looking adaptive” decision-making types. Accordingly, we evaluate the experiences with alternative management strategies and recent publications on using Bayesian optimization methods that account for different simulated learning schemes based on varying......Adapting the management of forest resources to climate change involves addressing several crucial aspects to provide a valid basis for decision making. These include the knowledge and belief of decision makers, the mapping of management options for the current as well as anticipated future...

How to Revise, and Revise Really Well, for Premier Academic Journals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

LaPlaca, Peter J.; Lindgreen, Adam; Vanhamme, Joelle

2018-01-01

Most of the premier academic journals in all fields routinely have rejection rates of 80%, 95%, or higher. All journals prefer articles that make significant contributions to the field. Revising a manuscript and responding properly to the comments of reviewers and editors often is challenging....... This article discusses how to revise effectively a manuscript according to the (minor or major) comments of reviewers and editors for premier academic journals. We provide a series of tips for helping the authors in their endeavor, making the process less arduous and improving the possibility of a positive...

A fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making model for trigeneration system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Jiangjiang; Jing Youyin; Zhang Chunfa; Shi Guohua; Zhang Xutao

2008-01-01

The decision making for trigeneration systems is a compositive project and it should be evaluated and compared in a multi-criteria analysis method. This paper presents a fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making model (FMCDM) for trigeneration systems selection and evaluation. The multi-criteria decision-making methods are briefly reviewed combining the general decision-making process. Then the fuzzy set theory, weighting method and the FMCDM model are presented. Finally, several kinds of trigeneration systems, whose dynamical sources are, respectively stirling engine, gas turbine, gas engine and solid oxide fuel cell, are compared and evaluated with a separate generation system. The case for selecting the optimal trigeneration system applied to a residential building is assessed from the technical, economical, environmental and social aspects, and the FMCDM model combining analytic hierarchical process is applied to the trigeneration case to demonstrate the decision-making process and effectiveness of proposed model. The results show that the gas engine plus lithium bromide absorption water heater/chiller unit for the residential building is the best scheme in the five options

Taxing the Establishment Clause: —Revolutionary Decision of the Arizona Supreme Court

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kevin G. Welner

2000-07-01

Full Text Available This article explores the nature and implications of a 1999 decision of the Arizona Supreme Court, upholding the constitutionality of a state tax credit statute. The statute offers a $500 tax credit to taxpayers who donate money to non-profit organizations which, in turn, donate the money in grants to students in order to help defray the costs of attending private and parochial schools. The author concludes that the Arizona decision elevates cleverness in devising a statutory scheme above the substance of long-established constitutional doctrine.

A taxonomic revision of the genus Podocarpus

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Laubenfels, de D.J.

1985-01-01

In connection with the forthcoming revision of the Coniferae for the Flora Malesiana, the author thought it necessary to revise the genus Podocarpus. Although this genus has a substantial representation in Malesia (30 species), the revision is too involved to be appropriate with the Flora Malesiana

Challenges of a common climate policy. An analysis of the development of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aufenanger, Vanessa

2012-01-01

The emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) adopted by the European Union in 2003 was a new instrument for the EU and its Member States. It is one of the most important strategies of achieving the EU's greenhouse gas reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol. This book analyses the policy cycle of the EU ETS Directive, focusing on the crucial implementation phase. The revised EU ETS Directive of 2009 includes significant changes for greater ecological effectiveness, changes that were unlikely to have been adopted in 2003. It is evident that the experiences of the first phase influenced not only the second implementation phase but also the revision. The intensive learning process that took place on all levels was necessary to overcome institutional constraints so that the EU ETS could be successfully established and further developed. The EU ETS policy-making is a good example to demonstrate that output legitimacy challenges input legitimacy. With the centralisation of the EU ETS in 2013 it is likely to become a more effective system; however, the legislators from the Member States may lose influence. This problem will have to be addressed.

Threshold Signature Schemes Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anastasiya Victorovna Beresneva

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This work is devoted to an investigation of threshold signature schemes. The systematization of the threshold signature schemes was done, cryptographic constructions based on interpolation Lagrange polynomial, elliptic curves and bilinear pairings were examined. Different methods of generation and verification of threshold signatures were explored, the availability of practical usage of threshold schemes in mobile agents, Internet banking and e-currency was shown. The topics of further investigation were given and it could reduce a level of counterfeit electronic documents signed by a group of users.

Nevada Test Site Radiological Control Manual. Revision 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None, None

2010-02-09

This document supersedes DOE/NV/25946--801, “Nevada Test Site Radiological Control Manual,” Revision 0 issued in October 2009. Brief Description of Revision: A minor revision to correct oversights made during revision to incorporate the 10 CFR 835 Update; and for use as a reference document for Tenant Organization Radiological Protection Programs.

A Spatial Domain Quantum Watermarking Scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wei Zhan-Hong; Chen Xiu-Bo; Niu Xin-Xin; Yang Yi-Xian; Xu Shu-Jiang

2016-01-01

This paper presents a spatial domain quantum watermarking scheme. For a quantum watermarking scheme, a feasible quantum circuit is a key to achieve it. This paper gives a feasible quantum circuit for the presented scheme. In order to give the quantum circuit, a new quantum multi-control rotation gate, which can be achieved with quantum basic gates, is designed. With this quantum circuit, our scheme can arbitrarily control the embedding position of watermark images on carrier images with the aid of auxiliary qubits. Besides reversely acting the given quantum circuit, the paper gives another watermark extracting algorithm based on quantum measurements. Moreover, this paper also gives a new quantum image scrambling method and its quantum circuit. Differ from other quantum watermarking schemes, all given quantum circuits can be implemented with basic quantum gates. Moreover, the scheme is a spatial domain watermarking scheme, and is not based on any transform algorithm on quantum images. Meanwhile, it can make sure the watermark be secure even though the watermark has been found. With the given quantum circuit, this paper implements simulation experiments for the presented scheme. The experimental result shows that the scheme does well in the visual quality and the embedding capacity. (paper)

Impacts of revised PFTs on JULES simulated carbon and moisture fluxes

Science.gov (United States)

Harper, Anna; Cox, Peter; Sitch, Stephen; Mercado, Lina; Luke, Catherine; Jupp, Tim; Wiltshire, Andy; Jones, Chris; Friedlingstein, Pierre

2013-04-01

JULES is the land surface model in the Hadley Centre GCM, which is used for investigations of climate and climate change. We analyze the impacts on the simulated carbon and moisture fluxes of extending the PFTs in a manner consistent with observed leaf traits. The model currently represents global vegetation with five PFTs (needleleaf and broadleaf trees, C3 and C4 grasses, and shrubs). We add three new PFTs to delineate between deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs. Since the inception of JULES in the late 90's, a tremendous amount of new data linking leaf traits and potential photosynthesis is available. We use data from the TRY plant trait data base to revise the relationships between leaf area, leaf lifespan, leaf nitrogen content, and Vcmax. In addition, JULES now includes a canopy radiation scheme based on fractions of sunlit and shaded leaves at 10 levels in the canopy. This results in a vertical distribution of nitrogren and Vcmax through the canopy and enables multilayer scaling from leaf to canopy level photosynthesis. The scheme is more physically realistic than previous canopy radiation schemes, but remains to be evaluated outside of the Tropics. Within the constraints of observed values, we optimize new parameter values related to the canopy radiation and photosynthesis, using optimization software developed at the University of Exeter. Impacts on simulated GPP, respiration, and latent heat flux are examined. In particular, we are interested in a better understanding of carbon cycle dynamics in tropical forests. Using data from TRY, carbon fluxes are improved across all PFTs compared to observations from Fluxnet tower sites. We adopt a regional analysis to compare JULES fluxes in certain regions (e.g. tropical forests, and boreal and tropical shrub-dominated landscapes).

What Factors Affect Voluntary Uptake of Community-Based Health Insurance Schemes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Mark Dror

Full Text Available This research article reports on factors influencing initial voluntary uptake of community-based health insurance (CBHI schemes in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC, and renewal decisions.Following PRISMA protocol, we conducted a comprehensive search of academic and gray literature, including academic databases in social science, economics and medical sciences (e.g., Econlit, Global health, Medline, Proquest and other electronic resources (e.g., Eldis and Google scholar. Search strategies were developed using the thesaurus or index terms (e.g., MeSH specific to the databases, combined with free text terms related to CBHI or health insurance. Searches were conducted from May 2013 to November 2013 in English, French, German, and Spanish. From the initial search yield of 15,770 hits, 54 relevant studies were retained for analysis of factors influencing enrolment and renewal decisions. The quantitative synthesis (informed by meta-analysis and the qualitative analysis (informed by thematic synthesis were compared to gain insight for an overall synthesis of findings/statements.Meta-analysis suggests that enrolments in CBHI were positively associated with household income, education and age of the household head (HHH, household size, female-headed household, married HHH and chronic illness episodes in the household. The thematic synthesis suggests the following factors as enablers for enrolment: (a knowledge and understanding of insurance and CBHI, (b quality of healthcare, (c trust in scheme management. Factors found to be barriers to enrolment include: (a inappropriate benefits package, (b cultural beliefs, (c affordability, (d distance to healthcare facility, (e lack of adequate legal and policy frameworks to support CBHI, and (f stringent rules of some CBHI schemes. HHH education, household size and trust in the scheme management were positively associated with member renewal decisions. Other motivators were: (a knowledge and understanding of

What Factors Affect Voluntary Uptake of Community-Based Health Insurance Schemes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Hossain, S. A. Shahed; Pérez Koehlmoos, Tracey Lynn; John, Denny

2016-01-01

Introduction This research article reports on factors influencing initial voluntary uptake of community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), and renewal decisions. Methods Following PRISMA protocol, we conducted a comprehensive search of academic and gray literature, including academic databases in social science, economics and medical sciences (e.g., Econlit, Global health, Medline, Proquest) and other electronic resources (e.g., Eldis and Google scholar). Search strategies were developed using the thesaurus or index terms (e.g., MeSH) specific to the databases, combined with free text terms related to CBHI or health insurance. Searches were conducted from May 2013 to November 2013 in English, French, German, and Spanish. From the initial search yield of 15,770 hits, 54 relevant studies were retained for analysis of factors influencing enrolment and renewal decisions. The quantitative synthesis (informed by meta-analysis) and the qualitative analysis (informed by thematic synthesis) were compared to gain insight for an overall synthesis of findings/statements. Results Meta-analysis suggests that enrolments in CBHI were positively associated with household income, education and age of the household head (HHH), household size, female-headed household, married HHH and chronic illness episodes in the household. The thematic synthesis suggests the following factors as enablers for enrolment: (a) knowledge and understanding of insurance and CBHI, (b) quality of healthcare, (c) trust in scheme management. Factors found to be barriers to enrolment include: (a) inappropriate benefits package, (b) cultural beliefs, (c) affordability, (d) distance to healthcare facility, (e) lack of adequate legal and policy frameworks to support CBHI, and (f) stringent rules of some CBHI schemes. HHH education, household size and trust in the scheme management were positively associated with member renewal decisions. Other motivators were: (a

What factors affect voluntary uptake of community-based health insurance schemes in low- and middle-income countries? A systematic review and meta-analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D.M. Dror (David); Shahed Hossain, S.A.; M. Majumdar (Manabi); Koehlmoos, T.L.P. (Tracey Lynn Pérez); John, D. (Denny); P. Panda (Pradeep)

2016-01-01

textabstractIntroduction: This research article reports on factors influencing initial voluntary uptake of community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), and renewal decisions. Methods: Following PRISMA protocol, we conducted a comprehensive search of

Renewable energy support policy in Spain : An analysis of the decision-making process (1994-2014)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leston, D.

2014-01-01

In this paper, the decision-making process behind the RE support policy will be explored in order to answer the following research questions: “why has the policy-making process been revised so many times?” and “how can such a drastic change on the RE support policy be explained?” The answer is found

Robust stochastic fuzzy possibilistic programming for environmental decision making under uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xiaodong; Huang, Guo H.; Nie, Xianghui

2009-01-01

Nonpoint source (NPS) water pollution is one of serious environmental issues, especially within an agricultural system. This study aims to propose a robust chance-constrained fuzzy possibilistic programming (RCFPP) model for water quality management within an agricultural system, where solutions for farming area, manure/fertilizer application amount, and livestock husbandry size under different scenarios are obtained and interpreted. Through improving upon the existing fuzzy possibilistic programming, fuzzy robust programming and chance-constrained programming approaches, the RCFPP can effectively reflect the complex system features under uncertainty, where implications of water quality/quantity restrictions for achieving regional economic development objectives are studied. By delimiting the uncertain decision space through dimensional enlargement of the original fuzzy constraints, the RCFPP enhances the robustness of the optimization processes and resulting solutions. The results of the case study indicate that useful information can be obtained through the proposed RCFPP model for providing feasible decision schemes for different agricultural activities under different scenarios (combinations of different p-necessity and p i levels). A p-necessity level represents the certainty or necessity degree of the imprecise objective function, while a p i level means the probabilities at which the constraints will be violated. A desire to acquire high agricultural income would decrease the certainty degree of the event that maximization of the objective be satisfied, and potentially violate water management standards; willingness to accept low agricultural income will run into the risk of potential system failure. The decision variables under combined p-necessity and p i levels were useful for the decision makers to justify and/or adjust the decision schemes for the agricultural activities through incorporation of their implicit knowledge. The results also suggest that

Labeling schemes for bounded degree graphs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adjiashvili, David; Rotbart, Noy Galil

2014-01-01

We investigate adjacency labeling schemes for graphs of bounded degree Δ = O(1). In particular, we present an optimal (up to an additive constant) log n + O(1) adjacency labeling scheme for bounded degree trees. The latter scheme is derived from a labeling scheme for bounded degree outerplanar...... graphs. Our results complement a similar bound recently obtained for bounded depth trees [Fraigniaud and Korman, SODA 2010], and may provide new insights for closing the long standing gap for adjacency in trees [Alstrup and Rauhe, FOCS 2002]. We also provide improved labeling schemes for bounded degree...

Assessment Schemes for Sustainability Design through BIM: Lessons Learnt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kamaruzzaman Syahrul Nizam

2016-01-01

Full Text Available There is increasing demand on sustainability-led design to reduce negative impacts brought by construction development. The capability of Building Information Modeling (BIM to achieve sustainability is widely acknowledged. Various sustainability analysis and calculation can be performed at early stages to help the designers in decision making. However, the level of implementation is still not popular in the construction industry. Many of the industry players are still rely on traditional 2D method for designing and analysis. Hence, this study aims to demonstrate a proof concept of using BIM for sustainability design. The first phase of this study conducted a critical review of existing assessment schemes: BREEAM, LEED, SBTool, CASBEE, BEAM Plus, Green Star, Green Mark and GBI, to develop a set of main criteria to be considered for sustainability design. The findings revealed that fourteen criteria are considered, which are management, sustainable site, transport, indoor environmental quality, energy, waste, water, material, pollution, innovation, economics, social, culture and quality of services. It was found that most of the existing schemes emphasized on environmental aspect as compared to economics, social and culture except SBTool. The next phase of this study will conduct a case study to demonstrate sustainability design through BIM by using the criteria developed from the first phase.

Multiresolution signal decomposition schemes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. Goutsias (John); H.J.A.M. Heijmans (Henk)

1998-01-01

textabstract[PNA-R9810] Interest in multiresolution techniques for signal processing and analysis is increasing steadily. An important instance of such a technique is the so-called pyramid decomposition scheme. This report proposes a general axiomatic pyramid decomposition scheme for signal analysis

Tabled Execution in Scheme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Willcock, J J; Lumsdaine, A; Quinlan, D J

2008-08-19

Tabled execution is a generalization of memorization developed by the logic programming community. It not only saves results from tabled predicates, but also stores the set of currently active calls to them; tabled execution can thus provide meaningful semantics for programs that seemingly contain infinite recursions with the same arguments. In logic programming, tabled execution is used for many purposes, both for improving the efficiency of programs, and making tasks simpler and more direct to express than with normal logic programs. However, tabled execution is only infrequently applied in mainstream functional languages such as Scheme. We demonstrate an elegant implementation of tabled execution in Scheme, using a mix of continuation-passing style and mutable data. We also show the use of tabled execution in Scheme for a problem in formal language and automata theory, demonstrating that tabled execution can be a valuable tool for Scheme users.

Decision boxes for clinicians to support evidence-based practice and shared decision making: the user experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giguere Anik

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This project engages patients and physicians in the development of Decision Boxes, short clinical topic summaries covering medical questions that have no single best answer. Decision Boxes aim to prepare the clinician to communicate the risks and benefits of the available options to the patient so they can make an informed decision together. Methods Seven researchers (including four practicing family physicians selected 10 clinical topics relevant to primary care practice through a Delphi survey. We then developed two one-page prototypes on two of these topics: prostate cancer screening with the prostate-specific antigen test, and prenatal screening for trisomy 21 with the serum integrated test. We presented the prototypes to purposeful samples of family physicians distributed in two focus groups, and patients distributed in four focus groups. We used the User Experience Honeycomb to explore barriers and facilitators to the communication design used in Decision Boxes. All discussions were transcribed, and three researchers proceeded to thematic content analysis of the transcriptions. The coding scheme was first developed from the Honeycomb’s seven themes (valuable, usable, credible, useful, desirable, accessible, and findable, and included new themes suggested by the data. Prototypes were modified in light of our findings. Results Three rounds were necessary for a majority of researchers to select 10 clinical topics. Fifteen physicians and 33 patients participated in the focus groups. Following analyses, three sections were added to the Decision Boxes: introduction, patient counseling, and references. The information was spread to two pages to try to make the Decision Boxes less busy and improve users’ first impression. To try to improve credibility, we gave more visibility to the research institutions involved in development. A statement on the boxes’ purpose and a flow chart representing the shared decision

Simulating the effect of water management decisions on groundwater flow and quality in the Kyzylkum Irrigation Scheme, Kazakhstan

Science.gov (United States)

Naudascher, R. M.; Marti, B. S.; Siegfried, T.; Wolfgang, K.; Anselm, K.

2017-12-01

The Kyzylkum Irrigation Scheme lies north of the Chardara reservoir on the banks of the river Syr Darya in South Kazakhstan. It was designed as a model Scheme and developed to a size of 74'000 ha during Soviet times for rice and cotton production. However, since the 1990s only very limited funds were available for maintenance and as a result, problems like water logging and salinization of soils and groundwater are now omnipresent in the scheme. The aim of this study was to develop a numerical groundwater flow model for the region in Modflow and to evaluate the effect of various infrastructure investments on phreatic evaporation (a major driver for soil salinization). Decadal groundwater observation data from 2011 to 2015 were used to calibrate the annual model and to validate the monthly model. Scenarios simulated were (partial) lining of main and/or secondary and tertiary canal system, improvement of drainage via horizontal canals or pumps, combinations of these and a joint groundwater-surface-water use scenario. Although the annual average model is sufficient to evaluate the yearly water balance, the transient model is a prerequisite for analysing measures against water logging and salinization, both of which feature strong seasonality. The transient simulation shows that a combination of leakage reduction (lining of canals) and drainage improvement measures is needed to lower the groundwater levels enough to avoid phreatic evaporation. To save water, joint surface water and groundwater irrigation can be applied in areas where groundwater salinity is low enough but without proper lining of canals, it is not sufficient to mitigate the ongoing soil degradation due to salinization and water logging.

On the management of life insurance company risk by strategic choice of product mix, investment strategy and surplus appropriation schemes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bohnert, Alexander; Gatzert, Nadine; Jørgensen, Peter Løchte

2015-01-01

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of management’s strategic choice of asset and liability composition in life insurance on shortfall risk and the shareholders’ fair risk charge. In contrast to previous work, we focus on the effectiveness of management decisions regarding the product...... mix and the riskiness of the asset side under different surplus appropriation schemes. We propose a model setting that comprises temporary life annuities and endowment insurance contracts. Our numerical results show that the effectiveness of management decisions in regard to risk reduction strongly...

A fault tree analysis strategy using binary decision diagrams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reay, Karen A.; Andrews, John D.

2002-01-01

The use of binary decision diagrams (BDDs) in fault tree analysis provides both an accurate and efficient means of analysing a system. There is a problem, however, with the conversion process of the fault tree to the BDD. The variable ordering scheme chosen for the construction of the BDD has a crucial effect on its resulting size and previous research has failed to identify any scheme that is capable of producing BDDs for all fault trees. This paper proposes an analysis strategy aimed at increasing the likelihood of obtaining a BDD for any given fault tree, by ensuring the associated calculations are as efficient as possible. The method implements simplification techniques, which are applied to the fault tree to obtain a set of 'minimal' subtrees, equivalent to the original fault tree structure. BDDs are constructed for each, using ordering schemes most suited to their particular characteristics. Quantitative analysis is performed simultaneously on the set of BDDs to obtain the top event probability, the system unconditional failure intensity and the criticality of the basic events

AN ENSEMBLE TEMPLATE MATCHING AND CONTENT-BASED IMAGE RETRIEVAL SCHEME TOWARDS EARLY STAGE DETECTION OF MELANOMA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Spiros Kostopoulos

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Malignant melanoma represents the most dangerous type of skin cancer. In this study we present an ensemble classification scheme, employing the mutual information, the cross-correlation and the clustering based on proximity of image features methods, for early stage assessment of melanomas on plain photography images. The proposed scheme performs two main operations. First, it retrieves the most similar, to the unknown case, image samples from an available image database with verified benign moles and malignant melanoma cases. Second, it provides an automated estimation regarding the nature of the unknown image sample based on the majority of the most similar images retrieved from the available database. Clinical material comprised 75 melanoma and 75 benign plain photography images collected from publicly available dermatological atlases. Results showed that the ensemble scheme outperformed all other methods tested in terms of accuracy with 94.9±1.5%, following an external cross-validation evaluation methodology. The proposed scheme may benefit patients by providing a second opinion consultation during the self-skin examination process and the physician by providing a second opinion estimation regarding the nature of suspicious moles that may assist towards decision making especially for ambiguous cases, safeguarding, in this way from potential diagnostic misinterpretations.

[An overview on the collation and revision of medical books by the Bureau for Revising Medical Books in the Northern Song Dynasty].

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Yongliang; Liang, Yongxuan

2014-07-01

The Bureau for Revising Medical Books was a temporary agency established by the government of the Northern Song Dynasty in 1057, the 2nd year of Jiayou of Emperor Renzong, exclusively for the edition, revision and publishing of ancient medical books. 11 medical books were revised and edited by 13 Bureau members in a period of 12 years until 1069, the 2nd year of Xining of Emperor ShenZong, which eventually became the final versions until today. 8 medical books were initially planned for the revision, but 11 were actually completed in the end. The time for completing a revision varied from over 10 years at most to less than 1 year at least. Instead of working in the office, the officers of the Bureau for Revising Medical Books did their works at home. The members of the said Bureau came from the Tiju officer of the Bureau for Revising Medical Books and the officials of revising medical books, consisting of both Confucian ministers and medical officers. Confucian ministers played an important role in revising medical books. The Bureau had a strict workflow in electing revising officials, making the project, and the determination of the principles and arrangements of the tasks of editing and proofreading.

Emotion Processes in Knowledge Revision

Science.gov (United States)

Trevors, Gregory J.; Kendeou, Panayiota; Butterfuss, Reese

2017-01-01

In recent years, a number of insights have been gained into the cognitive processes that explain how individuals overcome misconceptions and revise their previously acquired incorrect knowledge. The current study complements this line of research by investigating the moment-by-moment emotion processes that occur during knowledge revision using a…

Improving the Slum Planning Through Geospatial Decision Support System

Science.gov (United States)

Shekhar, S.

2014-11-01

In India, a number of schemes and programmes have been launched from time to time in order to promote integrated city development and to enable the slum dwellers to gain access to the basic services. Despite the use of geospatial technologies in planning, the local, state and central governments have only been partially successful in dealing with these problems. The study on existing policies and programmes also proved that when the government is the sole provider or mediator, GIS can become a tool of coercion rather than participatory decision-making. It has also been observed that local level administrators who have adopted Geospatial technology for local planning continue to base decision-making on existing political processes. In this juncture, geospatial decision support system (GSDSS) can provide a framework for integrating database management systems with analytical models, graphical display, tabular reporting capabilities and the expert knowledge of decision makers. This assists decision-makers to generate and evaluate alternative solutions to spatial problems. During this process, decision-makers undertake a process of decision research - producing a large number of possible decision alternatives and provide opportunities to involve the community in decision making. The objective is to help decision makers and planners to find solutions through a quantitative spatial evaluation and verification process. The study investigates the options for slum development in a formal framework of RAY (Rajiv Awas Yojana), an ambitious program of Indian Government for slum development. The software modules for realizing the GSDSS were developed using the ArcGIS and Community -VIZ software for Gulbarga city.

75 FR 57597 - Revised Proposal for Revisions to the Schedules of Civil Penalties for a Violation of a Federal...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-21

... Revisions to the Schedules of Civil Penalties for a Violation of a Federal Railroad Safety Law or Federal... railroad safety laws and regulations are necessary because many of FRA's civil penalties have not been..., et al. Revised Proposal for Revisions to the Schedules of Civil Penalties for a Violation of a...

The United States Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (2006: New challenges to balancing patient rights and physician responsibilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McGregor Joan L

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Advance health care directives and informed consent remain the cornerstones of patients' right to self-determination regarding medical care and preferences at the end-of-life. However, the effectiveness and clinical applicability of advance health care directives to decision-making on the use of life support systems at the end-of-life is questionable. The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA has been revised in 2006 to permit the use of life support systems at or near death for the purpose of maximizing procurement opportunities of organs medically suitable for transplantation. Some states have enacted the Revised UAGA (2006 and a few of those have included amendments while attempting to preserve the uniformity of the revised Act. Other states have introduced the Revised UAGA (2006 for legislation and remaining states are likely to follow soon. The Revised UAGA (2006 poses challenges to the Patient Self Determination Act (PSDA embodied in advance health care directives and individual expression about the use of life support systems at the end-of-life. The challenges are predicated on the UAGA revising the default choice to presumption of donation intent and the use of life support systems to ensure medical suitability of organs for transplantation. The default choice trumps the expressed intent in an individual's advance health care directive to withhold and/or withdraw life support systems at the end-of-life. The Revised UAGA (2006 overrides advance directives on utilitarian grounds, which is a serious ethical challenge to society. The subtle progression of the Revised UAGA (2006 towards the presumption about how to dispose of one's organs at death can pave the way for an affirmative "duty to donate". There are at least two steps required to resolve these challenges. First, physicians and hospitals must fulfill their responsibilities to educate patients on the new legislations and document their preferences about the use of life support

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Staff Practice and Procedure Digest: Commission, Appeal Board and Licensing Board decisions, July 1972-December 1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-11-01

This Revision 6 of the fourth edition of the NRC Staff Practice and Procedure Digest contains a digest of a number of Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board, and Atomic Safety and Licensing Board decisions issued during the period from July 1, 1972 to December 31, 1986, interpreting the NRC's Rules of Practice in 10 CFR Part 2. This Revision 6 replaces in part earlier editions and supplements and includes appropriate changes reflecting the amendments to the Rules of Practice effective through December 31, 1986

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Staff practice and procedure digest: Commission, Appeal Board and Licensing Board Decisions, July 1972-March 1987

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-12-01

This Revision 7 of the fourth edition of the NRC Staff Practice and Procedure Digest contains a digest of a number of Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board, and Atomic Safety and Licensing Board decisions issued during the period from July 1, 1972 to March 31, 1987 interpreting the NRC's Rules of Practice in 10 CFR Part 2. This Revision 7 replaces in part earlier editions and supplements and includes appropriate changes reflecting the amendments to the Rules of Practice effective through March 31, 1987

United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff practice and procedure digest: Commission, Appeal Board and Licensing Board decisions, July 1972--September 1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1989-04-01

This Revision 1 of the fifth edition of the NRC Staff Practice and Procedure Digest contains a digest of a number of Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Appeal Board, and Atomic Safety and Licensing Board decisions issued during the period from July 1, 1972 to September 30, 1988 interpreting the NRC's Rules of Practice in 10 CFR Part 2. This Revision 1 replaces in part earlier editions and supplements and includes appropriate changes reflecting the amendments to the Rules of Practice effective through September 30, 1988

Who should donate blood? Policy decisions on donor deferral criteria should protect recipients and be fair to donors.

Science.gov (United States)

Brailsford, S R; Kelly, D; Kohli, H; Slowther, A; Watkins, N A

2015-08-01

An important element in the development of voluntary blood donation schemes throughout the world has been the attention given to minimising the risk to recipients of donated blood, primarily the risk of transfusion transmitted infections. In response to the appearance of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the 1980s a range of national policies emerged that excluded populations at high risk of contracting HIV from donating blood, with a particular focus on men who have sex with men (MSM), the primary reason being the protection of recipients of donated blood. Recently some countries, including the UK, have revised their policies, informed by advances in screening tests, epidemiological evidence of transmission rates and an increasing concern about unfair discrimination of specific groups in society. Policy makers face a difficult task of balancing safety of recipients; an adequate blood supply for those who require transfusion; and societal/legal obligations to treat everyone fairly. Given that no transfusion is risk free, the question is what degree of risk is acceptable in order to meet the needs of recipients and society. Decisions about acceptance of risk are complex and policy makers who set acceptable risk levels must provide ethically justifiable reasons for their decisions. We suggest it is possible to provide a set of reasons that stakeholders could agree are relevant based on careful evaluation of the evidence of all relevant risks and explicit acknowledgement of other morally relevant values. We describe using such a process in the Safety of Blood Tissue and Organs (SaBTO) review of donor deferral criteria related to sexual behaviour. © 2015 British Blood Transfusion Society.

75 FR 22409 - Decision To Evaluate a Petition To Designate a Class of Employees From the Sandia National...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-28

... Employees From the Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, NM, To Be Included in the Special Exposure... decision to evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees from the Sandia National Laboratory in..., subject to revision as warranted by the evaluation, is as follows: Facility: Sandia National Laboratory...

Student-initiated revision in child health.

Science.gov (United States)

Alfaham, M; Gray, O P; Davies, D P

1994-03-01

Most teaching of child health in Cardiff takes place in block attachments of 8 weeks. There is an introductory seminar of 2 days followed by a 6-week clinical attachment in a district general hospital in Wales, and then a revision period of one week designed to help students formalize and structure their basic knowledge and to clarify aspects of child health which they may have had difficulty in understanding. The revision programme has to take into account: the short time available, the small number of teaching staff, the most relevant basic knowledge and active participation by the student. This paper describes how this week has been improved through the use of student-initiated revision (SIR). The students' appraisal of this revision and in particular SIR is presented.

The 2016 revision of the WHO Classification of Central Nervous System Tumours: retrospective application to a cohort of diffuse gliomas.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Te Whiti; Toor, Gurvinder; Drummond, Katharine; Love, Craig; Field, Kathryn; Asher, Rebecca; Tsui, Alpha; Buckland, Michael; Gonzales, Michael

2018-03-01

The classification of central nervous system tumours has more recently been shaped by a focus on molecular pathology rather than histopathology. We re-classified 82 glial tumours according to the molecular-genetic criteria of the 2016 revision of the World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumours of the Central Nervous System. Initial diagnoses and grading were based on the morphological criteria of the 2007 WHO scheme. Because of the impression of an oligodendroglial component on initial histological assessment, each tumour was tested for co-deletion of chromosomes 1p and 19q and mutations of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH-1 and 2) genes. Additionally, expression of proteins encoded by alpha-thalassemia X-linked mental retardation (ATRX) and TP53 genes was assessed by immunohistochemistry. We found that all but two tumours could be assigned to a specific category in the 2016 revision. The most common change in diagnosis was from oligoastrocytoma to specifically astrocytoma or oligodendroglioma. Analysis of progression free survival (PFS) for WHO grade II and III tumours showed that the objective criteria of the 2016 revision separated diffuse gliomas into three distinct molecular categories: chromosome 1p/19q co-deleted/IDH mutant, intact 1p/19q/IDH mutant and IDH wild type. No significant difference in PFS was found when comparing IDH mutant grade II and III tumours suggesting that IDH status is more informative than tumour grade. The segregation into distinct molecular sub-types that is achieved by the 2016 revision provides an objective evidence base for managing patients with grade II and III diffuse gliomas based on prognosis.

Developing and user-testing Decision boxes to facilitate shared decision making in primary care - a study protocol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rousseau François

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Applying evidence is one of the most challenging steps of evidence-based clinical practice. Healthcare professionals have difficulty interpreting evidence and translating it to patients. Decision boxes are summaries of the most important benefits and harms of diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive health interventions provided to healthcare professionals before they meet the patient. Our hypothesis is that Decision boxes will prepare clinicians to help patients make informed value-based decisions. By acting as primers, the boxes will enhance the application of evidence-based practices and increase shared decision making during the clinical encounter. The objectives of this study are to provide a framework for developing Decision boxes and testing their value to users. Methods/Design We will begin by developing Decision box prototypes for 10 clinical conditions or topics based on a review of the research on risk communication. We will present two prototypes to purposeful samples of 16 family physicians distributed in two focus groups, and 32 patients distributed in four focus groups. We will use the User Experience Model framework to explore users' perceptions of the content and format of each prototype. All discussions will be transcribed, and two researchers will independently perform a hybrid deductive/inductive thematic qualitative analysis of the data. The coding scheme will be developed a priori from the User Experience Model's seven themes (valuable, usable, credible, useful, desirable, accessible and findable, and will include new themes suggested by the data (inductive analysis. Key findings will be triangulated using additional publications on the design of tools to improve risk communication. All 10 Decision boxes will be modified in light of our findings. Discussion This study will produce a robust framework for developing and testing Decision boxes that will serve healthcare professionals and patients alike. It

Multiuser switched diversity scheduling schemes

KAUST Repository

Shaqfeh, Mohammad; Alnuweiri, Hussein M.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2012-01-01

Multiuser switched-diversity scheduling schemes were recently proposed in order to overcome the heavy feedback requirements of conventional opportunistic scheduling schemes by applying a threshold-based, distributed, and ordered scheduling mechanism. The main idea behind these schemes is that slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we characterize the achievable rate region of multiuser switched diversity systems and compare it with the rate region of full feedback multiuser diversity systems. We propose also a novel proportional fair multiuser switched-based scheduling scheme and we demonstrate that it can be optimized using a practical and distributed method to obtain the feedback thresholds. We finally demonstrate by numerical examples that switched-diversity scheduling schemes operate within 0.3 bits/sec/Hz from the ultimate network capacity of full feedback systems in Rayleigh fading conditions. © 2012 IEEE.

Short-Term Saved Leave Scheme

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

As announced at the meeting of the Standing Concertation Committee (SCC) on 26 June 2007 and in http://Bulletin No. 28/2007, the existing Saved Leave Scheme will be discontinued as of 31 December 2007. Staff participating in the Scheme will shortly receive a contract amendment stipulating the end of financial contributions compensated by save leave. Leave already accumulated on saved leave accounts can continue to be taken in accordance with the rules applicable to the current scheme. A new system of saved leave will enter into force on 1 January 2008 and will be the subject of a new implementation procedure entitled "Short-term saved leave scheme" dated 1 January 2008. At its meeting on 4 December 2007, the SCC agreed to recommend the Director-General to approve this procedure, which can be consulted on the HR Department’s website at the following address: https://cern.ch/hr-services/services-Ben/sls_shortterm.asp All staff wishing to participate in the new scheme a...

Short-Term Saved Leave Scheme

CERN Multimedia

HR Department

2007-01-01

As announced at the meeting of the Standing Concertation Committee (SCC) on 26 June 2007 and in http://Bulletin No. 28/2007, the existing Saved Leave Scheme will be discontinued as of 31 December 2007. Staff participating in the Scheme will shortly receive a contract amendment stipulating the end of financial contributions compensated by save leave. Leave already accumulated on saved leave accounts can continue to be taken in accordance with the rules applicable to the current scheme. A new system of saved leave will enter into force on 1 January 2008 and will be the subject of a new im-plementation procedure entitled "Short-term saved leave scheme" dated 1 January 2008. At its meeting on 4 December 2007, the SCC agreed to recommend the Director-General to approve this procedure, which can be consulted on the HR Department’s website at the following address: https://cern.ch/hr-services/services-Ben/sls_shortterm.asp All staff wishing to participate in the new scheme ...

Multiuser switched diversity scheduling schemes

KAUST Repository

Shaqfeh, Mohammad

2012-09-01

Multiuser switched-diversity scheduling schemes were recently proposed in order to overcome the heavy feedback requirements of conventional opportunistic scheduling schemes by applying a threshold-based, distributed, and ordered scheduling mechanism. The main idea behind these schemes is that slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we characterize the achievable rate region of multiuser switched diversity systems and compare it with the rate region of full feedback multiuser diversity systems. We propose also a novel proportional fair multiuser switched-based scheduling scheme and we demonstrate that it can be optimized using a practical and distributed method to obtain the feedback thresholds. We finally demonstrate by numerical examples that switched-diversity scheduling schemes operate within 0.3 bits/sec/Hz from the ultimate network capacity of full feedback systems in Rayleigh fading conditions. © 2012 IEEE.

How effective is the revised regulatory code for alcohol advertising in Australia?

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Sandra C; Hall, Danika; Munro, Geoffrey

2008-01-01

Australia, like several other countries, has a self-regulatory approach to advertising. However, in recent years the effectiveness of the regulatory system has been questioned, and there have been increasing public calls for an overhaul of the system. Following a formal review in 2003, the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy proposed a revised Alcoholic Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC), which came into operation in 2004. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of this revised system. From May 2004 until March 2005 television and magazine advertising campaigns were monitored for alcohol products. Over this period 14 complaints against alcohol advertisements were lodged with the self-regulatory board, and the authors recruited an independent expert panel to assess the advertisements and complaints. In eight of the 14 cases a majority of the judges perceived the advertisement to be in breach of the code, and in no cases did a majority perceive no breach. Conversely, however, none of the complaints were upheld by the Advertising Standards Board (ASB) and only one by the ABAC Panel. The results of this study suggest that the decisions made by the ASB in relation to complaints against alcohol advertisements are not in harmony with the judgement of independent experts, and that the ASB may not be performing an adequate job of representing community standards or protecting the community from offensive or inappropriate advertisements. Further, it appears that the revisions to the ABAC code, and associated processes, have not reduced the problems associated with alcohol advertising in Australia.

Numerical schemes for explosion hazards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Therme, Nicolas

2015-01-01

In nuclear facilities, internal or external explosions can cause confinement breaches and radioactive materials release in the environment. Hence, modeling such phenomena is crucial for safety matters. Blast waves resulting from explosions are modeled by the system of Euler equations for compressible flows, whereas Navier-Stokes equations with reactive source terms and level set techniques are used to simulate the propagation of flame front during the deflagration phase. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the creation of efficient numerical schemes to solve these complex models. The work presented here focuses on two major aspects: first, the development of consistent schemes for the Euler equations, then the buildup of reliable schemes for the front propagation. In both cases, explicit in time schemes are used, but we also introduce a pressure correction scheme for the Euler equations. Staggered discretization is used in space. It is based on the internal energy formulation of the Euler system, which insures its positivity and avoids tedious discretization of the total energy over staggered grids. A discrete kinetic energy balance is derived from the scheme and a source term is added in the discrete internal energy balance equation to preserve the exact total energy balance at the limit. High order methods of MUSCL type are used in the discrete convective operators, based solely on material velocity. They lead to positivity of density and internal energy under CFL conditions. This ensures that the total energy cannot grow and we can furthermore derive a discrete entropy inequality. Under stability assumptions of the discrete L8 and BV norms of the scheme's solutions one can prove that a sequence of converging discrete solutions necessarily converges towards the weak solution of the Euler system. Besides it satisfies a weak entropy inequality at the limit. Concerning the front propagation, we transform the flame front evolution equation (the so called

Compact Spreader Schemes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Placidi, M.; Jung, J. -Y.; Ratti, A.; Sun, C.

2014-07-25

This paper describes beam distribution schemes adopting a novel implementation based on low amplitude vertical deflections combined with horizontal ones generated by Lambertson-type septum magnets. This scheme offers substantial compactness in the longitudinal layouts of the beam lines and increased flexibility for beam delivery of multiple beam lines on a shot-to-shot basis. Fast kickers (FK) or transverse electric field RF Deflectors (RFD) provide the low amplitude deflections. Initially proposed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) as tools for beam diagnostics and more recently adopted for multiline beam pattern schemes, RFDs offer repetition capabilities and a likely better amplitude reproducibility when compared to FKs, which, in turn, offer more modest financial involvements both in construction and operation. Both solutions represent an ideal approach for the design of compact beam distribution systems resulting in space and cost savings while preserving flexibility and beam quality.

Grey Language Hesitant Fuzzy Group Decision Making Method Based on Kernel and Grey Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qingsheng; Diao, Yuzhu; Gong, Zaiwu; Hu, Aqin

2018-03-02

Based on grey language multi-attribute group decision making, a kernel and grey scale scoring function is put forward according to the definition of grey language and the meaning of the kernel and grey scale. The function introduces grey scale into the decision-making method to avoid information distortion. This method is applied to the grey language hesitant fuzzy group decision making, and the grey correlation degree is used to sort the schemes. The effectiveness and practicability of the decision-making method are further verified by the industry chain sustainable development ability evaluation example of a circular economy. Moreover, its simplicity and feasibility are verified by comparing it with the traditional grey language decision-making method and the grey language hesitant fuzzy weighted arithmetic averaging (GLHWAA) operator integration method after determining the index weight based on the grey correlation.

Highlighting ethical decisions underlying the scoring of animal welfare in the Welfare Quality® scheme

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Veissier, I.; Jensen, Karsten Klint; Botreau, R.

2011-01-01

dimension of scoring and labelling does not mean that we should reject them, but it does mean that we need to make the normative and ethical background explicit. The Welfare Quality® scoring system is used as a case study in order to highlight the role of underlying value-based decisions. In this scoring......, but the rules governing the assignment of an animal unit to a category take into account what had been observed on European farms. The scientists behind Welfare Quality® are keen to make the value-based choices underlying assessments of animal welfare transparent. This is essential to allow stakeholder groups......All systems of scoring animal units (groups, farms, slaughter plants, etc.) according to the level of the animals’ welfare are based inevitably on normative decisions. Similarly, all methods of labelling, in terms of acceptability, are based on choices reflecting ethical values. The evaluative...

Revised licensee event report system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mays, G.T.; Poore, W.P.

1985-01-01

Licensee Event Reports (LERs) provide the basis for evaluating and assessing operating experience information from nuclear power plants. The reporting requirements for submitting LERs to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have been revised. Effective Jan. 1, 1984, all events were to be submitted in accordance with 10 CFR 50.73 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Report NUREG-1022, Licensee Event Report System-Description of System and Guidelines for Reporting, describes the guidelines on reportability of events. This article summarizes the reporting requirements as presented in NUREG-1022, high-lights differences in data reported between the revised and previous LER systems, and presents results from a preliminary assessment of LERs submitted under the revised LER reporting system

Clinical and Economic Burden of Revision Knee Arthroplasty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohit Bhandari

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Surgery is indicated for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA when conservative measures are unsuccessful. High tibial osteotomy (HTO, unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA, and total knee arthroplasty (TKA are surgical options intended to relieve knee OA pain and dysfunction. The choice of surgical intervention is dependent on several factors such as disease location, patient age, comorbidities, and activity levels. Regardless of surgical treatment, complications such as infection, loosening or lysis, periprosthetic fracture, and postoperative pain are known risks and are indications for revision surgery. The clinical and economic implications for revision surgery are underappreciated. Over 55,000 revision surgeries were performed in 2010 in the US, with 48% of these revisions in patients under 65 years. Total costs associated with each revision TKA surgery have been estimated to be in excess of $49,000. The current annual economic burden of revision knee OA surgery is $2.7 billion for hospital charges alone. By 2030, assuming a 5-fold increase in the number of revision procedures, this economic burden will exceed $13 billion annually. It is appealing to envision a therapy that could delay or obviate the need for arthroplasty. From an actuarial standpoint, this would have the theoretical downstream effect of substantially reducing the number of revision procedures. Although no known therapies currently meet these criteria, such a breakthrough would have a tremendous impact in lessening the clinical and economic burden of knee OA revision surgery.

Humeral windows in revision total elbow arthroplasty.

Science.gov (United States)

Peach, Chris A; Salama, Amir; Stanley, David

2016-04-01

The use of cortical windows for revision elbow arthroplasty has not previously been widely reported. Their use aids safe revision of a well fixed humeral prosthesis and can be used in the setting of dislocation, periprosthetic fracture or aseptic loosening of the ulnar component. We describe our technique and results of cortical windows in the distal humerus for revision elbow arthroplasty surgery.

Quantum signature scheme for known quantum messages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Taewan; Lee, Hyang-Sook

2015-01-01

When we want to sign a quantum message that we create, we can use arbitrated quantum signature schemes which are possible to sign for not only known quantum messages but also unknown quantum messages. However, since the arbitrated quantum signature schemes need the help of a trusted arbitrator in each verification of the signature, it is known that the schemes are not convenient in practical use. If we consider only known quantum messages such as the above situation, there can exist a quantum signature scheme with more efficient structure. In this paper, we present a new quantum signature scheme for known quantum messages without the help of an arbitrator. Differing from arbitrated quantum signature schemes based on the quantum one-time pad with the symmetric key, since our scheme is based on quantum public-key cryptosystems, the validity of the signature can be verified by a receiver without the help of an arbitrator. Moreover, we show that our scheme provides the functions of quantum message integrity, user authentication and non-repudiation of the origin as in digital signature schemes. (paper)

Two-level schemes for the advection equation

Science.gov (United States)

Vabishchevich, Petr N.

2018-06-01

The advection equation is the basis for mathematical models of continuum mechanics. In the approximate solution of nonstationary problems it is necessary to inherit main properties of the conservatism and monotonicity of the solution. In this paper, the advection equation is written in the symmetric form, where the advection operator is the half-sum of advection operators in conservative (divergent) and non-conservative (characteristic) forms. The advection operator is skew-symmetric. Standard finite element approximations in space are used. The standard explicit two-level scheme for the advection equation is absolutely unstable. New conditionally stable regularized schemes are constructed, on the basis of the general theory of stability (well-posedness) of operator-difference schemes, the stability conditions of the explicit Lax-Wendroff scheme are established. Unconditionally stable and conservative schemes are implicit schemes of the second (Crank-Nicolson scheme) and fourth order. The conditionally stable implicit Lax-Wendroff scheme is constructed. The accuracy of the investigated explicit and implicit two-level schemes for an approximate solution of the advection equation is illustrated by the numerical results of a model two-dimensional problem.

Concreteness and context availability in lexical decision tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Levy-Drori, Shelly; Henik, Avishai

2006-01-01

Three experiments were carried out to elucidate the origins of the concreteness (C) effect in a lexical decision task. The first experiment was a replication of the work of Schwanenflugel et al. (1988) and Van Hell and De Groot (1998), who presented the context availability (CA) hypothesis. In this experiment CA seemed to be a dominant factor. Familiarity (FAM) was not incorporated in the ANOVA, but a regression analysis and negative correlation between C and FAM in the groups matched on CA showed that FAM could explain the disappearance of the C effect. Experiment 2 controlled FAM and revealed a C effect, although concrete and abstract words were matched on CA. Experiment 3 controlled C and FAM and revealed a CA effect. The current data emphasize the importance of controlling FAM and CA in examining the C effect in a lexical decision task and support a revised version of the dual-coding theory.

Diet History Questionnaire: Database Revision History

Science.gov (United States)

The following details all additions and revisions made to the DHQ nutrient and food database. This revision history is provided as a reference for investigators who may have performed analyses with a previous release of the database.

Optimal Sales Schemes for Network Goods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Parakhonyak, Alexei; Vikander, Nick

consumers simultaneously, serve them all sequentially, or employ any intermediate scheme. We show that the optimal sales scheme is purely sequential, where each consumer observes all previous sales before choosing whether to buy himself. A sequential scheme maximizes the amount of information available...

3D Printing Aids Acetabular Reconstruction in Complex Revision Hip Arthroplasty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew J. Hughes

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Revision hip arthroplasty requires comprehensive appreciation of abnormal bony anatomy. Advances in radiology and manufacturing technology have made three-dimensional (3D representation of osseous anatomy obtainable, which provide visual and tactile feedback. Such life-size 3D models were manufactured from computed tomography scans of three hip joints in two patients. The first patient had undergone multiple previous hip arthroplasties for bilateral hip infections, resulting in right-sided pelvic discontinuity and a severe left-sided posterosuperior acetabular deficiency. The second patient had a first-stage revision for infection and recurrent dislocations. Specific metal reduction protocols were used to reduce artefact. The images were imported into Materialise MIMICS 14.12®. The models were manufactured using selective laser sintering. Accurate templating was performed preoperatively. Acetabular cup, augment, buttress, and cage sizes were trialled using the models, before being adjusted, and resterilised, enhancing the preoperative decision-making process. Screw trajectory simulation was carried out, reducing the risk of neurovascular injury. With 3D printing technology, complex pelvic deformities were better evaluated and treated with improved precision. Life-size models allowed accurate surgical simulation, thus improving anatomical appreciation and preoperative planning. The accuracy and cost-effectiveness of the technique should prove invaluable as a tool to aid clinical practice.

Revision surgery for failed thermal capsulorrhaphy.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hyung Bin; Yokota, Atsushi; Gill, Harpreet S; El Rassi, George; McFarland, Edward G

2005-09-01

With the failure of thermal capsulorrhaphy for shoulder instability, there have been concerns with capsular thinning and capsular necrosis affecting revision surgery. To report the findings at revision surgery for failed thermal capsulorrhaphy and to evaluate the technical effects on subsequent revision capsular plication. Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Fourteen patients underwent arthroscopic evaluation and open reconstruction for a failed thermal capsulorrhaphy. The cause of the failure, the quality of the capsule, and the ability to suture the capsule were recorded. The patients were evaluated at follow-up for failure, which was defined as recurrent subluxations or dislocations. The origin of the instability was traumatic (n = 6) or atraumatic (n = 8). At revision surgery in the traumatic group, 4 patients sustained failure of the Bankart repair with capsular laxity, and the others experienced capsular laxity alone. In the atraumatic group, all patients experienced capsular laxity as the cause of failure. Of the 14 patients, the capsule quality was judged to be thin in 5 patients and ablated in 1 patient. A glenoid-based capsular shift could be accomplished in all 14 patients. At follow-up (mean, 35.4 months; range, 22 to 48 months), 1 patient underwent revision surgery and 1 patient had a subluxation, resulting in a failure rate of 14%. Recurrent capsular laxity after failed thermal capsular shrinkage is common and frequently associated with capsular thinning. In most instances, the capsule quality does not appear to technically affect the revision procedure.

A magnet lattice for a tau-charm factory suitable for both standard scheme and monochromatization scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beloshitsky, P.

1992-06-01

A versatile magnet lattice for a tau-charm factory is considered in this report. The main feature of this lattice is the possibility to use it for both standard flat beam scheme and beam monochromatization scheme. The detailed description of the lattice is given. The restrictions following the compatibility of both schemes are discussed

THROUGHPUT ANALYSIS OF EXTENDED ARQ SCHEMES

African Journals Online (AJOL)

PUBLICATIONS1

ABSTRACT. Various Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) schemes have been used to combat errors that befall in- formation transmitted in digital communication systems. Such schemes include simple ARQ, mixed mode ARQ and Hybrid ARQ (HARQ). In this study we introduce extended ARQ schemes and derive.

Motor effort alters changes of mind in sensorimotor decision making.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Burk

Full Text Available After committing to an action, a decision-maker can change their mind to revise the action. Such changes of mind can even occur when the stream of information that led to the action is curtailed at movement onset. This is explained by the time delays in sensory processing and motor planning which lead to a component at the end of the sensory stream that can only be processed after initiation. Such post-initiation processing can explain the pattern of changes of mind by asserting an accumulation of additional evidence to a criterion level, termed change-of-mind bound. Here we test the hypothesis that physical effort associated with the movement required to change one's mind affects the level of the change-of-mind bound and the time for post-initiation deliberation. We varied the effort required to change from one choice target to another in a reaching movement by varying the geometry of the choice targets or by applying a force field between the targets. We show that there is a reduction in the frequency of change of mind when the separation of the choice targets would require a larger excursion of the hand from the initial to the opposite choice. The reduction is best explained by an increase in the evidence required for changes of mind and a reduced time period of integration after the initial decision. Thus the criteria to revise an initial choice is sensitive to energetic costs.

Ponzi scheme diffusion in complex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Anding; Fu, Peihua; Zhang, Qinghe; Chen, Zhenyue

2017-08-01

Ponzi schemes taking the form of Internet-based financial schemes have been negatively affecting China's economy for the last two years. Because there is currently a lack of modeling research on Ponzi scheme diffusion within social networks yet, we develop a potential-investor-divestor (PID) model to investigate the diffusion dynamics of Ponzi scheme in both homogeneous and inhomogeneous networks. Our simulation study of artificial and real Facebook social networks shows that the structure of investor networks does indeed affect the characteristics of dynamics. Both the average degree of distribution and the power-law degree of distribution will reduce the spreading critical threshold and will speed up the rate of diffusion. A high speed of diffusion is the key to alleviating the interest burden and improving the financial outcomes for the Ponzi scheme operator. The zero-crossing point of fund flux function we introduce proves to be a feasible index for reflecting the fast-worsening situation of fiscal instability and predicting the forthcoming collapse. The faster the scheme diffuses, the higher a peak it will reach and the sooner it will collapse. We should keep a vigilant eye on the harm of Ponzi scheme diffusion through modern social networks.

Brain cortical organization in entrepreneurs during a visual Stroop decision task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ortiz-Terán E

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Elena Ortiz-Terán,1,4 Agustín Turrero,2 Juan M Santos,3 Peter T Bryant,1 Tomás Ortiz4 1IE Business School, 2Department of Statistics, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain; 3Fundación J Robert Cade and Department of Psychiatry, Universidad Católica de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina; 4Department of Psychiatry, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain Abstract: Decision-making in entrepreneurs is a key aspect of their skills, but much about these processes remains unexplained. During a Stroop task, concomitant N200, P300, and N450 event-related potentials were measured in 25 founder entrepreneurs and in age-matched and gender-matched nonfounders/nonentrepreneurs (NFNE. Reaction times were shorter among founder entrepreneurs. The N200 was shorter and N450 larger in founder entrepreneurs. The personalities of both groups were measured using the Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised. Founder entrepreneurs scored significantly higher in novelty-seeking and self-directedness dimensions, as well as in exploratory excitability, impulsiveness, optimism, eagerness, and responsibility subdimensions. Possible interactions among candidate variables to differentiate between founder entrepreneurs versus NFNE were also addressed, and the model including impulsivity, N450 latency, and impulsivity*N450 interaction came up as the best model for discrimination between founder entrepreneurs and NFNE. A shorter N200, mostly associated with bilateral supplementary motor area activation, revealed a faster capability to make decisions when information was noncongruent or blurred. However, the larger N450 revealed a more intense post-evaluation cognitive process happening in founder entrepreneurs and was accompanied by a greater activation of anterior frontal regions. The whole decision-making process consumed more time and resources in founder entrepreneurs, even if its closure was faster. Attention, memory, and alertness, among other factors, have been invoked

Influence of the Emissions Trading Scheme on generation scheduling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kockar, Ivana; McDonald, James R.; Conejo, Antonio J.

2009-01-01

The paper investigates the effects of emissions constraints and Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) on the generation scheduling outcome. ETS is a cap-and-trade market mechanism that has been introduced in European Union in order to facilitate CO 2 emissions management. This scheme gives generators certain amount of CO 2 allowances which they can use to cover emissions produced during energy generation. In a current setting, most of the allowances are given for free. However, under ETS generators also have an opportunity to buy and sell CO 2 allowances on the market. Since generation power outputs are bounded by the amount of CO 2 emissions that they are allowed to produce over time, it is becoming increasingly important for generating units to manage their allocations in the most profitable way and decide when and how much of permissions to spent to produce electricity. The method proposed here allows for modeling of this new limitation by including costs of buying and selling of CO 2 allowance in the generation scheduling procedure. It also introduces additional emissions constraints in the problem formulation. Although CO 2 permissions and energy are traded in separate markets, the proposed formulation permits analysis on how emission caps and emission market prices can influence market outcome. The method is illustrated on a 5-unit system. Given examples compare (i) a base-case when all generators have made a decision to use portions of their total free allocations that do not cause any shortfall during the investigated time period; (ii) two cases when the least expensive generators' decisions on the amount of free allowances they are willing to use during the considered period are insufficient. In all cases generators also submit prices at which they expect to be able to ''top-up'' or sell allowances on the market, however, only in the second and third case the ''buying'' option becomes active and affects generation scheduling and total costs. In addition, the

Revised surveillance case definition for HIV infection--United States, 2014.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-04-11

Following extensive consultation and peer review, CDC and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists have revised and combined the surveillance case definitions for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection into a single case definition for persons of all ages (i.e., adults and adolescents aged ≥13 years and children aged case now accommodate new multitest algorithms, including criteria for differentiating between HIV-1 and HIV-2 infection and for recognizing early HIV infection. A confirmed case can be classified in one of five HIV infection stages (0, 1, 2, 3, or unknown); early infection, recognized by a negative HIV test within 6 months of HIV diagnosis, is classified as stage 0, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is classified as stage 3. Criteria for stage 3 have been simplified by eliminating the need to differentiate between definitive and presumptive diagnoses of opportunistic illnesses. Clinical (nonlaboratory) criteria for defining a case for surveillance purposes have been made more practical by eliminating the requirement for information about laboratory tests. The surveillance case definition is intended primarily for monitoring the HIV infection burden and planning for prevention and care on a population level, not as a basis for clinical decisions for individual patients. CDC and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists recommend that all states and territories conduct case surveillance of HIV infection using this revised surveillance case definition.

A Classification Scheme for Literary Characters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matthew Berry

2017-10-01

Full Text Available There is no established classification scheme for literary characters in narrative theory short of generic categories like protagonist vs. antagonist or round vs. flat. This is so despite the ubiquity of stock characters that recur across media, cultures, and historical time periods. We present here a proposal of a systematic psychological scheme for classifying characters from the literary and dramatic fields based on a modification of the Thomas-Kilmann (TK Conflict Mode Instrument used in applied studies of personality. The TK scheme classifies personality along the two orthogonal dimensions of assertiveness and cooperativeness. To examine the validity of a modified version of this scheme, we had 142 participants provide personality ratings for 40 characters using two of the Big Five personality traits as well as assertiveness and cooperativeness from the TK scheme. The results showed that assertiveness and cooperativeness were orthogonal dimensions, thereby supporting the validity of using a modified version of TK’s two-dimensional scheme for classifying characters.

A Scheme for the Integrated Assessment of Mitigation Options

Science.gov (United States)

Held, H.; Edenhofer, O.

2003-04-01

After some consensus has been achieved that the global mean temperature will have increased by 1.4 to 5.8^oC at the end of this century in case of continued ``business as usual'' greenhouse gas emissions, society has to decide if or which mitigation measures should be taken. A new integrated assessment project on this very issue will be started at PIK in spring 2003. The assessment will cover economic aspects as well as potential side effects of various measures. In the economic module, the effects of investment decisions on technological innovation will be explicitly taken into account. Special emphasize will be put on the issue of uncertainty. Hereby we distinguish the uncertainty related to the Integrated Assessment modules, including the economic module, from the fact that no over-complex system can be fully captured by a model. Therefore, a scheme for the assessment of the ``residual'', the non-modelled part of the system, needs to be worked out. The scheme must be truly interdisciplinary, i.e. must be applicable to at least the natural science and the economic aspects. A scheme based on meta-principles like minimum persistence, ubiquity, or irreversibility of potential measures appears to be a promising candidate. An implementation of ubiquity as at present successfully operated in environmental chemistry may serve as a guideline [1]. Here, the best-known mechanism within a complex impact chain of potentially harmful chemicals, their transport, is captured by a reaction-diffusion mechanism [2]. begin{thebibliography}{0} bibitem{s} M. Scheringer, Persistence and spatial range as endpoints of an exposure-based assessment of organic chemicals. Environ. Sci. Technol. 30: 1652-1659 (1996). bibitem{h} H. Held, Robustness of spatial ranges of environmental chemicals with respect to model dimension, accepted for publication in Stoch. Environ. Res. Risk Assessment.

Introductory Business Textbook Revision Cycles: Are They Getting Shorter?

Science.gov (United States)

Zinser, Brian; Brunswick, Gary

2010-01-01

The rate of textbook revision cycles is examined in light of the recent trend towards more rapid revisions (and adoptions of textbooks). The authors conduct background research to better understand the context for textbook revision cycles and the environmental forces that have been influencing what appears to be more rapid textbook revisions. A…

Nuclear fuel reprocessing deactivation plan for the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patterson, M.W.

1994-10-01

The decision was announced on April 28, 1992 to cease all United States Department of Energy (DOE) reprocessing of nuclear fuels. This decision leads to the deactivation of all fuels dissolution, solvent extraction, krypton gas recovery operations, and product denitration at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP). The reprocessing facilities will be converted to a safe and stable shutdown condition awaiting future alternate uses or decontamination and decommissioning (D ampersand D). This ICPP Deactivation Plan includes the scope of work, schedule, costs, and associated staffing levels necessary to achieve a safe and orderly deactivation of reprocessing activities and the Waste Calcining Facility (WCF). Deactivation activities primarily involve shutdown of operating systems and buildings, fissile and hazardous material removal, and related activities. A minimum required level of continued surveillance and maintenance is planned for each facility/process system to ensure necessary environmental, health, and safety margins are maintained and to support ongoing operations for ICPP facilities that are not being deactivated. Management of the ICPP was transferred from Westinghouse Idaho Nuclear Company, Inc. (WINCO) to Lockheed Idaho Technologies Company (LITCO) on October 1, 1994 as part of the INEL consolidated contract. This revision of the deactivation plan (formerly the Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Phaseout Plan for the ICPP) is being published during the consolidation of the INEL site-wide contract and the information presented here is current as of October 31, 1994. LITCO has adopted the existing plans for the deactivation of ICPP reprocessing facilities and the plans developed under WINCO are still being actively pursued, although the change in management may result in changes which have not yet been identified. Accordingly, the contents of this plan are subject to revision

Revised Rules for Concrete Bridges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thoft-Christensen, Palle; Jensen, F. M.; Middleton, C.

This paper is based on research performed for the Highway Agency, London, UK under the project DPU/9/44 "Revision of Bridge Assessment Rules Based on Whole Life Performance: Concrete Bridges" It contains details of a methodology which can be used to generate Whole Life (WL) reliability profiles....... These WL reliability profiles may be used to establish revised rules for Concrete Bridges....

Fast Image Texture Classification Using Decision Trees

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, David R.

2011-01-01

Texture analysis would permit improved autonomous, onboard science data interpretation for adaptive navigation, sampling, and downlink decisions. These analyses would assist with terrain analysis and instrument placement in both macroscopic and microscopic image data products. Unfortunately, most state-of-the-art texture analysis demands computationally expensive convolutions of filters involving many floating-point operations. This makes them infeasible for radiation- hardened computers and spaceflight hardware. A new method approximates traditional texture classification of each image pixel with a fast decision-tree classifier. The classifier uses image features derived from simple filtering operations involving integer arithmetic. The texture analysis method is therefore amenable to implementation on FPGA (field-programmable gate array) hardware. Image features based on the "integral image" transform produce descriptive and efficient texture descriptors. Training the decision tree on a set of training data yields a classification scheme that produces reasonable approximations of optimal "texton" analysis at a fraction of the computational cost. A decision-tree learning algorithm employing the traditional k-means criterion of inter-cluster variance is used to learn tree structure from training data. The result is an efficient and accurate summary of surface morphology in images. This work is an evolutionary advance that unites several previous algorithms (k-means clustering, integral images, decision trees) and applies them to a new problem domain (morphology analysis for autonomous science during remote exploration). Advantages include order-of-magnitude improvements in runtime, feasibility for FPGA hardware, and significant improvements in texture classification accuracy.

Inferential revision in narrative texts: An ERP study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez, Ana; Cain, Kate; Castellanos, María C; Bajo, Teresa

2015-11-01

We evaluated the process of inferential revision during text comprehension in adults. Participants with high or low working memory read short texts, in which the introduction supported two plausible concepts (e.g., 'guitar/violin'), although one was more probable ('guitar'). There were three possible continuations: a neutral sentence, which did not refer back to either concept; a no-revise sentence, which referred to a general property consistent with either concept (e.g., '…beautiful curved body'); and a revise sentence, which referred to a property that was consistent with only the less likely concept (e.g., '…matching bow'). Readers took longer to read the sentence in the revise condition, indicating that they were able to evaluate their comprehension and detect a mismatch. In a final sentence, a target noun referred to the alternative concept supported in the revise condition (e.g., 'violin'). ERPs indicated that both working memory groups were able to evaluate their comprehension of the text (P3a), but only high working memory readers were able to revise their initial incorrect interpretation (P3b) and integrate the new information (N400) when reading the revise sentence. Low working memory readers had difficulties inhibiting the no-longer-relevant interpretation and thus failed to revise their situation model, and they experienced problems integrating semantically related information into an accurate memory representation.

OUTLAWING AMNESTY: THE RETURN OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE SCHEMES*

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisa J. Laplante, University of Connecticut-School of Law, Estados Unidos

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract: This Article responds to an apparent gap in the scholarly literature which fails to merge the fields of human rights law and international criminal law—a step that would resolve the current debate as to whether any amnesty in transitional justice settings is lawful. More specifically, even though both fields are a subset of transitional justice in general, the discipline of international criminal law still supports the theory of “qualified amnesties” in transitional justice schemes, while international human rights law now stands for the proposition that no amnesty is lawful in those settings. This Article brings attention to this new development through a discussion of the Barrios Altos case. This Article seeks to reveal how an international human rights decision can dramatically impact state practice, thus also contributing to a pending question in international human rights law as to whether such jurisprudence is effective in increasing human rights protections. The Article concludes by looking at the implications of this new legal development in regard to amnesties in order to encourage future research regarding the role of criminal justice in transitional justice schemes. Keywords: Amnesty in the Americas. Transitional Justice. Human Rights Violations

The neural system of metacognition accompanying decision-making in the prefrontal cortex

Science.gov (United States)

Qiu, Lirong; Su, Jie; Ni, Yinmei; Bai, Yang; Zhang, Xuesong; Li, Xiaoli

2018-01-01

Decision-making is usually accompanied by metacognition, through which a decision maker monitors uncertainty regarding a decision and may then consequently revise the decision. These metacognitive processes can occur prior to or in the absence of feedback. However, the neural mechanisms of metacognition remain controversial. One theory proposes an independent neural system for metacognition in the prefrontal cortex (PFC); the other, that metacognitive processes coincide and overlap with the systems used for the decision-making process per se. In this study, we devised a novel “decision–redecision” paradigm to investigate the neural metacognitive processes involved in redecision as compared to the initial decision-making process. The participants underwent a perceptual decision-making task and a rule-based decision-making task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We found that the anterior PFC, including the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and lateral frontopolar cortex (lFPC), were more extensively activated after the initial decision. The dACC activity in redecision positively scaled with decision uncertainty and correlated with individual metacognitive uncertainty monitoring abilities—commonly occurring in both tasks—indicating that the dACC was specifically involved in decision uncertainty monitoring. In contrast, the lFPC activity seen in redecision processing was scaled with decision uncertainty reduction and correlated with individual accuracy changes—positively in the rule-based decision-making task and negatively in the perceptual decision-making task. Our results show that the lFPC was specifically involved in metacognitive control of decision adjustment and was subject to different control demands of the tasks. Therefore, our findings support that a separate neural system in the PFC is essentially involved in metacognition and further, that functions of the PFC in metacognition are dissociable. PMID:29684004

Programme for the Environmental Control at the Swedish Nuclear Facilities, Revision; Omgivningskontrollprogram foer de kaerntekniska anlaeggningarna, revision

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Linden, Ann-Marie

2004-12-01

This report contains a revised version of the Environmental Monitoring Programme for the Swedish Nuclear Facilities. The revision is based on earlier experiences and evaluations. Some samples have been excluded. Some have been added, for example spruce cone and the food products apple and currant. The sediment samples of 2 cm length have been completed with samples of 10 cm length every fourth year to follow the migration of radio nuclides down the sediment layers over time. The revised Environmental Monitoring Programme is valid from the 1st of January 2005.

An Arbitrated Quantum Signature Scheme without Entanglement*

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Hui-Ran; Luo Ming-Xing; Peng Dai-Yuan; Wang Xiao-Jun

2017-01-01

Several quantum signature schemes are recently proposed to realize secure signatures of quantum or classical messages. Arbitrated quantum signature as one nontrivial scheme has attracted great interests because of its usefulness and efficiency. Unfortunately, previous schemes cannot against Trojan horse attack and DoS attack and lack of the unforgeability and the non-repudiation. In this paper, we propose an improved arbitrated quantum signature to address these secure issues with the honesty arbitrator. Our scheme takes use of qubit states not entanglements. More importantly, the qubit scheme can achieve the unforgeability and the non-repudiation. Our scheme is also secure for other known quantum attacks . (paper)

“Revising Nabokov Revising”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marie Bouchet

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Nabokov revised his works as he translated them and, on another plane, canon revisionism has been having its backlash and provoked other refracting waves. The purpose of the conference was to advance Nabokov studies through the discussion of how our view of Nabokov’s standing and his works today should be revised, especially after the publication of The Original of Laura. However the conference was not confined to just this theme, since “revising” is a word rich with implications. To borrow s...

Revision of failed shoulder hemiarthroplasty to reverse total arthroplasty: analysis of 157 revision implants.

Science.gov (United States)

Merolla, Giovanni; Wagner, Eric; Sperling, John W; Paladini, Paolo; Fabbri, Elisabetta; Porcellini, Giuseppe

2018-01-01

There remains a paucity of studies examining the conversion of failed hemiarthroplasty (HA) to reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine a large series of revision HA to RTSA. A population of 157 patients who underwent conversion of a failed HA to a revision RTSA from 2006 through 2014 were included. The mean follow-up was 49 months (range, 24-121 months). The indications for revision surgery included instability with rotator cuff insufficiency (n = 127) and glenoid wear (n = 30); instability and glenoid wear were associated in 38 cases. Eight patients with infection underwent 2-stage reimplantation. Patients experienced significant improvements in their preoperative to postoperative pain and shoulder range of motion (P surgeries, secondary to glenoid component loosening (n = 3), instability (n = 3), humeral component disassembly (n = 2), humeral stem loosening (n = 1), and infection (n = 2). Implant survivorship was 95.5% at 2 years and 93.3% at 5 years. There were 4 reoperations including axillary nerve neurolysis (n = 2), heterotopic ossification removal (n = 1), and hardware removal for rupture of the metal cerclage for an acromial fracture (n = 1). At final follow-up, there were 5 "at-risk" glenoid components. Patients experience satisfactory pain relief and recovery of reasonable shoulder function after revision RTSA from a failed HA. There was a relatively low revision rate, with glenoid loosening and instability being the most common causes. Copyright © 2017 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Breeding schemes in reindeer husbandry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lars Rönnegård

2003-04-01

Full Text Available The objective of the paper was to investigate annual genetic gain from selection (G, and the influence of selection on the inbreeding effective population size (Ne, for different possible breeding schemes within a reindeer herding district. The breeding schemes were analysed for different proportions of the population within a herding district included in the selection programme. Two different breeding schemes were analysed: an open nucleus scheme where males mix and mate between owner flocks, and a closed nucleus scheme where the males in non-selected owner flocks are culled to maximise G in the whole population. The theory of expected long-term genetic contributions was used and maternal effects were included in the analyses. Realistic parameter values were used for the population, modelled with 5000 reindeer in the population and a sex ratio of 14 adult females per male. The standard deviation of calf weights was 4.1 kg. Four different situations were explored and the results showed: 1. When the population was randomly culled, Ne equalled 2400. 2. When the whole population was selected on calf weights, Ne equalled 1700 and the total annual genetic gain (direct + maternal in calf weight was 0.42 kg. 3. For the open nucleus scheme, G increased monotonically from 0 to 0.42 kg as the proportion of the population included in the selection programme increased from 0 to 1.0, and Ne decreased correspondingly from 2400 to 1700. 4. In the closed nucleus scheme the lowest value of Ne was 1300. For a given proportion of the population included in the selection programme, the difference in G between a closed nucleus scheme and an open one was up to 0.13 kg. We conclude that for mass selection based on calf weights in herding districts with 2000 animals or more, there are no risks of inbreeding effects caused by selection.

Quantum Secure Communication Scheme with W State

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Jian; Zhang Quan; Tang Chaojng

2007-01-01

We present a quantum secure communication scheme using three-qubit W state. It is unnecessary for the present scheme to use alternative measurement or Bell basis measurement. Compared with the quantum secure direct communication scheme proposed by Cao et al. [H.J. Cao and H.S. Song, Chin. Phys. Lett. 23 (2006) 290], in our scheme, the detection probability for an eavesdropper's attack increases from 8.3% to 25%. We also show that our scheme is secure for a noise quantum channel.

Development of Decision-Making Automated System for Optimal Placement of Physical Access Control System’s Elements

Science.gov (United States)

Danilova, Olga; Semenova, Zinaida

2018-04-01

The objective of this study is a detailed analysis of physical protection systems development for information resources. The optimization theory and decision-making mathematical apparatus is used to formulate correctly and create an algorithm of selection procedure for security systems optimal configuration considering the location of the secured object’s access point and zones. The result of this study is a software implementation scheme of decision-making system for optimal placement of the physical access control system’s elements.

Was it a mistake to abandon the revision clause? Assessment of entrepreneurial flexibility in the German coal mining industry on the basis of real options; War die Aufgabe der Revisionsklausel ein Fehler? Beurteilung unternehmerischer Flexibilitaet im deutschen Steinkohlebergbau auf Basis von Realoptionen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bendiek, Ansgar

2012-07-15

The author analyzes the decision to abandon the revision clause, i.e. to abandon entrepreneurial flexibility on the basis of the option price theory and the use of derivatives in coal trading. The focus is on subventionless continuation of coal mining. It is found that the abandoning of the revision clause will involve a loss of value of the real option of about 819 million Euros. Politicians and the coal industry are advised to revise the subventionless continuation of coal mining by the end of 2015.

Optimum RA reactor fuelling scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strugar, P.; Nikolic, V.

1965-10-01

Ideal reactor refueling scheme can be achieved only by continuous fuel elements movement in the core, which is not possible, and thus approximations are applied. One of the possible approximations is discontinuous movement of fuel elements groups in radial direction. This enables higher burnup especially if axial exchange is possible. Analysis of refueling schemes in the RA reactor core and schemes with mixing the fresh and used fuel elements show that 30% higher burnup can be achieved by applying mixing, and even 40% if reactivity due to decrease in experimental space is taken into account. Up to now, mean burnup of 4400 MWd/t has been achieved, and the proposed fueling scheme with reduction of experimental space could achieve mean burnup of 6300 MWd/t which means about 25 Mwd/t per fuel channel [sr

A P2P Botnet detection scheme based on decision tree and adaptive multilayer neural networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Alauthaman, Mohammad; Aslam, Nauman; Zhang, Li; Alasem, Rafe; Hossain, M A

2018-01-01

In recent years, Botnets have been adopted as a popular method to carry and spread many malicious codes on the Internet. These malicious codes pave the way to execute many fraudulent activities including spam mail, distributed denial-of-service attacks and click fraud. While many Botnets are set up using centralized communication architecture, the peer-to-peer (P2P) Botnets can adopt a decentralized architecture using an overlay network for exchanging command and control data making their detection even more difficult. This work presents a method of P2P Bot detection based on an adaptive multilayer feed-forward neural network in cooperation with decision trees. A classification and regression tree is applied as a feature selection technique to select relevant features. With these features, a multilayer feed-forward neural network training model is created using a resilient back-propagation learning algorithm. A comparison of feature set selection based on the decision tree, principal component analysis and the ReliefF algorithm indicated that the neural network model with features selection based on decision tree has a better identification accuracy along with lower rates of false positives. The usefulness of the proposed approach is demonstrated by conducting experiments on real network traffic datasets. In these experiments, an average detection rate of 99.08 % with false positive rate of 0.75 % was observed.

Influence of the revision of surgical fee schedule on surgeons' productivity in Japan: A cohort analysis of 7602 surgical procedures in 2013-2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakata, Yoshinori; Watanabe, Yuichi; Narimatsu, Hiroto; Yoshimura, Tatsuya; Otake, Hiroshi; Sawa, Tomohiro

2018-02-01

The goal of this study is to evaluate the pure impact of the revision of surgical fee schedule on surgeons' productivity. We collected data from the surgical procedures performed by the surgeons working in Teikyo University Hospital from 1 April through 30 September in 2013-2016. We employed non-radial and non-oriented Malmquist model. We defined the decision-making unit as a surgeon with the highest academic rank in surgery. Inputs were defined as (1) the number of doctors who assisted surgery and (2) the time of surgical operation. The output was defined as the surgical fee for each surgery. We focused on the revisions in 2014 and 2016. We first calculated each surgeon's natural logarithms of the changes in productivity, technique and efficiency in 2013-2014, in 2014-2015 and in 2015-2016. Then, we subtracted the changes in 2014-2015 from the changes in 2013-2014 and in 2015-2016. We analyzed 62 surgeons who performed 7602 surgical procedures. The productivity changes were not significantly different from 0. Their efficiency change was significantly greater than 0, while their technical change was smaller than 0 in revision 2014. Their efficiency change was significantly smaller than 0, while their technical change was greater than 0 in revision 2016 (p increase overall productivity through revision if we could increase both efficiency and technique.

Revision of the DELFIC Particle Activity Module

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hooper, David A [ORNL; Jodoin, Vincent J [ORNL

2010-09-01

The Defense Land Fallout Interpretive Code (DELFIC) was originally released in 1968 as a tool for modeling fallout patterns and for predicting exposure rates. Despite the continual advancement of knowledge of fission yields, decay behavior of fission products, and biological dosimetry, the decay data and logic of DELFIC have remained mostly unchanged since inception. Additionally, previous code revisions caused a loss of conservation of radioactive nuclides. In this report, a new revision of the decay database and the Particle Activity Module is introduced and explained. The database upgrades discussed are replacement of the fission yields with ENDF/B-VII data as formatted in the Oak Ridge Isotope Generation (ORIGEN) code, revised decay constants, revised exposure rate multipliers, revised decay modes and branching ratios, and revised boiling point data. Included decay logic upgrades represent a correction of a flaw in the treatment of the fission yields, extension of the logic to include more complex decay modes, conservation of nuclides (including stable nuclides) at all times, and conversion of key variables to double precision for nuclide conservation. Finally, recommended future work is discussed with an emphasis on completion of the overall radiation physics upgrade, particularly for dosimetry, induced activity, decay of the actinides, and fractionation.

NEPA source guide for the Hanford Site. Revision 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tifft, S.R.

1995-01-01

This Source Guide will assist those working with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to become more familiar with the Environmental Assessments (EA) and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) that apply to specific activities and facilities at the Hanford Site. This document should help answer questions concerning NEPA coverage, history, processes, and the status of many of the buildings and units on and related to the Hanford Site. This document summarizes relevant EAs and EISs by briefly outlining the proposed action of each and the decision made by the US Department of Energy (DOE) or its predecessor agencies, the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), and the US Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA), concerning the proposed action and current status of the buildings and units discussed in the proposed action. If a decision was officially stated by the DOE, as in a Finding Of No Significant Impact (FONSI) or a Record of Decision (ROD), and was located, a summary is provided in the text. Not all federal decisions, such as FONSIs and RODS, can be found in the Federal Register (FR). For example, although significant large-action FONSIs can be found in the FR, some low-interest FONSIs may have been published elsewhere (i.e., local newspapers). The EA and EIS summaries are arranged in numerical order. To assist in locating a particular EA or EIS, the upper right comer of each page lists the number of the summary or summaries discussed on that page. Any draft EA or EIS is followed by a ''D.'' The EAs with nonstandard numbering schemes are located in Chapter 3

Student’s scheme in solving mathematics problems

Science.gov (United States)

Setyaningsih, Nining; Juniati, Dwi; Suwarsono

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ scheme in solving mathematics problems. Scheme are data structures for representing the concepts stored in memory. In this study, we used it in solving mathematics problems, especially ratio and proportion topics. Scheme is related to problem solving that assumes that a system is developed in the human mind by acquiring a structure in which problem solving procedures are integrated with some concepts. The data were collected by interview and students’ written works. The results of this study revealed are students’ scheme in solving the problem of ratio and proportion as follows: (1) the content scheme, where students can describe the selected components of the problem according to their prior knowledge, (2) the formal scheme, where students can explain in construct a mental model based on components that have been selected from the problem and can use existing schemes to build planning steps, create something that will be used to solve problems and (3) the language scheme, where students can identify terms, or symbols of the components of the problem.Therefore, by using the different strategies to solve the problems, the students’ scheme in solving the ratio and proportion problems will also differ.

hybrid modulation scheme fo rid modulation scheme fo dulation

African Journals Online (AJOL)

eobe

control technique is done through simulations and ex control technique .... HYBRID MODULATION SCHEME FOR CASCADED H-BRIDGE INVERTER CELLS. C. I. Odeh ..... and OR operations. Referring to ... MATLAB/SIMULINK environment.

Towards Symbolic Encryption Schemes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahmed, Naveed; Jensen, Christian D.; Zenner, Erik

2012-01-01

, namely an authenticated encryption scheme that is secure under chosen ciphertext attack. Therefore, many reasonable encryption schemes, such as AES in the CBC or CFB mode, are not among the implementation options. In this paper, we report new attacks on CBC and CFB based implementations of the well......Symbolic encryption, in the style of Dolev-Yao models, is ubiquitous in formal security models. In its common use, encryption on a whole message is specified as a single monolithic block. From a cryptographic perspective, however, this may require a resource-intensive cryptographic algorithm......-known Needham-Schroeder and Denning-Sacco protocols. To avoid such problems, we advocate the use of refined notions of symbolic encryption that have natural correspondence to standard cryptographic encryption schemes....

A multi-attribute vertical handoff scheme for heterogeneous wireless networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

JI Xiaolong

2014-04-01

Full Text Available In order to meet the user demand for different services as well as to mitigate the Ping-pong effect caused by vertical handoff for wireless network,a multi-attribute vertical handoff scheme for heterogeneous wireless network is proposed.In the algorithm,a fuzzy logic method is used to make pre-decision.The optimal handoff target network is selected by a cost function of network which uses an Analytic Hierarchy Process to calculate the weights of SNR,delay,cost and user preference in different business scenarios.Simulation is performed in the environment which is overlapped by WiMAX and UMTS networks.Results show that the proposed approach can effectively reduce the number of handoff and power consumption in a condition to satisfy the user needs.

Integrating Relational Reasoning and Knowledge Revision during Reading

Science.gov (United States)

Kendeou, Panayiota; Butterfuss, Reese; Van Boekel, Martin; O'Brien, Edward J.

2017-01-01

Our goal in this theoretical contribution is to connect research on knowledge revision and relational reasoning. To achieve this goal, first, we review the "knowledge revision components framework" (KReC) that provides an account of knowledge revision processes, specifically as they unfold during reading of texts. Second, we review a…

Research on the robust optimization of the enterprise's decision on the investment to the collaborative innovation: Under the risk constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Qing; Fang, Gang; Wang, Dong-peng; Yang, Wei

2016-01-01

Abstracts: The robust optimization model is applied to analyze the enterprise's decision of the investment portfolio for the collaborative innovation under the risk constraints. Through the mathematical model deduction and the simulation analysis, the research result shows that the enterprise's investment to the collaborative innovation has relatively obvious robust effect. As for the collaborative innovation, the return from the investment coexists with the risk of it. Under the risk constraints, the robust optimization method could solve the minimum risk as well as the proportion of each investment scheme in the portfolio on the condition of different target returns from the investment. On the basis of the result, the enterprise could balance between the investment return and risk and make optimal decision on the investment scheme.

Decision Optimization for Power Grid Operating Conditions with High- and Low-Voltage Parallel Loops

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dong Yang

2017-05-01

Full Text Available With the development of higher-voltage power grids, the high- and low-voltage parallel loops are emerging, which lead to energy losses and even threaten the security and stability of power systems. The multi-infeed high-voltage direct current (HVDC configurations widely appearing in AC/DC interconnected power systems make this situation even worse. Aimed at energy saving and system security, a decision optimization method for power grid operating conditions with high- and low-voltage parallel loops is proposed in this paper. Firstly, considering hub substation distribution and power grid structure, parallel loop opening schemes are generated with GN (Girvan-Newman algorithms. Then, candidate opening schemes are preliminarily selected from all these generated schemes based on a filtering index. Finally, with the influence on power system security, stability and operation economy in consideration, an evaluation model for candidate opening schemes is founded based on analytic hierarchy process (AHP. And a fuzzy evaluation algorithm is used to find the optimal scheme. Simulation results of a New England 39-bus system and an actual power system validate the effectiveness and superiority of this proposed method.

Setting aside transactions from pyramid schemes as impeachable ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

These schemes, which are often referred to as pyramid or Ponzi schemes, are unsustainable operations and give rise to problems in the law of insolvency. Investors in these schemes are often left empty-handed upon the scheme's eventual collapse and insolvency. Investors who received pay-outs from the scheme find ...

Reaching a Consensus: Terminology and Concepts Used in Coordination and Decision-Making Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Pyritz, Lennart W; King, Andrew J; Sueur, Cédric; Fichtel, Claudia

2011-12-01

Research on coordination and decision-making in humans and nonhuman primates has increased considerably throughout the last decade. However, terminology has been used inconsistently, hampering the broader integration of results from different studies. In this short article, we provide a glossary containing the central terms of coordination and decision-making research. The glossary is based on previous definitions that have been critically revised and annotated by the participants of the symposium "Where next? Coordination and decision-making in primate groups" at the XXIIIth Congress of the International Primatological Society (IPS) in Kyoto, Japan. We discuss a number of conceptual and methodological issues and highlight consequences for their implementation. In summary, we recommend that future studies on coordination and decision-making in animal groups do not use the terms "combined decision" and "democratic/despotic decision-making." This will avoid ambiguity as well as anthropocentric connotations. Further, we demonstrate the importance of 1) taxon-specific definitions of coordination parameters (initiation, leadership, followership, termination), 2) differentiation between coordination research on individual-level process and group-level outcome, 3) analyses of collective action processes including initiation and termination, and 4) operationalization of successful group movements in the field to collect meaningful and comparable data across different species.

Renormalization scheme-invariant perturbation theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dhar, A.

1983-01-01

A complete solution to the problem of the renormalization scheme dependence of perturbative approximants to physical quantities is presented. An equation is derived which determines any physical quantity implicitly as a function of only scheme independent variables. (orig.)

Nonlinear secret image sharing scheme.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Sang-Ho; Lee, Gil-Je; Yoo, Kee-Young

2014-01-01

Over the past decade, most of secret image sharing schemes have been proposed by using Shamir's technique. It is based on a linear combination polynomial arithmetic. Although Shamir's technique based secret image sharing schemes are efficient and scalable for various environments, there exists a security threat such as Tompa-Woll attack. Renvall and Ding proposed a new secret sharing technique based on nonlinear combination polynomial arithmetic in order to solve this threat. It is hard to apply to the secret image sharing. In this paper, we propose a (t, n)-threshold nonlinear secret image sharing scheme with steganography concept. In order to achieve a suitable and secure secret image sharing scheme, we adapt a modified LSB embedding technique with XOR Boolean algebra operation, define a new variable m, and change a range of prime p in sharing procedure. In order to evaluate efficiency and security of proposed scheme, we use the embedding capacity and PSNR. As a result of it, average value of PSNR and embedding capacity are 44.78 (dB) and 1.74t⌈log2 m⌉ bit-per-pixel (bpp), respectively.

EPRI BWR Water Chemistry Guidelines Revision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia, Susan E.; Giannelli, Joseph F.

2014-01-01

BWRVIP-190: BWR Water Chemistry Guidelines – 2008 Revision has been revised. The revision committee consisted of U.S. and non-U.S. utilities (members of the BWR Vessel and Internals Protection (BWRVIP) Mitigation Committee), reactor system manufacturers, fuel suppliers, and EPRI and industry experts. The revised document, BWRVIP-190 Revision 1, was completely reformatted into two volumes, with a simplified presentation of water chemistry control, diagnostic and good practice parameters in Volume 1 and the technical bases in Volume 2, to facilitate use. The revision was developed in parallel and in coordination with preparation of the Fuel Reliability Guidelines Revision 1: BWR Fuel Cladding Crud and Corrosion. Guidance is included for plants operating under normal water chemistry (NWC), moderate hydrogen water chemistry (HWC-M), and noble metal application (GE-Hitachi NobleChem™) plus hydrogen injection. Volume 1 includes significant changes to BWR feedwater and reactor water chemistry control parameters to provide increased assurance of intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) mitigation of reactor materials and fuel reliability during all plant conditions, including cold shutdown (≤200°F (93°C)), startup/hot standby (>200°F (93°C) and ≤ 10%) and power operation (>10% power). Action Level values for chloride and sulfate have been tightened to minimize environmentally assisted cracking (EAC) of all wetted surfaces, including those not protected by hydrogen injection, with or without noble metals. Chemistry control guidance has been enhanced to minimize shutdown radiation fields by clarifying targets for depleted zinc oxide (DZO) injection while meeting requirements for fuel reliability. Improved tabular presentations of parameter values explicitly indicate levels at which actions are to be taken and required sampling frequencies. Volume 2 provides the technical bases for BWR water chemistry control for control of EAC, flow accelerated corrosion

40 CFR 60.4124 - Hg budget permit revisions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Hg budget permit revisions. 60.4124... Coal-Fired Electric Steam Generating Units Permits § 60.4124 Hg budget permit revisions. Except as provided in § 60.4123(b), the permitting authority will revise the Hg Budget permit, as necessary, in...

A real options approach to analyse wind energy investments under different support schemes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kitzing, Lena; Juul, Nina; Drud, Michael; Boomsma, Trine Krogh

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Real options model for wind projects considering investment timing and sizing. • Introducing a capacity constraint in the optimisation. • Addressing several uncertainty factors while still providing analytical solution. • Comparative policy analysis of investment incentives from different support schemes. • Improved quantification of trade-off between fast deployment and large projects. - Abstract: A real options model is developed to evaluate wind energy investments in a realistic and easily applicable way. Considering optimal investment timing and sizing (capacity choice), the model introduces a capacity constraint as part of the optimisation. Several correlated uncertainty factors are combined into a single stochastic process, which allows for analytical (closed-form) solutions. The approach is well suited for quantitative policy analysis, such as the comparison of different support schemes. A case study for offshore wind in the Baltic Sea quantifies differences in investment incentives under feed-in tariffs, feed-in premiums and tradable green certificates. Investors can under certificate schemes require up to 3% higher profit margins than under tariffs due to higher variance in profits. Feed-in tariffs may lead to 15% smaller project sizes. This trade-off between faster deployment of smaller projects and slower deployment of larger projects is neglected using traditional net present value approaches. In the analysis of such trade-off, previous real options studies did not consider a capacity constraint, which is here shown to decrease the significance of the effect. The impact on investment incentives also depends on correlations between the underlying stochastic factors. The results may help investors to make informed investment decisions and policy makers to strategically design renewable support and develop tailor-made incentive schemes.

Good governance for pension schemes

CERN Document Server

Thornton, Paul

2011-01-01

Regulatory and market developments have transformed the way in which UK private sector pension schemes operate. This has increased demands on trustees and advisors and the trusteeship governance model must evolve in order to remain fit for purpose. This volume brings together leading practitioners to provide an overview of what today constitutes good governance for pension schemes, from both a legal and a practical perspective. It provides the reader with an appreciation of the distinctive characteristics of UK occupational pension schemes, how they sit within the capital markets and their social and fiduciary responsibilities. Providing a holistic analysis of pension risk, both from the trustee and the corporate perspective, the essays cover the crucial role of the employer covenant, financing and investment risk, developments in longevity risk hedging and insurance de-risking, and best practice scheme administration.

Implementing shared decision making in federally qualified health centers, a quasi-experimental design study: the Office-Guidelines Applied to Practice (Office-GAP) program

OpenAIRE

Olomu, Adesuwa; Hart-Davidson, William; Luo, Zhehui; Kelly-Blake, Karen; Holmes-Rovner, Margaret

2016-01-01

Background Use of Shared Decision-Making (SDM) and Decision Aids (DAs) has been encouraged but is not regularly implemented in primary care. The Office-Guidelines Applied to Practice (Office-GAP) intervention is an application of a previous model revised to address guidelines based care for low-income populations with diabetes and coronary heart disease (CHD). Objective: To evaluate Office-GAP Program feasibility and preliminary efficacy on medication use, patient satisfaction with physician ...

Symmetric weak ternary quantum homomorphic encryption schemes

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yuqi; She, Kun; Luo, Qingbin; Yang, Fan; Zhao, Chao

2016-03-01

Based on a ternary quantum logic circuit, four symmetric weak ternary quantum homomorphic encryption (QHE) schemes were proposed. First, for a one-qutrit rotation gate, a QHE scheme was constructed. Second, in view of the synthesis of a general 3 × 3 unitary transformation, another one-qutrit QHE scheme was proposed. Third, according to the one-qutrit scheme, the two-qutrit QHE scheme about generalized controlled X (GCX(m,n)) gate was constructed and further generalized to the n-qutrit unitary matrix case. Finally, the security of these schemes was analyzed in two respects. It can be concluded that the attacker can correctly guess the encryption key with a maximum probability pk = 1/33n, thus it can better protect the privacy of users’ data. Moreover, these schemes can be well integrated into the future quantum remote server architecture, and thus the computational security of the users’ private quantum information can be well protected in a distributed computing environment.

Labelling schemes: From a consumer perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juhl, Hans Jørn; Stacey, Julia

2000-01-01

Labelling of food products attracts a lot of political attention these days. As a result of a number of food scandals, most European countries have acknowledged the need for more information and better protection of consumers. Labelling schemes are one way of informing and guiding consumers....... However, initiatives in relation to labelling schemes seldom take their point of departure in consumers' needs and expectations; and in many cases, the schemes are defined by the institutions guaranteeing the label. It is therefore interesting to study how consumers actually value labelling schemes....... A recent MAPP study has investigated the value consumers attach the Government-controlled labels 'Ø-mærket' and 'Den Blå Lup' and the private supermarket label 'Mesterhakket' when they purchase minced meat. The results reveal four consumer segments that use labelling schemes for food products very...

The European Commission's Decision in MasterCard : Issues Facing the Payment Card Industry for the Future

OpenAIRE

John Wotton

2008-01-01

The Decision in MasterCard displays a fundamental divergence between the Commission’s and MasterCard’s approaches to the analysis of the competitive effects of open payment card schemes.

Computer supported collaborative learning in a clerkship: an exploratory study on the relation of discussion activity and revision of critical appraisal papers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koops Willem JM

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Medical students in clerkship are continuously confronted with real and relevant patient problems. To support clinical problem solving skills, students perform a Critical Appraisal of a Topic (CAT task, often resulting in a paper. Because such a paper may contain errors, students could profit from discussion with peers, leading to paper revision. Active peer discussion by a Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL environment show positive medical students perceptions on subjective knowledge improvement. High students’ activity during discussions in a CSCL environment demonstrated higher task-focussed discussion reflecting higher levels of knowledge construction. However, it remains unclear whether high discussion activity influences students’ decisions revise their CAT paper. The aim of this research is to examine whether students who revise their critical appraisal papers after discussion in a CSCL environment show more task-focussed activity and discuss more intensively on critical appraisal topics than students who do not revise their papers. Methods Forty-seven medical students, stratified in subgroups, participated in a structured asynchronous online discussion of individual written CAT papers on self-selected clinical problems. The discussion was structured by three critical appraisal topics. After the discussion, the students could revise their paper. For analysis purposes, all students’ postings were blinded and analysed by the investigator, unaware of students characteristics and whether or not the paper was revised. Postings were counted and analysed by an independent rater, Postings were assigned into outside activity, non-task-focussed activity or task-focussed activity. Additionally, postings were assigned to one of the three critical appraisal topics. Analysis results were compared by revised and unrevised papers. Results Twenty-four papers (51.6% were revised after the online discussion. The

Computer supported collaborative learning in a clerkship: an exploratory study on the relation of discussion activity and revision of critical appraisal papers.

Science.gov (United States)

Koops, Willem J M; van der Vleuten, Cees P M; de Leng, Bas A; Snoeckx, Luc H E H

2012-08-20

Medical students in clerkship are continuously confronted with real and relevant patient problems. To support clinical problem solving skills, students perform a Critical Appraisal of a Topic (CAT) task, often resulting in a paper. Because such a paper may contain errors, students could profit from discussion with peers, leading to paper revision. Active peer discussion by a Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) environment show positive medical students perceptions on subjective knowledge improvement. High students' activity during discussions in a CSCL environment demonstrated higher task-focussed discussion reflecting higher levels of knowledge construction. However, it remains unclear whether high discussion activity influences students' decisions revise their CAT paper. The aim of this research is to examine whether students who revise their critical appraisal papers after discussion in a CSCL environment show more task-focussed activity and discuss more intensively on critical appraisal topics than students who do not revise their papers. Forty-seven medical students, stratified in subgroups, participated in a structured asynchronous online discussion of individual written CAT papers on self-selected clinical problems. The discussion was structured by three critical appraisal topics. After the discussion, the students could revise their paper. For analysis purposes, all students' postings were blinded and analysed by the investigator, unaware of students characteristics and whether or not the paper was revised. Postings were counted and analysed by an independent rater, Postings were assigned into outside activity, non-task-focussed activity or task-focussed activity. Additionally, postings were assigned to one of the three critical appraisal topics. Analysis results were compared by revised and unrevised papers. Twenty-four papers (51.6%) were revised after the online discussion. The discussions of the revised papers showed significantly higher

Analysis of central and upwind compact schemes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sengupta, T.K.; Ganeriwal, G.; De, S.

2003-01-01

Central and upwind compact schemes for spatial discretization have been analyzed with respect to accuracy in spectral space, numerical stability and dispersion relation preservation. A von Neumann matrix spectral analysis is developed here to analyze spatial discretization schemes for any explicit and implicit schemes to investigate the full domain simultaneously. This allows one to evaluate various boundary closures and their effects on the domain interior. The same method can be used for stability analysis performed for the semi-discrete initial boundary value problems (IBVP). This analysis tells one about the stability for every resolved length scale. Some well-known compact schemes that were found to be G-K-S and time stable are shown here to be unstable for selective length scales by this analysis. This is attributed to boundary closure and we suggest special boundary treatment to remove this shortcoming. To demonstrate the asymptotic stability of the resultant schemes, numerical solution of the wave equation is compared with analytical solution. Furthermore, some of these schemes are used to solve two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation and a computational acoustic problem to check their ability to solve problems for long time. It is found that those schemes, that were found unstable for the wave equation, are unsuitable for solving incompressible Navier-Stokes equation. In contrast, the proposed compact schemes with improved boundary closure and an explicit higher-order upwind scheme produced correct results. The numerical solution for the acoustic problem is compared with the exact solution and the quality of the match shows that the used compact scheme has the requisite DRP property

Impaired strategic decision making in schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hyojin; Lee, Daeyeol; Shin, Young-Min; Chey, Jeanyung

2007-11-14

Adaptive decision making in dynamic social settings requires frequent re-evaluation of choice outcomes and revision of strategies. This requires an array of multiple cognitive abilities, such as working memory and response inhibition. Thus, the disruption of such abilities in schizophrenia can have significant implications for social dysfunctions in affected patients. In the present study, 20 schizophrenia patients and 20 control subjects completed two computerized binary decision-making tasks. In the first task, the participants played a competitive zero-sum game against a computer in which the predictable choice behavior was penalized and the optimal strategy was to choose the two targets stochastically. In the second task, the expected payoffs of the two targets were fixed and unaffected by the subject's choices, so the optimal strategy was to choose the target with the higher expected payoff exclusively. The schizophrenia patients earned significantly less money during the first task, even though their overall choice probabilities were not significantly different from the control subjects. This was mostly because patients were impaired in integrating the outcomes of their previous choices appropriately in order to maintain the optimal strategy. During the second task, the choices of patients and control subjects displayed more similar patterns. This study elucidated the specific components in strategic decision making that are impaired in schizophrenia. The deficit, which can be characterized as strategic stiffness, may have implications for the poor social adjustment in schizophrenia patients.

Lattice gas automaton scheme with stochastic particle movement for a rotated fluid flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishiguro, Misako

2002-01-01

Lattice gas automaton (LGA) models developed so far are just for Cartesian geometries, and no direct approach to rotated fluid flows is found. In this paper, LGA method is applied to model a two-dimensional rotated flow. Several problems specific to the rotated flow are to be solved: hexagonal lattice geometry to effectively identify the neighbors, boundary condition for irregular walls, multi-speed scheme to represent angular-oriented fluid velocity υ θ ≅γω, shape of macroscopic domain for statistics, formula to obtain macroscopic quantities such as density and mean fluid velocities, application method of Fermi-Dirac function to the initial particle arrangement. For this purpose, FHP-I type hexagonal lattice model is revised and a new LGA model with stochastic particle movement is proposed. The results of the trial calculation are shown. It is also investigated whether or not the underlying microscopic Boolean equations newly introduced leads to Navier-Stokes equation. (author)

Some consideration on decision-making in a nuclear emergency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakashima, Y.; Wang, H.

1996-01-01

In various phases of a disaster, the result of decision-making should finally reach the local public of interest, and the detriment among the public should be minimized optimized according to the proper response by the public who receive the result. The decision involves the proper selection among countermeasures, and should reach each one of the public. The expression to be informed to the public should be quite understandable in its meaning. After Hanshin big earthquake (Jan. 17, 1995), the basic plan for countermeasures against disasters which is the foundation for the basic law for disasters has been largely revised and reissued in July 1995. For preparedness and countermeasures outside a nuclear facility, there are many useful experiences that have to be learnt from natural disasters. In Japan and China, there have been no major nuclear accidents affecting the public in the environment. However, preparedness for nuclear emergency derived from natural disasters is important. (author)

A Novel Iris Segmentation Scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen-Chung Liu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available One of the key steps in the iris recognition system is the accurate iris segmentation from its surrounding noises including pupil, sclera, eyelashes, and eyebrows of a captured eye-image. This paper presents a novel iris segmentation scheme which utilizes the orientation matching transform to outline the outer and inner iris boundaries initially. It then employs Delogne-Kåsa circle fitting (instead of the traditional Hough transform to further eliminate the outlier points to extract a more precise iris area from an eye-image. In the extracted iris region, the proposed scheme further utilizes the differences in the intensity and positional characteristics of the iris, eyelid, and eyelashes to detect and delete these noises. The scheme is then applied on iris image database, UBIRIS.v1. The experimental results show that the presented scheme provides a more effective and efficient iris segmentation than other conventional methods.

Analysis of Program Obfuscation Schemes with Variable Encoding Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Fukushima, Kazuhide; Kiyomoto, Shinsaku; Tanaka, Toshiaki; Sakurai, Kouichi

Program analysis techniques have improved steadily over the past several decades, and software obfuscation schemes have come to be used in many commercial programs. A software obfuscation scheme transforms an original program or a binary file into an obfuscated program that is more complicated and difficult to analyze, while preserving its functionality. However, the security of obfuscation schemes has not been properly evaluated. In this paper, we analyze obfuscation schemes in order to clarify the advantages of our scheme, the XOR-encoding scheme. First, we more clearly define five types of attack models that we defined previously, and define quantitative resistance to these attacks. Then, we compare the security, functionality and efficiency of three obfuscation schemes with encoding variables: (1) Sato et al.'s scheme with linear transformation, (2) our previous scheme with affine transformation, and (3) the XOR-encoding scheme. We show that the XOR-encoding scheme is superior with regard to the following two points: (1) the XOR-encoding scheme is more secure against a data-dependency attack and a brute force attack than our previous scheme, and is as secure against an information-collecting attack and an inverse transformation attack as our previous scheme, (2) the XOR-encoding scheme does not restrict the calculable ranges of programs and the loss of efficiency is less than in our previous scheme.

A taxonomic revision of the genus Podocarpus

OpenAIRE

Laubenfels, de, D.J.

1985-01-01

In connection with the forthcoming revision of the Coniferae for the Flora Malesiana, the author thought it necessary to revise the genus Podocarpus. Although this genus has a substantial representation in Malesia (30 species), the revision is too involved to be appropriate with the Flora Malesiana per se. One new subgenus and 17 new sections are described, and 94 species are enumerated, of which 11 species and 1 variety are described as new, and 3 varieties have been raised to specific rank....

Efficient multiparty quantum-secret-sharing schemes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao Li; Deng Fuguo; Long Guilu; Pan Jianwei

2004-01-01

In this work, we generalize the quantum-secret-sharing scheme of Hillery, Buzek, and Berthiaume [Phys. Rev. A 59, 1829 (1999)] into arbitrary multiparties. Explicit expressions for the shared secret bit is given. It is shown that in the Hillery-Buzek-Berthiaume quantum-secret-sharing scheme the secret information is shared in the parity of binary strings formed by the measured outcomes of the participants. In addition, we have increased the efficiency of the quantum-secret-sharing scheme by generalizing two techniques from quantum key distribution. The favored-measuring-basis quantum-secret-sharing scheme is developed from the Lo-Chau-Ardehali technique [H. K. Lo, H. F. Chau, and M. Ardehali, e-print quant-ph/0011056] where all the participants choose their measuring-basis asymmetrically, and the measuring-basis-encrypted quantum-secret-sharing scheme is developed from the Hwang-Koh-Han technique [W. Y. Hwang, I. G. Koh, and Y. D. Han, Phys. Lett. A 244, 489 (1998)] where all participants choose their measuring basis according to a control key. Both schemes are asymptotically 100% in efficiency, hence nearly all the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states in a quantum-secret-sharing process are used to generate shared secret information

Revised Human Health Risk Assessment on Chlorpyrifos

Science.gov (United States)

We have revised our human health risk assessment and drinking water exposure assessment for chlorpyrifos that supported our October 2015 proposal to revoke all food residue tolerances for chlorpyrifos. Learn about the revised analysis.

REVISION PERMISSIABILITY IN CIVIL PROCEDURE IN REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina Gligorova

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The revision as an extraordinary legal remedy is one more legal instrument for litigant in the effort to achieve protection of the rights or to defend against ungrounded claims of the other party. Litigants may declare revision of the litigation process due to substantive violations of the provisions of Civil Procedure and incorrect application of substantive law. Declaring revision because of a substantive violation of the provisions of Civil Procedure is limited. The purpose of this research paper is to investigate the most common reasons for filing revision of the litigation process in the period from June 2011 to June in 2012. The research includes what kind of reasons are often repeated, and the volume, or the number of reviews submitted to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia. As general hypothesis is that most of the adopted revisions are due to substantial violations of the provisions of civil procedure. Two-thirds of the stated revisions in front of the Supreme Court of Republic of Macedonia were rejected as unfounded and only one third of the submitted revisions from June 2011 to June 2012 were grounded. Since accepted revisions 59% due to incorrect application of substantive law, and 41% due to substantial violations of the provisions of Civil Procedure.

Gamma spectrometry; level schemes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blachot, J.; Bocquet, J.P.; Monnand, E.; Schussler, F.

1977-01-01

The research presented dealt with: a new beta emitter, isomer of 131 Sn; the 136 I levels fed through the radioactive decay of 136 Te (20.9s); the A=145 chain (β decay of Ba, La and Ce, and level schemes for 145 La, 145 Ce, 145 Pr); the A=47 chain (La and Ce, β decay, and the level schemes of 147 Ce and 147 Pr) [fr

Extending an evidence hierarchy to include topics other than treatment: revising the Australian 'levels of evidence'

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

Background In 1999 a four-level hierarchy of evidence was promoted by the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia. The primary purpose of this hierarchy was to assist with clinical practice guideline development, although it was co-opted for use in systematic literature reviews and health technology assessments. In this hierarchy interventional study designs were ranked according to the likelihood that bias had been eliminated and thus it was not ideal to assess studies that addressed other types of clinical questions. This paper reports on the revision and extension of this evidence hierarchy to enable broader use within existing evidence assessment systems. Methods A working party identified and assessed empirical evidence, and used a commissioned review of existing evidence assessment schema, to support decision-making regarding revision of the hierarchy. The aim was to retain the existing evidence levels I-IV but increase their relevance for assessing the quality of individual diagnostic accuracy, prognostic, aetiologic and screening studies. Comprehensive public consultation was undertaken and the revised hierarchy was piloted by individual health technology assessment agencies and clinical practice guideline developers. After two and a half years, the hierarchy was again revised and commenced a further 18 month pilot period. Results A suitable framework was identified upon which to model the revision. Consistency was maintained in the hierarchy of "levels of evidence" across all types of clinical questions; empirical evidence was used to support the relationship between study design and ranking in the hierarchy wherever possible; and systematic reviews of lower level studies were themselves ascribed a ranking. The impact of ethics on the hierarchy of study designs was acknowledged in the framework, along with a consideration of how harms should be assessed. Conclusion The revised evidence hierarchy is now widely used and provides a common

Extending an evidence hierarchy to include topics other than treatment: revising the Australian 'levels of evidence'

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Merlin Tracy

2009-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In 1999 a four-level hierarchy of evidence was promoted by the National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia. The primary purpose of this hierarchy was to assist with clinical practice guideline development, although it was co-opted for use in systematic literature reviews and health technology assessments. In this hierarchy interventional study designs were ranked according to the likelihood that bias had been eliminated and thus it was not ideal to assess studies that addressed other types of clinical questions. This paper reports on the revision and extension of this evidence hierarchy to enable broader use within existing evidence assessment systems. Methods A working party identified and assessed empirical evidence, and used a commissioned review of existing evidence assessment schema, to support decision-making regarding revision of the hierarchy. The aim was to retain the existing evidence levels I-IV but increase their relevance for assessing the quality of individual diagnostic accuracy, prognostic, aetiologic and screening studies. Comprehensive public consultation was undertaken and the revised hierarchy was piloted by individual health technology assessment agencies and clinical practice guideline developers. After two and a half years, the hierarchy was again revised and commenced a further 18 month pilot period. Results A suitable framework was identified upon which to model the revision. Consistency was maintained in the hierarchy of "levels of evidence" across all types of clinical questions; empirical evidence was used to support the relationship between study design and ranking in the hierarchy wherever possible; and systematic reviews of lower level studies were themselves ascribed a ranking. The impact of ethics on the hierarchy of study designs was acknowledged in the framework, along with a consideration of how harms should be assessed. Conclusion The revised evidence hierarchy is now widely

The revised WHO dengue case classification: does the system need to be modified?

Science.gov (United States)

Hadinegoro, Sri Rezeki S

2012-05-01

There has been considerable debate regarding the value of both the 1997 and 2009 World Health Organization (WHO) dengue case classification criteria for its diagnosis and management. Differentiation between classic dengue fever (DF) and dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) or severe dengue is a key aspect of dengue case classification. The geographic expansion of dengue and its increased incidence in older age groups have contributed to the limited applicability of the 1997 case definitions. Clinical experience of dengue suggests that the illness presents as a spectrum of disease instead of distinct phases. However, despite the rigid grouping of dengue into DF, DHF and dengue shock syndrome (DSS), overlap between the different manifestations has often been observed, which has affected clinical management and triage of patients. The findings of the DENCO study evaluating the 1997 case definitions formed the basis of the revised 2009 WHO case definitions, which classified the illness into dengue with and without warning signs and severe dengue. Although the revised scheme is more sensitive to the diagnosis of severe dengue, and beneficial to triage and case management, there remain issues with its applicability. It is considered by many to be too broad, requiring more specific definition of warning signs. Quantitative research into the predictive value of these warning signs on patient outcomes and the cost-effectiveness of the new classification system is required to ascertain whether the new classification system requires further modification, or whether elements of both classification systems can be combined.

Coordinated renewable energy support schemes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Morthorst, P.E.; Jensen, S.G.

2006-01-01

. The first example covers countries with regional power markets that also regionalise their support schemes, the second countries with separate national power markets that regionalise their support schemes. The main findings indicate that the almost ideal situation exists if the region prior to regionalising...

Test-Retest Reliability of the Parent Behavior Importance Questionnaire-Revised and the Parent Behavior Frequency Questionnaire-Revised

Science.gov (United States)

Mowder, Barbara A.; Shamah, Renee

2011-01-01

This study evaluated the test-retest reliability of two parenting measures: the Parent Behavior Importance Questionnaire-Revised (PBIQ-R) and Parent Behavior Frequency Questionnaire-Revised (PBFQ-R). These self-report parenting behavior assessment measures may be utilized as pre- and post-parent education program measures, with parents as well as…

Asynchronous Channel-Hopping Scheme under Jamming Attacks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yongchul Kim

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Cognitive radio networks (CRNs are considered an attractive technology to mitigate inefficiency in the usage of licensed spectrum. CRNs allow the secondary users (SUs to access the unused licensed spectrum and use a blind rendezvous process to establish communication links between SUs. In particular, quorum-based channel-hopping (CH schemes have been studied recently to provide guaranteed blind rendezvous in decentralized CRNs without using global time synchronization. However, these schemes remain vulnerable to jamming attacks. In this paper, we first analyze the limitations of quorum-based rendezvous schemes called asynchronous channel hopping (ACH. Then, we introduce a novel sequence sensing jamming attack (SSJA model in which a sophisticated jammer can dramatically reduce the rendezvous success rates of ACH schemes. In addition, we propose a fast and robust asynchronous rendezvous scheme (FRARS that can significantly enhance robustness under jamming attacks. Our numerical results demonstrate that the performance of the proposed scheme vastly outperforms the ACH scheme when there are security concerns about a sequence sensing jammer.

A fast resonance interference treatment scheme with subgroup method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, L.; He, Q.; Wu, H.; Zu, T.; Shen, W.

2015-01-01

A fast Resonance Interference Factor (RIF) scheme is proposed to treat the resonance interference effects between different resonance nuclides. This scheme utilizes the conventional subgroup method to evaluate the self-shielded cross sections of the dominant resonance nuclide in the heterogeneous system and the hyper-fine energy group method to represent the resonance interference effects in a simplified homogeneous model. In this paper, the newly implemented scheme is compared to the background iteration scheme, the Resonance Nuclide Group (RNG) scheme and the conventional RIF scheme. The numerical results show that the errors of the effective self-shielded cross sections are significantly reduced by the fast RIF scheme compared with the background iteration scheme and the RNG scheme. Besides, the fast RIF scheme consumes less computation time than the conventional RIF schemes. The speed-up ratio is ~4.5 for MOX pin cell problems. (author)

Arbitrated quantum signature scheme with message recovery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hwayean; Hong, Changho; Kim, Hyunsang; Lim, Jongin; Yang, Hyung Jin

2004-01-01

Two quantum signature schemes with message recovery relying on the availability of an arbitrator are proposed. One scheme uses a public board and the other does not. However both schemes provide confidentiality of the message and a higher efficiency in transmission

CANONICAL BACKWARD DIFFERENTIATION SCHEMES FOR ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper describes a new nonlinear backward differentiation schemes for the numerical solution of nonlinear initial value problems of first order ordinary differential equations. The schemes are based on rational interpolation obtained from canonical polynomials. They are A-stable. The test problems show that they give ...

High-level waste tank remediation technology integration summary. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DeLannoy, C.R.; Susiene, C.; Fowler, K.M.; Robson, W.M.; Cruse, J.M.

1994-07-01

The U.S. Department of Energy's Environmental Restoration and Waste Management and Technology Development Programs are engaged in a number of projects to develop, demonstrate, test, and evaluate new technologies to support the cleanup and site remediation of more than 300 underground storage tanks containing over 381,000 m 3 (100 million gal) of liquid radioactive mixed waste at the Hanford Reservation. Significant development is needed within primary functions and in determining an overall bounding strategy. This document is an update of continuing work to summarize the overall strategy and to provide data regarding technology development activities within the strategy. It is intended to serve as an information resource to support understanding, decision making, and integration of multiple program technology development activities. Recipients are encouraged to provide comments and input to the authors for incorporation in future revisions

Efficient decision-making by volume-conserving physical object

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Song-Ju; Aono, Masashi; Nameda, Etsushi

2015-01-01

Decision-making is one of the most important intellectual abilities of not only humans but also other biological organisms, helping their survival. This ability, however, may not be limited to biological systems and may be exhibited by physical systems. Here we demonstrate that any physical object, as long as its volume is conserved when coupled with suitable operations, provides a sophisticated decision-making capability. We consider the multi-armed bandit problem (MBP), the problem of finding, as accurately and quickly as possible, the most profitable option from a set of options that gives stochastic rewards. Efficient MBP solvers are useful for many practical applications, because MBP abstracts a variety of decision-making problems in real-world situations in which an efficient trial-and-error is required. These decisions are made as dictated by a physical object, which is moved in a manner similar to the fluctuations of a rigid body in a tug-of-war (TOW) game. This method, called ‘TOW dynamics’, exhibits higher efficiency than conventional reinforcement learning algorithms. We show analytical calculations that validate statistical reasons for TOW dynamics to produce the high performance despite its simplicity. These results imply that various physical systems in which some conservation law holds can be used to implement an efficient ‘decision-making object’. The proposed scheme will provide a new perspective to open up a physics-based analog computing paradigm and to understanding the biological information-processing principles that exploit their underlying physics. (paper)

Search and Classification Using Multiple Autonomous Vehicles Decision-Making and Sensor Management

CERN Document Server

Wang, Yue

2012-01-01

Search and Classification Using Multiple Autonomous Vehicles provides a comprehensive study of decision-making strategies for domain search and object classification using multiple autonomous vehicles (MAV) under both deterministic and probabilistic frameworks. It serves as a first discussion of the problem of effective resource allocation using MAV with sensing limitations, i.e., for search and classification missions over large-scale domains, or when there are far more objects to be found and classified than there are autonomous vehicles available. Under such scenarios, search and classification compete for limited sensing resources. This is because search requires vehicle mobility while classification restricts the vehicles to the vicinity of any objects found. The authors develop decision-making strategies to choose between these competing tasks and vehicle-motion-control laws to achieve the proposed management scheme. Deterministic Lyapunov-based, probabilistic Bayesian-based, and risk-based decision-mak...

A simple angular transmit diversity scheme using a single RF frontend for PSK modulation schemes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alrabadi, Osama Nafeth Saleem; Papadias, Constantinos B.; Kalis, Antonis

2009-01-01

array (SPA) with a single transceiver, and an array area of 0.0625 square wavelengths. The scheme which requires no channel state information (CSI) at the transmitter, provides mainly a diversity gain to combat against multipath fading. The performance/capacity of the proposed diversity scheme...

Maximum surgical blood ordering schedules for revision lower limb arthroplasty.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahadevan, Devendra; Challand, Christopher; Clarke, Andrew; Keenan, Jonathan

2011-05-01

Effective utilisation of blood products is fundamental. The introduction of maximum surgical blood ordering schedules (MSBOS) for operations has been shown to improve transfusion services. A retrospective analysis was undertaken to establish an evidence-based MSBOS for revision total hip replacement (THR) and total knee revision (TKR). The impact of this schedule on blood conservation was analysed. A retrospective analysis was undertaken on 397 patients who underwent revision THR and TKR over a 4-year period. The cross-match-to-transfusion ratio (CTR) and transfusion index (TI) were calculated. A MSBOS protocol was created based on the TIs and its' impact on transfusion services was assessed prospectively on 125 patients by comparing CTRs. In revision THR, TI was 1.19 for elective cases, 1.55 for emergency cases and 2.35 for infected cases. There was no difference in TI for revisions of cemented and uncemented components. Single component THR revision required less transfusion. In revision TKR, TI was 0.31 for elective cases, 2.0 for emergency cases and 1.23 for cases with infection. The introduction of the MSBOS protocol had resulted in a considerable improvement in blood ordering. Reductions in the CTR were seen for all types of revision surgery, but most evident in elective revision THR (3.24-2.18) and elective revision TKR (7.95-1.2). Analysis confirmed that excessive cross-matching occurred for revision lower limb arthroplasty. The introduction of our MSBOS protocol promoted blood conservation and compliance with established national guidelines.

Risk factors for total hip arthroplasty aseptic revision.

Science.gov (United States)

Khatod, Monti; Cafri, Guy; Namba, Robert S; Inacio, Maria C S; Paxton, Elizabeth W

2014-07-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient, operative, implant, surgeon, and hospital factors associated with aseptic revision after primary THA in patients registered in a large US Total Joint Replacement Registry. A total of 35,960 THAs registered from 4/2001-12/2010 were evaluated. The 8-year survival rate was 96.7% (95% CI 96.4%-97.0%). Females had a higher risk of aseptic revision than males. Hispanic and Asian patients had a lower risk of revision than white patients. Ceramic-on-ceramic, ceramic-on-conventional polyethylene, and metal-on-conventional polyethylene bearing surfaces had a higher risk of revision than metal-on-highly cross-linked polyethylene. Body mass index, health status, diabetes, diagnosis, fixation, approach, bilateral procedures, head size, surgeon fellowship training, surgeon and hospital volume were not revision risk factors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating statistical cloud schemes

OpenAIRE

Grützun, Verena; Quaas, Johannes; Morcrette , Cyril J.; Ament, Felix

2015-01-01

Statistical cloud schemes with prognostic probability distribution functions have become more important in atmospheric modeling, especially since they are in principle scale adaptive and capture cloud physics in more detail. While in theory the schemes have a great potential, their accuracy is still questionable. High-resolution three-dimensional observational data of water vapor and cloud water, which could be used for testing them, are missing. We explore the potential of ground-based re...

Multicriteria Decision Analysis of Freshwater Resource Management in Southwestern Bangladesh

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, C.; Baroud, H.; Hornberger, G. M.

2016-12-01

Freshwater resources in coastal Bangladesh fluctuate with extreme periods of shortage and abundance. Bangladeshis have adapted to these alternating periods but are still plagued with scarce drinking water resources due to pond water pathogens, salinity of groundwater, and arsenic contamination. The success of attempts to correct the problem of unsafe drinking water have varied across the southern Bangladesh as a result of physical and social factors. We use a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) to explore the various physical and social factors that influence decisions about freshwater technologies and management schemes in southern Bangladesh. To determine the best freshwater technologies and management schemes, we examine four alternatives, including managed aquifer recharge (MAR), pond sand filter (PSF), rain water harvesting (RWH), and tubewells (TW). Criteria are grouped into four categories (environmental, technical, social, and economic) and weighting of social factors will be determined by community surveys, non-governmental organizations (NGO) opinions, and academic interviews. Social data include regional water quality perceptions, perceptions of management/technology success, MAR community surveys, and interviews with NGO partners. Environmental and technical feasibility factors are determined from regional water quality data, geospatial information, land use/land change, and regional stratigraphy. Survey data suggest a wide range of criteria based on location and stakeholder perception. MAR and PSF technologies likely have the greatest environmental and technical potential for success but are highly influenced by community dynamics, individual perspective, and NGO involvement. RWH solutions are used frequently and are successful at reducing the water security threats of contamination by pathogens, arsenic, and salts. This MCDA informs us of community and stakeholder water resource decisions, specifically related to their objectives and preferences.

Strategic purchasing and health system efficiency: A comparison of two financing schemes in Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Patcharanarumol, Walaiporn; Panichkriangkrai, Warisa; Sommanuttaweechai, Angkana; Hanson, Kara; Wanwong, Yaowaluk; Tangcharoensathien, Viroj

2018-01-01

Strategic purchasing is an essential health financing function. This paper compares the strategic purchasing practices of Thailand's two tax-financed health insurance schemes, the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) and the Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme (CSMBS), and identifies factors contributing to successful universal health coverage outcomes by analysing the relationships between the purchaser and government, providers and members. The study uses a cross-sectional mixed-methods design, including document review and interviews with 56 key informants. The Comptroller General Department (CGD) of Ministry of Finance manages CSMBS as one among civil servant welfare programmes. Their purchasing is passive. Fee for service payment for outpatient care has resulted in rapid cost escalation and overspending of their annual budget. In contrast, National Health Security Office (NHSO) manages purchasing for UCS, which undertakes a range of strategic purchasing actions, including applying closed ended provider payment, promoting primary healthcare's gate keeping functions, exercising collective purchasing power and engaging views of members in decision making process. This difference in purchasing arrangements resulted in expenditure per CSMBS member being 4 times higher than UCS in 2014. The governance of the purchaser organization, the design of the purchasing arrangements including incentives and use of information, and the institutional capacities to implement purchasing functions are essential for effective strategic purchasing which can improve health system efficiency as a whole.